Back To Beautiful Being

Overdue Update

2010-03-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

I am quite frustrated with myself that I missed several days of updating, I also missed workouts this past week (well except Wednesday). However I cleaned out our storage and that took a large part of my weekend and had two exams this week. I am cooking pinto beans and rice for lunches and Greek salads for supper this week. I will take some “cooked” photos tonight and post them tomorrow. I just totally forgot again this weekend!

Attached is my first vlog post. I hope it isn’t too silly. I weighed in today for Biggest Loser and I am down 2-lbs by their scale (210-lbs at home 207-lbs on the work scale).

Currently one member lost 5-lbs, one gained a pound, and everyone else lost either 2-lbs or 1-lb.

I will be presenting an informative post tomorrow so stay tuned!

Biggest Loser Drama

2010-03-02T15:46:00.002-08:00

So today was the first weigh in day for me for our office pool Biggest Loser. The bad news is that I was (the office scale put me at 209lbs even home scale was 209.5lbs) the heaviest contestant by exactly 20lbs and half the women in the pool weigh LESS than my goal weight and one girl there was 70lbs lighter than me, I don't think she should be losing anything! Granted a few of them are a good 6" shorter than me, but seriously, that was not a fun place to be. They are all so sweet, many of them were very surprised at my weight and one even said (jokingly) that I must be cheating with weights in my bra or something because I am thinner (aka smaller circumference) than she is.

The good news is that I will have a lot more weight to lose so I have a very good chance to win IF I stick to plan. Wish me luck ladies.

Damn salt!

2010-03-01T19:28:00.001-08:00

Well I am up two pounds today, but I am not fretting over it because I am quite sure it is water retention. I actually did a naughty thing this weekend, it was the last weekend before Biggest Losers at work and my friend who is joining along with me wanted a “last meal” so I made guacamole, chips, and we ate and drank and were marry pretty much all day on Saturday. There was so much salt and I drank a ton of water too because I was just so thirsty! I hope that it is gone in a day or two. I am back on track today and plan not to falter!

This weekend I was bad and didn’t post, part because of the party and the other day I sewed baby clothes for my brother’s little one who is due in three months. They are so cute little outfits, I will post some photos once I do all the finishing (probably over the next two weekends). I didn’t study enough, but I am going to buckle down and hit the books on schedule every night, that is my top goal this week.

As to the photos in my last post, I do realize I might not have my old body back exactly the way it was, because honestly I used to be a muscle machine and I probably weighed even more than I want to weigh, but was likely thinner than I will be at my goal weight, but I hope I can at least pull the bloody shorts up by then, even if they will be too snug to rollerblade in ever again.

Also I know it is not the most scientific way to measure progress, but I have my three way count - weight on the scale, tape measurements of body, and now my goal shorts, I will have plenty of “look how big these pants are on me now” items and I just wanted ONE item that I could use as a better visual aid to my progress than just the tape measure, if that makes sense.

Anyway this week I TOTALLY forgot to take a photo of my cooking before, but I am having Leek, Potato, and Turkey Bacon Chodwer with a half ounce of sour dough bread for supper:

...and my lunch Bento Box is sushi rolls (with reduced sodium soy sauce), mashed yam, and homemade coleslaw:

Goal Shorts!

2010-02-26T16:38:00.003-08:00

So a group of gals at my office (7 counting me) have started a three month Biggest Loser's pool. We will weigh in on Monday and Tuesday (half and half because two of them work Tues-Sat instead of the normal work week) the pot entry is $20 so who ever loses the largest percent of weight will win. Another motivator to keep me on track, knowing 6 women I work with will see my weight every week, scary. I am quite sure I will be the heaviest one at least the first week!!!

Anyway that leads me to another point, I have a ton of clothes I could wear 6 years ago that I love, and I was an adult and full grown then so there is no reason why I shouldn't fit them again (it is not like I am trying to achieve my 18 year old body or anything like that which could be unrealistic and an unhealthy goal). Anyway I used to Rollerblade everyday almost in these cute shorts that someone brought me from Hawaii (they are size 9). I SWEAR that I used to fit into them without problems (as hard as that is to believe)... well I can only get them about half way up my thighs now:

So I hope that in three months I will at least be able to pull them all the way up! I know some people who bought something they aspire to fit in to, but I thought it would be better not to let myself pick something unattainable, I mean I KNOW I used to fit these, so there is no reason not to be able to do it again!

No change.

2010-02-25T21:33:00.000-08:00

Not much to day today. Grandpa is doing better, he got a full exam today and they think he will be just find. Made some adjustments to his diet and medication. My uncle is staying with him, thank you so much Heather, Cammie, and MB you guys are just so kind, I deeply appreciate your support!! :-)

Not the greatest day...

2010-02-24T17:22:00.002-08:00

I didn't lose today, work kind of sucked, my grandpa had a "mild heart attack" and I just feel down and drained... hope tomorrow is a better day. I will work out now to try and cheer myself up with some endorphins.

YAY!

2010-02-23T17:58:00.006-08:00

I finally show a loss of water weight!!! A new low for me! Woot! I am so happy! Today was pretty good, I was mostly on track, had some cocoa and otherwise I was on target. I am going to work out today, FINALLY got my bento box from Japan in the mail today, I will post a photo of my lunch IN a real bento box tomorrow, but for now I just am using regular plastic containers. I just think the box is cuter and it was super cheap so I spoiled myself a little in the name of healthier portions.

My ingredients (P.S. the avocado was NOT supposed to be in this shot):

My results:

YAY for losing!!

Monday Monday....

2010-02-22T22:54:00.002-08:00

Well I got all my cooking done today, same weight as the last many days *sigh* I also got my new plate, what a pain hope tomorrow is better luck.

My supper ingredients:

Catch up!

2010-02-21T22:32:00.001-08:00

Hi so I got my plates stolen when I was buying food, so I had a long night with police and other things and was not able to cook or anything, so I will be updating everything, including pictures of my meals tomorrow.

Yucky day...

2010-02-20T20:42:00.000-08:00

Day number three at 210... sounds like the beat of my old drum, but again I will not concern myself with it until I am out of this dreaded week (just till Tuesday I hope). Yucky day because I have had a killer headache all day and I also have been tired and I ate a lot of cereal in place of my shakes today. Tsk tsk. Back on the horse tomorrow.

I have planned my lunches out, I am going to make a bento variety including small portions of the following:

1. Simple potato, carrot, cucumber, corn, and tomato salad.
2. A portion of chicken breast sauteed with soy sauce.
3. Grilled zucchini.
4. Apple & banana slices.
5. Onigiri (with nori and seeds of course)!
6. Plain lettuce salad.

For supper I will have tortilla-less fajitas (chicken, peppers, onions, avocado, corn, salsa, and a little low-fat plain yogurt). The portions for both meals are to equal approximately 250 calories (plus or minus 10). I will go to the shop tomorrow and will shoot a clip of it pre and post prep as last week.

Nothing new...

2010-02-19T16:06:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone, long long day at work nothing much else, same weight as yesterday, paid $250 for them to tell me nothing is wrong with my car even though something WAS wrong and I am concerned it will stop working again soon, they promise to credit me the labor if I need to bring the car in for this problem again (and yes I got it in writing!).

They are a good dealership, though, and have all kinds of awards for their customer service and with the BBB so I expect they will be honest.

Blah... more tomorrow.

Water retention week... day two...

2010-02-18T18:25:00.002-08:00

Well, I am up half a pound today, but in full bloating sequence I am totally okay with that, we will see where I am in a few more days, this whole week is always a write off in my book anyway (not plan-wise, but scale-wise).

Today I again did really well, I had to eat a half a cup of cereal instead of one of my shakes this morning with some milk, it put me a tad over goal, but I needed some ibuprofen for my cramps and my doctor said never to take it on an empty stomach or you can get bleeding ulcers so I always take it with (real) food.

Other than that I was so proud of myself, there was pizza in the break room and everyone in my office area was enjoying it (it is from a really good, gourmet place) and I didn't even think about eating any of it... no I lied of COURSE I thought about it!!!! But the important part is I didn't give in. I was so proud. I did sneak a little piece of chocolate this evening, only to remember I especially bought low-cal hot-chocolate packets for this!!! Oh well, I was barely over points, so it is alright but I will not forget them tomorrow if need be!

I am feeling really good, I have been getting up earlier in the morning and feeling much more fresh, so maybe my body likes how I am feeding it right now. They say that generally rats have internal calorie meters and will usually limit themselves to a certain amount of calories per week. They even did experiments where they gave them tastier flavored food (same nutritional content) and let them eat as much as they wanted, but only one day a week and when they figured out the pattern, they would "save up" on boiring food calories all week so they could splurge and eat more of their self-imposed calorie allotment in the tasty food... this does have a point don't worry... anyway they have found that rats and mice that are fed 30% less than they normally restrict themselves to as a healthy amount (and yes there are over eaters in the rodent world as well, just not nearly as often as the human one) they lived quite a bit longer. That is the point, maybe eating only the amount my body truly needs is better for me.

Cheers to water week being over soon.

...aaaaaand .....

2010-02-17T21:03:00.003-08:00

...my unwelcome monthly visitor has arrived... oh joy!

(same weight as yesterday so I was too lazy to upload a different photo of the same thing)

Today I was good, I ate four water crackers more than I should have, but otherwise I was on track!! I had a blast working out to my new HipHop videos and I actually am starting to feel really good, not so hungry at all, and I feel really full after just a few bites and energized. I have stretched my meager lunch over 40mins when it usually only lasts 10! I am glad to feel these changes. I also (weird I know) am feeling a little unpleasant when I get that "full" feeling in my tummy (yay to proper portions!). I am supper tired, long long day at work today. Sleep well blogsters!

Another day another...pound??

2010-02-16T15:51:00.000-08:00

Well, another pound down. Wow, that is very weird, but hey I am happy, I drank SO much water today and I did pretty good about food, only I cracked at the end of the day, I came home to fresh bread and I just couldn't resist a slice with jam on it. I SHOULD have resisted, but anyway... we will see how this falter is reflected down the line. I am expecting still some water retention to creep in (and maybe gain for a few days). We will see. Today was pretty stressful at work and I barely got through my huge pile of crap I needed to do so tomorrow is looking about the same right now. I am just happy to have a job, but it makes me tired. Ok time for my yoga class. All you peeps take care, hope you had a lovely long weekend and I will continue recording this experiment daily.

I took body shots today also, but I will post Day 1 and Day 7 at the end of the week (so you can compare them side-by-side) unless there is no visible difference, then I will wait two weeks to do side-by-side comparisons (oh and measurements also!). Wish me luck!

Ok so far so good!

2010-02-15T16:30:00.000-08:00

Well, I am amazed to report I weighted in this morning at 210.5-lbs that is very weird, but I am happy I won't lie! I am pretty amazed (and I know my feet are really flat and really ugly, ran around barefoot until high school, thanks mom and dad).

I am home today since it is a holiday, so it is hard to stay right on schedule, but I am doing pretty good, no cheating today so far, I actually feel good hunger-wise. Craving chocolate a bit strongly (it is almost that time of the month... any day in the next three days I expect to see some water retention), but I bought some 100-calorie packs of dark-hot-chocolate that I can sub in for one shake or coffee if I get desperate. I will post again tomorrow, below is the food from yesterday's video prepared, I forgot to post it last night! Once I start back at work I will try to shoot my Bento Boxes too.

A new leaf...again...again...

2010-02-14T22:20:00.001-08:00

So I have to tell you that I have some moderately reasonable excuses for being out of the loop for a bit now - I got H1N1 (even though I was vaccinated) and then contracted pneumonia as a complication so I was sick for many weeks. Then I went home for the holidays, and last month I started my new job and have been really trying to stay up to date on that, in the mean time I developed bursitis in my knee (the one I have had surgery on previously) and have to get an MRI in March to check that out to see if I re-tore my ligament and/or disc.

Anyway all that nonsense aside, I have been reflecting on how little progress I have made. Yes my fitness is greatly improved, however, this is the ninth month since I have been seriously devoted to my fitness routine and losing weight, and I could have lost my full weight goal by now if I were at the top of the "safe zone" (2-lbs per week). My sister lost a lot more on WW just in one year without really working out.

Needless to say I know I have eating problems, I don't do it much, but I do binge and always on horrid things, or I eat healthy, but way too much and then I think I can ignore calories because it was "healthy" food. I need to really focus on my MENTAL aspects since I have pretty much made workouts a routine that I don't have a problem getting done anymore. I have also started back up with my yoga not just at home this time, but I am taking an advanced class that is 80-mins twice a week and includes 20-mins of meditation practice (something I have not done regularly in a few years). This has been really helping me a lot on focusing what is going on in my mind and with my body from an emotional, mental point of view and really making me regain will power.

After much reflection I have decided I need to "reset" my eating habits and retrain not only my stomach (which is probably stretched to hell), but also my mind to remember to enjoy my food as a whole experience. I have decided to pack myself bento box lunches daily to spend time to make my food wholesome and beautiful so that I enjoy my meal visually, I enjoy the texture, I enjoy the smell, and the taste and make it a whole emotional experience as well as a nutritional fulfillment.

This lead me to begin exploring fasting (as a part of yoga and meditation) I have fasted in yoga before, but I was considering a weekend fast to help really just spend a few hours each day reflecting on food, eating, and the waste I make while others starve. I should not eat more than I need, that is unnecessary, selfish, and also harmful to myself. I plan to fast on the next full moon weekend for two or three days. In the meantime I discovered a lovely chick (Impatient Dieter) who has made herself a semi-liquid diet plan that got her from 257-lbs to 157-lbs in 5-months. It is called The Easy Way Show and I was pretty skeptical as to the health of her diet, but after viewing her and reading a lot of research about different claims she makes, I have decided to try her plan for two months.

I spoke with my doctor about this and have made some slight adjustments, but in general I will be following a similar plan for 60-days to see how it works, I am open minded and optimistic about this, the plan will be as follows:

Ingesting 100-calories every hour during the day in liquid form except twice I will ingest solid meals totaling 250-calories each, (totaling 1200-1300-calories) this week will include (lots of water!!!):

6 - Low-Carb Meal Replacement Shakes (with fiber and fat and high in protein, and 100-calories each) at 7am, 10am, 11am, 2pm, 3pm, and 4pm

1 - cup of coffee without sugar, but with fiber, cream and milk (to equal 100-calories) between 8-9am

1 - bento box lunch consisting of sushi, poultry or fish meat, veggies, soup, salad, and/or legumes (to equal 250-calories) at 12pm

1 - supper will consist of poultry, fish, or legumes, a large serving of mixed veggies (my favorite mix is bell peppers, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, sugar snap peas, and garlic sprouts), and a whole grain, complex carb such as yam, wild rice, or whole wheat bread (to equal 250-calories) between 6-7pm

1 - serving of low-fat yogurt (to equal about 100-calories) between 7-8pm

A multi-vitamin and calcium supplement will be included daily.

I am doing yoga twice a week and five days a week will be participating in a low-impact (for the sake of my knee) aerobic activity to keep my heart rate in the prime fat burning zone (while wearing a heart rate monitor) 60%-80% of my max heart rate.

Today was my first day and I did break down and have 6 cashews when I got really hungry, but otherwise I was pretty good and not hungry all day. The protein drinks even out my stomach very nicely. I will weigh myself daily, but will update the weight on this site weekly, I am also taking daily body shots, but will only compare weekly shots and measurements. Today I weighed in at 214.5-lbs (and as many of you know I tend to get stuck on an exact number for a long time this has been the case for a few weeks now).

Wish me luck with my two month experiment, below is my supper (yes I know I sound about 12yrs old, I wish I looked it!!). ;-)

Insanity... no really!

2009-11-25T09:14:00.001-08:00

Why is it so hard? Why is it hard to workout, even if I feel better after I do it? Why is it so hard to keep up my log? Why is it so hard to avoid doing things that make me want to avoid my blog because I don’t want to be honest about my behaviour?

Grrr, I am really annoyed. I lost 1 pound from my current listed about three weeks ago and then another two pounds a week later, and then in the last few days I have gone back up and stayed at my current. It is so hard. I decided to do a few things to help facilitate my progress. The first is due to the fact I finally completely filled up my last diet/exercise log book and needed a new one and frankly it is such a pain in the “you know what” not just to record everything by hand and write it down, but also since I cook from scratch all the time, it takes forever to calculate the serving nutritional information.

So in the name of reducing excuses I purchased some exercise and diet logging software Diet Power 4.4 and have been using it for a few weeks. Wow does it make life easier. It went from an afternoon affair to plan and calculate my weekly meals to mere minutes. Plus it has tons of cool graphs and plans and tips and coaching that really have helped me. I bought it on sale for $29.95, best money I have spent in a long time, it has made things so much faster and easier and less avoidable.

The next thing I recently did was evaluate my fitness plan, I was taking classes and boot camp, but the latter ended around Halloween until mid January and my other classes end this week until mid January. So I already picked out my courses next semester: I plan on taking an hour of kickboxing twice a week and an hour and a half of power yoga twice a week. Now I realized that taking a six week break around the holidays to boot from any workouts is out of the question if I want to keep making progress, and my home fitness DVDs are very soft-core compared to what I have done over the last few months and I want to keep pushing myself so I did some research trying to find a very challenging at home workout.

Many folks recommended P90X, however I don’t want to “get ripped” and I don’t want a program that requires equipment or focuses on weight lifting, but the thread lead me to other programs by the same company and I discovered the Insanity Workout. Before buying I sampled on the net previews and even whole workouts and wow did I break a sweat! So I went ahead and purchased it on eBay (way cheaper!) and have had it for a bit now. I did a couple parts here and there to sample before I formally started it, and it is great I have to say. So I am formally on the second day of the structured workout program and very sore, which is exactly what I wanted.

Many people say how hard this workout is, and some complain it is too much for many normal or even fairly fit folks. I have to interject on these points and say that although it is really tough, it is self paced and you only go as hard as you push yourself, and any of the moves can be modified to make them less challenging so it is really silly to think it can be too hard for anyone who is reasonably fit and it gives you something to aspire to. If you push hard you will expand your limits and that is great, it is cardio based for fat blasting and only uses body weight for resistance - again exactly what I wanted! I hope I will see as good results with this program as I have seen with boot camp.

I will catch up with everyone soon. Thanks for reading (someday I will be a consistent poster).

Well, well, well.

2009-10-28T19:01:00.002-07:00

Guess what! I lost another pound, so this sleeping thing and less working out is really working for me. Yay that marks my 20lb loss since April, that is pretty pathetic if you think about it, less than 3lbs a month, but on the other hand I can run and do push-ups like never before, so I guess it is ok.

I found out (I may have mentioned before) my work pays over $700 a year to me to take fitness classes at the on-site university pavilion (which has every thing you can imagine and then some). I have been taking classes on my lunch at work, but when I am busy it is tight so I have already started to pick after work classes out for after Christmas. I am going to quit boot camp though, they promised it would be indoors by now and I did push-ups in the wet snow at just sub-freezing temperatures the other day because they still haven't secured an indoor location NOT COOL people. I guess it wouldn't be so bad except when you sweat and then cool down and get hypothermia!!! Well I still DID it!! :-) Plus with my new plan I am working out only once per day instead of two to three times and losing weight and not feeling exhausted everyday so it is a good routine to keep steady I think.

Anyway Jan/Feb boot camp will be sub-zero (and I mean that in degrees F) and there is no way I am working out outside then.

I am sorry I haven't been posting I am in my last week of doing two jobs in the time of one, not even sure any more what exactly my new job is, or which way is up ... so fried. Hope to return to some kind of normal mental state by the end of next week if I am lucky. I'll catch up on everyone's blogs this weekend!

Huh....

