Coffee contains caffeine, which helps speed up your heart rate and thus helps you burn more calories.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I have been going to the gym faithfully, 4-5 days a week, for one whole month and I can see the results. Take a look at these two head shots.

From earlier this summer:

From today:

Does it look like I’ve lost weight? Can I hear a hell yeah!

Now I haven’t yet weighed myself because I’m really happy with how I’m looking. I’ll weigh myself  eventually but not until I look a little thinner.

My weight loss for the week: 1 pound.

My weight loss for the Summer of Me!: 3 pounds.

My goal for the Summer of Me!: 8 pounds.

As you can see, I didn’t come close to achieving my goal, but I’m not giving up hope. Instead, I’m changing tactics. I’m going low carb for a few weeks to see if that helps jump start my system. I did that a few times a number of years ago (before I had kids) and it worked really well for me. Now, I just have to see if it’s as effective now that I’m a bit (read: 15) years older.

This is my weight loss for the past five days: nada.

I have plateaued, people. I’m going nowhere fast.

So I’m calling out for some help all Summer of Me! contestants and anyone else for that matter who has wisdom to impart to me. How does a 41 year old mother of three jump start her metabolism and get out of the plateau? Has any process or method worked great for you that I should know about? I need help!

Arrggh!

But this is the weird thing. I look slimmer in the shoulders and hips. I don’t look as slim in tummy because I really need to do some Pilates to help get my abs back in shape after three c-sections.

I understand that muscle weighs more than fat, but I’m not doing any lifting or anything like that. Hmm. I’ll keep on keepin’ on and we’ll see how things go this Friday.

Goals this week: drink more water, eat more fruits and veggies, and get out and move my butt!

I didn’t do my weigh-in today.  I’m doing it on Monday instead.

I know, I know, that wasn’t part of the agreement when I signed up for the Summer of Me! weight loss contest. The agreement was to weigh in on Fridays and announce the results, but AF arrived yesterday morning, and I am completely bloated. I know I am carrying a lot of water weight. I feel it. I can see it in my midsection. The last thing I want to do this early in the game is kill any success I’ve been feeling and undermining myself by stepping on the scale and seeing a number that is higher than last week’s and announcing it to the world that I gained back the weight I’ve lost the past two weeks just because of my period.  I just can’t do that to myself. I’ve been working too hard, watching my food intake, drinking a lot of water, eating fruits and veggies.

So I’m doing my weigh in on Monday.  I want to give my body some time to get rid of the excess water so I can have an accurate weigh in.

So here are my goals for the coming week:  Keep eating well as I have been but add exercise, and I’m doing that in a bit of a nontraditional way. I normally work in the office of our canoe livery checking in customers, taking reservations, etc.  Three days this week I am going to go out with the guys and help put people into the water. That means I will help load and unload canoes, rafts, tubes, and kayaks.  That will be a nice workout that’s both equivalent to weight lifting and aerobic exercise.

So, I’ve got 1 pound down and 7 to go.  My goal is to lose 8 pounds by July 25th and 25 pounds total by the Fall.

To help me with my weight loss, I picked up a Pilates book that’s actually three books in one from Barnes & Noble yesterday. I had a great beginner pilates DVD that I can’t find anywhere, so I’m hoping this book helps motivate me.

The best way for me to be successful is if I am held accountable, so I will keep track of what I’m doing and eating here. This is what I did last night and today:

• Last night I took a good fast walk.
• This morning I had a Balance Bar for breakfast.
• Two cups of coffee with a tablespoon of Coffee Mate Vanilla Caramel creamer and two Splendas.
• For lunch, I ate reheated Tuna Noodle Casserole made with 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup and had a Cytomax Goji Berry Green Tea drink.
• Today I loaded up my fridge with Smart Ones lunches and Weight Watchers ice cream bars, and I’ve got my Weight Watchers cookbook at the ready.
• I had two Weight Watchers cookies and cream ice cream bars for a total of 4 points.
• My son and I took our Great Dane puppy Sarah out for a walk.
• I’ve increased my water intake to three – four 20 ounce bottles of water a day.

Tonight Little Miss Throwsafit, Littlest One, and I are meeting Steve and Little Man at Garland for dinner tonight after their round of golf, so I will be looking for low fat entree on the menu, perhaps whitefish.

In addition to the benefit of losing weight, she’s offering weekly drawings every Friday for the weigh in and prizes for the end of the challenge, which is July 25th.

This is exactly what I need: a plan and a group of women who are in it with me. And to make sure I’m on track, I’ve posted a weight loss ticker that’s on the right hand side of my blog to keep track of my success. My goal is to lose 25 pounds total, with 8 pounds in the next month.

Woo hoo! It’s the Summer of Me! Will anyone else join me?

And for those who are unfamiliar with the Summer of George episode, here’s the clip: