I’ve been holding steady at around 134-135 for the past two weeks, which is a relief considering that I haven’t really been putting in the effort that I should.

I think my excuse for not working out and logging all of my calories is a pretty good one, though it is still just an excuse. For the past few months, not only have I been working on more projects and dealing about three times as many doctor appointments as usual while taking care of the girls, but I’ve also been planning a charity walk (more on this later today). The past two weeks have just been slammed, with doctor appointments every day, walk planning at all hours and a ridiculous number of clients emailing me about things they want done yesterday (maybe you should have emailed me yesterday, then?)

Granted, I could have still kept up with my fitness goals, but I didn’t. I just didn’t want to have to deal with anything else extra, and so I didn’t.

I’m going to try to get back into logging my food today, and try to keep up with it for the rest of the week. Since I think I broke my toe while trying to make myself some curtains for mother’s day (my middle name should be “Grace”), I’m probably going to skip the workouts this week. I never knew that a little toe could hurt so much.

So, since I’m kind of giving myself one more week to be kind of slack on the fitness, I am committing myself to renewed dedication next week.

Every week, on Monday afternoon, I think (something like) the following to myself:

Oh, I’ll have time later this week to sit down and write up my thoughts on how this whole weight-loss thing is going. I’ll write about how much I love this whole dance exercise thing, in detail, and how the myfitnesspal.com has really helped me understand how to pay attention to what food goes into my mouth, and why I should be a little more choosy in that respect.

But then work and life happen, and I run out of time. But I am super happy with how this new routine is going, and these tools are seriously helping me figure out how to change my life for the better. One day, I will go into detail about what seems to be working for me, because I am nothing without details.

Anyway, so here is my extremely brief weight loss check-in (which, by the way, is all kinds of awesome!)

4/18/11 (AM)
Weight: 134 (last week – 135.4 lbs.)
BMI: 24.67 (l.w. – 24.91)
Waist: 32″
Hips: 39.5″
Thighs: 41.5″

Change since last weigh-in:
Weight: loss of 1.4 lbs
BMI: loss of .24
Waist: no change
Hips: no change
Thighs: no change

Total
Total Weight Loss: 4.5 lbs.
Total BMI Loss: .81
Total Inches Lost in Waist: .5″
Total Inches Lost in Hips: 0″
Total Inches Lost in Thighs: .5″

Progress on goals was split about 50/50 on Win/Fail, so I’m just going to leave it at this: I need to do better next week, but I’m reasonably pleased with my progress so far.

…and then life got in the way.

Work, birthday parties, juvenile delinquent toddlers and about 80 other obligations (and maybe a little laziness) prevented me from working out every day and blogging about it. Like today, with work and trying to get in my hour exercise, I didn’t have time to write everything I want to about my amazing experience this week (hence the whole “no picture” thing).

I do want to say, though, that I have found the only way that my body seems to be able to shed pounds…by eating less and exercising more.

No shit, right?

I started using myfitnesspal.com to track what I eat, and realized just how many calories I was consuming everyday that I would never burn off sitting in front of my computer. So, I watched what I ate, cut out some of my favorite junk food and drinks, and got off my butt as much as I could. I exercised with the Just Dance 2 game four nights last week, and it made such a huge difference.

For the first time in forever, I lost most than one pound in a single week! And, even more amazing, I am now just barely into the range of normal BMI for my height. Yes, you read that right…NORMAL! I am thrilled, although I don’t want to do too much celebrating too quick, as I’m sure that is the fastest way to make myself gain a pound in a day (besides eating birthday cupcakes, eh).

4/18/11 (AM)
Weight: 135.4 (last week – 137.3 lbs.)
BMI: 24.91 (l.w. – 25.27)
Waist: 32″
Hips: 39.5″
Thighs: 41.5″

Change since last weigh-in:
Weight: loss of 1.9 lbs
BMI: loss of .36
Waist: no change
Hips: no change
Thighs: no change

Total
Total Weight Loss: 3.1 lbs.
Total BMI Loss: .57
Total Inches Lost in Waist: .5″
Total Inches Lost in Hips: 0″
Total Inches Lost in Thighs: .5″

I have to say that I feel pretty good about my progress on my goals from last week, and I believe that I’m going to stick with them again for this week. If all goes well, we may be stepping it up a bit next week.

