READY FOR SUMMER Challenge Week 8 Check-In and Week 9 Goals

This week my goal for week 8 was just to do better in all the categories than I did last week. Needless to say, if you follow my blog, you already know this has been a horrible week. Actually probably the worst week I have had since I started this weight loss journey on January 1.

Weight :: My weight was 825.4 yesterday. A gain of 2.2 lbs! Yep, you read that right. A gain.
NSV :: I did make an effort to see how many times I could climb my front steps. I made 20 trips up and down. They are 5 high.
Exercise :: I've had a few days where I haven't attempted to do anything. I've had migraines and now some sort of cold. But, other days I did walk on the treadmill, go for a hike, and do P90X stretching with Michael.  Not a complete bust.
Nutrition :: Yikes. Now HERE is where the gain came from. I have ate everything under the sun this week. I mean anything and everything.

SW: 293.8
W1: 292.8 (-1)
W2: 292.0 (-0.8)
W3: 292.0 (-0)
W4: 289 (-3)
W5: 284.0 (-5)
W6: 282.9 (-1.1)
W7: 283.2 (+0.3)
W8: 285.4 (+2.2)
CW: 285.4 (-8.4) Total so far.

I knew when I stepped on the scales yesterday that the number would make me furious. I knew there would be a gain. How could there not be? I've ate like a horse and the food I have been eating hasn't been remotely good for me.

So, even though I am angry at myself and maybe even a little depressed, I don't hate myself. I am human. Things happen. People slip up. I am not perfect. There was only one perfect person. The kicker is that I can fix this. I just have to find the determination to do so.

In order to motivate myself to try harder, I got out the tape measure and did my measurements. I've lost 5 inches off of my body since the last time I measured myself, which was in Week 3 of this challenge. That is progress, right?

For week 9, here are my goals:
Weight :: Be less than 282.9 lbs.
NSV :: Climb the steps 30x.
Exercise :: Get some walking in every single day. Even if I feel horrible, even if I can only go 1/2 mile. Just do it.
Nutrition :: NO COOKIES!!! Count calories. Be accountable.

Good luck everyone!

READY FOR SUMMER Challenge Week 7 Check-In and Week 8 Goals

Sorry I am super late! Yikes!

Weight Loss :: Manage to land on anything below 282.9. Any loss at all will thrill me.

This didn't happen. I was 283.2 on Saturday. Didn't weigh in on Sunday. I was just too busy and honestly didn't think a thing about it. I wanted to do measurements but didn't find time for that either.

NSV :: Try not to be a nutcase all week and get my motivation back.

Ok, this one was pretty well a success. I wasn't a complete nutcase all week. Now that Aunt Flo has moved on to someone else, I am more myself. At times I did find myself more motivated. But, I was so busy at other times that when I had a minute to exercise, I just wanted to lay on the couch and relax.

Exercise :: Put a serious effort into getting some form of exercise, everyday!

Well, I did break my walking record. I did 5 miles in one day this week. I also beat my time at P90X by 9 minutes. But I didn't workout everyday.

Nutrition :: Try not to eat crap.

This didn't happen. 

The end of this challenge is coming up and I still need to lose 10 lbs.  My goal for next week is just to do better with all the categories. Good luck everyone.

READY FOR SUMMER Challenge Week 6 Check-In and Week 7 Goals

Sorry I am late to the game this go-round. I've not been my normal self the last few days. Just to show you I did at least attempt a little exercise this week... here is a pic of DH an I after a small hike in the mountains here around our house. 

Weight Loss :: Lose 2 lbs.  

Success or failure? Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it.  Last Sunday I weighed in at 284.0. On Friday morning I was at 282.9. A 1.1 lb loss so far for the week. Then, Aunt Flo showed up a week early. I've been beyond bloated and an emotional nutcase. On Saturday morning I was 287.0!  Over a 4 lb gain over night! So who knows.

Sunday, April 29 :: 284.0 
Monday, April 30 :: Didn't weigh 
Tuesday, May 1 :: 284.0 
Wednesday, May 2 :: 283.4 
Thursday, May 3 :: 283.4 
Friday, May 4 :: 282.9 AF 
Saturday, May 5 :: 287.0 AF 
Sunday, May 6 :: 288.0 AF

I'm going to go with what I weighed on Friday and just wait it out til next week and see where I land. 

