Getting Ready to Leave VA (UPDATE)

I’m pissed. I screwed up my whole day at lunch. Grrr. Well, I woke up at like 7:45 this morning because Hubs and Bubs and I are all sharing one bed at this time because we are moving tomorrow and basically everything is packed…including Bubs' bed. Needless to say I slept like shit last night and getting up at 7:45 a.m. sucked assssssss. And then we were supposed to have lunch with Hubs' mom at noon. So, I just didn’t eat breakfast and instead did some packing. HUGE mistake. She didn’t show up until 1:30 and by then I was starving to death. We went to UNO’s and I ate freakin’ everything in sight. Blahhhhh

I had two stuffed mushrooms, 2 avocado egg rolls, a vegetable goat cheese wrap with farro salad, and then Bubs and I shared the deep dish cookie sundae which by itself is like 1300 calories (and Bubs ate about 1/8th of it). So I’m already 470 calories over my allotment for the day and that was just lunch. We are supposed to have dinner with my mom tonight. Ugh. And I didn’t run this morning because it was supposed to be hot as balls (which it is). So I suck. Sigh….I’m definitely back in those 190s. I gotta do better. I WILL DO BETTER. (just probably not today….definitely tomorrow though! HA. I guess we will call today my cheat day.) I need to lay off the chocolate and eat breakfast.

Getting Ready to Leave VA

CW: 189.8lbs (16.2lbs lost)

Well, hello, 180s! Nice to see you! I haven’t seen you since college.

To be honest, I’m not really that excited about it. I went to the doctor yesterday and was weighed at 196, so either my scale is lying to me or my doctor’s scale is lying to me. I’d love to think it’s my doctor’s scale, but I doubt it. It’s not a digital scale, it’s the one with the needle that goes around. I don’t know. If my scale is the one that’s lying, then I started out at 212 instead of 206 since I’m at 196 instead of 189.8. Either way, I’ve still lost 16lbs. I know that. I just wish that I REALLY am in the 180s. Idk. I’m a little sour today about it after being weighed yesterday. Blah…

I ran every day this week (except for Monday), but its hot as balls outside right now so I probably won’t get a run in today. And tomorrow we move out of this house, so probably no run then either….or Monday, because we are driving to NC to move into the new house. So no runs for 3 days…..eeek. Plus all the eating out because we obviously don’t have a kitchen or anything to cook in….sigh.

Maybe I will try to run in the heat today anyway. I’ll just bring water….and maybe walk a little more.

Foodwise has been less than stellar, but not awful. Yesterday I went to Eggspectations to say goodbye to a friend, and I had a bagel loaded up with cream cheese and smoked salmon with some fruit on the side. For dinner I had subway--12” on multi-grain with oven roasted chicken, avocado, tomato, spinach, onion, pickles, and mustard. I also devoured two of Subway's chocolate chip cookies in about 3 seconds.

The day before, I had an egg beaters, laughing cow cheese and salsa omelet topped with greek yogurt and a half of a bagel with butter. Lunch was some brown rice with just a little bit of my taco dip mixed in, and for dinner I had Zinga (pacific coast tart froyo with coconut, strawberries, and pecans…yummmmm).

I'm a BAMF! (UPDATE)

The rest of today was a failure! Ha.

After I posted I went on an eating rampage….We went to chipotle and I got a salad with a little bit of the cilantro lime rice, black beans, fajita veggies, tomato salsa, corn salsa, sour cream and cheese (600 calories). Thank you www.nutritionix.com!

THEN we had Sweet Frog (Mike talked me into it. Ha!) I had coconut froyo with dark chocolate shavings and some roasted/salted almond pieces. (Idk…maybe 400 calories?)

THEN for dinner, we had brown rice, broccoli and this crock pot chicken taco thing that needed eating out of or freezer. I was bad…I added olive oil to the rice and butter to the broccoli. I had about a cup of rice, a million broccoli florets and probably about a cup of the taco thing (which by the way is just chicken breast, salsa, black beans, and cream cheese (I'll post the recipe)…nothing fancy, but oh so amazing. I made it back in March WAY before my healthy transformation thing, and next time I make it I’m doing half cream cheese/half Greek yogurt and adding corn) (875 calories)

Totals

Goal: 1400
Consumed: 2550 (ouch)
Exercise: 583
Net: 1967
Remaining: -567

I haven’t seen that high of a negative number in a while. And to be honest, I feel as though I ate healthy things today and I indulged just a little in my sweet tooth, so, SO WHAT?! It’s one measly day, and I don’t give a shit. I ran a fucking 5K WITHOUT WALKING ONCE today. So I’m saying “fuck off” to that shit. J Sorry for the swearing (and yes I know I’m not supposed to reward myself with food) but tomorrow is a new day and I’m still on track, doing well. So…suck it. J

I'm a BAMF!

I’ve still been at it! I woke up yesterday, took Bubs to school and then Hubs and I ran/walked 5.48 miles in that neighborhood. Three laps is about 5 miles, and that’s what we did. I ran the entire last lap, and then back to my car. Just a smidge over 1.5 miles. So I decided that if I could do 1.5 miles yesterday, I can run an entire 5K today. So that’s what I did. Because I’m a badass. And you know, what? I didn’t die, nor did I feel like I was even close to dying. So, yay me!

Here’s my breakdown:

Mile 1: 15’28” (I walked to warm up)
Mile 2: 10’54”
Mile 3: 10’41”
Mile 4: 10’37”
Mile 5: 15’58” (I walked to cool down)

My Nike+ app doesn’t tell me my actual 5K time (because it’s not exactly 3 miles, its 3.11), but I’m guessing I ran the 5K in about 33 minutes. 3 minutes faster than my goal! Hell yes! And I felt a little like jello when I was finished, but I feel great now! And when I got home, we packed the kitchen…womp womp.

