To join a gym or not to join a gym....

Well, I guess it’s safe to say that I haven’t lost anymore weight. I’m so sick of being fat and out of shape, but here I sit, doing NOTHING about it. Since I spent the summer doing WHATEVER I wanted to. Eating EVERYTHING I’ve wanted to…I’m having a REALLY hard time getting back on track. It’s frustrating. I want to be motivated. I want to exercise…but I guess I don’t want it bad enough. It’s like I have no willpower. I weighed in at WW on Monday and I’m disgusted to say that I weigh more NOW, then I did when I first joined!! I went straight out and bought a ton of fruit, because as you may know, fruits are free with WW. That being said, I’m a diabetic….and I’ve been feeling tired and rundown a lot, so I think I’m going to have to try something else. I’m certain it isn’t helping that I’m getting little to NO exercise. Something has to give.

 Today I met someone online, locally who mentioned a gym she attends. After a couple of emails back and forth, she gave us a 7 day pass to try the gym out. Most of you know that I’m TERRIFIED of joined an actual REAL gym. I’ve only gone to Curves, because there are a bunch of old ladies there. But at a real gym, there are a ton of fit people and honestly, I feel embarrassed to even be in there. Look at the fat chick. But I’m going to go it and I’m going to try my best to be positive. Kevin and I are going on Monday. Wish us luck. They also have a pretty nice kids program also, so that will be nice. I really need something to get me off my butt and keep me accountable. Maybe if I have a gym membership, I will try harder. I’m not doing this to look better, although that would be nice. I’m doing this for a healthier me. Here’s to new beginnings…

As I sit here saying this...I'm holding a slice of Papa John's in my hand....  :(

I’m a LOSER….(and not in a good way)

Well I’m sure most of you have guessed that I haven’t been eating right or working out. This makes me feel bad, because I was doing so well. I even stopped going to Weight Watchers. Any progress that I had made was essentially flushed down the toilet. This sucks. I do NOT want to be a fat a$$ my entire life. I don’t want to be unhealthy, but I continue to do this and disappoint myself. It’s no one else’s fault, but mine. I wish there was an easier way to lose weight, I really do. I’d like to say that I’m going to jump back in, feet first, and kick some butt… I just don’t know if I’ll stick to it. I will say that I’m going to try. Today I started back on Leslie and walked 1 mile. It was torture. I remember when I used to walk 3 and 4 miles with little to no issues. It wasn’t so long ago, but apparently it doesn’t take long for a conditioned body to relapse! So, I’m 1 mile closer to trying to get myself back on track. I’m going to force myself to do a mile tomorrow also. The thing is, the past few days; I’ve been so extremely tired that I have to force myself out of bed. I’m wondering if that’s part of me allowing myself to get so out of shape again. I have 3 weeks before my cruise. My goal is to try to lose 3lbs a week. More would be great, but I’d like to be down about 10lbs by August 28^th.   

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Monday 5/23/11 (Day 1, AGAIN)

I don’t think this requires any explanation, but I got off track with my 21 day plan.  With our unexpected trip to Florida, well, I just dropped the ball. I didn’t exercise. I didn’t track what I ate. To make a long story short, today when I weighed in, I had gained 2.4 pounds, which brings my weight loss back to only 4.6. So I have some work to do. I went back to Curves today and began working out again and tonight I plan on doing my Leslie DVD. I figure there is no time like the present to get back on track. I always feel so much better after I work out anyway! Today I felt like I had more energy and I actually feel like I can breathe better after I leave the gym. However, today I’m getting that 2:00 nod and I wish I could take a nap.  

Wednesday 5/11/11 (Day 3)

Today I started the Curves Smart program. Basically instead of just going around the circuit in 30 second intervals, now I have a key tag to pop into the machines and it monitors my progress and lets me know when to begin and end. It takes data from your progress and increases and decreases the intensity. It also lets you know which machines you need to work harder and which you are good at. I’m excited about this and know that I will see results soon!

This evening, I did my walk and strength training with Leslie. Goodness sakes, that one wears me out every time! I sure hope I’m ready for next week when I start doing 3 miles a day! Eeeek! Then the next week is 4, that’s the one that really SCARES me.

On a side note, I ordered me a shirt for the WW Walk It Challenge! On May 22^nd, I’ll walk a 5K with my family! It’s my promise to be healthier for my family and most importantly, for myself!

Tuesday 5/10/11 (Day 2)

Okay folks, Day 2 feels like day 1,000,000,000,000,000…. I think you get the idea. My workout today at Curves was nice. I’m starting to get more used to the circuit and I notice that I’m not strggling as much to get around twice. I was actually considering going around a third time, but decided against it. I figure with that and my Leslie Challenge, twice is enough for now. My body aches as it is. I’ve never felt so many muscles hurting. This is a good thing though and I’m pleased. I did my workout with Leslie tonight and HOLY SMOKES. 2 BIG miles! Those body cables really provide resistence and mustle toning. By the end, I was sweating up a storm. Another day down. And to think, this morning I wasn’t feeling motivated at all. In fact, I wasn’t feeling motivated this evening either. Both times, I considered skipping my workout, but I didn’t! I CAN DO THIS!! Day 3, bring it on!

P.S. This means, I get 1 hour of exercise a day!! Woot! Woot!! How's that for being a fat girl?!!

