More Weight Gone!

Down to 188.4 today!  Finally, I seem to be on a roll again!

I don't know what it is, but I can feel something going on in my body.  It's like I've hit that Tipping Point again.

Part of it I think is because of my new Fitbit.  It's really helping me refocus and all the stats and things it reports seems to be motivational for me.  And now, I've discovered there are apps that work with the Fitbit so I'll be checking those out as well.  At some point I will write a full review of the product.

My clothes are getting loose again.  So exciting!  Other than the fact that I just bought three new suits.  Still, I had to have them - the old ones really looked unprofessional since they were so big on me.  I will try and have these altered as I lose weight.  I can tell I'm not another size down, but I'm getting there!  And I fit into my daughter's shorts the other day!  Woohoo!

I just wanted to report the weight loss, but I have to get back to work!  I hope all of you have a terrific day!

Barrier: Busted!!

I finally broke the 190 lb barrier!!!  I am 189.2 this morning!  Woohoo!!

I had begun to think that 190 barrier was akin to the shields around the Enterprise in Star Trek and that I'd never be able to blast my way through!  (Okay, did I just identify myself as a geek, or what??  Well, that's okay - I'm proud of my geekiness!)

I have to think that this horrible hunger I've been fighting has been a sign that I was about to drop some weight.  Kind of like my six year old when she suddenly begins to eat everything in sight and I know she is going to have a growth spurt.  I will have to keep my eyes open in the future and see if it is a definite sign of weight dropping in the near future, because if it is, I must say that would make getting through the hunger a lot easier!

So, I love my Fitbit!  I really do have some kind of sleep issues and now that I know that I need to figure out how to tackle that.  Night before last I woke up 18 times.  18 times!!!  Did I even get any sleep at all???  Last night wasn't so bad - I woke up 6 times.  But, no wonder I'm tired all the time!  I can't imagine what it would be like to actually have some solid sleep!

Anyway, the gadget thing definitely seems to work for me.  I can't wait to come down and check all my stats and reports on my Fitbit.  I guess it's helping me focus and be excited about my journey again, and that's a plus!  I need all the help I can get.

And something more is going on with me right now.  I'm not sure what, but the two days I set aside for organizing and getting caught up on work have worked miracles for me.  I feel a lot "clearer" and focused.  It's such a wonderful (and rare) feeling!  I'm even thinking of projects and things I might like to do!  It's been a very long time since I've had a chance to think about more than getting through the day.  I don't know how long it will last, but I'm going to enjoy it while I can!  I'm sure the other proverbial shoe is going to drop at some point, so I"m going to scramble and get the joy I can out of this before I get squished like a bug!

So I'm off to work!  I will keep you posted on how it goes!  I hope all of you have a wonderful day!

It's a New Day

It's a lot of work trying to stay on track these days.  I'm looking forward to getting back to that zen roll I was on before summer.  Those days when I couldn't figure out how anyone could fall off track when it was so EASY to stay on track ...

I'll get back to that point.  In the meantime, I just need to remember I'm not perfect.  And that's okay!

I'm working on it!  I haven't weighed today, so I don't know if I've lost anything, but I feel okay today.

I have my new fitbit and I love it so far!  It's cool to see how many steps I take without even meaning to!  I have also seen my sleep patters are just really bad.  I wake up constantly all night long.  I'm not sure what to do about that, but I am sure it's part of my problem on my "down" days. The fact that my new toy has picked up on that is really cool.  The only thing I'm not so sure about is the "trainer" that you have to pay $50 per year for.  I'm doing the 7 day free trial to see what it's about.  Since it's just day one, I don't have much to report on yet.  But it's a cool little gadget!

I never did get a chance to do my bowflex last week.  At all.  Hubby was out of town and that made it difficult to find time for just me.  However, I did do a lot of cleaning and moving furniture, and I'm sore, so that means I worked some muscles anyway!  And I'm going to do the bowflex today - I am!  

Meanwhile, I'm feeling pretty optimistic again.  I think it might be that there is a change in the air.  I can feel it.  Fall is coming and, even though it's still hot, it's not as hot.  I feel motivated.  