New Goals

1. Log every single thing I eat and drink on myfitnesspal.com account, every single day this week, as well as all of my exercise

I totally rocked this one. Honestly, I think it made a huge difference. Not only did I log everything, but seeing how many calories were in the foods that I wanted to eat really made me think before scarfing down junk.

2. Start eating a healthy breakfast everyday and make sure that easy, junk food meals only happen twice a week (absolute maximum!)

Well, I didn’t do as well on this one, unless you count a cup of coffee as a healthy breakfast. In my defense, I don’t think I’ve regularly eaten breakfast since I was…I don’t know, in high school? So, a few days this week, I ate a granola bar for breakfast, which was huge for me, since I have always hated granola and never liked eating anything before 11. Given that information, my eating a peanut butter and chocolate chip 100 calorie granola bar for breakfast 4 of 7 days this week was pretty good.

As for not eating junk food meals, it was also a half win. We did have McDonald’s for lunch twice, but those were really the only completely unhealthy meals we had. The girls and I had sandwiches and fresh fruit for lunch most days, and we had dinners every night save one that included meat or fish and vegetables. I hate to admit it, but that is definitely a huge improvement for us.

3. Work out on the Wii (Wii Fit and Just Dance 2) for at least one hour total per day, at least six days this week (and keep track!)

I almost made this goal. I worked out Monday and Tuesday nights for more than an hour and a half each night. Wednesday was a little more than an hour. Thursday and Friday ended up being lost to Pinterest and work, respectively. I managed to work out for almost an hour and a half Saturday night, even after being exhausted from the day trip out of town to a birthday party with both of the girls. Sunday was also lost to work. So, the goal for the week was 6 hours, which I technically met. However, I know that I really need to stay with exercising every night if I’m going to keep this metabolism thing going.

4. Cut out bad/nervous habits…when I want to do it, stop, and go exercise

Eh, still working on this one. I have a ton of bad habits to shake, and progress has been slow. On a good note though, I’m making major progress on part of one of those habits. See, one of the habits I want to break is sleeping late…meaning that I want to get out of bed before the girls start screaming “MOMMY! MOMMY! WE’RE AWAKE!” over the baby monitor. Yeah, I’m a lazy POS…most days, I will stay in bed until they make me get up. The goal is to try to get up at the same time everyday, shower, get dressed, maybe workout, have my coffee and get them up at the same time. You know, a real schedule. Some progress has been made on that front, as I’ve been in bed before midnight every night (even by 11 one night!), and up before the girls twice. Hey, baby steps, people.

5. Replace all snacks with less-terrible-for-me alternatives

Except for the McDonald’s, I rocked this one, too. I got those granola bars on sale, as well as some fresh fruit and veggies and whole wheat crackers, and I’ve gone the entire week without potato chips or any of my favorite junk foods. Oddly enough, I didn’t miss them that much, since strawberries are delicious.

6. Drink schedule per day: no more than one cup of coffee, no more than one glass of Coke, no more than two glasses of sweet tea and at least 6 glasses of water

I totally kicked this goal’s ass. I had two Cokes ALL WEEK! That deserves more exclamation marks. TWO!!! ALL WEEK!!!!!! Y’all, about three months ago, there was a day where I realized I had finished almost two whole 2 liters of Coke by myself. That’s almost 4 liters of caffeinated soda, all by myself, in the roughly 17 hours that I’m awake in a day. And I went this entire week consuming about 48 ounces. I’m beyond amazed.

I’m still drinking my coffee in the morning, and I did have two glasses of sweet tea, so I’m not completely off the caffeine. But I have an emotional need for Coke, so I’m impressed. I also drank 6 glasses of water for a few days, but fell a little short of that part of the goal. I just don’t think about drinking water unless I’m working out or otherwise moving around and getting thirsty. I don’t like to sip it like I do Coke or tea. But, at least it has no calories!

