Getting over a plateau...

Another gain this week... I'm beyond frustrated. I'm not frustrated enough to quit but I just get frustrated when I'm being so good and not seeing any results. Last week I tried eating all of my weeklies, dailies, and most of my activity points. I assumed I would gain, and I was right. I had to try it though. I ran, played tennis, walked all day at work, got all my healthy checks... what can I be doing wrong??

I know I should focus on how far I've come and where I am now but easier said than done. Yes I know I've lost 55 lbs already but it's hard to push through sometimes. I'll make it though.

Yesterday at my meeting Teresa said I should talk to Kerri, my leader. At first I didn't want to. Everyone's advice is the same: "Maybe you're gaining more muscle", "everyone hits plateaus, you'll get through it", "if you gain this week, think how much you'll lose next week!". None of that advice helps anyone. It doesn't tell me anything. So not that I don't trust Kerri, I just didn't want to hear the same thing again.

Well I am so glad I talked to Kerri! I was so frustrated by the end of my meeting I thought I was going to cry. I held back tears as I walked up to Kerri after the meeting. She knew something was wrong right away and asked what's up. I told her my struggle. She told me that I need to add up my loss' and gains from the last 4 weeks. If it averaged a 0.5 lb loss a week, then it's not a plateau. (I did the average for the last 4 weeks and it's exactly 0.5 lbs a week. How frustrating?! I've only lost 2 lbs in the last month?!) Okay so it's not a plateau but it's obviously a lull in my weight loss.

Kerri asked if I've done anything different lately. I told her about how I tried to eat all of my points last week to try something different. She said I'm eating too much. I was surprised at that at first. How can that other girl in my meeting lose when she eats all of her points? I actually had to try hard to eat all of my points. She said you have to eat less points as you lose the weight. I know that but it didn't really sink in until I was thinking about it at home later that night. I noticed that I've been dipping in my weekly points because I am hungry because I've increased my activity. So maybe I need to go back to eating just my daily points. It's so simple! Why didn't I think of this before?!

When I woke up this morning I felt so positive. I think I may actually lose this week. I'll be strict with what I eat and continue to run. I'm super motivated. I notice I tend to lose more when I have a positive attitude so I'm hoping my new outlook will really help me this week. I have to lose this week!

On another note, I'm thinking of joining a gym. I'm not a very gym'y person so that's why I'm still thinking about it. I'm of course afraid I'll join and never go. So I'm making sure if I join, I have to go. I'm thinking of joining Planet Fitness. They have free unlimited trainers. That's appealing to me because I have no clue what I'm doing at a gym. I would still run like I always do but I need to weight training too. Muscles help increase your resting metabolism. Plus I would like to have the option of a gym when it's raining outside.

Frustrated...

I've been having a tough time lately. In the last 3 weeks, I've only lost 2 lbs. I am frustrated because I've been working so hard. I always get my healthy checks, I run as often as I can, and I never go over my points. I am lost. Last week, I gained 0.4. I've gained that before but this time I got upset. I don't know what more I can do.

One of the girls in my meeting started a few weeks ago and has been doing great. She said on Monday that she eats all of her daily points, weekly points, and activity points and she lost 2.2 lbs last week. Maybe that's what I'm not doing right. Last week I ate all of my daily points and 9 or 10 weekly points. I earned 54 activity points but didn't eat any of them. I am trying this week to eat more. But to me, it means making not the healthiest choices. It's weird allowing myself to eat more than I usually do. But I'm also making sure that I will get my usual activity points in.

I can't believe I'm really a runner

I didn't start working out at all until 3-4 months after I started WW. At first I felt bad. I felt like I was a slacker. But now that I look back, I'm glad I waited. I needed to focus on WW and really get a grip on that before I can focus on my new task of activity. I feel very confident in my eating now so I have been focusing on working out. I chose running. I have always wanted to be a runner. I really admire runners' bodies and that's what I want to look like. I started with the couch 2 5k program. (I used the podcast from kissmyblackass.org/podcast. It has the best mix of songs, no techno!) Now that I've completed the program, I can easily run 2-3 no problem. Yesterday after work, it was about 5pm, and I just didn't feel like running. It was chilly outside and I don't like running in the cold. Normally I look forward to my run after work but I just didn't want to run. I made myself change in to my running clothes at least. I changed, and just being in the clothes made me motivated to run so I did. I put my iPod on and headed out. I ran 2.4 miles in 23 minutes. It was like nothing! I could have kept running at least another mile, but, I was back at my office. I'm just in shock that I can run over 2 miles with such ease. I'm a runner. Can you believe it?!

I've been eating really well too. I'm at -55lbs and I can't wait to keep going. I think the big losses the last 2 weeks is because I've been exercising. It's made such a difference. The interesting thing about it is that I'm hungrier when I've been working out a lot. I used to not lose when I ate my weekly points but now that I'm exercising I eat more, not all but some of my weekly points, and I'm still losing. It's been a big change for me cause I'm not used to being so hungry all the time.

Big Achievements!

Wow I've really been slacking on my blogging. Since I've become a full time manager it's been tough to find time to sit down and type out my thoughts. And, now that I have an iPhone, I don't need the WW website on the computer. I use my iPhone even when I'm at home to track.

So things have been AMAZING!! The biggest achievement has been that I finally hit my halfway point... I lost 50 pounds! 52.4 to be exact! It's such an incredible feeling. I knew I would get there, but living the moment is the best! When I got home from my meeting, Kyle and Sara were making dinner for me. They also made Sprite Zero cupcakes and bought be beautiful flowers. As a gift they decorated a Vinylmation for me! I absolutely love it!!! Oh, and Kyle remembered that I was craving Reese's Pieces. I don't normally cheat with candy but it was a random craving and totally worth it. I portioned it out and counted the points of course. For dinner we made tacos. We used Boca meatless crumbles, low carb tortillas, fat free cheese, and veggies. So delicious!!!

My other achievement is something I've been working on for a few months. All my hard work has paid off because I ran a 5k on 2/26! That's right.. I spelled that right... I RAN a 5K. The whole thing, I never walked. And on top of that, I ran the 5K in 34 mins while maintaining an 11 minute mile. I was shocked. The great thing about it was, not only did I complete the entire run without stopping, but I didn't feel like I was dying afterwards. I was tired and out of breath but I quickly recovered. I can tell that training really helped. Exactly one week after my 5k, I was registered to run another one. So I ran last Saturday in the ESPN 5k. I was feeling pretty tired and I was running this one alone. I figured my time wouldn't be that great because I didn't have the adrenaline of the first race. Well I looked at the clock as I finally ran through the finish line and to my surprise... 34 mins! Can you believe it?! I maintained exactly an 11 min mile again! WoW! I guess I am a runner! :)

Tomorrow is weigh in day and I'm pretty excited. I think it will be a loss, not a big one but I think I lost this week.