Recovering Fatty Tuesday- Exercise

For recovering fatty tuesday this week I wanted to share a few things I've figured out about exercise and food (only as it pertains to recovering fatties... not Michael Phelps).

So I've gone through a few phases of weight loss and in each phase I had different tactics in exercise... here is what I did and how it worked...

Phase 1: Mika on the mind
I ran every morning for about 20 minutes (blaring Mika's "Life in Cartoon Motion") super slow around the neighborhoods at K-State. When you're 250+ lbs, running 20 minutes is like unto a marathon. I would add literally 30 seconds of time on at a time and maybe MAYBE worked up to 23 minutes tops. I supplemented my 20 minute runs with long walks and sometimes going to the gym on campus. Mostly the name of the game was moving, it didn't really matter how.

I also ate way less. I wan't calorie counting then, but I was dabbling with eating more healthy food.

I lost about 50 lbs doing during this phase.

Phase 2: Frustration Station
So I got down to about 200 lbs and moved to Utah. Utah has a way better outlet for working out. I did EVERYTHING under the sun to work out. I hiked and biked and ran and swam and all sorts of other things that rhymed. I burned through TONS of calories and got pretty fit. I also got a personal trainer and worked out more, but I wasn't seeing kicking results.

During this phase, because I was killing calories, I was STARVING always... which is not an ideal situation for a recovering fattie. I decided to eat lots of things that I had deemed healthy. I ate with no limit peanut butter on whole wheat tortillas, whole wheat pasta, fruit, sinful salads and loads of peas. Each of these things are fine in moderation... some even pack some extra nutrients I think (according to Dr. Oz), but I had no concept of intake vs. outtake and because of that I was eating more than Kirstie Alley after a bad day.

I lost 40 lbs during this stage

BUT THEN: I gained it all back because in order to maintain that kind of diet, I had to maintain that kind of exercise and somehow I fell off the wagon.

Phase 3: Get Serious
This is my current phase. Still working at it. I found out that I had to count calories in order to lose weight. Period. I started working out less and eating smarter and I think I've found a decent balance.

I still struggle with portion size, but now I just eat the TAR out of baby carrots and cucumbers and I don't seem to gain weight back so I guess vegetables are fair game for recovering fatties.

I'll get more into these phases I'm sure (or else I'll run out of stuff to talk about) but the moral of the story today is: Find balance, and eat the calories you spend. Eating smart works better for me than working out like Jillian Michaels (Oh my gosh I love Jillian Michaels). And its true, and science, and endorsed by the makers of Texas Instument.