Summer challenge weigh in

Still the same. Haven't been acting like a skinny person much. Very busy with kid activities. Camp and swimming activities seem to be worse than school year! No excuses, I know. But I still have time and I set a reasonable goal.

Happy that I am still 191. My birthday is next week. Motivated to do better. But might have to navigate around some birthday cake!

Keep on trucking, indeed!

Well I have had quite a week. My weigh in for today is 191. No change, and I'll happily take it.

First off, I had my medical test yesterday which I got increasingly stressed over and all is well! They gave me a sedative for the test so I was sleepy all day. So glad that's over and I'm even more resolved to remain healthy!

Second, both my kids have been plagued with ailments. They both had swimmers ear. Thing 2 recovered quickly, Thing 1 didn't. Then Thing 1 got her first dental appliance. Mouth pain. Then thing 1 got diarrhea and fever. So the week of camp I payed for was a wasted. The piano recital tonight for Thing 2 looks unlikely, and I'm hoping both girls can swim tomorrow in the special invitational meet.

That on top of Memorial Day weekend guests and I'm just glad we made it through. I'll happily take staying the same and start fresh today. I spent so much time in bed yesterday that I think even the slightest bit of exercise should move the scale!

Really, I am so grateful for so many things, health being foremost on my mind.

Summer challenge weigh in

Ugh! Really didn't do great, but my Friday weigh in resulted in nada. 191. Zero pounds lost. I honestly can't say next week will be better as this weekend friends were visiting and I am distracted by a medical test I have this week. Sigh. Mini goal for me: today to eat healthy, drink lots of water and clean out my pantry!

Summer Challenge 2010!

OK I must admit I forgot about summer challenge, so thank you to Kandice for reminding me. I have had some distractions, and when I first read her reminder this morning, I thought, well I can't participate in this. But I can, and I must.

Starting weight today: 191 (sorry will be unable to take pics of scale).

Sad to say up two pounds from last week, but that's what not exercising and mindless eating will do for you. So here's to a good week and good choices!

Finally, in the 180's!

Boy it took me a while to lose the latest few pounds! I'm .2 pounds away from a 16 pound loss, and I can say goodbye to the 190's!

I'm okay with the slow loss. Slow loss is better than no loss. And staying the same is better than gaining.

I saw someone last night who I hadn't seen in months and she called me skinny! How cool is that. Now I know I am not skinny, but I am skinnier for sure!

Now if only my daughter hadn't woken me up at 4 am, I'd be feeling a bit better. I've been so busy and a bit scatterbrained lately, I'm sure the lack of sleep won't help. Glad I stocked up on healthy food this week! So glad that watermelon and blueberries are in season.

Summer Challenge 2010!

Crazy busy day, but I just wanted to say that I'm joining The Summer Challenge 2010 created by Kandice over at No More CHUNKY DUNKING, time to skinny dip!

More details later (how do I get that badge thingy here?) Anyhoo I hereby pledge:

To weigh myself every Friday.

To lose 10 pounds by the end of the challenge (August 23). If I lose more, great.

To work out at the gym at least 3 times a week. If I go more, great!

All doable! Thanks Kandice!

On track and setting goals

Just got my period and have been feeling bloated and crampy. Set my alarm to go to the gym and I woke up at one point and turned it off. But then I woke up again and thought, I'm awake, I'd better go! So I did. Got 3 miles in. I always vary the pace and the and the incline. It felt good. Three days in a row! Can I go for 5 days next week? Could I (gasp) possibly go on the weekend? It's up to me.

I have a little secret goal. Every year my girls run a mile in the fall for their school's fun run. This coming fall, I'd love to run with them. I've never done that, and I never thought I would. The only way I'll feel comfortable enough to do that is to lose weight. In a few weeks, if I get on a good workout routine, I'd love to start the couch to 5k program and maybe even do a 5k in the fall. I don't know if my knees will let me, and I'd be OK with not doing a 5k, but I think I should be able to run one mile on two days to be with my girls. Shhhh, don't tell! :)

Went to the gym

Although it was a bit tough to wake up early enough to be at the gym at 5am, it felt good. It felt good when I was doing it and when I was done. Did fairly well with food choices yesterday, and so far so good today.

