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Along with many others, I find it easier to keep to my diet, water drinking, and exercise routines when I can easily see in my mind where I want to go . . . looking at an old picture of myself near my goal weight, a photo of someone else who has the body structure and size I am aiming for, visualizing myself looking at the scales and the scales reading my goal weight, imagining what I will look like wearing a much smaller size of jeans, etc.
I have also recently found it motivating, particularly when walking on the treadmill and getting bored after a while, to think about what this weight I am losing actually LOOKS like. I did some internet searching, and although I am sure all these are not EXACTLY accurate, they seem like pretty close comparisons as best I can tell:
A POUND OF BODY FAT -
- is about 2.13 cups in volume
- is pretty close in size to a one pound block of butter (similar densities)
- is about the same in size as a coffee mug, a medium sized grapefruit, or maybe your fist (depending on the size of your hands)
OTHER THOUGHTS -
- 5 or 6 pounds of body fat would nearly fill a small shoebox
- 8 or 9 pounds of body fat is roughly equivalent to a gallon jug
- for every pound of body fat you lose, your body sheds about 7 miles of blood vessels, taking that much extra work off your heart. These vessels break down, reabsorb and are excreted as you lose the fat.
So on Atkins, as I understand it, most all of the weight you lose after some initial water loss the first week or two is FAT and not muscle and fat, as would normally be lost on a low calorie or low fat type diet.
A quarter pound loss may seem trivial until you think of a stick of butter peeling off of you! And the more than a mile and a half of blood vessels your heart doesn't have to pump through anymore that disappeared along with it! Even 1/16th of a pound would be about 2 tablespoons of fat that went away from SOMEwhere!
So congratulate yourself for every stick of butter/quarter pound you are no longer hefting around
I've lost 88 sticks so far, not worrying about the initial water weight lost...
(really? that is a crazy thought, but as far as I can tell from the above equivalents, also true)!
What do YOU visualize for motivation?
Happy Labor Day - now I'm off to go "labor" on the treadmill and hopefully walk off some extra tablespoons of "butter"... ;-)
I have also recently found it motivating, particularly when walking on the treadmill and getting bored after a while, to think about what this weight I am losing actually LOOKS like. I did some internet searching, and although I am sure all these are not EXACTLY accurate, they seem like pretty close comparisons as best I can tell:
A POUND OF BODY FAT -
- is about 2.13 cups in volume
- is pretty close in size to a one pound block of butter (similar densities)
- is about the same in size as a coffee mug, a medium sized grapefruit, or maybe your fist (depending on the size of your hands)
OTHER THOUGHTS -
- 5 or 6 pounds of body fat would nearly fill a small shoebox
- 8 or 9 pounds of body fat is roughly equivalent to a gallon jug
- for every pound of body fat you lose, your body sheds about 7 miles of blood vessels, taking that much extra work off your heart. These vessels break down, reabsorb and are excreted as you lose the fat.
So on Atkins, as I understand it, most all of the weight you lose after some initial water loss the first week or two is FAT and not muscle and fat, as would normally be lost on a low calorie or low fat type diet.
A quarter pound loss may seem trivial until you think of a stick of butter peeling off of you! And the more than a mile and a half of blood vessels your heart doesn't have to pump through anymore that disappeared along with it! Even 1/16th of a pound would be about 2 tablespoons of fat that went away from SOMEwhere!
So congratulate yourself for every stick of butter/quarter pound you are no longer hefting around
I've lost 88 sticks so far, not worrying about the initial water weight lost... (really? that is a crazy thought, but as far as I can tell from the above equivalents, also true)!
What do YOU visualize for motivation?
Happy Labor Day - now I'm off to go "labor" on the treadmill and hopefully walk off some extra tablespoons of "butter"... ;-)
Our bones must be so thrilled when we lighten up.
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