Saturday, January 31, 2009

Here we go...

OK, I'm scared now. Even if no one reads this, ever, it is still intimidating to talk (or type) openly about weight loss struggles. But I'm a pretty open person, so hopefully this won't be too difficult. Here is the main reason I started this blog: Even though I was only pregnant for a couple months, I mysteriously gained about 5 lbs, during that time, which makes a big difference for my small-ish frame. OK, it wasn't so mysterious. Its called eating more calories than I was burning, for an extended period of time. Pretty simple.

So here's my goal:

I want to lose about 10 lbs. BUT, I don't want to be "flabby-skinny." You know what I'm talking about. A person could lose 10 lbs by diet alone, but there is a good chance that person would still not look fit and healthy. Its one thing to lose weight, but its a whole different thing to lose weight, while firming up and building muscle. It takes much more effort, and since you're building muscle, you gain some muscle-weight in the process, so it takes more time as well. So basically, my goal is to lose about 10 lbs, but also firm up my muscles. I guess the second part is not very measureable. Oh well.

Here is the plan:

For cardio, I'm going to run at the gym 2 or 3 days a week, and then also do cardio dvds 2 or 3 days a week (alternate days). For toning exercises, I'm going to get back into my gym routine with free weights, machines, and medicine balls. Side Note: I just read an article about how running = abs like this. So yeah... I guess that's gonna be me. :)
As far as diet, I am going to try to eat no more than 1500 calories a day. Any less than that, and I will go crazy. Believe me, I've tried. Doesn't this look delish? Hmm...
I would take a "before" picture, but that would be humiliating. Well, maybe I will consider it.

FINE PRINT:
A possible problem with this plan, is that I (or I should say "we") will begin trying to get pregnant again in about 2 months, maybe less. If I become pregnant (cross your fingers), then this blog will have to be put on hold. But I really want to lose this weight before I get pregnant so that I will have less to lose after my pregnancy. Makes sense, right?

4 comments:

Stephanie said...

I like that you have this whole thing going. I am doing P90X with Seth. It's this whole program thing but it's pretty easy. We eat about 1,300 calories a day (and yes, we're counting every tiny little calorie) and then doing a video 6 days a week. Each video is different and targets a different body part but it's about muscle confusing. You do different things so your muscles don't get used to it. There are certain foods in 5 Tiers. I will post to you the 5 Tiers of food. Like Tier 1 are the absolutely best foods. Tier 2 are essential foods. Tier 3 are moderation. Tier 4 are stay away. And Tier 5 is eat but you will pay later.

Interesting: I'm sure you drink fat-free milk but it's in Tier 1. 1% is Tier 2. 2% is Tier 3. And whole milk is Tier 5! So it's as bad as like cake or something.

Christina said...

Good luck Ashley! I'm looking forward to getting some healthy recipes and work out tips from you!

If you're looking for dvd's 'Slim in 6' by Beachbody is awesome at toning muscles and it's a progressive series for 6 weeks so you can keep motivated! I'll be doing this agian this summer!

Leslierush said...

I promise if you stopped eating meat you'd totally lose weight and rid your body of any poisons the meat has put in your body, AND help save the environment. I'm just sayin...I've lost 25 lbs since I went veggie. I've still got 10 lbs to go. Just a suggestion, but good luck and BTW from the pics I've seen of you, you look great so don't be too hard on yourself.

rachele and jordan said...

You can totally do it! Once you get in the habit of working out and eating right it becomes way easier.

By the way I also love the Slim in 6 dvds. They definitely help you tone up. They're pretty amazing. But, I like the Slim Series (it's a little more advanced, but way more variety so you don't get bored.)