Rewind to a better place. Please!

I will give you fair warning now, this is going to be a jumbled mess. I’m not sure I have had a clear thought process since Wednesday.

It’s September 30th, end of the 3rd quarter, final weigh-in day.

While sitting in church today, I noticed how much easier my rings slipped off my fingers. Encouraging, but I couldn’t bear to do a weigh-in and have another disappointment.

I worked out 6+hours in the first 3 days of the week. Great start for the final stretch. Until Wednesday. I was going to be able to make it to the gym on Thursday as well, but sleep didn’t come until 3am the night before. No gym since then.

Food intake may have started out well, but stress eating has varied from the regular bad choices and amounts to not eating at all.

The irony is not lost on me that I would post a “Thank You” to you all hours before life as I knew it would change.

Cryptic enough? What happened?

For as much as I love all of you for your encouragement and shared weight-loss struggles, this probably isn’t the best place to discuss the matter.

I am struggling, lost all motivation, just want to eat stuff that tastes good since it seems to be all that is good in life right now. And really do not want to go to the gym tomorrow.

How crappy was this post?!

I’m sorry, it’s all I got right now…..

 

Bronchitis

Laying on couch.
Trying not to breathe too deep so I don’t start coughing.
Can hear my chest rattle.
Sorry to whimp out on you this week.
Love my fitness pal app.
Curves isn’t for me.
The end.

Thank you!

For my fellow weight warriors. I hope your week is starting out well!

Setbacks and Adjustments

When I have a plan, I really like to follow it through.  When something comes along and derails that plan, I notice I fall apart.

Last week I found out that I will need a minor surgery on my back to excise a mole that the biopsy ruled atypical.  It actually has quite a fancy name.  I won’t be able to do any exercises for a few days after the procedure on Thursday  and nothing with my back for 2 weeks when the stitches will be removed.  Then it’s a wait and see when I can get back to it.

So, you know what I did last week?  Nothing.  No exercises anyway…except the 2-3 pull-ups my son has me do every day.  I did nothing.  Pathetic really.  I could have really pushed myself on my upper body last week and at least I’d have done something to help while I wait.

On a positive note, I DID eat well.  I even lost weight…the same weight I keep taking off and putting back on, but at least it’s gone again.  I officially weighed in at 170.2 today.

So my new plan is to see if I can treadmill on Friday…and go from there.  I will keep eating right, and hopefully I will continue to see my weight drop.

My husband has joined me on my diet and has already lost more than 5 pounds.  I am so glad for him, really I am, but at the same time it is so discouraging.  I am so jealous of how easy it comes off him.  So, I’m also going to work on focusing on my progress and not comparing…harder than it sounds for me.

7 Days…….

4 pounds sounded so much better that 7 days!!!

That is all I have left to make the cut for the quarter. Last post I had 2 weeks  to drop 4 pounds. Here we are with one week left and as of my weigh in on Wednesday, I have 5 FIVE pound to go!!!!!!!!! FIVE! 

Seriously?!?! Mr Scale you are going the wrong way.

It’s going to sound like a broken record along with the other posts this week, but I am right there with ya Miss AB. I got in 3 really good workouts. The kind where you ache after, for a day+ after! That’s 3 times as much as the week before. Yeah, ok so it isn’t hard to do when you only workout once, but it is major considering the schedule I have to work with.

I am in this quandary now. Not even a quandary more like my pattern. Why bother? I won’t make the deadline. Let’s eat out! Curly fries with cheese sauce? Yes, please! I could still do this. It’s possible. Another 30 minutes of cardio! Bedtime before midnight? Hah!! Three kids to three different rehearsals/practices at the same time? Fast Food for dinner? Okie Dokie!! Too tired to exercise?! Just skip it. It won’t matter anyway……….

Here we are. With 7 days to a deadline that could spiral me down. I wish I could just let it go and say, “It’s okay if I don’t make it to the next pay tier. No reason to let it ruin what I have already accomplished. Just keep working. The goal I have has no deadline. It is a lifelong change. Right?”

So why is that so hard to get through my head?

Here we go. New week. Just try to ignore the looming weigh-in deadline next Sunday!

I have 3 workouts worked into my schedule for this week. I hope for more. I withstood the Culver’s temptation on the way home from a long day and the yumminess that is cheese curds. Can I do it the rest of the week? Who knows, but I know I am not starting out well when it is 11:30pm and I’m still up and thinking nachos sound really good right now.

