be a size 7

I wear a 7-9 now, but it all depends on the brand really. I want to be out of 9s and only wearing 7 in all brands (or smaller) before I mark this as done. Pretty close though!

I have been working double my normal 40 hours per week so I haven’t been able to go to the gym this past week. I’m still eating the same amount of calories each day, so I am mainting my current weight. So far, I have lost 13 pounds. I won’t expect any weight loss until I can get back to going to the gym. As long as I don’t gain any of it back, I’ll be happy. These extra hours sure are making me tired! They shouldn’t last more than a month and then I can get back on track.

Okay, it wasn’t that hard to do, but I resisted cake today. There was a b-day party at work and we all got together in the lunch room and everyone had cake – but me. I thought about having some tomorrow when I have my 1 cheat day for the month, but I’ve found that the sugar gives me a bad headache so I don’t think I really want to do that to myself. Instead, I’ll use my cheat day to enjoy the seafood buffet we’re having for dinner. I just loooooove crab! And last time I hardly had any butter, so I think I did really well!
My weight has been at 158 for 5 days in a row now, but I’m doing my workouts and eating right and I’m no longer stressing about being on a 2-lb-per-week schedule of losing. My weight will continue to go down, but probably not as fast as I want it to because I’ve been lifting weights.
I also started yoga yesterday. I have a DVD called PM Yoga that I really love and it’s only 20-minutes so it’s easy to fit in my schedule. I made a spot in the spare room for me to do it and I will try to do my yoga on the days that I don’t lift weights. When I did it yesterday, I could see that I needed to work on my flexibility…I couldn’t put my forehead to my shin like I used to be able to do…but give me a week or so and I’ll be able to!

I think this is the first time I have ever done so well with sticking to my weight-loss efforts. In the 46 days that I’ve been at this so far, I’ve only gone over my calories 3 times and they were all very small amounts (except for my designated cheat day that I had and will not do anymore). I’ve also not missed one workout. Basically, my weightloss routine is this:

Eat 1500 calories per day (no more, no less)
Work out aerobically 6 times a week for at least 30 minutes.
Drink 8-8oz glasses of water every day

I keep a diary (that I made) of everything I eat and drink and all my exercise. I also have a page called “The Page of Shame” that I have to write on if I don’t work out or if I eat too many calories. At the top of the page it says, “I didn’t lose the weight because…” and then down below are lines with the date, what I did (didn’t work out or ate too many calories) and then the calories for that. For a missed workout, I count that as 200 calories. There are NO excuses allowed on the page. Just the facts.

As for what I eat….I am working on getting healthier and would eventually like to eat only organic and non-hormone fed meats. But I’m in the process of that so basically I am just trying to eat things I make from scratch.

Breakfast during the week is pretty much the same: 1 packet of flavored oatmeal and one coffee with 3 Tbsp Fat-free Hazelnut creamer.

My mid morning snack is usually a combination of fruit and nuts (like pistachios or walnuts), whole wheat pita chips with hummus (my latest addition), string cheese, yogurt….I usually keep it around 150 calories or so.

Lunch is usually whatever leftovers I have from dinner…or sometimes I go home and make a fried egg sandwich on whole grain bread.

Afternoon snack is usually the same types of things as my mid-morning snack. I just try to keep changing things up so I don’t get bored with what I’m eating.

Dinner varies, but I converted all my recipes to be 500 calories per serving and for each recipe to be 4 servings (two for dinner and two for lunch for my sweetie and I). We have everything from Chicken salads (use little or no dressing!); steak (lean, small portions, Chicken tacos, rotisserie chicken, fish, shrimp, crab, and even chile verde. If you buy pre-made dinners, you’ll get less food. If you make it yourself with the right ingredients, you’ll find that you’re hardly ever hungry and don’t even feel like you’re dieting.

My guilty pleasure is dark chocolate. I buy the bag of chips for baking and measure out 1 Tbsp of them when I have enough calories left over for a desert.

