Let's Refocus......

I lost 0.2 pounds this week. ZERO point TWO?!?! How annoying!!! It's SUCH a tease! Of course, my friends at my meeting said "at least it's a loss," but is it really?! Sure it is, but in all reality for how hard I am working, it should be more.  That means something needs to change because this is the second week in a row where I had only a nominal loss. Below is my weight loss chart since the beginning of the year....

 

I know "it's not always about the numbers" and I should "look at all of the success I've had so far".....I do that, but right now I say that's all BS!  I know I can do better, and it's time to get my a$$ in gear again!

So.....Let's REFOCUS....

Those of you that know me, know that when I see a problem, I setup a plan that will most likely get to the solution of the problem.  Thus, here's my plan to make sure I have at least a two pound (i.e. "reasonable") weight loss next week....

1) TRACKING - This is my biggest catch-22 in the world, plain and simple....I know it works, and that I need to do it, yet for some reason I don't. Frankly, I've been neglecting it lately, and this is unacceptable! Also, I NEED TO INCLUDE THE WEEKENDS! When I look back at the weeks where I lost the most, I tracked. To put it simply, "it is what it is." When I track, I lost consistently. No more of this "at least 5 days business." I'm tracking this week EVERY DAY even if it kills me! That means every beer, glass of wine, cookie, carrot, celery, lettuce, whatever.....if I eat it, then I write it!

2) Activity - this is a tough one for me because I have been super successful with getting into a great routine since I "fell off the wagon" at the end of 2009. I have been waking up at 5:30 a.m. most weekdays to get my workouts in at the beginning of my day so to ensure that: a) I actually workout; and b) I can enjoy my day without the gym taunting me all day. For the most part I have been doing exclusively cardio. This has been enjoyable, but I am missing my lifting sessions. I told myself that I would continue doing the cardio until I hit a plateau....it seems like this is happening.  Thus, I am going to begin incorporating 30 minutes of weight-lifting (in addition to 30 minutes of cardio on my lifting days) 3 days per week.  The other days I am going to continue with my 45 - 60 minutes of cardio in preparation for My Big Goal!

3) Alcohol - Okay, fine. I'll lay it out for you.....one of the greatest, most delicious tastes in to world to me is that first sip of beer at happy hour on a Friday after a long hard week of work and school (maybe a couple of  sips even).  As a rule, I don't drink from Sunday through Thursday other than an occasional glass of wine every now and then. It's just a rule I have for myself to keep me in check for my weight.  The problem is on Friday and Saturday I make up too much for the other five days of the week.....enough said. Therefore, I have decided that I am changing my habits (at least for this week) in two ways: 1) I am tracking (see number 1 above); and 2) NO BEER! Wine or liquor (with club soda) only....I drink less when I drink these anyways, and besides you get the biggest "bang" for your alcohol points when you drink these over beer anyways!

That's my plan for now....  Three goals that are attainable, challenging to a certain extent, and will "shake it up" a bit for my week. I'll see how it goes for the week, and adjust accordingly next week. In fact, after writing this, I'm excited to see what it does on the scale!

Quick Shout Out!

I went over to my friends' house last night for some dinner and entertaining, and I was THOROUGHLY grateful and impressed at how much they went out of their way to accommodate my healthy lifestyle. My friend Mark made chicken enchiladas that were DELICIOUS and were made VERY healthy (only 7 points per enchilada....I had two of them after my grueling last-chance workout at the gym). For dessert, my friend Kat made chocolate chip oatmeal cookies JUST FOR ME where she substituted some of the normal ingredients for whole wheat flour, egg beaters, etc. to lighten up the recipe. The cookies were AMAZING, and you would never know that there were any substitutions (I had two of those as well....I couldn't resist even though I knew I had to weigh-in this morning). I was just so grateful that my friends were willing to change their "not so" healthy lifestyles to accommodate mine.  And they both loved eating healthy too! Thanks, guys! ;-)

That's it for now.  I have a few different blogs coming up soon, so keep a lookout for those. Thanks for all of the support, and keep the comments coming!

Updates and Goals for the week...

Unfortunately my busy schedule has kept me from updating this as much as I would like to. I am going to do my best to make sure that I consistently keep blogging as it keeps my motivation going, and I have really enjoyed reading everybody's comments....

Weight Loss

The good news is that in my absence of blogging, I have lost for the past two weigh-ins! Last week I lost 2 pounds, and this week I lost 0.4 pounds. This past weigh-in was not nearly as large as I would like it to be, but I was happy that it was at least down and going in the right direction. Below is my weight loss since January 1st.

As you can see, I have consistently lost weight since January 8, and I can think of three main reasons for this: 1) tracking, 2) activity, and 3) accountability. I have been tracking much more lately, and it is really helpful as it keeps me consistent and accountable. Also, I have ramped up my activity, and as a result I am not only losing the pounds, but my clothes are fitting better!  Also, knowing that all of you are looking for my updates has really helped to hold myself accountable! Thanks for the encouragement!

