The Real Slim Katie

2009-12-03T06:15:00.001-06:00

so i've lost another 2 lbs since Monday. wow.

2009-11-30T08:57:00.000-06:00

weighed myself this morning. and i'm down another pound, for a total of about 5 lbs lost since a month ago. pretty happy about that considering i had dessert on thanksgiving and i cheated a little this weekend. after all we got some maries candies turkins from the band and they are pretty much irresistable. so, anyways, i'm back on track today.

2009-11-24T07:14:00.000-06:00

still doing great with the no dessert challenge. i actually felt worse after eating dessert for dave's bday last week so now i don't even want dessert!
last week i gained back a pound or two but saturday i weighed myself and i was back down to my 4 lb loss. very happy about that. of course i wish it was like 15 lbs lost or something, but i'll take the 4.
did a cardio workout last week with my friend amie at a nearby church. very good workout. sore for 2-3 days afterwards so didn't work out anymore last week. i figure i need to ease back into this...

progress

2009-11-12T06:26:00.000-06:00

weighed myself this morning and i'm down a total of 4 lbs. yes!! i'm so excited. this is the lowest i've been in like 18 months. :) i called dave on his way to work and he was like "you're really doing it!!" haha, he knows about all my failed attempts in the last 2 years or so. but this is the NEW me. i wish that my neck felt better than it does right now though. i am not sure that i can work out feeling like this. headed to the chiropractor for the 2nd day in a row today.

also, i'd like to report that 10 days into the no dessert challenge, i'm still doing really well. i've decided to schedule my 5 free passes (where i can have dessert) so i can look forward to them and i won't blow it on a not so important day. so far i've determined the first 2. they will be next week for david's bday and on thanksgiving day. then i will probably save the other 3 for the month of december, when we might have christmas parties or something, before actual Christmas day...

good luck to the rest of you in your weight loss journeys!

the dessert challenge! and other weight loss stuff

2009-11-05T17:59:00.000-06:00

Esther, thanks for the comment... :) As moderator, I am going to go ahead and say that a snack size candy bar is contraband no matter what position you're in, or when you're eating it. :) It would have to count towards 1 of your 5 free passes....hahahaha...

Anyways, I am really excited about the dessert challenge. Right now, I know 3 people are doing it for sure and about 4 maybes. So, if any of my readers are on the fence about doing it, put down that cookie and join us! :) What do you have to lose? Other than weight? haha...

All joking aside, I think that this is a very tough challenge. Only thru prayer and help from God am I able to do this. I just keep thinking that my body is a temple and I need to take care of it and not eat bad food so often. This is going to be a spiritual journey for us all. How fun!

I'm so excited because I've lost about 2 pounds in the last couple weeks. This is the first time in a LONG time I've stuck with a diet more than about 3 days. I'm determined to make some lasting changes. And there's one thing I know, if I can cut back and go without dessert, then anyone can!

the dessert challenge!

2009-11-03T21:30:00.001-06:00

in order to not fall back into my old patterns i'm seeking out all kinds of people to hold me accountable for my newfound willpower and diet. skipped dessert for 2 meals today!

this weekend of skipping dessert with my father in law has inspired me. i would like to skip dessert from now until christmas and i am looking for people to join in this challenge with me!!

here are the rules:
1. we can have 53 free dessert passes between now and christmas (we can indulge in whatever insanely high calorie filled thing we want on 53 separate occasions, no questions asked.) - the number was upped from 3 to 5 to allow for christmas parties before christmas...
2. we can still have granola bars, applesauce, fruit, yogurt, pudding, sugar free items (within reason), and hot drinks such as coffee and cocoa, etc.
3. but in general - no ice cream, cake, pie, brownies or cookies, none of the really indulgent, gluttonous stuff.

i have never embarked on such a challenge but i'm determined to do this. if some others join in this challenge with me, especially for health reasons, then i think that i will find it even easier to stick with it. :) let me know if you're in!

victory!

2009-11-02T05:54:00.000-06:00

i had a couple small victories this weekend. did not gain weight on a trip to ohio. and did not eat dessert at lunch on sunday even though it looked amazing. i challenged my father in law phil to not eat dessert with me (since he's diabetic) and neither one of us did. :) this was a HUGE moment.

food diary

2009-10-15T17:33:00.000-05:00

points allotted - 25

no breakfast - slept in...

beef soft taco - 7
taco chips - 2
1/3 pepsi - 1

soft pretzel - 3
lemon fluff dessert - 4

potato soup - 6

fruit salad - 2

0 points leftover at end of day

new weight loss strategy

2009-10-12T14:14:00.000-05:00

wear tight pants so that i can't hardly breathe. when i think of eating food, won't want to anymore. i came up with this strategy when i realized that i could triple my wardrobe for free if i reintroduced all my tight pants.

grrrr...

