Busy day ahead, but I wanted to check in to share my weigh in.
The good news is that my hard work since coming back from Hawaii has helped me get back to exactly my pre-vacation weight. That involved having to lose 3.4 pounds since last Wednesday.
So:
Total Weight Loss: -19.5 lbs.
I know some of that is air travel-related bloat, etc. but it still shows up on the scale.
I was able to eat really well with almost no indulgences (except for Saturday evening, which wasn't bad), and get to the gym 3 times in that space, too.
I wish I could have that much effort move the scale that much every week!
But, it does provide me with relief that I'm not back to being no worse off than I was 3 weeks ago...
More later this week!
Thanks for reading!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Aloha!
Well, we arrived back home from Maui last night, and are doing our best to get back on a normal clock.
I did weigh myself this morning, but not doing an official weigh in until Monday. I was up a few, though. :-(
The trip was great, and I was able to do some active things, and do *okay* with eating... some days better than others. I did indulge more than I wanted to/should have, but not as bad as I could have. Some indulgences: half a dessert at Spago, one fruity cocktail most nights (generally in the mai tai family, two small slices (two separate meals) of chocolate cream pie, two croissants (two separate meals) and a cinnamon bun with icing for breakfast one day. Oh, and some chips, of course. Gee... when I put it all out there, it's no wonder I've gained a few pounds.
My meals were pretty good choices, all around: most mornings (except for the cinnamon roll) I did well for breakfast. 2 mornings I had fruit/yogurt/hardboiled egg whites, and one morning, a turkey/swiss/egg crepe. Lunches were pretty reasonable -- a great veggie salad, fish tacos, a bit of a taco salad. Dinners were pretty good, too. Noodles one night, grilled ribs, a slice of pizza, and a super yummy pork chop at Spagos, which I didn't finish. One day we also had some tastings of fresh goat cheese from Surfing Goat Dairy Farm, too.
In terms of exercise, I went to the gym once. We went for a very long walk one evening. We went scuba diving, which was fun but exhausting, especially as we swam against a rough current, and had to walk about a quarter mile back down the beach with our tanks on our back after that. (the current was so strong that day that a snorkeler was lost on the beach that night, not recovered). And we went zip lining. Now, the zip lining itself wasn't so strenuous (except the screaming, of course), but I wasn't prepared for the 4 climbs we had to do to get to the towers for the launches. Climbing, mainly on suspension-bridge type climbs, or several flights of stairs, with the harness on, carrying the pulleys/gear along with us. I have to say, there were many times, as I made those climbs, that I kept thinking, "THANK GOD I LOST WEIGHT! I'M SO GLAD I'M IN BETTER SHAPE FOR THIS!!" I could only imagine trying this a year ago... 20 pounds heavier, way worse in terms of cardio and stamina... I was truly able to value the impact that being in better shape brings in the moments you most try to enjoy in life!
I hope to get back into the swing of things, and forgive myself for indulging a bit and gaining a few pounds. I will do a formal weigh in / report out on Monday, but spend the next few days trying to get back into a routine. I went to the gym tonight, and dinner was a fantastic salad made from CSA bounty -- I think I'm going to love this CSA thing! I am grateful to my good friend who signed up and offered to share :-) We were just giddy tonight, picking up lettuces, spinach, squash, radishes, herbs, and peas... Everything looked and tasted amazing! I hope you're all enjoying the bounties of harvests near you...
Thanks for reading!
I did weigh myself this morning, but not doing an official weigh in until Monday. I was up a few, though. :-(
The trip was great, and I was able to do some active things, and do *okay* with eating... some days better than others. I did indulge more than I wanted to/should have, but not as bad as I could have. Some indulgences: half a dessert at Spago, one fruity cocktail most nights (generally in the mai tai family, two small slices (two separate meals) of chocolate cream pie, two croissants (two separate meals) and a cinnamon bun with icing for breakfast one day. Oh, and some chips, of course. Gee... when I put it all out there, it's no wonder I've gained a few pounds.
