Big finish!

Well, week 8 has arrived!

While the whole thing didn't go exactly as planned, I missed a few workouts and didn't eat as well as I could have, I'm overall pretty pleased with the results. I've definitely noticed a changed in my muscle definition and a few of my good friends have even noticed that I've leaned out quite a bit. It's a huge confidence booster when people actually notice the changes and it was great as a motivator to keep at it.

I even got a few messages from friends that said this blog has been helpful for them in their weight loss and it's been inspiring them. This is something that I was totally not expecting and it made me very glad that I decided to start this blog.

Just because the Belly Off! challenge is done, doesn't meant I'll stop posting. I will be taking a break until the new but I'll be back posting after that.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Dear Food...

Damn you for being so delicious.

I'm up a pound this week but I know exactly why. Kaley's work Christmas party was this past Friday and the food was awesome. I may have over indulged a little bit but at least it's only a pound and it should be completely manageable.

One thing that is pretty cool that I've noticed is clothes that were previously a little snug on me are now either loose or too big. While it is a pain having to buy new stuff to replace it, it's a great feeling.

I definitely keep control of the food stuffs over the holidays. I've got my work Christmas party coming up and then family gatherings galore. Constant vigilance will be needed. :)

I will see you next week and hopefully I'll be back in the 170's. I liked it there.

Well colour me pleased!

I reached a personal milestone today! This is the first time I've been under 180lbs in a very long time. I'm thinking the last time I was close to this weight must have been in grade 10 or 11. What is my weight you may be wondering? Well, I'm 179lbs and I must say, I'm pretty happy about it.

I won't be able to make the goal of 170 in the next 2 weeks but I figure if I can maintain between 174 and 179, I should be pretty good. I may even be hard pressed to lose 4 pounds in the next couple weeks but we'll see what happens. It's not like I'm going to stop working out in 2 weeks. My routine is just going to change. Plus, I won't be surprised if I gain a few pounds over the holidays because, lets be realistic here, who doesn't.

So, I'm going to be keeping my nose to the grindstone, or whatever other motivational cliche you can come up with.

Cheers!

181lbs and going strong!

Another week, another pound. I'd say a pound a week is a pretty good pace for myself. I may not make my goal weight but the weight that I am losing will be manageable and I think I'll be less likely to put any back on.

I'm using the Wii Fit to check my weight now because it also gives an approximate body mass index (BMI). I've always found the numbers from these to be a little suspect when your weight and height are the only contributing factors. According to my Wii I'm bordering on obese, which I know is not right. I should probably be closer to the lower end of overweight but unless I break out the calipers and do some math, my actual BMI will remain a mystery.

I'm finding doing the Yoga on the Wii to be pretty enjoyable as well. I'm not very flexible at all, so going through these exercises has already shown me some improvements. Plus, I get to play games and exercise too!

See you next week!

Still Going!

So, I’m not good at the weekends. I eat great all week but then the weekend hits and I eat not all together terribly but I could definitely work on the portion control. Now I’m still losing weight. I’m down to 182lbs this week, but it always makes me wonder what I would be at if I was a little more careful.

I’m not talking about depriving myself of all things delicious. That's crazy talk. I’m just saying instead having a lot of all the things I like, I should really just work on a having a little. Hopefully, satisfying the cravings while not sabotaging a week of hard work. During the week my fix for this has been gum. At my office we usually have an abundance of goodies available but chewing gum and drinking tons of water has helped me not indulge at every given opportunity. I just need to carry those habits over to the weekend, which rarely happens. I’ve recently started taking a course on Saturdays, so that will help me form some type of schedule and I find having meals set to a schedule of sorts to be helpful. At least I know when and what the next meal will be.

Also, I’m going to be using our underutilized Wii Fit. I’ve always talked to Kaley about doing yoga but I can’t fit the Y classes into my already packed schedule so I’m going to try to the yoga on the Wii on my off mornings. I’ve already used it once and it was ok so I’ll let you know how that progresses.

The Official Weigh In!

I actually lost a pound so I am now 183lbs. I'm pleased considering I thought I was either not going to lose anything or maybe even gain a pound.

Sweet!

Can I take a mulligan on that one?

So last week was essentially a write off. I got a couple really good workouts in but my schedule got blown all to hell. Three out of four of us in my department at work were sick or out of the country so some extra work had to be done. I imagine worse things have happened so I'm just going to do week three over again.

The weigh in is coming tomorrow morning but I'm guessing there will be no change from week 2. The not drinking beer thing has been marginally successful. I'm still drinking it, just not nearly as much. Baby steps are better than no steps at all.

I think in the past couple weeks I've really learned how to push myself out of my comfort zone at the gym. I've had a few workouts where throwing up when I was done was almost the only option! Sure you feel like crap at that exact moment in time but you feel GREAT later on. So I say it's totally worth a little bit of discomfort.

So here's to getting back to normal...I hope.