*Sigh*

The courage to start…the strength to finish. I started, now………………..

Stress has never been my friend

You know when I went from a size 14 to a size 18? It was when I spent a year at an incredibly stressful job and add to that getting engaged, planning a wedding and being a newlywed and the only source of income. I was so stressed out that my shoulders would get so tense it would put my left arm to sleep. Once I figured out I wasn’t getting any better I decided to quit. Wish I could have quit the weight too. Instead I kept on a steady path to more weight. Granted my life changed drastically from college student to graduate to wife and mother. Is it too late to undo the damage?

I weighed 243 this morning when I checked. Did I mention that we had to dig an 8 ft hole on the side of my house this week to fix a leak in my foundation around the main water line? Yeah I only made it to curves Monday morning. Tuesday I started digging the dried clay that comprises the top foot of our soil. Wednesday I dug for six-ish hours and called that good. Did I mention that the non baked clay requires you to stick your shovel in the dirt and then scrape it off the shovel? Can you say STRESS? I also am not eating enough calories according to my fitness pal app. To be honest my body was probably in starvation mode before I skipped lunch that one day.

Well the hole is now tarred over. We’ll get our
filled in Monday if all goes according to plan and pray that fixing the sprinkler line fixes the problem we are having with our back flow preventer.

I will still try, I can see where this week may have gone awry. As normalcy descends I hope to include more workouts and continued calorie counting. Here’s to normalcy in your life as well!

I HATE THE SCALE

WARNING: This post contains the rantings of a woman spurned by a scale.

I exercised hard core this week. I not only met my goal of getting three workouts in and eating lunch every day instead of snacking but I did FOUR workouts. Not only did I participate in those four workouts but I pushed myself in every single one. I swam laps for an entire hour. I could barely catch my breath between songs during spin class. Mandy had us doing so many pushups that I lost count. And other than the two Krispy Kreme donuts -which were part of my motivation to push myself harder in my exercising – I ate really well. Not only that but I think I got plenty of sleep and I know I’ve been downing water like it’s going out of style.

So why? WHY? WHY? did the scale (stupid, dagnab scale) say this to me today:

This is 1 whole pound up from last week! Not only that but I just checked pictures in my archives and this exact weight has been rather popular lately. 3 of my last 5 weigh in results were exactly 228.6!

I was looking forward to getting on the scale today. I wanted to love the results of my hard work this week. I was hoping to shout out that I’d reached a new low weight since starting this blog.

I hate the scale.

And so help me if even one of you suggests that it’s muscle weight gain from all the work I’ve been doing you will be banished from the land of scalematters forever! (I may have been watching too many season 1 episodes of Once Upon a Time lately). All that muscle I’m gaining is supposed to be burning the fat away.

Clearly my body likes this particular weight.

I. Do. Not.

I can’t even say that I’m going to take drastic measures because I’m not sure which area of nutrition and exercise I need to fine tune. It feels so elusive. One thing I do (or don’t do) can make a huge difference on the scale, but what is the mysterious one thing…this week?

I’m going to pray about it.

Wish me luck.

 

 

Summer Vacation is over…

I’m baaaack!   Oh what a summer it has been.  I was able to take 3 weeks to drive cross-country and back with my parents and son, camp on the beach for a week with my best friend, and then spend 19 fabulous days in paradise=Hawaii with my family.

I did really well on my road trip – even lost a few pounds and got under 170, but then I quickly gained it back and a couple more during the rest of my holiday.

I shouldn’t be surprised or upset, but I really wish I’d have gotten my act together and lost some of those extra pounds before this amazing summer so I would enjoy the pictures more.

I have a second chance…I’m off on a week cruise to the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Grand Cayman, as well as a stop in Cozumel, Mexico.  After more than a couple of years heading up the Awana ministry at our church, my hubby and I retired last year, and we were gifted with a get-away.  With so many already planned, we put it on the back burner for later.  Later is Nov.  My son is going on an East Coast adventure with school for 2 weeks giving us the perfect opportunity for a get-away all by ourselves!  What an amazing gift.  More than we EVER expected.

