Extended sugar detox Week 5 (with pictures!)

   There was only a minor loss between last week and this week but a win is win:

191.4 lbs.

                                          

   One thing that I noticed is that even though the numbers didn't change very much, there is a big change in my body when I have a major sugar intake. There was a lot more bloating in my abdominal area compared to last week.

 

The menu for this week is baked chicken thighs and my usual array of veggies. The grocery store was having a sale on them so I stocked up. Snack is omelette muffins and cottage cheese sweetened with xylitol and flavored with extracts. I think I'm going to cut back on the almonds. I tend to OD on them when I put them in my cottage cheese. Exercise is walking/running to work and running group. My goal this week is to have absolutely NO SUGAR, NO CHEATING! I CAN DO THIS! It's only a few more weeks until Halloween and I want to look my best. I did it before and I can do it again.

Week 5 observations

1) Not taking my wallet on break is working out. Less impulse buying on all fronts.

2) Woke up this morning (Wednesday) at 189.8. The goal for next Tuesday is a solid 188.

3) I found new inspiration to keep going with this cleanse: my blue romper. It looks fantastic on me but I can't get it to zip up all the way in the back. So that's my goal.

4) Got refitted for a brassiere today. Went from a 36D to a 38C. I didn't have that much to begin with, how y'all just gonna melt away on me?

5) Didn't realize it until 2:30 this afternoon but I left my wallet at home. I was going to run with the group tonight but I guess I'll just be running home. It'll get done either way.

6) Thursday starts at 189.4. It's not recommended to weigh yourself everyday but I need to do it because it keeps me on track.

7) Friday starts off at 189.2. Woohoo! Steady decline.

8) Not to get too personal but I'm not pooping enough. It used to be like clockwork but something's up. I spent this past weekend drinking more aloe water than I could stand and it barely helped. I ran most of the way to work this morning and that usually does the trick but...nada.

 

Week 5 results

This week wasn't very successful. Ending at 191.8. I'm feeling really down about my results lately. I was really good this week. But I can't give up which is what i wanted to do this morning. I just have to trust the process.

Extended sugar detox Week 4 (with pictures!)

   Last week was pretty good in terms of will power. I wasn't perfect but I wasn't terrible. I had a few big meals. My biggest transgression was a late night slice of pizza when I went to the art festival but there was a lot of walking done that night. And the results prove it. I start this week off at 191.6 lbs.

   I decided to just put the most recent picture with the oldest one to because it was taking up too much room to put all of the pictures up. And look at that; I stepped my editing game up y'all! To be honest, I'm even surprised at the difference from Week 1 to now. Yay me!

 

 I had a busy weekend and didn't have a chance to cook the way I wanted to so we're back to rotisserie chicken and vegetables with omelette muffins for snacks. I'm still keeping my broccoli and cauliflower but I switched out roasted brussel sprouts for sauteed cabbage. I'm also taking the skin off of the chicken.


Week 4 observations
1) Apparently I burn more calories at a brisk walk than on my bike. I went to work on foot this morning and burned twice as many calories than when I bike. It only added an extra 15 minutes to my commute time.
2) My desire to workout is really waning. The bulk of my exercise is coming from my commute (biking). I need to find a way to motivate myself.
3) I tried on my Halloween costume and I look pretty good in it but I could still look better. This calls for more strength workouts.
4) I'm losing weight in my boobs. I bought a bikini top in my usual size 12 and I look like I'm wearing my nana's bra.
5) I had a beef patty with coco bread on Tuesday for dinner. I regret nothing.
6) Free food is my weakness :-(
7) I traveled a total of 8.6 miles on Wednesday. Walked to work in the AM and ran with the group that evening. Thursday morning I was crawling out of bed. Woke up this morning at 190.6. I'm thinking of taking Friday off because mama is TIRED.
8) This weekend I made pancake batter cupcakes with maple frosting topped with candied bacon. Why? I saw it on Instagram and wanted to be fancy. The plan was to eat one and give the rest away...didn't pan out that way. I texted and informed people about said cupcakes, I tried! lol I ended up eating 5 of them between Saturday and Sunday.
9) I got a 2 mile run in on Saturday morning thanks to some local errands I had to run.
10) Aside from the cupcakes the bulk of my eating wasn't bad for the weekend. I had food left over from the week and I also made sweet potato sliders.
11) I was going out this weekend and I tried on a blazer and a corset that are usually snug. The blazer is baggy now. Yay me! Down side is the boob part of the corset is going to need some...padding.

