Biggest Loser Challenge

It was a great week because Jacob and I had such great success with our weight loss goals. Friday was the second weigh in at school for our biggest loser challenge. Two Fridays ago (1/11) we had our first weight in and we set our weight loss goals for the 8 week challenge. Mine is to lose 16 pounds by March 15^th. On the last weight in, the Friday before spring break, whom ever reaches their weight loss goal can split the pot of money we have all put in. There are 14 of us participating and it has been so great so far! I went to weigh in on Friday (1/18) and hadn’t stepped on a scale since the previous Friday so I had no idea what to expect. Well, what I really expected was to have a gain a pound or so since I have been going to spin class I really feel my legs getting stronger. To my surprise it said I had lost six pounds! I was so pleasantly surprise I had lost that much in one week. In fact our choir teacher that is running the whole challenge had suggested that 16 pounds by spring break might be too drastic, but after she saw that I only have 10 to go now she had a big “nevermind, you proved me wrong!” look on her face which was great encouragement.  Overall being in this accountability group has been a great support system. I have never lost this much weight during one of my “diets”, much less within 7 days. After school I was talking to Jacob about how much I’d lost and we were both in a sortof disbelief and maybe thought the old school scale was inaccurate and I should weigh in tomorrow at the gym since they have a high-tech digital scale. So after spin class I went to weight in and it said 183.6 (mind you the scale at school said 193 on 1/11). I almost died I was so pumped! I know I have probably gained a pound back since rehydrating after that spin class, but I can say that I have definitely lost about nine pounds already. I can feel my body getting stronger and I’m looking forward to my spin classes, and wish I could go to more! My instructor has told me as of now I should only go to three spin classes a week and to maybe try a different class that works a different set of muscles so my legs have time to heal and rest on the days I’m not spinning. As for now I’m going to take his advice, but I will probably add the Sunday afternoon spin class once I finish up my teacher certification the third week in February (!).

On another note just wanted to share my what I’m eating since I think my diet (by diet I mean the foods I'm consuming, not a short term way of losing weight) is the main reason I am losing weight:

For breakfast I’m having a bowl of wheat chex with fat free milk (about 220)

Lunch I have a weight watcher meal, fiber one bar, laughing cow cheese and some special K multigrain crackers (500)

If I need a snack after school I usually have carrots with hummus or celery with peanut butter at home (300)

For dinner I’m having Shakeology shake with a cup of pineapple blended in (about 250 calories)

I’m constantly drinking unsweet tea with lemon or water with lemon throughout the day. I've totally cut out any drinks other than that, and I’m not really missing juice, wine or diet coke.

One day last week I kinda went crazy after school and kept eating tons of peanut butter. All that to say I’m definitely not perfect, but I’m finding that my fridge and pantry are filled with things that are great snacks that I do not have to feel guilty about. That means going to the grocery store and making smart choices is the first step in setting myself (and Jacob) up for success.  I have also learned little tid bits that are helping me make better decision on how I’m “spending” my calories each day. For example, bananas are about 120 calories each, and I would rather have a fiber one bar which has less calories (& choc chips) in my lunch instead. Yeah I’m sure organic bananas are better for preventing cancer compared to a fiber one bar, but I’m not perfect and this is what is working for me now. 

This will probably be the only time I talk about what I'm eating because frankly it is boring and it's not changing anytime soon because it is working for me =) 

Just wanted to share my success with y’all and let you know hard work definitely pays off. If what you are doing isn't working, try shakeology because honestly it has made the biggest different for Jacob and I. 

I am going to try to post again by Wednesday about getting into cycling (for real, outside, actually moving) & other outdoor activities and also write about the challenges I've had when ordering at restaurants.