I have to start this post by saying that I start a new job on Monday. It’s not the amount of money I’m used to, and I still plan on going to the military. This job will allow me to get back on my feet though. It’s an office assistant job for a transportation company. It’s extremely laid back, and just what I need for right now. I registered for classes starting in August, and at the end of the semester I will be 1 class away from my master’s degree! I also have some money in my 401K that I forgot about and will be withdrawing to help catch up on some bills… Wow, it seems that overnight things are really starting to look up.

As far as weight loss, I am up .2 from yesterday. I guess I can’t complain seeing as I have been really fluctuating a lot this week. I was 173 on sunday, 174 on tuesday, 171 on wed, 170 on both thurs and fri. As long as I maintain for the next two days, I will consider this a successful week. Today I plan to go grocery shopping, to the gym, and possibly to the pool. It’s 9:45 and that’s a lot for one day, I need to get moving!

Food Plan

B: large bowl of Puffins and almond milk (I will NOT eat any more peanut butter or carbs today!)

L: Salmon burger with spinach (made it, and it was delicious!)

D: grilled chicken with carrots and green beans*

*This is my PLAN for the day!

I just have to say that after eating breakfast, I do not feel so well. I don’t know if it’s mental because it was not all that healthy, and full of carbs, or if my stomach is really upset. I just feel full and gross. I don’t know if I’ll be eating puffins for breakfast in the morning. It’s just NOT a good feeling and I’m all about eating feel-good foods…

Update***

Exercise so far:

3 miles on the treadmill doing 7.0/3.0 intervals. My left knee and right calf are killing me! I need to take it easy I think. My knee is getting worse every day

I did NOT just need that spoonful of PB that I just now stuck in my mouth at 9:23pm! BUT I did it anyway, and now I am going to pay for it at the gym- at 9:25pm! I’ll be back later to update!

I got to the gym around 9:45pm. I worked out 30 mins on the stair climber at level 7! Then did a leisurely 15 min jog on the treadmill. I mistakenly drank a huge amount of water after the stair climber and got a BAD cramp while jogging, so I had to stop.

Food yesterday:

B: egg beaters, tomato, basil, and laughing cow on a whole wheat wrap

L: tuna salad on 1 piece of whole wheat toast

S: 100 calorie fudge bar, 3 freeze pops (throughout the course of the day)

D: Mexican rice (ground turkey, brown rice, salsa, black beans, corn, cheese, spices), apple

water: not enough

***UPDATE 6/2/10***

I didn’t get to go to my spin class today I am so upset about it too. Instead, I took my kids to track practice and stayed there with them the entire time. The reason I missed spin is because my husband told me at the VERY LAST MINUTE that he needed me to do something, then once I had already missed the class, he told me never mind.  UGHHH! I’ll bet the scale is going to make me pay for it tomorrow morning. I ate with plans to get in a great spinning workout, and didn’t get a chance to.  So needless to say, I am in a VERY crappy mood right now All I want to do is eat, so as soon as I finish this post, I am going to bed. Here’s what I ate today.

Food Today:

B: PB and 1/2 banana on whole wheat English muffin

S: 1/2 banana

L: tuna salad with a slice of 2% cheese and tomato on a whole grain wrap, apple

Dessert: 100 calorie fudge bar (delicious), 35 calorie freeze pop

D: Cheese Stuffed Rigatoni (FROZEN MEAL!!!! I was cleaning out the freezer and found it. I was pressed for time on dinner so I heated this up, and JUST BARELY made my 9pm cut off.) Small (TINY 1″x2″) square of pizza with the cheese and meat scraped off.

About the pizza. I made a frozen pizza for my kids and couldn’t resist. The only reason I scraped the toppings off is because it was a pepperoni and bacon pizza and as we all know I don’t eat pig. I tried to keep the cheese, but it was impossible not to get the bacon too.

I SHOULD have resisted considering I ate so many carbs today and almost no exercise, but I didn’t. I’m not upset about it. Just not looking forward to the scale tomorrow.

I AM SO MAD I MISSED SPIN CLASS TODAY!!!!

