First week is done

 So the first week of the year is in the books and it is time for a weigh in.  I was so excited to start this new year and to smash my goals and to lose a ton of weight!  I was going to exercise each day.  I was going to start my year off incredibly strong!  I wanted this year to be awesome from the get go!!!   But how did it really go??? 

The week in review

We had a good weekend over New Years.  We spent time with Jason's parents to celebrate Christmas.  I love my little decorations.  (the bearded one was a gift this year).  

We also took down our Christmas decorations.  I was sad to see them go....but getting the tree out of our small apartment makes it seem less cramped!!!

We drove about an hour away trying to find a avian sun lamp....in an unexpected ice storm.  Sadly they didn't have any!  Does no place carry these near us?  I finally ended up buying one on Amazon..but it's not...well we can use it.  but we want something nicer!!!

The rest of the week was a normal work week.  5 days of work and boy oh boy did they seem to go by so SLOOOOWLY!!!  

We are enjoying working with our bird.  Kiwi is still a bit nippy and afraid of us...but he really wants to be with us, so it's just a matter of time!

The Food I ate to lose weight this week

I had grand plans to give up the sweat treats totally during the first week of the year!  I was going to keep my calories totally in check.  I was going to rock it out!   The sweat treats?  I didn't do too badly.  I did indulge one night on the homemade candy that Jason's mom made for us.  I ate ONE night...the first night and a limited number of pieces.  I would like to say I stopped there, but there was an incident where I saw the container of chocolate and just opened it and had some at lunch.  Other than those two situations I did great!

So how was my food in general?  I would like to say that I tracked everything.  I tracked about 70% of the time. There were a few days where I struggled.  I also struggled with portion control!  That is a biggie for me.  There was also one day at lunch where I just kind of went nuts!  I felt horrible afterwards....mentally and physically!  Lessons learned!

Getting exercise each day

I did amazing, absolutely amazing on the exercise!  Every day!  Without fail!  I smashed this new year!  I couldn't have done any better.  Oh wait, my attitude could have been better!  There were days where I really struggled to get moving!  But that doesn't matter does it?  I'm going to say it doesn't matter....because I did it and that is what counts!!!

The number on the scales

I was nervous to step on the scales.  I didn't think it was going to be much....if anything.  I am happy though to announce that I lost 0.8 pounds.  It's a far cry from what I gained over Christmas and over the year of 2020...but it is a start!  Now I plan on building on this success and losing again this upcoming week!!!!

What I need to work on this week

I have identified a few places that I need to tighten the reins.  

1. The first is my water consumption.  I would estimate and say that I am getting between 30-50 ounces each day....which is NOT enough!

2.  Track EVERY DAY

3.  Continue the no sweats!!!  In all fairness, If there is a day where I have sweats I'm ok as long as it is ONE day.  This is not a journey of all restriction...it is a journey of building a sustainable life!

So there you have it, my week in review and my plans for this upcoming week!  I've got this!!!

Regrouping and getting Excited

This week has been absolutely crazy busy!  I feel like I haven't had time to breathe.  I have so many things on my to do list!  I have been super productive though, so that is great!  As for weight loss....I'm regrouping and getting excited!

Crazy Busy Week

I spent two days with my family.  One day was with my mom and the other day was with my whole family and specifically with me taking pictures of my niece and nephews.  My niece and nephews are awesome and so much fun to be with...so the photoshoot was quite enjoyable....at least for me!

We also spent quite a bit of time running errands.  We had to get a battery for the old car and hit up a bunch of stores.  We also managed to get in a walk on the canal!  The weather was fabulous and I had fun playing with my camera a bit on that walk also!

Tracking food at the wrong Time

I had some meals where my calories were super high.  On two separate occasions I ordered food at a restaurant (and/or takeout) and didn't calculate my calories BEFORE I ordered or BEFORE I ate!  The first time was when my mom, my brother and I grabbed lunch together on Friday.  I ordered a cheeseburger and it came with french fries.  I also nibbled off the nacho appetizer that we ordered.   I tracked it...for sure.  I tracked it.  However, I didn't track it until after I ate!   Ooops....1700 calories down the hatch...and since I didn't track my food until AFTER I ate it, I had no way to adjust the amount to make it more calorically nice.  But moving on.

