WonderFALL Weigh-In: Week 68.5 Post-Op VSG

Autumn has (almost officially) arrived! Which means that life is back to normal – school’s in, my schedule is busy, and obligations abound. But I won’t use those as excuses to slack on my goals. The great thing about fall is that the weather is cooler, which means that those wonderful fall fashions will keep me motivated. Plus, crisp temperatures mean that it’s never “too hot” to workout. I’m going to relish my nightly cup of steaming hot tea as another way to keep my water intake up. I look forward to all those hearty, satisfying and wls-friendly soups, stews, and crockpot meals that I’ll create for myself. This year, the changing season will mark new milestones that I haven’t seen in 5, 7, 10+ years! Bring on fall 2014 – it’s time to reach new heights! Wednesday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the work week, and will give me a positive outlook for the weekend. Throughout the fall, I’ll be giving Wednesday weight loss updates called WonderFALL Weigh-Ins.

Week 68 was busy, hectic and long.  So much so that I didn’t even have time to write a weight loss update.  I actually didn’t even have a chance to weigh in at all until this morning.  So, here’s a midweek weigh-in update. Even though the week was super busy, I did a good fairly job with my meal planning, eating, and exercising.

So, how’s the scale looking?

When I weighed in this morning, I was 171.0, which is a loss of 1.2 pounds this week, and a loss of 106 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 144 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 21 pounds to go to my ultimate goal weight of 150 pounds. I’m really happy to see this loss, especially because I haven’t really been putting as much concentration on weight loss this week.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made great meals, gotten in some solid workouts, and continued to eat within my meal plan.  The nice thing about this point in my journey is that I don’t have to think about all of these things as much as I used to.  They’ve become such a habit, such a way of life, that I can go on “auto-pilot” during a crazy week and still see a good result.  That makes me feel awesome.

This week shouldn’t be quite as busy so I’ll have more time to concentrate on working out and meal planning.  I’m not going to go into too many details here, because I’ll write a weekly workout plan post in a few minutes.

I’m so close to reaching the next weight category – the 160s!!  I can’t wait to hit that section, because I haven’t been at that weight since I was 18 years old.  It’s so cool that now at 43, I’ll be even fitter than I was when I was 18. Back then, I wasn’t wearing size small and medium tops or size 10/12 pants, and I think the difference is that I’ve really changed my entire body with the cardio and toning workouts I’ve been doing.  It’s amazing to see such a transformation in my body, and each time I hit a new NSV with clothes, it’s so surreal to me.

 

 

Until Wednesday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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WonderFALL Weigh-In: Week 67 Post-Op VSG

Autumn has (almost officially) arrived! Which means that life is back to normal – school’s in, my schedule is busy, and obligations abound. But I won’t use those as excuses to slack on my goals. The great thing about fall is that the weather is cooler, which means that those wonderful fall fashions will keep me motivated. Plus, crisp temperatures mean that it’s never “too hot” to workout. I’m going to relish my nightly cup of steaming hot tea as another way to keep my water intake up. I look forward to all those hearty, satisfying and wls-friendly soups, stews, and crockpot meals that I’ll create for myself. This year, the changing season will mark new milestones that I haven’t seen in 5, 7, 10+ years! Bring on fall 2014 – it’s time to reach new heights! Wednesday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the work week, and will give me a positive outlook for the weekend. Throughout the fall, I’ll be giving Wednesday weight loss updates called WonderFALL Weigh-Ins.

Week 67 was a pretty good one. I made some great meals, got in a few strong workouts, and even took a long walk when I wasn’t feeling that great over the weekend.

So, how’s the scale looking?

When I weighed in this morning, I was 172.2, which is a maintain this week, and a loss of 104.8 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 142.8 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 22.2 pounds to go to my ultimate goal weight of 150 pounds. I can’t lie, I’m disappointed that I didn’t see a loss on the scale this week, because I’ve been putting in work and eating right.  But when I look at the week, I did skip two weekday workouts and I wasn’t feeling great this weekend, so I didn’t do as much as I normally would have.  I ate a lot more carbs and less protein than I should’ve late last week (in the form of a chicken pesto pizza that lasted for 3 meals). I’m not too upset about this maintain, because I know it’s only temporary.  It also shows me that at this point in my journey, I need to push harder in order to see a loss on the scale.

