Monthly Weigh-In: June 2011

So this entry is a couple days late, but as you will see from the results of this month, this is a tough one to write. I thought about skipping it altogether, but here goes.

June's Goals:
Weight: -7.3
25 days drinking 8+ glasses of water


June's Progress:
Weight: -0 (OMG I know, right?!)
Days drinking 8+ glasses of water: I have no idea. I thought I could pull a report from Sparkpeople quickly, but it turns out I have to add it to a "Quick Track" goal. Anyway, I'll try again this month.
Days in Calorie Range: 14/30
Days Worked Out: 5/30
Days Not Tracked: 10/30 (Ugh! So bad!!)


Total YTD Progress:
Weight: -27.8
Days in Calorie Range: 91/150
Days Worked Out: 67/150


July's Goals:
Weight: -8.3
Track calories 29/31 days (already missed two)


So clearly I totally fell off the wagon this month. Yes, I went to Austin for a weekend. Then the next weekend/week I had strep throat. Then the next weekend I went to Houston to visit friends. Then I was in San Diego for business all week. I think this is a good example of what happens when I rely on takeout and eating out for the entire month. And then don't work out because I'm not here to go to the gym.

This month I'm going to visit Meaghan (!!!) in Baltimore and we're going to have a fabulous time. But I'm also going to track every single calorie I put in my mouth. That doesn't mean I'm going to eat lettuce and chicken the whole time (obviously), but it does mean I'm going to be more aware of what I'm eating while I'm on vacation.

That trip starts on July 20th, so I have 16 days to get myself back into gear. I'm very concerned about meeting my goal by my birthday but I do want to get as close as I can for sure, even if I don't *quite* make it. I went to the store yesterday to stock up on groceries so I'm not getting takeout and I feel really good about the next couple of weeks.

In other news, I'm also thinking about registering for an online class to start building credits in case I want to take the patent bar exam at some point -- basically I have to take 32 credit hours worth of science classes to be eligible to sit for it. I can take the classes at the community college here in Dallas, and it's ridiculously cheaper than the real college (like $140 versus ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS) so I figure I need to start and see if that's something I actually want to pursue. I have also been considering going to business school, not for a couple years, but if I do the patent bar I probably won't do my MBA, so I'd like to go ahead and rule out one or the other.

Alright, I'm off to the Rangers baseball game -- what could be more American? Happy 4th everyone!!

Monthly Weigh-In: May 2011

May's Goals:
Weight: -7.2
20 days in calorie range
20 days working out

May's Progress:
Weight: -2.2
Days in calorie range: 12/31
Days calories NOT TRACKED: 4/31 (Boo!)
Days worked out: 5/31



Total YTD Progress:
Weight: -27.8
Days in calorie range: 77/120
Days worked out: 62/120


June's Goals:
Weight: -7.3
25 days drinking 8+ glasses of water


Clearly May did not work out for me....since I basically didn't work out the whole month of May. I'm re-evaluating my weight loss goals. NOT to change my ultimate goal in September, but this is the second month where I didn't meet my goal, and I just need to re-situate the numbers. Instead of the 6 pounds a month I planned, since May was such a blow-off month, I'm going to up it to a goal of 7.3 pounds per month. Otherwise, I would have to lose 11.2 pounds this month to stay on track with my numbers the way they're set up now. 


May was difficult because of the teambuilding event at the beginning of the month coupled with Ashley and Rivka's visit this past weekend. Not that I regret that because we had a total BLAST, and I knew I would be taking a break from the diet, but I also don't want to set myself up to fail, to get discouraged, to give up, and to not reach my goal by my birthday. The whole reason this is working this time is because I'm being realistic - I'm going to take vacations and eat chips and drink margaritas - and if I need to adjust my goals, I will. 

See? Look how much fun we were having!

With that said, I really want to step it up in June. I only have one out-of-town trip planned for one night, and I don't have a big event at work that will consume my entire life for two weeks either. I do have a fantastic trip planned for July to see Meaghan, back from Korea (!!!!), so I would like to get a head start on July since I know we will be celebrating her return! 

I decided not to set a goal for days in calorie range or days worked out this month because I am committed to those fully. I have noticed that I've been really dehydrated lately, though, so I want to make sure that I get all my water in for the day. I have also read that it helps a lot when losing weight, although I can't really believe it would make that much difference besides an initial pound or two in water weight. I'm going to start tracking that as carefully as my calories, and we'll see if it actually does make a difference like everyone says.  

Monthly Weigh-In: April 2011

April's Goals:
Weight: -7.2
20 days in calorie range
20 days working out


April's Progress:
Weight: -5.8
Days in calorie range: 13/30
Days worked out: 15/30

Total YTD Progress:
Weight: -25.6
Days in calorie range: 65/120
Days worked out: 57/120


May's Goals:
Weight: - 7.4
20 days in calorie range
20 days working out


Just as I suspected, I didn't quite make my weight loss goal for this month. However, I did forget that I was a little behind schedule last month as well, so that made me feel better this morning. The travelling and birthday celebrations discussed in the last post really didn't help, but I still managed to lose 7.2 pounds this month, which is definitely significant and should make me proud! 


I have also officially crossed the 25 pounds lost mark, which means I'm SUPER close to my halfway point - which will be 28.5 pounds lost. 