2009-10-07T07:39:00.005-07:00

Ok, I am almost afraid to post this in case I jinx myself here, but I wasn't going to weigh myself for a month while trying my doctor's new script of more rest, less working out... then I had a gathering with some other girls last night and in all the fun and excitement someone got the idea to weigh ourselves (we are all trying to lose) and I did it too. The result: I am down to 209.5 lbs. This is the lowest weight I have been in 18-months and exactly 5 lbs down since my last post on the 25th of September and that in spite of the fact we enjoyed a five course decadent meal with salty salad and soup, beef Wellington partnered with a mountain of mashed potatoes, oh and of course desert as well. (I weighed myself again this morning the day after the feast just to see and the result was consistant.) I want to be elated, I want to scream "YES!" but I feel reserved, hesitant, and unbelieving. I decided I am not going to celebrate until the end of the month and then ONLY if this continues. Yeah I feel very jaded and untrusting of this result considering my recent troubles and also on Monday I got my measurements taken by my personal trainer and they were all either the same as September 14th, or UP 0.5 inches!!! I was so upset about that, hence my resistance to celebrate.

Oh and on a side note, last Monday, September 28th I was riding my bike home from work and the wind was so strong a gust literally BLEW me off the raised bike trail, into a ditch, breaking my metal bike pedal and wrecking my knee. I took last week and this week so far off spinning, I did my toning classes twice a week and my boot camp (minus any running, jumping, or other high impact knee hurting activities), but also skipped my step aerobics and haven't been riding to work anymore (still need to fix my bike and it is below freezing every morning when I leave anyway now so I don't mind that part so much!). So let me get this straight, I injure myself and cut my workout hours literally in half... and in 12 days I lose 5 lbs?!! *twitch twitch*

Ok ok I will try to be grateful and not focus on the WTF aspect of this revelation, but please let this slump of months be over, I desperately want to have found the missing keystone to my weight loss success.

Oh really?? We need to make this HARDER?

2009-09-25T09:38:00.007-07:00

Heather: Thanks, it is nice to have someone to commiserate with, and your empathy actually gives me hope because you have come a long way. And also you are right in that I should celebrate my health, which I know has improved because I am in the best cardiovascular health I can remember being in since I was a teen, but ... *sigh*

Cammy: Let me start by saying you are one smart woman, I read your comment and it got me thinking:
1. Ok yeah I do rest at least one day a week from all exercise, check, just my normal chores and stuff.
2. I get my thyroid checked every year, check, and it is normal (it runs in the family that is why I get it checked).
3. As to your first note - overtraining, I know it can lead to injury, but I never thought working out "too much" could inhibit weight loss, but I got to wondering... so I called my Sports Medicine Doctor and talked to him on the phone this morning, he has been treating my bike induced shoulder injury.

Here is the official Sports Medicine opinion on overtraining and weight loss from my doctor for all those interested: My doctor was kind enough to give me a phone consult on the subject and after giving him a rundown of my activity and what I have been doing and how I have been changing my routine since I started working out regularly this spring and he was firstly shocked I was able to go from nothing to what I am doing now in the amount of time I have without getting burnt out, but also he told me that overtraining can be as detrimental to weight loss as starving yourself! I was like WHAT?? (Needless to say I am still a bit skeptical.) He told me that even though I am obviously greatly increasing my fitness, that if I don’t “actively rest” enough each night and then once or twice a week, with my current routine my body might not be able to recover properly between workouts. He said this can actually cause physiological stress to my body that makes it respond in a similar way as it would to reducing calories too drastically. He told me that if I keep increasing too much too quickly, instead of just gradually increasing my fitness and allowing my body enough time to rest and adapt, then it will think it is in a stressful survival situation and hold on to its stores more than if I were allowing it to adjust properly. So he told me to cut my workout hours a bit, sleep more nightly, rest AT LEAST one day a week, and reduce the intensity every other day of my current workouts and check back in a month to see if I have had any progress. This also might be why when I was doing less, however consistently last year, I lost more inches on my belly in less than 1/4 of the time... food for thought there, I don't know how accurate it is, but I guess it can't hurt to try his advice for a month and see if it helps since what I am doing isn't.

Anyway, who woulda thunk you can work out too much to lose weight?! Could losing weight POSSIBLY become any more complicated and challenging?! Forgive me a long drawn out scream of frustration:
AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Down in the dumps...

2009-09-23T07:22:00.005-07:00

Well, I think I have just about HAD it with my weight. I am back up 4-lbs for the last two and a half weeks. It won’t budge again, that is up two pounds from my “plateau” weight. I have tired everything with my diet, I have tried eating less, I have tried eating more. I just don’t know what to do and I am so frustrated. I have only lost 14-lbs as of today from my highest weight that works out to be about 2.5-lbs a MONTH, or just over half a pound a week. That is just horrid. Especially considering I haven’t essentially had a net loss since the beginning of July so in 12-weeks I have not lost any weight. I just want to cry. You know it isn’t like I am down to that stubborn last 10-pounds, I am still in the “obese” range of my BMI chart, I have plenty to lose I have to lose about 14-lbs just to get into the “overweight” range, let alone the almost 50-lbs I need to lose to get into my “healthy” weight range. What is wrong with me?

I read about people who are losing just by walking, I walked for a month, barely lost, but did, then I started riding my bike a few miles a day, lost a tiny bit more, then I started boot camps three times a week, lost a couple more pounds... gradually add ing more and more workouts I have now decided over the last three weeks to “switch it up” and shock my body so I am currently:
1 - riding my bike a few miles daily to about 2.5 hours a week
2 - spinning twice a week for 1-hour each class
3 - weight lifting twice a week for 1-hour each class
4 - taking a 1-hour aerobics class per week
5 - boot camps twice per week for 1-hour
6 - 1-hour training session with my personal trainer per week
That works out to be over 10-hours per week of intense physical training, and I got nothing to show for it. Not a damn ounce lost, I instead GAINED back some weight. W T F?! I am so upset. Who do I have to KILL to lose weight?! I am working SO hard at getting in shape. And yes I have noted changes in my physique, but I don’t want to be “obese” anymore, I wasn’t before so I know it isn’t just my frame or whatever, and unless I start body building professionally, there is only so much damned muscle I can pack on.

I am just so disappointed. What am I doing wrong? I have had professional evaluations of my diet, I keep changing my workouts to keep my body guessing, and I keep increasing the intensity of my workouts, why can’t I lose weight? I am even trying hard to make sure I sleep enough because I heard that can be a big inhibiter. Does anyone have any experience with such a long problem despite hard work? I mean just by watching her diet my sister lost every week and got to her goal in a year, she hates sweating and refuses to work out, but I am stuck no matter how much I work out and had barely lost anything in 5.5-months. Even just two years ago I was able to make more progress in three weeks than I made now in three months at a fraction of the effort (at first I attributed this to just having done aerobics and no toning, so I was thinking this time it is just that I am really gaining muscle, but this is getting ridiculous.) Sorry for the never ending rant, I am just beyond frustrated.

This week I am eating:
Breakfast – Protein shake with skim milk

Snack – 1 instant packet of oatmeal + 1 piece of fruit

Lunch – Four slices of grilled eggplant rolled up with fat free cream cheese (packed with herbs and sun dried tomatoes + a handful of Kashi whole grain crackers

Snack – Fat free yogurt + 1 piece of fruit

Dinner – Homemade chicken, corn, tomato and veggitable soup

Desert – Protein shake with skim milk

Total Calories: 1,550
Total Grams Fat: 40
Total Grams Carbs: 200
Total Grams Protein: 105
Total Grams Fiber: 30

Crazy insane, or insane crazy?

2009-09-02T12:54:00.003-07:00

I am very bad, I haven’t posted in so long, I just had some of the worst couple weeks at work since I started there. A lot of mean politics and clicks (I found out that even if someone doesn’t really have anything against you directly in our office, they will treat you according to who you associate with and who they have a beef against). A major fall-out with one of the doctors I work for based on my refusing to be his scapegoat when he made a big mistake, oh and I got a new job! Same place, same department but upstairs both physically and metaphorically. I am so excited, I won’t start there for a few weeks yet as my soon to be new boss is on holiday, but I had an interview and got the position anyway.

Yesterday I FINALLY got ALL the mountains of paperwork, inspections, and fees taken care of for getting my car imported and registered! I now am the proud owner of a Canadian license plate!

Also I just want to take a moment to thank Cammy first off for the bright idea of packing my lunches for the weekend as I do for work and especially for the wonderful Pearl of Wisdom she sent me. I have it displayed in my office and a lot of women who work with me ask about it and I keep directing them to the website for more information, I think so far it has been a great conversation opener for getting the word out.

Fitness wise, I was doing pretty great until this week, Friday during my workout in the evening I started to feel a little nauseous and then I felt ok on Saturday and then really had an upset stomach on Sunday, then on Monday I was fine until I worked out and that sent me into feeling very sick. Tuesday I went to work, but left quite soon as I was totally nauseated and then I was ok by the afternoon. I thought I would be able to go to work today, but last night I got really sick again and couldn’t sleep almost all night, so I called in this morning even though I started to feel better again I was 1-totally exhausted from the night and needed rest, 2-I am worried it will just get bad again any second and finally 3-I am concerned if it is some sort of stomach flu I don’t want to spread it around at work, that is what sick days are for right? I feel a little guilty when ever I call in sick (even if this is only the second time this year), but my logical side knows this is for the best and hopefully if I don’t regress again in the next 16 hours or so, I will be able to get back at it tomorrow.

So except for the last several days it was pretty well, I was so proud of myself on Sunday, I went to dinner with some folks from Seattle and we went to a really good steak house and I just had a small serving of meat and a side of fresh mushrooms, no butter, no mashed potatoes, no nothing else. I am usually a super sucker for eating out, I almost never do it, so then I think it is so rare I can just go crazy and I always allow myself to, but not Sunday! It might sound small but it was a major moment for me.

On a last note I ended up buying a new mattress. My previous one is only about 5years old, but it was too firm and I am having so much trouble sleeping. I slept a few nights on the spare bed which was the same line, but a softer model and it was so much better. So I will try it out for a couple of weeks before I am sure it is the solution to my sleeping problems. :-)

Another "blah" day.

2009-08-19T09:56:00.001-07:00

I have worked out really hard this week. I started with my personal trainer on Monday, she is hard core, my upper body is sore in every place and from every angle! Although I am a little frustrated - I am so tired, but have been having a really hard time sleeping. I just can’t seem to get comfortable and my injured shoulder has been acting up a bit. I have tired to take care on the workouts (done pretty well considering I was doing boot camps for a month after my injury without provoking it), but now it is going through this stiffening up stage regardless of the stretching my physical therapist has prescribed me.

Otherwise I am just feeling a little lost, workouts and diet are pretty much on plan, although I really need to rein in my weekends. I am so good when I pack my lunch for the week and then bam, I get stuck without a plan on the weekend and I just munch and munch and munch. I try to keep unhealthy snacks out of my house for this reason, but all the healthy snacks in the world are just worthless if you eat them with no sense at all of moderation. Then it just comes down to calories are calories!

My diet this week is oatmeal and skim milk for breakfast, fruit/V8/yogurt for snacks; 2.5cups mixed raw veggies (broc, carrots, cucumbers, and tomatoes), 1-cup berries, and 100calories worth of aip-popped plain popcorn for lunch; whole wheat pasta and homemade turkey sasuage, bell pepper, onion, mushroom, garlic, and olive red pasta sauce for supper.

I am pretty sure I am feeling a little in a slump because I am so tired, but I just wish things would go faster. I feel like I just keep increasing and increasing my workouts and yet other people who were just in the boot camp with me and doing nothing else saw better results in a shorter amount of time even if they were already much smaller than me!! Grrrr! I have to keep telling myself that I only really starting kicking myself into high and I mean HIGH gear on the 22nd of June (just over 8-weeks now), and I know that it took me a lot longer than 8-weeks to put this weight on, but the part of me that is impatient and upset is not consoled with logic! What is a girl to do?

I was advised that a time released protein shake before bed can help with muscle ache, recovery, and development, although I doubt any of us girls are trying to body-build, do any of you have any comments on this (i.e. brand recommendations) or perhaps YOUR trainers (if you have one)? Stay strong ladies.

New Toy

2009-08-13T13:15:00.002-07:00

Yay for blog buds who are just terrific and supportive, you gals rock!

Also yay to my new toy! I am so in love with it, it is silly, a little obsessive, way more expensive than I would have ever spent on myself, but it is sooo cool! I programmed in my physical stats and based on that, my heart rate, my pace, the incline (yay for GPS), and so on it tells me right at the end of my workout how many calories I burnt. For instance between my first two workouts today I have already burnt over 600-calories and hope to just top my 800-calories with my bike ride home. Most of my lunch workouts keep me in a high HR zone (80-90% of my max) and my rides usually are in the 70-80% range for fat burn, also my boot camp is about half and half. So I am rocking it out. I have to admit KNOWING just how hard I have been working and being able to really examine and SEE that everyday has been a huge motivator: I feel so proud because I am not sitting there thinking, well probably it wasn’t long enough, probably I didn’t work out hard enough to be as many caloris as I calculated, now I just know it! :-)

I did my jog, stairs, power-walk today and it was great, a tad chilly and stormy, but so worth it. I also forgot a sweater when I came to work today and froze my little bum off on the ride in and then at the start and end of my lunch workout.

I have done fairly well today for food; I ran out of my beloved bananas and need to pick some up at the store tonight. I am going camping and canoeing tomorrow through Saturday so I need to pick up some stuff to roast on the fire. We are star gazing and I am so excited. Anyway I ate a small serving of oatmeal with a glass of skim milk for breakfast, beans and barely soup (home made) for lunch, a V8 (sad substitute for my banana!) and I have yogurt for a snack and borsh for supper. Last night I had some fresh baked whole wheat bread. Not the best supper but it was so good and I was craving hot bread so badly I just gave in.

This weekend is diet overhaul time. I just have been studying hard on the weeknights and haven’t had time yet but I know an update can help ensure I really DO blast through that damned plateau. Thanks for the cheering. I will let you know how the lovely camping goes.

Where does the time go?!

2009-08-12T11:55:00.003-07:00

So I have been meaning to post every day and I just don't know where the time goes anymore. This week has been insanely busy, but I want to say to Heather, Cammy, and MB - thank you so much for your support after that mean comment. I really needed it and you all came through for me, so thank you so much.

On Friday I went with a wonderful friend to get some new running shoes, my old ones were, in all honestly, a tad too wide and not meant to run in. Just so happened the running store had a great sale and I got two pairs of new runners for less than what one normally costs, score! Saturday and Sunday I didn't work out because I had to drive for 12hours and was just lazy after that, then on Monday I did my usual daily bike commute, a power-walk, 800-stairs, power-walk during my lunch (takes a bit more than an hour), and then an hour of boot camp. Yesterday I biked, and then ran/walked/ran/walked for about 90-mins, then today I have boot camp again.

The best thing I have to announce is I got an amazing gift - a Forerunner 305 by Garmin. It has a heart rate monitor (one of the best features) and a program that graphs it and shows you all these aspects of your workouts and you can use it to program workouts with certain goals, track progress, and compete against yourself ... in general, well it is just really cool. Something I would never have gotten myself, but I really am glad to have it!

In other good news I finally, officially broke my plateau!!! I am down two pounds from that stubborn number I was stuck at for soooooo long! I just hope this is going to keep moving, on the other hand I have been really bad with my diet lately. So I am working out so much I keep getting hungry and I got lazy and stopped tracking all my intake and instead I just kept eating (not bad stuff, just way too much) here and there and kept thinking, it is ok I am burning around 800-cals average every weekday between my three daily workouts. But I have to remember if I burn 800-cals and then make them up by eating more, I am just wasting my effort. I know I need to feed myself well... but it is SO much easier (wickedly so) to eat 800 extra calories than to burn them off, am I right or am I right? Hopefully I will post another update tomorrow. Oh and I have lost 6" total since starting boot camp on June 22nd, not much but not nothing!

What a crappy day...

2009-08-06T13:13:00.003-07:00

People really should think about what they say before they open their mouths. So to start - a fast update - we had a long weekend this past one and I went camping and hiking for the whole thing. It was great, then on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in addition to my usual bike ride to and from work, I ran for 2omins, stair climbed 800 steps in 17mins, then power walked up a fairly constant incline for about 45-50 more minutes... in addition to that EVERY DAY I also did my boot camp yesterday, totaling about 3hrs of hard workout time. Needless to say I was exhausted today, but I still did my run/stair/walk at lunch! I was so proud of myself until..

...I heard that someone who was talking to my running partner was shocked that I jogged. Not only that I went jogging with my partner at lunch, but also that I was even capable of it and didn't JUST start jogging because she was making me do it. Apparently, according to this person, I don't seem like the sort of person who "exercises at all".

I want to cry and I feel horrible about myself, I feel so fat - obviously I am if some person I have seen in the hall maybe three times since I started working here would say something like that. What a mean thing to say, even if you are shocked I am ABLE to workout at all, let alone that I am doing it, if you don't even know me, couldn't you just say something like, "Wow, good for her!"??? That mean comment just made all my pride at dragging my tired little butt out to wotk out today in the rain at lunch fade away completely. *sob*

This weeks menu is my usual cereal, banana, lite coffee, yogurt breakfast/snacks, lunch is veggitarian chili with avocado salsa from the CookingLight cookbook, and supper is low-fat potato salad with a side of steamed veggies. Oh and desert is ChubbyChick's delightful mini-cheesecake recipe, I altered it ever so slightly from what she had, but it is just devine! (What I changed:)

Ingredients:
2 (250g/8oz) blocks fat free or light cream cheese
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
20 fresh raspberries
20 Nilla Wafer cookies
Cook exactly as she describes, except I push one raspberry down about half way in each little cake before baking, and I make a double recipe but spead it out to 20 (instead of 12) cupcake liners so they are slightly smaller, but SO good (just about four small bites, or two big bites).
Servings per recipe: 20
Serving Size: 1 mini-cheesecake
Nutrition information with Fat Free Cream Cheese per serving:
Calories: 68.8 – Fat: 1.3g - Carbs: 8.8g – Prot: 4.6g – Fiber: 0.1g
Nutrition information for Light Cream Cheese per serving:
Calories: 102.5 – Fat: 5.3g - Carbs: 9.6g – Prot: 2.4g – Fiber: 0.1g

Thank you ChubbyChick!

Wow moment...

2009-07-30T13:44:00.002-07:00

So... superwoman strikes again. Yesterday was boot camp day, that was great, although I think I need to reorganize my calories - I eat enough, but I guess afternoon is more dense because I totally had a low-blood sugar dizzy spell and headache at around 11am, some orange juice helped right away but I had to eat my lunch early to help stabilize. I went for an hour hike on some trails and up a huge hill during my lunch hour after I already ate. ;-) Today I packed a little more bean salad and ate 1/4 of it at about 10:30am to help heep my sugar at a nice steady level, it worked great.

Working out today was just amazing: I went with my new jogging buddy, we walked, then jogged for 20mins, then went up 206 stairs... ran down, then power walked up an insane hill back to work (1.75mi). It was crazy, and the best part, she is really fit and I was able to keep up except on the stairs she blew me away, but otherwise I did pretty well. I just was blown away that I COULD do it!! I had no idea my fitness has increased that much! Now if I could just see a weight loss.... *sigh* oh well we are doing this twice a week in addition to my three times a week boot camp and my running group through boot camp which works the same stairs once a week. So I am getting my butt kicked 6-days a week now and it feels just amazing.

Will be camping this weekend, leaving tomorrow afternoon after work and will be back on Sunday in time for my running group then Monday is a holiday from work for me, so I will just be sitting at home relaxing and getting ready for an insane week to come. I am just elated at my progress, I discovered I can push my body much farther than I ever imagined before and just think what it will be like in another several months?! E-L-A-T-E-D!

Productive day!

2009-07-28T18:31:00.009-07:00

So today, as you may have guessed, was very productive. It finally cooled off weather-wise, in fact it rained last night and currently this evening we have a lot of clouds that look like they are full of thunder and rain! I rode my bike with great force to work today, I feel like I made a fitness breakthrough over the weekend, odd as it sounds, I was able to bike much harder than last week with almost no effort on hills and such. Also at lunch I ALMOST talked myself out of running for what ever reason (I guess I was feeling lazy), but anyway, I ended up being good and I was able to run much farther before I lost my breath, more than twice as long as just last week (I time myself carefully). Plus I added an extra 8mins to my overall time. I was just amazed, it feels like instead of a gradual increase in ability I was at about the same level for a long time and then from one day to the next I suddenly jumped up in my ability or my lungs magically expanded or something else crazy, I felt like super-woman.