SW: 293.8
W1: 292.8 (-1)
W2: 292.0 (-0.8) 
W3: 292.0 (-0)
W4: 289 (-3)
W5: 284.0 (-5)
W6: 282.9 (-1.1)
CW:282.9 (-10.9) Total so far.  

NSV :: Make it 3 days without Diet Coke. 

Yeah, this didn't happen. Not even close. 

Exercise :: Attempt P90X Plyometrics with my husband again. Make it further than the 21 minutes we made it last time.  

Nope. Didn't do it. 

Nutrition :: Track every single calorie. Even if I eat out, even if I eat crap, even if I go over.. track it! Be accountable for my actions! 

Haha. No, not even going to go there.

Now that week 6 is over, I'm ready to pull my self back together and get on with it. I'm praying week 7  is a good one. I'm not reaching for the stars this week. I'm just hoping to make it through. 

Weight Loss :: Manage to land on anything below 282.9. Any loss at all will thrill me. 

NSV :: Try not to be a nutcase all week and get my motivation back.

Exercise :: Put a serious effort into getting some form of exercise, everyday!

Nutrition :: Try not to eat crap.

Good luck this week!

READY FOR SUMMER Challenge Week 5 Check-In and Week 6 Goals

5 weeks down, 5 to go! My goals for this week were...

Weight Loss :: Lose 2 lbs. 

This was a success. From what the scales said this morning, I am down 5 lbs this week. It was closer to 6 lbs yesterday, but I'm swelled like a balloon today. Both, my hands and feet are swollen. Too much sodium yesterday. Well and that piece of cake I ate last night probably didn't  help matters any either.  Here you can see my weights from the week. 

Sunday, April 22 :: 289.0

Monday, April 23 :: 288.8
Tuesday, April 24 :: 287.9
Wednesday, April 25 :: 285.8
Thursday, April 26 :: 286.0
Friday, April 27 :: 285.2
Saturday, April 28 :: 283.4
Sunday, April 29 :: 284.0

A 6 lb loss would have been great, but I'll take 5lbs on any week. I'm thrilled!  One of my original goals was to lose 20 lbs during this journey. We are 1/2 way into this challenge and I'm right around 1/2 way to my goal. Yay.

SW: 293.8
W1: 292.8 (-1)
W2: 292.0 (-0.8)
W3: 292.0 (-0)

W4: 289 (-3)

W5: 284.0 (-5)
CW:284.0 (-9.8) Total so far.  

NSV :: Make it 3 days without Diet Coke. 

Yeah, this didn't  happen. Two days, tops.  

Exercise :: Attempt P90X Plyometrics with my husband again. Make it further than the 21 minutes we made it last time. 

Time was not in our favor. We never could work out the time to do it together. He'd work out when I was busy and I'd work out when he was at work. But I did do The Biggest Loser workout by myself. Does that count?  

Nutrition :: Track every single calorie. Even if I eat out, even if I eat crap, even if I go over.. track it! Be accountable for my actions!

I have done very well on this. If there has been something that I didn't know the calorie content on, I made a note of it on the page for that day.


Now that Week 5 is over and we are moving on to Week 6. My goals for this week will be the same as this week.

Weight Loss :: Lose 2 lbs. 

NSV :: Make it 3 days without Diet Coke.

Exercise :: Attempt P90X Plyometrics with my husband again. Make it further than the 21 minutes we made it last time.

Nutrition :: Track every single calorie. Even if I eat out, even if I eat crap, even if I go over.. track it! Be accountable for my actions!

Good luck this week everyone!!  Make it a great one!

READY FOR SUMMER Challenge Week 4 Check-In and Week 5 Goals

Whew, we made it through Week 4! My goals for this week were:

Weight Loss :: Lose at least 1 lb. 2 lbs just hasn't been happening.. so I'll lower my expectations.

This was a success, even though I am very frustrated. My weight has went up for the last two days and I don't really see a reason other than I was ovulating and had too much sodium. I know it wasn't from overeating as I've done great this week with keeping my calories in check. Here you can see my weights from this week.  

