Honesty is a Frustrating Policy

I simultaneously love and hate myself for promising honesty in this blog! I want to tell you "Dude, guys, I didn't make any mistakes" but that'd be a big fat lie and no one likes that.  Besides, I don't want to set unrealistic expectations for how a weight-loss journey works.  The reality is, no journey is perfect. You just pick yourself back up and learn from it.

We're still dealing with the looming threat of financial difficulty and the power was out for the morning.  I couldn't make coffee, lunch, or breakfast and we were both in a poopy mood.  So, I let the stress get to me and we had pizza for dinner and a Starbucks breakfast.  

Normally, if I am about to overeat I am very careful to avoid remembering exactly what I ate.  I don't have to feel guilty if I don't pay attention, right?  This time, I logged it in MyFitnessPal. I didn't end with a calorie deficit but I held myself accountable to what I ate and found that it didn't ruin the progress I've made this week. That is so encouraging!! My off-day didn't ruin everything I worked for this week at all.  Of course, it did reduce the progress I've made but I can accept slowing down as long as I'm moving forward!

This morning I played some Dance Central with Mr. Husband.  Not surprisingly, it was a freaking blast and I burned some good calories. The newest game, Dance Central 3, has a two player mode where you can actually dance together which is AWESOME.  Though, I don't recommend it for smaller apartments as we ended up bumping into eachother and losing points for being offsides.

Ya Can't Keep A Good Dog Down

Tuesday, poor Megan was struck down by the migraine gods and couldn't go gymming with me. I had an out on the first day of my 30-Day Habit Building Thingy.

While the part of me that woke up at 4:45am and resented existance wanted to crawl back into bed, the part of me that worries about some unknown accountability fairy coming to my blog and being very disappointed was much more annoying.  I bothered Mr. Husband until he was perpendicular and forced him to go for a brisk walk with me.

On Tuesday, I also downloaded and started using the MyFitnessPal app. Where has that thing been all my life? UPC scanning instead of entering in nutrition facts? SHUT. UP. I've been begging for that function in the BodyBugg app for ever!  It is so easy... I really have no excuse not to keep a food/exercise log. I haven't experienced the social side of it as I'm currently friendless HINT HINT so I can't speak to its merits or pitfalls. 



Yesterday our family received troubling news that there may be changes on the horizon that will impact our finances tremendously.  My wallowy butthurt heart wanted to eat ice cream and hang out on the couch all day. Instead, I went to the gym with Megan (those migraine gods started bothering someone else, I'm sure) for a super-awesome cardio session, signed up for overtime at work and made my favorite healthy breakfast! 



This site calculates your exact calories



I think my scale saw that I was in need of positive reinforcement and let me know that I'm down 6.8 pounds since I jumped back on the bandwagon! That means I'm down 22.6lbs from my heaviest! I celebrated my willpower and weight-loss victories with a Subway Veggie Delight sammich. 

Sandwiches are already the food of royalty - For Subway to make them so low-calorie and delicious has to make them the food of skinny royalty.

In Just 30 Days, I Can Make You A Plan

I was recently reflecting with Mr. Husband about how we used to get up and get ready for the gym first thing without complaint. Our bodies were so used to the motions that our brains didn't have a chance to whine about it (which my brain is exceedingly effective at). I cannot wait to get back to that place! Of course, I booted up the Google-Machine for some tips on sustainable habit building. There is a lot of advice out there around habit building for exercise and everyone subscribes to a different theory. Nearly all agree, however, that a habit's success starts with the following parameters.

1) Start Small and Realistic

If you currently do a lot of sitting around on your butt watching TV, it isn't realistic to set a goal to work out for an hour every day. You'll exhaust yourself and your willpower before you have a chance to routinely do it! Joel Gascoigne provided a breakdown of how he built his habit. He started small (working out 2-3 a week) until it became habit. After the habit was formed he built upon it slowly. The key was starting with something he knew he could 100% commit to executing long-term.

2) Make the Time

If you can, try to plan your new habit so that it is something you do at the same time on the same days. Make a plan for working out on X days of the week at X hour. Every week, strive to do that exactly. You're more likely to be successful if you don't have to "fit in" your workouts into your already busy day.

3) Do Stuff You Like

I'd venture a guess that most humans who don't have the habit already built-in for fitness aren't going to adore exercising, but there are exercises you'll enjoy more than others. Try out what your gym/neighborhood has to offer! If you're not enjoying what you're doing you're less likely to do it. Don't be afraid to try new things until you find the exercise routine that best suits you.

4) Try It Before You Buy It

Treat it as a 30 day experiment! An experiment is used to gather knowledge and so is your first 30 days of exercising. You're learning your body, how you feel, what works, and what you can do to improve your strategy. Don't beat yourself up if you miss a day; just get right back on schedule as soon as you falter. Learn something from your missteps and move forward until the end of the experiment!

So, I'm making my 30 day plan starting tomorrow. Here's what I'm committing to! It is easy to start with, something I love, and at a time I know I can make work. From 3/5/13 to 4/4/13 I will:

Tuesday - Workout with Megan
                 6am at the Gym
                 Elliptical at least 30 minutes

Thursday - Workout with Megan
                 6am at the Gym
                 Elliptical at least 30 minutes

Saturday - Walking with Megan
                 5:45am at Lake Morena for 1 hour