Update

I'm currently down 6.4 lbs. Slowly but steadily moving along. I'm not giving up! This week I'm going to follow the Simply Filling Technique to change things up a bit.

After my meeting today, I drove a couple miles away to run an errand and got in a car accident. It was very frightening but thankfully no one was injured. I'm taking it easy today because I have a headache.

Here are my stats.

178.2 starting weight

171.8 current weight

169.3 first goal of 5%

So, I need lose 2.5 to get to my first 5% goal! Yay!

In regards to exercise, I'm on week 5, day 3 of the couch to 5k plan.

Happy 4th

We had a nice family day today. We enjoyed the parade in the morning and the fair and fireworks in the evening.

I did the couch to 5k program today...week 2, day 1. It went really well (except for the kids fighting behind me while I was on the treadmill! lol).

Here is what I ate today...

Bfast: McD's nonfat sugar free latte & egg McMuffin without the Canadian bacon.

Lunch: turkey burgers on light bun with cranberry horseradish sauce, vegetarian baked beans, watermelon, crystal light with strawberries.

Dinner: banana with pb

Snack: ice cream bar (skinny cow)

Good Eats

Last night for dinner I made Noodle Salad with Peanut Mmmm Sauce from the blog Peas and Thank You. It was REALLY good. The only thing I did differently was add lots of broccoli because I love broccoli! I would highly recommend making it. I came up with 3 points+ for 1/4 cup of sauce...5 points+ for 2 oz dry (4 oz cooked) of the rice pasta...and 0 points+ for all the veggies. So, I ate a rather large bowl for 8 points+ of good wholesome food.

My legs are so sore from Zumba & 30 day shred yesterday...and jazzercise today. I need to do some more stretching. I really want to start my couch to 5k program soon. Hopefully this week.

Ups and Downs

This past week didn't go quite as smoothly as the week before. I feel like I sabotage myself. I do well one week then poorly the next and that cycle continues. Persistence not perfection. So I will just keep plugging along and try to modify my behaviors. This morning was my weigh in. I gained 1.8 lbs.

For lunch I had 1/2 cup of brown rice (3 pt+) (using leftovers from Alton Brown's Baked Brown Rice recipe) and mixed it with 2.5 oz of leftover grilled chicken (2 pt+), steamed broccoli (0 pt+) and a single serving of cauliflower with cheese (1 pt+). It was a good size bowl for only 6 pts. I'll take that over a frozen meal anytime. So good.

For a mini meal later, I made a salad that I've been excited about. I got the recipe from Skinnytaste.com . I used about 1/2 cup watermelon (0 pt+), 1 tsp olive oil (1 pt+), 1 tsp balsamic vinegar (0 pt+), a couple slices vidalia onion (0 pt+), 1 T feta (1 pt+) and arugula (0 pt+). It was really good!

Tonight we are going to a neighbor's house for drinks. I need to plan ahead what I'll drink. I'm thinking about Crystal Light with 1 oz vodka (2 pt+). I could probably have a couple of those. Or Skinny Girl Margaritas but I'm not sure of the points. Or MGD 64 which I'll have to look up the points for that also.

Great week on weight watchers!

I'm down 2.8 lbs this week and feel great about it!

This time around with WW, I'm approaching it much differently. I took it very slowly in the beginning. It took me about 5 weeks to lose 2 lbs. Then this past 1.5 weeks, I really committed 100% and lost the 2.8 lbs. I still treated myself to frozen yogurt, bread, etc. I haven't had the sweet tooth I normally have which I'm so happy about.

Almost everyday I'd eat a sandwich with Ezekiel sesame bread, dijon mustard, colby cheese slice, fake turkey slices and romaine lettuce. Then I'd have pineapple for a nice sweet snack afterwards.

Tonight will be a bit of a challenge because I'm going to a friend's for pizza and beer. My plan is to limit myself at 2 slices and 2 beers. Although I have 14 daily and 41 weekly points left so I could have more if I really want. My week starts over tomorrow with 49 more weekly points.

I'm really enjoying the Points Plus program. I feel that the free fruit (esp. watermelon) is helping me!!

Today I took a Zumba class. What a blast! I need to get some strength training in this weekend.

Good Day!

I had a pretty good day today. I watched my carbs and also made it to a Jazzercise class. I did have a little slip up in the evening. I had some sweets but I still did much better than yesterday. My husband asked me the other day...why can't I lose weight if I make up my mind to do it? I said that I want to lose weight but can't get my mind into it. I keep waiting for something to click. Actually I think I just need to commit -- no exceptions -- for at least 1 week. Then I think I might get my mind into it.

Prepared

I feel prepared. I have a huge salad in the fridge so I can grab from it for lunch and dinner. Also, I bought some frozen meals for convenience. Typically I don't like them because I don't like how processed they are, however, I'm going to keep some on hand.

Tomorrow I'm going to do week 1 day 2 of the couch to 5k program. Also, I'd like to go to a jazzercise class if my husband gets home in time to stay with the kids.

Let's get it done!

Tomorrow is January 18th. Tomorrow I change from being interested to being committed. I will get this weight off. I will look on the outside how I feel on the inside. I will fit into my wedding ring again. I will fit into half the clothes in my closet. I will be able to buy cute fashionable clothes again and not worry about hiding a muffin top. I can't wait.

