OW!!! I Have Fishy Arms

My arms hurt. It hurts to type, it hurts to do my hair and makeup, it hurts to drive, it hurts to just sit here!! Wow, that personal trainer is beating me up GOOD. I can now feel muscle in places that was so full of fat I couldn't feel any muscle (plus the fact that I was really weak, too).

One thing I want to make very clear to everyone is that I'm not losing weight because of all the exercise. I'm losing weight because I'm writing down EVERY FREAKIN' THING I am eating. I'm losing weight because I don't cheat. I'm losing weight because I'm drinking tons of water. Like anyone else, I have good days and bad days. But I have more energy and I'm accomplishing a lot more than I used to. The fact that all my clothes are loose, and getting looser every day, also states I'm doing the right thing. I'll be happy to replace fat with muscle. I don't want to look like Mr. Olympia but it would be nice to have a trim, toned body. My tracking program says I'll hit my goal in February 2011 - and you know what, that's fine with me. I'm not a patient person but I also know this all won't fall off overnight. By then, I'll be well into the right habits of exercise and eating the right things.

I have an article a colleague at work brought me from Time Magazine about why exercise doesn't make you thin. I'll send it to the group so you can read it. If you have trouble reading it, it is the cover article in the August 17, 2009 issue - "The Myth About Exercise". What they say is true, but they leave A LOT out of the article. Like eating smaller meals, 5-6 per day to avoid major hunger pains, choosing healthier foods, etc. But it opened my eyes to what America thinks about exercise and I think everyone should read it. Edit: Leslie found the online article here.

Anything under 2,500 calories is a deficit - a deficit causes weight loss - but an optimal diet is between 15-1700 calories to maintain a working metabolism. My nutritionist has broken this down to 27g protein per meal with 6 meals. My carbohydrates are not wasted on sugar, sugar substitutes, soda, crackers, potato chips, or even popcorn. They are used on fresh or steamed vegetables to get me the fiber I need to move all that protein through my system.

The biggest hurdle of all is finding what is right for YOU. What's right for me might not be what's right for Amy, Leslie or Leona. But what each of us have are building blocks for the others to use and put in our own system. That's why all the fad diets don't work for most people - all bodies are different, require different things, have different activity levels, etc. Building your own program that works for you is the BEST way to be in better health and lose unwanted weight. The truth of the matter is, I wouldn't be this far without Leslie. Everything I've done, I've built because of the blocks she has given me. The blocks my mom has given me about lower calories and more vegetables have helped too - so now I can eat a lot of food with fewer calories, more satisfaction, no ravenous feeding or heaping plates of food - and I'm feeling better.

So what are YOU doing to build your "system"? What is working for you, what isn't? Please share with the others!

Hugs to all!

--Jamie