Working out

Hey to my 3 readers...lol Being awhile. Our family has a new gym membership. Its really awesome because I get to workout with my hubby and daughter. It fun that Kelsie is now old enough to workout with us. I really can't wait until the boys will be. Talon is already lifting weights at home... its really cute. My eating has been doing pretty good. Considering its the holiday season not doing bad. This week has been better plus I'm kicking butt at the gym. I'm down to weighing once a week. My weight is going crazy and its really is discouraging to see the scale going up when you have been working so hard. I know that it is only my body adjusting to lifting weights and in a bit i'm hoping the weight will really start to come off. I figure I need to lose another 50 pounds and I will be prefect!! It higher then most i'm sure but it will be a weight that I think I will look good at and I can maintain. I will weigh in on Friday morning. I'm hoping for a good loss but it might be the same or even a gain. I'm not going to freakout. I'm just going to keep doing what i'm doing. I feel great. I think this going to be a great month!

Nope not going to say that....

Good week this week. I lost 4.4 pounds! Still not back down to what I was in June, but I'm closing the gap. Since the end of January last year I have lost a total of 42.2 pounds. I'm pretty proud of that. Recently I read over all my post. Its really nice to be sitting here knowing that I have put in the effort and it paid off. This New Years I know I'm NOT going to be say this is the year I'm going to lose weight. I can say this is the year I will get leaner, stronger, and healthier. That is powerful!!!

I love fall, the leaves are changing color, the air is cool, and the mosquito's are DEAD! LOL Its weird I would think that fall time would be hard to lose weight with all the temptation of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. But I'm getting better at changing up recipes like meatloaf so that I can enjoy them without feeling guilty. I made a great meatloaf with half ground turkey and half hamburger. It was really good. I think the hardest part is not falling back into old routines.

I want to start the New Years under two hundred pounds. I'm 23 pounds away from that right now, so its going to be hard. I'm going to take it one day at a time. Each day putting my best foot forward. So I guess that is my new goal. 199 by Jan 1, 2011. Wow just looking at the number is a little frightening. Its been a very very very longtime since I have seen it.

OK so I need to back track a bit. There are 10 weeks left in this year. So I need to lose 2.3 pounds per week. That is what I'm going to think about this week. 2.3 pounds, 2.3 pounds, 2.3 pounds... that I CAN do.

Fall

--noun
the season of the year that comes after summer and before winter; autumn

—Verb phrases
to lag, in pace or progress:

Perfect definition to describe my time and place. This summer saw a gradual slowing of my progress. My weight bounced as I have stated in numerous blogs. What I call stupid weight. But unfortunately at some point the stupid weight became real weight that one day of eating well couldn't fix. This morning I was up 5 pounds from my low of 219.8. Which is actually 4 pound down from where I was on Sunday morning.

I'm back to tracking. Which as I see over the months is truly the only way for me to lose weight. Ever little tasty morsel needs to be examined, tested, and written down for me to lose weight. Which is just how it is.

I would really like to finish off 2010, by leaving my 200 behind me. What a accomplishment that would be. I would be very very happy, really it would be one of the best Christmas presents yet. I wonder if I should just think of it as Christmas present to me. Here Annie with love from me. Your health, and a smaller butt! Really who could top that :) How does one wrap that...muhaha! Don't ask my hubby he would say just with a big red ribbon bow....

Feeling the need to blog again. I love the fall its my favorite time of year. Also it the time of year with lots of yummy comfort foods, birthdays, anniversary, Holidays. But one day can not a fat butt make. So it will be my resolve that on all the days holidays do not fall on to eat healthy. Days that are holidays, rejoice with my family, enjoy the food, and know that life is a balance. Each day brings it own goodness that should be savoried.

Yahooooooo

So excited, just broke the 220. Granted I weigh 219.8 but i'm under 220. Can't even remember when I have weighed under 220. Must have been in college. I think I might try my dresses on from Old navy. Haven't tried them on for a while...... giddy with excitment!

back in the saddle....again, again and yet again

Wow I thought it was easy to lose weight in the summertime. All those fresh fruits and veggies. Well apparently that doesn't apply to me:) The last two month my weight has been bouncing. I keep thinking I have it under control, then another holiday, birthday, baby shower, or nothing comes up and there I go. I must say I have stayed within 10 pounds or so. Right now I'm back down, but I still think I'm up a pound since my lowest weight.