2009-10-12T13:33:00.000-05:00

i'm putting away my summer clothes and getting out my winter ones. somehow all my sweaters shrunk while they were in the attic in a box...or....maybe i just got bigger! i was afraid of this. i hate tight clothes. i hate tight clothes. i hate tight clothes. seriously, i have to get real. and lose weight. seriously. expect more posts in the near future

update

2009-09-22T06:22:00.001-05:00

sept 11-20 - ate lots of rice and beans and anything that wouldn't upset my stomach in costa rica. lost about 4 lbs over the 10 days.

sept 21 - back home...

breakfast -
homemade oatmeal with raisins and walnuts - 5 pts

snack -
fiber one oats and chocolate bar - 2 pts

lunch -
green beans - 0 pts
WW lasagna meal - 6 pts
coke zero - 0 pts

dinner - 1/2 of a large papa johns pizza pepperoni - 28
3 bites cheesecake factory pumpkin cheesecake - probably 100 points!
pepsi - 3

points allowance - 25
points balance at end of day -
-19

well, there you have it. one horrible dinner ruined my good day. i had only used 13 points by dinnertime and then i ate waaaay to much pizza. oh well, lesson learned. pizza is not for me right now since i lack the self control to eat 1 or 2 pieces. :)

also, we rode our bikes about 2 miles last night.

update

2009-09-10T20:12:00.000-05:00

no exercise today. we fasted in prep for our mission experience so i didn't want to burn off all the energy that i had.

drank water until 6 pm
then had lasagna, salad, bread and a brownie

it's amazing how little food we actually need. :)

Update

2009-09-10T07:25:00.000-05:00

I'm back and I'm really, really going to lose weight again. I'm determined. Here's a log of my activity for the last 5 days and eating for the last 2 days (it took me a few days to actually start tracking my food intake...)

9/5 - walked 1.5 miles in a.m.

9/6 - walked 0.8 miles in a.m.
         biked 4.0 miles in p.m.

9/7 - walked 0.8 miles in a.m.

9/8 - walked 1.7 miles (treadmill) in a.m.
         walked 0.7 miles in p.m.
         biked 2.5 miles in p.m.

breakfast - water, mini bagel with cream cheese and low sugar strawberry jam
lunch - hot dog on bun, sour cream and onion chips, green beans, corn dog, coke
snacks - Fiber One oats and choc bar and skim milk
              1/2 cookies and cream poptart, grapes
dinner - apple with PB and cream cheese
             soft pretzel
             coke
             white rice and eggroll
             starbucks caramel maccchiato ice cream with choc chips in it

after this day I felt like an idiot. that's a LONG list of food. people in some other countries would only have rice for dinner, not all that other junk. and after having hot dogs for lunch. ah! And when did I start drinking pop again? And I really need to shop my choc chip obsession. Seriously! I claim that I am on a diet, but this really doesn't look like a diet to me.

9/9 - walked 1.76 miles (treadmill) in a.m.
         biked 5 miles in p.m.

breakfast - ham, egg & cheese mini bagel and iced tea
snack - apple
lunch - side salad with colonial dressing, bisucit & honey and beef vegetable soup (bob evans)
snack - soft pretzel with mustard
dinner - dave's leftover chix noodle and mashed potatoes from bob evans (1/2 of the meal)
             a couple spoonfuls of that starbucks ice cream with some pecans on top and extra caramel. yep.

after this day i felt a little better about my eating habits. but i still see some things I could work on

2008-06-08T18:15:00.001-05:00

sun - 2.8 mi bikeride

workout diary for the week

2008-06-05T21:26:00.002-05:00

mon - rode bikes 9 miles, walked 2.1 miles
tues - walked 1.5 miles
wed - walked/ran 2.36 miles, lifted weights 30 minutes, 150 crunches
thurs - took a nap on the couch in the evening and winced in pain as i climbed stairs at work cuz my quads hurt so bad from my earlier workouts this week

2008-03-31T20:28:00.000-05:00

went 3.35 miles in an hour tonight. yay!

2008-03-31T18:59:00.002-05:00

i must confess that i had a horrid weekend as far as my diet goes. it all started with pizza, buttered popcorn and hot tomales on friday. followed by coffee cake, cake, etc. saturday and mac n cheese and meatloaf for dinner, then cracker barrel for sunday lunch - fried chicken, corn muffins and hashbrown casserole, and then some more of that for dinner and chocolate chip cookies. plus, lots of snacks interspersed. WHY am i eating so much junk???????? and of course i didn't step on the treadmill all weekend. and today at weigh in, big surprise, i learned that i'd gained 1.2 lbs in the past week. i'm a moron. this is a terrible way to diet.

