1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back

costco cupcakes" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="206" height="240">Image by marzbars via Flickr

Well, it's Wednesday and I have to say that last week I made all kinds of dramatic proclamations. Sadly I have taken one step forward and two steps back. So for all my grand statements, I have had fried food, pizza, and a cupcake since that last post. It's really pathetic...or is that I'm really pathetic? Anyway. I stunk up the diet business.

Exercise! Yeah I do that on occasion. Last week I did it on 3 occasions. Woot! Woot! And this week, I have managed one day so far (tonight I will do 45 minutes though!). So there is my step forward despite my sad lack of self control around food.

The truth is, I keep putting my self in bad situations because I love to eat. DH and I adore going out to eat. It's what we do. So how do I restructure my life so it does not revolve around food without making him feel like he is being punished? Sigh. Guess that's one I better figure out if I am going to loose any freaking weight.

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Don't Disturb This Groove

A friend of mine posted this video on facebook to remind us all how damn old we are! And, that turned out to be the theme of my post this week.




Why? Because there wasn't much movement this week. I was a better exerciser, but not really a better eater. I think I lost .4lbs. Not too much, but better than gaining, so we'll take it. A trip to the grocery store resulted in better things to eat, so maybe next Tuesday will have better results. All in all, this was a status quo week. Next week, measurements! Someone suggested that for when the scale isn't moving. It's a great idea, I just keep forgetting. (maybe THAT should have been the song this week!) So, next week. I'm marking it on my calendar. Until then........ Happy Tuesday!

Size: Is it All Relative?

I went to my hairdresser on Friday. Of course, there were several of us there. My hairdresser was telling us this story about how she was discriminated against at a Jenny Craig branch. Basically, she and her daughter were there before the branch opened. When the worker came to unlock the store they got out of their vehicle to approach the branch. The worker wouldn't open the store with them standing there. After awhile, they (my hairdresser and her daughter) turned and went back to their SUV. As soon as they got back in the vehicle the worker reached for the key and unlocked the door and she and a white customer entered the store. The way she told the story she has us raging and laughing at the absurdity of the blatant racism she and her daughter suffered.


Anyhoo. She was speaking with another customer about Jenny Craig and the meal plants, etc. Since I had just gotten out from under the hair dryer I had missed part of their discussion and I asked her how much on average did she spend on the food?

SHE REFUSED TO GIVE ME THE ANSWER. Basically she and the other women told me that I was skinny and they spent the rest of the time snarking on me for daring to think that I should lose weight. They told me that it had been years since they'd been able to wear a mini-skirt and a tank top (what I was wearing that day) and how dare I think I needed to lose weight like they did.

Okay, so despite the fact at how snarky I am over the internet and on blogs, I do get my feelings hurt. It implied that I was too skinny to be concerned about losing weight. I felt that I had to justify to them why I was watching what I ate, and attempting to exercise.

Later, I was thinking if that was what was holding me back. Do I even have a right to try and watch what I eat and exercise?

A lot of this is cultural of course. In the black community it's considered good to have hips and a butt and what is considered overweight in the white community isn't necessary considered overweight in the black community. Several years ago, I had a college intern (who was white) who if I may say so and not cause offense, was built like she was black woman. One day she, I, and my other intern (who was black) was sitting in my office talking and she was telling us how she was attracted to white men but it seemed like so many of the men who approached and hit on her were black men. She had never really been around black people until she entered college and she couldn't understand why she was getting all this attention from black men. Of course me and the black girl shared a look like, we knew exactly why before we turned and schooled her on the various cultural aspects of black men and sex.

I also think back to when I was eighteen and had first joined the Army. I was 106 pounds (yes I remember exactly what I weighed) when I went into basic training. I always remember being insecure because I thought I was too skinny and not pretty (if I had my eighteen year old self, I would totally smack the crap out of her). I remember being over the moon when I finished with all my training and reported to my first duty station that I had put on twenty pounds. And I must admit, I was sexy as heck and muscled but still insecure (once again, if I could go back and slap myself into sense, I would totally do so). It was a big adjustment from me from growing up in the projects and burying myself in my books and all of a sudden living in the real world. LOL

When I gain weight, it's all in my stomach, my hips, and my a--. Since we started twitloss, I've went down from a size ten to a size eight and I no longer look like I just delivered the Chunkmaster (my son). However, because of my hips and my a— a size ten is more comfortable despite being looser at the waist because of my hips and my a--. Unless I'm wearing a skirt or something. Today I'm wearing size 10 pants and though it's loose around the waist, it's tight around my hips and thighs.

