Maintaining

There was a forum question on Calorie Count about how people maintain and this is what I came up with so far.

Maintenance tips that work for me:

- Don't go back to the soda and crap that got me there in the first place.  Eating more for maintenance is fine but it's not a pass to eat crap all the time.

- If I'm going to indulge in crap food from time to time (once every couple of weeks or so) at least make it GOOD crap food.  Get a really good piece of cheesecake from the specialty bakery once a month and don't waste those calories on the crappy piece of cheesecake in the frozen food section that isn't going to satisfy the craving.  If it's not good for me anyway then if I don't LOVE it, I don't eat it.

- Keep track of myself.  Maybe that means weigh in at least once a month.  It could also be keeping measurements and watching for upwards numbers, or maybe it's making sure that tight pair of jeans doesn't get too tight to wear.  All of these things can work, so pick what works for you.

- Find an exercise routine you can maintain.  I cannot do P90X every day so I won't commit to that as my exercise.  For some people it works (and I'm jealous) but not me.  What does work for me is Zumba and hiking.  Lots and lots of hiking because for me that's fun.  If it's a pain in your ass then eventually you will quit doing it so find something you won't quit.

Rewards

Someone asked about how we reward ourselves for progress.  This is my answer:

New music or headphones

Clothes of some type

Boots were for a big milestone since they cost a bit more

Haircut at the nicer salon instead of the cheap one

Pedicure

An extra hour of sleep without giving myself any guilt :) 

Some of the biggest rewards, though, just happened.  That feeling after I pulled all of the clothes out of my closet that didn't fit anymore and saw how big that pile was.  Seeing my jawline appearing and realizing I have a collar bone.  Noticing people stare at me sometimes that I've never met even when I didn't just do something totally embarrassing.  Running after the dog that just ran out the front door and actually catching it *without* using the car.  Running with my kids as they learned to ride the bike and still being able to breathe.  Those were really big (and free) rewards.

How do you reward yourself?

DietBet

So, I joined in on a diet bet.  Actually, I joined in on two of them.  This one starts on Friday, this one on Monday.  Am I crazy?  Yeah, probably.  But even if I don't win it, the motivational kick in the pants sure can't hurt.

I love Roni's Weigh (hosting the first one )

And I've recently started following the Anti-Jared on Facebook, who is hosting the second bet.

The idea is that you have 4 weeks to lose 4% of your body weight (which for me is gonna be a little over 6 pounds).  I figure I'm crazy because, this late in the game for me, that's a lot to lose.  Either way though, it's motivation and if I manage it then I will be ready to switch over to maintaining instead of losing as I will be between 150-155. 

I think the biggest challenge I face currently is trying to not eat everything the kids eat (like when they want those orange cinnamon rolls from a can) and this will motivate me to not touch it.  Late night craving for some left over Christmas candy that the kids STILL have not eaten?  Beaten.  Over doing the starchy-carby stuff?  Solved for a while.  So, yeah, even if I don't hit the target but I lose half of that then I'm going to be ecstatic anyway.

If you join in on either of them I'd love to hear about it!

Burpee

So I tried to do a burpee today (here's a how-to if you, like me, have never done it before).  As to how it went?...  Ha!  There should have been a video tape of that, it was that sad.  I can do a total of 6 (not well) in about 35 seconds at the moment which is pretty darn slow but once I can stop laughing I'll be able to make it a little quicker.  I'm taking the burpee on as my February challenge.  During January I have been doing situps (almost up to 100), pushups, and planks (still suck at those).  I plan to continue with them but I am going to add squats, burpees and wall sits in for Feb.  I can do about 20 squats right now so I'm aiming for 100 by the end of the month.

Are you challenging yourself on something for February?  What are you up to?

Non Scale Victories

Current Weight: 156.8
Lost so far: 53.2
Pounds to go: 1.8

I looked down at my arm today and there was actually a curve to it.  As in, there is a tiny bit of muscle showing.  Woo to the hoo! Today is all about the non-scale victories.

What are you proud of today?

Dinner

Tonight we made spaghetti for the kids and let green peppers stew in the sauce as it cooked. I used some of the extra beef and a little of the sauce and cooked it in red peppers in the oven for about 1/2 an hour. Dinner was delicious and under 400 calories. Yum!

Tried any good recipes lately?  What's your favorite go to?

Check In

Current Weight: 158.4
Lost so far: 51.6
Pounds to go: 3.4

I'm still going on The Sisterhood's Fab-Abs Challenge.  80 situps?  No problem!  30 pushups?  OMFSM I think I'm gonna die.  I'm rocking the situps like a boss but those damned pushups are going to be the death of me. 

Today is a Zumba day.  I've missed the last week and a half of Zumba for family stuff but today I will be there and I'm looking forward to sweating it up.  I could really use a good workout.

How's your week going?