It was so weird... but... I am so glad!

Otherwise I ate about the same as yesterday, nothing new or remarkable. I totally agree with Heather about the weekly cooking, if I don't make something ahead I end up eating things I should not be eating. And to Cammy I say the list is a great idea I think and the best of luck right back at you in achieving yours!

I also had another break through yesterday and today - I didn't overindulge in chocolate. Now this is greater than it sounds in that sentence, you see I love chocolate, but especially really good chocolate. Someone gave me a gift of some organic, free trade, cinnamon chocolate that is absolutely divine, it is a regular sized bar (95g) and it is in 15 small pieces. I broke one off yesterday and let it melt in my mouth and it was so rich and velvety, and today I broke one more piece off (they run about 37 calories each). After each of these little pieces I felt totally happy and resisted popping piece after piece after piece. It is probably the first time I can remember going by the "TASTE whatever you want, but in moderation" rule without having to severely restrain myself mentally.

Finally, my moment of elation today: someone at work was walking behind me in the hall and when I turned the corner I heard an "Oh!" behind me and turned to see what had happened. It was one of the ladies I work with often over the phone and via e-mail, but as her office is in another building I rarely see her face to face. I asked what had startled her and she said she was walking behind me and didn't realize it was me. Oh, I said, ok, then she added that I had (and I quote) "much more contours" than the last time she saw me she thought it must be someone else! Yay!

So remember you are all beautiful and fitness is on the way! MB turned me on to this and I think you should also check out Operation Beautiful (an absolutely wonderful project started by the lovely Miss Caitlin) and spread the word ladies - go ahead, make someone's day.

My little contribution. ;-)

Another Monday...

2009-07-27T09:52:00.003-07:00

The weekend was ok, I over did it a little bit on Saturday, but not horridly. I ate a bit over the amount of calories I should, but I went over my fat intake limit... a LOT! It was so good though. It was boiling hot this weekend so we went to the lake and sat on the beach and ate fresh walnut and cheese bread from the farmers market and tons of fresh fruit all day.

Yesterday I spent 4 hours cooking for the week. Today I had cereal for breakfast with lite coffee, for snacks/desert I have a banana, two apricots, some carrots, and a fat free yogurt. For lunch I am having a zesty black bean, corn, and avocado salad (onions, tomatoes, green chile, bell pepper, and garlic tossed in lime juice and wine vinegar) with half a whole wheat tortilla, and for supper I will have salmon, baked potato, and some random choice of a cup of vegetables (i.e. green beans, spinach, broccoli...) I hope to make some sushi later this week.

I was supposed to go running with a group this Sunday, but sadly the organizer had my e-mail wrong and she thought I knew everything and I frantically wasn't able to get a hold of her so I missed out. Anyway I caught up with her eventually and will be taking part next week. Today was my weigh in day and I have had another slight loss - down 2 lbs since last time. I am right at that place again, I was at this weight without flux for a long time, so I hoped to break the barrier, but I am right at it again. If I lose even half a pound next week it will be a break through, so I am really hoping.

I just need to really focus on not over indulging. No naughty things to munch, no office lunches, I know it is usually really tasty and always free, but the first bit usually means packed with calories and especially the fat kinds.

I have been giving some thoughts to goals, not just regarding my weight. I started a list that notes everything I need to get done from finishing projects, changing the oil in the car, to finish my MS degree. I just keep jotting everything down on there so I cannot forget it and am constantly reminded of it. Losing the amount to my goal weight (~60 lbs) is on there. In terms of more exact goals regarding fitness I have three major ones:

1. I sealed in my holiday plans, the whole family will be gather at my parents’ house. I was at our family reunion last June (2008) and I was so ashamed of the photos - I was a lard ball. Anyway I really have a good motivator to make a good solid change in my physique before December. That is enough time to realistically make a big difference without getting carried away.

2. Reach goal weight (duh) a body I am not embarrassed to take to the beach by next summer (10 months to the end of May 2010). I don’t expect a bikini body, but at least not a jiggle monster.

3. Maintain my goal weight and healthy lifestyle for two years before I think about reproducing.

Minor goals include:
- Commit to another 8 weeks of boot camp (through October) which I have already signed up for!
- Run for 30 minutes by the end of October without asphyxiating.
- Reward myself with new work outfits once I break under the 200’s or drop enough size for my current clothes to be too baggy to be professional (which ever comes first).
- Reward myself every 10 lbs there after with non-food prizes (I am making a wish list as we speak).
- Lose 30 lbs by the end of the year (half the weight for half way through my goal date).
- My main prize next summer if I meet my goal I think will be a first class railway tour across the country with layovers in cities I would like to explore for a day or two, I am saving my pennies.

Can you tell how energetic I am today? ;-)

On plan...

2009-07-23T13:39:00.002-07:00

Today has been a really good day so far. After reading the comments yesterday I am so encouraged. I really am, I like to get positive feedback and I am glad that my body fat went down and also that I didn't eat anything bad today (so far!).

I had my traditional high-fiber cereal with skim milk and a lite coffee for breakfast. I had a banana and fat free yogurt for AM snacks, whole wheat pasta with fat free cream of mushroom soup, onion, garlic and lean ground beef sauce (I call it my ghetto alfredo, it is actually quite good and really low in fat!) with a cup of green beans for lunch. My afternoon snack was a whole wheat pita with 1tbs of organic peanut butter and 1tbs of orange marmalade. My supper will be half of a Cornish hen roasted in the oven with a cranberry/honey/thyme glaze, a side of steamed stir-fry veggies and some mixed berries for desert.

I wasn't able to run at lunch today and I promised a friend I would watched her baby for a while tonight so I will run to her place and back to make sure I get that in today.

I have one of those rare feelings of control today. I feel connected and together, but we will see how long it lasts. ;-) (Probably until I see the next piece of chocolate-anything within grabbing reach, but here is hoping.) Blog-land has been rather quiet the last few days, I suppose many folks are doing summer things. More tomorrow.

Body Fat

2009-07-22T07:32:00.006-07:00

I mentioned on Monday I had my body fat re-measured, I was told that it went down, but didn't get any details. Today I got my results in all these cool little tables. Now I find the results a tad hard to believe, but this is a professional we are talking about, so I guess they are at least suggestive of changes in my body. Below is the summary:

Approximate Body Fat Percentage:
June 22nd = 35% (obese)
July 20th = 31% ("acceptable" high)
Lost: 4% of Body Fat

Approximate Pounds of Body Fat:
June 22nd = 75 lbs
July 20th = 67.5 lbs
Lost: 7.5 lbs of Body Fat

Approximate Pounds of Lean Body Mass:
June 22nd= 139 lbs
July 20th = 146.5 lbs
Gained: 7.5 lbs of Lean Body Mass

Is it just me or does that seem like a lot of muscle to gain in a month? Of course it is good if it is correct, it means that my work has actually paid off much more than I thought and eventually I will see and feel the improvement. And I suppose that since 8 lbs is the standard max recommendation for healthy weight loss in four weeks and if I really lost 7.5 lbs of fat, that is pretty much on target. And it would also account for why last adventure with this - losing more weight and inches in the first month because I surely was NOT working my muscles so hard, mostly just cardio, not much in the way of weight training, so I guess it all makes sense I would have seen the fat loss reflected on the scale and in the measuring tape more readily. Yay for what seems to be quite a Non-Scale Victory? :-)

Last night we were driving around doing a few little things after work, and we were both starving, so I suggested pulling off near my work to my favorite lunch eatery! They make the most amazing sandwiches there and sweet potato fries, burgers, and dips. So we went in and it was the first time I ever was there for dinner and they had a lot more selection than lunch, everything looked amazing. As I was thinking what I should order, my little evil voice said go for it, get what ever you want, splurge! But I didn't, I got a grilled vegetable salad with balsamic vinegar and some grilled chicken breast. I was so proud of my self, and it was actually so good!

Tonight is boot camp night again (it never ends!) and I am so much more rested than yesterday. I think I needed that rest. However while sitting at my desk doing nothing strenuous, I jerked my shoulder just so and it has been more sore and painful since. Stupid thing needs to get its heal on already!! I just need to take another week really easy (JUST on that shoulder - no skimping on the workouts otherwise) and hope for the best.

I did it!

2009-07-21T07:56:00.005-07:00

Amazingly I survived two boot camp days back to back. We try to avoid it usually, but I guess this time was unavoidable, and this morning I feel like I was run over by a steam roller. One day I work hard, I sweat like a pig, I'm out of breath for a solid hour, and I walk back to my car gingerly on my jell-o legs. The next day I am sore, but by the third day I am ready to go again. This time I was just getting sore when I did it again and now I am exhausted! Oh and yes I can do one armed (FROM THE KNEES ONLY) push-ups, but only (and barely) three so it is really much less impressive than it sounds, especially with the resting between.

Some moderately good news, the scale finally budged in the downward direction, so I was weighed in by my instructor last night and it was down 2.5 lbs! I am hesitant to get my hopes up just yet since I was up 4 lbs last week, if I drop at least another 2 lbs next week it will officially break my plateau because I haven't gone an ounce under (and stayed exactly at) 212.5 lbs since I got there over a month ago.

I had planned to run today, but I think (not being lazy I promise!) I need a day off. I am afraid if I go again today I will not allow my body to recover and might get sick again - I always get sick when I am really exhausted. Maybe I will just do some yoga at home before supper tonight, but no running.

I made a salmon & corn salad (various veggies) tossed with a tiny bit of olive oil and a lot of balsamic vinegar for dinner last night and will have leftovers of that tonight for supper with some baked pita chips on the side. For lunch I made a shrimp and pasta salad, I had high-fiber cereal for breakfast and have fruit for snacks. Pretty standard meal day.

Tomorrow is another boot camp, *whew* I hope I get more energy by then. I haven't been sleeping really well, not sure why, when I first started working out hard I slept like a baby. I blame it on my shoulder a bit, I like to sleep on that side and it is really uncomfortable now, and no other way seems to be very nice. It is so weird because when I am studying I can fall asleep on the floor, the couch, wherever. I tend to nap a lot on the weekend, but I tried not to allow myself to so I would be able to sleep better through the night... no luck with that. *sigh* Has anyone else had a similar sleep problem?

Another Monday...

2009-07-20T11:13:00.004-07:00

Well I made it through the weekend. On Saturday I didn't eat much during the day, but in the evening I went with a friend to her birthday dinner at a nice Greek place and I think I ate too much!!

Yesterday I did my boot camp and it was really hard and felt really good, until it started raining COLD windy rain about half way through the hour. We were all freezing by the end, so weird to be sweating AND freezing at once when I don't have a fever. ;-) New experience of the week. Otherwise Sunday I did really well with my eating, nothing horrid to regret, just the way I like it. On the good-news front, I haven't changed in size yet, but I had my doctor re-measure my body fat and he said it has gone down moderately, so at least I have SOME progress this late month!

Today I have boot camp again in the evening. This afternoon I go for my first PT appointment for my shoulder (I ride my bike to work, but a couple weeks ago I got run off the road and into a wall and tore my rotator cuff). I hope the PT will help regain some mobility, my other arm can only do so many push-up solo. I hope I am able to break through this plateau soon.

We had a crazy storm that ALMOST turned into a tornado here on Saturday around 10pm, I filmed some of the amazing lightening and cloud formations, it was the most violent wind storm I every witnessed first hand. The wind was steady at 65mph with higher guests, I thought it would break our windows for a while, but I kept telling myself, this building has survived for more than 30 years... it can last a little longer.

Too hot!

2009-07-18T14:48:00.003-07:00

Well Heather left me a wonderful comment, she is really a great role model for me. Thanks Heather!!! It cheered me right up. The logical side of me knows everything she said, just the illogical part of me desperately wishes that I could be rewarded better for my efforts because seeing progress is probably my best motivator.

I didn't do anything yesterday or today, it is so hot and muggy here. I have all the fans I own running right now in the house and they are just pushing hot, sticky air around, not really cooling anything, and yet they are still somewhat better than nothing at all. The upside to being too hot and sluggish to workout is that I have no appetite when it is so yucky either.

Tomorrow I have my boot-camp class to go to. We missed one a week ago due to a tornado watch so we have a make up, however right now we are on a weekend Severe Thunderstorm Watch, even though it is sunny and calm outside my window. We will see if class ends up happening, at least it is supposed to be a good ten degrees (F) cooler so thank heaven for small favors.

On a funny side note, my kitty is about 20months old now and back when he was about 9months old (probably due to hormone shifts after getting fixed) he very suddenly put on a couple pounds in the form of a big gut. The vet put him on a diet, but it only helped him lose one of the two pounds he needs to lose so far. Since I have to suffer with trying to correct the same problem, and since he is my first strictly indoor kitty ever - I had to figure out some way to help him get in better shape. Playing only goes so far and here is what I am making him do now: See Chito Run!

Frustration!!

2009-07-16T19:45:00.003-07:00

I am so frustrated. I weigh myself three days a week about, not because I am obsessed with my scale, but because I am fat enough to use it as one of MANY progress measurements. I take the average of three days (the day before, the day of and the day after my weekly progress measure). The last three days I was UP 4lbs from last week. If there was no chance it is muscle I would cry, but I know I have been getting stronger because I can do more than twice as many "man-push-ups" as a month ago and also nearly twice as many squats under the same weight as a month ago. However, I have not lost even an inch total from all my body.

My first steady month of this blog I lost 4" (2" from my waist alone) and 5.5lbs, in the last TWO months I have lost hardly any weight and no inches. I am depressed. I am working so much harder this time I think I should be getting better results! I started gradually and moved up, walking everyday (three months ago), biking everyday (two months ago) and hard core boot-camp workouts and running (one month ago). I know about plateaus, but I wonder if anyone else ever hit one this early on - at the 2month post real workouts mark.

I am eating well, healthy, maybe a little too much some days, but I never eat more than 2,000 calories per day, and never less than 1,200 calories a day - my goal amount is 1,400. I get all my fruit and veggie servings daily and I try to keep my fat below 30g per day... I am sometimes around 50-60g per day, but never go over 80g per day.

*sigh* It is hard to stay motivated with no results. My clothes are still the same in tightness and the only difference is that I feel that I am stronger.... what am I doing wrong that I did right before? Has anyone else experienced plateaus? If so, how long did they last?

Excuses, excuses.

2009-07-15T15:42:00.002-07:00

So I have a long bit of nonsense to impart. I was getting my VISA to Russia when I posted last, got it, went there for a lengthy tour. Walked everyday for hours, but also ate an insane amount of food. It made me feel really bad some days because I was like a giant gorilla walking the streets overflowing with super-model perfect Slavic goddesses. Six inch heels and designer sized clothing.

Anyway I was at my highest weight ever in April, the walking helped a little, I lost about 7lbs during the trip. I would have lost more, but the name of the game there is feasting and they put Mayo, butter, or sour cream on everything!! (Well almost.)

Once I got back from my trip I started riding my bike to work everyday, it is five miles round trip so 25miles per week for the 8th week this week. I have gotten a lot of tone in my legs I was lacking before, and I joined a boot-camp style, hard core fitness class that runs 3x per week, this is my fourth week of that. Sad to say I have only lost an additional 8.5lbs since my return... so in about two months. The worst of it is my scale has not budged in the last four weeks. I even started running three times a week. I just am so frustrated.

Do plateaus usually last this long? I haven't lost an inch around my waist since I got back, not one. I have this boot-camp fitness class through October (or for about 3 more months) and I have a running program a trainer made for me so that in 30-90days I should be able to run for 30mins without stopping. There is 60days of flex in there (I have never run for fitness before, only when I am late to the bus or something!) so I should be able to stretch out the progress as much as needed in order to reach the goal.

I have been keeping a food journal religiously since I came back from my trip and have two more 90day journals on my shelf ready to be filled in. My sister joined Weight Watchers about a year ago and she has lost about 70lbs with them and little to no workouts (she hates sweating) and recommends them highly, but she is in Texas and her cost per month is less than $10 a week. Here it costs about $16 a week and you have to pay for the e-tools an extra $18 a month. I just don't know if it is worth it for me because I don't like group discussions, and I know how to count calories and don't even slightly mind the task (or rather I am not looking for an easier counting system which is their main selling angle aside from the meetings).

I just feel I am in a rut and don't know how to get out. So I am back at my blog. I just am glad I am being so hardcore working out, but I expected - not melting pounds off like ice on a hot summer day - but surely SOME progress. I cannot feel any difference in my clothes or anything. Last time I tried hard I felt results much faster, and I am working out much harder than before so I just don't know what to do... my only hope is that I am building muscle under my fat and at the end of the month I will get my body fat % checked again... speaking of working out my class in in 30mins, I am going to grab a non-fat yogurt snack and head out, 500 calorie burn here I come! More tomorrow I hope.

Another wasted month...

2009-02-06T09:52:00.004-08:00

January went pretty bad, however I made a whole week this month of workouts and only tiny infractions and even after just one week, I can feel a slight changed in my waist. My pants are not as tight as last Friday! Every time I feel these little progresses, I honestly can't understand how I let it slide again!! I am the same weight, but I care much more about size than my weight.

Anyway, I need to blog, before it helped so much. I don't have any buddy here around where I live to help me with but I have you all here. I really need to commit to this blog because it really helps. I think I will again try for weekly posts to start and keep it going. Thanks to anyone reading again ahead of time.

This week I accomplished at least 60% of my planned 60mins per work out each time and often more. Next week I hope to post a weight change!

Gumption...

2008-12-23T08:59:00.003-08:00

...something I lack. Ok here it is December, I have made the opposite of progress overall, and here I sit. An ugly, fat, green, slimy toad of a woman. I am steadfastly against New Years resolutions, so I am making an Old Year resolution, I have about three months, less than four for sure, to make noted progress so as not to embarrass myself and my family on a trip abroad.

Many crazy ideas have flashed through my desperate mind as the clock ticks and the ass sits. Liquid diets, replacement meals, good old starvation, I know these are all bad and not real solutions, I know I just need to balance my diet, keep it healthy, and WORKOUT. Don’t we ALL know this? Seriously! I have this incredible drive in the morning, nearly every morning, thinking today will be different, today my will power will stand the test. I often go the whole day really well, then get home and instead of grabbing a yogurt or piece of fruit and then hitting the gym, I plop down in front of the old telly (laptop literally speaking) and gorge my body and my mind on junk. Well honestly I don’t buy junk food mostly, but I find anything and everything sweet I can, or naughty, I behave at work just to tote home a ton of leftovers and holiday treats where I consume them in privacy to the tune of old feel good films and comedy.

By the end of the night I feel horrid, overstuffed, icky, groggy, and ever - fat. Even if first thing in the morning I felt perky and my pants were less than snug and I think about how this is a new day, this is the end to the nonsense. This is the day I DON’T eat that candy, those chips, the leftover olive oil drenched pasta from the board meeting... and somehow I feel my old self a bit, I feel tall, shapely, athletic, like I used to be 5+ years ago. By the evening my pants are popping as I struggle to unbutton them and slip into my sweats. Oh the relief the unrestricting waist band gives.

Worst of all, just before bed, after I brush my hair and teeth, I see myself naked in the bathroom mirror and reality sets in, there is not so much as a hint of the body I knew just a few years ago. How quickly I have turned into a complete butter ball. I see myself for how the world sees me, not how I feel inside when I delude myself during my morning coffee buzz that I am not looking that bad. I have gone from cute to the fat chick in the group. I hate that. I look at other heavy women and always find their nice features, they hide it well, they carry it well, they have big firm tummies, round as they may be, yet mind is a gooey mess of dough-like consistency jiggling and overhanging my every moment. I see myself there in the mirror, huge blobs of skin and fat hanging off my back, my tummy, my hips, my ass, my arms, my monstrous thighs. Why can’t I make the changes I need to make stick?

