Sunday is a Run-Day

At least while I am out of town it is...  Sunday mornings are the only time that I have been able to say "Hey, I'm coming in to work late because I'm going for a long run."

The construction guys all think I'm "sleeping in" because I partied too much the night before... but they are staying in the same town I am staying in and I'm still not sure where these "parties" are happening on Saturday nights...

I am also slowly, but surely, trying to complete the 5K 101 training program.  I only started it in January.

Anyhow - there is a neighborhood behind my apartment complex and IT.IS.HILLY.  Wow, it's got some serious hills!  I have been running the "Run 8, Walk 2" sequence from the 5K 101 program. 

Today after running 8 minutes, I decided I felt pretty good (even with all of the hills) so I kept on trucking.  I did the "Run 12, Walk 3" sequence today.  It felt good and I repeated it 4 times for a total of an hour run.  Overall the run felt pretty good considering the amount of hills that I had to slowly ascend.  My legs were on fire!  There are a couple of just really long hills that kick my behind every time.  I need to improve my endurance for the "ups and downs" of the hills but I am getting better.

People have been asking me how far I have been running but I honestly didn't really know.  Today I decided to stick to a loop route and then map my run when I got back to the apartment.  I ended up running/walking a total of 5.25 miles today.  That is pretty awesome for me!  It was a little slow because it took me 70 minutes to do it all.  I walked for the last 10 minutes of the run.  So that ends up being just over a 13 minute/mile. 

Slow?  Yes.  But that's okay.  I'm not out there trying to win any races - I am just trying to be healthy!

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PSA: Muscle vs. Fat

I feel like I'm doing a disservice to all of humanity if I don't address this "myth". I use quotation marks because it's not really a myth - just a misunderstanding or misconception.

Statement: Muscle weighs more than fat. FALSE!

Okay, here's the skinny. First, we need a few definitions to establish our baseline understanding.

Weight: (n) (1) A measure of the heaviness of an object. (2) the force in which an object is pulled towards the earth - therefore the product of the objects mass and acceleration of gravity. (mass x 32.174 ft/s^2) {sidenote: my physics professor used to always say "That is NOT seconds squared. That is feet per second per second." LOL so it's a velocity per second... hmmm}

Mass: (n) A property of matter equal to the measure of an object's resistance to changes in either the speed or direction of its motion. The mass of an object is not dependent on gravity and therefore is different from but proportional to its weight. {This is the physics definition. There are several others, including "The sacrament of the Eucharist"}

So, since mass has no dependence on gravitational forces - your mass stays the same whether you're on Earth or the moon or Jupiter. Your weight, on the other hand, will vary greatly due to the differences in gravitational forces on those planets.

Some of the confusion between "mass" and "weight" comes in because "MrsB - they have the same units of measure! So why aren't they the same?!" Well, technically speaking - the units of measure are NOT the same but Americans are lazy. There is a difference between a "POUND FORCE" (lb-f) and a "POUND MASS" (lb-m). (The "f" and "m" are usually subscripts). What's the difference? Gravity.

Here's where the rub gets even better - due to the definition of gravity on Earth and the way these constants were set up - when you take your weight {on Earth AT sea level} and convert it to your mass {on Earth AT seal level} - they will be equal.

Us lazy engineers would say "You multiply your weight by "g over g sub c". In other words, you multiply your weight by the gravitational pull of the planet you are on divided by gravitational constant (32.174 [(lb-m*ft)/s^2]/lb-f). So everything cancels out and you are multiplying by "1".

Still with me? Hope so. Here's where the good information comes in.


Density: The measure of how much MASS per unit volume. So simply put - if mass is how much "stuff" there is, density is how tightly packed that "stuff" is.

Density is the reason that muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. Muscle does NOT have more mass than fat either. Muscle is more tightly packed than fat - therefore it is more dense - therefore it takes up less SPACE.

Here's my best example: You have 5 pounds of feathers and you have a 5 pound bowling ball. If you put them both on a scale - how much will each one weight? Right - they will both WEIGH 5 pounds. BUT the bowling ball takes up less space (or volume) than the feathers. Sure, you could jam all the feathers into a box and they will take up less space than a pile of feathers...but then the 5 pounds of feathers became more dense.

