Slowly Does It

This little pup weighs 2 pounds. And, bonus, he kind of looks how I feel today.

I was slightly disappointed that I only lost about 2 lbs over the course of March, especially as I had seen slightly lower numbers last week in my (secret, not really, but not posted) weekly weigh-ins.


And my second thought was, I AM SO SICK OF THIS RAIN. I did the Shred at home again, but I want to/need to get out and run. And I'm a fair weather runner. Yes, the gym is a block away, but I had sort of (prematurely it seems) liberated myself from the treadmill shackles once Spring temps hit. Additionally the rain is sucking out my will to live, let alone m o v e.

I gotta get outta my own head! It's great to be more safely in the 180's. (As opposed to when I briefly saw a 189.9999 pop up a while back and, again, prematurely called myself Back in the [1]80's.) Lately I've also been cruising the BMI/BMR/misc. weight charts trying to come up with a goal weight to plug into my sidebar. Having been overweight since uh... people started weighing me, I guess, it's hard to pick a number. I suppose it's better to pick a range and see what happens when I get there. I will be giving this more thought and post further.

Since I did not commit to a d-plan or eliminating any individual food or food group, I know my weight loss is going to be slower. What I did commit to is weighing myself weekly (even if I eat take out Chinese the night before or it's that time of the month or had 2 pints of Ben & Jerry's for dinner, etc etc.) The point is it's a snapshot in time that may, as much as I dread it, go UP on occasion and I have to learn to deal with it as a data point in a series, not a summary judgment.

I also committed to exercise. And while it's great to incorporate the Shred and to finally get myself some zen on the yoga mat, last week my running (or even long walks) sort of fell off.

Exercise program, goal weight reflections, food tracking...that's what I'll be working on in the week ahead.

Back in the 80's!

I rejiggered my sidebar to report my weight monthly here, so the next "official" post will be whatever the scale reveals on 1/26/10.  But I do weigh myself weekly and am happy to report that today, I finally dropped (more like tip-toed) down into the 80's. Woo-hoo! 

Yes, folks, that is a picture of what we used to call a record back when I was coming up.  The Jacksons!  REO Speedwagon! 

Of course I'm probably cursing myself celebrating my new low before the appointed hour, so my next post will be along the lines of Stuck in the 90's with a photo of some dark grungy Nirvana CD cover art.  No, no, I'm in the 80's, anything's possible! I can go from welder/exotic dancer to the fancy Conservatory!


I've got a workout schedule now that I'm a week or so into. Really it's what I've been doing over the past month, but a more formal version. I'm not working at the moment, so this will all need to be re-evaluated once I have to get out of bed before noon on a daily basis. 

• M- Strength training class

• T- Run (I have a mileage schedule, though still struggling with faster pace w/walk breaks vs. slower pace. Trying to just focus on completing the mileage for the day, however I do it!)

• W - Rest

• T - Run

• F - Run

• S - Yoga class

• S - Run

And trying to incorporate incidental walking throughout the week. Which is somewhat easy to do in NYC, but does require planning. (If the movie starts at 5:00 and will take 45 minutes to walk to, leaving at 4:30 equals taxi.)  Yes, this is fitness-intense, but as noted, I do have the time (if not always the mojo!) at least for now. 


I have a friend who was unemployed in the last big recession (at least in the NY area, 2002) and she still looks back fondly at the period as being her fittest ever. Which just shows it can go either way....the extra time can be filled with workouts (where I'm at currently) or the stress of the life change can leave fitness by the wayside (or weighside, where I was). 

That just reminds me how much of weight loss is in your head. The equation is so simple, but the reality is far from easy. How do you properly support yourself so that you balance pushing yourself with loving yourself? How do you pick yourself up and continue on the path after a bad weigh-in, skipped workout, pizzafest - or all of the above? I think reading blogs where the bloggers took years to lose their weight, where they captured ups and downs and plateaus and less-than-perfect choices really helps put in perspective that it's real life. 

You have to adapt and strategize constantly. It's not XYZ Diet Book with a list of Do's and Dont's. [Ominous movie preview voiceover:] This time, it's personal. What workouts do *I* enjoy? What do *I* like to eat (and drink)? What am I willing to live without? If I go overboard, how do I right the ship? I don't really know the answers to these questions, but I think asking them is a good first step.

Checkin' in

Just checkin' in. I should check in more frequently, just to keep myself on track, I suppose. I worked out a bit less this past week. The Thanksgiving schedule at my gym meant I missed my favorite yoga class. Then I missed my new favorite Body Conditioning class through my own fault (as we used to say in the confessional).

I did keep on track with C25K though. I finished up Week 3 - woo hoo! And am just about to head out to start Week 4 - yaaaaay (she said unconvincingly). Each week incorporates longer stints of running, obviously. I think this week will include a 5-minute running segment. Yaaaaaaaay!

I'm pretty content with my eating over the past few weeks. Trying to incorporate some new recipes and be conscious of what I'm eating. Primarily, that means enjoying what I'm eating or, if not, trying not to eat it. Why does that sound so elementary written out like that? Is it worth it?? That's what I need to remember. I even made a semi-healthy dessert. An apple crumble thing with rolled oats and nuts and uh, apples. I serve it warm with vanilla frozen yogurt and feel like I'm having a good time. It's good, but it's not something that I would go crazy overboard with. And vanilla frozen yogurt is not calling my name like, for example, mint chocolate chip or chocolate brownie ice cream would. ("Finish me!")

Next stop - 180's! Please! I'm so sick of the 190's. Actually knowing the way I lose (up, down, up, down) I know 180's won't be the next stop. But hopefully I'm on the 180's line? If not, I'll have to switch at an upcoming station. For now, this track is feels like it's working for me.