I was very hungry over the weekend, though.  I'm not sure what is up with that.  I mean REALLY hungry.  Like my stomach was growling hungry.  Out loud.  It was weird.  But I think I've faced this before and it eventually passed, so I'm just going to work through it!

I just need to keep on believing in myself.  I'm going to get through this!  There was months where I really felt on top of the world and thought nothing could stop the momentum I had.  I will get that momentum back!  Just one day at a time.  I believe.

Okay, now what?

So, I've been doing pretty well - but it's only been two days, so it's about time for my five days off ...

I am 190.8 today, which I'm thrilled with!  I'm tentatively optimistic that maybe, just maybe I might be on track again!  Maybe I won't get sidetracked this time!

I do feel like I'm settling in.  And I started listening to my weight loss subliminal iPad app again.  I've been listening to it for two days now.  I don't know, maybe it really works.  Because I'm feeling pretty motivated again, which I haven't felt for a long time.  So, maybe it does work.  Then again, the fact that I'm motivated enough to actually listen to the app again may mean that I'm motivated enough to be on track again.  It might not have anything to do with the app, but I'll keep it up, just in case.

I think I am going to brush up again on my 52 weight loss missions app as well.  There was some pretty motivational missions in there, so it's definitely worth another look.

Last night was good.  No ice cream.  No carrot cake.  Even though we have both in the house.  So that's pretty impressive.  Oh!  And we even have REECE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS in the house.  And I haven't opened the bag!!  How amazing is that???

Today is my organization day.  Yesterday went a bit haywire, work-wise.  I had thought to have a good chunk of organization time what with all the kids AND the hubby gone.  But, alas, it was not to be.  So I am hopeful for today.

I'm not only wanting to organize my weight loss plans, but the rest of my life as well.  I feel much better when I have it all planned out and written down.  As for the weight loss things I need to plan, I really want to come up with some other exercise to incorporate into my schedule.  But I can't even get my weight lifting done but once a week, so how am I going to find time to add in something else?  So, I need to ponder a bit on that.  I also want to organize my cook book.  I've been using various low calorie recipes from various places - one of my favs is the Hungry Girl cookbooks - those things are awesome! - and some have been wonderful and some not so much, so I need to make copies of what I like and organize a cookbook so I can menu-plan better.

I will probably also search through the latest apps.  Gadgets seem to help me on my journey.  Oh - and did I say I bit the bullet and ordered the fitbit???  It should be delivered today!  I'm excited about that!

I am also going to do my bowflex today.  I'm a little nervous because it's been 8 days since I last lifted - I think I'm in for a world of sore tomorrow!

I'm feeling pretty fired up again, and that's such a good feeling.  I'm going to work hard and keeping up my journey.  I'm going to be stronger than my excuses.

So, get out there and have a great, motivational, pumped up day!  We can do this!

Time to Re-Focus

I'm at a loss.  Well, not literally - that would be a good thing, and ...sigh...I'm definitely not losing.

What I mean is, I can't seem to get myself back into that wonderful zone I was in before summer started.  I have got to come up with some kind of plan.

The good news is that I actually think I may have some planning time soon!  My oldest is back at college, my second goes back on Wednesday and the two little ones are back in school as we speak.  That will be very helpful in getting myself back on a schedule, which seems to be so important to my journey.  Who knew?

I've always been a planner, so I shouldn't be surprised.  I even color code my calendars.  So the fact that I need structure and planning to be able to lose weight is really predictable.  And the good news is, I should have planning time very soon.

Last week was pretty good.  I got so much work done that I feel fairly confident about work.  I'm almost caught up and I know what is in every stack.  I've organized everything so I can tell what's what at a glance.  I haven't been this organized in months.  Good feeling.

Now I need to switch and concentrate on myself.  I think that's where everything went wrong this summer.  With all the kids home, it was all about everyone else but me.  I fell back into that place where I came last.  I think I've talked about that issue before.  How we often put ourselves dead last even when it's important to take care of US so we can take care of THEM.

So, starting now, I'm going to refocus on me.  My journey.