So if you're telling yourself that the number on the scale keeps going up because muscle weighs more than fat - then you are lying to yourself. If you are like "But my clothes are so big and the scale hasn't budged!" - then you are probably putting on muscle and burning the fat off.

If the scale is going up and you're doing all the right things - you could be in the middle ground. Sometimes you put on a little bit of muscle underneath your layer of fat and then you're still working on burning off that fat. The muscle helps your metabolism and helps you burn that stored fat...so keep building muscles!

Clear as mud? :) If you're still confused - please feel free to ask questions. I will do my best to answer them. :)

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Terrible, I say!

I've been quite the terrible blogger lately, haven't I? Shesh!

My workout partner, Susie, and I had an hour workout with our old trainer Elvis tonight. You remember Elvis, right? Whew! I am sore already so I don't even want to think about how bad it's going to be tomorrow (or even Friday!). For me the most burn and soreness is two days after a workout. We did strength training for an hour and then he had 35 minutes of cardio lined up for us. I think this is going to be a good workout overall - we just need to get used to it. Our last Monday/Wednesday workouts were cupcake compared to this one! But it's okay because I want to stay in shape!

I haven't done a very good job of recording and updating on my weight loss on the blog. It's been months... as a matter of fact, not since May 20. In reality there has been nothing to report. During the summer the food, the drinks, the friends, the family, the weather - it's my kick back time. I kept working out and trying to eat right - but I had weeks (yes, weeks!) where I splurged.

I am hoping to start doing the Wednesday Weigh-In posts again starting next week. I've got a couple of fall goals for myself!

(1) If I maintain 150 lb for 1 week I can have either a pumpkin doughnut OR a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. (And yes, I know I linked to the nutritional information. Haha! It keeps me in check!!)

(2) I am aiming to hit 145 by Halloween. Thanksgiving at the very latest. And I can totally do this!!

Otherwise, things are quiet and life is overall good. I could complain, but really things aren't so bad. I've got a few projects for people on the table which I will update about soon!

Sorry bloggy friends - I will try not to neglect you any longer!

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Wednesday Weigh-In

Just to preface - this post is going to be random.

Weigh In results:

Last week: 152.2 lb
This week: 152.4 lb

Pretty dang good considering what I ate over the weekend (and none of it is anything to write home about...ice cream, Texas straw hats, english muffins, more ice cream, tostitos and guacamole)

The running has been going well. On Monday I pushed myself as far as I could and did about 20 minutes of running. Ended at 2.5 miles at 30 minutes which is pretty good in my opinion for just having started a couple weeks ago. I had to start going to a new gym on Monday because the gym I was going to got shut down by a court order. Apparently they are $86,000 delinquent on their rent. Awesome. I guess my $11/month doesn't exactly help pay the bills. Especially since as much as I go, I am positive that I use way more than $11/month in electricity, water, etc. Oh well. I only have to go a couple more miles to get to the other gym and the locker rooms there are nicer - so that's always a plus.

In other weight loss news, I finally bit the bullet and bought some new pants. They day I never thought would come, has come. I can wear a size 10 in Express pants. That's insane because my first part of size 12 Express pants were a little on the tight side. I realized I needed new pants when I kept finding myself sitting down and feeling like I was swimming in my pants (standing up, my hips held them up and I felt quite comfortable in them). But I can't have my under-roos hanging out at work because my pants are just that much too big.

Also keep those ideas and/or questions coming for my 100th blog post!

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Wednesday Weigh-In

Under the wire again... It was a busy day at work today! Going in about 8 different directions.

This morning when I stood on the scale, I rubbed my eyes and got off the scale. Got back on the scale. I did that three times. It was the same number every time.

Last week: 154.8 lb
This week: 152.2 lb

Huh? Really? I expected to be less than last week since last week I was bloated. But roughly 2.5lb less? I'll take it!

The 5k training (for the 5k that I have not signed up for yet) is going well. I have another jog in the morning. My hamstrings are really tight...so if you have any suggestions besides just stretching - let's hear it!

