Breaks over

A month ago on May 11th I decided that I wanted to take some time to enjoy and appreciate this new body I have altho I still have 20 pounds to lose...At that time I felt that I was not only feeling good but looking good....during this past month I haven't changed any of my habits, I watched what I ate and exercised just as i've been doing for the past 2 years. I just quit worrying about losing that 20 pounds and relaxed...and altho I haven't gained any weight in this month, I also haven't lost any...I purposely didn't weigh myself during this time...because the number on the scale is not ME...I really do believe that I needed this Break BUT.....
This past weekend Not only did I feel fat but When I looked in the mirror after my shower, for the first time in a long time I saw the fat around my middle and on my upper legs....sure it's not as much as there was 2 years ago..but it's still there and I DON'T LIKE IT....I know that I can be better...I can look better and feel better...SOOOOO....the BREAK IS OVER and I'm BACK with a Plan....
after looking at WHAT I need to change to start losing weight again using all that I have learned in the past couple of years about myself....I sat down and had a talk with Me, Myself & I and decided that I would really concentrate on getting to 161 pounds by July 4th when I run the P'tree Road Race...
I weighed in at 169.5 this morning so that is 8.5 pounds in 3 weeks= or 2.84 pounds a week...I know this is a little much to try to lose in this amount of time (1-2 pounds a week is recommended)but I think I'm ready and can do it. I really need to do this and get myself off of this plataeu, which I think is mostly a mind thing anyway, or an excuse not to work myself that much harder...anyhooooo....I DO know what is keeping me from losing...
1. My night time eating 2. I have become pretty complacent about pushing myself at the gym...sure I go and I work out but I haven't really pushed myself to my limit in a long time....soooo for the next THREE weeks this is my Plan...

Food.....The secret is not to let myself not get sooo hungry that by the time I get home I'm ready to eat anything and everything in the house so During the week I will eat my larger meal at work and eat VERY light when I get home from the gym..And to do this I need to plan & pack my meals ahead of time.
SO...After cleaning out my fridge to make room for lots of veggies & fruit, then going shopping for the healthy foods that I really do enjoy but have been to lazy to cook, I spent a couple of hours yesterday and cooked a spagetti squash, a butternut squash, my favorite Cabbage/Spinach/Tofu casserole, grilled some salmon & boiled eggs (for salads)...then I packed all with some other good stuff I already had, such as veggie burgers and turkey ham, into 10 differant tupperware dishes and put it all into the freezer (except for the eggs)...Now all I have to do in the morning is grab a dinner out of the freezer (4 differant meals to satisfy whatever craving I have that day) and put it in my bag (this will last me for 2 weeks of workdays), that way I can have my larger meal here at work in the middle of the day and then when I get home from the gym I can fix a quick salad (luv those bagged salads), chop some fresh veggies or fruit for it and enjoy..and if I really want to keep eating I will just say NO and take myself to bed...how coool is that? I'll let ya'll know how this works out....
I got all week to figure a plan on how to get through the weekend and
I will be thinking about what meals I want to pack ahead of the time for that last week....
today's meals....
6:30 am Protein drink with Supplements/vitamins
10 am Kashi hot cereal with ripe banana..I've basically given up the cereal now that it's warmer but had this banana that is a little riper than I like so decided to go ahead with the cereal today...
1 pm...1 cup of Cabbage/Spinach/Tofu Casserole and a plum
4 pm ...apple & string cheese
5:30 ...1 oz almonds
8:30 spinach salad with strawberries/blueberries/walnut pieces/blue cheese crumbles & raspberry vingrette...Yummmy...I can hardly wait...I usually have this for lunch but finding that I get too hungry to soon..doesn't last me till supper....


Exercise....NO racquetball this week since they are redoing the court floors so this will be a good week to start upping my intensity of workouts..I usually go pretty light on the nights I play racquetball because I don't want to get too tired that I can't play...well I won't have that excuse this week so I plan on getting at least 3 days of running on the treadmill for 30-45 mins (usually only do 1 day during the week and then figure I can run on Sunday at the park)...after running at the park yesterday I realize I really need to up my running...oh yeah, I did run the 3 miles around the lake without walking at all, but ended up taking a quick break before doing the 2nd 3 miles and just couldn't seem to push myself to run the whole way..gave into Moanin' Mona & Evil Eva way more than I should have...
Plan
tonight stretch/run on the treadmill and do LBWO/ABS
Tues...stretch/45 mins on eliptical and do UBWO....mostly tris & bis, some chest
Weds...stretch/run on treadmill again and do Back/ABS
Thurs....stretch/Abs/some LBWO and Hip Hop
Fri...Stretch/Bike/and then I'm going to try out the Yoga Class... a friend of #1 Niece's is the instructor and he has been trying to talk me into at least trying it but have always said no because that's when I play racquetball..so I figured this was a good time...Wish me luck since I am not flexible at all...can barely touch my toes even with all the stretching I do and I HATE floor exercises...It ought to be interesting...

I'm going with Kyra's Mantra "If I get it right today, I will be better off tomorrow"
Funny how she always seems to know just what motivation I need and just when I need it...that's one of the main reasons I read and blog...I truly don't believe a person can keep motivated without some type of help & support, besides why should we try to do it all by ourselves, it sure makes it sooo much easier...Thanks Kyra....