Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Just What I Needed!

So the last couple of weeks have pretty much sucked, as far as losing weight goes. My dislocated shoulder finally feels good enough that I get back to the gym for one day, and then a nasty Norwalk virus attacks my house. First my 4 year old, then my 8 year old, then the 2 year old followed immediately by my husband. Fevers, throwing up, the works. Ugh. Needless to say, I've been tired and stressed and haven't been eating right. While I didn't gain any weight, I didn't lose any, either.

But then, this week when I weighed in, a 2lb loss. Yay, right?! Well, even though it's only 2lbs, it's an important 2lbs... it's the 2lbs that marks my 10% weight loss! Woo hoo! It's just what I needed right now to get me back on track!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Hoping to get back to it

I've been officially off the wagon for the past couple of weeks due to my dislocated shoulder. It's been almost two weeks and today is the first day I'm even considering going to the gym. Even now I still get some aching kind of pain in the evenings if I push it too much during the day.

The thing is, with my inability to exercise came this total loss of motivation for everything. It's like all my energy was focused on just getting through the days, keeping up with the kids and the housework and there was nothing left for bothering to count calories or cook healthy or anything. Ugh. Now I'm so disappointed with myself for losing focus and making so many bad food choices.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Out of Commission

Sometimes it feels like the universe is conspiring to keep me fat. Why is it that whenever I start to really want to lose weight, when I'm really working hard to make it happen, life always seems to start throwing curve balls my way? Somehow, on Friday night I managed to dislocate my shoulder while I was sleeping! Seriously, how does that even happen, right? Ugh. The pain was/is pretty horrible. I ended up in the ER for 8 hours yesterday, got lots of great drugs for the pain while I was there, x-rays, etc etc. Left with prescriptions for more great drugs, a sling and instructions to not lift anything or do anything that might strain my shoulder for a minimum of 4 days-1week. So there's another week of gym time right out the window *sigh*.

I'm discovering that, for me, anyway, it's really hard to lose weight without exercise, even though I'm being really good with my eating. Look at March, I can count on both hands how many times I was able to work out in March, and I only lost 3 measly pounds. It's almost enough to de-motivate a girl. But, a Facebook friend posted this as her status recently:

"It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not"

Well, I'm ready to change, and I'm not willing to give up, no matter what life throws at me! I'll do what I need to in order to heal from this injury, and then I'll jump right back in with both feet!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Stuck, stuck stuck!

Ugh. I've hit my first plateau, I guess. It's too early for this! I've been stuck at 178lbs for almost 3 weeks now. I've already been eating 100cal less/day than recommended on most calorie calculators, so I know the blame has got to be on the lack of gym time. I need to do something to get in some exercise over the next month or so until I'll have my regular gym time again. I'm finding that with my weight-loss stalling, it's harder to be motivated to keep track of my calories like I've been doing so far, and I'm worried it's all going to just spiral down from there.

Just yesterday I booked a romantic weekend away for our 11th wedding anniversary at the end of May. Check out this gorgeous room!


I'm determined to at least be wearing my size 16 jeans, and my old (but barely worn) size 16 bathing suit, comfortably, by then. If not a smaller size! It's finally getting nicer outside, so I think I'll start running/walking outside on Tuesdays & Thursday's while Josh is at his extracurricular stuff. Mya's puppy classes are finished, so I shouldn't have any problem getting to BodyPump class at the gym on Monday & Wednesday evenings. The weekends are proving to be difficult, since the gym closes at 5pm and Jeff doesn't get home from work until 6:30. I hate to go out running or whatever on the weekend evenings, since I'm already out pretty much every evening the rest of the week. Jeff's been super-great about coming home from work just to deal with the kids' bedtime, etc by himself so much. But he's been working so hard, I can't help but feel a little guilty for taking so much time to myself when he's getting so little downtime, ya know?

I have been trying to get the kids/puppy out for at least a walk around the block every day now that the weather's nice enough. I did get a copy of Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD, so maybe I'll try getting that in on the weekends while the kids play in their room.

