August Challenge

This past week was a difficult one for me. I really struggled mentally more than anything. I never could really focus, get out of my "blah" mood, or listen to myself. It showed in soo many places - my work was down a bit last week, my eating was all over the place, and working out, well it was chore not something I really wanted to do. I know I wasn't as much fun as I normally am, nor as talkative (some might think that is a good thing - hahaha!)

I still am in a bit of a funk and I am not sure why but I decided to do something about it so I joined a group on MyFitnessPal - the August Challenge Team Challenge. Thank you to a friend of mine for suggesting this!There are 24 teams of 11 people. I don't know anyone else on my team, except that they are fellow team 24 "The Exercists" member with goals like mine - trying to lose weight and become healthier. It is amazing to know I will have 10 other people this month that I can't let down and will be cheering me on!

Here is the requirements for the challenge:

• What is your starting weight? 173
• What is your goal weight for August 31st? 165
• Do you have any other goals for the month? To check-in EVERY day for the month of August and to do better about tracking my daily water consumption too!
• This is the week one team challenge. This should be done in addition to your normal workout routine. This is a challenge and is not a replacement! If you need a beginner workout please contact your  team captain for ideas.
• Week One Daily Exercise Challenge Each team member that completes their daily exercise challenge receives one point, if all team members complete each daily exercise for all 6 days the team is then awarded an additional 5 Bonus Points.
• - Day 1 Exercise Challenge - 100 Jumping Jacks*(see below)
  - Day 2 Exercise Challenge – Walk, Run or Jog 1 Mile (extra)
  - Day 3 Exercise Challenge – 50 Situps or Ab Crunches*
  - Day 4 Exercise Challenge – 40 UP and Downs *
  - Day 5 Exercise Challenge – 25 Pushups *
  - Day 6 Exercise Challenge – 25 Squat Lunges*
  - Day 7 Rest! You deserve it!
• Each team member in order to get the weekly team bonus points must all log every day and not go over their target calories and log at least 64 oz. of water each day. If each team member does this all 6 days your team will be awarded 5 Bonus Points.
• Please note each week the exercises will increase in difficulty. This will push each team member. Modifications will be provided for those who unable to complete the exercise as intend

I am looking forward to this. I have always loved being on a team so this is a great way to remotivate myself, hopefully a way to get me out of my funk quickly, and a way to get me back to losing weight regularly. It starts tomorrow and I will definitely keep you guys updated on the progress of the Challenge for me and my team and also my goals.

Have a great week and month!

PS - You have to submit a "before" picture so we can compare at the end of the month. So I took 2, one from the front and side. I didn't suck in and wore a shirt that doesn't hide anything really with some short shorts. Basically I didn't want to hide ME. Here they are so you can see too. I know I have a long way to go, but I proud of these pictures for many reasons, #1 I am sharing them and not afraid of the camera any more and #2 I look the best I have in a long time and I love that!

TGIF!!!

TGIF!!! I am so ready for the weekend let me tell you. I don't even really have any big plans except that I am volunteering at a local shelter in town with a group that I am part of serving dinner from 3-7pm. I want to definitely get some good sleep in and might visit New York & Company tonight because I got an email for $50 off a $100 purchase; plus they have jeans right now buy 1 get 1 75% off! I need some new jeans, the ones I have now aren't staying up, but then there is part of me that wants to hold off because I know I will be losing more weight and toning up over the next weeks to come. We'll see - maybe I will buy ones that are purposely a tad tight as motivation, even though I know you aren't suppose to do that, but whatever I know I will lose the weight! :)

I feel sooo much better today than I have all week! I took yesterday off completely from working out. I got to sleep at 10:30 last night and slept like a rock until 6:45 this morning. I am really glad I listened to my body and rested. I plan on getting my butt kicked by Jillian Michael's this afternoon though. I was thinking about swimming too after work, but I decided to ease myself back. I will most likely go to the YMCA tomorrow at some point and do some interval training on the treadmill and then Sunday I might go swim since it is less impact. One thing I do know is that I will be sleeping in until Kingdom Come! Very excited about that!

Here's to a good Friday, a great weekend, and an awesome week next week!

Tired but Hold Strong

I haven't been this tired in a VERY VERY VERY long time! It's more than just sleepy, my body is just dead and I just don't want to do anything I am so tired. Definitely dragging ass - there is no other way to put it. This whole week I have felt this way. I sit at my desk and stare at my computer blankly and have to catch myself to get back to work. I absolutely did not want to work out yesterday and I did it not once but twice. I did feel better after the first time - Jillian Michaels always kicks my butt and then we got onto the treadmills and fast walked for 10 minutes. I was doing okay afterwards until about 3:30pm and then I just crashed! I went and swam after work with my boyfriend and only did 1050. I couldn't do any more. I physically was dead. I didn't feel as great after this one, in fact I was moving really slow afterwards in everything; walking, thinking, etc.
I actually almost broke down while swimming I was soo tired. I pulled myself together because I was swimming with my boyfriend and I didn't want him to think I was crazy for crying while swimming because I was so tired. I know it is a bit crazy, but we have all gotten to that point of being so tired that the only emotion left is to cry.  I pulled it together and I started thinking while I was swimming is this normal the way I am feeling? Is it just my body adjusting to working out again? Have I pushed it too had too fast? Am I eating enough? What can I do differently? Should I change anything? My body will adjust right so just hold strong and keep going? Am I just making this be bigger than it is in my head?

Here is what I came up with - Yes I am obviously tired there is NO doubt about that. I did sleep well last night so feel a tad better this morning, however today I am taking the day off from working out. I can't workout during my lunch hour anyway because I am meeting someone for lunch outside of work. I don't really need to workout after work either, a day off isn't going to kill me. Plus my boyfriend is leaving for the weekend and I want to spend a little bit of time before I take him to the airport. Okay decision made, day off! I also concluded that I definitely might be pushing myself too much, so I am going to back off just a tiny bit, first by taking today off. Nothing big maybe 55 or 50 minutes instead of 60 on Sat and I have been pushing myself on the treadmill, I need to stay put for a bit and not get to overly eager. I have only been in the pool like 5 times, I don't have to be testing myself so much  - keep it simple silly! I'm going to add a multi-vitamin each day, I think that will help out a bit. I am going to make sure that I am eating ALL my calories every day too and not be short. This weekend I am going to get lots of sleep and work on getting a bit more sleep every night after that too. If there was one thing I learned while being an athlete it was to listen to my body, and that is what I have to do now and probably more than ever. I am going to keep chugging along and I know that I will get back on track. I just have to keep my head held high, maybe clench my teeth and bit, but don't give up - that's exactly what I am going to do! Hold Strong!

Just Too Funny!!!

Happy Hump Day!

