Guess who's back!!!

It's time to start up the weight loss blog again.  I have pretty much taken a 6 month sabbatical from blogging, sorry friends.  But it was all for a good reason.  I was busy busy dating, then being engaged, and getting married to the love of my life.  Vagner and I got engaged in April and then life just got really busy between planning our wedding, work, and continuing to lose weight that I didn't take time to blog.  We got married on August 17th, best day EVER!  Now a little over a month later, things have slowed down a little bit now, except life is completely different, for the good.  :) 

I am down to my 50# mark, 239#.  Sadly I was actually down more than that come wedding day.  I was down to 232#.  But I am back on track and ready to get down to the 100# mark!  Oh yeah!  Vagner has helped me a lot lately.  We have been focusing on eating healthy at home, when we eat out, exercising together, and just encouraging each other.  Which has helped so much.  I've been sick off and on since we got married, so the exercising hasn't been as consistent as it needs to be.  I've also noticed that I have been allowing myself to have a little too much sugar lately.  It's like I will tell myself that I've done so good and let myself have a little bit here and there, but that adds up.  So I've made a list of goals to accomplish for October 2012.  Here they are:

No sugar.  That's right my friends.  In the month where most people over consume sugar, I am going to go on a sugar fast.  It doesn't mean I can't enjoy going to parties, work potlucks, etc.  All it means is that I am going to make better choices when I am there. 

Weight training at least 3 or more times per week.  I have been slacking off on my weight training lately and just focused more on cardio.  I have seen in the past that weight training can really help my results, so it's time to get focused on that again.  Luckily I have a great weight trainer in my own home. 

Run more.  I HATE running, but last year when I was running daily I had better results too.  So the goal is that by October 31st, I will be able to run 1 mile nonstop.  I know a lot of you think that is not a big deal, but for me it is.  Again, I HATE running!  I would rather zumba all day long than have to run but if I want the results, I know that means stretching my abilities. 

Track my calories on a daily basis.  This has also been key to my success in the past.  I am going to use my Calorie Counter app until I get my new phone and then will probably upgrade to My Fitness Pal (I promise I will do that Angie!).  Tracking kcals can definitely help me make better choices and keep a healthy balance over the long run. 

That's all my friends.  Some minor adjustments and hopefully I will start seeing more results again.  I will check in again at the end of the month and let you know how it went.  Hope you all are doing good with your weight loss efforts.  What have you found to be helpful with weight loss? 

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. 

It's Going To Take A Little Mind Over Matter This Week........

I have a fun little story to tell you but first I have to explain the title for the post this week.  So I have been planning to hit it into high gear this week.  Last week I was doing pretty good, but not 100%.  All week I kept saying that I was going to build back up to 100% for this week.  I think I cursed myself.  It always seems that when I get in the groove and start doing really well w/ my goals that something happens, usually I get sick, go on vacation, etc. and get off track.  Well I have had a little set back already to start out the week.  Time for a story.......

Friday night I got the opportunity to go up to my friend Monty's cabin up Big Cottonwood Canyon.  This cabin and I have a love/ hate relationship.  The first time I went to the cabin I got major rope burn (blisters, cuts, the whole 9 yards) on both of my hands after falling off their homemade zip line.  I live in Utah, so of course there is still a lot of snow up there in the middle of March.  We went early and trudged a path in the snow to the cabin.  Just on the side of the road there was enough snow piled up that it was taller than me.  Since we were the first people going to the cabin, it was a little rough walking through the snow.  We kept sinking, in fact multiple times I went down in the snow up to my hips.  But we made it!  The problem arose on the way back to the cars.  It was late and dark.  We were using our friends cell phone for a flashlight.  Luckily all the people that came after us compacted the snow better, so we didn't sink in as much.  Right at the end we had to go down a 3-4 foot drop and around the pile of snow on the side of the road which then  led to the road.  As I took my first step down the drop, my purse started sliding off my arm so I went to adjust it, lost my footing, and fell head first down the hill into the hard compacted snow from the road.  As I was hitting the snow, I thought to myself "ah crap, this is going to hurt" and heard my neck pop, followed by belly flopping against the rest of the snow.  It hurt.  It still hurts.  Luckily I didn't break anything (especially my neck) and I can still move, it just hurts to move.  I have been taking it easy the rest of the weekend, but things are getting more sore and stiff at work today.  I can't let this stop my progress though.  I still want to be 100% for this week.  Darn cabin and working out curse! 

