75 Hard or Project 50?

I have been seriously toying with challenging myself.  Seriously challenging myself with something like the 75 Hard or the Project 50.  

  It has been quite some time since I first heard about the 75 hard.  I read about it on a blog that I have followed for years.  I remember reading about it and thinking, "What an amazing Challenge, I should do it".  But then reality sets in and I look at the 'rules' and realize that doing the 75 hard would be HARD.  I am somewhat ok with most of the items but the two blocks of exercise one required to be outside has honestly been the deal breaker in the past.  I could probably have been on board without that one rule.  Let me share the rules of the 75 Hard.  You must do the following 5 things for 75 days straight. If you fail, you have to start over at day one.

    1.  Follow a diet plan

    2. Exercise 2 times a day for 45 minutes each time.  One of those times MUST be outside.

    3.  Drink 4 liters of water

    4.  Read 10 pages of a book daily.

    5.  Take a Progress pictures each day

 I see some merit to the 75 Hard.  It would be hard.  For me the hardest part would be the two blocks of 45 minutes of exercise with one being outside.  It would be difficult.  Quite difficult.  Which of course is part of the name.  But that said, I want a challenge, but I don't want something that I will fail at within the first week.   I seriously struggle with getting in my 45 -60 minutes of exercise already due to time constraints!  For that reason alone, I have always passed on the 75 hard.  It came back under my radar again a few days back and I gave it another look as once again I was tempted.   I have decided once again to not attempt the 75 hard.   My reasons this time are once again centered around the exercise.  Yes, it would be difficult and part of me thinks it would be too difficult for me at this point in my life...but it would be hard and would be amazing to complete.  HOWEVER, my reason for NOT doing it is something different this time.   My reason is that I am not sure that 75 days straight of 1.5 hours of exercise would be wise for my body in its current state.  My body is sore.  My body is aching.  My rest days are a breath of fresh air and give my aching knees and joints the rest that I need so that I can hit it hard when the rest day is over.  For this reason the 75 Hard will still be an elusive thought for me.  Maybe someday!

In the last year I have been hearing a lot about people that are doing the Project 50.   This is something akin to the 75 hard.  But not quite as hard!    Let me share the rules of the Project 50.  These rules are followed for 50 days. 

    1.  Wake up by 8AM every day

    2.  Complete a 1 hour routine each morning with no distractions

    3.  Exercise 1 hour each day

    4.  Read 10 pages daily

    5.  Spent 1 hour each day to learn a new skill

    6.  Follow a Healthy Diet plan

    7.  Track your progress Daily in a journal

Ok, this is a bit more doable!   But I have still had misgivings.  Once again, the EVERY day exercise gives me a wee little pause.  But secondly, it's the hour each day to learn that new skill.  I think the new skill is important!  In fact I am teaching myself to knit! (Hopefully within a year or so I'll be teaching myself to Spin wool.....dog fur chiengora to be exact!).   But I have so many other things.  I wrote recently about my dreams and thoughts and my desire to finish some of these books that I have half finished.  That takes time.  If I devote 7 hours to knitting, when will I work on those books.  It was a quandary for sure!

So.  I am going to do my own version of the Project 50.

   1.  Wake up by 8AM every morning. I'm just leaving this there because why not.  But I am usually up by 5AM and consider myself LUCKY if I make it to 6AM.  

   2.  Complete the morning routine with no distractions.  Jason and I are creatures of habit.  Our morning routine is pretty set in stone and pretty unshakable!  So this one will be no issue and I am just leaving it there so that I kinda resemble the original Project 50!

  3.  Exercise total of 1 hour 5 days a week.   This is a modification.  The original Project 50 is for 1 hour every day.     In my modification, I am pushing for 1 hour TOTAL of exercise on 5 days.  If I do a 45-minute exercise video in the morning, well then, I better get my butt moving for another 15 minutes during the day.  That alone will be a challenge.  Some days that 45 minutes alone is difficult.  So, stretching that to an hour will be a challenge!  

  4.  Read 10 pages daily.   This one also poses no problems with me as I almost always have a book in progress and it is actually a rare day that I do NOT read.  

