What did I learn from sixty days of dieting?

It's another goal day. Day #60 of my diet. What exactly have I learned over the 60 days?

#1 It's not easy the first three days. It does get easier to stick with it once you past the first week. I'm on week #10 and I am happy to say, I don't crave junk. I crave my soup, sweet potatoes, peanut butter and popcorn. 

I had cheat snacks. I still had wine, cookies and ice cream but not too much of it and spread out over the entire ten weeks. 

I've learned that I don't need to be perfect on my diet. It's more important to make healthy food choices. 

I do need to eat around 500 calories per day to drop weight fast. Around 1000 - 1800 calories per day is easier and more realistic to maintain and keep losing weight slowly. 

While I have yet to reach my goal of fat loss, I'm still 100% in to keep going on my diet. 

The most important part is that I start each day focused on my weight loss goal and keep track of all food and exercise. 

I also pre-plan my meals and snacks. Plus, having those foods cooked and ready to go is best for when your hungry. 

Popcorn is my go to food when I want to just eat mindless and have something to chew on. 

Exercise is important to toning up, but won't help me drop pounds. It's diet 100%. It might burn calories but not enough if you eat it all back due to being overly hungry after. Zoey helps keep me moving through the afternoons and evening when I want to sit on the couch. She won't stop until I get up and let her outside and then back in again. Its up and down all day long. 

My Strawberry tart I made on Monday and we still have some in the frig. I don't deprive myself if I really want something. I just make sure to have a small slice and that's all. Any thing spicy is good for me with lots of flavor! Got to wake up those taste buds and keep foods interesting. I didn't have to give up cheese either on this diet. I just limit it to once in a while, like when I ate some stuffed peppers Steve made. I would have made some without cheese. 

I have more toning to do and more weight loss in the next few weeks. Now that I've re-learned how to eat again. I'm going to continue on to maintain my weight loss and lose a few more pounds. Feeling good and better about how my clothes fit!!

I tried on some clothes at Kohl's Tuesday afternoon and realized, I still need to lose body fat. Those mirrors are awful in the dressing rooms. Back to reality and there is no hiding it! I did purchase a top and some sandals but they might go back to the store. I might change my clothes and shoe reward for a pedicure or just a color change. 

Memorial Day Weekend

It's a good thing I take pictures or I wouldn't remember what I did the last three days. 

I started off Friday with eating lots and lots of watermelon. We have hit a lot of good ones and I hope this trend continues because, once you hit a bad one, I'm done. 

We drove up to the lake on Saturday morning super early. Steve and I wanted to spend the day at two different wineries up north. We drove through a little town on the way to drink wine and had to stop to see the tank up close. 

We setup the camper, cut off a few branches that fell and stacked them up for firewood. We didn't stay long at the lake because we were off to wine taste. 

I was just happy we had nice weather. The wind wasn't crazy which was a nice change being on the lake. 

The first winery in Melrose we found out was closing in July due to new state regulations. They have good sweet wines so we were sad to see they won't be around next summer. We purchased a bottle and sat out on their patio. 

The next winery was Carlos Creek in Alexandria. It was a busy place with weddings and all the people drinking wine. They had a band, horses and of course lots of wine. We sat at an outdoor table by the band and played cribbage as we shared a bottle of red wine. 

After all the wine, we drove out to the lake to our favorite pizza place, Zorba's. 

After dinner we walked down to the lake. I realized at some point I had on two different flip flops. I brought along two pairs of shoes, one for wine tasting and the other for camping. I must have not been able to decide what shoe to wear to the lake. I found both on my feet on the way back to the car. 

Since there was hardly any wind and the sun was out on the beach, we had a fire. We haven't had a beach fire for probably 10 years. We usually have our fire up by the camper in the area protected by the trees with less wind. It was nice sitting closer to the water. 

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset. 

I actually changed out of workout clothes and put on a skirt. My tank tops now fit a lot better after losing weight. Of coure it was not a diet weekend. I'll start again Tuesday morning. Mostly, I tried to eat healthy but had a few treats too. I just need to drop calories this coming week. 

Just resting after my three mile run this morning. Felt good to sit out in the cool air. Sunday, the kids joined me for a bike ride. Logan and Steve wanted burgers so we took the bikes to Culvers a 12+ mile bike ride there and home. I shared chocolate custer cup with Steve so I didn't eat the whole thing myself. 

We spotted a rainbow on the way home from the store tonight. We are making taco's and of course didn't have everything we needed. 

Steve made his peppers and I made a tart with a cookie crust covered with a thin layer of chocolate, topped with vanilla pudding, strawberries and whip cream. It was pretty good. We still have half a tart left! I always seem to make desserts when we don't have others to help eat it all up. 

I didn't need to eat the tart, but I did and loved every bite! 

That was my weekend.. now on the the work week... a BUSY Tuesday its going to be!

