Weigh In Day! Officially 50 lbs down!

Good afternoon,

Today's weigh in marked an important mile-stone for me: I have officially lost 50lbs.  This week was a total of 1.4. Together, Jon and I have lost 102 lbs. This is important to me for multiple reasons:

1. Every time I have lost 50lbs, I have gotten pregnant, thus gaining the weight back. No pregnancy for me this time (permanent prevention will ensure this!).

2. This is the lowest weight I have been since I got pregnant with Hailey (7 years ago).
3. I bought a pair of shorts in the same size I bought my freshman year of college (and I cried a little in the dressing room!).

Here's the unfortunate part of this milestone (for right now). I lost part of my weight before joining weight watchers so they only consider the 30lbs I have lost with them. I have missed the last several meetings and have been meeting hopping. I wanted to celebrate the important milestones with my leader (on Sundays) so I have not gotten my 10% key ring yet even though I earned it a while ago.  I really would like a 50lb charm from them...but I suppose I am 20 pounds away from that, according to WW! Anyway, since I officially hit the 50lb mark, I am putting up a new progress pic. I will add this pic to the progress pic page.

On another note, for our 10th wedding anniversary (last month), I gave Jon a bundle of envelopes with 12 pre-planned dates (1 per month). He opens the envelope on the last day of the month before, we read the date, and mark it on the calendar immediately. This month was Putt-Putt golf, just like we used to do! We took a few pictures and Jon commented: "wow, we're a good looking couple!" I thought it was pretty cute of him to say. We had a lot of fun; we always have fun together but I am loving our new healthy, energetic relationship. We have gone through so much together in the last 10 years of marriage, and nearly 14 years of being a couple, that this road to health has been quite a "fun" adventure. I love seeing us revert to the youthful couple we were when we first started dating.

Not much of an insightful post tonight; I just really wanted to update on progress since it was a weigh in day!

Working our way to fit as a family,

Kati

ABBI-MONSTER strikes again...

This morning, I planned to do a 45 minute workout before the girls got up. They have their well visit appointments today so I wanted to get my workout in before our day began. Abbi had different plans for us.

Abbi earned the nick-name Abbi-Monster when she was kicked out of the nursery her first night after she was born because she was waking up all the other babies. When we call her Abbi-Monster, we mean it with affection and she giggles and "roars" at us. Last night, not a lot of giggling happening in my house! Abbi COULD NOT sleep from 3-6. She was up at 9:30 when we went to check on her (we put her down to sleep at 8:00. She must have dozed off sometime after 9:30, but then at about 11:00 came begging to sleep in our room. We built her a pallet on the floor because she is very difficult to sleep with. She tosses and turns and moans cries. Its quite insane. Anyway, at about 3:00 she asked me if bed time was over, I told her to go back to sleep and she began flipping and flopping and spinning in circles on the floor "trying to get comfortable" . Unfortunately, this is a relatively common occurrence for Abbi. She doesn't sleep all the way through the night very often. She typically wakes up several times at night. I am going to speak to the doctor about this today because after 3 year of this, I would like some solid sleep (and I am POSITIVE Jon feels the same way!) ETA: Her pediatrician reccomended we try melatonin with her... started 1/2 dose tonight.

When our alarm went off this morning, Jon slowly sat up on the side of the bed (we were both exhausted from Abbi). I said, "ugh, this is the type of morning that will tempt you in to an evening workout." He sat there for a second and asked if I wanted to work out this evening instead. I replied some sleepy sort of yes, so we went back to sleep and actually got a solid hour of sleep from 5-6 until Abbi woke up for good. Don't 3-years-olds need more sleep that a few non-consecutive hours? I konw for a fact that 32 year-olds do!

For the last few days, I have been trying out a new ap called "Moves."