Is it wrong for me at my age to wish that I was wearing a size six? I think a part of me thinks that it is and that's why I'm lapsing on the exercise department.

BTW. Here's a picture the hubster took this weekend of me and Queen. I'm wearing a miniskirt.

Ugh. Fail.

With the start of school and summer, all my free time flew out the window. I have class in the middle of the day, so it kind of cuts into my gym time. I keep promising that I'm going to go first thing in the morning, and I swear that I will, but it seems like something always comes up. This week:

• Monday - I can't remember.
• Tuesday - Psych II exam
• Wednesday - studying for Math & Film
• Thursday - Math & Film exams
• Friday - Monkey started puking before I even opened my eyes

So this week is utter fail. I ate crap on Monday and Tuesday and tried as best as I could to eat better Wednesday through today (Friday), but it's hard to do when you're waiting for payday and having to eat whatever happens to be in the pantry. I mostly stuck to turkey and chicken this week and ate lots of vegetables, so there's that at least.

I'm determined not to let this weekend be like last weekend. I will not eat pizza and be lazy. I will go swimming with Monkey and I will hit the gym when FH goes to rehearsal (they have daycare - why not utilize it?!).

I've gained 7 pounds back. I'm sure that it's mostly because it's nearing Girl Time, and most of it is water retention, but I can't fall back into old habits. So, I'm taking a page from Dara and I'm making promises to myself to treat my body better, to get back into the gym and stay there, and to get rid of the rest of the weight that's been plaguing me for the past five years.

What is your plan for the week?

We all know the drill.... failing to plan is planning to fail. I tell myself this all the time yet I continuously fail to plan. What does that say about me?itab

I have had a particularly rough couple of weeks... I have been in a funk. Of course eating healthy, taking my vitamins, and hitting the gym would have brought me out of that funk but getting there was.... difficult. I finally got a decent night's sleep and woke up and got some planning done.

I planned dinners for the week using recipes I know everyone likes and just making a few changes here and there. Of course this is only step one... I generally fail at steps 2 thru 5 but let's be hopeful mmmkay?

Thursday (tonight) - Whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce and sides of asparagus
Friday - Baked Macaroni & Cheese but I will sub some of the milk with pureed cauliflower
Saturday - Slow cooked BBQ Chicken with either baked potatoes or brown rice
Sunday - Beef Roast w/ veggies (I'm not sure on this yet, winging it lol)
Monday - Tacos w/ soft corn tortillas and salad. Ill cut the amount of beef in half and add in black beans instead.
Tuesday - Baked spinach ravioli w/ marinara
Wednesday -  Grilled Salmon with roasted veggies and wild rice

So what is your plan for the week?

On some good news... I lost 4 lbs since I last weighed in. I am going to chalk some of that up to my loss of appetite the last few days but I have also been hitting the gym and running intervals at least someone regularly. go me!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods

Digging Deep

I'm FAT! There I said it. It's time I really owned it. I don't mean cracking fat jokes etc... I mean no-kidding-look-in-the-mirror-and-open-my-eyes own it. The truth is there, I've just been in denial. I am squeezing into clothes that don't really fit and so don't look good on me. I have rolls where there should be taught firm muscle. I have orange peel where smooth skin should be.

I'm done with it.

I really had an epiphany about it this weekend. I finally got so disgusted with myself on Friday because I think I realized it is affecting more than just me, it is affecting my husband too. It's not fair to him, but mostly it's not fair to me. I NEVER wanted to be my mother, but here I am overweight and fighting the battle to loose it. Well consider everything I have said before to be a prelude to now.

I am tired of disappointing myself. I am tired of talking a good game but not following through. So, inspired by Lynette's post this week, I am throwing down the BS flag and calling an end to it.

Saturday was a new day. Wednesday is a new day. I am truly doing this. I am making this contract with myself, and I am sharing it with you all as well.

I, Dara Young, am making the following promises to myself:

1. I will put myself and my needs before others wants;
2. I will love my body;
3. I will treat my body as it deserves to be treated, feeding it healthy foods;
4. I will believe I can live and be healthier;
5. I will NOT diet;
6. I will NOT be lazy; and,
7. I will be the best person I can be.