It's Hump Day - THANK GOD! This week has been hard for me so far. Yesterday I told you I hopped on the scale and added 3lbs. I still am bummed about it but a lot of people gave me encouragement and that really helped A LOT! I have decided that only on Wednesday mornings I am going to weigh myself, but starting next week. Tuesdays are a big workout day for me and it's been enough time from the weekend that hopefully I have done some good that I feel Wednesday mornings will be a good judgement day for me each week. So look for my new number next week!

Yesterday at work we had lunch catered for the whole office for a celebratory anniversary luncheon for 2 people. A place called Tijuana Flats catered in, it's a yummy mexican kind of place. I tried to be healthy, stayed away from the wraps, had chicken, black beans, and a small "mexi-salad" that I made with taco ingredients and added a bit of hot sauce but had a small weakness and had half of one of the small pre-made chicken wraps/burritos too. I came upstairs and figured lunch was around 654 calories by using myfitnesspal.com. Here's the problem, I had been burping up lunch ALL afternoon. If you know me, that is unusual, as I typically am not a person that burps often. That made me a tad nervous about working out but I shrugged it off and at 4pm my friend and I headed downstairs to work out. 55 minutes on the treadmill doing my interval training (45 minutes of going hard). OMG acid reflux or something because about 25 minutes into it I started feeling like I was going to throw up. I even hopped off for a second and grabbed the trashcan on the other side of the room and brought it over to the treadmills. I dropped the speed by 0.1 on the runs and that helped a little bit but the last 30 minutes was soo difficult! I had to keep stopping for a couple of seconds to regain myself. I didn't even struggle that much when I had that extra glass of wine last week. I don't know if it was the not great food, the hot sauce, a combination of the 2, too much sodium (it was high definitely) or what, but it didn't agree with me while running and it definitely fought back hard!

I got through the 55 minutes and then jumped in my car and headed to the YMCA as I was going to swim with my boyfriend. He had to finish up some things still at work so since I was still in my workout clothes I headed into the gym to wait for him. I did some ab work and shoulder complex for about 15-20 minutes. Then I went into the pool and swam 1500 yards. I won't spell out my whole practice but will talk about 2 things. We decided to do 100s free instead of the 50s we have been doing; 6x100 free on 1:30 to be exact. OMG that was sooo hard! I held them all around 1:17-18, the first was 1:14, but I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest after 6! Then I did a 50 easy and we decided to race a 50 free from a push. We left on the top and we went all out. I came into the wall and watched the hand on the clock hit the 30 so I am going with 29-high! Yay I broke 30, but damn that took everything I had which was sad! I also got beat but that's okay - I know he was happy about that. hehe!  :) I did some warm down after that and called it a day.

Afterwards I was soo tired! I worked out for like 2 hours total yesterday. I haven't done that in 4+ years! I was soo tired it wasn't even funny. We went and met a mutual friend for trivia at a local spot and I was just out of it. I inhaled my food and that helped but seriously, until I had food in me I couldn't even focus. I feel better this morning but I am definitely still tired. I am NOT looking forward to working out today at 11:30, Jillian Michael's will NOT be my friend but I will go down there and yell at her back. I told my friend this and she replied with "good because we are going to get on the treadmills for 10-15 minutes too afterwards." WHAT! Okay let's do it! haha! Here's to hoping I don't die! hahahahaha!

Hopefully my week will get better, because it's been a struggle so far. Happy Hump Day!

Slight Set Back

The bathroom scale is always something that is scary to someone that is on a weight journey, regardless or loss or gain. Yesterday after my weekend of no calorie counting and birthday fun weekend I was too scared to get onto the scale. This morning I conjured up enough courage to step onto it. Last time I weighed myself I was 171.6 on 7/20. This morning I was 174.6, a 3lb gain in 6 days. Oops

Okay not the direction I want to go at all, but it isn't huge! It definitely is a slight set back, but nothing I can't get back through some hard work. It's amazing how easy it is to put weight on, but how much harder it is to take it off! Grr that part does hurt because I will be working this week and probably next week too to take off pounds that I already lost. That part is frustrating to me and something I will have to deal with later.

I guess I had just been losing pounds and excited about it that I didn't stop to think about what if I gain? This is a journey and every journey has ups and downs and twists and turns right?! I've been having lots of ups lately and this is my first down in the weight loss number. I have had struggles already and have seemed to handle them pretty well, so now I need to figure out how to handle this well too. How to make this bump something I can use to make me stronger. How I can grow and learn something from it.

Today is Tuesday which means 4pm long cardio workout. It will be a good time for me to do some thinking, a good time to burn lots of calories, and a good time for me to refocus and keep moving forward. I also am going to go to the YMCA and swim afterwards with my boyfriend. We tried to do it yesterday, but because it was lightning outside they closed the pool; even though the pool is indoors and grounded! I didn't understand that one, but apparently because there are windows in the pool area they have to be careful, whatever. Anyway, we decided to give it another try today so keep your fingers crossed because it is suppose to rain at 4pm again, just no lighting please!

Well here is to re-focusing and knowing that journeys are a long-term adventure and not a quick fix!!!







***Got the picture of the scale from google images - definitely INCORRECT weight!!!

BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!

This weekend was AMAZING! I seriously had THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!! It started on Friday night with a night out with some of my favorite ladies where we got all dressed up. If you missed reading it check out "It's been a while". I forgot to mention that I came home from work to a surprise from my sister - she had rented a carpet cleaner and surprised me by shampooing all the carpets (she knew it was starting to bother me and wanted to do something nice for me) and hung up a happy birthday banner, got me a little happy birthday bouquet thing for the table and hung a happy birthday balloon in my room! She also baked my favorite cake of all time that my mom use to make us on our birthday! There is nothing wrong with a few pieces (1/day) and giving the rest away cake! :) haha

I then got up and had a great work out on Saturday. It was more than just a great workout, but I definitely struggled mentally wanting to quit at 40 minutes and I really had to dig deep and push myself to finish the hour. I then got a lot of chores done and headed to my boyfriend's to beach it up during the afternoon. He was soo good, mowing his grass when I got there so he didn't have to worry about doing it on my birthday since he typically does it on Sunday. So thoughtful! We headed to the beach on our bikes and just relaxed for a couple hours. I love riding bikes to the beach, it just feels for relaxing and slows life down a bit you know. Later at 7:30 we met up lots of friends at a local taco/mexican place for dinner and drinks. We had a party of 12 and it was soo much fun. We then moved the party to the beach bars and enjoyed the night! Thank you too ALL that came because I had a BLAST and had a great evening.

