I'm glad we have some "normal" journal questions this week. Last week's "getaway" questions were kinda weird for me.
1. What good habits do you have in your life to support an active, healthy lifestyle? Since joining eDiets back in June, I have developed lots of healthy habits. Now instead of eating 3 big meals a day, I eat 5 or 6 small meals. I pack dried fruit and nuts when I go out so that I always have a healthy alternative. If I go "off plan" for a meal...I don't blow the whole day. Instead, I get right back on track. Now I actually exercise 4 days a week! I try to park far away, partly because I don't want carts crashing into my car, but it also forces me to get a little more walking in.
2. Do you have a weekly exercise routine? What happens when your routine is interrupted? Yes, I do have a weekly exercise routine. I workout 4 days a week and follow a schedule set by the eDiets fitness program. When my routine is interrupted, I plan to exercise at a different time of day. If exercising that day ins't possible, I plan to exercise on one of my usual days off.
3. What are the activities you enjoy most when exercising? I LOVE Tae Bo and Step Aerobics. At this points it's still a challenge for me to keep up with those workouts but I still have a blast doing them.
4. How do you feel before, during and after your workouts? I usually don't look forward to my workouts. I procrastinate a little before I actually get started. Once I start moving I have fun. After working out, I feel energized and happy to have accomplished something.
5. What are some realistic goals that you can set to bring your exercise to the next level when you are ready? Increased my cardio so that I'm doing four - 45 minute sessions a week, instead of four - 30 minute sessions. I always tell myself that if I don't feel challenged I will do something to increase the intensity of my workouts.
1. What is your ideal getaway? Where would you go and with whom? This is such a weird question for me to think about. I'm not used to "getaways." Growing up, my family never went on vacation, so now it's not even something I really think about doing. Anyways, to answer the question...I'd be content just going to a secluded beach with a good book. Just to be in a calm place where I could just focus on myself would be so refreshing. Oh, and to feel comfortable in a bathing suit would be nice, too
2. What can you do to prepare yourself for this ideal vacation? Where do you want to be with your weight loss in 3 months? 6 months? 1 year? Physically, I need to continue with my heathy eating habits and exercise.
3 month goal (January 13, 2007) - 250 pounds
6 month goal (April 13, 2007) - 220 pounds
1 year goal (October, 2007) - Not sure of an exact number, but I would like to be at a healthy weight for my height. Probably around 160-170 pounds
3. What are some short term goals for you to accomplish to make your vacation a reality? I'm not sure that I could really pull of the secluded beach thing, but it them meantime, I can do so research about nice vacation spots nearby that would be in my price range.
4. When you visualize your true self, where are you located? Are you at home or in some exotic place? I visualize myself at home. Sounds simple, I know, but it's true. I feel comfortable just about anywhere though.
5. When you visualize your true self, how do you feel inside? What is different about how you see yourself today? What's holding your true self inside of you? When I visualize my true self, I feel healthy. I'm no longer worrying about my health. I know that if I continue with my new lifestyle I will continue to be healthy. That's different from how I see myself today because now, I'm still worried about my health. I'm looking forward to being a healthy weight. I'm making changes to my lifestyle that will last a life time. Now, I just need to stick with it and shed those pounds!
Why is it that my friends seem to feel sorry for me? I love the new lifestyle that I'm creating for myself. I love going to restaurants and trying things that I normally wouldn't have tried before. I don't mind going to happy hour and not partaking in the deep fried goodies. Why don't my friends understand that? I feel like they are constantly monitoring what I'm eating and when I chose not to eat something unhealthy, they give me this little pouty look. WHY? Everyone acts as if they are so pround of the weight that I've lost, they ask, How are you doing it? I do you feel? They say, "I really need to lose weight, too." But when they see me doing what it takes to lose, they acts as if I'm doing something bad to myself. I just don't get it!
What do you want to accomplish during this eight-week challenge? I would LOVE to lose 16 pounds by the time this challenge is over! But the real reason I joined this challenge is because I like being part of a team. I want to be part of a group that can share and understand the highs and lows of weight loss. So far, I have been doing pretty well with diet and exercise, but I need a kick in the butt when it comes to drinking that water. I'm hoping that this challenge helps keep me accountable in that area.
How commited are you to completing all 8 weeks of the challenge? If not feeling committed, think about what those obstacles are for you. I'm really committed to completing this challenge! I can already tell that I have a great team. I am looking forward to use motivating each other over the next 2 months.
How does it feel to take inventory of your past, present and future wardrobe? Can you identify certain feelings with certain clothing and times in your life? It felt so good to go through my wardrobe! Being able to castaway those size 24 pants was so liberating. I remember back in May when it was time to pull out the summer clothes - none of mine fit It felt so horrible to have to go out and buy pants in a size 24! And I could hardly find any tops that fit because I am so top heavy. To be able to say "good riddance" to them know feels great! So now I'm in a size 20/22. The hard part about it is that I have hardly any fall clothes in that size. But that's okay...I'm not planning on being here long. I have my size 18s neatly folded at the top of my closet waiting for me!
What are two things you'd like to change or improve upon in your weight loss journey? How are you going to make them happen? I HAVE TO drink more water. I know it seems like such a simple thing, but I struggle SO MUCH with it. For now, my plan is to do water checks throughout the day to make sure that I'm drinking at the right pace. I would also like to challenge myself more when it comes to exercise. For the past month, my goal has just been to stick with my exercise during the school year. I've always had issues with letting my job overtake my life, causing me to put off things like exercise. Now that I know I can do that, my personal challenge is to push myself, especially when it comes to strength training. I'm gonna start by buying more weights. I need 10 and 12 pound weights.
Create a plan in your journal. You are off to a great start!
Water checks:
I should been finished with my first 24 ounce bottle of water by 11:00 am when my class is at specials.
By 3:30, I should be finished with my second 24 ounce bottle of water.
I'll fill up my bottle once more after school, and I should be done with that one before bedtime.
Exercise:
Increase weight on bicep, shoulder and back exercises to 10 pounds.
Monitor my weight training and increase weights accordingly so that I feel some sort of fatigue by the end of a set.
I was introduced to this site by a team member on the Fall Freedom Challenge on eDiets. I thought it would be a good way for me to hold myself accountable, while sharing my weightloss journey with others. For now I will use this blog to complete journal questions for the challenge and we'll just have to see how it evolves.
About me...
I am a 25 year old teacher. I've been overweight my entire life. I cannot even remember being at a healthy weight (although I have seen some pictures of myself at ages 2-3 and I looked pretty normal in them.) It's so easy to play the blame game. My whole family is overweight, and I never learned the importance of eating healthy or exercising. But...I've decided that it's time to take responsiblity for myself. I am in control here, and I am going to live a healthy life.
So...in June I joined eDiets, and I love it! It's given me so many tools to take on my journey. Since June I have lost 31.5 pounds. That's over 10% of my origanal body weight! I still have a long way to go, but I feel proud of what I have accomplished so far and I KNOW. I can do this!
It felt so horrible to have to go out and buy pants in a size 24! And I could hardly find any tops that fit because I am so top heavy. To be able to say "good riddance" to them know feels great! So now I'm in a size 20/22. The hard part about it is that I have hardly any fall clothes in that size. But that's okay...I'm not planning on being here long. I have my size 18s neatly folded at the top of my closet waiting for me!