Weekend

Aaah the weekend...the ones I think I did crappy, I end up losing weight. The ones I feel like I should have lost weight, I don't. This was one of the latter....I got in some exercise and even a 1.3 mile jog outside, but I still stayed even with what I was a week ago today. I didn't eat too much, I think it is more likely that I could have eaten too little due to the fact that my stomach was a little
"off" much of the weekend. Or who knows, maybe my body just randomly wants to be stuck at 28 lbs for a bit? Make it nice and hard for me to get that 30 mark?

Grrr. It sucks but I will get over it and hope the week goes well. My overtime is almost over and when it is, my core schedule will be 6-2:30. I plan to make an "appointment" to exercise for certain days of the week. It will be an appointment I cannot cancel or reschedule. Hopefully the extra time, exercise, and probably sleep will help me lose a little more weight.

Jogging

Last night I set out on the treadmill intending to run/jog a whole 1.5 miles. I had already done 1 mile a handful of times previously, but adding another .5 seemed like a long jump to make! I was thinking I might not make it, and starting to aim for 1.25. But then I hit 1.25 and I was like, well wtf, it's only another .25...might as well do it. So I did. And then I even walked another .5 to make my total distance 2 miles for the night. Between the jogging and walking, I covered my 2 miles in almost exactly 27 minutes. That would put me on pace for a 40-41 minutes 5k in June, which makes me happy because at this point I still have 2 months to improve. I'm thinking I will aim for a 36 minute 5k...we shall see how that works out :-)

Good news- my knee is still feeling just fine, and I am so thankful for that!!

And finally, I was thinking...one of these days I am going to go through my blog history and collect all the data to make a weight loss chart. And of course, once I have the chart, I will continue to keep it updated. Other than a mess of blog entries, I have not tracked dates/weight losses at all. I need to start doing that.

Now I am off to tackle my longest day of the week, Thursday. I work 6 am to 10 pm on Thursdays (with the exception of two 15 minute breaks, a 30 minute lunch break, and a 30 minute break at 4:30 so that I can drive home and get ready to work from home for 5 more hours).

Adios!

Diet vs. Exercise

So in my last blog (you know, where I announced that I had kicked the 2's for good), I mentioned that it seems like (at least for me) diet is a bigger factor in weight-loss than exercise. I can definitely lose weight even with minimal exercise, as long as I have eaten well. This means good portion sizes (not too big, and also not to0 small), not a lot of excess sugar/bad carbs, and trying to make my day well rounded. It goes the other way too. I can exercise my ass off, and feel so good about it - but if I ate like crap, it won't matter one bit.

It is an ongoing struggle, and I still have not nailed down exactly how I should be "eating right". I am just guessing, to be honest. I struggle with eating too much. I have struggled with eating too little. Too many carbs. Not enough veggies. Not enough protein. It is always something, and I feel like it is a constant juggling act trying to get it balanced right. So far it is going well, obviously, but that sure doesn't mean it is easy or even that I know what I am doing! Plenty of people have said wow, you are losing it so fast...but then, I also have 2 or 3 or 4 times the amount of weight to lose as they do, so yes of course it is coming off faster...for now.

So now that I declared my opinion and struggles with diet...what about exercise?
I still think it is important. I cannot wait to be able to say I ran (okay it will probably be more like slowly jogged) a 5k. And exercise has definitely been an important tool in my weight loss to date. Best of all...I can now jog a whole mile at a time on the treadmill without dying! And I LOVE the feeling of being all sweaty and gross, knowing you just kicked your own ass working out. I like feeling accomplished, and I like knowing that just 3 months ago, I could barely run 20 seconds let alone 12 or 13 minutes straight. Even better is knowing that this is just the beginning. I am still a novice, and I fully intend to keep improving my stamina and speed. Best of all is that I have now come too far to let it all slip away. Even when I was 30 lbs lighter than I am now (when I got married), there was still no way I was able to run a mile. So it makes me happy to see how far I've come, and excited for how far I might be able to go.

I would like to end with a little statistic for you...I started this weight loss blog and my official journey on January 12th, 2011. Today is April 19th, so it has been roughly about 13 weeks. I have lost 28 lbs. That means my weight loss has been averaging 2.15 lbs per week since I started. Not bad....fast enough to keep me happy, yet I think it is a fairly healthy pace?

Now I have my sights set on 30 :-)

I'm WHAT??

Pretty sure these two words were what came time to mind while I weighed in at 4:50 am this morning. "I'm WHAT?!"

Yes that's right. I'm 199.

28 POUNDS and counting. And do you know what? As this process goes one, I am coming to realize more and more that weight loss is a majority about diet, at least for me. Exercise plays a roll, yes. And it is good for you of course! I want to be healthy and fit, and definitely won't be giving up the exercise any time soon. However I notice that no matter how much I exercise, if I don't eat right I won't lose weight. Likewise...I can lighten up on the exercise and still lose weight as long as I'm eating smart. Not to say I don't eat crap now and then - as a matter of fact, Friday night was marked by whole grain tortilla chips and spinach dip. The chips may be whole grain (and delicious, let me tell you), but the salt! Oh my, the salt! The next morning the scale said I "gained" 2.2 lbs! Obviously that was mostly water weight, but it was still unnerving to see the +2.2 nonetheless.

