Katie: Week 36

Well...

Current weight: 133 pounds
Last week's weight: 133 pounds
Total weight loss: 37 pounds

Uhh... yeah.

So after Bryan's family went back home I wasn't quite in the mood to jump back into entering everything in on MyFitnessPal (and we still had some really good sweets hanging around our house) so I decided to give myself a few days and wait until Monday (yesterday) to start back up again.

Bad idea.

I had gotten back down to 132 by the time Bryan's family left and then gained that pesky pound back again from all the junk I ate just on my own.  Tsk tsk.  But I am back on board now, entering everything in and trying to remind my mind and my body what it's like to pay attention to everything I eat and only consume 1200 calories every day (more if I exercise).  How quickly and easily we can fall out of good habits!

So maybe this seems like a strange time to say it, but I have an annoucement to make:

I am changing my goal weight to 120 pounds!

The more I lose weight, the more I realize I don't just want to end up at 125 pounds.  Now I'm not saying that because I just always want to be skinnier and skinnier and I plan to never be satisfied.  No.  The reason I say that is because, as I get closer and closer to my goal weight, the more I notice about my body and what it seems to need.  I think I've been overweight for so long that I thought it was normal, but I think my body needs to carry less.  120 lbs is still in a very safe area of the "Normal" range for BMI for my frame and I'm hoping that working toward 120 will give me a little more time and wiggle room to slim off this cursed tummy fat.

Oh, how I want to have a flat tummy!  Although the main reason I want to have a flat tummy and be skinnier (other than good health, of course) is so that I can wear one shirt and be done.  With my tummy the way it is right now I always feel like I have to layer two or three shirts or tank tops just to cover it up and hide it so I don't look strange.  Also, am I the only one who's noticed that sale racks always seem to carry size small, but hardly ever carry size medium?  As a wife of a poor college kid, I'm all for getting in shape and being able to buy new clothes really cheap.  Talk about killing two birds with one stone, eh?

But one of the big, main underlying reasons that I want to have a flat tummy is so I can focus on others more.  I'm so self-conscious about my tummy that I'm always trying to suck it in or cover it up.  I'd rather feel more comfortable in my own body so I can skip over all the tummy trauma and just focus on other people more.

I just wanted to say those things again since I haven't said them in a while.  Because, for me, weight loss is more about being a good steward over my body and trying to not be so selfish than it is about my own ego.  It's good to remind my ego of that sometimes, especially when that ego has already been humbled by going backwards in my progress.

Anyway, wish me luck!  And I wish you all the best of luck in your goals!  Happy Tuesday!

My New Life

Kathy Week 35: Goodbye Summer

Kathy's Week 54 Stats:

Last Week's Weight: 127

Today's Weight: 129

Starting Weight: 151

Total Weight Loss: 22 pounds

I know, I know...I'm two pounds above that exciting weight I posted last week...sigh...

But I'm really not worried about it, because my body went through some major physical stress this week, and I think my body is just recovering with some extra fluids for a few days.

What stress, you ask??

Only the most exciting thing I've done all summer...I climbed Mount St. Helens on Tuesday!!

Even with all the training Mark and I did this summer, it was still a grueling, 11-hour climb. But it was SO worth it!! Want to see some more photos? Click here to see photos and the story of our climb on my other blog.

My joints are fine, but my thigh and calf muscles are still sore from Tuesday's climb. I think as I continue recovering, the extra water weight will melt away...we'll see about that when I post again next Saturday.

Meanwhile, enjoy the last week of summer...what are your plans? I'll be going back to work (high school English teacher) on Monday, so this is my last hurrah for summer 2010.

Katie: Week 35

Well...

Current weight: 133 pounds
Last week's weight: 132 pounds
Total weight loss: 37 pounds

I have gained a pound.  But at least I haven't gained more than that.  Bryan's family has been visiting and I have been eating whatever we're all eating and not worrying about it.  So there.  After they're gone and we're back to our normal routine I will get back on track.  But right now I don't even care.  I'm just happy to be having some fun vacation time with family.  :)  So, that's all from me for today.  See you all next week!

Parenting: Touching the Hearts of Our Youth

Week 34: Major Milestone

Kathy's Week 34 Stats:

Today's Weight: 127!!!!!!!!!!!!
Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal  !!!!!!!!

Last Week's Weight: 128

Starting Weight: 151

Total Weight Loss: 24 pounds!!

Since January 1, in addition to losing 24 pounds, I have also lost 4 inches from my waist and 4 inches from my hips. I have gone from barely fitting into size 14, to comfortably fitting into size 10. I have greater strength and energy, my muscle mass has increased, and I have lots more endurance.

