I'm Sorry My Blog Reading Friends!

Man!  I am sorry for the lack of posting since November.  Man, that's lame that I have been slacking.  BUT, I haven't been slacking too much with the weight loss work.  As of this morning, I have 1/2 pound to lose to be down a total of 50 pounds.  Crazy!  But the work will not be over once I hit that mark, I will have about another 40-50 pounds to lose.  Oy Vey!  I know I can do it.  I just have to remember that it's going to take time. 
Things that have been helping with losing weight:
*Angie!  She is the biggest help in this whole endeavor.  Even though we can get off track from time to time, working together and encouraging each other has helped a lot. 
*Vagner - he has helped motivate me A LOT over the past couple of months, especially seeing how well he is doing with his own weight loss.
*Mom - can't lecture her about what she needs to do if I'm not doing it myself, right?  She is doing great, even with recovering from knee surgery.  Keep going Mom!
*Not eating out as often.  I have been trying to either eat at home or take my lunch with me to work.  When I do eat out, I try to look for healthier options.  Sushi is the best for this!  Not the fried sushi, the other good stuff (okay, yes fried sushi is good too but not that good for you!). 
*Trying to get at least 60 minutes of exercise a day.  I LOVE that I can work out for a half hour after my lunch break @ work.  That helps a lot.  Lately I have been enjoying doing Jillian Michael's DVDs again, such as 30 Day Shred and Burn Fat Boost Metabolism.  She kicks my trash and I LOVE it!
*Tracking calories!  Tracking what you eat totally helps.  I have noticed that my weight loss is best when I am actively tracking calories.  Helps me plan my meals throughout the day and also gives me encouragement to increase my activity level when my calories are a little higher than my goal range.

Come one, come all (well size 10s at least!)

Have I got a deal for you!  Things have been going pretty well weight loss wise for the past month.  I have dropped a total of 11 pounds since I started focusing on my weight loss again at the end of September.  Overall that gives me a 30 pound weight loss (woot woot!).  But I have a long way to go to make it to my goal to be able to go on my cruise (and also to be healthier, feel better in my own body, you know all the other benefits of losing the weight).  I've decided that I need a little additional motivation to get back on track after just getting home from a vacation (I actually gained about 5 pounds with this vacation, I was down 35 pounds before my week vacation to Texas.  Darn that Mexican food, BBQ, and desserts!) and to stay on track throughout the Thanksgiving holiday.  Anyone that knows me really well knows that I LOVE shoes, especially pretty and flashy high heel shoes. I mean this week when I was visiting Houston, I coveted after some beautiful Jimmy Choo shoes for days. They were purple and teal blue, had feathers, jewels, etc, etc. They are a Jillian's dream come true.  Let me just give you a visual display of some eye candy. 

I mean come on!  They are beautiful.  Okay, back to reality.  So I am thinking that I need to put out a wager to keep me motivated.  I have these awesome pink high heel shoes that I absolutely LOVE.  They are my Carrie Bradshaw-esque shoes.  I feel like a million bucks every time I wear them.  So here's the wager.  I HAVE to lose another 5 pounds by the 30th of November or else I will give these beautiful size 10 shoes to whomever posts first on here for dibs.  Luckily for me, I know I can do this and keep my beautiful pink shoes.  I will keep them. 

Current Weight:  249#
Total Weight Loss:  30#
Total % Weight Loss:  11%
GOAL:  Weight to be at 244# by midnight on 11/30/2011

Who wants my pretty pink shoes (as shown above) if I mess up?  Let me know!  Here's to hoping I keep these beauties! 

Week 1 Results, 33 more weeks to go until my ship sets sail!

Of course I am a little bit off schedule with reporting my weight loss for the first week.  What's new, right?  So the end of the first week was on Tuesday.  I am excited to report that my weight was at 255#!  The exclamation mark is included because my overall goal was to be down to 256# minimum, and I am less than that.  It was fun to go to Weight Watchers and have the person checking my weight tell me that I did great.  I told him the number was even better when I didn't have any clothes on.  He replied telling me that he would be facing a lot of law suits if they had us take off our clothes.  Here is what I have been focusing on this last week to achieve my weight loss:

- Track intake:  I have been using the Weight Watchers food tracker online for this.  I like their tracker but I have to admit that I enjoy FatSecret.com a little bit more.  FatSecret has a larger database including more restaurants than the food database for Weight Watchers.  But I still like Weight Watchers and will keep using it, especially since I paid for it. 