I have been jogging. This has changed my body but not really my weight. It has also made me hungrier, so I have been dealing with that. I have really enjoyed running again (well other then my hips killing me) What can I say, I really like to sweat and the runners high isn't bad either. It been really awesome going running with the family. The boys both have bikes now, so they ride. Garry, Kelsie and I run. Its a family thing... I love that.

Ok gulp...Last week I was up to 227.8, now I'm back down to 222.2. So I lost 5 pounds this week sort of. Basically I lost the 5 pounds I gain so that really doesn't count. My lowest was 221.8 in the middle of June. Ok now I'm mad. I have gained .4 in the last month....ugh!!!!!

Well even with that being said I have lost 35.8 pounds and 5 inches off my waist. My legs and tushy have also slimmed down. Pants are fitting much better. That does make me feel better.

I'm thinking I need to go back to one day at a time. I'm not going to look ahead of what I might loss this week,month or year. I'm going to concentrate on eating well today, moving my body, and enjoying life. Tomorrow will be here soon enough.

Ah Ha Moment: Excercise

noun
1. bodily or mental exertion
2. a putting into action, use, operation, or effect


I finally feel like I need to put exercises in its proper place. Now I'm just taking about myself, I can't compare, note, or otherwise determine how exercise effects other. I have always thought of exercise as a means to control my weight. You might ask "how is that working for ya" This is the thinking... ok so I have a huge brownie with ice cream and whip cream on top. I deserve it, I worked out today. What does that even mean!!!!!! I deserve it!! I deserve to fill my body with CRAP! I work hard at the gym so that my body can starve itself on high calorie, high fat, nutritionally void food. Exercise is not the key, its more like the lock. With out eating right (the key) its useless in helping me lose weight.

Now before anyone think no I've lost all this weight walking, jog, weight lifting... whatever. I'm just talking about my little bubble. I was looking over the last couple of month. I have been losing weight for 4 1/2 month. Or really I should say I lost weight for the first 3 month and have been losing and gaining the same 5 pounds for the last month and a half. Sparkspeople is awesome. They have a calendar summary it show your calories, if you met all nutritional needs that day, did you exercise, and weight. So I was looking over the summary. The first 3 month I only missed one or two days of tracking my food. I didn't exercise at all and this is when I lost the most weight.

I notice that when I started working out again, my hunger level went way up and I stopped tracking my food because.....yup you guess it I was over eating. Now I do have some strategy that work to curb the hunger, but what about the mental part. I was still in that frame of mind of I deserve this brownie, cheeseburger, fried....you fill in the blank. What I really deserve is great tasting food, that is great for me! Why is it that I keep thinking that the food I have been eating veggies, fruit, lean meat, isn't normal and that greasy, nastiness is regular food. What kind of crazy twisted logic is that.

So does exercise have a place in my bubble. OH YEAH! I love to jog, not really in the moment...well sometimes. But I like how it makes me feel. I like looking at my thighs and having some muscle tone. I like being able to get off the floor with a spring, not having to have two people heft me up. I actually like to sweat and that feeling of accomplishment after I'm done.

So here is the point. I'm rethinking how I think of exercise. No longer is it my excuse to overeat, or indulge because I worked out. Exercise if soley to make my body feel better. So I vote for definition 2: a putting into action, use, operation, or effect.

Back in the Saddle again

Well I'm back in the groove again. I had a couple of high stress weeks, and gain a couple of pounds. Stress is my enemy right behind sugar..lol But I'm down again. Last week I lost 3.8 pounds and this week I lost 3.5 pounds....YEAH For a total of 35.8 pounds since the end of January. So excited. I'm two pounds away from being in my teens. As in 219. I haven't been in my teens since college 11 years ago. Very exciting. I'm hoping to reach my goal of breaking 200 by the end of summer. I've been setting 10 pounds goals, but this is one of the biggies. I think I'm need a tattoo or nose piercing to celebrate it...hmmmm.

