A New Year, A New Me: Week Two

I learned a lot this week in Week Two of my quest for health and fitness. I had my class last night at . Here are the highlights:

The good news: Almost all of the 12 people in my class lost weight.

The bad news: I was not one of them.

I maintained, OK I actually gained 0.4 pounds — ugh — but I know why it happened. It was because I tend to hang onto my old, bad habits whenever I start a new health and diet plan. I tried to estimate what I ate (instead of weighing and measuring it) and I dislike tracking everything so I did not write it all down.

breaks it down clearly. Eat this many calories, burn this many and end with this daily deficit to lose weight. Simple math. As a writer, math was never my strong suit.

For me, a 44-year-old woman with Type I diabetes and I really need to lose weight for health reasons, they said to do the following:

• Eat 1,800 calories daily
• Burn 3,000 calories daily
  • To create a 1,200 calorie daily deficit.
• Eat about 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 30 percent fat
  • To lose 25 to 30 pounds in the 10-week program.

program includes a weekly weigh-in with the trainers checking over my weekly paper log of water intake and hours of sleep. It includes a 60- to 70-minute cardio workout that is designed to burn between 500 and 750 calories.

Clear enough, right? But during the week, I didn't hit my numbers, plain and simple. I did feel sick for about four days, so that threw me in terms of exercising and eating right. But no excuses, I still should have tracked better, eaten better and tried to at least walk more.

I also need to break up my love affair with Ritz crackers. They are my go-to snack and sometimes substitute for a meal. They have been since I was in high school. It ends now.

The good news: I gained the knowledge that I have to modify my old ways, eat much more balanced with more protein and vegetables, and just follow the plan. 

More good news: The workout was not too tough for me, and I went on a three-mile run this morning and will walk tonight. In addition, I have eaten according to plan today, and logged everything.

The bad news: There is no bad news — because this is going to work! Tune in at 5 p.m. next Tuesday and share any helpful food or exercise tips that have worked for you. We are all in this together!