You may have noticed that I took a week off. I just needed some space to readjust. I’m still on track but a little bit more on autopilot than I’d like. I see the signs of flagging motivation and I need to revive my commitment to my weight loss goals. Debt reduction is barreling forward pretty much on its own. The only major thing on that front that I am gearing up for using a hefty chunk of my tax rebate to pay off one of my credit cards completely. I plan to use about $400 of the rebate plus $500 of my ING savings to just knock that one off. That will reduce the emergency fund back down to $1000, which is totally fine. I will probably continue to periodically use it that way to go towards my debt, never allowing it to be below $1000. After the debt is eliminated, I will allow that fund to grow indefinitely, so that it is a true emergency fund. Once I get to that point, I’ll figure out exactly how big I want it to be before starting on saving for a house.
On the other hand, I just haven’t felt really inspired to exercise. I am excited about it in theory, but in practice, I’ve been blowing it off. Not good. No more. I must get back to my goal of 4 days of activity per week. 1 day of yoga so far so I’m not completely batting zero. I plan on doing a couch to 5k run this evening which will bring it to at least 2.
In terms of my eating habits, I have been allowing too much junk to creep in. I’ve been tracking my intake (for the most part – I had a couple head in the sand days last weekend) but not making the best choices. I need to remember that feeding myself good food makes me feel much better than the crap that tastes good in the moment but lacks good nutrition.
So that’s where I am – past the “motivated” stage and in to the commitment zone. I’m so glad to have so many great support systems in place to help me. Checking in with the Ducks every day always gives me something new to think about, joining back up with the roadrunners will give me some structure to my fitness program, getting fresh produced delivered from Washington's Green Grocer keeps great food options in the house, and going to yoga at Tranquil Space keeps me loose and calm. Not to mention my fabulously supportive and inspiring Cute Man. He is on track and doing well! I have the tools, time to use them!
4 comments:
Hey Amelia. I read your comment on getfitslowly.com , and I had a few questions for you. I am 28, 200 lbs, and what I consider "getting in shape". I play ice hockey, workout 4 to 5 times a week, and really watch what I eat. I have dropped down a pant size, but haven't really seen the impact that I want yet (2 months into my way more intense training, I'm still 200lbs).
You said that about halfway through your training that you wised up to the eating. What kind of changes did you make to your everyday diet to compliment your training? I'm just looking for some real world advice, and it sounds like you were in the same place that I was.
Thanks!
- Tracey
Hi Tracy!
I just now saw your comment. I apologize for not responding more quickly! I have been a bit out of it. To answer your question… The first marathon I did, I joined Jenny Craig about mid-way through the process just to get a handle on the portion control. I do think programs like that can be a crutch and don’t teach how to really exist in the real world of food. But at that point in my life, it made sense and worked.
Now I’m taking a much more balanced, long term approach. I need to learn how to interact with food in healthy way and use it to fuel all the fun stuff I want to do as well as get to still have it be an enjoyable part of my life. Food is not the enemy! That being said, I’ve found that for me, I absolutely need to have some sort of way of keeping track of my calorie intake/activity level that is quantifiable. Otherwise, I rationalize my way into a good dose of weight gain.
I am using the Weight Watchers Points system to basically calorie count: 1 pt = 50 calories. I have a daily allowance of 25 pts which is supplemented by activity pts I get for exercising (1 extra eatable pt for every 100 calories burned) and 35 weekly pts that I spread out. If I stick to this, I lose weight, if I don’t I maintain or gain a bit. I also find that I have the best results when I exercise.
It seems like that is the easier part for you and I give you props for that. I have trouble motivating in the movement department sometimes. Also, you said you dropped a pants size. That is awesome! It really shows that changes ARE being made. The number on scale only tells you so much. Keep up the great work and maybe play around with some different approaches to monitoring your food intake to see what works well for you. Cutting that back just a bit might be all you need to jumpstart the scale.
I can’t wait to check out your blog!
Just stumbled across your blog - I'm a fellow DC PF blogger! I've never heard about Washington's Green Grocer before, but I think it's something I should check into! I just don't know if I can use all that produce just by myself.
Hi Megan,
I’ve been checking out your site, too! I added it my feed reader yesterday, I think. How funny.
Washington Green Grocer is really awesome. You could try it out once and see how it goes. If you make a big effort to really eat a lot of produce during the week, I think you could use it up yourself. I always add in a lot of extra stuff for the two of us – we eat a ton of fruits and veggies. The good thing about the site is that you can sub in/out stuff based on your preferences so you’re not stuck with stuff you don’t like. You can even add in stuff ala carte.
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