I weigh myself every morning. I know they tell you not to...but I do it anyway to have some sort of physical reminder of my goals for the day. If I don't weigh in then I lose mental accountability for myself.
Today was the first day since I started this journey that I didn't see a decline. Every day I usually see at least a 0.2 decrease. Today I saw a 0.2 increase from the previous day. And THAT is after I mowed the lawn (backyard) AND ran/walked. I also stayed on track with my calories yesterday....more than usual. So I'm wondering if I need to keep up the trend of going over slightly on my calorie intake. We shall see.
I just completed my Slim in 6 workout and I'm planning to take the dog for a 45-minute walk. When I get home - IT IS ON! I'm gonna make some pasta! With ground turkey -shhhh don't tell my husband. I want to see if he notices!
This weekend I plan to post some progress pics (we'll see if you can actually notice a difference) and some measurements - just to see. I like doing that!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Houston, we have PROGRESS!
Holy crap! I've made progress in just over a week! 4.2 pounds - GONE! This is all after monitoring my calories and working out consistently for an entire week. It wasn't even that hard honestly.
I'm still going my Slim in 6 every other day....and on the off days I am going for a run/walk. When I first started the route I was doing it in 27 minutes. This week I was able to cut it down to 25 minutes. I am running a bit more each day. It's awesome!
This is my progress from MyFitnessPal for today. I had loads of exercise today because I did my run/walk AND I mowed the back yard - that thing is a bitch to mow. I also kept my calories in check because I ate a super boring lunch. Plain tuna with relish on rice cakes. I even was able to sneak in a piece of red velvet cake with white chocolate ganache made by one of my work friends. Not too shabby!
I'm still going my Slim in 6 every other day....and on the off days I am going for a run/walk. When I first started the route I was doing it in 27 minutes. This week I was able to cut it down to 25 minutes. I am running a bit more each day. It's awesome!
This is my progress from MyFitnessPal for today. I had loads of exercise today because I did my run/walk AND I mowed the back yard - that thing is a bitch to mow. I also kept my calories in check because I ate a super boring lunch. Plain tuna with relish on rice cakes. I even was able to sneak in a piece of red velvet cake with white chocolate ganache made by one of my work friends. Not too shabby!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Solar Eclipse & Monday
Yesterday we drove for hours and hours down south to Enterprise, UT where we viewed the Annular Solar Eclipse. I won't go into all the details about the Eclipse because that story is for my personal "life" blog but I will talk about my day in terms of diet and exercise!
I knew we'd be driving all day and getting home really late, so I woke up around 8:30 am and did my Slim in 6 program. It's starting to suck because it gets repetitive. I'm telling myself that this week I only have 3 sessions to do before I can change to the next DVD - Ramp It Up!
We packed a pretty healthy mix of snacks for the food which included: beef jerky, nuts, Annie's organic crackers and some raisins. Along the way we stopped in Cedar City and picked up foot long Subway sandwiches, half of which we ate for lunch along with the crackers. We saved the remaining half for dinner on the drive home and ate the nuts. I was able to keep my blood sugar stable but eating the jerky and I also had one of my protein bars as a snack once we arrived at our destination.
I weighed in this morning at 219.0 exactly - 2 lbs down from when I started this crap last week.
Today was Monday and it was back to work. I ate pretty good all day but I ended up doing healthy fast food. For lunch I had a small Wendy's chili - holy cow I resisted the fries!! And for dinner I ate the other 4 Chik Fil A nuggets I had leftover from Saturday night along with a side salad. Not bad at all.
What hurt my dad a bit was the fact that my boss, Misty, brought in her FABULOUS chocolate chip banana bread. I can NEVER resist that stuff. I had two slices. I indulged but I still kept my calories within reason today and didn't feel deprived.
For exercise I mowed the front yard and took Dingo for a 45-minute walk along the larger neighborhood circuit.
GOOD DAY!
