GRATITUDE

First, weigh in time!

Week 7 Weight Loss = 1#
Total Weight Loss = 16#
Week 7 % Weight Loss = 0.3%
Total % Weight Loss = 5.84%

So this week was once again a lower weight loss week, which I am okay with.  As of Sunday when I peeked at the scale it was looking really really scary.  I was actually up on my weight from the week before.  That was no good, so I worked out a lot on Monday in hopes of just maintaining my weight.  Luckily I was able to drop an additional pound instead.  One of the greatest parts of today was that I actually had a double weigh in.  Which normally is not a good thing, but it is when you are getting paid money for one of them.  My work has a program called Healthy Lifestyles where we track our exercise.  The program also involves getting points for doctor visits, dentist visits, wearing your seat belt, and they have random challenges dealing with healthy eating/ exercise.  The points that you accumulate equal money at the end of the year.  So this year I got a lot of points for all of the exercise that I have been doing, then I got points for losing weight, improving my cholesterol, body fat %, BMI, and improving my blood sugars.   So ROCK ON for this competition.  Not only is it helping me get healthier, it's also helping me fatten my wallet. 

*Disclaimer paragraph:  The reason why I didn't lose very much weight during Week 7 is due to lack of exercise.  I did not work out on Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday.  Friday I just went for a short walk on my lunch break, so I really wouldn't count that either.  The reality was that I didn't find time to fit it into my schedule.  I had a lot of social activities going on and let my working out suffer.  So I still need to figure out how to do both some more.  Now onto what I wanted to write about.*

Gratitude.  It's always good to list things that you are grateful for.  It helps you realize what you already have, when in our world it is so easy to think you need more.  I work in a field where I encounter a lot of people with health problems that affect their lives.  Today I saw a child who was born with spina bifida and has problems with growing properly, developing, and he can't walk.  It was so sad to see his condition, but his attitude was AMAZING for a child so young with so many physical problems.  So, I have decided that even though I don't have a perfect body, I want to list 5 things about my body that I am grateful for.

1.  I have two feet that I can use on a daily basis, whenever I want.  They help me run, dance, jump, skip, zumba, etc, etc.  I can paint my toenails fun, funky colors.  They look great in almost every shoe out there.  And boy do I LOVE shoes! 

2.  My legs are strong.  They support a lot of weight on them on a daily basis but never seem to give out.  My legs do burn A LOT when I do hard activities (like a hike) but they get me to where I need to go and they help me burn a lot of calories through the activities I do.  I believe my legs are one of the greatest assets to my weight loss so far. 

3.  I have a healthy stomach that can tolerate a variety of foods.  I only have a few select foods that I can't eat without pain.  I can enjoy healthy foods that can nourish my body and provide the energy that I need for daily activities and exercise.  I don't have to have medications to help me utilize what I eat, I have a good stomach for that.  (I work with people on a daily basis who struggle finding foods that won't make their children sick.  In the hospital, I worked with people who's stomachs never worked properly, and they had to be fed by tubes, special formulas as adults, etc.)

4.  My arms and hands, I don't like how they look (yet!) but they work properly.  I use them ALL the time when I am talking.  I use them in the "women's only" weight room at the gym to do some of my favorite free weight exercises.  They help me look more graceful during zumba class or when I am doing a happy dance at work.  My arms carry my most precious belongings.  They help me hug and hold those I love and care for.  And I rarely ever have cold hands. 

5.  My neck.  My neck has got me through a lot during my 26 years of life.  It holds my big head (I had one of the biggest heads in my graduating class when we were measured for caps and gowns.  Big head = large brain) on straight during stressful situations.  It helps me keep my head up high when I don't succeed to my best abilities when it would be easier to just let my head hang down.   My neck supports my head when it wants to float above the clouds on a good day or when I am really happy and excited.

So even though I am trying to improve my body, I have truly been blessed with a wonderful body.  I am grateful that I have a body that I can use to it's full potential.  I am grateful that my body is endures pain and struggles to help me succeed in my weight loss adventures.  I want to treat my body with respect and allow it to be as beautiful as it should be.  Why are you grateful for your body?  I hope you all can find at least 5 or more reasons why you are grateful for your body.  Every body is beautiful in it's own way.  We need to embrace that.