So, I’m determined to post even more impressive numbers next week, and possibly a proper write-up of my experience so far (which is shaking my exercise-hating self to the core, let me tell you).

I’m kind of late with my McFatty post today, and I’m actually kind of glad.

See, because I was late today, I got to read the eye-opening words of Miss Blair, in which she describes the exact issue that I have been having lately.

Most days, I still feel skinny. I still feel like, when I put on those low cut jeans and that cute lacey tank top, I’m going to strut around the house looking like a svelte and stunning college girl. When I wear my black dress pants, feel like I’ve got a rear end that would make JLo jealous. Yet I am shocked when I see a photo of myself in those same clothes or step on the scale. My body image is totally in denial.

To add to the problem, as ol’ Blair mentioned, I lie to myself constantly about how hard I’m working to lose this weight, and I justify every little temptation enough to rationalize why I should give in. Of course, all I am doing is cheating myself out of making real progress on my goals.

Her post was so timely, because when I got on the scale this morning, I was confronted with a grave reality. I had just cheated myself out of an amazing opportunity this past week. I knew that I was going to spend all day on Sunday walking around in the hot sun, up and down hills, chugging water like there was no tomorrow. I promised myself I would not drink soda or beer while I was there, and I would totally take advantage of the positive effect that the activities of the day could have on my fitness goals for the week.

So what did I do all week prior to my trip? I snacked…I overate…and I indulged. I reasoned that it was ok to have another bowl of chips because I would spend all day walking. It was ok to stop at McDonald’s for another cheeseburger because I would sweat so much on Sunday.

I actually gained weight. GAINED. As in, added MORE weight to my body.

I ate so much and was so slack on my exercise goals last week, that spending an entire day sweating my ass off while hoofing it up and down hills in the Georgia heat and drinking gallons of water did not even cause me to lose enough to get back down to my starting weight for the week.

Ugh.

So, I am not lying to myself anymore.

Even though I still think of myself as being skinny, I am not. Even though I feel alright, and feel like my health is good enough, it is not. I am not happy with my current weight, my current appearance, and most importantly, my current state of health.

I cannot do as little as I did when I was breastfeeding and expect to lose weight. I cannot justify junk food and convenience meals that are going to be counter-productive to my goals. I cannot keep going like I’ve been going.

So, on the suggestion of several of the commenters on Blair’s post, I looked around at online tools. I decided to give myfitnesspal.com a try. Now, let me say that I have never liked the idea of counting calories, or having to keep track of everything that I eat. I honestly am terrible with remembering to do that kind of thing everyday (I could give some colorful examples here, but I won’t), so I am highly skeptical about my ability to stay on top of something like this. However, something must be done, and if there is a chance that having those numbers staring in my face yelling “HEY FATTY! Put down that damn cupcake!” will help me achieve my goal, I’m willing to give it a shot.

So, before I get into my new goals, here are the sad little numbers that I mentioned:

4/11/11 (AM)
Weight: 137.3 (last week – 137.1 lbs.)
BMI: 25.27 (l.w. – 25.23)
Waist: 32″
Hips: 39.5″
Thighs: 41.5″

Change since last weigh-in:
Weight: gain of .2 lbs
BMI: gain of .04
Waist: no change
Hips: no change
Thighs: no change

Total
Total Weight Loss: 1.2 lbs.
Total BMI Loss: .21
Total Inches Lost in Waist: .5″
Total Inches Lost in Hips: 0″
Total Inches Lost in Thighs: .5″

Now, for the goals…you already know that I blew my goals from last week big time, so I’m going to save myself the embarrassment of those details, and just suffice it to say that I did not do well at all. I am going to keep the spirit of the previous goals, but the new ones will be a bit more aggressive.

New Goals

1. Log every single thing I eat and drink on myfitnesspal.com account, every single day this week, as well as all of my exercise

2. Start eating a healthy breakfast everyday and make sure that easy, junk food meals only happen twice a week (absolute maximum!)