As far as my calories go, I’ve been a little lax the past few days:

Monday

B: Honey Bunches of Oats and Almond Milk
L: Spanish Rice with greek yogurt
D: Spanish Rice (no yogurt) and a small slice of lasagna
Ds: Moose Tracks…just a few bites of Mike’s

 I had to guess on the calories here but I’d say about 1921. And no, I didn’t work out on Monday. I took a break.

Tuesday

B: Honey Bunches of Oats with Almond Milk
L: Chicken Caesar Cool Wrap from Chickfila with Caesar Dressing (my weakness….ahhh)
D: Chicken Tortilla soup with 2 slices provolone and some greek yogurt (we’re trying to eat everything that’s left in our fridge so its kind of random right now)

Calories: 1861

Exercise: 615
Net: 1246
Remaining: 154

Today (Wednesday) so far:

B: Honey Bunches of Oats with Almond Milk
2^nd B (Lord of Rings…eh? Eh?): Southwest egg beaters, laughing cow cheese wedges, ½ a bagel with butter
L: Mike just suggested chipotle….so probably that
D: We have some amazing crock pot taco dip in the freezer that needs to be eaten so probably that in a wrap with some avocado. OMG, I’m salivating just thinking about it….

Yep, I'm Awesome

CW: 190.2lbs (15.8lbs lost)

Let’s go ahead and talk about how awesome I am. I spent all day yesterday with my mom shopping and whatnot and I got some of the CUTEST running clothes at the Under Armour outlet. When I got home I made dinner (Spanish Rice with black beans, corn, tomato, chicken, and Greek yogurt) and then even after I ate I had the sudden urge to run. So slipped on my super cute running top and then kicked some ass. I ran/power walked the shit out of a 5K. I did it in 35 minutes and some change. Like 30 seconds faster than my goal, and I ran A LOT of it.

And afterwards, I really wanted to go get Sweet Frog, but I resisted the temptation, and didn’t get anything sweet. Actually, I didn't eat anything…I just chugged a whole bunch of water instead. I am not a dog, I did not reward myself with food. I’m so proud of myself. “My feet hurt from kicking so much ass”.

And today, I stepped on that beautiful scale and look what it read!!! 190.2. The 180s are calling my name!

Can we also talk about how I wore a tightish fitting outfit yesterday (black yoga pants with a gray tank and my hot pink Nike sports bra underneath—not exactly super stylish or anything…but still…I was sexy either way) while out and about and the Hubs told me how he thought I looked fantastic, and so did my mom! Mom even commented on my guns! I must be doing something right then!!! J

Here’s to another great week. Though I probably won’t be exercising today since I’m packing and my run last night was pretty late and my achilles/soleus is sore. So, taking it easy today!

Yesterday’s Menu:
B: Oatmeal with Strawberries, Almond Milk, and Greek Yogurt
L: Leftover Mini Pizzas
D: Spanish Rice with Black Beans, Corn, Tomato, Chicken, and Greek Yogurt
**I may or may not have had a couple of Mike’s french fries (maybe 5 or 6, max) when he went to Wendy’s for lunch, but its negligible so mehhhh**

Totals
Consumed: 1258
Exercise: 454
Net: 804
Remaining: 596

J J J J

And some progress pictures…(my least favorite part...ick):

A) Sorry they are so blurry. I used my iPhone and had some trouble uploading them to this blog individually. I'll fix it for next time. Scouts honor.

B) I know the date on the first pics is November 2011. I had some grand ideas about losing weight then,  but gave up when I found out that I was going to have knee surgery again. Meh...

Anywho! Honestly, I don’t see any difference really, except in the way my clothes actually fit. My underpants aren’t as tight which is nice. And you can see a TINY gap between my thighs RIGHT near my crotch, so I guess that’s progress, too. And in the second set of pictures, you can see some more definition in my arm…Obviously I still have lots of work to do, and its definitely going to take some time. Lots of time. 50 lbs dont disappear over night!

Packing? Er....No.

CW: 192.6 (-13.4)

I was surprised (and excited) to see that number today! I even was like “What? You lying bitch…” out loud and weighed myself again and it said the same thing so I’m taking it! J woot woot! I’m making progress, bitches.

Had a super fun day of packing today…not really. I could NOT get motivated to do hardly any packing whatsoever. I feel so disorganized that I just want to lie down and yell, “Uncle!”. I want to just blink my eyes and POOF! We’re there! Obviously that’s not happening. Booooo….But I got a few things done I guess.

Bubs and I went on a 3.5+ mile walk this evening followed by an abdominal/arms circuit for 20 minutes. I ate really well also! I’m feeling pretty good about my progress so far. I seriously hope I can keep this up. In the past I’ve lost a few pounds and then given up, saying “eh, I’ve lost plenty…I’m good.” But it’s not good enough this time. I want to lose more than a few pounds. I want to get into the 170’s before orientation for my physical therapy program down in NC starts on August 15^th. I don’t know if that’s feasible, but it would be nice and I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing in the hopes that that’s enough. If not, I’ll adjust accordingly.

So here it is….

The Menu

B: Honey Bunches of Oats with Almond Milk
L: Black Bean and Corn Quesadilla with salsa, plain Greek yogurt and weight watchers shredded cheese
D: Mini Pesto, Tomato, Mozzarella Pizzas
Ds: Plain Greek Yogurt with cinnamon, fresh strawberries, vanilla extract and just a little bit of sugar (I’m out of stevia and I actually don’t like the taste of it that much so I’m on the hunt for a different natural sweetener instead)

Totals

Consumed: 1521
Burned Through Exercise: 343
Net: 1178
Remaining: 222

Here’s to being more productive tomorrow. I guess.

