The damage

So my 5 days away has resulted in a net wait gain of........*drumroll please*..........

1.8 lbs.

I finally got brave enough to check this morning. I am bummed out for sure, but it isn't surprising. I was really distracted and away from home. Although I did use a treadmill a couple of times while I was away, it wasn't enough to negate the crap I ate and the stuff I drank. It's my own fault and now I gotta do the work to fix it.

So going with that....last night I did 30 Day Shred. I felt accomplished after, as I was definitely sweating (sweating makes me happy; it makes me feel like I really worked hard). Not sure what I can do tonight, as it's a kind of busy night, but I will try to do something. Unfortunately our treadmill is out of commission - the belt is kind of "crooked" and manual adjustment by my husband was not enough to get it centered right. So he called and they are going to come to take a look at it, but it might be several days and until then they recommended we not use it. From what I gather, it is not uncommon for the belt to be "un-centered" right off the bat, so hopefully once the professionals come out and get it right, we won't have any more troubles. Good thing for a warranty, anyhow! *PHEW*

Tomorrow night I am going out to eat and then to a concert...no kids, no hubby. Just silly girl time. I am excited, I really need a little silly girl time to get away from it all. It has been quite an overwhelming last week or so.

And my most current weight-loss goal? To be at the 20 lb mark one week from today.

I'm still here....

I apologize it has been so long since I've been around. We had a busy weekend planned anyhow, with my older daughter's birthday on the 17th and her party that weekend. Unfortunately busy became busier when my grandma passed away (on the 17th). Our travel plans for 3 days turned into 5 days. Then my daughter got sick and couldn't be at her own birthday party. It has just been a whirlwind lately, so that is why I have not been around.

To be honest, I have not weighed myself at all. I suspect I gained a little, because I didn't eat nearly as healthy while away from home as I should have. I had some alcoholic beverages (mostly wine and Raspberry Smirnoff Ice...girlie drinks you know) and those are full of calories as well, and always make me retain water. I weighed myself while away and it was quite a difference (though part of that is going to be due to different scales, different time of day it was, and retaining water because trust me no way did I gain that much in FAT back over just a few days). However I am happy to say that with the exception of a couple Girl Scout cookies last night, I am back on the wagon.

I am still sad and there is kind of a lot going on (sick family members, the fact that most of our stuff from being away is still not unpacked, working long hours, left my suitcase back at my parent's house), so I cannot guarantee daily blog entries for a few days yet, but I will try my best. On the plus side, I am excited for this weekend...going to a Blake Shelton concert so that should be fun...

I really need something fun.

Am I going to get stuck?

Ok. I know it has only been 24 hours since I weighed in yesterday and hit 19 lbs. But! I really, really wanted to get that 20 today! I worked so hard yesterday, but...booo....this morning I weighed exactly the same as yesterday. It could be worse, yes. I am fine with this really, I am just so impatient!! I ate well, I did crunches, I did a little bit of weights, and I did 30 minutes on the treadmill. Including running...at my own wimpy pace...for 10 minutes straight. That is my record! It started out I was only able to do a couple minutes before feeling like I was about to die. Then one day I did 5, then 6, then 7, and yesterday I jumped from 7 to 10. So anyhow I just wish all that effort had pushed me to the 20 lbs mark. It didn't.

Maybe I will wait to weigh-in until Friday morning. Give it a couple of days.
Good luck to me. 20 lbs is an exciting mark that I want to hit!

I weighed in...

And I didn't hit 20 llbs. Yet.

I did, however, hit 19 :-)

It's 4 am on a Monday

And I pull my crazy ass outta bed so that I can go jog on a treadmill in a chilly basement? This is SO not like me.

But I did it today - my first early morning work out. It was hard to get up, of course. Once I got going, it went well though. Sure, the basement is chilly, but the chill doesn't last long when you are working out. Before long I was sweating up a storm. I did my normal 30 minutes, and then went on about my morning as I normally would.

Tomorrow morning I will weigh myself. If I get a chance....I work at 5 am tomorrow, and I ain't about to get up at 3:30 for exercising. (I plan to do my 30 minutes on the treadmill tonight, instead). But I'm sure I can fit in 2 minutes to turn on the Wii Fit and do a basic weigh-in.