A friend introduced it to me and I LOVE IT. Its like a pedometer but it tracks all your movement (running, wiking, biking) it can distinguish when you are traveling in a car and it goes in to batter saver mode when you are inactive. The first day I downloaded it, I cleaned the house for several hours. My phone sat on the charger, or on the counter, or on the dresser. I earned 139 steps... I realized I needed to make a point to keep my phone on me! Saturday, I earned 2,960 steps (again, most of the time at home, I didnt keep my phone on me.).  Sunday back to 192 steps ( a whole day at home, a whole day phoneless!). Yesterday I made a point to keep my phone on me with a goal of 10, 000 steps. I hit 10, 249 walking steps which, according to the ap is 1 hour 36 minuties of walking or 4.4 miles. I did not realize it would track running separately so most of my workout yesterday my phone sat on the treadmill. I picked it up to see if it would count my steps, so i actually earned 0.5 miles running (984 steps in additiona to my 10, 249).

The ap is cool because it shows you how much time you spent each place all day long. The only problem I have with  (aside from my problem of leaving my phone laying around) is it does tend to drain the battery quickly. It is supposed to last all day on one charge, but I guess I am using some other battery hogging aps as well. I find that whenever I am not moving, I need to plug my phone in! Not a huge deal, but just need to charge a little more often than I used to.

And for an update on Emma's "marathon" training. Today she ran a mile with me in 14:40. She shaved 4 minutes of her time and did not complain about running once. It was cooler today and I think the idea of running for a long time scared her. I told her day two would be easier and it was. She said tommorow she was going to run her mile in 5 minutes. If she does, this mamma won't be able to keep up with her!!!

As always, working my way to fit,
Kati

Family Fitness and cleaning things up:

Good morning blog family,
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I had a great time celebrating Father's Day with wonderful husband. He really is the best dad; my girls are truly lucky to have a dad like him.

I too, have a wonderful dad, and even though I did not get to spend the day with him yesterday I thought of him often. He sent me a picture of himself holding the gift we mailed him (a gift card for new clothes since he has lost so much weight!). I don't have his permission to publish the picture so I will have to ask him if I can add him to a future blog post! He just looks so fantastic; the 40+ pounds he lost took about 10 years off of him; he looks like a baby! I am proud of you dad and I am proud to be your daughter! Hope your Father's Day was fantastic.

One thing I have discovered on this fitness journey is that the goal to get healthy begins to expand beyond just weight. Both Jon and I have different attitudes; we've realized that negative factors in our life just aren't worth the negative energy. It's been really refreshing to just have a more positive mindset and to enjoy life more. Part of that enjoyment of life has been coming up with ways to manage our time better.

When we cleaned up our budget (Thanks Dave Ramsey!), and cleaned up our diet/exercise, we realize that the patterns we are setting are life long lessons for our girls. This week, we initiated a new "chore chart".  We each have one that will hang in the kitchen. Each one is a fun color and there are spots for stickers for completed tasks. The end of the week will earn the girls extra money in their commission jars. We started implementing the new chore chart on Friday of last week (after I had worked hard to do a deep clean of the house.) So far, it has been great and we didn't spend our entire weekend cleaning. It feels great to be in control.

I think before we really began to focus on our fitness there was a certain level of apathy in our lives. We didn't always clean up the dinner dishes at night, or sweep the floor, or make the kids pick up their toys. But then, on the weekend, it would take us a long time to clean up the mess from the week. I've realized that if we stay on top of things, we had a lot more freedom on the weekend. It's only been a few days, but I think this new routine will be one that stays for the long haul. 

