Weekly Wrap-Up, finally.

Finally, finally, I am sitting down and doing a weekly wrap-up post. I know that none of you care at all if I write one or not (jerks), but it helps me stay accountable. If it was just up to me and me alone to get things done, follow through and be motivated, I am fairly confident that I would be the world’s saddest excuse for a human. I mean, more than I already am. So putting all my crap out there for the world to see is a tactic I use to shame myself into being a better person. Not that it’s working lately.

So basically this post is kinda full of suck, so I apologize in advance.

Challenge 1: Weight Loss

I. Am. Stuck. I’m at a plateau. Or even worse than a plateau, I’m gaining and losing the same 5 or so pounds, and have been doing so for a few weeks now. I am getting to the point of frustration, which is when that little voice inside my head starts going “Screw this! Nothing is working, why are you bothering??? At least eat a cookie/pizza/french fries and enjoy yourself if you aren’t losing anyway!!” I’m losing motivation fast, so I need to do something to change things up.

My issue, or I should say my excuse, is that things have been INSANE for me. I don’t live a stressful life and I’m not going to pretend that I do. I have an easy life, with no job that takes up 40+hours of my week, I have a helpful husband and two great kids. So please don’t take my complaints as me being out of touch with reality. I can only speak for my life right now, which compared to so many others is basically a cakewalk. I know that. Bare with me.

For the past 2-3 weeks, I’ve thrown 2 parties, had a sick husband, a sick baby who decided after weeks of 12 hour nights of sleep to start torturing me with twice-nightly wakings, a cold for myself, etc. I’ve been totally out of synch with normal life, and I’m paying for it. I’ve been eating worse (although most days, I do stay within my calorie allotment on My Fitness Pal, you can’t eat junk and it not affect you, calories or not.) and not going to the gym as much. When I am at the gym, I’ve only been doing the treadmill, no strength training, and I think that really makes a difference. My body is now used to the treadmill, even though I’m increasing my incline and going longer intervals over time. I have seen my weight go down the most consistently when I do some cardio AND some weights, even if it’s not anything hardcore. I’m sure there is some science behind this, having to do with building muscle and my metabolism, etc, but I don’t care to research it. I know what to do, I just need to do it.

With this weekend being Simon’s first birthday party and the Super Bowl (not that I give two craps), I have been surrounded by even more junk than usual, and although I’ve done ok not giving in, today I finally just said SCREW IT!!!! and went crazy. I have eaten horribly all day. Just total lack of restraint. But I have a plan. I’m hoping that either A) I will feel so awful tomorrow AND the scale will be cruel, therefore I will be shamed into a life of health and fitness or B) by some odd fluke, by blowing it and changing up so much, the scale will move down and get things going again. I know, a girl can dream. Although I have had that happen to me before, so who knows. I have a feeling shame will be the word of the day come tomorrow morning, though. And that’s ok. Sometimes you gotta just throw it all out and start fresh. So that’s what I’m doing. I’m recommitting to going to the gym at least 3 nights this week and doing a few minutes less on the treadmill and adding in a few minutes on the weight machines. And as soon as I have weaned Simon, I am committing to some classes in the evening, which I’m super excited about… now, to get this kid off the boob… but that’s another post.

Challenge #2: Save Money

I am finally making some progress here. Again, it’s been weird with the party planning and what not, but I’m still spending less than I was a few months ago. I’ve also stocked up so much that I think this week, all I need is some fresh produce, meat and dairy, and I’m set. So that’s HUGE! I’m talking $50 or less here. And with no parties or events coming up, I’m hoping to finally see some normalcy. But really, that’s my issue, with both weight loss and spending. I’m blaming my failures on “bad weeks” or “being busy,” but when is that NOT happening? When is there NOT a birthday or a class party or getting together with friends? When is someone not sick or out of town or planning something? Never. So I’ve got to stop using that as excuse to overeat, overspend, not exercise or be lazy. That’s just LIFE, I have to deal with it.

Challenge #3: 50 Books

 

I mentioned in my very quick wrap-up last week that I finished The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom, and it was meh. It’s set in pre-Civil War Virginia, and is told from the POV of 2 women: Lavinia, an indentured servant from Ireland who was orphaned on her voyage to her new home; and Belle, a slave who reluctantly takes over as a mother figure in Lavinia’s life while trying to make herself happy in very trying times. There are some really interesting parts to the story, and I enjoyed getting to know the characters. But to me, there were some HUGE plot gaps and shortcuts that just really stood out to me. I won’t give anything away, but I’d say that as a first novel, Grissom did a decent job, but she needs to mature quite a bit as a writer.

I’m now reading “The Book Thief” by Marcus Zusak. So far, and I’m less than halfway through it, I’m really impressed with it. It’s written in a pretty unique manner; it’s almost blog-like in some ways. Which is weird because it’s set in 1940s Germany, so blogging is barely mentioned. Ha.

Anyway, it took me a minute to get drawn in, but I’m hooked now and have NO IDEA where it’s going, so that’s intriguing. I’m curious to finish it up. And I can do that while AT THE GYM! See, it’s a win-win.

Shew. OK, I am whipped. It’s been a very crazy few weeks and I’m ready for things to sloooowwww down. Mama needs a break! Have a great week everybody!