Holiday Challenge: Week 3 Update

I made some serious weight loss progress this week! I lost 2 more pounds and I’m only 1 pound away from my lowest weight as an adult (a weight I reached once before having my youngest daughter 5 years ago).

My primary motivation to stay on track this past week was my desire to stay healthy. Winter is hard in general where we live. The sun doesn’t come out much, the cold weather is brutal, skin issues flare up with the dry conditions, etc. I want to eat well to feel well. I want to lose weight to gain better health overall.

Challenge Tasks:

• Drink 90-120 oz of water daily

I got at least 60 oz every day, but definitely slipped up on this and could improve next week! It’s hard to drink water when it’s cold outside, but I feel so much better when I’m well-hydrated!

• Walk for 60-90 minutes/week

I strained my hip shoveling early this week, and so I didn’t log any walking. My hip is feeling better now though, so I hope to incorporate walking this next week!

• Track nutrition daily, 5/7 days each week

I went over and above - 7/7 days! I even stayed within my nutritional range for a calorie deficit 6/7 days! (1500-1800 calories) 

• Blog weekly challenge updates

I met this goal, with today’s update!

Weight Loss Goal:

Maintaining my current weight is my first goal. My “shoot for the moon” goal is to lose 5 pounds.

Challenge start weight: 229 lbs.

Week 1 weight: 230 lbs.

Week 2 weight: 227 lbs.

Week 3 weight: 225 lbs.

I am 4 lbs down from my start weight! I’m so excited to keep working on this challenge!

What’s Working and What’s Not

You guys. I’m losing weight. In December! I weighed in at 225lbs today! Losing weight around the holidays is unheard of for me. I need to keep track of what’s working right now so I can come back to this when needed!

What’s working:

• Having bagged salad mix on hand (for quick lunch, or sides for dinners)
• Premier protein available in the fridge (for when I run out of time for breakfast or when I’m hungry but running out the door, helps to avoid drive thru while I’m out.)
• Focusing more on protein with each meal
• Having a rotisserie chicken picked apart in a container in the fridge for a quick protein option (add to salads, etc.)
• Fresca, it’s so good!
• Focusing on meeting my water goals each day
• Choosing between an afternoon latte or a snack, not both
• Eliminating night snacking, aka second dinner
• Tracking my nutrition, taking pictures of what I eat
• Blogging for accountability 
• Sharing progress with my spouse
• Having a challenge in place (Fall Challenge, Winter Challenge)
• I’m taking my vitamins
• Giving myself grace
• Seeking God for strength 

Since I talked about what is working, let me address what is not working - or what is working against me.

What’s not working:

• Stress is high, ‘tis the season
• Motivation to move my body is low
• Self care is close to non-existent

These are the “lights on the dash”, if you will. If these things aren’t addressed soon, it might cause me to “stall”. The next challenge I give myself will have a focus on each of these things.

Readjusting the Balance Plate

It’s Tuesday and I’m still reeling from our weekend. Let me tell you about it!

On Friday, my husband took me on a date night at a barbecue restaurant. I ordered a water and the pulled pork nachos. I enjoyed them so very much! I had some leftovers which I finished over the weekend.

After dinner, we braved the snowy weather as we walked across the way to the coffee shop next door. We ordered Ginger All The Way and Egg Nog lattes. We laughed and enjoyed each other’s company in that warm and cozy coffee shop. Time could have paused there for a bit longer and I wouldn’t have minded one bit. If a sigh of relief was a moment, this was mine for the entire week.

On Saturday, we celebrated our youngest daughter turning 5 at Chuck E. Cheese! We had pizza and cupcakes, and lots of fun!

On Sunday, we went to Disney on Ice, which was a birthday present from my mom. Our kids had a blast and the adults had fun, too!

I am feel thankful for all of the fun we had this past weekend, and thankful for this quiet Tuesday after such an adventure-filled time! 

I am also thankful that I maintained good balance in my eating over the weekend. I enjoyed a cupcake, pizza and pulled pork nachos and still lost weight according to the scale yesterday morning! Can you believe it? I can, because I know that I balanced the rest of my days well around those special treats. 

That seems to be the difference in my mindset right now; I’m not getting discouraged when I go “off track” because it’s not really going “off track”. It’s more like readjusting the balance plate to make it all work!

Holiday Challenge: Week 2 Recap

I am so excited to share my week 2 progress for the holiday challenge! It went so much better than week 1!

My primary motivation to stay on track this past week was my desire for better overall health. I want to feel better, long term. I want to be keep my mobility for as long as I live.

Challenge Tasks:

• Drink 90-120 oz of water daily

Nailed it - every day!

• Walk for 60-90 minutes/week

Got 60 minutes in!

• Track nutrition daily, 5/7 days each week

I went over and above - 7/7 days!

• Blog weekly challenge updates

I met this goal, with today’s update!

