Buh-Bye 300-ville

Image by seanwolter via Flickr

SO....it turns out I am horrible at creating regular blog posts. Life somehow gets the best of me and man does time go by fast!

The good news is that I have officially left the 300's and that feels so great! Here's what I have been up to over the last couple of months.


*Work has been non-stop craziness! Staff changes, deadlines, additional responsibilities....all have added to my stress level and have really forced me to practice healthy habits to compensate. Drinking more water, increasing exercise and trying to get at least 7 hours of sleep have really helped.

*Dealing with my grandmother's illness has been tough. My grandmother is fighting lung cancer and the whole family has been really upset and struggling with the news. She is doing pretty well despite that chemo/radiation is really tough on her. She inspires me on a regular basis!

*Discovered Leslie Sansone's Walk-at-Home series and really love it! I ordered several DVD's from Amazon so I have a great selection. I'm doing these on the mornings twice a week when I work from home.

*Taking our dog for evening walks. With the spring weather being so nice, we have been walking the neighborhood almost every evening. This has really helped the pain I was feeling in my hips. I noticed tonight that I wasn't feeling any pain and haven't for a couple of days.

*Focusing more on my spiritual life. Nothing like a family crisis to make you get on your knees more. I have been spending more time in prayer and that is always good.

I'm just trying to make healthy choices as often as possible. I can't wait to see the scale keep moving down. My current goal is to lose 12 lbs with a target date of May 10th.

This Week's Weigh-In

Today was my weigh-in day and ......drumroll, please.......

I lost 5.4 pounds this week!

I am so happy and excited about this loss. I have been extremely focused this week and have been making every effort to meet my calorie deficit. I had a deficit every day--even though sometimes it wasn't my goal deficit. I burned MORE calories then I consumed and it actually worked!

I am so pumped to work hard this week and continue to make progress. My current goal is to lose 5% of my body weight which is 15 pounds and I am 1/3 of the way there!

I have been thinking about the behavioral changes that I have started to implement in the last week that has contributed to my success this week.

* Planning meals for the week ahead of time and shopping for those meals (I did this on a Saturday). This week I mostly cooked from the "Getting Thin and Loving Food" Cookbook by Kathleen Daelmanns. Awesome book, btw.
*Logging my food on the Bodybugg site. This means also measuring/weighing my food--which is becoming less of a pain actually. I am so mindful of calories now. My hubby made a grilled cheese sandwich tonight and used 2 TBSP of butter! I told him that there were 200 calories of butter on his sandwich and he called me the calorie nazi! lol
* Making sure I packed my lunches and snacks for work days
*Only eating out for lunch one day a week (as compared with usually 5 days per week--I work downtown and there are of course MANY wonderful restaurants filled to the brim with temptations) As a bonus I have saved A LOT of dough. Ka-ching!
*Never going more then 4 hours without eating something
*Working my meals so that I have enough calories for one serving of ice cream a day--so I don't feel deprived and tempted to cheat. This has worked really well for me. It's the little things.
*I did 20 minutes of elliptical on the days I worked in the office (3 days) and the 2 days I worked from home I did a 20 minute cardio workout video. Saturday, hubby and I went to the gym and did strength training for a couple of hours. Sunday was a rest day.

Today I did go to lunch with a co-worker but I ordered a cup of soup and salad with balsamic dressing on the side. I did 20 minutes on the elliptical but later I also did about 20 minutes of DDR.

This week I plan to increase my cardio M-F by at least 10 minutes and we are planning to do another session of weights on Saturday. My cardio video also has a weight component with dumbbells, but it's minor. I really felt the weight session from Saturday. Hubby and I were both so sore both Sunday and Monday! I guess that's how we know we did something good though.

Today I am thankful....
...............for progress!

I'm back. Again.

I have been contemplating returning to my blog for a couple of weeks. I'm not completely sure why I have been avoiding it. I enjoy journaling, and I certainly enjoy reading other blogs. They inspire me, give me hope and help me press on.

I think a part of me has been a little uneasy about putting myself out there...everything...my deepest darkest...for the entire universe to see. I realize I have one follower. Thanks @Halving Hadley, by the way. But there is the possibility that someday, with a little luck and maybe some pixie dust, I could have two followers. :) And I don't know, it's just a little scary to be vulnerable in this way.

