Spring Into Fitness Week 1 Check In

Stats for Week 1:

Height 5"4'
Weight 147.86  (-1.8)
Dress Size 14 (No Change)
BMI 25.4 (-0.3)

Bust  33 in (-1.  Funny... this is the one place I DON'T need to loose inches and yet consistently do so.  Bra shopping is becoming a real bitch.)

Waist 32 in (No Change)

Hips 38 in (No Change)

Mundane Goals: I have now made my short term goal (getting down to 147 lbs).  I chose this number because since I have given birth in '09 and then again in '10 my weight dropped to 148 at the lowest after both births and then crept back up again.  So short term goal #1 has now been met.  Short term goal #2 is to get to 134, in other words to lose another 13 lbs.  I chose this goal because I was 134 at the time I got pregnant with my oldest child back in '04.  Getting to this number means I will have officially "lost all of my baby weight".  I have been working on trying to keep my intake around 1320 calories a day, even with exercise.  I seem to stick to that a couple of days and then the intake creeps back up.  I need work here.  Also I had 2 candy bars because of "Easter".  Fail.  I overdid on my exercise though.  My goal is 200 min a week (about 40 min a day, five days a week).  I did 360.

And, as a side note, this was the first week that people are beginning to notice I've dropped a few and that my shape is changing. :-)

Elemental/Spiritual Goals:

Earth - General maintaining of lifestyle...  I feel I gave it 75% effort here... so Earth needs more focus this week.

Air - Meditation, Positive Reinforcement... I actually did get the chance to meditate a few times and I'm always reading up on blogs, etc relating to this journey so I did good here.

Fire: Energy (both physical and mental), Keep moving, Fighting the demon of emotional eating, Nipping my significant future diabetes in the bud.... Well I got moving plenty and I actually had only one emotional eating episode that I can think of.  I happened to have a doctor's visit and on a test and showed no signs of diabetes.  It wasn't specifically testing for that though, but if I had diabetes then signs of it would have shown there.

Water:  Washing away the old habits, Cleansing... Eh.  For the most part good.

Spirit: Continuing to cultivate the relationship with Spirit (my patrons, etc) and not just about this journey... I maybe gave this 50%.  So it looks like my Earth and Spirit needs work.



 
Broom Points:15 minutes per broom, I did 360 minutes, so that earns me 24 brooms.  Wow!  Can that be right?



Thou Art Goddess Challenge (Optional):

I'd already decided that a ritual would be too much to schedule around the kids.  But this coming week's challenge of exercising outdoors might be do-abe.  Does a walk in a park while pushing a double stroller count?

Final ~ GOYB New Year's Witchy Fitness Challenge ~ Week 12

Successes were mostly due to:

1. By immersing myself deep in my spirituality (both the "traditional Pagan" and "not so traditional Pagan" parts of it).  This includes praying and reflecting during times of emotional stress when I feel like binging, and actually responding when Spirit gently says, "No.  Now walk your witchy butt away."
2. The MyFitnessPal website
3. Cutting most useless snacks (better take this free sample 'cause it's free!)
4. Keeping calories (for the most part) at 1500-1800 a day
5. Killing the old habit of eating after 8pm
6. Going cold turkey on sodas and candy bars (not candy, I still have small pieces here and there but the actual BARS which I used to consume sometimes daily)
7. Exercising almost daily at an average of 40 minutes
8. A motivational weight loss contest at work (cash prizes to be had!)
9. The "Coffee and Bell Pepper" Diet (no, that's not an actual diet, it's a joke between me and my sister that  I will explain in another post).

"It's simply spiritual.  What kind of witch would I be if I continue to be completely powerless against my overeating addiction?  How could I be any kind of vessel for projecting, receiving, or making any kind of magick when I live life as a lethargic blob (not even talking about "fat", this is more of a mental state) that has a hard time finding the magick in any moment and attempts to escape by inhaling an El Charito TV dinner while watching Sopranos re-runs?  So its simply this... in moments of weakness call upon Spirit and remember the Goddess within." - From my first original GOYB post made back around the beginning of this year.