 The last new development is that Emma has decided that she wants to run a "marathon." (Really, I will sign her up for a kids fun run 1 miler and work her way up from there! But any race she says is a "marathon.") She is very in to art and doesn't really put a lot of effort in to playing/exercise. When we are outside, while Abbi is running around like a crazy person, Emma would much rather get her sidewalk chalk and draw. This has bothered me for awhile, not that she loves art, but that she does seem to want to be active. Her interested in running a "marathon" was my chance to get her in to running and exercise and build a little mother/daughter time in as well. I took her on several walks last week while waiting for my teeth to heal (and they are feeling much better!) but I didn't really stress the running part. Today, we went for our first "run." There were a few tears because it was hot and muggy (Emma HATES hot weather) but overall she did great. We did a full mile (she ran parts of it). Her pace is an 18 minute mile right now. I think, had we gone earlier in the morning before the full sun was blasting on us, she would have run more and not gotten upset about the heat! Tomorrow morning, we will go much earlier. Anyway, our goal is a mile a day until she runs the whole thing. We will still do our bike rides and fun play time, but this little running venture gets Emma some alone time with me and also helps her build up some endurance. She wants to play soccer again in the fall, so the extra running is just all in all beneficial. Plus, I get an extra mile in (I did a 5k at 6 this am at Planet Fitness so the extra mile outside was welcome!). Here is a pic of Emma post-workout. She immediately took her shoes off because she hates sweaty feet!

I hope you all have a happy Monday!

Working our way to fit (as a family!)

Kati

Loss of Wisdom...teeth, that is!

Good evening blogging family,
Its been a couple of days since I last posted because we went through some changes in our household. First all, we changed cable/Internet providers. My last post was right before the installation man came out and installed the new "stuff." For those of you that know me, you may remember how unpleased I was with our first company and that I got tired of fighting them over price, so I dropped them. It was a comical scene, but essentially I refuse to speak with anyone from that company at this point. We switched to a new provider and were relatively happy, but then some salesmen came to our door and offered a pretty decent savings for switching companies, so Jon signed on. I wanted to drop cable completely, and just use Internet. Anyway, we now have a new company and today is the first day I have had the opportunity to set up the lap top with the new information.

In my last post, I spoke of my goal for National Running Day was to be able to hit 4.75 miles in 60 minutes. I DID IT! I actually hit 4.83 miles which is an average of an 12.25 minute mile. Since I do interval training, I actually know that my walk is at a 15 or a 14.45 minute mile and my run is between an 11:00 and 11:30 minute mile. I looked back at Map My Run and saw that I was averaging a 16-12 minute mile back in July of 2012, so I have knocked about 5 minutes off my time. I am liking those results and my goal is to get down to a 10 minute mile. In every interval run, I do the last part of my run at a 6 (10 minute mile). I am getting there!!!

On Thursday, I was pretty sore from my longer run the day before, so I just did a quick 5k. I ran the 5k in 36 minutes, but I did a total of 45 on the treadmill.

I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed on Friday and thought I'd get out for a long walk today. Unfortunately, a trip to the grocery store did me in and I needed a long nap. One of my teeth was a little complicated because of the way it had grown in, so there is some extra swelling and extra bruising around that tooth. The Doc said I could get back to exercising on Monday, but my goal is to get a short walk on Sunday. I don't want to cause any unnecessary new bleeding. Edited to add: The girls wanted to take a walk (after my post) so we went on a family walk; we did 2.2 miles in 41 minutes. I was not in any extra pain, and I was proud of the entire family for getting out and walking.

The good news: this should be the last of my surgeries for a while. :) Two surgeries in a matter of three weeks is enough for me!

I hope you are all having a good weekend, I am off to check out some of my other favorite bloggers!

As always, working my way to fit, (but today, I am lounging my way to recovery!)

Kati

Believe it. Be it. Weekly weigh in and National Runners Day

Last night, baby sister and I went to Planet Fitness to work off a delicious dinner out. I decided I wanted a longer burn, so I set the treadmill for 60 minutes. I was trying to pace myself because I knew that I would run out of steam early. I made it 4.63 miles in interval running/walking (5 minute warm up and cool down) so really, 4.63 miles in 50 minutes. I am pretty pleased with this and it was a new record for me.

With today being National Running Day, something I learned from a life-long friend, I wanted to celebrate my new length record. I found this national running day bib here and had to think long and hard before I came up with a reason that was significant enough for me. I run for a lot of reasons, but most importantly, running is a vehicle on my road to fitness and health.  Tonight, my goal, will be to hit 4.75 miles :)

During my run at PF last night, I avoided my usual Ipod and music and plugged in to the tv because Extreme Weight Loss was on. The person on the show yesterday had a tattoo that said "Believe it, Be it, 155" written across her stomach. In one year, she went from 413lbs to 155lbs. I was amazed watching her run and exercise and so very proud of her accomplishment. I love the idea behind "Believe it. Be it." I have been looking for a short quick little mantra to recite to myself when I am plagued with self-doubt and I think I will keep the "Believe it. Be it." as something to remember.