Should I fail to live up to these promises or break them in some way, I will rededicate myself to these principles and try twice as hard. There will be tough days ahead. Days I don't want to exercise, or I don't want to skip the cookies, but I will pull these promises to myself out of my purse and look at them. If at that point I still am okay with not doing something or eating something I probably shouldn't I will live with that choice. Hopefully I won't. Hopefully I will smile and remember that I love myself and I deserve to look and feel better.

I challenge you to make a promise to yourself. It doesn't have to be a weight loss promise. It can be anything. But make the promise. Write a blog post about it and leave a link here or just post your promise to yourself in the comments. Make it mean it and I promise I will be asking about how you are doing with it in the future. So go ahead, what's your promise to yourself?

Confessions

I don't think I've been quite as bad as Usher, but.....




Man, have I been naughty. So naughty, in fact, I have gained 3 lbs! No, 3 lbs isn't a huge amount, but it is definitely more than I wanted. It is moving in the WRONG direction. It all started here of course. I brought home a lot of cupcakes one weekend. I wanted to try a bunch of different flavors, so I did. I didn't eat them all in one DAY, but.....over the weekend......sigh. After that, a general laxness about keeping track of food plus a general laxness about exercising......well, you get the point, right?

The GOOD news (is there good news?!) is that even when I was bad, I wasn't terrible. Why? Because I didn't have things here to be terrible. Once the cupcakes were gone, of course. I don't have candy, or cookies, or Coke, or chips around the house anymore. Not buying these things at the grocery store probably saved me from a calorie bender. Yeah, I bought chips from the vending machine to eat with lunch, but when you're buying calories .90 at a time, there is a built in limit. The other good news (ha ha ha ha) is that even at the vending machine, there are better choices made. No cookies or fruit pies or candy bars. We had a new juvenile selector librarian start this week so that meant, of course, bringing food in. One donut, instead of multiple donuts. One slice of cake (pre-sliced, thank GOD!) instead of multiples. This #twitloss thing is there even when you think you're NOT doing it.

Yeah, I'm still pretty fucking pissed off about the 3lbs, but it could have easily been 5 or 6 or more. And that, my friends, is how to see the world through rose colored glasses! Happy Tuesday!

Day 21: I'm Calling Myself Out

Confession time. I am a big fat fraud. I cannot get motivated to continue to work out. I get started okay and then I fizzle. WTF. My staying power sucks. I'm so lame.

I'm trying to figure out what I should do to change. But so far nothing is motivating me. The only thing that's keeping me from being a complete failure is that I HAVE been keeping up with watching what I've been eating. The other week was the first time I had a fast food burger in months. I think I should get a round of applause for just that. LOL!

But I'm still trying to figure out what I can do to keep myself from not being a total lazy butt in the exercise department. I've been talking to the hubster about either joining the Y. He nixed that idea but did point out another health club option which was just a little bit more expensive and cleaner (sorry the Y's in my area aren't that impressive). There was a ton of free classes that was included in the membership and I've picked out several that I want to enroll in. So, I'm hoping that we can work things out for that.

I'll let you know. So either I'll be joining the club or I'm going to get my lazy butt up and keep up with 30 Day Shred!

But I did lose a pound!

Day 7: 149

Day 21: 148

What motivates you?

Everyone needs a little motivation sometimes... especially when it comes to working out. God knows I don't wake up every morning ready to hit the gym so I can work and sweat until I kill myself.

No, even with as much as I "cheerlead" for everyone else, I hate working out. So what motivates me? The "before & after" pic, for one. You know, the one I posted on my notsopleasantlyplump blog a few months ago? Looking at that picture makes me want to keep going, keep losing, and get back down to the size I was before I went into the Navy (150). When I got pregnant with Monkey, I was 143(ish), and I'm pretty sure I'll never get back to that weight. Actually, I hope I don't. I didn't look healthy at that weight.

What else motivates me? Honestly, the praise I get from other people. It makes me sound needy and slightly pathetic, but hearing people tell me that I'm doing good or looking good always gives me that little boost I need to keep going. I don't want to go into all my issues, because they're personal and they're mine, but some part of me needs that praise. Not just for losing weight, but in all areas of my life. It's my burden to bear, but I deal with it.