I have also decided to run a 5K. Run being an optional word..lol. I have started to train for it. This give me more motivation to workout. So far so good. I'm not killing myself which I like and it doesn't seem to be affecting my hunger level yet. Which is what I was really worried about to begin with. That was my downfall last time I think. I was working out so hard that I was starving all the time. So my eating sucked, I was eating the wrong food and way to much of it. This time I got my diet under control first. Portion size and what I was eating were huge things for me. I use to think ok I can eat this brownie as long as I stay in my calorie zone. Which on paper looks fine and if I was able to do it that would be fine. I have found out that eating sugar is just a no no for me. The first serving isn't the problem. I can eat a small brownie, but then an hour later i'm starving and what do I want... MORE sugar. Its a endless cycle, I eat sugar then I want more sugar, the only way not to get caught in it, is not to start at all. Now I do have plenty of things with Splenda. It doesn't effect me the same way. I can have splenda in my coffee or yogurt/ice cream with splenda and be fine. So its nice to know there are alternative out there. Also I have noticed my taste buds have been changing. Things that are naturally sweet taste more sweet to me now. Like tomato's. I never would call them sweet before but now I can taste the sweetness of them.


I have found a new protein water mix that I love. Its Special K2O protein water mix by Kelloggs. I have tired the strawberry kiwi and iced tea. Its yummy. Only 30 calories, no fat and it has 5 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein. Its freaking awesome. Ups my fiber and protein and it fills me up. I have it in the afternoon to get me going. So much better then coffee.

This week stats: Lost 3.5 pounds for a total of 35.8 pounds and 5 inches of my waist. My waist is still not moving much but I can tell I'm losing it of my backside and legs. I'm also starting to work my arms daily. Want to get rid of the extra wave under my arm :)

Spring

–verb (used without object)

1.to be released from a constrained position, as by resilient or elastic force or from the action of a spring:

2.to come into being, rise, or arise within a short time


To be released from a constrained position. Wow! That explains it perfectly. Even though I'm not quite a third of the way to my final goal. I feel freer, lighter, a spring in my step. My progress has been pretty consistent and I'm very proud of what I have accomplished so far.

This week was a more relaxed week, I didn't count calories for the majority of the week. I wanted to see what would happen if I just used what I have learned so far and watch what I was eating. So I did this until Friday and I'm happy to say that I didn't gain weight but I didn't lose weight either. So on Friday I started back with counting. Right now I'm eating between 1200 and 1500 calories, I try to vary it daily. I'm still sticking with eating the same thing for breakfast, and for lunch I normally choose between a couple of choices. Dinner is different everyday. This has really help me track my calories and also I just don't really think about those meals. I know if I'm hungry I can choose between a couple of snacks that I already know the calories count. Its makes it so much simpler. I'm hoping that when I reach my goal I can eat a little more and still maintain my weight loss. I guess that remains to be seen :0

So this week I have lost a little over a pound. So I have lost a total of 30.4 pounds since the end of January! I have reached my 3rd goal. I have been setting 10 pound goals for myself. My next goal is 217. I'm very excited about reaching this one. I haven't weighed that since college, 10 years ago. It seems that I have been losing about 10 pounds a month, which I guess is a good amount. Its very tempting to try to figure out when I will be at my final goal but I'm resisting. I don't want to set myself up for failure. 10 pounds at a time is working really well for me right now.

Exercising: What can I say, this time I'm not really thinking about it. I would like to start walking everyday not so much to lose weight but that its a really healthy thing to do. I was laughing and asking my hubby if I can call, my Sunday workout, my last chance workout if its the only workout of the week? hehe.
We have a new park, Garry Prickle. It has a nice 1/2 mile loop. Yesterday I walked 3 miles and ran for about 3/4 of a mile. My legs are hating me today. I've might have over done it, but it felt really good at the time. I say I would like to walk everyday but I think that's not very realistic. I think I'm going to shot for at least twice. I know that sounds lame, but since I'm only working out on Sunday it is a step in the right direction.

