Out with a Bang!

After weeks of floundering & half-hearted discussion of getting my butt in gear, I finally have a plan in place... one that started today... and my plan is to send 2010 "Out with a Bang!" Something about there being less than eight weeks left of deployment and well under 90 days left in the calendar year signals to me that I must take action now.

Do I feel ready to take on a challenging regimen? Not in the slightest! Is my heart fully in it? It wants to be, but if I'm being honest... no its not! Does that set me up for failure before I even fully begin? I hope not. My shrink told me a year ago when I was so depressed I couldn't do anything more productive than play Facebook games that sometimes you just have to start doing to feel better. So that's what I'm gonna do... the plan is made and I'm just gonna do it... whether I feel like it or not. Because it is for me and it will be good for me... and because I deserve to put myself first. That putting myself first thing is still a foreign concept in my mind. I feel guilty for doing it, guilty for shutting myself down... but I think I would end up feeling more guilty if i didn't do it and do it NOW!

Here's the "Out with a Bang!" plan:

1. Drink buckets of water daily (maybe not buckets, but at least 64oz.)


2. Blog daily


3. Track food daily


4. Try three new healthy recipes each week


5. Exercise daily - to include completing "Around the World" gym requirements

You will notice in there that there is nothing about eating "healthy" or limiting calories. While I will be monitoring both, I will not be obsessing over it or chastising myself if I end up in restaurants frequently. Over the last several months, I am certain it has been my lack of exercise that has hurt me... so that will be my primary focus.

Doing "Around the World" gym requirements will force me back into a solid fitness routine. Granted I will have an extra forty days beyond what the gym allots during the challenge... but considering what an infrequent gym visitor I have become & the two weeks I will likely be gone around the holidays, I'm pretty sure it will be challenging enough as is. :)

For the sake of being able to measure results, I did a Thursday morning scale visit and measurements:

• 198 pounds (ugh... but still down a tiny bit from the start of deployment)


• Waist - 38 1/2"


• Hips - 47"


• Chest - 42"


• Thigh - 26 1/4"


• Calf - 19"


• Arm - 16 1/2"

Scale day is going to remain Tuesday. I plan to check measurements for progress at about the middle of November and then again at the end of the year.

The only thing I haven't figured out fully is rewards... and its no secret I thrive on rewards. They will be figured out & posted by the end of the weekend... and chances are they will include jewelry and/or handbags, lol.

So that's it... my plan to send 2010 "Out with a Bang!"

What are you going to do to finish 2010 strong???

The Deployment Challenge

The Navy - and I assume the military in general - is full of acronyms, abbreviations, designations, etc. CS, AT, AE, MA, AD... and a ton more that all mean something to someone. Some are pretty easy to figure out, others a bit more of a challenge. I think sometimes that's how people feel about the process of losing weight and/or living a healthy lifestyle. Some things are easy to figure out... like calories in vs. calories out. Other things are more challenging... like weighing the nutritional benefits of one food vs. another or the benefits of one form of exercise vs. another.

For my Deployment Challenge, I'm borrowing FE, or flight engineer. FEs have the important job of operating engines and and aircraft systems - including troubleshooting and fixes - all while the aircraft is in flight. People that choose this job go through extensive training - 9 months of school, plus other requirements. This isn't my husband's job (we looked at the program, but being an FE generally wreaks havoc on family life because they live by the flight schedule).

The way I see it we are all the "flight engineers" of our own journeys - whether its to lose weight, get healthy or continue maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We "operate" the engine and systems that are our body - by the food we feed ourselves, the exercise we choose to do, and whatever we choose to do to nourish our souls or maintain good mental health. As we go about our lives, we troubleshoot to see what's working and what isn't... and we come up with "fixes" to tweak aspects that aren't giving us the results we are seeking... much like the flight engineer must do to keep the plane flying safely in the skies.

By the way, my "starting" weight for the Deployment Challenge is 198.6 lbs. UGH!!!


Now for the Challenge Details...

Some of these may change a little bit month to month... as I "troubleshoot" and tweak.

** Challenge is for six months (June-November) - but broken into one month segments. **

FOOD

1. Eat 1,300-1,500 calories per day/six days per week


2. Plan meals and/or keep food journal (I'll be adding a separate page to my blog with my planned meals/food journals)


3. Enjoy restaurant food two times per week (maximum)

EXERCISE

1. Burn 6,000-9,000 calories per week through cardio activities


2. Do a strength training workout 3x/week


3. Do a core workout 4x/week

Because I like to push myself at the gym, I will be incorporating the following things into my workout schedule:

• A monthly marathon on the bike - to take place the last day of each month June-November with the goal of decreasing my time each month


• Increasing my duration on the StairMaster - basically hop and and go for as long as I can - to take place at the middle of each month June-November (500 floors in a single session is my ultimate goal for this)


• Start the C25K program - I'd like to build up to doing a 10K before the end of deployment

Because every good FE deserves a little dose of R&R, I will be scheduling myself 30-60 minutes of "me" time every day that has nothing to do with the topic of a healthy lifestyle.

There ya have the nuts & bolts of the challenge. If you're interested in joining me for one month - or six - please leave a comment to let me know. I'll be doing a quick daily progress post for this in addition to my regular posts... so that can be our check-in spot.

And my positive - keep me going - motto is...

Believe in yourself, as if the possibility of failure does not exist.

Next post... my planned rewards. Now who is gonna join me???

Something Long Overdue

If you've been reading for awhile you might remember my post about the "outfit in the window". Two long months after purchasing it, I finally have the picture that some of you insisted I must share. Pretty sure this is the first pic I've posted since I changed my hair color & I know its the first pic since Around the World ended. Please ignore the pasty white legs, lol.

I actually wore it on Mother's Day/my son's birthday... but finally got the picture uploaded tonight.

Why did I wait so long to wear the outfit? Well first I had to find the shoes... which actually was easy (they were already "hiding" in my closet). Then, I had to wait for warm enough weather... which turned out to be a long wait here in western Washington. Particularly here on the island, where even when its sunny the wind still tends to blow.

The debate over what to do with my "fun" money from my first paycheck is still ongoing. I actually ended up using the money to buy stuff for kids group... so I'm waiting to be reimbursed before I can use the money for myself. I'm torn between a spa treatment at this hotel I've been dying to go to for years or something like the spendy sunglasses I've been eyeing (but don't really want to spend The Husband's money on)... decisions I tell ya... but considering my Mother's Day experience, I'm tempted to do both, lol.

Ohhhh.... look what I finally got....

My reward to myself for finishing Around the World!!! They finally got another one in stock. Its actually sitting on layaway - just til we're sure The Husband has everything he needs for deployment - along with a little swing pack that matches it. :)

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Day one of food/activity journaling went okay... Food wasn't the best; but I wrote it all down & I talked myself out of hitting the Starbucks drive-thru when I was in town. Activity was non-existent. I had planned to go for a long walk in the evening... but we got news of a serious financial setback and I ended up in a ball of tears instead. Sigh.

Wait... can crying count as physical activity? Probably not, but I'm tellin ya my abs are screaming at me after all the tears, lol.