Here we are after another week, and I'm okay with the results...
This week: -0.2 lbs.
Total weight loss: -21.1 lbs.
A fine week. I was down a little more, even, on Friday, but gained some back over the weekend, as I usually do... but still relieved that I'm about where I was last week, and didn't lose any ground.
Tomorrow, I'm hoping to try to take a strength training class. My pilates instructor suggested the classes would be a good next step to add to my weight loss and fitness gain. As my skin gets a bit looser from losing weight, the weight training should help, even if just with some body sculpt classes once or twice a week. In theory, can also help with weight loss, but not sure how much you have to do in order to get to that point. But it is something new to try, so I'm up for it!
Next week is week 50. (Yikes!) Pictures and measurements. I am hoping for another inch or two around the measurements... hard to make too much impact on that at this point. But I'm hoping for a little reinforcement! A little goes a long way...
Thanks for reading!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
20 + Teaser + 100 = Reasons to be proud!
Cryptic title, I know. I'll walk you through it.
First, the 20. Well, I did it. Last night, I jogged for 20 minutes straight. No breaks. Okay, one 15 second break after 10 minutes because I haven't quite figured out how to run and to drink water from a water bottle yet without smashing my teeth, so I hopped up on the rails for 15 seconds to hydrate a little. It wasn't a fast run, but it was kind of my standard jog pace I've been trying to do during Couch to 5k training, 4.1 mph. (I know, you runners out there probably walk at that pace). All in all, that is 1.67 miles, about, 2.7k. I'm officially running more than half a 5k at this point!
I've never run that long, that far, without stopping. It's a huge deal for me (obviously). I was really proud of myself for not quitting, as it crossed my mind a million times. At minute 8, I knew I was past where I'd done it before, and realized I still had that much and more to go! At minute 10, I remarked that I was half way there, and I could probably do all that time again. At minute 15, I figured I only needed to get through 1 more song. At minute 16, I started to think, "Well... 18 minutes would be a great accomplishment, too, even if it wasn't 20." At 18, I knew I could do 2 more minutes, but they were a loooooong 2 minutes. At minute 20, I thought, "Honestly? I could run another minute if I had to!" I didn't, since I needed to do a quick cool down before pilates, but it was really surprising to know I felt good enough that I could have done a LITTLE more....
The Teaser. I've been doing pilates reformer (the torture machine with springs and pulleys) in a group training session (3 core people, added a 4th a couple of months ago, and occasionally a 5th will add, so it's small and semi-private) for 9 months now. Our instructor, Maria, is awesome, and she continues to increase her own ability as a teacher as we've learned, as well. She keeps incorporating new things she's learning herself into our classes, most of it Reformer 3 and keeps challenging us to get to a next level in our own abilities each week. About 3 sessions ago, she started to encourage us to try, if we were comfortable, moving from one our moves to get into "Teaser" pose. (didn't do the moves after teaser, just getting into "teaser" was a big enough move for us to try). One woman was able to do it week 1 without a problem. I didn't even try. Last week, I tried, but there was no way in heck it was going to happen. Last night, with the best of intentions, I got up on the first try! Sure, I wobbled when I got there, and she had to spot me coming back down, but I did it again, and did it solidly. (here's video of someone else who clearly knows what he's doing, so you can have a visual of what I'm talking about.) It was a huge accomplishment for me -- such a demonstration of balance, strength and courage I hadn't really gotten to before in my pilates class. Also helps that I have such supportive classmates and an instructor along the way!
And, what does 100 mean? Well, this is my 100th post on this blog!! I can't believe it! I have to admit, I didn't really realize this until yesterday. I was reading someone else's blog and she was commenting about her 100th post, and I thought to myself, "that's a big deal... I should really have a sense of when my OWN 100th post will be." Imagine my surprise when I saw that my very next post would be number 100!
I was e-mailing with a dear friend recently about how important blogging had become to this whole thing. Sure, the diet and the exercise are the WORK of it all, but I really could not have done any of this without the blogging. First of all, of course there is the accountability. Knowing that I have people who will be tuning in to see what happens next, and seeing if I am following through on proclamations is honestly a big motivator, both from a "I have people I can share success with" and from a "I will feel guilty if I skulk away from all this and people know" point of view. (I guess those are the two sides of the accountability coin.)