So here's the plan:  I am going to eat healthy everyday.  No goof ups.  Next week, I am going to post my food intake on the blog to keep me on track.  That way it'll keep me from goofing up even more because I have to tell you all what I ate.  I am going to still work out, but things that will be low impact on my back and shoulders/arms/ neck - so I'm thinking it's going to be a recumbent bike week.  We'll see how it goes.  I am going to break this curse one way or another.  I'll check in with you next week! 

Thanks for all your support.  I have about 2 months until my 1 year mark for starting this whole weight loss adventure.  It's time to kick it into high gear.  Hopefully I won't have any more things come up to side track the progress.  Until next week!

Time to Report!

So in my last post I came up with the idea to be accountable to all of you on a daily basis for 14 days to help me build healthy habits again.  I was making daily status posts on Facebook about whether I had a healthy habit or bad habit day.  It was considered a healthy habit day if I stayed in my calorie range and worked out.  Bad habit days were when these didn't happen.  So here are the results:

The first 6 days ROCKED!  I worked out for 1- 1 1/2 hours each day and I ate within my calorie range.  On day 7, I had a continuing education dinner for dietitians at a fantastic restaurant.  I ate a delicious meal including a chopped salad and salmon.  But the side dishes were augratin potatoes and creamed spinach.  And then the killer, creme brulee.  I LOVE CREME BRULEE!  So I ate unhealthy that day and did not work out since we got done late and I was too full to workout after.  This is when everything started going down hill fast.  I started having half good habit and half bad habit days.  It was like I would eat healthy but then not go to the gym.  Or I would go to the gym and then eat terribly which counter acted the progress I made at the gym.  And then the ultimate habit killer occurred, I went on a last minute road trip to California.  I was stuck in a car w/ delicious (not so healthy) treats for 12 hours each way.  Plus we ate at Jack in the Box at least 3-4 times (since we don't have those in Utah).  And we ate out for every single meal and I did not figure out my calories once on the whole trip.  When I got home I should have reported bad habit days all across the board for Thursday through Sunday.  AND I gained 5 pounds over the weekend.  Booo!

Luckily I have been able to kick it back into gear over the past week and I've taken 4 of the 5 pounds off so far.  I've been better at going to the gym and I've been trying to make better food choices.  But I still need to be even more consistent with the gym and start tracking my calories again.  I have been debating whether or not to start the good habit/ bad habit day posts again for another 14 days.  It was working really well when I was doing it.  I think I will, so I hope you all don't get annoyed with it.  Sorry this post wasn't very inspirational or anything like that today.  I mostly just wanted to let you all know what was going on with my weight loss progress and what happened with the last challenge.  I'm going to add in some fun pictures from my trip so you can at least see how beautiful it was in California.  I hope you all are persevering with your weight loss (and weight gain!) goals.  Just keep swimming! 

 Me in a tree! 

 Beautiful Santa Barbara California! 

5 reasons why I gained weight with the trip.  Delicious treats from a Danish bakery in Solvang, California.

Camile and I in front of the waterfall outside of Solvang, California.

And cute, quaint downtown Solvang, California.  I adore Solvang!

Just Keep Swimming, Swimming, Swimming. Swimming.......................

I have been MIA in a lot of things lately, especially with updating my blog.  Which I apologize for, sorry.  There are a lot of explanations for why I haven't blogged.  The biggest two explanations would be the fact that I have been MIA from the gym over the past month or two.  The other explanation would be the fact that I have been MIA from eating very healthy too.  Both of these explanations have caused bad results in my overall weight loss journey.  Too be more blunt, I have gained weight instead of lost weight and I pretty much haven't wanted to write about it. 

