I went through a couple really tough couple weeks mentally. It all started with a few days of feeling ill and followed by struggling with the size of the mountain in front of me. Haven't worked out, haven't eaten well and have felt gross because of it! I can certainly relate to the scripture that talks about doing what you don't want and not doing what you want to do. Ugh!
Thankfully, I'm finally feeling better and ready for battle.
Back in the trenches we go!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Not feeling great
Haven't been feeling very well the last couple days so I've decided to take it easy...no workouts. Unfortunately, haven't made the best food choices either which isn't a great combination!
My plan would be to get back on track tomorrow.
My plan would be to get back on track tomorrow.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
A Good Start
It's the end of my second week of my back on track and I've lost 6lbs. I still need to do my workout for today but so far this week I've done 4 good workouts, 4 hours on the elliptical along with one resistance session. I'm feeling so much stronger.
Tomorrow I will start a new resistance regimen as described in "The New Rules of Lifting for Women"
I'm excited to finally have a plan beyond my cardio. I've taken a good long look at what I'm facing and I know it's going to be really hard but I know it will be worth the pain and hard work.
Should be another good week!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The Lazy River
A couple weeks ago I heard about a local water park with a lazy river and ever since visiting Sea World's Discovery Cove, I do love a lazy river. Anyway, my friend said that this water park opens the lazy river early 3 days a week for people who want to walk the lazy river....either with the current or against the current.
Lori and I decided to give it a go this morning and oh my goodness is that a good workout!
We manager to complete about 6.5 trips around. That equals a little over 1 mile walking against the current. Wow! My legs were really burning by about halfway around the FIRST lap, by the third lap I could feel blisters brewing on the ball of my left foot and by the time we hit the last lap I felt a blister brewing on the ball of my right foot.
When the time had elapsed and we were all asked to exit the water I was just arriving at a zero entry ramp where I could simply walk up the ramp to exit the river. Yes, I know that sounds very benign but after pushing against the current for a mile or so, walking up that ramp and losing the buoyancy of the water was way more difficult than it sounds. My legs felt so wobbly and couldn't stop giggling. I think that was my first experience with what my body will feel like when exiting the water at the triathlon. I'll have to give that some practice over the next year.
All in all that was a great way to start a Saturday
Lori and I decided to give it a go this morning and oh my goodness is that a good workout!
We manager to complete about 6.5 trips around. That equals a little over 1 mile walking against the current. Wow! My legs were really burning by about halfway around the FIRST lap, by the third lap I could feel blisters brewing on the ball of my left foot and by the time we hit the last lap I felt a blister brewing on the ball of my right foot.
When the time had elapsed and we were all asked to exit the water I was just arriving at a zero entry ramp where I could simply walk up the ramp to exit the river. Yes, I know that sounds very benign but after pushing against the current for a mile or so, walking up that ramp and losing the buoyancy of the water was way more difficult than it sounds. My legs felt so wobbly and couldn't stop giggling. I think that was my first experience with what my body will feel like when exiting the water at the triathlon. I'll have to give that some practice over the next year.
All in all that was a great way to start a Saturday
Friday, July 9, 2010
Back on the bike
Feeling pretty happy at the moment. Right after getting home I hopped on the elliptical for 45 minutes while I watched part of the Tour de France. It felt a bit like walking through sand for part of it so I'm very satisfied that I managed to complete the full time I had planned.
Straight from the elliptical to the pool. hehe I know, I know, it's a pretty tough life.
In the end, it was such a gorgeous afternoon I decided it would be fun to take a quick spin on my bike. So after digging out the necessary equipment, I headed out for a spin on the old bike. It was a little like being reintroduced to an old friend. If memory serves, I don't think I've ridden more than a mile or two in the 3 years since arriving in the park at the end of the STP.
In the end I rode 10 miles and it felt great having the wind in my face again. Woohoo!
Perhaps I'll be able to get back out there again tomorrow......
Straight from the elliptical to the pool. hehe I know, I know, it's a pretty tough life.
In the end, it was such a gorgeous afternoon I decided it would be fun to take a quick spin on my bike. So after digging out the necessary equipment, I headed out for a spin on the old bike. It was a little like being reintroduced to an old friend. If memory serves, I don't think I've ridden more than a mile or two in the 3 years since arriving in the park at the end of the STP.
In the end I rode 10 miles and it felt great having the wind in my face again. Woohoo!
Perhaps I'll be able to get back out there again tomorrow......
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Good news but still not a great day
So I've been experiencing sharp pains and aching in my right foot for weeks . Today I finally had a chat with the foot Dr.........and I'm not broken!!!! I was extremely happy to hear that but I would be over the moon if that diagnosis could mean the pain in my foot evaporated along with it, but alas that is not the case. Prescription? Take it easy, always wear supportive shoes and Ibuprophen. Well, I guess that's still better than broken!
I have to say the rest of the day was a real struggle. Do you suppose a person can bonk while not riding a bike? If so, I think I did that today. I waited too long to have breakfast and pretty much never caught up on my energy or my hunger all day. Unfortunately, when that happens the thing that suffers the most is my state of mind and resilience. Then I needed to work late leaving me having totally tipped over the edge of hunger and having lost my mind.
The result?
I ate a donut when one was offered and I simply couldn't face working out tonight. Neither one reflects the end of the world but it does remind me that I need to take care to feed my body properly. Also, I'm a bit sore from my first few workouts so a day off may actually be a good thing even though I actually missed really getting my heart beating.
So tomorrow is another day......and it will be in different shoes.
I have to say the rest of the day was a real struggle. Do you suppose a person can bonk while not riding a bike? If so, I think I did that today. I waited too long to have breakfast and pretty much never caught up on my energy or my hunger all day. Unfortunately, when that happens the thing that suffers the most is my state of mind and resilience. Then I needed to work late leaving me having totally tipped over the edge of hunger and having lost my mind.
The result?
I ate a donut when one was offered and I simply couldn't face working out tonight. Neither one reflects the end of the world but it does remind me that I need to take care to feed my body properly. Also, I'm a bit sore from my first few workouts so a day off may actually be a good thing even though I actually missed really getting my heart beating.
So tomorrow is another day......and it will be in different shoes.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Great day
Today was a 2nd perfect food day in a row and that feels great! Came straight home and hopped on the elliptical for 45 minutes. After last night's 40 minutes, tonight was a bit tougher to get going but once I got warmed up it really felt great.
I decided to get a small start to some resistance work.
2 sets of Ab Cycles
2 sets of Crunches
2 sets of Bench Press 40 lbs
1 set of Hack Squats w/no weight
Now we'll see if I'm sore tomorrow. :-)
I decided to get a small start to some resistance work.
2 sets of Ab Cycles
2 sets of Crunches
2 sets of Bench Press 40 lbs
1 set of Hack Squats w/no weight
Now we'll see if I'm sore tomorrow. :-)
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Day 1 of Tri Training
Mom and Dad headed home yesterday.....so sad to see them go! It was so cool having them parked in the backyard. The space ended up working better than I ever expected. It was really perfect!!!
But today is a new day and the training for my first triathlon begins today. Exactly 11 months from today. The goal is to get in shape while dropping a ton of weight before making final training preparations for the event.
Buffalo, MN June 5, 2011
So now I'm gonna try to set up a countdown ticker on this blog. If you see it on the front page you'll know I succeeded.....if you don't see it, I wasn't. :-)
Unfortunately, I've lost ground with all the guests in town so it's a bit frustrating to have to lose the same pounds ....but here we go again!!!!
But today is a new day and the training for my first triathlon begins today. Exactly 11 months from today. The goal is to get in shape while dropping a ton of weight before making final training preparations for the event.
