Challenge

Well, Team Bigfoot did not win the summer shape-up challenge.  We finished in third place out of nine teams, which isn't too bad, but I was really hoping for that $600!  I have a TV in my living room that goes wacky on me all the time now and I was hoping to replace it but I guess I'll have to wait until November for the Black Friday deals.  Even though we didn't win the challenge, I did lose weight, and that's all that matters.  So far this month I've lost 3.2 pounds and I'm hoping for a total of 5 pounds by the end of the month.  I also have the goal of running 6 miles on the treadmill by the end of June.  I've been pretty steady at getting 5 miles in on Sundays but because of time restraints I haven't had the chance of pushing it further for that extra mile.  I've been averaging about 12 minute miles, and honestly, right now I don't really care how fast I'm running.  I try to remind myself how long it took me to get to 10 minute miles and how often I ran every week to get there.  I spent a lot of time in the gym on the treadmill back in the day or running around the neighborhood I lived in or trails near by.  I don't really have the luxury to do that again, so I'm taking what I can get.

This week I joined a new gym.  It is a gym I've been wanting to join for years but haven't because it costs a little more than the other gyms I've belonged to in the past.  However, it is ultimately worth it because it has a huge daycare area, two studios for classes, plus one for cycling and one for yoga/pilates.  They also have two indoor pools and one outdoor pool that is very child friendly and has TONS of chairs to layout on during these summer days.  So, if I really felt like it, I could drop Josie off at daycare and then go layout/take a dip in the pool for a couple hours and then go pick her up!  Or I could be a fun mom and take her with sometimes and let her experience the pool too.  Also for joining I get two free personal training sessions which will come in handy for getting to know their equipment and free weights area.  Unfortunately they don't have any of the Les Mils classes, but they do have a wide variety of classes including just cardio, strength/cardio mix, or just strength training.  I've been wanting to try spinning and Zumba so this will give me the opportunity to try it at times that fit within my schedule as opposed to the Y's schedule which did not.

I'm hoping for another pound weight loss at WW this week.  I haven't been pushing as hard as I did last week (resulting in a 2.2 pound loss) but I've been sticking to my high protein meals and the only day I really splurged was Father's Day but I even made a chocolate chip cheesecake for dessert that was only worth 6 points.  Oh and the cookie I had last Saturday when I picked up a dozen to give my dad for Father's Day.

Redo

I started writing a post the other day and it somehow got erased so here I am starting over!

It has not been a good food week. I don't know if it's because of the holiday, celebrating Avery's birthday (she's 7! WTH?) or coming off such a successful month, but I've been living pretty carefree - or carelessly - all week. I've had wine, a margarita, nachos, pizza, cookies, etc. I haven't tracked my food very well (aside from my breakfast and lunch which are essentially the same every day).

I have been working out though. For the week I have done cardio kickboxing on Saturday, ran 3 miles Sunday, and yesterday I ran 4 miles and would have gone longer but the bandage on my neck became irritated (I had my mole removed on Tuesday) and I couldn't take it anymore! When I was jogging, I did average about 11:30 min per mile and it felt pretty good. I think if I can regroup and get past the holiday eating I should be in good shape this month. It's been a long time since running felt natural and it's such a great feeling that I want to keep it!

Changes

My two weigh-ins this week did not bring great news. I was up .2 on both scales with no extra lean muscle gained according to the scale at the summer shape-up challenge gym. Since I didn't have an official weigh-in last week, I think I'm actually down (since I'm pretty sure I gained that week) but I don't have it documented. I was told by a little birdie though that Lynn and I have a good chance to win this challenge so I'm stepping it up.

I really stepped up my workouts last week (thus the disappointment on the scale) but I haven't really made food changes, at least until this past week. First let me share my workouts: Sunday: jogged 5 miles
Monday: Total Body Burn (45 minute weight lifting interval training)
Tuesday: Total Body Burn
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: I was supposed to go to Total Body Burn (TBB) but had the wrong time in my head and showed up 30 minutes into the class
Friday: walked 3 miles in the neighborhood pushing Josie (which is harder than you think!)
Saturday: TBB

Then yesterday I jogged 5 miles again and I'm planning to go to the class Metabolic Blast tonight, which is similar to TBB but more cardio bases.

And for the food: I'm giving up my morning cereal and I'm going to shoot for more protein for breakfast. Today I had a Smart Ones breakfast sandwich. I think I'm going to also have a banana to help tide me over. Other things I plan on trying are Greek yogurt (plain$ with fruit and nuts, scrambled egg whites (for when I have time and energy to cook), and either hamburger patties or turkey burger patties (at Steph's suggestion). She also suggested leftovers in the morning. I'm also giving up my coffee creamer. I used to always drink my coffee with skim milk and a little sweet and low but somewhere along the way I became addicted to creamer!

I also made a little discovery at HyVee's health market: 50 calorie soft wraps that are only one point and tasty! I've been enjoying them with laughing cow cheese and a limitless lunch meat for a 2 point snack. I'm also going to try them with bell pepper strips or shredded carrots. Yesterday I had them wrapped around my turkey sausages for dinner instead of a bun. Less carbs and sugar!

My next step is giving up my nightly WW ice cream bar. It's not horrible for me and I will still enjoy one every once in a while, but my new dessert will be some berries with fat free whipped cream.

And here is my new obsession: PB2 in my smoothies.