5.  Follow a Healthy Diet.  This one should be easy.   I already follow a decently healthy diet so this is continuation of that AND encouragement to stay the course and not slip up!

6.  Track my progress daily.   I track some of this stuff already, so it should be no stretch to track all of this.

7.  A New skill.   The original plan was to work on a new skill for 1 hour each day.   And as I said earlier, this is the one that has held me back from attempting the Project 50.   7 hours is a long time.  I havve no problem with learning a new skill and spending time, but I know me and I know that dedicating an hour a day would result in failure.   So I am adjusting this a bit.   I am aiming for 2 hours a week to dedicate to this new skill of knitting.  That is a much more doable number.  

Bonus activities that I have added for myself. 

1.  20 minutes of activity on my off days from exercise.  That could be a walk or hike.  It could be a long romp in the yard with the dog.  Or a spin on the exercise bike.  Something active!

2.  Since I have cut down the hours to work on the new skill, I am adding in a word count for writing. My goal for myself is 5000 words a week.  

3.  No days less than 5000 steps.  I struggle some days to get my steps in!   So this will be a challenge on some days!  (those lazy weekend days!!!!)

So there you have it.  My own personal revamped project 50!   I think it will be a stretch!    Some days and weeks  are going to be hard!   But I didn't want to coast through because then it wouldn't be a challenge!!!!

I plan to start this on March 1!   This will run through to April 19th!    At that time, maybe I will reevaluate the 75 hard!  (maybe I'll make it my own personal 75 hard   or rather 75 hard-ish!) 

Feel free to join me on this project!   

More motivation to bust through the weight loss barrier

Here I am another week has passed and I could have sworn that I promised to get back to really using this forum for my journey, going back to the basics and all that.  Yet, I am not being consistent at all with my posts.  Well, maybe I am being consistent......about once a week.    Either way, I'm here and I am still working on moving forward and making me the best me possible.  But what have I been up to this last week.

Addiction and Weight Loss 

Addiction is a crazy thing.  It hits so many people, but the average person doesn't even realize that they have an addiction.  If it's legal then it's not an addiction right?    Wrong.  I have an addiction to food.  Food is entirely legal....but I eat to feel that amazing feeling ....my own personal high.  There are people that are addicted to sex, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine and any number of things.  Heck, I had a coworker a few years back and she readily said "I have an addiction to chapstick.  I must have pockets in everything I wear and I have to have a tube of chapstick with me....or I panic."   Yup, that's an addiction.   Chapstick, legal and harmless but still and addiction.

So Jason and I were talking about addictions in the last week or so. Of course my food addiction was discussed.  But we also discussed a few of his small (legal) addictions.   He suggested that when I get to my goal weight that he would kick one of them in honor of my herculean effort to control my food addiction.   I looked at him and said, "You are  not getting out of doing a bungee jump you know?"  (no way am I letting him off the hook for his poor challenge/bet.  I want bragging rights in simply telling him that he has to jump, because we all know that I would never make him jump against his will.  But you better believe that I'll remind him of it as long as we live!)    He assured me that this was in ADDITION to that.  Ohhh really?   More motivation.     He then sweetened the pot further when he said, "MaryFran, when you bust 200 pounds (aka get below 200) I will beat my one addiction and when you get to your goal weight I'll do another!"   So here I go.  

I know, I know I know...how many times have I started over. How many times have I said that I am motivated and ready to rock and roll with this weight loss journey.   I feel silly saying it once again.  HOWEVER, I also know that if I don't start over again, as many times as I need, I will never realize my goals and dreams.  So here we go again.  

House Hunting

After last weekend's house tours being cancelled due to the houses being sold before we could get there, I was a bit discouraged.  Seriously, the stars need to align to buy a house in this market!   I am having to work to keep my spirits up during this process.   I believe in the power of prayer and we have been praying.   So the flip side, is that if I believe in the power of prayer then I have to believe that prayers are answered in the best possible way and this process is just there to prepare us for the perfect house.  

