Tuesday, September 29, 2009

ALL POUNDS ARE NOT CREATED EQUALLY

It's Tuesday and that means weigh in day at Weight Watchers for me. So I got dressed and drove to my meeting. Got on up on the scale and was told I was down another 1.8lbs! That is now a loss of 20.4 lbs in 9 weeks.

I'm very happy with my loss so far. This time has been so different for me.

Normally I go on a diet and I feel deprived, a bit depressed and just look forward to the day the diet is over.

If I eat something that is not on the "diet" then I feel bad and mostly likely quit. Only to gain back everything I've lost and then some.

This time, I'm not on a diet. I don't feel like I'm on a diet. I'm not eating diet food. I eat what I want and if I have a craving for something I eat it.

The only difference is I practice portion control and will only eat a little bit of what it is that I want. I will also exercise more to help me continue to lose.

I search for ways to get more movement in. Things like walking tours, going places that you know you will walk more, like Disneyland or the beach.

I try not to eat out as much. I drink more water and I now stop before I eat to see if I'm really hungry or just bored, tired or depressed.

So I think that is why this time it's working and I'll stick to it.

Have you thought about what a pound really is? I've posted a picture to show you that a pound of fat is not the same as a pound of muscle.

Fat takes up much more room in your body. Fat also burns 2 calories per pound. Yet muscle burns 6 calories per pound.

That is why when you work out and build up your muscle you not only look thinner but you can eat more and still not gain.

In fact, when you build a pound of muscle you not only burn the 6 calories per pound of muscle but you will burn off the fat even while you are sleeping or sitting watching tv. So, it's like sucking away 4 calories of fat and 6 calories of energy for every pound of muscle.

Just another reason why we should be moving more. Build up those muscles and burn off that jiggly fat.

So how did you do this past week? Did you meet your goals?

By Thursday I will have joined the gym. I have to be honest and tell you I'm not looking forward to this at all. I must retrain my brain to enjoy exercise. It's something I'm going to have to do for the rest of my life so I have to make peace with it.

Hope you are all doing well and if you messed up last week, well it's now in the past and time to work on this week and moving towards your goal.


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3 comments:

Furry Bottoms said...

I am not on a diet or trying to lose weight, although I should since I am in the 200's. Thanks for sharing that info about muscle and fat. The thing I did not know was that fat really took more space than muscle. So the focus is going to change for me... less fat, more muscle!!!

Mumzie said...

Stopping by to check in on you and you are doing GREAT! Keep it up! I haven't gone to the gym or been on program for a week or two...not sure what's going on in my head. You are an inspiration though...you really are. Gee, if I lost 20 lbs, I would be SO happy. Congratulations! Mumzie :)

Donna @ Party Wishes said...

I'm so proud of you Joanne! You have a great mindset that will keep you motivated and on track. You WILL be successful!

Don't worry if you are not a "gym" person. I visited one last week with my girlfriend and to be honest, I would rather stay home and work out on my WiiFit. I keeps you motivated and you can have your own fitness workout.