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!

Diet Challenge | Week One Results

The results are in from the first week of the 50 pounds by Christmas challenge and... I lost 7.5 lbs!!  I am so thrilled to have such a great kick-off week loss.  Yes, I know that the majority of that is water weight and that I will not have losses like this moving forward, but to start off the challenge with such impressive results has really upped my motivation and made me ready to tackle week two!

WINS for the Week:

1. Planning - Not only did I have a menu and follow it, but I prepped all of my food and snacks for the work week.  Honestly, the mornings are very hard for me so having my fruit cut, my veggies back and my cereal portioned really made a huge difference.
2. Goals - Setting attainable goal on my Fitbit helped me get those steps in every day.  Whether it was walking outside or on-the-spot inside, I was moving as much as possible.  I also really like the 250 steps every hour goal so that it made me get up and move while I was at work.  Desk jobs can be challenging!
3. Accountability - I started an Instagram account for tracking my fitness and diet progress because I didn't want to bombard my nail polish account with Fitbit pictures and motivational quotes.  Posting my results each day has kept me accountable to anyone who is now following me.

Week two is all prepped and ready to go!

CHALLENGES for the Week:

1. Schedule - We have an insanely busy schedule which generally ends up in at least one, if not all, of us out of the house during the dinner hour.  However, planning a menu and knowing ahead of time that there is a commitment that evening, I was able to get in my steps when I needed to and plan for my dinners accordingly.
2. Weather - I don't do extreme weather of any kind and this past weekend was HOT!  Not only was it hot and humid, but we were on the ball field for a good majority of it so I was not looking forward to getting my steps in BUT, I got the suntan lotion out, walked earlier in the morning and then did a lot of it while grocery shopping in the air conditioned store.  

All in, I think my week was an enormous success and I couldn't really ask for more.  Moving into week two, I have increased my daily step goal by 1,000 so we are now at 8,500 per day... not too hard and I actually hit that most days last week anyways!

So, here we go.. onwards and upwards!  Only 42.5 lbs to go before Christmas!