Week 7 Day 5

I did weigh in last Friday: 125lbs!  I've been away from the computer, but not away from the plan this time.

MOVE MORE

The weather has been beautiful, so I've been outside playing golf!  I walk a lot because the ground is wet and it is "cart path only."

EAT LESS

Something about the Spring weather suppresses my appetite; maybe it's knowing that pool weather will soon be here.  I've eaten less this past week just because I haven't been as hungry.  Let's hope I can keep this up!

Week 6 Day 3

Okay, there's a gap in my reporting.  Also a gap in my plan.  Last week was hectic with my buildup to Mother's Day, so I barely had time to breathe.  Okay, so that's just an excuse.  I did weigh myself on Friday:  127 lbs.

Not too bad, considering.  Anyway, got back to it today, so Happy Mother's Day everybody!

MOVE MORE

Played nine holes of golf with a cart yesterday, walked Daisy for 15 minutes last night, and just finished 60 minutes on the Wii.

EAT LESS

This one didn't go as well; I can't think of one time all week that I made a positive choice.  Oh well, let's see if I can do better this week.

Week 5 Day 5

Not sure why I haven't been blogging; numerous reasons, really.  We've had some bad storms and I've had the machine off; I've been doing other things during the time I usually blog; I'm not sure what else.

Last night I ate an extra slice of pizza, so I'll be making up for that all week.

MOVE MORE

Did an hour on the Wii last night AND walked Daisy (to atone for the pizza.)  My plan is to do the same this evening.

EAT LESS

Going to try to cut back by 50 cals a day for the rest of this week to make up for the pizza.  Funny thing is, I thought of this while I was stuffing the pizza in my face...hope I remember it the next time I'm tempted.  We'll see.

Week 5 Day 1

New week, new weigh-in:  126.5!  I am very happy with the results I am seeing from all my hard work.  Although I am a 1/2 lb behind schedule, I still feel like I am making significant progress.  I am hoping that taking the weight off slowly is the key to keeping it off.

Here is my progress:

Start weight week One:  131
Week Two:                    129
Week Three:                   128.5
Week Four:                   130!
Week Five:                    126.5

I think this shows that last week was an anomaly; perhaps if I had weighed at a different time, I may have registered as 127.5--which would be more realistic considering where I am today.  It also shows why one shouldn't get discouraged by a number on the scale.

MOVE MORE

Did 45 minutes on the Wii.

EAT LESS

Been eating good all day; have a good number of calories to get me through dinner at poker tonight, but we'll see.  The progress certainly helps to keep me motivated; I'd hate to throw away all my hard work for a momentary pleasure.

Week 4 Day 7

Wow!  Just a wonderful day today, plan-wise.  My business meeting is held at an Italian restaurant with absolutely the best rolls.  So, instead of foregoing my favorite, I had one for lunch with the minestrone soup.  I was full and still got to eat my favorite.  The downside was that I was hungrier than usual at 3pm, so I ate a light snack that held me over for dinner, but still managed to stay within the allotment of calories for the day.

EAT LESS

The 3 pm snack:  a little cutie orange, a cheese stick and a yoghurt, instead of the chocolates and cookies I used to eat.  Satisfied my sweet craving with better nutrition.

MOVE MORE

Took the day off from Wii, but did take Daisy for a walk around the golf course on this most pleasant evening.  Oh, and yesterday I played golf on the two holes behind my house; walked them twice, and played pretty good!

Week 4 Day 6

Busy day today...Admin Professionals Day.  Up early and delivering baskets, but still managed to get in 45 minutes on the Wii.  Finished up early and even played a few holes of golf this afternoon.  Really nice day!

EAT LESS

Using the app on my iPhone is great--I don't even feel like I'm depriving myself.  Just taking that extra minute to check a calorie-count is usually enough to dissuade myself from mindless eating.

MOVE MORE

45 minutes on the Wii, 4 holes of golf.  What a great day!

New Beginnings

Okay, I was pretty depressed at my last post, but now I'm psyched!  I found a great app for my iPhone called myfitnesspal which is just awesome.  You should totally get it if you have an iPhone (I revert to my inner teenager when I get excited.)

What myfitnesspal has done for me is give me a way to calculate my intake/outgo so I know if I need to Move More or Eat Less.  It will even calculate for me how much less I need to eat, or how much more I must move if I want to eat more.

So, to kick off my new beginning, I weighed this a.m.: 128.5!  So, I can pick up right where I left off!

