The Downward Spiral... I Hope..

So, after a week or so of fighting with the scale, I decided to brave it once again. I'm glad I did, I'm down another 2 lbs! I haven't weighed in again this week, but I hope to still be headed in the right direction.

In other news, I didn't make my walking goal for last month.. I've started a new one for November, but this time I decided to take it down a notch or two. Perhaps I have being a little too optimistic about how much walking I would do, and didn't take bad weather and other things into account. I've dropped 40 km from my goal, and will hopefully surpass it.

Ummm.. I think that's about it.

Dear Bathroom Scale..

Look, I don't like you, and I suspect you don't like me. I'd appreciate it then if, when I step on you in the morning, you could not lie to me. This morning you said I'd gained 4lbs since last week. This is not true, and we both know it. I know I had a "weekend of luxury", but I don't think I had so much "luxury" to gain 4lbs! You and I are not on the same page, and we somehow need to get there.

Tomorrow, or the next day we'll meet up again, and I hope that this time the news you have will be more agreeable. In the meantime, I'll keep doing what I'm doing and hope that you'll come around.

Until then, my mortal enemy.

Love,
Me

I'm Not Gonna Say I've Been Bad...

But... I definitely wasn't good this weekend. I was lazy, and ate junk like it was going out of style. It was certainly a weekend of luxury. We did a lot of eating out and a lot of sitting at home watching movies, but it was great.

Today is back to tracking, back to healthy meals and back to walking. I did the walk home from work again, and it felt great after spending the last few days in lazy mode. I love the temperature lately, it's so perfect for the walk. It's nice and relaxing, and I don't get to my destination all hot and sweaty. Not that there's anything wrong with getting all sweaty, it's just a little uncomfortable to start work in that state.

Anyhow, I'm off to relax the rest of the evening, and perhaps look for some nice healthy new recipes to try :)

So...

After bemoaning my lack of weight loss this past week, I stepped on the scale this morning to find that I am down another 2 lbs!

Yay me!

I am also officially more than 25% done my walking goal for the month. Another yay me!

:-D

Not Quite Abandoned

It's been quite some time. Months.

I won't lie. I was being lazy. I was eating whatever I wanted.

I started gaining back the weight I'd lost.

For the past few weeks I've been tracking everything again. Every bite. I've been (mostly) eating healthy, and I've been on track to lose this weight again. I'm walking again. For the most part, it's one way either to or from work. Some days it will be both. It feels good to be moving again.

Still, with all of this, I can't quite figure out why I've gained again. I'm not going to obsess over it (well, maybe not) and I'll leave it be for another week or so. Could just be water. Maybe I need to re-evaluate how much I'm eating and how much I'm exercising. Maybe I am obsessing.

I've also signed up on Run Keeper where I can make little mini-goals for myself to keep me moving. The first of such goals is to 75 miles in the month of October. As long as I stick with walking each day (the walk to work is approximately 3 miles), this should be totally do-able.

At any rate, I'm trying to not be frustrated with the lack of "weight loss" and remind myself that whether or not I weigh less, I'm still doing things that are healthy for me. In the end, that can't be all bad.. can it?

Slacker, Be Gone!

So, I've been a complete slacker for the past 3 weeks. I've been eating junk food (and I'm ashamed to say, lots of it!), I've been getting pretty much zero exercise, I haven't been tracking my food, and lastly I've gained back 5 pounds.

As of yesterday, I finally feel like I'm back. I'm logging everything I eat. I'm eating healthy foods. I'm exercising again. I've opted to not get back into the running thing quite yet, mostly due to the heat. I don't like the heat and if I make running my plan during it, I know I won't do it. So instead, I've gone back to Richard Simmons, and my Walk Away the Pounds stuff. 

It feels good to be back. It feels good to be on track again. It feels good to exercise. Mostly, it just feels good to feel like me again.

Struggling this week..

It's been tough getting back on the wagon this week. While I've been trying to get exercise in each day and keep under my calorie goal, it's just not working. I'm starting to get a little discouraged, and I'm ready to throw in the towel.. for the rest of the week. 

I joined a challenge group on MFP to lose 10lbs from July 1 to September 1, and since I've made a personal goal to lose 20lbs by the end of the summer, I figure that a little more motivation can't hurt. 

