Heather

As I sit and write this, I am saying, WELL DUH to myself over and over again.

Exercise + less calorie intake = weight loss. DUH.

Over the last week, I’ve pushed myself exercise-wise.  If I noticed I wasn’t breathing hard or sweating, I’D WORK HARDER. In my head, a little (no big) voice was asking: you want to see a difference, don’t you? NOW WORK HARDER! I would get off of the treadmill or come in from my run barely able to walk.

Vegetables and fruit comprised most of my diet (don’t worry, I made sure I got enough protien and carbohydrates!). No more little smokies, or cookies. No butter. Little salt.  I didn’t feel deprived, though. Seriously, it felt good to eat so clean.  My poor body needed it after all the garbage I ate over the holidays!

Even though logically I knew I should have a loss this week, I was still apprehensive this morning about weighing in. I haven’t had a significant loss in quite some time, and I’ve been frustrated.

But I got on the scale. And…

I AM DOWN! 2.9 pounds to 166.7. Huge HUGE sigh of relief!

Have I mentioned how much I love this challenge and how fired up I am? Now, to keep up the momentum!

Hope everyone else had a great week!

This is going to be mercifully short. Because I have done astonishingly good this week. I’m riding this high from the ‘new year, fresh start’ mindset.  My goal? To make this the norm!

I have been kicking a$$ and taking names this week with the exercise. No messing around. I emerge from the garage (where the treadmill lives) a sweaty, dripping mess that can barely walk. AND I LOVE IT!

Last week, I stocked my fridge with a ton of produce, and, as promised, threw away all the holiday treats. I’ve been snacking on apples and bell peppers. And popcorn. Can’t give up the popcorn – it’s good fiber anyhow!

In short, I feel SO MUCH BETTER this week.

Hoping for a great weigh in tomorrow – ready to see those numbers go in the right direction: down!

I am finally, FINALLY getting around to the homework Thea assigned in her Thursday Three post (haven’t read it? Go HERE.)

I love to have a plan, and I love that this challenge tasks us with writing down our method of attack and being accountable. So, here is my plan.

1) Three Goals.  Oh, goals. They are good. I know these are attainable, but I also know I will need to push myself. Which is just fine with me!

• I will get to 160. That’s 9.5 pounds. I’m sick of the yo-yo. I want to once and for all get to what I weighed when I first became pregnant almost three years ago.
• By the end of this challenge, I will be able to run seven miles straight.
• I will try a new form of exercise.

2) Tracking.  To track my fitness goals, I will continue using Daily Mile. Have you checked it out? It’s great! I love the interaction with other runners, and the lovely graph showing your progress. I love graphs – I’m nerdy like that! As far as weight loss, I will go with the tried and true Weight Watchers online. Except this time, I’ll remember to actually track my food. When I do Weight Watchers correctly, it ALWAYS works for me.

3) Reward.  I had been kicking around the idea of buying a fancy schmancy pair of jeans, but honestly, I’m too cheap to drop $150 on a pair of jeans that will be TOO BIG in a few months (yes, I said it!). So, I’m going to treat myself to a massage. I haven’t had one in over two years, I’m due, big time!

That’s me! Its all out here, in writing. So, if nothing else, I have the fear of humiliation as motivation! But really, this helps so much.

Have you written down your plan yet?

Boy oh boy, am I ready and stoked for this challenge!

I NEED THIS CHALLENGE. I was less than virtuous with food over the holidays and I need to reclaim my body and my health.

I can’t tell you (okay, I can and I am!) how amazing this challenge is going to be – for me, for you. For all of us at the Sisterhood. It IS a revolution. I’m ready to change my body AND my mind. Ready to not only engage my body, but my heart and soul.

Can you tell I’m feelin’ it? Are YOU feelin’ it?

It pretty much goes without saying that I’m up this week, but the great news it’s only .2 pounds. Which, my peeps, is a Christmas miracle. I get to start this challenge under 170 (albeit not much). Woot!

So, I will start my journey to rethink my shrink at 169.5.

My goals for this challenge?

