Day 36 - A couple pounds down and Couch to 5K

It's Monday, aka "weigh day" and it wasn't too bad all things considered.  I'm down exactly 3 lbs in the two weeks since I last weighed, I'll take that!  Considering most of last week was lost to a cold, I'll take that.  So I'm eating a big plate of egg beaters with Jennie O Turkey Pastrami and Reduced Fat Sargento Mexican Cheese and then I'm headed to the park to do night 1 of week 1 of the Couch to 5K training program.  Supposedly, by the end of the 8th week, if you can keep up the pace of the training schedule, they've got you (or really, me, I guess) ready for a 5k run, which is just a little over 3 miles.  I'm not sure if I can make that pace but I know I can do week one activities of running for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds in intervals for 20 minutes.  I'll take it a week at a time, if it does take longer than 8 weeks, so be it.  I go to walk at the park a couple times a week anyway so this will just give it some structure as training/exercise.  I'm excited.  One of the problems will be that I live in Las Vegas and in a couple or three months when I'm trained to run a 5K, it'll be so hot outside that I'll probably have to wait till fall to try one or risk spontaneous combustion. They might train people to run but training to run in 100+ degree heat, that's a whole other ball of wax...a drippy, melty ball of wax.

Fight the good fight!  :)

Day 34 - I want to be one of THOSE people...

I am happy to say that although the cold was kicking my butt (that's quite a job with my butt too) I am on the mend and woke up able to breathe (helpful) and feeling a little feisty today!   I'm on the mend, woo hoo.  The cold sure put a dent in my 30-day check in plan so I guess I'll amend it to 45 days and just do it twice instead of 3 times during this 90-day adventure of fun extravaganza.  :)

So I was thinking while laying around sick, about those people who "can't eat" when certain things are going on.  My ex-husband for example, could never eat when it got too hot.  Some people can't eat when they are stressed out or nervous or excited.  Some people can't eat when they are sick and not feeling well. My friend Kathy can't eat when she's too tired, she just goes to bed...can you imagine??  lol   I'm NOT one of those people. I don't know why.  Is it in our upbringing or in our genes?  I mean, unless I'm so sick something is actually coming out of my mouth, I can always put something in it!  I've been eating all damn week, the cold didn't even put a dent in my appetite.  You know what they say.. "Feed a cold!" ? well I did.

This is just something I'm gonna have to deal with whether I understand it or not.  Another piece of my weight-loss puzzle.  I'm feeling fired up again and although I'm laying low this weekend, I'll be hitting it hard come Monday.

It just occurred to me that maybe one day, if I pull this off, that someone really could refer to me as one of THOSE people, funny..hmmm....   :)

Day 29 - How much does this guy weigh?

I woke up with a cold...  I was all ready to move forward on this journey and tackle my eating issues head on, not "stuffy" head on.  I guess I'm going to do it whether I can breath or not.  Oh well.  Does anyone know how much mucus weighs?  I have to weigh in Wednesday at work for my 30-day update and I know this guy is going to bring some friends and not to be mean but he looks a little portly..lol

Seriously, the cold  is inconvenient.  No exercise today and most likely the next couple.  That means I have to really hold the calories down and keep busy or unconscious.  When I get bored I gravitate towards the kitchen.  I just spent an hour redesigning my blog and adding another widget and a new progress page and  now I'm going to remote into work and then maybe a nap?  Hope everyone is doing well and breathing freely.  Fight the good  fight!

Day 28 - Ma'am, step away from the pizza...

Well, I'm almost at the 30 day mark and WOW..just wow.  This is much different (which, I guess means harder) than I thought it would be.  I wonder if most people who set out on such a journey feel the same way?  I thought I could hunker down and for 90 days just be a dieting saint.  Saint Stacey, Patron Saint of All Losers (weight loss losers btw!  no matter how big we all are, we are the coolest kids on the block lol)   Now I'm approaching my first 30 day weigh in/measure in/run in, and the numbers are not going to be that great. 