Break Time

I took a break today. I know I said I wanted to increase my running and do an ab series and I’ll probably be kicking myself in the ass tomorrow for it when I step on the scale and weigh 200lbs again, but I just needed a break from exercise. My back hurts, my hip hurts, my ass hurts, my left soleus hurts (that’s the lower calf for all you non-medically minded folks out there), and of course….my god damn knee hurts and is the size of my head again. So I took a break. I’ve been exercising every single day and I don’t want to get injured and not be able to do anything at all, so I figured a break might do me some good. I got home from my run last night and my right SIJ was screaming….along with my left soleus and my left knee. I’m just a mess, and I’m fucking tired. So I took a long ass nap today instead. What?! Priorities.

But I made up for it today by eating well….well sorta.

The Menu:

B: Honey Bunches of Oats with Almond Milk (275 cal)

L: Two slices of Dominos veggie pizza (290 cal per slice)
D: 12” Turkey Sub from Subway with LTO, pickles and mustard. No cheese, on 9 grain wheat—I wanted spinach but they didn’t have any…womp womp. (550 cal)

Totals:
Consumed: 1405
Burned Through Exercise: 0 L
Net: 1405
Remaining: -5

Meh….could have been worse. I’m glad I took that break though. Today was my last day of work (except for next week when I am filling in at a different clinic). We move NEXT weekend….did you hear that? NEXT WEEKEND, people! This is crazy. Ahhh….So tomorrow I need to get my packing muscles in gear and get some shit done. Hopefully I’ll also have time to work out. We shall see.

In other news, Pinterest is sucking me in again with all its healthy recipes and whatnot. There are a lot of new things I want to try when I get moved into the new place. Baked oatmeal, protein shakes…all sorts of shit. Can’t wait to be down in NC starting our new life.

Foodage

The past two days have been hard as far as meals are concerned. Yesterday, I tried a new recipe I found on Pinterest. It was for pumpkin muffins made with oatmeal flour. They were fucking disgusting…even after I put sweet cream cheese on them. Blech. I’m pissed I wasted 348 calories on those fuckers. I threw them away.

For lunch I had the salmon from the night before smashed on toast with cottage cheese and strawberries. Sooooo much better than my breakfast.

My friend, Corri, came over to visit and we ordered from a thai restaurant down the street. I couldn’t find any nutritional information on it, so I assumed it couldn’t be any worse than Pei Wei’s version, so I used their calorie information instead. I had shrimp pad thai and only ate half. And I had a couple pieces of calamari as well.

Today, for breakfast I had those protein pancakes with strawberries (still amazing, I’m making them forever). Lunch was the leftover shrimp pad thai. For dinner I really wanted Subway, but the Hubs was insistent on trying this seafood restaurant down the street called Marlin and Ray’s. It was mediocre at best and still expensive. Anyway….we ordered calamari again (it was not great), and I had the grilled grouper and mango salsa with broccoli and boiled red potatoes—now THAT was awesome. For dessert, I had half a slice of their key lime pie.

The good thing? I haven’t felt ridiculously full, so obviously I’m doing okay with portion control. The bad thing? The past two days I’ve consumed a lot of calories based on the myfitnesspal app. L I don’t know if I’m going to be making a ton of progress in my weight loss this week, but I’m hoping to do really really well tomorrow. Although, it is my last day of work and I’m pretty sure my boss is ordering pizza so that’ll probably screw me up. Oye.

Another good thing? I have exercised every day this week, though I have officially given up on the Shred completely. My knee just could not take it. It has been so swollen and sore. So yesterday, Bubs and I went for a power walk and then I came back and did a ton of ab and arm work. Planks, pushups, obliques, etc. I felt awesome and today my abs are nice and sore which makes me feel great. I love that sore feeling.

This evening, I walk/ran a little over 3.5 miles. It was hot as shit today, so I’m glad I waited until it cooled off a bit. I’m still walking 1 song, running 1 song for the duration, but on Tuesday I walked 1 song, ran 2 songs and I felt like I worked hard, so I feel like I’m definitely progressing.

I’m hoping to do the walk 1, run 2 again tomorrow and then the ab work as well. I found a good ab series on Pinterest that I’d like to try. It’s from P90X.

I need to put in the work so that when I see that scale on Saturday I’ve lost at least 1 lb. sigh…..just one measly pound please?!

Biggest Loser Protein Pancakes [Recipe]

I've always been a HUGE pancake fan! I love IHOP's pancakes (especially the pumpkin ones), but they are most definitely NOT diet friendly. Until now, that is! I found this recipe on The Biggest Loser Recipes website here and I plan on eating them everyday forever. They are customizable which is a huge plus!

So here it is...

Ingredients:

• 6 egg whites
• 1 cup rolled oats, dry (can be 1-minute oats)
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 2 teaspoons sugar (I used 1 Stevia in the Raw packet)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (I used 1 Tablespoon)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (I used 1 Tablespoon)

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender until well blended. It should be the consistency of pancake batter.
2. Heat skillet to medium-high heat and pour 1/4 cup of mix in pan. Cook until bubbly and flip, letting them brown evenly.

I always top them with strawberries and lite syrup, but you can add chocolate chips, blueberries, anything. Also, instead of cottage cheese you can sub greek yogurt, or split it halfway with some pumpkin puree and add some pumpkin pie spice for a good fall treat! Even add your favorite protein powder to the mix! Like I said, this recipe is sooooo customizable!

Update 12/31/12:

I am making these currently, and I just wanted to add that YES, you do have to grease the pan. I'm using pure coconut oil. Also, if you choose to use greek yogurt, the batter will be very runny so you my need to use more oats. I added about 1/2 cup more oats this time to thicken it up!

Also, some more fun ways to eat these: almond butter and banana slices, honey and banana slices, strawberry cream cheese and strawberry preserves...the possibilities are endless!!! :)

Just some suggestions! Enjoy!

