Happy Easter!

I took a nice lie-in this morning before heading to Sugar Land to have Easter brunch & go to Mass with my family. I knew we'd have some "dead" time between Mass and dinner, so decided to bring the resistance bands, DVDs, & workout clothes with me.

I'd never done Lean Circuit 2 with the resistance bands, so today was a challenge to try to get the workout in effectively. I ended up working up a good sweat, regardless, so I'll count it as a win!

I didn't take off my eye makeup & it ran a bit, so I was a pretty Sweaty Betty at the end.

~Katie

Weight Watchers: Retrospective

Today was my meeting day for Weight Watchers. I weighed in (down 0.8 lbs from last week!) and went in and met. I think I've finally found my right meeting. Maybe. No meeting has especially resounded with me. I've gone to different locations, different leaders, different days. So far, this Thursday noon meeting is the best of them. But I wish that I could find a meeting that was convenient to work and was full of mostly professional young women. I tend to be in meetings with older women and/or moms. And it just doesn't resound as much.

My journey with Weight Watchers started as a child. My mom followed it and eventually became a leader and lifetime member. So I've always had the cookbooks around. I've always been able to look through the material and learn the tools. And for a long time, I didn't want to participate. I was good. I could deal with my weight in my own way.

Running a lot.

That's what I did in college when I had gained weight. I ran. I ran. I ran. I also danced. But I went running at 11:45 pm for an hour at a time quite a bit. It was my thing. In grad school, I found the magic of the erg machine. A full body cardio workout, indoors. I still kindof want to get one for myself, but that will have to wait until there's room and I have time for it. I would watch what I consumed a bit, but not a lot. My budget restrictions took care of that, for the most part. When you can only afford to go out to eat once or twice a month, you tend to eat much more simply. I ate a lot of eggs and oatmeal for YEARS.

And then the past few years happened. I've been doing well at work. I've become financially independent. I've come into my own and I've found a group of really great people who share my likes, dislikes, and fandoms. And beer. Let's face it, I've become much more of a beer drinker than a wine or spirits drinker since I moved to my house. I've become more stressed and am juggling more balls.

In late July, as I was dyeing yarn for a big shipment, I broke down. I had just weighed myself and I rang in at 170 lbs. It was a number that I had never, ever seen before. And I cried. Alone, in my kitchen, at 1 or 2 am, I cried. Because my struggle had been happening for longer, but I had ignored it for a while. I was too busy to care and too busy to take care of myself. And I made a decision right then and there. I signed up for Weight Watchers Online. And the first two weeks were amazing. I dropped weight like it was my job. I had some bumps, but I dropped 12 lbs in 6 weeks.

And then I fell in love.

And we went on dates, and had date nights at home, and we indulged, and we fell further in love. And we still are and it's still wonderful.

After 3 weeks, I stopped tracking.

But during this time, I rarely tracked. I would try, every so often, to get back in the habit, but then an event would happen, or I would travel, or we'd have a date night. And I just didn't want to. I didn't want to have to care about what I was putting in my body and how little I was moving.

And I mounted up quickly. I gained about 25 pounds. In 5 months.

And so I began the journey again.

Sometimes, I miss coming home, ordering pizza, and spending the night watching reruns. But I've been making steady progress. I'm gaining muscle. I'm gaining health. And while sometimes, my goals seem unattainable, I know that it will just take a lot of work, and dedication.

It will probably take another 5 months to reach my goals. It may take longer. But I'm going to stick with it. Because I deserve to love my body. I deserve to be as healthy as I can be.

I don't regret the blissful indulgence of falling in love. Because love is what drives me to love myself even more.

And this was going to be a post about the weight watchers tools and how they look and what they track. I decided to see if my activity from earlier this year was in there, and the image is what inspired this post.

~Katie

Sawtooth

So something I've noticed has become a trend, that yes, I've already blogged about, is that I've been going a bit crazy on the weekends, lately. Just the past two weekends. One was celebration/mourning with family and really good Louisiana cooking. The other was just par for course of a weekend. Pub crawl booth. Bar food. Party. Drinking. Munching.

And not tracking.

I've dropped back down through the week to lower than I'd weighed the week before, but it slows my progress.

It's not the straight, steady line that I had before.

It's a sawtooth. It trends downward, but if I stay on target through the weekend, I'm more likely to actually continue the weight loss at a higher rate than I have the past couple of weeks.

So it's time to plan.
Because Failing to Plan means Planning to Fail.

What do I have going on this weekend?

Friday: Time with my man.
Saturday: Brewery Tour Booth (maybe) & friend's birthday party & perhaps friends hanging out
Sunday: Easter, family, relax

I need to have a plan of action on Saturday, because it is potentially the most difficult.

Bring my own food to the brewery.
Drink lots of water at the brewery. I'm aiming for a 2:1::H2O:Beer ratio. I can't have another beer until I have two glasses of water.
Birthday Party: find out the food truck beforehand and plan for the food that they provide, if not, make sure to have a meal with me that's delicious and nutritious.
Again with the 2:1 ratio. This is a beer gal's birthday.
Play the games that keep my hands busy so I can't keep them busy with 12 oz curls.
Bring veggies and salsa to munch on for CAH (if that's happening)

I don't want this coming weekend to be another toothmark. I want it to be an smooth blade down, down, down, down to my goal.

