RoxyAnne’s BodyBlog

The temptations have now begun.  Candy, candy, sweets, desserts…loads and loads of food!!!  I’ve managed to make it through Halloween with very little damage, because quite honestly…I’m the Tootsie Roll queen..:)  There won’t be too many more temptations until Thanksgiving…that’s going to be one very large cheat day.  Thank goodness my gym has a "burn the turkey off" power cycle class early that morning!!

My goals for November are to tighten down the clean eating…keep it very tight. My exercise plan is to hit the cardio as hard as I possibly can….the goal is to…burn, burn, burn…   I realize that November is going to be very challenging, so that is why my strategy is to hit hard and fast at the beginning of the month. 

The month of October had some highs, lows..and a little no progress thrown in.  I managed to drop 6 lbs total and a full pant size…so..Yeah!  For some reason I felt like I was making very little progress, but in the end….it happened.

I’m very pleased with my progress this month, so far….

The cardio is going very well…I’ve stayed consistent and focused on the need to keep at it, EVERYDAY!  It’s really beginning to pay off.  Finally, I’ve been able to increase the pounds on my weight training again, and it feels so good…ha.ha. 

What am I doing this week?  I’m 3 days into my 7 day fast.  I felt there was a need to cleanse the system and re-set my eating habits.  I’ve found fasting to be quite an easy task and feel so much better.  During this time I’m still doing low intensity cardio without any problems and 3 days of weights.  The side effect of a good fast is that I will definitely meet my weight goals without much effort at all.  No worries…I’m not into starvation diets…:)  I just want to re-set the whole body and keep moving forward.  Once I’m done I’ll go back to a very strict cleaning  eating diet….I can hardly wait.

Hawaii…82 more days and counting!!

I slid those suckers right off my hips….without unbuttoning or unzipping!! Yes,  It’s time to buy some new jeans….

I’ve been noticing my pants getting looser and looser, but the scale has budged VERY little.  Something has GOT to give sooner or later.  Even my massuese is noticing how much slimmer my arms and legs are …. my whole body has gotten slimmer!! Still many pounds to go…but I’m getting there.

The body fat percentage is definitely changing…and it seems incredible to me that the scale is not showing this!  I’m very committed to 30 minutes of cardio in the mornings and 60 minutes of cardio in the evenings, at least 5 days a week. I’m eating pretty darn clean and weight training at least 3-4 days a week.  I did back off on the amount of weight I was lifting, due to some aches and pains. 

My goal for October is still to drop 10 lbs.  So far… 1 lbs.  I keep hoping with all the changes my body seems to be doing that I will have a huge drop in weight one of these weeks,  it would certainly be a pleasant surprise.  For now I will be content with the knowledge that my pants are WAY too big, and I will soon be fitting into a size of jeans I haven’t been into in almost 8 years.   Woo Hoo…. I’m definitely loving life.

Over the last several months I have faithfully stepped on that scale…several times a week.  It has been the only way I was able to keep track of my progress.  I know I’m developing more muscle…but at 5′2" my total weight is still completely unacceptable!!  It doesn’t bother me to step on the scale…it is actually fascinating to see the fluctuations a body can have over a period of several days…usually determined by what I’ve put in my mouth! When I’ve seen my weight creep up it definitely makes me grit my teeth and hit the gym a little harder.

Now…this past couple of weeks I’ve experimented and only weighed myself once each week. (on the weekend). What progress did I make during that time…only 1 freakin’ pound of weightloss..BUT — I have had a change in body fat, because a pair of jeans I was just getting into, two weeks ago (slightly tight)…are now bordering on baggy…   So the numbers on the scale are not so accurate when determining progress. 

Master Plan for the month of October?…..I haven’t decided yet.  I think I need to change things up a bit… any suggestions?

6 lbs DOWN…for the month of September!!  I’m really trying for that 10 lbs mark…but not too sure I’m going to make it. This past weekend had too many events I attended….with REALLY good food..:D  I tried to pick lots of salad and veggies, but I know a piece of wedding cake sneaked in there…ha.

