Category Archives: Weekly weigh in

I’ve been dropping my birthday pounds!

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I’m happy to report that I have managed to lose four pounds since I began creating my meal plans last week!   My ear infection has not eased up, apparently it was caused by a virus so my amoxicillin has done nothing.  If anything, I would say it has gotten worse!

But unfortunately the days when I could stay in bed with the three C’s  (coloring books, crayons, and cartoons) are over and I still need to attend to my responsibilities of school and work.

I have taken a break from my usual tennis, Pilates, and yoga although I gave tennis a shot on Wednesday and ended up totally overexerting myself, causing me to come home and skip the next three classes and leave work early.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to do so well when it came to the exercise so I’ve been making up for it by really trying to stick with a routine.   I’ve been consistently eating my servings of beans with a big salad at lunch along with my light breakfasts and dinners.  I have also been rocking my water intake but I also think that’s because all my medicine is making me super thirsty.

I got to spend the weekend away with my best girl friends for a Monterey Bay weekend.  We stayed in the exciting town of Salinas where people with pink hair must be pretty rare as I got quite a few stares.  I indulged myself after doing a ton of walking for dinner at my seventh brewery of the month,  Monterey Coast Brewing.  That night my friends and I stayed in our hotel room doing our nails and making a big batch of “hotel guacamole”.  I love the life of a 30 year old, haha!  Who needs clubs and overpriced drinks when you can have your best friends in a hotel room with a plate of guacamole!??!

In my element making guacamole!

In my element making a simple guacamole of avocados, garlic powder, salt, and lime!

This week has been way better than last week as I’ve been finding out more in regards to my Math situation and college.  It turns out that the two years of algebra I took in high school totally have counted this whole time as prerequisites!  I’ve already gotten  that transferred over  and I’m all set to give a try at statistics, a class everyone assures me I’ll be better at since it’s “real life math”.  I feel confident because I’ve been informed on all the best teachers in my area who do open-book tests and no homework! Haha!  I may not be smart at math but I sure am crafty at working the system… but not crafty enough to figure this out before I took  the class I’m in now!   ;) Thank you all for your support about that, it was awesome to see that some of you have had issues like myself as well!

 

In spirit of avocados which are so nice and cheap right now in California – how do YOU make your guacamole?!

 

Avocados for all,

AprilSignatur

My Monthly Weigh In Update

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Good Morning! So this morning (it’s currently Saturday), I woke up for the first time in my life, eager to get on the scale. I knew that my five workouts per week were helping, as I can now run a mile without dying, my jeans feel looser, I’m starting to get the “You’ve lost weight!” comments, and in general, I am feeling fitter, happier and more energetic. The scale would be good. It had to be.

I stepped on the scale when I rolled out of bed, before I ate anything or put anything on. The number shocked me. This has to be wrong, I thought, stepping back, rubbing my eyes, thinking I must still be in a daze. I stepped on again. The number was there again… glaring at me – the highest number I’ve ever seen in my life. This can’t be, I thought, anger growing inside me. Thankfully, in a moment of divine intervention, I remembered to take my measurements. I wrapped the pink tape around me in disbelief, not understanding how all this WORK could lead to gain. WEIGHT GAIN, that is. The measuring tape showed a different story. I lost an inch off my bust. An inch off my thighs. An inch off my forearm. An inch off my butt. An inch off my arm. THREE inches off my waist. A total of eight inches lost – surely, the proof of at least four hours of cardio per week in addition to strength training.

Thankfully, I had a therapy appointment. I haven’t been completely open about this on the blog because of the stigma that goes along with saying you’re seeing a therapist. I’m not crazy, and I’m fine – I just wanted to work on my stress management and anxiety, and I can tell you that lately I’m feeling better than ever. If you need help, get it. It’s not a big deal. We all need a little help sometimes. Anyways, we spent my session today talking about my WEIGHT. How all my life, it’s the one thing I feel like I cannot overcome. How I try so hard, and it feels like nothing changes. How this defeat makes me want to say f*ck it all, and eat 15 bags of movie theatre popcorn, to roll in dulce de leche, to be like “I’m fat and that’s the way I always will be.” But we talked about why a number means so much to me. How things like my horrendous allergies make me retain water. How I’m pre-menstrual. How I had a salty meal last night. How all of these things drastically affect a number – and how can I let a number RUIN MY DAY when I see results in so many other ways?