Height 5"4'
Weight 150.0 (Total loss of 12.4 lbs )
Dress Size 14 (Down 1 size)
BMI 25.7 (-2.1)  (Overweight, but almost to the "Healthy" range)

Bust  34 in (-2)

Waist 32 in (-3)

Hips 39 in  (-3)

I have a loose set of goal broken up in three parts and at the end of this challenge I've almost met my first goal...
Short Term Goal = 15 lbs to be 147
Mid Range Goal = 13 lbs to be 134
Final Fantasy Goal = 24 lbs to be 110
*This would be a total of a 52 pound loss but again I am going with realistic as time shows what is possible.*

My Beginning Stats ~ New Years Day:

Height 5"4'
Weight 162. 4
Dress Size 16
BMI 27.8 (Overweight)

Bust  36 in

Waist 35 in

Hips 42 in

GOYB 2012 Challenge: Week 5 Results

5th check in, better late than never...

Weight 155.8 (-0.2)
Dress Size 14/16 (?)
BMI 26.7 (-0.1)  (Overweight)

Bust  34 in (Same)

Waist 33 in (+1)

Hips 40 in  (Same)

I'm kind of going to skip all the usual and do my mini rant.  It's not the numbers I'm upset about, I'll take any loss I can get, even -0.2 lbs.  It's about my progress.

For the first time out of countless failed diet and exercise attempts of the past 8 years I AM making some real progress.... some actual lasting changes and mental and spiritual reconditioning that I've never experienced before.  I've been without sodas now for 38 days (the longest I've ever gone since childhood) and am now to the point where they don't even look good to me anymore.  Since joining My Fitness Pal I am exercising every single day.  90% of the time its just lame ass jogging in front of the TV while I knock out some DRVs during the boys' naps or after work... but hey, I can't afford a gym membership or my own workout room so whatya gonna do?  But I actually enjoy the exercise rather than dread it like I always did before.  Hell, I enjoy ANY time to myself!   For the first time that I can remember I'm getting to where I don't crave fast food, sweets, etc.  Stupid cliches like "A moment on the lips leads to years on your hips" and "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" actually make sense.  Right now the boys are eating cinnamon rolls that I couldn't care less about and won't be touching when ALWAYS before I would have been like, "Well since the kids are having it I will just this ONCE."  So what's the prob?

Family Guy.  For the last three nights in a row he's taken us out to eat at big high calorie grease joints and my insistence on not wanting to go falls on deaf ears and a stone for a brain.  I have a weigh in for a work contest tonight and unless things change in some drastic way today I'll be weighing in 2 lbs heavier than I was when I did my at home weigh in on Sunday.  (It goes without saying that it's going to make me look very bad at the work contest).  Okay... so if he and the kids just HAVE to eat at some greasy spoon I could just take a banana and sit there and eat that, right?  Wrong.  Believe it or not I am at the mental state to where I could do that.  To where a banana sounds so much better than (and would fill me up better than) a 400 calorie McSalt Mini Burger.  BUT... Family Guy gets snippy and insulted if I don't eat the same thing he does and at the same time he does.  I hate drama so I just give in.  I don't believe he's trying to sabotage me... he just doesn't think that deeply.  It's more like he just doesn't care for himself.  He claims to be serious about making changes with his own health and habits.  But just for an example he'll use the My Fitness Pal counter, eat a very tiny breakfast and small lunch and say, "Ohh... I have 1200 calories left for dinner," and then he'll have some big greasy coney dog and fries or something to run out the clock (and he still ends up going over of course).  He expects me to eat that same way, but I'm much smaller than him and have a smaller calorie count window to work with.  So frustrating!  Not to mention all day I will have a random child walk up to me and try to stick a potato chip or some snacky thing in my mouth because they think its cute.  Ughh!  I feel like an alcohol/narcotics addict trying to live on a college dorm!  Rant over.  For now. ;-)

At the very least I need to learn how to say NO when I know its something I don't need or want.  Now if its something that I DO want but DON'T need and I have to fight both the temptation and the badgering from outside sources to give in... well, that's hell on a whole 'nother level.

GOYB Week 4 Results: Jan Total Loss = 6.4 lbs

4th check in, a different turn of events (Goodbye 160s... don't plan on seeing you again!) :

Weight 156.0 (-4.6)
Dress Size 14/16 (?)
BMI 26.8 (-0.7)  (Overweight)

Bust  34 in (-2)

Waist 32 in (-3)

Hips 40 in  (Same)

This is the first week of significant progress and its all for three reasons, really.  The first is because of this (from last week's check in):

The Family Guy found this website and we joined it together.  It helps us keep tack of calories (type in Millstone coffee and it will give a list of flavors and give you the calorie count to add to your list) and what exercises burn whatever amount needed. 

