Week 6?? weigh-in

Total weight loss: 3.4 pounds

I know its much more than week 6. I've missed a couple of weeks. I was in California last week, and that is my excuse (at least for last week). It too seems pointless to post such measly numbers. I know that I should be happy - that a loss is a loss - but it is discouraging when I still have 15.6 pounds to lose. At this rate, it will be over a year until I reach my goal.

I am doing things right - most of the time anyway. Today I burned 550 calories for my workout, and considering the fact that I worked a 12 hour day, I'm proud that I was able to fit in a workout. I also ate approximately 1500 calories. And that is a pretty typical day . . . I should be a hottie by now.

I'm thinking that I'll start doing monthly weigh-ins, on the first of every month. Then maybe the pounds will be more impressive.

Week 5

Week 5 weight loss: 2.0
Total weight loss: 3.4

So, I've skipped a couple weeks. It isn't that I haven't weighed in, its just that I can't ever seem time to post any more. I actually weighed on Sunday too - after 2 days of birthday debauchery, I knew it wouldn't be pretty. So, I'm counting Sunday's weight.

Things have been ok. I'm kind of reaching the point in my "journey" where I am not seeing the scale move fast enough, and I get discouraged. Its the cycle that I've found myself caught up into for the past 5 years. Its just that I love food. . . too much.

I did have a huge personal victory last week. As long as I've been running, there is a certain long hill that I've been trying to run up. And last week was the first time that I have run all the way up the entire hill without having to take a walk break. It was a HUGE accomplishment. So, even if I'm not the skinniest girl out there, it is empowering to know that I am becoming more healthy and fit.

Maybe the skinny will come later . . .

Week three

Weight loss this week: 3.0 pounds
Total weight loss: 1.4 pounds

That's right: 1.4 pounds lost in three weeks. Pretty dismal, although I do think that I maybe would have lost more, except that my daughter was in the hospital this weekend. I drank lots of diet soda, and ate whatever I could - so, all things considered, I am glad at least for a loss.

What went wrong:
I actually had a great week until the whole hospital thing. I feel like the rest of the week went well, so I'm just hoping my daughter gets better.

What went right:
I did have 5 workouts, and I've started combining weight training (my husband helps). I've also been eating a few more carbs, but healthy ones of course.

I also went to the doctor and had my blood checked. TSH levels were good, so my thyroid is not the culprit. I do have mono though apparently.

Goals for the week:
I'm shooting to lose an entire pound this week. Wish me luck!

Discouragement

Weight gain this week: 2.8 pounds
Total weight gain: 1.6 pounds

Yes - that is right. My second week's weigh-in netted a 2.8 pound GAIN since last week. I am currently entertaining a visit from my auntie flo - maybe its water weight? I can hope. I didn't think I did that bad this week.

What went wrong:
I did cheat twice. Tuesday night I went to Mimi's Cafe - I ordered the 500 calorie mahi mahi, and then also ate three pieces of carrot raisin bread. Saturday I went out for pizza, but I got a salad and only ate one piece of pizza and one breadstick.

What went right:
I got 5 workouts in. I've added more weight training in, and my long run on Saturday felt really good.

I also tried to add in more carbs. I've had oatmeal for breakfast a few morning, and I made some lowfat turkey chili that I ate over some brown rice. I think this week I need to pull back on the carbs - its spinach egg white omlettes for breakfast this week again.

I did go to the doctor on Thursday to have my thyroid checked, but the results aren't back yet. Maybe I'll know something in the next couple of days.

In the mean time, I'm discouraged. I know I didn't eat 10,000 extra calories to equate for such a gain :(

Week one update

Week one: 1.2 pounds weight loss
Total weight loss: 1.2 pounds

One week down, too many to count to go . . .

This week went pretty well. Overall, I think it was a success. I'll admit it: I'm not perfect. Nor do I have the world's best will power. But, a pound a week is some loss - and I'll take it. I have about 36 weeks, so at this rate, I'll do it ;).

What went wrong this week:
I cheated a couple of times. Twice, I had diet soda (oh, sweet nectar of the gods) and on Saturday I ate 2 restaurant meals, which means I overindulged a bit and I ate 2 cookies (they were totally worth it) - on Friday I ate a couple of left-over Christmas chocolates. I also only worked out 4 times (my goal is 6x a week).

What went right:
I stuck to my diet well most days - ate at least 2 fruits a day and plenty of veggies, drank tons of water, and limited my carbs. I also went snowshoeing twice. No only is snowshoeing a great way to get out and enjoy the out-of-doors when there's snow on the ground, but its a great workout. It roughly burns twice the same calories than just walking would. Especially when its fresh, deep snow and/or steep terrain, of which I had both.

