Slack/On Track

Now that I've stopped this belly blast, I'm entering a vicious cycle. It's this slack and on track I'm struggling with. One day I'll eat complete trash. The next day I try to compensate. Cheat days are not supposed to be every other day! I had fried chicken for lunch Monday AND Tuesday. So last night I forced myself to work out and today I had a mozzarella and tomato salad. I did have some bread with my salad. But I figure that's still healthier than fried chicken!

Tonight I should work out again. If I can just get myself to exercise more, I know I can continue to accomplish my goals. The scale is showing me to be between 2-3 pounds heavier. I'm between 156-157 now. Change has to happen. Clothes still fit well, but I don't want to take any more chances. Of course, it could be water weight since I gained it so quickly. Or maybe I never truly lost 5 pounds in the first place? Guess I'll just have to keep on trying!

The End of the Belly Blast Challenge

So....I pretty much stopped following the meal plan that was given to me for this challenge. That does not mean that I'm not watching what I'm eating. Just not going by the plan I had. Due to lack of exercise I jumped from 154 to 155 last week. Which of course, motivated me to workout on Saturday again.

I'm trying to stick to mostly salads when I do go eat out. And at home, I just nibble on foods. I incorporate a lot of nuts into my diet. I guess I really don't have that much to stay about what I've been eating lately. I am continuing my celery and peanut butter snack at work, because I truly loved it.

Officially since March I've dropped two pant sizes. Which again, shows me where most of my weight loss has been. Today I'm wearing a pair of pants that were so tight on me that I put them "in the back of the closet." Now they are loose and I could probably go down a size. I would say, overall this journey has been successful thus far. There are still 60 days roughly until I go to Germany. Maybe I can lose another 5 pounds in that time. That would be nice:)

Catch-Up

Wednesday night I went to a Chinese buffet but I ordered Hibachi. So basically it was lots and lots of veggies with some chicken grilled and topped with terayaki sauce. Not the healthiest choice, but not the worst, right? Make better bad choices.

Thursday, according to the calendar was supposed to be a type of "detox" day again and Friday was supposed to be a treat day. Well for some reason, be it hormones, or whatever, I was starved yesterday. I had a green smoothie for breakfast, then tried to eat some celery and carrots. I couldn't. I was so hungry. I decided to make yesterday my treat day. Can't stick to the diet if I'm not happy and if it's not realistic. I went to Red Robin with some co-workers and had the Whiskey River BBQ Chicken Wrap. Normally I skip the fries. But yesterday..man I sinned. I even had the fries. I was SO sick afterwards. My body was NOT happy with me. Here are the stats for the wrap:

Calories 771 Sodium 2087 mg
Total Fat 32 g Potassium 0 mg
Saturated 20 g Total Carbs 67 g
Polyunsaturated 0 g Dietary Fiber 4 g
Monounsaturated 0 g Sugars 9 g
Trans 0 g Protein 49 g

Which isn't the best, isn't the worst, again. For dinner, my husband made burgers. How could I say no to burgers? I was starved again. No fries this time:) And I still stuck to water all day, but didn't drink near enough.

This morning I got on the scale and I was 1.5 pounds heavier! So today I'm flushing everything out with water. I had some cottage cheese and knaeckebrot for breakfast and some celery and peanut butter for a snack.

My biggest failure this week has not been my diet slip ups. It's been my utter lack of exercise. I haven't worked out since Saturday. So I shouldn't expect any miracles. Next week is my last official week of the 21 day belly blast challenge. Although I haven't completely stuck to it, I've been using it as a guideline. And my pants are still loose:)

Wish me luck in refueling my desire to lose weight and starting up with exercise again! No pain, no gain!

1-0 Win Against Emotional Eating

I am wearing a button up shirt today that I have not been able to fit in for 3 years. Can you believe it? Neither can I. I started off my day with some "knaeckebrot" and cottage cheese. Around lunchtime I got frustrated and wanted to eat junk food because I KNEW it would make me feel better. But I overcame myself and had a salad from the cafeteria with chicken breast, Greek Olives and pecans. I felt so much better later. Even though McDonalds and all those places were calling my name, I resisted. Had an apple for an afternoon snack. Score 1 for Cindy.

Today I saw someone I hadn't seen in about two weeks and she raved about how much weight I'd lost so quickly. She claimed she saw it in my face. It's weird to hear people complimenting me, because it's still not reality yet. I feel like I need to lose more before it'll really show. Tomorrow is almost like another detox day, so it may be a struggle, but I'm sure I'll do fine.

Because Friday, is TREAT DAY!!!!

Pissed Off, in a Good Way?

So I've been buying all of these new clothes to reward myself for my weight loss. Apparently my weight loss has been all in my stomach, butt and thighs, because none of my new pants fit. They are all too loose. I have some capris that are ok. But all of my super cute pants are now super loose. I'm excited and disappointed. And I'm unsure. Do I buy smaller ones? Do I wait? (sigh)

Yesterday morning I had a protein shake for breakfast, celery and peanut butter as a snack, a salad for lunch, carrots and spicy red hummus for a snack and meat and salad for dinner. That pretty much sums up the day. I didn't workout, nor did I feel like it.

Today I had a slice of the Ezekiel bread with cottage cheese for breakfast, celery and peanut butter as a snack and went to Panera to have my Thai chopped chicken salad for lunch. I had an apple as an afternoon snack and I even sinned a bit. I had a few (like a small handful) salted nuts and pretzels. It was kind of like Chex Mix. I haven't had dinner yet. Still debating on what to eat. It's almost 7 and I'm not supposed to eat too late. I might just have a small snack to tide me over, since again I'm not in a workout kind of mood. Of course that might change. We'll see.

I've been feeling kind of stressed lately and I worry about cortizone seeping into my bloodstream and preventing further weight loss. But I figure as long as I continue to watch what I eat and limit my portions, I should be ok. I'm also trying to get enough sleep. That should all help.

Kidding, Of Course

Feeling pretty good and energetic this weekend. Finally got to eat Papa Gyros yesterday afternoon. I was soooo stuffed afterwards, I ALMOST regretted it. But after a few hours I felt good. Later I went for a walk with my dog too.

