What if I tried something different?

Sorry -- quite a week... this has gotten away from me!

First things first:

This week's weigh in: -0.4 lbs.
Total weigh loss: -19.5 lbs.

So, directionally good. But still feeling a little stalled. So, I decided I needed a change.

I've been saying all along that I know I was going to have to change something significantly if I was going to be able to take control of these last months and pounds. It's time to try a different path. Try some new things. Take a risk.

I've mentioned how much I hate general cardio exercise on here before. I know that it's the right thing to do to get this in control. It has to be addressed. So, what does a girl do when (a) she has no ability (b) she isn't self motivated enough to keep doing it on her own, or else she'd be doing it already and (c) isn't really able to invest too much time out of her week to make huge changes?

Baby steps. 30 minutes at a time. 3 times a week. Walking. Running. Intervals. Someone else is in charge...

For $2.99, I downloaded a "C25K" app for my iPhone. This stands for "Couch-to-5k", a 9 week program to get someone from a couch potato to running a 5k.

I have no intention right now to run a 5k. That's not a goal. The goal is to shake up my cardio and get out of this plateau.

So, the way this works is there are 3 days each week that I would do this program. I would go to the treadmill (or outside in the real world) and play the app, and it would direct me as to when to run, when to walk, etc. The first week, it's simple -- 5 minutes of walking, then 20 minutes of alternating 60 seconds of run and 90 seconds of walking and then a 5 minute cool down. Week 2 gets more challenging, and so on, and so on...

I'm going to give this a shot. I'm committing to trying it for 3 weeks. This will significantly increase my gym time, and should give me a sense of whether or not I am really up for being a person who can do this kind of stuff. I'll report out on it as I go, but I will go at least 9 times.

Well, 8 more, since I started yesterday. It was fine. I survived. Not very fast, but I did it. I wanted to give up, because I hate it, but I didn't. I'll try it again tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

When everything is "special", the results don't feel so special.

Sorry for the delay...

I haven't been too motivated to post since there isn't too much to talk about!

This week's weigh in: -0.0 lbs
Total weight loss: -19.1 lbs.

I had a busy weekend with a lot of running around, and a bridal shower with a lot of eating on Sunday (yummy scones, clotted cream, lemon curd, finger sandwiches, chocolate cake... and so on, and so on). It was a hard day to pay attention to what I was eating, and everything was so delicious, I just didn't want to! So, the pay back for that is, even though I went to the gym 3 times last week and ate *okay* the rest of the week, the net effect isn't anything stellar. I guess the positive is that all that other good behavior let me splurge like that without too much damage.

It did raise the issue for me of "gee... I sure do have good excuses for why I splurged the last several weekends... Easter, visit with family, bridal shower... how many more *special* weekends do I really have?" The good news is "none, for the foreseeable future" (that answer changes in June). The bad news is that I have to make sure I'm really changing things up a bit between now and June to make sure I can take advantage of that non-specialness and see if I can get this weightloss back to at least a half a pound a week for the next 8 weeks.

Thanks for staying with me, and sorry my progress has been so uninteresting lately! Believe me, if only for good blog-fodder, I'd like to be seeing some different results here!

Thanks for reading!

A weekend away.... a good reminder.

My weekend with my husband's family in Maryland was a fun one... with lots of good eating and snacking (more on that after the numbers). As I expected, I wasn't able to make too much of a jump on the slight gain from the previous week, but glad, at least, to control the gain from getting much worse.

This week's weigh in: -0.2lbs.
Total weight loss: -19.1 lbs.

I got down to Maryland on Friday night, where pizza and wine was waiting for me. My first sign that I wasn't going to be that disciplined this weekend was when I had 2 pieces of pizza. This was not supposed to be my splurge day, but I knew I'd eaten all my points already before I came into the house... On Saturday, a great start. My sister-in-law had gotten low fat cottage cheese and some fresh fruit. For lunch, I had a small sandwich. Then, we had a cook out with friends over for dinner. Appetizers. Barbecue. Lots of sides. Dessert. Did I mention more wine? Sunday - reasonable breakfast, lunch at the food court while outlet shopping (practically impossible to find a healthy option, by the way, but I got a "chef's salad" and removed at least half the "chef" part). Chips and salsa for a snack before dinner. Dinner was good, and then, of course, birthday cake for my brother in law. A long weekend of grazing.

