Preamble - ASSESS TO PROGRESS

ASSESS

1. weigh yourself TODAY
2. take a photo of you in as skimpy clothing as you feel comfortable -- I chose workout apparel, sans my large sins-covering T-shirt
3. Calculate your Base Metabolic Rate (this link was in the last post:  http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/  OR try this one for another opinion: http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/)
4. What are you willing to change, what are you motivators, what approach will turn you off to the whole process.  Be honest and kind with yourself here.  The idea is to make it through week 6 without discouragement or excessive backsliding.  

Example, I have tea and cookies every afternoon.... and don't know if i would have the will to live without doing so!  (ok, perhaps I exaggerate... but it is no exaggeration to say I look forward to it all day.)  In order to keep this ritual in check I use a good decaf black tea, a splash of milk and avoid artificial sweeteners.  As for the cookies, I go with a 100 calorie limit of small not-horribly-unhealthy tidbits... I budget for this treat daily and never need to feel deprived of something small that brings me so much daily joy




PLAN: Let's start with how much you want to lose during this 6-week challenge.  
I am going for 10 pounds which for me is about 1 1/2 dress sizes.  


Intake: The Love Yourself Lovely Challenge is based on a 6-day per week format.  Remembering that a pound is 3500 calories, should you wish to lose a pound per week you would divide 3500 by 6 to come up with a total of approx 600 calories (583+ to be technical) that you must subtract from your daily BMR.  
Example, I want to lose 1.5 pounds or 5250 calories per week. Divided by 6 days a week that means I must decrease my net caloric intake by 875 per day. Since my BMR is 1550 between what I eat and what I burn off I must arrive at a net intake of 675 daily


Here is a handy site to help you calculate how many calories you ingested: http://caloriecount.about.com/ 

Output: Figure out not only (a) what physical activities you want to engage in and (b) how often and when you will do them, but also calculate how many calories you will burn.  Here's a site that does just that: http://www.healthstatus.com/cgi-bin/calc/calculator.cgi


If you are able, invest in a Body Bugg: http://www.bodybugg.com/ to accurately gauge your calorie expenditure


LOG IT: whatever you do, for goodness sake, write it down!  It needn't be a laborious task.  If you plan your meals ahead you will know exactly what you are getting into concerning meals, tastes, treats, calories, and financial outlay.  This goes for your activities too..... but do your best to include the substantial ones only, not the itty bitty ones as they may skew your total and create discouragement and frustration later if you don't see the results you THINK you should be attaining... this way too, if you cheat a bit, let's say while taste-testing dinner, you won't have to log those calories either... it all evens out in the end.... and your end will even out as well!