Week 5: Excuses & Results

Where do I even start with the excuses?


Excuses:

• 107 degrees is a bitch, whether you are in the shade or not. It is a B-I-T-C-H.

• My body is trying to adjust to its new schedule.

• My head and heart just weren’t into it this week.

• I’ve been quite the social butterfly.

I worked out 3 times this week:

• (1) 45-minute walk on the treadmill for 2.63 miles

• (2) bike rides, for a total of 26 minutes and 6.4 miles

Results: I lost 0 lbs this week, holding at 8 lbs lost in 5 weeks. I am holding at 161 lbs, and still have 22 to go.

When I started this project with my guns a blazin’, everyone told me, “Oh, you’re doing so well, you don’t need a full year to lose 30 lbs.” I knew better. I knew that I was going to have some off weeks, and this was one of them. I’m just happy that I maintained versus gaining weight.

What can I say...I was lazy, I went out a few times, and man, I just needed a break.

This week marked a month that I’ve been on this project. This means that if I average 2 lbs lost for each of the remaining months, I will still hit my goal. I REALLY want my new pair of running shoes, too, so I will do whatever in my power to work the next 2 lbs off, so that I can reach my 10 lbs off benchmark and get my shoes. I’ve been waiting on the new shoes so that I can get started running again.

The gym at work just put out its new class schedule for September, and I am pumped that they have added a few new classes and made a few others easier (because of scheduling) for me to get to. I think I am going to try a spin class for the third time in my life, too.

My social life is heating up. I’ve been rekindling friendships and meeting new people in the wake of my separating myself from C. I am hoping that I have some potential partners in crime for races, classes, or other fitness endeavors.

On with Week 6…May Week 5 be the last 0 lbs lost week for a while.

Week 4: Results & Excuses

Oh boy. So much for not having any excuses…


Excuses:

• Relationships are distracting and exhausting at times—not even just romantic ones or ones with the  opposite sex.

• While throwing up may help you lose weight, it’s really dehydrating and leaves you with zero energy.

• Being festive is apparently counterintuitive to fitness and weight-loss


I worked out 4 times this week:

• (1) 1-hour yoga class

• (4) bike rides, for a total of 79 minutes and 14.7 miles


Results: I lost 1 lb this week, making it a grand total of 8 lbs in 4 weeks. I now weigh 161 lbs, and have 22 to go!

I am gaining some traction on this whole weight-loss thing. I received all kinds of encouragement from people this week. One co-worker noticed that I was still sitting at my desk as our yoga class was about to start. She said, “Come on, let’s go! We’ve still got time to make it!” and I went. I probably wouldn’t have if she didn’t say anything to me. I made it in time to get the last available spot in the class, and felt so refreshed and thankful when we were done. Namaste, indeed. Sometimes I need that little extra kick in the butt to get moving.

2 people I hadn’t seen in a while mentioned that I looked really good, and another co-worker said that she noticed that I was losing weight. It’s really motivating to hear that people are noticing what I think I’m the only one who can see. It makes me want to kick it up another couple of notches.

Either the weight-loss or my parting of ways with C. (or both) is affecting my total “energy.” I walked into work one day this week with my hands full—workout bag on one arm, handbag on the other arm, keys in one hand, and building access badge in the other hand. A guy came up from behind to open the door for me to get into the building. I said, “Thanks,” and when I smiled and made eye contact with him, he smiled back, seemed to notice my running shoes hanging out of my workout bag, and proceeded to make small talk with me until I had to turn off to get to my desk. I have always thought that people where I work are not excessively friendly, much less do they want to hold doors or engage in conversation with strangers as they are racing to their desks first thing in the morning. This made me think that maybe it isn’t the people, but perhaps it is me and the energy that I have been putting into the universe lately. I feel as if I can see the gray clouds beginning to break.

I had a few minor set backs this week. I thought I would cozy up with some Chinese food and some chick flicks on Saturday night. Well, the Chinese food did not agree to stay in my stomach, so I had a little bit of a puking episode. This left me weak and tired and dehydrated, but somehow I still felt like waking up Sunday morning for a bike ride.

My daughter’s 10th birthday was this weekend, and there was Chili’s (one of her favorite places) and cake involved. I did OK with dinner—grilled chicken with black beans, but did I mention that there was cake? There’s no denying the chocolate molten lava cake, there’s just more and harder exercise on the other side of eating the chocolate molten lava cake.

