Why I've Been Silent

When I decided to write about my weight loss challenge I promised that I would be writing periodic updates about my progress and success, and yet, I have failed on that promise.  I don’t have much to justify my behavior, other than to say that I’ve had so little success I’ve felt like there isn’t much to say—so why bother saying anything.

All my life I have struggled with my weight.  I was the biggest kid in school, and that always made me feel like an outsider.  I have consciously, and at times unconsciously, filled my life with the development of other skills and talents to make up for what I have inherently believed to be my biggest flaw…that I’m fat.

Losing weight is like trying to dance with a schizophrenic monkey.  At times, the dance goes as planned, but 90% of the time it feels as though the monkey is trying to kill me.  This challenge has dominated every thought and action over the last few months, and I have seen myself become more withdrawn and unhappy.  It’s hard to keep positive and keep the momentum going when there is so little success.

So What’s Next? 

Losing weight is my lifelong wannabe challenge, and this is never going to change.  I know, the sooner I embrace the fact that my body will always be a work in progress, I might start to feel some measure of peace.  

I’m glad I have made some progress, even if I haven’t met my goal.  Ten pounds lost is better than zero.  I do have two weeks left in my challenge, but obviously I can’t stop trying to live a healthier, more balanced lifestyle once the challenge ends. Balance, moderation and positive mindset will do more in the long run than criticizing myself.

I will return to blogging once a week and getting back to some of things I have ignored over the past few months—namely research, fascinating studies and the projects I love to tackle.

Results of Week 3 and 4

• Weight Loss this week: 0 lbs.
• Total Pounds Lost: 11 lbs.
• Pounds Left until Goal: 39 with 10 weeks remaining

The past two weeks have been a struggle.  I have not been able to shake my sour throat and cough. Today, I have finally started to feel like my normal self. I noticed that the longer I felt sick my motivation to stay on my eating plan disappeared.  All I craved were carbs.

I am disappointed that I wasn't able to lose any weight, but I am focused on moving forward and not letting this delay knock me off my course.  I did end up joining a gym close to my house and I went twice last week and I have committed to go a minimum of 3 times this week.  I found that it was relatively easy to stay longer once I actually changed my clothes and drove to the gym.  

Results of Week 2

• Weight Loss this week: 4 lbs.
• Total Pounds Lost: 11 lbs.
• Pounds Left until Goal: 39 with 12 weeks remaining

This was an emotional week, which made it difficult to stick with my eating plan.  Mid-week I began to get sick and then all I craved was carbs.  I broke down a few times and ate bread or potatoes.  Most of the week my weight held steady and I was concerned that I wasn’t going to lose any weight.  Once I started feeling sick I radically increased my water in-take.  I think this was the tipping point for me.  For four,  days I was in the bathroom almost every half-hour. 

Exercise was difficult this week due to my illness. Ultimately, I only had two good days of strength-training this week. I’ve decided that since I will do just about anything to avoid exercising when I’m at home, I am  going to have to join a gym.  A new gym opened just a two blocks from my house, and my plan is to stop in this week and see how much a membership costs.  I know that if I don’t start exercising soon the weight loss will undoubtedly taper off.

I have two goals for week three. The first is to stop complaining about the food so much.  Two more weeks with this system doesn’t seem quite so bad after all. Second, I must get a full 45 minute cardio workout completed.  I have only finished strength training exercises, but I need to start sweating.

Results of Week 1

• Weight Loss this week: 7 lbs.
• Pounds Left until Goal: 43 with 13 weeks remaining

This past week did not go as smoothly as planned. I discovered that although I thought I had rid my house of all ‘cheat’ foods, I was able to find random things to eat in moments of weakness—such as a bag of croutons, handful of chocolate chips, etc.   I find that only eating vegetables and protein makes for a very bland diet.  I generally eat the same food every day, and I thought this would make my transition easier, but this has not been the case.  I do not look forward to eating any meal because I find myself having to eat more than I usually do given that the food has fewer calories. 

On the exercise front,  I only managed to do one series of kettle bell exercises on Wednesday.  I spent the rest of the week trying to catch up on work and didn’t squeeze in any additional exercise time.  Although I still have a ton of work to do this week, I know I have to implement the exercising now, or it will never happen.  I knew that this would be one of my biggest struggles because of how much I don’t like to exercise.

My goal for this week is to incorporate more beans into my diet and cut back on the meat.  I am finding it difficult to consume this much animal protein.  My exercise goals include Monday, Wednesday and Friday with kettle bell and arm exercises and Tuesday and Thursday as my ab and leg exercises.  I did purchase a large water bottle to take to work, and my goal is to finish off the bottle by the end of the day.  I didn’t drink enough water last week.

I am hopeful that this week will get easier.

The Challenge

The past couple of weeks I have been working on the release of my new blog Thoroughly Entertained.  During this time I have also been trying to establish where I wanted to go with this blog for the first few months of 2013. 

My new focus until the end of April will be my weight loss journey.  April 29 is my birthday and my goal is to have lost 50 lbs by that date. My weight has been the principal issue of my entire life.  Even as a young girl I struggled with accepting the way I looked.  I was always so much taller than my classmates that I already felt like an outsider, but as I got older I began eating like my brothers and my weight slowly started to increase. 

I have never enjoyed exercising and consequently as an adult I would much rather sit and read a book than get up and take a walk.  Over the next fourteen weeks I will be documenting how my journey. The short-term goal is to lose weight, but my bigger goal is to start appreciating my body. 

The Plan

The two books I am using on my journey are The Four-Day Win by Martha Beck, which is about tackling the battle of our minds to create a successful weight loss plan and The Four-Hour Body by Tim Ferris.  Tim tested a number of strategies for eating and exercise to maximize the results of weight-loss with minimal effort. 

At home I have a mountain of exercise DVD’s, hand weights, resistance bands and a kettle ball.  For the time being I won’t be joining a gym, but instead using the resources I already have on hand.

The first thirty days I will be following the slow-carb eating plan as outlined in the Four-Hour Body.  Essentially I can eat as many legumes, vegetables, beans and protein I would like, but I must cut out all “white” foods (sugar, flour, etc.).  Using this eating system you follow the slow-carb plan for six days and on the seventh day you are encouraged to eat whatever you would like.  I will be making Saturday’s my cheat day.

Progress so far

I am on day two and everything is going pretty good.  I haven’t felt excessively hungry yet, but I am already missing my traditional morning oatmeal.  Tonight I will be going through a series of kettle bell exercises as outlined in the Four-Hour Body.  I would like to have Michelle Obama arms and a curvier backside and the kettle bell is designed to really help those areas. My biggest struggle is actually drinking enough water while at work.  I don’t have a problem drinking enough water at home, but while I am teaching I am usually so busy that I forget to drink. 

I would love all the encouragement and support on this journey.  I will be blogging twice a week and posting pictures, etc. to show my improvement.