Tracking is such an eye-opening experience

As a commitment to reaching my health and fitness goals, I’ve reinvested in tools and technology. I bought myself a gym membership for my birthday. It’s at Orange Theory Fitness and I am loving it. The environment is upbeat, the time just FLIES by, and I’m able to get 1 really good work out in each week. As I get in better shape, I’ll be adding more work outs based on the work out I do each week, and it’ll only get better from here:

Against my better judgement, I splurged on a 12-week membership to Weight Watchers (yes, again). I attended the first meeting today and it was good. There are about 14 people that I work with that attend every Tuesday. As a group over the last 12 weeks, they lost over 300 pounds. That’s astonishing! I tracked my food so far today and figured out that part of why I’m not losing weight on my own is because I’ve become delusional about my food quality. I knew my breakfast was “bad” but I didn’t think it was “that bad,” until I tracked it and realized it was more than half a day’s worth of allotted points.

I’ve got a profile going for the next twelve weeks, though, and my “before” pics and measurements. I’ve come to accept that I will constantly be starting over, but if I can shorten each time between quitting and starting to work on my health again, I think I’ll trend in the overall right direction.

As an inspiration to bring us both towards our best selves, Hubs bought us each a FitBit of our choice. He went for the Fitbit Blaze while I opted for the more minimalistic FitBit Charge 2. (These are not affiliated links, I just put them here for ease of reference.)

I’ve been using the FitBit to track my sleep and it’s been frustrating, to say the least:

I mean, it’s no wonder I feel addicted to caffeine and energy drinks. Based on the data that I’m getting (and I’ll wait until I get a whole heck of a lot more) I’m seeing that I really need to work on my sleep hygiene.  This will mean targeting an earlier bed time, trying to reduce the time I’m awake in the middle of the night, and generally trying to improve the quality of the sleep that I’m getting.

I have some ideas, but before I can really implement them or know for sure if it’s the right way to go, I need more data–so more to come on that.

Weekly WW Exercise:
Theme: Get Happy

“…just 5 minutes to notice, savor, and record everyday goodness and beauty.”

1. “We should carpool more often.” – Hubs and I carpooled to the office out of necessity today and it was so nice to hear him express a desire to do so more often. He supported his suggestion by listing, not only the measurable benefits (reduced emissions, reduced wear and tear on the other vehicle, reduced fuel consumption) but the benefit of spending more time together as a couple. He even resolved the work dilemma by volunteering to work from home as necessary so that we don’t have to worry about him working late or whatnot. It was so nice.
2. Little Elfkin has started counting down to “blast off” in the car. “threeeeee..twoooo…one.. GO DAD!” Hahaha.. she loves it when we can blast off like the rocket in Little Einsteins. She even gets us to join her patting our laps for power. “c’mon, Mom! Pat, pat, pat!” Gosh, it’s crazy to think how well she communicates now compared to a year ago.
3. “Big hugs, you don’t battle alone. #BattleBuddy” – My friend, Robin, offered me comfort after I posted about the terrible choices I made for breakfast. I really enjoy the camaraderie and support that is gained through having an accountability buddy. We went through our pregnancies together, we’re raising our kids “together,” and we’re fitness friends too. Don’t let anyone tell you the internet is just full of bad people with nefarious intentions.

A little sunshine, a little fresh air, a lot of happiness

Sunshine and fresh air can’t fix everything, but it can sure recharge your store of feel-good chemicals and put a brighter spin on things.

Things at work are getting better, in the sense that things have returned to the status quo, until more news comes out.

Since the weather has improved so much, I’ve been making an effort to get outside and go for more walks.

Winter in Minnesota is a time to hunker down and hibernate. The lack of Sun slows metabolism, increases melatonin, and generally causes the inhabitants to retreat into a quiet, somber ‘survival mode,’ until the sun decides to show itself again. 

As a sufferer of SAD I can honestly say that my mood has improved exponentially with the weather.