Week 4 results
12) Finishing this week off at 191.4. Not a dramatic loss but a loss nonetheless. See ya next week!

Extended Sugar detox Week 3 (with pictures!)

 So following last week's will power fiasco we start week 3 of the cleanse on the other side of the scale. As you can see (or maybe I'm the only one who sees it) it only takes a couple of pounds to affect my body shape. FYI: I show these pictures in my bathing suits to be brutally honest with myself and with whoever might be reading this. You can't hide from the truth when everything is stripped away.

 

 

193.8, 39" waist

  This week I've switched out the rotisserie chicken for skinless baked lemon chicken that I cooked myself as well as leaving out avocados and switching my almond snack for an extra egg white omelette muffin. Same veggies as last week because I'm lazy. I went to Trader Joe and found all of my veggies pre-cut and packaged. Woohoo! Exercise this week is biking to and from work and running group.

Week 3 observations
1) I really miss my rotisserie chicken but I know I won't take off the skin. Plus it's loaded with sodium which is probably making me retain water.
2) I need to go to sleep earlier. That keeps me from going overboard. I'm going to try to have last meal by 7 and go to sleep soon after.
3) I'm getting bored with my workout groups (minus running). I have to start doing my individual workouts again. I'm going to be making good use of my local recreational centers as it gets colder.
4) Wednesday morning woke up at 192 lbs. I've been making it a point to eat my broccoli first thing in the morning because it has the most fiber.
5) Apparently I've been measuring my waist size wrong. I've been measuring right under my navel rather than on it. My waist is 39". Woot!
6) It rained Thursday so I didn't bike to work but I got my workout in ;-).
7) Thursday I also went out to dinner with some friends and while I didn't stay away from the bread, I was very proud of myself for limiting my consumption to the 2 smallest pieces.
8) Cashews are crack. I have to stop taking my wallet with me on break. They were on sale and I bought a container and went HAM.
9) This weekend I stuck to my clean eating in the house but I also had a very eventful weekend and ate out some. Shame shame to me but I regret nothing.
10) I tried on my birthday dress which I haven't worn since May and it fits even better! Before I had to turn it around to get it zipped and suck it in a little. I was able to zip it up in the back with no trouble. Woot!
11) I tried to bike to work Monday morning but I got a flat halfway through and had to take the bus the rest of the way. I'm going to walk home to make up the difference.

Extended sugar detox Week 2 (with pictures!)

So this week we start off at 190.6. I'm not going to recap the last post so just read up on it here. The menu is pretty much the same as last week because...laziness...and tasty tasty rotisserie. Exercise was biking and an intro crossfit class on Monday, biking to and from work plus lifting on Tuesday, running group Wednesday, and biking to and from work Thursday and Friday. This is me on 9/16, 2014.

190.6 lbs, 40" waist

Here are progress pictures from last week this week (the pictures on the left are the most recent):

Week 2 Observations/Goals 

1) Weirdly, I don't think I'm eating enough. This eating plan calls for 5 servings of protein and 7 servings of vegetables a day. I think I'm averaging about 4 of each. I need to throw in some extra veggies into my lunches for some fiber.

2) I want to make a tapioca flour crust pizza this weekend. I just need to find some people to come eat it with me so I don't go overboard.

3) I'm hoping to lose 3 lbs. this week. Come on 187.6!
4) I had a hankering for a breakfast snadwich this morning. I got it but I am proud to say I didn't eat the bagel, just the inside.
5) Took pictures of myself last night and this morning. BIG difference. I flatten out during my sleep.

6) Never lift the day before you have to run. My back is killing me and I'm not going to be able to do my Thursday workout.

7) It's Thursday and I'm at 190 exactly.
8) So I injured myself and couldn't work out Thursday or Friday. My weight isn't going down as quickly as expected so next week I'm changing up the food routine. No rotisserie chicken. I think the sodium is making me retain water. Plus I haven't been removing the skin.
9) This weekend I was terrible. Like fell completely off the wagon. I went to the bacon festival and it was all downhill from there. I had my fill of delicious bacon in many forms and topped that off with ice cream and homemade pizza. Then on Sunday my friend took me to a bottomless mimosa brunch...and there was more ice cream involved (an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's Fudge Brownie). But I own my mistakes and I don't regret them. I just have to get back on the horse.