Basically this general calorie intake and calories earned by exercise calculator became much more of a saving grace than I ever would have anticipated.  It's been like an automated personal trainer that pushes me to exercise every single day in order to beat out the calorie intake assigned to me.  Or at least it did this week. ;-)  The second reason is that my husband is doing it to, so for the first time I have a "real life" accountability partner that has been completely non-judgemental.  We do meal plans together too.  Also I joined a weight loss contest that my company is running (winners get cash prizes), how's that for tempting fate?

As for goals this program has kind of changed them again in that I can't set one calorie goal because it varies according to exercise and I have suddenly "found time" to exercise every day so...
Goals for now: 

1. Eat only when actually hungry, pray/consult spirituality for guidance through and past the "addiction".
2.. Avoid candy, cakes and other sugar treats. 
3.  Exercise at least 30 minutes daily and start running practice when it gets warmer.

These three will probably stay the same so I'm not sure I'll list them here again for a while but I do need to do a print out for myself so I can remember them.  I did great everywhere except I only had two sugar free days out of the seven.

The Week 4 Challenge (My short version)
"Reasons for Not Eating Right or Exercising".  I started realizing that I needed to "maybe think about starting to get fit" around 2004.  The really sad thing was the two years before that I'd worked for a company that had an onsite gym and I used to actually wonder why I constantly saw people who were not at all overweight go there and I'd think, "Why?!?  Well all I know is I have better things to do than go there...like sleep in!"  At that time I was my "ideal weight" but I wasn't (and never had been) fit or in shape.  I honestly couldn't tell you now what my better things to do were back then (other than sleeping in).

A few years later after the kids came and the pounds had piled on I DID have something "better to do" and that was dealing with three babies.  It took a lot of spiritual insight (among other things) to realize that if I didn't take start taking care of me ultimately I'd be no good to them.

GOYB 2012 Challenge: Week 3 Results

Third check in, not much change.

Weight 160.6 (+0.4)
BMI 27.5 (+0.1)  (Overweight)

Bust  36 in

Waist 35 in (same)

Hips 40 in  (+2)

This is one of those weeks that life just kind of got in the way.  The main event I guess was spending part of the week on my nights off work trying to help move my ailing Alzheimer's grandparents into an assisted living complex.  (They, particularly the grandmother, are unfortunately the kinds of cases where the disease makes them pure mean and evil).  Also I think I only had one day of no sugary snack.  I remember totally binging out at least once.  And well, the results speak for themselves, but it could have been worse.  I did manage to get my calorie average down more but it is still not at all where it needs to be.  The Family Guy found this website and we joined it together.  It helps us keep tack of calories (type in Millstone coffee and it will give a list of flavors and give you the calorie count to add to your list) and what exercises burn whatever amount needed.  Unfortunately according to them I'm supposed to try to keep my calorie count around 1500, much to my disappointment.  If I do 30 minutes of exercise it allows for more calorie consumption, but... meh.  Honestly I know that is probably all I need, it is dealing with the "emotional" hunger that gets me.

I've been listing 10 goals and their progress and I'm noticing there are a few that I seem to have no problem with sticking to so I'm only going to list the areas that need work for now.  The good news is that 6 goals I had seem to be good habits now but these four (in this order or importance) seem to be the biggies that could make or break me.

Goals for now:

1. Eat only when actually hungry, pray/consult spirituality for guidance through and past the "addiction".
2. Change 1800-2000 calories a day to 1500 (unless active exercise is logged allowing for more).
3.. Avoid candy, cakes and other sugar treats. 
4.  Exercise at least 5 times a week and start running practice. 

Blog assignment for week 3: Something about creating a "vision board".  Normally I love doing artistic fun stuff like that but with the craziness of my Tornadic life I'm so limited on time I can barely remember to take time out to dress myself.

Get Off Your Broom 2012 Challenge: Week 2 Results

Second check in already.  Some progress, much work to be done. :-)


Weight 160.2 (-0.8, pretty much a 1 lb loss)
BMI 27.4 (-.2)  (Overweight)

Bust  36 in

Waist 35 in (+2. somehow those two inches I lost last week came back)

Hips 40 in  (-1, lost another inch here, apparently)

I actually woke up with a nervous stomach about this weigh in because I had tried much harder this week.  Again I was a bit discouraged on the one pound lost ("ONE pound, are you serious?!?"). Then I realized if I lost one pound a week the whole year then by the end of it I would reach my "fantasy target" of 110!  Of course that's not how these things really work, I realize. ;-)

As for goals, I did slightly better with emotional eating and portion control.  My calorie count average is still way too high and I'm going to have to keep working on that if I'm going to get any real results here.  Today I only consumed about 1500 total; this is the first day since this thing started that I've had a great count on that.  I did make time for four exercise sessions this week however.

