7 week challenge

In seven short weeks, I am heading to VEGAS for my best friends birthday.

You know what this means... lots of cute dresses and, dun dun dun.... the dreaded bathing suit.

I have come the the conclusion - there isn't going to be a better opportunity (or better inspiration) to kick-start my weight loss, than this trip right here. I have been on a bit of a roller coaster lately with all of the stress and life crazyness... and my diet has also been on that roller coaster.

So starting today, I am on a majorly strict diet. Not a crash diet, but close to it.... for seven weeks. Lean meats, LOTS of veggies and good fruits, and minimal carbs. Then, once VEGAS is over, I will slowly start maintaining what foundation I've developed from those seven weeks, and begin a new healthy chapter.

Week 1 starting.... NOW.

Friendly reminders...

some friendly reminders of why i'm doing this... 

for whenever i am feeling weak...

or hungry...

or defeated...

i have images like this to remind me

:)

what the egg!!!

it seems as though there is a love-hate relationship with dieting and the egg. they are full of protein, and keep me full longer than any fibrous brick of chocolate covered whatever, or any cardboard tasting cereal, but whenever i enter in my little "calorie tracker" that i've eaten an egg or two... i get all these red flags. saturated fat. cholesterol. and so on....

{photo via pinterest.com}

is an egg really that bad for you? my mother {who has a degree in nutrition, so she's pretty legit}  seems to think a breakfast with eggs every day is probably not so good for you, but eggs are much better than these little diet apps make it seem. an egg is not like eating a mcDonalds cheeseburger. but it does contain a lot more saturated fat and cholesterol than ... let's say... special K cereal.

but they're so so so good.

maybe now is the time to switch to egg whites.

one final return...

i am back. again. for the umpteenth time.

but this time, it will be different. it already is different. things are changing - though not physically, yet, but mentally things are changing. i am slowly ridding myself of temptation. i am learning what it is like to be hungry, and be okay with it. now before you go and assume i am embracing an eating disorder, allow me to explain:

before i started this one last attempt at "dieting" about 2 weeks ago, i was never hungry. i was never hungry because i hated the feeling. the emptiness in my stomach that felt like small stabs, and the rumbling of hunger was just too uncomfortable for me to ever allow it. so, i ate too much 3 times a day AND snacked too much in between to eliminate any possibility of the feeling of hunger.

so now, i drink as much water as i can to suppress the hunger pains in between my much-smaller meals, and they really are starting to get better. my stomach is shrinking. i don't have to eat as much to feel satisfied {notice i didn't say full}. i am getting used to the rumbling, meaning i am getting used to eating less. i am getting used to eating what i should be, rather than what my eyes think i should be.

other good changes i've noticed:
* i am saying no to 400+ calorie breakfast items that i used to so easily cave in to.
* i am eating "just enough" for breakfast and lunch AND i am getting some exercise in too
* i am realizing that soda really isn't all that wonderful
* i am craving less junk food

things to still work on:
* dinner - still over-eating on this one every now and then
* my sweet tooth kicks in every now and again - gotta get a handle on that
* not weighing myself so much. i used to weigh every day and it just wasn't healthy or helpful. it's too discouraging because of the ups and downs of water weight. i need to weigh myself once a month.

so there's the update on my progress. more to come.

you gain some you lose some...

so this morning just before my shower i decided to dust off the old scale and see how my relationship with gravity was going. i took those two steps with about 60% confidence, 30% uncertainty. that's a pretty "confident" ratio for me... so needless to say i expected good numbers...

but alas, i was wrong. i had actually gained back all 5 lbs i had previously lost. i felt defeated, and went about my shower.

after intense thought {which is what we do in the shower, right?} i decided i hadn't been defeated just yet. i needed more proof. i have been feeling better about my body and my clothes have all been fitting more loosly, so i decided to measure myself as well to just confirm that this was actual gain.

and then something weird happened.

i lost inches.

my legs, my hips, my waist... everything. smaller. just as i had been back when i was 5 lbs lighter.

water weight?

muscle gain?

i'm not sure what it is, but at least that small victory in inches has kept my motivation alive for another week of running.

sunday hike...

last sunday i went for a hike with a few friends, and let me just say it was a GREAT workout. it was a little less hiking, a little more rock hopping/climbing. it was great because my arms got a workout too... as well as my abs because when you hike with friends, you're bound to laugh a bit. we climbed to a spot that had these beautiful punch bowls and a small waterfall which people would slide down. i unfortunately opted out of the slide, but next time i'm definitely doing it!!

Joe was the fearless one in our group that tried it...

now that i'm signed up for the North Face 10K in december, i definitely want to do this hike at least once a week!! i'll take incline training anywhere i can get it!!

workout update...

i've been on a very good running schedule. i run about 2.5 - 3 miles almost every day. i can see a serious improvement in my legs and just feel a little bit better when i wear certain things. i was doing an amazing job with the running when BAM... a nasty cold, followed by stomach flu, followed by moving to a new apartment happened. a solid two weeks of minimal working out went by and i lost my momentum.

as of this week i am officially back in the saddle, and ready to get this running going again. even more exciting news: I AM OFFICIALLY SIGNED UP FOR THE NORTH FACE 10K in SAN FRAN!!!!

there's some motivation if i ever needed it. 6.2 miles, 1000 ft elevation gain. here we go!!!!

so, i'm back to blogging on the skinny diaries.