Fatty Frustration

People’s misconception about overweight people frustrates me.  Perhaps it is a misconception about me, but I am sure there are others in the same boat.  The thing is, yes, sometimes I ate poorly to get this way, but it was not as if it was every day.  I did eat healthy foods.  Albeit, larger quantities of them.  (My lack of self-control spans healthy food as well.)  I would eat healthy all day and some evenings eat crap as snacks.  Not every meal was full of crap.  If I ate French fries, chips and fast food for every meal, every day, and large quantities of it, I assume I would have been a lot bigger to start with.

I admit I put on about 25 pounds in my first year of high school eating my stress/feelings; junk food I would hide from my parents, purchased with my own money, sitting on the couch every day after school, blah blah blah.  However, once I got there I maintained.  The majority of my teen/adult life I have stayed within a 20-pound range, and in that, I spent about ten years within a 10-pound range.  I was maintaining.  I was eating fruits and vegetables.  I was eating lean meats.  I just consumed it in large enough quantities enough to maintain my weight, with the junky snacks.  I wasn’t constantly gaining (except for stressful times where I ate everything in sight, again not always junk food.)  I haven’t had to learn to eat more fruits and vegetables, as I was already eating them. 

Let’s be clear, I did ZERO exercise.  I didn’t not work out from grade 10 until I got a job after high school and then from there I didn’t actively workout for eight years.  Yes eight. 

As I am getting the chance to lose weight, people keep saying, “Now that you are eating healthy foods…” I was always eating healthy foods, but eating enough of them to maintain my weight and an unhealthy mix of unhealthy foods.  I didn’t ALWAYS eat junk.  (I know I am a self-proclaimed junkfoodaholic, but I didn’t eat the crap at every meal, every day.)  

I don’t know why that frustrates me, I know I made some poor decisions, but I was not constantly eating crap food.  

Does that make sense?

My Chubby Cottage Weekend

We went away this weekend.  Exercise happened, but healthy eating … not so much.  Friday we went to a convention and walked for 5 hours.  Yes, five straight hours.  (The convention was huge).  I thought my legs were going to fall off (Keep in mind, I typically sit at a desk all day, so five hours of walking is a lot for me.)  Hot dogs for dinner!  From there we drove up to our friends’ cottage.  (It was a last minute planned trip, I had one day scheduled as a cheat day for this weekend, not three).  The cottage was beautiful and we had loads of fun. 

 

 

 

We kayaked, which was my first time kayaking and I enjoyed it much better then canoeing.  Kayaking was hard work, and we returned to the cottage like hungry bears.  I proceeded to eat everything in sight that wasn’t bolted down. 

 

After a dinner of homemade hamburgers, (which technically are not that bad as they were lean ground beef, but I did eat two of them :/) we made a trip to Kawartha Dairy.  (We saw a Black Bear run across the road on our way there! I love the Canadian Wilderness!)  At the dairy, I had Crème Brule and Wolf Paw ice cream.  Let me tell you, greatest ice cream ever.  The Crème Brule was insanely good.  This was their “Small”.  You should have seen the “Large”.  After the ice cream, we went back to the cottage and played some dance game on Wii.  It was another huge workout, the laughter alone must have burnt a thousand calories.

On our ride home Sunday, we stopped at Webers.  If you are from Ontario, chances are, you have been to Webers.  There is only one location and I hadn’t been able to go in over ten years.  I didn’t just eat one of these cheeseburgers, I ate TWO.  And French fries.  And they were damned good.  And I didn’t feel guilty about it. 

I may have had this Oh Henry as dessert.  It was super yummy.

I haven’t stepped on the scale to see the damage that was done; I am waiting for a day or two to see if some of the water bloat from all of the salty foods dissipates a bit.  I am not feeling guilty though as we did a lot of exercise and screw it, it was a vacation.

I knew that Monday I would get back to healthy, which I did, I am proud to say.  Hubby even helped me make these Strawberry Shortcake muffins last night as our cupboards are a little bare right now and these are a healthy snack I freeze for lunches. 

Watermelon Salsa

Last night we went to our friends' house to hang out.  I made the watermelon salsa that I first tried at the Clothing Swap Potluck.  My good friend was kind enough to share the recipe link with me, so glad she did as it's so yummy!!!  I was a little worried about it as I never made it before but it was super easy and turned out AMAZING!  And everyone loved it!  As it's mostly watermelon and onions, it's very low in calories (The Tostitos Scoops weren't, but I only ate a few and just heaped the scoops with the salsa to get a good full amount, I figured I probably could have come up with something healthier to serve as a scoop instead of Tostitos but was pressed for time.)

If you want something low in fat, easy to make and different to wow your guests at your next party try the watermelon salsa!

