Update...

Okay... finally sitting down to do an update! Let's see...

Food has been good. I have been eating moderately, though not recording as much as I should. I would like to get back to recording as I think it helps me combat the late afternoon munchies and I have succumbed to them in the last couple days.

Exercise... I joined the Ridge this week. I took Eliana swimming on Wednesday, then Thursday and Friday got up and was at the gym before 6am to work out. I met with a trainer and she is coming up with a specialized workout plan for me to help me lose 20 lbs by the middle of May.

Schedule - I am developing a schedule that works well for us and really focusing on my personal discipline. I have a lot of work to do, but am pleased with my progress this first week.

I have had to change my weight because I am now weighing fully clothed, including shoes, at the gym in the morning.

I am planning to work out at 5:15 M-F. That's my goal. =D One day at a time!!

Conference...

I am back from the conference and I'd like to say that I survived the food. We ate out at restaurants for dinner or lunch 4 of the 5 days. Sometimes both.

When I returned home, I weighed myself and found that I weighed .2 lbs less than when I left. I survived! I thoroghly enjoyed the meals and I chose wisely. I even had dessert 4 times. The 4 lbs of "water weight" I lost before I went are still gone!

We head home to Bozeman tomorrow . 

Leadership Conference...

Here I am at Leadership in Houston and already we've eaten out twice. I am happy to say that I am making good choices and thoroughly enjoying my food - and staying within my allotted calories so far! We are doing plenty of walking, so I am counting that as exercise and calling it good.

I stopped in to the little cafe downstairs and picked up lunch for the morning to avoid eating out... yogurt, raisin bran, and a banana. Not a whole lot of protein there, but not a bad start to my day.

I am tracking calories on SparkPeople, even if I am not so consistent in posting here. Right now I am having a hard time sleeping (it's almost 3 am! I will be up in 4 hours) so I figured I might as well post an update since the shut-eye isn't happening.

One of the things I am committing to this year is discipline, and specifically for 90 days. I am pretty sure this will include my eating and exercise habits, so I am excited about the progress! I'll keep you posted...

Weigh in

I weighed in this morning... 4 lbs down!! I realize it's probably water weight, but I'll take it!!

I exercised yesterday for about 20 minutes. Some dancing, some hula hoop, some pilates and yoga. I still haven't gotten my workout in before breakfast, but at least I have done some moving.

I ended yesterday in the 1200-1300 calorie range, right where I like to be.

I leave for leadership tomorrow, and I have no idea what the food situation will be like, so I will just have to record and do my best.

Okay... off to start my day!!

Exercise

Today I recorded my food. I ended the day at just over 1300 calories. Not bad, considering it was my dad's birthday, so we ate out and had cake.

More importantly, today I EXERCISED. 20 minutes on the elliptical machine this evening. 200 calories burned. It felt both good and exhausting to exercise. I really need to do that more! Ideally, I will exercise first thing in the morning, but today, I am just happy to get exercise in. It is a process, this building of habits that I am doing.

Tomorrow, I will record my food and I will exercise.

Recording....

Today I recorded my food. Calories were fine. I came in around 1250 calories, and ended up in the right range for most of the categories. I was a little low on protein, but that's fine. I'll work on fine-tuning as I go. I was especially proud of the choices I made today while going out to eat for lunch at Cheddar's. I ordered edamame and a cup of chicken tortilla soup. Not only was it delicious, but it kept me pretty full for most of the afternoon. I did need a snack around 3, but that is par for my life.

So... today, I weighed. Today I recorded my food. Tomorrow... exercise. I can do this.

Belly Fat

I have belly fat. It's not really a secret, especially for anyone who has met me in person. But it is something I don't like to think about, talk about, or, apparently, do anything about. You can't do anything to target fat in a specific area of the body, but it's the thing I like least about myself. If there's one thing I could change about my body, my belly would be it. After I had Eliana, everything went downhill (literally!) and I have been discouraged about it since.

One of Dr. Oz's resources has a few recommendations for reducing belly fat and, once again, they don't seem all that hokey. Hmm... am I noticing a theme? Here are the suggestions (and reasons behind them)...

1. Reduce refined sugar intake. - Insulin tells your body to store fat, and when your insulin levels are high (like when they are dealing with refined sugar) they tell your body to store more fat. By lowering your refined sugar intake, you allow the insulin levels to fall and your glucagon (what he calls a "fat-releasing" hormone) to rise.

2. Strengthen the legs and butt. - Your legs and behind have the largest muscles in your body, and are going to burn the most calories when they are strengthened. Not only that, but by having stronger legs and butt, they are going to do more work as you go about your every day, making all of the movement you do in a day more effective.

3. Do 20 minutes of cardio in the morning before you eat breakfast. - This will prime your body and tell it to pull fat from the stored fat in your body as opposed to the meal you just ate.

So those are the 3 things that Dr. Oz recommends for getting rid of belly fat. You can also do exercises to strengthen your core, but unless you get rid of the fat around your middle, you won't actually see any change in your midsection. My plan for working my abs is to get back into Aerial Dance in February.