Progress Report

Tuesday
100/200/200: 15 min
(Week 3/Day 1)
Breakfast: 1 homemade Egg McMuffin, coffee w/skim milk
Mid-Morning: 1 mug hot cocoa (made w/skim milk)
Lunch: small serving leftover Garlic Salmon Linguine, 1 chocolate chip cookie
Afternoon: 2 toasted English muffins w/margarine, 2 c. skim milk, 3 chocolate chip cookies. Ugh, nothin' even remotely "moderate" about today!
Supper: 1 serving Baked Ham & Cheese Omelet Roll, 1 slice toast w/margarine & honey, 1 c. skim milk, 1/3 apple, 1/3 large orange
Evening: BAD, BAD, BAD. Today was a BAD day!!!

Wednesday
Breakfast: 1/2 c. skim milk, coffee
Lunch: 1-1/4 c. chicken noodle soup, 8 soda crackers, 1 c. skim milk
Afternoon: 3 more soda crackers
Supper: 6 chicken nuggets w/bbq sauce

Today was a crappy day ~ in more ways than one! :( My 8-yr old was up every 10-20 minutes to use the bathroom from about 4:30am on, and since our bedroom is right next to the bathroom, I didn't get much sleep after that either. Spent the morning at the hospital getting her checked out since this had been going on since Monday. Came home and was basically brain-dead by then. Zombied for the rest of the day.

Thursday
Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk, 2 slices toast w/margarine & honey
Mid-morning: 1 mug skim milk hot cocoa
Lunch: 1-1/2 c. Creamy Wild Rice Soup, 2 soda crackers
Supper: 1 serving Tomato-Herbed Pork Chops, 1 small serving onion rice, handful raw baby carrots
Evening: 1 large whole wheat tortilla w/peanut butter & honey, 1 c. skim milk
100/200/200: 17 min
(Week 3/day 2. This is definitely getting challenging!)

Friday
Breakfast: 1 slice toast w/margarine & honey, coffee w/skim milk, 1/2 c. apple juice
Lunch: Chicken Fajita Caesar Salad, garlic breadsticks w/dill dipping sauce, large ice tea (took my poor 8-yr old out for lunch after running errands because she's STILL not back to school and missed a rather special event this morning. Feeling fine, acting fine, but still needing a few too many sudden bathroom breaks to really make school possible.)
Afternoon: 1/3 slice of toast w/peanut butter & honey (leftover from Fidget's breakfast!)
Supper: 1 moderate serving Italian Sauced Chicken over Pasta, 1 large helping cucumber salad, 1 c. skim milk, 4 TimBits

Saturday
Breakfast: 2 pancakes w/margarine & syrup, 1 c. skim milk, coffee
3 miles: 55 min
(walked)
Lunch: 1/2 leftover pancake w/syrup, 1/2 c. apple juice
Afternoon: 4 heaping tablespoons cottage cheese, handful apple and orange slices, few Cinnamon Toast Crunch pieces leftover from one kid's snack
Supper: 1 hamburger, 1 small helping fries, 1 c. leftover cucumber salad, 1 tall glass ice tea
Evening: 1 mug tea w/honey

Sunday
Breakfast: 1/2 serving Baked Ham & Cheese Omelet Roll, 1 slice toast w/margarine & jam, 1/2 c. apple juice, 1/2 c. skim milk
Lunch: 1 serving Italian Sauced Chicken over Pasta, 1 c. ice tea
2 miles: 35 min
(walked)
Supper: 1 chicken & cheese quesadilla (made w/one large whole wheat tortilla), guacamole, salsa, fat-free sour cream, refried beans, large handful nacho chips, 1 can Coke, 1-1/2 c. ice tea

Monday
Breakfast: 1 slice of toast w/honey, 1 c. skim milk, coffee
3 miles: 60 min
(walked)
Lunch: 1 leftover hamburger, a few fries, large handful nacho chips, 1/2 c. ice tea
Afternoon "tea" with the girls: 1/2 c. skim milk, 1 Valetine's mini-cupcake (with just as much icing as cake!), 1 hard candy (while I was making supper)
Supper: 1 serving Hamburger Noodle Stroganoff, generous serving cooked peas & carrots
Evening: 1 mug tea w/honey

This week was rough. Even today, my daughter is still not fully herself (though I sent her back to school yesterday and there's been a drastic improvement over the number of required bathroom breaks ~Praise God!) and I have to confess, the worry has been a huge problem for me. Unfortunately, I think I've passed along to her my talent for almost literally worrying myself sick and over the weekend, hubby and I started to wonder if the reasons her recovery was taking so long were largely anxiety-related. Which makes me feel even worse....

