Nutrisystem Week 35 Weigh-In

It’s our 35th week on Nutrisystem!

Beeb’s Weigh-In:

Starting Weight: 164.5 lbs
Week 35 weight: 131.8 lbs
Total Weight Lost: 32.7 lbs
Goal Weight: 110 lbs

Jai’s Weigh-In:

Starting Weight: 217.5 lbs
Week 35 Weight: 177 lbs
Total Weight Lost: 41.3 lbs
Goal Weight: 158 lbs

This week, Jai and I each lost .6 pounds, putting us back on track after last week’s chaos! We resumed our gym membership last Monday, which marked a huge milestone: The first time I have been able to go to the gym since 2010, when I injured my knees using the stair machine. It’s so incredibly exciting – and what a difference it has made in just one week. I had been waiting on starting up the gym membership again because we are on a budget and with my mobility limitations, it has only been recently that I could even considering doing anything other than walking. Because we are getting so close to our goals and I can work out again in a measured way, this is the right time to start up again. I consider it a short-term financial investment for long-term health gains – not just with my weight, but to get my full range of knee flexibility back. I still can’t kneel, squat, or do really high impact aerobics, and the only way to regain that is to start slowly moving my knees around again. The gym has equipment that I do not which I can use to very slowly and carefully get back to where I was before this whole mess started. My doctor approves of this plan and I feel great one week in!

So far, I have been using the treadmill, stationary bike, and working with various arm weight machines, and I also spend a lot of time stretching out before and after my workouts. Jai has been doing the elliptical, treadmill, and the full circuit of weights. Going to the gym makes me feel great in so many ways – obviously, just getting my body moving again after being so limited for so long feels great; but above and beyond that, it gives my days a structure that I find very helpful. Working in a home office, it’s really helpful for me to have a definite end to my work shift by knowing that I’ll be leaving for the gym at the same time each day. Getting in the gym takes me to a totally different setting, helps me burn off stress and get my mind focused on something else entirely. It’s hard to keep the boundaries from blurring when you work for yourself, since it’s easy to just work nonstop, but it’s so important for me to keep to my office hours as much as possible – not just for my health (Since I’ve talked extensively about my working schedule causing me to throw my health out the window and pile on the weight), but ironically, for the quality of my work also. Long days are a must sometimes, but if I work extremely long hours all the time it drags down my efficiency and quality of work. I am much more productive and successful when I work for shorter periods during the day (And by that I mean 8 hours, not 12-14) and when I’m getting a proper amount of sleep and feel healthy. Going to the gym is a helpful tool to keep me on track in that regards as well as keeping me on track with weight, health and fitness.

Another helpful aspect in this has been modifying the time I work out at. I’ve found that going to the gym at around 2-3 PM is about perfect for me – since I work early in the morning, this allows me to hit the gym right after work, then come home, eat dinner, get showered and take care of any errands around the house before settling in for the night. I used to work out late in the afternoon or early in the evening, and that doesn’t work out very well for me because I need several hours before bed to clear my head by watching TV, reading or doing something restful in order to sleep well. I have issues sleeping so it’s really critical that I anticipate what I realistically need in order to get a better night’s sleep. The great thing about finishing my workout before 5 is that it helps to wear out and relax my body before I sit down for the night and relax my mind!

The final thing that has been extremely helpful about going to the gym is getting our water intake back up. We’ve had a hard time drinking as much water as we need to in these winter months because it’s just so cold. I’ve made a point to take a full water bottle with me to the gym and drink it as I workout, since getting cold while I’m at the gym isn’t an issue. Plus I get to take a nice hot shower once I get home! We’ve both been doing really good with our water this week which makes us feel good and increase our success to boot.

The food aspect of last week was slightly more challenging, as we were house-sitting for grandma for several days. Like most grandmas, she has a well-stocked pantry and cookie jar, so although we tried to be good and bring our Nutrisystem entrees with us, I would be lying if I said we didn’t bust into her stash of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough. 😉 We also had some leftover from the cupcake & movie night parties that I threw – I seriously sent home as many leftovers as people would take, but I still ended up with a few snacks left over. We did the best we could to roll with it and were back to our normal routine once we finished house sitting. Again, having a structure to my work schedule is really important for this, since I end up eating at odd times when I don’t keep regular hours. Even if working out at the gym didn’t directly contribute to weight loss, just the fact that it’s helping me sleep easier and stick to a better work schedule is helping my weight loss efforts just because I’m eating at regular intervals!

On Friday, when we got home from the gym we had our latest Nutrisystem shipment waiting for us on the porch. Meet my newest friend:

This is my latest Nutribear for hitting the 30-pounds-lost milestone. He matches the new paint job in my office! 🙂 Our shipment also included some of Nutrisystem’s new meal items for 2013. It’s so fun having new goodies to try – we’ve been enjoying really delicious Cinnamon Streusel Muffins, Milk Chocolate Flavored Pretzels and Spicy Kung Pao Noodles, among many other things. I joked that my plan for drinking all my water this week is to drink one bottle at the gym and one bottle to wash down the Kung Pao Noodles. 😉

So there you have it – 35 amazing weeks and counting! Every day, Jai and I feel in awe of the incredible changes that have occurred since we began this program last spring. Going on Nutrisystem has been one of the biggest blessings and best things to happen to us. We are fans for life and so excited to see where the rest of this journey will take us!

As members of the Nutrisystem Nation Blogger Panel, Jai and I will be receiving the Nutrisystem program free of charge in order to share our honest opinions with you. Always consult with your physician before embarking on any weight loss or exercise program.

Want to lose weight and get healthy on Nutrisystem? Take advantage of their online support forums & community and join today by calling 1-888-853-4689 or by visiting Nutrisystem.com!