Archive for the ‘Losing It '11’ Category
Losing It ‘11:Week 12
Friday, September 16th, 2011
Well, ladies, it’s been fun. The last week of Losing It ‘11. I’m most certainly not THE winner but I’ve come away from this challenge with motivation, new ideas, eating habits and exercise habits.
I’ve definitely had my ups and downs during these last twelve weeks and have found it so much harder to stick to an exercise routine with a baby. But I know I can do it!
I’m so excited that we’re all going to keep in touch and keep each other accountable at least once a month.
I lost a total of 2 pounds during the this challenge and have had a little shrinkage on the measuring tape. This wasn’t my BEST but it was a start. Thanks to Kathy for hosting this challenge and for all of the encouraging words.
Congratulations to Becky, who I think is going to win this challenge!
This post is short and sweet because I’ve got to jump off and finish packing for my trip to Texas tomorrow.
Here’s to 2 more pounds lost….and 2 more pounds and 2 more pounds….
Baby steps and a day at a time.
Peace!
Losing It 11:Week 11
Friday, September 9th, 2011
Wow, really? This is the next to last week??
I have to say…I’m super frustrated with myself right now. I hardly exercised this past week. AGAIN. So, that’s 3 weeks with barely exercising. I was doing so well with it for a while. We’re heading to Texas a week from tomorrow and then starting back up our homeschooling the week we get back. I’ve been desperately trying to tackle all the projects I was planning on doing this summer before we start schooling again. So, instead of exercising, I keep finding other things “to get done”.
Even though I’m frustrated with myself I’m not giving up on exercising and trying to lose weight. Next week, I’ll probably try out a new work out time in the morning instead of at night. That is, if I don’t decide trying to get ready for our trip takes precedence over exercising-haha. The new daily schedule I’m working on is most definitely going into effect we the week after we get back from Texas so I have to start exercising at my new time at some point.
So, this past week, barely exercised but my eating was pretty good. I’m sure I could control my portions a little better, though. I’ve managed to refrain from eating after dinner for the most part each night. I had one or two slip ups when I felt like I was starving but for the most part it’s been water in the evenings.
I didn’t lose any weight and didn’t measure myself since I’m going for every other week. At least I maintained.
I know I won’t watch what I eat too much while I’m in Texas. We eat out A LOT when we visit my family since they have so many delicious restaurants I love that I don’t get here in New England. So, I indulge. Once I get back it will be back to the grindstone! I plan to keep updating everyone on my weight loss journey. Maybe not every Friday anymore but every other Friday? I still need accountability and encouragement!
Sorry about this non stimulating weight loss update! Head over to House Of Hills for some better updates than mine. He he.
Losing It: Week 9& 10
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
Let’s be honest, I highly doubt I’ll be winning this challenge. Even though I probably won’t win it’s still been GREAT for me. I’ve met some fantastic ladies who are the same weight loss journey as I am. I hope to keep in touch with these ladies even after this challenge is over.
Anyhoo..
Last week I didn’t hardly exercise OR link up because I was frantically getting ready for Maddy’s 4th birthday party AROUND the upcoming hurricane.
I’ve had a very fussy, non sleeping baby this past week so I’ve been very tired and unmotivated to exercise. Coupled with it being “that time” of the month for me I’ve just felt ” UGH.” I’m also trying to implement a new daily schedule and routine for us. I”m most definitely scheduling exercise each day but not sure, now, where to put it. Early mornings? Keep it at night? Neither of those times is appetizing to me-haha. I may try for afternoon during Jocy’s nap time.
These past two weeks I haven’t lost any weight according to the scale. I’ve managed to maintain. My measurements show a little “shrinkage” which is good. I can tell my clothes are looser on me. (Except for this week of, course!!)
And wouldn’t you know that there was all sorts of party junk food left over from the birthday party last weekend. Cheese balls, chips and cake are NOT weight loss friendly; And I LOVE cheese balls! Thankfully, that’s all gone now.
I have SO much catching up to do blog wise and updating and new schedules and homeschooling to start. My mind is reeling.
