I'm not into posting more than once on a given day, BUT I noticed that today is exactly ONE MONTH from my birthday!
BIRTHDAY GOAL: 7 pounds to put me down in the next scale decade. :) A difficult goal, yes... but also a doable one.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnddddd GO!
Thursday, September 20, 2012
scale shenanigans
Dear Scale,
I would love to say that your behavior this morning was entirely your fault, but
you and I have had a relationship long enough (and consistent enough) that I know I cannot blame it solely on you.
While I would love to believe I did everything perfectly this past week, if I look back at what I did and what I ate, I can see things I can improve for the coming week which will make our interactions have a much more positive outcome.
That being said, I'm not taking all the blame for what happened between us this morning. I am acutely aware that I can't trust what you tell me the day after I eat anything with tomato sauce, and given that I had a slice of pizza for lunch yesterday, I know I can only take what you said today with a grain of salt. So I am going to forgive you for your antics this morning.
I still plan to see you again next week. I know you will continue to provide feedback on my weight loss journey, and since I know we are going to be friends for a long time, I'm giving you a pass this week for your behavior. I promise I will also work to improve mine.
No hard feelings. We'll be back to normal next time, I'm sure.
With Love,
Me
I would love to say that your behavior this morning was entirely your fault, but
you and I have had a relationship long enough (and consistent enough) that I know I cannot blame it solely on you.
While I would love to believe I did everything perfectly this past week, if I look back at what I did and what I ate, I can see things I can improve for the coming week which will make our interactions have a much more positive outcome.
That being said, I'm not taking all the blame for what happened between us this morning. I am acutely aware that I can't trust what you tell me the day after I eat anything with tomato sauce, and given that I had a slice of pizza for lunch yesterday, I know I can only take what you said today with a grain of salt. So I am going to forgive you for your antics this morning.
I still plan to see you again next week. I know you will continue to provide feedback on my weight loss journey, and since I know we are going to be friends for a long time, I'm giving you a pass this week for your behavior. I promise I will also work to improve mine.
No hard feelings. We'll be back to normal next time, I'm sure.
With Love,
Me
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
a GOAL without a PLAN is just a WISH
The title is one of my favorite mantras. If you want to be successful (at anything, not just weight loss) you need to have a plan on how you will get there.
My goal is to lose 20 pounds (now 16) by the end of this year.
What will I do in order to meet my goal?
I am an active member of Weight Watchers and I will use that program to help me get there.
Now that's a good start on an overall plan, but it's still pretty general as far as plans go. So let's break it down. Good plans are specific. I like to answer these questions at the beginning of a week:
1) What will I do this week to meet my goal?
I will make sure to track everything I eat and stay within my allotted points, and I'll work out to get some extra points.
This is a good start and a good way of reminding myself regularly of what I need to be doing overall, but I still feel I need to be more specific, which is the purpose of the following questions.
2) Do I have healthy snacks and staples on hand in my house and at work?
If yes, good! If no, make a list of what you need and go to the grocery store to stock up.
This one is key. You have to keep the good stuff around. Carrots, apples, bananas, fresh veggies, frozen veggies, lean meat (chicken, pork), Babybel Lights, greek yogurt, berries. If you have the good stuff to reach for, it's easy to quash your hunger in a way that helps you, rather than reaching for pretzels, cereal, beef jerky or whatever is in the candy dish at the reception desk. Stock up on the good stuff!
3) What is my workout schedule going to be this week?
I will lift weights Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. I will run Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Saturday will be my day off. I may also go to dance class on Monday night. All workouts are at night this week, after work.
Nice! This is specific and includes the TIME for workouts. Mapping out obstacles (dinner at Boss's house, etc.) also allows you to plan for when you can get your workouts in. Which brings me to the next question:
4) Do I have any obstacles coming this week that will be difficult - a party, a work lunch, a trip out of town, etc.?
If yes, plan that day, leaving lots of "free" room for the event. Party in the evening? Have a healthy breakfast and healthy lunch, get a good workout in, and snack on lots of veggies before the party. If no obstacles for the week, pick a day that will be my free day, OR let the week play out knowing I have ONE free day.
