Weigh-In Day = Battle Summary

Quote of the Day:
“It’s hard to beat a person that never gives up.”


Weigh-In Day

Starting Weight: 466.6
SP SW: 416.2
Last Week: 364.0
This Week: 358.4
Loss/Gain: -5.6
SP Total Loss: 57.8
Total Loss: 111.2

Thus ends my first battle.
Mental Roadblocks and Fat Girl Inside = 0. Esther's Inner Skinny = 1.

I'm not going to say this week was easy. Most of the time I was "phoning it in" as Jillian calls it. But you know what? Sometimes showing up is the most important part of the battle. Sometimes doing what you're supposed to do while kicking and screaming (and, yes, even crying) is what gets you through. It seems that I do actually know what to do, and that's a comfort to know when I'm facing the Fat Girl and the Mental Roadblocks that hold me back.

In Day 1:
I set my goals. I got my head on straight. I told myself, "If not this week, next week. If not next week, the week after." It was all about moving forward and continuing the fight, even when it hurt, even when I really didn't want to, even when I wanted to just sleep and eat chocolate cake. (I have learned that watching wedding cake shows on TV makes me crave eating those wedding cakes! *lol* Not saying I'll stop watching them, but I should always have some healthy alternative on hand when I do.)

In Day 2:
I thought my ship was sunk with the pizza buffet and a shot in the arm that made me want to do absolutely nothing. But instead of fighting myself, I changed it up. Around 4pm I turned to Hubs and said, "I don't want to go to the gym!" in my best whiny voice. At 4:20pm or so I turned to him again and said, "Okay! I have an idea! Instead of going to the gym, why don't we pack up the bikes and the dog and head to Cedar Lakes instead?" Hubs was excited and so were the kids, and we knew Joey would be super happy about it. So I walked and took it easy but sweated a bunch. I still challenged myself with that hill and with the try on the bike. And I went home feeling proud of myself and just plain happy.

In Day 3:
I procrastinated like it was my sacred duty, like the world would fall apart if I did what I was supposed to do. For like 2 hours I sat here making a plan of action for cooking. I wanted to make sure I did everything the most effective way I could. I wanted to perfect this art of prepping and cooking for the week. Around 1pm I started cooking, and by 6pm I gave up the ghost with 2 dishes done and the ingredients chopped for a third dish. I was so hungry (I thought) all day while I was cooking yummy food. And, yes, I sampled a bite or two - which, btw, is why I keep my calories on the lower end. I could probably easily eat 2,000 calories a day every day and still lose weight right now, but I figure I should aim low in case I miscalculate and/or take a bite of something here or there. Nothing awful went into my mouth yesterday. A bite or two of mozzarella cheese was the biggest thing I remember.

Finally, after eating a huge bowl of Jambalaya (OMG the amount you get is ridiculous!) and rice, I sat on the couch and watched Radio on TV. (*love* that movie!) It was dark outside before I started regretting the fact that I didn't even walk a mile yesterday. I had two choices - 1) call it a rest day and break my workout streak and my goal of working out every day, or 2) find a DVD to do. Jillian's 30-Day Shred was just sitting there. I hadn't tried the thing since May and I was still dreading the jumping jacks. After the first round and a half of real jumping jacks I realized something ....I couldn't breathe. My heart was racing. Yes, I was working out TOO hard. I knew my heart rate was over the aerobic zone and that wasn't going to do me any good, so I gave myself permission to modify and keep my heart in the right weight loss and heart building zone instead of pushing too hard. Yes, I still cried. It was the bicycle crunches...I didn't give up on them, but by the end I was cursing the TV and Jillian herself. But I did it. And I collapsed over the side of the couch and cried, and Shane asked me why I didn't just give up and end it early and I think I said something like, "She said I was a sissy if I gave up!" And we all laughed. And about 10 minutes later I loaded the Day 1 bootcamp video here on Spark and did that too. (MUCH more fun! *lol*)

Pictures from Yesterday:

Cutting up the "root vegetables" for today's cooking - Slow Cooker Beef and Root Vegetables

Slicing mozzarella for the Pan Chicken Parmesan

Bagging the ingredients for the Beef & Root Vegetables meal

The andouille sausage I almost didn't find at the grocery store

Cooking the chicken for the Chicken Parm while...

The jambalaya cooks in the slow cooker

Letting the Chicken Parm cool before I put it in containers in the fridge

One HUGE serving of Jambalaya (finally!). I really was hungry at this point!!

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Battle 2 begins today!
Battle 2 = 355

Goals for the Next 7 Days:
Healthy and healthful lunches.
Get adequate fruits and veggies.
Use healthy snacks like apples and grapes.
Stay between 1600 and 1800 calories (no more than 2,000 on high cardio days)
No less than 64 ounces of water per day.
Get plenty of sleep.
Keep your head in the game!
Exercise at least 15 minutes per day. 30 minutes + on at least 4 days this week.
Strength train 3 days.
300 crunches this week.
10k this weekend! Don't finish last, but more importantly, FINISH!

Going to get ready now for Ethan's football game. His game is at 1pm, but we have to be there at 11:30pm for weigh-in and warm-ups. We're going to have a fun day! I'm going to wear my tennis shoes and try to get in some laps around the track. I may try Bootcamp video 2 tonight too.