Biggest Loser - Weeks 2 and 3

So did I mention that I ran a half marathon last weekend?

Um, yeah... that pretty much made me rationalize all of the junk I ate all week.  I love to run long distances, but I forgot that it turns me into a bottomless pit, something I need to work on if I sign up for more races this summer and fall.  Plus, my friend Cory had me make Amish friendship bread (basically she made me do it) and the two loaves were gone in about three days.  Yeah, it was THAT good... the Amish really know what they're doing.  But my main discovery this week is that weight loss is all about defeating the excuses.  As I strive to eat healthier, I realize that I can talk myself into having just about anything that's not good for me.  I ran a half marathon, so logically that allows me to have a free pass all week, right?  Or since it's Mother's Day this weekend I should be able to eat not just one, but three molten lava cakes that my husband made for me (oh yes he did... and they were super delicious!).  Or since I skipped dinner, I can have a second bowl of ice cream.  It's ridiculous, and something that I need to work on... do you have this problem, too?

On the upside, there are a few things that I have improved on as well.  For one, I don't stop every time I pass Starbucks.  To you this may not sound like much, but it's a huge accomplishment for me.  I can talk myself into a latte at all hours of the day and realized that I would get one even when I really didn't want it.  Sure, it still tasted good, but was the four dollars really worth it?  Since I work from home I don't drive by one all that often, which is probably why it used to be so appealing when I did, but just because it's a novelty doesn't mean I need to have it every time it's available.  It's all about choices and truly listening to your body.

So where did the scale end up?  Unfortunately I have been going the wrong direction, but it was only an 0.2 gain this week, probably due to the race.  A day after the weekly weigh-in I caught a little bug that Jake had been sick with and, well, I'm now down two... go figure.  So my goal for this week is to make better overall choices and fight that irrational part of my brain that makes all of those excuses.  Oh, and I may want to show my face again at the gym... I'm pretty sure my muscles have forgotten what they are supposed to do!

How was your week??

Losing It!

This week marks the start of TurningPoint Church's Biggest Loser Contest.  We have tons of people signed up to compete over the next 8 weeks... just in time to get in shape for the summertime.  Just like on the show, the Biggest Loser is the person who loses the largest percentage of their starting weight, so it is anyone's game to win.  I've decided not only to jump on the band wagon, but to blog about it over these next few weeks, too, for a little more accountability.  We did this same contest as a family from January through March, and I must admit that I started out pretty strong, but pretty much gave up halfway through.  While I did up my exercise over the course of the contest, my eating habits stayed about the same and that is what I want to focus on during round two.  My sister, on the other hand, publicly blogged about her journey through the contest and dropped lots of weight... she already looked great before and now she looks fantastic!  I'm so proud of her and really think there is something helpful about logging the progress somewhere, probably even more so when you are logging it where people can read it.  How embarrassing (or pathetic maybe?) would it be to go through eight weeks of this and continually tell you all that nothing has changed.  That would probably just mean that I wasn't trying, and I'm not the type of person who doesn't try.  Plus, I know a few of my readers are participating, too, so hopefully I can help motivate them to keep up their hard work, too.  So here it goes...

Let me just state for the record that this is going to be really hard for me.  I am very fortunate to have a "happy weight" (you know, the place your scale just kind of stays without much effort) that I am pretty satisfied with.  Satisfied- yes, but not really thrilled about.  I actually weigh the same now as I did before kids, but it is all distributed differently and I know it consist of a lot less muscle tone than it used to.  My family's competition was a great way to lose the baby weight, but now I want to tone up and really get in shape. This mama is going to the beach in July and she wants to look better than ever!

Friday I did my official first weigh-in.  I'm not going to report my numbers every week, but I will post my overall loss or gain, in pounds and percentage.  I feel like I'm in fairly decent shape since I started running again a few months ago, but I definitely need to kick it up a notch, particularly if I choose to run a marathon in the fall, which is something I've been considering.  I haven't run one since having kids, and it's a huge time commitment, so I would really have to get disciplined.  Losing weight (well, really just changing your diet and exercise habits) is all about discipline, and it's completely mind over matter.  When my mind faces Girl Scout Cookies, I have to admit that my mind usually loses.  And these love handles (or Lilly handles as I like to call them) are not going to go anywhere with just exercise alone.  Like I said, it will be hard for me... I seriously LOVE food.  I LOVE dining out.  And, more than anything, I LOVE dessert.  To an unhealthy level... as in, I will eat leftover birthday cake for breakfast.  And then possibly for lunch, too.  I had once given up sodas for a whole year, and for some reason, picked up that habit again and crave them constantly.  I know it won't happen overnight, but my goal over these next eight weeks is to ditch the soda habit, cut down (but not cut out... I'm all about moderation) on sweets, put myself on a more regular exercise schedule, and eat smaller portions.

Wish me luck, because I'm going to need it.  The battle against the bulge is officially underway!