Weigh In Wednesday: I Joined Weight Watchers!

I am excited to share some big news today. After a heart to heart talk with a friend that grew from her comment on my last Weigh In Wednesday post I decided enough was enough and I joined Weight Watchers. What did I have to lose? Absolutely nothing.

And it was the best decision I've made in regards to my weight loss. Before Weight Watchers I was trying to eat healthier on my own and it just wasn't working. Mountain Dew, Chinese takeout, and crap fast food dominated my diet and I excused it because it was "only once in a while". But let's be honest, it was more than that based on the weight gain I was seeing on the scale.

Weight Watchers has given me some rules and guidelines to structure my diet around. I can still treat myself and enjoy the foods I love that aren't actually good for you. But I'm encouraged to make better choices 90% of the time. Based on the success I've been seeing the last three weeks I think it's safe to say that rules and guidelines work for me.

Height: 5'7.5''

SW (March 11): 224.4

March 13: 220.0 (-4.4)

March 20: 218.6 (-1.4) 5 pounds lost!

March 27: 216.8 (-1.8)

Yes, you're reading that right, three losses in a row! It's strange really because every Friday morning I wake up and worry if I'll see a loss. I step on the scale and hope for the best. But it's not hope that's making those losses happen, it's dedication to the program. Since joining Weight Watchers I have been drinking 76-100oz of water a day, skipping the daily Mountain Dew, and making better food choices. I have been tracking every day religiously too. Guess this just goes to show that your diet matters a lot! I mentioned yesterday that I haven't been working out except for my Monday night Body Pump class so I'm not burning a ton of calories every week to see a loss on the scale.

I decided to change my weigh in day to Fridays so when linking up for Weigh In Wednesday I'll be sharing my weigh in from the Friday before. Next week I plan to have taken some pictures. I'd love to be able to participate in transformation Tuesday one day and have some awesome before and after pictures to show off.

April Goals & 4 Weeks Fit Challenge Results

I swear just yesterday it was March 2nd and now here we are saying goodbye to March and hello to April.

I set goals at the beginning of the month, one I can proudly check off and some I didn't do so well with. I'm excited to take a look at how I did and set some new goals for next month.

1. No soda at work & 64oz of water. I had a slow start but I think I KILLED this goal considering March 9th was the last day I had a Mountain Dew. I have only had diet soda when eating out and that was only twice this month. I have had 76-100oz of water a day every day! Yes, weekends included. I can't tell you how happy crushing this goal makes me!

2. Hit the gym 2x/week. I've kept up with my Monday night Body Pump class but I have been skipping the gym outside of that. No reason other than laziness. It is so much easier to come home and be a couch potato. Definitely something I need to focus my energy on changing now that I've mastered the no soda/drinking water thing.

3. Meal plan and prep Monday nights. Meh. Meal planning and prepping is tough when you feel like you have no idea what you're doing. I think this is something I would learn better by actually being with someone while they do their meal planning and prep. I struggle with knowing how much to buy and make because sometimes I easily get sick of eating the same thing repeatedly in one week and other times I'm all for it. Again, this is something I need to focus my energy on changing. More effort into trying rather than throwing my hands up and saying I don't know.

4. Blog 2x/week. Um yeah about that... Again I'm lazy and even though I can easily blog while being a couch potato I just didn't put the effort in to get this done. I thought a lot about blogging this month but I didn't actually execute.

1. Hit the gym 2x/week. I will not stop making this a goal until I meet it!

2. Reach my step goal 2 days/week. Lately I have been lucky if I meet my 5,000 steps/day goal just one day a week. This month I want to really work on moving more. If I go to the gym twice a week outside of Body Pump I will have little trouble with this goal.

3. Meal plan & prep. Failure to plan is planning to fail. So true! My diet is so much better if I have a plan. Not just once a week either. Knowing what I will be eating for breakfast before my head hits the pillow greatly increases my chances of eating breakfast.  And packing my lunch before going to bed is a huge help in ensuring that I take a lunch with me to work. Otherwise it is highly probable that I will run out the door without anything to eat. Not the smartest idea for anyone.

4. Be up and out of bed by 6am 3x/week. Bringing this goal back from February because I need to work on my morning routine in the worst way. More often than not I'm staying in bed way too long and then am forced to rush to get myself ready and out the door. And as I mentioned above, it's highly probable that I will run out the door without anything to eat. I also want to work on putting myself together better for work. I've been skimping on the makeup and hair routine to save time. Not that I think I have to wear makeup and have my hair perfect every day but it's nice to feel like I'm rocking it.

Come back tomorrow to see how I'm doing in the weight loss department. I'm super excited to share how I've been doing. (Hint: it's been going so well!)

I Confess...

It's Wednesday which means we're half way through the work week. Can I get a heck yeah?!

Wednesday also means hump day confessions with Melissa. So here we go, I confess...

...that I am addicted to cappuccino.  Until recently it was french vanilla but now I'm all about the English toffee. And yesterday morning I saw a vanilla bean flavor that I will have to try soon.

...that I am easily hooked on commercials. The Sprint commercial with the narwhals? Yeah, I sing that over and over. And some oldies but goodies, the Geico commercial where the pig pays his bill and then goes back to vacation mode and sings boots n pants and we can't forget the AT&T commercials with the kids sitting at a table with that one guy. My favorite was the island made out of candy and the little boy that asked, "What about the animals? What would they be made of?" I randomly bust out with commercial quotes. Drives my mom up the wall!

...(speaking of my mom) to being extremely jealous of her vacation. She's on her way to Myrtle Beach with a friend to visit another friend. The weather is actually shaping up here in Wisconsin so it's not the nice weather I'm so jealous of but what she gets to do while she's there. Drinking at beach bars when I'm at work and seeing pit crew practice at Stewart Haas. (Yes, I'm a NASCAR fan. :) )

...that I am LOVING the spring like temperatures we've been experiencing lately. It is so so nice to not need a jacket or the heated seats and to be able to open the sunroof in my car and windows in my apartment.

...I wrote this post on a post-it note at work yesterday.

...that I had a rough first week of March as far as my goals for the month go. Up until yesterday I was back on the Dew all day every day.  I skipped the gym last week outside of Body Pump Monday night. Once a week I'm "treating" myself to Chinese takeout when it should be more like a once a month treat. Meal planning was poor horrible which made my grocery shopping trip terrible and then my meal prep non-existent. And I only blogged once. But it's a new week so I'm working on turning things around.

...I've been skipping the scale and posting on Weigh In Wednesday because I feel like I'm repeating myself because I keep losing and gaining the same few pounds over and over again. I have thought about weighing myself less, like only once every two weeks or once a month, but I'm not sure if that would be a good idea for me. Sometimes I let the scale get me down, like today, and I know that's not a good thing. But I also think the accountability of having to step on the scale every Wednesday could help me make better choices. What are your thoughts on weighing in? And here's to turning things around going forward.

SW: 222

Feb. 4: 219.8

Today: 224.4

Change; +4.6
Overall Loss: +2.4

Weigh In Wednesday: July 30

I'm back as promised!

Encouraging news from the scale these last two weeks. After getting knocked on my ass two weeks ago by seeing a number I've never seen on the scale these last two weeks have been slow progress away from that number. I skipped "class" last week and didn't post about my weigh in so this week you get a double. Lucky, huh?

Height: 5' 7.5''

SW: 208.1

July 23: 207.7

Today: 207.5

Change: -0.2

Total Loss: 0.6

It's slow progress but progress still so I'll take it!

Way back in June I posted about my comeback which was basically how I was going to get myself back on track with this whole healthy lifestyle thing. I wasn't quite successful with sticking to it even though I never told myself I was giving up. After some reflecting on why I wasn't successful in sticking with it I believe it's that crappy plan I had. I said it was the foundation that I could build on. Basically it was, just the ideas behind the plan I needed to build. With a little help from Carolyn I've taken the ideas behind the plan and actually turned it into a plan (built on that foundation I laid).

With Carolyn asking the questions and offering advice and guidance based on what I told her I came up with the following to be my plan.

Fitness

• C25K - T/Th/Sat or M/W/F or Sat
• Home workouts for non-running/strength (DVDs or Sworkit)
• No TV, laptop or reading until workout for the day is DONE!

Food

• 2-3 meals per week (ex. 2 recipes, 4 servings each)
• Winging it: protein (chicken, turkey, sausage, lean ground beef) veggie and whole grain
• 80/20 rule for better eating
• No Mountain Dew or ice cream will be bought from the grocery store.
• No Mountain Dew vending machine purchases at work.
• 1-2 (12oz cans) Mountain Dew on weekends ONLY.
• No gas station stops for Mountain Dew or grab & go food (junk).
• Monday = grocery shopping day
• 64+ oz of water a day

I believe this is a much better plan than what I came up with two months ago which was just the basic concepts of what I needed to be doing. Now I have some set "rules" to follow. And I use the term rules very loosely because life happens sometimes and I am not going to beat myself up over an indulgence that takes me off plan.

With that being said, I do need to remember to actually stick to the plan and push through when I'm not feeling it. I started off great last week by running Tuesday and Thursday as planned but then life happened and I missed my run Saturday. I had the opportunity to make it up but didn't. Then the plan for this week was to run Monday but I decided not to and told myself I'll just do it Tuesday since I'm going to be busy Wednesday after work anyways. Well Tuesday has come and gone and I did not run.

Going forward, so this doesn't happen again, when I'm on the verge of talking myself out of a workout I need to ask myself: do I want to give up (again)? Or do I want to be triumphant? And in addition to that I need to remember that letting myself live with trade offs (I stayed strong and said no to Mt Dew so it's okay that I don't run) is letting myself settle for where I am. My healthy decisions need to propel more healthy decisions and then I will see a change. (Thanks Carolyn!)

It's in my hands. The greatest support system in the world does not make decisions for me, I do. I have a great support system but they can't do a damn thing for me if I don't support myself and push through the mental garbage that gets in the way of doing what needs to be done.

