Birthday and early end of the month post

Today is my birthday - I'm 47! This is the first birthday in years that I have been excited to celebrate. I don't love birthdays. I love my kid's birthdays as I love to celebrate them but I have not been one to put myself into the spotlight.

It's been one year since I switched to a HFLC (high fat, low carb) way of eating and it was the best thing I've ever done. 

I did reach my weight loss goals plans of getting to 175 but once I got there I didn't want to stop. I set my next goal at 165 and now I've adjusted again to 155.

I have become healthier this year through the food that I put into my body, or rather the food that I no longer put into my body. People ask me all the time, don't you miss this or don't you miss that? Of course I do. I miss pizza, but I can substitute a bread crust for a different crust at home and I'm happy with that. Do I miss fresh Cobb's bread that is baked fresh in the morning? Of course, but I don't miss feeling frumpy, not being able to find clothes that fit me and feeling exhausted at the end of the day.

So yes, I miss cake, I miss sugary drinks, but not enough. I have had a total of 3 pieces of cheesecake in the last year. I would normally eat 3 pieces of cheesecake in a week (if we had the cake hanging around!)  Cheesecake is my downfall. But that's ok. The 3 times I've had it, I have cherished each and every bite.

Ok  - so onto May results. I wasn't going to post until tomorrow but with my birthday dinner tonight I can only expect that my weight may make a bit of a jump in the morning so I'm doing today. And it's my birthday, so there's that!

A few weeks ago I was so mad that my weight was not dropping, in fact it was going up and I could not see a way to get it to stop. I wasn't doing anything different but the scale was not going in the right direction.  Go figure.

On the may long weekend (may 20 to be exact), I joined the local gym. I've been wanting to do it for awhile but I'm also intimidated by it. I spent lots of time watching youtube videos on how to setup a workout routine and how to use different machines.

I have been there 5 times (taking a day off between each session) and I feel great. I'm sore... super sore, but I feel great. I do a bit of cardio at the beginning, then weight train a specific area of my body (legs/glutes, arms/chest, back/shoulders) and then I finish off with 5-10 minutes of light cardio (bike, elliptical etc) and then a light stretch. I'm there for 60-90 minutes usually.

I feel GREAT! Did I say that already? And the scale this morning?! 167.5 :)  So I achieved my may goal of 168 (although one day shy) and I'm ready to kill June!

I'm not one for posting pics but I had to do the selfie in the gym bathroom to try and track my progress. 

Wish I took a bat arms picture as that is my least favorite part of my body, but I was trying to steal the pic quickly before anyone came in! (tee hee)

A Frustrating first 1/2 of May

Actually it's more than 1/2 of the month and it's been a total waste!

My weight has not gone down but it's gone up by about 5 lbs.  I have done nothing different, I have cut out my nuts and most cheese and I'm not losing. I'm gaining in fact!

I feel defeated.

The only thing I can do is to start tracking again to ensure that I'm eating correctly. But I have a strong feeling that it's not what I'm eating that is causing me this weight gain.

The only thing that has been different the last few weeks is my allergies, which have been awful and I have been taking lots of antihistamines and decongestants. Other than that.... NOTHING is different.

I'm mad. I know this happens but I would rather it be because I ate a cheesecake or a batch and a 1/2 of cookies.

I joined the local gym yesterday. I'm giving up my Zumba to try something a bit different. I love the Zumba but I was finding that it wasn't challenging me enough lately. I am going to start working a bit harder on my cardio and some strength/conditioning. I am not doing that for weight loss but more for health and my heart. Gotta take care of the ticker. So nervous and a bit excited to go this afternoon.

I'm 9 days from my birthday and 7 lbs away from my goal.... guess that goal is blown out of the water.

WI Wednesday?

Considering I started May with a weigh in and it was Wednesday,  I figured I'd continue with wednesday weigh ins and see how it goes.  It's a change up from Mondays which always seem to leave me a wee bit sad cause I usually see a bit of a gain. I don't always eat as well on the weekends, I will splurge on adult beverages and usually breakfast which I don't eat monday to friday. I also don't get nearly enough water into me on the weekends. You would think that the monday weigh in would force me to do these things but I think psychologically, I have convinced myself that mondays will be high and I just roll with it.

