Shannon’s BodyBlog

Well, I hope this macronutrient combination works:

Based on a 1370 calorie diet (to lose fat without losing muscle):

Protein 35% (120 grams)
Fat 15% (23)
Carbohydrates 50% (171)

I found a website that provides all sorts of diet calculators.  Well, when I first used it, I skimmed the site real quick and followed their formulas…quickly.  My results were the following (I think I based it on a 1500 calorie diet originally):

Protein 450 grams

Fat 225 grams

Carbs 750 grams

I didn’t think about the meaning of those numbers until I started keeping track of what I ate and realized there’s something wrong with those ratios…hmmmm.  I realized after revisiting the site that I neglected to do a division step in the equations they provided.

I was so happy to know that.

I wish they’d see that.  But many who I know, don’t.

Case in point.  This morning I woke up to find my 8yr old son fixing himself breakfast.  Now, he’s got it a bit more complicated because he has to weigh his food so that we know how many carbohydrates he’s taking in so that we know how much insulin to dose him to cover his food.

I do buy Rice Krispies because it’s only 22 carbs per serving and he only gets one serving.  So he had a bowl on the scale with Rice Krispies in it and next to that was a bowl of fresh strawberries.  He had already weighed the strawberries.  I keep a list of foods he commonly eats with the weight (or cup measurement) and how many carbs for that serving.  He then quartered the strawberries and put them on top of his cereal and covered it all with some skim milk.
Let’s contrast that bowl of Rice Krispies with the bowl I used to have at his age topped with a spoon full of sugar to make it sweet!!

Anyway, the kids and I were hanging out at my friend’s pool yesterday.  While the kids were all swimming, getting out and running around, playing baseball, getting back into the pool (keep circulating that scene), she was "gossiping" about another mom who was in the PTA with her (really, I live such a cliché suburban life).

She told  me how this other mom would take her kids out to lunch everyday to places like Friendly’s and The Olive Garden.  I asked if her kids were overweight and she said that they are well on their way…and the oldest of her 3 kids is 10 yrs old!  The mom is very heavy and she said the husband is about 300 pounds.  The reason why I asked if her kids were overweight is because I imagined they would certainly be getting to that point if they ate out like that all the time…even if it’s for only one meal a day, but the food in their household apparently is nothing to sneeze at either.

I grew up in a two parent household where both of my parents worked.  That was pretty unusual back in the 70’s and even the early to mid-80’s.  And because fast food was not as prolific back then as it is today (a fast food joint on every street corner), they chose to cook fast food instead.

Common meals for me consisted of food like La Choy, Swanson’s TV dinners, etc.  They also cooked fresh foods, but because my father was a biologist, he cooked the crap out of everything because he was afraid of salmonella.  He knew about salmonella before salmonella knew about salmonella.  The man was ahead of his time!!  Yay!…not.  So, I’d eat a forkful of food, an entire glass of milk to wash it down, and I called it a day.  So my calorie intake was low, but the food choices weren’t the best.  My father’s background is Irish and my mother is second generation Polish, so I really can’t fault them too much for being lousy cooks.
When I got older, I knew how to cook eggs and pasta.  In college, I relied on the school food, and when I got married, we relied on take out.  But, my metabolism got screwed up from all of the fat intake and so I got fat.  I took for granted that I’d always stay skinny.  I exercised on a regular basis all throughout my childhood and through college and never rose above 128 on the scale despite my lousy eating habits, but my body was too overwhelmed with the takeout crap we were eating and my sedentary job and I gained 20 pounds.

Throughout my marriage, I taught myself to cook and I started watching Food Network.  I was opened up to new foods and I enjoyed challenging myself to see if I could make really good HEALTHY meals.

So, now I’m grateful that I taught myself to cook.  I’ve always been an adventurous eater, so I’ll try any cuisine.  I teach my kids to make simple meals and unless I’m in a rush to get dinner on the table, I let them help me in the kitchen unlike my parents who’d kick us out the minute we stepped foot into the room.  Not that they had much to teach us anyway.

So, when I saw my son putting those fresh strawberries on top of his cereal, it made me proud of him….even though it was such a simple act.

It also motivates me to keep at it….even if I’m not doing it perfectly right now.  It’s better than doing nothing at all, right?

When I did the triathlon last year, my kids all came up and hugged me and said they couldn’t believe I finished it, LOL.  Anyway, my 8 year old son, who has Type 1 diabetes, said he wanted to do a kid’s version that they held at the same competition.

Parents’ actions have an absolute effect on kids.  Which reminds me…I really have to clean up my language, too.

Kids are sucking the life out of me.

One of the BB members gave me a spreadsheet he uses to keep track of his food intake and the percentages of Protein, Fat, and Carbs.  So far I’ve been working with 30% protein, 20% fat, and 50% carbohydrates.