This morning I strayed from the prescribed diet, only because I hate omelets. So I just had scrambled eggs. I also had some Ezekiel bread (first time) with some cottage cheese. I gotta say, the Ezekiel bread wasn't that bad. It's just different. It was kind of dry. Even though I had cottage cheese on it. Oh well.

We never did go canoeing yesterday. Slept in too late. Maybe today. Then again, it's already noon now. I'm trying to think of some outdoor activities that won't burn me to death. If I had a pool I would go swimming. Guess I'll finish cleaning the house for now.

Early Weigh In

Although usually I don't do this, today I will make an exception. I'm posting my official weigh in one day early because I'm so excited! I've weighed this since Wednesday, after my 3 day starvation. Today is Saturday and I still weigh the same!! So I don't believe it's water weight at this point anymore. One important note to add. When I weighed myself last Sunday I weighed in at 158.2, but I think I was a bit dehydrated, because Monday morning I was back at 160. So if you want to be technical, I lost 5 pounds this week. If I thought it was that easy, I was starve myself 3 days a week every week! I'd have my goal weight in no time!

Last night I went to Earth Fare to buy some organic veggies and they were out of celery! Can you believe it? It's become my favorite new snack and they were out. This morning I'm going to run to Publix to grab some more for our trip today and for next week.

I woke up hungry this morning, which is normal, considering I now eat every 3-4 hours. I debated on what to eat on my "treat day" and decided to go with a strawberry banana shake sans spinach. You know what? It was a bit on the sweet side! That's ok, I'm sure it was healthier than my usual cereal.

I've started doing some housework and I've got some more to do before I run over to Publix. So I hope everyone has a good day. I'll try to continue writing tonight!

Almost noon update:)

I started doing some laundry and then mowed the backyard. I was so gross and sweaty, I figured "Well I might as well workout now." So I did my workout, showered, had two slices of bread, a big glass of water and now I'm sleepy:)

Something I wanted to mention, but forgot. Last year when I did the Huntsville Adventure Boot Camp for Women, I got measured at the beginning and at the end of camp. My waist measurement was 38 at the beginning and 36 at the end. Last night for fun I measured and it's only 33 now! That's 5 inches since last year. Amazing, isn't it? Also my hips went down too. They went from 43 to 41.5 last year and now they are 38. Yah!

Not Quite By the Book

So I woke up late this morning and didn't have time to make my spinach smoothie. Instead I grabbed my newly discovered protein shake. I figured that was better than no breakfast at all. My mid-morning snack was celery with peanut butter and for lunch I had a grilled chicken salad again, dressing on the side. It was some sort of peanut dressing again, which was pretty good.

My afternoon snack was an apple. For dinner I had planned on making salmon, which was on the schedule. But my husband had already eaten dinner and I couldn't see wasting salmon because I couldn't eat it all myself. So instead I opted for a barely there slice of German bread with gouda, scrambled eggs and cottage cheese. I didn't think it was too horrible of an option. Better than what I was craving--junk food.

When I weighed myself this morning I still weighed 5 pounds less than I did at the beginning of the week. So I'm really curious to see Sunday's weigh in. Tomorrow is my treat day and I've already planned it in my mind. We're going canoeing on the Elk River so I plan on packing a picnic with some rolls from Publix and my favorite meats and cheeses. Then for dinner I've requested Papa Gyros!

I didn't work out tonight, but I plan on doing so tomorrow. Canoeing will probably burn some calories too. Especially if we plan on doing some hiking. I'm really hoping I haven't gone too far off the diet. It's sooo hard. I can't even tell you. I still drink water like a fish and that's the easy part. But I am peeing about 20 times a day, it's ridiculous. Well I'm off to buy some of next week's groceries (on a full stomach, of course.) Can't wait till tomorrow!!!

Hypocrites Not Needed

I woke up this morning and weighed 5 pounds less than I did on Monday. I'm not sure if it's water weight, since I've been drinking so much water, my pee is clear. TMI? Sorry. Anyways, maybe it's just that my intestines are cleared out. It reminds of those colon cleansers I've read about online. "Lose 10 pounds in a week!" Who knew we carried so much weight with us? Haha.

This morning I made myself a green smoothie which I actually enjoyed. Then for a mid-morning snack I had 3 stalks of celery and 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter. Man it was good!! I can't tell you how good that tasted. I can actually see myself eating this more often on my own as a snack!

But to the point of my story. Some women came into my office this morning and got wind of my diet. Both of these women are overweight. More so than me. This detail is crucial to the story. They began telling me how what I was doing was wrong and how it's all about portion control. I argued that I am exercising portion control, but I'm actually learning what a small portion is. My idea of a small portion is obviously not correct. Anyways, the point is, how dare they berate my lifestyle change? That's like a smoker giving another smoker advice on how to quit smoking. Sorry guys. As long as you're fat, you're not allowed to give advice on how to be skinny. I don't care if this is bitchy or not. I wouldn't try to tell someone how to lose weight! So, what gives them the right? A part of me considered that maybe they were jealous that they didn't have the discipline and willpower to pull through with a true lifestyle change. Keep eating your portions ladies. I'm getting thin.

Ok, so for lunch I kinda cheated a little bit. I had half of a Thai Chopped Chicken Salad which is about 200 calories. I ate all of the chicken, some of the Romaine lettuce and of course some of the drizzled peanut butter dressing. I also had a slice of a freshly baked wheat baguette. Panera Bread's freshly baked bread is to die for. For my afternoon snack I had 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and half a peach. Yum yum! I loved it. I worked out after work. It kicked my butt. I forgot to mention on Monday's workout my legs were very wobbly and almost gave out on me. Well this day was the same. After my workout and a cold shower, I had a protein shake. It's a chocolate whey protein shake (the brand is Pure Protein) with 25 grams of protein, 140 calories, 4 grams of carbs and only 2 grams of sugar. I really enjoyed it and it filled me up! Here's a link of the kind I bought at Publix: http://www.pureprotein.net/pages/products.aspx?sku=044326

I felt great today! I did go to bed extremely early. I literally fell asleep watching TV, somehow transported myself to the bed, and had a great night's sleep!