I want to cry when I see myself like this, I take a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh, and ask myself, “How in the world did you let it get this bad?”

Fourth Weekly Post

2008-05-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

So I know this is not ON the fourth week, but I have some good excuses, first was finals week - yeah just a little stressed!! Second my mom came to visit for a week and I took off work and hung out with her so it was a little hard to think about my blog and stuff. The good news is I am 4lbs down from my last update two weeks ago!! That means I met the goal of 2lbs per week yay!! I am so excited, and I have been working out well, but the last week I was eating horridly. Why you ask? I went out to eat a lot with my mom and my aunt and cousin, we had deserts and coffees, you know how it goes, but I still lost so I am super geared up about that and I know it is from my workouts. Now that I am going to be back on track with my food I hope this trend keeps going!

This Weeks Meal Plan:
B: 1 cup cooked oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1tbsp honey, 1/8 cup walnuts.
S1: 6oz fat-free yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: Zesty black bean, avocado, and corn salad burrito.
S2: 3/4 cup kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange salad.
D2: Salmon croquettes with remoulade & homemake coleslaw.
S3: 2 cups fresh veggies with fat-free yogurt/ranch dip.
(broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, radishes, tomatoes)

Third Weekly Post

2008-04-30T21:23:00.002-07:00

This week has been better for me in terms of working out. I made 3 of 4 workouts and already did one today (which will count for next weeks tally) so I feel like i am getting ahead again. I saw a half pound loss this week so YAY! I am excited to see more next week. Instead of yapping more here, I will go now and catch up with YOUR blogs! Hang in there everyone!

This Weeks Meal Plan:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1tbsp honey, 1/4 cup walnuts & raisins.
S1: 8oz fat-free yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: Lean Cuisine frozen meal
S2: 3/4 cup kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange salad.
D2: Vegetarian chili with lime and avocado salsa.
S3: 2 cups fresh veggies (broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers) with fat-free yogurt/ranch dip.

This Weeks Workout Summary:
Friday - 40mins of swimming
Monday - 20mins of stability ball exercises, 20mins of aerobics, 20mins of Pilate's
Tuesday - 30mins of upper body weight training, 20mins of Pilate's
Total W/O Time - 2hrs & 10mins
(~35% of goal time & 50% of goals days)

Fitness Tip:
Replace weight training with resistance of your own body like push-ups instead of bench presses if you have tender joints. Especially women - unless you want to bulk up, as long as you add aerobics to burn fats away, a lean gentle muscle tone is all you need, so spare the joints and use your own body weight and strength as your resistance and reduce chances for injury!

Second Weekly Post

2008-04-23T08:40:00.001-07:00

So this is a mixed week. Good news and bad news. The bad news is I didn't make *ashamed* even ONE workout this week. I just totally blew them off. The good news is I was spot on with my meal plan and I maintained again, so this is good news because my eating is pretty much under control for the second week with much improvement on infractions from last week and this means that if I just got off my lazy butt and worked out in addition to my meal plan I would be LOSING!!!

I got a hair cut, it looks fab! I had it cut last July, really short for me (just a few inches past my shoulders and my bangs to my chin) and it grew almost 10inches since then! I must be eating right! Yay! Anyway I only had an inch or two off the longest bits and had the layers cut again, bangs to chin. It looks great and I got a 2" curling iron to soften my natural curls and smooth my frizz, I bought some new make-up for spring with lots of gold and purples and I feel like great about my new look. It is fabulous!

So I need to achieve this great feeling on my body look and INSIDE so here is to next week being a 10 out of 10 on my workouts.

This Weeks Meal Plan:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1tbsp honey, 1/4 cup walnuts & raisins.
S1: 8oz fat-free yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: Lean Cuisine frozen meal
S2: 3/4 cup kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange salad.
D1/2: Baked sole, whole wheat couscous, and tomato vinagarette.
D2/2: Breakfast steak grialldes and mashed sweet potatoes.
S3: 2 cups fresh veggies with fat-free yogurt/ranch dip.

This Weeks Workout Summary:
Total W/O Time - nada
(0% of goal time & 0% of goals days)

Fitness Tip:
Remember to chew. Yeah I know how easy it is to scarf the meal, we all do it for one reason or another, but 20mins for your main meals is very important to make sure we wait for our brains to catch up to our stomachs and also - we should enjoy our food savor and appreciate it. They have just finished a couple studies that show when you actually enjoy your food more, you get more nutrition out of it. They think it is linked to relaxation - so RELAX!

First Weekly Post

2008-04-16T13:12:00.005-07:00

So this week had a lot of problems. First off I am exactly the same weight as last week, to the 10th of a pound. That sucks, but I can't say that it is not my fault. First off I have a goal of 6-60min+ workouts a week, I met less then 35% of that goal time this week and less than 45% of the days. I have my great, healthy meal plan, but I also added to this week on various days with: chips and dip, Oreo cookies, ice cream, iced lattes, and nuts.

I am actually amazed I didn't gain anything. As I mentioned before, my mom has become my long distance workout partner. She took a copy of my workout plan and tracker and has been comparing notes with me the last few days, so I hope she will help me also.

I have to much to do in so little time, the more I realize how much of my weight-loss goal I could have met since I first started this blog last fall if I only stuck with it even a little better... it makes me so let down with myself. I still have a disgusting gut and flab all over and I just can't seem to stick with my plan for long enough to see any changes that last. I feel like just giving up a lot of the time, even though part of my mind knows I am totally capable of achieving this!! I have these brilliant bursts of "This is IT, this is the last time!" motivation that are inspiring, but short lived. This can't be a flash in the pan life change and I just don't know how to make it stick, EVERYDAY! I need a shock collar or something.

Well I am going to go workout now, and start my notepad (per ScaleJunkie's suggestion) for the next week (including today) that lies ahead of me. I really hope I can post something I am proud of next week. Will power, will power, WILL POWER!!! (where are you?)

This Weeks Meal Plan:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1tbsp honey, 1/4 cup walnuts & raisins.
S1: 8oz fat-free yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: Lean Cuisine frozen meal (< or =" 300" style="font-weight: bold;">
S2: 3/4 cup kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange salad.
D: Penne, chicken sausage, and peppers Italian dish.
S3: 2 cups fresh veggies with fat-free yogurt/ranch dip.

This Weeks Workout Summary:
Thursday - 30mins of lower body weight training, 15mins of yoga
Friday - 20mins of aerobics, 20mins of yoga
Sunday - 20mins of resistance training, 20mins of yoga
Total W/O Time - 2hrs & 5mins
(~33% of goal time & ~43% of goals days)

Fitness Tip:
Find activities that you like to do or that you can easily do while distracting yourself else where (i.e. put your treadmill in front of the TV or playing/running around with your dog/kid/friend in the park). If you enjoy the activity or are able to do something enjoyable or distracting while you accomplish your workout it will be more successful and you will be more likely to keep accomplishing it.

Reflection

2008-04-10T12:59:00.002-07:00

Ok so life is just nuts and I am having a lot of trouble making my daily posts. I know it doesn't take that much time, but it just seems like more often then not I have something more pressing to do in those moments. Working sooo much over time to make some extra moving bank doesn't help either. So I think for now I will do weekly posts every Wednesday with my weekly progress, mess-ups, workouts completed, and plans.

So wish me luck! Thanks for still reading!

Day 8 - Week One Complete

2008-04-02T11:56:00.003-07:00

Well ... today was my weigh in, not that great, not very happy with it - I am up 3lbs from last week. I don't get that because although I had my slip-ups they were not worse then what I was eating two weeks before that, you know what I mean? I doubt the chips and beer I ate last night can account for it either. *heavy sigh* Oh well... I am not chained to the scale and since I always chastise everyone else here who gets hung up on it, I will not allow myself to worry about it. One week isn't enough to change your body and I want to set an example to people who get upset over 0.3lb gains let alone 3lb gains - I will just carry on and hope for a better reading next week. The heaviest I have ever been is today and I am going to make sure this is the heaviest I will ever be, right?! That is what this is about. Hear my rally cry!

So I slept in WAY late today and I need to take an early bus to get my new ID card (I got promoted!!) before my shift this afternoon, I don't have time for a whole workout, so I am just going for 40mins. Hey that is better then letting myself completely down and NOT working out or giving up right? ;-) (Who am I trying to convince here anyway...? heh oh right... me.) Well I am going to work out right now and check in again tomorrow. Happy health to all you all.

Oh and on a side note - nature played an April Fools joke on me yesterday - I got my first grey hair. The ONLY up side is that it wasn't white or flat grey, it was a beautifully reflective silver color. I am getting old!

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1tbsp honey, 1/4 cup walnuts & raisins.
S1: 8oz fat-free yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: Lean Cuisine frozen Cafe Selection.
S2: 3/4 cup kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange salad.
D: Lean roast beef, yams, and garlic.
S3: 2 cups fresh veggies with fat-free yogurt/ranch dip.

Today I Worked Out:
I did 20mins of high impact aerobics and 20mins of yoga.
Total W/O Time - 40mins

Fitness Tip:
Take a multivitamin everyday and make sure you get 100% of digestible (i.e. from food) calcium everyday - often time you cannot absorb it from the multivitamins effectively, but combining the two will make sure your bones and (least we forget) your cell's strong!

Day 7

2008-04-01T23:59:00.003-07:00

So I worked out before work, cut my workout about 10mins short, but at least I topped 1/2 an hour. I went out with the girls after out shift tonight, but hopefully that is not going to be a problem in the morning! I did great food-wise except had some corn chips and ale at the bar, but that is ok, not as bad as my failings earlier in the week I think. Weigh in tomorrow!

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1tbsp honey, 1/4 cup walnuts & raisins.
S1: 8oz fat-free yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: Lean Cuisine frozen Cafe Selection.
S2: 3/4 cup kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange salad.
D: Lean roast beef, yams, and garlic.
S3: 2 cups fresh veggies with fat-free yogurt/ranch dip.
S4: Handful of chips and 2 glasses of ale.

Today I Worked Out:
I did 30mins of upper body weight training and 20mins of yoga.
Total W/O Time - 50mins

Fitness Tip:
If you have weak or previously injured (aka "bad") ankle, knee, and/or wrist joint(s), don't let them be your excuse. Invest in a high quality, over the counter brace, take glucosamine (it takes at 6-8wks to kick in), and gently, slowly strengthen them. Use no or very light weight at first, stretch gently and after time, you will notice they are still usable and no reason to stop working out even if they never are perfect, you can make them stronger and more usable - work around them! (If you are suffering from a current/acute injury, make sure to NOT use the injured joint for 6wks and consult your doctor right away!)

Day 6

2008-03-31T12:21:00.001-07:00

Ok so I am working swing shifts all week. My plan is to go to bed between 12:30-1am when I get home, get up before 9am and eat breakfast, work out, then do my homework and blog before I go to work. This is my goal, today I got off to a great start! Wish me luck!

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1tbsp honey, 1/4 cup walnuts & raisins.
S1: 8oz fat-free yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: Lean Cuisine frozen Cafe Selection.
S2: 3/4 cup kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange salad.
D: Lean roast beef, yams, and garlic.
S3: 2 cups fresh veggies with fat-free yogurt/ranch dip.

Today I Worked Out:
I did 20mins of stability core training, 20mins of cardio/weight circuit training, and 20mins of Pilates.
Total W/O Time - 1 hour

Fitness Tip:
Suck in your tummy, especially while doing things like cardio when you might be focused on something else and not paying attention to it. This is really good for long-term corset-like ab muscles. Ab workouts are great, but it helps to be constantly engaging that baby, better results faster.

Day 5

2008-03-30T21:57:00.002-07:00

Well I got my mom on the wagon with me - not that my mom is fat at all, just she is feeling the winter flab and wants to get in to really good shape by this summer so I shared my workout routine and trackers with her, and although we are hundreds and hundreds of miles apart, hopefully we can motivate each other. I worked out well today and ate well too (because I was home of course).

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1tbsp honey, 1/4 cup walnuts & raisins.
S1: 8oz fat-free yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: Lean Cuisine frozen Cafe Selection.
S2: 3/4 cup kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange salad.
D: Lean roast beef, yams, and garlic.
S3: 2 cups fresh veggies with fat-free yogurt/ranch dip.

Today I Worked Out:
I did 15mins of stability core training, 20mins of total body resistance, and 20mins of yoga.
Total W/O Time - 55mins

Fitness Tip:
Taking fish oil and flaxseed oil are good for you in many ways, including eye lubrication!

Day 3 & Day 4

2008-03-29T20:47:00.003-07:00

I am so frustrated with myself today and yesterday! I not only skipped my workouts (and Saturday I was supposed to make up for Tuesday too!), but there was a HUGE sweet goodies tray at work both days as a temperament tactic due to the fact the whole staff was switching over to new software. I was so mad because all day on Friday I resisted, until the very last two hours of my day and then I just pigged during a break. I am sooo ashamed of myself, because the next day there was still more and I just allowed myself to get into the, well I messed up yesterday, why not today mentality. I can't believe how much I ate, especially since I was trying to do the 3-bite rule where if I have a craving for bad food I get three, moderate and slowly ingested bites to end the craving. No wonder I am so fat!! *sigh* That is all I can say about that.

These Days I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1tbsp honey, 1/4 cup walnuts & raisins.
S1: 8oz fat-free yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: 2 cups fresh veggies with fat-free yogurt/ranch dip.
S2: 3/4 cup kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange salad.
D: Low-Fat Tuna, veggie, and pasta casserole.
S3: Friday - 2 donuts, 2 butter cookies
Saturday - 3 chocolate chip cookies, 1 croissant

I DIDN'T Workout! :-(

Day 2

2008-03-27T20:17:00.004-07:00

I went to the Seattle Art Museum today and walked around ALL DAY! It was amazing though, and just weird to be staring at some Roman emperor who has been dead for so many centuries and imagining not only the person the sculpture is representing, but the artist who made it, all those who have stared at it as I did, those who kept it in their homes, those who died around it... just overwhelming.
I proudly worked out too when I got home - so cheers for me! I ate all my veggies again, they were yummy too. Hope I have my good behavior streak continue tomorrow and so on.

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1tbsp honey, 1/4 cup walnuts & raisins.
S1: 8oz fat-free yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: 2 cups fresh veggies with fat-free yogurt/ranch dip.
S2: 3/4 cup five fruit salad - kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange.
D: Onion/Mushroom soup with grilled cheese sandwich.
S3: Slice apple pie.

Today I Worked Out:
I did 20mins of stability core training, 30mins of lower body weights, and 15mins of yoga.
Total W/O Time - 1 hour, 5mins

Fitness Tip:
Invest in some really comfortable, breathable, well-fitted workout clothes. Nothing like proper support, breathe-ability and functionality in your dress to make the workout go by with less stress.

Day 1

2008-03-26T16:37:00.006-07:00

Just worked out great today. Otherwise not much to report.

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1tbsp honey, 1/4 cup walnuts & raisins.
S1: 8oz fat-free yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: 2 cups fresh veggies with fat-free yogurt/ranch dip.
S2: 3/4 cup five fruit salad - kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange.
D: Low-Fat Tuna, veggie, and pasta casserole.
S3: low-fat cheese cake (1/2 slice).

Today I Worked Out:
I did 15mins of stability core training, 20mins of aerobics, and 30mins of Pilates.
Total W/O Time - 1 hour

Fitness Tip:
Make sure you don't jump in to fast. Instead of going crazy and trying to workout for an unreasonable (and more importantly unsustainable) amount of time or more effort than you will afford tomorrow - try starting really slow, up the time each week and make it a habit. If you go overboard and have unrealistic workout goals, chances are it won't last long.

Day 0

2008-03-25T23:06:00.002-07:00

Well today was a tough day, I got up late (and I mean REALLY late) but Monday I worked until midnight then stayed up until 3am watching South Park with a friend. Oy, anyway so I had a TON of stuff to get done and simply didn't make time to workout, but we went walking and that is at least moving. I even was cooking my dinner at 10pm!! So I need to reset my sleeping schedule. Better luck tomorrow and THANKS to my wonderful supporters!

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1tbsp honey, 1/4 cup walnuts & raisins.
S1: 8oz fat-free yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: 2 cups fresh veggies with fat-free yogurt/ranch dip.
S2: 3/4 cup five fruit salad - kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange.
D: Low-Fat Tuna, veggie, and pasta caserole.
S3: 8oz glass of kefir.

Today I Barely Worked Out:
Went for a walk for 40mins.
Total W/O Time - 40mins

Fitness Tip:
When stretching it is important to hold the stretch for 20 seconds at least, release, and stretch for a second 20 seconds. This is especially true for tough areas like hamstrings! The second time you should be able to gently pull yourself much deeper into the stretch - you will feel the results much fast this way - and remember STRETCH EVERYDAY!

Day -1 Again (...again)

2008-03-24T11:05:00.007-07:00

Ok FINALLY did my full workout today! YAY! I still have a bit of a cough and some drip going on, but generally have felt about this way for most of the week and don't feel worn out from the bug after my workout (just from not working out! heh) so I think I am finally better enough to commit to that again.

Thanks to everyone for your welcome backs. I am just so ashamed of not sticking with things. I mean SERIOUSLY why is this so hard?! It drives me nuts, we are intelligent people, most of us have jobs we go to and give a commitment to nearly every day, some of you have kids to take care of, businesses to run - and how can we each even begin to count all the chores we attend to every single day? And yet committing just 30-60min of our day to exercise and controlling what we eat is such a struggle...

Well thanks to my ever cheering cheering squad (yes that means you!) I am just going to try again. More bigger post tomorrow. I plan to go to the shop and make something fabulous from my Greek cookbook for supper and try and stay focused and stop stressing about moving so much ahead of time. ;-)

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup walnuts & raisins.
S1: 8oz fat-free yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: Low-Fat veggie pizza dipped in balsamic vinigar.
S2: 3/4 cup five fruit salad - kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange.
D: Almond, veggie, and chicken stir-fry over rice.
S3: 8oz glass of kefir, 1/4cup nuts.

Today I Worked Out:
I did 20mins of core exercise on the stability ball, 20mins of circuit training with high impact aerobics, and finished with 20mins of Pilates.
Total W/O Time - 1 hour

Fitness Tip:
Try to leave your worries at the door when you enter the gym or your workout space. Just let your mind empty out and focus on the task at hand. You problems will be waiting for you when you get back, you can't DO anything about them while you are working out, and they distract and take away from your efforts.

Day Ground Zero

2008-03-16T14:13:00.003-07:00

Thanks for the encouragement folks, I am still pretty sick, but I am counting down the day to workout again. Meanwhile I have ONE positive (and this has to be the ONLY positive) comment about having the flu. I have no appetite, so instead of eating too much and being bad and eating comfort food to "feel better" I am having to make myself eat and eat good stuff so hope I can make my shrunken tummy work to my advantage by the time I feel well enough to start my workouts again!

Lost in Limbo - Reset

2008-03-15T18:22:00.004-07:00

Here I am again. As usual I have brilliant excuses for my lack of posting for the last (shame) month and a half. So, due to some complications in my professional life I found out I am moving to Canada this August, needless to say that turned my life upside down and set me frantically trying to make all the necessary arrangements and contingency plans. Then I got a HORRID flu at the beginning of this month - and yeah - I am still sick two weeks later.

Excuses are so easy to find and honestly I lost any and all progress I made previously since I started this blog. I am back at square one. Yes I ate healthy food ... most of the time, but surely not all. Yes I got some workouts in, but VERY inconsistently and even more so - rarely. And the real truth of my relapse is my old buddy: stress. Stress = allowing myself to become weak willed = skipping workouts & binge eating with rationalization in ADDITION to my healthy daily diet. (Just today, just this bag of chips, just this bowl of chocolate ice cream.) Yeah you get the idea, ashamed, I am, frustrated and fat, I am, but, I feel as though I am coming to the bottom of my plunge and am ready to start my trek back towards my goal.