I think what's making it hard for me to keep on track right now is that I've fallen away from my plan. I need to get back on it, and get things back to square one. So now, the plan for this challenge stand as thus:

• Exercise (C25K, walking, WATP, SttO videos, etc) at least 5 days of the week. The endorphins will also do me some good.
• Eat healthy, nutritious food. I don't have to go as far as the 8 week challenge, but I'd still like to use a lot of that as a base.
• If need be, create meal plans for myself to follow, and make sure that I have a lot of yummy healthy stuff on hand that I can have in a pinch.

 So again, a simple plan, with a simple goal. Let's see if I can meet the challenge goal, if not my own goal.

Wish me luck!

"Vacation" is done.. Back to the grind!

See, the thing with taking a break, is you usually come up with zero progress. Which is what this week has been. While it's been nice not writing down everything I eat and not measuring everything, I'm ready to get back to the hard work. Starting tomorrow.

I went to see my parents yesterday, and my Mom was absolutely wonderful and gave me some lettuce, freshly harvested from her garden. It all went into a big bowl of salad to day, and I'll be eating that for lunch for the next few days.  

I totally can't wait until she's got more veggies ready (and is willing to share them with her favourite daughter). 

I'm kicking it into gear again, I'd started falling off the wagon the last few weeks of the challenge and momentum is something I definitely do not want to lose. I liked a lot of foods I was eating on the challenge, and I definitely plan on keeping most of it in my diet. I'm still about 20lbs away from where I'd wanted to be a month ago, so let's see if I can make that happen before the end of the summer now.

Wish me luck!

Done!

So, the eight weeks are up, and though I've not done the fit test at the end of the eight weeks, I am down 10 lbs. I haven't done any measurements, so I can't tell you how many inches I am down.

Truth be told, it was tough, and I did cheat a few times. Still, I am very glad that I did it. I have a whole bunch of healthy recipes under my belt, and I have a better idea of what to eat to maintain a healthier lifestyle.

And now I move on, continuing what I started 8 weeks ago (for the most part). This week, I am taking a break from tracking, a much needed break after 8 long weeks of tracking every little thing. I'll be back to tracking again on Monday.

With any luck, and a lot of hard work, we should see that ticker move down even more!

Almost done..

It's the last week of the 8 week challenge.. stay tuned for the results!

Blargh...

So, I had taken a little "mini" vacation this week - mostly hanging out with Tim and getting some stuff done around the apartment. Unfortunately, this also seems to mean that healthy eating as almost gone completely out the window. Well, OK, not completely.. I'm still sticking to it about 75% - 80% of the time. Still, I can't help but feel a little disappointed in myself.

I will also be starting Round 4 of the C25K on Monday. As I've said, I know myself, and if I don't get my lazy arse out of bed first thing in the morning, I won't get out there and run. As I've been off work this week, I've enjoyed my lazy, relaxing mornings. Now that I'm getting to the end of it, I'm also finding that I'm missing getting out there in the morning. This time I'll just keep repeating "This time I won't stop, I'll finish the whole 9 weeks". I walked the Rankin "Run" last weekend. Next time I do one of these, I'd love to be able to run it, no matter how slow I am.

I'm back at work on Monday too, so with any luck we'll have some nice weather so that I can walk home each day. I also plan on getting some cooking done tomorrow so I'll have some ready frozen meals that I can quickly grab for lunch. It's been a while since I've gotten that done, and because of this, it's been a little bit of a challenge figuring out a lunch at the last minute. I know I can get it all ready the night before, but that just doesn't seem to be how I roll. Why set that expectation if I know I'm not going to follow through, right?

Today..

If ever there was a day I wanted to cheat on this challenge, it would be today. I could freaking KILL for a Caramel Macchiato.

Starting over... Again

It's been a while.. sorry about that. I'd like to say that I've just been so busy doing this and that, but that would be a lie. Truth be told, I've been a little lazy on the updates.

It's nice and early morning on this glorious Victoria Day (glorious mostly due to it being a day I don't have to work), still sweaty from my run. I've restarting the C25K... again. Last week I found I just couldn't get my behind out of bed, but I dragged myself out there this morning, and I'm feeling the better for it. I'll feel even more better (more better.. is that a thing?) after I shower. I thought I'd grab a nice glass of water and update here before I got too into my day and just didn't do it.

So  yes, starting the C25K, again. Round 3 of Week 1, Day 1 went well. Maybe this time around I'll past week 2. 

The 8 Week Challenge has become more challenging. I think this is mostly because I found I could stave off social events (most of which include food.. yummy, delicious, unhealthy food) for the first little while, but now I just would like to get out and see people more. I know that there should be more out there to do besides things that involve food, but usually eating is the one thing everyone can agree on.

