My Experimental Week

I have been feeling less than motivated lately, so I made the resolve to do better. I actually looked at it like an experiment really. When I was doing so good before I went on vacation, I was doing really good at eating. I was running, which has stopped because of a conflict with Bo's work, but I still try to at least walk everyday. But even with doing the walking I haven't lost anything. Needless to say I've been feeling frustrated which leads me to be even less motivated. It's made me realize there is no ONE thing that makes you lose weight. It has to be a combined effort with a balance of staying active whether it's actually excersizing or just cleaning your house to break a sweat, and eating better. I can do active...most days, but my struggle is food. I've done really good to stay clear of sugar, but it's over eating. Stopping when I'm full whether it tastes good or not. So my experiment this week is to live life the same activity wise, but be strict about my eating, and see if that really makes the difference in my life. So far, I'd say my hypothesis is correct. I started the week (Sunday) out at 182.8 lbs, and today (Wednesday) I weighed in this morning at 179.8. Since starting this journey, I've never been below 179.0 which was my pre-vacation weight in July, so I'm interested and a little excited (although I'm just trying to stay positive and not get my hopes up too much) to see what I weigh in on Monday. It's more than a week, but that because I'll be gone until then. That also the twist to this experiment is that I wanted to incorporate travel into the equation. Wish me luck!

I wanted to mention a couple interesting things that I've run into lately. I'm not up on who's popular in the media, so you all may know who Dr. Oz is, but I didn't. Anyway, he has a program called Just 10 lbs, where he is encouraging you to lose just 10 pounds to improve your life. Go there and you can sign up for the challenge and they'll send you a braclet to remind you to live healthy. There are also 10 suggestions on how to lose the 10 pounds. To me, they were just mostly good reminders since I do most of them already, but it was nice to have the reminder. For anyone looking to start weight loss, or become healthier, it's a great place to start.



The other thing I've been referencing lately is from this issue of Women Health Magazine:

I love health magazines! It's my guilty pleasure. If I could buy all the ones they have at the checkout stand each month, I would live happily. I don't know why I love them, but they are so fun to read. Maybe it is simply that they inspire me to be better. And I'd love to look like her, it won't ever happen, but I can dream, right?

Anyway, this particular issue I did purchase, and have found quite a few interesting things in it. The one I've included in my weight loss challenge this week talks about The Abs Diet. What was interesting to me was it mentioned and acronym of food that improve weight loss especially in your tummy area. Here it is:

A - Almonds (& other nuts)
B - Beans (& other legumes)
S - Spinach (& other green veggies)

D - Dairy
I - Instant Oatmeal
E - Eggs
T - Turkey (& other lean meats)

P - Peanut Butter
O - Olive Oil
W - Whole Grains (breads & cereals)
E - Extra-Protein Powder (whey)
R - Raspberries (& other berries)

It says to include at least 6 of these power food into your diet everyday. I'm including these into my experimental week to help control my eating and be eating things that are beneficial.

Once I'm through this week, I hope to keep going. It only takes 21 days to make a new habit, 3 weeks isn't that long, right?

Well, I better get moving, cleaning burns calories!