It's not easy, it really isn't.
I started off strong--1200 calories a day--but am not keeping it up very well (more like 1300-1500 these last few days). My oldest son now working at Dunkin' Donuts certainly doesn't help! (See last entry on how exercising anything but self-discipline indicates lack of serious motivation...)
Anyway...
I use http://www.fitday.com/ to keep track of what I'm eating and what exercise I'm doing. I find that if I don't record every calorie, I'm more apt to stuff more in my mouth... This site can also create reports based on the info you enter. Their activity database doesn't allow you to add things to it, like the food one does, but other than that, it's good...
If the site doesn't have the nutritional information, I google, and more often than not, I'm directed to a number of sites: http://www.calorie-count.com/, http://www.calorieking.com/foods or http://www.thedailyplate.com/.
I've also found that most restaurants include nutritional information on their website. It also helps to know what you want to eat before you enter a restaurant -- so I always look up the menu and nutritional info before I go. Chick-Fil-A's menu info on their website is especially nice -- they have a very nifty meal calculator that other sites should replicate (my salad there truly wasn't bad).
The only place so far I've found that posts absolutely NO information is California Pizza Kitchen. They should be ashamed of themselves. There are a few sites which apparently either analyzed or guessed really well -- but not on the menu item I chose. :-(
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Lesson No. 13 - We are stronger than we think
I started an exercise boot camp at my local JCC a few weeks ago. And boy, is it tough! My body is being pushed to the limit almost every time. But I'm doing it....We are stronger than we think.
Yes, giving in or giving up is an option, for various reasons -- anything from not enjoying pain (!) to not really wanting to make the effort, or even not really wanting to change. I think that for exercise, as for anything else in life, one needs to be more motivated to change the current situation than to leave it as is. But for some, the status quo is preferable to anything unknown and untested, especially when achieving anything other than the status quo requires effort and/or discomfort.
But we can do it -- we can get into shape, we can lose weight, we can quit smoking (I won that battle years ago), we can become non-procrastinators (I'm working on that one now!), we can change careers, change the atmosphere in our home and in our lives, etc.
I truly believe that we can do many things -- if we want it badly enough, are focused and self-disciplined enough, and constantly keep our goal in sight.
We are stronger than we think.
Yes, giving in or giving up is an option, for various reasons -- anything from not enjoying pain (!) to not really wanting to make the effort, or even not really wanting to change. I think that for exercise, as for anything else in life, one needs to be more motivated to change the current situation than to leave it as is. But for some, the status quo is preferable to anything unknown and untested, especially when achieving anything other than the status quo requires effort and/or discomfort.
But we can do it -- we can get into shape, we can lose weight, we can quit smoking (I won that battle years ago), we can become non-procrastinators (I'm working on that one now!), we can change careers, change the atmosphere in our home and in our lives, etc.
I truly believe that we can do many things -- if we want it badly enough, are focused and self-disciplined enough, and constantly keep our goal in sight.
We are stronger than we think.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Catching up
This past weekend we took the Bar Mitzvah boy to Summer Band Camp at UGA. We went a day early and took a tour of the campus. It is truly enormous. We go back on Friday for a final concert and to pick him up. I spoke with him this morning, and he seems to be having a good time. I always wanted to go to sleepaway camp--I hope he enjoys it...
Yesterday, my oldest son began his new job at Dunkin' Donuts-- he only began his search a few weeks ago, so I was glad he was able to find something so fast. I thought he'd missed the window, since teens look for summer jobs so far out. He'll probably keep the job after school resumes, if they can accomodate weekends only. He's already learned how to make hot and iced coffee and work the register. This coming weekend, he'll be taking the single subject SAT in Hebrew, for which he's prepared by going through a prep book I found. He's been getting 78 or 79 out of 85 each time. Hope that's over a 700...
No life lessons to impart here, except that kids need to be given the opportunity to be independent and do things on their own...Nothing new there.
Yesterday, my oldest son began his new job at Dunkin' Donuts-- he only began his search a few weeks ago, so I was glad he was able to find something so fast. I thought he'd missed the window, since teens look for summer jobs so far out. He'll probably keep the job after school resumes, if they can accomodate weekends only. He's already learned how to make hot and iced coffee and work the register. This coming weekend, he'll be taking the single subject SAT in Hebrew, for which he's prepared by going through a prep book I found. He's been getting 78 or 79 out of 85 each time. Hope that's over a 700...
No life lessons to impart here, except that kids need to be given the opportunity to be independent and do things on their own...Nothing new there.
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