I’ve got my low-intensity cardio up to 60-70 minutes, at least 5 days a week.  I’m real pleased with that and have been alternating between the bike, eliptical and treadmill.  A few weeks ago I strained my shoulder and have had back down the amount of weight that I’ve been lifting.  In the last week or so I’ve been able to increase by a few pounds, without it feeing strained….so we’ll see.  To pass the time I’m working on the abs a bit more and am definitely beginning to see some results.  It’s been a few years since it has been revealed as a fairly flat surface….woo hoo.  Many more miles to go….but dang it, I’m getting there!!

It’s halfway through the week and tonight I’m taking a much needed break from the gym.  I haven’t taken a break from working out in several days…I figured it was time to rest.  Still eating very clean, still weight training 4 days a week and cardio is everyday, with a break every once in awhile.  My weightloss seems to be slowing down a bit…but is still dropping.

Today was very encouraging …in the complements department!  Three different co-workers actually noticed and complimented me on my weightloss. Then my massuese really noticed, as well.  At first, she thought my muscles were too tight…then with a slightly stunned sound in her voice said, "Holy Crap, that’s not tight, that’s some serious taunt-lean muscle in your back and shoulders."  …Ha, ha…  then she proceeded to lecture me on not getting too bulky…   I just kept my mouth shut…little does she know what I have planned for myself.  

Fats coming off…muscle is going on!!!

This past week was a disaster for me in terms of weightloss….but I did manage to squeak out 1 more pound!  I started out with a serious bloat/gain due to over cheating, then I developed a cold that dragged me down for the rest of the week…cardio was next to impossible without my head feeling like it was going to explode…  

I feel great now!  AND am very pleased that I still managed to drop one more pound…it feels wonderful to venture in to body weight stats I haven’t been down to…..in several years.  I decided my strategy for this week needs to be more disciplined if I want to reach my goal of 10 lbs for the month of September.  I still have a week and half until the end of the month…it’s still very possible.  SOOoooo…..no cheat days for me until I reach my goal!!

I’ve had several friends now that are really beginning to notice my weightloss and are showing interest in how I’m achieving it….my standard reply is:

eating clean and keeping the portion/calorie size down — 5 to 6 small meals a day,

do 45 minutes to an hour of cardio each day and weight train. 

I’m not using any weightloss supplements because I’m responding to this regime very, very well….

AND get plenty of rest.

My sisters haven’t seen me since the 4th of July…and probably won’t see me until Thanksgiving. I hope to be another 20 lbs down by then…..boy are they going to be surprised…

First the good news…..I succeeded in dropping 2 more lbs last week..YEAH.  I’m very pleased with my progress and can feel the lean muscle under the skin that used to feel so….pudgy.  I’m still chubby…but looking a little more of a "lean chubster"…   I will definitely post some new progress pics at the end of September.  The back is going to show a difference!

The not-so-good news… I think I over-did the weekend cheat day…   I decided to cook up some beef stroganoff for the family, ice cream, cookies (yes, plural), crossants.  There’s more, but I can’t remember right now. I blew up like a balloon…add that to my time of the month-munchies……the numbers on the scale were NOT pretty the next day!! 

Now I know a lot of that (probably most of it) is water weight.  I’ve gotten back on my clean eating wagon and know full well that I will have to work my way through this.  Guess I will take me water-retaining butt off to my eliptical and get the process started….

August was a wonderful month for me….and I want to repeat it over and over again.  Well, at least for the next 4 months!!  I managed to drop almost 13 lbs in the last 5 weeks, and it feels SO good. 

Clean eating really, really worked for me, and maybe a little exercising..:)~

I’m actually excited for September to arrive tomorrow.  Why? Because I’m ready to start all over again and see if I can improve upon what I did in August.

Let’s just say my eye is on the prize……

Not sure WHAT I did last week….didn’t lose any weight….BUTTTTT….a week ago I couldn’t slide this cute little skirt comfortably down around my hips.  WELL lo and behold….I slipped it on this weekend and Woo Hoo!! This baby’s got LESS back!!  What a great feeling!!!!  Talk about pumping me up for this week….

New goal for the month of September…10 more lbs are coming off.