The other aspect of why blogging has been so helpful is the intellectual and creative outlet it has been for me to be able to process these thoughts I have about all of this, the good and the bad, and be able to keep them all in check. Being able to look back and read where I've been, where I came from, different goals I've set for myself and achieved has been a tremendous tool. In that sense, it's really just a journal that I've happened to make public, if people want to read it, and there's obviously value in that exercise for me, whether or not there's an audience.
But 100 posts is incredible, especially since am not even 50 weeks into this yet. I don't know that I ever thought I'd hit 100. Not sure I ever gave it much thought. But now that I have, I'm really proud of this last of 3 accomplishments I wanted to share today.
I hope any one of these accomplishments in my little life help to inspire YOU to set a goal today worth achieving, and worth sharing your pride once you do!
Thanks for reading! (Thanks for reading 100 times!)
First, the 20. Well, I did it. Last night, I jogged for 20 minutes straight. No breaks. Okay, one 15 second break after 10 minutes because I haven't quite figured out how to run and to drink water from a water bottle yet without smashing my teeth, so I hopped up on the rails for 15 seconds to hydrate a little. It wasn't a fast run, but it was kind of my standard jog pace I've been trying to do during Couch to 5k training, 4.1 mph. (I know, you runners out there probably walk at that pace). All in all, that is 1.67 miles, about, 2.7k. I'm officially running more than half a 5k at this point!
I've never run that long, that far, without stopping. It's a huge deal for me (obviously). I was really proud of myself for not quitting, as it crossed my mind a million times. At minute 8, I knew I was past where I'd done it before, and realized I still had that much and more to go! At minute 10, I remarked that I was half way there, and I could probably do all that time again. At minute 15, I figured I only needed to get through 1 more song. At minute 16, I started to think, "Well... 18 minutes would be a great accomplishment, too, even if it wasn't 20." At 18, I knew I could do 2 more minutes, but they were a loooooong 2 minutes. At minute 20, I thought, "Honestly? I could run another minute if I had to!" I didn't, since I needed to do a quick cool down before pilates, but it was really surprising to know I felt good enough that I could have done a LITTLE more....
The Teaser. I've been doing pilates reformer (the torture machine with springs and pulleys) in a group training session (3 core people, added a 4th a couple of months ago, and occasionally a 5th will add, so it's small and semi-private) for 9 months now. Our instructor, Maria, is awesome, and she continues to increase her own ability as a teacher as we've learned, as well. She keeps incorporating new things she's learning herself into our classes, most of it Reformer 3 and keeps challenging us to get to a next level in our own abilities each week. About 3 sessions ago, she started to encourage us to try, if we were comfortable, moving from one our moves to get into "Teaser" pose. (didn't do the moves after teaser, just getting into "teaser" was a big enough move for us to try). One woman was able to do it week 1 without a problem. I didn't even try. Last week, I tried, but there was no way in heck it was going to happen. Last night, with the best of intentions, I got up on the first try! Sure, I wobbled when I got there, and she had to spot me coming back down, but I did it again, and did it solidly. (here's video of someone else who clearly knows what he's doing, so you can have a visual of what I'm talking about.) It was a huge accomplishment for me -- such a demonstration of balance, strength and courage I hadn't really gotten to before in my pilates class. Also helps that I have such supportive classmates and an instructor along the way!
And, what does 100 mean? Well, this is my 100th post on this blog!! I can't believe it! I have to admit, I didn't really realize this until yesterday. I was reading someone else's blog and she was commenting about her 100th post, and I thought to myself, "that's a big deal... I should really have a sense of when my OWN 100th post will be." Imagine my surprise when I saw that my very next post would be number 100!
I was e-mailing with a dear friend recently about how important blogging had become to this whole thing. Sure, the diet and the exercise are the WORK of it all, but I really could not have done any of this without the blogging. First of all, of course there is the accountability. Knowing that I have people who will be tuning in to see what happens next, and seeing if I am following through on proclamations is honestly a big motivator, both from a "I have people I can share success with" and from a "I will feel guilty if I skulk away from all this and people know" point of view. (I guess those are the two sides of the accountability coin.)