3. Work out on the Wii (Wii Fit and Just Dance 2) for at least one hour total per day, at least six days this week (and keep track!)

4. Cut out bad/nervous habits…when I want to do it, stop, and go exercise

5. Replace all snacks with less-terrible-for-me alternatives

6. Drink schedule per day: no more than one cup of coffee, no more than one glass of Coke, no more than two glasses of sweet tea and at least 6 glasses of water

Alright, I’ve already started on these goals today, and I’m doing pretty darn good. Let’s see how well I can keep it up, and give this whole fitness diary concept a try.

Yeah, apparently, my will power is no match for a weekend of sweets.

See, all week last week, I did great. Minimal snacking, healthy fruit and nuts for munchies and breakfast, working out almost every night on Just Dance, and generally just being awesome.

I was on track to lose another pound or two for the week, and I was excited. I was so close to the “normal” weight range that I could just taste it.

Then Friday came. And I was apparently ready to taste something else.

I ate a whole snack bag of Funions on the way to Charlotte with my ladies (while they all chatted…I stuffed my face). I did good at Ikea, having a nice helping of Swedish Meatballs and resisting the ice cream desert. Then on to the Cheesecake Factory. Oh, Cheesecake Factory, how I adore thee. The Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake is just about heaven in my mouth…but not so fun now that it’s apparently hanging out in my thighs.

Friday night, we finished setting up for the baby shower we were hosting on Saturday, and I was helping The Godmother with her baking by disposing of the “ugly ones.” You’d be surprised how many ugly ones there were once you started looking. And then we can’t forget the actual baby shower, at which I had one large cake pop and about nine red velvet whoopie pies.

So yeah, even though I exercised my butt off and was good all week, I totally caved during my weekend of fun and blew my progress all to bits.

Not that I was surprised, but when I saw the number on the Wii Fit scale this morning, I was so “blech” about the results, I didn’t even bother taking a picture.

Yeah, I know…I’m a sore loser.

4/4/11 (AM)
Weight: 137.1 (last week – 137.8 lbs.)
BMI: 25.23 (l.w. – 25.38)
Waist: 32″
Hips: 39.5″
Thighs: 41.5″

Change since last weigh-in:
Weight: loss of .7 lbs
BMI: loss of .15
Waist: no change
Hips: no change
Thighs: no change

Total
Total Weight Loss: 1.4 lbs.
Total BMI Loss: .25
Total Inches Lost in Waist: .5″
Total Inches Lost in Hips: 0″
Total Inches Lost in Thighs: .5″

Goals Shmoals

1. Make healthy recipe list (for real!) and add at least two really healthy meals to the dinner schedule

So, finally, some progress here. I’m still having trouble finding really healthy recipes that sounds good, but I did add two healthy(er) meals this week. Since we had tons of fruit in the house for the baby shower, the girls and I ate fruit for breakfast three days last week. They really loved it, seemed more excited about it than cereal, and I felt like they actually ate a little more than they do when they’re eating a fairly boring breakfast.

I also tried this recipe for a simple tomato sauce and pasta dish. It’s just whole wheat pasta and a light sauce made with olive oil, a little bit of seasoning and a can of diced tomatoes. Like I said, it’s at least healthier than a huge plate of meaty spaghetti.

2. Work out on the Wii for at least a half hour, four times
Totally rocked this. My foal for the week was a total of 2 hours, and 7,000 “burn points” on the Just Dance game. My total time was actually over three hours, and I got over 8,000 burn points. I seriously love that dancing game. I pretty much credit my workouts on that as the reason I did not gain five pounds this week, since my dietary weakness could have totally caused that.

3. Continue weeding out bad habits and replacing with exercise and other active choices. Do not back slide on nail-biting, and try to get rid of other “picky” nervous/bored habits.
Major progress on some big ones…feeling pretty optimistic.