Okay enough with the cheesiness, sorry. So it's onto Week 8.  Let's see what my body does for me this next week.  I'll check back in with you next Tuesday.  Good luck in all that you are doing and working on! 

The pictures in this post are some of my favorite advertisements from NIKE.

Good Article about Burning More Calories on the Treadmill. Enjoy!

I read this article in the Shine section of Yahoo today (6/25/2010) and really enjoyed it.  Thought I should share it with all of you. 

How to Burn More Calories on the Treadmill
by FitSugar, on Tue Jun 22, 2010 10:10am PDT

Whether the hot humid weather has made running outside impossible, or you're a gym rat by nature, running on a treadmill is a great way to burn calories, keep your heart healthy, and tone up your lower body. If you want more from your workouts, try these tips the next time you hop on the moving belt.

1.  Bring Hills Indoors - Pumping up the incline will not only help prevent shin splints, but it also tones your tush, thighs, and calves while burning extra calories. After a 30-minute workout at a 10-minute-per-mile pace, you'll burn 270 calories with no incline, 363 with a five percent incline, 420 with a 10 percent incline, and 482 with a 15 percent incline (crazy steep, I know).

2.  Slow and Steady Doesn't Always Win the Race - On long, slow runs when you need to take it easy, it's great to travel along at a consistent pace. But during your intense workouts, take advantage of intervals. By alternating between running a few minutes at a moderate pace, and throwing in sprinting bursts, you'll end up burning more calories, building your endurance, and becoming a faster, stronger runner. Not to mention, intervals have also been proven to fight belly fat.

3.  I Think I Can, I Think I Can - Whether you prefer chugging along at a consistent speed or doing intervals, to get the most out of your workouts, you've got to make continued progress. One way to do that is to gradually increase your speed. Don't jump from 10-minute miles to eight-minute miles because you could seriously hurt yourself. Instead increase your pace just slightly so your body has time to adjust.

4.  Compete Against Friends (or Strangers) -If you hit the gym with a buddy, do your workouts on side-by-side treadmills. You can use one another's energy for motivation to run faster or longer than you would if you were alone. If you're at the gym solo, find a stranger on a treadmill to secretly race with.

5.  No Need to Hold On For Dear Life - You should be moving at a pace that's fast enough to get your heart and muscles working, but not so speedy that you have to hold on in order to prevent falling. When you release your grasp of the handles, it allows you to swing your arms, which will not only burn more calories, but will also tone your core and upper body. Holding on can also contribute to bad posture, which can lead to back and shoulder pain.

HOLY SHAMOLE........But hold the guacamole this time! :)

So it's that time again.  A Tuesday night at about 10:00pm and time to report how things are progressing in my weight loss adventure.  Here we go!!!!

Week 6
Week 6 Weight Loss = 1.5 pounds
Week 6 % Body Weight Loss = 0.547%
Total Weight Loss = 15 pounds
Total % Body Weight Loss = 5.48% 

Again.......HOLY SHAMOLE!!!!!!
*To those who didn't know me in college, this was an amazing phrase that I actually picked up from my grandmother when I visited her while in college.  It was a phrase that I used frequently but somehow have lost over the years.  I am glad to be able to reintroduce it back in my life again.*    P.S.  Guacamole is a good source of dietary fat because it comes from a plant source (avocados) but if you are watching calories it can be a calorie trap.  So eat in moderation!  ;)


1.5 pounds lost is great in one week.  15 pounds lost in 6 weeks is awesome.  Losing 5.48% of your body weight in 6 weeks feels fantastic.  Getting out of the 260s weight range = PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!  I don't remember the last time I was in the 250s.  For a year I worked out with my trainer, and I never made it below the 260s.  I definitely would say that it's been well over 3 years since I can remember being in that weight range.  But don't worry, I am NOT going to stay in the 250s for very long.  It's all downhill from here. 

