Countdown to Christmas/NYE Challenge, Week 5

This has been a great week!!! But before I share the news, let me remind you that it’s not too late for you to join in on the challenge:

1. Choose a specific, realistic goal that you can achieve by December 31st.
2. Post weekly updates (you choose the day) about your progress.
3. Decide on a gift (reward) that you’ll give yourself when you meet your goal.
4. Post the Countdown Badge above on your blog when you post your weekly update, and link back to either ScaleWarfare or me, if possible!

My Countdown to Christmas/NYE Challenge was:

1. My goal is to stick to 1200 calories M-F (1400-1600 Sat & Sun) AND to hit the gym 4 days a week.
2. I’m going to start posting on Fridays.
3. My gift is going to be a new pair of sneakers.

So the key word up there is “was.”  You see, after having quite a self-realization this weekend, I have decided to change my goals for the remaining 4 weeks of the challenge.

My NEW Countdown to Christmas/NYE Challenge Goals Are:

1. My goal is to eat 1400-1500 calories a day, tracking everything in LoseIt. I’ll also continue to email Scale Warfare with daily food journals.
   
2. On days when I have special holiday events, make sure to make up the difference in calories by putting in extra time at the gym.
3. Speaking of the  gym, I’m committing to go for a strenuous/formal workout 4 times/week.  At least 3 days of which will include a strength training portion.
4. I’m still posting on Fridays.
5. My gift is going to be a new pair of sneakers.

This week, I did really, really well on the food.  In fact, upping the calories to 1450 has been phenomenal.  Not only do I feel so much less deprived, I’ve actually lost 5 lbs in the past 2 days.  Yes, you read that right.  I got on the scale this morning 4 times to make sure I was seeing it correctly.  I’m so thrilled that this is having such a positive effect.

What hasn’t gone too well is the working out.  I’ve been active each day, but I haven’t put in the formal workouts.  Enough said.  The one thing I should add is that I put my personal training sessions on hold for a while.  I love my new trainer, but I decided that I want to do the moves he’s taught me on my own for a while before I resume our sessions.  We’ve been working on a similar series of moves (one for upper body, one for lower body), and I feel like I can continue them on my own before needing his help again.  The sessions are so expensive ($50/session, which means $100/week, since I was seeing him twice a week!!), and I want to make sure I’m getting the most for my money.  Some of you might not agree with my decision, and you’re totally entitled to that, but I’m happy with it, and that’s what matters.  Now I just need to make sure to get my butt in the gym and show that I CAN do the strength training on my own.

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On a side note, if my sister does move into the duplex next to me (fingers and toes crossed that it works out!!), it means that I’ll be watching my nieces 2-3 times a week from 3pm-6pm.  Which means that I’m going to have to get used to working out in the evenings.  So I think I’m going to try that out this week to see what it’s like.  I know the gym gets packed at 5pm, so I’m interested to see how busy it is if I get there at 7pm, around dinner time.  Only one way to find out.

This weekend I’m looking forward to Christmas shopping with my mom, finishing up my holiday decorations, and getting in some solid workouts.  Oh, and lots of Lulu time, too.  What are your plans for the weekend?

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HYC Update – ‘Tis the Season

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

If you’ve been keeping up, you know I’ve had quite a few realizations as of late.  If you’re joining in late, you can read this and then this.  Suffice it to say that I’ve been putting in a great deal of mental work lately, and now it’s time to follow it up with physical work.  Walk the talk, and all of that.

There isn’t a heck of a lot else to say at the moment, because I put so much of myself out there on Sunday.  I guess I can tell you that for the time being (the month of December), I’m committing to:

1. Stay at 1400 calories a day, except on holiday events.
2. On said holiday events, make sure to make up the difference in calories by putting in extra time at the gym.
3. Speaking of the gym, I’m going 4 times per week, 3 days of which will include strength training (2 with my trainer) and 2 cardio.  (At least one day will involve both strength AND cardio).
4. Continue daily food journal emails to Scale Warfare.
5. Keep up with this blog, because your support, encouragement, and accountability mean everything to me.

I’ll give a quick update on my progress each Tuesday in December.

~Seasonal Tidbits:

• I am  thrilled that there are only 3 more weeks of school before Winter Break!  And if I play my cards right (and get things done in these 3 weeks), I should have very little grading to do over the vacation.  Woot!