So far this week (the past two days), I’ve been getting in strong workouts, following the Tone It Up Frisky Fall Challenge.  This morning my legs are really feeling the squats, lunges, and other moves that I’ve been doing.  I love pushing myself with the toning workouts.  I’ve also resumed C25K, and I was pleasantly surprised that I felt strong in my runs even though I’d taken so much time off from running training.  My main workout goal this week is to make sure I get in all my weekday workouts, not allowing myself to skip any because I’m tried, which usually happens around Thursday or Friday.

In terms of food, things are going well. As I mentioned above, toward the end of last week and into the weekend I wasn’t making the best food choices.  I kept my calories under my daily goal, but I wasn’t eating enough protein and veggies.  I know this is a main reason the scale didn’t move this week.  I know better.  I know that in order to lose weight, I need to eat well, not just keep the calories within my limits.  It’s much more important to keep WHAT I’m eating in check.  Eating out several meals in one week doesn’t lead to weight loss.  It would’ve been better for me to eat that chicken pesto pizza for just the one meal and leave the rest.  I need to release myself from the idea of “wasting food,” and continuing to eat a heavy carb and fat with little protein meal several times just so that I don’t feel wasteful.  Indulging for one meal is one fine, but eating that same meal three times because I have leftovers isn’t good for my weight loss goals. From now on if I go out and indulge in a meal that doesn’t really fit in with my plan, I’m going to enjoy that one meal and leave the leftovers at the restaurant because it’s just not worth the damage it does. So far this week, I’ve done a good job with balancing my protein, veggies, and carbs.

If anything, this maintain is going to spur me to push myself harder this week.  I don’t want to see another maintain on the scale next week, and I’m determined to make sure that I see a new loss.  I’m so close to a new weight “decade,” and I’ve love to move into the 160s next week which is completely doable – I’d only need a loss of 2.4 lbs.  I’m going to keep that number in mind and use it to motivate myself in my workout and in my food choices.  Here’s to moving forward!

 

Until next Wednesday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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WonderFALL Weigh-In: Week 66 Post-Op VSG

Autumn has (almost officially) arrived! Which means that life is back to normal – school’s in, my schedule is busy, and obligations abound. But I won’t use those as excuses to slack on my goals. The great thing about fall is that the weather is cooler, which means that those wonderful fall fashions will keep me motivated. Plus, crisp temperatures mean that it’s never “too hot” to workout. I’m going to relish my nightly cup of steaming hot tea as another way to keep my water intake up. I look forward to all those hearty, satisfying and wls-friendly soups, stews, and crockpot meals that I’ll create for myself. This year, the changing season will mark new milestones that I haven’t seen in 5, 7, 10+ years! Bring on fall 2014 – it’s time to reach new heights! Wednesday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the work week, and will give me a positive outlook for the weekend. Throughout the fall, I’ll be giving Wednesday weight loss updates called WonderFALL Weigh-Ins.

Week 66 was really good.  I’m getting into the swing of this new schedule, and making it all work with my food prep and workouts.  When I can, I’m working out in the morning; when that’s out, I workout after work.  Add to that lots of fun with family and friends over the Labor Day weekend, and it was a nice week for sure.

So, how’s the scale looking?

When I weighed in this morning, I was 172.2, which is a loss of 1.4 pounds this week, and a loss of 104.8 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 142.8 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 22.2 pounds to go to my ultimate goal weight of 150 pounds. I’m really happy with this loss because I had a similar loss last week.  It’s nice that I’m back on a losing streak, even with so many changes in my work life.

This week I have been pulling out some old recipes to enjoy, including the Lowfat Curry Chicken and a new stir fry, which had tofu, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, sugar snap peas, and edamame.  It’s nice to make big pot meals that I can eat several times throughout the week.  I can’t wait for the weather to get cooler so I can start making my favorite crockpot meals.  So hearty and easy!

Workouts have been really good this week: spinning, elliptical, biking, walking Sofi, and of course, my Tone It Up routines.  The other day I had a hair appointment, and my stylist asked me what races I have coming up.  I told her that I’d taken the summer off from my C25K training, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to run anymore, that it was so hard for me.  And then I stopped myself and said, “you know, that’s not like me at all.  I never give up on something just because it’s hard. I really need to get back with my C25K training and make my goal to fully run a 5K happen.”  And so that’s exactly what I’m going to do.  The Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving is about 11 1/2 weeks away, which is more than enough time to complete the C25K training and continue afterward so that I can improve my runs before the 5K.  So, starting next week, I’m going to get back to running intervals, working my way up to full 5K runs, and I’m excited!

