Zero sit-ups

I started Jenny Craig on June 4, and to date, I've lost 10 pounds! (When I reported 8 pounds in an earlier posting, I realized the scale was inaccurate.) But my awesome JC consultant has confirmed my weight loss. Woo hoo!

This week, I started boot camp with KOI Fitness to up the ante. They offer a one week trial for free and then you pay for the remaining of the session (4 days a week, 6:00-7:00am, for 6 weeks). The first day (Monday), we did intervals of distance running and isometrics (like exploding frog leaps) and ab work. On Tuesday, we had a fitness testing (like high school PE days). I surprised myself by doing 25 push-ups, but was thoroughly disappointed to do ZERO sit-ups.  (No cheating allowed, you had to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground and use your fingertips to touch your partners' fingertips just above your knee cap). 

The other folks in my cohort have been doing the boot camp for at least one to two sessions, so I felt a little better. After all, if you start at the bottom, you can only go up, right?

At the end of the 6 weeks, I had better be able to do at least 15 sit-ups!

I've got a confession

My friends know from my Facebook posts, but yes, I've joined George Costanza: I'm officially on a Jenny Craig program (note that I didn't say diet). I know how to eat sensibly but I'm either lazy (or "busy") and just don't do it.

I finally just got fed up! I was good in December and tried a clean eating thing and joined Ironworks, but I was still overeating, succumbing to delicious BBQ and fresh-baked bread, etc despite the workouts.

So I decided to go with Jenny Craig because you have to buy their meals -- which consist of microwaveable meals and some packaged foods. I spend about $120 a week, which is how much I was already spending eating out. I have to supplement their meals with fresh fruit, veggies and salads. No big secret. Surprisingly, drinking milk also makes me feel less hungry (and water too, go figure).

Since I started two weeks ago, I shed about 8 pounds -- mostly water weight. My stomach's already less bloated and more flat than it's been in years. I haven't hit Ironworks since I got sick with a bad cold last month, nor the tennis courts since I got a bad case of tennis elbow, BUT I've been doing my Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout and hiking a great deal. Tonight, I walked/jogged 15,891 steps on the Sequoia Trail in the hills near our house with Munch (I guess I have to multiply that by 4 for him, poor little guy). I'm loving it!

I meet one-on-one with a Jenny Craig counselor once a week when I go in to pick up my food. Until I hit my halfway goal weight, I'll stay on their planned menu program (usually 4-8 weeks). I've got 17 weeks left to the big day.

Can't wait to strike one of these poses. Go George!

Goal: Size 10 by 10/10/10

{Photo from WeddingDates.com}

Two weeks ago, I made a new commitment to myself: Get to size 10 by 10/10/10 (our wedding day).

I decided to jump-start my health and make being healthy in an integrated way (mind-body-spirit) a part of my life, not an add-on. It's convenient to make the "due date" our wedding date. And ultimately, I want to live life to the fullest with my husband-to-be and our children. Practicing a fit lifestyle every day starting now will allow us to do it.

It didn't start off easy:

• Day 1 (9/21/09): Bootcamp with 74 others at 5:30 in the morning (I am not a morning person). After 40 minutes of intense jumping jacks, sprints and relays, I got so dizzy I had to lay down or faint! Nonetheless, my friend and I walked half the lake (1.5 miles) afterwards.
• Day 2 (9/22/09): I decided to walk my dog, Munch, around the lake (3 miles). I had believed for the longest time that I needed to lose at least 10 lbs. to even run, but that day I told myself I could jog if I wanted to. And I did! I've never run without stopping until that day.
  

Ever since then, I've jogged every day -- even Munch is having trouble keeping up. Woo-hoo!

To motivate myself, I wrote out what I'd have to give up to reach my fitness goal. I vowed to give up:

1. Being too hard on myself (this one is tough because I tend to be a perfectionist)
   
2. Carnitas (oh, Trader Joe's $3.99 carnitas are my cryptonite!)
3. Feeling bloated (yes, I can't wait to give this one up!)
   
4. My "big" clothes (Crossroads Trading Company, here I come to trade in)
   
5. 1-2 hours every day (to exercise and cook instead of watching TV right after work)
6. Believing that I will fail after 2 weeks (so far, so good)
   
7. Believing that jogging the lake or beach with Munch isn't fun (so not true!)
8. Resistance to changing the status quo
   

Week 2 is coming to an end. I have yet to buy a scale, but I'm gauging my success so far by the way I feel and how my clothes fit. To date, I'm definitely feeling less pressure on the waistband and I'm feeling confident that my resistance to change is lessening.

If you have any stories or tips to share, please let me know! Thanks!