...and now for this Week's Inspirational Video...two

It's been a minute since I posted  a video.  I like to get a little old school, too.  My 10 year old daughter was singing this song to herself the other day, which is funny for many reasons, but especially because it came out 2 years before she was born.

It inspires and motivates me.  Look at the abs on these girls, and who can deny the message? 

Happy Friday.

Week 9 Excuses & Results

Hey guys, I don't have much to write this time around.  It's been a trying week personally and professionally, and I just have a lot on my mind, but I wanted to post results.  I worked out twice this week, and maintained...no lbs lost, no lbs gained.  I am holding at 158.

I'm sure that I will have things to add before my week 10 wrap-up. 

Hope that everyone has a good week.

Week 8: Excuses & Results

Sorry this is so late.  Time really got away from me this week!  However, I did manage to remember to exercise and weigh in last week.

Excuses:

• My bike broke. :(  That didn't keep me from working out, although it made me very sad.

I moved a lot this week:

• (5) Walk/Runs, mostly walking for a total of 9.42 miles and 159 minutes (2:39)
• (1) Hour-long Yoga class

Results: I lost 1 lb this week, down 11 lbs in 8 weeks. I am currently 158 lbs, and have 19 to go.

So, I am really irritated that the tire on my bike won't act right.  My gift to myself for 20 lbs lost is a new bike, but I feel like it will take me longer to get there without my being able to do the exercise that I have been enjoying the most!  Maybe it will be more motivation for me to get to 20 lbs off faster, so that I can start riding again.

In the meantime, I need to refocus on the free or cheap resources already available to me.  I have new running shoes, check.  I have a cheap gym membership at work, check.  I have rollerblades that I am still afraid of, check.  I have two very active kids, check, check.  I have to hustle these resources until I can't do it anymore.

Without giving too much away right now, I feel that there are other changes afoot in my life (good ones, maybe?), so any consistency and regularity that I can create where my fitness is concerned will be beneficial should any good, major change occur.  More in a future blog post on that.

I saw the picture that I took of myself the day that I started this project.  I was surprised at just how much difference 11 lbs lost makes.  My intention originally was to post the picture in my first blog post, but honestly, I was/am too embarrassed by what I saw.  I am promising myself and both of my readers that when I meet the critical midway point of 15 lbs lost, that I will post my before and after photo here for all to see.  I think I have plenty of time between now and then to talk myself into thinking that this is a good idea!

My plans for Week 9?  Keep up the slow and steady weight-loss pace.  I am telling myself that this is how to do it if I really want the weight to stay off.  It might now be peeling off as quickly as I would like, but I only have 19 more pounds to lose in just over 10 months.  This should be gravy, right?  Not very thick, low fat gravy, of course...

Here we go, Week 9!

She's Flashy

I picked up my new shoes yesterday.

I found the same (read: "older") version of the Saucony ProGrid Ride shoes that I loved and ran all of my 5Ks in back in the day.  They are just like this:

Flashy, I know.
Hopefully they make me run fast.

Week 7: Excuses & Results

Excuses....just one:  SICK!

Results: I lost 2 lbs this week, a total of 10 lbs in 7 weeks. I am now 159 lbs, and have 20 to go.  I have reached my first benchmark goal of 10 lbs lost, which means that I get my new running shoes!  I'm undecided...I've had the older versions of each of these shoes before, and they are both great.





Saucony Progrid 3



Brooks Ghost 4

                  ...or...

 

 



 

 

 



I managed to work out once this week:

• (1) 20 minute bike ride, 3.8 miles.



So, yes, I was horribly sick this week.  My mom was in town, too.  I was happy that she was here, because I feel like I would probably still be vomiting my life away if she wasn't here, but sad, too, because it obviously wasn't my intention for her to be here only to be stuck in the house for a few days because I was too sick to get off of my couch.  Mom and I had a great visit, and I hope she comes again soon when I have more vacation time, and when I am not hugging, sitting on, or lying by the toilet for a 72-hour period of time.



I'm feeling a little guilty about my results, like I need to put an asterisk by them.  I know that my weight-loss was 100% due to the fact that I only recently started eating solid foods again.  However, I am at 10 lbs lost, and will purchase the much-needed new shoes, so that I can get my running jumpstarted again.



We are having a community yard sale this weekend, and I am hoping that I can sell enough items that I can fund my new shoes from my yard sale proceeds.

 

There's one other fun thing coming up this weekend...I signed myself up for a yoga class and oxygen bar that is happening at a winery nearby.  Oh yes, it's a wine tasting, too.  I hope to start finding more off-the-beaten path, fun ways to get to my destination of 30 lbs lost by the end of next July.