I really haven’t felt much like updating my blog these last few days. I still don’t now, but I need to stay accountable.  I really enjoy reading other people’s blogs more than I like keeping up with mine. Anyway, here’s what I’ve been up to…

Tues- Yesterday I worked out like a MAD person! I did a very intense 2 miles on the treadmill, and 20 minutes on the stair climber!!! yes, 20 whole minutes! I drank a TON of water and probably consumed far less calories than I needed to, but I was trying to lose the weight I gained on Monday. I also went to a 6pm spin class. The class wasn’t extremely intense, but it was a decent workout. here’s what I ate:

Food Today:

B: peanut butter and half a banana on whole wheat English muffin

S: half banana

L: bowl full of grilled veggies

S: 1T peanut butter and one small apple

D: baked fish fillet and steamed green peas

Water: over 100oz

Wed- I woke up this morning, and weighed 2.6 pounds less than yesterday. I know most of it was water weight, if not all. It is also day 2 of TOM. I will be weighing in daily this month because I joined a Everyday Weigh In over on 3fc. (just an excuse to be more obsessive). I really don’t want to lose much more weight too quickly, because I want this to be a slow, continuous process. I don’t wanna lose it all quick, and gain it all back quick. But I’ve made some really good, permanent changes so I’m not too worried. Only thing I am worried about is slacking off on the exercise. That’s always the first to go :(  So far, I’ve had the same breakfast as yesterday, and I’ve not done any exercise. I am itching to get to the gym and make nice with the stair climber, to see if yesterday was a fluke, or if I can really do 20 mins! My knee has been bothering me for almost a week now. It’s fine when I’m working out, but really aches afterward and especially when I sleep. I’m not really sure what I should do about this. It does seem to be getting worse. I will be spinning again today and tomorrow also at 6pm. My goal is to make spinning my second workout of the day. I am only doing this so that I can reach my 163 pounds to qualify for the military. Once I get there, I will possibly slow it down. That’s all for now, I’ll be back later on to update more… (hopefully)

OH!! I took my first measurements on April 25 and again this morning (late) my goal is to take them on the last weigh-in day of each month. I’m making another page up top just to keep track of monthly measurement checks. Check it out!

Today started out great! I slept in… and when I woke up, I got dressed and headed to the gym. On the way I ate part of a slim fast meal bar and half a banana and also drank a bottle of water. I worked out for 35 mins on the treadmill doing my 7.0/3.0 intervals and made 3 miles in a very good time. Then I cooled down and did the stair climber for 15 mins. I still havent been able to bring myself to do any weight training, but maybe I’ll set that as a goal for the rest of the week. I had the other half of the banana on my way home from the gym. I came home and showered and got ready for my grandma’s bbq. My mom had made some grilled veggies, so I snacked on some grilled asparagus, bell pepper, mushrooms, and sweet vidalia onion. It was SOOOO delicious. I went and watched my kids swim with their grandmother at the rec center for a while, then headed over my own grandmother’s house. I totally stuffed myself for the rest of the night while there. I had a FEW Lay’s potato chips because they were a new flavor that I hadn’t tried before, tomato and basil, and they were good. But nothing I ever have to eat again. I just wanted to taste them. That was the only “junk” I ate. But I did gorge myself with the bagel chips and hummus, and artichoke and jalapeno dip. I also had more grilled asparagus, and some grilled chicken breast and thigh pieces. Peanuts, grilled shrimp, grilled portabella mushrooms and pie were also among the things I consumed. What I noticed, was even though I was full most of the night, I still kept eating. I am not happy with the way I didn’t even try to control myself tonight. I don’t want to be that way, and I know I have better control over myself than this. I have to do better next time I am around food like that. I think the difference this time than last is that I didn’t go into the day thinking I’m only going to eat THIS, or I’m going to stay away from that. I just went. There was no plan of action. I avoided the things that I don’t eat like steak kabobs, hot dogs, polish sausage, brats and such without so much as a thought. Why can’t I be this way with over eating? Why didn’t I stop when I was satisfied instead of just going and going with the bagel chips and dip? That’s what I ate the most of. Oh well, day’s over. I’ll move on and try harder next time. I’ve done it in the past and I’ll do it again. I wanted to mention all the compliments I got tonight on my weight loss! I just kept hearing from all directions how much I’ve lost and how good I look! That felt good I’m only 15 down, I still have 35 more to lose! Wait till they see me then! Anyhow, I feel grossly full. I guess I’ll get to bed now. Oh! and I have spin class scheduled for tues, wed, and thurs of this week in addition to my normal morning workout! Hopefully that will make up for the ridiculous amount of calories I consumed tonight! Good night!

Last Week: 177

This Week: 173 (-4)

Even after Waffle House this morning, I was down 4 pounds this week. I’m glad and hopefully a new decade is just around the corner. I’m at a total loss of 9 pounds for the month of May plus 6 lost for April to make a grand total of 15 pounds lost. I am 3.8 away from my 10% mini goal. That’s pretty cool.

I had sort of a free eating day today. It wasn’t so bad, but with tomorrow being a holiday, and the fact that I am going to a barbecue, I know there will be more “free” eating for me. Today, my indulgences included a teensy sliver of sweet potato pie, a very small amount of potato salad, and 2 servings of home made baked macaroni and cheese. All this was made by my mother in law. She is a wonderful cook, and I am totally weak for her mac and cheese, as you can see. I didn’t overdo it today. I had a small breakfast, an even smaller lunch, and a dinner as described above.