I was quite interested in a house that was 'coming soon' for the last two weeks.  The pictures looked fantastic and we got to go tour it last night.  The yard and location was wonderful.  And it went downhill from there.   The detached garage...the soffits were rotting. Literally rotting wood and open and the paint was peeling.   We were actually ok with that...summer project here we come!  We went into the house and we were hit with a musty smell.  The kitchen was small but nice with a  lot of counter space.  Likewise, the dining room was a nice size and it had built in cabinets and a large buffet counter (ha...I'm being nice......we all know that in real life that would be a junk counter).  We opened the french doors in the dining room oand walked out onto the back deck.  The view was great...but oh watch where you step, some of the deck boards were soft and rotting!   Ok, it would probably pass inspection our realtor (who is also a home inspector part time), but would need attention soon.   Hmmmm...   Back inside to the musty smelling house.   The living room with wood stove was pretty standard and nothing caught my eye.  We headed back the hall to the bedrooms.  The hall had nice vinyl flooring (the LVP wood style flooring) and it was nice.  The first bedroom had carpeting and the vinyl hall flooring just stopped and  there was about a 2 inch gap (and dip) before the carpet started.  Weird.  The room was nice though.   Back to the hall and into the second bedroom.  This was also LVP flooring...a different tone than the hallway...and the 1 inch gap between the two floors was visible .  It wasn't a bad bedroom...At that point though I hear Jason snort...he was done with the house.  Ha.  I kept looking on.  We went to the third 'bedroom'......different floor and another one inch gap between the floors.  This floor actually felt soft when we walked on it.   This 'bedroom' had been converted to a laundry room and a half bath had been added in this room.   The half bath....yup, different floor and another one inch gap.  Ohhh and no bathroom door.  HA.   OK, so the one inch gaps could have been easily fixed simply by adding threshholds.  HOnestly, and easy fix.  But it emphasized to us that repairs and upgrades were 'half-assed' in this house and to beware!   The house had lots of storage closest and a pantry.   So even though Jason was mostly done with the house, we headed down to the basement....and the musty moldy smell got worse!  There were no lights in the basement that we could find.......on purpose?  I can't help but suspect that is the case.  Using our phones as flashlights, we inspected.  The basement was finished....but we found evidence of drywall that had been replaced at one point and we found evidence of drywall that seemed a bit damp.  Well then.   In case you didn't catch the underlying answer, that house was a hard pass.

So today we are heading out to a few more houses.  Yes, on Easter Sunday.  Hey, we are working around our schedule and our realtors schedule.   Per the pictures, one of the houses could best be described by saying "the 70's called, they want their house back"  Another one I would say "you must have picked up your trim paint from the 'oops we made the wrong color shelf at Lowes".  We are going to see a house that looks adorable....but is at the top end of our price range.  And we are looking at one house in a neighboring state....a bit further for Jason...but it has everything on our list must haves and even everything on our list of 'it would be nice to have".   Time will tell......pictures make everything look nice.  (Well, not really.   We went to the house that smelled like dirty butt....and the pictures made it look bad....I was hoping that it was just the fact that there were beds everywhere in the pictures and that the pictures were just bad......but nope, that one was bad!)

Life

Life is going ok.  We live our weekdays just waiting for the evenings and weekends when we are together and enjoying life. It feels horrible wishing our lives away. But until the work situation changes, it is what it is.   I don't like my job any better.  But I am trying to focus on the positive....I have a job.  I am working from home.  It might be a toxic environment, but I am blessed to have a job that allows us to live comfortably.  

The pets are doing well.  Kiwi the bird enjoys life and he counts down until evenings and weekends when he is allowed out of his cage.  While I'm at work he stays in his cage right by my office door.  He is my supervisor I guess. Kiwi will occasionally antagonize the cat....he does fly by's and buzzes her.     Mertz, the cat  is still the diva of the house.  She gets a bit jealous when kiwi gets attention.  She does tolerably well with the bird. We closely monitor them when they are together though. The crabs are....well hermit crabs and somewhat boring. But still fun.   Life would definitely be boring without our pets. 

