Weigh-In: Week 12

Current Weigh: 223lbs

Weekly Loss: -2lbs    Total Loss: -18lbs

Kicked butt this week!

I've discovered something new about myself on this journey.
I'm currently going through something in my personal life that I will share at some point, because I think it can help others, but I'm just not ready to now.  
Needless to say, I'm extremely emotional and stressed.  

The "old" me would drown my sorrows with chinese take-out, wine and ice cream.
Maybe fried chicken and mac-n-cheese.
The new me???  EXERCISE

I never thought I'd say that!

The BEST way to deal with all of this emotions is to get out and move.
My body waits for it every day.  It's such a release.  I never knew.
I never would have believed it, most of you know me.
I'm not that person who is like "just go for a walk, you'll feel better!"
I'm the person who'll invite you over for comfort food and get you drunk.

NOT ANYMORE!!!

Weigh-In: Week 11

Current Weigh: 225lbs

Weekly Loss: 0lbs    Total Loss: -16lbs

I'll take it, especially after losing 3 lbs last week!

I did lose some inches these past 2 weeks!  1 more inch gone from my waist (2.5 total), .5 inches from my arms (1.5 total).

I started the week off so strong!  Exercise was great, food was great!  My legs/feet weren't happy towards the end of the week, so exercise slowed a bit.  I had my "cheat" meal Saturday, but I didn't really go off on any binges or anything, just didn't keep as strict over the weekend, and I'm allowed to do that!!!  The best part of not following a specific "diet" or plan is that there's no failing.  

I broke my own rule and weighed myself more often than once a week, and I won't do it again!  I was down to 224/223.5 early in the week for a few days.  The daily gain/loss drove me crazy.  

NO MORE!  Monday morning ONLY!

I'm all geared up for this week, it should be a good one!  

How is everyone doing?

Weigh-In: Week 10

Current Weigh: 225lbs

Weekly Loss: -5lbs    Total Loss: -16lbs

HECK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

I kicked major butt this week.  Speaking of butts, mine looks fabulous!  

I was checking myself out in the mirror after weighing in this morning, 

and I have to say, my rear end is looking fabulous!!!

(no pictures, I'm not into the whole post-your-bare-ass-online thing!)

I logged 51.1 miles this month!  So proud of myself for that!

My body is getting stronger and can handle longer walks now.

June Goals

Get under 220 lbs

Log at least 50 miles

Incorporate more jogging

Walk at least 6 days a week

Walk more than 5 miles 3 of those days

Strength train on days of shorter walks

Allow one untracked meal a week 

June is going to be an interesting month for me.

My M-F schedule relaxes a bit, but I'm starting a class this Sunday that's going to consume 5 weekend days.  

I'm not the early riser, so I'm determined to go for a walk as soon as I get home on those days.  

At least my eating will be more controlled, it's time spent at home that gets me!

Happy June Everyone!!!!!

What are your goals this month?

Weigh-In: Week 9

Current Weigh: 230lbs

Weekly Loss: +3lbs    Total Loss: -11lbs

            Too much of this...          Not enough of this!!!!

It's no surprise to me that I had quite of a gain this week.  

Last week I was surprised I lost and thought I would gain, 

it just took a little while to catch up to me!

I've been off-track the past week and a half.  It started with a very busy weekend of volunteering and celebrating my hubby's birthday.  Then it continued with a busy week and the first really beautiful, long weekend of the season.  I made poor food choices and had way more alcoholic beverages (which led to more bad food choices) than I have in a while!  

I didn't drink nearly enough water, and I also skipped many meals while being busy.

I had a ravenous 2 days of PMS where I ate everything in sight.

AND THAT'S OKAY!!!!

I did make an effort to exercise at least 30 minutes each day, more when I had the time.

And today is my day to get back on track!  Here's my motivator...

It's time for the bikini pics- hahaha!

So far, I've lost almost 2 inches off of my waist, another 2 from my hips, and an inch from each upper arm and thigh.  My under-boob has smoothed out, and so has my tummy!  

And my ankle creases are going away little by little!

I've had a mental change in goals.  I'm not hyper focused on the numbers.  Yes, my weight needs to go down.  Yes, I want to lose inches.  That's not going to happen quickly.  