Anyhow, I'm starting to really smell myself (not really) so I'd better get into that shower. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the long weekend!

Eating at a Social Event

Sooo... one of Tim's friends is having a BBQ this weekend, and we've been invited. Any ideas on how I can bring some of my challenge friendly food for me to eat, without looking like a complete jerk? I've been informed that we don't need to bring anything with us... (but some veggies or something would be polite, right?)

The last time we were out with Tim's friends, we all met up at Wild Wing before going off to see The Avengers, and while everyone enjoyed their wings and beer/pop, here I was picking at some sweet potato fries (closest thing to challenge friendly on the menu), with a glass of water in front of me. It was pure torture (especially with how much I love wings). 

In other news, I finally did day 2 of C25K this week. I wasn't feeling well Wednesday so I didn't go out.. and yesterday.. well I forgot to set my alarm... oops. So, to make up for the missed run, I'll be up early tomorrow and out again. I should be back to my regular schedule for next week.

 

Challenge - Week 2

So, week 2 didn't hold up as well as week 1 - I'm still following the guidelines, and I saw about a 2lb weight loss. All in all, still not too shabby.

Recently though, I've found I'm missing a lot of the old "junky" food that I came to know and love. Last week I started eating vicariously through other people. I'd start by carefully inspecting what they were eating, then I'd ask them questions about it.. "ooh, is that good?"... "is that a light fluffy icing?" ... "is that crunchy?"... thank heaven no one thought I was completely psycho asking these questions!

I also made it a point this weekend to get some good, proper running shoes so I can restart the C25K. My (second) first run was this morning, and though I'm a little sore, it felt good! I think it especially felt good as I haven't been walking home nearly enough, due to the spectacularly awful weather we've been having here. Seriously - haven't we had enough rain yet? Oy vey...

Anyhow, Day 2 is Wednesday.. hopefully it stays relatively dry!

 

Challenge - Week 1

And what a week it was! I didn't do nearly as much walking as I'd hoped as the weather was pretty crappy and I don't like making the hour long trek home in the rain.. but, I did follow the challenge rules and I feel great! I'm waking up in the morning with more energy and feeling great. To my great surprise I'm also down 8 pounds from where I was on Monday morning (I had gained 5 somewhere around my week off, which is why my ticker will show a loss of 3). I could hardly believe it when I stepped on the scale this morning. Just... wow.

All in all, let's just say that I am very impressed thus far with how I feel, and with the results. Though, again, I'm thinking that any weight I've lost has once again come from my boobs.. If this keeps up, I won't have any left! Oy vey.. I'll just keep telling myself that it will all even out... eventually.

Let's Clear the Air...

So, in the past couple of days I've come across a number of people who think that I am denying myself good food while doing this challenge. I am not. 

Essentially, the way I see things is that this challenge is about making healthier choices for my body and living better. For the most part, my eating habits haven't changed. Sure, I've replaced some things in my diet with healthier options (and I'm paying an arm and a leg for a loaf of challenge-friendly bread), but so far the biggest drawback I've had is not having a cup of regular, orange pekoe tea with milk and sugar. This is no big deal, and I will get used to it. 

Again, this challenge is about making healthier choices for my body, and not consuming a lot of sugary, processed, or chemically enhanced foods. I still get all of the lovely fresh food that I was eating prior to this, with a few limitations on how much of how often I can have them. Sure, looking at the "diet" it's pretty restrictive, but when you think about it we should be doing most of these things anyway. This is simply kicking it up a notch.

Challenge - Day 1

Today was the fit test and it's Day 1 of the 8 Week Challenge. I've been told by my work seatmates that if I'm too grumpy while doing this.. they'll give me 3 days and then they're kicking me off. Or at least I'll let them think that I have. 

Anyhow, the fit test went pretty much as I'd expected, so I guess it's good that I'm completely aware of how utterly unfit I am, and even better that I'm taking strides to change that. I think the hardest part will be to stay on track with the food, as it's so utterly strict. I imagine I'll be spending a good deal of time in these next 8 weeks scouring the internet to find "challenge friendly" recipes. I'll also be spending an unhealthy amount of time stalking K's Pinterest page as she's already post a bunch.

I also decided to take last week off from all of this, in light of the very strict diet I am about to embark on. Sadly, this also included the blog, but I think I truly needed the break for the sake of my mental health. I'm now starting this challenge with a fresh and optimistic attitude.  I expect it's going to be a tough ride, but it should all be worth it in the end. 

Wish me luck!

The Countdown Continues...

