Weekly Weigh-In: Down 3.8 Lbs., Almost Out Of 200 Club

2 Comments
I'm at my lowest weight in nearly 25 years. I'm so close to busting out of the 200s! Woohoo!!!

I’m at my lowest weight in nearly 25 years. I’m so close to busting out of the 200s! Woo hoo!!!

Another awesome week as I stayed on track eating just 20g of carbs/day. I’m down 3.8 pounds. That puts my total weight loss at 121.4 lbs! The best news of all? I’m close to leaving the 200s. Yep, I officially weigh 203.6. Sweet!

I finally feel like I’ve busted this last plateau wide open. I’ve had great weight loss 4 out of the last 6 weeks.  The last plateau I broke by upping my workouts. That didn’t work this time.

What’s the difference?

This time around it was all diet. Turns out I was a little lax in my measurements. So when I needed to eat 2 cups of mixed greens, I was probably eating 3 or 4 cups. An ounce of avocado became 3 ounces. Six ounces of sirloin steak turned into 8. Sigh…

There are no short cuts to weight loss. I was pretty good at measuring things with my eye or using my hand as a guide. I just got lazy…and my eyes too big for my stomach. So now I’m back to measuring and weighing everything. At some point I’ll once again gain the confidence to use my hands as a way to measure out all my food. When that happens, I’ll remind myself that I need to do some spot-checking with my scale to keep me honest.

This Fat Chick Close To Running A Full Mile

1 Comment
My Saucony running shoes got a workout yesterday as I ran for 14 minutes (twice)! I'm so close to running a full mile.

My Saucony running shoes got a workout yesterday as I ran for 14 minutes (twice)! I’m so close to running a full mile.

During my 6-mile walk I decided to see how far I could run. Boy did I get a surprise. I ran 0.85 miles before stopping for a red light…and air. According to my tracking program, my little run lasted 14.38 minutes. I have no idea if that is slow, fast or just OK.

And I don’t care. I continuously ran for over 14 minutes and nearly hit 1-mile.

That’s awesome in my book!

When I reached mile 4 in my walk, I decided to try running once more. Again, I ran for about 14 minutes but could only go 0.75 miles before my legs decided it was time to stop. I’m calling that a victory too.

I try it again Saturday morning.

I don’t know if I’m able to fully run my upcoming 5K, but I’m going to give it my best shot.

Are The Health Foods You’re Eating Really Healthy?

Leave a comment
Image courtesy of Sira Anamwong and FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Image courtesy of Sira Anamwong and FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

A great piece from our friends at Authority Nutrition about 15 junk foods disguising themselves as healthy foods. Unfortunately too many people believe these are really healthy for you. My rule of thumb when it comes to food — if it’s in a box, chances are it’s not healthy.

That’s why I only shop the perimeter of a grocery store — produce and dairy and meats, oh my!

Of the 15 foods listed, you would easily find half of them in my pantry before March 2012 (the start of my weight loss journey). No wonder I ballooned to 325 lbs. Wow!

How many of these items are in your kitchen?

 

How Much Water Is Enough For Weight Loss

2 Comments
Are you getting enough water? The old rule of 8 8-ounce glasses of water a day is all wrong. Photo courtesy of zirconicusso and FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Are you getting enough water? The old rule of 8 8-ounce glasses of water a day is all wrong. Photo courtesy of zirconicusso and FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

We’ve all heard the 8 x 8 rule – drink 8 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Easy to remember, but it doesn’t really work. Why? It’s a one size fits all mindset that doesn’t take into account your size, weight, activity level or environment (altitude, heat, humidity).

Let’s face it, The water needs of a 250-pound man vs. a 165-pound woman are very different. In fact, for those of us who are viewed as obese, 8 x 8 doesn’t even come close to what we need daily.

5 Reasons Water Is Important To Weight Loss
Up to 60% of the human body is water. Water is a big key to successful weight loss and staying healthy. Read More

Battling The Witching Hour Cravings

2 Comments
Thankfully I chose walnuts as my late night snack. But if I don't get a handle on evening snacking it could be worse. Image courtesy of franky242 and FreeDigitalPhoto.net.

Thankfully I chose walnuts as my late night snack. But if I don’t get a handle on evening snacking it could be worse. Image courtesy of franky242 and FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Did you know that most evening eaters eat  50% of their calories at night. Yikes! At least I know I’m not alone. Thankfully I don’t do that anymore. I spread my calories out during the day. But I’m not immune from snacking in the evening. Breaking this bad habit is a challenge.

Saturday Night Boredom Fest
I spent a quiet, relaxing evening at home on Saturday. Tired, I planned to go to bed at 11:00 pm. By 9:30 I was starting to fall asleep on the couch. Not ready to go to bed, I wandered into the kitchen and grabbed a handful of walnuts.