My goal is to make the best choices that I can!

New Rules: 

-All days off will begin with a walk first thing in the morning.

-I will drink as much water as I possibly can each day

-I will not skip meals

-I will try to limit myself to one alcoholic beverage a week

Weigh-In: Week 8

Current Weigh: 227lbs

Weekly Loss: -2lbs    Total Loss: -14lbs

 Happy to be down this week!

Had an okay week, didn't eat as well as I could have, didn't exercise as much as I should have, but that's life!

Both tops in the pictures haven't fit me in a long, long, long time, so I was really excited to be able to wear them again!

I had a rough, busy weekend, made bad food choices and had zero time for exercise.

This week is a busy week for me, so I'm going to try my best, but I'm not going to be hard on myself if I end up having an off week and possibly a gain.

I'm going to do what I can, focus on drinking lots of water and eating as best as I can.

Allergies are kicking my butt.

This is reality.

I've eaten 2.5 bagels since Friday.

I ate way too much pizza Saturday night.

I'm a human, just like you!

And I'm still happy :)

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

Weigh-In: Week 7

Current Weight: 229lbs

Weekly Loss:  -1lbs     Total Loss:  -12lbs

 

Getting there!  Little by little...

This week, I've realized just how hard I've been working and I'm even more confident that I won't sabotage myself. 

I had a great week followed by an okay weekend.  The week was awesome, workout a lot, ate GREAT, felt AMAZING!!!  Friday, I went for a 6.3 mile walk to the beach and back.  It was longer than I'm used to at this point, I usually do around 4 miles.  I felt great, I even jogged some on the return trip!

The next day, I went to yoga in the morning and it was a great class!  Very challenging, and I was able to do most of it!  Woohoo!  I was so pumped that I decided to go for a walk that afternoon, too.  BAD IDEA!!!  As soon as I got to the end of the block, my legs reminded me just how tired they still were from the walk the day before.  

I still walked a mile, very slowly, and came home with very tired legs.

My left leg already has issues from tearing my ACL and meniscus years ago, and it turns in, even more so when it's tired.  So that was frustrating.

We went out Saturday night, and I'm very proud of myself for still making good choices despite my cranky mood.

I had one beer, then a local organic iced tea with minimal sweetening.  We went to the diner, and I ordered a chicken gyro wrap with no rice or fries, but veggies on the side.  Not the healthiest, but very delicious and not as horrible as I could have been!

All in all, a good week!  Let's keep it going!!

How was your week?

Weigh-In: Week 6

Current Weight: 230lbs

Weekly Loss:  0lbs     Total Loss:  -11lbs

I'm completely, 100% fine with the fact that I didn't lose any pounds this week.  I didn't gain any, either!

I did lose some inches!  I only started measuring myself 2 weeks ago, something I really wish I had started in the very beginning, but better late than never!  

In the past 2 weeks, here are my inch changes!

Neck:  -.5"      Waist:  -1"      Hips:  0"      Arms:  -1"      Thighs:  -.5"      Calves:  0"

And my face!  

Here's a side-by-side from March to April!

I looked so swollen and puffy!!!  I feel so much better after these 6 weeks!

Sometimes, we get too caught up in the numbers to realize that they aren't the end-all-be-all of this journey.  I'll be posting more about this later in the week.

I also hit my fastest 5K time ever!  43:10!  Not a great time in general, but a great time for me, so WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

April ended with me losing 11lbs, logging 50 miles, and feeling great!

Here are my goals for May:

So, what are your goals this month?  

Post them below, make them reasonable, 

and let's do this together!!!!

Weigh-In: Week 5

Current Weight: 230lbs

Weekly Loss: -3lbs   Total Loss: -11lbs

I swear, I thought I was going to have to post my first "gain" weigh-in of this go around.  I have no idea how I managed to lose 3 pounds this week!

I took a picture because I didn't believe it!

I had a rough eating week.  Started off being ravenous while PMSing, just eating whatever was around and lots of it!  Luckily, I don't have anything in my house that's really horrible, but even healthy foods aren't good in copious amounts.  I ate A LOT.  

