So...I have been at this for about 6 weeks and a few days. I normally update on Wednesdays, but I just have not had the motivation to do so. Things are going well, or as well as to be expected. I have not really been counting my calories, nor have I really been exercising. I am proud to say that I am still down about 17 lbs, but the not so good thing is that I did gain back about 3-4 of what I lost.
I got a new walking DVD and I plan to give it a go this week. Ill update again on Wednesday.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Week 5 and 1 day
Hey All,
The holiday season is officially over and here is where I stand. I am super happy with my progress, but am in need of making a change. Over the last few weeks my body has gone through changes that are literally making me uncomfortable in my own skin. I have a few rashes, my stomach is cramping and my bowels are not moving the way the used to. After much prayer, some careful research and a sleepless night, I have decided that I will not continue taking the appetite suppressant. While I know that will impact the rate of my progress, it will not stop me from achieving my goal.
I will continue living on a restricted calorie count and increase the amount of activity I do. I love the change I feel in my body, I seriously have a lot more energy and confidence than I did in the past. However, I could not ignore the changes I knew were happening that I did not like.
Yesterday was the first day that I purposefully did not take the medication, and it was a little harder not to eat, but I really think it was a mental state of being. When I got home, I started to binge eat junk, but blessedly for me, I have an amazing support system (who doesnt know I use medicine, nor that I have decided to no longer use it), who called me on it, and helped me to regain focus. I still managed to stay within my calorie count.
The friend who introduced me to the program helped me a lot. I was supposed to go to the doctor yesterday and did not. It was a part of the sleepless night and decisions that had to be made. I did not want to pay to hope on a scale and for them to try and persuade me in a direction different that what I thought was best for me. However, my friend assured me it was not the medicine that made me successful, it was discipline. While the medicine was supposed to help me not stay hungry, it was self discipline and support that helped me to be faithful and honest in what I ate. That being said, I know that I can be successful even still.
To start this morning off, I grabbed some fruit, a sugar free drink and a low-cal snack. I plan to have Chipotle for lunch, calories counted of course, and to continue doing what works for me...loving myself, and fine tuning the treasure that I am...inside and out!
Somehow I missed posting this...
The holiday season is officially over and here is where I stand. I am super happy with my progress, but am in need of making a change. Over the last few weeks my body has gone through changes that are literally making me uncomfortable in my own skin. I have a few rashes, my stomach is cramping and my bowels are not moving the way the used to. After much prayer, some careful research and a sleepless night, I have decided that I will not continue taking the appetite suppressant. While I know that will impact the rate of my progress, it will not stop me from achieving my goal.
I will continue living on a restricted calorie count and increase the amount of activity I do. I love the change I feel in my body, I seriously have a lot more energy and confidence than I did in the past. However, I could not ignore the changes I knew were happening that I did not like.
Yesterday was the first day that I purposefully did not take the medication, and it was a little harder not to eat, but I really think it was a mental state of being. When I got home, I started to binge eat junk, but blessedly for me, I have an amazing support system (who doesnt know I use medicine, nor that I have decided to no longer use it), who called me on it, and helped me to regain focus. I still managed to stay within my calorie count.
The friend who introduced me to the program helped me a lot. I was supposed to go to the doctor yesterday and did not. It was a part of the sleepless night and decisions that had to be made. I did not want to pay to hope on a scale and for them to try and persuade me in a direction different that what I thought was best for me. However, my friend assured me it was not the medicine that made me successful, it was discipline. While the medicine was supposed to help me not stay hungry, it was self discipline and support that helped me to be faithful and honest in what I ate. That being said, I know that I can be successful even still.
To start this morning off, I grabbed some fruit, a sugar free drink and a low-cal snack. I plan to have Chipotle for lunch, calories counted of course, and to continue doing what works for me...loving myself, and fine tuning the treasure that I am...inside and out!
Somehow I missed posting this...
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Week 4 is finally here...
So today is four weeks from the day I started this new journey, and I am proud to say I am still going... While I am not where I want to be, I am about 14 pounds closer than I was a month ago, and that is good for me. Christmas was yesterday, and I must say, it was not bad. My family opted for seafood instead of the traditional turkey and trimmings meal.
I received a low-cal cook book for Christmas, by far my favorite gift. I will be using it quite a bit!
There are still times I struggle with food, there are days when I want to eat what I want to eat without consideration of the consequences, however, I do not want to gain the weight back...I am fortunate that good sense wins out of the desire for instant gratification. I was on pinterest, my other guilty pleasure, and saw a quote that helps keep me motivated :Don't give up what you want MOST for what you WANT right now. While these words are simple, they mean so much. Of course I could eat whatever I wanted to and be fine, generally speaking, but that will hinder my plan to be a healthier me, which is what I want most.