Weigh In - 40 Day Success

It’s been 7 full days.  I feel like I have done really well.  I tried to get more creative with my meals and snacks and I tried changing up my workout routine again. 

Changing Up the Workouts:

I am getting bored with my gym’s Zumba, it’s not nearly as fun as the Zumba I went to previously at a dance studio.  My previous instructor was what made the world of difference as she was so outgoing and fun.  I skipped this week at the gym, I will try going only on the weeks my sister’s shifts are on days so I can at least have the fun of meeting up with her. 

This week I started jogging/walking my dawg.  My dawg is a rescue and has a tremendous fear of a lot of things outside; she is very content going to do her business and dragging us back inside to sit on the couch.  Walks usually consist of us practically dragging her the first half and the second half her pulling like a maniac to get back home.  We have been working with her and while we see a huge improvement, we are still working at it.  When I started running with her she actually seemed intrigued with what we were doing.  I am trying to follow the c25k method of starting to run.  Run for one minute, walk for one minute, do this six times in a row, for a week and then gradually increase your running time.  Grant it, I am sure I look like I am speed walking rather then running but I am still “lapping those sitting on the couch”.   My dawg kept up with me and never pulled.  When we got back to the house she had a long nap and kept wagging her tail while sleeping.  She is a big cutie pie.

Changing Up Breakfast:

For breakfast I went back to an oldie but a goodie in accordance with Dr.Oz who claims this breakfast is a good way to burn belly fat: Toasted whole wheat English muffin with a poached egg and a slice of cheese.  All together I estimate these calories to about 260, and it keeps me full almost right until lunch time.  Most days I still have my almond snack around 11ish, but it’s not necessarily that I need to eat them out of hunger, I am just eating them to make my calorie count.

Let’s see how I measure up compared to last week.

181.5!  Compared to 183!  1.5 pounds!  I will take it!

Lick it List

This is not a weight loss entry, but a healthy living entry in it’s own way.  I read this very adorable and inspiring article today.  Anyone who knows me know I love all animals but dogs tend to be a smidgen more my favourite and if I can help a child out I will definitely do so, this “Lick it List” is right up my alley.  This little boy wants to reward his dog, Bingo, with “Treats from around the world”

Reading the article you will see that this little boy has had his service dog Bingo for many years now and Bingo is responsible for saving the little boys life NUMEROUS times, she was even awarded a Purina Hero Recognition award.  Man, I love stories like that.  Bingo is now 13 years old and she is very sick, so the boy created Bingo her very own “Lick it List” which includes giving Bingo "Treats from around the world"  Totally adorable.  My dawg has her treats addressed and ready to be dropped in the mail tonight!  If you love dogs and want to brighten this little boy’s day read the article and send a treat if you can! 

Do You Hear My Stomach Growling?

I am super hungry right now. Aquafit kicked my arse I think this is why I am hungry. I even had extra protein as a post workout snack but it didn’t seem to help. I am torn as I should be going to bed soon and I read you shouldn't eat within two hours of sleep. Bah.

So far so good

Friday, the weekend, and Monday I stayed at 1400 calories!  No overage!  The trick seems to be plan my entire day of food, all three meals and three snacks the day before.  Emphasis on the 3rd snack after dinner.  I am a creature of habit, I like to snack after dinner, so planning for a healthy snack helped!  And of course, lots of protein to keep me full throughout the day helped.  Plus, a workout every day!  I am on the right track finally!  Aren't you glad you read an enthusiastic post instead of a "wah wah I suck" post?  I am glad you did too!  haha!

40 Day Success

I have been slacking. I haven't even exercised to the degree I would normally like to. I took two days off from working out this week so far, I haven't even made it to the gym. Summers prove to be my hardest when looking back at previous weight tracking. The last two summers I have put on 10 pounds each, in the course of two to three months. I know this is terrible. Work stress peaks for me in the summer and while I have had a far better handle on it this summer, I still have struggled.  Summers are also hard with all of the BBQ’s and yummy foods, this seems to be harder for me then even the Christmas holidays.   

Yesterday, I came to the realization that 40 days from today will mark 1 year of my healthy living and I am not nearly close to my 50 pounds in one year goal. As of this morning I am only showing a 22 pound weight loss.  (Bah, I have gained back 5.5 pounds)  This makes me feel like a failure. Instead of grabbing a bag of Ruffles and a big chocolate bar and hiding under the covers eating my shame, I have decided to devise a new game plan to get things moving, an attempt to post as much success in 40 days as possible: one last kick of the can for the year end mark. September 19, 2011 I weighed in at my heaviest and started that day to try and make a change. I have been successful in making a change, I can't deny myself this, but I want a bigger change. I know that 40 days should be irrelevant, that the whole point is to make a healthy lifestyle change to last me forever; I am viewing this as a kick start. I want to do this. I have to do this.  It does not mean by any means that once this year is complete I am done trying, I just move on to my next time frame.  I just want to move into that next time frame in the best shape I possibly can.