Week 2 results
Due to my poor choices, instead of losing weight I gained it. I'm finishing this week off at 193.8. I'm not discouraged though. I know that it's a matter of will power and having a goal in mind to get me back on the ball and to stay there. I'll post my progress pictures in the next update.

Free Fitness Friday: App based challenges

    Accountability can be a real motivating factor in maintaining a fitness schedule. I meet up with groups and friends several times a week for different types of exercise and the fact that I have an appointment (even if it's only in my head) makes me schedule my workout into my day. But accountability doesn't necessarily have to be face to face. A few weeks ago I did a 10 mile running challenge through the Nike+ app started by @deactivatedfatgirl (check her out on IG and her blog on tumblr) that showed my progress with 100+ runners across the country.



I didn't finish first...but I finished!

   Seeing everyone's mileage go up kept me on task so I could finish the challenge. Since then I've added a few friends on the app and the competitor in me has kept up with running because I want to be at the top of the mileage list, or as close as possible.
   There are many free apps that will let you recruit your friends to muster up some motivation. Check some of them out here and here . If you know of any more please send them my way!


A moment of publicized insecurity...

   I've been chubby my whole life. My mom said when I was a baby I was shaped like a lime. By age 4, I was too heavy for her to carry me despite my many adorable pleas to be picked up. I can remember from a young age trying to exercise to lose weight. As I grew older I ran the gamut in diets trying to lose this gut o' mine: starvation, low calorie, no carb, fruit only, master cleanse (I only lasted 3 days); if it looked like it worked, I was trying it.
   As I've gotten older I've come to realize that the healthiest way to lose weight is proper nutrition and regular exercise and the last couple of years I've been pretty good about keeping it up. But this belly is stubborn! It's something that I know is going to take time to overcome and I'm taking it day by day but everybody has bad days. Today is one of mine.
   Some days I look in the mirror and I see how far I've come and I feel like the finest thing on this earth. Step aside Naomi! On days like today...I look at where I want to be and my lack of satisfaction with my physique has me researching weight loss surgeons in my area and feeling guilty about eating ANYTHING.
   So what do I do in those moments? I used to run to my nearest fast food place and seek momentary delicious solace which would lead to a binge that could run from days to weeks. These days I do my best to acknowledge what I'm feeling, cry if I need to, and use it as motivation to stay on my journey. No sense in sabotaging the work I've already done. It's like starting to build a skyscraper, wanting it to be finished and then knocking it all down in frustration. Madness. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. The point is that I'm trying and doing my best to stay on course. And that's all I can ask of myself. Maybe this will help someone who feels the same way. This is more a letter to myself than anyone else but if it applies to you, be encouraged. It's a long road to where I want to be but one I will gladly travel.

Free Fitness Friday: Running groups

   Running has never been my favorite activity but I've come to appreciate it over the last few months. It's free, it works your entire body, and you can do it anywhere. Lately I've run farther, longer, amd more often than I ever thought I could or would. I've increased my speed, and I feel a real sense of accomplishment once I've finished. Sometimes, however, I'm not that motivated and need a little encouragement/competition/accountability to keep me going. I do this with a running group here in DC. If you're interested in finding a running group of your own, on meetup.com there are tons of running groups ranging from beginner to advanced. Besides the exercise, these groups are a great way to meet new people.

   The group that I run with that is helping DC stay healthier and build community through running is the District Running Collective. They meet every Wednesday at The Coupe on 11th st NW. The runs are anywhere from 2-4 miles and incorporate calisthenics. At the end there is usually a physical challenge and the winners are awarded prizes (gift certificates, gym memberships, etc.) Everyone is really encouraging and they have pacers to make sure that no one gets left behind. I love this group because it's people of all backgrounds and body sizes engaging in a healthy activity that encourages bonding. Check them out on facebook and IG (@districtrunningcollective). If you're in the DC area, come join us! You won't regret it.


Photos are often taken during our runs. This was me last Wednesday running up the steps at Cardozo High School.

If you like what they're doing but don't happen to be in the DC area, start your own! Happy running!