• These past few days I’ve been consumed with finding THE RIGHT photo Christmas card to mail out to everyone.  Usually I just buy a couple of boxed sets from Target, write a witty and heartfelt sentiment, and call it a day.  But this year is different because Lulu is in my life.  Of course I’m going to make sure that we send out a special, photo Christmas card that everyone can put on their refrigerators throughout the season.  And actually, I think ours is going to be so cute that people are going to want to keep it up long afterward.  🙂  I’ll post the photos on the blog once it gets closer to Christmas.

• I now have 116 songs in my Christmas playlist on iTunes, including my newest Glee Christmas album, and I couldn’t be happier.  The songs are so fun, uplifting, and just put me in a good mood when I listen to them, so why not play them all the time?  The nice thing is, they’re more updated or quirky versions of some of the old classics, so they aren’t the same old MUSAK that’s pumped throughout every store this time of year.

• My mom and I have plans to start our Christmas shopping this Saturday, and I can’t wait.  We’re actually buying for each other, since we’re both so particular discerning about what we want.  The fun thing is that even though we’ll know what most of our presents are, we each keep one “surprise present” to the side to give on Christmas.

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Bella vs. Fat Girl, or Mind over Matter

I’ve been struggling for about a week.  Hell, let’s be honest, I’ve been struggling for more than two years.  Well, if we’re really going to be honest, I’ve been struggling for the past 10 years.

But things really went into high gear beginning on Monday.  I was tired exhausted from staying up all night grading essays before the 8am deadline for our 12-week progress reports.  (Don’t feel too sorry for me, though, because if I wouldn’t have let all the essays pile up at the last minute, I wouldn’t have had so much to do over the weekend).  And we all know that good nutrition and healthy food choices seem to go out the window without proper sleep and a feeling of restfulness.  So it comes as no shock to anyone, myself least of all, that I had a major meltdown on Monday evening and literally felt like someone took over control of my mind and body when I found myself at Panda Express ordering not one unhealthy (albeit delicious) 2-item meal, but two.  Yes two.  For just me.  I brought them home and gobbled them down, but stopped 3/4 of the way through my second meal, because I was just too stuffed.  Disgusted with myself, I threw away the remainders and went to bed.

I woke up Tuesday morning, and faced the music on the scale, wrote an email to Scale Warfare telling her what I’d done. As you guys know, she and I exchange daily food journals via email, and even though this Panda Express meltdown hadn’t made it to the food journal, I wanted to make sure I told her about it. Slip-ups are going to happen, but I feel like honesty is the best way to get past them.  As I’ve written before, I haven’t always been as honest with myself (and especially others) when I’ve failed, so this is a new thing for me.

Tuesday night a new friend (ANF) and I were meeting for a few glasses of wine at a local wine bar.  She and I haven’t known each other very long – about a year – and while we have quite a few things in common, I’m not sure how close I want to get to her.  She’s a very negative person, in general, and she seems to be very concerned with how others view her.  And don’t get me started with the fact that she seems to take her brand-new (married less than two months) husband for granted.  Anyway, without going into a long, drawn out story, I will say that ANF recently recommended her friend’s husband for a service that my alumnae wine club needed.  At the end of the service, when he asked me to write a glowing review on a website for him, I told him that there were some concerns that the group brought up that I wanted to share with him.  (Mind you, these weren’t necessarily MY concerns, but as the leader of the group, I felt like it was my responsibility to bring them to his attention).  These weren’t major things; more like constructive criticism for future events.  His reaction was awful, not the least of which was when he threatened to sue me for lack of payment (we paid what was asked AND tipped him generously).  And just when I’d put it behind me, ANF brings it up and reads me an email from him which said that he wanted her to make sure that “that morbidly obese piece of garbage doesn’t write anything negative on any websites.”  Now first of all, why did ANF feel the need to bring this up to me?  I’d moved on, and there was no real reason to tell me he said this.  I know she didn’t mean to intentionally hurt me (at least, I hope not), but what good could come of it?  I told her that he was a douchebag, as evidenced by the personal attack when dealing with a business complaint.  I told her I wasn’t going to let him bother me, and it just showed what a small-minded dickhead he was.  I told her his business was destined to fail if he had that sort of attitude.  And I didn’t let it get to me.

