WASH YOUR SHEETS!

Update: 182.6 lbs

So I have been making it a habit to do my official weigh in's in the morning, as I quite astutely noticed that I happened to weigh less right when I got up. But then I started to wonder why? Immeadiately, I gathered that it must be because I had an empty stomach and bladder (weighed myself after my morning ritual of course), but could that really explain a five pound difference between my night weight and my morning weight? Well, as it turns out ladies and gentlemen, there is a much more horrifying reason for the disparity in weight. Viewer dicresction is now advised, as I reveal to you the secret behind the difference:

When you weigh yourself in the evening and then again the next morning, you may notice a disparity in the reading you get. Weight losses include any urine or other body wastes, plus the things that are less obvious. The normal daily urine loss at normal temperature is approximately 1400 ml/day or approximately 3.3 pounds. When your body converts food materials to energy, CO2 and water vapor are released to the blood stream that ultimately may leave through the lungs. Water lost through the lungs amounts to approximately 350 ml/day at normal temperatures or approximately 3/4 pound. The skin loses another 350 ml/day to insensible perspiration (that which you do not notice as liquid water but evaporates directly into the air). The sweat you do notice as liquid is lost at a rate in proportion to the surrounding temperature and the level of activity. Normal temeprature with little activity can produce approximately 100 ml/day this way while under prolonged heavy exercise this number may go up to 5000 ml/day or 11 pounds. The daily totals for water loss during a normal day add up to between 2400 and 6700 ml/day or from between about 6 to about 15 pounds per day. If 1/3 of this occurs at night, the body weight loss could be in the range of 2 to 3 pounds.

So, what does all this mean??? Where does all this weight loss go....you know the stuff that doesn't evaporate??? IT GOES IN YOUR BEDDING!!!!

YUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKYYYYYY!!!!

Check in #8

183 lbs and holding...the brevity of this entry should clue you in to how a feel about it. :(

6 miles a day + 1300 cal diet = zero weight loss

Needless to say I'm a little upset.

Oh well, hopefully this week will be better!!

Good luck to everyone, and I pray that you guys faired better than I last week.!

Bi-Weekly Check-In's

Well, as some of you may have noticed I didn't post my week 8 check in....That's because it's depressing. So instead I have decided to post check in's every two weeks! That way when I report (hopefully) a two pound decrease it will look more sensational than it actually is!!! Yep....that's my plan.

My diet is going great. I limited myself to about 1200-1300 calories a day, and I run the eliptical for at least an hour burning about 600 calories (Ali calculates it at around 704 cals). At first it was kind of tough, but once my toes go numb it's smooth sailing!! On average I go for about 6 miles, it's crazy!!!! I'm go for 6 miles!!! I just can't believe it! I never thought it was possible!! I hate running...ABSOLUTELY HATE IT. But here I find myself (on the eliptical) imagining I running a marathon or running along some beautiful country side. I also find that when I'm done with my hour I still feel as if I can go further (unfortunatley, I can only spare an hour during the work day), and I don't even feel like I'm gonna die---which how I used to feel after ten minutes of running. It's completely surreal. Well, that's all for now. I'll probably write more later this week. Good luck to all!

Zombie Days!

So today I woke up, feeling alright. I haven’t been sleeping very well lately for reasons unknown, but today I actually didn’t feel like a zombie. Then, like at some point during the time between my morning shower and the drive to work, all the energy I thought I had was sucked out of me! I was so tired that I didn’t even feel like speeding! (Side note: I usually drive around 75mph on the highway to get to work; today I went a lawful 65mph)

When I arrived at work, I immediately set out to prepare my breakfast: instant oatmeal! YUM-O! I was starving, and oatmeal always does the trick, and it’s only 200 calories per bowl (1 cup). Now, you’d think that eating a nice hearty bowl of oatmeal would add fuel to the fire (or in my case smoldering embers,) but it didn’t. I kept yawning from about 0730 to 0845. Even my co-workers were getting annoyed by it. So, I decided it was time to move around. I headed out to the gym.

I swear to you I almost fell asleep on the 3 minute drive it takes to get there! All the while arguing with myself, the whiner in my mind exclaimed: “But I’m sooooo tired, and really sore from yesterday’s work out! Couldn’t I just take one day off! How ‘bout I just sit in the steam room—I’ll still manage to burn some calories!” And it went on and on, all these thoughts of cheating! And then wouldn’t you know it the small contrary voice in my mind ---you know that little whisper voice of good judgment—piped in with, “You know you’ll just be cheating on yourself.” And wouldn’t you know it the whiner in mind head (who has a loud penetrating voice) said, “And I’m okay with that—the whole cheating on myself thing—it’s cool.”

So there I was driving, having the full out argument with myself when I arrived at the gym. I parked the car and sluggishly got out. The small portion of my mind not engaged in the argument (the voice of compromise) decided that today would be a light work out day! And then all at once there was silence in my mind. The whiner in me then begrudging said, “Well, I guess I can handle that…” and then the voice of good judgment piped up again with, “well, at least you are going to do something, and you’ll feel better for it.” Content with my decision, I walked into the gym, and headed for the women’s locker room.