So, what do I do to get myself psyched up? I listen to music. I used to listen to a lot of rock/alternative, but it made me angry. There's a specific song that comes to mind that (even though I loved it) made me so angry, I'd walk around seething the next hour or two. So, instead I listen to pop/Top 40 songs instead. An example of my typical playlist:

• Miley Cyrus - "Party in the USA"
• Selena Gomez - "Tell me something I don't know"
• Jay Sean - Down
• Kesha - Tik Tok
• Flo Rida - Right Round
• Cupid - Cupid Shuffle
• Lady Gaga - Bad Romance
• Black Eyed Peas - Pump it
• Britney Spears - If you seek Amy
• Carrie Underwood - Cowboy Cassanova
• Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha

What about you, my fellow #twitloss'ers... What motivates you?

Historical Diets, or Dara Geeks Out....

As you all know I am an avid Romance reader and writer. I love historical romance! So I was thinking...or wondering what did women (and men...I mean who could compete with Beau Brummell?) do in history when they needed to loose weight? Well, most ladies could probably just pull on a corset and make it work...but what if they couldn't? Why, they went on a diet! Fad diets have been around for a while.

• Alcohol Diet. References to diets go as far back as 1087, when French Royal William the Conqueror found himself so obese he couldn’t mount a horse. His solution? Lock himself in his room with only alcohol to consume. He was able to remount his horse but reportedly later died of abdominal injuries when he slipped from his saddle.(http://www.ichange.com/blog/2010/04/30/history-of-weight-loss/)

• Vinegar Diet. In 1820, British poet Lord Byron is credited with popularizing the vinegar diet. He drenched his food with the sour-tasting liquid and reportedly lost 60 pounds. Some historians believe Byron actually suffered from an eating disorder.(http://americanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/a_bizarre_history_of_diet_fads_in_america)

• Graham Diet. Around 1829, Graham invented the Graham diet, which consisted mainly of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole wheat and high fiber foods, and excluded meat and spices altogether (see vegetarianism). Very fresh milk, cheese, and eggs were permitted in moderation, and butter was to be used "very sparingly". Graham believed that adhering to the diet would prevent people from having impure thoughts and in turn would stop masturbation (thought by Graham to be a catalyst for blindness) among other things. He was a prolific writer and speaker for his cause, which was sternly opposed to "bad habits" of the body and mind. During the 1830s, the diet had a moderate response from the mostly puritanical faction of the American public, so much so that at one point it was strictly imposed on students of Oberlin College by David Campbell (a disciple of Graham's). During the period in which it was enforced, some rebellious students ate off-campus, and at one point a professor was fired for refusing to stop bringing his own pepper for use with his meals. The diet was eventually renounced by the college in 1841 following a public outcry. The Graham cracker, invented by its namesake as a staple for the diet, eventually became part of American cuisine. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_Graham#Graham_diet)
  

• Cigarette Diet. In 1925, Lucky Strikes cigarettes encouraged dieters to "Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet." “That’s when the research started to show that there might be a problem with smoking cigarettes so they actually put a health spin on it and they actually got doctors to prescribe it,” says Moore. “It’s probably a good way of killing people” (http://americanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/a_bizarre_history_of_diet_fads_in_america)

• Bananas & Skim Milk Diet. In 1934, the United Fruit Company endorsed the work of Dr. George Harrop, who found skim milk and bananas to be an ideal diet. “It was one of the first efforts of having a marketing effort in terms of getting people to eat a certain way to sell a product,” says Moore. She says bananas and milk are probably the healthiest of all of the fad diets because you get protein, calcium and potassium from the foods. “I’m not saying it’s good, but it’s not as harmful,” says Moore. (http://americanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/a_bizarre_history_of_diet_fads_in_america)

• Tapeworm Diet. In the 1950’s there were reports of a pill that contained a tapeworm, with the idea being that you can eat as much as you want as long as you let your personal tapeworm digest your food for you. One reported dieter, opera singer Maria Callas, lost 65 pounds on the diet. (http://americanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/a_bizarre_history_of_diet_fads_in_america)

So, as you can see there were a lot of really crazy diets out there! Me. I'm going for it...healthy eating and exercise. LOL! Nothing crazy. I know I will eventually loose the weight. :D

Rewinding back to last week's Pickle post, I wanted to share with you Pearl's personal joy...okay she HATES it. But really it is just too freaking funny! If you have seen it on Twitter and wondered WTF? I introduce you to Pickle Man!

Well, this week went well... not.

