tmac

You'll appreciate this, Shaaraway. The look on my husband's face the first time he tried a warm, buttery lobster roll was priceless. He said it made up for having to give up grits and Bojangles biscuits. I think I'm going to mount the bar in the basement for that reason. Not that my house is all perfect, but I hate to add any more weirdness to an already weird house. I think I've got a doorway down here that would work.

MQ: I haven't weighed myself in a while, but my regular bras are now too big. I'll go get one tomorrow, and will just stick with that and some less supportive sports bras for a while. Hate to spend money on clothes I hope will only fit for a month or two. My shirts will just get looser, which is fine, and I've got a couple of pairs of smaller jeans to work through before that becomes an issue. 1. Food plan for today: Coffee, plain yogurt, a pear. Tuna salad on Romaine. Dinner is my weekly "free" meal, which tonight will be fried clams, french fries, a beer, and either a chocolate milk shake or a brownie. I've been craving french fries and chocolate, so that should take care of it. 2. I told my husband that I wanted to get a pull-up bar, and he didn't seem to think I'm a weirdo, so I'll make that happen this weekend. Just have to figure out the best door to mount it in. Today, I'll go to the gym after work and errands. First, sprints on the rowing machine... 3. Then yoga class. LQ: Showered, dressed for yoga, eating breakfast. Ready for the day.

Exactly! My previous yoga practice was all about stretching and relaxing. I'm trying to ramp it up during this challenge, and get more comfortable with more muscle-engaging poses. Like down dog, my nemesis. It's getting better, but still hard to hold for any length of time. I've started tracking food again for a while, just to make sure I don't let our current emotional state push us too far over the line. I'm focusing on cooking family favorites this week (curry, beef stew, enchiladas, roasted chicken, etc.) so we at least can avoid the inevitable squabbles when I try new or too overtly "healthy" recipes. My oldest is having some trouble sleeping, due to the loss, so I'm super glad he has a therapy appointment scheduled for today. That always helps him smooth the rough edges. The two little ones are doing better. They're coping by lavishing attention on the cat, which she isn't used to yet, but I think will start to enjoy eventually.

1. Coffee, eggs, and grapefruit for breakfast. A veggie-loaded cheeseburger (no bun) with a side salad for lunch. Chick pea and cauliflower curry for dinner. At some point, there will be a snack of almonds and an apple. Macros and calories: check. 2. Bodyweight today. Angry Birds, level 2. I haven't yet figured out how to do the inverted rows, so I'm still doing one-arm rows. I could do them under the coffee table, but honestly, I'm just embarrassed to try it in front of my husband, and he works in the living room all day. I'm also embarrassed to buy an adjustable pull-up bar that I can put low in the doorway. Ridiculous. As if just owning the thing implies that I think I'm "all that." I've got to get over it. 3. Yoga. I'll just do some stretching after the bodyweight work. Yesterday's yoga was fairly strenuous and I'm still feeling it. LQ: All dressed and groomed, but I haven't yet started the dishes or laundry. I'll do that now, and then get to work.

1. Coffee, grapefruit and a piece of cheese for breakfast. Tea later in the morning. Lunch will be homemade chili and dinner is roasted chicken, baked sweet potato, and salad. 2. No bodyweight today, as planned. 3. I read the yoga class schedule wrong. There is no noon-time class. Normally, that would be a problem, but my standing evening appointment has been cancelled, so I'll go to the evening class instead. Next week, I'll start going to the Tuesday and Friday evening classes. LQ: Got up and dressed into yoga clothes this morning. Ran the dishes. Not a full load of laundry to do, so not today.

So, she's gone. The kids are upset, as am I. But rather than comforting ourselves with food, we'll just hang out together tonight. Maybe watch a stupid movie. I was going to go out with a friend, but I think I'll pass. 1: Eating is fine. 2: Did bodyweight exercises today 3: Did some light yoga after that. LQ: Morning routine got done, and I put beef stew in the slow cooker for dinner tonight, since I knew that I wouldn't be in the mood for cooking.