2008-03-27T18:56:00.000-05:00

2.4 miles in about 50 minutes. i love the treadmill =) definitely worth the $150

2008-03-26T19:42:00.002-05:00

after eating cookies and milk, and deciding to lay on the couch and watch tv, i changed my mind. i said to myself, at least if i'm going to watch tv (well, episodes from little house season 6), then i should workout. so i hopped on the treadmill. i didn't quit till dave got home an hour later. i walked (ran about 6.5 mins of it) 3.38 miles and burned 555 calories. =) just got done. at least i turned it around. i think too often i give up after i make one bad choice for the day. for instance, if i have a donut at work in the a.m., i resign myself to a bad diet day, i eat junk for all other meals and don't work out that day but come home and wallow in my slothfulness. i think that i need to change that trend. overall, it will be better for me even if i do fall for the occasional sweet....

2008-03-24T05:49:00.001-05:00

1.75 miles in 30 minutes. oh, how i love my new treadmill. must get ready for work now.

2008-03-22T18:30:00.003-05:00

over time, i've decided that the ymca doesn't really meet my needs. it is too far from my office and too crowded. i decided i wanted to buy a treadmill to use at home. we looked at play it again sports in carmel this week. found a very nice one for $600. almost went to buy it on thursday night and then our good friend duke stopped us. he told us his mom had one for sale. so today we drove over to cuyuga by the illinois state line today and bought it for $150. then we went out with duke and amanda to the covered bridge restaurant in eugene. it was wonderful. very quaint. and peanut butter pie to rival jenny's and dave's. :) (but no good whipped cream on top)

so, anyways, i started using my treadmill right away tonight. walked/ran 2.7 miles in 45 minutes. it was so convenient to just hop right on here in the house. now i will be able to work out in the mornings and not have to haul my clothes and curling iron and makeup, etc. to the gym and i won't have to work out after work and take up my evenings. i'm so excited!

here's a pic of me on the new component of our home gym. we put it right by dave's power tower so we can work out together.

2008-02-20T19:37:00.002-06:00

ran 23 minutes out of 30 tonight. went a total of 2.30 miles. i was really excited that i ran so much. i ran 2 intervals of 10 minutes straight in that time. pretty soon i'll be running in that 5k that dave and i have been talking about ;)

2008-02-14T15:28:00.000-06:00

by the way, lost 3 lbs last week. i'm soooooooo happy cuz i haven't lost weight in what seems like months. my pants are fitting a little better. but went to target and tried on some clearance items and 7 out of 9 things were way too tight. i got the pants i tried on zipped, but they were embarrassingly tight.

2008-02-13T19:00:00.000-06:00

ran 19/30 minutes. went 2.50 miles. yes!

and so i return again. ..

2008-02-07T18:34:00.000-06:00

with the paper routes over with i now have the time and energy leftover in my days for exercising and i'm back to dieting as well. over the course of the last 7 months of letting these 2 things slide, i gained back 10-12 lbs. all my clothes are tight. i feel disgusting. i'm unhappy. i can't breathe. my winter coats won't fasten. ugh. i want to be skinny! skinner than ever before. i must get my mind set on this.

i worked out tues and wed - ran 17 minutes out of 30 on the treadmill tues, covered 2.2 miles, ran 19 minutes out of 30 on wed, covered 2.3 miles.

i guess that i didn't reach my goal of walking/running 365 miles last year but i made it about halfway. that's cool, isn't it? now i can try for that goal again.

and i'd like to lose about 30 more lbs.

so, there you have it. my goals. i could complain and explain all the excuses for why i didn't stay healthy over the past 7 months, but who wants to hear all that junk? the fact is, i slipped. i couldn't juggle it all. now i have to start over again.

i realized driving home from the Y last night that i had been kind of depressed lately. (well, i knew that before...) but i realized that with the weather so yucky, no sun in sight and stress all over the place, i had allowed food to creep back into the spot of being the only thing i look forward to in life. if i had a bad day (which was everyday) i'd console myself with food. and look where it got me! back to fat! exercise boosts my spirits and helped remind me that food isn't really going to make me happy. maybe for a few seconds while i scarf it down but not later when i step on the scale...and then look in the mirror...and then try to fasten my pants and zip my coats.

2007-09-15T04:29:00.000-05:00

well, i'm back from a long vacation of slothfullness....

178.18 down / 186.82 to go... (this is somewhat of an estimation cuz i really haven't logged my workouts all summer...until this week.)

i have been feeling very lethargic here lately. tired. exhausted. and mostly, fat. my "muffin top" as camille calls it is back. a.k.a. fat roll above the top of my pants. so i rejoined the ymca this week. i worked out tues and fri. and i felt a LOT better. i really think that exercise makes a difference.

i cancelled my ymca membership in april to save $. i worked out consistently with julia till she moved and then it all went downhill from there. i got very busy with the 2nd job and then extra hours at work. and it was so humid. i promised myself early on that i'd work out at home. i'd run/bike down the road, etc. but that rarely happened. i think for me, i need a gym membership. it's an accountability thing. it's more structured so i stick with it better. plus, it's not humid on the treadmill....so i can't use that excuse. anyways, as of last weekend i realized that i'd reached a low point. i haven't really gained any weight back, but it has all reproportioned itself from muscle back to fat. i look like i've gained 10 lbs, in my opinion. and david's too, apparently, cuz he made several comments about how i ought to go to the ymca again....

anyways, it feels good to be back on track.

and i think i just broke my printer....so i better go work on that....

