Plateau, Already?

151

No matter.

I'm eating well, I'm exercising on my elliptical as often as time allows, and, I;m drinking a shit-ton of water. I suppose it's possible that I need to either add more exercise or bump up my calories, but, I'm content to simply continue doing what I'm doing and we'll see what happens on weigh-in next week; if I'm still stuck, or, god forbid, if I gain; I'll readjust.

The important thing right now is that I feel pretty good. I'm even almost sleeping better.

I'll take it.

Sticking With the Program

I did 50 minutes on the elliptical last night. I am planning to do the same, later today.

My diet for the past week was right on and my water consumption was stellar.

My massage therapist is horrified by the tightness of my leg muscles and she worked me over pretty good this week; I'm still sore. She gave me some good tips for stretching the muscles and I really need to work on my flexibility.

I got new shoes last weekend and I am amazed by how much better my feet feel with supportive insoles.

Hugh is sick (again) and I am determined not to catch his bug. I am still not sleeping restfully throughout the night and probably don't stand much of a chance of that happening while Hugh is hacking and coughing and moaning and groaning beside me. As an aside, are all men such huge babies when they are sick or is my husband a special snowflake?

 That was a rhetorical question.

Progress!

151

Five pounds, the majority of which is probably water weight, but, I'll take it.

I feel really good. I'm not hungry and have been sticking to fresh fruits, vegetables, non-processed foods and water, lots and lots, of water.

I'm up to 35 minutes on the elliptical machine with a goal of reaching 40 minutes this weekend, when I have more time.

Despite battling pre-dawn anxiety, restless sleep, and insomnia; I feel more rested than I have in some time.

My skin looks good.

I have more energy.

Five pounds lighter feels really good; I'm curious to see what ten pounds lighter will feel like. Hopefully, I'll know, soon.

On a Roll

I have used my elliptical machine every day since I got it. I'm up to a comfortable half-hour and have no doubt that I will be up to a full hour in no time.

Unfortunately, time is my enemy, as in, lack of it, I mean.

My daily schedule looks like this:

6:00 a.m.  Up, shower, prepare lunch, snacks, etc. Chug cup of half-caf while reading the news on the internet.

7:30 a.m.  Leave for work, swing through the bank drive-through to make hardware store deposit, arrive at work, settle in for the day.

8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Work, work, work.

5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (depending on the day, sometimes it is an hour or so later)  Leave the day job and arrive at the hardware store for job two.

7:00 p.m.  Home, dinner prep (if I haven't started something in the crock-pot earlier in the day).

7:30 p.m.  Elliptical workout.

8:00 p.m.  Downtime. You know, unless there are things to do that cut into that downtime. Which happens, frequently, of course.

So, squeezing out thirty more minutes for additional elliptical time might require an earlier start to my day and some morning exercise. I am not totally against that, although, I haven't actually slept through the night peacefully since June, and, I kind of have a hard time getting motivated for anything more strenuous than a hot shower in the morning.

I'll figure something out.

On the diet front, I am doing really pretty well. I did cave to a wicked carb craving last night but not a lot of damage was done and I am not going to beat myself up over it. Besides, I heard Dr. Oz say that we should have a splurge day every third or fourth day to jump-start our metabolism and keep it from becoming accustomed to the lower calories, which, makes it slow down.

I have no idea if that is true but I am totally willing to use it as an excuse to eat Wheat Thins every once in a while.

One Day at a Time

I did really well yesterday. Despite traveling to Neighboring City to meet up with one of my oldest and dearest friends, I managed to stay well within my Point range. I also used the elliptical for twenty-five minutes, which is five minutes longer than the last time I used it and five minutes away from the goal that I set for myself for this week, which, is thirty minutes and which I have no doubt I will reach, today.

I bought new cross trainers, yesterday. The pair I had been wearing have to be at least three years old and they no longer offer much in the way of support for my arches; especially the arch on my right foot, which is the foot in which I had Plantar Fascitis.

