Revived Focus Needed!

Hey! It's been a little bit since I've posted last. Among the busyness of school starting back up and craziness at work, I've not been too focused on blogging. At the same time, I've had a "maintaining" summer weight-wise and the last couple weeks have been less than stellar. Good thing we started a new 12-week weight-loss challenge at work on Friday. It's given me a revived focus on getting the final 25 pounds off!

Our challenge at work is called the Fitness 500. We are teamed up as a two-man pit crew. I am teamed up with my wonderful husband! Each Pit Crew bid on their race car... creating a winning $$$ kitty for the winning Pit Crew (the crew that earned the most points during the 12 weeks).

Each individual also paid $10 entry fee to compete in the Fitness 500. That money is going to purchasing a Wii and the Wii Fit software, which will be given to the individual with the most points at the end of the 12 weeks.

Each pound lost is equal to 1 point. Each body fat % lost is equal to 5 points. Each week we have physical challenges and food challenges. If we complete the challenge we earn 5 points each (5 points for the physical challenge and 5 points for the food challenge).

We are excited about winning it all! I will try to keep you posted on how we're doing.

This is the exact thing I need to give myself another short-term focus on getting the final pounds off. It has been too easy to allow myself a bite of this or a handful of that. Yet, I wasn't yet at the final weight that I desire to be at so I shouldn't have been allowing myself the luxury of living a "maintaining" lifestyle.

So, here we go again! I've limited my fruits to apples, grapefruits and strawberries. I've limited my vegetables to lettuce, onions, celery, cucumbers and radishes. (You could also enjoy tomatoes if you like them!) And, I've limited myself to beef or chicken. Plus, lots of water... always lots of water!

Well, is it time for you to set a new short-term goal? It's easier when I know I'm being challenged by a group of accountability partners. It's also easier when I have an end date in focus. It seems much more attainable when I know it's short-term. So, if you want to join my hubby and me, go ahead and weigh yourself now, then keep track of the pounds and body fat % lost each week. Set your end date at 12 weeks from your start date and decide what your short-term food & exercise plan will be for those 12 weeks.

It's been two days for me... and I'm happy to report that I've already lost 2.6 pounds! I'll keep you posted!

How are you doing today with your diet?

Do you have trouble staying focused? Do you make it until about 3pm and then just want to go find the best candy bar in the vending machine? That sounds like me Thursday at work. You might be wondering how I handled myself. Well, for the past year now I've resisted the vending machine at work. I broke down on Thursday, however.

I've been focused for so long, but it's now getting a bit tougher. I needed chocolate... I grabbed some change and headed straight for the vending machine. Peanut M & M's were calling to me. I purchased them, opened them and stuck the first one in my mouth. Mmm! Then the next one slipped into my mouth.

Guilt began to come over me. I read the calorie count... 250 calories for the package. That's equal to 5 apples or 2-1/2 bananas! Yet much harder for my body to break down and process than fruit. Though the chocolate tasted good, I decided to compromise. I ate HALF the package, gave the remaining to my husband to eat. (Forgot he doesn't eat peanuts IN things.) He then kept the other half of the package for me to enjoy another day.

Just wanted to encourage you that even when you have a day that you begin to struggle, you can still make choices that may help you "enjoy" a little without totally falling off the wagon. So, keep up the good work... stay focused! And, remember if you're really doing this for YOU, you can do it!!! Picture yourself at your goal weight... you can do it!