Wednesday, August 11, 2010

what now

i've started and stopped with blogging more times than i care to remember. do my choices change because i stop blogging or do i stop blogging because my choices change? one thing i have noticed is that it seems that ultimately, the people who find the most success blog regularly... even when they're making less than stellar choices or the number on the scale is going in the wrong direction.

and here i sit in the airport... waiting on the plane that will take me on a 2 week vacation. and suddenly i'm feeling compelled to bring this blog to life. 2 weeks of eating out for pretty much every meal. 2 weeks of drinking... and i'm not talking about water. 2 weeks of wandering around foreign countries. and 2 weeks of trying to make the best of all of the above... and writing about it!

i haven't stepped on the scale in a while, but the last time i looked i was in the 235-240 range. that's a gain of 50-55 lbs since my lowest adult weight back in april 2005. but since i want to have a positive outlook, that also means that i've manage to keep off 70-75lbs for more than 5 years. post vacation will be a new before... time to get serious about being healthy again. because what i've been doing for the last couple of years just isn't cutting it!

next stop... london!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

day 4... done!

activity target - check
steps target - check
calorie burned target - check
calories consumed target - check

that makes 4 awesome days for me! i'm all packed and ready for the weekend at the beach... unfortunately, it looks like the weather is going to make those long walks i've planned very soggy! oh well, guess that's just one of the hazzards of living in the beautiful pacific northwest!

i'm trying to figure out how i'm going to get enough activity tomorrow. there will definitely be walking on the beach in the evening, but that's about the only chance to move i'm going to get. if i don't hit it, i'm not going to beat myself up... just means i'll have to work out harder on saturday and sunday!

and on that note, i'm completely exhausted so i'm going to call it night. next time you see me, i'll be oceanside!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

3 in row... shall we make it 4??

today i proved to myself that i CAN do this... even when my day doesn't go exactly as planned. i didn't PLAN to have to deal with 15 year old step-daughter drama and to not get home until almost 8. but i DID plan to hit my calorie burn target! so when i finally got home, i made the dinner i had planned and then took myself and the dog for the walk i had planned. about 3 minutes after leaving on my walk, my bodybugg told me that i had met my activity target of 1 hour for the day. about 5 minutes before i got home from my walk, bodybugg told me i had met my step target of 10,000 for the day. and about a minute after that my calorie burn for the day was met!

tomorrow i'm going to make it a 4 day streak and hit the gym for my cardio before work. it's going to be a busy day, but i find that my days have been better since my eating and exercise has been on track... funny how that works! i've also been thinking about my weekend at the beach and how i'm going to manage my food and exercise there as well. i don't want to have to pack my kitchen scale with me, so i'm going to pre-portion my meals so they're ready to go. it's just as easy to set myself up for success as it is to give myself excuses to fail! so for this trip to the beach i'm not going to make my usual mistake and fail to plan... because we all know what happens when you do that!!

so tomorrow will be busy... lots to get done at work and lots to get done to get ready for the weekend. but i know i can get it all done... because that's what i need to do to take care of ME... and i'm worth it!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

yesterday and today

yesterday was a busy day... good... but busy. i had a great workout with my trainer and took the dog for a walk when i got home... just like i had planned. and my eating was good, too! it felt good to be taking care of myself again.

today was a planned cardio day at the gym. when i was making my schedule the other day, i was planning to hit the gym AFTER work. the more i thought about it, the more that seemed like a bad idea, so i went BEFORE work. i did 45 minutes on the elliptical/crossramp, then a cool down and stretching. and i have to say that it felt good to know it was done! my schedule was off for the rest of the day and i didn't end up having lunch until almost 3:30. yes, i was starving, but i stuck with my plan and didn't go crazy. then i had a snack at 6:30 because i was still at work. now it's a bit after 8 and i need to get dinner ready or i'll be up all night!

tomorrow is another workout with my trainer and another walk with the dog after work. i can't remember the last time i hit my calorie burn target 3 days in a row... so that's my goal for tomorrow!

it feels good to take care of me again... i just have to keep it up!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

really??