To make sure that things aren't so hard for me when I start the challenge in... about 13 days time, I've actually started following some of the "rules" so to speak. I've cut back on the dairy, I'm limiting myself to the 2 fruits a day... but....

.... How on earth am I ever going to effectively give up chocolate!?

Count Down - 15 days until the 8 Week Challenge

I met up with K yesterday and got some much needed info for the 8 Week Challenge that I'll be starting in about 15 days. I'm planning on following this Challenge along side my normal diet - so basically making sure that the food I eat is all Challenge-friendly while counting my calories. I'll still log everything on MyFitnessPal, and keep the food logs that have been given to me.

Now, the Challenge will be a challenge, that's for sure. No caffeine (goodbye morning cuppa tea), no more peanut butter (insert sad face here), and only two servings of fruit a day (I love fruit!). All I have to say is that I hope this is worth it!

Even still, I'm quite excited. I've spent a good deal of time last night and today looking through my recipes, and looking up others that I can have while on this challenge. I think I'll have the most trouble with breakfast and dinner, as traditionally I either have toast and peanut butter or a crap load of fruit for breakfast... and the BF makes dinner for me. Still, he knows how important this is to me, so I know he's going to try his darnedest to ensure that I follow through.

Wish me luck! And who knows, maybe I'll stick with it even after I've gotten through the 56 days...

 

So... I'm a Slacker

... or perhaps I'm just not as dedicated as the hardcore runners out there. Either way, I've decided that I HATE HATE HATE running in the cold. And right now, it's freaking freezing when I leave the house as the sun rises. 

Here comes the part where I'm a slacker; I'm taking the week off and restarting the C25K program next week - when hopefully I don't wonder if I'll lose any of my extremities due to exposure (have I mentioned that I'm a bit of a wimp?). Instead, I'll be sticking to my good old walk away the pounds videos for the remainder of the week, all of which can be done from the comfort of my (heated) living room.

Don't get me wrong here, I do love running. Not so much at the start of the run, when I stagger out of my apartment, barely awake. No, that part I'm not such a big fan of, but I know myself, and I know that if I don't get my butt out there with the early bird, I won't get out there at all. What I do love is the feeling I get afterwards, the fact that I feel a little more relaxed for the whole day. I love that it does wonders for my mood, and for my anxiety (which, by all rights should be at a record high right now).

And so, with my newly found love of this running thing, I need to get some new running shoes. The cheap pair that I have now will do me fine for walking, but I'm not so sure that they give me the support that I need to run. If anyone has any advice on the procurement of said shoes, please comment. I need all the help and advise I can get in this department. 

In the actual weight loss department, I had mentioned earlier that I'm not going to obsess about my weight here, and that I'm going to take a break from checking it. That said, I am solidly refusing to step on the scale until at least April 15th. Hopefully at that point I'll see the needle on the scale start of move counter clockwise again. I'm also trying this thing where I eat a little more, as I've just been plain famished lately, especially on the days that I run. Hopefully I'm right in thinking that this means I'm not getting enough to eat on these days and that I need to feed my hungry body a little more. 

And now.. I'm off to bed! I have an hour long walk (on the spot, in my living room) to do in the morning!

Week 2 - So Far..

I just finished Week 2, Day 2 of C25K.. and I gotta say that this week sucks in comparison to last. I have to resign myself that there will be good days, and bad days. It also doesn't necessarily mean that there won't be bad weeks either. My next run day will be Saturday (What!? No sleeping in!?), and hopefully it will go better than the last 2 days:

Day 1

Workout time - 31 min
Alternating 2 min of walking with 1.5 min of jogging
10:46 min per KM


Day 2

Workout time - 30 min
Alternating 2 min of walking with 1.5 min of jogging 
10.54 min per KM 

On the bright side, this week hasn't been a total failure when it comes to running. I have finally figured out how to use a playlist with my C25K app. Yes, I'm that technically inclined that it took me nearly 2 weeks to figure out. This should make choosing the music a little easier, now that I can make several appropriate playlists to use as I go. Also, let me just say that there's something about hearing "Fight for Your Right" that totally gets me moving. Maybe it's the the "Kick it" at the beginning, maybe not. Whatever it is, I sort of feel like I could just run with that song on repeat for the entire 30 min I'm out there. Just sayin'.