...there are more things going on in my life than just standing on a scale on Wednesdays. Some of them are "confidential" (work related...proposals and what not) and some of them I just haven't gotten around to posting. With Dauge being on the road the past few weeks and not getting back until Sunday life has been really quiet. My BFF isn't here - so I have been looking for any outlet to have a non-work related conversation. Some days that's hard. It's okay though. He'll be home soon!

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Wendesday Weigh In

Man, I'm coming in under the wire on this one!

This past week has been a pretty good week as far as cardio and food go. Overall I've been good. There were a few dinners that slide in there that I probably ate too much - but they were delicious!

Last week: 155.2 lb
This week: 154.8 lb

Woo! I'll take being down about a half pound. I've noticed that cutting out alcohol has made a pretty big difference. Having some wine once or twice a week is doing me more good than once or twice a night. :)

I have started to ease myself into running some. Beth has asked me a few times to run a 5k with her...so instead of saying "I dunno, maybe next time because I'm not ready for one." hopefully next time I can say "I'll try!" I'm not a fast runner by any means but I get there with some walking interspersed in there.

Tonight when I got home from the gym, I sort of got suckered into a spin class at the gym down the street from us. It's "Bring a Friend Week" at SportsClub... She just said she was going to ask me to go to a spin class and I told her I'd be up for anything if I were a member there. And how convenient - it's bring a friend week! haha. Oh well. I think it'll be fun and why not challenge myself, right? Nothing wrong with trying something new once in a while... I'll have to update on that next Wednesday!

...I have some other things I want to post too. I just haven't gotten around to uploading the pictures. This weekend should be a little more laid back so maybe I'll get some done then!

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Wednesday Weigh-In

...on Thursday.

But it's okay because I really did weigh myself yesterday. I just never had a chance to post about it. We'll make it snappy.

Last week: 154.6 lb
This week: 155.2 lb

And I'm okay with that because I did NO cardio last week. I got back on the treadmill on Monday after taking a full 7 day break (which I think I needed). But I'm back on the bandwagon.

I've found a class at the gym that's a real challenge to me. And I mean real challenge. I went to Elvis's Intense Body this morning at 6am. I'm not so sure intense is the right word. But if they called it "Brutal" or "Ridiculous" or "You'll probably want to puke about halfway though" I don't think anyone would come.

As intense as it was, I think I may go a few more times. It's a fast paced weight lifting/cardio workout. Very much in line with a weight loss workout - which is what I want to do, right? That workout (minus that sick to the stomach feeling I had) was 100 times better than a cup of coffee. I'm pumped about it right now. I might hate myself tomorrow or the next time I go. I couldn't keep up with the rest of the class - which was frustrating. But it was also my first time and apparently they are all regulars because they know each other and were chatting it up.

So here's to 6am workouts and showers at the gym. And here's to my new found motivation to not suck at that class.

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Weigh In Wednesday

This morning's weigh in went so well I decided to treat myself to a Grande Caramel Apple Spice at Starbuck's!

{Although now that I put those 380 calories into my Sparkpeople website - going out to lunch might've been a better reward... But what's done is done.}

Last week: 155.4 lb
This week: 154.6 lb

I'm pretty stoked because this is the first time in the "on-again-off-again" 2 years that I've been "watching what I eat" that I have seen a number below 155 lb. Not much below - but still - BELOW. Small victories, right? Things are going in the right direction and I need to just keep sticking to it and not get complacent with how I feel and look. I've still got some pounds to lose!

Short term goal? Lose another pound next week.

Long term goal? Get to 150 by the end of May.

Exercise goal? Get off my butt and go to the friggin' gym. I got lazy this week working long days and Dauge being gone. So I need to get moving!

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Weigh-In Wednesday

I'm sure all my followers have been waiting on the edge of their seats for my weigh in today. Right?! Right.

{I like to kid myself anyway}

Well, I did well last week and the first half of this week. A few slip ups over Easter weekend since we were visiting Dauge's parents.

{The mojitos were yummy and the angel food cake dessert was delicious.}

With that said here's the check in:
Last week: 157.8 lb
This week: 155.4 lb

I am down almost 2.5 lb. That is AWESOME! Next week I'd like to be down another 2 lb. That's my goal.