A lot of people have been asking lately what exactly I have been doing to maintain my weight loss.  It's a huge combination of a lot of things.  So I thought I would list out what is working well so far. 

What I've Been Doing to Maintain The Weight Loss:
1.  Try to be physically active on a daily basis.  Whether it is going to the gym, spending time outdoors, adding physical activity to the daily life (park further away from the door, etc), all of these things can add up.  If I can't make it to the gym (which I can't every single day) I look for ways to increase my activity level.  Burn calories, burn!

2.  Pay attention to my food choices.  Is the donut really worth the calories?  Can I enjoy a bowl of strawberries even more?  There are amazingly delicious foods out there that are healthy and tasty.  So I've been trying to choose those over the ones that are just tasty.  It's helped me stick to my calorie range, while still allowing me the joys of eating.

3.  Allow yourself to have the donut every once in a while.  Everything is okay to eat in moderation.  We dietitian's teach that concept ALL THE TIME!  I am just a dietitian that had troubles practicing that concept.  I've just had to teach myself that I can have one donut and not a whole dozen.  In the past I have definitely allowed myself to eat very large servings of foods that aren't the best for me.  So now, instead of completely avoiding foods all together I am working on having them in moderation and as an occasional treat.  I enjoyed the small ice cream sundae last weekend very much! 

4.  Making it public has helped me keep the motivation to press forward.  The fact that so many people are following the blog has really helped me stay on task the majority of the time.  My coworkers help keep me on task daily and weekly as they ask me how it is going, follow the updates on the competition poster, and comment about the changes that they can see already (my clothes are starting to get more baggy).  I also agree with Angie (my friend/ roomie/ competition cohort) that different people have been placed in my life at this time to help me be successful in this endeavor.  It's the little things that people say and do that are really adding up to help me keep my motivation to continually work towards my goal.  My thanks go out to you all.  Thank you for allowing me to make these changes in my life.  Special thanks go out to those who want to walk beside me and improve their lives too.

Now for the ugly part of my motivation.  PRIDE!  I'm a pretty stubborn girl from time to time and I also stay motivated because I don't want to embarrass myself by having to report a bad week to you all.  I know that bad week or month will come sometime in the future.  Everyone plateaus during weight loss, but I really will try to push myself harder to keep face.   I'm tired of being the "fat dietitian".  It's hard to work in a health field all about nutrition when I don't look like a good role model.  So my pride, even though pride can be a bad thing, will keep me motivated to continue also.

5.  The goals and rewards!  I have some personal goals and rewards that I am working towards to help me keep on track during this journey.  Little ones include fitting into the "skinnier" clothes that I have in my closet.  Like I've said in previous posts, I have to be able to run a 5k for my family reunion in July.  As of right now I can run a mile without stopping.  That's much better than 6 weeks ago when I could barely run for 5 minutes at 4 miles per hour, but I still have a ways to go.  One of my bigger goals is to go skydiving when I am comfortably within the weight limit range.  The three of us involved in the "Unleash The Skinny Girls" competition are going to work on making some incremental goals to strive towards along our competition journey.  But we are going to make it so that when all three of us reach the goal we can reap the rewards, that way it will keep us motivated individually and as a team.

So there you have it.  The 5 bigger things that are keeping me in this journey.  I think I can sum it all up in one sentence (don't you wish I would've just put this at the beginning so you wouldn't have to read such a long post?). 

Jillian's Weight loss Mission Statement:

To successfully lose weight, I need to keep focused on the finish line, put in the effort, get back on track when I fall off, utilize the strength and support of those around me, continue to discover my own self worth, have faith in God's purpose for me, and I will succeed.  

On to week 7! 
Good luck to you all! 
Till next Tuesday!

This Is My Confession............

FIVE WEEKS DOWN and weight to report again.  You are probably thinking that I have bad news to report per the title of this post but it actually wasn't too bad this week considering what else I have to report. 

