Still Alive!

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Hello All!

I’ve made it through day 4 of level 2, and I can still walk. Yay!

Does anyone else cringe a little when Jillian says “I want you to be gargling your heart” ??…GROSS!!

This workout is HARD- there are a lot of plank moves- good for the core, but brutal when you’re doing them!  I nearly died today during the plank-jacks.  I usually do pretty well with the cardio, but the 2nd circut cardio kills me. The jumping oblique twist and the skater lunges?!  Those will make you feel pretty unfit, pretty fast. I was sweating like nobody’s business by the end.

One more activity point and I’ll be on target for the week. Tuesdays are always a challenge because I have expecially long days- I always want to snack!  But, I generally bring WW-friendly snacks with me so that I’m not tempted to buy junky food. I figure it’s better to eat 3 apples instead of a croissant!

I’m making a modified recipe from the WW 20 minute cookbook: Spicy Mandarin Beef Stirfry. I was seduced by the picture- it looks SO delicious.  I’m changing it up a little bit- I’m using soy beef strips instead of regular beef (my BF doesn’t eat beef, so I have to get creative sometimes!)  I’m going to make some quinoa to go with it. Mmmm…dinner…I can’t wait!

Oh, the pain…

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It’s day 2 of level 2, and I woke up this morning SERIOUSLY feeling the pain….

I will do it again today! I WILL!  I have to. I was bad for missing a few days on level 1, and I’m not going to do that on level 2.

Last night I ate a bunch of crap. I was at an event, and all they had for dinner was caesar salad, bread, pasta (stuffed with cheese) and sauce.  Here’s what I did well: I didn’t have too much pasta (probably about a cup?), same with the caesar salad, I put red sauce instead of cream sauce on the pasta, and I didn’t butter my bread.  I drank lots of water, I didn’t drink alcohol, and I didn’t have dessert. I also danced! Yay exercise points. That could be contributing to my pain right now…

I didn’t even want to go to this event, but I ended up having a really good time.  I wore a dress that I’ve always felt self-conscious in, and I got lots of compliments.  I also wasn’t repulsed by my appearance in pictures, which is a nice feeling to have again.

I’m off to have breakfast and “shred” again…

UPDATE:

Workout done!  I honestly can’t believe how much more difficult level 2 is!

I feel like I haven’t been eating all that well this week.  I’ve been doing great when I’m at home, but I’ve had to eat out quite a few times this week, and I always feel better when I cook my own food.  I’ve done the best I could do, though, and I’ve decided to try to focus on the good more than the bad.  For example, I had homemade Indian food for dinner.  It was considerably more healthy than eating in a restaurant, and I had a whole wheat pita instead of naan.

I have a confession: I ate a piece of cheesecake today.  I had a friend over for dinner, and she brought it.  It was delicious and I enjoyed every bite. I feel pretty good that I’ve managed my points so well this week, even though I have had to eat out a lot. In fact, since I’ve been exercising and eating my APs, I’ve only gone 5 points into my flex points.  Pretty impressive considering the amount of treats I’ve had this week.  Hopefully I’ll still see a loss on the scale, because I have stayed within my points.  I’m hoping to stay within my daily points for the next 2 days leading up to my Weigh-In on Wednesday, which should be easy enough to do since I won’t be going out or having company. I can make up for the 5 Flex points with my APs between now and then. (In case anyone is reading this and thinks this is weird/obsessive, I just wanted to clarify that I tend to lose more weight when I work out, eat my APs, and don’t eat my flex points- my body is very particular!)  Tomorrow is another day, and another opportunity to do better… :)

Level 2, Day 1

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Oh.  My.  God.

That’s all I can say.

I really felt like Jillian was talking directly to me when she said “I want you to feel like you’re going to DIE!”  I guess I was doing it right, because I definitely felt that way.  I am really glad day one is over, and am praying that it gets easier.   There are a lot of planks in this level!!

I’m off to a formal tonight with my bf, and I’m happy to report that I can now fit myself into a size 10 dress that I bought 3 years ago (back when I was that size) and never wore.  It’s not loose, but I can breathe in it, so that’s good news!

Next challenge: the dinner at the formal! I have no idea what the menu is, and I imagine there will be lots of sauces, cheese, and sugar.  My game plan is “everything in moderation”.  I figure in a situation like this, that’s really all you can do- count the points, and deal with it!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend- thanks for reading! :)

Day 10 Measurements

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The time has come!!

