Day 23: Raising the bar...

Well I've lost around 10 lbs since the beginning of this process, but I've already hit a plateau. So, I'm raising the bar. Today, I'm moving up to Level 2.

I'm also going to be changing my schedule around a little bit. Until now, at night I've come home from work and cooked dinner, crashed on the couch for a little while, and then at 9:00 I'll do my workout. After about 20 minutes of unwinding, time for bed.

This just isn't working for me anymore. My homework is sapping all of my energy and by 9, I'm waaaay too exhausted to be working out. So, I'm going to start doing it when I get home, before dinner. After dinner, homework. Then bed. Hopefully this change in my workout + my schedule will get me back on track.

While I'm here... I'd like to rec a healthy snack! Yesterday I was at Publix looking for lunch when I stopped to peruse the energy/protein/meal replacement bar section. An employee asked me what bars I liked, what I was trying to achieve by eating the bars, and then asked me if I had tried the Kind bars yet.

I hadn't, but when I saw flavors like Fruit + Nut Delight, Macadamia + Apricot, Almond + Coconut and Walnut + Date, I knew I had to at least give it a try. I picked up a Fruit + Nut Delight, and headed back to the office for lunch.

Here's what I liked about the bar: It was amazingly simple. Literally just nuts, a little bit of fruit, and I think I tasted some honey in there as well. Also, among other things they're gluten, dairy, and wheat free. They're high in fiber, low in sodium, and naturally have a low GI.

The best part out of all of it is that the Kind brand donates a percentage of their profits to PeaceWorks.

Day 22: ZOMG! DISCOVERY!

Just now...

I went to the bathroom (haha, don't stop reading here! I promise it isn't gross!)...

Looked in the mirror...

& what did I see?

My collar bones! For the first time in almost a year!

:-D NFT.

Day 22: and the slacker of the year award goes to...

Me!

Thank goodness I'm not slacking on my 'lifestyle change' like I am on this blog :-) I ended up downloading an app for my iphone called 'Lose It!' and it is REALLY helping me track my calories and keep up with my exercise. I might never use sparkpeople again! I haven't lost anymore weight, but I've been maintaining, which is a good thing considering how wild and wooly last week was for me. Starting school in the middle of my challenge might have quite possibly been a huge hindrance for me, but I'm trying to push through it despite the setbacks.

With only 8 days left, I'm realizing today that this is about long term goals. This little 30 day goal was enough to get my engine revving to keep pushing forward, and that's exactly what I intend to do! According to Lose It!, if I want to get down to 130 lbs I'll need to continually lose 1 lb a week until September 6th. I think I can manage a pound a week!

In a huge coincidence, my group project this week for biology is discussing nutrition and what kind of foods our bodies need to run effectively as well as which ones to stay away from. How well does that apply to what's going on with me right now? I'm so glad that I'm at least a little prepared for the assignment thanks to the challenge :-)

Day 17: No workout today :-(

I just got waaaaay too busy when I got home from work. By the time I sat and visited with DH, did some crowd control with the dogs, and did my homework I looked at the clock and said "WOW, it's almost 10!"

I am entirely too tired to do my workout tonight. I don't have it in me to even get off the floor (using DH's laptop) to walk to bed, much less to get dressed and go into the other room and start the workout DVD.

Tomorrow I have GOT to get on my A game and get back to working out every day. This is inexcusable. At least my calories were really well managed today.

Day 16: fell off the horse...

but not the bandwagon! I haven't blogged in a few days like I'm supposed to, but I'm back and scooting forward.

School has consumed every extra square inch (and brain cell) in my life, so I haven't even thought about journaling recently :(. I think I've finally struck a delicate balance between work, home, school, and having a healthy lifestyle with some trial and error, so we'll see how it goes!

As of today, I am over halfway finished with the 30 day challenge! I can't believe I began this 15 days ago yesterday.

In a matter of 15 days, it feels like the whole world has changed for me. Forget losing weight! Pish posh on that! I have gained...
*confidence
*a positive body image
*more strength
*more endurance
*better flexibility
*a bunch of clothes in my closet I couldn't fit 15 days ago
*WAY more energy
*a happier outlook on life
*fuel to keep pushing forward

and this is only 15 days into it! I'm disappointed that I lost my measurements from day 1, but I can already see a difference between now and my 'before' pics. Really, to me losing weight is just a fringe benefit. I have gained so much quality of life in the past 15 days, and I look forward to the rest of them... and then life after that.

Today I finally worked out for the first time after having such terrible digestive problems last week. My body seemed to remember what to do better than what my mind did, and I found myself assuming the position just like I had done it yesterday. I'm not going to lie, I've back slid a bit in terms of getting through the workout so I was huffing and puffing more than I was the last time I worked out, but I made it all the way through just fine.

I'm going to give it a few more days on L1 and then it's time for me to move on up!

Folks, this is coming from a woman who has never successfully lost more than 5lbs or worked out consistently for more than a week in her whole life. If I can do it, anyone in the world can.

Day 11: This has been a rough week.

Tuesday night (day 9) I was sick. as. a. dog.

I mean, baaaaad bad bad... On top of having stomach issues, the heat index this week has been 100*-110*, which doesn't help matters at ALL. Between Tuesday night and this morning, I lost 5 lbs and I still feel incredibly weak.

I took yesterday off of work and slept literally aaaallll day, which is completely out of character for me considering the fact that I get up around 8am on the weekends and 5:30 during the week. I wish I would have taken today off as well, but alas. Here I sit at my desk, counting down the seconds (roughly 14,700 as I type) until it's time to head home.

A little highlight of my day was meeting DH for lunch. We do this probably twice a week, and it's one little thing that makes my heart go pitter patter just like when we started dating. I find myself anxiously waiting for him to get to the restaurant, then my heart kicking into overdrive when I see him walk through the door, then analyze how good he looks as he walks up to our table. My knees always turn into jello when he kisses me on the forehead and tells me hello, and my heart turns to mush when he reaches across the table to hold my hand. EVERY time. Even if I've had a bad day.

Anyway, today DH and I went to the local Greek hole in the wall. Let me just tell you now, their lemon chicken soup with rice is like the Balm of Gilead- I think it just might cure everything! After I finished eating lunch (the chicken was the first solid thing I've eaten since lunch on Tuesday), I started feeling better immediately.

Day 9: Hells bells, my back HURTS!

Today I'm sitting here at work, chock full of tylenol with an ice pack on the small of my back. Why, you ask? I have no idea! I did my work out as usual last night, sat for a little while with DH before bed... Nothing unusual. But I woke up at 3am and every muscle in my body HURT. Not just a little sore, but enough to make me sick to my stomach! I took some tylenol and iced my neck (I have an old neck injury that will put me completely out of commission if I don't take care of it) and eventually managed to go back to sleep.

When I woke up again at 5:30, I was burning up and sore and temped 99.99 on my basal body temp thermometer. I still haven't decided if maybe it was from the pain, maybe my batteries are about to die... IDK. What I do know is that I haven't been sick at all in a while. I haven't even been remotely under the weather. In all actuality, I've had more energy than usual and have been at 100% for the first time in forever.

I'm getting better now... I've been icing my back on and off and I'm not near as exhausted as I was when I got here. I would have just gone home today if I didn't have that art camp at 5:00 :(

Will I do my workout tonight? We shall see.