My meals were pretty good choices, all around: most mornings (except for the cinnamon roll) I did well for breakfast. 2 mornings I had fruit/yogurt/hardboiled egg whites, and one morning, a turkey/swiss/egg crepe. Lunches were pretty reasonable -- a great veggie salad, fish tacos, a bit of a taco salad. Dinners were pretty good, too. Noodles one night, grilled ribs, a slice of pizza, and a super yummy pork chop at Spagos, which I didn't finish. One day we also had some tastings of fresh goat cheese from Surfing Goat Dairy Farm, too.
In terms of exercise, I went to the gym once. We went for a very long walk one evening. We went scuba diving, which was fun but exhausting, especially as we swam against a rough current, and had to walk about a quarter mile back down the beach with our tanks on our back after that. (the current was so strong that day that a snorkeler was lost on the beach that night, not recovered). And we went zip lining. Now, the zip lining itself wasn't so strenuous (except the screaming, of course), but I wasn't prepared for the 4 climbs we had to do to get to the towers for the launches. Climbing, mainly on suspension-bridge type climbs, or several flights of stairs, with the harness on, carrying the pulleys/gear along with us. I have to say, there were many times, as I made those climbs, that I kept thinking, "THANK GOD I LOST WEIGHT! I'M SO GLAD I'M IN BETTER SHAPE FOR THIS!!" I could only imagine trying this a year ago... 20 pounds heavier, way worse in terms of cardio and stamina... I was truly able to value the impact that being in better shape brings in the moments you most try to enjoy in life!
I hope to get back into the swing of things, and forgive myself for indulging a bit and gaining a few pounds. I will do a formal weigh in / report out on Monday, but spend the next few days trying to get back into a routine. I went to the gym tonight, and dinner was a fantastic salad made from CSA bounty -- I think I'm going to love this CSA thing! I am grateful to my good friend who signed up and offered to share :-) We were just giddy tonight, picking up lettuces, spinach, squash, radishes, herbs, and peas... Everything looked and tasted amazing! I hope you're all enjoying the bounties of harvests near you...
Thanks for reading!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Even I didn't realize it's been THAT long...
I think I've lost track of time in some ways. It's almost 3 months since I hit the 20 pound mark and have wandered between +1 and -1 of that area since then. This week is no exception (including Friday, when I was down more than a pound from where I started last week, but gained it back, as I usually do, over the weekend).
This week's weigh in: +0.2 lbs.
Total weight loss: -19.5 lbs.
I keep wondering if my stall will be permanent, and I keep telling myself it can't be... and this week is no different! It's still about meeting challenges and trying each week to make some progress, whether it's weight or inches or cardio health and fitness, all of which gets measured differently.
The next week or so will be the "vacation challenge" I spoke of a few weeks ago.
We're heading to Maui on Wednesday. From a diet point of view, that brings:
We don't come back until late next Tuesday, so it is conceivable I don't post again until after vacation. I hope you'll come back to check it out!
Thanks for reading!
This week's weigh in: +0.2 lbs.
Total weight loss: -19.5 lbs.
I keep wondering if my stall will be permanent, and I keep telling myself it can't be... and this week is no different! It's still about meeting challenges and trying each week to make some progress, whether it's weight or inches or cardio health and fitness, all of which gets measured differently.
The next week or so will be the "vacation challenge" I spoke of a few weeks ago.
We're heading to Maui on Wednesday. From a diet point of view, that brings:
- 14 or so hours of travel day type food in airports and airplanes (never a good thing... way too much snacking and sodium-filled foods)
- 6 dinners, at least three of which will be at nice restaurants with indulgent menus
- challenges finding good and reasonably priced lunches
- not even sure about breakfast for the first 2 mornings (we'll be at the hotel), given our clocks will be off a bit.
