the2beths

I sit here writing this blog entry after a weekend of lots of binges and lots of crappy food, but lots of fun.  I want to explain how it’s different than any other time I’ve tried to lose weight. I started this journey on January 11th. And I’ve had periods of great weight loss and periods of weight gain. The difference this time is I am not giving up. I am trying different things, learning about myself and how I can lose weight in a real sustainable way. That is why it’s taking so long, I know. So, as I sit here after such a crappy eating weekend I am determined to do better tomorrow. In the past I would’ve described it as starting over tomorrow. But, that’s not what it is. It is just continuing, and working hard to meet my goals. 

Some changes I am making:

1. I am not focusing on the 50 lb goal by the end of the year. That is looming over me and I think it is sabotaging me. 

2. I am going to switch to weighing in once a month and taking measurements. I will do this the first day of the month. I am too obsessed with the scale and it rules my mood. I am also going to switch to my scale instead of the gym scale. I only have weigh ins at the gym through the end of the year, anyway. I am going to weigh in at the gym next week and the beginning and end of December. This was decided with the help of my BFF Liz who is kicking ass currently on her journey. 

3. I have wavered between using my exercise calories and not using them. I am going to stick with not using them. 

4. I am still going to try to hit my macros although for the next few months while I get adjusted to it I am going to make sure that even if I don’t hit my macros I am under calories. 

5. I am going to continue doing workouts at home on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Not this week, but next, I am going to try to do this in the morning. 😳 Maybe. 

6. I am going to work hard to eat more fruits and vegetables and hitting my goal of 160 g of protein.  

So, that’s what’s happening with the journey to health and fitness. Onto other things…

This weekend was super fun. Friday night I took Henry to my school’s (my alma mater is also where I work) football game. They were recognizing two men that are legends at our school. One retired last year after 40 years and one is my boss this year and has been at the school for 41 years. I love them both dearly. 

Saturday I got my hair done in the morning, and then took a nap! Then we had trick or treat, cocktails and pizza at my house with my parents. It was a perfect night capped off with the Indians winning their third win of the World Series. 

Henry was Woody from the movie Toy Story. 

And today we went to my school’s Fall Festival. It was a great time for us! Henry had a blast. He is getting so much better in social situations.  

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Xoxoxo,

Beth WA

My weight is at a standstill. I am fluctuating between these 5 lbs for months. I mean I gained some this summer and I lost and am back to where I was in May but I can’t break that point. And I haven’t been terrible but I’ve been lax. And it doesn’t help that I’ve been out of my water pill for four days. 😳

Anyway, I am going to be really focused this week and try to break this standstill. I am not calling it a plateau because I am not doing everything I can to get past it. 

Some things I am going to work on this week:

Getting my 10,000 steps every day

I know I need to eat more vegetables. So I am going to make a quiche for my lunches this week that is filled with veggies. I am also going to make sure my dinner has vegetables. My breakfast is a sweet potato so that’s covered. (I can’t quit the sweet potato breakfast.)

I am going to do an exercise video on at least two of the three days I don’t go to the gym. For real. And not just say it like last week. 😉

Continue drinking my 88 oz of water.
So, we will see how that works. I am not expecting anything this Monday at my weigh in. And I really want to lose my 50 by the end of the year, but that is not a good focus for me. I need to take it day by day and work on sustainable weight loss. It seems when I set a weight loss goal for myself I some how sabotage myself. 

Ok, onto other topics. Tonight is trick or treat. Henry is going to be Woody from Toy Story. I will definitely post pictures. I am interested to see how he does or if he is too scared of the other costumes.  

Last night Henry and I went to the football game for my school. They lost big time, but we had a great time. Henry did good until half time which is when I was ready to leave any way. 

We’ve been cheering for the Cleveland Indians in the World Series and it’s been fun!

Here’s some pics of my goofball. 

I hope everybody is having a great weekend! 

Xoxoxo,

Beth WA

Well,  my 11 day break from working out combined with my crazy binge on Thursday and my super salty dinner last night showed on the scale tonight. Woe is me. We didn’t even write it down at the gym. I am disappointed but I know I am on the right track. My macros were figured with my current fitness level which I had not been doing at all while I was sick. I am back at it and I think next week it will snow on the scale. I loved the 21 day fix video I did yesterday. It was half an hour and it kicked my arse. I am excited to go through my archive of videos. I have so many I have never done. I plan on doing those on Tuesdays and Thursday’s, and maybe Sunday’s if I feel like it. 

