Wednesday Weigh-In for becoming Bikini Fine!

I weighed in at 133 pounds, so I gained a couple of pounds. Last week was teacher appreciation week and I believe that I was appreciated too much, with sweets! I have a hard time turning down cookies, cakes and other food that I know that I need to stay away from to lose weight.

Weight loss is difficult when temptations are all around you. It’s easier to remain on track and lose weight when I am home because I monitor all of the food that I buy so I don’t have to worry about temptations.

Today there was a half of a cake in the "workroom" at work and I think that I ate the entire thing. I felt bad, felt as though I ruined my weight loss program, and I felt as though I had a sick sugar high. I had my healthy food with me, but it just didn’t seem as yummy as the cake. The good news, though, is that I am still running. Yesterday, I ran in three minute intervals for the Couch to 5k plan.

It’s key, though, to eat healthy, so I am counting last week as a total loss for my weight loss program. I probably gained weight because I consumed more calories than I was able to burn off, even with the running. I am still weighing my food and eating:

• eggs for breakfast
• yogurt
• snacks that include fruits, vegetables and two tablespoons of a dip
• Fish or chicken and salad for dinner

I would be better off towards weight loss if I stopped there and ran every day. To have weight loss, I need to stay away from eating too many carbohydrates, high-calorie, high caffeine, energy drinks and sugary snacks. I also need to make sure that do some sort of a weight-lifting routine. There was a good routine on the Bally Total Fitness site, which mimics their Total Body Workout class. I’ve taken the class, and it’s intense! Here’s a link to their 8-week guide to lose weight. Here are some good links for Couch to 5k to help you for the Couch to 5k Plan. I’m going to check out the podcast for the Couch to 5k plan. I think that it incorporates music with someone to tell you when to walk instead of run and to motivate you.

This is not me in the You Tube video, but here’s another young lady who has participated in the Couch to 5k Plan. I promise that I will make my own video soon!

I feel the same way as she does! It’s weird because I am suppose to run for three minute and walk for three minutes. Let me tell you that three minutes feel as though they take forever when you are running! I used to hate running, now I love it. I particularly love it when it’s over and I feel stronger. It’s incredibly powerful for a weight loss program.

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Weight training without a gym for weight loss. Look bikini fine.

This week, I have tried something new for my bikini body challenge. If you recall, I am working on having a bikini body for the summer. I began running yesterday using the Couch to 5K running program. This program is supposed to help you go from being a couch potato to running three miles in about two months. I began the program on week three, which is basically jogging for 90 seconds, walking for 90 seconds and then jogging for 3 minutes.

I was able to accomplish this task, about 3 minutes felt like a lifetime while jogging! I kept watching the stopwatch, willing it to move faster.

I upped my water drinking this week, managing to at least drink water! It was difficult to stay on track with the water-drinking because for a couple of days I worked in an environment where eating and drinking was not allowed for three hours out of the day!

I have also managed to eat right this week, except for today. They decided to have sweets at work, so I made today my cheat day. I felt sluggish most of the day. Next time, I don’t think that I will eat half of a cookie or something. Those sweets wore me down! They had some kind of a cheesecake, chocolate cookies, chocolate chip cookies, cakes, and soda to wash it all down!

This is week three of my challenge and although my weight has remained consistent, I feel slimmer and more confident. I think that I have lost some inches. I haven’t really been counting calories carefully, but I bought a food scale to weigh my food, so I know how much 4 ounces of fish is. I also use measuring spoons to measure serving sizes. The scale and the measuring spoon has helped me eat in portion-controlled sizes. I’m going to estimate that I’m eating around 1,300-1,400 calories a day. I plan on going to Bally’s and allowing a training to measure me and help me figure my fat to body ratio (if that’s what its called).  I’m on my way to getting the bikini body!

It’s been a challenge, but I have completed my first week on my goal towards having a beach body and losing weight for this summer. I have been mostly sticking to my diet except for on Monday when I went overboard and the turkey meat and spaghetti. I sort of lost track of counting calories and went back for seconds and thirds. I think that I waited too long to eat or something. For the most part I have been eating about 4 meals per day. I realized that serving sizes are important, to lose weight, and I bought a scale to weigh my food!