This week is also marking another week that's showing no weight loss. I am losing inches, so I know I'm doing something right. Since I started this whole running thing I've been starving, so I have decided to up my calorie intake - not my much mind you. In doing so, I find I'm not feeling so grouchy and I don't feel hungry all. the. time. Now, that said, my bright idea to eat more is probably contributing (at least right now) to the lack of weight loss, but I'm sure that once my body adjusts to it a little more, it will start coming off again. That's the idea anyhow. I know I need to eat enough to fuel my body, and being hungry all the time is not a good thing.


Now, that said, I've also decided to take a little break from tracking my weight. I'm not saying that I'm going to start eating French Fries (oh, French Fries.. how long we've been parted.. ahem) at every meal, I just don't want to get discouraged when I see the little needle on my scale not moving. I'll still be tracking everything I eat, everyday, and I'll still be exercising. I'll probably measure a little more to see progress that way too. I'll check back in with the scale in a few weeks and see where we're at.

C25K Week 1 is done - Halfway to my First Weight Loss Goal!

It's a big day for me, it seems. I finished Week 1 of C25K, and while I grumble each morning about going out and doing it, I feel absolutely fantastic once I've finished the workout (once I've showered the sweat off of myself, anyway). It's getting easier, and while today felt slower, I think I paced myself a little better.

Anyhow.. workout log shows as such:

Day 2 

Workout time - 30 min
Alternating 1.5 min of walking with 1 min of jogging
10:40 min per KM


Day 3

Workout time - 30 min
Alternating 1.5 min of walking with 1 min of jogging
9.44 min per KM


I absolutely love how I can feel myself improving with this program too. On Monday, when the virtual trainer chimed in to say "Halfway there!", my first thought was "Oh God! Only half? I'm going to die!". Today, it was more like "Really??".


I'm also not checking the countdown, and watching it like hawk, counting down the mere seconds until I can walk again. I'm actually a little surprised when Constance (that's the virtual trainer, I didn't name her) says it's time to walk again. And today, I only had to psych myself up for the last running interval.. as opposed to, well, the last 5. 


At any rate, I'm very much looking forward to what next week will bring with C25K.


Today also marks a bit of a milestone for me. On Wednesday when I weighed myself, my scale was showing that I had gained 4 lbs!! Now, I was thinking that was almost impossible. When I told my Mom about it, she said that she usually bloats a bit in warmer weather, and as she keeps saying that I take after her (I love you, Mom!), I thought maybe that was it. 


This morning, I stepped on the scale, and was down 5 lbs from Wednesday (which is also a little not possible). That puts me to 25 lbs lost in total, and halfway to my first "mini" goal of 50 gone.


I'm also coming to feel less and less like checking the scale. I've got a lot of NSV happening. My improvements in running, the increased amount of energy that I have, I have less anxiety than I used to, and overall, I just feel better.


Don't get me wrong, weight loss is still a major goal for me. But the overall idea was also to get healthy, and fit. I'm feeling more and more like I'm on the right track.


I also have an amazing support group in my life, and I am thankful for each and every one of you.

Holy crap, I actually did it!

Workout time - 30 min
Alternating 1.5 min of walking with 1 min of jogging
10:50 per KM

Ok, not a great time.. but I don't really care about that. The only reason I'm posting it is so that I can see how I improve over time. 

Now, before I get into it, some things I noted:

1.  I really need to invest in a sports bra. One that will hold me in place.
2.  I really need to figure out what to do with my keys. I ended up looping the key ring around my middle finger so I didn't have to actually hold them, or worry about them falling out of my pocket
3. Finding something that will hold my iPhone will also be an asset.
4. Finish loading songs onto a playlist to keep me all motivated and energized through the workout. (Like a perfect 80's training montage, the first song to play, with the iPod on random, as I started to jog this morning was "Eye of the Tiger" - no lie)

I started out strong, thinking "oh, I can totally do this, no problem!". Now, though I kept a positive attitude the whole way, those thoughts slowly turned into "already!?" when it was time to jog, and "oh, thank heaven!" when it was time to walk. 

Still, I did it. I completed the work out, and didn't "cheat" once. I may have looked more like a senior citizen power walking at the mall by the end of it, but I did it. I can do it again. I will do it again. I will do it better when I do it again.

** As a side note, I was going to post to a Rocky training montage for the link, but the original Survivor video was just too cheesy to pass up.

Tomorrow Starts Day 1 of C25K

I've pretty much just cruised through the last week.. and have been a little bit bad too. After having both a night out for sushi and a night out for some tasty Indian food.. well.. let's just say I'm fairly confident I didn't gain anything.. but I also don't think I'll have lost as much as I'd have hoped.

