great escape ride report

Man, we only thought the wind on the Spring Breakaway was bad. Yesterday? Worst wind I have ever had the misfortune to ride in. You know it's bad when, in the crosswinds, you notice the bike ahead of you is tilted at about 60-70 degrees just to stay upright. Let's not even talk about riding straight into the wind. It was so bad, we cut off the 2nd loop for 86 miles, opting for 70 instead.

Still, our average speed wasn't terrible--16.6 mph for 71 miles. Top speed for me was 30.9, on a completely flat stretch of road in a wicked tailwind. :) McSpeedy's was somewhere around 33, because he helped some guy bridge a gap to his group later, then came back for me (at that point I couldn't even break 25 anymore, even with the wind in my favor). I'm not sure when we started, but we finished at exactly 1:00. Since we were in the 2nd wave of starters, I'm going to say we left the parking lot at 8:10, for a total time of 4:50.

So, if I compare this to last year, average speed improved by 1.6 mph, high speed by 4.6, w/stops average by 1.5 mph. Not what I was hoping for, but considering the killer wind and McSpeedy's mechanical problems (he had some spontaneous unclipping issues w/his pedals, and dropped his chain once...he was in a spectacularly bad mood by the middle of the ride), not so bad.

Next up is Space Race on April 6th. 100 miles, baby.

Continental Classic report

well, not as much improvement as I'd hoped. This year's ride was 66.7 miles long, finished in 4:41 with stops, total on-bike time = 4:01, average speed 16.6 mph.

Compared to last year, I shaved about 50 minutes off the total time, 59 minutes off the on-bike time, and increased my speed by 2.5 mph. If you factor in a course that's 2 miles longer and add about 8 minutes to last year's times, it looks even better. However, since I was hoping for a shorter time than last week's Spring Breakaway, I'm a little disappointed.

Part of the problem is that we just started out too fast. Captain McSpeedypants opened it up almost immediately after the start congestion had cleared, blasting 22 mph up a hill after barely 5 minutes warmup. I mean, sure, we had a bit of a tailwind, but if he wanted me to finish strong, this was not the way to start. After I gave him a bit of hell about that, we slowed down to a more sedate pace on the uphills (18ish), but I was still very happy to get to the 2nd rest stop. I was also happy to see that we had caught up with our other group, which had started 5-10 minutes ahead of us. :)

After waiting in a ridiculously long line to pee, we headed out, passed most of the other group again (hee), and turned into the loop to Anderson, aka "the tough part". We were only going to stop at every other rest stop, but by the time I had climbed that last hill into Anderson, I needed to stop.

After we got back on the road, I found myself watching the odometer...the real hills ended at mile 39, so I was just hanging on and waiting for that number. I stayed with McSpeedy for most of the first big hill, but then I just let him go. Somewhere around hill 3, he paced me so he could push me up the last part of the hill. He did this several times during the rest of the ride...at first, it was kind of nice. After a few rounds, though, when I was tired and irritable and my ego was getting more and more bruised, it started to get irritating. I started tensing every time I was ahead of him on a hill (which wasn't often), and was all prepared to snap "I swear to god, McSpeedy, you do that to me ONE MORE TIME..." But he didn't, so all the better for both of us. :)

Things were uneventful for the rest of the ride, though the headwind from Richards all the way back to the finish (20 miles or so) was a bit disheartening. We met up with the other group one more time in Richards, but they stayed longer at the stop and we didn't see them again. I had some strong moments, some weak moments, but about 10 miles from the finish I looked up and realized the same thing was happening on this ride as on the Spring Breakaway--no one was passing us. I may not have been feeling fast, but it appeared that I was still feeling faster than everyone else (at least, those who hadn't already finished).

In the last mile to the finish, we finally got our tailwind back, and I was feeling pretty good. I had made the turn ahead of McSpeedy and had some momentum from the downhill, so we were headed up this last hill at 18-20 mph when I approached these two guys...spread out on a 10' wide shoulder leaving no room to pass on the left, going about 10 mph. Not wanting to slow down and have to grind up the rest of the hill, OR shoot the gap between them, I called 'on your left' and swung out to pass on the outside and expected the one on the left to move over. Dude didn't move, leaving me about a foot between him and the rumble strip starting about 10 yards ahead. Prick. So I did what I had to in order to stay out of the main traffic lane...put on a short burst of speed so I could cut in ahead of him before I hit the rumble strip. Anyway, as I'm doing this, the one on the left makes a snotty little comment, "oh, it's a race to the finish now, eh?" Grr.

Being the confrontational person that I am (not), I mumbled under my breath, "only because you're going so fucking slow, assface". I'm pretty sure he couldn't hear me, and I knew I was being bitchy, and it didn't really make me feel any better anyway, but what the hell? He needs to slow down everyone behind him? Criminey. (McSpeedy's response to his comment--which he did hear--was more measured..."yep, and you just got smoked by a girl." Hee.)

So yeah, that was unpleasant. But overall, it was a really nice ride, if a little windier than I would have liked toward the end. We started at 8:30, and if the lines for the portocans would have been shorter, we would have finished by 1:00. That's not so bad for a hilly 67 miles, and though it isn't the progress I'd hoped for, it is a decent improvement over last year.

Next up, the Space Race century in April. I will make the 100-mile cutoff this year. :)

what a difference a year makes....

This past weekend, I did the Spring Breakaway ride in Katy with one of my friends from the club. We signed up at the last minute, since he wanted to get a long ride in, and hadn't done a t-shirt ride in a while. So, he called me up Saturday afternoon, and the conversation went a little something like this:

Him: Hey, know what I think we should do tomorrow?
Me, hopefully: Not go mountain biking? (this was the original plan...we had done a trail ride before, and I kind of hated it. Was going to give it another shot, but had been dreading it all week)
Him: How would you feel about a t-shirt ride? There's one out in Katy, I think they have day-of registrati--
Me: That sounds perfect! [happy dance]
Him: Cool...Wife* works at 1:00, so I need to be back to take the kids. I think if we skip some rest stops, we can do the 60.

This was where I started to get a little nervous. The ride started at 8:00. The route was advertised as sixty-five miles. He lives about an hour's drive away from Katy. So, if we needed to be back at his house by 12:50ish (Wife manages the apt complex they live in, so her commute is 50 meters across the parking lot), we'd need to finish the ride in less than 4 hours.

Still, I was only a little nervous. The route was flat, he's a strong rider, and I'm no slouch myself. My endurance is good, so we could just stop when we needed to fill the bottles. If I hung on his wheel most of the time, we could sustain 19-20 mph the entire ride. So, I signed us up, we worked out the meetup/drive logistics, and everything was settled.

What I didn't count on, but should have, was the WIND. When we started the ride at 8:10 or so, it was already blowing at over 10 mph. By the middle of the ride, I'll bet it was gusting at well over 20. Still, at about 5 miles in, I started to notice some things:

• About half the people on charity rides are clueless about riding in groups
• I felt pretty okay holding 23 mph (albeit with a tailwind)
• We were passing a lot of people
• No one was passing us

Then, as we hit the worst headwind in the natural world, which went on for all eternity (or, you know, 20 miles or so):

• Though I still drafted most of the time, I was able to take a pull every once in a while
• No one was passing us

Of course, just when I started to feel a little smug about getting in ahead of our schedule (mile 50 or so...), my body staged its rebellion. Every time I blinked, it got harder to open my eyes again. My legs were heavy. I couldn't make myself hit over 17 mph. Aaaaand people started passing us. :)

About 10 miles from the finish, though, we turned into a tailwind again and I started to feel better. We were rolling along at 25 mph, trying to close a gap to some riders in front of us...and I got a flat. Crap! We changed it and rolled on, and I was sure as we pulled into the parking lot that we were going to be so late. I looked down at my watch and saw...

12:20.

No way! I checked my computer--we had done 66.7 miles in 3 hours and 51 minutes, 17.2 mph average. Even with 3 stops and a flat, we averaged over 16 mph. I mean, Wife would still have to bring the kids to work with her for about 10 minutes, but all things considered...we rocked it. :)

The best part? Today, I happened to look up my ride report from last year's Spring Breakaway. This year's ride, I shaved 1:09 off my on-bike time, 10 minutes off my stopped time, and increased my speed by almost 4 mph!

Of course, this isn't just a matter of better conditioning or training. I rode solo last year, and I was shamelessly drafting a stronger rider most of the time this year. Also, I'm about 7 lbs lighter than I was this time last year, and my bike has lost about 3 lbs as well. Still...4 mph, dude! That's crazy.

This week, we're doing the Continental Classic, which I did in 5 1/2 hours last year, with an on-bike average of 14.1 mph. This year, I'm hoping to be back in the parking lot by noon. :)

*not her real name :)

how things are going

thought I'd give a quick update on some things, while I have a little bit of time.

Party picture - it's not here because I'm lazy. But you knew that already. :)

MS150 - though the hotel is now booked, I still have yet to officially sign up for the ride. I'm having some technical difficulties, compounded by difficulties with technicians. Maybe I'll just scrap the whole thing and enjoy the Hyatt.

(UPDATE 12/21: I'm in! Finally tried it from a different network, and the link finally did what the techs kept saying it would do. Not sure why it wouldn't work from my PC, but that's a question for another day. I'm officially riding, and that's what matters.)

Marriage - I just don't know. I'm moving back in a little over a week, but I have mixed feelings about it. That's all I will say right now.

Weight loss - As of this morning, despite meeting about half of one (the eating only when hungry one, but not the 1500 cal part) of my posted objectives, I have lost nearly 6 lbs in the past 3 weeks. I can't really explain it, except to say that I haven't missed a club spin class, and I haven't been eating a whole lot. I've got a lot on my mind.

