Weigh In #2 Rollercoaster week, literally

Mrs.
Starting weight: 168 pounds
Goal weight: 130 pounds
Current weight: 169 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: (1)
Total pounds lost (gained): (1)
Pounds left to lose: 39
Workouts: Classes: Zumba (2), Body Blast

Well, I got the dreaded stomach virus last week. I was the third in my house to get it after my son and youngest daughter. Through my 2 days of intestinal hell, I had lost about five pounds, but after a weekend of normal eating -- it's back. Plus one. I did no exercise over the weekend, and ate a bunch.

What's good: Other than the two days I was sick, I did exercise during the other days of the work week (Monday, Thursday, Friday), even trying a new class - Body Blast. It's intervals of weights and cardio, and I liked it. (Even though I had to leave 15 minutes early due to a meeting - bummer)

Also, when out to dinner last night, I ate half my dinner and boxed up the rest, which I just ate now for a yummy lunch at work. That's something I always think about, but never do. Last night I did it.

What needs work: Eating better, of course. And drinking less soda. I'm definitely drinking less, but I'm still drinking it. I can't seem to stop altogether. I don't have it in my house, which helps. While I'm faithful to the fitness classes, I've slacked off on my daily running. I started back up today though, running 2 miles after my lunchtime Zumba class. It felt really good. Now if I can just get my butt out of bed at 5am tomorrow to do a run before work! I might have to put off watching Jack Bauer tonight to be able to do that!

Miscellaneous: At the gym, I read an interview in Women's Health magazine with Alicia Silverstone about her new book, The Kind Diet. She of course is a vegan. She said when she switched to this style of eating, she stopped dieting and the weight fell off and she didn't feel deprived, because the food she was eating was so good.

The magazine also included a recipe for vegan peanut butter chocolate cups that looked yummy. Now, I'm not interested in going vegan (meat I could live without, but other stuff - esp. seafood - no way) but her book looks interesting and probably has some great recipes in it. She even says the book is targeted toward people that don't necessarily want to be vegans, but want to move toward a more plant-based diet. I'm going to consider buying it if I see it on sale or a used copy or something.

Have a great week. I still have high hopes that at some point I will start losing weight.

Some old-school inspiration

Yes, one of these women is me.
I'm on the right, in the pink and white swimsuit.
The other two fabulous women are my dear friends C and H.

This was taken around 1990-1991,
when I was around 20-21 and in college.
We lived during the summers in Dewey Beach, Delaware -
we shared a house with 16 girls,
worked at a restaurant during the evenings,
and pretty much did what you us doing here -
all day long, every day.
Good times. Great times.
In fact, of what I can remember,
those days are some of my most favorite memories.
(You don't think it's water in those cups, do you?)

I posted this picture because: LOOK HOW SKINNY I AM!

Can I be that skinny ever again?

I think yes.
(That's a little more confident than
I really feel, but I'm trying to be positive here)

I didn't post a weigh in this week for the usual reasons -
I didn't lose weight.
After 5 exercise classes, 4 thirty minute runs,
drinking 80 ounces of water a day,
only having 2 sodas after the course of the week,
eating weight control oatmeal every day
and packing my lunch for work,
I GAINED TWO POUNDS.

Frustrating? Absolutely. Discouraging? No.

I know it isn't going to happen overnight
I have to remain consistent.

So, I will weigh in this Monday and post the truth -
no matter how frustrated I may be.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Weigh In #1 (of 2010)

OK, here's my first weigh in of 2010.

Mrs.
Starting weight: 168 pounds
Goal weight: 130 pounds
Current weight: 168 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: fresh start
Total pounds lost (gained): fresh start
Pounds left to lose: 38
Workouts: lots planned!

So it's 168. I actually thought it would be more, since I ate a massive amount of chocolate chip cookies, and did NOTHING as far as exercise over the holiday break.

Today I got up at 5:30 and ran for 30 minutes, and I'm planning on going to Zumba class at lunchtime.

I've packed my breakfast, lunch AND snacks for work, and brought a huge water bottle. Hopefully this will keep me away from the cafeteria, where they sell delicious fountain soda.

Have a great week!