My biggest struggle lately have been to resist peanut butter cookies and to workout. It is true, that skipping one day make it easier to skip the next. Before I knew it 5 days had gone by and I did not have any exercise. I was hurt to see that, so on Christmas Morning, I was up working out while the rest of my home was nestled in the beds.
I have been weighing in for about a week and have not seen a change in my weight. Normally, I might get discouraged, but I am actually fine with that. As I mentioned, I have been waring with peanut butter cookies, and sadly, they win most often. This being said, without my weight changing, that means I am doing enough to at least maintain my weight, which is more than I have done in the past.
One thing I am extremely relieved about is the level of support from my family and friends...people are very supportive, more than I had imagined. It makes me super happy. While I receive the nice words, the actions mean so much more. Willing to try new recipes with me, eat in more than eating out, helping me watch what I eat, and most of all not pressuring me into eating things that I do not need to take in.
I am proud of my progress, my newer goal is to do better with my water intake and to get in more exercise.
This is all for now...I will keep you posted!
Oh yeah...here marks progress!
I received a low-cal cook book for Christmas, by far my favorite gift. I will be using it quite a bit!
There are still times I struggle with food, there are days when I want to eat what I want to eat without consideration of the consequences, however, I do not want to gain the weight back...I am fortunate that good sense wins out of the desire for instant gratification. I was on pinterest, my other guilty pleasure, and saw a quote that helps keep me motivated :Don't give up what you want MOST for what you WANT right now. While these words are simple, they mean so much. Of course I could eat whatever I wanted to and be fine, generally speaking, but that will hinder my plan to be a healthier me, which is what I want most.
My biggest struggle lately have been to resist peanut butter cookies and to workout. It is true, that skipping one day make it easier to skip the next. Before I knew it 5 days had gone by and I did not have any exercise. I was hurt to see that, so on Christmas Morning, I was up working out while the rest of my home was nestled in the beds.
I have been weighing in for about a week and have not seen a change in my weight. Normally, I might get discouraged, but I am actually fine with that. As I mentioned, I have been waring with peanut butter cookies, and sadly, they win most often. This being said, without my weight changing, that means I am doing enough to at least maintain my weight, which is more than I have done in the past.
One thing I am extremely relieved about is the level of support from my family and friends...people are very supportive, more than I had imagined. It makes me super happy. While I receive the nice words, the actions mean so much more. Willing to try new recipes with me, eat in more than eating out, helping me watch what I eat, and most of all not pressuring me into eating things that I do not need to take in.
I am proud of my progress, my newer goal is to do better with my water intake and to get in more exercise.
This is all for now...I will keep you posted!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
3 weeks in and discouraged...
I didnt realize today marked week three until just now (3:08 PM). Well I must say, I am feeling discouraged for a few reasons, and trying not to just say forget it!
1. I do not seem to be losing any pounds. I weighed in today at 230.3, that did not make me smile at all. I know this is my fault. I did not stay within my calorie count a couple days, and the scale is reminding me of that.
2. I just want to eat. It is as simple as that, I just want to eat without counting and calculating. I know that I can if I make better choices, but the things I want to eat, are not as healthy as they need to be for me to be able to "just eat".
3. It does not feel like a lifestyle. This whole calorie counting thing does not feel like a lifestyle to me yet. I guess by now I expected to be extremely comfortable in what I knew about food. Like I would be able to just eye ball measurements, and I would have a deeper understanding of how many calories foods were in general...WRONG.
4. Exercise is not my favorite thing! I still do not like exercising. I have yet to go to the gym, and I know I need to. I have been walking and doing wii fit, which is good, but not great.
I do have a moment of celebration: I was about to do 12 situps yesterday!!! I was so stoked. In addition to that, I can tell my arm muscles are becoming more toned. So even though there are many reasons for wanting to give up, there are a few for wanting to hang on.
Lately I have been wanting everything sweet, I have to research and see what that is all about...I will let you know...Until thinner comes, I will continue pushing and planning. After all, I am just fine tuning the treasure that I am!
1. I do not seem to be losing any pounds. I weighed in today at 230.3, that did not make me smile at all. I know this is my fault. I did not stay within my calorie count a couple days, and the scale is reminding me of that.
2. I just want to eat. It is as simple as that, I just want to eat without counting and calculating. I know that I can if I make better choices, but the things I want to eat, are not as healthy as they need to be for me to be able to "just eat".