~Katie

Lean Circuit 3

All the push-ups!

Lean Circuit, so far, is hitting all of my weak points. Triceps. Delts. Push-ups. Core.

I have until April 20th to kick into high gear. I will probably track on April 19th since I'll be out of town on the 20th.

I had to go back to knee push-ups for a lot of it since my Delts are still so sore from Lean 2.

~Katie

Burn Intervals

As predicted after yesterday's workout, my shoulders were sore all day. And so were my upper abs. Tonight was Burn intervals, which was the cardio boost I needed.

Worked it off & tomorrow, I have to do the early morning Lean circuit 3, since I have an after work appointment that could be really big, scary, and exciting.

I was very good about lunch today. Walked to Zoe's Kitchen & had the 7 point lean turkey pita & a fruit cup. I like that option. The Protein Power Plate is 13 points for the whole thing and I have to take home a doggy bag that may or may not get wasted. The lean turkey pita has the same slaw, is the right portion, and comes with fruit or another side like veggies. I may just have to make a habit of it. I like the mid-day walk. And they say that repetition of meals makes a habit and it works better for weight loss.

So now time for quinoa & eggs with salsa!

~Katie

Apparently

Restricting my diet plus working out has been leading to me wanting to go overboard on the weekends. To just not count, not feel guilt at every bite. Not think about what the choices I'm making are. For just a day, or two.

Add that restlessness & PMS, period, and cold weather, and you get COMFORT FOOD KATIE.

I was bad this weekend.

I tried halfheartedly to make better food choices.
Saturday, I chose a grilled chicken salad. And 3 beers. And then some tater tots. And then margaritas & smorgasbord snacking.
Sunday, I did my workout, then walked to lunch, and had a Bloody Mary, and a beer, and pulled pork eggs Benedict. And then had a couple beers. Then had fish & lentils & cauliflower & wine at dinner. Along with a few tastes of truffled Mac & Cheese.

All in all, I made 1 better choice each day. The rest were the Katie that was steadily growing. Some was environmental. Working a pub crawl & going to a party. Some were hormonal. Starting my period & wanting comfort food & to just curl up in a warm bath.

And I only halfheartedly tracked.

So this week, I have to watch it. I must plan. I must also stick to my plan.

So no, I did not make progress this weekend. I'm reticent to enter the weight I saw on the scale this morning. But I'm trying to keep it real. These are struggles. But this is not the end. I have goals. Small ones and big ones. I know that I want to lead a healthier life. I know that I want to support a healthier body. I want to get stronger & I want to drive on. So I will.

I will not take this as a failure in full. I will take it as a learning point. I need to make some lower points value comfort foods this week. I need to let myself feel like I'm indulging, but plan it out more so that I don't start the bad habit of not counting on the weekends.

What are your pitfalls that you struggle with?

~Katie


PS. I did go back and track the numbers. Though I didn't track which beers I had, so I am still a bit on the low side for those points. I did try to be as honest about my serving sizes as I can recall, and I didn't use ALL of my weekly points this weekend.

I did make a number of decisions that I wouldn't have made 4 months ago.
Water between almost all of the beers. Eschewing the bacon & olives on the salad. Choosing the fish rather than the mac&cheese & pizza.

So I'm learning. I'm adapting. And I walked to lunch today. And ate what I'd looked up online before to be 7 points, only. I have oranges & almonds on hand at the office so I don't arrive home STARVING tonight.

I'll get my cardio workout in and then go for a walk with James & Riley. So I have plenty of activity planned this evening.

My shoulders!

Delts
Delts
Delts

Lean Circuit 2 is all about the delts!

I definitely worked those muscles hard today.

~Katie

Lean Circuit 1

Holy Wow, Batman!

That was INTENSE!

Lots & lots of attempts at tricep push-ups. I still can't get up out of them. And it's difficult not to lose my tension & fall.

I'd been having some lactic acid issues in my calves from my run the other day, and the massive amounts of calf raises at first was really painful, but it worked out the lactic acid, so they just feel rubbery now.

My biceps feel like a 12 oz curl may be extremely difficult tonight. (It won't be)

All of the lower body work was combined with either bicep curls or tricep curls, so I wasn't lifting TOO heavy. I maxed out my biceps. My triceps, too.

It's difficult making choices on weights to be able to go 10-12 reps after focusing on 6-8 reps for a month. I over-estimated a couple times & had to rerack to go a notch lower for the remaining reps.

So. Yeah.

Tired.

Time to make dinner & curl up on the couch with my baby to knit & watch movies.

~Katie

Jeans!

Please excuse the large out of focus photo of my butt. No, nevermind, look at it and rejoice with me!

I believe I have listed the sizes & gradation of jeans in my wardrobe that I eagerly await slipping into again.

Today, one pair came off the hanger and onto my rump!

