Hello May

Happy May Day peeps, and welcome to my birthday month. 😀

There are a lot of birthdays in my family this month, including my own (on the 30th) so May has always been a little extra special. The nice weather also helps.

In any case, summer is right around the corner so lots of pool (and maybe beach) time is coming near and I can’t wait to get into my bathing suits. Here are some other events I’m looking forward to this month…

May the fun begin:

Cinco de Mayo is an important date in my household but not because of Mexico’s Batalla de Puebla but because it’s my mom’s birthday. We don’t really do big celebrations but this year I am planning to learn to make Drunken Noodles, her latest favorite dish.

Get in the Pink! I’ll be earning my fifth race bib of the year on Saturday May 9th. Although I am not looking forward to the early start, I am happy to participate in a local event that also supports a local charity that raises money and resources to assist and support breast cancer patients from diagnosis to remission.

I am not doing too well on my current Dietbet and therefore I have given few updates but I have a plan for this month so rain or shine I’ll be posting an honest update on May 21 or 22. I don’t know where I am going to be. I hope it’s a better place than where I am now but we’ll have to put in the work and then see. Wish me luck!

And then there’s May 30th… my birthday 😀

Sunday Summary: Taking a step back

Hello peeps! I’m starting this weekly post the way I usually end it: with my weekly words of wisdom. I’m starting there because these words best explain what happened to me this week and explain why I’m taking a step back and what that means.

OK… here we go
Weekly Words of Wisdom

Last week I was elated with newness… I was looking forward to my experiences with online dating, using my new fitbit, diversifying my exercise routine, and just getting out there and trying new things.

On Tuesday as I was coming back from the gym, a 20-year-old kid ran a red light and totaled my car.

Yeah… that happened.

Thankfully, the airbags kept me safe but pretty much everything else fell through the cracks of the crash. My dates had to be cancelled, my exercise routine stalled, meetings had to be rescheduled, others missed… and now I have a check with which I really can’t buy the same car I once had (which I loved) and a big question on what I should do next.

OK… some context… my job can be done from anywhere and I have been where I am because it was comfortable but now with no car, the money from said car has opened a possibility to relocate to a place where I don’t really need one. Should I go? Should I stay? Well, that is the question. 

A question for which I do not have an answer…

… yet.

Anywho, on better news I did manage to use the fitbit. I have not used the food tracking system yet but I am planning to start tomorrow. Hopefully it sticks. It is not something I like to do. I did keep it on while I slept a couple of times this week and it says that my sleep efficiency is at 94% which I believe is good. What I have really enjoyed it how it keeps track of my exercise.

Check this out! Here’s a summary of this week’s exercise plan. Friday and Sunday were rest days. I did not wear the fitbit all day every day.

I know that these numbers may not be super accurate but they do help me see the difference in burn among instructors. So I’m going to be favoring some instructors based on the results I see.

So far, I am loving my new toy. I can’t wait to get the Fitbit Aria (thank you VISA).

Fellow Fitbit Users, FRIEND ME.

On not so great news, today marked the end of Round #2 on Dietbet. I am so off it is not even funny. I went up 3 pounds this month which puts me back in the 170s. This is getting very very old! I now have 30 days to drop 18.7 pounds (my best month ever has been 9 pounds). I am not feeling confident but I want to give it my all. I am adding running/walking to my morning routine and I hope that food tracking keeps me more honest and less likely to cheat. Here’s hoping for the best.

As always thank you for your support!

PS. I am trying not to plan too far ahead and just let life be for a while.
PPS. Fellow bloggers, don’t forget April’s A to Z challenge.

Sunday Summary: Not the Best Start

Hello peeps! So Round #1 on Dietbet ended today… and normally I would write a “Dietbet Update” post but this was so bad that it doesn’t deserve it. I was supposed to lose five pounds this month and instead I gained six. I GAINED SIX POUNDS! I want to be mad at myself but I can’t because I did this to myself. And I know better.

So I am back to the drawing board. Thankfully, there’s always Monday to give you a chance to start fresh and on track. Thanks to MobileFit, I am starting a 1500 low-cholesterol meal plan tomorrow. Looking at the suggested menu and comparing it to my food journal, I can clearly see that I have been undereating and over-snacking. I have not been eating enough for breakfast and I’ve been doing dinner wrong. I may be eating too much fruit and too few vegetables. Story of my life.

Anywho… I’ll be posting regularly this week to share meals, recipes, and exercise routines… and to keep myself on check. Cheer me on on Twitter and Instagram. Your support makes a huge difference and I always appreciate it.

