HHC ~ W1D4

I really hate not hitting my goals especially when they are all under my control.  I really appreciate all the kind words yesterday in reference to my being too hard on myself...but...I know what I need to do and plain and simply, I'm just not doing it.  I think it happens to everyone that's every lost a bunch of weight though, the first time I was really committed because I was seeing big results.  Now that I only have 10-15 pounds to lose the results aren't quick and they aren't big so I slack off.  But I can't slack off because it's the little things that count with these last 15...  Joe has been very good about telling me to put down the candy...but...I'm also more likely to stick my tongue out at him and eat it anyway where if it was pretty much anyone else I'd listen.  Plus it's hard for him to understand why I can't have a treat because he's so much bigger then me and burns so many more calories.  He can still have a beer or a piece of candy because he's got plenty of room.  Totally not fair...

I was determined to have a better day on Thursday.  I started with another shake; cafe caramel, spinach & a banana this time, delicious!  I skipped my coffee because I didn't think the caffeine was really necessary and boy was I wrong, I was dragging all morning at work!  Eventually I made myself a cup of tea and perked up a little.

It's pretty cold in my office so I've been having a hard time convincing myself to eat my yogurt & apple at lunch time, the cafeteria always seems like a better idea with it's hot options.  It doesn't help that my office mate rarely brings lunch from home so I can always tag along on her trip to the cafeteria.  I kept it simple on Thursday with a grilled ham & swiss with tomato.

I was SO close to skipping the gym after work.  Joe had gotten out early and it's so easy to just go home and curl up on the couch with him while telling myself I'll do a video or something later in the evening.  Lucky for me when I asked him his plans for the evening they included going to his own gym so there was no escaping it.  I went straight to the LifeCenter from work did 20 minutes of HIIT on the treadmill then completed the mini circuit before heading home. 

After debating what to eat for a little while we decided to go out to a local bar for dinner.  Gregory's is known for their special Taco Tuesday & Thursday where you can get 2 tacos for $1 and other mexican foods at low prices.  I had 4 beef tacos and water for $2.14! 

We were both super tired and had to be up early the next day so didn't stay out very late and went straight to bed when we got home.  But I had to stop for a snack on my way upstairs! 

Challenge wrap up:

• Water: completed.
• Healthy Eats: 146 calories to spare, wahoo!
• Exercise: 30 minutes total.
• Weekly Focus - Food Log: completed.
• Daily Challenge - HIIT: completed.
• Extra Torture I'm Inflicting Upon Myself - I was "perfect," I did the circuit, I did not get 5 servings, I did HIIT...3 out of 4 aren't bad!

Five for Friday ~ 11/9/12

1.  You never try to take advantage of people.

2.  You bought halloween candy even though we haven't had a trick or treater in 3 years.

3.  After we sort out our own damages you suggested we donate what we can to hurricane Sandy victims.

4.  You were willing to adopt the stray dog.

5.  You won't let me slack off...even when I whine...

September 2012

HHC ~ W1D3

I didn't do a great job with my challenge goals on Wednesday, I'm sensing a pattern here...  I'm trying to decide if I'm being too hard on myself, Angela seems to think so, it's like I have totally lost my willpower.  My days start out great but by the end I'm a big old mess!

After reading the prompt for Wednesday, to eat 5 servings of veggies, I knew just how to start the day.  I added 2 cups of raw spinach to my morning shake.

I planned on buying my lunch in the cafeteria at work because I normal yogurt, apple & pretzels contains no veggies.  My original plan was to get a salad but after fining out Joe was making salad for dinner I had to change plans...a girl can only take so much lettuce.  My next idea was a BLT but somehow I ended up ordering the daily special of grilled corned beef...  The sandwich was delicious but at 690 calories it was a splurge, I told myself I'd only eat half but when I looked down the whole thing was gone...  I told myself that I could knock out 690 calories at the gym and with the light dinner Joe had planned I'd be home free.

When I left work I was greeted by a lovely surprise, SNOW!  We rarely get snow in South Jersey especially this early in the season.  I took a picture of myself in the car before I headed to the gym and the comments on Facebook were so funny, some people cursing the snow, others celebrating.

