Week 3

Yesterday's weigh in wasn't pretty.  I was up about 3 pounds.  But as I was taking my blood pressure pill/diuretic yesterday morning, I had a sinking realization that I had gotten in my new medication, and probably had not remembered to put it in the pill reminders last week.     This morning when I got on the scale, I was down 2 1/2 pounds since yesterday.  So yes, that was probably it!

But, I've also had a difficult time with gaining weight when I eat salty foods, and I wondered, what is the maximum amount of sodium I should consume in one day's time?    According to WikiAnswers, "The Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences, issued a report that lowered the recommended daily amount of sodium. Previously, the daily allowance was 2500 milligrams, but it has been lowered to 1500 milligrams per day. The report set the maximum intake per day at 2300 milligrams but recommended not exceeding 1500 milligrams.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_the_recommended_sodium_intake_per_day#ixzz20vD7R3U7

I've been averaging about 3500 milligrams (or more) per day.  And I don't salt my food!  And I use Mrs. Dash (sodium free) for seasoning.  I use low sodium soy sauce.  I use low sodium chicken broth.  

It occurred to me on Sunday that as much as I work out, I really should have to be working so hard to get my weight down!  I had one bad day on Saturday, and that blew my weigh in on Monday.

I think I'm going to schedule a physical, because I haven't been feeling that great lately.  

But, I participated in the Turkey Trot 5K on Saturday, and I beat last year's time, even though I haven't been training all year!  2011 - 45.32, 2012 - 44.40 I did not train at all for this race. Shaved 13 seconds per mile off last year. Wonder what I could do it in if I actually trained?

Lastly, I decided I will host another Party in Pink Zumbathon again in October.  

So my take away from last week?

• Eat more free foods (vegies)
• Lower my sodium intake
• Watch my Curves Complete videos daily for more motivation

Almost through Week 2!

It's been a rough week. I've had ups and downs.
The Ups:

1. One of the ups is that I will start teaching Zumba Gold & Gold Toning at McMinnville Senior Center starting in September!
2. I will also continue teaching ZumbAtommics at McMinnville Community Center in October. I have 9 students who don't want me to stop. 
3. And then I was asked to do a ZumbAtomics demonstration at the local Catholic Church, at their Vacation Bible School Talent Show. I taught 60 kids! That was great! And I passed out 60 free class/business cards. Things are looking up! I don't know where this leads, in terms of buying Curves, though.
4. I'm proceeding with my schedule as if I am going to continue working at Patton Middle School this fall. My schedule for the Senior Center is Mondays, Thursdays 5:15 - 6:15 pm, and Saturday mornings 9 - 10 am. If I wind up buying the Curves, that will probably not work out. But maybe that's not in the cards for me, anyways. 
5. I just participated in my second 5K for the year. I improved over last years time by about 30 seconds. Even though my hamstring is still painful, I ran anyway. So I'm very excited about that!

The Downs: 

1. I'm up 1.5 pounds from last Saturday. 
2.  I got sick on Tuesday. 
3. The legal stuff/working on dad's will/is driving me crazy. It's hard not to overeat with it going on. 
4.  The house is a huge mess, and it's getting worse. 

Well, I'm going to keep on keeping on. I'm sure I will eventually lose weight on this Curves Complete. I just have to keep myself motivated and keep myself on track.

Phase 2

I made it through Phase 1 with 4 pounds lost. I feel stronger that I haven't touched the ice cream treats in one week's time. I'm tracking my steps, calories, and following the meal plan for the most part. I'm also getting a minimum of 6 hours of sleep. Today is the beginning of Phase 2 - 1500 calories. For breakfast I had Crunchy Almond Parfait (Cottage Cheese, Fiber 1 Cereal, chopped almonds, cinnamon & sugar substitute). For lunch, I had Chicken Vegetable Stir-Fry. One challenge to doing this, is I have temporary crowns on my two front teeth, so I can't bite into foods with my front teeth. So I'm eating lots of pre-chopped meals, such as stir-frys, soups, etc. I'm hoping to lose 2 pounds this week. Here we go!

