15 Days Later...

So, today is my 15th day of the first 17 day cycle, and as of Saturday, I had lost 6 lbs, today is Monday - so it might be more. This weekend was tough, but I managed to get my cardio in there. Although I have to come clean and admit that my weight loss in these past 15 days, could have been greater, but there were just days where the hectic in my life got in the way, and I just could not find the strength to put my running shoes on.

With this whole weight loss thing, I've been getting more and more hooked on weight loss shows. Watching these shows, as well as dieting myself I have come to fully understand the diet and exercise thing. Diet and exercise is a combo and it's a combo for a reason. You can diet all day long, and eat celery every day for break fast, lunch and dinner - and yes, you are going to lose weight, but with out the exercise you risk getting flabby skin and let's face it, who wants to eat celery all day long? You can also eat like a pig all day, consume high calories of processed foods, hit the treadmill for an hour a day, and you still won't see results. A healthy diet along with exercise are the key to successful weight loss because they complement each other. The first week of this diet, I only lost 2 lbs, and that was because I worked out on 2 out of 7 days. The next week, I lost 4 lbs - that week, I was able to get myself running 4 days that week. It's like losing a pound a day for every day that you work out on a low calorie diet.

 The book tells you to work out for 17 minutes, but to me - that's just not right, I do 30 to 40 minutes on the treadmill everyday. I usually start with a 5 minute warm up power walk, and then shift into a jog. I am lucky enough to have my own treadmill at home, so I watch my favorite shows while I am on it - which helps to zone me out and keep me jogging instead of thinking about how much time I've got left. Every other day or every 2 days I use my boyfriends Bowflex weights and that really helps with the strength training.

I don't know if I am setting myself up for failure, but this week, I have given myself a challenge. I have challenged myself to lose 5 lbs this week - I think that this challenge is what I need to keep myself focused and motivated, a little something to keeps things fresh. I guess I will be letting you know my Monday (since I don't update on weekends, and I weigh in on Saturdays) unless I beat the challenge and I can't contain myself.