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.