Week 3

Once again (I begin to sound like a broken record), I had a better start to the week and kind of pooped out at the end of the week. However, I have stuck to the plan of not purchasing snack food for the house, so I feel like I did okay with my snacking. I just need to do better with the exercise.

We are traveling this weekend to Illinois for two fund-raising meetings and that kind of messes with my eating and exercise. Once I get some good routines/habits in place, that is definitely one area I plan to tackle.

Beginning Tuesday, September 1, my sister and I will be having a friendly competition dealing with the area of personal discipline which will last until the end of April. Since there is money involved, I hope it will prove to be an added incentive for me to stick to my daily exercise and eating goals.

Week 2

I did much better this week than last week, at least at the beginning of the week. I accomplished most of my daily goals, had 2 days of walking DVDs in a row and did my Total Gym on Tuesday. After Wednesday, things kind of went downhill. Anyway, I will be doing 2 days in a row of Total Gym (today and tomorrow) and that will be it.

Hopefully next week will be better! No excuses, though!

A Reasonable Goal?

I just read something in a magazine or online (honestly, between the internet and all the different magazines I get, who knows where it came from?) that suggested women tend to set unrealistic goals for themselves when trying to lose weight. So, okay, my first thought was that they try to go all Biggest Loser and shoot for weekly double-digit numbers. Who living a normal life with kids, a spouse, and a job has TIME to hit the gym for 6-8 hours a day? So I was thinking expecting to put up the big numbers weekly is a bad idea (and I was kind of scoffing at those who do as I read). Turns out I was WRONG. This article suggested that we should, in our minds, shoot for that "unreachable" goal of getting down to that size 2. Apparently women who set higher goals for themselves actually work harder to attain them. Hmmm. I'm not sure I'd agree with this--I think I'd only get discouraged and give up. Like I've said before, what normal woman who's born as many children as I have is a size 2?

Anyway, it got me to thinking about my own personal weight loss goals. As I'm about to embark on a little contest with my sister, I sat down and jotted out what I thought were reasonable, attainable goals for myself. Now, each month I'm planning on upping the ante, giving myself a bit more to tackle as I go--just enough to make it a challenge, not something to make my life any crazier than it already is (anyone home-schooling 3 children each day understands what I mean when I say CRAZY). Well, so those were the goals for our contest.

Then, I started thinking about what I'd like to weigh at the end of our little contest, and at the end of a year. I've decided to shoot for the extremely reasonable goal of losing 4 lbs a month (that's a pound a week). For me to end up at 130 (my goal weight), losing 4 lbs a month, it will take me about 21 months. So I got out my calendar and thought about where that would put me. June, 2011--right before our hoped-for departure for Mexico City. Interesting! It would be so much fun to get to Mexico City 85 lbs lighter! Now, there's a goal I can shoot for!

Weight loss goal # 1 - To lose between 30-35 lbs between now and the end of May, 2010 (that would put me under the 200 mark and back at my wedding weight before we, hopefully, leave for language school in Costa Rica). I'm liking the idea of hitting those gorgeous beaches (which I will be doing as often as humanly possible, given that we won't have a car) at a much thinner 180 lbs.

Weight loss goal # 2 - To lose the remainder of the weight between June, 2010 and June, 2011 when we, hopefully, return home from language school. The idea of my family seeing me at 130 lbs again after almost 17 years (by that time) is a HUGE motivation! Especially since I would have lost 50 lbs since last they'd seen me. ;-)

Week 1

There wasn't a lot of progress to report this week as I really struggled with sticking to the schedule I made for myself. All in all, I only managed to log in 1 day on the total gym (okay, 2 if I am good and do it tomorrow as I'm supposed to) and 1 day of doing the walking DVD. Need to do a bit better in that department.

