Day 1 - WLC

“We Love Cookies”?

No, it’s the Weight Loss Challenge. Today is the day. Day #1. Thirty days of consistent working out, counting calories, taking measurements and taking pictures.

Why am I doing this to myself?

(1) Because I love a challenge.
(2) I’m a little on the competitive side.
(3) As my 46th birthday approaches the need to be healthy increases exponentially.
(4) I will not be old, frail and feeble.

Here are the goals to be achieved by 30 September:

* Lose 5 pounds in September
* Lose 2 inches off my waist
* Workout in the gym 3 times a week
* Yoga and strength training twice a week

This is not going to be fun. It’s going to take discipline and hard work. Self-discipline is not one of my strong suits. But being accountable will make it that much easier. I do not want to be the one at the end of the month who says, “I started out strong, but fell off after two weeks and I didn’t meet my goal.”

That will not be me.

Challenging Challenges

I just signed up for the September Weight Loss Challenge over at Fabulous Financials.

I have committed to losing 5 pounds in the month of September.

My weight has been fluctuating since June and it's really annoying. Part of it is my own fault. Once I hit my goal weight and strutted my stuff on the beach, I got kinda lazy. I'm still within 2 lbs of that weight but I'm not as consistent as I know I should be and I love a challenge.

The month of September will be filled with posts about what I'm eating and how much I'm working out.

These five pounds are not going to be easy for me. But I need to stop thinking about what I'm going to give up (fried chicken) and think about what I'm going to gain: a healthier body.

The Goal Weight

I have weighed myself three times in the past two weeks and it seems that I have reached my goal weight of 135 pounds.

Wow.

I started working out Feb 2009 and I have been working out semi-consistently since then. Back then I was up to 143 pounds and I have been fluctuating between 143 and 137. I've modified my diet (somewhat) and I do more cardio than strength training. I've been trying to get back to 135 for months without any success. The only thing that I've done differently in the past few months is that I've added yoga to my workout routine.

Could my sweaty stretching be the cause of my recent weight loss? Could it?

I wasn't sure if I was going to continue with it or not because who needs the extra expense? But the fact is, I love it. It is so challenging and I really push myself and afterward I feel amazing. Guess I'll stick with it.

We Don't Diet

We tried a new restaurant this weekend and the food was just wonderful.

I had the shrimp and grits.



My guy had fried flounder with asparagus. We also had fried pickles as an appetizer. I had never heard of fried pickles and thought they were worth a try. They were interesting. We both had red wine and berry cobbler for dessert. Yes, we had dessert.

Here's what I brought to work today:




That's two bottles of water, carrots, a banana, yogurt, almonds and the He.althy Ch.oice Honey Ginger Chicken for lunch. I also had two hard boiled eggs before I left the house.

Something interesting happened over the weekend. I participated in an activity which I absolutely hate: I went shopping. I wanted to buy a casual dress for our dinner date. Why did I have to go to six different stores only to end up at the very first store that I went to? Why did every dress marked "medium" look too big on me? Hmmmm. And I'm wearing a suit today that would have been considered inappropriate just a year ago. Last year, the skirt hugged my hips too tightly and I had to keep pulling it down. Not today. Today, this skirt fits honey. It fits, I tell you!

Still not bathing-suit ready and I still haven't stepped on a scale but I'm very curious.

Have a great day.

Why Man, Why?

So, I come back from lunch and this little gift was left on my desk. Dove Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate Promises.

Don't these people know that I'm on a mission????

Sheesh!

Next Steps

So I've been going to the gym consistently for the past four weeks. Thirty minutes of cardio and thirty minutes of weight training.

The result?

No weight loss and no inches lost.

Maybe I'm just not working hard enough. I'm not too terribly upset because it's not like I'm overweight (5'7", 143 lbs, 30.5 inch waist). I just want to look good in a bathing suit this summer. Did I tell you that I'm renting a house at the beach for a week? Well, I am and I am not trying to be all covered up. Know what I mean?

Anyway I'm going to amp up my cardio time from 30 minutes to 40 minutes and I found the following plan on MSN:

Start out with the treadmill setting on 3
at 3:00 push it up to 3.5
at 6:00 push it up to 4
at 13:00 push it up to 4.2
at 15:00 go down to 3.5
at 18:00 push it up to 4
at 25:00 push it up to 4.2
at 27:00 go down to 3.5
at 37:00 go down to 3
then finish at 40 minutes

Total calories burned 200, and supposedly I'll lose up to 2 inches off my waist (which is the goal) in just a month if I do this six times a week. I'm also taking the stairs at work instead of riding the elevator the four flights. I'm paying closer attention to what I eat which is a straight pain in the neck. You know it's girl scout cookie season, right? Usually, I buy about 10 boxes and give the kids four boxes and I leave six boxes at my office. This year, I bought six boxes and gave the kids four and left two at the office. I still haven't opened them. **sigh**


Whatever, if Va.ler.rie Ber.tin.elli can put her 48-year old body into a bikini so can I.

It's On!

I bet my guy that I could lose my tummy before he loses his.

He goes to the gym about 3-4 times a week and I do crunches in my bedroom.
He has a sweet tooth and I don't.
I drink more wine than he does.

My money is on me.