It's the first day of my new blog but the second day of my big diet (more on that later). I used to write a xanga blog (www.xanga.com/svossie) that I started when I was in college and continued with when I moved to Beijing 5 years ago. I talked about all of the mundane and sometimes funny things going on in my life. I also talked about the Chinese guys I had snogged or who had tried to go home with me and it didn't seem like a terrible idea until my dad was snooping around and came across my blog. For better or worse, around that time I started not being able to access it due to the Great Proxy. So I gave up on it but I always missed it so I was excited when my friend Sophie told me that blogspot was working over here. I'm going to try this again...
I lived in China from age 7 to 17. I'm now 27 years old and have been married to a wonderful man, ZY, since October 7, 2007. I used to be lots of fun (ask Kim and Jess) but now that I'm married my life doesn't revolve around getting drunk, dancing and hitting on or being hit on by men. Some days I kind of miss going all out like I used to and even though my girl friends and I always say we're going to go out dancing one of these Fridays, it never really turns out how we remember it. That depresses me but I've talked to other people and they say they have the same problem so maybe it's just that we've all grown up and our motives for going to the bar were kind of shallow. But still, those times were FUN (ask Lindy and Robyn).
I lived in China from age 7 to 17. I'm now 27 years old and have been married to a wonderful man, ZY, since October 7, 2007. I used to be lots of fun (ask Kim and Jess) but now that I'm married my life doesn't revolve around getting drunk, dancing and hitting on or being hit on by men. Some days I kind of miss going all out like I used to and even though my girl friends and I always say we're going to go out dancing one of these Fridays, it never really turns out how we remember it. That depresses me but I've talked to other people and they say they have the same problem so maybe it's just that we've all grown up and our motives for going to the bar were kind of shallow. But still, those times were FUN (ask Lindy and Robyn).
Not that I need to decide right here and now, but I'm guessing my blog will be about what it's like living in Beijing and being married to a Chinese guy as well as updates on the diet and favorite recipes. I've recently gotten into cooking and baking which is part of the reason I'm in the trouble I am in. The food I like to cook/bake is rich and most of the time it's full of sour cream, cream, sugar, butter... you get the idea.
About that diet... besides a few tries with Atkins, I've never been a dieter. I actually really dislike those that diet (at least those that you know are on a diet and can't ever eat anything or drink anything). I've always prided myself on the fact that I let myself eat whatever I wanted and didn't counting calories but look where it's got me. Yesterday I went in for my annual standard health check up and realized I had hit 92 kgs (202 pounds!!!!). You heard straight from me- my lifestyle habits have got to change! No, seriously.
I don't think I look like I weigh 200 pounds and my friends swear I don't either but I'm definitely not healthy. I've gained a lot of weight, I don't work out anymore, my knees and back often hurt... it's just not a good place to be right now or ever for that matter. Lucky for me the scales do not lie and I can no longer deny that I am overweight. I knew I was getting too fat when I couldn't fit into my size 12 pants anymore and was having to wear dresses and skirts to work all of the time (which is not fun in the winter!). My medical records show that I have gained 22 pounds in the last 8 months but I most likely put it on in the last 4 months. Damn pizzas, creamy soups, con queso, cheesecake! I know it's kind of much to be sharing with cyber world and my girl friends just how much I weigh but it's sort of helping me to let it all sink in and do something about it.
About that diet... besides a few tries with Atkins, I've never been a dieter. I actually really dislike those that diet (at least those that you know are on a diet and can't ever eat anything or drink anything). I've always prided myself on the fact that I let myself eat whatever I wanted and didn't counting calories but look where it's got me. Yesterday I went in for my annual standard health check up and realized I had hit 92 kgs (202 pounds!!!!). You heard straight from me- my lifestyle habits have got to change! No, seriously.
I don't think I look like I weigh 200 pounds and my friends swear I don't either but I'm definitely not healthy. I've gained a lot of weight, I don't work out anymore, my knees and back often hurt... it's just not a good place to be right now or ever for that matter. Lucky for me the scales do not lie and I can no longer deny that I am overweight. I knew I was getting too fat when I couldn't fit into my size 12 pants anymore and was having to wear dresses and skirts to work all of the time (which is not fun in the winter!). My medical records show that I have gained 22 pounds in the last 8 months but I most likely put it on in the last 4 months. Damn pizzas, creamy soups, con queso, cheesecake! I know it's kind of much to be sharing with cyber world and my girl friends just how much I weigh but it's sort of helping me to let it all sink in and do something about it.
The doctor told me that it is actually normal for newlyweds to gain on average 2-3 pounds per month (just a warning to those of you who are thinking about get married, prepare yourselves!). I am now a statistic.
I've found this neato website (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/) which tells you how many calories you need to burn and eat in order to lose a certain amount of weight by a certain time. You can log all of the food you eat in the day and it helps you figure out how much calories you've consumed and how many left you have for the day. I only started yesterday but so far, it hasn't been too hard. If I don't exercise I can eat 1360 calories but if I were to work out (which I plan to do) and burn more calories, they give you more calories for the day. I guess that means I would get an average of 255 more calories per day if I could commit to burning 1790 calories for the week (or basically burning the same amount added per day). That's not a bad deal.
Ok, so below are my goals (found out with the help of the website).
Net Calories Consumed*/Day: 1,360 calories/day
Carbs/Day: 187 g
Fat/Day: 45 g
Protein/Day: 51 g
Calories Burned/Week: 1,790 calories/week
4 workouts: 60 minutes per workout
Calories Burned From Normal Daily Activity: 2,110 calories/day
Net Calories Consumed*
Your Daily Goal: 1,360 calories/day
Daily Calorie Deficit: 750 calories
Projected Weight Loss: 1.5 lbs/week
Anyhow, I should take some before pictures so I can compare the end results. If I can really lose 6 pounds a month then it'll take me 7 months to get where I want to be. It sounds like a long time but if I can keep this up...yay for me!!
OK enough exclamation marks for now...
I've found this neato website (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/) which tells you how many calories you need to burn and eat in order to lose a certain amount of weight by a certain time. You can log all of the food you eat in the day and it helps you figure out how much calories you've consumed and how many left you have for the day. I only started yesterday but so far, it hasn't been too hard. If I don't exercise I can eat 1360 calories but if I were to work out (which I plan to do) and burn more calories, they give you more calories for the day. I guess that means I would get an average of 255 more calories per day if I could commit to burning 1790 calories for the week (or basically burning the same amount added per day). That's not a bad deal.
Ok, so below are my goals (found out with the help of the website).
Net Calories Consumed*/Day: 1,360 calories/day
Carbs/Day: 187 g
Fat/Day: 45 g
Protein/Day: 51 g
Calories Burned/Week: 1,790 calories/week
4 workouts: 60 minutes per workout
Calories Burned From Normal Daily Activity: 2,110 calories/day
Net Calories Consumed*
Your Daily Goal: 1,360 calories/day
Daily Calorie Deficit: 750 calories
Projected Weight Loss: 1.5 lbs/week
Anyhow, I should take some before pictures so I can compare the end results. If I can really lose 6 pounds a month then it'll take me 7 months to get where I want to be. It sounds like a long time but if I can keep this up...yay for me!!
OK enough exclamation marks for now...
Side note: Does Hot Pot count as a low-calorie meal??