New Activities

Spinning

I have joined a spinning class on Wednesday mornings at 6:00 a.m. and it has been AMAZING!!  It is one of the hardest workouts that I have ever done, and it has really ramped up my cardio mid week to keep me pushing through to my Friday weigh-in.

Boot Camp

Yesterday I tried my first boot camp fitness class. As I sit here and write this, I can tell you that my ENTIRE body is still sore from the workout, and it feels awesome!  IT WAS PHENOMENAL!!  It is a full body, high intensity, hour-long workout that really pushes you to work everything. I highly recommend it, and I am looking forward to going to the class again next week (although I think I may have class that will interfere with it, which is annoying).

Goal Reminder: April 1st is still my goal to run a 10 minute mile.  I have been training very hard to get to this point each workout, and I have almost exclusively moved my cardio workouts to the treadmill, which is much harder, but gives me a great workout.

New Thoughts...

Although I lost this past week, I had to really think about why my loss was so small. I worked my BUTT off at the gym the whole week just to compensate for my major overindulgence I took part in last weekend....friends were in town, and my goals went out the window. Without going into the amount of food and alcohol I consumed, I can tell you that I realized that it is very counterproductive for me to work so hard during the week just to ruin it in one night on the weekend. This is something that I will continue to struggle with, I know, but it is something that I MUST conquer if I am going to be successful and get to my goal weight.

GOALS FOR THE WEEK

1) Workout at least 5 days (minimum 20 minutes)

2) Track at least 4 days (I havn't tracked this weekend yet, so I am putting 4 days this week so I track mon-thursday).

BTW, please keep your comments coming!  I really enjoy hearing your thoughts, and it's motivating to know that people are actually reading this!!

Habits: the good, the bad, and the ugly....

Many of you can probably relate to how hard it is to break bad habits (and create new ones).  I read a study somewhere sometime (no, I'm not going to cite to it) that said you need to do something consistently for 21 days in order to form a new habit. That doesn't sound like a long time, but think about it this way:  It takes the equivalent of three weeks worth of PERFECT and CONSISTENT days to form a new habit. I don't know about you, but that task seems daunting.

This isn't to say that a person can't form form a new habit over a longer period of time. Personally it takes me a long time to form a new habit and even longer to break an old one. However, if there is one thing I've learned so far over this journey, it is that  really need to find ways to get rid of old unhealthy habits and create new healthier ones.

My Healthy Habits
I have been successful in changing my habits in several ways: I workout 4-5 days a week usually at 5:30 in the morning, which, if you ask me, needs to be habitual if you intend to keep that kind of schedule going; I eat a healthy breakfast every morning; I tend to eat mostly healthy meals throughout my week; I'm able to push myself to attain a goal; etc...

However, this past weekend, I found myself falling back into old habits that I need to break if I truly am going to be successful (and keep this weight off). I know that myself alone is to blame, but I also would like to blame the Superbowl (even though I know my argument here is weak).....

I was the host of a Superbowl party, and it was a fat-man's paradise!!! The food that we had included (thanks to all of my awesome friends): pizza, chicken wings, pigs in a blanket (I made a healthy version of these), spinach artichoke dip, buffalo chicken dip, chili, chips, salsa, guacamole, cheese, crackers, pepperoni, sausage meatballs stuffed with mozzarella cheese, fruit salsa with graham crackers, cookies, and homemade hostess cupcakes (the chocolate kind with frosting in the middle).  Of course, we can forget the tremendous amounts of beer, malt beverages, and wine that was there for consumption as well.

Needless to say being surrounded by so much food and drink, I binged more than I have in over a month. I couldn't stop myself...I mean, it would be RUDE as a host for me to not try everything, right?!  WRONG!  I regret the decisions I made this weekend, and I realized after the fact that this is one habit I need to change. It took me four days to get back to (and slightly below) my weigh-in weight from last week...

One thing realized: I need to find a way to be in social situations involving food and NOT overindulge. This isn't to say that I can't enjoy the food, but I need to make a new habit where I limit what I eat and have boundaries when placed in these situations. I know they will come up again, and I need to be ready next time!

Another Successful Week!

My hard work is really beginning to pay off!  I reached every one of my goals this week....

I tracked 5 days this week, and I worked out 5 days as well!  Below is my WW chart for the week.....I'm very proud of this, and as you can see I've really ramped up my workouts!

 

I also lost 2.2 pounds this week!  That means in the past 4 weeks I have lost a total of 9.6 pounds!!!  I'm still taking off some weight that I have gained over the past 7 months, but I'm on my way to getting to goal!  

Here is a copy of my weight chart since the beginning of the year.....

Here is a graph of my progress....as you can see I have a ways to go to get to my goal of 180, but I'm at least moving in the right direction.....

 

GOALS FOR THIS WEEK

1) Track again for at least 5 days

2) Workout for at least 5 days

3) Do my 40 minute cardio workout that I was able to concquer last night at least once to get myself closer to my April 1 challenge!

P.S. I will begin posting pictures of my progress soon!

New Activity Challenge!

