Here we go again

I had a really good start to my 40 pound challenge. In 3 weeks, I was down 7 pounds. I was happy, a little behind schedule but happy. Then I had a bunch of things happen one right after another that threw me emotionally and I got off track. I knew what I was doing to myself, but I couldn't stop.

Friday, I got on the scale anticipating a really bad number. It wasn't a good one, about a 6 pound gain. I knew it was coming and honestly felt it would be worse. I was surprised at how low the weight was on the scale.

What does this mean? Does it mean I've given up? Does it mean I'm just going to stay where I am? Does it mean I'm going to continue on the way I have been? No. I'm going back to the habits that I had started using that brought about weight loss.

I will not reach my 40 pound goal by Nov. 11th. I am saddened by this, but because of that challenge I'm not going to give up. I am going to go back to my healthy habits and do my best to lose what I can by then. I may not be able to reach 40 pounds by Nov. 11th, but I can lose something.

I don't want to give in. I want to succeed and that's what I plan on doing!

Have you ever been thrown off track with your diet or exercise? What steps did you take to right the train?

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40 Pound Challenge Week 4

Do you know your habits? Do you know what you revert to over time? Sometimes that 21 days to instill a habit cannot compete against YEARS of habit. And that is how week 4 went with me. I reverted back to old habits. I didn't stick to the great habits I was developing in week 2 and 3. And it showed this week on the scale. :-(

Here are my overall weekly goals:

increase my protein levels (approximately 79 g per day) 

eat approximately 1500 cals per day 

work out 3-4 days a week

 

Day 21/July 2, 2013

* Under in calories (-145)

* Over in protein (+10)

* 60 minutes on stationary bike

Day 22/July 3, 2013

* Did not count, surely over

* Did not count, surely under

* Missed workout because I forgot to pack pants for the gym

Day 23/July 4, 2013

* I did fine at the picnic I went too, it was the drive to and from that I did poorly (drive was 5 hours total)

* No workout

Day 24/July 5, 2013

* Planned cheat day

* No workout

Day 25/July 6, 2013

* Did not count, not perfect, but closer

* No workout

Day 26/July 7, 2013

* Under by about 100 calories

* At protein requirements (79)

* 30 minutes TRX

* 35 minutes treadmill, inclines

And last week's goals?

1.  KEEP FOOD/EXERCISE JOURNAL EVERY DAY Nope. Not even close. Two days total.

2. Be at 1500 calories 6 out of 7 days. Two days. The days I tracked.

3. Reach 70 g of protein 3 days out of 7 days I got 2 out of 3 days. Not bad considering the two days were actually over that.

4. Workout 4 out of 7 days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Monday) I managed Tuesday and Monday. I would have gotten Wednesday if I hadn't forgotten my workout pants...

5. Lose weight. Nope. Sad.

Rather than losing this week, I gained. I knew it was coming. This week I am up 2 pounds from last week. I'm happy it's not more, which I honestly anticipated it would be. I can come back from this. I will not allow week 4 to drag into week 5, week 6, week 7, etc. One bad week does not define my challenge! Onward and downward!

 

Goals for this coming week:

 

1.  KEEP FOOD/EXERCISE JOURNAL EVERY DAY

2. Be at 1500 calories 6 out of 7 days.

3. Reach 70 g of protein 3 days out of 7 days

4. Workout 4 our of 7 days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Monday)

5. Lose weight.

 

Might as well go for the same ones from last week since I didn't reach them. This week I will reach them!

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40 Pound Challenge Week 3

Here we are at week 3 of my 40 pound challenge! Wow. In general, I had a good week. I was did my best to stick to my weekly goals, I know I wasn't 100% successful, but I sure did better than I had been. Apparently, just having those goals written down helped. Learn something new. :-) Here are the weekly goals overall:

increase my protein levels (approximately 79 g per day) 

eat approximately 1500 cals per day 

work out 3-4 days a week

 Day 14/ June 25, 2013

* Just under in calories (-175)

* Just under in protein (-8)

* Upper body workout

* 35 minute stationary bike (7.5 miles): 477 calories

Day 15/June 26, 2013

* Just under in calories (-158)

* Under in protein (-21)

* 30 minute TRX: 250 calories

* 30 minute stationary bike (6.3 miles): 450 calories

Day 16/June 27, 2013

* Over in calories (+330)

* Under in protein (-20)

* No workout

Day 17/June 28, 2013

* Over in calories (+761)

* Unsure of protein 

* No workout

Day 18/June 29, 2013

* Official splurge day

* 30 minute upper body workout

* 60 minute stationary bike

Day 19/June 30, 2013

* Unsure of calories, but believe approximately within calories (went out to eat last minute)

* Unsure of protein

* 2.5 mile run

Day 20/July 1, 2013

* Just under in calories (-17)

* Under in protein (-22)

* 30 minute TRX: 250

* 35 minute stationary bike (7.6  miles): 477

This morning got on the scale and somehow I was down...by quite a bit. This week, down by 3, for a total of 7.2. That's more than I anticipated. I suppose keeping track of what I ate, even if I didn't stay completely on track was helpful. Amazing. So, did I follow-through on my weekly goals?

1.  KEEP FOOD/EXERCISE JOURNAL EVERY DAY - Yes, even if I didn't know the calories I still wrote everything down. I could at least do that.

2. Be at 1500 calories 6 out of 7 days. - No. There were two days I was over. Though I was under a few days, so maybe that's what evened things out overall?

3. Reach 79 g of protein 2 out of 7 days. (In two weeks, I've done this once) - Only close once. Seriously. This is frustrating. Do I need to eat a can of tuna every day???

4. Workout 4 out of 7 days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Monday) - Success! I actually worked out 5 days rather than 4. Go me! Pretty happy about that.

5. Reach the next 10 pound weight range. - Woot! Made it! Very excited about this! Now to get to the next 10 pound range! (Don't worry, I know it won't be next week. But, positive thinking, right?)

Since those weekly goals worked so well, let's do them again! :-)

1.  KEEP FOOD/EXERCISE JOURNAL EVERY DAY

2. Be at 1500 calories 6 out of 7 days.

3. Reach 70 g of protein 3 days out of 7 days

4. Workout 4 our of 7 days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Monday)

5. Lose weight.

Alright. I had a great week in Week 3. Hoping Week 4 is just as great!!

 

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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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