Anyway, a VERY stressful week ~ one I'm hoping to never repeat. I'm hoping for a significantly better week next week! (although it would be tough to beat this week as far as evening snacking is concerned ~ woo-hoo!!)

Total exercise time: 3 hrs, 2 min (avg: 26 min/day)
Average Exercise Level: Moderate

Weigh-in Wednesday ~ tammi

Up another pound. I just can't seem to get my head in the game.

Actually, I think I would have done well if I hadn't had a feeling-sorry-for-myself-because-my-hubby-had-to-leave-for-the-week-again chocolate chip cookie binge the night before weigh-in. Tuesday to Saturday was really good, but Saturday night to Monday night were NOT. I'm pretty sure my stomach groaned a few times in there, but no growling!

Only one successful liquids/fasting day, but TWICE as much exercise as my goal for the week (only because hubby was still home longer than we expected and didn't leave until Monday night, making it possible for me to walk every day. But hey, I'll take it!), and mastery of Week 2 of the 100 Pushups, 200 SitUps, and 200 Squats challenges. I ''girlified" the pushups because my lower back was complaining ~ hubby says I'm obviously doing them wrong (and I'm not arguing), but if I continue to do them the manly way, I'm far more likely to just give up.

My plan for this last week was:

• remember to make sure my stomach growls at least twice a day llll lll
• complete week 2 of the 100/200/200 challenge done
• two successful fasting/liquids days l
• at least 3 walks or 30-minute workouts llll l (all walks ~ no surprise there, really!)

So with those goals, I'm fairly satisfied with how I did, but I'm still having a lot of trouble controlling my snack cravings. There seems to be no happy medium ~ if I allow ANYTHING, I binge till I feel sick.

Thanks, by the way, for all the Skinny Cow recommendations last week, but I really don't care for ice cream! (I know, call me crazy.) I prefer salty/savory snacks, so I guess I might need to start buying the 100 calorie chips bags. Not only are they salty instead of sweet, but because they don't melt, I can make each snack last longer! (theoretically...)

Dang it, I wanted to avoid paying extra for pre-portioned snacks, but it looks like I don't have the will-power right now to do it any other way. So I'll add those to my grocery list and other than that, I think I'll continue working on the same goals as last week ~ except week THREE of the 100/200/200 challenge, of course!

Tracking (and reporting) again. ::sigh::

Tuesday (half day)
Breakfast: 1 c. skim milk, coffee
Lunch: 1 c. leftover rice, 1 bite of Fidget's leftover pizza ('cuz that's all she left!), 1 c. V8 Splash
Supper: 1 serving Garden Chicken & Stuffing Casserole, 1 large serving cooked mixed veggies
Evening: 2 medium stalks of celery w/peanut butter, 1 mug tea w/honey

Wednesday (liquids)

100/200/200: 15 min
(week 2/day 1)

Breakfast: 1 c. skim milk, coffee, 1 slice toast w/margarine (half w/Nutella, too)
2 miles: 35 min
(walked)
Lunch: 1 mug skinny fake cappuccino (1/2 coffee, 1/2 skim milk, 3 tsp. chocolate milk powder)
Afternoon: 1 c. V8 Splash, 1 mug unsweetened green tea
Supper: 1 serving Shepherd's Pie, large serving cucumber salad