I didn't let the storm sway me from the gym though.  I got there a little early and did 20 minutes on the elliptical before meeting up with Sarah. 

I was already sore from Monday's session with Ali and told Sarah as much.  She did a great job working other muscle groups and trying interesting new exercises.  At one point I was walking the track on my hands while she held my feet like a wheelbarrow.

The drive home took longer then usual because of the weather and I was starving when I walked in the door.  Joe was just finishing up preparing dinner so I helped myself to some cheese and crackers while I waitied. 

I just couldn't stop eating all night long.  I was getting dangerously close to my calorie limit but kept right on snacking.  I seriously need to get the sweets out of my house.  I had a fun size package of whoppers, a piece peppermint bark and finished the night with a hot chocolate.  In an attempt to salvage my day I finished up the mini circuit.  During my session with Sarah I had done 40 push ups and 30 sit ups so all I had to do at home was 10 push ups, 20 sit ups and the 50 jumping jacks, no sweat.

Unfortunately I didn't do enough. 

• Water: I had 56 oz and planned on drinking the last 8 upstairs before bed but I got distracted and forgot.
• Healthy Eats: I was 3 calories over my limit, 3 measley calories.
• Exercise: 60 minutes total.
• Weekly Focus - Food Log: completed.
• Daily Challenge - 5 servings of veggies - I think I got about 3.
• Extra Torture I'm Inflicting Upon Myself - I was not perfect, I did the circuit, I did not get 5 servings...

HHC ~ W1D2

I did not do very well on Tuesday.  I had big plans, I was going to eat healthy all day, take a kickboxing class at the gym and tackle Angela's mini circuit for the challenge.  But that didn't totally happen...

Let's start at the beginning.  I've decided to try something new for breakfast, I mixed a chocolate AdvantEdge shake with ice, a banana & a tbsp peanut butter.  I like that it gives me a lot of nutrients and I can make it on my way out the door without the mess of trying to eat a sandwich in the car.  For lunch I had mini pretzels, key lime greek yogurt and a mini apple.  This is my go to lunch, my office mate actually asked me if after the wedding I'll go back to eating like a normal person.  I didn't have the heart to tell her I always eat like this.

After lunch is when things fell apart.  I attended a retirement celebration for the VP of my department and had a couple of snacks, nothing out of control, about 225 calories.  This would not normally be an issue except that I then skipped the gym.  The retirement party wrapped up around 3:30 which left an hour and a half until my class at the gym would start.  I just couldn't rationalize wasting all that time, so what did I do, I went to vote.

Then I stopped and picked up a salad at Boston Market for dinner. 

Again, these are not bad choices but coupled with the fact that the only exercise I got was Angela's mini circuit (which took all of 10 minutes) I was over my calorie allotment for the day.  I knew I needed to make an attempt to get those calories back so I went for a walk to ShopRite.  That got me another 2000+ steps but still didn't make up the deficit.

To recap the challenge goals:

• Water: completed
• Healthy Eats: I made good food choices but ate more then I should.  I'm not giving myself a check mark in that column unless I feel confident in my choices AND meet calorie goal on myfitnesspal.
• Exercise: I didn't do any dedicated exercise except Angela's mini circuit.  I've decided that to get credit in this column I either need to go to the gym/strap on my sneakers for a video or something at home or get my 10,000 steps.
• Weekly Focus - Food Log: completed
• Daily Challenge - Mini Circuit: completed

My plan was to attepmt to do the daily challenges each day following.  For example, Tuesday I would "be perfect" and do the mini circuit.  Wednesday, I would "be perfect," do the mini circuit and eat 5 servings of veggies.  Obviously this didn't pan out for day 2 but I think I'm going to keep trying.  In case you hadn't picked it up above, Wednesday's daily challenge is to eat 5 servings of veggies.

HHC ~ W1D1

Because I spend a good portion of my day thinking about that poor dog that I left at the animal shelter I called over there on Monday afternoon.  I was polite and friendly with the woman on the phone and asked for an update on the her.  The woman told me they don't release information on strays, I told her I was confused as I had been told on Saturday to call back Thursday because I was interested in adopting the animal.  She told me I had been misinformed and that they would contact me if the dog became available for adoption.  Well...ok then.  I guess if I don't hear anything that means the owners have claimed the dog?  Not a great system...

