Sunday, May 30, 2010

Weigh-in!

I had a weigh-in on Thursday, but my week has been bonkers. I'm just now getting around to updating. I'd mentioned in the last couple of weigh-in posts that my loss had slowed down a bit. It must have just been my body adjusting to the new calorie goal that we set in April when I had my metabolism retested, because it certainly picked up for this last weigh in. I lost 4.8 pounds!

Total weight loss: -40.7

Keep on rockin'!

Monday, May 24, 2010

My Little Family

This is a post for those who don't know me in real life or for those who know me from years ago and need to be brought up-to-date. I was going through my wedding pictures the other day, and I got all nostalgic. So, here we go. Prepare yourself for wedding picture spam and kitty picture spam.

My husband is the most patient and kind person you'll ever meet. I mean, he has to be to put up with my crap. Nothing makes him mad; everything makes me mad. He's genius smart, but doesn't have one lick of common sense. Good thing I usually have it in spades. Together, we make a great team. He and I took a gamble and got married in Vegas in 2007 after dating for 4 years.
Get it, gamble? I'm so funny.


This was taken on the elevator at Mandalay Bay right after we got married. Look how excited!
My good friend Kristen took all of these wedding pictures.

Now onto our kids. When I say kids, I mean kitties. Tony and I are not having children. We have nothing against children; there are plenty of children in our loves that we love, but we just do not want our own kids.

Gracie is my beautiful girl kitty. She's been with me for 11 years. She just turned 12. She's very regal and has the softest fur you'll ever touch.



Dewey is now full grown, but I would be remiss if I didn't post at least one kitten picture. We found Dewey when he was 5 weeks old. He was under a car crying in a rainstorm. It's a good thing for him that he can meow so loudly or we might not have heard him. We weren't really looking to get another cat at that point. Gracie was VERY used to being the only child. He was so tiny and pathetic though. The day after we found him, I took him to the vet. He clung to me and purred. I was toast.

This is his Puss n' Boots face. I think he was 3 months or so when this was taken.


This is more recent. It's his crazy face that he makes while playing with his favorite feather toy. A couple of people have said he looks like Toonces the driving cat when he makes this face.

Here's Dewey doing what he does best: annoying the hell out of Gracie.

A rare moment of peace.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Comfort Zones

I hear over and over again on blogs and weight loss shows about getting out of your comfort zone. This is definitely something with which I do struggle. I find something I like, and I'll just keep doing that thing (whether it be certain foods or certain exercises). I'm very much a creature of habit. This often leads to me getting stuck in a rut, which leads to boredom, which leads to TROUBLE. Danger, danger, weight loss blogger!!

This weekend, the hubby and I went to a park in town that we've never been to. This park has some hiking trails. Like in the woods, with actual hills! Those who know me know I have a very Eva Gabor in Green Acres approach to nature. Yikes, that's probably a little old for some of you! What I mean is, I don't like nature, bugs, etc. We are not friends. One of my friends is trying to get me to go to Bonnaroo. I always look at the lineup every year and drool, but camping, port-o-potties, and hippies? No. I told him I'd reconsider once they put a Hilton in the middle of the festival.

Where was I going? Oh, comfort zones. I actually enjoyed hiking these paths. Granted, they weren't really long and not very far from civilization, but it was still outside of my daily comfort zone of walking a flat, paved path. I could also definitely feel the work I'd done the next day. My leg muscles were definitely tight, and I may have done something to my back. It's all good though. I plan on keeping those paths in my fitness rotation.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Weigh-in (and a request for a pep talk)

I'm not going to lie. My motivation has been waning the last couple of weeks. I am still tracking calories and staying within range most days. I have, however, not been eating those calories in the most healthy manner (hello, skinny cows? I might need to ban you from my house). I've been uber-stressed and kind of in a funk to boot. The workouts have been sporadic at best.

The last two weigh-ins have shown me down, but not as much as I have been averaging in the past (4-5 pounds every two weeks). Two weeks ago, I was down 2.9 pounds, and today I was down 2.1 more pounds.

I'm not mentally ready for a plateau (or even a slow-down) yet. So, please give me all the pep talk you can muster.

Total Weight Loss: -35.9 pounds

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Get Outside and Blow Some of the Stink off of You

I will admit that my fitness regimens have been spastic and varied since I started them again in January. I have to keep myself entertained by switching things up often as I do tend to get bored easily. As I mentioned earlier, I started out with Walk it Out for the wii, which was awesome for the cold weather months, but I pretty much have solved it the whole game and moved on now.


I added in Just Dance for the wii back in March. This is super fun, and I use it to supplement other workouts I might do. I don't think on it's own that it would be a full workout. I do sweat like mad when I do it though! It is also fun to watch the cats stare at me as if I've lost my mind while I flail about like a methed-up squirrel having a seizure. I usually make my husband leave the room if he's home. Nobody needs to see that, really.


Over the last 4 weeks or so, I have started walking quite a bit. I started off doing 2-mile walks. These took me about 50 minutes. Now, I can do 3-mile walks in about an hour. I am starting to love walking again now that the weather is so nice (allergies be damned). So, I try to do my 3-mile walk at least 3 times a week. One of my coworkers (who is quickly becoming my friend) has been walking with me at least once a week after work. I enjoy this, but I also enjoy walking alone sometimes. I am reminded of what my mom used to say to me when I was a kid and on her nerves. Why don't you get outside and blow some of the stink off of you?


I have also tried My Fitness Coach. To be fair, I've only done this once so far. I was sweating for sure. I do like that it rates your mood when you start and asks how you were able to keep up once you're done. Maya (the trainer) is definitely a little creepy in a "real doll" kind of way though. Definitely something to keep in mind for rainy day cardio. I also have done the Biggest Loser Bootcamp with Bob Harper (mmmm, Bob). Even though in reality I would probably prefer Jillian's beatings to Bob's, I do like that he has modifications on his DVDs. My knees simply can't handle jumping jacks at this size.


That's what I've been doing for fitness lately. I try to aim for 5 days a week. Some weeks, I just do 4. It feels great so far. I can feel my stress levels lowering and my energy improving overall. Stay tuned for the next thing I try. I almost bought the zumba DVDs off the TV the other day, but then I decided I should step away from the informercials.