Sorry, I know I’m not very good about updating this frequently, but here’s a quick one.

My weight, which for the past 3 years has hovered between 100 and 105, is now stuck at between 106 and 108.  What happened? I’m not sure.

Do I look like I gained weight?  Quite the opposite.

My arms look more tone, and my stomach has more definition.  Do I weigh more because I have more muscle than before? Hmm.

I am back to my normal eating habits, … see the full entry

I’m know I’m oversimplifying this, but here’s the basic gist of how you get fat:

You eat carbs. Your body breaks down the carbs for glucose, a source of energy for your body. The glucose is absorbed into your blood stream. Insulin is secreted by your pancreas to “carry” the glucose into your cells as a source of energy for both cell functions and physical activity.  With muscle cells, some of the glucose is stored as glycogen to power muscle contractions. … see the full entry

Grrr… last night, after my low cal dinner and my 2nd day of cardio, I weighed in at 104.5 - finally I was no longer 107 and back to my normal weight. Woo! or so I thought…

This morning, I weigh 108.5… WHAT?!  How did I gain 4 lbs overnight?  What has happened to my metabolism in the past week? Gah, is this the beginning of the end?

After coming home last night, I got on the scale and weighed myself.  I couldn’t believe the number, so I weighed myself again, thinking maybe the scale was being screwy. I weighed again, and again.  I even brought the scale out to the kitchen floor, thinking maybe a different surface would help.  One more time. Then another. I sighed. It wasn’t changing, and I wasn’t surprised.

I weighed in at 111.5 lbs, the heaviest I’ve ever been my entire life. Woah!  … see the full entry

When I was awaiting the arrival of my pedometer, I was worried that I would find out that I’ve been overestimating my activity level. A lot of reviewers wrote about how they thought they were at the “active” level of 10,000 steps per day, only to find themselves barely breaking 3,000.

Now that I’ve had my pedometer for several days now, I understand why I have been able to eat so much and not get overweight: I am a … see the full entry

As I mentioned in my previous post, I bought a pedometer to get a better grasp of how many calories I burn a day. In order to do this, I needed to know my activity level and a measurement of one’s daily step count is a good indicator of this (sedentary, lightly active, moderately active, active, etc.)

I bought the Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer from Amazon.com based on reviews … see the full entry

Earlier, I found out that my basal metabolic rate (BMR) is 1,265 calories.  This is how many calories I burn for essential bodily functions, so even if I stayed in bed all day and did not move, I would still burn 1,265 calories.

Of course, I don’t lie in bed all day.  I get up, brush my teeth, shower, get dress, eat, blink, laugh, talk, walk, type, read, etc.  All these activities, no matter how minute, requires the use of calories.  … see the full entry

Yesterday, my calorie count for lunch was 542 calories.  A massive improvement over my usual of about 800 - 1700 calories for lunch - for just ONE MEAL!

The difference is that I am now bringing in my own lunch to work. Eating the office provided lunch, or even going to the food places around here, is just too unhealthy.  Why take in extra calories when I don’t have to?

However, with … see the full entry

I’ve been using FitDay to track what I’ve been eating and my calories.  For certain meals, I’ve had to estimate the portion size.  Now I know I eat more than the suggested servings, so I’ve been pretty generous.  For example, one “normal” serving of rice is 1 cup.  I know I eat more than that, so I’ve been putting down about 1.5 - 2 cups.

Well last night, while making … see the full entry

Your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is how many calories your body burns daily to keep you alive.  That is, even if you were to lie in bed all day, your body would still be burning calories as your heart pumps, your lungs breathe, your brain works, your blood flows, etc.  You can consider this your baseline calorie expenditure.

The older you get, the lower your BMR gets, and the heavier you are, the higher your BMR.  This may seem unfair … see the full entry