Been missing blogging...

D and I are now working out together. It's really nice. We walk the dogs early in the AM - slower b/c mine is a little older - but about a mile. He has a REALLY hilly neighborhood. Then, we do our walk - about 2.3 miles or so. BRUTAL hills on this walk and we do a 15 min pace. His legs are longer - so sometimes I have a hard time keeping up! I wear my heart rate monitor and I've been watching it - some of the hills it has gone down significantly! I figure when each hill is at 80% or under, I'm ready to start running!
We are also going to the gym 3x per week in the afternoons to weight train. Even tho he hasn't really had to spot me, I will go knowing that he is there in case I need it :) My clothes are a little looser - so this is working :) The other days I go to my gym (he hasn't joined mine yet - I joined his for $9 a month!) and do RPM.
We are getting back into a routine now that I am back from CR. This week was hard as I hadn't been sleeping well, and the heat during the day is KILLING him when he gets in at night. So, this morning was the first one where we did everything back on pace like usual - felt ssssssssssoooooooo good!
I like that he wants to walk/workout with me :) MUCH more encouraging for me. My short-term goal - lose the 20 pounds I put on during grad school to get back into my good work clothes by the beginning of August. We've also been watching our meals - so I think as long as I keep that up, I'll be good on my goal :)

Still at Plateau - BUT new motivation

Still plateauing - ugh - BUT I have a couple new motivators. First, I may have a gym partner soon :) D likes RPM and wants to join my gym - yea! Second, B in CA has been running and is also thinking about a sprint-tri. I figure if he can do it, so can I! I'm just not a runner/jogger. So, going to try the "couch to 5K" running program. 3 days on the treadmill per week. The plan now is: Tuesday, Friday and Sunday for the runs. I still want to do RPM on M/W/R/Sat. I figure on Fridays and Sundays (and maybe another day after RPM depending on D's schedule and if he can help me) I can weight-train. I may have to skip one day a week on cardio and just weight train to recover a bit.
So - this week I will begin :)

Good news on the F front!

The condo is being SOLD! SSSSOOO happy! Won't make much money on it, BUT it's enough to pay off two cards. Also, my raise *should* be coming through at the end of this month. If I've calculated correctly including taxes out, I should be pulling in $1000 more each month above what I was previously (before furloughs). That will SIGNIFICANTLY help in getting the rest of my bills paid off. I want to have at least one other card done by August if possible. I'm still waiting for this d*** lawsuit to shake out. As soon as that does, that might actually give me breathing room and a cushion. Will not even begin to count on that until it happens, but my attorney is in negotiations right now, so I'm hoping to have a resolution within the next couple of months if at all possible.
Now on the P side - D and I have worked out once together - RPM at the gym. SSSSSSOOOOO excited that he likes working out :) He's also going to help me with the strength training :) He wants to mix up his cardio - so RPM 3 days a week for him would be good, and I need to mix up my cardio, so he's going to help me with that. We may also need to discuss cooking "healthier" meals - but d*** he is a phenomenal cook! We may have to do more grilling so it's lower fat now that the weather is getting nicer :)
The goals this week are:
Break through my plateau - I want to break my 210/209 weight that I have been stagnating at for the last few weeks. I HAVE gone back on the pill, so that actually should help as I think I have more issues off of it than on - partially b/c I've been on them for so long, I think my body has finally adapted.
WATER!!!! I've got to get off the caffeine (limit to one glass of tea in the AM) and get back to my water regimen. D is SO good about that - and I KNOW I flush more out and do better when I drink it!
Gym consistency this week - plus I need to find out about putting D on my membership - or find out how much per month it would be if I cannot add him right now. I'm just excited that we can go together!!!!

I'm joining Jen - the Prior Fat Goal on her goals for 3 months. I DO need to find a reward - but I'm sure D and I can think of something! My MAIN reward will be to be able to wear my clothes - my really pretty FUN clothes - when we go out :) We are looking at doing the Jazz Journeys at the aquarium, the Martinis & IMAX at Fernbank, and maybe the cocktails in the gardens. Regardless, I need to be looking a little nicer and I WANT to dress up for him :) First time that's ever happened! So - gym tomorrow - WATCH OUT!

another pound gone!

9 pounds to 1-derland :)

Pounds lost: 7
To go: 49 (I like that this is under 50 pounds :) makes me feel better!)

re-tweet so to speak

I have to put this quote in from another blog as another reminder to myself about my goals:
Dr. Oz said, “People change not because of what they know, but because of how they feel.”

I KNOW what I need to do to lose weight and become healthy. Now, it's a matter of that I must FEEL that I can do this and I no longer want to FEEL the way I do about myself. That needs to be firmly in my mind as I go through this....

10 pounds to 1-derland

Okay - being sick is not an excuse, but it's been tough to get back into routine. So, back to work this week. I also have new motivation :) Additionally, I have other reasons I want to be in shape - mainly the trip to Costa Rica again this year. Plus, I have 2 weeks to the academic team competition and I would like to feel better about myself this year. Finally, I just need to do this for me. That's really the reason - ME.
So - 10 pounds to 1-derland. I can do this. Eating clean and working out - that's all it takes. I just need to keep that in front of me.
One final thought - WATER - I NEED to drink it!!!!

I think I'm going to include this at the end of each post as well....we'll see....
Pounds lost: 6
Pounds to go: 50
This may or may not be motivating for me - not sure yet....