What was I thinking? Read More

The Skinny On Loose Skin

20 Comments
Loose skin is a consequence of weight loss. But there are a few things I'm doing to minimize excess skin while I'm losing weight.

Yep, I’ve got loose skin. There are a few things I’m doing to decrease excess skin while I’m losing weight.

While striking the downward dog pose in yoga class, I couldn’t help but notice the loose skin around my knees. Grrreat. When I started my weight loss journey in 2012, I knew that loose skin was going to happen.

I’m in my mid 40s so it’s not like my skin will spring back completely once I’m thin.

Still, seeing it is annoying.

I’m not opposed to plastic surgery to get rid of excess skin. After all, having a lot of loose skin can cause lots of medial problems like intertrigo – a bacterial, fungal or viral infection – because you can’t keep the folds of skin clean and dry. Yikes! Read More

Weekly Weigh-In: Down 4 lbs. With Minor Changes

Leave a comment
Down 4 lbs. over last week. Thanks to constantly tracking, I was able to pinpoint the problems that caused my weight gain August 4-16.

Down 4 lbs. over last week. Thanks to constantly tracking, I was able to pinpoint the problems that caused my weight gain August 4-16.

After two consecutive weeks of gains, I’m down 4 lbs. this week. I’m officially at my lowest weight since starting college. It feels pretty dang awesome.

So what was the difference? Thanks to tracking my food and activity, I noticed 3 things that lead to those two weeks of gains. Because I tracked, I was able to course correct for two of those things and experienced a sweet weight loss.

  1. Wine! — The Nectar of the Gods is one of my 10 Known Kryptonites (yes, I need to do a post on this). During the weeks I gained, I was drinking one too many glasses. This week I kept wine at bay (with the help of the husband) by drinking unsweetened ice tea when we went out for dinner.
  2. Sore Muscles — My trainer is pushing me hard lately. As a result my quads, hamstrings, glutes, triceps and shoulder muscles are more sore than normal. So my muscles were holding on to more water than normal as I upped the intensity of my workout.
  3. Lots of Bloating — For the last few months I’ve struggled on and off with constipation. Not a fun topic, but it happens when you’re trying to lose weight eating low carb. The last few weeks it’s been particularly bad. I’ve tried eating more greens to up my fiber but it doesn’t seem to help. Now I’m trying to add a bit more fat back into my diet and cut back on protein. For a short-term solution I’m picking up some magnesium citrate today — something the paleo folks swear by. Basically it’s a saline laxative similar to what you take to empty your bowels before a colonoscopy.

When I talked to my doctor about it back in March, he recommended I start taking a probiotic. Did it work? You bet. But for some reason I stopped taking it. Mostly because I ran out and never picked up another batch from my local Vitamin Shoppe.  D’oh!  So guess what I’m doing today.

My hope is this will be an easy fix and nothing more serious is going on.

How The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Started

2 Comments

Not my usual type of post, but the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a true phenom. You may have heard of ALS by its other name, Lou Gehrig’s disease. But how did it start? ESPN did a great feature on a very brave guy — Pete Frates.

If you can’t do the challenge, you can donate here.

Updating My Weight Loss Goals

1 Comment
weight loss goal, nutrition goal, fitness goals, weekly weight loss goals

Image courtesy of chanpipat and FreeDigitalPhoto.net.

I needed to update my goals with an eye toward overall health and happiness. Sure weight loss is my main focus, but I’m in a completely different place mentally. It was time to I add some goals related to wellness and everyday beauty.

I’ve also experienced a shift in thinking when it comes to exercise. Overall fitness is way more important to me now. No need to set goals related to the number of days or hours for working out. Exercise is one habit that comes automatically. I want to focus on getting stronger and transforming my body.

Read More

4 Weeks Until I Run My First 5K

2 Comments
My problem Achilles tendon is rearing it's ugly head again. This morning the right side of my ankle is swollen and can't bear any weight. Time for a little R&R to avoid a possible tear.

I run my first 5K in 4 weeks. Unfortunately, my problem Achilles tendon is slowing down my 5K training. It’s feeling better lately and tomorrow I see just how far I can run without stopping.

Time is flying by. I looked at the calendar today and realized I only have 4 weeks left to train for my upcoming 5k. Holy cow! I’m starting to sweat it because I haven’t been consistent in my training.

For the last two months I’ve experienced a flare up with my Achilles’ tendon. It hurts the most in the mornings. After an hour of stretching and light walking I’m much more mobile. But I do have days where no matter the amount of stretching the blasted tendon hurts all day.

About a month ago it started hurting right after my runs. So I decided to go light on the running, just to play it safe. The last thing I want to do is rupture my Achilles. Read More