But here's the thing. A year ago, eating like that would have been normal. In fact, it would have been better than normal, because I'm sure I would have eaten the french toast being made for my niece and nephew, rather than the cottage cheese and fruit. The portions themselves of what I ate weren't so horrible... it was just the sheer volume and variety that got me through this smorgasbord. I really had a sense while it was going on (and certainly after it was all over) that I just can't eat like that anymore and still expect to lose weight. Eating like this on the weekends, if it's more than one weekend a month, will only cause me to gain weight. (That's how I got here in the first place).

So, it was a good "big picture" reminder of what less disciplined (not even UNdisicplined) work looks like... and a good reminder that that is not where I want to be.

On a super positive note, however, my sister-in-law encouraged me to try on an adorable dress at Ann Taylor. It was one of those cute structured dresses with a wide belt that is popular these days, but I just can never wear because it draws such attention to my "hour and a half glass figure". I was hesitant, because the largest size they had was an 8, and even though I'd started to wear a few pairs of 8 pants, Ann taylor always runs small on me, and I didn't really look forward to the realization that I couldn't even get the dress over my hips, let alone zipped or not look like a sausage with a rubberband in the middle.

Well, it looked fantastic! I couldn't believe it. (the fact that it was on a great sale was just gravy). It really made me feel awesome about myself. And, of course, I wore it to work Monday, and got a ton of compliments on it. Yay me!

Thanks for reading!

Ugh. Easter Weekend.

As I feared, a long weekend, less structure, less gym time and lots of temptations all led to a weight gain this week.

This week's weight in: +1.4 lbs.
Total weight loss: -18.9 lbs.

I'm not too surprised, but I'm a little disappointed in myself for not faring better. I feel like I'd been on such a "twenty pound" high, that I probably got a little cocky and thought I could handle more. It's another reminder that all of this is a lifestyle change, and I'm going to have good weeks and bad weeks, but my ability to not get derailed by a bad week or two will make or break my success on this.

It set me off for a crappy mood for the day, and a few things happened at work which made me even in a worse mood. By the time it came time to head to Pilates reformer with Maria last night, I was dreading doing anything but sitting around at home and just moping a bit. But i went to class, and it felt great. It was really the best hour of my day. I'm grateful to have had it.

This week, another unusual schedule. My husband is leaving town tomorrow, and I'm joining him on Friday night, as we spend the weekend with his family. I'm excited to see them all, and am not too worried about eating decisions when I'm down there. But, it means I need to be very focused the rest of the week to make sure I really can afford to relax a bit more when I'm there.

Sorry not to have good news to report. I'm hopeful not to lose too much ground here... even though I know it will take me a couple of weeks to get back on track.

Thanks for reading!

Slow but steady week.

Not too much movement this week:

This weeks weigh in: -0.2 lbs.
Total weight loss: -20.3 lbs.

Still the right direction! And body fat percentage is down 6.5%... happy to still see that one going down, but that needs work.

One thing that was a little different this week is that I had my "splurge" day on a Friday. Lunch out with friends, dinner out with my husband. It was a little unusual for me to do my points splurge day before the weekend. It meant I had to be a bit more conservative on the weekend than I normally am. Obviously, I got it under control (or we'd see a + and not a - up there), but it was a different kind of work. I'm not sure I can do that very often and still maintain that focus through the weekend, when there is less structure to help me.

Another positive is that I made it to the gym 4 times last week. Adding in yoga and an abs work out the last 2 weeks helped. I think they're changing the schedule at the gym for April to make that yoga and abs section a hot yoga (and no abs section) class, so, not sure if I'll keep that in April, but we'll see.

This week, we have Friday off, so we'll head to NH on Thursday night. Another week to manage the unusual, but I'm really looking forward to the day off and potentially having some beautiful weather (the 10 day forecast shows Saturday as sunny and 70 degrees right now!) and maybe using that opportunity to get active outdoors.

