Counting Calories is the Worst!

     "Counting calories leads to failure 95.4% of the time—and often leaves people fatter." - Jonathan Bailor, "The Calorie Myth"

     Getting off your ass to get to the gym, soldiering through that workout video, putting on your shoes for a run you really don't want to do, or saying no to junk food, especially chocolate, is hard enough without including counting calories into the mix.
     So I refuse.
    Granted, I did find success doing this back in 2010, but as you've seen in previous posts, that didn't work long term. Counting calories is just not something I can stick with forever. So I need a different solution.
     Right now I go with the general rule that if it doesn't fit on a small plate, it's too much.
     Maybe I should even invest in one of those portion control plates. That actually really isn't a bad idea.

     But that rule isn't enough. I can fit an entire bag of Pizza Rolls on a small plate if I try hard enough, and that certainly won't help me. I have to be cautious about what I'm eating as well.

     I was reading this article by Jessica Girdwain on Prevention.com about myths regarding calories. One thing she talks about is the myth regarding types of calories. Not all calories are created equal. I can eat 100 calories worth of Pizza Rolls (that's approx. 2-3/4 rolls. You show me one person who can stop at 2-3/4 rolls and I'll show you a dirty rotten liar.) With those 2.75 rolls, you'll get about .10g of protein, .05% Vitamin A, .05% Vitamin C, and .10% Iron, and .0125g of Fiber. I created a modest meal on MyFitnessPal to compare. 1/2 Chicken breast and this cucumber salad I love (Click here for the recipe. I add tomato to mine.). This meal comes out to 107 calories. With it I get 78g of Protein, 87% Vitamin A, 77% Vitamin C, 96% Iron, and 23g Fiber. Plus, it's going to fill me up a lot better then 2.75 Pizza Rolls.

     In Girdwain's article, she takes a clever metaphor from Jonathan Bailor's book "The Calorie Myth" to explain why cutting calories won't solve your problems. 

"What if your plumber came in and said the cure for the clog was to stop using your sink?" It fixed the symptom (the sink’s not going to overflow) but not the cause (what’s causing the clog?). The cause of that clog is—you guessed it—eating poor quality foods that throw your fat-burning, appetite-taming hormones out of whack.

     So, to avoid needing to count calories I need to make sure I'm not eating too much, and make sure my foods are healthy and rich in nutrients. "Quality over Quantity," as Girdwain put it.

     

     Right now that's where my struggle is. I'm on such a strict budget that I can't afford quality food. It's sad how junk food is more affordable than healthy, nutritious food. And people wonder why American is fat.

     Just kidding. No one wonders that.

   On Wednesday I wen't over to Nutrishop to participate in their 6-Week Jump Start Weight Loss Challenge. They have this pretty neat body composition scale that not only measures your weight, but how much weight is on each side of your body, your water weight, fat weight, and muscle weight. They ignore BMI, stating it's outdated and useless, and instead focuses on Percent Body Fat (PBF).

They went over my analysis with me and told me where I need to focus. Right now I'm at 102.1 lbs of body fat. I need to lose 62lbs of body fat. Which would bring me to 174 lbs. Obviously this isn't going to happen in the 6 weeks this contest takes place, but at least I know where to aim. As you can see from my analysis to the right, I have a LOT of work to do.

     So far about 600+ people signed up for this competition, and since I can't get my gym membership until I get my Kootenai Health Badge (in about 2 weeks), I'm going to have to start getting clever at home. If it weren't for the miles deep of snow outside (I swear I'm only exaggerating a little), I'd start running. But I can pretty much guarantee I'd slip and fall on my bony ass.
     Today I went for a walk along Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive. It's absolutely gorgeous there. If you live in the Kootenai area and you haven't run/walked/ridden/driven along Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive, you need to.

     It's even better in the summer. All along the Centennial Trail, there are fitness stops. Bars for pull-ups, monkey bars, balancing bars, benches for stretching, and benches for sitting down and catching your breath. The trail goes on for about 4.8 miles (this is just the Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive portion. The entire Centennial Trail stretches about 61 miles between Spokane, WA and Coeur d'Alene, ID). 

 

     

     If you're having some trouble getting started, like I am, read that article by Jessica Girdwain, if you've got the time, maybe even Jonathan Bailor's book "The Calorie Myth." I know I'd like to check it out. And even if you can't workout for whatever reason, as long as you're moving, it's a good start. You don't want to rush into it anyway. Ease in. Take it slow. That's how you get relationships to last, right?

           

Look the World Straight in the Eye

My first goal (get a job at Kootenai Health) has been fulfilled! I have a new hire appointment on the 10th, then I start general orientation on the 23rd. I'll be getting a $2 raise ($3 if I work weekends), insurance is covered, and I get 22% off my phone bill. I'm hoping with this job I can finally afford my own place.

This job's benefits are going to make it easier to fulfill goal #2 (save $1000). For now it has to go on hold. I had to buy new scrubs since KH requires certain colored scrubs, and I have to buy books for school that starts on Monday. With that and bills, I'm not left with anything to put away. Hopefully I don't don't go over again this pay check.

