January 1st, 2014 GOAAAAALLLLLLLL....

[lmhall2000]

Friend at church gave me good tips!

Eat a protein at every meal but choose either fats or carbs to go with it, never both (while trying to max loss)

When eating a piece of fruit, add a small protein with it, helps stabilize lucse spikes...

And of course, no sugars...

Going to adopt this idea this week, makes sense because my fave go to meals have all three at once! lasagne, pizza, cheeseburger, chicken tetrazzini

 

[lmhall2000]

So excited!! I know I am not on this to GOAL journey alone! From the friend at church sharing that helpful tidbit on food options and then my husband this morning saying he was committing to taking the 5 flights of stairs everytime he had to go to the restroom at work (this man does NOT like to MOVE)...I am energized!! IT helps so much to know that others are helping!

I was reading an article and it said you need a CHALLENGER and an ENCOURAGER in making weight loss work for good...the Challenger keeps you faithful to your exercise, the Encourager is there to keep you from giving up...too often I have had to fill the role of both of these for myself and you just get TIRED!! I can see how God brought me BOTH yesterday! It was such a huge highlight and enough to keep me focused and ready for the next day!

I went and bought a pair of M sized workout shorts that were clingy so my before/after picture will more accurately show all the bumps and rolls that are DISAPPEARING!! I can FEEL a difference after just a week of 30DS!! My shoulders especially! And my waist, that little muffin top is lessening and it FEELS GREAT!!!

Going to go put them on while I do my 30DS to know what they felt like TIGHT so when those puppies get loose, I can smile and smile and smile!! Donated about 8 tops this weekend (they were 1X or XL shirts) they are too big!! YAHOO!! Never again!

Found that swimsuit at Belk's!!! Still $99...but I looked at it and realized it probably does not have the support up top that I'll need at goal..so I may just cut out a picture of a dream suit and see how I can manage, but I did see an awesome bright orange cover up that was soooo adorable! Even my husband said he could see me in it!

Exciting times folks! Daunting but exciting!!

 

[lmhall2000]

Just a prayer post for all those in Boston, I can not imagine the toll it takes on a person to commit to a marathon...one of those things I could never see me working up to...then to have fear put into your world for simply wanting to achieve something wholesome...very sorry to all those going through this and pray the detectives have a clear cut path for justice to those who spawned this tragedy.

 

[lmhall2000]

I feel like I have turned a corner!! Tuesdays had always been my day of NO workouts, I used the excuse that I was just too busy (day starts at 8am-8pm)....so always just rested any free minutes I had in the day, but doing the 30DS, there are NO breaks! I somehow managed to get up extra early, do day 10 of level one...started my day teaching, had 47 minutes home to walk dogs and 35 of that I spent on the treadmill! Just got back at 9pm tonight and made our spinach smoothie (mine and dhs...girls are also partaking in it for health)...I am EXHAUSTED, but ENERGIZED that I was able to put the excuses to the side and stick to my exercise commitment for this week...hoping the scale is very kind to me this Friday!!! So tempted to weigh today, clothes feel looser, body feels stronger but I'll wait for the big reveal on Friday

 

[lmhall2000]

Getting ready to tackle day one of Level 2 (30 Day Shred)....

 

[lmhall2000]

Whew! What a workout, has me a bit fearful of level 3!!! In one word, PLANK!! Aaargh!! Thankfully, level 1 built up my upper arm strength or this workout would have been a waste! I do all the modified moves except one, which is not so bad, I CAN NOT and will not do the last move, for those with pre-existing knee conditions...it is not worth the risk! Very easy to put torque on your knees with that last move...it could easily knock my knees out, so I modified it by repeating the last minute bicycle abs move from level 1...it's only one minute and I still get the strong burn...so I'll stick to that one.
I did sweat a bunch more than week one...and my body seems to stay 'hot' longer, it's as if my muscles are in a volcano...they're burning through something, so hope it's the FAT cells that need to lose their volume!!

Eating has been so much easier by supplementing dinner with the spinach smoothie..that is the time I want to cheat the most, but not giving me that option to cook a 3 course meal...I stay on plan easily.

Today was cheerios with skim milk, one slice ham/swiss cheese for protein snack. Lunch was wheat cracker and pastrami slices (no cheese because trying to follow either carbs or fats with protein not both) and I had 1/2 a mango for snack.. dinner will be spinach/mango/strawberries....one cup. Had more water today than I usually do, I am PMS...so hoping the scale will not hold back on showing me that 19X number!!! 190's here I come, but will not be there long, expect to be 18X in May!! Then 17X in June...Nothing is holding me back...thankful for this continued motivation!

I will not lie, this is HARD!! Best advice I can give is NO excuses, just do it and whine later

 

[lmhall2000]

Self analysis...

I use food as a reward.

Every holiday as a child was spent eating all the fixins and there was always a table loaded with every imaginable dessert.

If we had a bad day, food was always suggested to relieve the pain.."Why don't we make a batch of cookies?"

As a poor college student, if my roommates and I had an extra $5...we would head out for food...granted I lost 90 pounds first year so you can tell how little I had

With the daily exercise and committing to the spinach drinks for dinner...feeling my body change to a slimmer self has somehow acted as a shield on those behavioral impulses that are ingrained into me.

