Endings and Beginnings: BL challenge

Today I finished my first Biggest Loser Challenge. 

Tally stands at 1150 minutes exercised and 3. 8 lbs lost. 

Not great, poundage wise, but at least I'm moving and my general attitude and energy level is improved.  I'm eating less compulsively.  My portion sizes and food choices are pretty  much back under control. 

Except that almost entire bag of Salt and Vinegar kettle chips and bottle of coke I had on the way home from taking Elsie to work yesterday.

Next week Friday starts the next challenge.  I'm going to keep the same weight chart, because I like it.  I'm even going to keep the same weight loss goal.

I'm going be making a new exercise minutes ticker.  I really don't know what I was thinking with the 1500 minute goal last time.  I thought I had done four days a week at 60 minutes a day for eight weeks.  And I suspected that was too optimistic.  But, when I do the calculations, ... 4x60x8=1920.  So I'm really  not sure where I got that 1500 figure.  Maybe I didn't do my tickers right away the first week.  I'd have to go back and read my old blog posts.  I remember I wasn't quite ready to start at the "start date" so maybe that's where the discrepancy lies.  Either way, turns out the figure was indeed optimistic.  After I figured last Thursday that I needed to exercise 60 minutes for eight days in a row, ... I kind of gave up.  I know.  That's bad of me.  But so it is.

So, this next challenge, called the Ready, Set, Summer BL Challenge starts next Friday.  It is an open group on facebook until it starts.  Take a look at it.  It's always fun to have a buddy.  Someone to compare notes, rejoice in successes, and to sigh and give ((virtual hugs)) during the bad days, or weeks. 

My "y" coordinate axis is lower!

Please note the improvement on the above chart ... Yippee!

It shows a total of five pounds lost in seven weeks.  Truth be told, it doesn't seem very much.  But the direction is right and the exercise ticker is moving forward.  I'm up and moving.  My eating is less compulsive.  And my general outlook is improved.  All good things. 

Too many minutes, too little time!

I like that title.  Makes very little sense, but it fits. 

I rejoiced today to see that I'd passed the one third of the way done mark on my exercise minutes ticker.  But alas!  I then realized that it was already May.  My goal was to have been met by next Friday.  That means I have eight days to exercise 480 minutes.  That's, ... let's see, ... well, ... eight days of sixty minutes a day, or six days or eighty minutes a day.

I have been pretty good to do my "usual" three days a week of sixty minute per day.  My original goal was for four days a week at sixty minutes each.  But since I hadn't even been about doing my "usual" three days a week for many months, even that "usual" was hard at first.  By about halfway through the goal, my necessary daily average had gone up to five days a week at sixty minutes a day.

Still manageable, but tougher.  I've managed a couple of weeks with five days, but not always a full hour each time.  I've done a couple of weeks of four day weeks, being very diligent to get in my minutes.  But now here we are, a week before the deadline, and many minutes left to go.

Hence, "Too many minutes, too little time."

If you notice the other goal app I have on my blog, the chart that is supposed to be showing my weight loss, that one is not going too well, either.  And it's really not nearly as fun a title were I to have written, "Too many pounds, too little time." 

I weight in tomorrow morning, and I'll have a new coordinate on the chart.  Hopefully I move it down a little bit.  And then just one more week of the Spring Biggest Loser Challenge.  As much as the "minutes of exercise" I need to do for that ticker seems unlikely, I'm thinking that the weight goal is pretty much not going to happen.

But the bigger goal is better health and better habits.  And simply getting up and moving again.  Having something tangible on which to focus, to help boost me out of the slump of depression into which I was gradually sliding.

And all those things are moving in the right direction. 

Some of the members of the Spring BL Challenge are asking about interest in starting a summer one.  I may just do that.  So far I've not won any weekly prizes and it's pretty doubtful I'll win anything at all.  But it was fun.  Fun to get to know some new people who are all working toward a common goal.  Fun to have my own quantified goals, and others to share them with. 

We'll see. 