My mojo has once again been lost!  I feel like this is happening more frequently too.  I haven't wanted to work out and when I do I haven't really put in a lot of effort either.  I also haven't been cautious or even that aware of my food intake either.  Just ask my Mom, we started a little competition back in January to track our food intake and exercise and whomever had the greatest caloric deficit won the competition.  Well, I failed at doing that too.  (Sorry Mom!) 

Luckily Angie has come to my rescue!  She has been helping me stay on track for the past week.  I am trying to make healthier food choices (which has been a slow go but I am getting more and more motivated now) and we are trying to get in physical activity at least 4 times per week.  These are our goals until the 28th of February, which is not a long time frame at all.  I am hoping that this small short term competition will help me get back into the habit again.  They always say that it takes only 14 days to make a habit.  Hopefully this will be the case for me. 

But I want to make it public on a daily basis for how I am doing.  I need some personal coaches out there.  So my plan is to post on facebook every night when I go to bed for the next 14 days whether I am building a good habit or bad habit.  My status will say good habit today or bad habit today.  Sorry, you may get sick of seeing these posts for the next 14 days, if so then just hide me until the end.  If we aren't friends on facebook, then request me (I can't believe we aren't friends yet!).  I need to check in with someone on a daily basis. I need people to yell at me when I am making bad decisions.  This is where all of you come in.  And I am willing to reciprocate the coaching too.

I also have hung up some inspiration in places around my bedroom and car.  I have a picture of Jennifer Hudson (She has lost a ton of weight doing Weight Watchers and looks FANTASTIC!  I want to look like her when this is all over, toned and curvy!) in my bathroom.  I have put the weight I want to be on my scale, so every time I step on it (or even look at it) I can remember my goal.  Oh yeah, I want to be down to 50 pounds by May 31st!  That means I have 30 pounds to go in 14 1/2 weeks.  Which is 2 pounds per week.  Which is on average what I was losing when I was being a good girl.  I have been eating lunch in my car a lot lately (I need to get away from the office for at least an hour each day so I eat in my car instead of at the office) and so I am going to put the weight and a skinny picture of me in my car so I see it everyday when I am on my lunch break.  This too should help me make better decisions when eating out because it should be hard to go to Taco Bell when your weight loss goal is staring you in the face.   

I know all of these things are simple and some may and may not work.  But I found a great quote today.  I don't know who it is by but it's fantastic.  It says, "you don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there."  Seriously, that is awesome!  I am going to keep treading through the water until I reach the finish line.  I know I am going to get tired from time to time and other times I am going to swim through the water like an Olympic champion.  Sometimes I will be only waist deep in the water and sometimes my head will be barely sticking out, but I am not going to be submerged.  Weight loss is hard.  It's an ongoing battle that I know I am going to have to deal with the rest of my life.  If I give up and just let myself stay "in the water" I could end up like one of those people who have to have a wall cut out of their house so they can go to the hospital.  Luckily, I know I can never ever give up (I'm a stubborn girl from time to time).  It's time to start swimming instead of treading.  Now where are my goggles and swim cap?

It's a New Year, so it's time for new resolutions..........

But I'm sorry to say that I actually didn't make any resolutions related to my weight loss challenge.  Don't get me wrong, I did make resolutions this year but just none related to weight loss.  I made resolutions related to my work life, social life, and personal life.  The new year came and all I thought I needed to do for weight loss was to stick with working towards my overall goal. 

Through this whole process I've been able to figure out what I need to do to be successful and what I shouldn't do too.  This whole experience so far has been very challenging.  It changes day by day and sometimes even hour by hour.  I can be on track and motivated in the morning only to end up way out in left field by the end of the day.  I've been making different weight loss resolutions each week for the past seven months.  And that is the beauty of it all.  I'm lucky to have realized to be successful in my weight loss goals I have to be flexible.  If I wasn't flexible, I've would have given up a long long time ago.  I've failed at many of my different resolutions along the way.  I still drink Diet Coke regularly.  I still don't get physical activity daily.  I still eat unhealthy things.  BUT I exercise more than I did before.  I still say "no thank you" to things that I know I shouldn't eat.  And I am still working towards my overall goal.  And that is AWESOME!

