Slim Down Saturday- March 7

How was everyone's week? Health wise- I thought mine was alright. Actually fairly decent. I didn't work out as much as I wanted but I ate pretty healthy all week. And then I stepped on the scale today. It has been 2 full months of this and I have made NO progress. I am at a standstill. I didn't make it to the gym as much as I wanted this week but I DID start the 30 day abs/squat challenge and have stuck to it each day. Which is huge for me- I usually give up after 3 days just because I forget a day or two and don't want to catch up. But I am determined this time. So even though the number isn't budging, I am just not giving up. I am going to revamp things, change my workouts, change some eating (though I am running out of things to change), and keep trying.

With that, here is my chart for this sad week...

Like I said, it isn't great. 2 FULL months since starting and not even down 2 pounds. I am not going to sit here and pretend it isn't discouraging because it is. I am just not going to let it stop me. I did have some positives all week. I am weird in that I don't count my weekends when I am thinking about "the week" and "next week" when doing these posts. I'm not really sure why, but it's just how my brain works I guess. So during the work week- I made my step goal 3 out of 5 days. The two days I didn't make it, I was around 8,000 I think and the days I DID make it had so many extra that it averaged to 10k a day. So not terrible.

I mentioned above that I started the 30 day challenge. And so far, so good. A friend added me to a challenge group on facebook and I truly think that is why I haven't given up. Because it is holding me accountable. And, it helps that my little almost 4 year old likes to do the sit ups and squats with me.

Next week, I need to work out more, and drink more water. I was doing really great with my water (great for me) but this week, I have no idea what happened. I guess I just wasn't thirsty? I don't know but I didn't even finish half of the water I brought to school and usually I have been finishing it all before the day was over and having to refill when I got to the gym or home.

My goal- 1-2 pounds. I am going to keep it at a number because all week, I kept saying to myself that I had that goal and it really helped me eat right. I am hoping it will continue to help.

And my quote- A quick workout is better than no workout. I completely agree with this. If nothing else, situps, squats, and pushups at home are better than nothing. I used to (years ago) do squats while brushing my teeth, wall pushups in the shower, and some other simple leg exercises in the shower. Those things (at that time) were literally the ONLY thing I was doing and it worked. I was losing fat in my legs and toning up my arms. I am going to add all of that back into my daily routine too, so if nothing else, I have done that each day (plus my 30 day challenge).

It dawned on me I completely forgot to add the blank template last week. SO sorry!! I was in a rush. Here it is. Hopefully I have some friends joining in again! Even if it was a rough week- share something positive!

An InLinkz Link-up

Slim Down Saturday February 28, 2015

Is anyone even still around for this? I realize I kinda gave it up this month. I had posts ready to go but I never got them out. I haven't been the best about working out lately, mainly because I am just tired. Seriously. And cold. I am so sick of the cold! But I am making it my goal, once again, to get my butt back to the gym and work out. I only went once this week and only because my 3 year old dragged me. Literally- SHE wanted to go because she wanted to play in the kids area with the other kids. I dragged my butt there and was glad I did but then one thing after another came up and I never went. I can ONLY go between 430-830 because that is when the child center is open, so I try to stay at work until 4:15 and then go.... because once I am home, I am not going to go back out. I get too relaxed. It's just how I function. Anyways, I am making it my goal to go back to 3 days a week.

Even with only going once, I did lose a pound, thanks to eating not too bad I guess. I gave up chips and dip for Lent and haven't been drinking pop a lot lately. I drink it less than once a week. I decided that my goal for next week is to lose another pound. I rarely make "weight loss" goals from week to week because I don't like to but I am thinking maybe it will push me to keep going if I put it out there.

My quote is to be patient. I am the type that gets discouraged when I work out and eat healthy and lose barely anything, if anything at all. And then I get in a funk and give up. I have to be patient and realize that it WILL happen and I WILL like how I look, it just takes time.

Hopefully next week I will be reporting another pound lost! If anyone is around to link up, feel free to join in!

