What I learned from Week 4

My August 4x4 challenge is done. I will see tomorrow if I lost any weight. I know I did not lose what I thought I could. But I did learn some valuable things for September:
1. For the rest of my life I need to watch how I eat and exercise more then I think I need to.
2. Sunday is a great day to prepare for the week.
3. I need a backup plan for exercise, especially with my stressful job.
4. Processed sugar is my enemy and veggies are my friends.

What I learned from week 3

Awful week. I believe I found every piece of sugar in the state of North Carolina. Tough to exercise, even when I'm doing it. I'm not sleeping.

So did I learn anything:
1. Sugar will kill me! There is no reason to buy it, let it in my home or eat it. I need to treat processed sugar like a allergen.

2. I need a backup plan for exercise. Too many days I've slept through a morning class OR I'm had a meeting\Jonathan issue that made it so I could not go to my 6am class. I need to shoot for 6am but have an end of work day plan as well. This is as simple as knowing the YMCA schedule and packing clothes.

-Ginny

What I learned from week 2

It was a very good week. Less hunger, less snacking, but not much less weight. Again, the weekend killed me. Big dinners, late night eating, not enough water and just plain laziness.

Sugar again is raising its head. Cookies are all over the house, calling my name. I need to get them out and drink more.

I'm also not finding enough time to get a full work out in my schedule. I'm tried and need more sleep. I need to find a way to get to bed by 10pm.

What I learned from week 1

Week 1 was a success in that I reached my 4x4 challenged. Wrote down everything I ate for 4 days and exercised for more then 4 (5 to be exact). It helped that I was prepared and it took time, but was worth it.

What I learned:
1) Summer means ice cream to me, as often as I can get it.
2) The weekends (or post tracking) were a mess for me! Either this is a good sign that tracking really works or a bad sign that I'm just out of control.

For week 2 I've added a side challenge. I will abstain from all ice cream and cookies this week. Also, I am going to track my food on Saturday. If I do this I'm buying a well needed purse.

-Ginny

Pushing the Reset Button

June and July were big challenges for healthy living. Vacation and my new job squeezed exercise out of my day and the traveling adding a lot of entertaining eating. My weight was not horrible but my head and belly were.

Luckily my darling sisters and cousin all hit the reset button with me! We have another challenge for August that I call 4x4. For the four weeks of August, exercise 4 times per week and record everything you eat 4 times per week. If I fail a week, I get no TV or computer the following week. If I make it 4 weeks, I am taking off just for myself.

Just three days in I feel so much better. Eating better, sleeping better, and getting up to exercise. Just 25 more days to go!

-ginny