I knew we'd be driving all day and getting home really late, so I woke up around 8:30 am and did my Slim in 6 program. It's starting to suck because it gets repetitive. I'm telling myself that this week I only have 3 sessions to do before I can change to the next DVD - Ramp It Up!
We packed a pretty healthy mix of snacks for the food which included: beef jerky, nuts, Annie's organic crackers and some raisins. Along the way we stopped in Cedar City and picked up foot long Subway sandwiches, half of which we ate for lunch along with the crackers. We saved the remaining half for dinner on the drive home and ate the nuts. I was able to keep my blood sugar stable but eating the jerky and I also had one of my protein bars as a snack once we arrived at our destination.
I weighed in this morning at 219.0 exactly - 2 lbs down from when I started this crap last week.
Today was Monday and it was back to work. I ate pretty good all day but I ended up doing healthy fast food. For lunch I had a small Wendy's chili - holy cow I resisted the fries!! And for dinner I ate the other 4 Chik Fil A nuggets I had leftover from Saturday night along with a side salad. Not bad at all.
What hurt my dad a bit was the fact that my boss, Misty, brought in her FABULOUS chocolate chip banana bread. I can NEVER resist that stuff. I had two slices. I indulged but I still kept my calories within reason today and didn't feel deprived.
For exercise I mowed the front yard and took Dingo for a 45-minute walk along the larger neighborhood circuit.
GOOD DAY!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Saturday Saturday
Saturdays are rough days because they are the days that all the fun things happen!
But I start it out really well actually. I woke up around 8:30 am and headed out straight for a walk/run. It was SOOO nice actually. This time my shins only bothered me for about 1/3 of the distance and they didn't even start hurting until about 1/2 way through - BIG improvement over Thursday's experience. I did the entire circuit in 27 minutes, 12 of which I've guestimated was running. Not bad honestly. I definitely think it will be do-able to run the entire thing by the end of summer.
We did have to go to a birthday party too...and I was pretty proud of myself because I only ate 1/2 of one of those large sugar cookies (Ramin and I split it) and then a smaller black and white cookie. We had no cake. It was good.
After that we headed to Rocky Mountain Raceways for watch the race. It was fun but short. We ended up getting Chik-Fil-A nuggets for dinner and Ramin and I had a bit of an episode. We discussed a lot of my food choices and what I'm doing to lose weight. Whenever this happens it turns into me getting really defensive and making him feel bad. So we both discussed things we could each do to make improvements. We ended on a good note so that's all that matters.
Here are the logs for the day. It looks like there were two dinners, but really, they were spread between the birthday party and after the race. I only had 4 nuggets anyway so nothing big :)
But I start it out really well actually. I woke up around 8:30 am and headed out straight for a walk/run. It was SOOO nice actually. This time my shins only bothered me for about 1/3 of the distance and they didn't even start hurting until about 1/2 way through - BIG improvement over Thursday's experience. I did the entire circuit in 27 minutes, 12 of which I've guestimated was running. Not bad honestly. I definitely think it will be do-able to run the entire thing by the end of summer.
We did have to go to a birthday party too...and I was pretty proud of myself because I only ate 1/2 of one of those large sugar cookies (Ramin and I split it) and then a smaller black and white cookie. We had no cake. It was good.
After that we headed to Rocky Mountain Raceways for watch the race. It was fun but short. We ended up getting Chik-Fil-A nuggets for dinner and Ramin and I had a bit of an episode. We discussed a lot of my food choices and what I'm doing to lose weight. Whenever this happens it turns into me getting really defensive and making him feel bad. So we both discussed things we could each do to make improvements. We ended on a good note so that's all that matters.
Here are the logs for the day. It looks like there were two dinners, but really, they were spread between the birthday party and after the race. I only had 4 nuggets anyway so nothing big :)
Friday, May 18, 2012
Making some progress
Today was a relatively good day, save for a few minor indiscretions.
I knew I was heading to lunch with my friend Genevieve today so I purposefully only had a protein shake for breakfast - then I get to work and one of my co-workers brought in donuts!! I couldn't say no. I had no clue which one was "heathiest" so I just chose a plain cake donut. I did, however, mark it down in my food diary!