4. Avoid snacks like the plague. One fattening junk food snack allowed every three to four days max, and only if I’ve worked out for more than a half hour that day.
BIG FAT FAIL

5. And the big one…limit myself to one serving/glass of Coca-Cola per day.
I actually did really well on this one. I may have had one day with more than one glass of Coke, but I honestly can’t remember doing it, so it might not have happened. My whole house drank more water this week, so it was a lot easier than I thought ti would be to not focus on how much I wanted a Coke. This is getting much easier.

This week, I have no excuse to not have some major progress. I don’t have any “food events” this week, and I’ll actually be spending all day Sunday strolling through the azaleas at the most beautiful golf course in the world, so it’s not like I’m going to be sitting on my butt all weekend doing nothing.

This week has got to be better. For real.

After a week of slightly more intense effort mixed in with few weak moments of shame, I got on the Wii Fit board this morning not really expecting any great news.

Repeating “Please don’t gain, please don’t gain, please don’t gain”, I watched the screen come up to tell me my BMI…died…and then frantically switched over to the weight screen, to confirm what I just saw in numbers that I understand.

OMG!!! Could it be?! NORMAL. I’m in the normal range for my weight?! I’ve dropped two pounds in the last week?!

I ran around in circles for a minute, trying to decide if I wanted to call my mom or my husband first, or send out a mass email to all of my girlfriends, or start a Twitter account just to announce this news.

Then a thought crossed my mind…what if the Wii Fit is wrong? I did not work hard enough last week to lose two pounds.

I stepped on the bathroom scale, and my fears were confirmed. So I did my Wii Fit body test again, making sure I selected the correct option for the weight of my clothes.

And I got this:

Gained two tenths of a pound, rather than losing two whole pounds. Ugh.

I was elated when I saw the first weight. I was thrilled beyond words.

See, the last time I got my weight that low, I was only using my analog bathroom scale, and it knows about as much about calculating BMI as my one-year-old, so I had no idea of my accomplishment at the time. I was so excited to reach this milestone and truly be able to enjoy the knowledge that I was no longer “overweight.”

I kind of hate it that I decided to double check.

But now, when I want to sit out the couch and “reward” myself with a small bowl of chips, I need to remember how good that moment of mistaken elation felt. When I try to rationalize why another glass of Coke won’t be a big deal, I need to think about that fleeting sense of accomplishment that came with those inaccurate numbers.

I really really want to see those numbers again, very soon, and know that they’re for real.

Hrumph, now to my actual stats…

3/28/11 (AM)
Weight: 137.8 lbs.
BMI: 25.38
Waist: 32″
Hips: 39.5″
Thighs: 41.5″

Change since last weigh-in:
Weight: gain of .2 lbs
BMI: gain of .06
Waist: no change
Hips: no change
Thighs: no change

Total
Total Weight Loss: .7 lbs.
Total BMI Loss: .1
Total Inches Lost in Waist: .5″
Total Inches Lost in Hips: 0″
Total Inches Lost in Thighs: .5″

Ok, here is my progress on my goals…that I have been working on for a month now:

1. Make healthy recipe list (for real!) and add at least two really healthy meals to the dinner schedule
Ok, I started my healthy recipe list, but I’m having issues…specifically, finding healthy recipes that I actually want to eat. I do not want a spinach salad with chick peas and wheat wafers. Or feta soy burgers. None of that sounds appealing to me. And I don’t want to make things that require more than seven ingredients, because I really do not enjoy cooking enough to wait two plus hours to eat. So, I made the effort on this goal, but I could use some assistance…

Anybody know where I can find recipes that are healthy and would sound appealing to someone who would eat shrimp scampi, mac & cheese and bacon cheeseburgers every day for the rest of their life if given the option?

2. Work out on the Wii for at least a half hour, four times
Ok, I didn’t really work out on the Wii at all. I did get outside and get some exercise twice, and tried to be more active in general (i.e, instead of sitting in front of the computer and messing around on the internet for an hour, I would straighten up the house and work on the laundry…just choosing to be inactive less often).