They're still size 32, but they fit much more snuggly than the pair I'm habituated to wearing.

Vic-tor-y! Vic-tor-y! Vic-tor-y!

Yes, this is how I think of my jeans:
Size 32 nonstretch
Size 32 stretch
Size 31 grey
Size 31 rainbow new
Size 31 white
Size 31 straight leg
Size 31 bootcut
Prepregnancy size 10

~Katie

Weight Use Update

In my progress report, I failed to update the weights I'm using at the end of the Push Circuit.
So here goes:

Lower Body: 25-30 lbs
back: 25 lbs
chest: 15 lbs
shoulders: 10 lbs
tri: 10 lbs
bi: 15 lbs

So I didn't quite push as much as I wanted. My shoulders and tri are difficult to build up, but I've made progress on the lower body. I would go higher than 25-30 lbs, but my hands get tired holding the weight. Really. It's my hands gripping the weights and not my leg muscles that fail first. I think I need to really focus on doing some forearm curls to build up that muscle so I can grip the weights more effectively.

I honestly feel like I have to take a break and re-grip halfway through 6 rep when I use that heavy of weights. I also have issues supporting my weight on my whole hand. I know that I need to put my palms down and focus on supporting there, but I end up putting all of my fingers down and holding the heel of my hand up when doing pushups or planks. My wrists aren't that strong and this gives them a bit of ease. But it compromises my form. And it compromises my support.

I have things to work on.

I know this next month, the Lean Circuit, will incorporate a plank row. And I've seen the effects of the Lean Circuit in other reviews, so I'm looking forward to really really leaning down. If I can. There's a lot of travelling this next month. Denver. Fort Worth. Easter.

I'm sticking with the program. I'm WORKING IT! And then I'll start TurboFire because I want this to continue in the right direction.

I earned my 5 lbs award at Weight Watchers today. After we'd discussed how many points I spend on craft beer each day. They have no idea how I've done it. I say:
-track it
-Work out a TON
-Eat Efficiently

• high protein
• high fiber
• lots of veggies
• lots of fruit
• Shakeology for breakfast every day
• MAKE IT COUNT

I realize that my drinking craft beer is not efficient. But it's enjoyable. And I like it. I also love food. But it's easier to make food that is good for me and enjoyable than it is to make really good beer that is low in ABV. So I'll waste a bit on alcohol, but not too much, and I'll eat so that I'm getting all of the protein and greens I need to build muscle and feed my body, while loving what I'm eating. I much prefer this 7 point dish:
3 ounces baked chicken breast
1/4 cup Spicy Nothings Curry
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup kale

To this 7 point dish:
Smart Ones Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

So I'll cook more. And keep leftovers ready for bringing to work.

Onward.
Upward.
Slimward.

~Katie

Progress Report

Today's going to be a busy day at work, so I'm trying to get this all up and ready before I leave so I can focus on the presentation I'm giving tonight at a University on what I do at work and what opportunities there are for physicists.

Today was tracking day.

It has been 60 days since I started ChaLEAN Extreme, and 4 weeks since I started Weight Watchers.
The Push Month mostly focused on building muscle, and my legs, butt, and arms definitely benefitted. I can actually do real push-ups, now! I can do at least half of the burpees in Burn It Off without modification. I outlifted my set of weights and needed to go up a notch or two or three.  And I'm planning on starting TurboFire/ChaLEAN hybrid after this next coming month. I think that this was a great program to start with, since I've never focused on building much muscle. The weightlifting progress is a great Non-Scale Goal for me. The slimming will come with more cardio, but the power, and strength can only come from resistance.

I have been busting my buttocks since Monday to make it a successful tracking day. I'm talking taking walks. Going RUNNING, for heaven's sake. And watching every damn thing that I eat and drink since I'm out of weekly points until Friday. Because I wanted to see the results that I feel. Because I feel the results. I know that I'm looking better and slimming down. I'm also building muscle, so some places are actually staying the same pretty much.

The Push month has been good to me, overall.

Here's the photos:

Front View Progress

Side View Progress

Back View Progress
SOON, There won't be any of those rolls at my waist! They are going, going, going, (soon to be) GONE!

Measure it up

 I am quite pleased with this month's progress! Down 6.3 lbs from the last weigh-in! My waist is down 2 inches, too! And that's the waist around the belly button. My natural waist is shrinking, too!

Okay, off to work!
~Katie

Clothing

For most women, and men, clothing poses a particular difficulty in how we feel about ourselves.

I own a slew of size 8-10 clothing and a fair amount of size 12 clothing. I own one article of size 14 clothing. I was a solid size 14 when I started this year. I had finally gotten tired of never wearing pants to work because pants aren't as forgiving in size as dresses & skirts. And I'm still wearing them because They don't detract from my image & they don't pinch.

This past weekend, I went to my grandmother's funeral. I wore a size 12 dress that admittedly may have shrunk, but judging by my size, most likely did not. It pinched. It rode up and I have long legs. It smashed my boobs. I felt so self-conscious about myself. I felt fatter than I have in a long time because I had judged my size by how I FEEL. But instead, I am the size I am and felt like I was stuffed in a sausage casing.