I completely planned out my lunch at the Corner Bakery and I was good with that. I made a somewhat wise choice. See below.
While at lunch Genevieve told me the benefits of using MyFitnessPal instead of LiveStrong - so I decided I'd switch my app because it would allow us to connect to each other and help keep each other motivated. We're motivating each other not just for our fitness goals but also for our baby-making goals :)
Anyway - my daily info will be much nicer to look at.
Last item: I wasn't a fan of entering in my fitness info because I don't really like how it subtracts from your total calories eaten - it's like the more you work out the more you can eat. I kind of just wanted to know that I actually only ate 1300 calories...but I decided I'm going to try this approach and see if it helps me feel less deprived. As long as I'm losing 1.5 lbs per week I'm ok with taking this approach.
This is my new daily summary. It's good enough for me to show here. So you can see, I actually ate almost 1600 calories today but because I worked out I really only had a net calorie intake of 1380.
I would show you everything I ate today but Blogger is dumb and doesn't want to upload the picture and I don't want to type it all.
Bottom line - had some good things today, had some bad things but it all evened out with some exercise!
I knew I was heading to lunch with my friend Genevieve today so I purposefully only had a protein shake for breakfast - then I get to work and one of my co-workers brought in donuts!! I couldn't say no. I had no clue which one was "heathiest" so I just chose a plain cake donut. I did, however, mark it down in my food diary!
I completely planned out my lunch at the Corner Bakery and I was good with that. I made a somewhat wise choice. See below.
While at lunch Genevieve told me the benefits of using MyFitnessPal instead of LiveStrong - so I decided I'd switch my app because it would allow us to connect to each other and help keep each other motivated. We're motivating each other not just for our fitness goals but also for our baby-making goals :)
Anyway - my daily info will be much nicer to look at.
Last item: I wasn't a fan of entering in my fitness info because I don't really like how it subtracts from your total calories eaten - it's like the more you work out the more you can eat. I kind of just wanted to know that I actually only ate 1300 calories...but I decided I'm going to try this approach and see if it helps me feel less deprived. As long as I'm losing 1.5 lbs per week I'm ok with taking this approach.
This is my new daily summary. It's good enough for me to show here. So you can see, I actually ate almost 1600 calories today but because I worked out I really only had a net calorie intake of 1380.
I would show you everything I ate today but Blogger is dumb and doesn't want to upload the picture and I don't want to type it all.
Bottom line - had some good things today, had some bad things but it all evened out with some exercise!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
My Running Gear
I've gotta gear up when I go running. Why? Because my fat jiggles all over the place when I run and I need something to keep it all in place!
That's why I wear THIS:
I wear my Spanx underneath my shorts and shirt in order to hold it all in. Even with it on my gut makes me look like I'm already pregnant - GROSS!!
I'm hoping we see some major progress going forward - pending any ACTUAL pregnancy ;)
That's why I wear THIS:
I wear my Spanx underneath my shorts and shirt in order to hold it all in. Even with it on my gut makes me look like I'm already pregnant - GROSS!!
I'm hoping we see some major progress going forward - pending any ACTUAL pregnancy ;)
OMG Fondue!
Today was a rough day in terms of diet. I knew it would be coming because I had planned it with my boss yesterday at work. She recently had the chocolate fondue at Zupas and told me that it was AMAZING!! Yesterday she said she was craving it again and I told her we should go today for lunch.
Knowing that I'd be in for the "death by chocolate", I stuck to a simple half salad portion of their Shanghai Salad. I didn't pair it with a soup OR a sandwich, so I'm fairly proud of myself for that!
I did, however, eat the french bread slice and my gigantic chocolate covered strawberry - and Charlie gave me his too because he doesn't do fruit or veggies!
