It’s all up to me

For awhile now I have been toying w/the idea of giving up my “free day” on Sundays b/c it was undoing all of the good I was doing through the week.  Mentally, though, I wasn’t sure I could do it.  I have decided now that I’m going to do the 17 Day Diet which will give me some structure to get through the free day I’m used to having.

A friend of mine told me about this diet and I borrowed her book and read it this weekend.  You can google the specifics if you want but the thing I like about it is it’s essentially the way I eat now most days of the week w/just a few changes so it won’t be a major overhaul.  There are 4-17 day phases which you can repeat as often as you need until you reach your goal weight.  Previously I had set some goals for the year and I’m planning on this approach to get me there.

So here are my beginning stats–I have crept back up to 209.  Today is my day to cram in carbs so I know I’ll go over 210 before I start but I refuse to see that number on the scale so I’m not going to look.  Right now I’m still in my size 14 jeans but there is definitely a muffin top.  My goal is to be in my size 12 jeans by Valentine’s Day, in my size 10 jeans by Easter and in size 8 jeans by my anniversary in September.  I’ll decide then if I want to go for the size 6 jeans or not.

I’m going to use jeans size b/c it’s really more important to me than weight.  Today I was with my mom and she was asking if I was wearing the jeans I bought on our vacation last summer (I was).  When I bought them I was 191 pounds, almost 20 pounds lighter, but I truly couldn’t fit into the jeans.  She said she truly couldn’t tell that I had gained 20 pounds so some of it is water retention and some must be muscle.  Yes, some of it is fat that I know how to hide by how I dress but it was a good reminder that it’s not 20 pounds of fat!

Wish me luck

I’m happy to say that for the most part I’m getting through the first part of the holidays w/o completely chucking my healthy lifestyle.  I have continued my workouts and am actually logging a lot of treadmill time.  I don’t know why but that is what’s appealing to me right now so that’s what I’m doing.  I’m still rehabbing my rotator cuff so upper body lifting is limited.  I’m bummed that our local Farrell’s isn’t going to add a 3:30 class like I had hoped so instead I ordered a new DVD set.  It’s called RevAbs and it’s from the new guy trainer on The Biggest Loser from last season (I think his name is Brett Hobel).  I also ordered Hip HOp Abs from Ebay and plan to alternate weeks of these programs to avoid getting bored.

When summer comes I’m going to join a new gym in town that’s going to open up called Kosama.  It’s basically P90X w/an instructor.  My sister-in-law did it and said it’s intense but I can really see a change in her.  I like that the introductory program is only 8 weeks–basically a program for the summer.

Food hasn’t been perfect but it hasn’t been horrible which is an improvement for me.  Generally I’m an all-or-nothing eater so bouncing back from indulgences is a success for me.  My goal by the end of the year is to see 194 or lower which would be a 100 pound loss from my all-time high.  I know I have been there before but I have gained a bit of weight back–right now I’m hovering around 200.  Six pounds in a month is doable, even though Christmas is in there. 

Part of what has allowed me to be successful in my weight loss is having a free day.  I am quite regimented Monday-Saturday but Sunday I don’t have rules.  It’s more for the mental break than anything else, and as the years have gone by I have gone from a sunup to sundown free-for-all food fest to eating relatively healthy for most of the day w/added desserts and/or an indulgent meal.  I don’t know if it’s the fact that I’m getting older or what, but lately it has taken me nearly all week to negate the impact of my Sunday indulgence.  I know a good chunk of what shows up on the scale is water weight due to added carbs but I also know some of it is legit.  I’m not sure how to proceed.  There have been times where I restrict myself more on Sunday but it tends to backfire later that week and I’m worse off than I would have been if I had pigged out on Sunday.  Has anyone figured out how to balance the need for a free meal/free day and still keep the scale moving in the right direction?  For now, I’m not going to do any major tweaking but here is the plan for this week:  my meal will be a WW recipe for Chicken Fried Rice.  It’s much lower in calories than a normal Sunday meal but I tend to not make it during the week b/c even w/brown rice I retain water due to the higher carb content.  This will allow me to indulge w/o going crazy on calories.  I also will have dessert but I will go out and buy a small serving of what I want vs. making a big batch of something where I eat 4 or 5 servings (sadly, this is what I generally do).

