Fitness on Friday - 8/29/2008

Now that things have calmed down around here, I'm back for Fitness on Friday. This week I reported a one pound weight loss (read about it here). It's not much but I am happy with it.

Want to hear my tip for this week? Create a motivation board. Add things that would motivate you to lose weight.

Here's what I have on mine... My fiance and I would like to go to Montego Bay next year so I added the page out of the Sandals book. I loved the dress that JLo had on for her cover shoot for SELF. When I lose my weight, I will try to find one similar that fits my budget. Other than that, I include a before picture, the latest progress and a goal picture (I removed my pictures). I will add to it as I find things that I want to purchase or do - like adding a wedding dress (maybe soon, that's a different story though). This was very cheap and easy to make. It hangs right next to my desk so I see it everyday and anyone that walks in my family room sees it too. I have nothing to hide!

How do you stay motivated?

Visit Fitness on Friday's to see how others are doing and/or tips they have to offer.

Fitness on Friday - 8/1/2008

It's Fitness on Friday again! On Wednesday, I did report a 1 pound weight loss (read about it and my “new” goals here). Basically, I’m taking a couple steps back. My weight loss lately hasn’t been that good (little to no weight loss). I’m going to concentrate on my workout more than what I eat right now. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to eat whatever I want and how ever much I want. It’s just not going to be my biggest concern right now. Once I am done working, I will incorporate the food part.

Over the past couple month, I will indicate that I had no exercise. Even though I don’t exercise (walk on treadmill, weights, elliptical), I am usually doing something – housework! So am I still burning calories? You bet! Maybe not as many as I would like but at least it’s something. Want to know what your calorie burn is? Check out this website. You enter your weight and the minutes of the activity...it calculates the calories burned.

Maybe houseworks isn't as bad as I thought! Visit Bye Bye Fat Mom to see how others are doing.

Fitness On Friday - 7/11/2008

It's Fitness on Friday again! On Wednesday, I did report a 1 pound weight loss (read about it and my goals here). It was great to finally see the scale go lower. I don't really have much this week - it's been a rough week. Which leads to my tip for the week. Don't let stress and other life events steer you away from your diet (lifestyle change). I've always said that I was an emotional eater. Beside the chocolate cake that I've had, I have been staying focused. I've been through quite a bit this week - high school friend's funeral, co-worker's death/funeral this week, sick kid, dentist (ugh!), my oldest son's father got sentenced to prison (which means no child support) and losing my job. Pretty stressful!

Visit Bye Bye Fat Mom to see what others have to say.

Fitness on Friday - 6/27/2008

It’s Fitness on Friday already? On Wednesday, I had posted my weigh in (read about it here). I didn’t lose anything but I didn’t gain anything either. I’m ok with that too. What I’m not ok with is having lost my exercise routine. I am complete out of it. Other than my little walk that I took at lunch time the other day, I haven’t done anything since May – no fitness class, no A.M. workouts, and no trip to the YMCA after work. What’s up with that? I’m thinking it’s the weather. With the warmer temperatures, I have no motivation. I will get it back though…hopefully sooner than later.

My workout tip this week is not to be discouraged from your walking regimen just because you don’t have a treadmill or you don’t like walking in your neighborhood. Look for other places – high school tracks, paths in parks, shopping malls, golf courses, playing field or any nearby open area.

Visit Bye Bye Fat Mom to see what others have to say.

Fitness on Friday - 6/20/2008

It’s Fitness on Friday over at Bye Bye Fat Mom! I don’t have much to report this week. I did have a 2 lb weight gain. You can read about it here. I will admit that I am still not back in the swing things. During vacation, we ate every meal later than normal. It has really thrown things off. We finished up our spring soccer season this week so that’s cut into my workouts. I really am psyched about getting back into my workout and dropping this weight – I have my fiancé’s 30th class reunion in August…I want to look good!

My tip: You should change and experiment with your workouts and diet. Some people stick to the same routine, nutrition, even when they are getting little or no results. Learn and try new things. Experiment with workouts, exercises, techniques, and sets/reps. You may come up with something that uniquely benefits you. You may even come up with something new and creative that could help someone else with a problem area. Working out should be a challenge, but it definitely shouldn’t be painful.
Just remember that everybody is different – what works for one person, doesn’t always work for another.