​

Yog-vember : I challenge YOU

 Welcome to the Yog-vember Yoga challenge for November!   Last year I was reading a blog post (I am so sorry, I can't remember who posted it) and I was challenged to complete a 30 day Yoga Challenge!  I did it....against all odds.  And I was super proud of myself.  But somewhere along the way, I fell off track and I stopped doing the yoga.  Over the last year I have told myself over and over again that I was going to get back on the yoga bandwagon.  But it never happened.  Until now.  I am setting a challenge for the whole world to hear! (Ok,  my small world of whomever reads my website and watches my youtube videos)

My Experience with Yoga

Before we get into the Yogvember Yoga challenge let me tell you why I am doing this.  Last year I was really struggling with a pinched nerve in my arm.  It was bad.  My fingers were going numb.  I had no range of motion in my right (my dominant) arm.  The strength was diminished.  It was just bad.  I went to the doctor and they gave me pain meds and muscle relaxers which dropped the pain and lack of motion down to an annoyance. But it was still there.  Quite unrelated I read about this 30 days of yoga playlist.  Something clicked for me and I decided to do it!!!!  

It took a few weeks for me to realize what had happened because there was no grand revelation.  But the arm pain receded.  I could barely feel any pain!  It was the craziest thing!  I had been in pain for months and I started Yoga and within a few weeks the pain had all but disappeared.  I noticed I was riding better on my bike also!  It was just amazing.   But life (vacation) happened and the routine was broken. I always wanted  to restart it, but it just didn't happen.  (yeah, bad me!)  

The Yog-Vember Challenge

So the time has come for me to get back to this yoga stuff!  And what better way than to challenge myself to a month of Yoga....thus....Yog-vember!  And you know I can't challenge myself without challenging you go join me also! 

The challenge is simple!  

1.  Find a yoga program to follow.  If you can go to a yoga class...awesome.  If you do it with a VHS tape or DVD.....awesome.  If you want to do it online through youtube....awesome.   If you don't have a clue where to find yoga to do, I recommend Yoga With Adriene.  She is good...she is easy to follow and she has a dog laying beside her on newer videos!  

2. Commit to a certain number of days each week that you will be doing yoga....chose at least 3.....come on now, it's less than half the week!  If you want to aim bigger, go for 5.  If you are totally committed, by all means do yoga each day of the month!  The trick is to find what works for YOU and your lifestyle!  Furthermore, I'm not even putting a number of how long your yoga session has to be!  I will be doing mostly 15-20 minute yoga sessions....but I love that Yoga with Adriene has playlists that are separated by time!  You can find a yoga session that meets your needs!

3.  Let me know if you are joining me! (if you want to!)

And that is all there is to the Yog-vember challenge!  A month of consistent yoga!  Lets see what a month of yoga does to our bodies!  Lets see our bodies adapt and adjust and get stronger!!!!  Lets rock out this Yog-vember!

Challenge accepted: and a rare Saturday post

Ahhh. A rare Saturday post!!!!  But I was reading fellow blogs today and couldn’t not post.  I wanted to get this info out there ASAP!!!

I have accepted two challenges.   They are both by fellow bloggers and they both start on Sunday the 27th!  (However if your reading this a bit later...feel free to join me...just adjust your numbers to accommodate the late start!!)  The first is through the blog mystalkerisfat .  This challenge sounds like something right up my alley!  There is no heavy tracking or anything like that.  It is nice and simple and allows some wiggle room for life that gets crazy!

How it works?  First decide how many days a week you want to be active.  (Ok not want...WILL be active). I am choosing 4.  Next how long will you be active those four days?  I am choosing 20 minutes.  (I was thinking 30...but I am woefully lame right now so I am starting small!).  This challenge goes to the end of February...which is 5 weeks.  Calculate how many minutes that is over the next five weeks.  So I took 4 days times my 20 minutes = 80 minute. Then I took the 80 minutes and multiplied that by 5 weeks =  600 minutes!    Boom!  I have my goal ...600 minutes!!!