I need to get over that though, because this is helpful to me. And I have been working very hard. I got a Bodybugg for Christmas as a gift and it's made a huge difference. Just being able to see how many calories I am actually burning is incredibly empowering. I can clearly see the calorie deficit and KNOW I am making an impact. I am faithfully logging my calorie intake. I am trying to eat as clean as possible. Thank you, Super Target for all the great deals on produce lately. I keep a big water bottle at my desk to drink during the day. I've managed to cut out all the diet sodas and limit myself to just one daily. Did I mention I am drinking A LOT of water? I started doing a Leslie Sansone walk at home workout in the mornings and then elliptical after work for 20 mins for a total of 40 minutes daily. I am actually looking forward to my next weigh-in!

I am focusing on a 10% loss of my body weight. That is 30 lbs, which now that I see it in black and white, feels like too much. Let's pare that down to 15 lbs. Better. I'm also not going to commit to posting daily at this point. I want to post every couple of days for now. I can't believe it has been since October that I last posted. It doesn't feel like that long.

Oh, I almost forgot. I have completely avoided The Candy Jar. Score!

Today I'm thankful....
....that I am working from home tomorrow. Hello, pj's all day!!

California!

Image via Wikipedia

I don't think I have mentioned it in my blog, but my hubby is a musician. He's always been a musician, but currently, he is working musician. The band that he is playing with is doing very well and it looks like we will be going out to California in the spring for group of shows. Yes!!! I am SO excited. This is another motivating factor for me, because California means sun, sea, and beach appropriate clothing, ie....skin baring clothing. We are going to Northern CA and so the plan is to take an extended trip and visit Napa and San Fran. Love, love, love Northern CA. Hubby has never been so I am very excited to be able to see the sights with him.

I have been very focused this week. I realize it is only Wednesday, but I feel very good about my efforts this week. I have been very careful about my nutrition, being sure to track every morsel of food that hits my mouth and painstakingly count calories.(which I dislike, but realize I have to do it, otherwise I will eat mindlessly and rack up huge calorie numbers for the day). I had visited a nutritionist a few months ago and we figured out my calorie deficit target. I have been able to stay within my calorie target for the last three days (I consider this huge progress, for me) and I have worked out in the office gym twice. This means that I am hitting my calorie deficit. Yes!

I'm thankful.....today is Wednesday, which means I am half-way through the work week, The Office is on tomorrow, and Friday night is my pumpkin carving party!

Back from a break

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I hadn't realized that it's been so long since I last blogged. Time flies when you're having fun, I suppose. My hubby said that all of my followers would be wondering what happened to me. Ha, all one of you. (But yay for one follower!)

Well, I've been on vacation for most of the time. Actually, a staycation. I took about a week off from work and it was fantastic! I feel rested and ready to roll. Hubby and I celebrated our 5th anniversary of marriage and had a lovely time celebrating. I haven't been super careful about my nutrition though, so it's time to get back on track. I started tracking my food again today and I'm back to counting calories (which I hate), but it's necessary because calories have a way of sneaking up on me. I also got back into the gym today and will start strength training as well as doing the standard cardio routine.

It's good to be back!

Today, I'm thankful for ...

my sweet hubby
a steady job
that my parents made it to NY safely today

It's Oh So Quiet

Image by Cellach via Flickr

Ahhh....finally winding down after another busy day. Work is seriously kicking my butt this week. I am covering for a colleague who is currently enjoying a Mediterranean cruise. Sigh. But, it's hump day, so the weekend is approaching along with a much needed break.

I had church after work tonight so I was not able to do cardio, but plan to after work tomorrow. I've got my gym bag packed already and waiting to go in the car in the morning. Now, I think I am off to bed. So sleepy!

Today, I am thankful for....

..... my sweet hubby and a nice comfy bed (similar to this one) to climb into in approximately 5.2 minutes. :)

feelin' guilty

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Had a rough day.....work was crazy. I hadn't really craved The Candy Jar, but I did give in today and grabbed some chocolate out of the jar. I immediately felt guilty. Not because I had chocolate, because I don't really believe in completely depriving myself. One or two little pieces would have been acceptable. Unfortunately, I grabbed more like 10 pieces and devoured them. Boy, they were good. The steaming hot bowl of guilt that accompanied the chocolate was less than pleasant. I had also fully intended to work out tonight before leaving The Office, however I ended up working until almost 9pm and by that time all I really wanted to do was go home. So I did. Other than the candy, I stuck with my eating plan and did really good. Hopefully, it will all balance out.

I arrived home and ate a bit of dinner (roast beef) and settled in to watch Melrose Place on DVR. Starting to feel a little better now.

Today, I am thankful for....

....my DVR. (What? That's the best I can do right now.)