Dancing as fast as I can ... page

[HilaryJ]

I turned 55 last week.

Last time I weighed myself, two weeks ago, I was at 186 for my 5'6" medium-large frame.
Body fat calculated on September 22 at 34% which classifies me as "obese" even though I don't look like it.
My lean body mass is 123.7.

My goals:
Maintain LBM, or slightly increase
Lose 50 pounds
Blow my doctor's mind
Knock my husband off his stupid DASH diet

My plan:
Eat an average of 85g protein daily.
Limit carbs to a range of 50 - 100g daily.
Target net calorie intake: 1200 until weight loss achieved, then figure out maintenance target.

Exercise:
swimming: 1x at 60 minutes+
walking: minimum 10 miles weekly
weight training: 3x weekly

Lifestyle:
Finish rehab of friend's garden plot and plant seasonal vegetables year-round
Eliminate grains (done, except occasional quinoa)
Continue weekly progressive horseback riding lessons (both "play" and "exercise")
Spend one hour outside, weather permitting, daily

Major bucket list items (subject to change!):
Compete in endurance horseback riding
Learn to weave
Have my hubby go primal

[HilaryJ]

Food
B: 2 poached eggs
L: Left-over casserole made with GF ground beef, cheddar cheese, spaghetti squash, roasted onion and red peppers, garlic, butter
D: Rainbow roll (cheated with rice); creme brulee (cheat with sugar ... I wonder if I can make this myself using honey)
Snacks: 8 oz raw milk; beef jerky - approx 5 oz.

Exercise
Lifted heavy for grocery shopping: 30# box of stuff from Costco carried to the car parked a bit of a distance from the door; carried approximately 30# of various groceries.
Horseback riding: 1-hour lesson; at least 30 minutes at trot, trying to find my "seat" and not bounce around so much. I learned to post, but attempting to stay firmly seated and perform the seated trot. Also loped for a couple of minutes.

Calories taken in: 2,007 (target 1,643); 158 g of protein (eeek!); 120 g of carb (eeeek!); 93 g of fat.

Not the best of days, not the worst. The creme brulee definitely did me wrong by plunging me into the craving mode. Fortunately I was on the road heading to my lesson when it hit bad, hence the beef jerky. Not the best of choices, but not the worst. And the stupid sweetened coffee crap on the way home. o_O

[honeybuns]

Welcome! You'll find this to be a very supportive community.

I would caution you to not go too low on your calories. That will stall weight loss, especially when you are eating this way. I found that to be my biggest obstacle. Concentrate at first on getting comfortable with the dietary changes.

[HilaryJ]

Thank you! I already learned the HARD way of eating too little! A couple times I went way under calorie target, like about 600 and paid for it dearly the next day ... that "I've been hit by a truck" feeling.

The 1,200 is a net figure, so if I exercise and burn 400 calories, I need to eat 1,600 that day. I've had 1,200 as my target for about 6 weeks now and am feeling really, really good ... probably because I average 50% of my calories from fat. I've lost 14 pounds as of last weighing. My start weight was around 200.

[PHaselow]

Endurance horseback riding? Please tell more!

1200 calories isn't enough for you in my opinion.

Good luck to you! When your husband sees how good you look and how great you feel, he'll start asking questions. For now, focus on you.

[HilaryJ]

Endurance Horseback Riding - Home and http://www.aerc.org/

I may experiment with increasing my calories ... but for the sake of the horse who is currently teaching me, I do need to lose about 20 pounds as quickly as possible. My coach is fabulous, she knows her horses and what they are capable of enduring in regards to rider weight, but both horse and I will have a much better relationship if I lighten her load. At the current level, I am losing approximately 2 pounds each week. Is that too much weight loss?

[PHaselow]

Endurance Horseback Riding - Home and http://www.aerc.org/

I may experiment with increasing my calories ... but for the sake of the horse who is currently teaching me, I do need to lose about 20 pounds as quickly as possible. My coach is fabulous, she knows her horses and what they are capable of enduring in regards to rider weight, but both horse and I will have a much better relationship if I lighten her load. At the current level, I am losing approximately 2 pounds each week. Is that too much weight loss?

I think weight loss rate depends on where you start and how much you need to lose. I don't have a magic formula, but 2 pounds is the maximum I would feel comfortable losing each week for lasting weight loss.

You and that horse will be bonded real soon at that pace! What a great experience.

[honeybuns]

One and a half to two pounds a week is considered safe,, slow weight loss. So happy that you've been dropping weight! You have to feel better.

[HilaryJ]

Day 2 of journal:

Calories: 1,758 (target was 1,706)
Protein: 85 g
Carbs: 122 g
Fat: 105 g

Must work on carbs. The Brookside Dark Covered Cranberries kept calling to me.

Exercise was farm chores and garden rehabilitation which means lots of clod-busting. Farm chore included carrying 15# of alpaca poo to the compost pile x 3 (does that qualify for heavy lifting??). All of which was done outdoors so I got more than enough sunshine for the day.

A funny post on Facebook and the discussion that followed prompted me to go out and buy a couple of hula hoops! Guess how long it has been. I need a lot of practice, it's not quite like riding a bike. But I'm intrigued by the whole "hula hoop dance" concept so I shall be playing ... a lot!