The title is somewhat misleading, but in a sense that is how I’m approaching today.  The honeymoon is over, the vacation is over, there are no more blips coming up in the near future, so I’m starting fresh with a new outlook.  This year I was planning on getting “buff” moreso than “losing weight”…however the scale has slowing been creeping up and up and up.  And I’m done with that!!! I attribute some of it to the muscles I’ve been building, but some of it is due to the crappy eating the past two weeks!  I got into the vacation rut and I’m digging myself out of it!

I’m armed with the grocery list, the food list for the week of all healthy low point tried and true WW meals that I know I love, so I feel a fresh outlook!  I can do this and I will do it.  I got an idea from Sister Skinny about printing out a blank calendar page to track myself for the month and I will be doing that starting tomorrow!  April is the month to get back on track and remember that I will be in a bathing suit soon and want to look great!  I bringing the scale back out for the month to track on a daily basis, because I need something to use as my basis.  I will also be tracking all my workouts…and we’ll be getting back with our trainer this week as well!

Out of the funk, back into the groove!  Here I go!

Well only one day has passed and I’m already feeling better!!!  I tracked my points yesterday and even though I ate 9 flex points, I at least feel more in control since I wrote everything down.  I definitely plan on tracking hard core next week….I think I may change my start over day back to Monday.  It seems to work better for me than Wednesday because when I save up my flex points for the weekends, that seems to work best for me.  But I’m still going to track the rest of the week just to keep myself in check.

I had another good workout at the gym yesterday…I’ve been doing 30 pushups everyday as part of my workouts and I want to try and increase that.  I remember just 6 short weeks ago barely being able to do 3…so I feel a huge accomplishment with that.  I am starting to *gasp* enjoy doing them because they really give me a boost of confidence.   Maybe today I’ll go for 35.

I’m still working on building my cardio back up…I’ve been doing 30 minutes on the elliptical this week but I need to increase that.  And I need to try and jog a mile around the track at some point this week before going back with the trainer.  I KNOW he will make us do that again and I’ve got to prepare myself.  But after just 2 days back at the gym, I’m feeling more in control and better than I did at the beginning of the week.  I am not going to the gym tonight because I’ve got a much needed hair appointment after work, but I’m going to try and at least do some sit ups, push ups, planks, etc. from home tonight.  Every little bit helps right??

Here’s to another day in control!

Getting back into the groove after a vacation (and not to mention sickness) is hard!!!  I went to the gym yesterday which felt GREAT but I’m still in an eating “rut”.  It generally takes me a week or so when I get back from a vacation to start eating “normal” again…it’s usually an adjustment week as in, I eat some good things, and some bad things.

The biggest problem I think is getting onto a schedule.  When we were in New York, we ate at crazy times, and there was not a normal schedule so my body is rebelling against that.   I need to train it again to drink coffee in the morning, have a mid morning snack, lunch, pre-workout snack, dinner, and ONLY ONE evening snack.

I also need to write out a meal list and COOK…after going a whole week without cooking, I’ve gotten lazy about wanting to cook.  I just felt worn out last night when I got home from the gym and did NOT want to cook, which usually ends up with me mindlessly snacking all night.  So tonight I WILL cook a sensible and healthy dinner and I WILL NOT snack all night.

After reading Roni’s blog today, I realize that I’m in the same boat.  I set goals for myself at the beginning of the year, and although I have done amazing with the workout goal, the weight loss goal seems to be slipping farther and farther away!  I know I can do this…hell I DID it last year.  So I need to re-commit myself to journaling, planning, eating low point foods, and getting myself to where I KNOW I can be.  It just reminds me that this is a lifelong struggle, and I know I’m better off now than I ever have been, because I’m conscious of the fact that I need to get things in check…I’m not just saying “to hell with it” and doing whatever I want to do without knowing the consequences.  And it’s not like I’ve gained back the 35 lbs I’ve lost…I’ve gained a few back, but I’ve also gained a LOT of muscle, so I’ve got to be on the right track somehow right????  Ughhhhhhhhhh why do we do this to ourselves??  Here’s to a new day, and hopefully a new outlook!

