Thankful Thursday: the treadmill

Yes, winter has truly sucked the life out of me already and we only really started getting snow a month ago (as opposed to last winter where we had snowdays already in November).

I guess I should be thankful about that too?

Since I'm training for a February half marathon if I ever actually register I've needed to crank up my mileage pretty quickly.  Nearly all of my workouts have been on the treadmill at the gym - including my long runs.  I don't have the time luxury of a potential injury from falling on ice or snow so here I am, trying to not be bored out of my mind for extended periods of time.

I've done a few interval workouts (2 minutes fast (at about a 9 m/m pace) alternating with 2 minutes slow) and some ladder workouts (progressing from 5.5 to 6.5 mph).  Yesterday I did a "hill" workout where I climbed for a mile (at 10% grade), then walked 1/2 a mile, then did it again.

After perusing Google, I found a couple other workouts that might be useful.

These are nice, shorter, workouts, but what about this weekend's 8 miler?  Any suggestions besides Netflix?  I finished binge watching Making a Murderer so I need something else to keep my mind busy for about 100 minutes.  Throw me some suggestions!

Fit + Blogging = #fitbloggin

So, there's this really amazing blogging conference that's I've had the pleasure of attending a couple times - Savannah in 2014 and Baltimore in 2011.  FitBloggin is more than just a conference - it's a community.  It's a community and tribe I have missed.

Like their tagline says, "using blogging, social media, and digital communication to motivate, inspire and foster a culture of health and wellness where everyone belongs."

My goal between now and July, when I *hopefully* attend my 3rd FitBloggin conference in Indianapolis, is to bring back some of that "fit" and "blogging" since both have been sporadic at best.

Here's the "fit" part:

 I am finally getting the scale to move back in the right direction.  (I weigh in at home on Wednesdays and at Weight Watchers on Saturdays - hopefully the 2 numbers match this week because I've been ON POINT for the past week since returning from Atlanta.

The "blogging" part will come.  As I have things to say, I'll say them.  If you want to read and comment, hopefully you will do that too :)  I used to be so consistent here, with a "schedule" and everything, but honestly, I got really burned out.  Maybe July and my tribe will motivate me to get my voice back out here.

Here's hoping 2016 has started off with a bang (in a good way) for you.  Are you planning to attend FitBloggin'16?  Please let me know if you are and if I actually make it (I'm registered but there's a lot that still needs to fall into place), we will definitely meet for hugs!

The Next 24 Hours

source

I found this image on Pinterest and it really hit home to me.  So many people focus on the end result that they can't get past all the baby steps it will take to get there.  They look at this seemingly insurmountable task - maybe it's losing a significant amount of weight or training for a marathon - and decide never to start because it seems impossible.

You know that silly question "How do you eat an elephant?"  The answer is the same as the message in this image - One bite at a time.  Focus on what you need to do in the next 24 hours to get yourself that one bite closer to your goal.

I've decided to give the new Weight Watchers SmartPoints plan another chance.  It seems impossible to stay within the tiny number of points I get now but by meal planning and focusing on fruits and vegetables, I'm planning to see another nice loss next weekend.

What will you do in the next 24 hours to get yourself closer to your goals?

Weigh-In Wednesday: this sh*t is hard

For the past 5 weeks or so, I've been following Weight Watchers, going to the meetings, and trying to up my workout game.  It worked for awhile.  You can't even see the starting weight but from highest to lowest it was 11.8 pounds.  Before I started to screw up.

This is after my weigh-in on Saturday at WW (yes, I covered the weights because I hate the numbers).  I gained .6 pounds last week and I weigh in at home on Wednesdays so I know I'm up another pound from here.  It pisses me off because no matter how perfect I am in the next 3 days, I will not be able to show a loss.  What's the point of going if you are going to show you failed?  For 2 weeks in a row.

This worked for about 4 weeks.  Then I started sabotaging myself by going into the teacher's lounge, eating treats, and being frustrated by the changes to the points system this past week.  Before I felt like I could go out, have a beer, eat a cookie, etc because I had enough flex points each week to do that.  Now? Not even close.  It's stupid because for the first 4 weeks, I was allowed 26 points and only one week did I go into the 49 flex points.  Now I get 30 points and every day I'm into the flex points and I'm gaining weight.

It makes me want to give up because it's too hard.  It's hard being around all the tempting holiday treats and it's hard to re-figure everything I was eating before.  Obviously, the first 4 weeks I did fantastic, losing almost 12 pounds.  Now the scale is going back up again.  I feel like I've blown 4 weeks of hard work.  I can't even eat the exact same meals as I did the past 4 weeks because the point values changed on some of them.  My "allowed" points only went up by 4 a day but my weekly flex points dropped from 49 to 28.  That's almost cut in half.  I'm now being penalized because I don't want to use fake shit - like margarine, gross fat free dressings, fake cheese, or "diet" bread.  Before the values of the foods I was eating were low enough that I could still stay within my points and I had enough flex points to put a little real butter on my decent tasting piece of toast in the morning if I wanted to but now I can't do that. My breakfast jumped from 9 points to 12 because of the changes.  My lunch went up too because my salad dressing changed. Today I used a tiny but of jam instead of butter but it wasn't the same.  I've also cut myself from 2 eggs to 1 egg plus those liquid egg white things to go from 4 points down to 2.  One day for breakfast I did just yogurt and fruit and I was starving by 11:00.  I don't know what to eat anymore.

