My Big Fat Blog

Had issues posting last week (the weigh-in post below was actually written on July 1st, but I couldn’t get it to publish for some reason), but I’m finally back.

I didn’t weigh myself last Friday (07/08/11), so my next weigh-in will be this Friday (07/15/11). Wish I had a good excuse, but I don’t. I was feeling worn out last Friday, and wanted to spend some quality time with my bf. We went out to our favorite Thai restaurant for dinner where we ordered pad thai, pineapple fried rice, and bbq pork (definitely not on the diet menu, but really, REALLY good). Brian wanted ice cream afterward, so we stopped at Dairy Queen, where I further indulged in a chocolate-dipped ice cream cone. Ugh. I remember feeling completely stuffed and wanting to throw the cone away after a few bites, but we were driving and there was really no good place to dispose of a half-eaten, melting ice cream cone. So yeah, I ate it. All of it. Gross.

But did I stop there? Of course not. Saturday night, Brian and I went out to dinner at this fancy little restaurant just outside of town. We had purchased a Groupon months ago, and wanted to use it before it expired later this month. I had the pan roasted cinnamon chipotle pork loin, and Brian had the bacon wrapped pheasant. I ate about 3/4 of the pork loin, and a little roasted corn that was served on the side. Afterward, we split a dessert called “Banana Bombs.” It was basically a pastry filled with cinnamon and sugar covered bananas, topped with vanilla ice cream. Fat kid heaven.

Anyway, I won’t detail every moment of the past week and a half…I think you get the idea. It was pretty horrible. Usually I’m able to pull myself together come Monday, but even that was a disaster. I was watching Master Chef, and the contestants had to make a 6-layer cake as part of a pressure test. Guess who decided she needed cake at 10pm? Drove down to Safeway, bought a slice of carrot cake from the bakery and a single serving cup of salted caramel ice cream. Luckily, I only had about two bites of the cake before I realized that it had raisins in it, which was a deal-breaker for me. I still managed to polish off the cup of ice cream, though.

So…here I am. It’s late-afternoon, and so far, so good. I’m back to tracking my calories, which I think helps TREMENDOUSLY. Crossing my fingers that I can hold it together once I get home, because that’s usually where things start to unravel. Hope all of you lovely ladies have been doing well…mwah!

I’ve committed to keeping this blog, so I’m forcing myself to write today (even though I don’t feel like I have much to say). I guess I like the idea of having a blog more than I actually like keeping one.

Yesterday was ok…went a little over on calories, but not by much (somewhere between 45-50). Brian was beat and decided to lay down in our bed after dinner to “relax.” I foolishly crawled in beside him to talk, and we both ended up falling asleep (at 8pm!!). Needless to say, I didn’t get a chance to go to the gym. I’ve been trying to talk myself into going early in the morning before work, but I am a HORRIBLE morning person. I’ve always been one of those people who could stay up all night and still function pretty well the next day, but I’ve never been able to pull myself out of bed before 6:30am.

I’m going to do my first official weigh-in tomorrow morning. Hopefully I’ve lost a few pounds since I last weighed myself, but it’s that special time of the month, so who knows how that will affect the scale. Also, I’ve posted a link to my food diary, so feel free to check it out and yell at me when I eat things that I shouldn’t be!

So, after a year-long hiatus, I’ve decided to come back. Here’s a brief update on what you’ve missed since my last post:

• November 2009 - Hired a personal trainer for one year. Did really, really well in the beginning. Lost 65lbs and started feeling really good about myself.

• June 2010 - After reaching my lowest weight (195lbs), went to Vegas and splurged. Ate EVERYTHING in sight. Came back from vacation and was never able to get my diet back on track.

• Fall/Winter 2010 - Started regaining weight slowly. Cancelled my trainer. By February 2011, gained 25lbs back (220lbs).

• March 2010 - Started going back to the gym once in awhile (would go for a week, take two weeks off…no real consistency). Tried getting back on a healthy eating plan, but would sabotage myself on the weekends. For some reason, it just didn’t seem as easy as it had in the beginning. Didn’t lose any weight.

• Current - Finally, about two weeks ago, I got my groove back. Not sure where this sudden motivation is coming from, but I’m not complaining. I’ve been tracking my calories for about two weeks now using MyFitnessPal’s mobile app, and so far I’ve lost 7lbs (current weight: 213lbs). I haven’t been working out regularly, but now that my diet is somewhat back in order (and I’m not constantly starving), I plan on getting back into a weekly routine.

So, yeah…that’s where I’m at. I’m upset that I let myself get back over 200lbs, but I’m glad that I’m doing something about it.

