Pushing myself

I restarted this weight loss journey at the beginning of the year and right away, I went and signed up (again) for a gym membership. I didn't waste any time, I jumped right into working out and getting 30 minutes of activity in.

30 minutes is all I ever did, it would hurt to work out. There were times where it hurt so bad to move after walking on the treadmill that I would just sit on the couch most the night because my knees would just ache so bad, but I kept going.

30 minutes eventually turned into 35, which turned into 40. I wasn't in as much pain after workouts but it would still hurt from time to time. I started to pick up speed and resistance, I would use the elliptical from time to time, but for no more then 15 minutes at a time and then I would just walk.

Somedays I would stay home and workout or go for walks around my neighborhood. One time, not that long ago, I even jogged for a few minutes while I was out for walk. I felt like I had conquered the world!

A few weeks ago, I went to a group class at the gym that was a boot camp type of circuit training, and I worked out HARD. I was dripping in sweat, it felt SO good. Even when it was hard and I was tired, I kept going...because I know that if I had tried that when I started 7 months ago, I would have died.

Today, I worked out twice. I went once in the morning and then again this evening for Zumba. Both times, I gave it my all, I sweated (a lot) and I burned a lot of calories. The best thing is that I'm not in pain, I didn't give up and I can't wait to go back to the gym tomorrow!

I am thankful that my body is allowing me to push my limits, that my body is growing and developing and most importantly, getting healthy.

It's true what they say, it gets easier with time.

Someday I will run and it will be for longer then a few minutes. Mark my word.

Week 24 Weigh In

Alright, week 24 is in the books and it was a great week! My mini goal for the week was to get 7 days of activity in, and I did it! I thought I wasn't going to hit it one day but I had gone swimming at my parents house, and swimming counts! Overall, I earned 52 activity points last week! Whoop whoop!

On Friday we went to a friends house to have a BBQ and I indulged a little too much, but I was okay with it. On Saturday we went to my parents house to celebrate Father's Day and again, I indulged a little too much on cookies and yummy food. I felt really bad about eating the way I did for two days (:-/), so on Sunday I kicked it into high gear, drank water like it was candy, ate within my points and tried to eat pretty clean. Whatever I did worked because the number on the scale was lower this morning!

I have lost 45 pounds, sometimes that's hard for me to believe. I have a lot of weight to lose but I'm ready to lose it and I have 45 pounds less to lose!

I've been trying really hard to be active all day long by staying busy around the house. I've done some cleaning, laundry and cooking. That has been helping me reach 100% on my active link and has helped me stay on my feet and not in front of the computer. I've noticed that when I do sit down and relax I often feel bad for not being active. I know losing weight isn't always about being active and busy but I'm trying to get out of the sedentary lifestyle. Yesterday was the first day that I sat in front of the TV for awhile, it felt good but it sure was hard to get up and make dinner after sitting down for a few hours.

For week 25, my goal again is to get 7 days of activity in and to go to bed earlier. Not getting enough sleep can really alter weight loss and bed time has been getting really late. This morning I was SO tired so I told myself getting to bed earlier is a must! I need more energy to stay active! 

Week 23 Weigh In

I woke up bright any early this and went to weigh in. I was a little nervous to get on the scale but I was ready to deal with whatever the scale said. This past weekend was a rough one and I ate WAY more then I should have.

Over the weekend, we went camping and I had a few too many s'mores then I should have and I indulged a little on pasta salad (oh man, it was SO good!). As soon as we got home on Sunday, we all went to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate my sisters birthday. I was conscious of what I ate, but man those rolls are AMAZING!

When I weighed myself on Monday morning, the scale said I had gained about 5 pounds. I know most of it was me retaining water from all that salt but still, 5 pounds! The last two days, I've been drinking water like it's going out of style and really watched what I ate.

The hard work over the past two days paid off because I still lost this week! It's was .4 pounds, but still a loss is a loss! The scale is lower then it was last week and that's all I care about!

Eating the way I did this weekend reminded me as to why I'm doing this. I felt so NASTY after I stuffed my face while we were out camping. I literally could fill the food weighing me down and in my throat. It was gross! I even had to chew on some Tums. UGH! I hate the feeling of being too full, I don't want to feel like that again.

My goal for this next week is to get activity in everyday. I normally aim for 5 days a week but I noticed that on the weekend I really am lazy and I'm not active much. So this next week I'm going to get 30 minutes or more of activity every dang day! 

Left: Taken 12/31/12 Right: Taken 6/11/13
43.4 pounds difference!

Week 22 Weigh In

I should have written this and posted it sooner considering I weigh in tomorrow for Week 23 but I guess late is better then never.

Week 22 was a good week, I lost a few pounds and worked out 5 days during the week. I love that the weather has been so great that I'm able to take those late afternoon walks. I went to get on my bike earlier during the week and found out that I had a flat tire. I was so bummed! Getting that fixed is on my to do list! In the meantime, we're just putting air in it as we go and hoping for the best.

