Final Weigh In of 2012

This morning was my final weigh in of 2012, and the weigh in after Christmas. I wasn't really sure what to except as to be honest I haven't been great at tracking as you can see. I have tracked 100% since Saturday though :)  I did do pretty well with my Active Link monitor, my assessment ended on Wednesday and my challenge started and I have been doing pretty good at keeping active. Let's hope it continues.

Weigh in Results

I ended the year with a loss :)
Previous Weight: 278.6
Today's weigh in: 277.4
+/- :  - 1.2lbs
Total loss 27.6lbs (I realized my total loss was wrong when I posted last week, this is the correct total)

I am pleased with my overall loss, but did check out my figures for this year and I only lost 14.8lbs in 2012, so really need to step my game up. 

I have decided to set myself a weight loss goal for 2013. I would like to try and reach 200lbs, which is a loss of 77.4lbs, part of me thinks this is too bigger goal to aim for, but I know if I really try hard I can achieve it - so watch this space...

I am currently signed up for a few challenge to help motivate me.

This week is the final week of the  Elf4Health 6 week challenge, which has been a lot of fun.
Last week I joined Weight Off My Shoulders  PnPTrackstar challenge, it is all about tracking what you eat as much as possible.
Tomorrow is the start of my diet bet challenge, we have 9 participants and the pot is currently at $180, if you would like to join (it's $20) please email me for an invite link.
I also signed up to the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans weight loss challenge which starts tomorrow and my partner for that challenge is Veronica.
My final challenge is a second diet bet challenge where the pot currently stands at just under $6000!!

So providing I lose 4% of my weight in January it could be a profitable month :)

Happy New Year everyone, have a fun but safe evening tonight and I hope 2013 is an amazing year for you

Sarah xxx

Final 5k of 2012

This morning I completed my final 5k of 2012. I did the Brazen New Year's Eve 5k, don't worry you haven't lost a few days, yes it is 29th Dec today, they did it this morning as NYE is a Monday this year.

All week I have been checking the weather forecast and it kept saying rain, so I wasn't looking forward to the race, but the rain held off for the race. The 5k was around part of Lake Chabot, it was an out and back route which included a few small hills. Dave took part with me and we walked the first half together, but then I got adventurous and started jogging on the second half, it felt really good, at the time that is, especially when I ran over the finish line, but now my back is really sore, so think it was a bit too much impact on my slipped discs - Ill survive though :)

Even though there was no rain it was still cold out there - a chilly 7 degrees, I think I was one of the few people who was stupid enough to not wear a jacket or long sleeves!! As you can see the route actually showed as being  3.44 miles, so just over 5k, so I don't know how fast I did the 5k in, the official chip results haven't been posted yet. However I did get a new PR for 1k - I did it in 10:22 :)
I ran at an average pace of 17:38/mile, I checked my app and my fastest pace is 17:21, so I am getting close to the speed I ran a 5k in back in July. I would love to start the New Year by beating this PR on Tuesday in the 5k.

 

 

This is the first time I have taken part in  Brazen race and they lay on an awesome spread of food at the finish line, including the local It's -It ice cream, I have always wanted to try their ice cream sandwiches  - they were so good. For those of you who don't know I am also taking part in the new Years Day 5k (which is actually on New Years Day!) and they make a special medal that goes with today's medal, you get the one below for today, and then one for NYD and then a third medal so you can make them into a mega medal. I also loved the fact my name was on my bib, this is the first time I have had a personalized bib.

This was my 9th race of 2012 (8 5k's and 1 10k), and I got my sixth medal for my medal rack :)  Planning to fill it with lots more in 2013. Yesterday I signed up for my first ever progressive marathon for June next year.

 

 

I was excited to plug my active link in after the race, yes I finally earned some points - I got 5 points for the race, and I still plan on walking the dogs later so may even make it 6 points.

 

Sarah xxx

Active Link Assessment

I completed my 7 day Active Link assessment :)

I think maybe I should have chosen a better week to do it, as I spent a lot of time at home on the sofa watching TV over Christmas, although to be fair I wasn't expecting the results to be great, but I am a little shocked at them all the same!!

