Weekly Weigh In November 2

I'm playing with different statistics to track that better match my goals than just tracking weight. I've decided to do NaNoWriMo this year so we'll see how that affect my ability to focus on healthier choices. It'll be interesting balancing NaNoWriMo writing and the lunchtime workouts.

Statistics:

Morning Workouts: 1
Lunchtime Weight Lifting: 0
Evening Dog Walks: 2
Bedtime Yoga: 0
Step Counting:
     Monday: 10109
     Tuesday: 10543
     Wednesday: 9404
     Thursday: 10835
     Friday: 10056
     Saturday: 2514
     Sunday: 5517

     Weekly Average: 8428
     Weekly Total: 58996

     November Average: 5517
     November Total: 5517

Current Weight: 244.6 pounds
Last Week: 249.2 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: 4.6 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 249.4 pounds
Highest Point: 250.2 pounds
Lowest Point: 238.4 pounds

Weekly Weigh In 10/12/15

Just going to drop this here and run.  Life's a little crazy with the day job, class, being the doggy hotel and helping my parents prepare to move. Hopefully, I'll have more to say next week.

Statistics:

Morning Workouts: 3
Lunchtime Weight Lifting: 2
Evening Dog Walks: 1
Bedtime Yoga: 4

Current Weight: 244.6 pounds
Last Week: 244.8 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: 0.2 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 249.4 pounds
Highest Point: 250.2 pounds
Lowest Point: 238.4 pounds

Weekly Weigh In Sept 7

It's been an interesting year and my progress with weight loss has been slow. However, I'm learned a lot about how my body reacts to food. I've done a few different elimination diets and discovered that my body doesn't handle Dairy very well.

I just got back from a week and a half vacation including lots of time driving and a fair amount of eating out.  I planned very carefully to allow enough movement to out weigh the hours of time in the car and it looks like my planning paid off since I lost weight while traveling.

I'm looking to get back to really focusing on getting healthy.  I have so many things that I want to do that require a level of fitness that I currently don't have. I'd like to lose weight but if all I accomplish is building the required strength, stamina and energy levels, I'll take it.

Taken at Glacier Point in Yosemite

Statistics:

Current Weight: 241.8 pounds

Starting Weight: 249.4 pounds
Highest Point: 249.4 pounds
Lowest Point: 238.4 pounds

Weekly Weigh In Jan 8

So I did pretty well this week.  Most of the weight loss was probably holiday fluff that came off when I returned to more disciplined eating but it is definitely nice to see.

I did really well at tracking my calories this week but I been having sinus issues and not sleeping well so I haven't been making it to the gym or doing Insanity as planned.  I went on nice dog walks on 5/7 days so at least I was getting some exercise outside of running around at work. Still less than my goal of every day but the reality is that sometimes life happens.

I'm happy with this week's progress and will keep making progress.

Statistics:

Current Weight: 246.4 pounds
Last Week: 249.4 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: 3.0 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 249.4 pounds
Highest Point: 249.4 pounds
Lowest Point: 246.4 pounds

Whole 30 Results and Reflection

The Whole 30 was an experiment in eating super cleanly: no grains, no dairy and no sugar.  I ate lots of meat, eggs, vegetables and fruits.  I didn't feel particularly deprived except for missing my afternoon latte.  I missed dairy but I ate well without it.  This made social eating really difficult but I found some amazing recipes.  My goal going into this was to learn to eat better and replace junk food with more vegetables.  I think that I accomplished that pretty well.

I think that going forward I'll probably eat mostly by the Whole 30 principles but I'll definitely be having lattes and chocolate! 

Whole 30 Day 1

Weight: 211.4

 Neck: 13.25

Upper Arm: 14.5

Chest: 34.5

Waist: 32.5

Belly: 36

Hips: 46.5

Thighs: 27

Calves: 16.5 

 Whole 30 Results:

Weight: 205.8 (-5.6)

Neck: 13 (-.25)

Upper Arms: 13.5 (-1)

Chest: 33.5 (-1)

Waist: 32 (-.5)

Belly: 34.5 (-1.5)

Hips: 45 (-1.5)

Thighs: 26 (-1)

Calves: 16 (-.5)

 Total Inches Lost:  7.25!