So, that’s all I have to report today. I am hoping to lose what I gained plus some next week. And I am super excited about my dinner of pulled pork and corn bread that I am about to eat. And I am even more excited about being back at the gym and not being sick any more. 

Even though the scale didn’t show it this week my clothes are fitting better. However, I am still in the same size. A 22. I have been that for as long as I can remember. I am anxious to see how many pounds I have to lose to truly go down to a 20. I can fit in some 20’s but not many. I was telling my friend Liz that those seams must’ve been working really hard for me! 

Oh, one other thing, I entered a drawing for three free personal training sessions at our gym open house on October 8th and I won!!! I am so excited. Woo hoo. 

Peace out, my friends! 

Xoxoxo

Beth WA

Good morning!!

Craig and Henry just left to go to my in law’s house and I have the house to myself. This is something I value. It reenergizes me. Usually I clean like mad when they are gone but last night Henry went to my parents to play for a few hours and I cleaned like crazy! I scrubbed our downstairs bathroom on my hands and knees and it looks so much better. I did the same in the kitchen. I also dusted and Craig swept. It feels so much better in here. 

However, we still have so much crap!!! This week my goal is going to be getting rid of a garbage bag of crap each day whether it’s donate or garbage. I am going to get a head start today by doing some shredding I’ve been putting off and going through a few things. I also have a few things I want to sell so I need to get them ready to sell. And I have some stuff of Henry’s to give to my friend who has a baby boy exactly two years younger than him. 

I’m disappointed in myself because we used our credit cards this weekend. But I am moving on from that. It’s done. And now I just have to keep moving on. It’s been tough because our budget is so tight right now. But we aren’t giving up!! We’ve gotten some good headway already.  And we’ve paid cash for so many things the last few months that we would’ve had to charge in the days before the budget. 

Also, Thursday and Friday night I went off the rails with my diet and the scale is showing that I am up two pounds. Also, I think the not working out for a week and a half really caught up with my. But it is what it is and I did great yesterday and plan on it today, too. 

The other thing I am going to do today is food prep. I am going to make a batch of barbecued pulled pork in the crockpot and salsa shredded chicken in the other. I went grocery shopping without a list or a plan and that was kind of a mess and very expensive. But next time I’ll do better.  I need to do better at reading the ads and buying meat on sale. 

Today I am going to try to do a workout video at home. I have so many. I’ve been wanting to do that on Tuesdays and Thursdays (the days I don’t go to the gym). Maybe this will be the week. I really want to get to -50 by the end of the year and I need to eat and exercise according to that goal. 

I have to say this is what I wore to work out this weekend. 

I would never ever have worn pants like that even 3 months ago. The squats and lunges are changing my legs. (Ignore my messy room!)
Well, I am off to enjoy my Sunday, you do the same! 

Xoxoxo,

Beth WA

PS how cute is my bug???

I am finally on the back end of my sickness and I can’t wait to get to the gym tomorrow. I am going to take my two classes back to back. First is Body Pump at 10, followed by my favorite, low impact aerobics class called Dancing to the Oldies. 

I’ve had a good streak with my new diet until yesterday and today. Both days I ate meals that were unplanned and so it kind of threw off my day. But, that’s life and I am back at it tomorrow. I am drinking lots of water tonight. I feel very thirsty. 

I don’t have much else to report and I haven’t been good about taking pictures lately, so I have to get back on that! Looking forward to a new menu for next week as I’ve been eating the same thing for the last few weeks. Truthfully I am still not tired of it, but I am going to change it up any way. 

I hope y’all are having a good Friday night! 

Xoxox,

Beth WA

I did it, you guys!!! I lost all the weight I gained this summer plus .4 more!!! I was majorly doing the happy dance when I realized this. This is the lowest weight I’ve been in years. I have a long way to go but I feel that I am on the right track. My diet is manageable and satisfying. I love my exercise classes and can’t wait to go back on Wednesday after a week off. (I’ve been trying to lose this cold but it just ain’t leaving!)

Anyway. I am super tired. I had that surprise day off school because they were paving the road by our school entrance so Henry, my dad and I went to the zoo! We had a great time but it was warm and it wore me out! We also stopped to see Craig at work on the way. 

6.2 more lbs and I will be at 40!! Hopefully I can do that by the first week of November. Then I can post my first progress photos in a long time!!! 

Honestly, I am super proud of myself. I have never persevered through weight loss like this. I can’t believe I didn’t give up when I gained the weight this summer. Now I just need to get through the holidays!! 