 Some things I plan to use towards my success:

-1400 calories a day, no allowances.

-Plan my lunch better, 1400 calories goes fast, have to utilize protein whenever possible.

-Plan for the 5 occasions coming up where I will be surrounded my delicious foods: Extra workout those days, allow myself 2000 calories, make smart choices, MODERATION, ask for help from friends and family.

-Workout 6 days a week. 

-Utilize a Jillian Michaels DVD on days when I have a workout class as the classes.  As much fun as the classes are, they don’t make me sweat nearly as much as a traditional workout.  A 30 minute hard workout in addition to the class should help.

-Cutting out the pop.  (I always drink diet pop and am stopping that, today)

-I have filled my fridge with healthier snack options: fruits, nuts and low fat proteins.

-No beverages of any sort after 7pm, I am so tired of waking up all night going to the washroom.

-Yoga DVD before bed and meditation to help sleep so I can get the 7-8 hours for my metabolism.

- Using this blog to keep myself accountable on here

-Weekly weigh in, no avoiding that scale



Here marks the start of the overall healthy living period September 19 2011 and today August 10 2012, the start of operation “40 Day Success”

Weight	205	183	-22
Size	16	12
UA	15.00	13	-2
W	37.50	34	-3.5
A	47.00	42.00	-5.00
H	49.00	44.50	-4.50
UT	30.50	27.25	-3.25
LT	23.50	20.75	-2.75
C	17.00	15.5	-1.5

  

40 days = 6 weeks.

I can do this.

I will do this.

Enough talk, I have work to do.

Pictures

I am still hovering at the 180 pound ~ 25 to 26 lost pound mark, nothing new to report.  I am working out still.  Today and yesterday I did house work so I am counting that as my workout as I cleaned for a few hours and was sweating like crazy when I was done.  Instead of complaining about not eating right I decided to look back at a few pictures to get myself motivated.

These two photos were taken 2.5 years apart:  The first photo was taken November 2009 at 184 pounds.  The second photo was taken June 2012 at 182 pounds.  I feel like the 2nd one I look better.  I am more toned this time around.  November 2009, I was working out, but soley focusing on Cardio, this time around I am trying to do equal amounts of cardio and strength training; I feel like this is a better mix.  I think you can tell in my arms and in my backside.  The jeans in the photo on the right fit me perfect right now.  I owned them in November 2009 and was going to wear them the night of this photo but they were so tight, I decided not to wear them as I didn't want to be uncomfortable all night.  (This was depressing to me as I had worked out for two months straight at the time and still couldn't wear those jeans comfortably)  It was a success huge for me to not only fit back into those jeans but to have them fit even better now!  (Guess Jeans I purchased for $10 as they had a slight tear I was able to repair!)

                        November 2009 - 184 pounds                   June 2012 - 182 pounds

                         August 2011 - 205                              June 2012 - 182

                              September 2011 - 205             June 2012 - 182

                        September 2011 - 205                 August 2012 - 180

September 2011 - 205                                                        August 2012 - 180
(I realize a sitting one is different then a standing, but I don't have any recent sitting shots!)

Ramblings of a crazy lady...

I wonder how many calories Tums have in them?  I have taken to drinking Crystal Light Iced Tea. At 5 calories a glass, it’s my new favourite beverage. It’s yummy, convenient, inexpensive and I love it; however, Crystal Light Iced Tea does not like me. I keep getting wicked heart burn. After consuming about 20 Tums, I am still sitting here, burning. (I know 20 Tums exceeds the recommended dosage, don’t try this unless you are a professional.)

They say that your body goes through cycles every few years. About 5 years ago, I got hit with Acid Reflux, IBS and Rosacea, all at the same time.  (And not just the cute pinkish glow of Erythematotelangiectatic rosacea, I have 2 to contend with, including the Papulopustular rosacea type that looks like Acne. It’s not Acne. However, everyone and their mother are an expert on my skin and tell me to cut out chocolate bars to cure my acne. I DON’T HAVE ACNE. My dermatologist said it’s rosacea! To the next person who says I have acne, I am demanding to see your PHD in Dermatology and if you are unable to produce one, you’re getting bopped on the head. P.S. Chocolate doesn’t cause acne, pick up a book and learn something more recent then the 1940’s garbage you keep spewing at me!)

So back to my rant about my three annoyances in total, not just the rosacea:

Acid Reflux, IBS and Rosacea all hate stress. They all hate spicy foods. They all hate acidity foods. My healthy lovers: strawberries, cherries, raspberries, Iced Tea, nuts, peanut butter, tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa, and cayenne have all become my enemies. I have to limit myself to small doses and to eat with a base like milk or bread.  This is difficult as my lack of self control is not just limited to junk food, it spans any food I like, healthy included.  I could eat a whole pint of home grown cherry tomatoes and suffer profusely for it, but will not bat an eye at doing it again.

