Working Out (the lifeplan)

I'm now finishing my 6th week with Food Lover For Life, and folks, it's working.  

I can't tell you how this makes me feel.  

To have a plan that actually WORKS with the way I live, without making me crazy with 'don't eat this, eat a lot of this (even though it makes you gag), work out constantly' etc., gives me hope that I will eventually find and stay at a healthy size.  

My pants that were too snug to wear comfortably (size 18-20ws) in February are now fitting well, 

if not a bit big. :)   

I'm now almost back to where I was when I threw myself off the train last July.

I won't be weighing/measuring for another 2 weeks when I hit the 8 week mark on the plan.  

They promise a 3 size drop by the end of those 8 weeks, and I doubt I'll come near that, 

but I'm still happy that I'm able to wear everything in my closet comfortably.  

At the start, I was really probably a comfortable size 22, so if I can fit into some 16s, then I'd call that a '3 size' success....but even comfy 18s are great, and I won't complain.

A week ago, my granddaughter was born at our home, and the ensuing days carried lots of stress as we couldn't get that little bean to latch.  

So there was lots of frustration, lack of sleep, fear, screaming baby, and crying mama (and gramma).  

She's doing much better now, thank goodness.  

Through it all, I was able to feed myself well, even though I went longer than 3 hours at times.  

But I still felt good.  

I never felt like 'well, when times are tough, this plan isn't sustainable'. 

 Instead, it gave me a grid to know what to give myself (protein, fast carb, slow carb and a bit of fat) to refuel for marathon postpartum doula-ing. 

That mental checklist immediately pops up, and I can find food just about anywhere that meets the criteria.  

Seriously, this is so working for me.

In the previous weeks, I had fallen into a do-able fitness routine, 

so while I didn't do much conscientious workouts last week, I did a few.  

And I'm really proud of myself.  

Here's my 'best effort' fitness routine, what I shoot for each week:

M-W-F: T-Tapp BWO+ (Tempo) followed by 10 minutes of ZUMBA Beginners (still learning the steps!).  Later in the day I do a brisk 20-30 minute walk with my dog (who needs to lose 25 pounds)
T-Th: Brisk 30-40 minutes walk with the dog
S-Sun: 15-20 minute moderate walk with dog

Hi Bogart!

I've done this fairly well for about 4 weeks now, and I'm happy to report I don't need a water break after Plies in the BWO+.  

This is huge for me!  

I can also keep up with the ZUMBA instructors on my DVD, 

although there's prolly a bit more bounce and jiggle on my end of the screen :)

And I have to walk farther in 30 minutes, so my speed is increasing.

We're heading for Orlando again in just under 5 weeks, so my mini-goal is 

to reach a comfortable size 16w.  

I can already wear some 16ws in skirts, so I think this is reasonable.  

If I don't, I'll continue working the plan as I know my 45 year old body is now slowly shrinking 

instead of slowing growing :)  

It's been at least 5 years since I've been smaller than an 18w, so this threshold may take some time, 

but I will break through it eventually!