Good week so far!

I am back down to 201.6!  I was down to 201 even before I gained it back.  I am so close to being under 200 hundred that I can taste it!  Okay, bad play on words, but seriously, it is really motivating to be so close!  Hopefully I will hit my first goal of 198 by this time next week!  That will put me 1 pound under what I weighed when I graduated from college.  I can get there in the next week!  I can make it happen!

Yesterday I did Jackie Warner's 1-on-1 Lower.  I love squats, but I hate front and back lunges!  But, I know that they are necessary, so I do them.  I am sore everywhere, and that is good!  I am planning a longer total body work out for today.  I work all weekend, so I need to remember to take food with me, and not eat anything from there.  It will be hard, but being so close to being under 200 should help galvanize my resolve!  Here is hoping for a great weigh in on Monday!!!!

Still going...

I had another good day yesterday!  I weighed in at 203.4, so the scale is going in the right direction!  My eating was good, and I did Jillian Michaels 6 Week 6 Pack.  Wow, am I sore!  Today I am planning to do Jackie Warner's 1-on-1 Lower.  I am also planning an earlier than usual work out.  The kids and I are going on a play date at the park, that way I can get other things done after we get home.  I am in the process of cleaning and reorganizing the basement to make it into a play room for the kids.  I swear, the more I do, the more that needs done!  I have a bunch of baby stuff that I am giving away, but I have to wait until my brother and his wife have their ultrasound next month.  I will give them all the stuff for what they are having, and then give the rest to someone else.  As of right now, it is taking up a lot of space in my basement.  I may put it in the garage, but them I will have to reorganize that, too.  Oy.  Eventually, I will get it all done.  Just like my weight loss, I have to keep plugging away, even when I don't feel like doing it!

Two good days, let's shoot for 3!

Yesterday was another good day!  I weighed in at 204 even today.  I did a new work out yesterday, Tank Top Arms with Cindy Whitmarsh.  She is a beast!  My arms, shoulders, and core are nice and sore today!  I liked the work out, and I am going to look at some more of her work outs. 

I was emotional again yesterday, but I did not let it derail my diet.  Something I was thinking about yesterday was that I am never going to be able to eat like a "normal person" again.  Now, here is where I get into trouble.  I have to redefine normal for my life.  I made Eric egg salad to take in his lunches this week, and I really wanted to have one, too.  I had a Slim Fast.  I am never going to be able to eat "anything I want."  I am always going to have to watch what I am eating.  I have to realize that having sandwiches for lunch is probably going to be the exception, and not the norm.  And that is okay, since indulging all the time is how I had to come to this realization.  Something Cindy Whitmarsh said in the course of the work out struck me as interesting.  I can't remember it word for word, but basically she said that building muscle boosts overall metabolism, and will help burn more calories when you are at rest.  I have to make my body a more efficient machine, and diet and exercise are the way to do that. 

I am optimistic for today.  Let's keep the good days going!

Good day, let's hope for another!

My hormones seem to have evened out, and I am feeling much more like myself!  Yesterday was good!  I had a good work out, Chris Freytag, who is going on my list of favorite trainers!  My eating was good, too!  Isn't that the combo you need?  205.2 today.  Down a pound, so that is good.  I am backtracking again, so hopefully by the beginning of next week I will be back down and keep going down.  I saw a picture of a friend yesterday who had also been losing weight, and she looked so great!  I know that I am still down 40 pounds, but I feel like I still look big.  I have lost all my muscle tone, and am flabby everywhere again, so 40 pounds or not, I still feel fat.  And I am!  I am over 200 pounds, I am still fat!  But, the good news is that I am trying to do something about it.  And, one of these days, I can post a picture of myself in a beautiful dress, and look beautiful in it!

Starting over.

Back at the beginning.  Again.  206.2.  I can blame my period.  Which is part of it.  The biggest thing to blame is myself.  My will power, or lack thereof.  Okay, excuses are over.  I am starting over.  Here we go again!  I plan on a good hard work out this afternoon.  I have to work out everyday.  HAVE TO.  Not a choice.  Cleaning is not a substitute for working out.  I have to stop eating junk.  And overeating healthy things, too.  I don't know why I keep doing this.  Today WILL be a good day!!  I WILL do well today!

Having trouble staying motivated.

