Progress Report

PROGRESS REPORT

Time for another progress report. I'm gonna break it down like this:

Progress:

I have been working out very consistently, my activity level has been good lately. I am getting to kickboxing three times a week. Going for hour walks with Maya whenever the weather presents itself. When I work out I can do things faster, longer, with more effort without feeling tired.  On days I cannot find some kind of exercise to do Maya and I go to the mall to walk around, or I lug loads of laundry up and down the stairs, or I get down on the floor with Maya and do some abs. 

A lot of birthdays and what not have been going on and I have had to try to make healthy food choices at fast food restaurants, people's houses, etc.  I was able to indulge a bit for Chris' birthday, but the rest I have been pretty good with planning ahead or making last minute modifications to what I eat, although sometimes that has backfired (more on the in a minute). 

Another pair of jeans are falling off, and some other clothes are getting too big, but I am not fitting in to the next size yet. Weird. I fit into the next bridesmaids dress but it is still a bit too snug so I am going to wait to post pictures when it fits more properly. 

Overall physically I do feel a lot better, I notice that my legs are not as flabby, my neck blob is going away a bit, my but is getting a bit smaller. 

Setbacks:

For the past month the numbers on the scale have barely moved. I go down two pounds only to go back up again a few days later. Then I lose three and go back up one, etc. This week I am basically at the same number I was more than three weeks ago. Frustrating. But I'm sure there are some reasons. 

Even though I have been making good choices when I go out, there are times when I cave at the end of the day and have a jam sandwich or popcorn or a protein bar, all things which are "extras" that were not part of my meal plan that day. A few things have lead to this. Let me give you one example: We went to this kids play centre for my nieces birthday and afterwards they took the kids to a fast food place for supper. I improvised and ordered a salad. I tried to find the one on the menu that would be the most healthy, although it still had some things I had to pick out. When I got home later that night I wasn't feeling satisfied cause the quality of the salad was just not that good, so in turn I ended up caving and snacking for the rest of the night. Another example: there have been a few times when I would come home from kickboxing feeling pretty good and then step on the scale to see that I have not lost any weight that week. So then out of self pity I would get into the "I give up" attitude and snack on empty calories like crackers, sandwich, etc. All of these things usually happened before bed which is problematic in itself. 

Sometimes I have seconds at dinner, for example more chicken, or more quinoa, etc. My husband questions really I am still hungry or just trying to fill up. Most of the time I convince myself that I am not full yet but who knows maybe I need to be more cautious of this. 

I have not been getting enough sleep at all. I really think this has had an affect on me emotionally and physically. It's like the missing piece that I am not getting to have a healthy lifestyle. But there's not much I can do about it at this point except hope it will get better before I go back to work in March. 

Overall I feel I am still making progress and experiencing the benefits of eating healthy on a consistent basis. Even with some of my snack attacks I have been pretty good overall. And it's not like I am going out and having chocolate ice cream and McDonalds every day.  I will keep at this, as long as it takes, and even when I am most frustrated. I will try to remember that I am changing my lifestyle and that in itself is a good thing.  But still, I want to lose more weight, so hopefully if I step it up a bit, I can make that happen. I still want to fit into my wedding dress by the end of the month so we'll see what happens!