The year mark for my weight loss challenge is Memorial Day weekend.  I am sitting at 27 pounds lost (had some bad weeks with vacation/ holidays/ illness/ etc).  I hope to be able to say on Memorial Day weekend that I am at 50 pounds weight loss.  That's the current goal and I hope to achieve it and then keeping going down from there.  So to all of you who have made New Year resolutions, keep up the good work.  If you are failing at your goal so far, don't give up.  Be flexible!  Re-evaluate your plan, make some adjustments, and keep going.  If you never try then you will have to accept defeat in the end.  Accepting defeat is not fun, so get to work!  We're all awesome and I know that together with each other's support (I'm so lucky to have all the support and followers with this blog) we can achieve anything! 

Motivation is coming back..........

thanks to my friends, one in particular.  My dear Stacey Lou Freebush helped my progress a lot this last week.  She helped me make healhier choices when we ate out.  We went to the gym together.  She encouraged me to work out at home when I didn't want to go to the gym.  She rocks!  It was also helpful that Kate's wedding was this weekend.  I wanted to make sure I looked a little more trimmed in the dress I bought for her wedding, so that helped a lot too.  Thanks for getting married Kate and Alex.  It was a beautiful wedding. 

So here's this weeks results:
Weight loss = 6 pounds
Total Weight Loss = 32 pounds
Total % Weight Loss = 11.43%

So through this whole competition, our overall goal is to go to Italy once we get to our final goal weight.  While this is great to think about, it's so far away.  In fact, it's 73 pounds away.  In the past, I've used some good short term goals to help motivate and push me along.  But right now I am kind of out of ideas.  So that's where you all come in!  What are some short term goals that I could work on and reward with?  Here's a list of what has been used in the past to give you some ideas to work with:

-  Once all three of us got to 15 pounds weight loss we went and saw Iron Man 2 (we all really wanted to
    see it).
-  Once Angie and I got to 20 pounds weight loss we went and got our hair cut.
-  I wanted to take new pictures at 30 pounds weight loss.

Some things I have been thinking about:
-  I love the store Anthropology.  I've always wanted to buy clothes there but it's a little bit expensive and I know the clothes would look better if I lost more weight.  So I've been thinking that I could buy a cute outfit there when I've lost another 20 pounds.

-  I could find a concert that is coming to SLC that I really want to go to, buy tickets, and then go if I lose to a certain amount of weight.  If I don't get to the weight goal, then I have to give the tickets to someone else. 

-  My friends and I want to go to Disneyland in February over President's day weekend.  So I could set a goal to be down 20 pounds or else I don't get to go.  This may help my friends push me a little bit more too. 

What do you think?  Any other ideas?!?  I appreciate your ideas and things that have worked for you in the past. 

Dear Blog Following Friends..........

I suck!  Sorry to be so blunt but it is true!  I have let myself and you all down lately.  In fact, it's kind of like I have dropped the ball and kicked it under the bed where no one can reach it.  Things are NOT going well right now with my whole healthy living plan. 

#1 reason - VACATION!!!!!!!!

I went on vacation.  It was fabulous and marvelous.  We ate at great places, and for the most part I tried to order healthier options.  I had a turkey burger instead of a regular hamburger, a side salad instead of double the mashed potatoes.  I tried not to over eat on Thanksgiving, and did rather well.  I only had two small pieces of pie, but I did have a slice of pie pretty much every day after.  I bought an exercise video to use on the vacation, a Jillian Michael's workout that is only 25 minutes - it stayed in my suit case.  For half of the trip we were really active walking all over Baltimore, New York, and Washington DC.  It was just the other half of the trip when we weren't out sight seeing that I should have been using the exercise video.  With that all said, I actually maintained my weight on the vacation, Thanksgiving and all.  Good job, right?

WRONG! 