Ya, right.  It’s eaten away at me for days.  “Morbidly obese piece of garbage” kept playing again and again and again in my head. And instead of turning my anger on the person who said it, I got angry at myself.  Because the only reason those words hurt as much as they did was because they were partially true.  And they were true because of my own actions.  Then I got upset that I am nowhere near losing the 30 pounds I need to for the lap band surgery.  And because I know that it’s my fault – if I’d really been eating the way I should be I would have lost 20 pounds since August, easily.  Yes, I’ve also stopped smoking so the cravings for food have increased, but when did I completely lose all my willpower?  When did I  become that weak?

So I wrote to SRG asking her more about her HCG protocol.  I’m not looking to use it, as she has, as the main way I drop all my weight, but more as a “quick fix” to lose these 30 pounds.  There are a lot of websites touting the homeopathic drops at a fraction of the cost of the injections.  SRG told me, as I thought she would, that the drops really don’t do anything and that the reason the people were losing weight on those drops was merely because they were eating 500 calories a day.  She recommends the injections, but only after careful research and medical supervision.  So I looked into it, and the only place HCG injections are available in my area (that I could find doing a Google search) was at a medspa near my work.  But the prices were exorbitant, especially for something that I wasn’t going to use as a long-term solution, but more of a means to and end.

Lots of weight loss ideas were dancing in my head when I went to my personal training appointment yesterday.  I’d called and canceled the one I had scheduled for Wednesday, simply because I didn’t feel like it.  I wanted to wallow in my self-pity and sabotage for another day.  So yesterday I was completely off my game with the training.  Everything he asked me to do seemed twice as hard, and I was really getting into my own head.  Thoughts of Panda Express-Morbidly Obese Piece of Garbage-No Willpower-Eating Too Much-Giving in Too Easily prevented me from doing my best.  I felt awful, physically and mentally, and at the end of the session, I apologized.  And when the trainer said that I’d done well, that he could see a major improvement, that I was doing more reps at higher weight, and that my recovery time was so much shorter, I just lost it.  I started crying, and then apologizing for crying, and when he asked me what was going on, I just told him that someone had said something mean about my weight, and as much as I’d tried putting it out of my head, it was with me throughout the workout, and it zapped my energy.  I said that I felt so stupid for letting someone so small affect me this way, but he said, “Listen, you always try to be so tough, but you don’t always have to be.  It’s ok to be upset by something someone said that hurt you – you’re human.  Sometimes people’s words hurt us.”  And then he said that he was here for me if I needed to talk, and I thanked him.

And as I drove home, the tears kept streaming down my face.  Less because of what the asshole said, and more because of all the times I’ve let myself down.  For all the frustration I’ve brought upon myself because I’ve continued to overindulge/overeat when all it gets me is back to my starting point.  Only now my starting point is higher than it’s ever been.  It’s in the scary number range that I never wanted to see.  And it’s farther from my goal than every before.

But my mom didn’t raise a whiner.  And the only thing to do is to get back up, once again, and just do this thing.  Enough with the excuses, enough with the reasons why, enough with the feeling sorry.  Enough.  Just get these 34 pounds off so I can get the damn surgery scheduled and move on with my life.  Finally achieve my weight loss goals so that I can appreciate the life I’m living.

In this fight of Bella vs. Fat Girl (or Mind over Matter), there is only one option of who’s going to come out on top.

With that said, I decided to do my best through the holidays and to really get on with it in January.  Now “doing my best” means continuing to journal my calories, eating 1200 calories during the week/1600 on weekends, and working out 4 times a week.  Allowing for a few “extra weekend days” when holiday gatherings and parties come up, but making up for those indulgences with time at the gym.  And in January, I’m going hardcore.  Slimfasts for breakfast and lunch, fruit for snacks, and a salad with Lean Cuisines for dinner.  Along with working out, but since I won’t have the money to buy any more training sessions (which are so pricey at $50 a pop), I’m going to have to motivate myself and take plenty of classes to make sure I get the caloric burn I need. I’ll give it one month and see where I am.

I’m slowly feeling like I’m finding the superhero in me.

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Countdown to Christmas/NYE Challenge – Week 3

Happy Friday!  There’s something about cloudy Fridays that put me into a good mood.  I love the idea of wearing warmer clothes, getting comfy and enjoying the day inside.  Plus, today I have a minimum day at school, which means I get to leave at 11:30. But don’t be too jealous – I have a ton of grading to do this weekend.  Over 50 essays to read, 28 of which are research papers on The Scarlet Letter.  Good thing the forecast is calling for rain all weekend – perfect grading weather.