- Exercise exercise!  I have been trying to make sure I get at least a 1/2 hour each day.  But this past week I have been able to get at least an hour each day except for a couple (Friday and Sunday).  I have been focusing mostly on cardio again but also strength training to tone things up too.  There is a new workout video kicking my trash this week.  It's Jillian Michaels Fat Burn Boost Metabolism.  It is hard core and I've been very sore all week.  Jillian Michaels and I are having a love/ hate relationship.  My coworker gave me the great idea to say "VIVA ITALIA!" every time I want to give up while getting my butt kicked by Jillian. 

- Limit the eating out.  Mostly this has helped me stay in my calorie goal range.  But it has also been quite pleasant on my wallet.  Love that! 

There you have it my friends.  I am going to keep this going.  Thank you also to all of you for sharing what you have been doing too.  It helps to know that other people are out there working towards the same goal too.  I know you all can do it.  Here is an inspirational video to help push you along.........................

http://youtu.be/eaIvk1cSyG8

Now I am going to go ride my stationary bike! 

P.S.  Here is a great quote I got from Weight Watchers on Wednesday.  "Weight loss is not about perfection.  Weight loss is about persistence." 

The clock is ticking....tick tock!

So for those of you who have been following my blog from the very beginning, you know that Angie and I have a goal to go to Italy when we reach our final weight loss goal.  Well, we both really want to reach our goal weights.  We both also really really want to go to Italy.  The time has come to actually put an expiration date on this trip and we have found the cruise to do just that.  Tonight we both put down a deposit for a 7 night Mediterranean cruise which will be leaving on May 20th, 2012.  The cruise will leave from Rome, Italy (ROME!) and then have ports in Messina (Sicily) Italy, Ephesus Turkey (I've already been there but I am okay to visit again), Athens Greece (ATHENS!), Crete Greece, and back to Rome.  Here is just a glimpse of where we could go.......

Messina Italy!

So here's what HAS to happen before we pay our final payment in March 2012.  We both have to be down to a certain weight before we will pay for the whole cruise.  To save our spot, we had to put down a $250 deposit that is refundable.  So if we aren't to a good weight by March then we will pull out of the cruise and be super sad.  We aren't going to go on the cruise looking like this...................................

The cruise is going to be our celebration for losing the weight.  Plus it is going to be A LOT of work from here on out.  The cruise will be a great treat (better than awarding ourselves with food!).  I have officially joined Weight Watchers which includes me going to weekly meetings with a friend of mine.  Also I am having my coworker check my weight at the beginning of the week and at the end of the week.  She is super skinny and in shape and she is going to keep me on track because it will be embarrassing to not be losing weight with her checking it.  My work is also going to start giving us time to work out for a half hour on our lunch break,, this is time I would be silly not to utilize. So I have no excuses.  I have to check in to people IN PERSON which should be motivation enough to keep me on track.  Plus I really want to go on this trip.  And I want to be able to wear a cute swimming suit like this.......................................................................

In exactly eight months from now I plan to be down an overall 100 pounds.  Right now I am at 258#, which is an overall 21# weight loss since the beginning of my weight loss competition with Angie.  This means I need to lose 78# to be at my overall goal.  To make things even/fair between Angie and I with losing weight by our trip, we have figured out that I need to lose a minimum of 60#.  But I would LOVE to lose the full 78# to be down to 180# by our trip. As I have told some people about my goal, they think it's crazy to be down 78# in 8 months, but 2.3# per week (that will be my goal to acheive this) is considered a healthy weight loss.  When I started my weight loss competition on May 20th, 2010 I had lost 30# by my birthday on July 20th, 2010.  That was only 2 months!  This is doable.  This is attainable.  And I am investing a lot into it. 

Thank you all for your help and support in this endeavor.  You all are the best!  Next week I will be reporting my weight at least at 256# (hopefully more!).  See you on the skinnier side of things. 

With A Little Help From My Friends!