This morning was a good morning, though. I was up for my devotions and had an hour of quiet before the kids got up in which to do them (although an hour is just not enough--it showed me that I need at least 1 1/2 hours, meaning that I need to get up every day by 5:30). Then I did the 15-minute (1 mile) Leslie Sansone walking DVD and had cereal and hot tea for breakfast. I had hoped to do the 30 minute (2 mile) DVD but as I'm starting I've noticed that my knees have been especially sore lately so I've decided to work into it. 15 minutes a day is better than nothing!

Aside from the ice cream I bought on a weak moment over last weekend and the fast food we've eaten this week (although I cooked quite a bit as well), I've done pretty well with the food. For now I'm trying to adapt to the principles I learned in Weigh Down 10 years ago--eat whatever you want, but ONLY when you're hungry. Once you're full, put down the fork! I also have decided to help myself by not buying any more of the sweets to have on hand. Chips I can take or leave (mostly leave). Cake I can take or leave (by itself, I can mostly leave. Pair it with ice cream and I'm a gonner). Hard candy I can take or leave. Most cookies I can take or leave (I have a particular weakness for home-baked goodies like frosted sugar cookies or Special K bars or Double Stuf Oreos, however). But put some chocolate or ice cream in the house and I'm in trouble! So that's just what I'm NOT buying for now.

So there's the nitty gritty on the physical stuff I'm working on. I'm also attempting in this whole process to become a discipled person. After all, I believe a disciplined person has the ability to say no to food they don't need. A discipled person has the ability to keep up with the housework under normal circumstances. A disciplined person is not a lazy person. A disciplined person knows how to control her tongue and uses it to encourage and edify.

You may as well place a giant plackard around my neck that says, "under construction", because that's what's happening in my life right now. Remeber that Gaither song, "Kids Under Construction"?

The Lord is not finished with me yet.

Starting Stats

Now for the painful (and I mean painful!) truth. Following are my starting measurements and current weight (fully clothed with shoes stuffed with rocks, ha, ha!):

Chest - 46 inches (and not in a fill-out-your dress kind of way)
Ab - 49 inches
Hip - 48 inches
Thigh - 26 inches
Arm - 15 inches
Weight - {gulp} 212 lbs

While I will be blogging weekly to report the week's progress, I will only be weighing/measuring once a month (contrary to popular belief, I am not a glutton for punishment!).

Now, it's on!

Getting Started

Okay, so obviously this is going to be about my weight loss goals (if you've seen the profile picture and can read, there shouldn't be any confusion about this).

Why lean and mean? Why not "skinny"? First of all, I detest (there is not a way I can emphasize this word strongly enough) that word. Second of all, I don't think it's natural. Especially not for a woman who's had four children and can't afford plastic surgery or her own personal trainer and chef. My ultimate goal is to lose enough weight to be healthy and regain some of the energy I used to have. I realize that as someone in her mid-thirties, some of that energy is gone for good. But still.

I made a realization recently that I weighed 120 when I started college and thought I was...well, a heifer. No offense to cows, but heiferness is not a pleasant trait in someone who's barely 5 feet tall. Would I love to be 120 pounds? Yes and no. If a magic genie granted me the wish to {poof} instantly become 120 pounds I wouldn't say no. But am I willing to kill myself to get back down to that size? I'd have to say that's a big fat no, at this point.

The goal of this journey is to reach a healthy weight for ME. Jenny. Not Uma Thurman. Not Elle. And certainly not other slightly over 5 feet tall women with or without 4 kids. But it's way more than that, as well. I want to reach the point where I can look at myself--at whatever weight I am at that moment--and see myself as Jesus sees me. Not as the world sees me (because, let's face it. Unless I am a size 2 the world will think I am fat), not even as my husband sees me, but how my Creator--the One who thinks I am beautifully and wonderfully made--sees me.

So if you're reading this and find yourself in the same boat, why not join me on this journey to lean and meanness? I will be posting thoughts on my progress (or even lackthereof) as well as actual stats as well. So stay tuned!