Each week, I am committed to posting my successes and failures for the week, as well as weekly goals I would like to achieve (see this weeks post tomorrow after my weigh-in). I have to admit that these "mini" goals that I set for myself each week have really driven my success in these past few weeks. Tonight was my "last chance workout" (those of you that watch Biggest Loser know what I'm talking about)....it's the last workout I have to put it all on the floor and work my butt off before I weigh-in in the morning. It's not really a time to make-up for my slip-ups for the week, but it is a chance for me to really get a good solid workout and make sure my body sweats away everything it can before I weigh-in. Tonight I had my best one yet with my interval cardio workout.....

I have been using the treadmill more and more recently because deep down I think know I want to be a runner. The treadmill, as some of you may know, is one of my life's nemeses because it KILLS me every time (at least that's what I thought).  However, since using the treadmill these past three weeks as my main cardio routine (aside from my new spinning class, which I will be blogging about soon), I have really improved with my workouts. 

Tonight, I did an interval routine where I ran at 5.5 - 5.7 mph for 2 minutes and then walked at 3.3-3.4 mph for two minutes for a total of 40 minutes! To some, this may seem like a lot, and to some it may not seem like much at all. I can tell you that for me, it was the hardest I've pushed myself in a while and it was a major achievement! I was really proud of this since three weeks ago I was barely walking at 3.2 mph and running at 5.0 mph for two minutes each for a mere 20 minutes.

The Challenge!

Needless to say, tonight on the treadmill I came up with a personal challenge for myself....I'm giving myself two months (until April 1st) to be run a mile in 10 minutes or less.....

Back in December I pushed myself to run a mile in barely under 12 minutes, and I was amazed that I could do it. After I did it, my legs were crying, but it still felt amazing.  However, it's time to beat this! Therefore, April 1 will by the day I turn the treadmill up to 6.0 mph and just do it!  Of course, in the meantime I will be training to reach this goal, but it's time to do it!

Friend or Foe: Chicken Wings

This past weekend I had temptations galore with one of my most favorite foods ever......

CHICKEN WINGS.  As I describe my experience below, you will see how I came up with my new type of food blog:  Friend or Foe.  In these blogs (more to come in the future), I will be judging certain foods that I like to eat (or that I am tempted by) and will decide whether or not they can be a friend of mine, or whether I should stay away.....

Some of you may know that I live in Buffalo, the HOME of the original Buffalo Wing.  Restaurants all over the city pride themselves on having the best wings around. The two "go-to" restaurants in the area are: (1) The Anchor Bar, which is where the original buffalo wings was invented (and yes, the original wing sauce is made with Frank's Red Hot, my favorite hot sauce); and (2) Duffs (why they don't have an American website, I don't know).

This past weekend I had some friends in town that will only go to Duffs for dinner about 99% of the time they come to Buffalo. I sometimes feel like they come to Buffalo more so to go to Duffs over anything else (yes, they're wings are that good....) Of course, they invited me to join them, but immediately I began to feel guilty. I hadn't even EATEN a wing yet, but I could already see where my weekend was heading: 12 wings later combined with  a few pints of beer meant that tracking for the weekend was going out the window. I really had to think to myself: is it worth it? If I was already not feeling good days before I put a chicken wing in my mouth, why the hell would I go eat the thing that made my stomach turn by just thinking about it?

I thought I would look up the awesome nutrition that chicken wings would provide me to help with my decision....

Not surprisingly, Duffs and the Anchor Bar do not provide nutritional information on their chicken wings. I found the next closest thing that I could: 12 chicken wings from Buffalo Wild Wings (a chain restaurant whose sauce selection is decent, but the wings aren't nearly as good).  The nutritional info is as follows:

Serving: 12 wings
Calories: 600 (calories from fat: 360)
Fat: 40 g (Saturated Fat: 10 g; Trans Fat: 2 g)
Sodium: 3500 mg (1.5 days worth of sodium)
Fiber: 0 (NONE, ZERO, ZILCH)
Protein: 56 g (a chicken wing's "redeeming" quality?)

Total WW Points: 37.5 points (this is not only more points I get in one day, but it also is over the extra 35 weekly point allowance)......

I know you may be thinking I'm crazy because of the epic battle going through my mind. It really was a struggle for me! I truly do love chicken wings, but I know that they are NOT going to get me to my goal. I needed to make a decision: do I go eat the wings or not?  I decided against it! I really do want to get to my goal this year. Instead, I made the decision that I would eat dinner at home, and would meet my friends at Duffs afterwards for a drink. I had a cup of my own homemade chili and a pita pizza (total points for dinner: 7).

SUCCESS! Eating beforehand got rid of ANY temptations I had when I got to the restaurant, and I was able to enjoy a pint of Duffs homemade Ale (only 4 points).  My total points for dinner and the beer = 11. That is 26.5 less points than I would have eaten (not including any beer I drank that night) if I had gotten the chicken wings.....

I'm proud of my decision this weekend! I know it is going to be hard and unrealistic to "give up" chicken wings forever.  However, at this point in time, I am in the zone and am ready to get to my goal so it was a (somewhat) easy decision to make. I am blogging about this now so the next time I think about going to get chicken wings I can come back to this blog and remind myself that they really are not my friend.....

Chicken Wings: Friend or Foe?

Answer: FOE!