It’s as easy as simply writing down my numbers of minutes in my dayplanner and adding them together however often I chose to add!  (Weekly?  Lol)

The second challenge... it is at spinningmywheels   It goes hand in hand with the first challenge...except that this is more food related. It is also a marvel in simplicity! Track your food daily....AND stay under your caloric goal every day except one cheat day (or I will add in , stay under you WW daily goal if you are WW) .  I like this...it still allows you one day to ‘mess up’ be it on purpose or accidental!   I have been preaching for a while that this is life and life is NOT perfect...so embrace and plan for the failure  because it will happen!  This challenge does just that by giving us that cheat day.   

So how this works?   In your day planner...or calendar or anywhere really...give yourself a point for each day you stay under your caloric goal!  Easy peasy!   I am going to give myself a star in my day planner!!  :-). 

Both are easy...both are super cool ways to challenge ourselves to stay the course and be healthy!!!!   

If you want, feel free to join in!  Mystalker...has set up a Facebook page (link in her comments) for her challenge  that I have asked to join...I don’t know how well it will take off...but it is another chance for support so I’m in!!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Have a safe fun holiday!     I am ready to embark upon my holiday challenge     And I am still determined to make this holiday season a ‘maintain’ or better.  I have lots of ideas and plans percolating...it’s time to embark upon living healthy again!!!!  But first...let’s get through this holiday!!  (And that sounded like I’m not excited...I am...but I don’t plan on huge changes until afterward!)

Resentful

I want to lose weight.  I need to lose weight. There’s no way I can deny that I’m overweight. My work even tells me I’m overweight through a  health screening  that they do yearly.   I resent the work reminder though.  I resent it a lot!

OK, let me explain the work insurance. We have the price of our insurance which is quite pricey.  We get a ‘discount’  if we sign a statement saying that we are tobacco free and if, during the yearly health screening we either show a weight loss or we are in a healthy weight range. Last year since I was a new employee I was exempt from the health screening. This year I am subject to these rules. So my weight has been on my mind a lot and has been since my health screening.  I do have an appointment with my doctor. Hopefully she will sign the appeal paperwork so that I can still afford health insurance.

I resent this policy. Not for the reason you might think. I know I’m overweight and I know that causes health problems which is what makes the added money on the insurance. What I resent, is the fact that I am really working to overcome the diet mentality. I am really working to overcome that big focus on the number that the scales show. I resent the fact that my work is forcing me to think about it and worry about it. I resent the fact that this policy makes me want to crash diet.

I got back on track this summer and I was losing...slowly but surely.  And then this health screening came into play.  Is it a coincidence that my weight loss stopped right then and there?   Maybe...maybe not.  (I also think it might be partially due to my out of whack female cycle...along with the stress and change of focus!)

Following the health screening I made an appointment with my doctor to try to get an appeal for this added expense.  (I see her next nine day) I am worried.   I saw her a week (almost to the day that my dad died) and I weighed a few pounds less than I weigh right now.  My dad died and I gained 30 pounds, overnight.  (Ok not overnight...but within a month.). So with all this worry about the insurance and my weight,  I started to stress and I started to think about crash diets!

I wanted to crash dirt so bad!   But I didn’t.  I stayed the course but I stopped losing....however....I maintained!  With two weeks left before the appointment,  I broke my ‘stay the course’ and decided to cut sweets for the two weeks.   Yes I allowed the stress to overrule my common sense!!  

I am a week and a half into my no sweet decree.   I am determined to complete it...if even just to prove to myself that I can!  It’s a test of my willpower and I WILL win!   But that said, I resent the fact that I did it!   I was actually  working on accomplishing a healthy attitude toward sweets...and this two weeks of restriction have made me crave and think about these sweets MORE than I did before!   I am serious, I sit and think about what I’m going to eat first when I break the sweet treat-fast!  My mouth waters as I think about it!  (I’m thinking it will be edible cookie dough...I made some for Jason during this stint...and I’m very proud that I didn’t even lick the spoon!!).   

