Starvation mode

Sorry for the lack of posting; I've been feeling like crap and had virtually no access to a computer outside of work this week. Thanks for sticking around. :)

One of my recent frustrations is the fact that I haven't been losing weight recently and I'm starving all the time. I mentioned that I use to track my caloric intake on a daily basis. I used to be really bad about it and only track until I knew that I would be over my calorie allotment for the day and then stop. Obviously that is not a good game plan. So I started forcing myself to track all calories, no. matter. what. Well, there were days that were shockingly high, and others that were only over by a few calories. What I found was that the program said I should still be losing weight, but I wasn't. I mentioned this to my sister and some co-workers who suggested that maybe I wasn't eating enough. Not enough, that's silly! If you want to lose weight you make healthier choices and eat less. Duh!

So, after I finally went public with my blog earlier this week, a girl I did gymnastics with in High School contacted me. She had the best name, Kim, and trains people both regarding workouts and eating. Unfortunately, she is in Pennsylvania, so I won't be spending time with her, but she suggested that maybe my body was in starvation mode. So, clearly I listened to her. She suggested that I find my basal metabolic rate and use that number to determine the number of calories that I need to consume in a day. To my utter surprise, I found out that I need approximately 1,000 more calories a day. You read that right, 1,000! No wonder I was starving all the time. So, I have manually reset my fitness pal to my new calorie goal. I am already seeing results (very minor weight loss) but most importantly I am not hungry all day long. :D

So, I still love my fitness pal, but be sure to check out your own basal metabolic rate and determine the appropriate caloric intake for your body. I just googled basal metabolic rate and clicked on the first link. And a big THANK YOU to my sister, my co-workers, and to Kim for helping me help myself. Now I need to focus on making the right food choices on a more regular basis. Oh! If you are on my fitness pal, look for me, Ladybug7121.