First and foremost, let me say that I won the bet. Four of the five months, I lost more than my co-worker. As a matter of fact, I have dropped a clean 20 pounds since March. And I have to say that although it has been a bit slow in vacating my body, at least the fat is heading in the right direction, down and out!
I'm finding that eating my biggest meal in the morning and eating progressively lighter meals over the course of the day seems to be helping. So my suggestion is this. Eat what you normally eat, but reverse the times when eat. Let me know how it works for you.
Betsy
Monday, September 1, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
End of the first 4 weeks!!!
Here we are, and the first of the five, 4-week challenges with my co-worker has ended. Each 4-week session requires the one who lost the least amount of weight to pay the one who lost the most weight in that 4 weeks a whopping 10 bucks. I am happy to announce that I am 10 bucks richer!! And that was after gaining back a pound in the aftermath of the superbowl party I attended.
In an attempt to negate that little aberration, I spent 6 hours yesterday walking up and down every single aisle and taking in every display at the Home and Flower Show in the I-X Center in Cleveland. I have to admit, 6 straight hours was almost enough to do me in! It had to have been a good 12 miles! I came home and bathed my aching limbs in Icy Hot and downed Tylenol and still had trouble falling asleep. Today even my glutes are sore! This indicates to me that I am NOT exercising enough and I'm not in adequately good shape. I WANT to be able to do such things like I could when I was younger. I don't think wanting to walk around a large exposition is an unreasonable desire. I also think that getting into that kind of shape is achievable, even at my age. So, I will be concentrating on cardio that is leg intensive and strength training for the lower body. After all, I don't want to flatten the other 3 tires!
How are you all doing? M.E.
In an attempt to negate that little aberration, I spent 6 hours yesterday walking up and down every single aisle and taking in every display at the Home and Flower Show in the I-X Center in Cleveland. I have to admit, 6 straight hours was almost enough to do me in! It had to have been a good 12 miles! I came home and bathed my aching limbs in Icy Hot and downed Tylenol and still had trouble falling asleep. Today even my glutes are sore! This indicates to me that I am NOT exercising enough and I'm not in adequately good shape. I WANT to be able to do such things like I could when I was younger. I don't think wanting to walk around a large exposition is an unreasonable desire. I also think that getting into that kind of shape is achievable, even at my age. So, I will be concentrating on cardio that is leg intensive and strength training for the lower body. After all, I don't want to flatten the other 3 tires!
How are you all doing? M.E.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
And the beat goes on....
No pun intended, but starting this week I'm replacing my intended 30 minutes of cardio with a dance routine. It has snowed like the devil here, and walking in my neck of the woods with snow on the roads is more than just a tad dangerous. I want to be thin, not dead. So I'm finding a nice hip-hop station and bouncing my brains out instead. The point is, do whatever you have to do to keep moving! No excuses! You're not fooling anyone but yourself.
As for this week's results, I am down 7 pounds since the beginning of the year! Not too shabby. The competition at work is heating up as well. So far I'm about -4.2 pounds down compared to my competitors -2.0 pounds. He swears he'll be bringing on the heat this week, so I may have to hip-hop my way to victory. Our first official weigh-in is February 8th. I plan to pocket his $10 for the first round. We'll be having a face-off every 4 weeks at $10 a pop...or a potential of $50 total by the end of May.
If you have a truly competitive spirit, making a public bet on who can lose the most weight by a certain date has a really motivating effect on your efforts. Try it!