I'm glad to see that watching every.single.thing. I put in my mouth is paying off. It's not too difficult and I actually feel better.

I spent 20 minutes on the stair climber at the gym on Monday. As insane as it sounds - I'm looking forward to getting on it again tonight and doing another 20 minutes to work my booty!

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Weigh-In Wednesday

This week has been a good week. I've made serious, conscious efforts to do all of the following:

• Not drink so much (i.e. no wine/liquor/beer during the week. MAYBE one on the weekend. MAYBE)
• No more desserts until I get where I want to be
• Portions, portions, portions! No more seconds!
  
• Cut out mindless snacking - this one is hard, but I know it will get easier.

This is one of those weeks that I expected the scale to be up 2-3 pounds just from ol' mother nature. I closed my eyes when I got on the scale this morning, took a deep breath, and looked. I got back off and then got on again because I didn't believe it.

I was only up 0.2 lb from last week. Yay! And in the world of weight - that's pretty much no change from last week. Wow. So maybe next week the scale will be down? We'll see. I have to be good this weekend. We're going to visit Dauge's family down in Charleston for Easter and his parents like to make sure that we're well fed while we are there. So I'm going to have to keep a keen eye on what's getting put on my plate.

We made a pretty good pork tenderloin last night. The recipe came from Ellie Krieger who hosts "Healthy Appetite" on the Food Network. She's got some good recipes. Tomorrow night we're making Thai Halibut with Curry Sauce (or something like that). We need to eat halibut approximately once a week since we came home from Alaska with about 30 pounds of it! ...we've even given some away. It's insanity.

I'll let you know how it is. And I'll try to post the pork tenderloin recipe too.

Today? I'm pumping iron with Elvis. And getting in a good 30 minutes of cardio after that.

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Wednesday Weigh-In

Good news! I'm down 1 pound from last week. So overall I'm down 1.2 lb from the first weigh-in on 2/16.

My weight? 157.6 lb

Let's see what happens in the coming days. I've been tracking my food on Sparkpeople for a week now and doing pretty darn good staying within the ranges for the calories and other nutrients listed. This does help me think twice about adding creamer to my coffee or swinging into Chic-Fil-A for a chicken biscuit in the morning. (Although Chic-Fil-A chicken biscuits are pretty amazing...)

I'm working out with Elvis tonight and it's been 4 weeks since we last measured. I told him I'm not ready to measure again today. I don't think there will be any progress and it would probably discourage me - which is not what I'm looking for.

And last, but not least, I am NOT going to make excuses about why I should skip the kickboxing class on Thursday. I'm so there. (and I need to be there!)

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Weigh-In Wednesday

Ugh. Is it really Wednesday already?? That makes me sad.

Why? Because the scale wasn't friendly to me AGAIN.

What is the deal with this already? I started tracking my food this week, so I hope things get better. Otherwise its tempting to give up...but I don't want to give up. I want to be the skinny bitch in the kitch...

The only thing I can think of is that I had a rough weekend with food and now I'm paying for it. I was good on Monday and pretty good yesterday. I had one slip up that I knew was coming (dessert brought by some friends who came over for dinner). I knew they were bringing dessert and that I should leave some extra calories and fat for that...and I did! ...I know this doesn't happen overnight but I have been consciously working on myself since the beginning of December...4 months.

Pounds lost? 1 lb. 1 freaking pound. Just one.

Is that not frustrating? I mean W.T.F.? Throw me a bone and give me 2 pounds. Then at least I could say 1/2 a pound a month. I keep hanging out right at 157 pounds. I've lost inches. Or I did. I haven't lost any since my last measurement (I measured yesterday morning...still 42" hips. Ghetto booty.) People say 1 lb a week. I can only handle 1 pound every FOUR MONTHS!

I watch the Biggest Loser. They lose 4-10 pounds a week. Now granted they work out all.day.every.day. And I know those kind of results are not typical. Especially when I only do 30-60 minutes of cardio a day.

Should I do more cardio?
I drink a lot of water (48-72 oz/day).
I really don't know what to do. This isn't even a week where I would have expected my weight to be high.