You all know that I made some food choices beyond my normal routines this week with the party, the emotional eating, etc. I still was not worried about my weigh-in today because I knew that I had tracked every bite and that I was well within my total weekly allowable. At today's weigh-in, I was down -2.8!!! Woohooo!!!

As long as all goes well on Friday, I will be back to WW on Sundays from now on! I am looking forward to it; I miss my meeting leader and the friends I have made during my Sunday weigh ins.

Another shout-out to my newest runners who completed day 3 today. I am SO VERY PROUD of you!

Working my way to fit,

Kati

Food is not a cure-all...

One important lesson I have learned, and am still learning in this journey is that there will be hiccups. Just because I have decided I want to be healthy and fit, does not always mean the emotional side of my brain will listen to the logical side of my brain. Sometimes, emotions will run high, and the desire to turn to food for comfort or turn to food to fill a need (other than hunger) will arise. I am currently in the midst of one of those times. It will be short-lived, and I will not falter, because even now as I am writing, I am gaining the confidence that I will not let this hiccup derail my progress.

This is going to sound childish, but I am trying to be non-specific. Essentially someone hurt my feelings within the last couple of days. Instead of confronting the issue immediately, I let it fester then I saw lots of little things that continued to hurt my feelings. Yesterday, at work, I was a little bored. Not because I don't have a ton to do, but because most of the work I need to do is office work. I enjoy working with children and I like a nice mix of office work and working with kids.

Essentially, here is the UGLY equation:

Festering Hurt Feelings + Boredom+ left over party sweets= potential for disaster.

On the way home from work, I convinced myself that I "needed" chocolate. When I got home, I indulged. At this point, I was still within my points-plus, so it was fine. By the end of the night, I had gone in to some of my weekly allowable; I did not binge on sugar (though, I very easily could have). 

What I should have done was go to planet fitness, but I wanted my three workout days to fall Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday since I am having oral surgery on Friday. In retrospect, I still should have just gone and gotten out of the house and away from temptation. I always feel better after workout, and I certainly don't want to waste points after I just worked my tush off!!!  

The point of this post is that this morning, I still had the desire for unhealthy eating. Enjoying some chocolate yesterday did not make my issues go away. My feelings are still hurt, and I am still battling some deep rooted insecurities. This fitness journey is not just about eating healthy and exercising, there is a mental and emotional side to eating as well. Until we confront and address those issues, the temptation to turn to food for comfort will always be there. 

The good news is that I am able to recognize the problem and not allow myself to go crazy. Even yesterday, I tracked every bite. Today, I am just going "cold turkey" and not allowing my-self any additional sugar. I am not "waiting for Monday" to restart. I never really stopped. I hit a bump, I recognize it, and I am readjusting. I am also still fully expecting a loss at my weigh-in because I have been well within my weekly allowable points and I did not even touch my exercise points.

I get daily inspirational quotes in my email and the picture above was yesterday's. It couldn't have come at a more needed time. I have the optimism and I have the hope. I am working on the confidence.

On a totally different note: there are a couple of people that I care deeply about that have taken the last couple of days to really start a new exercise and eating program. I am immensely proud of them and hope to continue to receive updates. Here's a shout out to you (if you read my blog!) Keep it up!! I am proud!!

Non-scale Victories

Non-Scale Victories (NSV) are important to acknowledge because there are times when the scale doesn't reflect the hard work that we have put in. There are also times, even when the scale is reflecting hard work, that NSVs can add a bit of excitement. I have a couple NSV's to share from this week. 