2007-05-24T18:21:00.000-05:00

147.68 down, 217.32 to go

2007-05-23T19:48:00.000-05:00

145.68 miles down, 219.32 to go. Woohoo!!

We went a whopping 10.5 miles on our bikes tonight. It was amazing!!

update

2007-05-21T20:18:00.000-05:00

135.18 / 229.82 to go

my bike is back in working order, pretty much, thx to my david.

Bike rack

2007-05-15T23:08:00.000-05:00

oh yeah...interesting story. turns out this new bike rack that we acquired is not all it's cracked up to be. on the way to ohio last weekend, my bike "blew" off of it onto I-70. it got caught on dave's bike (fortunately it didn't hit any other vehicles or cause any accidents) and we drug it a little ways until dave got the car stopped. the seat and gears were ground off. the back wheel is bent. i guess i won't be getting as many bike rides in for a while now until dave can fix it. bummer...

2007-05-15T22:56:00.001-05:00

129.18 /235.82 ...

2007-05-10T19:04:00.000-05:00

124.68 miles down, 240.32 to go - dave & i rode bikes together this evening. we had a really nice time.

Consistency and focus

2007-05-09T17:45:00.000-05:00

Over time, I am learning that the key to weight loss is consistency and focus.

We acquired a bike rack this week that we can use on either one of our cars, so lots of bike rides at different locations should be in our "Neer" future.

118.68 miles down, 246.32 to go (we went on a short 2 mile ride Monday night right before sunset, did nothing last night, and tonight - i almost didn't do anything, i'd had a long day and camille & dave were busy - but i forced myself to get out there and i ended up riding 6 miles all by myself. i took my cell phone just in case something happened, but nothing did and now that it's all over - i feel awesome!! yes!!)

2007-05-06T20:13:00.000-05:00

went on another bike ride tonight - 110.68 miles down, 254.32 to go

dave is making homemade peanut butter right now with the food processor. has anyone ever done this? we definitely recommend wearing ear protection. it is soooooo loud.

Over 100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-05-06T10:23:00.000-05:00

105.18 miles down, 259.82 to go.

i can't believe i've walked/ran/biked over 100 miles already this year. i think that my legs are beginning to become more defined from all this activity.

yesterday we went on a 7.5 mile bike ride all over the boone county countryside. it was so fun and we both got some sun. :)

Update

2007-05-04T20:11:00.000-05:00

I walked 2 miles with Camille Tues then walked, ran, and biked 3.5 miles last night with Dave. That brings me to 97.68 miles, so only 267.32 to go!

I have done a good job this week of maintaining a good level of physical activity and I only had chocolate on 2 occasions - on Thursday. I went Mon- Wed with no chocolate. I'm so proud of myself for that.

Update

2007-04-30T20:59:00.000-05:00

92.18 miles down, 272.82 to go

I've lost 2 lbs since last Wed.

After talking to Jill and hearing her awesome weight loss success story, I have recommited myself. I decided to not have any chocolate this week as that has been my main downfall the past couple months. I resisted it all day at work! And I tracked my points... So I was pretty pleased with myself.

And I've decided that even if I can't get a full workout in every day I will try to do something. I walked 1 mile with Camille after work today and then rode bikes for a 1/2 mile with Dave tonight. (And yesterday we rode our bikes 4.5 miles...)

I really feel like I'm back to the healthy Katie now.

Although I did eat a half loaf of homemade bread yesterday with David. Maybe he shouldn't make that stuff!

2007-04-26T19:05:00.001-05:00

Ok. In trying to lose weight I have somehow gained 7 lbs back. Not good. Not happy. Very sad. Camille & I are doing a fairly good job of working out together 86.18 miles down, 278.82 to go

2007-04-14T14:14:00.000-05:00

80.18 miles down, 284.82 to go.

i didn't walk a ton this week but i did start working out with camille officially. we didn't do any cardio thursday night but we did an awesome strength training workout. we were very sore on friday. we set a goal to work out mon, wed and thurs next week with hopefully more cardio.

Drinking Pop

2007-04-14T14:08:00.000-05:00

Check out this awesome site about soft drinks. David made me read it last Sunday. This article says that soft drinks should be called "Osteoporosis, Diabetes or Cancer In a Can."

It states that carbonated beverages are 100,000 times more acidic than water. Your stomach takes calcium from your blood to cure the irritation from all this acid, then your blood takes the calcium to replace what it has been robbed of from your bones. If the blood didn't do this, muscular and brain function would be impaired. The result - weak bones, or osteoporosis.

Knowing all this makes it 1,000 times easier to pass up a can of pop. (I just need to remember it every time I think that Sprite might "settle" my stomach - an excuse I've been using lately....)

