Biggest Loser Mel

HCG

2011-02-05T11:29:00.000-08:00

Well I'm not sure how many people read this since I haven't updated in FOREVER, but I'm not going to advertise that I'm updating this so I can get my thoughts out of my head. It will also be good to have this for my book that I'm in the process of writing.

Two weeks ago I started HCG. Let me back up. About a month ago Devon (my dear partner in crime and fellow Group Q member) sent me an email saying that she was going to do HCG and I should too. She also forwarded me the groupon coupon from Skin Envy in GR which was for the 40 day program with 40 days worth of HCG injections for $299. It promised at least 40 lbs of weight loss in 40 days. I purchased. I looked into it and was delighted to discover that this program would strip down my nutrition and allow me to rebuild it little by little. So I was in. Two weeks and one day ago I went to Skin Envy in GR with my dear mamasita. I was given a bag full of 40 injections and was taught how to give them to myself. I find my hipbone and then go to the right of it (My right) to find a spot with flab and I inject it there. I had a three day load period where I was able to eat what I wanted. (My last day was pancakes, freshly baked cookies with milk, turkey sandwich, pop chips, WW mac and cheese, sweet potato fries, more cookies and two glasses of wine). Then I started the food plan part which is 500-1000 calories a day. One protein: Beef, chicken, veal, lobster, crab, shrimp. ONE fruit: apple, orange, grapefruit, strawberries. ONE veggie: green salad, radish, cucumber, tomatoes, chard, onion. AND one carb: either melba toast or grissini breadstick.
I do the meal plan for 40 days. I am now on day 13 of the food and day 16 of the injections. I'll be done with "phase two" (the 40 day meal plan) on March 6th and then I start phase three which allows me much more food- 1600 cal a day but still keeps out most starch and sugar. After 21 days of phase three I start phase four where I slowly incorporate some starch and sugar into my 1600 cal food plan and stick to that for the rest of my life.
My starting weight was 220 and today I weigh 205.2 It's working. Some days faster than others.

I learned that HCG works best with minimal exercise since you can't go over 1000 cal consumed and it might put the body into starvation mode. This week I'm trying to do as little exercise as I will allow myself. This is hard for me, because if you know me, you know that I love to workout every single day and I push myself in whatever I do.

I am not talking about this on Facebook or as publicly as I normally would because I don't want to read a bunch of comments telling me to stop and that this won't work. It is working and I am going to see it to completion. I just need to keep my focus. I will be down to 180 lbs by March 6th and I'm ready for that. I've also lost inches and that's amazing as well. I can do this, even though it's hard. I miss carbs. I miss working out as hard as I want to. I miss pancakes on the weekends and I miss dairy. I am getting tired of apples. I am getting tired of cucumbers. But I can do this... And I will. I need to teach myself a lesson and allow my body to adjust without so many carbs and without the bad habits I was starting to develop again. I made a promise to myself that I would never, ever go back to the person I was when I started this journey. I was starting to get glimpses of that person so I knew it was time to do something about it. My drastic "something" was HCG and I'm going to do it, lose my plateau and never have to do it again.

Losing It

2010-06-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been a long time since I updated! Sorry about that! The truth of the matter is I was in a huge slump. I felt like nothing I was doing was working and I needed to find a way to really get back on track. I've been running and working out like a feind. Still plateau.
Last Tuesday I had an epiphany. I started my plateau last July when I had surgery, but it was also around the same time that I stopped using my body bugg! I saw the new version on people on Jillian Michaels new show and I realized that I needed to go back to my body bugg. I decided that I wanted to get a new body bugg because the new version is much lighter and smaller. So I shopped around right then and there and purchased one right off of their website for a lot cheaper than anywhere else. It should be here sometime this week. :)

I am going to use the bodybugg for my calorie intake as well. It's worth the time and the money I'll put into it and I'll for sure be more than back on track!

So here I am- back on track. Eating right and exercising the right way. A race a month (two in September) and no more school eating temptations. It's going to be a wonderful summer!!

It's not easy...

2010-03-02T08:20:00.000-08:00

I realize it's been a long, long time since I've blogged. This is because I have faced some of the most challenging and emotionally draining weeks of my life.
We received a call from Hospice on Valentine's day that Sweet Baby Ray (My grandpa) was having a hard time breathing. It was a matter of time. We rushed to Kalamazoo and were there as a family as he had his last days. Losing the last of my grandparents was really hard and I'm not completely back to normal. After that week I had a rough work week last week and I've been sick since Friday. Today I'm mainly battling with a headache because the meds are tackling my chest congestion and my nose. Ugh!

In the midst of all this I have done some great runs. I ran 6 miles last week Thursday and I did it in 76 minutes. I haven't been able to work out since, and today is no exception. I'm giving myself time to fully recover before I go back to the gym.

My eating is going well. I have kept mostly to my food plan and that's been good. I weighed in yesterday 4.6 lbs lighter than I weighed on February 1st. I weigh 211.4 right now and it feels great that I didn't gain, even though I'm still in my plateau range.

I just want to kick this emotional draining time of my life and get back to doing what I need to do to kick this plateau and lose the last 40 lbs to my goal! Ugh!

I know I can do it, I'm ready to do it...

Penguins are cute

2010-02-10T05:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had a pain in my calf. I thought I could run through the pain but I couldn't. So I walked at a 4.1 for an hour and went *Shock!* 4.1 miles and burned over 700 calories! I'm pretty proud of myself for still making it to the gym and equally proud that I didn't push myself too far. Hopefully I'll be able to run again soon. Today I am going to try to get a circuit or three in and walk about 20-40 minutes.

My food plan for today:
Breakfast: Cereal, raspberries, Orange Juice, coffee
Snack: Special K crisps *Yum!*
Lunch: Smart Ones Mac and Cheese, 100 cal cupcakes, yogurt, banana
Snack: Yogurt
Dinner: Fish, salad, goldfish grahams

We didn't have a snow day today, and really the snow isn't all that bad. We are still getting some snow but it really isn't so bad. All that worry for nothing. Plus in my heart I really didn't think that we'd have a snow day. It's count day for the district. Most of the snow was in Muskegon and Grand Rapids and south.

It's going to be a great day! How will you make every minute count?

"Oh the weather outside is frightful..."

2010-02-09T04:52:00.000-08:00

Seriously... Can winter please just be over? We're about to get a huge snowstorm and people are banking on a snow day tomorrow. Ugh. I don't want a snow day. We don't have to make it up if we have one or two more but it's an unpaid day so I'll have to do some kind of work anyway. I hate winter. I hate feeling cold. I hate hate hate driving on icy roads that could kill someone at any turn or any random moment. Let it be spring I say!

Ok now that my negitivity is out, I'll turn back into my normal, upbeat self. :)

Last night I ran 35 min and walked for 30 minutes and went 5.25 miles! I stuck to my food plan pretty much and I'm still a vegetarian!
I really like not eating meat. Of course when I see a commercial for Logan's I crave a steak now but for the most part I'm really liking being a vegetarian. I tried some meatless, boneless buffalo wings that were yummy and I absolutely love veggie burgers! Today for my lunch I packed a meatless chicken patty! I bet it's delicious!

Well here it is, my food plan for today:

Breakfast- egg sandwich, orange juice, coffee
Snack- Special K fruit crisps (YUMMY!)
Lunch- Meatless Chicken patty, flat sandwich bun, banana, yogurt, WW PB cookie
Snack- Pretzals, goldfish crackers, peanut butter
Dinner- Fish, salad

Have a great Tuesday! Hope the snow doesn't get too bad!

"Missa sad"

2010-02-04T05:42:00.000-08:00

Today my thoughts are with my last living grandparent. Sweet Baby Ray. He will be 98 in March. Yesterday he fell twice and they found out that he has blood on the brain again. They are going to try to operate today and he is in the hospital. Five years ago this happened and he was so much better afterward. However, Sweet Baby Ray is not the same as he was five years ago. He was brought in a few weeks ago to be observed and they changed his meds. He hasn't been as coherent as he had been. It's been hard for him to string three words together.

You know how you have that one grandparent or family member that you connect with and is just "Yours"? My Grandma Boughton was mine. Sweet Baby Ray is my brothers. He is really upset and might even drive home. I'm worried about Steve. I hope he's ok. He's alone in Iowa right now because Donna (his wife) is away on business for the rest of the week in PA. I don't like that Steve is alone to deal with this. I am grateful that he's in the loop though. That's a good thing. *sigh*

I hope Sweet Baby Ray makes it through this surgery, but in my heart I know that if it truly is his time to go and be with my grandma, he will go. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. It's a hard day at work for me today...

Last night I went to the gym and ran 2.67 miles in 30 minutes and then walked at about at 4.0 for another 15 minutes. I ended at 3.71 miles and burned 601 calories. I stuck to my food plan yesterday and I'm completely on track!

Food plan for today:
Breakfast: Egg sandwich, Orange Juice, Coffee
Snack: Grapes
Lunch: Tuna sandwich, orange, 100 cal strawberry cupcakes, granola bar
Snack: Apples
Dinner: Veggie lasagna, salad

I am hoping to get to the gym tonight at 7pm or so to run 30 minutes and do 30-35 min of strength training...

"Gotta live like we're dying"

2010-02-03T04:46:00.000-08:00

I ran yesterday. I went over 5 miles in less than an hour plus I also accomplished all three circuits of strength training! I was a sweaty mess, but I feel great! Today I'll run for 45 minutes. :) Hooray for getting back into my workout routine!
I also stuck to my food plan yesterday! Whoo hoo!

Today after dinner I am going to go into Muskegon to get a birthday present for Kaden. He's six on Friday and I'm going to his birthday party on Saturday. It will be a good time.

I'm also starting to make some summer plans. I'm going to Indiana the first Friday in June with the group Q girls. It will for sure be a good time. :)

My favorite holiday is coming up a week from Sunday- Valentine's Day! :) I just love the promise Valentine's day has and even though I haven't had a particular sweet Valentine's day with someone, I know that one day I will...

My food plan for today:

Breakfast: Fiber One shredded wheat cereal, orange juice, coffee
Snack: Grapes
Lunch: Mini bagels with Peanut butter, orange, granola bar
Snack: Graham crackers, milk
Dinner: ?? and salad

It will be a great day! Go get your workout! Be inspired!