Instead of being a motivator for me to keep at it and eat right and stay the course, it was difficult. I wanted to eat all the cake and ice cream there ever was. I wanted to put on sweatpants that make me forget that almost all of my clothes pinch and are a bit too small.

I refuse to buy clothes for the size I am now because I'm so close to being able to comfortably wear so many of the clothes that I already have. (Note: I have allowed myself to buy workout clothes because I feel it's reinforcing my commitment) Why buy clothes that I don't want to fit into in another month or two?

And then I wonder if I'm doing myself a disservice by refusing to shop for fitting clothes? Is it better to buy clothes that fit, even for a month, than to undo the inner self image by wearing pinchy clothes?

Because really? Scroll to the photo at the bottom. This is how I feel on the left and on the right is how I feel about my body when the clothes are too small. BIG difference!

So I may just buy a dress or pants or something that FITS me for Easter.

~Katie

Rest day

This is my first rest day since finishing my ActiveLink Assessment. It is rather frustrating to see that I'm only at 35% of my goal near the end of the work day. I've added the Get Up Go app to my phone which informs me to get up & move around every hour or so. And it's working as an impetus, but not even going up & down the stairs has changed my activity level much beyond what I get just regularly heading to get a refill or use the restroom.

I'll have to take a walk or do the intro to TurboFire tonight so I can get to 100%.

Or make sure to walk to lunch every rest day.

Oh, and I've also returned, nearly, to my pre-weekend weight.

Two more days!

~Katie

5 lbs

You know how last week, I was down nearly 5 lbs from where I started this journey?

Well, I'm back.

This past weekend was tough.

Road trip.
Wake.
Funeral & reception.
Family.
Road trip.

I had beers.
I had crawfish fettuccine.
I had jambalaya.
I had cheese.
I had eggs florentine.
I had a sonic blast (which I knew would shoot me in the foot, but was so yummy)

I did not count points.

And so I gained 5 lbs (okay, reweighed before showering & it's just 3 lbs now). 5 lbs that I worked my butt off for 4 weeks to lose.

And that stinks.

But I had a great time with my family. It was a sad occasion, but it was really nice to see my cousins, aunts, & uncles. It was nice to introduce James to everyone.

And I did do my workouts every day.

So all is not lost.

It's just another beginning.

~Katie

OUCH!

What happens when you try to do a single leg sumo squat with resistance bands for the first time?

You stretch the band between your feet and spread your legs wide.

You lift your heel.

The band snaps against your inner thigh.

Welts.

Owie!

~Katie

One more week

So I realized today that there's just one week until my next big tracking day!

And I'm excited!

I want to work really hard this week to get in all of my workouts and to do them as hard as I can. I'm also going to stick with the program on Weight Watchers and be really good about tracking.

Since I joined Weight Watchers, I've started dropping pounds. I'm so close to the 5 lb marker during meetings that I can taste it.

I can see differences in my waistline and my belly every day! It's so exciting!

I just have to keep in perspective that I won't change overnight. It's all the small changes. All the little things.

Taking stairs, walking to lunch, doing household chores.

And my workouts! ActiveLink doesn't really count the weightlifting as many points. And I wasn't TRYING to do anything above and beyond what I normally do around the house since I'm supposed to be doing my normal routine. But it was an eye-opener to see that I only earned 15 activity points this past week when I'd been tracking about 30 per week. So I guess I was vastly overestimating my activity? Or was it because this week I really dogged it?

I may start adding in the TurboFire workouts sooner than later since they are more cardio and ActiveLink tracks cardio much more efficiently. But we'll see.

One more week and then LEAN CIRCUIT!

~Katie

REAL push-ups!

I haven't really been pushing myself to do push-ups on the toes. It has been hard enough to complete them on my knees.

But today, today I decided that I was going to try it. At the end of Push Circuit 1, there are 8 push-ups followed by 3 extreme ones. Well, I did 6 out of 8 on my toes!!! And then all of the extreme ones!

So wahoo!!! I did it! I can do it!

Can I have a beer now?

Oh, and I bought myself a gift since I was on the verge of buying all the fill-in weights AND heavier ones. Yep, advertising works on me. And so does all of the really good reviews. I got the Selecttechs from BowFlex off of Amazon. I still have to get used to dialing in the right numbers quickly, and had to pause the video a couple times, but I used 30 lbs for all of the squats today!

I leave for the funeral on Friday, so I'll be using the bands. This time, I'm staying at my aunt's house, so I can go outside & exercise if I need to.

~ Katie

Some days, you just know

Yesterday, after work, I still felt rather blah. And I couldn't shake the feeling of foreboding.

So I grabbed some peanut butter on toast and watched an episode of Game of Thrones while I digested and ran some laundry through the cycle. It was my pre-reward for working out.

And then, I did Monday's workout, well, okay, I did HALF of Monday's workout. I did the Burn It Off! But not the Recharge. And I'm fine with that. I'm listening to my body, and my body just wanted that. A burst of activity. Just enough to work out the aches.

