Hey! I forgot I have this thing!! Well here I am probably on my 3rd or 4th Weight loss crusade since that last one. Hehehe! But this time I'm doing pretty good. Not exactly making any weightloss speed records, but I think I am definitely on the way to a healthier lifestyle.

I've been avoiding gluten, salt, sugar, alcohol and fat for the past 5 weeks. I have lost a total of 16 lbs and I feel pretty good about it! :) My goal is to be down at LEAST 40 lbs by summer. I don't think that is too lofty of a goal, do you? I lost 7 lbs my first week and its been 2 or less each week since then. In the middle of all of this, I went on a 3 night caribbean cruise! I tried to live as healthy as I could on the cruise.

The diet oops, I mean lifestyle change, is pretty simple and its been really easy to maintain! I think that the biggest help is 1) being prepared, 2) support at home. As far as number 1 goes, I not only have been actually weighing and measuring my food, but I've been preparing a bulk in advance and freezing it in the correct portions. This has helped tremendously since I usually get overwhelmed at mealtime as to what to make. Now, I can open the fridge and just pick something and get it over with! No lamenting over what to eat, how long is it going to take, etc. etc. if I get into that situation, thats when I used to go out for meals or go to fast food for instant gratification. NO MORE! I haven't ate at a restaurant (excepting the cruise) since 2009! For number 2 (maybe that should be number 1!!) I have the unwavering support of my boyfriend! He has been an absolute godsend this time! I set the ground rules early. I'm going to follow the plan prescribed for me and he will not poke fun, over his opinion, laugh, or poo poo it in anyway. So far this has worked! Not only has he been supportive, he's been instrumental in keeping me on track! He has become quite the cook! I bought a gluten, salt, sugar, fat free cookbook and he's been a regular Emeril in the kitchen, putting together these fabulous meals that you would never know were "DIET" food. I love that guy!

See, I don't know about you but I get hungry and then soon after, I get RAVENOUSLY HUNGRY really quickly. When I am ravenous, I can't think straight and when I can't think straight, I generally don't do the right thing. Having some food ready in advance really helps!

I've also been posting on an online discussion group, which gives me accountability, and a lot of support from others in my same situation. Sadly, though, I think I am the only one left in my group now still on the plan, as I post and no one else does anymore... :(

I've been exercising regularly. I have a Droid phone and I installed an app on it called Cardio Trainer! That app rocks. Right now, I just use it for walking. It records my walks, whether indoors or out, and gives me real time data about it. Calories burned, distance, etc. I love data so this is a great incentive for me to make those stats improve! I've also been using the wii to track my weight and bmi and I've been doing wii fit plus and other programs as well to keep myself moving. My goal is to do as much as I can physically, until around 8 or 9 pm each day. No sitting around (except at work where I have to.)

Since my other online support group went bust, I'm going to try and remember to post my thoughts, trials and tribulations here. :)

Hey. Its been a while!

Breakfast, 3 eggs, 1 pink grapefruit
lunch, small salad
snack, 1 apple
water, water, water!
green tea

Today's workout:
Took "Body Bar Burn" class at noon. Whew! They ain't kidding about the burn part. We did exercises with the body bar. We started off with like 5 minutes of jumping jacks. (I couldn't breathe!) A gazillion lunges, both foward and backwards, squats, dead lift rows, and lifts. regular rows and a bunch of ab stuff - holding your feet off the ground about an inch for a few minutes. flutter kicks. oh yeah and two different kinds of pushups.... just sort of fancy putting your hands in different sides of the bar while its lying on the floor and another bunch of walking pushups (from one side of the bar to the other.) I couldn't stay until the end but I was dead.
I'm going to hate myself tomorrow. But love me in a few months!!!

Day 5 <--Much better today, thank you!

I feel much better today than I did yesterday! What a downer I was having. We had a great gig last night! The new band is really coming along. I love those guys!

"Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile? "

Breakfast:
Eggs & sausage
coffee (sorry Vicki! Brian made me coffee this morning and I couldn't let it go to waste!)

Day 4 <--not having a good day...

No gym this morning. I have to go at lunch time. I have a gig tonight... :( Usually I love gigs but I don't like them when I have to work the next day. I am very tired. My tenant upstairs decided to play some video game with explosions and it kept me up late. I never EVER hear him so I didn't really do anything about it. I mean, I have a live band playing in my basement each Thursday night until 10. I figured I could deal with a little noise from him. But I couldn't sleep through it so finally at 12:30 am I knocked on the wall 3x. And it stopped! He's a great guy.
So I'm not having a good day because I'm tired and I didn't get my morning workout. :( I feel like a fat ass.