First of all, I started a sticker chart for both Jon and I back in November when we first re-joined weight watchers. Each sticker equals a pound loss. I also have a picture of my girls right by our sticker chart to remind us that we are setting habits for our children that are lifelong. Between the two of us, there are 99 stickers hanging on my refrigerator.  The average weight for a 12-13 year old girl is 95-105. We have lost a 12 year old!!!

This sticker chart, along with my girls pic, hanging on my fridge is an anchor that keeps me steady when I want to head in for my evening snacks!

Another NSV to celebrate is a moment between Jon and I yesterday. We were having a conversation, and I went to hug him. We were standing there talking, and Jon had his short arms wrapped all the way around my waist and his hands were linked together. This was a HUGE deal for me, but I didn't even notice at first. We were just chatting in that position, and then it hit me, "Are your hands linked together!!!" We both started giggling because its been a long time since we could stand like that. I guess, when you remove 100 pounds out of the hug, hugging gets easier!

Last night I was packing to go to Ohio for the weekend and I was trying on clothes. I was 'shopping' in the small section of my closet. I tried on two shirts that I have not worn in years. Both fit very nicely! They are also the smallest shirts in my closet so I am to the end of my own closet shopping! I will be wearing one of the two shirts on Saturday at a family function.

My last NSV to celebrate today is the demise of a "favorite" shirt! I had this shirt that I bought at Lane Bryant that fit nicely, it was black, and I wore it often with jeans. Last time I wore it, I thought it looked sloppy because it was too big now. However, I refuse to buy new clothes right now, so i am continuing to wear these clothes. Well apparently, my laundry skills are lacking because I bleached my "favorite" shirt. I couldn't even be sad about it because I really shouldn't be wearing it any more!  

This weekend we are heading to Ohio for a family function. This is always a challenge for me but my parents have been doing calorie counting as well. In fact, my dad has lost 40 pounds and won a biggest loser challenge. Mom has lost 30--I am very proud of them both! I plan to stay on track and stay focused, even with the upcoming challenge.

Until next time, working my way to fit,

Kati

LT3

Little
Things
To
Try
LT3! This week my new interim WW leader challenged us to try a new little thing and to make it a routine. This month's WW routine is to plan for exercise. So my LT3 was to plan my exercises and follow through with them. On Sunday, I sat down and wrote down my exercise days on the calendar. Today, I had a bit of a rough day at work. I got home and played with the girls, and before I knew it, it was bath time. Jon commented that he didn't really want to work out today. It would have been very easy to just skip exercise and snuggle on the couch watching our DVRd shows (<---- this would attribute to our weight gain of the past!). Anyway, my calendar said it was a work out day--my co-worker and friend asked before I left work if it was a work out day--every thing was screaming at me: IT IS A WORK OUT DAY.

Guess what??? To Planet Fitness I went and I rocked it! I went 3.5 miles and shaved 5 minutes off my normal time!!! That's a huge gain for me. The circuit was pretty full, so instead of adding a circuit, I hit the stair stepper for an additional 30 minutes. My friend Sam and I say that we know its a good workout when our eyelashes are sweating.. and mine definitely were today!

Even though I was not so motivated to hit the gym tonight, I stuck to my plan and I feel great. Fat me would have preferred to eat chocolate and ponder my stress with a book and TV. Fit me kicked stresses booty at the gym. I am loving this new me!
Jon also killed it at his workout tonight all--he added an extra mile to his workout: 5 miles in 50 minutes. I'm loving the new us!

Thanks for all the continued love and support.
Working my way to fit,
Kati

My own dragon...

Welcome February.
February is usually my dark month; a month that I mourn the loss of the daughter that I only got to hold for two short weeks while I smile and attempt to celebrate her life. Those closest to me know that I put up a good front, but the weeks leading to Hailey's birthday are usually the hardest of the year for me.
As I am spending a lot of time focusing on getting healthy both physically and mentally, I welcome February.

I will reflect and blog my way through my "dark" month, and perhaps I will realize that there is a lot of light to be shared. Hailey's life was about celebration, and in this darkness, I will find the celebration that she gave to us. For this post, I am going to celebrate my husband...