Once inside I went straight to my usual locker, as I undressed I reflected on how annoying the gym music being broadcast through out the facility was. It wasn’t bad music, just the SAME songs over and over every day!! If I have to hear Carrie Under wood’s “Before he cheats” one more time!!!! Uggg! I suspected that my bad mood was on account that I really felt drained. As I approached the elliptical machine, I noticed I was the only one in the room…the whiner slipped in, “there’s still time to escape, no one will notice!” But alas, I stepped on the machine, and began to work it out. As I started jogging away on the machine, I noticed that I started feeling better and better. Soon what I thought was going to be a light workout started turning into an all out-- give it all you got work out….It was funny as somewhere in the back of my mind I heard the whiner say softly “hey……you tricked me…..” Then very audibly---as I was the only one in there—I said, “GET OVER IT!” and so I did!! I felt great afterwards!!!

Check in #7

Once again it is check in day, and today I weighed in at 183lbs!! I know I should be feeling really great about my self, but I just feel okay. No heart flutters or mental fireworks at my achievement, just an Okay feeling. I don't thinks it's a bad thing, I think it just means I have become complacent. This week I really want to push myself! Today I ran 3 miles on the Eliptical Machine in 28 minutes, which means I burned some 250 calories. By Friday, I hope to increase the distance to 3.5miles. In addition to my Eliptical workout I also have been doing my ab routine immeaditely thereafter.

I have developed a sort of pyramid crunch work out using my Stability ball. I have one of those big red medicine balls, with that I do the following: I sit up right on the ball and begin to move each hip up and down (kinda like a wiggle) for about 15 seconds, then I rotate my hips in on direction for about ten seconds, then I change directions for another ten seconds, then I roll down on the ball very quickly so that the ball is at the small of my back and I begin to do crunches (always keeping my abs tight.) I do about 30 crunches then stop and repeat the wiggle/rotate process, then I do 25 crunches, and so on and so forth until I get down to a 5 crunch set. In the end you will have completed 105 crunches!!!!Its pretty fun, and it works! You can definitely feel it. The key thing to remember though is to keep your abs tight. Do your best not to let you ab muscles push out when completeing a crunch but rather try and make sure they press down towards your belly button. I do this routine on my cardio only days. On the other days I do half of what I usually run, and then I circuit train in the weight machine room at the gym. I pick a different set of muscle groups each time I circuit train. Usualy I'll do all the ab machines and all the leg machines, and then the next time I do circuits I'll work my back, shoulders, and arms.

I have to admit after my work outs in the gym I just feel so great about myself! It's like I'm high on life! But I will also admit, it still takes a lot of mental cajoling to get me in there. However, I found that last week when I actually had no choice but to skip the gym, I felt positively terrible! It's what promted me to go further than the 2 miles I had been running in the past, and go for 3. I felt I had to make up for lost time. I discovered that I did have in me to go that extra mile! It was an awesome revelation! Hence whay I've decided to kick it up a notch in the gym.

Check in # 6

I'm a little late in reporting my latest check in, but rest assured it's only been because I've just been lazy! I have lost two punds as of my last weigh in, so that brings me down to 184lbs. I'm not really happy with that number as I thought I would have been able to lose at least ten pounds in a month....here I am in the 6th week, and I'm still only 184lbs from a strating weight of 190lbs. I just can't seem to get out of the 80's. I feel as though I've been on a rollercoaster. "Yea! I lost two pounds.....wait I just gained them back....oh here I go I lost them again....naw just kidding there still there---etched on to my ass. I'm getting super frustrated. I'm not taking Alli consistently anymore...but it's not becuase I don't think it's working...it's becuase I feel like I don't need it. In the beginning---sure I really needed it to keep me on track...but I have healthy eating habits now...I really don't need a pill to keep me on track...I have a conscience that seems to be doing an execellent job---Plus getting off Alli will ultimately be more cost efficient. I get to spend more money on buying cute work out clothes!!!
Yeah, so I'm a little irritable, but I also have to say it may be due to my TOM. It's here and in full swing. I'm sure I feel bright and perky again this time next week. I know I should be happy, at least I have gone backwards again...I'm just a little disaapointed that all my hard work has yeild such little reward. I've been busting my butt in the gym and eating really good. I just don't get it.....But then again--I lost a whole pant size...I weigh nearly the same, but I lost a pant size! Go figure?? I've come down from a 14 to a 12...Maybe I am building muscle....and as we all know muscle weigh more than fat...but the question is when will I lose the fat!!!?? Hopefully soon, becuase I'm realy tired of my scale hurting my feelings! For all of you out there who in the same fight, keep perserving...we will get through this---I just know we will! One day at a time....So until next time: Good luck to all!