Since Pearl is on vacation, she graciously allowed me to babysit her Twitloss blog. Thank you so much for this opportunity, and I hope you have a wonderful time in LA with your hubs!

So this week.. Yeah. I had every intention of hitting the gym and eating better and being MOTIVATED! Unfortunately, school started on Monday, and I'm taking a full course load in a 10 week period. That doesn't leave me with a lot of free time and going to the gym is out of the question until around 6pm... right when FH gets home and we start the dinner, bath, and prep for the next day routine.

Jose sent me a text on Tuesday and asked me if we could hold off on training til Thursday. I told him no problem, since my friend was in from out of town and spending the night. That gave me a little bit more time with her and her brand new baby girl (she was 16 days old when she came to visit - such a cutiepie!) Unfortunately, when Thursday rolled around, I forgot to inform Jose that I have classes at 10 every day except Friday... which meant that I couldn't make our regularly scheduled appointment. He never texted me back, and now that my iPhone is jacked up I can't call him to see what's going on. *sobs*

On the weight side of the issue... I've fluctuated between 190 and 195 this week, per the bathroom scale. The one at my mom's read 199 yesterday, but when I jumped on the one at home, it still said 195. I'm going to blame that one on mom's scale being digital which is supposedly less accurate).

I feel like it's getting ready to be Female Time again, which means being bloated and craving chocolate. I actually have a candy bowl filled with those delectable little "Fun Sized" candy bars (3 Musketeers, Milky Way, Snickers, and Butterfinger), but I've managed to mostly keep away from them. I have one or two (since they really are "bite sized") as I take Monkey to school, and then I forget about them for the rest of the day. I know it's not exactly good to have chocolate every day, but I'm going to go ahead and say that this chocolate consumption is for my sanity and for the protection of all the others around me (I tend to get cranky when it's Female Time).

So. I'm planning on attempting to go to the gym this weekend. My knees have been bothering me a LOT because it's been raining so bad lately (stupid arthritis!) and the thought of getting on the elliptical has me nearly in tears. But, if I want to continue dropping this weight and continue to have people tell me how great I look (cause let's face it - I need that praise to boost me up and keep me going), I have to get back on the horse... the elliptical, whatever, and push through the pain. Who knows? Maybe when I'm back down to 150 (40 more pounds to go!) my knees won't give me as many problems.

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Wait, was that a deadline? umm....

So.... how's things? Enjoying your Thursday? I think it is safe to say that all of the #twitloss team really love pickles.

Ok ok, I am totally procrastinating on acknowledging that today is June 10th... that means our 3 month deadline of June 1st is long gone.  So, lets recap... what did I want to get done in 3 months and how did I do??







Goals for the next 3 months (June 1st, 2010 deadline):

• Kick my addiction to soda - {OK not bad here, I rarely drink it now... not entirely off the coke crack, but close}
  
  
• Be cooking at home 6 days out of the week - {um. full on fail}
  
  
• Lose 25 lb - {7 lbs... not good enough}
  

Plan of Action

• Meal Plan weekly, buy as much food in bulk as possible through Whole Foods, Azure, Winder Farms, etc - {I am mostly accomplishing this}
  
  
• Grow and use our own vegetables - {#GardenFail! I planted one, but I just haven't felt motivated to maintain it}
  
  
• Body Pump class - twice a week minimum - {Some weeks I hit this, some not. }
  
  
• Cardio - 3 times a week minimum - {Haven't been keeping up with this BUT I have felt an improvement in my cardio skillz. I can run now without dying. Thats good right? }
  
  
• Plan ahead! Make lunches at night if necessary, no more being stuck out doing errands without food! - {ok, let's just assume if I used the word "plan" i failed at it.}
  
  
• Take vitamins daily (Thyroid, Amazing Greens, etc) - {I need an alarm or something}
  

So while I may have lost 7 lbs, I am not thrilled with my progress. I need to recommit and refocus... oh and also find some energy. My house and life are crazy hectic now that the kids are out of school and I need to find a handhold and pull myself together. A maid or chef would be perfect... but alas I would have to get a job to afford those things LOL. So, my new goals for the next 3 months (deadline September 1st)

Re-commitment Goals

• Be cooking at home 6 days out of the week
  
  
• Lose 30 lbs (including the 7 already lost)
  
  
• Keep my house from looking like a tornado ran through it
  

Plan of Action

• Meal Plan weekly
  
  
• 8 glasses of water, daily.
  
