Happy Valentine's Day (the day after)

Valentine's Day doesn't hold much significance to me or my fiancee, so our celebration was minimal.  I was reading Ninety Percent's blog post on V Day, and it made me feel like I had missed out on the lovey dovey holiday.  Kate knows I love and adore her, but what about all my great, amazing friends?  My family?  Maybe they deserve some blue cheese mac & cheese too.

Speaking of our V Day meal, goodness I overate yesterday!  Between the ice cream, tons of mac & cheese, and the chocolate, I don't believe I will get a loss this week.  Plus, I can't exercise right now due to my ankle, so I think I simply need to accept that fact, move on, and eat as healthy as I can for the rest of the week.  For lunch today, I ate rice and a boca burger rather than the DELICIOUS leftover mac & cheese we have in our fridge right now.

I'm halfway through the month, and I have a little more than half (6/10) my life points left on Health Month.  My three rules are:

1) Exercise for 30 minutes at least 4 times a week
2) Stay under my recommended calorie count at least 4 times a week
3) Don't snack after dinner.  3 times a week.

It's a challenging month, for sure, but having these rules 4 times a week rather than 5 (like I did last month) means I know I can accomplish my goals.  I'm glad to have this last week behind me, and for today to start the next week in my journey.  I think my goal will be to lose up to 1 life point.  Let's see if I can do it.

Weekly Weigh-In (188.2)

Current weight: 188.2
Week's weight loss: +2.6Total weight loss: 38.2


I'm going to say that last week is now behind me, and this week will bring on massive weight loss.  The scale may be reading muscle mass, or typical weight changes, or it might be reflecting on the not-so-stellar eating habits I've developed since I was sick.  


Yesterday I didn't eat that well (hello, Chipotle!), but I did lace up my running shoes and hit the pavement for my final run of my first week of the Couch to 5k program.  It was so much easier to do this run - only my third run this year - than it was two weeks ago for the exact same run.  My legs don't hurt today, and I'm excited to run again tomorrow.


Normally I let "bad" days be begones, but it's good for me to reflect on how I can improve upon my slip-ups.  I need something to keep me accountable, in a way that SparkPeople just doesn't inspire me to do.  So, before playing Health Month this morning, I went back to SparkPeople to log all my calories for the day.  HM helps me keep accountable.  I don't know why their system makes compels me to track more and be honest - with myself and the game - but it does, and I really love it for that.  I do wish there was an easier way to be accountable to others as well, and make it more social.


This week is going to rock, I just know it.  I'm going to start on the second week of my 5k program tomorrow, and I can't wait.  I'm amazed by how much I have fallen in love with running.  Who knew?

The tools of the trade

After yesterday's crazy weigh-in of 5 pounds in one week, I wrote this list of the tools that I need to use to actually lose weight.  

The tools I need for success:

1. Routine - This morning I got up early and went to the gym.  It was amazing and great.  I love being out as the world begins to wake up, and starting my morning off right.  I've somehow misplaced my iPod, but hope it turns up.  All the same, my morning work out routine begins my day right with focusing on being healthy.
• Daily weigh-ins
• Weekly blog weigh-ins
• Morning gym routine
2. Lose a pound a week  - This is tied with the next thing - small, achievable goals - but I need a realistic larger goal too.  I also need to feel like I'm a success
• If my weight really is 176.0, I want to be 170.0 by October 1
3. Small, achievable goals with a method - This is the only way I can loose weight.  I know that if I have a measurable goal, it makes slip-ups manageable and doesn't make me feel like a failure.  To lose a pound a week, I need to be at a 500 daily calorie deficit.  (A pound is 3,500 calories, divided by 7 days.)  I naturally burn 1,900 calories a day without exercise, so I need to eat 1,400 calories a day to create a 500 calorie deficit.  
• Lose a pound a week, 170.0 by October 1
• Maintain an average 500 calorie daily deficit
• Eat four 300-400 calorie meals a day
• Eat between 1,400 and 1,700 calories a day, depending on exercise
• Plan meals ahead
4. Make healthy choices - This is the hardest one by far.  There is no tool for this one, there's on my inner psyche.  I make healthy choices by prioritizing myself, which I do by sticking to everything I wrote above.