Belly Blast Day 3

This detox was killing me. I've had absolutely no energy, I've been tired, cranky and sad. Did I mention I've been exhausted? I had my green smoothie for breakfast with only 1 cup of spinach and it tasted much better. Unfortunately, that's the most filling meal I get for the day. At lunch I had about a cup of carrots and a cup of cherries. The rest of the day was water. I had so much water today, every time I realized how hungry I was. It still didn't help:( I even chewed gum twice. The first time, it helped. The second time it didn't. By the time I got home tonight I felt sick. I decided to push my workout to tomorrow, since I was so weak.

Around 7 P.M. tonight I cracked. My husband had baked some fresh bauernbrot this afternoon. If you don't know what bauernbrot is, I wikied the English description:

"Bauernbrot is a bread made in Germany. The bread is made by mixing rye and wheat flour, water, salt, yeast and a leavening agent into a dough, which is formed into a round shape. After 70 to 90 minutes, the surface is cut with a knife do create a decorative lozenge pattern and the bread is baked first at a high, then at a moderate temperature until the crust is crunchy."

Anyways, at the point where I thought I was going to throw up bile or die, I sliced a thin piece off and layered it with a slice of gouda cheese. I was in heaven. I'm not even disappointed in myself. Mostly because I felt so nauseated before I ate the bread. There is no way I could've swallowed some more plain boring salad. Since I splurged and had the bread, I'm cutting myself off for the night. But man it was good. A part of me wants another slice with some cottage cheese. Yum!

My stomach was making an explosion of sounds. I think it's very very happy. I can tell you one thing. I am a much happier person now than I've been in the past 72 hours.

Belly Blast Challenge Days 1-2

As I sit here writing this, I'm angrily eyeing a bowl of salad out of the corner of my eye. I don't want it. But I have to eat. And so my story begins.

Yesterday was probably the worst possible day to start a diet. But I figured, it's now or never bitches! I was awoken around 4:20 to let out the dogs. Ten minutes later I got a call from work. There were serious issues and I was on call. So I ended up staying up and working. Around 8 I finally had my green smoothie. I swallowed the sludge down on my drive into work. I admit, it wasn't as horrible as I expected. But I wouldn't make it for guests to enjoy on hot summer day.

For "lunch," if that's what you want to call it, I had carrots and celery with some cherries. I couldn't finish my carrots and celery, because it was just that plain and boring. I think that's the secret of this diet. The food you're allowed to eat is so gross, you just don't want to eat at all.

I'm pretty sure I went through food withdrawl yesterday. I had a splitting headache for most of the day. Of course, it's possible that the headache came from a combination of lack of sleep and lack of food.

"Dinner" was particularly excruciating. I went to Ol' Heidelberg with some friends. Everyone had generously portioned dinners with slabs of schnitzel slathered in rich creamy sauces. Mmmm...and the pan fried potatoes. The cucumber salad drenched in dressing cried out to me. Alas, I drank my water in silence and swallowed a boring salad. I picked out the croutons and ate every last piece of lettuce. It might have been iceberg which is against the plan, but oh well. The birthday boy had the most decadent, chocolatey, creamy slice of cake for dessert. I was dying a little bit on the inside. If you've ever seen the movie "Matilda" think back to the scene where the Headmistress makes the boy eat the chocolate cake. That's what it looked like. It hurt to watch.

This morning started off better, although I was still pretty worn out from yesterday. I chugged my sludge on the drive in. I attempted to take shots, like one would with tequila. That helped a little bit. For "lunch" I had baby carrots (which again I couldn't finish) and cherries. My co-workers are finding this diet particularly amusing. So they taunt me with their peanut butter jelly sandwiches and chips. Later they taunted me with a bag of oreos. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel like grabbing the bag and eating them Cookie Monster style.

I don't know what I'm feeling. I'm not sure if I'm kicking some sort of addiction, or it's just the desire within me. The hunger pangs only comes in waves. After awhile, it's like the body stops begging and takes a break. I watched my cat eat his canned food with envy tonight. I seriously would've had a bite.

Is this what it's like to starve to death?

Reluctantly I went into the kitchen and made myself a green salad tonight. I threw in some cherry tomatos, red bell peppers and garlic. I'm not convinced it will taste good. Honestly, I would rather eat nothing. But I have a feeling, that isn't the healthiest option.

As far as working out goes, I got through half of my workout last night. But then I got a phone call from Germany and by the time I was done, it was time to shower and get ready for the birthday party. Tomorrow is my last day of detox and I "get" to workout again. Oh joy. I can't tell you how excited I am for real food on Thursday. And even more excited about "treat day" on Saturday. I'm pretty sure if obese people did this diet, they wouldn't need any kind of stomach stapling surgery. Mine is probably the size of a bean right now.

Well I guess I'll try to swallow this bit of salad and watch some TV to get my mind off of the wonderful foods that I'm missing out on. Afterall, I've got a lifetime to enjoy foods, right? And obviously, I've overindulged in food for far too long, or else I wouldn't be in this current predicament. Down the chute it goes.

21 Day Belly Blast Challenge!

Well I won a contest from my former personal trainer. It's called the 21 day belly blast challenge. It implies you can lose 5-10 pounds. At first I was a bit skeptical. I was even more skeptical when I read it. It included a grocery list, a meal plan, and a workout plan. Payday was this past week, so I went grocery shopping and tomorrow is my first official day. I wanted to include today's weigh in, so we could see the improvement over the next 3 weeks. I'm very excited. And very scared.

The first three days are detox days. That means you get to eat a whole lot of nothing. And by that, I mean nothing. In the morning you get to have a smoothie. Sounds great! Except it's not your average smoothie. Let me list the ingredients. 1 cup of strawberries, 1 cup of water, a banana and 2 cups of spinach. Yes...SPINACH. Now I'm not anti-spinach or anti-vegetables. I just don't usually drink my spinach. Especially not for breakfast. I prepared the blend tonight with feelings of both disgust and sadness. My husband tried the blend. It looked like my dog ate a bunch of grass in the yard and threw it back up again. He swore it tasted great. "It tastes like kiwis! Wanna try?" No thanks. I'll be forced to drink it for breakfast every day for the next week.