I’m back from my week in New York, but I’m still adjusting.  Hopefully I’ll have more to say tomorrow…I’m just too out of it today.  I’m about to head to the gym so hopefully those endorphins will help wake me up a bit.

I ended up getting food poisioning halfway through my trip so I was on the “gingerale” diet for most of my trip.  That and pizza…so I really have no idea how I fared…but I’ve never been that sick before, so I wasn’t really concerned with my diet at the time!!

Now that I’m back, I’m ready to get back into gym mode (I DID go while on vacation…up until said food poisioning) but I feel so out of shape just from one week off my normal schedule.  We did a TON of walking and stair climbing in NYC, so between that, and the gym sessions I did fit in, I think the week went pretty well.  Now I just need to get back into journaling…which I’m not feeling today, so maybe on Wed. I’ll start a fresh week.

Hope everyone had a great Easter!

I had a non-scale victory this morning…literally. I did NOT get on the scale. This is a big deal because I’m doing my monthly weigh in at Weight Watchers (I’m lifetime so I only weigh once a month). Normally I would not only do my normal “nakee” scale weigh this morning, but then get on the scale again with my clothes on to prepare myself for what the WW scale will say. But in my new era of not weighing myself because I’m not letting that number be the judge of my success…I didn’t do any of that!

So that was a major victory for me this morning. I’m really committed to this getting fit and not worrying about that stupid number thing. Although of course I’m a little tense as to what the WW scale will say since I literally have NO idea. So now if I can keep the worrying/panic to a minimum, I should be okay!

I’ll update this afternoon once I’ve done the dreaded weigh-in. I hope everyone has a great and heathly Friday!!!

EDIT: Back from weigh-in…I’m up 1.6 lbs…but you know what??? I am not upset.  It’s okay.  I’m still under my WW goal, so I’m still a free lifetime member.  Now by the time I weigh in for April…I’m hoping all this muscle I’ve built up start burning those fat cells right off!

I’m heading out to New York City in the morning so I”m not sure if I’ll be blogging a lot next week, so see everyone when I get back!

I had another great workout at the gym yesterday.  Sometimes I’m really amazed at how much I push myself on the days I’m at the gym alone.  I did 15 minutes of high intensity on the elliptical, then had planned on jogging another mile on the track.  I only made it 3/4 of a mile before stopping.  But I think maybe next time I’ll try and do the track BEFORE the elliptical to see if that has any affect on my stamina.  Since I couldn’t finish the mile on the track, I went and did the bike for 2 1/2 miles.  I really like switching up machines during my cardio.  It makes it go by faster and I feel like I’m getting more of an overall workout.  After that, I did a great set of ab workouts.  I was sweating hardcore during these which let me know I was doing something right!

Another mini exciting thing that happened was this morning when I was blowdrying my hair, I noticed that my “arm wings” were a LOT less wiggly!  :-)  My arms have always been a sore spot for me, so it’s nice to see progress of my hard 5 weeks at the gym starting to really show.

I do have to admit that I’m not tracking this week.   Since I’m leaving for NY on Saturday, I figured “why track for 3 days”…but I’m not allowing myself to have cart blanche with my food.  I’m still eating healthy and what I would normally eat on a tracking day, just not necessarily putting it all in my spreadsheet.

I do have a plan for NY.  I have my carry on and suitcase packed with Zone bars, Animal Crackers, and trail mix so that I can snack on those things instead of airport food (ie. Cheetos).  I’m also getting a week pass at a gym that is located near my friend’s apartment.  Yes, you heard me right…I’m joining a gym for the week of my vacation.  Talk about crazy!  But I really don’t want to undo all the hard work I’ve done with working out, and since I know I”ll be eating more, I want to keep it in check.

So that is the plan…hopefully I’ll stick with it!  Since that is my new “mantra”

I’m back.  I feel SOOOOOOO much better today!  I hope I’ve kicked that stomach bug for good…I kept thinking I had, then it would rear it’s ugly head again.  But I got a lot of sleep last night and feel refreshed.  So fingers crossed!

