Starting Over From Scratch

It's been over a year since I began my first attempt at my year long 100 pound challenge. I did not achieve my goal. I added 20lbs to the cause...

What else is there to do but START OVER?

That's right, I'm starting over... I'm not giving up the fight... The 100lbs in a year challenge is on!

I actually started the challenge on 12/28/10, but realized that it'd be a good idea to update the blog so I have a reference to go back to as I go along.

So far:

I started at 242lbs on 12/28/10

I weighed in at Weight Watchers on 1/4/11 at 239.2lbs
That's a loss of 2.8lbs!!!
I weighed in at Weight Watchers on 1/11/11 at 238.4lbs
That's another 0.8lbs!!!

I am following the Weight Watcher's PointsPlus program and taking a weekly yoga class (for school credit) as well as walking and doing pilates whenever possible.

I'm also, independently, competing with my boyfriend and his dad, sister and best friend for a cash prize of $300 for whoever loses the highest percentage of weight in 12 weeks, so that's a big kick in the pants as well.

With God, my family, loved ones, and new found will on my side, by 12/30/2011, I will weigh 140lbs.

Keep checking back as I update at least once a week with my progress!!!

Day Whatever.... Redo

FYI, I quit, started, quit, started and quit again...

I'm not going to make my goal by January 4th 2011.

It's unhealthy to lose more than 1-2lbs/week and pretty much impossible to lose 4lbs/week over 6 months.

Anyway... Screw it... I got winded and dizzy from climbing the stairs at the ball park yesterday and I hate it.

New goal:

I'm going to be healthier on January 4th, 2011 than I am now.

Starting at 215 (I kept 3lbs off since January); I'm going for weighing under 170 within the next 6 months. Minimum 45lbs total; just under 2lbs/week.

Food plan:
Weight Watchers points program; observing good health guidelines

Activity plan:
Alternate Pilates and Cross Training videos
Spend one or two days a week doing cardio at the gym.
and for an extra little kick, I'll use my bicycle as my primary mode of transportation around my neighborhood (school, church, grocery store, chiropractor)

Support plan:
Regardless of the possibility of failure and shame (ha!); I'm going to tell everyone I know that I am working on this goal and ask for moral support and accountability. So, that means you! :)

Truth to dispel potential excuses:

It's not ok for me to have popcorn for dinner

My chiropractor said I only have to take it easy with workouts for the first two weeks while he fixes a few spine things, but said I can still do low impact stuff like riding my bike or pilates.

There's no such thing as a free day, though a free meal every couple weeks is supposed to help boost metabolism.

Bread is a major weakness and I have to closely monitor my intake.

And most importantly, with the exception of the tragedy of a break-up or the celebration of my birth...
BBQ Chicken Nachos are forbidden.

Thank you for observing my rant.

I look forward to proving to myself that I can complete something worthwhile. :)

Day 8: Stats and Start Overs

I updated my stats in another post here

Woo Hoo!!! Week 1 is done and I, ultimately, did very well.

Even with the minor hiccup yesterday, I lost 5 lbs and a few inches here and there. I feel good and I'm growing spiritually through this first phase of the journey. This week I continue the Daniel Fast (ending date for that is 1/25/10). When the fasting stage is over I will be adding in more cardio workouts. For now I need to take it easy so I don't go passing out and all that silly stuff. Pilates all week, this week...

Also, I'm soooo glad I added whole grains and beans, nuts and legumes. I would have completely lost my mind otherwise. And... chocolate rice milk... love it.

I seriously miss drinking coffee... :(

Short-ish post today... I'm going to start updating at night from now on so the thoughts of the day are more fresh in my mind.

Day 4: I Have To Cook

Pilates was awesome and actually helped me to get that final stretch in my legs making it possible to walk like a fully developed human again. My raw food day went well too, but I lost my mind around 8pm and made a bag of low fat microwave popcorn... Popcorn seems to be my weakness lately. Only 220 calories, but still, not planned.

The cravings I'm having are annoying, to say the least. I think I read somewhere that the body's addiction to the chemicals in processed foods should be broken by 72 hours after ending consumption of the garbage... but I believe it's going to take longer to break the mental addiction to Doritos and cheese dip.