Bike - I'm getting stronger, but not at the pace I'd hoped. Of course, that's always true. I also broke down and put a standard computer (Cateye Strada 8) back on the bike, because I got tired of remembering to start/stop the Edge. I still really like the Edge, and I use it on long rides, but I like having the computer I don't have to think about, too. Plus, I needed the cadence monitor for spin class, and I could never get the Garmin to see the sensor on the new bike. So, scre w it. :)

So, that's what's going on with me. What's up with you, Internet?

the perils of doing what I said I wouldn't

my scale said 194.4 this morning. I've spent all day scared that I'm going to be violently disappointed by tomorrow's official weigh-in because I peeked ahead of time. If it's back up to 198, I'm just going to cry. On the other hand, woo! 194!

good news, bad news...but not much news at all, really

I've been quiet the last couple days because everything has been totally mundane around here. I've tried writing a couple posts, but they just never really go anywhere. I mean, things have happened--I booked the flights for the trip to Dad's wedding, Rob's air conditioner is having some issues, the boy went back to school, I've been watching a bike on ebay (it's a sickness, really...how many bikes does one person need? The high bid did get over the price I was willing to pay, so no worries), I've been working, working out, etc. Try as I might, though, I can't seem to spin any of it into a post that doesn't bore me to death.

So, here's some updates on the various works in progress:

Bike Build - Your guess is as good as mine. I haven't heard anything, but I didn't really expect to for at least a couple more days. I'm a little worried he's going to end up calling the house, because I listed my home number first on the work order (though I circled the cell number and said it was the better contact). I've lived here what--8 months now?--and still haven't configured my voicemail. It knows to pick up after 5 rings somehow, but I don't know how to retrieve the messages. I probably have stuff from February still languishing in there. So if he calls the house during the day, I'll never know.

South Beach - in typical fashion, I had one good week and then jumped off the wagon. I didn't run completely in the other direction, but I'm far enough off that I'm having trouble grabbing hold of the tailgate to climb back on. That's about as far as I want to stretch the wagon metaphor for today. :) I'm getting back to healthier eating, but the weekend was kind of a free-for-all. Unless (and possibly even if) I really crack down on the next two days, I'm going to gain on Friday. It's all but inevitable.

Exercise - I've worked out every day since Monday, including today. I'm a little afraid to put this in writing, as it usually means that I will slack off for the rest of the week. I'm totally shooting for workouts on Thurs. and Fri, though.

Upcoming Events - In chronological order: Dad's wedding: booked the flight; Du the Bear: started running; Bike Around the Bay: registered and reserved the hotel room(and found someone to ride it with me! Woo! 170 solo miles would have been a lot of lonely road); Urban Dare San Antonio: My teammate will be at the ride this weekend so I can coordinate with her on the registration then. Also, the Tri 101 event that was going to prevent me from doing the Novemberfest ride has been canceled, so that ride's back on the schedule now as well. I think that pretty much fills my athletic event dance card for the rest of the year.

So, that's what's been happening 'round here. See you on weigh-in day!

Song o' the day: Life, in a Nutshell (right-click, save-as)

preliminary results appear to indicate...

...that South Beach is kicking some ass. I've gone from 201.8 on Friday to 197.6 this morning. There may be other factors involved (working out every day, monthly cycles*...), and today's weigh-in is completely unofficial, but I feel like a rock star. :)

*which, for the record, I've completely lost track of. It's pretty sad when I find myself paging back through my blog archives to figure out the last time I had PMS.

WW update, weigh-in, and FMF (finally)

My first day back on WW went pretty well. I ended the day with 33 food points and 3 activity points, which put me only 6 points over target. Considering how badly I've been eating lately, it's a huge step.

Also, even though I've only been at it a day, WW Online picks up like I never left. Which means that my weigh-in and points-reset day is Friday. (So yesterday was like practice!) With that in mind, I gritted my teeth and stepped on the scale this morning. Then I stepped off, went and got my glasses, and stepped on it again. To my delighted surprise, it said exactly what I thought it said the first time--196! I lost 2.5 lbs!

And finally, I'm back to Free Music Friday. For those of you who may have wondered what happened to it, the answer is sort of stupid. The external USB drive which stores my iTunes library also holds the files I needed for my business trip. So I took it with me to Colorado, and it's taken me this long to unpack it and hook everything back up. Now that I have though, I'm ready to pick up where I left off in the alphabet. Which was...K!

OPEN WIDE for downloads...

Gold Digger - Kanye West

Come Dancing - The Kinks

And a bonus song, which I heard on a commercial the other day, downloaded, and have been singing incessantly for the past week (Since both his letters have passed, I figured now's a good a time as any):

I Don't Love You Much Do I - Guy ClarK <----see, there's a K!

So, that's my Ks. Right-click, save-as, sing along if you wish. Have a great weekend!

Goals, past and present

I said I would get to goals later, and later is now. :)

Last week, I said that I would try:

Food - 1500 calories per weekday, 100g protein, 25g fiber Yyyyeah...about that calorie thing? Um, no. Per fitday, which doesn't even have the holiday weekend recorded, my average was 2002 calories. My protein average was 129, though, so that's good. And my fiber was fine every day but one.

Water - 2L per day Mostly met. On the days it wasn't, I was in the 1.5-2L range.

3 interval training workouts--elliptical or walk/run - check!
1 long bike ride, if the weather cooperates this weekend - check! Though there will come a time very soon when 30 miles is not a long ride.
1 upper body strength - check!
1 lower body strength - kind of. Technically I did, but I half-assed it. My eating was pretty crappy yesterday and I did the workout right before bedtime, so I wore out pretty fast.
2 abs - check!
1 long walk nope.
1 short bike ride nope.

Per the HRM, my total workout time was 4:58 and my total calorie burn was 2755. If I had done those two recovery workouts that I wanted, it would have been closer to 8 hours.

Now, this week's goals...

Food - If you'll recall, last week I tried to get all tricksy with myself about the calorie count. I said that I wanted 1500 calories, when really I was going to be happy with 1800. The problem with this approach is that I only have the one brain, and if it knows I really want 1800, it's not going to believe that I want 1500. (Incidentally, that's the same reason setting all my clocks ahead 15 minutes doesn't keep me from being late 80% of the time. Even if the clocks are wrong, I know what time it is.)

I'm trying a different approach this week--planning. On workdays (which are the only days I really count), I have a meal plan in mind at work, but it comes apart by the time I get home, usually somewhere between the making of the dinner and the eating of it. Going over the stats for the past couple weeks, I'm finding that I consistently eat about 300 calories more than I plan to. If I plan 1700, this is a problem. If I plan 1200, it's not so much.

Now, you may ask yourself--how is this different from last week's attempt at deception? It's different because I'm still allowing for 1500-1700 calories. However, when I make my meal plan during the day--3 meals, 2-3 snacks--it has to come in under 1400 in order to get the Workout Diaries Seal of Approval (WDSoA). No excuses, no tiny compromises, no undocumented trips to the vending machine. Then when the danger hour hits, I've got a cushion for grazing. Though it sounds good to me right this minute, we won't know until next week whether it will actually work or even make sense in practice. Man, this food thing would be so much easier if I could just trust myself to stick to a plan. But after 2 1/2 years, I've found that it's easier to work around my more mutinous side than to change it.

So all that to say (for copy/paste purposes next week)the food plan is 1200-1300 calories planned, 1500-1700 actual. Protein over 75g, fiber over 25g.

Workouts are essentially the same:

3 interval cardio workouts
1 long bike ride (probably the same 30 mile course, but I may go a little further so I can stop for breakfast before I head back home)
1 lower body strength
1 upper body strength
2 abs
1 long walk
1 short ride

By my calculations, this should add up to about 8-9 hours of workouts for this week.

Today I'm right on schedule, with an interval workout and just over 1350 planned calories for the day.

Weekly stats, 4/19 - 4/25

I skipped my run yesterday because of the rain and my total lack of motivation. Since I hadn't had a break day yet last week, I don't feel terrible about it. The weather's great today, so I'm running 2.5 miles this afternoon and skipping one strength workout this week.

The scale said 180.5 this morning, for a loss of a full pound! After 3 straight weeks of 1/2 lb losses, things are finally starting to move.

HRM weekly stats:

Time: 4:34:00
Calories: 2411

measurements

I bought a tape measure yesterday, and I took my measurements this morning. Overall, I am pretty much the same size or bigger than I was in June.

However. I am withholding the despair until I can locate the measurements sheet from the personal trainer last June (19th), because her measurements were all bigger than mine at that time also. I'm thinking that the tape measure I was using in June may not have been accurate.

Of course, after sitting on the computer desk for nearly a year, being pushed aside and cursed at because it was forever in the way, the PT's measurement sheet has now disappeared. I've been looking for it all morning. I'm about to crawl under the desk right now.

If I do find it under there and discover that I'm bigger now than even her measurements? I may crawl back under the desk and stay there.

UPDATE: And in a typical development, I found the sheet barely 30 seconds after posting this entry. Heh. Good news too--I'm smaller. This is remarkable, considering that I weighed about...a few lbs less then than I do now.

Here are the numbers:

Personal trainer
Body weight (with clothes): 181
Neck: 13
Chest: 39.25
Biceps: 14.5
Waist: 33
Hip: 45
Thigh: 25.25
Calf: 16.25

For all measurements where there were a right and a left, I listed the larger one.

Mine today
Body weight (nude): 182.5 (I KNOW!!--it'll be better Tuesday)
Neck: 13
Chest: 39
Biceps: 13.5
Waist: 32.5
Hip: 44
Thigh: 25
Calf: 16

So, even though there is totally margin for error in this, it appears that I'm 5 lbs heavier and 3.25 inches smaller than last June. I can live with that.

Weekly progress - 4/12/05

Weight today was 182, for a measly 1/2 lb. loss. But it's a loss, and I'll take it.

Weekly workout numbers are...

Total time: 5:08:14
Calories burned: 2765

Not.

I'm not weighing in (officially) or posting stats today, since the vacation derailed my precious routine. I'm having a hard time getting back into the groove, and the aftermath of the long weekend is still making its way out of the system. While the weekend was more active than most, I still ate a lot of things I wouldn't normally, and didn't drink enough water. My hands are swollen, my eyes are dry. Other than walking the 5 blocks to the Alamo and back yesterday, there was no workout. I didn't pack any workout clothes or snacks today, either, so there's not much chance of a full recovery. I do have water with me, at least.

Between the lines, all that really says is, "the scale was unkind this morning, for the usual reasons."

