Losing Amber - A Weight Loss Journal: December 2004

BMR Formula and results

I got this out of Oxygen magazine. The formula is 655+(9.6xweight in kilograms) + (1.8x height in centimeters) - (4.7x age in years)

1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
1 pound = .454 kilograms

So since I'm 25, 5'2 and weigh 163 it broke down like this...

655+691.20+283.46-177.50 = 1512.16

Sedentary people (couch potato, no exercise, desk job) BMR X1.2

Lightly active (light exercise, sports 1-3 days a week) BMR X 1.375

Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week - BMR X 1.55

Very Active, hard exercise, sports or physical job - BMR X 1.725

Extra Active, marathon, body sculpting contest - BMR X 1.9

So for me to be conservative I would take 1512.16X1.2 = 1814

The number of calores to maintain my weight daily.

About Me....

I probably should have posted this first as its a little weird to post pictures as your first thing to a journal. Basically I want this journal to be soley about weight loss and my journey there. About me....

I'm 25, I'll be 26 in about 10 days. I've been married for 8 years to a wonderful guy and July 16, 2002 I gave birth to my one and only little boy (so far). I work full time for an insurance agency as a receptionist. I like my job but I don't like how I drive pretty much 2 hrs a day. I can't help but think if I didn't have to drive my son a 1/2 hour out of my way 2x's a day that would be an hour I could use for exercise or anything else.

When I got married in 96' I was right out of high school, I was probably a small size 9/10. Slowly over the years I've gained weight. First from being less active and going from walking around all day at school to a desk job. Compound that with taking the birth control pill and you add lbs. Then in 2000 we moved to where we are now and I went from going up and down stairs a lot from our apartment to hardly any stairs and a much longer drive daily....add another size in clothes.

In November of 2001 I got pregnant, I was a size 12 and about 163, around where I sit now. I gained somewhere along the lines of 32 lbs. At my last doctors visit the scale was broke but at the visit before that I was at 196 and I swore to myself I did not want to get pregnant again and ever come that close to being 200 lbs. Breastfeeding I believe mostly took it all off, I'm back where I started really I'm 164 or so and a tight size 12.

I'm 5'2 and I'm a pear shape. All of my weight resides in my hips and thighs. While I can cover my weight fairly well I am not happy with myself. I do realize while I am not FAT, I do need to loose weight. At 5'2 its just too much for my frame.

I plan on doing a cleansing fast a few days this week with the Master Cleanser. I'm also contemplating going back to low-carb. Sugar is my big vice. Frappuchinos, chocolates, ice cream...that's what gets me. Everyone speaks bad of Atkins but I ate better on that plan than any other time. My big problem....going off the wagon and not getting back on. Of course I realize one meal doesn't blow everything but it seems like I can't follow through with that.

My goals, I want to see 140 at the very least. I feel like right now at 164, I'm this close to going from plump to fat. I see the shadow of a double chin and that does NOT make me happy. For my frame 115 and 120 are ultimate goals. I was really enjoying a size 7 when I was that small. I'm not so much on the scale as I am fitting into cute clothes in those sizes.

At any rate that's me in a nutshell.