I feel the motivation setting back in. I have trouble posting when I have to admit how bad I have been, which is good in the way I meant to to be - motivation to be a good baby so I can post and feel good. However it is also bad in that I tend to dwindle when I go down and then it makes me less likely to post even though I should when I have been bad.

I need to lose a certain reasonable amount before June for sure because my physical is then and I made a plan with my doctor to lose weight since September. I can't take the humiliation of walking back into her office the same overweight person that I promised I would correct. I HAD hoped when I started this blog to lose the majority of the 50lbs I want to lose, I had the time to do it safely 1-2lbs average per week, but alas I have allowed a lot of time to slip through my fingers. Now I want to at LEAST show that I made SOME kind of progress before then.

The other real motivator I have is - I want to take a trip to Europe and Russia in the summer of 2009 and I want to look fabulous! I want to be thin and cute and in a bikini. I don't want to just be another fat, ugly, American ham. Over a year is more than enough time to lose 50lbs without ANY question and even with some moments of slipping up and/or plateaus - because they always happen.

I was getting a workout buddy here, but that fell through and our work schedules conflicted too much so we just have lunch together instead of working out together. That sucks because I know it would be so helpful to me to have someone else who was waiting to meet me. I would keep my workout schedule from the fear of embarrassment. I don't want someone I am looking at and who's respect I want to know I am too lazy to workout, whereas at home, I am the only person who can see that and then the blogland here. Of course this helps a lot and so many people are super supportive here which helps so much I am embarrassed to post when I was lazy. ;-)

Never ending cycle. This whole post is a mental exercise to help psych me back into the right frame of mind. I have to do this for myself. I have to be good even on days when I cannot workout - like when I am sick. I will, I will, I will.

I am starting my day counter over again. I hope my flu bug is far enough out of my system to start my workouts again on Tuesday or Wednesday. I have been so sick for so long (it seems) that I am totally ready to get on with life! I hate being so fat and I am so ready to stop. So my weigh/measure days will still be Wednesdays starting with the 26th, I know where I am today so those will be my new "Day One" figures.

Goals:
- Eat all my daily servings of fruits and veggies EACH DAY
- Only allow 3bites of "bad" food to stop cravings - NO BINGING
- Workout 6times a week, alternate weighs and cardio
- Be happy if I workout at least 3times in a given week
- Lose between 10 - 20lbs by June 1st, 2008
- Lose 50lbs by January 1st, 2009
- Keep the weigh off for all of 2009

Days 71-75

2008-01-28T09:46:00.000-08:00

For the challenges: this week I maintained exactly. My scale only seems to measure me to the 0.5lb mark exactly EVERY time I have gotten on it, which is weird since other people have tried it and it has spit out other decimals.

I have been swimming 40mins without fail every Thursday and Tuesday, and hope to keep my workout partner on the Fridays. Woot!

I would post most now, but I got called in to do a double shift at work again *sigh* more later!

These Days I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup walnuts & raisins.
S1: 6oz low-fat yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: Asian veggie, peanut sauce, and rice stir fry.
S2: 3/4 cup five fruit salad - kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange.
D: roast beef & sweet potatoes with classic Greek horiatiki side salad.
S3: 8oz glass of kefir & 2 fig newtons, 2 crackers, chocoalte.

I Worked Out:
I swam 40mins on Thursday, IMA on Friday.
Total W/O Time - 1hr 20mins

Fitness Tip:
Check out Cooking Light - I heard about and saw a copy of the magazine which has 70 recipes each issue, but I also found their website has TONS of recipes on it!! Really good ones and of course they list all the nutrition info so if you follow the recipes you are all set.

Day 70

2008-01-23T15:32:00.001-08:00

Ok so today has been a much better day, but I am still snacking on things I shouldn't when I am not even hungry. I caught myself eating two butter crackers and a couple chocolate kisses today. Yeah yeah I know it isn't that much of a problem, just a little "tisk tisk."

I worked out! Yay! Also I slept a LOT. I slept around 8hours last night, but after only being awake for a few hours, I crashed out for a nap (about 1.5hrs). This has been the case for a while, but I think I always feel tired except when I workout. You'd think it would be the other way around, but it gives me energy.

Thanks to everyone for your encouragement as always. I read a LOT of blogs today and it got me geared back up, so thanks for blogging too!

Sorry for the short post, I have a lot of homework. Be strong!

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup walnuts & raisins.
S1: 6oz low-fat yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: Asian veggie, peanut sauce, and rice stir fry.
S2: 3/4 cup five fruit salad - kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, grape, & orange.
D: roast beef & sweet potatoes with classic Greek horiatiki side salad.
S3: 8oz glass of kefir & 2 fig newtons, 2 crackers, chocoalte.

Today I Worked Out:
I started with 15minutes of core stability on the ball, followed by 20mins of high impact aerobics, and finished up with 25mins of Pilates.
Total W/O Time - 60mins

Fitness Tip Of The Day:
Give yourself a rest day, or several depending on your workouts. There are some studies that show people who do NOT rest - especially runners - actually end up with worse times per distance from the same amount of training than those to allow rest days between training sessions or alternate the type of training they do each day.

Days 66 - 69

2008-01-22T14:35:00.000-08:00

Still trying to get over my mental block. I was so determined when I started this, and I have real clocks ticking, just like all of you. I need to get this done by some time, I am not sure when that time is, but I have to commit to at least TRYING to reach step by step progress (with wiggle room to allow for nature of course).

I am so sick and tired of myself and only short bursts of doing the right thing. I don't understand how it used to be so easy for me and why it is so hard now. I know this is so possible it is hilarious that there is such a struggle related to it for me. I am so fed up with my lack of ability to apply myself to my commitment for more then bursts. I get motivated, I get unmotivated, I get motivated, I get unmotivated. Why is this so hard? It ISN'T, that is what drives me crazy.

I am a big girl - I know how to simply not do things that are bad, and do things that are good - I never toss trash around no matter how sticky it is or how far it is to the next trash can, I always pick things up if I knock them down somewhere, or take the item I changed my mind about in the store back to the place it belongs instead of the nearest horizontal surface, just like a ton of other day to day events.... if I can take the little extra time to do some things like that, to study, to practice piano, to cook, whatever .... why is it so hard to NOT eat that brownie at work, why is it so hard NOT to make myself spend a measly hour working out? I know I lack in my blogging when I am lazy because I am ashamed of myself. When I do what I am supposed to I can hardly wait to make an entry because it makes me feel so good about myself - how can ANYTHING that makes you feel good both in the short AND long term, be so damned hard to make yourself do?!

This is just so frustrating. I pay the price for it, and you know, when I scarf down that cookie, brownie, or other bad-for-me treat at the office, I barely taste it because I am so ashamed of myself for eating it I just hork the thing down as fast as possible so that no one will see me eating it, plus it is probably just after my healthy, filling lunch (because that is the only time I go to the break room) so I am NOT hungry and end up feeling like crap because I am over stuffed. WHY THE HECK DID I DO THAT? I ask myself EACH time I REPEAT IT! What is WRONG with me?!

Grrr... Sorry for the rant I am just having such a hard time coming to grips with this problem that just doesn't seem to be resolving itself (of course how could it resolve itself?). Needless to say - even though I have been feeling a lot better from my cold, I have not worked out Sat-Mon nor kept track of my several wanderings from my set diet plan, so below is just todays eaten/will-be-eaten list.

I got up early today and went for a 40min swim, then when I came home I weighed in at a half a pound loss since last week, but it is an empty victory that I have not gained because although I didn't measure, my dress pants that WERE getting loose at the end of my first month, are tight again. *sigh* So I called my new potential workout buddy and scheduled a date on Friday, she has exams this week and is swamped with homework, but wants to check out the IMA with me to decide if she wants to join. As long as it has all the things that her other gym has (which I am sure it does) then she will transfer her membership and said it would end up saving her over $10/mo. So hopefully she will like it and we can make at least 2-3 dates a week and then maybe I can fill in the other days at home.

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup walnuts and raisins.
S1: 6oz low-fat yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: Asian veggie, peanut sauce, and rice stir fry.
S2: 3/4 cup five fruit salad - kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, red grape, & orange.
D: roast beef & sweet potatoes with classic Greek horiatiki side salad.
S3: 8oz glass of kefir & 2 fig newtons, a few whole wheat crackers, a cookie.

Today I Worked Out:
I swam for 40mins.
Total W/O Time - 40mins

Fitness Tip Of The Day:
...don't give up?...

Days 63 - 65

2008-01-18T22:00:00.000-08:00

So this last three lazy days, I took an exam and that took a lot of more time then I expected to prep/complete, but I got it done! I didn't workout, but my (lame) excuse is that I am still sick, not feeling too horrid but I have a TON of nasal and chest crud going on that makes breathing... well not exactly the easiest thing in the world. ;-)

I think I found a workout buddy though, I am so excited. She is this lovely gal who works in my building, I was helping with her training and we kind of hit it off, and so we will try and workout the workout details, but I think ... er ... KNOW that will help motivate me.

More updates tomorrow! Also, I am SO sorry to everyone from the challenges who has commented on my blog that I have not returned the favor for yet. I am so grateful of your feedback and I PROMISE to catch up with as many people as I can, comment or not, this weekend.

Thanks!

These Days I Ate (respectively):
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup walnuts and raisins.
S1: 6oz low-fat yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: burger & fries/chicken, veggies, potato/beef & cheddar sandwich.
S2: 3/4 cup five fruit salad - kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, red grape, & orange.
D: Greek hearty potato, beef, and veggie wax-paper pot-pies.
S3: 8oz glass of kefir & 2 fig newtons.

These Days I DIDN'T Workout:
I did nothing that counts. :-(
Total W/O Time - ZEROmins

Fitness Tip:
If possible - commit your workouts with another person - they will motivate you not to blow off workouts, they will help push you and you them when either of you is wanting to call it quits, also it will keep you from quiting half way through a workout - studies show that people tend to be more reliable when it comes to doing something for someone else than ourselves when it comes to fitness - so GET A BUDDY.

Day 62

2008-01-15T12:01:00.000-08:00

My gosh what a week. My brother is ok - thanks for all the supporting comments, his left arm and leg were crushed, so he is going to have to deal with a lot of hardware, but his helmet SAVED HIS LIFE!! He was scheduled in for his fist of two surgeries last week and is recovering well. Thanks GOODNESS. I also worked a ton of extra so I could afford to make a quick trip to visit, so minus the last few days I was gone, I worked over 50hours in 6 days. Yeah that and I got a horrid cold too. Oh don't you just love stress?!

On the upside, although I am still feeling like crap, I am not bad enough to allow myself to skip yoga (which helps me feel better unless I am too sick to even move around much). So today, I took a little cold medicine to clear my thoughts a bit, tidy the house a little, cook, do yoga, and make this entry. I thank you all so much for "staying with me" even when I kind of drop off the radar and I am as determined as ever to resume our bludgeoning of the bulge into submission.

I weighed in today to catch up with both challenges and am sad to say I gained 3lbs since my last weigh in. Not too surprising since I didn't do anything but work and travel, and being out of the home for any period more then 24 hours means eating out. So I am hoping that it is mostly sodium/water retention since my normal diet is very low sodium, most "out" food is very high sodium, and since I only gained a couple pounds during my last lazy period (still eating home food) which was longer.

Oh well - today I am cooking some Greek dish that is kinda like a hearty pot-pie or broth-less stew only it is baked in the oven wrapped in wax paper (instead of a crust or broth). Lots of veggies, should be tasty.

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup walnuts and raisins.
S1: 6oz low-fat yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: beef, bean, and red chile enchiladas with a naughty dab of sour cream.
S2: 3/4 cup five fruit salad - kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, red grape, & orange.
D: Greek hearty potato, beef, and veggie wax-paper pot-pies.
S3: 8oz glass of kefir & 2 fig newtons.

Today Day I Worked out:
I did 45mins of yoga.
Total W/O Time - 45mins

Fitness Tip Of The Day:
Set small, sequential, and most importantly, realistic goals. Although I am sure many of you already do this - it is vital to success. I know often I look in the mirror and just want a magic wand to change what I see - even if I know only hard work and healthy lifestyle will really solve my problems. It is all too easy to become discouraged and fall into a pit of dwindling hopes as we set ourselves up for failure by wanting to lose 50 or 100lbs in 12weeks like all the diet pill adds promise. Take lots of photos and take it one little step at a time, after a while you will see your progress - slow and steady for the challenge I'm ready is better then fast, but too much to last.

Day 61 - Update

2008-01-12T09:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry for lack of posts, hope to be back with it this coming week - my brother was in a motorcycle wreck, had to have surgery and my best friend gave birth the same day earlier this week. Just a little distracted lately.

Update soon.

Day 60

2008-01-06T21:08:00.000-08:00

I bummed around the house a lot today, then studied pretty hard and got some humdrum tasks out of the way I had been meaning to do for a long time, then played WoW online with my brother in Arkansas for like two hours - what a lazy day! Then I worked out! The only thing good about lazy days for me is that I usually don't get hungry at all, so I have to remind myself to eat so I don't often overeat, however today that only held true until about 3pm, then I was really hungry. So I ended up eating my supper at about 4:30pm cause I couldn't wait any longer, then worked out, then had my usual pm snack, but got really hungry again around 8:40pm and so I gave in and had a P&J on whole wheat bread. Naughty to go over my meal, yes, but good to eat when my tummy is actually growling and not just mentally, yes, and also it wasn't like I had a bowl of iced cream or cake, right? Yes... I think. ;-)

So I feel pretty good about today - I'll be sending in my stats for the Easter Challenge and see how that goes. Hope Shannon is feeling better. Thanks for the encouragement for the lazy day yesterday - you guys are great, just one of my goals is to get in a workout every day except Saturday and I want them to be 60mins a pop, but I am not there just yet - just psyching myself up to it. I did it several weeks when I first started, but faded here and there.

Have a lovely Monday everyone - and Sara - I laughed SO hard at your comment you have no idea!!

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup walnuts and raisins.
S1: 6oz low-fat yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: whole wheat pasta, veggie, and grilled chicken salad.
S2: 3/4 cup five fruit salad - kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, red grape, & orange.
D: seafood and veggie paella & a P&J sandwich.
S3: 8oz glass of kefir & 2 fig newtons.

Today Day I Worked out:
I started with 15mins of core resistance on the stability ball, then 25mins of all over lower weight, higher reps weight lifting, and finished up with 15mins of yoga.
Total W/O Time - 55mins

Fitness Tip Of The Day:
Learn about your body and how it works, buy a book, read online, hit up the Mayo Clinic website, figure out all the details you can about how you male or female body works so you can wisely make fitness and weight loss goals that are safe and effective.

Day 59

2008-01-05T20:57:00.000-08:00

I was right yesterday when I guessed I wouldn't workout tonight. I am always too lazy after a 12hour shift, so I justed watched some movies and ate a little popcorn on top of my normal intake, but it was just plain popcorn with nothing added. Workout will happen tomorrow!!

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup walnuts and raisins.
S1: 6oz low-fat yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: whole wheat pasta, veggie, and grilled chicken salad.
S2: 3/4 cup five fruit salad - kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, red grape, & orange.
D: seafood and veggie paella.
S3: 8oz glass of kefir and 1/3 cup (unpopped) plain yellow popcorn.

Today Day I DIDN'T Workout:
I didn't workout.
Total W/O Time - 0mins

Fitness Tip Of The Day:
Drink lots of green tea - we all know that it has a lot of antioxidants that protect our bodies from aging (which is to also say it protects against cancers), but did you know that it has been shown in many university studies help boost your immune system and fight the bacteria in your mouth that cause tooth decay? Well it doesn't stop there: in regards to weight loss it has been shown to help reduce LDL cholesterol and it helped dieters to burn more calories than water or caffeine alone.

You can get all these benefits by drinking three or more cups of tea per day, but the more you drink the better the benefits, in Japan they recommend drinking ten cups a day and most research studies were done with subjects drinking about five cups a day. The only potential bad from drinking it is caffeine intake (which is unlikely unless you are sensitive or drink it right before trying to sleep, as it contains less then half the caffeine of a cup of regular drip coffee).

So the more the better, but if you get a couple cups in a day that is better then none! I take to work a 32oz water bottle of iced green tea brewed with mint leaves for a "sweet" flavor without adding any sweeteners and also the mint takes the "bite" or bitterness out of the tea which some people don't enjoy - plus it is a great alternative for people who don't like drinking plain water.

Day 58

2008-01-04T20:22:00.000-08:00

Today had a lot of conquest in it. First off I did a horrid thing, when I got to work there were THREE huge boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts in the break room. Ok, for all my love of healthy foods, I am a donut girl. I love every sugar packed fatty bite, so you know - I just avoid them. I cannot remember the last donut I ate, I never buy them, but there they were. I avoided the break room like the plague, but people kept talking about them and I finally said, hey you know what, if you want one so bad - have a bite, it won't kill you, you'll work out a little extra tonight. But I knew I couldn't just have one bite, of course I finished the first one. Then I was like, ok there, done, it sucked to do it, but it was delicious and now it is over with. ...right... So that was during my mandatory morning coffee break (yes I admit I am an addict)... well lunch rolled around, and I can try and blame this on everyone else sitting in there eating them, making them look so tasty, I can even say since they all said - oh just have one - that it is their fault I am weak willed, but I know it is totally my fault that I allowed my self to give in and I ate a SECOND one. That is (according to the Krispy Kreme website) 24grams of fat - almost 70% of my daily allotment used up in a couple seconds!

I was so mad at myself, I heard the voice in my head saying to me while I ate it how much I would regret it, that it wasn't worth it, that I should imagine that handful of fat plastered somewhere on my chubby bum or arms, but I still ate it. I am really disappointed in myself, but as I reminded everyone else, now that I vented I need to move on. No more!

So on to my second defeat, I also worked late, then cleaned the house when I got home, then my parents called and talked and talked for almost two hours, and I was really sore from weight lifting yesterday (excuses excuses) and didn't do anything hard today, barely worked out, just stretched out my sore muscles and did some gentle resistance to work out some of the lactic acid buildup.

Tomorrow is my no workout day, but I think I will (yeah I know I always say this) try and at least get some yoga in after work.

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup walnuts and raisins.
S1: 6oz low-fat yogurt & 2 Krispy Kreme donuts.
L: 12 tempura rolls, 1sm bag chips, & 1 fun size Snickers bar.
S2: 1.5 cups five fruit salad - kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, red grape, & orange.
D: seafood and veggie paella.
S3: 8oz glass of kefir.

Today Day I BARELY Worked Out:
I did 13mins of yoga and 18mins of resistance band Pliates.
Total W/O Time - 31mins

Fitness Tip Of The Day:
Get a copy of the American Heart Association cookbook - it is easy, fast, many servings (if you are ok with leftovers) best of all it is healthy AND tastes SOOO good. People are asking around the challenge circles about good recipes, I'm telling you this is the stuff.

Day 57

2008-01-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

Another good day, not perfect, but overall I would call it a success. I ate lunch out with a friend and had some naughties, but controlled myself fairly well and only ate a little of the stuff I shouldn't instead of tons of it. I worked out really hard today which was good, even though my rotten little kitten kept stalking my feet and trying to kill and eat them. ;-) ...yeah cause they look a lot like mice, right? Right?! Ha!

I got some more fruit today, I decided to make my fruit salad mix twice a week so it is fresher, it is lovely, but a lot of fruit in one sitting, so I have been mixing in my yogurt with half of the salad and eating that, then later in the day I eat the other half. Best things I have been reminded about re-upping my fruit intake is today's fitness tip.