Now I've got some of my routine back on track, with the rest going live tomorrow. I'm hoping to have the whole project back on schedule by midweek.

Reading around the fitness/weight-loss blogs, I'm seeing a lot of monthly loss reports. I think this is mostly because of the 5 in '05 challenges (5 lbs per month), which makes me remember that a few posts ago I set that goal for myself as well.

How did I do in March? Depends on where you draw the line. On the last weigh-in of March, I lost 2 lbs, from 185 to 183. Going till the first weigh-in of April, I gained a pound. Since I'm not counting today's weigh-in anyway, I'm going with the last March weigh-in. I wanted 5 lbs gone, I got 2. Not bad.

The last weigh-in in April is on the 26th...hopefully, I can be at 178 by then. Hell, maybe even 175, which would put me completely back on track for the 5-a-month-till-June plan. We shall see.

where's that &*#$! tape measure??

At least twice today, I have looked at my body and been convinced that it's smaller than it was yesterday. I'm not sure that this actually means that I am smaller today than I was yesterday--my perception of my own body is pretty skewed. Hell, there were times when I was at my highest weight that I was convinced that I was totally hot. Almost every day back when I was at my (now) goal weight, I thought I should be fitted with "wide load" signs. I'm not very good at really seeing myself, is all I'm saying.

Anyway, the first time, I caught my reflection in the bathroom mirror and did the classic double-take. What happened to my ass? I mean, it was still there, but the...um...contour of it looked different to me. Almost...normal. And it may have been my imagination, but I think my stomach was a little flatter today, too. I am wearing black pants, though, so it could be that. That wouldn't explain the way the skin on my upper arms looked looser, though.

Another time, I was in the sculpting class with my foot propped up in the windowsill, doing hamstring stretches. My thighs looked narrower. I noticed them again when we were doing the ab exercises. Since gravity and those viewing angles are going to make the thighs look smaller than a simple straight-on view, I decided to dismiss it.

But.

I can't entirely dismiss it, because my pants are looser in the waist and thighs than I remember them. There's a hollow under my arms that I don't remember having before. My underwear is even fitting differently these days.

The thing is, I'm afraid to measure, because I suspect the numbers won't be all that impressive. After all, I'm still about 3 lbs heavier than the last time I took them, and I don't even have the tape measure I used anymore. I could go back to the gym and get a measurement, I suppose, since I still have the copy of the last measurements they did, back when I had my free sessions with the personal trainer. But what if they're not any smaller, and the trainer looks at the sheet and says something like "You've only lost 2 inches in a YEAR?" Or worse, "You've gained pretty much everywhere, lady. Maybe you're just buying bigger clothes."

I know they won't say either of those things, but I'll probably hear them nonetheless. Until I work up the courage to scrounge up a tape measure, or maybe just until I break back into the 170s, I guess I'll just be content to surprise myself in the mirror every once in a while.

Weigh-in & Weekly Stats

Huh...not nearly as bad as I thought. 183, for a loss of 1.5 lbs! Forget all that stuff I said about stricter weekends. (Kidding!) ;)

Weekly workout stats:

6 of 7 days
1 strength, 5 cardio
Total time: 4:32:40
Total calories burned: 2311

Tuesday stats

Well, it's a 2 lb gain, richly deserved. Last week was too much fat, too much sugar, too much starch, too much food. I think I got overconfident with the loss last week, and it caused me to slide. Well, no more. This week's all about the straight and narrow--1400-1600 calories every day except on the weekend. No white stuff.

Exercise was good...over 5 hours, about 2400 calories burned, per the HRM. I got in 2 strength workouts. I made some decent progress in Couch-to-5k, and in heart-rate training.

While I now wish my eating had been under control so I could have seen a loss, I'm happy with how things are going. Those 2 lbs will go away, and soon. I just need to stay on task.

UPDATE: Now that I have the HRM in front of me, the actual workout stats were 5:05:07 total time, 2493 total calories. Woohoo!

Monday Stats & playlist for C25k week 5, workout #1

Happy Monday! My remarkably good mood continues!

I've decided to move the start of my week to Tuesday, because I always end up weighing that day anyway to allow my weekend (over)eating to fully exit the system. So this week will have an extra day, and the next weigh-in/workout stats will be posted on Tuesday 3/22.

I did well this week, even getting less carried away with the weekend food than usual. It helped that the weekend was utterly consumed by shopping...first the furniture on Friday, then a car on Saturday, and a trip to Sam's on Sunday. You don't want to know how much money changed hands. I don't even want to know. But big purchases happen every March (aka, bonus time)...I get a little giddy when my checking account expands about 400% overnight.

We hadn't really planned on buying the car, but Rob's been driving the same 6-year-old truck for...well, 6 years I guess. We were trying to wait it out another year, but there was a brake problem coming home on Friday...another in a long series of mechanical issues over the past year. Since we were in a position to make a decent down payment, we traded in the old money pit truck for another C0rolla. We have two car payments again, but it's no big deal. I'm glad Rob finally has something new. He almost never spends money on himself. While it's nice to have one semi-frugal person in the family, I always feel sort of guilty that I make about one third of the household income and manage to spend 2/3 of it. :)

Anyway, with all the shopping and driving around, I didn't think about eating much. I didn't really think about drinking much either, though, and I can feel it just like I do every Monday...dry eyes, messed up skin, tight wedding rings. My body likes its water, and rebels when it doesn't get it.

I did get to the gym twice over the weekend. The spinning class was full when I got there at 6:50 Saturday, so I changed my shoes and hopped on the precor for 45 minutes instead. On Sunday, I did the C25k Week 4 workout on the treadmill. It was too hot to do it outside...I haven't really been doing outdoor training in temps over 70 degrees, and it was in the low 80s yesterday. To minimize my treadmill knee problems, I didn't set an incline at all (I usually put it on 1%) and ran at 4.8-5.0 mph instead of 5.0-5.5 mph. My shins complained at me a little, but my knees feel okay today.

According to my HRM, my total workout time this week was 4:41:08, total calorie burn of 2486. Not too shabby.

And now, for the music. I've decided to go on to week 5 of the program this week. I was originally planning on doing every week twice, but since week 4 is very similar to the workout I was doing the week before I started C25K, I'm going to count that as two weeks @ Week 4. So that makes this week 5.

Week 5 has three distinct workouts, so I'm going to be posting three playlists this week. For the sake of disk space and bandwidth, I'm only going to post one playlist at a time, and the files for the previous playlist will be removed when the new one is posted. Ready? Okay!

Playlist for C25K week 5, workout #1:

In the Middle, In the Middle, In the Middle - They Might Be Giants (1:15, warm-up walk)
No One Like You - David Crowder Band (3:54, warm-up walk)
Lose Yourself - Eminem (5:20, run)
Accidentally In Love - Counting Crows (3:08, walk)
Oh, Goddamnit - Hot Hot Heat (2:28, run)
Dream Vacation - Gear Daddies (2:36, run)
This Old Town - Nanci Griffith (3:00, walk)
I Wanna Be Sedated - Ramones (2:29, run)
Punk Rock Girl - Dead Milkmen (2:38, run)
Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (5:08, cooldown walk)

Right-click, save-target-as, you know the drill.

Yeah, some of these are repeats...but like I say--I have my favorites. In making this playlist, I realized that I don't have a whole lot of upbeat 5-minute songs, but I do have a collection of 2 1/2 minute songs. I decided to double those up for the running intervals, so it's walk 2 songs/run 1/walk 1/run 2/walk 1/run 2/walk. I should have probably made the first run interval two songs also, for consistency, but I couldn't find another two songs that jumped out at me. So Eminem it is. The same doubling-up happens in Workout #2, with the 8-minute run intervals. Different songs, of course.

Stats

Well, good news and bad. Good news--I've lost 2 lbs since last Tuesday. Bad news--my weight is still higher than I was on 2/8 (the last time I put a weight on the sidebar). Oh well...I'm putting it up there anyway. Gotta start from where I am, instead of wishing I was where I used to be. If that makes any sense. :)

Workouts were good last week, as mentioned in the last post. The HRM only recorded workouts since Wednesday, though, since that was the first time I used it. According to my SELF challenge log, I worked out 285 minutes (4 hours, 45 minutes)last week, burning 2464 calories. If not for the weekend, food would have been good, too. I really should get out of the habit of jumping off the wagon on weekends, or at least make sure I drink enough water.

I've decided, flying in the face of past challenge experience, to give myself an challenge for the next 4 months. I want to lose 5 lbs. per month through June. That would put me at 165ish mid-year, at an average loss of 1.25 lbs/week. I think I can do it, if I just stay vigilant. That's going to be the key--staying vigilant. It seems that every time I give myself a challenge, the self-sabotage begins. It's long past time to break that pattern, though. We'll see how it goes. I'm off to a good start, anyway.

this is where it ends

well, you knew it had to happen, right? I didn't lose 2 lbs. this morning. I gained one instead, so the water-shedding is apparently over. That's always my favorite part of going lower-carb...that little prelude of super-amazing progress when it doesn't even feel like work.

I also know why it happened--last night's dinner included both rice and brownies, and it was a pretty high-calorie day overall. So this pound I gained isn't real, anymore than the eight I lost were real. Water in, water out, blah blah blah, same old story.

I'm right back on track today, though. I brought 4 snacks to work today--apples w/peanut butter, pistachios, yogurt, and a banana. I'm working on spacing them out effectively. Pacing has never really been my strong suit--whether it's money, or snacks, or whatever, I always want to use whatever it is as soon as I possibly can. So bringing snacks to work is both a blessing and a curse--it eliminates the desire to hit the vending machine, but if I don't consciously make myself stop, I'm out of snacks by 1 pm and snacking on another handful of pistachios while making dinner at night. Or maybe buying brownies because I went to the store hungry. Hypothetically. :)

Workouts have been good this week--every day so far, and I'm planning a walk/run in a few minutes. Normally, I go later in the day, but the weather report is saying storms later. If I'm going to get out on the track, I want to do it while there's still some sunshine.

