Wedding Weight.....

I promised to “weigh in” on my own challenge with the pounds and fitness as a whole. The last 6 months have been wild and wonderful- just like West Virginia, the state I got married in. I ran in a marathon. I assembled a world-class team of nutrition experts and exercise physiologists. I logged my food and tracked my exercise. I learned about my body and what it can and “has a harder time” doing via metabolic testing.

I lost pounds and inches. The wedding came and I looked and felt great!

Now, the honeymoon is in the distant past (more than 6 weeks in the past) and you ask, “How are you doing?” Great! I’m doing great!

I don’t have the numbers to tell you about- because I don’t own a scale. But my clothes continue to feel loose and comfortable on me.

The Pros: I still eat really well. I am 90% vegetarian. (Full disclosure here folks, where else can you get that today?) I graze. I eat every 2-3 hours. My meals are smaller, very healthful (for the most part) and fill me up. I love my new style of eating. We visit the farmers markets twice a week for fresh ingredients to cook with. We now eat at home 95% of the week. We used to eat out 75% of the time!

The Cons: I picked up a new client which has really challenged my schedule. Given I shut down at 5 PM to have my “honey time” with my new husband- my gym time has been cut out. I was going to the gym 4-5 times a week for at least 45 minutes and now I don’t go.

The beauty of this dilemma is that it mirrors that of what I hear from others who are challenging their unfit ways.

Here is my advice for how to manage without the gym:

Ø Are you taking 1 hour a day for yourself? (Reading, exercising, meditating, painting, …) Make sure you do. You will not be helpful to anyone if you aren’t good to yourself first.
Ø Walk more. I have now added two hours of walking into my weekly schedule. I walk to and from errands, clients, etc… Plus, I still walk the dogs (perhaps a little more diligently now).
Ø Log your food. Each bite. Make sure you know how much you are eating (fat grams, cholesterol, calories, servings, etc…)
Ø Eat better. Choose fresh ingredients you feel good about.
Ø Cook more. Don’t allow anyone to put your pounds on for you. Choose your guilty pleasures carefully- yourself. Limit salt. Limit quantities. You see where I’m going.
Ø Educate those you love. Make this a lifestyle everyone wants to be a part of. Celebrate every pound lost and every inch that’s disappeared! Enjoy tasting your food for once, not just swallowing it!
Ø Work on your home. Gardening and home chores are good exercise. Learn to love going up and down the steps- carrying things!
Ø Keep a journal. Note how you feel, what you are doing and why you are doing it.
Ø Commit to yourself! Look at photos of you then and now. Describe how you feel/felt. Imagine how you want to describe yourself and how you feel. Do it now. Tomorrow is never guaranteed.

I hope this helps you. I’m not proud of not getting to the gym. But, I’m not allowing that to be an excuse to override my hard work either. I’m not going to be over 200 pounds ever again. I’ve committed that to me!

172.4 and still counting

I must confess I cringed when knowing my weigh in was this morning. I knew the numbers wouldn't be what I wanted. Not because I haven't been working hard- but because I can feel there hasn't been a budge in the numbers. My clothes feel the same and my muscle structure has felt steady too.

I have followed a mostly vegetarian diet. There were two occasions when I had meat. Those choices were made because of where I was dining at, it was their specialty. And, I'm still a foodie no matter what. So, I sampled and made no gripes about it. I still feel 1000% better following a vegetable based diet than a meat one. Its hard to explain to people. They just have to try it for themselves.

I still go to the gym 5 days a week. I added Tai-Chi and Zumba classes to the mix for a little variety. I enjoyed both for very different reasons. My exercise physiologist said that you have to change your gym routine every 6 weeks or so to keep your body working optimally. Oh, and I've started to run. Now, don't get me wrong. One of my girlfriends has a saying that I've also adopted, years ago. "This body was built for comfort not for speed!" But, I know that running is a challenge for me and it helps to speed up the metabolism. So, I run in 3 minute or 1/4 mile bursts in between exercises and weight lifting. Its super hard but does feel good when I finish.

After weighing myself this morning I threw out the scale. Not a symbolic gesture I assure you (although the thought crossed my mind). The scale gave me 5 error messages as I tried to get my measurements this morning. So I am unsure how accurate the body fat analyzer component was/is. I decided to toss it rather than rely on a faulty machine. I'll pick up a new one or just rely on the scale at the gym.

I am disappointed that the numbers haven't come down more. The other month I went into the 160's much more easily. Perhaps its my one vice- wine. I really enjoy a glass of red wine with my evening meal or afterwards. So, as a little experiment I'll stop drinking it for the next three weeks- with a few exceptions, when I'm at cocktail parties. But, I'll limit it to one glass and no more than once per week.

Now, let's check the schedule at the gym today. ..