I've been loosely following the plan I made and it's helped me to see the little changes in the scale these last two weeks so I can just imagine what would happen if I followed the plan 100%. I'm going to find out, that's for sure!

Weigh In Wednesday: July 16

I'm going to make this short and sweet today for two reasons. First, I have about 13 minutes to leave for work and I still have to slap some war paint makeup on my face and brush my teeth before I go. And second, my weigh in kind of knocked me on  my ass this morning. But at least I was bit by the motivation bug yesterday so I'm ready to kick some ass!

Height: 5' 7.5''

SW: 207.7

Last Week: 207.7

This Week: 208.1

Change: +0.4

Total Loss: none

See what I mean? It knocked me on my ass seeing that I have reached a new high on the scale. Sure, it could be just a fluctuation that I caught on the scale and it's less than half a pound so it's not that big of a deal. But to see 208 on the scale, woof!

I still have plans to join Heather in taking measurements on the first weigh in of the month so starting in August I'll be able to judge my progress on something other than the scale.

Happy Hump Day friends!

Weigh In Wednesday: July 2

Before we get down to Weigh In Wednesday business, remember how I mentioned Friday that I stepped outside my comfort zone at work? Well today I take that a step further and could really use some positive vibes and your fingers crossed. And hopefully not too soon after today I'll be able to fill you in on what's been going on one way or the other.

Now onto the real business here, Weigh In Wednesday. I'm maintaining my highest weight which isn't the greatest thing to say but it's also not the worst. I'll be honest and just come right out and say it, I haven't really been putting any effort into this whole weight loss/healthy living thing. It sucks but it's the truth.

In addition to my own scale telling me that I'm tipping the BMI charts into being obese {isn't that a slap in the face?!} I had my yearly check up with the doctor Monday and she too reminded me of that lovely little fact. Thankfully my doctor didn't go ape shit on me that I've made no progress since the last time I saw her. I don't think I would respond well to that. She did talk to me about what my plate should look like, how much of each food group I should be eating and all that fun stuff. And without nagging me about she made it clear that I need to work on shedding the pounds.

With all of that said, I'm not giving up. I won't ever give up on myself.

Height: 5' 7.5''

SW: 207.7

Last Week: 207.7

This Week: 207.7

Change: none

Total Loss: none

My goal for next week is to see some movement in the scale {obviously a loss}. I hate seeing that I'm back at the beginning and my progress shows nothing. I think I'm going to join Heather in taking measurements on the first WIW of the month, starting next month. {Or sooner than that if I get my hands on a tape measure before then.} Hopefully then I'll see progress in another way besides the number on the scale.

Do you take monthly measurements to see results in other ways besides the number on the scale?

Friday Favorites

Introducing a post is hard! I've attempted two and they both sucked so now I'm just telling you how bad I am at it. I don't know how those that are really good at it do it. I must learn their ways!

Anyways, it's Friday so I'm going to share my Friday Favorites with Meet @ the Barre.

+ I managed to finally send a thank you card to my bestie for the week long vacation I took to see her back at the end of April/beginning of May. Her and her husband ended up buying me an unexpected dinner while I was there {we left in a hurry so the waitress didn't split the bill} so I sent along a gift card so they could have dinner on me some night. I killed two birds with one stone and made it a twofer thank you because she had sent me a birthday card with two gift cards. At least one of the two thank yous came in a timely manner. {It's something I'm working on.}

+ I took a step outside my comfort zone at work this week. I'm not going to say much more than that right now. You're probably wondering why I'm even mentioning it then but I'm really proud of myself for doing this regardless of the outcome so I wanted to share. I promise I'll stick with blogging on a regular basis long enough to come back with a report of how things turn out. {Anyone remember the last time I mentioned a secret and then didn't come back to share the good news? It was about getting my own place. Oops!}

+ Nights that cool down in the summer enough to make opening my bedroom window worth it. Knock on wood we haven't been having a crazy humid summer so far so while it reaches the high 70's/low 80's it's tolerable to be outside. Last night was the first night in a while I slept with my window open and it was glorious! So much cooler than being locked up tight.

+ Reconnecting with friends always makes my heart happy. Kelley from One Hot Southern Mess is getting back into her blogging groove and we've been catching up this week via text. I've missed this woman! It's never fun to realize that a friendship kind of fizzled out and you don't really talk any more. But the great thing is we've picked up where we left off. {At least I think so!}

+ Ordering Chinese food is always a favorite of mine. We're crossing our fingers at work that we've found a place that will deliver to us. If we have, I'm going to be a happy woman and I'll be happy dancing all day.

+ Pedicures with my momma. We have an appointment for tomorrow morning. :)

And one last favorite before I end this so I can get ready for work, blogging. As much as I'm terrible at it {super inconsistent if you haven't noticed} I really do love it. I have a place to share my thoughts and about the good and the bad in my life. And probably the best part, connecting with women that I would never have connected with otherwise. I've become friends with some pretty awesome ladies that I've never met thanks to blogging. It doesn't get much better than that.

Enjoy your weekend! Have fun and be safe my friends.

What's a favorite of yours this week?

Recommitting

Look who finally showed up for class! Yay me!