Then I got to prepare my lunch. Two cups of chopped vegetables and one cup of fruit. I opted for celery and carrots for my vegetables and cherries for my fruit. As a snack, I'm allowed to have water. Yes. Water is my snack. Imagine you go to someone's house "hey, I'm a bit hungry got anything to snack on?" "Sure! Here have some water!" They'd probably punch you in the face.

For dinner I'm going with some friends to celebrate a birthday at a German restaurant. My diet plan says I can have salad with lots of veggies and a squeezed lemon as dressing. I think I'm going to puke. How can I swallow dry salad? No oil? No vinegar? Oh man...It's not going to be pretty.

Oh and to top it all off, my very first day is also a workout day. So I get to workout after eating virtually nothing all day. Twenty two minutes of fun. So excited. I also have to drink half of my body weight in ounces every day. And if I get hungry, I should chew gum. Oh joy. That's half a gallon in water, or rougly 10 cups. That shouldn't be too hard since it's ridiculously hot outside.

Let the games begin.

One of Those Days

I had one of those days. It was a Murphy kind of day. Everything that could go wrong did. Ok, maybe not EVERYTHING. But a lot. And it was a Monday. I know, that's the same thing everyone says every Monday. But I truly had a case of the Mondays today. Although I did consider printing out the above sign (which I have really seen hung up and used somewhere) I decided to destress by bike riding.

It was breezy 82 degrees outside and the sun was not very strong. It was the perfect outdoor activity weather. I did get chased by a small gray kamikaze poodle, who ran both: in the street, in front of my bike, and later behind me. I had to stop to let his owner catch him. Otherwise he would've gotten run over by a car. See, even on a bike, I break for animals. Of course, I feared for my own safety as well. Bikes don't ride well with a 15 pound poodle caught in the spokes. I only ended up riding 3.5 miles today. I figured I haven't riden in awhile and I didn't want to overdo it right away. Felt pretty good afterwards and barely had any appetite at dinner.

I've got a late night at work tomorrow night, so I may not post. Most likely there won't be a workout either. How sad. See how sad I am :( Haha, yeah right.

Honesty is the Best Policy

I know I said I was going to do better this week, but really I didn't. Aside from weight lifting one night and going hiking on Saturday, I failed the food portion. I had heavy Mexican lunches twice this week. The kind that make you go into a food coma afterwards. I weighed myself today and there was a .4 of a pound weight loss. Which really sucks considering I could've lost so much more if I tried.

So to celebrate I had ice cream. And popcorn. And McDonalds. Oh yeah, it was healtherific! Haha. I suppose the good news is, I'm not putting on weight. I bought myself two pairs of pants and two tops online today. I'm not sure I should be rewarding myself so much with junk food and clothes. But the deal was too good to pass up! It was 50% off of $100! Who can say no?! Apparently not me. To anything.

Well tomorrow is a new day. Maybe I can lose weight this week. I'm planning on taking some noodle salad in for lunch tomorrow that my husband made himself this weekend. It's pretty low-cal and tastes great. A little carbolicious, but that's ok. It can't be as bad as nachos, burritos, rice and beans!

Weightlifting Day One

Today after one granola bar for breakfast, I ended up kinda pigging out at a Mexican restaurant for lunch. Chicken burrito and chicken enchilada with beans and rice. And lots of chips. Then for dinner I had some cereal followed by crackers and hummus. I'm slipping!

So to compensate I started weight training tonight. With my husband...That dude kicked my butt. In a good way though. I could barely walk afterwards! He definitely helped me break down my muscles. My goal is to weight train three times a week as hard as I did tonight. We trained everything, legs, arms, chest, stomach. I actually was sweating! I don't think I could've pushed myself that hard on my own. Boot camp and Cross Fit pushed me to those limits, but I just need someone there to push. When it comes to cardio I can push myself to extremes. But with weightlifting I just give up way too easily.

"This is too heavy" (drops weight and walks away.)

I learned several things about my strength tonight. A. I have no upper body strength. None. It's a miracle I can lift my toothbrush. My lower body is by far much stronger. At least now I know where I need improvement. My chest and arms are useless. It was entertaining and sad at the same time. Sure biking seven miles is great, except when you're so weak you can barely lift a pencil! Yeah, I'm going to get some of those Michelle Obama arms this summer;)

New Week, New Goals

I decided to start watching more of what I eat again. I slacked a lot lately and it showed. I had a granola bar for breakfast, a salad for lunch and some fried rice hubby made for dinner. I didn't exercise. BUT, in my defense, it was 50 degrees outside and drizzling. I can do cold. But I can't do cold AND rain. I could've exercised indoors, but laziness overcame me:) I had walnuts and pecans for a mid-morning snack and a 100 calorie pack after lunch. Oh and before dinner I had some wheat saltines with some hummus. Not a lot though.

I read an article over the weekend about why men lose weight faster than women and I wish I had saved the link. It basically said that men tend to focus more on getting stronger, not thinner. And that they lift weights to do this. Muscles burn fat faster than starving yourself or cardio does. So go lift some weights! Or, as I find is easiest, lift your own body weight. You'd be surprised how hard it is!

I think I found some motivation:)

First Weigh In With No Results

My birthday was this week and I let myself splurge on my birthday. I probably went overboard a little bit. And as of Wednesday, my cold has been gone. But I haven't exercised and I've had a lot of lame excuses. Needless to say, there's been no change in my weight.

I did get some cute clothes for my birthday, which my husband helped me pick out. Some cute work clothes. And the day before I pulled out my graveyard of shorts. I got 7 pairs of shorts BACK! There are about 3 more which are "goal shorts." But I still can't believe that these clothes fit me. Despite my lack of weight change this week, I'm not too terribly disappointed. I didn't put a lot of work into losing weight, so I didn't expect a miracle.

Here is the new shirt and vest I got. The vest is a big deal, I have not been able to find one that fit me right and I finally got one! I'm sure it'll look great with anything, my new gray pants, or even jeans! Oh also, I got some black capris for work, but they're not pictured, since there's nothing really special about them.