I watch TrulyJess‘ vlogs on YouTube almost every night (if you’ve never seen her videos, watch them, she’s such an inspiration!), and one of her sayings is that weight loss, training, etc is You vs. You.  In other words, I’m not in competition with anyone else, except myself.  And the 5K training is a perfect example of this philosophy.

Until next Wednesday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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WonderFALL Weigh-In: Week 65 Post-Op VSG

Autumn has (almost officially) arrived! Which means that life is back to normal – school’s in, my schedule is busy, and obligations abound. But I won’t use those as excuses to slack on my goals. The great thing about fall is that the weather is cooler, which means that those wonderful fall fashions will keep me motivated. Plus, crisp temperatures mean that it’s never “too hot” to workout. I’m going to relish my nightly cup of steaming hot tea as another way to keep my water intake up. I look forward to all those hearty, satisfying and wls-friendly soups, stews, and crockpot meals that I’ll create for myself. This year, the changing season will mark new milestones that I haven’t seen in 5, 7, 10+ years! Bring on fall 2014 – it’s time to reach new heights! Wednesday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the work week, and will give me a positive outlook for the weekend. Throughout the fall, I’ll be giving Wednesday weight loss updates called WonderFALL Weigh-Ins.

Week 65 has been wonderful! I had a great weekend, filled with bike rides, walks with Sofi, spending time with friends, watching my 49ers win, and relaxing after a very busy first week on the new job.  So far this work week has been really productive.  I’m finding my rhythm as I meet with new teachers, gather resources for them, and keep track of all the notes and paperwork. I can already tell I’m going to love this new position, and I’m so glad that I took the chance and went for one of my goals.  Monday I rewarded myself with a shopping spree at Dress Barn, buying tons of new clothes for my fall wardrobe.  The neat thing about this shopping trip was that I think these clothes might last for more than one season.  I’m wearing tops/sweaters in size medium and small (SMALL!!!!!), skirts in medium, and 2 pairs of pants in a size 10! I got a great camel-color water-resistant hooded trench in a medium that I can’t wait to wear because it’s so flattering. 

So, how’s the scale looking?

When I weighed in this morning, I was 173.6, which is a loss of 1.6 pounds this week***, and a loss of 103.4 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 141.4 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 23.6 pounds to go to my ultimate goal weight of 150 pounds. ***The cool thing about this loss is that it only reflects the last two days, because my last weigh-in was on Sunday.  1.6 pounds in two days is phenomenal!  I’m on a losing streak, and I’m loving it! Especially considering how busy my days have suddenly become.

What am I doing differently?  Lately I’ve been concentrating on making sure to get several servings of veggies in with most meals, and I think that’s making a big difference.  I’m still allowing myself the popcorn I love, but only a few times a week.  And of  course, protein is at the heart of every meal I eat. And I’m still getting plenty of exercise and drinking lots of water. Still, I’ve also been having a few glasses of wine on the weekend, but that doesn’t seem to be affecting my weight loss in the least, which is nice.  I love this lifestyle that I’ve created!

In terms of exercise, I’ve been really proud of the workouts I’ve been fitting in.  I did wake up early on Monday to get in a before-work sweat session, which left me feeling super energized and positive all day long.  Most days I’ve worked out in the afternoon, and I enjoy those after work sessions as a way to transition from work mode to relax mode.  As long as I’m getting a workout in, I’m ok with whatever time of day it is.  I actually enjoy working out now, so I look forward to moving my body, rather than dreading it as I used to.  I really think one of the reasons is the communities of support that I’m part of on MyFitnessPal and Instagram.  I love snapping post-workout pics and tagging them with with my ToneItUp hashtags, and seeing all my #TIUsisters’ posts, too.  On MFP, every time I workout it posts a status, and the outpouring of love I get from my pals spurs me on and makes me smile.

As much as I’ve absolutely enjoyed this summer, I have to admit I’m really looking forward to the true start of autumn.  The crisp, cool mornings and evenings.  The sunny days that aren’t ever too warm.  The changing colors of the leaves, the decorations, and the outfits.  Not to mention all the fun that comes with football season, pumpkin patches, Halloween, and simply sipping cups of coffee, tea, and maybe even a pumpkin spice latte or two.  This year I think I’d like to go apple picking, because it just sounds like so much fun and I’ve never done it before.  What are some quintessential fall things you love to do at this time of year? Help me create a fall bucket list.

