20 days!

This is the trophy you get on WW when you track your food, activity and good health guidelines for 20 days in one month.  Mine popped up today :)  I honestly can't remember the last time I received one of these. I'm proud. There were days when I thought the workouts would kill me, but I obviously survived. My goal for November is 20 workouts as well and tracking my food and GHGs all 30 days.

First 5k

Today was the color me rad 5k, and it was freaking awesome! We walked it about an hour and my hrm said 645 calories we're burned!

If you have a chance, do the race! It was so much fun and there was so much color! Definitely a good first 5k experience!

Amazing

It amazed me how much better I feel after a workout. That is all.

Carry on with your nights!

Scale Tales...

Gah. So disappointed.

I gained yet again. I've gained for like a month straight. I'm so mad at myself. I need to refocus. I'm going to put the scale away for a while--probably for a month or so. I'm going to go back to the basics--tracking, measuring EVERYTHING, etc. I know I've made some good changes, but it deflates me when the scale doesn't agree. I mean, I have clothes that are definitely a little looser. So eff you, scale. You're going to the very back of the closet. You won't see me again until December 1st.

I know it will take a little bit of self control, especially the first week or two, but I need to stop letting the scale dictate my life.

Also, I did buy the Beck Diet Solution book. I started reading it over the weekend, and there have been many "that is exactly what I do/how I feel" moments while reading. I'm starting the actual exercises today.

Yummy

Breakfast this morning was yummy! Toast, peanut butter, sliced banana, a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice and a drizzle of syrup. Perfect fall breakfast!

What a week!

Oh.em.geeee.

I ended up being awake about 22 hours yesterday. Sadly I ended up at the emergency vet about 10pm with Spin. I went to let him outside around 9 for the last time and he couldn't pee. He was hunching his back and definitely wasn't himself. Having had Dalmatians for about 12 years, I knew he was blocked. Mom agreed with me so off to the emergency clinic we went.

A little backstory. Dals are the only breed to have an automatic high uric acid concentration, which can lead to urate stones. Not all will form stones or block, but blocking has a higher occurrence in males because of the narrow urethra.

Until last night, we had never had a dog block. Spin ended up having emergency surgery around 2 am. One incision at the penis to get the blocked stone out and then another at his bladder to clean it out, as he had a ton more stones.

He was in obvious pain and discomfort last night and I hated seeing him like that. He will now be on a special diet and medicine.

I'll just be glad when he gets to come home in a few days! I miss his antics and talkative ways (he loves to carry on conversations with his people)!

Holy Food

So.much.food today.

Why does my mom have to decide to cook so many yummy things on the same day.

So full.

I'm going to let this digest some, then go workout. I got in a short one earlier, but I feel like I need to sweat some more. It will make me feel better.

Scale Tales

Only a couple days late...

260.2
Feeling pretty blah.

But so far this week has started out so much better. My mom ended up in the hospital on Tuesday. She was having some signs of a heart attack, and it scared me. Luckily, her heart is fine and she has no blockages, but it was a serious wake up call. Heart disease runs in her family. I know that I need to really make steps towards being healthier. The entire family has decided to really make changes to what we are eating. That will help us all. And the parents are going to stop smoking. Thank goodness! Now to get my sister to quit--sorry Courtney, but I had to call you out :)

I need to start doing what I say instead of being all talk. I will do this. It will be easier with the help of the whole family!

Scale Tales

Is going to be moving to Wednesdays. Mondays just aren't doing it for me. The weekends is typically when I go out with friends and everything. I did WI this morning, but gained a lot. I know some, if not all, is water weight from meals out this weekend and increasing my workouts this week. But 3 gains in a row have me down today. And this one puts me at my highest weight, ever. So I have changed my WI day in my WW tracker and will weigh again Wednesday morning and have a true Scale Tales post. Mentally, I need to change the day that I WI.

--

Today I am starting week 2 of my new workouts. Again I have them on my google calendar. Putting them on my calendar has definitely helped me seem to stick with it. It's like a true appointment that I must keep.  This week's workouts are basically same as the first weeks, but with a slightly higher intensity.

Strength

I've learned a lot about myself over the last few months. Mainly that I'm much stronger than I ever realized.

Yesterday should have been my wedding day. I honestly wasn't sure how I would be feeling emotionally. It was a much easier day than I expected, proving to me how strong I really am. I have definitely had my ups and downs the last few months, but I think I have come out on top. I feel stronger and more confident.

I know a lot of people would have done things differently than I did, but I can, with 120% confidence, say that it was absolutely the right thing to do. Not many people would have been able to make the choice I did to end my relationship and call off my wedding 3 months before the big day. I was told by multiple people that they didn't know if they could have done that. One person in particular told me that what I did took balls. I giggled a little when she told me that.

I am truly much happier now. I'm not worried about doing something to make someone mad all of a sudden. I'm not worried about missing an impromptu family function because I already had plans and making people mad. And I'm not worried about seeing text messages or wondering what someone is doing when hanging out with a certain best girlfriend.

I'm definitely concentrating on me. I start my MBA program in one week. I've started a nice workout regime. And I'm taking time for myself, whether it is window shopping, a nice workout, or dinner with friends, I'm doing things for me. And being able to spend my money on myself is nice again, too!

It feels good to feel in control of myself, both physically and emotionally again.

Sweating!

I'm dripping sweat. I feel much better now!

Not too bad for an 18 minute workout.