I do like how it says I am an athlete - all be it an occasional one!! 

It now sets me goals, it wants me to reach the base line each day as my goal. Which I guess is a goal, but the base line is 0 points, so it's like a goal with no prize :( It says that my 12 week goal is to be earning 2 points a day, which I don't think is much, but technically it's twice what I am currently doing. I do have the chance to review my goals along the way, and if I find once the holidays are over and I am back in a regular routine that I am moving more I can change my goal. 

I like how it challenges you to also do the following activities: 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity 5 times a week, and/or 20 minutes of high intensity activity 3 times a week, and it automatically checks them as you do them. So far I am on day 2 and have one box checked

This as how I got on yesterday (day 1), I reached 122% of my goal, but didn't earn any activity points :( It would have been nice if it had told me how close I was to earning a point. When I am following weight watchers I don't tend to eat my activity points (which is probably a good thing as I'm not earning any!), but it is interesting to see how little I do - at the moment anyway!!
 

I am taking part in a 5k tomorrow, so hoping that I will be checking a few boxes and earning some activity points finally.

Sarah x

Weigh in and Elf 4 Health

Christmas Eve and weigh in day. I haven't been great at tracking this week, but I have been great at drinking lots of water and have been out walking lots. I have been wearing my active link and am still in the assessment stage so looking forward to getting the results in a few days. Here are this week's results:

Last weigh in: 279.6
12/24/12 : 278.6
+/-: loss of 1lb
Total loss: 26.4lbs 

So a nice small loss for me this week, and I am hoping that I will be ending the year with a loss too.

I have a 5k to run this Saturday and another one on New Year's Day that I am really looking forward to doing. I would like to commit to doing at least one 5k each month in 2013. I plan to start browsing the local racing calendars in the next few days to get signed up for some more races.

I joined the Elf4Health challenge 4 weeks ago, and have just received my third elf buddy. My first elf was Stephanie in MA and my second elf was Ginger in NC - both of whom were awesome. My third elf buddy is Jami, but I've not heard back from her yet. Lindsey and Elle have been great at matching everyone up and setting us some great challenges - thanks ladies for being so awesome. I would say so far I have taken part in about 50% of them, so must try harder in the final two weeks.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays - hope you all have a happy and safe one

Sarah xxx

Weigh in results

This is a bit of a delayed update, I weighed Monday morning but have only just got round to blogging.

The last time I weighed was the week I flew to England and I weighed 278, I planned to weigh last Tuesday to see 'the damage' but I either had gastroenteritis or food poisoning and was really really sick last week, although I did get on the scales mid week and there was a big loss, but that was because I literally had nothing inside me for 3 days!!

Last weigh in: 278
12/17/12: 279.6 
+/-:   gain of 1.6lbs
Total loss: 25.4lbs

I was expecting a much  bigger gain after my vacation so think the fact I was sick helped with this, but I have been eating lots of not so healthy food since I got better.

I made the decision today to go back to weight watchers meetings. The best time for me is Tuesday mornings, which means I can't go next week as it will be Christmas Day and the week after is New Year's Day and I will be running a 5k. So I will be back at meetings on Jan 8 :) In the meantime I will be tracking online starting tomorrow morning and weighing on a Monday morning, I will probably record my weight at home on a Monday morning also even when I am back at meetings.

Also today I purchased an active link as a Christmas present to myself. :) I haven't set it up yet, but plan to in the next few days and am eager to see how much exercise I'm doing (or not doing)!! I have read a few things about it, but not 100% sure how it works, so will be reporting back as I use it. It is an extra $5 a month, but I think I am worth it.

Time to go and read some of the new weight watchers 360 material on their site so I can start tracking first thing

Also if anyone is interested I have created a facebook page for my blog, feel free to come by and 'like' it. https://www.facebook.com/LosingWeightAndHavingFun

Sarah x

Malteser cake bars

Yesterday I went to my first ever cookie swap that was hosted by Shannon who blogs at Killer Bunnies,Inc. I was so excited to go and participate. At first I wasn't sure what I was going to make, and then whilst I was in England on vacation I remembered how I used to make malteser cake and how everyone loved it. So I bought the ingredients whilst I was there and that was what I made.