And then came the fondue - OMG - it was one of the best things I've EVER had. PURE BLISS!! I even spooned out the leftover chocolate from the bowl because it was THAT good. Needless to say, it rather derailed my diet a bit today but I think I planned for it well.
Here are today's stats:
Breakfast: 1 egg, spinach, green onion and cheddar cheese omelette
Lunch: Zupas Shanghai Chicken Salad (half size), french bread slice, 2 chocolate covered strawberries, FONDUE with lots of dippers (bananas, strawberries, marshmellows, brownie bites)
Dinner: Grilled hanmbuger patty (91/8), 3 cookable flour tortillas
Snacks: Sugar snap peas
So yes, I was over my calorie count overall - and hey, it's my best guestimate because Zupas doesn't have nutritional info - it's all user based information. But I feel like I stuck within reason.
Exercise
I basically killed my shins on my run/walk today. They hurt like a bitch! I did do pretty well cardiovascularly though. I could run farther than I expected to and I did more intervals of running than usual. If I had to guess, I think I ran about 30% of the entire circuit. Not too bad considering my goal is to run 100% of it by the end of the summer - I think it's totally do-able. Even while running it still took me 25 minutes. When I walk it usually takes me 30 minutes. I did have to stop twice though and stretch out my shins. I know in time they will get better.
Knowing that I'd be in for the "death by chocolate", I stuck to a simple half salad portion of their Shanghai Salad. I didn't pair it with a soup OR a sandwich, so I'm fairly proud of myself for that!
I did, however, eat the french bread slice and my gigantic chocolate covered strawberry - and Charlie gave me his too because he doesn't do fruit or veggies!
And then came the fondue - OMG - it was one of the best things I've EVER had. PURE BLISS!! I even spooned out the leftover chocolate from the bowl because it was THAT good. Needless to say, it rather derailed my diet a bit today but I think I planned for it well.
Here are today's stats:
Breakfast: 1 egg, spinach, green onion and cheddar cheese omelette
Lunch: Zupas Shanghai Chicken Salad (half size), french bread slice, 2 chocolate covered strawberries, FONDUE with lots of dippers (bananas, strawberries, marshmellows, brownie bites)
Dinner: Grilled hanmbuger patty (91/8), 3 cookable flour tortillas
Snacks: Sugar snap peas
So yes, I was over my calorie count overall - and hey, it's my best guestimate because Zupas doesn't have nutritional info - it's all user based information. But I feel like I stuck within reason.
Exercise
I basically killed my shins on my run/walk today. They hurt like a bitch! I did do pretty well cardiovascularly though. I could run farther than I expected to and I did more intervals of running than usual. If I had to guess, I think I ran about 30% of the entire circuit. Not too bad considering my goal is to run 100% of it by the end of the summer - I think it's totally do-able. Even while running it still took me 25 minutes. When I walk it usually takes me 30 minutes. I did have to stop twice though and stretch out my shins. I know in time they will get better.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
If this isn't motivational, I don't know what is!
I've reinvigorated my zeal to do the Slim in 6 program - I just had to visit their website to get it back! They have some awesome success stories on there from some women who sound just like me!
http://www.beachbody.com/text/products/programs/slimin6/popup_parsea/joscelynl.html
Also, I continuously visit a blog called Mama Laughlin - she's a hilarious mom a bit younger than me who has documented her weight loss journey similar to how I want to document mine. In fact, I've taken quite a few of her ideas and will incorporate them into my own routine!
Through her site I was also introduced to Miss Madison's Charmed Life - another blogger documenting her weight-loss journey. These are the types of things that keep me motivated and if I just take some time to reference them whenever I feel "weak", I know I'll build up my strength again!
http://www.beachbody.com/text/products/programs/slimin6/popup_parsea/joscelynl.html
Also, I continuously visit a blog called Mama Laughlin - she's a hilarious mom a bit younger than me who has documented her weight loss journey similar to how I want to document mine. In fact, I've taken quite a few of her ideas and will incorporate them into my own routine!