Sunday, April 15 :: 292.0
Monday, April 16 :: 290.4
Tuesday, April 17 :: 288.2
Wednesday, April 18 :: 287.2
Thursday, April 19 ::  286.4
Friday, April 20 :: 285.5
Saturday, April 21 :: 287.2
Sunday, April 22 :: 289.0

So, even though on Friday I was down a whopping 6.5 lbs for the week... today I am only down 3 lbs due to whatever is going on with my crazy body. I was really looking forward to saying I'd lost over 6 lbs this week. But, you know what, I'll take 3 lbs. That is great progress! 

SW: 293.8
W1: 292.8 (-1)
W2: 292.0 (-0.8)
W3: 292.0 (-0)

W4: 289 (-3)
CW:289.0 (-4.8) Total so far.  

NSV :: No Nutella! No chips! No sweets! No candy! AND Try for 3 days without Diet Coke.

OK, so this one I did really well with. But it wasn't 100% a success. I made it all week without caving into any sort of chips, sweets, candy, or even Nutella. But I only made it 2 days without a Diet Coke. Still that's pretty good. I'll take it.  

Exercise :: Work out at least 5x. Try to make one of those involve strength training.

Complete victory!!! I worked out all 7 days and had 3 days of strength training. 

Nutrition :: Track every single calorie. Even if I eat out, even if I eat crap, even if I go over.. track it! Be accountable for my actions!

Another VICTORY! I tracked everything. I kept my calories within my limits all week as well.  

Mini-Challenge ::

The mini-challenge for Week 3 was to visit every single participant and mention a few that stood out to you. 

I didn't have the time during week 3 to visit everyone, but this week, I did manage to visit every single page and leave a comment that I felt was supportive.  

It is really hard for me to pick a few that stood out because I feel like everyone has their own unique battle and has something  to offer as motivation or support.

But, if I have to pick... I'd have to say that PlumPetals is the most supportive person I have met in my weight loss journey thus far. She comments on every single blog post I share. That isn't an easy task as I blog every single night. I truly appreciate that. Just knowing that someone is reading helps me to be accountable. So thank you! 

Next, I'd have to mention my SIL, Melanie @ I'm No Chef. No, I don't mention her because she is my SIL and my Best Friend. I mention her because I know her battle first hand and her success should show everyone that you can lose weight no matter what obstacles lay in your path. What an inspiration! 

Maren @ From Cow to Wow encourages me to get outside and put my miles behind me in the great outdoors. I love to see the pictures from her hikes as they are gorgeous! 

and last but certainly not least is Wendy @ Eat.Sleep.Move . Wendy and I have been acquaintances since I started this blog. But, during this mini-challenge I found a video she made about how I am the one who inspired her to get back on the treadmill. Of course, I was dumbfounded. I just couldn't believe that I could be an inspiration to anyone. Since watching that video, I started watching all of her videos and wow! She is the juicing queen. I can't wait to learn more about it from her. 

The mini-challenge for Week 4 was to explain how you have Paid-It-Forward. 

This is a hard one for me. I really don't know what to say.  I guess one way that I pay it forward is by helping out family who can't care for themselves. In the past I have cared for both of my grandmothers and now I do as much as I possibly can for my Mom who is very ill.  If you follow along with my blog, you have probably read a little about that. As of right now, I am in the process of trying to donate a kidney to my Mom. So, I guess that qualifies. 

Now that Week 4 is over, we are on to Week 5. My goals for this week will be...

Weight Loss :: Lose 2 lbs. 

NSV :: Make it 3 days without Diet Coke.

Exercise :: Attempt P90X Plyometrics with my husband again. Make it further than the 21 minutes we made it last time.

Nutrition :: Track every single calorie. Even if I eat out, even if I eat crap, even if I go over.. track it! Be accountable for my actions!

Good luck this week everyone!!  Make it a great one!

READY FOR SUMMER Challenge Week 3 Check-In

Here it is the 15th of April and I feel like I have wasted 1/2 a month. Sure I've continued to exercise 4-6x a week, but not at the pace I had been. I've attempted to count calories, but I've caved way too many times. I do not want to gain my weight back. I do not want to cave. I want to exercise every.single.day.  I want to be accountable with my calories. Why is this not as easy for me as it was at the first of January? Why am I not as motivated? Why do I keep caving into crap foods?!!