Here is the recipe for those of you who might want to try it out - apologies that the measurements are in grams and ounces (it is a UK recipe), also all of the ingredients can be purchased in World Market.

4.5oz Butter 

3 tbspn Golden syrup

2 tbspn Cocoa powder

220g Digestives, crushed

220g Maltesers, half crushed & half left whole

Method
1. Melt the butter and golden syrup in small heavy base saucepan.
2. Stir in the cocoa powder, digestives, and crushed Maltesers until well combined.
3. Allow to cool slightly, then stir through the whole Maltesers.
4. Line a tin with Cling film, pour in the mixture and press down well, but be careful not to crush the whole Maltesers.
5. Chill until set. About 2 hours.
6. Slice the chocolate malteser cake into chunky fingers and serve.

 

There were lots of yummy cookies at the swap and I tried all of them and they were all very very good. 

The mini choc chip snowball cookies (bottom right of photo) were made by my friend Marlene and she has posted the recipe over on here blog Nosh My Way. The buttermilk cookies (the brown ones top center of the photo) were made by Aviva and the recipe she used is:

Buttermilk Chocolate Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
Melt the butter in a small, microwave safe bowl.
In a large bowl, whisk sugar, vanilla extract and buttermilk into the melted butter. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the chocolate chips. Dough will be very sticky.
Drop dough in 1-inch balls into prepared baking sheet, leaving about two inches between cookies to allow for spread. Flatten them a bit.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are set around the edges.
Cool for 2-3 minutes on a baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack with a spatula to cool completely.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies

 

Eating Clean or Weight Watchers

First of all welcome to all my new readers, and am extra thank you if you have come over from my other blog UK to California.

I started this blog so I could focus on talking about and recording my weight loss journey. 

Also Santa came early this year and I got my nice new super shiny Mac Book Pro, so that will make blogging lots more fun.

I've just got back from England and am ready to get back on track and start tracking my food and exercise again. I'm currently trying to decide whether to start going back to Weight Watchers meetings, or to stick to Eating Clean and tracking on my own. The obvious plus side to tracking on my own is that it will be cheaper :) The current price for WW meetings with the new monthly plan is $42.95 (I think). I tend to have a bit of a track record when it comes to meetings, I normally stick it for 10 - 12 weeks then lose interest. SO the big question is what would be different this time? I've read a few posts about the new 360 program, and I am excited about learning more about that. I do currently have an online membership that expires the end of this month, but I haven't properly looked through the material and read up about it yet.

A lot of people I follow on twitter do weight watchers, and I love seeing the posts of your stickers and charms and even the photos of your weight losses in your weight record cards are really exciting and I like that side of things.

I started Eating Clean a few months back, but then kind of lost focus (do you see a pattern here!!) the same happened with the gym.... Although I did stick to my no drinking soda from day 1 and am currently now 138 days soda free. So why if I can do that do I struggle with the other things? 

I guess the bottom line is I need to stop thinking/talking about it and start doing it, or I'll be blogging the same dilemma in six months time. I really want 2013 to be the year that I hit some big milestones with my weight loss journey.

I'd love your feedback and tips to help me kick start myself :) 

I last weighed myself the Monday before I flew to England and I was 278, that was my last recorded weight, I have weighed this week but as I have been sick I don't feel it is a true reading, so I will officially weigh in again on Monday morning, hopefully by then I will have decided where I am heading.

Have a great weekend everyone, I am off to my first ever cookie swap tomorrow, then a British ExPat Christmas Party in the evening

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my new blog :) Hope you are excited to be here as much as I am.

I've been thinking about dividing my weight loss journey blogging from my Expat blogging for a while, and decided now was the right time as I am about to start a fresh with my tracking and planning after my vacation. Plus I have been trying to think of a good blog name for a while and today I finally came up with this one.

So what do you think of my new blog name? 

I wanted to get my new blog up and out there ASAP so you will notice it is a bit blank for now but I plan to update it more over the weekend. I also plan to write at least three posts a week about what I am up to and want to try and include some recipes and maybe even some videos.

Thanks for stopping by to check my blog out.

Sarah xxx