As usual I don't have a lot of time because I was resistant to getting out of bed despite all of the things I wanted to do this morning so I'll keep this short and sweet.

Since my last post I celebrated my 24th year of life {a week ago} and have thoroughly messed up my comeback. I'm talking back to drinking a crap ton of Mountain Dew and no water, not giving a shit about what I'm eating, and being the biggest couch potato ever. Just to get it over with, here's my weigh in.

SW: 207.7
June 11 Weigh In: 204.6
Today's Weigh In: 207.7
Overall Loss: 0

I'm back at the beginning again which is super frustrating but really what did I expect when I just let it all go? The awesome thing is, I can start over as many times as I want/need to. I signed a contract with myself saying I WILL succeed, I CAN do this, and that I AM worth it. So I am not giving up.

Before I leave you guys I want to share a link to this post by the beautiful Ashten from Always Ashten. I relate in so many ways to looking at my workouts as fitness rather than my lifestyle. Workouts to me are about losing weight, "looking hot", and making the size of clothing I need go down. After reading her post I've decided that going forward I'm going to do my best to look at it as part of my lifestyle instead. It's just part of what I [will] do in my every day routine. That's exactly what it should be because as my weigh in proved today if I give up the good habits and revert back to my nasty old ones I will pack on the pounds again.

I have no goal date in mind for when I want to reach my goal weight. I'm on this journey for the long haul here people. However long it takes, it takes. This is me recommitting to that contract I signed with myself.

Did you struggle with having to start your journey over?

When it finally stuck what changed for you?

Feeling Off

It's really late in the day to be posting, like 10pm late. But despite feeling off all day, not sure if I'm getting sick or just not handling Mother Nature's lovely visit {to tell me what I already know} very well, I didn't want to miss recording a weigh in. Especially since I took the time to step on the scale when I almost didn't.

SW: 207.7

Last Week's Weigh In: 204.6

Today's Weigh In: 204.6

Overall Loss: 3.1

Holding steady is alright with me. As long as I'm not taking huge steps backwards I'm okay with whatever the scale has to tell me. I'm thankful that while I don't particularly like what the scale has to tell me right now I'm not obsessed with the number on the scale and it usually doesn't affect me emotionally a whole lot. So I know how I felt today wasn't a result of not seeing results on the scale.

Hopefully tomorrow is a better day and I feel more like my usual self. The bright side is we're over half way through the week so I only have two days to make it through at work before I can go home and enjoy more time with my family and my main guy Bo.

Motivation vs Determination

Last week I shared my plan for making my comeback to a healthy lifestyle. Getting started again is always the hardest but I know thanks to that plan that I have everything in place to succeed. Now I'm at step five, do it. Just doing what needs to get done is something I struggle with immensely. Setting goals helps me focus on one week at a time rather than the big picture and becoming overwhelmed. And thanks to Carolyn I even have a link up to help me along with my goal setting.

The three goals from last week...

1. 100oz a day. Wednesday and Thursday I killed it. Friday I caved and bought a can of Dew from the vending machine and that just knocked me off of my game. And Saturday and Sunday, you know the dreaded {when it comes to healthy choices} weekend, I only managed 20oz. I need to work on my determination to achieve this goal to not let silly little things stop me.

2. Two workouts. Woof. I ran Wednesday night for the first time in over a month, and on National Running Day woohoo. But after that I was a lazy bum. I kept putting it off by telling myself I would do it tomorrow. That didn't work out so well.

3. Make Santa Fe Chicken. Double woof. Again, I was a lazy bum and didn't get this done. I thought about it a lot but never just fully committed to getting it done.

Looking back at last week I learned that I need to really commit to achieving my goals. I start off strong with motivation right after setting goals but as that pumped up feeling fades so does my drive to make things happen.

Moving on to this week's goals.

1. 100oz a day. I know I can do this. I'm going to bribe myself a bit this week. I can only have a can of Dew after I've consumed those 100oz of water for the day. Seeing as I don't have any Dew in my apartment I'm going  to have to buckle down and reach that 100oz mark while I'm still at work to grab a can from the vending machine at work if I really want that Dew.

2. Three workouts. Last week I didn't set my goals until Wednesday so I gave myself a break. But not this week. It's time to suck it up and get shit done. I need to work out.

3. Make the damn chicken! No more pushing this off. It's a great recipe and I know I enjoy it so why not let myself have a good meal to choose from every day in my fridge? And when it cooks in the crock pot there is no reason why a lazy bum like myself can't get it done.

4. Clean the apartment. I've been meaning to do this for a while now but I keep putting it off. No more. I don't care if it takes me doing something every night this week but I will get my place cleaned up and looking good.

My motivation is high right now to accomplish my goals so I'll be putting that to good use but the real test will be when my motivation is low and it's time for that determination to kick in. I'm shooting for 4 out of 4 goals accomplished this week.

What are your goals for the week?

My Comeback

Can you believe it's June already? I can't. May just seemed to fly by. In fact the whole first half of this year has just been flying by. Before this next month and the remaining half of the year are over it's time for me to make my comeback.