This is my HANGRY face.  You don't want to be around my HANGRY face!!!!

I also went to visit my BFF/Soulmate this weekend, and I'm one of those people who loves to eat while driving, and I had a good 7 hour trip.  I put together a bag of healthy stuff, but also managed to consume a bag of Smartfood popcorn on my way down due to stress eating (major car issues!).  My friend is awesome, though, and made delicious food that was on the healthy side for us!  On the way back, stress eating resumed with pretzels and a bag of sour patch kids.  I didn't even want to get on the scale today.  So, yeah, I lost 3lbs  but I almost don't like that I lost weight, because it wasn't a great week.  

I'm up to 37.5 miles for April.  Still have a few days to reach my 40 mile goal, I know I'll get there!  I'm also hoping this weight loss sticks, because I really wanted to be out of the 230's by May.  We'll see what happens next week!!!

Weigh-In: Week 4

Current Weight: 233lbs

Weekly Loss:  -2lbs    Current Loss:  -8lbs

Doing good, feeling good, looking good!

Slow and steady wins the race, so I'm happy being down 2 more pounds!  

So far, I've walked 33 miles this month!  I'll definitely reach my goal of 40 miles for April!

I also hope to be out of the 230's by May, so we shall see how that goes.  

I feel great!  I have energy, I physically feel great, and I mentally feel awesome!

The secret to what's working for me this time around?  TIME!

The harsh reality of life is that there is no easy fix for losing weight and being healthy.

Pills won't last in the long run, neither will anything that involves extreme fitness or diet.

Those aren't really healthy, either!

What does work?  Taking the time to do what you know you need to do.

I spend AT LEAST 2 hours a day, 

if not more, on my health.

It might be an hour of yoga, 45 minutes walking, time cooking and prepping meals, scheduling exercising, developing recipes, grocery shopping, etc.

Yes, the time might seem like a lot, but it's our lives we are talking about. 

If your life isn't worth the time, what is?  Money?  No.  Making other people happy?  No.

Family?  Family is important.  Get them to be a part of your journey!  
If they can't/won't, realize that in order for you all to enjoy your times together, 
you need to be healthy!

One of the greatest parts of this week was seeing how supportive my husband and friends are with my efforts.  My husband and I both work a lot, and that means we don't have much time to spend together.  This week, we were going to go out to dinner on Friday since we were both free.  I felt bad, but I asked Chris if we could do dinner at 8:15 so I could go for a walk and go to a yoga class.  Without any problems, he said yes, of course!  He knows that in order for me to be successful, it's going to take time.  He's even getting back into cycling, too!  Yesterday morning he went for a ride while I went for my walk.

My friends are also awesome!  We went to dinner at a friend's house on Saturday night.

She kept me in mind and had plenty of healthy options for me to enjoy!  How sweet!

(Note: I was responsible for dessert.  I brought fancy cupcakes.  We had a cupcake tasting.  

It was amazing!  And not healthy.  Amazing nonetheless.  I fail lol.)  

Weigh-In: Week 1

Current Weight:  238 lbs

Weekly Loss:  3 lbs     Total Loss: 3 lbs

Roxy really wanted to be in the pictures!

So, yeah, I was up to 241 lbs!  Again, I can't beat myself up about it.

I have to see it as a starting point!

Man, I haven't really looked at my side-profile in a long, long time.  

At least my stomach balances out my rear end!!!  : )

I'm happy being down 3 lbs this week!

My body is still adjusting to exercise, my back is not happy, but we're getting there!

Weekly Weigh In

Down another 1.5 lbs this week!

 

I can't get the pictures to be the same size.  It's making me a bit twitchy!!!

I finally went shopping since school is starting soon (gasp!). 

I feel so much better now that I have some nice clothes that fit me and that I feel good in!

My arms and abs are nice and sore today from my kettlebell workout yesterday, and I like it!  I'm going to keep that up, plus my workouts on the elliptical.

I've been doing pretty good with my food.  My next major change is going to be to try and reduce my sodium intake.  I never realized how much sodium I consume in a day!  It's crazy!  Little by little, I'm going to work on it!