First, The Beatles are awesome.  I don't really need to expand on this.  We all know it, so enough said.  Second, friends and family and coworkers and everyone else are awesome (almost even more than The Beatles).  I have had such great support and encouragement from you all this past week and I appreciate it SO MUCH.  It's amazing what you can accomplish with a little help from your friends.  I've had people offer to go to the ballet class with me.  I have a friend that is going to possibly sign up for Weight Watchers with me so we can force each other to go to the weekly meetings and weigh ins.  I went to dinner twice this weekend with friends and we went to places with healthier options.  I went hiking twice this past week (see pictures below) with a friend.  And my friend and I are going to check in each night this next week just to keep the motivation going ALL week long.  So, the ground work has been laid, now it's just time to get to work!  This last week was good to figure out everything I need to do and when and how I need to do it each and everyday.  I also lost 1#, so current weight is 259#.  As I said before, slow and steady wins the race and this time I will finish the race because you all are so inspiring and helpful.  If you need a little help from your friends to get motivated with something, don't be afraid to ask.  If you have such great friends as I do, you'd be amazed at the things they are willing to do to help support you.  Thank you thank you thank you!  

These are both from a hike that I took with Angie to The Living Room.  The hike itself wasn't the prettiest except for the VIEW!  Hiking this last week has made me appreciate living in such a beautiful place.  Sorry the pictures are blurry, they were taken with my phone.  I am red in the picture from exhaustion (it was HOT!) and the sunset.

Where does the time go????

This has been a busy summer so far.  I can't believe it is already August 14th.  This summer has mostly been consumed by taking a boards exam to become an IBCLC (international board certified lactation consultant).  I started studying for this test in April and finally took the test on July 24th.  As I was studying I definitely let things go in the working out and exercising department.  Along with many other things, I kept telling myself that I would get back on track with this "after the test".  I am sure my family and friends got sick of hearing me say that I would do this and that "after the test".  In fact I kind of got sick of hearing myself say that. 

So now it is "after the test" and I still am not back on track.  I went to a family reunion and even though we try to have healthy things there, we always end up eating a lot.  So I told myself that I would get back on track after that.  And to be quite honest, I didn't.  Instead last week I was very lazy.  I ate out WAY WAY too much.  I didn't exercise until the end of the week, and that exercising was more of a social thing than just exercising for health (Disclaimer, even though it was social, it was also intense and I realized how out of shape I am.  3 hour hike up Bells Canyon.  Walked in a Relay for Life team for 2 hours in the middle of the night on Friday.  Oh yeah!).  Well the excuses have to stop.  There will always be a reason not to work out or to eat that extra serving.  In fact there will always be something that I can say, "after _____, I will get back on track".  I am right now at 260#. Yup, sucks. Since this time last year, I have gained about 11 pounds (my lowest weight I got to was 249# last fall sometime). This is all due to lack of motivation and giving myself stupid excuses.  I hate putting my weight up on my blog for all my friends and family and people that stalk my blog to see.  But there is no time to be sad, the weight will come off again. PLUS, I have to be happy to not have gone back up to 279# with all the lack of exercising and eating right that I've been doing pretty much since January.  So it's got to stop and today is my last day of being a lazy bum.

My friends of the blogging world (which pretty much all of you are part of my real life world too, love ya!) it's time that I start checking in with you again on a weekly basis.  When I was blogging consistently, I was doing really good overall and losing the weight.  So I need you all, whether you read it or not weekly that's your prerogative, to check in with.  If by some chance I don't update my blog each Sunday night, then I want you to harass me.  Comment on my facebook, send me a text or e-mail, give me a harsh dirty look when I see you, tell me how disappointed you were to not see my update.  Do what you wish, I need it. 

Here are the other things I plan to do to get back on track:
- Use Fatsecret again on my fancy phone (one of the main reasons I use a smart phone) to track my eating.
- I am going to update my embarrassing poster at work each and every Friday.  (Yes Angie, I think we should do it each Friday and not Tuesday.  Let me know what you think about that.)
- More physical activity.  I need minimum 30 minutes each and every day.  Overall goal would be 90 minutes at least 4 times/ week. 
- I am actually going to check out a Weight Watchers group.  I need someone to check in with on a routine basis where I have to weigh in right in front of them. 
- There is a couple of continuing education classes (Adult Ballet, starts on September 1st for anyone interested in joining me.) that I plan on starting.
- And again and most important, updating my blog EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY!

So there we have it friends.  It all begins when I wake up in the morning.  I had a delicious, not so healthy dinner to fill my canteen.  I ate some better than sex cake and now will probably donate the rest to either my boyfriend, roommate, coworkers, the garbage disposal, or anyone else that wants it.  I don't even want to figure out the calories on that.  :) 

Word of the day is..............