We'll also see how tomorrow goes on the scale.

Another ticker

This one moves at my choice.  Each day, or not.  Totally according to my own volition.  The purpose of this ticker is to record my minutes of exercise between now and the end of the BL challenge in May.  May 9.  This represents 1 hour of exercise three four days a week.  That's more than I've done in a number of years.  But it's a goal over which I have control.  Wish me well.

New ticker, ... new kind of ticker, even. ...

I wish Lilyslim would let me use their cute little charts without putting the weights. But I decided to just do it. I don't really care if anyone knows how much I weigh anyway. I mean, if you asked, I'd tell you. It's just that propriety thing.

So at risk of being improper, and because I think these little charts are just so cute, here goes!

The challenge starts yesterday and runs through May 9.  

• Starting weight      187.4 pounds. 
• Goal                       170 pounds

Oh, really?

"There's a problem.  Your current weight is higher than your starting weight."

This is the lovely words of wisdom my Lily Slim ticker had for me when I tried to update my info.

Yeah, duh.  Would I have avoided my ticker for the last eight months if I didn't already know there was a problem? 

Sheesh.  One would think they might have found a gentler way to say it.  Or maybe they could program the tickers to show and increase, rather that having to tell me it's a problem.

So, yes, I've updated my ticker.  It was time.  But it's not quite accurate due to the, uh, aforementioned problem.  Hopefully one day soon it will start to creep downward once again.

Cheater!

Yes, I know I'm a cheater.  I had to change my ticker rather than confess that I had "outgrown" it. 

The last time we walking ladies weighed in was probably October or early November.  Yes, there was a reason we were skipping that step.  But, alas!  It's time to get back on target. 

Sadly, my previous ticker was obsolete.  Apparently one cannot record any weight above the starting weight.  And yes, that's where I needed to be.  So I had to start anew.  And since I had to make a new ticker anyway, I cheated just a little bit.  I went with my original starting weight rather than my current weight.  Because then it still looks good.

See, the good news is that I'm still less than when I started last winter.  So I went back to the beginning.  It makes things look more positive.  I have still lost four pounds.  That sounds great, right?  Actually, I've even lost a little bit more than that, because I rounded down to my initial starting weight to make a nice and even twenty pound goal.  I've really lost about five and a half pounds since last year in March when we started weighing. 

The bad news is that I had lost almost twenty pounds as of the end of last summer. 

Sooooooo, it's time to take it off again.  Step by step and pound by pound.  Saying no to one piece of candy or cookie at a time.  Saying yes to one salad at a time.  One reasonably sized portion at a time.  Saying no to seconds and thirds of those yummy carbs one meal at a time.

I'm so glad I have my friends, Lana and Connie, to share in this with me.  I love the companionship, and I very much appreciate their support. 

On the Use of Tickers, Motivation, and other Nonsense

I got to move my ticker again today.  Probably nobody would notice the difference, since the change was only 0.4 pounds.  But when that 0.4 lbs is a downward change, I'll take it.  If, on the other hand, the change is upward, it has to be a change for at least two weeks and of at least two pounds before I figure I have to move it.  Silly isn't it?

Normal weight fluctuates.  I would guess that probably a plus or minus two pound variation is within normal for most people.  But even so, I get to move my ticker down, if the weight goes down.  If it goes up, I figure it's just normal fluctuation,so I don't have to move it right away.  See how that works?

All told, since we walking buddies started weighing ourselves in the early spring, I've lost 18 pounds.  But most of that was weight I had gained since last fall.  That's a frightening amount of weight to put on in a few short months, is it not? 

I'm thankful it came off quickly.  I attribute it to my struggle with depression during that same time.  I simply was not moving.  Apparently even my normal pathetic attempts at keeping up with the house burns enough calories to moderate my weight.  Because when I stopped doing that, the weight started accumulating. 

And the converse is true, too.  Even the slow, baby step things I've been accomplishing around the house have allowed me to easily and rapidly shed the pounds.

I do like to move that ticker. 