So we switch it up. If it ain't working, we adjust, right?!  Well, let's just go with it for now or for the month of May!

So.... May 8th, one week from start and I was at 170.5 today. So down 2 from last wednesday. I love it, but I'm not celebrating. Not celebrating because I seem to always be above that 170 mark and never lower. I probably jinxed myself because when I was in the 200s I always saw 175 as my goal weight. I wanted to be in the 170s. Now I can't get out of the damn range!

I need to be careful this weekend with it being both R's birthday and mother's day. I know we are doing fondue on Saturday for R's birthday or going for steak dinner so I can work around that but not sure what will happen for Mother's day. Likely breakfast somewhere I'm assuming. We will see. Hopefully the 2 lbs is not short lived - it's going to be a challenge!

Ok. so 170.5.

Things I am proud of myself for doing this week:

No NUTS!! Hmmm.... interesting. Not because I didn't want them, but because we don't have them! :)  I have to go to costco tomorrow and I will buy some because they are great snacks for the boys so I will just need to really really work on my will power!  But this was a major plus.

WATER! As mentioned I was not great with  my water on the weekend, but I have been rocking it during the work week. Even making those extra trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night, which usually make me mad but right now, I'm good with it because flush it OUT!

EXERCISE: I have done about 5 sets of Yoga and am loving it. It clears my mind and I'm already feeling improvements in my movement and flexibility. Considering switching my Zumba to a gym membership as a new gym opened just a wee bit away from me. I'm still not 100% convinced and until I'm completely motivated I won't go, so it's still just a thought for me.

Things to improve on: 

SNACKING: Still doing the occasional snack on things I should not. No more pretzels or cookies so that is all good. And again, it is likely because I don't have any of that in the house, but that will change when we go to costco on thursday. Oh well... need to make smart choices.

STEPS! Although my yoga has improved, I'm still not getting the desired 10,000 steps a day. Some days it's 8000, some days it's 6000. Not near the 10,000 I want to be at. So will continue to work at that.

TRACKING: Fail, fail fail.... but that might not be all bad. The week or two that I did track I did notice that I was eating too much and so I adjusted. Maybe the tracking for me is just a check in to make sure I'm doing ok. But tracking would be good, I just get lazy at dinnertime and seem to forget!
I know it keeps me on track though.... LOL, get it? on track?.... lol

We will see where the rest of the week takes me!

Birthday Month!

Whelp.... May 1 and I am 1.5 lbs heavier than when I started the last month (172.5). So pretty much the same cause my weight does fluctuate a bit here and there.

I'm disappointed. I really wanted to be in the 150s by my birthday and that is just not going to happen.

I will be really happy if I can get to 168 by my birthday May 30th!  and then maybe 162 by end of June and 158 by our vacation July 23rd!  With a final goal of 155 by end of summer :)

The numbers are not terrible to achieve but considering I've been at this same weight since October, the journey is daunting.

So small goals... small steps....  I'm doing the right thing as I've been maintaining all this time and not gaining so that is a win but I have to adjust to keep losing.

So here's to MAY hopefully she will be better to me than April or March or .....

I've started (yesterday) doing a crunch challenge to strengthen my core muscles (cause they are pitiful) and also started last week doing the occasional morning Yoga and desk yoga during the day when I get restless.  I want to continue with the yoga at least a few times a week as it will help with my flexibility and posture which has been declining over the last few years. They may not help with weight loss but they will make me feel more fit! 

So goals for May are to lose weight - DUH.... and also increase my strength through daytime stretching and core exercises!

It's like the twilight zone...

Well not really..

But you know those times when you lose weight during the week and you are "How the heck did that happen?" knowing that your behaviors for the past week did not constitute any reason for weight loss?