Since there's no news on the dog front I'll go back to talking about food & exercise I guess...

I did a terrible job of photographing my food for most of the day.  Apparently it's an easy habit to break and a hard one to pick back up.  At breakfast I remembered to take a picture just before my last bite.  I had a coffee with cinnabon creamer and a pumkpin bagel thin with laughing cow cream cheese and a scrambled egg.  At lunch time I actually had to dig my bowl out of the trash can to take a picture.  I had a cup of broccoli cheese soup with a roll for dipping.

You may remember from my previous post that I packed my lunch that morning and you would be correct.  But it was freezing in my office all day and I really wanted something warm instead of my yogurt & apple.

After work I went directly to the gym for 20 minutes on the elliptical followed by a 35 minute session with Ali.  I find the elliptical to be great for catching up on my songpop games.  Today was Ali's birthday so she was in an extra good mood and definitely hit me with her best shot.

When I got home Joe had dinner ready.  Espresso balsamic pot roast with roasted green beans and mushrooms, it was delicious!  I also had a piece of peppermint bark and 2 fun size cookies and cream bar as my dessert to get my calories up to 1200.  According to myfitnesspal I had 500ish calories left to eat but there wasn't anything that tickled my fancy and could be considered healthy so I left my totals were they were.

I think I did well on day 1 of the challenge.  I drank 72oz of water.  I made healthy choices in regards to my eating, even ended the day with 329 calories still available on myfitnesspal (I snuck in a late night hot chocolate).  I worked out for 55 minutes.  That sounds pretty perfect to me!

Tuesday (W1D2):  Weekly Focus - Food Log, Group Challenge 2 - Mini Circuit (50 jumping jacks, 50 push ups & 50 sit ups).  I've got a busy day scheduled with work, kickboxing at the gym, a few errands & can't forget to vote!  But I know I can make it all work and still stay healthy!  I'm toying with keeping the goals going all week depending on what Angela throws at us.  Like being perfect & doing a mini circuit then continually adding on until Sunday when I do it all?!?!?

I’m such a cliché

It's been a long time since I've done a recap of my day but since I'll be reporting in daily for my Healthy Holidays Challenge I might as well get back to it.

Our weekend was a perfect mixture of excitement and relaxation.  I went to the gym for a session with my trainer after work on Friday and then we met Chris & Carol out for sushi.  We were home at a decent hour and I fell asleep on the couch like I always do after a couple of glasses of wine.

Joe managed to get yet another weekend off and we were up bright & early for our morning with Jack.  We went over to Shea's for breakfast and I enjoyed my last bites of cinnamon swirl pancake until the new year then we met Mark, Kate & Anna at the park to run off the sugar.

The kids played for about an hour and a half before it was time to head out.  It appears that hurricane Sandy brought our winter weather with her.  It's been in the 40s all week and though Joe wanted to check out a local classic car show I had had enough of the cold.  The boys dropped me off at home and went to meet Joe's dad at the show.  While they were gone I had an adventure of my own...

Our neighbor came over and asked if we knew anything about a dog in the yard, we did not.  Upon further investigation I found this adorable chihuahua mix shivering out back.  I brought her some lunch meat and cat food which she practically inhaled and when I tried to pet her she came close and tried to curl up against my body for heat.  I called the humane society and found that they don't take strays...  I then reached out to the local animal shelter and they said I could bring her in.  I put her in a Thirty-One box and drove her across town to the shelter, she didn't bark or try to get out of the box once.  By the time I got to the shelter I was in love.  The staff at the shelter said she looked loved and they would bet her family is looking for her.  On the way home I talked to Joe about my concerns that she wouldn't be adopted and might be put down.  To my surprise Joe said if it came to that, we could adopt her!  I called the shelter back and let them know we're interested in adoption, they took my name & number and told me to check back on Thursday.