I can do ALL things through Christ, who gives me strength.
Oh yeah.
Head over to Kathy’s blog House Of Hills to check up on how the other Losing It ladies are doing!
Losing It 11:Week 8
Friday, August 19th, 2011
How beautiful it was to weigh this morning and see that my scales showed me two pounds DOWN than last week. FINALLY. It only took 8 weeks! I hope my metabolism has been kick started or something and I’ll finally start seeing some results. I still haven’t found my tape measure but when I do I’ll let you know my measurements! I do feel “lighter” and that my clothes fit a little better. Hmm…
I exercised three times this week so far. Still doing 23 minutes on the elliptical. I started doing 20 minutes (if that) 9 weeks ago so I”m s-l-o-w-l-y building up to 3o minutes. I gotta say… it was hard this week. My body and especially my legs did not want to cooperate. It was a fight to keep going at a good clip to keep my heart rate where it was supposed to be to burn fat. But I did it!!!! And it felt good.
My daughter started taking Brazilian Jiu Jitsu last night and her class is on the FOURTH floor of an old building with NO ELEVATOR.
I got to carry an 18+ pound baby in the sling on my chest , my huge diaper bag and her car seat up 4 flights of stairs. And then down again. Let me tell you….by the time I got back to my van again my thighs were shaking! When I got home I could barely walk up my own stairs! So, I think I should get to count that as at least half a work out. I’ll be doing this twice a week! So I worked out 3.5 times this week and since I plan on getting on the elliptical tonight and then doing the stair thing again tomorrow morning I might even get to claim a 5th work out this week- haha. I’m excited about this Jiu Jitsu thing for my family because my hubby is starting these classes next week and will be going 2-3 times a week. The instructor told him that there was no need to “get in shape” before taking these classes. These classes would get him in shape in no time! It’s been my husband’s dream for years to take Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and now he’s finally able to do it. Maybe this will finally be the form of exercise program that he’ll stick with and get in shape with. I know he’s excited about it so I really want to support him in this endeavor. We’ll be putting Madelyn in after the new year so Mike will get to do something he loves with both his girls. Once I’m done having babies and they get to be over toddler age I would like to take classes myself. I’m so impressed with this form of martial arts over all the others. And the people who take it are FIT!
I gave in one night this week to eating before bed. The rest of the nights I managed to keep from snacking after dinner.
I’m going to keep chugging a long, doing what I’m doing! Trying to eat less and exercise as much as possible.
I look forward to seeing how all the other ladies did this week.
Losing It 11:Week 7
Friday, August 12th, 2011
Well, I have some positive news to report and some not so positive news to report about this past week.
I didn’t lose any weight. Again. I maintained.
However….
One of my goals was to stop snacking before bed. And I managed to stop! So Ifelt good about that.
I only exercised twice this week due to VBS. The girls go to my inlaws’ church’s VBS every year. Their’s was from 6:30-8:30 which cuts right into my usual work out time right now. There was also a couple of fast food runs due to hectic days.
And, I can’t find my tape measure to take my measurements! If I find it today I’ll post something on my Simply Mel Facebook page once I take my measurements. For those who are interested, haha.
Even with these VERY slow and almost non existent results I still remain positive and motivated. I’m proud of myself for sticking with the exercising and slowly upping the amount of time I spend on the elliptical. I’m mad at myself for apparently still eating too much.
So…yeah… I feel a little ridiculous for not having lost any weight in 7 weeks.
I’m still pressing onward. This is a life style change for me and I know I’m not going to get over night results. I really appreciate all the support from my Losing Ladies and friend and family with this.
Now where IS that tape measure….
Check out the rest of the Losing It 11 ladies’ results over at House Of Hills.
Losing It 11: Weeks 5&6
Friday, August 5th, 2011
Here we are at week 6 and I don’t have that much to report! I wasn’t able to get a post up last week so I’m going to recap for both weeks.
I gained a half a pound last week and got on the elliptical twice. This past week I maintained and was able to exercise on my elliptical three times.It would be awesome if I could get a quick work out tonight too.
