Off to a good start

I started this “diet” or “lifestyle change” or whatever it should be called, last Monday and did pretty good through the work week, but to be honest, I was worried that the weekend would come and I’d really mess up and go back to my old ways…you know, eating fast food, junk food, and not getting any exercise…basically being a couch potato all weekend. Well, here I sit on Sunday night and I can honestly say I did great this weekend! Not only did I get a lot done around the house (cleaned the garage, painted some shelves, etc) but I ate good portions, drank a lot of water, went to the gym and worked out, and I even walked for 50 minutes around my neighborhood! Yep, I walked around the block and made it to my mom’s house and back. I don’t know the distance, but my face was beet red again afterwards. When we got back I checked my blood pressure and pulse. My BP was 108/68 and my pulse was 108. I’m not sure if that’s normal, high, or low, but that’s what it was.

So yeah, I am feeling very accomplished at the moment…and the scale tells me I’ve lost almost 6 pounds since I’ve started. I think I’m off to a good start.

I haven’t really known what amounts of calories, protein, etc. that I should be striving for on a daily basis, so thanks to Kim for sharing the Healthy Body Calculator with me. I entered in some simple data (weight, height, fitness level, etc) and here’s what it calculated for me:

I did a similar calculator at SparkPeople and got results around the same levels:

• 1240-1590 calories per day
• 28-62 grams of fat per day
• 140-258 grams of carbohydrates per day
• 60-139 grams of protein per day

So at least now I know the range I should be eating. I’m going to aim for 1400-1500 calories per day and 60-80 grams of protein per day for now.

Well, I’m off to go finish some laundry and other household stuff before the work week starts. I plan on getting up early and going to the gym before work. I *really* hope I can get my lazy butt out of bed to do it!