Recovering Fattie Tuesdays: Calories

PLEASE NOTE: the sole purpose of posting before/after pics is because I have a gross fascination with other peoples before/after pics so I figure if anyone else is equally as enthralled I didn't want to disappoint...

Today is 99% about calories, .0075% about Bob Harper, leaving the remaining percentage to Oprah (always).

Awhile back I was struggling with losing weight despite the fact that I was working out like a line backer (which is convenient since I looked like a line backer), so I decided to start counting calories. I had avoided this method previously because I didn't want to be one of those people that was calorie obsessed and carb obsessed and I was avoiding the whole tactic.

This is not a joke: on my first day of counting calories we decided to go to Famous Daves BBQ for dinner (my FAVORITE college restaurant) because we found one in Salt Lake. I got a "healthy" salad (filled with a dusting of lettuce, BBQ chicken, corn, beans, cheese, bacon, dead puppies, and sadness), and I ate 3 nostalgic corn bread muffins leaving a couple to take home. On the way home, AFTER eating I looked up the calories on "My Fitness Pal" and immediately CHUCKED the remaining corn bread muffins out the window yelling "SATAN MUFFINS" at the top of my lungs...

That was my first experience with calories.

After that calories and I have a solid and lasting relationship built on trust. Together we have learned the value of give and take, mixed with the perfect balance of compromise. Its all about intake vs. output and making sure that the calories I consume are less than or equal to the calories I spend. For me, my perfect caloric intake if I want to maintain my weight is 1600 TOPS. If I want to lose weight my perfect caloric intake is 1200 calories (before exercise). Some might disagree with these numbers but this is just my trial and error findings for me and my body... I'm not sure what Dr. Oz would say about these findings... but Dr. Scholls and Dr. Pepper say I have moves like jagger.

Anyway. Bottom Line for today... if you are struggling... count calories. You will definitely be calorie/carb obsessed, but join the bandwagon, it works.

I'm leaving you with .0075% of Bob Harpers "rules"... which I live by mostly... when I feel like it... he's not the boss of me (Oprah is).