Execution is Half the Battle

So I had a plan going into the weekend.

How did I do?

Not amazing, but at the same time, it was the most on plan I've felt in a long time. Some high (and low) lights:

-I didn't work out at all, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Saturday I spent the whole day cleaning. Lots of scrubbing and vacuuming (I even did windows!), and mopping. I was exhausted and sweaty afterwards, so while I didn't get a "traditional" workout in, I did get something, so that's positive. Sunday I woke up and went to babysitting gym bag in hand, but by the time babysitting finished , my hip hurt something fierce. It only got worse throughout the day. I helped my mom clean up our basement (which was gross), and skipped my workout, even though I was really tempted to just go and try. I'm really thinking that my body isn;t ready for Jillian Michaels videos. I'm going to stick with walking and light workout routines with weights, and see how that goes. My hip was still sore monday, but going home and taking some meds did a lot of good :)
-Friday was anxiety ridden (If I get good news I'll tell you why later this week!) and I definitely didn't make the best choices. A cinnamon chip scone from panera, a tomato mozzarella sandwich (ok that wasn't too awful), a slice of pizza then homemade nachos when Matt and I got home. And a large amount of beer. Final total? 70 points. and then of course I didn't track until I had indulged in a milkshake from mcds the next day (in my defense I was craving it), so I was over to Saturday as well. Needless to say I'm 6 in the red, counting trivia tonight. My plan is to do a bit of upper body workouts today at home before trivia (hopefully burn 100 calories!) and then take a walk at least once before weigh in. If I'm up this week, then I'm up this week, It's my own fault really.

- I have been tracking like a fiend. I'm talking pretracking 80% of what I eat, and for the most part sticking to my schedule. It's such a great feeling to know that I have that control, and can stick to a plan when I make it. I'm realizing I've made a lot of excuses for myself as of late. In reality, I've been gaining/stagnating because I haven't been 100% On Plan. And a lot of that recently has been my lack of activity (which in all fairness isn't my fault) but I can't blame anyone but myself. I need to focus and be on target.

So

My Goals for this week:
-Stay within my daily target each day
- no sweets/ snacks outside of what I plan for
- workout at least 2X, doesn't have to be crazy just something!
-focus on wholesome eating

Mealplan:
 (my chart wouldn't transfer over, so you guys are getting this list style, sorry!)
Breakfast this week is either yogurt and cereal and egg sandwiches.
Lunches are left overs and turkey sandwiches
Dinner:
M-Appetizers: Baked chicken wings, pizza zucchini bites, homemade "cheesy fries"
T- Homemade baked chicken parm with 3/4 C linguine
W- Turkey Burgers with a side salad
Th- Mexican Rice Casserole (EB)
F- Baked Haddock with rice and veggies
S- Cheesy chicken and stuffing

I'm really excited for dinners this week. My goal is to try one new recipe a week, to try and "mix things up" so to speak. You get bored when you eat the same thing time after time! My Fitness goal for the week is to work out at least twice. I'm thinking one of those workouts (tomorrows) is going to be an AM one. I am getting to bed right when we get home tonight,  waking up 1/2 hour earlier and doing 30 minutes of strength. I will check in tomorrow to make sure I get my ass up and going! Hold me accountable!

Keeping Up Fridays

Weigh In Results: -.6 195.8

- Honesty Time: I totally peaked yesterday, and saw a lower number than that. I was dissapointed this morning, which serves me right for peeking! But now I'm over it, and know if I keep it up I can see that number next week OR an even lower one!

-I obviously need to stop making excuses for myself, and start taking my gains and losses as they come. If I work at my weight loss, I lose weight. It's as simple as that.

- I have actually been keeping up with that workout schedule! Today didn't happen, but I think thats okay, because to be honeest, my hip really hurt yesterday. I think I need a rest day, even though I didn't plan for one. This right here is operation better safe than sorry.  Tomorrow I plan on trying a different video, one less side lunge centric. This is like a guessing game, I'll get it right eventually.

- I'm really looking forward to a low key weekend. Lots of cleaning, organizing, and just relaxing. God knows I need it!

- I really wish I had decided to suck up dealing with all the obnoxious teens and made plans to see the Hunger Games this weekend haha. I'm going in 2 weeks, but I now realize I'm going to be dyyingg until then. Gah.

-I am proud to report, that even though my stress level has been at a 10 for the past day or so, the only indulgence I had was a donut. And it wasn't even that good. How is that for progress? I failed at tracking today, I'll do it when I get home.  But I haven't eaten that much due to my stomach being in knots, so win? :-) It's total progess, even a month ago when stress got to me I would have binged and eaten /drank to make myself feel better. I didn't even enjoy the donut, and it definitely didn't make me feel better. So here's to next time there being no indulgence at all!