Phoning It In (UPDATE)

The Hubs and I ran 3.52 miles today…you know, after I took a 2 hour nap. Ha. Then we came home and I made salmon with a yogurt/mustard dill sauce and brown rice and green beans. Yummy. It ended up tasting really great! Hubs loved it. It was awesome. My knee is really swollen though, so I didn’t do the Shred. It is so hard on the knee with all of those squats. So, I took a break today, and maybe tomorrow as well and then I’ll try to get back at it.

Anyway, here it is...

The Menu:

B: Protein Pancakes with strawberries
L: Egg Beaters, blue cheese, bacon, toast, low fat cottage cheese
D: Salmon with yogurt/mustard dill sauce, brown rice, and green beans
Ds: Three bites of that McDonald’s chocolate milkshake (Hubs ate the rest)

Totals

Consumed: 1500
Burned Through Exercise: 401
Net: 1099
Remaining: 301

Phoning It In

I totally phoned in my workout yesterday. I got up and walk/ran 3.34 miles in the rain yesterday morning and immediately followed it up with the Shred (p.s. have I told you how much I LOATHE level 2). My run was mediocre. I totally could have run more and walked less because I wasn’t even tired when I got home, and while doing the Shred I took more breaks than I have been. I just wasn’t feeling it. I ate okay—the Hubs tried to trip me up by getting me a chocolate milkshake from McDonald’s. That sweet, sweet asshole.

The Menu:

B: Protein Pancakes (recipe here) with lite syrup, margarine, and strawberries
L: Nothing
D: Broiled Chicken with Italian seasoning, veggie mac and cheese (lite prep) and green beans
Ds: Half of the Chocolate Milkshake (I’m saving the rest for today)

Total Consumed: 1454

Total Burned: 480 (maybe)
Net: 974
Remaining: 426

Today, my knee is swollen and I am tired and I hate the Shred and I don’t feel like doing anything at all except for take a nap…Which I might just do and THEN maybe I’ll go running and do the Shred. I don’t know. I just feel so blah.

I ate the protein pancakes with strawberries for breakfast and I just have to say that they are freakin’ delicious. The sound gross, but it all comes together and they are amazing. Especially with the added fruity awesomeness.

I just ate lunch: Egg beaters with blue cheese and bacon, toast and cottage cheese

I figured out that I have a recipe rotation that I’ve been sticking to pretty hard:

·         Egg beaters, cheese and toast

·         Protein pancakes with strawberries

·         Cereal and almond milk

·         Quesadillas

·         PB&J

·         Cottage Cheese

·         Broiled meat of some sort and veggies

 I hope I don’t fall into a rut, but I think I’m still okay. I just added up my calories so far for today, and I only have 426 left. Eek!

Happy Father's Day

My Dad with Bubs (she was only a week old)

Happy Father’s Day to the Best Dad ever! My sister and her boyfriend came up last night for the DMB concert and stayed at our house. This morning, we went over to my dad’s house for brunch because it’s Father’s Day, and stuffed our faces and then we helped my mom move some stuff into her new house. Bubs and I got the Hubs an iPhone and an adorable photo collage that spells out “DADDY” in pictures of her. It was really cute.

I did okay for meals today, but I only did the Shred for the second day in a row. And once again, I’m freakin’ exhausted. I’m ready for bed immediately (it’s 9:23pm).

The Menu:

B: Egg beaters, low-fat cheese, green pepper, white onion, tomatoes, 1 Grands biscuit, cantaloupe and Greek yogurt
L: Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich
D: Chipotle – Burrito Bowl with brown rice, black beans, fajita veggies, tomato salsa, corn salsa, lettuce and cheese. I added some Greek yogurt when I got home.

I went on this website www.nutritionix.com (my new favorite obsession) to check the calorie count for the meal I was getting at Chipotle, and it says it was 470, however, when I was looking at the serving size for brown rice it says 3 oz and I’m pretty sure she added way more than that, so I’m not sure how reliable that is, but I used the calculations anyway.

Totals for the Day:

Goal: 1400 (I lowered it from 1470)
Consumed: 1372 (probably more when you factor in the serving size discrepancies for Chipotle)
Burned through Exercise: 196
Net: 1176
Remaining: 224

 Anyway, I’m hoping to have a great week again! My goals are to continue doing the Shred (just finished Day 13 today!!!), continue consuming less than my calorie limit of 1400, and run/walk 5 days in a row for at least 3 miles each. Totally doable! J

How Did I Not Know This? {Greek Yogurt}

My scale is a dirty, filthy, lying whore. I got on it today and it said 195.6! What?! Crazy! I ate like shit, and lost? Seriously….yea, no. I got on it a few seconds later just to double check and it said 196.2. Bitch. Either way, I’m not recording either as my weight. I’m sticking with yesterday’s weigh in and waiting until NEXT Saturday to weigh myself again.

Other than that, I have been freaking exhausted today. I was going to work out, but I just felt so blah and tired all day that I haven’t. And my knee feels super swollen and stiff. I mean, I did the Shred, but usually I go for a run afterward. Not so much today. I JUST finished the Shred a few minutes ago (its 9:15pm) after putting it off allllllll day long. Ha. But I did it. Level 2 is hard as balls.

On an eating note, I stayed under my calories, and I even ate at UNO’s and still kept it together…sorta.

The Menu:

B: Berry Kix with Almond Milk
L: UNO Black Bean Burger with Farro Wheat Salad (and a slice and ½ of Kachyl’s kid’s pepperoni pizza…oops)
D: Cheese Quesadilla with Salsa and Chobani

May I just say that I was very skeptical when I read that Chobani plain yogurt tastes like sour cream (my ALL TIME favorite condiment ever)….BUT, consider me converted!!! J SOOOO good! J yumm! I mean, I’ve always preferred greek yogurt over regular yogurt and I ALWAYS get their Strawberry Banana flavor, but I’ve never tried it as sour cream. And apparently there are a million uses for it in other recipes to save on fat and keep in the creaminess. So, I will be experimenting.