Monday 5/9/11 (Day 1)

Today was my 1^st day of Leslie Sansone’s Eat, Walk, Lose 21 Day Challenge. And so far, so good! This morning I started my day off by doing the circuit at Curves. (I’ve gotta say that I feel silly calling it the “gym”, but it’s just easier, so overlook my silliness.) I did my (approximately) 30 minute workout, then I headed over to Weight Watchers for my weekly meeting and weigh in. I wasn’t exactly pleased with my weigh in, but I’m also not upset about it either. I was up a smidgen. Not even a full pound. That’s not too horrible considering that I haven’t been tracking or exercising regularly. I’m going to rectify that, starting today. I’ve begun tracking everything I eat again. This week, the walking program has me doing a 2 mile super walk for the next 7 days. For part of the DVD, I use the body boost cables which do exactly what they say, BOOST my workout. The first week focuses on walking off your breakfast. It also includes 7 days of suggestions for breakfasts. I’ve already done my 2 miles for today, so I’m well on my way! I’ll tell you, if I don’t see results, something is wrong! I’m working my butt off. Now I just need to commit to staying on program and continue to be positive! 20 days to go!!!   

Friday 5/6/11

I’m officially pooped. I worked out this morning at Curves. Then I came home and did 1 Mile with Leslie using the Body Boost Cables, which SUCK. My arms feel like jello. I’m working on my bad eating habits, slowly. I also wore my Body Bugg today, which I’ve been forgetting since getting home from Florida. I’m anxious to see my results from today. I should have worn it yesterday for Zumba! Darn. Now I’m going to take some time to veg out. I’m going to sit on the couch and catch up on the DVR until I have to go get the kiddos. Then tonight, I’m going to watch Tron with my family. Its Mother’s Day weekend! I’m going to relax and enjoy it! Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mommies out there!

Thursday 5/5/11

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

:Sigh: I’m extremely tired today. I went to Curves this morning and started working out on the circuit; I was almost all the way around when the Zumba lady came in. For those of you who are familiar with Curves, you go around the circuit twice. It takes about 30 minutes. Once Zumba starts, the intervals increase. Normally, you do about 30 seconds on the machine and then switch to walking/jogging. With Zumba, you do a full minute of each. Let me just say that Zumba kicked my butt something massive. Sure, it looks all fun and you think you want to move to the beat, until you do… And FYI, I have NO rhythm! By the time I left that place today, not only did I have a nice sheen on my forehead, but my back was all wet. For those of you who don’t know, I don’t really sweat! At least, until I lost a little weight, I didn’t sweat at all. Now I will break a sweat when I’m working out. My goodness, it was a hard workout and I can totally see how you can lose weight doing it. I think I’ll hold off on the Zumba classes until I get in a little better shape. The rest of the day, I’ve been sore. My entire body aches. I don’t want to lift my legs to walk up the stairs. And I’m ready for bed.  

My eating habits HAVE to change. I swear I feel like I can’t get enough to eat. A friend told me to drink grapefruit juice to curb that and I’m certainly going to give it a try. I also need to hit the grocery store and get more fruits to keep on hand. I’ve eaten all through mine this week! In fact, I think I’ve eaten through EVERYTHING this week. Beginning on Monday, I’m starting the 21 day challenge so my eating habits must improve. I can’t be working my butt off and then eating the weight back on.

I’m going to go to Curves tomorrow morning also. They recommend coming 3 times a week, but I really think I should be hitting the “gym” all week. I’ll give my body a break on the weekend. Kevin told me to take it easy and to slow down so I don’t hurt myself… But no pain, no gain, right? I’ll slow down this weekend! This will be my last weekend “off”… because when I start the challenge, it’s a 21 day challenge, including weekends!! I can do it! Just got to set my mind to it. Hopefully next year, I’ll be looking back on this, much lighter!!

On a side note, I’ve had MASSIVE acid reflux today. To the point where I get stabbing pains in my chest. Seriously, it hurts. I can feel it moving and every now and again, a little peep releases. It’s totally MY fault though. I ate a cucumber with Italian dressing for lunch today. That was NOT smart and I’m paying for it. No more cucumbers for me!     

I really intended to walk tonight… I really did, but the more I sit here, the more I realize that I’m done. I just don’t have it in me. Tomorrow is a new day. Tonight, it’s bedtime. I bet I’ll be out before my head hits the pillow!

Thursday 5/4/11

Today I went to Curves and signed up for my month trial. I also did the circuit. I think I’m really going to like it! After I got home, I did 1 Mile with Leslie. Go me!

Tuesday 5/3/11

Most of you know that we left on April 5^th to go to Florida. We didn’t leave to come home until the 25^th. I was supposed to exercise and eat right while I was there… Let me just say that I did NEITHER. I fell off the wagon in a BIG way. That’s not all; I also haven’t been drinking water like I should. I need to up my intake. And while we’re at it, I haven’t been going to weight watchers either. Nor have I been tracking what I eat. There, all done. It feels good to get it off my chest! I’ve been bad, but I’m ready to turn it around.  

Starting today, I’m going to get back into the swing of things. Since I’ve been without exercise for about a month, I decided that I’d start out easy. Today I did Leslie Sansone’s Gentle 1 Mile Walk. Tomorrow I’ll shoot for the Brisk 1 Mile Walk.. Then Thursday, I’ll go for the 1 Mile Super Walk. That means on Friday, I’ll go for at least a 2 mile walk.