Anyways, this week I'll put more effort into my weight loss. I won't slack so much. Just a little;)

Last Night's Post Today

Sorry I didn't post. Had a lot going on. My dog ripped his toenail off and we had to do some fish shopping. Long story.

There's an article I read awhile back I've been meaning to post. It's about two new eating disorders that have been discovered. Everyone has heard of anorexia and bulimia. But have you heard of orthorexia and Adult Selective Eating? I actually know people with one of these. I never considered it a disorder. Well you can read more about it down here.

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/new-eating-disorders-are-they-real

So yesterday I had a glass of Kefir, raspberry flavor. If you haven't had Kefir, try it. It's super yummy and makes you full. You can get it at Earth Fare and I think Kroger. For a mid morning snack I had a Nature Valley granola bar. At lunch I had a turkey and swiss panini from the cafeteria at work. Probably not the healthiest option, but I was peer pressured into it. My sister insisted "salads are boring!" Which isn't entirely true. But to make up for it, I skipped dinner and had another glass of Kefir. I truly wasn't hungry the rest of the night. Which unfortunately shows me how many calories I had at lunch:(

Anyways, I'm hoping I'll do better today! Wish me luck!

*UPDATE*

I've decided to continue on today's blog for today's meals. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and some Triscuits "With a Hint of Salt" as a snack later that morning. I had a very late lunch and had 3 Chicago Hard Rolls from Publix. One with Brie and two with strawberry jam. Then I had a 100 calorie pack of mini fudge stripes. I bought a new type of water today. It comes in a can and it's called "La Croix." It was pretty good, I got the lime flavor. At least I won't be dragging around my huge bottles of Perrier to work anymore.

Speaking of work, I got to go home early today and I had a great idea. Dig through my graveyard of shorts that no longer fit. They haven't fit me in years. Literally. Most of these shorts I bought when I first moved back to the U.S. in 2007. Around that time I weighed around 145-148. I thought that was too much back then, haha. Anyways, they are almost all size 9 juniors with the exception of one or two that claim they are size 11, but really they size 9. And guess what. I fit in all but two of them!!!!

I was dancing around the house singing "size 9, size 9...size 9, size 9, size 9!!!"
Granted some of them are a bit shorter than what I'm used to, but I don't have the excessive belly flab hanging over them. And get this! They fit on my butt! Haha, so this whole time I've been unsure where the 8 pounds I've lost have been from. I can now tell you. Butt, thighs and belly. Mostly belly and butt. Soooo happy. Today is a good day. Tomorrow is my 29th birthday and I'm looking forward to continuing this weight loss. I've still got two pairs of shorts that don't fit. They are "goal shorts." I hope that within a month I can also fit into these:)

I'm BAAAACK!

Soooo....I am still alive. I survived the tornadoes. But enough about that. I've slacked on my blog. In my defense, I was without power for 6 days and food was basically anything that was given to me or could be grilled. So I ate trash for about 6 days. In that process I also got sick. Without the opportunity to take a hot shower, I wasn't planning on exercising. And once I got sick, well the ability to breathe became difficult. I know, all excuses. But the truth is, I haven't slipped too far from my diet. Well, I did slip, but it didn't hurt me too horribly. Are you ready for the results?



Yah! So I wasn't exactly on track. But I still managed to lose a little bit. I know, two weeks and only one pound. I'm trying to stay motivated. I had some pictures taken of me today and I was not happy about the results. Which is why I've decided not to post any.

I've started eating Kashi cereal. I figure it's a healthier option when it comes to cereal. I baked a German cheesecake and cherry cake and had a slice of each. This evening my husband grilled chicken and made noodle salad. Later on, I had another slice of cheesecake. I wasn't really hungry, it just sounded good. Not a good reason, but oh well. As soon as I start breathing normal again and my cold is gone, I'll start bike riding again.

Yesterday's Blog

I'm so sorry I didn't post last night. Laziness completely overcame me. No, wait. Sugar overcame me. I had my usual cheerios for breakfast. However, my co-workers tempted me to try some homemade rum cake by a professional cake baker in our building. So I had a very slim slice. No harm done, right? Well my other co-worker's kids made cupcakes, so I HAD to try one. Right?

At lunch, my coworker wanted to show me some "local food" here in Huntsville. He did forewarn me the Big Spring Cafe was very unhealthy and they are known for their "greasy burgers." But I figured, "well I already ate cake and a cupcake, what's a burger?" It looked like a hole in the wall, I'll be honest. I'm pretty high maintenance sometimes and I would've never voluntarily gone to this place. It was on Governor's Drive. Those of you that are local, know it's not the best part of town. And I'm not talking about near the medical district. Despite feeling a bit uneasy at first, I was welcomed with a warm smile and everyone who worked there treated me like a friend. They were all very friendly and kind. I ended up ordering two mini cheeseburger a la Krystals. And I split a small fries with my co-worker. Meaning, I had about 7-8 fries total. It was really good food and really surprised me. Warning: it's a good thing I didn't have to go to the bathroom because I would have to go to outside to the back of the building. Yeah...



For my afternoon snack I had...you guessed it! Another cupcake. I was on a roll. Or I was trying to roll. Either way. For dinner, my husband cooked shish kebab with some noodles. And for dessert I had some of my peach cake. Did I mention the Easter chocolate?

Then I laid on the couch until it was time to go to bed. The picture of perfect health. This is by far the worst day I've had so far during my "lifestyle change." It was more than cheating. But hey, that's no reason to give up, right? Just a slip up. I realized there's no point in dwelling over it and every day is a new day! As long as it doesn't become a habit!!!

I'll continue more tonight.

Another Lazy Monday

Man, there is just something about Mondays that really exhausts me. I got enough sleep, but somehow I've just been pooped. Today has been a hard day as far as food goes. I had way more than I should've and now I have that feeling of being stuffed and too full:( Somehow, I just couldn't get full tonight. And when I did, it was too much.

I started off the day with some honey nut cheerios. I had a tangerine and a 100 calorie pack for a mid-morning snack. At lunch I went to Subway and had a turkey breast sandwich on wheat with some cheddar sun chips. So far, so good.

