Some things change. Some don't, thank goodness!

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My view walking into work!

A few weeks ago I was all in on blogging, again. I promised myself that I'd blog once a week to help get these 15 pounds off.  And for a few weeks I did just that, while I lost and gained.  Then my life basically turned upside down.  In addition to starting a new job in Wisconsin we started house hunting.  The promise that I'd made to myself to follow my training program suddenly fell by the wayside along with the pledge to blog.  I've tried to get out and use my lunch break to take a walk; both to get in some steps during the day but also to get away from work and clear my mind. While the daily workouts have been random my long runs have been on point.

Ironically, none of that is what actually triggered me to post today.  It was seeing this old post from a million years ago when I talked about what motivated me.  It was true then and it's probably even more true now.  We're moving to a city that has an amazing bike path system and I'm hoping to commute to work via bike more often than not.  We bought a house near a neighborhood so we could walk places rather than having to drive 20-30 minutes or more to get anywhere.

I'm currently staying with family who live in a house in that situation.  I've really enjoyed walking to the market to get some fruits/vegetables or walking to the local diner for a salad.  I'm guessing that has helped when it comes time to step on the scale.  The first week I was in Madison I gained 1 pound; the next week I lost 1.4, last week I lost 2.6 pounds.  The motivation is the same - to not be defined by my weight.  Whether I'm 215 pounds heavier or at my goal weight.  I just want to be able to live and move.  To have a good time and start this new adventure.

Can you define what your motivation is?  Has it changed?

Aw shoot...

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Things have been changing around here.  For those that are friends with me on Facebook this won't come as news but if you aren't, well then, buckle up.  In my past life I worked in IT as everything from first level Help Desk to Independent Consultant and lots of jobs in between.  As my contract as an Independent Consultant ended it felt like a good time to take a break and then I reached my goal weight and became a Weight Watchers employee.  About 18 months later I took a part time job working at a running store which ended up being a full time job at the store.  But... there was always a part of me that missed IT and a normal work week schedule.  So, I started looking... last Monday I accepted a new job as a Business Analyst back in the IT industry.  I suddenly ended up having some time off and a husband who can work from anywhere so we made a last minute trip to Wisconsin for a long weekend.

Fishing is more fun
than weigh-ins!

The time up there was AMAZING.  We did a very little bit of biking and some fishing.  I did a very cold/wet 7 mile long run where I felt strong and healthy.  I knew that I wasn't tracking or measuring most things so I didn't have great hopes for this weigh-in.  It should come as no surprise then that the scale registered a 4.2 pound gain.  Whatever.  It happened and I am going to move on.

I have to move on because this new job is coming at me very quickly with a start date on Monday.  In Madison.  Wisconsin.  So, there will be quite a bit of adjusting to everything.  I'm both excited and nervous.  

Long before I knew I was going to be making a change in jobs I also planned that I'd on 10/1 I'd start to follow The Auto Immune Paleo Program.  This is related to the fact that my Crohn's disease has been more active lately and I am going to try to figure out if making dietary changes has any effect on my symptoms.  I don't have any illusions of following this perfectly because I know that some meals are going to be out of my control due to circumstances but I am going to do the best I can.  So... stay tuned!

Setting Goals

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Whoo!  Two weeks in a row of posting?  I'm not gonna call it a comeback just yet...  HAHA!

So this week at the meeting (yes, I still go to meetings every week and find them to be the entire reason I am only 10 pounds over my goal weight rather than 50 or more) we talked about setting SMART goals.  You know SMART goals if you've ever worked in a corporate setting as that's how we went through our annual review process -- setting goals that are achievable, measurable have a time frame associated with them and most importantly they are realistic.

I don't think I've lost sight of my goals but maybe haven't quite made them quite as realistic and measurable as they need to be.  So, obviously I want to lose some weight and then get better at maintaining my goal weight.  How?  Well, these are the steps I'm taking now:

1. We typically have a snack after dinner, for me it's a little more dessert than snack and I always work the SmartPoints into my plan early in the day to ensure I account for them.  However, we'd recently started also having second snack.  Well, no more second snack.
2. I have a training plan for an upcoming November half marathon.  I've been pretty good about following it but not as good as I should be, meaning that I let some excuses get in my way of working out.  Regardless of what's going on I need to get out and work out.  Whether it's a walk, a 15 minute run or the prescribed workout. 
3. This weekend is our annual Oktoberfest celebration.  We've hosted this party for ten years and while I struggle between a balance of enjoying myself a little too much or stressing out completely about hosting.  My goal this year is to just roll with it.  I also know that even if I gain next week that life will go on.

Making these changes this week resulted in a 1.4 pound loss.  Again, I won't call it a come back just yet but at least we're moving in the right direction.  

What SMART goal can you set for this week?

Need Accountability

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*knock knock knock*  Is this thing on?

Yeah, I know, it has been awhile.  Things were going pretty well.  Then they weren't.  Then they were.  Now, well... did you read the title of this post?

Weight maintenance is so freaking tricky.  This is not surprising to me as I've basically spent the majority of my adult life trying to lose weight.  I have only spent the last four years trying to actually maintain that weight loss.  Since I blogged about my weight loss and the accountability of posting every week seemed to help I'm really going to try to my hardest to do it again.  Clearly you can expect some snark, maybe some tears (at least on my part) and honesty.

I am, currently, 10 pounds over my goal weight.  I realize how that sounds to anyone who has weight lose.  Wow, 10 pounds Jen, GFY.  And no, that does not stand for 'good for you'.  Except, that 10 pounds right now feels like 215.  I feel like I am in a constant cha-cha.  One step forward and two steps back.

I need to stop it.  I need to get my head back in the game.  So, here I am.  Except, it's not just weight that I'm battling right now either.  Morty (aka Crohn's) has been much more active these last few months.  Do the two things go hand in hand?  Probably.  Am I trying to fix both?  Obviously.  Will I get things back in check?  Who knows?  Let's hang out together, encourage each other and kick some...