I also had a very good workout today. I did more intervals on the treadmill. I ran at 7.0 today it was great. I run on the nordic track machines because I like the little track that they show you so you can see your running. One lap around a track is 400m. For my intervals today, on each lap I did 100 meters at 3.0, then kicked it up to 7.0 for the remaining 300 meters. I did this for a total of 3 miles. It was very challenging, but fun. I love running. I hate all the other cardio machines because to me, they are boring. I have recently decided that I love the stair climber though. Those are my two. I need to kick my butt in gear and do some weight training. It’s been a week since I lifted a weight. That is also boring to me.

My husband commented today that my boobs are shrinking. Yet another NSV!!! I hate big boobs. Especially my 38D’s. I noticed that my bra’s were getting a gappy and loose, so I put on one of my old bras size 36C and it totally fit! He wasn’t happy with the “shrinkage” as he called it, but I was! I’d actually pay to get a reduction and a lift if I could. A full B cup is plenty for me!

I’m going to get to bed now since it’s 11:30 pm. Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Major after dinner snacking issues today. I have already had a major chocolate attack and still having cravings! And I’m giving in with no guilt is the crazy part. I wanted chocolate at a friends house so I had: a Kit Kat Bar, 1 Rolo, 1 teensy Hershey Bar, and some mini chocolate drizzle rice cakes that I wasn’t all that crazy about. I’m fine with all that too! Especially the Kit Kat because it was soooooo good!!! I know it’s the PMS, making me crave chocolate because I’ve been wanting it all week and yesterday and today I gave in. Yesterday it was sensible, today it was overload. But after coming in way under calories for two days in a row, I feel like yea, it’s not food I can eat on a daily basis, but so what I had a few pieces of candy. It’s not going to ruin my week and I won’t die from it. The only problem is that I still feel like snacking. I even grabbed 2 tortilla chips on my way out the door at my in laws house tonight. I’m going out in a few (which I never do) and I’m going to try my best and not eat another thing, but I can’t promise that. Oh well. I don’t expect to be out of the 170’s for tomorrow’s weigh in, but definitely next week for sure! I’m holding on to that goal! Well I’m off to get ready.

Goodnight!!!!

Good morning!

It’s 2:07am and I just got in from seeing a movie and a super late dinner/early breakfast with my bestie. Since sex and the city 2 got such horrible ratings, we decided to go see a movie called Just Wright. After the movie we decided to go to Waffle House. Well she decided. She wasn’t ready to go home quite yet. I had water, a buttermilk waffle, and a hard fried egg. The waffle was supposed to be one of their “lighter” choices, and I just like fried eggs so…. Let me just say that the waffle was absolute heaven. The eggs were cooked (more like drowned) in butter which I didn’t appreciate, but most everything they serve there comes with extra heart attack on the side. I ate my waffle sans butter or syrup and especially enjoyed that because I could taste every bit of goodness even more. I ate most but not all of the heart attack eggs. At first I was going to beat myself up for eating this, AND for the chocolate earlier, but decided not to. This is a lifestyle and if I am going to maintain it, I must be prepared to have days like today. Some days I will eat things like chocolate and waffles, maybe even cake, french fries, or pizza. But the important thing to remember is as long as I enjoy those things in moderation, it’s fine. This is not a diet, and the foods I love are not off limits. I make healthier food choices whenever possible, I exercise more often than I don’t, I drink as much water as I possibly can in a day’s time, and I LIVE. Now maybe eating at 1am isn’t the best choice I could have made, but I’ll worry about it when it becomes an everyday occurrence.  I know I have to weigh-in tomorrow and so what. I am getting really sick of being obsessed with what the scale says. I am developing a very unhealthy relationship with the scale and it needs to stop. Whatever the number tomorrow, fine. Life goes on. I will continue living the healthy lifestyle that I have chosen. There is no race, and there is no finish line to cross at my destination. My destination is fitness, somewhere that you can’t stop at once you get there. You must work to stay there. No more beating myself up. Tomorrow is a new day. I will continue on.

Today was a helluva day… busy, busy. I nearly skipped dinner AGAIN and certainly came in under calories… AGAIN! I can’t keep letting this happen. I have planned for tomorrow to try and make up for the last 2 days of horror. But in other great news, I got my 3 miles in under 30!!!!!! 29.43!!!! I did MOST of it at 6.0 but a couple times took it up to 6.5 and 7.0. Only thing is I ran the fist half (1.5 miles) at a 0 incline, but the 2nd half I did at a -3 incline which is like running downhill. My next goal is to run it all at 0 incline. Because I feel like I cheated. That’s my NSV for the day. I’ve been busy today doing hair, but at least I’ve made some money. I have a 8am appointment in the morning to do some more hair. So at least I’ll have some money to buy groceries next week! I only had $20 to spend today, so I went and picked up some milk, cheese, tuna, tomatoes, and fruit to get me through the weekend. I’ll probably go do some more shopping on Monday or Tuesday if I can make it that long. Ok, I have had a LONG day and I barely slept a wink last night. I need to get some sleep so I can make my 8am appointment in the morning.