I skipped my afternoon snack, which was probably my biggest mistake, because by the time I got home I was absolutely starved. I dread even listing what all I ate tonight. But it's accountability, right? Here goes... I started out with a slice of crusty rye bread with cottage cheese. Then I had a slice of my peach cake, yum, yum! Then I had a bowl of cereal again. Oh, if only I had stopped there. But I was craving something meaty, something salty. So, I had a piece of chocolate, then went on to have another slice of crusty rye bread with herring dipped in dijon mustard sauce. It was pretty good, but ugh. Now I just want to go to sleep.

So I completely overdid it for dinner. Can't turn back time now. I'm trying not to feel too guilty about it, since all that really does is discourage me. Instead, I'm going to continue to watch TV and try not to fall asleep:)

Weigh In 2

Looks like I'm right on target this week! I lost two pounds this week with some cheats and three days of exercise. It's been a good week! I'm pretty excited since I've officially lost 7 pounds now. I ended up baking a peach shortcake since I was out of strawberries last night. I had a slice this afternoon and it was awesome!



This morning when I woke up, my husband thought it'd be a great idea if we went to the Birmingham Zoo. I had some honey nut cheerios with milk and a tangerine before we left. I also skipped my bike ride so we could leave early and spent the beginning half of our day there. We did a lot of walking and hopefully I got some color, other than red:) Here is a pic of me there.



Afterwards we went to the Cheesecake Factory where I had some dark bread and a greek salad. It was listed as a "small plate/appetizer" but it was plenty of food! I also had half a slice of my husband's hawaiian pizza. It took everything in me not to order a cheesecake! Haha! I really wasn't hungry at that point, it was just temptation. And later that night, I rewarded myself with some of my cake made from scratch. It was much healthier anyways:)

On the way home from Birmingham we stopped at the Ave Maria Grotto and did some more walking. So even though I didn't do my scheduled workout, I got exercise in today just by walking. Now I'm about to have some crusty rye bread and some laughing cow cheese. Here's to another week losing weight!

Suddenly Saturday

I started off the day with "brunch." I had the thai chicken salad at Panera Bread around 10. And if you haven't had it by now, then please try it. It's delicious! It's somewhat spicy and will make your nose run. But with only 390 calories and a bowl that's big enough to feed two, you won't be disappointed.

Later in the afternoon I had some Wasa with cottage cheese and I treated myself to some Easter chocolate a day early:)

Tonight I had my first bowl of cereal in probably two months. I've missed it a lot. I went with Honey Nut Cheerios with some 2% milk. After that I had a slice of crusty rye bread with some muenster cheese.

Tonight I'm baking a strawberry shortcake cake. Is that redondant? Well anyways, I'll take a picture of it when I'm done. It's pretty easy to make, tastes great and is relatively healthy compared to other cakes.

I've got my usual 7 mile bike ride planned for first thing in the morning. The weather is supposed to be great again, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Tomorrow is the big weigh in, but I already know the results. I weighed myself this morning because I just couldn't wait! Honestly, I've weighed myself about 4 times this past week already. I won't reveal the results until the morning with a picture for proof and accountability, of course.

Below is an article from "Psychology Today," enjoy!

Top 10 Tips When Trying to Lose Weight
Published on April 16, 2009

It seems Americans are on a perpetual diet when often it is not what we eat, but rather our metabolism (fixable) and even infections (a common cold virus is found 3x as often in obese people, and triggers fat cells). Here are 10 tips everyone should follow when trying to lose weight:

1. A very low calorie diet is self defeating. Your body thinks there is a famine, your metabolism plummets, and you then gain weight eating almost nothing. Then you give up the diet and gain twice as much weight for the same amount of food. Eat at least 1500 calories a day, avoiding sugar and going low carb.

2. High protein, low carb tends to work well in moderation. A simple diet that works: eliminate all sugars and grains (e.g., wheat).

3. Sugars and carbs trigger insulin release which packs on the fat. Use sugar substitutes (stevia is best; the stevia by Body Ecology and the one by Stevita are the 2 best tasting. Saccharin is safe. I consider Nutrasweet to be toxic to many people. The jury is out on Splenda). I will add the 3 magic words to "Avoid sugar" which are "except for chocolate!" Chocolate is a healthy food if it is dark chocolate. Get the best tasting ones you can (Godiva and Russell Stover both have a yummy line of sugar free chocolates) and limit it to 3 ounces a day. Savor and enjoy.

4. When struggling with whether to have something, simply take a small portion and WALK AWAY FROM THE SERVING DISH with the portion in hand. Since you have it in hand, it's easy. Then savor it with no guilt. 80% of the pleasure comes from the first few bites — most of the calories come from the rest. If you feel guilty when you eat something, you won't even notice the taste as it goes down — so NO GUILT.

5. It takes ½ hour for the message to get from your stomach to your brain when you're full. Because of this, simply take small portions to start. It's easier to do when you know in ½ hour you can go back for more if you still want some. But you won't.

6. In restaurants, tell them to wrap ½ of the meal to go before they even bring it to you. In the US, portions are supersized. The ½ portion will fill you and leave you feeling great if you wait the ½ hour for the signal to get to your brain that you are full.

7. For a midnight snack, try a few ounces of low fat turkey. The protein and tryptophan in the turkey both will help you sleep.

8. In the grocery store, shop around the outer part of the store (where refrigeration usually is, so veggies and meat) instead of the center where the processed foods are.

9. To refuel during and after exercise, add 5-10 grams of a special sugar called D-Ribose to your drinking water. It has a zero glycemic index (actually less than zero — it lowers sugar), increased energy an average of 45% in a study I recently published, and prevents post exercise soreness.

10. If you're on vacation, enjoy yourself and ease up on the diet a bit. Simply keep sugars in moderation, and still get the ½ portion (or split a salad, soup or appetizer, and one main dish with a friend)

Fabulous Friday

I went to my work cafeteria for breakfast and had an egg and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread with a glass of orange juice. Yummy! For lunch I went to Earth Fare and had a chicken caesar wrap with some chips and some black forest tea. And for my afternoon snack I had some wasa crisp and light with cottage cheese and laughing cow cheese. It is definitely time to go grocery shopping. Our fridge doesn't have a lot of options right now neither healthy nor bad.

