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Monday, May 14, 2012

May 14, 2012 Weigh In

OK well I guess I will post my Monday weigh in and measurements.
177.3 lbs
Chest - 44
Waist - 45.5
Hips - 43.75
Thigh - 20
Upper Arm - 12.25

Looks kinda bad!  But hopefully posting this information for who ever to see will help motivate me to make those numbers go down!  

I walk/ran three days last week.  I was hoping for more but my excuse was weather.  I know a true athlete would not care.  Hopefully I can change this for this week.  I also started to spray lavender fabric softener mixed with water on my pillow before bed to help me sleep.  I think it has worked well.  I don't don't spend as much time tossing and turning.  So that was a good trick.  I still don't like getting up in the morning.  I will have to find something that is good for that!

Well on to week 2! 

Thursday, May 10, 2012

The 9 pm Carb Cravings

So every night at about 9pm I get very strong carb cravings, and I have not been able to ignore them yet.  They are so intense! I can't help but feel I should be able to conquer these cravings because I was able to quit smoking cold turkey 4 months ago.  It wasn't easy at all...but I sometimes feel that quitting smoking was way easier than getting fit and losing my excess fat.

I bought hummus yesterday to eat with my carrot sticks, but someone ( we wont mention who) didn't put it in the fridge.  I was hoping to snack on that tonight when the urge comes...but I think I will have to go sans hummus.  OH well.  Carrots are good on their own, I just don't find them satisfying. That's why I love carbs.  They make me satisfied faster than other foods, however the fullness feeling does not last long so that usually leads me to eat a whole damn bag of chips....

Ah chips the greatest and yet worst invention.  Most people say chocolate is their weakness, but chips are mine.  Don't get me wrong I enjoy sweets.  But I would much rather have salty chips or crackers.  Yesterday when Colin and I were in the grocery store we went into the chip and cracker isle and my heart was racing, i started to salivate all I could think about was how much I wanted a box of crackers.  It was exactly the same feeling I had when I wanted or was about to have a cigarette.  Crazy! I'm actually addicted to salty food.  I always joked about the fact that I was addicted to food, but my reaction to the chip isle last night was a HUGE eye opener for me.  Maybe now that I know it's a bigger problem then I had initially thought I can take better care of my cravings.  

And you will be happy to know I did not get anything salty.  Well that's not true, I got a bag of those Twistos things.  It wasn't worth it!  they were ok and only 90 cal. but the cost was too much for what you get.  Which I guess the same can be said for a regular bag of chips too.  I did buy dried cranberries.  I'm going to snack on them as well as put them in salads.  

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Weight Loss Motivation Time

So I have been trying to lose some weight for a while now and it seems like I'm not getting the results I want.  But then I'm only measuring one thing.  My weight,  seemed like a good idea to me, I'm trying to lose weight so I why would I measure my progress in another way?

Well I think I'm going to have to reevaluate....I keep gaining and losing the same 5 pounds every week. So I think two things need to be changed, one is my workout routine and the other is measuring other goals for myself other than pounds lost.  So I'm going to think more about my overall fitness level/ endurance and strength and setting smaller goals to focus on.

Now I have noticed more endurance on the part of my lungs for sure.  I quit smoking 4 months ago so that is also a huge impact on my aerobic abilities.  But I feel good when I walk I'm not gasping for air as much nor do my lungs hurt after only a little bit of working out.  

Last week I added walking for a half hour to my daily workout routine, I find it it's a great way to release stress, be by myself and just work out in the open air. After my first walk my arm, shins and feet were KILLING me! I found an article on SparkPeople about the proper way to walk.  Which I thought was silly since I have bee walking most of my life! But it turns out most of us are walking improperly, I usually drag my feet and over pronate.  While the only thing I can do to stop over pronating is correct foot wear I had no idea that dragging my feet would cause aches and pains in my legs.  Rolling heal to toe and lifting the foot up off the ground is the right way, making sure your toes face the front and not inward or outward.  I know I know, we all know this!  But do we practice it?  Think about it the next time you walk, I bet you will find you are doing it wrong.
I also read that your arms should be bent at the elbow like a runners while walking to lose weight.  This helps to propel you forwards without taking too large of a stride.

This week I have incorporated jogging 1/3 round the track every other lap.  I plan to work up to half the track, then jog each lap, eventually working up to jogging a whole lap.  It's been a long time since I have been able to do that!

Ok so my weeks goals are:

1, to walk/run 5 days this week
2, not weight myself
3, read a motivating article about nutrition and fitness everyday
4, reduce stress with yoga

Wish me luck!  I will post my progress next week.