2013 resolutions

weigh to stay: 6 months in

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

I’m behind on my monthly weight loss update, I guess because there’s not much to say.  Not a whole lot has changed, and that’s a good thing.

I started out in January with a goal of losing 20-24 pounds.  As of today, I’ve lost 27.  I’m very happy where I’m at as far as weight is concerned.  I’m staying in a 24-27 pound weight loss range.  What I’m not as happy about is that lately I’ve gotten lazy, so I know I will not be able to maintain my success if I don’t start doing something differently.

I’m still logging EVERY THING I eat in  My Fitness Pal, and that’s probably kept me on the wagon for the most part.  The problem is excuses. Lots of excuses.  It’s been unbelievably hot and muggy.  I’m addicted to watching an episode of Dexter every night after the boys go to bed. Work is crazy right now so I’ve been working from home at night.  I like ice cream in the summertime. Truth is, I was busy before and found, no MADE, time to exercise.  I’m still doing some, but nothing like before.

I did purchase Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.  I think I’ve done it four times in a month…not exactly gonna get shredded like that.  It was hard as hell and I could see why it works and gets such great reviews (from people that actually do it).  The last two times I ran, I was not able to run as long as I had planned, so that was disappointing.  Use it or lose it, I suppose.

So, I’m happy to be staying within my weight goal by managing my calorie intake appropriately, but it’s not really what I pictured starting out. I’ve not given up, it’s not over. I still have the desire and drive to keep going. I just need to get past this slump.  I still have our vacation in sight and am looking forward to wearing shorts and feeling good about it.  I look forward to not feeling fatigued from long days of walking.

I’m very much looking forward to continuing towards my goal.

I haven’t taken any progress photos and LORD KNOWS no one (ahem, husband) ever stops to take a photo of me, so here’s a recent pic of Ryan and I on our way to the Luke Bryan concert with some friends last Sunday night!  (P.S. SO FUN!)

xo,
~C~

weigh to stay: 5 months in

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you know that I have been on a mission to lose some dreaded L-Bs since the beginning of the year.

Recap so far:
1 month report Feb 2013
2 month report Mar 2013
3 month report Apr 2013
4 month report May 2013

I’m happy to report that I have met and exceeded my goal…for now.  I know it’s really negative to add that “for now,” but let me explain.  Before I get too sidetracked though, my goal was to lose 20-24 pounds then remain within that range. As of today, I’ve lost 25.8 pounds.  I’m staying right around that thus far and very happy about it.  That’s not to say that there isn’t still work to be done, but as far as my weight is concerned, I’m comfortable with it now.  HURRAH.  Considering I hated walking past a mirror 6 months ago, this is a pretty big accomplishment.

Now, back to that “for now.”  As happy as I am about my success losing the weight, I’m equally as afraid of just packing it right back on.  I love food.  Love it.  Especially food that is not good for me. Love chocolate and cookies and ice cream and that and that and that.  Love comfort food.  Cheesy, warm, melty, gooey.  All those things. I have not cut those things out of my life and I never will.  It’s all about moderation and portion control, I fully understand that.  I will never do a crazy diet that I can’t keep up with after the weight is gone.  For me, it’s as simple as diet and exercise. Portion control and self-control.  But my larger me would just help herself to second (and third) helpings of whatever was tasting good.

At this point, I have been exercising pretty regularly. This is a beautiful thing for a couple of reasons. Not only is it good for my body, it’s good for my mind. It feels good to let off some steam in a healthy way.  I’d been slacking off for a few days and come home from work one night earlier this week just exhausted. I laid on the couch and told the kids to bring their toys and books to me when they asked to play or read with me.  The whole night, I felt so incredibly lazy, guilty, and truthfully just gross.  I remember sitting laying on the couch thinking, “well this sucks.  This is how I felt every night when I was not exercising.”  Ryan mentioned that it was nice outside and somehow I found the energy to get up off the couch and go for a 2 mile run.  Nothing too crazy, but I can’t even explain how much better I felt. I had more energy at 8pm than I’d had the entire day and wasted an entire night being lazy with my kids. Being exactly the mom I did not want to be. 

