Weight Loss Challenge: Week 4 Progress

I feel like I'm only blogging about my weight lately, which is a huge focus in my life right now, but we are doing other things so I'll try and get some pics up soon.

I did an official weigh in this week with our health coach and I was past the 10 lb weight loss mark (which I knew) so I qualified for a free 30-day system. This means more shakes and cleansing products for free to get me through the next month. I love free stuff and even better when I earn it. She said I was on the fast track to winning a prize so I must be doing better than most of my co-workers.

Workout wise this week:
3/20: We went to the zoo and then I did Pilates at home. I was beat after the zoo as it was a really busy day.
3/21: Day of rest and boy did my body need it
3/22: Did the Elliptical for 30 min. at the gym and Pilates at home
3/23: Elliptical for 40 min.
3/24: Elliptical for 30 min., I was cleansing this day and it's so hard for me to cleanse (no eating just drinking this nutritional cleanse drink) and workout
3/25: Got up super early and did Pilates before going to work and then an 8 hr drive for a mini-vacation.
3/26: Elliptical

I've really been trying to push myself as hard as I can on the Elliptical by either pushing the incline higher and/or the resistance higher. I'm really trying to make myself stronger and not take the easy route.

Jordan has been joining me lately in doing Pilates at home. It's been fun and boy is the resistance band a killer and really works my muscles.

Diet Wise:
Pretty typical week of shakes/bars/healthy meals. We have a yummy curry recipe and I found that it isn't bad calorie wise for the amount you get. My new food scale is awesome!

I'm pretty proud of myself for resisting free smoothies at work (they are low fat, but could be high cal depending on the yogurt, juices they use). We went to In-n-Out last night and I only had a burger and a few fries and then some carrots when I got home.

Results: 2 pounds.

I know it ebbs and flows so hoping for a bigger number next Saturday. Excited for a new week this week, working harder and getting stronger.

I am so close to getting into pre-pregnancy pants so that is my next goal and hoping by next week I'll be there.

I AM DOING THIS and am so proud of myself!

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 3 Progress

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 3 Progress

I had a few hiccups this week such as Monday I took Matthew to the Pediatrician for an ear check-up and afterwards headed to the gym since my babysitter was home with Isabelle. I had been on the elliptical for 8 min. and the child care called me. Matthew had pooped his pants and I had no backup so we had to leave. By the time we got home and got everything cleaned up and dinner started I ended up just doing Pilates at home.

Workout wise I did this week: (Mon-Fri, since my last weigh in was Monday morning)

-3/15: Pilates for an hour at home
-3/16: Full day so I worked out on the elliptical at our community gym for 35 min. before going to work
-3/17: Yoga 101 at my gym for an hour
-3/18: Elliptical for 40 and Mat Pilates at my gym for an hour
-3/19: Treadmill for 35 min., Pilates at home for 30 min.

Diet wise:
Doing well in my calorie limit per day. I definitely look forward to my real meal every night. This is really working for me though because I've never been a breakfast person and a shake is perfect in the morning. At lunch I would rather eat at my desk than waste an hour and have to be there longer so a bar works.

It's interesting recipes I've made in the past that I thought were low-fat, low-calorie ARE low-fat, but not low-calorie. The recipe analyzer on Calorie Counter is good because I can adjust oils or high calorie items like beans, etc. and use less in my recipe to get to the calorie goal I need to be in.

We made some yummy chicken and black bean burritos last night. It called for 2 cans of black beans and I only used 1 and we ate whole wheat tortillas which aren't less calorie wise but are better for you. They weren't too bad at all.

Results: 4 pounds.

I am blown away. Those pds are just from Monday until this morning. I did my calorie burn calculation this week and I was preparing myself for 2 pounds. I am already down 14 pds. This really helps solidify my belief that what I'm doing IS working!