I’m working on developing a healthy relationship with food. I’m working on developing a healthy relationship with the scales.  I’m working on building a healthy life.   And I have allowed the stress and the work insurance policy to push me backwards in my learning process because they are indirectly pushing me..    I will finish off the two week moratorium on sweets (seriously...it’s only until this weekend), but then I’m going back to exactly what I was doing before.  Allowing myself the occasional indulgence...IF it works into my calorie count for the day.    Back to the basics...and hopefully back to the slow but steady weight loss!!!

The jury is in

So yesterday I was debating a run at the gym after work.    I hate the treadmill...but I knew that I was  3.66 miles behind Jason in the mileage challenge and that if I didn't run I very well would fall helplessly and hopelessly behind if he ran today.   But I really didn't want to do it!

I changed my clothes at work so that I didn't have any thought, excuse or even time to pause.   I wanted to drive right there and just get it over with!!!!

I did it!!!

Yes I did say that I was 3.66 behind.  It was no coincidence that I stopped running when I was one hundredth of a mile ahead of him.   

So this morning....I knew he was planning on running....I had to run!!!!   4.53 miles later and I was shot!!!!  My legs were done!!!

So I sit at 4.54 miles ahead.  Let's see if I that's enough for the win!!!

My eating is pretty well under control at the moment.   I'm just working on being 'normal' with eating.  Nothing crazy in either direction...normal!!!!

Accountability

This journey is difficult.  It's possible to do on ones own, but I can say from serious trial and error, that it is SOOO much easier with a friend, a group, a system, ANYTHING that keeps me accountable!

Really?  What works for me with accountability?   It has changed for me over the years.....or maybe it hasn't changed but circumstances changed.

1.   Weight Watchers.   I LOVED the accountability of the meetings.  Weighing in each week gave me a tangible accountability.  I KNEW the scales would be staring me in the face each week.  I weighed myself each week too....none of that free weigh in pass for me.  I wanted to see what what happening and know where I was each week.    While I would say the accountability of the weigh ins were the biggest part, I also found that the regular attendees of the meeting that I went to provided the other aspect of support that I needed to be a success.   We may not have known each other in any way other than by facial recognition, but those people were my support group. 

2.  Weekly weigh in with Friends.  I at one point instituted a weekly email that went to a group of friends.  Each week I sent an email with my weight to these friends.  I have done this off an on with some of these same friends throughout the last few years.   They WORK!

3.  Challenge Groups    These can be fabulous if they are run well!    I've been in some good ones...and I've been in some not so good ones.  I have participated in some and I have actually led some.   Both approaches work for me in terms of accountability.  I have done these with other people wanting to lose weight.  I have done them with people that are interested in challenging themselves physically with exercise.  (I used to participate heavily on a mileage challenge on  myfitnesspal , through weight watchers, through facebook and any other means.  I recently joined the Hagerstown 100 Miler which is in essence is just another challenge group. 

4.  Running and races.   Actually this could be any event that requires training.   I started with a few bike rides and then started doing some runs.  I'm not exactly consistent, but knowing that I paid for a big race is enough to keep me focused and moving for sure!   

5.  My blog-    I started this blog years ago....and it wasn't until earlier this week that I noticed the pattern.   I lost the bulk of my weight and was my lowest weight between 2007-2009.  Is it coincidental that in 2007 I wrote 230 blog posts.  What about a whopping 334 posts in the year 2008.   The year 2009 wasn't too shabby with 277 posts.  For those three years my average number of posts for the year is 280 posts per each year!    The average of posts for all the other years combined is 129 posts a year.     Coincidence?????    Hmmm, I don't think so!   

So why is the blog so important?  I think it is important because it helps me refocus on my goals on a daily basis.   When I'm not forced to think about it and write about it and whatnot, the focus in my life tends to shift and switch to something.  I am not saying that what it shifts to is not important, but I need to have the daily reminder that this goal is very real and very important in my life and that I need to keep pushing forward.  

Right now I am committed to sending my weight on a weekly basis to two friends. (And I will gladly add more people to my weekly weigh in reports if it will help!  I've at one time shared and emailed with 3-4 friends...the more accountability, the better!)   I am registered for one race (The Cooper River Bridge Run on April 2).  Obviously I am in the Hagerstown 100 Miler.     I am also committed to writing posts to help me stay accountable and to help me stay focused!