Foodie

What is a foodie you ask?  Well there are many definitions.  Here are some examples:

The Definition of Foodie From Wikipedia
Foodie is an informal term for a particular class of aficionado of food and drink. The word was coined in 1981 by Paul Levy and Ann Barr, who used it in the title of their 1984 book The Official Foodie Handbook.

Distinguished from gourmet.  Although the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, foodies differ from gourmets in that gourmets are epicures of refined taste who may or may not be professionals in the food industry, whereas foodies are amateurs who simply love food for consumption, study, preparation, and news.  Gourmets simply want to eat the best food, whereas foodies want to learn everything about food, both the best and the ordinary, and about the science, industry, and personalities surrounding food.

Typical foodie interests and activities include the food industry, wineries and wine tasting, breweries and beer sampling, food science, following restaurant openings and closings, food distribution, food fads, health and nutrition, and restaurant management. A foodie might develop a particular interest in a specific item, such as the best egg cream or burrito. Many publications have food columns that cater to foodies. Interest by foodies in the 1980s and 1990s gave rise to the Food Network (one of the many reasons why I don't have cable!) and other specialized food programming, popular films and television shows about food such as Top Chef and Iron Chef, a renaissance in specialized cookbooks, specialized periodicals such as Gourmet Magazine and Cook's Illustrated, growing popularity of farmers' markets, food-oriented websites like Zagat's and Yelp, publishing and reading food blogs, specialized kitchenware stores like Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table (I love to look around stores like this and dream of when someday I'll have my own kitchen), and the institution of the celebrity chef (love me some Rachel Ray and The Take Home Chef, Curtis Brown!)

The Definition of Foodie From Urban Dictionary:
1.  A foodie is not necessarily a food snob, only enjoying delicacies and/or food items difficult to obtain and/or expensive foods; though, that is a variety of foodie.

2. Simply put, a foodie is someone who loves everything there is to know or learn about food.
3.  A foodie is a person who loves or has a deep admiration for food and eating food. Does not necessarily have to be fat, but like eating. They might feel happy or very at peace when being around food.

4.  If you like food, you are a foodie.


So why am I giving the definition of a foodie?  Well a couple of weeks ago, I came to the realization that I AM A FOODIE.  There, I have completed the first step, admittance.  While driving to the Jazz basketball game, one of my friends and I pointed out restaurant after restaurant for places we liked to go, wanted to go, or recommended never to go.  Countless times, my friends and I have discussed making a list to put in our cars or purses for restaurants in the SLC area that we would like to eat at.  Many times, my weekend activities revolve around food.  Hardly ever do my friends and I spend time together without going to get something to eat.  I just got a community education booklet for classes offered this summer and of the 5 classes I am interested in attending, 2 are about food. 

I think my foodie characteristic is something that I need to change to help me be successful in my weight loss goals.  This past week and a half I have been sick w/ bronchitis, a sinus infection, and double ear infection (refer to my previous blog post on my feelings about this).  With being sick, I actually have not eaten out except for one day w/ my coworkers for lunch.  It's been like my foodie has been buried under a pile of Puffs Plus tissues.  With not eating out so much, I have saved A LOT of money over the past week or so.  I also have lost quite a bit of weight since all that I have at home are healthy food options.  I have lost 4 pounds in the last week with being home sick.  I haven't been able to work out, but the weight has still come off with eating better.  That makes me happy and makes me realize how important it is to limit eating out.  But, can I keep the foodie in me pushed aside for very long?  That is a good question. 

 

Here are some solutions I came up with to tame the foodie inside me.  I am going to suggest to friends that we eat on our own before activities.  Or I can even meet up with them AFTER they get done with going to dinner/ lunch/ brunch/ etc.  If we do want to eat together, maybe we could just cook together.  I have a huge dining room table, we might as well use it.  When eating out, I could possibly share my entrees w/ my friends which would result in an automatic caloric intake reduction and portion control.  Also I can again try to make the better decisions on what I eat when eating out.  I could choose a salad w/ dressing on the side instead of pizza.  In general, I want to eat out only 1-2 times/ week.  This should be easier now that I live close to work and eat lunch at home when working.  I will then utilize the above solutions to help take care of eating out for dinner.  We'll see how this goes.  If this doesn't work than I may need to start a Foodies Anonymous group to overcome my foodie characteristics.