But!! Those impulses are STRONG and I find myself fighting them sometimes daily...The good news is I feel that I can stick it out these five months before our trip...

There is a type of panic that at the end of the five months that I will need to take a BIG break from this type of schedule/commitment to weight loss. I am hopeful that through these next months, that panic will abate and I will have a grip over these nudgings to indulge in a high calorie meal.

I read the other day where one of the biggest losers has not eaten pasta in 3 years! Her fear that her old ways will creep back...that kind of thinking scares me...I want to be able to eat everything but in a portion or less! Have a roll, but skip the 2nd and 3rd...have pasta but keep it less than a cup...honestly, in the past I could eat three even four slices of pizza...now I need to max out at two, but to do a side salad and one slice would be a great meal!

Little steps I need to reiterate and reiterate to help me make these losses permanent.

 

[lmhall2000]

So excited about the weigh in tomorrow! I have to go camping this weekend so likely will have to skip my smoothie on Saturday but with all the hiking and events (60 girls from local AHG troops) I am sure my body will burn it off, taking the Ipad with me to complete my exercise....yep, committed!

I could not sleep a wink, had two dogs on my bed that are usually not there...they pinned me in and I am too tender hearted to kick them off...my back and hips require constant turning so no pressure points...just no rest but I will get in a nap this afternoon.

That is a key element to weight loss especially doing daily exercise...you must rest your body to help restore and support those new muscle groups.

This morning I need to get son to ENT...he has an issue with his throat closing up on him while exercising...if I think about it, he always has had this problem...we thought when he had his tonsils and adnoids out 6 years ago it fxed it, it did really help...for years his pediatrician has been working off the assumption that my son may think it his his throat when actually it may be his asthma flaring up...so, three weeks ago his ped but him on Qvar a daily steroid...two nights ago his throat losed off after rowing and he could not swallow tea without a struggle...both of us were scared...we see the same ENT who did his surgery, so hoping he realizes ths is connected to years ago...and it is triggered by exercise...not pollen because it happens in the dead of winter while exercising as well. Please send a prayer up if you can!

 

[NightAngelX]

Have fun this weekend! I am sure all that outdoor activity will burn alot more calories than your other exercise! Do you have a pedometer? Might be interesting to see how many miles you go.

 

[lmhall2000]

Have fun this weekend! I am sure all that outdoor activity will burn alot more calories than your other exercise! Do you have a pedometer? Might be interesting to see how many miles you go.

Thank you! I do not own a pedometer but I know after every 2 night campout I am bone tired and just want to collapse!

 

[lmhall2000]

ONEDERLAND!!!

197.8

All I gotta say is diet and exercise make a difference!!

So excited! I just need to lose about 8 more pounds to hit my target goal by May 6th!

My dear husband lost 6 pounds this week! And he did not even exercise! Hoping to get him more active as his weight comes off!

Off to plank to level 2 of 30DS and do 1 mile treadmill...

 

[NightAngelX]

ONEDERLAND!!!

197.8

All I gotta say is diet and exercise make a difference!!

So excited! I just need to lose about 8 more pounds to hit my target goal by May 6th!

My dear husband lost 6 pounds this week! And he did not even exercise! Hoping to get him more active as his weight comes off!

Off to plank to level 2 of 30DS and do 1 mile treadmill...

YAYAYAYAYAY!!! Congrats!!!

 

[lmhall2000]

YAYAYAYAYAY!!! Congrats!!!

I just had to give big thanks!! That was soo fun to see this morning!!

When I lost down to 187 last year, I would use every Friday as a break day, I would weigh and then eat double what I normally did on Fridays..I began to look forward to weigh day just so I could eat! Today, I had a complete go get 'em attitude and not thoughts of what 'cheat' could I eat crept into my mind!! I had a one egg omelet for breakfast, I'll have almonds for snack, drink my spinach smoothie for lunch since we're camping and get a salad from Subway on the way to the campground...I CAN stay on plan when travelling, takes a little more will power...but when I start the day out burning through the plank torture that is Level 2 of 30DS...how could I sabotage those screaming muscles by making them seek out nutrients from a non plan meal??

I can't!! I just pray this newfound wisdom and willpower has staying power...with my husband losing alongside me it really does help! My youngest daughter (14) tried 30DS with me, oh my goodness, she is a competitive dancer but has no upper arm strength..she was making me laugh but she saw me completing it without stopping and she was amazed, since I'm heavier than her size 2 frame! She's inspired to get more fit with me! Love it!

Still no answers on son's issue while exercising..waste of a trip to ENT and 2 nasal scopes ..poor guy!

 

[lmhall2000]

Copying from my April Losers response, I am a bit bone tired..last weekend it was in the 80s, Friday night on the mountain it got to freezing..and I froze until about 3am until I finally got enough warmth to hide in my sleeping bag and sleep for 3 hours...whew!!

