Thursday, October 25, 2012
Break
Sorry I've been MIA lately. Life is hectic....both work and personally. I may be on a little hiatus for a week or so. But when I come back, I'll be back and better than ever. The blog may be on hiatus, but my tracking and attempt at a healthy lifestyle is not. So have no fears....it's just that I don't have much time to write these days. Will be back soon!
Friday, October 19, 2012
Calorie Budget Goal
Happy Friday! So glad it's Friday...this has been a busy week. I'm hoping next week isn't so busy, and I can spend more time on my blog.
So the other day I posted by "thermometer" that I'm using to track my exercise minutes. If I hit 50% of 600 minutes between now and the end of October, I get to purchase a new book on my Nook. 75%, and I get to purchase new workout shoes. 100%, and I'll allow myself a 1/2 day vacation.
I'm taking a similar approach with my calories. We all know I struggle (hard core) with my eating. It seems I'm going over-budget about 95% of the time. That's not good when I'm trying to lose weight, because we all know that losing weight is 90% diet, and 10% exercise. So to help me stay on track with my eating, I came up with a kind of similar reward system that I have for my exercise. In a day at work, I make about $160 (I rounded down to make it an even number). So this is the plan. For every week that I stay at or below my calorie budget (ie, I don't go over - this will come from my weekly LoseIt report), I'm going to put $20 in a jar. Once I hit $160 (8 weeks' worth of $20), I'm taking a vacation day, and I'll use that $160 to go shopping or do whatever I wish with that $160! I know, I'm such a genius. :)
This is starting to get me excited about this whole thing again! I can't wait to see what this brings. Hope you all have a great weekend.....I'm going to the Vikings game on Sunday! Skol Vikings!
So the other day I posted by "thermometer" that I'm using to track my exercise minutes. If I hit 50% of 600 minutes between now and the end of October, I get to purchase a new book on my Nook. 75%, and I get to purchase new workout shoes. 100%, and I'll allow myself a 1/2 day vacation.
I'm taking a similar approach with my calories. We all know I struggle (hard core) with my eating. It seems I'm going over-budget about 95% of the time. That's not good when I'm trying to lose weight, because we all know that losing weight is 90% diet, and 10% exercise. So to help me stay on track with my eating, I came up with a kind of similar reward system that I have for my exercise. In a day at work, I make about $160 (I rounded down to make it an even number). So this is the plan. For every week that I stay at or below my calorie budget (ie, I don't go over - this will come from my weekly LoseIt report), I'm going to put $20 in a jar. Once I hit $160 (8 weeks' worth of $20), I'm taking a vacation day, and I'll use that $160 to go shopping or do whatever I wish with that $160! I know, I'm such a genius. :)
This is starting to get me excited about this whole thing again! I can't wait to see what this brings. Hope you all have a great weekend.....I'm going to the Vikings game on Sunday! Skol Vikings!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
This is Hard
I don't know what's wrong with me, but I feel like I want to eat everything in sight today....and I'm not even that hungry!! It was 10:00 and all I wanted to do was eat my lunch! I don't know if it's because it's that time of the month, or if it's because I had a wimpy breakfast (a piece of banana bread with peanut butter).
I did not get up this morning to go to the gym. Story of my life....I feel like a broken record. But I have a good excuse - I didn't get to sleep until probably about 1:30. So yeah, I really needed that extra sleep. I didn't go to the gym last night, but I did do a DVD.
I tell you, this losing weight thing is hard. I'm so tired of tracking calories and seeing myself go over my budget every single day. And I'm tired of making plans to workout that don't pan out. I'm not giving up....just laying it out there that this is hard. I wish it was as easy as gaining weight was!
Lots to do at work today, so I'm off like a prom dress. Later!
Oh and P.S. I was able to color in 30 minutes on that thermometer (see yesterday's post)! That was fun! :D
I did not get up this morning to go to the gym. Story of my life....I feel like a broken record. But I have a good excuse - I didn't get to sleep until probably about 1:30. So yeah, I really needed that extra sleep. I didn't go to the gym last night, but I did do a DVD.