So, today is Week  4 Day 4.

Move More

I did 30 minutes on the Wii Fitness Coach and walked Daisy for 15 minutes.

Eat Less

I bought yoghurt, string cheese and Little Cuties oranges for dessert.  I am calculated everything I eat (easy with this new app) and I still have 241 calories remaining so I can have a Skinny Cow Truffle ice cream for dessert!

Week 3 Day 7; Week 4 Day 1

Week 3 Day 7

Took the day off.  Ate chocolate, skipped the Wii.  Felt fat.

Week 4 Day 1

Now I'm really depressed.  Got on the scale this morning; I knew it was a bad week, and I didn't think I lost anything, but I looked down at the scale in horror:  130 lbs!

Come on!  Not only didn't I lose anything, but I actually gained weight.

Here's a recap:

Week One Start weight:  131
Week Two:  129
Week Three: 128.5
Week Four:  130

What's wrong with this picture?  I read today that a woman my age needs to exercise for one hour every day just to maintain.  Who's idea of a sick joke is that?  Let's just say that small modifications in diet & exercise are not working; time to ramp up.

MOVE MORE

Too depressed to do anything today and it's my night to play poker, so I'm starting Week 4 tomorrow.

EAT LESS

On the bright side, I've been too depressed to eat.  I've also decided to weigh more frequently; maybe I can head off any moves in the wrong direction.

Week 3 Day 6

Did an hour on the Wii today to make up for no Wii time yesterday.  Didn't take Daisy for a walk, though.  She wasn't happy about that.  I really wanted to snack on cookies tonight, but ate twizzlers instead; I do believe there was some calorie savings in that choice.

I really don't feel like I'm making progress, but I guess we'll see.

EAT LESS

No bread at dinner, as well as the aforementioned sweet substitute.

MOVE MORE

I was able to do an hour on the Wii because it was "flexibility" day--not sure I could do it if it were all aerobics.  Lots of yoga in today's routine.

Week 3 Day 5

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions; well, I certainly laid my share of cobblestones today.  Exercising was on my list of things to do today but it kept getting pushed back.  Thank goodness Daisy's foot is better; she insisted I take her for a walk before bed this evening, so that's what we did.

EAT LESS

Had a light supper tonight because I had election commission training; I did eat 1/2 dozen cookies when I got home, though.

MOVE MORE

Got in about 25 minutes with Daisy at a good pace; this weather is just wonderful.  I intend to get back on the Wii tomorrow.

week 3 Day 4

I'm thinking I may need to rev up my program; I don't mind the exercise, but I'm having trouble with the "eat less" part.  So today I increased my Wii time to 45 minutes.  I'm still trying to eat less, but in the meantime I'm moving more.

EAT LESS

Last night was a lost cause.  I intended to eat just half of the steak that Lee cooked on the grill, and planned to save the rest for today's lunch.  Nah.  I ate the whole thing.  So today I had a Lean Cuisine steak sandwich for lunch instead.  I skipped the usual snack; just had the sandwich.

MOVE MORE

As I mentioned, I decided to up my program to 45 minutes.  It felt like 60, but I'm going to stick with it through the week and see what happens.  Oh, and Daisy's foot is better so we are back to walking again at night.  Especially this week, since the weather is so beautiful.

Week 3 Days 2 & 3

Week 3 Day 2

Yesterday was hectic; I left here about 9 am to work a home show from 10 to 2, then broke down from the show, came home, unloaded and left again at 5 pm to substitute-bowl. 

EAT LESS

I sampled goodies at the show, but didn't eat enough to constitute a full meal.

MOVE MORE

I bowled last night on a league for a friend who was out of town.  There were only three of us, and no other team, so we bowled quickly.  I'm not sure if "aerobic bowling" is a sport, but it is what we did. 

Week 3 Day 3

Another beautiful Sunday!  The golf course looks crowded and still muddy (it doesn't seem to drain well) so I decided to skip playing today and will do the Wii instead.

EAT LESS

Had a 100-calorie snack pack today instead of the full-calorie snack I usually have at lunch.  Lee is cooking steaks on the grill with zucchini, so I'm hoping the small change at lunch will do the trick.

MOVE MORE

As soon as I log off I am getting on the Wii.  Haven't decided if I'll do the Fitness Coach or something else; I'll let you know tomorrow.

Week 2 Day 7; Week 3 Day 1

Week 2 Day 7

Okay, yesterday I didn't Wii or walk with Daisy (she hurt her foot.)  I had various lapses throughout this week.  I remember once before I went on a 2-week diet; all I lost was 14 days.