Any tips would be greatly appreciated

Bad week weight-wise, but I need to keep it in perspective.  This is PMS time so I know I’m going to gain 3-4 pounds of water weight.  Why does it bother me so much, though, when I know the “gain” is false????  Anyway, since I knew I wasn’t going to lose weight this week I have nibbled in Halloween candy, fruit snacks, etc.  Stupid, I know, but I would say in general my week was 85% healthy and given PMS, how crazy it was at school and the fact that I was fighting a sinus infection I’m going to consider it a success.

I have enrolled in a challenge on the weightlosswars website and it starts today.  I have my pictures taken and ready to upload.  We went out to supper last night and that combined w/PMS put me back over the 200 mark for my starting weight (202.0) but that will just make my final loss more impressive, right?  It wraps up right before Valentine’s Day so I can look hot for my sweetie

Life keeps plugging along and I’m happy to say I’m doing well.  I’m PMSing this week so I did cave and have some Halloween candy last night and decided to have a grilled cheese for supper.  The good news is it was low-calorie mutligrain bread and low-fat mozzarella cheese sticks so it really wasn’t all that healthy.  Knowing I’m PMSing I’m doubtful that I’ll lose my 1% this week for our game and the knowledge of that has tempted me to relax a bit where food is concerned but I realize it would be stupid to gain a ton of weight just b/c I might not lose as much as I want.

On a different note, I was browsing the web for ideas for weight-loss games and stumbled upon the website www.weightlosswars.com   It’s a website where you can either design your own game or join existing games.  The website is free and some of the games don’t have an entrance fee while others do and then have a cash prize.  I think I found a challenge I’m going to join; it starts this weekend and goes until just before Valentine’s Day.    It will be good to have something to keep me focused through the holidays.

Hope all is well.  A lot of my old friends seem to have dropped off this website and w/life being crazy (and battling a sinus infection) I haven’t been posting much lately.  For once, though, it doesn’t mean that I have been filling my mouth w/food.  Yay!

…until I can go to bed.  I’m really tired and hungry and my hubby is at parent teacher conferences again so it’s another night where I have to fight my urge to secretly eat.  I got up at 4:20 to workout in case I didn’t get one in this afternoon but it turns out I got home in time to also hit 45 minutes on the treadmill.  Since I worked out before school I didn’t check the scale so the thing that is going to get me through is seeing my weigh-in tomorrow.  Yesterday I was 199.6 so I can’t wait to see if I have dipped lower.  I need to be at or below 197.0 to meet my 1% goal for our weightloss game.

Another blogger set a goal to be in a certain pair of jeans by the end of the month and I’m going to steal her idea.  When we went on vacation this summer I bought 2 pairs of jeans that were on clearance for $6.  I’m currently in the size 14’s (yay, me!) and my goal is to be able to wear the 12’s.  And it will be a huge accomplishment b/c these jeans are pure denim, no stretch, and a lower rise than I normally wear.  So not only is my goal to be able to fit into them, but to not have muffin-top spillage so that I could actually wear them.  They would be great jeans to wear when I go shopping w/my skinny girlfriends the 1st weekend in December

I’m stressing b/c this week is not routine in any way.  Last night was Halloween and I’m proud to say that I didn’t eat a single piece of candy.  I had physical therapy after school so I wasn’t able to workout so I got up at 4:30 to workout before school.  Tonight, my hubby has conferences so I’m at home alone w/the boys.  This is a danger zone to me b/c secret eating is a comfortable habit of mine.  To conquer this I’m having extra protein tonight and I was able to workout 2x today.  I did a 20 minute HIIT workout before school this morning and was actually able to get out of school early enough to hit 45 minutes on the treadmill.  It also helps that The Biggest Loser is on tonight, plus it helps that the habit I’m giving up for the game is secret eating.