As I was recovering and recording my progress, I received the news that, after a very long, difficult slide into Alzheimer's, my grandmother passed away.

Please pray for the repose of my Nan's soul.

Nan with her three daughters, my aunts, on her 80th birthday

She was an amazing woman. Played organ to pay her way through school. I remember her elephant collection (she was a lifelong Republican), the Mardi Gras beads under the double ovens that we would play parade and "cooking" with, her delicious coffee cake, beef tenderloin with blue cheese & mushrooms, and impeccable yorkshire pudding. She loved to play piano and sang in the Resurrection choir at her church in her later years. She was a card shark. She raised 7 wonderful children. And we will all miss her ability to see the sunshine through the rain.

~Katie

Patience & Time

I must confess, like most of the world, I lack patience.

I lack the patience to spend the time dedicated and honest in my approach to achieving a sense of fitness and overall health.

Some days, I feel great. I feel like I've been making progress. I feel like I've actually gotten somewhere in my quest.

Other days, I feel like I'm just as fat and pudgy as ever. That I don't want to put forth the effort to eat better. That I don't want to make time in my day to work out.

And this is why I track. So that I can see the work I'm doing. So that I can see what's working and what isn't. So that I can take a deep breath and remember.

It takes patience and time to do it right.



~Katie

Gearing up again

This past weekend was a break for me.

After overindulging on Friday night & dogging it on my workout on Saturday, you'd think I would behave myself on Saturday afternoon.

Well, I didn't.

I overserved myself at the Warrior's Feast and had a raging hangover all day yesterday. My muscles were still overly-fatigued.

So I decided to switch out my rest day. Instead of Tuesday, I took yesterday off. I did Push Circuit 3 today. And will do burn it off & recharge tomorrow.

And I'm glad that I did. I ate we'll yesterday, recovered, rested, and did not go over on points or have any alcohol. We stayed in and were couch potatoes for the most part. We did some cleaning & I had to pop in to the office for a bit, but we really just relaxed.

And my body needed it.
My brain needed it.

Sometimes I my willpower needs a break. I've been really good at working out every scheduled day and eating within my points and minimizing how many points I spend on beer. I just wanted a day or two to just not focus on that.

And now I'm back at it. Despite my lunkerheadedness, I managed to fit in my workout, shower, & get to work on time. Granted I was also welcoming 6 people to stay at my home & trying to give them instructions about the house while doing all of this so I wasn't the hostess with the mostest.

And I reached a non scale victory! I can fasten my bra on the smallest latch!

Woohoo!

This is one step closer to the back rolls being gone. I'm hoping that they are significantly reduced when I track next week! They're shrinking, I can tell.

~Katie

Dogging It

Last night was girls night.

With a group of girls that I don't get to see very often and we tore it up.

Lots of talking and stories and we were very happy we were in the side/privateish room because we were LOUD! This dinner lasted from 7:30 to midnight.

Bottles of bubbly at dinner then drinks and dancing at the gay bar.

And by dancing, I mean that my ActiveLink preview between midnight and 1 am was very very high and very dark green.  I think this means that I worked off a portion of the drinks that I had. I gave up on the counting of points, but I am pretty sure that I spent about 31 points on booze alone.

And so when I woke up today and started working out, I am dogging it. I hit the wall 25 minutes in and put it on pause so that I could grab some almonds and oranges to hopefully be able to fuel the last 30 minutes of Burn Intervals.

My muscles are fatigued.

I still have a small hangover.

And I feel like just sitting here.

But I will continue in just a few minutes.

I will save Extreme Abs for later or tomorrow.

~Katie

Room Update

This room has been the last place to really get any sort of overhaul.
I know that this is a health blog, but, in a way, my tendency to stash and forget is a mental health thing. Organization makes my life a bit easier to deal with. Plus, it's a lot of activity!

It is not finished, but it is well on its way.

Remember what it looked like before?

Piles of stuff on top of piles of stuff in front of piles of stuff

Well, this is it now:

Panorama of the room

Wardrobe with organized teeshirts up above

This side still needs a lot of work, but it's at least contained for the most part?

Stock and BeerSox operations central (in progress)

CLEAR FLOOR!!!! WOOHOO!!!!

 Up on the still to do list:

• Go through the bins and drawers near the front door
• Clean out and organize the supply cabinet
• Find an appropriate box stash location
• Go through and organize the yarn stash
• Arrange everthing so that the BeerSox display units can be stashed out of the way
• Organize and label everything on the BeerSox operations shelving

~Katie

Changes, All the Little Changes

Before I get to the actual post, today, I slept in. So my workout will be between work and girls night. It will be Push Circuit 2, so it's 35 minutes and weightlifting-focused, so I think I can do that, shower, and walk to the restaurant in time after work today. The front room rearranging has taken a toll on my bedtime.

Okay, on to the Changes.

I've been documenting the daily stuff on here, but sometimes, I like to make a retrospective.

Today, I realized that there are a lot of little changes that have been adding in to the big changes.
And some of them aren't so little. But all of these changes have been since the beginning of this year.