I let my vacation derail me from my weight loss and fitness goals. Jessi wrote a post all about making a comeback that I'm finally going to put into action. So here we go, I'm going to put Jessi's five steps for making a comeback into action right here so you all can help keep me accountable and when I'm doubting myself or feeling lazy I can come back here and remember everything I said I would do.

Step one: decide to succeed. Consider this blog post the contract that I am signing with myself that says "I WILL succeed. I CAN do this. I AM worth it."

Step two: Realize that you don't need a miracle, you just need a plan. So many times in the past I have thought I needed a miracle because there couldn't be any other way I could lose the weight. Or I was always thinking there would be this miracle moment {moving into my own place} when everything would just magically click with me. But thanks to Jessi and Carolyn I'm beginning to learn that it won't take a miracle. It only takes me making a plan and sticking to it. This is my plan: weekly goals, meal planning, workouts, no less than 64oz of water a day. It's not a very detailed plan at this point but it's the foundation that I can build on. Potentially I'll be getting a 7 Day Jumpstart from Jess at Operations Skinny Jeans which would include 7 days of coaching from her, a clean eating meal plan, daily emails that include encouragement, a workout and tips for staying on track, and a private Facebook group with other jump starters. I'll keep you posted on whether I'm chosen to try out this free trial which is starting soon.

Step three: toss the junk, introduce the healthy. I drank the last Mountain Dew that was in my apartment yesterday. I'm going to try my best to not keep it around in the apartment now to tempt me. All of the other food in my apartment is mostly healthy so I'd say I'm pretty set on tossing the junk.

Step four: enlist your helpers. All of you are my helpers. Tammy Jo, Carolyn, and Jessi especially are my helpers. These ladies are always there for me when I need some encouragement, words of wisdom, support, and just a friend to be there for me.

Step five: do it. I have everything in place now. Today begins the journey that I will be on for the rest of my life. This is not a just a journey just to reach my goal weight. This is journey to change my life to a healthy one. Now it's time to just do the damn thing. Watch out world. :)

I know this post has gotten pretty lengthy already but it's Wednesday so I've got to share my weigh in. And really it goes hand in hand with this post anyways. This is where I'm starting from...

SW: 207.7

May 28th Weigh In: 204.4

Today's Weigh In: 204.6

Gain: 0.2

Overall Loss: 3.1

One more thing real quick before I end this post, three goals I'll be working towards achieving today through Sunday.

1. 100ozAday. I've slacked a lot with my water intake lately. No more. I need to be drinking water not empty calorie sugary beverages. I have yet to make 100oz happen on a Saturday or a Sunday but there's a first time for everything.

2. Two workouts. The weather forecast is looking gorgeous these next couple of days so I fully intend on taking advantage of it by getting outside and moving my body. I would like to make one of these workouts a run since it's been over a month since my last one. The second workout can be another run, a workout DVD, a walk...whatever. I just really want to get back on the fitness wagon any way that I can.

3. Make Santa Fe Chicken. I bought all of the ingredients to make Skinny Taste's Santa Fe Chicken but have been too lazy to make it yet. I don't know how much lazier I can be considering I make it in the crock pot and the most work comes from shredding the chicken after it's cooked. Must make real food this week!

Now I'm done. I swear. :)

My Confessions

Hey there! Nice to see you again. I know I have been MIA around these parts lately and I said last week you would see some new posts from me (and then I never showed up) but the important thing is that I DID come back!

I don't have a good excuse for why it took me so long to come back from my blogging break. If you've been around the blog at all you might know that blogging and my weight loss journey seem to go hand in hand. When I'm working out and eating better I'm blogging quite regularly. And then when I'm off the healthy lifestyle wagon I'm not posting, like at all. It's definitely on my to-do list of things to work on along with figuring out my why. But more on all of that stuff later.

I decided today was as good of day as any to link up for the first time to share my confessions so here goes.

+ I confess I haven't weighed myself since May 7th. I've been off the wagon and hiding from the truth about letting myself go. Until today. I got back on the Wii Fit board (and that little guy "ooo'd" at me so major side eye to him!) and was happy to see the damage wasn't too bad.

May 7th Weigh In: 203.5

Today's Weigh In: 204.4

Gain: 0.9

Overall Loss: 3.3

+ I confess to staying up until midnight (at least) every night for the past couple of weeks. Staying up late leads to staying in bed until 9 almost every morning. Sounds awesome until you realize all of the stuff you used to do in the morning before work isn't getting done.

+ I confess that I STILL have not written out thank you cards to the people that deserve one for helping me with my move...in March. I'm horrible when it comes to writing thank you cards in a timely manner, obviously. Let me just add that to the to-do list of things to work on ASAP.

+ And finally, I confess that I wrote this entire post on the Blogger app for my iPhone. I will have to edit this tonight once I'm home from work to add the buttons (confessions and weigh in Wednesday) and to post my weigh in stats.

Freak Out

I'm back! Vacation was great and of course I never wanted it to end. The only bad thing I have to report about vacation is I came home sick. Such horrible timing! But I'm on the mend and feeling better every day.