So, now I get the chance to make sure I enjoy my pictures more.  I can stop wishing and whining, and start doing, right!?  I started back at the gym last week.  I feel EVERY muscle.  Individually.  Some are yelling.  I started my shakes again.  I’m only eating dinner with the family and using shakes to manage my food intake.  I seem to do well with maintaining so I’m working my way down to a weight I want to maintain.

Let’s see what I can do in 2 months.  Goals work for me…as long as I’m doing the work to reach them.  Otherwise they just make me frustrated and upset with myself, watching time rush at me without doing anything and soon I lose my motivation.  After, I always wish I’d just done something.  Anything is better than nothing.  So here’s to a goal, a plan, and action!

Sharing a picture or two from our trip to Hawaii in July.  I’m hoping to look different in the pictures I post from the Bahamas in November!

4 Pounds………………

That’s all just 4 pounds in 2 weeks. Doable, right?!

September 30th will be the end of the quarter. The Weigh and Win program pays out according to the weight you have lost each quarter. The higher the weight loss the higher the pay out. I am 4 pounds shy of 10% which is the next tier on the pay scale. How annoying to be so close and yet so far!

How do you lose another 4 pounds when you only make it to the gym once in a week? My declaration to make the gym a priority on Monday happened and nothing else. Not because I didn’t want to go. Just not enough hours in a day.

Part of me says to be happy , I’ve lost more than 10% since starting on my journey. That’s something! The sense of accomplishment from having a recognition for doing it is something too. They say to reward yourself when you reach milestones and honestly having that monetary reward in this economy goes a long way to buying a new pair of pants. (In a smaller size!)

Harumpph!

I don’t know what to say. I have no plan. No idea how to fit things in. I just stare at my calendar and wonder how little sleep I can function on. How do you say “No” to your kids or husband so you can workout? I feel so guilty when I do. It takes away from the little bit of time I have from hubby or more time away from home when I have worked all day. With my DH in school, it isn’t very easy to ask if he will watch the kids when he has schoolwork to do. The teens have their schoolwork and activities too. I need another of me to take care of things while I get to a healthy weight. Anyone know how to clone themselves?

On another note….According to little birdie, Miss Rae will be joining us again on Mondays. That’s right, I am calling you out Rae. I am taking that email as a binding contract! LOL!!

I can’t wait to hear how she is doing. She’s probably had an awesome weight loss that will put us all to shame.

Curves

So, I am now over halfway through my phase 1 of the south beach diet. And I just got back from my second workout at Curves. I’ll give you my review on each.

South Beach Diet Phase 1

“What can you eat?” was my biggest question. I’ll tell you it isn’t as hard as I thought to find things to eat. I’ve only had two salads in these 14 days. Breakfasts have included turkey sausages and eggs mostly. Lunches are the hardest in my opinion. Especially if you don’t have leftovers from the dinner the night before. This is where I have had salads, peanut butter and celery and leftovers. Dinners have been widely varied. We’ve had pot roast without potatoes, chicken teriyaki without rice, chicken chili, (we’ve used that to make a few taco salads), stuffed mushrooms, frittatas, steak fajitas without the tortillas, salmon with veggies, turkey breast with green beans, roasted chicken with carrots and broccoli, and spaghetti made with spaghetti squash instead of noodles.  Snacks are mostly hard-boiled eggs and sugar-free jello with cottage cheese. Occasionally at the beginning a baby spoon full of peanut butter. Oh and the best treat of all chocolate Shakes!!!

Recipe: (makes 1 serving)

1 cup almond milk

1 1/2 T peanut butter

2 t of stevia

1 t of non sweetened baking cocoa

1 cup ice

Curves review

I am not on the regular curves program. I was really sad to find that out. Their key cards have a program that tells you how long to do each machine and if you are going hard enough and what muscles are weak and need more attention. Darn it. So the curves that I can do is a circuit training. It’s a large room with a bunch of machines and mats in a circle. You just jump in and then the music is timed to tell you when to switch. The machines are on hydraulics so the harder and faster you push the more resistance you get.  The mats are just there for whatever cardio you want to do, most people jog in place. I try to high knees, butt kicks, jump rope or punches so that I’m not extremely board during mat times and I don’t feel like my ankles are going to break apart.  I am going to have to be my own motivation though. I can see slacking off while going around, in fact I watch other women chat and slack off while doing their circuit.

With no further ado I give you my mii’s wiifit progress…