Until next Wednesday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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Fabulous February Weigh-In: Week 38 Post-Op VSG

February – love is in the air, and this month is going to be all about loving myself enough to continue making 2014 my year to shine. I’m vowing here and now that I will reach my goal weight in 2014. What an amazing accomplishment it will be! To achieve my goals, I’m going to focus on the basics – eating well, drinking lots of water, taking my vitamins and getting in 5 cardio workouts a week. I’ve started strength training with #ToneItUp and their #LoveYourBody series is helping see just how strong I am as I change my body. Sunday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the weekend. This month is going to be all about loving all the little things that make life special. My Sunday progress updates will be called Fabulous February Weigh-Ins.

Week 38 was stressful and challenging, but I’m happy to say I made it through better off than I began.  It wasn’t a terrible week, just one where everything seemed to be running at a fever-pitch.  I did get my workouts in, and I’m noticing some great changes in my body.

So, what did the scale show?!

When I weighed in this morning, I was 193.8, which is a loss of 0.8 pounds this week, and a loss of 83.2 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 121.2 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 43.8 pounds to go to my ultimate goal weight of 150 pounds. I’m really thankful for a loss this week, because of my poor choices on Friday.  Let’s be honest, it was one meal, and I still stayed under my calories for the day.  I made good choices the rest of the time, but with the challenges of the week, I’m happy to see a loss at all.  Plus, last week I had a big loss, and that’s usually followed by a smaller one.

One of the things that struck me this week were the changes I’m noticing in my body.  When I’m laying flat on my back about to do some ab work, I can really see and feel my ribs, and my hip bones are becoming apparent.  When I look at myself from a side-view standing at the mirror, I can see the start of definition in my stomach, and I’m definitely seeing a very slim profile. All of these changes are the result of my weight loss, sure, but I do think it’s because of the toning I’ve been doing with the #ToneItUp program.  I started four weeks ago, and I really wish I would’ve taken measurements at that time, but I didn’t.  Today the ToneItUp trainers will be sending a new set of workouts to get ready for spring, and I’m going to make sure to take measurements and photos for comparison at the end of the 6-week plan.

On a side note, I’m really upset that I haven’t been taking measurements all along since my surgery.  I meant to, but one thing or another would distract me and then I never did.  I do have some measurements from way back pre-op, March 2012, when I weighed 297 lbs or so. I just went back on this blog and I noticed that I wasn’t weighing in regularly at that time, probably because I was having such a hard time losing weight and regular weigh-ins were stressing me out.  Plus, there was more than a bit of denial there – if I  wasn’t seeing that the scale wasn’t moving, I wasn’t having to admit to my failings.  Regardless, when I take my measurements later today, I’m going to do a major comparison just for fun. My plan is to start taking measurements every Sunday, along with progress photos, so that I can start recording the changes in my body, and post about the progress once a month or so.

This week I have the entire week off, and since I didn’t end up going to Tahoe (I decided to save the money I would’ve spent and put it towards my Hawaiian vacation in April), I’m going to spend the week trying out a bunch of fitness classes that I can’t normally attend.  Here’s my cardio plan for the week (I’ll add in the toning once I get the week of workouts from ToneItUp):

• Sunday: Run/walk with Di. She and I have been meeting up every Sunday morning, and I really look forward to this time to catch up and then get our sweat on.
• Monday: Pilates. I tried Pilates a long time ago, and liked it for the first 10 minutes, but my almost-300 pound frame just couldn’t do most of the moves, so I left the class early. I can’t wait to see how much more I’m able to do now.
• Tuesday: Spin. This is the class I’ve been dying to try, but was also completely intimidated at the same time.  Not because I didn’t think I could keep up, because even at my heaviest weight, I had so much strength in my legs/thighs, but because of my girth and the close proximity of the bikes to one another in the spin room.  The bikes are literally on top of each other, and when I was at my heaviest, I felt like I’d be overflowing into my neighbor’s space, and that just wasn’t something I wanted to deal with.  So I’ve avoided the class for all this time.  I have a feeling I’m going to love spin and it’s going to become one of my regular things.
• Wednesday: Warm Yoga Flow. This is a vinyasa yoga class done in a room heated to about 90 degrees.  I love taking heated yoga because you feel so much better afterward.  In the past I avoided any sort of vinyasa or flow class because the poses moved too quickly for me to keep up with, but I think I’ll be able to keep pace much better now.
• Thursday: Zumba Step. I love Zumba and haven’t been a class in a really long time.  I somehow got out of the Saturday morning routine of going.  I think the fact that one of my favorite teachers stopped teaching at my location also had something to do with it.  When I heard that 24 Hour Fitness was featuring this new class, which includes a step, I thought it sounded like a fun thing to try. Right now the Zumba Step class is only offered in the middle of the day during the week, so this is a rare opportunity for me to try it.  If I like it, I’ll definitely seek it out once summer starts.
• Friday: Body Combat. This is a Les Mills class and the description taken straight from their website says, “This fiercely energetic program is inspired by mixed martial arts and draws from a wide array of disciplines such as karate, boxing, taekwondo, tai chi and muay thai. During this ultimate warrior workout, you’ll strike, punch, kick and kata your way through calories to superior cardio fitness.” I’m not sure if I’m physically ready for the class, but I figured it doesn’t hurt to try.