3. Continue weeding out bad habits and replacing with exercise and other active choices. Do not back slide on nail-biting, and try to get rid of other “picky” nervous/bored habits.
I’m actually doing really well with this one. Two bad habits are gone, and one of the big ones should be knocked out this week. I haven’t exactly replaced any of them with exercise or active choices, but they haven’t been replaced with negative choices, so I count that as a win.

4. Avoid snacks like the plague. One fattening junk food snack allowed every three to four days max, and only if I’ve worked out for more than a half hour that day.
Ok, I snacked a few times. I did limit myself to tiny toddler sized bowls when snacking, and I didn’t snack near as much as these chilly rainy days made me want to. Kind of a half-win? Or mostly a fail.

5. And the big one…limit myself to one serving/glass of Coca-Cola per day.
Almost every day, I had no more than one glass of Coke. Huge for me. I had one day where I had three or more glasses, and one day where I had two. This week, for real, no more than one a day.

Alright, keep working on the same goals, because I seem to be a bit struck on them, and I refuse to give up. Also, get my real stats to match this week’s mistaken stats.

Go.

Yeah, the past two weeks have been nuts in my world. Work, kids, sleep, lack-of-sleep, more work, etc. has just left me totally lacking the motivation to do much of anything else.

That is, until this past weekend, when I decided to get my butt in gear.

I am so sick and effing tired of my body being a mess, my mind being a mess, my house being a mess, and my life in general being…yep, a mess.

I want to enjoy my life, and I don’t want to spend so much precious time being unhappy with how things are. I’m looking at everything that needs fixing, and doing something about it. Everything that’s really not a big deal, I’m using to help myself relearn a lesson in prioritizing…if it ain’t broke, I ain’t gonna worry about fixing it. I’ve got too much else that really does need my attention.

So, even though the progress is slow-going right now, it just seems to make me want that progress more and more.

3/21/11 (AM)
Weight: 137.6 lbs.
BMI: 25.32
Waist: 32″
Hips: 39.5″
Thighs: 41.5″

Change since last weigh-in:
Weight: loss of .9 lbs
BMI: loss of .16
Waist: loss of .5″
Hips: no change
Thighs: loss of .5″

Total
Total Weight Loss: .9 lbs.
Total BMI Loss: .16
Total Inches Lost in Waist: .5″
Total Inches Lost in Hips: 0″
Total Inches Lost in Thighs: .5″

Ok, here is my progress on my goals from…however many weeks ago it was:

1. Make healthy recipe list (for real!) and add at least two really healthy meals to the dinner schedule
Ugh. Yeah, totally didn’t do this…again. We even ordered pizza one night when we were feeling super lazy. Big fat FAIL.

2. Work out on the Wii for at least a half hour, four times
Ok, not exactly, but close. I did work out on the Wii some, but not four time per week. I did, however, start sanding and painting my new desk, which was a pretty decent workout.

3. Continue weeding out bad habits and replacing with exercise and other active choices. Do not back slide on nail-biting, and try to get rid of other “picky” nervous/bored habits.
I did really good with this one. It’s now been weeks since I bit my nails, or even picked at them, which is huge for me. Nervous picking is at an all-time low, and, while I haven’t replaced anything with exercise, I have developed a new night-time routine that makes me feel pretty good and involves more moisturizer, more lotion, more Omega-3′s, and borderline-excessive dental hygiene. It takes me a half hour to get ready for bed now…but I feel so much better climbing into the sheets knowing I’ve ended the day by being productive.

4. If big work check comes, buy Just Dance for Wii (since I’ve seen that recommended by seven people in the past five days, which has to be a sign, and since I think the girls would have a great time dancing with Mommy)
I totally got it…and I love it! Even the girls like dancing with Mommy, so I think this is going to work out really well. Also, it’s super fun, even if I occasionally feel like an idiot shaking my fat butt around like a maniac.

5. Avoid snacks like the plague. One fattening junk food snack allowed every three to four days max, and only if I’ve worked out for more than a half hour that day.
I actually didn’t snack too much at all the past couple of weeks…until the In-Laws brought two bags of Doritos over when they came to visit.