I can hardly wait for this damn journey to be over - like the rest of you, I am sick of being fat! Not that it has an end since this is a permanent repair to a life-long issue that should be applied to ensure a long life, but getting over the struggle. It is like Sara was saying about this being an addiction that we can recover from but may always have in the back of our minds trying to keep it in check. I want the struggle part to be over (yeah I know join the club right?). Now, I know this is possible because when I was younger and in my teens and active years I know I had the benefit of growth and a different metabolism to HELP me keep in good shape, but I also know when I am strictly committed to my workouts for a longer period of time, I feel freakin' fantastic and I just need to get there and stay there where it isn't me dragging my lazy butt trying to make it happen. Basically where the effort isn't so much, where it is easier and feels better! That is where I want to be, and I know there is only one way to that side of the mountain - over the top where it is hard to breathe, heavy, challenging, and frustrating, ahhh but to reach the other side. *wistful sigh*

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup walnuts and raisins.
S1: 6oz low-fat yogurt & 3/4 cup five fruit salad.
L: 12 tempura rolls, 1sm bag chips, & 1 fun size Snickers bar.
S2: 3/4 cup five fruit salad - kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, red grape, & orange.
D: seafood and veggie paella.
S3: 8oz glass of kefir & 1 slice low-fat, low sugar pumpkin pie.

Today Day I Worked Out:
I started with 20mins of core/buns resistance training on the stability ball, followed by 20mins of lower body weight lifting, and finished with 20mins of yoga.
Total W/O Time - 60mins

Fitness Tip Of The Day:
Fruit is great in a lot of ways we all understand - it is a great source of healthy complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals, but in addition to all that it is a great dieters choice because fruit:
1 - helps hydrate you! Most fruit is mostly water, the more juicy the more water you get.
2 - is a healthy desert option and can be used to satisfy a sweet tooth and divert disaster cravings.
Get at least 1.5 - 2 cups of fruit daily and remember variety, eat the rainbow, you can see what counts as a cup at a great health resource here and clicking on the red fruit section: My Pyramid.

Day 56 - Two Months

2008-01-02T22:16:00.000-08:00

Well as you know it is really not exactly two months, I skipped a few weeks and allowed myself to strike them off, that was a one time deal, my goals are under new management - 2008 and they make no such compromises as allowing me to write off two plus lazy weeks. No changes in measurements from month one plus or minus 1/4" (I round to halves so disregarded smaller changes and skipped this months photo as the tape says they would look the same), I went up 2lbs as mentioned before during my lack period and stand at 201lbs steady today.

So anyway this morning I got woken up on my day off again and called into work. This holiday season has been a real damper on my sleep schedule, social life, and lifestyle overhaul, but good for the pocket book "post-holiday" recovery. Everyone is getting back from vacation this week so I really, really hope I will be back to my old schedule. Plus classes are starting again and I need to STUDY!!

I was thinking about making my New Year's resolution to stick with it, not just my fitness and nutritional goals, but also my school and other goals, then I realized that would be silly and selling myself short - I need to make that resolution every day, and I have been ... fairly committed to all of it since this blog start in October, but partially committed to some things for the last few years, if not really always living up to those promises I made myself.

Needless to say, I told myself on the first this is a new year, let's get off on the right foot woman! And I did, then today I told myself the same thing and hope to keep that up. All you ladies are the sweetest cheering squad I could ever wish for and I adore you all so much. This blog has been just the thing. It is so hard to do this on your own, and I have NO ONE here that I know since I came here from the community I lived my whole life and had all my friends from family and grade school through college chums and old loves. Here I am just suspended in limbo - then I found you.

So instead of a New Year's resolution I want to offer a gesture of sincerest gratitude and agree - not just I, but WE can do this and we are. Everyone I have "met" here is doing it every day no matter the days, months, or years you all have been cracking at it, you are doing it every day and that is just remarkable.

I LOVE my Greek cookbook, by the way, - it is amazing! I am so excited to try more stuff in it. I guess I am truly lucky that I love healthy food and love cooking - it makes a lot of this challenge more ... heh heh palatable (pun fully intended). Also I used to do this, but kinda slacked for a while, I used to assure I ate ALL the recommended servings of at least five different kinds of fruits and veggies each day, so with my fruit salad and new main dishes (upped the amount of veggies per serving as my variety has always stayed adequate) I should meet that goal as well.

I am very excited about new challenges and such and now that I joined the afore mentioned Easter Challenge AND our lovely Scale Junkie's Healthy You Challenge I hope it will make me get back to no fail, daily posting to log in my workouts and perhaps even motivate me to do more.

I think I am babbling now, but that is ok. I couldn't resist - another photo of my cute kitten, and yes, he IS sleeping like this and did it for more then a half hour without moving from this ridiculous position - my wrist started to ache from supporting even his minuscule weight:

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup walnuts and raisins.
S1: 6oz low-fat yogurt, tiny slice of carrot cake (office b-day).
L: whole wheat pasta, veggie, and grilled chicken salad.
S2: 1 1/2 cups five fruit salad.
D: seafood and veggie paella.
S3: 8oz glass of kefir & 1 slice low-fat, low sugar pumpkin pie.

Today Day I BARELY Exercised:
I did a 30min relaxed swim - hardly countable.
Total W/O Time - zero countable mins.

Fitness Tip Of The Day:
Always change up your routine. People say muscles have memories, it is that they grown somewhat accustom to repetitive routines of resistance - if you mix it up you keep "surprising" them and thusly can continue to tone, shape, and develop all the different fibers while keeping them flexible and lengthened. Don't be afraid to try something new that will make you sore in places you didn't realize existed before!

Day 55

2008-01-01T16:53:00.000-08:00

I got on the ball man! I worked out today, ate today really on track and I am really excited to stay with it. Come on people lemme hear a cheer!

These Days I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1/4cup walnuts and raisins.
S1: 6oz low-fat yogurt and 2 fig newtons.
L: whole wheat pasta, veggie, and grilled chicken salad.
S2: 1 1/2 cups five fruit salad.
D: seafood and veggie paella.
S3: 8oz glass of kefir 1 slice low-fat, low-sugar pumpkin pie.

Today Days I Worked Out:
I did 20mins of core resistance & stretch, followed by 30mins of upper body weight lifting.
Total W/O Time - 50mins

Fitness Tip For Today:
Remember not to focus on punishment for bad behavior, but rather reward for doing the right thing.

Missed a Few Days 51-54

2007-12-31T23:24:00.000-08:00

Grrrr!! Got called in to work and didn't work out, but I ate really well for these days, same thing, I always try and do my weekly cooking. I had a few naughties like tonight we drank some champagne for the new year and I had a few butter cookies, but otherwise stuck to it foodwise. ;-)

Cheers to a better year ahead in all respects.

These Days I Ate:
B: 1 cup oat meal, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup walnuts and raisins.
S1: 6oz low-fat yogurt and 2 fig newtons.
L: whole wheat pasta, veggie, and grilled chicken salad.
S2: 1 1/2 cups five fruit salad.
D: seafood and veggie paella.
S3: 8oz glass of kefir & 1 slice low-fat, low sugar pumpkin pie.

These Days I DIDN'T Workout:
I didn't workout.
Total W/O Time - zero countable mins.

Fitness Tip For These Days:
"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."

Day 50

2007-12-27T19:07:00.000-08:00

Well here I am - not as soon as I promised, but here anyway. I caught up with everyone today, and worked out, although I don't wish anyone to have to struggle, knowing I am NOT alone with the last few weeks of complete disregard for everything I have been promising myself I would stick to is a bit of relief.

Well, tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes - yet. I just found a way to ignore my rules and goals. I pulled out every excuse - my X-mas letter would read everyone died, my brother had a baby, everyone else got married and/or pregnant, I realized how fat I've gotten, I got a kitten. I have been allowing depression to rule my late sleep-ins and groggy days following, told myself I was too tired to work out after lots of extra shifts (even though I really know it makes you feel less stressed and overall more energetic). I found and adopted a tiny 1-pound kitten that needed a home, took a lot of TLC, and totally ruined any kind of sleep schedule I tried to hold down. The holiday cheer led me to indulge a couple times, then a few more, and then almost everyday for the last couple weeks. Damn office parties and treats.

As I read up on others' struggles and downfalls this season, it was like reading my own thoughts. Yes I just lose track and then say screw it and just stop trying hard to eat my pre-planned meals, then I just stop making them, and eventually stop keeping ANY kind of track or memory for anything I ate at all. Sick, stupid, frustration. Nevertheless I see how far so many people here have come and it is just a good thing that I cannot stand being fat anymore. I just hate to see myself and I hate what I have become... I know it is NOT healthy physically or emotionally.

I have the resolve and I started back up today. My sister-in-law gave me some amazing Greek and Mediterranean cookbooks for x-mas and I can hardly wait to bust them open and see what they have to offer - everything looks so good, and is either really healthy and low fat, or can easily be adjusted to be.

I joined Shannon's Easter Challenge which - well - anything to keep me motivated and accountable is a good thing. So the only thing that is good in all this slack and laziness is that I was weight-wise still very close to where I started, and as it turns out, I only gained 2lbs and no inches around my waist. I was pretty surprised at first, but then realized, it took me years to get this overweight and I imagine if my diet in general was less healthy I would probably be much worse off after the same amount of time. But I still have about 50lbs to lose.

I really wish I had someone around that I could actively work on this with, but since I moved away from all my friends and family when I moved here, I am really relying on the lovely, supportive community that is here. You guys are amazing and great and I am looking forward to the year ahead. This year I want to try a dress on that I wore summer of '07 and see it hang off me, I want to squeeze back into a dress I wore 5years ago and be able to not only zip it, but feel as comfortable in it in public as I ever did.

And for the fun of it, here is my little kitten "Chito":

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of whole wheat pasta with butter & garlic.
S1: 1 slice whole wheat toast with 1 tbsp jam.
L: beet, potato, carrot, onion, and salmon sushi salad.
S2: 2 mini coconut macaroons.
D: 1/2 "serving size" slice Lite Papa Murphy Pizza.
S3: 2 fig newtons and a glass of kefir.

Today I Worked Out:
I did 30mins of Pilate's and 30mins of resistance training.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Be very careful to offload your joints. It is very easy to stress them, ANY of them - elbows, knees, neck, back, hips, ankles, wrists, and shoulders. If you are new to fitness and weightlifting especially, please consult someone who knows! Look it up online or in a book, there are a lot of places that have good information on each area and how to keep from over stressing and injuring your joints not only during workouts, but in everyday life as well.

Checking In

2007-12-22T16:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it has been a rough couple weeks, hence the lack of posts.

As my lovely fellow Seattler pointed out, it flooded, our apt. was high enough it was ok, but the garage was flooded, our car had little damage, the lower floor had water up to the car windows so I am guessing extensive damage.

I have had to work 8 - 12 hours every day for the last two weeks except two days, low staffing has made me bank for the holidays, but also exhausted and no time to workout.

Also I found and adopted a kitten just over a week ago, he is barely 5weeks old this week, so needless to say when I am home he requires a lot of care and I have to arrange to leave him with someone when I am at work.

And finally, to top it all off - the first half of this year my very close family lost six members, two from my immediate family and four from extended - soooo as if being very, very far away from my family for my first Christmas ever weren't enough, the absence of my loved ones is hitting much harder these last few weeks than the weeks before - X-mas is THE family holiday in my clan ....so being depressed/grieving doesn't add much in the way of motivation. I think I was in denial before about it getting to me more during the holiday season, but now I know better. *sigh*

Anyway, I am serious about this fitness goal of mine and I think I am just gonna start up again on Day 50 tomorrow and workout and try and pick up where I left off. Hope everyone else is doing well, having a lovely holiday season, and I will catch up on all your blogs tomorrow hopefully!

Day 49

2007-12-05T18:48:00.000-08:00

I need to start out by saying YOU GUYS ROCK! Everyone is so supportive, I just feel like I am in a slump right now. I am eating all my proper food, but then I keep getting snack kicks that I cannot seem to kick on top. I bought a box of reduced fat ginger snaps the other day because I was craving them and hungry in the store, even though I know I don't need damn cookies right now!! Now everyday I snag a couple here and a couple there. Oy I just haven't been motivated to work out like I was doing so well for the last 6 weeks. My two month mark is next Wednesday, and here I am, today I did my weight and measuring and I have gained back a pound since the last time (what two weeks ago I measured last?) putting me up to 200lbs even which I guess is pretty amazing in that it wasn't a lot bigger which is what I would have expected.

I notice I have been staying almost the same weight and have hoped that I am just a good muscle builder (since I do try and keep a lot of toning in my workouts) because I saw my waist go down two inches thus far in my program, and I can start to feel it in my clothes, but when I look in the mirror I see the same fat grinning evilly back at me. When I signed on I knew this was a 6months plus journey to my "goal weight" and to lose in a healthy way that is reasonable. Also I knew when I started this up again that although I have been eating (for the majority of the days in my life) very healthy for a couple years now (probably the only thing that kept me from being 300lbs instead of 200lbs by now), but I have to commit to working out at least several times every week for ever, and being better at resisting those tasty, but unnecessary additions.

All this is well and good and my brain knows it, I started out soo strong and was doing really well, not ALLOWING myself to be lazy, but now I feel like I am just floundering the last week or two, I lost my will power. I am just being lazy, doing a bare minimum. I know that 20mins of cardio is great, usually that is all I do, but I pair it up with other things, resistance and flexibility, so I am going for at least an hour straight, but the last couple times (today included) I start and I feel like a slug and I just want to quit after the first 20mins. Usually I know that if I really put my back into those first 20mins I get my "second wind" when my lovely endorphins kicking, but I simply have not had the go to get there lately. I need to get motivated again, but I am not really sure how. Any suggestions that you guys have found to get your motor RE-started when you stall out mid-stroke?

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & 1 (~4oz) banana.
S1: fat-free 6oz yogurt cup, 2 fig newtons and too many almonds.
L: shrimp, rice, pineapple, and veggie thai salad.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick and 1 cup grapes.
D: chicken and everything veggie casserole with fat-free yogurt.
S3: some (?) reduced fat ginger snaps with "Silk Nog".

Today I BARELY Worked Out:
Only did 20mins of yoga.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
If you are like me and love that delicious fatty treat they call Eggnog, well I have some news: and keep in mind this is coming from a person who cannot stand soy milk - due to the recommendation of a fellow lactose intolerant I tried the Silk brand soy eggnog called simply "Nog". Added a little extra nutmeg, and wow, it was really, really good. It has the upside of tasting REALLY close to eggnog (as much as the "light" versions do), but with a tiny fraction of the fat! Plus - another good thing - if you don't like soy milk (like me) you will notice that after a certain point of drinking it, the nog begins to have that dirt-like after taste of soy products, but only if you drink more then you should. So it has a built in portion regulator - try it!

Day 48

2007-12-04T11:17:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post today, I got called in to cover a sick call today (again - good x-mas money ;-) ) and will be working until this evening, so I didn't get a chance to get my day going hardly - excuses excuses, at least I cleaned the house this morning!

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & 1 (~4oz) banana.
S1: fat-free 6oz yogurt cup, 2 fig newtons and too many almonds.
L: shrimp, rice, pineapple, and veggie thai salad.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick and 1 cup grapes.
D: chicken and everything veggie casserole with fat-free yogurt.
S3: fat-free yogurt, fruit, and nut "pie" with 'Nilla crust.

Today I DIDN'T Work Out...

Fitness Tip of The Day:
When working out heavily, remember when you need to pick something up, keep your head above your heart or you could cause some serious light-headedness.

Day 47

2007-12-03T13:10:00.000-08:00

Well, it is getting about time to get ready for work and I have been somewhat of a disappointment to myself so far. I overslept, I was lazy, I was goofing around, then it is like - oh wait woman you have to go to work in a couple hours. I did 20mins of high impact aerobics, but nothing else, which is better then nothing but not much at all.
Well I have to post and go. Have a lovely day with me luck tomorrow, no work so no excuses!

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & 1 (~4oz) banana.
S1: fat-free 6oz yogurt cup, 2 fig newtons and 10 almonds.
L: 1 bowl of pork posole with a tablespoon of fat-free yogurt.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick and 1 granola bar.
D: shrimp, rice, pineapple, and veggie thai salad.
S3: 2 reduced fat ginger snaps.

Today I BARELY Worked Out:
Only did 20mins of aerobics.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Have a positive attitude, it is amazing how much your mind effects your body.

Day 46

2007-12-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

Well I am back! What a hellish week. We moved our whole office, I worked 10 hour shifts all week and twice got asked for an extra four hours. It was dirty, dusty, and hot, everyone is now coughing and sneezing and has horrid headache and it is just yucky there.
On Monday the contractors are supposed to do a clean up, enclose the area that is to be remodeled and put reverse pressure on the place to try and get rid of some of the gunk we stirred up. I think they should have had negative pressure WHILE we moved, but what do I know? Hard to think with a splitting headache.
Also - at work - we are stuffing a huge office into two little rooms, and one of them WAS someone else's office, but they have to split their space. Everyone's nerves are raw, everyone is in the way and running over everyone else's toes, and we have to do it for at LEAST 10 weeks. *long sigh* The only upside is that the floor across from us has had the same remodel and it is amazing, so it should be worth it, if we can survive without ripping each other's throats out.
As for getting back on the wagon, I was completely exhausted today, and I planned to get up early and go for a walk at the zoo (just to start me up) then do some aerobics and weight training, but I'm not gonna lie, it snowed on Saturday almost all afternoon, then it rained, and is windy, wet, and cold... needless to say I never made it for an outside walk, I never got the energy for a high impact workout, so instead I just went swimming.
I know it is a slow start, but I have been just like a zombie, I am amazed I did anything at all. I went to the shop to get my food ready for the week, but will cook tomorrow morning before going to work again. (Yes, work pretty much all my waking hours for over a week, then get one day off, and go back again... at least I will have a three day weekend starting on Tuesday IF they don't call me in. ;-) )

Also I just have to say - you guys are AMAZING. I made this site in hopes of being accountable to myself, but I had no idea that there was such a great support network here just waiting to be utilized. I appreciate so deeply your encouragement! You are all just great people and I so grateful for each or your comments.

Today I Ate:
B: 1 AHA serv. of oatmeal, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup of walnuts, & 1 tsp. honey.
S1: fat-free 6oz yogurt cup, 2 fig newtons, and 10 almonds.
L: 1 bowl of pork posole with a tablespoon of fat-free yogurt.
S2: 1/2 cup fritos (I couldn't resist!!) and 4 reduced fat ginger snaps.
D: 1 oz sharp cheddar, 1/4 cup olives, 1/4 cup cashews, & 1 slice bread.

Today I BARELY Worked Out:
Only did 40mins of swimming.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Get enough sleep!! Many studies have shown that lack of proper amount (and quality) of sleep can effect our hormone levels and metabolism which can make it much harder to maintain weight loss. Try going to bed and getting up about the same time everyday, try to leave stress at the door to the bedroom (I write down things I need to remember that surface as I settle in on a note pad next to the bed), and relax.

Days 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45

2007-11-29T18:43:00.000-08:00

Please forgive my lack of posting, we are moving at my office, and I have worked my 4th day of ten plus hours at work this week and I have two more to go. Bear with me! I need you guys, will be back. I have not worked out this week at all, I have eaten on plan for the most part with a few little tiffs. I PROMISE to post again starting Sunday. Hope everyone is well, again sorry for my week off the blog!

Day 38

2007-11-24T23:52:00.000-08:00

Worked all day today, no work out. Long week behind, and long week ahead. My office is moving on Monday and it will be a little cha

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & 1 (~4oz) banana.
S1: low-free 6oz yogurt cup, 2 fig newtons and 10 almonds.
L: roast beef, cheddar, and tomato sandwich.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick and 1 granola bar.
D: 1/2 plate of penne, basil, mushroom, and sweet spicy sausage dish.

Today I DIDN'T Work Out...

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Keep your goals insight - not just short term but long term. Post pictures of examples of what you want to look/feel like (healthy) and of things you never want to become (or become again : unhealthy). Add "you can do it" and "hang in there" and "it is worth it" to your everyday thoughts.

