So yeah, there is this thing called MyFitnessPal and its an app you can download on your phone (but you can also use the website on your computer, both of which I like to do). You can record your weight, your inches, your weight loss goals.. And it will calculate how many calories you can have.
Then it gives you a food diary and it knows all the nutrition information of any food (popular fast food, or ingredients you cook with at home, etc.). You can also scan the bar code of packaged foods, and it will tell you the nutritional value of everything.
So that way you know how many calories you ate vs. how many you should be eating. You can even make friends there and get support, if you want to. Its just a wonderful tool and its been invaluable in helping me keep track of what I eat.
I also recently discovered the amazing and useful qualities of Athletic taping! Many people use athletic tape for extra support in their feet, hands, wrists, etc. I have this issue with my feet where I have pronated ankles (that's when your inner ankles lean in, causing your arches to go flat against the floor). I also have flat feet. And as if that weren't bad enough, I have "plantar fasciitis" too-- which is over-stretching and irritation of the plantar tendon on the bottom of the feet (especially in the heels).
All three of these problems can cause A LOT of foot pain, and by association-- back pain, due to bad posture.
So I went on YouTube and watched some videos on how to do athlettic taping on the feet to offer better support against flat feet, pronated ankles and plantar fasciitis, to help correct these problems.
I also bought some Dr. Scholls shoes, and some orthotic inserts for plantar fasciitis. and this helps the taping do its job better.
There are pros and cons to using athletic tape on your feet. It certainly does provide excellent custom support! But sometimes if you didn't do the best job on your taping, it can irritate a little. And of course you are constantly buying more tape! lol. But the way it helps kind of makes it all worth it.
So yeah, those are my 2 tips for the day-- check out MyFitnessPal, and if you have foot problems, watch videos on how to do athletic taping on them.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Balancing Work And Healthy Eating
So I'm still trying to adjust to exactly how I can keep myself properly fed in a healthy way, while on this weight loss plan and WORKING.
My biggest problem is that after work, and on my days off, I am sooooooooo sore and tired. Too much so to stand in the kitchen cooking or doing dishes! And of course I don't wanna spend all my money buying quick stuff at the store (which isn't nearly as healthy as home cooked food anyway).
Not to mention, my kitchen is a mess, because me and hubby are both too darn tired to clean it, lol.
The best I have been able to manage is when I finally DO talk myself into getting up and cooking a healthy dinner, that I make enough to save some for lunch tomorrow.
Breakfast is my biggest challenge. Like I dunno, should I make enough at dinner to have some for breakfast AND lunch the next day? lol.
See I usually get home and then rest a couple hours. At that point I have built up enough energy to make dinner. So... I guess I figure kill 2 (or 3?) birds with one stone. I won't have time to cook in the morning and I can't cook at work (other than the microwave).
Of course, I realize that 95% of my problem with being so sore and tired is directly related to my weight problem. Which is why I am so determined to lose weight. I know that the more I lose, the easier my job will be, so the less pain and soreness I will suffer and the more energy I will have to do things AFTER work.
But getting there is the tough part.
My biggest problem is that after work, and on my days off, I am sooooooooo sore and tired. Too much so to stand in the kitchen cooking or doing dishes! And of course I don't wanna spend all my money buying quick stuff at the store (which isn't nearly as healthy as home cooked food anyway).
Not to mention, my kitchen is a mess, because me and hubby are both too darn tired to clean it, lol.
The best I have been able to manage is when I finally DO talk myself into getting up and cooking a healthy dinner, that I make enough to save some for lunch tomorrow.
Breakfast is my biggest challenge. Like I dunno, should I make enough at dinner to have some for breakfast AND lunch the next day? lol.
See I usually get home and then rest a couple hours. At that point I have built up enough energy to make dinner. So... I guess I figure kill 2 (or 3?) birds with one stone. I won't have time to cook in the morning and I can't cook at work (other than the microwave).
Of course, I realize that 95% of my problem with being so sore and tired is directly related to my weight problem. Which is why I am so determined to lose weight. I know that the more I lose, the easier my job will be, so the less pain and soreness I will suffer and the more energy I will have to do things AFTER work.
But getting there is the tough part.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Rough Days
I had a pretty hard day. If you have read my "About Me" section in the tabs above where I discuss my job, then you know I work in the clothing department of a very large retailer. Due to a strict social media policy, I am not allowed to say which one.
Yesterday was Saturday, which can get pretty busy. I am lucky in the sense that I LOVE all the people I work with. But just people were rushing around. Everything was moving a lot FASTER than usual.
Well after work, I clocked out at 5:00pm (I started my shift at 8:00am). I bought a small plastic tub and some Epsom salt, so I could soak my feet at home. I was soooooooo looking forward to that.
Well I called my husband who was at home sleeping, because he works an early shift. He usually drops me off at work, then picks me up to bring me home, because we only have ONE car and he needs it while I'm at work for his job. So we do our best to share it.
But... He wouldn't wake up! I called and called. I sat on a bench at the front of the store, calling him for HOURS! I live in a different town than where I work, and nobody else was going out that way. It was much too far for a cab, and much too expensive, plus I hadn't received my paycheck yet, I was broke. A cab probably would have been about $35!
I was just so frustrated.
