Time to get SERIOUS.

So, Nancy's wedding is November 6, 2010 -- that's a little over two months.

I'm currently at 192.2.
I'm not going to focus on what weight I want to be at (so long as I don't gain), because I fit in the dress.
I do want to focus on a few things:

1. I think in the month of September I want to run (on the elliptical) 100 miles (or 160.9 km).  I'm going to write it down each day on my calendar at home.  If I run a little over 8 km 20 out of 30 days, I'll be good to go.

2. NO DRINKING. I've covered this time and time again. Drinking, the hangover, and the recovery are so contrary to where I want to be. So I'm just not going to do it.  Plus, when I was on the good date, it would have been advantageous if I didn't drink at all, or stuck to 1 glass. 

3. More cooking for myself, eating in, making grocery lists and meal planning.  I don't want to go so far as to be rigid, but I know I do better when I have a battle plan.

4. Use body measurements.

5. Become accountable to a team and/or another person who has similar goals.

25 comments

I think you can do it I have faith in you, body measurement grrr I keep forgetting to measure myself I am replacing fat with muscle right now so the scales are not an accurate guide right now. Good thinking with the cooking you will have more control over what you eat it is much better.

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I like it! And you can do it! Keep up that positive spirit :)

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I need to write them down -- they're on some web site or another from a while ago. And my friend just returned my tape measure. I just need to do it.

And you're very right -- as your body is losing fat/water and gaining muscle, your body makes changes that aren't reflected on the scale. In order to not be discouraged it's good to have other metrics or focus on your behaviors.

As for cooking it's (1) cheaper (2) I love to do it (3) more control over what goes in your food (4) you have a connection to the process of creating the food you eat -- making it harder to binge if you have to wait hours for something to marinate, rise, bake, freeze, etc.

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Natalia -- i'm trying to stay positive.
Some good days, some bad days. But I'm trending towards happiness.

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That's the SAME day as my friends wedding! I'm trying to lose weight as I don't even have a dress yet. The date's far enough away that you can make a big difference but close enough to be excited to see the friends that will be there! keep up the good work.

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I have a bridal shower on Sept 18, and the bachelorette party on October 2. Between now and the wedding there will be a limited number of people who will see me. I hope I turn a few heads.

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Oh yeah - as you're building a healthy body, the scales can be deceiving. I personally keep an old pair of fat pants and continue to measure the gap in the waistband as I work through this journey. For instance, I've only lost about two pounds in the past month, but that gap measurement has grown by three inches!

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I'm much better friends with my tape measure than I am with my scale! You're going to do GREAT with your goals! I remember when I quit drinking because of Johnny. I really enjoyed drinking before ... but he just turned 4 in June and I still haven't had a drop and haven't missed it.

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Wow Angela -- you're gonna be one hot mama!

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Good luck with your goals! And no drinking is really hard. I've done without it for the past month and it's been tough when I go out because nobody understands. At all.

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I've stopped drinking before (because I was on meds) and it wasn't an issue.

And it's hard when everyone else is drinking -- but i tell people WHY i'm doing it and I get lots of support.

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Karen: I can imagine not drinking as a parent. After my mom died, I asked my dad not to drink -- what if an emergency happened and he had been drinking? We'd be up shit's creek without a paddle.

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I struggle big time with drinking and you just said it so elquently... the recovery, the act, and what I do (eat and smoke) when I drink... bad stuff... Good luck, I know you can do it!

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Jessifer -- like I wrote in my post about The Epiphany -- when you know what you want, giving up the vices doesn't seem so hard.

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Sounds like a comprehensive list for achieving that dress goal. Number three is the one that I have found has a huge bearing on success. Not that the others are really lessor considerations, they are not. But I do so much better cooking my own food than leaving it up to others, especially restaraunts.

Go gett'em!

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being accountable helps a great deal..
I have a trainer I just started working with ..
my goals for this week are to keep a food log and to swim friday and Saturday and take sunday off except for a walk if I want... he really pushes me.. but what I like the most about him.. is he lost 75 pounds .. thats near what I want to lose.. so he understand what it all means he is not just some muscle bound guy who has no clue.. we have Biggest Loser program here.. and he is one of the trainers in charge of it..He works with people who are as much or more than 400lbs.. so he gets it all.. he understands my master goal of about 70 pounds and my broken down goals of 10 pounds at a time.. it makes me feel good..

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Patrick -- it's a very fine line for me because i tend to love the food I eat. I tend to overeat the food I make. When I make food, I think it's important for me to portion it out into separate containers and then get them in the fridge. If it's still warm i might eat double the amount I intended (see: stuffing mix)

Honib -- it's good that you found someone to train with that is also someone who gets it, and someone who has been through it. I don't think many people realize what an emotional process this can be. More than realizing it, he can guide you through it. Your very own weight loss Sherpa.

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Hey!! So, I won my first blog award the other day... and being that you're one of my favorite bloggers, I wanted to pass it on to you. :)

http://diaryoffatwoman.blogspot.com/2010/09/didnt-have-acceptance-speech-ready.html

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the ACCOUNTABILITY is key for me.
in fitness
in career
in motherhood
in...


MizFit

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Joanna -- I saw! I received that one a few days before you gave it to me! I posted my responses a few days ago, as well as adding your name and a link to your entry on my awards page.

MizFit -- accountable to yourself?

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Wow - how long does it take you to run 8 km on the elliptical? That's crazy! I usually manage to put in 2.5 miles in 33 minutes....

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I usually do 8k in around 56 minutes. You're about on pace.

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I finally started writing down what I eat everyday so I can stop snacking so much - using sparkpeople. It's a super busy site, but not using it for much besides tracking water, food, and how many times I actually bike commute to work. CoffeeMonster if you want to track me down. <3 Dawn

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Thanks for the comment, Dawn.
You know, it's been proven time and time again that people who take the weight off and are successful in keeping it off are food loggers?

That alone gives me the motivation to keep it up!

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Like Joanna I also love your blog so I've given you an award and tagged you in a game. Here's a link (kinda)

http://movingmertle.blogspot.com/2010/09/awards-and-games.html

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<3 Robby