I gained about six pounds in November and December. I've lost those again, but I'm back to where I was in early October. And stuck. I've just had a really intense, stressful chunk of work, where I went a full week with fewer than five hours of sleep and sometimes none. I didn't eat too horribly that week, but the exercising went out the window. But work should be better for the next few months, so I don't have that distraction anymore.
I think I know why I stalled. I gained weight eating family party meals and Christmas sweets. But I stalled back in September and October and stayed stalled in early February because I'm working out less. I had been running a bit and walking about 4-6 miles a day and had backed that off to 3 when the kids went back to school and I had a shorter time to work out in the morning and also when winter hit.
So, here's what I'm trying to see if I can shake a few pounds loose:
Doing the couch to 5k workout Monday Wednesday Friday to start running again.
30 minute Bootcamp on Tuesday and Thursday, followed by a 3 mile walk (gotta walk the dog).
Some Sundays, do a Willpower and Grace class (more cardio and a little strength training)
Keep my calories to 1500. I usually eat 1800-2000.
No diet soda.
I'm saying it out loud so that I can hold myself accountable for my plan.
Sounds pretty good, although it seems like a lot of working out. Maybe its just that I'm jealous that you can get that many work outs in.
I'm in the same place with the stall, I really thought I'd lose it over the summer (southern hemisphere gal here) but I just stayed the same. Few kg down, few kg up, bounce bounce. And I know why, I'm not watching what I eat. So I'll join you on your re commitment journey. Lets break this stall!
Well, I gotta walk the dog at least three miles in the morning or he's a mess. So we start with that. The Willpower class is fun and is with my friends and I skip it when I don't want to go or when I have not seen my kids much because I've been working a lot (I'm a midwife and my schedule is not set). It's more a social outing than something I dread -- the class is empowering and my friends and I go out to brunch afterwards.
The bootcamp class is just plain hard but it's only half an hour. Going to it is what I hope will shake me out of my slump. I feel like I need to get to a higher fitness level in order to burn more calories when I'm running/walking by being able to go faster/further.
I do struggle with sleep deprivation. My kids go to bed at 9:30 and I have to be up by 6 to walk the dog before they go to school. If I don't dive into bed right after them, I end up getting less than 8 hours of sleep.
I don't know how, really, I work out as much as I do already, with my crazy schedule. The dog helps, because my workout is part of taking care of him. But I remember a year or two ago doing 1000 minute challenges to see if I could work out a little more than 30 minutes a day for a month and failing. Last summer there were weeks when I might work out 1000 minutes.
The thing I can't seem to handle is a very low calorie diet. I think, mostly, because it is sometimes not possible for me to eat on a regular schedule. So, exercise is always going to have to be a big part of my weightloss.
Being a midwife and trying to cut the pounds must be so hard because of the irregularity. I thought about being a midwife (its something I think about if I ever decide to change careers), but not sure how I'd do with the sleep issue, now that I've had kids (1 and 3yo) I really need my sleep more and I'm always tired.
I usually get three work outs in (Mon, Tue, Wed), either going to the gym for usually around an hour, or hitting the pool for an hour. Those are the three days my kids are in care. I try and go for a run on the weekend as well, and take the kids for a walk on the days they are home with me but the last month I just haven't made it on either of those scores (combination of weather and other commitments). I'm hoping though that I can get back in to the weekend run habit because weekends kill me, too much food!
I go back to work in two weeks, I'm hoping to still make it to the gym three times a week but with two little kids its hard. I can't go early and I'm really a first thing in the morning exerciser. I am planning on staying late at work three nights (work at university, so gym is there) although hubby isn't that happy about that plan haha. He is usually very supportive of my weight loss, and he's a great Dad, he is just useless at being organised!
It's hard to work out, I think, with kids that little. And I understand how a mom of young kids can get sleep deprivation. Mine are nearly 8 and 12, so they are a lot more independent.
What about twice a week at the gym during the week and then once on the weekend?
I'm not totally stuck -- I did manage to shed my holiday weight. I just noticed that I seem to be hovering a bit in February and would like to be moving the scale down a bit more.
Missed boot camp this morning due to sleep deprivation, but I ran up a hill instead. We'll see if sticking to both eating and exercise plans at the same time (I've been good about one or the other in the past) makes a difference.
Time to break my six month plateau!
