The Results

Friday, April 9th was my final weigh-in for the Body Transformation Challenge at my gym. I was pretty nervous going in there, because I had really dropped the ball the last week and a half of the challenge. It was a struggle to get to the gym, and my diet was crap. However, I was pleased with the overall results from the 12-week challenge!

Here they are:

By body fat percentage dropped from 36.36% to 28.8%!

I gained 6 pounds of muscle, lost about 17 pounds of fat!

Total weight lost: 11.25 pounds!

I'm not sure how I compare to the other participants...but I am happy with how I did. It was not easy, and I struggled a lot. So to actually come away with some good numbers was thrilling! I turned in my essay, and food log...now I just wait to see how it all shakes down. Even if I don't win this contest, I have won something for myself...the realization that I can do something just by focusing and working hard. And that struggling doesn't mean "give up"...it just means power on through!

Thanks, everybody for your support and encouragement throughout this challenge! This does not mean my journey to a bikini is over...still working on that! Soooo....stay tuned for updates. :)

Days 79-81

The last three days of the challenge and my diet consisted of popcorn, pizza, mac & cheese, McDonald's...and a few other things. What the heck?? I was preoccupied with getting my house clean for a party I was having. I didn't want to cook, because I didn't want to make a mess in the kitchen. Excuses, excuses, I know...However, since I was busy cleaning, I didn't snack a whole lot, and I was getting some exercise just by being busy around the house. The last week was tough. I hope to get back to 'normal', even though the challenge is over. And 'normal' now means exercising every day in some way, and eating sensibly. My goal is to limit eating out since it is expensive, but also not very healthy. Even when I think I'm choosing something not so bad, it ends up being pretty bad!

Days 71-78

I think I'm going out on this challenge with a whimper instead of a bang. I seemed to have lost my oomph. And then a holiday is thrown in the mix this last weekend...let's just say, even though I've learned some better eating habits, there are some things I can't seem to say no to.

I am very fond of the analogy of a roller coaster when it comes to life. I would rather ride a roller coaster than a merry-go-round....I prefer having the excitement, fear and thrill of going up and down rather than the dizzying round and round. However, when it comes to this weight loss thing, it is not the roller coaster I want to ride. I'm tired of the ups and downs. I want to get to that merry-go-round that is my 'ideal weight' and not have to worry about going up and down again. I know that is probably never going to be the case. The challenges of a changing, aging body will require hard work for a lifetime, I'm sure.

This challenge I have been in at the gym is about to come to a close. Friday I have my final weigh-in. As I look back at the last 11 weeks or so, I can't seem to decide if being a part of the challenge was a good or bad thing. I set out thinking I would be almost perfect in my diet and exercise in order to make great strides and win the thing. However, perfection is certainly not what I achieved. I have been beating myself up for so many years over this weight thing, that thinking I could be near perfect was a mistake. I set myself up for failure. It was way too easy to start the negative talk to myself again...and I fought giving up this whole entire time.

I don't mean to be a complete Negative Nelly here, because there have definitely been some positives...the biggest one being the encouragement I received from so many people. I just wish I could have taken that encouragement and run with it. Instead, I thought about how nice it was that people even cared what I was going through, and didn't allow it to truly spark some real enthusiasm within me.

If you can't tell, I'm struggling this week. I had a devil-may-care attitude over the weekend and I can't seem to shake it so far this week. As much as I want the merry-go-round for this one area of my life, I'm afraid it is quite the roller coaster. Perhaps I should figure out how it can be thrilling and not just depressing. I mean, really, who gets depressed on a roller coaster? It doesn't seem like that would even be possible! Sick, yes...but depressed? Absolutely terrified, yes...but sad? Maybe that is one thing I can take away from this experience. A new way of looking at it...rather than a continued struggle. Instead, it's the ride of my life!!!

Day 70

I wasn't kidding when I wrote yesterday that is wasn't gonna be a good day. I am now declaring that Sunday was my 'free' day. Now I have to make up for all the bad I did :( Waffles for breakfast, Qdoba for lunch, popcorn and a hot dog for dinner....not one decent thing was put in to my body yesterday...well, except for some water!!! It was a nice day though :) Today gotta hop back on to the good stuff bandwagon. Less than two weeks til my final weigh-in!

Day 70: Unintended free day. Whoopsy daisy.

