Thursday, April 29, 2010

Weight Loss War Week #2

So the results of the first week of the war....5-1/2 pounds lost. Who-hoo! But as anyone who watches the Biggest Loser knows that the first week always has the most loss. So with week two the proof will have to be in the pudding as they say. I would like to lose at least 20 pounds over the course of this war. I don't even care about the money though it would be nice to win it. I am all about the fed up with being at my heaviest weight and being uncomfortable in my own skin so I am SO GLAD that my friends decided to do this, it's exactly the kick in the pants I needed.

I have been really going full force with my workouts, measuring and calculating every bite and ensuring that I am getting 7 hours of sleep each night. I won't jinx the sleep club Gods but will say that it's been okay in that department lately. So I am hoping that my over the top exercising will pay off and really it should because...it sucks.

There I said it. Exercising sucks. I know I am supposed to get a high from it and feel all endorphins rush etc. and by the end of the workout I do, I am pumped and it feels great to shower off and know that I am feeling good. But the amount of back and forth arguing I do in my head about whether to go, should I go, can I skip today, I will only do 10 minutes...blah blah. It's awful. The first 10 minutes really do suck. So I make a deal with myself every single time to do at least 10 minutes and re-evaluate and thus far by the time I hit those 10 minutes I am so deep into my ipod that I just keep going. It really is all about taking the first step. Once I step in the right direction towards the gym, I can get the workout done. But getting there, man it's tough sometimes.

It's only been two weeks and I hope I can keep it up and who knows maybe by week 12 I will tell you that I LOVE to exercise. Or at least that I love it because it is a means to my ends to fit my ass back into a size 14 for crissakes. I also think I need to find a nice used double jogger to help with the warm weather that is finally coming back so that the girls and I can get out and about and maybe meet some new neighbors. Stay tuned for week 3.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Weight Loss War - Week One

It hurts everywhere. I am very literally kicking my own ass. I have not missed my daily gym appointment yet this week and while I know that I can't keep it up for an eternity I am loving the deep hurt feeling while I lie in bed knowing that I did good at working those muscles.

Getting up however, is another story entirely. Once I step out of bed I am reminded that I am not 25 any more. Hell, I am not even 30 anymore and there are probably more aches and pains then there should be since I have these extra pounds pushing down on all my joints.

But it feels good and I am pressing on. I have even found some recipes I can't wait to try in my new healthy eating lifestyle. And poor Gary, whether he knows it or not he is in this with me too because I refuse to buy the soda, chips, ice cream etc. that I know he and I love. So I may just be doing this as a two-fer.

I had Gary take a picture and suffice to say I was not happy with the results. Thus far I have taken pictures with the girls conveniently positioned in front of me or cropped out the roll or belly fat in others. But this was a full on head to toe, no one in front of me picture and it was really a wake up to me. I have been reading Bob Harper's Book about "Are you Ready?" and in there it mentions that one woman he worked with only took pictures or looked in mirrors from the neck up. And that is what I have been doing. Or when I did look in a full length mirror it was with squared shoulders and stomach sucked in . But with this picture, it was all out there. So that picture is now is hanging on my refrigerator (though I am sure I will whip it into the drawer these first few weeks so others don't see it) as a little reminder of why I don't need the extra what have you from inside the fridge. I will post it in a month when I hopefully have another, better, slimmer one beside it.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Still here....

I know, I know, I go off and live my life but leave you all hanging here. I left off to conquer the world of weightloss. I didn't do badly but I definately didn't see the results that I wanted. But I realized a few things about myself and where my diet goes down the drain so I am working on that. I didn't step on the scale for about 6 weeks and when I finally did I had lost 3 pounds. At first I was ticked off and wanted to heave the scale out the window but I finally realized that 1/2 pound a week while it isn't the lightning speeds that I want, it's something.

I have also figured out that I need to be consistent in my workouts and eating because it isn't a diet it's going to be a new lifestyle. So to help me on my journey I have joined up with a few great lady friends for a weight loss war. It's very motivating to have a competition and while the prize money would be great, far greater will be the rewards of actually losing the weight. So here I go again....reminds me of that 80s hairband song. Many more posts about this to come, I assure you. The preliminary news is that day one went AWESOME right down to the last calorie and the trip to the gym. Though I had to go to bed at 8PM last night and read just so I wouldn't be tempted to eat anything else. So feel free to leave me any inspirational comments as well as tips that you may have. I will say that going upstairs last night at 8PM allowed me to do a ton of reading in my latest book but that this morning I woke up famished and with my thyroid meds I can't eat for a whole hour after taking them so it's been torture waiting this morning and my stomach is doing something it hasn't done in a while....growling.

In other news that isn't all consuming as my weightloss attempts, the girls and I made a trip to Florida at the end of March. Gary couldn't come because work has been unpredictable and he didn't want to miss out on a big job because he was away. So the girls and I went to visit my parents without him. It was sad not to go with him, definately but I think a small part of me was just as happy to have my parents share in the girls with me for that week. Since my they are my parents and I am an extension of them it's fun to see the youngest generation of "Santoros" (my maiden name) with the older one. My father has waited for grandkids forever and my girls did not disappoint. I even see a bit of the kid in my father as he is down on his hands and knees doing driveway chalk with them.

The girls did awesome on the plane. It was definately a lot of work to get on the plane with them and to have to organize all of our stuff to take as minimally as possible but still be able to entertain them for the 3 hour plane ride. They each had their own backpack with wheels that they could wear or drag through the airport and I took Nicole's car seat on a little dolly made specifically for carseats and we dumped everything into it and hauled it through the airport. I was also able to get gate passes so that Gary could take us to the gate in Boston and my mom could meet us at the gate in Sarasota. Worked perfectly.

The winter thus far in Florida has been nothing great, better than New England definately but still not typical Florida in postcards weather. But when we arrived, my father said it was like a switch, the weather was warmer, we took him to the beach for the first time this winter and we had time to play outside and enjoy the summer-like conditions.

We even came home on Easter and didn't blink an eye because it was just as beautiful in Boston as it had been getting on the plane in Florida. It held for a few days even and my girls were tickled thinking that this was it, summer arrived. Though being the seasoned New Englander that I am I know it was only a tease and the flip flops and painted toes would again make their retreat beneath socks. But my girls have still not given up on their skirts sans tights and short sleeve shirts.

So come on Spring/Summer. Please don't leave us in the cold and wet like last year and show some sun to us that warms us up!