But this post is about the Countdown to Christmas/NYE Challenge, so let’s get to it. It’s not too late for you to join in on the challenge:

1. Choose a specific, realistic goal that you can achieve by December 31st.
2. Post weekly updates (you choose the day) about your progress.
3. Decide on a gift (reward) that you’ll give yourself when you meet your goal.
4. Post the Countdown Badge above on your blog when you post your weekly update, and link back to either ScaleWarfare or me, if possible!

My Countdown to Christmas/NYE Challenge was:

1. My goal is to stick to 1200 calories M-F (1400-1600 Sat & Sun) AND to hit the gym 4 days a week.
2. I’m going to start posting on Fridays.
3. My gift is going to be a new pair of sneakers.

This week I did well on the food during the weekdays, but on the weekend, specifically Saturday, I went over my calories.  We had a progressive dinner party (appetizers at my house, dinner at my parents’ house, dessert at my cousin’s house), and we all went all out with our menu.  The food was delicious and decadent, and that definitely showed up later on the scale.

I’m not sorry that I enjoyed myself on Saturday night, though.  Life is meant to be lived, and I want to make sure I don’t stop myself from indulging every now and then, especially with a celebration.  I just need to make sure that I’ve factored that in and burned enough calories to make up for the ones that I’m going to consume.

Which brings me to calorie burning for the week – I didn’t do so well on that either.  I didn’t workout four times – I only worked out twice, at my personal training sessions.  Which the scale showed me was not enough.  This week I was busy at work and stayed late a couple of nights, so I should have planned ahead and worked out on the weekend.  Lesson learned.

This week I’m going to move forward and not repeat these same mistakes.  I’ve been doing well on my calories so far, and will be sure to hit the gym both Saturday and Sunday, despite the rain.

If you haven’t joined in on the challenge yet, what are you waiting for?

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HYC Update – Early Darkness = Lethargy

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

I love this time of year – the cooler weather, the  clothes, the crisp air, and the early nights.  Although that last one has been proving to be a bit troublesome when it  comes to fitting workouts into my schedule.

Now that it’s darker earlier, I have the tendency to want to stay home and hibernate, rather than hit the gym and workout.

Last night, for example: I stayed at school late to help a few students and didn’t arrive home until 5:45pm.  Poor Lulu was more than anxious to see me, and so she and I headed out for a quick walk to burn off some of her energy.  (Walking her is a great time for us to bond, even if it is dark when we’re doing it.  Luckily her little light I bought helps her to be seen (think bike light, but for dogs) and the busy street I live on provides lots of light from the headlights of cars passing by).  After her walk we headed inside, and rather than changing into workout clothes and hitting the gym before dinner, I changed into lounging clothes, ate dinner, and then vegged on the couch with Lulu.  No workout, not even the Wii.

Luckily for me I usually leave school much earlier and can hit the gym on the way home and still arrive at my house just as dusk is setting in outside.  I’ve been careful to schedule my personal training appointments for 4pm so that I can spend an hour at the gym and still get home while it’s fairly light out for Lulu’s walk.  And after last night’s experience, I can see that I need to do the same thing with my non-pt workouts, too.  Otherwise they just won’t happen during the week.  I get way too comfortable and a bit lethargic once I get home and start to relax.

This afternoon is going to be another late one at school and since I know that even though I *should* hit the gym, I won’t (see above), my plan is to walk Lulu and then get on the Wii and “play” for an hour, just to burn some much needed calories. This weighing everyday has it’s benefits – I’m up from last week’s weigh-in due to a number of factors (water retention, dinner party on Saturday, lack of exercise) and if I want to see a better outcome on the scale tomorrow morning, I need to do something about it today).

How do you deal with winter workouts?

 

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Countdown to Christmas/NYE Challenge – Week 2 Update

Here it is, Week #2 of the Countdown to Christmas/NYE Challenge, and somehow I forgot to post last week’s update.  I guess we can chalk that one up to leading a busy life, right?

It’s not too late for you to join in on the challenge:

1. Choose a specific, realistic goal that you can achieve by December 31st.
2. Post weekly updates (you choose the day) about your progress.
3. Decide on a gift (reward) that you’ll give yourself when you meet your goal.
4. Post the Countdown Badge above on your blog when you post your weekly update, and link back to either ScaleWarfare or me, if possible!

