Weekly Update 1

Focusing on controlling my food intake has been very tricky for me. Well, no surprise really, seeing that this is the cause of my weight issue. I love to eat, but what a shame, I don't necessarily know how to enjoy what I eat. A lot of the time, I gulf down my food without thinking about it. So, the main thing that I learned this week is...
Write down everything that you eat. Everything! As close approximate to the portion as you can. It takes a lot of time and effort. Especially for Asian home cooked variety food cause they don't come with calorie information.

But - there's no other way! Write it down (along with the number of calories)!

I had to Google for approx. calorie for all food I choose to eat, which serves two purpose.
1. I choose not to nibble on things (cause it's a hassle to write down 2 roasted almonds, 3 mars balls, 2 dark choc with almonds, etc). It's true story! Yesterday, I wanted to eat peanut M&Ms but, the thought of counting the M&Ms and having to weigh them to know how much calorie they amount to, puts me off it. Instead, I had one corn flakes dark choc biscuit thing that my mom made, which I've already allocate # of calories to. *LOL*
2. I realise how much I take in. Seriously. Some of them are insanely overpriced (calorie wise).

If you need even more convincing proof, here... The author of ZenHabits, Leo Babauta, put up a new Training Blog in April 2008. He said, in his introductory post, OK, Here we go!, it is "To hold myself accountable, to allow the light to shine on my training plans, meal plans, and actual results. To motivate myself."

According to BMI/BMR calculation, to lose weight, I should start with deducting 15-20% from my maintenance calorie intake. At a sedentary lifestyle level, I calculated this to be ~1600 calories.

I've made that my primary goal this week. It's very very very difficult. Especially when I'm eating out quite a bit of the time. Grrr!!! I find it hard to watch what I eat when I'm nibbling on people's plates! But, I try, very hard. This week my calorie intake approx. at 1650 per day. (This might be not as accurate as I'd like them to be, as it was very tricky to count the calories at the BBQ and at the dinner :P)
I was doing really well during the weekdays and not well for the weekend. My excuse? My sister's birthday dinner, birthday BBQ and my craving for nachos.. :P But, I give it my best shot! No regrets. :) I'm sure I'll keep improving.
I'm also working on getting recipes that comes with calorie count. That will help a lot when my mom left and I have to start cooking. :) Plus, I'll find out more about how to count calories when you're eating out.

On the exercise side, I did three classes of Bikram Yoga this week. Very happy about it.

On the interior design side, I finished off my first part of Tutorial One. I might have to polish it a bit to make it looks prettier, but it's there. :)

Anyways - some useful links for weight loss help: NutritionData.com | 11 Practical Changes to Make Your Life Better | CalorieKing.com.au | The Truth About Counting Calories And Weight Loss.

Lesson of the week:
Awareness is key. Being aware of what I eat. Being aware of how much I eat. These things are vital. Working off as much calories as I can without knowing how much I take in is blindly ineffective.