Car vs. Pedestrian

Don’t worry, I haven’t been in an accident. But I do have a car for the next 2 weeks. Usually I am a pedestrian. In fact, I haven’t owned a car in over 20 years. And being a pedestrian is a great way to sneak some extra exercise into your day without really noticing it.

To get to my work every morning I can either take 3 buses and get there in an hour and a half, or I can take one bus, walk 30 minutes and still get there in an hour and a half. So I choose to walk. It may only burn 154 calories, but every calorie counts. The difference with having a car?  I can drive there in less then 15 minutes.

So now that we have a friend’s car for 2 weeks, I’m not walking 30 minutes every day. I’m not even walking the 2 blocks to the mall if I need something. The convenience of hopping in the car and getting somewhere quickly is too strong for me to say no to. You would think that with all the time I’m gaining back by driving places would mean that I have more time to work out or even gasp! go for a walk. But somehow that doesn’t seem to be what happens.

I need to find that happy balance….. Enjoying the handiness of a car without sacrificing my goal of getting fit.

Weigh In

Challenge Starting Weight   204
Current Weight                     202.3
Weight lost to date                   1.7
Percentage lost                       -1%

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So this is my first weekly weigh in since the Healthy Wage challenge started on July 20th.  And so far so good!

We had to have our starting weight verified by a gym, trainer or doctor.  Luckily someone I work with is a trainer, and we have a scale at work for the Weight Watchers meetings.  The only thing was that I weighed in 3 pounds heavier then I had been at home that morning!   I went home and re-weighed myself and sure enough, I was up by 3 pounds.  I'm attributing that to clothes and having eaten during the day, since I normally weigh in first thing in the morning and with very little clothing on.

This challenge is about 12 weeks long.  I would love to be able to lose 2 pounds a week, but I don't think that is very realistic.  That would put me at 25 pounds lost or 13% of my overall starting weight.  Since it has taken me 7 months to lose 35 pounds so far this year, I don't see this happening.  I would be pleased to keep going at a pound a week, getting me to 189 or 7%.

Either way I will be shrinking!!

Feelings

The Healthy Wage Dream Team Challenge has me STOKED.  Here`s how I`m feeling about it overall:

But I`ve also been feeling a lot like this lately.

I'm trying my hand (or I suppose legs) at running.  I really want to do well on this challenge, so any extra exercise I can do is great.  I've woken up early the last 2 days, and instead of wasting time on the computer while I grumble in my coffee cup, I've laced up my shoes and headed out at 6:00 AM to run around the block.  It's only half a mile, and I end up walking half of that, but it's a start.  Once I conquer this block, I'll add another, and maybe even another after that!  

Overwhelmed is another feeling that is coming up a lot in life.  Not just with fitness and weight loss, but parenting and work.  So I'm going to try this approach:

So how are you feeling today?

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Meet the Dream Team! Come on over to Facebook to follow our progress and give us some encouragement!

Show me the money!

The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans has paired up with  Healthy Wage for a 3 month weight loss challenge that gives the winning team the chance to win $10,000.  They offered the Shrinking Jeans 2 team spots to participate.  Shrinking Jeans has filled one team with staff members and held a draw of anyone who was interested in joining to fill the other team.  I threw my name in the hat and I got picked!

What is Healthy Wage?

Healthy Wage designs and organizes weight loss challenges and contests in which participants can win money for losing weight. They’ve been featured in the NY Times, Time magazine, Fox News, ABC News, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, and countless other media outlets. Healthy Wage is sponsored by corporate and government clients who have a stake in wellness, healthcare costs, and disease prevention.

Healthy Wage hosts several kinds of weight loss challenges including the Matchup Challenge (which is what we’re doing) with $18,000 in prizes for the top three teams. Yes, you read that right! The Grand Prize for the top losing team is $10,oo0! So far, Healthy Wage has given out over $430,000 in prize money and more than 866,000 pounds have been lost. AMAZING!!

So for the next 3 months I'll be doing my best to do my team proud by losing weight and getting ever closer to being the healthiest I can be.  And just maybe I can win some cash too.

Wednesday Weigh In

Today's Weight - 205

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So no change this week from last week's weigh in.  I do weigh myself daily, so I do know that I got as low as 203.9, but I couldn't sustain it.  That's all right, it gives me something to work towards.

While I'm not really setting a goal for myself right now, I do have it in the back of my head that I want to be under 200 by my birthday.  That's just over 4 weeks away.  So I'm really focusing on my calories and trying to get moving more than I have been.

Wednesday Weigh in

Today's Weight - 205

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WOOT WOOT!

I FINALLY made it to 205. A week of painting, moving furniture, 30 degree heat and fending for myself all contributed to my success.

I'm feeling great these days.. I'm sleeping better, not feeling hungry, I have more energy and I'm not as sore after working out.  I think things are finally coming together.  And the exciting news is that I'm fitting into some old clothes that have been hiding at the back of the closet for a very long time.

Wednesday Weigh In

Today's Weight - 206.8

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We are between challenges over at Shrinking Jeans.  And I've decided not to set a monthly goal.  I've set the goal of 205 so many times and have never made it that, I'm just going to go day to day, week to week and see what happens.

Hilary asked me the other day what my end goal is.  I try not to think of that because the pounds I need to loose to get there seems like such a big number.  I am going to talk to my doctor at my next appointment to see what she thinks, but based on my height and build, most of the indexes say I should be around 165.  I was thinking 175.  Not too far off.

I am still struggling with exercising at home.  I have all these great intentions, but can't seem to get my butt in gear.  Any great suggestions?