We talked about my food choices the past two weeks. I realized I haven’t had “perfection”. I have treated myself – because I had a major life accomplishment. I turned in 20,000 words of my own creation. My thesis, a project I’ve been working on for three years. I will graduate in May – a 28 year old with a Master’s degree. I am so PROUD of myself. I celebrated with a cheeseburger, and cupcakes. I sipped a frothy cold lambic on a hot summer day. I had a slice of pizza for lunch. My celebrations were all food, and that’s a behavior I can change, but we also talked about forgiveness. I need to forgive myself for not eating perfectly. I need to not beat myself up because of the scale. I need to be my friend. I am trying. I am working. I am going to make this happen.

I believe in myself. I will be journaling my food for the next few weeks, continuing to work out, and drinking more water. I will weigh in ONCE A WEEK, and that’s it. I will continue to take measurements. I will do this. I will do this. I can do this.

Whew – that was a heavy post. Bet you didn’t expect that, did you?! Tell me something that challenged you this weekend. You overcame it – I know you did – and if you haven’t, I know you can. We can do this! As always, thank you for reading my blog. It means a lot to me to know I’m not alone on this journey :)

 

 

My reflections on my no-weigh month

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In a couple days, it will be one month since I agreed to say no to the scale for a whole 30 days. The first few days of not weighing, I felt anxious, like I wanted to just hop on and see what was going on. Since I had started boot camp three times a week, I had a hopeful feeling that the number would be lower – but then I remembered all the times I got on that scale thinking the number would be lower, and it was the same, or up, and it put me in a crappy mood for the next hour or two. The reason I decided to go no-weigh for a month was that it was getting discouraging to see the number not move. One bad weigh in and I was grumpy for the rest of the day, tempted to blow off my eating plans or exercise, because why did it matter? All that hard work and I was getting no where.

After the first few days of no weigh, I felt free. I didn’t hop on in nervous anticipation every morning. The scale became less of a mood-breaker and more of an annoying piece of furniture taking up space in my bedroom. It was liberating not to worry about a salty meal the night before, or if my exercise had “caught up” with me. I loved it. I loved being no weigh.

To help me keep track of my progress, I took all of my measurements the first day of no-weigh. I checked in today and did a re-measure, and I can say that I’m happy with the way things are going. At the end of this week, I’ll weigh myself and see what’s up. I don’t know what to expect. My fitness habits have been great, and I’m accomplishing major things fitness wise – running a mile without stopping, getting through 60 minute cardio sessions without dying, enjoying the healthy flush and spurt of energy that regular exercise gets me. Considering that I’ve just started a new job and am in my last month of grad school, my mood has been amazing. However, my eating has been more spotty with the last few weeks of school. This week, there were many days when I worked an 8 hour day, came home and immediately started working on my thesis, finishing up at 1 AM, snarfing down a few slices of pizza or going out to grab a Vietnamese noodle bowl with my husband. I haven’t been able to put as much thought and preparation into my meals, but I’m hoping my diligent exercise efforts have helped balance it out.

We’ll see how my weigh in goes at the end of this week, but if staying away from the number didn’t do too much damage, I might consider weighing myself less frequently. Over this long, long process, I’ve learned that you can FEEL skinny, FEEL fit, FEEL good – and not lose weight. But maybe you gained muscle. Or maybe you’re bloated. Or maybe you didn’t go to the bathroom. Or maybe you forgot to take off your bath robe. There are so many variables to what affects the number on the scale – and after my no-weigh month, I’m learning to give those variables less “room” in my daily life. Life happens. I don’t need a scale to tell me my worth, or what kind of day I’m going to have. I will choose to be conscious of my health by the way I feel – how I’m sleeping, my moods, my energy level, the color of my skin.