The current ticker does not show the full amount of weight loss.  Again, it's a motivational thing.  Baby steps.  A few short goals at a time.  I didn't even start using the ticker until I could see that I was making progress.  The last thing I needed is to have this motivational ticker and never get to move it! 

I'm sure that they don't work for everyone, but for me, for now, the ticker is helping.  I really like to move that little apple along its little flowered path.  I find I am able to turn down many treats and indulgences during the course of a week, that in the hopes that I get to move the little apple a little bit further along its way.

I am kind of blathering about nothing today.  But I was excited even for that small downward movement.  We all have to figure out what helps us stay motivated for any kind of goal we have.  What works for me, may not work for another. 

But if you are pleased by pretty little things, give one a try.  There are many sites and many designs from which to choose.

Weight Loss Ticker Success!

This is not nearly so richly descriptive a post as my previous one, but very fun to write, none the less!  I've finished my first weight loss ticker.  I started it with my 28-day challenge way back when. 
I had high hopes of getting those first 11 lbs off quickly, hopefully even during the 28 days of my challenge. 

Obviously things did not happen that way.  It's been a few more than 28 days.  Just over double that, in fact.  But those pounds did come off fairly quickly and fairly easily.  It's exciting.  Especially these last few weeks when I really suspected I may have put a few back on, since I was not watching very carefully at all what I was eating.  But each those weeks, as I stepped on the scale with fear and trepidation, the numbers were smaller again.

I will start a new ticker sometime in the next few weeks, but for now I'm just going to enjoy this one.  I like to see that little flower all the way past the sunshine at the end, and to read those words below it, "11 lbs lost. 0 lbs to go."

28 Day challenge summary

I am done with my 28 day challenge.   I removed my ticker for counting down the days, and left the weight loss one up.  It is still serving its purpose.

In summary, I lost five pounds instead of the eleven for which I had set my goal.  It's a little disappointing.  But I'm still happy about those five.  Very, very happy.

I didn't accomplish any of my big goals.  Not a one.  But I am feeling better all the time and have more energy.  Most days are a little bit better than the one before.  The daily view is baby steps.  But when I look back at each week of my challenge, each one is substantially better than the one before. 




Although I didn't finish any outside chores, I did so some work out there, so I guess that is at least part of one of my big goals that I got done.

I hope to continue my mental and emotional improvement, and maybe in a few weeks, I'll set another set of goals.  I'm busy right now with a confirmation celebration to prepare for my Elsie this coming weekend, and several graduation celebrations to attend in the coming weeks.  The kids will be done with school soon.  So there will be lots of busyness and transition.  That particular combination, for me, is kind of a recipe for disaster.   

So no big goals right now.   Stability will be enough to handle.

I will continue the Monday morning weigh-ins with my walking buddies, so I will keep that ticker active to keep me accountable.

Here I Come, Again

I'm starting a new plan.  The spring into action plan.  The back in the saddle plan.  I need a boost.  I need something. 

I listen to the commercials on the radio for all the various weight loss plans.  I see various facebook friends post about Advo-Care's 24 day Challenge.  "Might that work for me?" I ask myself.

But I am not the kind of person to spend money on something that I fear would turn out to be a gimmick.  I also instinctively don't think such "programs" are healthful.  And I tend to be of a somewhat anti-diet mentality. 

But something has to change.  I have reached that age at which, as many of my older friends have warned, my weight seems to creep upward no matter how much I exercise or how I try to adjust downward my portion sizes.  It's very frustrating to me.

I also have been struggling all winter with a kind of, somewhat, borderline depression.  I hesitate to write about this, or to use the "D" word.  Such things are all relative.  Different personalities can put up with differing amounts of such lethargy and lack of an kind of motivation or responsible behavior.