My meal tip of the week: If you're hungry and cold, try a quick stop at Panera Bread or St. Louis Bread Company. Order the low-fat black bean soup with a side and a low calorie drink. The 8-oz serving of soup is delicious, hearty and filling with 160 calories, 9 grams of protein and 11 g of fiber. If you get the whole grain baguette for your side, that's another 140 calories, 6 g of protein and 3 g of fiber (and you can dip it in the soup...) Talk about a stick to the ribs meal, this one will stay with you for hours and if you don't suck down a bunch of calories in your drink order, then you've had a great lunch or dinner for only 300 calories, but with 15 g of protein and 14 grams of fiber. Sounds like a really intelligent plan to me! MEM
As for this week's results, I am down 7 pounds since the beginning of the year! Not too shabby. The competition at work is heating up as well. So far I'm about -4.2 pounds down compared to my competitors -2.0 pounds. He swears he'll be bringing on the heat this week, so I may have to hip-hop my way to victory. Our first official weigh-in is February 8th. I plan to pocket his $10 for the first round. We'll be having a face-off every 4 weeks at $10 a pop...or a potential of $50 total by the end of May.
If you have a truly competitive spirit, making a public bet on who can lose the most weight by a certain date has a really motivating effect on your efforts. Try it!
My meal tip of the week: If you're hungry and cold, try a quick stop at Panera Bread or St. Louis Bread Company. Order the low-fat black bean soup with a side and a low calorie drink. The 8-oz serving of soup is delicious, hearty and filling with 160 calories, 9 grams of protein and 11 g of fiber. If you get the whole grain baguette for your side, that's another 140 calories, 6 g of protein and 3 g of fiber (and you can dip it in the soup...) Talk about a stick to the ribs meal, this one will stay with you for hours and if you don't suck down a bunch of calories in your drink order, then you've had a great lunch or dinner for only 300 calories, but with 15 g of protein and 14 grams of fiber. Sounds like a really intelligent plan to me! MEM
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The end of week 2...
and I'm pleased to report that I'm down 5.1 pounds! I am doing better than I expected. If I can keep up this pace I will be very happy indeed. How are you all doing out there? Okay for a revamp, I have stopped attacking the candy basket at work. I am keeping my calorie intake between 1200 and 1400 per day. I have cut way back on my diet soda consumption. I am eating some sort of breakfast every day. And so far, I'm a pound or so ahead in the weight-loss challenge I entered into at work.
Starting tomorrow, I'm adding 30 minutes of cardio every morning. I'm going to need it, since it looks like we'll be knee deep in snow by morning! Cardio helps burn off the calories you ingest and gives your heart a workout. It takes many forms. And it takes no equipment. Just walk. You don't even have to break any speed records. The amount of time you spend walking is more important than the speed. And doing it regularly will give you positive results on the scale and in the fit of your clothing.
So, will you be joining me in the morning? M.E.
Starting tomorrow, I'm adding 30 minutes of cardio every morning. I'm going to need it, since it looks like we'll be knee deep in snow by morning! Cardio helps burn off the calories you ingest and gives your heart a workout. It takes many forms. And it takes no equipment. Just walk. You don't even have to break any speed records. The amount of time you spend walking is more important than the speed. And doing it regularly will give you positive results on the scale and in the fit of your clothing.
So, will you be joining me in the morning? M.E.
Monday, January 14, 2008
A wise man once said...
...if you continue to do the same things, you continue to get the same results. What a great argument in favor of change! How are you doing with your strategies? Mine are working pretty well so far. The scale is down 4 pounds! And I am thrilled with every ounce. I managed to completely avoid the dreaded candy basket at work today, not to mention the cheesecake, brownies and other desserts offered at a work open house. I should lose weight just from the effort at calorie avoidance!
Isn't it annoying that even thinking about food seems to pack on the pounds? Too bad it doesn't work as well in reverse. But that is why we have to make changes. We have to think differently and act differently to get different results. Can you do it? I think you can! M.E.
Isn't it annoying that even thinking about food seems to pack on the pounds? Too bad it doesn't work as well in reverse. But that is why we have to make changes. We have to think differently and act differently to get different results. Can you do it? I think you can! M.E.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Round up of Week 1...
You know, it wasn't altogether bad! I'm down 2.8 pounds, and frankly it's better than I expected. I've decided that cumulative strategies may be what works best. My most important strategy for Week 1 was to cut down on work eating. I'm not talking lunch, I'm talking about snagging a mini-Twix or bite-size Milky Way Dark when I happen by the room that houses a candy basket the size of Detroit!
