weight loss

Weigh-In Wednesday: Stalled

/ erin mount / 1 Comment

Last week’s weight: 201.4
This week’s weight: 200.2
LOSS of 1.2 pounds

I can’t believe I am SO CLOSE to being in the 190s but can’t get there! Sure, I lost a little bit, but this is the same weight I was three weeks ago. I am not making progress.

I worked out 4 times between last Wednesday and yesterday. I tracked my food EVERY day, including the weekends. Here are my calorie totals for each day, with any workout I did that day in parentheses next to that:

Wednesday: 1,549
Thursday: 1,667
Friday: 1,522 (33 minutes running)
Saturday: 1,640* (I am pretty sure I ate more than this, but I did not know the calorie counts of everything I ate.)
Sunday: 1,779 (45 minutes running)
Monday: 1,957 (30 minutes running)
Tuesday: 1,489 (25 minutes walking)

So Saturday and Monday were not great days in terms of calories, but I think the others are reasonable. My calorie range, as determined by SparkPeople, is 1360-1710, so going by that I went over my range 3/7 days. Looking at it like that makes me realize that every little bit counts. Even though I tracked everything, I wasn’t as diligent as I could have been about making the right nutritional choices. I think in the back of my mind I was thinking, “I worked out today, so I can eat a little extra.” This line of thinking is silly since it’s not like I’m working out for an insane amount of time and burning tons and tons of calories, but nevertheless I found myself thinking it.

To sum it up: cardio can’t make up for poor eating habits. I have to have self-control, or I will never get anywhere with weight loss.

I WILL be in the 190s next week, or I’m shaving my eyebrows.

(Well, maybe not.)

Moving Forward

/ erin mount / 4 Comments

So, yesterday was Wednesday. (I know, aren’t you glad you have me around to bring you the late-breaking news?) It should have been weigh-in day for me, but I didn’t weigh myself. For one, I was sick and spent most of the day lying around, and two, I knew it wouldn’t be a number I’d want to see. The truth is, I let my 4 pound weight loss from last week boost my confidence, but it didn’t boost my self-control. Lame, huh? I didn’t track anything over the weekend, and that’s a sure sign that I’m not being mindful of my eating.

The only thing I did do well last week was exercise. I rocked my workouts, and on Saturday I ran my longest distance since October 2012: 4 miles! I even got up early and was out running before 7 a.m. on a Saturday, which is unheard of for me. And the best part is I loved every minute of it. I told myself I would take it slow and walk if I had to, but I was completing 4 miles. No excuses. So even though I wanted to throw in the towel around mile 3 and was wishing with every step that I lived in a flat neighborhood, I just kept running. I let myself enjoy the morning and soaked in the sun peeking over the horizon, the breeze tickling my face, and the stillness of the neighborhood. It was, dare I say, fun!

Post-run victory glow.

Post-run victory glow.

The victory of that run was so exciting, and yet I feel like my lack of discipline with my eating spoiled it somewhat. I feel frustrated that I can’t get everything right at the same time and frustrated that I’m already having setbacks after just 2 weeks of trying to lose weight. But the good news? Tomorrow is a new day and a new month, and I haven’t messed those up yet. I will face the scale tomorrow and move forward.

One pound at a time, one day at a time, one choice at a time.

Weigh-In Wednesday

/ erin mount / 5 Comments

Last week’s weight: 204.2
This week’s weight: 200.2
LOSS of 4 pounds

Wahoo! I am thrilled with this result. I worked hard over the past week, trying to diligently track my calories and make better food choices. I wasn’t perfect: the weekend was difficult to track everything because we ate out a few meals, and I ate over my range on at least 2 days. But even on the days when I ate over my range, I am sure I still ate fewer calories than I was before I started paying attention to my intake. I exercised 3 times, and I didn’t eat past 8 any night.

Sometimes it seems like the scale doesn’t reflect the work (or lack thereof) that is done, but today, I feel like it did. It is just the motivation I need to stay strong and keep trying.

One pound at a time, one day at a time, one choice at a time.

 

Reset

/ erin mount / 5 Comments

I weighed myself this morning, and it wasn’t pretty. The number on the scale said 204.2. I haven’t weighed over 200 pounds since I was pregnant with Charlotte over 3 years ago. I had a few thoughts after seeing this number:

Thought 1: “I can’t believe this. I feel disgusting.

Thought 2: “I have to change this.” 

This is not new territory for me. My weight has been on a steady increase for the past year. In the back of my mind, however, I thought that things would turn around. I thought these extra pounds were just some sort of wacky fluke, as if by thinking that I could absolve myself of all responsibility. But the fault is all mine. I made the choices that led to weight gain. I chose to eat unhealthy foods. I chose to feel sorry for myself and wallow in self-pity. I chose to ignore the warning signs and kept heading down a path I knew would only lead to seeing 200 pounds on the scale again. 

But I’m through with all of that. No more feeling sorry for myself. No more making excuses. No more eating junk and hoping it won’t negatively effect me. I have treated myself poorly and set a bad example for my daughter long enough. 

I am hitting the reset button. I am going back to the basics. Here’s the plan:

  • I am counting my calories on SparkPeople.
  • I am limiting sweets to fewer than 200 calories a day.
  • I am not going to keep any soda (diet or regular) in the house.
  • I will not eat out of boredom or after 8:00 p.m.
  • I will exercise at least 3 times a week. 

These things work. I know because they worked for me before. Despite the fact that I have this little voice in my head that says that I will never get back into the 160s again, that I am just destined to be a fat girl, I have to believe that I can do this. I have my own past experience to prove it. 

I can do this. I can do this. I WILL do this.