Spring Fling ~ Week 5 weigh-in

I'm sick today ~ had a fever since yesterday, didn't sleep well for more than 3 hours last night because of what I'm guessing is an ear infection, and I'm cranky.

Grrrr.

And I'm up 0.6, dang it.

Looking for insight, ideas, and/or inspiration?

Then I'd encourage you to visit this post over at my cousin/SIL Andrea's weight-loss blog. She's lost 55 lbs over the last 9 months and she's taken the time to write out the recipe for her success. Definitely worth the read.

Spring Fling weigh-in #4

Frustration reigns supreme today.

I'm up 2.8.

And naturally (we all know it but never want to admit it), there's no one and nothing to blame but ME.

I think some of this gain is a carry-over from last week's TOM downrightcrazyinsatiable appetite. But mostly it reflects a lack of self-discipline over the last two weeks. I'm unmotivated and quite frankly, I find myself not caring.

There. I said it.

My name is Tammi, and I just don't care about weight loss very much right now.

But I know this isn't helping my A-Team sistahs (or my waistline), so I need to DECIDE to be motivated.

Waiting to FEEL motivated is a fatal flaw in weight-loss efforts or any other goal-setting exercise. If we base motivation on feelings, it's only temporary ~ and often won't be there at all!! But if we base motivation on knowledge, and decide to persevere regardless of how we feel, that's when we'll continually experience success.

I can choose to wait to feel like turning down snacks, or I can choose to turn them down because I know it's smarter, healthier, and more character-building than the alternative. The former might happen every now and again, but the latter is a conscious decision which is the basis for a permanent lifestyle change.

One is completely within our control. The other is just wishful thinking. (Seriously, who can honestly claim they feel like NOT snacking??!!)

So today ~ and only today (we'll worry about tomorrow, well, tomorrow!) ~ I'm going to choose to practice what I know is good, wise, and healthy. Because waiting until the motivated feeling to do so strikes again could take a while!

Spring Fling Weigh-in #3

Ugh. That dang TOM thing!

Although I can't really blame that for the over-eating, I CAN blame it for the increased appetite.

The downrightcrazyinsatiable appetite.

I can also blame it for water retention.

So no change for me this week, sadly.

I'm happy about the amount of exercise I got though ~ a 2-mile walk/run, two 3-mile walk/runs, a 2-mile bike ride, and a 3-mile walk. And Days 1 and 2 of Week 5 of the 200 Sit-Ups challenge. I feel REALLY good about the amount of exercise I got!!

I had to rethink my strategy for the Push-ups, Sit-ups, and Squats challenges this week though. Not only were they starting to take up a lot of time each morning, but with getting back into jogging, I find my shoulders and thighs are getting enough of a work-out right now!

So I'm pursuing the goal of 200 sit-ups IN ONE SHOT for March 31. This morning, I did 265 in 9 sets, but they'll have me doing 368 in 9 sets before the end of the challenge. I guess they figure if you can do that many with a few one-minute breaks here and there, then you should easily able to handle 200 without a break!

The push-ups I'll work on this summer, once running doesn't tire out my shoulders any more (that always sounds so weird! Does running do that to anyone else's shoulders?!), and the squats I'll pick up next winter, once I can't run outdoors anymore.

So it wasn't exactly the stellar week I was planning on having. I was definitely not the boost I was hoping to be for The A-Team, but I can't help but be a little happy with myself in the exercise department, even if it didn't translate to a loss this week!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Progress Report

Tuesday
Breakfast: small piece toast w/Nutella, 1 c. orange juice, coffee w/skim milk
Late morning: 2 bites ham as I made these muffins. Made some 1-bite mini-muffins with leftover batter ~ ate two.
Lunch: small serving Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, 1/2 c. skim milk
Afternoon: 2 mugs tea w/honey, handful homemade croutons, 4 soda crackers, 2 slices cheddar
Supper: 1 serving Shepherd's Pie (loaded with peas, carrots, onions, and mushrooms), 1 c. ice tea
Evening: 1 c. ice tea, nacho chips w/homemade guacamole