Hope you all had a great weekend and have a good week!

Thanks for reading!

What makes me successful so far

I thought I'd take a minute to reflect on some of the things that have been key to my success so far, in no particular order.

• Weight Watchers. Anytime people ask what I'm doing for a diet and I tell them I'm on WW, they say "I have heard such good things about it... everyone I know who did it had success."
  

• Power Pilates Class in NH: This is on the list not only because it's a good class, but it because it got me committed to working out, even on the weekends where we were at our "vacation" spot, where working out might not be top of the list...

• Pilates Reformer Class with Maria: I list this one for 3 reasons. The first is because the workout itself is fantastic, and I can see great results from it. The second is because Maria is awesome -- she challenges us and she is great at commenting on our progress. The third is because I like the women in my class -- it's like I have a mini-peer group, and we are all increasing in our skills together

• This blog. Knowing people are looking for updates from me has not only kept me focused and kept me honest, but it's given me a fun and creative way to express all that I'm working through on this journey.

• Zumba Mix Class with Amy J: Anyone who ever had an interest in taking Zumba should be so lucky to take her class. The workout is great, with a really good cardio session, but her creativity (she introduces a whole new dance every week!) and her energy and enthusiasm is absolutely contagious. She's really supportive, and I think this class has done a ton for my self-esteem at being able to be in group classes, too.

• Van Heusen outlet in NH near our place: A funny answer, I know, but the fact that I've been shrinking in pants sizes means that I'm going through my wardrobe pretty quickly. Being able to find appropriate dress pants that fit me, that aren't too expensive, and that I can buy conveniently has helped me look good at every step of this so far. No matter what size you are, having clothes that fit help you look your best.
  

• My gym isn't full of meatheads: It's a nice gym, and the people are respectful to each other, and you don't feel like you're walking around in a total pick up joint. It helps make the experience one I don't dread...

• FiberOne products. Yes, they're engineered food. But they've really helped me find easy to eat and good for me (in most ways) products that fill important gaps in my diet. And they're yummy and guilt-free.
  

• The support from my friends, both in real life and in virtual worlds: I can not tell you how much having positive reinforcement and feedback from people helps. The support I've gotten from people who make comments on this or on boards, especially when I've posted something about a struggle, have gotten me through lots of tough days and weeks. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
  

• My husband, who continues to tell me how great I look, deals with my eating habits, and even goes to some classes with me once in a while, even if he doesn't feel so comfortable. He's done a tremendous job of being supportive in all the right ways.

I hope you can all find your list of things that make you successful in meeting your own challenges... it's important to remind ourselves of what works!

Thanks for reading!

Into the dark and scary closet.

I was able to make it "official" this week:

This week's weigh in: -1.0 lb.
Total weigh in: -20.1 lbs.

Sheeuw! Made it!

As part of claiming my success, I took on my closet. I don't have a large closet, but it does have 2 rods, and so I keep lots of things out of sight on the back rod, and it's a bit of an abyss in there. Lots of things deposited back there for "not now, but maybe some day" status, and never seen again.

I took eeeeeeverything out of my closet, dumped it on the bed, and tried it all on. Even stuff I was sure would work.

Some things (especially some dresses I'd held on to, with hope, for years), look fantastic now.

However, many things... 3 shopping bags full... are going to be donated. A dozen pants. A dozen skirts. Many blouses. Even a few suits. (WILL DONATE, UNLESS ANYONE KNOWS ANYONE IN THE BOSTON AREA WHO WEARS A 14P or 12P?)

NOT A SINGLE THING in my closet was too small for me. I can't tell you how many years it has been since I've been able to say that.

It's great to be able to revisit my wardrobe and reclaim some things, and get the distracting things out of my way. I don't have to worry now, when I go to put something on, if it will fit or not. And I don't have to get upset that I've got these things that obviously don't work for me (in one direction or the other) still cluttering up my closet, and my life.

It was a nice "beginning of spring" activity, and a nice celebratory one, too.

Thanks for reading!