Week #1: November 4-11

I'll be updating this post daily with my calorie counts, exercise, and other notes as the days pass. Things to note:

• I'm not including the actual foods I eat, simply the caloric data copied from my LoseIt! app
• Green means I am under/at my calorie budget for the day (1400 Cal); Yellow is above my budget but still under 2000 Cal, and Red is reserved for days of shame where I completely go bananas.

Friday, Nov. 8:

Food:

Br/unch - 600

Dinner- pending

Total: pending

Thursday, Nov. 7:

Food:

Br/unch - 900

Dinner- 506

Total: 1406 - Just barely over.

Wednesday, Nov. 6:

Food:

Breakfast- 504

Lunch- 131

Snacks- 174

Dinner-654

Total: 1384 - Just barely under the goal, but still under it nonetheless.

Tuesday, Nov. 5:

Food:
Breakfast- 514
Lunch- 519
Snacks- 0
Dinner-115
Total: 1148 - made up for some of that burger yesterday!

Monday, Nov. 4:

Food:
Breakfast- 281
Lunch- 380
Snacks- 90
Dinner-1206*
Total: 1957

*I miscalculated this at the time and just recently was able to find the actual nutritional facts of the burger I had online. Whoopsie! That's not a mistake I'll make again soon. On a side note, Culver's has a fantastic nutritional website that I'm sure I will use quite often, as I'm working there as my second job.

Starting Points

Today's date is November 5, 2013. Remember, remember the fifth of November. I really hope I will remember this day as the day I began my journey to becoming a healthy human being. But enough about that.

The point of this post is to mark my starting point. I will continue making these posts about once per month (hopefully every 4-8 pounds lost) to really document this journey as best I can.

These posts will coincide with the days I visit my mother's house, as she owns a very accurate scale and a mirror that can show my fully body. Okay, here we go. Deep breath.

Current weight: 200 lbs

Measurements*:
Waist: 35"
Bust: 42.5"
Hips: 45"

front

Side

Another side

Back

If I ever needed any more motivation, I've found it.

*cringe*

Face

What's my goal? I don't know! I think before I set any definite long-term goals, I want to slim down to ~150 lbs to see how it sits on my body. From there, it may be another 20-25 pounds, but I'm going to focus on getting myself healthier before I finally decide on an 'endgame' weight.

*Please note that measurements are not 100% accurate due to my lack of expertise with measuring tape. Assume 1-2" of error.

New beginnings

So, here I am. Two days into my newest bout of calorie-counting and, hopefully, lifestyle change.

I've tried this before. In the summer of 2012, I managed to lose almost 30 pounds. In May, I weighed in at 205 lbs; by mid-October, I was still going strong and was hitting 180 on the scale consistently, and occasionally even a bit lower. But then... I strained my shoulder. And all the progress I made just... stopped. Reversed.

So here I am, one year later and 20 pounds heavier. So this time, I'm keeping a record of my progress. As someone studying in the sciences, I love data and that will reflect here. I plan to take accurate measurements and calorie counts and such and record them, then put them on pretty graphs when I have enough data.

So my most recent (and sucessful!) attempt at a lifestyle change is happening here. Right now. Today. (Well actually yesterday; I started my calorie counting on Monday, because what better day is there to start fresh?)

Hang on, this will be a bumpy ride.