3. It does not feel like a lifestyle. This whole calorie counting thing does not feel like a lifestyle to me yet. I guess by now I expected to be extremely comfortable in what I knew about food. Like I would be able to just eye ball measurements, and I would have a deeper understanding of how many calories foods were in general...WRONG.
4. Exercise is not my favorite thing! I still do not like exercising. I have yet to go to the gym, and I know I need to. I have been walking and doing wii fit, which is good, but not great.
I do have a moment of celebration: I was about to do 12 situps yesterday!!! I was so stoked. In addition to that, I can tell my arm muscles are becoming more toned. So even though there are many reasons for wanting to give up, there are a few for wanting to hang on.
Lately I have been wanting everything sweet, I have to research and see what that is all about...I will let you know...Until thinner comes, I will continue pushing and planning. After all, I am just fine tuning the treasure that I am!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
2 weeks in...
Well I am two weeks in and I am ready to call it quits!!! That is my most honest feeling about it all. However, there are some hesitations once give a little thought. Today was a hard day for me, I defeated myself before 9am. Today, a co-worker offered my potatoes and sausage for breakfast, another offered a cupcake, another a piece of chocolate pecan pie, none of which I turned down. WHY??? Why did I allow myself to give in after two weeks of doing so well? Reality, reality set in and I dealt with it. Truth of the matter is, I wanted everything that had been offered to me. It did not end there, at church, we had nachos...that CHEESE was DELICIOUS!!!
Now, that I am back on track and ready to be honest, I am able to update my journey.
Last night I felt a ton of guilt for splurging in the calorie department and eating more than my body needed to. I went home and debated if it was even worth working out, or if I would just crawl into the bed and sleep the shame away. As I sat in contemplation, I could only hear my own voice saying, it you exercise tonight, it will make working out tomorrow even easier. You will feel better about yourself. The least you could do is 30 mins of activity to help counter act your poor decisions today. I reminded myself of some promises I had made to myself and the whole reason I want to lose weight.
With that I got up, and went to work on the wii fit. I did 31 minutes of exercise, broke a sweat, started to feel the burn, and most importantly felt like I was back in control. I loved every second of it. As I was choosing the activities I would do I felt me challenging myself to do the running and cardio stuff as opposed to the easy, no pain no gain things.
I weighed in yesterday before going to bed ( i know you are supposed to weigh first thing in the morning) I needed that visual reassurance that I was not back at square one. Much to my surprise the scale said 230.6. That made me smile, that is the lowest weight yet. The funnier thing, this is the first time I have been able to share what my true weight is! To date, I have lost about 10.4 pounds...Im excited about the progress. I have not lost as many this week as in the first, but that is okay, progress is good regardless. Besides, the doctor warned me this may be the case.
I am not sure if it is my imagination or not, but it seems like my clothes are even fitting me better. All in all, I am doing well.
The one struggle I have is not wanting to eat. I am still trying to eat breakfast and snacks consistently. It is hard when my body is not actually hungry.
Well, I am sure I will be back again soon! Until then, progress!
Now, that I am back on track and ready to be honest, I am able to update my journey.
Last night I felt a ton of guilt for splurging in the calorie department and eating more than my body needed to. I went home and debated if it was even worth working out, or if I would just crawl into the bed and sleep the shame away. As I sat in contemplation, I could only hear my own voice saying, it you exercise tonight, it will make working out tomorrow even easier. You will feel better about yourself. The least you could do is 30 mins of activity to help counter act your poor decisions today. I reminded myself of some promises I had made to myself and the whole reason I want to lose weight.
With that I got up, and went to work on the wii fit. I did 31 minutes of exercise, broke a sweat, started to feel the burn, and most importantly felt like I was back in control. I loved every second of it. As I was choosing the activities I would do I felt me challenging myself to do the running and cardio stuff as opposed to the easy, no pain no gain things.
I weighed in yesterday before going to bed ( i know you are supposed to weigh first thing in the morning) I needed that visual reassurance that I was not back at square one. Much to my surprise the scale said 230.6. That made me smile, that is the lowest weight yet. The funnier thing, this is the first time I have been able to share what my true weight is! To date, I have lost about 10.4 pounds...Im excited about the progress. I have not lost as many this week as in the first, but that is okay, progress is good regardless. Besides, the doctor warned me this may be the case.
I am not sure if it is my imagination or not, but it seems like my clothes are even fitting me better. All in all, I am doing well.
The one struggle I have is not wanting to eat. I am still trying to eat breakfast and snacks consistently. It is hard when my body is not actually hungry.
Well, I am sure I will be back again soon! Until then, progress!
Friday, December 7, 2012
Spaghetti Squash!!!
