Weight Loss Wednesday~Week 4 {Exercise}

 

 

Week 4 of my weight loss journey brings me to a topic I really could do without~exercise.  When we lived in town, it was easy for me to take a bike ride or a walk.  Now that we live in the country, that is a bit difficult.  We live on a state road.  The speed limit is 55.  Taking a bike ride or walk on this road could age me several years.  So how do I fit exercise into my day? 

 

Getting outside has been a start.  We have lots of things to get done outside, so keeping busy out there helps keep me in motion.  We're crossing off things on our to~do list, and burning some calories at the same time.  Now I know that this will not completely cut it for exercise.  I need to elevate my heart rate during exercise.  I  have been gifted a 2 month membership to Curves, and am looking forward to starting there.  I have also been looking at different DVD's to exercise along with at home.

 

Getting the body moving is always a good thing.  I may need to get creative to do it, and I may need to carve out some time during my day.  It will be worth it in the end!

 

 So....how'd I do this week?

My Results:

Weight loss this week~ 1 pound

Total weight loss~  12 pounds

Amount left to get to goal~28 pounds

Not a great number again this week, but it's something!  I sometimes get discouraged about slow weight loss, but I try to remember my ultimate goal here is to get healthy, not just lose weight.  While I definitely DO want to see the numbers shrink along with my waist line, I really want to get healthy.  So I take the numbers as they come!

How did you do this week?

Blessings,

Weight Loss Wednesday~Week 3 {GRACE}

This has been my third week of my weight loss journey.  Already, I've had to extend myself grace.  This week has been one of those weeks where it has been hard to stay on track.  One of our kiddo's had some testing and an appointment at University Hospital.  I have always taken our kiddo's out for lunch after such a morning.  So of course, Sport wanted to go out for lunch~at Arby's {one of my favorite restaurants, too!}.  It was an enjoyable time with just him and I.  Stinkerbelle came home from a mission trip to Haiti and was looking forward to some of her favorite meals.  I was happy to give her this.  We had a graduation party this weekend that included food, lots and lots of food!  Add to this the fact that I am hormonal this week, and I caved.  I had to have peanut butter cups!!

I am really trying not to get too involved in weight loss.  I don't want it to consume my entire day.  I want to learn how to live differently.  Part of this learning is knowing when I have lost my step, and knowing how to get back on track again.  And extending myself grace for the times I have slipped up.

Yes, I had a few bad days.  But it is not the end of the world and I refuse to chastise myself about it over and over again.  This weight was not put on in one week, and it will not be lost in one week either.  I will have successes and failures.  This is normal in any part of life.  I choose to be ok with that~and extend myself grace!

So....how'd I do this week?

My Results:

Weight loss this week~ 1 pound

Total weight loss~  11 pounds

Amount left to get to goal~29 pounds

Not a great number this week, but I'm happy to have lost something, anyway.  I'm back on track and hope next week's numbers will be better.  And again, I AM OK with this!

How did you do this week?

Blessings,

Weight Loss Wednesday~Week 2~WATER

 

 

The adult body is made of approximately 60% water on average.  Water is necessary for much of our body systems to work properly.  One of those body systems is the brain.

 

When I started my weight loss journey, I also started drinking more water.  Lots and Lots of water.  I looked up just how much water I should be drinking in a day.  I found lots of conflicting data.  So, I made the decision to focus on drinking more water, not how much water I'm drinking. 

I have been dealing with water retention lately.  I know it sounds counter productive to add more water to the body when you're already retaining it.  But I believe it has definitely helped my water retention.  Drinking water flushes your body and lets you get rid of the excess water.  My skin looks and feels much better.   When I feel hungry, I take a large drink and wait before eating anything else.  Did you know that many times you feel hunger, your body is actually looking for hydration?  I am not dealing with fatigue and I am also thinking more clearly since increasing my water intake.  When the body is hydrated properly, all systems work better!

I have a large water bottle on the counter and fill it up several times a day.  It already has become a habit to stop and take a drink during the day.  This is a habit I hope to continue even after trying to loose weight.

 

So....how'd I do this week?

