DietBet or Bust

Forgive me father, for I have sinned....it has been a month and a half since my last blog post.  Let's just say life has gotten in the way, how dare it.  Between work, exercise, and sleep there hasn't been a whole lot of free time for the extras.  Facebook has been neglected, which is tough for me.  I like to take some time each day/evening to see what everyone is up to, like and comment.  I feel like I am losing touch with everyone.  Know it is not intentional, I miss it and keeping up with everyone. 

In the last month and a half I haven't been very successful in losing weight, in fact I have gained.  I could give you so many excuses but there is no point.  The fact and the truth is my eating has been so up and down, all over the map.  To best put into my words what my eating has been like in the last month and a half, I will quote part of the poem "There Was A Little Girl" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

"When she was good, she was very good indeed, but when she was bad she has horrid."

There is no need to explain, the words say it all.  Needless to say, even after all the changes, yes I can still put away the calories.  Eating out of boredom, emotional eating, mindless eating....you name it, I did it.  In between those days were days that reminded me YES, I do know what I need to do, I just have to do it.

 So as much as the number on the scale did increase, it could have been oh so much worse.  The one constant and lifesaver for me is and probably always will (God willing) exercise.  I love it, it feels great during it, after it, and I look forward to doing it.  As April was coming to an end and I was feeling pretty bad about myself I was thankful for some of the things and challenges coming up in May.  First, there was the most current Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans challenge calendar - Melt Your Muffin Top May.

Also this month my gym Life Fitness Management is doing another challenge.  Each day you get emailed a new challenge to complete the next day (with a few well placed rest days).  Situps, difference kinds of crunches, planks, squats....you know all fun things.   :)

Both of these challenges are so well timed.  Each of them are working areas that I obviously need a lot of work with.  Also, it is a bang on the head reminder that I need to eat better.  In any class I take or exercise I do, when I am not eating well these are the kind of exercises that I struggle with.  Abs are truly formed in the kitchen.  This is something I need to remember all the time....

My local hospital is also doing a walking challenge.  Each day you get in the mileage and at the end of the month there will be a 5 mile walk to participate it.  Walking is great in so many ways and a good thing to add to my day.  Bonus:  a chance to win some money just for walking.

On top of all this are my regularly scheduled group fitness classes at the gym.  A little difficult, but because of other commitments and things in my schedule I have been having to miss some of my favorite classes.  Not only do I miss the classes but the instructors that teach them.  I hope they know it's not personal, because I appreciate them and what they do and they are such a huge part of my successes.  I wouldn't be where I am in this journey without their help.

One of the reasons why I have been missing some classes is that I have been taking a bike class.  Again the local hospital (seriously, they really have so much to offer the community...so many people are missing out) was offering a series of classes on biking.  This class is being taught by the Western Maryland Wheelmen (a local biking group).  Each week we have been learning things about our bike, riding, etc.  I was undecided on whether to take this class up until the last minute.  With buying my new bike, there is so much about it I need to learn.  I am so glad that I decided to take it.  With taking this class I have added more bike riding into my exercise regiment.  I have probably put 150 miles on my bike in the last month, and I am so excited about that.  I have gone on rides much further than I thought I would, and really surprised myself.  I really do know that the possibilities are endless, I just have to keep telling myself that I can do anything.

So, as for the title of my post.  Again this page I follow - Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans - was starting this thing called DietBet.  If you have never heard of it before it is a website where you put your money on the line to strive to lose weight.  If nothing else I hate to lose money and I figured this would be a good motivator to keep me on the straight and narrow and find my focus again.  This DietBet is for 6 months.  Each month you have a percentage goal to meet to win money, with the end goal of losing 10% of your weight.  This started today and yesterday I had to submit official photos.

So here we go.....let the fun begin.  Stay tuned to see what happens.  I promise I will try to post more.