Buffalo, MN June 5, 2011
So now I'm gonna try to set up a countdown ticker on this blog. If you see it on the front page you'll know I succeeded.....if you don't see it, I wasn't. :-)
Unfortunately, I've lost ground with all the guests in town so it's a bit frustrating to have to lose the same pounds ....but here we go again!!!!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Anticipation and a HUGE challenge
I've been holding steady with lots of company in and out of town but when Mom and Dad head home on the 5th of July.......It's a whole new beginning!!!!! And I have a great big challenge to focus on.
First triathlon --- June 5, 2011 in Buffalo, MN
I'm so excited!!!! I'll be training for it with a couple co-workers who want to do their first Tri as well. I can hardly believe it! After more than 5 years, I've finally found people to train with.
SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!
First triathlon --- June 5, 2011 in Buffalo, MN
I'm so excited!!!! I'll be training for it with a couple co-workers who want to do their first Tri as well. I can hardly believe it! After more than 5 years, I've finally found people to train with.
SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Getting better
Although I haven't been absolutely perfect on my eating the last couple days, I have been totally PRESENT while eating....and that has been a huge victory. The huge victory is that I've realized when I am "present" while eating I eat less and I'm still satisfied. I'm back to walking on breaks which is nice and my Spin video arrived so I'm looking forward to giving that a go this weekend. Ohh and I took Friday off so I get a 3-day weekend! YEAH!!!!!!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Still a bit rough
Feeling totally out of control of my schedule and dinner food choices with my Mom in town and I continue to struggle with making good food choices while feeling out of control. I really want to start working out right after work but it hasn't happened except once. Crazy thing is that it felt so good it's crazy not to do it consistently. Today I ordered a Spin DVD from amazon.com and I'm excited for that to come. Not much more to update for now. Hopefully my next update will be a more positive one.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Getting back on track
Had a couple perfect days of eating this week which felt really good. Then there were a few days that were pretty out of my control due to rehearsal dinner, wedding dinner and family dinner. The wedding was beautiful and tons of fun. Now it's time to get really serious about cleaning up my eating and ratcheting up the workouts. I already feel better this week, even with not eating perfectly but better. Looking forward to the scale beginning to dropping again.
Off we go!!!
Off we go!!!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Rough Road
This new challenge has been a rough road!
Since I was the one who organized the new challenge, I thought about delaying the start because even then I knew I wasn't feeling it. But I decided to move ahead because.....well mainly because life keeps moving on whether I'm feeling it or not.
The thing is that that when this challenge began, I still had 2 weeks left to work my second job and every day was a huge struggle. I ended up in that old familiar head space....giving myself permission to make bad food decisions because I was so frustrated! I didn't feel like I had any control over my life. I wanted to walk out of that 2nd job and never go back SO BAD.... but I couldn't. I had to be good to my word and follow through to the end. What does it say about me that when life presents me with a situation out of my control....I eat whatever I want to make myself feel better. Crazy thing is it makes me feels like crap and I keep eating it anyway. Clearly this is not going to get unpacked in one short blog entry but just as clearly, if I'm ever going to be truly healthy, I need to figure out how to be healthy even when I feel trapped by a life circumstance.
Thankfully, today felt like a new day. I had a clear and focused mind for the first time in weeks. I left work, came straight home, had a snack and hopped on the elliptical. Stayed on the elliptical for 45 minutes and then did a few minutes on the spin bike. It felt great! I want to get a spin workout on dvd. I know it will be hard but it will be a huge help once I'm out riding on the road.
It was a really good day!
Since I was the one who organized the new challenge, I thought about delaying the start because even then I knew I wasn't feeling it. But I decided to move ahead because.....well mainly because life keeps moving on whether I'm feeling it or not.
The thing is that that when this challenge began, I still had 2 weeks left to work my second job and every day was a huge struggle. I ended up in that old familiar head space....giving myself permission to make bad food decisions because I was so frustrated! I didn't feel like I had any control over my life. I wanted to walk out of that 2nd job and never go back SO BAD.... but I couldn't. I had to be good to my word and follow through to the end. What does it say about me that when life presents me with a situation out of my control....I eat whatever I want to make myself feel better. Crazy thing is it makes me feels like crap and I keep eating it anyway. Clearly this is not going to get unpacked in one short blog entry but just as clearly, if I'm ever going to be truly healthy, I need to figure out how to be healthy even when I feel trapped by a life circumstance.
Thankfully, today felt like a new day. I had a clear and focused mind for the first time in weeks. I left work, came straight home, had a snack and hopped on the elliptical. Stayed on the elliptical for 45 minutes and then did a few minutes on the spin bike. It felt great! I want to get a spin workout on dvd. I know it will be hard but it will be a huge help once I'm out riding on the road.
It was a really good day!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
A New Challenge
Tomorrow begins a new weightloss challenge with my friends at work. We are calling it BL2...yes I know we could have been slightly more creative but Hey! it works.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to going at it again because I'm getting very close to territory I haven't seen in YEARS! It will be so cool to break through this particular wall.
Today I was able to squeeze a little bike ride in and amongst my weekend chores.....AND IT FELT SOOOOOOO GREAT! For those who know what schedule has been like over the past year or so I am extremely excited to report.....I HAVE QUIT MY 2ND JOB!!!!! Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say that I have given notice but I already feel more free. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm fairly certain it's not a train. LOL I'm not sure what I will do getting home every day by 3:30.....but I sure look forward to figuring it out.
Oh and the pool is being opened tomorrow. YIPPY!!!!! It was truly incredible, we took the winter cover off and the water is perfectly crystal clear. If you knew what opening the pool has been like the last couple years you will have some sense of how excited I am about this turn of events. I mean the last couple years I have come to a whole new understanding of the term "muck". Most people would attribute that word with horse stalls rather than a swimming pool but I can honestly say there was probably very little difference in the appearance and stench I associate with the word and someone mucking horse stalls. I take that back, I think the horse stalls would look and smell better than the decaying leaves we have had to sift out of the pool. Thankfully those experiences can now be just another funny things we can look back on and laugh.
Well, I'm off to finish getting ready for the week and firing up the grill!
Anyway, I'm looking forward to going at it again because I'm getting very close to territory I haven't seen in YEARS! It will be so cool to break through this particular wall.
Today I was able to squeeze a little bike ride in and amongst my weekend chores.....AND IT FELT SOOOOOOO GREAT! For those who know what schedule has been like over the past year or so I am extremely excited to report.....I HAVE QUIT MY 2ND JOB!!!!! Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say that I have given notice but I already feel more free. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm fairly certain it's not a train. LOL I'm not sure what I will do getting home every day by 3:30.....but I sure look forward to figuring it out.
Oh and the pool is being opened tomorrow. YIPPY!!!!! It was truly incredible, we took the winter cover off and the water is perfectly crystal clear. If you knew what opening the pool has been like the last couple years you will have some sense of how excited I am about this turn of events. I mean the last couple years I have come to a whole new understanding of the term "muck". Most people would attribute that word with horse stalls rather than a swimming pool but I can honestly say there was probably very little difference in the appearance and stench I associate with the word and someone mucking horse stalls. I take that back, I think the horse stalls would look and smell better than the decaying leaves we have had to sift out of the pool. Thankfully those experiences can now be just another funny things we can look back on and laugh.
Well, I'm off to finish getting ready for the week and firing up the grill!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Week 14
It's been a couple weeks since I've posted anything here but it's not that I've totally fallen off the wagon. :-) It's just been a crazy couple weeks. Last weekend was a big Spring Cleaning weekend and by the time I got done at the end of the day I simply had no energy left....not even for something as simple as typing. Yep, I was tired~!!!!
Last week I did have a 3 lbs loss and I was very excited! That's a total of 27.8 lbs so far.