Week 5 Weight Loss = 3 pounds
Week 5 % Weight Loss = 1.14%
Total Weight Loss = 13.5 pounds
Total % Weight Loss = 4.94%

Another WOOHOOO week.  But as I said before,  I do have some confessions to make.  It has been awesome to hear from close and distant friends about how reading my blog has inspired and motivated them.  Which I am grateful for because it overall has really inspired and motivated me to keep progressing and trying to make you all proud.  BUT I did have some downfalls during week 5 that I am not very proud of.  So here it is..................MY CONFESSION:

I did really well Tuesday thru Thursday.  Worked out really well on Tuesday and Wednesday and followed my calorie limits really well too.  Thursday I had a great workout doing Zumba and free weights with my mom when she was in town.  Plus, even though my mom and I were playing all day, we choose healthy choices when we were eating out and kept within our goal range for calories.  Then things turned for the worse.  Friday and Saturday I didn't work out at ALL!  I was planning to work out on Friday night after work but instead I went out to dinner with a friend (I ate a bacon blue cheese hamburger, sweet potato fries (which I shared!), onion rings, finished off with a German chocolate brownie - yup went WAY over my calorie limits) and then I went to a coworkers party (had a couple bites of their delicious food), and then went to a movie.  So YUP, no working out on Friday.  Saturday was followed by sleeping in until I went car browsing with my parents, shopping and to lunch with Ashley, and then to dinner and a movie with a group of friends.  Everything was back to back on Saturday, so I didn't fit in working out again AND I ate poorly too.  Way over my calorie range once again.  I was very disappointed with myself by Sunday morning.  My predictions for the weigh in for Week 5 was looking very bleak! 

So what did I do?  I watched my calories and food choices closer on Sunday and went for a walk.  Then I definitely watched my calories and food choices on Monday and worked out hard core at Zumba and rode the stationary bike for a half hour after.  I think the best thing that I did was realize my downfalls for the week and then I decided to pick it up and start over again the next day.  Weight loss is like that.  You have to expect that every once in a while you are going to slip up.  Plus so you don't go crazy, you DO have to indulge every once in a while too.  The most important thing to do is realize that tomorrow is another day.  Yes, you may have to try harder for the next couple of days but it is possible to recover from bad days.  It's like the phrase from a song, "if at first you don't succeed, brush yourself off and try again.  Brush yourself off and try again, try again, try again."  And that's the plan everyone.  I'm going to just keep on trying and hopefully will get lucky from time to time again after I do slip up every once in a while.   

10.5 and going to keep going strong.......just got to avoid the road blocks!

So it is check in time for Week 4 of the Unleash the Skinny Girls competition on The Biggest Loser Named Jillian Show.  Time to tell you all my current weight, pounds lost, and % weight loss.  It's much better than last week and I AM SO EXCITED TO TELL YOU ALL!

Beginning Weight = 274#
Current Weight = 263.5#
Week 4 Weight Loss = 4#
Total Weight Loss = 10.5#
Week 4 % Weight Loss = 1.49%
Total % Weight Loss = 3.83%

WoooHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am SO happy to be able to say that in 4 weeks I have been able to lose 10.5 pounds.  It makes me even happier to report that I have done it all on my own using the education and knowledge that I have as a Registered Dietitian.  I've always known what I need to do, but I just haven't done it.  So I definitely plan to continue to use my knowledge and background to hopefully continue with the great success. 

But there have been some road blocks that I am working on and I foresee coming in the future. 

Current Road Blocks:

1.  This past week I vowed to stop drinking soda.  I currently have not had a soda since May 31st.  It has actually been hard too.  My bestie and I have a tradition to do Kate and Jillian hanging out on Saturday morning and afternoons and I usually always get a Diet Coke while we are out and about.  This last Saturday I wanted one SO BAD but I resisted.  Sadly the headache has settled in, which usually happens after going off caffeine, and is not getting any better.  In fact it keeps getting worse each day.  I am very prone to migraines which usually the only thing that can help is a diet coke, some Excedrin Migraine medication, and a nap.  So I am crossing my fingers that I won't get a migraine and the headache will just start going away.  Luckily I am pretty tough, so I should be able to tough it out.  Current goal is to go 2 weeks with no soda, then 3, then 1 month, then 6 months, then one year, and so on. 