I’ve also been doing the weight machines at the gym twice a week. Currently, I am doing 3 sets of 15 reps of the following:
Abdominal Crunch
Low Back Extension
Arm Curl
Leg Press
Pectoral Fly
Seated Row
Seated Dip

I’ve lost 11 pounds in 46 days. I still have 39 more pounds I want to lose. I turn 40 in 3 months so I should be much closer to my goal weight by then. Also, I have a couple of activities planned for next year that will require my to be in better shape (climbing a mountain is one) so I have lots of motivation to stick to my routine.

Besides….I’m tired of saying, “I’m trying to lose weight” all the time. I want to have finally done it and not have to do it again!

Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to put “Lose weight” on my list of New Year’s Resolutions???

The scale finally went down under 160 this morning! Yay! Of course, it had a little help….I didn’t eat dinner last night because I was feeling cranky so all I had was some dark chocolate chips. But at least I didn’t go over on my calories. :D
I didn’t finish my weightlifting last night ‘cause something came up so I will do the rest of my weights tonight.

A whole week later and I’m still stuck at the same weight. Not sure if I’ve slowed my metabolism down or what. I’m trying not to obsess about it, but it’s a bit frustrating. I’ll see how it goes after this week. If I haven’t lost more by then, I’ll have to try something different.

Today is Monday, which is the day that I use as my official weight for the weekly goal. I am one pound over, which I still blame on that stupid cheat day. But I’ve lost a total of 9 pounds so far in 5 weeks so that’s not too bad.
Yesterday we went for a nice hike up in the mountains. Today is gym day and I’m going to increase my workout just a bit.
My clothes are definitely getting looser and I can fit into a few things that I haven’t been able to wear for awhile. I’m going to have to organize my clothes and figure out which ones I can add back in. The weather is starting to get cooler, so it’s about time to start wearing pants and long sleeve tops again.

After having been stuck at the same weight for days, the scale finally went down! It’s only 1 pound, but that’s all I was asking for! Of course, I need to it go down another 2 pounds by Monday to meet my goal for the week. Not sure if that is going to happen, but I’ll keep working out and eating right so I know I did my part! lol!

I have definitely decided that ‘Cheat Day’ was more like cheat myself day.
I have found that I need to change the way I think about the foods that I used to love…because I just don’t love them anymore. Except for the crab, all the food I ate that day made me feel miserably sick to my stomach.
The other day, I had extra calories available, so I ate a Butterfinger “fun size” (85 calories) and it gave me an instant headache.
I really enjoy the healthier foods….grilled salmon, steamed asparagus, fresh blueberries, etc.

As for the scale, I seem to be stuck at a 7lb loss at the moment. It’s a little frustrating, but I keep reminding myself that by lifting weights, I am also adding muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat. The good thing is that my pants are feeling much looser.

I’ve been at this for a month now, and I find that the thought of not being able to go to the gym bums me out. I like going to the gym…or at least getting a good workout. It’s still a bit too hot outside, but when it cools down, I might go for walks on the days that I don’t have to lift weights.

When I googled “cheat day” I found that most people allow themselves one cheat day a week. I found that a bit too much since I really want to keep a steady 2 lb a week loss. So, I have allowed myself one cheat day a month.

Today is that day.

After having eaten very sensible portions and healthier foods for the past few weeks, I have learned that I probably won’t care as much about my future cheat days….

I made a dessert last night and brought it to work this moring to have and share. I had one small portion after my coffee and it tasted so yummy. But later I had another small portion and it put me over the edge and made me feel yucky. Too much sugar!

For lunch I had a double cheeseburger and medium french fries from McDonald’s…..ugh….too much greese!

Tonight’s dinner is going to be the seafood buffet where I get to eat as much crab as I want. I am looking forward to eating crab, but I hope I am hungry by then because right now I feel way too full!!!!

I think next month’s cheat day will only include the crab ‘cause this other food made me sick to my stomach. Blech!