All of these classes are brand new to me, and I’m excited to try them.  You guys know how much I love variety in my workouts, so this is something that I’m really looking forward to.  A few of the classes, like Spin and Body Combat, are offered several times a week at the gym, so if I like them I can take them regularly. Warm Yoga Flow is offered a few times throughout the week at the yoga studio I like to go to, but I only have a limited number of classes that I’ve paid for, so I’ll need to space those classes out a bit if I like it.  Pilates and Zumba Step are only offered in the morning during the week, so I’ll have to wait for summer if I really like those.

I really can’t wait to see how I perform in these classes, and I think each of them will offer a challenge, but one that I can achieve. So many times in the past, I had the desire to take classes like these, but physically I just wasn’t up to the task.  Not to mention that feeling of “other” that I got whenever I looked around a room and saw that I was, by far, the biggest person in there.  What a different experience it will be this time! Just another way that this weight loss has transformed (and is transforming) my life.

Until next Sunday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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Fabulous February Weigh-In: Week 37 Post-Op VSG

February – love is in the air, and this month is going to be all about loving myself enough to continue making 2014 my year to shine. I’m vowing here and now that I will reach my goal weight in 2014. What an amazing accomplishment it will be! To achieve my goals, I’m going to focus on the basics – eating well, drinking lots of water, taking my vitamins and getting in 5 cardio workouts a week. I’ve started strength training with #ToneItUp and their #LoveYourBody series is helping see just how strong I am as I change my body. Sunday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the weekend. This month is going to be all about loving all the little things that make life special. My Sunday progress updates will be called Fabulous February Weigh-Ins.

Week 37 was wonderful! Throughout the week, I felt lighter and smaller, and my clothes were showing all the hard work I’d been putting into my workouts.  I made some really delicious meals that made me feel like I was nourishing my body in a really creative way.  This week a lot of new people complimented me on my weight loss, the sweetest of which was one of the custodians at school who is so shy and meek – when he told me that I look great and to “keep it up,” it really made me smile.  And I topped it all off with a fantastic shopping trip that became a milestone.

So, what did the scale show?!

When I weighed in this morning, I was 194.6, which is a loss of 2.8 pounds this week, and a loss of 82.4 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 120.4 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 44.6 pounds to go to my ultimate goal weight of 150 pounds. This week’s weight big loss was so important for me, because all of my hard work is paying off.  Finally my body has relaxed into the strength training exercises I’ve been doing with #ToneItUp, and I think I’m really getting the metabolic benefits of toning.  I worked hard with my cardio, as well.  I had tons of variety this week: elliptical, bike, walking, and I also went to the gym twice to get back into the run/walk intervals.  (More on that in a minute). I kept my meals really interesting and delicious with dinners like grilled salmon, sauteed scallops, grilled sirloin tips, and a breakfast-for-dinner scramble.  Lunches were just as good: I turned the leftover grilled salmon and sirloin into amazing salads with arugula.  All in all, it was such a great week, and I love that it all showed up on the scale, too.

As I mentioned, I got back to the run/walks this week, and I have to say, they’ve been a lot more difficult for me than they were before my cold.  The main reason is that I’ve been pushing myself with the speed, and I think I need to ease up on that a bit.  I’ve been trying to keep the running at a 5.0 pace, but right now, that’s just a bit too fast for me to maintain for an entire 3-minute cycle, so I’ve been cutting it down to 2 minutes, which is less than ideal.  I’m meeting my friend Di to do another run/walk session a bit later this morning, and my plan is to take my pace down to 4.5 and maintain that for 3 minutes so I can get back to a strong 3/1 pace.  (3 minutes running, 1 minute walking).