Lately I've been pigging out at night - which is my danger time.  I'm very good during the day - probably because I'm so busy there isn't time to want to binge or eat.  But at night, that's when my beast comes out.  I need to re-read on my tips of how I fought and beat the beast before.  Like the ice water thing.  I think that would have been helpful last night before I had my third helping of dinner and my 2nd piece of carrot cake. (Hey, it was CARROT cake - doesn't that count as a veggie???).

I also think I'm going to splurge and either get fitbit or the Nike fuel band.  I'm a big gadget geek and those kind of things help me stay focused and on track.  I clearly need something to get myself back on track for the long run.  I seem to be able to do great for two days at a time ... I need something to help me get back to being ON more than I'm OFF.



Blogging helps.  And I've been ignoring it lately.  I need to try and blog more - every day if possible.

One thing I look forward to getting back into now that I'll have more planning time with the kids in school is the menu planning.  Last night I made a truly fantastic dinner that was fairly healthy.  It was a Cajun shrimp pasta.  I know pasta isn't all that healthy but I used the multi grain angel hair pasta.  I used peppers from the garden, onions, mushrooms and cooked those in NO oil!  I used the Pam cooking spray and then fat free chicken broth when I needed extra moisture.  Once that was all nice and cooked down (I'm one of those that likes my veggies mushier than normal people) I added in the shrimp.  I put in garlic, Cajun seasoning, salt, pepper and let that cook.  I then added the pasta and fat free half-and-half.  My one splurge was Parmesan cheese.  Boy was it good!  And it would have been good for me if I hadn't eaten three plates of it...

Anyway, the good news is that I know I'm off track.  Knowing is half the battle.  And a steady schedule is right around the corner.  Only good can come from both of those things.

So, I'm going to kick myself into gear and start back on my journey.  I thought I had hit some speed bumps, but I didn't realize I'd actually parked!  Now I'm back on the road.  I'll keep you guys posted!!

2 Days On, 5 Days Off ...

Ok, so I seem to be 2 days on my "diet" and 5 days off.  That's NOT a good thing.  I'll do really well for a few days and drop some weight and then my schedule gets thrown off and I eat and eat.

The good news is that school starts tomorrow so we'll be getting back onto a more normal schedule.  That will definitely help.  Lately we've been running around like chickens and it's messed with our routine.  We've ended up eating out (while shopping for school clothes and school supplies, etc) so it's been horrible choices.

I will be very glad to get everything back to a more normal routine.  I plan to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to get my bike riding in and still have time to get the kids to the bus, etc.

I'm basically behind on everything and I'm looking forward to having a steady schedule to get me back on track with everything from my journey to my work.  I hate feeling scattered and disorganized.  And that's how I feel right now.  At least I see light at the end of the tunnel.  I know by Friday I'll probably be back on track again.

I'm working late tonight getting organized and getting some work done that I haven't been able to get done like I wanted to.  The kids are in bed and I've gotten a fair amount accomplished.  I actually got a lot done today, though not as much as I had hoped.  Still, I feel like I've made a dent.

I'll just plug along and we'll see how it goes.  I'm hanging in there.  I am SURE it will be better by Friday.

Size 14!

I bought my first pair of size 14 jeans yesterday!!  I must admit they look pretty good, too!

I am not losing weight, but I am losing inches.  I can feel it.  My size 16s were feeling loose in the legs (not the waist, unfortunately ... well, maybe a little) and calves.  So I decided to try on a pair of skinny jeans in size 14.  I was very excited that they fit!

I worked out hard today since I was so pumped up from dropping another size!  I went up 10 lbs on my weights on the bowflex (already sore) and I rode the bike for 65 minutes this morning.  I also did my leg lifts, reverse crunches and butt crunches.

I have eaten well today.  Cereal with skim milk this morning and a nice lunch made with lettuce boats filled with ham, cottage cheese and tomatoes. I just love those lettuce boats - they are so crunchy and they cradle to food so that there is no need for bread!

Tonight will be garlic chicken, salad and crowder peas and maybe corn as well.

I hope the weight starts to follow the inches.  I think it will.  I wonder how long it will take to drop another size?  I'm just so excited about the jeans!  Such a good feeling to finally see some results from working so hard!

Hope all of you are also having wonderful results!  Keep it up!