Xoxox,

Beth WA

Just popping in to say our local Kroger had these:

I did my best to remain calm at the grocery store and look low key excited but I had to take a picture. I was mentally preparing myself for them not to have any of the new flavors. So, imagine my surprise!!! 

Woo hoo!!

Ok, that is all!

Xoxoxo,

Beth WA

I like Sundays normally, but I LOVE Sundays when I don’t have to work on Monday. It’s 8:30 in the morning and Henry is still sleeping. This is a miracle. This has never happened. Craig and I are sitting here drinking coffee watching the Today show, not Dora. It’s so weird but I am not complaining! Ha ha. Yesterday morning was rough. It was an early and emotional wake up for H. 

We all still have our cold. Gr. I am hoping that Henry’s epic sleep is a healing one. The poor guy could use a break from a runny nose and cough. 

This is Henry on Friday. It’s only the second sucker he’s ever had. He looks so cute when he eats them. He gets tired of them quickly but that’s okay with me. I love this boy so much. He is my miracle baby!!! ❤️❤️ And I don’t let one day go by without intense gratitude that he is here with us. 

Well, I am going to start meal planning and making my grocery list. 

Xoxox,

Beth WA

Ugh. My family is plagued with a cold that won’t go away. Craig, Henry and I all have it. It is so annoying. I finally stopped going to the gym on Wednesday to see if rest will help it. And I planned on getting good rest last night but somebody else had a different idea. (Side eye to Henry who got up at 5:50!)

So now I am laying on the couch with toothpicks in my eyes to keep them open and a cup of coffee in my hand. Luckily, my plans for today include Henry and I staying in our pajamas and laying low to try to get rid of this cold. And I plan on us both taking a good nap. Hopefully he cooperates. Craig works 11-8 today. 

Also a side effect of all of us being sick is my house is a wreck and my laundry is out of control! Hopefully I get a handle on that this weekend. 

The best news of the weekend is that I am off on Monday due to construction on the road that is in front of my school entrance. The forecast is 83 and sunny!!! How cool is that?? It was unexpected and we just found out Wednesday. I’ve been pretty happy about it. I love Monday’s off. 

As far as my health and fitness I will say my nutrition has been going great. I’ve been doing flexible dieting (IIFYM) and I’ve been loving it. I can see sometimes not wanting to do it but right now it’s working for me. It really has been eye opening about food and their labels. I mean, I’ve always read labels but never focused on macros. Using this approach it has been manageable for me to stay in my calorie goal by at least 5 calories either way. I can’t wait to be more familiar with it so I don’t have to combine weird things at the end of the day to reach my macros. Now my fitness was going awesome until Wednesday. I am hoping to be back to it next week full force! It was hard for me to allow myself the break without the fear from past failures that I never would go back, but I know that will not be the case. 

Last night Craig, Henry and I went to my high school Homecoming game. I know it doesn’t look like it, but Henry had a blast. 

He loved the old cars driving the girls from the homecoming court and he loved the band at the half time show. 

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I hope you are all having a great Saturday!!

❤️❤️❤️

❌⭕️❌⭕️,

Beth WA

Well it wasn’t a big loss but it was a loss. And I’ve changed my food strategy a little bit to be flexible dieting. I am just trying it to see how it works or if it’s a good fit for me. This means I am eating a lot more protein and feeling satisfied all day. However, contrary to my Whole Life Challenge, not all of the food is compliant. I’ve been drinking protein shakes and eating protein bars. This has also lowered my fat intake. It has also allowed me to be right at my calorie intake.  I’ve only been doing this for three days. Thank goodness for my husband. He just supports me no matter what crazy thing I am trying out. He just wants me to be happy. 

Anyway, with this plan I am eating 180 g of protein a day!! That’s a lot. But for once, I am actually not starving all day. I get 172 g of carbs and 91 grams of fat. I also have a fiber goal of 39 grams. I’ll keep you posted. 😁

I did my 6 AM body pump class and my fun low impact aerobics class after school today. I was proud of myself. I am very tired and feeling under the weather. My throat is killing me. And I am super happy that this flexible dieting left me with fat and carbs which equals CHOCOLATE! So I am having a little but tonight and pretty happy about it. 

This week is spirit week at school for Homecoming this weekend and today was sweatpants day and I was pretty happy about it as you can see. (Ignore the messy room.)

I hope you are all having a great Monday night! 

Xoxox,

Beth WA