Diet Challenge | Week Five Update

Happy Monday... no really, it's a HAPPY Monday!!  But before we get started... need to do a big Happy Birthday shout out to my amazing hubby, Murray!

Okay, enough talking about other people, let's bring the focus back to me ;)  I am SUPER pumped to report that this morning's weigh-in was successful and I lost another 4-lbs for a new weight loss total of 17.5-lbs.  I can't even express how happy it makes me to be down FOUR pounds in one week.  As I have said before, I am not expecting major drops and am happy with not gaining but seeing all the hard work that I am putting in, paying off, brings a GIANT smile to my face and makes me want to keep going!

My newest Fitbit badge!

WINS for the week:

1. First 'Eat Out' Meal - Yep, it was bound to happen, the dreaded restaurant meal.  However, if you read my blog post from last week, you will know that I did it with flying colours!  I planned it all before leaving the house and stayed totally on plan for the meal and didn't feel the least bit guilty with my choices!
2. Steppin' Up - Killed it with the steps this past week.  I did close to, or over, 12,000 a day and made sure to get two walks in each day.  Not sure if I will ever increase my step goal beyond the 10,000 but am more than happy to knock it out of the park every chance I get.  

CHALLENGES for the week:

1. Making Cupcakes - I happen to be the cupcake queen of my family so for most occasions, I am asked to make some version of cupcakes.  Saturday was my niece's 5th birthday and, of course, I made cupcakes.  Usually my routine is to fill the cupcake wrappers and leave enough batter in the bowl for me to enjoy a super yummy, and horribly fattening, batter snack.  Add on top of that, the licks and tastes of icing and sprinkles and whatever else goes into making them look pretty and it's basically an all-out schmorgishboard (no idea how to spell that).  Not only did I not eat any batter, but I didn't even have a lick of the icing!  WOOHOO!
2. Birthday Party - Same day, different challenge!  My niece's birthday party was on Saturday and it ran right into when I would be having lunch (late, as usual) so instead of being tempted by snacks, I just brought along my salad and ate it instead.  WIN!!

This upcoming week is loaded with challenges so I am going to have to do some MAJOR planning to stay on plan, as much as humanly possible.  We have a baseball tournament this coming weekend, out of town, so that means staying in a hotel ALL WEEKEND long.  I plan to bring snacks (fruit and whatnot) to fill in the gaps and eat at Subway as much as possible.  There is also a gym at the hotel (I know, I actually checked... who am I?!) and I will be bringing gym clothes to work out each day in hopes that any extra calories I do eat are burned off!  Fingers crossed that next week's weigh-in, is at worst, a stand still!  My goal is for NO GAINS!

Diet Challenge | Week Four Results

First off, this post must start with a GIANT HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little man who is 9 years old today!  He brings me joy every single day and is inspiring me to become a healthy mom!!

Okay, onto week four's results... I weighed in this morning and was down 1lb for a new total weight loss of 13.5lbs!!  To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect on the scales this morning because yesterday was Steven's birthday party and while I know that I made really good food choices and got in all my steps, I still think my calories were higher than normal.  However, I cheered for myself when I saw the drop on the scale... at this point in my life, I have yo-yo'd enough to know that a loss is a loss, whether it's 5lbs or 0.5lbs, you celebrate the loss regardless.

Before I get into the WINS and CHALLENGES of the week, I wanted to talk about how I am feeling after a month of 'dieting' or a month into the new 'lifestyle'.

I am overwhelmed by my motivation and extremely proud of my success.  Having been on this journey before, I have never had the ability to stick with it for longer than a week or two.  The only two major successes I have had have been my two stints with Jenny Craig (losing 38lbs the first time and 90lbs the second... and then gaining it all back).  Knowing that I am doing this ON MY OWN this time... prepping the food, doing the exercise, being my own coach, is making me understand what it will take to be a healthy, happy person for the long run.  I am not even close to being where I want to be but I know that this time, it will stick and I will reach my goals.

WINS for the week:

1. Motivation - It has to be said that one of the major keys to my success the last month has been my motivation!  It's still at an all-time high and it's helping me get through each challenge as it presents itself!
2. Floors - Kicked it up a notch this weekend and nailed enough floors to get my next badge from Fitbit.  Yep, I did 25-floors in one day and for someone who lives in a townhouse and works in a one-level building, that's pretty impressive!

CHALLENGES for the week:

1. Baseball - I know, it's starting to sound like a broken record but seriously, it's every weekend!!  We had another double header this weekend and I was 'forced' to plan for 6-hours on the field.  I ended up grabbing another 6" from Subway because we didn't have good 'portable' meals but overall, I think I did well.  My water intake was a little low because there weren't any bathrooms nearby so I didn't want to be in an emergency situation.
2. Birthday Party Number One - Yep... we are in the middle of the birthday bonanza so the first party was yesterday.  I did the best I could for planning and prep and made sure I got all my steps in but there were some foods that I had to guesstimate the calorie count on... I only had a small amount of those to be safe but still, posed a big challenge.  Not to mention the dairy queen cupcakes... those were definitely a challenge - but I resisted!  Not worth the guilt!

Plans for the upcoming week include another birthday party, a birthday dinner and perhaps more baseball.  

Today marks the beginning of the second 28-days so I will be adding in some more exercise and also planning to decrease my calorie intake by 100 calories a day (from 1700 to 1600)... time to step it up a notch!