Even with all the celebrations that have been going on – My daughter’s bridal shower and a friend’s daughter’s baby shower – I’ve been sticking to my plan and with a week left to the month, I hope to have lost at least four pounds this month. But beyond that, I’ve hit a big milestone: I have passed the halfway point to the weight I want to be. In addition, since starting this journey in January, I’ve lost a total of 39 pounds. I big goal to reach, but only one stop along the journey to being healthier. In the months since I’ve started, I’ve made quite a number of lifestyle changes and am happy about where I am, but also determined to keep on going. Last, but definitely not least, I’m determined that this time the change will stick for good. Why? Because my current lifestyle seems to be one that I can continue in the future, namely eating healthier and exercise routines that I can keep without too much difficulty. In any case, here’s a photo of where I am now and wow, I am so happy!
#TransformationTuesday – What’s the best workout?
A lot of you have been asking what I’ve been doing to lose so much weight – almost 37 pounds since the start of the year. First I have to say diet is a key factor. For me, it was drastically cutting back on the carbs that I normally ate. No more Friday night casual pizza meals. No more Sunday pasta. Rice. Bread. Yes, I dream of them but only eat them on occasion because clearly my body just packs them on as pounds.
As for workouts, the best workout for you is one that you can do on a regular basis. There is nothing worse than setting unreasonable goals for yourself that you can’t keep. That will just set you up for failure. So how about starting off slow? If you normally walk ten minutes a day, try doing it for twenty or do it twice. Exercise is cumulative. Same things for lifting weights. I didn’t start off deadlifting 125 pounds, it took time to get there.
How do I work out? I mix things up! Twice a week I do the elliptical for 40 minutes, but I also walk at least 4 miles a day. I walk to and from my office once I get to the city and then every hour I get up and stretch my legs. I also do strength training twice a week. That involves a combination of weights, suspension exercises, as well as flexibility and balance routines. Friday night is a rest night. On the weekends I try to get in two long walks, usually at least 2 or 3 miles during each of the walks. My morning walk is brisk. My afternoon/evening stroll is leisurely.
I hope that helps you plan for your transformation!
#WisdomWednesday – You can lose a battle, but still win the war!
I did a video log about two weeks ago about how hard August was proving with my weight loss goals. Much harder than July which I expected to be far worse what with two conferences sandwiched in the middle of the month. August was a bear. Work, writing deadlines, and workout disruptions all had me barely losing anything in the first two weeks. It was truly depressing. Worse, I found myself slipping into that self-destructive mode I’ve experienced more than once and which usually leads to me gaining back all the weight I’ve lost. After wallowing in potato chips, baked potatoes, and bread, I decided that this time would be different. I might be losing the battle in August, but I was going to win the war in the end because I want to be healthier. Armed with that, I yanked myself out of that wallow and somehow managed to lose 3.2 pounds in August. Not the five pounds I wanted to lose, but not a weight gain either. I’m happy with that and determined to keep on going. I also had some good news since at my yearly physical I got great results with all my work-ups. I’m basically healthy as a horse and plan on getting even better! Thanks to all of you for following along on my lifestyle journey. If you’ve got news about your journey, please take a moment to share.
Original Dumbbell Image by Mac Kenzie from Pixabay
#TransformationTuesday – An Unexpected Hard Month Vlog
I’m doing something a little different today with a video chat about this month! In short, I had expected that July would be the hard month on account of the two back-to-back conferences. To my surprise, August is proving even harder for a number of reasons that I’m sharing in the video! Hope your transformation is plugging along well if you’re on this journey with me.
#TransformationTuesday – A Gardener of Plants and Words
It occurred to me as I was walking through Bryant Park this morning that gardens are always transforming. From seedlings kept safe and warm inside until it’s time to plant, to spring bulbs flowering, to now when the gardens are in full bloom, gardens transform every day. It’s the same with my vegetable plants. I eagerly plant them in early spring and hope a late frost won’t hurt them. I watch as they grow and anticipate those first little flowers that say vegetables will soon be on the way. I trim the herbs for delicious pesto and chimichurri or to add to my other dishes (and by the way I am so cooking up some interesting recipes for you that you’ll find in June 2020’s Hallmark Release, SOUTH BEACH LOVE).