Update for the rest of March

2007-03-29T18:59:00.000-05:00

So I haven't updated for a while. I have worked out quite a bit though. Had some bad weeks this month where work took over my entire life but for the most part I did pretty well. I'll try to summarize here: Some of these are estimates but oh well...

Mar 12 - 2 mi walk
Mar 13 - 2 mi walk
Mar 14 - 2 mi walk
Mar 18 - 1.5 mi walk
Mar 23 - 1 mi walk
Mar 25 - 7 mi bike ride
Mar 26 - 1 mi walk/run, 10 min weight lift/abs
Mar 28 - 2.11 mi walk/run, 30 min weight lift
Mar 29 - 5 mile bike ride

78.68 miles down, 286.32 miles to go

Mainly I have been enjoying the fantastic spring weather, walking or riding my bike outside whenever I can. Yesterday it was rainy so I went to the YMCA for the first time in a while. I will miss it (my membership expires Mar 31st...cuz we're on lockdown)

I went on some fun walks with Julia (my coworker) right before she had her baby Luke (Monday...). She showed me this really cool park in Zionsville. Dave & I have been back there 2 times already. I am so thankful to have met Julia. I miss her so much already (she's on maternity leave now and then moving to California for her husband's new job). She taught me to be very good and consistent with exercising and eating healthy. She always told me I needed to work out most in the times I'm most stressed out. Which is true...and also the opposite of what I want to do. She was also an excellent example to me of how to stay fit and healthy throughout a pregnancy. Maybe someday when I have a baby I'll be as good as Julia. :) Anyways, talk to ya later!

2007-03-05T17:50:00.000-06:00

55.07 miles down, 309.93 to go

i'm in a diet RUT

need to get motivated

the chiropractor recommended the book "Fit for Life", which is all about healthy eating. will probably read it

2007-03-01T19:41:00.000-06:00

49.07 miles down, 315.93 to go

life's gotten in the way of working out this week. i feel fat :(

2007-02-22T17:39:00.000-06:00

46.95 miles down, 318.05 to go

i had trouble with long distances today. got stomach cramps. i suppose that's cuz i've already worked out like 5 times in the past 6 days. so i still ran 1.25 miles, just not all at once

2007-02-21T19:59:00.000-06:00

44.7 miles down, 320.3 to go

i ran 1.5 miles tonight (not non-stop though. 1 mile at first then 1/2 mile later)

Update

2007-02-19T18:39:00.000-06:00

41.45 miles down, 323.55 to go.

i don't think that i'm right on track anymore of doing on average a mile a day but that is no reason for me to give up on this goal. i'm gonna keep at it.

i ran 1.30 miles tonight (up from 1.25 on saturday) ...even after all the sledding/climbing i did yesterday. i also did a bunch of crunches and 40 pushups. i feel good. i'm on a post-exercising high :) it is just so wonderful how i feel after working out. yes! that's reason enough to keep going.

on the downside - i ate way too much chocolate tonight. i made a pact in front of david and now...in front of the www that i won't eat any chocolate at all tomorrow. i always tell myself i'll just have one piece but then once i get that taste in my mouth, it's all over for the day. i crave it and can't think about anything else.

well, now i'm off to a nice evening with my david :)

Update

2007-02-17T10:32:00.000-06:00

37.7 miles down, 327.3 to go

i am so excited. 2 weeks ago i increased my running distance to 1.1 miles. this morning i got up early and went to the gym. i ended up running 1.25 miles out of 2.28. when i first started running this morning i thought i'd be lucky to run 0.25 miles cuz i hadn't been to the gym at all for over 10 days. i was feeling really out of shape. but i pushed myself. i kept thinking positive thoughts and i made it to a new record.

i also weighed in this morning (i missed my weigh-in wed.) i had gained 2 lbs since feb 7. i was a bit disappointed but i kind of knew that was going to happen. i have been eating a lot of bad stuff here lately. i at least know what i did wrong and what i need to change to make next week better.

2007-02-06T12:17:00.000-06:00

35.42 miles down, 329.58 to go

Update

2007-02-02T20:13:00.000-06:00

33.92 miles down, 331.08 to go

and i did 40 push-ups again.

then i had pizza....but not as much as i usually would have on a friday night!

Fitness Update

2007-02-01T18:41:00.000-06:00

30.25 miles down, only 334.75 to go

the treadmills, stairsteppers and ellipticals were full tonight so we did the bikes for about half of our time - that's how I hit 6.25 miles tonight...consequently, i decided to change my goal for the year - to "bike, run, or walk 365 miles" not just "walk or run 365 miles". david and i were actually talking about that too, over the weekend, i believe. cuz we like to go biking when it's nice out and i decided i wanted that to count towards my goal too.

I also did 40 pushups. My workout partner (who is 8 months pregnant) always does 40. I started out with 10, then 15, then 20, then 25. Tonight I did 40 right alongside her. I was so excited to reach yet another fitness goal! I guess I felt lame that my expecting friend was whooping me so I had to push myself.