I guess I can just keep on my futile road of weight loss and cross my fingers. It's just frustrating.

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Sparkpeople

I decided to start seriously tracking what I was eating again. I used Sparkpeople last year to help get my eating on track and I decided to go back to it again. I knew I had to be totally honest about everything also - which if this would have been me a year or two ago I may have conveniently ignored the cup of coffee with creamer that I had. Or even ignored my few bites of cantaloupe that I had after dinner last night.

Now? I realize that every.single.thing counts. And it's the little "lies" that keep me from getting where I want to go and the progress that I want to make. So yesterday I wrote down everything I ate...including the mayo that was on my sandwich and the protein shake I had. According to the website - doing 30 minutes of cardio everyday (Mon-Thurs) my caloric range should be 1230-1580. Yesterday, I can in right under at 1563 calories. Not too shabby since I decided on a whim to watch what I was eating.

I also would like to try to skip desserts and drinks for the next two months. Everyone keeps telling me that drinking wine is better than drinking a beer. I just put into Sparkpeople red wine and beer:

Red wine (3.5 fl oz) = 74 calories
Light Beer (12 fl oz) = 103 calories

Now, let's get real - who really pours a glass of wine to exactly 3.5 fl oz? Probably no one. (And these numbers may be off slightly...it came from Sparkpeople). So you're drinking the same amount of calories (if not more) than a light beer. If I have extra calories left over at the end of the day - then I will treat myself to a drink. If I don't, then I won't. I can't. I won't get anywhere and I'll just keep spinning my wheels.

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Weigh-In Wednesday

And here we are again...a week later. I am slack about posting between Wednesdays - and I will try to get better about it! I have a few things up my sleeve to post about.

But onto the real news...the weight. I did "okay" with my cardio this week. Elvis kicked my butt last week at our workout and hopefully will do the same again this week. I'm finding that I'm not as sore anymore the day or two after my workouts - which indicates that I am getting stronger and in better shape. So that is positive!

And since my weight this week fell back in line with my weight from two weeks ago - I'm calling last week an outlier. It was bogus, in my book. So I'm still doing well and I just need to get my cardio back up again.

Next weeks goal is to be at about 155...I think I can lose about a pound in a week without a problem. Wish me luck!

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Weigh-In Wednesday

A picture says a thousand words, right? This picture says a thousand words about my complete and utter frustration.

That last "dot" is for my weight this week. Up 3 pounds.

Now the first question is this: Did I really gain three pounds in a weeks time? I seriously doubt that.

Then that brings the second question: Did I really lose 1.6 pounds the week before? Maybe not.

So where does that leave me? So totally confused. Every single time I track my weight this happens. Down, then up, then down, then up. And I never really get where I want to go. I just fluctuate in the range between 155 and 160. Could my scale throw me a 154 one day? I'd appreciate it.

Perhaps I need to step up my workouts again. Or revisit my food.

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Weigh In

I haven't posted a weigh in for quite some time. I have decided to change my "weight in" day to Wednesday's for several reasons:

1. That's the day I work out with Elvis - so I get measured every 4 weeks or so
2. It's middle of the week...instead of immediately after the weekend. That can be discouraging sometimes.
3. Why not? :)

So here we are... based on my Progress Spreadsheet:
Starting Weight: 158.8 (on 2/18/08)
Last week: 158 lb
This week: 156.4 lb
Difference: -1.6 lb
Total Difference: -2.4 lb

Yay! And like I mentioned previously, Elvis weighs me about every 4 weeks or so. Mainly whenever I remind him... 4 weeks ago my hips were 44" around. Last night? 42.75". Yeah! That means I have lost a little over 3" around my hips since the beginning of December.

I am really, really pumped about that.

Apparently I'm doing something right. And with any luck I will feel comfortable in my own skin when bathing suit seasons is upon us!

My next short term goal is to get the ol' hips under 42". The long term (4-6 weeks) goals is to get to 41". I know it doesn't sound like much but it's difficult for me to lose around my hips...so I'm trying extra hard!

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A quick glimpse...