• I see a therapist every other week. We are evaluating different possibilities of the root of my high anxiety issues & panic attacks as well as my scatterbrained-ness and overall mental health. I want to be able to have a plan of attack that is appropriate to what my brain is doing rather than guessing and worrying about it. 
• I am following the ChaLEAN Extreme 90-day Challenge. I'm following the schedule, and while I may have missed a day or workout here and there, I have been very good about giving it my all every day. I'm glad that I chose a program with workouts close to 30 minutes each day rather than over an hour. It's manageable, and I can fit that in to my schedule. It's a small commitment, but I'm seeing the results. (Dude! I have BICEPS!!!!)
• I'm taking a daily multivitamin.
• I'm drinking Shakeology every day, which I didn't quite realize until yesterday how much it has been working for me. When you drink something that filling every single morning and then you have to fast until 11 am one day, let's just say that my sweet cravings were off the charts yesterday. I wanted to eat everything in sight! I have really been loving the chocolate flavor with a healthy dash of Cayenne Pepper added to it.
• I am attending Weight Watchers meetings and tracking my intake as well as my activity. We'll see how ActiveLink works for me once I get past the assessment phase. This has been a really good change. I've been dropping pounds since starting this. It has been the impetus to cooking at the house more, drinking less beer and alcohol, and focusing on fruit, vegetables, and protein sources to fuel my workouts.
• I'm cleaning things up. I'm making places for everything. I'm getting rid of clutter. I'm removing the excess (but I'm not getting rid of my jeans. My jeans will stay in my closet forever. I think I still have maternity jeans somewhere.)

So lots of little and big changes. They are all starting to add up. I can see muscle in my body. I feel better. I feel happier. I feel less like the world is going to crash in on me. I am getting stuff done. And I am moving forward. Little changes. They make for big leaps.

~Katie

Guns

I has them.

For the first time ever, let me introduce you to my guns!

They may seem small to you, but this is the most definition & muscle I have EVER had in my arms. Including when I was a weight training high school athlete.

Thank you ChaLEAN Extreme! And thank you Jennifer for introducing me to this program!

~Katie

Yesterday

I know, I posted updates yesterday, but I missed the meat!

I went to my Weight Watchers meeting with my mom and I am down almost 2 pounds from last week's weigh-in, so next time, I hope to reach a 5 lb goal there. I have updated my weight tracking so that I have separate lines for weigh-ins I do at home in the buff and those that I do at the weight watchers meetings.  I figured it would be better than combining the two. Right?

I also signed up for ActiveLink and am in the assessment stage. So for 8 days, I can't track any of my own activity. And I don't get the activity points until the end. This will be frustrating, since I have been expending just about every single point each week. Daily, Weekly, and about 35 Activity points. Next week, I won't have that activity cushion until it's over! eek!

It's an accelerometer that measures movement in all three directions. I'm pretty familiar with accelerometers since they are the basis of my profession right now! We'll see how this goes. I'm supposed to just be normal for 8 days while it assesses my action. What is normal for me? Now I'm thinking about it too much. Do I opt out of things I've planned because they're not normal activity? No. I'm just going to do as planned. And try not to throw in extra things that I wouldn't normally do, right?

It's pretty small, the size of a thumb drive, about (actually, it is a thumb drive). And it's waterproof, so I could wear it swimming or in the shower. I don't quite know how I'd wear it in the shower, though. There's a case that has a necklace hole, but I figure, since there's nothing to clip it to in the shower, I'll just wait until afterwards to put it on. I'm not doing squats in the shower or anything.

Back to that "what is normal" question.

First thing after getting home was to do my Push Circuit 1 workout.

Then, it was time to tackle a monster.

This is my back room, which is actually in the front of the house, I just call it a back room because work rooms are always in the back and it just flows off my lips much easier than front room or storage room or work room and it's not really an office. It is grand central for all things BeerSox. Inventory is kept here, displays are kept here, supplies are kept here, and yarn is dried here. And my boyfriend's clothes are in here and my sewing stuff is in here, but I can't get to it because so much crap stuff is in the way.

In December, I got rid of the bed in the room and brought in the console as a stop-gap measure. It has made things a bit easier.  But I'm just not utilizing the space the way that I should. And what is the impetus to change things that have needed to be changed for a long time? 

COMPANY!

I'm hosting a band of a friend on Monday night and we needed a place to set up a blow up mattress, which means that I needed a more efficient storage system so that I could have a clear center of the room. (and perhaps be able to use my sewing machine again)

What you don't see is that there are still 4 boxes of teeshirts on the left side behind the clothing rack. 

Skitz oversees the work

And so. It was time to get the teeshirts out of opaque, non-sorted boxes and into some clearly labeled bins. That was my task. This involved much lifting, rolling, and placing in bins of shirts. Organizing shirts, moving bins, moving shirts, and walking between three rooms because that is where the space was.

We bought 1 stand-alone wardrobe to put together and 1 shelving unit. The wardrobe was the first task, since I figured it would be best to move from one side of the room to the other, clearing space and leaving room.

