So It's Been Awhile...

But its time to pick this up again. Weight loss is something I think about every day. I have known that I need to lose weight for a very long time. Getting motivated to do it, and keep doing it has been more difficult. But now it's becoming about more than weighing less and looking good. It's becoming about health. Right now, at the current weight, I can't walk up stairs without getting somewhat out of breath. I have stomach issues and heartburn is starting to be a daily occurrence. None of this helps all the not looking good and feeling good (emotionally).

So this is where I pick it back up. Gonna try from here on in. Tracking my calories (870 so far today - 117 for exercise) and made it to the gym at lunch time.

Can I still make it to Norway?

Back in the Saddle

So I know. It's been awhile. I was on this for about five minutes, and then I caved. Life got the better of me. Work's been awful, and eating comfort food has become a bit of a pastime for me. It's been difficult to even think about tacking diet and health and exercise, because there's so many other things I need to do right now.

But Stacey and I have been talking about about this, and the other day, we started making a list. We wrote up our weight loss goals and agreed to start the next day, which was Tuesday, Feb 16th. so now we're both on it. I am back to trying to lose 75 pounds, and Norway is still at the end of it. We also set some other goals for along the way. So my first milestone will be to lose 10% of the total I want to lose - 7.5 pounds. When I do this, I get to go get a 30 minute massage at a spa.

I got myself to the gym last night and managed to walk/jog for about 45 minutes. I'm on my way....

Work Blues: A Gateway to Snacking

I'm sitting here at work and my motivation level is not super high. Its Tuesday, it's raining, and I still have way too much work to do on a marketing plan that's due soon. I keep waffling away from my computer screen and thinking I want a snack. And not apples or carrots. More like M&Ms or Fritos. This has long been a problem for me...the boredom sets in at work, and I use snacking to break up the afternoon. Sometimes its out of hunger. sometimes its merely for distraction. And sometimes, its both. But its interesting when you actually stop to think about your cravings. Right now, I am not hungry. But everything in me wants chips, chocolate or anything else that's bad for you.

Monday Weigh-In #4: Back on the Horsey

So as I said last week - I fell off the wagon for a few days at the tradeshow. But now its Monday, it's a new week, and time to get back on the horsey.

Today's weight - I gained a pound. Not bad for all the crap I ate last week, so I'll accept that weight and make this week about losing at least two pounds to make up for it. 73 pounds to go.

This week's objective: get to the gym. I've been super busy in the last six or seven weeks, and haven't been to the gym much at all. Time to change that and really find time to go. So I'm going to tonight. Gym goal: Go at least three times by Monday, November 2.

Well I Feel Sheepish...

So as you can see, I didn't weigh in and/or post about it on Monday, even though I promised to do it every Monday. But this week I was away at a conference in Boston. And I admit, when I am traveling for business, I am the worst at dieting. Its even harder than dieting when I'm on vacation for pleasure. Here's why:

*My time is not my own. I can't eat at all my regular hours because there are certain times I need to be working, and sometimes breakfast, lunch and dinner happen at weird hours.
*There's mostly fast food in the convention center, so those times I can't leave make it difficult to eat healthy.
*There's all kinds of candy and other temptations all over the exhibit hall. Lots of exhibitors give out candy to attract visitors to the booth, and sometimes the convention center will put out snacks like cookies and danishes.
*All meals are covered by my company, so there's unbelievable temptation to go to great restaurants and eat lots of fattening but awesome stuff.
*Alcohol is usually out in full force at these things too - you're out with co-workers, or clients, or at cocktail parties, and alcohol = more calories.
*Exercise is almost non-existent at these things. Number one, there's no time. Two, even if you do have time, your legs hurt so much from standing in the booth all day, the idea of doing any kind of cardio is just silly.

Those things said, I know that I eventually need to learn how to eat better, even when I am on the road. While its impossible to do everything right on the road, it is possible to do a better job than I did this week. So...I'm starting over next week, and we'll see where I am next Monday.

Monday Weigh-in #3: A little late

So since yesterday was a holiday and I was out of town - I did not get to weigh myself yesterday morning. Instead, I weighed myself Sunday morning and was going to record that as my official weight loss for the week. The result was that I'd lost a pound - which was justified - I'd been fairly careful about what I'd eaten all week, and just a little mischievous over the weekend. I never got around to doing a blog post though because I was busy running around and going out of town.

So this morning, back home, I weighed myself to see how much damage I might have done in Atlantic City. I was away for my cousin's birthday, and didn't count points at all. So my weekend included a dinner at Carmine's, dessert at "the devil's workshop" and a freaking cheeseburger and fries at Applebee's yesterday. Bad, bad, bad. But somehow it all worked out, because when I stepped on the scale this morning, I somehow had lost another pound. That brings the total so far to 3.

Seriously?

Seriously. 72 pounds to go.

Temptation of the Day

When you're trying to diet, you build yourself an arsenal. You empty your home of crappy foods and fill it with healthy stuff, or at the very least low calorie stuff. You march out of the house armed with your meals and your snacks, determined to stick to the plan you've set for yourself that day.

And then you get out there in the world. It's inevitable - the minute you decide or announce that you're dieting, the universe seems to begin to throw food at you. It's everywhere. The temptations are some of the toughest pitfalls of dieting, and I found one of them today in the office kitchen. Someone brought in their child's box of World's Finest Candy bars to sell, so its sitting in the kitchen with an envelope of money attached. Pay a dollar, take a candy bar. I have a weakness for these chocolate bars - probably because they have nostalgia attached to them, because I used to sell and eat the same ones when I was a kid. So since I don't have children, I don't see them around much anymore, except for rare occasions like this. But I didn't take one. I'm on a mission, and I'm sure I'll give into some other temptation before this week is out. So for now, I'm holding out.