Lose It App: Review of Week Four - Down a Bit More!

Rather than repeat too much of the same information, I always start with links to previous weeks.  If you have no experience with this app - best to check these out first -  Week ONE, TWO and THREE.

What is most surprising this week is I am actually down another pound.  Why?  Because this was a long weekend in Vancouver, British Columbia, and that means lots of get-togethers with great food. We had a family visiting from out of town 2 nights and then a barbeque with four friends on another.  Drinks and dessert are always a challenge when you're trying lose weight.  

A few things saved me. First was that I lost the pound before the period of feasting began. Then I worked hard to keep my calories very low during the day to free up as many as possible for supper. I was only over calories on the very last day. Finally, I made sure I had an extra long bike ride each day - one hour and fifteen to twenty minutes. Still, it was with a sigh of relief I weighed myself this morning to see I had held steady and that pound was still gone, as the night before I was definitely well over the daily limit.  I have now lost 12 pounds since February - five before I started Lose-It and seven more in the four weeks I've been using the app. 

Now on to week five. What will be my goals?

1. This week I am back to staying under each day with more balanced calories throughout the day and smaller dinners. This is a healthier way to feed your engine - keeping it regularly stoked with smaller meals - a lifetime pattern to embrace.

2. One change I made this week that seemed to really help was to move my bike ride from the morning to sometime in the mid to late afternoon. I like the cooler morning and it's a great stress reducer before I head into the day's writing, but it seems to have more impact when I schedule it later. We are having an amazingly beautiful summer this year, so riding my bike is a pleasure I have come to enjoy.

3. Any treat you include - alcohol, a sweet or something fried or fatty - is best consumed earlier in the day BEFORE you do your exercise.  Keep them limited and make sure whatever the small delight you just have to have doesn't put you over your calorie count.  

4. No food after 8 p.m.  I've said this before, but it's hit home again how really important this is.

5. Lots of water. We're having a warm summer, so this has become really easy as long as I keep ice around. It's always harder for me to remember when it's cold outside.  But whether warm or cold, you should be drinking half your bodyweight in ounces of water each day.  140 pounds = 70 ounces (8-3/4 cups). It's a lot more than you think, but super important for both your health and your weight loss goals.

That's it for week four - nice and short. I'm glad to be back on track for the next 7 days with no gatherings to attend. Hopefully that will help me realize the 2 pounds per week goal I set at the start. But for this week - I'm just happy to be able to say I am down another pound. And for anyone postmenopausal like myself - it is a struggle, but your goals can be achieved. Just allow more time than what they say as our bodies can really be slow to respond.

Note - don't think 12 pounds is much? Go to the store and try and hold 12 one pound blocks of butter - not the little 1/2 cup ones for baking, the big solid blocks - and think of it wrapped around your body!!! It's a great visual.