I'm kind of hoping my husband will take me out to dinner tonight. When he wakes up from his nap I'll ask:) No exercise today, but I plan to do a bike ride in the morning. I'm starting to notice a little bit of weight difference in the mirror!

*UPDATE*

I had half of a wrap at Red Robin for dinner. The Whiskey River BBQ Chicken wrap. And it was mmm mmm good:)

Below is a story my former "Huntsville Adventure Boot Camp" instructor wrote that was inspirational when it came to exercising.

HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA - The results are in from the Scale Back contest, and honestly they were a little underwhelming.

The majority of people did not weigh out at the end of the contest. The same was true for the Scale Back contest held on Redstone Arsenal as well. This could be due to several reasons - spring break, tied up doing other things, etc. - but a common cause is the dreaded plateau.

The plateau? It's where a person is losing weight, hits the wall, can't lose any more weight and then does not weigh out because they know they did not reach their goal. Plateaus can be caused by any number of reasons, but we will focus on two that you might not have considered. Those two factors are hormones and adaptation.

Estrogen (pear shape), insulin resistance (muffin top) and cortisol (beer belly) all cause body fat to be stored in different trouble areas that make it hard to lose. To overcome high estrogen and cortisol levels, try doing short, intense workouts. Cortisol levels can increase when you do long exercise sessions (one hour plus of weightlifting or cardiovascular exercise). A way to fight insulin resistance is to cut down on the junk carbohydrates (cookies, sodas, alcohol, breads) you are consuming.

Another reason you stop losing weight, particularly when you are performing long cardiovascular training sessions, is that your body adapts. You become more efficient at running, biking, swimming, etc. which is great for distance, but it means you are burning fewer calories. That is why you need to vary your workouts, as well as your intensities. Learn to be well rounded and try different workouts.

If all you have been doing is jogging at the same pace and same duration, you have to switch it up to change your body. Mix in sprints or intervals, and then look to add a strength training component to your workouts. Just like you change up your workouts, you need to change up your caloric intake. Don't eat exactly the same thing in the same amounts every day. Something you can try to do is zig zag your calories, where you simply eat different calorie amounts every day. For instance, if a person is supposed to eat 2,000 calories a day they would eat 1,900 one day, 2,200 the next, and so on. If you really want to nail down the eating part, make an appointment with a dietitian. The bottom line is that you must "trick" your body into making changes by changing your training and eating methods. Doing the same old thing will get you the same old results.

Joe Martin is a personal trainer and can be reached at Huntsville Boot Camp for Women (huntsvillebootcampforwomen) or brawny7878@aol.com.

Thursday Therapy

Well I pretty much didn't watch my food today. I had my usual banana and later a 100 calorie pack. At lunch I went to Chili's and had 3/4 of the bacon ranch quesadilla. I don't know why I ordered it, because it really wasn't that good. Later my sister and I split a chocolate chip paradise pie. Man, I haven't had one of those in months! Probably not since last year some time.

The Punishment.

I rode the 7.2 mile bike ride after work. I recalculated this bike ride and those 45 minutes only burn about 300 calories, not the 600 I miscalculated initially. Oh well. Better than coming home and sitting on the couch like usual:)

Tomorrow I'm going to have to slow it down, even though it's Friday. I figure I have 2 more days till the big weigh in.

Wednesday *WINNING*

I really fought some serious temptations today. Let me explain.

I had my usual, banana for breakfast and Special K protein bar for brunch. But I had a really late lunch and we went to a buffet...It was a real good Southern cooking buffet too. Despite all of the deep fried goodness, mac & cheese and potato overload, I was able to overcome it all! I had steamed squash, steamed carrots, steamed tilapia and some grilled chicken. I DID give into dessert. But I didn't want to overdo it, so I had a very small piece of cheesecake and said no to apple pie. And no to cherry pie. And no to brownies. And no to ice cream. It was tough.

This evening I came home and didn't feel like cooking. So I had some Wasa Crisp and Light bread with cottage cheese and laughing cow cheese. I finished it off with a glass of 2% milk. Mainly because we haven't gone shopping and I didn't have anymore bubbly water left. Right now a glass of wine and bowl of popcorn are calling my name. Guess we'll see if I listen to the calls.

Tuesday Fail

Well "fail" might be a strong word. I started off the day pretty good. I had a banana for breakfast and a protein bar for "brunch." Then for lunch I went to Papa Gyros and had a chicken gyros with a glass of water. I cannot tell you how excited I was about that meal. It was like Christmas Day. And it tasted soooo good. Unfortunately, I cannot log the calories because they are unknown. I would go with "a lot." Haha, but it was oh so worth it.

I had the 100 calorie pack for an afternoon snack. I've noticed I snack more at work, I'm not sure why. I'm not really stressed or anything. Anyways, I came home and had the noodles Andre made last night for dinner with a glass of 2% milk.

I should also add that the 30 minutes of yoga yesterday seemed so harmless. Until I woke up today. Everything is sore. My legs, my stomach (there may be abs underneath the flab afterall!) At least my butt doesn't hurt anymore. It was sore for two days after that bike ride!

It's such nice weather tonight since it's really warm and windy. But I completely lack any motivation to go out. I'm so exhausted today. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm thinking my body has gone into carb shock from Papa Gyros. Sooooo good. Haha. I figure I worked out two days, I deserve one day rest, right? I'm doing my best to justify my lazines. It's truly a horrible cycle. You can't exercise because you're tired. You're tired because you don't exercise. Maybe in a few hours I will have changed my mind. Not likely though:)

Lazy Monday

I'm not really in the mood to exercise today. I blame it on it being Monday:) I do walk a lot at my job and attempt to take stairs as much as possible. I probably go up and down the stairs anywhere from 10-20 times a day. I figure that counts for something.

When I woke up this morning I was greeted with the smell of freshly baked bread. My husband couldn't sleep and baked some great sunflower seed dark bread and I had some of that with some swiss cheese and orange juice. This was a much bigger breakfast than I'm used to, but I welcomed it. It is the most important meal of the day, especially for weight loss.