Weigh in

Okay, I've been good, I've been following the plan all week. Time to weigh in. I lost 4 pounds this week! AWESOME! I've resisted the chocolate ice cream calling me from the freezer for 5 days in a row! Two more days of Phase 1 (1200 calories), then on to Phase 2 (1500 calories) on Monday. It's been tough, but I'm meeting all my goals...water, eating, walking, 4 workouts this week.

Phase 1, Day 4

It was a rough night last night. I decided on Vegan Hot Dogs with the Boca Chili for my 4th of July dinner. I grilled turkey hot dogs for Chase & Mike. I had a slice of watermelon, and also a small serving of cole slaw that I had made from the Barbecue Chicken meal. After I was done eating, I immediately started craving a WW Chocolate Ice Cream Bar. That was tough, but I didn't eat one. 3 days without Chocolate Ice Cream bars! I did eat 1 turkey hot dog, a banana, a string cheese & some tostitos, but I didn't go to bed until 2:30 am because of the fireworks. The poor dog just freaks out. I gave her valium at 7:00, and at first she was calm, then when they started up she was pacing for hours. There were illegal fireworks going on all around us; window rattling, house shaking. It's rediculous! I've tried calling the cops before, but I couldn't see who was setting them off and they want an address. And they really don't do anything about it. Then I was up at 6:00 this morning, after 3 1/2 hours of sleep. Let's see how I do today. Less sleep = more chocolate cravings.

Phase 1 Day 2. Stepped on the scale this morning, down 2 pounds today, 1.5 pounds yesterday. So a total of 3 1/2 pounds since I weighed in Saturday! Met my walking and exercise goals yesterday. Didn't meet my 1200 calorie goal, I was over by 163 calories. Still, I'm pleased! The second go round seems to be easier, although it's been a little complicated by my temporary crowns on my front teeth. I can't bite into anything hard. So I have soups and lots of stir fries on the menu.

Phase 1, Day 1

Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head.... Okay, seriously now, I didn't take my thyroid at 6, instead at 7, which means I have to wait an hour to take my nexium, and another 20 minutes to eat after that. I'm waiting to eat now. But hey, I dropped 1 1/2 pounds since yesterday! Even though I was totally following the plan, my calorie intake was 1380. So, let's do this. Off to make breakfast now....

Curves Complete - take two!

Do Over! It isn't often that life hands you a do-over for free! So when that happens, you really do your best to do it right the second time! I restarted my Curves Complete - I tried to restart Phase 1 last week, but when I went in and paid my $15 to restart, it took two days for the website to get reactivated and it turns out I am restarting the 90 days, all for the $15 fee (someone made a mistake). I decided I couldn't do 1200 calories two weeks straight, so around Wednesday or Thursday I started diving back into those darn Weight Watchers Ice Cream Bars! Honestly, I don't want them in my house. I asked my husband not to buy them, because I can't control myself, but he wants them for him (not that he needs them either!). I still lost 3.5 pounds last week, even though I wasn't totally on track with the plan, logging my calories, and following only the plan! I had a good day yesterday though, the last day of my start-up week! I started logging my feelings in the Food Notes section of My Fitness Pal. I read somewhere last week that if you can put something off till later it will help you curb the cravings. So when I was craving the chocolate ice cream bar, I decided I would wait until after dinner to have it. Then dinner was late and I decided I had made it that long without one, I could make it through the end of the day. Yay me! Also, last week I talked with Rene up at Curves Sherwood, and she IS A WONDERFUL COACH! Honestly, it would have been worth it to drive to Sherwood to have her as a coach. Some of the things she shared with me: * Talk nice to yourself. * Celebrate the positive. If you make it 1 day without cheating, make up some kind of reward. Celebrate making it 2 days without cheating, etc. * You have to get to the root of why you are eating. What is going on when want to eat something. Is it emotional eating? Stress eating? When in your life was that a coping mechanism. * Her analogy is if you have a lawn full of dandelions, you can mow the lawn (start a new diet and exercise program), but until you go out and get to the root of the weed and remove it, you will keep having dandelions coming up. * You can't control everything in your life. Not your co-workers, not your child, not your husband, not your job, etc. * When you eat as a coping mechanism for stress, you are letting others win. If someone gave you a bad day, they don't care if you go eat to cope with it. You are putting others in charge of your attitude and eating, not yourself.