My Countdown to Christmas/NYE Challenge was:

1. My goal is to stick to 1200 calories M-F (1400-1600 Sat & Sun) AND to hit the gym 4 days a week.
2. I’m going to start posting on Fridays.
3. My gift is going to be a new pair of sneakers.

This past week I did great on the food part of the challenge! To help stay within my 1200 calorie goal during the week, I’ve started eating Trader Joe’s salads for lunch and frozen entrees for dinner.  While I’m mindful that this might increase my sodium intake, it is worth it, for convenience, money saved, and portion control.  My life is busy during the week and it’s been nice not having to worry about cooking dinner when I get home.  Having the frozen meals ready in the freezer also means I’m not tempted to turn to fast food out of convenience.  There are so many wonderful choices of frozen dinners to choose from in the store these days.  I thought I might share some of my favorites with you:

• Lean Cuisine has a new line of frozen entrees called Market Creations, and every one that I’ve tried have been delicious.  In 6 minutes, I’m eating a well-balanced, well-seasoned meal that tastes so much fresher than most frozen dinners I’ve eaten, and I think that’s because of the steaming process.

• I’ve also really liked Healthy Choice’s line of frozen entrees  – Cafe Steamers are similar to the LC Market Creations and just as tasty, but I really like the idea of the All Natural line, because they don’t have any preservatives.  Last night I had the Creamy Basil Pesto, and it was 240 calories of delicious.

On the weekend, I had high calorie days (1600+), but all of the food/drink I consumed was relatively healthy, and I made sure to track every single morsel and sip. I think it’s very realistic to have two more indulgent days of the week and 5 days where I’m stricter.  That’s a lifestyle I can live with, even during holidays.

As far as the gym, I have to be honest and say that I only went to the gym twice.  Both times I had personal training sessions that kicked my ass and burned tons of calories, but I didn’t go other than that.  I have been walking Lulu everyday, twice a day, though, so I am active each day, but I know I need to get better with the second part of my goal.

The result of all of this is that last week I lost 3.8 pounds, so this new plan is working!  I am so proud of myself and I know that I’m going to have continued success.

Now as to my gift, I want to get new sneakers, but I’d love to hear your recommendations.  I’m looking for more cross-trainer style, since I’m not going to be using them specifically for any one exercise.  I tend to use my sneakers as all-purpose for walks, gym time, etc.  I have wide feet, and have done well with Asics in the past, but I’m open to new suggestions.

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This ‘n’ That Thursday

It’s been a while since I wrote a “mish-mosh” post, and since I have lots of little things to share with you (none of which would require an entire blog post), I figured this would be fun.

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“The Crush.” I’m not even sure this is update-worthy.  Let me begin by saying I think I have lost any “Game” I once had.  I am so out of practice with flirting/reading signs from the opposite sex, that it is a bit pathetic.  (Especially considering my age!).  Still, I know some of you are interested.

Taking the advice of Scale Warfare and others, I decided to text Crush the other day.  Our conversation was short, but in it I asked him if he had voted yet (it was Election Day), and he said he had “been to (sic) busy.” Ok, so first, I hate the misspelling of the homonym and secondly, I really hate it when people don’t appreciate that voting isn’t just a right, but a duty.  I thought that he got a bit turned off by me saying that he needed to vote, and that turned me off.  As I wrote to SW, if he isn’t someone who likes an intelligent girl, then he’s not the guy for me. I was about to write him off altogether, and then he texted me last night: (“Crush” is in grey, I’m in green) (Also, forgive my terrible photoshop skills)

I didn’t really know what else to say, which is why I brought up this girl I used to work with that is also a friend of his on Facebook.  Lame!

As you guys can see, the whole text conversation was fairly ridiculous, right?  It’s also pretty clear (and I knew this) that Crush uses a lot more slang than I do.  Which isn’t a bad thing, necessarily, but I am looking for someone who can hold his own with me, intellectually.  Crush might be able to, but I’m not sure.

So, we’ll see if it moves beyond awkward texting to him asking me to coffee or drinks or something. While I have no expectations at all, I think it might be fun to see him and hang out a bit. (I flirt much better in person than via text, at least I used to).

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My new scale is awesome!  I love how I can just step right on it and don’t need to tap first with my toe.  Plus, I can get on it 4 or 5 times, and it gives the same weight readout each time, as it should.  My old scale was past its prime and lacked accuracy toward the end there.

