Kick my ass

Yesterday, I was chatting with the hubby on the way to NJ to celebrate my mom's birthday (which is actually Tuesday, but we couldn't take the day off to drive 2.5 hours to visit on the actual day). We were talking about what people do to loose weight - try to lose too much in too short a time, eliminate whole food groups, following unhealthy diets, or joining weight loss programs that don't teach you how to eat. These things all frustrate me. None of these options are healthy, none of these options will lead you to long-term weight loss. You will loose weight, stop doing whatever it is you did to loose it, then gain. It's not sustainable. It's a quick fix. While doing any of the above (or any number of other strange diets), you don't learn to make healthy choices, you don't learn WHY you overate, you don't learn how to KEEP the weight off.

Then I realized, I've been no better than people who do these things to loose weight. I've been complaining the last several weeks that I've gained or not lost as much as I wanted. I have blamed the scales. I have been frustrated and resorted to actions that I lead me to gain the weight in the first place, then go angry that I didn't loose what I wanted. I am not even half-way to my Oct. 8th goal of 12 pounds. I have been shy of 30 pounds for about 6 weeks. And I'm angry that EVERYTHING is keeping me from meeting this goal (and my other ones), but recognizing MY part in it. I have been eating worse than I should have on the weekends. I have had a hard time getting back into the groove come Sunday (which is my day to get back on program) and sometimes even Monday and Tuesday. I have slouched on my exercise. Last week I barely did 6 miles. Uhhh, really??? What's up with that? I should have done 16! Is it any wonder I'm not at my goal? Is it any wonder I'm gaining? No. I say it now. I have been keeping me from my goals. I have stopped being so careful come Sunday. I have stopped exercising like I should.

So, what does this mean? This means I'm kicking my ass back into gear. This means I'm exercising this week. This means I'm eating on plan this week. This means I'm drinking my water this week. I am re-committed. So, here are some stats:

* My Oct. 8th goal is 12 pounds. I am 6.8 pounds away from that. I have 25 days to get there. I will need to lose 2 pounds a week to reach that goal.

* My Dec. 31 goal is 22.8 pounds (from where I am now). I have 3 months and 18 days to reach it. I will need to lose 1.4 pounds a week to reach the 22.8 pound loss. This will be a 51.2 pound weight loss this year.

I commit to the following this week:

1) Running 3 days (including today) for a total of 12 miles.
2) Working out on non-running days with the Wii Fit/Active or bike.
3) Eating 20 points a day.
4) Drink 64 oz. water a day.

I weigh in on Friday. Here's to a loss!