Loser week 8 & 9

Yep, I am a week behind on my loser posts. Darn it. Better late than never right?! :)

so last monday on weigh in day I only lost .8lbs, BUT I measure each month and I measured that week and I had lost 10.5 inches for the month, so I wasn't too disappointed with my slow weight loss. I know I am buidling muscle and losing inches!

Since January 10th I have lost 29.5 inches. Which looks like this:

Neck: -.5
R. Arm: -1
L arm: -1
Upper chest: -3
chest: -4.5
Midriff: -4.5
Waist: -5
Hips: -5
R. thigh: -1
L. thigh: -1
R. knee: -.5
L knee: -.5
R. calf: -1
L calf: -1

Awesome! I have lost the most in my middle, where I need it the most. I have lost 2 pants sizes. I have a long way to go, but I am well on my way.

Today was weigh in and I lost 2 lbs, which brings me to a total of 15.2 lbs in 9 weeks. I had a goal of 2.5 lbs a week, which clearly I have no met, so it's not going as quickly as I had planned, but that's ok. Even if it takes me a year or more to get where I want to be, i figure that year is going to pass whether I am losing weight or not, so I might as well be doing it.

I am doing pretty well with my excercise, although some days it's really hard to fit it in. Like today. I could have gotten up and went to the gym or did one of my DVD's, but instead I decided to finish up my Pillsbury recipes (today is the deadline) and do a bunch of stuff like make the kids appointments, balance the checkbook, and update my blogs. Then here in a bit we go to an Easter event with our momma's group, we get out in time to get Bourbon from school, then I have a little over an hour before we leave for Bourbon's group therapy, which we get back from at about 7pm, for a late dinner, baths, clean up, and time for bed. So sometimes it's hard to fit it in. I might leave a few minutes early for therapy and walk up the 5 flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator, because at least it is something.

The experts suggest 4-5 hours of excercise a week, half of it cardio, half strength training.

last week I got in 275 mins (4.58 hrs). So that's good. I really like going to the gym, but I find myself choosing my DVD's over the gym these days. I feel like they work me harder. I tried Jillian Michael's Yoga meltdown sunday morning, and it whipped my tushie! I bet I only did 2/3's of it, but that's ok, because I will keep doing it until I master it! :) And I love the Biggest Loser bootcamp DVD, because it goes through lots of cardio & strength training back and forth, known as circuit training, which is said to be more effective at losing weight than doing them seperately. I am only up to the 2nd level on the bootcamp, which i just started last week, so I'm not that great at it yet. But I will get there. there are 3 levels.

I don't count calories any longer, since I did it for several weeks, I have a good idea of how many calories i am getting in each thing. Which is the goal, to not have to count points or calories, but just to know how to eat. I try to eat whole foods mostly, and am doing a great job.

I usually have one splurge day a week, and one day without excercise. But i don't go overboard on my splurge, just a bit more than usual. And knowing I get that each week, if I have a craving during the week, i just think "oh, I can have that on monday, you can wait until then" and i am fine with that. And really, my cravings are about gone. It's true the more you eat sugars and empy carbs, the more you want them. Once they are pretty much out of your system, it's not even a thought. I can even look at those cupcakes right under my nose and not care if I eat it or not, when before just the thought of them, not even seeing them, but merely the thought could send me to cuppies & joe's to buy one. :)

And in January when I started drinking more water, it was a chore to get in 64 ozs. But now, I crave water. Anything else doesn't even sound good, or satisfy me. I bet I get 80 ozs or more in a day, I just always have it with me and always drink it. it's not a chore anymore, it's a habit.

So it feels good to have made lots of healthy changes. Even if I have a long way to go, I feel really good about the path I am on. :)