Vacation was a fantastic way to reset and come back to work refreshed. But now I also feel like I am starting over with running and changing up my eating habits again. If you recall I skipped out on running and grocery shopping the week before vacation so I am now trying to get back on the wagon after two weeks off. It's damn hard.

I lost the momentum I had going during the month of April. I know I need to just get out there and do it. But I'll be honest, being sick is holding me back. Grocery shopping really has nothing to do with being sick other than I just really felt like doing absolutely nothing since I got home Saturday night. Running on the other hand I feel like it does have a lot to do with being sick. I'm hesitant to get out there when I feel like I wouldn't be able to carry enough tissues on my short little runs to handle my running nose. Being able to breath when running is a requirement and with a cold sometimes that's hard to do.

So this post is me committing to myself and to all of you that while it's slow going I will be back on the wagon soon. I haven't given up! Just give me a little bit to regroup and catch my breath.

Before I leave here today I have to share my surprising weigh in results.

SW: 207.7

Last Weigh In, Apr 23: 205.3

Today's Weigh In, May 7: 203.5

Loss: 1.8

Overall Loss: 4.2

Freak out with me for a second, okay? Who takes two weeks off from exercise and really caring about what to eat, including a week of vacation which included eating out quite a bit, and then sees a loss on the scale?! I'm rather shocked. And I hope it wasn't just a lucky fluctuation of the scale this morning and that I can maintain the loss next week. With hard work I know I can. Here comes that first 5 pounds lost!

And with that I'm out of here. I need to get over to the jewelry store to pick up my mom's mother's day present!

Vacation Mode

SW: 207.7

Last Week's Weigh In, Apr 16: 205.0

Today's Weigh In, Apr 23: 205.3

Gain: 0.3

Overall Loss: 2.4

Not really much to report this week for my weekly weigh in. I stayed the same because less than half a pound doesn't really count as a gain in my book.

I didn't go grocery shopping this week because I really didn't want to deal with having to throw food away or eat it all before I leave Saturday. Not exactly the healthiest way to live but it's going to get the job done. {I have frozen waffles and cereal to live off of.} When I come back it will be back to meal planning and prepping!

As far as running goes I haven't pounded the pavement in a week now. I let that winter weather last week knock me off track and I just haven't gotten back to it yet. Horrible I know but with vacation ahead of me, knowing that I was planning to take that week off, I just feel like what's the point. I know that's not the right way to think about it but it's where my head is at right now. I'm not giving up on running, just putting it on hold until I come back from vacation.

I'm happy with my weigh in this morning considering I'm not putting in any effort to really lose weight right now. Now the real trick will be to see how I do while in vacation mode for a week.

Checking In

Well I hope y'all had a great weekend! I know I enjoyed mine since there was a bit more family time thanks to Easter Sunday. It's always hard to leave when the weekend is over.

I'm here to report how I did on my goals from last week. Before I get started I just want to say that it feels pretty great to follow through and achieve a goal so I need to remember that great feeling the next time I'm struggling to get it done.

[ONE] Run 3 times this week. This was not the goal I was feeling great about following through with that's for sure. I ran 1 time last week. Some winter weather came into play and I just let myself be lazy about it and didn't even try to make it up when the weather was better. Really all I have is a bunch of excuses for why this didn't get done.

[TWO] 64oz of water a day. This is the goal I'm feeling pretty good about. Last week I killed my goal 5/7 days. Two of those five days I reached 100oz while the remaining three days I reached 80oz. Weekends have always been my downfall when it comes to any of the changes I'm trying to make so it wasn't surprising to me that Saturday and Sunday I had no water. I managed to only have a Mountain Dew twice during the week and only after my goal was met. Huge accomplishment for me! But I made up for skipping a few days during the week by having two on Saturday and Sunday. So not a complete check on this goal but it wasn't horrible either.

[THREE] Sleep at least 7 hours. I knocked this goal out of the park! According to my FitBit I was actually asleep at least 7 hours every night last week. So huge check mark here but yet this doesn't give me as great of a feeling as that water goal does. Probably because it's not that hard for me to reach this goal. It just takes a little bit of conscious effort and it's easily done.

Moving on to this week.

[ONE] 80oz of water a day {Tuesday-Friday}. I totally skipped out on drinking water yesterday but I'm back today. I'm struggling with the last 20oz for today but I know I can get this done. Saturday I am flying to the east coast for a week long vacation to see my bestie and I couldn't be more excited. That being said, I know Saturday and Sunday I won't accomplish 80oz of water so for those two days my goal will just be to make sure I don't skip out on water completely like I did this past weekend.

[TWO] Clean my apartment before leaving Saturday. Not that my place is overly messy right now it just need some good organization and a run through of all of my cleaning chores. I want to leave my place neat and organized so when I come back the only thing I have to worry about is unpacking.

[THREE] Make a list for packing and start early. Chances are I can pack a good portion of the clothing I want to take on vacation because it's more casual than work allows {And it's warmer there than it is here!}. I don't want to be stressing about stuff Friday night so by starting to pack early and having a list will help. There are of course things that cannot be packed until after their used Saturday morning {make up, toothbrush...} so a list will be a huge help in avoiding something being left behind.