"I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me..."

2010-02-02T05:36:00.000-08:00

Well, it's February. The wellness program started at work yesterday. I weighed in at a whopping 216 lbs! Yikes! It's time to kick it into high gear and get moving! I have only gone to the gym 2 times in the past two weeks! (Although last week was nuts with working on The Wizard of Oz at the high school and I was also sick). Tonight is the night. 30 minutes running (at least) and 35 minutes of strength training circuits. I'm pumped. Tomorrow I'm going to do 45 minutes of running (at least) and on Thursday I'm going to go in the evening to do 30 minutes of running and 45 minutes of strength training. Friday I'll do 45-60 minutes of running and Saturday I'll do 30 minutes of running (at least). I'm going to stick to this gym plan- you watch me!

As for my food plan- I'm still vegetarian and I'm going to try to stay vegetarian for another month. It's starting to be a little inconvenient but it's keeping me away from the main meals of head start lunch. Yesterday we had chili and I totally stayed away!
Today is beef tacos- so I can eat lettuce and tomato with the kids.

So here is the food plan for today:

Breakfast- Egg sandwich, Orange Juice, Coffee
Snack: Orange
Lunch: Bagels, Peanut butter, 100 cal strawberry cupcakes, orange
Dinner: Fish, Salad
Snack: String Cheese

Should be a great day!

"If I only had the nerve"

2010-01-28T05:50:00.000-08:00

Seriously I might fall over. I'm that tired. I am fighting off a cold, working backstage on the play and working long days at work. I can't seem to get ready to fall asleep before 11:30pm if I'm lucky. *sigh* actually *BIG sigh*

I'm still vegetarian. Last night I tried a veggie burger and I loved it! It was so much better than I thought it would be!! Mamasita had one too and she liked it too! I'm really glad I'm still eating fish. Otherwise I wouldn't have as many options as I do now.

I haven't gone to the gym since Tuesday. I have to miss tonight too because I have to go work backstage. *sigh* So now my gym plan for the rest of the week is:
Today- no gym :(
Friday- 45 min run at gym 1:30pm
Saturday- 20 min run, 35 min strength training, 20 min run
Sunday- 30-45 min run

That should be somewhat helpful since I have my monthly weigh in on Monday!

Here is my food plan for today:

Breakfast: Fiber one shredded wheat cereal, 1/2 banana, orange juice, coffee
Snack: Orange
Lunch: Tuna sandwich, Orange, granola bar, 100 cal pack strawberry cupcakes, pear apple sauce
Snack: Cheerios
Dinner: Who knows... Maybe a veggie sub sandwich...

Well wish me luck on my tiredness and fighting this cold. It's going to be a rough weekend! Oh and if you are around the area, come check out Wizard of Oz at the High School Auditorium- tonight, Friday and Sat nights 7:30pm and a matinee on Sunday at 2:00pm. Tickets are $5 each! Be sure to find me and say hi!

"Take it to the chorus"

2010-01-26T04:54:00.000-08:00

I'm still a vegetarian. Even after a weekend in Detroit. I'm pleased as punch with myself about how well I'm doing. There are times when I miss chicken with my salad or when I think it would be nice to have pepperoni on the pizza, but all in all I really don't miss meat.

Yesterday I stayed on my food plan. I really need to get to the gym though. **Today I go to run for 30 minutes after school**

Last week my grandpa passed away. He was my mom's dad and a truly sweet man. My grandpa had four grandchildren- I am the oldest- Me, Tracy, Steve and Robin. He never ever showed that he loved one of us more than the others. He loved each of us equally. Even when my grandma was acting nutty, he kept his cool and never acted any different to any of us. He stood by her side and loved her. When she died last Valentine's day, he had nothing more he had to truly hold on to. He was in so much pain that it really was a blessing when he passed away. He's with my grandma and my uncle in heaven right now, watching us and hopefully he's proud of what he sees. I've been really concerned for my mom and that's been taking a lot of my time. I am trying to find time for myself too. It was good to be alone a little on Friday at my favorite hotel in Auburn Hills and it was really great to get away last night to hang out with my new friend. I actually smiled a few times last night. :)

My heart is hurting but I need to press on and keep working and keep going. I need to find the balance again and get back to going to the gym every single day with one day off. So my gym schedule this week is:
Monday- off
Tuesday- 30 min run
Wednesday 20 min treadmill, strength training, 20 min treadmill
Thursday- 30 min run
Friday- 20 min treadmill, strength training, 20 min treadmill
Saturday- 30 min run
Sunday- 20 min treadmill, strength training, 20 min treadmill

Should be doable even though the play is this Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun and I'm supposed to help with it.

Here is my food plan for today:

Breakfast: Egg sandwich, Orange juice, coffee
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Orange, Cheese sandwich, 100 cal cookies, grapes, granola bar
Snack: Trail mix
Dinner: Fish, salad

Tonight is Biggest Loser night!! Time to get inspired!!!

It's going to be a great, busy day!

Wacky Wednesday?

2010-01-20T05:03:00.000-08:00

Well I'm still vegetarian! I stuck to my food plan yesterday but added a snack when I got home from my long day- carrots with low fat dressing and a 100 cal bagel. I didn't exercise yesterday since I worked 10 hours and my body was sore from Monday. I'm still nursing a wound on my foot today so I'm taking it easy one more day and going back to the gym for a full workout tomorrow.
Today is a normal day for me at school and then after school I'm going to Grand Rapids! :)

This weekend I'll be in the Detroit area to surprise my BFF "Baby" for her birthday. I am so excited to see her face when she sees me! :) I'm going to go stay in my favorite hotel for a little "me" time on Friday night and then stay with my friend Betty on Saturday night. It will be a good time! :)

We are starting a Wellness program for February and March here at work. We weigh in on the first of Feb, March and April and keep track of points each day for things like water consumed, nutrition, portions and exercise. The person with the most points at the end of each week is the weekly winner and the person with the most points at the end of the month is the monthly winner. I made up the calendars and I'm in charge so I need to get some prizes together. I enjoy heading up this wellness program. It's my part in promoting a healthy life.

I am meeting with the coordinator for enrichment on Friday to go through the wellness program for kids/parents to be put in the brochure for the summer. I'm getting really excited about it!

Here is my food plan for today:

Breakfast: Quaker Corn bran cereal, skim milk, 100 cal bagel, low fat Cream Cheese, Coffee

Snack: Dry cereal

Lunch: Veggie pizza, orange, granola bar **Fresh fruit and veggie with kids at lunch

Dinner: Salad and ??

Should be a great day! I wish my foot was feeling better today so I could run though...

"Just Dance"

2010-01-19T08:18:00.000-08:00

Gym. Epic. Felt like I was on "The Biggest Loser" training with Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels. Yesterday I had records day and arrived at the gym around 3:30pm. I went on the treadmill for 40 minutes- 30 min run and 10 min walk. 3.0 miles and over 500 calories burned. Then I went to strength train. I was only going to do one of my circuits and completed all three! Then I went back to walk for 35 minutes and ended up running the last 5 minutes. I even ran at a 6.0! I hurt the back of my ankle on my shoes- I wore the wrong socks- and my legs hurt so bad later last night that I could barely walk up the stairs to go to bed!
I also stuck to my vegetarian food plan yesterday and feel very good about the entire day! Good choices and I'm really happy about it!

Today I am working until 7:30pm and have no time to go to the gym at all. After yesterday that's ok- I think my body needs a day to recover!!

Food plan for today:
Breakfast: Coffee, grapefruit juice, egg, english muffin
Snack: Dry cereal
Lunch: Veggie pizza, granola bar, orange, soup
Snack: Kix cereal, banana
Dinner: leftover seafood pasta, granola bar, orange

Should be a great day! :)

Veggie-a- saurus

2010-01-18T11:27:00.000-08:00

Starting last friday I decided to try being a vegetarian. Well it's day four and I'm still going! I wonder how long I can keep it up! I am not cutting out all meat, I'm still going to eat fish. I would like to keep it up for the week at the least but I'd love to see how long I can keep going.

Today I'm going to run at the gym and hopefully get some strength training in as well. It's time to get back into the week and work off the weekend intake.

Here is my food intake for today:

Breakfast: Oatmeal, mini bagel with cream cheese, coffee
Snack: Dry cereal
Lunch: Veggie wrap, broccoli V8 soup, jello, granola bar, orange
Dinner: Seafood pasta and salad

Yum! AND it's the end of the day and I haven't eaten any peanut butter or school related anything at all! Hooray!!

"Gracias mama"

2010-01-14T05:22:00.000-08:00

I do not know what my deal is with my nutrition/eating but I need to get with it and FAST! I ate Chicken Nuggets and a biscuit with my class at lunch. Ugh!!

Last night I worked out at 7pm with Amanda. I went on the treadmill for 55 minutes. I ran the first 45 minutes at a 5.0 and didn't slow down or speed up. I went 3.8 miles and then I finished up walking and ended up at 4.25 miles. I felt great!
I was considering running the 25k for the Riverbank run instead of the 10k, since I'm far ahead of the 10k training schedule. The only thing that makes me nervous about this is that I've been solely concentrating on running on the treadmill. I'm scared to death to run on pavement on snow and ice. I'm cautious walking on it, what would happen if I run on it?

I've decided to be a "Girls on the run" coach this spring. It starts in March and goes until May. Amanda is going to coach with me. I think it will be a lot of fun and I think it's a great idea to coach!

I also am going to meet to talk about teaching an enrichment class this summer which will help battle the nationwide epidemic of childhood obesity. I'd do an activity with the kids and then do a talk with parents about nutrition and simple ways to be sure that kids get what they need- nutrition and smaller portion sizes. :) I'm having that meeting on Monday afternoon. More info to come!

Today I'm heading back to the gym after work at 4pm to do a short run and then about 45 min of strength training. I need to work my muscles- I haven't strength trained since last week Tuesday! Yikes!

My food for today:
Breakfast: Egg sandwich, grapefruit juice, coffee
Snack: Dry cereal
Lunch: Turkey sandwich, orange, jello, granola bar
Dinner: Smart Ones Lasagna, salad

I'm ready for a great day, and I'm ready to make smarter nutrition choices! I know I can do it!