I really don't know if I'm going to stick with this.  Someone in a FB group I belong to suggested I go back to using the Points+ tracking but since I track 100% through the app, I can't even do that because everything in the app is converted to Smart Points.  If I have to carry a paper tracker around with me and all the books, I know I won't track a single thing.  Another thing that's flawed with that suggestions.  What's the point of paying for all the e-tools if you can't even use them?

So yes, I've made progress since I decided to get back on track but the past week I feel like I've done nothing but screw up.  Someone even noticed last night that I looked thinner when I feel like it doesn't show at all.  That's cool but it's hard to be happy knowing it isn't going to last.  Sadly, I feel like I'm going to end up right back where I started because I can't seem to figure this out and I'm too much of a failure to have the self control to stay out of the lounge and away from the treats.

Three Things Thursday: Thankful Edition

Short and sweet because I only have a few minutes:

1.  I'm thankful for friends who send awesome surprise packages my way.  My friend and fellow Michigan BAMR Betsy saw something at Disney when she was there for Wine and Dine and thought of me (how incredible sweet is that?).  She said she'd send it to me and then yesterday a whole package of awesome stuff showed up at my door!  She sent me this little Disney trinket (which will be very loved by someone SHHH it's a gift) but also included some cool makeup and a bunch of Picky Bars!  Betsy is definitely one of a kind and I love that she did this.  It made my night when I was otherwise not having a great evening.

2.  I'm thankful for PT.  Yesterday I ran 3 nearly pain-free miles on the TM before my PT session and then Terence cut me loose!  I'm not officially cleared to train for the DONNA :)  I'm planning a 4 mile run for Saturday morning - wish me luck!

3.  I'm thankful for dear friends who invited me out for a girls' night tonight.  We are going to the Uptown Holiday Shop Hop - a walking/trolly/shopping extravaganza.  If you are local to Grand Rapids, MI, you should definitely check it out.  I've never gone so I'm excited to see what it's all about. Let's just hope I don't blow 4 weeks of Weight Watchers in one night because I also hear there are snacks and boozy specials.  The best part will be hanging with Jenn, Andi and Susan.

What are you thankful for today?

Weight Loss Over The Holidays?

How many of you saw some version of this image pop up in your FB or Twitter feeds over the past week?

How about we just focus on healthy eating and making good choices?  You know, it is possible to experience weight loss over the holidays.  I'm not saying it will be easy but it IS possible.

How do I know?  I lost 1.2 pounds last week, weighing in the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the day after I was out of town and eating every meal out.  I think if I hadn't been stuck eating fast food (hello, sodium), the loss may have been even better.

Last week I wrote about how success breeds motivation and that's definitely the case now.  I want to keep seeing those numbers drop and don't plan to blow it between now and New Years.  I mean, seriously, how awesome would it be to be back in the 140s by New Years Day and then maybe even the 130s by Valentines?  I only need 5 more pounds gone to make that first goal happen.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and if Black Friday shopping was your thing that you got some great deals.

Motivation Monday: progress IS motivating

First off - a little bit of business to take care of!  Thank you to everyone who entered my JournalMenu giveaway last week.  I love being the bearer of good news so CONGRATULATIONS to Kay Lynn A! I hope you love your workout journal!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming....

I don't think I've talked much about my decision to re-join Weight Watchers - at least not here on this blog probably because I rarely blog anymore.  Long story short, I got very fed up at my clothes not fitting and the awful numbers I was seeing on the scale and measuring tape.  I've tried going it on my own and it really wasn't working.  On November 7th, I hung my head in shame and walked into a Weight Watchers meeting and handed them my Visa card.  Admitting I'd gained about 25 pounds over my "happy" weight was very defeating.  So was needing to pay for meetings again (I had thankfully acheived Lifetime status back in the early 90s so I will never have to pay a joining fee.) Hopefully, I thought, the structure of WW would get me back on track.

Turns out it has.  Move ahead 2 weeks and I'm down 9 pounds and some of my clothes are starting to fit better.  I think the leader was really shocked that I wasn't more excited about getting my 5% loss charm on Saturday or the big losses I posted in my first 2 weeks, but the bottom line is I still have so far to go that it's hard to celebrate yet.

As we go into the Thanksgiving week and knowing all the travel and meals that will be included, I'm just striving to continue forward progress this week.  I won't be perfect.  I know I will not be able to stay within 26 points a day when I'm eating out while out of town or going to my MIL's for 2nd Thanksgiving (her foods will most definitely NOT be WW compliant in any way shape or form).  As for the Thanksgiving dinner I'm making, I can have a bit more control there.  All I can do is my best.

Seeing results over the past two weeks has been very motivating for me.  I've even had a couple short runs that give me hope that my running ability may be returning.  Again, I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much because I don't want to be disappointed, but a little hope is better than none.

Are you staying close to home for Thanksgiving or traveling?  What are your best tips for dealing with events such as this while trying to reduce your calorie intake?