I retain water like crazy…it’s just what my body does.  I find that if I eat pasta, bread, stuff like that…even whole grain versions, I retain water.  But if I keep the carbs plant based like beans, vegetables and fruits, I feel a LOT better, lighter, more energy, more awake.

I’ve shed some water weight since starting with this diet, so now it’s time to keep working so that the fat comes off!!

My mom is visiting for the weekend and is leaving this afternoon.  The times she visits are few and far between, and being that my husband and I have no family living within 5 hours of us, we take full advantage of her visits.  Meaning, she deals with the kids while she’s here.

So, I have the luxury of going back to bed and napping, watch TV, or read a magazine/book.  OR, I can do my full workout…cardio and all!!!!

My ass is dragging and while my mind is saying "Go back to bed and sleep!", my body is saying "You’ll be able to feel the pounds pile on and your muscles get weaker if you go back to bed instead of work out."

So, I am choosing to work out to gain the energy I need.

I also plan to rejoin the gym in September when the kids go back to school.  More on that another time.

I was going to go to the refrigerator to get a second helping of what was leftover of tonight’s dinner and came here instead.  I’m totally stressed from certain family obligations…namely taking care of my son who has Type 1 diabetes.  Controlling his blood sugar has been such a battle for the past few weeks and I’m beside myself with frustration.  He is 8 years old and doesn’t seemed phased in the least.  I try to shield him from being phased.  I’ll do all the worrying to spare him from it.  He’s too young…he has to be carefree for as long as possible.

So, instead of undoing my progress, here I am writing away and getting inspired by the members of BB.

Well, he wasn’t really "wielding" a hoe, but he was taking one out of the gardening rack as I walked into my garage yesterday.  I was taking a bag of garbage down and as I walked into the garage, I saw a man standing in front of my car parked inside and he was taking a hoe out.

"Hi", I say, because I was completely stunned and couldn’t scream.

"Hi there", he says back to me.

"Who are you?"

"I’m here to replace the battery in your car."

"I don’t need my battery replaced."

He laughs and says, "Are you sure?  You called me to replace the battery. Isn’t this (insert address here)?"

"Yes it is, but you want the house across the street….."  And I explained to this unconvinced idiot even further why I thought so.

I got annoyed because wouldn’t I know whether or not my battery needed to be replaced and whether or not I called someone to come replace it????  What a dink he was.
He actually went as far as getting into my car, and popped the hood before I discovered him in the garage!  He never ever came to my front door to announce his arrival.

Now I really can’t let myself continue to be a weakling because instead of a rude AAA guy, he could’ve been a hoe wielding maniac.  I think I could fight a hoe wielding maniac if I continue strength training

I posted some progress pics.  I’m sooo soft!  Will whittle away the fat to get to that muscle hiding under there.  Any time I think I look different, I’ll take a pic and post it.

I’ll take pics of my legs another day….after I get some sunless tan lotion on them!  My Irish skin doesn’t tan well, but I like the way a tan looks.

I can’t wait to see progress, but I’m being realistic and know that I will get there eventually.

…get a six year old to insult you!

Last night as I was doing something (I forget what) my daughter poked me in the thigh and said "Oohhh your leg is so squishy and mushy."  That took the wind out of my sails.  But she was absolutely right!  Kids have a knack for brutal honesty.  I’ll take it anytime.  I’d rather have the truth from a kid who tends to tell me how it is rather than compliments from adults who tend to want to save my feelings, or who have a different point of view than I do when it comes to the ideal body.  I like to be lean, but my friends think I look too skinny when I’m lean.  They think I look fine now and I’m overweight!
Around this time last year when I was actually in shape, my kids informed me that they didn’t like to hug me anymore because my body was too hard.  I took THAT as a compliment!

Gotta go workout now that I have a third of the kids in the house.  Hopefully I can get most of my routine completed.  If not, will just have to finish it later.

Well, I took measurements again and I’ve grown :S

This is what happens when you don’t pay attention to what you eat and do very little exercise.  Let’s face it…NO exercise.  Having the kids home all day…who are up from 5:30 in the morning until 9 p.m. some nights leave little time for any sort of exercise that isn’t broken up with their demands, fights, complaints, needs every 5 minutes of the day.
Tonight I did some HIIT on the elliptical and burned 300 calories.  For dinner we all had trout, jasmine rice, and broccoli.  I make sure the family eats what I eat.  If they don’t like it, then they starve because I’m not a diner and don’t serve from a menu.  I keep junk out of the house, so they turn to fruit, whole grains like Kashi cereals, lean proteins, etc.

I’m a perfect example of eating waaay too many calories despite the healthy food I keep in the house.  I’m sure I’d weigh a lot more if I kept nothing but crap in the house.
A friend of mine asked if I wanted to do another triathlon with her and I agreed to it.  It’ll be her first and my second.  I feel like this is what I need to stay on track.  Not having a goal to shoot for keeps me from staying focused.

So, another triathlon should put me in the right direction.