When I began in January, I set a goal of 135 pounds. Then I found the Happy Weight Calculator, which indicated that a better goal for me would be 134 pounds. Fine, I thought, what's one more pound? I changed the goal to 134. 

However, by the time I was getting close to 134 pounds--early June, about week 24--I realized that I didn't want 134 to be my end goal any longer. Once I started the weight-training program and saw my weight really begin to drop, I decided to rethink that goal of 134.

About that time, I noticed that my wristwatch was getting loose, and I tightened the wristband another notch. And funny thing--when I went back again to the Happy Weight Calculator, I had to recalculate my "Frame" size--based on wrist size--because I had lost so much weight since January.

When I calculated in a smaller frame size, along with increased exercise and activity, my new Happy Weight was 127! Wow, I haven't been able to consistently maintain that weight since I was in my early 30s. I was so excited to think I could achieve that healthy weight goal again in my 50s!! And I made it to 127, for the first time in years, this morning.

Can I stay here at this wonderful, healthy, slender weight? I've been able to fits lots of exercise into my schedule this summer, but as a school teacher, I know I'll soon be back into the hectic/stressful grind of back-to-school.

Achieving goal weight today is just the beginning of my healthy journey for the rest of my life. I need to eat healthy foods, exercise consistently, and keep stress at manageable levels in order to be healthy and fit. Just because the scale said 127 this morning, does not mean that I'm through with healthy updates here The Skinny. Maintaining weight loss can be just as difficult as losing the weight in the first place!

Thanks, Skinny friends, for your support and encouragement! It has really meant a lot to post here each week and hear your suggestions and atta-girls. You've really kept me accountable!

Along with The Skinny, I couldn't have made it to this point without the support of my best friend--my darling husband and sweetheart--Mark.

He gladly eats the healthy foods I fix, exercises with me, and encourages me with compliments and thoughtfulness. He's lost some weight along my Skinny path, and he's been gaining strength and endurance, too.

We are loving our Skinnier life together, and we have so much fun with our health and strength.

new goals

oh my goodness, oh my goodness! katie and kathy are getting so close to goal. this progress really has been amazing to watch.

as for me, i'm finally remembering that it's wednesday and my day to post! i've been a bit distracted--my baby girl came 5 1/2 weeks ago and it's been a wonderful whirlwind since then. i don't get nearly enough sleep yet to think about exercising strenuously or making tons of effort with eating, but i do have a few goals in improving my health and fitness...starting out gently.

1. go for a walk every day. there are days that i don't feel like going anywhere, but from experience i know that if i don't leave the house i feel like a slob with no friends. not that walking gives me friends, but at least it makes me feel like i'm not living in my own tiny world. and the exercise is good, of course.

2. get at least 6 hours of sleep every 24. i know that i should get more, but i've got to be realistic for now. many nights i get 4, so this means that i need to nap for 2 hours, which is hard for me! once i'm up and moving i feel fine, so i just want to be catching up with cleaning or cooking (and i need to shower!) while nora is asleep. but it often catches up with me something awful, and all i want to do is cry and die (oh, the irrationality of being tired). anyway, my husband is entirely willing to help while i sleep, so i should take better advantage of that.

3. eat decently. i'm not thinking about calorie counting or even portion sizes, really--i just want to stay properly fueled and not eat too much junk. i'm seeming to be sensitive to wheat again, so cutting that out has helped me eat well (except for when i made flourless chocolate brownies, which pretty much replace flour with more butter. oh, then i ate most of them in about 2 days, of course).

i feel like the biggest step is making sleep a priority--i can't do much without it! and once i get these goals down, i'll move on to the ones that yield more visible results. i don't have a ton to lose--most of my clothes fit (except in the chest...hmmph) but they'll fit better when they're a bit looser. so, i guess my eventual goal is to go down a size. and i'm just excited to feel fit again!

wish me luck. and tips of any kind are always welcome!

Katie: Week 34

Well...

Current weight: 132 pounds
Last week's weight: 132 pounds
Total weight loss: 38 pounds
 
I am at the same weight that I was last week.  Blah.  It has been a bit of a blah week in the eating and exercising department.  Or, rather, it's been a lot of ups and downs--some really good days and some sort of naughty days (but the homemade spaghetti and meatballs with our friends were totally worth it).  I think I'm doing my best, but it just doesn't seem to be panning out quite the way I hope.  Hopefully it was just a weird week and this isn't a sign that I'm starting to level off and the last few extra pounds are really going to be super hard to lose.

That being said, as much as I'd like to go on to say, "I'm going to do even better this week and try even harder!" well, realistically, I just don't think it's going to happen.  We'll have family visiting for the next few weeks and since we won't be at home all the time, I plan to eat whatever everyone else is eating and not stress about it.  So it's possible that I could gain a pound or two over the next couple of weeks.  I hope it doesn't happen and I'm still going to try and exercise and do my best to eat good portions, but there's really only so much you can do.

