Randomnest: Creep in Lycra
Creep in Lycra
To summarise, I am indeed a Creep in that:
I want to have control, I want a perfect body, I want a perfect soul.
This is just going to be one of those Keeping it Real posts. Just a post to note down a significant change in my life/lifestyle. Totally random and in keeping with my namesake.
I'm sort of on my first "diet". SOUND ALARM BELLS!!!! BOOOOORRRING!
Diets are so boring.
And I don't even know if it classes as a diet.
Basically, it's been an eye opener and I LOVE it so far.
Back to Team Honk.
In this post Biking Road Trip, I talked about my new found love of biking and mentioned that I was going to be watching what I eat a bit more.
I thought that I had; having cut down on cheese, booze and bread.
But it wasn't enough, and having talked and talked and talked about looking into a lighter bike, (I just got one now!), I decided to try the My Fitness Pal app.
Because I cannot justify complaining that my mountain bike is too heavy for long distance biking, when I'm actually overweight myself.
I am a stubborn lady who does not usually react very well to being told what to do, especially when it comes to my enjoyment of food.
And I really do not fancy joining a club to discuss weight loss. Hats off to those that do, I have witnessed their successes, but I am not prepared to go down that road just yet.
But using the app has been working for me because it's me who is in control. And if I mess up, or fail, then it's only me to blame.
The app doesn't tell me that foods are naughty, it just tells me exactly what it is, and how much it will cost me depending on how much of it I have.
You program in your weight, height and your activity levels and enter how much you would like to gain/lose/maintain.
It will then recommend a time frame to do this in which you can then adjust to suit you.
I used the NHS chart to determine a healthy weight for my height to then decide on my personal goal.
The downside is that I spend even more time faffing with my phone, which I think is quite rude and interrupting to meal times. I like to try to do this subtly. Also, because I don't like talking about diets, and weight and stuff too much. Boring. I don't want the kids to think about diets, but I think it's healthy to be healthier in front of them. I don't talk about feeling insecure about my weight in front of them, but rather about wanting to be more of an "efficient" person.
Occasionally, I have felt slightly hungry, but interestingly; never dizzy or light headed as I have felt not too long ago and tried to remedy with food/drink.
I have been quite shocked at the calorific content of things that I have been eating and drinking previously and feel that I already have a better sense now of where I was going wrong in my eating habits before. Squash has calories?! Fig Rolls have how many calories EACH?!
Main change in eating habits have been:
1)Amount of cereal in the morning. I thought this would be too challenging to reduce, but in fact I have been happy with the right portion of no added sugar-salt muesli with semi-skimmed milk.
2)Juice in the morning-none or small glass of grapefruit juice.
3)Not snacking constantly.
4)Portion sizes.
5)Realizing that just because it's "healthy" doesn't mean that it doesn't contain calories.
I really think that I have noticed a difference in only 15 days. I feel less bloated and hadn't even realised that I felt like that before. I have lost 8lbs.
I have been trying to find something that weighs that amount so that I have more of a visual representation of my achievements so far. But the new fancy weigh scale doesn't want to cooperate and weigh anything that small.
And then I remembered that 8lbs is heavier than a couple of my kids were at birth.
I've been carrying the weight of a new born baby around with me all this time?! I wonder how much more baby-size weight I've got to come off...
You can connect it to Map My Ride as well so that you can calculate how many calories you burn. This comes in very handy at the end of the day when you run out of calorie allowances, you can then go on an extra long dog walk to earn an after-hours fig roll.
The best part is the scanner. You can scan anything with a bar code and it will tell you how many calories in a portion. I tried to trick it with some foreign bar codes, but it's a clever doodaa and fun to play supermarket tills.
The main benefit is that I feel in control.
Right now, I am looking for a job and dealing with the anxieties that come with this. I don't have as much control over this situation as I would like.
But I can control my weight and to a certain extent; my health. All I can do right now is to try to be the best I can be.