- ummmm.... mai tais.
- lots of opportunity to go walking along Kanapa'ali Beach
- I do plan on doing at least 1 if not 2 instances of C25k
- Lots of fresh fruit available
- Dinners will involve a lot of fish, which we don't eat a lot of here.
We don't come back until late next Tuesday, so it is conceivable I don't post again until after vacation. I hope you'll come back to check it out!
Thanks for reading!
Friday, June 11, 2010
The only way to change is by doing different things
Seems basic, right? Keep doing the same things, and there's no reason to expect different results.
It's important that I keep reminding myself of this, because I think that's how I've gotten most of the success I've had so far on this journey.
Aside from the obvious stuff (eat better, exercise), I think that it's only when I've been open to taking risks that I've moved myself to the next level, whether it be physically or mentally, that I've found the leverage to get to the next level.
One of the biggest ways I've done that is through being very public and open with people about my plan. Whether it's about my blog, or sharing my story with people when they compliment me on how I look these days, or, more recently joining a facebook group with mostly people I don't know (but some I do) and being very open about where I'm at, how I got here, and where I hope to go... for whatever reason, being very honest and open and apparently, relatable, for people makes a big difference for me every time, and potentially makes a difference to other people. I can't tell you how often I find people saying to me, "You've really inspired me... I've just started doing ____ because of you." Or that my tips and experience really helped them with their own challenge. That means a ton to me, because I know I started *MY* journey not because I was tired with myself (I was, but had been for a long time, too) but because I found inspiration in others to finally do something about it.
The other way has been in being open to trying new things. Now, sometimes that's stuff like different foods, or different forms of exercise (pilates reformer and zumba and c25k certainly weren't part of my vocabulary a year ago!), but sometimes, it's about other things. Just being open to new things in life. New relationships. New challenges. New perspectives. Don't get stale, but don't discard your foundation and the things that work in your life.
My next example in being gutsy and trying something new will be next week, when I'm in Maui. Since my husband and I will be spending time with my sister and her husband, we thought it would be a fun thing to try something new (and a little scary); we're going ziplining.
My sister has done it once, but the rest of us have never done it. We're doing it. We decided to do it. My sister made reservations for us to do it.
Then I looked at the link for where we are doing it: http://www.piiholozipline.com/ . Holy Moley. My stomach is already dropping.
Now, I'm not going to lose any weight doing this or get in better shape or burn any calories by spending an afternoon doing this. That's not my point.
My point is that, when I try something new, even if I'm not successful, I get one step closer to the strength and courage I need to be successful in every other aspect of my life. We all need to get out of our comfort zones every once in a while. We hear that all the time. It's because that's where we grow the most.
What are you trying new these days? What are you thinking about trying new... but something is holding you back? How do you work to get past that?
Find your own stretch outside the comfort zone this summer... and see where it takes you.
Thanks for reading!
It's important that I keep reminding myself of this, because I think that's how I've gotten most of the success I've had so far on this journey.
Aside from the obvious stuff (eat better, exercise), I think that it's only when I've been open to taking risks that I've moved myself to the next level, whether it be physically or mentally, that I've found the leverage to get to the next level.
One of the biggest ways I've done that is through being very public and open with people about my plan. Whether it's about my blog, or sharing my story with people when they compliment me on how I look these days, or, more recently joining a facebook group with mostly people I don't know (but some I do) and being very open about where I'm at, how I got here, and where I hope to go... for whatever reason, being very honest and open and apparently, relatable, for people makes a big difference for me every time, and potentially makes a difference to other people. I can't tell you how often I find people saying to me, "You've really inspired me... I've just started doing ____ because of you." Or that my tips and experience really helped them with their own challenge. That means a ton to me, because I know I started *MY* journey not because I was tired with myself (I was, but had been for a long time, too) but because I found inspiration in others to finally do something about it.