I will say, however, that this past week was “that time of the month” for me so I think that added to some weight retention, if you know what I’m sayin’. I’m still a little disgruntled with the fact that I haven’t LOST any weight in the past SIX weeks of participating in this challenge and have managed to somehow gain weight from week 1 until now. And, although I find my weight gain discouraging I am happy to report that the exercising has been going well.
I didn’t take my measurements this week because I want to take them every other week. I’ll measurement have stats for you next week.
It has been a lot harder for me than it was last year when I did this challenge because, well, I have a baby and am so much less organized than I was last year. The fact that I’m pushing myself to get on the elliptical around 8:30 each night is a huge victory for me right now. Some nights I have to just pretty much shut my brain off, make myself put on my sneakers and make my way to the elliptical. Because if I don’t I can talk myself out of exercising faster than anything. Last year I started losing weight almost right away when I did this challenge and I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I was counting calories and logging them in. But, right now, I just don’t have the time or will to count calories and then log them in to My Fitness Pal. That’s just one more website to have to keep track of, right now.
I’m really trying to stick to single serving sizes of everything I eat but even with that I’m failing a little. It’s so easy to just grab whatever and just shove it into my mouth. I’m really trying hard to think and consider each food I put in my mouth.
Another thing I’m finding harder this time is eating fruit. Before I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes (what…8 months ago now???) I was eating so much fruit and loving it. I was actually craving fruit. Once I found out I had GD and my diet became strict out of necessity I didn’t want to “waste” the precious carbs I was allowed on fruit! Fruit has a lot of carbs! According to my plan, an apple or banana had 2 of my 15 allotted choices of carbs each day in it. So, I got out of the habit of eating fruit while I was pregnant. Now, it’s tough getting back into the mindset that fruit is my first choice of snack.
This time around, everything just seems harder. But I’m so motivated! I just wish I was seeing more results. I want to give my small frame and back some relief from all this weight it’s been forced to drag around for years. I want my girls to have a good example and I want to motivate my husband to also get on the weight loss train. I’m still motivated….just frustrated.
I celebrated my 10 year wedding anniversary yesterday so I posted pictures of our wedding on Facebook. Several people commented on how “thin” I was. One of my friends even commented on my “small waist”. That made my day and made me laugh because I’ve NEVER been told I had a small waist. I’ve been fighting my whole grown up life to have a tiny waist. What’s funny, is even back then I could have stood to lose about 20 pounds. And that was about 40 pounds ago!! I would love to get back to at least my wedding day weight at this point.
I chose this picture to share because my waist isn’t being covered up by my huge bouquet. But, it’s ironic because we’re cutting into a huge cake! Haha
So my goals this week stay the same. Eat less, make better snacking choices and exercise on my elliptical for 22 minutes at least three times.
Head over to House of Hills to see how the other wonderful Losing It ladies are doing with their fitness goals.
Losing It ‘11: Week 4
Friday, July 22nd, 2011
This was a good week. And I’m elated. I got on the elliptical not only once, (which was my goal) but THREE TIMES! And I’ll probably get on tonight too.
But, before I share about the rest of my weight loss journey this week, I wanted to share a somewhat funny/flattering story from last weekend (that pertains to this topic, I promise!)
We went to a family cookout last weekend hosted by Mike’s boss and that several of his co workers went to. It was a HOT day and being overweight I’m sure contributed to the sweating and wilting I was doing that day. I was not in the best of moods, and did a lot of sitting by myself in the heat with Jocelyn since I didn’t know anybody at this cook out. The girls had fun, as the hosts had a ton of fun stuff for the kids to do.
A couple of days after the cook out Mike told me that one of his co workers paid me a complement. He said that his co worker told him that he enjoyed meeting and talking to me. Then he told Mike that he was “jealous”. Mike asked why and he said ” Your wife is very “motherly” and my wife is not.”
