Thursday Morning Moment of Truth

Happy Thursday everyone!

This past week seemed to last forever! I'll post a recap in the next few days of a few fun things I have had going on! But first here we go for this week!

Definitely channeling the 90's with my new Toe Ring 

Starting Weight: 162lbs

Current Weight: 153.2lbs

Total Lost: 8.8lbs

So I lost 0.6lbs this week! Here's the thing, I really didn't do so hot with the program, but I think I have learned enough tools and tricks when it comes to choosing foods that I still did ok! It just makes me think how much could I lose in a week if I stuck EXACTLY to program and didn't go over my daily points/ weekly allowance and really worked out consistently?

Sounds like a good challenge for me! So this week my goal is to stick to program exactly... this is where I KNOW I will have issues:

Drinking- I drink socially on the weekends. During the week isn't an issue, I am too old and tired, but on the weekends I like to kick back with a few Woodchucks and have fun with my friends. The past few weekends have been particularly challenging because of St. Pattys Day (GREEN BEER!) and Saturday was my best friends Jessica's Birthday. This weekend I will try my best to not party like it's 1999.

Working Out- I love running, and I really enjoy working out... once it's over, or once I am well into it. I have an issue starting. I also have issues scheduling. Work and school are getting crazy with everything wrapping up in just 4 weeks (where has this semester gone?) and so I need to be better about scheduling time to run and just doing it! 

So those will be my two biggest things this week. I have the breakfast routine down and I think I have a fairly good grasp on what to eat and how much. So onto this week and we will see what we can do. 

I have some anxiety though as well. My highest weight in college was 182 lbs. YEAH... I got big for a while. 

December 2009, Bridesmaid

That picture is of me in my friend Eve's wedding. After this wedding I used to refer to myself as the biggest bridesmaid. Self deprecating behavior is not a stranger to me. At that point I weighed approximately 178 lbs. I don't have many pictures of me where I was at 182. The only one I could find is here...

May 2009. Ignore the crying, it was our last senior meeting in my sorority

I avoided camera's like the plague. I see this picture now and I think dear lord. At the time I remember being in such denial, I had no idea WHERE my weight was. I knew I weighed 182, but I still saw myself as someone who was in the 140 range. 

So after 3 years of a weight roller coaster, I am back down to near the lowest I have been since 2004 which is 152.  I have hit 152 many times over the past 3 years, but have never gone past it. So I am anxious because once I lose 1.2 lbs that will be exactly 30 from my highest weight ever, and my ultimate plateau. 

November 2011. Me presenting my research at ESBB in Marsailles, France.  Weight approx. 156

That's the newest picture of me that is my whole body and not just my face, and I am approx. 3lbs lighter now than I was then. My end goal with Weight Watchers is 130, which will be a total weight loss of 52lbs since 2009 and 32lbs lost on the program. There is a part of me that fears I will never get to that point, but I won't know if I don't stick to it and give it a try. 

So there is a bit about my history and weight struggles. Today starts week 5 on WW, and we will see what happens!

Love,
 Emma

Thursday Morning Moment of Truth

Does it feel like a Friday to anyone else? All morning I have been on a Friday mindset... weird.

Anywho today, since it is Thursday, is my weigh in day. Let me just tell you, I was CERTAIN I hadn't lost any weight. First off Saturday was St. Patrick's Day. so green beer happened. And the since the green beer was really flowing it was followed by french fries and a hotdog from a street vendor at roughly 3:30 in the morning. I was the definition of heath that night! So I jumped on the scale prepared for not much of anything and here is what I saw...

YES!!

2/23/12- Starting weight: 162

3/22/12- Current weight: 153.8

Total weight lost: 8.2 lbs

I lost! Yahoo! Here's what I did differently this week...

1) Ate breakfast everyday! Even if it was just 8 oz of Naked Green Goodness Juice (my fav) I had something that was high in vitamins and minerals to get my system started. That's why I love the green juice, it's easy and quick and nutritionally it does a lot more for you than a sausage biscuit. 