Even the hubby notices.  I gravitate towards healthier foods–reveling in the fruits and vegetables of the season before I’m forced all too soon back to the dreary canned and frozen varieties of winter.

This week we’ve been eating summer squash, zucchini, crimini mushrooms, and watermelon.  Today, I was able to have spinach and tomato diced into my omelet.

This afternoon, I was able to get out for a 1.34 mile walk in the sunshine (as tracked my Map My Fitness.

I guess what this entire entry is trying to say is this: MegsFitness is back. Fresh food, fitness, motivation… It’s on, and it feels so good to be back!

Summer TV and Exercise

Per my previous post, I am taking a break from Facebook.  Did you also know that I’m taking a break from gaming?  The two are not related.  I sort of quit my guid took a hiatus from my guild when I decided to focus on fitness instead.  It’s been a couple months, now, and I’ve only logged in a time or two.

I *have* spent more time working out, but it’s not nearly the amount of time that I anticipated.  I’ve gotten a lot more walking in, some mild strength training, and a whole lot of excuse-making.  Oh what? Excuses??  Pssh.

I like to think of it less as excuses and more like some quality TV watching time.  I completely blitzed through Orange Is The New Black  and now I’m watching How I Met Your Mother, Bones, and Baby Daddy.

I would probably actually get more home-gym workouts done if Netflix had commercials, but as it stands, I try to do calisthenics while watching the episodes 🙂

The plan seems to be working, though, I’ve lost 8 pounds so far 🙂

The paleo plan is still at about 60% and going strong.  I crave more veggies these days and I don’t miss bread much at all.  Some days I just want a slice of buttery toast, but I think that might just be because I like butter 😉

So how are you spending your summer?  What are your favorite shows to watch?

 

 

Finisher shirt Friday

Governor Mark Dayton declared today “Finisher shirt Friday” so myself and a few co workers decided to get in on the fun.  I figure, the more fitness minded people I surround myself with, the better it’ll be.

Today’s tracking was great. I hit the target for all of my macro nutrients. I’m having withdrawals from sweets, though. Today I had very little in the way of refined sugar, and I had massive cravings, got flushed in the face, and developed a headache… But I didn’t give in.  I was at a manager’s desk. I had grabbed a jar of Hershey kisses and pulled one out. I said to myself “what am I doing,” and put it back.  Even though I was still talking to the manager, I decided to start cutting up a green pepper and eating that instead.  Woo! Will power.

Nope. None for me, thanks!

I’m determined to get back to my Warrior self.

Team Doge – Week 1 Update

Good morning!

The 1^st mini challenge is off to a great start.  Nicky made use of her social network to draw in many votes yesterday, and I’m proud to report that we are in

*drumroll…*

Ninth place!  At the beginning of the day yesterday, we had only about 8 votes, so to have 40 votes at this point is quite a feat!  Way to go, Nicky!

Now, some people are wondering, why do we care about votes?  What’s the point?  Well, the point is motivation and accountability.  If you’re asking people for votes, you’re explaining what it’s for—and the more people that know you’re part of a challenge, the more people who will help you meet your goals or cheer you on in your efforts.  For example, someone yesterday gave me a Cadburry Crème Egg.  I told them I was part of a 12-week weight loss challenge, and gave it back to them—and asked them for their vote!  Now, this person knows what’s up and won’t offer me chocolate any more, and we added 1 vote to our total.

How are you doing with your personal goals?  Please comment with ONE or more successes from the past week 🙂

If you would like to vote, here are the three easy steps:

1.       Access the HealthyWage website: http://www.healthywage.com/leaderboards/team_standings/?team_challenge=80&secondary_filter=1

2.      Using the drop-down menus, select “GE HealthAhead’s Lose Weight, Win Big 2014”  and “Mini Challenge #1: Best Team Name and Before Photo”

3.      Click on “Team Doge Wow Such Weight Loss!” and follow instructions to cast your vote.

Team Doge Wow Such Weight loss! Please Vote

I have joined a team challenge at work, and it’s off to such a fun start.  I’m on a team with a group of four women at work and we have dubbed ourselves “Team Doge Wow Such Weight Loss!”  The twelve week challenge kicks off with a mini-challenge to come up with the best team name (check!) and best team “before” photo (check!)