"What have YOU done today to make you feel proud?"

2010-01-13T05:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was not a good day. I let a lot of stuff get to me and I felt like crying by 4pm. Not good. I made poor food choices during the day and my legs were still hurting so I didn't get to the gym at all. My evening plans were cancelled by the time I was done teaching preschool and I was ready to go home and hide under my comforter until the weekend was here. *sigh* But then with help from a few nice people texting me their love and cheer, I was able to pick myself up, brush myself off and go on. I made a chicken burrito for dinner and enjoyed a long, hot shower.

I settled in to watch "The Biggest Loser" and instantly my outlook was so much better, that I was able to smile again! I just love that show. It motivates me every week. I started thinking about who I was when I started this journey and how I can't even recognize myself anymore. I also started looking at the way I am relaxing in my food/nutrition and that is starting to truly scare me. It's time to take back my journey and really account for what I'm eating and why I'm eating it. Am I falling back into eating just to eat? Actually I've started to fall into a new pattern. I'm eating because I'm afraid I won't have enough "energy" for my workout. I am craving peanut butter and I'm drinking a lot of coffee. I know this is not a good idea and it's time to make another change.

This season on Biggest Loser the contestants are really big. They are ready to change and they are ready to take their life back. I felt the exact same way when I started. I knew I was killing myself and I felt it. I was close to diabetes and had high blood pressure. I had so much fat on my abdomen and stomach that I knew that wasn't good on my organs. I was ready to change and I found a way to make that change.

I'm very impressed with Michael and Daris on this season. Michael is such a sweet guy with a big heart. He's also a cutie- even at his heaviest! (Yes, I have a little crush). Daris has curly hair and his comment last week about always being the one to dance with girls but he was always the one going home alone hit hard. I know how hard it was to date when I was bigger. It's hard to date now that I'm smaller. I had to be in love with myself before I was ready for anyone to love me. I had to find the confidence, and not "fake" confidence but real confidence. It's easy to be the hil-arious fat girl that everyone likes to be around but harder to be the funny yet serious girl that everyone wants to be around and may want to spend more time with.

Dating has been very hard to get into for me. I've gone out a few times and I have people that I text with and flirt with but it seems that a lot of people are telling me what I want to hear and then in person it just isn't the truth. I'm getting really tired of it and I think I've been working too hard at trying to find someone. I need to relax and move forward with my life and when it's time, it will be time to truly date. I am just impatient and I need to save some of the patience I use at work for my own life.

Today is going to be a great day and a much, much better day. I am at work until 4pm and then I'm going to the gym to run. I'm hopefully going to be able to run for an hour (as long as the gym isn't too busy) otherwise I'll run for 35 minutes and then do strength training before getting back on a treadmill for another 30-35 minutes. I would like to get 5 miles in again! I am going to keep it at a 5.0 the entire time without going up until the very end of the run. That might help me run the entire hour and not poop out for the last 15 minutes like I did on Monday.

Here is my food for today:
Breakfast: Coffee, Fiber one Shredded wheat cereal, cranberry juice
Snack: Dry cereal
Lunch: Oatmeal, orange, Jello, granola bar
Dinner: Grilled Chicken on salad

This blog really helps me to clear my head, especially after a day like yesterday. I think that it will be interesting to look back at these entries in 10 years...

Have a fabulous day!

"How do you solve a problem like Maria"

2010-01-12T06:19:00.000-08:00

Best. Run. To. Date. Yesterday was amazing. Yesterday was epic. Yesterday I was on the treadmill for 63 minutes. I ran 4 miles at a 5.0 or better and walked 1 mile at a 4.0 or better. I went 5.0 miles. That's more than a 5k! I was amazing! My next big goal is to be able to run the entire hour. I'm going to attempt that tomorrow. Today my legs need to rest, they are super sore!

Food intake for today:

Breakfast: Coffee, fried egg sandwich, Coffee
Lunch: Turkey sandwich, orange, yogurt, granola bar
Dinner: Veggies, chicken wrap

Snack: Instant oatmeal

I am starting to truly feel like a runner! I am also starting to really love running and can't wait to get back on the treadmill tomorrow! Who would have thought I'd ever say that???

Crabby Pattie

2010-01-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

Yeah I'm crabby today. I havent been to the gym since Wednesday and it's pretty much making me crabby. I'm at work until 4pm today and then it's time for the gym.

Food intake for today:

Breakfast: Fiber One shredded wheat cereal, coffee, yogurt, muffin

Lunch: Leftover home-made pizza, yogurt, granola bar, apple, carrots

Snack: Cheese sandwich

Dinner: Salad, ???

Workout: 45-55 minutes running at 5.0 or above
30-45 minutes strength training circuit

I'm exhausted just thinking about it but it's time to run!

Two years...

2010-01-08T05:48:00.000-08:00

Exactly two years ago I started this weight journey. Two years ago I weighed 340 lbs and I was really miserable. Today I weigh 208.8 lbs (First time I weighed myself since the holidays). I feel full of energy and I am training to run a 10k in May. I make much better choices than I used to and I love to workout. I've had a tummy tuck and arm lift. I am starting to date. I don't even recognize myself in old photos.

Today I am working until 11:45am and then I have my physical follow-up at the Dr. For the first time I'm not completely convinced that something is wrong with me. (I usually think that I have a brain tumor or something else). Watch this will be the time that something is wrong with me! Ugh!

Here is my food plan for today:

Breakfast: Quaker Corn bran cereal, coffee
Snack: Graham crackers
Lunch: Soup, grilled cheese, granola bar, yogurt, orange
Dinner: Pizza, Salad

It's going to be a great day!

Na na na na na na-na

2010-01-07T06:13:00.000-08:00

Guess the song from my title? Do you know what it's from?

Yesterday was a great day however a crazy day at work! I kept to my food plan and ran 2.2 miles in 25 minutes at the gym. I had a great night with my new friend and I just keep smiling! :)

Today I have a work meeting until 5pm so I'm taking a day of rest from the gym. I am going to keep to my food plan and try to move a little more during the day than I normally do. Tomorrow I'll do an intense workout with running before and after. I also have to go to the doctor tomorrow to get the results from my yearly physical. This always makes me a little nervous, but I know I'm healthier now than I've ever been... :)

Here's my food plan for today:

Breakfast: Fried egg sandwich, coffee
Snack: Granola bar
Lunch: Turkey wrap, granola bar, orange, yogurt
Dinner: Smart Ones Lasagna, salad

Have a super day! :)

la la la la la la tonight...

2010-01-06T05:24:00.000-08:00

My legs hurt a little bit but it's awesome. "Why is that?" you ask? Well because I ran on the treadmill for 25 minutes and then I did a three circuit workout before running another 10 minutes. I went over 3.5 miles! It felt good! :)
I pretty much stuck with my food plan yesterday too but ate some pretzals with peanut butter for a snack. It was a good day!

Today I am only running 25 minutes (just over 2 miles) at the gym and then I'm having dinner with a new friend.

So my food looks like:

Breakfast: Quaker Corn bran cereal, skim milk, fiber muffin, coffee
Snack: Dry cereal
Lunch: Uncrustable sandwich, yogurt, granola bar, orange
Dinner: Steak and veggies :)

It's going to be a great day!! Enjoy every minute of it!

"I'm learning to move and I'm moving to learn"

2010-01-05T05:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a great day! I went to the gym after school and ran on the treadmill at a 5.0 for 35 minutes. I went 3 miles! That is the longest continuous run I've had so far! It felt great to accomplish! (Especially since the last time I ran was last week Tuesday!)

I stuck to my food plan pretty much and didn't overdo it. I think I need to work on getting enough protein again though...

Food for today:
Breakfast: Fiber muffin, Quaker Corn bran cereal, coffee
Snack: Dry cereal
Lunch: BLT wrap, orange, granola bar
Dinner: **Unknown**

Last night I went out to hang out with Bridget and Allison. It was great to see them! I'm trying to make a better effort of hanging out with friends and doing things during the week other than just work and the gym. It's kinda hard though. We'll see how this week goes. I'm hanging out with a new friend tomorrow night after the gym. I'm pretty excited about that...

Well I'm off, back to work and back to my life!

Have a great day everyone!

2010

2010-01-04T06:43:00.000-08:00

Weight loss is not a resolution. Most people that resolve to lose weight as a new years resolution fail. I'm already on a journey to the healthiest, happiest me possible. I started this journey almost two years ago and I'm proud of the person that I am.

I decided that in 2010 I will make every attempt to find the love of my life. If someone asks me out, I'll go and I will give every guy the benefit of the doubt. I will also take more than 10 minutes in the morning so I look better and feel better going to work. I am going to be more social with friends and co-workers this year and enjoy every minute of the new year!

It's important to make "resolutions" you can keep... :)

So today I'm back at work 7:30am-4pm and afterward I'm going to run at the gym for at least 20 minutes. Then I'm going to go home, shower, eat some chili and meet Allison and Bridget at Target for some girl time. :) I absolutely *heart* Target and I'm excited to see Bridget before she goes back to school and I want to spend more time with Allison- I miss her!

Here is my food situation for today:
Breakfast: Egg white omelette, english muffin and fiber muffin, coffee
Lunch: salad with grilled chicken, cottage cheese, jello, granola bar, orange
Dinner: Chili, veggies
Snack: Quaker corn squares cereal

I am making a game of school eating this month- I'm going to see how many days I can abstain from eating any processed school food. For every day I abstain, I treat myself to something at the end of the month. :) Let's see how I do! Today is a challenge- chicken patty on a bun! I can do it, I can do it...

Happy 2010 everyone!

"I look so good without you"

2009-12-27T16:48:00.000-08:00

Yup, that's the truth. Out with the bad in with the good. I see so much clearer now it's awesome. For the past three days I've been in a fog and I couldn't shake why this was. Then tonight I decided to get off of my lazy ass and exercise. I spent 45 minutes lifting 5 and 10 lb weights inter mixed with moves from power workout- lunges, squats, planks, the wall,etc. I was on fire! I was sweating and I loved it! So, tomorrow morning I'm going to go back to the gym (the weather was just scary enough to keep me away the past two days) and I'm going to do a full blown kick ass workout. I'm going to run, I'm going to do a circuit and I'm going to kick a little ass.

