working out – The Shrinking Jeans of Thea

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August 24, 2011 By thea

Goals? What goals? Did I make goals?

Wait. What? I did make goals?

Well, crap.

I’ve kind of let the goals go by the wayside. Which might explain why I’ve been gaining weight since the first week of this challenge. I’m technically a non-loser, but  seem to be confused because I’ve turned that from “not trying to lose” into “actually gaining”.

I’m disappointed. But not discouraged. I know why I’m gaining. It’s like my mind, will power, and better judgement kind of checked out over the summer.

But I’m going to follow through with the mini-challenge this week and finish out this challenge with a bang. I’m going to put a one-week goal out there that I will be at 158 or below by next Wednesday. That’ll be a two pound loss. While that won’t put me quite back into my healthy range of 153-157, it’ll put me closer than I am now.

And just to refresh your (and my) memory, here’s the goals I set out for this challenge:

  1. Dessert only once a week
  2. No snacking after 9pm
  3. Complete 7 out of 8 4 out of 5 cardio workouts a week – I’m amending this one because my training schedule doesn’t have as many workouts any more.
  4. Follow Boot Camp plan Get in 3 strength sessions a week – Again, another amendment since I never really did the boot camp plan.

April 14, 2010 By thea

The good news: I maintained this week!

The bad news: I gained two pounds last week, LOL!

So, my little maintenance streak ended last week, but I wasn’t too torn up about it.  I have no illusions that I am going to make it all year without a gain here or there. I figured my body was just taking a break and it was a false gain.

But when I stepped on the scale this week and it was exactly the same (158.4), I knew something was up.

The weird part is that I don’t FEEL like I’ve gone off the wagon.  I’m not totally gorging myself on food.  My workouts have scaled way back but I’m still doing a little something. But something has changed.

What I feel is bloated.  My water is consumption is down.  I’m only getting about 64 oz a day instead of my usual 96 oz. I’m not sure why I’m drinking less.  I’ll have to keep an eye on that.

And as much as I don’t like running, that was when I was maintaining my weight so I have to take that into consideration.

So, here’s the new plan.

  1. Get my water back up to 96 oz. a day.  No exceptions.
  2. As much as I like the Wii, it’s just not enough to be my main source of movement.  I can use it for rainy days and quick fun movement.  But I need hardcore cardio, I think. That means back to running and biking. And I’m still toying with the idea of boxing, but I ‘m not sure I can fit that in if I am going to do a tri program.  I’m really all over the board with the exercise.
  3. I can’t have “treats” 3 times a day. If I have a cookie after school with the kids, I can’t have ice cream after dinner, too.  I may have to break up with sugar, but I really, REALLY don’t want to.  Really don’t want to.

I’m going to start there.  Hopefully, I’ll see a downward trend next week!

March 30, 2010 By thea

Busy day today so I’ll cut right to the chase!

  • Pizza.  Lots of it.  Big pieces of it.  With breadsticks.  I had two pieces on Saturday for dinner and 2 more pieces for lunch on Sunday.  I nearly had it for lunch on Monday, but I stopped myself.
  • I’m back to eating something sweet every day. It’s been small stuff…one cookie.  A sucker. But still. It’s a slippery slope!
  • Yesterday was the first time in a week I’ve worked out.  But I did it!  Yay, Wii!
  • Technically, I didn’t BUY the Doritos I ate…Dave did.  So I didn’t break my promise to never buy them again…that’s something!

How did you all do last week?

January 27, 2010 By thea

I feel pretty good about myself, thankyouverymuch.

Despite spending last week in Disney World (and subsequent confessions), I weigh LESS than I did two weeks ago. I seriously couldn’t ask for much more than that.

Besides doing my best to stay on top of my goals (although I had a few slip ups last week), exercise is definitely becoming a more routine part of my life. On top of the running, I’m throwing in some yoga every once in a while and I’ve also started doing the Hundred Push Ups program again.

Is it wrong to see something as a necessary evil yet kinda enjoy it all at the same time?

Another thing that has helped? I’m getting more sleep. Thanks to my husband (I should probably write a post on that), I am in bed before midnight every night now. That makes such a huge difference in how I feel every day.

Anywho, this weeks weigh in puts me at 4 weeks on my maintenance ticker (see it over there on the right? I thought a butterfly was fitting).

One month down. Eleven to go.

Bring it.

October 1, 2009 By thea

Today is October 1st and things must change.

I’m struggling.

No.  Wait.  That’s not true.

strug·gle (\ˈstrə-gəl\)
1 : to make strenuous or violent efforts in the face of difficulties or opposition 2 : to proceed with difficulty or with great effort

Both of those definitions make use of the word “effort”.

ef·fort (\ˈe-fərt, -ˌfȯrt\)
1: conscious exertion of power : hard work
2: a serious attempt

I have not been struggling.  You cannot have struggle without effort.  I have not been efforting.

I just made that up.

I have been doing this “weight loss” thing a long time.  And every once in a while I go through a rut.  The ruts seem to be coming much more often lately.  Which means I need to shake things up.  I need to come up with a new game plan.  There’s lots of things that need to be addressed so I am going to tackle them one by one.

