Wow, it's been exactly 6 months since my last blog post. I've been sooo B-U-S-Y that life has been almost a blur. I'm relieved to share that I survived Christmas, New Years, our wedding anniversary getaway, my birthday, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and Cinco de Mayo without doing too much damage OMG! It hasn't been easy but not too hard either. I've allowed certain foods back into my diet like ice cream with all the add-ins, cheeseburgers, wine, breads, and sometimes cake but only in moderation. I'm still off pork and sweetened drinks. Lo and behold the weight slowly crept up, but not yet extreme. I first noticed late March when the weight creeping back and I was starting to lose focus so I'm trying to get things back on track.
One thing I'm trying to ensure is to maintain a 4x per week exercise regimen. I tried reverting back to counting calories but it's so tedious and time consuming. It would be to my benefit to do so but I feel I'm micromanaging this ongoing journey enough as it is. Here in the last week I amped up things up by incorporating the stair master. NOW THAT is a workout in itself. I only do 10 minutes of it, but I burn 100 calories and completely drenched in sweat when finished. Another thing I recently started doing is lifting weights first before cardio AND allowing myself more time for it. I read somewhere you'll get better results doing so. I'd previously spend 35 minutes treadmill, 10 minutes on the eliptical, and 10 minutes weight lifting. Now I try to do 20-30 weight lifting, 35 minutes treadmill, 10 minutes stair climber, and 10 minutes eliptical. I feel great when finished, but I have to confess exhausted at the end of my work day. My personal life is in somewhat chaos, and I often find myself unhappy. I try to remain optimistic, remind myself how blessed I am, and just continue to keep pressing. Those certain factors are controllable but it's up to me to get a handle, and prayerfully I'm determined.
Looking at the chart I'm not doing too bad with my 40+ overall weightloss since I started keeping record of my highest recorded body measurements. December 2013 seemed to be a good month for me weight management-wise, and since I've increased the workout duration I think things will be fine. I'm a bit concerned about summer because I'll be home, and I have the tendency to snack all day. Last summer I exercised, but continued to gain weight until I started taking the Phentermine July 12th. Hopefully, I'll have a handle. I have PLENTY of projects that will keep me busy....