I’m also going to get back on my tracking program. It really does help. I need to see what I’m eating. It keeps me conscience of my goals.

And I’m going to start working out in the evenings again. I might do Pilates or Yoga… I might walk or I might ride my stationary bike.

I’m also going to join Curves. Currently they have a 30 day trial for $30. The Zumba classes are included in that. After the month, I’ll decide if I want to continue.

Next week, I’m going to start Leslie’s 21 Day Challenge. You can follow my progress here.  For more information, click here:  http://www.walkathome.com/associates/wel/

I’ve seen the results. I know I can do this and I know it works! It’s time to BRING IT!

Thursday 4/7/11

So again today, I went over my daily limit. Not by much, but I did. Grrrr. My second day on the lower points and I went over again. Stupid. And it’s only down by 2 points; normally I use way below my daily points… Whatever. It’ll be fine. I just need to try to stay on target better.

I did Leslie’s 2 Mile High Calorie Burn called Walk Away the Pounds for Abs. I used my new Walk N Tone Belt! My muscles are feeling the heat, especially my lower tummy. Tomorrow I’m going to go for a standard walk with no bells or whistles to take a break.

This evening I did Leslie’s You Can Do Pilates. I don’t really like pilates. At all. It hurts. I did better tonight then I did Tuesday, but I have a long way to go to be comfortable with this.

Next Thursday, the kids and I will be Florida bound. We’re spending Spring Break with family. I’m hoping that I can stay on task…but I’m sure it’s going to be a little harder being there! Plus we have a couple of reservations that I’m excited about! I also hope I can stay on task with my exercise! Hopefully I can get my Mom and Aunt to work out with me. J  

Wednesday 4/6/11

Today I only did a 2 ¾ mile walk. I did Leslie’s Power Walk with Friends with strength training, using 2 pound weights. Goodness, it kicked my butt.

I also went to a WW meeting and weighed in. I’m down 5.6 pounds this week, no doubt thanks to the extra exercise I’ve been getting. That’s a grand total of 10.4 pounds so far! Go me!! I did get a warning from WW that’s I’m losing weight too quickly and that I need to slow down. I believe this to be true for most people, but I’m very overweight, so I expected to lose weight fast. I went from almost sedentary to walking up to 3 miles at one time!! Impressive! Any ideas or thoughts on this?

Of course with my weight loss, my WW points came down. I don’t know how many of you know the WW program, but basically you have a set number of points for the day to eat. Different foods equal different values. Fruit is completely free. In addition to your daily points, you get FREE weekly points. It’s not hard to stay on the daily points plan for me right now. Sometimes I do go over, but that’s what the weekly points are there for. You can use them or not, but you can’t bank them. Each week, the points start over. So if I’m going out to dinner, I can dip in and use those weekly points. In addition to that, I get activity points. Each time I work out, I add that to my tracker. It gives me points that, if need be, can be traded in for food points. Yesterday, my first day on my new points plan, I went over by 5 into my weekly points. Go figure.

I also am going to participate in WW’s Walk-It Challenge! Every day that I walk, I’m training by body to take a 5k challenge in May!  

I didn’t exercise this evening, because I was too tired and achy. Today I’m feeling strain in my stomach muscles. That’s a good thing though, I’m not going to be negative about it, because that just means that I’m doing the exercise right and am starting to feel the benefits.

Tuesday 4/5/11

Today was a good day! Although I’m ending it with a headache that I think was brought on by this evenings exercise. Blah. This morning I did one of my new videos. It was Leslie’s 3 Mile Burn Body Fat and Sculpt Your Arms. I used my new 2 pound weights for this. I really liked this DVD. It was more challenging and I broke a sweat. I was glad when it was OVER! I also swept and vacuumed the house today, so that had to add to my activity somewhat. I stayed within my points today again! Woot! Woot! And this evening, I tried Lesie’s You Can Do, Pilates. FYI: Pilates is WORSE than Yoga! In fact, I enjoy Yoga MUCH more. I think the strain from my neck caused this nasty headache. But like everything else, I will slowly get used to it. Obviously it’s good for you. I’ll probably do this again on Thursday. Tomorrow I’ll go to my WW meeting and I’ll weigh in. Cross your fingers for me. I hope that scale is lighter!!  

Monday 4/4/11

Today was a crazy day. The kids were out of school for a teacher work day and had a dentist appointment. It’s suffice to say that I didn’t get in any exercise at all today. L Shame on me. This weekend wasn’t the best where eating was concerned. I do well all week. I track my food. I stay on plan and then I ruin it with the weekend. I don’t track anything and I’m certain that I didn’t stay on target. One unhealthy way that I’ve been trying to manage this is if I know I’m going to have something that I shouldn’t or I know I’m going to dinner, I won’t eat a meal during the day. Naughty. Naughty. I think what it boils down to is that I’m going to have to take more control and have more will power. I also didn’t weigh in today, because I had the kids so I couldn’t attend the meeting. I really think the meetings help me, so I’m planning on going to Wednesday’s meeting. I’ll update then with my results. I still need to get a “before” picture taken, because I don’t intend to stay in my current body! With all the exercise I did last week, I think I should be down…but I don’t feel like it.    