This weekend has been restrained to a more manageable pace for which I'm very thankful. Yesterday morning Lori and I had breakfast with my sister-in-law Sue and my niece and nephew, Hillary and Sammy, before heading to Seth & Laura's house (nephew & fiance) for a little painting party. Aside from trying to get the house ready for her to move in after the wedding, she is trying to get as much done as possible before he sister comes to visit in a couple weeks. We were only able to stay for a few hours but even during that time, I think quite a bit was accomplished. It's an adorable house and they have chosen really wonderful colors for the whole house.
Once home we went to work in the backyard on the pool. Thankfully it wasn't raining so I took a turn dipping leaves off the tarp so we don't have to go fishing for them later. Between all the hours Lori spent dipping leaves last weekend and my couple hours yesterday.....we are almost there. And that's a good thing because we only have a couple more weeks before the pool guy will arrive to open the pool for the season. Yeah!! Yes I know it may seem like the second week of May is a bit early for pool opening but we decided we really wanted it in shape by Memorial Day Weekend just in case we get a nice weekend. Not to mention that it will take some time to get the water's balance right AND get the water heated to the right level.
Then I headed to my chair and sat........yup, just SAT!!!! Sheesh, that was nice! Last week was a really brutal week and a little down time was really in order.
Confession: Did not eat very well last week and I'm a little scared how the scale will reflect those choices. It wasn't all bad. Several lunches I had a deli sandwich (oops! with chips) and I had a couple fast food dinners and then Friday was my team's going away (pizza) party for our contractor Xong. Oh and breakfasts for the week consisted of donuts and milk. OK I stand corrected....IT REALLY WAS ALL BAD!!!!! I mean, since I was in class for 3 days, I didn't even get to walk on breaks and lunches. Yep, it was really all bad!
Boy when you see it all written down like that it makes more sense why I so feel like crap!!!
I was chatting with Lori last night about what a tough week it was and I'm wondering how much of it was related to my eating. The Zone would say you should balance each meal because it balances your hormone levels and in turn protects against huge swings in mood and energy level. And boy did I have some mood and energy swings. Hmm!
Well, I'm back on plan now and tomorrow morning we'll see how much I'll end up paying for last week on the scale.
\
Last week I did have a 3 lbs loss and I was very excited! That's a total of 27.8 lbs so far.
This weekend has been restrained to a more manageable pace for which I'm very thankful. Yesterday morning Lori and I had breakfast with my sister-in-law Sue and my niece and nephew, Hillary and Sammy, before heading to Seth & Laura's house (nephew & fiance) for a little painting party. Aside from trying to get the house ready for her to move in after the wedding, she is trying to get as much done as possible before he sister comes to visit in a couple weeks. We were only able to stay for a few hours but even during that time, I think quite a bit was accomplished. It's an adorable house and they have chosen really wonderful colors for the whole house.
Once home we went to work in the backyard on the pool. Thankfully it wasn't raining so I took a turn dipping leaves off the tarp so we don't have to go fishing for them later. Between all the hours Lori spent dipping leaves last weekend and my couple hours yesterday.....we are almost there. And that's a good thing because we only have a couple more weeks before the pool guy will arrive to open the pool for the season. Yeah!! Yes I know it may seem like the second week of May is a bit early for pool opening but we decided we really wanted it in shape by Memorial Day Weekend just in case we get a nice weekend. Not to mention that it will take some time to get the water's balance right AND get the water heated to the right level.
Then I headed to my chair and sat........yup, just SAT!!!! Sheesh, that was nice! Last week was a really brutal week and a little down time was really in order.
Confession: Did not eat very well last week and I'm a little scared how the scale will reflect those choices. It wasn't all bad. Several lunches I had a deli sandwich (oops! with chips) and I had a couple fast food dinners and then Friday was my team's going away (pizza) party for our contractor Xong. Oh and breakfasts for the week consisted of donuts and milk. OK I stand corrected....IT REALLY WAS ALL BAD!!!!! I mean, since I was in class for 3 days, I didn't even get to walk on breaks and lunches. Yep, it was really all bad!
Boy when you see it all written down like that it makes more sense why I so feel like crap!!!
I was chatting with Lori last night about what a tough week it was and I'm wondering how much of it was related to my eating. The Zone would say you should balance each meal because it balances your hormone levels and in turn protects against huge swings in mood and energy level. And boy did I have some mood and energy swings. Hmm!
Well, I'm back on plan now and tomorrow morning we'll see how much I'll end up paying for last week on the scale.
\
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Back on track
Feels good to finally be back on track. This is my 3rd day of having my eating back on track and it feels great! I've also started to walk during for 20 minutes during lunch because I'm really wanting to get re-focused and keep moving forward. Thankfully, I've already lost the 0.8 lbs I gained last week and lost another 0.6 lbs. Whew! Very happy to have the scale beginning to drop again. Just have to keep this new momentum rolling! :-)
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Week 11
Well, I guess history and being a realist would have warned me that at some point this was bound to happen. I gained 0.8 lbs this week. As I stated before, I've kind of relaxed/lost some of my focus over that past couple weeks. All things considered I think I've gotten off pretty easy. I'm actually feeling excited and quite ready to refocus.
So her I come Week 12....
Only a few more weeks in the BL Contest at work and I really want to hit my goal of 30 lbs by May 3rd.
Wish me luck!!!!
So her I come Week 12....
Only a few more weeks in the BL Contest at work and I really want to hit my goal of 30 lbs by May 3rd.
Wish me luck!!!!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Almost the end of Week 11
So I missed my Week 10 post. It's a little hard to describe the last couple weeks. There are a tone of changes going on at work. The office is getting prepared for a total reorganization and I am one of the people who's position will be changing the most. I 'll be doing new work, on a new team, with a new supervisor in a new branch. Funny thing is I 'm one of the people most excited about the reorganization.
As for my eating and exercise the past couple weeks have been weird. Breakfasts and lunches have remained constant during the week but on the weekends and Friday nights I've made some poor choices. Plus with missing work last Thursday and Friday kind of set me off a bit. I've also been drinking more soda pop. So this morning the scale was not very friendly. It shows my weight up 3 lbs for the week however I did not eat 10,000 more calories than I burned this week so I know that at least some of it is due to retaining water. So today I'm back to concentrating on drinking lots of water and staying away the soda pop.
We'll see what it looks like tomorrow.
As for my eating and exercise the past couple weeks have been weird. Breakfasts and lunches have remained constant during the week but on the weekends and Friday nights I've made some poor choices. Plus with missing work last Thursday and Friday kind of set me off a bit. I've also been drinking more soda pop. So this morning the scale was not very friendly. It shows my weight up 3 lbs for the week however I did not eat 10,000 more calories than I burned this week so I know that at least some of it is due to retaining water. So today I'm back to concentrating on drinking lots of water and staying away the soda pop.
We'll see what it looks like tomorrow.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Home sick :-(
Ugh! I'm home sick today. Stomach is finally starting to feel better. It's the weirdest thing, it's been 24-hours since I left the dentist office so why does my mouth still taste just like the dentist office?! I've never had this happen before and I don't know if that was the cause of my queasy stomach or not but boy does my mouth sure tastes bad. Whew!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Week 9
Lost 1.6 lbs this week. I would have loved to have the weightloss continue at a pace of 3-6 lbs a week but even I knew that wasn't likely. I'm happy with my 1.6 lbs. I have now lost a total of 24 lbs since January 18th. That's pretty cool!!!
Just had a breakfast sandwich and watching the Sunday morning news programs. Feel my blood pressure rising every time another disingenuous political windbag open their mouth!!!!! And I'm speaking of windbags on both sided of the isle by the way. The best solution? GO FOR A WALK!!!! Get some of those feel good endorphins. :-)
Just had a breakfast sandwich and watching the Sunday morning news programs. Feel my blood pressure rising every time another disingenuous political windbag open their mouth!!!!! And I'm speaking of windbags on both sided of the isle by the way. The best solution? GO FOR A WALK!!!! Get some of those feel good endorphins. :-)
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Finally!!