2.  My crazy schedule.  I know I am single and living on my own, so it should be easy to find time to go to the gym.  It's actually been hard and I feel like I have been giving some things up to go to the gym.  Between work, church activities, and socializing with current friends and making new friends it has been hard to prioritize what should come first, those activities or the gym.  I've squeezed in working out in between stuff, learned to say no to different activities and social opportunities so I can go to the gym, and left things early so I can fit in a work out that day.  Hopefully people aren't feeling neglected and if you are, I'm sorry.  This is still kind of a transitional period and I am hoping to overall just develop into an overall more active lifestyle with my friends to be able to do both at the same time.  I want daily physical activity to become a necessity that I can carry through the rest of my life.  That way when I have a family, it will be a priority that can enrich my life and my family's life.

Future Road Blocks To Hopefully Avoid:

1.  Motivation.  Yikes!  We all hate that word from time to time.  I think that was one of my biggest obstacles to doing this whole weight loss thing a long time ago.  Ever since my mid-sophomore year in college to now I have known what I needed to do to lose weight, I just lacked the motivation to do it.  I do worry that I may lose the motivation to keep working at losing weight.  But I hopefully have a plan that can help.  With the Unleash the Skinny Girls Competition, I am hoping that we can set some small specific goals and prizes/ rewards to keep us working towards weight loss.  Some ideas I've had are, once we all lose 15 pounds (everyone has to be down 15 pounds too) we will go and get a massage together.  Little things like that to keep us going.  Other things I want to do to help motivate me are physical goals.  I need to be able to run a 5K by the first weekend in August for our family reunion, my good friend (Tagen) and I are going to walk a marathon on Labor Day weekend, and I would love to be able to hike Angels Landing by the fall too (without dying of course!).  Another good goal I have is to be able to wear my cute skinny clothes again.  I have a whole shelf in my closet that has some pants, skirts, and dresses that I used to be able to wear that I want to wear again.

2.  Plateaus!!!!  Those are the worst nightmare for someone wanting to lose weight.  I am hoping to get through the plateaus by switching up my exercise routine and also my eating habits.  Plateaus do scare me.  I would like to do some research and see if there is any particular reason why everyone hits a plateau while losing weight.  If I find anything interesting to report, I'll let you know.

Plan For Week 5 to keep up the momentum:
      Continue to work out on a daily basis.
      Interval Cardio Training for at least 60 minutes
      Light-moderate weight strength training with multiple reps at least 3 times/ week
      Drink LOTS of water
      Keep under or at my calorie goal range, 1600-1800 calories daily
      NO SODA!!!!!
      More sleep
      Be sure to stick to the plan on the weekends!!!!!!  (That is when I seem to falter the most!)

I Feel Like I Cheated Because I Enjoyed It SO MUCH.......

So tonight I had a last minute change of plans that made it so I needed to go to the gym instead of exercising outside.  Sometimes the gym just seems so drab and repetitive, especially on a nice beautiful evening.  At the gym you see the same people.  You hear the same songs.  You smell the same sweaty muggy smells.  It is definitely not one of my favorite places to be.  BUT...................tonight I found the inspiration and motivation to stay at the gym a whole hour longer than normal. 

TA DA!!!!!

So You Think You Can Dance
(Disclaimer:  Do not judge me for being obsessed with this show.  I have danced ever since I was a little girl.  Dance has always been a big part of my life and will always be a big part of my life.  I LOVE dance!)

Yes, that's right.  A television show kept me at the gym an hour longer than I normal would have stayed.  Tonight's episode was 2 hours long.  I knew I wanted to watch it, but I also knew I needed to go to the gym.  So a little light came on in my head and reminded me that my gym has individual TVs on the cardio equipment.  So I was able to do both!  I was literally planning to only stay for an hour and then watch the rest at home.  But the show was great, my workout was going good, so I stayed.  Yay!  Now an additional game plan that I will be implementing is that if I am planning to watch a television show (I LOVE So You Think You Can Dance, so I will be watching it all summer!) by myself at home I will instead watch it by myself at the gym.  Then I can kill two birds (and hopefully multiple pounds!) with one stone.  I know a lot of you are thinking, "I already do that silly", but this is just going to be another small thing that I want to do to help keep me going to the same old smelly, repetitive gym.  It's all about small adjustments that make the big overall picture better. 