Sunday I slept in till about 11 which was blissful. My boyfriend made me one of my favorite breakfasts, waffles and sausage links. We even bought the low calorie juices and buttermilk because it's important to me. I love him for that! :) We just relaxed the rest of the morning/ early afternoon until his soccer game at 3pm. YAY they won too in a really great game. He also played really well, definitely was proud! :) Then I went home and got ready for dinner. I got to get all cute and dolled up again. Wore a really cute white dress and got taken out to the Capital Grille! WHAT A TREAT AND GREAT BIRTHDAY PRESENT! If you have never been there and have a special occasion, go there trust me! I truly have the greatest boyfriend! That was such an amazing evening and he spoiled me. He just made the whole day so special and all about me which was amazing! He felt bad because he forgot flowers, but with everything that he did all weekend, the thought was all I needed. What a great birthday present - just being spoiled and taken to what probably was the best meal/ evening I have ever had! It was a great ending to a Fabulous Weekend! Thank you babe! I love you!

It's been a while

Last night I went out with a bunch of my girlfriends to a local place for an event called "Top 30 under 30". We got all dressed up since the place has a dress code and it is known as a place where people get all dolled up. I wore this cute heather gray strapless dress w/ a peacock feather broach cute chandelier earrings and black pump me up heels. The dress hasn't fit in a while so that made me feel good that I got into it last night! I am not one to get really all dressed up to go out but it is fun every once and a while and last night it was fun.

As females we all know that 1/2 of the reason we get all cute isn't just for ourselves or guys, it's because of other females. We all judge, look around, make comments to ourselves or our friends about what other females are wearing. It's a sad truth I know! But with that being sad, my night was completely made when not once but TWICE I was told by 2 separate girls that I didn't know said I looked really cute and they loved my dress! WOW that really made me feel great and that, being told you look really cute at a club out hasn't happened in a long time.  :)    

The free bar - YES that is why I went (but I mean what red blooded American wouldn't turn down a free bar!) was from 8-10pm. At about 10:40 we decided to go next door to this Italian place for food, everyone was hungry. I definitely had a piece of Hawaiian Pizza (New York Style) and then some sausage and pepper pasta. So I went over on my calories yesterday, OH WELL! I had a blast last night and I have been craving pizza and pasta so you know what I killed the craving. The best part is I don't feel bad about it. Well that's a lie, I did a tiny bit but then I thought about when was the last time I actually food food like that after drinking and I couldn't remember, seriously I have no idea so who cared! It isn't a normal thing so it's no big deal!!!

I got home last night and into bed by midnight. Ya I know I'm sad and "old" but whatever, I know tonight is going to be a long night so I was fine with it. So this morning, Wrigley, my dog woke me up a tad after 8am, 8:15 maybe. I took him out and then did a couple chores. I decided to go work out so I headed the the YMCA around 9am. WOW it was packed! Not 1 treadmill open so I did some stretching and one opened up quickly. I hopped on and did my interval training stuff for an hour! Well, 50 minutes, 5 min warm up and 5 min cool down. 538 calories and 4.68 miles later I got off. I really had a mental struggle to get through it around 40 minutes. I wanted to get off but I knew that I would feel better afterwards if I finished through and I really did! I am tired but glad I did it. I came home and had a tomato, mushroom and fresh basil salad - it was HUGE and DELICIOUS!

I am ready for today now and looking forward to celebrating my birthday tonight and tomorrow!

My Day!

This coming Sunday is my birthday! YAY! My mom always made my sister's and my birthdays' special when we were growing up, so I love it when it is "My Day"! I just wish I wasn't getting older now! haha! Nothing really to look forward to anymore. I know it's a bit childish, but I really like my birthday and that it is My Day and no one elses! I like to celebrate with my friends and just enjoy them and have a good day so that is exactly what I am doing this weekend!

The only problem - the food and drinking I know will not be normal for me. I have already come to terms with this in my head and accepted that this weekend I will stick to my diet where I can, but it's not the end of the world if I don't. I am going to enjoy myself! Beachin it up Saturday afternoon with my boyfriend and sister and anyone else that wants to join with probably some frosty drinks. Then off to a new favorite place of my for yummy Mexican food and drinks with LOTS of friends for dinner and then back to the beach to hit up some bars and celebrate with even more of my friends! Sunday on my actual birthday, relaxing in the morning, going to go watch my boyfriend play soccer in the afternoon and then being taken out to an AMAZING restaurant (umm Capital Grille - SOOO EXCITED because I have NEVER BEEN!) for my dinner and I am not going to be worried about not being able to get what I truly want because I might go over calories, that is for sure!!!

What I am learning is there is a place and a time for everything and that includes diets, exercise, calorie counting, etc! I am thinking about trying to get a work out in tomorrow morning at the YMCA when I wake up before heading out to the beach. I think it might make me feel better about the day, but I want to enjoy My Day and celebrating MY birthday so I am just getting the "right mind set" now so I don't get stress out about calories counting and working out this weekend.

Here's to a good birthday and making "My Day" awesome! :)

Think before they pour!

I knew today's workout was going to be BRUTAL when I woke up at 3-something AM and was still feeling the wine I drank last night! I quickly got up and drank a huge glass of water (a Rudy's cup to be exact for those of you who know that reference) and went back to bed. I woke up again when my alarm went off at 6:30am feeling fine but I just knew it wasn't going to be easy working out and why I wanted to wait until after the workout to write this blog!

Okay so let's back up. Last night I had an IMPACTjax social event at a local Mexican rrestaurant down by the beach. This is a group I am part of that is associated with the Chamber of Commerce for "young professionals" under the age of 40. As a member you get 2 free drink tickets for the event - last night they were good for house wine, bud light, or a house margarita. I chose wine, which I should have known better since it was a MEXICAN restaurant and it was definitely cheap red wine, plus they poured you a very tall glass. I ended up having 3 glasses, 3 huge glasses of red wine. Needless to say I should have just planned better and stayed with my boyfriend last night since he lives like 5ish minutes away, but nope I headed home and went to Publix instead. I didn't eat much there because it was really greasy food that they put out for the event. I did have 1 chicken & cheese quesadilla and 1 fried taquito - wish I hadn't eaten them afterwards because in reality they weren't that good at all but my thought process what I better put something in my stomach if I am going to drink. Anyway later at publix I got chips, salsa, salad, mushrooms, and a Healthy Choice frozen meal for lunch today. At least I was thinking! haha! I got home and even portioned out the chips which I am proud of myself for doing. Chips and salsa are my downfall and I will keep going if I am let to.

Here is the funny part, I COMPLETELY forgot about the Healthy Choice until lunch today when I saw someone heating up a frozen dinner. OOPS - ya the wine consumption was a tad high last night. Today working out it was VERY difficult! We did cardio so I jumped onto the treadmill and did my interval training that I have been doing; I did 5 cycles (25 minutes of really moving and 35 minutes total with warm-up and cool down). I am not a person that sweats very much, in fact I really barely do at all. I typically am able to use baby wipes and get back to work. I wish I did though because I just over heat and that sucks! Anyway, today I was pouring sweat, and even had to jump into the shower to rinse off afterwards! I was dying on the runs and definitely couldn't push it like I have before. 5.8 on the last run and I was groaning my someone was killing me! haha!