prep·a·ra·tion

noun
1.a proceeding, measure, or provision by which one prepares for something: preparations for a journey.
2.any proceeding, experience, or the like considered as a mode of preparing for the future.
3.an act of preparing.
4.the state of being prepared



Well it Sunday night and tomorrow is Monday morning reality check. I need it this week. I have done really good all week. On Friday I was down four pounds...but this is the reality, if I don't watch, track, plan, my eating then I'm not going to have the results I want. I did plan the Easter meal, which was great. We had the dinner on Saturday and I planned it all out. It was healthy low-fat and delicious, but the problem was that it was only that one meal. Did I plan breakfast no, dinner no, what I was going to eat on Sunday (We did Easter dinner on Saturday) no!!! I also haven't gone shopping at all for this coming week.

There is no such thing as willpower only preparation will keep you on track. I know this. I can see over time that the weeks when I take the time on Friday to plan the following week, shop for the food, then prepare ahead of time snacks and lunches my weight loss is much better. I feel better, I'm not hungry and I don't think about what I'm going to eat, because it is already planned. Well, there you go.

OK, so I guess I need to get the tushie moving and plan what I'm eating next week. Will update tomorrow and let you all know where I'm at. Until then....

This week stats: Lost 2 pounds for a total of 25 pounds. My waist still isn't moving.

I guess I should be happy with a 2 pound loss but I know where I was on Friday. So really I had a 4 pound loss and gained back 2 of it over the weekend. Which makes me MAD!!!! These weekends are killing me. I need to plan the weekend better. I planned out next week but stopped on Friday. The weekends are where I really need it. The problem with the weekends is they get busy and I can't eat every couple of hours. So I then I'm starving and I don't care what it is, I just want food. I might need to start carrying a little lunch bag in my purse filled with healthy snacks. I try to grab my almonds and raisins but sometimes I forget. Need to get better at this.

First big milestone!

I have been setting small goals for myself but I finally have reached one of the big milestones. 20 POUNDS!!! I'm one fifth of the way there. I'm so excited. This week was very challenging. Holidays, dates, movies,parties, pizza tours, I tried but wasn't sure if I was going to lose anything. I did make better choice this week. I planned out the holiday dinner, didn't have any pizza at the pizza tour. Tried to find at least a semi healthy dinner at MOG for movie night. Date night what can I say ;) I had chicken, but also rolls and creme brulee for dessert. I mean really ya gotta live sometimes :)

I know that I said I was going to get back on the workout track. I worked out Monday and Tuesday but stopped because I was so hunger. I'm currently trying to find something that will help curb the hunger when I workout. I'm just starving. I think that I will try the biggest loser protein drink. You mix it up with your water, its only 40 calories and has something like 7 grams of fiber and protein. So I'll give it a shot. I'll let you know what I think.

This week looks better easy. Nothing big going on to worry about. I've been reading Jillian's and Bob's books, getting some good tips. I already have read them before, just reviewing the information. Did my numbers, want a two pounds lost again this week. It funny but when you say two pounds it doesn't seem like a lot to me, but it is 7000 calories less then your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) That's a lot. Basically without working out its not going to be happening. This is the formula for anyone that wants to figure theirs out. 655+ (4.3 x weight in lbs) + (4.7 x heights in inches) - (4.7 X age in years) After you have that number you multiply it by your daily activity level. Mine is light physical activity, normal for a stay at home mom, that number is 1.2

This is how my numbers worked out 655+1023.4+314.9-192.7 = 1800 x 1.2 = 2160 So that is my daily calories I need to stay at my current weight. Now if I want to lose two pounds a week I need to have 1000 calories less a day. So that would be 1160 daily, don't know about you but that is crazy low for me. And you shouldn't go under 1200 anyway. So this is where exercise come in. Whatever you burn during you workout you can add those calories in to up your daily calorie count. Roughly on cardio days my calories are 1490 and on cardio weight day my calories are 1590. But here is another trick. To help with plateau you should vary your caloric intake daily. Just make sure that at the end of 7 days you have a deficit of 7000 calories. So now that I have confused you totally let me show you what my daily intake is.
Monday - 1500
Tuesday - 1435
Wednesday - 1227
Thursday - 1583
Friday - 1474
Saturday - 1400
Sunday - 1400

For a total of 10033 calories for the week. My BMR is 16658 for a deficit of 6625. So if I want to lose a total of two pounds I need to either workout more or eat less. I'll have to go back and play with my numbers a bit more to get that magic -7000 calories. I might need to workout 7 days a week instead of taking Sundays off. We will see how the hunger goes. Anyway that is this week.