I tell you, this losing weight thing is hard. I'm so tired of tracking calories and seeing myself go over my budget every single day. And I'm tired of making plans to workout that don't pan out. I'm not giving up....just laying it out there that this is hard. I wish it was as easy as gaining weight was!
Lots to do at work today, so I'm off like a prom dress. Later!
Oh and P.S. I was able to color in 30 minutes on that thermometer (see yesterday's post)! That was fun! :D
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
It's Going to Get Serious Up In Here
Okay, so here's the deal. I know I keep changing things up around here (at least as far as exercise plans go), but I really need to find what works for me. So far, I haven't found that yet. Maybe I'll find it with this plan, maybe I won't. Maybe it'll be a long time before I figure that out. But I've got to keep trying. So here it goes.
I've printed out one of those weight loss thermometer things (found at Dotti's Weight Loss Zone....Google it). And instead of tracking my weight, I'm tracking my exercise minutes. For the remainder of October, I'm going to aim to get 600 minutes of exercise in. Every minute counts, and I'll slowly fill in the thermometer until I hit my goal. If I hit 50% of my goal by the end of October, I get to purchase a new book on my Nook. If I hit 75% of my goal, I get new tennis shoes. And 100%? I'm letting myself take a 1/2 day of vacation. This is what it looks like....
Boy do I want that 1/2 day.
I'm going to start going to the gym in the mornings. My reward for making it to the gym each day will be to sit and relax in the hot tub after my workout. What a great way to start a work day! I've been wanting to sit in the hot tub for so long, but haven't done it (because I haven't been to the gym, ha). The morning workouts will consist of C25K. That's it. I can do that. Then after work I'll be going to the gym (again!) on the days my boyfriend works in the afternoon (which is most days, and I don't want to workout when he's home because I never get to see him anymore). I'll be going to BodyStep classes. There's one I can make it to every day, Monday-Thursday.
I've also joined a weight loss challenge through Mama Laughlin's Fit Camp! We've already given our starting weights (of course the week of my period), and the group that loses the most (% I think), will win some cool stuff! Head on over to Fitness Unscripted to check it out (although, the challenge is closed to new people now). I'm on a team with a great group of girls, and everyone seems so friendly and motivated. I certainly don't want to let my team down.
So it's time to get serious.
I've printed out one of those weight loss thermometer things (found at Dotti's Weight Loss Zone....Google it). And instead of tracking my weight, I'm tracking my exercise minutes. For the remainder of October, I'm going to aim to get 600 minutes of exercise in. Every minute counts, and I'll slowly fill in the thermometer until I hit my goal. If I hit 50% of my goal by the end of October, I get to purchase a new book on my Nook. If I hit 75% of my goal, I get new tennis shoes. And 100%? I'm letting myself take a 1/2 day of vacation. This is what it looks like....
Boy do I want that 1/2 day.
I'm going to start going to the gym in the mornings. My reward for making it to the gym each day will be to sit and relax in the hot tub after my workout. What a great way to start a work day! I've been wanting to sit in the hot tub for so long, but haven't done it (because I haven't been to the gym, ha). The morning workouts will consist of C25K. That's it. I can do that. Then after work I'll be going to the gym (again!) on the days my boyfriend works in the afternoon (which is most days, and I don't want to workout when he's home because I never get to see him anymore). I'll be going to BodyStep classes. There's one I can make it to every day, Monday-Thursday.
I've also joined a weight loss challenge through Mama Laughlin's Fit Camp! We've already given our starting weights (of course the week of my period), and the group that loses the most (% I think), will win some cool stuff! Head on over to Fitness Unscripted to check it out (although, the challenge is closed to new people now). I'm on a team with a great group of girls, and everyone seems so friendly and motivated. I certainly don't want to let my team down.
So it's time to get serious.
Weigh In Wednesday
Sorry I've been MIA lately....life has been busy. Work especially. But things should be dying down soon! Today is Weigh In Wednesday. I'm not too happy with this. But Aunt Flo is back for her monthly comeback, so I'm not going to take this too seriously. But this BETTER be down next week, or it's on like Donkey Kong.
Sigh.
