Monday, December 21, 2015

A new challenge

So, I'm back at it!  VIP Challenge number 2 began this past weekend.  I completed workout number 1 of 30 this morning at 5:30 am.  Felt really good to get back to the same routine.  I didn't exactly take last week off, but I tried something different that the gym offers, Figure Camp.  I enjoyed it, but ultimately I decided that I want to lose more weight before I move onto tightening and toning.

Also this past week, I was nowhere near perfect with my diet. During my off week, I went out to eat a few times, drank some alcohol a couple of nights, and had some cookies and other sweets. I haven't stepped on the scale since the final weigh-in for the first challenge on Dec. 13. I imagine I have gained back a few of the pounds that I lost doing the fish and asparagus diet...  I'm planning to step on the scale on Wednesday or Thursday of this week to see where I am.

The next six weeks are going to be a challenge for me. We are heading to North Carolina for a few days after Christmas, and then in January we are taking the kids to Florida for a long weekend. I'm not as worried about making time for workouts, but eating the right foods will be difficult. I am going to do the nest that I can.

My goal is to lose another 20 pounds, I will have to work really hard to accomplish that goal.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

I did it!

I did it!  I lost more than 20 lbs in this, my first VIP challenge.  I know I haven't checked in here for over 10 days.  It wasn't because I stopped or faltered or cheated or anything like that.  I simply dedicated all of my spare time to working toward my goal.  In my book, I smashed that goal by losing 23.6 lbs in 6 weeks. AMAZING!

Let me back up-- The last time I checked in here, I had set a goal of losing 4 lbs in week 5. I did not quite make it as I only lost 2.9 lbs, leaving me with 4.8 lbs to go for the final week.  I lost 8.2 lbs this last week!  Again, amazing!

Here's what I did: First, I upped my ESC to over 1 hour every day.  I couldn't do it all at once, I had to make time 30 minutes here, 40 minutes there, etc, etc.  For the last 10 days, according to my Jawbone, I averaged 22,826 steps.  Second, I followed the VIP Emergency Instructions.  I think I mentioned those a few posts ago.  Essentially, the instructions were to eat fish and asparagus for every meal (5 servings) for the last four days of the challenge.  On the day before weigh-in, I did a mini-fast.  I ate nothing after 11:00 am and drank only 16 oz of water, 8 oz of black coffee, and a Smooth Move tea at 4:00 pm. For the record, the Smooth Move tea did nothing for me.  Third, I believed.  I set out to prove to myself that I could do this... workout 5 days a week at 5:30 am, eat clean, and lose 20 lbs, and I did it, and then some!  I'm very proud of myself.  I haven't felt this proud of myself since I passed the bar exam in 1998.

What's next?  Another challenge.  Yep, that's right.  I'm doing it again.  20 more pounds need to go!

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Rough patch ahead

Checking in mid-week.  I'm still plugging away and repeating my mantra.  My at-home scale suggests I'm down 2 pounds already this week, maybe I can eek out another 2 pounds by this week's weigh-in.

That said, I'm heading into a bit of a rough patch.  Friday night we have my husband's office holiday party and Saturday we are headed out to dinner with friends and then to a Red Wings hockey game. I made my dinner selections ahead of time and will have to make sure that I keep myself in check.

We're nearing the home stretch, after tomorrow morning's workout, I will only have 5 mandatory workouts left.

Here's my current plan to finish this challenge strong!

Friday, 12/4 workout # 25, 5:30 AM at the gym
Saturday, 12/5 - planned rest day
Sunday, 12/6 - at home work out #26 (pending permission)
Monday, 12/7 workout # 27 5:30 AM at the gym
Tuesday, 12/8 workout #28 5:30 AM at the gym
Wednesday, 12/9 workout #29 5:30 AM at the gym
Thursday, 12/10 workout #30 5:30 AM at the gym
Friday, 12/11 workout #31 5:30 AM at the gym

Saturday is a mini-fast (no eating after 11 AM) and the instructions say "no exercise today" except for a light walk.

Sunday, FINAL WEIGH-IN! There will be a sign-up sheet on Monday, Dec. 7 for weigh-in times. I'm hoping to get an early slot...