A Workout Update

I wish I had more of an update for you in regards to my weight, but I don't.  I have no lovely before and after photos to show you at the current time.  The only good news in this department as of late has been my health screening results from work today.  All my numbers look amazing according to the vendor we use.  I wanted to point out that all the numbers might look good, but my weight certainly doesn't. 

My weight, as of late, has been a major source of frustration.  In the past, if I worked out about three times per week the weight just kind of fell off for a while.  That hasn't really been the case this go around.  I don't know if my metabolism has slowed with a few more years on me or what the deal is, but I can't say I'm happy about it.  I even had my doctor test my thyroid levels a couple of weeks ago.  I thought since I have a family history of thyroid issues maybe that was keeping me from dropping the pounds.  Sadly, along with the rest of my blood work, my thyroid tests came back fine.  I say sadly because I was kind of hoping that was going to be the "easy answer" I was looking for.  I realize it wasn't the easy answer and would mean I would likely be on medication the rest of my life, but it would give me the answer I had been looking for as to why I can't seem to get the pounds to drop off.  The doctor offered to refer me to a dietitian or an endocrinologist for further blood workups.  I thought before we got that crazy, perhaps I should step up my own efforts. 

While I have been working out at least a couple times per week regularly, I know there is a lot more I could be doing.   Andrew and I don't eat totally crappy, but I know we could make improvements.  We try to limit eating out and try to also limit the amount of prepackaged foods we eat.  Andrew has a strong family history of heart conditions, so for several years we have been trying to watch our sodium.  Although watching sodium can take the fun out of some foods, we felt it was the best decision for our health.

I considered joining Weight Watchers online program.  If anyone has any thoughts or feedback on that, I would love to hear it.  I have tried to pick a couple of healthier meals for Andrew and I this week as well as watch what I'm eating throughout the day.  I have also tried to increase my fruit and veggie intake this week and watch my calories.  I'm especially trying to watch the calories I am drinking in through coffee and things.  I have limited myself to coffee drinks a couple afternoons this week rather than every day.  This one pains me because I really like my coffee, but if I have to cut on the coffee somewhere it has to be in the afternoon and not in the morning.  I didn't have coffee this morning until after my health screening, and it was an ugly thing.  I'm not a nice person to be around without my coffee, just ask Andrew how I am on the weekends. 

In addition to watching my food this week, I have also increased my workouts.  I have stepped up to three thirty minute workouts on the elliptical and tomorrow will be going to a Zumba class.  If you have never done Zumba, I highly recommend it.  I started when I was trying to get in shape before the wedding.  I love it because you get a great workout without really feeling like you worked out.  My goal is to get five workouts in each week; four during the week and something physical with the family on the weekends.  We have a lot of great trails and parks around that we can take advantage of.

So, there is the new plan; increase the workouts and be more intentional about what I eat.  I am going to try this for a few weeks and see if I see an impact in the weight department.  I was down a couple pounds today at my health screening from last week, so that is good news.  If I see no progress by the six week mark, I may have to re think this plan.