Even though I am no longer on vacation, my mind seems to have stayed on vacation.  I am very much lacking the motivation right now.  Since being home, I haven't gone grocery shopping until tonight.  So I have been pretty much eating out at least 1-2 times/ day (calorie trap!).  I've only worked out once and broke a sweat (I know, I suck!).  I am still having one treat per day (unnecessary calories!).  Oh, and I've been pretty much having a diet coke every day too (yes, there are no calories in diet coke, but for some reason it seems to empare my weight loss efforts!  I know better.).  You can only imagine the results of my recent effort.  That's right, I have gained four pounds in one week!  Suck!  The motivation has just hit me like a rock!  I have got to get back on track!

Challenge: 
One week of awesome healthy McHealthyness
(I am aware that is not a real word, but I like it!)

Challenge criteria:
#1:  No more eating out until next Wednesday.  Sorry friends, we are going to have to do something more constructive with our time.  Gym, anyone?
#2:  No diet coke or carbonated beverages.  Who ordered a water?
#3:  Exercise!  1 hour or more each and every day for the next week.
#4:  No more treats!  (I am going to throw away the half eaten carton of ice cream, tonight!)
#5:  I must ride the stationary bike while watching TV.  Goodbye comfy brown couch! 

Challenge witnesses:  My friends, roommate, and coworkers

Goal:  Lose the 4 pounds I gained by next Wednesday. 

The challenge is set.  The motivation is here.  I must stop typing now and go to bed so I can do my 30 minute Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred in the morning.  So ta ta for now.  I won't let you or myself down anymore!  I promise!

Hmmph!

Why is it that when you are ready to be all "go get em' Jillian!" that something always seems to interrupt that motivation and ambition?  So I totally had a bummer of a week last week with my exercise and eating right, because I was sicker than a dog.  I started getting sick about two weeks ago.  It was quite a weird sickness.  It started two Thursdays ago with me getting the aches and a slight fever after zumba, followed by laryngitis on Saturday and Sunday, to congestion/ runny nose with the aches/ cough/ fever/ etc on Monday - Wednesday, to a full voice on Thursday but nasty cough and tickling/ scratchy throat until this Monday.  I even stayed home from work two days in a row, which is very uncharacteristic for me.  To say the least, this illness made me take a break from exercise and eating super healthy.  I only worked out a total of like 4 hours last week.  Yikes!  And it's sad to say, but the numbers are reflecting this.  On my weigh on Tuesday morning morning, I was up 4 pounds!  Yuck!  Luckily I am feeling better now and getting back to work.  I've already lost 2 pounds (according to my scale, so that's good.  I have to really push it for the next week or I'm going to be paying for some other people's dinner in NYC next weekend.  But like I've said in the past, all it takes is getting refocused and back to work.  I know what to do, I just need to do it. 
Here's to a week of exercise and healthy eating! 
Good luck to you all too!  Hope you're doing better than me.  Let's push it hard before the big "eating" holidays hit.  You can do it!

IT'S PICTURE TIME EVERY BODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Week 25

The time has come........

30 pounds lost (well actually 31 pounds)

And still going....

My good friend, Tagen Baker, is a fantastic photographer and was willing to take some new pictures of me to show my 30 pounds lost.  We took these last night in her back yard after work and she did a great job.  Thank you Tagen!!!!!

It feels SO GOOD to have made it to 30 pounds in the last 4 1/2 months.  But it also is a great motivator to KEEP GOING, especially when I compare and contrast pictures from the beginning of the weight loss journey until now.  I have a new goal and that is to lose another 20 pounds by New Years Day.  That would mean I need to lose 1.2 pounds each week for the next 8 weeks.  Which is totally doable since for the past 4 1/2 months I have been averaging about 2 pounds per week.  I just have to make it through the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a trip to Baltimore/ NYC for a week. 

GAME PLAN!!!!!!

1.    I am enrolled in a Health Challenge with work which goes until Christmas.  The Health Challenge focuses on healthy eating, exercise, a food diary, drinking water, adequate sleep, etc, etc.  It has been a great asset to help me stay on track the past month. 