This job will also help with goal #3 (reach 180lbs by the end of the year). KH offers a discount to Peak Health & Wellness (I'll be able to take the Body & Soul class again, and try running again). I've got two workout buddies, three if I can convince my best friend (who also works at KH) to get her membership back.

Being broke proves challenging when it comes to dieting. I have $70 max to last me 2 weeks. This will mean a lot of repeat meals, and nothing exciting.


Yesterday I went grocery shopping. My Best Friend was with me. She's pretty good with frugal grocery shopping, but mostly I didn't want her to see me buy junk food, so her being there prevented that.
I'm single with no kids, so buying fresh produce usually means it will go bad before I eat it. Frozen foods are a single girl's friend. Maybe not the most healthy, but preservatives have never cause me harm before. Don't get me wrong, I am not promoting preservatives. If I could afford organic fresh produce, I would. For now, I need to work with my very low budget and horrible spending habits.
So today I bought frozen vegetables and chicken for dinners (I have some fish too), bread and crackers for lunches, and sausage and eggs and oatmeal for breakfast. I also have some granola bars for snacks. I may need to go back and get some apples and oranges, for snacks.
Now I have the challenge of sticking to eating just that food and not going out and buying more when I don't feel like cooking (which is all the time).

Hopefully as soon as I fill out my paperwork and get my KH badge I can get my gym membership back. I can't wait to get back to Body&Soul class and Zumba Rave. I'm even eager to try running again on the treadmill.
Monday is the first weigh-in for Nutrishop's Jump Start Challenge. I've gained a lot in the last year. I'm almost to where I was in High School (my peak weight). Bright side? It's a lot easier to lose weight the more you weigh. So, I have a better chance of getting 1st place. Granted, I doubt I'll be the only obese one there.

Goals #1 is complete, #2 is well underway. #3 is going to take some time. Hopefully KH makes it easier to put money away. So far so good on #4 and #5, and I purchased a book titled "Outlining your Novel Workbook" by K.M. Weiland to help get me going on #6. It's similar to another book I use called "Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook" by Donald J Maas, except this one is directed more towards the beginning stages ($3.99 on Amazon Kindle). School starts next week. I dropped two classes so I could afford books, so that should free up some time to work on my novel. I'm still getting the classes I want to be done with out of the way (math and speech).

It's been a rough start to the year, depression is kicking my ass, but things are looking up.


Best of luck on your goals. Don't let the bad times get you down.

"Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye." - Helen Keller

The Truth About Depression

I want to talk about depression for a minute.

Depression is so hard to talk about. Those unfortunate enough to experience it might be too afraid or too ashamed to tell anyone. I can't really speak for them. I'm not an expert. I only know my own experiences.

If you have never gone through depression, please read. If you have, or currently are, please read.

This last week has been a roller coaster of emotions—and it's only Wednesday! The thing about depression is that when we get bad news, however significant or insignificant, it’s magnified. I had to make some adjustments to my budget that left me with no extra money, and barely enough to feed myself. This devastated me. I felt hopeless as useless. I started thinking thoughts that I'll never speak of out loud. Scary thoughts. I'm sure you can guess what kind of thoughts they were. All because my financial situation changed slightly. This negative change made me think of negative things related to it. My home that doesn't feel like home, my roommate who I feel secretly hates me, though I'm sure she doesn't, but I feel I'm being harshly judged behind my back. These thoughts led to similar thoughts about everyone I knew. Everyone hates me. All of these negative feelings and assumptions left me crippled. I hated myself. I still do.

Why am I telling you this?

 Because it needs to be said.

If you have ever gone through depression, if you are depressed right now, you can understand the importance to telling someone. Anyone. Don't get yourself to the point where you might do something drastic to get someone to see you or attempt to put it all to an end.  Tell someone.

I'm lucky I have a best friend I feel comfortable talking about this stuff with. When this happened I messaged her and told her everything, right down to my scary thoughts. Just telling her made me feel better. I still felt hopeless, but it felt good that someone knows what’s going on.

Years ago a friend called me after a nasty breakup telling me he wanted to kill himself. This friend had never called before. We always spoke through text, so the call itself told me something was up. It still sits with me. That call was scary. But I'm glad he did. I'm glad he trusted me enough to tell me. He's fine, by the way.

 I always remember that he called me.

If you've never been depressed, it's hard to imagine what those with depression go through. It's seems ridiculous. “You're unhappy? Do something about it.” It's not about finding what makes us unhappy and changing it. It's deep rooted. Even if my financial situation improves (and I think it will) it won't cure my depression. I always tell myself, “If I just do this, I'll be better.” But it doesn't work. So if you have a loved one come to you and tell you what they are feeling. Don't judge or offer opinions. All they want is someone to listen, for someone to know something is wrong, and to not feel alone.

Say something.

Listen.

There are other options available for anyone with depression or going through a rough time.

Call 1-800-273-TALK

Text 470-260-KOKO

Post anonymously at ok2talk.org