• I want to get to 160. That’s 9.5 pounds. I’m sick of the yo-yo. I want to once and for all get to what I weighed when I first became pregnant almost three years ago.
• By the end of this challenge, I want to be able to run seven miles straight. I’m up to about 4 1/2 right now. I think getting to seven will put me on track for my 1/2 marathon in June. (Are you running (or walking or jogging) with us? YOU SHOULD! It’s going to be the bomb. No lie.)
• I will make a conscious effort to exercise five days a week. Not just a little, but really work up a sweat!
• I am going to try a new form of exercise. There are a few I’ve been thinking about – I saw a hot yoga studio yesterday, and was intrigued. Also, I want to try Zumba. I have a few friends who absolutely love it. Anybody have any other ideas?

And how am I going to get there?

• I intend to focus on clean eating. Whole foods. As little processed food as possible.
• I’m going back to my 21 Day challenge habits – our little challenge back in August where we instituted new healthy habits over a twenty – one day period. I lost almost five pounds during that challenge – so clearly they were good habits! I need to make them habits once again! So, I will NOT eat after 9 pm, I will NOT eat fast food, and I will remember to drink my water!
• I will get my exercise in. It may be at 10 pm, but I will fit in time for myself. I feel a trillion times better when I’m exercising. And when I’m sitting on the couch staring at the TV, I will tell myself that!

I’m ready and raring to go! Are you? Let’s do this!

Are you comfortable? Because these confessions are going to take a while…

• I am sitting in the bathroom as I write this. NO, not doing THAT. Just because I need a change of scenery and it is cold and there is a very nice space heater in the bathroom. Yes, I’m strange. Shut up.
• Admittedly, I’m a grinch. But I did a super fantastic job this year of getting all Christmassy in the name of my kid/family.  So, it is a great big sigh of relief that the holiday season is drawing to a close. Yes, I’m one of those people who is HAPPIER after Christmas is over!
• Today I am purging my fridge. This is what is going into the compacter, then covered with bleach, and smashed into oblivion: the ever evil Little Smokies, cheese, butter flake rolls, sugar cookies, truffles, peppermint bark, mixed nuts.
• Then, I will go grocery shopping and purchase only high fiber, low fat healthy food. Lots of veg, lots of fruit. I am going to attempt to buy no processed food. I want to try eating whole food as much possible.
• My husband is not going to like the ‘no processed food’ thing. I will tell him to keep his stash of crap food somewhere I can’t find it. Like Mars.
• I had some not very nice thoughts about some relatives over the holidays. But I know I’m not alone on this one. I was very good. No one was physically injured. I consider this restraint on my part.
• EA Sports More Workouts? I’m playing MAD catch up. I will finish early next week if I work out every single day.
• Good news? I got a hand me down treadmill. Bad news?  I forgot how much indoor running sucks. But, in a pinch, it’ll do.
• About five different people in my life are pregnant right now, and my family is starting to ask when we’re having another (my son turns two next month).  When does this pestering end? Menopause? I’ll have another kid in due time, people! I’d like to get to a reasonable weight and stay there for a bit! And I’ve got a 1/2 marathon to run. LEAVE ME ALONE.

I am SO ready for the new challenge to start tomorrow. I need a major kick in the butt. And I need my mind to be on board too. Luckily, I have this strange feeling coming over me…motivation. I know. Weird.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to post here today. I knew going in to this weigh in I was going to be up. I’ve made horrible, horrible food choices this week. I haven’t exercised enough. I’ve let myself get too hungry and then eaten like a ravenous beast.

But, I owe it to you all and to myself to admit I’m human and be honest…so…

No surprise that I gained two pounds. As of this morning, I’m 169.2. Dangerously close to the 170’s. Not good. I want to go into 2010 under 170. No more two steps forward, one step back (or in my case, one step forward, two steps back!).

At the new year, we’re starting a new challenge here at the Sisterhood. Not to divulge too many details, but it’s going to rock, with a capital R! I’m super stoked to start this new challenge, because it’s going to be all about being in the right head space. Challenging yourself. Being your best you.

I SO need that right now.

I’ve got a huge feat ahead of me – the San Diego Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon (Are you joining us? You should!). I need focus. I need goals.

So, even though I feel beaten down today, I need to dust myself off and get back in the game.

