resolution // weigh-in + updates

Well, friends, I am VERY happy to report that I am the proud owner of 11 lost lbs. since the beginning of the year!  I am on track to my goal of 30 lbs. down by June 2013.

Quickie recap of my goals:

• Minimize consumption of carbs and sugar
• Drink more water
• Avoid soda, fast food, pastries, and candy (and other affiliated foods)
• Use low-fat milk and sugar-free sweetener (aim for Stevia as much as possible) in my coffee
• Consume 1250 calories per day (net total after food and exercise)
• Exercise a minimum of 3-4 times per week

Tools I'm using:

• Calorie counting and weigh-ins via My Fitness Pal on my iPhone
• Food consumption guidelines via 17 Day Diet (basically limiting carbs & sugar as much as possible)
• My newly-purchased NutriBullet

I joked (half-joked) a few times to family and friends that this 11 pounds is all holiday treats and water weight.  BUT, my starting weight at the beginning of this New Year challenge was in the same range for about a year, so the holiday weight thing is mythological in this case.  And to be about 10 pounds below that range is delightful!

I'm trying to pace myself, though, because:

a) I know plateaus are sneaky, mean little things that can pounce without warning;
b) my weight does tend to fluctuate within 3 pounds depending on the time of the month (if you get me);
c) I still have a way to go and I don't want to sabotage additional progress with too much celebration over the progress I've made so far.

I really had to fight the urge to refrain from a Dr. Pepper today.  I haven't touched soda since I started this lifestyle shift, but I miss my Dr. Pepper!  I also wayyy cheated with Super Bowl snackies; my mom makes this amazing cheese and green pepper dip, and I just couldn't help myself.  The dip itself wasn't SO terrible, but I ate it with quite a few tortilla chips (but at least they were multi-grain?!).  Don't worry, I'm not fooling myself with the "but they're multi-grain!" argument.  It was a one-time splurge and I'm back to normal now.

My actual slip: last week, I bought Tofutti Cuties at Whole Foods, telling myself that it'd be better to have something sweet now and then (I have a MAD sweet tooth) to curb the craving to (a) not go crazy, and (b) to avoid a more devastating setback in the form of, say, an entire chocolate cake or something.  Unfortunately, I ended up eating the entire box all by myself within three days.  My original intention was to have just one when a chocolate craving hit, but I ended up gorging three at a time.  So no more Tofutti Cuties in my house.  Clearly I can't control myself, haha!

The other big, huge thing I have yet to implement is regularly visiting the gym.  For the first two weeks of January, I made a LOT of excuses about the volume of work I had to accomplish, which wasn't a complete self-deception.  I did have a ton of work to do.  And I banged it out and delivered images to clients as promised, and told myself, "okay, mission accomplished; next week I will start going to the gym regularly again."  I went once.  Better than zero, but still not what I was really aiming for.

It actually just dawned on me while writing that last paragraph (and I know this is a big giant "DUH" here) is that I haven't actually set a standard for what "regular visits" to the gym should mean.  How many times a week?  Cardio or weights?  Classes or solo?

So I'll lay it out right now: Mondays, I go to see my cousin in Silverlake and we walk the reservoir with my aunt and my cousin's daughter (a la stroller).  Sure, we're just walking, but it's an hour-and-a-half venture with lots of uphill action, so it's a strenuous experience.  So that takes care of one workout per week.  I think adding three more days on top of that is fair, yes?

There are tons of classes for me to choose from to keep things interesting: yoga, kickboxing, and a weight-training class are all in my iCal with daily alerts.  I just need to set a more firm schedule.  Like, "every Tuesday, I go to yoga."  Period.  Then it's just part of my day.  No excuses.

Here is what I propose for myself:

Mondays: walking with Kristen, Denise, & Rowan
Tuesdays: 9:30 a.m. Body Pump class
Thursdays: 9:30 a.m. Body Pump class
Fridays: 10:30 a.m. Yoga class OR Elliptical for 30 mins

And maybe I add a Sunday every now and then.  And definitely give Mickey a walk a couple times a week!  There's also a kickboxing class on Saturday mornings that could be nice.

Also helpful?  A dose of Ryan.

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Linking up with Megan, Erin, and Evani!

How are your New Year's resolutions coming along (if you made any)?  Any tips for me to avoid hitting a plateau before I hit my goal?