Monday progress report - 2/28/05

The Eat More plan? Total failure. I'm not going to post my weigh in this week, because it makes me cry. Of course, I know part of it is due to water retention from the spinning class and the bike ride yesterday, possibly PMS, and also because I drank almost no water this weekend. Still--Bad, bad weigh-in.

See, I think the problem with the Eat More plan was not the plan itself, but rather my inability to stick to any plan. When my point target was 24, I ate 30-35. When I set my target at 30 points, I consistently ate 35-40. Even with exercising 6 days (which I did last week, thankyouverymuch), I can't expect to lose any weight at that calorie level. Apparently, what I CAN expect is to gain 4 lbs.

Sigh. Maybe it will be better tomorrow.

Monday Stats, 2/14/05

Better this week, not that you would know it from the number on the scale. Sigh. I'll be weighing again tomorrow, though.

Exercise:

Worked out 6 of 7 days (and twice on Wednesday!)

Upper-body strength training: 1
Lower body strength training: 1
Abs: 1
Cardio: 6
Biking: 1
With Noah: 0
At work: 3

Food:

Sensible eating: 5 days

I'm abandoning the rest of the progress report. It's too hard to track and quantify that stuff.

Monday Progress - 2/7/05

Yyyeah. So not a good week.

Exercise:

Worked out 2 of 7 days

Upper-body strength training: 0
Lower body strength training: 0
Abs: 0
Cardio: 2
Biking: 0
With Noah: 0
At work: 2

Food:

Sensible eating: maybe 1 day

Procrastination:

Missed deadlines: hundreds
Projects started/completed at the last possible moment: all of them
Noah late for school: 4
Late for work: 4

Monday Progress - 1/31/05

Yeah, so...I think I'm going to start moving official weigh-ins to Tuesday. Between spinning class on Saturday and the disordered weekend eating, the scale doesn't like Mondays. Or, rather, I don't like the scale on Mondays. By Tuesday, I'm sufficiently watered and detoxified to see a number that correlates more with my level of effort.

Of course, this week is hormone-errific, so who knows what I'll see tomorrow either. At any rate, today's weight was Not Good. Not that it matters, because I DO NOT CARE IN THE LEAST what the scale says, right? Right?!

[crickets]

Right. On with the stats, then.

Exercise:

Worked out 5 of 7 days

Upper-body strength training: 1
Lower body strength training: 1
Abs: 2
Cardio: 4
Biking: 1
With Noah: 0
At work: 3

Food:

Sensible eating: 4 days

Procrastination:

Missed deadlines: 2 (2 gym visits)
Projects started/completed at the last possible moment: 1 (church lesson--almost didn't happen. The K-5ers were about thisclose to having a game day.)
Noah late for school: 3
Late for work: 5 (but just a little)

Monday progress report - 1/24/05

You know what's a wee bit depressing? Having your best fitness week in months, and GAINING WEIGHT. The desire to run over the scale with my car was strong, and the damned thing was saved only by the discovery that the wedding ring is very, very tight. This is the universal water-retention indicator for married women everywhere, so I know that I didn't magically pile on 3 lbs of fat in two days. I guess you could argue that I knew that logically, too, but logic-schmlogic. Whatever--I'm not putting the weight on the sidebar, because it's a dod-gamned LIE.

Anyway, here are the stats for last week:

Exercise:

Worked out 6 of 7 days

Upper-body strength training: 1
Lower body strength training: 1
Abs: 1
Cardio: 5
Biking: 1
With Noah: 0
At work: 5

Food:

Sensible eating: 5 days

Procrastination:

Missed deadlines: 2 (1 gym visit)
Projects started/completed at the last possible moment: 0
Noah late for school: 4
Late for work: 5 (but just a little)

Progress Report - Monday, 1/17/05

I still didn't do that great this week, but it was better. Here's the breakdown:

Exercise:

Worked out 4 of 7 days

Upper-body strength training: 1
Lower body strength training: 1
Abs: 0
Cardio: 3
Biking: 0
With Noah: 0
At work: 4

Food:

Sensible eating: 2 days

Procrastination:

Missed deadlines: 2 (1 gym visit)
Projects started/completed at the last possible moment: 3
Noah late for school: 4
Late for work: 3 (um, woo?)

So, not bad. And I was definitely more focused this week than before. The focus sort of splintered toward the weekend, but what else is new. I'm going to try to do better this week.

Monday Stats - 1/10/05

I spent some time this weekend thinking about whether I was going to keep weighing in. If I'm truly shifting the focus away from the numbers, then it seems sort of counter-productive to weigh in every week. But then again, I do have a 20-lb loss goal this year, so I should at least keep track.

In the end, I've decided on weekly status reports on the habits I'm working on, rather than on the results of those habits. I am going to post my weekly weight on the sidebar, but I'm only going to write a weigh-in post once a month (for category tracking...sometimes I like to go back through the weigh-in posts for reference, a la "now when did I first weigh x amount?").

So, here are the stats for this week:

Exercise:

Worked out 3 of 7 days

Upper-body strength training: 1
Lower body strength training: 0
Abs: 2
Cardio: 3
Biking: 0
With Noah: 1
At work: 0

Food:

Sensible eating*: 2 days

Procrastination:

(These, unlike the others, should go down over time.)

Missed deadlines: 3 (two of these were gym visits)
Projects started/completed at the last possible moment: 4
Noah late for school: 4**
Late for work: 4

*Any day under 30 WW points, or roughly 1500 calories. That's easier to quantify than actual nutrition, so I'll go with it for now. I'll concentrate more on what I'm eating after I've gotten control of how much.

**He was on time for the actual school day every day, but late for before-school music practice every time. So only Friday counts as on-time, since there is no practice that day.

2004 - Six pounds net

I weighed myself this morning, for the first time in 2005. The scale said 185.0, which is about what I expected. I ended last year at 191, which means that my net loss is 6 lbs. (As if you couldn't subtract that on your own...) My 2004 low was 176.5, so I lost 14.5 lbs and gained back 8.5 over the course of the year. Oddly, I'm not all that disappointed. In fact, I'm actually content that I lost anything at all. To me, that speaks volumes for my commitment to the weight loss journey this year (or lack thereof).

As for 2005, the saga continues. Since the EPT I took this weekend showed absolutely no trace of a second line (and believe me, I looked hard), Babyquest begins now, too. Fortunately, these two journeys travel much the same path--losing weight will increase my chances of getting pregnant, and diet recommendations for PCOS* patients trying to conceive are generally the same as those for weight loss--whole foods, low GI, blah blah etc.

I still don't know if I'll be posting here much anymore, but I hope to continue to see the scale numbers go down, at least until pregnancy sends them in the other direction. :)

Happy New Year!

*poly-cystic ovarian syndrome

T - 34 hours

The holiday party is tomorrow night. As of this morning, I weigh 184.5 lbs. The good news is, this is about 2.5 lbs less than when I started the challenge(that never really got off the ground). The bad news is, it's half a pound more than what I weighed at last year's holiday party. I'm hoping to drop a little more tonight, so hopefully I can at least get down to the same weight as I was then.

Objectively, I didn't do well at all with the weight loss this year. Over the course of the year, my weight was on an upward trend far more often than it was on the way down. My lowest (officially recorded) weight for the year was 176.5, and the scale never showed me lower than 176. In this entire year, I've lost 15 lbs (from 191 at the end of last year) and gained 8.5 back.

While I'm a tad disappointed by my performance, I'm ultimately okay with it, and here's why. While I didn't start obsessively weighing myself until 2003, I have a general idea of how things were going. Before I was pregnant with Noah, I was in the high 130s. My pregnancy high was 168 lbs. I hovered in the 160s for a while, and when I met Rob in 1996, I weighed about 175. By the time I got my TX driver's license in 1999, I was listing my weight as 190--and everyone knows that you always lie on the driver's license, right? I was probably closer to 195. In 2000, I saw a personal trainer who managed to work my weight down to 201 in 6 weeks. When I got my new job in 2001, I had to buy bigger pants because none of the (pre-trainer) business casualwear I wore in 2000 would fit anymore. A year and a half later, we launched this journal with my starting weight at 217 lbs.

So, in the 10 years from 1993 to 2003, I went from 130s to 217. That's a gain of around 70 lbs in 10 years--7 lbs per year(granted, 1994 was the bulk of that, because I never lost any of the pregnancy weight). From 2003-2004 thus far, I have gone from 217 to 184.5...a loss of 32.5 in two years, 16ish lbs average loss per year. Even though I'm not losing it as fast as I'd like, I'm losing it faster than I gained it.

Here's another reason I'm not too upset that I haven't made much progress this year--for the past...oh, I don't know...3 months or so, I haven't been really trying. I mean, I work out when I feel like it, and I don't go out of my way to eat junk, but I haven't been actively following any sort of plan. I only gained back 11 lbs. At around the 10-lb mark, my gotta-get-back-on-track kicked in, and I've been losing again. I'm confident that I can revisit 180 by the end of the year, giving me an 11-lb loss for 2004.

So really, while I'm not doing as well this year as I did last year, I'm not having to try nearly as hard. And I'm still doing about 300% better than the 10 previous years. Overall, my core habits are much better than they have been in the past, and I know what it takes to get the results I want--my problems have been with making the choice to actually do those things. I'm not the least bit worried about whether I'll be able to maintain weight loss, either, because my 10-lb-gain alarm seems to be intact. I'd like it to be a 5-lb alarm, but I suspect that will come over time.

Still, tomorrow night, when I pose in front of the green screen for the annual picture, I'll be a little sad that I'm not 10, or 20, or 50 lbs lighter. And I'm sure that I'll look at the resulting print and say to myself, "Couldn't you have skipped the muffin a couple times? God."

But I'll also remember all the pictures that came before it, and how much worse it would have been if I was standing up there 14 lbs. heavier than 2002, instead of 33lbs lighter.

Update on the 14 challenge, site news

First, a quick update on the 14 challenge...to no one's surprise, I'm sure, I haven't been following it exactly. Or at all, really.

The low carb thing didn't really happen at all, and I managed about 2 of 5 workouts. I did buy a dress, but that's really the only part of the challenge that I stuck to. However, I have lost 3 lbs.--by some miracle of hormones and chemistry, I suspect. Though I have been eating less, if not so much better.

I don't know why I bother to set goals, issue/join challenges, or make plans in the first place. I never follow them, and I don't even really feel all that guilty about it. I guess just because it gives me some sort of guideline I can skirt around the edges of. I don't follow the plan, but I have the plan in mind, so I have something to cheat on. And since I cheat only slightly, I'm still better off than if I had no plan at all. So whatever. 14-challenge, bleh, etc.

And now the site news...having been driven nearly to homicidal despair by spammers, I'm upgrading my MT to do something about my comment problem (the solution to which still may be just turning the comment feature off). This likely means that I'm going to break the hell out of the site, so chances are good that it will be down off and on in the next few days. I figure now is as good a time for it as any, since I don't really have much to say anyway.

But, since I don't want to leave you empty-handed, some holiday favorites:

Christmas - Blues Traveler

O Holy Night - Martina McBride

Right-click, save as, and have a cup of cheer.

bad girl! oh, wait...good girl!

ok, ok...I know I said I wasn't taking the scale down until Saturday, but today curiosity got the better of my willpower. I took it out of the closet, stepped on it, and...

...178.5! Lowest number ever (well, in 7 years, probably). Woohoo!

Now, if I can just keep from blowing it until Saturday...

small victories

I've been thinking about progress the last few days, ever since I read (I forget where) someone saying that they had lost 50 lbs. in 8 months, and how that may not seem like good progress to some people, but for her it was good. Like she was apologizing for only losing 50 lbs. in less than a year. And my 37-pounds-in-a-year-and-a-half ass was all, "She thinks that's slow?"

So to combat that seething jealousy and urge to compare, I started to focus on the "lifestyle change" aspect of this, rather than the numbers on the scale. I looked at things that had changed about me in the past year and a half. To my surprise, I came up with quite a few of them.

-I always select the low-fat and/or sugar-free option when available.
-I only eat pizza once or twice a month, v. 2-3 times/week.
-Ditto on the buffalo wings, but it's more like every 3 months on those.
-I almost never want "fries with that".
-I have all-but eliminated "candytime" in the afternoon.
-I never get breakfast from the vending machine.
-I have learned to love salad.
-I check nutritional information on the food I eat whenever I can find it.
-I get mad when I can't find nutritional information on something.
-I modify old recipes to make them healthier.
-I have developed a pretty good eye for portion size.
-I don't always want dessert.
-I drink a lot of water every day.
-I eat at home a lot more.
-I buy/read books on nutrition--for pleasure.

-I take the stairs more often.
-I have earned more fitness points at work in the last six months than I had in the previous two years.
-I have more energy.
-I have tried more types of exercise in the past year than I have in the rest of my life.
-I am slightly more coordinated now than I used to be (hey--can't fight that clumsiness gene).
-I'm considering giving Pilates another try.
-I have biked 40 miles in less than 3 hours.
-I'm considering joining a gym so that I can swim laps.
-I have started a training program to run a 5k.
-I find myself thinking that a triathlon might be fun.

-I care more about my appearance than I used to (groomed eyebrows, skin care, nail care used to be foreign concepts to me--why bother?).
-I am actually considering a bikini wax.
-I buy more girly clothes.
-Sometimes, I even feel pretty.

That isn't so bad, eh?

Once again, information I could have used YESTERDAY!

Well, finally. I'm at 179 today. Now, if I can just keep from messing that up until next Wednesday.

Why couldn't this have been yesterday?!

compare and contrast

When digging through some boxes, I found the Christmas party photo from 2002...you know, the one that inspired me to start losing weight? The one I couldn't find when I posted this year's picture?

So, here's the before and after, 2002 vs. 2003:

They're cropped differently, but the change is pretty obvious. What a difference 34 lbs. make!

Once again, things that could have been brought to my attention YESTERDAY

180 today. I swear, one more low Thursday, and my weigh-in day is definitely changing.

Monthly Report - February 2004

It's that time again. At least this time I have some goals to go by.

Submitted for your perusal, last month's goals:

Diet: Follow SBD Phase 1 through February 15th, then Phase 2 for the rest of the month. 2L of water every day.

Exercise: Cardio 3 days/week, Body-sculpt class 2 days. 10-20 mile bike ride every Saturday

Weight loss: 7 lbs.

Size loss: 3 inches.

Crossed off the ones I met. Not terribly impressive, eh?

If you want to see details, OPEN WIDE.

REPORT/COMMENTARY

First, the numbers:

February 4 weigh-in: 183
March 3 weigh-in: 182
Pounds lost in February: 1
Inches lost in February: 1
Inches gained in February: 5.5

I suffered from severe motivational issues last month, and had a hard time sticking to anything. I'd be fine for a few days, and then the weekend would send everything flying apart. I'm trying to figure out a way to stop this pattern, but so far have been unsuccessful.

I did only lose 1 lb. last month, but there was only one official gain on weigh-in day. Even that one, I lost it (with interest) two weeks later. I'd be more upset if I lost 4 lbs on the first week and spent the next 3 weeks gaining it back. You know?

As for the inches, who knows? Maybe I measured wrong last month, or maybe this month. Or maybe I'm just getting bulkier. I'm happy about the inch lost in the waist though, and let's not forget that 2 of those gained inches were in the bust, and TOM approacheth. So I'm not ready to fall on my fork just yet.

The exercise thing, well...laziness. Busyness. Tiredness. At least I made the effort to go to the sculpting class whenever possible.

MARCH GOALS

I'm torn about whether to make goals at all. At least, numeric ones. It seems that the only purpose the goals serve is to make me feel bad when I don't meet them. However, I don't really want to "lower the bar" to such ridiculously low standards that I can't possibly help but meet my goals. So what kind of goals can I set?

1. Journal faithfully, every day, even through the weekends.

2. Plan meals, and eat the meals that were planned.

3. Don't order pizza or eat pizza that Roommate orders.

4. Get some kind of exercise on the weekends, and cardio on at least one weekday.

5. Finish the entire Tuesday sculpting class, ALL the abs.

6. And if at all possible, GET BELOW 180 BY THE WEDDING (4/3).

That's it.

woohoo!

I'm back down to 186! (yes, I said back DOWN to 186. I told you, it wasn't pretty.)

NSV

but on the bright side, my engagement ring just fell off in the parking lot! I guess the 4 bottles of water I've been drinking every day this week have flushed the system.

I was able to find the ring (under my car) and pick it up right away, and no damage was done. However, I am going to have to stop wearing it until it's resized.

Monthly report - November 2003 (oops)

It just occurred to me that I didn't do a report for November. My bad.

Last month, my goals were like this:

Diet: less than 210 points eaten per week

Exercise: at least 15 activity points per week

Weight loss: 5 lbs.

Size loss: 3 inches

I've crossed off the ones I met. Hah!

Click OPEN WIDE for commentary and December goals. You know you want to.

REPORT/COMMENTARY

I had a love/hate relationship with diet and exercise logs last month. I wanted them, I didn't want them. I'd start one and let it go. I'd not start one, then pick it up at WW online mid-week. I just couldn't make up my mind. So I really don't know whether I met that goal or not, but I'd say that it's a big fat NOT EVEN CLOSE.

Weight loss, according to the weigh-in posts, was 3.5 lbs. Not too shabby, even if I didn't meet the goal I wanted. The scale saw as low as 183.5, but not on a weigh-in day. The lowest I got was 184, officially.

Size-wise, I didn't get close either. My measurements were kind of weird, though, because it did show a 2-inch loss on my waist, but a 1.5-inch gain in the bust. Net change was a half-inch down, but I don't know how much significance to place on that number.

NEW GOALS

There's a holiday in here, over which we will be traveling to visit family. So I am not optimistic about the weight situation for December. Considering that, as of this writing, I have gained 2 lbs from my last weigh-in, I'm not expecting huge strides to be made on the weight loss front.

Diet: within WW guidelines, and JOURNALLED ACCURATELY AND RELIGIOUSLY.

Exercise: work out 5 times/week, at least 15 activity points.

Weight Loss: 2 lbs., to 182 (35 lbs. lost total, for the year)

Size Loss: 1 inch. ANYWHERE.

So that's it, kids.

November chart -- mostly good

And here we have November's stats chart. Despite that little climb at the end yesterday, it looks pretty good.

(click for big)

so far, so good

The scale had me at 189 today, fully clothed. Since it was cold today, that's good. It's kind of nice to see that even with my heaviest clothes on, I can't break 190 on the scale anymore. :)

Getting out of the 180s has proven harder, though. I was looking at the numbers for November, and it's probably going to be an unimpressive monthly report. Unless something drastic happens between now and December 3, I'm looking at a 3-4 lb loss for the month, at most. That's not even entirely accurate, because I gained 2 lbs on that first November weigh-in. Which means that I lost those 2 lbs again, and 1-2 more. Not nearly as much as I had hoped for.

I was looking at my "daydream" spreadsheet today (the one that maps progress at different rates of loss), and at my current weight, I would need to lose 50 lbs in 6 weeks to make it to my original goal for this blog. Of course, I threw out that silly goal months ago, but it's still a sobering thought. Right now, I'm hoping for 175 or less by my 30th birthday/1st blog anniversary. That's 42 lbs gone in a year, and enough to satisfy me. Sure, I was hoping for more, but if I had ever just given up, it would be a lot less. And I feel good at 185...I imagine I'll feel even better at 175.

More important than the weight, though, is the change in my mindset. I tend to obsess over the scale, but I've come to realize that's not really the best judge of my progress here. In the past year, I have rewired my habits. I feel guilty that I haven't worked out for a week and a half, when before I'd feel good if I made it to the gym once in a month. I find myself looking for healthier options when making favorite foods. I've learned to cook eggs several different ways, and discovered the difference in my energy that an egg breakfast makes over a donut and coffee. I've learned to be satisified with wings once every couple months instead of twice a week. I've rediscovered lean meat, cooking spray, and the joys of passing on the gravy. I eat more green stuff, and less white stuff. I (usually) choose the pria bar over the snickers bar. I haven't had a donut in 6 months, and don't miss them in the slightest.