I'm done eating Christmas cookies and Christmas fudge (even though they are WW recipes) and I'm done sitting around like I have nothing to do! I'm on top of this once again, and no one is going to stand in my way! NO ONE! :)

"At Christmas"

2009-12-23T13:13:00.000-08:00

Well it's official, I am done. I am done baking, I am done decorating cookies, I'm done making fudge and I'm officially done WRAPPING presents! Now all I have to do is make some muffins tomorrow and I'm ready to relax for two days!!

Yesterday I had a killer workout day! I went to the gym at 10am and went on the treadmill for 15 minutes and ran the entire 15! Then I did strength training, focusing on my arms and then finished my workout there with another 15 minutes of straight running on the treadmill! Yup, I ran 2.5 miles! I'm totally on my way to being a 10k runner! Then in the evening I went back into town for power workout at Curves. :) Love it! Tonight is my last Curves workout ever. They are shutting down the Whitehall Curves and I'm not transferring to North Muskegon. I was going to end my time with Curves at the end of the month anyway, since I am a member at the gym.

My eating has been better lately although I do tend to snack a little more, but I don't have work food to contend with and I don't feel hungry all the time like I do when I'm at work. I love vacation!

Oh and my baking- all from Weight Watchers recipes- WW fudge, WW sugar cookies and WW gingerbread cookies! The muffins I'm making are Fiber One muffins. :) So excited to put them in Christmas tree and Snowman shaped muffin pans!

It's supposed to snow like crazy tomorrow and Friday- I hope I can get out to the gym in the morning tomorrow! :)

I'll try to be better about updating over break by the way...

"Mellelehamaka"

2009-12-17T05:27:00.000-08:00

I wish I knew how to spell that song... I still have yet to hear it this holiday season... *sigh*

Yesterday was a snack-rific day and I did not do very well. I ate au gratan potatoes and corn muffins with the kids. I failed yesterday. I feel horrible about it! However, I had a great workout!
Treadmill #1:
2 min @4.2
6 min @ 5.5
3 min @ 4.2
5 min @5.5
2 min @ 4.2
6 min @ 5.0
4 min @ 4.2
2 min cooldown @ 2.5
385 calories burned and 2.33 miles

Then I did my strength training and focused on my whole body. It was a great!

Treadmill #2:
3 min @ 4.2
17 min (STRAIGHT) @ 5.0
3 min @ 4.2
5 min @ 5.0
2 min cooldown @ 2.5
379 calories burned and 2.31 miles

Total Treadmill stats:
39 minutes RUNNING
4.64 miles
764 calories burned!

Today is the last day of preschool before break. We are having a pajama family day! It's been a great week so far and I'm excited to have everyone here with their families in their pajamas! What a great way to end the season!

Here is my food plan for today:

Breakfast:
Coffee
Orange Juice
Egg White Ommelette with mushrooms
English Muffin with Raspberry jam

Snack:
Orange
Granola bar

Lunch:
Yogurt
Tomato soup
Grilled Cheese

Dinner:
Burritos
WW fudge

Have a wonderful day!

Feliz Navidad!

2009-12-16T05:47:00.000-08:00

I'm in a great mood this week! I don't know if it's because I'm relieved that it's the last week of preschool before a two week break or because I'm enjoying my week so much or because I had such a great weekend last weekend. I'm just a lot happier this week. (No complaining about Frosty this week!) The only way this week could get better would be if I heard that Hawaiian Christmas song that I love and haven't heard this year yet...

Yesterday I had a long day at work- I worked until 4pm and then came back for two hours for a parent meeting. I ate dinner at school and when I went home I had my salad. It was actually pretty nice to break it up like that. I also had an intense power workout last night in between school and the meeting. Tanya kicked my butt at Curves. My legs were a little sore and I got a great sweat going!

Today is a normal day. I am at work until 4pm and then I'm at the gym until 5:30pm. It's going to be a great day!

Here is what my food intake looks like for today:

Breakfast:
Coffee
Orange Juice
Corn bran cereal
granola
skim milk

Snack:
Corn bran cereal (dry)

Lunch:
Soup
granola bar
Orange
100 cal strawberry cupcakes
Yogurt

Dinner:
Salmon
salad
asperagus
Christmas cookie

I am going to do 25 minutes on the treadmill- 10 minutes running, 15 minutes walking before my strength training which will focus on my whole body. I'll end with another 25 minutes on the treadmill- 10 min running 15 min walking. I should burn over 750 calories at the gym tonight.

I hope all who read this have a great day!

On my way...

2009-12-15T04:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had a great workout! I burned over 500 calories on the treadmill alone and did a lot of strength training for my arms. I did pretty well on eating, except I felt that I needed more protein last night so I had a snack. *sigh* Today is going to be a long day for me. I work until 4pm and then I'm going to go right to Curves to workout so I can be back at school for a 5:30pm meeting until 7:00pm or later. I'm going to have to eat fast before the meeting here at school.

I refuse to weigh myself this week. I am not weighing myself until Saturday morning. I do not want to watch my weight go up and down during the week. I refuse. Not weighing in is actually keeping me in a good, upbeat mood. Maybe I should only weigh myself once a month!

Here is the food plan for today:

Breakfast:
Orange Juice
Coffee
Fried Egg sandwich on english muffin

Snack:
1 cup corn bran cereal

Lunch:
Cheese uncrustable
orange
100 cal strawberry cupcakes
granola bar

Dinner:
Smart Ones Lasagna
salad

Snack:
Pretzals

Should be another great day!! I'm definitely feeling good this week!

Cotton Headed Ninnymuggans

2009-12-14T06:07:00.000-08:00

If you read my blogs you were probably asking yourself "Where in the world did Mel go?" Well last week Wednesday and Thursday we had snow days so there was no school and so I've been at home for five days- wrapping presents, making weight watchers fudge to give as gifts, decorating,etc. This past weekend I was out and about- saw two movies, went Christmas shopping, ate sushi, etc. It was a good time. On Friday I weighed in at 207.0, which is still my plateau but not on the highest end of it so that's ok- for now. I worked out on Tuesday but then didn't work out again until Saturday! Ugh! I'm ready for a full week of exercise for sure! Today I am going to the gym at 4pm and I'll do 25 minutes treadmill, 30 minutes strength training and 25 more minutes on the treadmill.
This is the last week of work before Christmas break and so I only have four days to say no to the food served to the kids as I sit with them at lunch- can I do it?
I had my yearly physical on Friday and everything checked out great! I'll see the ultimate results on January 8th, 2010 when I go in for the follow up but I feel great about it! I asked my doctor about supplements for appetite suppression and he asked me if I was truly hungry or if I had heartburn. I said I never get hearburn, and he said that a lot of people mistake hunger for heartburn. He challenged me to take Prilosec for one month and see if that helps. So I started that today. I just take one every morning with breakfast and we'll see if it helps...

Here is what my food intake looks like for today:
Breakfast:
Corn Bran cereal
Granola
Skim milk
Orange Juice
Coffee

Lunch:
Chicken and cheese sandwich
Fiber One yogurt
Orange
100 cal strawberry cupcakes

Dinner:
Beef Roast
Potato
Salad

Snack:
1 cup dry Corn Bran cereal
Orange

Looks like a great day! Hope everyone enjoys their Monday!

"Son of a Nutcracker!"

2009-12-08T04:57:00.000-08:00

I'm in a slightly better mood today. Slightly. I watched the last half of Elf last night and that restored some of my holiday cheer... I really need to wrap some presents and then I know I'll feel much better! I can't start tonight though because it's Biggest Loser finale night!! I love that show! It inspires me every week!

Yesterday I did much better with my eating. I didn't eat anything with preschool at lunch and we had yogurt for snack so I was ok! I am down 2 lbs from yesterday!

As for exercise:
I went to the gym yesterday and started out on the treadmill for 24 minutes: 2 minutes at a 4.2 walk, 11 minutes at a 5.6 run, 4 minutes walking at a 4.2, 5 min running at a 5.5 and a 2 minute cool down at 2.5. I went 1.97 miles and burned 320 calories :)
After the treadmill I did strength training for 30 minutes, focusing on my legs and thighs.
My last treadmill round was 25 minutes. I walked at a 4.2 for 3 minutes and then ran at a 5.5 for 11 minutes and then walked at a 4.2 for 8-9 minutes and did a 2 minute cooldown. I went 1.91 miles and burned 314 calories.
My total treadmill stats for yesterday was: 3.88 miles and 634 calories burned!

Today's plan:
30-45 minutes treadmill at gym
30 min power workout at Curves

Food:
Breakfast:
2 egg white omelette with mushroom
2 slices whole wheat toast with jam
1 cup trop 50 orange juice
coffee

Snack:
Carrots
Orange

Lunch:
1 slice leftover pizza
jello
yogurt

Dinner:
Hormel entre
potato
salad
100 calorie treat

Today we are going to be taking the kids on a field trip to the bakery. Big temptation. I can do it though! No cookies or baked goods for me!

Have a great day!

"Oh the weather outside is frightful..."

2009-12-07T06:59:00.000-08:00

Seriously... We don't have snow for forever and then all of a sudden *BAM* we get hit with so much snow this morning it's starting to scare me to think of the preschool kids getting picked up today! I for sure am glad I'm not a bus driver!

I'm in a funk. Plain and simple. I'm in a funk. I need to find my holiday cheer and I need to find it fast. I was irritated decorating the Christmas tree on Saturday. Why was I irritated? Because I heard Sleigh Ride and Frosty The Snowman a few too many times. Those are the two Christmas carols that I can not stand. Why? Because we had to play sleigh ride way too many times in high school and Frosty is dumb and sad. I hate that he goes purposefully into the sun and then lies to children saying he'll be back and then melts. What a dumb snowman. He should just go into a freezer and stay whole... See! I'm in a funk! I'm never like this at Christmas! I sing "winter wonderland" and "let it snow" and the hawaiian christmas song until people tell me to stop. This year I just can't shake this funk.