I'm BACK

2007-01-31T17:37:00.000-06:00

Ok. So I officially re-joined WW last Wednesday. And in my first week back of being really strict with my eating - I lost *drumroll please* 3 lbs. YES! I'm so excited. I have my weight-loss confidence back.

How's everyone else doing with their New Years' resolutions, diets, etc.? Huh? I believe in you guys and I want to hear about it. Email me or comment or something. Bye for now!

2007-01-29T19:00:00.000-06:00

24 miles down, 341 to go :)

i lifted weights too tonight.

and i avoided snacking all afternoon. I am so proud of myself for that one. Even when there was a platter of cinnamon rolls in the office kitchen. I'm not even tempted!

2007-01-26T19:56:00.000-06:00

21.5 miles down / 343.5 to go :)

Daily Log, etc.

2007-01-24T19:46:00.000-06:00

19 miles down, 346 to go!!

i am also proud of myself b/c tonight at the Y i participated in a class - core conditioning or something like that...i have always wanted to join in a class since i've been working out at gyms but tonight was the first time i actually did it. i was a bit uncoordinated compared to the others there but oh well....at least i did it!

i joined back up with WW today. i was excited to find that i weigh right about what i did the last time i officially weighed in there in october. so, while i was not successful at losing any more weight, i was successful at maintaining a weight. and that's a lot better than the way i used to be (i gained 5-10 lbs a year all through college until the day that my former personal trainer pointed that out and i realized if i didn't change that i would weigh at least 300 lbs in 10 years...)

anyways, i am really looking forward to shedding the last 10-20 lbs. if i lose 15 more then i will be at the weight i was when i was in state fair band right before my junior year of high school. that's pretty much the skinniest i've ever known myself to be. i hardly look like "me" in the pics from back then. dave asked me the other day if i could even visualize myself skinnier than that. i said "no" - and i think maybe that's part of what has held me back since august... anyways, it's time now to go to the next level!

i'm feeling very hungry after my first day of not cheating on the WW plan at all in probably 6 months. but not too hungry. i think i have to get back in the mindset that i had last spring - being a little hungry is a good thing cuz it means i'm probably going to lose weight. YES!

Weight Watchers re-visited

2007-01-22T20:43:00.000-06:00

I'm re-joining WW on Wed. I want to lose about 20 more lbs. I want to stop eating junk. I want to feel the way I did last spring when I would watch 2, 3, and 4 lbs melt away each week... I'm joining with a friend from work. We are going to keep each other accountable in the midst of all the pizza, fun-sized candy bars, cookies, donuts, pretzels, and other various snacks that wind up sitting out in the office kitchen!

Daily Log

2007-01-22T19:28:00.000-06:00

17 miles down, 348 to go

Daily Log

2007-01-19T19:26:00.000-06:00

13.5 miles down / 351.5 to go

lifted weights too

Daily Log of Activity

2007-01-15T18:50:00.000-06:00

10 miles down / 355 to go

And I lifted weights for the first time in a while this evening!!

2007-01-08T17:51:00.000-06:00

6.5 miles down / 358.5 to go :)

Daily Log of Activity

2007-01-03T18:10:00.000-06:00

3.5 miles down /361.5 miles to go

...and now i'm thinking i might need new tennis shoes. my toes hurt!!!!

2007, here I come!!

2007-01-02T19:19:00.000-06:00

So I was browsing thru this one girls' blog this evening. http://miralas.blogspot.com/2007/01/happy-new-year.html I found her site a while back.... I've never actually commented on it or anything. I just think it's cool cuz she often puts on neat Western US pics and Dave & I once dreamt of moving to Wyoming, so...I guess I'm living vicariously thru her. So, anyhow, I did not know that she'd lost 30 lbs last year. Or that she read the whole Bible.

I was also checking out Chris & Jenni's site (they're the ones who had the house fire earlier this year) http://www.chrisandjenni.com/2007/01/02/follow-the-leader/ I decided that I should set a New Years Resolution so that I will stay more on track but do like Jenni said her pastor suggested and state what I'm not going to do and what I will do instead, since the Bible does that.

I want to set a goal of running/walking 365 miles this year. I know I won't be able to run 500 miles like the girl in Wyoming but I will start logging the miles that I run/walk at the gym or outside from now on so that I know what kind of progress I'm making. This goal should ensure that I never can take much time off exercising this year :) And that should lead me to lose more weight...YES!

Lesson Learned...

2006-12-13T19:02:00.000-06:00

So, while I've been out trying to be "Super-engineer" the past 2 weeks, I've successfully reduced my workout time to about 30 mins/week. I have felt down, depressed (hence all the complaining on the our regular blog), and I have gained back some of the weight I lost in November.

Yesterday I was feeling really discouraged. I felt like my fat was growing. Ah! So, David and I were discussing how I can get back on track before we went to bed last night.. I decided there were a couple problems.