MOVE MORE

I did manage to walk up and down every aisle in the grocery store.  I guess that should count for something.

EAT LESS

Had a salad for lunch.  Ate out for dinner but ate just 3/4 of what was on my plate.  Skipped dessert.

Week 3 Day 1 

Weigh-in today.  At the moment of truth, I flashed back to all the lapses I had during the week, so I was disappointed but not shocked to see the number: 

128.5  (Yes, my digital scale counts in half-pounds!)

So a recap to date:  started at 131 with a goal of 115 in sixteen weeks.

Week One lost 2 lbs; Week 2 lost 1/2 lb, which puts me 1/2 lb ahead of my "pound a week" schedule.  So what I learned this week is that you can cheat on the EAT LESS portion as long as you MOVE MORE.  If you cheat on the MOVE MORE portion, even if you EAT LESS, you will not make as much progess.

This confirms my suspicions; exercise is crucial to a successful weight-loss regimen, even more important than diet.  Let's see if this holds true.

MOVE MORE

Did the Wii Fit Body Test this a.m.; it says my body fat is "normal" and my age is:  37!
So not only have I lost 2 1/2 lbs, but apparently I've gotten younger.

EAT LESS

I loaded up on low-cal snacks and fruit while on my walk through the grocery store.  I have found that exercise and Spring weather make me crave healthy foods.  That will certainly make this part easier.  Let's see.

week 2 Days 5 & 6

Week 2 Day 5

I took the whole day off yesterday; didn't feel like exercising and Daisy hurt her foot and couldn't go for a walk last night.  I also didn't watch what I was eating, and had more chocolate and cookies than I should.  So I figure this is a good way to determine if you can miss a day and still meet your goals.

Day 6  

 EAT LESS

Will be watching what I eat today since yesterday was out of control; also, I'm going to a Pampered Chef party tonight so I know there will be good food.


MOVE MORE

Back on schedule today; did the "physical challenge" portion of the Wii Personal Fitness Coach; it is supposed to gauge your progress and adjust accordingly, except the challenge itself is kicking my butt and I'm not showing any progress yet.  Although I can do 5 more pushups and 10 more crunches than when I started; so I guess I am making progress after all.

Week 2 Day 4

Okay.  Spent the day at the casino; actually walked around quite a bit, even though I spent most of my time playing poker.  After I got knocked out of the first tourney, I did laps around the casino floor.  Didn't wear my pedometer, so I'm not sure how far.

EAT LESS

Skipped the buffet and ate in the snack bar; no fries, no dessert.

MOVE MORE

Besides walking around the casino, I also took Daisy for a walk when I got home.  We didn't walk very far, though, because apparently she spent the day chasing after the kittens and the neighbor's dog.  She was tired.

Back on the Wii tomorrow!

Week 2 Day 3

Such a beautiful Easter Day!  I spent most of the day soaking up the sun in the backyard; watched the golfers, but didn't play. 

EAT LESS

Made the mistake of just skipping the 3 pm snack; made me ravenous by dinner.  Overate.  Did eat just two cookies instead of the three I wanted.

MOVE MORE

Walked Daisy extra-long tonight; 30 minutes instead of 20.

Tomorrow I'll be at the casino all day; won't be a problem with eating less, but the "moving more" may be a challenge.  We'll see.

Week 2 Day 2

I really didn't feel like exercising today.  It is a beautiful day outside, so I thought I should do something in the sunshine.  "Golf?"  I thought.  "No, it rained last night; it's still too wet.  Ride the bike then.  Nah.  Take Daisy for a walk?  No, maybe later."  I just didn't feel like doing anything.  But I didn't want to blog that I didn't do anything, so I figured I'd do the Wii. 

My plan was to just do 15 minutes and see how I felt.  Well, after 5 minutes, I was into it.  What do you know?  If you don't feel like doing something, just give it five minutes and see how you feel.  Works for me!

EAT LESS

Last night I decided I wasn't feeling like an art opening, so went out for Mexican instead.  My "eat less" was this:  had salsa instead of cheese dip.  That's a big one for me.

MOVE MORE

As mentioned above, I did 30 minutes on the Wii.  Also took Daisy for a 15 minute walk last night, and have plans to do the same tonight.

Moving right along, as they say!

