So I'm up 1.4 lbs.
Hmph.
But -- I am down1.4 lbs from my initial weight (2 weeks ago) and I think this is much more accurate than my random 3 lb loss last week.
Because I actually did something this week. Yay!
I'm definitely not discouraged by this gain, mainly because of the way I feel. I hit the gym four times since last Wednesday (just narrowly missing my goal of 5x/wk) and I've been really conscious about food.
Let's talk about exercise first.
My goals: 5 hours of cardio a week. This goal is shamelessly stolen from a good friend who saw a doctor for weight loss, and she is looking amazing these days. Per her doc, he said at least 5 hours (initially) of simple cardio - don't worry about weights for now. Likewise, it's cardio with a heart rate of 160 or higher. (obviously, this depends on your age). And you know what? Around 160 is when I break a sweat and really start to feel it.
And I've found (rediscovered, if you may) that I really like cardio. Pre-baby, I was all, "I hate the gym, I don't wanna go" and now post-baby (anno domini baby?) it's like the most glorious 60 minutes of my day. Mainly because I get to plug in and tune out. And, best of all, I have discovered...Jersey Shore. Which makes the gym TOTALLY worth it.
I even hit boot camp last week, although it was not nearly as fun as the first time. The way the class works is we start with ab work on our own mats, then we move to push-ups and some simple stretching. It's all at your own pace (which I like) and pretty low key. Then the instructor sets up cones across the gym, lines everyone up into even lines, and makes us run, like gym class. We do sprints, suicides, grapevines, crab-walking, lunges (argh), etc up and down these cones. Sometimes you do two laps, sometimes three, and you (well, me) are likely to be completely out of breath and dripping with sweat within about 4 minutes.
The first time we did it, the class was great; everyone cheered each other on each time we crossed the finish line. This time, however, the guy behind me acted like I was slowing him down since he caught up to me during each run. And then trailed RIGHT behind me like I was a dead weight. I must have told him about three times, "Just go ahead of me. Just cut, it's fine" but he continued to torment me with his close proximity. Even the other women in my line were giving him dirty looks and me sympathetic ones. Finally (it must have been the adrenaline), I said rather loudly, "Oh, I'm sorry I'm not fast enough. I didn't realize you just had a baby, too." And that shut him up (or at least made him increase his distance from me.)
And yes, I did whisper to the girl in front of me that my "baby" is almost 13 months since I felt bad for saying it. Whatever. Crazy, overzealous boot camp dude.
Okay, let's talk about food...
I am not following any plan. I refuse to. I'm not using a program or a point system or anything. I'm not counting calories, monitoring my carb intake or decreasing my fat consumption. I am simply eating what I like, when I like, and trying to pick things that are healthy for me. While I realize this is going to result in much slower weight loss, I just don't want to hop on that Crazy-Dieting-Train again, since I've been a charter member for so long. I'm done. And I'm not going to stress about food.
What's interesting is that the moment I let go of it...the moment I found I wasn't all that hungry. If you really think about identifying when you are actually hungry - hungry for food b/c your stomach is growling - you realize you aren't hungry a lot of the time. My food intake was a lot of snacking, mainly b/c it so available. And I'm bored during much of the day, and food is a good distraction (as is blogging, but thankfully, blogging doesn't have any calories). So I am trying to clue into my body's cues and break some bad habits.
Likewise, Scotty's eating habits are proving to be illuminating to me as well. 1.) Toddlers don't over eat. They don't over eat because they are bored or mad or sad. They eat because they are hungry. 2.) Toddlers don't want "something sweet" at the end of a meal, like dessert. This is a learned behavior, which means it is one I can break. And 3.) Toddlers don't have specific cravings - they eat what they want, and don't long for spicy, crunchy, sweet or creamy. They just eat. So it's kind of nice to look at this behavior and get back to basics. Who knew my almost 13 month old would prove to be so helpful?
How are you doing? Any loss or gains? Insights or thoughts? Let me know!