So with some deep thought about it today, this is where I'm at.  I've got the exercise thing totally under control. I take several classes a week and walk/jog at the park and use dvd's and my treadclimber.  And when I take a class, I TAKE THE CLASS..know what I mean? Yesterday, I pushed so hard in Step that I about passed out.  It's not that I'm pushing with the thought of a weigh-in in mind, it's that I love the music and I want to move like and keep up with the others in the class.  It's so fun.  And I feel great when it's over. Well yesterday I didn't feel that great, but normally I do.   Since starting this blog, I've increased my weights in BodyPump, started Zumba classes at the gym and I jogged my first lap around the park a few nights ago, something I was hoping I would be able to do by the end of the 90 day stretch and look, I did it before 30 days. (yippee)  So I know as far as getting stronger and having more endurance, I'm on my way.  Now, we have to address food. 

Food...oh dear food..what am I gonna do about my stress eating?  I've had a super difficult weekend and I admit I did not handle it well.  I reached out to my old ways of calming my nerves with bad food choices.  I won't go into detail, but there was a frozen pizza involved and it didn't survive the attack  :(    I have a fridge full of healthy choices, homemade soup, a chicken to roast this week but I WANTED the junk.  And I ate it.  I ate it knowing what was going to happen.  Insanity at it's finest.  So today I'm moping, I'm letting myself mope and feel sad and I'm trying to learn to FEEL my feelings not FEED them.  I did figure out something important today.  Although eating doesn't make me feel better, when I'm done eating something bad, my attention turns to the guilt over what I just ate and not the issue originally making me sad, frustrated or angry.  I never got that before...maybe it's a good sign I figured it out??

Some people need to start a diet on a Monday or they wait until the first of the month or they say, I'll start fresh tomorrow.  I need a definitive starting point as well, but usually make it something really odd.  Today is no different.  It's almost 4pm, I'm going to go put on my green jammies, my favorite ones (my favorite color) and I'm going to watch the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth as Mark Darcy with all my blinds closed and the lights out.  It's about 5 hours long.  I'm going to curl up on the couch with my favorite green blanket and just be pathetic.  And when the show is over, I'm starting over.  Maybe starting over isn't the best term? I'm continuing on the next leg of my journey.  First 30 days, got the exercise down.  Next 30 days, keep up the exercise level and focus on food control/stress eating and general intake.   Final 30 days?  lose Lose LOSE!!   I know we can all do this!

Mopingly yours,

Stacey  :-{

Day 25 - Mid Week Check In - grrrr

Good Morning! (well it's morning here)

Just checking in...being accountable.  It's been a challenging week with a couple late nights at work and no exercise the last two days.  Too bad stress didn't burn calories!  Today I have to journal everything that goes into this mouth.  I like thedailyplate.com for this.  I've packed healthy food for work and tonight I'll get my sweat on at the newly discovered Zumba class at the gym.  Tomorrow I have BodyPump and then Step on Saturday and Sunday.  My weigh in next week won't be until Wednesday since Monday is a holiday. I'll have to check the gym schedule for Monday, maybe try another new class?   Hopefully the last couple of days, not perfect or terrible, have kept me where I was so the next few of hitting hard will show a loss next week.

Hope everyone is well.  Remember to be nice to YOU :)

Day 22 - I am stronger than the chocolate cake!

Walking at the park alone isn't exactly my idea of a romantic Valentine's day evening but I'm gonna put on my big girl (and I do mean BIG girl..lol) panties and get out the door in a minute here! 

There was a carb/sweet buffet at work today in honor of v-day and although I had to chant "I am stronger than the chocolate cake, I am stronger than the chocolate cake" out loud every time I passed the break room until it was gone, I didn't have any!  Turns out I am stronger than the chocolate cake, who knew?  I'm also happy that I'm down 2 lbs this week.  The scale is heading in the right direction.  I feel confident going into this week and hope you do too!

