Weigh-In: Week 17

I can't believe I'm heading into my fifth month of weight loss already.  It's been flying by and crawling by all at the same time.  Does that even make sense?  :)  This was a great week.  I stayed on track with exercising and cooking healthy meals at home.  It's getting easier to plan out all the cooking for the week.  The key is to make a plan ahead of time and then stick to it.  I've also been saving a ton of money on food and gas by eating my meals exclusively at home for the past 3 weeks.  My countdown to graduation has officially begun as well.  Tuesday is my last final.  Only 3 days to go.  I will be paying a LOT more attention to this blog once I am finally done with school!!

Week 16 Weight: 265.4
Week 17 Weight: 264.4

Week 17 Weight Loss: 1.0 pound

Total Weight Loss: 21.8 pounds

Weigh-In: Week 16

I seriously ROCKED this week!  I cooked every meal at home from scratch.  I ate absolutely nothing processed, no white flour, and no added sugar.  I did Power 90 every day.  I feel stronger every day that I do it.  I actually did a push-up yesterday!!  The downside is, I'm exhausted!  Between having only two weeks left until I finish my degree, cooking every meal last week, a heavy workload, working out every day, and just other everyday things, I feel like I just moved from one task to another all week with no downtime.  I need to work on finding a good balance.  Plus, I know things will get better after I'm done with school on May 3rd.  I'm going for another "perfect" week this week.  We'll see how the scale treats me.  :)  Oh, yeah...and I'm finally down my first 20 POUNDS!!!!

Beginning Weight: 267.0
Week 16 Weight: 265.4

Week 16 Weight Loss: 1.6 pounds

Total Weight Loss: 20.8 pounds

Power 90

Have any of you tried Power 90?  I bought the program about 2 years ago but gave up after only a couple of days.  If you haven't heard of it, it's a two-part exercise program with two different levels.  The idea is to complete the program 6 days a week for 90 days.  The first day is Sculpt, which incorporates lifting weights with lunges and squats.  The second day is Cardio/Abs, which combines yoga, kicks, punches, and other torturous moves!

Photo courtesy of Beachbody.com

Last week, my brother Chris and I decided to give all we had to Power 90 until we leave for vacation on May 16th.  Oh, my gosh!!  I LOVE IT!!  It is SO challenging.  I can't do all of the moves without modifying them yet, but I already feel so much stronger.  The Sculpt will make your arms burn like crazy, and the Cardio...well, the Cardio is HARD!  Cardio will definitely kick your butt.  I love that you don't need any special equipment other than some 5-pound dumbbells or resistance bands and that you get such an amazing workout just using your body.

The follow-up program to Power 90 is P90X, which is designed for people who are already in moderately good shape.  My goal is to do a full round of Power 90 after getting back from vacation in May and then move on to P90X.  I have also heard that P90X2 is coming out sometime this year and that it will build on the moves learned in P90X.  If you're looking for a good workout program but you have limited space and limited exercise equipment, I would highly recommend this program.  I have only done the Level 1-2 so far, but the Sculpt is only 30 minutes and Cardio is only 40 minutes long.

I would love to hear if anyone else has had experience with Power 90 or P90X. 

Weigh-In: Week 15

Another week, same old story it seems like.  I am getting frustrated!  This week, I did everything right.  I walked.  I played tennis.  I rode the exercise bike.  I lifted weights.  I feel like I was in perpetual motion all week.  I did good on the eating side of it, too.  I cooked healthy food and controlled my portions.  I just knew I was going to have a big loss on the scale...BUT the scale had other plans.  I only lost a half a pound!  What is up with that?!!  I know if I just keep it up, the weight has got to come off eventually.  It's just getting so hard to keep it up every week and see no results on the scale.  On the positive side, I do feel a LOT stronger.  When I first started exercising, I could barely make it 5 minutes on the exercise bike at 10 mph.  Now I am riding for an hour at 13-15 mph and feeling great.

Beginning Weight: 267.6
Week 15 Weight: 267.0

Week 15 Weight Loss: 0.6 pounds

Total Weight Loss: 19.2 pounds

Weigh-In: Week 14

The word of the week this week was STRUGGLE.  I struggled to stay motivated.  I struggled to eat right even though my sugar cravings came back with a vengence.  Every single day was a struggle to get off the couch and get moving.  I definitely struggled, but I made it.  I had a good week and worked out a lot.  I also made smart choices when eating.  I was hoping for a big loss on the scale because I actually feel skinnier this week.  Does that ever happen to you?  You just wake up one day and actually feel skinnier?  Well, I felt skinnier, but I really didn't lose too much.  However, I am still going down little by little, and that's all that matters.  I will keep at it.  :)

I don't know how many of you are still watching The Biggest Loser.  Do you remember a few seasons ago a contestant named Julie Hadden?  She's a mom that was diagnosed with PCOS, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.  PCOS is an endocrine disorder that affects your reproductive system.  According to Wikipedia, insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity are all strongly correlated with PCOS, but the cause of PCOS is still unknown and there is no cure.  PCOS also makes it hard to lose weight.  I remember Julie on The Biggest Loser being so upset because she wasn't losing weight as fast as everyone else.  The first week, she only lost a couple of pounds, while the other contestants were losing 20-30 pounds.

