Weigh in Week 7 and 8

Ok I know I am a week behind on posting my weigh in and its not because I forgot.

Its because I gained.

A lot

So I was too ashamed to keep it real and post it. But here I am to fess up.

As you can see, I gained 3 lbs after my 3 lb loss the week before. I am very grateful that I lost this week, and hopefully that will be the end of the yoyo-ing. 

That being said, I need to be honest. I am not trying very hard. Thats probably obvious by my weight gain the last couple weeks, but I felt like it needed to be said. I have decided to recommit to the program and actually track everything and plan my meals so that I can succeed. A huge part of this success is activity. I am still not 100% sure of my activity plan, but I have to make one, so I will keep you updated. 

So there you have it. 100% honesty. 

So…. that 31 days thing….

Wow. November 1st is finally here. I seriously thought you would never come. October was a long, hard month, and while I am glad its over with, I learned a whole lot about myself in the process. Its time to reflect.

Prior to the month of October, I wasn't the most consistent blogger. I sometimes went weeks without posting, which made me sad. When I first learned of 31 days, I saw it as an opportunity to get out of a rut by forcing myself to write every day. I think the hamartia in my plan was that I decided this on September 30th with zero time to think of a topic I could write about for 31 days, as well as plan out the posts so I wasn't flying by the seat of my pants every night. Writing ahead was also something that I didn't really give myself the opportunity to do either.  So lack of planning and preparation really influenced my opinion of the experience as a whole.

Now onto the good things. 31 days taught me a lot about myself, as a person and as a blogger. I showed me that I absolutely have the time to write 5-7 blog posts a week. This is where I would like to be for the time being. I am a small operation with still under 200 views a day. As much as I wish I were among the likes of The Nester, Young House Love, Design Sponge or the like, I am not. I am a one lady operation with a full time job and a 2 hour a day commute that actually likes to spend time with her husband and not be on the computer all night long. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I am not paid to do this, ergo I can not crank out long, thoughtful posts 10-15 times a week. 5-7 is definitely my max.

I also learned that I am kinda weak. I guess I didn't learn that, I knew that, but it became glaringly obvious at two points this last month. I have a quitter in me. Its not something I am proud of, but it is there. The quitter fights me every day. I get very defeated and down on myself if I feel like something is too hard, or I am not giving it my best, so I quit. I have quit a lot of things in my life. So I need to recognize she is in there, and fight her tooth and nail because life is hard.

I think the biggest lesson gained from this trying experience is the importance of an excellent support system. The day I decided to quit, I got my ass chewed by my cousin Kristen, and for that I am so thankful. If there is one thing I hate more than anything, it is disappointing people. Weird considering I have a quitter in me… But this really pointed out to me how much people around me care. Like she said to me, Life is hard. Dieting is hard, heck MARRIAGE is hard, but you can't give up. You have to buck up and do something even if it sucks because you said you were going to do it. If you always quit, you will never succeed. Hearing how much she cares about me and my success (even if it is a silly blog thing) meant more than the world to me. I know that when stuff gets tough, I have someone I can turn to. And I know if I ever think about quitting something again, I will have to answer to her, and for that I am thankful.

So while it was painful, it was definitely worth it. I think more than 31 days of blogging about fitness, I had 31 days to prove I could do something, and finish it. So now if you were to ask me if I would do it again, I might still say no lol, but its closer to a maybe than it was 8 days ago.

How did it go for you? Learn anything particularly insightful?

31 Days of Fit- Eat Some Candy

OMG its the last post! I thought this day would never come! Before we get to my summary of this whole blogging series, lets finish out the topic!

Holy cow its Halloween! If this isn't a holiday built around eating candy, I don't know what it is. If you have a sweet tooth, like I do, candy can be a challenge. My hardest challenge is both saying no, and stopping when it comes to candy. I can plow through a whole bag of mini Reeces cups like there nothing, leaving only an empty bag of foil balls and the last shreds of my will power behind. Ok I might be a little dramatic, but its kind of a problem.

So a big bag of your kids halloween candy might present itself as a huge challenge for you. My first tip is to walk away. Physically leave the candy in a different room for a minute and take a breath. Make the choice to only have 1 or 4 or however many you can allow yourself without the shame spiral that will follow. Then make a good candy choice. Yes, there really is such a thing. Not all candy is equal. Choose what will make you most satisfied, and eat it.

Here are the points for some popular Halloween candies

I am all about the more bang for your buck. My two favorites on this list are Skittles for 2 pts, and Tootsie Rolls for 4. You get so much more candy, and they are small pieces so they last longer, for your points! When I need a chocolate fix, you bet 13 mini tootsie rolls do the trick! Heck, 7 do the trick. 13 is a ton of toosies rolls!