Weekly Weigh In Oct 9

I did the second fitness test for Insanity yesterday and saw a huge improvement in my numbers.  I'm also seeing a difference in the mirror and on the scale.  Hopefully, I can maintain my current progress and keep losing inches and pounds.  My tape measure puts me down about 1/2 an inch at most points after two weeks of Insanity.  I'm pretty happy right now.  I also have new progress pictures posted on the Fitness Journey page.


Statistics:

Current Weight: 218.6 pounds
Last Week:   220.8 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: 2.2 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 225.2 pounds
Highest Point: 228.2 pounds
Lowest Point: 218.6 pounds

Weekly Weigh In October 2

Insanity and I are getting along just fine.  Even in just a week I can tell that my strength and endurance are improving.  I'm able to do more and more of each exercise in each video.  So far, the Cardio Recovery video is my favorite.  I like that it is slower and lower impact.  It works in ways that are more familiar and more comfortable for my body.

On a related note, I started counting how many squats and push-up moves I've been doing and I was pleasantly surprised by the numbers.  I'm looking forward to improving.


Statistics:

Current Weight: 220.8 pounds
Last Week:   221.6 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: .8 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 225.2 pounds
Highest Point: 228.2 pounds
Lowest Point: 220.8 pounds

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

Weekly Weigh In Sept 25

This week I finished the 30 Day Shred which was definitely exciting.  I didn't lose much weight but the measurements and the before/after photos are pretty telling.  I've done the first few workouts of Insanity which is definitely making me work.

Dancing is going well but the more intense workouts are definitely taking their toll.  My legs and butt are really sore.

I managed to get a couple of runs in last week so I might be able to pretend that I am ready for the 5K Color Run this Saturday.

All in all I'm feeling pretty good and my biggest effort right now is replacing the crappy snacks with healthier ones.

Statistics:

Current Weight: 221.6 pounds
Last Week:   223.6 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: 2 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 225.2 pounds
Highest Point: 228.2 pounds
Lowest Point: 221.6 pounds

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

Weekly Weigh In Sept 18

This week has been a bit rough on the exercise routine.  I've been feeling a bit tired and my knees and ankles have been sore so I took a break from running.  Right now, dancing is my major form of exercise at five nights a week.  Four nights of swing dancing and one of ballet.  I'm really feeling the effects of going from being a lazy social dancer two nights a week to dancing most songs four nights a week.  Hopefully my body figures things out because I need to get back to running to prepare for my first 5K on September 29 and I start Insanity on Monday.

Nutrition things to work on:

• Healthier snacking
• Drinking more water on Weekends

Statistics:

Current Weight: 221.6 pounds
Last Weigh In:   223.6 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: 2.0 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 225.2 pounds
Highest Point: 228.2 pounds
Lowest Point: 221.6 pounds

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

Weekly Weigh In Sept 11

I'm a little annoyed with my scale right now but the measuring tape is keeping me happy with my progress.

I completed level 2 of the 30 Day Shred.  My only thought on this is that I really hate planks.  I'm enjoying the exercises of level 3 much more even though they are harder.  I'm working to do at least a few reps of the more challenging versions of exercises before switching to the modified versions.  I'm starting to look ahead to what I'm going to do next after this and have decided that I will start Insanity after a few days of rest.  The rest is mostly so that the rest day lines up with my schedule.

I made it through Week 6 Days 1 and 2 okay but Day 3 was a miserable failure.  I think that there had been a large gap in running days.  I decided to do another mini-review and have been working on running faster.  I'm starting to feel like a real runner now!

I'm currently swing dancing four nights a week.  At least one of those, I am committed to dancing almost every song and I'm working on dancing more and sitting out less on the other nights.  I'm also keeping up with my ballet class which I'm enjoying a lot and picking up more of the finicky technique details that I never got the first time around.

I got a heart rate monitor at the end of last week and have been enjoying seeing my calorie burns and what zones different exercises keep me in.  I come from a science background so more accurate data is a wonderful thing.