Epiphanies

1. Maybe Your Not Losing Because You Aren't Doing Enough

I had my doctor's appointment yesterday, and we talked about my thyroid. She told me they test it every year, so if something's up they will see it in my blood work. I mentioned how frustrating my weight loss has been lately, and that was the answer she gave me. She said it could be my thyroid acting up, but to keep in mind that if everything comes back clean, it's more likely me not doing enough.

Which obviously isn't what I wanted to hear, but is definitely what I needed to hear. I spent most of yesterday thinking about it, and what did I come to?

Even on my "good weeks", my efforts aren't nearly enough. Not like they were two years ago, when I really wanted to lose. I'm not going to go into it anymore, because I'm tired of sounding like a broken record. I know deep down that while maybe my thyroid is acting up, I could do more, and try more. And I'm going to. The winter blues are gone, spring is here, and my hip is feeling 100% better. Now is the time to get back into a rhythm.

so here we go, mealplan for the rest of the week!

Wednesday	cheerios, yogurt, banana	LO Stacked Enchilada	pub style burgers, baked fries	long walk, upper body cardio
Thursday	egg on toast	turkey sandwich	garlic chicken wings (Slow Cooked)	walk/upper body cardio
Friday	yogurt, cinnamon life	undecided, maybe a salad?	Fish and Chips (homemade)	gym- bike?
Saturday	hashbrowns, eggs, toast	unsure, snacks	pasta with meatsauce ?	video
Sunday	quick breakfast	sandwich	home	gym- bike/ walking uphill

so far, this week has been one giant rest day haha, so I'm not planning on taking any. I feel like I need to just dive back into working out, and plan to do something every day, especially where it's so nice outside. Even a walk up the road is good enough for me!

Along the same lines, I've had another epiphany

2. What am I fueling for?

My eating schedule the past 6-7 months looks like this:
Breakfast 9 am
snack 11am
Lunch 1245pm
Snack 330pm
gym
dinner 730pm

Which is fine, but point heavy. It's leaving me very restricted at night. And the past week or so, when I've thought about it, I've realized that most of the time, I eat out of boredom, not because I'm actually hungry. If I eat enough in the morning, I shouldn't be hungry until lunchtime. And if I'm hungry in the afternoon, an apple/veggies should be a good snack.

I'm going to come up with some lighter snack options, that I can better track. I feel like my pretzels just aren't cutting it,and are a lot easier to go over the reccomended amount :-/  But I do feel like a lot of the time I eat because I'm supposed to, or because I don't want to be dragging at the gym. Which is all fine and good but it's gotten to the point where it's affecting my WLJ. And not helping things. Where I'm not running right now (dramatic sob), I need enough of a snack to keep me going, but it doesn't have to be pointy (under 3PP)

Let the brainstroming begin. I haven't felt this motivated and on track to lose weight in awhile. I'm hoping it sticks around!

I Could Have Stayed At Work

last night and got caught up. Instead, I went home at 515, and went for a walk here:

 

note: picture taken at a different time

 And then came home, did a 20 minute upper body workout, and made a taco salad

it was so delicious

And I am in the best mood today. It's amazing how different you feel when you finally get that first workout in. And as an added plus, my hip isn't *too* sore today. I'm easing into it, 3 days of long walks this week, 4 days next week. It feels good to be back :-)

Weekend In Review

To start, I maintained Friday. I know I could have done better last week (didn't focus on water, bought Matt and I cookies because he had a bad day, etc) plus I was having some dietary issues, so I was okay with it. I have my Dr. Appointment for my physical on 3/20, and am really looking forward to it. I want to talk to her about all the weird things that have been going on lately (excessive loss of hair, inability to lose weight, dry skin, basically all signs pointing to my thyroid), and hopefully from there my weight loss journey can be on an upswing, you know.

To recap the weekend:

Friday:
Work was insane, I got some great news on the work front, coupled with some roughness with Matt. I'm convinced his PT messed up his back, because he's in so much pain, and it's so hard for him to deal with. In addition it stinks for me as well, because it's just added stress on us :-/ He's paying out of pocket to see a different PT tomorrow, and I'm really hopeful. I think he needs a second opinion, because after 6 months, he still shouldn't be in this kind of pain.