I have at various time in my adult life struggled with the blues, or a funk, or whatever.  The worst time, strangely, was the first six months or so after I got married.  Here I was, at what I had thought would be one of the happiest times of my life.  And I was totally out of it.  Wacked out.  Out of my groove.  I went for days without leaving our apartment.  I called in sick to work.  It was difficult for me to find motivation to even shower or brush out my hair (which hair at the time was very long; the large rat's nest was quite frightening some days).  I am sure Joe wondered what he had gotten himself into.  But he never complained.  At least I don't remember him complaining.  Probably he complained inwardly.  I know I would have if the roles had been reversed.

Eventually, I snapped out of it.  Spring came.  I got a new haircut.  I talked to my supervisors at work.  I got myself back on track.  And I began to learn that I don't do transition well. 

Later I struggled quite a bit during and following my eighth pregnancy.  I suffered from extreme fatigue during the pregnancy, and it stuck with me until I was pregnant again.  I felt like I was in a pit, just barely clinging to the edge.  It was altogether strange.  With everything I had going on at the time, I simply attributed the situation to our busy life.  I was homeschooling five kids and had three pre-schoolers.  I was busy with my pastor wife stuff and Sunday School obligations, and whatever else happened along.   My brother-in-law had also died suddenly only two years before, so my husband and his parents were immersed in their own grief, and the busyness of settling his estate.  Although not immediately effected in the same way they were, I was doing what I could to help them get through that time.  Who wouldn't be tired?

But suddenly, after I became pregnant with my ninth child, I felt better.  Just when I thought I would start to feel worse, and was wondering how I and my family could survive when I did, I suddenly felt great.  Even the nurse at the clinic noticed and commented.  She said I had been lacking my usual sparkle for quite some time and that it was good to see it back.  Hmmm.

And again this year I've struggled.  I don't know what the catalyst was. I could think of any number of things, most of which you have read about, if you are a regular reader.  Probably it is just regular life, a few big sadnesses, and age related hormone changes. 

It doesn't really matter, though, what brought it on.  What matters is getting over it.  Getting on with my life.  Finding a way to put one foot in front of the other.  Figuring out something that will give me enough of a boost to get the momentum going.  I am in great need of momentum.  My inertia is very much inclined toward accomplishing nothing, and I need to change that.

I am not sad.  I am, however, somewhat emotional.  I feel lonely, and somewhat obsessive about communicating with friends, virtual or otherwise.  (And your guess is as good as mine how I can feel lonely in a household this busy.)  I lack energy in an extreme way.  I have a hard time seeing any reason to get up and do all the little things I ought to be doing.  I can't concentrate.  When I do start jobs, I don't finish them.  I am tired of the mess.  My kids are tired of it, too.  The younger ones don't notice.  They are still flexible.  But the older ones want their "real mom" back.

It's time to take the bull by the horns and get 'er done.

But how?

Introducing theMom's 28-day challenge:

For 28 days, I am going to control my eating habits.  I have scheduled a couple of times of more formal "dieting" and specific portion sizes for the rest of the time.  I have a certain number of treats or rewards planned and allowed.  Except for the two episodes of brief dieting, these goals are modest.  Reasonable.

I'm also setting a goal of keeping up with a certain short list of basic daily chores such as getting the little ones dressed and teeth brushed; doing dishes, etc.  These are really just the basics, but exactly the things I haven't been able to see the need or find the desire to keep up with.  Sad isn't it?

And I am also going to set weekly goals, one big goal or a grouping of smaller goals, for each week.   Hopefully this will allow me to a few of my bigger things done.

Again, my aim was to set achievable goals.  Baby steps.  It is easy to be too strict, or plan too much.  But I have learned over the years, with my busy home and low energy level, to plan small.  If I plan too much, I set myself up for failure.

This is also where the 28 days comes in.  If things seem hard, or I don't feel like I am getting anywhere, instead of throwing in the towel, I can say, "It's only a few short weeks, Mary.  You can do it."

I'd like your support, too.  I will need all the help I can get.  I am going to be reporting on my progress periodically.  You may get tired of it, but, well, if you do, stop reading.  It's my blog.  But if you can stand to read about the mundanities (is that a word?  It ought to be) of my struggles and successes, please leave me a comment now and then to cheer me on.