I would like to reiterate here that I don't actually want a perfect body, but I don't want to let my new thin-tired bike or myself down. This is about making a change for the better and achieving new fitness goals. In general, I am happy with my body, and while I have new dreams and new goals to focus on, losing weight is not an issue that I want to define my day to day life.
I don't need to say anymore about that, I'm just saying it for the sake of keeping it real, and making note of significant changes in my life.
And also for the sake of anyone else out there who may be interested. No point in keeping these things secret right?
I am not a spokesperson, and I haven't been sponsored for this. I am just saying, that so far, I think My Fitness Pal certainly is a really efficient pal and I would recommend it.
IF however, they would like to sponsor me, or if a super awesome cycle company wants to take me on as a project for before/after- I am up for it. Give me a call:-)
A very reluctant "before" shot. Hopefully I'll be back soon with an "after" shot. CURSED LYCRA.
Posted by Katie at 03:42
Labels: apps, bike, cycling, health
C o w R o a d 7 July 2014 at 08:03
Wow Katie, good for you!!!! :-)
Katie 9 July 2014 at 01:44
Candy Pop 7 July 2014 at 12:20
Good for you, I really need to excercise better portion control, just eaten a silly amount of pasta!
Yum! The good thing about biking is that I heard that on the day before and after a BIG ride, you should have a good amount of pasta. No Problem for me:-)
Anonymous 7 July 2014 at 23:35
Wow! You go, girl! Inspiring!
Actually Mummy... 8 July 2014 at 15:20
Ah well done. I loved my Fitness Pal when I used it last summer, and Map My Run I could not be without now. For me it's all about portion sizes and listening to my body. Sometimes easier said than done though!
Katie 9 July 2014 at 01:43
Listening to my body/and my eyes is what adds those extra layers on for me. Doing this, I'm a little bit hungry and I just tell the whinger to shut it and distract myself. I'm so slow on the uptake of these nifty health app things, it's just like a whole new fun world.
Randomnest: Creep in Lycra
Creep in Lycra
To summarise, I am indeed a Creep in that:
I want to have control, I want a perfect body, I want a perfect soul.
This is just going to be one of those Keeping it Real posts. Just a post to note down a significant change in my life/lifestyle. Totally random and in keeping with my namesake.
I'm sort of on my first "diet". SOUND ALARM BELLS!!!! BOOOOORRRING!
Diets are so boring.
And I don't even know if it classes as a diet.
Basically, it's been an eye opener and I LOVE it so far.
Back to Team Honk.
In this post Biking Road Trip, I talked about my new found love of biking and mentioned that I was going to be watching what I eat a bit more.
I thought that I had; having cut down on cheese, booze and bread.
But it wasn't enough, and having talked and talked and talked about looking into a lighter bike, (I just got one now!), I decided to try the My Fitness Pal app.
Because I cannot justify complaining that my mountain bike is too heavy for long distance biking, when I'm actually overweight myself.
I am a stubborn lady who does not usually react very well to being told what to do, especially when it comes to my enjoyment of food.
And I really do not fancy joining a club to discuss weight loss. Hats off to those that do, I have witnessed their successes, but I am not prepared to go down that road just yet.
But using the app has been working for me because it's me who is in control. And if I mess up, or fail, then it's only me to blame.
The app doesn't tell me that foods are naughty, it just tells me exactly what it is, and how much it will cost me depending on how much of it I have.
You program in your weight, height and your activity levels and enter how much you would like to gain/lose/maintain.
It will then recommend a time frame to do this in which you can then adjust to suit you.
I used the NHS chart to determine a healthy weight for my height to then decide on my personal goal.
The downside is that I spend even more time faffing with my phone, which I think is quite rude and interrupting to meal times. I like to try to do this subtly. Also, because I don't like talking about diets, and weight and stuff too much. Boring. I don't want the kids to think about diets, but I think it's healthy to be healthier in front of them. I don't talk about feeling insecure about my weight in front of them, but rather about wanting to be more of an "efficient" person.
