Again

See all those photos? They have one thing in common. I like how I look in them. They are from all different events:

1st row-L: Tim McGraw concert in Philly 2012 (I think!)
1st row-R: Day after the AC Half Marathon 2012
2nd row-R: Betty Page dress in Las Vegas 2012
2nd row-L: Baltimore Women's Classic 2012
3rd row-R: Sasquatch 5k trail run 2012
3rd row-L: Jamaica 2011
4th row-R: Harrah's pool Las Vegas 2012
4th row-L: York Fair 2012
Right: Phillies game 2012

See a pattern? All photos from 2012, except the 2011 Jamaica photo, but close enough. ;-) I was about 30 pounds less and actually surprised when I saw myself in photos. I couldn't see I looked good in person, but I could see it in a photo.

Since then I've gained a ton of weight and I'm not happy. I've got my sights set on loosing it and looking as good as I did then or better. I want to be happy with myself and I know how I look will go a long way to getting me there. Seeing these photos helps me "see" what I'll look like when I reach my goal. Very helpful.

How about you? Do you have a goal for losing weight? Do you feel happy with how you look?


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40 Pound Challenge: Week 2

Week 2 of the challenge down! There was a bit of improvement this week, but the weekend was not as good as I hoped (well, in terms of yummy food, it was great! In terms of being on track, it wasn't the best). There is room for improvement there.

As a reminder, here are my daily goals:

increase my protein levels (approximately 79 g per day) 

eat approximately 1500 cals per day 

work out 3-4 days a week

 

Day 8/June 18, 2013

* Under calories (-117)
* Under protein (-8)
* No workout - just bailed, should have been lifting & 30 minute cardio


Day 9/June 19, 2013
* Under calories (-165)
* Under protein (-38)
* 30 minute TRX (250 cals/approximate)
* 30 minute stationary bike (6.3 miles/300 cals approximate)

Day 10/June 20, 2013
* Ate well for breakfast and lunch. Went out to dinner and the healthy option wasn't available. Ate worse than I wanted to.
* Met out-of-town friends for dinner, no workout

Day 11/June 21, 2013
* Ate well until dinner, then rather than eating in went out
* No exercise

Day 11/June 22, 2013
* Breakfast was ok, but dinner was awful (The Cheesecake Factory)
* No workout (intentional, 5k Sunday morning)

Day 12/June 23, 2013
* Ate a large brunch, then dinner was on track
* Ran the Baltimore Women's Classic 5k

Day 13/June 24, 2013
* Under calories (-228)
* Under protein (-51 - ate a very vegetarian dinner, very little protein)
* 30 minutes of TRX (250 cals/approximate)
* 35 minutes stationary bike (8 miles/477 cals approximately)

For the week that means (somehow) I am down 1.4 pounds this week. Not sure how that happened, but I'll take it. I would like to say I'm disappointed I didn't reach my goal of the next 10 pound range, but while I kinda am, I know I didn't do what I needed to so to get there. It's my own fault. I ate a few too many nights out, skipped a few too many workouts.

This week I'm going to set goals. I didn't do that last week. Maybe this will help keep me on track.

1.  KEEP FOOD/EXERCISE JOURNAL EVERY DAY
2. Be at 1500 calories 6 out of 7 days.
3. Reach 79 g of protein 2 out of 7 days. (In two weeks, I've done this once)
4. Workout 4 out of 7 days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Monday)
5. Reach the next 10 pound weight range.

There you have it. I'm down a total of 4.2 pounds in 2 weeks. Had hoped for just a tiny bit more, but I'm still down. I'll be happy with that. I'm a tad bit behind schedule (I wanted to be 6 pounds down by now), but the being down rather than up should be more important. Maybe I won't completely hit 40 pounds by Nov. 11th, but I will be down and that's what matters.

Here's to a successful Week 3!
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40 Pound Challenge: Week 1

Week 1 of the 40 Pound Challenge is done. It was not pretty. It did not go the way I had hoped. I had more off days than on. I got frustrated and ate. Week 1 did not kick off my 40 pound challenge the way I had hoped.

But, week 1 is in the books. My goals are:

increase my protein levels (approximately 79 g per day) 

eat approximately 1500 cals per day 

work out 3-4 days a week

Day 1/June 11:
* Calories were just a tad over (+18 cals)
* Proteins were just a tad under (-16 g)
* No workout
* Grocery store for healthy food

Day 2/June 12:
* Calories just a tad bit under (-85)
* Proteins just a tad bit under (-19)
* 30 minutes TRX/30 minutes stationary bike

Day 3/June 13:
* Started out well, ate on plan for breakfast and lunch
* Ate awful when I arrived home - animal crackers, nuts, pretzels, pizza
* No workout

Day 4/June 14:
* Ate healthy at breakfast and lunch
* Out to eat for dinner and splurged (on plan)
* Dessert (ate the whole thing though meant to only eat half)
* No workout

Day 5/June 15:
* Ate two meals as usual
* Went to the Farmer's Market and picked up cherries, pumpkin butter, real maple syrup, & strawberries
* Ate dinner at the ball park where overall not bad, just one too many beers
* No workout (which was not on plan. Had planned to workout)

Day 6/June 16:
* Overate completely
* No workout
* Stress ate

Day 7/June 17
* Calories just a tad bit over (+134)
* Proteins (finally!) over (+12)
* 30 min TRX/30 min stationary bike

What does all that mean? It means a 2.8 pound loss this week. The goal was 4 pounds, but almost 3 pounds is pretty good. The next "big" goal is to reach the next 10 pound range. Just 1.8 pounds away from that. I could reach that next week. Especially if I do a better job of staying on track.

So, here's to Week 2 of the 40 Pound Challenge! Let's hope I can stay on plan a few more days than week 1 and reach the next 10 pound range!