Stats for this week. Lost 2.2 pounds for a total of 20.2 pounds. I have lost a total of 4 inches around my waist.

This week stats

Lost a little over a pound and 1/2 inch around the waist. So that is a total of 18.5 pounds and 2.5 inches around the waist. Going good. I was worried about this week, and I learned a new truth. The two days of REALLY bad eating can overshadow 5 days of good eating. Which I find to be totally unfair! But it made me think this week. Are excessive cheat days worth it. I don't mean the occasional piece of cake or chips and dip. I'm talking about the full on Monty. Let me explain what happen.

It started on Monday night. We decided to get pizza. Instead of thinking ahead and eating one slice then having something reasonable. I have three slices of pizza which ended up being about 1500 calories. On top of the that I had some GS Thin mints and pringles. OK so what was I thinking. If I had just one slice of pizza and then a large salad. I would been great. But instead I ended up eating 2900 calories....WOW. That is almost two full days of food. So instead of losing weight all week I was fighting just to get back were I started on Monday morning.

So finally by Thursday I made it back down a pound so what do I do Thursday night. Have fajitas and chip and dip from On The border. This is just crazy so now the weekend is full of working out hard core and low calories days.

Now here is the truth. I can eat those things I love but in moderation. If I would have had one slice of pizza and salad. If I would have had chicken fajitas and skipped the chips and dip. I would have had a much bigger lost this week. Moderation, moderation, moderation. The only problem is I don't know if I can do moderation. I mean really if I was good at it I wouldn't weigh what I do. It so hard. I'm struggling with should I give up these food until I'm where I need to be? Ok, fellow dieters what have you found to help you? Please leave a comment on what has worked for you. I would love to get any input I can.

Some very positive things have happened this week. I went shopping with my lovely daughter this weekend. She wanted to go to Old Navy. They had the cutest summer dress. So I grabbed my normal size and a size smaller just in case. My normal size was huge!!! Not just big, they swam on me. Then the size smaller fit just right. It was awesome. So then I decided since its going to be a month or two before its nice enough to wear them I decided to buy a size smaller. That put me in a LARGE!!! OMGoodness!!! I haven't worn a large in I can't tell you how long. Now I'm not saying they fit yet. But I can get into them and they are snug, but I'm thinking about 15 pounds and they are going to look FABULOUS!!!!!

I have also started working out again. I don't know if I mentioned it, but I'm scared to death. I like working out, but it puts my hunger level through the roof. I'm hoping that since I have a semi grasp of my eating (other then the cheat days :) I will be OK. So Saturday I did 2 miles with Leslie Simon then I did the weight lifting portion of biggest loser. Sunday I did 3 miles with Leslie. That is mainly why I had a lost at all this week. I'm going to keep up the workout this week and see how it goes. I think I'm also going to chart my hunger. Just track it and be very mindful of what my body is feeling.

So this week is starting. Its all about the planning. I do best on weeks that the I have planned the weeks menu ahead of time. So today I'm going to sit down and plan this weeks food. Its actually getting easier. I pretty much eat the same thing everyday except for dinner. I thought I would get bored with it. But it just makes it some much easier. I don't really have to think about what i'm eating. I know that when I get hungry to grab either edamame, an apple, or raisin and almonds. I'm still eating about every three hours and that seems to working best for right now. Alrighty, been very long winded this week. So off I go.

Hope everyone has a very wonderful week!

"Happy Birthday" quote by Frosty

Good morning America how are ya? It was a good week. I hate to say I'm getting the hang of this because normally that would derail my efforts. But I'm getting the hang of this! So now I have lost a total of 17.5 pounds since the end of January. Not bad, not bad at all. Brownies and cinnamon rolls are normally my hearts desire, but yesterday I made cinnamon rolls for the family (mostly because they were about to go bad in the fridge) and I really wasn't even tempted to eat them. Not that I have this super willpower. I think I have reach the place that I really want to lost this weight. I have seen the pot of gold and the end of the rainbow.

