11.5 lbs. Lost, 23.5 to Go!

I managed to lose 2.5 lbs. working out 4x this week. Yay! I did fully recover from that nasty foot injury and could've worked out Tuesday morning, but instead I started getting too comfortable with staying in bed. Shoot, it's cold outside and staying under the covers seemed far better. Well, I started feeling sluggish, acting grouchy, noticing dark circles around my so-called rested eyes, and experencing stress and tension. So I made myself get out of bed and hit the gym. On top of that, I'm allowing myself a full hour to get the most out of my work out.

I've modified the regimen a bit. The Pilates isn't working out too well. I'm going to have to figure out how to incorporate that in my plan because I hate working out at home. --There's too many distractions. Soooooooooo my new plan (in order) includes:

• 2 miles on the treadmill- Right now it takes 30 minutes to cover around 2.15 miles. I burn close to 300 calories doing so. I haven't started jogging yet, but I walk in a brisk manner.
• 100 crunches
• 25 reps on 6 various weight machines- I select 2 machines each to focus on my legs and arms and then select one ab machine and one machine that focuses on strengthening my lower back.

I always feel good at the end of the work out. I learned my lesson so I make sure to warm up before and after to prevent injury. I'm still struggling just a little bit when it comes to making wiser choices in foods. I misbehaved earlier that week, but got somewhat back on track towards the end. Salt and sweets are still my weaknesses, but I'm learning moderation. I'm definitely losing inches, but I'm wondering if I will lose the remaining pounds by my birthday. Hmmmm.....

9 lbs. Lost, 26 to Go!

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AoX9uU3swo45cEhIc1lpNVlUaVB5bU4ta3NPdEstR3c&hl=en

Unfortunately I gained weight this week. I think the only reason it wasn't more than the 2 lbs. put on was because I exercised 5x this week. I knew weigh-in was this morning, but I showed out late last night. I couldn't put the pretzels down, I devoured a caramel-fudge sundae from Sonics, and I had the midnight munchies and ate 2 turkey sandwiches and a bag of Sunchips. I'm going to use the PMS excuse once again. I don't know how else to explain. Maybe it's just old fashion greediness, lol! I told myself I would work out early this morning, but I woke up to INTENSE pain on the back of my foot. I'm miserable and I'm limping around here. I don't know what I did wrong....apparently I pulled or tore something while on the treadmill. I'm going to rest my left foot today and Sunday (maybe Monday) to see if the pain subsides. I'll make sure I warm up well once I get back to the gym. Man, I wish I had a prescription pain killer b/c this 500 mg Tylenol isn't working fast enough. Bummer.

I only have 11 weeks left until my birthday and 26 lbs. left to lose. I'm going to have to really step it up a few notches if I want to lose at least 2.5 lbs a week. This is interesting to me b/c I'm learning so much about myself while on this journey. One thing is that my appetite is usually tame for 2 weeks, but on the 3rd week it intensifies. Also, I hate exercising in the evenings. I feel more alert when I exercise in the mornings. Also, exercise really helps with any anxiety that I feel.

I really want to maintain a healthy lifestyle and stop all of this yo-yo dieting. I need the balance of not having to try so hard of maintaining weightloss and for it to just happen naturally. In other words, if and when I get this weight off. I want to keep it off.

Getting Back on the Wagon

I admit I was losing focus earlier this week and still struggling somewhat. It started last Friday night with succumbing to the tempatation of buying fried chicken from the grocers deli, doing the ultimate no-no of grocery shopping w/ my husband on Sunday afternoon (purchasing all these snacks so he would have stuff to munch on while he watched football), giving into the cravings I had for McDonald's french fries and their Filet-o-fish Monday afternoon (I told myself I would forgo dinner), and allowing myself to eat the catfish my husband FRIED Monday evening b/c I was too tired to cook (I should've skipped the McD's and baked the catfish myself Monday evening). I honestly didn't think I would recover especially with being off work the remainder of the week and thinking I won't be able to stand a chance against Thanksgiving Day.

Well.....I did recover....sort of.....

I did manage to work out Saturday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (yes, I worked out Thanksgiving morning! A first for me!), and today!!! I was determined even with having achilles tendonitis pain on my left foot! I had put on about 3 lbs. from pigging out last Friday through Monday, but my weight is now fluctuating since I managed to work out. Controlling myself on Thanksgiving Day was a bit of a challenge. I had small portions on my plate, but still felt hungry afterwards. The big mistake was when I went back for seconds and added dessert and a soda. Crap. I was stuffed to the point of feeling miserable.

I tried to redeem myself by not allowing myself to bring a plate home and worked out an hour this morning. I feel great, but I came home and snacked a bit (boooooooooo!) I've got pretzels here that I really need to get rid of as well as a few other snacks. The calorie count plan today was to work out, eat a bowl of Special K cereal w/ 1% milk, and Subway for dinner since I do not intend on eating the DEER RIBS (yikes) my husband took out the freezer to cook tonight. Instead I started munching on granola, pretzels, and Sun Chips!! I've got so much to do so once I finish blogging so hopefully everything I've got to do will burn up the calories of junk that i ate.

My goal this week was to at least try to maintain my current weight and not gain, but I really would like to get down to 180 when I weigh in on Saturday. I'm SO ready to get out of the 180s and on to the 170s. I'm ready to see this happen!

11 lbs. Lost, 24 to Go!

(181 lbs on 11-21-09)

So glad the weight is coming off slowly but surely. I try to keep my calories under 1500 each day. We'll see how that works over time. It's nice being able to fit into some of my clothes that were tucked away in the closet.

PILATES!

So I've decide to give Pilates a try. Seems like all the celebrities swear by it. This article http://www.pilatescentral.co.uk/famous-pilate-devotees.asp talks about how it helps strengthens, tones, and enlogate so I'm going to give it a go. Luckily I have that On Demand feature with my cable television service so I just do it at home. I'm currently maintaing my weight at 181.5, but it's a bit challenging....almost obsessive. Counting calories, fighting the urge to give in to snacks I crave, and fighting the urge to eat when I wake up in the middle of the night.

One good thing is that I finally acquired a taste for yogurt thanks to McDonalds. The only way I can eat it is with fruit and granola. That little cup is strangely filling so I hope it helps me reach my goal. We'll see....

My mother (1950-1997)

Today marks 12 years since my mother's passing and not a day goes by that I don't think about her. My baby girl is about the same age as I was in this picture. I'm guessing my mother was about 28 or 29 in this photograph.

10 lbs.Lost, 25 to Go!

182 lbs. on 11-14-09

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AoX9uU3swo45cEhIc1lpNVlUaVB5bU4ta3NPdEstR3c&hl=en

I'm excited that I lost that 10 lbs. Unfortunately, losing 7 lbs. this week was due to having strep throat and zero appetite. Excuse the tired expression on my face and the colorful hair accessories. I decided to use pipecleaners to curl my locs.