Well I finally made it back into the 240's.....only by 0.2lbs but I'll take it! The weightloss has definitely slowed down but I've now lost a total of 23.2lbs since January 18th. Unfortunately, I haven't been quite as focused as I was the first 6 weeks....and then there's always my weekly work schedule which has really started to wear on me.
At the beginning of the year I decided I would quit my 2nd job by the end of May but as the date was getting closer I started getting more and more anxious about letting go of the extra income. It hit the point where any time I thought about giving notice, my stomach started to tie up in knots and I felt my heartbeat start to quicken. It's been such a difficult couple years financially that the thought of losing that income started to really scare me. I asked a couple friends to really pray with me for direction so I could make a decision and truly be at peace with it either way. As part of this process I also took another look at what the financial picture would be without the extra income and was surprised to see that I can still continue the journey toward being debt free....albeit a bit slower, it's still a reasonable amount of time. So with as much as I want my life back and knowing I can still accomplish my goal of being debt free I came to a place of prayerfully deciding that unless something happened that would be the equivalent of God knocking me upside the head with a 2x4 indicating I needed to keep the 2nd job.....I'm giving my notice at the beginning of May!!!! Yeah!
So on my morning break I told Lori about my decision and the whole 2x4 scenario. For the first time rather than anxiety I felt something very different.....excitement!!! I was totally excited, even bubbly inside. Lori later told me she walked away thinking that if the tenants of my rental house didn't renew their lease that would equate to my 2x4 upside the head. The really cool thing is that within a couple hours of that conversation I received a text from the property manager advising me that the tenants had just called asking to extend the lease for another year. :-) Thank you Lord for your amazing timing and rich sense of humor. So now it's just a matter of hanging in there for another 10 weeks or so and I'll have my afternoons and evenings free....just in time for Summer. Whew!
Now I just need to regain my focus and really zero in on my goal. I have to stayed focused on continuing to lose weight while improving my health and fitness. Once I'm a little further down the road, we can talk about --- triathlons!
At the beginning of the year I decided I would quit my 2nd job by the end of May but as the date was getting closer I started getting more and more anxious about letting go of the extra income. It hit the point where any time I thought about giving notice, my stomach started to tie up in knots and I felt my heartbeat start to quicken. It's been such a difficult couple years financially that the thought of losing that income started to really scare me. I asked a couple friends to really pray with me for direction so I could make a decision and truly be at peace with it either way. As part of this process I also took another look at what the financial picture would be without the extra income and was surprised to see that I can still continue the journey toward being debt free....albeit a bit slower, it's still a reasonable amount of time. So with as much as I want my life back and knowing I can still accomplish my goal of being debt free I came to a place of prayerfully deciding that unless something happened that would be the equivalent of God knocking me upside the head with a 2x4 indicating I needed to keep the 2nd job.....I'm giving my notice at the beginning of May!!!! Yeah!
So on my morning break I told Lori about my decision and the whole 2x4 scenario. For the first time rather than anxiety I felt something very different.....excitement!!! I was totally excited, even bubbly inside. Lori later told me she walked away thinking that if the tenants of my rental house didn't renew their lease that would equate to my 2x4 upside the head. The really cool thing is that within a couple hours of that conversation I received a text from the property manager advising me that the tenants had just called asking to extend the lease for another year. :-) Thank you Lord for your amazing timing and rich sense of humor. So now it's just a matter of hanging in there for another 10 weeks or so and I'll have my afternoons and evenings free....just in time for Summer. Whew!
Now I just need to regain my focus and really zero in on my goal. I have to stayed focused on continuing to lose weight while improving my health and fitness. Once I'm a little further down the road, we can talk about --- triathlons!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Week 8
I have now been on this new journey toward health for eight weeks now and I've lost a total of 22.4 lbs. I'm extremely pleased with my progress!!!! I was hoping to make it over that next big hurdle into the 240's but I missed it by 0.6 lb. Hopefully I'll get there next week.
The cool thing is that it hasn't even been painful. I feel great and so much stronger even though the only exercise I've been able to consistently work in has been walking. I would love to have the time available to workout more Biggest Loser style but it's great to know it's not necessary to work out like that in order to make progress toward my goal.
Later I'll be taking my measurements and will report back.
The cool thing is that it hasn't even been painful. I feel great and so much stronger even though the only exercise I've been able to consistently work in has been walking. I would love to have the time available to workout more Biggest Loser style but it's great to know it's not necessary to work out like that in order to make progress toward my goal.
Later I'll be taking my measurements and will report back.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Weird week
It's almost the end of the eighth week and it's been a weird one. One day my work schedule didn't allow me to get in my 2nd 15 minute break walk and one day I was home sick with a headache so both of those days I missed my Step Target. I met my calorie target each day but it just didn't feel very satisfying. The fact that the scale has not been friendly certainly helped with the weird factor this week. Then Friday night I went out to eat and did not make a choice that was "on plan". I don't really feel guilty about that. I still made a reasonable calorie deficit for the day and outside Friday it was a perfect week of eating. I guess there just hasn't been anything special about my eating or my exercise to get excited about this week. Tomorrow morning is the official weigh-in and it will be interesting to see what it shows. I am on a very strange every other week schedule for weight loss. One week I lose 3 or 4 pounds and the next week I lose 0.2 pounds or something like that. I have yet to have the scale show a gain on the official weigh-in day but tomorrow could be the exception. We'll just have to see what the morning holds. Tomorrow is measurement day too so it should be interesting.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Week 7
It's the end of Week 7 and I hit a major target. I've now lost a total of 21.8 lbs and it feels great!!!!!
Yesterday was a crazy full day. Headed out pretty early for grocery shopping and had to make several stops to get the whole list and made a quick stop at Subway for lunch. But the real action started when we got home. The first order of business when getting home was getting my workout in plus Lori needed to get her run in so while she was doing her Couch to 5k run I was on the elliptical next to her trying to keep up with her. It was a really good workout. Then we went straight to the kitchen. We fired up every burner, the oven and the crock pot to cook lunches for the coming weeks. After 4+ hours of cooking, cooking, cooking, we have 49 lunches in the freezer. Whew! By the time the kitchen was cleaned up my feet were throbbing so bed, it was 3 Advil and bed for me but it feels so good to have it done.
It was kind of funny because when I woke up this morning I felt just like I used to feel waking up on Sunday morning after a long bike ride. It was like de ja vu. I have a low grade headache at the moment but I'm sure it will subside as the day gets rolling.
Getting ready to fix breakfast and figure out where the walk will be today. It's very overcast today and the weather report has been threatening rain. The rain hasn't arrived yet but I don't think the conditions are favorable to a walk at Pioneer Park so it may be a mall walking day.
Looking forward to a very low-key day, relaxing and getting ready for the week ahead.
Yesterday was a crazy full day. Headed out pretty early for grocery shopping and had to make several stops to get the whole list and made a quick stop at Subway for lunch. But the real action started when we got home. The first order of business when getting home was getting my workout in plus Lori needed to get her run in so while she was doing her Couch to 5k run I was on the elliptical next to her trying to keep up with her. It was a really good workout. Then we went straight to the kitchen. We fired up every burner, the oven and the crock pot to cook lunches for the coming weeks. After 4+ hours of cooking, cooking, cooking, we have 49 lunches in the freezer. Whew! By the time the kitchen was cleaned up my feet were throbbing so bed, it was 3 Advil and bed for me but it feels so good to have it done.
