In addition to the DVD this morning, I went to the gym this evening and did the treadmill:
5-min warm-up @ 3.7MPH
4-min jog @ 5.3MPH
3-min walk @ 3.7MPH
2-min jog @ 5.4MPH
2-min walk @ 3.8MPH
*repeat 2-min jog/walk*
1-min jog @ 5.4MPH
1-min walk @ 3.8MPH
*repeat 1-min jog/walk*
1-min walk @ 4.0MPH

And I am SO PROUD of hubby - he ran for 20 minutes straight today!! For the most part he has kept up with the Couch to 5K Challenge and hasn't been doing weight training, just running every day. He's very close to being able to run a full 5K!

What a great way to end the month!

I did the 30-Day Shred DVD, level 2 today. It took me a while to get around to it because I had wicked cramps this morning. I wish I had access to a lap pool so I could swim on cramp days. Oh well. I got the job done and that's all that matters. :)

Friday was really bad - I was in that slump from my doughnut. How did one pastry ruin my whole day?!? I didn't exercise at all and the only motivation I had was to eat sugary food. Blah.
Yesterday I did some weight lifting and a little bit of cardio.
Since I need to exercise 6x/week for my Fitness Challenge and I missed Friday, I had to go for a walk tonight. There is a distance tracker on sparkpeople.com that I used to find a 2-mile loop and hubby and I walked that tonight. It was a good, brisk walk. :)

PS - I have gotten all possible points on our fitness challenge since it began! YAY! I really hope I win!! I'm very proud of myself what I have done so far!

I'm having a problem. Yesterday, I was with the mom whom I nanny for and she was buying doughnuts for her daughter and herself. She asked me what kind I would like and I told her that I didn't want one, but thanked her for the offer. She insisted because she "couldn't eat a doughnut in front of me." Whatever that means... So she bought me a chocolate doughnut.
I didn't want to be rude (she's British - manors are everything), so I took a bite. That bite led to another and another until it was gone, in like 2 seconds. I hadn't had sugary sweet treats in a long time - at least a month - and it was so sweet on my tongue!
Then we went to Starbucks and she bought me my favorite drink - caramel apple spice - but she forgot to ask for no whip cream, so that added another 65 calories, just for the whipped cream alone! I had just consumed over 500 calories and all I consumed was a sugary doughnut and a small drink! Grrr!
The worst part was that that set the mood for the day and I ate junk all day long! I went WAY over my calorie allotment and I'm craving sweet things today.
It's crazy how one slip-up can have such a huge impact on my cravings. I didn't crave sweets at all before yesterday. I hope it doesn't take long to get over this hump and lose the cravings again.

241.8 (-2.9)!!!

Yes!!

Tonight I did some working out during the commercials while I watched The Biggest Loser - crunches, arm weight exercises, jumping jacks, jump rope, boxing, and push-ups.

Today we found an awesome nature trail where we saw raccoons, armadillos, and other creatures. We walked for about an hour and 20 minutes. I have no idea what the distance was, but it was great to get out into the fresh air and do some hiking.

Today Jed and I went to the mall (the one that's a 1-mile circle) and power-walked it five times! FIVE MILES! And we got to people watch. Win-win!

I did the 30-Day Shred DVD weeks 1 AND 2 today! I feel amazing! What a great way to start the weekend!

Random tidbit: Did you know that granulated sugar has more calories and carbs than powdered sugar, teaspoon for teaspoon? I just learned that.

Discouraged. Frustrated. Annoyed.
This is how I currently free about my weight loss.
I started out just cutting calories and I saw some good success.
Then I started the Couch to 5K Challenge and my success rate when down.
I was told by a trainer friend to incorporate strength training, and I all but completely switched over to the 30-Day Shred DVD. I didn't see a whole lot of difference when I hopped on the scale.

I get enough sleep ~ I drink on average 11-14 cups of water every day ~ I stay within my calorie range every day, if not going a little below ~ I've been exercising 6 days each week ~ I don't drink soda ~ I don't eat late at night ~ I only eat out maybe once or twice per week, and even then I make healthy choices ~ I keep a food diary

I don't understand why my efforts aren't getting the returns I expect!! I mean I weighed much less in high school and one year all I did was stop eating after 8:00pm and I lost 20 pounds that school year! Why is it that I'm doing so much more now and seeing so little results?!?

