Christy

Wow, another week has passed! Crazy. It’s been a week of mental and physical ups and downs for me, and honestly I’m exhausted today.

This week, I decided to Shred with the Sisterhood, but only a couple of days a week due to my 1/2 marathon training. I’ve done the Shred before, so I know how hard it is. It’s HARD. Definitely takes commitment and determination to endure the full 30 days. I have to admit that I went into it feeling a little cocky because I am in MUCH better shape than I was this time last year. I’m training for a 1/2 marathon for pete’s sake! On Sunday I had my long run of 5 miles, and on Monday, which should have been a rest day, I joined in the festivities and Shredded. Big Mistake. On Tuesday, I could hardly move. Every.single.part of my body ached. Even my eyebrows. I was the kind of sore that makes you want to cry and saw you legs off. All day long.

Needless to say, I’ve decided that Shredding and 1/2 marathon training do not mix for me, and I’m just not going to participate. It makes me sad, because I love me some Shredding with the Sisterhood Challenge, but I’ll just stand over on the sideline and cheer all of y’all on. Coach Joe (our VTNT coach) told us that it’s important to rest the day before and the day after our long runs, and now I’m a believer! I will follow instructions from now on.

So on to this week’s weigh in! I want to give a HUGE shout out to my amazing team – The A-Team.

• Tammi/Valley Girl
• Jen/BWJen
• KnitsalotJen
• Adrienne/SkinnyFighter
• JennyGirl

We pity the fools who tries to lose more than us. For reals. Yo. I may or may not be wearing my Mr. T starter kit right this very minute.

Even though I said I was going to count WW Points this week, I sorta kinda forgot. Okay, I was lazy and I didn’t do it. Thankfully I’ve been on this journey long enough that I can mentally add Points and pretty much know where I am. Not the recommended way to go about it, but it worked for me this week.

Last week: 139.6
This week: 137.8
Change: -1.8#

This week I need to get serious. I’ve been on a roller coaster the past couple of months and have done the lose 2 gain 1.5, lose 1 gain 1.5, so on and so forth. I’m still going down, but it’s really a pain to do it that way. One of the most important reasons I should be counting Points right now is to make sure I’m eating enough for my training. I’m starting to run mileages I’ve never run before, and I need to feed my body so it can handle it. I also need to make sure I’m feeding my body the right kind of foods, and Weight Watchers is nice enough to help me keep track of that.

Here are my goals for this week:

1. Stick with my Virtual Team in Training plan for the 1/2 marathon.
2. Count my points. Actually log them into WW online.
3. Get to know my team better and give them as much support and encouragement as I can!

You probably saw the title of my post and thought I’d lost like 5 pounds, right? WRONG. I am victorious because I maintained this week. I maintained after a glorious trip to LA with the other fabulous EA SPORTS Active for Life Challengers.

This past week has been an exciting one, to say the least. As an EA SPORTS Active for Life Challenger, I took part in the More Workouts 6-week challenge. I vlogged and blogged about my progress here and at the EA site. Our celebration was held this past weekend in sunny (and WARM) LA, and it was amazing. The hotel was so hip, the restaurants were trendy, the food was amazing, the drinks were delish, and the company, well, the company was so inspiring. Each and every one of the challengers has their own mountain to climb, and each and every one of us climbed out hearts out during the 6-week challenge and while we were in LA.

We hiked Runyon Canyon, on a clear and breezy day in LA. So perfect. After 4.5 miles of up and down, I burned 677 calories. WOW!

Wendy, Lisa, Gerard (@Active_Trainer), KP (@Active_Girl), and Monique – Fabulous EA SPORTS Active staff.

I am so happy EA SPORTS Active chose me to be an Active for Life Challenger. While it was a little scary stepping outside the comfort and support of the Sisterhood, I’m so glad I did. The challenge gave me new strength, physically (you should see my quads and biceps!) and mentally. I feel like a better person because of it, and I plan to continue using More Workouts as I train for my 1/2 marathon!

Last week: 141.2
This week: 141.2
WOOT!

To be honest, I didn’t have high hopes for this weigh in. I did manage to stay away from the Halloween candy, which is truly amazing. I think the fact that it’s still packed in my suitcase, has probably helped! You see, we went to Austin to trick or treat with Lisa and her family, and yeah, my bags are still not unpacked. But I totally blame that on the fact that April is here visiting now. I just don’t have time to waste on silly things like unpacking suitcases filled with Halloween candy! So anyway, I certainly wasn’t expecting a loss because I wasn’t really good when I was in Austin, and my 5K training has fallen a little by the wayside. When I stepped on the scale this morning and registered a loss, I nearly fainted, but instead I did a little happy dance in my bathroom before jumping in the shower! WOOT!!!

I’m happy to say that I have planned my 5K route, and it’s going to be a truly amazing, albeit tough, run. Lots of hills, but I managed to make sure most of them were in our favor! April and I will most definitely be taking some pictures during the run, so stay tuned for that!

Here’s my numbers:

Last week: 142
This week: 141.6
Loss: .4 (HALLELUJAH and AMEN)

As far as my habits, go, I’m doing a pretty good job. My focus for this challenge was water, and I’m proud to say I’ve met my goal everyday. I also chose to focus on 5 servings of fruit and vegetables each day, and aside from a few missed days while out of town, I’ve done quiet well and actually look forward to my daily 5.

The last habit I wanted to form was getting exercise every day. This one, my fine Sisters and Brothers, I have failed miserably on.  Sure, I’ve worked out sporadically, but not in a habit forming way, and that makes me mad. I truly set out on this challenge with the intent of exercising and making it a habit. I’m not going to give up, though. I know that we have the EA Sports Active 30-Day Challenge on the horizon, so I’m going to prepare myself for that, and workout as much as I can between now and then to prepare.

My weight, well, it hasn’t gone down. Nope, I haven’t shrunk. I’m not making any excuses, because I know exactly what happened. Over the last month I traveled 3 of the 4 weeks. I traveled to places like Chicago, Atlanta, Tennessee and Austin. And if I’m going to be really honest, I’ll just tell you I ate my way through those cities and states. Oh yes I did. I’m not going to say I ate things I shouldn’t have, because really, I don’t feel like anything is off limits. I can’t live like that. But when you partner day after day and trip after trip of eating out, and not making the healthiest of choices, it doesn’t matter how much walking or hiking or babywearing you do. Calories in do not equal calories out which equals a gain.

So here are my numbers:

Last official weigh-in at the end of the Shrinking Days of Summer challenge: 142.6

Today’s weigh-in after weeks of debauchery: 146

Do you know how long it took me to get to 142.6? MONTHS. Months of working through a plateau and struggling so hard. I was so proud. I know I will back to it, but OMG, nothing sucks more than getting there and and then losing it. Can I get an AMEN?

And here is my new commitment: I am going to start using Weight Watchers online again. Today. I used it and lost 45 pounds before my daughter was born. I know it works. I know how it works and why it works. I will do it. Help keep me honest okay? I’m going to blog here everyday about my points and tracking and how I’m doing. Come back here and harass me in the comments if you don’t see me post. Please. Every time you comment, I get an email which is just like a swift kick in the ass.

Smooches.