I accepted the challenge!

Another challenge, what?!?  This one is with DietBet.com - 4 weeks lose 4%.  I love challenges.  The accountability is great.  The encouragement from others is awesome.  I enjoy encouraging others too.  I also think being able to win money AND lose weight is a fantastic combo!!  It's like win-win-win-w... well you get the point.  I'm still doing the WeighLossWars challenge as well which will continue past the DietBet timeframe.  WLW dates are Jun 29-Sep 28 and DietBet dates are Jul 13-Aug10.

I realize that the whole point of this journey is to eventually get to the point where I no longer need to lose weight and just need to maintain it.  In doing so, I must present myself with a completely viable plan to do the "healthy" thing long term.  The accountability I gain from these challenges simply keeps me on track - it is not a long term fix.  But I've got to say this, so far, I can totally see me doing exactly what I'm doing now.  Planning meals in advance and exercising.  Fail to plan - plan to fail, right?

Speaking of plan, so far so good this week.  I'm not sure if I'll make those 2500 points today - it was crazy busy at work today and we were understaffed.  I got away from the desk a couple times, but only for bathroom breaks and to open a locked door for someone.  I did, however, get my cardio done - 30 minutes @ 3.0mph.  I even bumped up the incline from 0 to 2.  I was surprised at the difference it made.  It was more effort, but not so much that I couldn't do it.  Whereas if I bump up the speed, it wears me out very quickly.  After the cardio, I did my cool down stretches.  I had eaten dinner about an hour before exercising, so I was in no shape to do core exercises.  I'm not sure how to work those in since I do most of my training around dinner time.  I suppose I could break the training down into sections, before and after dinner.  I'll have to work on that one...

Well, that's all for now.  I'll leave you with this sunrise pic I took this morning.  I thought it looked like a watercolor painting.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Motivations for Staying on Track

What motivates us to stay on this incredible journey?  I say "incredible" because sometimes it is incredibly rewarding and other times it is incredibly difficult.  So if the difficult times outnumber the rewarding times, how do we get that focus back inline with our goals?  Or I guess, more importantly, what causes us to give up?

Stay on Track!

This weight loss thing is the only thing I've ever quit doing even though I was somewhat successful.  Of course, when I quit I wasn't successful - instead, I would binge eat and feel guilty or not go to the gym, and feel guilty.  I found excuses for not taking that time for myself to get in shape.  Why?  My goal was to get healthy!!  

When my goal was to get a degree, I went to school and took class after class until I earned the diploma.  When my goal was to earn an "A", I did.  When my goal was to get a job, I did that too.  Saving money?  Sure.  Learn a new skill?  No problem!  Then WHY is it so freakishly difficult to stay on track with eating healthy and exercising?  I'm CHOOSING to carefully watch what I eat.  I'm CHOOSING to exercise and push my body to new limits.  Then why do I CHOOSE to eat out when I KNOW there are way more calories in those meals than in the ones I make at home?  

Well, yes, laziness is definitely a factor here.  Plus, I don't really like to cook.  I'm a picky eater.  I like fast food.  Change is hard.  Not a lot of time.  This hurts!  There...  I think I listed every excuse I've ever used.  What are yours?  Maybe if we get all those excuses out there, we can help each other when they rear their ugly little heads again someday.  And they will, we can count on it.  You know it.  I know it.

Ok, that's enough of that.  On to the good news - I made it another day on this journey.  Woot!  Ate well but didn't drink enough water.  Here's the really cool thing though - I made it through my entire workout!!  I did a 10 minute warm-up on the treadmill @ 3.0mph, then did my resistance training (even wrote down everything), and finally did cool down stretching.  I'm really bad about stretching - especially when I'm hungry and still need to cook dinner, like I was today.  But it all worked out... me and dinner =p

Successes and Challenges

Successes:  Today, I ate well, drank water, put in 30 min on the treadmill!!  Also, refused donuts even though they were offered several times.

