The Return for Lent

 

Time to re-think our fitness goals

 
  Hello dear friends! I know it's been a long while, but we are back and ready to kick off once again with a new resolve to lose weight and get healthy! So much has happened since August (has it been THAT long?) and I fear it will take more than a few blog posts to get you all caught up. So let's begin today with a recap of where we were, where we're at and where we're going. Ready?

  The team had lost a total of 105 pounds by the end of last summer-Jeff weighing in at 269.6 pounds, Katie (who refuses to divulge to you her digits) had lost a total of 57.8 pounds and I had gotten down to 128.4 pounds. Yay team!!!!
  So that didn't last. Where do I begin with the excuses? Family trauma and drama, holidays, changes in work schedules, lack of a competition, laziness, weakness and an abundance of buffets led to some significant gains. And not in the positive way. Katie gained back 13 pounds. She is still at a total loss of 44.8 pounds, she looks amazing and is much healthier than she was this time last year. Katie is on the swim team at her high school (the season ended in November) and has the lead role of "Winifred the Woebegone" in the upcoming musical production of "Once Upon a Mattress" at her high school. Daily rehearsals of the dance numbers should help keep her active and healthy. She's getting back on track with the diet, too. 

Beautiful, smart, athletic, charming, talented. Gets most of it from her mother.

  Although we haven't been walking, Jeff kept active with renovating the basement. He has gained back only 9 pounds since last summer, bringing his weight to 278.6 pounds. He is still down 18.4 pounds from where he started last year. Jeff and I recharged the Jawbone UPs and he synced up the Nike and Lose It! apps on his new iPhone 6+, so he is geeked up and ready to reboot our healthy living goals. Jeff fell victim to lunches with friends and co-workers these past few months, favoring burgers and fries over salads and healthier fare. He also has this crazy girlfriend who willingly agrees when he says, "Hey, you wanna get a pizza?" He will have to be strong for both of us once again, 'cuz you all know I'm as weak as a wet paper towel.

On Halloween-our 2-year anniversary. His costume is so inspired, don't you think?

  And then there's me. Cue the WahWahWaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah music. Yeah, ok, epic fail. I ended the summer at a super-cool, not-too-chubby-to-wear-a-swimsuit, 128.4 pounds. I was feeling pretty good about being me. I had lost 20.4 pounds. And then I let it all slip away. We'll get into the horrific details in another post. Promise. So I am completely ashamed to say I am now a full-figured 155.4 pounds which is an embarrassing 6.6 pound GAIN from where I began 12 months ago. Which obviously makes me the weakest link and I'm about to get voted off the island. I've got to step up my game!

Angela, Put down the fork and back away from the buffet.

  So with these setbacks, our team loss from the beginning of this venture into health and well-being is now 56.6 pounds. But fear not, we are recommitted to being healthy, eating well and exercising. Jeff and I have started walking again but this time we are not going to beat ourselves up if we don't walk every single day. We are going to start off with a goal of walking at least 3 days a week. Then again, you know us...we'll be competing with ourselves to get the most steps in that we can. I am back to logging my meals on my LoseIt! app, watching my carbs and calories, checking my portions and making better choices. We've got a few new recipes to share with you, too!
  Also, we are switching our weigh-in day to Fridays. I re-read the entire blog and it seems that we sabotage ourselves on the weekend and then get discouraged on Monday weigh-ins. So we will allow one weekend "cheat" meal and have all week to make up for it. Trying to keep it positive!
  I'll fill you guys in on all the stuff that caused the setbacks over the next couple of weeks and hopefully by the end of Lent I'll be back where I started last year (or maybe even better!)

This is the next step if low-carb and walking don't work!