lose 61.5 lbs

My newest goal is to get a vertical clitoral hood piercing. I have decided that I am going to reward myself with one after losing another ten pounds. Now, not only can I save money for the piercing by SKIPPING those lattes, or lunches out with coworkers, or booze, I’ll be saving calories. This is good motivation, because I really want this piercing AND I am going to have it done in the city where my lover lives…which will give me an excuse to see him :-)

Swimming has really helped. It burns lots of calories, makes me feel good and healthy, gets me in touch with water which I wasn’t for a lot of my life, and forces me to be in public in my bathing suit which is really helping me be more comfortable with my body. I’d like to continue swimming four out of every seven days.

Still steadily going to the YMCA to work out. And I’m walking Jack, too, so that’s awesome. I’m meeting my calorie goals for the most part and I’m even taking a one-on-one swim lesson to get some tips on a more effective form for lap swimming! Hooray!

I have worked out each day since my 13 May entry. This morning is Saturday. I woke up at 7:10a., had some pretzel and prunes, and hauled my fat ass over to the YMCA for boot camp. It was hard, and I’m already feeling the beginnings of the pain that will result from this, but I did it, and it made me feel good. I look forward to going again next Saturday, but I’m treating this thing like what it is, finally: food addiction. So it’s one day at a time on this bad boy, and I’m proud that today I did it right.

I don’t want to jinx it, but I’ve begun going to the gym again.

I have been two days in a row and followed those visits up with dog walking. I plan to go tomorrow, and I also plan to go Friday when I take a day off of work to go to a boot camp class.

Again, I don’t want to jinx it.
Wish me luck.

I’m choosing to get back on The Daily Plate so that I can track my small meals. Today I am going to pre-program my meals into the site so that I don’t have to choose all the ingredients for everything I’m eating each time. I think that this will create another measure of accountability and help me track my water intake as well, which is heavily emphasized by…well, virtually any credible health professional…

For the last three weeks I have been absolutely off the wagon in terms of dieting and exercise. While I understand that taking care of yourself is important during a break-up, I have been more concerned with readying my environment and helping my dog adjust so that I can quickly transition back to a healthy lifestyle.

The good news is that I have NOT gained any of the weight I had lost back :-)

On Saturday I am beginning a Body for Life This was totally life-changing for a friend of mine, and after reading her copy of the book, I realized that the principles outline din the program are absolutely what I’ve been looking for: exercise 6x/week for NO LONGER than 45 minutes, 6 small meals every 2-3 hours, and one day a week of eating whatever the hell you want to confuse your metabolism. I would MUCH rather eat 200-300 calorie meals all day than eat a few 400 calorie meals. I like eating often more than I like eating a lot.

ALSO, my mom got me a Magic Bullet for Christmas, so I am really excited about making one of my meals each day be a post-workout protein shake!

These are 200-300 calorie meals that I have researched and decided that I can do each day:

• Peanut butter sammich (1 TBSP natural PB, 2 slices light fiber bread)
• Turkey sammich (3 oz. lean shaved turkey breast, 1 TSP light mayo, 2 slices light fiber bread)
• Protein Shake (one scoop protein powder, frozen fruit, skim milk)
• Fruit smoothie (non-fat yogurt, frozen fruit, skim milk)
• Chicken/buffalo/steak quesadilla (low-fat, low-carb tortilla, 1 oz. cheddar cheese, meat, salsa)
• Egg Beater Omelette
• Cottage cheese and fruit
• Pasta with chunky marinara
• Hummus with pita chips and veggie crudites

I weighed in again today, and I was pleased with the results:

Starting Weight: 201.5
9.30.08: 194
10.27.08: 192
11.24.08: 185.5

Next weigh-in: 12.22.08

I would really like to lose between eight and nine pounds before my next weigh-in. That would put me at around 176 pounds. I believe that I will be able to do this, but I also know that I have to sure to take my medicine, to exercise at least 4x/week, but hopefully 5x/week, and be careful about baking for the holidays. I love to bake, and I often give home made baked goods as gifts, so I need to make a plan to actively ensure my success over the holidays.

KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON!

I joined ActivateGreenville today.

The YMCA of Greenville, Furman University, and the Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center have combined resources to continue their effort to address the growing obesity epidemic in our area and make Greenville healthier.

Activate Greenville:

• is a FREE year-round healthy living awareness program that targets youth and adult obesity and related diseases
• encourages participants to accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity five days per week
• provides Healthy Living information about nutrition, exercise and health education weekly
• sponsors regular weigh-ins and counseling presents “Health Talks,” a series of lectures by wellness and medical experts
• challenges everyone, young and old, to begin healthy eating and regular moderate-intensity exercise.

Regular physical activity reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. It helps control weight and contributes to healthy bones, muscles, and joints. It helps relieve the pain of arthritis and reduces the symptoms of anxiety and depression. People of all ages who are generally inactive can improve their health and well being by becoming active at a moderate-intensity on a regular basis.

I went to an hour-long spin class today at noon. I enjoyed it a lot, I really felt the endorphin rush and I am excited about going back. There are two things I learned the hard way:

• I need to buy a pair of cycling/spinning shorts because my GOD my backside has tons of cushion for the pushin’, but not enough for a spin class.
• I MUST EAT BEFORE I DO THIS AGAIN. Today I did not eat before I went to the class, and I did the class and then took a steam. I’m sure you can all guess at what kind of headache Hell I was in thereafter. Never. Again.

Spin classes burn up to 600 calories an hour, so they are truly one of the most efficient ways to lose weight. I enjoyed it, although I will say that the music is not at all my taste and I wish I could put on my headphones (I know it would be nearly impossible, though, and would be detrimental to the group dynamic as well.) I am going again on Sunday!