2.  Healthy options for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I am going to try to create healthier recipes for some of the holiday favorites that will hopefully taste good too.  And if they do not work out, then it's ALL ABOUT PORTION CONTROL!  It isn't necessary to have 3 large meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I also will be sure to track my calories those days too, instead of making it an exception day.

3.  Exercise!  While I am out of town, I need to make sure I keep up my physical activity.  Luckily the trip to Baltimore/ NYC will be with Angie and Ashley (my teammates for the weight loss challenge) so hopefully we can keep each other on track on the trip.  We'll use our workout DVD's, eat healthy at least 2 meals per day, and TRACK CALORIES!  All three of us have smart phones that we can access FatSecret.com with, so we will have to use that app to help us choose good options when we are eating out.  It's going to be hard but worth it!

AND I'm just going to keep going!  There is no giving up.  I know exactly what I need to do to acheive this goal, so I just have to do it. 

This is an example of what I will be eating for the next 8 weeks!!!! 

M.I.A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for not posting for the past couple of weeks.  I have recently moved and I don't have internet access yet.  Hopefully I will be able to get that up and going this week and then I will update you on the progress from the past couple of weeks.  It's going to be good!  Consider this a season break and the premier will hopefully be next week!!!!!  Good luck in all of your weight loss goals.  I appreciate all of your support in this endeavor.  I haven't given up! 

MAINTAINED!!

What inspires you?????????????

Week 21
Weight loss = 0 pounds
Total Weight Loss = 28 pounds
% Weight Loss = 0%
Total % Weight Loss = 10.03%

That's right, it's another weight maintenance week.  Slight bummer considering I REALLY REALLY wanted to be down 30 pounds by this week.  But, it's only 2 pounds away which is better than 30 pounds away.  Right?

So I'm always talking about staying motivated, keeping on track, get back on track when you fall off track, telling you what is my track, etc, etc, etc.  So today I'm going to mix it up a little bit.  I'm going to let you know what inspires me to keep going when it would be SO easy to stop.

#1 - GOOD HEALTH
Losing weight can help you improve your current and future health status.  You can decrease your health risks by decreasing your BMI by one point.  Since beginning this adventure 21 weeks ago, I have been able to reduce my BMI by 4 points.  That's a ton of health risk reductions!  I don't particularly want to develop diabetes, heart problems, or cancer so I am going to keep at this to help keep reducing my risks more and more.

That's right, I don't want to have to wear prosthetics when I am older because I have bad knees from carrying around too much weight my whole life!

#2 - PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Let's be honest, that is a top inspiration on pretty much all of our lists.  I've mostly been inspired by seeing those around me do so well with weight loss and see how great they look.  My mom has been working on losing weight for the past couple of years too.  She is doing great and she looks fantastic.  My mom looks the best she has ever in years.  In fact, this is the best I've seen her look that I can remember.  Sooner than later she is going to be unrecognizable to us all.  Keep up the good work Mom!  You are an inspiration to all of us, especially me. 

There is also a celebrity that I admire too.  I think that Jennifer Hudson looks fantastic since losing weight recently.  She did it through physical activity and the Weight Watchers program (which is one of the only programs I would support someone in starting if they want help with losing weight and feel they can't do it on their own).  Jennifer Hudson is a curvy girl (like me!) and I thought she was beautiful before she lost weight.  Now that she has lost weight she is still just as beautiful but she looks so healthy.  I feel her weight loss is an inspiration because it is obtainable and not unrealistic.  I have even considered hanging her picture up in my room to help me remember what I am working towards. 

 

#3 - JILLIAN MICHAELS

That's right!  Jillian Michaels inspires me when I am doing her 30 day Shred workout video (thanks for the recommendation Carla!).  Towards the end of the video you are SO TIRED and all you can think about is wanting to stop or slow down.  Yet every time when I am about at that point, she gives this little speech about needing to keep going.  She tells you how easily it would be to stop but you have to push yourself through the pain.  The pain means you are getting stronger and it's going to get easier the more and more you do it.  So I keep going. 

