Post-Christmas Weigh-In and Hot 100

I made a comment last week that I WOULD lose weight over Christmas week.  Well, guess what?

I did!

Somehow I managed to shave off 1.6, which I realize isn't a huge number, but it is a loss over a difficult week for me.  I will relish it!

This puts me at -23.2 pounds total.  I'd hoped to have been down much more than that by now, but somehow I lost my mojo between Thanksgiving and now.  It's no excuse; just what happened.  But I am pretty sure now that I'll have my regular routine back, I'll be chucking those pounds again!

So how about a little Hot 100 Update?  This is the last one!  The challenge is over, so let's see how I fared:

1.  Lose 15-plus pounds by the end of the year / end of the challenge.  I had been so certain that I would reach this one, but I'm not even close.  During this challenge, I've lost 8.2 pounds, which is just over half of my goal.  Bummer!  I'll have to lose that in January instead.

2.  Get more sleep.  Some nights are better than others, but I really have improved quite a bit here.  I do notice a real difference overall when I get enough sleep.  The surprising side effect for me is that my diet/exercise are better when I'm not sleep-deprived as well.

3.  Start taking vitamins.  I started off really strong with this one, never missing a day.  Then I forgot one day.  Then I forgot a couple of days.  Then I went a really long time without taking them, and now I'm doing better again.  Yes, I had a fistful of them today, in fact.

4.  Make a plan for eating and exercising over the holidays and stick to it.   Well, it could have been better for sure, but I did manage a modest weight loss over the latest holiday.  I should have made a more solid plan to get me through, but I'm pleased with this one as a whole.

This was a fun challenge, and I enjoyed having the weekly updates to keep me focused.  Thanks to Steve at Log My Loss for putting this one out there!

It's New Year's Eve, and I'm not going out tonight.  We almost never do for this holiday.  But we will make an effort to stay up til midnight (sorry, goal #2) and might have a little glass of bubbly.  No party buffets, no overindulging in alcohol, and no high heels tonight.  Many years ago I would have been horrified by this prospect.  Tonight, I'm looking forward to a cozy little ringing in of the new year here at home with my honey and my sleeping kids.

Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2011!

Ta-Daaa!

My eating has been a challenge this holiday, but I did accomplish a goal.

A little backstory:  Because we had people coming in from all over and at different times, we wound up having our big holiday meal Sunday night and opening gifts on Monday morning.  So I had a little delay in the festivities.

Then after gifts were opened and leftovers consumed, my husband and I geared up and went out to walk the hilly road called Holdsworth Drive.

Did the whole thing, baby!  It was about 3.6 miles total, I think.  (Been awhile since I measured it out.)  I know for some of you die-hards, that doesn't seem like much, but at my fitness level and with all the hills, it really was pretty big for me.

It was windy, but the weather was really nice otherwise, and I had my fella with me.  All good!

And now for the photo proof of my quasi-5K:

Wait for me, dude!

Don't know if these pics do justice to the hilliness of this road

Big hill coming up in the distance!

Blue skies and sunshine

I think I might do this again sometime!

Hot 100 Update and Weekly Weigh-In

It's not a good number, folks, but here's the honest truth:  I gained FOUR LOUSY POUNDS this week!

I had four -- count 'em, FOUR -- holiday events this week alone.  So I guess I gained a pound at each event.  I wasn't even going to weigh in yesterday, but I figured I can't hide from it, so I went ahead and weighed.  Oh, and I didn't fall down dead as a result.  So that's where I stand, and it's not even Christmas Day yet.

Lest you think I'm feeling defeated, I'll tell you I'm not.  I'm not quitting.  I'm planning for moderation through the next couple of days.  I plan to have some of my old once-a-year favorites, but not go insane with it.  I'm going to get my weight off.  It might not be this week, but I'm not out of the game yet!

So here's my Hot 100 update:

1.  Lose 15-plus pounds by the end of the year / end of the challenge.  It's not looking good, though my weight is still down during this challenge.  Just not sure I'm going to hit the goal.  We shall see!

2.  Get more sleep.  As usual, it kind of just depends on the night.  Lately I seem to have more trouble, with all the items on my to-do list dancing in my head after the lights go out, but sometimes I get lucky and drift right off to sleep.

3.  Start taking vitamins.  See #2 - hit or miss.

4.  Make a plan for eating and exercising over the holidays and stick to it.  Well, clearly this week got away from me.  Correction -- I didn't stay on top of my game this week and gained weight.  Too many opportunities to be off my routine got the best of me.  I'm not happy about it, but at the same time, I'm not freaked out about it either.  I know the way this works and what I need to do.  I'm not going to moan about gaining weight and having no idea why.  I also know that I'll be able to lose this little bit of holiday weight, and I know how to do it.  It might not be the most fun in the world, but it's a pretty simple theory.

Merry Christmas!

The Weather Outside is Not So Frightful

Some of my fellow Hill Country Texans are complaining that it's hard to get into the Christmas spirit with this warm weather we're having.

Monday I took my daughter to Chili's Restaurant for lunch.  The bank sign next door showed this temperature reading:

Later, as I was running errands, my car showed this exterior temp:

Yesterday we were in the 80s.

Traditional snowy Christmas weather?  No, it's not.  But it still got me in the Christmas spirit, because for one thing, I LOVE warm weather and sunshine.  For another, while some people were skidding around on the ice or getting stuck in this...

Source: The Daily Caller

...I was enjoying my green salad at Chili's with this view of blue skies from our table.

at Chili's Restaurant

Yesterday evening, I went for a long walk at the track and felt comfortable in my t-shirt with no jacket.  Last night I sat on my back porch under a bright moon and a sky full of stars.  

So while the sun and warm weather have given me lots to be cheerful about, I'm just as excited to learn that, in traditional Texas style, our weather is expected to take a dramatic turn for Christmas.  It should be much cooler, with a high temperature in the upper 40s.  Nice and crisp for Santa!

We used to live in a city that got lots of snow each year.  Snow can be absolutely beautiful.  If you're in the snow, I hope you're enjoying it.  Build a snowman, go ice skating, sip a big mug of hot chocolate (from a healthy recipe, of course).  

Wherever you are, I hope you're finding happiness in the midst of this busy season and finding some peace in the slower moments.

Weekly Weigh-In and Hot 100 Update

Nothing too exciting to report in the weigh-in...I lost 0.2.  Yep, that weight is just FLYING off of me!  Sigh.  I have no excuses.  I know what I need to do (and you know what you need to do too, don't you?).  I just got busy and didn't make eating right and exercising enough of a priority.  It's the holidays, but I don't want to pack it all back on just because it's a festive time of year.

This means I am currently down a total of 25.6 pounds from the start.

Now for the Hot 100 Challenge Update:

1.  Lose 15-plus pounds by the end of the year / end of the challenge.  I'm 4.4 pounds away from meeting this goal.  Hmmm... I realize that's close, but I also realize that Christmas is in a week and I only have two weeks left in the challenge.  I'm going for it, no matter the odds!

2.  Get more sleep.  Doing better, most nights on this.  It doesn't hurt that my 3-year-old is sleeping all night in his own bed sometimes now.

3.  Start taking vitamins.  Hit or miss.  I'm not sure why, because for a long time this was the one I could count on knocking out of the park every time.

4.  Make a plan for eating and exercising over the holidays and stick to it.   I'm hosting Christmas for extended family this year, so I'm already trying to sneak in healthy options to my menu plans.  I won't be able to avoid serving some old-fashioned calorie nightmares, but it's just once a year, and I do know how to control myself. 

Have a great weekend, y'all!