 

My Results:

Weight loss this week~ 6 pounds

Total weight loss~  10 pounds

Amount left to get to goal~30 pounds

I was amazed to see how much I had lost this week.  As I said last week, I know I was losing a lot of water weight.  I now have something that actually resembles ankles and my shoes slip right on.  When I lost weight several years ago, I lost quite a bit of weight at the beginning, then it slowed down to 1-3 pounds per week.  So, while I am excited...I know this is not to be expected every week. 

How did you do this week?

Blessings,



Weight Loss Wednesday~FOOD

I am addicted to Reese's peanut butter cups.  There I said it.  They say the first step to recognizing you have a problem is to admit it.  Well...I'm finally admitting it.

Losing weight would be so much easier if it weren't for one thing.  EATING!  The majority of my weight gain over the years has simply come from eating too much.  I eat when I am stressed.  I eat when I am bored.  I eat when I am sad.  I eat when I'm happy.  I'm eating too often, too much, and too poorly.

I need to look at food differently.

So, this week I've made a few changes to how and what I eat.  I used Weight Watchers in the past, and still had my materials.  I am sure it is way out of date now {it's almost 10 years old!}, but I figured if it worked back then, it would still work now.  This helps me watch how much I eat during a day.

I am also watching what I eat during a day.  I've added much more fruits and vegetables to our diets.  I've added more whole grains to our diets.  I haven't had one peanut butter cup this week!  {Those who know me well {my family!} will know how huge this is!}  Instead of mindlessly putting things in my mouth, I'm thinking about these choices before I eat them.  I am hoping this will become a life long habit.

I'm giving myself grace.  This past weekend, we had a birthday party for my grandpa on Sunday, and on Monday we attended a pancake breakfast and had a cookout for dinner.  It is very difficult to stick to a diet at these activities.  However, I did watch my portions and ate less than I would normally have.  I know that there will be days like this, and I'm trying not to get too worked up about it.  I do still love to eat after all!

I have also stopped eating after dinner.  This is a problem area in our life.  Ever since our first kiddo's were small, we've enjoyed a treat after they went to bed.  It is usually ice cream {moose tracks with what else...peanut butter cups!!  Yummy!}.  Now that our older kiddo's are older, they have joined us in this habit after the smaller kiddo's go to bed.  I now realize the mistake in this habit, and fear breaking it for the rest of the family may be a bigger hurdle than I would like to jump.

Soooo true!!

So...how'd I do this week?

My Results:

Weight loss this week~ 4 pounds

Total weight loss~  4 pounds

Amount left to get to goal~36 pounds

Although I am excited about losing 4 pounds in one week, let me just say that I know this was water weight.  I retain water at this time every year.  My rings and my shoes fit much better now, and I can see the difference in my ankles.  Oh yeah, and my watch is not so tight on my wrist.  Because I was hoping to loose weight in my wrist and not my hips!!

How did you do this week?

Blessings,

Weight Loss Wednesday~40 Before 40

 

 

^"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."  1 Corinthians 6:19-20

 

 

This verse has been on my mind a lot lately.  I am unhappy about the way I look and feel, and I know I am not honoring God.  I have plenty of reasons excuses about how this happened, but the reality is that I am overweight and I need to do something about it.

I am at my heaviest weight {aside from one pregnancy where I had pre~eclamsia and gained 60 pounds} that I have ever been.  I need to not only loose weight, but also get healthy.  There is diabetes and heart disease in my family history.  I do not want those labels as I grow older.

I turn 40 this fall, and my goal is to be much healthier by then!  While I want to loose weight, getting healthy is my goal.  I have chosen 40 pounds as the amount I want to loose before I turn 40.  However, getting healthy is the end result I want to achieve.

I have debated about putting this out here on my blog.  It's just not something I am comfortable talking about.  I also know myself.  I know that it will be easy to give up, and putting this on my blog will help hold myself accountable.  So, each Wednesday I'll be giving an update on how things have been going.  I hope to not only keep myself on task, but maybe I'll help encourage someone else.

Join me next Wednesday for an update of how this week has been going.  Who wants to come along?!

Blessings,