My pants fit!

[racerxmachina.livejournal.com]

Haven't posted to fitgeeks in a while, so I wanted to give you all an update. 

I've lost 3 pounds since early August, due to diet and exercise tuneup. I know because those pants that I've owned and washed for a year that "shrunk in the wash all of a sudden" now fit at the waist correctly once more.  Since my dryer doesn't have a "unshrink" setting, it must be me that shrunk!

Here's what I did:
*  Stopped eating sugared cereals, instead focusing on ones that fill me up with lots of whole grain.  Kashi makes a pretty decent "cheerio" type cereal that works well in this regard, and is lightly sweet.
*  Less alcohol.  I am a "kill the bottle" sort, and there are better ways to get my antioxidants (homegrown tomatoes!) than the glass of red wine-- or two-- route.  I will still tie one on occasionally, but I'm reining myself in well these days and the weight's coming off.  :)
*  More fruit/whole grains.  Particularly paying attention to not being hungry when I get home from work and getting random things from the fridge-- this means having fruit/veg throughout the day, especially at 3 PM.  Even low-cal snacks later in the day stack up, so it's best to fill up earlier.
*  Stairs, stairs, stairs.
*  Tea, tea, tea.   When I think I need something in my tummy, I hydrate first, THEN see if I need to eat.  Usually I'm thirsty and my body isn't giving me the right signal. 
*  New thing: rice/complex carbs in ice-cream bowls instead of on a plate.  Really lets you see how much you're eating!
*  Finding my target heart rate during my 30 min cardio, and keeping that rate for as long as I can.  This is a lot of extra work and monitoring, but if I'm just going through the motions, it's not going to do me as much good.  Every minute should count as much as possible.

Last night, I applied to hire a student personal trainer.  I hired a personal trainer when I began working out 4 years ago, and I think it's time to get some new training and techniques.  Last time, I was merely learning correct lifting techniques since I was brand-new to weights.  This time, my specific goals are upper-body toning and 15-20 pounds weight loss. (note to self: also contact student rep about body composition test.)  I want to have something to look forward to when I go, these sessions should do the trick.  I'll pass on cool stuff I learn.

Comments

[palecur.livejournal.com]

Yay! That is excellent to hear.

[deirdremoon.livejournal.com]

Tea instead of alcohol is a big thing for me too. Hydration is great. Plus, I hadn't realized that making more time for friends, I was still in the mode of "Anytime I see certain friends is a rare treat! Time to celebrate!!" ...when in fact, I was starting to "celebrate" every week. D'oh.

Good luck with the trainer, btw. Curious to find out what new stuff you learn.

[racerxmachina.livejournal.com]

When I was really fighting depression, I made a hard and fast rule of "don't drink when you're sad." When I gained nearly ten pounds from a round of cons and birthdays, I realized that I should make a "don't drink when you're very happy, either" rule.