I survived the 3 day campout! Had smores offered to me, NOPE..not a bite, had a 2 pound bag of M&M's...NOPE not one single solitary one..I even saw two stragglers laying around, I promise you in the old days (just 3 weeks ago) I would have not thought twice about picking those up and eating them or having about 4 handfuls of those things!! NOT ONE!! I succumbed to a serving of Ruffles potato chips yesterday and again today when I got home, I had about 8 potato chips yesterday (but they were big) and today I stuck to 6, but also the big ones..but honestly in the old days I could have had half the bag and still wanted more...I should be starting today or tomorrow (PMS) and I usually have horrific hunger/junk food cravings the day before so I let myself have those potato chips.

The exciting news was that I was able to stream Jillian's 30DS yesterday off the mountain, no cell service so I was worried and even better talke 2 other moms into doing it with me and their 3 daughters....they really enjoyed it but I had to give myself a pat on the back...I am roughly 40-50 pounds overweight,these moms were in normal weight zone to me...and they had to stop quite a bit during the workout..I really am amazed how much strength I have built up in just the 14 days I've been doing it! I assured them that if they start it and do it daily they would not have to stop at all...We all said how much better we felt after doing it!!

At the campsite, we were 1/4 mile from the bathroom so each trip was a half mile, I thinked I easily walked 5 miles each day just with bathroom trips and hiking to our skills field!

I just took my first shower in 3 days and am going to nap before tackling today's 30DS! I am just so amazed that I'm holding steady on this losing frame of mind and not the reward with food frame of mind!! It is tough but feels so much better!!

Now I've got to go see if Free Dining is offered yet for our dates in September, I will sooo need this trip come then!

 

[lmhall2000]

I came home from the campout and rested, (after I put all the camping gear away)...when I tried to move after resting, every muscle seemed to ache!!! Where did that come from? I think I was just on autopilot the whole weekend and did not realize how much I moved...I did the 30DS and that seemed to bring some reprieve to my screaming muscles! I did not have the energy to get in the add'l two miles but I feel certain I more than covered that with the campout.

Tempted to take an Aleve, hurts that badly, but maybe I just need a good night's rest in a real bed!!

Tonight's spinach smoothie was spinach, mango and apple...honestly, not a great fan of mangos, but they were on sale....glad that mango is GONE!!! It made it so thick that I had to spoon my dinner...I could only get about 2/3 cup down...I had to stop...dh agreed it was pretty bad...blech!!!

Tomorrow for our scout meeting my girls are making bread dips to show different spices from other countries...going to do a Carrabba's type herb dip with olive oil and a roasted red bell pepper hummus with cumin..I just have to limit myself to one taste each...in the old days I could probably put away a good number of bread and dip!

 

[lmhall2000]

Up and at em early, not as sore as i was yesterday...every muscle ached! I know my body is morphing, all these new muscles will help shape this body after 18 years of excess chubby fat cells. Glad to be back home where I have better eating options, breakfast will be a fried egg with toast..

Off to start my day!

 

[lmhall2000]

To help us get excited for our hopeful trip to Disney in September (so much depends on budget/specials offered)...the kids and I are committing a Disney song to memory on the piano...I am doing "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan, the kids chose "Medallion Calls"..theme song for Pirates in the Caribbean, "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story and from Herules, "Go The Distance." All three songs are such fun songs to exercise to...

The plank exercises on Level 2 of 30DS are getting easier...but boy my shoulders are heated after each workout! It really helps to get right on the treadmill to help them stay loose and warmed up.

Low on groceries, likely having pepperoni, apple slices, cheese for lunch and spinach/apple/carrot for dinner...

 

[lmhall2000]

When I need à sweet, I go for about 15 cherry infused craisins! Yum!

 

[lmhall2000]

First night skipped spinach smoothie, had made hummus for a scouting project so ate a serving of that instead...blueberries for dessert. Back to smoothie tonight, only three of us will eat hummus so did not want to waste it! I tolerate it so it was a bit of a chore to eat it. But I know it is good for me.

Feeling a bit weak this morning, will probably have a high fiber cereal, I think I need some carbs.

 

[lmhall2000]

All Bran (YUCK YUCK!) I bought that cereal when it was buy one get one free at Publix a few months back, the sign that it's still in my pantry should have been a clue, it is like eating cardboard that has been shredded and had glue applied to it...I had to choke it down, lunch was 2 slices of chicken lunch meat with a slice of provolone and a 1/2 cup of diced potatoes....dinner will be the spinach smoothie, actually looking forward to it! It kind of cleanses your palate I bought some ice cream and cinnamon bread that was on sale for the kids...I am really kind of tempted to have a portion but I think I can stay strong and say NO! All I need to do is go try on my next size smaller pants!

I did fit into some pants I could not 3 weeks ago! 30 DS is sculpting it, but when I look in the mirror as I do the floor exercises I just realize how much 40-45 more pounds looks like!! Wonder if I might have to get below 140??? I can't remember being that low, but so hard to tell what a number on the scale will reflect in the clothes I wear! I do see bigger changes in my waste/hips/thighs...thankful!

Going to knock out a couple of miles while my kids do dance/rowing...it's a beautiful day here and I will enjoy the walk along the river! Love hearing and seeing the birds go about their business