Weekly Goals: October 6-12

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I'm setting and tracking weekly goals that move me closer to my 3 month target weight of 227 lbs. by the end of 2013.

I’m setting and tracking weekly goals that move me closer to my 3 month target weight of 227 lbs. by the end of 2013.

Tomorrow a new week begins and that means I need new weight loss goals. Yes, its weekly goal setting time. The purpose of these weekly goals is to help me reach my 3-month goal of dropping 19.5 lbs. So far so good. I’ve hit last week’s goals and I’m down 1.8 lbs. as a result.

Starting Sunday I’m upping the intensity of my yoga workouts. I will conquer that blasted plank position!

On the nutrition front, I’m challenging my daily carb consumption by targeting the lower end of my range.

October 6-12 Goals

  • Workout – Do the non-modified plank position and push-ups during yoga; select new 30-Day Challenge
  • Nutrition – Eat a max of 20g of carbs/day for 4 days this week.
  • Other – Moisturize! Moisturize! Moisturize! Plus wax off the lady moustache.
  • Reward – Treat myself to a new book.

Dropped Nearly 2 Lbs. This Week

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1.8 lbs. drop this week! That puts me 17.7 lbs. away from my 3 month goal and 106 lbs. away from my goal weight.

1.8 lbs. drop this week! That puts me 17.7 lbs. away from my 3 month goal and 106 lbs. away from my goal weight.

I decided to weigh-in a day earlier than normal since I’ve got the 5K tomorrow. I must say, I’m very happy. I’m down 1.8 lbs this week. That puts my total weight loss at 78.8 lbs. As for my 3-month weigh loss goal, I only have 17.7 lbs to go.

Sweet!

This Week’s Goals: Sept. 29 – Oct. 5

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I'm setting and tracking weekly goals that move me closer to my 3 month target weight of 227 lbs. by the end of 2013.

I’m setting and tracking weekly goals that move me closer to my 3 month target weight of 227 lbs. by the end of 2013.

To help me reach my 3 month goal of losing 19.5 lbs, I’m setting and tracking weekly targets for working out and nutrition. I’m tossing in a weekly reward for that little extra push.

Workout
Power walks on 3 days this week consisting of 1, 2 and 4 mile walks; do a 5K on October 5.

Nutrition
No dessert or wine this week.

Reward
Treat myself to a pedicure.

Remember: Written goals are dreams with deadlines!

Weight Loss: Reflect. Refocus. Repeat.

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Behold the Fitbook! The weekly goal section helps me reflect and focus in on my goal of dropping 19.5 lbs. by year's end.

Behold the Fitbook! The weekly goal section helps me reflect and focus on my goal of dropping 19.5 lbs. by year’s end.

I’m loving my FitBook.  Yes, in the age of the app, I’m finding that pen and paper still has its advantages when dealing with weight loss.

Why? With the apps, it’s really about clicking something (and getting annoyed with my nemesis – Auto Correct!) and forgetting about it – pure tracking (but they are awesome trackers!)

With Fitbook, I actually have to think about goals for the week and the plan to hit those goals. Something the app trackers lack.

So this morning I rose early to take stock of my 2013 health and fitness goals. Other than my 5K goal, I haven’t looked at these in ages.  I wise I could say I’ve hit my targets. But the truth is they are terribly vague.

Wanna Lose Weight? Set Specific Goals
My next weight target is to lose 25% of my starting body weight. By when? How much is 25%? What will I do to lose 25%?

Ugh! How stupid. Is it little wonder I struggled with two plateaus this year.

If the goal isn’t specific, you won’t hit it.  If I can’t track or measure my goal, I’ll fail. My next weight loss goal must be specific with a target date.  So here we go:

Goal: I want to lose 30% of my starting weight (19.5 more pounds) by December 31st by sticking to 25g of carbs/day and working out 5 days a week.

With my 3 month goal set, I now need to break it down into smaller weekly goals to get me there.  Again, I need to think about what I’m doing.

Now that I’m tracking my food, it is really easy to see how my weight loss went off the rails.  I’ve reflected more on the negative – how I screwed up rather than my successes.  But most importantly, I completely forgot to take stock of where I’m at now on my weight loss journey and where do I want to go from here. Without refocusing my goals, how can I push myself to do better?

Reflect. Refocus. Repeat.

I’ve got 3 months to drop those 19.5 lbs. So after breakfast, I’m taking pen and paper in hand to spell out this week’s goals.

Note: In my haste this morning, I accidentally posted this under my husband’s name. Rest assured, this is a Dot2Trot post.

2.5 Inches Closer To Size 20

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I’m measuring myself every month. The scale is a great snap shot of where I’m at on the day I step on it. But my body measurements give a more complete picture of my weight loss journey.

Today, good news in two areas.

Sept 16 MeasurementsMy waist and hips carry the bulk of my weight. So it’s no surprise that’s where I see movement.  I lost an inch off the waist and 1.5 inches from my hips. All other parts remain the same…again.

I’m very happy with the numbers. But of course, when I don’t see movement in other areas, I start kicking myself.

While we can’t pick which body parts the pounds come off, a part of me can’t help but think that the knee injury slowed progress on my legs. Stupid thought, since I just wrote we can’t target where we lose weight. Truth is, I’m very happy it’s coming from my midsection. Belly fat increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. With these numbers I’m closer to getting off the blood pressure meds.