Well I did NOT have one of those weeks. HA HA

Actually the opposite. I'm at 174 this morning. I've been eating well... not over indulging in anything, cut out carbs as I stated back after easter weekend, not drinking wine (or nearly as much).... :).  The only thing I may have been snacking on a bit too much, is nuts... damn nuts, I love them!

So I'm up 4 lbs in 2 weeks.  I could do another kick start this week which I know would drop the weight but I have not had luck after the kick start in keeping if off so really, what's the point? So I see a 7 lb loss in 3 days and then it's back in 3 more days.

I have been slacking in the tracking department so that will have to start up again. But it's frustrating. I get myself back on track, I am out exercising more, I've given up most of my beloved wine on the weekends and no more cookies/candy/chocolate etc. :(

It's really gotta be the nuts. SO no mo nuts! Or I will at least have to bring out the food scale and measure out my portions cause my big handfuls are more than a recommended portion I'm sure.

And water... I slacked on the water this weekend. Not 4 lbs worth but I slacked.

Oh and my allergies are on FIRE!!! stupid left eye won't even open.  What a crappy start to the work week. Hopefully by thurs/friday I will be back to 2 fully functioning eyes and a little less water weight!

So apparently the tracking thing does seem to work

My weight has not dropped dramatically - actually only a lb in over a week, BUT.... the tracking shows me that I eat too much, no... make that WAY too much when I want to be losing weight.

I thought for sure I was in the 1200 calorie range but it's more like 1500-1800.  It's the little extras that I have that I don't count, or that I "under" count.   I might have been mentally counting that first serving of nuts but not the 2nd. Or maybe I think I've only had 2 pieces of cheese but really it was more like 5.

So the weight did not drop this week but I spent the week eating pretty much how I have been and the numbers were high, or at least too high to drop any lbs.

So this week the focus is streamlining what I eat. Planning what I'm going to eat.  It's really hard to guesstimate eating out so I have to assume that I will overeat in my calories anytime I eat out. I think that's just a fact.  I can't assume that a meal out will ever be in the 300-400 range. Unless I'm eating  a salad with no dressing, or anything else other than lettuce for that matter.

Was TOM last week so I was munchy... eating all munchies I could find. Staying as close to low-carb as I could but still that extra slice of cheese or extra dip in the veggie dip. IT all adds up.

I have reduced some of my carbs in the last few days and have already noticed a HUGE boost to my energy. Especially in the morning. I have so much energy in the am and I have not been needing my coffee in the afternoon as I was needing a few weeks ago.

Other things may be contributing such as the weather etc, but I truly believe it's the food.

The positive thing I have learned is that I can happily maintain my weight at 1500-1800 calories a day when I'm ready to maintain which will hopefully be sooner than later.

Happy Easter y'all!

Back to good old tracking

Well, nothing else seems to work. I think I'm doing well, I get to the weekend and I blow it.  EVERY SINGLE weekend!

This weekend I was good and then bought Easter candy for the kids. I like to have a bowl of candy out for them and their friends when they stop by. Problem is I snack on it too... and as I'm not officially tracking/counting anything, I go overboard!

So the only thing that will keep me in line is to track. I need to do this. I'm going to do this.

Weight was 171 this morning... so it just won't go down. I'm sick of it.

So I need to vow to track my food and more importantly plan my food for the day. As I work from home I don't have to plan my breakfast and lunch as those that have to commute to an office every day. I can decide what I'm going to eat as I get hungry. Benefits but also consequences..

So today I'm planning: Here is to getting me started:

B: BPC coffee with MCT oil, collagen and a 1/2 tbsp of salted butter
L:  Tuna melt - Avocado with sundried tomato tuna/mayo and a slice of cheese melted
S: Cucumbers and Dip
D: Filet Mignon, green bean casserole and sauteed mushrooms
S: Raspberries or pistachios.


Let's see how this goes. Lots of walking planned this week too as I need to get out more! Getting that Fitbit charged up! Oh and Zumba tomorrow night too!

The calendar is creeping up to my birthday and I really wanted to be in the 150s by then.... LET's GO!