Today started with some self-doubt: this is part of my weight loss journey that I have to face full on. Every time I find success in weight loss, I have a personal dragon I have to face--and its a BIG one.  I was hurt by someone a long time ago, and every time I start to feel confident and start to like the way I am looking; this dragon rears his ugly head. This week I have done well and I look forward to weighing in, but I can feel that dragon burning on the back of my neck.

This dragon, my own self-loathing, pulls at the very core of my own insecurity and usually sends me down a path of self-sabotage. .

Today, in my own "dark" mood, I made a self-deprecating comment that somehow  had Jon agreeing with me, but not intentionally. It was like I purposefully worded my own dislike with my body in a way that trapped him in agreement. Once he realize what he had agreed to, he put a lot of effort in to restating his comment and explaining why he loved me so much. As I reflect on this incident, I realize that I have really married the most perfect man in the world for me. He is truly my best friend and he knows how to bring light to the darkest moments. He has seen me in best, and in my worst, and in all of that--he loves me unconditionally. There are times, when his unwavering faith in me leaves be breathless and I wish I could steal just a portion of that faith in myself. I am proclaiming that this time I will beat this dragon. With Jon by my side, I can conquer anything the world throws at me...and right now, its throwing my own personal dragon.

Please bare with me as I take February one day at a time, and sometimes one moment of a time. After all, Hailey taught us to enjoy every moment.

Working my way to fit~and this month its an emotional fitness that I am working on as well as a physical fitness~
Kati  

Finding Peace in Chaos

Roid Rage in Planet Fitness today really put a damper on my work out. There were two people that were just insanely confrontational and trying to start a fight with intimidation tactics which included blocking some of the machines in the circuit training. The directions are clearly posted and it was a super busy night at PF, so there were several people in the circuit. One of the members made a comment about people not following the directions; unfortunately, that member tapped me on the shoulder and made the comment specifically to me. While I was annoyed by the two not following the workout correctly, I was just minding my own business trying to push myself for my own workout. Well, the confrontational people continued to make comments, blocking the machine to where I couldn't get to my phone and water bottle, and then followed me to the locker room and to the door. If they would have followed me outside, I would have had to say something to the manager. If they are there again, and continuing to get in the way of my workout, I will say something to the manager. I was so frustrated that I was fuming by the time I got home. I explain the situation to Jon, who agrees the people were ridiculous. Really, I just wish the other member would not have made her comment to me because it looked like I was part of the conversation.
Regardless, there is a lesson to learn here:
PF is my place of solace; I feel great when I am there and I feel proud after my workouts. I belong there; I need to be there. No one, including myself, will get in the way of my workout. I let myself get worked up over people who don't know me. People who don't know my journey. My focus is on my journey. I will not be intimidated about going back; perhaps, if confrontational couple is there I can talk to them about the circuit and how it works in a friendly way. The goal is for a healthier life-style for all of us. Maybe they were intimidated by how things work. It doesn't really matter why they acted like they acted. I can not control their actions, I can only control my own. I earned my 16 exercise points for 64 minutes of exercise. I accomplished a longer run, a higher incline, and heavier weights. Breathe in, breathe out, and keep at it. There's much to be grateful for, and there is peace in my heart knowing that my hard work is paying off...

Working my way to fit,
Kati

Weigh-In day

I find it odd that I am excited to go to Weight Watchers for weigh-in days and my weekly meetings. Interestingly enough, the topic of the meeting was sharing the excitement that we have for getting healthy with others around us. Similarly, we can gain inspiration from other's excitment. This week's meeting hit home,

Two times at the gym this week, someone told me I was motivating them to work harder! I'm loving this!!! Saturday night, I hit 2.5 miles in 30 minutes and burned 502 calories on the treadmill. From the treadmill I hit the circuit training section. Nikki and Tiffany (new members) were in there and unsure how to use some of the machines. I showed them a few things and then continued my workout. Nikki told me she was watching me to see what to do--she said "oooh girl, you are inspiring me to work harder." Of course, I was then inspired to work harder! At the end of the night, I had 65 minutes of a workout, more than 500 calories burned and 15 exercise points earned. I am a former athlete, and I am having fun finding my athletic self again.

