Tuesday - BOTT Cafe and Cardio

Hi BOTT,

Today is an important day in our country.  Whatever your politics are, today marks a new start and change in our country.  As I'm watching the early morning news, there sure is a great deal of positivity and optimism. 

It makes me think of us BOTTing.  Whether you are enjoying daily success in staying on track or on a bumpy track, each day, each meal can be a new beginning, a fresh start in getting on track. 

Here's mine for today:

CARDIO:  Waiting......to get thumbs up from my MD.

FOOD:

B - 1/2 cup of cottage cheese
S - Turkey jerky
L - Turkey and White Kruncheez
S - Veggie strips
D - Chicken
S - Power Crunch bar

Have a BOTT day!

Cathy

No workouts for me - as a matter of fact, I slept in!!

FOOD:

B - Muscle Milk Light RTD and 1/2 banana
S - Grapefruit
L - Turkey and cottage cheese
S - Protein bar
D - Roast beef and green beans
S - 12 almonds

Top of the Morning to all my fellow BOTTers!

I am not sure if anyone else reads what everyone eats, but if someone happens to read this would they mind giving me an honest critic of what I am doing wrong  and need to improve on to maximize my weight loss???  Please keep in mind that I am breastfeeding my daughter, not to often since I have come back to work, but manage to get at least 3 feedings in a day...

This is yesterdays info...

B~ Slim fast
AM S~ Banana
L~ Green toss salad w/ cut up turkey burger with vinegar and string cheese
Mid-day S~ 1oz bag of almonds and jerky
D~ 2oz steak and a small piece of bread
PM S~ hand full of trail mix

Liquid Intake:
32oz SF Iced coffee
70oz water
Tall SF apple cider from Starbucks

Vitamins~
1 multi-vitamin (I know not enough, I forgot my pill pack at home and that is all I had in my desk)

Cardio:
A big fat none! :(  I wanted to start that couch to 5K thing, but time escaped me, our house is on the market and we had to leave so an agent could bring someone by to look at it, then I got home and bathed the baby and we both passed out on the couch...

Thank you, and remember, nothing taste as good as thin feels!!

The overall menu looks fine, but I'm wondering if your eating enough calories?? Especially with breastfeeding b/c you need to eat more to fuel your body during that time. I don't know if you track at thedailyplate or sparkpeople, but that might help to know what you're taking in.

Good Morning Tracy and Jo!

Thank you for your input, it was very helpful.  I was wondering if I was getting enough, but it is such a hard concept top get my head wrapped around... Needing more calories to lose weight.  I know when I was pregnant I was told by everyone under the sun that "if you breastfeed you will lose the baby weight right away"....  Now, please keep in mind, THAT IS NOT why I decided to BF, but nothing has been further from the truth, I seem to be holding on to each and every pound...  At Christmas time I gained 8 pounds, and have successfully lost all that weight (wooohooo), but I am still stuck where I was before I went to visit family at Christmas...

How many calories should we be consuming in a day (w/o BF), I know they say you should add 300 or something like that...  Also, I was wondering if you have a preference for a site that tracks your calories?  I see Tracy mentioned thedailyplate and sparkpeople, do you prefer one over the other?

Thank you so much for your help and insight, it is greatly appreciated!
Denise

Determining how many calories you need is such an individual thing. I can eat 1800-2000 to maintain, but drop down to 1300-1500 when actively trying to lose. I keep up a pretty good workout routine, so my calories may seem high, but I need them to burn as fuel for my workouts. Here's a few links you can check out that might help you to get on the right track~

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

http://www.thinnerself.com/files/calculator.htm

I have used fitday, sparkpeople and thedailyplate and for my needs, thedailyplate.com is the best. It allows me to track my food and exercise easily and quickly and just seems to work the best for me.

I hope this helps!!!!

Thank you Tracy, I will be sure to check the links out :)

Denise,
I agree with Tracy--your food intake looks healthy & good, but it doesn't seem like enough calories to me, particularly since you're nursing.  Maybe just a little p.b. with the banana (one of my favorite snacks, which I have to be careful of!) or a small helping of veggies w/ dinner.  Or maybe add a protein shake in the evening.  I can't really estimate exactly where you are, calorie-wise, but it looks skimpy to me.

I'm still fighting off sickness, but am going to try to do some light cardio today.

Food~

B~protein shake
S~activia light w/fresh fruit
L~salad w/chicken, cheese, croutons, ranch
S~protein bar
D~my husband found a yummy recipe last night for buffalo chicken pizza so I'm having it again tonite! Here it is if anyone's interested:

1 whole wheat tortilla
2-3T buffalo wing sauce
Mozzarella cheese (called for low fat, but I used regular)
Strips of cooked chicken

Spray the tortilla w/light cooking spray on both sides and quickly brown in a pan. then top with sauce, cheese and chicken. Cook in oven at 375 for 5 min.

Cardio - 60 mins of book bike and me time.....

Food -
pre-wo - protein bar
1 bottle of water
WO - 2 bottles of water
B - eggbeaters and cheese omelete
1/2 bottle of water
S - rtd protein in my coffee
L - roast beef and cheese rollups
1/2 bottle of water
S - primal strip
1 bottle of water
D - hamburger and couscous casserole
1 bottle of water