Day 37

2007-11-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

Well I had planned to go swimming today and do a usual Friday workout to make up for lazy past days, but sadly my swim partner had a cramping calf, so we didn't make it to the pool. I felt bad because we went out to dinner together instead to a place a mutual friend had given us a gift card for - I ordered a pasta dish, and they ordered duck on couscous - sad because they became very ill only about 2hrs after eating. Bad duck I guess. I will keep an eye on them and hope they feel better tomorrow, but I have to say - being so used to my own cooking (and hardly ever eating out) the food was ok, but very salty and very greasy to my taste so I simply didn't have the hea... er ... stomach to finish a whole serving.
I worked out pretty hard today, not too long, only 1 hour, but that is not too shabby I guess. Tomorrow I probably won't (it is my rest day anyway, but sometimes I think I might be able to "make up" a missed day... realistically I have yet to live up to that idea).
Everyone seems lulled on the blog zone, damn holidays. Just got to stick it out until after x-mas. I hope everyone picks back up more soon! Hang in there people!

Today I Ate:
B: 2 slices of whole wheat toast, 1tbs light cream cheese, jam, and one egg.
S1: 8oz of low-fat kifer.
L: grilled chicken, sweet potato and veggie salad.
S2: 1/2 appetizer of pita, humus, roasted garlic, mushrooms, and olives.
D: 1/2 plate of penne, basil, mushroom, and sweet spicy sausage dish.
(went out for dinner instead of cooking a traditional Thanksgiving)

Today I Worked Out:
I did 20mins of core training on the stability ball, 2omins of high impact aerobics, and finished with 20mins of power yoga.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
If you have to eat out, order a "to go box" or doggy bag when you place your food order and immediately put 1/2 - 2/3 of the plate in the box and just eat the remainder. Have part or all of the leftovers the next day - also if you planned the event in advance, check if the restaurant has a web page with a menu (it can take less then 5mins) and make a game plan for your order ahead of time (try Calorie King's website to estimate nutrition info if the web page doesn't provide it - even a rough estimate is better then flying blind).

Day 36

2007-11-22T22:57:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!! I worked the whole damn day, but I am thankful I have a job that pays for my comfort and lifestyle. ;-)

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & 1 (~4oz) banana.
S1: low-free 6oz yogurt cup, 2 fig newtons and 10 almonds.
L: beef, eggplant, veggie, and pasta casserole with avocado garnish.
S2: 1 orange, grapefruit, pineapple, and grape fresh fruit cup.
D: 1 slice Papa Murphy's Pizza and 1 beer.
S3: 1 slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

Today I DIDN'T Workout...

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Take all your chances to get a little activity in - take the stairs, stretch in your office chair, tap your feet while waiting in line (works your shins), etc. It all adds up people!

Day 35

2007-11-21T20:22:00.000-08:00

I had to work a 12hr shift today and tomorrow. I didn't get enough sleep last night and was exhausted - did I say was because I meant AM. I didn't the energy to workout today - worse yet I had a slice of pizza! :-( Tomorrow I doubt I will workout either, but I am off Friday so I will aim for a normal workout PLUS swimming on Friday - also (sad) I didn't loose any weight again this week, but I honestly can feel my waist getting smaller in my work pants! My weight lifting must be paying off (hopes that is what it is). Wish me luck!

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & 1 (~4oz) banana.
S1: fat-free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 2 fig newtons and 10 almonds.
L: beef, eggplant, veggie, and pasta casserole with avocado garnish.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick and 1 cup red grapes.
D: 1 slice Papa Murphy's Pizza.
S3: 1 granola bar.

Today I DIDN'T Workout...

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Calves and forearms are made up of short muscle fibers, this makes it much harder to give them a workout - meaning you have to really "burn" them to see results! An easy and effective calf toner is to stand with the ball of your foot on the edge of a low step or thick phone book, lifting the other leg (bend at knee), lower your heel to the floor then lift yourself up to tippy-toe (while holding onto a chair or door frame for balance) alternate legs and to make the set more challenging, hold a dumbbell in your off hand. For forearms, lay your arm bent to 90degrees at the elbow, from elbow to wrist, palm up flat for support on a bench or your leg (this takes the workout off the bicep) and with a weight in your hand simply curl your wrist towards your body, alternating sides.

Tagged I'm It...TWICE!!

2007-11-20T23:17:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Cara and Paige. Here are the rules: Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.

Five Weird things about me x2 (for Cara and Paige respectively - yes I am plenty weird for a double tag):

1-C) I am the only one in my family of 6 who has had an operation or broken bone; I have broken or fractured 9 bones and had 3 operations.
1-P) I am supper organized and clean at all my jobs, always, but a total slob at home (except the bathroom and kitchen which are almost always spotless).

2-C) I have been an awesomely talented 1st person shooter game addict since I was 12, and no boy who's butt I kicked at DooM and Quake believed I was a chick, but Lady Vea was famous on the 999 server (if you played you know what I mean).
2-P) I raised chickens when I was in high-school and sold enough eggs to pay for my first whole year of college (including my room, but not food).

3-C) I love making traditional Pueblo dream catchers.
3-P) We didn't have electricity in our house that my dad built until I was 9 years old.

4-C) I'm ticklish everywhere except my feet.
4-P) I fence (yeah like with swords).

5-C) I love bananas in dishes (including cereal) and banana flavor, but can't stand to eat them just by themselves.
5-P) I get dizzy in elevators even just going up or down one story.

You have been tagged!
LeeLee
Luana
Mike
Poppy
Sara

Day 34

2007-11-20T23:04:00.000-08:00

Today - fast post - went swimming - did 10 full laps at our pool, it took just over 45mins! Yay! Must work much this week - makes me post lazy. ;-)

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & 1 (~4oz) banana.
S1: fat-free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 2 fig newtons and 10 almonds.
L: chicken and avocado veggie sandwich.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick and 1 cup red grapes.
D: grilled chicken, sweet potato and veggie salad.
S3: post workout snack was 8oz of low-fat kifer.

Today I Worked Out:
I did 45mins of swimming and 20mins of pilates with resistance bands.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Working out twice a day for 20mins with at least 20mins break between sessions causes your body to metabolize slightly more fat then one 40mins workout without breaks.

Day 33

2007-11-19T13:23:00.000-08:00

I have to work an evening shift tonight, but I am proud to say today I got up early, got my day going and was on track. I am eating on track and have my dinner and snacks all packed for work and I am feeling really good because I just did a great workout today. I love it when I am into it, and just feeling better. I notice my tummy is getting leaner which (I know this is gross but most people who are reading thing know what I mean) helps when doing flexibility because there is less fat in my way!!
Tomorrow I am going to try and swim for a full hour, but I won't be mad at myself if I can just increase it by 5mins each time. My normal is 40mins. So that will be tomorrow.
I notice that a lot of folks are posting about the dreaded (and loved) TG holiday coming up. I have to work a 10hr shift, am packing my normal lunch, and although I am sad I won't be with my family for the festive part of the day - right now I am just getting ahead in my transformation and I want to count it as a blessing in that I have one less day to totally derail me to worry about.
Hope everyone is doing well!

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & 1 (~4oz) banana.
S1: fat-free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 2 fig newtons and 10 almonds.
L: beef, eggplant, veggie, and pasta casserole with avocado garnish.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick and 1 cup red grapes.
D: grilled chicken, sweet potato and veggie salad.
S3: post workout snack was 8oz of low-fat kifer.

Today I Worked Out:
I did 20 minutes of core training on the stability ball, 25mins of kick-boxing, and finished with 20mins of pilates.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
I keep one of those big dry erase two month wall calendars posted by my workout area and AFTER I complete a workout I give myself a big check mark, if I miss a workout I draw a frownie face on that day. After a month plus I am seeing that it serves as a real motivator - not only as I go, but looking at how many days I have been successful really cheers me up! Try it for yourself, it is a great visual aid of your progress in the fitness part of our journey.

Day 32

2007-11-18T19:57:00.000-08:00

Not a whole lot on my mind right now, I feel like I got back on track again today, my workout was up to my standards and met my expectations and I felt great afterwards. I ate normally and was hungry often (good sign of that metabolism being in high gear) only regret is I slept in more then I wanted. I woke up to my alarm and thought just ten more minutes... an hour and a half later I woke up again. *sigh*

I also want to say to anyone who is reading this, that TWIX from Choosing to Live is having a hell of a time right now and it would be lovely if everyone who hasn't already, could stop in and show her the very essential support she requires in this moment of need. Let's all take a moment to remember to be grateful for what we have and extend a helping hand to those who are experiencing less fortune then ourselves.

Today I Ate:
B: 1 large whole wheat pancake, 1 tablespoon honey, and 1 egg.
S1: fat-free 8oz yogurt smoothie and 2 fig newtons.
L: beef, eggplant, veggie, and pasta casserole with avocado garnish.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick and 1 cup red grapes.
D: grilled chicken, sweet potato and veggie salad.
S3: post workout snack was 8oz of low-fat kifer.

Today I Worked Out:
I did a full body resistance workout for 30mins, then did 30mins of power yoga, and 15mins of core training on the stability ball.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Think about your posture. When you are sitting, walking, standing, anything - just try and remind yourself to sit up straight - protecting that spine, shoulders relaxed down and pulled back (no hunching) and abs drawn in comfortably (not sucked in so hard you cannot breathe!). This will help develop muscle tone, protect your back (it is hard work over time if you are out of practice), and if you have generally poor posture - straightening it up can make you look like you lost 10lbs (try it in front of a mirror)!

Day 31

2007-11-17T23:32:00.000-08:00

Today as I suspected, I had no free time to speak of. I went to work very early, worked until I could leave, then went straight to my friend's baby shower, which was wonderful. There I ate some stuff, they had several lovely buffet style plates with various selections, but mostly very healthy - fresh veggies, fruit, crackers and cheese, and little sandwiches. I had a small plate of veggies and fruit, and also a piece of her cake. Then I drove straight there to a symphony orchestra concert I was given tickets to. It was a nice day, but it was hectic.
I walked at my break at work for about 20mins, then during the intermission at the hall, I climbed up and down three flights of stairs for 15mins (slowly because I didn't want to sweat a lot in nice clothes, but still it was moving).

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & 1 (~4oz) banana.
S1: fat-free 8oz yogurt smoothie 1 cup red grapes.
L: beef, eggplant, veggie, and pasta casserole with avocado garnish.
S2: plate of fresh veggies, fruit, and a piece of cake.
D: grilled chicken, sweet potato and veggie salad.
S3: evening snack 8oz of low-fat kifer.

Today I Sorta Worked Out:
Only daily activity as above.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Remember that although animal fat in excess (yes like ANYthing else) is very unhealthy especially for your heart, when revamping your diet to be low in fat, remember to include plenty of "healthy fats" - monounsaturated fats and fatty acids which help reduce your total and LDL or "bad" cholesterol! The most common dietary sources are olive oil, avocados, and flaxseeds, fish, walnuts, respectively.

Day 30

2007-11-16T22:53:00.000-08:00

Today I planned to swim and do something else to make up for yesterday, but again, it was a long day at work, and I had to get all set up for swimming because the pool I had been going to is closed until Jan. so I went to another place. Had to check out a locker, get oriented, find the pool, they had all these different rules - like not just normal laps, but three lanes in either fast, slow, or med. speed categories where everyone just goes in circles. It was odd but very fun!

I KNOW I will not have time to workout tomorrow too because I have to work most of the day, then dash across the lake to my friend's baby shower, then dash back in time to go to a concert downtown!! Well I will try to power walk for at least 40mins on my lunch. ;-)

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & 1 (~4oz) banana.
S1: fat-free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 4 fig newtons, & 10 raw almonds.
L: beef, eggplant, veggie, and pasta casserole with avocado garnish.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick & 1 cup red grapes.
D: grilled chicken, sweet potato and veggie salad.
S3: post workout snack was 8oz of low-fat kifer.

Today I Worked Out:
Swam laps for 40mins without taking breaks and then I did 20min of yoga when I got home.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Make sure you allow your muscles to rest at least one full day between weight lifting, you tear your muscles and they need time to repair themselves between workouts.

Day 29

2007-11-15T18:49:00.000-08:00

I want to say to everyone who commented on my last post - you guys are so supportive and make me feel very comfortable here! I really appreciate it so much!
However today was a long weird day - I worked - they called me in. I came home and had so much to do - I needed to prep my clothes for work, I needed to go to the shop for the week, cook for the week, get swimming gear ready, clean my huge fish globe, shower... etc. etc. So I slacked, better luck tomorrow.

Today I Ate:

B: two slices of whole wheat toast, 2tbs light cream cheese, and one egg.
S1: fat-free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 2 fig newtons, & 10 raw almonds.
L: beef, eggplant, veggie, and pasta casserole with avocado garnish.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick & 1 cup red grapes.
D: grilled chicken, sweet potato and veggie salad.
S3: post workout snack was 8oz of low-fat kifer.

Today I DIDN'T Workout...

Fitness Tip of The Day:
When doing cardio - you can get your heart-rate to the right levels and hold it, there is also a good (and easy) rule of thumb: work hard enough so you sweat and breathe deeply, but not hard enough so that you cannot comfortably speak!

Day 28 - One Month!

2007-11-14T16:50:00.000-08:00

This is my one month check in. Ok, so I think a good moral lies here especially considering how many other people are having a blue scale funk: I weighed myself first today and I am one pound up from last week. No surprise there considering my lack of workouts and birthday bashing, but it made me sad anyway... disappointed in myself, you know? I'm thinkin' in one whole month of working out really hard almost every day and I have a net loss of only 5.5lbs?! But, here is where it gets better, I went ahead and measured myself again and you can see my numbers below with my before and after photos so far - I lost ANOTHER full inch around my WAIST!! Woot! That made me way happier then the scale made me sad!
I have to say the photos also cheered me up a lot - not a big difference, but I think I can see some small changes. (Please tell me if I am smoking crack or just full of wishful thinking or what have you, because part of this humiliating "bathing suit photo post" project is to help others keep me honest.)
My back I think shows the most in a little trimming of fat off, my hips (to me, maybe this is just me being optimistic) seem maybe a tiny bit less pudgy, and although my gut from the front looks about the same to me, the side shot looks quite a bit better and this is in a relaxed position (I promise no sucking it in, as you can probably tell from the frontal shot, but I guess it makes sense as I have lost 2 full inches from my waist). It is still hanging out there, but seeing even just that tiny, itsy-bitsy difference is encouraging to me.
Also as a side note I take three measurements of my "bust" area - under arms just over boobs, just under boobs, and widest around my chest; one from 2" above my waist - upper abs, my waist, my lower abs (widest point below the waist); my hips right exactly around my hip bone, one right at my belly button (yes my belly button is below my waist); and then arm and legs are just at their widest part. Needless to say I am not reflecting ALL those measurements here - just the most common major ones everyone else tends to use, but I think they really help me get an overall body size estimate.
Overall I am glad I am taking comparison photos because I think they speak a hell of a lot louder to my taste then the damn scale.

Current - 1 Month:
Weight - 199lbs
Bust - 44"
Waist - 36" !!! :-)
Hips/Bum - 42"
Avg. Arms - 14"
Avg. Legs - 24.5"

At Start:
Weight - 204.5lbs
Bust - 45"
Waist - 38"
Hips/Bum - 43"
Avg. Arms - 14"
Avg. Legs - 24.5"

Today I Ate:

B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & a ~4oz banana.
S1: fat-free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 2 fig newtons, & 10 raw almonds.
L: grilled chicken, sweet potato and veggie salad - yum!
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick & 1 cup red grapes.
D: beef, rice, & cabbage casserole garnished with non-fat yogurt.
S3: post workout snack was 8oz of low-fat kifer.

Today I Worked Out:
I did 15mins of core exercises on the stability ball, 20mins of high-impact aerobics (kick-boxing), and finished with a half hour of yoga just like yesterday - plus I cleaned the whole house which took nearly 2 hours of constant moving!

Fitness Tip of The Day:
If you are stiff and sore from a good hard weight lifting workout 24-48hrs later - stretch! Yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates, anything like that, even a nice walk - and we can't say this enough: DRINK LOTS OF WATER! The two combined will help you quickly metabolize and flush the lactic acid build-up form your muscles and you will feel much better.

Day 27

2007-11-13T17:32:00.000-08:00

Well today I broke my losing streak! I worked out, I was tired during it, probably from being so lazy for so long. Tomorrow I need to do the dirty work of weighing in *sigh* probably not gonna be that good considering, measurements, and I will take my "One Month" photos. Already wow, I am so proud of myself that tomorrow will be day number 28! My habit should be formed.
I made that chicken and sweet potato salad... wow it is sooo good! I only made four servings, but I think I will shop tomorrow for it for the week because it was so good! Also next week I will make a lean beef and pasta dish. Also I was naughty and ate one last little slice of my cake, then gave it to my neighbor/co-worker.

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & a 4oz banana.
S1: fat-free 8oz yogurt smoothie & 10 raw almonds.
L: baked sole, purple baked potatoes, & green bean mixed salad.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick & 1 cup red grapes.
D: grilled chicken, sweet potato and veggie salad.
S3: tiny slice of ice cream cake - only 1" wide on the arch end.

Today I Worked Out:
I did 15mins of core exercises on the stability ball, 20mins of high-impact aerobics (kick-boxing), and finished with a half hour of yoga.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Add a resistance band to your stretching it will make you burn a lot more, and it will help tone muscles while putting less joint stress then weights!

Day 26 - ¡Feliz Cumpleaños A Mí!

2007-11-12T23:34:00.000-08:00

So as you probably guessed from the header, I was really, really bad today. Someone presented me with a BaskinRobins' ice cream cake. An amazing double fudge, Jamaican Pecan, caramel encrusted piece of pure sin. Yes I ate a piece, not a huge one, but not a tiny one. And although it is a small cake (thank goodness for small favors) there is still 3/4 of it left in my freezer! Oh lordy sin of all sins - I hear it calling to me, temping me. I told myself all day I WILL workout today, regardless of the ensuing celebrations (or especially because of them), but I didn't.
That makes a break in my record - four days in a row of not working out - I wasn't even that bad when I was sick before.
Damn failure of will power here. Shame on me and eating such bad-for-my-goals food! :-(
I feel pretty crappy about it now, even if it was so delicious!! I HAVE to workout tomorrow, and next Saturday too to make up a little lost time here, otherwise I will not be able to forgive myself. I must get back on the horse damn it, not an option. Psyching myself up here. *whew*

Today I Ate:
B: 1 serving oatmeal with 1 banana, 1tsp honey, and 1/4 cup walnuts.
L: beef, rice, & cabbage casserole garnished with non-fat yogurt, 2 glasses of wine.
S2: real fruit candies (birthday gift).
D: small serving extra of above casserole, 1 med/lrg piece of ice cream cake.

Today I DIDN'T Workout...

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Remember that you can do 1,000+ crunches a day and still have a gut. You will be developing beautifully toned muscles, they just won't show! If you have a flabby and fatty tummy, you will need to toss in cardio to burn the padding off your new muscles, if you are one of those lucky people who is just flabby - then have at and I envy you!

Day 25

2007-11-11T23:06:00.000-08:00

I was pretty naughty today. I was covering a shift for another person at my work so I worked all day, and previously I had been given as a birthday gift tickets to the symphony orchestra playing Brahms with an amazing Russian pianist for the evening (even though my birthday is a day later) so I wasn't able to go home after work before the concert so I had to get supper at the cafe there and I got some Greek salad, but I indulged in a mini bag of Fritos and it had 10g of fat in it!! I am so ashamed, and also I didn't work out because I got home so late. :-(

Today I Ate:
B: two slices of whole wheat toast, 2tbs light cream cheese, and one egg.
S1: fat-free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 1 granola bar, & 10 raw almonds.
L: beef, rice, & cabbage casserole garnished with non-fat yogurt.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick & 1 pumpkin bread, walnut muffin.
D: Greek salad and a mini-bag of Fritos.

Today I DIDN'T Workout..

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Quality matters much more then reps. If you are doing a lift in a half-assed way you are probably going to hurt yourself and not get results. You need to concentrate on form and control and the slower the more you make it work hard and you WILL see results. If you are new to weight lifting ask for pointers at your gym or get a book that clearly (for you) demonstrates form and practice in front of a mirror until you feel confident you are holding the form correctly though the whole motion.

