Losing Weight Requires Honesty

I haven't been posting because honestly, I have nothing to report. Everything has been at a dead stop for weeks now. No weight loss, some weight gain, and it's just been frustrating. I hate posting things that are negative, so I haven't been posting at all. It's time I just sit down and examine how things have gone wrong.

First, I haven't been doing my cardio like I should. I always do weight lifting, and almost always skip the cardio, which is absolutely vital to losing weight. Cardio sucks. I hate it so much. The days I do actually get it done, I stare at the track for half an hour trying to get myself to stand up and walk because I hate it. Girls probably think I'm staring at them walking on the treadmill being creepy. Nope. Just thinking about how much I'll totally hate the next 30-45 minutes.

Second, is the diet. Which I have been seriously slacking on. I was snacking at night, staying up late and eating delicious salty carbs before I went to bed. Altogether, an easy formula to keep a plateau going.

To remedy the diet part, I've been tweeting my food log. You can follow it at #bbfoodlog. Please do not USE the hashtag. I need it to sort out my calories at the end of the day.

For the cardio, I guess I'm just going to have to suck it up and get it done. I'll need to figure out how to train a new mindset so that I can at least try and enjoy it as much as I enjoy weight lifting, and I need to commit to it every day.

Speaking of commitments, I'm also going to start writing here at least two times a week. I know all of you who read this blog want to know what's going on, and it's been unfair that I haven't been keeping you in the loop. I promise to change that. As a negative reinforcement, If I don't make at least two posts per week, I will film myself singing karaoke and then post that. If I forget this promise, please remind me.

The big thing I'm learning about this journey is that it is mostly an internal battle more than an external one. You constantly have to examine yourself, be honest and then fix whatever might be wrong. That is hard for anybody to do. It's no wonder that so many people, including myself, struggle with losing weight.

Weigh-in - Plateau! OH NO!

 I didn't have to take a new picture.

 I'm still 562! That sucks! And after all that halfassery this week and showing up at the gym only two times! GAWD IT'S LIKE I NEED TO PUT EFFORT INTO LOSING WEIGHT OR SOMETHING! JEEZ!

Playtime's over.

I'm thinking a lot of thoughts right now, so I guess I'll just run them off and see if that gets me refocused. First, this is the first plateau I've witnessed. Considering the erratic frequency of my past weigh-ins, it's probably safe to say this isn't my first. I've just been losing weight because I've been naturally increasing the intensity of my workouts over the past several months. Second, this plateau couldn't have come at a better time. It's at the end of the month, and next week, I start adding another 15 minutes to my interval walk. The extra 15 minutes on the treadmill should really get things going again. At least, I hope that's the case. Our bodies are funny like that. I am a little worried however because in the past, a plateau has been devastating to my motivation. I need to reach out for support from friends, and really do my best to take right action and just show up in spite of feeling like this is a loss for me. The best thing I can do is try and realize that this could have been much worse. I could have gained weight. My goal for next week is to not give up! I can't let this sink me.
Okay, here's the plan:

• Reevaluate current workout. Can I be doing anything better? Should I be lifting more weight? Should I be going faster on the treadmill? According to my last calculations, my Target heartrate Hi/Lo was between 146-168 with the sweet spot being about 157-163. Am I focusing too much on the high end, and not making sure that during the slower part of my intervals I'm still no lower than 146?
• Just show up. I may hate doing cardio, but now that I'm going to be walking for 45 minutes, the treadmill and track are going to start feeling a lot more tedious. I should probably update my iPod playlist with fresh music to keep me motivated. But the important thing is to show up at the gym on days when I'm not lifting weights. The cardio is vital to my weight loss, and it's time I took it seriously.
• Re-stock the pantry with healthy foods. Create a meal plan for the next two weeks. Considering that I've reached a plateau, a real effort needs to be made to start eating more vegetables and fewer carbs. At least two of my major meals should have a vegetable and I'm thinking at least 1 of my snacks should too. I'm still not giving up my oatmeal for breakfast.
• Sleep. It's time I commit to lights out at 10PM. I need to get in the habit of sleeping at a regular time because with the extra time added to my workout, I can't go in late at night to work out anymore.
• Find support. I need to find a friend that can keep me accountable and that I can talk to when feeling down. If I can just get through this week and come out with some weight loss, I'll probably find my motivation again, but right now, I really don't trust myself.
• Visualize success! I will be 9 pounds lighter next Friday. 553! 553! It's February 4th right now, and I'm on the scale, and I've finally lost a goal I've set for myself! Wow, it feels so good already!

Okay, I'm mentally ready to make next week better. I just asked on my Facebook page for song suggestions for my February playlist. You can leave a suggestion there or write one here along with your comments, You can also reply to me on twitter @BecomeBoundless.