I need to get a digital food weight scale today so I can measure out what I can eat from my recipes as they give grams measurements for servings. I AM being so anal about my food now, but know it's short term and can loosen up a bit once I get to my goal weight.

I CAN do this!
I WILL do this!
I AM so proud of myself!!

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 2 Progress

This week was a little challenging due to being at a work event from Thursday-Sunday. I was so stressed on Thursday that I wasn't going to get my workout in as we kept working later and later. I pushed my boss though and finally got out of there at 8 pm and then headed up to the hotel gym (which was really nice!).

Another thing I did to keep me on track was take my blender (it's made by Isagenix and looks more like the bullet brand) and shake with me so I could make my shakes in the morning and later in the evening after my workouts.

Workout wise I did this week:
-3/7-Nothing, day of rest
-3/8-I was going to go to our community gym, but Jordan unexpectedly needed me to take him to the dealership to pick up our Santa Fe that was fixed for a few minor problems. My gym is just across the street so Matthew came with me and went to the kids play area and Jordan took Isabelle home. Did the Elliptical.
-3/9-I was going to go to Pilates, but forgot my gym bag-argghhh! I went to our community gym and did the elliptical. It was also voting day and they use our club house as a voting place so I was acosted while in my workout clothes-nice!
-3/10 Met my friend Kari at the gym and I did the Elliptical and also the Yoga 101 class. Man is my flexibility lame.
-3/11 I did 30 min. on the Elliptical at the Hyatt gym.
-3/12 Did minor exercising
-3/13 Treadmill for 15 min. doing 1 min of run and 3 min of walking. I then did 30 min. of the elliptical.

Diet wise:
Staying within my 1200 calorie limit with 2 shakes or 1 shake/1 bar a day + 1 meal. I ate Friday lunch and then went out Friday night at Hard Rock. Man is that place full of calories. They don't have any nutritional information and the best I could find was a chicken salad with a citrus vinegarette that was pretty healthy. All in all I did pretty well considering I was out of my routine and couldn't completely control everything.

Results: 3 pounds.

I really wanted 4-5 pounds, but considering I was at an event for 4 days and didn't have full control and did the best I could I'm happy that I still lost weight. Still motivated and looking forward to working out this afternoon at the gym after I take Matthew to the pediatrician. Can't wait for the Pilates class and I'll probably go back to Yoga 101 again.

I CAN do this!
I WILL do this!
I AM so proud of myself for getting it in my head to finally be dedicated to get the results I want.

Progress...

I'll be updating my progress tomorrow. I'm trying to do it every Saturday, but I was at an event from Thursday and got home today.

It's so much easier to control my calories when I know exactly the content of what I am eating. I had to guess at the amounts and calories in everything that I ate at our staff meals. It's also pretty tempting to eat lunch and dinner when they are provided but I did really good and only had 1 cheat day where I ate both lunch and dinner.

I did pretty good on my exercise and went to the hotel gym on Thursday night and Saturday night. I was going to do Pilates in my room after going out with a vendor for dinner on Friday night, but my laptop wouldn't play the video-so lame!

I ended up doing some sit-ups and some things that I remembered from the video, but it was a lame workout day.

We'll see what the scale says tomorrow and I'll report promptly!

Calorie Counter

So I found a new friend to help me keep track of every single calorie I'm consuming. It's called the calorie counter. I found it while searching for how to figure out how many calories my recipes are producing.

This website is so great - let me tell you the reasons why...
1-I can log my exact calories
2-I can type in my recipes and it will figure out my calorie count
3-I can log my exercise activity
4-I can find recipes others have submitted that have low calorie counts too

It's quite eye-opening when you really figure out the reality of what you are consuming/burning.

I am here to change my life but not deprive it. I can make wiser decisions but still eat great tasting food. Changes won't be permanent if they aren't things you can sustain for life. That is why diets never work.

The other way I've been educating myself lately is finding out what the calorie count is of meals at restaurants we go to. Most restaurants have the calorie information somewhere on their website and if they don't they will have to by the end of 2010, and you'll be able to request at the restaurant.