Day 24

2007-11-10T22:58:00.000-08:00

Today wasn't that great, I worked a 12 hour shift and that was just long and tiring. I am pooped and lazy and it is my "rest day." Since I work out the other six days I figure one day a week not working out is ok. I always say I will just do yoga after work to relax. Yeah that never happens. ;-) Peace out!

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & a 4oz banana.
S1: fat-free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 1 granola bar, & 10 raw almonds.
L: beef, rice, & cabbage casserole garnished with non-fat yogurt.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick & 1 pumpkin bread, walnut muffin.
D: baked sole, purple baked potatoes, & green bean mixed salad.
S3: 8oz of low-fat kifer.

Today I DIDN'T Workout...

Fitness Tip of The Day:
When weight lifting work out in sets the opposing muscle groups - chest and back for example. Always work out the larger group first so that they are not picking up the slack for the smaller muscle group (before they are tired out).

Day 23

2007-11-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

Today sorry for late posting, I had a really bad alletrgic reaction in my FACE! Went to doc in the PM and also took some Benadryl which made me drugged out of my mind. I passed out at 6pm and woke up around 4am. Will post more tomorrow!

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & a 4oz banana.
S1: fat-free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 1 granola bar, & 10 raw almonds.
L: beef, rice, & cabbage casserole garnished with non-fat yogurt.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick & 1 pumpkin bread, walnut muffin.
D: baked sole, purple baked potatoes, & green bean mixed salad.
S3: post workout snack was 8oz of low-fat kifer.

Today I Worked Out:
I did nothing.

Fitness Tip Of The Day:
Consume a complexe carbohydrate and protein snack just before and after your work out to keep your metabolism reved! Dairy (fat-free yogurt, low-fat cheese) works great and so does a couple of deli-meat roll ups and a piece of fruit!

Day 22

2007-11-08T21:46:00.000-08:00

Well I was good today, but not perfect. I had to go to a doctors appointment then my work asked me to come in for a couple hours in the middle of the day (they are remodeling and everything is nuts there) and I didn't have any food with me, so I was starving because my body has totally gotten used to this eating every 3-4 hours thing. Which is great in a way because it means my metabolism is in high gear, but I felt horrid while I was at work my tummy was growling and I got a headache and all grouchy and stuff.
So I ate my snacks and dinner all within about 1.5hr of each other tonight when I got home, but I didn't eat over my intended allotment. I LOVE the new dishes I made so far - haven't tried the chicken one yet, but the green bean salad thing is DEL-ISH! I mean yum it is good, and the beef casserole is great too, really homey and really low in fat, but I ended up adding wrong and bought and put in about 4x as much cabbage as recommended - it tastes great though!
I love finding new things to cook, cooking is one of my most favorite hobbies, which is good because if I cook it myself I know exactly what is in it and how much of everything is there and so on.
I have been getting a tension rash on the skin on my knees from the stability ball, especially for those reverse core curls where you are in a plank position (top of a push up) with your shins on the ball then roll it in up under you, it just is ripping them apart. So I decided that I would buy myself some nice >90% cotton yoga pants to workout in. I have a pair that I love the feel of, but they are purely synthetic and get very uncomfortable to do a whole hour plus workout in - no breathe-ability what so ever - and I usually wear some cotton shorts, but they are just not cutting it anymore either. Now comes my indulgent confession: when I was ordering my pants, I went ahead and got another (supposedly way advanced) pilates workout DVD and a couple resistance bands to add to my yoga and pilates workouts.
Before I close for the day I just have to say thanks to everyone commenting on my blog, I try and return the favor daily. I wasn't sure anyone would ever read this and support me, but now that I have found you all - you inspire me with your stories and just make me feel good that I am not alone out here!

Today I Ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of whole grain cereal, & a 4oz banana.
S1: fat-free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 1 granola bar, & 10 raw almonds.
L: beef, rice, & cabbage casserole garnished with non-fat yogurt.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella stick & 1 pumpkin bread, walnut muffin.
D: baked sole, purple baked potatoes, & green bean mixed salad.
S3: post workout snack was 8oz of low-fat kifer.

Today I Worked Out:
I did 15mins of core on the stability ball, 30mins of lower body weight lifting/resistance training, and then 20mins of yoga.

Fitness Tip Of The Day:
To really see a difference in flexibility, you should stretch every day and hold the stretch for at least 20seconds. Also to see faster results: do a stretch, hold it for 20seconds, then relax that area completely, wait a few seconds and repeat the same stretch going a little deeper into it.
When stretching, don't over do it or you might stress or tear something (don't push yourself to the point of feeling pain), NEVER bounce into a stretch, you WILL stress or tear something (and it takes 6-8weeks for tendons and ligaments to heal from a major stress or tear), and very importantly - focus on GENTLY and gradually deepening the stretch with each exhale during that 20+seconds you hold and push it.

Day 21 - Week 3

2007-11-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

Today is a good day! I lost two and a half pounds which is, as we all know, a healthy loss! The best part though, is I FINALLY lost some inches (a total of 5.5") off my body!! I lost one whole inch off my waist (my dress pants had been feeling looser this week), I lost two inches from my bust (which includes the dreaded bra overhang area yay!), and I lost 2.5" off my hips and lower abs!
I am so happy with this, MUCH more then I care about the weight. I am so glad because I saw NO changes from start to week one, or from week one to week two so FINALLY some inches are coming off. *does a little dance* The absolute best part about such things is they motivate me SO much to stay with it and be strong and just keep pushing harder. I can hardly wait til week six now! Woot!
I went to the shop today and ALMOST gave in to bad cravings, thinking I could reward myself for my losses and then I was like: DUH chica, you wanna just throw away all that progress?! So I thought, reward without food, ok, and bought a book I wanted instead. It was awesome!
I was smart and ate lunch BEFORE going to the shop and I stuck to my list exactly, I have a new menu and cooked all afternoon for the week. I am making a beef/cabbage/wild rice casserole for dinner for the week with a pumpkin bread/walnut muffin for desert. Lunches (alternating days) will be either a baked sole, boiled potatoes, with green bean/avocado/onion/cabbage salad dish or a grilled chicken/sweet potato/onion/cucumber/feta cheese salad. My snacks the usual, they work great for me, but the above will be my menu starting tomorrow.

Today's meal plan (since I am posting early):
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of healthy whole grain cereal.
S1: post workout 8oz of kifer, desert will the last slice of low-fat pumpkin pie.
L: homemade lamb tagine served over whole wheat couscous.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella string cheese stick.
D: pattypan squash, chicken sausage, and onions served with potatoes.
S3: fat free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 2 whole grain fig newtons.

Today I Worked Out:
I swam for 40mins, then I did a moderate 15min core workout on the stability ball, did 20mins of high impact aerobics, and finished up with high energy flowing yoga poses for 30mins. That is nearly 2hours all told - go for me!

Fitness Tip of The Day:
The most important thing to remember about getting fit is STICK WITH IT consistently! You will notice if you keep up with it, the same workout can become noticeably easier in as little as 2weeks. The key is getting to that point. ;-)

Day 20

2007-11-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

I got called in this morning for another swing shift tonight which will be overtime for me (yay money for x-mas!), so I did my workout early and I just felt good today. I think that always happens: "normal" feels way great after feeling "ick". I worked out hard today, I mean I really focused and did a great job. I think this workout counts as as like three of my last ones, I did over an hour and a half without stopping, just was so concentrated and motivated. I hope I feel this good tomorrow!
I was going to cook some squash for supper I think I might still have time, but I better finish this post quick and shower and cook before I have to dash to work! Tomorrow I will swim too, yay I just feel so energetic today!
Tomorrow is my weigh in measure day. Heh heh hopefully that will cheer me as opposed to being a downer. ;-)

Today I ate:
B: two slices of whole wheat toast, 2tbs light cream cheese, and one egg, coffee.
S1: fat free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 2 whole grain fig newtons, and 10 raw almonds.
L: pattypan squash, chicken sausage, and onions served with potatoes.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella string cheese stick and 1 cup red grapes.
D: homemade lamb tagine served over whole wheat couscous.
S3: desert was a slice of low-fat pumpkin pie.

Today I Worked Out:
I did an extra long core workout today, I did upper-body weight lifting, and closed with a session of yoga.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Don't get distracted while working out. Physical activity is a great stress reliever, but you have to leave all those negative thoughts and worries at the door when you start. Start your warm-up with a few good Tai Chi breaths - inhale deeply, calmly, and exhale imagining all your stress going out with the breath (really focus on listening to your body and focus on relaxing any tense muscles) and (key here) don't think about ANYthing else during this time. Your issues will be waiting when you get done, and you will probably have a better perspective on them when you are calm.

Day 19

2007-11-05T13:19:00.000-08:00

Well I am going to work soon, but since I am packing my food for the rest of the day and finished all my activity I will post now. I didn't made it to swim this morning, I just felt kind of sick when I woke up, but after eating breakfast and just waking up more I felt better, so I cleaned my messy house top to bottom (it looks great!) and after that I felt fine, so I did my workout and just finished my lunch and when I am done here I will get ready for and head to work. Finished off my soup today, so tomorrow I will make my signature pattypan squash with spicy chicken sausage and onions served with some baked potatoes and whats left of the pumpkin pie.

Today I ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of healthy whole grain cereal, and one 4oz banana.
S1: fat free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 2 whole grain fig newtons, and 10 raw almonds.
L: homemade black bean, corn, (5 other veggies and two fruits) & bacon soup, slice of whole wheat bread, and desert was a slice of low-fat pumpkin pie.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella string cheese stick and 1 cup red grapes.
D: homemade lamb tagine served over whole wheat couscous with a table spoon of fat-free plain yogurt.
S3: post workout snack 8oz of low-fat protein shake.

Today I worked out:
barely did my core workout half way, my neck is really sore and it hurts too much to do crunches, maybe tomorrow, did aerobics, and cooled down with a Pilates mat workout for a change!

Fitness Tip of The Day:
This is more of an FYI for all the ladies out there who don't know this. Strength training is absolutely necessary for fast, healthy, effective fat/weight loss, right? Well if you ever worked out next to a guy regularly, you will come to learn the cold hard truth: men bulk up much faster. Just accept it and keep pressing you will get there, it just takes a little longer.

Day 18

2007-11-04T20:57:00.000-08:00

Today was just an "off" day and not just because of the time change. First off - my family has endured a horrifying string of untimely tragedies and losses, more then you can imagine in one year. I don't say this for sympathy or because I want to share any details, but it sets the stage for what happened last night: things like unexpected, oddly timed phone calls FREAK ME OUT now because of my conditioning the whole first half of this year. Like calls at work, my family is really close, but NEVER calls me at work unless it is extremely important. So imagine it is 2am and my phone rings. Yeah I nearly had a heart attack, esp. because my mom was set to be traveling across three states starting Friday, arriving this afternoon some time, right? I was terrified and trembling when I answered, too dark to see the caller id box... some guy on the other end says that he locked himself out of our apartment building and is calling all the listings to see if someone will let him in.
WTF?! In another case, I might have felt sorry for the stupid git, only our building has a special number you can ring down there to the pager which wakes up one of the managers who LIVE IN THE BUILDING! So this is me thinking as I slam the phone down in fury that he probably doesn't actually live here. Our managers are all super people, and the caller box is exactly for lock-outs, it is written right there, 24/7. They even have an alternate who lives in their other complex a block away, ONE of them has to answer right? I was regretting I hadn't asked him for more information before hanging up to see if I could catch him in a lie or anything - however I wasn't thinking clearly before I had already reacted.
As I stumbled back to bed still in an adrenaline infused state of near panic I starting thinking: if he wasn't a resident, then who was he? Sleepy darkness lead to images if an axe bursting through our door and an insane freak screaming, "Hang up on ME will you bitch?!" Or something to that effect. (Did I mention I stayed up late at night watching The Crow also?)
It was hard to get back to sleep, I was all ears listening for footsteps in the hall or another phone call. Nothing happened, I just made myself extremely tired and tense, I was awake for at least an hour after that, (I know because I was checking the clock) but I am not sure when I fell back asleep. My neck and lower back are like boards today and so sore. I am so glad I am going swimming tomorrow, it will really help loosen me up.
Warning TMI moment: also when I woke back up at around 6am I had horrid cramps, what another great surprise, so I moped around feeling grouchy, crampy, sore, bloated, irritated, and thirsty all day. It was hard to eat my 3hr snacks/meals because all I have an appetite for when I am surfing the crimson tide is chocolate, so I started my day with some comfort food and ended up eating every 5ish hours.
Whew what a day, better night tonight I hope, and better luck tomorrow!

Today I ate:
B: whole wheat homemade pancakes with jam and eggs.
S1: 1 low fat mozzarella string cheese stick and 1 cup red grapes.
L: homemade lamb tagine served over whole wheat couscous.
S2: fat free 8oz yogurt smoothie and 2 whole grain fig newtons.
D: homemade black bean, corn, (5 other veggies and two fruits) & bacon soup, slice of low-fat pumpkin pie.

Today I worked out:
...but I was slack and lazy again, all I did today was 40mins of yoga.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
When you are doing the best upper body resistance exercise (yeah that would be the good old fashioned push-up) here are a couple of things to remember: if you want to focus your workout on the triceps and shoulders, place your hands directly under the shoulders and keep your elbows tight against your body. If you want to focus on your chest, spread your arms a little wider and bend your elbows to the sides.

Day 17

2007-11-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

I was lazy and bad today. I worked a 10hr shift. I tried to eat my lunch slower with mild success, however I still totally crashed out afterwards. I actually dozed off in my seat I felt wasted. Then I went and loaded up on the caffeine before going back to the office.
Oh man, and I was so also so frustrated with myself, I took all my evil Halloween candy that no one came (and I mean NO one) to trick for a treat, to work and left it in the break room. I never go in the break room usually, I like to take my lunch outside so I can refresh. That was the yesterday, it was gone this morning when I got there, but someone else stole my idea and there was not only a HUGE bag (~8-10lbs I kid you not) of new candy left in the break room, but also some patient brought us one of those orange plastic trick or treat pumpkins FULL of candy and left it right at the front desk!
It was torture and I told myself just forget about it, if you give in you will want piece after piece, but if you resist the taste will not be in your mouth. I was sooo good for about the first 6hrs, then I finally took a roll of those SourTarts and then another, and another... I ate five rolls of SourTarts and I am ashamed to say I only didn't eat more, because there weren't any more after that. *sigh* I am so disappointed in myself for lacking the will power, I didn't NEED those candies damn it! Then to top it all off I didn't work out at all today, I didn't even walk during my lunch. I will have to double time it tomorrow. :-(

Today I ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of healthy whole grain cereal, chopped 4oz banana.
S1: fat free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 2 whole grain fig newtons, and 10 raw almonds.
L: homemade lamb tagine served over whole wheat couscous.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella string cheese stick and 1 cup red grapes.
D: homemade black bean, corn, (5 other veggies and two fruits) & bacon soup.
S3: desert was a slice of low-fat pumpkin pie... candy, coffee.

Today I DIDN'T Work Out:
Lazy bum.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Flossing, yeah you heard it, flossing. So the latest research shows there is a significant positive correlation between the amount of bad mouth bacteria (which flossing reduces) you have and cardiovascular health. First thought is that floss-ers just tend to be more healthy in general, but other health habits or the lack there of in many studies, did not correlate as strongly, meaning there is more significance to the flossing bit. They think that when you overload your mouth with them, some can get into your bloodstream and cause the same kind of inflammation in your blood vessels as it does in your mouth leading to all kinds of nastiness. It only take a few minutes and it can help prevent heart health decline, yeah I know everyone hates flossing, but just do it!

Day 16

2007-11-02T22:48:00.000-07:00

I worked a long day today, but that is ok, I love my new job! I felt really sluggish after my lunch (as usual), I think I need to make sure I eat slower. At dinner and when I eat lunch at home I always savor my food, talking, enjoying the family, and it takes at least 30-40mins and I feel fine after. Lunch is totally different on work days. I am still stuck in the mindset of my old job, where I was lucky if I had time to dash to the back room and inhale it standing in two or three fast, scarfing visits IF I wanted to eat at all. Here, it is a gov'ment job and I get a full hour. I try to walk most of it, but I also need to focus on my eating, I am still kind of inhaling it in like 5mins! It is nuts and so unhealthy. Next week I am going to take a book to work and devote 20 solid minutes to my consumption then walk right after to get my guts moving. I hope that will ease post-lunch energy crashing.

Today I ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of healthy whole grain cereal.
S1: fat free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 2 whole grain fig newtons, and 10 raw almonds.
L: homemade lamb tagine served over whole wheat couscous.
S2: 1 low fat mozzarella string cheese stick and 1 cup red grapes.
D: homemade black bean, corn, (5 other veggies and two fruits) & bacon soup.
S3: post workout snack 8oz kifer and desert was a slice of low-fat pumpkin pie, I splurged and had a scoop of low-fat vanilla ice cream on top of it.

Today I worked out:
Core workout in the stability ball, cardio, and as always, yoga!

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Remember to breathe! I know it sounds simple and it is not only very important, but very often forgotten about. It is important to keep breathing deeply and steadily during aerobic exercise (hint AEROBIC) but also it is important not to hold your breath during weight training, your body needs O2 to work properly, inhale deeply on release and exhale during the exertion portion of the weight lifting.

Day 15

2007-11-01T20:20:00.000-07:00

I picked up an extra swing shift today and had a splitting headache, but I still worked out. I made some new crazy lamb, eggplant, and apricot dish (sounds weird I know) and served it with couscous... it is interesting and very new to my taste buds but also it should be quite healthy.

Today I ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of healthy whole grain cereal.
S1: fat free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 2 whole grain fig newtons, and 10 raw almonds.
L: homemade black bean, corn, (5 other veggies and two fruits) & bacon soup.
S2: 12 low fat mozzarella string cheese stick.
D: homemade lamb tagine served over whole wheat couscous.
S3: post workout snack 8oz kifer and desert was a slice of low-fat pumpkin pie.

Today I worked out:
Core workout in the stability ball, lower body weight training, and of course, yoga!

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Try to avoid caffeine loading just prior to a workout, some people say this helps them sustain energy and raise their heart rate, however, it should be used in moderation because it is a diuretic it can cause profuse sweating and urination which leads to dehydration.

Day 14 - Week 2

2007-10-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

So today, totally bums me out. I know I know, I shouldn't let it get me down, and I am not even fixated on my scale, but man I was so happy last week when I lost 4lbs! This week I didn't lose or gain anything, just maintained, no weight or inches. *sigh* I just was hoping for more, but hey, only two weeks in and I am already starting to notice that my arms are getting stronger. In my yoga, they don't twitch and tremble like they did before in hand stands, so that is cool. Plus I am so much more energetic I should just ignore this weeks stats and keep going.
My spine is still upset at the location of that inflamed disc, so I tried just to not do anything to make it worse today. My hope is that if I am good and take it easy, it will get better faster and then won't be a huge setback. I just swam today, nothing more.

Today I ate:
B: 1 cup of 1% milk, 3/4 cup of healthy whole grain cereal.
S1: fat free 8oz yogurt smoothie, 2 whole grain fig newtons, and 15 raw almonds.
L: homemade wild rice, veggie, and broiled chicken casserole.
S2: 2 low fat mozzarella string cheese sticks.
D: homemade black bean, corn, (5 other veggies and two fruits) & bacon soup.
S3: post workout snack 8oz kifer and desert was a slice of low-fat pumpkin pie, one fun bag of M&Ms (bad evil M&Ms).

Today I worked out:
I did 40mins of aerobic swimming.

Fitness Tip of The Day:
Listen to your body, don't push yourself too hard or you will injure yourself. If it hurts while you are doing an exercise that is bad. That is not to be confused with post-lifting (24-72hrs later) lactic acid buildup which makes worked muscles feel sore nor the "burn" sensation your muscle feels just before fail during a lifting session.