My goals are a little different this week but they're still focused on a healthy lifestyle. Less stress and clutter in my life this week leading up to vacation is just what I need. I want to be able to relax and not worry about a thing on vacation. Speaking of which, I should probably make sure I pay my bills before leaving no?

I'm off to chug the rest of this water so I can reach my goal for the day. {And probably regret waiting until bedtime because I'll have to get up a million times now.} I'll be back tomorrow morning with a weigh in. Let's hope Easter lunch doesn't knock me down!

Friday Favorites - Blogger Edition

Welcome welcome Friday! I might have to go into work today but I'm still glad you're here. After reading Jessi's post this morning I just knew I had to jump on this new link up. Especially because I had already planned to blog about some of my favorites anyways.

I want to spread the love and share with you who some of my favorite blogger ladies are. {In no particular order.}

First up is Jessi from Jumping JE. This lovely lady found me recently thanks to a link up and has been commenting on every post I put out into the blogosphere ever since. She's been incredibly supportive and encouraging even though she doesn't really even know me since our friendship is just budding. We are now snapchat friends so I'd say things are getting serious. We'll have to see where this goes but I definitely wouldn't mind maybe some day heading out west and visiting her in Portland! {Be sure to check out Jessi's second blog, Not the Average Bear, that's all about is all about balance in life which includes health and fitness.}

Tammy Jo is another one of my favorite blogger ladies turned friend. She's always there for me when I need advice or to vent about something. I am beyond thankful to have found her thanks to blogging and it's friendships like hers that make me thankful I stick with blogging. I would love to visit Tammy Jo in Texas, just probably not in the summer months since I'm pretty sure I would melt. I'll be the one to visit in the "winter" months and be running around without a jacket while those poor Texans think it's cold.

This next blogger is another one of those that is always commenting on whatever I throw out there for you lovely readers to read. Nikki is someone I could see myself being real life besties with. Almost everything Nikki talks about doing or wanting to do is something I would do or have done myself. She shares my taste in the men of country music as well. I actually mailed her a copy of the amazing Off the Beaten Path album by Justin Moore because I knew she just had to have it. Be sure to stop by her blog though if you enjoy almost daily Luke Bryan pics! {Girl, I promise you a dating stories post is coming...some day.}

And this last blogger I want to share with you awesome readers today is Carolyn from Fitnasty For Life. She doesn't have a button so be sure to click on the link to head on over to her blog. I feel like Carolyn has taken me under her wing for everything weight loss and running related. She answers my endless questions with no complaints {I hope!} and is always offering great advice. Her weight loss story inspires me and helps me to know that I can achieve my goals because if she can do it so can I. And now that I have taken up running her journey inspires me in that aspect as well. She's been running since the beginning so I know that I can start now rather than wait until I've lost a few pounds. So if you need some major inspiration in your life be sure to check her out. This lady is amazing!

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and that if you have today off you enjoy the three-day weekend! I'll see you all Monday for the Weekly Goals link up with Carolyn.

Winter Wednesday

Oh Wednesday, you're not really a friend of mine this morning. Sure, sleeping in was great but waking up to seeing more snow on the ground and it's still falling from the sky just put a huge frown on my face. Winter Wednesday, you can go kick rocks!

But on the bright side, it's Weigh In Wednesday and I have some good news to share!

Starting Weight: 207.7

Last Week's Weigh In, Apr 9: 205.7

Today's Weigh In, Apr 16: 205.0

Loss: 0.7

Overall Loss: 2.7

If you recall last week I had gained slightly so you can imagine how happy I was to see that I lost that slight gain plus a half pound! Looks like I'm back on track guys!

Now a quick update on where I'm at with my fitness and diet.

I had a plan for running this week and it looks like mother nature is deciding that it wasn't a good idea. If you were here yesterday for Tough It Out Tuesday you know that I ran on sidewalks that were not shoveled after Sunday night's snow showers. It wasn't ideal and I really hoped I wouldn't have to do it again. Sadly it has snowed again and it is predicted to keep snowing through tonight. So while the forecast for Thursday has looked good all week it seems like my running route won't be in such great conditions. I may have toughed it out Tuesday and completed my run it also wasn't the most safe conditions for me to be running and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Which includes myself. As much as it frustrates me I will be putting my running on hold if the sidewalks remain in poor condition.

Huge thank you to everyone who commented on last week's WIW post with suggestions for how I could make some changes to my diet! I went to the grocery store on Sunday with a list of better choices and even did a little meal prep that evening. Things have been going well with the diet as a result. The hard part though is that I think I underestimated how much food I really need in a week. I might need to make a second trip to the grocery store for a few more things to eat. Lesson learned I guess!

How do you know how much to buy at the grocery store if you're not following an exact recipe?

For those of you runners that contend with winter, any tips for not letting the snow stop me?

April [Snow] Showers Bring Snow Plowers

Last night and even this morning before I got out of bed I was wondering what I would blog about today. I didn't really want to write about running again because that seems to be all I've been doing lately. But then I took my ass outside for my run and knew right then and there I would be writing about running. And it fits in perfectly with Tough It Out Tuesday.