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Slim Down Saturday Feb. 7, 2015

Confession- I don't even want to post this week. It was a BAD week for me. I ate awful. I didn't make it to the gym. I had no ambition. I did however buy some weights for at home...

I decided to not weigh myself this week. I know it was a bad week and I don't want to discourage myself by seeing a bad number. See, that is how I get. If I see that things are not going good, instead of becoming more motivated, I just give up. And I don't want to give up. So I made the smart choice to not bother looking today. And just start over and get my act together this week...

Seriously- one point since the year started. Probably actually a gain at this point. I have to get my act together. I looked into things like Whole 30 and cleanses and everything else people do. But, I know they won't work for me because of my sheer pickiness. I just don't want to get my hopes up and dive into something that I fail at because I give up. So instead I have to be better about what I eat and get myself to the gym regularly. I swear I say the same thing each week and I am just failing.

The one good thing is that I bought some weights to use at home. So at least on days I don't make it to the gym I can get some strength done. I usually use 7.5lbs each at the gym but I decided to get the 10lbs (yes I know that is not a lot to some) because I want to push myself and know that I will be stronger for it.

I also plan to make a meal plan for next week. I don't necessarily eat "whole foods" or "clean" or any other style of food. But just having a meal plan and knowing what I plan to cook and buying all the ingredients makes it a guarantee that I will cook instead of eating crap or ordering food. I already know what foods I want to make, I just have to get a grocery list ready so we can shop tomorrow.

So how was your week? Grab the blank chart below and link up! I am about to make a workout plan...

An InLinkz Link-up

Slim Down Saturday Jan 31, 2015

Sorry I am a day late here friends! I had planned to get this up yesterday but my best friend and goddaughter came over and visited and then we ran errands and by the time we got home, I decided to stay away from the computer. I assume everyone can understand that. :) But I am here, a day late, with this week's Slim Down Saturday.

This week was not a good one for me. I think I only made it to the gym once or twice. I don't even remember. It was a VERY long week... It was Catholic Schools Week, which in itself is fun but so exhausting! Our kids had so much fun (and so did I) but it tired me out. Not to mention I had an appointment with a new doctor and I disliked him so much that it caused me entirely too much stress. But I am determined to have a better week.

As you can see from my chart, I made no progress. I didn't even have any real positives. I stayed away from pop again all week, which is a plus. I didn't gain so that is another plus. But I also didn't lose. I didn't expect to lose anything being that I didn't workout hardly and that I didn't eat the best. OH but I DID have one positive that just happened that I didn't add to my chart- during our Friday events for Catholic Schools Week, a picture was taken of me from behind (not OF me, I just happened to be IN the picture) and, I didn't HATE the way I looked. I wasn't disgusted. And THAT is a HUGE step!

My goal for this week is to do some type of workout every day. Even if I don't get to the gym each day I am going to try to do some workout at home. I am going to make myself a schedule of what area I want to focus on each day so at least I have something to follow. I was going to buy myself some weights yesterday to use at home on days I don't get to the gym, but I didn't. However, I think I am going to go back today to get them.

I am also debating ONLY tracking my weight at the beginning of each month. I used to do this and it helped make me less discouraged because then the +/- of .2 doesn't phase me as much. I am HOPING that I will have more than a few tenths of a pound each week from now on, but who knows.

If you want to link up, grab the image below and join in. Again, sorry I am a day late this week!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Slim Down Saturday Jan. 24, 2015

It has been a pretty rough week for me. Nothing drastically terrible happened, just a bunch of little things adding up. Luckily it didn't affect my habits TOO much. I did have a cheat meal once this week, but I didn't kick myself for it. I enjoyed it and ate everything else healthy. And I am back to where I was 2 weeks ago.

So I lost 2 pounds, which is great. It brought me back to where I was 2 weeks ago. Thankfully! I tracked my food this week to see if maybe even though what I was eating was healthy, it was too much. I, for the most part, ate identical this week to how I ate last week and wasn't over on calories, so I know the weight gain wasn't from that.