I don't know if I shared this fact. I haven't told my parents that I'm on a diet. Long story but I want to surprise them when they come up in May. Hopefully they will see a difference :) But I need to prepare myself if they don't notice. Which I guess would be a good test. Since I'm losing weight for myself and my health not anyone else. OK, that not entirely true. I'm losing for my family too, so I'm around for awhile. Gotta help with those grand kids.

My waist is slowly shrinking. I think I have seen the most changes in belly. You know that jiggly wiggly place under the belly button. One word pregnancy, do I need to say anything else?? My clothes are fitting better. I didn't really think I would change size yet, since I pretty much had to squeeze into my clothes. Now they fit with some extra wiggle room. As most women I have clothes in about 4-5 different sizes...lol I'm looking forward to fitting into the pants that I bought a size to small because they were on sale. What kind of thinking is that??? It wouldn't be to bad but I have had them for 2 years.... I think they are still in style...hehe.

Off to a mcdonalds playdate... No worries not eating there :) Have a great week and I'll be seeing less of you next week. So cheesy, but that is me!

Its been awhile

I haven't blog for awhile, sorry about that. I just wasn't feeling it. This week was really good. I can't believe I lost 5 pounds! So happy, doing happy dance. I can actually see myself eating this way for the rest of my life. I'm sure I'll start to add in some sweet, but really I'm not missing them that much. I think the key for me is eating every couple of hours. Here is a breakdown of my day

8am Coffee, yogurt (either Fiber one yogurt 50c or Yoplus)
10:30 Egg sandwich - one egg, two egg whites, slice of 2% cheddar cheese on a bagel thin.
1:30 Lunch - either soup/salad or veggie burger or chicken roll up
3:30 Raisins and walnuts or almonds
6/6:30 Dinner - Chicken/pork, veggie of some sort and brown rice
9:00 Fruit or if I have enough calories I have kashi with blueberries and milk

So this is basically what I follow and it seems to be working for me. I track everything on my spark pages. My calories are normally from 1400 up to 1600. I do have one cheat night a week. This week it was on Thursday. I made fillet Mignon, corn on the cob and baked potato... it was awesome. But actually it really wasn't a cheat day since I saved calories all day so I could eat it. :)

So we are going into the 5th week. I have never stayed on a diet this long. I guess all the previous times where dress reherals and now its opening night. Its a good thing to, I'm ready to shine!

So far:
This week lost -5 for a total of 16 pounds!
Waist -1 inch for a total of 2 inches around my waist. Pants are fitting a little loser now.

Monday Feb 8, 2010

Well it was a tough week. I wasn't feeling well at the beginning of the week so I didn't get any exercise last week. The first couple of days I ate really well. Wed, Thur and Friday are another matter. I think Wed was the worst then slowly I came back. I rocked on Sat and Sunday to a 3 pound lost this week. Yeah.

I need to go back and see what my waistloss is. I think its an inch but not sure. This week has started out good. I got up and already did my Walk your belly thin, now I'm enjoying a nice cup of coffee.

The fridge is stock with fibery goodness so eating shouldn't be an issue...lol. I still have a lot of soup leftover. I froze about 10 contains, two different soups, in their serving size so I can just grab and reheat. Makes my life much easier. I'm going to try the Japanese Ginger Salad this week. My friend said that it was really tasty.

Off to eat breakfast.

an⋅tic⋅i⋅pa⋅tion

–noun
1. the act of anticipating or the state of being anticipated.
2. realization in advance; foretaste.
3. expectation or hope.

This week has gone by so fast, zip, zap, zoom its Sunday night. So, I know that I said I was only going to weigh in once a week. I should rephrase that to, I'm only going to record my weight once a week...hehe. I couldn't stand it, I had to see if it was working.