Life happens, so an impromptu happy hour may kind of derail you, but let it derail you just for that day and move your schedule around to make it work. You want to lose weight for good, so you have to figure out how to work "staying healthy" in with your life. Go to dinner with your boss, just move the workout to the morning that day, eat well all day, etc. Keep the overall plan in tact, even if you have to move the pieces around.
And finally... you have to have a consistent way of measuring your progress. My method is Weight Watcher meetings. So my last weekly planning question is:
5) Will I be at my Weight Watcher meeting this week - or do I need to find another one to attend?
This may not apply to you, but it applies to me. I have to weigh in and be present at a meeting to get my bearings on a regular basis. Whatever you choose to do to measure your progress, stick to it and measure, even on the weeks you don't want to. ESPECIALLY on the weeks you don't want to!
So you have your general plan, then your more specific plan, and if you really need it you can make a daily plan (I do that, too). My plans are specific, but not totally rigid. But if I don't have a plan, well, I'm just WISHING the weight will come off, and we know how well that goes.
So make a plan, stick to the plan and GET TO YOUR GOAL! :)
My goal is to lose 20 pounds (now 16) by the end of this year.
What will I do in order to meet my goal?
I am an active member of Weight Watchers and I will use that program to help me get there.
Now that's a good start on an overall plan, but it's still pretty general as far as plans go. So let's break it down. Good plans are specific. I like to answer these questions at the beginning of a week:
1) What will I do this week to meet my goal?
I will make sure to track everything I eat and stay within my allotted points, and I'll work out to get some extra points.
This is a good start and a good way of reminding myself regularly of what I need to be doing overall, but I still feel I need to be more specific, which is the purpose of the following questions.
2) Do I have healthy snacks and staples on hand in my house and at work?
If yes, good! If no, make a list of what you need and go to the grocery store to stock up.
This one is key. You have to keep the good stuff around. Carrots, apples, bananas, fresh veggies, frozen veggies, lean meat (chicken, pork), Babybel Lights, greek yogurt, berries. If you have the good stuff to reach for, it's easy to quash your hunger in a way that helps you, rather than reaching for pretzels, cereal, beef jerky or whatever is in the candy dish at the reception desk. Stock up on the good stuff!
3) What is my workout schedule going to be this week?
I will lift weights Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. I will run Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Saturday will be my day off. I may also go to dance class on Monday night. All workouts are at night this week, after work.
Nice! This is specific and includes the TIME for workouts. Mapping out obstacles (dinner at Boss's house, etc.) also allows you to plan for when you can get your workouts in. Which brings me to the next question:
4) Do I have any obstacles coming this week that will be difficult - a party, a work lunch, a trip out of town, etc.?
If yes, plan that day, leaving lots of "free" room for the event. Party in the evening? Have a healthy breakfast and healthy lunch, get a good workout in, and snack on lots of veggies before the party. If no obstacles for the week, pick a day that will be my free day, OR let the week play out knowing I have ONE free day.
Life happens, so an impromptu happy hour may kind of derail you, but let it derail you just for that day and move your schedule around to make it work. You want to lose weight for good, so you have to figure out how to work "staying healthy" in with your life. Go to dinner with your boss, just move the workout to the morning that day, eat well all day, etc. Keep the overall plan in tact, even if you have to move the pieces around.
And finally... you have to have a consistent way of measuring your progress. My method is Weight Watcher meetings. So my last weekly planning question is:
5) Will I be at my Weight Watcher meeting this week - or do I need to find another one to attend?
This may not apply to you, but it applies to me. I have to weigh in and be present at a meeting to get my bearings on a regular basis. Whatever you choose to do to measure your progress, stick to it and measure, even on the weeks you don't want to. ESPECIALLY on the weeks you don't want to!
So you have your general plan, then your more specific plan, and if you really need it you can make a daily plan (I do that, too). My plans are specific, but not totally rigid. But if I don't have a plan, well, I'm just WISHING the weight will come off, and we know how well that goes.
