Weight Loss Update Week 20

I am reading Stephen Covey's book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It is really good, and I keep thinking that I wish I had read it several years ago when I first heard about it. But at the same time, I probably wouldn't have taken it in like I am now, so I guess it's meant for me to read right now.

One of the things that I'm reading about right now has to do with time management and priorities. The actual habit is "Put First Things First." He talks about how so many urgent (important or unimportant) things get in the way of the important (but not urgent) things. (And then, there are the unimportant and non-urgent things that are basically time-wasters.) So basically, the important things don't get done because they are not urgent enough to be focused on.)

Now, I have NEVER been great at time management. I have developed that skill more in my professional life, but in my personal life it still can be a struggle. But he talks about taking the time to prioritize those non-urgent, but important, things so that you're being proactive and not having to always deal with the urgent, important crises.

You can certainly apply that to being healthy. How many people put their health on the backburner for most of their lives, only to be faced with a heart attack or some other health crisis later? It's so important to make exercise and healthy eating a priority NOW. Plan your meals ahead, prep them as much as possible, even make them ahead in order to avoid that mid-week I'm-tired-but-I-don't-have-any-meals-so-I'll-just-get-a-pizza. Jason and I have gotten so much better at that. I don't know how many times we did something similar to that, thwarting our attempts at losing weight. But we both think through our upcoming week, get a shopping list together, and then prep our food. It is a lot of work, but it pays off in the end.

Well, after Thanksgiving, I got easily back to my healthy eating. I had never stopped working out, so I was continuing with that. And this week I felt good AND went back down another pound. Yay!

So, now I am asking you...shouldn't you be putting first things first? Making your health a priority? It is almost 2015, and now is the time to plan ahead. You probably will make a New Year's resolution to lose some weight, eat better, exercise more...so why not get ready for that now? I will be doing a 4-week challenge group where the participants commit to working out with a Beachbody program, drink the Shakeology meal replacement shake, eating healthy, and interacting in a closed group on Facebook. Participants get individual coaching, support, accountability, recipes, and meal plans. If this is something that you're ready to commit to, comment below or message me on Facebook. If my journey has been the least bit inspiring, know that YOU can do this, too. You can inspire others to be healthy.

Weight Loss Update Week 19

So, we've made it through Thanksgiving, and we're now in the Christmas season. I didn't worry too much about my calories, because I knew that I would get back on track after that. I forgot to take a picture of my food plate, but I did get my dessert, I'm not ashamed. (That's pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, and a pumpkin muffin.) Gotta love pumpkin!

For the most part I've gotten back on track with my eating, although we did get some pizza yesterday for college football rivalry weekend. I've stayed with my workouts, but of course, the eating is more the key to the results. I've said this before, but I'm not out to only eat clean for the rest of my life. That's not realistic. But I AM out to make more healthy than unhealthy choices. So my choice for Thanksgiving was to enjoy the food.

When I weighed yesterday, I had gone back up a pound, but I know it will come back down as I completely get back on track. One of my Beachbody coaches wrote this in her blog, that I really liked, about having a range for your target weight. Of course, I'm still not in the range that I ultimately want to be, but it's the same idea. I know there is going to be some fluctuation along the way. (Although I am a little bummed that my rate of weight loss is decreasing...just a little over a pound a week. But, on the other hand, I'd rather be slow and steady and keep it off than to do the yo-yo diet thing of losing a lot really quickly, but not developing healthy habits.)

Contentment

I say that I am trying to become the best version of me. I don't mean only physically, although that's how this started. I'm also working on my "self"--my emotional, mental, and spiritual self.

I heard an interesting quote about contentment the other day from John Maxwell. He said, "Contentment--the ability to know who you are, accept who you are, appreciate who you are, and value where you are in the journey--is very important to success." Where some people might think that being discontent will spur you on, he said that discontentment keeps you moving, but it doesn't keep you moving well.

That really struck home with me, just because I have had a hard time being content with some of my circumstances for the last several years. I always hear things about appreciating the journey, not the destination. If you're always looking to "arrive," I don't think you'll remain happy once you get there, you'll just look for the next big thing to come. Maxwell also said if you're happy on this part of your journey, that's just fuel to keep going.

