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.

31 day challenge

I am joining Jen, the "Prior Fat Girl" on the 31 day challenge to NOT eat out AT ALL. This should be easier at school - I can no longer get my subs on T/R as they are switching grocery stores - so this is good. But I mean NO eating out - not even stopping somewhere to get a drink. It will be tough, but I think both my wallet and my weight will thank me for it in the end. Thanks to Jen for this great idea!

still going

Still going with everything. My weight is the same :( (okay - I lied about stepping on the scale - get to that in a minute), but my waist was another 1/2 inch smaller today - so I'm taking that as a good sign. I've been hitting the gym fairly hard - but I slipped yesterday :(
So, I had some time to kill and went to Kohl's to get some more gym shorts & sports bras (I'm wearing mine out - which is good I guess) and tried on a pair of pants. I'm tired of wearing the same 2 pairs of pants to school all the time. I HATE that my waist is so out of control. The 16s fit in the legs and butt, but NOT in the waist. So, I had to buy an 18 :( which fit in the waist, but NOT well in the legs, butt & the crotch - I've got an inch of space AT LEAST in the crotch....sigh..... the waist MUST decrease. Slight moment of frustration/aggravation b/c of that, so I broke down and bought a soda :( HOWEVER, I didn't do what I would normally do - go out and get "comfort" food - aka fast food - or a sub or something else. So, one slip is not too bad.
Again, having problems eating after I work out. I simply couldn't eat last night. I got home after 8 PM (was talking with a potential student at the gym after class), and I just don't like to eat that late. I'm nervous about eating BEFORE I go though - not sure how that would impact me.
No spin today :( but there is a body pump class - so I might go ahead and do that this morning. The weather is crappy, so I might not go. I've got some things I need to do here as well, and it might be good to let my legs take a break today. I've been spinning pretty consistently these past two weeks - I'm noticing some inches coming off my legs too.
One day, I'm going to have to post all my "stats" to see where I'm at and how far I have to go to get there :) besides my waist.