I felt like I was eating a lot, but way differently then I normally would. I tried out different recipes that I would never have tried before. I had some things I really like and other that nourished my body but not the taste buds. I'm hoping as this goes on my craving for creaming, sugary goodness will fade. I guess I need to change my thinking to; Fruity, fibery, goodness... hmm it does have a nice ring to it.

I was hoping to work out 6 days this week, but I only did 4. On a couple of those days I actually did two workouts so I guess that almost counts at 6. I'm the queen of justifying. So Monday I'm back to my goal of 6 days a week and I'll take it one day at a time.

Tomorrow morning is the first weigh in. I think I did well. I'm also going to be tracking my waistloss, since according to Dr Oz that is the most important thing.

Until tomorrow!!! Is the anticipation killing ya!!! It is me!!!

This week so far....

The weeks go by fast. Can't believe that it is already Thursday and I have been at this for 4 days...OK 3 days and a morning. So I weighed in this morning and I have lost 5 pounds so far.... yippee!!! The best part is that it hasn't been all that hard. I'm following the real age diet and basically I'm eating all day...lol. I have a pretty big breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, dessert, snack. That's a lot of eating. You can check the diet out at www.realage.com. I have tried lots of different eating plans and this by far is the easiest to stick to for me. I must say for me cause it really isn't a one size fits all thing.

I have also been doing the biggest loser 6 week workout plan. The first 3 weeks you alternate between low-intensity cardio with weight training. The last 3 weeks is high-intensity cardio and more weight training. I'm in my fourth day. So for four days I have gotten straight out of bed and workout. VERY proud of myself. I started out with just my stomach measurement and I will do that one each week. I could measure my whole body but its really my stomach that bothers me the most. Funny isn't it that my big ol' butt doesn't... Anyway I will also post that on Monday mornings.

It hasn't been all fun and games though. Last night I was struggling. I wasn't really hungry but I want something satisfing i.e. sweet, creamy goodness. I tried an apple, that so wasn't cutting it. I grab a handful of walnuts, that helped a little. Dinner was to be a turkey roll and baked potato. So I decide to have the baked potato with butter on it and skip the turkey roll up. This is exactly what I needed. Was it the right way.. Maybe not but it did keep me from going and having a brownie sundae at DQ. So I figure that made it right for me at 7:30pm on Thursday Jan 28th. Best of all I'm totally fine with my decision. I don't feel guilt or like I blew my diet. This might not sound like a big thing. But its huge. Things like that can totally throw my diet off. It starts with well I had some butter and blew it, might as well go full out. Some chips maybe a brownie or two, three, four. You get the idea. And even better yet. After that I sat in my bedroom with Garry and went over some health choices that would satisfy me in those situations.

I always look forward to my cup of coffee in the morning. I was trying to think of a healthy snack that I love. Hard to do :) Anyway a couple of years ago a very dear friend of mine showed me Kashi cereal. I love it! Eureka, Kashi! Its awesome with a bit of yogurt and blueberries. Yummy one of my favorite healthy desserts. So off to the store to find me some Kashi.

happy days

Ven-ture & En-dea-vor

Ven-ture
-noun
1. an undertaking involving uncertainty as to the outcome

–verb (used without object)
9. to make or embark upon a venture; dare to go:

En-deav-or
–verb (used without object)
1. to exert oneself to do or effect something; make an effort; strive:

I really couldn't decide on which word to go with so we get both. Such strong words. Daring to go or to effect something, make an effort, striving. I wanted to describe how these words make we feel, the the word feel seems to fall short. I think a better word would be conviction. I'm motivated and convicted that this venture, journey, endeavor, is one that I'm ready and able to embark on.

At first when I started this blog I was thinking I would blog only Sunday night or Monday morning to go along with my Monday morning reality check. But I must say I have felt very inspired to write more. To share words that are floating around in my head. So bare with me if I ramble on about unrelated things. Does all this apply to weight loss, no, but I think it all applies to what we go through when we make major life changes.

I'm assuming that this is the first entry that most (if anyone) reads on Monday. This is my Monday morning reality check. Its a way for me to have accountability as I change my eating and workout habits. Its about having a healthier life style, one that will enhance my life. Am I'm hoping it will have weight loss as an added bonus. You betcha!!! Is it what I'm going to be focusing on. No way!