Through her site I was also introduced to Miss Madison's Charmed Life - another blogger documenting her weight-loss journey. These are the types of things that keep me motivated and if I just take some time to reference them whenever I feel "weak", I know I'll build up my strength again!
May 16 Daily Intake
Here are my totals for today:
So, I gave in to temptation after dinner tonight. I just don't understand what gets into me and I have to EAT and EAT and EAT!
I had some chicken parmesean (Tyson Panko Chicken) and No Yolks noodles but somehow that wasn't enough. I then went and had a Skinny Cow Heavenly Crisp bar, a Smart Ones Turtle Sundae and THEN a bowl of Frosted Flakes. Seriously, WTF?
I am sort of proud of myself though right now because I actually decided to track all of those bad things. I don't usually do that. If I "cheat", I usually just don't enter it in and pretend like it didn't happen. That's not gonna fly anymore because I'm on a mission to do this RIGHT. I've got to. Who else can hold me accountable except ME?
For my workout, I started out doing Slim in 6 - the Start it Up phase. I think I'm supposed to stay in this phase of the workout for 1-2 weeks. It was a LOT harder than I remember it being and I know I'm going to be sore tomorrow. On top of the workout I'm going to take my dog, Dingo, for a quite 20-minute walk around our neighborhood circuit.
Let's see if I can do better tomorrow! I WILL!!
So, I gave in to temptation after dinner tonight. I just don't understand what gets into me and I have to EAT and EAT and EAT!
I had some chicken parmesean (Tyson Panko Chicken) and No Yolks noodles but somehow that wasn't enough. I then went and had a Skinny Cow Heavenly Crisp bar, a Smart Ones Turtle Sundae and THEN a bowl of Frosted Flakes. Seriously, WTF?
I am sort of proud of myself though right now because I actually decided to track all of those bad things. I don't usually do that. If I "cheat", I usually just don't enter it in and pretend like it didn't happen. That's not gonna fly anymore because I'm on a mission to do this RIGHT. I've got to. Who else can hold me accountable except ME?
For my workout, I started out doing Slim in 6 - the Start it Up phase. I think I'm supposed to stay in this phase of the workout for 1-2 weeks. It was a LOT harder than I remember it being and I know I'm going to be sore tomorrow. On top of the workout I'm going to take my dog, Dingo, for a quite 20-minute walk around our neighborhood circuit.
Let's see if I can do better tomorrow! I WILL!!
I can't believe I'm doing this!
Holy hell - this is the first time I've ever posted pictures quite this horrible of myself online but I HAVE to do it. When I look at this blog while I'm at work, struggling to NOT reach for my snacks, I want to look at these pictures and remind myself of what I started out at and how far I've come.
That right there - is DISGUSTING! That's 221 pounds on a 5'4" medium/small frame. How did I ever let myself get here? It's so depressing!
I measured myself today too:
Biceps = 14.5 inches
Chest = 45 inches
Waist = 43 inches (ummmm WTF?)
Hips = 54 inches (even more WTF?)
Thighs = 29 inches
Calves = 16 inches
Weight = 221 lbs (5 pm BEFORE dinner and workout)
Just looking at these pictures makes me never want to eat AGAIN. But of course that's not healthy or realistic. I am definitely not partial to the anorexic diet that's for sure. I do have a plan though and here it is:
According to Livestrong.com (the site I plan to use to calculate calories), I should eat approx. 1350 calories per day in order to lose 1.5 lbs per week. This is also consistent with the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases weight calculator/simulator - it's HIGHLY mathematical and scientific. Screenshot below with my information entered in - their calculations are the items in yellow:
According to this, I can achieve my goal weight of 130 lbs in one year if I increase my exercise/activity level by 20% AND consume 1351 calories per day. THIS is what I'm holding myself accountable for.
My realistic goal is to consume between 1300 and 1500 calories per day. That is quite an easy target to hit IF I plan accordingly.
