Positivity

So, I am feeling good.  I'm feeling like my life is getting organized, even if my house is NOT!  I have been doing great in school, and I just registered for Spring quarter and bought my books.  100 credits down, 75 to go, and I will have my bachelors.  I'm scared about what comes next - Masters, work, etc. - but I am not letting myself freak out now - I have time!  But I am doing good, class work is pretty easy, and I am keeping up on homework really well!  I'm working on the Pound for Pound Challenge with a vengeance... I have started Alli, and I am not sure it's working yet since it's only been a few days, but no bad side effects so that's a bonus.  I have done some research and figured out my Basil Metabolic Rate and the number of calories I need to eat to stay at my current weight.  Since my goal is 4 pounds per week, and each pound equals a 3,500 calorie deficit, that means I need to have a 2,000 calorie deficit per day to achieve my goal.  Alli is supposed to help you lose 50% more weight, so that takes me down to 1500 calories I need to deficit myself per day.  If I stick to my diet plan, that takes me down about 500 calories per day since my BMR says I need 2100 to stay at my current weight, and I am looking at hitting 1600 per day.  So the goal is to burn, on average, 1000 calories per day.  I can easily burn 200 per day in everyday walking, cleaning, and all that I do with my days.  So I need to exercise enough to burn 800 per day.  And boy, did I find the work out that I LOVE!!!  Kickboxing.  It's not a work out anymore, it's an obsession.  I am in love.  In love enough that I went out and bought new work out clothes, shoes and even kickboxing gloves.  In love enough that even though I can't walk after going 4 days last week, I can't WAIT for Monday morning when I get to go again.  In LOVE.  And, luckily enough, it burns about 800 calories in an hour at my current weight.  So, if all my calculations are correct, and I stick to my plan, I should drop an average of 3-4 pounds per week.  I bought a fancy-schmancy new scale that measures not only weight, but BMI, Bone Mass, Water weight and even Body Fat percentage!  So we'll see - I feel like I'm finally on a plan I can handle, oatmeal with raisins for breakfast, and on the days that doesn't sound good I can eat raisin bran, an english muffin with laughing cow cheese, or whatever I want that falls into a healthy option category with less than 200 calories and 10 grams of fat.  Lunch is a Smart Ones, still, I eat one every day and never get tired of it.  But if I am out and can't do it, again, 200 calories and 10 grams of fat or less and I am safe.  Dinner is easy, too.  Protein (3 oz), Carbs (1 serving), unlimited veggies, and a small amount of fat to cook with or as sauces, etc.  Snacks have to be 150 calories or less, 5 grams of fat or less, and I can have two per day.  Best options are, of course, fresh fruits and veggies, but I can do rice cakes, crackers, jello, pudding, even light ice cream or fro-yo.  As long as I watch portion sizes, calories and fat grams, drink enough water, and take my Alli pill three times a day... and do my working out... I should be 30 - 40 pounds lighter by my birthday, in 10 weeks. 

So, school and P4PC are on target and going well.  Money is good right now, we just got our tax return and the hubs new job is paying enough that IF we get our mortgage situation figured out, we might actually get back on top of it all, and that feels really good.

PTA is good, we have gotten through the majority of the problems, the auction is coming up and seems to be on track, and there are only a few small events coming up that I am not worried about.

Preschool is fine - I am finally feeling like I am getting caught up on stuff so that's a bonus.  I need to do my auction basket in the next two days but I am fin, I finally have the money to do it.

I'm on a roll... Life is going okay for once and I feel positive about it.  Let's hope I can keep it up, huh?

Pound for Pound Challenge... Our Version

So, the hubs and I have decided that we both want to get fit.  I want to lose 30 pounds and tone up, He wants to gain 30 pounds and bulk up.  Now that he has a new job with more flexible daytime hours (lame - back to more nights and weekends, but whatever) we have decided to challenge each other to see who can hit their goal first.  The only caveat is that we have to do it healthy - I can't crash diet to lose my 30, and he can't gain 30 lbs of pure fat by eating junk.  We are going to work out, both together and separately, and work on our diets so that he's getting more healthy fat and protein, and I am getting less fat and more protein.  It is going to be a challenge to find family meals that I can eat to lose, he can eat to gain, and that the kids will, well, eat at all.  But it is going to be fun, I think.  We weighed in this AM, and now he is off to drop the older kids at school and then stopping at Target for a gym bag, some work out clothes and a lock so he can join me this morning at the Y while the little one has her trifecta of lessons.  He started the day with a protein shake, I started mine with a berry smoothie.  I also bought some Alli, which I think I will start later this weekend.  The "treatment effects" of those pills can be a little ... scary?  So I plan to start them over the weekend when I can be home to deal with anything.  They say as long as you are careful about what you eat, after a few days your system gets used to the pills and you should be fine.  I am hoping it will be just enough of a help that I can stay motivated this time.

So, here we go... another year, another attempt at weight loss, another "motivation" that is sure to keep me in line... we'll see.  This is the first time I've had not only His support and encouragement, but also his desire to do something healthy, too.  I'm hoping that will be the key that I've been missing all this time.  Maybe if we're working on ourselves together, I won't be so apt to give up.