My homies have kept me really busy this week, too. It just seemed like there were a lot of dramatic happenings this week. Towards the end of it, when craziness presented itself, I had to just say, “Whatever,” and I kept it moving. I can’t have drama interfering with my goals, right?

This week has been about structure, and my coming weeks will be the same. The kids got back to school and sports practices, and this greatly limits the time that I am able to get my workouts. My plan is to continue to use the gym at work as much as my work schedule will allow. I will also continue to ride the bike, just because I enjoy it so much. Hopefully I can get up a few minutes earlier each morning, so that I can go a little further. I’ve still been a little scared to get out on my rollerblades, but I will challenge myself to try them out this week. I am really excited about being on the verge of hitting the 10 lbs lost mark—I will reward myself with some much-needed new running shoes, and will feel better about starting back to running, the real fat burner.

All in all, it was a good week, but I think that Week 5 will be even better.

Thoughts from the Treadmill 3: I'm a Little Bit Country

Happy Friday!

I wanted to post one of my favorite songs right now, something that is frequently played on my iphone during some of these workouts.  Wonder why I love this so much.

Thoughts from the Treadmill 2: I Lost 190 lbs!!

In case you all didn't believe that I would drop that dead weight, here is a letter that I would send if the "High Road" side of my personality didn't prevail:

My Dearest C.,

You know that I wish the best for you in the future.  I hope that you go to India and have that $10,000 surgery for your chronic back pain that you've been talking about incessantly for the past year.  I'm pretty sure that the cleanliness standards in the Indian hospitals are up to par with what we are used to here in the States.  I hope that they forget to anesthetize you, and that they not only remove a kidney and throw you on ice in a bathtub, but they take 4 of your vertebrae, too!  Welcome to 5'4", Mofo.  Who's "Large Marge" now?

Best Regards,
Tracy

Week 3: Excuses & Results

This was a fun week.

Excuses:          

• (…chirp, chirp), well, maybe I should have skipped the thin crust veggie pizza and red wine the night before my Wednesday weigh-in…I’m not sure if that is a real “excuse,” versus stating a fact.

I worked out 6 times this week:

• (1) 45 minute bootcamp (cardio, free weights, plyometrics, tabata training, etc., all thanks to my trainer)
• (1) 30 minute session of hard cleaning of my bathroom.  I broke a sweat!  I told you guys that I would count this.
• (1) 2-hour session of off-and-on the rink roller-skating
• (1) 1-hour yoga class
• (1) 20 minute bike-ride for 3.4 miles
• (1) 45 minute walk on the treadmill for 2.6 miles

Results:  I lost 2 lbs this week, making it a grand total of 7 lbs in 3 weeks.  I now weigh 162 lbs, and have 23 to go!

I drank a lot of water…like copious amounts. 

I think I peed about 5 times (no lie!) between 1 and 5 pm yesterday.  I walked out of a meeting at work, not once, but twice, to relieve myself.  Everyone will think that I am going to the bathroom to puke or that I have serious bladder issues. 

I have always been an under-drinker of water, but am quickly learning the importance of it.  I think this has been key to my results, because instead of grabbing a soft drink, I always have a bottle of water in my hand.

I enjoyed the bike-riding and roller-skating this week.  These were both things that I enjoyed doing as a kid, and I actually have no good reason as to why I ever quit. 

My kids bought rollerblades for me 2 years ago as a birthday gift, and I have never worn them (scared!), but after spending an afternoon allowing my inner roller queen to come out, I think that I have mustered the confidence to take the blades out of the box and use them to blade up and down my street sometime this week in one of my 5 am workout sessions.

My 13 year old son fixed the tire on my bike, so I was extremely happy to get that out on the road for a short ride one morning last week.  The downside is that the bike is a little on the cheap side, and is a bit of a rough ride, but I had so much fun on it, I almost didn’t care.  Almost…

As I approach the 10lb milestone, I thought that maybe I should sweeten the pot for myself, by rewarding myself with things, as I am also on a financial diet.  These are my thoughts so far:

10 lbs:  

20 lbs: 

30 lbs:  

I would love to hear other ideas from my two readers, as well.

Week 4 will bring lots of change to my routine.  We get back to school, so my days will begin much earlier because of my having to get my son to his math class at the high school every morning.  Sports practices for the kids are also starting, and will take place a few afternoons per week in addition to their games.  I feel that I have everything timed out to the second, so hopefully my plan to keep this workout pace will prevail.  I still hope to use the free or nearly cheap resources that are already available to me, and then maybe build on that as the pounds continue to melt away.