Tomorrow will be fairly normal so when I get through tonight I’ll have a bit of a break, but Thursday night is conferences again so it will be an early workout just in case and sticking to my eating plan.  I can do it but I’m not going to worry about Thursday until Thursday comes.  For now, I’m proud of the choices I made last night and that I’m making for today.

I was very happy to step on the scale and see 198.8 this morning–a nearly 4 pound loss for the week.  I’m even more excited about it b/c we went out for dinner Friday night and despite my good intentions I had bread, potatoes and dessert.  This game we’re playing, though, helped me to get back on track yesterday b/c I still had points to earn and I know that’s what helped me make my goal.  Having 1 extra free meal a week is something I’m trying to manage, one step closer to losing my all-or-nothing thinking.

My shoulder is improving although I still can’t lift weights.  I’m doing bands exercises 2x daily and arm weight exercises 5-6x daily.  I’m working like a champ to be able to start boxing in January.

Money is now the main stressor.  We keep cutting back and cutting back and there still doesn’t seem to be enough.  I know part of it is that I have most of my Christmas shopping done for the boys so those are one-time expenses but I don’t know where else we can cut.  I’m toying w/the idea of buying gift cards for Walmart and our grocery store.  I’ll buy them with our credit card so I still get the points but pay with those.  My goal is to keep each store under $100/week and if I know I only have so much on a gift card it will cause me to think twice if nothing else.  Has anyone tried this?

I have decided not to have any Halloween candy tomorrow.  Since today is my free day I have had several pieces.  I know I will want some tomorrow but why should I go off-plan just b/c it’s Halloween?  If I really want something from Justin’s stash I’ll grab it and save it for Sunday.  I am going to get up early tomorrow to workout since I have physical therapy after school and it’s trick or treating after that.  I just hope the weather is decent so we can take Kyle out to a few houses–he generally stays at home and hands out candy with me.

For about the last month I have been focusing on cardio and having to take it a bit easy due to my shoulder and Kyle’s hospitalization.  I upped the intensity a bit last night by doing Turbo Jam Cardio Party instead of just hitting the treadmill.  Tonight I did a lower-body FIRM workout and then 30 minutes on the treadmill.  I cannot believe how badly my legs were shaking when I was doing the workout.  This is a workout I used to breeze through and actually stopped out of boredom.  I’m looking forward to the sore muscles tomorrow

Actually, the sore muscles should help me b/c tomorrow is the longest day.  We have  a regular school day starting at 7 am and then have conferences after school until 7 pm.  Thursday is another long day, but only 10 hours instead of 12 and it’s all conferences so there should be some down moments.  I truly enjoy conferences but it plays hell with my schedule and I struggle when my schedule is modified.  Fortunately we’re in week 1 of our game and most of my friends are in on it–their scrutiny will keep me honest.  Plus, if I have achy legs I’ll be reminded that I’m doing good things for myself.  I will make it through w/o going off plan!

Today is day 1 in the 2nd round of our Game On Diet at school and I’m pumped.  Don’t get me wrong–I’d love to dive head first into a big pile of something ooey-gooey but I know it won’t help me reach my goals.  And even though I’m on the wrong side of onederland I still wore size 14 pants today.  I got my Turbo Jam dvds back from my friend and felt good working out.  I’m still riding high knowing I’ll nbe able to return to Ferrel’s after the 1st of the year.

I’m also hopeful b/c the holidays are around the corner and I’m hoping to reconnect w/some of my hubby’s family.  Ever since my SIL and her hubby moved away 3 years ago we have lost touch.  It was especially hard on Justin b/c she was like a 2nd mother to him so I’m super-pumped that they’re back.  My MIL had a welcome home party but I couldn’t go b/c that’s when Kyle was in the hospital so I haven’t actually seen them yet, although I’m hoping we’ll reconnect with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming.  Part of me wants to contact them and speed things up but for some reason I get the feeling they’re upset w/us so I don’t want to rush things.  And I’m hoping that if things go well with them that maybe things will be able to be patched up w/my hubby’s dad.   But one step at a time…keep your fingers crossed that it works