And more fun yet, if any of you is interested, please join me.  Come up with your own 28-day challenge, or whatever length of time works for you.  Feel free to leave a comment so we can cheer each other on.

You will also notice I've posted a couple of new tickers.   One is a 10 lb weight loss ticker.  It will actually be for 11 lbs, since I like the idea of a nice and even final number.  I was 1 lb off an even ten this morning, so I'm going with the strange and seemingly arbitrary goal of 11 lbs.   I think I can do that.  But I'm only weighing in on Mondays.  So don't expect that one to change daily.

My other ticker is for my 28 days.  I decided it would be fun to mark off each day of the challenge and watch how the days are counting down.

Finished My Spring Exercise Ticker! A Month Early, Even!

This is the second ticker in a row I've finished ahead of time.  It must be some kind of record for me.  Thanks to Connie, Lana, and Jan for my nice long morning "walks and talks" the last few weeks.

Couch to 5K week 4, final day.

I again didn't write down any stats.  And I didn't really do very well today in my routine.  I exercised for 60 minutes total, which is good, but I didn't run as much as I should have.  No reason, really.  I am making progress on feeling less winded while running.  I hold on to the "handlebars" less while jogging.  I just got lazy toward the end and walked the last few minutes.  Not a good excuse.

But I'm within perhaps one good days' workout of my half way point on my ticker.  That's fun.

Next weeks Couch to 5K consists of three five minutes jogs with three minute walks in between.  I think I can probably do that.  After that it jumps to 8 minute jogs.  Yes, I know I could do that, but I don't really want to yet.  That's the biggest factor in the whole running thing.  Do I really want it?  I'm not sure.  Only if it's not too painful.  At this point in my life, I don't need pain. 

2nd Go at Week 4, Day 3, Couch to 5K

I did the workout,but had a little interruption when Joe called to get some info that I was carrying around in my purse.

But afterwards, when Connie was on the treadmill and I was doing the other stuff, we got so busy visiting, that we walked/gazelled/Nordic ridered for about 20-30 extra minutes.  We just kept moving and didn't realize what time it was.

I plan to do Week 4 one more week, just to make sure I'm ready to move on.  I feel just barely able to do Week 4, so I don't think I'm ready to move on yet.

I guess I'm OK with that.

But I'd like to point out that thanks to our extra visiting, I've passed the one third way mark on my ticker!

Maybe I AM Worse than a Couch Potato

I kind of punked out today.  I did exercise.  I did 45 minutes, so I got to move my ticker.  But, well, let's just say I'm in the "hate" stage of my love/hate relationship with the Couch to 5K program.  I had to walk the last 3 minutes of the final run interval today.  Didn't make me feel very good.  That, and the fact that I was already running so slowly that when I finally gave into temptation to just stop jogging and walk, I didn't even have to slow down the tread mill.  Grrr.  I don't know.  I"ll probably end up stuck on week 4 for another three or four weeks before I'm able to move on.

At least I'm up and moving.

Sometimes I ask myself why I'm so doggedly trying to take up running again.  And I have no really good answer.  Especially when I'm going slower than I could walk.  But I think it's simply that I want to be able to say the even after ten kids I can still do it.

Well that's all I'm going to report today.  I did 45 minutes of exercise and some of it was Couch to 5K Week 4.

And some of it wasn't.

Is there a "Bad attitude" index tab for this blog?

Check out my new ticker!

My daughter said I needed to get rid of my old ticker.

I said, "No way, man, that's my reward for working hard.  I get to brag about finishing a ticker."

So you'll have to look at both of them for awhile.

I set a fairly optimistic goal for my new one, based on three days per week for 40 minutes.  I only counted thirteen weeks, and since I finished my previous ticker early, I get to use those twelve days as a little cushion.

I will still need all the cheering on I can get.  With our short summers here, every minute of nice weather is spent taking care of all the outside chores and fun other people have several months to accomplish.  So it sometimes is a bit of a challenge to allow myself the minutes needed to exercise.  But I am really going to try.