Weekly Weigh In and Chicago

This week, I maintained my weight.  I am guessing that I did lose a little before I went away and then put some on.  My body feels bloated still from eating more salt/fat/sugar than I normally do on a regular basis.  I'm calling this week my detox week!

I spent 3 days in Chicago for a mini-vacation with my best friend.  She was there working, so I was on my own for the most part.  I had a great time!  The weather was beautiful, so I spent most of my days walking around.  The first day I forgot to track my miles, but I used my free Endomondo app the rest of the time (a really great app if you want to track any sort of outside activity!).  It tracks how far, how long, average speed, and more!  Here are a few examples of the feedback from the app:

I walked over 30 miles while i was there!  My legs are exhausted, but I'm proud of myself!  There were a few times when I really wanted to hop on a bus or in a cab, but I didn't!!!  

I'm not going to lie, I ate a bunch of stuff that isn't on the weight-loss wagon, but that's part of travel for me.  I did discover some delicious, healthy meals along the way!

Crepes filled with spinach and mushrooms at the farmers market (above)
Grilled fish tacos at Howells & Hood (below)

The rest of my meals weren't horrible, health-wise (except the deep dish pizza- which, in retrospect, I shouldn't have eaten- I was so disappointed in the taste!  I'll stick to NY style pizza, thank you!), but they weren't healthy, either.  

I'm glad to be home, back in my routine and my kitchen!

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Dirty Girl Mud Run and Weekly Weigh In

So far, being back on track, I'm down 3 lbs!

Before and After

This weekend was the Dirty Girl Mud Run, and I did it!!!  I did all but 2 of the obstacles, and I was very proud of myself!  I've found that I have very good balance, and rock cargo nets!!!  There was one inclined log obstacle that I almost got over, but it was very slippery, and I had a vision of my foot slipping and hitting my knee or head on the log.  So, I decided to go around it after I was almost at the halfway point.

The one obstacle that killed my legs?  There was this one section towards the end that was (or at least felt like) at least a half mile of thick, thick mud a few inches deep.  Like, the kind of mud that you could easily lose a shoe in.  It reminded me of the scene where Artax drowns in the swamps in the Neverending Story.

If this scene means nothing to you, your childhood was lacking!

Like, seriously, my body just couldn't deal with having to pull my legs out of the mud after every single step of this section.  My fellow Dirty Girl, Katie (who is awesome and amazing for staying with my slow butt even though she is currently training for her marathon- you should check her blog out!), almost lost me in the mud!!!  I did survive, but my body is not happy about it today!  

For anyone considering doing a 5K or a mud run- do it!!!  If I could do it, you can do it!  It's completely non-competitive, I walked 90% of it, plenty of others walked, too!  Chances are that you will do better than you think!  I plan on doing more in the future, hopefully my body will be less sore as I get back in shape!!!

Weekly Weigh In

Current Weight: 198.4 lbs

Weekly Gain: .8 lbs     Total Loss: -23.6 lbs

Look at me being all fancy!

I expected to gain more, quite honestly.  I usually gain after a large loss, plus I spent the entire day Sunday drinking wine and eating french toast, bacon, bread, cheese and ice cream to celebrate my awesome friend's Bachelorette-ness.  I didn't make it to the gym as much as I should have, either.  So, I'll take the .8 lbs, and aim for a loss next week.

Weekly Weigh In

Current Weight: 197.6 lbs

Weekly Loss: -3.2lbs    Total Loss: -24.4 lbs
I enjoyed being back on track this week!
Remember that salad from Monday?
I've eaten a variation of it EVERY DAY, sometimes twice!  
It's really yummy, and it's so easy to just swap out a few ingredients.  
Mango and avocado slices add good texture and taste.  
Swap out the scallops for some shrimp or chicken.

I love going to the store about every other day to stock up on fresh produce.

I also make it a point to stop at any farm stand I pass to see what looks good that I can pick up.  I discovered the greatest strawberries I've ever tasted on my way home from the gym!  I WILL KEEP THINGS MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!!!