My whole reason for wait to post today was I wanted to experience the run after I knew I drank 1 too many glasses of wine. I am not saying I can't drink the evenings before I workout, because lord knows that isn't going to happen! haha! But 2 glasses of wine last night would have been more than plenty! I didn't need that 3rd one. It's learning these things that is going to help change things for me. The extra calories wasn't needed (boy did that take up A LOT of my calories yesterday) and I didn't appreciate it while working out today. Next time I definitely will think before I have them pour me another!

This feeling again is GREAT!

Good Morning! I keep telling myself that this morning because my legs hurt sooo much today and I am trying to focus on something else! I felt something yesterday I haven't felt in 4+ years - I got into my car and had a hard time driving because my legs were soo tired and sore already! I haven't felt that since when I use to swim and we would do dryland(what swimmers call conditioning) on Tuesday or Thursday and then would have a really hard practice right after. At least I don't drive a stick like I did for a while in college, because I don't think I would have made it home yesterday. haha 

Here is why they hurt soo much: Tuesdays my friend at work and I work out from 4-5pm (we don't take a lunch break, instead take it at 4). We do this so 1 of the 5 days we can get a tad longer work out in since we don't have to worry about changing back into work clothes and looking/smelling presentable again, and our bosses will only allow us to do it 1 day a week. Well yesterday both of us were swamped and my friend couldn't even make it down, and I wasn't able to make it down until 4:25. Tuesday is our BIG cardio day and since I was only going to get 35 minutes instead of the usual 50-55 minutes I decided to step it up a bit. We have been doing this thing on the treadmill, some interval training, where we warm up for 5 minutes and then go into these 5 minute cycles, 2 minutes of fast running and 3 minutes of fast walking, and repeat that 5 minute cycle so many times and follow it all up with a 5 minute cool down. It's a great workout and especially one for weight loss and conditioning. I have done it at most on a 0.5% incline and typically run at a 5.5, pushing the last one to 6.0. Well yesterday since I was only going to get 5 cycles in (typically it is around 8 or 9) I did the whole thing on a 1.0% incline and the first run did at 5.6, middle 3 on 5.8, and the last on 6.1 and all the fast walks on 4.2, which normally I am 4.1 or 4.2. OMG that was a HARD workout! I really was feeling it at the end.

To top that off I left right after at 5pm and went straight to the YMCA to meet my boyfriend to go swimming. I did 1400 yards this time (200 more than last time). Here is what I did:

1 x 300 Freestyle warm-up
1 x 200 Free Kick w/a board
1 x 100 Free Pull w/buoy and paddles
1 x 200 IM Drill
1 x 100 IM Swim
1 x 50  Free cool down
6 x 50 Freestyle swim on 45 seconds
4 x 25 Butterfly swim on 30 seconds
1 x 200 Free warm down

The 200 kick with a board, it's sad that this was really difficult and by the 75 my legs were definitely feeling it! I tried pulling since I use to be really good at it; all those muscles are gone. Then the "main set" of 6 x 50s and 4 x 25s, my heart rate was through the roof and those intervals were truly difficult. It's amazing how much you lose and how fast. Butterfly, I can't pull under my body, it hurts too much because those muscles are basically gone and yelling at me WTF are you doing! haha! Anyway, swimming it hard but I have liked it both times. I will be going back on Thursday for sure. I need to get a new swimsuit still and my goggles, well the straps on them died yesterday so I have to switch to these goggles I don't like quite as much as my swedish ones. Oh well, I will get new stuff soon enough.



Today is another day, and another day of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred at lunch time. She is always good for an Ass Kicking so I am sure the legs won't get a break. It's okay though because to have this feeling again actually feels great! :) Hope you have a great day!!!

Being healthy is the goal

This morning I woke up with my blog on my mind. What should I write about today? I have been truly surprised by how easily this blog has come for me. I haven't really struggled to come up with content each day. As long as I am being honest with myself, there is always something to write about. In fact, I really enjoy writing my blog each day and even look forward to it. It is something that is definitely making me happy, and something that I want to continue for a while. Something I HAVE to share because it completely made my day, week, even month was this morning I get to work and quickly checked my facebook account (you know you do it too!) and I had a message from an old friend. She was thanking me because my blog yesterday helped her yesterday! She had had a bad day and just wanted to grab something out of the pantry but opted for the couch and facebook. She came across my blog I wrote yesterday and it motivated her to get off the couch and do an exercise video. She was thanking me because she felt so much better afterwards.

When I started this blog over a month ago (can you believe it's been hat long already!) my only intention was for it to be a place for me to write down my thoughts, as place where I could be honest and feel safe doing it and a place to help me on my journey. I never imagined I would ever get a message like the one I did today and that just inspired me to keep going so much more. There aren't word to explain how amazing that made me feel - THANK YOU! (you know who you are!) I have gotten other messages too, both comments on my blog, on my facebook wall, texts too saying they enjoy my blog and love reading it and I thank every last one of you!  This one today just really hit me and made me realize that there are soo many people out there just like me that are struggling with their own journeys. It's great that we can all support each other! Thank you to EVERYONE that reads my blog and let's keep inspiring each other forward!!! :)



My Blog for Today:

I have realized that this journey is one that is not a day or week fix, not even a month fix, it is something that I will most likely deal with for a very long time, and I am okay with that. I started to look back through some pictures of me on my facebook page of when I was swimming. I found 2 of me when I was tiny! It's really hard to believe that I went from the 2 pictures you see here to the picture I posted of me at my heaviest in 4 years (if you missed it click here for "Changing Looks"). I mean I guess 50+lbs in 4 years isn't terrible, it's just the in-shape part that kills me. I actually had this conversation with my boyfriend not to long ago about what we missed about swimming, about being in such amazing shape. I could do anything, go play a game of frisbee, play a pick up game of tag-football, go do aerobic for 30 minutes before doing a 2.5hr swimming workout and not think twice about it, go join a spinning class for the hell of it, plant trees all day for a community service project, you name it it wasn't a big deal. Now it is much more of a big deal, but I am working at changing that. I don't ever expect to be in the shape you see here in these pictures, that is what 30-40 hours of intense exercise per week, which I don't ever plan on doing again, nor have the time, but just being healthy again is the goal. I actually was watching Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition last night and really got inspired! These people are morbidly obese and doing it, so there is NO REASON I can't do it!