I posted a few pictures on Facebook in case anyone recognizes her and the consensus from our friends was that we should have fostered her until she was claimed and then adopted her if she wasn't.  I would have considered that option except that she has a wound on her shoulder that needed treatment and I think her family has a better chance of finding her at the shelter then in my house.  So, we might be getting a dog!  Joe is definitely on the fence and really only wants to take her if she's going to be put down like, the. next. day.  I'm not really sure how to convey that to the shelter...  My hope is that her family claims her because while I'm sort of obsessed with her it's really not the best time to be adding a new member to our family.  But you can't plan for everything... I'll keep you all in the loop.

Sunday was a mess for me health and fitness wise.  We slept close to 11 hours made breakfast at home and popped a bottle of champagne for mimosas.  While Joe worked on making boutonnieres for his groomsmen I worked on the bottle of champagne.  We're using the bottles for decor so I was totally pulling my weight.

My mom came over that afternoon and worked on the bridesmaid bouquets and Nicole stopped by to help finish up the thank you banner.  We knocked out a bunch of wedding stuff which is great!  

The evening was not great.  I decided that since I was starting the challenge on Monday, Sunday was time to go hog wild with food (total cliché).  In addition to the champagne that morning we had chinese food for dinner and I polished off the last of a dump cake I had made.  Plus I barely moved, I don't think I even broke 2000 steps.  By the end of the night I was almost 1000 calories over on myfitnesspal and I literally felt sick.

This morning I woke up ready to attack this challenge.  I got on the scale and took all of my measurements before work, I ate breakfast at home and packed a lunch, I have a session with my trainer tonight and Joe is making a healthy dinner.  I'm ready to do this!  Here's where I'm starting:

Weight: 149.6 lbs

Waist: 30"

Hip: 38"

Arm: 13"

Neck: 12"

Thigh: 23"

The plan is to get down to 140 pounds by 12/31/12 anything more then that is a bonus.

Healthy Holidays Challenge

I think I've made it pretty obvious that I'm struggling with weight loss for the wedding.  At this point I'm up about 13 pounds from my low of 134 back in July of 2011.  My plan was always to get down to 130 for the wedding but it's painfully evident that I won't be getting there.  I'm being honest with myself, I would have to starve to loose 17 pounds in less then 2 months.  I really don't want to starve myself over the holidays...

I have 2 sessions a week scheduled with my trainers from now until the wedding.  I'm a little concerned because I have not run since the 1/2 marathon and I'm not upset about it, LOL.  I'm going to start taking a couple of classes a week at the gym to round out my exercise plan since running just doesn't sound appealing right now.  I also have lofty goals of doing arm & ab videos everyday to work out my problem areas but that hasn't happened yet.

Basically I'm lost.  I need to figure out what I'm going to do.  I had my first wedding dress fitting on Thursday and the good news is...my dress fits.  I do not need to lose an ounce.  I'm not thrilled with my back/chest/arms but I've already talked with my trainers and we have a plan of action to knock out my problem areas.  What else can I do but follow their plan?  I can work my own plan.  Well, Angela's plan.

My friend Angela is running a Healthy Holidays Challenge over on her blog and I've decided to take part.  The basic plan is to make yourself a major goal for the 8 weeks and then follow Angela's prompts for each day.  She even provided us with a "report card" to keep track of how we're doing and there's a Facebook group for support!  I'm a little confused by the whole thing but luckily Angela is one of my best friends so she's only a phone call away!

I've decided to set my main goal as to get down to 140.  I'd love to keep my original goal of 130 but I'm pretty sure I'd regret it if my dress didn't fit come 12/31.  I'm more concerned about toning my chest/back/arms but I don't think there's a good way to measure that...so...I'll weigh myself tomorrow morning and move on from there, I'm guessing it's about 7 pounds.

The challenge starts tomorrow 11/5 and the goals are:

Week 1: Food Log - we have to keep track of all of our food.  No sweat, I already do that.  I'm also going to go back to taking pictures so get ready for photos of everything I eat.

Day 1: Be Perfect - this means I have to drink 64+ ounces of water, eat healthy food (no cheating) and exercise at least 10 minutes.  I'll let you know how I did on Monday night or Tuesday!

Wish me luck!