I just found out I have to do a follow up test re a slight medical issue, so that's weighing on my mind. I don't know if it's PMS or a bit of worry that has given me a headache, but trying to work through it. Trying to drink a lot of water.

Biggest loser was inpiring to me last night. Especially Daris who worked through Bob pushing him over and over. Daris is so fit now, it really is inspiring!

OK, back to work. Happy Cinco de Mayo! (Healthy chicken enchiladas for dinner)!

Back on track: My great 10 pound mini-goal!

I've not posted in a while. I guess I haven't been too motivated in the weight loss fitness area. I have eaten well, not perfect, but I haven't done well in the exercise area. I'm changing that tomorrow!

The good news is that I seem to be very good at maintaining a weight of 192 pounds. The bad news is I want to weigh less than 192 pounds! Other good news is that I finally, finally took the time to get a checkup exam. It had been a while. All is great! Total cholesterol is 140! Was flummoxed and didn't get the 2 separate numbers, but doctor said it looked great. Blood pressure was good and all was well. No sign of some issues that run in my family.

Not sure exactly why I've lost motivation. As I said before March is always a stressful month for me, and April had vacation. Enjoyed eating and walking on vacation and didn't over do it! Felt good about my choices.

I think fearing the doctor's visit which I had put off for too long was stressing me out. Also, last week had a health scare with my daughter, but all is well. The bottom line is I just need to do it!

So I want to lose 10 pounds. No deadline, but by the end of June would be good. Of course I need to lose more than 10 pounds, but I need to have a reasonable goal to work towards to get me moving.

I dub this "My great 10 pound mini-goal!" I hope tomorrow to be able to post the good things I have done achieve this goal.

I must say, the reason that I maintained my weight and didn't gain any was reading the great blogs of so many people who are on this weight loss journey. I appreciate reading everyone's struggles and success stories.

Getting by

It's been a while since I posted. I didn't have a great week last week, but it wasn't horrible. I was PMS-y, achy, tired and made some deliberate decisions to eat some treats. But I never felt out of control. The net of it is I gained 2 pounds, down 1, pretty much back to where I was 2 weeks ago. The month of March is always crazy around here and I knew that, so I'm not beating myself up. I've been getting good sleep, which is helping me. This week is crazy, and I'm happy that I've gotten some exercise in and made reasonable food choices. One week until vacation and I'm looking forward to being active, relaxing, eating some good seafood and enjoying my family.

I'm hoping that when May comes I can be down at least another 5 pounds. I think that's reasonable.

Slow and steady ...

Slow and steady

March is a crazy month around here, not the least of which was Thing 2's birthday yesterday! And party. Which meant I made brownies and brought cupcakes to school. I confess I did eat a brownie's worth of batter, but all in all didn't do too badly.

I have been spotty with the gym, but work looked slow today so I did go for a 30 minute walk. Better than nothing!

I'm losing slowly, and I have less than a pound to go to reach a 15 pound total loss and to reach a new "decade", so I'm motivated to eat well today.

Also, I am wearing a size 12 pair of jeans! 15 pounds ago I was wearing size 16, although I did have one pair of size 14 pants that just fit. I quickly moved into size 14 and they are feeling a bit baggy. I went to try on the size 14 with the thought that if they just barely fit they would be "motivation" pants but they fit and are comfortable.

I think it's important not to just look at the scale for motivation. And these pants are it!

I feel like this weight loss is moving slowly (certainly by biggest loser standards!), but I'm happy with it. My goal for the next few weeks is to get a few pounds under 190. We are going on vacation at the start of April, and I plan on returning from vacation under 190. And to never see 190 again. I'm planning to be active on vacation and to stock the condo we are renting with healthy options and to enjoy some meals out. I think I can do it.

Whoo hoo!