Breakfast:
Eggs and sausage. (yeah I know, but there's no carbs!)
coffee
LUNCH:
salad with chicken, lettuce, spinach, onions, tomatoes, feta, beans, olives. Grilled onion and cumin dressing. OMG its so good.
only had about 16 oz of water up to this point.
DINNER: (brace yourself... this is bad)
Shrimp cocktail with 6 shrimp
half a hard boiled egg

during gig...
3 16oz beers

then..... after the gig.....
3 bites of a McDonald's double cheese burger
a dozen or so fries.


I am so sore. I don't know how anyone can say they like workout pain. I HATE it. Of course, I don't like it when I work out and I don't feel pain because then I feel like I didn't do anything. Can't win! I am so sore that I feel like I have a fever. Maybe I do have a fever. My throat is sore too and has been since Monday. Which is another thing that always happens to me when I work out like a banshee. I GET SICK. Maybe I am just meant to be gross looking.

So, I was going to go to the Gym today but I feel like shit. I'm sore. I'm tired and I have to stay up late tonight and then get up early again tomorrow.

Day 3

Good morning! Today I had to finish up some un-finished workouts from the November Challenge at the fitness center. One of them was to "Do 5 exercises that you have never done before." Yeah. Ok. I think I've done everything, even boxing, yoga and pilates. So I did 5 exercises with one of the coaches that I "never did THERE before." LOL! It was good. I haven't ever used the cable crossover machine at the gym so I guess that counts. Right?

Breakfast:
3 eggs.
16oz protein shake.

Lunch:
Salad with baby greens, spinach, tomato, onion, feta, mushroom, olive, beans
Went to the fitness center for a lunch and learn: "Nutrition during the Holidays" very interesting.
mini snack packet (from the fitness center-which included 3 triscuits 3 wheat thins, 3 other crackers and 1 tbsp of sunflower seeds.

Water input so far... 40 oz.

Dinner:
Grilled Shrimp
Salad
baked potato

Snack:
Slice of ham and lorraine swiss cheese

Workout:
5 exercises, 3 sets each- that I never did b4 ;) - upper body
30 minutes, 5.88 miles on the bike. (WARNING! As much as the skinny ass "fitness professionals" will say it is, this is not an excuse. I have a pinched nerve in my foot. I really wanted to run again but I don't want to irritate my foot as it is really swollen today. I don't want to cripple myself. Then I'll really be depressed.)

OK. Let me clarify what I wrote above. I do not hate skinny ass fitness professionals. But it has been my experience that a majority of them (NOT ALL! I KNOW SOME REALLY NICE ONES TOO!) really dislike people who are overweight and think that we just sit around eating bon bons all day. Let me tell you something! My problem is not what, how, where, why or who (WHO?) I eat but its my metabolism. I am not lazy. I am not a pig. I do not gorge myself on things. (Not on a regular basis, anyway. LOL) But I have to say that some of the "fitness professionals" that I have had to deal with treat me like I have major cooties. I did not chose to be stricken with this non-existant metabolism. It was handed down to me from my family. I know it is my metabolism because I can literally fall asleep while I'm typing! I am cold almost all of the time. People that I know with great bodies are usually burning up all the time.

While I am on this rant, then there are the people who wish for you to perpetuate this! I mean, aren't the "fitness professionals" supposed to try to help get you motivated to work out? I recall one such person, who will remain nameless, who retorted when I asked if the gym was busy during lunch time, "Oh. So is THAT going to be YOUR excuse why you're not coming here?" WTF????? That really made me want to be around that person and ask them for advice. Then there's my brother's estranged wife. She's absolutely the BEST example of a fitness professional by far. She thinks that overweight people are subhuman. Literally. For example, she once told me that she was arguing with a woman at a shoe store and she said, "I can't believe this OBESE woman was talking to ME like that." As if the woman didn't even have the right to breathe the same air as her. As if she was so despicable because of her weight. It has been my opinion that this is pretty much the way most of THEM feel. Like they are superior just because they have a great metabolism. Burns me up.

Then there's the people who can just eat anything. That really gets me. Then they have the nerve to patronize you because you're a fat-ass and like its your fault. Like, recently, I went to a meeting after a lunch-time workout. I got there a little early and I was talking to the meeting facilitator who is a beautiful, skinny, "body to die for" woman. She asked me why my hair was a little wet and I told her I was just at the gym. "Oh! Thats Great! I should join. I've never even worked out in my life." And as she is talking to me, this mother of 2, sexy vixen of the corporate world, was eating a piece of birthday cake. To her credit, she didn't offer me any!

I did have a really bad binge time last month. I don't normally do that but I was so depressed because I go to the gym twice a day most days, on weekends I sing with a band and dance for four hours and sweat my ass off and I barely eat and I have gained 30 lbs in the past 6 months. Anyway, it was someone's anniversary at work and I had 2 pieces of cake! The next day someone brought in doughnuts and I had three! I had a roast beef sandwich for lunch that day with potato chips on the side. It was so scary that my boss asked me what was up and I just said, "I look like I eat like this all the time, I might as well do it." Thank GOD I got out of that funk quickly!