Anyway, that is all.

Some simple Greek Yogurt substitutions

10 lbs (UPDATE #2)

I fell off the wagon. L But, I mean honestly, it was my going away party, did we expect me not to?It’s a good thing I ran today because I totally fucked up tonight. But you know what?! I don’t feel one bit of guilt because it was my going away party and I was spending time with my friends and they all made me these incredible treats so I had a little bit of everything.

The Party Menu:

Chubby Hubby Brownies (brownies with peanut butter and pretzels)—I had two

Nutella Crescent Rolls—I had one
Sangria—I had 2, 16 oz cups
A Giant Shot of ChocoVine
Cheesecake Dip—I had a small plateful (maybe 3-4 bites worth)
Grilled Chicken—I had a 7ish oz piece with lettuce, tomato, onion and mustard
Potato Salad—Probably about ½ a cup
A ton of baby carrots and probably about 5 oz of cheddar cheese

I feel like I probably consumed about 3000 calories. I’m not weighing myself tomorrow. I’m just going off of my measurement from today even though that’s technically cheating, but this is my plan so I don’t give a shit. So, no measurement until next Saturday! J I’m letting myself off the hook for today and its back to the grind tomorrow! The Shred Level 2, Day 2 and probably just a 2 mile walk with Bubs. I really need to get to cleaning/packing.

10 lbs (UPDATE)

I just ran/walked 5.55 miles. I’m beat and sore as crap, but I did it. Plus! I did the first day of Level 2 on the Shred BEFORE my 5.5 mile walk/run and it was hard as crap! I’m dead…seriously, just dead. BUT! I get to go to my party tonight and indulge a little bit so I’m glad I put in all of my hard work already so I definitely will NOT feel guilty for having a bit of fun with my co-workers for the last time tonight! Horray!

10 lbs

CW: 196lbs (10lbs lost)
I cheated and just weighed myself a day early. I’m kind of annoyed actually that I only lost 1.2lbs this week. But I guess I did weigh myself a day early. Maybe if I’m good today the scale will magically read another pound by tomorrow (I won’t count on it). I’m still going to weigh myself tomorrow because today isn’t my official weigh day. But still, to be honest I’m proud of those 1.2lbs. I sure am working hard for them!

The extra awesome part? I’ve lost 10lbs since May 26^th….that’s only 3 weeks people! J

Here’s to just continuing to be disciplined. Honestly, I’m really enjoying this so far! I only have 6 more pounds to go until I’m in the 180s (a place I haven’t been in since BEFORE I had Bubs, umm…you know, 3 years ago)! I just gotta keep on keepin’ on! awesome!

Fat Free Sour Cream

Another good day today!!!! J I ran/walked 4 miles (ran the entire last mile! Yay!) and I also did the Shred (Day 10, Level 1—which means I move on to Level 2 tomorrow…eeek!) I felt really good! Except now I’m exhausted and its…oh, 8:30. So, I’m in my bed with the lights off and it’s still light outside. Oh well.

The Menu:

B: Honey Bunches of Oats and Almond Milk
L: Cheese Quesadilla with Fat Free Sour Cream
D: Ranch Pork Chop with Instant Mashed Potatoes, Fat Free Cottage Cheese, and Green Beans
Ds: Sweet Frog – Coconut Frozen Yogurt with almonds and chocolate syrup (I had to approximate the values here, but it was close to 300 calories)

Total Consumed: 1348

Total Burned Through Exercise: 666
Net: 682
Total Remaining: 788

Can I just say that I HATE, I mean like seriously LOATHE fat free sour cream. It tastes oddly sweet and looks so weird. It just grosses me out and I hate eating it. It doesn’t even taste like sour cream. And let’s be serious here, sour cream is my favorite condiment. I eat it on pizza for Christ’s sake. I could literally put it on anything. This fat free business is pissing me off. I will say that I do loooooove fat free cottage cheese though!

Anywho…I’m feeling really good about my progress so far! I’m still worried about tomorrow though. Apparently they are having a big surprise thing for me at Tanya’s house! AHHH! If I make it out of there without consuming 8 million calories I will be surprised. I might just run 6 miles tomorrow just to leave myself a calorie cushion. I just need to operate some willpower and I will be A-OK. Right? ….right? anyone?

I’ve done so great all week, I don’t want to screw it up now! I’m hoping to get away with no more than 2 beers and a small portion size of whatever is being served. Weigh-in is on Saturday!!! I’m so excited to see my progress this week! I’ve worked so hard! I guess we’ll just see how tomorrow goes!!!! J

I’m writing down my Plan just so I know where I stand for tomorrow:

B: Cereal with Almond Milk

L: Cheese Quesadilla with Sour Cream and Salsa
D: Beer…(haha, just kidding….wait, what?)
EX: The Shred Level 2, Day 1; 5 mile walk/run.

Exhausted

Today was another good day! Besides the fact that I have been absolutely exhausted the past few days, things are going well! Bubs and I walked 2 miles (she had to pee at the 1.5 mile mark, so we had to go home) this morning and then I did the Shred while she watched Beauty and the Beast. I only burned about 389 calories today (womp womp), but I also only ate 1204, so I guess I’m still balanced. I had an extra 815 left over.