Week 2 Day 1

Weigh-in this a.m.:  129 lbs!  Which seems remarkable, since the changes I made this week were really insignificant in the scheme of things.  I guess the Eat Less Move More plan actually works....let's see if I can keep it going...

EAT LESS

Going to an art show opening this evening, so will probably have hors d'oerves for dinner.  My big temptation is the Easter candy Bonnie gave everybody last night.  I'm holding out for Easter.

MOVE MORE

Did 30 minutes on the Wii Fitness Coach.  Thought about a round of golf, but the ground looks pretty wet, still.  Maybe this weekend.

Day 7

Well, made it through the first week; I'll weigh in first thing in the morning and let you know whether small changes make a difference.

EAT LESS

Today is another challenge--had a business lunch at an Italian restaurant (my favorite!) and poker at Bonnie's.  I ate only one hard roll and had my spaghetti plain.  I also skipped the salad, so avoided all that rich dressing.  We'll see what tonight brings.

MOVE MORE

Housekeeper came this morning, so no Wii. ( I know what you are thinking...clean the house yourself!  That'd be great exercise!) had the aforementioned business meeting at lunch, delivered 6 Easter baskets, and am heading out to my poker game shortly, so no walk with Daisy tonight.  Best I could do was a dozen trips up and down the stairs.  We'll see what price I'll pay for my lack of activity.

Day Six

Okay, I have come to realize that if I am going to do the Wii, it has to be in the morning.  Otherwise, the day gets away from me and I end up taking my pug Daisy Mae for a walk.  Not that she minds; in fact she is usually eager to go.  But she is more interested in sniffing mailboxes and doing her business than in exercise.  She does like to run just for the pure fun of it; I remember when I used to as well.  Anyway, it's been a long day.

MOVE MORE

Twenty minutes with Daisy.

EAT LESS

I did manage to skip my 3 pm snack altogether, and didn't eat any cookies today.  None.  Not one.  That's pretty significant for me.

Tomorrow is poker night at Bonnie's (since nobody wanted to play poker on Good Friday.)  That should make for an interesting first weigh-in on Friday.

We'll see.

Day Five

Crappy day today; dishwasher was leaking, called a plumber.  He says it's not the pipes it's the dishwasher.  Called an appliance repairman, he says it'll cost more to fix the dishwasher than it's worth.  So went out and bought a new dishwasher and had dinner at Red Lobster while I was out.

MOVE MORE

Spent the day with repairmen, and then out shopping.  Finally got in a 20 minute walk with Daisy Mae this evening.  Better than not moving, I guess.

EAT LESS

Um, didn't have dessert.  Best I can say about that.  Hope I haven't ruined what I've done so far.  Guess I'll just consider this a day off...

Day Four

If you feel that time is flying by too quickly and you'd like to slow it down, just start a daily exercise program.  I guarantee you'll feel time slow to a crawl.  I swear it feels like I've been doing this for weeks, and it is only day four.

MOVE MORE

I am still feeling a little stiff, so today I did 30 min of yoga and stretching.  I know why the Wii recommends five days a week instead of seven; the body needs some time to rest and recover.  I may have to rethink my philosophy...

EAT LESS

Having trouble on this front as well.  Next Sunday is Easter and, as I have mentioned, I own a gift-basket business.  Let's just say that it is very difficult for a self-professed chocoholic to not sample the wares while making Easter baskets full of goodies.

I confess to eating a sleeve of marshmallow Peeps and a few chocolate Easter eggs.  There!  I said it!  But I stop myself when I think, "Okay, just one more."  Instead I eat just one less.  Small steps.  We'll see on Friday if that works.

Sunday - Day 3

I don't like the way my thighs rub together.  Sometimes it keeps me awake at night.  Since this is a relatively new phenomenon in my life, I am hoping it is one of the first to disappear as the weight starts coming off.

I mentioned earlier that I weighed "pretty much" 108 lbs for twenty years or so.  Actually, I should have said "within 10 lbs of 108."  I did fluctuate, but usually caught any gain right away because I weighed myself every day.

I am resisting the urge to weigh every day this time around; before I took up running, I used to gauge my weight by weighing every day and assigning a value to it.  If I weighed 110 or 111, that was a thin day and I could eat what I wanted; if I weighed 112 or 113, that was a fat day and I dieted  (usually by skipping meals altogether.)  Once I started running regularly, I dropped back down to 108.  I found I could pretty much eat what I wanted and got out of the "daily weigh" routine.

Twinges in my hip and knee keep me from running, so I'll keep looking for a suitable substitute.

