slim down again

Today was weigh-in for the Sparkpeople teams working on losing 5% of body weight during December-January. I am down 9.4 lbs, exceeding my goal! And down or the same in all measurements, most notably 1.5 inches off waist.

A new round of the 5% challenge will be running February-March. I’m definitely in! If it goes as well as this one has, I’ll end up very close to my goal weight.

Woohoooo!

since early December! I’ve been really sticking to morning exercise lately, & it has been easier to adhere to my recommended calorie range. The scale has been noticing & rewarding my efforts. :-)

About 14 more lbs & I will feel like my slim self again.

I’m having fun with some new teammates in a Sparkpeople challenge, & it’s helping me to get to bed at a decent hour so I can get up & exercise in the mornings. Drinking lots of water too. The weight is starting to come off. Yay!

I lost 4.8 pounds, & just under 4 inches.

More important, I have formed a sustainable habit of getting to bed at a decent hour & getting up in time to exercise.

Yay!

I’ve lost 3 pounds this week already, just by exercising & adhering to the “no-S’s”: no snacks, no sugary foods, no seconds, except on S days (Sunday, Saturday, special days like birthdays).

I won’t continue to lose at this rate, of course. Right now I’m dropping pounds added very recently; they hadn’t had time to become entrenched. :-)

I was amused just now to find that SP is a temporary victim of its own success: when I tried to get to my bootcamp team page, my browser tried & tried but couldn’t take me there. With the release of the SP book, The Spark, just before the new year, plus what are doubtless thousands of new members because of that book, or just because we all want a fresh start, PLUS many of us who were SP members already becoming more active at the start of the new year, it’s not at all surprising that the servers/bandwidth are overloaded & straining.

OK, so now I’ve succeeded. But I’m thinking about simple alternate plans if I ever can’t access the day’s workout video.

And I’m imagining the tech folks at SP headquarters running around (at least metaphorically) shouting “Good grief, what is happening?!”

which starts Sunday January 3. Last time I seriously bootcamped (last May) I lost something like 8 inches in just one month. It’s not onerous: do at least 30 cardio minutes 5 days a week, plus do a 10-minute strength-training video routine 6 days a week. There are bonus activities, mostly inspirational/motivational activities (Sunday’s is to record starting stats – weight, measurements – &/or specific goals for the month).

I ordered a stability ball (this will allow me to do certain PT exercises as well as some of the short routines) & a Leslie Sansone fast-walking DVD, & they arrived yesterday.

Yesterday morning my visiting sister & I walked briskly about 5 miles to the nearest Barnes & Noble, to get a copy of the new Sparkpeople book, The Spark. We had a great time walking/talking & made it in a little over an hour (came home on the train). What a fun way to express my newfound commitment to my body’s health & fitness!

This is my other “newly clearheaded” goal. I’ll be getting up early enough for long, brisk walks at least 6 days a week. We have agreed to scotch desserts except for weekends; I’ll be eating with decorous restraint otherwise, & if needed I’ll track nutrients at Sparkpeople again.