Two Best Friends and Moms Motivating Eachother to Lose Weight

You read that right, this is Carie posting a blog.  I know it's been a really long time, because I had to think really hard about my log on ID.  I just finished The Firm and am feeling all healthy so I decided to update everyone.  I'm getting comfortable at my current weight (around 146)  which is a scary place to be (not the weight but comfortable).  It's been nice to hear compliments that I look great (and I do mind you), but I'm not where I want to be.  I need to be more diligant about my food intake and better about keeping my work-out routine.  For awhile I was running three times a week and doing The Firm twice.  The last few weeks I've just been running sporadically.  I'm for sure in a size 10 these days and my boobs have shrunk (I'm still stacked).  I'm going to work on running longer and entering another 5K.

 

Carie

Yes, I did lose 3.2 pounds this week, even with the holiday, and the long weekend...thank you very much! For the first time since beginning this effort to lose weight, I faithfully tracked points using the Weight Watchers flex point system, and I think I finally "get" why it works. I tried it for a few days at a time in the past, but always thought it was no different than tracking calories. I was used to tracking calories, and it was easy for me, so I always opted for that instead. While I tracked my points, I realized that I was more mindful about the variety of foods I ate, always opting for more high fiber choices verses a lower calorie snack or food that was not as nutritious. I also made sure to use my points for the suggested amounts of milk, fruits, and vegtables. At the end of the day, if I hadn't eaten all of my points, I thought it was awsome that I was able to add a bonus, but still healthy, snack to my day. And, the two days I went over my points for the day, I chalked it up to those flex points you get, and didn't even feel guilty about it!

 

I felt organized and satisfied with my eating this week. Wether I am writting down my calories, or keeping points, staying organized and faithful with tracking every bite, seems to be a must for me. I think I may prefer the points system though because it takes a little bit of stress out of things for me, and keeps me more focused. I know this is new and exciting for me, and I will need to stay really focused to keep seeing results, but I am so glad to have a new program, that I have faith in, to follow. I have never been to a meeting, and I am not a member, but Carie is. The past year she has given me WW program info to follow three times, and I think everything kind of sunk in for me this go round and actually worked! So thanks again Carie!

  

My hubby and I stayed at a hotel on Saturday to celebrate our 7th anniversary. We have a two year old and a four year old, so uninterrupted time alone is almost non-existant for us. Our night out was great, and I really felt like we got a chance to be Vicky and Binoy again, instead of Mom and Dad.   

 

In fact, I was having such a great and carefree time, that I overindulged at dinner and had a blondie walnut sundae at midnight. It has been months since I have actually ordered a dessert off of a menu, and I have to admit that it was pretty good. But you know, it wasn't really all that good, and I had that dreadful full-bellied guilty feeling afterwards. On Sunday, I followed up my night of unhealty eating with two biscuts with gravy, scrambled eggs and an apple. I actually didn't even want the apple, but I thought eating it would somehow react against the biscuts.  

 

I guess I was coming down off of the emotional high from Saturday, because the rest of Sunday didn't go so well either. I was grateful that the next day was Monday because there is something strangely magical about that day of the week. It signifies a new beginning for those of us who fall off track. And thank god for new beginnings because I have needed lots of them!

 

It is Tuesday evening, and so far so good. I know it is going to be a great week!

Today I am lacking inspiration. I haven't heard from any teams for awhile, and it has me a little bummed. Carie and I are still working towards our goals and we both have greatly improved our lifestyle when it comes to diet and exercise. I don't want to speak for Carie, but I think she would agree that we both need a little more help in the diet area. For example, I was over today for a playdate, and we ate a semi-healthy, half-way decent lunch, but we also both dug into our kids leftover chicken nuggets and french fries.

Eating two nuggets and a few fries is not so bad considering that I have, in the past, eaten a nine-piece with a large fries and a large regular coke. However, it was definatley an indulgence that I should have and could have skipped if I want to continue to lose weight. Since I really believe that I am consistant and on the right path in the exercise department, most of my weight loss now has to come from me eating the right foods, in the right amount, at the right time. The problem for me now, is that my emotions are still getting in the way on occassion, and I still feel like I haven't figured out exactly what works for and with my body in the food department.

I have plenty of books. I have studied and experimented with different food combinations and numbers of calories, but I am getting a little discouraged. I had a rough time over Memorial Day weekend, and had a hard time getting back on track with healthy eating again. Although I feel like I have been doing well with my diet for the past two weeks, I am still not seeing the best results on the scale.