Only two days

So I’ve struggled in the last two months. Plain and simple, July and August were NOT good months for me in terms of weight loss.  The GOOD thing, is that I managed to maintain within a 5 pound range.  That’s actually an AWESOME thing now that I really stop to think about it…in previous months  I would have gained 10 pounds in that time frame especially with everything that has been going on in my life. However, my weight is sitting at about 212-215.  That is NOT where I want it to be. That is STILL in the obese category. I have to make it to a few pounds under 200 to be considered simply ‘overweight’.   I have a long way to go. 212-215 is NOT the end of the road.

I am struggling.    I am at a cross roads. I’m trying to get accustomed to the restrictions that my sore foot impose, the weather restrictions that are forthcoming and of course my schedule and responsibilities that impose their difficulties into my exercise routine. But more importantly, I have to get my eating under control.  I’m not being ‘bad’  but I’m not being as strict as I need to be in order to really lose this weight!

So as I was walking with my friend Sherry last night I suggested a challenge for us. We will be walking again on Sunday morning.  That means we had two full days before seeing each other again. Friday and Saturday, in case you are wondering. Ha ha!    The challenge???  The challenge is absolute strictness in our caloric intake for those two days.  I aim for between 1200 and 1300 calories a day…..so that is what my challenge is, staying within that range for the days.  Seriously…it’s just two days.  Who can’t do something for two measly days???? 

Small increments.  I’m not looking at the big picture (although I could be back at my all time low weight of 180 by Christmas…..lol) I’m looking at small increments of time.  Saying that I’m going to be ‘good’ for the next four months is a huge undertaking.  But I CAN say without a doubt that I can do this for the next two days.  Come Sunday, I’ll be back with another mini challenge/goal.

I lost pretty much the first week of the month with the patio project...so I'm aiming for 150 miles this month!  :-)   5.22 in thus far!!

Got up early this morning. Much earlier than I needed to be up in order to get to work at 9AM. Why? Well, I had some exercising to do. I rode the exercise bike for 30 minutes and then I pulled out the step and did 30 minutes of step aerobics. I haven't done step aerobics in ages. I was surprised. I thought I would struggle a bit more than I did. Tis all good. 1 hour down!

I'm a bit bothered today. Well, not bothered but just disturbed. I have a family member (through marriage) that is planning on having gastric bypass this year. I know, from talking to friends that have had this procedure done that they went through intense counselling and diet work in preparation. This family member has had NOTHING. They are just doing the surgery...pushing this person through. I wonder at how this person will handle the major change in their life that this surgery is going to bring. And I don't mean the obvious of now they are thin. I mean the changes in emotions. The changes in their eating. Let me also say that this person is not one of these 500 pound people. They are probably low to mid 200's. If you have to change your diet anyway due to the surgery...why not just do it naturally.

Ok...that said...that is NOT what disturbs me. Yeah, I don't agree with the quick fix surgery....what bothers me is that this person has a child. I wouldn't categorize the child as fat...but the child is ....well. Some of the words to describe this child would be sturdy and stocky. NOT good words for a girl. This girl is well on her way to having a weight problem. I can see the path that she is on and it breaks my heart. And then to hear that her parent is setting an example of getting the surgery....I'm just blown away. (as a side note, a while back this parent was trying to diet and eat healthy......great opportunity to feed your children healthy foods also right??? Nope.....the children continued eating the fried foods, fast foods, junk food, while this parent ate frozen 'healthy choice' dinner. I wanted to scream at that point). I worry about this little girl seeing that this is the 'fix' and not being taught and shown a healthy way. I worry about her.

Meanwhile, the American Cancer Society is doing some kind of thing locally (technically in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia...but since my bank is based out of WV, we...in the Sharpsburg branch are included) between all the banks in that you earn points based on healthy things that you do. 3 points for each flight of stairs you climb, 1 point for each minute of exercise, 1 point for each 8 ounce glass of water, 1 point for each serving of fruit or veggies. Basically things promoting a healthy lifestyle. The banks are all in competition. There is no prize...other than bragging rights. :-) My branch...we are all excited. First because we all have been talking about being healthy...and there are people in our branch that have been saying that they need to start. Secondly, there are a group of us that are HIGHLY competative. So it shoudl be fun. The problem....we may not have a snowballs chance in hell.....we are a small branch...which means we have to work double hard ...to make up for our lack of people! But it should be good for us!