I think part of it is that my money is tighter this year. It's hard to buy presents and pay bills and have money for my new years plans. It's just hard. The other part is my struggle with this HORRIBLE plateau. I don't have money to hire a trainer or a nutritionist, but apparently I need one. Ugh! I just can't shake this!

Well today I am going to the gym (After I find and scrape off five feet of snow) for 30 min of treadmill and 30 minutes of strength training.

Here is my food plan for today:

Breakfast:
1 cup special K cinnamon pecan cereal
1 handfull delicious granola mmmmm
1 cup skim milk
coffee

Snack
Orange
carrots

Lunch:
Low sodium clam chowder
special K crackers
100 calorie strawberry cupcakes

Dinner
BLT salad
honey maid 100 calorie bar

**Let's see if I can follow that today- It's my short term goal!**

Hopefully I can kick this funk soon. Maybe a snow day or wrapping a few gifts will help, I sure hope so! :)

8 more days of preschool (counting today) and 9 more days of work until break!

Too much?

2009-12-03T05:36:00.000-08:00

First of all I can not do the Special K challenge. It's too many bad carbs and not enough protein. AND I'm hungry all the time so I'm snacking all the time. I feel like I've eaten more in the past two weeks than I have in a long, long time. Today I am going back to points and I'm going to calculate my calories as well.

Ok first of all- yesterday's exercise:
32 minutes treadmill: ran 13 minutes at 5.5 or higher and walked 14 min at 4.2. Burned 440 calories and went 2.68 miles
30 min strength training
30 minutes treadmill- walked at 4.2- burned 362 calories and went 2.17 miles
Total treadmill: 4.85 miles and 802 calories burned!

I posted my workout on facebook and many people are saying that I'm burning more calories than what I'm eating and that I'm overdoing it. I feel like I'm eating all the time. Also I'm not losing any weight at all. I'm still stuck in this horrible plateau! So that's why I'm going to calculate my points/calories a lot more carefully. When I post my eating plan for the day- I stick to it but I usually add in snacks and eat more than what I say I will. That's why it might look like I'm not taking in enough calories.

Here is my food plan for today:

Breakfast:
2 egg white omelette with mushrooms and onion (1 pt)
2 slices toast (1 pt) (80 cal)
Raspberry jam (1 pt)
Coffee (1 pt)

Lunch:
WW Dragon shrimp lo mein (5 pts)
WW yogurt (1 pt)

Dinner:
WW Lasagna (6 pts)
Salad (3 pts)

Snack:
Granola bar (3 pts)
Apple (1 pt)

Hopefully I won't get the urge to snack on anything else today. The good thing is that I am not teaching today, so I won't be tempted with school lunch with the kids today. Another downfall of mine...

Today's workout:
30 min treadmill
30 min power workout at Curves

Best laid plans...

2009-12-01T05:18:00.000-08:00

The special K challenge is interesting. I did not stick to it yesterday and I'm changing it up somewhat today.

First of all, let's start with the good news- I had an amazing workout yesterday!
30 minutes treadmill: 15 minutes walk at 4.2, 5 minutes running at 6.0 and 10 minutes running at 5.5 for a total of 2.53 miles and 415 calories burned

Then 30 minutes of strength training

Then 30 more minutes on the treadmill walking at a 4.2 in which I burned 361 calories and went 2.16 miles

Total for treadmill: 776 calories burned and 4.69 miles! :)

Today my exercise will be 45 minutes treadmill and then 30 minutes power workout at Curves. :)

Food for today:
Breakfast: 1 cup fruit/yogurt Special K cereal, Protein and coffee
Snack: Special K crackers
Lunch: Chicken sandwich, yogurt, apple
Snack: Special K granola bar
Dinner: Pork, potato, salad, water

Hopefully this menu works for me today and I'm not hungry enough to snack or have too much dessert tonight...

BIGGEST LOSER is on tonight! Love it! It motivates me every week!!

"CHALLENGE"

2009-11-30T05:37:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was brutal. A nice break and a great trip to Iowa but brutal. It's time to get back in gear and move forward. I decided a few things over break. First, I am going to run my first 10k on May 8, 2010. The Riverbank run in Grand Rapids. I know I can do it, and I am going to build my endurance and start training. I'm nervous and excited and a little scared but it's a great goal for 2010 and I do know, deep inside that I can do it!

I've also decided that for the next two weeks I am going to change it up and do the "Special K challenge". I think it's a great way for my body to detox from Thanksgiving and I know I can do it!

Here is what it looks like:

Breakfast:
Coffee
Protein shake
1 cup special K fruit and yogurt cereal
2/3 cup skim milk

Snack:
Special K crackers

Lunch:
1 cup special K fruit and yogurt cereal
2/3 cup skim milk
Apple

Snack:
Special K granola bar

Dinner:
Salmon
Green Beans
Salad
water

Exercise for today: 1.5 hours at gym- 1 hour treadmill, 1/2 hour strength training

Starting weight for challenge: 208.4 lbs (Yes I did gain quite a bit over break, but it's going to be gone before we know it!)

My breakfast, lunch and snacks will stay the same for the two weeks of the challenge but my dinner will always change.

Let's get this!

Sleep?

2009-11-24T05:00:00.000-08:00
I am so tired today! I just want to sleep, even for ten minutes! It might be because I worked out so hard yesterday or maybe I just need some sleep. In any case, I'll be in Iowa tonight and enjoying a five day mini-vacation with family. Maybe I'll be able to sleep in until 9am tomorrow... I can only hope...

Yesterday I had to work until 5pm. *sigh* I arrived at the gym and went 35 minutes at 4.2 and burned 421 calories and went 2.52 miles. Then I did my strength training for about a half hour. Afterward I went back on the treadmill for another 35 minutes at 4.2 and burned 421 calories and went 2.52 miles again! So my total treadmill stats from yesterday were: 842 calories burned and 5.04 miles!

My food for today:
Breakfast:
2 egg white omelette with mushrooms: (1 pt)
Orange Juice (2 pts)
English Muffin with jam (2 pts)
Coffee (1 pt)

Lunch:
Salad (2 pts)
Granola bar (3 pts)

Snack:
Mini bagels with cream cheese (4 pts)

Dinner:
Subway? (7 pts)

Total points for today: 22 pts (Below target by 2 pts)

I am not working out today other than the walking I will have to do at the Detroit Airport to make it to my connecting flight.

I don't know how often I'll be able to blog while I'm in Iowa. Hopefully I'll have the chance...

So much to do...

2009-11-23T05:58:00.000-08:00
I'm tired today. Just tired. I had a super weekend- Dinner/drinks and then New Moon on Friday, Lansing for drinks/sushi overnight on Saturday. Yesterday I worked on some laundry and I am 75% done with my Christmas shopping! I slept well, but I just wasn't able to sleep enough. I need to catch up this week and I am hoping that I can!

Saturday I had the toughest workout of my life. I pushed right through though. I did a 30 minute power workout at Curves and then I went to the gym to do 30 min of strength training and 30 minutes on the treadmill. Then Saturday night I was showing Sara a few awesome moves from power workout and Sunday when I woke up my legs were super sore! I had a rough eating weekend which actually ended a rough eating week.

This week is different, another new start. I can do this- even this week of Thanksgiving! I can do it!

Breakfast:
1 cup Special K fruit and yogurt cereal (3 pts)
1/2 cup skim milk (2 pts)
Blueberries (1 pt)
coffee (1 pt)
Protein (2 pts)

Lunch:
Tuna sandwich (4 pts)
yogurt (1 pt)
apple (1 pt)
Granola bar (3 pts)

Dinner:
Chicken burrito (6 pts)
Honey Maid 100 cal bar (3 pts)

Total points for today: 27 **Right on Target with workout**

Exercise for today:
30 min treadmill
30 min strength training
30 minutes treadmill
total calories burned today at workout- 800 or so

Tomorrow afternoon I leave for Iowa! I can't wait to see my brother and my sister-in-law! :)

New Moon

2009-11-19T07:44:00.000-08:00
Tonight is NEW MOON night! I'm going to see New Moon at midnight with Allison!! Whoo hoo! Then tomorrow night I'm going to see it again with work people! :) Hooray!

Yesterday I was weak at lunch again- I ate some turkey and mashed potatoes with the kids! What is my problem this week??
I did work really hard at the gym though. I ran 16 minutes at 5.5 and then walked 14 minutes at 4.2 and did a cool down for 2 minutes before I went to do strength training. I ended my workout with 17 minutes on the treadmill- running for 5 minutes at 5.5 and walking for 12 minutes at 4.2. I burned over 600 calories on the treadmill alone!

Here is what my day looks like today:

Breakfast
1 cup Fiber One Shredded wheat cereal (3 pts)
1 cup skim milk (2 pts)
coffee (1 pt)
Protein (2 pts)

Snack:
English muffin (1 pt)
1 tablespoon Peanut Butter (2.5 pts)

Lunch:
Orange (1 pt)
Yogurt (2 pts)
Chicken sandwich (4 pts)
100 cal Honey Maid bar (2 pts)

Snack:
Apple
Wasa cracker

Dinner:
Qdoba chicken naked burrito (5 pts)
Chips (3 pts)

Total points for today: 30 *Ok with workout*

Exercise for today:
45 minutes on treadmill
30 minute power workout at Curves
**Should burn close to 1000 calories at workout!**

It looks to be a great day!

"It's a great day at Curves"

2009-11-18T06:58:00.000-08:00
Yesterday I enjoyed a 30 minute power workout at Curves. I was sweating normal (not as much as I do at the gym, but pretty good) and my heart rate was up so that was good. The thing I love most about power workouts is that it gives me a chance to workout with people I genuinely like working out with. I can talk about stuff with them and I can enjoy my workout. At the gym I'm pretty much alone and talking to myself as I run/walk/strength train. I know I can correct this by going to the gym with a friend, and I think I need to start doing that. I have a couple friends that are members at the gym, I just need to coordinate schedules.

Yesterday I failed miserably at my food choices. I stuck to my menu but I ate Macaroni and cheese with the kids at lunch. I'm so disappointed in myself for that! Today is another day and I vow to not eat anything other than fresh fruit/veggies at school today! I can do it!!

