I don’t know about you, but I’m thrilled that it’s Friday.  The first thing I’m looking forward to this weekend is sleeping in a bit.  Apparently, I need it.

This morning I checked my email before Good Morning Indiana.  A very nice, regular viewer sent me an email.  She started off by saying that during Thursday’s Noon Show I looked as lovely as usual.  (Her gracious, kind words.  Not mine.)  At any rate, she then followed up by saying I looked unusually sad.  I stopped to think about it and I don’t remember feeling sad.  I must admit, though, that the first few stories yesterday had to do with the failing economy and more people losing their jobs.  It does make me feel sad because these aren’t just numbers I’m reading off a teleprompter.  These are real people who are losing their livelihoods and it breaks my heart.  Many of these hard workers have children and responsibilities and they probably don’t know where to turn.  So, in that respect, it is very sad.  At the same time, I’ve been reporting on the failing economy for weeks now and no one has made the comment that I look sad.  My husband always tells me that I should never let just one email send me into a tizzy.  But do I ever listen to my husband???  (Poor guy.  He’s just trying to help.)

What do I do when I sit down at the anchor desk this morning?  One of the first questions I asked Dan was… “did I look sad yesterday?”  Now, keep in mind that Dan has a life and I’m sure the last thing on his mind is what I looked like yesterday.  Of course, Dan is too nice to say…”I have no idea what you looked like yesterday!”  No… Dan carefully paused and then told me that I didn’t look any different yesterday than I usually look.

Well, I was a little tired yesterday.  My daughter was coughing a lot the night before, so I probably got only two or three hours of really good sleep.  Perhaps my tired eyes translated to sad eyes to my faithful  viewer.

My daughter is doing better and the entire family is excited about my son’s 5th birthday party on Sunday.  All eyes will be on the kids who will hopefully have a wonderful time.  I plan to close my eyes… and keep them closed… as long as I can tonight, Saturday night and Sunday night.  I hope all of you can join us again, all bright-eyed and ready to go, Monday morning.  Have a great weekend!

Weight loss can seem down-right tricky.  Many times we feel like we are doing everything right and the weight still won’t come off.  This can be frustrating, especially when we see all kinds of fad diets and exercises that don’t seem to be working!   If you understand the feeling, I encourage you to not give up!  Weight loss is possible … it just takes a little extra attention.

One GMI viewer wrote me with her struggle to lose weight.  After her amazing efforts to quit smoking, start exercising, and eat better—she is hasn’t lost any weight.   I felt her frustrations, and I was inspired to blog on the topic. 

There are many factors that contribute to how our bodies function, and the “weight loss function” is based on many things:

1.  how our bodies metabolize energy (a.k.a. fat, carbs, and proteins)

2.  genetics

3.  activity

4.  muscle mass

5.  hormones

6.  and much more

So there is really no quick fix to losing weight, because the interaction between all these different functions is what ultimately results in weight loss.  We can use these to lose weight by following a simple principle:

calories in          vs.        calories out

Here is how it works:

1 pound = 3,500 kcals (calories)

In order to lose 1 pound, you have to create a deficit of 3,500 calories by BOTH exercising more and eating less.

Each day you have to eat around 250 calories less and burn an extra 250 calories more—and that will result in 1lb lost in a week. 

It ends up being basic science—something we call “your energy balance.”  In order to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you eat.  If you are willing to pay attention to the numbers, it is very possible that you will learn why you haven’t been losing weight. 

This method isn’t the easy way out, and it takes journaling, measuring, and math … but it teaches you about portion sizes and helps you learn to eat a healthy, balanced diet.  It is also the best way to keep weight off in the long term, because it doesn’t require you to follow a specific diet.  Just take a look at the food guide pyramid to learn how to balance your meals.

If you are interested in what your energy balance is looking like, start recording your food intake and your energy expenditure.   I just started doing this again, because I feel like I need to get a grip on my portion sizes.  When you write down how many calories, carbs, fats, and proteins you are eating-you have a better idea of how balanced your diet really is.  Most of us think we are eating healthy normal portions, but writing it down can give us the hard facts about how much we are actually eating.   If you aren’t losing the weight you want, this technique may help you take a second look at your food choices.  You will have evidence of why you are/aren’t losing weight! 

It is important that you also visit with your doctor, especially if weight loss has been a consistent struggle for you.  There are medical factors that can contribute to this.  Please talk with your doctor about your goals for physical fitness, you will find that they can be a great resource!  Check out www.exerciseismedicine.org to learn how doctors can prescribe you an exercise program.

Tips for your records:

• Learn your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) so you know how many calories you burn just doing daily activities.  You can add this number to how many calories you burn during exercise to get your total calories out number.

http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html

• Learn how many calories you should be eating each day and assess your fitness level, so you know where to start.  A basic diet consists of 55-65% Carbohydrates, 15-20% Protein, and 20-25% Fat. 

http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/calories-goal.php

**When entering your goal weight, 1-2 lbs per week at the most is recommended for safety and better weight loss maintainence.

• One of my favorite sites:  http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/

• Learn about your Target Heart Rate (THR) Zones, so you can get the most out of your cardio workouts.  Remember that the fat burning zone is typically at moderate (not high) intensities.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/target-heart-rate/SM00083  http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/hrc/hrc.html

• Building muscles boosts your metabolism…some research show that muscle burns an extra 6 calories per pound per day.
• Don’t just look at the scale—pay attention to the way you feel, how your clothes fit, and most of all how happy you are!

More online tools to get you started:

www.fitday.com

www.nutritiondata.com

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calorie_calculation101.asp

If you try out this method to lose weight, remember that counting your calories is just an educational tool to help you learn how much you are eating.  My best advice is to really try to absorb what you learn about normal portion sizes, and then you won’t have to continually monitor the numbers.  Losing weight is challenging and takes commitment.  It will require you to pay attention, avoid temptation, confront your weaknesses, and push you to your limits sometimes.   It is a life-long journey…but it creates life-long rewards!

If you have any questions, shoot me an email at erin@rtv6blogs.com.  I will try to answer them to the best I can!