Monday, February 26th

Weight: 134.2 pounds

I weighed myself this morning as part of my weekly weigh-in on the office scale. Only down a pound from last week. So over the past 2 weeks, I have only lost 2 pounds. I attribute this slow-down to several factors:

1. Valentine's Weekend: As mentioned in my general weight-loss plan page, I have more difficulty keeping to my 1200 calories/day limit when I spend time with my boyfriend, John. The weekend actually started on Thursday, the 15th, when we went out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant, and then came back home with a bottle of champagne. Saturday, we went to a birthday dinner party, and even though the hosts were vegetarian, I still didn't restrict my calories. And then Sunday, again we were invited over to another friend's for dinner and wine. After dinner, we then went to the boyfriend's relatives for his brother-in-law's birthday party. More cake and wine. Ooof.
   
   
2. Last Weekend: About once every month, John and I attend parties where everyone gets dressed up in fantasy costumes and enjoys a good deal of food, beer, and homebrewed mead. Of course, there are an incredible number of snacks and an evening feast. Though I managed to stay away from the cheese and crackers, I indulged in a great deal of bread and stew and mead. And then, many people 'crash' that night and wake up the next morning to go to a diner for breakfast. I managed constraint with half a blueberry waffle, while others scarfed on corn-beef hash and bacon and tons of eggs. I was a bit unnerved by the amount of fat that was liberally consumed by the entire group, but also felt 'out of place' by nibbling on a waffle.

So now I am left playing 'catch-up' during the week, trying to get back on track to the 2 pounds/week loss. Overall, though, it could have been worse. I was 'relaxed' without being completely sabotaging myself. Still, it is a bit frustrating to see my weight loss graph 'level off' somewhat. I am even more resolved then to make these next upcoming weekends fit within my calorie limits, even if I have to eat and prepare something totally different from my boyfriend. And no alcohol!

An upside is that within the last week, I have loss an inch or so from my waist, and my arms are becoming more defined from the weight-lifting. My goal for this week will be to get my bicycle fixed and tuned up in preparation for the warmer days when I can start cycling instead of being confined to fitness videos in my living room.

This is also the day where I am going to fix up any last bugs in the website and try to get it uploaded and online.

Wish me luck!

Tuesday, February 27th

I have been resolving myself to push extra hard this week to get back on track from slouching off from the past 2 weekends. Last night, I did 20 minutes of medium-intensity aerobics and 20 minutes of weight-lifting/toning. And then this morning I did another 20 minutes of high-intensity aerobics, followed by 15 minutes of toning hoping to 'kickstart' my metabolism for the day.

Last night I had a light dinner, so about 9 oclock or so I dipped into my reduced fat Healthy Choice vanilla ice cream. It was very flavorful, and I enjoyed it with as much relish as a 'full-fat' ice cream, with none of the guilt because I was well within my calorie range for the day.

Just before my lunch break, another co-worker asked if I was losing weight. It seems that people are noticing the weightloss in my face. I responded that "Yes, I was." She then asked if anything was wrong, and I responded "No, I'm fine," and smiled. And I have been fine. I have more energy during the day and night, and no longer feel the need to take a nap when I get home from work. I can get only about 6 hours of sleep and still feel rested enough to get up at 7 a.m. to do a morning work-out. Of course, I was a bit put off by the comment if anything was wrong. As if she was worried that I had all this stress in my life that made me stop eating, or perhaps wondered if I was becoming anorexic. Humf! It has been about a month since I started my weight loss. It will probably be another 2 or 3 months until I reach 115. I may have to become prepared for more and more critical comments.

My mother will be visiting in another 2 or 3 weeks. I wonder what she will say. I'm also curious to see if the desk job she has recently taken has had an effect on her weight. From what I hear from her, it seems all the women at her hospital bring in all these homebaked goodies to work and leave them in the lounge right in the same cluster of rooms where she does her work.

Now I am uploading and off to lunch. Tah!