A New Year, a New Me

Are you still visiting here? Bless your heart. Thanks for coming back, and for sticking with me.

Sometimes I go away (usually because I'm on a shame spiral), but eventually I come back. Kind of like cockroaches.

Anyway, it's a NEW YEAR. And I've got new motivation:

I TURN 40 THIS YEAR.

Yes, 40.

And I am most unhappy with the way I look- that's the bad news.

The good news: I CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Like I posted on my other blog, I'm not going to obsess about what I DIDN'T do in the past.

I'm going to focus on what I did accomplish over the past year, such as:

• Regularly going to fitness classes
• Regularly going to the gym at work
• Participating in pedometer contests at work (often was named top performer for my team!)
  
• Going to my health club when I can
• Running regularly on my treadmill at home
• I ran four 5k races, improving my time with each one
• I had periods of time where I gave up soda
• I did a lot of yoga, which was great for my stress level, sleep habits, and flexibility
• I read some great books about health/weight loss: Fighting Fat After Forty, Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? and others
  
• I purchased a book to read in the new year: The Zen of Eating and Eating Mindfully
  
• I tried new healthy recipes
  

Looking over all that, I did come along way last year, since prior to 2009, I really wasn't doing any of these things.

All this did wonders for my stress level. My muscles and heart are stronger from the consistent exercise.

Unfortunately, with all I accomplished above, I did not accomplish ANY weight loss. In fact, I GAINED weight.

But I refuse to try another diet. I've done them all, and have eventually rebelled against them all. I don't do well with restriction and rules. But I know I can't continue the crap food free for all. But I'm going to try some things that I hope evolve into habits:

• Pack my lunch for work often (controlling portions as well as costs)
  
• Eat less meat
  
• Eat more fruits/vegetables
  
• Be aware of portion sizes and try to reduce them without obsessing
  
• Drink less soda, more water/tea
• Commit to planning ahead to cook healthy meals for my family
  
• Continue challenging myself with exercise
  
• Run consistently in the mornings before work
  
• Continue running races, 5k's and maybe even a 5-miler or 10k
• Read The Zen of Eating and Eating Mindfully
  
• Stop obsessing over the small stuff
  

I hope these things will push the scale downward. Speaking of the scale, the weekly weigh-ins are back - starting MONDAY.

Enjoy the rest of your week and visit again soon!

Weigh In #20: Just One Thing

Mrs.
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Goal weight: 130 pounds
Current weight: 166.2 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: .2 pounds gained
Total pounds lost (gained): (14.2)
Pounds left to lose: 36.2
Workouts: (1) Zumba class, 1 kickboxing class

Yes, I gained this week. But at some point this week my weight was higher, so I'm glad I only showed a .2 gain this morning. Surprisingly, I haven't had much Halloween candy.

So last time I blogged I was gung-ho about eating only fruits and vegetables. For a couple days, it was great and I felt great. But with all things, I fell off the wagon pretty quickly and went back to my normal crap eating and drinking soda.

Then I read a blog post on the Harvard Business Publishing site about changing just one thing. The author, Peter Bregman, lost 18 pounds by changing just one thing about his lifestyle. Of course it was a big one - he cut out all sugar. But that's all he did. He advocates changing just one thing. You are to figure out what "one thing" would give you the most bang for your buck, and do it - don't change anything else. Put ALL your focus on the one thing.

Now, cutting out sugar would be HUGE. But I tend to rebel with deprivation, so I think that's too much for me. I've decided my one thing would be my regular sodas. Each one has a couple hundred calories, and I have a couple a day, so I think that it should have an impact.

So, I'm cutting out soda. So far this morning I have been drinking orange-flavored seltzer, and it is an adequate substitute.

So that's my one thing. However, it's really two things.

At 5am this morning, I got up and went running on my treadmill.

Not far. I want to start small so I can actually turn this into a habit. I warmed up walking for 5 minutes, ran for 10, and walked to cool down for 5. So 20 minutes total, about 1.25 mi. Then some stretching afterwards. It felt good, I worked up a sweat. So now I want to make a habit of doing it every day. (And eventually run a little longer and faster).