I've also started using my pedometer (either my actual pedometer, or the one built into my phone) more when I go walking. I'm not entirely sure how accurate either one is.. maybe I need a better one.. maybe a heart rate monitor would work better? I don't know.. At the same time, is it bad that I kinda-sorta want a Fitbit? 

In other news, I think I've hit the point in the "nice" weather where I want to start the C25K. I've told the good old BF to make sure I get my lazy rear out of bed nice and early tomorrow so I can get day one done and out of the way. I got some new shoes last week (they're not the greatest shoes, but certainly better than what I had), so I have no more excuses. To be honest, I'm a little nervous about starting it.. but what do I have to lose? I want to push myself. I want to work up a sweat. I want to feel like I've accomplished something. Hopefully this will help me do that.
 

Losing Again!

It's been almost a week since my last weigh in, and with last week's total loss of 0 I was getting a little anxious to see if I'm still on track. I'm very excited and happy to say that as of this morning at about 9 am, I am down 2 more pounds!

I think seeing this is exactly what I needed to get me motivated again.

I've also committed myself to doing the 8 week challenge with a friend. Eight weeks of eating nothing but whole foods and getting at least 30 minutes of some kind of exercise each day. I'm told that the diet is very restrictive, and anything that puts the words "diet" and "very restrictive" together really does scare me a little. I'm also sure that the boyfriend isn't looking forward to practically being forced into this new eating plan as well. The challenge starts April 16, though I should be getting some material before then so I can get used to the diet change a little bit before I'm in it 100%.

Still Trying to Jump Back on the Wagon

About 6 weeks ago, I started all of this. I had a plan. I was dedicating myself to it..

I watched what I was eating. I forced myself up and out of bed each morning to exercise. I was seeing the pounds coming off, happy and extremely proud of my results.

Somewhere along the way, I stumbled. The past few weeks have been a huge struggle for me, not so much with what I'm eating, but with getting up and moving. Getting up in the morning has been my biggest struggle, and by the end of the day I'm usually so tired and miserable that I haven't wanted to walk home from work (it's a pretty good walk too).

Today, for the first time this week, I walked home. The weather outside is gorgeous. I didn't need a heavy coat and it felt great. During that walk home I made a decision: I am back on track. No more of this "getting there" attitude. Starting right now, I am back, and I am going to succeed.

Nothing Gained, Nothing Lost

After two weeks I finally had another weigh in, only to find myself exactly where I last left off. So, while I've not lost any weight, at least I've not gained any either.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly content to remain at the same weight, but I know that this will happen. I know that soon enough it will be coming off again.

I haven't exactly been as "good" as I should have been this past week. My meals have been pretty good, but I've totally slacked on the whole exercise thing. I'm forcing myself to get back into the swing of things again tomorrow by waking up and getting a good workout in. I'm also going to plan out my meals a day ahead again to make sure that I'm still under my calorie goal each day.

I've worked really hard thus far, and I'm going to continue to work hard to get to be a healthier me.

Back in the Groove

After an awful week of being ill, it feels great to feel like myself again. Well, almost like myself. I'm still finding it rather hard to drag my butt up and out of bed in the morning, so I haven't done my morning workout all week. I have, however, resumed my hour long walk home from work. Even in the cold, when I finally walk in the door and I can hardly feel my legs from the cold. 

To sweeten the deal for me to walk home, I've even opted to not renew my monthly bus pass. I still ride the bus to work in the morning, but I walk home. My thinking is that if it saves me money to walk home, I'm more likely to do it if I'm feeling a little lazy. Because of the (lame) bus route that I have to take at the time I'm done work, I get home at approximately the same time too. Getting exercise and paying half the bus fare for the month? I'd be pretty stupid not to walk home, wouldn't I?

I'm also paying quite a bit of attention to my foods again. No more comfort foods - back to the good stuff that's meant to give me lost of good energy for the day. I've been under my calorie goal all week, and I intend to keep it that way.

I'm determined to make sure that the needle on the scale goes down instead of up when I weigh in this Sunday.  Hopefully my lazy, sick, comfort food filled week last week didn't do too much damage.

What a week...

It's been quite the week. Being sick for the week sure put a cramp into my plans to make sure I got all of my exercise in, and somehow also made it harder for me to want to eat well. I managed to do OK for the most part, though because of this, I have decided to skip my weekly weigh in. I'm not entirely sure if this is a good idea or a bad idea, but I do know that sick or not sick, next week will be different. I'll be getting my workouts in, and I'll be making sure I'm eating well. 