6. And the big one…limit myself to one serving/glass of Coca-Cola per day.
I actually accomplished this goal on several different days, but overall, another big FAIL.

So, I’m keeping the same goals for this week, since I didn’t do so great on them the first go round. Maybe that was just practice?

Well, this marks the end of my first week back on the weight-loss wagon.

I’m actually really excited about this…and I feel like I’m really going to do it. I’m going to get down to my goal weight, and I’m going to stay there. I have to.

I went to Old Navy yesterday to try to take advantage of the Stock Up and Save sale, and, as always happens when I go shopping by myself, I tried on top after top after top and hated every single one. I walked away with two shirts for Kyla and some tank tops/under shirts for me.

That’s it.

I had a coupon and a great sale that covered most of the store, and I couldn’t find anything I liked on me except for tank tops that are supposed to be worn under cute tops that I don’t even have. I looked at my stomach and my “love handles” in the mirror and realized that I totally have a “spare tire.”

Ugghhh. I hate saying that. I have a spare tire…where my cute little mostly-flat stomach should be.

It’s just gotta go. I think I can deal with the big rear-end, but the spare tire just ain’t cuttin’ it. The thunder thighs aren’t really my favorite, but I think I can deal with them for now…if I can just do something with this stomach.

So, with renewed energy and motivation, I am going to tackle the shit out of my weight-loss goals. And by June, I am going to go shopping and buy at least three new tops that I absolutely love to wear and that I think look fabulous on me. That’s going to be my first mini-goal.

Now, let’s look at where we are as of right now. Here are my official starting stats:

3/7/11 (AM)
Weight: 138.5 lbs.
BMI: 25.48
Waist: 32.5″
Hips: 39.5″
Thighs: 42″

Change since last weigh-in:
Weight: gain of 3lbs
BMI: gain of .58
Waist: gain of .5″
Hips: gain of .5″
Thighs: gain of 1″

Total
I’m starting over on my totals. These are news goals, and they’ll be counted separately from the weight I lost last year (especially since I’ve gained almost a third of it back…ugh)

And, here is my progress on my goals from last week:

1. Purchase the switch thing that will allow me to hook my Wii back up to the TV, get it hooked up
Done! Wii is hooked up, and all I have to do to play it is press a button on the switch…that is an example of something I love about technology.

2. Document starting weight and other stats
Done! (See above)

3. Start replacing all of the minor bad habits with light exercise (knock one minor bad habit out completely)
This is kind of a work-in-progress, but I’m happy to report that I have not bitten my nails at all, all week. I haven’t quite “replaced” any habits with exercise, but I have lightened up on some of the bad habits and started exercising again, so that’s a start, and I’m going to consider that goal met for the week.

4. Work out on the Wii for at least a half hour, three times
Totally got it. Here are my work-out times:
3/1 – 78 minutes, 194 calories burned
3/2 – :37, 87 cal
3/6 – :46, 136 cal

5. Make healthy recipe list and add at least two really healthy meals to the dinner schedule
Ok, I did not do this one at all. We did have fish several times this week, and had vegetables with every dinner, so those are both positive changes. Oh, and we also ate all whole wheat bread and whole wheat pasta this week. Overall, I think we ate better, and did try to be more conscious of those decisions, but I’ll try to work on the schedule a little more this next week.

Here are my new and revised goals for what I want accomplish this week:

1. Make healthy recipe list (for real!) and add at least two really healthy meals to the dinner schedule

2. Work out on the Wii for at least a half hour, four times

3. Continue weeding out bad habits and replacing with exercise and other active choices. Do not back slide on nail-biting, and try to get rid of other “picky” nervous/bored habits.

4. If big work check comes, buy Just Dance for Wii (since I’ve seen that recommended by seven people in the past five days, which has to be a sign, and since I think the girls would have a great time dancing with Mommy)

5. Avoid snacks like the plague. One fattening junk food snack allowed every three to four days max, and only if I’ve worked out for more than a half hour that day.

