Ooof!

I have to remember to write here all the time, not just when things are going well. This weekend I ate pretty much everything. I'm not going to recap everything (beer, cake, chips), but there was just a lot of food in my path, and I did very little to get out of its way.

Today I got on the scale and was 189. Basically a 6-pound gain just over the weekend. A lot of that can be attributed to post-party bloat, sodium, whatever. But seriously, that's kind of gross. (Actually, what's super gross is that I weighed 197 last night. Really? I gained 14 pounds in a day and a half. Whaaaaat?)

All right, so we're back in track, and moving on with our life. And today's eating and working out (Zumba, followed by trampolining) was spot-on. My Fitness Pal tells me that:

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 168.6 lbs in 5 weeks

Nice!

It works if you work it

So, the month of January was full of ups and downs. I had a bit of stress worrying about some tests and let that distract me. I didn't fully feel the pressure of the contests I've entered. (Dude, there's real money on the line. My money.) But over the past week, I've gotten serious, and even learned that moderation can be a part of "getting serious." There was a good-bye lunch for some coworkers where I made a great choice for lunch (442 calories!), but I also couldn't resist the cheese biscuits (I despise wasting food!) and added 330 calories to my otherwise healthy meal. And there was chocolate cake!

But for the rest of the week, I really pulled it out. Logging all my food (not just when it looked pretty on paper!), and generally being serious about stuff. I had two days this week where I walked more than 20,000 steps (yesterday was 25,000), and I've been going to Zumba 2-3 times a week. And so despite a month of the scale going up, then down, then up, then down, then up again, today, I present you with:

Weight: 183.4
Fat: 36.7%
Water: 46.3%
Muscle: 30.4%

So, not just weight loss, but definite fat loss over last time, and even some muscle gain! Woot!

So, it's February 1. I like February. It's a nice, solid month with exactly four weeks in it. Perfect for getting really serious about one's goals. My friend (Hi, C!! Oooh, I should start calling her Hi-C) is on board for this, too. We're talking about losing 10 pounds in February.

I intend to accomplish this through diligent food logging, weight training and starting to run again. I bought a heart-rate monitor, so I can start to determine whether my working out is actually in the most productive (fat-burning) zone. I got a new pair of running shoes this week, and I'm so excited to get started, that I even woke up early (for me) this morning! So....good luck to everyone else with your goals this month!

Scales

I originally wanted one of those Withings scales or an Aria, but since they run anywhere between $120 and $160 (it's just a SCALE, people!), I had to be a bit realistic. Since the primary feature I was interested in was body fat analysis, I just got a body fat scale for $40 bucks from Target, thanks to an awesome friend for a generous Christmas present.

I compared that scale to my old (regular old digital kind) and the weight was identical last night. Which is why I was a little disappointed when I got on this morning and the weight read 189.2. Because I had been down to 187 on the old scale yesterday morning. Whatever. Out with the old.

So, it also measures water content (I guess for determining WHAT exactly is making you weigh what you do), and estimates muscle percentage.

Without further ado:

Weight: 189.2
Fat: 38.2%
Water: 45.2%
Muscle: 29.7%

So, let's do this for a while and see what the numbers show us. Wheee!

Back again!

I just wanted to come write a quick note about this evening. I meant to pack up all my unhealthy foods (stuff from the holidays/candy/pizza rolls) and send them to live in the freezer of a good friend. I should have done that Tuesday night. But I didn't. 

Today I ate perfectly. I ate everything I planned for yesterday. But before dinner, I got a call from a loved one who needed help with some technology. Said loved one is terrible at technology. It involved calls to help desks, my own laptop crashing, my own cell phone running out of minutes, and other mishaps. Finally, we got through it, but I was sure it was going to end in hysterics, and I wasn't really sure whose they would be.

Afterwards, I reheated my dinner that had been on hold all this time. I ate it, but didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. And after that, I started  thinking about the 2-lb jar of Good & Plenty in my pantry. I started rationalizing how I could just have a handful. But I know that's probably not likely. I told myself it wasn't like I really started the whole regimen today (um, yeah, I did), seeing as how I didn't make 10,000 steps or go to the gym. 

Finally, I just envisioned myself in 4 months getting on the scale and not making the goal of 166.5 pounds. And then I made myself a cup of tea. Granted, the night's not entirely over, but I feel pretty confident that I'm over the whole candy thing for the night. 

Now, to get the stuff out of the house. For reals. 

Getting on this wagon...AGAIN!!!

Okay, so the last plan didn't go quite like I thought it would. I gained another 2 pounds.

The negative side of that, is that I gained back 22 of the 24 pounds I lost.

The positive side is that I lost a total of 2 pounds in 2012. So, if that trend were to continue for the next 3 years, I'd be at my goal weight on my 70th birthday!

In preparation for starting the new year off right, I made some vegetable soup last night, and went onto My Fitness Pal and logged today's food. I planned my entire day of food out in advance, so there could be no surprises. The plan is to continue planning food in advance. Last year, when I lost most of the weight, I was logging the food, preparing it in advance, and making sure I always food with me for work.

So back to that. In order to earn the money on healthywage.com, I will need to have lost 26 pounds by April 4. So, that means 2 pounds a week, and no backsliding and really charging through any plateaus.

Trying to stay positive

So, that little "bug" I had was bronchopneumonia. For a good part of the last few weeks, I've been coughing, tired and having trouble breathing. Now, I feel mostly good. But when I got diagnosed, I realized that 1) the antibiotics were going to negate the effects of the cleanse I was on and 2) having something knock you on your ass like that, you want all your favorite "comfort" foods. 

I got "comforted" all the way up to 190 pounds. 

That means I have gained back 20 of the 24 pounds I lost this year. 

I don't want to get into a whole "shaming" thing where I beat myself up and feel terrible. I'm trying to keep a good sense of humor about things. 

At one point, when I was 180, Bup was, too. So I made a deal with him. For every week we got on the scale and I weighed more than him, I would pay him ten bucks. There's nothing for him to lose; this something I came up with to keep me in check. Now it looks like I'm going to really have to work hard to get out of this one. 

Also, it's no mystery how this happened. I did unspeakable things to an Entenmann's cake, many, many cookies, cupcakes, a pumpkin roll and some mini-muffins. And cheese. Getting sick over Thanksgiving just gave me a bigger license to eat what I wanted. 

So, for reals, this time. Tonight it ends. I'm not letting it slide until New Years, because then I'll have gained weight for the year. There's still time to lose a few pounds before then. 

Tomorrow I eat like I did on the cleanse, with a little more leeway (if I want yogurt or a smoothie, that's fine). I have bananas, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, brown rice, yogurt and a frozen entree for dinner. I also want to make sure I'm at the gym three times this week (in addition to walking). 

Okay...let's get cracking!

Mini-update

Okay, so apparently I can get into a bit of trouble eating such a clean diet. I'm at 179 right now.

I'd be all gung-ho to turn this boat around, but I seem to have gotten some nice little bug -- the flu or something. So I'm feeling pretty terrible. But that doesn't mean there's not time to reconnect with our goals, now, does it?

I'm still working from home during my germy phase, and Thanksgiving is on Thursday. I have a giant project to work on over the weekend, but then, I'm thinking let's really kill it between the holidays. Avoid all the sugar, white flour, etc. And really get going at the gym. I have a really cute app for running that I'd like to try out, so let's make that happen next week.

On the upside, before I got sick, I was feeling MUCH better. Not sleeping all the time, and being able to get through the day without being exhausted all the time. So it was definitely worth it. But now I'm ready to start focusing on the weight loss.

Also, I'm in a few challenges on this site, so I need to kick it into high gear.