Here is what my day of food/exercise looks like today:

Breakfast:
Coffee (1 pt)
Protein shake (2 pt)
1/2 cup skim milk (2 pts)
1 cup Fiber One shredded wheat cereal (3 pts)
Blueberries (1 pt)

Lunch:
Healthy choice pasta (7 pts)
Orange (1 pt)
100 cal cupcakes (1 pt)

Dinner:
Salmon (5 pts)
Green beans (0 pts)
Salad (2 pts)

Total points:25 plus dessert and a snack **On Target with workout**

Exercise for today:
30 minutes treadmill
30 minutes strength training
30 minutes treadmill

I am working today 7:30am-4:00pm and then I'll be at the gym until 5:30pm. After the gym I shower, eat dinner and then I'm packing for my Thanksgiving trip to visit my brother and sister in law in Iowa. I'm also making WW fudge which is one point per square!! (My sister in law LOVES it, even though she could eat regular fudge and doesn't need to worry about points).

It's going to be an amazing day!

Abs! Abs! Abs!

2009-11-17T05:31:00.000-08:00
Yesterday was an amazing gym day! When I arrived at the gym I went right to the treadmill. I had the intention of doing 30 minutes but I ended up starting with 45 minutes. I walked at 4.1 for five minutes, ran at 5.5 for 5 minutes, walked at 4.1 for 5 minutes, ran at 5.5 for TEN minutes, and walked at a 4.1 for 20 minutes. I moved to strength training and did a ton of work on my abs. I finished my workout with 15 minutes on the treadmill. I walked at 4.1 for that entire 15 minutes. On the treadmill alone I burned 742 calories and I went 4.6 miles! I felt amazing, even though I was a sweaty, sweaty mess!
As for food yesterday, I didn't have as great of a day as I wanted to. The only thing I allow myself to eat at school other than fruit/veggies is when we have corn muffins. I found out yesterday that every corn muffin is 180. I had one with the kids at their lunchtime yesterday. I also ate so much at dinner last night that it hurt. That was not a good idea! Sunday I made a batch of "poopy chow" and I had that after dinner last night too- so tons of extra fiber! (I am going to stop eating the extra fiber after today so I am sure it gets out of my system for my weigh in this weekend).

Here is my food plan for today:
Breakfast:
2 egg white omelette (2 pts)
English muffin with jam (2 pts)
coffee (1 pt)
Protein (2 pts)

Lunch:
Tuna sandwich (4 pts)
yogurt (1 pt)
orange (1 pt)
string cheese (1 pt)
100 cal strawberry cupcakes (1 pt)

Dinner:
Hormel entre (5 pts)
salad (1 pt)
potato (3 pt)
Dessert (1-5 pts)

Total Points for today: 24-28 depending on dessert

Workout for today: 30 minutes Power Workout with Tanya at Curves 5:30pm

Oh and just so everyone has it:

"Poopy" Chow:
1/2 bag chocolate chips
1/2 bag peanut butter chips
1 bag (half box) Original Fiber One cereal
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
**Almonds or granola if wanted**

Put chocolate and peanut butter chips in microwave safe bowl and cook on high 2 minutes. Stir. When melted and creamy, stir in Fiber One Cereal and almonds/granola. When that is all coated pour mixture into ziplock back with powdered sugar. Close bag and mix. Enjoy!

***If anyone knows the calories or WW points for this or could figure it out, that would be awesome! I count it as 4-6 pts per cup. One serving is one cup of poopy chow***

Today is going to be an amazing, busy day! I can't wait!

"Let's Get This"

2009-11-16T06:19:00.000-08:00
Another week. After an absolutely amazing weekend it's time to get back to my day to day reality. It's time to concentrate on my food plan and my exercise. I had a really rough eating day yesterday. All morning I was off/on planes and in airports so it was hard to get a really good healthy meal and then for lunch my dad took us out to Steak and Shake. My stomach felt gross all afternoon until I had some ginger ale to settle it. I *heart* V8 soup by the way. Pure veggies in a yummy soup that has more flavor than any other soup I've tried-- other than the Hearthstone.

Yesterday I had my dress fitting for Betty's wedding. I ordered my dress and I'm pretty sure it will be too big by the time I have to go for my next fitting but regardless, that's ok. I'm happy to pay a little more for alterations if it means I've gone down in size. Also if I go down a lot, they can reorder my dress in another size. The dress will be in before Christmas day. :) It was a really quick experience- I tried on the dress in three sizes, had the lady size me and then I paid for my dress. All in all, it took about 15-20 minutes! I didn't even have time to take a picture of it!

I am not weighing myself every day this week. I am not weighing myself until Friday morning (or Saturday morning at the latest). I don't want to watch my weight go up and down. As much as I want to see the numbers change to under 200, I am going to weigh myself once a week and stick to it. I feel that this week is going to be amazing!

Here is my food for today:
1 cup Fiber One shredded wheat cereal (3 pts)
1/2 cup skim milk (2 pts)
Protein shake (2 pts)
blueberries (1 pt)
coffee (1 pt)

Lunch:
Turkey sandwich (4 pts)
Orange (1 pt)
String Cheese (1 pt)
Yogurt (1 pt)
100 cal strawberry cupcakes (1 pt)

Snack:
Yogurt (1 pt)

Dinner:
Pork (5 pts)
Baked potato (4 pt-- sour cream and salsa added)
salad (1 pt)

Total points for today: 28 (On target with workout)

Exercise for today:
30 minutes treadmill
30-45 minutes strength training
30 minutes treadmill

**30 minutes running, 30 minutes walking in 5 or 10 minute intervals**

It's going to be a great day!

Almost forgot...

2009-11-12T18:30:00.001-08:00
Today was a long, busy day. I had conferences today and I had a bunch of emails that I needed to send. I worked from 8:30am-3:00pm, took a break and worked from 4-6:30pm. I went to the gym at 6:30pm. I started with 30 minutes on the treadmill. I walked for five minutes at 4.0 and then ran for TWELVE MINUTES straight at 5.5 and then walked for five and finished up the 30 minutes running at 5.5. I then completed my strength training which focused mainly on my abs and legs. After I finished that, I went back to the treadmill for 15 minutes. I walked 5 minutes for 4.2 and ran for 5 minutes at 5.5 and then walked for 2 minutes at 4.2 and completed with a run at 6.0! I was on fire! :) I feel really good about my workout tonight and happy to say that I stayed on track with my food:

Breakfast
2 egg omelette with mushrooms (1 pt)
English Muffin (1 pt)
Jam (1 pt)
Coffee (1 pt)
Protein (2 pts)

Lunch:
Turkey sandwich (4 pts)
Yogurt (2 pts)
Orange (1 pt)
Strawberry 100 cal cupcakes (1 pt)

Snack:
String Cheese (1 pt)
Yogurt (1 pt)

Dinner:
WW Smart Ones Pizza (7 pts)
Yogurt (1 pt)
1/4 cup Kashi cereal (1 pt)
Granola bar (3 pts)

Total points for today: 28 *Right on target with my workout!*

I may not be able to blog tomorrow, Saturday or Sunday as I am going out of town for the weekend, so if you are loyally following this blog, please don't cry. I'll be back to blog soon enough! :)

I'm hard-core

2009-11-11T05:39:00.000-08:00
Yesterday I went to the gym and walked 40 minutes at a 4.0 and ran for the last 5 minutes at a 5.5. I burned over 500 calories and went over 3 miles. Then I went to Curves where I rested for a half hour before starting power workout. I made the "mistake" of saying to Tanya "I dare you to make me sweat the way that I sweat at the gym" and she did. Instead of 30 seconds of alternating lunges, we did 60. Instead of 30 seconds of planks, we did 60. Instead of 30 seconds of wall sit, we did 60. My legs felt like they were going to fall off and by the end of the night my whole body ached. I also have a blister on the toe next to my big toe. After getting a lot of feedback about it on Facebook, I decided to pop it. I also put a blister bandaid on it. It tingles today but it's healing and doesn't hurt as bad as I thought it would.

I figure I burned over 1000 calories in my workouts yesterday. I only ate about 24-26 points yesterday and did not eat extra. I did everything right. I thought for sure that today would be my big day. I got my camera ready and.... 201.8 *sigh* Well maybe I didn't eat enough calories for my workouts yesterday. Today is another day and tomorrow is another chance and I'm still below my lowest plateau weight. It's ok, I'll get there. I know I can do this!

Today I have a long day. I am working 7:30am-6:00pm, going home for dinner and then coming back to the gym at 7:00pm. It's conferences and that means that today and tomorrow will be long, long days!

Here is my food plan for today:
Breakfast:
Fiber One shredded wheat cereal (2 pts)
raspberries (1 pt)
1/2 cup skim milk (2 pts)
coffee (1 pt)
Protein (2 pts)

Lunch:
Turkey sandwich (4 pts)
yogurt (1 pt)
Orange (1 pt)
100 cal strawberry cupcakes (1 pt)

Snack:
String cheese (1 pt)

Dinner:
Spaghetti squash (1 pt)
Spaghetti sauce (6 pts)
Salad (1 pt)
Decaf coffee (0 pts)
Granola bar (3 pts)

Total points for today: 27 points (Right on target with a workout)

Workout for today: Gym- 15 min treadmill, 30 minutes strength training, 45 minutes treadmill

It's going to be a great day! I just know it!

REALLY??!!

2009-11-10T08:22:00.000-08:00
I know that it's not such a good idea to weigh yourself every day. Usually I stick to the "weigh yourself once a week" rule and I usually weigh in on Friday or Saturday mornings. This week is different. This is the week I go below 200 lbs! I stepped on the scale this morning and it said I weigh 200.1 lbs! Seriously???!!! That's awesome!

Yesterday I went to the gym after work and walked 10 minutes at 4.0 and then ran for 5 minutes at a 5.5. After the treadmill, I did strength training for 30 minutes and then I went back on the treadmill where I walked at a 4.0 for 40 minutes and ran at a 5.7 for 5 minutes. So I did an hour of cardio and burned over 700 calories and walked/ran five miles. Awesome!

