A Digital Detox This Weekend

For this last weekend in March 2015, I am hereby declaring a digital detox from all of my mobile devices.

Here is my why - this morning I was so absorbed reading a book on my Kindle Paperwhite that I got mad at my boyfriend when he asked me a simple question. Seriously?

I mean, here is the love of my life asking me a silly little question and I turn around and practically bite his head off!

I am SO so sorry for this.  My priorities seem to be a bit off-kilter.

If I had to list all of the important things in my life, my Travis would be at the top - at the same level as my family.  These are the people that I would lay down my life for. I would donate an organ for if they needed it. 

Yet you wouldn't know it based on my behavior this morning and how I treated him. :(

This made me come to the realization that yes, I am addicted to my iPhone...my Kindle Fire...my Kindle Paperwhite.  Sometimes I will have all three surrounding me.  And then sometimes, I even take them to bed with me!  Is this really necessary?? Hell no!

Travis has been saying that he'll be talking to me and I'm only half-listening to him.  He's right.  If I have one of my devices in my hand, I will only respond with a "Uh-huh" and then not even looking at him.

How wrong is that??

I feel so embarrassed and ashamed. If something were to happen to him today, I would be buried under regret.

This weekend, the Kindles will be put away.  The phone will only be used as a telephone. (And maybe tracking my run but that's it).  And I will actually look my love in his eyes as he's talking to me, and I will look up and live in the now.  And I will go outside and live life.

Even Coaches have "off" days

I have a pretty demanding full-time job and this week, my partner-in-crime (the guy that works with me in the email program) is on Spring Break. So I'm basically doing the work of two people this week and it's been crazy!

Monday I worked 10 hours.

Tuesday I worked the usual 8 hours but then Tuesday night I got a last-minute voiceover job (I do voiceover work on the side). And the project needed to be turned in by Wednesday morning. So I ended up doing that right after work and through dinner.
Which means that yesterday (Tuesday) I did not workout.

**GASP** SHOCKING!

Yes, even Coaches can have an "off" day sometimes.

We all have busy lives and sometimes... life just happens.

But here is what makes the difference - how quickly we get back on track.

Today I started my day with Shakeology and right now, I'm jumping right back in with my 21 Day Fix workout.

This could be a time where I could easily beat myself up and start letting negative thoughts go through my head.  But my own Coach has a great analogy for this.

So..if you get a flat tire, you immediately fix it so you can get back on the road, right?  Well when you have a minor setback,  you should do the same thing because if we let negative thoughts say things like "well, I messed up so I guess I'll just go totally off-program and eat a bag of chips for dinner."  If we do what those negative thoughts are saying, then we are essentially slashing the other three tires of our car after experiencing the one flat tire.  And that makes NO sense, right?
Exactly!

So right now, I am putting the spare tire on, and I'm getting back on the road.

Let's roll.

I'm baaack!

Hello everyone! Well I'm back and ready to continue this upward trend that I am currently on. (Upward in a good way, not in bad way like upward on the scale!) So here's the scoop: Last month I joined a Facebook challenge group coordinated by my coach, Ryan. Now I've been one of Ryan's minions for a LONG time but only halfheartedly participating in the exercise groups and programs here & there. In fact, last year I joined WW-At-Work since my company was sponsoring a weight loss challenge and they were paying for part of the meeting fees. I became a WW member in the summer and stayed a member all the way through to the end of December. And guess how many pounds I lost? Only 2 pounds. Yes, I kid you not. In about six months of being a WW member, I just lost 2 pounds!!! Granted, this was mainly my fault for not following the program to a T. I have nothing bad to say overall about the program since it works for so many. But for ME and my particular lifestyle, it obviously did not work. It wasn't a perfect fit.

With the start of the new year, I figured it was time to try something new. Lo and behold I see a message from Ryan about a new 90/10 group starting in January. I decided to join and to really focus on eating more whole foods and keeping track. I printed up weekly meal plans and went grocery shopping. For more information on the 90/10 Nutrition plan, you can check out the website here: www.9010nutrition.com.  So in just a month of eating on the 90/10 plan, guess how many pounds I lost? 4.5 pounds. In a month. And also, feeling great in looser pants!

I'm continuing the 90/10 nutrition in February and after my awesome experience in January, I have decided to become a coach myself! It's a little scary. And of course, I'm second-guessing myself since I do NOT have the fit, toned body that I'm still striving for. However, I decided to think of this as a journey that I can continue on while at the same time, supporting others who have the same goals. We can share the struggles and help each other achieve our respective fitness goals!

At least, this is how I'm envisioning it. :)

So now this blog will turn into me talking about my experiences as I start this new journey. I will be an open book. Get ready.