Wednesday, February 28th

Weight: 133.2 pounds

Whoohoo! I wore the 'weigh in' outfit today so I could check to see if my upped exercise schedule has made a difference in my weight, and it has. I will be 'on track' again by the next official weigh in on Monday the 5th if I manage to keep my activity level up and my calorie intake at its designated level throughout the rest of the week. Which I know will be harder during the weekend. John is planning to take me out to dinner on Friday, which I am slightly dreading, because while I can try to make the best choices, I really don't know how many calories ounce-for-ounce I am eating. And I don't want to seem like I am starving myself with ordering just a salad. Call me conflicted between wanting to be a strong and health conscious woman, and being viewed as one of 'those' women who seem obsessed about their weight and won't let an ounce of fat pass their lips. Any time I hear the 'D' word applied to my fitness and weight loss plan I want to cringe, because I don't want to be one of 'those' women. I think the next time John says 'your diet', I will make it a point of stating that my eating patterns are changing as I develop a life-long nutritional change. I have already told him: "no foods are forbidden; just eaten in moderation." Hopefully he will lay off with his comments and come to accept this as the new me. And I still need to work on getting him to let me serve my own portions when we cook at home. The goal for this weekend is not to let myself get off track, to -not- relax on the caloric counts though I may on the exercise.

In other news, when I went grocery shopping for all my low-fat dairy items last night, I picked up a copy of Self magazine. Starting in March, they are doing a 3 month fitness challenge for their readers, with all sorts of prizes involved. I already have their March challenge wrapped up: 3 cardio workouts a week, 3 weight training workouts, 2 stretching, plus drinking lots of water and knowning your maximum caloric intake. So I registered online last night to take their fitness challenge. I decided that as I reach my halfway mark of 130 pounds, I am going to reward myself with a subscription to Self. When I reach the final goal, I am going to get some new clothes, including a tight pair of black leather pants to hug to my new legs and butt.

Speaking of clothes, I went to Kmart over my lunch hour yesterday and just took 3 pairs of jeans to the dressing room to see what sizes I can fit in now. The 7/8's were a bit loose, the 5/6's were just right, and the 3/4's I could fit into, but my flab bulged out at the waistline. I figure when I lose those next 15 pounds, I'll look just right in those 3/4's.

While my arms and shoulders are looking quite fine, and my abs are on their way to being toned and svelt too, right now I am starting to concentrate on my thighs and butt which are the most flabby and jiggly part of my body, and which I have heard is the last area on the body that loses fat. So I have started doing lots of lunges and leg lifts, and from the workout I had last night, boy I am feeling it today!

Just on a side note: one of the last articles in the Self magazine was about body changes after pregnancy. And while most of the stomach jiggle and weight gain is reversible (that is if you have the time to work out as a new mother!), the magazine said that you are pretty much guaranteed to loose your chest once your breasts deflate. Another small reason while I am glad to be childfree.

Thursday, March 1st

Not much to report today. Did my 20 minutes worth of aerobic exercise and 15 minutes worth of thigh / butt toning this morning. Will probably do upper body work tonight, just because I haven't done that in a few days. Tai chi class was fun last night, because this is the point where we do a lot of standing on one leg and kicking. The balance is what I have to work on.

Yesterday afternoon at work, two more people commented on my weight loss. One said that I looked "smaller" in my office, and simply congratulated me. Another, who is following the Weight Watchers plan inquired. Apparently, she thought I had spoken with her about wanting to lose weight a few weeks ago, but I remember only speaking about her "2 point soup". I simply told her I was bettering my nutrition and was exercising for half an hour or so a week, and she commented that "whatever I must be doing, it was working." I didn't inquire about her own progress, because I don't want to seem that I am gloating. I'm not volunteering the fact that I am using Slimfast, or that I am doing exercise videos in my living room. No one has asked me how much I have lost, and I am not volunteering. At some point, if people actually start questioning my health, I may have to start snapping back that I am at a healthy weight for my height.

Except for the weekends, it has been fairly easy to maintain an exercise and nutritional regimen. I can see if you lived with a family and children how hard it would be to 'do your own thing,' and get the time to exercise and eat how you wanted. If my boyfriend moves in with me at any point, I may have to carve out some fitness time by starting to go walking or jogging or cycling, or use the money that I would be saving on rent and buying a gym membership. Because I honestly can't imagine doing those girly aerobic videos while he is in the other room. :P

Friday, March 2nd

Not much news today at all. I'm gearing up for the weekend by getting out from work a little early today (boss is on vacation) and starting the weekend with my boyfriend. I was light on the exercise last night and this morning. I did a little stretching, and a little upper-body work, but nothing that I would call a 'work-out'. We'll be going to our usual folk-dance tonight, where I work up a sweat for 2 or 3 hours, and I am sure burns plenty of calories. The great part about it is you can be very energetic about it or you can take it more calmly. I'm a very energetic dancer, and love the extra stomps and fast swings and flourishing spins.

The main struggle, as you know, is watching what I eat around John during the weekend without seeming like I am starving myself (which I am not). Oh, and the leftovers in the fridge, which I won't eat because there are too many calories in them, and so they sit around and get bad and I throw them away. I hate to waste food.