Well I'm definitely going to work hard today! Here is what my food for today looks like:

Breakfast:
2 egg white omelette with mushroom and onion (1 pt)
Protein (2 pts)
English muffin with jam (2 pts)
coffee (1 pt)

Lunch:
WW quesadilla (4 pts)
Blueberry yogurt (1 pt)
100 cal strawberry cupcakes (1 pt)
Orange (1 pt)

Snack:
Grapes (1 pt)

Dinner:
Salmon (5 pts)
salad (1 pt)
Asparagus (0 pts)
Decaf coffee (0 pts)
Muffin (2 pts)

Total points for the day: 22 points! :)

The workouts that I'm intending to do today: 30-45 min treadmill at the gym at 4:00pm and then power workout at Curves at 5:30pm.

This week is just going to get crazier and crazier from here on out...

"It's Just Another Manic Monday"....

2009-11-09T05:57:00.000-08:00
Seriously, what happened to the Bangles? I *heart* "Manic Monday" and haven't heard it in forever. I think I might need to look for it on itunes...

Well today I was awake at 6:30am in an INSTANT good mood, ready for the day! I went into the bathroom and stepped on the scale and it read 201.8 lbs! WHAT??!! OMG! I'm getting even lower! At this rate I may be able to make it under 200 by the weekend! I can't believe it!

I am going to stay on my amazing eating track today. I'm ready for it!

Breakfast
Fiber One Shredded Wheat Cereal (3 pts)
Raspberries (1 pt)
1/2 cup skim milk (2 pts)
Coffee (1 pt)
Protein (2 pts)

Lunch
Soup (1 pt)
WASA cracker (1 pt)
Peanut Butter (2.5 pts)
Orange (1 pt)
Yogurt (1 pt)
100 cal strawberry cupcakes (1 pt)

Dinner
Salad (2 pts)
Chicken (5 pts)
pudding (1 pt)
Decaf coffee (0 pts)

Total points for today: 24.5! *Right on target with allowance for a snack!*

I am working today 7:30-4:00pm and then I'm going to the gym. I am planning on doing 15 minutes on the treadmill to warm up, then strength training for 30-40 minutes and then back to the treadmill for 45 minutes to finish up. I am going to drink 80 oz of water today and I am going to remember to stretch after my workout!

What a great, beautiful day!

What a beautiful day!

2009-11-08T13:15:00.000-08:00
Seriously, it is November right? It's 72 degrees right now. AND BEAUTIFUL! I can't believe it! Seriously, am I dreaming? This is Michigan right? It feels like Thanksgiving in FLORIDA not Michigan! I'm definitely not complaining- I LOVE IT!

Well yesterday I went to the gym and spent 50 minutes on the treadmill. 35 minutes walking at a 4.0 and 15 minutes running between a 5.5 and a 7.0! Yes I am that amazing! Today I went out to Kohls, Target and Meijer with my mamasita and did walking that way. My lower back is hurting a little bit so I'm not planning on going to the gym but I will be taking a walk/job later on today. Perhaps right after dinner...

Here is my food intake for today:

Breakfast
Special K fruit and yogurt cereal (3 pts)
1/2 cup skim milk (2 pts)
Coffee (1 pt)

Lunch:
Turkey sandwich on slimwich bun (4 pts)
Yogurt (1 pt)
String cheese (1 pt)

Snack:
Orange (1 pt)

Dinner:
Burger from the grill (6 pts)
Steamed veggies (0 pts)
Kashi cookie (3 pts)

Total points for today: 22 points *under target*

I weighed myself this morning and I weigh 203.4 lbs! That's lower than the lowest end of this nasty plateau I have been in!!! I'm stoked for this week! :)

I am going out of town this coming Friday-Sunday so I've been preoccupied with that. I spent a lot of time today getting my toiletries together to carry on to the plane. I don't want to have to spend $15 to check a bag. **Seriously that is just stupid** I even bought a smaller flat iron to put in my carry on bag. Flat irons are allowed in your carry on! :) I'm not publicly talking about where I'm going or why but just know I'll be out of town this coming weekend. :)

Tomorrow it's back to work. I'm feeling much, much better. We have three days with kids and then Thursday is conferences all day. It will be a great week to catch up on classroom stuff and housekeeping. I have a lot to do in the office in the morning!

I'm doing pretty good at blogging! I hope people are actually reading this, but if not it's helping me organize my eating and exercise a lot better than the way I was doing it!

*sigh* Weigh in

2009-11-07T07:00:00.000-08:00
I have not worked out since Tuesday night. My body is still healing. Last night I had a rough time sleeping and when I was going to wake up to go to power workout at Curves this morning, I couldn't do it. I weighed in today though. This morning I weigh 204.8 lbs. That's really good since I haven't been able to workout. :)
I am going to go to the gym today. I am going to either do an hour of cardio or I'm going to do my Activetrax workout. It all depends on how I truly feel. I may even go during the MSU game or maybe I'll go right after. That is yet to be decided but I am going to workout today. I need to get back and my chest is clear and I've been fever free for over 24 hours and I'm taking a prescription.

I'm getting frustrated and confused with a part of my life that I really have no control over. I have decided to start writing in a journal about it, hoping it will help. I started that last night. Hopefully, eventually that will help.

Well here is my food plan for today:
Breakfast:
Quaker Corn Bran cereal (1 pt)
1/2 cup skim milk (2 pt)
1/4 cup Kashi cereal (1 pt)
coffee (1 pt)
Orange Juice (2 pts)

Lunch:
Tuna sandwich (3 pts)
Yogurt (1 pt)
Orange (1 pt)
granola (1 pt)
carrots (0 pts)

Snack:
Hummus (1 pt)
Pita chips (3 pts)

Dinner:
salad (1 pt)
Chicken (4 pts)
green beans (0 pts)
100 cal chocolate (3 pts)
P.butter (2.5 pts)

Total points for today: 27 points (On target as long as I exercise!)

I'm ready to kick a little ass today- are you?

In with the old...

2009-11-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

I'm still sick. *sigh* So I'm home. I went through three Rubermaid bins of my old clothes. Everything in the bins was way too big for me now. This is happy, but sad because a lot of those things used to be my favorites. I put photos of some of the things I'm going to put on Ebay on my Facebook with prices of what I want for them. If you are interested or know anyone that might be, make sure you check it out and message me if you are serious about purchasing.

My friend Betty asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding in May! The dress I have to wear is on this post. I love it! I'm going for my fitting a week from tomorrow! I can wear the silver shoes I already have! The wedding is May 1st!

So on a personal note- have you ever been in that beginning stage of a friendship that could turn into a relationship and as you make future plans, you think about how that person might or might not fit into those plans? Yeah, me too.

So there will be no workouts AGAIN today but I'm going to attempt a Curves workout tomorrow morning. So I have to be super careful about what I eat. Here is what that looks like for today:

Breakfast:
Orange Juice (1 pt)
Egg white omelette (2 pts)
English muffin with jam (2 pts)
coffee (1 pt)

Lunch:
Grilled Cheese sandwich (3 pts)
Tomato soup (1 pt)
yogurt (1 pt)
granola bar (1.5 pts)
Orange (1 pt)

Snack
Orange (1 pt)
Fruit snacks (1 pt)

Dinner
Salad (1 pt)
Pizza (5 pts)
100 cal chocolate (2 pts)

Total points for today: 23.5 points- BELOW TARGET! :)

It feels good to blog about my points and eating. I think it's keeping me on track. :) If anyone has any suggestions for other meals,etc please let me know!

*sigh*

2009-11-05T08:01:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning with a fever. I'm exhausted but I can't sleep. Ugh. I still have a fever and I've been awake for 3.5 hours. I called in to work for today and I probably won't work tomorrow either. I canceled on my college roommates for the weekend. (Most of them have kids and I really don't want to spread my germs to anyone, especially not their cute babies!) What a bummer! And to add to it all, I can't go to the gym or Curves to work out today because of my fever/germs. I don't care how much hand sanitizer I can use, it just wouldn't be right to spread germs. I called my doctor's office and made an appointment to go in at 4:30pm. I think that my nasal congestion is moving to my chest and since I have asthma, it's a good idea to get in to the doctor ASAP to get on some prescription meds to kick it before it kicks me! The good thing is that we don't have preschool today- it's a professional development day- but the bad news is that I have to miss two days of Education Through Music training which I love!

I was cheered up at 9:30am when I found out that my MAC pallette came in the mail yesterday! I opened it and put it together. *sigh* I really *heart* MAC (I'm such a girl) so much!

I can't seem to sleep so I decided to get online and I thought to myself "I bet it will be cheaper to book new years eve plans now". So I logged onto Amtrak and booked a round trip ticket to Chicago and then I shopped for hotels. I had an offer from my favorite Chicago hotel-- hotel Sax-- in my saved mail so I checked that out and booked two nights there (December 30-January 1) for $392.59! If four people stay there it works out to $100 per person or $50 per night! What a deal! I bet I can find three people to ring in the New Year with me in Chicago!! I refuse for New Years Eve to suck! REFUSE! So that has kept my mind somewhere other than my sickness too. *sigh*

So another day, another day to have to skip the workout :( Not happy about that. I'll have to really watch my points again today. Here is the plan:

Breakfast:
Quaker Corn Bran Cereal (1 pt)
1/2 cup skim milk (2 pts) ***Am I right about those points?***
WW muffin (2 pts)
Coffee (1 pt)
Protein (2 pts)

Lunch:
Soup (1 pt)
WASA cracker (1 pt)
Peanut butter (1.5 pts)
yogurt (1 pt)
Orange (1 pt)

Snack:
Orange (1 pt)
Granola bar (1.5 pt)

Dinner:
Cheeseburger (6 pts)
Portabella Mushroom (0 pts)
Potato (3 pts)
Pudding (1 pt)

Total Points for today: 26 points! RIGHT ON TARGET!

I'm really trying to change up some of my lunches, because I'm getting bored with the same old thing. I asked for some different ideas on facebook. That was a good call.

Well, I'm going to go get started on my 80 oz of water. Hopefully resting for the next four days will kick whatever sickness I have out of my system!!

SO BUSY!

2009-11-04T13:18:00.000-08:00
What a day! I have been on the go since 7:30 this morning! I had Education Through Music training from 8-11am at the MAISD and then I taught preschool until 4pm. I am now home until 5:30pm when I have to leave to go back to work for a parent night.