Hope everyone is on track and working towards their fitness and weight loss goals…I’m getting back there!

Fitness on Friday - 6/6/2008

It’s Fitness on Friday at Bye Bye Fat Mom! Well, I didn’t report a weight loss this week but it wasn’t a gain either so things are good. I haven’t been working out much lately. I’ve been trying to get things ready for vacation over the past week. It’s not easy getting 4 kids and yourself ready plus making sure everything is covered while you are gone.

I do have a semi-plan for vacation. I plan to walk the beach every morning that I can. With following the Couch to 5K program, I want to keep up with that at the same time so I might do some walking and jogging on the beach. I have also packed my resistance bands and a workout video that I rented from the library last night – Jillian Michael’s Shape Up –Backside. I don’t know if I will be able to do it or not but I figure I will take it and try. Other than that, I plan to really focus on my meals and limit my alcohol intake. I want to be able to report a weight loss after I return…not a weight gain.

I’m also taking along a few books to help me keep my focus. They are:

“Making the cut : the 30-day diet and fitness plan for the strongest, sexiest you” / Jillian Michaels

“Are you ready! : take charge, lose weight, get in shape, and change your life forever” / Bob Harper

“Hungry Girl : recipes and survival strategies for guilt-free eating in the real world” / Lisa Lillien

I might find a few recipes that I can make while I’m down there. I don’t eat seafood and can’t stand the smell of it so I’ll be staying home that night (eating something healthy, of course)!

I hope everyone else had a great weight loss week. If not, don’t let it get you down. Get up and get moving, drop the fries, dumb the soda…whatever it is that has you off track – change it now! It’s not too late! Don’t wait until tomorrow, if you’ve already blown today!

Fitness on Friday - 5/30/2008

It’s Fitness on Friday! On Wednesday, I did report a 1 pound weight loss. I met my first goal this week – 15 pounds!! As a reward, I am getting my haircut and just in time for vacation! My mother is even paying for it! Hooray! As this reward passes, I am looking forward to my other goals.

15 pounds – haircut – MAY 28, 2008!
25 pounds – outfit - I WILL hit this goal by August 2nd (my fiancé’s 30th class reunion)
35 pounds - massage (for passing the halfway mark)

45 pounds – outfit & dinner date w/my fiancé)

55 pounds - hair highlighted, new cut, and make-over

60 pounds - weekend trip without kids

I haven’t been working out as much as I would like. After the trauma over buying a new bathing suit, I am going to stay focused. I don’t want to spend all summer in a cover up (because I had to purchase a 2 piece bathing suit). I will jiggle my fat until it falls off, if that’s what it takes. I did start the Couch to 5K program and love it! I have been able to keep up with the program and finish each session without needing an oxygen tank to do so.

What’s my plan?!? To stay focused and squeeze in a workout anyway I can, even if it’s 10 minutes. I have a busy week ahead of me. This time next week, we will be on the road to Myrtle Beach. That will be a real challenge for me. I’ve actually planned ahead as much as I can. Planning ahead is a key to weight loss! I’ve also been trying to find products that can fit into my diet. You can read two of my posts about what I have found here and here.

My tip for today…cut 5 things from your regular diet!
*No more sugar
*Cut oils
*Say “NO” to fried
*Minus the mayo
*Boost the fiber

I hope everyone else had a great weight loss week. If not, don’t let it get you down. Get up and get moving, drop the fries, dumb the soda…whatever it is that has you off track – change it now!

That’s it from me…I have to go read how everyone else did this week. You can to by visiting Bye Bye Fat Mom!

Fitness on Friday - 5/16/2008

It’s Fitness on Friday already?!?! This week has gone by so fast. This was another good week for me. I reported a 2 pound weight loss on Wednesday (you can read about it here). One more pound and I will be headed to the salon to get my haircut (hopefully next week, just in time for my birthday)!

