weigh in: week 6

week: -2
total: -5.5

I kind of liked my old scale that did everything in whole numbers. However, I didn't like squinting to read what tiny line the pointer was aimed at. So, I'm getting used to the new machine.

I'm really out of things to report here. I just bought my Halloween candy yesterday, and only one bag, since we have to go out to class before the witching hour is really over. Oh yeah, mental note: do not run over any trick or treaters.

look great in 08: #5

week: +2.5
total: -3.5

January of 2007, I bought a bathroom scale, the cheapest one I could find. It served me well, but here's the weird thing: the tread started slipping off the edge of the scale. Increasingly, I found my foot really sticky after weighing, from the glue that was supposed to be holding the tread to the scale. So, last week I bought another scale, one that appears to be a solid piece of plastic, and which has a digital readout. Unfortunately, it insists that I've gained 2.5 pounds in the last week. And maybe I have: we've been working out pretty frequently, and I'm sure I'm building muscle. Plus, my waist to hip ratio is the same as it was 2 weeks ago (although I'm never quite sure how accurate I am in taking those measurements).

So, I will reiterate something I know I've said before: I am not a number! I'm a free (wo)man!

Visit other participants at Tales from the Scales

get pumped for exercise

I have my motivations for getting exercise. I want to have and keep a healthy body; I like having muscles; I'm enjoying Tang Soo Do so much, I'm always excited to go back and learn something new. But there are people out there who have trouble getting the gear on and doing the deed. For those, the website Lifehack offers some tips.

My favorite from the list:

Reward Showing Up, Not Weight Loss - Some people have gotten the idea that they should reward themselves for losing weight or gaining muscle. I disagree. Instead, I think you should reward showing up to the gym and exercising regularly. There are many ways you can lose or gain weight in unhealthy fashions. Rewarding exercise is rewarding your commitment to health.

(Elsewhere the list does address the issue of showing up but then wandering around aimlessly without actually accomplishing anything. Remember to have goals and standards!)

Good luck!

LGi08: check in week four

week: -0
total: -6

I realized yesterday that I've lost half the total weight of my goal, a journey which I began in January of this year. So in view of that fact, one week of maintenance seems like not such a big deal. The master instructor at our training hall comments that we look slimmer every time we see him. When I first got back to work after summer break, I got some comments about how good I look too.

The most striking change I've noticed -- not counting the reduction in jeans size -- is the fact that I have arm muscles. I'm lying in bed holding a book; I glance down, and my bicep is literally popping off my arm. And I like that the muscle is there, so I want to keep exercising to make sure it doesn't go away. There's my motivation.

Visit Tales from the Scales to meet more people participating in the Look Great in 2008 Challenge.

half

I see by my ticker way at the bottom of the page that I've reached the halfway point on my overall weight-loss goal. 44 pounds in 41 weeks. Now that I consider it, I guess I reached half-way last week. My big ticker and my LGi08 ticker are different by a day, so they don't always get the same input. I suppose I could make the differences potentially less drastic by using my 5-day average instead of the raw weight score, but I started with the one, it's far too late to change now.

Half-way is a pretty significant milestone. Maybe I'll reward myself with a trip to the bookstore.

week 3 weigh in

I was looking at my calendar, and realized that I started my ticker over there on the right on the wrong date, and therefore: at the wrong weight. So officially:

week: -2
total: -6

I gets a button!

Clearly five days a week of exercise are doing me some good. That and the proper food choices. I'm so glad I saw Mama Bear June's post on the Abs Diet plan, because without it, I think I'd still be in a weight-loss rut. Lately I don't even have to go through the mnemonic to remember the core foods anymore: they're pretty much the foods that I have in the pantry now. I'll admit, I'm off the smoothie wagon though. I still love them, but I don't have the facilities to whip them up while I'm at work. That, and the bananas at the grocery store have been really crummy lately. What's up with that?

weigh-in #2

week: -2
total: -3

Off to a good start here. I'm enjoying Tang Soo Do a lot more now that I have a handle on some of the moves. The kicks are still a complete challenge for me though. The only problem with TSD is the schedule. I have to rush home from work to change clothes and grab a smoothie -- and my husband, who is doing this with me -- before heading back to the training center. Then we have a proper dinner afterwards. Somewhere I read "hunger is the best seasoning for food" or something, and I'll say that's certainly true. I won't say I sleep like a log every night, but I fall asleep much faster now. Monday night I wanted to watch the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, to see David Boreanaz (Angel, Bones), but I don't think I made it through three minutes of the monologue.