Little things, sure, but they add up to big changes. These are the things that make me think that I'll be able to maintain once I reach my goal. And that's much more important to me than reaching some arbitrary number by some milestone date.

That said, I'd really like to see my arbitrary 175 by my 30th birthday (January 8th). In order to do that, I need to lose 1.7-ish lbs. per week. Which means that my ass needs to get back into the groove.

Which is why I'm off to walk the track...right now, before I lose my motivation again.

fluke?

guess how much I weighed this morning. Go on. Guess.

185. Somewhere between yesterday morning and today, I dropped 2.5 lbs. Why couldn't this have happened yesterday?

Oh, well...I guess I'll just have a spectacular weigh-in next week.

distorted memories

It's funny how quickly my memory gets distorted and tainted by my mood.

I was feeling a bit...hopeless this morning, when I wrote the monthly report. In my mind, the October chart was a U-shape, and I was now exactly where I started at the end of September.

When I brought up the spreadsheet tonight to copy the chart, I was shocked to find that my memory was a bit off. Click OPEN WIDE>> to see what I'm talking about...

(as always, click for big)

Not exactly an "upside-down bell curve" is it? Sure, I rose a little bit, but there's still a significant downward trend. All is not lost after all.

Also, on a completely unrelated but still happy side note, I discovered that my local grocery does carry Oregon Chai after all...they just tuck it away in the organic food section where I didn't think to look. They even had the "slightly sweet" variety! Woo!

UPDATE: But all the "slightly sweet" was slightly spoiled. Expiration date of 8/23/03 on every one of them. The original variety (and all the others that I checked) had 2004s, but the one variety I really wanted I couldn't buy. Sigh. The quest for chai continues.

October 2003 monthly report - The good, the bad, and the ugly

You know how people say that the month of March "comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb"? Well, that was how the month of October was for me. It came in like a weight-dropping lion, and went out like a fat, lazy lamb. I'll post the chart later, so you can see it in all its glory. It's practically an upside-down bell curve.

I debated with myself over whether to make up a report card. In the end, I decided against it. My data is incomplete because of lazy journalling, and let's face it--the grades I give myself are pretty arbitrary anyway. I will post the goals I set for myself in the last report, though, and cross out the ones I met.

Diet/Exercise: 10 or more leftover flexpoints each week.

Fruit/Veggies: 3 per day.

Weight Loss: 3.5 lbs.

Size Loss: 1 inch.

Water: 6 cups/day.

Cooking: eat at home 5 nights/week.

Lunches: 4 12-or-less point lunches/week.

Yep, just one. In the 3 weeks since the 4-week report, I met exactly one goal. On weight loss, I gained 2 lbs. Inch-wise, gained about 2 inches. The rest of the stats were equally underwhelming.

When looking to place blame, there's only one real place to go--I ate too much, and the wrong sort of food. This was caused in part by hormonal issues...I held off taking b/c pills for two weeks, which makes me emotional, which makes me eat. This scares me a little, because I don't plan on being on the pill forever. If I gain 3 lbs. for every month I'm off, that just doesn't work for me. However, if I get over that whole emotional eating thing, that won't really be an issue.

Anyway, as I see it, there's not much value in dwelling on what I did wrong last month. The more important question is, what am I going to do about it this month?

The first thing that comes to mind is SIMPLIFY. For the past 3 months, I have been increasing the number of stats that I track. This worked well at first, because it made me mindful of how much I was eating for lunch, how much water I was drinking, etc. Now, however, I've started to get bored and frustrated by all the upkeep. And when I get bored, frustrated or overwhelmed by things, I tend to shut down. I think that's part of what happened here, as well. Since there was so much to track, I gave up tracking any of it.

So, for the next month, I'm going back to basics. There's going to be two goals, both weekly--food points per week and activity points per week. I'm leaving Flexpoints balance out of it, because even though I do use the flexpoints plan, it just complicates matters right now. I'm still going to track water and veggies in the WW points tracker, but I'm not going to list those stats here or set goals based on them.

The second thing I'm going to do is plan my food for the day in the morning, and do my damnedest to stick to that plan. I'd plan weekly, but I know myself well enough to know that won't work. I buy my fresh groceries daily anyway, so it's really just as easy to plan one day at a time as it is to plan a whole week. And this way, there's no risk of not being "in the mood for" a certain food on its assigned day. Eventually, once I get stronger and more into this routine, I may start writing up a weekly meal plan without assigning days to the meals, so that I can pick and choose but still have that structure. Right now, though, it goes one day at a time until I get my groove back.

The other thing I'm going to do, and this is really more for time and financial reasons than dietary, is bring my lunch to work most days. I haven't been doing too badly on lunches, but since I've been working out over my lunch hour now, it's easier to eat at my desk if I don't have to go out and buy the food right then. Lunch-in-a-box, here I come!

I'm also going to start bringing in snacks, and eating more often than I do now. Tentatively, I'm thinking of adopting a somewhat modified hobbit diet...breakfast, second breakfast (fruit), lunch (about 1 pm, before I work out), afternoon tea (pretzels), and dinner. I'm leaving out elevensies, and probably some other meal, but it's still 5 times a day. I'm going to try not eating after 8 pm, too. That's harder, because I normally get home at around 6:30-6:45, and by the time I make dinner it's nearly 8. But I am going to try.

And lastly, I'm going to attempt to eat less processed food. I've been reading a lot about "shopping the perimeter" of the grocery store lately, and I think it's time I give that a go. Other than cat food and cleaning products, there's nothing in the middle I really need on a regular basis.

Now, on to the goals for November:

Diet: less than 210 points eaten per week

Exercise: at least 15 activity points per week

Weight loss: 5 lbs.

Size loss: 3 inches

That's it. Four measly goals.

Oh, and that reminds me...after seeing mention of it at On My Weigh..., I signed up for the President's Challenge for 8 weeks or whatever. If I work out 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week for 6 of the 8 weeks, I get an award or something. Since I always got burned on that "Presidential Physical Fitness Award" as a kid (could never do that effing chin-up thing, or the sit-ups. Or the mile. Aw, hell, I couldn't do any of it. No wonder I was picked last in kickball all the time.), this is my chance to redeem myself. If I make it through the "Active Lifestyle" program successfully, I'll try the "Champions" program. I'm not sure it'll keep me motivated, but it certainly can't hurt. Ooh, prizes!

The last 4-week report EVAH! (#10) - 10/15/03

No, I'm not doing away with report cards entirely...just switching to monthly, rather than every 4 weeks. It's easier to keep track of, and solves that pesky problem of having a 4-week report on TOM week. Now it will only happen every once in a while, instead of EVERY FLUCKING TIME.

Anyway, what were my goals for the last 4 weeks, again (the fact that I cannot remember them is probably a good indicator of my level of success)?

Diet/Exercise: 10 or more leftover flexpoints each week.

Fruit/Veggies: 3 per day.

Weight Loss: 5 lbs.

Size Loss: 3 inches.

Water: 6 cups/day.

Cooking: eat at home 5 nights/week.

Lunches: 4 12-or-less point lunches.

Click OPEN WIDE>> for report card and new set of short-term goals.

REPORT CARD

Diet & Exercise: Didn't make it. Not even once. If I average the four weeks, I get a weekly flexpoints balance of...(drum roll)... -5. And that's being generous, since I stopped recording about midway through yesterday. I estimated 11 flexpoints used, and that was probably low. No, I don't want to talk about it.

There was one week that I came close to having a balance of 10 (7 left over in week 39), but the rest of the weeks were all over the credit limit, so to speak. On the bright side, it would have been a lot worse if not for the staggering (for me, anyway) number of activity points earned--averaged over 20/week! Grade: IF(Impressively Fail)

Fruits & Veggies: I was SOOO close. In 4 weeks, I ate 63 fruit/veggie servings. 2.5 per day. Another apple a day, and I would have HAD it. Damn. Grade: B

Weight Loss: Eh. Started with 188, ended with 185.5. Exactly half of what I wanted. And I was doing so well there for a while...breakdown:

Grade: C

Size Loss: Whole lot of nuthin' on this one. I did shrink an inch in the hips, but gained one at the waist, so it balanced perfectly. Everything else stayed the same, though I could have sworn my long-sleeved shirts fit better through the upper arms this month. Ah, well.

I also added a measurement this week that I'm going to be tracking for future monthly reports. After much inner turmoil about the way I was measuring my bust, I finally decided to start tracking both under the breasts and including them. Measurements were...

Bust, under: 34.5
Bust, across: 39
Waist: 34 (+1)
Hips: 45 (-1)
Thighs: 21.5
Calves: 15.5
Arms: 13

Grade: D

Water: Just over 3 cups, not the 6 I wanted. I don't really have any explanation of this, except maybe that I wasn't thirsty. Maybe it explains the dry eyes and skin, though. Grade: C

Cooking: I ate dinner at home 14 times, a little over 3 per week. There were no perfect weeks, but I did get one where I ate at home 6 times. Grade: C

Lunches: Again, soo close. My average was 3.8something. Grade: B

Didn't meet a single goal. Not ONE. No wonder I only lost 2 lbs. and change.

NEW SHORT-TERM GOALS

I'm going to scale the weight and size goals down a bit, since we are switching to monthly reports, beginning the first week in November. This gives me only three weeks to get there.

Diet/Exercise: 10 or more leftover flexpoints each week.

Fruit/Veggies: 3 per day.

Weight Loss: 3.5 lbs.

Size Loss: 1 inch.

Water: 6 cups/day.

Cooking: eat at home 5 nights/week.

Lunches: 4 12-or-less point lunches/week.

I think I need a fight song, or something.

*ahem*

I would like to announce that the scale this morning reported the lowest weight I have seen in 5 years.

Since it is not weigh-in day, I will not disclose the number. But, WOOHOO!

(now, if I can just keep from going crazy with the food in the next two days...)

for anyone curious

here's my september weight chart:

Not terribly impressive, huh?

snowball in hell

I was just reviewing my last 4-week report, and I think I can safely say that there is a very, very small chance that I will come anywhere near a 5-lb. loss for this 4 weeks. Right now, I'm breaking even. But then again, there's still two more weigh-ins in which to redeem myself.