Jillian and I have a love and hate relationship.  Even though she has an amazingly awesome name, I sometimes hold spite against her name when I am working out to her DVD.  Luckily it is only for a few short minutes. 

#4 - FASHION!!!!!!!!

If you know me then you know I love fashion.  I blame it partly on my mother.  Sorry Mom, you are getting a lot of mention in this post this week.  When I was little she would dress me up all girly (I am the youngest and only girl in the family, now you understand).  I remember going school shopping and her telling me we had to find things unique and personal, so that I didn't have the same clothes as all the other girls at school (which I appreciate now that I am older).  In fact, I wore clothes from a company called "Little Miss Pris".  So it's only natural for me to love clothes when I was surrounded with frilly girly clothes as a child.  The only problem is I can't wear what I want to wear quite yet and have it look the way I want it to.  For example, I LOVE the look of boots, especially tall boots.  But I can't buy boots yet.  I can't fit the calf size most of the time, especially with the boots that I would really really like to wear.  But I am A LOT closer to fitting in the boots than I was last season.  Hopefully you will see me sporting boots by the end of this season if not next.  We'll see! 

Yes, I do want to own and wear (on a regular basis) red cowboy boots.  "Pulling them off..."

#5 - Love

Yes, I am talking about love in the sense that you are all thinking.  But I am also inspired by loving myself.  A lot of my close friends seem to be finding love and getting married lately.  I am SO excited for all of them (especially you, Kate and Alejandro!).  But I am SO READY for it to be my turn again.  But love doesn't come easy, especially if you don't love yourself as much as you want someone else to love you.  So I am motivated and inspired to keep going, because I feel that over the past couple of months I've been able to rediscover my self worth.  I feel better about myself.  With each pound going away it's almost like another heavy burden goes with it.  I remember that fun and extremely outgoing girl from my life pre-2004 (before all this weight started coming on again), who was fearless and confident.  She's coming back.  So I'm going to keep going with this.  I want to find and love that girl completely again so she can be completely loved for who and what she is. 

So there you have it.  These are just a few of the things that really inspire me to keep going.  So I'm going to get on track!  Whoops, I did fall off track but I'm back on again.  Physical activity daily.  Track my calories and be aware of my food choices.  No excuses!  30 pounds......you're going to be easy to reach by next week.  It's going to be a piece of cake!  (No, I will not be eating a piece of cake in the process.)

Gas Station Lunch!

Week 20
Week 20 weight loss = 1 pound
Total Weight Loss = 28 pounds
Week 20 % Weight Loss = 0.39%
Total % Weight Loss = 10.03%

So things are still just going down slow and steady.  Next week is a new month and I plan to be down 30 pounds.  Sound good? 

So I just thought I'd tell you about my delicious lunch that I had today.  So as you saw in my previous post, my car was wrecked.  It ended up getting totalled.  So I bought a new one (2011 Hyundai Sonata) and it had a recall to align the steering that needed to be done today.  Typically I go home for lunch to save money and calories.  I forgot to pack a lunch to take with me today.  SO, I went with my coworkers to get some food @ the gas station.

1 Oscar Meyer Deli Creations Turkey, Ham, Swiss, and Cheddar lunchable = 340 calories
1 pkg Blue Diamond Lime n Chili Almonds = 260 calories
1 pkg of Kellogg's Cherry Fruity Snacks = 160 calories
1 Diet Dr Pepper = 0 calories
1 Snyder's Chocolate Dipped Pretzel (that's right, just one!) = 28 calories
Total Gas Station Lunch Calories = 788 calories!

So not TOO bad for a gas station lunch, but not great.  There wasn't any fresh fruit or vegetables @ the gas station, that would have been a better option than the Fruity Snacks.  It probably would have been less calories to get some baked potato chips instead of the almonds.  But the almonds were really tasty and there are great health benefits from almonds, so I don't feel too bad.  Overall I am pretty pleased with my gas station lunch.  It's hard to find healthy choices, especially at a ghetto gas station on S. Main street in SLC.