The Struggle

It's a constant struggle not to put back on all the weight I lost last year.  I would like to be making progress, but I find myself spending my energy just trying to maintain.  In the last few months I have been using the house buying as an excuse to eat whatever I want.  I don't know if I thought I was going to get away with it or what, but the scale clearly says I have gained.  It's not a huge amount, but it's summer and not at all what I want or need.

What to do?  There really is only one option, and that's to start putting all my food in My Fitness Pal app, hit that 10,000 step goal most days and add the weights back at least twice a week.  It's boring, but it's realistic.

I really love eating on my new patio, but sometimes I still just want to get out and see people and not cook or cleanup.  The nice thing is I'm cooking at home more, and the best part is I'm enjoying it more.

Two Weeks later...

I just couldn't gather any enthusiasm last time I was trying to write.  This week I finally got a chance to pause and get my life together.  I had several days all to myself to unpack and organize and actually think about the house and some upcoming social functions.  I even got my hair done and did my nails.  I am feeling so much better!

The only thing that isn't clicking along as well as I'd like is losing the couple pounds I put on during the move.  I have gotten so many steps this week, but I was also hungry.  Ugh!!  Sometimes I just don't know what to do.  I did turn down an invitation to happy hour this week.  I felt guilty about saying no to my friend, but I really wanted to keep working on the projects I was doing and have time to myself.  I also did not want to drink, I felt like it would disrupt my whole vibe that I had going and I was really enjoying myself.  In the end I feel like it was the right decision for me.  I am really starting to settle in and I love it here.

I Could Get Used To This

After the initial shock of someone else making changes around my house I am totally on board.  We had the best weekend!  We have an annual membership to the Oregon Zoo and we went both days and walked around to get our steps in.  I didn't gain weight over the weekend and I love not being the only one counting my calories.  It's a whole new topic of conversation for us now.  I am even able to help him with his Myfitnesspal app.  I feel like there are so many more activities available to us now that we both want to walk places.  I can't wait for this weekend! 

Vacation Rebound

I had the best vacation ever!!!  I hit my goal weight the day before we left and I enjoyed every minute of our trip.  It’s to be expected that I have put on a few pounds after two weeks on vacation.  What I had forgotten about is the post vacation diet rebound.  In order to keep the vacation vibe going I tend to overindulge, and this month is Portland Restaurant Month where the best restaurants in town offer a three course menu for $29.  

Needless to say I am having a bit of trouble with moderation.  Luckily the one thing that’s going on track is my exercise habit.  I feel very lucky to have the convenience of a stationary bike at home.  It eliminates the excuses and makes things so easy for me.  We are also very fortunate to be having really great weather in Portland right now.  

I want to remember how ecstatic I was when I hit my goal weight, it was one of the best feelings.  I feel like the bathing suit weather vacation really gave me the drive to meet my goals.  I have a birthday coming up in just over a month and I want to get back to my pre vacation weight.  I need to go back to doing exactly what I was doing before I left.  I know it works and hopefully it will be easy to fall into those habits.  I need to do a full hour of cardio most days and weights a few times a week.  I also need to record my calories in myfitnesspal app for every bite I take and I need to leave some calories on the table at the end of each day.  There, now I just need to execute.

One Week Later

If I knew then what I know now I would have been so much less optimistic.  The toothache from hell has taken over my life!  I am now, one week later, finally on the mend.  I didn't end up having to go to the hospital, but it got close at the end of last week. 
Today is the first day I was able to exercise and I made it 30 minutes on my stationary bike then I was exhausted.  I have finally lost a few pounds from not being able to eat or go out and that feels great!  At least it gives me something to motivate me to get back in the swing.  The one thing I never wavered on was my food logging.  I am truly surprised that I did it, but the Myfitnesspal app kept reminding me to log in and telling me how many days straight I had logged in.  I have been recording my food for over 30 days and that is really satisfying.  I was feeling so low last week, and it feels great to have some positive things at the end of it all. 
Now I have to really buckle down and work hard to lose weight before vacation.  I really think I could lose 5 more pounds before Hawaii.  One thing that's really helping my weight right now is I haven't had any wine in over two weeks.  Being sick interrupted my work out's, but it was off set by the lack of food and wine so I really need to just concentrate on moving forward and doing my best.

Restaurant Addicts Diet: A Week With Goals

Setting goals and stating them in last weeks post was a great idea!  I did not meet all my goals, but I learned a lot. I only met one of my three goals now that I think about it, but I'm excited to try again this week. 
I only hit 10,000 steps twice last week, but I really enjoyed tweeting #10ksteps when I did. 
My most successful goal was do a plank a day.  Previously I had read to hold the plank as long as you can five times.  I hated doing it, so I didn't.  This time I decided to do one plank and hold it as long as I can and I made it seven days in a row!  I think it's improving my posture, and I can't wait to see how long I can keep the streak going. 
Eating in until Thursday was my third goal and I caved in on Wednesday.  This failure actually clued me in to something, it's not where I eat but what I eat. 

Here are my goals for this week:

1. 10,000 steps a day is a worthy goal, so I'm going to stick with it.  I love tweeting #10ksteps when I meet my goal, I may even add a picture.
2. My favorite returning goal is a plank a day.  I had fun sharing my small wins last week on Twitter, so I'm going to tweet #plankit when I complete that goal for the day.
3. My new goal this week is to record what I eat in Myfitnesspal.   I don't enjoy to cook that much, and I do love to go out to eat.  I want to lose weight, but I also need to be realistic about my lifestyle.  Saving money is a very important goal also, but I think I'll try to focus on diet and exercise this week.

I'm really looking forward to meeting more goals next week.  I have been having fun shopping and hanging out in my new neighborhood and I think that's giving me a positive attitude.  I love spring!

Restaurant Addicts Diet: Post Holiday Report

It has been a fantastic holiday season, from Thanksgiving through New Years I have enjoyed myself immensely.  I had a terrible cold, but I didn't get sick until New Years day.  It set me back a little on my exercise.  I did manage to eat at most of the steak houses in Portland, but I also showed some restraint and cooked at home.  I return to work tomorrow and I am looking forward to getting into a routine.  I got a Fitbit Flex band for Christmas and I love it!  I have the app on my phone and I tied in Myfitnesspal and the Withings scale app as well.  I love having my steps counted into my overall daily exercise count.  Last night I cooked jambalaya and tonight I'm making meatballs.  I'm hoping to start a habit of cooking in.  I looked over Mint and I really think I have reduced my overall spending on food and beverage.  I really would like to achieve my goal of losing weight and saving money in 2014.

Restaurant Addicts Diet: Day Three

I'm on a roll!  I made dinner last night with the things I got at Trader Joes on Sunday.  I even ate lunch at home.  This week I've been focusing on making dinner at home more than calories and diet.  However,  I did buy sensible things that I can track on my phone with the app My Fitness Pal. This is my favorite tracking tool ever!  I haven't lost any weight this week so far, but I haven't gained any either.  Making sure I have everything I need for dinner from the store seems to be half the battle.  I have stopped at the store to pick up a few things everyday this week.  Luckily I walk past a store on my way home from work, however, I hope I get better at planning ahead in the future.