Put me in coach!

This challenge, for me, did not end up like I wanted it to – but in life, how often does that happen? Not often. I wanted to get down to 160. What I weighed when I was first pregnant.

But, stuff happened, like stress (and unfortunately the kind where I eat), travel and the holidays. So, here I am, at the end, and I’m only down .4 from where I started .- I lost 1.1 pounds this week and end this challenge at 167.3.

Yes, this was the yo-yo challenge. All I can say is at least I’ve shrunk since the beginning. I can accept that.

I just hit the halfway mark on the EA Sports Active More Workouts Challenge. I’m loving it! I have even gotten to the point that I will work out in front of my husband…this is HUGE. I used to make him leave the room.

Running is going surprisingly well. I’m motivated. I push through discomfort (all the while chanting: it will never hurt worse than it does RIGHT at this very moment – unless you give up).  I suppose signing up for a half marathon and the threat of humiliation if you can’t finish is some pretty hardcore motivation.

Christmas is next week (duh). I’m anticipating some food carnage, though I will try to keep it to a minimum. I also plan to exercise as much as possible. Hopefully the extra endorphins will help manage my stress level as well.

What’s your plan? Do you have one?

Here we go. In bullet point form. I’m feeling bullet-pointy today.

• I made cookies yesterday. They are a recipe I’ve been trying for YEARS to get out of my mother in law. Well, I finally got it, but the baking time and method was pretty dicey. So, I had to bake a few batches. And test.  Did I mention they are almost entirely sugar and butter. Yeah.
• TMI alert: Something is wrong with my digestive system. I won’t go into too much detail but suffice it to say I’m ready to call up Jamie Lee Curtis to be on an Activia commercial.
• The aforementioned intestinal malfunction makes me not want to exercise. At all.
• I am seriously considering some kind of detox program. Not sure what. I’m kind of scared of them – teas, supplements and the like – not only because I’m not that convinced they’re good for you, but I’m also still breastfeeding (only once a day) and I don’t want to pass on anything via breast milk to the kiddo.
• I have discovered dark chocolate with sea salt and I’m pretty sure it was invented by Beelzebub cause it’s THAT GOOD. I can’t buy it anymore. It is evil.

That’s it for this week. I need to figure out evasive action on my gut before weigh in day. And I won’t talk about it anymore. I promise (okay, maybe not).

So I guess I got a little ahead of myself thinking I actually maintained over my vacation.

The calories had not yet adhered to my butt.

This week though, they did. I gained. Yes, 0.7 pounds. Really, scale? REALLY?

I exercised SO MUCH this week. I ate healthily and watched my portions. I weighed myself three times, in disbelief. Um, maybe it’s muscle from exercising, but what I really think it is the universe playing a big joke on me, letting me think I escaped vacation eating unscathed.

Ha-freaking-ha.

I’m not amused.

So, we are one week from the end of this challenge, and I’m up .8 from where I started. I’m hoping for an actual loss in this final week. At least to where I started! I would love to hit 160 before the end of the year, but that would take some crazy miracle – eight pounds in three weeks? Erm, no.

Hope everyone else did better!

I am happy to report that I have no major food OR exercise transgressions this week. In fact, I had to MAKE myself NOT exercise yesterday, because my body needed a break. I did, however, go shopping for eight hours, so that has to count for something, exercise wise!

And now, reading that last paragraph, I want to slap myself. That said, I won’t act like passing up the eggnog lattes was easy, or avoiding the drive through, or going out and running in the freezing cold. All of that? Yeah, it sucked. It’s freaking freezing here and all I want is a roaring fire in the hearth, some rummy eggnog, fudge and a good trashy taboid book.

What I do want to confess is that I am TERRIFIED of this half marathon I’m slated to run in June. Terrified and excited. I can’t wait to meet all my Sisters in the flesh. After my vacation, I was having the ‘what do I have to look forward to now’ blues…and now I have something incredible to look forward to.

Every time I think about it, I get all giddy and can’t wipe the huge grin off my face.  My husband is ready to commit me. I think I’m scaring him. Bwah. Ha. Ha…ha.

That’s my confession this week.

How’d your week go?