It was kind of funny because when I woke up this morning I felt just like I used to feel waking up on Sunday morning after a long bike ride. It was like de ja vu. I have a low grade headache at the moment but I'm sure it will subside as the day gets rolling.
Getting ready to fix breakfast and figure out where the walk will be today. It's very overcast today and the weather report has been threatening rain. The rain hasn't arrived yet but I don't think the conditions are favorable to a walk at Pioneer Park so it may be a mall walking day.
Looking forward to a very low-key day, relaxing and getting ready for the week ahead.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
LONG Walk!!!!
Lori and I went on a long walk today....well, actually it was 2 long walks. Both were in Ft. Snelling State Park. The first we walked around Picnic Island where we met up with a few of the locals.
Then we got back into the car and decided to check out the walking trail on Pike Island. It was a gorgeous trail. The only issue we ran into was that it seemed to go on forever after having already walked around Picnic Island. Fortunately the trail was groomed and in much better shape than the trail on Picnic. I kept waiting and waiting for the trail to to turn and begin sending us back in the direction of home but it just kept sending us further and further away. Finally the trail turned the corner to send us back and we kept pressing on.....like there was another alternative, right? There were no taxis in the area so pressing on was the only option. At one point. Lori (under her breath) said, "This is a really long walk." I laughed so loud. What a gift she has for the obvious. haha It still ended up being a really great walk!!!! 11,678 Steps
Then we got back into the car and decided to check out the walking trail on Pike Island. It was a gorgeous trail. The only issue we ran into was that it seemed to go on forever after having already walked around Picnic Island. Fortunately the trail was groomed and in much better shape than the trail on Picnic. I kept waiting and waiting for the trail to to turn and begin sending us back in the direction of home but it just kept sending us further and further away. Finally the trail turned the corner to send us back and we kept pressing on.....like there was another alternative, right? There were no taxis in the area so pressing on was the only option. At one point. Lori (under her breath) said, "This is a really long walk." I laughed so loud. What a gift she has for the obvious. haha It still ended up being a really great walk!!!! 11,678 Steps
Slowing Down
Almost to the end of the 6th week and the weight loss has slowed down. I'm not complaining. I'm ahead of schedule for week 6 and even though it has slowed down, it's still headed in the right direction. I have a hard time complaining about losing 17.8 lbs in 6 weeks. Besides the reality I'm now losing pretty much exactly what my little arm bands says I should be losing based on my daily calorie deficit.
After 2 weekends in a row that included a couple less than perfect restaurant meals it feels great to have been able to get back on track so easily and still without cravings. :-)
I'm still walking on all my breaks to get my steps in and I'm amazed at how much difference just walking can make. So off to the park I go. I think we may explore a new park today. Might head down to Ft. Snelling park and walk around one of the islands on one of their groomed walking trails. I'll let you know how it goes.
Now I just have to wait until tomorrow for my official Week 6 weigh-in.
After 2 weekends in a row that included a couple less than perfect restaurant meals it feels great to have been able to get back on track so easily and still without cravings. :-)
I'm still walking on all my breaks to get my steps in and I'm amazed at how much difference just walking can make. So off to the park I go. I think we may explore a new park today. Might head down to Ft. Snelling park and walk around one of the islands on one of their groomed walking trails. I'll let you know how it goes.
Now I just have to wait until tomorrow for my official Week 6 weigh-in.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Oh and it buttons!!!!
Yes, I know that for most people making that statement would refer to something they purchased long ago when they were a smaller size. In my case, however, it refers to my brand new winter coat!!!
You see, I live in Minnesota and I went all of last year with nothing more than a jean jacket because I just couldn't bring myself to go shopping for a winter coat. But this year, I know more about living in Minnesota and I realized how I was tempting fate to be out on the road with nothing more than a jean jacket. So I gave in and went coat shopping. At this size, shopping for anything is less than fun but a winter coat? Michelin Man here I come....but I digress.
Surprisingly I found a coat I actually liked and there was only one problem.....it was about 3 inches short of buttoning. That would normally stop me in my tracks but in this instance, I really liked the coat. Plus, the fact that it is double-breasted meant that I could fold the fabric over itself and protect myself from the weather....it just wouldn't button and the next size up just didn't work. So I bought it!!!!
I can honestly say this is the only time in my life that I purchased something that was too small or right on the edge of too small where I actually grew into it. I actually grew smaller and IT BUTTONS!!!! Woohoo!!!!
You see, I live in Minnesota and I went all of last year with nothing more than a jean jacket because I just couldn't bring myself to go shopping for a winter coat. But this year, I know more about living in Minnesota and I realized how I was tempting fate to be out on the road with nothing more than a jean jacket. So I gave in and went coat shopping. At this size, shopping for anything is less than fun but a winter coat? Michelin Man here I come....but I digress.
Surprisingly I found a coat I actually liked and there was only one problem.....it was about 3 inches short of buttoning. That would normally stop me in my tracks but in this instance, I really liked the coat. Plus, the fact that it is double-breasted meant that I could fold the fabric over itself and protect myself from the weather....it just wouldn't button and the next size up just didn't work. So I bought it!!!!
I can honestly say this is the only time in my life that I purchased something that was too small or right on the edge of too small where I actually grew into it. I actually grew smaller and IT BUTTONS!!!! Woohoo!!!!
Week 5
A very weird week! I generally don’t weigh in during the middle of the week but for some reason I did this week. I’m actually really glad I did!!!
Having gotten a bit tired of the same old three lunches, Lori and I decided to try and find a few different lunch choices. (In case you don’t know, Lori is my roommate and we are on this journey toward health together) In her search of the myriad of Zone websites she uses, she found that Lean Cuisine has quite a number of frozen dinners that meet the Zone 40-30-30 mark (or pretty darn close) and the packaging loudly proclaimed “No Preservatives” so we made our selections. I must admit, I really enjoyed the different flavors and was surprised by how much I liked them. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not a restaurant meal but they were pretty satisfying.
Unfortunately, every day I got on the scale my weight went up a little bit more and by Thursday I was irritated to say the least. So I started looking more critically at the ingredients and realized that although there were no preservatives, there was WAY MORE sodium in those lunches than I have been having. It’s not exactly a scientific study but Thursday and Friday I went back to my regular lunches and by Saturday & Sunday the scale was headed back down. Yep, I don’t plan on making Lean Cuisine a regular staple!!! I still wouldn’t be against having one occasionally but we are on the hunt for more choices we can make and freeze ourselves.
Our attempt this week was to modify one of my favorite soups into a Zone-friendly recipe and it appears to have worked. I did the taste test before it was divided up and it was really good! Tasted pretty much just like the non-Zone-friendly recipe.
Considering all the hiccups, the final result for the week was ok. Nothing to jump up and down about but I’m satisfied.
I lost 0.8 lbs which is a whole lot better than the + 3 lbs I was looking at on Thursday!
Still trying to figure out how to get more workouts in but with the current work schedule I just don’t think it’s very realistic.
Having gotten a bit tired of the same old three lunches, Lori and I decided to try and find a few different lunch choices. (In case you don’t know, Lori is my roommate and we are on this journey toward health together) In her search of the myriad of Zone websites she uses, she found that Lean Cuisine has quite a number of frozen dinners that meet the Zone 40-30-30 mark (or pretty darn close) and the packaging loudly proclaimed “No Preservatives” so we made our selections. I must admit, I really enjoyed the different flavors and was surprised by how much I liked them. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not a restaurant meal but they were pretty satisfying.
Unfortunately, every day I got on the scale my weight went up a little bit more and by Thursday I was irritated to say the least. So I started looking more critically at the ingredients and realized that although there were no preservatives, there was WAY MORE sodium in those lunches than I have been having. It’s not exactly a scientific study but Thursday and Friday I went back to my regular lunches and by Saturday & Sunday the scale was headed back down. Yep, I don’t plan on making Lean Cuisine a regular staple!!! I still wouldn’t be against having one occasionally but we are on the hunt for more choices we can make and freeze ourselves.