I truly love food.  I know I emotionally eat on occasion and occasionally eat out of boredom, but I think the biggest part of my problem is I just really love food.  Apparently my body is giving me signs that it needs me to control my eating, now just to listen better.

Grrr...

It appears the Jillian Michaels workouts that were on Youtube have been removed.  Grr... I was using them!

"Cucumber Sandwiches"

I am so making these for lunch with tuna!  I love Pinterest for healthy eating ideas!

Something I Have to Keep Telling Myself

5 Pounds of Fat versus 5 Pounds of Muscle

Aquafit

Last night my sister and I tried Aquafit.  I have always thought of Aquafit being for seniors, but at least half of the class was under 35.  Also those seniors are badass, as Aquafit is damned hard.  I am sore and tired today.  I really enjoyed it though, as it definitely seemed like a challenge, but it was fun, and in the water which is totally my favourite way to exercise.  It was cardio mixed with strength due to all of the resistance.  My sister and I have decided this will be a weekly class for us!

Lunch

Hey remember that time I said I was ADD and get bored easily; I think this explains some of my food problems.  I can’t stand eating the same thing every day.  I feel this is where my biggest failure lies.  I also have the problem of not packing enough, or more specifically, not enough protein, resulting in hunger all day.  Yesterday I brought a Reduced Fat PB & No Sugar Added Jam sandwich on Whole Wheat Bread.  While this may seem decent, I feel on days when I work out in the mornings, it is not filling enough and it can be monotonous.  I sadly went and got Wendy’s in addition to my sandwich.  I feel that was all due to poor planning on my part. 

I understand the concept of healthy eating; lean proteins to help keep you full, fruits and veggies for vitamins and whole grains for fiber and other nutrients.  I really, truly try to follow a healthy food lifestyle, but I tend to fall into ruts and use the junk food ladder to climb out of the rut.  I know it’s bad.  I plan ahead for our dinners, which is helpful and I try to plan ahead for lunches.  Even if I plan ahead I sometimes stumble, the days I don’t plan a head I flop around like a fish out of water.  Some days I pack many protein snacks: a small bit of cheese, a few nuts, PB, etc, all in moderation of course, as I painstakingly count out my nuts to not exceed 100 calories depending on the nut.  There are days where I fail to leave myself enough time to pack said snacks, and only a wee sandwich makes it into my lunch bag.

Tonight I am going to do two things to help ensure I have a yummy tasting, different, leanish protein for lunch for the rest of the week.  I am going to make healthy-ish crab cakes (from a can, save me the lecture you foodies, this can cost me $3 which is a splurge for me, so buying fresh crab is out of the question).  Crab is very low in calories, so as long as I don’t add too much crap it should be healthy.  And I am going to make healthy-ish egg salad for a whole wheat sandwich.  Maybe that is still boring for you but I seldom have egg salad so I find it interesting!

Crab Cakes

The crab cakes I am going with my Mom’s recipe (I don’t know where it came from, if she just made it up from a few I don’t know)

1 can of crab  (70 calories for the can)

1/3 of a cup of whole wheat bread crumbs  (About 65 calories)

1 large egg  (70 calories)

2 tbs Chopped green onion

2 tbs Chopped red bell pepper

1 tsp Garlic Powder

½ tsp Cayenne

1 tbs of olive oil for browning.  Cook on medium for 4 to 5 minutes on each side until they brown.

Can be prepared a head of time and warmed up later.

Makes about 2 to 3 medium sized crab cakes. 

Total – About 250 calories, for the whole thing! Which leaves me room for my fruit and a small snack to make for a 400 calorie lunch!

Egg Salad. 

Here is my beef with egg salad; I despise the texture of the white part of the egg once it has been hard-boiled.  I had a friend who was mocking her husband for pureeing the whole boiled egg in the food processor, laughing at him as the rubbery egg white was completely pulverized.  This seemed right up my alley!  Grant it, it’s almost like mayo when you are done.  However, it’s good as you don’t have to add mayo, which makes it healthier and I can enjoy the healthy benefits of the egg white without getting grossed out by the rubbery texture.  I like to add a tbs of green relish to the mixture to help keep it moist (plus green relish only has 5 calories per 1 tbs)  I like to season with cayenne (it’s my favourite seasoning)  Yum, I wish I had made this last night for today’s lunch.  (I will be doubling this recipe in order to get a wrap for tomorrow and a sandwich for Friday)

1 large egg – 70 calories

1 tbs green relish - 5 calories

Sprinkle of Cayenne – 0 calories

Medium sized Whole Wheat Wrap – 190 calories (I could use two slices of Whole Wheat bread for 65 calories a piece)

Total – About 265 calories! Which leaves me room for my fruit and a small snack to make for a 400 calorie lunch!

