syllabelle

It’s been two weeks since I’ve been here! I can’t believe two weeks passed that quickly. I have been so busy with my job, and with responsibilities at home. After returning from my mini-vacation, I struggled with getting back on track. I was still eating 95% OP, but I indulging a little too much. We’ve been eating a lot of meals out with friends, and homemade meals with my boyfriends grandmother (and other membrs of his family.) Home cooked meals are the most difficult for me, because there usually isn’t any other choice. If there is fried chicken, you eat fried chicken. I have managed to make the best possible choice, and managed to not gain any weight.

I weighed this morning, and was happy to notice that I’ve dropped another two pounds. I won’t get my hopes up, but it looks like I might have broken through my mini-plateau.

Honestly, though, I really would hope so. I’ve been putting in 1/4 mile and 1/3 mile trips on my elliptical, and that is enough to make ANYBODY lose weight. (The machine is, not necessarily the distance. I’m a beginner, cut me a little slack!  haha.)

I bought a DVD called “Pilates For Any Body.” The exercises start with a warm up, and go through abdominals, lower body, upper body, and end with a cool-down. I’ve always disliked pilates, basically because of a bad first experience. However, this DVD changes my mind, and I have to say that I think I like it! I feel great today, like I got a great workout. My legs, especially, are very sore. (I had bad cramps in my calves and thighs all night…I probably need to up my potassium intake a bit.)

I think I’m going to start doing a little light weight lifting. Doing the pilates DVD showed me just how out of shape my upper body is, I have almost no strength in my arms. (If you do any pilates, you’ll know what I mean when I say The Bridge was almost the death of me!) I’m such a wimp!!!

Anyway, it’s Tuesday, but I don’t have a Two-Fer this week. I’m just getting my momentum back, and I don’t want to get frustrated with my (perceived) lack of progress.

I’ve got a lot of catching up to do, I’ve obvioiusly missed a lot in my absence. I hope all is well.

~Stephanie

My fiance and I took a weekend trip to the Dallas/Fort Worth area to see family and friends, and to also do a little bit of business. My dad took us out to eat on Saturday evening, and I absolutely broke all the rules! I had fajitas…and I ate about 4 flour tortillas. I ate chips and queso…a LOT of that. Then, to cap things off we had dessert. We split a dessert that is a big (HUGE) ball of vanilla ice cream, rolled in coconut and nuts, then topped with whipped cream and a cherry, then drizzled with brandy sauce onto a sizzling plate. It was so rich and sweet and fattening…but it was my first SERIOUS splurge since I started this little plan.

I gave myself permission to eat what I ate. This was a celebration, I get to see my grandmother about once every couple of years, and it felt like a party. I splurged on Saturday, then Sunday it was “Business as usual.”

I can report that I’ve gained 3 pounds, but I have a feeling it’s water weight. (I forgot to take my blood pressure medication which includes a diuretic that helps me keep from swelling up like a toad in a pond.) In a couple of days I’ll be able to tell if it’s from the water weight or not. To be honest, I’m not too worried about it. I had hit a plateau, and to get over these little humps in the past I’ve had to gain a pound or two…and then it just comes off. (Dunno why that works.)

I was finally able to go pick up my Elliptical, and I’m so psyched to use it tonight! It’s soooo nice…and a GREAT buy on eBay. While we were visiting some friends, she saw the machine in our truck, asked me what it was, and then asked “Would you like another piece of equipment?” I said I’d love it…and she gave me a brand-new (or “gently used”) Ab-Doer machine, and four instructional videos to go with it. I have read a bit about them online, and it seems like the machine is a bit of a gimmick with a 10-day/2 inches promise…but hey, it was FREE!

Anyway, back to life as usual. Although, I could sure use a nap. *yawn*

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I’d like to start by saying thank you for all the supportive comments on yesterdays entry. It was a bruise to my ego to be so worn out after only a mile, but what I really needed to do was lower my expectations a bit. I am still a beginner in the “fitness” department, and I can’t think of myself as anything more than a beginner. As long as I keep reminding myself that “Hey, I’m just starting!”…I really have nothing to be disappointed about.

I did go ahead and get back on the treadmill last night. I pushed through 1.25 miles in 30 minutes. I skipped the “mountain” and set the speed and elevation manually. I like to start out slowly, but I like to increase my speed faster than the treadmill is programmed to do. I also like to stay at a higher rate of speed for longer than the treadmill is programmed. After 30 minutes, I felt like I could have kept going, but I wanted to keep it at 30 minutes for now. I feel a lot better about this walk than I do the walk from Sunday night. (Maybe because I didn’t expect so much out of myself?)

I do have to report that I didn’t reach the goal I set last week. I wanted to lose 1% of my body weight, and I didn’t lose anything. Fortunately, I didn’t gain anything either, so I can report that I maintained. I’m a tiny bit disappointed, but frankly, I ate 100% on plan all week, drank more than enough water, and put in more cardio than I have since I started, so I know I am doing what I need to do. Up until now, my weight has been dropping pretty quickly, and I had a feeling this was going to happen.

I am not discouraged in the least. In fact, I’m more motivated now to push past this little mini-plateau. No matter what happens, I’m pressing on.

I’ve been thinking all morning about what I should add to my “Two-fer Tuesday” goals. I’ve made so many small changes that have really added up, so I know the small changes are just as important as big changes.

So, I think I need to start getting more sleep  and try exercising in the morning. Mornings are tough for me, so the thought of getting up an extra 45 minutes (or so) early just makes me want to yawn. However, I think that if I start going to bed a couple of hours earlier than I usually do (12:30-1:00 a.m.)…then getting up at 6:00 instead of 6:45 should be no problem. I could at least try it, and if after a week or so I decide that I’m just not ready for that change, then I’ll try it again in a couple of months. (That sounds like I’m already making an excuse to quit…but I really am going to give it 100% effort.)

Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE BUDDYSLIM!?!?! I really do. I love this place. I look forward to reading everyone’s blogs, and seeing your progress. I never knew how much motivation I could get from just reading about other people on a weight loss journey, too. It’s so encouraging to connect this way, and I’m so glad I found this place.