Again, with feeling this time!

It has been over a year ago now (year and a half, actually) that I read a weight loss book and followed the program in the book. Within the first two phases of the plan which were 8 weeks long each, I lost 20 pounds. The third and final phase was maintenence. For the past year I have kept the weight off. Only gained 2 pounds back. Not bad. But I never reached my goal. My goal was 30 pounds. I never lost that last 10, now 12.

I decided that it is time. I am not on the strict diet anymore, however I do eat a lot healthier now and better balance my carb intake which was my demise. For the past 4 weeks I have been running at least four days a week about 2 miles and been using my dumb bells.

I always need motivation and rewards, otherwise I stop. I still keep with my original motivation of every 5 pounds lost I get to buy a DVD. I already know which one I will be buying, it is in my amazon cart just waiting for the day I get to say “yes, ship it”. But that hasn’t been enough, obviously. Sure I kept 20 pounds off for over a year, but I didn’t finish.

So the first two weeks of this new start, my motivation was two fold. Firstly, I love soda. RC, Pepsi, Coke, in that order. So if I run and work out, I get a soda that day. If not, then I don’t. That’s good motivation for a caffeine addict. The second which was the linchpin was I allowed myself to watch an episode of Spooks (MI-5 here in the US) from netflix if I ran. I couldn’t stand not being able to watch it. So again, it was good motivation. I have since finished watching the episodes I wanted to see (seasons 7 and 8). I no longer need that extra push. The soda a day is motivation enough now.

I was very frustrated at the end of week two, thinking I was doing really well and probably lost a few pounds by now.... Well, I got on the scale and wham! I gained a pound. I was so mad. But you have to remember, it takes about 3 to 4 weeks to notice any physical changes. Mentally and physically I felt better, but there isn’t really any noticeable change in only 2 weeks. First you gain muscle before you lose fat. And I had to remind myself of that. So I decided not to weigh-in at the end of week 3.

Now that I am into week 4, I am starting to notice little changes. I can now start to see my muscles in my legs, I have pectoral muscles again (I missed them), and my arms are firming up. I still have that roll of a tummy, but that my friends is the curse of family genes. I have it, my brother has it, and my mother has it. I would like to get rid of it as well. I want one set of hips, not two.

I don’t necessarily like running, I’m not going to start running marathons or anything like that. And eventually my knees will stop me (hopefully not for another 30 years or so). But it seems to be the most effective way for me to lose weight and get in shape. And I do feel better after a workout.

*I wrote this last week and never posted it. I did upload it to an online forum I’m part of for some of the peeps who are doing this weightloss challenge with each other. I wanted to share a little with them. But I didn’t post it on my actual blog. Why? I suppose I have this fear that I would stop. I do tend to start things and never really finish them. Learning a language, new musical instrument, etc. And I didn’t want to jinx myself. I’ve posted things before where I say stuff like, “next time” or “I’ll update you when I’m done” and then.... nothing. It is a week later now, and I’m still running, so, for now, I feel safe enough to post this one.