It's working

My Cardio-only week is paying off. I've been trying a variation of slow burning cardio and HIIT in order to just take off fat and so far so good! I am going away this weekend and am nervous but I can handle it!

U Turn

I read this today, it made me feel good.

"Stop beating yourself up!

That’s why almost all diets fail. Slip up? Make a YOU-turn. In other words, get back on your plan right away. If you’re driving with a GPS and make a wrong turn, it doesn’t berate you. All it says, very politely, is “at the next available moment, make an authorized U-turn.” That’s the kind of mentality you should have. What kills healthy eating isn’t the occasional dessert; it’s the cascade of behavior that happens after the initial indulgence. You’re going to make wrong turns. When you do, just steer yourself back."

Oh man, confessional time

I seriously fell off the wagon this weekend. And the wagon ended up plowing into Monday as well. I think my down fall was not planning well enough and not following through with what I had committed to do. On Friday, I went to a girl's night get-together and told myself to eat one small plate of food. I did have a really light dinner beforehand in anticipation...but after seeing that really good dip my friend made, which is essentially bad fat and bad carbs mixed together...I couldn't keep myself away from it. And did I mention I made brownies to take? I did mix in some flax meal and added some chopped walnuts, but it doesn't really matter when you eat 4! Then on Saturday I did really well for breakfast and lunch but then we had family over for dinner and I ate my fair share of junk and two healthy helping of dessert. Sunday was really fine...I indulged in some coleslaw but other than that the day was pretty good. Monday I was gone all day and not in the mood to make dinner so we stopped on the way home for a hot and ready. Throw in some sugary soda calories and that explains the 2-3lb weight gain over the weekend. I know, I'm obsessed with the scale but that's an issue I'll address some other time. Last week I saw 139 on the scale...it was probably a fluke but I was so excited, then I battled 141 and 140 all week, I was 140 on Friday, and then I've steadily climbed up since then. I am thinking that Jillian Michael's may be causing me to gain muscle weight-which is good, but I don't think I'm ready for toning yet, I'm really interested in burning fat. So, for the rest of this week I'm doing a cardio only experiment. I'm going to do low-intensity cardio for longer periods of time (90 minutes) and we'll see what happens. I'll report back maybe Monday. We're going away this weekend but to my in-laws. They'll have healthy choices for me there. Thank goodness.

Experiment

Image by masonmasteka via Flickr

Scale-less=not going to happen. I'm just too close to the "reveal." I'm too dependent on it. I tried to go this morning without it but then it made me feel like I could cheat on the diet...like, "I'm not weighing in so I can eat this half a bagel, right?" It's not the mentality I want to have right now. I really need the momentum I've built up to keep me going for the next 10-15 pounds. I'll go down to weighing myself only every few days or once a week when I'm to the maintenance stage.

A Scale-less Experiment

I am giving up my scale for two weeks. I am motivated by this post from my friend Teri on her blog, A Foodie Stays Fit. It really got me thinking. I weigh myself every day and I let the number dictate how I feel. I weigh myself first thing in the morning, that's when you're supposed to be the lightest right? So, I lay in bed after waking, thinking..."what is the highest number the scale can say that I can be happy with?" I want to think about how strong I've become, how my endurance has improved and have that make me happy instead of a number. I feel like I'm taking a risk because there are only three weeks until my "reveal." What if I don't listen to my body well enough or what if going without the scale stresses me out and I gain weight? I hoping it will have the opposite effect, that I will be less stressed without the scale and just feel better. I won't get to my "goal weight" by 4/5, but I never intended to do that. I had wanted to lose 20 pounds by then and it looks like I'll hit 30. So, I'll let you know how it goes.

Busyish

It's been kind of a busy week. It's been nice out, so we've been spending more time outside, which means less time inside doing chores...I guess that makes me feel busy. I've been feeling great, great, great. I broke through my second plateau. I was stuck stuck stuck at 145 for two weeks. It was a tough two weeks but I have finally broken through and am at 141. So that's 26 pounds people! Also, I have started incorporating Jillian Michael's back into my workouts. She is one tough cookie but sure helps me sweat. I was motivated by this blog post about shocking your body and doing something to change things up...I did, and I has really made a difference. I have moved away from the Zone dinners. I'm still in the Zone for breakfast and lunch but I got a little bored with the dinner recipes so I've been trying to focus on overall health and portion size. We have made a permanent switch to fat-free cheese and switched from sour cream to plain Greek Yogurt. I can't tell with the yogurt but I can with the cheese. Anywho-I just wanted to check it, I'm still here, and I'm still working out hard. I just might lose 30 pounds by Easter. I only have four pounds to go. That is crazy to me...crazy but exciting.

I need to settle on a "before" picture. I didn't take an "official" picture and I wish I had. Oh well. I'll find something.

Splurge....you're doin' it right.

We went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries last night. Oh. my. word. It was so so so good and such a good splurge. I guess my body needed a little garbage and grease because I FINALLY broke through 145. I was 144.6 this morning. I ordered the "little burger" and seriously-it was gone in seconds. I wish I had take a few minutes to savor it but it was so good. And, I ate fries, a lot of fries...I think I've written about my obsession with fries on Annadotes, but man, they were so so good. I am so glad there is not a location that doesn't require a highway. Otherwise, the diet would be out the window. I did workout yesterday when I wanted to take a nap, so that was a victory, yeah!.