Bangin' & Swangin' Challenge: Weeks 5-9

It's check-in time!!  And I need to be real with you all -- I have not been keeping up with my workouts.  This month I completed a total of 3 workouts over the last 5 weeks.  Yes, just 3 workouts.  I should be ashamed of myself and a bit down about it, but I'm not at all.  I still feel good.  I mean on paper, I like a total slacker based on my initial goals.  But really, those goals had me going from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds flat and I just haven't been able to commit to that over the weeks.  After some thought, I've decided to change my approach to this challenge.  At the end of the day, my main goal is to look back on the Challenge's Day 1 post happy with my hair & body changes. Click the link to see my goals and my progress for the past month...




Pictured above is what I weighed in at this morning (Week 4: 153.8 lbs), which means I lost 1.8 lbs over the last 5 weeks. Looking at my initial goal to lose 5 lbs/month, you would think that I'd be disappointed about it, but I'm not. I'm actually really excited about my progress.  This month I ran on the treadmill once (1.77 miles), walked on the treadmill (2 miles) and did a cardio/weightlifting session over the course of an hour. Based on that easy going workout schedule, the movement on the scale can be attributed to my healthier food choices.  Yes, there were a handful of meals this month where I did order whatever I wanted (think fried seafood platter...mmmm), but for the most part my daily calories did not exceed 1600 calories.

What I eat on a typical weekday:
Breakfast - Greek yogurt and apple (sometimes a small blueberry muffin instead of the apple).
Lunch - Salad with 1-2 protein ingredients (usually grilled chicken, bacon, or cheese), non-creamy salad dressing (usually balsamic or greek), and sometimes croutons, OR Sandwich (no mayonnaise).
Snack - "25 cent" size bag of chips, cheetos, pretzels, OR popcorn.
Dinner - Baked (sometimes fried) chicken wings, Tuna salad on crackers, Sandwich OR Salad as described above.
Misc. - I drink at least one cup of hot tea with skim milk and white sugar.

My weekends are a little different, because I never know how the day/night will go, but I still pay attention to my calorie and protein intake.

My plan for the rest of this Challenge is to continue to eat the right stuff in appropriate portions and hope that I continue to see the numbers on the scale go down.  For next month, my goal will be to workout once a week for 60 minutes.  With a more attainable workout target, I'm bound to be more consistent on the exercise front, right?  Well, that's what I'll be working towards.

As for my hair, I've been protective styling as a default.  Again, I wore my hair in a bun about 28 out of the past 35 days since my last update. Here's a photo from my last length check post:


 See you next month...

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