Post-Passover

Monday’s weigh in: 170.2
Total loss: 56.2

I’m back a little curvier, but I’m here!  Passover was stressful – personally (family) and professionally (professional Jew), but it was also lovely.  Passover is a holiday celebrating the Israelite Exodus from Egypt, and is an opportunity for the (inter) faith community to come together and celebrate the need for freedom for all.  I very much love my job, and I love the idea of freedom for all.  It’s such a wonderful holiday, even if it does involve some bland non-rising matzah.

For the past few months I have been unmotivated to lose weight.  While I haven’t gained back my motivation, I do know what I can do to get myself back on track.

1. I cannot dislike my fat away.  I hate how corny it sounds, but I have to like and honor my body and what it can do for me to lose the weight.  When I’m disgruntled, I care less about the wellbeing of my body and will often eat in frustration.  My body is a temple, and I need to care for it so.
   
2. Track calories is a must.   If it goes in my mouth, I need to record it.  Tracking is an automatic form of accountability, and it keeps me aware of how much I’m putting in my mouth.
   
3. I cannot skip the morning routine.  I’ve been staying up late for a variety of reasons, but I like my weight loss program and myself a lot more if I get myself to the gym before work.

I didn’t go to the gym this morning, but I did yesterday and I will tomorrow (and hopefully the rest of the week!).  I ate within my caloric goals yesterday and even hit every nutritional goal in the process!  I made myself quinoa with chicken Sunday for lunch for the week, and have been supplementing it with some frozen deliciousness in my work freezer (Morningstar Chick Patties, Trader Joe’s frozen rice with melted cheddar, frozen veggies, and fresh carrots).

In other news, this is my 100th post.  Go me!

Weekly weigh in (170.4)

February 15’s weight: 168.0
This week's weight: 170.4
This week's weight lost: +2.4
Total weight lost: -56.0
February’s weight lost: -1.4

I skipped my weigh-in last week, but I’m back now.  I’ve been feeling very badly about weight recently – how did I manage to gain 4 pounds?!  (I weighed myself last Wednesday, and was at 172.)   I’m feeling unsuccessful and off-goal.  So it is a shock to me that I still managed to lose 1.4 pounds in February.  It’s not the 4 pounds I was aiming for, but it’s still a loss and it makes me feel somewhat successful.

Accordingly to my goal chart, I should be at 167.  While three pounds is truly a very small amount, it’s the difference between feeling like a winner and feeling like a failure.  I want to stay on-goal, I want to stay successful.  I’ve been trying to tell myself that I am successful – I have lost 55 pounds!  But I still can’t shake how many pounds off-goal I am, and trying to figure out ways to get back on-goal. 

But I did lose 1.4 pounds this month.  And I know that by the end of next month I’ll be able to say I’m on-goal again.  I just know it.  I’ve begun working out in the mornings again and I’ve been studiously tracking my calories.  I know I can do this!

Talking the talk

A little irony for you: the week I start blogging about weight-loss is the week that I gain two pounds. It was foreseeable (even expected). Every time I go home I gain some weight due to the delicious cooking and eating out. Yet, I've often gone home and gained four pounds in two days, and this week was quite the reverse: only two pounds in four days!

I am definitely improving my eating habits, despite the weight gain. I am both dreading and looking forward to my vacation next week in San Diego. It is a test of my willpower. There will be no portion-controlled Lean Cuisine waiting in the freezer for me when I'm hungry. I will need to navigate the "real world" of food, and manage my own food addiction. I hope I can be somewhat successful. While I would love to say success would be to continue to lose weight while on vacation, I don't think that's possible for me at this time. If I do not gain weight the week I am gone, I will consider that a very big success.