10.5 and going to keep going strong.......just got to avoid the road blocks!

So it is check in time for Week 4 of the Unleash the Skinny Girls competition on The Biggest Loser Named Jillian Show.  Time to tell you all my current weight, pounds lost, and % weight loss.  It's much better than last week and I AM SO EXCITED TO TELL YOU ALL!

Beginning Weight = 274#
Current Weight = 263.5#
Week 4 Weight Loss = 4#
Total Weight Loss = 10.5#
Week 4 % Weight Loss = 1.49%
Total % Weight Loss = 3.83%

WoooHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am SO happy to be able to say that in 4 weeks I have been able to lose 10.5 pounds.  It makes me even happier to report that I have done it all on my own using the education and knowledge that I have as a Registered Dietitian.  I've always known what I need to do, but I just haven't done it.  So I definitely plan to continue to use my knowledge and background to hopefully continue with the great success. 

But there have been some road blocks that I am working on and I foresee coming in the future. 

Current Road Blocks:

1.  This past week I vowed to stop drinking soda.  I currently have not had a soda since May 31st.  It has actually been hard too.  My bestie and I have a tradition to do Kate and Jillian hanging out on Saturday morning and afternoons and I usually always get a Diet Coke while we are out and about.  This last Saturday I wanted one SO BAD but I resisted.  Sadly the headache has settled in, which usually happens after going off caffeine, and is not getting any better.  In fact it keeps getting worse each day.  I am very prone to migraines which usually the only thing that can help is a diet coke, some Excedrin Migraine medication, and a nap.  So I am crossing my fingers that I won't get a migraine and the headache will just start going away.  Luckily I am pretty tough, so I should be able to tough it out.  Current goal is to go 2 weeks with no soda, then 3, then 1 month, then 6 months, then one year, and so on. 

2.  My crazy schedule.  I know I am single and living on my own, so it should be easy to find time to go to the gym.  It's actually been hard and I feel like I have been giving some things up to go to the gym.  Between work, church activities, and socializing with current friends and making new friends it has been hard to prioritize what should come first, those activities or the gym.  I've squeezed in working out in between stuff, learned to say no to different activities and social opportunities so I can go to the gym, and left things early so I can fit in a work out that day.  Hopefully people aren't feeling neglected and if you are, I'm sorry.  This is still kind of a transitional period and I am hoping to overall just develop into an overall more active lifestyle with my friends to be able to do both at the same time.  I want daily physical activity to become a necessity that I can carry through the rest of my life.  That way when I have a family, it will be a priority that can enrich my life and my family's life.

Future Road Blocks To Hopefully Avoid:

1.  Motivation.  Yikes!  We all hate that word from time to time.  I think that was one of my biggest obstacles to doing this whole weight loss thing a long time ago.  Ever since my mid-sophomore year in college to now I have known what I needed to do to lose weight, I just lacked the motivation to do it.  I do worry that I may lose the motivation to keep working at losing weight.  But I hopefully have a plan that can help.  With the Unleash the Skinny Girls Competition, I am hoping that we can set some small specific goals and prizes/ rewards to keep us working towards weight loss.  Some ideas I've had are, once we all lose 15 pounds (everyone has to be down 15 pounds too) we will go and get a massage together.  Little things like that to keep us going.  Other things I want to do to help motivate me are physical goals.  I need to be able to run a 5K by the first weekend in August for our family reunion, my good friend (Tagen) and I are going to walk a marathon on Labor Day weekend, and I would love to be able to hike Angels Landing by the fall too (without dying of course!).  Another good goal I have is to be able to wear my cute skinny clothes again.  I have a whole shelf in my closet that has some pants, skirts, and dresses that I used to be able to wear that I want to wear again.

2.  Plateaus!!!!  Those are the worst nightmare for someone wanting to lose weight.  I am hoping to get through the plateaus by switching up my exercise routine and also my eating habits.  Plateaus do scare me.  I would like to do some research and see if there is any particular reason why everyone hits a plateau while losing weight.  If I find anything interesting to report, I'll let you know.

Plan For Week 5 to keep up the momentum:
      Continue to work out on a daily basis.
      Interval Cardio Training for at least 60 minutes
      Light-moderate weight strength training with multiple reps at least 3 times/ week
      Drink LOTS of water
      Keep under or at my calorie goal range, 1600-1800 calories daily
      NO SODA!!!!!
      More sleep
      Be sure to stick to the plan on the weekends!!!!!!  (That is when I seem to falter the most!)