I moved from NC to CT just this past summer, but I grew up here and am used to it. A friend of mine moved from CT to MD at the same time. She was so happy that she'd get to avoid the worst of the snow, not realizing that 1" is still bad when people don't know how to deal with it. I'd rather drive in a blizzard up here than a snow shower down there.

It's also a good reminder that it's a mental game, not physical. Not really. If you focus on getting your head in the right place, the physical progress will follow.

Thanks, shaaraway. It does help to know we're not alone in this. It's bringing up bittersweet memories of our other old dogs and cats that we've had to let go over the years. It seems like it doesn't get any easier.

"Me? Get into the garbage? Never!"

Mini-Challenge: Get through the next few days without emotional eating. It looks like we'll have to put our old dog Sam to sleep tomorrow. I'm having a hard time not going for the comfort food, and maybe even worse, trying to comfort the kids with food. Not something I want to pass on to them. So I'll be struggling to find ways to comfort each other in a healthy way.

Thanks for the update. You know we're all worried and proud of you at the same time. And looking forward to the day when you can look back and say, "Wow, that REALLY sucked, and I'm glad its so much better now."

Tell me about barre class? My YMCA offers it, but I haven't tried it.

Happy New Challenge Day! Reports: Main: I'll weigh in every week after my Friday evening yoga class. Last weigh in (2 weeks ago) was 226. 1: Food on plan. Need to go shopping today. Ran out of time this weekend, and my available good food choices are dwindling. 2: Bodyweight 3x, Sprints x1. Did a bodyweight workout yesterday, otherwise known as "shoveling snow." Today, I'll do Angry Birds. I've gotten to Level 2 on push-ups and rows and Level 3 on squats and planks, but I think I'll keep doing Level 2 until I've moved up in everything. I'll plan for rowing sprints Friday before yoga class. 3: Yoga. I can feel my back muscles today, after the shoveling, so I think I'll do some more significant yoga after lunch. I've committed to attend classes on Wednesday afternoon and Friday evening. Life: Morning routine is done for today -- dressed and groomed, laundry rebooted, dishes run and awaiting my son to unload after school.

Oh, Bekah. What an incredibly difficult thing to go through. We're rooting for you. ((Hugs))

Note to self: Don't do a bodyweight workout the same day as a yoga class, even if it's billed as "Align & Unwind." You never know when they're going to swap teachers, and suddenly you're in the middle of "Power & Sweat." There were push-ups. In yoga class. I didn't hate it, but it's not what I was after. Oh well. Double-whammy strength workout today. :-/

Pre-Challenge updates: 1. On track for eating. Moved tonight's "free" meal to last night, so tonight we'll have sauteed chicken, sweet potatoes (just a half for me), and giant salad. 2. Realizing that 6 days a week of cardio/strength is going to be too much. Editing Goal #2: 3 days bodyweight + 1 day cardio sprints, and as much recreational cardio as I can fit in. 3. First yoga class is tonight. I'm already in my yoga clothes, and am looking forward to it! LQ: Got up this morning, got dressed, ran the dishwasher, put in a load of laundry, and got straight to work.

Love!

Hi, Chanda! Nice to meet you! On paleo, its weirdly been a struggle to get it up even that high. I'm finding myself naturally settling at 1000 cal, and having to eat more just to make up the numbers. But I'll see what I can do to keep it toward the upper part of the range without eating just for eating's sake.