For brunch I had a protein bar and for lunch I had a plain salad with oil and vinagrette, candied pecans, olives and mozzarella cheese. Unfortunately it was someone's birthday at work, so I was evily tempted by a chocolate chip cookie from the Great American Cookie. But hey, you gotta splurge every now and then.

And finally for dinner, I had two Boar's Head beef frankfurters with fresh corn on the cob and a slice of sunflower bread. Not sure if I'll have anything else tonight, but I am going to try to drink some more water tonight. At the most I might have a yogurt or something. We'll see.

*UPDATE*

Ok so I felt guilty and decided to workout after all. I did 30 minutes of Denise Austin's Fat Burning Yoga DVD. Phew, off to the shower now.

*LAST UPDATE*

I had a peach for dessert and tried some noodles that Andre cooked for his dinner.

Weigh In 1

There was no change in my weight during this week's weigh in. Although I can't really say I'm surprised. I ate a lot of trash this week and didn't keep as close of an eye as usual. And on top of that, I didn't exercise at all.


On the bright side, since I have lost 5 pounds, I decided to reward myself with a new pair of pants for work. Honestly, the others are just barely hanging off of my hips now, so it was time for a new pair. I definitely see this as a new motivation source everytime I lose 5 or more pounds. I found a great pair of white pants at New York and Company yesterday in a size 8, but of course they only had petite and tall. Unfortunately, I am average in height. So last night I went to Charlotte Russe and found a great pair of gray pants in a size 10. I believe size 10 is my official size now, since New York and Company carries vanity sizes. Nonetheless I'm pleased, because I've dropped from a size 12 to a size 10 with just 5 pounds. I found a pic online of my new pants. Oh and the best part was, they were on sale! So instead of $34.50, I paid $19.99. Most of my new clothes are going to be relatively cheap since it could get expensive buying new clothes every time I lose weight.

For this morning's breakfast I opted for a bowl of oatmeal with milk and sugar. Generally I don't get up early enough to actually prepare breakfast, so I take advantage of my lazy Sunday mornings. Half a cup of oatmeal, one cup of milk and three tablespoons of sugar came to 305 calories. Surprisingly, it actually made me full too. That's the thing I love about oatmeal. Very little will make you full very quickly and keep you full. My main focus is getting enough protein and fiber. The 2% milk supplied me with 9 grams of protein and the oatmeal added another 5 which will fill me up for awhile. And the oatmeal also contained 4 grams of fiber. Granted, together they do have a lot of carbs. But you win some, you lose some, right? Besides, I can't imagine eating oatmeal with water and salt like the back suggests. That would be sick.

Since the weekends are generally reserved for heavy duty cleaning, I suppose I'll start doing laundry in a few minutes. I count house cleaning as light exercise since it does get me up and moving. I'm also debating on bike riding or playing tennis today. The weather is somewhat chilly right now, but it is supposed to warm up in a few hours, so I really have no excuse.

*Update*

For lunch I had some sunflower seed bread with a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese. Then I had a small quesadilla with a lo carb wheat wrap, Kroger Mexican cheese wrap and red peppers. No fruits or veggies really, but I'll make up for it later. The good news is, I went for a bike ride! Yah! I rode for 7.16 miles in about 45 minutes and burned roughly 600 calories. That's basically everything I've eaten today! I realize weekends are going to be the time I have to take advantage of exercise. I'm pretty sure I accomplished that today. Now I have to go guzzle some water!

*Final Update*

So for dinner I went out to eat at a restaurant and ate half of a grilled chicken salad with balsamic vinagrette. As a dessert I had a 100 Calorie pack of mini fudge stripes from Keebler. I love those things! They hit the spot right every time. It's just enough to fulfill my chocolate craving. Tomorrow I'll try to write my entire blog in one sitting.

Accountability

I have very little self-discipline.

Plain and simple.

That's why I'm starting this blog. I have trouble holding myself accountable for things such as weight loss. The first five pounds I'm always enthusiastic and strict about. Then everything falls to the wayside. Since this is something I'm fully aware of, I decided to find another way to make myself be held accountable. And here I am.

I was inspired today by another blogger who was documenting her experience with weight loss after having a baby. Unfortunately I don't have a good reason for gaining weight. I moved to the U.S. from Germany, put on 20 something pounds and voila. Even in Germany I was not thrilled with my weight. I weighed 145 at 5'5 when I left. I've hit as high as 167 since then. I plan to post pics and document my weight loss journey not only to hold me accountable but to keep me motivated as well. Motivation is another area I struggle in when it comes to weight loss.

I eat for the wrong reasons and I eat the wrong foods. I've discovered I'm a very emotional eater. I also reward myself with food. I'm not obese or grotesque. But I'm just not the girl I'd like to be. Everytime I see a picture of myself or try on clothes at a store, I'm very confused. You see, in my head, I'm a skinny girl. I was always a skinny girl. Then one day, I ballooned up. I blame it on lack of exercise and more junk foods, mostly. Oh yeah and lack of accountability.

I tried to start running earlier this year and I kept up with it for about 3 weeks. Yeah, that was successful. I should mention I hate running. Which is why I made myself do it. I also went to a women's boot camp last summer for a month. I was very successful in converting fat to muscle, but I didn't "lose weight" so to speak. I converted 5 pounds of fat into 5 pounds of muscle. So I was leaner, but the scale stayed the same. The instructor insisted that this was progress. And to an extent I suppose it was. But it wasn't enough for me.

In many aspects of my life, I consider myself to be a perfectionist. When it comes to my body, not so much. I guess you could call me an aspiring perfectionist. Or delusional. Whichever works.

So starting tomorrow morning, I will begin posting pics of my weight, foods I eat, exercise, and my body. My goal is not only to lose weight, but be healthy! Haha, yeah right. I just want to be a skinny bitch who looks great, to be honest with you. I feel great right now. I've had my cholesterol, blood pressure, etc, measured already and I AM healthy. Just have a BMI of 27 and some extra flab.

I thank you for reading this and look forward to any comments or words of encouragement you may have.