  1. Am I still trying to lose or am I trying to maintain? It seems like a simple question, but I am stuck between the two mentalities.  Also, I need to adjust my points accordingly (23 points vs. 27 points)
  2. Tracking – I have been tracking online, but I’m thinking that I need to keep a paper journal as well as the online tracking.  There are times when I can’t get to the computer so hopefully keeping a paper journal in my purse will help me when I’m…say…staring at the candy selections in line at Target.
  3. Breakfast – I eat over 1/3 of my points at breakfast.  My typical breakfast is 8.5 points.  That’s a lot of points, but it’s the healthiest meal I eat all day (oatmeal, oil, fruit, dairy, coffee).  I need to figure out how to reduce my breakfast, but still include oil.
  4. Food choices – I eat a lot of carbs and processed foods. I don’t really like to cook, so I tend to look for foods that can be heated up in the microwave or eaten straight out of the package. I like FAST. I need to prepare more food and eat a little “cleaner”. I took advantage of Christy’s links and ordered a few magazines to help me spruce things up.
  5. Desserts  – Oh, desserts. I need to find low points desserts that actually satisfy me. And I REALLY need to stop ordering desserts every time we go out to eat.
  6. Eating out  – I need to break up with chicken tenders and all things breaded. I’ve broken up with food before.  I know I can do it.  And I know, in time, I won’t even miss the food. (Who ever would’ve thought I would not miss donuts?)
  7. Activity – I have been so much better with working out, but I dismiss it much too easily.  I have discovered that I am much more motivated when I have a goal (signing up for a 5k or completing a 30 day challenge for example) but finding new goals is what I need to investigate more.
  8. Rewards – I used to be so much better with this.  Heather’s post today just reminded me that I need to set myself goals AND rewards.  I’ve moved my personal progress page here and this time I’ve included rewards.  In keeping with #2, I’ve also created a sticker chart for myself that I will hang right next to my son’s sticker chart.  Everyone loves stickers!!

I need your feedback on this one!  What are your go to meals?  Do you have quick recipes you rely on for lunch?  How do you choose fitness goals??

September 28, 2009 By thea

It’s Monday.  You know what that means.

  • I’ve had dessert 3 times in the past week.  Although none of them individually equaled 40 points, they probably were 40 points all together.
  • I can’t seem to get away from dessert.  I love it.
  • Sigh.
  • While I haven’t done the EA Sports Active Challenge exactly as prescribed, I do expect to finish it on Wednesday.
  • I may or may not have gotten a little overzealous when doing the Catch/Throw/Pitch portion of the workout yesterday.
  • My over zealousness may or may not have involved me getting tangled in the Wii remote.
  • I may or may not have finished the workout half bent over because I was unwilling to stop to untangle myself.
  • Here’s a tip: always remove jewelry before exercising

September 21, 2009 By thea

Overall, this hasn’t been too bad a week. There was only one little, lard filled glitch…

  • I indulged in a little dessert from Uno Chicago Grill on Friday night.  I ate half my dinner because I knew I would be ordering dessert.  I didn’t share.
  • I almost threw up when I discovered the dessert was 40 points.  It had something like 1600 calories and 104 grams of fat.
  • That’s bad.
  • In order to finish the EA Sports Active 30 Day Challenge by September 30, I need to work out for the next 9 days straight.  Doable, but it was also avoidable.
  • My pajamas/workout shorts were basically being held up by the Wii leg strap. (Note to self: elastic is bad in your pajamas/workout shorts…)

September 8, 2009 By thea

I’m such a wuss.

I have been keeping up with my 30 Day Challenge without much pain.  Well, there’s pain, but it’s the good kind.  You know, the I-actually-worked-a-muscle-and-boy-it-felt-good pain?

And my 5k is Saturday so I’m in my last week of training, which I’ve also been keeping up with.

But you know what has me benched tonight?

My back.

My lower back has always been pretty weak and gets strained pretty easily.

You wanna know how I strained it?

Mopping the floor.

Which just proves that I should stop trying to clean my house.

Housework, if you do it right, can kill you. – Erma Bombeck

August 27, 2009 By thea

I’m not a good sick person.  At the first sign of illness, I have a tendency to curl up into the fetal position and feel very, VERY sorry for myself.

There was a time, when I was in H.S. that I was in a bad way an my mom was my nurse for about 6 weeks.

We don’t talk about that much.  It’s one of the few times I remember making my mom cry.

I’m not a good patient.  AT ALL!

This week?  I feel like a Mack Truck has ran over me, looked in the rearview mirror, and then reversed BACK over me just to make sure they finished the job.

Which means I have a headache.

I don’t know if it’s allergies (a new development for me) or an actual sickness.

I did get on the treadmill yesterday, but that’s the first time I’ve been active in a while.  I just feel like I want to roll up in a ball and sleep for a month.

Which ever mother knows is one of the WORST parts about being a mom of small children.  There are no sick days.  Ever.

I’m not making good choices.  I’m not working out.  I’m just waiting for the wave of ICK to roll on through.

And praying that my kids don’t kill each other while they are “playing”.