Also, I've been super mega good about entering everything in on MyFitnessPal.com.  I haven't missed a day since I started.  But I think I will be missing days during these next couple of weeks.  I'll do my best, but I just don't know how good my best is going to be for the next little bit.

However, once all the fun family times have subsided I definitely plan to continue on with my good eating and exercising habits.  But I just thought I'd give you all (well, and myself) notice that my progress may not be the same for the next couple of weeks.  Wish me luck in not backtracking too much!

Oh, and I do have one little bit of good news.  Well, two little bits of good news, actually.

1. I fit into some cute capris that I haven't fit into in FOREVER!
2. Yesterday I made myself a cute little top and I made it in size SMALL!  Woot woot! 

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Good Things to Come

Kathy Week 33: Still Learning to Run...

Kathy's Week 33 Stats:

Today's Weight: 128

Last Week's Weight: 131

Starting Weight: 151

Total Weight Loss: 23 pounds!!

Skinny friends, I am so excited to tell you about the progress I am making as a runner! Since I started my 6-week training program, I am seeing some real differences in my weight, endurance, and body shape.

First of all, a disclaimer: I can't run. I can do a slow huffy-puffy jog thing. It's faster than walking, at least most of the time. But you have to start somewhere, so I just want to be very clear that when I mention "running" in this post, I really mean something along the lines of a middle-aged nonrunner trying her best to imitate a runner on the track. Woot woot! Go Kathy! Atta girl!

I have to tell you that I was really discouraged about running on Monday this week. I ran about 1/4 of a lap, and then my right knee did this jabby-feeling click thing, and I couldn't run any more. I walked. And walked. Then I would try to sneak in just a little itty bit of running, but no dice. The knee figured out immediately what I was up to and did the jabby-clicky thing again.

I almost wrote a whiny I-can't-run post Monday afternoon, but I managed to restrain myself.

And then something amazing and wonderful and maybe miraculous happened on Wednesday morning! 

I ran a mile!!! 

I ran 4 laps without stopping!!! Then I walked a lap, then I ran a little more, walked a little more, finished up with running the last lap.

Yesterday morning it was even better...I ran a mile and a half!!! And then I walked one lap and ran the last lap. I never thought I could do this! I am really, truly, majorly excited about this. (Which you can probably guess, because I am already waaaaay over my exclamation point quota in this post.)

Here's something else I'm excited about:

I swam across Sparks Lake!!!

And then...I swam back to the other side. All together, I was swimming for 30 minutes straight, just under 1/2 mile. This was one of my 43 Things, and I was excited to accomplish one more of my summer goals.

Now, you have to understand that Sparks Lake is a relatively small lake. And a shallow lake. My husband was paddling the canoe right alongside in case I had a cramp and decided to drown, but it wasn't all that necessary, because to tell the truth, if I had had a problem, all I would have had to do is stand up!! The lake is really that shallow. Hahaha!! But I didn't stand up; I really did swim over and back. Yay Kathy! Atta girl!!

I am only one pound away from goal weight - what an amazing 7 months of healthier living here on The Skinny.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend - see you next Saturday!

Zucchini Boats!

Here's a "Frugal Food Friday" Fill-in for Polly, who is still waiting for internet access after her move.

Check out a yummy and healthy zucchini recipe for Zucchini Boats on my blog. I really hope you'll click over to the recipe, and be sure to read all the way down to the funny quotes from my family at the bottom.

Happy zucchini hunting!!

Katie: Week 33

Guess what skinnies?!...

Current weight: 132 pounds
Last week's weight: 133 pounds
Total weight loss: 38 pounds (Yay!)
 
Sorry I'm posting this so late.  It has been a busy, busy day and I literally haven't had a moment to sit down at the computer until now.  I was going to write some more interesting and helpful things that I've been keeping filed away in my head for the past week, but now I can't remember any of them.  Sorry.  After the busy day my brain is a bit fried.  So for now I leave you with this:

Eat less calories than you burn.  It works.

Lots of losing weight love to you all,
Katie

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

Kathy Week 32: Swimming along...

Kathy's Week 32 Stats:

Today's Weight: 131

Last Week's Weight: 133

Starting Weight: 151

Total Weight Loss: 20 pounds!!

I'm writing this post on Friday morning, so happy because tonight we are headed for a weekend of canoe camping at Sparks Lake! We'll be there with our dear friends, Ken and Dorothy...yes, that's the Dorothy who wrote the wonderful "Walking in Circles" column here on The Skinny last spring.

We'll be enjoying scenes like...

...the beautiful lake surrounded by central Oregon mountains...