Day 69

I didn't write anything down that I ate yesterday. I guess that means I didn't eat anything. Or...I just don't want to admit to what I ate. Let's see if I can recall....Ok, started out with shredded wheat and skim milk. Nothing bad there. Scooted off to my circuit class at the gym after that...had a great hour workout. Scooted off to the mall after a shower and stuff. Um, went to the mall hungry....tried to find the least horrible food in the food court for lunch. Settled on Hot Dog on a Stick. Pretty healthy right? I just got tired of thinking. Hey...they advertise that it's an all turkey hot dog. Great. Scooted off to a girly gathering in the afternoon...had a couple adult beverages. Went home and ate leftover shepard's pie along with potato chips and cookies. The day is just getting better, isn't it??? Holy cow, now I know why I didn't write all of this down. Scooted on back to the friend's house and had a couple more adult beverages. There aren't too many calories in those...right? Son of a gun...another weekend day completely blowing up in my face. I burned several calories laughing myself silly, so it wasn't all bad!! Today is not starting out to be any better. Good thing tomorrow is Monday and I can get back to my goody goody ways!

Day 69: Um, yeah.

Days 67-68

Well today I decided to blog first, then play games second. Yesterday, I got caught up in playing a few games and forgot to blog!

Thursday's food:

Breakfast 8:45: 2 slices light wheat bread w/ 1 oz mozzarella melted on each, 1 orange, 4 oz skim milk

Lunch 1:30: 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 cups 'triple hearts' salad, 1 tomato, crunchy o's protein supplement

Snack 3:30: Reese's egg (DARN IT!!)

Dinner 6:30: 6 oz of chicken breast (w/ bread crumbs, and parmesan cheese), 1/3 cup thin spaghetti, 2 T. marinara sauce, 1 oz mozzarella

Friday's foods:

Breakfast 10:00: protein supplement pancakes w/ banana on top

Lunch 12:00: 1 cup salad, 1 slice sausage pizza, 2 slices bread dipped in balsamic (Out to lunch)

Snack 4:00: 2 Tagalong cookies

Dinner 6:30: shepard's pie (basically meatloaf with mashed potatoes and cheese on top), corn

Snack 8:00: way too many thin mints....Holy cow!!

What can I say? Still feeling good about things....just had a few weak moments...like I seem to do most of the time! Thursday the whole Reese's egg was not my fault. I asked Beau if I could have a bite of his. Once he saw the bite out of it he didn't want it anymore. What was I supposed to do, waste it? Yeah...I'm weak!

Day 67 = pretty good day

Day 68 = comfort food day

Day 66

:) I'm pretty much riding high on the news that I have lost 51 pounds since January 9, 2009! I hadn't looked at my record at the gym for a while since I haven't been working with a trainer. I decided to meet with a trainer again yesterday and we dug out that folder and discovered just how far I've come 'officially'. I almost cried!!! It was crazy to recall just how unhappy I was, and how little I thought I could do for a workout. All of you that have been following this little blog know that I don't have this all figured out. And I'm not skipping around merrily all of the time. I'm just feeling better in my skin. Here is an example of something I would have NEVER done before 2009....After my workout yesterday, I came home and shoveled our foot of heavy, wet snow for an hour. The neighbor asked if I wanted some help...I told her, nope, it's a good workout! I used my knees...my hands weren't shaking afterwards...I'm not crippled by back pain today. I actually WANTED to do it. My energy level is so much higher. I am so thankful for the progress I've made! (My home weigh-in progress is 45.5 pounds lost....I'm kinda liking the official gym numbers better these days!)

Here's what yesterday's food looked like:

Breakfast 7:45 am: french toast: 2 slices light wheat bread dipped in 2 egg whites w/ 1/3 cup pureed frozen mixed berries on top for 'syrup', 4 oz skim milk to drink

Lunch 1:00 pm: Tuna salad on wheat, with lettuce and tomato

Snack 4:00 pm: 1/2 bag of microwave popcorn

Dinner 6:30 pm: 3 oz orange roughy, 2 cups baby spinach w/ fat free catalina dressing, 1/2 cup green beans

Snack 7:30 pm: protein bar, couple of handfuls of Life cereal

I'm learning that if I make some healthy stuff, there are actually other people in the house who will eat it. I was supposed to have 6 oz of the fish, but there were a couple of my kids, one big one and one small one, that wanted some too...which surprised me! Guess I'll make it for everyone next time! I hadn't made fish for quite some time and it tasted so good, and was so darn easy. I was asking myself why I didn't fix it more often...well, I know there's one reason...the kind of fish I like is usually pretty expensive....

My daughter who is two, couldn't get enough green beans and spinach last night. I really hope that continues as she gets older! I can only apologize now to my older kids for the bad eating habits we were in the thick of as they grew up. Right now they are all skinny kids like I was when I was younger. Hopefully, they will start to eat better too, or they won't stay that way as they get older....Gosh, it's hard to see the mistakes you've made with your kids.

Day 66: Awesome day!