The other aspect of why blogging has been so helpful is the intellectual and creative outlet it has been for me to be able to process these thoughts I have about all of this, the good and the bad, and be able to keep them all in check. Being able to look back and read where I've been, where I came from, different goals I've set for myself and achieved has been a tremendous tool. In that sense, it's really just a journal that I've happened to make public, if people want to read it, and there's obviously value in that exercise for me, whether or not there's an audience.
But 100 posts is incredible, especially since am not even 50 weeks into this yet. I don't know that I ever thought I'd hit 100. Not sure I ever gave it much thought. But now that I have, I'm really proud of this last of 3 accomplishments I wanted to share today.
I hope any one of these accomplishments in my little life help to inspire YOU to set a goal today worth achieving, and worth sharing your pride once you do!
Thanks for reading! (Thanks for reading 100 times!)
Monday, July 19, 2010
The end in sight is starting to be scary... but weeks like this help!
Well, I'm not sure what was particular special about this week, but it's in the right direction, so I'll take it!
This week's weight in: -1.0 lbs.
Total wight loss: -20.9 lbs.
I can't say I have too much explanation, other than getting back onto the routine. My one splurge day was dinner out with my husband for his birthday at Clink at the Liberty Hotel, and even though the weekend we had a house full of guests up in NH, all the eating was very reasonable in terms of quantity and quality.
Approaching a house full of guests this weekend, especially mostly men who will be biking 100 miles in one day, but still being healthy, was a challenge, but I was up for it! Here's a sense of what the eating had for me this weekend:
Friday night, dinner at the Red Parka Pub. I had a beer, shared 1 popcorn with my husband (less than I would normally do), and the salad bar. Saturday, I had friends over who are vegetarian! I made gazpacho, a green salad, and watermelon/goat cheese/mint salad.
Saturday evening, there would be 7 of us. Appetizers I served crudite (including some CSA veggies -- fantastic!) with black bean dip (the weight watchers recipe) and a bit of cheese and crackers and chips. I had a few chips, but not an indulgence. Dinner was burgers (i didn't have one), marinated chicken tenders in white wine, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, the watermelon salad, and macaroni salad, very light on the mayo. For dessert, we had a Dairy Queen cake for Robert's bday, which I had a TINY slice of, but also I made applesauce granita, which is literally unsweetened applesauce and juice of a lemon, made into an icy texture -- very guiltless! Sunday, some egg sandwiches, which we served on bagels or deli flats (me) with turkey bacon (I didn't have any of that). So, lots and lots of food, but all healthy choices, and portion control was our friend! It's great to be able to indulge in a weekend of fun and great eating, but not feel like there was too much damage along the way!
I also managed to get back to the gym twice this week, and still making progress on C25k, though my NEXT session is the scariest so far: 20 minute jog, no stopping. My last one had a running session of 8 minutes run, 5 minutes walk, 8 minutes run. I handled the first 8 minutes okay, but the second one was more of a challenge. By 6 minutes into it, I was convincing myself that pride alone, and the accomplishment of saying I did it without cheating, was the only driver for completing those last 2 minutes. I completed them, with all the sense of pride and accomplishment I bargained for, even only having run at a pace at about 4.2 miles an hour (quick math: could run a mile in 15 minutes or so, but, um, just one of them at a time. ) So, 20 minutes of uninterrupted jogging sounds scary to me. But that's next!
Overall, the math is starting to escape out of favor. I am 70% to goal, but 80% of the way to my timeline. I'll admit that the notion that I'll be able to lose 9 pounds in the next 12 weeks seems kind of impossible to me at this point. I know it's not mathematically impossible, but at the rate I've been going, even with picking up some momentum the past few weeks (for which I'm grateful!) it's not enough to keep me on that path alone.
But I always remind myself that my goal wasn't just about getting a smaller number on the scale. It was about getting healthier and getting in better shape, and I'm hard-pressed to say I won't be declaring victory on that part of it, for sure! I won't be losing my focus the next 12 weeks... 9 pounds might a real stretch, but 4 pounds, even 6 pounds is attainable, I know.
Thank you for all your support, especially in this home stretch! I need all the support I can get!
Thanks for reading!
This week's weight in: -1.0 lbs.
