SSSDC - Week 8 Update and Details for Week 9

Wow - are we really through Week 8 already?????????
I'm totally, totally, T-O-T-A-L-L-Y in denial that the end of July is here and that we are much, much closer to Labor Day than we are to Memorial Day. Wah! I despise the feeling that summer is slipping away. And even though I have another beach vacation looming in the near future (Ahhh), I just know that each passing week brings us closer and closer to cold weather. (Boo hiss).

Now some of you may be doing a silent (or not so silent) "Hooray" at the thought of cooler temps (Pam and Shannon, I know you both are!) but since this is the most active summer I have had to date, I guess I am not ready to kiss it good bye just yet. Josh and I actually just returned from walking a 5K on this gross and humid morning, and while I might complain about the sweat, I won't complain about the 350 calories I burned.

To fulfill Julie's virtual 5K requirement this week, we had to walk, run or bike a 5K just for the sake of doing it. I'm happy to report that I completed four,yes, FOUR 5Ks this week - 3 walking and 1 biking. And that's not all I did for exercise. Overall, it was an active week for me - walking, jogging with my C25K training, biking and swimming. Yes,  the weather was disgusting, but for the first time in my life I didn't use that as an excuse not to get my ass outside and hustle! And THAT is progress, my friends, because I used to be the Queen of Excuses. You name it and I had an excuse for it! Something snapped in me this week that made me realize that the only person who really suffered from my lame-ass excuses was me. Humidity and heat do not excuse one from being active...there are ways around it (like doing stuff inside or at a gym) OR you can just embrace it and sweat your arse off like I did.

While I was great on the activity front, I feel like I failed my own mini-challenge this week. We were supposed to embrace a fitness fear and I was going to finally tackle the Zumba Zombie that I have been yammering on about for freaking ever. I talk about Zumba all of the time and really wanted to try it (but have been afraid to do so) and this week was the perfect opportunity to git 'er done. Well, ladies, I hate to say it but your faithful challenge leader had an epic fail on this one, this week. Confession: I didn't take a Zumba class at all. I'm more than a little embarrassed to admit I bombed my own mini-challenge, in the sense that I didn't complete the goal that I had set for myself. I'm not proud of this admission at all.

But, with that said, I have been talking about the running thing, and how that has also been a fear of mine, and THAT fear I have embraced by doing my 5K Runner program. I've completed 5 days so far - tomorrow will be Week 2, Day 3 for me. Each day I take on the training, I feel like I face a major fear in the eye. I have told myself countless times that I cannot run and each week as I look ahead to see what this 5K program expects of me, I seriously doubt my capability to do it. Yet I have done 5 days now and have not faltered on the program. Yes, I know I am in the honeymoon stage of the running and next week I think it gets kind of ugly. Do you know how scary it is to think I have to run 3 minutes several times in one training session? It may seem like nothing to some of you, but I can tell you, the thought makes me weak in the knees. It is very hard to wipe out the "I can't" and replace it with "I can." It takes time and practice, and moments of proving that, in fact, I most definitely CAN.

So, I apologize for not embracing my Zumba fear this week, but I am still proud of tackling my running fear and will continue to do so for the next 6 weeks until I reach my 5K running goal. That's a promise.

And not all is a bust this week, because my weight loss was excellent! I lost 3 lbs this week! Yeah, told you it was good.
Weight Stats:
Challenge Starting Weight: 232
Last week's weight: 219
This week's weight: 216
Total loss for Challenge so far: 16 lbs.

I'm 4 lbs from my challenge goal of 20 lbs and I have no doubt I will make that within the next few weeks, God willing.

This week we face a whole new kind of demon that I struggle with - SUGAR and AFTER DINNER SNACKING. Although I have to admit that I have been staving off the sugar beast quite a bit since the beginning of the challenge, I have allowed it here and there - most recently this past week in the form of cake to celebrate my mom's b-day. This week will be rough because now I KNOW I can't have it, which to me is different from just choosing not to have it, but knowing you can if you really want to. Luckily, I just haven't wanted to lately - but now that I know I can't, I'll probably crave it like the dickens. It will be interesting to see how this pans out for all of us. Some of us have a real sweet tooth while others couldn't care less about desserts (and those people are CA-RAY-ZEE)....As for me, I'm happy to have recently purchased an abundance of fruit that I can have in a pinch if I am feeling like I need a "fix." Although nothing "fixes" quite like chocolate can - and that's just a fact.

Not eating after dinner will also be a big challenge because lately I have been enjoying a sugar-free fudge bar every other night around 8PM. I look forward to it and now I won't be able to have it. I must be an idiot to have suggested this additional goal. LOL

Anyhoo - Deets are below for this week's mini-challenge:

Week 9 - (begin July 29) - NO SUGAR (unless it's all natural) AND NO SNACKING AFTER DINNER
I figured I may as well put these two challenges together since sometimes snacks can be less than healthy. I am so guilty of feeling like I need to have "dessert" all of the time. Guess what? I DON'T! If I was the type of person that reached for fruit as a snack, maybe I wouldn't be so inclined to add this challenge, but since cake, pies and ice cream are my go-to desserts, I need to get a grip on this.
If we can eliminate those nasty calories we consume after dinner, my money is on weight loss for the next week.

Hope you all have a great week and I'll be checking in through out to see how everyone is doing.
Best wishes for a a healthy week ahead!