moving day!

1 lb 1 wk is being integrated into my new blog as a weekly wednesday posting! http://www.amandasdancing.blogspot.com/

what week are we on?? maybe 11

Okay so I have not completely given up on this I swear! I have no idea what week I am on at this point. And I am pretty sure I am back to my original weight but I would have no way of knowing that for a fact because I have not weighed in for a while. I AM making some good choices in my last few hectic weeks. I have been on a painting job and worked 55 hours last week of physical labor. Whew! Glad that week is over. Instead of eating out like we usually do on painting weeks, I did bring my own healthy lunch.

Over last weekend I went on a mini retreat and my grandma brought me all sorts of crunchy, spicy, organic and healthy snacks like: roasted eggplant, jalapeño hummus, blueberry greek yogurt, and some other great stuff! It was delicious and I learned a few healthy snacks to grab for instead of my usual.

My commitment this week is to take life in 15 minute bites. I saw a goofy commercial about what all you can do in 15 minutes, (not gieco) and thought to myself I can take 15 minutes to plan my meals for the day. I can take 15 minutes to walk in the morning and work up the time in 15 minute increments. So this week is 15 minutes to make good choices!

week 9 and 10

Fact or Crap? You decide!

#1 I have not posted the past 2 Sundays, even though I committed to a weekly posting

#2 It’s because I need to re-kick off so I can become motivated again

#3 It’s because I have been busy with family and friends in town for spring break and just wanted to enjoy the week off

#4 It’s because my new small (very small) business is starting up and I have been swamped making document forms and creating items to post to my shop and have had no time to eat healthy. You can check out my shop to verify this one - http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShellandaInspired 

#5 It’s because I don’t like to cook for just myself and Trevor has been more busy, thus I skip lunch and often breakfast too if he leaves early.

#6 Its because I have slowly slipped away from my plan by allowing myself small (or large, depending on my effort) rewards for good choices. My rewards are food that is bad for you.

Only #1 and #6 are fact, the rest are crap(y) excuses I have been telling myself so I don’t feel guilty for my bad choices. Except #5, it’s a fact but still a crapy excuse, and #4 my etsy shop is up and running so check it out!

week 8

To put it bluntly, + 1/2 lbs

I am being totally honest. . .I didn’t even try this week, and it shows. I was happy, eh more like satisfied, at the weigh in this morning to have stayed under a 27 BMI, but I did gain a half a pound back. I am feeling a little burnt out on this. It doesn’t help that money is a little tight and we have been skimping on some healthier items at the grocery store to finish up eating what we already have at home. I am struggling giving up wine in the evenings, it helps relax me but not so good for my health. Maybe some baby steps are in order and I need some tonic water. This warmer weather has put me in the mood for some mexican food on a patio with a  margarita and good friends. The friends are great for my mental health but the Mexican food is not as good for my physical health. Where is the happy medium?

In other relevant news, the garden is tilled and I am STOKED to start planting and harvesting fresh vegetables at home! Come on good weather! Maybe working in the garden will burn a few extra calories and will produce some healthy food for sure. Started the onions in door this week J, felt good to get some dirt under my nails.

week 7

Back on the map! Lost 1.3 pounds this week !

I have no idea how. I didn’t work out once this week. I ate sonic for lunch yesterday and was so full didn’t get hungry for dinner till 9:30 and quick put together some tuna helper. How did that equal this morning’s weigh in? Appareatly I am alittle clueless.  

Other exciting news: my BMI finally got below 27 ! More important than the weight number I am making steady progress in this aspect. Seeing that I had made a real change here has motivated me for this next week. My goal in this area is to get my BMI under 22 just to be healthy. Now to get below 26. . . .

I did realize some stinkin’ thinkin’ had going on the last two weeks that I had gained 1.1 pounds back. When I worked out I gave myself more leniencies on what I was eating because I would think, “well, ill burn that off tomorrow when I work out”. Hello dysfunctional thought process, that completely defeats the point! I am working out to repair the damage I have already done to my body, not add more damage to potentially have to repair again. Oddly enough this week I quit working out because I saw that when I worked out I did not lose weight that week. But my not losing weight was not related to working out, it was related to my thought process because I was working out.