So make a plan, stick to the plan and GET TO YOUR GOAL! :)
Thursday, September 13, 2012
sixteen to go
What worked? I wrote down everything I ate. I only had 1/2 of ONE day of the week where I didn't pay attention and track it, that was DH's birthday party. BUT... I assumed I used up all my "extra" points and calories that night, so stayed very strict with my limits on the other days of the week.
Also on DH's birthday party night, we did 10 miles of biking to restaurants and bars (super fun!!) so I am sure that helped to offset things!
I made a workout plan for the week and stuck to it. I've done 2 days of BFL lifting (LOVE IT!!) and also did a 5K time trial run with the tri club this past Tuesday. I was at 30:41 for that run... would like to be below 30 minutes again... but at least I am running.
I also stayed again for the "meeting after the meeting" and while I am well aware of everything discussed, I like hearing it again. I think the refresher is helping - well, judging by my results from last week, it is.
So now, to make a plan for this week. Which will be the topic of another post...
Monday, September 10, 2012
the first step is the hardest
I went to the gym tonight. Yes, THIS is a Big Announcement. I did not want to go. My fabulous Marito did not want to go, either. He said I could go without him. [Not that he is the dictator of what I can do, he just didn't want to go.]
So I went on my own, and I am so glad I did!
I did the upper body workout of the Body For Life [I call it Body For Liz or BFL] training program, which I have had great success with in the past. In fact, it is what got me into weight lifting. I don't love to lift weights, but I *DO* love the results you get, so that is plenty of motivation for me. (It's all about the vanity.) If you really want to change the way your body looks, training with heavy weights is definitely the way to do so the fastest. My body looks best when I spend 70% of my workout time weight training and only 30% doing cardio. YES, you read that right!
In any case, the BFL lift was the perfect thing for me to do tonight. Marito hates those workouts but I love 'em. I think I'm going to just suck it up and do the program - the workout part of it, anyhow. The food part is difficult, and I'm not ready for that just yet. One thing at a time!
Making it to the gym and getting a good weights workout in has left me feeling a lot more optimistic about how I look because now I feel like I'm working on it, on me, that is...
Tomorrow's workout is a run with the tri club. 3 mile time trial. Oh, joy. Have a great night!
--
Body for Life is a program created by Bill Philips. If you would like more info, check out www.bodyforlife.com or go to the library and actually check out the book Body For Life
by Bill Philips. Great info!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
the power of MANY
Snowflakes... one little snowflake is so teeny tiny. It doesn't really do anything of significance on it's own beyond giving you something very pretty to look at. But if you put together LOTS of snowflakes, you have some serious power:
The same thing applies to your eating and exercise choices. One little choice (good or bad) done for one day won't do much on it's own, but if you repeat the behavior over many many days it will have a big effect. And when you string together LOTS of little choices over many days - whether those choices are good or bad - you will eventually see really big results!
I have made lots of seemingly tiny changes to my behavior in the first part of my weight loss journey. Water instead of soda. No sugar in my coffee. Vegetables as my side at a restaurant. Egg whites or egg beaters instead of real eggs. Walking instead of driving. They all add up together and over time. I am positive that since I allowed my many little changes to become my daily habits I have been able to keep the first thirty pounds I lost from returning.
And just when I thought I really couldn't make any more "little" changes, today I did exactly that. After lunch I am accustomed to having a small piece of chocolate, and later in the afternoon I have a snack. Today I decided to postpone the just-after-lunch chocolate and make *it* my afternoon snack. Just one little snowflake, but there are MANY more to come. :)
(image is from SnowCrystals.com)
The same thing applies to your eating and exercise choices. One little choice (good or bad) done for one day won't do much on it's own, but if you repeat the behavior over many many days it will have a big effect. And when you string together LOTS of little choices over many days - whether those choices are good or bad - you will eventually see really big results!
I have made lots of seemingly tiny changes to my behavior in the first part of my weight loss journey. Water instead of soda. No sugar in my coffee. Vegetables as my side at a restaurant. Egg whites or egg beaters instead of real eggs. Walking instead of driving. They all add up together and over time. I am positive that since I allowed my many little changes to become my daily habits I have been able to keep the first thirty pounds I lost from returning.