I’m steadily adding the daily walk back into my routine. The knee feels good.

I’ve also decided to increase the exercise bands from 2 days a week to 3. I’m very happy with my progress, but there is a part of me that worries that I’m not doing enough toning.

I am getting closer to that size 20. This weekend I picked up a few new workout outfits. Normally I reserve shopping like this for hitting milestones. But my current crop of gear has lots of holes and tears. Size 20 fit perfectly. Of course, that’s not too difficult when you’re talking about stretchy pants.

I needed to try on a pair of size 20 non-stretchy pants – also for fun.  Close, but no cigar. The pants fit a bit too tight, but I’ll be back in another 10 lbs.

Small Victory: Push-Ups

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I actually did push ups today.  I did my plank pose and then 5 push-ups during yoga.

Yes, both the plank and push-ups were the modified versions, but the fact I did them is what counts. In about a week, I’ll try the non-modified plank pose. But for now, I’m sticking to my knees.

Baby stepping one step at a time.

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Weekly Weigh-In: Slightly Bloated

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Thanks to water retention, no change in weight this week.

Thanks to water retention, no change in weight this week.

Yesterday my fingers swelled slightly and my ankles puffed up a bit. That continued this morning, right on cue for my weekly weigh-in. Awesome.

Thanks to the water retention and my pig-out fest on Wednesday, I feared the scale this morning.

Turns out I’m up 0.2 lbs. So basically the same as last week. I’ll take it. I lost nearly 8 lbs and I kept it off. I’m happy.

Weight Loss Lesson Of The Week
Eating right every meal except for one this week didn’t upset the apple cart. That’s why it’s important to get back on track immediately.

I’m expecting water evaporation in a few days. So I’m hopeful the scale will show me some love next Saturday.

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Dropping Sizes

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Breaking out the belt to stop my jeans from falling too low. How awesome is that!

Breaking out the belt to stop my jeans from falling too low. How awesome is that!?!

It’s official! My jeans are too baggy. With minimum effort (and wiggling), I can pull off my jeans without unbuttoning or zipping. My fist easily fits between my belly and the denim.

Oh and did I mention, I washed the jeans yesterday.

Woo-hoo!

It’s cool outside so I decided to toss on my jeans, the first time I’ve worn them in a month.  Clearly my body underwent changes during that dang plateau.

So I’m about to exit the land of size 22.

There is no way to know when I’ll officially reach size 20. I’m assuming in about 8-10 lbs. But in reality there is no hard and fast rule on the number of pounds you need to lose to drop a size.  All designers define sizes differently – trust me, a size 16 at Old Navy isn’t the same size 16 at Lane Bryant.  Plus where you lose weight is also a big factor.

For me, I drop a size every 13-15 lbs. Right now I’m on track to overhaul my wardrobe when I weigh 240. Which translates into 8 more lbs.

Awesome!

 

Weekly Weigh-In: Down 7.6 Pounds, Baby!

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Below 250 lbs for the first time in 10 years! Bye-bye plateau.

Below 250 lbs for the first time in 10 years! Bye-bye plateau.

When I woke up this morning, I had a great feeling about stepping on the scale.  I arrived at my Weight Watcher’s meeting to find the building empty.

Really!?!

Then I remembered that the meeting relocated due to renovations. But I couldn’t remember where. Thankfully, my trusty Weight Watchers app pointed me to the temporary place.  Come hell or high water, I was stepping on that scale today!

I arrived with a few minutes to spare. I stepped on the scale and experienced my second shock that morning. I knew I’d lost some weight, maybe a couple of pounds. Ha! I dropped nearly 8 lbs. this week. I did a little happy dance as I stepped off the scale.

After 4 months of battling this plateau – bouncing between 252 – 255 lbs – I finally broke through the 250 lbs. barrier. I feel awesome.

When I started this little journey, I set a goal of losing 185 lbs.  I knew I needed to break my weight loss into smaller chunks so as not to feel overwhelmed. I settled on 5% increments. So when I started, 5% of my total body weight was 15 lbs…10% equaled 30 lbs total, and so on – very doable chunks.

Since January, I set my sights on hitting 250 lbs. The last time I weighed 250 was my wedding more than 10 years ago. So 250 a milestone?  Oh, a big one.

I’ve finally crossed the my weight loss Rubicon!

My total weight loss is now 78 lbs. I am 4 lbs. shy of losing 25% of my body weight.

Well, if 250 lbs. is my Rubicon, then hitting 200 lbs. is my white whale (just without the personal destruction).

Happy hunting!

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Weekly Weigh-In: Down 1/2 Lbs

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Finally got the scale moving in the right direction. I’m now 254.7, down 1/2 lbs.

I think my Texas trip was a bust. I didnt weigh-in during the trip, so how do I know? Just too many temptations (chips…lots of chips!) at the house.

So this week I stuck to my low carb plan and didn’t go over my daily points. Even though I had dinner out (twice!) with friends, I didn’t tap into my weekly allowance points either. Awesome.

Just need to keep it up. Plus, with the yoga starting back up, I’m confident that I’ll hit that damn 250 mark soon and put an end this plateau once and for all.