Today is the day I have to take as my "off" day and not workout. This kills me but I'm doing it! I did a lot of movement with the kids today and with my training so I hope that will count for something.

As for eating, I've been doing amazing! I haven't over eaten this week!

Here is what my day looks like today:
Breakfast:
Quaker Corn bran cereal (1 pt)
Granola (1 pt)
Skim milk (2 pts)
Coffee (1 pt)
Protein (2 pts)

**No snack this morning**

Lunch:
Tuna sandwich (3 pts)
orange (1 pt)
Yogurt with Kashi cereal (2 pts)
100 cal strawberry cupcakes (1 pt)

Snack
Mini bagel with strawberry cream cheese (2 pts)

Dinner
WW Lasagna (6 pts)
Salad (2 pts)
Pudding (1 pt)

Total points for the day: 25!

I have 26 daily points to eat and I usually eat my exercise points as well but I don't have exercise points to eat today, so I'm all set! :)

Tomorrow I am working in the office in the morning, I have ETM training 1-4pm and then I am doing a power workout at Curves at 5:30pm. I think I'll go on the treadmill at the gym after work as well. :)

I can't wait for this week's weigh in! :)

Terrific Tuesday!

2009-11-03T05:39:00.000-08:00
It's going to be a great day! I just know it! I woke up feeling really tired and stuffy. I woke up at 3am this morning and felt so terrible I almost called in to work but I went back to bed and when I woke up I felt a little better. I'm taking Tylenol Sinus every four hours and that should help a lot. It's still going to be a great day, even if I am getting a sinus infection! (I hope it doesn't come to that though).

I am doing great with points for my day and I'm ready to make it through without extra eating! Here is what my food looks like for today:

Breakfast:
2 egg whites with mushroom and onion made into an omelette (1 point)
Wheat English Muffin with jam (2 pts)
Protein (2 pts)
Coffee (1 pt)
Orange Juice (2 pts)

Snack:
English Muffin (1 pt)
1 tablespoon peanut butter (1.5 pts)

Lunch:
WW Quesadilla (4 pts)
Yogurt (1 pt)
Kashi cereal to put in yogurt (1 pt)
100 cal strawberry cupcakes (1 pt)
Orange (1 pt) *Although I think I may have forgotten to pack it*

Snack:
Florida's Natural Fruit snacks (2 points)

Dinner:
Fat free refried beans (2 pts)
Chicken (4 points)
Salad (0 points)
Sour cream (1 pt)
Salsa (0 pts)
Pudding (1 point)

Total points for today: 28.5

The biggest obsticles that I face today are tacos at lunch with the kids, and pizza rollups for snack this afternoon with the kids. Ugh!

Exercise for today:
30 minute "Power Workout" with Tanya at Curves at 5:30pm

Motivation for today: BIGGEST LOSER on TV 8-10pm plus random text messages and emails ;)

I'm ready to tackle today and I'm ready to make today count. I will not eat tacos. I will not eat pizza rollups. I will eat only the food I have brought with me to school today. And if I do not feel hungry this morning for my snack, I will not eat it!

I'm AMAZING!

2009-11-02T18:32:00.000-08:00
Well I just had to update, I couldn't wait until tomorrow! I did so good today! I ate exactly what I said I was going to today! I didn't eat any junk at school and even at afternoon snack when we had apples with peanut butter (GASP!) I just ate the apples!
After school I headed over to the gym and worked out:
10 minutes on treadmill (7 min walking at 4.0 and 3 min running at 7.0)
40 minutes of strength training and ab work
40 minutes on treadmill ( 18 minutes running at a 5.5 or above and 22 minutes walking at a 4.0)

I was shaky when I finished working out. It felt really good and I love the fact that I sweat more than ever before when I go to the gym. I'm so thankful for what I know this is doing to my body and I am so blessed to be able to do this.

Tomorrow is another day and I'll post in the morning what my plan for Tuesday is.
As for tonight, I think I'll take some sinus meds and relax! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

Why is it that when you are working out, your nose doesn't run and it's like you aren't even stuffy anymore? It makes me want to work out all day and not stop! (Kinda)

*sniff* *sniff*

2009-11-02T07:42:00.000-08:00
I don't feel so well today. I didn't feel well on Friday and didn't work out on Friday or Saturday! Yesterday I went to the gym with my dad and I walked/ran on the treadmill for 35 minutes. 24 minutes was walking at a 4.0 and the other 11 minutes was running at about a 6.7, which I think is pretty darn good! I've been tired and achey and it all started with a sore throat. Today I am stuffy and feeling tired. Ugh. I don't like getting sick- not one little bit!

I think I solved my peanut butter problem. I brought a 100 cal bagel (1 pt) and one tablespoon of my fave peanut butter (1.5 pts) and had that about a half hour ago when I got hungry. Whew! That calmed my craving!

So here are my points/eating for the day:

Breakfast:
1 cup Quaker corn bran cereal (1 pt)
1/2 cup skim milk (1.5 pts)
1/4 cup granola (1.5 pts)
1 protein shake (2 pts)
coffee (2 pts- creamer)

Snack:
100 cal bagel (1 pt)
1 tablespoon peanut butter (1.5 pts)

Lunch:
Pizza (Leftover homemade) 5 pts
yogurt (1 pt)
granola (1.5 pts)
100 cal strawberry cupcakes (1 pt)
apple (1 pt)

Snack:
Apple (1 pt)

Dinner:
Salmon (6 pts)
Salad (1 pt)
Baked potato (3 pts)
salsa (0 pts)

TOTAL POINTS FOR THE DAY: 30 points

Exercise today:
10 minutes on Elliptical
30 minutes Strength training
35 minutes run/walk treadmill
Total: 1 hour and 15 minutes give or take

I'm starting to get over my frustration over the numbers on the scale. When I weighed in on Saturday I weighed 205.7 lbs which is much better than on Thursday when I weighed in at Curves at 210 lbs.

I'm ready to tackle this week. I'm ready to be back on track and I'm ready to achieve my next goal- getting through this HORRIBLE plateau! I can do it, I know I can!

10/29/09

2009-10-29T05:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a crazy day! It was beautiful outside and it was so nice to bring the kids outside! We took them out for over an hour and just let them run and play. There was only one child that wanted to go inside at the end of the hour.

I was much better at school with food. I didn't eat any of the chicken fries that were served at lunch and ate a spoonful of applesauce and some green beans. A vast improvement!

I seriously had my ass kicked at the gym yesterday! I did 10 minutes on the elliptical and then spent 45 minutes on my ActiveTrax strength training workout. I used the treadmill for 35 minutes at the end of my workout and about 6 of those minutes were spent running at either a 6.0 or a 6.5! I was drenched in sweat and ready for some dinner! I ate baked mahi mahi and a baked potato with salsa with steamed vegetables for dinner. Yum! When I weighed myself this morning I was at 208.0 so I'm getting back down.

Today I have my Halloween party otherwise known as "Harvest Family Day". I made sugar free jello jigglers in the shape of pumpkins and I am dressed as Little Red Riding Hood. *See photo at top* I think these boots are going to shape my calves for sure while I wear them all day! After work I'm going to head over to the gym to walk/run on the treadmill for 35 minutes before going to power workout at Curves at 5:30pm. This is the last week of "Curves Boot Camp" and I'm supposed to weigh out Saturday morning. If I haven't maintained or lost any weight in the past month, I won't win any prizes! I'm trying not to be sad about it but I feel like a failure this month! Hopefully I can pull through!

Have a great day! Happy Harvest Day!

Here we go!

2009-10-28T07:08:00.000-07:00
Well here goes nothin! I already put up notes on Facebook on my weight loss progress, and there are notes up there from day one until now. So check me out on facebook for those back posts. I'll catch you up in this first blog and then tell you where I am now.

If you are using this blog to motivate you, it won't happen. I won't solely motivate you. No one can fully motivate you like you can motivate you. If you aren't ready for this change and if you aren't ready to be active and healthy you never will be. Ever. If you want to be healthy and you want to be active and you really are ready to make a change, you can do it!

I woke up one morning feeling huge, miserable and in pain. It was January, 2008. I decided to start my weight loss journey. Back then I decided to just cut my portions. It worked but it was slow. Two weeks later I joined Weight Watchers online. That worked like a charm! They started me out on 41 points a day! I didn't think I could eat that much but then I learned that I needed to so that I would have success. Two months or so later I started working out at home. I started workout videos like "Dance It Off" by Prevention fitness. I loved it! I also added some 2 lb and 5 lb hand weights and I'd run in place. Over that summer I worked at a summer camp and walked everywhere I could. When I returned home it was hard for me to get back to my home exercise so I joined Curves. I had a full tummy tuck and double arm lift on July 8, 2009 and since surgery I have hit the hugest plateau in the history of the world. I started to run/walk three days a week and go to Curves four days a week. That wasn't doing much but I felt my legs start to tone more and more. Last week I joined the 24 hour gym and I now go to the gym most every day and do power workouts at Curves Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. On power workout days I just go over to the gym first and do 31-35 min on the treadmill. On Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday I do the ActiveTrax workout with weights at the gym in addition to working on the treadmill or elliptical.
I keep on weighing between 204-209 and it's killing me! I want to be under 200 so bad and I've come so far! I started at 340 lbs and I'm so ready to be under 200! I drink 80 oz of water a day and I don't eat junk ever. However lately I have been craving peanut butter like crazy. On Monday I ate a GFS bagel with GFS peanut butter but I stayed away from it yesterday and so far I'm doing good today.
I teach preschool and love it! My program serves lunch and snack to my students. I have to sit at the table and eat with the kids or pretend to eat. My problem this week is I convinced myself that I could eat lunch with the kids on Monday- Chicken patty on a bun. Yesterday I convinced myself that I could eat a few chips with cheese, lettuce, meat, etc. UGH! I refuse and will not eat anything with the kids at lunch today. I can't and I won't. This is my downfall and I know it. I will not eat anything at preschool!

Can I do it? Yes I can!

Today I work until 4pm and then I will head over to the gym. 30 min on the treadmill, 45 minutes strength training with an ab workout at the end and 10 min on the elliptical. I'm ready to kick some ass today!