Morning: Yogurt

Snack: More Yogurt or fruit

Lunch: Chicken salad

Dinner: Grilled meat on a George Foreman grill with vegetables

I make my yogurt using my new yogurt maker. I had the idea of buying one, but when I saw the delicious yogurt at Financial Tip, I bought one right away!

I had a cheat day on Saturday and ate a burger from Sonic. I meant to order a #1 for breakfast which was an egg wrap. They gave me the lunch #1, a regular burger, tater tots and sweet tea. Oh well! I wasn’t going to let that go to waste. I ate light the rest of the day, so I don’t think that I did too much damage.

Exercise

I ran five days a week. I started running on Saturday by running a quarter of a mile. A week later, on Sunday, April 28, I ran a half mile. I run a quarter of a mile, walk a quarter of a mile and run another quarter of a mile. I’m taking baby steps. I feel great! I can feel my stamina improving. I also feel as though I am handling stress much better. After running, which I hate because I am not the running type, I feel as though I can conquer the world. I will run to lose weight!

I know that losing weight for the summer will be a slow and steady process, but it will be worth it. I’m hoping to lose about 15 pounds by the end of August. I’m basically trying to give up being a couch potato and get moving and get healthy.

My starting weight was 131 pounds. My current weight is still at 131 pounds.

I’ve been motivated by the show, The Biggest Loser. This is going to be my year. More specifically, this is going to be my summer to shine. Yes. I am actually going to wear a bikini on the beach before this summer is over. Not so fast. I don’t know about you, but I could stand to loose a few pounds. I could also lose some inches. I’m tired of fad diets and temporary weight-loss. I want the real thing. My mission is weight loss. I want to tone up and, get into better cardiovascular health. Yes, I want to look fly in a bikini this summer — the healthy way. Welcome to my weight loss journey. Every Wednesday you will get an update on my progress.

Before 4/20/08

A little about me

See that belly? That has got to go! I had to delete the rear pictures. I couldn’t handle that. I posted these pictures, because, hey, if they can do it on Celebrity Fit Club, so can I. I am weighing in at 131 pounds. I hate exercising, but I always feel 100% better after I do it, and take a nap of course. I usually start exercise programs and fall off the bandwagon. I miss a day and that turns into two days and three days until before I know it, I haven’t worked out in months. I don’t want to be super-thin, I just want to be toned. Well, and I want to have muscular abs. I know that they are somewhere. A six-pack would be nice, but I don’t want to get too crazy with my requests. When it comes to exercise, I hate jogging, but I would love to be able to jog a mile without feeling as though I am about to have a heart attack. Eventually, I would love to jog about three miles. I know that I have to have a good balance of cardiovascular exercise and weight training to achieve my weight loss goals and get that beach body.

The plan

How am I going to achieve weight loss? I’m not going to starve myself. I am going to eat 5 to 6 small meals a day. I’ll be eating a lot of yogurt with live cultures, salads and fish or chicken. I’m addicted to Hooter’s Cobb salads, which are fried, so there will be a withdrawal period. Oh, but wait! I will have a cheat day once a week. I read something about having a permissible cheat day, and I’m all for that.

I plan to exercise at least 6 days a week. My exercise will consist of jogging, stair climbing (on actual stairs) and weight lifting. I will complete about 30 minutes to an hour of cardio a day and weight train three days per week. Most of my workouts will take place after work, in the afternoons.

Some days, I may do some stair-climbing (on actual stairs in the morning before work). I have posted my before pictures. Yes. I’m brave, and I’m also serious. I’m ready to make a commitment to a healthier life and I hope that you will too. Are you ready to join me? Write me. Give me some motivation. I need it!

Goals for Week 1

• Pack a healthy lunch and snacks each night for work
• Do at least 45 minutes of cardio
• Jog a half mile in a day
• Weight train on Monday and two other days this week
• Keep calories down to about 1,200 per day
• Don’t give up!

Read my next update on Wednesday, April 30.