SATW Q & A

Here's my fourth (and final?) edition of Success Along the Weigh Q & A.  Some great questions await so let's jump right in, shall we?


How do you pick the things you are going to fix?


I'm pretty boring.  We tend to buy the same meats week after week.  We always buy TJ's breast tenderloins, mahi mahi and salmon and I like to have super lean beef on hand in case the urge for chili strikes.  I do like to try to come up with different ways to prep things but there are some favorites that the Mr likes in weekly rotation like BBQ chicken naan pizza and fish tacos.  But every now and then I like to shake things up like when I made Spicy Mexican Stuffed Shells or filet mignon that had him raving for 10 straight minutes.  I do make a habit of picking up at least one new to us item at the grocery store every time we go that we can expand our culinary horizons.  If we hadn't done that we wouldn't have things like brussels sprouts, chipotle hummus, light coconut milk and mangoes showing up in our culinary repertoire.  I encourage everyone to do that.  There are things you just automatically wrinkle your nose up at without ever having tried them and I'd like to be able to bash something with authority not say "no I haven't had it but sounds gross!"


How often do you change up your workouts? Is it something different everyday or do you have a weekly/monthly schedule?  


I do my workout schedule at the beginning of the month and I have a list of workouts that burn the most calories for us off to the side so I can properly balance them.  We never do the same workout 2 days in a row.  We'd get bored doing that so I need to keep variety top priority.  I have done it where we'll do say Turbo Fire for one week, Tae Bo the next week, etc. for a month.  Typically, I have 2 strength workouts per week.  Sunday is a for sure but I try not to schedule a hard strength after Wednesdays so that our bodies have time to repair by weigh in day.  Sometimes I want to make some weeks harder and when I know Aunt Flo is gearing up for a visit a certain week, I will schedule my harder workouts Sun-Tuesday knowing I'm in the clear and doing my lightest on Thursday which is usually cramp day.  (Sorry for the TMI!)  I try to be very calculating in how I arrange the workouts.  I always search Amazon and Collage Video to see if there are new workouts that float my boat.  We're getting to the point where we need to throw some new blood in there.   See the My Favorites tab for a list of all of the workouts we do


Fashion wise, what one style/garment/look do you dream of being able to rock (be it when you get to goal or even just get to X weight)? Or maybe you already did this, what was the "look"? 


I think just being able to throw together a well styled look with no rolls, bulges, etc would be a dream but it's sleeveless that I'm really aiming for.  I don't know if that will ever happen but with stupid designs by Old Navy or similar stores thinking that having a half inch "sleeve" is what the people want so their arm fat (at any weight) can hang out shows how out of touch they are with most consumers.  Not that I want to be busting out sleeveless all the time but it's the one style I'd like to wear well without being self conscious.  Sadly, with all the body damage, I doubt that will be possible ever.  I'll probably have to admire that style from afar.  ;-)   I can't wait until my legs look a little more lady like.  I don't need to wear short shorts, I just want actual ankles!  HA!


How did you figure out your calories...you talk a lot about eating more calories on average at certain times to increase weight loss, etc. What is the method to your maddness?! 


Initially, I go on sites like MyFitnessPal, Livestrong, etc or even FitDay, which I've been using for over 10 years on and off to track my food to enter what my goal weight is (not my "ultimate" goal weight but my next milestone weight.    IE- Right now I'm 288 and my next milestone weight is 250)  I enter what I burn during the week and let it give me a specific calorie range which is between 1950-2350 for my current goal based on the intensity of my workouts.  Then I experiment.  Does it help when I'm toward the bottom of my calorie range?  No.  For me, right now, the less I eat, the more my body clings to it because it's using every single calorie to repair and fuel my body after doing HIIT workouts or high impact aerobics, etc.  I can easily pack on 2-4 lbs when I've tried cutting my calories to 1700-1900.  I have a very hard time drilling it into my head that based on what my body needs right now I need to stay at the higher end of that range most days.  But I've been a total dork in the sense of "no. That can't be!  It's been drilled into my head since I was a kid that you need to cut, cut, cut calories to lose weight!"  I know there will be a point I'll need to cut my calories but that time is not now.  Not because I say so but because my body does because it will gain on me every time when I try.  As I lose (which is like molasses sometimes) I will plug my numbers back in to see if my range has changed and adjust accordingly.


What kind of blogs do you like to read?  Who's blogs inspire, entertain or motivate you?


I seriously read ALL kinds of blogs.  I don't know why but vegan/healthy blogs like Oh She Glows, Oh My Veggies, Kath Eats Real Food  and Roni's Weigh are just a few that I read because I think I like to get new ideas for vegan dishes or ways to incorporate more veggies.  I also LOVE decadent food blogs like Kevin and Amanda (how that girl stays so tiny is beyond me!), The Pioneer Woman, Love from the Oven and stuff like that because I always try to challenge myself to lighten the decadence up a bit and I can make those recipes, save a serving (or two!) back for us and send the rest to the Mr's work and get the rep for being an amazing baker.  I love home blogs like The Lettered Cottage, Young House Love and Apartment Therapy and tons of others so I can dream about my someday projects when we move to our next home.  (We've only been at our current one for 16 years so you know, it could happen!)   I love inspirational blogs that make me think like Jen's Journey, A Schorr Thing, Ben Does Life, Flab Mountain, Tippy Toe Diet and Runs for Cookies along with others.  I would love to name them all.  I have so many bookmarks!  But those are just a few in the myriad of the ones out there in the blogosphere!  


I hope you liked this installment of SATW Q&A.  That's it for now, I'm out of questions from people so if you have any questions and want future editions, you can leave one in the comments or contact me at mrs {at} successalongtheweigh {dot} com to start up in June.


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