244.7 (+.2)

Next week will be better.

I haven't been intentionally ignoring this blog... my birthday was on Friday and it's been pretty crazy around here lately. I got a new job as a nanny working two mornings each week and I'm still trying to get back to "normal", or at least figure out what "normal" will be this year. Anyway...

I went to the gym today and did the treadmill:
5 min warm-up @ 3.7MPH
2 min jog @ 5.3MPH
3 min walk @ 3.7MPH  ...repeat cycle 3x for a total of 20 minutes.

And I may go back to the gym with hubby tonight, or I may do a DVD.

[Update: I did the 30-Day Shred DVD tonight, too.]

244.5 (-1.8)!

Back to my pre-Christmas weight! :)

I did the treadmill today.
5 min warm-up @ 3.7MPH
4 min jog @ 5.2MPH
3 min walk @ 3.5MPH
1 min jog @ 5.2MPH
3 min walk @ 3.7MPH
2 min jog @ 5.2MPH
3 min walk @ 3.7MPH
1 min jog @ 5.7MPH
3 min power walk from 3.8-4.5MPH

Man, being away from the treadmill for a couple of weeks really shows! I had a tough time today!

I just did week 2 of the 30-Day Shred DVD.
KILLER! So much harder than the first one!

Sidenote: I've decided to have oatmeal for breakfast every day this week. We'll see how that goes. :)

www.sparkpeople.com

This is the best [free] website that I've found to track calories in and calories out. You also get your own profile; there are [free] message boards and blogs, recipes, articles, such a HUGE support system! The weight started coming off when I truly started using this [free] site and all of its helpful tools to their full extent. Did I mention that it's all FREE?!?

If you decide to join, add me as a friend: allsweetali

I did the 30-Day Shred DVD again today - 6th day of working out in a row! Whew!

Jed has promised me that he will take me on another cruise when I get back below 200lb! Yay!

Another 30-Day Shred DVD today! As the week goes on, it gets harder and harder to find the motivation to work out. BUT I have worked out EVERY DAY this week! That is a good feeling!

Tonight Jed and I found a nature trail and walked/jogged around that loop a couple times. The weather was beautiful and it was good to get some fresh air.

246.3 (-4.8 from Sunday!)

Also, I did the 30-Day Shred DVD yesterday and today. :)

I'm going to start taking my body measurements. I don't know if I'm doing it in exactly the right place, but I'm going to do it in the same spot each time. Maybe this will be more motivation when I see inches in addition to poundage being lost.
Chin/Head - 23.5
Rt Arm - 18.5
Lf Arm - 18.0
Waist - 53.5
Hips -48.5
Rt Thigh - 28.0
Lf Thigh - 28.0

I also did the 30-Day Shred DVD today. Welcome, 2011! :D

In addition to the Biggest Loser Challenge with my family, I decided to join another challenge group. It's on a point system and it's not just a fitness challenge, but a wellness challenge as well. The categories that you can earn points are no soda, reading scriptures, exercising (obviously), and no eating after 7:30pm, among others.

This challenge starts tomorrow and I am way excited! Wish me luck on this one too! ;)

I'm back in the 50's, but not by much: 251.1. That means that I gained SEVEN pounds over the break. Sometimes I wish my mom was a horrible cook. And that I had more willpower. I did try this trick where I made a list of all of the goodies I knew I would want before we went to my mom's house, but I let my portions go out the window. It's super hard to resist when I'm not in control (not in my house/comfort zone) and when everyone else is doing it (peer pressure was never a strong suit of mine). But now that I'm back home and in control, I am back on the wagon!

In other news, I will be participating in another Biggest Loser Challenge starting today (I won the last one, by the way). This time there are 7 participants instead of just 2. Hubby will be playing the game, so we can motivate each other. The competition goes through April 2nd (three months) and each of us have $25 on the line. Wish me luck!!