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My 40 pound challenge

My dad and I in April 1980. Wasn't I adorable?

I've been giving a lot of thought the past week or two about my diet. I have been eating atrociously and honestly, I'm not happy with what I look like. My pants are tight. My shirts don't look right. With the summer coming on quickly, I don't know how many of my capris are going to fit. This does not make me happy.

Last week, I was thinking about this. I was trying to find the motivation to get my butt in gear and start to eat healthy. What will finally move me to do what I know how to do and what I know I should do? And then I thought of my dad randomly. It happens frequently, something will trigger a memory and I think of him. And that's when I knew. I knew what would move me from the "I want to" stage to the "I WILL" stage. I want to make my dad proud. Sure, he's been gone for almost 25 years (this will come into play shortly), but you know what? I believe he's still here. Not physically, but I believe his spirit is still here looking out for me when it's important.

So I decided I am going to lose the 40 pounds I need to lose to make my dad proud. It will be 25 years since he passed away this coming Nov. 11th (5 months from today) and my goal is to lose those 40 pounds (or pretty close to it) by then. It's a pretty aggressive goal for me (2 pounds a week), but it's doable.

See, I've always been overweight. I think I was normal sized until I was about 3, from there on out photos are of a chubby little girl. I was told multiple times by my pediatrician that I would grow out of it as I grew. I would get taller and would thin out. That never happened. I am a statuesque 5'4 3/4" tall. Not too many places for that extra fat to go on such a short frame.

In that time frame, I learned unhealthy habits. Fruits and vegetables weren't top priority, nor was healthy eating. Until my dad died, we did have homemade meals. Dad was a cook in the Coast Guard, so he made some yummy food...but it wasn't healthy. Neither of my parents ate healthy, so my snacks weren't healthy either. And sadly, since my dad was very sick and spent a good amount of time in the hospital so many meals were on the run.

So, I want to get healthy NOW for all the years I wasn't and to make my dad proud. He loved me unconditionally, but I know he wished I was healthy. I want to honor his memory by finally getting healthy and being healthy by the time the November 11th anniversary comes. 

I ask now for as much support as you can possibly give. I can't do this on my own. Having my friends behind me will keep my motivation up when I struggle because I know I will.


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The Next Couple Months

I've made some goals for the next 10 weeks.  Why 10 weeks?  Well, I have 10 sessions with my personal trainer that go through the end of June.  My fencing class also goes through the end of June.  So, it seems like the end of June seems to be a great time frame to aim for and see what I can do.

The main goal?  Weight.  My goal is to lose 13 pounds.  That's it.  13 pounds.  I believe it's doable by the last day of June.  How I am going to do it?

Personal trainer sessions once a week

Running

Cardio Kickboxing classes

Fencing

Biking

Racquetball

Weight Watchers

Keep me accountable people.  Those last pounds have been hard to get off.  I've been struggling for two months to stay on plan and lose and failing.  I'm sooooo close to finally hitting that goal.  It's within reach.  There will be multiple updates.  I have waited a long time for this - 36 years to be exact.  I can do it.

New Year's Resolutions - Lose 20 pounds

Well, it's been a few days since I posted my initial thoughts on New Year's resolutions and while I'm not completely set, this resolution is set.  I had a good 2011 with a 20 pound loss.  I had hoped to reach my ultimate weight goal by the end of the year, but it was not to be.  But this year?  Yup.  It's meant to be.

My goal is to lose the last 20 pounds.  I'll be honest, I would love to lose 30, but I really want to reach 20 pounds this year.  When I lose these 20 pounds, I will re-assess.  I may hit my 20 pound goal and be completely happy with it and not care about those other 10 pounds.  If so, fabulous!  But, if at that re-assessment I think another 5-10 pounds would be good, then I'm going for it. 

I have confidence that I can reach my 20 pound goal this year being I lost 20 last year.  Sure, I could have focused more and lost more, but it is what it is and I'm happy with those 20 pounds.  No sense in spending time regretting what I didn't do.  I'm going to focus on being happy with losing those 20 and building on that.  20 pounds in a year is totally doable.  No reason I can't reach my goal weight this year. 

I'm still working out how I'm going to do it, but here are my tentative thoughts:

1. Continue using Weight Watchers Points program (not PointsPlus).  I've had good success with this and see no reason to try something new.  Go with what works.  I've lost a total of 55 pounds since 1999 almost all of it with WW.  Why change?

2. Run.  That seems obvious if you've been following along for any length of time, but sometimes I get in a funk and don't run for weeks.  I need to focus on continuing my running routine even when I don't feel like doing it.  Last year I had two months where I ran a total of 5 miles the whole month.  Uhhh...yea.  Gotta work on that.

3. Gym membership?  Considering joining the YMCA.  I have always said you do not need a gym membership to lose weight.  You can do it with what you have at home or what you can do on your own.  And I stand by that.  But, I'm having some motivational issues and thinking a Y membership might help me get moving.  There are some good classes being offered, they have a pool, and more cardio equipment than I have access to at home.  And the one thing that I think would help is the Y is a 5 minute walk from work.  There would be no excuse for not doing my weekday runs.  Still debating this.  Though I may be leaning more towards it than away.

4. Water. I really need to up my water in-take.  When I started at the Archives I was unable to keep a water bottle at my desk.  I think I can now, so I need to up the water intake this year.  Sadly, it doesn't help keep me full (like people always say it does), but I if I'm going to focus on my running and a possible gym membership I need to say hydrated.

As the year goes on, I'm sure I'll find new ways to help myself reach my 20 pound goal, but for now those are my action items.  It's possible I could reach my goal by summer.  What a great way to greet the season of shorts and tank tops!