Wednesday
Breakfast: 1 slice toast w/margarine & Nutella, 1 c. orange juice, coffee w/skim milk
2.25 mi/3.6 km: 30 min
(1/8-mile warm-up, four intervals jogging 1/4-mile and walking 1/4-mile, 1/8-mile cool-down)
Early Lunch: two Maple Bacon Muffins w/a little margarine, 2 thin slices cheddar, 1 c. skim milk
Afternoon: large Tim Horton's coffee w/two creams (rrrrrolled up the rrrim and didn't win, dang it)
Supper (meatless!): one serving Santa Fe Beans & Rice, three fried 6" corn tortillas, two large servings raw cucumber slices
Dancin' with the girls: 15 min
Whew. Who knew Go Fish kids' tunes were such a work-out?!
Evening: 1 mug green tea, 4 Mexican Crinkle cookies

Thursday
200 Sit-ups Challenge: 15 min
(200 in 5 sets, woo-hoo! You'd think I'd be done, right? WRONG! They want you to be able to do a combined total of about 368 in 9 sets by the end of the challenge!! Sheesh.)
Breakfast: 2 Maple Bacon Muffins, coffee w/skim milk
Mid-Morning: two slices toast (both with margarine; one with honey, too.), 1 c. skim milk
Lunch: small leftover helping Shepherd's Pie (Fidget ate very little of her lunch yesterday, it seems!), 2 c. skim milk, SIX Mexican Crinkles

TOM must be just around the corner because I can't seem to cram enough food into my pie-hole! I apologize if that's TMI, but it would certainly explain things...

Supper: two servings Lemon Tuna Spaghetti, one large serving cooked peas, 1-1/2 c. ice tea
Evening (had a friend over for coffee): 1 apple oatmeal muffin, 2 mugs green tea (one w/honey; one without)
Later evening: 1 c. skim milk, two handfuls soda crackers

Wow. I have been rotten today.

Friday
Breakfast: 1 slice toast w/margarine & Nutella, 1 c. skim milk (some in my coffee)
3.25 mi/5.2 km: 50 min
(1/8-mile warm-up and cool-down, SIX intervals of jogging/walking alternately each quarter-mile. Not nearly as torturous as I expected it to be!!)
Lunch: small toast crust w/margarine, 1 slice cheddar, and a chunk of red pepper; 2 stalks celery w/peanut butter; 1 c. V8 Splash
Afternoon: 1 thin slice cheddar, 3 soda crackers
Supper: 1 chunk farmer sausage, 8 cheddar & potato perogies w/fat-free sour cream, 1-1/2 c. ice tea, and a large cereal bowl of popcorn for dessert!
Evening: 1 large bowl Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal w/skim milk, 2 c. skim milk, SIX Mexican Crinkles!!

Dang. I did SO well until the girls went to bed, and then.... Crud.

Saturday
200 Sit-ups Challenge: 10 min
(Week 5, Day 1 ~ 219 in 5 sets. Ooof.)
Morning: coffee w/skim milk
Early lunch: 1 mug hot chocolate (made mostly w/skim milk, but a little leftover coffee, too), 1 sausage & egg sandwich on a hamburger bun w/margarine and a slice of process cheese, 1 c. V8 Splash
2.5 miles/4 km: 30 min
(the girls and I went for our first bike ride of the year! It was a memorable one!!)
Afternoon: 1 slice cheddar, 1 Maple Bacon Muffin w/margarine
Supper: half of a small serving of leftover Santa Fe Beans & Rice, half a large cucumber (hubby was coming home unexpectedly and I planned to eat with him once the girls were in bed, but I was hungry at my normal supper time!)
2nd supper: 1/4 small deluxe pepperoni pizza w/some parm cheese, 1 c. ice tea, 6 TimBits

Sunday
Breakfast: 1 slice toast w/margarine & Nutella, 1 c. skim milk (some in my coffee)
Lunch: small serving leftover Cordon Bleu Casserole Supreme, 1 slice bread w/margarine & homamade saskatoon jam
3.25 miles: 50 min
(1/8-mile warm-up and cool-down, 6 intervals of jogging/walking alternately each quarter-mile.)
Supper: 1 c. Lemon Chicken Soup, 1 slice cheese toast, 1 c. ice tea
Evening: 1 handful plain ripple chips, 1 c. skim milk, 3 Mexican Crinkles

Dang it. That's it, those cookies are going back into the basement freezer!!!