I really want to try and work very hard next month; two of my high school girls are coming into town for Memorial Day weekend and I really want to get a new swimsuit for our float trip! My goal is aggressive but I think it's achievable as long as I stick to the plan consistently. I may try to plan out my above calorie range days so I don't get out of control with the eating out situation (that's what did me in this month for sure). 

Monthly Weigh-In: March 2011

March's Goals:
Weight: -4
Work out at least 15 days



March Progress:
Weight: -2.8
Days in calorie range: 15/31
Days worked out: 18/31

Total YTD Progress:
Weight: -19.8
Days in calorie range: 52/90
Days worked out: 42/90



April's Goals:
Weight: -7.2
20 days in calorie range
20 days working out


So for some reason even though I was below my goal a few days ago, I've gained back a little under 2 pounds. Who knows what my body is thinking - I've been eating at my calorie levels and working out every day since I posted that I met my goal. Go figure. 


Now. Considering that I went on vacation this month for a week (after which I weighed six pounds more than I did at the beginning of the month), I did pretty well. That said, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. 


Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I've been doing really well with working out. (At least 5 days a week at the gym! Me! Crazy!!) I definitely need to learn to manage my time better now though. Before the gym workouts, I had plenty of time to come home, cook a delicious meal, eat, and then write the recipe down for all of you to enjoy. Now, as I'm sure you've noticed, I haven't had time to do any of that since I've been staying at the gym until at least 7 every night, sometimes later. I've been getting takeout more (usually healthier choices, but still, it makes it difficult to track calories exactly) and I've also been hungrier, so I've been allowing myself to flex more with my calorie intake. 


I think the theme for my April will be balance. I was watching the A&E show Heavy the other week and I wrote down a phrase that one of the girls said about her time at the weight loss facility: "Creating new normals." Sort of like how people always say weight loss is a "lifestyle change," but her phrasing didn't make me want to roll my eyes. I need to just get used to working out and cooking well for myself. It's creating my new normal. 


So my official April goal will be to work out at least 20 days and eat within my calorie limits at least 20 days. I have no vacations planned for April, so there shouldn't be any sudden weight gain. The only big plans that I have are Cathy's birthday (when we will go out to eat at least once) and Easter, but I think my mom is going to come down to visit and we'll probably eat mostly healthy stuff, so that shouldn't be an issue. 


To end on a positive note, the consistent working out has really made a difference in how I feel, how I look, and how my clothes are fitting, even if the scale isn't reflecting the changes ... yet. That's why I'm not too down about this month's outcome, because I think once I build a little more muscle the pounds will start coming off again. 

Monthly Weigh-In: February 2011

February's Goals:
Weight: -7.2
Track budget


February Progress:
Weight: -9.2
Days in calorie range: 18/28
Days worked out: 8/28
Budget Tracked: 28/28

Total YTD Progress:
Weight: -17
Days in calorie range: 37/59
Days worked out: 24/59


March's Goals:
Weight: -4
Work out at least 15 days 


I've done really well the past month, but quite a bit of that can be attributed to the fact that I was sick for two weeks, so I didn't eat. I did do well tracking my budget and actually saved money this month even with buying a $300 plane ticket, so I say that is a success! I will continue to track that for the rest of the year. 


I didn't work out the whole time that I was sick, so that number was really low. I want to make up for it this month by working out at least 15 days. Especially now that I'm working out at the apartment gym; I think it will make a big difference this month. I will be going on vacation during March, so that will present an extra challenge as well. 


For my rewards I got a new pair of shoes, a pair of pants, and two floral shirts for spring. Since I kept the weight off after I met my goal early, I also get to pick an extra reward. I haven't decided what that will be yet. Maybe a new food processor since I seem to have misplaced the blade attachment for my old one. 


The goal seems small for March, but I've decided to stick to the monthly goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year. The main point is to stick to reaching my goal by my birthday. If I do it a month or two early, great! If I get a few more rewards up front, great! I set small goals at the beginning of the year for a reason - they are achievable. It would defeat the purpose to change them all just because I did well this month. (Remember last month? When I didn't meet the goal? Yep.)

Monthly Weigh-In: January 2011

This morning I woke up to a beautiful snow day! So while I'm working from home in my pjs, I'll give you the run-down for January.

 So it's the first month wrap-up for me. Overall, I'd say I did pretty well. If it hadn't been for the liberties taken this last week with food and working out, I definitely would've shown more of a loss. That said, my granma died on the 7th and I pretty much checked out for five days, so I am proud of the fact that I didn't gain any weight during that time. I think the main point is that I actually lost weight, and if I continue to lose at even less than this pace, I will meet my goal by my birthday. Now without further ado...


January (and total YTD) Progress:
Weight: -7.8 pounds
Days in calorie range: 19/31
Days worked out: 16/31

February's Goals:
Weight: -7.2
Track budget






February's goal was going to be to lose 6 pounds, but since I didn't quite make it to January's goal, I'm going to add on that extra 1.2 pounds to February and try to catch up to my goal. I'm also starting to keep track of my spending with a budget Excel spreadsheet that I worked on all weekend, so I'm also going to make a non-weight goal of keeping track of what I spend for the whole month and see how much I can save when I put my mind to it.