  
• Hit the gym 5-6 times a week - gives me quiet time and gives the kids an air conditioned place to play for 2 hours.
  
  
• Take vitamins daily (Thyroid, Amazing Greens, etc
  
  
• Motivated Moms printouts... get the kids doing their own chores so I don't feel overwhelmed.
  
  
• Limit my alcohol intake *sob sniffle*

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

So where are you guys at?

OBE and Pickles...

Right now my life is OBE. Overcome By Events. I am so swamped at work I barely have time to breath much less eat. So the upside is I am probably losing weight. The downside is, I am stressed and overtired. I am at 195 (again!) and hoping to see that dip back down to my previous best 193. In the mean time I have been reminded of my love for pickles. Whole dill pickles. Nom Nom Nom! This is the jar currently in my fridge.
Yummy! Love them! They are about 20 cals per pickle and I could eat them all day...except they have no other real nutritional value. In fact ya'll can feel free to pass the hat around and buy me this shirt. Snort.
Okay I am done rambling about pickles. I don't want to end up where I did on Twitter yesterday talking about how they have to be measured in inches to be for me. How I like them thicker than thin...well you can see the problem. SOME people have dirty minds. ROFL! I hope I have more of anything to report next week...cause really who posts about pickles?

I'm a loser (baby)

I hate that song, ya know? I listened to it again, thinking I might use it, but the chorus is all I'm interested in. Sorry, Beck fans. Instead, you get something that may be even worse.

This song has been in my head for DAYS. I don't know why.




Anyway, I don't have much to report this week. Down, 1.2lbs. (WHOO!) But not because I did anything special. I still don't have any idea how this calories in vs. calories out thing works. This week I was WAY over my cals one day, and under most of the other days. I suppose it all balances out? I worked out 6 of 7 days again, so (theoretically) I should have lost MORE than 1.2 measly pounds, right? Who can figure this out? If you see Jillian Michaels out there in the world could you send her my way? Thanks!

In the meantime, #twitloss rolls on. Happy Tuesday!

Day 7: A Look Back - Statistics

On March 1st, we began this blog as a journey to support ourselves in our journey towards weight loss and healthy living. Since the first quarter of our experiment is over, I thought I'd take a look back and let everyone know where I started and where I'm at now.

March 1st, 2010

Height: 5'4
Weight: 155 pounds
Chest: 40'
Left Upper Arm: 13'
Right Upper Arm: 14'
Waist: 35'
Hips: 37.5'
Left Thigh: 23'
Right Thigh: 22.5'

June 7th, 2010

Height: 5'4
Weight: 149 pounds
Chest: 37 ½'
Left Upper Arm: 12"
Right Upper Arm: 12"
Waist: 32 1/2
Hips: 37.5
Left Thigh: 20.5
Right Thigh: 20

Back in March, I stated that I wanted to lose 20 pounds by June 1st, 2010. Umm, obviously I didn't make it. Why you ask? Because I'm a lazy heifer who hasn't been working out so that why! Anyhoo, I've switched my workout plan and even though I've slacked over the weekend, it's working out good for me and I hope that I can give you better results the first of July!

An apology, an update and an announcement

First and foremost I want to apologize for not doing my weekly duty last week! There was some stuff going on in my off-line life that had me shaken up from Thursday till Saturday and I just wasn't up to writing a cheery blogpost so I skipped it all together. But I've put it behind me and am ready to give you guys an update and have a little announcement concerning temporary replacement during my vacation.

Stats:
Starting Weight: 192 lbs
Goal Weight: 132 lbs
Last Time’s Weight: 166 lbs
This Time’s Weight: 163 lbs
This Time’s Loss: 3 lbs
Total Loss: 29 lbs
This Week’s Hours of Zumba: 1.0
Last Week’s Hours of Zumba: 2.5
Total Hours of Zumba: 10.5

As I mentioned yesterday on Twitter, the effects of the meds are still lingering because I am still behind on schedule but I really don't care because like a friend of mine said: schedules are only a guideline, every person is different and focusing on only the numbers on a scale isn't realistic. I take my motivation in the fact that:

• my clothing is falling off my behind and I can wear clothes that were in the very back of my closet because they were too small and on the verge of being thrown away
• my cleaning lady stands in awe every two weeks telling me how much I lost weight
• friends tell me that the weight loss is really showing
• I stand in front of the mirror and see my collar bones, which I haven't seen in I think 7 or 8 years
• the bras I bought right after my reduction are fitting normally again instead of boob-flesh spilling over the cups
• I once again have a waistline
• in 14 weeks I've gone from size 18-20 to size 12-14
• in 14 weeks I've worked out for 10+ hours in total and remember I HATE to work-out so I consider this something REALLY big.
• in 14 weeks I've lost almost 30 lbs

My method of weight loss is controversial and not all people understand how I can live on just water, broth curds and vitamin supplements but for me it's working and I am persevering until I reach my goal and after that I will never eat again how I used to eat. I have become aware of what I used to put in my mouth day-in day-out and it is not necessary. I can live and thrive on less than half the amount of food I used to eat and I can control myself in times that are emotionally trying and in the past would give me an excuse to go on an eating-frenzy.
I am proud of myself and feel good about myself and that's something I hadn't felt in a long time. So for that alone I feel I've succeeded despite not having lost the amount I "should've lost by now.

And now on to something less self-reflecting stuff.

As some of you may know I am less about a week away from a vacation to the US. Going to Los Angeles to be precise. Hubby is going to a conference for work and as I am at home at the moment I decided to accompany him as going to the US has been a life-long dream of mine and couldn't pass up on this opportunity. The first week hubby will be working and I'll be getting to know LA a bit better on my own and going to do some sight-seeing stuff that I know hubby wouldn't like to do. After the first 5 days hubby will be done and we have a holiday-week together.

I know this vacation is going to test my ability to stick to my diet as much as possible but I've also  decided that I am not going to avoid food. I *will* try to stick to as little calories as possible and healthy food and am determined to not come back weighing more than before I left. Both hotels I'll be staying in have gyms so I am going to work-out like a mad-woman so I will at least compensate for any excessive food consumption. Will try to keep everyone posted via Twitter.

Because I have a very busy week coming up due to blogging stuff on my book-blog and preparations for this vacation and the vacation itself of course, I was thinking how I was going to manage the weekly posts here in the coming few weeks and it occurred to me I could have a guest poster who could temporarily fill in for me with blog posts on Fridays. And here's where the beloved Twitter comes in. I tweeted a request and within minutes I had a taker.

From June 11th until at least July 3rd the Friday post will be taken care of by none other than:

MamaKitty of Mama Kitty Reviews

I hope you guys give her a warm welcome next week and take good care of her while she's filling in for me!

Hugs,
Pearl

Its 11:58 I'm not late yet!

This is a quick post as I am on my way out of town and completely neglected to think ahead as to my post today. Where am I going? Camping. Yes, im going to sleep on the ground in a tent where there is no internet... or worse.... twitter.

As a funny, my 9 year old daughter wanted the tshirt with this picture on it.... it was hard to keep the giggles in.

As I think we have just about reached the original deadline I need to do some evaluating and will be doing that next week in my post... till then... hope I make it back alive. And for a good laugh check out this post on camping.

I Stress, Therefore I Eat...

As you all know I am dealing with two huge losses right now. My sister in law and then a close friend. I know I am a stress eater. I am really trying not to succumb to the succor food offers me, but I find myself grabbing cookies, having a beer, eating a Chocolate Thunder from Down Under at Outback... Anyway, my goal is to refocus my energy toward working out. So Tuesday, my goal was to eat healthy and ride the stationary bike for at least thirty minutes (I am writing this on Tuesday with every intention of following through when I get home). We'll see what happens today, but I am thinking my need to write will override working out.

In the mean time, I came across this article on health.com and wanted to share the author's 5 tips for beating stress eating.

1. Eat enough during the day. I’ve noticed that if I don’t eat substantial meals that include fiber-packed carbs, low-fat protein, and healthy fats, I usually encounter crazy cravings later. Now, I make sure that all of my meals and snacks include a combination of all three.

2. Keep “trigger foods” out of the house. Cookies, chocolate, and sugary cereal are foods that give me trouble when it comes to portion size. Instead of keeping a bag of my favorite foods in the house, I don’t purchase them, so they are not a temptation. But I do enjoy them on special occasions!

3. Don’t mistake thirst for hunger. In the afternoon, especially right after lunch, I always feel “hungry.” But much of the time, my hunger pangs are satisfied with a big swig of water or a hot mug of tea. A little hydration goes a long way when it comes to dealing with emotional eating.