OK, I think I've geared myself back up again LOL Let's see how it goes!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Why measurements are important, too!

So yesterday was the first Saturday of the month, which means it was both my official weekly weigh-in day, and my monthly measurements day. I stepped on the scale in the morning, only to see that it hadn't moved, not one little fraction of a pound. I was so disappointed! I'd been so good this past week, sticking to my plan, staying within my daily calorie limit. I didn't get in the same amount of gym time due to Jeff's current crazy work schedule, but I did get a few classes in, and I also went through a major house cleaning (that's gotta burn some calories!).

But then, I took my measurement and the disappointment was gone. I lost an additional 4 inches overall in the last month! Woot!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Danone DanActive Bzz Campaign

So I'm a Bzz Agent, and am currently involved in a campaign for Danone DanActive yogurt drinks. These little drinks are awesome and have been part of my regular grocery purchases for the last month or so. They come in lots of flavours, but so far I've only been able to find the Strawberry, Blueberry and Pomegranite-Berry flavours. They're all good, but the pom-berry is by far my favourite.



From their website:
Thanks to the unique bacterial culture L. casei Defensis®(DN-114 001), exclusive to Danone, DanActive® helps strengthen the body's natural defenses when consumed daily. Scientific studies (24 more precisely) have proven DanActive's effectiveness.

What's really great about it, though, is each serving is only 80 calories and 1.5 grams of fat! Awesome! That makes it easy to fit into my daily calorie allowance. Plus it's healthy calories (and those are the best kind)!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Woah!

I weigh myself everyday. It's some sort of compulsion or something. First thing in the morning, before breakfast. It's interesting to see the small fluctuations each day. Usually the numbers move around up and down up to 1.5lbs over the course of a week. I only officially count my weight on Saturday mornings, though. That's when I update my stats here, on 3FC and on my online tickers. The only exception is my FridgeGraph, which I update twice a week, on Tuesday and Saturday. Mostly because I like seeing the little progress line moving along my goal line LOL

So since my official weigh-in at 179.0 on Saturday, it's gone from 178.8 to 179.8 over the last few days. Today though? Well today I stepped on the scale and it read 176.0! Really? I had to check twice LOL I'm torn between being excited that I might pull a 3+lb loss this week and trying not to get my hopes up too much What if I need to replace the batteries in my scale or something?

I guess I'll keep working hard and looking forward to Saturday =)

Saturday, February 27, 2010

First Mini-Goal Met! Wooot!

Wooo Hooo! I reached my first mini-goal today! The scale read 179lbs this morning! It's the first time I've seen the 170's on the scale since I was in University when I was 18 years old. It also officially takes me out of the Morbidly Obese BMI category. Who ever thought I'd be excited to be just plain old obese? LOL

I also went out last night and bought those Old Navy jeans that are on sale, in size 16. They don't fit just yet - I could barely button them (but they did button!) - but they will! Wooot!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Fridge Graph

So a little while back I discovered this great weight loss graphing tool at Fridge Graph. It gives a really awesome visualization of your weight loss goal and where you are in relation to it. I set mine to reach my goal weight of 120lbs by the end of August. I'm not really set on reaching goal by that particular date, but the 5k is on August 8 and I need as much motivation as I can get to lose as much as possible by then LOL. Here's my graph so far:

A New Ticker, and a Dilemma

So I added a new ticker to the bottom of the page, counting down to the Marathon By The Sea 5k run happening on August 8. Eeek! I'm hoping seeing the time get smaller and smaller will help keep me motivated to get in my workouts so that I'm ready for it. I really want to get fit, and I really really don't want to embarass myself!

As to my current dilemma: I've been wearing the same two pairs of size 18 jeans from Old Navy for what seems like forever. I'm to the point now where the once too-tight pair fit me perfectly, and the other pair require a belt to stop them falling down all the time.

