A Plan, I Has One!

It's Tuesday again, which means it's check-in time for the Healthy You Challenge!  I hope everyone is having a successful August!

Me -- I've been flopping.  A lot.  I have good intentions, but haven't actually accomplished anything in a couple of weeks now.  In fact, I gained weight, and then managed to maintain the gain.  Whoo, go me!

I've been trying to think about why I haven't been seeing any results, and I think I have a solution.  Check out my flow chart:

No Plan ---> No Goals ---> No Results ---> No Motivation

So today, I'm excited to announce a plan.  I has one!

I will be following the Eat Clean Diet, which isn't actually a "diet" -- it's a nutrition plan.  There are no caloric restrictions, no foods to eliminate, no potions to drink.  You eat 6 to 7 small meals each day, drink copious amounts of water, and feed your body healthy foods.  The plan jump-starts your metabolism each morning and keeps it chugging all day long.  And best of all, it's highly compatible with gluten-free living!  I've eaten "clean" in the past and saw great results; I don't remember why I stopped, but this time, I'm going to make it last!

As my Eating Clean book states, a good body is created with 10% genetics, 10% exercise, and 80% nutrition.  By following the meal plan, I'm already addressing the 80% component.  To kick up my exercise, I'm going to start with walking during my lunch breaks 3 or 4 times a week.  I also want to start weight lifting, and although space is an issue in our tiny apartment, I'm going to find a place to set up our weight machine.  And then, I'm going to start using it.

As much as I love my morning Starbucks run, I'm going to eliminate that (most days -- a treat is okay once in awhile!) and replace it with wholesome green tea.  I'm also aiming for getting in at least 80 ounces of water each day (I realize this puts me well over my "8 glasses a day," but given the Sjögren's Syndrome, I really need to keep myself completely hydrated!)

So, we'll see how this goes.  Today is my first day in full-swing, and I spent a good half-hour last night packing a cooler for work today.  The cooler is full of nutritious foods -- low fat yogurt, carrots, green beans, an apple and a banana, Jell-O (for dessert!), lean turkey lunch meat (I had to improvise on my proteins), and tuna.  With practice, I'll get better at packing and planning!

My goal for the week is to really give this my all.  I know that if I can "tough it out" for one week, I'll be feeling really good -- and making healthy choices will come a lot easier, because I'll want to maintain my wellness.  As far as a weight goal, I just want to see that number edge down, baby!

Healthy You Update #2

I've neglected my poor blog for a whole week! I have entries to write, comments to respond to, posts to read... and I haven't even finished my coffee yet.

So let me just start by admitting that no, I did not meet all of the goals that I set for myself last week. I re-discovered Diet Coke, which I accidentally-on-purpose kept filling up on, so the 70 ounces of water per day thing didn't really happen. The weight machine remains in pieces at the back of our closet, and while I'm not sure exactly how much aerobic exercise I squeezed in, I know it wasn't in the neighborhood of 90 minutes.

BUT (and as you will have noticed if you scoped out my "Weight Tracker" thingy), I DID meet my goal weight for the week! I was sitting at 191.1 lbs on Sunday, which is (a) the lowest weight I've seen in a good 6 months, and (b) means I'm almost to the 10 pounds lost mark!

I'm feeling pretty good as I move into this week. Goals:

• Drink at least 70 ounces of water each day
• Walk for (at least) 30 minutes every day **
• Get husband to help me set up the weight machine
• Weight goal for next weigh-in:  189.0 lbs

Yes, most of the goals are the same as last week's.  "If at first you don't succeed," etc. and so on.

** As of Saturday, I have a pretty strong motivator for getting in those 30 minutes of walking each day!  Meet the new addition to our family, Piper!  She's a 14-month-old Parson Russell Terrier mix.  She's a tiny little thing; 11 pounds and essentially full-grown.  She's got the spirit of a much bigger dog, though, and is full of endless energy!

Piper has brought a lot of joy into our home already.  She's the perfect blend of active and loving, curious and assertive, hilarious and adorable.  She's spoiled rotten (and she knows it, too!)

Looking forward to a good, brisk walk-and-romp tonight with my daughter and our pup!

Here's to another great week -- cheers!