I think it’s about time I set some real goals for myself. So, here it goes:

Mini-Goal #1: Under 200lbs/ Fit into those cute Ralph Lauren Jeans collecting dust in my closet

Mini-Goal #2: 185lbs (BMI in “Overweight” range, out of “Obese”)

Mini-Goal #3: 160lbs (The weight listed on my Driver’s License)

Ultimate Goal: 155lbs (BMI in “Normal” range)

Status Update:

Starting Weight: 260lbs, Current Weight: 225lbs

I have lost 35lbs since starting this blog. My BMI has dropped from 42.0 to 36.3. Still WAY too high…but hey, it’s some kind of progress

Nothing much to write about, but I am glad that it’s finally Friday. I think I’ll treat myself to a nice bubble bath when I get home. Ahh…

I was a little disappointed with my lack of progress this week. I did well…stuck to my calories, exercised each night for at least an hour…aannd, the scale didn’t budge. So frustrating. Hopefully next week’s weigh in will be more encouraging.

Sushi for dinner tonight? Mmm. I think yes! Have a fabulous weekend ladies…and good luck to all!

I’m feeling disgusted with myself today, and I’m not sure why. I’ve been losing weight, eating right, exercising regularly…shouldn’t I be feeling good about myself? Maybe I’m just in a funky mood. Hopefully I can sweat it out tonight at the gym.

I was so worried that the weekend would be a total disaster. Turns out, I did just fine.

Before leaving for Pismo, I stopped at Trader Joe’s and picked up some healthy snacks. I planned out all of my meals for the weekend and packed everything I would need. I even remembered to pack my own condiments (light mayo, light salad dressing, etc.). Although this took some extra planning on my part, it paid off in the end. Didn’t go over my calories and even managed to work in a little exercise. Go me!

One of my new favorite things to do is find healthy substitutes for the foods I love. For example, I knew that the family would be cooking hamburgers and hotdogs over the weekend. So, instead of feeling totally bummed out that I couldn’t eat any of it (or, even worse, giving in and eating ALL of it), I packed a chicken & apple sausage with a whole wheat bun. Totally delish…and I didn’t even have to feel guilty about it

In other news…last night was my first night back at the gym. For the first time I was able to keep my heart rate on target (usually I’m way above…my heart has to work overtime to compensate for my lack of fitness). Not feeling too sore today…could be a bad thing. I don’t want to feel crippled after working out, but I also don’t want to feel like I’m half-assing it. Maybe I’ll try adding some more weight to my arm and leg exercises tonight.

I don’t know if I mentioned it, but I have lost 13lbs since I started this blog a little over 2 weeks ago. My next weigh in is on Thursday (for now I’m only weighing myself once a week), so I’ll let you all know how it goes.

xoxo

-Amber

I ache from my head to my toes…and I’m not being dramatic. My abs even hurt when I turn the steering wheel in my car. I am ridiculously out of shape.

Last night was my first night at the gym. It took longer than I thought to sign up (the guy kept trying to sell me on the place, and I just felt like screaming, “Dude…I’m in! Now tell me where to sign so that I can start working out!”). By the time I finished 35 minutes on the elliptical (and 2.6 miles…yay!!) it was already 7:30, and I still hadn’t eaten dinner. Needless to say, I was starving. So, instead of checking out the rest of the gym, I decided to head home and get some grub. I did manage to work in a few muscle-toning exercises after dinner, along with some crunches.

As tired and sore as I feel today, it’s hard to think of a good reason to hit the gym after work. Fortunately, earlier in the week I promised my niece that we would go together tonight. I don’t want to let her down, and I could use the exercise. I think I’ll just take it easy…nothing too intense.

On a postive note, I love love LOVE how well I sleep aftering exercising. I’ve been dead to world the past few nights. Hallelujah.

I’m also starting to notice that I am less hungry. My body is finally getting accustomed to the smaller portions I’ve been eating. Thank goodness. I don’t know how much longer I could stand going hungry all the time.

This weekend I’m heading to Pismo with the boyfriend on a family camping trip. From experience, I know that means I’ll be around A LOT of junk food. My mission tonight is to find some healthy snack foods (and possibly a low-calorie dessert) to take with me so that I’m not tempted to eat anything and everything while I’m gone. Trader Joe’s, here I come!

xoxo

-Amber

Today’s Menu

Breakfast: Slimfast Optima Milk Chocolate Shake

Snack: 1/2 Trio Bar

Lunch: 1 serving Select Harvest Chicken Tortilla Soup; 1 Individual-sized bag Multigrain Tortilla Chips

Snack: Remaining 1/2 of Trio Bar

Dinner: Salmon with 2tsp Italian Bread Crumbs; 1 Mozzarella Cheese Stick; Medium Nectarine

Water - 8+ glasses

Exercise - 30 minutes on treadmill (1.7 miles); 15 minutes pilates (ab/leg workout)

I need to find a creative way to work more vegetables into my diet. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to leave me a comment.

Anyway…super excited about my appointment with the personal trainer tomorrow! I’ll let you know how it goes. For now, I’m off to bed. Nite!