End of Week 4

Char's Results:

M1: 39" (+.25") ? I'm guessing it's because I was so
M2: 42" (+.5") ?? dehydrated last week
Weight: 181.2 lbs (-1.2 lbs) because I can see my new
Body Fat: 37.5 % (.7 %) muscles now!

Nicole's Results:

M1: 40.25" (-.75")
M2: 48.5" (-.5")
Weight: 216 lbs (-3 lbs)

End of Week 3

Char's Results
M1: 38.75" (-.75)
M2: 41.5" (-1.0)
Weight: 182.6 lbs (-3.6)

Totals:
M1: 1.25"
M2: 2.25"
Weight: 9.4 lbs


Nicole's Results
M1: 41" (-1.75)
M2: 49" (-0)
Weight: 219 lbs (-1.6)

Totals:
M1: 4.5"
M2: 1"
Weight: 15 lbs

End of Week 2

Losses:

M1: 39.5" (-.25)
total lost: .5"
M2: 42.5" (-.75)
total lost: 1.25"
Weight: 186.2 lbs
total lost: 5.8 lbs
Body Fat: 38%
total lost: 1.8%

My friend Nicole is doing this program at the same time as me and she's lost 14 lbs!

Last Week's Losses

So, I weigh in every Sunday morning now, and do my measurements then as well, because that's the day we're supposed to report in for my program. I also end my week (day 7) on Sunday, to keep things simple.

Beginning weight: 192
End of Week 1: 188.4
Beginning M1: 40"
End of Week 1 M1: 39.75"
Beginning M2: 43.75"
End of Week 1 M2: 43.25"

Total Loss of: 3.6 lbs .25" around bellybutton .5" around hips. Whoo-hoo!

Boom, Baby!

Alright, having gained somewhere around 5-7 lbs and lost a lot of muscle, and being done for the semester, I have no good excuse for not getting back on track.

I'm starting a new program called Live the Life. It's especially for women. Men can do it too, but they would have to double all the food until they revise a specific one for men. You can find out about it at www.kristiapproved.com It does cost some money, but I decided that it would actually simplify things for now. You can get something a little less intense and comprehensive if you use sparkpeople.com (not to mention that it is free and you can let them create meal plans for you), but I am going to go on with this program. Like sparkpeople, it is focused around teaching you how to live your life better, although the main focus of Live the Life is on spending the next 12 weeks forming the habits that will guide you through a healthy life. However, with both programs, it is intended to be used forever, not just for the immediate future.

I'm going to start over with new 'before' pictures, with a pretty gross twist. I am a person who likes to be covered up. I don't really like my bum hanging out, or much of my skin at all, for that matter. But, the new program says that the more skin you show in your before picture, the better you will be able to see your results (but to keep it clean). So, I'm going to go to Kmart and buy a bikini. That's right, you heard/read me right. Yeah, I know, disgusting. However, I'm not posting them here. I'll do the pictures here like I did before--green tank and black leggings. The ultra-gross ones are for my little book. If you are my friend and ask to see it, then I may show it to you. If you just have a morbid curiosity, don't count on it. :)

Starting measurements and weight:
M1 (this is the measurement around your bellybutton)--39 inches
M2 (this is eight inches below your M1)--44 inches
LBS--193

I'll post some pics later, when I figure out where the devil my leggings are. Maybe they ran away...

Prodigal

Yes, yes, hold back your shock. I started back at school full-time, and have been figuring out how to make my adjustments. Well, I didn't do so great before, but now I see more and more the necessity of becoming disciplined.

I mean, I knew it before, but now it really is necessity for me. I have a friend who is ultra disciplined and organized, but she claims it is a disease because of the extent to which she uses it. I have asked her if she would "please infect me", but so far she has not. However, I now see that I myself have the power of 'infection' within me; it just needed to be unlocked by necessity, hard work and a lot of divine help.

One thing that I see will bring me back into the good groove I had going before is to plan ahead with my eating; I would get in a hurry and need to pick up something expensive and not really good for you from the machines at school in order to stabilize my blood sugar for various reasons. I am not able to eat the protein bars I used to make, because it seems that my body doesn't process soy very well anymore. So, I have found a few new recipes that use whey protein instead, and I'm going to try them out today. The phrase "Failure to plan is planning to fail" seems to hold true for me.

Here's where I get to cringe:

Beginning Weight: 208.2
Today's weight: 194.6
Today's body fat %: 38.1%

Yes, I know I gained fat and lost muscle, but I am taking charge again and reminding myself why I started this in the first place. I will post my pictures and measurements later this week. Hold tight, because I'm still going!

End of Week I forget

Okay, so I don't know what week I am on, but my weigh in yesterday was 188.6 lbs! I'm only .4 lbs short of 20! I am determined to have lost at least 21 lbs total by next Monday. I know this means that I need to get back on feeding my body enough of the good stuff so that I have less temptation from the not-as-good or even bad stuff to eat. That has been my problem for the last little while. I know also that my mind needs to be in a better place (not staying up til Midnight every night might help!) so that I can take care of myself:

I went to the store last night--I was very tired already--and saw some of those really bad, prepackaged breakfast danishes that have the dutch crumble type stuff on them, and realized something; I was tempted, and the last time that I remember really looking at them, I was not. Then I realized that something has changed in me to cause that. I was letting myself slip back into old habits of not dealing with my problems and stresses, because I am tired. The thing is, with going back to school, I will be tired. I don't need to add to the problem by feeding my body crud, which depresses the metabolism as well as the endocrine system and immune system. The best way to stay focused is to do what I need to do, even if it's not always what I think I want at the time, and what is convenient.