Back on The Wagon: September Diet Challenge

Remember those health and fitness goals I set at the beginning of the year? Well about mid-July when I was consumed with the home-buying process my goals fell by the wayside. I have not tracked a single calorie, done any real cardio, or turned down any fast food or restaurant meal since July.  But, I'm trying to get back on the wagon now.  I've been doing one or two 15-20min power walks everyday at work for the past two weeks, and now my coworkers and I have started a diet challenge for the month of September!   Here are the terms:

• For breakfast and lunch, meals will be mainly fruit or vegetable based. 
• Dinner is a full meal including meat.  
• No red meats, only poultry and seafood. 
• Meat has to be broiled, steamed, baked or grilled.
• All drinks will be water or 100% fruit juice. 
• Avoid refined or "white" starches and replace with whole grains.  
• One cheat day is allowed each week.

In addition to the diet, I'm going to slowly start back doing cardio with Zumba on the Wii and maybe around mid-September kick it up and try the Insanity workouts again.  There is going to be a prize at the end of the challenge for the person who loses the most weight, so I'm trying to win!   Wish me luck!

2012 Goals: February Update

Develop healthier eating habits 

I tracked calories everyday this month using the My Fitness Pal app on my iPhone.  My daily calorie limit was 1320 net calories (I got extra calories on the days I exercised). I had a  few missteps with this goal...on Valentine's Day I overindulged on sweets, I ordered a dessert with dinner and had one too many of those Valentine's Day chocolates. Also, my parents took my fiance out to dinner and I had a few too many boneless chicken wings and went over my calorie count, but I tried to compensate for that by eating under 1300 calories the day before and the day after. I made a habit of buying fruit and eating it at least every other day. 

Limit restaurant meals to 4x/month or less 
I went out to a restaurant once every weekend this month (except on the week of Valentine's Day when I went out during the week), but  I still tried to research healthy menu items beforehand to make sure I didn't go over my calorie limit.

Work out 3x/wk

I did a total of 16 workouts in 29 days!  I'm really proud of myself, because usually I quit after about 2-3 weeks lol. I had a couple that were only 20-25min sessions, but for the most part I tried to 30 to 45 min workouts.

Develop my health/wellness “glam squad” (family dr, dentist, poss dermatologist and masseuse)
Haven't made any progress with this one.

Retain hair growth (4+ inches).

I stuck with protective styles this month, and maybe 1 day a week I wore my hair out in a twist-out. I tried a wash-n-go puff once and let me tell ya, it will be a looong time before I do another one.  I had forgotten how tangled my hair could get after a wash-n-go...I'm sticking with the protective styles and twist-outs for now.

Limit use of pain medicine to 4x/mo

I did take an Advil only 2 times this month for cramps. 

2012 Goals: January Update

Develop healthier eating habits 

I tracked calories everyday this month using the Myfitness pal app.  My daily calorie limit was 1340 net calories (I got extra calories on the days I exercised). I was able to keep my net calorie count below the limit until the 29th when I let a cupcake and some goldfish crackers get the best of me :(

Limit restaurant meals to 4x/month or less 
I went out to a restaurant once every weekend this month, but each time I researched healthy menu items beforehand to make sure I didn't go over my calorie limit. I cooked dinner at home more, prepared more salads, and snacked on fresh fruit.  I cut out sodas for the most part...there was one occasion where I had to have one so I just pulled out a 1oz shot and had a shot of Coke ;)

Work out 3x/wk

I'm proud to say met this goal this month! I exercised for 30 minutes for 12 sessions this month, and got in a couple of extra mini-workouts.

Develop my health/wellness “glam squad” (family dr, dentist, poss dermatologist and masseuse)
Haven't made any progress with this one.

Retain hair growth (4+ inches).

I wore my hair in some sort of bun or pinned-up style for most of the month.  I only wore it down in twist/braid outs on Saturdays and I had about 2 days during the month where I wore a wash-n-go. On Sundays, I hid my hair under a satin bonnet and a hat. I've  been moisturizing (and even made my own moisture spritz!) and sealing nightly, and made sure to cover my hair in a satin scarf or bonnet every night.

Limit use of pain medicine to 4x/mo

I failed on this one during a week where I had headaches almost daily, probably due to a combination of poor sleep habits, tying my scarf too tight, and being out in the cold air. I did experiment with using peppermint oil and massage to relieve headaches.