Friday 4/1/11

Today I did Leslie’s 1 Mile Easy Walk, followed by the 2 Mile Brisk Walk. 3 miles! Wooo Hooo! Who knew I could do this? I really liked this video. So far, it’s my favorite. With this, you’re supposed to use the “strechie” resistance band, which I don’t have yet. Hopefully it’ll be in the mail soon. I figured that I’d do 3 Miles today, because I highly doubt I’ll get any exercise in this evening. And because I’m really craving some authentic Mexican food and I’m hoping to offset the calories of that. However, guess what? I worked out every morning this week and 4 evenings!!!

Thursday 3/31/11

Another SUPER day! After taking the kids to school, I came home and did Leslie’s DVD called The Big Burn. It consists of 2 miles of intervals of advanced walking and jogging. They call these intervals “boosts” when you jog. It’s only for about 2 minutes at a time. And it occurs about 3 times during the 2 miles. The rest of the DVD is pretty fast paced. Amazingly I kept up pretty well. I did falter during the last jogging stint and had to go back to walking. And I have to tell you that I was more than pleased when it ended. J  Regardless, I did it again!

This evening, I did Leslie’s You Can Do Yoga. I actually hated this when I first tried it, but each time I do it, it gets a little easier. I really think I could use some stretching. Next week I’m going to try Pilates for the first time. I think I’ll go back and forth twice a week, using the Yoga and Pilates.

Other than that, I feel pretty good. A little sore, but that’s a reminder to me that I’m trying to live a better lifestyle.

I stayed within my points again today!! Yay…and as a reward I am going to have a WW ice cream tonight! I’m so looking forward to it!

P.S. I just want to pat myself on the back, because I've exercised not only in the morning, but also in the evening ALL week! I was only going to begin with 3 nights a week, but I've felt like doing more. That has to be a good thing, right? Maybe there is something to this exercise and it's already working some of it's magic on me!

Wednesday 3/30/11

Today was an EXCELLENT day…well mostly.  J

This morning I decided to challenge myself and did a 2 mile walk, instead of just 1!! And I did it!! Let me just add that I hated the video. It was MUCH older and apparently back then Leslie believed in not only walking, but making it look good. LOL. So there was a lot of clapping and silly moves that my (very) uncoordinated self just couldn’t keep up with. Now, I did keep my feet moving. Then the stinking DVD ended up being messed up and started skipping…now I continued walking during this while I attempted to fix it and fast forward to where I was. In the end, it was useless, but hopefully the extra time it took helped me burn even more calories.

Tonight we went to dinner to a new place we’ve never been to called Cheeseburger in Paradise. It was YUMMY. Of course, I ate things that I shouldn’t have and since there is no nutrition information on their site, I have no way to calculate my points for dinner… Let’s just all agree that I used A LOT of points!

Once I got home, I did another 2 mile walk. Hopefully that offset dinner. I’m pretty pleased with myself!

I’m also pretty stoked because Kevin got me a couple new Leslie DVD’s (we ordered them) and also a couple accessories that I need to go with some of the videos that I already have. I’m sure you’ll hear about them soon. I can’t wait for them to arrive!

Tuesday 3/29/11

Today was a really “blah” kind of day for me. I didn’t want to do anything at all. Really, I just wanted to sleep the day away. It took me all day to decide that I was going to get my walk in. I didn’t actually walk until this evening around 7. I decided against finishing out the DVD from yesterday and instead I tried a new one called Power Mile, which claims to be the “fastest mile”. Then around 9, I did Leslie’s You Can Do Yoga. Sadly, I forgot to wear my Body Bugg during Yoga. Bummer. Worse than that, I ate a horrible dinner. Yeah, we had Burger King. And yes, I had a Whopper and onion rings… I did skip the soda for water. Even with all that, I didn’t do too badly with my points. I used all of my points for today and I also used my activity points for the week thus far, but that’s what they are there for. I didn’t go into my weekly points, so that’s a plus! So, I’m pleased to say that I’ve done activity twice a day for both Monday and Tuesday. Let’s go weight loss!!!  

P.S. Happy Birthday Mom! Love You! I hope you're EXERCISING!

Monday 3/28/11

It’s the little things that mean the most, right? Today I weighed in a WW and I was down 0.6 pounds. That means that since I’ve started my journey I’ve lost a total of 4.8 pounds. Yeah, maybe that’s not a lot. But I’m going to celebrate even the smallest victories. Maybe next week, I’ll have even better numbers to report!

Today I started a new DVD. I did mile 1 of Leslie’s Walk Off 10 Pounds. This video is really set up to do all 3 miles simultaneously and I’m just not ready for that yet.  With that being said, I must say that I’m not too crazy about this video. I really enjoy the cool down and with this DVD, you have to search for it. I think I’ll do a mile each day and finish this DVD on Wednesday and then put it away until I’m ready to do a 3 mile walk in one session.

This evening I did mile 1 again. That’s a total of 2 miles for today! I think I just have to put my mind to it and STOP procrastinating!

Let’s talk about WW points…   J  See that smile? I stayed under my points for the day! Yay!

All in all, I’m pretty happy this week and I’m feeling food! I really enjoy the time I spend walking. It makes me feel good mentally to know that I really have the willpower to see this through. I can also feel my body and posture getting stronger. With strength comes pain and I’m feeling that right now. Whew… My ankles are complaining, even more of a reason for me to keep pushing on. I need to lose this weight so that I don’t strain my body like this.