It's the beginning, I should still be super motivated!  I hate to say it, but I blame PMS.  I know, I know, trite!  Over-used!  Not able to be proved!  Here's the thing.  My husband got a vasectomy so that I could go off the pill because of all the problems I have with the pill.  So, I am having non-pill regulated cycles.  I forgot how hormonal I get, how bad the mood swings are, how bad the food cravings and the hunger are.  I think I am doing okay, but not nearly as good or strict as I would like/ need to be.  I also don't feel like working out.  I have been cleaning and reorganizing my basement, and I honestly would rather work on that than work out.  I know that that burns calories, but I really need to be working out.  I need to strengthen my muscles, and get in some cardio.I weighed in at 203.8 yesterday and today, so I am down a little.  I am going to keep trying, and keep moving!

Backpeddeling, as usual.

I am not sure why, but every time I go to my mom's, I feel like I must dominate an eating-fest.  I think it goes back to when I was a (heavy) smoker, but didn't want my mom to know, so instead of smoking I ate everything in sight.  I haven't smoked in over 6 years, but I still do this.  so, I was at ,my mom's for 3 full days, and work for 2, and I gained back the 5 pounds that I lost.  I snacked a lot yesterday, on healthy stuff, but still more than I usually do on a diet.  I am at 204.6 today, so down a little, and hopefully I can keep going down.  I am also about to start my period, so I have been having really strong cravings.  Again, I have to be very careful about what is going into my body, and hopefully I can get down more this week.  Here's hoping!

Made it through the weekend!

Work was hard, but I did very well!  I took lots of fruit and Lean Cuisine, and Slim Fast with me, so I was able to deflect most of my unhealthy eating patterns.  Yes, I did say most.  I did have a couple croutons dipped in Cesear dressing, and a couple bites of Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Pudding.  Overall, pretty proud of how well I did!  I have to say, I am glad that I ate the bread Pudding.  I always crave it.  Since my old GM left, someone else has been making it, and it is not nearly as good as Bob made it.  Now that I know that, I am going to be much much less likely to want it, or to eat it.

I weighed in at 202.8 today.  About the same as Friday.  I have to say, one thing that Eric and I do on weekends is make a big breakfast.  Eggs and either sausage or bacon.  I usually have cheese in my eggs.  They are my treat meals, and I am very careful the rest of the day, but since I am at work and moving the entire time I am there, I am much hungrier than during the week.  I am sure I consume more calories on the weekend, but I am holding steady with my weight. 

Today I did Jennifer Galardi's Cardio Blast again.  I really like that work out!  It is fun and challenging, and I sweat like crazy!  It uses a lot of balance and slow movements to work your core without doing crunches, and I love that!  I am going to my mom's tomorrow for a few days, including a cook out on Friday, so I need to be very careful while I am there.  Wish me luck!!

Doing things differently, and that's okay!

So, I have been craving Dairy Queen for the last couple of weeks, and haven't gotten it.  Yesterday, my darling husband comes home and announces to the kids that if they eat all of their dinner, we can go to Dairy Queen.  On the third day of my new diet.  Are you kidding me?!?  I seriously considered staying home while they went.  I did not want to miss that little bit of family time together, since we seem to get so little of it.  I ordered a small cone.  Not a medium Blizzard that I usually get, which cut a ton of fat and calories.  It was yummy!  I got to have a little treat, and didn't go totally overboard.  Something else I have realized about my dieting failures is that I seem to be an all or nothing personality.  If I cheat a little, I throw the whole day away and pig out, or I am so strict that I am miserable.  I also realized that when I do slip up, I won't eat anything healthy and keep eating junk, because I don't want to waste the healthy food on a bad day.  I have to be aware of this, and not sabotage myself over and over again.  Tonight we may go to Kennywood, and I fully intend to have a Hot Sausage sandwich, something I love and haven't had in years.  Because I know that I want to have that, I will be very careful about what I eat today.  Progress!!

Today, I weighed in at 202.2!  I am down 4 pounds!  Woo hoo!  I am proud of already accomplishing that much!  Today I did the Shake Weight for 4, 1 minute intervals, and I also did Jackie Warner's 1-on-1 Lower Body.  Still sore, and getting more sore as the minutes go on, and I love it!  I am working my muscles hard, and I am being rewarded for it! 

Tomorrow and Sunday will be a real diet challenge:  work.  French fries.  I am planning to take some Lean Cuisines, a Slim Fast and fresh fruit with me, that way I will have enough good choices available to that and should be able to avoid burgers and fries.  It is always best to have a plan!!!

