Keep on rolling

Well, I've been keeping up the good work, but it's still been slow-going in terms of the weight loss. I've been tracking really well, and working out for at least 30 mins every day, but it's still easy to get frustrated. Boot camp last night was HARD. It felt like I had concrete blocks on my legs whenever I attempted to do any of the cardio activities. But still, I'm glad that I went.

Things have been a little busy around here, so I haven't had much time to post, but I have been tracking food.

More later.

A breakthrough

Well, for all the whining that I've done in the past week, the gods are now smiling on me. I think I might have broken through whatever sort of plateau or strength training-related learning curve that I was dealing with, because I have had some weight loss over the past couple of days.

I know there's a pretty strong and valid argument out there for not weighing yourself everyday, but I really need to--it provides me motivation (if I don't lose) and small rewards (if I do). And, in weight loss attempts in the past, I've avoided the scale, and often didn't realize that I was starting to gain again.

A potentially "off the wagon" situation presented itself last night. I ate well all day, and then my firm decided to go out for happy hour to celebrate a new client AND my husband and his friend wanted to order out pizza and pasta to watch March Madness. While I did partake in the happy hour festivities, I was able to eat healthy once I got home (which I usually don't do when I've had some drinks) and I stayed within my calorie range yesterday.

Today, it's raining for the first time in a while, so it looks like I might head to the gym for my cardio fix. . .and then I might make my way to the mall as well.

Most of my family is on spring break right now--I'm very jealous.

Frustrated, anyone?

There was a great post today over at The Shrinking Knitter http://shrinkingknitter.blogspot.com/ discussed the frustration of working out and eating right and not noticing any differences on the scale. It's funny, because I was actually talking to my husband this morning about the very same thing.

I have been 98% diligent—and I mean diligent—about writing down everything that I eat, and working out approximately 6 days a week. This has been going on for about three weeks now, and before that, I was still 80-85% with my tracking and working out. And what is the thanks that I get? A scale that likes to either move up, or stubbornly stay the same.

I've tried so hard this past week to keep a positive attitude and focus on the fact that I can feel my body firming up, getting stronger, etc. But damn, couldn't the scale throw a little love my way?

That said, the scale was at 170.4 this morning. I think I'm feeling frustrated because I was certain that I would break into the 160's today. Perhaps I shouldn't set myself up for something like that--but still, a measly .5 pounds would give me a glimmer of hope!

In other news, I went to a weights class at the gym last night and really enjoyed it. Tonight, if the weather holds (it might rain), I am planning on running (okay, jogging) on the open space trail by our house. I also might spend some jump roping as well, but when I tried to jump rope out on the driveway on Monday night, the entire girl's high school soccer team ran by the house and keep giving me strange looks. Maybe I should join them on their training runs.

Gotta run to a meeting now!

Almost to the 160's

It was a very close call on the scale this morning. 170.2. . .but the number teetered between 169 and 170 for a while, bringing me hope. As I mentioned yesterday, I really am feeling so much "thinner" despite the lack of weight loss. Last night, I wore my heart rate monitor to boot camp, and registered approximately 400 calories burned in the 50 minutes I was at boot camp. To be honest, I thought it might be a little bit higher, but that's 400 calories that I wouldn't have been burning if I was hanging out at a happy hour.

I'm feeling achy and and I've been sniffling all morning and I am really hoping that I'm not coming down with something--I don't want to get sidetracked by a bad cold.

I've been tracking my food pretty well, and I have realized that my only really big downfall is the weekend. A couple of drinks add up quickly, and I have to find a way to interact in social situations without having drinks (but I do like having them).

I have lunch and dinner out tonight, so I am hoping to stay within my range despite these two roadblocks.

I had better get back to work. . .

Inches. . .not pounds

Okay, so I should have measured myself when I started this whole thing. While my weight has basically remained stagnant this past month, I know I've been losing inches. To be honest, I think it's a decent amount, too.

In the past, I've always been so frustrated when I've been working out and eating right, and the scale hasn't budged. But lately, I've been able to move past the numbers of the scale, and I've focused more on how my clothes are fitting and how my body feels to me. For example, I bought a pair of black pants 10 days ago when I was back home in IL. The pants, which were really nice and perfect for work, fit everywhere but were tight in the waist. Well, I went ahead and bought them anyway, and today, I tried them on and they fit perfectly! What a great feeling--and what a great confidence booster.

I'm off to Boot Camp tonight--I am really getting into this class and I think it's definitely something that I can stick with.

It's getting better all the time

It's been a good week. I'm down a pound, I think I've definitely lost some inches in the past few weeks, and I worked out every day but Thursday. Last night, I was even able to pass up some amazing cake at my sister's house, and I only had one glass of wine at happy hour.

This weekend will include a lot of fitness, but will also include a lot of temptation. Tonight, we are going out for a fun and fancy dinner in Denver for my sister's birthday (I already lifted for 1 hour this morning), and tomorrow, I have some St. Pat's debauchery planned. But, I am planning on hiking or running both days of the weekend, so hopefully everything will counter out.

Rockford. Work. Hiking.

It's been a while since I've written, and it's not because I got frustrated and things starting going down the tubes. Instead, I was really busy last week and was back in Rockford over the weekend. In all, I ate pretty well and worked out Friday morning and Saturday pm. I took yesterday off, but tonight a bunch of us are hiking the hard Mt. Sanitas after work. Though I am tired from getting up and flying back here so early this morning, I think the late-day hike will be great. And, today is supposed to be the nicest day we've had here since last November!

I'll do a weigh-in tomorrow and then we'll see what sort of weekend I really had!