James was in charge of putting together the wardrobe. It's good, suits the purpose, but the height is a bit short for two hanging racks on top of each other. Shirts hung on the bottom one dust the floor and pants hung on the top one dust the shirts.  So we're looking into solutions to make it a bit higher. we may need to put some drawers on the bottom underneath the towers. If it can still be stabilized.

Garment rack from Lowe's

So pretty much, a ton of activity on a day that we usually just sit on the couch and run through episodes of Doctor Who. But it's coming along! I'll let you know when the whole thing is finished. Right now, the shirts are organized and stored on top of the garment rack and James' clothes are transferred over.  The closest wall to the indoor doorway is organized. The drying rack is stowed away, and the living room no longer looks like a tornado went through it.

~Katie

Community

Something I've been thinking about since I started this journey is community.

Some people say that you are destined to become like those you surround yourself with. If it's a bunch of super-skinny model-types, then their non-eating ways will rub off on you. If it's a group of plump and happy people who love a good burger and beer, then you will become a plump and happy person due to your love of a good burger and beer. If you surround yourself with people who are intent on fitness and eating healthily, then that will be who you become.

Because there is power in numbers. And the way a group behaves socially, is the way that you end up behaving with that group.

 

This is neither good, nor bad.

It is human.

It is how humans act in groups. It's not peer pressure, it's socialization.

 I did pack on a number of pounds when I started drinking beer more regularly and then more than regularly and added to that a burger a week or so. There is nothing inherently wrong with liking to have a burger or loving beer. The excess to which I was going with the two is what was wrong.

 And so the journey began. To regain health and fitness. And moderation.

 But I am NOT alone.

 I have a large group of people who are also on this journey. Many started on this journey before me and taught me that yes, I can still love beer and participate while still being health-conscious. Many of my friends in my craft beer community joined Weight Watchers before me. They have been an inspiration. Many of my craft beer friends have started their own fitness challenges. We can share with each other our struggles or our pitfalls. And we can celebrate victories.

 I have a challenge group that is there when I don't quite feel like working out. To give me hints, tricks, and tips on how to better my journey. I have input on how to eat cleaner.

I have a support network. I have you. You read, you encourage, and I feel I am accountable to you.

 I have Weight Watchers as a tool and as an accountability measure.

 I have my boyfriend, who is also on this journey to better health. We can both weigh the benefits of our choices. We can work out together, we can encourage each other. It means so much to have someone beside me to share the struggle and also to encourage.

 I am not alone in this journey.

 

I have a community.
A community who is fun.
A community who understands.
A community who picks me up when I'm down, doesn't judge me when I fall, and encourages me and cheers me on when I make progress.

We all belong.

And I love giving back to my community!

 ~Katie

Sweet tooth!

Are you a sweet tooth?

Do you CRAVE candy and cake and desserts?

I most definitely do.

So what's a girl to do when Swedish Fish are 4 PointsPlus for 7 pieces? And are they the small or large version? And a cupcake with frosting is easily 5-12 PointsPlus?

I have turned to Pudding!
I know it's not a whole food. I know it's chemicals. But it's sugar free & fat free, and a half cup prepared with lowfat milk is 2 PointsPlus. And then I beef it up with fruit pieces.

Yes. I am still getting my dessert & eating it, too.

James & I have been tearing through fruit at a frightening pace, but it's good because we don't have to worry about it spoiling.

What are your stop-gap measures for your oh-so-not-healthy cravings?

~Katie

Lately, on my off days

I get 2 rest days a week while following ChaLEAN Extreme.

The schedule repeats something like this, but the last few days are different as it leads up to the tracking day on day 30.

Burn/Push/Lean Circuit 1
Rest
Burn/Push/Lean Circuit 2
Burn Intervals & Ab Burner
Burn/Push/Lean Circuit 3
Burn It Off & Recharge
Rest

During the Push Circuit that I'm on, the schedule fell into place so that I have Tuesdays and Thursdays as rest days.

And I end up feeling super-energized! Like I feel great. I feel like I'm making so much progress. My pants feel bigger and I start feeling so much happier.

I don't even know what to do with myself tonight. Since it's an off day, I am not supposed to work out. I'm supposed to let my body rest. I was planning on helping a friend put together a blog for her fitness accountability, but she's feeling under the weather, so now I'm free. James has his MANdate with a buddy on Tuesdays and Thursdays, too.

I'm sure I'll find a million things to do at home like prepare for guests on Monday night. So lots of cleaning and moving boxes and organizing and probably working on another shopping cart option for my BeerSox business.

We'll see!

~Katie

Cardio-O!

Today's schedule was Burn It Off & Recharge. I am doing so much better at Burn It Off! I did almost all of the Burpees with good plyometric form! Yay! I'm really curious to see what my heart rate gets up to. I think I have a heart rate monitor around here somewhere, I just have to figure out how to use it!

The Recharge is nice to do right afterwards since My heart stays pumping just a bit higher than normal throughout, I'm continuing the cardio.

