Keepin' It Up

This is not an easy ride! I'm losing hope rapidly, but I'm determined to stick to this for the rest of the summer. I gained weight over the last week or so, but I've FINALLY gotten under (very little, but something) where I was when I started this blog. 

Here's to hoping it keeps going down! I'm still keeping up with my PACT goals (and earning a little bit of money)!

I'm also using RunKeeper for my workouts, and there is a huge difference in May and June! Yay!

I've gotten very sore and bad back pain with trying to keep up work outs. I started swimming instead to keep up with PACT goals. I know I need to keep walking/jogging for more calories and cardio and strength. Here's to keeping up motivation!

Motivation is Key

Motivation is key! Last week was very successful. I'm using the PACT APP, and I met all of my goals. I don't like loosing money, so it works well!

I went down in weight (just a smidge) by the end of the week. I've upped my goals for this week. Looking forward to more progress!

Slippery Slope

One step forward, two steps back. That can pretty much sum up every weight loss attempt I've ever made - including this past week. 

I wasn't making excuses for why I should sit and watch netflix instead of go walking the last few days - I just didn't have the time. Busy mornings and late evenings where I'm not home made it difficult to get in my mile. I love in lower Alabama - mid day is NOT an option during summer. 

I missed four days of doing anything. FOUR DAYS without even noticing. Yikes. That's how fast this slippery slope goes.  

To combat this dangerous hill, I downloaded the PACT app. I will discuss other weightloss apps I use in another post, but this app looks like it will be a true motivator. 

Basically - I agree to do complete a certain number of workouts each week, log my calories for a certain number of days each week, and eat a certain number of fruits and veggies each week. I set the number for each one. 

THEN (the kicker) I set how much I'm willing to pay for each missed workout, missed calorie tracking day, and missed fruit/veggie serving. I like my money. I am not a fan of giving it up for no reason, so this app will definitely make sure I get my butt in gear! PLUS when you are successful, they pay you!

Pact Workouts

Pact offers several ways to track your workouts, and basically every option uses GPS to keep you honest. Since this is my first week, I selected the minimum three workouts with the minimum $5 per missed workout. On Sunday nights I am typically very optimistic about my workouts for the week ahead, so I set my workouts on Sunday night then I'll be forced to follow through during my "not so motivated" days. 

Pact has the option to sync with other workout apps - that's the option I'm taking. I'm using Runkeeper. If you look at the screenshot,  you'll see one workout for 06/09 and one not counted. The uncounted workout is because 1) you can only log one workout each day and 2) that specific workout is me entering into Runkepper that I swam for 30 minutes. Since I did not GPS track my swim, it doesn't count on Pact. 

Pact Calorie Logs

Similar to the workout logging, you can use other apps to count calories, and it will sync to Pact. I use MyFitnessPal. I've never paid attention to serving size and calories, so this is a huge eye opener! Pact doesn't require you to go under or on your exact calories nor are you penalized for going over. You just have to make sure you record at least 1,200 calories and three meals each day. 

Pact Fruits & Veggies

The Pact fruit and veggie log is really easy. I already take photos of my healthy meals and snacks to share with CSA friends - now I just upload them to Pact too! The Pact community votes yay or nay that your photo is of a full serving and looks like you're getting ready to eat it (not walking through the grocery store). 

Drumroll Please

The part everyone has been waiting for - THE PAYOUT. Obviously I haven't earned anything since I just started using it, but I did a great deal of research before giving this app access to my paypal account. 

All of the money that is paid in from people who don't meet their Pact is put into a pool that is then paid out to those who do meet their Pact. Most people recieve about $0.30-$0.50 for each completed Pact item. That may not be much, but it's better than nothing. Plus it adds up. 

IF I were to recieve $0.30 for each item above every week for a year, I'd earn over $170! I'll update this post next week to reflect my progress and earnings. 

Comment and let me know if you are using Pact too!

To Eat or Not To Eat

     To eat or not to eat? Well that's a stupid question - Eat! Eat all the foods! 

     I am horrible when it comes to eating. Either I eat well or a eat horrible. If I'm eating horribly, I'm eating everything in sight. I snack. I snack all the time. I keep snacks in my classroom - and when I say snack I don't mean apples and grapes - I'm talking JUNK: salt and vinegar Pringles, Chocolate Chip Blue Bell ice cream, twizzlers. I can always find a way to justify eating it: "I'll run a mile tonight" (I don't), "I'll start my diet Monday" (it's over by Tuesday). It never fails. I eat and I sit. It's a cycle. 

    Time to end that cycle! This is the time it's over!  Yesterday I finished off my ice cream and Pringles. These are my two huge vices. It's not that I'll never have them again, but I'm 'taking a break' from them until July. I'm sure they'll understand. 

     I recieve a CSA order each Wednesday - local fruits and vegetables. From this day forward, I will no longer purchase junk or crap. I will eat things from my CSA share instead. 

PROBLEM: I hate veggies and many fruits. 

    It's going to take a lot of practice cooking to turn this stuff into stuff I like! But here is to a new journey and a new (healthier) me!

My CSA for this week:

My breakfast today: Julienned sweet potatoes and farm fresh eggs. 