On Saturday, I went snowshoeing with my brother, who over the past few years has had quite a bit of weight loss success. I'd guess he's lost over 60 pounds, and he's as skinny now as he was in high school. His secrets? Well, first off, he admits that he is always hungry. ALWAYS. Secondly, he works out at least 90 minutes a day, 6 times a week. And thirdly, he also limits his carbs.

Goals for the week:
I plan to fit 6 workouts in this week. I also want to try and limit my carbs more. I've already broken down and had one diet soda today. . . the flesh is weak. . . so no more soda for the rest of the week.

Wish me luck!!

Discouragement

I know, I know. Two posts in one day. I just went back and re-read my post about poor Brynlee. I can tell I was frustrated when I posted that. She really isn't the monster that I portrayed. Yes, she has her "moments". But she can also be a sweet and wonderful girl - and she is most of the time. Right now she and her sissy are having a post-nap popsicle. When I handed her the popsicle, she gratefully said "thank you" and offered me the first lick. She is great at sharing. And she loves to hug and snuggle. I appreciate all of the wonderful advice y'all offered. I think the biggest thing I took from all of it is that I need to remain positive, and to use positive reinforcement to control behavior. As I re-read my post, I was embarassed by how negative it sounded - like all I did was yell and punish. Really, its not like that at my house all the time (sometimes, yes. I'll admit to that). Usually things are happy and calm. I think I've just been extra frustrated lately. Ben's been working about 70 hours per week, and its taking its toll on me.

Anyway - to my intended post. My discouragement regarding my weight loss (or lack thereof). Friday was the week 3 weigh-in for my Biggest Loser contest. The first week I lost 4 pounds - probably due to sugar and soda detox. The second week I lost 2 more pounds, so I was feeling really good about myself. But this past week was really rough. After skiing all day Monday and then shovelling snow for 45 minutes afterwards, I was up 2 pounds that day. Thankfully by Friday I had lost those 2 pounds, but I didn't lose anything else. Thats ok - a week of no weight loss happens every now and then - right?

I allowed myself to cheat a bit on Friday, and I had a really good run. In fact, I ran for 55 minutes without stopping (my personal best thankyouverymuch - I've run much longer before, but never without walking breaks). Saturday I only ate 1500 calories, and ran another 3.5 miles. This morning when I weighed, I was up 2 pounds again. What the heck? This is getting ridiculous.

I feel like I try so hard to eat well and exercise. I haven't cheated on my diet, except my scheduled weekend cheats. And I'm averaging 15 miles per week running. In fact, I think I'm "healthier" (diet and fitness wise) than about 90% of anyone I know. I guess I can chalk it up to genetics, but its still not fair. I guess I just need to vent a bit, because I'm really feeling fat and frumpy lately despite my best efforts to be otherwise.

I need to go intervene - popsicles are gone, and now the girls are fighting in G's room. Time to use some positive reinforcement.

Now I feel like the biggest loser

Yesterday was day 1 of the Biggest Loser 3 competition, organized by my real-life and blogging friend Tiburon. I started the day off with my weigh-in - which was a discouraging blow. Last year, I also competed in Biggest Loser 1 and 2, losing a total of 22 pounds. I know 22 pounds isn't much, but I'm a slow loser. Yesterday when I weighed-in, I was only one pound lighter than when I started BL 1. That means it took me 8 months to lose 22 pounds, and 8 weeks to gain 21 pounds. I know I'd been lax lately about eating whatever I wanted (especially during the holidays). But I didn't think it was really that bad. I still eat relatively healthy - but apparently not as healthy as I've deluded myself into thinking.

So - I was motivated. I emailed Tib the pictures of me in my underwear, and decided I was going to win this thing. I drank only water all day - and lots of it. I ate my bowl of Dee's Cereal for breakfast, followed by cashew butter on wheat with a cup of soup for lunch. By dinner time, I wasn't particularly hungry, and I was expecting to eat a small amount of dinner. But, Ben suprised me by bringing home my favorite meal - a Cafe Rio salad. I know he meant well, so I didn't have the heart to tell him I couldn't eat it (I didn't have the will-power either). I did share most of the whole-weat tortilla with Gracelin, and Bryn ate most of my beans and rice. I also left off the guac and dressing. Maybe I didn't do too badly (although that salad has 1800 calories!!! Who said salad is healthy?)

I also managed an hour on the dreadmill after the girls were asleep. So all was not lost. I surely could have done better. I'm not going to win the $575 pot this way either. I've got to buckle down.

Anyway - just so I can keep myself on track I'm going to write down my plan.

1. Eat only whole foods, with no partially hydrogenated or high-fructose anything. No white flour. No white sugar. Eat lots of fruit and veggies. Limit my calories to less than 1500 per day.

2. Spend at least 1 hour doing cardio 5 times a week, and 2 days of strength training.

3. Drink only water

4. Get enough sleep (I find the days I struggle the most are when I'm tired)

That doesn't sound too difficult, does it?