Happy Valentines Day!

Day 20 - Turnips, Turkey Burgers and Zumba...Oh My!

What do turnips, turkey burgers and zumba have in common?  Three things I tried that were "new" to me and I loved them all!  I really think I need to break out of my routines, both personal routines and food routines.  It's easy to get in a rut. 

With my discovery of making vegetable soup, I tried turnips and liked them.  Who knew??    Then with my friend Julie in town helping me with improving my cooking skills, we made turkey burgers that were delish!  My normal turkey burger is a frozen patty. Boring!  For this we used fresh ground turkey and added chopped up onions, bell pepper and garlic, mustard and A1 and cooked them on the grill and they were so yummy!!   Then on Thursday night, Julie went with me to my gym for a Zumba class.  I have done the zumba dvd's at home and I've been wanting to go to a class for so long but was too worried I would be the biggest one in the class and just embarrass myself.  I did well!  There were at least 70 people in there and nobody cared what anyone else was doing, we were all too busy just trying to keep up.  And it was so fun!  No guess as to where I'll be next Thursday night at 9...ZUMBA!!!

Julie and I were discussing the definition of insanity, you've all heard it, that it's doing the same thing over and  over but expecting a different result.   I just keep on doing/eating the same things over and over but expecting the scale to show me a different result.   Until now.....   

I'll check in again Monday with my weekly weigh in, I'm feeling really good about this week.

Happy weekend!  :)

Day 17 - Bob tried to kill us last night!

So as I said a few days ago, my best friend Julie has come to visit for the week and our primary goal is to eat wisely, teach me cook a little, exercise every day, teach me to cook a little, have fun and teach me to cook a little.   Well, it's difficult to lift a skillet when you can't feel your arms so it's a good thing Julie did the cooking tonight!  Last night we did the Bob Harper (who I love Love LOVE) Inside Out Strength Training workout and we were feeling it for sure.  Thought we would be limping today but we're actually feeling good like we worked out, which is how I should feel EVERY time I work out. If I'm going to work out for an hour, I should really make that hour count for all that it can..another goal.  And when I work out really hard it's easier to make better food choices because I don't want all that hard work to go for nothing.  And when I eat right, I drink my water.. it's all connected somehow...

Well we just got done eating and are heading out for a walk/jog at the park.  I'm starting to feel my motivation creeping back in, it's about time!!  Thanks to my Julie :)

Hope you're all having a great week and being good to yourselves!

:)

Day 15 - Good!

Short and sweet today - good eats, good exercise, good motivation from Christy's site and a good friend staying with me for a week..that's a lot of good.  We need all the good we can get right? 

Fight the GOOD fight!

Day 14 - Strength in Numbers

Some numbers can be scary:
My age
My checking account balance..lol
My weight!!!

But today, I'm very happy with a number...the number 4.  That's how many comments I received on my post from Friday.  Four people who took a minute to type some words of inspiration that I really needed to hear. 
I often feel like the biggest one at the table, at the meeting, at the step class...  Everyone in my circle knows I'm trying to lose weight but nobody "gets" it really.  They all offer suggestions on how to lose but they don't understand the struggle of it all.  You guys get it, thank you.  I hope to one day return the favor.

I did better this weekend!  I pushed really hard in step class yesterday and got my water in both days.  I've spent the last couple hours making veggie soup for the week and I roasted a chicken, my first one, successfully.  I'm gonna put some Irish oats in the crock pot and I've got breakfast and lunches for the week all done!  Work days are what stresses me the most and seem to be when I fall off the wagon, so not having to plan my food daily should help.  I am lucky that I can eat the same thing over and over.  I usually just go for what's convenient.

And speaking of strength in numbers, my oldest friend Julie is driving from California tomorrow and will stay the week so I will not be alone in this.  I'm sure she'll hold me more accountable than my cat does!  She is also trying to improve her fitness and lose some pounds so we plan a week of eating well and working out.  I'm ready!

