18 pounds in 18 Weeks

When I first discovered this wonderful community of people encouraging one another in their efforts to lose weight, I came across a challenge to join Cara (http://www.carasweightlossjournal.com)/ in losing 18 pounds in 18 weeks. I committed myself to this endeavor then promptly forgot about it. (How embarassing).

Cara found me last week and reminded me of my committment. So.....

I chose Monday as my weigh in day. Since it is 3 weeks into the challenge, I am aiming for 15 pounds in 15 weeks. This takes me to Nov 17 and will bring my total weight loss to 46 pounds or so. (over 1/3 of my goal loss)

So here is my first report.....as of yesterday (August 4) my weight was 224.6 lbs.

Unfortunately, it could have been lower, but I had gained .8 lbs since the day before.

*Sidenote: yes, I weigh myself daily. I know for many this does not work, but for me, it keeps me focused and continually reminds me of my decision. My weight fluctuates, of course, and I put more importance on the weekly loss than on the daily one. This works for me.*

Back to the .8 lb gain.....I made some BAD split second decisions on Sunday. May I tell you about them?

Some of my boys were here, working on putting tin on my roof.
I was sent to town to get some specific nails that were needed.
Since it would be lunch time when I returned, I thought I would order pizza for my hard working boys/men (bad decision #1)
Pizza place was not open until noon - I planned to be home by then SO I made an even worse decision (#2) to buy them KFC.
I bought a Ceasar salad for my vegetarian DIL and myself, not even considering eating any of the chicken myself. (good decision #1) I did not use the salad dressing that came with the salad, opting for my own low fat dressing at home (good decision #2)

Alas, my resolve faltered as soon as I opened the bucket.
"Well, I'll have just one piece - with a bit of gravy....it is not like I indulge very often" (bad decision #3)
Besides, there is the whole "Don't deprive yourself, just have a small amount" thought. I've used that strategy in the past - successfully.
Not this time.
One piece led to two pieces (bad decision#4) and then to a third.(bad decision#5)
At that point, I quickly packed the leftovers into a plastic container and shoved it into the fridge....out of sight, out of mind. (good decision #3)

I tried to send the chicken home with someone, but no one wanted it! (unbelievable)

The next day, I told my husband what I had done. (Good decision #4)
Since he is currently working out of town (actually, out of the country) I could have kept it from him. However, I knew that if I did not come clean, I would begin a trend of "secret eating" which would cause me to gain, which, in turn, would make me hate myself and eat secretly some more, adding more pounds.....and the spiral down (or up - on the scale) would begin. I would again be a failure and soon my current top weight would no longer be the record.

During my conversation with him, I realized something.
I bought that KFC, because I wanted to "bless" my kids.
In reality, I did no one any favors....Deep fried ANYTHING is horribly unhealthy.
Hubby and I had made a pact a few months back not to buy snacks and drinks for our home that are unhealthy....including the snacks and drinks we serve our guests/kids/grandkids.
I TOTALLY forgot that decision in my desire to please the boys.
And where did the blessing come in, anyway? A momentary, culinary pleasure with LONG lasting negative affects on their health.

I felt pretty stupid, once I thought about it.

I was pretty disappointed in myself for having that first piece of chicken and gravy.

My scale proved what a poor choice it was.

I do feel good, though, about telling my man what I had done instead of trying to keep it from him.
AND I am not wallowing in my bad decisions (that would just be another bad choice). I have picked myself up, dusted myself off, and am continuing on this journey...I WILL succeed for good and for always this time! (good decision #5)

Oh, and the chicken? After my conversation with Hubby, I took the container full of delicious, fat filled chicken and DUMPED it all in the trash. Same with the gravy, potatoe salad, and coleslaw. (good decision #6)

Hmmmm....just realized my good decisions outweighed the bad.


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On another note: I began the 100 pushup training program today. I did the pushups off the wall - 4 sets of 2 then one set of as many as possible. I did 25 on that set....by then, my arms and shoulders were burning. I knew I would not be able to maintain the program doing the full, regular pushups - so we'll start where we're at.

I also did 15 minutes on my treadmill. I went for .6 miles. This is a very slow pace....not even out of the training zone on the speed control....but it is as fast as my short, fat legs will go. Although this is not real impressive, it is better than last year when I started using the treadmill regularly (which lasted about 4 weeks). At that beginning point, I could only do 10 minutes and did not make 1/2 mile. So, it is a beginning. My biggest challenge will be to do it again tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.......