it looks like it might finally be summer around here, and sadly, my shorts from last year are now too tight. i haven't bought myself clothes in a while, so i decided to just bite the bullet and go shopping... not my favorite thing to do. at my lowest weight (5 years and 50lbs ago) i was wearing a size 14/16 bottom and medium top... today, i had to buy size 20 bottoms and xl tops. i hate it. and i'm so angry at myself for letting this happen. yes, i've managed to keep off 75lbs for 5 years, but it's hard to feel successful when my pants are all too tight!

there are many reasons why i gained so much weight, but the biggest reason is that i stopped putting myself first. i put my husband first. i put my job first. but me... i've been on the back burner. and that has to stop. i did it before, and i was really successful... i just have to find my way back and do it again!

first thing that needs to happen is that i need to get back to the gym! for the past few years, pretty much the only time i'm at the gym is the 2 days a week that i'm working out with my trainer. i can't remember the last time i lifted weights on my own! and as much as i love my walks with my dog, it's just not enough! so i need to make a schedule for myself that includes at least 1 day of lifting on my own and 4 days of cardio. and with that new plan in mind, i bought myself some new workout clothes, so i can't use that as an excuse any more.

the other thing that i need to do is get back to journaling... every day.

here's my plan for working out this week:
monday - weights with trainer & walk with dog
tuesday - spin or elliptical
wednesday - weights with trainer & walk with dog
thursday - spin or elliptical
friday - long walk on the beach
saturday - weights on my own & long walk on the beach
sunday - efx elliptical crosstrainer

friday & sunday are going to include 2-3 hours in the car because we're heading out for a weekend at the beach, but there's a gym about a mile from where we're staying that i've never used before... and i think it's about time i checked it out!

next update... tomorrow

Monday, May 10, 2010

non negotiable

i pretty much let this blog go and had decided i was going to blog elsewhere. but in reality, i just stopped blogging... and clearly that's not working for me!

i'm struggling. really struggling. cardio has fallen to the wayside more often than not. eating out has led to some fairly consistent poor decisions. drinking has led to more poor decisions. and the scale is more than happy to remind me that i've been making poor decisions... so i've been avoiding the scale almost as much as i've been avoiding doing my cardio!

so how do i get myself out of it? the hubby is out of town until friday, so i have this week to really focus on myself. i NEED a routine. i NEED a schedule. i NEED to get my head back in the game... for good! oh... and i NEED to quit smoking... again!

for today, i'm going to focus on making good food choices and getting some cardio.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

it's not all about the scale

i've been working out with my new trainer for a month now, so today we took measurements again. i knew i wasn't going to have a big loss, because as we know, january had a little rough patch. the last time we measured was four weeks ago and since then i've GAINED 2 lbs of muscle and LOST 5 lbs of fat. my body fat % also went down by about 2% and i lost inches all over... though it was mostly in my upper body. overall, i'm happy with my progress. yes, i'd like to get this weigh off as quickly as possible... overnight would be great! but i know that doing what i'm doing now is the RIGHT was, so i'm content with slow and steady.

anyway, after measurements it was time to lift weights. have i mentioned how much i'm loving my new trainer? not only is he a sweet guy... but he works me out so hard that i'm achy for days!! after we were done it was time for my hour of spin class. i'm really enjoying that, too! i think the best part is that it doesn't get easier per se... i'm just able to push myself harder!

my eating has been solid this week. i've got a birthday party on saturday for my friend's baby, so that'll be my first real challenge for the week. i can say no to the cake, i'm more concerned about the other food since the party is 12-2 (aka, lunchtime). then sunday is the superbowl. i'm not sure yet if we're going to watch at home or go watch with friends. if we're home, no problem! but if we go out, i need to decide that it's really ok to be in that situation and not drink... it's the drinking that gets me.

saturday is supposed to be my interval day, but since it's shaping up to be a busy day, i'm planning to move it to sunday (the game isn't until 3:30, so i've got plenty of time!).

i pulled out my response and advantage cards yesterday, but then didn't read them today. i really need to work on getting in the habit of doing that again... they really do help!