I am looking forward to getting into shape again though. I have noticed a huge difference in just the short amount of time that I have been going at this. I have felt better, don't get nearly as tired at work anymore, and seem to get a lot more done during the day. I also have more motivation to get up off the couch and go do things, even things like errands. I enjoy doing active things again, and want to do them more. I went into one of my favorite stores yesterday, Anthropologie for the first time in a long time. I haven't been in in a while because I didn't fit into anything and it made me feel depressed. Their stuff runs small (has anyone else noticed that?), but yesterday I tried on stuff for seriously 30-45 minutes and EVERYTHING fit! I had a 15% off, even clearance card for my birthday this month and I bought myself a little Birthday present, a super cute little dress that I can't wait to wear on my birthday this coming weekend! (I'll post a picture I promise) It's things like that yesterday that really help me move forward! I got onto the scale this morning too and another 1.2lbs fell off, even with my high calorie weekend! I can't help but smile while writing this blog today! Things are working for me and it's GREAT! Like I said though, I still have a lot of work to do, but it is nice to have motivation and a goal again. Here's to always working hard, constantly learning, moving forward and having being healthy again as my #1 goal!

Internal Battle - I win! :)

I was quiet this weekend (no posts) which I do apologize for, but I think I know why. I was definitely embarrassed by going over my calories and slipping up a bit. But in the long run this weekend was a learning experience for me. I had a bit of an internal battle, but I came out finding inner balance and learned something I think is going to be very valuable.


1st Reason for Being Quiet!:
Friday I went over my calorie count by 1000+! It was all in dinner too and even more specific, the appetizer! OOPS! I was really hungry and when the sampler of bbq wings, southwestern eggrolls, cheese sticks, and chicken fingers came out, there was no amount of will power that was going to be able to keep my hands crossed in my lap. 1 wing, 3 egg rolls, 2 cheese sticks and 1.5 chicken tenders (all sauces included) = 1025 calories later! I was even good and when I ordered the burger too. (it was free and why we went to Ruby Tuesday) I got it on a wheat bun, no mayo, w/swiss cheese instead of american and my 2 sides were grilled zucchini and tomatoes. I planned on only eating half of the burger anyway so it wasn't going to kill me and I was going to be under my calorie limit with the exercise. I actually felt really bad that night about going so far over. Then to top it all off I got Dove Unconditional Chocoloate Ice Cream at Publix by giving into my sweet tooth. 280 calories per 1/2 cup! First I must say OMG THAT WAS AMAZING ICE CREAM! Second, went to bed feeling guilty.

2nd Reason for Being Quiet!:
I woke up the next day at noon and actually didn't know how many calories I had eaten the day before with all the extras (app and ice cream) so I entered it into MyFitnessPal, right after I ate the other half of my burger for lunch and another 1/2 cup of the Dove ice cream of course. I was shocked at the numbers and that is when the battle began, I really started to feel bad for going over that much the day before and letting myself start off again that way for lunch on Saturday. I had been working really hard, and dropping weight and then I go and do that!?!? I decided to head to the YMCA and do something about it. I got on to the treadmill and plugged in my age, weight, and time and off I went. I am doing this thing where I do a 5 minute warm up and then repeat these 5 minute cycles of 2 minutes of running where I push it and 3 minutes of fast walking for X amount of times and finish up with a 5 minute cool down. It's a great workout! The most I had ever done was 6 cycles, 40 minutes total so I plugged in 45 minutes. I started going and I saw the calories start adding up; my motivation was work that burger you just ate off, so I upped the total minutes to 60. It was great though because I was next to my sister and that really helped! I started thinking while I was running that you know what, big deal that I ate all those calories yesterday, we can't be good all the time, and it makes it even worse that you are beating yourself up over it. Chalk it up as a missed day, we are all allowed to have them and make today better damn it Meghan! Granted the conversation I had with myself was longer than that, but it really was during that hour on the treadmill that I realized if I am going to go through this journey it is going to have ups and downs, but if I let the downs get to me, I will never make the progress I truly want. I even started laughing because I started to wonder if Jillian Michael's ever has days when she eats a cheeseburger and how that would go over?! hahaha! Needless to say the 60 minutes flew by and 525 calories with it. I felt great in soo many ways afterwards. I really had found some sort of inner balance.

It was a quick battle, but one that I am glad that I had with myself, to understand and be okay that every day can not be perfect. If I want to have the cheeseburger, have the cheeseburger, it isn't the end of the world. By making the better choices most of the time, choosing the burger every once in the while really isn't as much of a bad thing as it could be. Life is definitely too short to always be worried about all the little things that don't matter, and in my book having a bad day eatting wise every once in a while is definitely a little thing that I am NOT going to worry about any more!  I WIN!

I'm actually laughing right now because a damn burger always keeps coming up in my blogs. I guess I just really like burgers! :)  Hope you have a great day!!!

Scratched the Swimming Itch

For 16 years of my life jumping into a pool was a normal feeling and second nature for me. I felt more comfortable in a swimsuit than in normal clothes at times. Pulling myself through the water was smooth and easy and even enjoyable at times. Almost 4.5 years ago I stopped doing all of that; I retired from swimming after my senior year in college. I jumped in the pool a couple of times after I was done but that only had a brief breath and soon stopped completely. 4 years later I haven't swam a single lap until yesterday!

I lost a bet to my boyfriend on a round of Mini Golf. If I lost I had to get back into the pool with him; he is a former swimmer too who still dabbles in lap swimming from time to time. I call the bet unfair since this particular game of mini golf was just a couple days after my surgery and by hole 11 I was struggling walking around so of course he was going to win! hehe! Regardless, I don't back down from a bet I make so yesterday I put a swim suit, cap & goggles back on for the first time in 4 years and jumped into the pool at the YMCA. WOW that was a weird feeling just jumping into the pool let alone having my body do something that it "knows" how to do, but doesn't come naturally anymore. haha! The majority of my pull I just slipped through the water, I could kinda recover on the end but all that arm strength is gone. It took me about 700 yards to figure out how to make my arms and legs work together without having to really think about it, and within about 300 yards I was breathing like I had just run a 5K!

Here was my "practice" = 1200 yards

1 x 200 Freestyle warm-up
1 x 200 Kick 
       (50 free kick w/board, 50 fly kick w/ board, 100 fly kick on back)
1 x 200 IM Drill
       (Fly - 1 arm, Back - 1 arm, Breast - fly kick, Free - Catch-up)
1 x 100 IM swim
4 x 50 Free on 45 seconds
4 x 25 Fly on 30 seconds
1 x 200 warm down


I was surprised by how much my body "remembered" and how I could still do a back to breast flip-turn, still somewhat swim fly, and felt decent in the water. I was surprised by how much breathing was an issue; halfway through the workout I'm coming right up from my turns like a little kid popping my head right up trying to breath. Kicking off walls was impossible, and breathing every 3 proved to be difficult. The 4th 50 free on 45 seconds my arms turned to jello and I had basically no pull because I was soo  tired! Basically my feel for the water was GONE, but that is to be expected with a 4 year break from the pool! haha! By the way, don't feel nearly as comfortable in a swim suit as I use to - definitely kept pulling the suit down my hips, made sure my butt was always covered and the girls just don't really fit in top anymore so I was always trying to adjust the top too. (not sure they ever did, but now it's even more of a problem - haha!)