My goal this week was to lose 2.8 because I would then be in a new "10". I know its a lofty goal, and 2.8 is a lot to lose in one week after being on program for 10 weeks. Still, I like a challenge and I like to have something difficult to shoot for. Anyway, I fell a little short of my goal with a 2.6 lb weight loss. I am not disappointed at all! I am super excited that I hit 2.6! For this week, my goal will be 2.8 again. For no other reason than the fact that I want to hit that number!

This week, we are supposed to hit 70 degrees one day. I look forward to being able to take my kids out to play. I am noticing that my "trouble" time is immediately when I get home from school. I find the need to snack, so I am hoping by immediately going outside, or involving myself in some other activity I can replace the after school snack. Anyone have any suggestions for those trouble times during the day?

Looking forward to another great week! Hope yours is wonderful.

Working my way to fit,
Kati

Fiscally Fit and Physically Fit: The journey is the same

Last night, I got home from work and felt AWFUL. I had a low grade fever, and just felt achy. Jon was working late, and even though we had meal planned for the week and had taken chicken out to grill. I DID NOT want to cook. I gave in and ordered pizza.  This morning, as I was driving to work, I realized that not only did I go over in points plus yesterday (thank you 49 weekly allowable), but I also created a dent in our budget. This when I realized that so many of the behavior changes I have made for getting physically fit also apply to our Gazelle Intense journey in getting fiscally fit.

1. On paper on purpose. Every month we write our budget and spend every dollar on paper first. This was one of our greatest take aways from Financial Peace University, and it has really helped get our spending under-control. Tracking points plus is the same way. I track everything I eat, and if I know an event is coming up, I also plan my points.

2. Sacrifices now for a better life later...or as DR says "Live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else." There are many things we have given up in our journey to be debt free. We rarely eat out, we limit our excess spending (eliminated cable at one point, no birthday gift and Christmas gifts for each other, etc.): we choose whats most important and that is where our money goes. Same thing with losing weight--I am making better choices now so that I am healthier later. I am choosing whats most point friendly, versus whats most "taste" friendly.

3. Hit a bump, adjust, and keep working towards the goal. And this applies to last night most specifically. In the past, I would have ordered the pizza on a credit card and ate as much as I wanted. Last night, I ordered the pizza with our food budget. What this means is I did not "blow" our budget, but when we grocery shop this weekend, I have to make and adjustment for the $25.00 I spent. Eating pizza one night did not "blow" my diet. I tracked my points, I still have several weekly allowable points, and I am right back on track today.

Anyway, I just thought it was interesting that the behavior changes needed for getting out of debt and getting healthy were so similar. Looking forward to reading any of your comments...what are you doing that require behavior changes?

Have a great Friday (stay safe for all of you experiencing snow and ice!).
Working my way to fit,
Kati

Motivation to change?

So, I received several emails in response to sharing my blog with a few select family members and friends. I appreciate the support more than you can ever know! I received a couple particularly moving emails, one person wrote that she noticed a difference in my mentality this time. She asked if I had thought about what was motivating me this time versus all the other attempts at weight loss. I thought about this a lot today, and I have come up with a couple different answers.

First of all, I have not lost any more weight this time than I have any other time that I have joined weight watchers. I typically hit the 25lb mark before I flake out. Knowing this about myself, I am going to be very aware and purposeful in maintaing motivation when I get to my 25lbs lost (and I will get to 25lbs lost).
So, what is my motivation? Why do I seem more determined this time than in times past?

1. First of all, every time that I have joined Weight Watchers or any other weight loss program, I have joined to lose weight for a special occasion or circumstance. I wanted to lose weight to help me in pregnancy and having a healthy baby (it worked!, but then I didn't relose!). I wanted to lose weight for Jess's wedding (lost almost 30lbs and gained 15 of it back before the wedding...). This time, I want to lose weight so I can be a more healthy mom, wife, and person in general. I don't have a "time line" for my goals, nor do I have an "event" that I am shooting for. I am taking this one week at a time, one weigh-in at a time, one moment at a time.