On to week 4…

Thoughts from the Treadmill 1: Damsel in Distress--Who is this Bitch??

I warned my friends before I started this blog that it might not always be about fitness.  I mean, I do have other things going on in my life, and sometimes they consume me as much as this whole losing weight thing.  These little breaks from the fitness will be called "Thoughts from the Treadmill."  Consider yourself warned.

Mom, you may stop reading now.

I had an epiphany about my lovelife since the divorce.  I wasn't actually on the treadmill when I had this epiphany, but I was thinking about getting on the treadmill while I was scrubbing the toilet in my bathroom, and then I had this epiphany.  I should call this one "Thoughts from the Toilet," but that doesn't sound right.  Although, sometimes when I want to get away from the noise of my house, the quietest place for me to sit and contemplate and philosophize about this life is my toilet.  Alas, I was not sitting on the toilet, but most appropriately scrubbing the shitter while I was thinking about my lovelife. 

Anyways, it just finally dawned on me why every relationship since the divorce 7 years ago has been a failure.  It's because of this bitch...



Damsel in Distress
Where is the train when you need it?

I am not this chick.

That is the problem.

I have learned that most of the men I have encountered have this need to be the savior.  They don't feel like the man unless they are saving the day.  I have nothing...no saving needed, no prison record, drug problem, physical abuse, no major downer about my life.  I need to lose weight, and I would always like to have more money, but there is no real tragedy here.  OK, so my dad is an alcoholic.  It's affected my life, but I take responsibility for all of my decisions made in my adulthood.  So, still, not really tragic.

I am not complaining that I am not this chick, I am complaining that the opposite of this chick isn't necessarily valued in the dating world.  I've been told my entire adult life, "You're such a strong woman," or "You're the strongest woman I know."  Thanks, but strength doesn't get you laid.

You're supposed to laugh at that, but it's the truth!

What woman in history started this?

So, I met the X's girlfriend for the first time recently.  First impressions?  Nice.  Physically small.  Soft spoken.  Fragile.  Before our meeting, he told me a few things about her, which I will not repeat here.  The picture was made complete when I met her face to face, and witnessed him, not her, verbally disciplining her kids, something I have difficulty allowing others to do with our kids.  She is everything I am not.  This is not a bad thing, but it made me wonder:  Is there such a thing as "too strong?"  Did I not need him, or anyone since him, enough?" 

The most recent man in my life, C., has a history of dating the girl that you wouldn't necessarily take home to mother--exotic dancers, women with substance abuse problems, and such.  He's also gone down the path of the the whole mail order bride process.  He's all about having the woman who depends on him to help her get off the pole, help her get off of drugs, straighten out her life, help her to assimilate to the American way of life, and so on.  He's her protector and and her savior.  When we first started dating he used to say, "You don't need me," like it was a bad thing.  I always told him, "Wouldn't you rather me choose to be with you than need to be with you?"  Now I realize that my lack of "neediness" or whatever you want to call it, is the little tumor that was the beginning of the end of the relationship.

Of course there have been other issues throughout the past 7 years worth of relationships that caused their demise.  This just seems to be a common, ongoing theme.

Hmm.

I'm not sure that I came to any life-changing or lovelife-changing decisions while I was Comet-ing, Soft Scrubbing, and Windex-ing the hell out of my bathroom this morning.  I did get a good 30-minute bathroom-cleaning workout (which I will count in my Wednesday results blog), a decent cry, and much low-fat food for thought.

Week 2: Excuses & Results

I guess every week is going to be tough…this weight-loss thing is definitely not easy.

Excuses:          

• That allergy thing that I thought would blow over blew up.  I had some of my worst days this week.  Thankfully, I can say that I feel as if I am finally getting over it.

Yeah!  …only one whiny-assed excuse this week.

I worked out 4 times this week:

• (1) 45 minute bootcamp (cardio, free weights, plyometrics, tabata training, etc., all thanks to my trainer)
• (2) 45 minute walks on the treadmill for 5.25 miles
• (1) 50 minute brisk walk with Bella the Pitbull for 2.6 miles

Results:  I lost 2 lbs this week, making it a grand total of 5 lbs in 2 weeks.  I now weigh 164 lbs, and have 25 to go!

I still believe that I am winning with my food choices.  I am making some really thoughtful, careful moves when it comes to what I am putting in my body, and I know that this is what is making the difference.