Now, while Mike was telling me this the first thing I thought was – please don’t say ” MOTHERLY”. That sounds so dumpy!! -But I realized that this man meant that I was the nurturing type. Now, his wife was this tall, cool, elegant, SLIM woman. She didn’t look like the heat was bothering her at all. I stared at her in awe thinking that one day I would look like that. Compared to her I looked super “dumpy”. It felt good to be paid such a nice complement. Especially since I love being a mom and find it to be my most important job right now. But, you know what? I hope that if we attend another cook out at his boss’s house next year (when I’ve hopefully reached my goal weight) that Mike will be told that I’m ” motherly AND hot“. Ha!
Now, back to our regular Friday programming..
It feels so good to have actually, finally, gotten on the elliptical. Getting over the first-time-hump was the biggest hurdle. After I made myself get back on it the first time, the second and third times were much easier. I was super motivated. I did 20 minutes each time and I’ve been getting on around 8:30 at night. At first I thought that 8:30 would be a terrible time because all I usually want to do at that time of night is crash on the couch. But it hasn’t been bad at all. We turn on “24″ on Netflix or watch a regular show and I exercise while watching. And my husband being there to encourage me to actually get on the elliptical has been a help.
So, yay me!
But, would you believe I gained another pound this week?? I do, actually. I knew this would happen because it usually does. I gain weight when I first start trying to lose but I bet I’ll see some weight loss next week. Plus, I didn’t take my measurements this week so I don’t know if I lost any inches. I finally found my tape measure so I’ll document that this coming week. I’ve gained three pounds since starting this weight loss challenge!
In summary:
~I exercised three times on the elliptical for 20 minutes each time.
~ Eating was ok again. I tried to focus on my portions and purposeful, healthy snacking.
~ Drank water.
My goals this week:
~Stick with trying to exercise at least 3 times (trying for 4 now) and adding 2 minutes for a total of 22 minutes on the elliptical. I’m also trying to keep my heart rate between 120 and 140 since that is my fat burning zone.
~ Portion control.
~ Purposeful snacking. No mindless snacking.
~ Take measurements.
~ Get hubby to get on the elliptical after I get off!!
Some helpful tips I’ve discovered:
~ Getting past the first time of forcing yourself to exercise is the biggest hurdle! If you haven’t done that yet DO IT. Once you just DO IT you feel so good about yourself you want to DO IT AGAIN.
~ We tend to eat carb laden breakfasts and I’m finding that I’m STARVING by 10:30 am. I’m the only one who will eat eggs in my family and I really don’t want to take the time to scramble eggs in the morning. So we started adding the Jone’s Farm all natural (nitrate and nitrite free) sausage links and patties to our breakfast choices. They are DELICIOUS and add protein to our breakfast. I cook a bunch up in the oven and then store them in the fridge. Adding protein makes me feel fuller longer.
How was your week??
I’m pumped for this new week!
Stop by House Of Hills and host Kathy to check out other inspiring ladies who are part of the Losing It ‘11 twelve week weight loss challenge.
Losing It ‘11: Week 2
Friday, July 8th, 2011
Yeah, so, week 2…..
I somehow managed to gain two pounds. There are a lot of factors that contributed to this and although they are ultimately excuses, I’m still annoyed and hope to do better next week.
It was “that time” of the month, which never helps promote weight loss. (Can I get an “amen”??)
My netbook crashed this week also and we’re still trying to fix it. That’s the laptop I use to blog with and also, incidentally, has ALL of my pictures on it. I’m writing this post on my iPad and hope to get my netbook fixed soon so I can write the posts I was planning on writing and use the pictures I have on my netbook! Ah! I also am not able to use the Losing It 11 button since that’s on my netbook and I’m not quite sure how to get it onto my iPad!
We had Super Summer week 1 at church and I’ve somehow managed to be busier this week even though I’m less one kid for a few hours in the morning. Some other unexpected things happened this week that totally drove weight loss out of my mind.
I didn’t get on the elliptical once this week! I did, however, get some good exercises at the zoo this past Monday. We were able to go to a great zoo in our area on Monday with discounted tickets from another sight like Groupon (DoubleTakeDeals.com).