4-Week Report #9 - 9/17/03

I can't believe another four weeks have passed. September's halfway gone, Noah's birthday and Halloween are just around the corner. The Bike for Sight ride is looming ever nearer on the 28th. Time flies...

This was an interesting 4 weeks on the diet front. It took me a couple to get my shit together, but I finally got on a roll and saw some results. Let's hope that I can keep up the momentum into the next four.

So, what were my goals?

Diet & Exercise: an adjusted average of 28.

Fruit/Vegetables: 3 servings per day

Weight Loss: 4 lbs.

Size Loss: 3 inches, again.

Water: 1.5L/day.

Cooking: Eat at home 3 nights/week.

Lunches: At least 4 12-or-less lunches each week. And no buffalo wings AT ALL.

How'd I do? Click OPEN WIDE>> for the report card and a new set of short-term goals.

REPORT CARD

Diet & Exercise: I completely sucked the first 3 weeks, then finally got out of the funk on the last week. I still didn't make the goal of the 28 point adjusted average any of the four weeks, but the last one came close. My average for all 4 weeks was 30.1 points/day. Definitely higher than I wanted it to be, but it could have been worse. Grade: C-

Fruit/Veggies: This is one of those things that I kept track of, but didn't document here on its own. It ended up being too much of a hassle...but at WW Online I track them by clicking a button, so I've got it all documented there. When I check that site, I come up with 2.5 servings/day, average. Of course, this varied wildly from day to day. But still, close to goal overall. Grade: B+

Weight Loss: I was pretty worried about this metric when I started this week. By this time last week, I had lost one pound in 4 weeks. But the good eating this week saved me...I went down 3 lbs, reaching my goal of 4. Here's the breakdown:

Grade: A

Size Loss: Not even close. This was odd, but had several contributing factors...due to negligence on my part, my cycle now runs so that 4-week report week and TOM week are the same. I'm doing measurements on TOM week. Therefore, I am not entirely surprised by the fact that, despite losing 4 lbs, I had a net gain of a 1/4 inch. I also measured after eating, walking, and sitting around for an hour after weigh-in. The good news, which is going to affect my grade on this, is that it's a net gain, and not an all-around gain. I gained inches in the midsection, but lost enough in the arms and legs that it almost completely balanced. I'd post the actual gains and losses here, but they're already in the weigh-in post, and I don't feel like doing it again. Grade: C

Water: Did solidly Ok with this. This was another one of those things where I kept track of it more thoroughly at WW Online than here. Again, just clicking a button. But according to both records, I averaged nearly 7L per week, which is an improvement, but not the 10.5 I wanted. Grade: C

Cooking: This went remarkably well. Having the WW eTools helped a lot, because I could search for recipes and whatnot. In 4 weeks, I ate at home 20 times. This blows right past my goal, and nearly doubles it. Woo! Grade: A+

Lunches: I had an average of just over 2 12-or-less lunches per week. Lunch is always my big meal, and always my weak spot. (Other than candytime.) I was shooting for 4 per week, so I guess I got just about halfway. I did, however, meet the second part of that goal. No buffalo wings EVER! Grade: C-

Not bad, not great. Had a few small victories, a few equally small failures. The good news is that this last week was the best week of all of them, so like I said earlier--the momentum is hopefully strong enough to carry me through to better weeks to come.

NEW SHORT-TERM GOALS

Diet/Exercise: Weight Watchers just keeps making it easier for me to track this. I posted a couple days ago about the wonders of the FlexPOINTS plan, and instead of trying to document things differently here, I'm just going to go with that. My goal is to end each week with 10 or more flexpoints to spare.

Fruit/Veggies: 3 per day, again.

Weight Loss: I'm going to go for 5 lbs. Get a little adventurous/optimistic/whatever.

Size Loss: The good news on this one is that this is the only week I'll have the weird TOM gain. Because from now on, the measurements will always be taken on a TOM day. So 3 inches.

Water: 6 cups/day. WW tracks them this way, rather than in liters. Resistance is futile.

Cooking: This whole cooking thing has been saving me money as well as points. I want to eat at home 5 nights/week, now.

Lunches: Still going for 4 12-or-less point lunches.

I hit a milestone this week, and I was going to get a facial. But then I blew my facial money on new work clothes, so I'm going to postpone that incentive until 180. Which, if my recent progress continues at the same pace, should talk me until Christmas or so. :)

hmm...

I just realized that, if my weight goes down just a half a pound from where it is between now and weigh-in day, I'll have hit my 30-lb mark! *crossing fingers*

OMG-OMG-OMG

The scale said 187.5 this morning. TWICE.

Since I weighed 191 two days ago, I must have been retaining water like nobody's business. Let's hope I can stay down here for another 5 days.

4-Week Report #8 - 8/20/03

Finally! I've been putting this off because I am sooo not proud of this month. You know how we say that we're "on the wagon" or "off the wagon"? Well, for the past two months, I feel like I've been running behind the wagon, frantically trying to jump on. I've caught it a couple times, but I always fall (or jump) right back off again.

But enough with the wagon metaphors...on to the report. Last four weeks, the goals were:

Diet & Exercise - Adjusted average points of 29 or less.

Weight Loss - 4-6 lbs.

Size Loss - 3 inches

Water - 10.5L/week

Cooking - Eat dinner at home at least 3 nights per week.

Lunches - Keep lunch under 12 points at least 3 times per week.

Well, how'd I do? Click OPEN WIDE>> for the report card and a new set of short-term goals.

REPORT CARD

Diet & Exercise: Total crash and burn. I don't know what the hell went on here. I guess just that running after the wagon that I was talking about up there, except that sometimes I would be running after the wagon, and other times I would just be sitting by the side of the road waving at the wagon, while everyone on it pointed and laughed. All of my adjusted averages were over 30. The closest I got to the 29 goal was 30.2, and the average of the averages is 33.2. Man, does that suck. The one redeeming factor is that I did get an average of over 10 points worth of exercise each week.Grade: F

Weight Loss: The diet and exercise slack showed here. In 4 weeks, I gained a pound. The whole month of July, wasted. Here's the breakdown:

Grade: F

Size Loss: took me a while to find the tape measure, but to no one's surprise, nothing changed. At least I didn't get any bigger. Grade: C-

Water: Averaged 5L/week, but I was going for 10.5L. Compared to how abysmal the rest of my stats are this time around, this actually isn't too bad. Grade: C

Cooking: Finally! I met a goal! Having Kat in the house has helped tremendously with this, since she didn't have a job for the first 3 weeks and was able to cook for us. Now that she's gainfully employed, though, we've opted for takeout a little more often. Still, we're eating at home more than we used to. Grade: A

Lunches: From the looks of the stats here, big lunches were my diet downfall last month. Averaged less than 2 lunches per week that were under 12 points. Considering that even when I was eating at home the dinners weren't crazy-healthy, it's no wonder that I gained weight. Grade: D

Whew...that is one stinkin' pile of stats.

NEW SHORT-TERM GOALS

Diet & Exercise: WW switched to their new flex plan, but I haven't yet. Even though I haven't really been performing very well, the documentation system has been working well for me. I see no reason to change it yet. If it ain't broke, etc. I'm going for an adjusted average of 28 for the next 4 weeks.

Fruit/Vegetables: Adding a new goal, because I'm concerned about my nutrition again. Since I joined WW online, I've started to use their handy-dandy fruit/veggie serving counter. Since my intake is currently between 1 and 2 servings/day, I'm going to shoot for 3 rather than the 5 they recommend. Baby steps...

Weight Loss: 4 lbs. I thought about going higher, but that's just setting myself up for disappointment. My motivation is low, my body's in the mood for a plateau...let's keep the goal down to something that I've done before and know is possible for me.

Size Loss: 3 inches, again.

Water: Deferring to Weight Watchers on this one. Six 8 oz glasses a day, they say, which is just about equivalent to 1.5L/day. Since that was the goal I set last 4 weeks anyway, let's stick with it.

Cooking: Eat at home 3 nights/week.

Lunches: At least 4 12-or-less lunches each week. And no buffalo wings AT ALL.

Still haven't given the incentive milestones much thought. Maybe I'll get to those this week. Lord knows I need some serious motivation.

as promised

Here's my progress chart from July. Looks like a fun ride, doesn't it?

4-Week Report #7 - (7/26/03)

I just realized again that this was report card time. Oops.

Lessee, what were the goals this 4 weeks?

Diet & Exercise - Adjusted average of 26 points or less each week.

Weight Loss - 4 lbs.

Size Loss - 3 inches

Water - 12L per week

Cooking - Eat home-prepared food at least 3 nights per week

Lunches - Keep lunch under 12 points at least 3 times per week.

The bar was set pretty low this time, but I think I did well. Click OPEN WIDE>> to see the report card and a new set of short-term goals.

REPORT CARD

Diet & Exercise: This was an interesting 4 weeks. Free weekends were started and stopped, I actually stayed within my WW points range for most of it, and discovered that I lose better when I eat more than that range. But speaking strictly to the goal I set 4 weeks ago...I met it 2 of the 4 weeks. Average all the weekly adjusted averages, and I get 28.5 as the average adjusted average. Not bad. Grade: B+

Weight Loss: Again, veeery interesting. There have been some tantrums. There have been some frustrations. There has also been a big, glorious whoosh. Ironically, it was during the week that my food intake was highest. A lesson to be learned here? If I'm counting through Saturday (switched back to Wednesday weigh-ins this week), I lost 3.8 lbs. Here's the breakdown:

Grade: A-

Size Loss: the tape measure was kind. I'm thinking that the ton of exercise that I did these 4 weeks made all the difference. Either that, or it was just time to be losin' some inches. I lost 3 inches, which meets the goal exactly. I'm not really sure from whence they came anymore, since idiot me didn't keep the old measurements when I updated the sidebar. I think the biggest changes were in the bust and the waist, IIRC. Grade: A

Water: Since water and exercise go hand-in-hand, I did drink more water than usual. However, by the looks of what sketchy information I have, I didn't come anywhere near 12L/week. More like 4L and change. Ugh. Grade: D

Cooking: Finally, a new goal that worked well for me. It was easy to track, and kept me thinking about how much I was eating out. In 4 weeks, I cooked dinner at home 9 times. That may be a new record for me, but was still not to goal. Grade: B

Lunches: Ah, 12-or-less lunches. This was a good goal to set, also. With my beloved Chipotle and wings places just down the street, it's good to be more mindful of how much I'm eating for lunch. I also scored 9 on this one. Again, probably a record of some kind, but not to goal. Grade: B

An above average month in all areas except water. I can deal with that.

