Keepin' on

Net 37 cals under today. Yesterday... ???? It was the party, and while I think I did ok, I couldn't say for sure. Exercises - done! No weight lost this week, but a grand total of 6 lbs so far, and none gained, so that 's pretty good! This week's treat was a small hot fudge sundae that awesome hubby portioned for me so I wouldn't be tempted to go overboard, and it was YUMMY! I am 3 weeks in and feeling good. Next challenges: get early morning sleep schedule back on track before school starts, begin weekly photos and measurements to more accurately track my progress!

Short (very short) term goal MET!

Day 3 of tic-tac-toe successful. 2net cals remain, and both workouts DONE!Next goal: survive the Friday party. I wish I could save up extra cals from the week to put on pRty days!

Tic-tac-toe, Three in a row!

Did it again, both scheduled exercise routines and came in a net of 200 cals under goal! Very happy and ready to get #3 tomorrow!

Will I ever NOT be tired?

Didn't post yesterday because I was up too late doing other things again. This time it was making a paper lantern chain for the party Friday. A little nervous about that coming up because it is so easy to overeat at parties! I will have to be really careful. Overall yesterday was a 50/50 kind of day. I was so tired, I never got around to doing my morning exercise, but I did stay under my calorie goal by 155!

UGH

I don't even want to talk about it. Over. WAY over. Once I calculated it, it was not as far over as I though, but still up there.... In the 600 range.

What I feel good about:
It added up to a "normal" amount, and really before I started this I was most certainly going a bit over that on a daily basis.
I did my exercise this morning. Yoga... Yaay!
It was nice to eat what felt like a good amount of food.
If you don't bend a little somewhere, I really think you break. I just have to make sure those bends aren't too big or too often.
It wasn't as bad as it could have been (could have gotten the whole milk and whip in that Starbucks, could have eaten a bother cookie, could have gotten a bigger sandwich, etc.)

What I feel bad about:
I went over.
I was not "consistently" meeting my goal.
I did eat the extra cookie after saying, " you know, I probably shouldn't have another."
I skipped two evening workouts already this week and since I was out very late tonight and did not do a make-up exercise, I won't get my reward.... Unless my really, really nice, sweet, AWESOME family let's me make it up elsewhere.

Tomorrow i Need:
To provide a healthy dessert for a cookout (mostly so I'll have an easy choice when faced with a sweets craving)
Lots of strength to only take the good choices!

Spring Forward

I stayed up way too late last night watching a movie with hubby, so no post. Not that I really WANTED to post that I went 41 calories over my goal anyway. It was the Flavia machine staring at me in the doctor's office that did it. It WAS a yummy Milky Way Mochaccino, but not sure it was worth the extra calories... I forsee winter being very difficult with the comfort foods available and traditions of hot chocolate for the family on cold evenings. I did my designated exercise but still netted over, boo. But today was a new day, and forward I move!

I am feeling pretty good about today. Number one, I lost almost another whole pound (.9 to be exact!) That makes a grand total of 4 in the past week, though I'm pretty sure the quick start is just water. We shall see. Number two, I did my morning exercise in the afternoon because my late night made me too tired to do it early. I am proud of myself for still doing it. Number three, I netted 130 calories under my goal! I gave myself a mini reward of no evening calisthenics since it would only burn another 70 cals and because I've been so tired. Hopefully I will get to sleep a little earlier so I can start a little fresher tomorrow. For tonight, sweet dreams!

Variety Bites

I am a sucker for "gotta try it all." I cannot possibly let a yummy side go untasted. So maybe you guessed already, but today was a little tough. not too bad, fortunately, but I think in dealing with the food side of this adventure every day will be difficult. Especially when faculty luncheons come around again.... Talk about fighting the need to try everything! One bite of each of 15 different desserts is still a lot more than one small dessert serving! Sweets are what got me today. I knew what we were having for my team lunch today, but what I didn't know was that one of the teachers brought additional dessert... EEEK!

I was able to resist the additional chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting, but still had to have the chocolate chip cookie that I hadn't planned on! I think knowing today was my Pinkberry reward day helped, too. I had a mango-pomegranate swirl with kiwi, watermelon, mango, and coconut pieces on top. YUM!

On the exercise side - not too bad! Other than being EXHAUSTED, it's good to start during the summer because I actually can make the time. Once school starts up again, trying to do my morning exercise before going to work will be a challenge. Today I Zumbaed... Is that even a word? Anyway, half an hour went by like a flash and it's fun to be dancing!

Net calories? ONE over my goal. ONE!!! I think I'm going to go do 3 jumping jacks now to remedy it, but I'm still worried I need to get my net lower to lose pounds. I'll research that after my jumping jacks. :-)

I have a love-hate relationship with food.

Today was another calorie struggle. Those tasty enchilada leftovers were staring me in the face at lunch today, so I knew my Pinkberry trip would be postponed a day because I wouldn't have the extra calories for it. What I didn't count on in my calorie planning was guests for breakfast for dinner night (which means awesome hubby does a little extra), and special (sweet) food extra requests from the kiddos. So we had YUMMY extras available at dinner tonight... REAL whipped cream! Homemade strawberry syrup! Chocolate chip waffles! Banana nut pancakes!!! Could...not...resist!!!! So darn, I went over. Repair time....again...