Have you ever considered doing a “no weigh”? Why or why not?

 

 

Throwing away the scale.

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Yesterday morning, I stepped on the scale, giddy at the thought of what the numbers would show. But they didn’t show what I wanted. They showed a gain, after a week and a half of diligent Paleo eating. Since I stopped eating Diet to Go I’ve gained a few pounds too – amazing what a shift in my nutrition does to my body. I was frustrated. How can three numbers have such an impact on my mood and attitude?

This weight loss journey sometimes feels like the biggest, longest challenge I’ve ever worked towards. I get so angry when the numbers don’t move favorably, because doesn’t the scale see the hour of boxing class, how I left class drenched in my own sweat? Doesn’t the scale see how I skipped my friend’s amazing looking tres leches cake to have a banana with almond butter? Doesn’t the scale see me dancing my butt off in zumba class, or climbing the treadmill like a mountain, pressing the incline button more and more, until I’m towering above the treadmills around me, climbing, climbing, climbing towards a healthier me? Doesn’t the scale see how every time in the past four years I’ve ordered my turkey burger with a side of salad, skipped the french fries, dressing on the side?

The scale doesn’t see these things.

Image borrowed from thechildhealthblog.com

So yesterday, when I talked to a professional athlete and body builder at an event, I was surprised when he told me to throw out my scale. I’ve heard this sentiment before from people in the know – the hydrostatic body composition owner, a triathalon expert, a kinesiologist. But it’s hard to disconnect my goals from my weight, that ominous number that reminds me how I’m at a higher risk for heart disease, diabetes, depression, you name it. The problem is, that number on the scale has a huge influence on the decisions I make afterwards – like saying, “Screw Paleo, I’m eating gluten-free pizza and popcorn for dinner.” Because when I’ve been working hard and seeing what I feel are no results, why even bother? Why keep going?

But I know I can’t give up. I know I need to keep going. And even if the scale doesn’t move, I’ll get there, one day, to the better, stronger, healthier, slimmer me.

Does your weight have an influence on your attitude towards eating, fitness and your mood in general?

What has a month of doing Pilates and Yoga twice a week done?

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It’s been a little over a month now since school began and I can honestly say that my excitement for school to END is not because of the work load, it’s because I’m so excited to see how my body turns out.

I was super smart and decided to take Pilates and Yoga back to back through my college, knowing that I would be forced to stick with the classes because if I dropped them,  I would lose my financial aide.

So every Monday and Wednesday from noon to two, as I practice feeling my pelvic floor and sun salutations, I think to myself how proud I am for choosing to take these classes.  I started taking yoga a few years ago but would only go at random times so didn’t feel the full benefits from regular practice.  Now that’s it been a month of regular routine, I feel stronger, leaner, and more grounded than ever before.  I notice that my waist, though still fluffified with fat, is getting these cool lines going down the sides of it, as if I have DEFINED ABS. Haha!  I also noticed that my back rolls of fat are basically gone, which I find to be a HUGE accomplishment considering it hasn’t even been that long of classes.  I’m sure doing my hula hoop has helped with that too!

One of the amazing Pilates moves I learned - Click on the photo for more from ultimatepilatesworkouts.com

One of the amazing Pilates moves I learned – Click on the photo for more from ultimatepilatesworkouts.com

Pilates has been making me discover muscles I  never knew I had before.  For example, in class last Wednesday we did these crazy leg moves where we were on our hands and knees and along with the standard up and down leg lifts, we also had to move our legs from side to side.  When we were done with those, we laid upon our mats on the cold and polished floor, eager to rest.  BUT NO!  Instead, our teacher had us bend our knees up and practice lifting our pelvis and thighs off the ground, while still keeping our knees and stomachs on our mats.  Pilates introduces many moves that seem so hard the first time that I try them, but now that we’ve been repeating them, they keep getting easier and easier.