Turn this around...no more excuses

Oh my word, I soooo can not be the one to GAIN weight during this challenge with my friend! I was up to 185 this morning! Ok, I actually just started to laugh in disbelief when I wrote that! I do think some of that may be water retention...I just literally could not get enough to drink yesterday. By about 3 in the afternoon, I had already drank a gallon of water....and I was still thirsty! They say that if you reach the point of being thirsty, that it's too late, you are dehyrated. My problem though...we worked outside yesterday (over two hours in the morning and aboutan hour or so in the evening)....and I kinda/sorta/maybe used that as an excuse to eat a little extra......5 points extra for the day. Yes, I journalled evey bite! But my new edict: No more eating extra! I have gathered my control about me and I'm not doing it again! I was exercising this morning (45 minutes on the exercise bike) and I was watching the biggest loser austrlian version season 2. The one guy was talking about a difference in him....how he used to wake up and his first thought was, "i want to stay in bed and sleep and not face the day" Well, I'll admit that I do have days like that....everyone does....but for the most part, I get up raring to go now....and I get up early. It used to be nothing for me to sleep until 9 or so...and be happy doing it. Now my body naturally wakes me up between 6 and 6:30. And yes, I go to bed at the same time! Crazy!

Either way...I'm through with the excuses! When my points are gone, I'm done! And that is a difficult statement to make today....we had a BIG breakfast! I'm eating only 4 points while I'm here at work (that's what I packed...that's what I'll eat....I have no problem sticking with that....). That will leave me 6 points for dinner. I can do manage that.....lots of zero pointers coming my way to help round out my meal!!! :-)

All I have to say is Julie (the friend that I have this wager/reward thing going with) ,watch your back...I'm going to stage a comeback! (even though I'm 2.2 pounds HIGHER than I was when we started a mere 2 days ago...all I can do is laugh)

I was super productive this morning. I woke up at my normal time. I immediately hopped onto the exercise bike and rode for 45 minutes. I had just finished that and had settled in at my comptuer to catch up on some emails when I heard Todd a stirring in the bedroom. I went and asked him when he would like breakfast (we had agreed last night that our big meal today would be breakfast). "NOW" was his answer. SO I went out to the kitchen. I made his coffee and went to get the bacon out of the fridge. Well, I saw how DIRTY and crudy the bottom of the fridge was. (I don't notice it as much when the fridge is full of food...but we are a bit bare right now...lol). SOOO I cleaned out the fridge! I cooked the bacon and then made us pancakes. (todd's with pecans...mine nutless) Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed the pancakes and bacon! I cleaned up the kitchen and washed the dishes. At that point I decided to do the last of the laundry. This really gets me...I've done 2 loads of laundry on Wednesday, 2 loads of laundry on Thursday and I did 2 more loads today! This is NUTTY! But when I think about it it does make sense. Already today I've worn a nightgown, workout clothes, shorts and teeshirt after my shower, and now I'm in my clothes for work! ANYWAY, two loads of laundry washed and hanging on the line. I created our menu for meals next week....and started the grocery list of the necessities to complete those meals and some other things that I know we need. I played around and took my picture for envisage365, packed my lunch and got ready for work and I still made it to work by 9:45 :-)

Todd informed that we need to pick green beans again. Don't know when exactly (either tonight or tomorrow) but that means I'll be canning green beans sometime really soon!

Our own challenge

Well, it is official. A group of my friends from college years (and a couple other people) have started our own Biggest Loser challenge. We weigh in this Friday....and take a picture this Friday! Hopefully it will work to motivate us all! Worked out at the gym today with the trainer (my second of three free hours). She worked me harder today.....my muscles were sore sore sore when I left there!