I'm holding out for Friday to weigh, because the daily fluctuations are demoralizing, and I'm hoping to see progress each time.

Move More

I've found that two days in a row of Wii has left me sore, so today I took a 30 min walk with my 2 yr old pug puppy, Daisy Mae.  She loved it, and it helped me walk off the soreness.

Eat Less

I'm still struggling at 3 pm; think I'll get some of those 100 calorie snacks and see if that works.  I stop eating before I'm full, but I feel hungry all the time.  I'm hoping that will go away.  We'll see.

New Philosophy

Okay, my Wii says 30 min 5 days a week; it also says my body fat is "normal" and I'm 39 years old, so I'm taking what the Wii says with a grain of salt.

My new philosophy is this:  "You don't have to exercise on any day you don't eat."  That's it.  Plain and simple, which goes along with my whole plan:  Move More, Eat Less.

Of course, I'm only on the second day; I'll let you know how that's working for me in about six weeks.

2nd Day - Move More

Did the 30 minute "core body" workout on the Wii Personal Coach.  I like this particular disk because it changes up the exercises and makes them harder or easier depending on your responses to the questions about how you feel you are progressing.  There are seemingly endless combinations of exercises so it doesn't get boring.

2nd Day - Eat Less

It's still early so we'll see how this goes.  I'm usually fine with a simple breakfast and lunch and then the cravings start kicking in about 3pm.

Yesterday at 3 I ate a banana instead of a sleeve of Girl Scout cookies, so by the time I got to my poker game last night my stomach thought my throat had been cut.  Bonnie (my friend, the host) had worked late so dinner was pizza, breadsticks and cheesecake.  Not the best choices, but I ate two slices of pizza instead of the three I wanted, two breadsticks, and only one tiny piece of cheesecake.  And only one glass of red wine, instead of half the bottle.  Small steps, I know; but every little change helps.  Or so I hope.

We'll see.

First Day

First Day weigh in:  131 lbs.

Move More:

I have a Wii; I am using the Personal Coach disk.  I did 30 minutes of aerobic exercise with the Personal Coach.

Eat Less:

I have four boxes of Girl Scout cookies in the pantry.  In the past, I could eat half a box in one sitting.  Today, I will limit myself to two cookies.  I'll let you know how that goes. 

I also play poker on Friday night; the host of this week's game is my friend Bonnie.  She is an excellent cook, so I will definitely be sampling the wares; I'll just attempt to limit my portion to one.  I'll let you know how that goes.

The Challenge--Move More, Eat Less

The challenge I've set for myself is to lose 16 lbs in four months; that's just one pound a week.  It took me a long time to put on the weight, so I want to take it back off slowly.

I am not going to diet; I don't even like the word!  I mean, the first three letters are D I E!  I want something I can live with, not die from!  No pills for me either.  So I've decided my plan of action will be this:  Move More, Eat Less.

I'll weigh myself each Friday and post daily what I am doing to move more and eat less.  Join me, if you like.  It'll be fun!

I'm Not Fat But...

I'm not fat but I used to be skinny.  I did notice the pounds creeping up over the last few years, but chose to ignore them.  I have finally decided to do something about it.

A little history is in order here; as a child I was skinny.  My family was always trying to fatten me up, but it didn't work.  In the 5th grade (age 10) I was 4'6" and weighed 64 lbs.  That's skinny.

By high school, I reached 5'2" and weighed 95 lbs.  Still skinny.

After high school I discovered beer; at age 19 when I reached my full height of 5'3" and my top weight of 125 lbs, I decided I was fat.  I went on my first crash diet--I ate only cheese crackers and drank diet cola.  I dropped down to 108 lbs and pretty much stayed there for the next 20+ years.  Skinny.

Not that I didn't work at it; I did.  I joined the U. S. Navy at 22; that pretty much forced me to stay in shape, but I really enjoyed running, swimming, biking, hiking, and any other activity the others were persuing.

I retired in 1994, sold real estate for awhile, then opened up a gift basket business when I turned 50.  I blamed the weight gain on menopause, but it was really sampling all the goodies that I was putting in the gift baskets.

I went out to the Navy base the other day and happened to look at the back of my retired I.D. card--it lists my weight as 108 lbs.  "Wow!" I thought, "I bet I've put on 20 lbs since then."

I came home and weighed myself.  It was worse than I thought:  131 lbs!  That's more than a pound a year!
So I decided to do something about it...