There, now that I planned it, I have to follow, especially since I put it out in the internet world!  I suppose that is what this blog is for, to help keep me accountable!

Still Working Out, Still Over Eating

I get bored really easily.  I think I have ADD, and most likely have had it all my life but for some reason no one ever picked up on it when I was a child. 

This brings me to present day when I get bored with my workouts and in trying not to allow that to wreck my good behaviour; I am always looking for something to change up my routine. 

My power skating finished back in June, and my hockey finishes this week, so I have to be diligent in sticking to other workouts… at least until September when the winter hockey season starts up.  (I can’t wait!)

Having the gym membership helps.  I love to swim (I swam for an hour both Saturday and Sunday this past weekend), I don’t love the machines persee but a good playlist makes them tolerable.  I love the Zumba class at the gym.  My sister just joined the gym too so I am excited to have a workout buddy to attend classes with (hubby tends to work out after he is done work so we don’t get to work out as much together as I initially thought we would, regardless, he doesn’t want to do any of the Zumba classes etc.)  I really enjoy the Zumba.  My sister and I are going to try aqua fit!  I always think of it for older people but I asked the lifeguard and she said all ages come out, so an additional workout in a pool is right up my alley!

Some days I don’t have an hour to spend at the gym.  On those days I try to do a Jillian Michaels’ DVD at home for a half hour, before work.  I love the 30-day Shred; I have done the Shred at least 60 times (60 different days, not 60 rounds of 30 days).  I borrowed the 6 Week 6 Pack from the library (I could only keep it for 2 weeks) so now I am back to using Youtube for additional workouts without having to pay for them.  I am now working on Ripped in 30.  All 4 weeks are on Youtube which is awesome. 

If I was smart and motivated, I would do a DVD workout everyday in addition to my other workouts.  This is always the plan regardless but sometimes life, and my tiredness, get in the way.

I feel like I am good with the workouts, it’s the calories and over eating/over indulging that is still my biggest issue.  I was so tempted to use the word failure, but what have I failed?  I have maintained my weight loss so far.  And while I don’t lose the pounds as quickly as I think I should, I continue to lose inches.  The doctor told me I can’t consider that a plateau, because at least something is moving.  Still, I always seem to lean towards being a Debbie Downer and poopoo on myself for not being where I hoped I would be thus far…

I do better if I workout...

I find I do much better if I workout.  Any day that I schedule as a rest day I seem to blow my calories.  (Anyone else tired of hearing about me blowing my calories? I am!  Bah!)  If I work out, I stick to the calories.  I must feel like I don't want to blow my calories after all the physical hard work. 

Monday and Tuesday I did not work out.  I ate till I couldn't move.

Wednesday and today I started the day off with 6 Week 6 Pack.  It kicks my arse.  I did good calorie wise. 

I like the 6 Week 6 Pack.  It's fast and it's hard but I hope it works.

I have too much fun on the weekends...

Tried to eat healthy this weekend, was successful up until this afternoon... Hopefully I won't see an increase on the scale tomorrow!  :)

This is Me Before and During

This was hard for me to do.  Here is me at 205 pounds.  September 2011.  (I wish that I had taken pictures of myself sideways but at least here is the front and back.)  I PG13'd my butt crack out of these photos, no one wants to see that!

This is me a few days ago: - 178.5 pounds - 26.5 pounds down

I am glad I took the photos to help me see how far I have come.  Obviously I still have work to do, but I am proud of the difference thus far.

*These photos are property of Niagara Budget Girl, if you steal them I will hunt you down and hurt your sorry ass.

177.5 - 27.5 Pounds

It took me a week and a half to lose another pound.  I think my weight loss journey is the slowest journey ever.  And let's be frank, I worked hard at it the last week and a half.  The weekend was tricky as we had our hockey BBQ last Saturday.  I knew that was going to be a cheat day.  But other then that I went to the gym for an hour each day: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.  I did the 6 Week 6 Pack on Wednesday.  Wasn't so bad, goes SUPER quick.  I was sore the next day though.  We played hockey last night.  My calories were all around 1600 a day.  While I realize 1 pound in a week and a half is probably considered healthy, I just wish it would speed up a bit.

Some Pictures I Found ~ Food For Thought

Jillian Michaels' 6 Week 6 Pack & The Library

*Thrifty Alert*

Anyone who knows me knows I am a book worm and that I LOVE the Library.  So it’s surprising to me that ten months into my weightless journey I only now consult the reference material at the library.  Which let me tell you, they had TONS of weight loss books, healthy eating books and healthy recipe books, not to mention a pile of workout DVDS.