I am in love with spinach and chicken breasts, either together or separately.  My new mission is to find new and exciting ways to prepare both dishes so that they never get old.  I’m also remembering my appreciation for other fruits and vegetables—cucumbers, tomatoes, and peaches top my list.

I went out once this week, and even had a “Skinny Margarita” that had only 100 calories in it.  Next time, though, I will probably opt out of booze altogether, since I think either the tequila or the margarita mix made my stomach hurt.

With school about to start, I am being faced with a few new challenges when it comes to fitting in my workouts.  My 8^th grade son is taking a high-school level Geometry class at the high school 12 miles in the opposite direction of work from my home.  This is going to drastically increase my morning commute, meaning that I will need to cut my bootcamps out of my routine.

This has been stressing me out since I found out that the class was not going to be offered at his middle school as I was originally told.  I can still work out in the morning, it’s just got to be a bit earlier than I did for bootcamp.  This change has really made me consider all of the resources I have available to me right now:

1. A really inexpensive gym membership at work.  I like to take advantage of the lunchtime Yoga and Pilates classes that are offered when I have the time—i.e., no meetings over lunch, or killer deadlines to make.  This, too, may come to an end, though, if my new commute gets me here too late in the morning.
2. A bike with a busted tire.  I thought that I might reward myself with a new bike when I achieve 10 lbs lost, but to be thrifty, and to take advantage of this resource now, I’ll figure out how to get this one fixed.  (When you pump the tire, the inner tube expands unevenly to the point of pushing the tread away from the frame of the tire.)
3. Legs, feet, running shoes.  I can still walk or run anytime.  When my daughter starts soccer practice this season, it will be the perfect opportunity for me to take some nice runs around the fields.

I think that I can make it without the bootcamp, but I was somewhat committed to it because I paid for it, and I didn’t need to be the creative one when it came to mixing up the workout.  I’ll miss it, and I will miss my trainer, but it’s time for me take control of my workouts.

Week 3 will be the test…

Saturday Walk

I had the best time today trying to keep up with a very athletic girl on my morning walk.

Bella

I could have walked all day with her.  I am thinking that it might be time to get a doggy of my own.

Week 1: Excuses & Results

This first week was tough.

Excuses:          

• It was birthday week, and everyone gifted me with food and drink.  I tried my best to make the best possible food choices, but MAN was I weak!  I counteracted this by bringing my lunch to work almost everyday, eating more fruit, and drinking at least my weight in water.  Lunch rocked during Week 1!  Dinner rocked, too, but for more tasty, decadent reasons.
• I missed workouts during the second half of the week, due to my allergy issues.  It is not fun trying to run with one functional nostril and a congested chest in 90 degree temps at 6 in the morning.  That brings me to…
• What the hell is going on with Texas??  The high today is 110!!  The other night, it was still 100 degrees at 12 midnight?  This isn’t really an excuse for me not staying on task.  Let’s call it “mild whining.”  I think I might melt, though, for reals.

I worked out 3 times this week:

• (2) 45 minute bootcamps (cardio, free weights, plyometrics, tabata training, etc., all thanks to my trainer)
• (1) 45 minute walk on the treadmill for 2.63 miles

Results:  I lost 3 lbs!  I now weigh 166 lbs, and have 27 to go!

I usually work out 3 times a week (when I don’t skip bootcamp…heehee), so I really think that what affected the scale the most was the slight change to my diet—more fruits, veggies, eating at home, bringing my lunch to work, and much more water.  I am actually getting used to snacking, which is something that I have never done well.  In my previous life, (you know, a week ago), I would have black coffee for breakfast, a larger lunch, and not much for dinner.  This left me feeling tired, low on energy, and always hungry.  I already feel like I am gaining control here.  This gives me confidence, because I knew that the diet part would be the toughest for me to master.  I know that I still have some work to do here.

Oh, and I haven’t had any alcohol in a week, well except for one lite beer on a very, very hot day.  :)

This small weight loss gives me the confidence to continue to chip away at it this week.  I will get in more than 3 workouts.  The sinus infection/allergy episode seems to be subsiding, and I hear that the temps might be a little closer to normal this and the coming weeks.  As far as I know, there will be no further birthday celebrating, and I will be particularly careful about what I put in my mouth, since I pick up my whitening trays from the dentist this week.  That means that I can't have any of my beloved red wine or pasta sauce...or I shouldn't have any.

Week 2 is where I really get busy.  Look out.