So, back to my basic plan:

• Eat healthy, low calorie foods
• Track everything I eat and stay under a certain calorie threshold
• Exercise 5-6 days of the week

I also found that I had a hard time drinking enough water last week, which could have been partly due to my lack of working out. Even still, I need to make sure I've got enough water in me to keep hydrated.

So, for the first time in about 6 weeks I've "fallen off the wagon". I still tried, and I think that's probably going to have been the main thing, and now that I'm feeling better, I will be back on track.

 

Just... Ugh

So... how do people overcome this incredible lack of motivation to get your butt up and moving and actually work out when you're sick? I'm not saying SICK, but just generally feeling like crud, exhausted and sniffly. 

I woke up this morning, and with the best of intentions I put my workout clothes on and shuffled out of the bedroom. I took one look at my television, trying to psych myself up for my workout.. and promptly went back to bed. Sigh.. 

Perhaps I just needed more rest. Perhaps tomorrow I'll be right as rain. Then again...

So my question remains.. how do you find motivation where there is none?

Sunday... Lazy Day...ish

So far the weekend has been awesome. I got to enjoy a wonderful dinner at the Oban Inn Restaurant last night.. and it was fabulous! I went all out and even had dessert. I know, I know.. not the smartest choice.. BUT when in such a place, I think it's best to go all out if you can. Also, the dessert was possibly the best thing I've ever tasted in my entire life. 

Today was weigh in day, and I'm down another 2 pounds! Even with all this restaurant food I've been having this weekend, and the sushi day last week, I'm glad to see that I'm still managing and on track. Things will get back to normal this coming week, so that will make it easier again.

I've starting making lunch for the week.. well, a good portion of the week anyhow. Last weekend I roasted a chicken, and there was a lot of meat left over so I've thrown it into a pot of water and other fixin's and I'm making a nice pot of homemade chicken soup. It SMELLS wonderful in here right now. Another healthy pre-made lunch in the freezer! I can't wait for things to get back to "normal" again!

One of Those Days...

Today is just one of those days. The ones where you just want to stay in your pj's, or throw on the comfiest pants and sweatshirt you own and just become one with your couch. Read a book, watch a movie, order in take-out. A lazy day.

Well, I have forced myself up. I have talked myself into a work out (Walk Away the Pounds - 4 mile) and I'm glad I did it. Getting up and moving around has given me the boost I need to get some stuff done, and I feel a lot more motivated about going out for my dinner date tonight.

In other news, I had a shopping day with my Mom yesterday. I needed new Yoga pants to work out in as my current pair keep falling off of me. OK, they're not that bad, but when you're doing something the requires constant movement, it certainly feels that way. I've also added some nice new tops (that fit me - yay!) to my wardrobe and purchased a couple of new bras. As I said before, I think half of the weight I've not lost has come from my boobs, and they are noticeably smaller, so I've now got some smaller bras to help me with that.

While in one of the stores, I decided to try on a pair of jeans in a size smaller for poops and giggles - just to see if I could fit into them. They fit! And they were comfortable!! I didn't buy them, as I've gone down a whole pant size in one month, and I think I can get away with wearing my current size a little bit longer. 

All in all, it was a great day out, and I'm feeling more and more happy and confident about this journey.

Long Weekend

Today is the first of four days off this weekend. I always find it harder to stay on track on the weekend, I guess it's because the day isn't as structured. I don't have a schedule to adhere to: be at work for a certain time; break time; lunch time; etc. The day seems more fluid, and with more freedom, there seems to be more opportunity to slip up. 

Despite sleeping in really late, I'm still on track. Mind you, it's only 11:30 am on Friday, so I still have practically 4 days to go. *Deep breath* I'm still doing well.

The plan is to log everything and make sure I get the workout in each day. It being my birthday weekend, I have lots of plans to go out to eat, which usually means more calories and such. I've already scoped out the menus for the places I'm going to and tried to plan appropriately.

Let's hope I can stick with the plan, and stay on track. As with any other day, and any other weekend, I plan to track absolutely everything.

Wish me luck. 

Happy Heart Day!

To celebrate Valentine's Day we decided to treat ourselves to sushi. So, along with 3 friends we went to a local sushi place.

For the first time since I started this journey almost 40 days ago, today is the first day that I allowed myself to go over my calorie limit for the day, which was a challenge on its own. I've got to work hard to really stick to things for the rest of the week.. which will promise to be difficult as I'll be celebrating my birthday this coming weekend.

