My Stumble and Recovery

Yesterday I committed myself to a day without sweets.

But after lunch, and after a 4-mile run, I was still hungry, so without thinking (typical), I grabbed a piece of Andrea's Oreo cookie cake and some ice cream and hogged them down.

But here's the good news: I recovered. I ate a light dinner, in spite of Beverly's marvelous, delicious chicken quesadillas (I limited myself to a half of one).

Even at the Empty Nesters FHE, I had only the vegetables and not the peach cobbler and ice cream. At home afterwards, I turned down the luscious root beer floats.

My reward: I was down a half pound from the day before.

If I'm going to lose weight, I have to learn and apply this one lesson: If you slip, you don't need to keep slipping the rest of the day. When you stumble, you can recover.

Trying again.

Today is another one of my Monday tries. I ran 3 slow miles this morning and have promised to "work out" with Todd tonight. I've already been tempted by a gas station doughnut and yesterday's cookies. Though I haven't given in, I'm already discouraged. Why is rotten-for-you food so yummy?

Milestone Reached--Finally

I've been trying to lose weight ever since I've been on our mission. (Whom am I trying to kid? I've been trying to lose weight as long as I can remember.) Here's my mission weight history:

Weight when we got our mission call: 222 lb.
Weight after Beverly and I went on a diet: 205 lb.
Weight when I entered the mission field: 208 lb.
Weight after the Christmas in Peru: 212 lb.
Weight this morning: 199 lb.

I finally broke through the 200 lb barrier. Woo hoo!

It's been hard, actually. You might think that we can't find a lot of good things to eat in Tarma (as Beverly stated in her last blog), but it's not true. You can buy just as many snacks and just as high quality of snacks here as anywhere in the world . . . and it's snacking that kills me.

My next goal: Get below 195. (I'm taking things 5 pounds at a time.)

My goal weight for when I arrive home: 185. (I'm being cautious. And besides, if I lose much more than that, I'll have to buy all new clothes here.) Then my goal is to get down to 175 lb by the 2010 St. George Marathon. Yes, I'm really planning ahead.

The Key to Losing Weight

I've found it! I've found the key to losing weight! It's very simple---just move to a small village in a third world country where it's difficult to find food you like or dare eat. You want proof? I've lost 7 pounds since we moved to Peru.

Which Marathon?

I just read the comment by Russ that said his #1 goal for this year is to run another marathon. I too would like to run another marathon this year AND I would like to train for it as well.

This month (well, and future months too) I am focusing on losing weight rather than just running. I have been counting calories and going to aerobics (MWF) and running on the other days. I have lost 2 lbs. so far, but I need to lose about 20.

But here's the real question: Which marathon are you wanting to run this year Russ (and anyone else who is reading this and running one)? I know that B&R signed up for the runner's series for SGM, but I didn't. So are you going to do the lottery for St. George or try something different?

I would like to do Top of Utah again. Anyone interested?

What are your goals for 2009?

OK, today of all days seems like a good time to get this blog up and going again. What does everyone think? Should we try this again or are we all too busy?

Have you set New Years Resolutions? And if so, does one of those resolutions having anything to do with eating better, working out more, and losing weight?

I'll be honest, I haven't made resolutions this year, but losing weight is always something I want to do--whether I'm successful or not, that's another story. But now that my ankle is starting to feel better, I'm making an effort to work out. I've jogged three days this week (including today) and it's been nice to get moving again--even if I'm moving slowly.

Eating right? That's another story. With the holidays I've had more candy, more ice cream, more pizza. But I could do worse. I know in years past Eric and I loaded up on junk food and spent Christmas day and the week leading up to New Years doing nothing but eating. (One year we had nuts, cookies, chocolate, hot chocolate, candy--you name it--in our stockings. We ate and ate and ate...)

I've decided my goal isn't going to be a certain weight or percent of weight loss, but rather a goal to work out a minimum of 3 days a week--for a minimum of 30 minutes.

What are your goals for 2009?

Its Hard to Stay on Track...

When it's Halloween and you have a sprained ankle! Hope everyone is doing better then me on this whole weight loss thing.