Day 15 - March 8 - Weigh In, Week 2

Starting Weight: 233, Feb 22
Last Week: 228
This Week: 226

I lost 2 pounds! woot woot! My goal is to lose 2 a week so I'll take this! *happy dance*

I also want to add a segment on my weigh-in days called "Showing Progress". I think it's important on these days to acknowledge all the little celebrations along the way. Folks, the numbers don't tell the whole story. I've heard from too many friends who are feeling discouraged because the numbers didn't go their way, despite all the hard work and diligence. We can turn to numbers to give us a general marker for the direction we're going but we can't let them be everything. Here's a story I heard from Jack Medina (motivational speaker, fitness consultant to sports teams and former gymnast coach, including Cathy Rigby):

After speaking at one particular conference, a man who was well over 300 pounds approached Jack to ask for help. "How come I walk 6 miles everyday and don't lose weight?" he asked. At that point, Jack didn't have an answer. Why WASN'T he losing weight after walking 6 miles? Jack had the man pick a point in the room to walk to and instructed him to get there as fast as he could. He did, gasping for air. Jack told the man to keep walking until he recovered his breath. Once he did, Jack told him to pick yet ANOTHER point and get there as quickly as he could. Again, the man went, gasping for air. This went on for several minutes. When he was done, Jack said, "THIS is the way you should be walking. Here's the thing though: Instead of walking for 6 miles, only walk for 1 mile. When you walk, pick a point and get there as fast as you can. Recover. Once you can breathe normally again, pick another point, go fast and then recover. Keep doing this until you've reached a mile. I want you to do this for 3 weeks and give me a call." The man agreed that he would try this method of walking. "Oh, and by the way, " says Jack, "by walking like this you're going to gain about 10 pounds."
"WHAT!?!? But I don't want to GAIN another 10 pounds!!"
"Just trust me," says Jack. "Just try this for 3 weeks and tell me all about it." Three weeks later, the man calls Jack.
"Well, I walked a mile like you told me to," he began.
"And what happened?"
"I gained 10 pounds, " the man replies.
"And what else happened?"
"And I've lost inches all over my body...my clothes are loose!" came the excited reply.

This gentleman was in better shape walking one mile than he'd been walking 6! It worked because his body was constantly adjusting to the "stop and go" of his walk. He became a fat burning machine! My point, too, is that he looked at other markers and not just the scale. We put our whole heart in those little machines when it's only PART of the picture. Don't dismiss how much better your clothes are fitting because the scale says you didn't lose any weight. You've probably been gaining fat burning muscle that weighs more than fat! Just make sure you enjoy ALL your celebrations along the way. Here are mine:

Showing Progress:
-Eating about a third of what I used.
-Moving more than I ever have.
-Making new friends at the gym and was able to introduce a new friend to our church!
-Learning more about myself everyday.
-My daughter is moving more because I'M moving more.
-Clothes are fitting better.
-Getting to share information that is helping others!
-Knowing that I'm more than I thought I could be.

WOOT! WOOT!

Meaninful Movement: 1 hour of zumba, 1 hour of beginning toning and 30 minutes of Leslie Sanson

Foods that fit in a bowl, Day 15:
-Lenten fast: breakfast
-an apple
-1 slice of pizza
NOTE: I really COULD be satisfied with just ONE slice!!! Unbelievable!
-4 homemade chicken nuggets with BBQ sauce
-1 corn dog with ketchup and mustard and JP+
NOTE: A daily serving of Juice Plus+ is really 1 fruit/1 veggie in the morning and 1 fruit/1 veggie in the evening. With my morning fast, I keep forgetting one of these. Ugh. I'm also looking at my food intake and I've REALLY got to get a handle on the fruit and veggie servings, in addition to my JP+. This is REALLY a challenge for me.