The Menu:

B: Honey Bunches of Oats with Almond Milk
L: Egg Beaters, Chicken, Cheese and Toast
D: Black Bean Quesadilla with Sour Cream and Salsa

Other than that, not much to report. I feel like I’m doing really well so far. Granted, I’ve only been doing this for what? Two weeks? I just feel like something is finally clicking with me. I’ve wanted to lose weight for forever and every time I “tried” I would do it for two weeks, lose a few pounds and then give up. I think the biggest thing was that I couldn’t run for over a year due to this knee issue and now that I can it seems like losing weight is going to be easier. Not that its actually easy or anything, but instead of dreading getting on the scale, I’ve been looking forward to it because I know I’ve worked hard that week and I’m going to see results. I’m hoping that tomorrow is another good day for me. I’d like to run/walk again for 3 or 4 miles and of course I’ll be doing the Shred. I was mistaken yesterday—I still have one more day of Level 1 to do. And that will be tomorrow. Then its on to Level 2, which is going to kick my ass, I know it.

Running in the Rain

Last night I didn’t go to sleep until 2 am. I don’t know why. Maybe I missed my Hubs, though he did get home this evening and we argued about money (what else is new?) so now I’m wishing he were still in NC. I bought a mirror for Bubs' new room in NC that matches the furniture my mom bought for her. It was $172. I budgeted for it and bought it two weeks ago. It just came in the mail today (and it is huge by the way). He saw it when he got home and asked me about it, so I told him. And now he’s pissed that I spent the money on it without telling him I was going to. Actually, we did talk about it and I told him I wasn’t going to buy it until later (like after we moved into our house), but I waited a week and decided that I should just do it now while we have the money to spend instead of waiting until we are living off of student loans and one income, because then we will REALLY fight about every last dollar going out. And besides, my mom bought Bubs all of her furniture; I bought a stupid $172 mirror. We could have had to buy an entire room’s worth of furniture but we didn’t have to, so he should be grateful that my mom was so generous in the first place. Sometimes he doesn’t see the bigger picture and it frustrates me. Especially since he spent $50 this past pay period on retarded items like beer and energy drinks and breakfast at 7eleven. So stupid.

Anyway…moving on.

Other than not getting to bed until super late and then getting up super early, my day went pretty well today! I worked from 7:30 to 12:30 and it poured rain all morning. I was seriously talking myself out of running because all I wanted to do was take a nap. But what did I do instead? I got home at 12:45 and immediately changed into running gear, grabbed my rain jacket and my iPod and out I went….for a 4 mile walk/run...in the rain. That’s right…no excuses. I’m proud of myself. After that I took the longest nap ever and then went and got Bubs, made dinner, put her to bed, and did the Shred (Day 9, Level 1). It’s definitely getting easier but I am seriously dreading moving on to the next level. Only one more day on Level 1 and I’m 1/3 of the way there. I’m totally rocking this and I feel pretty great actually.

Here’s how I did today….

The Menu:
B: Egg Beaters, 2 Laughing Cow Blue Cheese Wedges, ½ Can of Chicken Breast Chunks, 2 slices of Whole Wheat Potato Bread with butter, and 1 cup of Lite Chocolate Soy Milk – 485 calories
L: Honey Bunches of Oats and Almond Milk – 275 Calories
D: Chicken Alfredo – Lite Creamy Alfredo Sauce, Healthy Harvest Rotini, Fat Free Zesty Italian Marinated Chicken Breast – 705 Calories ***on a side note: I seriously had to check and recheck my portion sizes on this because I was stuffed when I finished eating. I had 7 oz of chicken marinated in 2 tbsp of the Italian Dressing, with 4oz (dry measurement) of pasta, and ½ cup of alfredo sauce. I was really full and afraid I screwed up my math. But I double checked and all was well, so I definitely need to keep this in my recipe repertoire for when I’m starving but don’t want to go overboard with calories!***

Total Consumed: 1465
Total Burned Through Exercise: 685
Net: 780
Remaining: 690

Tomorrow I plan on going for a 3 mile walk with Bubs first thing in the morning and then do the Shred right after. I’d ideally like to get all of my exercising out of the way first thing so I don’t dwell on it all day long and then have to do it after I get home from work.

Also, Friday is my last happy hour with my coworkers. I’m really nervous about it actually because I weigh myself on Saturday and I don’t want to wake up ridiculously bloated from having had too many beer calories/horrible food. Also, if we do happy hour right after work, when do I get my workout in? I work from 7-4 and wake up at 6 to get ready. If I woke up at 5 to get a workout in, I seriously might die at work. Maybe I just need to suck it up and do it…its only one day. And on the happy hour front, maybe just 1 drink and an appetizer? I look forward to Saturdays now because all of the hard work I put in during the week is reflected right back at me in that scale on Saturday mornings and I don’t want to fuck it up. I seriously want to lose this weight and I’m committed to it, so I guess my last happy hour will just have to be super tame! J

Too Few?

Today was a good day. I took a break from running/walking and just did the Shred (Day 8, Level 1). Of course, I was not in any mood to do anything this morning so I waited until I got off of work at 8 and did it after Bubs went to sleep. So I did it from 9:15-9:45 and then took a shower. Calories-wise, I felt like since I didn’t run/walk I shouldn’t eat as much. So I didn’t.

The Menu for Today:

B: Southwest Style Egg Beaters with 2 Laughing Cow Light Queso Fresco and Chipotle Cheese Wedges, 2 slices of Whole Wheat Potato Bread with 1 tbsp Country Crock, and a Tomato – 346 calories
L: PB&J, Fat Free Cottage Cheese and a Tomato – 456 calories
D: Honey Bunches of Oats with Unsweetened Almond Milk and an Orange – 375 calories
Total: 1177

And I burned approximately 197 doing the Shred.

 When I finished logging, my calculator told me I didn’t eat enough today….womp womp. And p.s. it’s 1:00 am and I can’t sleep and I’m starving. I miss my husband. Another womp womp.

