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!

Quickly

Long time no see huh? I've been extremely lazy lately which has brought about an unplanned break from blogging. But as I was laying in bed this morning catching up on Twitter and reading some blog posts that were tweeted I realized how much I miss it. So I scrambled out of bed to find my glasses and fire up the old Toshiba with every intention of catching you up coffee date style on what has been going on in my life.

And by the time the lap top was fired up and ready to go I realized I don't really have enough time to even have a decent coffee date with you before I need to get myself ready for work. Yes, it's almost 10a CST right now and I'm still in my pajamas barely awake. See what I mean about being extremely lazy?

Having said that I'm going to plan on seeing all of you tomorrow for weigh in Wednesday and then follow it up Thursday with that coffee date we need so badly. And after that who knows what I'll come up with but I do have things I want to write about so we'll just have to see where it goes.

How I feel about today.

See y'all tomorrow!

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?

Influenster: Go Vox Box

About a month ago I was lucky enough to receive the Go Vox Box from Influenster. Not sure what that means? In a nutshell I was selected to receive a box full of goodies for free to try them out. If you want to know more ask me. I can even send you an invite if you want to get in on the fun!

The PROFOOT Triad Orthotic you see up there I put into the Nike shoes I wear for every day stuff when I'm not wearing flip flops or sandals. {Now that summer is here that isn't very often at all.} I thought they gave a little extra cushioning to my feet and were comfortable to wear all day. Only thing is I think I could have used a slightly bigger insert because it was supposed to cushion the balls of my feet and it seemed like it was stopping just short of mine. Other than that I really have no complaints but I didn't wear them enough to really notice a difference in my body. {They're supposed to help with knee, leg or back pain.}

I've been meaning to give the PROFOOT Pedi-Rock a try but just haven't gotten around to it. I want to try it out in the shower after my feet have had some time to soften up but every time I remember it's sitting on my dining table after I'm in the shower. It seems like a great way to keep the feet looking great in between pedicures so I'm definitely going to give it a shot some day!

On that same note, the Aqua Spa Relax Bath Soak that I got is another item that I've been meaning to try but just haven't gotten around to it. I haven't soaked in a bath since I had chicken pox in elementary school. Maybe this weekend after I get a corkscrew to open that new bottle of wine I bought I'll have a glass and a soak.

The Playtex Sport Fresh Balance tampons were alright. Honestly, as long as we're talking plastic applicators {which it has} I don't really notice much of a difference between different brands. It did it's job and that's all that matters really.

I've never been a big fan of eating nuts and the only kind I really do snack on every once in a great while are honey roasted peanuts. That being said, the Blue Diamond Fruit Flavored Almonds {blueberry in my case} have gone unopened. I will probably give them to my mom as she does like almonds and maybe I'll try one or two. I'm not a fan of blueberries either so I really don't expect to like them but I'm okay with being pleasantly surprised.

Ah the Muller Greek Yogurt another item that I wasn't worried about trying right away {and still haven't}. I absolutely love the idea of yogurt, a healthy snack that can even serve as a cool treat in the summer or dessert when craving something sweet. That being said, my taste buds just do not like yogurt. I've tried different brands over the years and nothing changes it. I even tried to make myself eat a container once because of a UTI I had and it was recommended by the doctor. It didn't work out so well. The more I tried to eat it the more I hated it. Again, I'll probably give the coupon to my mom to give it a try. She's been stocking yogurt in her fridge for herself and my brother to snack on. Maybe they'll find a new brand they'll like.

And finally we get to The Vitamin Shoppe Next Step shakes. My first attempt with almond milk {first time trying that too} on the left came out really chunky. I learned though that it just takes a lot more shaking because my last attempt on the right came out much better. I hardly drank any of the berry mix due to the chunks and I drank most of the chocolate mix. This was my first time trying any sort of mix like this so I don't have anything to compare it to but I found even when well mixed there was a funny after taste. I also tried mixing the french vanilla flavor with cold water as the packet instructed. That did absolutely nothing for me. Again it tasted okay as I was drinking it but then that after taste it and I thought it was worse with water than with the almond milk. Is this just me or do other people notice this too?

Overall I was really please with the items I received. Maybe if I wasn't so gosh darn picky when it comes to what I eat I would have some new favorite snack items. Can't wait until my next vox box!

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?