I'm considering getting the ActiveLink from WeightWatchers because I do so much moving around during the day since I CAN'T SIT STILL! I've never been able to. Actually, I take that back. A bath is where I can sit still.

Oh, and I went grocery shopping! And the only prepared foods I bought were pickles. Who doesn't love pickles?

But I am prepared now! Lean chicken! Fish for Friday! Fruit for when James has low blood sugar or I am wanting dessert! Veggies for accompanying meat! Flowers! Because, flowers!

Also, I jumped the gun and decided to up my BeachBody involvement. Since I am planning on doing
TurboFire after ChaLEAN, And both James & I are drinking Shakeology, I decided the 25% off was worth being a coach. So, if you are also interested in joining in these types of programs, or just want an extra cheerleader to give & get encouragement, just follow the link up at the top and go on over to my BeachBody page.

Jennifer has been such an encouragement to me, so I'd love to pass on the love. Even if you're not interested in the BeachBody programs, just a bit of exercise goes a long way!

Okay, schpeal over!

~Katie

New add-ins

I've gotten pretty enamoureded with adding a teaspoon of Jell-O sugar free & fat free instant pudding mix to my shake. Also adding some spices. Today, I tried adding cayenne pepper in Greenberry Shakeology. Umm, yumm-o!

The touch of spice made it so tasty!

Workout will be in the evening today since I was a total lunkerhead this morning. And realized I have no bike light to go on the Brews Cruise.

~ Katie

Tomato-face!

Just finished Push Circuit 3 for the first time!

First off, yes, Chalene probably already regrets those boots.

Second, holy chest and fly and squats, batman! This is probably the circuit that will help in my quest of push-ups the most!

The one-legged sumo squat is so completely awkward, that I'm not sure I'm even getting anything out of it.

I managed to not fall over on the bowlers lunge today! Yippee! Maybe my legs are getting used to it enough that my ankles can stabilize me now. Maybe.

Otherwise, it was a great workout and I could have gone a bit heavier on some of the moves. Guess I'll be ordering the 25s soon!

Oh, and back to the title of this post. Tomato-face.
I have a skill. A talent. A superpower.
My face turns bright red after about 5 minutes of exertion of any kind. Or when I get angry, or embarrassed, or hot. Light exertion. Heavy exertion. Doesn't matter. I turn bright red.
Yay?

~Katie

Hmm...how did I do?

Well, I woke up this morning & weighed myself before working out since I'd overspent points the night before.

179.6 lbs! Yay! I have witnessed the crossing of a barrier!

Then today was the big long, intense workout day. So I earned a fair amount of points back!

And we went back to the brewery.

James just started Weight Watchers & is getting his mind around what options are best for what purposes. Sometimes getting sideswiped by what seems like a good choice. But I'm still not great at that, either. Checking whether salsa has sugar added. Checking how much fat is in chips.

I still haven't figured out the right stuff to prepare & bring to breweries that has a good mix of veggies and protein.

Ah, the learning process.

~Katie

Push Circuit 2

It's mornings like today that I wish I were more of a morning person.

But I'm not. I'm very much a sleep person. I'm not really a late-night person either, unless I'm in the groove of a major project like dyeing a ton of yarn or knitting a really exciting project or reading a really good book. I've been known to inadvertently pull all-nighters on those. Really, I lose track of time and then suddenly it's 3 or 4 am and I realize that I have to leave for work  in just a few scant hours.  Most of the time, 11 pm hits and I am bushed, and then I want to sleep for 10 hours.

Anyways, I'm headed to a brewery after work to have a table for my BeerSox during their tour.  This is the first time I've done this since being on Weight Watchers. Normally, I'm all, "Hey, free beer!" and I have 4 or 5 generous pours. Of some pretty hefty beers ranging from 6-9% ABV.  12 ounces of a 5% is 5 points. And it's approximate that 12 ounces of an X% ABV beer is about X points. A pint is 16 ounces. So that makes about 40-45 points, depending on the beer chosen.  My daily points allocation is 31 points. I generally earn 3-7 points in activity each day, so my daily total is around 34-38 points.  I usually use 7 points for a beer each day, if I have room.  Today, I am aiming to use the small taster glass so that I can still try variety, but can curtail the volume.  And who knows what food options are going to be available.  I may need to work out more after going home. I'm going in with a plan, now. And I'm going to be tracking, tracking, tracking!

That's all to say, that I won't be working out after work, unless it's after getting home from the brewery.

So this morning, I had a list of stuff to finish!
1. workout. Push Circuit 1 is 35 minutes of mostly shoulders and lunges. I did manage to stay in the 10, 15, 20 lbs range rather than going down to 5 for a few of the delt exercises.
2. load up car with BeerSox stuff. I think I have everything. It's a pretty well-oiled machine by now.
3. shower
4. change out laundry
5. get breakfast

Things I forgot to do, and then realized I would have failed at anyways:
Fix lunch and high protein snack for the brewery
Reasons why I would have failed: I have no fish at home, I would have brought grilled chicken and salad and then not been able to eat it because it's Friday. And it's Lent.

You win some, you lose some.

And then you go to work.

~Katie