Weigh In: Week 55

Happy Friday everyone!!

I haven't done a real weigh-in post since August 9th.  That's almost two months!!  I've been busy.  And while I really enjoy being busy, I'm getting tired of it.

I don't know what it was about this year, but every weekend I've had since August 9th has been booked for me.

And I have another 2 weekends to go before I get a breather. 

I don't mind being busy and having things to do, but when it's one after the other after the other, it gets tiring.  Sometimes having events on the weekends are nice, it helps to make you think your weekend was longer than it really was.  Ever have that happen?  When you have a regular two day weekend off from work and for some reason, the activities you have planned make it feel like a 3-day weekend.

While those weekends are what I strive for, the opposite also can happen.  You know how it goes, you get off of work on Friday and you're so busy from that moment on.  The next thing you know, it's Monday morning, you're on your way to work and you feel as if you haven't had one second of down time?

That second scenario has been my life since August 9th. 

I'm hoping this weekend might be a little less cumbersome.  Today, I'm getting off of work early, to rush home and get ready.  And when I say ready, I mean get like ready, ready.  Like dressed up fancy ready.  So that in itself is some work.

We're getting all fancy tonight because we're going to the Magic Castle.

The Magic Castle in Los Angeles is a private club for magicians.  And the only way to go is to be invited by a member.  And once you're invited, you get really dressed up, eat a fancy dinner, and then see some crazy magic. 

My fiance's sister is taking us tonight to celebrate our engagement.  We've never been before so I'm pretty excited.  I'm sure it'll be good times.

Then on Saturday, we agreed to house sit for a friend.  You know, watch the house, take care of the dog.  It's not too much work but it does require a lot of running back and forth.  And then on Sunday, I'm hoping (HOPING), we don't have much to do.  So yes, maybe this weekend won't be too bad at all.

As for this past week ...

Weigh In:  -5.0 lbs

I didn't formally weigh in with my last post because I had just started writing again so that five pounds is since Tuesday 9/24/13.

What I did?

1.  I worked out 3 times.  I ran.  I do between 35-40 minutes 2 times a week and then a long run on Sundays.  This past week my long run took 68 minutes plus warm up and cool down.  I'd say I'm burning about 300 on my short runs and in the upper 500s for my long run.  That would work out to around 1100 calories total burned for the week.  My goal is to add in an additional 1-2 days of strength training.

2.  I ate in a deficit.  Twas not the great deficit I had in mind when I started my wedding plan but I'll take it.  I also didn't track as dutifully as I should have.  I'm still working the kinks out of getting back in the swing of tracking calories full time.  I averaged a deficit of -212 calories per day.  Next week, I'm really aiming for two things.  First and foremost, I'm going to track every day.  And secondly, I'm shooting to make my deficit closer to the 500 calorie mark.

3.  Water!  Since it's becoming cooler, it's a little harder to remember to drink my water, but I'm still in the game.  In fact, this entire year, my fiance (I really feel weird writing that.  Like I'm pretentious or something.  But honestly, it's kinda cool) and I have kept our soda intake to almost zero.  We drank a few sips of Sprite while on vacation to see if it tasted different (it did.  it was very sweet and the carbonation kind of burned my throat ... weird right?) and I believe we have had some cocktails while out that contained soda.  But other than that, our drink of choice is water or coffee or if we're feeling crazy adventurous, unsweetened iced tea.  What can I say?  We're crazy like that.  And here's another fun tip, drinking water saves you money.  When we were on vacation with my family, my parents picked up the tab one night for dinner for a bunch of us.  There were 11 people.  Everyone but us ordered soda and when my dad got the bill he commented on how he should start ordering water more because the drinks alone cost $27. 

4.  What I ate?  I've been eating a mixture of foods.  I'm still trying to come out of my vacation fog with food.  While I was gone I was not able to cook so I got used to packaged foods and eating out.  Unfortunately that practice followed us back home for a little while, however, this past week was almost perfectly normal (for me).  I made a vegan mushroom stroganoff over brown rice pasta, steak salad with roasted brussel sprouts, and I was supposed to make applesauce muffins but wouldn't you know I just couldn't get it done.  I also ate some sushi, bacon and eggs, dark chocolate, potato chips, Trader Joe's pre-packaged salads, and Reese's Pumpkins (YUM!).