New progress pics are up. Also, hurrah for measurements! I have proof that I'm building muscle now (and probably holding some water weight).  In two weeks, I'm up two pounds but down half an inch from my waist, arms, thighs and hips and down four inches from my belly!

Statistics:

Current Weight: 223.0 pounds
Last Weigh In:   223.6 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: 0.6 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 225.2 pounds
Highest Point: 228.2 pounds
Lowest Point: 222.2 pounds

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

Weekly Weigh In Sept 4

I've been hovering a approximately the same weight for a while so I've adjusted my calorie goal a bit to see what happens.  I'm also working on doing some serious meal planning so that I can get back to eating healthy food instead of junk.

I'm doing pretty well at maintaining my evening exercise routine but sometimes I have trouble motivating myself to do Level 2 of the 30 Day Shred.  I really hate planks.  I just have two more days before I can move on to Level 3.

I ended up taking a bit too long between Couch to 5K runs (Made it to W6D3!) so I'm doing another mini review.  This time I'm trying to run at a faster running pace.  So far so good.  I actually look like I'm running now!

My weekly ballet class is going well.  I'm starting to do better at balancing and it is starting to feel much better.  As of this week, I'm now swing dancing 3-4 nights a week and doing my best to dance every song for most effective calorie burning.  I'm starting to realize that I've been slacking off at dances for awhile; dancing every song is making me sore!

Statistics:

Current Weight: 222.0 pounds
Last Week:   222.2 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: 0.2 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 225.2 pounds
Highest Point: 228.2 pounds
Lowest Point: 222.0 pounds

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

Weekly Weigh In August 7

Big drop in pounds this week!  If I hadn't seen the downward movement in my daily scale measurement, I'd have been concerned that it was a fluke generated by spending Sunday afternoon and evening unable to keep even water down.  It was a miserably hot day too.  However it is about what I was hoping to see if not actually expecting.

I will be doing Day 8 of Level 1 of the 30 Day Shred as soon as I've finished this post.  It's getting a bit easier but my goal is to rally push myself to do all the reps of every movement and to push myself to go a bit deeper on the exercises that are feeling easy.

I finished Week 5 of Couch to 5K last night and after a day of walking will start Week 6.  Day 2 of Week 5 was interesting because I thought there were three runs so I ran an extra 20 min or so after the "cool down" finished. I also forgot to wear sunscreen. I'm not really getting the distances needed but jogging for the time intervals is starting to work.  I'm probably going to start over once I finish Week 9 and try to increase my speed to one that actually looks like running.

I went to my ballet class in 90+ degree weather which felt like real dedication but I enjoy the stretching.  My balance is improving some but I think part of the problem is managing the extra weight.

My cycling has fallen to a lower priority as I work to fit in writing time for Camp NaNoWriMo.  I'm trying to cycle a couple times a week but I'm not that concerned about it.

The next set of progress pics are up on the Fitness Journey Page.  I'm starting to see a difference in the fit of my shirts and leotard but I'd really like to see some of the fat come off my butt and thighs so that my capris and shorts fit again.  Oh well, I suppose health-wise it is better for the belly fat to be coming off first.  I'm not sure how big a difference there is in the pics but you can see my nice sunburn.

Statistics:

Current Weight: 222.2 pounds
Last Week:   226.2 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: 4.0 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 225.2 pounds
Highest Point: 228.2 pounds
Lowest Point: 223.6 pounds

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

Weekly Weigh-in July 31

I really feel like I'm making progress on my fitness goals now.  Calorie counting on MyFitnessPal is going well and feeling relatively painless.  Weight loss is progressing slowly but steadily but I'm seeing a real difference in the measurements.  In two weeks, I've lost 1.5" off my waist, 1" off my hips, .5" off my upper arms, and an 1" off my upper thigh.

I finally started Week 5 of Couch to 5K and it went well, though slower than I would have liked.  Mondays are turning into a difficult day since I also have my ballet class.  It definitely makes it harder to start a new set of intervals. It felt really good to do the ballet workout again.  My balance still sucks but I think it is improving.  Sometimes it feels like nothing change, ten years later I'm still the largest girl in ballet class.  Though at least this time I'm not comparing myself to pre-pubescent kids.  Small victories.