The other way has been in being open to trying new things. Now, sometimes that's stuff like different foods, or different forms of exercise (pilates reformer and zumba and c25k certainly weren't part of my vocabulary a year ago!), but sometimes, it's about other things. Just being open to new things in life. New relationships. New challenges. New perspectives. Don't get stale, but don't discard your foundation and the things that work in your life.
My next example in being gutsy and trying something new will be next week, when I'm in Maui. Since my husband and I will be spending time with my sister and her husband, we thought it would be a fun thing to try something new (and a little scary); we're going ziplining.
My sister has done it once, but the rest of us have never done it. We're doing it. We decided to do it. My sister made reservations for us to do it.
Then I looked at the link for where we are doing it: http://www.piiholozipline.com/ . Holy Moley. My stomach is already dropping.
Now, I'm not going to lose any weight doing this or get in better shape or burn any calories by spending an afternoon doing this. That's not my point.
My point is that, when I try something new, even if I'm not successful, I get one step closer to the strength and courage I need to be successful in every other aspect of my life. We all need to get out of our comfort zones every once in a while. We hear that all the time. It's because that's where we grow the most.
What are you trying new these days? What are you thinking about trying new... but something is holding you back? How do you work to get past that?
Find your own stretch outside the comfort zone this summer... and see where it takes you.
Thanks for reading!
Monday, June 7, 2010
"This is boring. Change the channel." Right?
First, let's check in with the specifics to the plateau:
This week's weigh in +0.2 lbs.
Total weigh in: -19.7 lbs.
It must be pretty frustrating for you guys, huh? "Will she ever get past this plateau? This is waaaay boring!" I guess the best thing I can tell myself is that a plateau is better than a complete retreat and a slide right back up the scale, which certainly is an option for most of us!
I've got 10 days before I head out for vacation. I'm hopeful to stay focused here before we leave, and that next goal I need to get through is to be "good" on vacation. We're going to Hawaii, so, that's honestly not a place I traditionally have issues with indulging in bad food. Fresh fruit, lots of fish, some good meals, but it's not like there's a lot of bad temptation around. But still, every time you say to yourself, "Come on... you're on vacaaaaation...." you know deep down you're indulging in behavior you wouldn't do in your "normal life" for a reason.
Next fun challenge: find a dress for a wedding I'm attending on the 4th of July. I tried the 4 dresses I have in my closet from days-gone-by, and I wasn't loving any of them. They all fit, some were a bit roomy in some areas more than others, and some were fine fits now. One's certainly fine, but I'm hoping to do some shopping to find something better. Begs the questions (a) did these particular dresses ever look particularly great on me and (b) if they "fit" now, but I don't love them on my enough to wear to a wedding, why am I keeping them?? I think if I find a great new dress for the wedding, at least one, if not 2 of those 4 dresses in my closet will find themselves in the latest pile for Good Will. (Added a lot to it this weekend in some more wardrobe re-vetting fun).
Hope you're all enjoying June and the last 2 weeks or so of Spring!
Thanks for reading!
This week's weigh in +0.2 lbs.
Total weigh in: -19.7 lbs.
It must be pretty frustrating for you guys, huh? "Will she ever get past this plateau? This is waaaay boring!" I guess the best thing I can tell myself is that a plateau is better than a complete retreat and a slide right back up the scale, which certainly is an option for most of us!
I've got 10 days before I head out for vacation. I'm hopeful to stay focused here before we leave, and that next goal I need to get through is to be "good" on vacation. We're going to Hawaii, so, that's honestly not a place I traditionally have issues with indulging in bad food. Fresh fruit, lots of fish, some good meals, but it's not like there's a lot of bad temptation around. But still, every time you say to yourself, "Come on... you're on vacaaaaation...." you know deep down you're indulging in behavior you wouldn't do in your "normal life" for a reason.