Monday
200 Sit-ups Challenge: 20 min
(Week 5, Day 2 ~ 242 in 9 sets)
Breakfast: 1 slice toast w/margarine & Nutella, 1 c. skim milk (some in my coffee)
3.25 miles: 55 min
(walked)
Lunch: 1 leftover homemade egg mcmuffin, 1 c. V8 Splash
Supper: 2 servings fried fish, 1 large serving Crispy Potato Cubes w/fat-free sour cream, 1 large serving tossed salad w/dressing, 2 c. ice tea, 1 small ice cream sandwich

Well, it's definitely a TOM week. The voracious appetite and water retention are going to kill me at weigh-in tomorrow, but thank goodness, the exercise has been really good this week!

Total exercise time: 4 hr, 35 min (avg: 39 min/day)
Average Exercise Level: Moderate/heavy

I need your advice. {PLEASE! I'm desperate!!!!}

How do you combat the munchies?

When the kids are all in bed, hubby's not around, you've got the remote all to yourself and two or three glorious hours before you need to crawl into bed...

how do you keep yourself from eating

NON-STOP

during that time?

This is, like, the last hurdle. Control at mealtimes is fairly consistent. Exercise is fairly consistent. But snacking? Out of control.

Some nights I do really well and I can stick to a mug or two of tea, but if I allow ANY food to cross my lips, it's like the dam bursts and I just can't stop shoving grub into my pie hole. It seriously becomes a frantic feeding frenzy! I am not kidding. This weird feeling of desperation sets in and with the end of each snack comes this intense "seek and destroy" sensation and it doesn't go away until I'm back on the couch. With another snack.

I probably need extensive therapy, but what do YOU guys do in situations like that? (please tell me you've experienced this at least once in your life!)

A happy surprise!

I rarely measure myself, but after my 3-mile jog/walk this morning I did, just for the fun of it. It was a good surprise!

Even though I've only lost 11.6 lbs since June 6, 2009, which is the last time I took and recorded my measurements,

• my waist is down 2 inches
• my bust is down 2 inches (my undergarment size hasn't changed though, so that means I'm losing that pesky BACK FAT!)
• and my waist was down 3 inches!

Woo-hoo!!

Weigh-in Wednesday

Fortunately, with the help of two liquids days between Thursday and yesterday, and some VERY small food portions, I'm down 3.4 lbs.

UNFORTUNATELY, though I wasn't home for weigh-in last week, I stepped on the scale once I got home and I was UP 2.6 from my last official weigh-in.

Fortunately, this means I'm still down 0.8 overall for this challenge. And my absence from the weigh-in last week was actually better for my team than if I'd been around to step on my own scale and report.

Unfortunately, because I'm only down 0.8, which is less than the average rate I was hoping to maintain for this challenge, reaching my goal is going to be quite the challenge.

Fortunately, my fellow A-Team members are very forgiving and encouraging! So now that I'm home, refocused, and working with my team...

...so let the butt-kicking begin!!!!

I like the results of my really hard work this week (especially that I started running again this last week) and once I get back into my sit-ups/push-ups/squats challenge ~ which, quite honestly, I'd kinda forgotten about since getting home from mom and dad's ~ I'm expecting consistently good results.

I may need to break up the 100/200/200 challenge a bit though, and focus on achieving one at a time instead of all three together. The thought of doing these 3 exercises for AN HOUR (OR MORE!) has me not wanting to do them at all! So if I'm going to stay motivated, I think I need to work on just one at a time. Will give this some more thought and be on track by next weigh-in.