When I stay active, my energy level remains higher and I AM more active, whether I am exercising or playing with my kids.  When I make a point to stay active, I want to move around, which burns more calories and keeps my metabolism elevated.  I don’t ever want to feel that way every single night again. 

The problem is that I get comfortable. I’ll think that my metabolism is higher so I can afford to enjoy that order of fries that I should avoid. Or I will think that I deserve that DQ blizzard at 10pm.  Like I said before, I refuse to cut those things out of my life completely, but the kind of trouble that I’m talking about creeps up on me in the form of fries one night, ice cream the next, then cookies for lunch the next day, and on and on and on. Until I am right back in the habit of making bad choices.

Losing weight has never really been the problem once I set my mind to it.  It’s always been keeping the weight off, staying active, and maintaining that elevated energy and metabolic level.  So far, so good.  I might need some encouragement along the way to keep up at this point.  My goal starting out was of course to be healthier and more active as a whole, but in tangible terms, I wanted to be able to wear shorts when we go to Disney in October and not be ashamed of my legs. Wear a swimsuit at the resort pool and not be trying to constantly cover myself up out of embarrassment.  Well, I’m wearing shorts.  That bathing suit thing will take some work. 

Time to start some strength training and stop relying on running alone for exercise.

xo,
~C~

weigh to go: 4 months in

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest
Read the previous updates and see the previous photos here. 
My goal starting out in January was to lose 20-24 pounds and remain in that range.  I’m happy to finally report that I made it! I have been in this range for about 3 weeks now.  I lost about five pounds in a couple of days when I had strep throat at the end of April, and gained a couple of them back.  Here I am in January (after my first trip to the gym in 2 or more years) and after my run tonight:

I feel much better, but I still have work to do.  I still feel squishy.  I want to feel fit.  I feel healthier but I don’t necessarily feel like a fit person.  Strep throat threw me off track with Couch to 5k and I still have not completely gotten back on track.  And now I’ve lost track of whether I’m just one week behind or two.

BUT.

But.

I WILL finish Couch to 5k by the end of May.  I will make it happen.  Why?  Because I’ve registered for my first 5k on June 1st!  I’m excited and a little nervous.  I’ve made a lot of progress considering that I struggled to run for 1 minute at a time when I started Couch to 5k and now I’m struggling to run 28 minutes…but I’m doing it!  I loathe it during sometimes, but afterwards it is one of the best feelings in the world. Truly!  I think I even saw a glimmer of a calf muscle tonight. I’m running outside more than inside, which (for me) is much more difficult physically.  The treadmill is boring though and I tend to stare at the clock, so either way it’s a challenge.

Tonight was the first night I had to run 28 min. The last three runs were only 25. Doesn’t sound like a huge difference but you better believe I threw my everything into those last three minutes while I was jamming out to Alicia Keys’ Superwoman because I wanted to quit. Bad.  It was hot.  The path I chose was very hilly.  I had just eaten dinner.  It was rough and I was super slow. But I made it without walking. Woo! Afterwards, I was anxious to find out if I ran further than I had the previous week and sadly, it was the exact same.  Given the environmental challenges, I’m not beating myself up about it too much since I did finish without stopping (and that’s my goal for the 5k, not speed).  But it would have been nice if I’d gone further than the 2.2mi that I have been running for the past week in 25 minutes.

Long way of saying I got behind, but I haven’t given up. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I only have 5 more Couch to 5k workouts remaining and I kind of don’t know what to do with myself once that’s over. Aside from walking, this has pretty much been my only exercise since I started it 9-ish weeks ago.

Suggestions?  I get bored going to the gym and doing cardio & weights.  I’ve thought about P90x but we don’t have a great place for that until we get the basement finished.  

xo,
~C~