Weigh In #3

Well folks... the scale is headed in the right direction!! :)  I lost 4lbs last week!  I weighed in at 179.4 today.  I was hoping for a bit less, but I am incredibly happy with 4lbs!

I earned my first 'star' milestone on Weight Watchers online... 5lbs lost!  My total is at 6.1lbs... pictures to come at 10lbs down! :)

I absolutely loved the Chicken Tortilla soup that I made on Saturday... but after only eating 1 cup at a time, I finally finished the batch today.  While I loved it, I won't be making it again for a while!  You can find the recipe here.  I made a few modifications:  I used 1 tsp. minced garlic instead of fresh, I added about 11-12oz of chicken, 1 whole can of Rotel, and I skipped the cilantro because I forgot it at the store :)

I finally decided on my two "resolutions" for 2013.  I found an awesome money savings plan online where you save $1 for every week it is... ex:

$1 week 1
$2 week 2
etc..
$52 week 52.

In the end you save almost $1400!!  Maybe I'll finally be able to enjoy a vacation in 2014!

My second resolution is to make one new recipe per week.  I haven't picked one for this week yet... it will either be dinner tomorrow or Friday.

Back to Winter Running

I came home sick from work yesterday... I was having some major stomach issues for the last few days.  After resting and taking some meds, I finally feel like ME again today.  I knew I wanted to get a run in for my workout... but when I woke up it was 5 degrees out.  I decided to wait until around 11 to take Colby for a walk... realized the sun was shining bright and most of the sidewalks were ICE-free. 

I didn't want to push myself after being sick & not running outside since October, so I just did an easy 2 miles.  It was also the first time I got to try out my Garmin Forerunning 110 running watch!  I thought it would be super awkward to run with the heart rate monitor strap around my chest, but it actually wasn't.  It has a great design and I didn't even notice it.

I could have run another mile, but decided to not push my chances with my stomach... and head back home.  There's always the next run! I feel ready to start official training runs next Saturday with the group!  WAHOO

Speaking of stomach/digestive issues... after 5 days of having issues, I was feeling great when I stepped on the scale this morning and it read 178.2... just gotta keep that number going in the right direction for weigh in on Wednesday!

Using my Garmin for the first time also allowed me to play around with the website, which will track all my outdoor miles beginning with today! :)  I was also happy to learn that I can use it for biking too... blonde moment, I didn't even think of that!

 

This afternoon I ran a few errands... boy was the grocery store busy!!!  You'd think there was some big Packer playoff game in town!  Oh wait... there is :)  GO PACK GO!!!

I'm making a new recipe for dinner tonight... Chicken Tortilla Soup (4 WW p+)!  It's an Emily Bites recipe :)  I hope it turns out well... it smells good!! After that I'm off to a friend's to watch the game!

Week 2 Weigh In

Just a quick post to report that I only lost 1.0lbs as of my weigh in yesterday.  It's still better than zero or gaining... but I thought I would see a bigger loss on the scale!

I took new pictures this week but I did not think there was any changes... so then I decided that I would only take pictures when I hit milestones.  Since Weight Watchers set my first goal as a loss of 5%, I decided I will take pictures when I hit that goal (176.5lbs).  Stay Tuned!

The next frustration I have is that we did a Maintain No Gain challenge from November 19th... ending tomorrow.  I gained weight.  Sadly, I weighed in on a day that my weight was super low (177.2).  I was having a terrible week and had lost a bit of weight. 

I was hoping to be back down to that weight, but of course I am not... so I am out $10.00. :(

I just feel like I need things to really turn around soon... head into a positive direction!

Here's to making 2013 my year!

Off Schedule

So weird when holidays fall during the week.  I kept thinking all day today that it was Sunday.  I am happy that returning to work is only for 3 days.  In those 3 days I have a lot going on... so I will be ready for Saturday to get here! :)

I have my weekly weigh in tomorrow morning... which I am not too confident about.  I took today as as a rest day, after having worked out for the last 3 days & I have two workouts tomorrow planned.  I will be working with my personal trainer for 30 minutes at 1pm & then taking a 6:30pm Spin class.  I also ate pretty terrible today... I had a sensible breakfast, but then I went to out to lunch at Applebee's with my parents to celebrate my birthday (yesterday).  They used to have such a better WW menu, their 3 choices now are very disappointing.  For dinner I was at my cousin's apartment for the Rose Bowl... we had Papa Murphy's pizza and too many snacks!  I am sad to say that I looked at it the wrong way... I can start fresh tomorrow.  I need to learn to make smarter choice when they are occurring instead of thinking I can start fresh tomorrow!!!

I am looking forward to the new season of the Biggest Loser starting on Sunday... it's always motivating to watch that show :)

I'll be back on Wednesday or Thursday with a pictures & weigh in update!

Starting Over... Again

I think I get the "Worst Blogger of the Year" award for 2012.  At the beginning of May 2012, my life changed a lot.  It's been an adjustment to say the least... being single again, venturing back out to the dating world, adjusting to a new job, and kind of getting lost with my direction in life.

The week of Christmas (last week), I came to a realization that life is going to continue to move forward all around me, whether I like it or not.  That also means that I am not going to reach my goals by sitting on the couch.

I stepped on the scale Christmas morning, and while I had known that the scale had slowly been creeping up... I thought my 2-3 workouts a week were "doing enough".  Well I think I was living in denial.  That whole calories in calories out thing is not a myth!  As of Christmas day, 2012... the scale had moved back up to 185.8lbs.  A number that I had never wanted to see again.  While I am not back at my heaviest weight, and I am a lot healthier now than I have been previously... I know I can do so much better and be in much better shape than I am currently in.

So... I stopped making excuses, signed back up for Weight Watchers and recommitted to getting  healthy BEFORE that dreaded "New Year's Resolution" day came.  It needs to be a life change, not a New Year's resolution.  Christmas night was spent "retooling" my kitchen... calculating WW points for all my food, tossing too tempting for me junk, pulling out some healthy recipes, and meal planning!  It's all still a work in progress.  I will be training for my 2nd half marathon along with other races, continuing to go to spin classes, and working on strength training with my personal training 1x per week.  I am also considering hopping in the pool once a week and swimming some laps (TBD).

So here I am at 185.8lbs, in my new running clothes... which are tight and yet another reason to lose weight!:

I also had my quarterly fitness assessment for work today.  I failed :(  I hate failing.  That was my 2nd wake up call to make a life change.  You may be wondering why it's a big deal?  Well by failing the assessment today... my insurance premiums increase by $125 per month.  OUCH.  I can test back into the program, but I have some work to do.  A loss of 4% body fat is required!

My stats from today (which I will also update on a quarterly basis):

• Height: 66 inches
• Weight: 182.7 lbs. (6 days on Weight Watchers and I am down 3.1 lbs... official weigh in is Wednesday)
• BMI: 29.5
• Waist Measurement: 29.5 inches
• Hip Measurement 44.0 inches
• Body Fat: 27%

Goal Stats:

• Height: 66 inches
• Weight: 155 lbs.
• BMI: 25
• Waist Measurement: TBD
• Hip Measurement: TBD
• Body Fat: 21%

Here's to a happy, healthy 2013!