This was really good! I should have put the potatoes in the oven to make them crispier. 

My lunch: Zuchinni Noodles and Teriyaki Chicken

This was not good. Zuchinni was yuck! I'm not a fan. The chicken was okay, but I should have seasoned it better. 

I have a craving for more food. I'm not necessarily hungry - just want to eat. Thankfully - there's nothing in the house to eat! If I was hungry, I'd cook. Since I just want to mindlessly snack, I will not eat randomly. I have grapes and peaches I could snack on, but I don't really want those. 

TIP ONE: Don't keep temptations in the house!

First Success!

     I created this blog to help "lose my excuses." I'm a single mom, so more times than not it's just my son and I at home. If I'm already sitting down, there's no one to help motivate me to go complete my mile - this has been my biggest issue. I am in no way a self-motivator. 

    Today I spent almost ten hours in the car taking my son to camp. I was up before 4am. When I finally got home, I curled up with netflix and ice cream (I'm not denying myself bad foods - but I am cutting back and counting calories). When it came time to get ready for bed, I hadn't completed my "mile a day" goal. I started thinkjng of how I'd phrase it on my blog: "long day in the car - legs too cramped to walk today", " sad because my son's at camp - I'll walk two miles tomorrow to make up for it", "too tired from a 4am wake up - no mile today." They. All. Sound. Pathetic. I mean really a in home alone with no responsibilities no pressing issues and nothing that says I can't get my butt off the couch for twenty minutes. 

     When I started having to put my excuses into words for someone else, I just couldn't do it. So I got up and did my mile!

And it was the fastest mile to date! Woohoo! I was so pshyched! But I was also completely winded so keeping going was a definite no go. It felt great! And it feels even better to be able to come to my blog and share that I overcame my first excuse of the "New Me."

If I can do it, so can you!

Run Tubby Tubby!

     Exercising has always been difficult for me. Why force myself to be uncomfortable and sore? Well - now that I am motivated, and I know why! If I don't start being sore, I will never get to where I want to be. My immediate goal is one mile a day. Just one mile. It takes me a little less than twenty minutes to complete one mile. (Yes, that is me pushing it!) I know I am slow, but at least I am moving. 

    I began the month of June off right with a mile first thing this morning. These hideous and embarrassing photos are from after my mile this morning. I hate looking in the mirror, but I know if I don't start looking in the mirror and forcing myself to see what I've become - I will never change.


Here is to NOT looking like this in July or ever again!

Day One

     I have always been overweight. I don't know how it started, where it began, why I didn't stop sooner, how I became this large - I just know I've always been overweight. It has always been a battle, but a battle on the back burner. My weight has never stopped me from doing anything I wanted to do - of course I could never run or play sports or go hiking without a lot of difficulty, but I never let myself head towards those things. Other, slower, activities filled my time. 
      I have never hated myself. Being that I like who I am, I pushed my weight to the side. "If I like who I am, why should what I look like matter?" School, friends, family, and jobs were always placed I could be successful. Clothes, sports, and stairs gave me trouble. At sixteen I became a mom. Sixteen and pregnant isn't as glamorous as it looks on TV. With family support, I had my son, graduated high school, graduated college, and became a teacher. During my pregnancy, I gained 70+ pounds (yes, in addition to the baby). 
       Between being a mom, student, employee, daughter, ETC, I never had time to focus on fitness or eating healthy. After having my son, I knew I wanted to lose the weight. I want to bit fit, so I can run and play with him - so I can keep up - so I can set a good, healthy example. Each week of college always started with the "Let's Do This" attitude, up at 4am to workout with Fitness TV, taking stairs at classes, packing a good lunch - yatta yatta yatta. As the week progressed, I did not stay motivated. Excuses. Excuses have always been my downfall. I have homework. I have a test. I need to prepare. I need to cook. I need to clean. I need to play with Wyatt (which is always, ALWAYS important). I need to help someone with something. So I never reached any goals. I continued to back slide. 200 pounds in high school. 250 by the end of college. I moved out after college and bought junk food. No one to watch me as I splurged on ice cream. No one to motivate me to workout. Bad relationships that fostered more bad eating. By my second year of teaching, I was 330 pounds.
     Now - yes, there are a lot of holes in the above story, but it sums it up - I'm fat, extremely obese at 5'6" and a busy lifestyle with no motivation has gotten me here. Today. Day One. 


    Day One - I call this day one because it IS and WILL BE the first day of the rest of my life. I am financially secure (not as much as I want, but enough), I have a career, my son is eight years old, and it's summer (I'm a teacher, so this means FREEDOM). I am tired of breathing heaving with half a flight of stairs. I am tired of not being able to practice soccer with my son. I am tired of tight clothes. I am tired of expensive clothes because it requires a circus tent amount of fabric to fit.
     This blog, even if it never gets read, is my way to LOSE THE EXCUSES. There is no reason I can't take twenty minutes a day to do a mile. There is no reason I can't take time to plan healthy meals. I am going to LOSE THE EXCUSES and this blog will help keep me on track. It will also serve as a reminder that I can do whatever I put my mind to do.


Highest Weight: 330
Start Weight: 327
Goal Weight: 150
Height: 5'6"