Short version of my 10 goals:

1. Get all "spiritual" in moments of weakness by consulting Spirit/the God/esses: Did pretty well but I did have one episode this week where even the Gods couldn't hold me back.
2. Go cold turkey on the sodas: Still rocking that.
3. Eat only when actually hungry: Improved here but I had this one total "Aunt Flo is retreating to her Moon Lodge" freak out one night at work where I consumed 1300 calories in one sitting! :- <
4. 1800-2000 calories a day:  Kind of an epic fail.  My average was 2200... 200 down from last week but still needs work.
5. No eating at least an hour before bedtime:  Did
good.
6. 4-5 bottles of water a day: Epic win!
7. Avoid candy, cakes and other sugar treats:  Better but not great.  I did have 3 days out of 7 I did this.
8. Keep food/calorie journal:  Did 5 days out of 7 again.
9. Read books, blogs, etc on overcoming emotional eating:  Done.
10.  Exercise at least 5 times a week and start running practice:  Four work out sessions.  Too cold to try to work on my running experiment.


Week 2 blog challenge:

"To look at the big picture and figure out what other health issues you have... note how they affect your fitness and especially your quality of life."

I'm overall pretty healthy although I have had a diabetes scare with having gestational (pregnancy) diabetes in 2009 and 2010.  The sad thing was that this didn't become a "scare" for me back when I actually had the disease.  I didn't really have a full understanding of how badly it could affect me or the children and I NEVER exercised the type of control that I do now back then and nearly became insulin dependent in my last pregnancy but he was born slightly early.  Being that "About half of women with gestational diabetes will develop Type 2 diabetes later" I eventually finally woke up to my reality and realized things must change.  

I have mild asthma but it doesn't affect me exercising.  In fact, oddly enough, I only have asthma attacks while lying down.  Or sometimes during episodes of high stress.  Oh yeah... speaking of stress I definitely suffer from anxiety and depression.  Those two things of course have helped keep the weight around.

Get Off Your Broom 2012 Challenge: Week 1 Results

Well... here we are already, first check in.  First of all per this week's challenge I managed to get some updated front/side "Before" pictures taken.  I sort of think in these my body doesn't look as bad as I mentally feel about it, but the chin(s) and the expression on that mug... GAH!  I don't normally walking around looking such a sad sack...

Front:

Side:

I had some successes this week; I had some areas that will need much more work.  To start:

Weight 161.0 (-1.4)
BMI 27.6 (-.2)  (Overweight)

Bust  36 in

Waist 33 in (-2)

Hips 41 in  (-1)

At first I was a bit discouraged on the pound and a half weight loss until I saw the measurements.  2 inches off the waist and one off the hips?  Nice!

As for goals, well... I did well with emotional eating and portion control.  Exercise?  Not so much... I didn't even find the time to sneak in a power walk or a lame attempt at running or anything.

Short version of my 10 goals:

1. Get all "spiritual" in moments of weakness by consulting Spirit/the God/esses: Did pretty well!
2. Go cold turkey on the sodas: I rock!  Not a soda one!
3. Eat only when actually hungry: Did okay here but I messed up at least once big time because my Navy brother and his fiancee were visiting and they surprised us all with a courthouse wedding!  So there was wedding cake and pizza to be had even though I'd just had dinner. ;-/
4. 1800-2000 calories a day:  Kind of an epic fail.  My average was 2400.
5. No eating at least an hour before bedtime:  Did it!  I don't remember one instance of eating in bed while watching Family Guy after work.
6. 4-5 bottles of water a day: Epic win! (Do you notice how no sodas being replaced by all this water seem to go hand in hand?)
7. Avoid candy, cakes and other sugar treats:  Meh... not so good.  I did have 2 days out of 7 I did this, so at least I did something!
8. Keep food/calorie journal:  Did 5 days out of 7.  I'll take it!
9. Read books, blogs, etc on overcoming emotional eating:  Done.
10.  Exercise at least 5 times a week and start running practice:  Not even once did that happen... epic fail.