Our attempt this week was to modify one of my favorite soups into a Zone-friendly recipe and it appears to have worked. I did the taste test before it was divided up and it was really good! Tasted pretty much just like the non-Zone-friendly recipe.
Considering all the hiccups, the final result for the week was ok. Nothing to jump up and down about but I’m satisfied.
I lost 0.8 lbs which is a whole lot better than the + 3 lbs I was looking at on Thursday!
Still trying to figure out how to get more workouts in but with the current work schedule I just don’t think it’s very realistic.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Week 4
I'm very excited to have survived my first dinner out without any damage. Had a great time going out to dinner with Sam, Sue, Brian (friend from out of town) and Lori. Went to Granite City Grill and managed to avoid eating any of the pre-dinner bread. I ordered the BBQ Chicken Pizza because the crust is really, really thin and it's a pretty reasonable portion. I still only ate about 3/4 of it and walked away satisfied and full but not stuffed. Aaaahhhh! Success! This morning the scale even agreed.
This week has been a great success! I lost 4.4 lbs and am securely into the 250s.
Whew, 240s here I come!!!
This week has been a great success! I lost 4.4 lbs and am securely into the 250s.
Whew, 240s here I come!!!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Whew!
Thankfully my hope for a great week after last week has come true. This morning the scale annouces I have lost 4.4 lbs so far this week! That puts be at a total of 14.4 lbs so far. Woohoo!!!! My official weigh-in for the week, however, is not until tomorrow morning. The funny thing about that is.....tonight I am going out to dinner for my first not "perfectly zone" meal in 4 weeks. The reason I think that's so funny is that since I started this adventure at 273 lbs (my absolutely highest lifetime weight - UGH~!) I have been excited and focused on getting back into the 250s. That is the neighborhood of where my weight was when I started the second job 6 months ago. So the first order of business has been to lose the 20 lbs I packed on during that first 5 months.
Now that it's close to happening, I am extremely motived to eat a very clean and zone-like restaurant meal to ensure not losing any momentum. Funny! In the past I may have wanted to use this dinner out as an excuse to eat "whatever I want" but today I really don't have any hankering for anything in particular.
Yesterday I even walked into the 2nd job with my desk piled high with chocolate, candy and valentines but I didn't eat a single piece and really didn't even crave it. That's progress!!!!
Well, it's time to get breakfast going so Lori & I can head out into a winter wonderland to get in our 10,000 steps for the day.
Hope everyone has an outstanding day!!!!!!
Now that it's close to happening, I am extremely motived to eat a very clean and zone-like restaurant meal to ensure not losing any momentum. Funny! In the past I may have wanted to use this dinner out as an excuse to eat "whatever I want" but today I really don't have any hankering for anything in particular.
Yesterday I even walked into the 2nd job with my desk piled high with chocolate, candy and valentines but I didn't eat a single piece and really didn't even crave it. That's progress!!!!
Well, it's time to get breakfast going so Lori & I can head out into a winter wonderland to get in our 10,000 steps for the day.
Hope everyone has an outstanding day!!!!!!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Toughest day so far
So today has been the toughest day so far in this little adventure. I have felt famished all day! The only thing that kept me from heading straight to the cafeteria for something to eat is the fact that I have committed to not spend ANY money in that place between now and May 3rd (at least). By the time lunchtime rolled around I felt like I could hardly stay vertical. I just wanted to lay down and curl up in a little ball sssssoooooooo bad!!!!! Once I got some food in me, I definitely felt better within 10-15 minutes but I was still hungry the rest of the day. Thankfully Lori cooked dinner and it was just coming out of the oven when I walked in the door. Aaaahhhh! I feel so much better......really, really tired, but so much better.
By the way, I did check my weight this morning and the scale says I've lost 2.6 lbs since Monday so I'm totally committed to keeping my diet clean. I'd be really bummed to lose this momentum. The big challenge will come Saturday because I have plans to go out to dinner with Lori, Sam, Sue & Brian (a friend in town over the weekend). Gonna need to do some planning ahead so I don't walk into the restaurant unprepared.
Well, I'm off to bed....finally! And tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!
By the way, I did check my weight this morning and the scale says I've lost 2.6 lbs since Monday so I'm totally committed to keeping my diet clean. I'd be really bummed to lose this momentum. The big challenge will come Saturday because I have plans to go out to dinner with Lori, Sam, Sue & Brian (a friend in town over the weekend). Gonna need to do some planning ahead so I don't walk into the restaurant unprepared.
Well, I'm off to bed....finally! And tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Week 3
Today is the official end of Week 3 and I'm feeling really good about my progress so far. That may seem a bit incongruent when I report that the scale says I lost 0.2 lbs this week but I stand by my previous statement. I'm excited to have lost 10 lbs in 3 weeks and beyond that I really feel great! My skin is even more clear and just feels better. It's still pretty dry at times but I believe that's simply a product of living in Minnesota and constantly being buffetted by the wind and the extreme cold.
I recently read a book called "The Flat Belly Diet". It's the product of some seemingly detailed research done by the editor of Prevention Magazine and a hired expert. One of the more interesting things discussed was the roll soda pop plays in stomach bloating and digestion. I found it very interesting because as anyone who knows me will tell you.......I have been known to have a can of pop...or 8 on any given day. Anyway, their research determined that if you wanted to reduce the protrusion of your belly for an upcoming party, one of the steps you should undertake it to remove all carbonated beverages from your diet for several days to a week prior to the party. The reason being that as the air bubbles of carbonated beverages make their way through your digestive system they actually create pockets of air that get blocked between the stool making it's way through your system which in turn creates extra bloating of the belly area. They went on to describe some other more detailed digestive results I won't go into here. I found the idea very fascinating and decided I would remove soda pop from my diet.....which lasted I think for about a half a day. Can you say addiction? Yep, I just couldn't take it. It wasn't a caffeine headache that made me give in, it was the thought of the taste and the feel of those tiny, cold bubbles as they slid down my throat, it was....well, actually it was a lot of things. Bottom line, I began to believe I was simply addicted to pop. I must say, I didn't like that thought at all. The idea of being controlled by an outside substance, even soda pop was unsettling.
So as I embarked on this new approach to fueling my body, I did not commit to abstaining from soda pop. I just couldn't bring myself to make that leap. Lori even asked me while walking through Sam's Club what I had decided on drinking or not drinking pop. I stood there completely conflicted, struggling to decide if I could do it and I just couldn't commit to not having it. I was afraid that commiting to that as well would have simply been too much! I decided I would just try to cut back to one or maybe two cans a day. I mean if I'm going to have to eat all these vegetables and NOT EAT all my favorite deep fried and bbq sauce covered foods (dipped in blue cheese dressing I might add), then I at least should be able to sit down and enjoy the taste and sensation of those tiny little bubbles sliding down my throat. Wouldn't you agree?!
Now here I sit on a Sunday morning three weeks into my new, healthy eating lifestyle and the majority of the case of pop purchased from that trip to Sam's Club is still sitting on the shelf. I think I've had two cans in the last week. Huh, what happened? It just doesn't taste the same. I mostly crave water instead. I know, it's weird!!!! I've truly never experienced this before. And I believe I've proven (at least for my body) that all the research from that book is true. My digestive system really does respond just the way they described. So I no longer feel addicted to pop. I will still have it occassionally if it sounds good. I'm sure I would still have one with a burger or something like that but I'm glad to not be constantly craving those tiny little bubbles anyway.
Hopefully next week the scale will provide a little more concrete evidence that I'm on the right path but for today......I'm Content!!!!!