B: Oatmeal with RF peanut butter, brown sugar, raisins, splash of almond milk (8:30a)

L: Tuna melt with tomato slices, and RF shredded cheese (1:00p)

S1: 1 tsp peanuts*(3:00p)

S2: MINI-MINI Mr. Goodbar* (6:00p)

S3: 3 RF Tomato and Mozzarella flavored Pringles* (7:30p)

D: Turkey tenderloin, string cheese (9:30p)

* Would you even call these snacks? They were all within HOURS of each other and did NOTHING to satisfy my hunger!!

I must promise myself that I will NOT make sleeping in a habit! It threw my whole entire day off! I didn’t eat for the first time until almost noon. Then I played around for a while reading blogs. After that, I had a great, mood lifting time trying on all my tops that have been too tight since I bought them last fall. Well, not anymore! They all fit loosely now, some too loose and they look silly. I tried on a couple pairs of “skinny” jeans that I have too and they fit fine with no muffin top. But they fit when I bought them, so I’m actually waiting for them to get too big :)  Then I sat around a little more doing a little more nothing, before I decided to go the the gym at 2:30. I came home around 4 and realized that I hadn’t eaten yet and I had a birthday party to go to at 6! I quickly showered and got ready for the party and on my way out around 5:20, I heated up some rice and ground turkey mixture that I had made for my stuffed peppers a while back and froze. I ate that in the car on the way to pick up my baby girl for the party. The party was at Chuck E Cheese. Since I had already eaten, I had no problem saying no to pizza, cake, and ice cream. I only had a small cup of water and that was fine with me. But here’s the scary part, and the part that has me a little worried- I only ate TWICE today! No snacks, and 2 small meals. I’m hungry now, but it’s 9:45 pm and that’s too late to eat. For some reason, I always get hungry late at night. It never fails. Oh well, I’ll just go to bed early since eating now is not an option and hunger is an uncomfortable feeling that you can’t feel when you’re asleep. I’ll leave you with my food/activity for the day.

Food

B: nothing

L: turkey bacon, egg, cheese wrapped in a whole wheat flat bread

D: stuffed pepper filling (ground turkey, brown rice, corn, salsa, Ro-Tel)

Water: 96+ oz (I stop counting after I finish 3-32oz bottles)

Exercise

3 miles in 31.54 mins (RECORD TIME!!!!)

15 mins stair climber (I have now graduated to level 6 from a level 5)

3 sets of 10 on the inner thigh weight machine

That’s all I did at the gym because I was pressed for time. Or at least that’s the excuse I’m going with.

I had a seriously weird dream last night/this morning. I was in a mall food court and was trying to choose something to eat. I saw all types of things that the old me would have ran to in a heartbeat. There was one counter that served only stuffed waffles. (I’m not sure if something like that even exists) The waffles were stuffed with things like icing, and custard, fruit glazes, chocolate… you name it! In my dream, I just stood there, staring, salivating, and the guy behind the counter was like “what’s it gonna be?” and I just said- “um nothing for me” WOW! that hurt. In this dream, I was speeding. Going so fast through the food counters, looking at all my old favorites the deli, the bread company, the fried meats, and pasta, buttery, cheesy foods, and I was like “no, no, no” Even in my dream, I was committed to making good choices no matter how delicious they looked. WOW!

Another victory was that the scale read 174.6 this morning. Yesterday it was 175.0. I don’t know why I’m getting on every day again. I started back doing that last week when the scale wasn’t moving and here I am this week. I know I especially wanted to get on this morning, because I didn’t work out at all yesterday. I was busy, I was procrastinating, I was tired, any excuse- I had it! That’s ok because I usually take a day off anyway, but I think this means I have to do something on Sunday which is my normal off day, but I worked out this past Sunday which is officially the first day of my week, so I MAY not have to! I have to wait and see what my scale friend says. It’s getting closer to TOM- just a few days away. I’m not seeing water retention, so the chugging ridiculous amounts of water must be helping. On a bad note, today was the first day of summer break for my son so the kids spent the night with his grandparents. And I um kinda slept in. Well it’s 10:30 am and I’m still in bed. That’s more than half the morning gone! I’m going to eat breakfast in a little while, I just started my water, I already know I’m going to have a late lunch, so that should eliminate some snacking. Problem is, I have no idea what any of my meals are going to be. Guess I better get on that!

I’m going to get started on this already hot, already humid, muggy day! Hope everyone has the best Thursday!