This week's BMI:  25.6!    Eeep!!! It went back up!!!
Well, what have I been doing wrong?  I've been angelic, I swear!
Well.... actually...... I've been remiss in tracking my food intake. A nibble here, a nibble there really can add up, I guess. 

Oh, bother.  Well, back to following my own advice and counting calories. 

Yoga Day

This morning, I was SOOOOOOO sore from all the exercise my body has been getting this week. Totally was a day for Yoga.  
 Before now, I didn't get Yoga.  Didn't get what was so exciting about doin' a bunch of weird poses that were basically just stretches.  Now, though...... totally get it.  My muscles are singing with all the positive blood circulation and stress relief.  Yoga on Fridays from now on.....

Shedding Common Weight-Loss Foibles: Late Night Snacking

There's a lot of folklore surrounding late night eating, with a common myth claiming that food eaten late at night will digest slowly and contribute to weight gain. But is this myth founded in reality?  Trolling the internet for concrete scientific answers leads to some concrete.......confusion.  One scientific study (for example, one published in the journal "Obesity") claims that late night eating, especially if done among late sleepers, leads to greater weight gain, while another (published in the British Medical Journal) claims that late night eating will not lead to increased weight gain. 

So what's the right answer?  Well, if you dig deeper into these studies, you'll find that there are a combination of habits that determine whether late-night eating will cause weight gain. Particularly important are the quality and quantity of nutrition throughout the day.  It seems as though weight gain from late night eating is more likely when the subjects have had poor nutrition (either through infrequent meals or meals with poor nutrient value) throughout the day, leading them to binge eat more calories than they need at night.  Typically, these late night eaters would not have planned a late night meal and will tend to eat commercially prepared high-calorie snack foods on a spontaneous basis at night.  Weight gain among late-night eaters is not as much of an issue among those who have had nutritious foods at appropriate intervals throughout the day. 

In order to limit weight gain from late night snacking, you have to either plan to quit late-night snacking outright, or plan for the late night snack to be part of your daily food intake.  Which of these two options you choose will really depend on your personality type and frequency of late-night snacking.   Occasional late-night snackers or those who prefer sudden or "cold-turkey" approaches may find quitting easier.  Frequent late-night eaters or those who have failed the "cold turkey" approach will find planning for late-night eating more realistic. 

Suggestions for quitting late night snacking include:
1) Brushing your teeth immediately after dinner
2) Doing some activity that keeps you occupied enough to not eat.  For example, going for a walk, exercising, doing anything on a to-do list (there's always something!). 
3) Drinking water instead of snacking.  It's often been said that people often unconsciously confuse hunger with thirst.

For those who are unwilling or unable to completely quit late night snacking, the following suggestions might be helpful:
1) Plan ahead for a healthy late-night snack and keep it readily accessible.  This will prevent you from spontaneously eating bad foods. Try to use the late-night snack as an opportunity to consume fresh (i.e. raw) fruits and vegetables.  These are typically low on calories and high on nutrients, so if there is any truth to the increased-absorption-at-night-theory, it's better the body absorb nutrients rather than empty calories. 
2) If you find you binge on certain high-calorie low nutrient snack foods late at night, rid your home of those foods and restock with a healthier version of that food.
3) Instead of eating, drink.  In addition to rehydrating your body, fluids such as caffeine-free herbal tea or a cup of skim milk provide a great way to feel full without consuming too many calories. 

Chicken Box

Worked out to a Boxercise video tonight.  Awesome workout! Totally feel the heart rate going and blood pumping.  Now if only I could only get myself to look like a graceful boxer in those "double-time" sequences rather than a wing-flapping chicken......

Working it Out!

Worked out to a 40 minute aerobics DVD.  There were SO MANY sequences where I had to stop and go "Huh??? You want me to do THAT?"  Yes, I talk to my TV.  But only in extreme situations like this one.  Seriously. There was this one move called the "side plank".  You get onto your side on the floor, stack your legs and use just your hips and core strength to get everything except for elbow and foot off the ground.  Needless to say, my side plank involved staying on my side and hanging my jaw open.  I'm sure that counts as calorie burn too, right......?

Nevertheless, it feels good to have moved a little in front of the TV rather than just having sat in front of it.  

Movement!

This week's BMI:  25.2!!!! Yeah!! Movement!  Just keeping track of my calories on LoseIT! has helped tremendously, I see.

I'm liking this whole notion of changing bad habits one step at a time.

One of the bad habits I've gained is eating at night after a full dinner.

I've also noticed that I don't exercise at all since the kids were born. 

This week's resolution: 

Resolution of the week:  workout at night instead of stuffing my face full of whatever's in the fridge err.... snacking. 

 Let's see how that goes! 

Portion Distortion

I've been tracking my food intake (and my calories) through the awesome LoseIt app.
And...... no wonder I haven't been losing weight!

I had no idea that I was pecking away like a buzzard!

Yesterday, for example, I had made a batch of food for dinner, and, almost unconciously, each time I went to the kitchen, I had a nibble.  Over the course of the day, this led to about 120 calories worth of nibbles.

And then there was finishing my kids meals (waste not, want not, right??).  That added another whopping 350 calories.

And this was me being mindful of what I ate.  I don't even want to think of what I did before I started using this app!

Another thing I've realized with tracking my calories is that my portions are WAY off.  Over the past three years, I had been increasing my portion sizes (I was either pregnant or nursing for much of the time), and now am experiencing classic "portion distortion".

Here are what portions are supposed to look like.  Surprising, huh?

Source:  WebMD 

Food	One Serving Equals . . .
Breads, pasta, cereal, cooked grain, etc.	One slice of bread (size of cassette tape--remember those?) One bagel (top of a 14oz can) One-cup cereal or pasta (baseball or tennis ball) Half-cup cooked small pasta, couscous, rice (head of a light bulb)
Fruits	One piece of fruit (size of a tennis ball) Half-cup cut-up fruit, raw, cooked, frozen, or canned (head of a lightbulb) One-quarter cup dried fruit
Veggies	Half cup cut up veggie, raw, cooked, frozen, or canned (head of a lightbulb) Half-cup cooked, canned or frozen legumes (head of a lightbulb) One-cup leafy greens (size of a baseball)
Meat, chicken,fish and legumes	Three ounces (deck of cards) One egg 1/2 cup of cooked beans (head of a light bulb)
Dairy	One ounce of cheese (one nine-volt battery) Half-cup ice cream, cottage cheese, or pudding (head of a light bulb) One-cup milk or yogurt (size of a baseball)
Nuts	One-third cup (size of a golf ball) One-tablespoon nut butter