Weight Loss Wednesday

I will not lie to you, I was a little apprehensive about today's Weight Loss Wednesday post. I have only lost about another 0.5 of a lb since Christmas Eve. I was hoping to lose at least a few more, so I was feeling kind of down.

But then something special happened. My friend Christine sent me a link to her wedding pictures. I was the maid of honor in her wedding back in late September. I love the pictures- they are stunning. I already have a large stack picked out to be printed and framed. But the first thing I noticed was how much weight I have lost since then. My arms appear flabby and big in the pictures, where now they are stronger and more toned. My fingers are super chubby in the pictures, where as now they are thin. And my face looks bloated at the wedding, now it is much thinner and longer.


Also, I worked in a different branch office yesterday. I had not been there in quite a while, and several people noted how much weight I have lost and how different I look.

And on New Years Eve, when I walked into my friends house for our party, my friend Mary exclaimed "Is that Megan??"

So I need to stop obsessing about the number on the scale and remember how I feel and the progress that I am making. A few months ago I could not even begin to get myself into the plank position, now I can hold a plank for 15 seconds. I can do 75 squats at a time. I can do 60 crunches at a time. These are things I never thought I could do before. My next challenge for myself? Push ups.  Never liked em, never pushed myself enough to do them.  But I'm going to try.

I know I shouldn't get too frustrated about the number on the scale. I need to focus on the other successes and victories, and how I am feeling. But it is hard when I seem to go in this cycle now of "nothing, nothing nothing, BOOM 2 lbs, nothing nothing nothing". I am antsy!

A few people have asked me to share some of my workouts and recipes. So under the cut, you will find that information. If you aren't interested in that, thanks for reading what you have so far, and I hope you have an amazing week!


Workout
Cardio: Here are some of the workouts I do for cardio. I mix it up, so I'm not doing the same thing every day. Sometimes I'll do two of these in one day, but that's rare. I usually do one of these and then core/abs or weights. I got these workouts off of Pinterest.

Treadmill

Row

Ellipitcal

Bike

Core/Squats

 

I do this challenge most days I workout, but I don't repeat it three times. I just run through it once. And I don't do the 20 minute incline walk because I've usually already done my cardio for the day.

Each of these are great because they work a lot of muscles, but focus on the core. Do 10 reps of each with a weight that is comfortable for you.

I don't do these every time I work out, but try to mix them in when I can. Right now I'm at a 15 second plank but goal is to get to 60 one day! 

Weights
At least 2-3 days a week, I squeeze in 10-15 minutes of weight training. I use the range of motion weight machines and do 15 reps of each of these:

Chest Press
Shoulder Press
Pec Fly
Dead Lift
Lat Pull
One Arm Lat Pull
Row

This is an example of the machine I use for LAT pull.

Recipes

I find almost every recipe I make on Pinterest. There are thousands of recipes on that little website. Just search "healthy recipes". My favorites that I have made so far are: Cheesy Honey Mustard Chicken, Chicken Orzo Spinach Soup, Cilantro Lime Chicken, and Turkey Meatballs

My other favorite website for recipes is Skinnytaste. My absolute favorite recipe from here, and that I've made, is Stuffed Pepper Soup.  I also liked the Spinach Tortellini Soup.

My biggest piece of advice with recipes/cooking: Before you do your weekly grocery shopping, sit down and figure out what you want to make that week and write out the ingredients that you need. Then, at the store, ONLY buy those ingredients, and staple items if you need them (milk, eggs, etc) but nothing else. That will stop you from over spending and buying things you don't really need. Plus, it will keep you focused during the week so that you will know exactly what you are going to make for dinner that night.

I also strongly advise cooking a large meal for dinner, and IMMEDIATELY putting 1/2 in a container for lunch the next day. Then you don't need to worry about lunch, you already know it's healthy, and you're saving money. 

And finally, soups in the winter are the best. You can make a giant pot on a Sunday or Monday night, put some in Tupperware and freeze it to eat the rest of the week. It gets boring sometimes, I realize, but a huge money saver. I just ate my last serving of chicken orzo soup. I made it Monday for lunch and it lasted me through today for lunch.