Revised workout schedule

I've been so faithful with my workouts lately. I have such a great schedule: after the girls get to bed, I head to the basment to the treadmill. I turn the DVR on, and run. I feel like I'm multi-tasking by keeping up with all the good shows while getting my exercise. The problem is, my workouts are becoming more and more monotanous, and I'm finding them more difficult to get through. Instead of feeling like I'm getting in better shape, my legs feel like lead and I'm finding it more difficult to get run.

I'm wondering if maybe I'm not overtraining a bit. Maybe my body wasn't meant to run every day. So, I think I'm going to revise my schedule a bit. Here's what I'm going to try:

Monday - 60 minute run
Tues - weight train/cross train (swim, bike, walk)
Wed - 60 minute run
Thurs - swim
Friday - 60 minute run
Sat - long run
Sun - rest

Oh - and after Thursday, I'm back on a sugar fast. Wish me luck. I'd like to lose 20 more pounds, and be in shape to run a 1/2 marathon in April.

Life isn't fair

Some woman have been blessed with great genes. Not me - I'm inclined to be fat. Despite my best efforts (and believe me, I do try) I think that I'm destined to be a big girl. Don't get me wrong - I'm not fat by any stretch. But I'll never be thin. And I contantly have to worry about my weight.

I do work out quite a bit. Since the marathon, my typical routine is to run 4 times a week, for a total of about 15 miles. Then, I try to either swim or walk 2 other days during the week, with one rest day. I've also been trying to get to the gym to lift weights twice a week. In fact today, I went for 30 minutes before I picked up the girls. My arm are killing me as I try to type.

I am in good shape. In fact, I refer to myself as "fat but fit". I do think I'm in better physical shape than my exterior would lead one to believe.

The problem is food. Its my nemesis. I love to eat. Luckily, I do love healthy foods (for the most part - I do have weaknesses). But even too many healthy foods is a bad thing. I think that I'm destined for a life of always feeling like I'm missing out on foods and always worried about skipping a workout. Life isn't fair.

My own fat march

Ok - I'm not the biggest TV watcher there is - especially cheesy reality shows. But I do DVR some of my favorites and watch them while I'm on the dreadmill (it really helps to pass the time). A few weeks ago, I'd made it through all my cache of shows (summer break I guess) so I was channel surfing. I came across Fat March - I'm not sure why the show caught my eye, but it did. The show is about 12 overweight people who have to walk from Boston to Washington DC - a distance of over 500 miles. Every one of these people was at least 100 pounds overweight at the beginning of the march. Talk about motivation for me while I was running. I immediately set the DVR to record all new episodes.

Last night was the season finale. On one of the last days of the march, they had to walk a marathon - 26.2 miles. Every one of them finished the entire distance, and the fastest woman did it in just over 7 hours. This is a woman who was at least 100 pounds overweight, and she walked a marathon in 7 hours.

What am I worried about?

I have 6 hours to complete the marathon, but I do plan on running a good majority of it. And it really is mostly downhill - see the lovely elevation map:

I'm going to be fine. It was comforting to hear that Rachel (Operation Rosebud) hadn't run more than 14.something prior to hers. I've still yet to run more than 13 miles. This past Saturday I tried to run 15, but I still felt really sick and lethargic. At one point I had to sprint to an appropriately placed restroom, as it was becomming difficult to run with my cheeks squeezed together. I only ended up doing 7 miles - but I did those 7 miles without stopping (unless I count the pit stop and my warm-up/warm-down) and I ran them fairly fast (for me) in just under an hour and a half. I'm not entirely sure, since I've stopped worrying about my time. Right now I just focus on mileage - no matter how long it takes.

I am getting anxious, but I think I'll be just fine. I have been working hard (although I make it sound like I've been a slacker) and I know I'll be proud of myself.

Down another pound

I'm only 28 pounds away from my ideal weight. It sounds so close, but I know its still so far away. :) Its funny how once I started liking my body, and concentrating on my fitness level, things started to turn around. I feel great. And even though I'm only down 3 pounds in 3 weeks, I feel sexier and I swear my belly is smaller.

I'm doing really well on my running plan too. Last night I ran on the treadmill. I usually run outside, but there was too much snow yesterday so I hit the gym. It had been about 10 days since I'd run on the treadmill, and I noticed a difference in how well I ran since then. I did a running then walking interval for 90 seconds, then a running/walking interval for 3 minutes. This week on the C25k plan, I was only supposed to go for 20 minutes, but I went for a full 30. I felt really well, but Ben scolded me when I got home. The rules clearly state not to push your body to do more than the workout specifies. But, I really didn't feel like I was pushing my body too much. And I feel great today. Besides, its not like I'm super speedy anyway. In 30 minutes, I barely made 2 miles. I don't think it hurt me to do that extra 10 minutes.