Hold that thought! Before I forget, I could have gone WAY over what I did if we hadn't tried out a new recipe. Check out the Eating Well Multigrain Waffles and Pancakes.... SO YUMMY! The kids, guests, hubby and I all LOVED them! they have a nutty taste with a hint of cinnamon. At only 188 calories for two full waffles or pancakes, that's a good find!

Ok, back on track... I did some extra exercise to make it balance (even though it was SUPPOSED to be my day of rest... let's see how sore I am tomorrow.) Oh well. Hopefully I won't be too tired and can keep up with what's regularly scheduled! (and fortunately, the enchilada leftovers are gone!) Grand total for net calories....14 under. Nothing lost, but nothing gained, either!

I Am Sore!!!

Oh my, from my shoulders to my toes, everything has a bit of ache to it. Can I really keep up with this!? Fortunately tomorrow is my scheduled day of rest for morning exercise.

I did the Wii Fit Yoga series for 30 minutes this morning, and got in an unscheduled 30 minute walk! I was surprised to not mind being out in the heat (yet another 100+ day) but there was a lot of shade, and really, a good sweat does some sort of cleansing. Not that I'll be scheduling in any regular high heat walks, mind you. I am glad I got the exercise in early since I knew that tonight's dinner plan included a family favorite - spinach and mushroom enchiladas. Yeah, that sounds gooood! They are tasty for sure, but according to the original recipe, they're in the neighborhood of 1,000 calories per serving. OUCH! So, hubby and I did some substitution searching and decided to use low fat milk instead of the heavy whipping cream and half and half (betcha didn't believe me about that thousand calories 'til you read that! Oh, and 3 kinds of cheese!) and reduced fat cheeses, and came up with a 700 calorie per serving dish, and then I reduced my portion. Not low fat, I know, but my other meals took that into account, and even though I ate a lot less than I normally would have, it was plenty.

Did my evening routine and came in with a grand total of 309 net calories remaining!

Rough Patches Beginning Early

I started out really well with my morning exercise. Chrislyn wanted to do water aerobics, but we ended up swimming laps, and we managed a full 30 minutes! It felt so good to be in the water. I definitely could have been better on the calorie intake, but we went out to lunch with my Mom today. Sweet Tomatoes was the restaurant of choice, and even though there is plenty of healthy food available, it's also a buffet. I didn't really think too much about what I ate other than drinking water, skimping on dressing and dessert, and only having one smallish bowl of really, really tasty (and I'm sure high in fat) clam chowder. By the time I got online and saw calorie counts for all theor food, I knew I was in trouble.... And that was before even calculating what I actually ate! So, I instituted an emergency first aid plan. Our evening schedule included spending some time at the waterpark. The lazy river was the perfect setting, so I grabbed a tube and kicked against the current several times around. All in all, I ended up in the caloric green by 216. Hooray! still need to do better at not going over in the first place, I know, but every time my little app shows a bit of green at the end of the day, I do a little cheer inside!

Getting it Right

Hmmm.... So how to do this right? I guess I'll need to start with a goal. Lose 30 pounds sounds good, and I know I'll feel better too. Not the grand total of where I want to be, but a reasonable sounding start, right? So next? I guess a timeline. Let's say 2 pounds a weeks, so 15 weeks. Drat, that's like almost 4 months. I forgot how SLOW this will be! This would be where I throw a fit.... Why me?!? Why so long??? How will I EVER do this?!!?!!?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

(*deep breath*)

Okay, so sure it's YEARS of not quite doing it right that got me here.... I know.... But really, I'm encouraged by all the support I have. The wonderful hubby and kiddos kept the sarcastic commentary to a minimum as I explained my plan and asked for their help. My Mom bought me a Zumba game, so I can have fun (and variety) in my exercise. My Dad and I had a great talk, and he is full of ideas and support as well. And, I have a few friends who are going to check up on my food tracking (my fitness pal lets you add friends and they can see your entries.... Only a little scary to this chocoholoic!)

So today's status? Good! I came in just under my calorie goal, and got some exercise in. In the morning I completed 30 minutes on the Wii fit doing every Strength Training exercise on there. Then I did my 10 minutes of evening calisthenics and stretching routine from the Canadian Air Force Training Manual. I know it sounds odd... And it's old, too! The revised edition I am using was published in 1962. But really, it starts off at a VERY LOW, basic level of movement and advances every few days a little at a time. Very doable, and only 10 minutes, so I am all over it!

Starting Out

Today is the day I am going to try to get FIT. Yeah, I know... like I haven't said THAT before. But really, this time I have a plan.... and accountability partners. Being an an all-natural kind of girl (and on a pretty tight budget), there will be no gym memberships or physical trainers, no crazy or special diet to follow, no margarine, and absolutely NO sugar-free/artificially sweetened ANYTHING - yuck! If I want a sweet (and I WILL want sweets - hello, vice!) I will earn it by cashing in some cals or doing a little extra booty boogie. The plan is simple: Track my foods on MyFitnessPal, and exercise! I have a tracking chart hanging in the bedroom that my family can check at any time as I track my progress, and friends who can see what I choose to eat each day. My starter reward is a visit to Pinkberry.... YUMMY!!!! (and healthy, too!) 4 days a week of doing it right, and I get to go. I'll revise after 3 successful weeks to make it a little harder to earn or to change what I want as a reward. So.... Wish me luck!