NEW SHORT-TERM GOALS

Diet & Exercise - I had some serious plateau going on in weeks 26 and 27, and when I look back on it, I think it's because I wasn't eating enough to compensate for the daily exercise. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure my body was flirting with starvation mode. Once my adjusted average got back up closer to 30, the magic started. I'm setting my goal for weekly adjusted average to 29, since weight loss seems to go faster when I keep the balance between food and activity points between 28 and 30. This is outside my recommended WW range, but I quit going to the meetings so to hell with them.

Weight Loss - I'm setting what may be an unrealistic goal. In order to reach goal by April 2004 (wedding), I would have to lose 6 lbs every 4 weeks. Since that's considerably above my usual average, I'm going to set the goal to 4-6 lbs lost instead.

Size Loss - Let's go for 3 inches again...though I'm not sure where it'll come from. Hopefully arms and hips.

Water - I'm going to go a little less here, because obviously I'm not going to hit 12L/week. Let's go for 10.5L/week, or 1.5L/day.

Cooking - Eat dinner at home at least 3 nights per week.

Lunches - Keep lunch under 12 points at least 3 times per week.

I've got some incentive milestones coming up pretty soon too...the closest is 190, and I should break through that one this week (I hope I hope I hope). This means a massage. Woo! I also need to come up with some better incentives...I'm not sure I want some of the things on that list anymore. And not only is my upstairs bedroom furnished and occupied now, but I don't really calculate my exercise goals the way I used to. I'm going to have to mull that over.

4-week Report #6 - 6/28/03

Well, it's just about that time again...another four weeks have passed. Hard to believe. I had a very disappointing weigh-in this morning, which I'm choosing to blame on water retention and poor planning of my meals yesterday. I was three pounds lighter yesterday morning--unfortunately for me, this is the day that counts.

So, without further ado, let's get to the meat of this thing, shall we?

For this four weeks, my goals were:

Diet & Exercise - daily adjusted average of 27.7 points, every week.

Weight Loss - 6 lbs. lost

Size Loss - 4 inches

Water - 1.5L daily

Sleep - 7 hours per night

Click OPEN WIDE>> to see the report card and a new set of short term goals.

REPORT CARD

Diet & Exercise - I was extremely lax in this area this month, and it showed. Most weeks I didn't record my weekend eating, and there was one week that I only recorded two days. Averaging the 3 adjusted averages for those weeks that I did journal, I managed to keep it below 30, at least--29.2. Unfortunately, this falls short of my goal by 1.5 points. Grade: C

Weight loss - My failings in diet and exercise showed themselves here--I was going for 6 lbs, ended up with a measly 2.8 instead. Here's the weekly breakdown:

Grade: C-

Size loss - I must be losing my weight around my head or something. Took a little bit off the hips, but that was about it. 3/4 of an inch lost. Grade: C-

Water - Finally, something I was moderately sucessful in! I've been keeping a 24-pack of .5L bottles in the car, which I think has been helping. For the 3 weeks I kept track, I drank 24L of water. That's 8L per week, which is...what--1.13L per day? Not too shabby, though I really want more than that. Grade: B

Sleep - I had no idea how to track this, but I can tell you that I didn't do any better than any other week. I was on call most of this month, so that didn't really help matters any. Grade: WU (withdrawn, unsatisfactory)

So, mostly Cs. Oh well...next month will be better.

NEW SHORT-TERM GOALS

I don't have any insightful commentary for this section...not that I really did for any of the other sections. Basically, it's the same old "eat less, exercise more" doctrine that I've been following all along.

I am planning on adhering more strictly to the weight watchers plan, though. I've finally resigned myself to the notion that my range is 22-27 for a reason, and they've done research and shit, so I should probably just do what they're telling me to do and stop trying to be all creative. So...goals for this 4 weeks:

Diet & Exercise - Adjusted average of 26 points or less each week.

Weight Loss - 4 lbs.

Size Loss - 3 inches

Water - 12L per week

Also, adding some new ones, related to my major diet pitfalls...

Cooking - Eat home-prepared food at least 3 nights per week

Lunches - Keep lunch under 12 points at least 3 times per week.

Here's hoping these things will help me turn over a new leaf...again.

4-Week Report Card #5 - 5/31/03

Well, it's about time, eh? Sorry about the delay...I know you were all on the edge of your seats. :)

For this four weeks, my goals were:

Diet - Average 28 points per day (taking into account earned activity points, and my transition to a lower points range sometime this month)

Exercise - Earn at least 14 activity points per week.

Weight loss - Lose 5 lbs.

Size loss - 3 inches.

Vitamin - one daily

Click EAT ME>> to see the report card and a new set of short term goals.

REPORT CARD

Diet - I actually hate starting with this one, because it's my weakest area this time. I wanted to average 28 points per day for these 29 days. I actually averaged 31.4 over 27 days. Not great, not bad. Grade: C

Exercise - I had one really good week, and a few mediocre ones. At the end of it, I made goal with a weekly average of 14.5 per week. Woo! Grade: A

Weight loss - Beginning weight was 202.6. Ending weight was 197.6. Five pounds, baby! And into onederland (hopefully forever)! Here's the breakdown:

Grade: A

Size loss - I must have set these pretty realistically this time around...I wanted 3 inches, and got 3.5. Awesome. Grade: A

Vitamin - Finally got this etched into my brain as part of the routine. I only missed one of 29 days. Grade: A-

So, not bad, eh? Diet could use some work, but I'm changing the way I monitor that during the coming 4 weeks, so that's going to become less of an issue. I'm sure I didn't make the National Weight Loss Honor Society with this report card, but I'm still happy with the results.

NEW SHORT-TERM GOALS

Somewhere around the middle of the last 4 weeks, I realized that the way I was setting goals on my diet and exercise points was not the most efficient. The fact of the matter is, I don't want to stick to 28 points per day and exercise 14 points away. For one thing, I get muddled when I try to keep track of it that way. For another, I'm concerned about that heavy of a calorie deficit.

Depending on which WW leader I listen to, each point is either 30 or 50 calories without taking fat and fiber into account. This means (for those of you that haven't done the math) that 28 points is anywhere between 840 and 1400 calories. When you start throwing regular exercise into the mix, 840 is way too freakin' low to be sustainable. 1400 is doable, but not an ideal for me. And each time I get to another 25 lb. milestone, the points allotment goes down by 2. By the time I get down to 150 or so, I'm looking at a max of around 1200. Technically, that's a healthy calorie range, but it's not one that I've been able to sustain consistently. Therefore, I am doing things the other weight watchers way--I am going to be eating my activity points.

I've liked the system I've been using the past couple weeks, where I have an adjusted average on my diet log which takes into account the activity points earned for the week. So, that's the metric I'm going to base my goal on.

Whew, that was long winded. Without further ado, here are the goals for this 4 weeks:

Diet & Exercise - points bank greater than -5 every week.
UPDATE: D'oh! My continuity wasn't the best here. I said I was going to base this on one metric, and then based it on something else. What I really wanted was an adjusted average 27.7 or less. Which is essentially the same thing as a -5 points bank, but still. Consistency, baby.

Weight Loss - 6 lbs. lost

Size Loss - 4 inches

Water - 1.5L daily (I actually want more than this, but I need to work my way up)

Sleep - 7 hours per night

I'm dropping the vitamin tracking, because I'm not struggling with it anymore. I am struggling with water intake, so I've added that. I've also added a sleep goal, for the same reason.

Let's roll.

weights and measures

Okay, as I've mentioned before, there have been some wild-n-crazy fluctuations in my measurements and weights lately. I've gotten so that I don't feel comfortable trusting my bathroom scale. There is also the dilemma of having to keep two weight records--the WW record and the self record.

Here's what I've decided to do about these things.

Weights: I am bringing my starting and current weight up 3 lbs, to allow for the clothes I wear to weight watchers meetings. From now on, there's only going to be one weigh-in per week, and it's going to be at the WW meeting. If I go to the Thursday, I'll just wait to post the result till Saturday to keep the records consistent. I trust their scale...I no longer trust mine. I'm a little sad that this change will take me out of the garden of One-derland, but that's only temporary. I'm just barely outside the gate.

Measures: Measurements are going to be taken once a month. The weekly fluctuations are too discouraging for me, and the frequency is hosing my "total inches lost" calculations. My poor little brain is getting muddled.

4-week Report Card #4 - 5/2/03

Well, gathering up the data on my progress this month, all I can say is that I'm totally confused. Let's see if you are too. For this 4 weeks, the goals were:

Diet - less than 11,500 calories per week.

Exercise - Burn 1500 calories in deliberate exercise

Weight Loss - 4 lbs.

Size Loss - 8 inches, cumulative.

Vitamin - take one daily.

Click More>> to see the report card and a new set of short term goals.

REPORT CARD

Diet - Let's see...I switched to weight watchers, had my period for the first time in two years, survived Easter, and was on provera for a week and a half. Of those things, only the first one was conducive to diet control. Not counting my free week, I averaged 11,612 calories per week. Not too far off the mark, but still higher than I wanted. Grade: B+
UPDATE: Waitaminnit. Week 16 was 9 days long. Not counting those last two days, the calorie total was....10924. Recalculating the average, it turned out to be 11,023. Revised Grade: A

Exercise - Oy. Can you say self-sabotage? I guess something in my brain decided that if I couldn't make the new, higher goal, then I wasn't going to exercise at all. I averaged 950 calories burned per week. The only week I met the 1500 goal was week 13. Grade: D

Weight loss: This can be explained away, blamed on TOM, whatever. And it