As part of my goals for the week I made sure I went to bed early. I'm talking in bed by 9 and lights out by 10. According to my FitBit I was able to sleep for almost 8.5 hours. It was wonderful!

And then my alarm went off at 6:30 and I was whining about having to get up. I just can't win when it comes to sleeping. No matter how much or how little I will always want to sleep more. Or maybe that's just part of being an adult?

Anyways, so I managed to get up and out the door. Boy was it chilly! You would never guess it's the middle of April right now unless you're from Wisconsin and this crazy weather is somewhat normal to you. I decided I could handle the cold since I've done it before. Not even 5 minutes after I started I was seriously doubting if I should continue though.

It snowed Sunday night and I guess because it's April people decided they didn't need to shovel their sidewalks at all yesterday. I didn't know if my whole route was going to be like this or if it was just this section. Falling from running on ice/snow was not in my morning plan so I wasn't sure what to do.

Pretty quickly I decided to tough it out and just get it over with. I knew at around my half way point I would be done with sidewalks for a while and that I was going to be on a less busy street on my way back so I could run in the road if needed. It was less than ideal but I got it done.

Hopefully that's the last of these April snow showers so I don't see any more snow plowers!

Now please excuse me as I'm off to take a hot shower to warm up!

Goals for the Week

Apparently I was bit by the blogging bug in addition to the running bug. This is my fifth post in a row! Now for some of you that's no big thing. But for me it is considering  my blogging has been less than consistent for quite some time.

But anyways, moving on to the reason I'm here.

Time to get back in the groove of setting weekly goals for myself and what better way to do that than to link up with the lovely Carolyn from Fitnasty for Life! {FYI there is no better way lol.}

[ONE] Run 3 times this week. I was able to run three times last week which earned me my first trophy on Nike+. Right now it says "won 1 time" and I want to see that number increase. And in addition to that, three runs a week is what the c25k program calls for so I want to do my best to get that done. Based on the weather forecast it's looking like Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday will be my running days.

[TWO] 64oz of water a day. I have been really slacking on drinking good ol' H2O lately. When I don't drink water I'm drinking Mountain Dew and we all know I really shouldn't be drinking empty calories if I'm trying to lose weight. And with running my body needs water rather than high fructose corn syrup coursing through my system. This is a totally feasible goal since I've done this many times in the past. Now it's just time to get it done. My reward for reaching 64oz of water a day will be that I can have one can of Mountain Dew. But none before that water goal is met.

[THREE] Sleep at least 7 hours. Some days I'm really good about getting to bed at a decent time and other times I'm sucked into something on the Internet {blogging, watching tv online...} or reading a book and I can't put it down which leads to me staying up much later than I should. I'm realizing I function best when I have a good night's rest under my belt and it makes early wake up times for running a little easier to handle.

My weekly goals have stayed the same since I started linking up with Carolyn but until I believe I have a good foundation laid {I'm easily achieving these three goals every week} I'm not comfortable changing them or adding in new goals. These three goals are still a challenge for me so they're still good goals for me to be setting.

Do you reward yourself daily for reaching a goal?

5 on Friday

Before beginning to type this I was sitting on my bed staring at this white screen cursing myself for not jotting down those ideas I had earlier in the week because right now I feel fresh out of ideas to put down.

Okay, I'm still cursing myself.

Anyways I'm sure I'll come up with something once I get this party started.

{ONE} Remember this post about seventy-five in twenty fourteen? For a while it seemed like I wasn't interested in reading any more and hadn't really been making progress on my reading challenge. Now all of a sudden it's like I only want to read. I've managed to knock out 16 of 75 books but am still four books behind schedule. I'm sure I'll catch up in no time at the rate I'm going though. I'm reading number 17 and have number 18 on hand ready to go. Curious what I'm reading? Head on over to my GoodReads page to check it out.

{TWO} I am just 14 days away from a week long vacation to see my bestie in Maryland. Who has two thumbs and is super excited? This girl! As if visiting my best friend for a week wasn't enough we're also going to the Richmond International Raceway for the Toyota Owners 400 {NASCAR race} straight from the airport. I am beyond excited about this. Hurry up vacation!

{THREE} Speaking of a week long vacation, would anyone be interested in guest posting for me while I am gone?? The topic is open to whatever you want to share with us. Let me know if you're interested!

{FOUR} The weather in Wisconsin is finally getting its act together and it has been super nice. And yet I'm just not ready to put away the flannel sheets for the year. I put my cute and cuddly penguins on my bed for one last time this morning. We'll see how long this lasts before I'm too warm at night to even sleep.

{FIVE} I'm headed home this weekend {as I do every weekend} so I can see my sweet boy. Not seeing him every day is probably the hardest part since I moved out. I definitely try to make the most of my visits home but sometimes that darn pup just won't cooperate and let me smother him for hours.

And speaking of going home I better get moving if I want to pack anything to avoid having to stop at my apartment after work! Have a great weekend everyone!!