Current weight: 181 (0.6 down from start)

Waist: 39  ( -0.3)

Thighs: both 25.5 (same as before)

Arms: L: 12.75 (-.25) and R: 12.1 (same as before)

Hips: 42.8 (-0.9)

Bust: 39.5 (-2.0)- Why does it always come off here first!?! Go figure…

Neck: 14.5 (+1.0)- how did I gain an INCH in my neck!? I think maybe I made a mistake when I did my initial measurements…

Overall, I’ve lost 2.45 inches since starting the shred, and 5.85 inches since starting Weight Watchers!  That’s almost an inch per pound. I’ll take it!

By the way, I was so excited to get everyone’s comments today- I love reading them!! Please feel free to comment anytime :)

I just got home from my second sushi dinner out in a row.  I feel a bit sick.  I didn’t over-eat, but I definitely want to eat at home for the rest of the week! I’m glad, however, that I had sushi again instead of something greasy.

Did anyone see the Biggest Loser this week? I love how they put this irrational pressure on poor Mike…as if it is entirely his responsibility to make a certain loss this week and save the team- nevermind that the others could have lost more!  I think that kid is amazing. He works SO hard.  I’m not going to lie…I got a little teary when he gave his free groceries for a year to Aubrey. And I’m not even a fan of the yellow team! Mike’s a good kid.  Ron, his dad, reminds me of an extremely overweight version of my own step-father (the sweetest man in the world)- similar voice and similar face, and I think that’s why I love him.  I’m rooting for the Brown team.  I often forget that this is a competition for money- it’s just so encouraging to see these people losing weight and making their lives better.

I think that’s all for now- I’ll report back after trying Level 2 of the 30DS tomorrow!

Back at it…

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Yesterday was my first day back at the 30DS after taking a much needed 3-day break from life in general.  Surprisingly, I made it through without too much trouble.  Today will be my 10th day on level one, so I’m planning to step it up to level 2 tomorrow.  I’m amazed at how far my endurance has come so far!

Last night I went out for dinner with some girlfriends.  We had a ridiculous amount of sushi, then went for coffee and dessert.  I had a brownie for 5 points, and didn’t finish the whole thing. It was quite delicious, and I almost stayed within my points (I used 2 or 3 flex points, which is fine).  The bottom line is that sometimes you need a night out like that.  I controlled myself, ate what I wanted (within reason) and I don’t feel guilty about it.  I think this is exactly why WW is so great- it teaches you to eat responsibly and to have a healthy relationship with food.  When I first started the program, the idea of going out to eat was very stressful for me.  Now, I’ve become good enough at estimating points and ordering food in such a way that I don’t end up with any unpleasant surprises that I actually ENJOY going out again!  It’s a really good feeling.

I’m off to “shred”, and then I’ll be taking my 10-day measurments to post…

VICTORY!

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After 2 weeks of plateauing (after losing only 5.4 lbs), I’ve finally gone down again!

Today was my weigh-in, and I’m down 6 LBS total.  I had really hoped that I would lose a bit faster (it’s been 7 weeks) but I’m really encouraged to see the scale moving in the right direction again.

I had given my tracking book to my leader last week so that she could look over it to see if I was making any glaring errors that were slowing my loss. She said I’m doing everything right, which is great, but confirms my theory that my body is just fighting me.

My meeting never fails to entertain me.  There’s one woman in particular who treats it like her own personal therapy session. She dominates the entire meeting. It’s a bit out of control.  My WW buddy becomes livid every time she opens her mouth- it’s always an excuse. A typical conversation goes like this:

Member: “I’m always hungry on the program”.

Leader: “Try eating more filling foods and drinking more water”.

Member: “I don’t like vegetables. I always want chocolate.  And I don’t like drinking water”.

This woman has an excuse for EVERYTHING!! She thinks she can just eat the same way she did before and lose weight. Today she was whining about eating chicken wings.  I suggested she try the buffalo chicken strips in the WW cookbook, but she “doesn’t like cooking”.  I give up!!  She just doesn’t want to try. She doesn’t frustrate me so much as make me sad- she’s obviously not ready to commit to losing weight.  I believe more than ever that the most important part of any weight-loss plan is being in the right mindset.  It just doesn’t work until you commit to it. Simple as that. You have to want to be healthy more than you want to binge eat. I still eat the foods I love, but if I know I’m going out for dinner, I eat a healthy lunch. It’s not rocket science!  I just wasn’t ready to do it before. I am now.

I’ve had a friend visiting this week, and we did lots of travelling and eating in restaurants, so it just goes to show that you can eat more and still lose!  I am ashamed to say that I’ve missed 3 days of the 30 day shred this week.  I’m still on level one, but now that my life is back to normal I’m ready to step up my game and get back at it.

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