Tonight I have to make a casserole for a dinner my church is hosting at a warming shelter in Ferndale. I'm not looking forward to having to cook and cube chicken and make a creamy sauce when I won't be able to have any of it. My plan for my dinner is roasted potatoes and sauteed mushrooms and onions so, hopefully, the consolation dinner will be enough to make up for smelling the Parmesan cheese on the casserole as it's baking.

I'm happy with my efforts so far, but I'm starting to think the same defeating thoughts that got me up to 218Lbs and I'm getting scared. My mantra lately has been "What do I want to love more, food or my body?"

Week one's meal plan (Fruits and Vegetables only) is more than halfway done and I'll be incorporating beans and legumes into my diet next week.

This isn't easy and it's only getting harder, but it helps to know that I have this blog to come to and that someday I might actually have people who read it. :)

Day 3: Everything Smells Wonderful

Yesterday went well.
I was still unable to walk like a normal 30 year old, but I made it through the day and stuck to my meal plan... sort of. I replaced my intended avocado and tomato salad dinner with about 8 cups of movie theater popcorn (no butter, of course). It turns out, though, that even that much popcorn is only 440 calories so as a meal goes it was ok... but I didn't get my healthy fat in for the day so I won't be able to make a habit of it. Another downside is that I didn't realize how much salt is really in the stuff when it was coated with. I drank about a gallon of water when I got home from the movie.

A couple new things I'm noticing:

• I can smell things a whole lot better. Similar to when I quit smoking, my sense of smell is hightened. So much so that I can smell whatever people are heating up in the microwaves in the cafeteris that is about 60 yards away from my desk.

• I'm excited to be able to work out again. My tiny stint with a sports injury is upsetting, but it's less about having hurt myself and more about not being physically capable of following my workout plan. 

Tonight I intend to do a 20 minute basic pilates workout just to keep things going. I expect to be fully recovered by tomorrow and I plan to tackle the 30 Day Shred again... hopefully this time I'll make it through without hurting myself. I'll definitely be spending more time stretching when the video ends though. :)

As for the meal plan: Today is a new approach. Day 1 I fasted, Day 2 I went with moderation (and popcorn!) today I'm working on a steady flow of raw fruits and vegetables. I'm thinking my body might react better to variety and not just a variety of foods. My hope is that this variety method will keep my metabolism guessing and it's a lot more fun for me. It's also easier for me to stay focused on the little goals if I keep changing the game plan each day. We'll see, huh?

Almost to the half way point of the first week!!! 51 and 1/2 to go!!!

Day 1: Bravery Required

This is the first full day of my endeavor to lose 100 Lbs by January 3rd 2011.

I am a 30 year old female, 5'2", 218 Lbs. I have been overweight since the age of 13.

My lowest weight in the last 5 years is 192, my highest is 230.

I have tried Weight Watchers, Adkins Diet & Sadkhin Complex and have tried suplemental programs like Alli, Metabolife & Equinox. I gave vegetarianism, veganism & raw foods a whirl and even went a month on nothing but prepackaged foods. As for exercize; there have been countless work out sessions and hours spent on tread mills and elliptical machines with no understanding of what it was even doing for my body. To be perfectly honest I had to have spell check help me out with spelling exercize. My plan is to shake things up with my metabolism. I wnat to take the consistent advice of a few different gurus and mix it with the science of calories in vs. calories out and see what happens. I will update daily with what nutritional method I used and which workout I did and describe hunger, energy, dificulty and what I'm feeling. I will also update every Monday evening with my weight and measurements.

The Food Plan:
Detox by fasting for 1 day
Kick start the calorie reduction by only eating fruits and vegetables for 19 days
Stick to a balanced menu of 1300 calories/day for the remaining days.

The Action Plan:
Sundays, Cross train at the gym 1-4
Mondays, Video: Pilates Basic, 20 min
Tuesdays, Video: Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred, 20 min
Wednesdays, Video: Pilates Buns & Thighs, 20 min
Thursdays, Video: Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred, 20 min
Fridays, Video: Pilates Abs, 20 min
Saturdays, Video: Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred, 20 min