I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2001 right after my 19th birthday.  I know this disease is probably contributing to my slow weight loss.  Even though I am working hard every week and feel myself getting stronger, it is so frustrating to still be hanging around in the high 260s.  But regardless of how slow this weight loss goes, I am still going to get to the finish line at some point.  On The Biggest Loser, Julie ended up being the runner-up at the finale, so she was ultimately able to reach her goal weight.  It just took a little longer than the others.

Beginning Weight: 268.0
Week 14 Weight: 267.6

Week 14 Weight Loss: 0.4 pounds

Total Weight Loss: 18.6 pounds

The April Crackdown

In exactly 42 days, I am heading to The Sunshine State to visit Orlando with my little bro, Chris.  I am super excited because I have never taken a real vacation.

I am not going to miss this.

I am going to miss this.

My birthday is in May, and I'm FINALLY finishing up my MBA!  Woot woot!  This trip is kind of a birthday/graduation present to myself.  I posted a few weeks ago about how I am using this upcoming trip to motivate my weight loss efforts.  I am really anxious about the fact that I might not fit on all of the rides at Universal Studios.

I found this website where people share their experiences at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.  They list their measurements and talk about what rides they could and couldn't ride on.  It seems like anyone under 250 pounds didn't have any problem fitting on all of the rides.  My short-term goal at this point is to be under 250 by May 16th.

I know I can get there.  I will need to lose about 3 pounds a week to meet the goal.  That is a little more than I usually like to lose per week, and it's a little more than I have been losing per week.  However, I have so much to lose that I think I can safely lose that much each week and then scale it down after the trip.

I have noticed that the weeks I work out 3 or more days per week, I have been losing a LOT more than the weeks where I don't work out much (Go figure.  Huh?).  I've also been kind of lax on my eating plan.  I have been keeping a running calorie total in my head, but I've been eating out and eating some junk food.  That has got to stop.

So here's the plan.  I'm going to stick to proteins, vegetables and fruits and eat only "real" food, no manufactured junk (I'm talking about you Easter Basket Cakes).  I'll eat several small meals a day to keep my metabolism working all day.  As far as exercise, I plan to work out 6 days a week.  My goal is to do about 5 hours total per week.

I want to see what I am really capable of when I stick to a healthy food and exercise plan for 30 days without any cheating.  Who's with me?

Weigh-In: Week 13

After my gain last week, I cracked down this week.  It seems like every week I either do really great on the eating part and slack on the exercise or get in a ton of exercise and eat poorly.  This week, I really focused on making sure I was on the right track with both.  My goal for next week is to hit 20 pounds lost, so I'll have to carry this momentum into next week!

How did your week go?

Beginning Weight: 271
Week 13 Weight: 268

Week 13 Weight Loss: 3 pounds

Total Weight Loss: 18.2 pounds

Just the Facts: Month 3

I feel great about this month.  I'm continuing to plug along.  It seems like the weight is coming off so slowly, but the time has really been flying by.  It's so exciting to see these inches coming off.  Today I pulled out a bunch of old clothes.  I even found some Size 22 jeans that fit, and they still had the tags on them!  I don't know what was up with that.  I must have bought them a while ago thinking they would fit, but they didn't.  Well, now I can wear them!  Yay!  All of my Size 24 stuff is falling off of me.  I LOVE that!  I am pretty close to fitting into some Size 20 stuff.  Can't wait!

Measurements:
Neck:              16         (No change)
Left Arm:         19         (LOST 1 inch)
Right Arm:       19         (LOST 1 1/2 inches)
Bust:                47 1/2   (LOST 1 1/2 inches)
Upper Waist:   44         (LOST 1 3/4 inches)
Lower Waist:   51 1/2   (No change)
Hips:                49 1/2   (LOST1/2 inch)
Left Thigh:        31 1/2   (LOST 1 inch)
Right Thigh:      31 3/4   (No change)
Left Calf:          17         (LOST 1/2 inch)
Right Calf:        18         (No change)

Month 3 Total Inch Loss:  7 3/4 inches

Total Inch Loss To Date:  21 inches