Thursday (normal)
Breakfast: small bowl porridge w/heaping Tbsp. brown sugar and a bit of skim milk, 1/2 c. apple juice, coffee
2 miles: 35 min
(DANG, it's cold out there! Minus 35C/-31F with the windchill!!)
Late Morning: 1 mug green tea w/a bit of honey
Lunch: 3 small pieces leftover pizza, 1/2 large orange
Afternoon: 1 chocolate chip cookie, 1/2 c. skim milk, 1 mug tea w/a bit of honey, handful snacking crackers and 2 slices cheddar
Supper: 2 servings Garlic Salmon Linguine, large serving tossed salad w/lite dressing, 1-1/2 c. ice tea

Friday (liquids)
100/200/200: 15 min
(week 2/day 2)
Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk, 1-1/2 c. apple juice
Late Morning: 1 mug green tea w/honey
Lunch: 1-1/4 c. hot V8
Afternoon: 1 mug hot cocoa (made w/skim milk)
2 miles: 35 min
(overdressed; definitely sweated off some water weight today!)
Supper Prep: 3 slices of cheddar
Supper: 1 c. Creamy Wild Rice Soup, 2 Cheddar, Chive & Garlic drop biscuits, 1-1/2 c. ice tea
Evening Snack (we were invited over to friends' for the evening): 4 small handfuls of tortilla chips w/warm queso dip, grapes, 2 mugs coffee w/sweetened, flavoured creamer

Saturday (normal)
Early Morning: coffee w/skim milk
Brunch (which lasted all morning): 2 homemade Egg McMuffins, 1-1/2 c. skim milk, 2 chocolate chip cookies
2 miles: 40 min
(took it easy today)
Afternoon: 1 can Coke, 2 large handful snacking crackers
Supper: large piece of farmer sausage, 5 cheddar & potato perogies w/fat-free sour cream, cooked carrots w/margarine & parsley
Evening: 1 can Coke, WAY too many nacho chips w/salsa, 3 small Toblerone triangles

Sunday (half)
100/200/200: 15 min
(week 2/day 3)
Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk, half slice toast w/Nutella, 1/2 c. skim milk
Lunch: Friends took us out for all-you-can-eat lunch buffet... 'Nuff said.
4 miles: 70 min
(walked; specifically UNDERdressed to burn more calories!!)
Supper: 2 leftover Cheddar, Chive & Garlic biscuits, 1/2 c. Creamy Wild Rice Soup, 1 serving leftover Garden Chicken & Stuffing Casserole

Today was NOT a "half" day, that's for sure!

Monday (liquids)
Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk, 2 fried eggs, 2 slices cheddar, 2 slices toast w/margarine & honey, 1/2 c. skim milk. Oof, liquids day is off to a rough start! (But I excused it with the fact that it was hubby's last meal at home until Friday supper at the earliest ~ and he wanted to make breakfast!)
Lunch: 1 c. hot V8, 1/2 c. skim milk

2 miles: 35 min

(walked)
Afternoon: 2 mugs green tea w/honey, 1 apple, 1 slice leftover cheese toast from lunch

Supper: small chunk farmer sausage, 1 large serving Macaroni & Cheese Deluxe

Evening (MELTDOWN ALERT): 1/2 bag lite microwave popcorn, EIGHT chocolate chip cookies, 2 c. skim milk

Man, I was doing so well until Saturday night! Been kinda downhill ever since... Hubby is FINALLY back to work; he left Monday night. The first night he's gone is always a rough one for me, eating-wise. Just my luck it was the night before weigh-in!

Total Exercise Time: 4 hrs, 55 min (avg: 42 min/day)
Average Exercise Level: Moderate

Weigh-in Wednesday ~ tammi

No surprises today. I'm up 1.2.

The possibilities of me reaching my goal for this challenge are getting slimmer and slimmer. (unlike myself...) I KNOW what I need to do, but I have been too weak-willed to force myself to do it lately.

This was my plan for this last week:

• no desserts, under ANY circumstances ~ FAIL. Had one or two handfuls of hubby's homemade chocolate chip cookies at least three days. Had dessert after supper the night we were invited out to friends.'
• fruit/veggie snacks ONLY ~ yeah, right. FAIL!
• two successful fasting days ~ I barely managed to fast between meals. FAIL.
• at least three 2-mile walks and three days doing the 100pushup/200situp/200squat challenge (details at the bottom of the sidebar) ~ only one day of situps/pushups/squats, but I did get in 4 walks because hubby's still not working. PASS... barely!