I’ve never been this focused on something before. And I can assure you, I’ve never been this concerned with weight loss and exercise. I just know that I’m going to have positive results. I’ve decided to take control of my life as much as I can and do what’s best for me. This is it!

Friday 3/26/11

So yesterday was a better day as far as my eating habits are concerned. I didn’t exercise, because I had to go to the school for an unexpected meeting. Then I had an appointment. After that, it was time to pick the kids up and head into D.C. for the circus, which was AWESOME! By the time we got home, I was too tired to exercise. Hopefully I got a little exercise from the walking in D.C. However, we did have dinner at a local pizza joint, but I don’t think I overdid it.

Today, my eating is under control. Tonight, I know that I’ll splurge as to we’re going to dinner at one of our favorite places that we haven’t been to in quite a while. Once we get home, we’re going to watch the circus video we bought last night! Eeek! I’m like a kid. I can’t get enough. It really was The Greatest Show on Earth! I’m going to try to exercise tonight, but I can’t guarantee it. If I do, I’ll update with that information. I just got finished exercising for today. I did Leslie’s 5 Day Slim Down, Speed Walk. This is the first time that I’ve done this particular segment. I thought it would be harder than it was. It’s a 12 minute walk which means you’re walking at 5mph and even doing a slight jog throughout some of the video. It wasn’t too bad!

Monday, I’m starting a new DVD. Leslie’s Walk off 10 pounds! Can’t wait!!

Wednesday 3/23/11

Ugh. This morning’s walk was not pleasant at all. I just wanted it to be OVER with. Apparently that little Yoga video I did last night, took a toll on me. My legs, knees and ankles were killing me. I literally had a hard time today and that sucks. I guess I may need to work on that flexibility. As a matter of fact, when I was doing the Yoga, I looked at Kevin and said…is this even going to burn calories? HA. Ye of little faith. Oh and P.S. I really LOATHE squats and lunges. They are of the devil, I tell ya.

At any rate, today I did Trim Your Legs from the 5 Day Slim Down. The weird thing is that I didn’t sweat today. I say that’s weird, because some days I do and some I don’t. I just think that’s a little off. I worked just as hard. I am able to control my breathing quite a bit better now. Sure, I breathe heavy, but I don’t get all out of breath like I did in the beginning. I am ready for a change though and can’t wait to try a new DVD next week. Right now I’m going to stick to the plan I made for myself, because I think it’s important to force myself to push on. I’m also a bit OCD and I said I was going to do something and my brain won’t allow me to do otherwise!

I intended to walk tonight and Lord knows I needed to, but I didn’t. This week isn’t turning out to be so great after all. Slow and steady wins the race, right? I had an insatiable appetite today. I was so hungry and nothing I ate could fill me up and I ate a lot. I was so disgusted with myself that I didn’t even chart. I think my mistake was that in the morning, I started out with the mind frame that today I’m going to eat light. Take in a low amount of calories. So I only had a Slim Fast and some cantaloupe. From now on, I think I’ll have a nice, balanced breakfast; one that will satisfy me so that I don’t overeat.

Tomorrow is a new day. Was I disappointed in my results today? Sure, I was. But everyone has an off day, week, month!! Hopefully I can turn this around!

Tuesday 3/22/11

Today was a good day… I did my morning workout. It was Sculpt Your Arms from the 5 Day Slim Down. I did pretty well with my eating.

Then this evening, I did Leslie’s You Can Do Yoga. Umm, did anyone know Yoga was this hard? And if so, why didn’t anyone tell me? Holy Moly, I hate Yoga. LOL. I guess I’ll try to do this twice a week to help build my flexibility.

Monday 3/21/11

I didn’t update my blog last week…but Mom and I missed working out on Thursday. We did work out on Friday. That being said, I had a horrible week! We ate out A LOT. We also went up to Shenandoah Mountain for the weekend and of course, we ate out more. While I tried to be conscience, I didn’t try as hard as I should have. I knew that I was going to pay for it and alas, I have.

Today I weighed in. I didn’t want to. In fact, I had an anxious tummy all the way to WW. I was certain that I’d messed up all my progress and had gone back to my original weight. My mom came along with me for the weigh in as moral support. I didn’t stay for the meeting this week, because I had to drop the parents off at the airport. Let me hang my head now… I gained 5.2 pounds this week. So my new total weight loss is back down to only 4.2 pounds.

Yes, I’m bummed about that. I should have had more will power. That being said, it’s okay. I know that this is only a minor setback. The week before, I lost 5.6 pounds, so I can aim to lose what I gained this week. I don’t want to get discouraged. I know what I did wrong and I am going to work to correct that. I guess I can’t always have a perfect week, but I can always have a positive week, because I know what I’m working towards is going to make me a better person, in more ways than one.  

I did my workout today and I’m planning on continuing with the 5 Day Slim Down until the end of the week. Then I plan to switch over and do another DVD. Today I did the Classic Walk. Kevin is starting back to school this week and I believe his classes are Tuesday and Thursday. I plan on doing some exercise both of those nights as well and quite possibly a 3^rd night. I think I’m going to try Leslie’s You Can Do Yoga. However, I did forget today to wear the Body Bugg. I got out of the habit this weekend and just didn’t think about it this morning.