Overall, this week I exercised pretty well but I was not on my A game. I can kick it up a notch. And so I will. I ate a lot out which did not help. HOWEVER… and this is a big however, I know I have gained muscle too. My arms are looking great and my lunges and squats look better every week. NON SCALE VICTORY FOR THE WIN!

Weekly Words of Wisdom

As always… thanks for stopping by. 😀

Sunday Summary: Hello February

Hello peeps! Can you believe it’s already February? Last year, February was a freaky month, weather-wise, I hope this year remains cool and collected… I hope.

So, here in the US it was Super Bowl Sunday. I don’t understand football so I didn’t watch it. GASP! I know, so unamerican 😆 However, I am a markerter by trade so I am looking forward to checking out all the ads; and see how well (or not) companies spent $4.5 million for 30 seconds of air time. Anywho, I’m betting Doritos did pretty well. Mmmmmm Doritos.

So… no Super Bowl for me. How was my Sunday? Pretty standard. After not eating too great all week I started the day with an apple, carrot, orange, and blueberry juice. Lunch was fish, mushrooms, plantain, and cabbage and carrot salad with a glass of cold green tea with lemon. I went to the gym, which was as expected pretty empty, and did an hour of zumba. My snack was some dark chocolate and almonds. Dinner was a slice of oatmeal banana bread and hot green tea.

FYI- February is Black History Month. I don’t want to get political but, one month, really? And the shortest one? really? Anyhow, it’s a good excuse to learn some US History or simply appreciate the work of an African American writer, painter, musician, historian, soldier, activist, poet… take your pick. I’ll be reading I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou, and go from there.

On that note, my 2015 reading challenge is finally picking up speed. This week I finished 1Q84, and read Heft, and The DUFF (the book is better than the movie). According to Goodreads I am still one book behind schedule but it should not be too hard to catch up. I am on a mission. I am currently just about half-way through The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty. So far, so very good.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN FEBRUARY?

I am doing #spartan30 the pushup challenge and will attempt to do 30 pushups every day. I started today and the first 20 were OK but the last 10 were rough. Of course, I am doing the modified version (knees down) so I hope that by the end I can do at least 1/3 on my toes. That’s the goal anyway. Care to join? Click on the image and drop and give me 30!

I will be earning my second running bib on Valentine’s Day at Cupid’s Chase 5K. This fun and quasi-romantic race takes place in several cities across the country and they are running a BOGO 1/2 off right now. Click here for the whole scoop. Next week I’ll be running 1 mile on Monday, 1.5 on Tuesday, 2 on Wednesday, 2.5 on Thursday, and 5K on Friday. If that goes well, I’ll repeat the following week in preparation for this run.

February 21st will be the end of Round #1 on Dietbet. Oh! The nerves! I have to admit that I have not been doing as well as I would like. I hope that this coming week is better. I’ll be increasing my workout time and making some changes to my meal plan. Hopefully that does the trick. Also, I am getting started with MobileFIT. I’ve never been really good at tracking things online (I’m more old school) but I am open to new things so here we go.

Weekly Words of Wisdom
(becuase Valentine’s Day)

and don’t foret to wear red on Friday.

A New Dietbet: Because everything that goes up…

… must come down. HOLY COW peeps! I went up four pounds since my last weigh-in. Boys and girls, this is what happens when you EAT ALL THE FOOD and then some. So… new game plan. Well, really more like back to the game plan with slight modifications.

This morning I got up and faced the scale, took my “before” pictures, and submitted my official weigh-in to start a new Dietbet.

This will be my third Dietbet… third time’s the charm, right? I did my first Dietbet Transformer (that’s a 6-month game) from Jan-July 2014 and lost 12.4 lbs falling 6 lbs short of my goal. My second Transformer ran from July ’14-Jan ’15 and I lost 14.8 lbs falling 2.8 lbs short. With this Dietbet I hope to finally make it to goal but more importantly make it out of “obese.”

There are currently over 350 players and the pot is over $45000. Every month each player bets $25, half goes to the monthly pot and half to the final pot. Every month all the winners split the pot evenly but we don’t get paid until the end of the game. Here’s what I have to do to win:

Dietbet encourages a slow-and-steady approach breaking up the goal into 6 rounds. In order to avoid dangerous dieting, each player must have lost at least 6% of their initial weight to qualify for the final round. Here’s my break-up:

INITIAL WEIGHT: 166.8 LBS.
FINAL WEIGHT TO WIN: 150.1 LBS.