Even though I couldn't make it to the gym this week, I lost weight! I now have a total weight loss 12.6 pound! 1.6 pounds to another "decade". I'm really happy with how I'm eating. I'm planning ahead, enjoying my food, trying to eat healthy. Tonight I am setting everything up I need to get to the gym early tomorrow. It's going to be a crazy week at work and with activities, but I feel prepared!

Link Sharing!

It is good blog behavior to acknowledge other blogs, isn't it? Especially if you are resposting links and ideas they posted right? Good, I'm glad we agree.

Once I started this weight loss journey, one blog led me to another. I love reading Bitch Cakes. She is so detailed in sharing what she eats, how she exercises and her journey. But one thing I really have to thank her for is introducing me to Almond Cheese. She tells all about it here. We have soy cheese in my house because Thing 2 is lactose intolerant, and sometimes I'll put some in with scrambled eggs, but I must say the Almond Cheese is better. More like real cheese. I've only tried mozzarella, but looking forward to more. I found mine at EarthFare. But in addition to the almond cheese recommendation, she just details so much of how she works at losing weight and keeping healthy, and I really appreciate that!

I also like reading Swimming it Off by "midlife swimmer". I too am in the mid-life range, and I am inspired by how much exercise she does. It makes me realize I can do more.

I am in awe of Tyler at 344 Pounds for his success and for recently posting a weight gain. He's honest and I can relate to his lapses!

Lynn of Lynn's Weigh is also inspiring. I can relate to her.

Although Susan at The Great Balancing Act is much younger than I am, I love reading what she's eating and have learned a few things about protein powder!

I read other blogs and will likely reference them soon. I think it's good to acknowledge that we're all in this together and give credit to those who inspire, don't you?

Survived the weekend

I got through the weekend enjoying myself and even losing weight. This was with eating at an Indian buffet on Friday, going out to a big charity event with a huge buffet and drinks on Saturday night, and eating homemade pizza yesterday! I really believe that if you try to do your best 80-90 percent of the time, that "relaxing", not bingeing, and enjoying yourself will not do any damage.

The Indian buffet is a place my husband and I like to go to lunch every once in a while. How do I manage to either maintain or lose weight the day after eating at this buffet? For one, I think it's healthy. There are lots of veggies in these dishes. A lot of them are in sauces, but I don't think the sauces have too much fat. The sauce just is not greasy or oily on the plate. I also don't think there is a lot of salt. Lots of spices yes, but not too much salt. Finally, as much as I love the naan bread, I just don't have it anymore. And no rice. And no dessert.

As far as the charity event, it was fun! I knew all week I wanted to relax and enjoy this event so I really was good eating all week. When faced with this huge buffet, I first filled a plate with raw veggies and fruit and a bunch of shrimp with cocktail sauce and some salad. I love shrimp! Then when I was ready to attack the buffet again, I wasn't ravenous. I had some pasta with marinara sauce, a spring roll and some green beans with almonds. I think that was it. I had a bit of my husband's dessert, which wasn't that great. I had two glasses of wine. I met Elvis and Marilyn Monroe! Had a nice time out. When I was putting on my dress, I thought to myself I wished how much I weighed less. But I was so happy that I weighed 10 pounds less than a month ago.

And as for the pizza, I had a great day of eating. Bad on exercise, though! I realize that not getting enough sleep really really affects me. We stayed up later than usual and then Thing 2 woke me up in the middle of the night. So I was tired on Sunday. While my husband took the girls for a bikeride, which would have been good exercise and just a fun thing to do, I took a nap. Because I needed it.

We made homemade pizza. While I could have made it healthier, we always make a nice thin crust, so I think that helped.

I did not go the gym today, bad me! And tomorrow is the only other day I can go. Busy work week and husband will be out of town so I can sneak out of the house early. So I'll do the best I can and hope for the best!

10 Pounds Down!

Whoo hoo! I am 10 pounds down today! This just a bit over a month after I started this journey. I am quite happy and feel good. I think the pumping up the exercise yesterday and drinking lots of water helped. And this while I am feeling slightly PMS-y. Which is why I didn't make it to the gym this morning. That and I have a crazy day today and there was a lot on my mind.