Tomorrow I plan on eating my omelet like I did today, except I think I’m going to add some chicken, and then probably a quesadilla or cereal for lunch, and then chicken alfredo (lite sauce, whole grain noodles) for dinner when the Hubs comes home!

Also, I realized today that I can pay off my credit card when we get paid on Friday. SO HAPPY! It will be so great to go down to North Carolina with no credit card debt!!! Yay!

So Much to Do (UPDATE)

I did my best today, but it was a small caloric failure....small.

I started out great this morning – I had a bowl of cereal with almond milk for 195 calories. After that I sat on my ass for a while and then I did the Shred (Day 6, Level 1) and ran/walked for 3.33 miles. I burned 539 calories.

THEN…I was starving….like dying, omg. Hubs was on his way back from his mom’s house with Bubs and called and asked me if I wanted Subway, which was perfect timing, because like I said, I was dying. So we went to Subway.

I got a 12” Turkey Breast on 9-Grain Wheat with lettuce, tomato, onion, spinach, pickles, lite mayo, and spicy brown mustard. It was 680 calories and I devoured it in 2 minutes flat.

I thought I would be good because it was just going to be me and Bubs for dinner this evening as Hubs was going out of town and I was planning on just eating a black bean quesadilla. Wrong. My mom called me literally five minutes after shoving that thing down my throat and asked if Bubs and I wanted to go to dinner…at Coastal Flats…one of my all-time favorite restaurants. I scoured the internet for nutritional information and came up with nothing because they are such a small chain that that information is just not available. I decided to go with the Short Smoked Grilled Salmon fillet on top of a chop house salad with one sautéed goat cheese medallion. Since the information wasn’t available, I guessed that it was about 968 calories….ouch. I was still in the green though because I didn’t have an appetizer or any of the bread and just one bite of Kachyl’s grilled cheese. Then my mom asked if I wanted to get ice cream, so we went to Pinkberry (actually froyo), and I got a mini original flavor with no toppings for 90 calories, which tipped me over the edge on my calorie goal...

So my totals for today weren’t that great:

Goal: 1470
Consumed: 2043
Burned through exercise: 539
Net: 1504
Remaining: -34

Sigh. I saw red for the first time in over a week L At least it wasn’t like -700, and to be honest, before I started all of this, my meal at Coastal Flats would have looked like this:

Beverage: Sangria (or 2) and water

Appetizer: Calamari and BREAD!
Salad: Chop House Salad with 2-3 sautéed goat cheese medallions
Dinner: Short Smoked Grilled Salmon Filet with cauliflower mash and Dijon cream sauce
Dessert: White Chocolate Bread Pudding or the Flourless Chocolate Waffle or the Banana Pudding

That’s probably well over 2500 calories in just ONE meal! Crazy. So I’m proud of myself for looking at the big picture and getting good food that I like, just in moderation!

Now, this week I have got to keep my consumption under 1470 calories Monday through Friday. I can do this!!!

Oh and p.s. My JAM that I was talking about before, yea, it decided to come on today during my walk/run at the very bottom of a nice steady incline. I literally cursed out loud, “you bitch”….but I did it. Go me. I’m awesome.

So Much To Do

Did pretty well yesterday! I did the Shred (Day 5, Level 1 still – I’m doing each level for 10 days) and then I walked a 5K. I was going to run, but for some reason I just wasn’t feeling it. I walked for 5 minutes and then ran for 5 minutes and then walked for about 30 and then ran because MY JAM was on. Florence and the Machine “Dog Days Are Over” is my power song for some reason, and every time I hear it on my iPod, I have to run to it, no matter what. So I ran for a total of maybe 10 minutes. Womp womp. But I still burned calories so whatev. I needed those calories too, because we went to my dad’s for dinner and I totally did not stay under 1470. We had lamb steak with roasted fingerling potatoes, French bread, and mini cupcakes. I had to guesstimate with my calories for some of the items on this one, but I assumed the lamb steak was about 400 calories and the potatoes were about 140 (I ate four small ones). The bread was 160 calories for one slice with a tablespoon of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter for 70 calories, and I ate two mini cupcakes totaling 180 calories. So I guess dinner was about 950 calories give or take. I consumed 1592 calories yesterday and burned 562 with exercise, so I netted 1030 for a remainder of 440. So even if I did go over (which I don’t believe I did), I still had 440 leftover as a cushion. Not too shabby.

Today I am feeling completely unmotivated to do anything but sit on my ass. I just spent the past hour + trying to get our cable/internet set up in our new house down in North Carolina that we are going to move to on July 1st/2nd and it’s been kind of a pain. Now I have laundry and packing to do and I still need to get the Shred in at the very least before Hubs and Bubs get back from grandma’s (Hubs' mom's) house. Hubs is going out of town today until Tuesday evening so I need to get my me time in since it’ll just be me and Bubs for the next few days.

Sigh…so much to do.

Yay!

CW: 197.2lbs (8.8lbs lost)
Yay! I’ll take it!!!!! J Those 180’s are so close I can taste it! I’m just gonna keep doing what I’m doing and working hard and the weight will take care of itself.

Here was my week:

Saturday: Consumed 2244, Exercise 955 – Remaining 181
Sunday: Consumed 1818, Exercise 550 – Remaining 202
Monday: Consumed 1928, Exercise 740 – Remaining 282
Tuesday: Consumed 1528, Exercise 831 – Remaining 773
Wednesday: Consumed 1590, Exercise 515 – Remaining 395
Thursday: Consumed 1450, Exercise 535 – Remaining 552
Friday: Consumed 1441, Exercise 608 – Remaining 637

All of this assumes a 1470 net calorie diet goal each day. My goal for this week is to keep my “consumed” below 1470 no matter what kind of exercise I do and see how that contributes to my weight loss.