So now you know what candy to eat, what do you do with the rest? Get rid of it. Seriously. Hiding it wont work. Even throwing it away inside wont work if you have no will power. I may or may not have  pulled disposed candy (still in its wrapper) out of the top of the trash can…. Raise your hand if I'm not alone…

Anyhoo, get it out! Take it to the trash outside, give it to a neighbor, donate it to the food bank, take it to work (but give it to someone who doesn't sit ANYWHERE near you)! Just get rid of it. Do it for you. 

Wow this has already turned into a long post, so come back tomorrow to see how I felt about the whole experience (tho I am sure you can guess).

31 Days of Fit- Do Something Else

Aaahh mindless eating. I think we have all experienced this (at least all of us who are fat lol). You get home from a long day of work, eat dinner, then sit down and relax on the couch. Something about sitting on the couch makes us want to eat. It could be boredom, or a need to move our mouthes and hands, but it always ends with mindlessly putting food into our mouths. 

The key to stopping this behavior is to figure out what you are getting out of it. 

Are you really hungry? Sometimes after dinner I am still hungry. Thats when I turn to zero points + foods like fruits and veggies. A big bowl of broccoli (steamed or raw with yogurt ranch dip) help fill me up after dinner if I am not quite full. I also love cauliflower the same way. Another favorite (but not point free) is popcorn. I am one of those weird people that like plain white butter free popcorn. It is my favorite. It is only 2 pts for 3 cups (or 3 pts for 5 cups, if I am really feeling it). It is definitely a good option that wont kill my day. 

Are you bored? Lets be honest, watching tv can be kinda boring. You are sitting still, staring at the tv, and it feels a little mindless. Luckily there are ways to keep you entertained without putting food into your mouth. You could learn to crochet or knit, and do these things while watching tv. You can also get on the computer and blog (obviously my drug of choice). Another great thing is to stand up and exercise while watching. Grab some hand weights, sit on a ball, stretch on the floor. Do anything to distract yourself from the food in the kitchen.

Are you craving? I'm not sure about all of you, but I have a sweet tooth, especially at night. I just want something sweet to curb my craving before I feel satisfied. I think I have figured out the root of this craving. After eating dinner, you have all the dinner tastes left in your mouth (and it might not taste very good anymore) and you want something that does taste good to replace it. My tip- brush your teeth. Brush your teeth right after dinner so you don't get that taste, and the taste of toothpaste is actually sweet, so that might help. I also try to drink water because that cool crisp clean taste helps with the craving too. 

So there you have it. When you are sitting on the couch, thinking about grabbing a snack, sit and think "Am I hungry? Am I bored? Do I need to brush my teeth?" before grabbing that snack :)

Weigh in week 6!

And I'm back! I tried to make better choices this week, including a little more activity and it totally paid off! I lost 3 lbs this week, which makes up for the 1.6 I gained last week, plus 1.4 more :)

I am so happy to be back on track and I am so so soooo excited that I hit the little mental goal I had of 265! :)

31 Days of Fit- Sneak it In

Sometimes its hard to find the time to work out. We are busy, have other things to do, etc. There are a plethora of excuses we can use. So here are some easy ways to sneak in activity so you don't even realize you are doing it!

Do squats while brushing your teeth. It might take a few times to become coordinated enough to do this one, but what else are you doing with your lets while brushing? You can also do squats while pumping gas. I did this the other day, and while I felt a little silly, my thighs thanked me later. 

Do 10 leg lifts before getting out of bed in the morning. This will help you wake up, and it doesn't feel like exercise because your head is still on your pillow. 

While at work, if you spend a lot of time on the phone (and not typing) keep hand weights near by, and do bicep curls or shoulder presses while talking. 

As always, you can park farther away and walk, or take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. 

Play with your dog or kids. Chasing a dog or a toddler can be hard work. Next time they are running around, chase them :)

So there you have it. 5 easy ways to sneak in exercise every day. For more easy "around the house" work out ideas, check out this awesome blog, VioletSage to see what she does around her house! She has some awesome tips!

Come back around 12:30 today to see how my week 6 weigh in went! 

31 Days of Fit- "Thin-spiration"

There are lots of different ways to get inspiration. Inspiring quotes, looking at photos of celebrities, taking progress photos, etc. Something that really inspires me is clothes. That is probably really vain of me to say, but other than being healthy, I want lose weight to wear cute clothes.

I have been shopping around for the perfect thin-spirational outfit, at stores I love like Target and Old Navy. Here are some things that I want to be able to wear.

Pretty much this whole outfit. I love it all.

I also seriously love this look for work. I want to wear a pencil skirt. 

I also love this look for work.

And I want to be able to buy boots that fit around my calves without having to order them online. 

So basically my thinspiration includes lots of skinny jeans, boots, cardigans and simple tops. Throw in a few belts and I am in heaven. 

What clothes inspire you?