I added a new workout to my routine this weekend.  I'm giving Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred a try since I've heard really good things about the results.  I'm certainly okay with more inches lost!  I'm currently on Day 3.

I was really excited to do my cycling in front of the Olympics yesterday.  I'm taking today off to rest my knee a bit but there should be plenty of Olympics to watch and workout with.

I think that at this point I just need to let my routine settle and stop adding things.  I don't want to push too hard and get injured.

I've set-up a static page to create a photographic progression of my fitness journey.  Currently I have a set of before pictures up and the next set will go up tonight.

Statistics:

Current Weight: 226.2 pounds
Last Week:   227.6 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: 1.4 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 225.2 pounds
Highest Point: 228.2 pounds
Lowest Point: 224.8 pounds

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

Weekly Weigh-In July 24

I've made progress toward re-establishing my exercise routine.  I've gotten my morning cycling back into consistency.  I haven't done as well running or walking every night, so that's my main goal for this week.  I've  done half of my C25K review so far.  That puts me behind where I want to be but I am seeing an increase in my speed and stamina.  I'll finish my review of weeks 3 and 4 and hopefully start week 5 this week.

I also learned that my dog is an even worse jogging partner than my sister's dog.  He was actually slowing down my running at points and he got tired before I did.  At one point when I was running, he came to a dead stop in the middle of the track.  That isn't including his attempts to stop and mark or to greet the other walkers and joggers.  I have to take him with me for the rest of the week so hopefully he has a learning curve.

Yesterday, I took my first ballet class in about 10 years.  It felt really good.  I was surprised by how much of the muscle memory is still there though my balance needs some work.  I'm a bit sore today and I'm taking that as a sign that I should go back next week.  I think this will be a nice addition to my regular swing dancing routine.  Plus a class is definitely going to be more consistent exercise than social dancing.

I started tracking my calorie intake using MyFitnessPal.com.  My first resolution is to never eat at the Burger King next to work ever again.  Good thing Subway is only a little bit farther.  I've never really done calorie counting before since I've preferred to change how I eat and skip tracking food.  This seems to be pretty doable since the calorie counts for foods are listed in a database.  I am at the very least going to give it a try.


Statistics:

Current Weight: 227.6 pounds
Last Week:   228.2 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: 0.6 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 225.2 pounds
Highest Point: 228.2 pounds
Lowest Point: 224.8 pounds

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

Weekly Weigh In July 3

It's been an interesting week but luckily things are getting back to normal around here.  I did a couple of C25K workouts with my sister's dog as my running buddy.  He wasn't impressed by my jogging pace and got bored partway through each workout and tried to play with me like he would another dog.  I was not amused.  Maybe I'll try again when I've got some more pace to my running.

However, I've gained a human running buddy!  I'll have to repeat week 4 to give her a chance to build up endurance but that will probably work out just fine for me too.  I think that running with her is going to help me increase my speed a bit since she runs quite a bit faster than I do, albeit currently in short bursts.

The stretching that I've been doing before and after workouts has almost got me back to my old flexibility.  However, I'm getting to the point where belly fat is impeding further improvement.  Something to work on.

I did notice (or possibly imagine) that according to my mirror my figure is beginning to improve.  It is worth considering that I might not be seeing as much weight loss as hoped for because I am adding muscle weight.  I will have to keep going to find out.  I'll have a better idea of what is going on when I do my once a month measurements of waist, hips, thighs, etc in a couple of weeks.


Statistics:

Current Weight: 225.4 pounds
Last Week:  227.4  pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: 2.0 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 225.2 pounds
Highest Point: 227.4 pounds
Lowest Point: 224.8 pounds

Weekly Weigh In June 19

This week went pretty well as long as you don't count the entirely too many desserts of the weekend.  Father's Day was celebrated all weekend with brownies, strawberry shortcake and ice cream.  It was tasty  but not very diet friendly.  However, it didn't stop me from dropping a little weight.  I expect to see more dramatic results as I maintain my exercise routine and continue to increase my activity intervals.  Also, fewer sweets will help with that.

