Reality Check

CNN posted a very scary article this morning that said if the current obesity trends in our country continue, one in three adults will have Diabetes by the year 2050.  That's 33% of all Americans having a disease that is (for the most part) avoidable through proper eating and exercise.  How scary is that?  (click here for the full CNN article).

I had a breakthrough success this week that made me remember the BIGGEST thing you need to know to lose weight.....losing weight is 100% mental because you are always given a choice.  You can choose to eat healthier, you can choose to workout, you can choose when you go to bed and how much sleep you are going to get, you can choose to take some time for yourself, you can choose to live life to the fullest, and you can choose whether or not you live your life regretting each day or looking forward to it!

Just like any decision in life, choosing the "right" decision for yourself is not easy. Picture yourself sitting behind your desk around 2:30 on a Wednesday afternoon.  It's gloomy outside, and that mid-afternoon craving begins.  You know there is a candy bowl sitting at the front desk of your office (yes, the candy bowl in my office tortures me daily) for the ENTIRE month of October.  So you think (or sometimes don't even think) about that piece of chocolate....

Now you have a choice to make.....If that piece of chocolate will truly make you feel better, and help you because you are not depriving yourself, go for it.  However, if you are eating that piece of chocolate out of habit, frustration, or stress, perhaps you can make a better decision than eating it like going for a walk to get a glass of water

Here's the secret though.....

You DON'T need to be perfect every time to be successful. We all indulge once in a while, and that's okay.  Not only is it okay, but it's preferable.  Perfection does not equal success.  Hard work, determination, motivation, and the right decision 95-99% of the times equals success.  You always have a decision make, and just keep this in mind whenever that candy bar keeps calling your name.

So, what was my breakthrough?  This past weekend was my Alumni reunion from college, which consisted of AWESOME parties with great friends, alcohol, and food that's bad for you.  Before this weekend, I had resigned myself to the fact that I will be up this week.  I'm ALWAYS up in weight the week after my friends are in town.  That's how my body works.....I go crazy while they are here, throw everything away, and gain back more of those pounds that I worked soooo hard to get off.  Since it always happens that way, that's what was supposed to happen this year......but, it didn't.

I made a choice.  I decided that I would indulge on certain things....for example, I wasn't going to limit myself to how many beers I drank at the party.  Instead, I made sure to watch what I was eating throughout the rest of the day to compensate.  My friends and I went for a mid-afternoon walk to enjoy the beautiful weather outside.  I also split a garbage plate (I have a blog post about this gluttonous dish coming soon) with my friend at 4:30 a.m.  Not only did we split it, but we didn't even finish it!!!

What was the result of my choice to be healthier this weekend?  I lost 0.4 this week.  YES!  DOWN 0.4.  I couldn't believe the scale when I weighed in. This was the week I knew I was going to be up.  No matter how hard I tried, the number on that scale was going to be up.....but my choices said otherwise.

The point is, we always have a choice to make.  Choose wisely *most* of the time, and you will be successful plain and simple.  Don't become part of that statistic with the obesity rate.  You have a choice now, so get on with it.

By the way, as an aside.....I have 6 more pounds to lose to be at 50 pound weight loss on weight watchers! Stay posted to see when I reach that!

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!