I have a really busy week ahead of me and I know that I will be challenged, but, I have every intention of staying on plan. I also have an appointment with my primary care physician; I have a suspicion that there may be some thyroid-related issues going on and I would like to rule out the possibility of that being responsible for my lethargy, weight gain, and exhaustion. You know, so I can 100% sure that laziness and sloth are the real culprits.

Which, we all know they are.

New Day, New Week

Let us not discuss my eating habits during my business trip. Suffice it to say; things did not go well.

On the bright side, today starts a new week for me. I have all of my weekly Points back and I am ready to buckle back down.

My schedule for the next week is busy but open enough to allow for exercise during the evenings, I am going shopping tomorrow for healthy foods, and, I have no doubt that I will get back on track.

Back in Good Grace

Yesterday, I did 20 minutes on the elliptical, which earned me enough activity points to pull my weekly balance out of negative numbers.

Today, I leave on a business trip that will be a challenge to accomplish without going over my daily allotted Points, but; I am determined to do it.

We shall see how that goes.

Not Gonna Lie

Yesterday sucked. Or, more specifically, I sucked, yesterday.

And, it’s a shame because I was doing so well! I stayed on Points all day! I ate whole foods! Fruits! Vegetables! I exercised on the elliptical (ok, for 15 minutes, but, still!)! I drank water! I had less than one Diet Pepsi!

And, then…I blew it all on four fun-sized Baby Ruths.

I am now -1 Point FOR THE WEEK! I blew through 49 discretionary Points in like two seconds! And, I am traveling for work tomorrow so I won’t have those Points to fall back on.

This is really, really bad.

On the other hand, I tracked every one of those Points. I didn’t lie to myself by trying to say that; if I didn’t track them, they didn’t happen,  because, they did. I did it. I ate crap on an otherwise pretty awesome day.

I guess all I can do is learn from this. And, I will do better today. And, I will be super-diligent on my trip because, I have no choice. I have no Points to play with.

I hope, one day, I can look back at this and see it as a turning point; the day that I sucked it up and accepted responsibility and made some changes.

That’s the new goal.

Off and Running

Hugh finally put together my new elliptical machine last night. At three o’clock  this morning, he woke up with the stomach flu; he thinks the two are connected but I think he’s crazy. Oh, and he thinks I put something in his food to make him sick. Yeah, because I love to be woken up by the sounds of vomit splashing into the toilet bowl at three o’clock in the morning.

 

Or not.

 

Anyway, the machine is ready to go. Now, all I have to do is find some time to get started. I’m hoping for later this evening, once I am home from the hardware store. Unfortunately, since that will happen at almost 7:00, actually finding the energy to get on the machine may prove challenging.

 

Happily, I am up for the challenge.

 

Assuming I don’t get sick. Pleaseohpleaseohplease, don’t let me get sick.

***Edited to add: I managed fifteen minutes on the elliptical! And I haven't thrown up! Things are looking up.

Blowing the Dust Off

156

Well it's been forever since I updated this, and, by forever, I mean twenty pounds ago. Twenty pounds gained, I should clarify.

I could get angry and beat myself up about it, or, I could buckle down and do something about it, which; is exactly what I am doing. This won't be easy, and here's why:

Several things have changed in my life. I have a new day job. This isn't to say that I quit my old day job; I merely added the hours that I spent at that job to the end of my day. So, I am working a lot.

I also have the added stress of an economy that is trying to kill me. Or, to kill the business that accounts for half of the hours that I work. The stress has contributed to the weight gain, as well to a general feeling of unhappiness and dissatisfaction with my life; hence the second job.

Second job may be my saving grace, however, because; Second (really first since it's nine-to-five) Job, gives me a sense of financial security and I actually enjoy it, and, the people with whom I work. The workplace also has a firm wellness philosophy, which is helping me with my plan to lose the weight.

And, what is that plan? Weight Watchers Online. Counting every point. Making better food choices and drinking water.

I also just purchased an elliptical, and, assuming my husband ever gets off his ass and assembles it; I plan on using it for the majority of my cardio throughout the winter.

Anyway, I'm back at it, is what I mean to say. My goal weight is 125, long-range. In the short-term, I will take whatever weight loss I can get, hoping for one to two pounds a week.

Fingers crossed.