– Round #1 (02/21) 3% = 161.8 lbs.
– Round #2 (03/21) 6% cumulative = 156.8 lbs.
– Round #3 (04/21) 8% cumulative = 153.5 lbs.
– Round #4 (05/21) 9% cumulative = 151.8 lbs.
– Round #5 (06/21) 10% cumulative = 150.1 lbs.
– Round #6 (07/21) 10% maintain = 150.1 lbs.

There is still time to sign-up and play if you’re interested. I’ll be posting every month on my progress.

What will I do differently? As I have mentioned before I have spotted a few things I need to work on and others I believe I can tweak to improve my results. Here’s the plan so far:

1. Start with a strong breakfast. My breakfast is usually very light so I am going to start with something more nutritious. Like this.
2. Increase running. I have been really neglecting my runs even though I can definitely see more progress on my weight loss when I run. For starters, I plan to run at least 2 miles twice a week.
3. Lower my carbs. I wouldn’t say that my diet is very carb heavy but I want to lower it a bit more and see what happens.

That’s about it for now. We’ll see how it goes.

 

PS. The OUTFIELD notecard in my pictures was my secret word provided by Dietbet to submit along with my weigh-in pictures. These are the ones I submitted this morning (without the measurements, of course).

 

Sunday Summary: I don’t need wheat to bake

Hello peeps!

I just registered for a new Dietbet which will run from January 21st to July 20th. I also have been eating ALL THE FOOD… and skipping breakfast. I’ve been really bad. To top it off, aunt Flo decided to pay me a visit so I am also in all kinds of moods (and as you can read, without shame).

On better news I clocked 8 1/2 hours of exercise this week including a 2-mile run, had two fabulous friend dates, one with an old classmate I hadn’t seen in a while and one with a group of new friends, and I found a fantastic banana bread recipe that I have now modified and made it even healthier. I may never use whole wheat flour… ever… again.

My Healthy Berry Banana Bread:

Preheat oven at 325 F and prepare baking pan with cooking oil spray (I used an 8×4)

1. Mix all dry ingredients: 1 1/4 cup of oatmeal flour (I just put oats in a grinder) + 2 tbs. baking powder.
2. Mash one large banana – better if it is very ripe.
3. Mix all wet ingredients: 1 egg + 1 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp vanilla extract + 1/4 cup almond milk.
4. Mix banana and wet ingredients well
5. Mix everything with a spatula and then add a handfull of raspsberries, blueberries, and blackberries.
6. Pour into baking pan and cover with nuts (I used walnuts).

Bake for 35 min.or until toothpick comes out clean. Let sit for 10 min before serving.

As you can imagine it is not a very sweet bread but it is super healthy and great for breakfast. The lesson I learned is that you can make a perfectly moist and yummy banana bread with no wheat… for the win!

Weekly Words of Wisdom

get out there and try something new
and as always, thanks for stopping by 😀

Dietbet Update: The End…

… or a new beginning?

No surprise here. I did not win 😥 but I will not be deterred. Yesterday I submitted my final weigh-in and I am happy to report a zero net gain/loss from last month. Upon reviewing the last six months I can clearly see that I need to work on my diet. That’s where I am losing this battle.

I don’t eat poorly but there is sure room for improvement. For starters I need to power up my breakfast which I sometimes skip (big no no) or just get by with very little. And I need to work on lowering my daily carb intake. This is really hard for me but it’s time to take it up a notch so it must be done.

Here’s the final report card from Dietbet:

I lost nearly 15 lbs. these last 6 months which I am very happy about.

I will start a new Transformer (that’s a 6-month Dietbet game) on January 21st. Between now and then I’ll be planning a new approach.

In other news, today I got my first bulubox and I can’t wait to try all the goodies. If you’d like to give it a try click here and use promocode FANTASTIC to get your second box free.

Here’s the most recent #beforeandnow picture:

 

Thank you for your support 😀

Dietbet Update: Round #5

Another month, another pound lost. It is certainly better than a gain but at this pace it would take me 31 months to get me to normal weight range and that just seems like too long.

I know that I could be much more strict with my food but a strict diet is just not sustainable long term for me. I get cranky. I have to figure out some way to speed up my weight loss and maintain my sanity. I’m working on it though; for now, I am lowering my sodium intake and see what that does.

Fortunately, I have lost enough weight to qualify for the final round on Dietbet so it’s GO BIG or GO HOME time. The next and final round will be on Thursday, January 15th. The final round has the most money so I still have a chance to at least make my initial investment back which I would probably use to sign up again, because although I have not won big this does help me stay the course.