I Traveled Down 1.5 pounds......

So week 3 was a bit of a test for me.  I went on vacation to Las Vegas and St. George for Memorial Day weekend.  Usually a trip will equal maintaining or gaining weight.  Luckily I lost 1.5 pounds this week.  That is definitely not as good as last week, but I am very happy with it.  So my new current weight is 267.5 pounds.  Overall I have lost 6.5 pounds in 3 weeks.  My total % weight loss is 2.4%.  I am actually very happy with that.  I know a lot of you are thinking that may not be a very rapid weight loss, but considering I have been at the same weight for the past year I am very excited.  Plus, there are only 3.5 pounds left until I am down 10 pounds.  I am excited to see 10 pounds go!  So I want to talk about my trip and how the my whole Biggest Loser Named Jillian Show influenced my trip and my small but good weight loss.

What Helped Me Lose Weight On the Trip:

1st - Limited the snacks and junk food on the car drive.  Typically I consume things such as candy of all shapes and varieties, chips, soda pop, Granny B's big ol' pink frosted sugar cookie, etc, etc.  This time all I had was some fresh pineapple, 100 calorie Pringles Packs (I only ate one pack!), one red vine, Diet Coke (I was the only driver, had to get a little extra pep!), and lots of water. 

2nd - I was conscious of what I ate when we ate out.  We definitely avoided the buffets in Vegas, deadly calorie trap!  I tried to get some veggies or fruits in each of my meals, and limited the sweets and desserts.  We ate at some great restaurants, such as Yard House (had grilled chicken and steamed rice and vegetables), Raffles in Mandalay Bay (Stuffed French Toast which is high in calories w/ turkey bacon), Subway (no condiments or cheese please!), and Cafe Rio (I only ate 1/4 of the salad). 

3rd - I tried to be active each day on the trip.  We walked a lot on Saturday in Vegas, swam at our hotel pool and did some water aerobics, and hiked the 2nd most strenuous hike (Hidden Canyon) in Zions.

4th - My friends were VERY supportive on the whole trip!   Stacey and Angie helped me keep on track in the car - restaurants - casinos - etc, Bo and Ed made us a healthy dinner and were encouraging during our hike to just keep going and endure to the end.

What  I Can Do Better On the Next Trip to Lose MORE Weight:

1st - Limit the SODA!  In all reality I need to just cut out the soda in my life completely.  I always justify Diet Coke by the fact that it is calorie free.  What I need to think about is how much better water is for me, how soda has too much sodium that can make you retain water, that soda can decrease your endurance during activities, etc.  So THIS WEEK I am going absolutely SODA FREE!  Might as well do it now so it's easier to avoid soda on my next trip.

2nd - If I have access to a gym, then I need to use it.  We stayed at two places that both had fitness centers.  I should have woke up early or stayed up a little bit later and utilized the gym.  My hike was AWESOME for my exercise routine but Saturday and Sunday was not good enough.  I need to try to increase my heart rate if I am going to count it for working out. 

So there you have it.  I am sure later I will think of a ton of other things but for right now this is all you get. 

So here's the new game plan for this week:

Continue to do high intensity cardio for 60 minutes at least 5 (hopefully 6!) times this week.
Continue to do weight lifting with light-moderate weights and multiple repetitions.
Continue to stay within my goal calorie range of 1600-1800 calories or less.  Pick healthy options!
Increase the water intake!  I have a 22oz water bottle and I want to drink it 6 times/ day.
NO SODA THE ENTIRE WEEK!  Goodbye Diet Coke! 

Until next time......WEEK 4 is going to be AWESOME!  Shooting for at least 3.5 pounds so I can be down 10 pounds in one month.  Wish me luck!  Good luck in all your dieting and weight loss endeavors!