I'm not tracking all my food intake anymore. I need to be more regular about writing it all down.
I'm not getting some of the pep talks I got at the WW meetings since I quit. (But I still don't think that I will re-join yet. Dave convinced me that it would be a greater victory to lose weight on my own.)
I am trying to juggle working extra hours, preparing for Christmas, and maintain the same level of health/fitness and plan out all my meals to be healthy. It is just not working. I think in my mind that if I work extra hours at my job that it shouldn't effect my health/fitness, etc. I thought that I was just not used to it but maybe next week I could begin to handle the working extra and still not suffer health/fitness-wise. However, last night I started thinking about it realistically.... If I work an extra hour each day at my job, then that takes away the hour in the evening I would spend at the gym. If I decide to go to the gym anyways (which I usually don't do cuz I am tired at that point and feel I deserve a night off cuz I worked so hard), then I end up getting home an hour later. I am grouchier when I get home then and rush through making dinner because I'm starving. I make poor choices about what to eat or I just plain overeat good foods b/c I'm "starving". Anyways, then David suffers b/c I get in a bad mood from waiting to eat, and he has to wait too, and then I gain weight and feel bad about my looks and...yeah....then we just don't have the same relationship. Whew! It's a domino effect. What a disaster. Just from working a little extra. Ahhhhhh.... Anyways, so we decided that I should really make working out a priority. I will not lose weight even if I eat the same amount if I'm not exercising like I normally do. We're paying for a gym membership. I might as well use it.
But then............I worked till 6:15 tonight (an extra hour and 45 mins....). I called Dave. He said he'd be at work till at least 8. So I worked out and came home to an empty house.

And now I'm wondering..........is this all there is to life???

(Ok. So I didn't really mean to end this post all depressed-sounding...I really am feeling good about stuff since I worked out. It's an instant mood lifter. I just wish Dave were here to share it with me....ok. yeah. depressed-sounding again. I think I should just give up and call it a night! See ya!)

2006-12-01T08:45:00.000-06:00

lost 4.2 lbs in november. yes!

New Diet Strategy

2006-10-27T10:56:00.000-05:00

well, i decided, in an attempt to save money, to not officially do weight watchers anymore. i'm gonna try it on my own for now on. i feel that i need to buy a new more accurate scale to do this. so we probably will this weekend. this is a little scary for me but i'm determined to prove to myself that i can lose weight on my own without the structured program...

Fitness Goal Attained!!!!!!!!!

2006-10-13T22:15:00.000-05:00

Ever since last July (...15 months ago...) when I began working out consistently, I have had the goal to be able to run a mile. And if I could run a mile, I would like to run it faster than I did in high school (which, let's face it, was no record...12:30 was the fastest then...)

So, anyhow, last July I could barely run 10 seconds without coughing and wheezing...I was so out of shape. Ever since, I've been hitting the gym 2-5 times / week. I usually try to do 30 mins of cardio (treadmill, elliptical, stairstepper, etc.) in addition to some weight training. Gradually, I've trained myself to run. I have been slowly increasing the amount of time that I run within each 30 min period. In March, I began working out in intervals of 1 or 2 mins of walking and running for a total of 30 mins. Slowly over the summer I increased the amount of running time. In September on a biz trip to Knoxville, I managed to run the longest ever - 5 minutes straight. I was so ecstatic! Then I began increasing to 6, 7, 8 minutes of running. Last Friday, Oct 6th, I ran 10 minutes then I decided if I just kept going a little longer, I would have run a full mile. So I did it. I ran 1 whole mile in 11:20. I was so proud of myself. Monday I tried to do it again. I was a little under the weather and did not quite make my time from Friday. Ran it in 11:46 though. I know that these are not stellar times by any means. I know people who run 5 minutes miles. But for someone who couldn't even run 10 seconds straight just over a year ago, I think that I've made fantastic strides!! I feel on top of the world!! YES!

Well, it really pays to write down goals....

2006-09-01T12:01:00.000-05:00

....and write down what I'm eating...

September is starting off really well. I lost 4.4 lbs this week. (I weighed in today so I'd know where I was before going on vacation.) I'm over halfway to my goal of weight loss for the whole month of September! I just have to be good and not gain it all back this week...

2006-08-28T13:22:00.000-05:00

Today at weigh-in I found out I'd lost another 1.2 lbs. I have almost recooped the 3+ lbs that I gained a few weeks back. It boosted my confidence to see a loss over 1 lb. Kinda made me want to keep going.

At the meeting, we talked about setting goals for September and writing down things we will do to try to reach our goals. I have decided to set a goal to lose 8 lbs in the month of September. That will be 2 lbs/week basically. I know that I need to step it up a gear and setting a goal like this might just help. I think I will do several things to reach this goal:

Reduce the number of 100 calorie packs, manufactured foods I eat. Eat more naturally occuring foods such as fruits, veggies.
TRACK my points. Stay within the recommended ranges (i.e., actually FOLLOW the WW plan!)
Reduce the number of times I eat out in a week.
Reduce the number of desserts and snacks I eat.
Only eat when I need nourishment, not because I'm bored, happy, sad, etc.
If making something at home, change the recipes to be healthier.
Remember that although I look a lot better now, I still want to lose almost 20 lbs!!!

cheerleading for myself...