Total wight loss: -20.9 lbs.
I can't say I have too much explanation, other than getting back onto the routine. My one splurge day was dinner out with my husband for his birthday at Clink at the Liberty Hotel, and even though the weekend we had a house full of guests up in NH, all the eating was very reasonable in terms of quantity and quality.
Approaching a house full of guests this weekend, especially mostly men who will be biking 100 miles in one day, but still being healthy, was a challenge, but I was up for it! Here's a sense of what the eating had for me this weekend:
Friday night, dinner at the Red Parka Pub. I had a beer, shared 1 popcorn with my husband (less than I would normally do), and the salad bar. Saturday, I had friends over who are vegetarian! I made gazpacho, a green salad, and watermelon/goat cheese/mint salad.
Saturday evening, there would be 7 of us. Appetizers I served crudite (including some CSA veggies -- fantastic!) with black bean dip (the weight watchers recipe) and a bit of cheese and crackers and chips. I had a few chips, but not an indulgence. Dinner was burgers (i didn't have one), marinated chicken tenders in white wine, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, the watermelon salad, and macaroni salad, very light on the mayo. For dessert, we had a Dairy Queen cake for Robert's bday, which I had a TINY slice of, but also I made applesauce granita, which is literally unsweetened applesauce and juice of a lemon, made into an icy texture -- very guiltless! Sunday, some egg sandwiches, which we served on bagels or deli flats (me) with turkey bacon (I didn't have any of that). So, lots and lots of food, but all healthy choices, and portion control was our friend! It's great to be able to indulge in a weekend of fun and great eating, but not feel like there was too much damage along the way!
I also managed to get back to the gym twice this week, and still making progress on C25k, though my NEXT session is the scariest so far: 20 minute jog, no stopping. My last one had a running session of 8 minutes run, 5 minutes walk, 8 minutes run. I handled the first 8 minutes okay, but the second one was more of a challenge. By 6 minutes into it, I was convincing myself that pride alone, and the accomplishment of saying I did it without cheating, was the only driver for completing those last 2 minutes. I completed them, with all the sense of pride and accomplishment I bargained for, even only having run at a pace at about 4.2 miles an hour (quick math: could run a mile in 15 minutes or so, but, um, just one of them at a time. ) So, 20 minutes of uninterrupted jogging sounds scary to me. But that's next!
Overall, the math is starting to escape out of favor. I am 70% to goal, but 80% of the way to my timeline. I'll admit that the notion that I'll be able to lose 9 pounds in the next 12 weeks seems kind of impossible to me at this point. I know it's not mathematically impossible, but at the rate I've been going, even with picking up some momentum the past few weeks (for which I'm grateful!) it's not enough to keep me on that path alone.
But I always remind myself that my goal wasn't just about getting a smaller number on the scale. It was about getting healthier and getting in better shape, and I'm hard-pressed to say I won't be declaring victory on that part of it, for sure! I won't be losing my focus the next 12 weeks... 9 pounds might a real stretch, but 4 pounds, even 6 pounds is attainable, I know.
Thank you for all your support, especially in this home stretch! I need all the support I can get!
Thanks for reading!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Midsummer break... getting back on track
Hello! Nice to be able to get back to normal here again... working full weeks for the first time (not that that is so great, but routine is a friend to my weight loss, I know) and, for the most part, the indulgence events associated with my friends' wedding and my parents visit is over. Last big event... taking my husband out to dinner tomorrow night for his 40th birthday dinner. But after that, no big events on the horizon putting temptation in the spotlight for a while, and normal work schedules making my gym workouts a bit more what I'm used to.
As for weight loss this weel, I'm back in the 20 pound loss mark (ish) and hopeful to stay below that line.
This week's weigh in: -1.0 lbs.
Total weight loss: -19.9 lbs.
Interestingly, I didn't exercise much last week, but I also was good about eating, so I think they've offset themselves a bit. It was very hot in the northeast this week; the only exercise I could muster was angling myself in front of the fan :-).
Tonight, I'll head back to pilates reformer, and I plan on getting back into the C25k for cardio right before it, and I anticipate that the week plus away from C25k means a step back in progress, but that's okay. Getting back on that horse, as it were, is important for me to get focused again, and not let my brief hiatus become a stand still.