I was happy to see that I lost 0.2 pounds from yesterday.  Now, I’m not one of those people who is weighs herself everyday.  In fact, I try to stay off the scale as much as possible.  But I think I may try daily weigh-ins this week, just to see if it helps keep me on track more than once-a-week-weighing does.  Just sort of experimenting.

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I’m looking forward to another personal training session with Robbie today.  I haven’t seen him since last Friday, and I need an intense workout.  I was supposed to do 3 sessions this week, but Tuesday I ate some room temperature Greek yogurt (never do that!) and felt pretty nauseous all day, so I had to cancel our session.  So I’m meeting with him today and tomorrow, just to get our two sessions in this week.  I haven’t done back-to-back sessions before, so we’ll see how it goes. He had mentioned that he wanted to do some circuit/cardio work with me one of the days (when we were planning to meet 3 times), but I’m hoping now that it’s down to two sessions that he’ll just do arms/chest one day and legs the other,  along with core and leave the cardio to me on my own.  In fact, I’m going to do more than hope, I’m going to tell him that’s what I want to do.  After all, I’m paying for the sessions.

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My new meal plan is going really well.  I’ve been able to stay within my calories really easily and there are two side bonuses:

1. I’m going to save money! I only spent $60 for all my food this week, which translates to $240 for the month, which is so much less than I was spending ($400).
2. I’m saving so much time! I sort of new this would happen, but it’s not just saving me in the nightly cooking, it’s also so much easier to pack up my breakfasts/lunches – just grab and go.  No prep at all.  It’s sort of nice.

I haven’t figured out what I’m going to cook this weekend yet.  Whatever it is, it’s going to be something for one, because I don’t want too many leftovers that I have to deal with. Although if I do make some sort of stew or baked pasta dish, I could theoretically portion it carefully and have it for lunch and dinner a couple times next week.  We’ll see.

If you have any one-person meal ideas that actually involve some cooking, I’d love to hear them.

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I LOVE November because there are so many holidays (no work days).  Which shouldn’t  give you the impression that I don’t love my job, because I do, but I’ve learned over the last couple of years especially that BALANCE is important and that I enjoy my life more than I enjoy my job.  Next week I get Thursday and Friday off for Veteran’s Day – hello 4-day weekend! Then 2 weeks later I get Wednesday, Thursday, Friday off for Thanksgiving (5-day weekend!!). Plus, once the weather turns cold and daylight savings time hits, everything just feels a bit more cozy.

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That’s it for me today.  I hope you are having a great Thursday.

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HYC Update: Autumn Goals Check-In #4

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

It’s finally starting to feel like Fall where I live, which is so nice.  I love Fall/Winter weather because where I live in the SF Bay Area it’s fairly moderate.  Yes, we get lots of rain, and yes, we have cold days, but “cold” is very relative, especially compared to my friends in the Midwest and on the East Coast.  (Having visited Chicago last Thanksgiving, I found this out all too well).  What I love most is the clothes, the food, and the overall comfort these seasons afford.  The summer is nice, too, but there’s something so cozy about this time of year that really can’t be duplicated.

And on that note, I think it’s time for the Autumn Goals check-in…

Autumn Goals Check-In #4

1. Track every bite in LoseIt, whether I’m proud of the choice I made or not. Track all exercise in LoseIt, as well. 6/7 days – Thursday  was really hectic all day, and before I knew it, it was over and I hadn’t tracked.
   
2. Stay within 1200-1400 calories on weekdays; 1600-1800 on weekends, if needed. I just wrote an email to Scale Warfare about this – my calories have been more along the 1400-1700 range.  I’m disappointed in myself because I’m not adhering to the 1200-calorie limit, but then I remind myself that I can still lose weight eating more calories AND I haven’t gone back to smoking (which increases appetite/snackiness).
   
3. Cook dinner for myself 5 nights a week, at least. Done!
4. Prepare breakfast and lunches the night before. Done!
5. Take a class/workout at the gym 3 days a week. 2/3 I had my  training appointments on Tuesday & Friday, but I didn’t make it to the gym for the 3rd time last week.
   
6. Walk Lulu every day. 7/7+ We’ve been taking a mini walk in the morning (about 10 minutes) and then another walk in the afternoon (at least 15-20 minutes) every day.
   
7. Supplement “gym days” with Wii workouts. Fail.
8. Keep the fridge/pantry/freezer/snack drawer stocked with healthy choices. Done!
9. Drink at least 64oz of water a day! Done!
   