Something else also came to me this morning: Writers are like gardeners in that they create a garden with words. We start with the seed of an idea and plant the words on the page. Little by little, we sow more words or we trim until suddenly that sparse garden blooms into a book! LOL!
Just some thoughts about transformation on this Tuesday! Have an awesome day.
#WellnessWednesday #WorkoutWednesday – WOO HOO I met my goal!
This was not an easy month for me on my transformation journey. I was at two conferences back-to-back which meant totally different workout schedules and a much harder to control environment with respect to my eating. At the first conference, I did not have access to a gym facility so I turned to longer walks and even some jogging. I am so not a runner. Think of the tortoise and that’s me, but I did it.
At the second conference, I had access to a gym and with my trusty roommate, I managed to get in some aerobic exercise almost every day. However, I was sitting more than usual and the last two days were difficult in light of various meetings that involved food. Mostly carbs. YIKES!
Despite that, I managed to meet my goal of losing another five pounds in July. I actually lost an additional .6 pounds. Since April 1 when I first started sharing my journey, I’ve lost 27.2 pounds! WOO HOO!
At the last conference, a number of people asked how I did it and so I’m here to share some wellness and workout tips!
On the wellness issue, I’ve virtually cut out diet soda and all fake sweeteners. I use a minimal amount of sugar in my coffee. I hydrate by drinking lots of water and thanks to my Sodastream, carbonated water and one diet soda with dinner.
I’ve cut out carbs like pasta and bread and instead have more fruits and vegetables. I keep my meat portions to between 4 and 6 ounces depending on the nature of the protein.
My daily goal for calories is between 1200 and 1300 and I do allow myself a sweet snack after dinner, usually chocolate or some kind of “thin” cookies. My favs are the Cranberry Almond Thins and Oreo Thins.
As for my workout regimen, once I reach Penn Station I walk to my office in the morning and back at night. That’s almost three miles of walking right there. I also make it a point to get up from my desk every hour and take a short walk around the office, usually to drop off papers.
At night I head to my local Y. Two nights a week I do cardio, usually the elliptical for 40 or so minutes. The other two nights I do strength and balance training. I am a real clutz and need all the help I can get and I am much more balanced and I feel much stronger.
Friday is a free night to just be a couch potato.
On Saturday and Sunday, I take long strolls along the boardwalk, usually one in the morning after a writing marathon and another in the afternoon or after dinner. I confess that sometimes we go and get ices or ice cream on that walk, but usually something small. Moderation is key.
So that’s it! That’s how I’ve been transforming myself and getting healthier and stronger. If you want to do it, you can too!
#TransformationTuesday – Goals Reached, New Goals Set
My goal was to lose another five pounds in June and I can happily say that I met that goal. Total weight loss since April 1 when I started this phase and began sharing it with you is 21.6 pounds. Very happy that I was able to accomplish that and along the way, I’m learning what things to eat to keep me full and satisfied. One good article I found that lists these foods was in the NY Post and can be found here: https://nyp.st/303tn83. The amazing thing is that I was intuitively eating many of these healthy foods instead of other less healthy choices. You’ll notice that I didn’t use the word “bad” because I don’t want to get into a mindset of what’s good and bad or whether my behavior was good or bad. Apparently, that’s not a helpful way to tackle eating issues. In any case, I’m pleased with meeting my goals and am setting another goal of losing another five pounds by the end of July. This may be hard since I’ll be at two different conferences in the middle of the month and that’s not only going to challenge me to keep eating healthy, but it will also change up what exercise I can do each day. I’m going to have to stay motivated and find ways to keep moving despite being at the conferences. I’ll share more soon on my journey to get healthier!