 

My hopes for Week 8?  No illness...and I'd just like to get back into a groove or on some type of schedule.

 

Here we go!









Week 6: Excuses & Results

...sorry this is a little late this week, guys!

Oh Lord…

Excuses:

• There was a 3-day holiday weekend. Without kids. With booze. Good eatin’, too. And boys. All distractions.

• Work has been hella crazy.

• Crazy dreams, making it not so easy to get sleep.

I worked out just twice this week:

• (1) 45-minute walk/run on the treadmill for 3.15 miles.

• (1) bike ride, for a total of 26 minutes and 4.8 miles


Results: I lost 0 lbs this week, holding at 8 lbs lost in 6 weeks. I am holding at 161 lbs, and still have 22 to go. This is my second 0 weight-loss week in a row.

I need to snap out of it.

If you are still following this blog, you probably already read me lamenting the temptations of the three-day-weekend. I promise, will not go over that again.

Work has been pretty crazy this week. I’ve been bringing my laptop home, like everyday, which is highly unusual for me. I am good at what I do, and want to do a good job, but I do believe that I should be able to accomplish most of what I came to do in between my normal hours of 8 am to 5:30-ish pm, and that my evenings and nights should be dedicated my kids and their many endeavors, as well as to my fitness and physical and mental well-being.

Things just haven’t worked out that way. I’ve been working through lunches, causing me to miss yoga. I’ve also been up late at night on the laptop, causing me to have issues with getting up early enough in the morning to ride my bike before work.

My crazy brain needs to stop with all of the nutso dreams that have been keeping me awake at night. I have been a bride in no less than two dreams—one where I didn’t know who my groom was, and another where I was scrambling 2 hours before the big event, looking for a wedding gown. And then there is the crazy dream I had with the stalker…

Before I forget, I need to shout out to the awesome encouragement that I got from a special friend this week.  I didn't even know that this person was in the same boat as me.  I love to hear your stories, it makes me feel like I am not in this by myself.  Thanks so much for the encouragement:

the battle is always with willpower.


my flip switched 2 fridays ago - i was home at my parents and it was just a side glance in the mirror as i was about to jump in the shower.

i've been over indulging on mcdonalds, wendy's, cookies, and the occasional ice cream for the past year. - i saw a pic of myself just a year ago and i'm completely different - so i think it's been the overworking and undersleeping that switched me to the dark side of fast food eating. I think i'm still gonna binge on some cookies once a week but otherwise i think i've locked it down mentally. Of course i think i have a smaller social life then you - my drinking usually consists of a glass of wine or 3 to help me get to sleep.


remind yourself that this is forever -this is quality of life - and that this is for you AND your kids :)


My gameplan for Week 7?

1. Minimize the excuses. I put them here at the beginning of my Results blogs, so that I have a record of what I whined about (silently in my head) the previous week, so that I can try to avoid the same excuses next week..
2. Get back to basics. Back in my first post, I made promises to myself about what I would like to achieve each week in terms of fitness, diet, and the types of people that I want to associate with (like-minded, healthy individuals). Unfortunately, it’s gotten easy to lose focus in the midst of being busy… i.e., stopping at McDonald’s on the way to/from my daughter’s soccer practice, because everyone is hungry, and that is all we have time for. I think with better pre-planning, I can come up with some crockpot meals that we can eat as soon as I get home from work, and before soccer practice.
3. Remember why I am doing this.  My friend said it best:  this is about elevating my quality of life.

Did I happen to mention that my mom is here visiting for a week?

Week 7? I WILL lose at least one pound this week. I promise.

The Weekend

I had Labor Day weekend all to myself, with little interaction with other human beings.  The kids were at their dad's house, and since we all know that C. is out of my life, I didn't have him as a reason to throw my entire weekend away on someone.

I think that a two day weekend is perfect for staying on the wagon--just as I am beginning to think of straying from my plan, it's time for the work week to get started again, meaning that I have to get back on schedule.  Three day weekends can be disaster, I have learned.  I have too much free time, and not enough willpower to fill 72 hours with non-stop running, biking, etc.  Lying around watching movies, or going out to eat and drink is just way too much fun.

Any pointers that anyone can give me as to how to fill my idle time will be much appreciated.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, this is the reason why I gave myself a year to lose 30 lbs.  I knew that I had to be real and know that I was going to hit rough patches, but man, I gotta get out of this one.

Can anyone tell it's been a "glass half empty" kinda weekend?

Still, I will keep pressing on. 

I naively thought at the beginning of this endeavor that this was a simple battle against the scale.  I am quickly learning that the battle is against myself.  How do I win?

...and now for this Week's Inspirational Video...

Nuff said...