40 years and 8 days

Greetings all! It has been a while since I last posted. I am officially 40 years and 8 days old. I didn't quite make it to my 40 x 40 goal. As of October 1, 2011, I had lost exactly 30 pounds (if I had turned 40 before the cruise, it would've been 32.4 pounds). However, I still rejoice. I am in better shape than I was most of my 30s and know that I can lose these last 10 plus the other 8 pounds I want to lose to reach my goal weight. I have lost 2 dress sizes and am intrigued to see where my final goal will put me. I learned a lot about myself over the course of this journey. I'm stronger than I imagined. I have conquered emotional/stress eating. I actually don't loathe exercise, outdoors, and sweat. My public pursuit of this goal has inspired others. I have been asked by several people to help them get healthier, too. Let's be clear, I'm not an expert and am not looking to make a career change. But I am definitely willing to share what I've learned and cheer others on along this journey. I pondered shutting the blog down once 40 came. However, I think I'll keep it going because my journey continues!

2 months to go!

Tomorrow is August 1, 2011. It will be exactly 2 months from my 40th birthday. Where did the time go?

I thought I'd take a moment to update you on my progress toward the 40 by 40 goal. As of this morning, I am 17.6 pounds from my goal. That means I need to lose consistently, about 2 pounds a week for the next 8 weeks. I am confident that I will do this. I've got an amazing support team. Darrell, Rebekah, and Virginia will not let me give up (not that I want to).

Interestingly, I weighed in this morning and discovered that I actually gained 1 pound this month. However, I lost 6 inches! I guess muscle does weigh more than fat! This actually motivated me to keep doing what I'm doing. I don't plan to do anything too drastic. However, I'm going to take a Soror up on a challenge to only drink water for the next 30 days (please don't offer me coffee this month). Virginia gave me a good piece of advice about cutting back on fruits this month. Rebekah's already making plans to help me kick it into high gear!

This month is going to be great!!! I can't wait to see what the end of August will hold! I'm predicting a 10 pound drop!

Feeling Good

It's Saturday. I'm feeling good. Finished my 6th workout of this week. I did bootcamp 3xs, Zumba 1 day, and walked 2days. What I am most excited about is that I am beginning to enjoy exercise. This something I never imagined I would say in my lifetime. My quest to lose 40 x 40 has led me to a change in lifestyle and attitudes. I no longer dread working out and manage to make healthy food choices with consistency.

Just yesterday when some folks at work decided to go for frozen yogurt and suggested walking the .3 miles, I immediately said yes (even though I was wearing some fierce heels)! I know that even in fabulous shoes, I can walk anywhere, any time! I am excited to see what results I get when I add training for the 3day to my current routine. My plan is to continue with bootcamp 5 days a week and add 3 days of training for the walk to that routine! I will be fit and fab when I hit 40!

the journey continues....

Summer 2010 (left) May 2011 (right)

What a Shame

It has been two months since my last post. What a shame! However, it is actually a good indication of what my life has been like over the last 8 weeks. Lots has happened since my last post on April 10th! I officially hit my half way mark (well almost), I've lost 19.8 lbs. I've witnessed the end and beginning of another year at MTR. I can proudly boast that I have worked out consistently for 4 consecutive months and have (for the most part) conquered emotional eating.

Now, the challenge will be to shake these last 20 pounds in the next 3 and 1/2 months. I will begin training for my second Susan G. Komen 3day walk in just 20 days. I hope that adding the extra walking to my regular bootcamp routine will push me toward my goal. I would love to experience the walk 40 pounds lighter! Thanks for cheering me on along the way!

12 down 28 to go!

My 40th birthday is less than 6 months away, and I have officially lost 12 pounds. While I'm thrilled with the loss, I'm most excited about the results I've seen. Friday was the end of 7 weeks of bootcamp. There are exercises I can do now that I couldn't physically do when I started. I can keep a constant jog and stay with the back of the pack (no longer walking behind) when Sgt. Tony tells us to take a lap. I can also do the "body builder" exercise...even after running a part of a lap. I couldn't do that a couple of weeks ago. Progress! Slow and steady! And healthy!

So here's how I see it, 2 months = 12 pounds. If this trend continues, I will should be just a few pounds shy of my goal on 10/1/11!

First Person

Alright! It's official. I received the first feedback that someone noticed the 7.6 pounds (I'm just .5 pounds away from my first little goal) that have officially been left behind in my 30s! Like clockwork, every 3 weeks on Sunday afternoon I go for a manicure and pedicure. Jackie, my nail woman, and I have been talking about losing weight. We agreed that we would work to be different by the time we saw each other again. Well, today as Jackie was massaging my feet (did I mention how much I LOVE pedicures) she looked up and said..."Girl, you have lost weight. I can tell"!

Now, let's be clear, this is not a hint for my readers to start telling me you've noticed the difference. I am not doing this for that reason. I really want to be the healthiest me I can be by time my birthday rolls around. I feel better already. I was quite impressed with myself when I was in DC and able to walk 4 flights of stairs in one of the Senate buildings wearing my 3 1/2 inch heels without being winded! Trust me, I patted myself on the back! But what excited me most about Jackie's comment was that someone who doesn't see me everyday can see the transformation! And if I can do it, anyone can! That's part of the reason I'm being so public about this...#1 it keeps me accountable and #2 I want to motivate others to get healthy, too so we can all live our lives to the way God intends for us to do!

