What is a calorie?  Think about it.  It is associated with food.  Is it exclusive to food?  What else is measured in calories?  How do you burn calories? I could go on about calories and kilo calories all day. Basically, this is what you need to know to get started:

A calorie is a measure of energy, potential energy.  For example, the calories in one slice of cherry-topped cheesecake could power a light bulb for 1.5 hours.  In one gallon of gasoline, there are 31,000,000 calories.  How far does your car run on one gallon of gas? You know exactly don’t you.  You probably get 19 MPG in the city and 29 MPG on the highway or close to that right?  How much gas is in your tank right now?  I bet you have a very good idea how much energy your car has stored, when it is time to fuel up again, the distance it can travel on a quarter tank,  and the correct octane your car really needs.  I am willing to bet that most of you ‘feed’ your car well too.  Regular maintenance is important for your vehicle. 

How many of you know how much gas is stored in YOU?  When do you need to fuel up?  What ‘octane’ goes into your body?  How far will a candy bar, protein shake, or egg whites take you?  That is the problem.  These are numbers we should know.

Did you know?

A gram of carbohydrates as 4 calories

A gram of protein has 4 calories

A gram of fat  has 9 calories

Foods are a compilation of these three building blocks. So if you know how many carbohydrates, fats and proteins are in any given food, you know how many calories, or how much energy, that food contains.  In order to reach your weight loss goals, you will need to use those calories properly.

Ok, so it’s been awhile.. Things have been a bit CRAZY in my life and unfortunately blogging has fallen to the bottom of my list… But I am making time right now.. mostly because this topic has been haunting me for the past few weeks or so and I really want to blog about it..

How do you deal with stress? I shut down.. I retract and tend to go into “auto pilot”.. Which means I don’t really think about what I am eating or if I am really giving 100% when I workout.

So life has been hectic and I haven’t  been taking the time for me, to plan meals or to think about what I am eating.. I find myself eating on the run lately and that means that I am “guess-timating” my calories.. Guess what? That does not work.. Guessing is not the way to lose.. I end up eating way too many calories.. Yuck!! I have also been running alot.. Which again for some reason makes me think that that is a free pass to eat what I want (doesn’t work either!)  Which is contributing to my stress because I am not seeing the results I should be seeing on the scale.

So I am back to the basics.. I am going to just focus on going to class Mon-Fri, punching and kicking harder and higher, lifting heavier and logging my food.. I will continue to run, but keep it at a minimum and not try to replace my Ellipse workouts with running.  All of the things that have worked so well for me in the past that have just fallen aside this summer.

You know that sometimes I wonder when this whole weight loss thing is going to get  easy and I won’t have to think about it so much..

Hello, do you know me?
If you don’t, you should. I’m a pound of fat,
And I’m the HAPPIEST pound of fat that you would ever want to meet.
Want to know why?
It’s because no one ever wants to lose me;
I’m ONLY ONE POUND, just a pound!
Everyone wants to lose three pounds, five pounds, or fifteen pounds, but
never only one.
So I just stick around and happily keep you fat.
Then I add to myself, ever so slyly, so that you never seem to notice it.
That is, until I’ve grown to ten, twenty, thirty or even more pounds in weight.
Yes, it’s fun being ONLY ONE POUND OF FAT, left to do as I please.
So, when you weigh in, keep right on saying, “Oh, I only lost one pound.”
(As if that were such a terrible thing.)
For you see, if you do this, you’ll encourage others to keep me around
because they’ll think I’m not worth losing.
And, I love being around you – your arms, your legs, your chin, your hips
and every part of you.
Happy Days!!!
After all, I’m ONLY ONE POUND OF FAT!!!
- Author Unknown

Wow!

Mel began at Ellipse more than a year ago.  Her courage led her to our AMP’D boot camp.  She quickly convinced her husband to join in the fun.  As you can see, it was worth the time and effort. 

Congratulations to Ellipse Members Tony and Mel.  Training you continues to be a pleasure as we watch you lead your family and community towards health and wellness.  Thank you for your example of dedication and perseverance.  

“It is not the mountain that makes you stumble.  It is the pebble.”  It’s all about the first couple of steps.  Be brave.  YOU can do it.

So being a bit short on motivation lately I tend to look to others around me to help motivate me. There are some members who when I work out with them I tend to kick higher, punch harder, and lift heavier. Its part of my competitive nature, I want to push myself to do as well or better than them. 

My current motivation “funk” is because I have really been struggling lately with the last 20 lbs. It’s funny because I never really had to “try” before (allow me to elaborate… Losing 115lbs has obviously not been easy, but it has become more difficult as of late..). I have always been conscious of what I eat and shouldn’t eat, knowing what I need to do at Ellipse to “recover” from splurges, but now, I have to be that much more aware of what I eat and what I do. It should be a good thing, that means I am that much closer to ‘goal’, but it also means I can’t skip class, I have to make good food choices, and get all of my water in. 

So I have been trying to surround myself with people who push me and motivate me.. I know full well that I will get the last 20 off and I will get to goal, but knowing that I have people around me that can motivate and push me when I need it helps me realize what I am capable of and how far I have come!