January Challenge - Half way update!

I've made it to the  half way point in the January Fitness Challenge! So far so good, I've actually stuck to my goals and followed through on everything I said I would.

Here is a little recap on my goals for this month: 
- Reduce Added Sugar (No alcohol, no sweets/dessert, no sugar in my coffee/tea or anything else, no artificial sweetener) 
- Gym minimum 2x a week 
- January Fitness Challenge Calendar 
- Calorie counting for 31 days

So how have I been doing? On Jan 1 I weighed myself. Bad news, those 5lbs I had lost packed themselves back on during the holidays. I was one part discouraged and one part motivated.  I was starting back from the beginning but, I was going to really focus and kick my own butt this time around. I've really stuck to it and haven't cheated on my goals. 

As of Sunday, I've lost 7lbs.......7lbs in 15 days! I really can't believe it, and hardly believe it's possible. I've never lost that fast. Maybe it's the calorie counting? Maybe it's the reduced added sugar? Maybe it's the ramp up in exercise?  Probably a little bit of everything. This means I am only 13lbs away from my goal. I'm feeling accomplished and motivated.

The sugar part of this month has been hard. I crave random sugary treats that normally I wouldn't eat or want or crave.  It does crazy things! I have been less bloated and overall feel healthier. The first week was definitely the hardest, I had bad headaches, felt generally cranky and unpleasant but, it passed. I've recently discovered if I eat frozen fruit, it's sweet enough and takes care of some of my cravings.
For the exercise portion, I have restarted the Couch to 10k program (ZenLabs has a great app for this!) and am working my way through that, mixed in with some lifting days to keep my muscles and metabolism healthy. This means I often need to get to the gym 3x per week. It's been a bit challenging but, I'm working hard to make it happen. 

I know people get a lot out of exercise, they say it makes them feel good and that it gives them energy for the day. I still don't get those results, it's still a chore to me.  I keep at it because I need to.  Maybe one of these days things will change and for now, I'm just motivated to improve my health and lose a few pounds.
 
Side note....we have a February challenge coming up in "Strong and Healthy", feel free to join us. We've got a great group of people who have come together to work toward a healthier version of themselves. We all have different personal goals and we keep each other motivated. 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/245677619282854/






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The ups and downs

I debated whether to blog about this but, I read a quotation the other day that really stuck with me and is a big reason behind why I'm writing this today.  It said: "The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we  compare our behind the scenes with everyone else's highlight reel" With the internet and social media it's very easy to just see everyone's highlight reel, see what they want you to see and really get down about yourself.  So in an effort to be completely transparent and honest about what I'm doing, I will share the good and the bad.  So, here I go.  As I mentioned earlier this week, I really enjoyed our vacation. A lot.  I ate so much fabulous food and was lucky enough to not gain any weight. This week however has been so difficult.  I'm back to my low fat, lower carb, high protein, literally watching every single thing I eat lifestyle.  I know I always refer to it as a lifestyle change and I've felt that way the whole
Read more

MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal is were it all began. Well, kind of. I've been fortunate over the last year and a half of my life to get to know a wonderful group of women through TheKnot.com.  We were all getting married in August 2011 and helped each other with wedding planning. How we all found ourselves on that message board was in my mind a miracle.  We continued to keep in touch and it is because of some of these wonderful women I even heard of MyFitnessPal. After months of seeing some of these women trying it out I started to think about it.  In January 2012 we took a delayed honeymoon and I managed to gain 5lbs in a week.  I guess an all inclusive vacation with fantastic food and drinks will do that to you. I didn't really get around to starting my weight loss journey until April 2012.  I was looking through photos of myself from a friends bridal shower and was really upset with how I was looking.  On top of that, a number of stories had been in the news about overweight women and c
Read more

Spinach & Ricotta Lasagna Rolls

Image
Lasagna rolls! Surprisingly low calorie and very delicious.  I have two photos above. One of when they were freshly rolled before they went in the freezer and the picture below it when they came out of the oven.  I don't like my lasagna too saucy so feel free to add more but here is the recipe: 5 lasagna noodles, cooked (I used Catelli Smart) 1/4 of a package of frozen spinach, thawed and completely drained 1 Cup Ricotta Cheese 1 egg salt and pepper to taste Mozzarella and Red Sauce to desired amount. Cook the lasagna noodles. While the noodles are cooking, make your filling.  Mix ricotta, spinach and egg, salt and pepper together.  Drain noodles and lay out flat, make sure they are dry. Divide the filling among the 5 noodles.  Then roll.  At this point, I took them and put them in an airtight container and froze them.  To cook them, I took them out of the freezer, put sauce on them and put them in the oven in a pyrex dish for 35 minutes at 375*F.  Then I took them
Read more