I went to the library this week and took out four Jillian Michaels books and borrowed their copy of her 6 Week 6 Pack.  I really enjoyed her 30-Day Shred and own the DVD.  (It’s on for really cheap on Amazon)  I didn’t want to buy another DVD without giving it a test run.  I know I could try them for free on YouTube but I like the convenience of using the TV for viewing them.  (Another thrifty idea, I didn’t know that workouts were on YouTube until a few months ago, this is how I tested out the 30-Day Shred by using YouTube) Anyways, to borrow a DVD at my library doesn’t cost anything, so that works to my advantage.  I am planning on trying the first workout today. 

I haven’t had time to even open one of her books yet or use the DVD yet, I am hoping today I get to do both.  I didn’t realize that there was a book to go with the 30-Day Shred, “Making the Cut” which I also borrowed from the library. I just loosely flipped through it, it looks like its healthy eating and suggested eating plans.  I am excited to read it, I like getting helpful hints and new ideas for snacks and meals.  I HATE eating the same thing all the time.  Variety is the spice of life!

I once purchased “Look Better Naked”; I should have gone to the library and borrowed it as I only read it once.  I bought it thinking I would keep it for reference but it really didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know.

I hate wasting money!

Sleepy and Sore.

I went to the gym yesterday morning.  Last week I was so busy I didn't go to the gym once, I worked out at home with the Shred DVD.  My butt is sore.  I worked hard yesterday.  I tried to concentrate on the resistance machines as per the personal trainer's suggestion.  He said that Hockey counts as my cardio and so does Zumba.  I am tired.  I hope to go to the gym tonight but we shall see, I will pack my bag and hope I don't lose steam by the time work is done.  I have a hard time working out after work sometimes.  I know I sit at a desk all day so in theory I shouldn't be physically tired, but being mentally tired sure takes a toll on my body.  Here's to hoping my mind doesn't drag me down today!

Bloggers I Use as Motivation or for Helpful Hints

I LOVE Pinterest for finding really interesting/funny/helpful blogs from other women who struggle/have struggled with their weight.  I like reading what they eat and recipes they find yummy.  I like reading what they find helps them and using their experiences to help form my own.  This is how I found Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred that I have found to really help me.  I LOVED seeing their before and after photos, that's real motivation for me.

Here are a few blogs that I have beeen reading recently:

http://takingchancesjourney.blogspot.ca/ She was the first one I started to read.  HILARIOUS.  And very real.  She was a Shred inspiration.

http://www.theshredheads.com/ Shred inspiration as well.

Mama Laughlin She is HILARIOUS.  Love her rockin' Texas flare that she spins on things.  Also a Shred inspiration.

http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/what-i-miss-from-135lbs-ago/ She has had an incredible journey and has amazing recipes.

http://muffintop-less.tumblr.com/AboutMe This girl's focus is on weight training and as you can see it really pays off for her.

http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/betterbreakfast  This girl has an inspiring story.  She also has some great food ideas.

Eat Yourself Skinny http://www.eat-yourself-skinny.com/p/about-me_20.html Also has some great recipes!

That's just a few of them.  I read anything I can get my hands onto but these are the ones I am currently reading.

Things That I Find Have Helped Me So Far:

1. Talking to my doctor and getting real advice from an educated source.
2. Going to a dietician to learn healthy eating, not following a fad diet.
3. Going to a personal trainer who was also a source for healthy eating tips and the best way to work out my body.
4. Keeping a food journal, diary, budget; whatever you want to call it. I am a numbers person; I used MS Excel to create my food diary. It keeps me accountable; there is no lying to it. It also helps me plan the next day.
5. Planning ahead ~ If I plan for the entire day’s calories in the morning or the day before (day before is even better) it really helps, there is no flying by the seat of my pants. Plus it helps me make my lunch the night before so I am not scrambling in the morning.
6. Planning ahead ~ My husband doesn’t know how to cook really, a lot of our meals I cook on the weekend so he can start the heating up process up a head of time. He helps me with all of the prep work; cutting of veggies etc a head of time as he wants to feel more helpful which is really nice. Just because he doesn’t know how to cook he still wants to help. I try to teach him things along the way. His chicken cutlets are way better then my own!
7. Planning ahead ~ I create a meal plan for dinner time upwards to a month in advance. There is no guessing what we are having for dinner or coming home and eating junk because we are too tired and lazy to come up with an idea. If we don’t feel like that idea we borrow from the next night. This is also really helpful for in the mornings we can pull out something to thaw and for planning grocery trips, so we don’t just chuck whatever into the grocery cart. Again, knowing it in advance sure is helpful. I use MS Excel to create my monthly food plan.
8. Planning ahead ~ I also use MS Excel to chart out my workouts. I may not follow it strictly as sometimes life happens and it doesn’t go as planned but it’s there to keep me motivated and help me figure out what’s best for my schedule.
9. Take a day off from working out. Workout maybe 4 to 5 times a week, not 7. I did 30 days straight this April and I was so exhausted by the end of the day, and I didn’t lose any weight. Now I am working out 4 to 5 times a weeks, I am seeing some improvement weight wise and I feel I have WAY more energy compared to pushing myself everyday.
10. Trying to get more sleep. My Mom has woken up every day of my life at 5am. She can’t sleep later. I am starting to become this way. According to all the health articles, you need 8 to 9 hours of sleep to keep your metabolism going.
11. Have mini goals. While having a main goal is important, it is definitely daunting and can feel like it will never happen. I have been working in 5 pound mini goals and every time I achieve one I feel like I am walking on air, especially when I finally tip the scale over that hurdle and get moving on the next goal!
12. Drinking lots of water.
13. Trying to eat more healthy lean protein to help keep me full throughout the day. Looking back at my food diary, I was consuming only one serving of protein a day, no wonder I was ravenous. I am trying to work my way up to 4 servings. Things I like (In moderation of course): Lean beef, chicken, cheese, nuts, protein shakes, eggs, oatmeal muffins…
14. Eating oatmeal at least once a day.
15. Swimming, I love to swim.
16. Weight lifting/strength training. I like knowing I am tightening up, no point in losing weight if I am still going to jiggle in the end.
17. Pinterest for healthy recipies, motivational stories, sayings and blogs.
18. Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred really took the inches off.
19. Talking to my Mom as she was successful in losing 70+ pounds ten years ago and keeping most of it off. She did it by cutting out junk and adding exercise to her routine. She understands my struggles and is my biggest cheerleader.
20. Give into my craving, in moderation. To deprive myself resulted in failure. I love potato chips (I know, I know, worse things ever) But if I didn’t plan for them I would go crazy, buy a big bag and finish them off in one sitting. Even though it’s more money, I buy the individual little bags to help with a craving. I have a controlled portion. (Luckily, these are becoming further in between!)
21. Similar to above, but plan for a treat. I am only human.
22. NOT having a cheat day. I have no self-control still, perhaps one day I can devote a whole day, but for now I know this does not work for me as I seem to throw moderation out of the window and gorge on 4000 calories for 24 hours. Not good. I have to do #20 and #21. This is a much better idea for me.
23. Mama Laughlin – I love seeing someone who went through this and is hilarious about it. 
24. Seeing other people’s before and after stories!
25. Having a “Fat Journal” I would print out and cut and paste inspirational stories, pictures, common sense articles, and write how I felt at certain stages. How I felt gross when I gorged on junk food, how great I felt putting my old jeans back on, how awesome I felt when I hit my goals! Great motivation, my own struggles and successes.
26. Keeping all my measurements, not just weight, so I can see how far I have come. be even more important: TAKE PICTURES AT EACH WEIGH IN/MEASUREMENT.  You will be shocked to see how far you have come.  I am so glad I took measurements of my waist, hips etc. I knew I had more room in my pants and now I know how much!
27. Remembering to look back at how far I have come. Celebrate it. I may not have reached my ultimate goal in the period I initially created but I have achieved a significant amount of a weight loss. I keep thinking of how much 30 pounds of potatoes look like in the grocery store, that’s a lot of weight!
28. Having a workout buddy ~ Having my husband on board with a healthy lifestyle is much easier.

Clothing Swap and Potluck was a Success!!!

Last night I hosted some of my hockey ladies for a clothing swap and potluck.  The potluck food all ended up being healthy and all had a Latin flare without our planning on it so that was really cool.  I invited 12 people and there was 6 including me in the end, I was worried it wasn’t going to work well without a lot of people, but we ended up with a lot of clothing!    

I had a garbage bag from my Mom and a garbage bag from my sister in addition to the 3 bags I had.  One of the other girls brought clothes from one of our friends who couldn’t make it.  It was really cool.  Everyone brought clothing that didn’t fit them anymore or they just never wore. 

Everyone found a lot of stuff which is awesome!  I was so happy!  I think I got the most; I ended up with a garbage bag and a half full of clothing.  This is awesome as my clothing has been swimming on me and I wanted to wait until I reached my goal weight to buy clothes.  (Plus I can't afford to buy the clothes right now... ) I got about 7 pairs of jeans which is wild as I can never find jeans to fit.  I even got a pair of jean capris that I searched for all over the place at the beginning of summer and couldn’t find.  I can’t believe it.  I ended up with a few pieces that I couldn’t quite fit into yet but I snagged them as no one else wanted them with hopes that in a few months I can fit into them!  What a huge money saver!  A lot of the stuff was brand new; people bought it and then decided to never wear it. 