I met all of my goals this past week! I am so proud of myself! This was the week after Thanksgiving and the week of my youngest daughter’s birthday! It feels like a major accomplishment for me.

Weight Loss Goal:

Maintaining my current weight is my first goal. My “shoot for the moon” goal is to lose 5 pounds.

Challenge start weight: 229 lbs.

Week 1 weight: 230 lbs.

Week 2 weight: 227 lbs.

I am 2 lbs down from my start weight! I am excited to continue on!

Tell Yourself The Truth

Did you know that our mind believes what we tell it? If you want to believe the truth, you have to hear it! You have to tell yourself the truth. That’s why it’s so important to monitor your thought life and think positive thoughts about yourself!

I mention this not because it’s something I’ve mastered but rather it’s something I struggle with and I want to be more mindful about it. 

Today, I am telling my brain that I am stronger than I think. I am worth taking care of and I am worthy of treating myself with the upmost respect, which includes keeping my own promises to myself. I can make healthy choices that serve my body well. I thrive when I am hydrated and when I get movement in during my day. Eating well makes my body feel better! I am doing a great job!

Truth is, I am doing a great job! I have been treating my body well this week; eating good food to fuel. I weighed in at 227.5 lbs today which is the lowest I’ve been all year!

This weekend, we celebrate my youngest turning 5 and I will have cupcakes and pizza and then, I’ll continue on with eating healthy and working on keeping promises to myself. I’m about halfway into my holiday challenge and I’m making the good choices during a tempting season filled with holiday goodies. I am so proud of myself for choosing a better balance this month that is setting me up for losing weight and gaining better health!

Follow the Plan, Not the Feeling

Today’s post comes from a chronic feeling follower - me! This is something I have become more aware of this past year.

I believe breakthrough can come from following the plan, not the feeling. Sometimes I won’t feel like tracking my nutrition, or going for a walk, but if I follow the plan and do it anyway, change happens! Good change, happens!

There are definitely times when following feelings can be wise. For instance, if I feel like I need to rest, I might need to! However, if I always feel like I need to rest, that’s different. It does take some discernment. It’s not an all-or-nothing process.

I do love the reminder of following the plan, not the feelings, though. This isn’t an absolute rule, of course, but it makes me stop and think; is this a feeling that is going to help my progress, or hurt my progress. Can I give into this feeling, or should I push through and follow the plan?

Let me tell you, in these cold winter months I rarely feel like eating healthy foods like salad greens. However, I know that eating them will make me feel better even though I don’t feel like doing it. This would be a good time to just follow the plan!

Side note: I have been getting these salad mix bags and it’s been making eating my salad greens much more enjoyable this time of year!

If you get anything from this post I hope you remember that you won’t always feel like working toward achieving your goals; but transformation can be found by following the plan, not the feelings.

What I Ate Monday: Dec 1

Yesterday was the last day of Thanksgiving break at home with my kids and it was a really great day! We had so much fun during break, and a lot of time to relax together. 

We played Mario World, Mario Kart, and board games. We visited with family during Thanksgiving. We went to the movie theater to watch Zootopia 2. We baked cookies, decorated the Christmas tree, and went to a Christmas Festival. We watch The Santa Claus, Jack Frost, Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving and Christmas specials. We had a wonderful break together, and my husband got to spend a lot of it at home with us, too!

During the last day of break, I took a picture of just about everything that I ate and wanted to share it today.

For breakfast, I made an omelette with 2 eggs, 1 slice of ham and 1/2 slice of American cheese. I had a small side of grapes, too.

For my morning snack, I had apple slices and peanut butter.

For lunch, I had leftover chicken sausage, potatoes and green beans.

For my afternoon snack, I had 1/2 of a peanut butter cookie (the rest went to my daughter), some sliced Gouda and a homemade butter pecan latte.

For dinner, I had beef and broccoli with jasmine rice and a Fresca.

My evening snack was a couple of dark chocolate almond nougats. This all came out to about 1,700 calories for the day!

It’s Going Well

It’s December 1st and I’m feeling so good today! I am working on my Holiday Challenge which has been going really well. 

If you saw my week one update, you might be wondering how it’s going well since I was up a pound during the update, and my goal is to maintain and/or lose 5 pounds during this challenge. I guess it all comes down to how you define things “going well”!

I’m defining things as “going well” in a few different ways. First of all, I feel really good physically. I’m getting in more activity than I normally would this time of year because it’s part of my challenge, and it’s helping me break out of the seasonal funk that comes with less sunlight and less activity during the winter months.

I’d also say it’s going well because the day after Thanksgiving I was up 3 lbs but by the time I did my update, I was only up 1 lbs and today, I’m back to 229 lbs, and so I’m officially maintaining my weight which is my first weight-loss goal of the challenge!

Also, can we talk about how much better you feel when you’re hydrated?! Yes! Drinking more water as part of this challenge has been helping me so much!

I am encouraged that I feel good on this Monday morning, and I hope you are feeling good too!