This week I’m looking forward to keeping lots of variety in my cardio workouts – run/walk intervals, recumbent bike, elliptical, flow yoga (since I had such a great experience on Saturday), and of course walking Sofi.  I’ll also continue the ToneItUp strength training, which I’m really enjoying.  I’ve loved being active for a long time now, but I’m finding that my workouts are actually becoming my hobby, and I miss doing them on my rest days.  I can see a future where fitness moves into more than just a hobby for me, and becomes a profession.

Until next Sunday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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Fabulous February Weigh-In: Week 36 Post-Op VSG

February – love is in the air, and this month is going to be all about loving myself enough to continue making 2014 my year to shine. I’m vowing here and now that I will reach my goal weight in 2014. What an amazing accomplishment it will be! To achieve my goals, I’m going to focus on the basics – eating well, drinking lots of water, taking my vitamins and getting in 5 cardio workouts a week. I’ve started strength training with #ToneItUp and their #LoveYourBody series is helping see just how strong I am as I change my body. Sunday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the weekend. This month is going to be all about loving all the little things that make life special. My Sunday progress updates will be called Fabulous February Weigh-Ins.

Week 36 was perfect in its normalcy: there were a few long workdays, but I was able to come home and get my workouts in anyway.    Best of all, I didn’t let the cold stop me, and I think working out through it was actually what helped me get better. This week I also made great meals for myself, and even found a bit of time for pampering.

So, what did the scale show?!

When I weighed in this morning, I was 197.4, which is a loss of 0.8 pounds this week, and a loss of 79.6 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 117.6 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 47.4 pounds to go to my ultimate goal weight 0f 150 pounds. I’m glad to see a loss on the scale this week after last week’s gain.  The scale actually showed an even greater loss at one point this week, but then popped back up a bit.  I think my body is still adjusting to these #ToneItUp workouts, but even with this somewhat meager loss, I’m still really enjoying them.  I like seeing what my body can do, and in fact I’m ready to move up from my 5-lb dumbbells to 8-lb ones. Strength training is proving to be a really good way to challenge myself in a whole new way.

Even though I got in 5 cardio sessions, I took the week off of my run/walk intervals because running was a bit too strenuous for my lungs, but I’m hoping to get back to it a bit later this week.  I’m finding out that taking any time off of running sets me back a bit; the good thing is that once I do start back to the intervals, it doesn’t take too long to feel back on track.  I’ve done a 5K every month since September (two in November!), but I won’t be doing one in February, because I’m just not ready.  I have signed up for two in March, which will be fun.

I’m looking forward to a great week ahead.  I have a few fun things planned, including going to a book signing in San Fran for Jen Lancaster’s newest book. I just got back from the grocery store and I bought a bunch of healthy, delicious ingredients for lunches and dinners that I can’t wait to prepare.  Plus, today is Superbowl Sunday, which is always a good time, even when my team isn’t it in:

Until next Sunday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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New Year, New ME Weigh-In: Week 35 Post-Op VSG

2014 – a new year, a fresh start full of new beginnings. 2014 is going to be MY year to shine. I’m vowing here and now that I will reach my goal weight in 2014. What an amazing accomplishment it will be! To achieve my goals, I’m going to focus on the basics – eating well, drinking lots of water, taking my vitamins and getting in 5 workouts a week. Sunday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the weekend. My resolution throughout the year is to keep focused while enjoying all the “newness” in my life. My Sunday progress updates will be called New Year, New ME Weigh-Ins.

Week 35 was a weird one.  Work was busy, I got a bad cold, and I started strength training using the workouts from Tone It Up.

So, what did the scale show?!

When I weighed in this morning, I was 198.2, which is a gain of 2.4 pounds this week, and a loss of 78.8 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 116.8 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 48.2 pounds to go to my ultimate goal weight 0f 150 pounds. This is my first gain in the 8+ months since surgery (and even a few months before that), and while it’s disappointing to see the scale move in this direction, it was completely expected.  My body always reacts this way whenever I start using weights.  Plus, I had a bad cold, and Mother Nature is coming calling any day now.  At one point this week I was up over 5 pounds, so this is actually my body calming down a bit.  I’m so glad that I know all of these things about my body so that I’m not freaking out over a gain like this, especially with as hard as I worked all week. I’m also glad that I’m still in Onederland, let’s be honest.

