Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Weigh in Wednesday: 6/26/13 - The DietBet OFFICIALLY Won Edition

Last Week's Weight:                              226.9
This Week's Weight:                              226.4

This Week's Weight Lost:                           .5

Total Weight Lost:                                 83.6

DietBet:                                               WON!!

So, I OFFICIALLY won my Diet Bet.  The final day of the bet was last Friday and I needed to be at 224.9.  That morning, I was weighing in at 225.5.  LESS THAN A POUND AWAY!!!  Luckily, the bet allowed you 48 hours to log in your final weight, so I kicked my butt last Friday and Saturday morning I woke up and logged in my final official weight:  223.8!!!

HOLY MOLY.  I couldn't believe that not only had I won but that I had lost 10.5 pounds in a month.  It's quite an accomplishment, especially considering I had taken a week of vacation in there and gained three pounds as a result of that.

Well, needless to say I celebrated my win by eating.  I have allowed myself some extra treats this week as a result of my win, but I'm still down from last week, so I'm not too upset with myself.  I'm going to get back on track and back on the downward trend.

I decided to take a bit of a break from doing another Diet Bet but I am definitely going to do another one.  I think I'm going to shoot for one that starts after July 4th sometime.  That way I'm back in NYC and not staying with my Mom.  While my Mom eats pretty healthy it will be nice to do this completely making my own food choices and not having to worry about another person.

So, all in all I think the Diet Bet was a success.  Was it more stressful than I had anticipated?  Yes, without a doubt, but again I think I might contribute that to playing catch up after vacation.  My recommendation would be to time your bet carefully if you choose to do one.  But, if you are in the process of losing weight I definitely recommend you doing at least one.  It really helped me break through another barrier (I'm solidly in the 220s now!) and I hope that if I do another one it will help me break through another barrier (210s!).  We shall see!

Next week will be my last post from Kentucky.  I have to say I love staying with my Mom, but I'm ready to head back to NYC, my adopted home.

Until next week!!

 

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Weigh In Wednesday: 6/19/13 - The disappointing set back (DietBet in Jeopardy)

Last Week's Weight:                         224.2
This Week's Weight:                         226.9

Weight Gain:                                      2.7

Total Weight Lost:                            83.1

Weight left for DietBet:                       2.0

Well, I don't really know what happened.  Did I eat a few things that I shouldn't have?  Yes, but not ANYWHERE near an amount that would account for this type of gain.  So I'm making a couple of assumptions:  1 - that my weigh in last week was inaccurate for some reason, and 2 - I'm retaining water because it's a certain week of the month (sorry, TMI.)

Whatever the reason the fact remains that I have two pounds left to lose before this DietBet ends on Friday and chances are that I am not going to make it.  It's disappointing because I really thought I had this in the bag, but I do have to put this in perspective...  Did I lose the 9+ pounds that I needed to?  No, but I have lost 7.5 pounds (and hopefully will lose a bit more before Friday.)  7.5 pounds in four weeks in nothing to turn your nose up to.  I'm not giving up, I'm still doing everything I can, but I'm not going to beat myself up.  If I hadn't worked hard and hadn't put in the effort, I would be beating myself up, but I did work hard.  I worked REALLY hard and I am going to pat myself on the back for that.

I had debated whether or not I'm going to sign up for another DietBet and I've decided that I'm not going to.  I need the mental break.  This has completely consumed my life and I don't want to beat myself up if I decide to eat a cookie.  A cookie will not defeat me!!

But if anyone is interested in joining a DietBet I know of one that will be starting soon.  This one is a $35 bet.  You can join it here:  http://www.dietbet.com/games/18023  It will be hard work but it will be worth it if you put in the time and energy and focus that it deserves.  I strongly recommend doing at least one if you are in the process of losing weight.  It really helped me with my focus for the summer.

My Birthday was a nice, low-key affair this year.  My Mom bought me a peach pie (I only had one slice of it) and we went and saw a couple of movies.  Amazingly enough, I didn't get the yearly depression that I tend to get on my Birthday.  I think I have finally reached that point where I just don't care about birthdays that much anymore...  Maybe, I don't know.  Either way I'm glad that the yearly doom and gloom stayed away.

Well, until next week when I officially update you on my win (or most likely loss) of the DietBet.

Have a good week!

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Birthday Reflections

Today is my 32nd birthday.

I can't believe another year has passed.

I'm having a birthday pie, not cake
I must admit I tend to get depressed on my birthday.  I always have the tendency to look back and see what wasn't accomplished rather than what was.  It's the day that even if I'm surrounded by friends, I tend to feel the most alone.

Last year on my birthday, the tour was in Las Vegas, NV.  It was a fun night I will admit.  A lot of the company came out for a drink and even my best friend Jason drove for HOURS and HOURS from the DFW area to visit me for the week.  I lost a lot of money to the Golden Nugget, but it was a good time.  Yet despite the good time, when I laid down to bed at the end of the night I felt the sadness that I always feel start to wash over me.  I had held it off, but it managed to creep it's way in at the last minute.