I picked up Bob Greene's newest book, and I am hoping to get some new inspiration and ideas from that. One thing that I read that I thought was pretty profound was that losing weight will not make you happy, but being happy will make you lose weight. I had two fabulous weeks where I lost a total of seven pounds, and I am not sure how it happened. I followed the same eating plan and exercise regimine after that, even challanging up some, and nothing happened. I was really positive and happy during those weeks though, so maybe there is something to that. I guess I need to dig deep, stay positive, and make and stay foused and organized with my diet. Now I'm off to clean my house!  

I took it easy this week because I was still recovering from the flu or pnemonia, or whatever I had. I took my two-year-old to the doctor on Wednesday, and her doctor said that she had pnemonia. I had similar symptoms, so I am pretty sure that's what I had as well. Either way, we were both on antibiotics and coughing our lungs up all week.

 

I am happy to report that we are both doing much better today. I did my first really challenging work out, since getting sick, this morning. There is an instructor at the gym who means business, and she does a Cardio Abs class from 9:00-10:00, and a Body Pump class from 10:00-11:00. Now when I say she means business, her classes are tougher than the boot camp I signed up for, you have to get there 30 minutes early to get a spot, and most of the women that take her class are RIPPED. This is the second time I've signed up for her classes, and I think they are going to be a regular part of my week. She teaches two consecutive classes Thursday evenings, and two on Sunday mornings. I really think that if I want to continue to lose, I need to be challenged, and her classes are certainly that.

 

On a similar note, my Boot Camp trainer really made me suffer on Friday. Friday was my first attempt at strength training this week, and I swear I was on my hands and toes in push up position for most of the hour. And then, just for fun, he had me do a bilzzillion walking lunges while he applied FORCE (he calls it resisitance) to my shoulders. My thighs were singing after that workout. I planned to stay for another hour, but I had nothing left when I was done.

 

So tommorrow I have another Boot Camp session scheduled for 9:00AM, and I am going to do and hour of cardio on the machines after that. I'm pretty thrilled with my 3.6 pound loss over the past two weeks, and I am looking forward to working out while not being so sick. I planned a challenging week of exercise for this week, so burn baby burn!

So, yes I lied on my driver’s license.  Go ahead arrest me!  I think at the time I was pregnant, or maybe just hopeful that one day I would once again see 140.  And here I am so close.  I really am so excited to be this close. I’ve really focused on my weight loss the last month.  I’m taking it very seriously.  I’m following the Weight Watchers points and logging everything I eat.  No free days but I do use my flex points (all of you WW will know what I’m talking about).  I’m jogging approximately three miles three times a week, and I do The Firm on two days.  So, I’m working out five times a week and have had consistent weight losses for the last month.  It’s working and I don’t feel like I’m struggling.  It’s a life style change and not a diet anymore.  I like it this way. 

 

 

On Wednesday I thought I was coming down with a little something, but I got progressively worse as the week went on. I took Thursday off of exercising, and although I felt pretty awful Friday evening, I felt I needed to try to do something at the gym. By Friday evening around 11:00PM, I was completely wiped out, and I have been sleeping and soaking in hot baths ever since. I saw a doctor today, and he told me that I have a late onset flu-like virus. Although he suggested an antibiotic, there is really not much I can do to make myself start feeling better.

 

So, I did not work out Saturday or today, and I haven't weighed myself since Wednesday after my workout. I think with the combination of no exercise and my need for comfort foods, I probably did not do too well this week. I hope that I turn the corner on Monday, and that I am feeling well enough to return to the gym. I can not remember the last time that I felt this awful for this long. I had high hopes for this week and it started out to be very promising. But there is nothing I can do now about my sick days and salty binges except to keep moving forward.

 

That was going to be my title if I gained this week. I kept weighing myself throughout the week and I kept getting anywhere between 180 and 182. I was getting really bummed because I had two huge weight losses in a row, about two weeks ago, and I thought I may have figured out my own personal key to weight loss success. However, I had a loss of .8 pounds last week, and I thought that maybe it was because I didn't fill out my food journal all week and wasn't as careful with my diet as I had been the previous two weeks. This week, I kept the carbs and sugars under control, wrote every bite down, and stayed around 1500 calories. In addition to working out HARD six days, I added personal training boot camps to my workouts twice this week. I really expected a bigger loss this week with the change up in my routine. The sessions were mostly strength focused and they really pushed me.

 

I talked to the trainer doing the sessions and his response to my loss was that I put on a pound of lean muscle and lost a pound of fat this week. I want to believe that, but I also want to see the numbers on the scale go down more quickly. Carie is hopeful that I might have a good loss this week, so I am going to try not to dwell on the numbers too much and I am going to try to stay positive. All of the people out there who say that losing weight is as simple as burning more calories than you take in is soooooo WRONG! It is much more complex than that and the workouts, combination of foods, and amount of calories it takes to lose weight differs, not only for each individual, but also can differ from week to week. Wish me luck this week!