Last week I had reported that I was losing motivation. Well, it’s picked up quite a bit since Friday. I’ve even increased my morning walks (on most days) to 2 miles which means my feet have to hit the floor by 4:00am to head to the treadmill so I can be done by 4:30am. What brought on this sudden burst of motivation? A comment that I over heard. A few co-workers have decided to “try” Weight Watchers on their own. When the had found out that I was doing it and had “only” lost 14 pounds this time around, one spoke up and said “Well, she looks like she has gained 14 pounds not lost it.” It kind of hurt my feelings at first (but knowing the person that said it – it didn’t surprise me). Then I got to thinking about it – I got the “I’ll show her!” attitude. So, watch out because here I come!

I will admit that I haven’t worked on my workout schedule that fits around the soccer schedule. I have good reason though. The soccer schedule will not be the same the next 3 weeks (last week of soccer we will be on vacation). So, I will be able to fit my workouts in except for possibly the first week of June since we will be getting ready for vacation. My lunch hour may become my workout hour. We’ll see. I pulled fitness schedules for 3 local YMCA’s and another fitness center close to home. I plan on attending at least one Zumba class this week (before Wednesday) and then next Friday since I am off work I will be attending 2 maybe 3 classes (Pilates, Step-n-Sculpt, and Glutes-n-Guts). They are all classes that I did last year and liked so I am super excited…more excited about the classes than I am about having the day off!

Over the past couple weeks, I have learned to planning ahead for an event or eating dinner out at a restaurant. I usually look at the menu beforehand so I’m not tempted to go for a higher calorie, more fattening dinner. I also have purchased a few small containers to take my salad dressing with me. This allows me to have a lower calorie/fat dressing that I like rather than trying every low-fat dressing the restaurant has. Last week at the Rascal Flatts concert, I didn’t have anything except a bottle of water! For tomorrow’s party, I will be eating a salad and some fruit before we head out and then will take a cooler with bottled water in it. We’ll see if I am able to stick to it.

I hope everyone else is doing well with their fitness and weight loss goals. To read other Fitness on Friday posts, check out Bye Bye Fat Mom!

Fitness on Friday - 5/9/2008

It’s that time again – Fitness on Friday over at Bye Bye Fat Mom. This past week was an “ok” week for me. Ok that I lost 1 pound but I wasn’t happy with the decrease in working out. I’m starting to lose motivation. I just keep telling myself – I didn’t gain this weight over night and it’s not going to all come off over night (but it would be EXCELLENT, if it did!).

I’ve still go some schedule work that needs to be done. I need to come up with 2 workout schedules – 1 for a somewhat normal week and one for Saturday soccer rain outs. I need to start the fitness classes that I have been talking about for 3 or 4 weeks. With vacation 4 weeks away, I really need to get focused and start working harder on my workouts!!

This weekend is the Rascal Flatts concert and we plan to go to dinner beforehand. I’ve already looked over the menu as I did last Friday night (read about that here) and know what I am getting. Since we will not have kids on Sunday morning, my fiancé will want to go to breakfast (have what I am eating planned just in case) and then probably cook an unhealthy delicious meal for Mother’s Day.

Hopefully, everyone is on the right track to reaching their weight and fitness goals! Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

Fitness on Friday - 5/2/2008

It's Fitness on Friday again over at Bye Bye Fat Mom. Last week was another good week for me. I didn't get as many workouts in as I would have liked but my biggest concern lately had been my weekends. This past weekend was very busy, you can read about it here. I did lots of walking and jogging on Saturday so that was a plus. I ended the week with weekly allowance points left too.

I did report a 2 pound weight loss on Wednesday (read that post here). I've got some areas that I need to work on still. Now that the boys are in soccer I need to get a routine going that will work with their practice and game schedules.

My goals for this week are to have another goodweekend and get more exercise this weekend. I'd also like to go to a few fitness classes. I need to make some arrangements for the kids to get a few of them in but I'll work on that.

Hopefully, everyone out there hasn't given up and reached for that bag of chocolate candy (like I used to do). Good luck to everyone on the fitness and weight loss goals that they have.