I have been trying to write down at least 3 things each week that I am thankful for. Just that focus keeps me more positive, and helps me see even negative situations in a better light.

I also remembered a Bible verse that I have always liked. To me, these verses are the epitome of contentment, and trusting in God. Habakkuk 3:17&18, "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior." I think that can be applied to modern situations, right? What situations could you put in there? Though I don't live in the house of my dreams, and my debt is really great...though I am still single, and see no prospects in sight...though I have little income coming in, and the market is going down...yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

It's easy to take time on Thanksgiving to be thankful for our blessings, but after that (especially as we face the commercialism that Christmas can bring), let's try to remain content with where we are AT THIS TIME.

Week 18 Weight Loss Update and Progress Pics

Well, the holiday season is upon us. I already have had two Thanksgiving dinners, one at my work and one at our church. Now, I didn't worry too much about clean eating, but I also didn't go crazy, eating EVERYTHING available. And, as a reader, you may know that I am OKAY with that right now. I still have some pounds to lose on my ultimate journey, but I don't want to gain weight (and keep that weight on.) I've heard bigger numbers, but I just looked it up, and the average American gains about 1-2 pounds during this season. (I'm thinking that has to be adjusted for sodium/water gain and all of that, because I think that I could easily gain 3 pounds on the scale from all of that.) The problem is that most people don't ever lose those 1-2 pounds, so in 10 years, you've easily gained 10-20 pounds.

Anyway, I have now completed Block 2 of P90X3. I will talk more about the specifics of that block in another post, but for now, I'll just say that I ultimately liked it, and I'm ready for even better results with Block 3.

This week I actually maintained my weight. Didn't lose, but didn't gain. BUT, I'm pretty pleased with my progress pictures! I still have a little ways to go, but I'm really starting to see that I've come a long ways now!

P90X3 Block 2

I indicated before that P90X3 is a 90-day program that is set up in 3 blocks. The first block is 4 weeks long, with the first 3 weeks being the same, and the 4th week being more of a transition week. There is a mix of routines that focus on your cardio, strength, and flexibility. All of the workouts are 30 minutes. I think Block 2 is a bit tougher than Block 1.

Block 2 Exercises (3 weeks):

Day 1 (usually Monday) is Eccentric Upper. The eccentric move is the negative part of an exercise rep. In other words, when you do a bicep curl, the eccentric move would be the part where you curl your arm back down. So this workout focuses more on the eccentric move, going slower to focus on that move rather than using momentum.

Day 2 is Triometrics. This is lower body work, more of the plyometrics type (explosive moves in short intervals of time). For each move, you do three different levels of intensity, starting with the lower intensity and moving to the highest intensity.

Day 3 is X3 Yoga again. It's also in Block 1, so I already talked about it, but it's your basic yoga moves (from what I know about yoga). It focuses on flexibility and strength. I'm glad it's in both Block 1 and 2.

Day 4 is Eccentric Lower. Same concept as Eccentric Upper, just with exercises that focus on the lower body. This one uses weights.

Day 5 is Incinerator, It's upper body, focusing on chest, back, biceps, and triceps. Just like the name implies, you're burning. We're back to a lot of push-ups and pull-ups, as well as using weights.

Day 6 is MMX, which is a martial arts-based routine. I typically like these types of workouts, too, but this one is pretty tough. Although I did better the last time than I had my first time. There are a lot of sprawls, where you fall on the floor real fast. But, I'm starting to handle that kind of thing a lot better than I did before.

Day 7 is Dynamix, or you can choose to rest. I usually take the rest day, but I'm thinking for Block 3, I may use it. It actually focuses on your abs a little more than I have gotten.

In my post on Block 1, I talked about the fourth week, the Transition week, but I'm including it again in case anyone didn't read that post.

Block 1 Recovery Week (1 week):

Day 1 is Isometrix. This involves holding a lot of the yoga poses for about 45 seconds. It's pretty tough. For some reason I didn't like it as well as I had the first time.

Day 2 is Dynamix. This also involves a lot of stretching to help increase range of motion, flexibility, and stability. I didn't find it to be as tough as I had thought last time. And like I said, it engages the abs a bit more, so I think I might do it on Sundays (my rest days) during Block 3.