I only made it to the gym twice this week but twice is better than no times. And, like I mentioned, I had a cheat meal. After we went to our 3 year old's FIRST parent teacher conference (people, I almost cried because my baby is old enough for parent teacher conferences and report cards) I really wanted a sub. So instead of depriving myself, I got it and split it in half instead of eating the whole thing like I may have in the past.

I managed to stay away from pop all week and at the store yesterday when we were buying pop for our basement fridge, I decided against buying Dr. Pepper (the only kind I drink anymore) so that I don't even have the option to drink it. I have been drinking water 90% of the time and every now and again have snapple. But I want to drink a little more water since I still am not drinking as much as I should be. I am also still hoping to run longer on the treadmill. Some days I have really good days and some days are awful. This week I couldn't last longer than a minute at a time for some reason, when last week I was going 3-4 minutes. But I am going to keep pushing myself this week and see how it goes.

I hope everyone had a great week and enjoys your weekend! If you want to link up, grab the button at the top and the blank template below and join in!

PS- I actually have some educational content posts planned to go... I just have to finish everything on my to do list and I will start them. Hopefully sooner or later!

An InLinkz Link-up

Slim Down Saturday Jan 17, 2015

It's time for another Slim Down Saturday... and it is taking all my will power to not throw in the towel...

My chart below will explain why I want to throw in the towel...

 See that gain/loss for the week. Yeah, I gained TWO pounds. For a total for the year of PLUS one pound. After doing everything right this week! I didn't eat junk at all, went to the gym 3x (which is my goal for now), had NO pop all week, AND made my step goal 4 out of the past 6 days. Yet I still GAINED weight. This is when I would typically give up and binge. I am doing everything I can to not break down. I am HOPING that the gain is compliments of PMS... if not, I have no explanation for it.

My something to do better next week is to be able to run for a longer stretch on the treadmill. I do a fast walk for a few minutes, then run for the length of one song, then back to walking, then run, and so on. I am an awful runner. But I want to be able to run longer than one song.

My goal- um, lose weight agin.... I want to lose the 2 I gained this week and at least one more so that I am back in the negatives.

My one word, quote, song is from Finding Nemo- Just keep swimming- because I REALLY wanted to give up when I stepped on the scale. But I can't. I know this is a process and that I didn't gain it all in a couple weeks and I am sure not going to LOSE it all in a couple weeks. (Though I don't want to keep gaining that's for sure!)

If you want to link up, the image is below for you to add your information to. Grab the image and button and link up!

An InLinkz Link-up

Slim Down Saturdays 1/4

Are you ready?? 

Since my journey only started Thursday, this may not seem like much. But I am proud of myself for committing to this. And having this weekly blog post is SURE to help me.

Ultimate goal: I want to lose 25-30 pounds by the time I turn 30 on May 10th. I want to feel good about myself going into my 30s. If I lose 25lbs I will be about what I weighed when we got married. 30lbs will be the exact weight. I look back at the pictures from 2009 and think to myself "and you thought you needed to lose weight then?!" 

Gain/Loss for the week: Since I started on Thursday, this is pretty darn good I think.

Positives from the week: I decided to stick to my New Year's Resolution this year. See, usually I say I want to lose weight and then I never do anything about it. I didn't do anything New Year's Day but I took January 2nd and went for it. To start, I printed some of my favorite and realistic fitness pins. I laminated them so that I can use a dry erase marker to cross the things I do off each day and can then reuse them every week/month. You can find my fitness board here. Unfortunately a lot of the pins are "dead" and lead to nothing now since I pinned them 2 years ago. Here are pictures of the pages that I printed out to use.

(Note: I am not taking credit for ANY of these ideas. The pins just took me to blank pages so I took screen shots of my pins and pasted them into ppt so that I could print and laminate.)

I also printed and am doing this 30 day ab and squat challenge (laminated as well so I can cross off) and this couch to 5k (eventually, when the weather warms up just a bit... I don't do cold well).

