Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Calories Count

Mike and I watch the biggest Loser every week.  Just like some couples watch Idol, or Bachelor, we watch Loser.  We really enjoy watching them succeed and get healthy.  Up until recently I would eat a  bowl of ice cream while watching them sweat.  For some reason that show made me hungry! 
Mike has started working out with our Wii Fit and it inspired me to do something about my 'baby fat'.
I always considered myself to be a healthy eater for the most part, so I started calorie counting.  In addition to that we joined the community center gym and track. 
Back to the calories...  I wasn't sure how much I actually was taking in, so one day I just kept a food log. I wrote down everything I ate and drank.  If I knew the calories  I would write that down.  Otherwise I would look up the item online when I had a chance.  I did it for about 3 days.  Not limiting my intake but eating as I normally would.  The results were interesting...
1700 - 1300- 1000. 
Now I had these results, I wasn't sure If they were good, bad, or ugly.  Mike thought my 1700 was too high.  So I found a neat website to plug in my foods, calories, etc... click here
Here are my results:

Results


You should consume about 1,374 calories a day to reach your goal weight of 140 lbs . This is at a reasonable weight loss average of 1 lbs per week, which should be reached by July 18, 2012.

Experts recommend weight loss at the rate of 0.5-2 lbs/week. Remember that this estimate is based on your body weight, height, age, gender, and activity level. It may vary slightly depending on other factors.

Generally, women should not consume any less than 1,200 calories per day, and men should not consume less than 1,500 calories per day. 

So I felt discouraged when I saw that...
However I went to a breastfeeding website I know and trust and found out different information there:
Studies have shown that most healthy breastfeeding women maintain an abundant milk supply while taking in 1800-2200 (or more) calories per day. Consuming less than 1500-1800 calories per day (most women should stay at the high end of this range) may put your milk supply at risk, as may a sudden drop in caloric intake.

I am now trying to eat when I'm hungry and not worrying about calories. I have also started to walk and do Zumba at the community center. 
It was very eye-opening and I would encourage you to do the same~