As I mentioned in my post the other day, I’ve started strength training using the Tone It Up (#TIU) workouts, and I’m really enjoying them.  I know they’re working because I’m sore, but I love that very few of the moves are too difficult for me to complete.  It shows how far I’ve come.  It’s nice to have another measure of fitness successes, beyond my cardio workouts.

Today Tinkerbell and I are doing our first 5K together, and I’m really looking forward to it.  Unfortunately, because of my cold, which is settling in my chest now, we’re going to walk the whole thing instead of doing run/walk intervals, as we’d planned.  I’m really glad that Tinkerbell doesn’t mind us taking it a bit easier.  Plus, this way we can spend the time catching up – last weekend she completed the Tinkerbell Half Marathon at Disneyland, something she’d been training for for over 6 months.  I’m so proud of her, and I can’t wait to hear all the details. (I’ll post more about our 5K later today).

This coming week, I’m looking forward to continuing the #TIU workouts (a new weekly series comes in my inbox today!), picking up my 3/1 run/walk intervals as soon as this cold dies down and my respiration is easier,  and hopefully seeing the scale go down at next Sunday’s weigh in.  The thing is, I’m in this for the long haul, and I’m not worried about one bad weigh in because I know I’m stronger than any reading on the scale.  Seeing a higher number isn’t going to put me in a tailspin now, as it would have in the past.  That’s true growth, that’s something to be proud of.

Until next Sunday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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New Year, New ME Weigh-In: Week 34 Post-Op VSG

2014 – a new year, a fresh start full of new beginnings. 2014 is going to be MY year to shine. I’m vowing here and now that I will reach my goal weight in 2014. What an amazing accomplishment it will be! To achieve my goals, I’m going to focus on the basics – eating well, drinking lots of water, taking my vitamins and getting in 5 workouts a week. Sunday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the weekend. My resolution throughout the year is to keep focused while enjoying all the “newness” in my life. My Sunday progress updates will be called New Year, New ME Weigh-Ins.

Week 34 was exhausting at work, which left me feeling really blah all week.  Despite all that was going on at school, I am glad to say that I still got my workouts in and that my food was great, too.  I didn’t keep up with my run/walk practice this week, forgoing the gym for  walks with Sofi and hopping on the elliptical at home.

So, what did the scale show?!

When I weighed in this morning, I was 195.8, which is a loss of 0.4 pounds this week, and a loss of 81.2 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 119.2 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 45.8 pounds to go to my ultimate goal weight 0f 150 pounds. While this loss is not stellar, it is a loss, and continues my streak of losing weight every single week since surgery.  Since I had such a big weight loss last week, I expected a much smaller loss this week.  Plus, my body has been out of whack all week.  One of the things that I’ve been dealing with since surgery is irregularity.  I know it’s because of the high protein, low carb diet, and I really need to get better about taking my fiber supplement on a regular basis.  This is probably why I’ve been feeling sort of blah all week, too.

This morning I met up with my friend Di, and we walked from her house to the LG Creek Trail and then did run/walk intervals and walked back.  She started C25K today, and I was testing out my new running strategy.  After realizing last week that the 5 min run/3 min walk pace wasn’t working for me outdoors, I decided to take it to 3 min run/1 min walk today.  And you know what?  It went well!  Now, as I said, I hadn’t run in exactly a week, and it’s interesting how quickly the body gets out of practice.  The LG Creek Trail isn’t flat, and there were plenty of slight and not-so-slight inclines to deal with, so while wanted to run 3/1, I actually ended up running 2.5/1.5, which was fine. My runs were fast (for me) – about 5.0mph pace, which is the best I’ve ever done.  So I do think there’s something to this 3/1 (or so) pacing.  Di and I decided to keep these Sunday intervals up, and I’m excited, because it means that we’ll get to catch up, work on our fitness, and get outdoor practice on a weekly basis.  All good things!