See? The gain isn't a surprise. I guess I need to get back to keeping track of everything I eat and reporting it here. Since that didn't seem to be making a huge difference in the weight LOSS department, I quit, but at least it was helping me not gain!

My plan for this week:

• remember to make sure my stomach growls at least twice a day
• complete week 2 of the 100/200/200 challenge
• two successful fasting days
• at least 3 walks or 30-minute workouts

Struggling.

I'm having a problem this week:

I don't care.
That is the problem; it's also how I FEEL about the problem.

I know motivation is a decision, not an emotion.
I know I overate yesterday.
I know I'm not getting nearly enough calorie-burning exercise in every week.
I know in order to report a loss (or even just maintenance at this point!), I probably need two good fasting days yet before weigh-in.
I KNOW these things....

But I just. don't. care.

HELP!!!!!!

Weigh-in Wednesday ~ tammi

I'm happy with the direction, but not so much the progress.

I'm down, but only 0.8 ~ a little off the 2.2 goal I set for myself last week...

I was did pretty well at mealtimes this week and got in a two-mile walk an amazing 6 out of 7 days, but I know there were more desserts than necessary. And not enough stomach-growling. I curbed snacking relatively well, too, but hubby was home all week, so the fasting efforts were completely abandoned. (his presence at home also explains the availability of desserts!)

I MUST kick it up a notch! (or three) I'm still 5.2 lbs away from my challenge goal, but that's still very doable as long as I take it very seriously.

So the plans for for this week is:

• no desserts, under ANY circumstances
• fruit/veggie snacks ONLY
• two successful fasting days
• at least three 2-mile walks and three days doing the 100pushup/200situp/200squat challenge (details at the bottom of the sidebar)

I need a big loss this next week because after that will the "the week of the arrival of that time of the month," and we all know how THAT works for weight loss.

Let's Do This!!

Wow!! It's been a LONG time since I've peeked in around here.

There's a reason for that.

I have this thing about authenticity. I don't ever want to portray something on this blog (or my personal one, for that matter) that isn't a true representation of me.

I found myself, for whatever reason, longing to lose weight... accepting every "challenge" known to man, but never really CHANGING anything. Sure, I'd lose a few pounds here and there, but ultimately end up gaining them all back (and then some!), and giving up.

Well, a lot has been taking place in my life over the last few months, and I now find myself in a season of peace, healing, and restoration. What better time to GET healthy and STAY that way?

So, I'm back. Not just back, but REALLY back. You know how I know??? Because there's more than just the desire to lose now, there's MOTIVATION and DETERMINATION.

I CAN DO THIS. I WILL DO THIS. I AM DOING THIS!!!

I started a new program (advised by my brother, the nutrition geek!) on January 1, and I am already DOWN 7 pounds!!!

There's nothing like a little success to further motivate, right??

But I'm not just bragging on myself, here. I am bragging on the God who loves me. He loves me enough to let me get to a place where I have to realize that I can no longer do things on my own. Nor was I ever meant to. He loves me enough to let me fall flat on my face and wallow around in the muck and mire of my own self pity until I have had enough! And then, when I cry out for mercy, He loves me enough to extend His hand, lift me up, and set my feet upon His firm foundation.

I keep going back to Beth Moore's "Believing God".

• God is who He says He is.
• God will do what He says He will do.
• I am who God says I am.
• I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
• His word is ALIVE and ACTIVE in me!
• I'm BELIEVING GOD!!

What am I believing God for? Well, definitely for strength and healing, coming out of a tough time, but also for MIGHTY MIRACLES. You see, He' s not done with me yet. He hasn't given up on me and never will.

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ~ Ephesians 2:10

For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you". ~ Isaiah 41:13

I am believing that He's got me. That nothing happens that is outside of his control. That I am his. That He loves me. That he has created me for His glory, and wants me to shine for Him. He has things for me to do... things for which I need to be healthy... mind, BODY, and soul.

So, enough with the excuses.

Here I am, Lord! Let's do this!!