2006-08-24T09:41:00.000-05:00

weighed in yesterday. lost 0.6 lbs since my last weigh-in august 7th. i think that's pretty good considering all the food i had for our anniversary, then eating out while on biz trips the last 10 days. i feel a renewed commitment. i only have about 20 more lbs that i want to lose. i know that i can do it. i want to get down another size. then i can really begin to SHOP! YAY!

revamping the diet

2006-08-10T08:10:00.000-05:00

thinking about going on a "raw" diet where i eat nothing cooked for as long as possible. only fruits, veggies, nuts, etc. no meat. or maybe the protein shake thing again for 2 days. i need to jump start the weight loss again, stop eating 100 calorie packs of doritos and cheetos cuz i feel it's not as bad since it's only 100 cals. if i do something drastic like this it will psychologically shrink my stomach and maybe i won't feel the need to eat as much as i have been the last couple of weeks.

2006-08-07T21:43:00.000-05:00

Ahhhhhhhhhh...gained 2.4 lbs this week. A little discouraged but deep down I know that I am just not trying as hard as I did when I started this diet. I need to be realistic and stay focused. I feel fat tonight.................ate too much in a state of depression after weighing in I think...

2006-08-01T09:42:00.000-05:00

2006-07-31T16:19:00.000-05:00

Found at out weigh-in that I've lost another 3.2 lbs! Yes!! Even after fair week and eating mexican two times...

Progress!

2006-07-27T20:45:00.000-05:00

Ok. Just in case I (and all you avid readers out there) didn't know, I am making progress toward better health and fitness. Yay! This evening, Erica and I both had fitness assessments with my old personal trainer, Kim. I love these assessments more and more as the months go by. I've had one about every 2 months since last September. So, anyhow...here's the overall picture in a nice mathematical format. It's kind of embarrassing to admit my "before" state but perhaps I can encourage someone...?

Last September, I was at a whopping 41.7% body fat. I was officially considered "obese." As of this evening, I have 28.1% body fat. That falls in the "Moderate" % body fat range. At this point I'm striving to go down another 5% or so to be in the "Good" range. That seems pretty attainable, as I went from 33% to 28% since the end of May...perhaps by the end of September or something I'll be in that range. Overall, I've lost 29 lbs according to their scale - that includes a loss of 35.3 lbs of fat and a gain of 6.3 lbs of muscle.

With the skinfold test: I lost 9 mm of fat hanging on my tricep, 27 mm of fat around my waist, and 20 mm of fat on my quad, the top of my leg...

Other stats: My cardiovascular fitness has improved from "Poor" to "Fair", my bicep strength has gone up from "Poor" to "Average," as I can lift 18 more lbs with my biceps. I can now do 17 more pushups in a minute than I could 10 months ago. I can also bench press 36 more lbs than 10 months ago. My flexibility remains "Good" (yes, that's all I had back then...).

My body age was 30 in Sept and is now 24, which is my actual age. So, I'm really pleased with that. The trainer says that I can attain a body age of 18, so I guess I'll keep striving for that!

Anyhow, I am really pleased with the results I'm seeing. It doesn't happen overnight, but then again, I didn't gain 60 extra lbs overnight either. :) That happened over the course of about 6 or 7 years... I'm just happy that I am making changes that I believe will stay with me for years to come. I have integrated new habits of exercise and healthy eating into my life . Over the past 10 months, I've worked out at least 2 times a week all but about 3 weeks. That is so much better than any other year in my life. I am so encouraged after this assessment to just keep at it. About 20 more lbs to go and I will be at a healthy weight. Yes!

Bad news

2006-07-10T12:25:00.000-05:00

Well, here's my contrary wind for the week... Weighed in today and gained 3.4 lbs. Ouch. Different scale than last week so don't know if that had something to do with it or what. Oh well. It was not an "official" WW weigh-in b/c it is in between 12 week sessions, but I still feel pretty bummed. I will just have to be determined this week to NOT give in to cravings, bad choices, etc., etc. :( The past couple weeks I haven't been journaling what I'm eating and I think that might have something to do with this big gain too. I just kept getting more and more lax. Big mistake. Back to journaling and focusing now.....

The weight loss continues...

2006-07-03T12:45:00.000-05:00

Had weigh-in at lunch today. Lost another 1.2 lbs this past week, even though I was on vacation eating carbs, cookies, and then Chinese, loaded fries and Mexican food once I returned to Indy... That's a total loss of 23.2 lbs on WW, about 29 lbs altogether since Christmas... Woohoo! I am just so excited! I feel like I really know how much food my body needs now to continue a slow and steady weight loss. For the first time in my whole life probably I feel good about the way that I look and most of all, I feel like I have control over how I look...