2) I worked out. I earned 17 activity points spread out over the 7 days. I ran 3 days, and last night I did 4 miles! I tried to go for shorter intense workouts spread over each day. Consistency is the key here!

3) I stopped worrying so much about the points values of each food I ate, and just went with it. If I ran out of points, I didn't stress about it, and if I wanted something else I made sure it was healthy (ignore Saturday night) and dipped into my extra points. I did not use ANY of my activity points. 

So I am pleased, and re-energized with the system and excited to move into next week. I am so happy with the slow and steady progression, and I want to make sure I am doing this in the healthiest way and giving my body what it needs through the process. 

Have a great day! Do something for yourself today!

Emma

Thursday Morning Moment of Truth

Well it's Thursday again! Time for my weekly weigh-in, here we go.

Damn +.2

Staring Weight- 162, February 26

Current Weight- 155.4, March 15

Weight Lost- 6.6 lbs

To say I am frustrated would be an understatement. 

Some people might be wondering why I am posting this online. Yeah it's kind of embarrassing, and extremely public. I have done the weight watchers thing before, along with countless other "diets" and crazy shenanigans in order to lose weight. This time it is different. I have to keep reminding myself this isn't just about weight this is about mindfulness and my desire to eventually be able to help others. I am working on educating myself and pushing through the difficult time that comes with being on the road to real health. So I am posting this for all the world to see (or my 13 fans) for two main reasons. First to keep me accountable. I know how I am, I get all excited about a new project and when I start to see a decline (TODAY) or get bored I quit. By posting this on here I am being accountable to myself. Secondly, I think it will be important for me to share a really tough experience with others. This journey isn't going to be all rainbows and sunshine every week. Some weeks are going to suck, and some days I am going to fail. It's life! It's a lesson we all need to learn no matter the situation. Take it for what it is a move on. 

So while yes I am frustrated by this weeks weigh-in I have decided to stay positive about it. I gained, ok. I am done with last week. Today starts a new week and here are the areas where I think I messed up and will be working on to change.

1) Eating breakfast- I haven't been eating breakfast the past couple of days. not because of any other reason than I am lazy (would rather stay in bed longer) and I like having lots of points left at the end of the day to play with

2) Having all those points at the end of the day means eating too late- I am not a big fan of no eating after a certain time, I think it generally all comes out in the wash BUT avoiding eating late is something I try to do because I have stomach issues and I need to be more aware of my schedule. Working on a college campus means I am having meetings till 10 at night! (these kids are nuts)

3) Working out- I'll admit it, I didn't work out at all this week. Not once. Nada. That whole Spring Break, classes, late night meetings, etc. has gotten me in a bad habit. So instead of sleeping in super late everyday and eating late each night I need to re-evaluate my schedule and change some things. 

My experimental schedule for this coming week will be as follows:

Breakfast Everyday

Working out at least 30 minutes 6 times a week

Spreading my points through the day, 0 point snacks at night 

So there you have it. I had a shitty weigh-in but the reality is it could have been worse and I am not the victim here. I stuck to the program, but I am aware of where I slipped up and we will just keep moving forward and still stay excited about the 6.6 lbs I have lost so far!

Cheers,

  Emma

Thursday Morning Moment Of Truth

Today is Thursday which means weigh-in day! I was so nervous getting on the scale this morning for a few reasons.

•  I was concerned mostly with maintaining the 6 lb weight loss from the cleanse. It is very common to put weight back on after a cleanse BEFORE you start seeing a permanent loss so this was a big goal for me this week. 
•  Because of our 5 Year Anniversary this weekend I used up all of my extra weekly points so I was concerned about how this was going to affect my weigh-in
• I was so sore after my 5.5 hours of TURBO on Saturday that it took 4 days for my body to feel normal again so no working out for me after that!

So, I jumped on the scale and this is where we stand after week 1...

Yeah... I got a pedicure after last weeks picture

I lost 0.6 lbs! I know this isn't a big number but it means the following:

• I maintained!! Maintaining that 6 lb weight loss was my biggest goal and I did!!
• I still lost something! Something is better than nothing
• I am confident that with this next week consistent exercise and not using up those extra points will mean a bigger number next Thursday!