Next fun challenge: find a dress for a wedding I'm attending on the 4th of July. I tried the 4 dresses I have in my closet from days-gone-by, and I wasn't loving any of them. They all fit, some were a bit roomy in some areas more than others, and some were fine fits now. One's certainly fine, but I'm hoping to do some shopping to find something better. Begs the questions (a) did these particular dresses ever look particularly great on me and (b) if they "fit" now, but I don't love them on my enough to wear to a wedding, why am I keeping them?? I think if I find a great new dress for the wedding, at least one, if not 2 of those 4 dresses in my closet will find themselves in the latest pile for Good Will. (Added a lot to it this weekend in some more wardrobe re-vetting fun).
Hope you're all enjoying June and the last 2 weeks or so of Spring!
Thanks for reading!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
What I'm listening to
It's taken a few weeks to work out the kinks, but I'm feeling pretty good about the playlist I'm using right now for my C25k. Thought I'd share:
"Just Say Yes" by Snow Patrol
"Break Your Heart" by Taio Cruz featuring Ludacris
"Hey, Soul Sister" by Train
"Waking up in Vegas" by Katy Perry
"Your Love is My Drug" by Ke$ha
"My Life Would Suck Without You" by Glee Cast
"Jump" by Glee Cast
"Forever" by Chris Brown
So far, all good beats and fun to sing along for extra inspiration as I chug through!
"Just Say Yes" by Snow Patrol
"Break Your Heart" by Taio Cruz featuring Ludacris
"Hey, Soul Sister" by Train
"Waking up in Vegas" by Katy Perry
"Your Love is My Drug" by Ke$ha
"My Life Would Suck Without You" by Glee Cast
"Jump" by Glee Cast
"Forever" by Chris Brown
So far, all good beats and fun to sing along for extra inspiration as I chug through!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
A few anecdotes of the last week or so
Sooo much to talk about...
First, I took a bit of a break last week from C25k because my back was bothering me going into Memorial Day weekend, and the running was just aggravating it, one step at a time. Got back into it today, for Week 4, Day 1. This involves (including a 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down): 3 minute run, 90 second walk, 5 minute run, 2.5 minute walk, 3 minute run, 90 second walk, and 5 minute run. So, over 21.5 minutes, there's 16 minutes of running. I hadn't done any 5 minute runs yet, let alone 2 of them. I did it today, and ran it all! I was surprised that the 3 minute run is getting easier, and the 5 minute run is survivable. But I'm basically half way there, both in terms of calendar (it's a 9 week program, and I'm at 4.33) and in terms of distance (I'm basically running half a 5k, maybe a little more, at this point.)
Second, my husband and I went shopping yesterday to pick up a bathing suit for him at EMS, right down across from the Prudential Mall. First of all, we got the parking spot directly in front of the store and the parking kiosk, so we already knew the parking genie was on our side. But while I was in there, I thought maybe I'd look to see if they had an skorts. If you don't know what a skort is, it's a miniskirt with shorts underneath. It's not something I ever would have worn before, but I thought I'd take a look now that I'd lost some weight and maybe it wouldn't look like I was wearing a swim tube around my hips.
They just got some in, made with the kind of material that's a bit more rain resistant and stretchy, so, I was hopeful. I looked at the 10 on the hanger and thought, "oooh... that's really small... I don't know...." and I decided to take a 12 in with me, just in case. I figured if I went and tried on the 10 and it was too small, i might be too frustrated to go back in again with a larger size.
When I got to the dressing room, I decided to try the 12 on first. Oh, no. Not even close. Tried on the 10. Nope. Not going to work. I asked my husband to get me an 8. That worked and was very cute! It's even a ROOMY 8! Between that reinforcement and my 20% off coupon (and of course, our great parking spot) I knew I had to buy it!
It was another reminder/wake up call that I still haven't gotten used to my size at all. I still think I'm just lucky with one pair of pants or something, and that can't POSSIBLY be my size... could it???
