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I reported in my last post that I was keeping a daily chart of all my "daily values", my weight, measurements, calorie intake and calorie burn, etc. It actually has already proven valuable in that I do not get upset if the scale does not reflect my weight loss do to water retention, etc. because I KNOW what my energy balance has been.

For instance, last Saturday we went for a 52 mile bike ride and I burned 3824 calories during the ride. Remember, 3500 calories equals a pound. I also recorded that RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) was 1376 calories so my total calorie burn for Saturday was 5200 calories! According to my chart, I consumed 1500 calories. So, my net result for Saturday was a deficit of 3700 calories. I lost over one pound in one day

In actuality, when I weighed myself the next day, the scale reported a loss of .9 pounds. I also knew that there was some water retention. The next day was Easter and I went to my sister's for diner. To be honest, I ate too much and did not get my usual amount of exercise. Also, I ate stuff that was outside of my diet so I expected to take a couple of days for my body to process it. To be honest though - I still reflected a small deficit in that I burned of slightly more calories than I consumed. So I knew without a doubt that I gained no weight. Monday's weigh in reflected exactly what I suspected about retention though - a weight gain. The one beautiful thing was I did not get upset. I knew that "it would all come out in the wash" so to speak.

Doing the "energy balance" numbers are sobering though. It is amazing that it literally takes only a few minutes to consume hundreds of calories and it takes hours to burn them off. It really makes me think about what I put into my mouth these days. It also makes me grateful that I found a hobby (cycling) that is also a great way to burn calories.

I can do this - YES I CAN!