We made mozzarella tomato paninis for dinner (amazing) and then went to Dave and Buster's for drinks and fun with my friends and all their boyfriends (two newbies, it was an opportunity for us all to meet them). It was so much fun, for those of you who have never been to D&B, it's a bar/restaurant and then a giant arcade with a ton of games. It was so much fun, and Matt, who loves arcades, was in his element haha. It was a nice break from all the stress we've been dealing with, and just a really good night! I also went over my drink plan a bit, but did stop myself after a certain point, which is something I'm working on. I decided to cut back on my drinking for a few weeks, and see if that makes a difference. I don't want to restrict myself from drinking at all, but at the same time, I want to cut back. So my plan is to not get drunk for awhile and focus on social drinking, and only having 1-2 out instead of 3-4 haha.

Saturday
My parents went down the cape, so Matt and I were dogsitting for Toby. It was fun, he was adorable, and it gave us the opportunity to run some errands in the Milton/Quincy area. We picked up my sister from the airport( she did a service week down in DC), and then heading back to our place which desperately needed a cleaning. It was a low key night, with some drama and wine :-/ But hey, they happen right?

Sunday
 Sunday was daylights savings, and I had to babysit at 10. So I was exhausted, and grumpy haha. I went home and rested for a little bit, then grabbed the pup and met up with my friend J, and we went for a mini hike. It was a great time, I loved being outside and in the Blue Hills, it got me so excited for this summer and hiking with my sisters and Matt again. It's the one form of exercise that I never mind doing, and really enjoy. It's such a great feeling, and such a calorie torcher, gimme a month and we'll be up there every weekend!(weather permitting!)

Overall, a pretty good weekend, albiet busy! I think I handled my eating pretty well (although Sunday I definietly snacked), and Sunday was my first activity in awhile. My hip was sore later on, but not terrible, so I'm taking that as a good sign! I plan to start walking/upper body workouts 3 days a week, and easing back into a routine. My goal this week is to stick to my eating plan, Get in a workout Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday (my tentative plan is 45 minutes walking on a slight incline, and 15-20 minutes upper body strength). I plan to start with a bit of strength today, and see how it feels! Happy Monday!

Thoughts

I read this today, at One-Twenty-Five, who's blog, if you've never read it, is awesome and you should totally check it out. But here is what the post said:

"that feeling of losing weight. that feeling of stepping on the scale and knowing the number will be lower than it was yesterday. then it is. that feeling of trying on an old dress, once deemed too tight y’know, just-in-case, and voila! the zipper zips up the side easily. that feeling of catching a glimpse of yourself in a reflection and seeing a better you, a skinnier you. that feeling of lying in bed at night knowing you had a great eating day. that feeling of a friend noticing your hard work. that feeling of sitting down in shorts and knowing there isn’t cellulite on your thighs. that feeling of walking down the street and feeling strong, feeling good about yourself. that feeling of knowing you’re going to have a good day, not worrying if you will. that feeling of fitting working out into your schedule. that feeling of taking a smaller size off the shelves. that feeling of doing up a smaller size of jeans. that feeling of comparing old and new photos. that feeling the moment you finish a run. that feeling of believing in yourself. that feeling of confidence… that feeling you got this. that feeling you can do anything.

that feeling. i want that feeling back."


I've been thinking about this post all day, because it really spoke to me. All those moments she described, those are what I miss most about being on track and losing. I loved celebrating the milestones, and the feeling of a great workout, or a good eating day. Knowing that I fit into a size 14, something I'd never done before. I'm more on track right now (thanks to a lack of chocolate and candy in my life) than I've been in months. Consistently on track I mean. I'm being honest with myself, with my journey. I'm accurately tracking things, and not killing myself over the messups. But I want that success back. The feeling of control and knowing that I'm constantly working to achieve something amazing.

I have my Dr appt in 2 weeks, which will basically tell me if I'm really just not trying my hardest and need to switch something up, or if it's a medical reason for not losing. And honestly, I'm thinking it's the latter. Have I been on plan 24/7 for the past 6 months? Nope, but when I have been on, since June, my weight loss either is stalled or nonexistent. And that is the most frustrating thing in the world. Knowing that you've done your best, and it doesn't result in anything week after week after week...

So we'll see. Till then, I'm focused on heathy eating, limiting my drinking (I'm actually thinking about giving up the sauce for 2 weeks, just to see what happens), and hopefully getting back on the exercise wagon (when I can, my hip is still problematic) But I can honestly say that I can't wait to get that feeling back :-)

Lazy Weekend

I did nothing. And it was frustrating and wonderful at the same time. I'm totally not the type of person who enjoys sitting around all day doing nothing. I always feel guilty about it, like I should be using that time working out, or cleaning, or organizing. Something, anything! So this weekend was a rarity for me, and so needed.
Friday night I got home, poured myself a glass of wine and hung out with my sisters while Matt and my other sister cooked us dinner. Matt made curry noodles and my sister made black bean burgers. Both were equal parts delicious. It was a really nice night, very relaxing.