Day 3 is Accelerator. Whew, I thought it was tough! It's back to cardio, somewhat similar to Agility X. I will say, I did a bit better on the Donkey Kicks than I did the first time.

Day 4 is Pilates. This is mostly focused on core. I have to say, I didn't like it as much as I thought that I would, but again, it could just be because it's not familiar yet. I'll have to see when I do it again.

Day 5 is CVX, which is in Block 1. Cardio while holding a light weight.

Day 6 is X3 Yoga, which I described above.


.And now on to Block 3.

Week 17 Weight Loss Update

I didn't get my weight loss update post up before today, due to being out of town this weekend. This last week was a little tough to get out of bed to work out each morning, but I'm glad to say, I STILL DID. It's really important to me that when I finish this program I can say that I did all of the workouts and didn't skip any scheduled workouts. It's funny, but back in July when we decided this, I secretly wondered how long we would stick with it. Then, when we DID start the PiYo program in August, I was determined to finish it, which I did. I knew that I would be doing P90X3 in the fall, and I halfway thought that I would probably ease up on myself, especially with the holidays. But NOW, I am just as determined to finish without skipping any workouts.

Not that I'm being extreme, though. I want it to be about making more healthy than unhealthy choices. Especially during this time of year. But I also still want to get to my goal weight, so at this point I will continue to do my best.

But I'm happy to say that I was "back" this week (after gaining back a pound last week), with a 2-pound weight loss.

Weight Loss Update (Week 16): Overeating

I keep reiterating that this is a JOURNEY. It's not a fad or a diet, it's a new way of living. So why do I get so nervous when I choose to eat an item that doesn't align with my "new way of living"? Do I think that I will so easily go back? I think deep down, I am a little worried about that. But if I really believe what I say, then I should be confident that, yeah, I may have overeaten a couple of times today, made some not-so-great choices because it sounded good, but THAT's not my norm, and it WON'T be my norm. I mean, I'm roughly 20 pounds lighter than I was 3 months ago. I can look at pictures and see a definite difference. It's funny, though, because when I was that big and saw pictures of myself, I halfway wondered who I was looking at anyway, because I was never accustomed to being that big. So, now I at least feel like I'm pretty much back to normal, even though I still want to lose another 15ish pounds.

Yesterday Jason and I decided to get some steak. (This was after shopping for new clothes since we've lost some weight.) We hadn't had any in a while, and it sounded good. So we went to a steak restaurant and both got a steak meal, along with an appetizer. I ate pretty much the whole dinner. And I felt pretty full. THEN we decided to get some ice cream. Really? I didn't need it. But it sounded good, so I didn't argue. We took it home, and I started out eating it slowly because I was so full. But I still ended up eating the WHOLE thing. Part of what was running through my mind was if I save it until tomorrow, then that's two days that I'm not eating great. I also was formulating this blog post in my mind, thinking about how much my stomach just HURT because I overate. I thought about talking about how bad the food made me feel, and was it really worth it? And, yeah, my stomach did hurt a little bit overnight, but when I woke up this morning, I really felt okay overall. Now, Sundays are my exercise rest day, so I didn't have to get up and work out, so maybe that would have been tougher. But maybe not.

I have read and experienced weight loss enough to realize that if you treat it like rules that you have to follow, you'll eventually break the rules. And sometimes in an over-the-top binge fashion. I do almost feel like I can't eat ANYTHING that isn't "clean" or I won't lose a pound this week. But that's not normal life. That's not something that I can keep up long-term, and that is just too restrictive. So I really need to rethink my mindset, and make sure that I am overall making healthy choices rather than unhealthy choices. The other thing, I know that the number on the scale can fluctuate based on things like how much water you're retaining due to sodium intake. So I also know not to focus TOO much on the actual number, although that still is a relatively good indicator of progress and what I have chosen as my weekly measure.

Anyway, this week I actually was up a pound from last week. So there it is, But I still am overall feeling good. And I'm really liking my morning workouts! (For the most part. They are a little tough at times and hard to get through.) Guess I'll just go back to those nonscale victories that I wrote about in this post. My clothes fit better, I'm getting better range of motion in my push-ups and squats, my rings are much looser, and I'm definitely proud of myself.