So here it is day 12 (read decision) and I'm ready for an adventure of a life time. I dare you to join me!

Changes

–verb (used with object)
1. to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone

2. to transform or convert.

This really sums up 2009. Changes. For those that don't know me I started to go to church Christmas of 2008. Which if you do know me its almost laughable. A friend invited my family to a kids program they were having. I was VERY leery of going since I really had nothing to do the church. I would have described my views as agnostic at best and very close to an atheist. I have always believed there is more out there and the whole first spark of life through me for a loop, but I wasn't sure where I stood on the whole "God" issue. Anyway one thing lead to another and I fell in love with my church. I have never experience the love and friendship that I found there. Not only from our awesome pastor and the people but from my very personal relationship with God. I could feel it my heart and the first couple weeks I don't think there was a service that I didn't cry in.

I decided to join a growth group and the real understanding started to begin. I still have a long way to go, there are still many questions and ideas that I wrestle with. I believe I'm like an infant,(anything in the first stage of existence or progress) and as an infant, I can't run until I crawl. I believe that as my understanding grows and my mind opens, the questions and doubts will be washed away. Its been such a joy this year sharing with people and just growing in my love of Christ.

OK so your wondering what does this have to do with weight loss. This last year gives me hope that I'm able to change. That things that I thought just a year ago where foolish and impossible are suddenly possible. That people can change their ideas and what they thought, at the time, where core belief about themselves and the world around them. That this year of embracing a new way of being has shown me a glimpse of what is possible. It's a brand new day. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

fail-ure

–noun

1. an act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful; lack of success:

I have been thinking a lot about what failure is, an how I have failed on my MANY attempts to loss weight. Normally, I get all excited do all this planning. I'm going to loss this much weight each week. Calculate if I loss x pounds a week i'll be at goal by summer/birthday/christmas/New Year. So its all about the planning and not so much about the doing. So this time I'm going about it the just the opposite.

Normally I try to eat a wide variety of food, thinking this will help me not get bored: This time I'm limiting what I'm eating so it becomes a non-issue.

Normally I weight every day: I'm going to limit weighting myself to twice a week.

Normally I have weigh in day on Fridays so I can pig out over the weekend: No more, that is why I created Monday morning reality check.

Normally I will go through the calendar and calculate what my weight should be each week, so that when I don't meet that goal it just goes down hill from there: This time I'm not going to set weightloss goals. I'm going to set healthy eating goals and workout goals and I believe if I follow those the weight will follow.

Normally I would say that Monday is the first day of my diet. Its discourage to think this is the first day with many many many many days to follow: I think I'm going to fast forward and this is day 12 with only 12 more days to go. I know this might sound silly for a lot of you, but since the other doesn't work for me, I'm trying something new.

So happy eating,
Annie

de⋅ci⋅sion

- Noun

2. The act of or need of making up ones mind.
3. Something that is decided, resolution.

I think these two definition fit my situation. I need to make up my mind and make a resolution. So this is what I propose. Started on Jan 25th (because I hate new year resolutions) I will be starting a plan which will include healthier eating and working out. Also this plan includes accountability. Which is going to be in the form of Facebooks and this blog.

Every Monday morning I will have a reality check of the past week, good or bad. I will announce on FB if I have gained or loss and my total (hopefully) weight loss. I'm not going to state my starting weight because that is just a bit to much reality for me. I'm hoping by doing this and knowing that Monday morning is reality check in time, it will give me the motivation to follow through.

Since I have many friends that eat so healthy and exercise regular I'm hoping that they will support and encourage me on this long journey. I will post my goals on my blog and maybe what I have been eating, exercising, feelings and such. I expect no one to follow it, but hopefully just typing out what I have done will keep me going for the next week.

If anyone wants to join me on this journey, that would be awesome.! Feel free to post your +/- on Monday so we can cheer you on or give you support you need to get back on track. If you want to start your own blog I think we can link them (I'm new to blogging but it sounds good)

Anyway that's my decision and I'm sticking to it.

Until Monday, happy eating, sweating, and all else that comes your way.