I also had a BREAKTHROUGH at the gym last night.  Our personal training session was different from what we’ve done the past 3 weeks.  We did an “endurance” hour where we did 15 minutes on the bike, 15 minutes jogging on the track, 15 minutes on the elliptical, then did some strength training for the last 15 minutes.  During the jogging, I thought I was going to DIE.  I am not a “runner” by any means…but when we were done…he says to us…”You just did a mile in 11:11″.  I’m sorry, did he just say that I JOGGED AN ENTIRE MILE????  I was floored.  I thought I had misheard him over my gasps for air, but it is true.  Someone who is a runner may be laughing at this…but it is a HUGE accomplishment for me.  I’ve never jogged for an entire mile, much less actually jogging on a track vs. the treadmill.

I also finally talked to my trainer about my frustration with the scale…and he told me that this is a “fitness routine”…and the only place for scales is for guys trying to make a weight class.  He told me he has been building our muscles the past 3 weeks so that he feels comfortable putting us through more endurance workouts which will burn the fat.  That made a lot of sense to me, so I had a bit of a breakthrough that my goal this year was to get fit and healthy, NOT to “lose weight”.  I did the losing last year, so I have to change my mind set that this year is about getting strong and healthy.  So bye bye scale…you’ve been banished to the closet for now!  And even though I still have to weigh in on the WW scales, I won’t let those numbers be the judge of my success.  I will STICK WITH this fitness plan and see it out!

So here is to sticking with this and not giving up!

I’m heading back to side of the living.  I caught a stomach bug this weekend and have been feeling all kinds of ick.  Lots of fluids, lots of rest, lots of toast.  I’m hoping to be back to somewhat normal life tomorrow.

It’s only been 2 days of my new focused week of eating right, watching my points, but I’m feeling so much more in control than I’ve been in a few weeks. Here’s my menu from yesterday:

Flex Points Remaining: 29

I made a plan for yesterday…planned out all my meals, and STUCK TO IT! I didn’t snack on anything else that I hadn’t planned for, which is a big deal for me! There were several occasions yesterday at work that I wanted to get a snack out of my “snack drawer” but I stopped myself because I wasn’t wanting a snack because I was hungry, rather I wanted one just because…

I am pretty much getting used to waking up sore all the time…and continuing to work out even though every muscle hurts. PT was great yesterday…he worked us really hard! I wanted to give up 3 times, like really stop because I thought my body could NOT do anymore, but of course he wouldn’t let me (that’s what I pay him the big bucks for right!!!) and I was able to do it! And on Saturday, my friend and I are going to go to a spin class…I’m pretty frightened as I try to avoid “classes” as much as possible because I don’t ever feel coordinated enough to do them and don’t want to make a fool out of myself. However, I’ve been doing a lot of things lately that I didn’t think I could do, so I’m going to give it a try. I’ve been wanting to step up my cardio so that I can hopefully get that scale moving in the correct direction again! Wish me luck!

Flex Points Remaining: 30

I went over points yesterday due to the evil but amazingly yummy trail mix that my friend made. But I had such low point lunch and dinner that it was okay that my snacking was a little high. I felt like I was back in control of the eating. I drank 100 ounces of water yesterday as well…so I am feeling much better!!! I also had am amazing workout. I did 45 minutes on the Elliptical (a new record for me), 5 sets of Ab exercises, A leg machine, and am arm machine. My soreness from Tuesday’s personal training session is really kicked into high gear today so I’m worried about my PT tonight…but no pain, no gain right?? I definitely know what the person was feeling when they made up that saying!!

I’ve already planned my whole days meals for today as well and not counting my activity points, I still have 5 points unaccounted for for any unexpected snacking throughout the day…so I’m feeling pretty good about today as well. One more week until we go to New York, so I want to be extra good on my eating/working out before we go, so I can enjoy myself while we are there and not feel too guilty about eating that New York Pizza that I cannot wait for! That’s all for today!