Also, I plan to incorporate some form of exercise EVERY day, even if it's just taking my dog for a walk. However, I do plan to also step it up a bit and set some exercise goals for myself, which include:
I also plan to make Mondays my official "weigh-in" days. I will take a picture of the scale and post it up for all to see. I will also post monthly progression pics of myself so progress can be seen (hopefully!)
There is one final caveat to mention - I HOPE to get pregnant ASAP. IF this ends up happening, I fully plan to readjust my commitments and goals during my pregnancy. I still definitely plan to keep up healthy eating and an exercise plan. Once baby is out though, it's BACK to the original plan!!
Get ready. Get set. GO!!!!!!
That right there - is DISGUSTING! That's 221 pounds on a 5'4" medium/small frame. How did I ever let myself get here? It's so depressing!
I measured myself today too:
Biceps = 14.5 inches
Chest = 45 inches
Waist = 43 inches (ummmm WTF?)
Hips = 54 inches (even more WTF?)
Thighs = 29 inches
Calves = 16 inches
Weight = 221 lbs (5 pm BEFORE dinner and workout)
Just looking at these pictures makes me never want to eat AGAIN. But of course that's not healthy or realistic. I am definitely not partial to the anorexic diet that's for sure. I do have a plan though and here it is:
According to Livestrong.com (the site I plan to use to calculate calories), I should eat approx. 1350 calories per day in order to lose 1.5 lbs per week. This is also consistent with the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases weight calculator/simulator - it's HIGHLY mathematical and scientific. Screenshot below with my information entered in - their calculations are the items in yellow:
According to this, I can achieve my goal weight of 130 lbs in one year if I increase my exercise/activity level by 20% AND consume 1351 calories per day. THIS is what I'm holding myself accountable for.
My realistic goal is to consume between 1300 and 1500 calories per day. That is quite an easy target to hit IF I plan accordingly.
Also, I plan to incorporate some form of exercise EVERY day, even if it's just taking my dog for a walk. However, I do plan to also step it up a bit and set some exercise goals for myself, which include:
- Jogging the 20-minute circuit around my neighborhood by the end of the summer - August 31st!
- Completing full DVD programs in progression:
- Slim in 6 - 6 week program (starting NOW)
- Power 90 - 3 month program
- ChaLean - 3 month program
- Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred - 30 days (obviously :P)
I also plan to make Mondays my official "weigh-in" days. I will take a picture of the scale and post it up for all to see. I will also post monthly progression pics of myself so progress can be seen (hopefully!)
There is one final caveat to mention - I HOPE to get pregnant ASAP. IF this ends up happening, I fully plan to readjust my commitments and goals during my pregnancy. I still definitely plan to keep up healthy eating and an exercise plan. Once baby is out though, it's BACK to the original plan!!
Get ready. Get set. GO!!!!!!
The Beginning
I made a decision today. I made the decision that I need to create some accountability for myself in my quest to lose weight. So far, what I've been doing hasn't worked. I need something to help me remain accountable for my actions and keep the goal in mind.
This blog. I want to use it to achieve this goal. For now, it will remain private from my friends and family and public to random people who stumble upon it. If you somehow find it, let me know. I'd like to know someone out there is holding me accountable.
The goals of this blog are simple:
I've never done anything quite like this before. Sure, I have another personal blog that I use to update my family and friends on my happenings, but this blog is totally dedicated to my weight loss - which just happens to be the only thing I've continuously struggled with throughout my 30 years on this planet.
So, here we go!!
This blog. I want to use it to achieve this goal. For now, it will remain private from my friends and family and public to random people who stumble upon it. If you somehow find it, let me know. I'd like to know someone out there is holding me accountable.
The goals of this blog are simple:
- Update progress pictures of my weight loss
- Post weekly weight statistics and measurements
- Post daily meals/calories and exercise
I've never done anything quite like this before. Sure, I have another personal blog that I use to update my family and friends on my happenings, but this blog is totally dedicated to my weight loss - which just happens to be the only thing I've continuously struggled with throughout my 30 years on this planet.
So, here we go!!
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