2. Joining Weight Watchers (again) was not a rash decision. In times past, I would just wake up one morning and want to make huge dynamic changes. There were unmaintable, and sporadic. This time, I had been following the Weight Watcher program at home, weighing in on my own when I came to a stalling point. Jon and I talked about me joining weight watchers, we both agreed it was needed, we worked it in to our budget and I joined. There was no--jump in for a quick-fix mentality.

3. I was in the mindest to get healthy and fit prior to joining as opposed to joinging because of a dislike for myself. I actually began the C25K program in June. Read several blogs and running articles about how starting a running program can slow weight loss because of gaining muscle and changes in the body. In several articles, 12 weeks was the magic number for our bodies to get accustomed to running. When I joined weight watchers, I had already made a lot of progress in excercise and regulating my diet just made since.

4. Changes in behavior. This just goes back to a more focused mentality. A friend of mine, who has been succesful in her weight loss and maintenance goals, opened my eyes to my own behaviors. She shares her stories and her philosophies of weight loss, and she makes me think about my own behaviors. I had to clean up several of my behaviors (like eating junk as soon as I walk in the door after school). However, instead of getting rid of my afternoon snack, like I would have done in the years past, I have just replaced it with a healthy snack. Coming up with replacement behaviors has been instrumental in helping me maintain my focus.

5. Realist goals. In the past, my goals would be ridiculous and unattainable, then I would give up. This time, I am following the advice of my weight watcher leader and several successful people who have lost weight: make small goals, reward myself for hitting it (non-food rewards), then move to the next small goal. My first goal was 5% of my weight. I hit that a few weeks ago, so now I am working on 10%. Each step will be a step closer to my ultimate goal weight, but right now, I am just focusing on the little victories.

6. The final piece to my make a change puzzle is the accountability piece. Between this blog, my friends and family members who expect my weigh-in report on Sunday, my weight record and my kids and husband, I find myself more focused.

Thank you all again for the support, and thank you for joining me on this journey.

Working my way to fit,
Kati

Rockin' it at the gym today.

Today, I took my kids to pre-school, even though I had the day off, so I could go to Planet Fitness and work out before coming home to finish a school project. I love PF, but had not been there in weeks. My first week that I missed was because we were traveling. When we came home, I used our treadmill while the kids napped. Last, week, Jon was recovering from surgery, so I stayed home and worked out. These are not excuses; I still met my cardio goals each week. I just realized that I don't enjoy working out at home like I enjoy working out at PF. I think its the change in atmosphere, the attitude that I am there to get a job done, being surrounded by people working out, and just the "me" time that makes working out at PF so much more energizing than working out at home. Looking forward to getting back in the routine of working out at PF while Jon works out at home.

As someone who has yo-yo'd more times than I would like to admit, I think the key to getting healthy is finding something you enjoy. Infact, my WW leader (WHO IS FANTASTIC) discussed this during our meeting this week. He said, "if you are not doing an excercise you enjoy, FIND SOMETHING ELSE." This prompted my trip back to PF today, and he's right!!! I enjoyed my workout today! I also decided that if the treadmill at home is available because Jon is not working out, I am still going to PF.

This is by no means an advertisement for Planet Fitness, this is an advertisemt for YOU to dig down deep and find something you enjoy...and GO DO IT! I was telling my mom about my experience at the gym today, and she said "walking from the parking lot to the gym" would be my excercise. She caught herself and remembered that she could shop with the best athlete in the world on Black Friday, and outshop them. I think about her walking at the zoo--the woman could walk a zoo everyday during the spring and summer months and be happy. She may not be a gym member, but if she has a purpose she will walk to the ends of the earth. I encourage you to find your excercise that moves and motivates you.

A change in behavior is the only way to get our goals. Find a way to make excercise a normal routine, a part of your behavior that you depend on and make it something you enjoy.

Finding my way to Fit,
Kati