Sigh.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Cravings and Planning
Yes. That just happened. And I'm not going to dwell on it or talk about it. End of story.... :)
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Moving right along. I kind of binged last night. And I didn't work out. I think my lovely Aunt Flow coming into the picture next week could be to blame for all these cravings. I wish I wasn't this hungry, crap-craving beast every month. But it is what it is.
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I'm working on some calendars in Excel....they're actually quite neat. On the bottom of each calendar, I have spaces to write in my beginning measurements for the month, my ending measurements, and then progress. In the "calendar" spaces I'll be writing my workout plans. And I plan to go to Target or somewhere to get some stickers to stick on each day that I did my workout. How
Yeah, you can just barely see the bottom part, but like I said....it's my beginning measurements, end of month measurements, and results (including total inches lost).
Another thing I need to work on is my planning. Yes, I've been making meal plans for the week for dinners, but I haven't always followed everything. I also have started to slack on what my lunches for the week will be. And I really need to try to get everything portioned out and as ready to go for the week as possible, so I don't have too much to think about every day....I can just grab my lunch and go.
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And with that, it seems that I have a lot of work to do this weekend! Hope everyone has a great weekend. Let's try to keep this a lower-calorie weekend. I'd really like to get down to that 145 goal and finally get those Fall boots soon. Because, well, Fall is just about over!!!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
To Eat or Not to Eat
Well I did the Get Ripped 1000 DVD last night....I burned almost 300 calories. Not bad, but certainly not the 1000 she advertises in the title. Not even half of that! Granted, I did a lot of the cardio modifications, and took a couple rests (*cough*70 push-ups*cough*), so that could be a reason my calories burned was a tiny bit low. And boy did I sweat like a disgusting man!
I really enjoyed it. The hour went by fast! Tonight I plan on doing Cathe's Low Impact Circuit - probably one of the cardio premixes. I'm looking forward to that one - I love the music.
I'd really like to be able to workout 2 times a day....that will really up my calorie burn. But I went to the apartment gym last night just to see if the treadmills were working. Nope. Grrrr....I'm paying money for this place, which I chose because of their gym, and I've barely been able to use it!! I'm starting to not like this place.
I spent some time yesterday researching the idea of eating back your exercise calories. So many different viewpoints on it....no wonder it's so confusing for us common folk! I did all that research, and I still don't know if I should eat back my exercise calories. I guess just listen to my body? But a lot of times my body tells me - "You're stressed/bored/tired - FEED ME!" So that may not be a good idea for me right now. :-\
I'm pretty tired today. The boyfriend is working a second job and didn't get home until about 11:30 last night. Then he took a shower, ate, and all that jazz....we didn't end up going to bed until about 12:30. Then he began hitting the snooze button at about 6:00. Sigh. I was so tired and just wanted to sleep! But I know he's really tired too, so I didn't yell at him. Poor guy has to work again tonight after his first job....same for tomorrow!
I really enjoyed it. The hour went by fast! Tonight I plan on doing Cathe's Low Impact Circuit - probably one of the cardio premixes. I'm looking forward to that one - I love the music.
I'd really like to be able to workout 2 times a day....that will really up my calorie burn. But I went to the apartment gym last night just to see if the treadmills were working. Nope. Grrrr....I'm paying money for this place, which I chose because of their gym, and I've barely been able to use it!! I'm starting to not like this place.
I spent some time yesterday researching the idea of eating back your exercise calories. So many different viewpoints on it....no wonder it's so confusing for us common folk! I did all that research, and I still don't know if I should eat back my exercise calories. I guess just listen to my body? But a lot of times my body tells me - "You're stressed/bored/tired - FEED ME!" So that may not be a good idea for me right now. :-\
I'm pretty tired today. The boyfriend is working a second job and didn't get home until about 11:30 last night. Then he took a shower, ate, and all that jazz....we didn't end up going to bed until about 12:30. Then he began hitting the snooze button at about 6:00. Sigh. I was so tired and just wanted to sleep! But I know he's really tired too, so I didn't yell at him. Poor guy has to work again tonight after his first job....same for tomorrow!
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