I like my sore muscles!

I really do!  It shows me that I am working hard, and that my body is changing.  I weighed in at 204.4 today, already down a little over 2 pounds!  Very encouraging!  It kind of scares me that I was consuming enough calories that just cutting down for 2 days I lost that much.  Bad girl.  But, I am going to keep the calories down and the activity level up!  Today I did Cardio Challenge with Jennifer Galardi.I liked it, and I am going to look into more of her stuff.  I use a lot of Exercise TV On Demand, so I can keep my work outs varied.  I have some favorites that I do more often, but this way I can try new things and find new instructors that I like.  I hope you are all having as good a day as I am!!!

Great first day!

Yesterday went really well!  My eating was really good!  I went to Starbucks last night for Mom's Night Out with my MOPS group.  I really wanted a Mocha Coconut Latte and and oatmeal cookie, which is what I usually get, but I stuck to brewed decaf and used my Truvia and fat free creamer.  No treat.  It was fine.  I enjoy the conversations I have with my mom friends, so I didn't even miss all the extra fat and calories I could have consumed.  Although, I may make that a reward at some point, because I do love them, and I am not telling myself I can never have them again, but not as often as I would like to have them.  I am going to have to balance things like that.  Stuff that I like to enjoy occasionally,  but cannot go overboard with.  Generally, I don't have Starbucks very often.  That will be a treat for me, but not all the time. 

I got there early last night, so it gave me a chance to make up a chart.  I have 24 weeks to lose 36.6 pounds.  Funny that I started yesterday, a Tuesday, and picked my ending date as my husband's Birthday, Dec. 20, which is also a Tuesday.  As I said , I need to lose about 1.6 pounds per week to hit that goal date.  I wrote out every week, and what my weight needs to be to be on track for that goal.  I know that some weeks I will lose more, some weeks I will lose less, and I may hit a plateau or 2, but it will give me an idea of where I am at in the grand scheme of things.

I also want to make a rewards chart.  Give me something to work towards!  My first goal is, again, 198.  One pound below what I weighed when I graduated from Pitt.  The next one after that is 192, which takes me out of the obese range on the BMI Index.  It will also be my lowest adult weight.  The lowest I got before putting some weight back on was 192.2.  This will be a big one for me!  After that will be 185, and then go down in 5 pound increments.  If I hit my goal of 170 by my husbands Birthday, I will get jewelery for Christmas!!  And, I would like to go to The Cheesecake Factory for out anniversary on the 27th.  Lots to look forward to!

I weighed in today at 205.8.  Down a little from yesterday!!  My muscles are sore from my work out yesterday, and it feels good!  I did Holly Perkin's 20 Minute Sweat today, and I loved it!  I will definitely add it to my list of favorites!  I am still optimistic for hitting my ultimate goal!!! 

Back in the saddle again!

I know, it has been about 2 months since I fell off the health train, but I am back!  I have new goals!  My new goal is to weigh 170 by my husband's Birthday, Dec. 20.  I weighed 206.6 this morning, so I have a lot to get gone in a little less than 6 months.  Let's see, that is 36.6 pounds.  That means I need to lose a little more than 1.5 pounds a week for 24 weeks.  That is totally do-able!  I set my goal a little lower than it had been.  We will see when I get closer to the goal if I need to move it up or down, because technically, 170 is still overweight for my height.  If I hit my goal, I get jewelery!!!  Who doesn't love jewelery?!?  I am gong to set up an incentive chart.  The weight chart is going back up on the fridge.  I really want to do this.  Really!!!  I know, I have said it before, but at least I keep trying!

I have decided to go back to doing Slim Fast.  I know, I said I want to show my children how to make good food choices and not rely on something like Slim Fast, but it has been the only thing that has worked for me.  Again, I will start out with that, and reassess as I go.  I think the most important thing is my kids to see me fit, and working hard to be that way. 

I did Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred today, and my muscles already feel better!  I hate that I have lost all the muscle definition that I worked so hard for.  I hate that I had to use the 5 pound weights again.  The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step, so I have to take one step at a time, and work back into where I was 2 months ago.  I will get back there!  I still want to do a 5K.  I am going to get back to the Couch to 5K program, too.  I am excited to get back to working out.  I feel flabby, jiggly, fat and out of shape again.  Time to change!!  Here we go!!!