I really like this new ticker.  We will be buying our summer chicks soon  and when they are big enough they will trot around our yard.  But also, this big chick needs to keep trotting along in an attempt to reduce the residual effects of ten pregnancies.

Go Mary!

Ticker Complete!

Hurray, Hurray!  I did a little pilates today to stretch my back and strengthen my core abdominal muscles.  And in so doing I finished my ticker.

Now, I checked the official calendar and Spring this year actually starts on the 20th.  If you're being exact, according to Time and Date, "The March equinox will occur at 23:21 (or 11:21pm) at Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on this date." You'll have to figure out for yourself what that means with respect to your particular time zone.

With that in mind, I am 12 days early finishing up my "minutes of exercise before spring" goal. Just like when Mike Mulligan and Mary Ann dug out the basement for the new town hall in Popperville in just one day, nothing like this has ever happened before.

Couch to 5K, Week 3 Revisted, Day 1 Again

I decided to repeat week three.  My sister Aimee (whose wisdom and knowledge of things physiological regarding exercise will be featured in an upcoming blog post) encouraged me to use the Couch to 5K program as a launching off point.  It is a tool to be adapted to suit one's needs. 

I didn't really feel ready for week three last week and was trying to push myself to be there, when I did not feel quite up to it.  I also had some schedule conflicts and a minor physical set-back.  But this week I'm ready to roll and I feel up for it.  It's going to be a good week.

So the routine for week three is
5 minutes warm up
90 seconds jog
90 seconds walk
3 minutes jog
3 minutes walk
90 seconds jog
90 seconds walk
3 minutes jog
5 minutes cool down

I stayed to about 3 mph walking and 4 mph jogging.

The computer told me I burned 185 calories with 57 of the fat calories.  I covered 1.44 miles and it took 25 minutes.

I still went easy on the Nordic Rider, but I did do it.  I did 10 minutes on the Gazelle.

Later, in the early evening, I was very stiff with some remaining back stiffness and a bit of piriformis nerve pain.  I've had that off and on ever since one of my pregnancies.  But, again, thanks to the wonderful stretches Aimee recommended, I can generally nip it in the bud before it gets severe. 

So tonight, when I noticed the pain and stiffness while making supper, I got right down on my kitchen floor in between things and had a most excellent stretch. 

Sweet relief.   Thanks, Aimee.

And as a bonus, I'm down to 20 minutes on my ticker, with two weeks remaining in which to finish it.  Generally, even when I have met my ticker goal, there has been a bit of a push to get the minutes in at the end.  But this time, I'm ahead of the game.

Easy Exercise Day Today

Today ought to have been a Couch to 5K day, but since my back, although much better than yesterday and Wednesday, was still just that little bit iffy.  I just walked on the treadmill and did easy Gazelle stuff.

I got 30 minutes for my ticker and worked out the last of the stiffness.

It's Ticker Time Once Again

I decided to go with the fall amoeba theme.

After a summer break from organized exercise and the slowly creeping upward of my bathroom scale, I've felt the need to return to some structure. 

Readers may have noticed the disappearance a month or so ago of the "miles run" ticker?  Yes, well, I don't want to talk about it.

I was inspired by Mr. Bronski's performance on Saturday at the Virgil Crest Ultra 50 mile race.  Pete finished in 7th place (out of 48 runners who started) with an official finish of 51.4 miles in 11 hours and 43 minutes.  WOW!  Great job, Pete!

The top 100 mile finisher was  Angus Repper who did the 102.8 miles in 23 hours and 4 minutes.  Can you imagine?

I noticed there were several 40 somethings who finished in both the 50 and 100 miles versions.  The oldest 100 mile finisher was 48 years old and the oldest 50 mile finisher was 58.  Yes, I'm pretty impressed.

But I blame it all on the scenery.  Yes, that's it.  If only I had a more scenic place to train, I could probably do 50 miles easy.  Don't you think?