Occasionally, I have felt slightly hungry, but interestingly; never dizzy or light headed as I have felt not too long ago and tried to remedy with food/drink.
I have been quite shocked at the calorific content of things that I have been eating and drinking previously and feel that I already have a better sense now of where I was going wrong in my eating habits before. Squash has calories?! Fig Rolls have how many calories EACH?!
Main change in eating habits have been:
1)Amount of cereal in the morning. I thought this would be too challenging to reduce, but in fact I have been happy with the right portion of no added sugar-salt muesli with semi-skimmed milk.
2)Juice in the morning-none or small glass of grapefruit juice.
3)Not snacking constantly.
4)Portion sizes.
5)Realizing that just because it's "healthy" doesn't mean that it doesn't contain calories.
I really think that I have noticed a difference in only 15 days. I feel less bloated and hadn't even realised that I fel
t like that before. I have lost 8lbs.
I have been trying to find something that weighs that amount so that I have more of a visual representation of my achievements so far. But the new fancy weigh scale doesn't want to cooperate and weigh anything that small.
And then I remembered that 8lbs is heavier than a couple of my kids were at birth.
I've been carrying the weight of a new born baby around with me all this time?! I wonder how much more baby-size weight I've got to come off...
You can connect it to Map My Ride as well so that you can calculate how many calories you burn. This comes in very handy at the end of the day when you run out of calorie allowances, you can then go on an extra long dog walk to earn an after-hours fig roll.
The best part is the scanner. You can scan anything with a bar code and it will tell you how many calories in a portion. I tried to trick it with some foreign bar codes, but it's a clever doodaa and fun to play supermarket tills.
The main benefit is that I feel in control.
Right now, I am looking for a job and dealing with the anxieties that come with this. I don't have as much control over this situation as I would like.
But I can control my weight and to a certain extent; my health. All I can do right now is to try to be the best I can be.
I would like to reiterate here that I don't actually want a perfect body, but I don't want to let my new thin-tired bike or myself down. This is about making a change for the better and achieving new fitness goals. In general, I am happy with my body, and while I have new dreams and new goals to focus on, losing weight is not an issue that I want to define my day to day life.
I don't need to say anymore about that, I'm just saying it for the sake of keeping it real, and making note of significant changes in my life.
And also for the sake of anyone else out there who may be interested. No point in keeping these things secret right?
I am not a spokesperson, and I haven't been sponsored for this. I am just saying, that so far, I think My Fitness Pal certainly is a really efficient pal and I would recommend it.
IF however, they would like to sponsor me, or if a super awesome cycle company wants to take me on as a project for before/after- I am up for it. Give me a call:-)
A very reluctant "before" shot. Hopefully I'll be back soon with an "after" shot. CURSED LYCRA.
Posted by Katie at 03:42
Labels: apps, bike, cycling, health
C o w R o a d 7 July 2014 at 08:03
Wow Katie, good for you!!!! :-)
Katie 9 July 2014 at 01:44
Candy Pop 7 July 2014 at 12:20
Good for you, I really need to excercise better portion control, just eaten a silly amount of pasta!
Yum! The good thing about biking is that I heard that on the day before and after a BIG ride, you should have a good amount of pasta. No Problem for me:-)
Anonymous 7 July 2014 at 23:35
Wow! You go, girl! Inspiring!
Actually Mummy... 8 July 2014 at 15:20
Ah well done. I loved my Fitness Pal when I used it last summer, and Map My Run I could not be without now. For me it's all about portion sizes and listening to my body. Sometimes easier said than done though!
Katie 9 July 2014 at 01:43
Listening to my body/and my eyes is what adds those extra layers on for me. Doing this, I'm a little bit hungry and I just tell the whinger to shut it and distract myself. I'm so slow on the uptake of these nifty health app things, it's just like a whole new fun world.