Cutting out that kind of mindless eating takes a good deal of awareness. I wasn't perfect by any means, but I kept working at it. This coming week, while keeping the first strategy in place, I will be eating a large, healthy breakfast every morning and cutting my Diet Pepsi consumption in half. My Pepsi strategy will be to go ahead and drink that first bottle of Pepsi, but then to drink a bottle of water before having another Pepsi. This will keep the feeling of fullness going while cutting the amount of sodium and carbonation I'm ingesting. I hope to be off the "sauce" in a few weeks.
My fourth strategy is head-to-head combat. I publicly challenged a weight-loss nemesis at work to a weigh-in every four weeks until the end of May. We'll each step on the scale in the presence of a neutral third party who will declare the winner every 4 weeks. The loser pays the winner 10 bucks. So there is a $50 winning potential over the course of the wager.
To summarize strategies:
1 - Conscious effort to avoid mindless snacking
2 - Breakfast - large and healthy (egg whites, oatmeal or whole grain toast, fruit)
3 - Cut ingestion of diet soda
4 - Challenge someone! Not only will it give you motivation; it may also make it fun.
Let me know how you're progressing! M.E.
Cutting out that kind of mindless eating takes a good deal of awareness. I wasn't perfect by any means, but I kept working at it. This coming week, while keeping the first strategy in place, I will be eating a large, healthy breakfast every morning and cutting my Diet Pepsi consumption in half. My Pepsi strategy will be to go ahead and drink that first bottle of Pepsi, but then to drink a bottle of water before having another Pepsi. This will keep the feeling of fullness going while cutting the amount of sodium and carbonation I'm ingesting. I hope to be off the "sauce" in a few weeks.
My fourth strategy is head-to-head combat. I publicly challenged a weight-loss nemesis at work to a weigh-in every four weeks until the end of May. We'll each step on the scale in the presence of a neutral third party who will declare the winner every 4 weeks. The loser pays the winner 10 bucks. So there is a $50 winning potential over the course of the wager.
To summarize strategies:
1 - Conscious effort to avoid mindless snacking
2 - Breakfast - large and healthy (egg whites, oatmeal or whole grain toast, fruit)
3 - Cut ingestion of diet soda
4 - Challenge someone! Not only will it give you motivation; it may also make it fun.
Let me know how you're progressing! M.E.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
So what is your strategy?
What is your plan? As a personal trainer, you would think that I could help out my own family members if nothing else. But my daughter has repeatedly refused to be my training guinea pig! More concerned about her health than my miffed feelings, I sent her a link about the National Body Challenge. If you're having trouble deciding what kind of strategy to use, you might try it out yourself. One of the perks of signing up for the NBC is 8 free weeks at a Bally's Fitness Club. I can't stress enough the need for movement. It doesn't have to be regimented as long as it's done regularly. My daughter is now hitting Bally's several days a week, working out on the exercise bikes, doing some strength training and swimming in the pool (followed of course by a soak in the hot tub). And she's enjoying it! You can too.
But you don't have to go to a healthclub to make progress. Taking a walk, even for 15 minutes a day, can make a huge difference in the state of your health. What have you got to lose? (That was a rhetorical question! You wouldn't be here reading this if you didn't hope to make strides regarding your health status and weight issues.) Trust me when I say that walking can take off more weight than you can possibly imagine. You don't have to go fast, you just have to go and go consistently.
So when are you going to start moving, moving toward your goal? M.E.
But you don't have to go to a healthclub to make progress. Taking a walk, even for 15 minutes a day, can make a huge difference in the state of your health. What have you got to lose? (That was a rhetorical question! You wouldn't be here reading this if you didn't hope to make strides regarding your health status and weight issues.) Trust me when I say that walking can take off more weight than you can possibly imagine. You don't have to go fast, you just have to go and go consistently.
So when are you going to start moving, moving toward your goal? M.E.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