There's so much that I want to post about but work never lets me in - so I can't blog at lunch. And when I get home the couch just sucks.me.in. I need to get some pictures off of my camera because there are so many things I want to share with the blog-world! Things like the low-fat cheesecake that I made for Super Bowl Sunday...the curtains that I hung all by myself in my room...invitations I'm working on for a friend...the heat embosser I got for Christmas from Dauge's parents... so much stuff!!

So since The Mr. is going to be working late most of the week, I'm going to take that time after work that I don't have to be anywhere or feed anyone and do two things: 1. update my blog and 2. go to the gym.

Now, since I mentioned going to the gym... I made some goals for February which I mentioned in my last post. I did an hour of cardio last night - 30 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes on the treadmill. I'd say 75% of the time that I was on the treadmill I just kept thinking "Gosh, I want to go home and curl up on the couch." haha. Today, I'm sliding out of work early for a quick appointment at 4:30 and then all holds barred I'm going to try to make it to the 5:45 kickboxing class at the gym. The last time (and only time) I went it kicked.my.butt. All over the place. I had to leave after half an hour because I couldn't keep up and Rebecca was miserable. So we left.

Today? I'm going to try to make it the whole time...or at least 45 minutes. And to make it all the more interesting - I got some new workout pants. Woo!

This obviously isn't my booty...but you get the point. :)

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2 inches

Before the holidays, early December I think, I asked my trainer to measure my hips so I could set a "starting point". He measured them and I think the number he said was 46". Ouch. That's like almost two feet around me! Wow! So I told him I was going to lose 2" by the end of January because I was a little nervous about what the holidays would have in store.

He measured me again last night - 44". Yeah! I'm down 2". He said my next goal should be to lose 2" more in the next 4 weeks. I'm going to aim for it. I try to watch what I eat so I think I just need to increase my time at the gym. So over the next 4 weeks I am going to try to spend 3.5 hours a week at the gym doing cardio. I'm thinking 5 days/week and two of those days I'll go to the gym both at lunch and after work to do an entire hour that day. That shouldn't be too bad because if I don't go twice a day for at least two days then I would have to do half an hour of cardio everyday of the week. I like have a little bit of flexibility to take a day off if I don't feel like going to the gym. So let's see what kind of results this will get me!

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Weight Update

...on time for once! Yeah! Straight to the point...

Now for the check in...
Start weight: 157 lb
Last time: 158.6 lb
This week: 158.6 lb (No change)

I could make excuses, but I'm not going to... I will say that this week I feel motivated. I went to the gym at lunch today and did Wii Fit twice over the weekend. I need to keep this momentum going and get to the gym 4-5 times this week. And I can totally do that!

Back to my snack...orange and some nuts. Woo!

Nothing else is really new with us right now. In unexciting news, I found curtains for our bedroom - so now I have the pleasure of hanging them up. Maybe I'll do that later this week and take some pictures to share.

I also have a friend's graduation announcements in the works and then later I think I'll have some more wedding invites to make. yay! :)

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Weight Update

So, I know I've said previously that I "weigh-in" on Mondays...in the privacy of my own bathroom, of course. I did weigh myself on Monday - I just haven't had an opportunity to post here to update the world about my weight...one of the two things women don't want people to know. Age and weight. Anyway...

I haven't updated since the week of Dec. 30 - so it's been a little bit. I didn't really weigh last week. Didn't really think about it, but maybe subconsciously I just didn't want to. Either way, I'm still trying to be strong and make it to my goal!

Now for the check in...
Start weight: 157 lb
Last time: 157.6 lb
This week: 158.6 lb (+1 lb)

I'm definitely NOT going in the right direction. I'm not sure what it is exactly but I'm trying to pinpoint what it is that I'm doing (or not doing) that is not helping the reading on the scale. I know that everyone's weight fluctuates but it's hard to justify two weeks of readings that are up. Maybe I'm not being as disciplined as I should be as far as what I'm putting into my mouth. I know that I need to exercise more. The cold weather isn't helping my motivation - but I need to just be tough and get over it. This coming Monday, I want to be different. I need the motivation of a lower scale reading...so here's to a healthy and active weekend!

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