I also decided to get a few more work out videos, to change things up a bit. I tried one of the Walk Away the Pounds videos today, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how much of a an actual work out that walking is. I actually worked up a nice bit of a sweat doing it, and it was pretty relaxing to boot. I'm looking forward to doing this many more times in the coming future and trying out some of the other workouts that I seem to have collected.

Making a Change Brings a Change

When I first started my journey, I wasn't sure how things would go. I began tracking the food that I was eating and I marveled at what an eye-opener it was. I had no idea I was taking in so many calories, and burning so little. 

Little by little I started to weed out the junk food in my kitchen. I began looking for healthier, lower calorie recipes for many of the foods I love. I would check foods before I ate them, and I found that I would sometime go through the thought of 4 or 5 different dishes before I settled on one that would work for my plan. It was frustrating, and now I see it only as a challenge that I can easily overcome.

I find that instead of craving things like chips and pop, I want water and fruits and vegetables. Whole foods look way more appealing now that ever, and I love finding new ways to prepare them.

When it comes to eating right, I'm extremely happy that I've kept it up. I feel so much better for it. I have more energy, I don't feel bloated or gassy anymore, and the more I do it, the more I WANT to do it.

That's not to say that I didn't go through a period of time when I wondered why on earth I was doing it. I spent a good amount of my first week at this running to the bathroom, and feeling just an overall feeling of, well, crappy as my body got used to the changes I was making.

Exercising too was a challenge. I starting doing the "Sweatin to the Oldies" videos a while back, and decided to keep up with them. At the beginning, just the thought of getting up in the morning and doing the work out was enough to make me groan. 

Day by day I'd drag my sorry butt out of bed, and begrudgingly put the DVD into the PS3. A great deal of swearing and "why isn't this done yet?" occurred during the first couple of weeks. If I missed my morning work out for any reason, I'd make sure I did it that night. I wasn't going to just let myself become lazy and not get this done.

It's a little strange now, thinking back to the beginning. These days, if I take a rest day, I feel like something is missing. It's funny how things work out.

At this point, it's been 5 weeks and I am starting to feel some real changes. Not just in my appetite or my tolerance for Richard Simmons. I'm finally noticing that my body is changing.

The first thing that I noticed is that my pants are much looser now. I'm even starting to think that I may need to replace my beloved Yoga pants. Though, I think even sadder than that, my boobs seem to be shrinking. So much so, that I've had to make plans to go new bra shopping. And soon.


I'm looking forward to the many more changes that are coming my way, as I keep moving forward to becoming a healthy me.

Number 1 Just Isn't Enough

In an effort to save a little time before the work out buddy needs to get to work, we opted to do the Sweatin to the Oldies 1 video today. Having been doing the 3rd video for at least the past week, it was a shock to see just how easy this one seemed. 

Usually I've broken quite the sweat by the time I'm done, and I'm cursing Mr Simmons until I'm done stretching. This time seemed like a walk in the park in comparison. We chatted comfortably throughout the workout and barely broke a sweat.

Needless to say, we'll be sticking with the 3rd video in the future.

Every journey has a beginning...

About 5 weeks ago I decided I was tired of being "the fat chick". I've been overweight most of my life, and I suppose I've let it define me. Or at least part of me.

I'd tried to lose weight in the past, but with little to no result. I just wasn't trying hard enough, my heart wasn't in it. I've tried one or two fad diets, and even at one point joined a gym. Sure, I was exercising, but it wasn't enough.

This time, I'm doing things differently. I joined up at MyFitnessPal and began tracking everything I put in my mouth. It's become almost an obsession, tracking what I eat. It holds me accountable, and I think it's helping to keep me on the right track. In the past 5 weeks I've lost 18 of the 114-124 pounds that I want to lose.

So far, my plan is simple:

• Eat healthy, low calorie foods
• Track everything I eat and stay under a certain calorie threshold
• Exercise 5-6 days of the week

I have found some wonderful low calorie recipes online, and I exercise by both walking and by doing the "Sweatin to the Oldies" videos. When the weather warms up some, I want to start the Couch to 5K program as well.
This is just the beginning of a life-long journey to get healthy and improve my overall well-being. I'll be updating as much as I can with my progress and struggles (as I am sure there will be many). I'll also be posting my successes and disappointments. I want to document this journey as best I can.

Lastly, this is me last summer, before starting this journey. I don't know what exact weight I was at the time of this photo, but my starting weight 5 weeks ago was 254 lbs. My guess is it was somewhere around there. I'll post another pic when I hit my first goal of 50 gone.