Getting up early to run while the rest of the house sleeps ensures I get a workout in no matter how busy or crazy my day gets. That's been my issue - consistency - I have good intentions, then life happens - meetings, doctor appointments, onset of laziness, etc, which throw off my plans. Then a day goes by without a workout, and then 2 days, 3 days, etc. . . then yet another weigh in with disappointing results.

So, the plan is: Cut out soda, run 20 minutes every day. Can I do it daily until next weigh in? Tune in next week to find out!

Weigh In # 19: *&@#!!!!

Mrs.
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Goal weight: 130 pounds
Current weight: 166 pounds
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 1.8 pounds gained
Total pounds lost (gained): (14)
Pounds left to lose: 36
Workouts: (3) Zumba classes, (2) 30 minute run/walk intervals

Crap! The darn creep keeps creeping. I need a jump start. I need inspiration.

I need to STOP EATING CRAP AND DRINKING SODA! RIGHT NOW!

So I've got the exercise thing down. I'm not the most consistent, but I do what I can. I enjoy it, it does wonders for my stress level, and it helps me sleep better at night. I'm averaging 4-5 days a week. Not bad.

So DARN IT, now I need to focus on eating habits. I need a jump start, something drastic. I pored over my current self help books (Fight Fat After Forty, and The Psychology of Weight Loss) and I've decided to do a fast. No, not that crazy maple syrup/lemonade/cayenne pepper thing. I'll never do that again! No, not a liquid diet.

I'm going to eat only fruits and vegetables, and drink only water. As much as I want, whenever I want. And see how long I can keep it up. I figure I'll cheat occasionally, but even so I'll still be better off than if I kept the status quo of eating mostly crap and drinking fountain Cokes all day long.

I've started today, except for breakfast (eggs, a biscuit with butter, and a large fountain Coke. See - crap!). I did an awesome Kickboxing class today (thanks Steph!). I loaded my plate with veggies (hot and cold) from the lunch buffets at work, and pulled out my 32 oz. Weight Watchers cup and drank a full one of water.

My books say you should drink 8 ounces of water for every 14-20 pounds of body weight. In my case that would be 64-94 ounces of water. Wow, that's a lot. I'll have to work up to it.

The books also say to buy a juicer and juice your own fruits and vegetables. I took a look at juicers online, and they are kind of pricey. My fridge is already loaded with some low-sodium cans of V8, so I think I'll use that up while I ponder getting a juicer.

I'm excited. I'm hoping this feels great and I'm not hungry all the time. I'm hoping to post some positive results come next Monday!

Weigh In #18: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Got off track on the 5k training (1 for 4). Getting back on track today.

This weekend was disastrous with eating. Just one example: we went out to eat last night to celebrate a big achiemevement Mr. had at work. He asked me my preference in restaurants, and I said wanted one with some healthy options.

The restaurant did have a variety of options, many of them healthy. I then proceeded to order BEEF NACHOS with a LARGE fountain Coke. And when the waitress asked me if I wanted my drink refilled, I said YES. Sigh.

This morning, while reading my new book, Fighting Fat After Forty, a passage really spoke to me. On page 217, it said:

"Your family and friends are the genuine treasures in life. You, in turn, are their greatest gift. Take care of your gift to them by acknowledging that your body needs care and attention.

Exercise is not about trudging to your workout, getting sore muscles, rushing around the gym. It's about moving your body every day, and leading a healthy, balanced, enjoyable life. And honoring the really important priorities in your life."

Good stuff, right? Now here's where it gets REALLY GOOD:

"If you neglect yourself, if you don't exercise, if you continue to eat self-destructively, you will not only shorten your life, but you will also bring sadness to your loved ones."

Wow. Now that's something to print out and post on the bathroom mirror, fridge, and computer monitor. Thank you, Dr. Pamela Peeke.

Well, here's the weigh-in, another disappointment.

Mrs.
Starting weight: 152 pounds
Goal weight: 130 pounds
Current weight: 164.2
Pounds lost (gained) this week: 1 pounds gained
Total pounds lost (gained): (12.2)
Pounds left to lose: 34.2
Workouts: 1 Zumba class, 1 walk/run, 2 "P.M. Yoga" video sessions