One of the goals that I set for myself for the past week was to begin strength training, and I didn’t do it at all.  Epic fail.  As I mentioned, this was a busy, tiring week at work, and when I got home, I just couldn’t muster the energy to go to the gym.  (Which is one of the reasons I’m so glad that I have the hybrid machine at home – no excuses not to get cardio in).  This week my schedule at school is completely clear in the afternoons, just the way I like it, so there’s no reason I can’t hit the gym in the early afternoon to get my strength training in.  I have to admit, as much as I know that strength training pays off in the long run because it speeds up the metabolism so that the body burns calories even at rest, there’s a huge part of me that is nervous about weight gain.  My body tends to react quickly to changes, and in the past I’ve seen a gain whenever I started strength training of any kind.  But I also know that if I just ride the wave of initial weight gain, and don’t give up too early, I will eventually see great results. Now that I’m the last part of my weight loss journey, I have to change my mindset from the idea that there’s a ticking clock.  This is about the long haul and the changes that I make that will spur me on for the rest of my life.

Glad I got my workout and this blog post in early, now it’s time to watch some football.  Go Niners!!!

Until next Sunday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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New Year, New ME Weigh-In: Week 33 Post-Op VSG

2014 – a new year, a fresh start full of new beginnings. 2014 is going to be MY year to shine. I’m vowing here and now that I will reach my goal weight in 2014. What an amazing accomplishment it will be! To achieve my goals, I’m going to focus on the basics – eating well, drinking lots of water, taking my vitamins and getting in 5 workouts a week. Sunday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the weekend. My resolution throughout the year is to keep focused while enjoying all the “newness” in my life. My Sunday progress updates will be called New Year, New ME Weigh-Ins.

(I won’t be able to weigh in tomorrow morning because I’m staying overnight at my cousin’s house in SF so that we can do the Hot Chocolate 5K EARLY in the morning. The race starts at 7:30am, but we have to be down at Golden Gate Park by 6:15am. Ugh! Still, it’s going to be really fun, and I’m looking forward to it).

Week 33 was back to work for me, and boy, was it a crazy one. Meetings, lesson planning, quiz creating, former student visits (which I love!), chaperoning two basketball games, and of course teaching. I get tired just thinking about it. I’m proud to say that through it all, I got in all of my planned workouts, ate great, and even fit in time to read & comment on blogs, read books, and keep up with some of my favorite tv shows.

So, what did the scale show?!

When I weighed in this morning, I was 196.2, which is a loss of 3 pounds this week, and a loss of 80.8 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 118.8 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 46 pounds to go to my ultimate goal weight 0f 150 pounds.

This week was as busy as a week can be, yet I kept to my workout schedule, which I’m really proud of. Something has definitely changed for me – I used to force myself to get my workouts in, and now I actually look forward to them. One thing that helps me make sure I stay on track with my workouts is that I continue to take Carina’s advice and plan my two rest days on weekdays. It works perfectly because I can fit workouts in much more easily on the weekends. I’ve been enjoying the combination of going to the gym to do my run/walk intervals on the treadmill and using my hybrid at home to do either elliptical or recumbent bike. Now it’s time for me to really incorporate strength training. I’ve begun researching on sites like Blogilates and Tone It Up (have you seen their goofy show on Bravo?) to figure out a plan that will work for me. I’m giving myself the goal of doing 3 days of strength training a week, beginning this upcoming week.

My food was really outstanding this week, and I think that made a huge impact on this week’s weight loss. I stuck to my protein shakes for breakfast, made gorgeous salads for lunch each day (more on that in a minute), and had rice + protein for dinner most nights. Snacks were Dannon Light & Fit Greek yogurt and IPS Chips. If you’d like to see my food diary, ask to be my pal on MyFitnessPal.

I wish I’d taken a picture of my salads, because they really were that nice looking, but just try to imagine, if you can. I started all the salads with a bed of 1.5 cups of baby spinach and then I varied the toppings:

• tuna w/ pickles and light mayo
• chicken salad w/ hard-boiled egg, 1/8 cup chopped nuts, light mayo
• 2 oz chicken breast, hard-boiled egg, corn, & light ranch dressing
• hard-boiled egg, garbanzo beans, beets, and light ranch dressing

Not only were these salads full of protein and low on carbs, but they were also really filling. I’m going to continue the salads this coming week because they worked so well and were so easy for me to put together ahead of time.

For dinner next week, I’m planning on making a batch of my delicious HG 10-Alarm Turkey Crockpot Chili tomorrow because I’ve been craving it. I love that it’s a spicy bowl of comfort food that is really low in calories and high in protein. I won’t eat that every single night, so I’ll vary it with a shrimp stir fry and probably bacon-wrapped scallops.

I’m feeling really great about my progress, and continue to find small moments of pride throughout this journey. They help keep me motivated, focused, and excited to see where I go from here.

Until next Sunday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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