My other positive was having healthy snacks. Instead of having junk food (think chips, cookies, etc) I had apples with peanut butter, oranges, and crackers with cottage cheese. We also bought baby carrots but I haven't had those for a snack just yet!

Something to do better: I didn't put anything here because it is only day 3 and I haven't slacked yet. I am sure that I will cave or slack soon enough. Please know, I am not trying to be negative here. Just realistic!

Goal for next week: Drink more water! I am not making my goal 8 glasses a day because right now, that is unrealistic for me. I don't drink a lot of anything as it is. My goal is to just drink more each day. Preferably, finish the water I bring to work with me BEFORE I leave work. Then fill it back up when I get home and finish that before bed.

And my one word: Necessary. This is necessary. I need to be happy with myself. I am hoping that this change will bring me more energy as well. Because THAT is much needed.

Here are some pictures... the first one shows what I looked like in 2009... the ultimate goal. The second one shows what I currently look like (the pics are from this summer, but it is about the same). In the 2009 pictures, there is a picture of me in SHORTS. I NEVER put shorts on anymore. Hopefully I will get back to feeling comfortable in shorts. In fact.. I just cleaned out my dresser and found that exact pair of shorts... I am determined to wear them again. Here's to meetin' goals in 2014!

So there it is friends. Week 1 (well half of a week sorta) down in the books. I look forward to seeing everyone's progress! Here is your blank template. (A tip- click the image to enlarge it before copying or saving it.)

An InLinkz Link-up

Introducing: Slim Down Saturdays

Was one of your resolutions to get fit? Eat healthy? Be overall a healthier person? Are you trying to lose weight from having a baby? Or just want to keep yourself accountable?

I have decided to start a weekly Slim Down Saturday linky. Why? Because I am DETERMINED to get more energy, lose weight, and enter my 30s feeling good about myself! Join me on this adventure?

If you want to join, I am including a template that you can copy and paste to your post, or you can post whatever you want to share about your fitness/weight loss/healthy lifestyle journey. I am being very transparent and open about this. Something I have never done with my weight before. You, of course, can share as much or as little as you want. I just need to hold myself accountable.

Here is how this will work. Anyone that wants to join in on this fun, can copy the button above and the image below and insert their own information. I would appreciate you linking back to my blog but it is not mandatory. (To add your information to the template, copy the image, paste it into powerpoint, and add text boxes in the blank spaces to add your information. Save the entire image with your text boxes as a picture (I do a screen shot of mine but you could group all the text and the image and right click to save as a picture). Put the image into your own blog post and share as much or as little as you want.)

Explanation: I didn't include starting weight because I am guessing many of us don't want to share that number. If you feel inclined, you can add it to your blog post.
Ultimate goal: Here is where you can put your final goal. Do you want to lose x amount of lbs? Be a certain weight? Put that here.
Gain/Loss for the week: +/- and a number (easy enough right?)
Total since starting: here is where you will put your total loss (hopefully, though muscle DOES weigh more than fat!) since starting
Positives from the week: Share at least one thing that you are proud of yourself for from this week. (You can share if you met your goal from the last week-see below- here.)
Something to do better: Share one thing that you want to improve on- maybe cut out x, y, or z. Drink more water. Workout extra 10 min a day. Etc.
Goal for next week: This could be a weight loss goal or an eating goal. For example: eat fruit every day. Or- lose 2 lbs. Or- drink 8 glasses of water a day. Etc.
One word: You will use the wordle included in the blog posts to choose ONE word that stands out to you. In your post you can explain why you chose that word. The wordle will be the same each week.

Other things you  might want to share: how you worked out, recipes that were good (or even bad), tricks and tips, things that worked for you. There are no rules about what you share, as long as it is about your new (or continuing) healthy lifestyle, I say go for it! The only thing I ask is that you leave some love on the 2 blogs linked up before you and the 1 that links up after you (Farley's rule of 3). People are putting a lot out there by sharing all of this and we could ALL use the encouragement every now and again!

And in case you want to be prepared, here is the wordle: (I did not create this, I found it)

I will be back tomorrow with my very first post.