Fit Bit Zip

One week back on track and I feel like I've made quite a bit of progress.  It was still a work week for me, so I didn't get in as much exercise as I had hoped, but overall I would say it was a win for the week!  I did manage to get in 10,000 steps on at least 5 of the days.  I even walked laps around my coffee table one night to get in those last several hundred! Go me!

Here is what my week on Fit Bit looked like...

I really like my Fitbit Zip! I've become quite obsessed with figuring out how many steps I earn for certain activities.  Here are some of my favorite examples from the week:

• Walking my boyfriend's dog - about 2,000 steps
• Dancing the "Cupid Shuffle" - about 800 steps
• Taking out the trash - about 300 steps
• Walking around my entire apartment complex - about 2,000 steps
• One lap around the coffee table - about 20 steps

  

I've made a plan for working out more this week. Since I only have to go to work on Wednesday this week, it will be much easier to get to the gym. Yay that!

-22.6

The Journey Begins Again... Again!

I started this blog in December of 2012 with this blog post:

The Journey Begins Again

I set a goal of blogging and losing weight for 52 weeks.  I made it 30 weeks.  Not exactly perfect, but not too shabby (especially if you compare it to some of my other attempts).  In those 30 weeks I managed to lose 27.5 lbs!  Awesome!

I struggled to stay on track last July, then completely fell off the wagon (scale) in August.  I've made some moderate attempts since then to get back on track, but have let life distract me from my weight loss goals.  I'm not really beating myself up about it, since I at least haven't packed all of those pounds back on.  I'm happy to report that as of writing this post (10 months later) I am still down 22.7 lbs!  Which means I have basically maintained (+/- 5) for the last 10 months! Umm... that is kind of awesome! Right??!!

Right!

So, I am here to say I am beginning again... again. :-D

I have pretty much quit Weight Watchers.  I know it is an amazing program, and I know it works, but I wasn't doing it.  And if you don't do it, it doesn't work well at all.  I feel pretty sure I'll go running back to it at some point, but for now I am going to give this a try on my own (using what I have learned from various programs).

We all know I'm a geek (nerd, if you prefer) and technology always excites and motivates me.  So I plan to use 3 online tools to help get me back on track in June.

1. Dietbet.com - I wrote about Dietbet last year.  I'm participating in FFTFC's Summer DietBet. I put in my $25. If I lose 4% of my starting weight, I will split the pot with all of the winners. The pot for this bet is $19,925 so far and there are 797 players.  Amazing!  Can I lose 9.5 lbs in 28 days?  I hope so! 
2. Healthmonth.com - I wrote about HealthMonth last year too. I've picked some pretty tough rules for June.  However, I've picked a pretty awesome reward.  If I finish the month with at least one life point, I am going on a Groupon Getaway with my best friend! Here are my rules: 
• Walk at least 10,000 steps at least 5 days a week.
• Do weight training at least 3 days a week.
• Drink at least 50 glasses of water a week.
• Allow only 3 sodas a week.
• Take a multivitamin 5 days a week.
• Allow beer/alcohol only 1 day a week.
• Blog at least 1 day a week.
3. Fitbit.com - I had been using the WW Active Link, but decided to make a switch back to FitBit.  I had the original FitBit years ago, and loved keeping track of my steps!  I'm excited to have a Fit Bit again.  This time I went with the Fit Bit Zip.  So far (day 1) I love it!

Here we go again... again!

  











-22.7

Getting Back On Track

I'm happy to report I've done a LOT better this week with food choices.  I'm also going to WW on Thursday night for my next weigh in since I missed last week.  I also have a plan for August:

• Meetings - Attend all 4 Sunday meetings in August.  I'm switching back to my Sunday WW meeting since things kinda went off the rails when I switched meeting times, due to a lot of other factors as well, but figure going back is a good way to get back on track.  I will not miss an August meeting!
• Tracking - 6 days a week. I've really slacked off on this, and I'm ready to get back to it!
• Weight Training - 3 times a week
• Walking/Treadmill - 2 times a week
• Yoga - once a week

How will I stay on track with my new plan?  I am offering myself a REWARD!  If I meet these goals, I will allow myself a $300 shopping trip for new fall clothes in September.  If I fail, I'm going to do a push-up pyramid (probably my least favorite exercise) as punishment.  I will keep track of my progress using HealthMonth.com. Each day I will check in with health month and record what I did the previous day.  I start the month with 10 hearts and lose a heart each time I fail to reach one of my weekly goals.  If I finish the month with at least one heart, I get my reward!  Health Month is a great way to keep track of your health goals.  They have lots of goals to choose from (many that are not diet related).  Go check it out!