Just a quick blurb about what I had for lunch today. It was super delicious!!! I had spaghetti squash. It was a lot easier to make than I thought, and tasted a WHOLE lot better than what I expected.
I purchased the squash and cooked it the same night. It cost about $2 or so at the store for a small one, on average they are about $.99lb, but the store I went to was more expensive.
I cut it in half lengthwise, this takes a little work, the exterior is hard. I scooped out the seed and threw them away. I put the two halves in a 9x13 pan flesh side down, and baked them at 375 for 35-40 minutes. When they came out I let the cool enough to be able to handle them. I used a for to scrape out the insides. I used a raking motion, and it came up like noodle.
Since I was not sure what taste to expect, I seasoned it while it was hot and fresh. I used salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Mixed it together and that was that. I added it to some spaghetti sauce I had made previously.
I was brave enough to give it a try today, (well I had a co-worker try it first). It had my entire office smelling delicious. I was pleased that it tastes just as great as it smelled. My sampler asked for the recipe. I use a spaghetti sauce that has carrots, zucchini, onions, and few other veggies already in it, so it seemed to be a win all around.
Weight loss is tasting pretty good!
This is not my actual food, I ate it before i thought to take a photo. I got this on the internet!
I purchased the squash and cooked it the same night. It cost about $2 or so at the store for a small one, on average they are about $.99lb, but the store I went to was more expensive.
I cut it in half lengthwise, this takes a little work, the exterior is hard. I scooped out the seed and threw them away. I put the two halves in a 9x13 pan flesh side down, and baked them at 375 for 35-40 minutes. When they came out I let the cool enough to be able to handle them. I used a for to scrape out the insides. I used a raking motion, and it came up like noodle.
Since I was not sure what taste to expect, I seasoned it while it was hot and fresh. I used salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Mixed it together and that was that. I added it to some spaghetti sauce I had made previously.
I was brave enough to give it a try today, (well I had a co-worker try it first). It had my entire office smelling delicious. I was pleased that it tastes just as great as it smelled. My sampler asked for the recipe. I use a spaghetti sauce that has carrots, zucchini, onions, and few other veggies already in it, so it seemed to be a win all around.
Weight loss is tasting pretty good!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
One week in...
Well, I am one week in on this new fitness journey, and I can say, it is going well. My doctor has me on a 1200 calorie a day diet restriction, and it is going well. I thought I would be going out of my mind now laying in a corner dreaming about food. However, that is not the case. NO, instead I am sitting at my desk, researching foods and meal planning. I love this new lifestyle, there are kinks yet to be worked out, but things are coming along fine.
I went to the doctor yesterday for my one week check in. The doctor wanted to make sure I was doing what we had discussed and that I was not going to say one thing and the scale and body analysis another. Well I am proud to report that the doctor was surprised with what she saw. In the first week I lost 7.5 lbs!!! Much more than just the pounds I lost, some other things changed, and I am happy about that as well. Things that I have never thought about. For instance, the number of calories my body needs a day to function at its peak dropped by 32, which is great, because it means that my weight also dropped. Additionally, the amount of fat weight dropped more than the amount of water weight dropped, also a good thing. It means I actually lost fat!!! (Celebrating inside) The most universal piece of terminology is that my BMI (Body Mass Index) dropped an entire point as well. All good news in my book.
The ends are greats, however the means to getting there was not as glorious. Starting out I thought I would not be able to eat anything. I mean I was at the store, thinking OMG, everything has SO many calories, something I have never given much consideration to before. I had cravings, and wanted things I shouldn't have and didn't really know what to do about it. There were days I was so concerned with not eating too many calories, that I did not eat enough. Which I am sure contributed to the massive weight loss. As the week went on, it became easier, but there are still daily struggles. There was one day, I had eaten far less than my allotted 1200, so I thought I could "reward" myself with some ice cream. I did, it tasted great!!! However, looking back I know it was not the best choice. I used 260 calories on ice cream, that could have been used on fruit. Its a learning process as well as a growth process. I am in a place of transition. Trying to help my body understand that just because I want it and can have it doesn't mean I should.
Trying new recipes has been fun. I keep soup on hand either in the fridge or in single portions in the freezer. I love soup!!! It also makes it easier if there were no leftover from dinner to take for lunch the next day. I can grab soup and be on my way. This way I am not tempted to cheat myself and hinder consistent progress. I love chicken and veggie soup, its quick and easy to make and tastes great. Additionally, you can have a large amount for not a large amount of calories.
My newest recipe is Fish Tacos!! Lets say YUM!!!