Goal: 1-derland

I saw an interesting term on a couple of weight-loss blog sites earlier: One-derland. In other words - below 200 pounds. That's my goal - make it to 1derland by the end of this month. I'm 13 pounds away. If I meet it sooner - I'll be ecstatic. But that's my goal. I've got 3 weeks - so that's 4 pounds per week. I think that's reasonable right now.
The steps for me to meet my goal:
1) Continue eating clean & healthy - this also means NO MORE SODA - it's simply empty calories.
2) Consistency at the gym. I went tonight - awesome spin! However, I cannot continue to rely on spin. I really need to do some different cardio to mix it up, and also do some weight training.
3) WATER - I KNOW when I drink water I drop weight - it helps get rid of the excess water weight that I am carrying.

On the flip side - I'm being very motivated and inspired by the biggest loser show. These people are RUNNING and they are heavier than I am. It is truly amazing. Now, within reason - I know that they are secluded and working out probably 4-6 hours per day, and have a trainer motivating them and they aren't working like I am. HOWEVER, if they can do it - so can I!

Maintaining

Okay - could be worse - I could be gaining! But, this week was a challenge. My routine of getting to the gym - broken this week :( I also broke down and had soda at school. I need to get used to NOT doing that in the morning at school - getting up earlier has been harder. I know I do it all the time, but still.
So, this week - back on track. Gym workouts - M/W/R/S for spin. I'm going to get in there on T to run on the treadmill. If I really am going to attempt a sprint-tri at some point, I'm going to have to start running.
My goal - if I can lose 20 pounds, then I would like to get a fitness GPS so I can start training outside when the weather clears/gets warmer. I figure that would be around the end of February, so that's a good goal to have.
Next - I've GOT to make some calls this week and get my finances straightened out - especially my attorney. It's getting critical.

Short post

Out of necessity - short post tonight. 1) it's freezing cold right now - the only comfort is that pretty much the entire nation is in a deep freeze, so I shouldn't complain. 2) I went to the gym - good spin class tonight - didn't weight train and no, I didn't get my lazy butt to the gym yesterday. I ended up working and getting my classes planned out for the next week and a half - which is good as it will reduce some stress - so it was a trade-off. 3) I've fallen for a guy at work...sigh..... 4) feel off the food wagon today :( had a soda. My justification (which there really isn't any....) is I woke up at 4:30 AM - so only 6 hours of sleep (ugh) and I was getting a migraine (actually seeing spots). So - 2 ibuprofen and 1 soda later - headache free and VERY alert. 5) Short post since I'm going to let the dog out, take a hot shower, and go to bed.

Falling for a guy at work is BAD. Plus, he has no interest - as most guys have no interest - but that's my other blog....

Another day - another pound :)

Yep - nothing off the waist this morning, but another pound gone! My legs ARE reducing some as well - about a 1/2 inch on each. Also, my BUTT is shrinking - another inch (just under 43) - WOOHOO!!
Went to RPM again this AM - my fav instructor was out :( but the sub was good - and she subbed last week so it was fine. I did not stay for Body Pump today :( I really, really, really want to get in tomorrow and do the treadmill and weight train on my own - upper body only.
So, just going to keep my eating on track again today :) and hopefully see more progress tomorrow!

First RPM of 2010!

First day at the gym for 2010 was GREAT! It was weird since the instructor had bronchitis, so she actually couldn't ride. I'm glad I'm comfortable with the "syncing" of RPM and the music/pace, so I was able to pace myself well and keep on pace with every track. I normally burn between 520-540 calories (according to heart rate monitor) - I burned 561 this morning! WOOHOO! This felt really good - also considering that on one of the pace tracks I had to tone down the resistance just a touch in order to keep pace - so I really didn't think I would burn as much. Either that, or my legs really ARE getting stronger, so I'm able to push more with them and I am actually increasing my resistance overall - I'm not sure. I'll have to check measurements on my legs tomorrow to see if I'm down in inches - indicating more muscle and less fat :) I'll check my waist tomorrow - since I didn't work out yesterday, I didn't do the waist check in this AM. My weight is the same - so that was a plus. I really do think I just needed to take a day off - sometimes it's actually better to rest. Plus, I NEVER get to do a Friday RPM class, so that made a difference in my thought process I guess. RPM tomorrow will probably be pretty tough! Back-to-back AM workouts - my body is not used to that, but that's okay - to shake things up a bit.
Eating has been really good today and mostly good yesterday. I think I'm just refusing to count calories on principle. I do not want to have to journal my food and focus on calories for the rest of my life. I want to re-train my brain to think in terms of healthy and moderation. Then, once I am at my healthy weight, maintaining may not seem like such a chore and my clothes will tell me the truth as to whether or not I'm on track. They always do - but I think I'm finally ready to listen. I think it comes down to a wake-up call for each person - mine was definitely the doctor and my blood pressure. I'm considering getting a bp monitor for home (or checking it at school since we have the equipment) to keep on top of it. On the flip side, I KNOW if the weight comes off, then my bp will go down. I've also really got to focus on staying OFF the soda - it's not just calories and sugar - it's loaded with salt.
So, 2010 is off to a good start. I need to go ahead and transfer my heart rate data onto my computer today as well. It will upload to the website as well - and it would be interesting to see my total burned calories online. HOWEVER, it might also make me realize that if I AM burning all those calories, then if I back it up with better eating I could be losing a LOT more weight and becoming healthier as a result. It's reinforcement - I KNOW what I need to do. The workouts I can do, and will do willingly. So, I need to transfer that will power into my eating habits.
I also have had "biggest loser" running in the background today (repeats on some station) and I figured out what percentage of weight I need to lose to achieve my goals - 26%. A little more than 1/4 of me needs to disappear. Then I think - it could be worse. I could be 100 pounds overweight and really be struggling. I AM overweight - and I am classified as "obese" using healthy weight guidelines. But, the weight I need to lose is do-able. I lost 40 pounds once already, and I need to lose about 50-55 now, so I KNOW I can do it. It's one day at a time. It's planning. It's will power. It's motivation. And it's all ME.