Thirdly, I had to sort through some of my cuter summer skirts as I'm preparing to pack for our trip to Hawaii in 10 days. Yeah, all but 2 of my 6 or 7 skirts are off to good will. One I bought last year that I just can't believe how much I swim in it now. Even one of the 2 I'm keeping is big, but I can just wear it lower on my hips with a bathing suit and it will be okay. It was a big surprise... and another good opportunity to clean out some of my clothes again. I think I'll have a broader round of that sometime this weekend.
As far as the weight goes, it's about the same. This past week, I was up about a half pound or so above where I was. I'm still struggling at this plateau, but I *HAVE* to believe that this C25K will be getting me in a better place numbers-wise soon enough, but I'm trying not to get frustrated with it.
Fact is, I've got about 4 months left, and I'm not sure this 30 pounds goal is going to be attained, but I'm not giving up just because it seems less likely... thank you to all of you for your continued support!
Thanks for reading!
First, I took a bit of a break last week from C25k because my back was bothering me going into Memorial Day weekend, and the running was just aggravating it, one step at a time. Got back into it today, for Week 4, Day 1. This involves (including a 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down): 3 minute run, 90 second walk, 5 minute run, 2.5 minute walk, 3 minute run, 90 second walk, and 5 minute run. So, over 21.5 minutes, there's 16 minutes of running. I hadn't done any 5 minute runs yet, let alone 2 of them. I did it today, and ran it all! I was surprised that the 3 minute run is getting easier, and the 5 minute run is survivable. But I'm basically half way there, both in terms of calendar (it's a 9 week program, and I'm at 4.33) and in terms of distance (I'm basically running half a 5k, maybe a little more, at this point.)
Second, my husband and I went shopping yesterday to pick up a bathing suit for him at EMS, right down across from the Prudential Mall. First of all, we got the parking spot directly in front of the store and the parking kiosk, so we already knew the parking genie was on our side. But while I was in there, I thought maybe I'd look to see if they had an skorts. If you don't know what a skort is, it's a miniskirt with shorts underneath. It's not something I ever would have worn before, but I thought I'd take a look now that I'd lost some weight and maybe it wouldn't look like I was wearing a swim tube around my hips.
They just got some in, made with the kind of material that's a bit more rain resistant and stretchy, so, I was hopeful. I looked at the 10 on the hanger and thought, "oooh... that's really small... I don't know...." and I decided to take a 12 in with me, just in case. I figured if I went and tried on the 10 and it was too small, i might be too frustrated to go back in again with a larger size.
When I got to the dressing room, I decided to try the 12 on first. Oh, no. Not even close. Tried on the 10. Nope. Not going to work. I asked my husband to get me an 8. That worked and was very cute! It's even a ROOMY 8! Between that reinforcement and my 20% off coupon (and of course, our great parking spot) I knew I had to buy it!
It was another reminder/wake up call that I still haven't gotten used to my size at all. I still think I'm just lucky with one pair of pants or something, and that can't POSSIBLY be my size... could it???
Thirdly, I had to sort through some of my cuter summer skirts as I'm preparing to pack for our trip to Hawaii in 10 days. Yeah, all but 2 of my 6 or 7 skirts are off to good will. One I bought last year that I just can't believe how much I swim in it now. Even one of the 2 I'm keeping is big, but I can just wear it lower on my hips with a bathing suit and it will be okay. It was a big surprise... and another good opportunity to clean out some of my clothes again. I think I'll have a broader round of that sometime this weekend.
As far as the weight goes, it's about the same. This past week, I was up about a half pound or so above where I was. I'm still struggling at this plateau, but I *HAVE* to believe that this C25K will be getting me in a better place numbers-wise soon enough, but I'm trying not to get frustrated with it.
Fact is, I've got about 4 months left, and I'm not sure this 30 pounds goal is going to be attained, but I'm not giving up just because it seems less likely... thank you to all of you for your continued support!
Thanks for reading!
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