So, I keep moving forward! Making smarter choices everyday! Pushing toward being fit at forty!

Thanks for all of your love and support!

P.S. If you are reading this on facebook or twitter...I'm on a fast from both. I'll be back there on Easter!

It's Averaging Out (at least that's what I'm trying to tell myself)

I had my 3rd weigh-in this morning.

Let me catch you up...
Feb. 13 marks the beginning...rejoined Weight Watchers...recommitted to a healthier me.
Feb. 20 lost 6.8 pounds
Feb. 27 no loss, no gain
Mar. 6 same as last week...no loss, no gain

Now, I must mention I have journaled my food. Attended boot camp 4 days each of the "no loss, no gain" weeks. Made amazing food choices (when in the airport faced with Popeye's and Corky's BBQ, I chose salad). Yet, there is no change.

So, I'm trying to convince myself that this "no loss, no gain" thing is acceptable. I'm trying to get myself to believe that my loss has averaged out to about 2.3 pounds a week, which is suppose to be the RIGHT way to lose weight. If this is true, than I'd like another 6.8 loss next week, and then I can be content with holding steady for the following two weeks. Ok, that's not true, so maybe I'll just work towards an actual 2 pound loss on Mar. 13th!

Thanks for cheering me on. Bootcamp Week 3, here I come!

No Loss, No Gain, Still Focused

When I weighed in on Sunday, February 27th I had no weight loss and no weight gain, so I guess that's reason to celebrate. What I am most proud of is that I didn't lose focus. I still went to boot camp. I still made good food choices. I still logged what I ate all week. Now let's just hope that my focus is rewarded by a real loss this week! I'll keep you posted!

little changes - BIG DIFFERENCE

When I began this blog I declared to the world (or at least my handful of followers) that I was going to lose 40 pounds by my 40th birthday, but I really didn't have a plan. Now I do! I rejoined Weight Watchers on Sunday, February 13th because I needed to make some lifestyle changes, the kind I can live with for the rest of my life. So, I set out on my journey and told a friend about it. She agreed to be my accountability partner (HUGE HELP) and came up with some fun incentives along the way.

Well, I weighed in on Sunday, February 20th and found myself 6.8 pounds lighter! As I reflected on what I did, I realized that I just made a lot of little changes...no cream in my coffee, 1 tsp of sugar per cup of coffee instead of 2, no fast food, lots of fruits & veggies, and exercised 4 days. All of those are things I can sustain for the rest of my life, which is a good thing because this is a "forever" change.

I also decided to be very public with my weight loss because it will help me avoid making poor decisions when I'm around anyone who actually reads this. Now this doesn't mean that I won't have desert or sweets or even bbq nachos. What it DOES mean is that if I plan to have desert I won't have bbq nachos.

Thanks for followling along...I'll let you know how next Sunday's weigh-in goes!
40x40

Snow Day in Memphis

4 inches of snow fell on Memphis last night. Now for all of my sarcasm about how wimpy southerners are when it comes to a little snow fall (my one-time home, South Bend, Indiana got hit with 25 inches over the weekend), I must admit I am grateful that this snow has allowed me the opportunity to work from home.

I slept in this morning, went to the gym and did 50 minutes of cardio, came home and prepared breakfast, and even washed my hair. I decided that before I settled in to get some work done, I would post an entry here updating those who are interested in my 40x40 progress. I decided on New Year's Eve to restart my quest. One week later, Friday, January 7th, I was 3.5 pounds lighter. Yes, I'm excited, but more importantly, I'm proud of how I got there...3 days of exercise, 64+ ounces of water everyday, no fast food (or restaurant prepared meals), and no fewer than 4 servings of fruits/vegetables each day. But really, the biggest accomplishment...walking past the bowl of Hershey's Kisses that sat outside my office until Thursday when I mentioned it to one of my colleagues who then moved it to a drawer in another room. May not seem like much to you but what it means to me is SELF-CONTROL! I walk past that bowl at least 10 times everyday and not once did I eat a piece! I actually made good choices and am taking control of my lifestyle of healthy choices!

Well, wish me luck on week 2! I will consider it a successful week as long as I lose at least 1 pound!

8 months 30 days

There are 8 months and 30 days until my 40th birthday. There are 272 days until my 40th birthday, so I have decided to give this blogging thing another try.

My first inspiration to revisit this medium is Elia Parkin. Reading her recent quips in ellieinmemphis.blogspot.com reminded me that I started a blog of my own some time ago. So, thanks to Ellie, the journey continues.

I was also inspired when I realized on January 1st that 40 would be here before I know it. I plan to enjoy every minute of the 391,680 minutes that remain in my 30s (no, I didn’t count them…I don’t do math…you can find anything on google), so I want to document my minutes.

The decision to return to blogging was finalized during this Sunday’s sermon. My wonderful husband preached about stewardship…specifically on time! Darrell reminded me that since we cannot manufacture more time, we must be good stewards over the time God gives.

That’s my plan for this year! I will be a good steward over the time God gives me. I will use it to enjoy His creation, glorify His name, love His people, seek His face and care for what He has given to me.