So tomorrow I will have my weekly weigh in and I will post my number (probably scary!) here tomorrow night and I will own it, whatever it is.  Then I will hit it hard and continue on this journey with my fellow bloggers.

All four of them  ;)

Day 12 - What the hell happened to day 11??

Wow, this is really testing my...I don't know, I don't even know what it's testing, my fortitude?  Commitment?  Dedication?    I'm in a weird place right now.  Yesterday clocked an 11 on the 1-10 stress meter at work.  I ate bad, I felt my stomach knotting up and keep getting headaches and then after work was so burnt out, just wanted to hide and didn't work out!  I also didn't check in here and seriously considered just getting rid of the whole thing.  I even had myself convinced it would be a better use of time to exercise for 15 minutes a night instead of typing my blog entry o' the day.  Like I would do that right before bed.  Delusional...this is not good!

So today I read some more, I'm always inspired by other bloggers.  I went shopping so I have good stuff in the house.  Drank a LOT of water today so am feeling good about that.  It's a little after 9 and I have a full day tomorrow including step class at noon so that'll be good for me.  Tomorrow afternoon I'll make more soup for next week and I'm also going to try and roast a chicken so..pray for me on that one.  I'm determined to conquer cooking this year with my many other goals.  I'm drinking something called Sassy Water that I found on a site.  It's part of the kick off for the belly fat diet and although I'm not doing that, it sounded interesting so I tried it and like it.  You take 8 cups of water and add 1 lemon sliced thin, 1/2 cucumber sliced thin, 12 spearmint leaves and 1 tsp grated ginger and combine them all in a pitcher and then drink!  Each ingredient does something specific but the only one I can remember now is the ginger helps sooth your intestinal track.  Even if it didn't do anything, I really like the taste and that will help me get the water down.  My goal is 80 oz and I've yet to make it these last two weeks.

Ok, so I'm back in it.  I'm embarrassed I'm faltering so quickly.  I thought I'd go at it like gangbusters but that doesn't seem to be the case.  Going to try and stick to veggies/veggie soup and sassy water for the weekend, get cleaned out a little and do some serious cardio!  My poor body, it doesn't deserve what I do to it.

I can do anything for 90 days!

Day 10 - Bob says "One day at a time"

After Biggest Loser last night, I logged onto facebook.  I'm a huge fan of Bob Harper and of course, signed up his celebrity page so when he posts, it shows on my wall.  Of all the things that could have popped up, it was a short video on motivation.  Getting motivated and then staying there.  As he puts it, keeping your head in the game.  During this very short video he emphasizes "One Day at a Time" and that's what I'm doing today.  I just have to get through today.

I've got my water w/lemon prepped and am going to try and avoid diet soda today (because its sweet) and made irish oats for breakfast and have a big container of veggie soup for lunch.  Snacks will be low fat popcorn and a yogurt and just in case the sweet tooth hits, I've got a tiger bar and a quaker oats low fat bar.  Will try to avoid using those but at least have something not so bad if it kicks in. Ok, tonight I'll walk at the park or do a video.  I just have to get through 15 hours.  

How funny, I went  from I can do anything for 90 days to I just need to get through the next 15 hours...  Yes, I obviously do have a problem here I need to work on.

Happy Wednesday!

Day 9 - Need sweats...not sweets!!

ARRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH...having so much trouble fighting sweets today!  Normally I want meat/protein but my biggest challenge these last few days has been sweets.  WTH?  I'm watching biggest loser, should be at the gym but had to work late and it's cold and windy and I'm totally wimping out here huh??   I've got to find that fire that I read about.  That fire that gets people into kick ass mode...i need that.  I'm going to go to bed thinking of that and maybe I'll wake up with the right mindset.  I have to find that fire....

Gotta light?