Thoughts on my new exercise routine:

Couch to 5K is working really well for me.  I decided to sync my cycling and running by repeating Week 2 on the cycle.  It was fun watching the distance increase over the week and I hope to see the same type of results with my running.

I've learned that I need to be better about stretching before and after workouts since I've had some trouble with my calves tightening up which is very painful when you are trying to run.  I have lots of experience with stretching so it won't be hard, but I do need to practice working it into my routine.

Statistics:

Current Weight: 224.8 pounds
Last Week: 225.2 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: 0.4 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 225.2 pounds
Highest Point:  225.2 pounds
Lowest Point:  224.8  pounds

Weekly Weigh-In Feb 7

Dieting is returning back to normal.  It helps that I avoided the majority of the Super Bowl snacking.  One of the things that I am going to have to be careful about is becoming obsessed with the scale.  I'm pretty sure that  only stepping on the scale once a week is going to be critical to my sanity.

Statistics:

Current Weight: 219.3 pounds
Last Week: 221.2 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: Lost 2 pounds

Starting Weight: 226.2 pounds
Highest Point: 226.4 pounds
Lowest Point: 219.2 pounds

7/10 pounds to next Book

Weekly Weigh-In Jan 31

This week was not a good week for my diet or consistent exercise.  But seeing things remain relatively steady makes me wonder if it might be a good idea to structure my dieting in a 3-4 weeks on with 1 week off pattern.  Though I've definitely gotten a better idea about which foods not to ever add back.  Not just because they aren't very healthy but because of the way my body reacts to those foods.

Statistics:

Current Weight: 221.2 pounds
Last Week: 222.0 pounds

Weight Loss/Gain: Lost 1 pound

Starting Weight: 226.2 pounds
Highest Point: 226.4 pounds
Lowest Point: 221.0 pounds

5/10 pounds to next Book

Weekly Weigh-In Jan 10

So, I managed to skip a week of posting but it doesn't really matter since I forgot about the diet busting effect of New Year's celebrations that left me at the exact same weight.  After New Year's I kicked the diet up to full gear.  I've been doing rather well at returning to the strict South Beach diet phase 1.  My goal is to maintain phase 1 eating habits for a solid month and I'm going start counting from this last Saturday since I cheated with a couple of freshly baked cookies and a serving of pineapple.  However, that doesn't seem to have had a major effect since I lost a good bit of weight this week.  

I am a little disappointed in myself that while I managed to stick to my diet remarkably well, my daily exercise fell by the wayside.  My goal for this week is to keep going with the diet and to really focus on getting workouts in.


I've decided to add in some incentives for myself by rewarding myself with a new book for every ten pounds that I lose.

Statistics:

Current Weight: 221.0 pounds
Last Week: 226.4 pounds


Weight Loss/Gain: 5.2 pounds lost

Starting Weight: 226.2 pounds
Highest Point: 226.4 pounds

Lowest Point: 221.0 pounds

 

5/10 pounds to next Book

Weekly Check In September 19

So, these check ins are tending to be more monthly than weekly but I'm working on that.  I'm also still working on getting into a daily exercise habit.  I've gotten into the daily habit of light strength training (crunches, free weights, etc.) before bed just fine but I'm struggling a bit with carving out time and motivation for getting up in the morning and doing cardio.  I feel better when I get that morning workout in but it's still hard to get going.

I'm doing pretty well at eating healthy but I haven't quite pared away all of the carbs for Phase One of the South Beach Diet yet.  The hardest part right now is the mid-afternoon snack.  I need that small influx of calories but I'm having trouble resisting the muffins and pastries at the neighborhood coffee shop/bakery.

Even though I'm a little up from the last official weigh in, I'm actually down a few pounds.  Camping is not a diet friendly event; lots of food of varying degrees of unhealthiness and lots of lounging.  Very relaxing but not great for the diet.  I'm feeling generally positive and looking forward to continue bringing my weight down. 

Statistics:

Last Weigh-in: 215.8
Current Weight: 217.0

Starting Weight: 207.4
Highest Point: 222.0

Lowest Point: 206.4