Wednesday

I tried another new fitness DVD today - Amy Bento's Slo-Mo Strength Challenge. I wasn't feeling the love with this one. It was very tough, and very thorough, but I found it to be boring (too many reps of each exercise, not enough variety) and some of the exercises were so advanced that I had to modify. I did the entire workout, but I didn't really enjoy it as much as I enjoy many of my other workouts. I kept watching the clock. I'll probably get rid of this one.

My calorie goal was 1,400 today and although it was tough, I managed to do very well. I had a protein shake for breakfast, some leftover noodle/veggie stir fry for lunch, a pile of grapes for a snack and for dinner I had a fish taco with homemade salsa. My calories came out right at 1,400.

I am starting to see some visible changes in my physique since I got back on the wagon in earnest. My shoulders are regaining definition and my stomach has flattened a bit. I can also see a bit of change in my face...it's definitely thinned out (the double chin is just about gone). Right before I had gotten seriously back on the wagon, I had to buy a larger size dress pant because none of my other dress pants were fitting me well. Now, the new pants are at the point where they are too loose to wear, so that's a good sign. Today I am back in an old pair of dress pants. They fit a little snug, but THEY FIT.

I am really going to keep plugging away. My main motivator is the Mexico trip, but I also want to slim down quite a bit before the holidays. In past years, the holiday season would always end with me feeling totally disgusted that I was even heavier than I was before the holidays, and before the holidays I was already too heavy. This year (like last year) I want to get through the holidays and come out on the other side feeling happy with how I feel and look. I want to be able to enjoy the holidays, but not feel like all hell has broken loose to the point that serious New Years resolutions have to be made.

The hard thing about fall and winter is that it is an EATING season...not only the usual holiday celebrations, but it's a time when I like to bake and eat comfort food (homemade mac & cheese anyone?). I still eat those things on my program, but they are very calorie-dense so I get very little food for the calories. For example, I baked some chocolate chip oatmeal cookies a week ago and as I always do now, I calculated the calories for the recipe as I made them so that I could eat them on my program. Well, it turned out that 5 cookies (each cookie about 2" in diameter) was over 700 calories!!! Can you imagine? No wonder I put on so much weight in the past. I used to plow through piles of cookies without a thought, especially during the holidays.