Day 5

So I missed yesterday but my computer was acting up and I didn't have time today at work....

BUT exciting news. I have committed (might have to commit myself) to doing the LA Marathon in May, which is 27 miles total. I have started a training program and walked 2 miles in 30 minutes today, partially ran but hey I will get there. Of course at that rate it might take me all day and night to go 27 miles.... let's break it down. 27 divided by 4 is actually 6.75 so hopefully I can speed it up because there is NO way that I can make it that many hours!

So lets see if I can do 3 miles in that 30 minutes tomorrow. I will keep you all updated!

I weigh in and measure tomorrow so I will also update on that progress! :)

Day 3

Well here I am again! I had a very exciting and fulfilling day and am re-energized about my goals.

Why is that you say, well because I started my first weight loss challenge with my mentor and team and it was a great first day. It is very exciting knowing that I can help others why inspiring myself.

I did really well today with my diet and kept myself busy. I had no cravings all day and I just need to make sure to get all of my water in!!!

See you all tomorrow, and you will be seeing less of me hehehehe!

Daily Weight Fluctuations - Answers!

So here is what I found regarding the battle with the scale..... turns out it DOES lie! What a relief. This really helped me understand why. SO I guess I will not be throwing it away but will embrace it and simply drink enough water and stay away from sodium (which is evil for you anyway)!!! :)

I give props where they are earned as I never want to be accused of plagiarizing .... here is the website where I found this information (http://primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/weight/scale.htm)

"We’ve been told over an over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can’t resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can’t bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence it’s readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale.

Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body’s water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don’t understand what’s happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto it’s water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water.

Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. A single teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium. Generally, we should only eat between 1,000 and 3,000 mg of sodium a day, so it’s easy to go overboard. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn’t have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts, 460 mg in the pudding versus 123 mg in the nuts. The more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content. That’s why, when it comes to eating, it’s wise to stick mainly to the basics: fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, and whole grains. Be sure to read the labels on canned foods, boxed mixes, and frozen dinners.

Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum.

Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and it’s packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it’s stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates. As the glycogen supply shrinks you will experience a small imperceptible increase in appetite and your body will restore this fuel reserve along with it’s associated water. It’s normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you’re prone to obsessing over the number on the scale.

Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it’s wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different than putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It’s the actual weight of everything you’ve had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you’ve finished digesting it.

Exercise physiologists tell us that in order to store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than your body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store the above dinner as 5 pounds of fat, it would have to contain a whopping 17,500 calories. This is not likely, in fact it’s not humanly possible. So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, it’s likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner. Keep in mind that the 3,500 calorie rule works in reverse also. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Generally, it’s only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it’s physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you’re really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle.

This brings us to the scale’s sneakiest attribute. It doesn’t just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose "weight," that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you’ve lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you’re just sitting around. That’s one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue.

Robin Landis, author of "Body Fueling," compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn’t differentiate between the two. It can’t tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat. There are several other measuring techniques that can accomplish this, although they vary in convenience, accuracy, and cost. Skin-fold calipers pinch and measure fat folds at various locations on the body, hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing involves exhaling all of the air from your lungs before being lowered into a tank of water, and bioelectrical impedance measures the degree to which your body fat impedes a mild electrical current.

If the thought of being pinched, dunked, or gently zapped just doesn’t appeal to you, don’t worry. The best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don’t be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride. It’s a matter of mind over scale."

Day 2

So I am off to church soon and then I will come home and clean my house and do laundry as preparation for the week to come. My business is doing well although I need get give it another kick in the butt to ensure success.

I feel off the wagon a little with my diet last night because I was feeling a little down although I am not going to beat myself up about it. Sadly all I could find in my house were some crackers to cheat with.... I guess that good because I don't keep anything else in my house other than things that are good for me. Guess Dr. Phil was right about that. Those of you who have read his book might agree.

I have to stop stepping on the scale as that tends to derail me as well. How is that you can fluctuate almost 5 pounds in a couple of days back and forth! Makes no sense at all. I am going to research that later today and will get back and post about that later, just one of those things that makes you go hmmmmmm......

Have a great Sunday everyone and talk to you later!

How My Journey Began

I have struggled with my weight most of my teenage and adult life.

I reached the point about a year ago where I wanted to change my life and better overall health. I started my journey with WW and lost almost 40 pounds and hit a plateau after about 4 months and not matter what I did I was not able to break through for almost a year during which time I became frustrated and even gained back almost half of the weight back!

No matter what I did I was not able to break through. Finally, I was able to figure out what would change the path.

Finally I found Herbalife and 6 weeks later I have lost 22 pounds and almost 22 inches overall!

I decided to start a blog to hopefully inspire others to the same path of reduction....hahahaha

Hope you enjoy as much as I will!!!!