Don't get me wrong... I am thrilled with what success I have had in the past few months, but this is not where I want to be and I most certainly don't want to gain it back. I want to see 275, 250 and then 225. Eventually maybe even Onderland.. I do NOT want to be stuck in the 280s-290s. I do not want to see 300+. Someday I want to easily slide into a pair of jeans that the size isn't double digits starting with a 2! I want to be in a shirt that doesn't have an X before the size. I'm not asking for too much. I know I'm not. I don't want to be stick thin. I'm not asking for that at all. Just healthy. Its not that I would just like to be healthy. I NEED to be healthy for me and for my Mom. If I am a match to donate her a kidney and I am not healthy enough to do so, I will never be able to forgive myself. Ever. If I end up with diabetes because I am fat, I couldn't forgive myself for that either.

I have to find it within myself to get back on track 100%!! I have to! I can do this! I can. Please, God! Let me get back on track!

OK, enough drama.. back to the challenge..

My goals for this past week were:

Weight loss :: Lose at least 2 lbs. More would be great, but I really want to lose at least 2 lbs this week.

My low weight this week was 288.0 which was on Thursday. This morning I was 292.0 and I am sure that is because I've ate crap for three days at the campground with my family. This takes me right back to where I was last Sunday and leaves me with a whopping goose egg this week. A big fat 0 lbs lost!!!

 SW: 293.8
W1: 292.8 (-1)
W2: 292.0 (-0.8)
CW: 292.0 (-0)

In total I have lost 1.8 lbs while this challenge has been going on. This is very disappointing. Since January I've been dropping around 10 lbs or more a month. Ugh. Looks like I'll be lucky to drop 5 this time. But at least that will be 5 lbs lost, right?

NSV (Non-Scale Victory) :: See a change in my measurements. Even a tiny change. You can see my progress so far, HERE.

My current measurements:

Neck: 16 (-0.25)

Right Wrist: 6.75

Bust: 54

Band: 47 (-2)

Waist: 54(-0.5)

Hips: 58

Right Arm: 17

Right Thigh: 28 (-1)

Right Calf: 18.5 (+0.5)

Right Ankle: 10

Total inches lost this week : 2.75 inches 
At least this was a victory!!!! 

Exercise :: Work out at least 5x.

This was a complete success! I made a deliberate attempt to work out 6 days this week. Even on the days that sucked royally food wise!  Wednesday, I made it past the record I set last week. I walked 4.25 miles. The furthest yet. I was able to do some walking outside at the camp ground where my sister is staying. I like being outside so much better than being on the treadmill. We climb a very steep hill 2x. My legs were fairly sore the next morning and I had a cramp in my butt cheek that night, but I didn't stop once on either trip up the hill. My heart didn't feel like it was going to blow out of my chest, my lungs weren't on fire, and I didn't feel like my legs were going to collapse out from under me. This was MUCH better than last year when I only made it up 1x, had to stop several times on the way up, and had all the fore-mentioned going on.

Nutrition :: No eating out, count my calories everyday, and stay within my pre-set goals on My Fitness Pal.

OK, so this one didn't go so well. I did sign in to My Fitness Pal every day, but I caved on crap food and didn't track everything of the afternoons. However, I didn't eat out anywhere... not that my choices at home and at the camp ground were any better than I would have had at a restaurant. I'm so aggravated with myself.

I'm ready for WEEK 4. My goals for this week will be...

Weight Loss :: Lose at least 1 lb. 2 lbs just hasn't been happening.. so I'll lower my expectations. 

NSV :: No Nutella! No chips! No sweets! No candy! AND Try for 3 days without Diet Coke.

Exercise :: Work out at least 5x. Try to make one of those involve strength training. 

Nutrition :: Track every single calorie. Even if I eat out, even if I eat crap, even if I go over.. track it! Be accountable for my actions!

 It is going to be... better.. at least I hope. Good luck everyone!!

READY FOR SUMMER Challenge Week 2 Check-In

The end of week 2 ... it has been a very long week. Preparing for Easter has been absolutely exhausting.