Saturday I dropped Matt off at work, went grocery shopping, and then came home. I wasn't feeling great (my stomach was off) so I lied up on the couch for a little bit and read). 3 hours later, I realized that I wasn't going to get much done today :-) But that's okay. I'm currently almost finished with The American Wife, for those of you who don't know much about the book, it's fiction loosely based on the life of Laura Bush (I looked up the facts of her life, and they pretty closely allign). It is such a fantastic book, and a really interesting read. It's also the first book I've read in awhile, so it feels good to get back on the reading wagon.

Saturday night Matt and I both didn't have any plans, and decided to just lay low, not drink a bunch (although I did have more wine, it was just so good!)  and watch some movies. We ended up watching a few episodes of Homeland, and the movie Beginners It was a good enough movie, not great In my opinion. The plot is really good, but I felt like the way it was made was a bit too artsy/trying to hard for my taste. I think it would have been a lot better of a movie if instead of flashing back the entire time, it was more linear. The flashbacks made it hard for me to follow, and made me a bit confused at times of what was currently happening and what was in the past. Christopher Plummer was great in it though.

Sunday was spent dealing with screaming children at babysitting, and then hanging out with family/more reading. I'm glad I went home, it was nice to spend some QT with my sister before she goes back to school, although the end of the visit wasn't so great, and left me in a sour mood. It's continued into today as well. I'm just so tired, all weekend my hip has been hurting, and I feel as though I need an actual break :-/, or at least for things to become less stressful and just a teeny bit easier. Is that too much to ask?

My Lazy Saturday. As if I needed more motivation, it was also raining outside :-)

Saturday night dinner






He's a pro at begging



Also made for a great pick me up :-)

cheesy chicken nuggets, roasted asparagus and homemade potato chips. I don't know what would have made for a better pick me up from the Sunday Blues Dinner :-)


have a great week everyone :)

February Recap, March Goals

How Did I do?
Burn 100 APs
Spoiler alert- this didn't happen. But I think being injured is a valid excuse. Before I got hurt, I had hit 44 APs, which isn't too shabby considering the pain has been plaguing me since mid-January (and probably why I have the bursitis)
Lose 3 Pounds
I'm up from 195.8 to 197.8. Lets talk about this for a minute. I know what I've done that was bad (overindulged, not treated "treats" as treats, etc), but at the same time, I know I've had solid weeks where I've done well,  and coupled with my dry skin, exhaustion, and hair falling out, I'm definetly going to mention this to my doctor at my physical. Hypothyroidism runs in my family, and it would explain why I've bounced back and forth since July.

Till then though, I'm keeping up my lenten promises, and not eating ANY chocolates, cookies, etc. I'm doing well!

Workout 4X a week
meh whatever

Limit Drinking to 2X a week, Dessert over 4 points to 1X a week
I did pretty well with this! I have really cut back on my weeknight drinking, even when I'm craving that glass of wine after work. And since lent, my dessert intake has decreased a ton too!

Try and New Activity
I didn't get to do this, maybe next month? I might try swimming!

So obviously February wasn't my best month (Overall, February sucked, to be honest. With my hip, my health, and then some job stuff, just not a good month). I think some of my gain was from me being frustrated and eating away that anger. It's hard when you feel like something is always wrong,  you know? Moving forward, I plan on having a lazy weekend, laying low and resting my hip. It should definetly help and put me in a good position to get back into working out lightly.

So my March goals

By March 31
Goal 1	Do some activity 4X a week
Goal 2	Lose 2 pounds
Goal 3	Focus on healthy eating, and using fewer WP
Goal 4	Limit Drinking to 2X a week, Dessert over 4  points to 1X a week

Definetly all doable, I'm already doing well with the healthy eating part, I really feel a difference since the pressure to "fuel" for my workouts is gone. I think working on how I eat and what I eat will be really helpful for me as far as my WLJ goes :-) and  depending on how my hip feels, I may get back into my videos (the ortho didn't specify no circuit training), but I'm definetly playing it by year. I want to be able to be active this summer, and if my hip pain continues, that won't be an option. Lots of walking and biking in the month of March!

I actually really enjoyed bike riding last summer. It was a great workout, and a lot of fun. I'm thinking as long as my financial situation is okay, I may invest in a bike for myself this summer. I live near a great bike path, and it would give me an additional option as far as working out goes! Well see :-) I definetly plan on renting bikes and doing the cape cod trail again, that was such a blast!