On Saturday after our walk on the canal Jason and I decided to order from Uno's.   I remembered that their pizzas were good and when it came up in a conversation we decided to do it.   I remembered correctly, it was good.  I seriously should have learned my lesson from Friday.  But oh no....I scarfed down my pizza and then decided to track it.  Holy cow...that pizza was 1800 calories!   YIKES!   

Lessons learned....I am not going to beat myself up over it.  I can only move on and vow to do better next time!

Regrouping

I have been spending a lot of time thinking and planning about my future in this weight loss journey.  I am actually getting excited about my plans.  I am excited about really delving into this journey and seeing results.  I KNOW I can do it.  I know that I am worth the time.  I know that it will take a lot of work and willpower.  But I am ready!   Bring it on!!!

April weight loss recap: never give up

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Well I can’t seem to get it right!  I posted march’s recap a few days early. And here it is May 3 and I am just getting around to posting the recap for April, so I’m a few days late.   Maybe I will hit May spot on!!! April was a mixed bag of success and failure in my weight loss efforts!  I took steps to be more healthy but I also struggled in a few areas!  I learned more about myself during the month.  But the most important thing, I never gave up!!! 

So let’s look at the monthly goals

1. Track every bite of food!    I tracked my food.  There were a few days that I was so tempted to not track, but I went back and tracked it each and every time!
2.  Put money into my savings. Done
3.  Weight less than I do now!  I don't care if it's a measly ounce...I want to weigh less!   I actually managed a 3.2 pound loss this month.  Not spectacular.  Not deserved.  But appreciated!
4.  Do something active (a walk suffices) at least 3 times a week. I did great with walking on my lunch breaks!  I didn’t walk every day, but I hit a LOT of days!  We also did some after work bike rides (not many but a few) and most weekends managed to be active both days.

5. Keep my eating in check for at least 6 days a week. I was over my goal range of calories 9 days of the month.  Only one day did I go over 2000 calories.  (And if I add in exercise that number goes down to only ) days did I eat over my goal range!).  I had a week where I ate a bit more than I wanted...and a weekend of food feeding frenzy!   I definitely need to bring this back into check and lower the amount of ‘over days’.

7.  Walk at least an average of 5 k steps a day... I managed this!  The lunch time walks really helped...and the hikes on the weekend made up for the days that I didn’t walk on my lunch!  I’m aiming for the 5k again this month..but I may try to beef up that number in coming months!!!

Proof of lunchtime walks!

So while I managed most of my goals, I am not counting it as a stellar month of success.  I had some slip ups with my eating and my exercise is still not where I want it.  But all in all I am counting it as a success!

A while back I was interested in intermittent fasting, I explained it a bit in this post.  I did it for a while and then just kind of fell off the bandwagon.  I had a day or two that I was ravenous in the morning! So I started to eat breakfast and just never stopped again.  Well, one morning this week I got to work and somehow forgot to eat my morning breakfast of a banana.  (I typically don’t like to eat right after I wake up so I throw an extra piece of fruit in my lunch box and eat that when I get to work).  I didn’t miss it!  It made me start to think about why I’m eating that banana in the morning.  I found that I’m eating it out of habit...not because I’m hungry!   I have just naturally stopped eating that piece of fruit...I just don’t want it.  I have packed a fig bar  (Amazon affiliate link....I find the big boxes at Costco also!) in my lunch that I can eat should I get that ravenous feeling...because when I get like that, I tend to gorge on all sorts of things throughout the day!  So I am back to intermittent fasting!  I am aiming for the 16:8 method again.  I’m not going to be religiously anal about it....but I am going to see how it goes!  So far I feel great!

So there you have it.  The recap for April AND the last  epiphany in the month of April!  I had some success in my weight loss journey.  I had some failure in my weight loss journey.  I had some revelations in my weight loss journey.   I am still alive and kicking and I plan on making May a great month for my quest to get healthy and fit!!