Weekly Weigh In: Shed 3 Pounds To Close Out Great Week

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I capped off an awesome week with a weight loss of 3 pounds. That pushes me into the 180s! The march to the 170s begins now!

I capped off an awesome week with a weight loss of 3 pounds. That pushes me into the 180s! The march to the 170s begins now!

When I stepped on my doctor’s scale mid-week, I was so happy I entered the 180s. But the next day I started worrying about my weekend weigh-in.  Ah…I hate the fact that damn scale still can do this to me. Since I talked with my doctor about setting a goal weight, I’ve got numbers on my mind. So it is understandable, but I can’t let it dominate (i.e., derail) me.

Anyway, I worried about today’s weigh-in. At 189 pounds I barely snuck into my new weight range. I could easily go back into the 190s if I didn’t keep my focus.

Well thanks to a lot of running, walking (the weather gods were kind to me), and listening to motivational podcasts this week, I kept that focus and tracked everything.  Thanks to that constant vigilance, I did some course correcting before potential problems hit (man, I love cream in my coffee). The result, I lost 3 pounds this week.

At 187 lbs., I am firmly in the 180s now…but don’t intent to stay their very long. My new mini-target is 179 lbs. Why? When my weight reaches 179, that means I’ve lost 45% of my total weight since this journey began. Just 8 more pounds then onto the next mini-target. Yay!

The last time I took an “after” photo, I was 30 pounds heavier. So I think it’s time to take new measurements and a new “after” photo. Nothing takes away the power of the scale like photography and a good old fashion tape measure.

May 3 Weigh-In: Down 3 Pounds

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Awesome! For the first time in weeks I feel back on track. This is what happens when you track your food!

Awesome! For the first time in weeks I feel back on track. This is what happens when you track your food!

After a week of successfully tracking my meals, my weight started moving in the right direction once again. I dropped 3 pounds this week. I do plan to celebrate…by going on a run.

I now weigh 214 pounds, for a total weight loss of 111 pounds. I did set a short-term goal to weigh 200 pounds by the end of May. I hoped to reach the 200-pound mark by the end of April, but thanks to a plateau, that didn’t happen.

So I pushed that short-term goal back to the end of May. It’s a tall order after the 5 pound gain over the last couple of weeks. I’ll need to lose an average of 3.5 pounds a week for that to happen. I’ll do my best, but I’m not going to starve myself.

Overall I have 74 more pounds to lose to reach my goal weight of 140 pounds. I think it’s realistic for me to reach goal by year’s end. Keeping my focus and not cutting corners with my good eating habits are key.

Sluggish Workouts And The Importance Of Tracking

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diet and exercise, tracking food

Forgetting to track my food for a few days has screwed up my diet and makes me sleepy!

When you forget to track your food, bad things happen. Like what?  How about sluggish workouts and a complete lack of energy.

That’s how I’ve felt the last couple of days. I think my carb and protein intake are far too low.

During my weight training Wednesday morning, every exercise was difficult. Not too unexpected since my trainer is really pushing me — increasing weights, focusing on upper body, and challenging my endurance.

When I did my 5K training later that afternoon, my legs felt like lead. While I finished the training, it seemed harder than normal. I chalked it up to tired legs after working out with my trainer.

Yesterday during spin class, it’s clear that I’m getting stronger as my resistance level increased over last week’s class. But where I’m usually energized after spin class, today I just wanted to curl up in bed. And when it came time to do yoga last night, I struggled to finish the session.

I just didn’t feel right. Something was up. I’m not coming down with anything. So I’m thinking its diet.

When I went to look at my tracker, I realized the problem immediately.  The last time I tracked was Tuesday dinner.

Crap!

Since my trainer changed my diet, I’ve tracked religiously. Anytime I felt hungry, I made a note in my FitBook and looked at the tracker to see if I need to make adjustments to my meals.

I’m usually all over my tracker like a monkey on a cupcake!

But the last few days have been hectic. Just lots of errands, projects and breaking up too many pet fights (damn you evil overlord cat!).

How quickly things get out of whack when you don’t track for a couple of days. And scary how easy it is to forget to track.

I tried to remember everything I ate yesterday. It’s harder than you think.  What I pieced together indicates that I missed my morning and afternoon snacks. Not good. Also I ate about 20g of carbs, about 30g shy of what my trainer wants. I worked out for nearly 2 hours and 20g of carbs just doesn’t cut it.

As for protein, I was down 5 ounces.  No wonder I woke up starving this morning. Not eating enough to sustain your body is not how you lose weight.

This morning I’m back on track. I logged my breakfast — Kashi Go Lean, Almond Breeze Unsweetened Milk and one cup of strawberries — the perfect breakfast before this morning’s muscle workout and yoga class.

I prepared my protein shake so it’s ready for me when I get home — I just need to add 1/2 a banana and ice.

I also logged it.