Making Progress

I wanted to post a quick update to keep my promise of trying to blog more often (hey, at least it's only been a couple weeks instead of several months!), and to keep people in the loop in case they're interested.

As of January 31, I've lost about 10 pounds. I say "about" because my body seems to fluctuate throughout the day. I can "gain" up to three or four pounds during the day, mostly due to the clothes I'm wearing and/or time of day, and "lose" it all the next morning. I'm not really sure how it's all supposed to work. Basically, scales lie. But whatever. I can see and feel the weight coming off a little bit, and my clothes seem to fit a little better. The most noticeable change is that I can slip my wedding rings on and off much easier without needing to wet my hands or lather on lotion first. That's a big deal to me, because had I not started this weight loss initiative, I probably would have needed to get them resized very soon. So glad that isn't the case now!!

My weight loss plan of attack has probably been the most casual one I've ever tried, which is probably why it's also been the most successful. Basically, I'm counting my calories (but not religiously because it's just easier to estimate) and being more active. I don't want to fool you -- I'm still terrible at working out. But I have committed to yoga at least twice a week, and using free weights at least twice a week. The latter is usually accomplished while watching Netflix. It's not much, but it's a start.

Counting calories has been pretty much a breeze, too, and I haven't really had to cut anything out completely. I'm teaching myself to build better meals based on healthy things I already knew I liked but just didn't buy very often. I've largely cut back on what used to be my major stumbling blocks -- cheese, alcohol, drive-thru breakfasts, bread, bagels -- and added in much more healthy stuff. My go-to quick meals and snacks usually involve tuna, spinach, cottage or string cheese, eggs, rotisserie chicken, or unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon. Again, not a whole lot different than what I'd normally eat, but I'm making more conscious decisions to choose these options over the bad-for-you ones.

I've also embraced the land of healthy convenience meals. That's been a little difficult, because I try to make homemade food as much as possible and avoid overly-processed stuff. I used to be really resistant to Lean Cuisine-type frozen items because I assumed they were crappy. And it's true that a lot of them are. But some of them aren't. When I'm in a pinch and don't have a lot of time or resources, they're super easy to throw in my lunchbox on my way to work. The Michelina's version is super inexpensive and surprisingly tasty, with hardly any mystery ingredients. They're on the small side, but a side of fruit and veggies rounds it out. I also like steamable Bird's Eye pasta and veggie bags.

And tortilla pizzas. OH, THE TORTILLA PIZZAS! So easy to mix and match, so quick to cook, and so few calories. To amp up the nutrition even more, trade the flour tortillas for flax-studded lavash bread. I can't express enough how much I love these puppies.

Plain canned tomato sauce, herbs, spinach, deli ham and cheese
on a flour tortilla. Easy. Classic. Delicious.

BBQ sauce, chicken, spinach and cheese on lavash bread.
That whole thing is like, 200 calories, max. And it's huge.

As for our standings in the corporate weight loss challenge, we aren't exactly winning, but we're not at the bottom either. I'm not worried. There's still two months left and we all have a lot more to lose. I've read that once you've lost a substantial amount at that beginning that the weight starts getting harder to shed, but that's okay. Even if we don't win any money, I think this will be a rewarding experience for all of us. I'm glad I'm approaching it in a way that I can sustain for a long time, not just temporarily!

New year, new blog?

Well, hello there! Remember me?

It's already one week into the second month of the new year. I've been debating whether or not to even write this post for a while, considering my long absence from the blogging scene. But I guess I couldn't stay away forever, so here I am.

I won't go into much detail about what's happened since my last post, because not a whole lot has really happened. Holidays, work stress and general end/beginning of the year busyness caught up with me and I couldn't devote much attention to writing. I was frustrated with not following through with some of the plans I'd claimed in previous posts, so I didn't want to feel like I was documenting my failure. I also had gotten to a place where I wasn't sure how comfortable I felt revealing so much of myself in a public blog.

With a new year comes new changes, though, and I'm hoping that putting some effort back into this creative space will help me achieve some of my other goals. Namely, weight loss ... but this time it's different.

At the end of January, Chris and I embarked on a journey to a healthier lifestyle due to a weight loss initiative through his dad's company. This isn't just any pound plunge though. (Not to be confused with the St. Joe Pound Plunge, either.) It's a nationwide contest to see which team of five from the company can lose the most weight, and the top prize is a VERY large sum of cash. We're competing with his parents and sister against about 20 other teams. I hate to say that money has been the most effective motivator to lose weight I've ever had, but it's true. I don't want to reveal too much, but should we even place among the top three teams, it would be enough to really turn some things in our life around. (Like, maybe someday I could actually drive somewhere without my squeaky embarrassment of a car causing a scene? Please, that's all I ask!)

So far we're doing really well in meeting our diet and fitness goals. We kicked around a few ideas that might help us lose a lot of weight really rapidly, like juicing or Whole30 or going vegan again. But ultimately we decided we didn't want to do anything too drastic and end up failing. The contest lasts 12 weeks, so I want the changes we make to be sustainable for the long haul. Plus I want to be able to continue these habits after the 12 weeks are over. So instead we're doing what every doctor says is the best way to lose weight: less calories, more exercise, and better food choices. Seems obvious, huh?

I've grumbled about My Fitness Pal in the past, but now I'm dedicated to using it every day and being truthful in the foods I put into the program, even if they're just estimates. I've already felt a change in my hunger levels and the types of foods I'm putting into my body. We're cutting out all alcohol and most dairy, red meat, added sugars, and bad-for-you carbs. We're focusing a lot more on veggies, fruit, and lean proteins. We still allow some treats because, well, we deserve it.

Spinach, chicken, BBQ sauce and a little cheese on 50-calorie lavash bread makes guilt-free pizza. Soooo good.

I'm trying to drink more smoothies. My combinations still need a little work so they don't look so barfy.

To compensate, we're being much more active. Walking, jogging (for Chris, anyway), free weights, and best of all, yoga.

I know, I know, you've heard me rave about yoga before, but I'm convinced it's the single best decision I've ever made for my health. I'm still very much a beginner, but I really love it. And now, Chris loves it too! His work schedule doesn't allow him to attend classes, so we've been practicing at home almost every day with videos from a website called www.doyogawithme.com. I've known for months now how challenging yoga can be and how much better I feel when I do it, so I'm really happy that now he can experience it for himself. Not only does he benefit from the stretches and postures, but it also relaxes him and relieves him of the stress and anxiety he sometimes has from work. It's a fun activity for us to do as a couple, even if it's just for 20 minutes at midnight on a Tuesday.

As of January 31, I've already lost about 5 pounds, which I'm pretty proud of. I've never seen it come off this quickly before. Who knows what the next couple months will bring, but I'm facing it all with a clean slate and a clear head. Mostly because I really, really want that money!!

In other news, Chris is working on breaking into some different career opportunities. More on that later, once there's anything to tell, but for now I'm just happy that his job search led him to get an awesome new haircut. I loved his man bun, but the time had come for it to go. I'm sure I'll see it again someday ;)

Lookit how cute! Both of them!!

Please feel free to follow along as we continue to see where this weight loss initiative takes us. Whatever happens, I'm just glad we're finally following through with the plans we've wanted for ourselves for a long time! I anticipate 2015 to be a year full of much-needed positive change.