I liked it regardless of the awkwardness and difficulties so I have decided that I am going to swim Mondays and Thursdays to start off and see how things go. My boyfriend is going to join me too so that will definitely make it easier with him being there.  I need to get a new suit as only 1 of my old suits still fits me and being that it is a polysuit, the suit is still good but the straps are shot as elastic doesn't really last 4 years. hehe! I only have metallic goggles so I need to go get a new pair that aren't so dark since the YMCA's pool is indoors. Anyway, I decided to scratch the swimming itch I have been getting lately and see where it takes me. I am excited about it and will keep you updated on how things go!

Changes

This morning on the way to work I was talking to my dad and we were talking about all the things that I have been through in the last year, year and half and I got to thinking about how far I have come since 2009. They say that stress and lots of it can be bad for you and depending on the person can definitely add weight both consciously and unconsciously. Gosh I know for me it was both. I also really wasn't too worried about what I was eating and that definitely makes a HUGE difference as I have learned lately.

One of my favorite shows is The Biggest Loser and they always talk about breaking down the person, finding out what the true issue(s) are and what the demon inside of them is because it is never just an eating/weight issue, that is just a side effect. I just wasn't happy for a long time and my life had been turned upside down in so many ways since 2009 that I became lost and eating became my side effect.


Now looking back and thinking about everything, moving to Jacksonville was the best thing I could have ever done! It was a very scary decision but where I am today verse where I was even 2 years ago is Night & Day! I live with my sister, which for some people I know would be scary, but for me it is fabulous! We both needed someone we knew could be strong for us, who wasn't afraid to tell us how it really is, and could be there for us when we needed a shoulder. I found a great job that I enjoy and am good at; one where I can grow and am learning soo much so fast! I found a great guy who is perfect for me in so many ways and encourages me and supports me in every aspect of my life. I have made some great friends here already both at work and outside of work (you know who you are and thank you!!!) I am getting back on my feet again financially, emotionally, and health wise. I think for me being happy and finding a path again has made it easier for me to take this journey to making myself healthy again, which is what I really want.

I still have lots of work to do, as it is no where over but it definitely has started off right and that is what I am thankful for. I got on the scale again this morning (I am learning to not be scared of the scale which is comforting) and I was down again! YAY 172.8! :) Obviously I am doing something right. I read my blog I wrote on June 22 - "Behind the Issue(s)" (Click Here to read it if you missed it) when I got into work this morning. I talked about not knowing how to eat like a "normal" person and thinking that 1200 was soo little! I know I have already said it once, but it does deserve a repeat - Yes you were right and I was wrong about tracking my food! (you know who you are) I have learned SOOO MUCH in the last 2 weeks by just tracking my food. It is so much different than tracking Points with Weightwatchers and I definitely like it better. I am eating 1200 or less basically every day and having no problem. I am full and satisfied and not hungry. There are days that I am suppose to eat more but can't because I am not hungry. It is amazing by eating better how many calories you can save and be full at the same time. There is also so much on the web that can help you figure this stuff out. The key I have found is finding what works for you. This blog is definitely one of those things for me. It is my therapy every day and I look forward to it. Thank you to all that read it, it truly means a lot as this is for me and to share it is special!



Have a Great Day!!!

Boo day!

It's already half way through the day and things just haven't been going my way. The smile of getting to see my boyfriend this morning was quickly removed once I got to the doctor for a follow up from last week. Since then I have developed a nasty cough and some sort of rash on my chest appeared. I walked of the doctor's today with 6 prescriptions! Yes 6! 2 for the rash, 3 for the cough, and the ear drops I was already using for my ear. I then get all the way to work (20 or so minutes, 18 miles) and realize my computer is sitting in my room at home. Back onto the highway and back to my house to get it and back to work AGAIN! If it wasn't for this one project that I HAVE to be at work TODAY to finish up I so would have gotten home and called it in as a personal day and said "F**K IT!"  However, being the responsible one that I try to be, I got back in the car and drove back to work getting there about 10:20am.  It's going to be a CRAZY day - TONS of emails, meeting I missed this morning at 9:30, still need to get everything done today in a shorter time frame than originally planned oh and it seems like everything today is just not going as planned, changed schedules, meetings, projects, etc. I couldn't work out during the middle of the day because going to get my computer became my "lunch break". I really have come to look forward to that work out. Definitely looks like there will be some work done tonight while watching some TV unwinding. Cheers!

Here is the issue - Right now I really want to go downstairs and buy a Kit Kat bar or Reese Peanut Butter Club or M&Ms and a Mountain Dew and just sit with my music on and tune everything out while I enjoy the deliciousness that is the junk food! Oh did I mention that yesterday the new Incubus cd came out (Incubus is my favorite band!) and since the 2 places I went in the morning didn't have the cd my boyfriend got it for me that evening; he's too awesome! But the point here is that I have barely gotten to listen it to day because I have been running around and haven't gotten to really sit and enjoy the new awesomeness. Boo! But back to my problem, I am trying desperately NOT to go int othe break room and really need to find something that will do the trick but for WAY LESS calories. Any ideas?

Accomplishments and Decisions

So yesterday was a great day for me!

We stepped it up to Level 2 on the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred dvd yesterday too. I know I mentioned that in my blog yesterday (went back and added it), but WOW that was a great workout. I haven't sweated like that in a long time. There were definitely parts that I struggled and even a couple of time when I had to stop for 5 seconds to catch my breath, but I was really proud of myself and my friend from busting through that dvd soo well! We found ourselves laughing at one point because it was really hard and that was the only emotion that we could conjure up at that time. I am looking forward to Jillian kicking my butt again on Wednesday!

I had a personal "YAY Moment" yesterday when I was out at a restaurant for dinner.They brought out bread and it was white so I opted out of eating it. I wanted a beer and figured my calories would be better spent on the beer than the bread and butter. I normally am all about bread and "table snacks" as I call them and I just kept my hands in my lap and was fine. For dinner I ordered grilled fish with veggies and red beans and rice (left most of the rice, just ate the beans on top with very little rice). They even messed up my order and brought out mashed potatoes instead of the red beans and rice in which I definitely asked for the switch. They left the mashed potatoes and I only had 2 bites (Hey I had to try it right! haha). This morning I went to go track my food and had a hard time finding the nutritional information for Grilled Wahoo. I stumbled across this website that listed calories for all sorts of fish (of course not Wahoo, but still a great source) - http://www.weightlossforall.com/calories-fish.htm. I started exploring the site a bit more and there is some great information on this site. It definitely a a great tool and a site that I bookmarked to come back to when looking for calories and nutritional information as well as articles and such. It's called "Weightloss for All". I am always looking for new websites to explore and thought I would share. Enjoy!