4. Eat by the clock. If I just ate a meal or a snack, I will try to wait at least 20 minutes before I eat something else. When I wait, I put a buffer between myself and the food, which helps make the temptation go away.

5. Don’t be so hard on yourself. A single slipup like the other night isn’t going to ruin my Lose the Dough goal. And, if I do overdo it, I don’t let it become an excuse to continue to eat poorly. I don’t get down on myself and I make sure to get back on track the very next time I eat.

I am going to work on these things and keep working at this weight loss thing. I gained back all my lost weight, but am not going to be discouraged. I can loose it all again. So back at 197 and starting over. The goal is to get off the See-Food diet and get on with the healthy eating and living. Living being the key word.

Go home today, hug the ones you love and be grateful they are in your life.

She's a maneater!

It's on my cardio mix! And....it's kinda talking about food, right? At least the kind I like to eat....

Besides, watching that video gives me inspiration to do MORE cardio so I can look like that....except a little more brown. :-)



Happy Wednesday, everbody! I'm in a great mood so you must know what that means. That's right, the scale is cooperating again!







Not only did I lose the 1lb I had gained last week, it took two of his friends too! Later, pounds! Don't come back!

I increased my calories just a bit over the past week, going up to 1650 instead of 1550. And, there were a couple days when I was above that (up to 1800) and a few days when I was below (but never below 1200) Maybe that helped. I got 195 minutes of cardio in. When you think about it, that isn't a lot. My goal was 200 minutes or 40 minutes, 5 days a week. That really should be more like 60 minutes, 5 days a week. Or 6 days a week. But, there is no way I have enough motivation to work out that much. So, we do what we can do until we're motivated to do more. Nelly Furtado abs might motivate me to do more.

Bonus NF video. Also on my cardio mix and BY FAR my favorite song of hers.

Back At One

Happy Tuesday! I apologize. Since Memorial Day was yesterday, I totally forgot that I needed to post to the blog.


BTW, I know this music video has nothing to do with weight loss, but it does have a point per say. I remember Brian McKnight saying that he came up with the idea for this song when he was trying to put something together at his house. The instructions always said, when all else fails go back to Step One.

So, I decided to go back to step one and since this is June 1st, I thought the timing was perfect.

Six days ago, I started Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I must say at first I was very skeptical. When I got the DVD and looked at the exercises, they were very basic and I didn't see how I was going to get any results out of it. Then I tried them. After the first day, I could barely move, my body ached so much. I read on Amazon about how a lot of people complained that their knees were killing them because of this DVD. My knees killed me after the first day. However, after I kept at it the problems with my knees disappeared. I wonder if that was because I wasn't in the correct position while doing the exercises.

I didn't work out this morning (Chunk was auditioning for most dramatic baby in the universe last night and I barely got any sleep). But when I did yesterday, I seemed to fly though the program.

The way 30 Day Shred works is that there are three levels of exercises. When you feel you're ready you progress to the next level in the program. Each level has three circuits and each circuit includes three minutes of strength training, two minutes of cardio, and one minute of abs. So it takes under 30 minutes to complete the workout from start to finish.

I must say, I like this much better than what I was doing before (Tony Horton's 10 Minute Trainer), because it really takes under thirty minutes. With 10 Minute Trainer to complete three ten minute workouts with changing CDs, changing the bands and everything the workouts took about forty-five minutes to an hour, which defeated the purpose of a quick work out without having to go to the gym.

I feel like I have more energy than I have been. Every since I began 30 Day Shred, especially during the days I was working, I felt myself accomplishing more at work. The piles and piles of paper that were piled up on my desk have disappeared. I felt more energy when I was at home (e.g., I haven't been slacking in the house work). Also, I have a problem with low iron. I'm supposed to be taking iron pills but I haven't taken them since I was pregnant with Chunk, but I feel that I have more energy than I had been. Before I began 30 Day Shred, we had a blood drive here at work, and I went to donate blood but they wouldn't let me because my iron was so low. I started cooking iron rich foods and combined with working out, I am seeing a difference. Also, I've been a member of the Little Bitty Titty Club all my life and I know my body's changing because my titty's are shrinking and they always shrink more when I work out.

BTW, I did gain a pound this week, but that's totally my fault. I baked a cake this weekend as well as baked some homemade bread. Next week should be better! And the end of June should be great!


Day 1: 150 pounds