My quest to an effective weight and fat loss (And I mean R-E-S-U-L-T-S!!!)

I'm not dreaming.
I'm wide awake.
I'm not making things up.
I'm not insane.
I've got the results and its waaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Okay.

Flashback...

Last month I blogged about going to the gym and enrolling myself in aerobics class (see Something to look FORWARD) and promised to share whatever result will come out of it. Before I sweat out my butt on those grueling bench press and before I found myself catching for breath after an exhausting cardio session, I took time to jot down my weight and body measurement. Anxious to know had my body responded to the program which I painstakingly followed for a month (3-5 sessions per week), I collected the courage to grab the tape measure and see for myself!

And now for the results..... Drum roll please.....

As of March 2010 :
shoulder - 35.5 in.
back - 32 in.
hips - 34 in.
waist - 31.5 in. (really???!!!)
thigh - 20.5 in.
arm - 10.5 in.

As of April 2010 :
shoulder - 34.5 in. (-1 in.)
back - 31 in. (-1 in.)
hips - 32.5 in. (-1.5 in)
waist - 29.5 in.  (-2 in.)
thigh - 20 in. (-0.5 in.)
arm - 10.5 in. (right! it's not a typo error)

My weight dropped to almost 4lbs from 120.2lbs to 116.8lbs

Isn't that great news? I know, I know the differences are not quite huge and significant. Take note I've been working out for a month yet. Experts at the gym say it usually takes 2-3 months before results are noticed. Yay!!!! At least I have some ground to hold on to and I'm glad the excruciating sit-up and leg raise did pay off hahahaha!!!

Though I would like to give the gym thing more credit for, it is of no doubt that my calorie intake and food choice also did the trick.

Here are some eating tips I incorporated during my month long weight loss saga. And I don't intend to sound like a slimming guru here, aryt?

1. Calories count, so count the calories. I'm saying, be mindful of what you eat. You won't believe me but I tell you what : I once kept a calorie list for a week. I write down everything I eat, as in everything that goes through my mouth that requires swallowing, from candies to beverages (except water, my gosh it's zero calorie!), from breakfast to dinner, from morning to afternoon snacks. You might have pondered what a challenging, mind-cracking activity I've gotten myself into, don't you? But wait  until I tell you the real challenge : I will also write down the equivalent calorie for each entry I made. This is when the information super highway (internet) becomes indispensable. From there, I can compute my average daily calorie intake. And since I am nosey, I found a site where you can inquire about your Basal Metabolic Rate. So simple! Just enter your height, age, and weight info then you're on your way to finding out why the last diet attempt didn't work out for you. By the way, BMR is the number of calories you'd burn even if you stay all day, everyday in bed!

So now I have an idea what is my ideal calorie intake per day and how much of the extra I need to burn.

2. Don't skip meals. If you're a believer of this nonsense then stop it now. You're just hurting yourself and ruining your health. Skipping meal will only prompt hunger and the next thing you know, you're devouring all the food at the table on your next meal. What did I say about excessive calorie intake by the way?
I read this somewhere and I think it makes sense. Our body seems to have it's own mind. If you eat too little and exercise too much, chances are, your body will go into starvation mode and hoard fats instead of burning it. Just so you know, fats are essential to our survival and so our body thinks it is wiser to keep them if we're starving ourselves.

3. Eat 5-6 small meals. Are you kidding me??! I'm going on weight loss yet you're telling me to eat more than 3 meals a day? That's exactly my initial reaction. But when I read back, I noticed the word "small", which means you will divide your daily caloric requirement into 5 or 6 times. Accordingly, this will aid to increasing your BMR.

There you go.... I hope next month I'm going to discover another significant result in my quest to regain the figure I used to have.