Welp, here’s to hoping I lose another 2lbs this coming week! Lego!

Odds and Ends

I ran/walked today. Mostly I ran, but I took some short walking breaks in between. I ran a 5k in 36:15, which isn’t too shabby. I am adjusting my 5k goal to include that I want to run it in 36 minutes with absolutely no walking whatsoever. In my defense (aka excuse making time) most of this run was uphill, SERIOUSLY! Ugh. It was like a never ending steady slope. But I did it. And before I did it, I did the Shred (Day 4).

Also, we went to a high school graduation party for my coworker, Tanya’s stepson, Kyle. I think I did okay there. Here’s what I ate:

·         A small piece of grilled chicken (I don’t think it was marinated in anything but I’m not sure)

·         Spring mix greens with carrots, broccoli, tomato, and white onions topped with a few tablespoons of Kraft Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette

·         Some (like 10) cubes of smoked gouda

·         A glass of white wine

·         A small piece of yellow sheet cake with very little icing (I hate buttercream icing)

I think that’s it. I never felt stuffed or even full actually, so I must have been doing okay. And to be honest, I’m kind of hungry now (at 10:48 pm).

Tomorrow is going to be super busy but I’m hoping I can find the time to workout. I obviously have to get the Shred in no matter what else happens, even if I’m doing it at 11:40 pm. It’s gotta get done. That was my first major goal.

Besides that,  Bubs has a birthday party to go to at 10 am and we still need to get the boy a birthday present, so I have to get to ToysRUS super early. After that, she will definitely need a nap, and then we are going to my dad’s house for dinner as we have family friends in town from Illinois. I think I will definitely have a chance to get it in after she wakes up from nap time. I’ll probably do the Shred during her nap and then when she wakes up we’ll go for a power walk for about 3-4 miles. Should be fun.

Weigh Day Tomorrow! Here’s hoping I lost at least 1lb. eeek!

Goals!

I’m having a great week. I started the 30 Day Shred on Tuesday and have done it for three days straight (my tricep feels like its going to explode and my body is just sore in general…but I feel awesome so far!). Also, I’ve been supplementing my Shredding with other cardio activities. Tuesday and today I ran with the Hubs, and yesterday I walked a 5K with Bubs. Monday I ran/walked 6 miles (walk for a song, run for a song for 1 hour and 18 minutes…whew).

I’m staying well within my calorie limits as well! And I’m proud of myself because I REALLY wanted sushi for dinner tonight and instead I had chicken tortilla soup—saved myself about 400 calories. Woohoo!

I must say I think I’m doing okay! I’m actually looking forward to weighing myself on Saturday to see if I’ve lost anything….Hopefully I have or I will be pretty depressed. But even if I haven’t lost any weight, I’m going to keep pushing because I WILL eventually!

 I wanted to take a few minutes and jot down some of my fitness/weightloss goals…mostly longterm:

·      My first big goal is to finish this 30 Day Shred in 30 days (I’m on day 3).

·       I want to run a 5K race and complete it within 36 minutes (12 minute miles doesn’t sound too difficult)—I’m hoping that I’ll be prepared enough for the Duke DPT 5K this Fall.

·       I want to run a half-marathon in the spring….no goal time, I just want to finish it without dying (or walking).

·       Ultimately, I want to weigh 150lbs by the end of all of this. I don’t know about an end-date but I’d say probably by the end of the year. That’s 50lbs in 6 months, about 8.5lbs lost per month. Not too lofty, I think.

·       I want to wear a size 8 jeans

I honestly don’t think these goals are too much to handle and I’ve been reading a blog about a woman around my age who lost 60lbs after having her first baby and is doing it all over again after having her second. She weighed close to 200lbs just like me and is now down to 138lbs. If she can do it, so can I. And she’s doing it the old fashioned way just like I am—calorie counting and running. She gave me the idea to do the Shred—her before and after pictures are awesome. She is my inspiration and if I get discouraged I think of her. I’m currently reading her whole blog from start to finish….and its like 4 years worth so its taking some time. Here it is in case you were wondering. I found it on Pinterest.

Proud

I have to say that I’m feeling pretty proud of myself about yesterday!

I consumed 2134 calories, but I exercised twice (4 miles in an hour walk with Bubs in the morning and a 3.5 run/walk in the evening) and burned 955 calories, so I netted 1179 (under my calorie goal by 291!)

Also, on Monday I ran a mile and clocked 9:47 and yesterday I did the same thing and clocked 9:33. Progress, people!

Also, I bought the 30 Day Shred and I’m going to try it, too.

I’m feeling really good….about to wake the Hubs up to go for a run with me this morning before we get the day going….

A Little Bit of Progress

CW: 199.4lbs (6.6lbs lost)

While I'm thinking this number might be skewed a little bit because I just started all of this, I'll take it. Maybe it was water weight or something. I don't know. But again, I'll take it.

My week went okay. I ate outside of my calorie limits pretty much everyday, but I also exercised every day except for Friday so I feel okay about it. Also, I maintained portion control and was never stuffed.

Here’s how I did:

Tuesday: 2178 consumed. Burned 282 doing a walk/run/sprint circuit with the Hubs for 30 min.
Wednesday: 1820 consumed. Burned 434 doing a walk/run/sprint circuit alone for 45 min.
Thursday: 2195 consumed. Burned 179 on a walk with the Hubs for 30 min.
Friday: 1969 consumed. I was planning on going running right after work, but it thunder stormed like crazy with tornado warnings and hail so I decided that I didn’t want to die and just went home instead. I was super exhausted and I took a nap while Bubs watched Tangled and then I went to bed at 9:30 pm anyway…on a FRIDAY…

So that was my week! I don’t feel too shabby about it. Next week I’m going to work harder on keeping under my calorie limits better and doing harder workouts to burn more calories.