Proud Parent

Another Proud Parent moment. Celina received yet another Academic Letter at an all school assembly on Wednesday morning. She is going to do great things in life, like all three of my children. 

Last night was also soccer game night. Logan's team tied 2 to 2. Just happy that it was a nice night to be sitting outside for a few hours. 

I had a busy Wednesday myself. I completed my daily exercises, went for a three mile run, worked, then biked 10 miles. I felt so good, I didn't even need a nap. I'm probably going to pay for that double workout because I'm completely not motivated to run this morning. Its a nice day so I'm thinking a 10 mile bike ride is more like it. 

Dieting is going good. I am finally where I want to be with my weight loss. Just a few more pounds left to lose. 

Body Fat Issues!

You can not pick and choose where you will have fat and lose fat. It doesn't even help to spot exercise those trouble areas. Just an all over body workout to tone up. Nothing is ever a quick process and even people like myself that work out every day don't see the toning up changes that we want to see. It's a tough reality! Not that you should give up and just say oh well.. Anything you do is better then nothing! 

I decided to re-do my body fat using my Fat loss monitor this morning. Still around 24% fat and BMI (body mass index)

24% is on the low in the normal range for my age. Guess that's not too bad but I'd like to see that number lower!! A lot lower. I still have fat around my middle and that fat on my thighs that makes my legs rub together. I'm not sure that fat will ever go away without a little medical intervention. That's the last resort and not one I'm going to do anytime soon. I suppose if I reach my weight loss goals and lower my % fat, I might decided to do that. Its truly a bummer when my legs stick together while walking. It just feels gross! 

Last night after dinner, Logan thought it would be funny to fix my hair. He used my water bottle to give my hair the height. We had a good laugh over how tall my hair could go up! 

This is not a hair style look I'll be wearing! 

I thought I'd share how I make my weight loss soup! It's around 350 calories for 6 cups of soup. You can eat the entire pot of soup! Some days I do eat it all! 

The main soup mix I purchase from The Thymes grocery store. It's not cheap, around $5 per package. Then you have to purchase salsa and broth. Plus chicken if you want to add that into your soup. I skip the added chicken and if I eat it, its on the side. 

I purchase low fat and low sodium chicken broth. I look for deals around $2 per box of 4 cups broth, my salsa is from Cub foods in the refrigerator section. Spicy good! And some green salsa to tone down the spice. I add a little extra chili powder for flavor. I dump it all into one pot, cover and cook for 30 minutes on low heat. Easy lunch and dinner. 

A wedding insert of what not to do! Don't be that couple, its just super tacky. Don't remind people to bring CASH and the gift suggestions??? Wow.. just wow.. Maybe they should have reminded people how to dress for a wedding and how to act. Yikes!!! Don't worry, we were not invited to this wedding. Just thought I'd share some humor for the day. 

It's that running time. I need to run because with good news, there sometimes is bad news that follows. I always get bummed out a little when I lose a customer. Such is life.. they come and go and hopefully return. It's always and up and down kind of business. Mostly up, so when I get a little bad news it doesn't last long. 

I'd hate to admit

I'd hate to admit how I spend most of my day. Which is very unproductive. I'd like to be all energized after work and get a bunch of stuff done around the house. Instead, I read, rest and relax. That's what I hate to admit. I figure everything can wait around the house, its not going any where. All the things I could have done with my Monday afternoon, mow the lawn, paint the trim in our house, clean our house, wash clothes, hang up clothes, weed the garden, plant flowers, go biking and lift weights at the gym. Instead I choose to read  and nap. Probably two of my favorite things to do right now. Is there any harm in having a relaxing afternoon? Probably not, but I do it far too often and feel a little guilty for not getting any thing done. 

After all, rest is important to recover from running and lifting weights but mostly my work day. 

I'm a bit sore today after going to the gym on Sunday night with Celina. I rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes or 6 miles, and ran on the crossramp for 10 minutes = 1 mile. What I did most of at the gym was lift weights. My arms are S O R E! I needed that! As a result of all my aches and pains, it was off to the chiropractor Monday afternoon for some acupuncture and an adjustment. Not that I feel any less sore today, but it sure did help my headache! 

I got back to healthy lower calorie eating on Monday. My calories were around 900 for the day. I stuck to soup, a sweet potato, asparagus, a little rice and some popcorn. I even had a cheat with a little slice of a french baguette with brie cheese. Day #52 of my diet and week #8. Still not at my goal fat loss but getting there each day. I just need to stick with the diet plan and the weight will come off little by little without me even noticing. It hasn't been too hard sticking with my diet since I love the foods I choose. I'm good with eating pretty much the same thing every day. I do mix it up a little since I've had some tasty treats along the dieting plan. 