We went to Olive Garden on Friday with friends and beforehand I perused their menu and figured out 5 things that had the calorie count I could handle. I used to love the Chicken Parmesan or Chicken but at 1050 calories on just the meal, not including the salad (350 per serving) or breadsticks (60 per breadstick) I can't afford right now that luxury. I got the Salmon and broccoli instead. It was really good and I felt satisfied.

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 1 Progress

So it's been a week. My motivation is still in full swing. I have felt like I'm getting there work-out wise. I'm sore and achey but feeling really good.

Workout wise I did last/this week:
-2/26: Pilates at home (DVD's I've had forever that are finally getting some use)
-2/27: Elliptical for 25 min.
-3/1: Elliptical for 20 min, bike for 10 min.
-3/2: Elliptical for 30 min. - Signed up for gym
-3/3: Spin Class - almost died! :) - don't spin your first week back on the horse
-3/4: Pilates at home - could feel it at work on Friday
-3/5: Elliptical for 30 min.
-3/6: Yogalates for 1 hr, elliptical for 30 min.

Diet wise:
Staying strong on the Isagenix program. My cleanse day was super easy. I've had a few cheats here and there, but not much.

Yesterday we had this new gym in the area come in and I know the Owner from something we worked on at Isagenix together. He had this machine that with infared light could tell you your body composition. I really didn't want to do it, but did. It was a terrible result, but at least I know where I am now, have a goal I'm working towards, and he offered to do it again in 30 days to see my progress. I keep telling myself that I can't beat myself up for getting here, but just keep focusing on the goal and where I want to be. I'll share results when I feel more confidence and after I've improved.

Results of week 1: 6 pound weight loss

I am seriously so excited and proud of myself and almost in disbelief. When I weighed myself this morning I was nervous there would be no change and couldn't believe the number. When I was in London, I so wish I would have had Isagenix. I was eating ok, but we weren't counting calories or watching super closely our food intake. I would have a 1-2 pd weight loss in a week and I was working out 1-1.5 hrs every day and remember feeling VERY frustrated. Now I know I just didn't adjust what I was eating and that would have made the difference.

I'm feeling good!
I'm so proud of myself!
I CAN do this!!!

Weight Loss Challenge

We have a yearly weight loss challenge at work and the winner gets $5,000. This is it's 4th year in a row so after having Isabelle I knew I needed to get to work, but didn't do anything about it.

The challenge officially started on February 16th, but the person weighing in and keeping track of everything couldn't get me in until last Thursday because so many people signed up for the challenge.

We knew this was coming and Jordan gave me a GC to Foot Locker and a new iPod Nano (in pink-so cute!) for my birthday to get me going. I went and purchased new shoes on Thursday evening and new workout clothes on Friday. I am determined to improve myself and win this challenge.

So far, so good. I worked out Friday, Saturday, and today before Jordan left for work. It's pretty slow going and I'm achey but I'm hoping in 2 weeks I'll be back in the groove. I got in pretty good shape while in London, and was getting there before I got pregnant with Isabelle.

Calories wise I'm doing the Isagenix program (where I work) which is 2 shakes a day + 1 meal of 400-600 calories and then nutritionally cleansing once a week. I'm not doing bad so far. Jordan found these Strawberry waters from Fresh & Easy that help curb the sugar or snack cravings until the next meal time.

I'm signing up at a local gym tomorrow (working from home today) and will start going there mostly after work and sometimes before. We have friends that belong so I'll probably meet up with them sometimes after work. They have spinning classes, zumba, rock climbing, and then the usual workout equipment. My work reimburses up to $24 a month so it won't cost me much beyond the reimbursement.

Wish me luck in finally getting back in shape after having 2 kids. I am determined to win the challenge, get the real me back and feel good in the process. I'll post about my progress.