PS - Tuesdays we work out at 4pm (work straight through lunch, 8 hrs straight 8-4) and today I am not able to do that. I was thinking about taking a break today and working out Mon, Wed-Fri instead. What do you think? I am kinda feeling guilty not working out today. Should I give myself a break and know that I will still get the 4 work outs in this week or go for it by myself and get into that gym during lunch? Decisions Decisions....

Monday Morning Success

Good Morning! I am in a good mood this morning after this weekend! I slept sooo much (14.5hrs Friday night and 12hrs Saturday night) to re-energize myself since I was dragging last week, it definitely worked and was much needed and appreciated. I ate well too, tracked well (yes I really did I am soo proud of myself), and got in a great exercise on Sunday. I actually felt really good yesterday during on the middle of the day and got onto a scale. I NEVER get onto a scale in the middle of the day, I ALWAYS get on it first thing in the morning. To my surprise I was down! It read 174.6lbs! Yippie! Last time I weighted in was in the morning and it was 175.8.    :)

I got to thinking and I think one of the things that is really helping is tracking my food. Yes my good friend you were right and I was wrong. Wow that was hard, but I can admit when I was wrong. :) hehe  Anyway, I started using this new site to track my food and exercise instead of the LiveStrong Daily Plate. This new site is called: MyFitnessPal. I find it easier to use than LiveStrong as it is just a simpler site (plus the phone ap is free and LiveStrong's is $2.99). It also has some really awesome features that LiveStrong doesn't. You do the same thing as on LiveStrong when you sign up; enter your sex, age, height, weight, activity, and your weekly goal (gain/loss). You also enter something new which is how many times a week you work out and for how long. It then generates it all and not only gives you your daily calories amount, but also how many calories you should aim to burn a week to be successful in your goal. LiveStrong does do that 2nd part. The other neat feature is that at the end of the day after you have entered all your food and activity you can hit "Complete this entry" and it will tell you that if you do everything exactly the same as you did today everyday you will be X weight in 5 weeks. It is really motivating!

I am finding that I am using this resource more than LiveStrong so I am going to stick with this one instead. I think as long as you find something that works for you that is all that matters. You may not like Myfitnesspal and like LiveStrong better - Great! I just thought I would share another option, especially one that is working really well for me. I actually tracked my food EVERY DAY last week! WOW can you believe it? It really is eye opening when you start tracking. You don't realize what you are putting into your body until you start tracking. The biggest realization for me was the fluid calories for me. I rarely drink sodas, but alcohol really adds up and more than you think. My Bloody Mary I like was 320 calories! I thought it was more like 200 - that's a big difference! It has been a real eye opener for me tracking food. I am glad that my friend pushed me to do it, because between tracking and getting back into working out I am beginning to lose weight and get over my hump.

I am looking forward to this week I hope you are too!



PS - I just completed Level 2 of the Jilian Michael's 30 Day Shred dvd; WOW! Talk about a great workout and a hard one at that. Definitely will be at the level for a few weeks. Struggled through but made it! :)

Changing Looks

Welcome to my new blog! :)  I decided it needed a new face and new look. I hope you like it and find it easier to use.

I also decided that if I was going to give this blog a new look because I am looking to change up my looks, I would share something I have been reluctant to share with anyone thus far as it is the picture that made me decide I wanted a new look.



Now this is me a couple of weeks ago approx 15lbs lighter than the picture above. I know the pound counter on my blog says 3lbs, but that is counting from when I started the blog, not from my heaviest ever. I have tried to erase that number from my memory, but here it is I guess for everyone to keep in the back of their minds. I am now about 3lbs lighter than this picture. :) YAY!

Revelations...

This week has been a rough one, as I really haven't felt well the whole week. Today the only thing that got me to work was that I am a responsible person and I know it was the right thing to do. Then there was working out... there was absolutely NO part of me that wanted to go down there and sweat and move around, NONE! However, I dragged my ass down there with my friend and popped in the Julian Michael's dvd and yelled and bitched back at her for the 25-7 minutes on the level 1 work out again. I am glad now that I did it, but I definitely fought all the way through it. It's funny how afterwards you feel soo much differently about it than before. I also think I would have felt bad if I didn't work out. I didn't get to work out on Wednesday because I had a fever and had to go to the doctor (but did work from home) so therefore with today I have only worked out 3 times this week and my goal is 4! This way I only have to work out once this weekend vs both days. :)  PS - we are stepping it up to level 2 next week... nervous but ready!

It's revelations like this one that really show me that this journey is working for me, even in it's short run thusfar. Honesty with myself really might just be the key for me. It is making me face it and realize that just because I know I cheated or skipped and no one else knows I really am hurting myself not helping. I guess everyone just has to find what works for them, I hope I have found mine and can stick with it for a long time.


BTW, typing this out, realizing this, has really put a smile on my face and making this rainy, gross, slumpy Friday at almost 4pm better!

No one is looking... BUSTED!

Following yesterday's post about comfort food I have to say, Damn that was some good spaghetti and broccoli! Here's the issue though - I ate by myself and when there is no one there to watch, no one will know how much you eat. I boiled up some whole grain pasta, heated up the spaghetti sauce, steamed some broccoli and made a small salad. I got my plate all set, not a ton of spaghetti like I normally do - you see spaghetti is one of my all-time favorites! It was probably more than the recommended serving size, but for me it was MUCH less than normal so I felt good about that. I finished it all and I wanted more. It wasn't because I was still hungry, it was because I love it and wanted to eat more of it. NOT necessary therefore I didn't get a second plate. So I started off good...

Here is the problem, the sauce! The sauce is soo good, I can eat it cold and it is delicious. Well I kept getting up and getting a spoon full here and spoonful there. Put a couple pieces of spaghetti noodles on the spoon here, cut a pieces of cheese off and add it to the sauce there... you get the picture! No one was there, no one would know I was "cheating". I can tell people about my good plate, they will never know about the many spoonfuls of sauce I ate afterwards. I realized this and cleaned up the kitchen, put the spoon in the dishwasher and bagged up the extra noodles. Here's the bad part - started using my finger as a spoon with the sauce! I know it's shameful but I have got to be honest about it so here it is. I took a couple of fingerfuls before I literally said out loud in my kitchen "What the Hell am I Doing?!" Why do I feel the need to sneak and cheat and take extra. There was no point! I was already full from dinner, WHY?!

Oh well dinner is over and done with - move on and tonight I am having spaghetti again. Tonight I am going to be stronger and not take any extra sauce. I could be good and put it away right away, however, NO I need to be strong and just say NO! hahaha! BUSTED last night by myself, that's a good start right?!

Comfort food is the best medicine

This morning I woke up not feeling well, my throat was on fire and I was running a temperature of 99.7 degrees. Not too high, but I normally sit around 97.2/97.5 so definitely a temperature. I didn't feel too bad so I decided to work from home than take the day off. Glad I did too... it's been a busy day so tomorrow would have been nuts if I did take it off. Anyway, went to the doctor and got some antibiotics so I am all good now.