For the final round I need to weigh 159.5 lbs. which is definitely doable. At my height, I need to weigh 158 lbs. to reach “overweight” status (BMI 29.9) and I still would like to get there by the end of the year. I am trying to make it. However, winning this game will be no small feat either.

Here’s the report card from Dietbet:

• SW: 163.4 lbs
• CW: 162.4 lbs
• Goal weight for January 15: 159.5

Compared to last month, my waist measured the same while my chest and hips were reduced by half an inch each. Personally, I find that the changes in inches speak more than what the scale says. Unfortunately, Dietbet doesn’t take them into account 😆 but I sure do 😀

So, maybe I haven’t made the progress I would have liked but in the last five months I have lost 14.8 lbs which is still something to be proud of.

Progress is progress!

Thanks for visiting 🙂

Monday: Here we go again…

Hello peeps! How’s your Monday going? Hopefully well. Me? Well… I’m trying not to be disappointed with the scale and focus on the non-scale victories instead (it is so hard). Tomorrow is my official weigh-in day for Dietbet and I’m going to lose the round… AGAIN! 😥 Fortunately, I have lost enough to qualify for the last round so here we go.

Today I start a 15-day Healthy Holiday Challenge on Facebook that is organized for free by my virtual coach Lucia Targett and it’s a fun way to stay accountable during these tempting times. The rules are pretty simple (click on the image to join):

DAILY POSTS: I love that I have a place to check in everyday without flooding my own page.

THE WORKOUT PLAN: I’m keeping it simple and trying to meet my regular weekly target of 6-10 hours of exercise. This usually means going to the gym at least five days.

EAT CLEAN: I’m pretty good as long as I prepare my meals and avoid eating out. I have a dinner with friends tomorrow and will probably eat out over the weekend but I’ll stick to healthy choices and minimize the outings these next 15 days. I am also lowering my sodium intake. I hope that does the trick.

And of course the most fun: BEING ENCOURAGED AND ENCOURAGING.

Alright! So this is the plan… now let’s make it work. Today I started out with a fruity/nutty breakfast; lunch was black beans, with ground turkey and veggies, half an avocado, and a tablespoon of grated parmesan; and my snack was a handful of almonds with dark chocolate. I’m now heading to the gym for an hour of zumba followed by an hour of barre… my regular Monday workout. Dinner will be protein granola with almond milk and a cup of green tea before bed. That should do it. 😀

Come back tomorrow for a new Dietbet Update (Round 5).
It’s not going to be pretty but it should be fun.

Sunday Summary: The Next Seven Days

Hello peeps! I am so not working at full capacity (not even half I think) 😳 Again I ate out a lot this week and I know that tomorrow when I step on the scale I am going to see the effects of my bad choices. 😦 It’s my own fault and feeling sorry for myself is not going to help.

Overall my food choices were not the best. However, I did manage to workout about eight hours this week which is close to my average. If I were grading my week I would give myself a solid C.

I now have seven days to meet Dietbet‘s Round #5 goal weight of 159.5 lbs. It is not impossible but it is not going to be easy. I need to be really disciplined the next seven days and I believe I need to diversify my workouts a little to kick my metabolism back into gear. So… here’s the plan:

• Start the day with two cups of water followed by one cup of hot water with lemon. Drink one glass of water before every meal and one before bed.
• No processed foods, limited dairy, lots of fresh veggies, fruits, and protein.
• MONDAY: Swim and steam room in the morning / zumba and barre in the evening.
• TUESDAY: Zumba and steam room in the morning / 25-min run and yoga in the evening.
• WEDNESDAY: Swim and steam room in the morning / weights and zumba in the evening.
• THURSDAY: Swim and steam room in the morning / 28-min run and zumba in the evening.
• FRIDAY: Swim and steam room in the morning.
• SATURDAY: 5K run in the evening.
• SUNDAY: 5-mile nature walk.

Now the real question is… will I stick to this? Only time will tell… and my instagram account 😀 Yes, I promise to document every day on instagram. Knowing that I have to report what I have done usually helps me stay accountable so I hope this will work. The last time I did this I lost 3.4 lbs and finally got out of the 170s so hopefully I will make it through and break the 160s barrier. Pretty please!

Weekly Words of Wisdom

This applies to so many things… but today “where I am” is the 160s and “move” means exercise and sticking to the diet plan. The next seven days should be interesting.

As always, thanks for stopping by.