I always have the "should have's" from the day before. I should have biked in the afternoon, I should have lifted weights for the 2nd time of the day. I should have skipped the white bread with the chunk of cheese. I should have done less laying around and getting more done. I can't change yesterday, I can only focus on today and how I feel. Which is why I need to get out and run this morning! 

Reboot the diet

I had a few days of going off the diet track a little bit. I had wine on Saturday with Pizza and Sunday donuts and cheese. My calories were higher then I should have been to still lose weight around 1700 to 1900 calories for the day. Its Monday, I need to reboot the diet since I passed the Day #50 goal mark and start fresh with back to lowering my calories closer to the 500 to 1000 per day range. I have at least ten more pounds to lose for summer! 

The two glasses of red wine while playing cribbage and listening to a band. 

The four of us split all these donuts from Glam Dolls in fourths. We still ate around 2 donuts each. Not on the diet plan but very delicious! I do not regret any bite! 

Back to running three miles this morning and there will be biking this afternoon. The rain has stopped and the temperatures are going to be back in the low 60's with SUN!! That's my kind of biking weather! 

Looks like we will be getting our roof fixed from all the hail we had last week. I'm so tired of all the roofing companies ringing the door bell. We must have had at least fifteen companies stop by and that's just when we were home! 

Do one or the other.

If you going to lose weight, I believe its best to just concentrate on one thing at a time. Sure it would be nice to also exercise but don't feel that you have to do both to get results. It's important, after you lose weight to exercise to keep off the weight you lost. Do one or the other at first depending on what your goals might be. Having to lose weight is hard enough with eating less. Working out is going to make you more hungry and then it will make losing weight by eating less more difficult. When I lose weight, I have been cutting back on exercise. I don't give it up but I cut way back. It might help burn more but I'll also eat more. Once I'm at the weight I want to be at, I have to go back to exercise daily and start burning a lot more calories.  

Arm fat and what do you do about it?

Do I have any answers to get rid of below the arm fat? All I can do is diet = lose weight and lift weights. lifting weights = muscle building, so its hard for me to lose any inches on my arms. Its probably the last place I lose fat along with my thighs. I just keep at it every day, dieting and lifting weights. I'm hoping at some point I'll have some noticeable results. 

I got out and went for my morning run. Three miles and a busy work day is my exercise for the day. I can't forget my daily body weights/dumbbells. Still trying to tone up and see all those muscles with fat loss. I'm not losing weight as quickly as I was hoping because I want to eat more. 1000 to 1500 calories a day will only get me about a pound of weight loss per week. Time to make some changes to my diet. I'm going to stick with my soup and sweet potatoes to keep calories under control and fill me up.  

I've been able to stick with this weight loss plan because I love the healthy foods I've been eating every day. I love spice and sweet. That's why I have my spicy soup and sweet potatoes, popcorn for crunch and fruit for a dessert. Plus, I have a chocolate low cal hot chocolate that I love. It's all about finding foods you love to eat over and over again. I even turned down going to dinner just to eat my sweet potato. I love it that much! 

I count everything, Calories, exercise and keep a notebook for my food. It keeps me on track and I do notice when I screw up. You just have to figure out what works for you. Mostly I think the moto " All in or not" helped me keep my mind in the weight loss mode. I still struggle with wanting the weight to come off faster mind set but I'm getting there each day and have to stick it out to change my food choices so it's not a diet but a choice to eat less and more healthy to keep the weight off . I don't want to keep gaining and have to re-lose a lot of weight over and over. 

The Further I go...

The further I go on this diet, the less important the number of days become. I'm on Diet day #46, one and a half months in on my weight loss. I want to get back down to around 145 or less where I was five years ago when I first lost fifty pounds. It took me those five years to put back on about thirty pounds. I'm happy to report, I now weight closer to my original weight loss weight then I did 46 days ago. I still have a little to go and that's not by weight, it's by fat on my abs and how my clothes fit, mostly jeans and shorts. 

I'm going for a healthy maintain weight. I hope to see those abs I work so hard on with planks. I Googled planks and how to get a six pack today. I just need to be around 19% body fat. Last I checked I was some where around 22%. Getting close but not there yet. I'm still super motivated to get the last of the weight off and feel good for summer. 

I originally wanted to lose the weight fast. I tried to do that for about two weeks sticking around 500 calories for the day. I like to eat, so now I'm more realistic and eat from 1000 - 1500 calories a day knowing that I will only have a one to two pound weight loss per week. 

There is no secret to weight loss. You have to do the hard work. It doesn't have to be painful like having to avoid all going out to eat or treats. It's all about a once in a while treat and make it worth the splurge. Staying on track and realize it's a long process. You don't put on the weight in a day and you won't lose it either in one day. I get discouraged when I feel like I'm not making progress. Its hard to really notice any changes from day to day. I do feel a lot better eating healthy and I can tell my clothes are fitting much better.