Like Pilates, I have progressed very nicely in my yoga class as well.  I have a goal set to be able to reach my “nose to my toes” and this previous class, for the first time in my adult life, I was able to reach my forehead to the tops of my toes.  I didn’t expect this type of achievement to come so soon so you can imagine how happy I felt after class when I gave it a shot.

Yoga has given me so much confidence in what my body can do.  I feel so proud of myself when I am able to do the harder poses my teacher labels as “level two and level three”.  I love yoga because it has yet to make me feel once that I was simply too fat to achieve the poses.  Plus, between doing the Pilates and yoga, my posture has improved and has made me take note of when I’m slouching more.  My Dad’s days of pulling my shoulders back to teach me to stand-up straight might be coming to an end!

April doing “Half Moon”

I am also very proud to report that since I began again on my weight-loss adventure on January 2nd, I have lost eight pounds.  This week alone provided me with a four pound loss because of the detox I have been doing.  As I write this, it’s the night of Day Four, and I have been going strong!  Every day is easier than the one before and while I still hear the faint voices of the caffeine Gods calling out to me, my determination to complete the week puts ear muffs over me and refuses to respond to their calls.

I look forward to reporting back in another month what TWO months of regular yoga and Pilates has done for my body.  This is probably the best positive change I have ever been able to make for my body and I have a solid belief that my practice of both won’t end when the semester does.

What kind of positive change have you made in your life that has had a great effect on your health?

Lots of love,

AprilSignatur

Diet to Go Week 4 Review: 8 Pounds Down!

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Hi everybody! Today is a happy Friday, because after one month on Diet to Go, I’m down 8 pounds, which is huge for my sluggish slow metabolism! I still have about a week’s worth of food left so I’ll do one more update next week, but WOW, 8 pounds. Let’s talk about some of the things that make this worthwhile.

1) Portion Control. I’m my own worst enemy when it comes to measuring. One cup = 1 heaping, big ass cup in Alyssa land. One Tablespoon = Probably 1.5 tablespoons, but “I’ll just round down.” Diet to go eliminates the margin for error and forces me to eat on portion, every time – but that doesn’t mean I don’t get to eat a lot. In my diet days, I never get TWO chicken breasts. Well, since they’re little chicken breasts, I got two. Awesome!

Diet to Go BBQ Chicken Meal - SUPER yummy!

Diet to Go BBQ Chicken Meal – SUPER yummy!

2) Variety. I get stuck in ruts when I’m dieting on my own, and I very quickly get sick of chicken breasts, salads and whole wheat toast in the morning. Every day on Diet to go I get something new and yummy to eat… like a breakfast of a cinnamon bar, strawberries and OJ.

Diet to Go Cinnamon Bar and Berries

Diet to Go Cinnamon Bar and Berries

3) Food that makes you feel good. This is an odd one for me, because I’m still working on the psychological reasons that I crave certain foods when I’m stressed. I had a certain day this week that was PACKED with stress, and my impulse was to go crazy for carbs and rip open a bag of potato chips like a rabid bear. I didn’t – but I did pick a meal in my plan that was loaded-with carbs and comforting. So guess what – I satisfied my emotional urge, but stayed on my diet – and THAT is something worth celebrating.

Diet-to-go Carbtastic Meal of Tamale Pie, Corn and Baked Potato

Diet-to-go Carbtastic Meal of Tamale Pie, Corn and Baked Potato

So, there you have it – one very happy customer. I’ll do another weigh in next week, but I’m also going to be launching a giveaway where you can win a WHOLE WEEK of Diet to Go food to try. Does anybody have any questions about this plan? Would you try it? Does anybody have any creative ideas for next week’s giveaway, or should we stick to the standard “leave a comment and enter for a chance to win” type thing? Let me know, and I hope you have an amazing weekend filled with good for you food and smiles!

PPS: Today we have a Puzzled & Polished WINNER!!!!! Our lucky winner, drawn by random number, is number ONE – Julie!!!! Congrats!

*Diet to Go is compensating me in exchange for weekly reviews. Don’t worry – opinions are always my own!