4/9/12 Weekly Check-In

Starting Weight: 195.8*
Previous Weight: 191.6

Current Weight: 190.9

Total Weight Change: - 4.9

*Note: I have changed my starting weight to line up with my actual starting weight on Weight Watchers. That way it is a bit easier for me to keep track of my changes

Last week was a major week off of the Weight Watcher band wagon. I seem to be struggling quite a bit lately, both with my eating and with my exercise, and am honestly just grateful that I managed to lose a little bit of weight.  I was very worried when I got on the scale yesterday morning that I was going to have gained weight again.

I am in desperate need of a work out buddy... and someone to help me plan my meals and stick to meal preparation.  I do miss my mom so much because having her here visiting ws great motivation for me.  But alas she is gone and I will not be visiting her for another two months, so it's time to pull myself up by the bootstraps and get my butt in gear. 

4/2/12 Weekly Check-In

Starting Weight: 195.1

Previous Weight: 191.4

Current Weight: 191.6

Total Weight Change: - 3.5

Getting on the scale this morning I was extremely nervous.  Over the last week my aunt was in town visiting us.  As soon as she heard that we were doing Weight Watchers, exercising, and trying to eat healthy she immediately started complaining.  This was supposed to be vacation, and it seemed that in her mind it was ludicrous to expect her to eat healthy while she was here.  Mind you my mom (who was also visiting) made all of the food that was extremely delicious.  But my aunt wanted to go out one night to eat and elected to go for Southern fried food, and a second night she sent us out to dinner to Outback.  Again, delicious, appreciated, but not exactly the best options all around.  Add to that I am very bloated today (I hate being a woman), and it's just a miracle that I only gained .2 pounds.

My exercise has also not been particularly on point.  Again, it's very difficult to try to exercise, even in your own home, when you have someone who seems irritated about it sitting right behind you.  Even our daily walks came to a stop because it seemed wrong to leave her here when she didn't want to.  

Don't get me wrong, I love my aunt and I am so glad that she came to visit.  It has just opened my eyes to how much someone in your home can influence the decisions that you make for yourself.  Whether it is a guest, a spouse, or someone else who lives with you, if they are not supportive of a healthy eating, active lifestyle it can be very difficult to stick to your plans.  And reflecting on this past week has also helped me see that the most important thing any of us can do is be responsible to our choices first and everyone else second.  

3/26/12 Weekly Check-In

Starting Weight: 195.1

New Weight: 191.4

Weight Change: - 3.7

This last week was a very successful week for me.  Since last Wednesday I lost 4.4 pounds (3.7 pounds from my starting weight).  This is a major feat for me.  

The combination of 30 Day Shred, daily walks, and Weight Watchers has helped me see major changes.  I haven't been fully diligent about performing my 30 Day Shred workout every day, especially since I have family in town.  I have missed 3 days of my workout, including tonight, but we have been constantly on the go site seeing, and living in an apartment prevents me from working out in the evenings after Bug goes to bed.

It has also been a major learning week for me, as I have come to recognize many ways that I viewed even healthy food that were sabotaging my weight loss.  But that will be a discussion for a different post.  

3/21/2012 Weekly Check-In

Starting Weight: 195.1
New Weight: 195.8
Weight Change: +.7

Over the last week I have spent a great deal of time *thinking* about becoming more active and eating better.  Some of my personal goals were to drink more water, walk every day, and make all of our meals at home.  I would say that across the board I was successful about 50% of the time.

Some may look at that number and say "Wow, she that success rate is not good at all.  She really isn't taking care of her self". But I chose to look at it another way.  That is 50% more than I was doing before last week.  And it takes a great deal of hard work to break old habits and learn new ones, even those as simple as taking a walk or drinking water.

One of the best ways to get in shape, especially to adhere to your physical fitness plans, is to have a buddy.  Unfortunately my husband is rarely home due to his school schedule, and most of our friends in the area are in the same program as he is.  So instead, as you will have seen in my Shred Challenge Post, I have acquired a long-distance fitness buddy.  She may not be able to drag my butt off the couch and make me go walking with her when I feel exhausted, but the competition that we have turned it into certainly gives me some accountability to someone other than myself.

As far as food and water go these are still areas that I will continue to work on every day.  With my mother in town for the next two weeks food becomes a bit easier because she is currently doing the Weight Watchers program, so that is forcing us to eat much better than we may have otherwise.  While she is in town I will be taking advantage of her expertise in finding healthy, wholesome recipes.  And I promise to share these recipes with you as I find our new favorite dishes.

3/12/2012 Weekly Check-In

New Starting Weight: 195.1 lbs

I welcome you all... and myself... back to my journey for a healthier life style.  This is my first week truly focusing on making the healthy changes in my life and that of my family since the death of my father.   It has been a roller coaster, but I am finally coming to terms with our loss and I am determined more than ever to change my health and be a better role model for my family.

In the coming weeks I hope to share with you the little changes we plan on making in our life.  But for today I will simply share with you my "new" starting point.  If you look back through my posts (yes, I know you don't have to look far) you can see the toll in my weight that emotional eating has had on me.  And while I am starting 10 lbs higher than I did last October it makes me even more aware of the struggles I have ahead.

This will by no means be an easy journey.  And anyone who joins me on this quest should know up front that it takes a great deal of planning, execution, and willpower to make the types of changes I have planned for myself and my family.  Recognizing this is the first step towards success.  The second is knowing that while you may slip off of your intended path that each day presents a new opportunity for success.

Don't let your previous failures sabotage your future.  Learn from them, for they can provide valuable information regarding your weakness so that you can adapt.  Then let them go.  Embrace the changes you want to make and the person you want to be.  And get up make yourself a healthy snack and get out and get active.  That's what I'm going to do starting right now.

Monday 10/10/2011 Check-In

Starting Weight: 190.4
Last Week's Weight: 184.6
Current Weight: 186.7

Well, this week obviously wasn't a rip roaring success.  Yes, my weight is still lower than that first day I got on the scale and was shocked into action.  But a two pound increase over the last week was NOT what I wanted to see this morning.

I suppose it shouldn't come as much of a shock that I gained weight.  I ate far to much ice cream sandwiches, brownies and peach cobbler after the party this weekend.  And before that I wasn't exactly sticking to my meal plan.  But instead of giving up, like I would have a year ago, I am determined to stay the course and get my life changes on track.

After much deliberation I have decided that I am going to restart my diet, though with a few modifications.  I do feel that the South Beach Program is still the best fit for me, especially since the first two weeks are designed to help you purge the processed sugar from your system that cause you to crave more processed sugar.  But I obviously need something to which I must be accountable.

Therefore I am going to follow a modified Weight Watchers/South Beach Diet Plan.  Thanks to some very wonderful friends I have calculated that I need to consume at least 36 points per day since I am breastfeeding.  So while I am going to follow the South Beach Plan I am going to make sure that I don't go over my allotted Weight Watchers Points.  And if for some reason I slip up and eat something I shouldn't (like the left over peach cobbler I had for dessert tonight), as long as I am within my points I am not going to be too hard on myself.

The other change I am going to make is to prepare the majority of my daytime meals at night before I go to bed.  Having my snacks and lunch already assembled and easy to grab will make it easier for me to keep on track when I am running out the door to run errands or taking care of things around the house.  No more excuse to stop at McDonalds when I have my lunch packed with me.

So here's to a new week, and the hope that by next week's weigh in I'm at least 4 lbs lower than I currently am.  I seriously need to get back on track if I'm going to lose 25 lbs by Christmas Day.