For my daughter and I alone we used the following:
1lb fish (we used Swai/Basa)
2 tablespoons Blackening Seasoning (adjust to meet your tastes)
1 CanGreen Giant Southwestern Style Corn
Tortilla shells, hard or soft
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Cheese
Salsa
Sour Cream (Optional)
I seasoned the fish and cooked it stove top with a little non-stick cooking spray (0 calories), cook until done. Depending on your fish this should only take 10-12 minutes. Break the fish in pieces once removed from the pan. Dice and cut veggies, serve as you would a regular taco.
I am sure adding some cilantro, lime, and even jalapeno would make things even better!
I had my tacos on hard shells because they were 35 calories a shells versus the flour tortilla that was 100 calories per shell. I still watched my portion size. I was able to eat 4 tacos for a total of 340 calories. I did not have cheese or sour cream on my tacos, and they were still delicious. I think the next time instead of shredding the lettuce, I will use the lettuce as my shell. That may afford me either cheese or sour cream...hmmm....
Exercising:
The exercising has been fun as well. I have done a lot of walking, and will be hitting the gym tonight. My commitment is to get exercise in at least 4 times a week. I know for sure I will walk on Wednesday and go to the gym on Thursdays. I am not sure what my other set two days will be, but I do know for sure, I will make it happen.
With one week down, and a lifetime to go, I think I am satisfied and will continue living to fine tune the treasure that I am...I will check in again next week!
I went to the doctor yesterday for my one week check in. The doctor wanted to make sure I was doing what we had discussed and that I was not going to say one thing and the scale and body analysis another. Well I am proud to report that the doctor was surprised with what she saw. In the first week I lost 7.5 lbs!!! Much more than just the pounds I lost, some other things changed, and I am happy about that as well. Things that I have never thought about. For instance, the number of calories my body needs a day to function at its peak dropped by 32, which is great, because it means that my weight also dropped. Additionally, the amount of fat weight dropped more than the amount of water weight dropped, also a good thing. It means I actually lost fat!!! (Celebrating inside) The most universal piece of terminology is that my BMI (Body Mass Index) dropped an entire point as well. All good news in my book.
The ends are greats, however the means to getting there was not as glorious. Starting out I thought I would not be able to eat anything. I mean I was at the store, thinking OMG, everything has SO many calories, something I have never given much consideration to before. I had cravings, and wanted things I shouldn't have and didn't really know what to do about it. There were days I was so concerned with not eating too many calories, that I did not eat enough. Which I am sure contributed to the massive weight loss. As the week went on, it became easier, but there are still daily struggles. There was one day, I had eaten far less than my allotted 1200, so I thought I could "reward" myself with some ice cream. I did, it tasted great!!! However, looking back I know it was not the best choice. I used 260 calories on ice cream, that could have been used on fruit. Its a learning process as well as a growth process. I am in a place of transition. Trying to help my body understand that just because I want it and can have it doesn't mean I should.
Trying new recipes has been fun. I keep soup on hand either in the fridge or in single portions in the freezer. I love soup!!! It also makes it easier if there were no leftover from dinner to take for lunch the next day. I can grab soup and be on my way. This way I am not tempted to cheat myself and hinder consistent progress. I love chicken and veggie soup, its quick and easy to make and tastes great. Additionally, you can have a large amount for not a large amount of calories.
My newest recipe is Fish Tacos!! Lets say YUM!!!
For my daughter and I alone we used the following:
1lb fish (we used Swai/Basa)
2 tablespoons Blackening Seasoning (adjust to meet your tastes)
1 CanGreen Giant Southwestern Style Corn
Tortilla shells, hard or soft
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Cheese
Salsa
Sour Cream (Optional)
I seasoned the fish and cooked it stove top with a little non-stick cooking spray (0 calories), cook until done. Depending on your fish this should only take 10-12 minutes. Break the fish in pieces once removed from the pan. Dice and cut veggies, serve as you would a regular taco.
I am sure adding some cilantro, lime, and even jalapeno would make things even better!
I had my tacos on hard shells because they were 35 calories a shells versus the flour tortilla that was 100 calories per shell. I still watched my portion size. I was able to eat 4 tacos for a total of 340 calories. I did not have cheese or sour cream on my tacos, and they were still delicious. I think the next time instead of shredding the lettuce, I will use the lettuce as my shell. That may afford me either cheese or sour cream...hmmm....
Exercising:
The exercising has been fun as well. I have done a lot of walking, and will be hitting the gym tonight. My commitment is to get exercise in at least 4 times a week. I know for sure I will walk on Wednesday and go to the gym on Thursdays. I am not sure what my other set two days will be, but I do know for sure, I will make it happen.
With one week down, and a lifetime to go, I think I am satisfied and will continue living to fine tune the treasure that I am...I will check in again next week!
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