The game plan for this week:

A.      Refocus on making good choices consistently

B.      Add a workout routine without adding excuses for food choices.

week 6

Its backwards week! I gained a pound this week L

I am not feeling so great today physically, and I was out of town all weekend.( I had a fun mini vacation that I soooo needed after last week) We had a super hectic week with meetings and lots of errands. Due to a total lack of planning and time management we ended up at a restaurant a few times for dinner. I ate well during the day and made what I thought were good choices (other than the beer and margarita) at dinner but alas, the pound remains.  I didn’t get to work out at all this week either. Life is getting busier and I am going to have to set aside some time to make better food plans.  Week 6 was a dud.  I reached the point that if i don't lose a pound this week I will be behind. Here's to week 7 - no wine.

week 5

Ok when I made my goals I didn’t calculate being a woman. This week was my time of the month and this morning’s weigh in put me at gaining .4 lb. The thought crossed my mind that I might not show having lost a pound last night and thought I would be really upset but when I faced the scale this morning. I was not discouraged at all! That is small amount of water retention weight that will be gone by next week. Another great factor is that I usually gain a more than that during this time and that means I actually did lose some weight, I just don’t know how much. Where is all this positive energy coming from?

I am surprised but this is starting to feel less like a change and more like a life style I have chosen! Making good choices is becoming easier and easier because it is becoming a part of who I am, not something I am trying to become. I think this change in my eating habits is really lifting my self esteem and mood (it might also be the coffee). I really like having the choice and knowing I am doing what is best for my body so I can utilize it for a long time.

I worked out three times this week for an hour and although I was SUPER sore I felt refreshed. I am going to continue to work out next week so my muscles get used to the routine and won’t stay sore. My goal for next Sunday is to have lost 2.4 pounds, to make up for this week and continue on my pound a week. It going to take a little more buckling down but I can do it with some extra cardio and good choices! 

Trevor update: doing great! He lost 2.2 pounds this week by not drinking cokes J

week 4

First week not to make my pound, but I was close! (- .9)

I decided to only measure inches every four weeks so today was the first week to see a different aspect of my hard work paying off. Drum roll please . . . . . I have lost a total of 2.5 inches!  Instead of being down on myself for not quite reaching my goal for this week I am choosing to look at the overall picture and be excited about the inches I have lost. Woohoo! 3.5 more pounds I will be 10 pounds closer to my goal.

Now for the excuses:

·         This week we were snowed in the house for five days, and except for cleaning the house we were pretty sedentary. Yesterday I could not take it anymore and did some cardio workouts off of Netflix and they were really fun! (10 minute solutions – dance mix).

·         We also had the neighbors over to play on the Wii for some activity but that came at a cost. They brought over an unhealthy meal that I felt obligated to eat. I often feel manipulated in the relationship with our neighbors and I need to be more assertive in these situations.

·         We also split a burger and black beans at Chilli’s one night this week. I am canceling, no more like postponing, my goal of only eating out once a month. I am making a lot of big changes and that is just too much for right now. Ill reconsider this goal around my birthday. 

Now what to do about it:

·         We changed up some dinner this week to add variety, which was a super challenge at the grocery store after two snow storms.

·         We had a fun time playing on the Wii together and want to take 30 minutes to play active games 3 times a week

week 3

Another pound and a half down!

I was so hungry week before last and I figured out why. I was not eating a 300 calorie snack that I was supposed to be eating around 4:00. To help myself, Trevor and I sat down on Saturday evening and planned out each meal for the upcoming week and made a grocery list. (Trevor twitched a little) Sunday morning we went grocery shopping, only purchasing the things on our list, and it only cost $75 for a full week of groceries! I love having all the fresh produce in the house and instantly available. I still didn’t do great at eating my snacks but I did do better. I planned out this upcoming weeks meals and I can’t wait to try the mango salmon tonight. I went grocery shopping (all by myself!) and am ready to start this week.