6. And the big one…limit myself to one serving/glass of Coca-Cola per day.

Again, pretty lofty goals. But I can totally do it.

Last year, I decided that I was ready to lose my baby weight. With some moderate portion-control, light exercise, and the support of Blair’s McFatty Monday, I was not only able to lose over 10 pounds, but I was also able to keep most of it off for several months.

Now, five months after my last pseudo-weigh-in, I’ve gained back five of those pounds. During those five months, I stopped breastfeeding and was dealing with lots and lots of stress. So, considering those two things, I feel that putting a on little weight was not a complete fail. I’m actually a little surprised that I did not gain any more than I did, because, honestly, I was seriously not even trying to avoid pigging out when I felt like doing it. Portion-control was almost non-existent, and exercise was at the very bottom of my priority list.

Ughhh…and it has made me feel terrible. Physically, I feel like I’m in awful shape. I am tired and achy and my body just feels so…heavy. My head, my chest, my thighs, my stomach, my butt…everything just feels heavy. And I’m tired of carrying it all around. I am now rapidly approaching 30, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to spend my thirtieth birthday feeling like I did this month on my 28th. I am too young to feel this old.

So, I have decided to recommit to all of my unfinished self-improvement projects from last year. Starting today, I am officially tired of being unhealthy and overweight. I’m officially tried of feeling tired and worn down and yucky.

I’m taking all of my bad habits (all the way down to nail-biting), and replacing them with good habits. I’m writing out all of my goals, and I will make sure that I make progress on at least half of my goals every single day. I’m going to focus on the positives of the changes that I’m making, and keep myself motivated knowing how much better life will be for me, and how much better of a role model I will be for my girls.

I am going to take part in McFatty Monday again, to help keep me motivated and hold myself accountable for my successes and failures. I’m going to document all of my positive changes here, and use this record of my progress as a reminder of how far I’ve come, and how much farther I want to go.

I have to go beyond just saying that I want to do it, and actually get my butt up and do it. And I think I’m ready to do that.

So, here is what I want to accomplish this week:

1. Purchase the switch thing that will allow me to hook my Wii back up to the TV, get it hooked up

2. Document starting weight and other stats

3. Start replacing all of the minor bad habits with light exercise (knock one minor bad habit out completely)

4. Work out on the Wii for at least a half hour, three times

5. Make healthy recipe list and add at least two really healthy meals to the dinner schedule

Sounds a little lofty, now that I look at it.

But, you know what? I’m so ready to do this.

So…

There is a chance that today could be a really really awesome day. It’s not even 10, though, so it’s still kind of hard to say.

But, even though I slept terrible last night–because I stayed up after everyone else to clean the bathroom (don’t ask), went to bed after midnight, was up at 4 to make coffee for my dear husband (who informed me that he didn’t have time for coffee), couldn’t go back to sleep because a certain little baby wanted to wake up and play (because she heard Daddy leaving for work), and then NEVER got back to sleep–I’m still determined that this day will be good. Like, hopefully, really good.

So, I got on the scale. I made myself. I squinted down at the numbers trying to decide whether or not to go get the camera…and then I see this:

And I woke up really fast and started shrieking “where’s the effing CAMERA?!”

Because ^ that is awesome.

Now, let’s see some stats:

9/27/10
Weight: 135.5-ish
BMI: 24.9?
Waist: 32″
Hips: 39″
Thighs: 41″

Change since last weigh-in:
Weight: loss of 2lbs!
BMI: loss of .2?
Waist: loss of .5″
Hips: no change
Thighs: no change

Total
Total Weight Loss: 11.5lbs.
Total BMI Loss: 2.08
Total Inches Lost in Waist: 4″
Total Inches Lost in Hips: 0″
Total Inches Lost in Thighs: 1″

It feels soooo good to look at my numbers and see some progress starting to happen again. It’s very motivating to not see the word “gain”…but it’s even more motivating to see that I’ve finally officially lost more than 10 pounds (and more than 15, unofficially)!

Goal for this week…more water and tea (instead of Coke) and try to get down to 133!