 

 

 

Social Issues

The VP debate just finished. I'm glad that one debate finally included a social issue. Especially glad it was on abortion. It is something that is personal to be because I'm a woman. This was my facebook post tonight on the subject.

Here's the thing with abortion. 1. Politicians shouldn't be able to tell me what I do with my body. 2. I'm not catholic (or religious for that matter), and don't believe that life begins at conception. It's called separation between church and state. You can't make policies based on your religious faith, because not everyone believes the same things 3. I wouldn't use abortion as a means for birth control, but if a woman chooses to, it isn't mine or anyone else's place to judge that person. It is her decision. I don't feel like this should be a political platform in 2012. I just don't understand why politicians, mainly republican men, feel like this is ok. Why they feel like women aren't smart enough to make their own decisions baffles me every day. I will always be vocal on this issue, because it is personal. It is personal to every woman in America. I could possibly be about 3 months away from losing the right to make the decisions about my own body, and that is just not ok.

Struggle Train

I have never hid the fact on this blog that I have a mental struggle with food. Some days/weeks/months are better than others. This week hasn't been great. Not the worst, but definitely not great. I eat out of boredom or frustration or sadness.

I'm not sure what I want out of this post, but a lot of people around me are struggling lately. I see it daily on the boards and hear it from some friends in real life. I guess I just wanted to make sure they know they aren't alone. While everyones weight loss journey is different, they are partially the same. And at any given moment there is probably someone that can relate (not identically) to what you're going through.

Some boardies have talked about, and I've read great reviews about the Beck Diet Solution. I think I'm going to head to Barnes and Noble this weekend (or try to) and get it..or just order it on amazon. It is supposed to really work with your cognitive behaviors to aid in weight loss. If I get it, I'll be sure to give it a review on the blog.

--

A few people have asked how the new workouts are going. And they are going great. So far I'm staying motivated. On the calendar for tonight is a full body stability workout.  I like them because they are between 20 and 30 minutes long, easy to do at home, and she plans your workouts to use the equipment that you have.  I don't have much in the way of gym equipment at home. I have a stability ball, set of dumbells and a resistance band.  That's it. But Courtney created a complete workout for me using those things and body weight exercises. I totally love them!

I'm looking forward to seeing my progress at the end of the 4 weeks. I took my measurements, which I need to post, but that paper is at home, and will use Monday's WI as my start weight (since I started on Monday and all). I'll try to remember to post those measurements tonight or tomorrow.

New Workouts

So I mentioned that I have my workouts all planned out for the week in my morning post. And I do! Here is my google calendar for this week! And notice that in addition to today, I'm aiming for 2 more morning workouts, tomorrow and Thursday, a mid-morning on Saturday (maybe be afternoon since I have plans with my sister for the morning) and one after work on Friday.

So what are these workouts I have planned? Last week, I decided to invest in a 4 week personal training plan. If you follow Courntey at Sweet Tooth Sweet Life, you know what I'm talking about. And if you don't follow her blog, you totally should. She is a healthy living blogger and personal trainer and recently started virtual personal training. I've been slacking majorly the last couple months, so I decided to give it a shot. I spent the money, so I'm really going to put effort into this. I'm actually super excited about it. I was definitely sweating this morning after the first workout.

Sorry for the crappy phone pics...

Scale Tales

257.8
+1.4

Again my weekend snacking got a little obsurd. I didn't go into the red, but my weeklies were spent on tortilla chips, a poptart and other snacky goodness.

It's now 7:30 am and I've already gotten my sweat on. I have 4 more workouts planned for this week. I will see a loss this week. I will.

Color Me Rad 5K!

Yes, I signed up for this. For the end of this month. Am I crazy? Probably. I'm not a runner. I don't like running, but I'm doing this with a wonderful friend and we are doing it just for fun. Not worried about times or the fact that most of it will be walked probably. I'm actually super excited!!



September Goals Update

The beginning of September start off great, then my emotions and a lack of motivation hit and I stumbled.  But in keeping up with wanting to be accountable, here are the results.

1. 15 Workouts.  Fail-I hit 13. But on a positive note, I had 13 workouts last week.
2. Track everything. Success! Everything was tracked. The good, the bad and the ugly
3. Lose 5 lbs. Fail. I'm up 0.6 for the month.

I won't lie. Last month was hard. I had a few rough patches, mainly stemming back to emotional eating and binging. But I want to stay accountable. If I knew I had no one to be accountable to (which I can chose not to) the number for this month would have been worse. My guess is that I'll always struggle with my relationship with food. I almost guarantee that to myself. But I'm slowly learning how to deal with it, and I know I have made great strides. Even when I binge, I force myself to track it. That way I can't just "forget about it". I really want to continue making progress with controling the emotional eating in the next few months before I start the MBA program. I know I'll be even more stressed then, so if I can get a handle on it now before I'm even more stressed, then I know that it will be easier to continue on my journey to a healthier me.

Scale Tales

256.4
+0.8

I had it in my head that I was going to have like a 5 lb gain. Seriously. This weekend was fabulous. I stayed home, had no plans other than to get the oil changed in my car. I made a few recipes and have lunches set for this week! My actual meals this weekend were great. I planned and stuck to my meals. But then I decided that I needed chips and salsa and ice cream....

So, while I wish I would have been stronger, but a .8 gain isn't all that terrible to what I was expecting.

Back on track today. I have lunches planned for the week, breakfasts won't be bad. I have some waffles (Pumpkin Spice!!!) in the freezer (very yummy) for something quick.