Plus I had seen someone who reminded me of my Dad, and that was making me think of him a lot.. Dad passed away in December, 2013. So I was a bit emotional. I was about to blow a head gasket.
Finally, I went back into the break room, where there were still other workers doing their shifts. They were all on break, having something to eat. They asked me why I was still here, so I told them. They felt bad, because they could clearly see that I was upset and tired.
One of them-- an older woman from my department(ish), about 80 years old (and yes, still working) pulled out a HUGE portion of her "homemade from scratch" chocolate cake and offered me some. Of course I accepted, being as how I was starving and chocolate always cheers me up. The cake was AMAZING!
No, not diet friendly AT ALL, but I was just so upset and hungry, and that was the only food available... So I will forgive myself for that one. lol.
About 5 minutes after eating the cake, I suddenly calmed down. All my emotional craze quickly melted away. Just from a medical standpoint, I would say that my emotional, shaky state was probably due to having low blood sugar (along with all the events of the day). And eating something-- anything!-- alleviated that.
So the older lady sat there and made all of us laugh so hard our stomachs hurt. And she calmed me down (I was very angry at my husband).
Finally, my husband woke up and answered his phone! At about 8:30pm. He said he had slept through his alarm, and would be there in 15 minutes... But he finally arrived at 9:00pm!!
The older lady encouraged me NOT to "kill him", and I gave her a big hug before leaving. Honestly, had it not been for her and the other comedic co-workers back there, I probably would have clawed his face off, lol.
But yeah, it was just a very rough day, and sometimes I feel like its very hard to get this diet going, and keep it going, when I don't even have the money to buy the right foods yet (since I haven't gotten paid yet), and there are so many other things around me that pull me astray... Like nice little grandmas with homemade chocolate cake, when I am upset enough to cry! lol.
But I will see what I can do in terms of sticking to the plan better in the future. Needless to say, I am planning to save up a few paychecks to get a cheap car of my own from Craigslist, because I AM NOT liking this "car sharing" arrangement, lol.
Yesterday was Saturday, which can get pretty busy. I am lucky in the sense that I LOVE all the people I work with. But just people were rushing around. Everything was moving a lot FASTER than usual.
Well after work, I clocked out at 5:00pm (I started my shift at 8:00am). I bought a small plastic tub and some Epsom salt, so I could soak my feet at home. I was soooooooo looking forward to that.
Well I called my husband who was at home sleeping, because he works an early shift. He usually drops me off at work, then picks me up to bring me home, because we only have ONE car and he needs it while I'm at work for his job. So we do our best to share it.
But... He wouldn't wake up! I called and called. I sat on a bench at the front of the store, calling him for HOURS! I live in a different town than where I work, and nobody else was going out that way. It was much too far for a cab, and much too expensive, plus I hadn't received my paycheck yet, I was broke. A cab probably would have been about $35!
I was just so frustrated.
Plus I had seen someone who reminded me of my Dad, and that was making me think of him a lot.. Dad passed away in December, 2013. So I was a bit emotional. I was about to blow a head gasket.
Finally, I went back into the break room, where there were still other workers doing their shifts. They were all on break, having something to eat. They asked me why I was still here, so I told them. They felt bad, because they could clearly see that I was upset and tired.
One of them-- an older woman from my department(ish), about 80 years old (and yes, still working) pulled out a HUGE portion of her "homemade from scratch" chocolate cake and offered me some. Of course I accepted, being as how I was starving and chocolate always cheers me up. The cake was AMAZING!
No, not diet friendly AT ALL, but I was just so upset and hungry, and that was the only food available... So I will forgive myself for that one. lol.
About 5 minutes after eating the cake, I suddenly calmed down. All my emotional craze quickly melted away. Just from a medical standpoint, I would say that my emotional, shaky state was probably due to having low blood sugar (along with all the events of the day). And eating something-- anything!-- alleviated that.
So the older lady sat there and made all of us laugh so hard our stomachs hurt. And she calmed me down (I was very angry at my husband).
Finally, my husband woke up and answered his phone! At about 8:30pm. He said he had slept through his alarm, and would be there in 15 minutes... But he finally arrived at 9:00pm!!
The older lady encouraged me NOT to "kill him", and I gave her a big hug before leaving. Honestly, had it not been for her and the other comedic co-workers back there, I probably would have clawed his face off, lol.
But yeah, it was just a very rough day, and sometimes I feel like its very hard to get this diet going, and keep it going, when I don't even have the money to buy the right foods yet (since I haven't gotten paid yet), and there are so many other things around me that pull me astray... Like nice little grandmas with homemade chocolate cake, when I am upset enough to cry! lol.
But I will see what I can do in terms of sticking to the plan better in the future. Needless to say, I am planning to save up a few paychecks to get a cheap car of my own from Craigslist, because I AM NOT liking this "car sharing" arrangement, lol.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Intro
Hello everyone! Some of you might know me from YouTube. But my name is Melissa, and I started this blog so I will have a place to write about my weight loss journey with the South Beach plan. I will try to add some fun tabs here, like one for weight loss stats, and maybe some recipes I like. Probably an exercise/fitness tab as well. But the main page will be for regular blog entries concerning my weight loss journey. I hope everyone will follow along!
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