Making Progress

I've recently been able to open up my 10 lb. and 15 lb. incentive envelopes. Sometimes I forget it's my own money that is providing the goodies. It's a lot of fun. And I'm very glad I wrote notes to myself.

For the 10 lb. envelope Natalie included a DSW gift card and a Kohl's gift card.

I bought some really cute beige shoes with the gift card, a 10.00 coupon and some extra cash.





At Kohl's I bought my first Kitchen Aid mixer. It was on sale, I had a 30% coupon and a 25.00 gift card, plus a 30.00 mail in rebate. I was happy with what I paid for it. And to top that off they gave me Kohl's cash to spend this week! It's still in the box but will get used this week.

For the 15 lb. incentive envelope I received a Barnes and Noble gift card which I promptly loaded to my online account. I like to buy Nook books to read at the gym.

I still have 3 envelopes to go, 20 lb., 25 lb. and 30 lb. I'm taking it slow and steady hoping to make it permanent.

Do you have a fitness goal this year you are working on? Do you need to refocus on that goal? Now's the time to do it.

in-cen-tives

Merriam-Webster defines incentive as "something that encourages a person to do something or to work harder, something that incites or has a tendency to incite to determination or action".

Synonyms:

boost, encouragement, goad, impetus, impulse, incitation, incitement, instigation, momentum, motivation, provocation, spur, stimulant, stimulus.

 

Turns out I need some encouragement, incitement, momentum and motivation in my life. Especially when it comes to my efforts to lose weight. So I created my own incentive plan.

It starts with a goal. My goal for now is to lose 30 pounds. In previous weight loss attempts the first 10 pounds is a worthy goal. For my incentive plan I broke it up into the number of pounds lost. It starts with 10 lbs., then for every 5 lbs. after that I receive an incentive envelope.

There are a total of 5 envelopes. My original plan is to hit 10 lbs., maintain the 10 lb. loss for 2 weeks then reward myself with the contents of the envelope. However, as I'm getting close to the first incentive of 10 lbs. and for how hard I've worked, I may forego the two weeks of waiting, we'll see.

What is inside the envelopes you ask? Well, it starts with a note to my future self. It's like a vision statement for how I see myself in my future. I praise myself, I acknowledge the struggles I may be having and I offer myself words of encouragement.

Stimulus and incitement is the goal. Also, inside each envelope is a surprise for me. I involved my daughter in this incentive plan by providing her the envelopes and an amount of cash. Her job was to divvy up the cash anyway she wanted and fill the incentive envelopes with gift cards, cash, notes, whatever she wanted.

I provided her a list of suggestions for the gift cards. Now I have my incentive plan in place. I have the first envelope hanging on a kitchen wall as a constant reminder of my goal.

Baby steps, 10 lbs. to start, then a reward for each 5 lbs. after that. Once I hit my 30 lb. loss I will evaluate if I want to go further.

I'm close to my first envelope, I can hardly wait.

 

The Results Are In

I have successfully completed six weeks of going to the gym five days a week. The loss isn't great, but I'll take it, because it's so much more than just numbers. And I will continue going five days a week for as long as my work schedule permits it.

The routine:
Mon/Wed/Fri - warm up either on the treadmill or elliptical for about 1 mile / 14-15 minutes, then weight machines, started with 6 machines now doing 9 each time. Then floor work, plank, crunches, push ups and stretches. Worked out once with a trainer in the six weeks.

Tue/Thur - minimum 2 miles on the treadmill, depending on how much time I have, then floor work, same as the other days.

When I have an extra 5 or 10 minutes, I'll slip into the sauna. I love the sauna, that is my meditation time.

The results:
30 work outs (1 was outdoor walking but I quickly realized I wouldn't be able to continue that with our crazy weather)
About 1,000 crunches on the ball
About 180 push ups (girly knee push ups, went from being able to do about 4 to now doing 2 sets of 10)
About 40 miles (treadmill/elliptical)
Lots of weight lifted

Pounds lost: 6.6
Inches lost: 4.5

Here is a recap of the six weeks:
Week 1: waking up one hour earlier than normal, really hard to get out of bed in the morning. Very tired at night. Tried to go to bed 30 minutes early. Feeling the muscles, especially the calves. Feel weird after work thinking I should be going to the gym, but then remembering I already went.

Week 2: still tough to get out of bed, thoughts of skipping a day, but knowing one skipped day leads to 2, so I did not skip. Still feeling the muscles.

Week 3: not so tired in the evenings, more energy, feeling better around the middle. They say if you do something for 3 weeks, it then becomes a habit. (or was that 4 weeks? either way it's now a habit.)

Week 4: love going into the sauna in my work out clothes, started taking a book to read on the treadmill, seeing the same morning group of exercisers. Looking forward to going every day, some times get to bed early.

Week 5: in a routine, don't want to skip it, wish I could spend more time at the gym, but have to get home to work.

Week 6: loving it still, occasionally take my bathing suit for the hot tub, steam room and sauna, that's a treat.

Here is my personal opinion of sauna room etiquette: please don't talk on your cell phone and keep the volume of your iPod to yourself. And Please don't whistle, sing or beat your chest to your music! I can handle the guy on the floor doing stretches and sit ups, but that's pushing it.

Advice if you are thinking about starting an exercise program, just jump right in and DO IT!

The Biggest Loser

This season has me hooked in already. To use the nice words the TV show uses, this is the heaviest group of people they've ever had on a show together, including the largest woman and man and the oldest and youngest contestants. I'm already anticipating the finale to see all of them come back and how they look.

Unbelievable to see someone lose 30 pounds in one week! Just goes to show you how your body adjusts to physical activity and healthy eating. It's common knowledge that men generally lose weight quicker than women. And also that when you change your diet and lifestyle the weight drops off quicker the first few weeks because it includes excess water weight.

Can you imagine the emotions they go through when they see a loss on the scale after only one week, when for years they haven't been able to lose weight?

The concept of walking away from your normal life for a period of time and focusing on nothing but getting healthy is like receiving a huge gift. Even those that only stay on the ranch for a couple of weeks learn so much and usually go home and keep working hard at it.

Stay tuned, it's just the beginning. Should be interesting to see how many get to return after the 30 days are up.
Tuesday nights, NBC.
http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/