If It Fits Your Macros!!

looking through the trees across Bottom's reservoir

 to the next  reservoir

 Feeling great today.  Just weighed in and lost 2lbs so an 8lb loss since I began...(according to My fitness plan)  https://www.myfitnesspal.com

I've been logging on for 25 days now.  So pretty pleased.  As I've said before, I'm ignoring calories BUT I'm listening to my fitness coach.  So it seems as though the REFEED day worked...bring on the next one!! I love this way of  checking on my food intake (IIFYM) Basically using the My Fitness Pal site to track my daily carbs, protein and fats. Not only am I losing weight, but I'm also taking in what my body needs to remain healthy. One thing I've realised is that I've probably never taken in enough protein...quite a shock...but with IIFYM, I am now!!
 So off to walk around my local walk with Taffie, to give all the protein I've been eating something to work on.

Sun on the reservoir

Two weeks in...

Hadfield station

Not posted recently due to being back at work for the last two weeks. I commute daily from Hadfield in Derbyshire to Manchester. It's a great job teaching EFL at Kaplan College in Manchester. http://www.kaplaninternational.com/schools/uk/english-courses-manchester.aspx  

Great colleagues and of course the students make it...so many different nationalities and so enthusiastic about being in the UK and learning English.   AND huge fun to teach!  It's the best job as far as job satisfaction goes, that I've ever had. I thank God that my days of teaching stroppy teenagers in the state sector, are over. Yes the money in the secondary sector seems good in comparison, but it's not enough to compensate for all the pressure piled on the average teacher. So glad I transferred to the EFL section of education! 

Kaplan students on a trip to the Lake district 2013 some have gone home now, but I still have fond memories of them!!

Weightwise...

So far so good, lost 2lbs last week and 1b this week so just a pound to go to my first half stone...yaay!

Lots of reasons for liking IIFYM....I eat butter, yesterday I had a full fat M&S yogurt really creamy & I haven't eaten full fat anything in years!!

Wish I was this slim!!

Disadvantages: weighing and planning is quite time consuming until you begin to get the hang of it, but now I'm in a routine, so it's ok. Major, Major advantage REEFEED days!! According to my fitness coach, I have to up my carbs today to 250gs.  So I've had extra bread, extra cereal, extra rice and an M&S lemon mousse (count on us) which has 17 carbs! I can certainly count on M&S when I want to up my carbs!

Now I have to admit I'm not sure about REEFEED days, but as this food programme is a whole different way of looking at things, I'm willing to experiment. Still slightly concerned though that IIFYM comes from bodybuilders...errrm

But the best thing about this diet is having my own personal fitness coach - Luke.

I have daily texts and advice.  He checks my daily intake via myfitnesspal.com/account/login (this is a great site for finding out the contents of food and adding up carbs, fats & protein, I ignore the calories, advice from my coach)  But the best yet, he came over last Sunday and cooked a gorgeous chicken curry made with Ghee yes Ghee & double cream!...all calculated for me. Gorgeous... Now how many fitness coaches do that for you!!

He says I seem happier on this diet than all the others I've been on (and I'm an expert, I could go on Mastermind with diets as my specialist subject) 

  ...Well who wouldn't be!!!  :)

Weighing in Day 5

Weighed in this morning and I've lost 3 lbs!  Yaay.
My 'fitness coach' Luke, suggested that I buy some kettlebells...I knew it, as soon as I started taking the protein shake - it would lead to exercise!!

  Apparently the science behind  it is, that as your body loses the fat then
it will try to burn lean muscle so it can hold onto its fat storages.
Apparently, 5 minutes a day will do, to keep muscles I don't naturally use active and strong. 
So I've bought the kettlebells, they're pink and grey, Now I just need to find out what to do with them, meanwhile they match my bedroom decor.

A very quick walk with Taffie today, very busy buying kettlebells.

Day 3...it's going well

View from the steps in the wall by Bottom's reservoir

Weather overcast today, but we missed the 
gales and torrential rain here in Hadfield...so able to go for another walk with Taffie around Bottoms Reservoir.  She runs really fast and 15 minute walks are a thing of the past. It was just twelve months ago that I brought her home from a farm in Staffordshire.  She was so tiny and slept curled in my lap the whole journey.

She's not very big now but she certainly wouldn't fit in my lap these days.

Taffie one year on

IIFYM is going well.  Today my fitness coach (Luke) upped my carbs to 150 grams  and my protein powder came so I was so full at teatime I could hardly eat my meal. Apparently as I lose weight I can up the carbs, which I've never been able to do on a diet plan before, so motivation for losing weight.
Also in a few weeks I have to have refeed days where I have a lot more carbs than a normal day...sounds promising. Loads of advise from Luke which is definitely keeping me going.  

Day 2 - New day New me!

I had a great nights sleep last night. I don't usually have a problem sleeping, but today woke up unbelievably refreshed, so maybe there is something in this IFFM!

Ok so I'm beginning to get my head round Macros...

First things first...
Proteins and carbs have to be balanced so I don't go to bed hungry. So last night I ended up eating low fat cottage cheese and red salmon while watching the New Sherlock Holmes on BBC1
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018ttws
It was great, Sherlock Holmes I mean!

Water intake was definitely up if only to stop hunger.

Bottom's reservoir one of my favourite walks

Today I've got my meals all planned out so things should be more normal.

First breakfast Special K with skimmed milk and coffee.  Then a walk around the reservoir with Taffie. Then I'll be ready for lunch.
Errm... this obsession with food seems to be a recurrent theme whenever I begin a new diet. (I've been on a few...F Plan, Weight watchers, GI plan etc.)

Brilliant walk round Bottom's reservoir sunny and mild, though very muddy underfoot due to all the rain recently.
Lots of dog walkers,(due to the weather) everyone wishing each other 
'Happy New Year.'  Taffie was chased by a small yorkshire terrier, apparently he objected to dogs sniffing him. A bit of a problem if you're a dog!! lol

Lunch a  home made chicken wrap, 300g of chicken which is quite a change, I think I normally eat more carbs to protein and I'm finding it difficult to switch, but my protein powder from The Protein Works  http://www.theproteinworks.com/  referral code: SH47037(use this code for a freebie)
comes tomorrow so it should be easier to balance my carbs to proteins. It's great having Luke to text when I'm not sure of things. I'll certainly need his help when the protein powder arrives, I don't want to end up looking like Mrs. Universe.

 Lots of water again today.

All planned for tomorrow...so it's looking good

Weighing in...

Since returning from Saudi I lost about two stone.  The first stone wasn't difficult and I'd lost it by Christmas 2012... the next stone took  longer!!
Joined slimming World www.slimmingworld.com in October and  lost 1 stone 3.5 lbs. by April 2013
But...
have recently put on half a stone...
So time for a rethink.

Today I've begun on a macro diet, well... I'm beginning to collect information about all the regular foods I eat.
The way I understand a macro diet or IIFYM (If it fits your macros) is basically you work out how many carbs, proteins and fats your body needs to function properly and then make your food choices around these. So I can visit Nandos, have a bar of chocolate, butter on my baked potato as long as I fit it in with my daily macro allowance.
My goal...health! And of course to lose weight. 
My son has just successfully lost weight using this plan and he's my coach.  He's already worked out my daily intake:

• 140g carbs 
• 140g protein
• 50g fat
• Drink lots of water

So here goes...2014 a lighter, healthier Me!!