Hmph.
But -- I am down1.4 lbs from my initial weight (2 weeks ago) and I think this is much more accurate than my random 3 lb loss last week.
Because I actually did something this week. Yay!
I'm definitely not discouraged by this gain, mainly because of the way I feel. I hit the gym four times since last Wednesday (just narrowly missing my goal of 5x/wk) and I've been really conscious about food.
Let's talk about exercise first.
My goals: 5 hours of cardio a week. This goal is shamelessly stolen from a good friend who saw a doctor for weight loss, and she is looking amazing these days. Per her doc, he said at least 5 hours (initially) of simple cardio - don't worry about weights for now. Likewise, it's cardio with a heart rate of 160 or higher. (obviously, this depends on your age). And you know what? Around 160 is when I break a sweat and really start to feel it.
And I've found (rediscovered, if you may) that I really like cardio. Pre-baby, I was all, "I hate the gym, I don't wanna go" and now post-baby (anno domini baby?) it's like the most glorious 60 minutes of my day. Mainly because I get to plug in and tune out. And, best of all, I have discovered...Jersey Shore. Which makes the gym TOTALLY worth it.
I even hit boot camp last week, although it was not nearly as fun as the first time. The way the class works is we start with ab work on our own mats, then we move to push-ups and some simple stretching. It's all at your own pace (which I like) and pretty low key. Then the instructor sets up cones across the gym, lines everyone up into even lines, and makes us run, like gym class. We do sprints, suicides, grapevines, crab-walking, lunges (argh), etc up and down these cones. Sometimes you do two laps, sometimes three, and you (well, me) are likely to be completely out of breath and dripping with sweat within about 4 minutes.
The first time we did it, the class was great; everyone cheered each other on each time we crossed the finish line. This time, however, the guy behind me acted like I was slowing him down since he caught up to me during each run. And then trailed RIGHT behind me like I was a dead weight. I must have told him about three times, "Just go ahead of me. Just cut, it's fine" but he continued to torment me with his close proximity. Even the other women in my line were giving him dirty looks and me sympathetic ones. Finally (it must have been the adrenaline), I said rather loudly, "Oh, I'm sorry I'm not fast enough. I didn't realize you just had a baby, too." And that shut him up (or at least made him increase his distance from me.)
And yes, I did whisper to the girl in front of me that my "baby" is almost 13 months since I felt bad for saying it. Whatever. Crazy, overzealous boot camp dude.
Okay, let's talk about food...
I am not following any plan. I refuse to. I'm not using a program or a point system or anything. I'm not counting calories, monitoring my carb intake or decreasing my fat consumption. I am simply eating what I like, when I like, and trying to pick things that are healthy for me. While I realize this is going to result in much slower weight loss, I just don't want to hop on that Crazy-Dieting-Train again, since I've been a charter member for so long. I'm done. And I'm not going to stress about food.
What's interesting is that the moment I let go of it...the moment I found I wasn't all that hungry. If you really think about identifying when you are actually hungry - hungry for food b/c your stomach is growling - you realize you aren't hungry a lot of the time. My food intake was a lot of snacking, mainly b/c it so available. And I'm bored during much of the day, and food is a good distraction (as is blogging, but thankfully, blogging doesn't have any calories). So I am trying to clue into my body's cues and break some bad habits.
Likewise, Scotty's eating habits are proving to be illuminating to me as well. 1.) Toddlers don't over eat. They don't over eat because they are bored or mad or sad. They eat because they are hungry. 2.) Toddlers don't want "something sweet" at the end of a meal, like dessert. This is a learned behavior, which means it is one I can break. And 3.) Toddlers don't have specific cravings - they eat what they want, and don't long for spicy, crunchy, sweet or creamy. They just eat. So it's kind of nice to look at this behavior and get back to basics. Who knew my almost 13 month old would prove to be so helpful?
How are you doing? Any loss or gains? Insights or thoughts? Let me know!
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