notmechanical

Two posts ago I was complaining about bad gut aches, right? Well, I finally wen to the doctor yesterday to see if I can get this thing figured out because as far as I can tell, I can’t link it to a food intolernace.

So as of right now I am waiting on x-ray results. And if the x-ray fails to show any potential reason for my pain then the next thing to try is an ultrasound and if that doesn’t work then a colonoscopy may be in the books of “to dos.”

I am very anxious to figure out what the heck is going on with me because not only is it affecting my appetite but it is also begining to affect my daily life! There are some days where I can’t physically work or do anything, including my weight training, because my guts ache so much. And some days my tummy ache persists for three days! Plus, my dad passed away from colon cancer not even a year ago yet and although the doctor does not think it is cancer, if we have not figured anything out after the ultrasound then that is what one of the things he is going to seriously be checking for with the colonoscopy; joy.

As of right now, I am trying to patiently wait for the phone call about the x-ray I had done yesterday.

Just a quick post to let you all know how I am doin’.

Well, I lost two pounds this week! I gained one last week and I lost it plus one this week.

So this week my goals are going to be to continue to write down everything I eat, ensuring that I consume 1200-1400 calories a day while keeping my protein intake close to 40% of my daily calorie intake, with fat being less than 15%. Second I am going to ensure that I do cardio every day, 20-40 minutes. Plus I will be starting a workout class twice a week starting Tuesday and I will be continually following my weight training program. By sticking to these goals I am hoping to lose two pounds by next Friday.

 We shall see how it goes eh?

Holy.

Er first off, I didn’t manage to lose anything this week; the scale indicated that I gained a pound. However, it prolly has to do with one of two facts (or both), the first one being that it is “that time of the month” and second, I probably put on some muscle weight.

Anyway, back to this tummy ache issue. I have gotten a tummy ache, I think, about three days in a row now. I am not sure why. I know that some foods give me tummy aches but I haven’t consumed any of them! This happens to me more often than it should. I know that pizza, lasagna and burgers are the major things that give me tummy aches but I can’t think of anything I have consumed over the last little while that would have cause these all-to-familiar tummy aches. So it’s back to keeping track of what I’m eating again so that I can hopefully figure it out. Which isn’t necesarily a bad thing now that I’m trying to reduce my body fat; keeping track will let me watch my calories and make sure I’m eating right for weight loss.

This week there is two goals. The first being to write down everything I eat including calories, fat and protein and the second is to do at least 20min. of cardio every day ( I hate cardio, it bores me). Tomorrow I will have achieved one of last weeks goals: to go to the gym every day this week. Yay me.

We shall see if I can make the scale tip next Friday. Good luck to me!

Just a quick post for you all that I found rather interesting. I think it will benefit a lot of you when you’re trying to figure out how many calories you should be consuming every day. The equation is called Harris-Benedict Equation and it will tell you how many calories you burn at rest ie. during metabloism.

For males BEE = 66 + 13.7W + 5H - 6.8A

For Females BEE = 65 + 9.6W + 1.8H - 4.7A

Where W = weight in kg

H = height in cm

A = your age

For example. My basal energy expenditure is:

BEE = 65 + 9.6(60.7) + 1.8(170) - 4.7(19)

BEE = 864.42calories

Please realize that this equation DOES NOT include physical activity, at all. So anything you do besides sit or lay down will increase this number.

Well, I kinda dropped the bomb over the weekend. It was a little bit difficult to workout and eat right over the weekend, so I didn’t do both. Saturday I took my boyfriend out for breakfast for his birthday and then we went paintballing and stopped by at his dad’s house for dinner of homemade lasagna. Sunday I worked, biked a total of 14km as I went to my moms so I could plant my garden and have supper and then I biked home to study and watch an episode of House.

However, it is Monday and this week the goal is to hit up the gym every day as I have been slacking this past three days. If I stick with it, I should be able to lose a pound this week so hopefully I stay focused here! Things will become much easier with time, especially once I am done my course; I can fill study time with more gym time. Last week the goal of consuming more fruits and vegetables worked rather nicely so of course it is a permanent goal. It is not as hard as you might think! I try to snack every 2 or 3 hours and I have been making a habit of picking fruit as a snack. Alright, goal is posted, time to stick to it. I am going to step class (which by the way is so much fun) at 9:00am and then doing my weight training. But until then, it’s time to hit the books.

Well, my personal trainer did say the three programs she set out for me were going to kick my butt! After the first day I didn’t beleive her however, the day after I found I could feel a slight soreness in my muscles and after the third day of following this program my body is happily exhausted! From lunges, to rear deltoid rows, to v-crunches my body feels great; just realitively tired! The program I decided to do first is a bunch of combination exercises meaning, for example, as I drop down into a reverse lunge I also do a rear deltoid row. It’s fantastic! My body was so tired today that after the weight training, it was hard to keep the rpm above 65 let alone 70! But I pushed through it anyways.

But I will not be able to rest my body until I am off work, which sadly is not until 9:30 tonight. I have my supper handy, but I must confess that the donuts sitting on our staff table are very tempting (full of trans fats) and much more appealing than my fruit salad of an orange, strawberries, and grapes with a side order of a protein shake! Yes yes, I know, an all fruit supper is not really a balanced meal; I forgot to pack more as I was in a rush to get to work after my workout which took me a half an hour longer than I had been anticipating.

I must escape the smell of these donuts!

I recently had a body composition test done by one of the personal trainers where I work, of which I was relatively pleased with the results. Being 19% boday fat puts me in the category of “extremely healthy” and just short of the 20% cut off of only being “healthy.” Along with the body composition, my personal trainer told me I can drop my weight to 129lbs and be 16% body fat which puts me in a position to lose at least 5lbs; yay for the hardest part of any weight loss goal. Regardless, this is my goal for the next while but I would like to drop my weight to 125lbs but it is obviously not necessary.

Along with the body composition test my personal trainer also gave me three, 6 month weight training programs to follow for the next little while. Which is exciting because I get bored easily because I set up a program for myself that I really enjoy and then do it over and over again until the point of boredum. Plus I know she will be watching me whenever I am there so I almost have to make sure I get to the gym. There should be no excuses for not getting there either as I live three minutes from the front doors.

My goal seems rather simple, follow my weight training program and eat according to the Canadian Food Guide. I am currently enrolled in a university nutrition course which is teaching me more and more every day which is making me realize how important nutrition is as opposed to dieting which can pose as extremely unhealthy and risky if you are not careful and aware of these risk factors. My weight goal will hopefully be reached by August long weekend; approximately three months. Of course, changing my diet will take time so I will have to be dilegent in at least writing down what I put into my mouth. I know I need to consume more fruits/vegtables and more dairy products thanks to this handy website: http://www.dietitians.ca/public/content/eat_well_live_well/english/eatracker/ so for now, that is the focus when it comes to changing my diet; snack on fruit/vegtables instead of cookies in order to meet my daily fruit/vegtable recommended daily intake.

And so begins my goal towards a healthier, happier me.