My goals for this past week were:

Weight loss :: Lose at least 2 lbs. More would be great, but I really want to lose at least 2 lbs this week.

My weight on Friday morning was 289.0 (-3.8). That put me down 40.2 lbs and was the last time I had a chance to weigh this crazy holiday weekend. I did weigh this morning (Monday) but AF showed up during the night and I am bloated like a balloon 292.0 (-0.8). 

NSV (Non-Scale Victory) :: See a change in my measurements. Even a tiny change. You can see my progress so far, HERE.

I'm not doing measurements with AF here. Even my fingers are swelled. I did have a NSV though. I easily fit into my non-stretch, no-elastic waist, button up, size 24 jeans from Maurices.

THEY FIT!

Exercise :: Work out at least 5x.  

I didn't make it 5x this week. I got in 4. However, one of those days  I walked 4 miles which was a new record for me.

Nutrition :: No eating out, count my calories everyday, and stay within my pre-set goals on My Fitness Pal.

Ok, so this one didn't go so well. It's Easter weekend!

I'm ready for WEEK 3. I think I will keep my goals the same as they were this week. It is going to be great. Good luck everyone!!

READY FOR SUMMER Challenge Week 1 Check-In

Week 1 is over already? Wow. That went by fast!

My goals for this past week were:

Weight loss :: Lose at least 2 lbs. More would be great, but I really want to lose at least 2 lbs this week.

My weight this morning as 292.8. I am only down 1 lb, however the last couple days have been insane. I will not dwell on what I didn't do. I am thrilled to have lost a lb!

NSV (Non-Scale Victory) :: See a change in my measurements. Even a tiny change. You can see my progress so far, HERE.

My current measurements:

Neck: 16.25 (-0.25)

Right Wrist: 6.75

Bust: 54

Band: 49

Waist: 54.5 (-1.5)

Hips: 58 (-2)

Right Arm: 17

Right Thigh: 29

Right Calf: 18

Right Ankle: 10

Total inches lost this week : 3.75 

VICTORY! 

Exercise :: Work out at least 5x.  

This was a success as well! I have worked out harder this week than I have in a long time. Even though I was very busy Fri and Sat, I still have managed to get in deliberate workouts 5 out of 7 days!  WOO!

Nutrition :: No eating out, count my calories everyday, and stay within my pre-set goals on My Fitness Pal.

Ok, so this one didn't go so well. I did eat out on Fri and Saturday. Friday I did try to make good decisions. Saturday not so much. But I did go 5 days without eating out!!! 

I'm ready for WEEK 2. I think I will keep my goals the same as they were this week. It is going to be great. Good luck everyone!!

READY FOR SUMMER Challenge Week 1!

I normally do my official weigh-in on Sunday, so for week one I am starting out at 293.8 lbs. You can see all the ultimate goals I have set for the 10 week challenge, HERE.

Here are my goals for WEEK 1 ::

1. Weight loss :: Lose at least 2 lbs. More would be great, but I really want to lose at least 2 lbs this week.
2. NSV (Non-Scale Victory) :: See a change in my measurements. Even a tiny change. You can see my progress so far, HERE.
3. Exercise :: Work out at least 5x. 
4. Nutrition :: No eating out, count my calories everyday, and stay within my pre-set goals on My Fitness Pal. 

There is also a mini-challenge for this week. It is ::  Try a new vegetable, fruit, or other healthy dish of your choice, that you've never had before.

 Current Measurements

Neck: 16.5

Right Wrist: 6.75

Bust: 54

Band: 49

Waist: 56

Hips: 60

Right Arm: 17

Right Thigh: 29

Right Calf: 18

Right Ankle: 10

Good luck, everyone!!!!

READY FOR SUMMER Challenge!

I have decided to participate in a READY FOR SUMMER Challenge along with my SIL Melanie.  The challenge will last 10 weeks and my goals for the challenge are:

1. Weight loss :: Lose at least 20 lbs.
2. NSV (Non-Scale Victory) :: Easily fit into my size 22 jeans.
3. Exercise :: Work out at least 5x a week.
4. Nutrition :: No eating out, count my calories everyday, and stay within my pre-set goals on My Fitness Pal.

There you have it! I can't wait to get started! Good luck everyone!!!