I'm so glad the new challenge is up! This is my second challenge, and I'm ready for some Druid-y goodness! I have a history of back problems, so my goal this time around is to really work on resolving my chronic issues -- Sciatica, resulting in leg pain and numbness (simultaneously, which is quite a trick), as well as occasional debilitating back spasms. I believe that much of the problem is related to two issues: 1) I'm overweight. I'm 5'10" and weight 226. I'm 22 lbs down from my highest weight, and I plan to keep going. The first milestone I'm looking forward to is 209 lbs -- when the BMI calculator says I'll be merely "overweight" instead of "obese." I have PCOS and a paleo-like eating plan is working well for me. 2) I have weak core muscles. The more I can strengthen them, the less likely I am to have back episodes. 3) I have a lack of flexibility. My back and hip muscles are very tight, and the more I coddle them, the worse they get. Daily yoga is having a good effect. Main Quest: Lose 55 lbs (started at with 71 to lose). Smart Goal #1: Continue to eat well for weight loss. Now that I have a good handle on what I can eat, and how much, I'm going to experiment with not tracking. Well, at least, not tracking ahead of time. I used to pre-log each day into MyFitnessPal.com, but now I'm going to wait until after, to make sure my decision-making is sound. So far so good. I've been losing well at 50-60 g carbs and 1200-1500 cals per day, with one "free" meal on Friday nights. I can't control how much weight I actually lose, but I can control how well I'm sticking to my eating plan. A = On plan all 6 weeks B = On plan 5 weeks C = On plan 4 weeks D = On plan 3 weeks F = On plan 2 or fewer weeks Smart Goal #2: Continue with habitual exercise, incorporating core-heavy strength and cardio. Each week, 3 days of Angry Birds Workouts + 1 days cardio sprints (swim, run, or row). A = Cardio or strength 4 days per week, all 6 weeks. B = 3 weeks C = 2 weeks D = 1 week F = 0 weeks Smart Goal #3: Increase yoga proficiency and frequency with two weekly classes, and daily home practice. I do the home practice pretty consistently, so the goal is really about getting to those classes every week. A = Attend 11 or more classes B = Attend 9 or 10 classes C = Attend 7 or 8 classes D = Attend 5 or 6 classes F = Attend 4 or fewer classes Life Quest: Take care of myself every day. I have a tendency to roll out of bed, get the kids to school, and then work in my PJs all day. When I do that, I tend to feel pretty crummy and get less done, both at home and work. So the goal is to get dressed, get my morning chores done (dishes and laundry), and then sit down to work at 9am. A= Morning routine complete 25 days or more B = 20 to 24 days C = 15 to 19 days D = 10 to 14 days F = 9 days or fewer Celebration: If I put forth the effort during the challenge and make a good showing of it, my capstone celebration will be a DIY yoga retreat: A yoga class and massage, then a day alone at my parents' cabin, doing more yoga, meditating, reading, and napping.

You go, girl! Looking forward to following along with you.

LOL! Right, 'cuz that's the next step. Going from a picture with no skin to a picture with ALL THE SKIN!

Bekah! That's great! I can totally relate to that. I was pondering whether I'd have the nerve to get some pretty underwear once I've lost a little more weight. But you know what? I need new underwear now, and why shouldn't it be pretty? So that's what I'll do. Thanks for the inspiration!

Look at those numbers! You totally kicked this challenge's ass.

The end! Time to figure out how I did! Main Quest: Of the 61 lbs I want to lose this year, I've lost 16 lbs. Excellent! Quest 1: Habitualize low-carb eating: This has gone well. I've had the occasional craving this week, but until now, it's been fairly painless. I'm sticking with it. Grade A. Quest 2: Habitualize exercise: This went well, up until the last two weeks. The constant snow shoveling killed my motivation. I'll be doing the Angry Birds workout between challenges, and may continue it during the next one. I'm also going to focus on getting my three cardio workouts per week in there (run, swim, and row). Grade C. Quest 3: Flexibility: Daily yoga. I also tanked on this in the last week, but had it nailed until then. Grade B. Life Quest: Finishing my financial task list. Just two tasks left! I need to set up a 401K for our employees and I need to file our year-end business taxes. So close! At least I got everything else done. Grade B. Overall: Grade B.