Another thing that has really kept me on track is making sure I'm planning my meals and tracking before I eat. I normally know what I'm making for dinner the next day before I go to bed and I try to really toss things up for breakfast and lunch but everything is always tracked before I eat it so I can just sit down and enjoy my meal.

I'll be back tomorrow to recap week 23. It was kind of a rough weekend but I feel like I ended the week strong, so we'll see what the scale says tomorrow!

Week 21 Weigh In

Week 21 is over and out! I can't believe how fast these weeks have gone, I feel like I just started this journey yesterday!

I really feel like the past week was a great one. I got all my activity in, I stuck to my points and only used 11 of my weeklies. My goal was to lose 1.4 pounds so I could hit 40 pounds lost, and I did it!

One of the things that I told myself from the start was that I wasn't going to let the scale determined my mood. I weigh in every Wednesday at 6 o'clock in the morning, depending on which way the scale is goes can really determined how my day is going to go. I usually know if I've had a good or bad week before I walk in the door and most of the time I know which way the scale is going to go. I prepare myself for it so that way if I gain, I won't let it bring me down. If I lose, I try not to let myself celebrate too much, I just take in that moment and move on.

This weeks meeting topic was about when food isn't the right answer. Personally, I know I used to always turn to food. Any chance I got, I was eating. I mean, lets be honest, food is good and even though it may have been an addiction, food cures a lot of things. I'm an emotional eater and eat for anything, so hearing tools that people do to stay away from food was really eyeopening for me. I still am an emotional eater but now I think I just make better choices about it. Instead of candy, I'll pick an apple.

In these 21 weeks I can really say that I've learned that it is all about choices and what you choose to fuel your body with.

Inspiration

Lately I've been taken back by the fact that I'm inspiring people. It baffles me that little ol' me is inspiring people to make healthy choices. 

I've gotten a lot of questions about what is working for me, where I get recipes from and how to find motivation. I'm always honest and more then willing to share what is working for me and how I'm getting it done every day, but I remind them that I am not a pro at this. I still eat food that I shouldn't, I still dislike working out and I still miss McDonald's and fried foods. I just know that eating those things or not doing the workouts will not get me where I want to be and all they will offer is instant gratification.

I've really had to learn that every weight loss journey is different, just like everyone is a different person. I will not lose weight the same way someone else did. I can not eat things other people can because it may throw me back to my bad habits. I've really had to learn to read my body and know what works for me.

I can share tips, hints and answers all day long but that doesn't mean it's going to work for you or be what is best for you. I want it to work for you though, so badly.

My biggest advice and inspiration I can give someone is to do what works for you. Find the program (Weight Watchers, counting calories or carbs) and stick with it. The hardest part of the journey is starting it and sticking to it. I'll never regret starting this journey again, even if it is my third time.

Third times the charm! 

Still truckin'!

It's been a heck of a long time since I've updated my blog. I've come to terms with the fact that I'm a horrible blogger and I'll probably always suck at it. If you're on Instagram or Facebook, you can keep up with my progress there and actually stay more up to date with it.

Since my last blog post, I've gotten married, went on my honeymoon, gained a few pounds and lost them all over again. Right before the wedding, I hit 30 pounds lost and then with the 3 weeks that we were gone, I only gained about 3 pounds. I was actually pretty surprised and they came back off pretty fast. It was really hard to get back into the grove of things, it took me about a week and a half to actually get my butt in gear and get back into the game.

With all of that, I'm still trucking along this weight loss journey. I'm currently at 38.6 pounds lost (and I don't want to find them again!). I've learned a lot since I started losing weight again and there have been a lot of thing that have opened my eyes. It is kind of funny how you learn to love foods that before you refused to taste and there are foods that I see and think "how could I have ever eaten that?!"

Clothes are starting to fit better, it's to the point where I'm having to buy new clothes too. Such a great feeling! I have had to buy two new pairs of jeans in different sizes and this past weekend I ended up buying some jeans at a thrift store. I refuse to pay $50 bucks for a pair of jeans that I'm only going to wear for a few weeks. I can't take credit for that one though, a coworker told me to do that after I was complaining about the price of jeans. Honestly, I never thought thrift store had clothes in my size.

I try to cook dinner almost every night, I love to cook and love finding new recipes that are healthy and delicious. If I don't cook dinner, we normally pick a "healthy" place to go to dinner, or my friends and family are really great about helping me figure out the points for the meal.

I've really been trying to mix up my activity. Some days I'll walk, other days I'll go to the gym. I've done work out videos, gone for bike rides and just in general, been more active. The Mr. and I are starting to park further away from stores and just walking further. It works! I try to get 30 minutes of activity in, 5 days a week. People forget that it doesn't have to strenuous exercise, just simply going out there and getting your heart rate up will get the job done! The best part about it all is that I can go further and harder then I used to. I used to dread 30 minutes on the treadmill but now it's no big deal and I actually enjoy it.

My goal this week is to lose 1.4 pounds. If I hit my goal, I'll be at 40 pounds gone! I try to set small goals for myself every week. They don't always deal with weight, they are just small goals to help the week go by fast and help me get healthy. I weigh in on Wednesday morning, so we'll see! I'm crossing my fingers!