The Skinny Cow

If you haven't already tried Skinny Cow ice cream, check out the website: http://www.skinnycow.com/! Costco carries this ice cream here in Missoula and it's a great ice cream alternative.

Five Ways To Trick Yourself Into Eating Less

Check out this article I came across today: http://www.newsweek.com/id/160495?GT1=43001

Also, check out this website: http://mindlesseating.org/. It has a 'Mindless Eating Meter' that tests your eating know-how. But beware. The .org is misleading...they ultimately want you to buy the book. Obviously its working, I'm thinking about getting the book. :)

Health Screening

Today at work we had a company on site doing health screenings. Here's what I found out:

Blood Pressure:
Systolic 134 (normal range is 130 and less)
Diastolic 73 (normal range is 80 and less)

Body Composition:
Body Fat %: 34.8 (20-21% is normal in women)
BMI: 26.8 (normal range 18.6-24.9)

Lipid Panel:
Total Cholesterol: 152 (under 200 is normal)
HDL (good) 28 (normal range is 40 and above)
LDL (bad) 95 (normal range us under 130 [I'm not sure what it means when you don't have enough good cholesterol but you don't have too much bad cholesterol])

Glucose: 96 (normal for fasting 65-99; non-fasting under 200)

While I don't completely understand what all of that means I understand enough to know some of it isn't good (but not really something I didn't already know). Here's how I would rate my mood after the screening:

Depression:
80 (Normal range on a scale of 1 to 100 is 90. One [1] = the desire to eat vegetables and run a 5k; one hundred [100] = eating 2000 calories from fat in one sitting and throwing away the running shoes.)

Embarrassment:
130 (normal range is 150 and higher)

I'm glad I've already started my 8-week program or I might feel a lot worse about this!

Met My Goal

My goal was to lose 15 pounds before we left on our mission, and I did it! Now, I've set a new goal: to lose 3 more pounds before we enter the MTC on October 13. It will be hard, but it will mean that some of the clothes I need to take will fit better.

Checking In: Sep 7 – 13

Last week was my second week on the Runner's World 8-Week beginning runner's training program and I feel excited and motivated to have a program that keeps me on track. I walked/jogged 6 days during the week and weight lifted 1.5 days (the .5 day I didn't have time to do all the lifts I normally do so did the 'important' lifts).

While I didn't count calories I made some better choices in what I ate.

My weigh in yesterday showed I lost 2 lbs. Hopefully I can keep motivated--and keep it off!

Weight Lifting

I know that weight lifting is an important part of exercise and weight loss. I am looking for weight lifting schedules to get me started. What do you guys do? For now I have access to free weights and a small bench.

Any tips?

Checking in: Aug 31 – Sep 6

I haven't checked in for several weeks. I'm happy to hear others are successful in the weight loss quest! In an attempt to drop some weight this week I began The Runner's World 8-Week Beginning Runner's Training Program (http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-380-381--9397-2-1X5-3,00.html). This was my first week on the 'program' and I think I did OK. I did 5 of the 6 workouts and don't feel overly sore. My next step is to add weight training to my workout--I know in the past this really helped with my weight loss.

One challenge I am facing is the weekend. Inevitably I gain back the weight I lose during the week. To stop this, it'll mean I have to stop impulse shopping when I go to the store (I buy a package of Nutter Butter cookies and eat them all in two days!). One change I've made as well is eating popcorn (98% fat free) when I get home from work instead of ice cream. Hopefully some of these small changes over the last week will help!