 I was a little disappointed that I had been losing 2 pounds a week and this week I only lost 1.5 pounds. I am reminding myself that people who followed this diet strenuously for thirty days lost between 6 and 8 pounds. It has only been twenty one days and I have lost a total of 5.5 pounds. I still have a week and half left to thirty days and am doing great just making better choices! Plus this week we had pizza one night when Trevor had a lot of homework, and another night we were busy we ate a fresco chicken soft taco for a snack. Those choices cost me a half a pound this week, and being aware of that I am able to make better choices this week!

week 2

Woo hoo! 2 more pounds down this week J

It’s a slow process but I am starting to enjoy making better choices. Weighing in on Sunday mornings is such a reward I feel motivated to do better the next week. The thing I love so far is that I have not even gone out and ran yet. I am making small changes to only this area of my life at this time. I do realize eventually I will plateau and at that point I wall add some physical activity. For now I am going to enjoy the success of good choices!

I was really amazed that even though I ate out once this week (tex-mex even!)  that I still had success this week in my weight loss goals. It is encouraging to know that even if I eat an unhealthy meal or two a week it does undo all my hard work. Sometimes I used to get caught up in feeling guilt over “blowing” the day, but if my goal is to make better choices I am free to make a good choice the next time.

I am still working on new ways to celebrate fine moments if life that do not involve food. I did think about it this week and it seems a pretty common practice worldwide to celebrate with a feast. Maybe I am just lucky and have too many reasons to celebrate!  Maybe an alternative would be to reassess what calls for a celebration and what should just get a high-five.  

week one

I made through the first week! I lost 2 pounds total over the week and I am super pumped to continue next week. I had lost three pounds by Wednesday and then made some poor food choices. I ate chili-cheese fries and had a few beers at Eskimo Joes to celebrate Trevor’s successful first day of school this semester. My sister came up to visit me and we went out to eat again. Even though it cost me a pound I am glad to have those memories and it was worth it to me. I am really learning to have a better relationship with my food. I noticed that Trevor and I often use food to celebrate and am going to explore other ideas this upcoming week. Any ideas?

After making good choices for three days I felt wonderful! I had so much more energy and felt so much more “me”! The biggest factor towards my success this week was sassy water. I hate drinking plain water and this water is so fantastic! I drink a half a gallon a day and feel so refreshed. Here is the recipe if you want to give it a try, it’s from Prevention’s Flat Belly Diet. I make it the night before and let it chill overnight.

                1 gallon of water

                1 lemon

                1 cucumber

                1 tsp of grated ginger

                12 mint leaves

Today was the kick off ! Trevor decided to do this with me so we both weighed in and measured this morning. That was a downer but I was excited at the same time to be making a proactive change in life. Besides being hungry, the biggest problem I am facing is emotional! My goal in this is to better educate myself so that I am able to make better choices on my own. Trevor is doing this with me and has different goals. He really wants to follow this by the book and not “cheat”. I am constantly reminding myself that I want to make better choices, not feel tied to a diet.

The first lesson I learned this week is not to go grocery shopping on Saturday morning, especially if you are buying items that you are unfamiliar with! That was a nightmare, my next trip will be during school hours.

Today is my one year marriage anniversary! After giving myself the first year to focus strenuously on making our relationship as healthy as possible, my second year of marriage I plan to spend focusing on my physical health. 2011 is the year that I am better educating myself about my health and I have made two challenges that compliment my goal.

Challenge #1: I am only going to eat out one meal per month for the full year.

Challenge #2: Loose one pound each week until I reach a healthy weight for my height.

Here’s the game plan: At 5’4 a healthy weight for me is 129. Currently weighing 162 I will need to lose 33 pounds. I am taking this week to read through the book "Flat Belly Diet" to better educate myself and my first weigh in will be this friday!