Week 4 here I come.....
I recently read a book called "The Flat Belly Diet". It's the product of some seemingly detailed research done by the editor of Prevention Magazine and a hired expert. One of the more interesting things discussed was the roll soda pop plays in stomach bloating and digestion. I found it very interesting because as anyone who knows me will tell you.......I have been known to have a can of pop...or 8 on any given day. Anyway, their research determined that if you wanted to reduce the protrusion of your belly for an upcoming party, one of the steps you should undertake it to remove all carbonated beverages from your diet for several days to a week prior to the party. The reason being that as the air bubbles of carbonated beverages make their way through your digestive system they actually create pockets of air that get blocked between the stool making it's way through your system which in turn creates extra bloating of the belly area. They went on to describe some other more detailed digestive results I won't go into here. I found the idea very fascinating and decided I would remove soda pop from my diet.....which lasted I think for about a half a day. Can you say addiction? Yep, I just couldn't take it. It wasn't a caffeine headache that made me give in, it was the thought of the taste and the feel of those tiny, cold bubbles as they slid down my throat, it was....well, actually it was a lot of things. Bottom line, I began to believe I was simply addicted to pop. I must say, I didn't like that thought at all. The idea of being controlled by an outside substance, even soda pop was unsettling.
So as I embarked on this new approach to fueling my body, I did not commit to abstaining from soda pop. I just couldn't bring myself to make that leap. Lori even asked me while walking through Sam's Club what I had decided on drinking or not drinking pop. I stood there completely conflicted, struggling to decide if I could do it and I just couldn't commit to not having it. I was afraid that commiting to that as well would have simply been too much! I decided I would just try to cut back to one or maybe two cans a day. I mean if I'm going to have to eat all these vegetables and NOT EAT all my favorite deep fried and bbq sauce covered foods (dipped in blue cheese dressing I might add), then I at least should be able to sit down and enjoy the taste and sensation of those tiny little bubbles sliding down my throat. Wouldn't you agree?!
Now here I sit on a Sunday morning three weeks into my new, healthy eating lifestyle and the majority of the case of pop purchased from that trip to Sam's Club is still sitting on the shelf. I think I've had two cans in the last week. Huh, what happened? It just doesn't taste the same. I mostly crave water instead. I know, it's weird!!!! I've truly never experienced this before. And I believe I've proven (at least for my body) that all the research from that book is true. My digestive system really does respond just the way they described. So I no longer feel addicted to pop. I will still have it occassionally if it sounds good. I'm sure I would still have one with a burger or something like that but I'm glad to not be constantly craving those tiny little bubbles anyway.
Hopefully next week the scale will provide a little more concrete evidence that I'm on the right path but for today......I'm Content!!!!!
Week 4 here I come.....
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Great day!
Wow, it's been a great day! Got the weekly shopping done, went for a long walk on a snow covered path in a local park (4 mile +/-), shoveled the driveway and around the pool (for the dog) and still managed to get a batch of all three lunch items made and in the freezer. We made a full batch of vegetable soup, turkey chilli plus a full pan of pizza bake....all my lunch favorites! Yes, for those who know me well that sounds like a very weird statement but the longer I eat such a clean diet, the less my old favorites even sound edible. In the interest of full disclosure I must admit that Lori actually got all the food in the freezer because I seriously hit the wall. I don't know if it was the tryptophan in my turkey sandwich or if, all of a sudden, I was really just that tired but whatever the cause I felt so tired I felt ill. I'm feeling a bit better now that I'm laying in my bed ready to call it a night.
This morning the scale announced my weight as exactly the same as last Sunday morning so we'll see what my "last chance workout" did for me today. Whatever it says, I know I am making progress and the scale with just have to catch up....at least that's how I feel today. :-)
Well, I really am beat so I'm giving in to sleep and we'll just have to see what the 'ole scale has to say when I wake up.
This morning the scale announced my weight as exactly the same as last Sunday morning so we'll see what my "last chance workout" did for me today. Whatever it says, I know I am making progress and the scale with just have to catch up....at least that's how I feel today. :-)
Well, I really am beat so I'm giving in to sleep and we'll just have to see what the 'ole scale has to say when I wake up.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Week 2
Today is offically the end of my second perfect food week and I'm so excited to announce that the scale says I lost 6.8 lbs this week. Woohoo!!!!!!!
It's also been a fabulouse weekend! I feel like I accomplished a ton and still had plenty of downtime to relax and recharge for the week to come.
Last night I managed to stay on the elliptical for a full 60 minutes. I seriously hit the wall at 27 minutes and thought I would die trying to make it to 30 minutes but Lori was still going at it on the treadmill so I kept hanging in there and all of a sudden I realized I had broken through the wall and was feeling pretty good so I just kept going.
Then today, it was such a gorgeous day, Lori suggested we head over to Bunker Lake Regional Park because she read on their website that they rent snowshoes and with a little explanation that anyone can snowshoe. So we got all dressed up in our warmest snow garb and drove to the ski/snowshoe rental office to find out that the whole "with a little explanation" phrase was a very hypothetical concept because no one in the office had the ability to provide that little bit of explanation. First of all, I have warn snowshoes before and what he brought out of the back room looked NOTHING like what they strapped on my feet at snow camp. They looked more like something you would see on the wall of a rustic mountain lodge and after spending several minutes trying to figure out how to attach them to our feet, I gave up in utter frustration!!! However, we were not to be broken.....because we still had THOUSANDS of steps needing to be stepped. So remembering a small park up the road that has a walking trail, we decided to check and see if that trail was by any stroke of luck groomed for the winter and ahh.....sweet success. We walked the loop twice to get all our steps in and it was fabulous!!!!! Blue sky! Sunshine! Fresh air! It was spectacular to be outside for that hour and a little bit.
So week 3 here I come!
It's also been a fabulouse weekend! I feel like I accomplished a ton and still had plenty of downtime to relax and recharge for the week to come.
Last night I managed to stay on the elliptical for a full 60 minutes. I seriously hit the wall at 27 minutes and thought I would die trying to make it to 30 minutes but Lori was still going at it on the treadmill so I kept hanging in there and all of a sudden I realized I had broken through the wall and was feeling pretty good so I just kept going.
Then today, it was such a gorgeous day, Lori suggested we head over to Bunker Lake Regional Park because she read on their website that they rent snowshoes and with a little explanation that anyone can snowshoe. So we got all dressed up in our warmest snow garb and drove to the ski/snowshoe rental office to find out that the whole "with a little explanation" phrase was a very hypothetical concept because no one in the office had the ability to provide that little bit of explanation. First of all, I have warn snowshoes before and what he brought out of the back room looked NOTHING like what they strapped on my feet at snow camp. They looked more like something you would see on the wall of a rustic mountain lodge and after spending several minutes trying to figure out how to attach them to our feet, I gave up in utter frustration!!! However, we were not to be broken.....because we still had THOUSANDS of steps needing to be stepped. So remembering a small park up the road that has a walking trail, we decided to check and see if that trail was by any stroke of luck groomed for the winter and ahh.....sweet success. We walked the loop twice to get all our steps in and it was fabulous!!!!! Blue sky! Sunshine! Fresh air! It was spectacular to be outside for that hour and a little bit.
So week 3 here I come!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Almost the end of Week 2
So Week 2 doesn't end until tomorrow but so far it's been another perfect week of eating. The really cool thing was the epiphany I had earlier this week: I feel GREAT!!!!! The thing is I don't recall feeling really bad before.....that is other than feeling bad about being FAT!