...fun times paddling with my sweetheart...

...quiet evenings around the campfire...

And, if I get brave enough, I'm going to attempt swimming across the lake (the narrow part), which was one of the 43 Things I wrote about in June. (Of course, Mark will be right next to me in the canoe, with a lifejacket handy if I need it!)

I'm still on my running program...I'm feeling a little bit stronger, but only a little bit. Still using myfitnesspal.com. And still working at being healthier, day by day. One step at a time!

Have a great week, everyone!

Stretching

So I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get a million things done before I go on vacation...and I am doing it with a limp! Here is a friendly reminder to STRETCH!

I can not emphasize the benefits of stretching enough; I don't do it enough myself and I know that is why I feel tight sometimes after I run! However this pulled muscle of mine did not come from running- it came from dancing at my job (I teach ballroom dance).

What is the point? Sometimes we don't stretch because we don't think the activity we are participating in is strenuous enough..."I am just walking around the block" or "I am just going to play outside with my kids" But even those activities work your muscles!!!

So this is my friendly reminder to stretch this week- even if you don't think it is completely necessary. It will make you feel looser, more limber, and will make your activity (whatever it is) more fun and hopefully easier!

Kathy: Spoiler alert!

Hey Skinny friends - I know I'm not supposed to update until Saturday, but I just couldn't resist a quick midweek post to say that when I got on the scale this morning...

I have lost 20 pounds since January 1!!!!

(I know, I know, I'm probably being a little premature about this. After all, we all know about fickle scales, how the numbers can fluctuate up and down a pound or two from day to day. I may be eating humble pie on Saturday. Still, it was pretty exciting to see 131 pop up on the scale this morning.)

I'm headed out to run 1.75 miles this morning. See you Saturday on The Skinny!

Katie: Week 32

Guess what skinnies?!...

Current weight: 133 pounds
Last week's weight: 135 pounds
Total weight loss: 37 pounds (Yay!)
 
Woot wooooot!  Only 8 pounds to go!!  Are you excited?!  I'm excited. 

Well, I had planned to share some of the meals that I've been eating lately, but my computer is running really slow right now.  So I think I'll just end here and if my computer recovers maybe I'll come back again later today and share some more.

In the mean time, have you tried myfitnesspal.com yet?

You enter your current weight, goal weight, and how fast you'd like to get there.
It tells you how many calories to eat per day.
You enter in your daily weight, exercise, and the foods you eat.
It has a huge database of foods and exercises so you can input everything accurately.
You can even save meals you eat frequently so it goes even faster.
The more you exercise the more calories you're allotted for that day.
Follow the numbers.
See the numbers on the scale go down.
Realize how much more you were eating before and feel a little grossed out.
It really has changed my whole mentality.
Really.
And I'm not being paid to say this.
Just trying to share the love.

Okay, I'm done now.  My computer is being a sloth this morning.  Time to reboot.  Happy Tuesday!

P.S. A quick little shout out to my friend Erin I ran into yesterday.  She told me she always checks up on me to see my progress here.  That made me happy.  Hi Erin!

Cross-training with Pilates

I was so glad to hear that Kathy is becoming a runner. One of the best things about her training schedule is that it calls for cross-training. And we all remember last week when Katie was asking about what to do for her abs. Well, here is my solution to both our skinny ladies: the Pilates for Life DVD series! I check out the 20-minute abs and waist workout from the library and renew it as many times as I can. When all those weeks have gone by, I return it and check it out again. I practically own it for free!

Here are some reasons why I love it and you will too:

• The instructor lady Amy Brown has a fun Canadian accent.
• The whole workout is seriously only 20 minutes (warm-up and cool-down included).
• You don't get all dripping with sweat, but you still feel the difference.
• You tone your muscles without adding bulk.
• Pilates improves more than just the area you are working on. I particularly love how it improves my posture which greatly benefits my running.
• It has beginner and intermediate level workouts on the same DVD. The more you do it, the better you get and the more challenging it becomes so you constantly improve.
• And for practicality's sake, it is affordable (when you check it out from the library) as well as convenient to do when you have just a little time to squeeze it in.

So, check out your local library's selection of pilates DVD's. I have tried a few others that I enjoyed but they had longer workouts. Still, they are worth mentioning. I really like Precision Pilates with Jennifer Kries. Her workouts are 30 minutes and she combines dance, pilates, and yoga. I have also tried Pilates On The Go with Maria Leone. That was more intense and workouts lasted about 45 minutes. I only did that one once or twice because it was a real challenge. It wasn't as fun, but it did give results. It just depends on what you are looking for in a workout.

I'd love to hear if any of you try these out! Also, please share with us other DVD workouts you like!

Our True Identity