Weekly Weigh In

This whole weight loss thing is hard!!!  The spring ended up being extremely difficult for me, my schedule was insanely busy.  That didn't help me get back on track, in fact I did the opposite.  I didn't track, didn't work out, didn't make good choices, but it's in the past.  Now that school's out for the summer, I'm taking advantage of the time I have to REALLY get myself back in the swing of things.  It's only been a week, but I've been to the gym every day and have been tracking everything that goes into my mouth.  


My goal is to go to the gym at least every day during the week.  Once I get used to it again, I ultimately want to go in the morning to do my elliptical and weight training and then go back in the evenings for some of the classes.  


I am fortunate enough to have a grocery store with great produce on the way home, as well as a great seafood market, so I end up going there almost daily to get whatever I feel like cooking and knowing it's fresh.  


When I'm not working out or cooking, I need to keep busy!  I volunteer with a local animal welfare and rescue group (RSVP- find us on Facebook!) and plan to be as active as I can with that while I have the time.   Hopefully that will be enough to get my butt going again!!!


Alright, it's truth time.  I'm back up to 200.8 lbs.  VERY unhappy about that.  I have never had such the urge to strip naked in public to get rid of those .81 pounds just to get that nasty 2 away from the front, but it is what it is, and at least I'm mentally ready to do something about it!

This is my "I got this!" face

It's on like Donkey Kong, yo!

Weekly Weigh In

Current Weight: 192 lbs

Weekly Gain: 2.2 lbs        Total Loss: -30 lbs

I have successfully increased my daily water intake immensely!  And I laugh every time one of my students sees my clear Starbucks cup filled with water and exclaims "I love coffee!!!"  

I knew it was going to be up, and that's okay.  
Something clicked again in my brain, 
and it's game on from here on out.  

I CAN do this, and I WILL do this.  

One of my favorite lyrics from "For Me This is Heaven" by 

Jimmy Eat World goes like this:

"If I don't let myself be happy now then when?  

If not now, when?"

It's going to happen starting NOW!!!

Weekly Weigh In

Current Weight: 189.8 lbs

Weekly Loss: -1.6 lbs     Total Loss: -32.2 lbs

Back under 190, hopefully for good!!!

Weeky Weigh In

Current Weight:  191.4 lbs

As you can see, February didn't go so well for me.  I apologize for my lack of posting, but I wasn't motivated.  That's what happens to me, I get out of my routine and totally lose it.  I got strep throat, and was out of the gym for a week.  I also didn't drink water (it hurt!) and ate all salty things.  This resulted in me gaining almost 6 pounds that week!  INSANE!!!  That was all it took for me to not post and be half "off the wagon" for the remaining week of the month.  

The following week was our winter break.  I spent the first few days in a cabin with a dear friend on a horse farm in Pennsylvania.  The weather was beautiful, and we went on hikes 2 of the days we were there.  The rest of the time we spent eating, drinking, reading and watching tv.  Much needed relaxation, but not helping me on the health front!  The next 2 days Chris and I spent in NYC as a belated Valentine's celebration.  We did a million things, and most of them involved eating or drinking.  Again, great fun, but not so great for the waistline.  I didn't care though, I needed to enjoy myself, so I did.  I wasn't in town to weigh in, so I skipped that week.

Since I've been back I've gotten back on track.  I'm focusing on getting back into my exercise and eating routine.  I'm also concentrating on drinking boatloads of water every day and cutting back on caffeine, artificial sweeteners and salt.  I'm not cutting them out drastically, but reducing my intake can't hurt.

As far as my earnings from February, I'm calling it a wash.  Anything I "earned" in the first half was negated by the second half.  So, it's a new month, and a fresh start.  I'm down .8 from my strep throat gain of misery, a start in the right direction.  I'm keeping positive...

Weekly Weigh In

Current Weight: 186.8 lbs

Weekly Loss:  -2.2 lbs      Total Loss: -35.2 lbs

I'm almost back down to my lowest weight (185.6 in July, before we went on vacation) since I've started.  
I'll tell you, it feels really good to have a few weeks with a loss again.  

I'm not sure how the next few weeks are going to go.  This week I've been sick, so I haven't been to the gym since Monday due to exhaustion and then strep throat.  I'm hoping to get back there tomorrow.  The week after that I have off from work, and I have a bunch of things planned that could go either way as far as weight loss is concerned.  We shall see!!