Anyway the point I am making is why is it that when you aren't feeling well you start craving the comfort foods? My ultimate comfort food, my mom's homemade spaghetti sauce! I always bring some back with me when I go home and freeze it for days like this when I need some of my mom's warmth. haha! I have however learned to make it pretty close to my moms. In fact last time my sister thought it was my mom's not mine. YAY what a compliment. :)   Anyway, I took some out of the freezer when I got back from the doctor's office for tonight. It is actually really pretty healthy for you as it is just lean ground beef with the fat poured off once browned, garlic and onions, lots of tomatoes of course and some spices. The change I have made since my growing up years, whole wheat pasta. I still like the regular better, but I know that the whole wheat is better for me and I do like it so why not. :) I think I might steam up some broccoli too and call it a meal tonight. It's like having my mom cook for me when she is soo far away. Thanks mom for making me feel better tonight!! :)

On another note - Bummed I missed out on my work out today! We started this Jilian Michael's 30-day Shred video. WOW 1st workout yesterday and I was sweating like crazy and if you know me I don't sweat so that is saying something. My friend did it again today and I was jealous. That is a new feeling for me - jealous over someone working out without me! I like it! :) I guess I will go at it again tomorrow. BTW we got the video online at Amazon for $6.99, signed up for the trial "Prime Member" to get the free shipping (just cancel the next day and you won't get charged). Super cheap for lots of good workouts. Start to finish its like 25 minutes or something like that which is great for us with the lunch hour work outs. They may not be long workouts but WOW they get your heart rate up and breathing hard and muscles burning. I was quite impressed and wanted to share.

Eat this, NOT that!

A friend shared the 2011 edition of "Eat this, Not that!" with me and I got to looking through it and decided that based off my earlier blog, today deserved a second blog.

Fast Food Hamburgers: I started looking through it for burgers since that was a down fall of mine this past weekend and thought I would share the information I found:

1. (page 18) "It comes from a cow, yes, but before being stuffed into the bun of a Whopper or Big Mac, fast-food hamburger patties pass through the hand of a company called Beef Products. The company specializes in taking slaughterhouses trimmings traditionally used only in pet food and cooking them in oil and turning them into patties. The challenge is getting this by-product meat clean enough for human consumption, as both E. coli and salmonella like to concentrate themselves in the fatty deposits. So how does Beef Products go about 'cleaning' the meat? With an approach similar to what you might use in your bathroom - by using ammonia."
2. Whopper w/cheese = 770 calories, 48g of fat (16g of sat fat, 1.5g of trans fat), and 140 of sodium. However, if you 86 the mayo like I did you save yourself about 150 calories and 18g of fat. Thankfully I did that!
3. Did you know that you can ask them to use the Junior size cheese and bun on the regular burger? It will save you on average at different fast food chains 100 calories?

Okay so my craving for Fast Food Cheeseburgers will never be fed again after reading #1! SERIOUSLY GROSS! I learned A LOT from that book and definitely going to be using it a lot. Looks like the worst restaurant for you is the Cheesecake Factory and things like Lean Cusines keep poping up on the "Not this". Interesting!

Enjoy! :)

Monday?

I am all sorts of backwards today. It's Monday, it's Tuesday? As much as a LOVED my 4 day weekend, I am wishing I could also have today off too to recover and catch up on sleep. I am more tired than I normally am on a Monday, I have twice as much work as a Monday, but at least the weekend is 1 day closer this week. I need a vacation from my vacation! I am absolutely ZONKED! Don't get me wrong, I had a FABULOUS weekend and would do it all over again if given the chance, there would just be a few minor changes I would make.

• First, I would definitely have cut back on the amount that I drank. I actually never got really drunk, many good buzzes, it just seemed like I always had a drink in my hand the whole time. I definitely would drink if I had to do it again as I am not one to turn down a good cocktail you know! ;) I would pick and choose where I drank, as I am sure the calories I drank were more than I needed. As a good friend said it when her mom suggested to cut out drinking all together to lose weight - she just looked at her mom and laughed. haha

• Second, after I posted my blog on July 4th I headed out for some errands. I decided to stop at Burger King (I know I know) and get a Whopper w/ cheese and no mayo. Burger King burgers are the only ones I would ever eat from as fast food place, as I thought they were good and had been craving one lately. (I apparently crave burgers) It did taste yummy, not as good as I thought it would be which was disappointing. Not long after I ate it my body started revolting that decision I swear. I got a headache, and my stomach was not happy as it was making all sorts of noises and whatnot. Definitely won't be doing that again and definitely wouldn't stop there if I got to redo my weekend. I am done with that type of food!

• Third, do a bit better on planning. I felt like I was running around everywhere all weekend! Here and there and never really got to just sit down and relax, turn my brain off. I went to the beach yesterday on the 4th during the late afternoon and ended up passing out on the beach for 2+ hours! I mean I have fallen asleep on the beach don't get me wrong, but not like that. I mean I was out out, didn't move for 2+ hours in the sun. It is like an oxymoron, I was sleeping to re-energize myself, but was in the sun which was sucking the energy right out of me. haha! Oh well, it was a great 4th. :)

I am looking forward to getting back to the norm this week, eating, working out, and sleeping. Hope everyone has a great week and had a great holiday weekend! :)



PS - I need to re-do my week of using LiveStrong DailyPlate. I shouldn't have started that on a week that I had a 4 day weekend. I barely touched a computer for 4 days. Oops. I will be good this week and see how it goes.

Party like it is 1999... Oops!

Happy 4th of July!

I have been LOVING this 4 day weekend that I have. The best part is that it was "free" as my boss gave me Friday for free and today is a work holiday. What a nice present. The only problem, I have been partying like it is 1999! hahaha! I have drank more than I have in while but hey it's all in good fun right. Oh well there goes that 2.8lb drop. Back to the gym this coming week hard I guess. On a positive note I did join the YMCA on Friday. I haven't used it yet, but I did join. Now I hope to work out during my lunch hour still, but when I get off work a couple of times a  week I hope to get over there for a couple of laps maybe in the pool or some group classes. I joined with my sister so maybe her and I will do a couple of things together, or my boyfriend is also a member, so maybe we can go swim some laps or something.

I have 3.5 months left until my alumni weekend in Texas and I gotta buckle down. As much fun as this weekend was, I really need to be more careful. I really wasn't terrible, I just could have been better, but isn't that always the case? haha!

Off to the beach! :)

YIPPIE!!!

Weighed myself this morning... down to 176.0! :) YIPPIE!!!

I am LOVING my PBR with my friend at her office :) Gotta love 4th of July pre-party. On my way to the beach to start it off right since I definitely feel great in a bikini with my loss. :)

Have a great holiday weekend everyone... talk to you soon!