So I'm not quite ready for size 16's yet. I don't currently own any pants smaller than the 18's I'm wearing now. Old Navy has a sale starting today where they're matching the US sale price on jeans, so they're only $19 a pair.

I can't decide whether to go ahead and buy a pair in the next size down. At that great price, maybe I should go ahead and buy a pair of 16's and a pair of 14's. I'm determined to keep losing... but there's a part of me (the frugal part? the insecure part? the low self-confidence part? I don't know) that's balking at spending money on clothes that don't fit. Then again, that frugal part of me is screaming "take advantage of the good deal while you can! Next month you might need those 16's and have to pay $40 for them!"

*sigh* Decisions, decisions...

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The Next Two Weeks

The next two weeks are going to be difficult. There's a small shut down happening at the refinery, so Jeff is going to be working a lot of overtime.... likely straight through the next two weekends at least. So my workout routine is going to be pretty restricted. I'll miss my classes on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I won't be able to get to the gym at all on Sunday, and don't know if I'll be able to convince myself to go on Fri/Sat evening because I'm already out of the house every evening Mon through Thurs between the gym, puppy obedience class and kid's activities. I guess I'll have to do what I can at home, and really watch my eating until I can get back into my routine.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

C25k Week 3, Day 1

So I moved on to Week 3, Day 1 of the Couch-2-5k program today, and man, was it a big step up from week 2! It moved up from 90-second running intervals to 3-minute running intervals. I am SO unfit, it's almost funny. I seriously doubted I could make it through 3 minutes of running, but I pushed through it, and I did it! It was freaking HARD, but I did it.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Shhhh... don't tell anyone....

.... this is a little embarassing, but....

...well....

.... my pants keep falling down!


LOL! I still can't quite fit in the next size dowm, but I think I'm going to have to buy a belt for the first time ever in my life! Woot!

Monday, February 15, 2010

My Virtual Me

Recently I discovered My Virtual Model, a site where you can create... well, I virtual model LOL You can input your height, weight, body shape, etc. Technically it's for trying on virtual clothes, but I used it to create a model of myself at my starting weight of 194lbs and another one of me at my goal weight of 120lbs. And I have to say Wow! what an inspiration it is. I also recently decided that I'm going to grow my hair long again (which my husband is very happy about). I cut it short because I didn't feel like my long hair was doing my chubby face any favours. Now that I'm on track to getting thinner, I'm going to let my hair grow longer. So, I gave my goal weight model a longer hairstyle, too :)

Here I am, "before and after"

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

A Fitness Goal

So after watching upteen episodes of X-Weighted, I've decided I need to set a fitness goal. I'm actually sharing this goal with my best friend Donna (Jeff's cousin). We're planning to run the 5k walk/run at this summer's Marathon By The Sea, in August.

I sure have a lot of work to do to be ready for this, but I'm confident I can do it!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Tape Measure Victory!

So I've been feeling a bit de-motivated after having a no-loss week followed by a 1/2lb-loss week, since I've been religiously following my diet and working out like a fiend.

But today is the first Saturday of the month, which marks one month into this weight loss journey and also my first measurement day since starting. Imagine my shock, after no results on the scale the last two weeks, to find I've lost 4.5" off my chest and 1.5" off my waist in the last month!

Woo Hoo!!!

That's just what I needed to keep me going right now.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Feeling discouraged

So today was my official weigh-in day, and I've lost nothing since last week. Nada, zero, zip. Not even a fraction of a pound, the scale is still sitting at the same 186.0 it was last Saturday *sigh*. Other than my one little chocolate slip up earlier this week, I've been SO good. Going to the gym at least every other day and trying to work in some cardio at home on my off days. Tracking my calories diligently. When I lost 8lbs in the first two weeks, it pumped me up SO much! I know that the loss would slow down considerably after the first week or two, but I was still expecting something. Even a 1/2 pound would be enough to keep me feeling motivated. Now I just feel deflated and want a bowl of ice cream LOL

I guess this is where writing everything down will come in handy. I'm going to have to look at my calorie intake and figure out if I'm eating too much, or not enough, or what. I need to see that scale move next week!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Willpower, ugh!