But this morning! I weight in and it was -3.1! Now THAT is something nice to see! Granted, 2 of that was what I had "gained" on Friday night, but that still comes to a net loss of 1 lb.

And I would like to point out that I have not been this weight since I was pregnant with Kaitlyn probably 4.5 years ago at least. I gained a LOT in that pregnancy, and so everything that I just lost the last few months, could technically all be considered "baby weight". It only took 4+ years to lose...haha

Just DO it!

This is kinda cool - and so true! It would be a good thing to remember for myself or anybody who might feel like they aren't doing enough, going fast enough, going long enough...

Whooosh

Whooosh is the sound of another couple pounds dropping. My total is 27 now!

What is my current weight? Not that I like to announce it to the world but if I'm gonna be truthful and accountable, maybe I should. I can't remember if I really have said my weight yet, but if not, now is the time since I am on the brink of a major milestone.

So yeah, I am now 200 lbs even. One more pound...ONE MORE....and I will be out of the 2's. Never to be seen again. If you look at my ticker, I now have 50 lbs more to lose (and of course, I've said before, when I hit that I will re-evaluate and I am sure end up choosing to lose a bit more, but we shall see).

Now is NOT the time to get stuck so I hope I can drop at least one pound this week! I have short week planned for work, at 60 hours, so maybe I can fit in a run or two on the treadmill. I have been sick so I really haven't done any exercise for almost a week now. I need to get back into the groove.

Monday Monday, I hate that day....

I'm just starting out the week on a very uneasy note. I was moved from one team/supervisor to another as a part of a big reorganization, and today is the day it takes official effect. It's fine, I just really liked where I was. I really liked my supervisor, and I feel like now I have to start all over again proving myself and showing off my potential. It is what it is, and in the grand scheme of things it is no big deal. I also have a coworker who's twin sister's 26 year old husband died in a car accident on Friday, so I am feeling very sad about that and I know the atmosphere around work will be pretty quiet. It also makes me feel very lucky that my biggest problem on Friday was being moved to a new team. I just can't even imagine!

Anyhow the weekend was good. I didn't eat the greatest, but I did get in a jog on Saturday...my very first jog outdoors ever in my 28.9 years of life. It went well....I walked a little and jogged a lot... probably when all was said and done, I jogged a total of a mile which it sure did not feel like! A mile is nothing to some people I realize, but it was huge to me. I hope to keep improving. I also realized that once I get past the difference of a treadmill and actual outdoor ground, I can jog just fine outside. That makes me happy, because it reduces my worry about the 5k in June.

I weighed in this morning and "gained" less than a pound. I am glad for that, because that amount could be due to many reasons and is probably mostly just a part of normal daily fluctuation.

This week I hope I lose a few pounds. I really, really hope. I will work hard. Or as hard as I can...its another 70+ hour work week for me!

Happy Friday!

Every week that goes by is one week closer to all of this overtime being over with. While I will miss my paychecks, it will be nice to have time and it will be nice to not have to get up at 4 am to work out!

And that is what I did this morning....got up at 3:55 so that I'd have time to work out, get ready for work, and just in case it snowed so that I'd have time to sweep off my vehicle. I wasn't feeling it as much today as I do some days, but I still forced myself to do it for at least a little bit. I weighed in and lost another .03. So it won't take much more to call it a 26 lbs. I can't wait...soon I will hit 30 lbs which will feel amazing. But then, each "mark" feels more amazing than the last!

Talking about getting up so early brings to mind a comment that a close friend of mine made yesterday..."You are making in look so easy". I responded with Thank you, but that it is anything but easy. Yes, the weight is coming off at a decent rate overall, but I make a lot of sacrifice and do a lot of tough prioritizing. It is most definitely not easy. I certainly don't like to get up at 4 am (especially knowing that I work 6 am to 10 pm, which is often the case), but it is what I have to do. And once I get going, it's fine and I feel great. But I dread hearing that alarm go off, and I almost always contemplate hitting snooze a few times. Who wants to get out of a nice warm comfy bed at 4 am to work out in a cold, gray basement?
But I do it, and before I know it I am working up a sweat (definitely no concerns about the cold!) and bee-boppin along to Pandora on my iphone. I LOVE to sweat, and the more the better. It makes me feel like I might be accomplishing something! So anyways, that is just one example why it is not easy, but I force myself to do it. I know that in the end, it will pay off. And it has so far, but I have a long ways to go.

This weekend we have some plans and I know I might not be easting as good as I do during the week. Even though I have had times where the scale as pleasantly surprised me after a weekend of eating not-so-great, I would rather not get my hopes up this time. I will just try to do the best I can while still having fun and participating, but maybe try to get some exercise in as well. I am thinking treadmill and maybe even try a run outside for the first time. I will let you know how that goes!

Have a great weekend!