Doing It Wrong

I've spent the last week doing it wrong.  Missing workouts, overeating, you name it.  I'm a little irritated and frustrated with myself.  I know what I need to do and how to do it, but just have not had the discipline nor focus.  The result?  A gain on the scale (not surprised).

I need my frustration to change my actions.  I know that.  So far I have done better with eating this week, but not with working out.  Must do better!

On the bright side, I'm not giving up and I have lots of room for improvement!  :-)

 -22.6

Ugh... Summer is TOUGH!

So, I feel like I'm pretty much gaining and losing the same 3 pounds, which I guess is what maintenance will be like some day.  I can do really well and be really disciplined for 4 days a week, then the other 3 are not so good.  I haven't gone totally overboard, but with more free time on my hands all I really wanna do is eat yummy food and lay around in my pajamas.  Why can't that be a diet?  (don't answer that.)

All in all I'm still feeling great about my progress.  And if I manage to maintain that progress for the rest of July, I'd still be pretty happy.  I've still got a lot to lose, so I hate the idea of waisting time.  But on the other hand, I'm in this for the long haul.  My focus and motivation are bound to wax and wane.  I'm not going to beat myself up about it.

I missed my WW meeting this week so no photo or scale update in this post.  I had every intention of going Thursday night, but some stuff came up in my life that got in the way.  I guess that's one of the downsides of going to a Thursday night meeting.  If I miss it, there aren't a lot of opportunities left in the week to go.  I'm still going to stick with Thursdays a while longer, see how it goes.  I miss my Sunday WW friends though!

Back At It

It's amazing how easy it is to get off track and out of your routine.  After my week in San Antonio, I've had a hard time getting back in the swing of things.  I even forgot to blog last weekend!  Yikes!

Rather than dwell on the negatives, I'm going to focus on the good things I've done the last 2 weeks and get back on track this week!

Victories On Vacation

• I avoided sweets at breakfast successfully.
• I only had adult beverages on 2 nights.
• I drank lots of water each day.
• I did TONS of walking and made 100% of my 4 points per day ActiveLink challenge.
• I managed only a 5.8 lb gain, even when I didn't stick to my plan completely.  

Victories After Vacation

• Went to my WW meeting, even though I was afraid of the scale.
• Back on track with working out and walking on most days.
• Grocery shopping to stock fridge with healthy foods.

Even though I've had a hard time getting back on track, I haven't let myself go completely off the deep end.  I expect to have a loss on the scale this week, and look forward to what I can lose this summer.

 -24.6

Vacation Plan

I think mom and I have settled on a Thursday night WW meeting for now.  I think this will be a great change of pace for the summer, but I will miss my current leader for sure!  I'm sure we'll still show up on Sundays now and then just to check in with Suzie!  I will be keeping the blog post on Sundays for now so be sure to check back each week to see how I'm doing (if that sort of thing interests you).

I'm a little disappointed to report I did not win the DietBet.  Turns out 4% was more than my body was willing to shed for this 4 week period.  I lost about 3% overall.  Even though I didn't win, I do feel great about the progress I made during the bet.  I really stuck with my eating plan and amped up my activity! I don't think I'll do another DietBet just yet, maybe I'll pick one for August.

This coming week will be a challenge for me.  I will be in SanAntonio Sunday through Wednesday for a conference.  It is kind of my only vacation for summer, so I don't want to make things too tough on myself.  At the same time, I don't want to come back having gained 10 lbs!  There will be a lot of opportunity to eat and drink more points than usual.  I will be doing a lot of walking, but also a lot of sitting.  I'd love to maintain my current weight for the next week, but I'd even be ok to just be up a couple of pounds.  So, I'm making a plan, in hopes that I will be able to stick with it!

Vacation Plan

• Eating/Drinking
• Breakfast - Coffee & something with protein (no sweets)
• Lunch - Salad if possible or a sandwich
• Snack - Fruit or vegetable or yogurt if possible
• Dinner - keep it reasonable, order fish or grilled chicken with vegetables (AVOID CHIPS & SALSA)
• Drink lots of water
• Pick 2 nights to enjoy alcoholic beverages (reasonably) 
• Activity - 
• Walk to and from conference center (.5 miles each way)
• Walk as much as possible between conference sessions
• Take the stairs instead of escalator or elevator when possible
• Walk to lunch 
• Walk to dinner
• One 3 mile walk on one evening
• Try to average 75% or better on my ActiveLink
• Other
• Wear ActiveLink every day
• Pack workout wear and shoes
• Pack swimsuit
• No tracking if I stick to this plan, if I splurge I will track it
• Weigh in next Thursday night even if I'm afraid to see the results

 -30.4 lbs!