OK. Rant done. I feel better. Sorry about that. I promise to stay positive tomorrow.

Day 2

Good morning! Today started off well! I got to the gym a little earlier. This morning I ran a 5k! Ok. not really but I could have. I ran 3.1 miles in 38.5 minutes. And what I mean by "ran" is I ran .5 miles with 1/4 mile 4.0 speed walks in between. I am trying to work my way up to being able to run the whole thing. I did one 1/2 mile walk somewhere about 2 miles in.

So while I was running/walking I was doing a lot of thinking. Everyone says "Diet AND Exercise" "Diet AND Exercise" but I don't think that is enough. I think that you must get your MIND RIGHT. And for me that means that I have to stop thinking about what my next meal is going to be all the time. When I'm going to eat again. What I'm going to eat. I have to stop "living to eat" and start "eating to live." That's going to be hard because I like food! I like eating. I like cooking. I like enjoying. I like all of it. I like the social aspect. The flavor aspect. The consistency of things. Maybe I'm orally fixated. The last time that I lost a considerable amount of weight, I had "My Mind Right." Everything I did wasn't revolving around food. But at the same time, I was always prepared for meals. Another big mistake that I make is that I don't plan my meals. I just wing it and rely on "what I feel like eating" at the time. Not good. So today I am going to start planning.

For me, from now on, it is going to be "MIND, Diet and Exercise." Because if you don't have your mind right, if you're not staying focused and on track, what's the use? This lovely blog is going to help me with the MIND part. Not solely, but it will definitely help! Thank you!

Today's Intake:
Breakfast:
3 eggs
1 8 oz protein shake (no carb)
cup of green tea (no sweetener)
Lunch:
1 Breyers Yogurt - blueberry

over 1 liter of water intake by 4pm.
Dinner:
Progresso Garden Vegetable Soup.

Snacks:
Egg Drop Soup
1 small whole wheat pretzel
table spoon of sunflower seeds
2 slices of cheese 1/4 inch thick 1L x1H

Today's Exercise:
Morning Workout:
3 miles on the treadmill 38.5 minutes
5 core exercises:
100 crunches - 50 center 25 each side (obliques).
medicine ball circle pass thing - 10 each way
1 minute plank hold
leg holding scissor thing - 20
wanted to do more this morning... ran out of time.

Afternoon Workout:
3x on the Weight circuit. Avg Weight 65lb Avg Reps 10.
(There are 12 machines on the Weight Circuit and they workout every muscle in your body except your toes and fingers. LOL)

Day 1

We started a weight loss challenge at the gym at my office. The weight loss challenge is simple: Maintain within 2lbs or lose weight during the Holidays (the period between Today, November 27th and January 2nd.) I'm starting this blog to keep track of my thoughts and intake during this time. According to the scale at the gym, today I weigh 208. Approx 8 lbs of this is new weight which I'm pretty confident will come off quickly. Being its the first work day after Thanksgiving, I pretty much ate whatever I wanted all weekend, anticipating this challenge. My goal is to drop 15 lbs by January 2nd. (I'd really like to drop about 70 but that aint gonna happen in 5 weeks unless I hack off an appendage.)

I work for a major telecomunications company and I really enjoy it here. We have a great gym and personal trainers who are willing to work with you. I am sure that if I utilize them to their fullest I will meet my goal. The hard part is getting the nerve to ask them to help.

So far today I've had....
Breakfast
3 hard boiled eggs for breakfast and a cup of green tea w/splenda
Lunch
Salad with mixed baby greens, tomatoes, cheese, mushrooms, beans, onion and olives.
WATER: 3 12oz cups.
Dinner
4 pieces of sushi
a few bites of spare ribs
16oz bottle of water

Snack
Breyers Light Yogurt-Key Lime Pie

This is going to be a challenge beyond the normal factors because some of the people I work with think its funny to try and derail me. (I'm easily derailed!) SO part of the reason I started this is that if I have to answer to somebody or write down all my food intake, I think I will be less likely to make a transgression. Or perhaps I'll just lie on this... but what good would that do? (As I was writing this, one of my co-workers dropped off a 3 inch thick slice of chocolate cake with chocolate icing on my desk!!! See what I mean? --I threw it right into the trash! Hooray!)

But the good thing is that I am on a team with 2 other people and that is another factor that will keep me on track! The teamwork factor! I DO NOT WANT TO BE THE ONE TO MAKE THE TEAM FAIL! One of them works in my department but unfortunately, she is out this week. I'm sure that is why my beloved other co-worker decided to drop off the cake... NICE!

Exercise today:
5.2 miles on the bike. in 30 minutes.
climbing stairs (both ways) from the cafe... I'm on the 3rd floor, cafe is on level A!

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Had to leave work early to go to an emergency dental appointment. That made this day easy since I don't really feel like eating because my tooth is bothering me.