Oh my goodness, I have no freaking willpower today! Argh! Breakfast was ok, my usual bowl of cereal (I love cereal, have it every morning!). Lunch, too, was good. Then I had a Fiber1 granola bar, which isn't bad, though I usually try not to snack during the day so that I can save the calories for the evening munchies I can't seem to kick. But then, I had a whole chocolate santa sucker thing. Not just cheap chocolate, either. Fancy, calorie filled Belgium chocolate. It probably had as many calories in it as my supper will *sigh*

I don't even get to burn off the extra calories at the gym today, since Jeff will be out late for a union meeting.

Tomorrow's another day, right?

Monday, January 25, 2010

Down 8lbs, woo hoo!

As of today, I've lost 8lbs! Wahoo! I'm loving this calorie counting much better than Weight Watchers, though I give WW credit for teaching me things like choosing healthier, more filling foods, and how to control my portion sizes.

Mostly, right now, I'm just enjoying this little success, this proof that all the work of planning my meals and counting the calories and dragging myself to the gym and the tired, sore muscles these last two weeks have been totally worth it. And, I'm half-way to reaching my first mini-goal! Oh, to just be obese instead of morbidly so LOL!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Making a change: Weight Watchers to Calorie Counting

So last week I decided to make a change and switch from counting Weight Watchers points to simply counting calories. So far it's working out great. My big motivation in switching over was trying to eat on a budget. Because I try to keep our grocery bill as low as possible, I make a lot of casseroles and similar meals that are harder to figure out the points. I have a great digital food scale I bought on sale almost a year ago that gives me the calories of foods as well as the weight, and it's been a great tool on this new calorie counting journey.

Based on a bunch of online calculators, I'm starting out at 1200 calories/day. So far, it's enough that I'm feeling satisfied and not hungry, and I'm still losing weight. I just keep a little notebook with 1200 at the top of each day's page, and I deduct my calories as I eat them.

Working steadily towards my first  mini-goal!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Here I go again!

It's been way too long since I posted anything here. Life got in the way, I guess. I totally fell off the diet & exercise wagon, and I guess coming here and posting about how terribly I was doing was just too depressing. Then again, maybe if I'd kept posting anyway, it would have motivated me to get back on track? Huh. Could be, but nothing to be done about it now but move forward, right? So here goes!

You'll notice that I've deleted some old posts and moved some stuff around. I'm a little OCD I think. I just want to focus on me, and not on trying to find stuff to inspire others. I need to inspire myself, first, and if anyone else can find inspiration in that, that's just a bonus :) So just roll with it! I am reposting this, though, since it still applies right now:

It's time. Time to lose the weight. Time to take back control of my body. Time to stop hating the way I look and the way my clothes fit. Time to stop worrying about my health. Time to get fit so that I can enjoy activities with my family. Time to get over my addiction to unhealthy foods. It's just time.

I'm starting this blog to give myself accountability, and so that when I reach my goals (and I will!) I can look back and see just how far I've come. Hopefully it will show me what I'm doing right, and what I'm doing wrong. What works and what doesn't.

I've decided to name my blog "Making Skinny", but don't take that the wrong way. Not only do I want to get skinny, I want to get healthy and I want to get fit. But "Making Skinny" makes me smile, so "Making Skinny" it is! Trust me, I'm the last person to buy into all the Hollywood be-skinny-or-be-square type hype.

So here goes. This is the perfect time for me to start this weight loss journey. I left my job to be a stay at home mom. Our family is complete, so no more trying to deal with losing or maintaining weight around pregnancy. I've joined a gym and paid up the first 6 months. I've dusted off my Weight Watchers books and recipes. I've filled my cupboards with healthy food and I've enlisted my husband's help in controlling the amount of junk that comes into the house. There are no excuses... this is the time!