"and I'm back in the game!"...-36.4

Anyone else remember this scene from "10 Things I Hate About You"?

That's how I felt this morning when I weighed myself. I got past the hurdle and I'm back down even LOWER than I was when I almost won my first DietBet.

This is when it gets hard though. This week is an extremely busy week at work for me (with temptations of bad food everywhere!) so I'm only getting to the gym 2 or 3 times, and on Sunday I leave for a conference in Vegas. I'm going to need to be strict with getting up early and working out, which is going to be tough since most programs start at 8:30am. I'm also going to need to control my eating.

I have to stay strong and prove to myself that I can do it. 

failure...-32.6

Not sure if you've noticed, but I tend to disappear on the blog when I fail to meet my goals. I did not meet my DietBet goal, regardless of how close I was.

I keep doing this to myself. I'm doing great, getting close to a goal, and then I either hype myself up, or just stop paying attention/going hard, and I don't meet my goal. In the past 6 months or so, I've set 7 goals for myself that I've failed. 

Whenever I think about failing, I go back to this quote by Michael Jordan. I had this on a poster in my  bedroom growing up and it has inspired me so much ever since.

Looking at my next goal, I'm focusing on the Biggest Loser competition that I'm running at my job. The contest ends in 4 weeks and I'm determined to break through that -40 benchmark. My overall goal is to be down -41.1, which would make my weight loss for the competition 12.5 pounds. Therefore, I've got 4 weeks to lose 8.5 pounds, or about 2.2 pounds a week. 

I'm hoping going to make this goal the one that I meet. 

See you next week!

the biggest losers! -35.8

Passed the -35 mark, yay!! What I'm most excited about is the ending of my second DietBet game next week. I need to lose another 1.6 pounds, for a total of -37.4 pounds next Wednesday. I so got this! 

On another note, like I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm starting a Biggest Loser competition at my job! So far, we've got 70 staff, faculty, and students signed up, which is amazing! We weigh in on Monday, and I can't wait. We've got the TV station following it, and I've got so much support around me. Now, I just need to follow through and lose the weight! Check out the calendar and program. This poster is amazing, right?? Campus Marketing = geniuses. 

I'm in such a great mindset though lately. Back to training consistently,  controlling my eating, and focusing on the goal. 

See you next week when I'm down 37.4 pounds :)

"its your ass. you move it."... -33.8

I re-posted this on FB recently and it's been sticking with me. I'm not going to lie. I haven't really started 2013 with a bang, like I, and the rest of the world, wanted to. My first DietBet game ended and I didn't focus enough to meet my goal weight. However, I still have my second one which ends in a week and a half and I need to lose 3.5 lbs to reach that goal. I WILL meet that goal...and take everyone's money!

Last night at training, my boo finally got his belt promoted to low green...half way to a black belt!! He's been working so hard for it. I was glowing with pride :D

I also received my new belt in my actual size (the last one was 4 sizes too small, as it was all they had in stock) so of course, we took pictures! 

I'm 10 pounds lighter than I was when I got my high white, and I'm pretty sure it was all in my butt :/ It's still awesome to see the progression! And my butt is still huge haha

Sidenote: I hate sports bras. Nothing flattering about them at all. To any part of your body.

See you next week!

#ohyoufancyhuh...-30.6

So far, 2013 has been rather successful! 

• I got back to training this week, and will be meeting with my head instructor on Monday to discuss the goals for this year. 
• We started a weekly advanced class on Fridays out in Great Neck with an old instructor of ours and some close friends, which will be a great workout and time to catch up with friends we don't see too often.
• I've got 2 weeks left on my first DietBet, and I have 5.4 lbs to go. I have to step it up, but I'm on the right track, losing a little over 50% in half of the time. 
• I started another one this past Monday, so I'll keep you up to date on that one!

One thing I'm really excited about is a Biggest Loser competition I'm running at my job. I work at a SUNY College, so we're going to encourage students, staff and faculty, to go on a 7 week journey together to deem two Biggest Losers! We're doing Men vs Women, so that should be fun! We had our first meeting this past Monday and I think we have a really solid program put together. I can't wait to update you guys on that.

On an ending note, I should have made it a resolution to cook more, because I've been having a lot of fun with new recipes. Granted, the first time I make them, there are usually adjustments, but that just means I get to make them again! My favorite one so far is a bacon, egg, and cheese ring, made with the obvious ingredients, red peppers, and Pillsbury croissants. So easy, delicious, and beautiful! I felt like a star when I finished it!

P.S. I also went to The Container Store for the first time ever! As an organization nerd, I was in love, but it was so expensive. Saw this wall of packing materials. I want one in my house when I get rich. 

happy new year! list edition -27.2

And here it is! 2013 - where the heck are our flying cars?

Like anyone else, the beginning of the year is a time to reflect on where you've been and where you're going. Everyone talks about the idea of not making resolutions because no one ever follows through with them, so instead of "resolutions", we'll call them "goals", and we'll break it down into short term and long term...because I'm OCD...and also because, as much as I like to plan way ahead, I feel like you need to break your goals down into segments.

Long-Terms Goals for 2013

Lose 50 pounds

Compete in both CoCs and 5 other grappling tournaments

Blog every week
Take at least two vacations

Get rid of 3 sources of debt

End the year with some kind of savings!

Short-Term (Jan, Feb, March) Goals for 2013

Be down a total of 60 pounds by the end of March (2.7 lbs/week...this might be a tough one, but there's a story behind it. that's for another post.)

Complete three DietBets

Get rid of 1 source of debt

I've got a great year ahead which includes 2 weddings (adding to the inspiration to lose weight!) and organizing a BJJ fundraising seminar, but above all, I'm committed to improving my MMA technique and to lock in the win at the many competitions I'm taking part in.

See you next week, when I start up another DietBet and you'll get to hear about the Biggest Loser competition I'm running at my work.

that darn restart button...-25.6 (with an update!)

funny story. I didn't go to the gym last week and didn't pay attention to my consumption on Christmas...or at all last week. Ok, it's not really funny or a story, but here I am!

So to give me that extra push, I kicked off my DietBet game that I told you guys about, and it's huge! There are 186 people participating and $4,650 (and increasing!) in the pot. I can't wait to test this out, as I think it'll be a really fun thing to do these as a supplement to my weight loss journey. Everyone participating is really supportive of each other and they're from all over the world!

Since I went a week without training, and didn't watch my eating, my weight went up, making my goal weight for DietBet (aka 4% loss) one that I've hit before. It's actually the weight that I usually find myself plateau at. Therefore, it should be easy to hit. To make sure I stay motivated and push through the plateau, I signed up for another one that starts in two weeks. 

I'll have a better update next week, as I'm getting back to training tomorrow. In the meantime, I wanted to share a picture. 

Last week, my boyfriend and I attended his company's holiday party (which is always fun and full of me dancing with the many women he works with). We took our usual event picture, and I couldn't help but to compare it to last year. I do have a long way to go, but am so proud of how far I've come. I also love love love the picture we took this year. Enjoy!

Update: got back to training tonight and....

:)