100 Days to Summer- Week 1

First things first. At this mornings weigh-in, I was 218. That's a 1.6 lb loss this week. Pretty good but for several days last week I was below 218, I know all about fluctuations and water and that stuff but you always wish you could be at your lowest on "official" weigh-in day. But I'm happy. A loss is a loss. I'll work harder this week. I know a few areas in my eating that need to be tightened up.

Cardio- 5 points.
It came down to the 11th hour. I was dancing and doing the kickboxing video at 9:00 last night, but I got it all done. May I just say, I HATE the jumping video. I have a 2 mm vertical leap. Getting the miles in wasn't a problem and I did jumping jacks in my office during lunch. I really liked having this plan to get some extra cardio in, I need it.

Strength- 5 points
Honestly, this was easy peasy. I did the squats throughout the day at work and knocked out the other tasks in a single evening. Looks like things have been taken up a notch for week 2 which is awesomesauce, because I really need some toning.

Nutrition- 5 points
Another one that was pretty easy. I've said before, I have a healthy baseline diet I just have a bad habit of binging on crap on top of the healthy diet. None of the tasks were about restriction so I had no problems. I know a lot of people have trouble with the fiber. Here are some of my fave ways to get fiber.
Kashi Cinnamon Harvest Cereal
Lentil Soup
Triscuits
Morningstar Farms Black Bean Burgers
Raisins
Legumes, legumes, legumes!

Balance- 3
Ummm, not so great. I just didn't get the meditating done. I would forget or my mind would be too busy to even attempt a try. I will try again this week. This one should have been 4 points but I couldn't think of an action until after I had submitted my points and realized that night weaning my baby last week was a huge action towards my well-being. Now I will get some sleep!!! Oh well.

Monday Weigh-in
Last week: 220.2
Today: 218

That means I've met my first goal.



230 starting weight-1/12/11
220- 10 lbs- Jump start-3/14/11
209- 21 lbs- no longer obese
200- 30 lbs -prebaby weight
174- 56 lbs- no longer fat
160- 70 lbs-Healthy weight




Week 2 looks like it will be pretty similar to week one as far time goes. Scheduling this stuff out is key for me.

100 Days

100 days until summer. That's a lot of time to make some progress. That's what the Rants From Mommyland 100 days to summer challenge is all about. It starts tomorrow. I'm on the warrior team which means I am combining challenges from 4 disciplines: Cardio, strength, nutrition and well-being. I will also be "winning" at bad-a$$ness along the way. If you want to learn more about the challenge, check out the Rants team page.

My starting stats:


Weight: 220.2
Neck: 14.25
Chest: 40.25
Abs: 36.5
Waist: 37.5
Hips: 48.5
Left Bicep: 14
Right Bicep: 14
Left Thigh: 25.5
Right Thigh: 25
Left Calf: 16.5
Right Calf: 17




I'm hoping to end the challenge under 200 with about 5 inches off my waist. I won't be bikini ready but I would be able to skip the beach mumu. Along the way I'll be fitting in a couple of 5Ks.

1 Month

1 month ago today, February 9, 2011, began this journey. I joined SparkPeople on January 12, inspired by the lovely Lydia at Rants from Mommyland. I had been "trying" to lose weight since last winter after my daughter was born. By trying, I mean wanting. I just couldn't get it together during that first year of motherhood though.

But on February 9, something clicked. I'm not sure what happened. I don't know what was different about that day than January 18 or February 2 or any of the days for the last year. I think it all comes down to just being ready. You really have to be ready to embark on a project like this. I was tooling around on SparkPeople and read a little about the Sparkdiet that said in the beginning to worry more about tracking food and less about calorie ranges. I decided that I could do that. I could track my food if I didn't have to worry so much about calories right then, I just wanted to get my binging under control.

I also decided to start trying to make the 8 glasses of water goal. I don't traditionally love water but I gave it a try. After a few days of tracking everything and drinking water, I was in like Flynn, baby. I was ready to count calories and start the C25K program. Once I went on that first run, I was revived - it felt so good to run again.

A month later, I am down 9 lbs as of this morning and finishing up W4 of the C25K. I've also been working in a little 30 Day Shred and been very amazed at how much progress I have seen on that. (Here is where I fight the urge to downplay and say that "well, it's easy to see progress when you are starting from such a low point).

The self-flagellating part of me wants to beat myself up for not getting going earlier. But I wasn't ready. There are many people who are ready earlier in motherhood, but I wasn't. Dealing with working full-time while trying to be a good mom took all of my focus.

The other negative part of me wonders if I'll be here to write a 2 month post. Like so many here, I've started and stopped many times in my struggles with weight. The answer: I don't know. All I know is I am here today and I'm pretty sure I'll be here tomorrow. There are a lot of things coming up that I need to be here for, The Virtual 5K, the RFML 100 days challenge (Bring it, Snitches!!!) and just continuing to get know some of my new friends. I love watching other peoples' progress as much as my own.

So that's where I am today. Here's where I'll be tomorrow. One day at time. One pound at a time.

Reason #766 to get back into running shape

Back when I was training for 1/2 marathons and 10 milers, I would do my long runs on Sunday mornings. On Saturday night to "fuel up", I would indulge in a Chipotle burrito. I love, love, love Chipotle but would only allow myself to eat it when I would burn it off the next day.

A recent development in my neighborhood has made getting back into that kind of running form an imminent emergency.



Hmmm, I don't know why that turned out with a black background.

Marching Forward

On this the last day of February, I am looking forward to starting a new month and setting some goals for the month.

1. Complete C25K team March Challenge
a) Run 3x per week
b) Keep in calorie range all 31 days (HUGE!!! Challenge for me)
c) Reduce waist circumference

2. Limit refined and white carbs to one meal per day 5x per week

3. Start working in some strength and yoga 2x week (I've been doing the Shred a couple of days a week but I feel like I need something more focused and less Jillian)

I think that is enough for the month. Probably more than enough but I'm going to try. I'm not setting a weight loss goal because I don't want focus too much on that. I'm really focused right now on regaining my running form and ability and losing weight as a mean to that end.