Healthy You Update #1

I am now officially recognized by the Healthy You Challenge! I'm new to the community aspect of blogging, but so far am enjoying myself. It's truly inspiring to read about other people's experiences and successes -- weight loss is difficult but possible, and it's nice to know that people are backing me on this (and that I can make a difference by supporting others, too!)

That said, this past week has been emotionally and physically challenging. It's been just over a week since I ate my last trace of gluten (accidentally), and with each day that passes, I'm feeling (physically) better. The disappointing factor is that I won't feel 100% normal until every last ounce of gluten has left my system -- and gluten is stored in fat cells, so as I continue to lose weight, gluten will be slowly released. It acts as a toxin or poison, so I can look forward to some icky days until I'm truly "clean." I've been under a lot of emotional strain, and my doctor has suggested that I try seeing a health psychologist, who could help me process my diagnosis. I'm open to this idea, but I'd like to come to terms with having celiac disease on my own first.

I gained weight at my weigh-in on Sunday, but less than half a pound. The gain may also be due to girly-related bloating. Out of curiosity, I stepped on the scale this morning and weighed in at 193.2 -- so at least we're heading in the right direction.

My goals for the week:

• Drink at least 70 ounces of water each day
• Go for (at least) a 15-minute walk each work day
• Get husband to help me set up the weight machine
• Accomplish (at least) 90 minutes of aerobic exercise
• Weight goal for next weigh-in:  191.5 lbs

I want my goals to be challenging but reasonable.  Baby steps.  These goals push my present routine, but shouldn't be too difficult.  I need to see change so that I can kick my excitement and motivation into high gear!

Have a great and successful week, everyone!

Thinspiration

I was looking through some old pictures of me that are tagged on Facebook, and came across this.  I'm pretty much floored.  Look at how thin I was!  That tank top is hanging off of me.  No sign of bye-bye arms, no double chin, and my self-confidence was through the roof.  This was around the time when I started realizing that I had a good body and was appealing.  This was only five years ago!

I think being fat creeps up on you.  It's hard to notice a few pounds here and there, until suddenly you see an old picture of yourself and then you feel completely disgusting.  How could I let myself go like this?

This picture "thinspires" me to really get going.  I haven't been giving this my all.  Since I've been eating gluten-free, the weight is slowly coming off on its own, so it's been hard to motivate myself to be active.  (Why bother when I'm still losing weight without the "busting my ass" part?)  It's time to kick this into high gear.  I don't want to sit around waiting for the Gluten-Free Gods to dissolve the fat for me... I'm taking matters into my own hands.

Here comes the Irony Train!  Yes, when this picture was taken, I was at my slimmest (adult) size ever -- but I wasn't healthy at all.  I was thin because I lived mostly on Diet Coke and cigarettes.  Who needs to eat when you're young and invincible?

Well this time, I'm doing it the right way.  I want to achieve total wellness -- body, mind, and soul.  I want to look good, but more importantly, I want to be healthy.  I want to eat a balanced diet and be mindful of the things I put in my body.  I want to have my ducks in a row, I want to know myself, I want to live with as little stress as possible.  I want to feel good about my life and my place in the world.

I know my goals are lofty, but they're also completely possible.  My game plan?  Baby steps -- making one positive change at a time until I'm where I want to be in life.

So cheers -- and here's to the real beginning!  Things are about to get good fast.

Weighing In

Alright, I'll admit it -- candidly. I weigh as much now as I did when I was nine months pregnant. That doesn't seem possible, especially because (back in late 2007) I was only about 15 pounds away from achieving the coveted pre-baby weight.

Thanks to an unsightly birth control faux pas, I gained back all of my hard-shed pounds, and some of their closest friends, too. Around that time, struggling through postpartum depression made the weight gain seem like too much to deal with. I felt passive -- an object that could be acted upon but could not act. It really didn't even occur to me that I could do anything about my weight gain.

I'm 5'10".

When I met my husband, I weighed 145 pounds.

When my daughter was conceived, I weighed about 160.

Presently, I weigh in at 195 pounds (BMI: 28.0).

My high weight was 199 pounds (BMI: 28.6).

My goal is to get down to 155 pounds (BMI: 22.2).

My dream is to reach 145 again (BMI: 20.8).

It might take awhile, but the work will be well worth it! Fitting into my skinny jeans again will feel so good.