I’m proud of myself for sticking to my goals, overall.  Now that I’ve done these for 4 weeks, I would say that they’ve become ingrained, for the most part.  Workouts still remain the most difficult part for me, but now the reason for that is more about schedule than it is about intention.

With that said, Scale Warfare and I were thinking that it might be a good time to start a Countdown to Christmas/New Year’s Challenge.  And for me, since working out has been the biggest issue, I think that’s what I’d like to focus on.  She and I are still deciding details, but we’ll let you know as soon as we’ve got it set.  Only 10 weeks before 2011!!!!

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Weekend: Plans – Fail

Not  following the plan seems to be the theme of this weekend.  In some cases it worked out great, but in others, not so much.

Friday

I started off the weekend well.  I made it to my training appointment as planned, and had a good workout with Robbie.  I used kettlebells for the first time, and I really liked them.  They definitely take cardio endurance as well as strength!  I have decided that I really, really like Friday afternoon workouts, because it puts me in such a positive mood for the rest of the weekend.  It’s the ideal way to put and end to the workweek (and let go of any stress) and begin the weekend.

Friday night I didn’t have anything planned, and I was looking forward to a quiet night at home with Lulu, doing laundry,  and catching up with my DVR. It’s all a blur to me, really.  I know I did a tiny bit of laundry, and I had “snacks” instead of a true dinner, but that’s all.  I think I was so tired from the week and the workout that I just fell asleep on the couch.

Saturday

I got sooooo much done on Saturday.  I cleaned the entire house from top to bottom: swept and mopped all the floors, cleaned the kitchen, dusted, vacuumed my bedroom, changed the sheets, cleaned both bathrooms, did 3 loads of laundry (and put it away!  That’s always the part I struggle with).  I felt so good about all that I’d done, and it really didn’t take me too long.  It was the first morning/afternoon that I’ve spent really deep cleaning the new house, and it needed it.  I’ve dusted or swept or done laundry here and there, but this was the first major cleaning, which is probably on target, since I’ve been there a little over a month now.

Saturday afternoon/evening I had plans to go to Howling Halloween with my sister, my nieces, Minnie (their dog), and Lulu.  We had it all planned, costumes purchased (for the pups), and were really looking forward to it.  My sister lives 45 minutes away, so making the trek down to where I live is always a bit of an ordeal for her.  Because it doesn’t happen all the time, I really value the times that we are able to spend together.  The problem was, I somehow read the times wrong on the event, so we got there an hour and a half early.  And it was raining.  And my nieces weren’t in the mood to look around at all the cool shops.  And we all got cranky.  So, we ended up leaving before the trick or treating (or the parade) ever began. 😦  Still, we did get some cute pictures :

Yes, I am THAT puppy owner.  I bought the matching t-shirt so that we were both Ladybugs.  😛  I love how our eyes look creepy in this shot.

Lulu is less than thrilled with taking this photo.  Maybe because she knows she needs to get groomed?

Lulu, the ladybug and Minnie, the French maid.  These two puppy cousins had the best time playing, wrestling, and hanging out with each other.

After the miscue with the Halloween celebration, it was time to eat.  My sis and I wanted Indian food, but we knew the girls wouldn’t, so we got them a rare treat – corndogs!  Everyone was happy once they ate.  Isn’t it interesting how being hungry puts us in a bad mood, but eating together solves lots of problems.  Hmm….

It was nice to see my sister and nieces, although their behavior wasn’t great, and it was one of the first times that I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them.  We all have off days, though. I got a peek into what my sister has to deal with on a daily basis, and it can’t be easy for her.  She’s amazing.

After they left I saw that the SF Giants game was still on, and I was incredibly thrilled to watch the 9th inning.  The Giants won the Pennant and are going to the World Series!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday

I had plans to get up, read the paper, go to belly dancing class, and then spend the day doing whatever tickled my fancy.  But remember the title of this blog.

I soon realized that I had left my wallet in my sister’s car the night before.  And she lives 45 minutes away.  Argh!  So, instead of a leisurely morning, I spent mine driving back and forth to get my wallet.  And I missed belly dancing.

As I was driving home, I had the craving/idea that I wanted In & Out Burger.  I have no idea why I wanted it; I think maybe I had seen the sign along the freeway on my way to my sister’s house.  I haven’t had In & Out in years, so it was weird for me to crave it.  I was *this close* to stopping for it, but Walmart saved me.