I've only got 13 weeks left until my birthday, and still determined to make as much progress against my goal as I can. Even if the full number is not attainable, I'm got giving up where I'm at!
Hope you're all managing to stay cool and enjoy the midsummer excitement!
Thanks for reading!
As for weight loss this weel, I'm back in the 20 pound loss mark (ish) and hopeful to stay below that line.
This week's weigh in: -1.0 lbs.
Total weight loss: -19.9 lbs.
Interestingly, I didn't exercise much last week, but I also was good about eating, so I think they've offset themselves a bit. It was very hot in the northeast this week; the only exercise I could muster was angling myself in front of the fan :-).
Tonight, I'll head back to pilates reformer, and I plan on getting back into the C25k for cardio right before it, and I anticipate that the week plus away from C25k means a step back in progress, but that's okay. Getting back on that horse, as it were, is important for me to get focused again, and not let my brief hiatus become a stand still.
I've only got 13 weeks left until my birthday, and still determined to make as much progress against my goal as I can. Even if the full number is not attainable, I'm got giving up where I'm at!
Hope you're all managing to stay cool and enjoy the midsummer excitement!
Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
No real change this week
I'm still hovering at this -19.5 mark.
We spent the weekend in NH with my folks, and I tried to remain focused on making good eating choices. Also went to a wedding and it was a bit more of a challenge there... yummy appetizers, plenty of wine, and, of course, wedding cake!
But the challenge right now is it is so hot! Hard to motivate to exercise when it's in the high 90's. Even though the gym is air conditioned, it's still too daunting. So, this past week or so, it's been exercise-free. I hope the heat breaks enough to get back on track next week, but I honestly hadn't factored in the heat of the mid-summer as being such a block in my ability to feel like I can stay on track. I know plenty of people will get up super early and do it (like my husband, for one), but early morning exercise has never been something I've been able to embrace. Maybe I need to try it once to see how it goes... but not until next week. (I know... more procrastination). I am hoping the heat breaks enough to go for a run outside in NH this weekend. I've finished Week 5 of C25k, but I may do some of it over -- I don't think I'm ready for what Week 6 has in store for me yet!
The highlight of the last few weeks has been the bounty from the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). A good friend bought a small share and asked me to share it with her. First of all, I can't believe how much food is in half of a "small" share! We have fresh produce for meals for 4 days, easy. Second, the food is so good! Salads, veggies for stir fries or other experiments... it's been fun to work through them all. One thing I can't get enough of are the peas! So good... and such a throw back to my childhood. What a great part of the summer so far, and such a big help to stay on track on the eating side!
Hope you all had a great 4th of July! I hope to produce some better results soon...
Thanks for reading!
We spent the weekend in NH with my folks, and I tried to remain focused on making good eating choices. Also went to a wedding and it was a bit more of a challenge there... yummy appetizers, plenty of wine, and, of course, wedding cake!
But the challenge right now is it is so hot! Hard to motivate to exercise when it's in the high 90's. Even though the gym is air conditioned, it's still too daunting. So, this past week or so, it's been exercise-free. I hope the heat breaks enough to get back on track next week, but I honestly hadn't factored in the heat of the mid-summer as being such a block in my ability to feel like I can stay on track. I know plenty of people will get up super early and do it (like my husband, for one), but early morning exercise has never been something I've been able to embrace. Maybe I need to try it once to see how it goes... but not until next week. (I know... more procrastination). I am hoping the heat breaks enough to go for a run outside in NH this weekend. I've finished Week 5 of C25k, but I may do some of it over -- I don't think I'm ready for what Week 6 has in store for me yet!
The highlight of the last few weeks has been the bounty from the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). A good friend bought a small share and asked me to share it with her. First of all, I can't believe how much food is in half of a "small" share! We have fresh produce for meals for 4 days, easy. Second, the food is so good! Salads, veggies for stir fries or other experiments... it's been fun to work through them all. One thing I can't get enough of are the peas! So good... and such a throw back to my childhood. What a great part of the summer so far, and such a big help to stay on track on the eating side!
Hope you all had a great 4th of July! I hope to produce some better results soon...
Thanks for reading!
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