So all in all I am pleased with the Thursday weigh-in. Excited to move into the next week!

Much Love,

 Emma

This Love

I hope everyone is having a FANTASTIC weekend!

Yesterday I took an 8 hour Turbo Kick instructor training class. That's right I said 8 HOURS. It was hosted by some friends/ sorority sisters of mine at our leisure services center, and the girl who came to "present" (teach) the material to us was from North Carolina. She works for Powder Blue productions Chalene Johnson's company!! For those who don't know Turbo Kick or Chalene Johnson I LOVE her. She is amazing and TurboFire is one of my favorite at home workouts! Check out the TurboKick website here TURBO

So, I went to this training because I am interested in becoming a Turbo Instructor myself! I love the workouts and the idea of bringing a great fitness program to others. To say the training wasn't stressful would be an understatement. I am not used to doing this level of exercise for this long, and I had a few moments where I thought I was going to cry (at one point I noticed the bottom of my foot had 1. got a blister and then 2. broke that blister and was bleeding). It was INTENSE. Here was the basic schedule of how the day went.

9-10 Intro, short discussion
10-1: Master's class workout program and Technique workshop (we just did in-depth turbo for 3 hours)
1-1:30 Lunch
1:30-2:30 Discussion & Class
2:30-5 Technique, small group teaching, workouts!

So as you can see we had 2.5 hours of the day when we weren't working out!! I am SO SORE today, I woke up and could barely move, BUT it kinda feels amazing. I am also now Turbo Kick Instructor Certified! So overall, the day was hard, but I am so glad I did it and I am so excited to move forward as an instructor.

Let me just tell you too, Turbo Kick is typically not blood inducing! It's a no-contact high energy exercise routine that will leave you feeling fantastic and burn calories FAST. It is also usually only done for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, so the training is exceptionally intense, the workout is the best kind of intense to get you FIT.

Lovely friends and our GREAT instructor! This was at the end of the day as well, that's why I look like death.

So after I limped home from training, (I earned 30 WW activity points in 1 day) I jumped crawled into the shower and stood there for about 45 minutes. David came home to inform me he had made reservations for dinner for us at 7 at this super fancy restaurant in town called Mauricio's! I have always wanted to go here, how sweet is he? So I slowly got ready and we headed out to dinner. 

I didn't get to take any pictures at dinner (too fancy!), but it was fantastic. I used up most of those activity points and ate a seafood pasta in white wine sauce. SO GOOD. We also split tiramisu for desert, and I had 2 glasses of Riesling. What a great night we had! Oh and did I mention it's our 5 year anniversary?? I am so thankful to have such a great person in my life, I can't believe it's been 5 years!

So overall, my weekend so far has been pretty great, soreness aside. I am excited my best friend is coming in town tonight and tomorrow is Margarita Monday!! Since it is the first day of Spring Break, a few friends and myself who are still in town are getting together to hang out at the lake, drink margaritas, and have some fun! I'll be sure to take some pictures. 

Also, I am on day 4 of Weight Watchers and so far I really like the online system and the new points plus program much better than when I did it 2 years ago! We will see how the weigh in goes this Thursday :) I am kinda nervous!

Have a great Sunday!

Emma 

Thursday Morning Moment Of Truth

Thursday has arrived! it's the first day of March and the first day of weight watchers! here's where I stand starting off.

My Tattoo is a Turtle incase you were wondering :)

WW Starting weight: 155.8
Weight lost from 3 Day Cleanse: 6 lbs! I started the cleanse at approximately 161-162 and weighed in this morning 6 lbs lighter. I'll take that!

So, I am pretty excited to start my day! For breakfast I will be having a fruit smoothie with strawberries and blueberries and a bit of truvia, and I am going to add in an egg white sandwich on a thin bagel with fat free cheddar! YUMM.

Total Breakfast Points: 7 point plus for all this food!!

Yummy!

Well, I am off to eat, pack my lunch and ride my bike to work! See ya later today!

Happy March!
Emma