This year, I'm on layoff from the tour and I'm at my Mom's house in Kentucky.  I tend to not do a whole lot when I'm here because I mostly use this as a hideaway to relax and recuperate.  This year I'm also using it as a place to lose as much weight before I head back to the constant temptation that is NYC.

Since I'm trying to break my habit this year of getting depressed and only seeing the bad, I'm going to list the good accomplishments I've achieved this past year since my 31st birthday.  Here goes:

 - I've visited three other countries (Canada, Japan (twice!) and New Zealand)

 - I've visited 26 cities (some for the first time, some repeat trips)

 - I've visited 19 states

 - This time last year I weighed 244.9, which means I'm down almost 21 pounds since this time last year.

- Since my heaviest weight of last year (254.9) , I've lost almost 31 pounds

- Even though I'm still kind of stuck clothing size wise, I know that I will eventually move down the next size and hopefully one more.

- I've lost 85 pounds since Labor Day 2010

- I'm less than 25 pounds from my goal weight.

I'm sure that there are others, but I can't think of them at the moment.  There are still goals that I have for myself that don't have anything to do with my career or weight loss and those are the ones that I need to start really focusing my energy.  I was able to accomplish so much more than I ever though possible, so I know that I can accomplish my other goals as well.

Well, I guess for now I just need to remember the positive and try to keep the negative out of my thoughts.  I think that seeing the movie "This Is The End" today with my mother (I know!  I can't believe she wants to see it either, but she LOVED Pineapple Express!) will keep my spirits uplifted.



Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Weigh In Wednesday - DIETBET WON!!

Hello there!  For the first time in a couple of weeks, may I present to you a Weigh In Wednesday that was actually performed on a Wednesday!

Last Week's Weight:                                  231.3

This Week's Weight:                                  224.2

This Week's Weight Lost:                              7.1 - might be biggest single weight loss ever

Total Weight Lost:                                      85.8

Weight Left to Lose for DietBet:                 ZERO!!!!!!

Well, to say that I bounced back from the vacation weight gain would be putting it lightly!!

I will say that I kind of don't believe that is an accurate number. It's about 2 pounds down from yesterday (I'm weighing myself pretty frequently for this DietBet.)  While I have been incredibly diligent about what I'm eating, I haven't been as strict with my exercise.  I've only run a couple of times since getting back from vacation, and that's just not enough in my opinion.  So, I'm expecting the scale to go back up slightly, although I'll do everything in my power to ensure that it doesn't go back up too much.  I need to maintain my weight at 224.9 to win this DietBet.

It's hard to believe that I'm solidly in the 220s now.  I'm just 15 pounds away from having lost 100 pounds.  That's just simply ridiculous.  I'm less than 25 pounds away from my goal.  WHAT?!?

I have to admit I'm a little scared.  I set my goal weight when it just seemed a pipe dream, and a number that I would never actually hit.  Now that it's there and staring me in the face I'm worried that it might not be good enough.  I'm worried that I'm going to hit that goal and still think I look awful.  I really thought that it was a magical number that would fix so much in my life, and what if it doesn't?

I guess that's a bridge I'll have to cross when I come to it.  I mean, it could be a matter of months, or it could be a year or more.  Who knows how long it will take me to get there, but I'll get there come hell or high water!!

Tomorrow is my birthday, so prepare yourself for a birthday post tomorrow.

Until then!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Weigh in Wednesday 6/5/13 (A Day Late)

Last Week's Weight:                           228.3
This Week's Weight:                           231.3

Weight Gain:                                         3.0

Total Weight Lost:                               78.7

Total Weight left for DietBet:                 6.4

Like I suspected would happen, I gained weight while I was in San Francisco for the wedding.  It was actually right about what I assumed I would gain.  While it sucks, it's not unrealistic to gain weight when you are on vacation and out of your routine.  I ate fried foods.  I ate sweets.  I didn't exercise.  OF COURSE I was going to gain weight!

But, I'm not worried.  I'm just going to get immediately back on the band wagon and start being diligent.  I'm going to count my calories (and be a little more restrictive until I catch back up) and not eat crap.  I'm going to try and go for a run today (but the weather is kind of poop, so I will have to time this carefully.)  Tomorrow I'm going to try and sign up for bootcamp classes at the local CrossFit gym.

I have two weeks left (I miscalculated the dates last week...) left on this DietBet.  I know I will lose this gain quickly and catch up and then some.  My goal before I leave Lexington (around July 4th-ish, so about a month) is to be at 220.  I don't know if it will happen, but I hope so!  At least it's a good goal.  It's a hefty goal, but if I REALLY work hard, I can do it.

You know something that is a motivator for me?  The summer TV series "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition."  I know what they attain on that show isn't realistic, and that there is A LOT going on behind the scenes that I'm not aware of.  I also catch myself saying things to myself while watching it like: "That's actually REALLY bad for her to be running a marathon because she hasn't properly trained!" but I do find certain things about it very inspiring.  The determination of most of these people is astounding.  They are super obese people and they are achieving things that I sit on the couch and say "Wow, I don't think I could ever do that."  Well, the thing is, I COULD do those things!  I just need to get off the couch and DO IT!!

If you have hulu you can catch up on the first few episodes.  It's worth a watch to see if it inspires you like it does me.