To stay accountable I will be posting my menu everyday as well as my exercise routine for the day. I will also be posting my gains and losses. Not sure if that will be once a week or once every two weeks.

Tired of Excuses

I'm so tired to trying to lose weight. I'm tired of having every minute of everyday thinking about how I should try to lose weight.
"maybe if I don't eat carbs.....that is how I lost it before....oh wait, I gained it back....maybe I'll count calories...can't I just eat what I want but less of it?...you know, move more - eat less....that doesn't seem to work for me....something is wrong with my metabolism....maybe I need to adjust my thyroid meds....no, I don't think that is it....maybe I'm not honest with myself and I eat too much crap...ok, tomorrow I won't eat any crap".
That crap goes through my head every single day from the minute I wake up to the time my head hits the pillow. I gained 25 lbs since last year. I'm embarrassed to see family and friends I haven't seen for a while. I feel so ashamed of myself. I use to be thin and fit. I don't even recognize myself in pictures.
I'll start one diet like low-carb. Then I want to eat some bread (albeit healthy bread, Ezekial bread, but still bread) so then I decide on a different diet that allows bread. Then I start that diet for a couple days until there is something challenging on that diet...and the cycle continues.
I want to throw my scale away, focus on how I feel and just eat good, healthy foods....and stop making excuses!

Sugar Fast: Day 1

Ugh. I have such an addiction to sugar. It is really hard to go without snacking on sweets. The afternoon is my toughest time. However, I'm sticking to it! I haven't had any sweets today even though I'm having a rough day because the kids are arguing a lot. Chocolate makes it all better....but I'm trying to come up with another way to deal with it all!

The challenge begins.

Three years ago after the birth of my 3rd child, my husband and I made an agreement. Since we were done having kids, we agreed that once I reached my goal weight then I could buy a new wardrobe and we agreed on a dollar amount. Well, I've lost and gained during the last 3 years but never reached my goal weight. My husband and I were talking about all this last night. We decided to set an expiration date on the deal. My 40th birthday is coming up in 7 months so I picked that as the date. I'd like to lose 45 lbs by January. Every 6 weeks, I have to lose 9 lbs and if I do, then I get a reward...if I don't lose it, then I lose that reward.

Yesterday I ran 26 minutes without stopping! Woot! I run very slowly but I'm okay that. I did 2.20 miles in 26 min. According to my Couch to 5K plan, I have another 25 min. run tomorrow. I downloaded an interval app last night for my iTouch. When I was a Target today, I bought a jump rope so I'm planning to do some interval training!

Off to a good start...

Well, I was off to a good start this morning with this yummy breakfast. I had awesome blueberries and strawberries with a healthy dollop of Chobani greek yogurt....and a hard-boiled egg on the side. It was so good.

I had a good run/walk this morning. I got up before the rest of the family and headed outside. Today's workout was a 3 min. run, 90 sec. walk, 5 min. run, 2.5 min. walk (x2 for a total of 16 min. of running). I did that and added some more walking onto that. I did a total of 45 min. and went approximately 3 - 3.5 miles. I use Nike+ but I don't think it is calibrated correctly. The Nike+ app said I went 3.5 miles. When I got home, I checked on google and it looked like it was close to 3 miles. So not sure which one is correct.

Yesterday I made some monster cookies that I had seen made on Live with Regis and Kelly. The cookies had chopped up Heath bar, Rolos, mini marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, crushed pretzel and crushed townhouse crackers. A good combination of salty and sweet. I made them for my family and company to enjoy. I did very well yesterday avoiding them. Today, not so much. 2 cookies were my lunch today. Dinner was a grilled cheese sandwich and grazing on more cookies. Ugh. Not very healthy today.

Tuesday morning is my weigh-in for the Biggest Loser contest. I hope I can get it together for the next two days so I can have a good weightloss on Tuesday. Tomorrow I'm meeting a friend to run and bike. We might do a duathlon in 2 weeks...2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run. Tomorrow we will see if we are ready!

Fitness Goals

With the beautiful weather lately here in the Midwest, it inspires me to set some fitness goals for summer. I'm in week 4 of a couch to 5k program. I hoping to be able to run a 5k by the end of June. Mid-June, I am thinking about doing a duathlon - 2 mile run (or walk), 10 mile bike, 2 mile run (again!). This weekend I'll be out on the road training for this. Wish me luck!

I've lost 4.4 lbs this week doing a weightloss contest at our gym. I weigh in again on Tuesday so here's hoping I'll be down some more!

Motivated to lose weight

I gained all the weight back and then some. I'm up to 165.8. UGH!! It is hard to believe I'm up that much. We are planning a vacation for April so my goal is to lose 12 lbs by then. That is 2 lbs a week. I am going to give it everything I've got! Here are the ways I'll work on losing it...

* Avoid snacking in the afternoon
* Burn at least 2400 calories a day (according to Bodybugg)
* Track food intake so I can insure I'm eating no more than 1400 calories a day
* Attend Zumba class as often as possible (Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun)
* 20 min. Pilates dvd 5x a week
* Strength training 3x a week following dumbbell app

I wonder if I need to follow a certain diet. I'm going to try to avoid sweets and processed foods....and eat good whole foods.

I'll be weighing in on Wednesdays and also posting everything I eat.