That's 8 weeks straight of no donuts.  It may not seem like a big deal, but it's decisions like these that will help me beat other temptations.  Like today, for example, I went to Sonic.  Now, I know what you're thinking - but no, I went there for ice.  I LOVE Sonic ice and they are so kind to sell it by the bag.  The temptation though was that I was hungry and dinner was probably an hour away.  I wanted a corn dog.  But no!!  I was looking forward to tonight's dinner and I have eaten out enough this week.  My point is, if I hadn't been practicing my willpower on donuts, then I might have caved on the corn dog.  I don't know if that makes sense, but it seems to be working for the most part.

Challenges:  Eating out and getting enough sleep.  I was so busy at the beginning of the week that for lunch and a couple dinners I found it easier to just go out to eat.  That does not line up with my goals!

Why oh why do we allow ourselves to get derailed and what prompts us to get back on track?  I think the answer is different for everyone.  For me, I get off track when I'm not focusing on the goal.  And what gets me back on track real quick is to see a picture of myself.  UGGHHH!!  It's a slap in the face, a wake-up call.  (And isn't weird how looking at a picture is more "real" than looking in the mirror?)

So, if I want to stay focused on the goal, how do I do that?  Remind myself of the goal constantly, so that it is never far from my mind.  How?  I've an idea, but I don't know if it will work.  What do you think?  What would keep you focused on a goal?

And if I want to stay on track, do I pin up fat pics of me everywhere?  No, I think that'll just lead to depression - no really, it would.  Any suggestions on that one?

Well, I'm off to bed to ponder those thoughts.  Please feel free to share yours... (uh, thoughts not beds ;p)

Fast Food Calorie Quick Reference

Have you ever noticed that no matter how hard you try, something consistently tries to derail your progress?  For me, it's fast food.  It's so quick and easy and most importantly - I don't have to cook it!!  But as we all know, fast food isn't the best choice when it comes to eating healthy or trying to lose weight.

So, here's what I came up with a while ago to help me at least make better choices when it comes to eating on the run.  I mean, let's face it - it's going to happen, so why not be prepared?  The original list has cute little logos next to each restaurant's name, but due to the limited formatting here, I had to take those out.  Anyway, I realize there are healthier choices at some of these places, but these are the foods I'm happy to eat - not foods that I have to "force" myself to consume.

Also, none of these include beverages - if I eat out, the least I can do is drink water, right?  Finally, the REALITY CHECK at the bottom of the chart is just to remind me how many calories are in the foods I usually choose...

Arby's   

Classic Roast Beef Sandwich, 350 calories

Arby's Sauce, 20 calories

Apple Slices w/ strawberry yogurt dip, 80 calories

Jr Roast Beef Sandwich (x2), 440 calories

Chic-fil-A

Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich, 290

Fruit Cup, 70

Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich, 290

Side Salad, 70

Berry Vinaigrette Dressing, 70                                                                                  

Culver's

ButterBurger "The Original" Single, 346

Flame Roasted Chicken Sandwich, 309

Side Salad, 60

Raspberry Vinaigrette, 45                                                                              

Del Taco                              

Classic Soft Taco (x2), 440

Taco al Carbon - Chicken (x2), 300

McDonald's

Hamburger, 250

Vanilla Ice Cream Cone, 150

Premium Grilled Chicken Ranch BLT, 380

Side Salad, 20

LF Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing, 35

Sonic

Jr Burger (No cheese), 340

Apple Slices w/ FF Caramel Dipping Sauce, 110

Corn Dog (x2), 420                                                                                        

6" Chili Cheese Coney, 410

Taco Bell

Chicken Soft Taco (x2), 360

Beef Soft Taco (x2), 400

Chicken Burrito Supreme, 400

Wendy's

Chili, small, 210

Saltine Crackers, 30

Shredded Cheese, 70

Side Salad, 25

Pomegranate Vinaigrette Dressing, 60

1/4lb Single Burger (No cheese/no mayo), 450

Ultimate Chicken Grill Sandwich, 390

               

*************************************************                                 

REALITY CHECK:                                                                        