How Quickly the Weight Comes

I am SOOO mad at how far I've let myself go! So since I left WW last summer, I have gained 10 lbs. How is it possible to gain 10 lbs in six months??? It's utterly depressing. Granted, there have been things happening in my life such as: 1) Getting more responsibility at work and having to do two jobs - which equals more hours and coming home at later times. Oh and sitting at my desk for hours upon end 2) Officially over 40 and the metabolism is slowing 3) Less exercise and hardly any weight lifting All of these things combined will lead to weight gain but 10 lbs in six months??? That's just downright insane!!! I re-joined WW today and I'm starting with this Simple Start which is essentially eating the Power Foods and no counting. Don't know how that will work but I'll try it. At this point I'll try almost anything. (except crazy diet pills or surgery) I'm now going to take my ass off the couch and do a DVD workout

Happy

This post has nothing to do with weight loss but it's just a note about life.

Right now in this moment, despite work waiting for me tomorrow after a week's vacation, I am so content with life.

When we arrived back in town late last night after the 18 hour drive from Florida, and we walked into OUR house, I was just hit with this enormous sense of gratitude.

Gratitude for all the good things I have in my life - the house, the dogs, the awesome boyfriend, my family, my friends.

I'm almost afraid of something happening to take these away from me! That is why I am going to savor and enjoy what I have right now.

But this journal entry is also an acknowledgement to let Him know that I appreciate all the good stuff that I have and that I feel so blessed. I don't know what I've done to come across this good fortune. But I'm so grateful.

ANYWAYS, going back to weight loss, obviously I didn't stay on plan 100% while on travel. I tried to do activity while there, though. I ran twice and then I walked what felt like 100 miles when we were at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure in Orlando. So hopefully those helped offset some of the eating. I go for my weigh-in tomorrow. The moment of truth is on the horizon!

A little setback

So last weekend, my boyfriend and I moved into our new house! We're thrilled about it all being first time home owners. BUT of course with moving comes disorganization and lost items. Some of these temporarily misplaced items included my Medifast meals. So during the moving days, I was not on plan. And yes, I indulged.

I went for my weigh-in on Wednesday and I gained a couple of pounds. CRAP! First gain since I started this weight loss journey in May.

A little disappointing but certainly not a surprise since I also didn't have time to do a formal workout this past week outside of the moving activities of moving boxes.

So now I'm back on track and hoping that my body gets back into fat-burning mode fast.

I also wanted to put down reminders of why I want to lose weight in the first place:
1) To be healthier. Now that I'm over 40, it's more important than ever for me to be more mindful of my weight. I'd like to get out of the Overweight BMI range.
2) To look better. This translates to wearing smaller sized clothes and feeling sexier for my man.
3) To run easier. Now that I'm officially signed up for the half marathon in November, I want to do anything possible to make the run easier - including losing a few pounds!

To me, if I'm at 145 by my birthday in October, I'll be happy! So that's going to be my short-term goal. It's 8 lbs away, 6 and a half weeks away. Do-able? Yes.

Am I crazy? Yes I am.

SO many things happening in my life right now. On top of becoming a homeowner for the first time in my LIFE, I've been trying to really buckle down and get a hold of my weight issue. Now that I'm over 40, it's almost a requirement to lose weight in order to avoid getting older faster! I joined Medifast on 5/23 and since then, I've lost 18 lbs. Now the exercise component has been inconsistent at best because of a hard work schedule and the hour commute each way to & from work. Moving to the new house should help that a little bit. So because I believe having a goal to aspire to is an even bigger motivator for me to get my butt off the couch, I have officially signed up for the Rock & Roll Half Marathon event in San Antonio. It's 14 weeks away. Holy crap! Am I nuts? Yes. Maybe I'm watching too much Olympics. I mean, I haven't been running on a regular basis in a LONG time. I can't run a mile without needing to stop & walk it off a bit. And now I'm going to run 13.1 miles in a mere 14 weeks? Yes. Lord knows I won't be as fast as I was two years ago when I ran regularly. But I think at this point, as long as I'm out of a chair, it's an accomplishment. During the week, I feel like most of my life is just sitting - I'm either sitting at a desk in front of my computer for 8-10 hours OR I'm sitting behind the wheel, sitting in traffic. No wonder I reached my heaviest weight of 172 lbs in May! I had a feeling I was getting bigger because of this lifestyle. But I was in denial and kept putting it off and then starting & then stopping countless new diet and health programs with half a heart. It took seeing myself in the Obese BMI range to really be my wake-up call. Plus the fact that all my "loose" pants were starting to get tight. Ouch. I'm definitely still a work in progress. But I feel that I'm on the right track. OH! And the other reason for my temporary madness at signing up for the half marathon? I'm part of a team! The San Antonio Pets Alive Mutt Milers! The SAPA is a great organization that saves the lives of cats & dogs who are in danger of being euthanized because of over-crowding in the shelters. SAPA does GREAT work. And its a cause I feel very strongly about since my pets are all former strays. If you'd like to donate to the team, feel free to visit my page for more information. Thank you!!! SAPA Donation Page