The Battle of the Bulge - week 4

My current weight: 175.4
My current BMI: 25.2 (overweight)
Pounds lost so far: 9.6
Days of Cardio this week: 4
Days of Yoga this week: 0
Days of Strength training this week: 0

It's hard to believe a whole month has gone by already! And I've lost 9.6 lbs in that month! YAY! I am 27% on my way to my final goal of 35 lb weight loss :)

This week was pretty good, I had my energy back and was able to incorporate more exercise in my daily life. Of course when I say exercise I mean walking around the hospital, but the lot I park in is a 20 minute walk through the tunnels under the hospitals of the Medical Complex to where I was working last month so, it counts in my mind! I also returned to taking the stairs instead of elevator on my walk out which was 8 flights down, 2 up, 2 down! All in all I felt that I did a pretty good job of sticking with my plan, though I did splurge on ice cream a few nights...not part of the "plan" but I really wanted it and made better choices in getting small sizes and one was frozen yogurt!

Weight Loss Tip of the Week:
This week's tip may seem silly, but it is something that I think we frequently overlook. Occasionally I will have the chance to spend a month at a time essentially wearing pajamas - it's called a surgery rotation :) But for people that work at home, sweats can become the "office uniform". They are comfortable, yes, but can hide weight gain so easily due to their extreme stretchability.

The month prior to making my decision to lose the excess baggage I had a vacation month. This was primarily consumed by flying all over the country for residency interviews. I decided at the beginning of the month that I would completely "let go" and eat whatever I wanted while on the road. I bought my interview suit in October and it fit like a glove. In November it still fit great, very comfortable. In my December interviews I started noticing it was a bit snug - in fact, one of the clasps popped in one of my interviews, thank goodness it wasn't noticeable! By mid-January it was actually painful to wear my suit, to the point where I demanded Collier drive me back to the hotel immediately in Albuquerque because I was so uncomfortable when the day was done. But yet, none of this served as a warning sign for me - I just wore my comfy sweats whenever possible and let myself believe it wasn't such a huge deal. It wasn't until I returned home that I realized I'd gained 10 lbs in about 3 weeks.

So, this week's tip is to wear form fitting clothes at least a few times a week. And if those clothes start feeling a bit snug, listen to this feeling and take it to heart and work so that they feel comfortable again!

I know I'm not alone in this...Shannon from The Bath Project posted this great story on her blog about clothes no longer fitting yesterday. She is currently working toward a healthier lifestyle as well and we have been inspiring eachother! Her tale is humorous, but one that anyone who has struggled with their weight will identify with.

Goals for Next Week:
This week will be interesting - I'm on my last surgery rotation ever, and surgeons hours are not...kind. Aside from continuing healthy eating, I am unsure how much exercise I will be able to squeeze in outside of walking around the hospital due to leaving before the sun comes up and returning after it's down. I think my best bet is, instead, to focus on yoga/strengthening exercises which I have clearly been neglecting! I'll do my best!