I would love it if you could check out our submission (below) and vote for us on the HealthyWage website (http://www.healthywage.com/leaderboards/team_standings/?team_challenge=80&secondary_filter=1).  This site is just like Diet Bet and Biggest Loser, except you cannot lose more than 1.5% of your weight/week and no more than 16.75% of your weight over the course of the challenge.  I’m really excited to have a team of co-workers to tackle this with.  They’ve been instrumental in my motivation this week 🙂

[EDIT: added directions –  access the link, and then select “GE HealthAhead’s Lose Weight, Win Big 2014” and “Mini Challenge #1: Best Team Name and Before Photo”]

Day 1. Again. How many Day 1’s does one person get?

Day 1. Again. How many Day 1’s does one person get?

As many as a person needs. (I have 10 results that come up when I search for the key phrase “day 1” in my blog…)

I had another Day 1 today.  This time, I was sized up (literally–I gained 10 lbs since my back injury, and had gained 15 lbs due to a situational depression prior to that.. eep!) and figured out.  I met with Jody from the fitness center and asked her to be my trainer.  I talked to her about my back injury and what I’ve been through…

• Wipe out at Warrior Dash
• Spontaneous back injury – I linked that entry because I remember writing my weight in the snow.
• Physical Therapy
• Chiropractic Care

I let her know that we (Jeff and I) are at a point where we’re willing to try anything really.  The cool thing is that in addition to being a personal trainer, she actually has experience with physical therapy and rehabilitation.  She was really nice about figuring out whether I care more about form or function at this point.  I had let her know about a friend’s wedding coming up in October and how the dresses she admires are more like sausage casings at this point.  More important, though, is my functional ability to move and be myself.  I can wear an A-line dress if it comes down to it.

With functionality in mind, my day 1 is going to start on Friday with some resistance band exercises to figure out where my muscle imbalances are.  We’re going to go through a rehabilitation program for my back/core, I’m going to keep up with chiropractic care, and we’ll see how it goes.  Jody said that we’ll be able to transition from the therapy to actual fitness workouts once my strength is rebuilt.

After about 3 weeks, she wants to see a food journal.  Guess the photo tracker is making a resurgence 😉

Day 1 Weigh In:

InBody230 – Weight: 240, Lean Body Mass 118, (body fat 122), BMI 50. (ugh!)
(Previously)  Weight: 220, Lean Body Mass 117, (body fat 103), BMI 43.

Sugar Wednesday

Today was a bit hectic. We stayed up super late last night (1am), so this morning was rough.  I had a sensible breakfast, then pizza, a sensible lunch, (salad and menacotti (sp?), then too much sugar.

Since things are stupid stressful at work, people keep bringing around doughnuts and treats, and I keep eating them. The scale reflects those decisions…

Guess who is almost 240 again? :(

I have a scale in my bathroom and, occasionally, I will weigh myself to make sure that things aren’t getting totally out of hand. Well, I’ve been hovering around 233 for the longest time.  I was STUNNED to step on the scale this morning and see 237.6.  I’m so distraught.  I don’t know of any solid reason for what feels like such a sudden gain.  Sure–I could cover it with a blanket statement about holidays, but I really didn’t feel that off the rails this season.   What’s more is that I’ve actually worked out 3x so far this week with a 4th planned for later today.

There’s nothing to it but to do it, though.. here’s to starting over.  Again. 😦

I’ve already got Iaido to keep me busy on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  I’m adding more workouts throughout the week, and I need to track again for a while.  Tracking is going to include measuring until I can actually fit into my jeans again.  This is a bit ridiculous.