Arby's   

Mid Roast Beef Sandwich, 460

Curly Fries, 540

Chic-fil-A                             

Chicken Sandwich – plain, 440

Waffle Fries, 390

Culver's

The Culver's Deluxe Burger – Single, 514

Crinkle Cut Fries, Regular, 385

McDonald's

Qtr Pounder w/cheese, 510

Reg Fries, 380

Oh btw, I did get the new workout in today.  My goal for Thursday's workout is to write down the weight I'm using so I can track it.  Also, I find that I can't max out on leg press - my BowFlex doesn't have enough resistance, so I may have to come up with a new exercise for quads in addition to leg extensions.  Almost forgot this bit too - I took today off work so I could take my pup to the vet and FORGOT to put on the FuelBand until NOON!!! Can you believe it?  UGggh!!   I think I would have made it though because I'm at almost 1900 now.  Ah well, live and learn...

Using Foods from CoOp

I was finally able to participate in a CoOp this past weekend.  Basically, I contributed around $15 with a bunch of other participants and asked for a basic basket.  The basic basket comes with an approx 50-50 mix of fruits and veggies.  This week, here's what I received:

Lettuce
Broccoli
Purple onions
Eggplant
Grapes
Mangos
Bananas
Pineapple
Plums
Peaches
Sm watermelon (about the size of a cantaloupe)

So, now I need to figure out how to incorporate these fruits and veggies into my meal plan.  It shouldn't be too difficult.  The lettuce will be used for salads and the broccoli as a side.  The grapes, peaches and plums will be snacks throughout the week.  I'm the only one in the house who enjoys watermelon, but I'm thinking it'll be a nice snack on a warm evening.  I love fresh pineapple, but this one isn't quite ripe, and neither are the bananas.  The mangos are iffy, but I was thinking of making a mango/pineapple salsa if they ripen around the same time.  If not, maybe just a mango salsa and eat the pineapple separately as a yummy side.  Finally, the eggplant.  I ate eggplant as a child, but my mom fried it.  Since this is a healthy journey, I'm thinking "fried" is out.  So, I'm looking for an eggplant recipe that also won't cause my picky eater to complain.  Suggestions?  Recipes?  help?...

11 pounds GONE!!!

Alrighty then, let's back up to the weigh-in on Saturday.  If you remember, on Friday, I was worried because I had weighed in mid-week and had a bit of gain.  Well, I'm happy to say that it was gone by Saturday morning and I scored a loss of 2 pounds!!! YAY!!!

That puts me on track in the WeightLossWars competition as well!  Although in that comp, I actually had to lose 4 pounds.  Ok, sounds weird right?  What happened was, I didn't sign up for the competition until Sunday, so I had to weigh-in on Monday morning.  I forgot to weigh in until after breakfast AND the clothes I wore weren't my usual weigh-in clothes. When I got on the scale, I was 2 pounds heavier than my Saturday weight.  Sooooo, I took that into consideration when coming up with my first week's goal and figured 4 pounds should be good.  BUT!! When I weighed myself on Thursday morning (in weigh-in clothes) I was up 1 pound from the MONDAY weigh-in - WHAT?!?  So I had to lose 5 - not 2, not 4, but FIVE pounds by Saturday morning!!!  See my worry?  Anyway, it worked out so Saturday, I was right on track.  WHEW!!  Never, NEVER look at the scale mid-week - never again.

Today is usually a day for geocaching along with bike riding or walking.  But unfortunately, I'm doing yard work instead.  I usually have a guy come over every couple weeks and take care of it, but he's been a tad unreliable to say the least.  So, this week I get to do it.  I would much rather be geocaching, but the grass (weeds) are getting way too tall.  It will probably take around 3 hours to mow and weed eat the front and back yards.  I hate this because it usually makes me feel like I'm about to have a heart attack doing it, but what can you do when the person who is supposed to do it is unreliable?  You do it yourself.  <OK, rant complete> If there are any single moms reading this, then you know what I mean.  Plus, it's a chore that I just don't like.  Please wish me luck, I'll need it...