Today's Menu:
B:  Bacon and Eggs + coffee
L:  Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff + pasta
D:  Magic Castle

And Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Weigh-Ins

I don't want to say I'm glad my vacations are over because I won't really mean it.  But, in a way, I'm glad the vacations are over.

I went away for a couple of weeks.  Got back home for a couple of days and then went away again.  It was exhausting.

And you know what all that left me with?

An apartment full of dirty laundry, an empty bank account, and cravings for naughty foods.  ;)

But it was fun.  FUN.  FUN!!!!  I got to see my family, have my mom cook for me, get oohed and ahhed over for finally being engaged, meet my brand new twin nieces, and see one of my closest friends get married.

Good times indeed.

I know I've missed a couple of weeks of weigh-ins, but I honestly have no idea how many because I didn't weigh myself at all while I was gone.  So I'm just going to jump right in and get the ball rolling again.

Huzzah!

And now to get everyone up to speed ...

Let's see.  My Weight Watchers subscription came to an end a couple of weeks ago so I'm counting calories which is kind of the same thing (but cheaper!).  I'm still running three times a week (up to 5 miles!) and I have officially started my countdown to my Wedding Plan.

Yes, a wedding plan.

As of Tuesday, September 25th, I have 44 weeks until August 1, 2014.  And wouldn't you know, I'd like to lose 44 pounds before my wedding.  Now, I don't have an exact date for the day just yet as we still aren't sure if we're having an actual wedding or eloping, but I do know no matter what, it'll be closer to September because we think that is when we want to take our Honeymoon.  You know, priorities.  So I have given myself an August 1 goal date just in case plans change (as they often do).

And with 44 weeks, that leaves me with a goal of losing a pound a week on average. 

So what am I doing to reach this goal?

1.  I'm eating in a deficit.  I chose to use this calculator to find my BMR.  Then with the help of Leigh Peele and her Fat Loss Troubleshoot book and Activity Calculator, I found my activity multiplier.  End result:  I supposedly need 1980 calories to maintain my current weight given my daily activity and exercise regime.  So to start, I'm taking that number and eating 35% less which leaves me with 1287 calories to shoot for.  (As time goes by and my weight drops, so will the level of the deficit.  But we can talk about that when I get there)

In a perfect world, that would leave me in a deficit that would create a 1.4 pound loss per week.  While I wish we lived in a perfect world, we do not.  So I will be adjusting that number as necessary.  In any case, I'm hoping it's enough for the 1 pound per week that I'm shooting for.

2.  I'm exercising.  When I calculated my calorie needs, I added exercising to the mix.  I chose the 3-5 days per week of moderate intensity.  So that means I actually have to DO that or I won't be eating the right amount of calories.  DOH!  So far, I'm running 3 days a week and I don't know about you, but for me running DEFINITELY counts as moderate intensity.  So as long as I continue that I'm covered.  And if for some reason my routine changes, I'll have to remember to rethink my calories.

3.  I'm eating good, whole foods.  Not only do you get more bang for your buck calorie wise, but your body gets the nourishment it needs.  It's a win-win situation.

4.  I'm going to try to not stress and enjoy the ride.

My weight loss has taken on a whole new meaning since I got engaged.  I think this is the first time I've had a REAL end date.  I mean, a wedding isn't something you can keep pushing back just because you haven't reached a weight loss goal.  You see, I want to wear a certain kind of dress and look a certain kind of way on that day and to be honest, how I look right now doesn't really go along with that image.  So when I say #4 is to try not to stress I really mean it.  I already have anxiety about whether I'm going to succeed or not.  It's not to a debilitating point or anything.  I guess I have recently just realized how important it is to me to start my new life with my future husband the way I've always envisioned.  Not just skinny, but healthy and crazy happy.

So for the next 44 weeks, I'm going to do my best to make sure that happens.