Progress Report

Thursday
Breakfast: coffee w/skim milk
Lunch: 1 c. hot V8
2.25 miles: 35 min
(walked)
Afternoon: 1 mug green tea w/1 tsp. honey
Supper: small serving Mexican Macaroni & Cheese, 2 large servings tossed salad (mostly just romain and iceberg lettuce; a few tomato chunks) w/dressing and cubed mozzarella cheese
Evening: large helping ripple chips w/ketchup, 4 Mexican Crinkle cookies (similar to ginger snaps), 1 c. skim milk, 3 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Ugh. I was doing SO WELL. Why do I always self-sabotage like this??!!

Friday
Breakfast: 1 slice toast w/margarine & Nutella, 1 c. skim milk (some in my coffee)
Lunch: small serving leftover Mexican Macaroni & Cheese
Supper: 1 serving mashed potatoes w/gravy, 1/2 slice baked ham, 1 serving tossed salad w/dressing
Evening: 1 mug tea w/honey

Saturday
Breakfast: lots of coffee w/skim milk
2.25 miles: 35 min
(stopped to take a few pictures, but jogged a total of half a mile in 3 intervals ~ first run of the year, woo-hoo!)
Lunch: 1/4 cantaloupe
Afternoon: 2 small pieces pumpernickel rye w/lite cheese spread
Supper: 3/4 c. Main Course Soup, 2 garlic/cheese drop biscuits, 1-1/2 c. ice tea
Evening: 1 c. skim milk, 2 Mexican Crinkle cookies

Sunday
Breakfast: 1 slice rye toast w/margarine, 1 c. skim milk (some in my coffee)
Lunch (potluck at church): had only one plate of food ~ not even close to heaping! ~ and almost a third was a sweet, tossed salad that had mandarins, dried cranberries and nuts in it, and a handful of carrot sticks. I did have two pieces of dessert, but considering it was a potluck, I think I did well today!!
Supper (friends over): 1 smallish serving Cordon Bleu Casserole Supreme, large helping tossed salad w/lite dressing, 1 c. ice tea, 1 slice Chocolate Cream Pie (1/12 of a 10" pie) w/whipping cream, 1 c. skim milk (some in my decaf)

Monday
Breakfast: 1 c. orange juice, 1 slice toast w/margarine & lite cheese spread, coffee w/skim milk
2.25 miles: 30 min
(1/8-mile warm-up, four intervals of jogging 3/16 and walking 5/16 of a mile, 1/8-mile cool-down)
Afternoon: 1 c. orange juice, 1 leftover garlic-cheese drop biscuit w/lite cheese spread
Supper: 1 small serving leftover Cordon Bleu Casserole Supreme, large helping tossed salad w/lite dressing, 1 c. ice tea

Woo-hoo! Only one binge evening!!! AND some jogging! Not much exercise time, but at least the intesity is increasing a little!!

Total exercise time: 1 hr, 40 min (avg: 14 min/day)
Average Exercise Level: Moderate/heavy

First run of the year!!

(although I use that term rather loosely, since I walked three times more than I ran, but still....)

Oh, but it felt SO GOOD!! I was a little worried I'd have a hard time getting back into it. I've been walking consistently all winter, but I wasn't sure I'd be able to convince my body take up running agin.

It was a spur of the moment thing. I'd not actually planned on running and I was wearing my winter boots. They're light, have decent arch support and rubber soles (similar to these, but an older model), but still not exactly good running gear! I couldn't tell if the feeling in my knees and shins was because of inappropriate footwear or just the fact that it had been almost 5 months since I last ran ~ I decided to chalk it up to not being used to running!

But it was +5 (41F) and I couldn't help but give it a try. Heading south away from my house, I ran two intervals of 2 hydro pole-lengths (that's roughly 1/8-mile each time) and coming back I did FOUR in a row! Granted, I was working WITH the wind instead of against it then, and I'm sure that helped, but I was excited to have run a solid 1/4-mile all in one shot ~ and a half-mile in total.


Of course, if I'm all stiff tomorrow morning, I might not be quite as excited about it. Time will tell...