And just when I thought I really couldn't make any more "little" changes, today I did exactly that. After lunch I am accustomed to having a small piece of chocolate, and later in the afternoon I have a snack. Today I decided to postpone the just-after-lunch chocolate and make *it* my afternoon snack. Just one little snowflake, but there are MANY more to come. :)
(image is from SnowCrystals.com)
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
The Beginning of The End
I have twenty pounds to lose. I have had twenty pounds to lose for, oh, about eight years now. I'm tired of carrying it around. I'm tired of having a body that looks like this:
There is no good reason a triathlete, runner, weightlifter and former rower who has never birthed a child nor had medical issues contributing to weight gain should look the way I do right now.
OK that photo above is the worst photo, but I picked it on purpose. It shows LOTS of room for improvement. :-) It was taken this past Labor day weekend.
Here is another one of me from the same weekend, which is more normal and representative of how I look (and which is still not good):
So that is where I am right now. I know it's not terrible, but it's not how I want to continue to look. It's my starting point.
Here is a photo of how I would like to look:
Maybe I do not want to be *quite* as thin as the runner girl in the above photo, but I really love her muscle tone. I think without the 20 extra pounds I'm carrying, and with some pretty stellar weight training sessions, I can get very close to looking like she does!
Tomorrow I'm going to Weight Watchers (WW). I say this as if it is some big announcement, but the truth is that I have been going to Weight Watcher meetings for - oh, nine years now. I did lose 30 pounds with the help of WW back in 2003/2004. I have since kept the weight off - more or less - but I never made it to goal.
So... isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? Well, yes - but in my defense, keeping up with WW for all this time definitely helped me to keep those 30 pounds off. However, I have 20 more pounds to go, which means that I need to do something differently.
When I go to tomorrow's meeting I'm going to stay after and discuss my goal with the leader - basically make it "REAL" again. I guess that is The Big Announcement. I'm not going to just observe the meeting as I have been doing for the past few years, I'm going to actively use the meeting to help me lay out my goal with the intent to REACH it by the end of this year.
It is time to put all my excuses and the blame aside and just get rid of these twenty pounds for good. This blog is a written account of Losing the Last Twenty Pounds - and this first post is the beginning of the end of my weight loss journey. Bon voyage!
There is no good reason a triathlete, runner, weightlifter and former rower who has never birthed a child nor had medical issues contributing to weight gain should look the way I do right now.
OK that photo above is the worst photo, but I picked it on purpose. It shows LOTS of room for improvement. :-) It was taken this past Labor day weekend.
Here is another one of me from the same weekend, which is more normal and representative of how I look (and which is still not good):
So that is where I am right now. I know it's not terrible, but it's not how I want to continue to look. It's my starting point.
Here is a photo of how I would like to look:
Maybe I do not want to be *quite* as thin as the runner girl in the above photo, but I really love her muscle tone. I think without the 20 extra pounds I'm carrying, and with some pretty stellar weight training sessions, I can get very close to looking like she does!
Tomorrow I'm going to Weight Watchers (WW). I say this as if it is some big announcement, but the truth is that I have been going to Weight Watcher meetings for - oh, nine years now. I did lose 30 pounds with the help of WW back in 2003/2004. I have since kept the weight off - more or less - but I never made it to goal.
So... isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? Well, yes - but in my defense, keeping up with WW for all this time definitely helped me to keep those 30 pounds off. However, I have 20 more pounds to go, which means that I need to do something differently.
When I go to tomorrow's meeting I'm going to stay after and discuss my goal with the leader - basically make it "REAL" again. I guess that is The Big Announcement. I'm not going to just observe the meeting as I have been doing for the past few years, I'm going to actively use the meeting to help me lay out my goal with the intent to REACH it by the end of this year.
It is time to put all my excuses and the blame aside and just get rid of these twenty pounds for good. This blog is a written account of Losing the Last Twenty Pounds - and this first post is the beginning of the end of my weight loss journey. Bon voyage!
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