Monday, March 30, 2009

Week 12 Weigh-in

This week I lost about half of a pound (.4 to be precise). I am completely ok with this as it is the time of month when I tend to bloat. I wonder what would have happened if I had not exercised as much this week. My current weight is 171.4 and my goal is to lose more than 1.4 pounds by next Monday. I think I can do this if I work hard and stay focused. The 160's are so close and I want to be in that next 10 lb bracket so badly. I should also note that I am 2.2 pounds away from having lost a total of 35 pounds. I would like to reach that goal within the next two weeks.

I have now been on the WW program for 3 months, so I decided to measure myself this evening to chart my progress. Now that I am in the exercise groove, I'm confident that the inches will keep falling off.

Measurements


Week 6 Week 12
Hips 43" 41"
Natural Waist 34" 32"
Lower Waist 37" 35"
Bust 43" 40"
Thighs 27" 25"
Calves 15 1/2" 15 1/2"
Biceps 14 1/4 13"

Last Chance Workout!


I have become semi-addicted to The Biggest Loser lately. After watching a couple of two-hour-long episodes I decided that I need to get off of the couch. It's great that I am losing all of this weight mostly just by changing my eating habits, but if the goal is to be fit, then exercise is needed. When I first started my job, my body thought that was exercise, but now it's part of my basal activity rate. 

This week I have done REALLY well for the first time with exercise. I did yoga two days in a row and then I rode my bike to work. I took the day of from exercise yesterday, but in an hour or so I will be doing a last chance work out. I'm thinking lots of cardio and some strength training.

Tonight is my weigh-in and I am nervous. I made the mistake this week of getting on the scale way too many times. I don't know what the number is going to be when I step on the scale tonight, but I have been working very hard and have stayed on plan. I know that if I gain or maintain tonight, then next week will definitely be a bigger number.

He who loves, flies, runs, and rejoices; 
he is free and nothing holds him back.”
- Henri Matisse

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Testing at Walmart

Riding my bike to work yesterday was so much fun and brought me a lot of satisfaction, but my poor butt didn't like me. Later on that night I ended up going to the local WalMart to look at seat covers for my bike. I didn't know how to choose one so I ended up setting them on the floor and testing them out! My boyfriend was extremely amused by this, but hey, if I am going to spend $20 on something I need to know it's going to do the job.

On a different note, I have two bruises on my butt from the seat and riding all of those miles, so it looks like I won't be able to ride for a couple of days... :(

After

Not the best pic. I'm no model and my photographer was in a hurry to go somewhere, but I wanted to give you guys an idea of how much my body has changed. It's nice to see the visual for myself as well when going from looking at me in my old "fat clothes" to the size 9/10 I am currently.

After

Donning My Old Fat Clothes

At the request of Jan and Jo...here's a pic of me wearing my old 15/16's and an XL shirt with 46.8 pounds to lose.

Friday, March 27, 2009

On an Exercise Binge

So far this week I have been really good about staying active. I have gotten up early to do yoga 2 days in a row and tomorrow is supposed to be gorgeous, so I am riding my bike a total of 17 miles to and from work.

I feel amazing. Let's hope I keep up the momentum! I think I will... I've been brainstorming ways to keep exercise fun and new, so it should be gravy.

Week 11 weigh in!!!

So, last weeks weigh in was most definitely a water retention fluctuation. This week I lost 4.2 pounds; flying by the 30 pound mark. My current weight is 171.8 and my total weight loss is 32.4 pounds. Here I come 160's!!!!!!!!! It's been a long time... :)

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

First Gain

This week marked my first gain since embarking on this Weight Watchers journey. On the one hand, I have felt my body catching up to me for the last couple of weeks which is why I have been trying to push myself to exercise, but I never expected to GAIN weight if I didn't make changes. I gained .6. Not a whole pound, but just enough to piss me off. This was the weigh-in after I had just started using eTools and obsessively monitoring my adherence to the good health guidelines. The first couple of days I noticed that I wasn't getting in enough fruits and veggies, so I tried to focus on that a lot this week. It's just too bad it didn't pay off.

I took the news very hard. Usually WW meetings are a fun, social time for me, but this week I quietly sat there in disbelief. I couldn't believe it. Then I started feeling angry... I was so upset that I almost walked out of the building before the meeting started. I really wanted to cry, but I knew that there were others in the room that had bigger upsets in their plans than  a measly 6 tenths of a pound. The woman I always sit next to didn't lose for months, and even gained sometimes, due to her medication for a serious health issue. 

It's been a couple of days since then. How do I feel? Still pretty disappointed. Last week I tried very hard, but not as hard as I could have. This exercise train just hasn't left the station yet.

Goal this week: work out at least twice for 30 minutes or more

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Still Truckin'

Things are still  moving along rather well with this whole diet/lifestyle change. I am loving the changes to my body... I feel young and vibrant again, people are noticing a drastic change in my figure, and best of all, I am feeling healthier. 

Conventional exercise is not going so well. I have started getting one type of exercise on a regular basis, but I am not one to "kiss and tell" or gross out my more reserved family members. I was actually getting ready to do my Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga DVD today when my mom and her co-worker walked in and dragged me off to bingo. Ok, so they didn't drag me. I went quite willingly and actually ended up winning $87. 

Weight-loss is still continuing. As of yet, I have not plateaued. Yesterday at the Monday meeting weigh-in I lost 1.8 pounds. My total weight loss is 28.8 pounds in the 9 weeks I have been on the WW plan. YAY! I have started scrap-booking my journey. As a gift, I got a scrap-book where so far I have put all my Momentum Plan materials, my 10% key chain, 10% post card, and a print out of this weeks updated weight-loss ticker. I have started using eTools these past couple of days so that I may electronically archive my food journal and weight-loss. By doing this I can also print out charts and food summaries to get a visual of my progress and see what works best.

Things are going well and I am ecstatic. So far I am like one of the individuals on the WW commercial where it says in a caption beneath them, "Results not typical". But here's the thing. The results can be typical! All it takes is willpower and a commitment to a healthier life style. I hope that eventually I will rub off on my mother's husband, so that he will take the reigns of his eating habits and steer them down a healthier path.

Even though things are pretty dandy, I do have some things to work on. I know I have said this many times, but EXERCISE needs to start happening. NO EXCUSES. I am so disgusted with myself for dragging my feet on this. 

On a happier note, my next mini-weight goal is to reach the 15% mark. All I have to lose is 1.8 pounds. I hope to reach this within the next two weeks, but I would like to hit the 30 pound mark by this next weigh-in. After I reach 15% my next goal is to get down to 163.4 (20%). I would like to reach this goal by May 4th. I don't know if anyone remembers, but I had wanted to reach goal (125 pounds) by the end of this summer. My original goal was 135, but I have since modified it and I don't think it is attainable by the end of the summer. Hopefully, I should be able to get there by the end of October.

There are 50.4 pounds standing between me and my ultimate goal. 

To lose by my birthday in the end of September, I would have to lose an average of 1.7 pounds per week.

By the end of Oct: 1.5
By Nov: 1.3
By Dec: 1.2

Well, it's off to bed for me; however, before I go, I want to tell you all that I can almost comfortably wear my old size 10 jeans. My belly is still visibly squished a little, but who cares...YATTA!