2011 - Week 2 In Review

Two weeks into 2011 and I continue to stay on track with everything. Here's my take on the week:

• Weight

• Starting Weight: 153.8
• Last Week's Weight: 147.3
• Today's Weight: 145.1
• Weight Loss (This Week): 2.2
• Weight Loss (Total 2011): 8.7
• Review: I got a little frustrated in the middle of the week when the number seemed to fluctuate a bit. I kept reminding myself that it wasn’t a true reflection of my behaviors and that it would sort itself out in the long run. The total loss of 2 pounds over the course of the week reflects that.
• Prediction: Again, a continued loss over the next week but perhaps even less than this week. I don’t anticipate being able to maintain 2 pounds a week. If that was the case, I’d disappear in 73 weeks! Instead, it will continue to taper off until my body finds its equilibrium of calories in and calories out.

• Exercise

• Days of Exercise: 6
• The one day off was a planned skip.
• Stayed on target with calories burned.  
• Review:  Given how I felt this week, I’m really proud of myself for getting all 6 workouts in. I knew Wednesday and Thursday were going to be difficult because of my (relatively) early mornings. Fortunately, I had a change in schedule on Thursday and could run over to the gym in the middle of the day. I was EXHAUSTED on Wednesday and couldn’t bring myself to exercise, despite having a “snow delay” which amounted to an extra half-hour that I hadn’t counted on. I opted for sleep instead, which I needed.
• Prediction: Next week looks like it will be a typical week. I don’t anticipate any barriers that will interfere with my getting 5 cardio sessions and 1 strength-training workout in there. Thursday will probably be my day off, since that’s my early morning in the office.

• Eating

• Days of Clean Eating: 7
• Review:  Saturday evening I was planning a small cheat because we were getting together with friends at their house. I brought my food with me with the expectation of having dessert, but ended up not being hungry for it and politely declined. (It may have helped that the dessert, while yummy, wasn't particularly tempting or decadent so I didn't feel like I was really missing out.) I didn't have much of an appetite during the course of the week, so I wasn't as successful as I would have liked with adding in the extra meal each day. I always had the chicken on-hand so I could eat it if I wanted to; I just never seemed to want to. I didn't feel the temptation to cheat or munch on unplanned foods. There was a lot of munching on hard candies (which is especially tempting with the yummy candies stored in the closet right outside my office). That may have dampened my appetite for a real meal during the day. I'm going to try to limit the number of hard candies I eat during the course of the day so I can have a better gauge of my hunger.
• Prediction: My planned cheat will be next Saturday for my father-in-law's birthday dinner. I've already checked out the menu for the restaurant and given some thought as to what I'd order. A small challenge will be Wednesday night when I have a monthly meeting at work. I bring in snacks for this meeting and recently have brought in home-baked goodies. If time permits, I'll probably bake something on Tuesday evening. I'll just need to plan in advance so I'm not likely to nibble on the batter or any crumbs.  

• Overall
• I felt a strong case of the "screw its" in the middle of the week. I knew this could be attributed to stress, being tired, and having my schedule thrown off by weather. Being able to contextualize my feelings and recognize that they had nothing to do with my body, my exercise, or my food, I worked to compartmentalize the feelings. While they still bled over a bit, I think I handled them quite well.

Food Log:

• Breakfast

• 4 egg whites and 2 eggs with salsa

• Snack

• Green beans with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray and a bit of fat free light Italian dressing
• Tablespoon of peanut butter

• Dinner 

• 4oz chicken
• Asparagus
• 20g almonds

• Snack

• Generous tablespoon of peanut butter

Exercise: 

• Time: 60.5 minutes on elliptical
• Level: Level 1 for 1 minute, Level 4 for 58 minutes, Level 1 for 1.5 minutes (to get the distance)
• Calories:  700+
• Distance: 5.25

Today's Weigh-In: 145.1