I’ll get back on track. I’ll stay positive and continue my work outs. I’m going to lose weight and get healthy and I’m going to do my best to stick to the WW points plan. I can do this!!

Wednesday 3/16/11

 I'm a bit worried about weighing in this week! My parents have taken me out to lunch twice already this week. While I try hard to eat what's best for me, I still feel like I'm being bad! However, I've been going over my daily points, just a bit....but I'm trading my activity points. I've only used 2 of my weekly points. I guess if you don't know how WW works, none of this makes sense to you... Basically, I don't think I'm doing too bad, food wise. I guess the truth will show itself on Monday. Mom and I walked again today. We did the Sculpt your Arms portion. Poor Mom! She's not very coordinated, but she tries really hard! I like having someone to work out with. Mom is also suffering with her hips hurting her, but she's a real trooper and is pushing forward!

Tuesday 3/15/11

Another great day! I got Mom to walk with me. I found a Leslie Sansone video for "older adults" and we did that together. Pushing forward and hoping for more weight loss!

Monday 3/14/11

I weighed in today at WW and I was down another  5.6 pounds! I’m so excited! I hope my progress continues. Only 7.6 more to meet my 5% goal!

I also started walking again today. I had some medical issues and had to hold off for a bit, but I’m back to my routine now.  I walked tonight (I even convinced my mom to walk with me), although I forgot to wear my Body Bugg…darnit. I’ll remember tomorrow!

I’m excited to be back on track!

Tuesday 3/8/11

Nothing new to report. No exercise today. Tomorrow I see my doctor and hopefully I’ll get back on track afterwards. I don’t want to gain the 3.8 lbs back and then some, because I’m getting no activity. I’m doing pretty well with eating within my WW points, so that’s awesome. Fruit is my weakness right now, since they are ZERO points! I have been having horrible acid reflux and it seems like no matter what I eat, it’s there, tormenting me. No fun!

Monday 3/7/11

No exercise again yesterday. I’ve really gotten off of my plan recently. I actually wanted to walk yesterday, but I never ended up doing it. I’m considering walking today, but to be honest with you, I’m just nervous since having those weird panic attacks. I guess I just want to be 100% certain that there’s nothing wrong with my heart. I go see my doctor tomorrow.

On a positive note, I went to my WW meeting yesterday and lost 3.8lbs. That’s pretty awesome for my 1^st week. I’m proud of that and I hope to continue dropping.

For breakfast yesterday, I made myself a smoothie. It was FANTASTIC. The only issue is that apparently anything containing seeds gives me AWFUL acid reflux. Of course, I bought the mixed berries that had strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. I was miserable for most of the day after that. I’m going to try making a banana smoothie next time!

I’ve been working on tracking my WW points so that I can see what I’m eating and I’m TRYING not to go over. The cool thing is that on the website, WW has a recipe builder, so I can add all my recipes and get a points number. This excites me!  

Sunday 3/6/11

As you may have noticed, I’ve been really slacking. I was doing really well, but that has since stopped. I was competing in a challenge, which has also stopped.  On March 2^nd, I got up and started my routine. I walked 2 miles instead of my 1, for a total of 43 minutes. I also did the daily challenge which was yoga for 5 minutes. I have been drinking my 8 glasses of water each day and charting what I eat on the WW site. I was planning on doing another mile that evening. However, I began having chest pains while we were sitting on the couch watching TV. Then I became light headed and felt like I was going to pass out. Long story short, we spent the evening in the ER. It is believed that I’m suffering from full blown panic attacks. I had 2 EKG’s performed and both looked fine, besides the fact that they were tacky because I was so worked up. Since then, I’ve basically stopped everything. I’m nervous and just want to assure that my problem is only anxiety. With that being said, I haven’t had this issue since then. I’ve been reminding myself to stay calm. Does anyone else suffer from anxiety issues?

I’d like to get started back on my plan tomorrow….we’ll see how I’m feeling. I do go to my weekly WW meeting tomorrow and I’m nervous that my weight will stay the same or have gone up. Yikes.  I did go out and buy a ton of fruit, since fresh fruit is zero points. Although I splurged over the weekend.

On Wednesday, I follow up with my doctor to see what she has to say about my “issues”. Right now, I think that I’m just nervous about my weight. I don’t want to be unhealthy. I over think everything and I make myself a bit crazy by doing so. The ER doctor suggested that I see a cardiologist to have a stress test done, for my own piece of mind.

So here’s to tomorrow. A new day. Time to get back on track, hopefully.

Tuesday 3/3/11

 Today was a bad day for me. It started out icky...

Kevin was home today because we had an appointment to attend. It was nice spending the day with my husband. We had lunch together and I blew my WW daily points to hell.

As if that wasn't bad enough, we came home and took a nap before getting the kids. Then we had to get the kids HW done, because Kaytie had to be back to school for a program. Then we went and had dinner.

Sadly, I didn't get any exercise in...

I'm also having some issues with what we believe to be "anxiety".. so that hasn't helped me today.

I'm bummed, but tomorrow is a new day.

Monday 2/28/11

 I had an awesome weekend! I probably ate way too much, but I enjoyed myself. I know that I need to really start working on this, otherwise all of my hard work during the week was for nothing. It was nice to get a break from walking! That being said, we took the family into D.C. on Saturday, so I still managed to get some exercise in there! All was not lost!