The leftovers will be picked up by the Diabetes association.  We have EIGHT FULL garbage bags of clothing for charity!  And most of it is brand new or newish stuff!  How awesome is that!

This idea was so awesome, everyone had a lot of fun and everyone requested we do this seasonally.  Plus the potluck was awesome as it was less work for me and it’s so fun to see all the different things people make and get to eat it! 

My Latest Weight Loss is Because of Oats and House Cleaning??? … Who knew?

I am down another half a pound, I am at 178 today, that’s 27 pounds! 30, I am on my way!

I have been aiming for 1400 calories and coming in between 1400 to 1600, plus a workout.  The last two days I have been cleaning the house in the evening after dinner, vigorously cleaning as I have company coming over.  I hate to say this but I think cleaning in the evenings is helping me lose weight.  I am preoccupied for about 2 hours after dinner where normally I would lay on the couch watching tv (most likely mindlessly snacking).  In addition, the cleaning counts as a light workout out.  This is interesting.  I am keeping active which burns the calories and by keeping busy I am preventing myself from stuffing my face with more calories I don’t need and I am always complaining about my house being dirty because I am too tired when I get home from work to actually clean.  This is a win-win all around!

The noticed a pattern in my eating in relation to weight loss.  Last fall when I was quite successful in losing 18 pounds in 3 months, I ate oatmeal every day for lunch.  I know instant isn’t the greatest but it’s hard to make real oatmeal at work.  Oats are the wonder food that helps lower cholesterol and is a slow acting good carbohydrate.  Everything you  read about oats is good!  Our personal trainer told us to eat more oats, and I have to say it helps keep me fuller longer.  The doctor told me my cholesterol was great and I fully believe it’s the oats.  She said to keep up with what I am doing and to keep eating good carbs as well. 

All this week I have been eating these muffins for breakfast and sometimes as a snack.  At 93 calories, I am so surprised by how filling they are.  Now the recipe called for old fashioned oats but I used the quick oats, they just cooked a bit faster so watch if you switch them.  This is the second time I made them and I forgot to food process the oats before I mixed everything and the muffins still turned out great.  This time as I was short on strawberries so I split the berry measurement between frozen strawberries and frozen raspberries, which is really yummy.  I enjoy them!  In addition, they seem to be helping so again win-win!

Finally! It Moves!!!

I stepped on the scale this morning.  178.5. That’s 26.5 pounds!  I haven’t been in the 170’s for 6 years.  I can’t believe it.  I feel like I plateau pound wise for a few weeks and then finally lose a bit (all while still losing a bit inch wise) I am really happy!  I know it’s only 1.5 pounds, but it’s so much more then that, it puts me on the track of getting to 30, like I got officially over that 25 hurdle.  I can’t wait to hit that 30 pound mark. 

My initial goal was 155, that would be 50 pounds, now I realize weighing 155 pounds at my height is still considered overweight and while yes I understand those figures are guidelines, I want to be comfortably in the “not overweight” category.  I can’t remember the last time I was there, so my new goal is 145.  That would be 60 pounds: at 30 pounds, I will be half way there!  However, I will be equally ecstatic when I hit 50, which, once I hit the 30-pound mark, 50 will only be 20 pounds away!  (Can you tell I am a numbers person?)  I wonder if that is why I plateau at 25 pounds, because that is my half way mark of my first goal.  I enjoyed it, I relaxed, I LIKED MY REFLECTION IN THE MIRROR, I felt really, really good (Other then at the moments I would step on the scale and see it hadn’t moved and then I beat myself up for it).  I feel like I am riding a weight loss high! 

I really truly can’t wait to hit the 160’s.  That’s 8.5 pounds away!  12 years ago I dropped to my lowest after high school of 170, after being in the 185-190 range for most of high school.  I really haven’t been in the 160’s since grade 8, which was 17 years ago.  Man, I can’t wait!!!

I now see why all the weight loss advice promotes working at mini goals, they are fun to celebrate and so much easier to obtain, thus keeping me motivated!

Just have to keep working at it!!! 

My Weight Time Line:

1995 ~ 165 pounds

1995 to 2000 ~ 185-190 pounds (High School)

2000 to 2001 ~ 170 pounds (I worked at a job that I did a lot of physical activity and ate at weird times)

2002 to 2005 ~ 190 pounds (College)

End of 2005 to 2007 ~ 175 pounds (Found out I had a food allergy and cut out most junk food)

2008 to 2009 ~ 190 pounds

End of 2009 ~ 183 pounds

2010 to July 2011 ~ 196 pounds (I found this figure the other day, which is scary as that means I gained 9 pounds over 2 months last summer)

July 2011 to September 2011 ~ 205 pounds

July 2012 ~ 178.5 pounds