Sweat and Shout

Hi guys.

I am currently hanging my head in shame.

I didn’t update last week because I gained 2 pounds back.

And I was embarrassed. 

It’s hard, this weight loss thing. Last time I tried to lose weight it seemed so easy. Low calorie food plus exercise equaled weight loss. Back then I was single, lived 1/4 mile from my office, and had little to no REAL work responsibility. Now I’m attached, live 60 miles from my office, have 2 dogs to juggle, and have lots and lots of work related stress to deal with. I don’t mean to make excuses, but it’s HARD. I get home close to 12 hours after I’ve left my house, depending on the form of transportation I take and traffic. I can’t just make myself a plate of lettuce for dinner like I used to (boys apparently eat? it’s weird). Going for a “quick run” with 2 dogs is damn near impossible. Sometimes when I get home from said 12 hour day, all I want to do is peel off my clothes and go to bed. I’m struggling.

But I’m learning. When I make dinner, I give myself less entree and more vegetables than I give brew boy (it sounds so simple, but I always divided food up equally before). I have to accept that fact that if brew boy can’t run with me, I need to (and it’s OK for me to) run without the dogs. And a 15 minute run is not going to kill me at the end of the day. If anything it is going to make me feel better.

Brew boy has decided to join me (something about his favorite belt buckle digging into his belly), and we are going to sit down tonight and set goals. Hopefully this will help.

The good news is I didn’t gain any more weight last week. The bad news is I didn’t lose any either. And the embarrassing news is that I made a conscious decision to go back to sleep instead of getting up to run this morning.

So… yeah.

Lost another two pounds! Yahoo! I managed to get my ass back in gear this week. I ate vegan before 6 every day but Friday, went running 3 times, and forgave myself for the pizza on Tuesday and Friday night. Starting to feel good. A skirt that was getting terminally tight is a bit looser today. At this rate I’ll definitely reach my goal of 4-5 pounds a month (already there- hang on!!!), and hopefully I’ll pick up momentum and keep going! I’m proud of myself this week. Self high five.

And now an announcement…. The lovely Cax from twohippiechic (I’ll link that when I get to a real computer) is joining our little bloggy blog. Ha. Now you have to. See what I did there? Every one cheer for her and give her the same lovely notes and encouragement you’ve been showing us. Welcome Cax!!

So… no weight loss last week. I think it’s a miracle I didn’t GAIN any weight. It look me until about Friday to start feeling significantly better from my cold (or allergies? who knows), and I gave in to every impulse imaginable.

Monday was good, I ate well, and even though I wasn’t feeling up to running I did go for a long walk with the dogs. Then Tuesday my dad came for lunch, and of course instead of getting broiled fish or a salad, I got fried scallops. It tumbled downhill from there… pizza, desserts, mayo laden sandwiches, tacos. It was a free for all. No vegan before 6. I didn’t even TRY. And I didn’t exercise. Not once. It was like by Wednesday evening I had given up on myself and decided that the week was a loss. Which is HORRIBLE. Hopefully moving forward I’ll be able to snap myself out of it and realize that a bad day (cause the fried scallops and pizza happened on the same day- the week could have been salvaged) does not equal a ruined week. Hell, a bad MEAL does not equal a bad day. I’ve got to shed the ‘all or nothing’ mentality I seem to have towards eating and fitness. It’s not helpful.

In more encouraging news, I made vegan granola bars and a yummy vegan noodle salad for breakfast and lunches this week, and brew boy and I planned out some yummy healthy dinners for the week. The weather has been sheer perfection, so exercising will get back on track. And my TRX instructor emailed me yesterday to let me know she’s starting up Sunday classes in the park again, which is awesome.

Baby steps.

It’s hard for me to acknowledge the fact that this is going to be WORK, and take EFFORT. I am no longer 25. I’ve got to re-learn things that used to be second nature. My body is not responding in the same way, which is fine and totally normal. See- I can write that, no problem, but believing it? Totally a different thing.

Hey there.

I finished a week.

I am down 2 pounds.

Yay!

I was doing incredibly well with working out and eating well until I got the Worst Cold Ever, then I was a lump for 4 days. I did eat decently, but not the whole time. I’m excited to see what happens when I am consistent for a week.

Go me!

Today marks the start of a new journey for me. I am in a wedding in Costa Rica in November. I am currently 30 pounds over my ideal weight (which is not some crazy number, I promise). I have 7 months in which to lose the weight, and it comes down to about 4.5 pounds a month, or a pound a week, which is healthy and totally doable. If I lose more I’m not going to sweat it as long as I am healthy and happy. 

I’m back eating vegan before 6. For real. We went grocery shopping yesterday and no meat ended up in our cart, which is a big deal for brew boy. He did buy cream for his coffee, and some Greek yogurt for falafel, but I think that is it. I love that he is willing to do this with me. He is really coming around to my way of eating, which is exciting. He loves (LOVES) avocado pasta, the black bean burgers I make, falafel and stir fry with tofu. He’s also really motivating me to work out. 

Getting into the routine of working out is always the hardest thing for me. Until I’ve been getting up and running in the mornings for a few weeks, and my body gets used to the feeling, I give up almost immediately. He is great at getting me out of bed, telling me the sooner we get started the sooner it’s done, and ends up pushing me if I am being too much of a brat. He also put all of the P90X dvd’s on my computer. I think I’m going to wait until next week to start that. I don’t want to scare my body too much.

I’m really good at starting something and not following through (please see: this blog), but I WILL this time. I’m already off to a great start, and with brew boy, Karli and all of you rooting for me, I know I can do it. 

-a

Yesterday is in the past, so here’s the rest of the week…

Tuesday Lunch- salad and black bean soup (so so so good)

Tuesday Dinner- Black bean burgers over salad

Wednesday Lunch- salad and black bean soup

Wednesday Dinner- Probably a salad, maybe leftover pizza (brew boy and I had pizza last night, OK? I was too migrainey to cook)

Thursday Lunch- salad, pasta with vegan bolognese sauce (follow the recipe in My Father’s Daughter for turkey bolognese, but substitute veggie crumbles and tofu sausage. delicious)

Thursday Dinner- Tofu stir fry (honestly, my favorite recipe EVER)

Friday Lunch- Probably tofu stir fry. I just love it.

Friday Dinner- Unplanned, hopefully brew boy cooks dinner. He makes good food.

I’m still a little muddy in the brain from my migraine, so excuse the lack of commentary on each.

I had a migraine yesterday. Delayed post is delayed.

• Days of eating vegan before 6: 5 
• Days of eating vegan/vegetarian all day: 4
• Glasses of water drank: 42 (about 6 a day)
• Miles walked: 0
• Miles run: 0
• Weekly planned workouts: 0
• Days of working out when planned: 0
• Pounds lost: 0  
• Miscellaneous numbers: Nothing

Really Aimee? With the exercise? Shameful.

-a