Today I did the Classic Walk from the 5 Day Slim Down. It was harder to do today. Apparently a 2 day break isn't as good for me as I thought! Yes, it was harder and I was pretty winded, but I made it through!

For breakfast this morning, I had:

A 2 egg omelet with 2 small slices of reduced fat cheese.

2 pieces of whole wheat toast and a pad of butter.

4 Strawberries.

Today I started the St. Patty's Day Challenge. My stats for the day are...

-White Team -

1) Total Minutes - 28

2) Water in Ounces - 64

3) Mini Food Challenge -

Tues (3 to 5 servings of fruits and veggies)

Thurs ( Snack on wholesome or power foods today)

Workout Challenge -

4) Daily Snacks - Apple sprinkled with cinnamon. Cottage Cheese Doubles with peaches.

I have MORE exciting news to share today.  :)  Over the weekend, I decided to join Weight Watchers. I talked it over with Kevin and I really wanted to give this a shot. I think that going to a weekly meeting and having the support of others who are going down the same road as I am, will be encouraging. I also hope to learn something and change the way that I eat. I can tell you right now that I've been completely AGAINST counting carbs, etc. It just seems to time consuming. However, I know that if I'm really going to lose weight, I'm going to need to manage my intake. This is going to be the HARDEST thing for me to do. I don't want to limit myself to how much or what I eat. That being said, what I've seen so far, doesn't seem so bad... And comparing the sacrifices that I will have to make to living a long, healthy life, living always wins my vote!  I think I'm on the right track.

Friday 2/25/11

It's FRIDAY! I managed to make it ALL week!! Woot! Woot! I'm really looking forward to the next 2 days off.

 

Today I did the Classic Walk from the 5 Day Slim Down. This walk is getting easier for me, so that's a good thing! I started my walk today and was interrupted with a phone call about halfway through. So once I was able to get back at it, I just restarted the entire DVD, so I got a little extra today.

 

For breakfast today, I had:

 

2 Scrambled Eggs with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese.

2 Slices of whole wheat toast with a pad of butter.

4 Strawberries.

 

I always drink water at home, but I'm working on increasing my intake to 8 glasses a day. So that's a goal that I'll work towards until I have built myself up.

 

Next week, I'll start the 5 Day Slim Down from the beginning. 3 days during the week, I plan on also walking in the evening. On Friday, I plan to do the Speed Walk from the DVD, that thus far, I have not attempted.

 

Also next week, I'm going to begin a challenge.  I joined a page on Facebook called 'Nicole's Weight Loss Challenges'. I don't expect to be able to do every challenge to the maximum, but I think giving myself a challenge will only encourage me more. The details of the challenge are as follows:

 

 

We will be doing a St.Patty's Theme Team Challenge for March starting 2/28-3/13! A 14 day challenge as voted by most of you! We will be divided into 2 Team Colors! Green& White! So this challenge will be in 4 components:

1)Total Minutes
2)Water in Ozs
3)Mini Food/Workout Challenges 2x each a week
4)Post It or Daily Plate if you choose!

*Optional to track weight or inches!

So 1st we will be doing minutes this time instead of miles, so if you do 10 or 110 mins it all counts! Water! Ladies we should try to aim for 48-64ozs a day but whatever you can get in, it counts! Mini Food Challenge will be posted on Tues/ Thurs! Mini workout challenge will be posted Wed/Sat! If you can not do the mini challenge on that day but do it on a different day, that's fine! If you complete all of them by the end of the challenge you will receive credit for 4 food/4exercise challenges! Last but not least! If you like you can post your Daily Plate(all meals) OR for the 1st week you can post your daily snack(s) & the 2nd week you can post your daily dessert! If you post your daily plate or snack everyday you will receive credit for 14 days! This Challenge is for ALL LEVELS!!! Any questions feel free to post! Or message me on my Nicole Mason page. So here's the question... Who's Bringing It??? Are you In? Let's Get It!!!

 

If you're interested in joining in, go here....

 

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Nicoles-Weight-Loss-Challenges/126041834088783

 

I'm excited and I feel good about myself.  :)   :)   :)

 

Last night I tried to download stats from the bodybugg, but it didn't work out so well for me. I had to call technical support today. It's all straight now, so hopefully this evening, I'll be able to see how I'm doing!

 

Thanks for following me! And thanks for all the support so far!!!

P.S.

I added a weight loss tracker to my page (see the right side) that I plan on updating once a week. I'm not comfortable putting my current weight out there for everyone to see, so instead I put a goal of losing 20 pounds. Baby steps. First, I'll start with 20 pounds, once I have accomplished that goal, I'll keep going.

I think I can....

Thursday 2/24/11

  No pain, no gain...right?

 

Today I did Trim Your Tummy from the 5 Day Slim Down. Whoever said exercise was fun...was LYING. But I do feel good about myself for keeping my commitment. I will say that I'm SOOOO glad tomorrow is Friday and that I get the weekend OFF.

 

That being said...I'm going to be making a few changes.

 

I'm going to continue with my current DVD until (1) I get the moves down with no huffing and puffing or (2) I just get tired of it. I think changing the routine everyday helps and I have to tell you that I look SO forward to the cool down! As you all know, I've been walking 5 days a week, during the day. Beginning next week, I'm going to try to go to 3 times a week in the evening, as well. Just bump myself up a little. Baby steps.