But, I have a plan! Tonights my night to take Thing 1 to swim team practice. Usually I sit in the waiting room and read or sew something if I need to (girl scout patches, etc). But tonight I will do a few loops up and down the staircases at the aquatic center. And I will drink lots of water. I think today I will add bits of frozen fruit to my water to make it "fancy". I've been having egg whites and veggies for breakfast, but today I think I need my comforting oatmeal with peanut butter.

Tomorrow is my big night out to a charity event with my husband. I had scheduled to get my hair cut and highlighted tomorrow. I was planning to save the highlights as a reward for the 10 pound weight loss, and what do you know I made it!

I ran!

eeWell, I knew I'd better get up and go to the gym today if I wanted to keep seeing results, since I didn't go yesterday. And I did! Even got there a bit early. My plan was to do 2 miles on the treadmill and then the weight machines I did two days ago. For some reason, I woke up early with almost a nervous energy. Anyhoo, I'm on the treadmill. I usually do between 4.0 and 4.7 alternating and adding a bit of incline here and there. And as I kept doing the 4.7 mile bursts, I thought, I can go faster.

So I ran! cranked it up to 5.7 mph! I hadn't planned it. I just did it for a minute or two at most, about 3 times. But it felt good! And the amazing thing is when you go faster, you go farther much more quickly. Doh! I'm guessing skinny people just know this. :) So I did 2.5 miles and still had time to do my weight machines. I actually found myself looking at couch to 5K info when I got home.

I've been wary about running as I had a knee injury in college, and I didn't think the pounding of running would be great. So I'll take it slow and listen to my body. But the lesson I learned is that I need to push myself, and I can push myself.

I think reading so many inspiring blogs of others who are on this weight loss journey has really helped. I see what other people are doing. People who weigh more than me. People who used to weigh more than me. Skinny people. All pushing themselves to be better.

Tomorrow will be treadmill only, so let's see how far I can go?

Slow down!

Another interesting article from the New York Times: To Cut Calories, Eat Slowly. "Those who reported eating quickly and eating until full had triple the risk of being overweight compared with others."

Tomorrow, as I do my skinny person impersonation, I will eat slowly. Can't today because I'm done eating for the day!

Desk job

This morning I read this NY Times article on how sitting all day is not good for you, even if you exercise regularly:

Not good news for those of us with desk jobs! The comments to the article are interesting. In the article, they reference the treadmill desk, which I linked to the other day! Now I don't think I'm ready to set up a treadmill desk, although the idea is intriguing! But this seems more feasible: 10 reasons to use an exercise ball as yourchair

I also think walking around while I'm on the phone could help (I work at home). Sometimes I'm on the phone and just need to listen in. So I can put the phone on mute, speakerphone even. Maybe do lunges or lift light weights? Unfortunately, most of the time I'm sitting at my computer, but I can get up periodically to move around!

This is also why those sensors like the Bodybugg or the Gowear Fit seem like a great idea. If I was more aware, I could probably get more movement into my day.

Food for thought. I did not go to the gym today. Not sure why, just felt like I needed a rest. But looking forward to the weight machines tomorrow again.

Goal for today: move around when I can while I work and drink more water!

Good workout day

I got to the gym today, 2 days in a row, whoo hoo! I did two miles on the treadmill and then some weight machines for a total of about 50 minutes at the gym. I was proud of myself and felt good when I left.

I had a good day of eating yesterday, due to all the healthy choices I surrounded myself with.

As expected, I'm pretty much back down to my Sunday weigh in weight after a day, so no harm done. Tomorrow it will be one month since I started this weight loss quest. I had told my husband that I wanted to to this, and he supported me joining the gym. He challenged me to losing 2 pounds a month for a year. Very doable! Of course I've lost more than 2 pounds. Even if I only lost 2 pounds a month, that would mean next January I would weigh 24 pounds less, and that wouldn't bad! But I hope I can way exceed that. I know I will.

I need this!

So I work out of my home. Sitting at a desk in front of a computer. And I sooo, need this treadmill desk:

http://www.treadmill-desk.com/