Here's my favorite:
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp PB2 (or PB2 with chocolate)
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

Blend and enjoy! For some reason I really like peanut butter and blueberries (pb on a blueberry bagel is an old favorite) so I understand this might not be for everyone. I also have added in frozen banana for extra sweetness. This adds up to 4 points and a filling lunch!

Stuck

I feel like I'm stuck in a pile of mud I can't get out no matter how hard I try.  Losing weight now is so much more difficult than it was 6 years ago.  Back then I had everything on my side.  I was living alone and did not have to plan any meals around anyone else's schedules or needs, I had a gym right around the corner with all the time in the world to spend there.  Plus, I had a huge support system since I was doing WW through work and a lot of my friends at the time were losing weight and being very conscious of what they were eating and levels of activity.  Now I only really have one friend trying to lose weight but not living here, other than Lynn who is my partner in the weight loss challenge, but I don't get to spend much time with her outside of workout classes.

I got on the scale this morning after 4 straight days of really good workouts and it was the same number I saw Saturday morning (which was slightly up from the previous week).  WTH???  I'm really frustrated and I guess I'm going to have to make some drastic changes in my eating, even though I don't feel like I've been doing too bad.  My goal will be to cut out a lot of sugars and carbs (which are my two favorite things in the world).  I'll have to give myself a day to have some so I don't go crazy and binge on a bunch without thinking.  Wish me luck!

(I'd write more but there is a one year old in the corner playing with the wheels of a stroller, so I must depart)

Behind

Sorry I haven't been keeping up the past couple weeks on blogging. Life is crazy with the end of school, home remodeling projects, Josie's first birthday planning, and this darn weight loss challenge I signed up for.

I've got to be honest, weight loss hasn't been great but I do have positive news. After realizing last week that I've been eating too many points on weight watchers, I made some adjustments on my eating. This resulted in a 1.6 loss this week (after a slight gain last week). And according to my weigh in for the challenge, which also calculates lean muscle mass and body fat, I lost one pound but gained 4 pounds of lean muscle. This means I've lost 5 pounds of fat! Yippee!

And on another note I pulled out some old Tupperware with old summer clothes in it, knowing there were a few things from the summer before I was pregnant where I bought a larger size. I found a pair of shorts and capris that I tried on and they fit! They're a size 14 which is not my ultimate goal, but it means I don't have to go buy anything for the summer! But I probably will because I love shopping :).

Sore!

Boy am I sore! I went to my first class that is a part of the weight loss challenge and it left me feeling like jelly. I haven't felt like this in a long time. It feels like being sore after going back to Pump after being away for a long time. My whole body hurts. The class I went to was called "Total Body Burn" and that's what it was! It reminded me of workouts on the Biggest Loser. It was different intervals of workouts, doing so many reps and then moving on to the next one and so on for 12 minutes then we did it again for another 12 minutes with different moves. We also did the ropes (which are harder than you think). Then today I had my first personal coaching session which was similar to the class but slower paced to really help with form and techniques. Tomorrow is a cardio class. We'll see if I can still stand after that!

Saturday's weigh in was pretty good. A loss of 1.6 which finally makes up for the pound I gained plus the loss of another pound. On Sunday I jogged 5 miles and on Monday I walked with Don, Josie and Gracie to the park. I've been wearing a pedometer and making sure I get in at least 10,000 steps a day. The day of our school art show, last Thursday, I got in over 15,000! Here's hoping I can keep all this up and have another good weigh-in this Saturday!

Goal

I have a few things to post about today....

First, my weigh-in on Saturday wasn't  fabulous, just a .4 pound loss.  Which means I still
have .6 to lose before that pound I gained is gone.  At least according to the scale at Weight Watchers.  On a really exciting note, however, I have reached my 10 pound goal according to my scale at home.  I got on the scale this morning (not really wanting to) and saw a number I've been waiting for for a long time.  I'm not one to talk about how much I actually weigh, but since Karrie is pretty much the only person who reads this, and will understand the excitement, I finally saw a "1" at the beginning of my weight for the first time since I was pregnant.  After losing weight the first time, I had promised myself that I would never see a "2" at the beginning of my weight again.  Unfortunately, the first time I weighed in at a pregnancy appointment, I saw it....  It has been my ultimate goal to get back to the 100's even if I don't make it to my original weight-loss weight (which seems impossible at this point).  My jaw about dropped when I saw the number this morning and I'm hoping it stays down through my weigh-in on Saturday.   This is also a 2.8 pound loss since my weigh-in last week (on my scale, not the WW scale).  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Second, I'm starting a workout/weight-loss competition with Lynn and the kick-off is tonight.  Lynn is good friends with a girl who is a persona trainer and has her own workout/personal coach/trainer company and they are hosting a competition for 6 weeks to see which pair loses the largest percentage of weight.  The winners get to split a prize of $1200.  I figure for the small fee it is to sign up, and have unlimited access to their classes, it is worth it even if we don't win (but we will).  I will keep you updated on the progress and give more info after the kick-off.

Third, on Sunday, because my ipod was dead and I forgot to charge it, I did Zumba on Wii instead of jogging.  It was a lot easier than it was when I first did it a few months ago and I wasn't sure if I got a really good workout...until the next day when I was completely sore!!  My obliques, shoulders, and arms were more sore than they have been in a long time and then on Tuesday I could even feel my quads!  I am definitely going to throw that into the workout schedule more often.  And even though I am short on time right now, I am going to force myself onto the treadmill for a short jog....