That zoo is the hilliest zoo I’ve ever been too! Not only did we do tons of walking but I was huffing and puffing while going up and down hills, pushing my baby stroller. I definitely burned some calories that day. It was also hot and humid so I was sweating buckets.
I ate ok this week. I may have to start counting calories on My Fitness Pal again. I did drink lots of water. Next week could most definitely be better. Instead of being discouraged and annoyed with myself I’m going to forge ahead!
How was your week??
I’m so happy to be a part of this group of encouraging and inspiring who are all on their own weigh loss journey. If you’re on a weight loss journey consider linking up or commenting each week at host Kathy’s blog House Of Hills. She’s hosting this 12 week weight loss challenge with prizes at the end. But, even if you or I don’t win the prizes we still WIN if we’ve lost weight. It’s a win win situation.
Winning!!!
)
Losing It ‘11
Thursday, June 30th, 2011
Hi. Hello.
This is me:
And pretty soon Mr. Elliptical ….
and I are going to become closer buddies.
Why?
Because I need to lose me some baby weight! Or Pre Baby/Baby/Post Baby
x 3 weight.
Kathy over at House Of Hills is hosting the Losing It challenge, starting on July 1st, again this year. Hurray for Losing It ‘11! It’s a 12 week challenge with prizes at the end for whomever loses the most body weight percentage at the end of that twelve weeks. I lost weight with this challenge last year and it was the only thing that really helped motivate me. I would have stuck with it had the Lord not blessed me with a (much prayed for) pregnancy!
I’ll be linking up my weight loss update posts to Kathy’s blog each Friday and then checking out other bloggers’ progress and leaving them some encouragement. It’s a great way to have accountability.
I haven’t exercised in a year!!!!! (Unless you count going up and downstairs with laundry baskets exercise)So, I’m way way way out of shape. I’m going to start off slowly since I’m having a hard time trying to find a good time to exercise with a three month old baby and two other small girls. I’m shooting for getting on my elliptical two times this coming week. It’s not much, but it’s two more times that what I’m currently doing. I’m going to aim for 15-20 minutes each time. I’m hoping to do it during one of of the shows Mike and I like to watch in the evenings.
My plan:
~Portion control. I’m NOT going to deprive myself. I’m not going on a ‘diet’. I’m not eating ‘diet food’. I’m going to just eat less of what I’m currently eating. If had two of something now I’ll have one.
~ Start out with twice a week exercise on my elliptical.
~ I wasn’t going to put “drink more water”. But I guess I will! I already only drink water and coffee (and sometimes iced tea) But I could always stand to drink more water.
~ All in all I need to lose about 50 pounds (!!!) but for this 12 week challenge I’d at least like to lose 10. I’d be happy with a pound a week. If can get two pounds a week down…even better! I’d be super happy to WIN the challenge but that’s not my main goal for joining Losing It. I just need the accountability!
Snacks that have worked for me in the past:
~Fruit smoothies.
They are a GREAT way to get fruit and other healthy stuff in your body while also feeling like you’re eating dessert.
~Swiss Miss chocolate pudding cups.
Not very big, not that many calories and great for satisfying your desire for a hot fudge Sundae. But it has to be Swiss Miss for me. It’s the best tasting, creamiest most chocolate-y pudding cup out there in my opinion.
And it must be COLD.
~ Granola Bars.
I like Nature Valley and Kashi. They’re good for you. Come in a ton of different flavors and help satisfy late night snacking urges. I would make my own granola bars but have yet to be very successful at it.
~Nutella and Pretzels. Not a ton of each. Just a serving size of each. Tastes great and satisfyies my need for both sweet and salty. Oh, and I prefer pretzel rods.
~ Mixing in my veggies with what I’m eating.
I’m not real good at just taking out carrots and celery and eating them on their own. But if I put some spinach in a smoothie or add veggies in my sandwiches, rice or pasta I’m much more likely to get more veggies through out the day.
I hope you’ll join our challenge! Head over to House of Hills to check out Kathy’s and everyone else’s progress!!
And, it the midst of trying to write this post I’ve gone up and down my stairs at least ten times trying to get my baby to take her afternoon nap.
That should count for something!