I am crossing my fingers that I will hit the big TWO - OH - 20 lbs lost. Wish me luck - 24 more hours to make it happen!


"What you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple. Whether you are willing to do it, that's another matter'.
-Peter F. Drucker

Resetting the weigh ins.

The reason I was weighing myself in the evening, even knowing weight fluctuates daily, was because I worked out primarily using the Wii, and so I used the Wii to weigh myself and it was most convenient to just do so at the beginning of my work out.

Now that I will be working out more in the morning, I decided to finally make the switch and start weighing in the morning. I'm still going to use the Wii though - I love it for my weight. It is very accurate too - I tried it twice this morning and both times it gave me the exact same weight and exact same BMI (I realize the BMI might be off from reality but I'm sure it's not too terribly off). I have mentioned before how I love that it shows you a graph of your progress. I love looking at that line going dooooown. It also takes into account your clothing. Before weighing it asks you to chose between heavy, medium or light clothing.

So, yes, I said I weighed myself this morning. Taking into account of course, that it is bound to be less because the last time I weighed in, it was in the evening. But even so, I think another 2 lbs is a good deal. I full expect that by tomorrow morning I might be another pound down. ;-) Yes, I have high expectations. Maybe that is why I've been successful?

Anyhow, with that 2 lbs I surpassed a mini-goal I had, which was to get to the weight I was before I lost 40 lbs for my wedding back in 2004. It was a weight I was at for a long time, my body liked it. So of course I'm a little concerned about getting into a rut here, but I am determined to get through it and reach my next mini-goal. Here goes. My next mini-goal is to get below 200 lbs. I set it as a goal on the Wii, to lose my next 10 lbs (which will put me at 199) in a month.

I know. You can do the math. I am at 209 right now, and have lost 18 lbs (see ticker, wooooot!). My official starting weight was 227. Thanks to another friend who was brave enough to post her own starting weight on her blog!

Today is setting up to be another busy one - we've got errands to run, a ton of laundry to do, and it is so nice outside we have to get the girls out to play. I also decided I liked my new work out outfit so much that I'm going to buy another one (same one in a different color). It was just so nice not worrying about my pants falling down or riding up for once. Anything I can do to keep my momentum is worth it, and it doesn't hurt that we just got taxes back, its almost the season for a bonus, and I will have 33 hours of overtime on my next check. A $30 outfit is well worth it to keep myself motivated and happy and comfortable.

The first time *wink*

No. This blog is not suddenly getting very personal. I'm talking about my first time working out on the new treadmill.

I. LOVE. IT!

I went and bought a pair of shoes that are strictly for treadmill use. I didn't want to go spending a ridiculous amount of money on shoes (some can be what, $200?) but I wanted something good too, and didn't want to just buy some $10 cheapies. I came out with a pair of New Balance shoes, they were on sale so I felt I got a pretty good deal on a decent pair of shoes. One more amazing thing? I chose my shoes based on how they felt and not how they looked! This is an accomplishment for me - what I chose are cute too, but there was this to-die-for pair of black, gray and pink Nike's...but they didn't feel as good as the New Balance ones I chose. Too bad, because the Nike's were cheaper. Oh well - I wanted something that I could feel good in. And going with that thought, I bought a new workout outfit too...until now I've been working out in...lets just say it's crap. Shorts that don't stay up, shorts that ride up, shirts that are way too big and uncomfy. So I thought it was time for something nicer. All of these things may seem trivial, but to me they are bit motivators and will help me to get on the treadmill each day...and enjoy it!

So anyhow, I did 40 minutes on the treadmill. Much of it I did at a 2% incline, and I alternated walking from 3 - 3.5 mph, and jogging at 4.5. One time I kicked it up to run at 5.5, but only for a minute towards the end. It's sounds small, but...one step at a time, right?!

I already have some favorite feature of the treadmill we chose. First of all, the one-touch speed and incline controls. Instead of scrolling through to get the speed or incline you want, you can touch the 4 or the 3 or whatever it may be. If you touch 4 and 5 in fast succession, you get 4.5. I love it! Another thing I love is that it is ipod/iphone compatible. I spent my workout tonight listening to Pandora through my iphone, which was plugged into the treadmill and the music played out of the speaker on the treadmill. Love it!!

So I don't plan on weighing myself tonight. I think I will wait until tomorrow night. Stay tuned!