 

Also while I don't count and measure yet, I am going to start trying to have a better breakfast in the mornings. I bought oatmeal and whole wheat bread. Instead of a big bowl of cereal, I'm going to try to have something sensible and filling. Today I had:

 

 

Breakfast - 1 cup of plain oatmeal (I ate maybe half of it) with brown sugar (sorry, I didn't measure) and dates with soy nuts. I also had 4 fresh strawberries.

 

P.S. I hate plain oatmeal. So nasty!!! Even the brown sugar and dates with nuts didn't help. If you have a suggestion for a better tasting, but still healthy oatmeal, please let me know!

 

Last, my friend Rachel gave me her older model bodybugg to help me keep track. Right now, I'm a newbie to all this, so I don't have anything to say other than I wore this thing today during my walk and I can't wait to see what my stats are... I'll keep you updated!

Wednesday 2/23/11

Let me go on the record by saying, I’m NOT feeling exercise today. BLAH. I’ve been in a weird mood today. I just don’t feel very energetic AT ALL. It probably didn’t help that I went straight to the grocery store after dropping the kids off today, so I didn’t eat breakfast. By the time I got home, unloaded and put everything away, I was starving. I had a piece of chicken, which didn’t cut it. I felt like I was sugar crashing, so I also had a bowl of raisin bran. I know I shouldn’t have, but I assume that was better than candy.  At any rate, today was a hard day. I didn’t want to do my walk and had to force myself. I don’t want to give into taking a break just because I’m having an off day. I’m sure tomorrow will be better. I hope tomorrow is better.

Today I did the Slim Your Legs from the 5 Day Slim Down. I was going to do the Classic Walk that I missed, but I decided to challenge myself.

P.S. I HATE squats!

Tuesday, 2/22/11

 I did the 5 Day Slim Down DVD with Leslie Sansone. I've been doing this same DVD for several days now. I want to continue this DVD until I feel comfortable and familiar with all the moves. When it begins to take less effort, I'll switch up. In the meantime, I've been doing 1 mile a day, because that's about all my body can tolerate.

 

Today I did the Sculpt Your Arms 14 minute mile walk.

 

My stats from previous days are as follows:

 

Monday 2/7/11 - 1 mile walk from Leslie's, Walk Away the Pounds site.

Tuesday 2/8/11 - Same as Above.

Wednesday 2/16/11 - Classic walk from the 5 Day Slim Down. 

Thursday 2 /17/11 - Sculpt Your Arms from the 5 Day Slim Down.

Friday 2/18/11 - Slim Your Legs from the 5 Day Slim Down.

Monday 2/21/11 - Trim Your Tummy from the 5 Day Slim Down.

 

As you can see, when I began I wasn't very consistent. However, I've already made an improvement with that. After the 1st couple of days of walking, my body hurt like I had been beaten up. Now that I'm on a schedule, I can handle a daily walk. For now, I've decided to give myself the weekends off. Also as you may have noticed, I messed up and skipped the Classic Walk this week, but I intend to make that up tomorrow. I've also only done the 4 days on the video. The last day is the Speed Walk. I don't think I'm ready for that just yet. I just need to build my strength and push myself, gradually.

Introduction

I'm excited about starting this blog in order to post my achievements, goals, daily accomplishments and even failures. For too long, I've been saying that I want to lose weight. Let me set the record straight. While I wouldn't mind being thin and in shape (seriously, who wouldn't?), I like being me. I'm comfortable in my skin. Maybe a little too comfortable. So...let me clarify that I want to be HEALTHY. Obviously one of the perks of that is slimming down. I want to eat better, build my lung capacity and endurance up and strengthen my heart. In return I'm hoping for a better quality of life, the ability to fit on ALL roller coasters (!!!!!) and most importantly, living a long, healthy life and being around for my family. I've tried other methods before, nothing has been successful.  I've finally found something that works for me. Being overweight, I find that it's difficult to do a lot of tasks on fitness DVD's. I'm also self conscience about joining a gym and walking in as the fat girl. Obviously I need to be there more than most, but still people make that experience uncomfortable. I've recently found Leslie Sansone, Walk Away the Pounds DVD's... I know that Leslie may be a little too perky or too cheesy for some of you, but she really motivates me. For the first time in a long time, I feel empowered to make a change. I feel confident. I feel like this is going to make a difference. Sure, it's going to take time. Probably a lot of time, because it took me quite a few years to put on the weight that I currently carry around and it's going to take time to "walk" it off. I've already been walking one mile everyday. My amazingly, supportive husband and our friend gave me some good advice. They told me to change one thing at a time, so that I don't get too discouraged or overwhelmed. That's exactly what I'm going to do. That change right now is going to be getting used to EXERCISE! I'm going to use this blog to post updates and daily routines. Like I said, this is something that I need to do to keep myself accountable. If you want to read along, please feel free. I also want to be able to look back on my journey and watch my progress. I'll probably post photos for a timeline and weight loss stats (without my actual weight...eeek). For now, I've decided not to be so hard on myself with weight loss or gain. I want to give myself a little time to work into a routine, before I start weighing in every week. I can tell you that I feel GREAT already. My confidence is higher then it's been in a while and when I feel an ache or my legs feel a little like jello, I feel proud because I know that my hard work will pay off in the end!