Laura: Rolling and walking along (week 2)

After breaking even last week due to an exciting weekend in Gatlinburg, I decided to get serious and really come up with a strategy I could live with as I try to get wedding dress ready. It's less than a month to go until the big day, and the pressure is certainly on.

One thing I've definitely learned about myself over the years is that my key to success is completely tied to exercise, for a couple reasons. First, I suffer from pretty severe reactive hypoglycemia that's given me problems for years. I actually have a food drawer at work to help me deal with the problem. It's best if I eat every 3 hours or so, and preferably items that are high in fiber and low in refined sugars. I'm also supposed to avoid caffeine, which I've been trying to do lately because it definitely causes my blood sugar to dive and me to snack more than I should. It's hard for me to go under my daily recommended caloric intake of 1750 calories when I'm eating so often. I can do 1500 most days, but 1200 is pretty near impossible. Exercise definitely helps with the blood sugar thing too. I don't know why, but it works.

The other reason exercise is so important to my success is that I generally eat out 3 or 4 times each week. It's completely tied to convenience most of time, but sometimes, as my fiance says, "I just need to feed my tasty."

So, here's the new strategy, and it's working so far, because I've lost 2 pounds this week:

• I'm going to exercise 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes. Some days it's just getting a long walk in. Sometimes it's riding my bike (my preferred form of exercise as I typically burn about 500-600 calories per hour). And, if all else fails, and the weather is miserable, I'll go to the gym.

• I'm running most of my errands on foot or by bike. This has been more interesting than expected, as I'm really having to plan out my trips so I don't have to carry too much back or so I don't forget something and have to turn around. I bet I walked 4 miles this week just running errands.

• I'm going to make smart eating choices -- salad over fries, fruit instead of chips, water instead of soda, etc -- but I'm not counting calories or measuring anything, since it makes me crazy.

So, that's the plan. Here's hoping I can stick to it. I really feel great when I exercise, but sometimes getting the motivation to get started can be tough. I just need to visualize myself putting on the wedding dress and how nice and toned I look and how much energy I have.

Photo Courtesy of Stock.Xchng

A Big FAT Giveaway!

Contest is Closed. We'll announce the winners on Monday!! Thanks to all who entered. We appreciate your support!!
Shannan

Last week Amy posted on Weight Watcher's Lose for Good campaign that launches this Sunday, September 7th. For six weeks (September 7 - October 18), for every pound lost by its members, WW will donate the equivalent of one pound of food to Share Our Strength up to ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

So why am I posting this information again??? Because the good people at Weight Watchers have given us two complimentary memberships to Weight Watchers Online to giveaway! That's right people. Just leave a comment with the silliest diet you ever tried- perhaps you only ate grapefruit for a month or you lived on carbonated water and h pixie sticks, whatever it was, share it in the comment section and you'll be entered to win.

We'll announce the winners here on Friday, September 19th. Two lucky people will be on their way to being losers, just like us!

Note: You must be a resident of the U.S. to enter. Please include your email address in your comment if it is not attached to your user name.

Monika: Week 2 - Ready, Steady, Go!

This past weekend proved to be not as bad as I thought. We went camping at Mammoth Cave, which included hiking, horseback riding, playing frisbee...tons of physical activity. We sat around a campfire and had drinks and made s'mores. At the end of it all, I'm down a half pound. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't look at a half pound as big success. But, considering all the landmines that the camping trip held, I'm pretty pleased.

This weekend I'm off to Chicago for a bachelorette party. I'm more worried about this trip than the camping trip, mostly because I'm sure we'll be eating often, drinking a lot and partying. My goal is to walk as much as possible, and to dance as much as I can. If I'm going to make this work, I have to somehow incorporate my life into my life...does that make sense?

I know these situations will keep popping up. With Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years mere months away, the best think I can do for myself is come up with a strategy for attack, then implement it now before the real challenges hit. My mantra for myself is ready, steady go. First, I get ready by thinking through where I'm going, what we'll be doing, how I can incorporate activity to offset crappy eating or drinking, and to consider how I can lessen the bad factor of the food choices I make. Once I've got my ready plan, I have to hold steady to the plan, which is the hard part. It's easy for me to get swept up in the excitement of the crowd, and let myself excuse little slip-ups. Then it's Go! Go! Go!

Julie: Week 2, and holding fast

I admit, I didn't have a great weekend. Labor Day weekend, having people over, a few too many appetizers, a couple of drinks I shouldn't have had-- all in all I came out? Even.

Not bad. Not totally disenchanting, but not bad.

Holidays and vacations are my total weak spots, thus no difference this week. I mean, come on-- we all know that I have a love affair with food that surpasses simple sustenance and comfort. I'm into the artistry, the history, the science-- you name it. I read Gourmet and Slashfood like some guys read porn. Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday. So, taking into consideration my obsession with food, I have to combine exercise and portion control. The portion control is much easier than the exercise.

I really need to start exercising. Aside from walking around downtown, I'm not an exerciser. I never played sports. I danced until I was in my teens, but don't feel like taking dance lessons. I have a gym membership (Urban Active) that I rarely use. I have yoga mats and DVDs at home (have you tried to do yoga with cats? Difficult!). I have lots of excuses and little motivation. Exercise bores me.

I'm the kind of girl that always has a book with her. It's darn hard to read while on an elliptical, and I somehow have the mindset that a recumbent bike is lazy. Appreciate nature while biking around? Not my style. Running? Ew. As much as my friends (and boyfriend) tell me they love it, I just can't get behind it. Wii Fit? I'd have to find a Wii. It goes on and on.

So what the heck can I do besides force myself to go? Once I start doing it, will I really ever enjoy it? I never have time after work-- how freaking early do I have to get up?

What does a girl do when the last thing she wants to do is break a sweat?

(Image from V for Virtuoso through Creative Commons license.)