I've hit the targets I set on my GoWear fit every day and last night I even decided to increase my daily step target from 5000 steps a day to 7000 steps a day. With my current schedule, I will need to continue walking on each of my work breaks to meet this goal each day which is good. Yesterday I actually hit 11,515 steps because every month we are allowed to take 59 minutes of Admin Leave to do something physical so Lori, Carrie and I went to the Mall of American and walked 3 full floors which equals about a mile and a half. Partway I through that walk I hit my moderate activity and step targets. I've found that I get really excited every time my watch starts beeping to announce I've met one of my daily targets. Sometimes I feel a little embarrassed at exactly how excited I get, but I'll take every little accomplishment that comes my way.
This morning when I got on the scale I was extremely excited because as of today I lost 5.4 lbs this week. My official weigh in isn't until tomorrow so that gives me great motivation to remain focused today. I would be REALLY disappointed if my official weigh in tomorrow is a step backward.....but we'll just have to wait and see.
So I'm off to get my errands done and get my steps in!!!!!!
I've hit the targets I set on my GoWear fit every day and last night I even decided to increase my daily step target from 5000 steps a day to 7000 steps a day. With my current schedule, I will need to continue walking on each of my work breaks to meet this goal each day which is good. Yesterday I actually hit 11,515 steps because every month we are allowed to take 59 minutes of Admin Leave to do something physical so Lori, Carrie and I went to the Mall of American and walked 3 full floors which equals about a mile and a half. Partway I through that walk I hit my moderate activity and step targets. I've found that I get really excited every time my watch starts beeping to announce I've met one of my daily targets. Sometimes I feel a little embarrassed at exactly how excited I get, but I'll take every little accomplishment that comes my way.
This morning when I got on the scale I was extremely excited because as of today I lost 5.4 lbs this week. My official weigh in isn't until tomorrow so that gives me great motivation to remain focused today. I would be REALLY disappointed if my official weigh in tomorrow is a step backward.....but we'll just have to wait and see.
So I'm off to get my errands done and get my steps in!!!!!!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Week 1
First week of my office Biggest Loser challenge is in the books and I'm proud to report it was a PERFECT week. I lost 3 lbs. I would have rather lost more but my actual goal was 2 lbs so I can't really be upset. The Body Bug makes a huge difference!!!! It's constant feedback telling you if you've taken enough steps, been active enough and burned enough calories which is HUGE! I had a couple days where I was a bit short on my activity but I was still able to reach my calorie deficit goal. It also felt nice to get back on the elliptical this weekend. The biggest accomplishment though was the fact that I had a perfect week of eating and it wasn't even painful. Oh and I haven't drank a soda pop since Friday and that hasn't been hard either....WEIRD!!!! Week 2 here I come! :-)
Saturday, January 16, 2010
A step forward
Lori and I managed to get the workout room totally put back together this evening. A huge step in the right direction. A couple months ago we had to empty the room and jam everthing in the next room in order to get the carpet cleaned. Unfortunately, with our current crazy schedule we had not managed to get around to putting it back to rights.....it feels so good to get it done!!! I even jumped on the elliptical for a few minutes just for good measure.
The day started off with having to take Diane to the airport for her flight home so I feel even better having managed this accomplishment today.
I'm looking forward to getting a full workout in tomorrow. I will also weigh in tomorrow morning for my official start weight for both competitions.....so that will be fun....not! But I guess I have to start somewhere so here goes......
The day started off with having to take Diane to the airport for her flight home so I feel even better having managed this accomplishment today.
I'm looking forward to getting a full workout in tomorrow. I will also weigh in tomorrow morning for my official start weight for both competitions.....so that will be fun....not! But I guess I have to start somewhere so here goes......
No hiding now!
I am now hooked up to my Go Wear Fit machine and denial is a thing of the past. I'm really looking forward to having it "get to know" me so I can see all the scary numbers in black and white. Eek!
I have now joined two different groups. Group one is a bunch of co-workers. We each will be putting $25 into the pot and the winner takes all. That one runs until 5.3,10. Group two is actually being run by the Dept of Human Resources Management. For this group there will be prizes for the most weight lost in 8 weeks but they have not said what the prizes are..... plus this is a national contest so the prizes will likely be significant BUT they will be difficult to win as well.
It all officially starts Monday morning but I'm glad to say I have not had a huge list of things I needed to eat before the "diet" starts.
To reach my goal I will need to git a calorie deficit of 1000 calories each day....no small goal!!!
I have now joined two different groups. Group one is a bunch of co-workers. We each will be putting $25 into the pot and the winner takes all. That one runs until 5.3,10. Group two is actually being run by the Dept of Human Resources Management. For this group there will be prizes for the most weight lost in 8 weeks but they have not said what the prizes are..... plus this is a national contest so the prizes will likely be significant BUT they will be difficult to win as well.
It all officially starts Monday morning but I'm glad to say I have not had a huge list of things I needed to eat before the "diet" starts.
To reach my goal I will need to git a calorie deficit of 1000 calories each day....no small goal!!!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
So clearly the whole country is on a BL wave....today I found out that the government's Human Resources Management department is running a "Biggest Winner" program for the next couple months. I figure I might as well join that one too, since there are prizes involved. Of course they don't tell you what the prizes are. My luck they will be something like a lifetime supply of celery and cottage cheese or the like. Anyway, I figure I can use all the motivation I can get so I might as well go for it. Besides, how many people will sign up and not finish?! Let's be honest, the only reason I say that is because historically I've proven that could be me.
I probably need to go back and read Ali Vincent's book again and write down all the things she said that I found so motivating. One thing I remember was how she started the habit of saying her mantra to herself "believe it, be it". Funny thing, that's the same thing my "Slow Fat Triathlete" lady kept saying (BTW, fun book). She said she felt really stupid saying positive affirmations outloud, until she realized that they were helping her stay focused and succeed at her goals.
So what is my personal mantra?
Any suggestions? Do you have one that works for you? Just curious....
I probably need to go back and read Ali Vincent's book again and write down all the things she said that I found so motivating. One thing I remember was how she started the habit of saying her mantra to herself "believe it, be it". Funny thing, that's the same thing my "Slow Fat Triathlete" lady kept saying (BTW, fun book). She said she felt really stupid saying positive affirmations outloud, until she realized that they were helping her stay focused and succeed at her goals.
So what is my personal mantra?
Any suggestions? Do you have one that works for you? Just curious....
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Well......I'm finally back at it! I have experienced several false starts over the past year but have not been good about sharing my experiences here, an oversight I plan to remedy this year.
Unfortunately, I begin this year heavier than I have ever been. A major contributing factor has been the fact that I finally was given full clearance on my background investigation and began my career as a federal employee but kept my previous job for 5hrs each day Monday through Friday. The resulting schedule along with having access to a full service cafeteria a short elevator ride away have been "successful" in adding 20lbs to my frame over the past 5 months. UGH!!!! NOT the success I set out to achieve.
So here I sit, beginning again ......... AGAIN!!!
I just heard from a friend at work who has decided to start an office Biggest Loser competition beginning Jan 18th that will run until sometime in May. So I will join the adventure and use it as a little extra lift in my adventures to become a successful loser. :-)
1st Goal: Lose enough to get back the weight I was when I started this blog!!
Unfortunately, I begin this year heavier than I have ever been. A major contributing factor has been the fact that I finally was given full clearance on my background investigation and began my career as a federal employee but kept my previous job for 5hrs each day Monday through Friday. The resulting schedule along with having access to a full service cafeteria a short elevator ride away have been "successful" in adding 20lbs to my frame over the past 5 months. UGH!!!! NOT the success I set out to achieve.
So here I sit, beginning again ......... AGAIN!!!
I just heard from a friend at work who has decided to start an office Biggest Loser competition beginning Jan 18th that will run until sometime in May. So I will join the adventure and use it as a little extra lift in my adventures to become a successful loser. :-)
1st Goal: Lose enough to get back the weight I was when I started this blog!!
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