Walmart?  Saved me?  Yes.  You see, instead of eating the burger, I stopped at Walmart to see what I could buy that might satisfy the craving without too many calories.  I never shop at Walmart for a variety of reasons (they’re non-union, have differing political views than I do, and they aren’t conveniently located to my house), but since Walmart was in the same huge shopping center that In & Out was in, I figured I’d go there instead.  I picked up some items that didn’t have a ton of nutrition (chicken hotdogs, white bread), but that were healthier alternatives to the burger.  Plus, my wallet is pretty empty until I get paid on Friday, so Walmart’s prices were really attractive.  (I hate, hate, hate it that junky food is so much cheaper than good food!).

Once I got home I decided to make the most of the day, so I took Lulu for a longish walk, did a ton of laundry, made a good dinner, and organized my lunch for today and tomorrow.  I also figured out my dinners for the rest of the week.  I have to eat out of the cupboards/fridge/freezer, which should be no problem, because I always have so much.

Wrap it Up

So, although the weekend didn’t turn out exactly as I had planned, I did get a lot done.  I made good choices (for the most part), spent some quality time with family, cleaned and organized the house, and got ready for the week ahead.  Really, I can’t ask more from a weekend.

What did you do this weekend?

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Weigh-In Wednesday + 1st session with new trainer

I am so thankful this week that I’m finally feeling back to normal and I was able to workout a couple of times. In fact, yesterday I met with my new trainer, Robbie, for the first time, but I’m getting a bit ahead of myself.

Even though I’ve been tracking, drinking water, and just started back with activity, I’ve been feeling sort of bloated all week. I’m not sure if it’s PMS or not, because Aunt Flo has become a somewhat inconsistent visitor (pre-menopause?) these last 6 months or so. If I had to bet, though, I’d guess she was due to arrive any time now. Because of all of this, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the scale.

Which means I lost 1.4 lbs this week , for a total loss of 2.6 pounds, overall. Which on the one hand is a really poor result in two months’ time, but I have to remind myself that I gained 10 pounds in 2-3 weeks in late Aug/early Sept, and I’ve been working hard to recover from that.  (So in a way, I’ve lost over 12 pounds in 2 months, which is a more positive way to look at it).  I’m feeling so encouraged and proud of myself for being able to achieve such consistent weight loss in this last month.  But then again, that’s what I should expect with consistent effort.

My attitude is still really positive and nothing can break my momentum. And now that I’m able to really workout out, I’m expecting even bigger losses, and speaking of working out…

First Training Session with Robbie

My first session with Robbie was great; he gives me good feedback, encourages me, and makes me feel like I’m really accomplishing something. He told me that for the first two weeks or so, he’s going to give me more full-body workouts so that he can observe my strengths and weaknesses, and see how far he can push me and where he might need to back off. Here’s what we did yesterday:

• 20 toe-taps onto the step
• 10 squats
• 10 squats with long bar (raising the long bar over my head on my way up)
• 20 crunches with feet extended, arms extended (holding small weighted ball), then bringing both arms and legs in towards stomach and squeezing
• 20 more toe taps
• 2 sets of plank, held for 20 seconds the first time and only 14 seconds the second time
• 2 sets of the following circuit:
  • 20 toe taps
  • 20 hip bridge (laying on the floor, squeezing glutes upward toward ceiling)
  • 20 bicep curls (supine on the way up)
  • 20 overhead tricep presses
  • 20 standing (feet split) chest press
  • 10 push ups
  • 20 squats with long bar
• stretching:
  • chest stretch
  • calf stretch
  • hip flexor stretch (new to me, but very cool)

I felt like I kept up really well, and even though I was out of breath quite a bit of the time, the workout wasn’t exhausting for me. I think once my lungs are back to full power (once this cough is all the way gone), I’ll be able to do even more without getting out of breath so quickly. I think Robbie was fairly impressed with my abilities and realized that I was in better shape (for the most part) than he originally thought. (He didn’t say this, but I got that feeling from him – he seemed pretty impressed with what I was able to do). I left this workout feeling so exhilarated and good about myself. Plus, I burned 603 calories, so what’s not to love?!

A great session that makes me look forward to Friday afternoon’s session all the more.

{I’m so sorry that this is up so late, but today was ridiculously busy and this is literally the first opportunity I’ve had to sit down and write}.

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