WeEk 2: Figuring it out

Today I have had my second weigh in and I have learned a lot.  I am down another 1.4 lbs... yay! (I was just happy to see a lower number this morning)  I have told myself that it doesn't matter if I am not successful one week because the next week I will just have to try that much harder to keep it off and even make the number go down a little.  I knew this week was not going to be as great as the week before but you all knew that was coming based on my last post :) 

My biggest weakness comes on the weekends, I seem to think that I need to go out to eat more and we always have plans to meet up with friends on the weekends so I just tend to be a little more forgiving toward myself.  Not gonna lie this weekend is not looking promising for me... 3 day weekend, First IOWA STATE home game... GO CYCLONES...  and we are going bicycling with a huge group and also we are planning on going to the Dayton Rodeo Monday, so I am just gonna hope for the best as far as eating and drinking go!  I'm learning my willpower folks! ;)

As for my next weeks goals, I am just gonna focus on staying within my points (no using weekend points--if possible) and continue walking often. 

BTW did I mention to you all that,

I am doing the Color Run on Oct. 6, YIKES.

I'm super excited for it because I think it will be a blast, the BF

and I are doing it together,

but the only problem is we haven't been running like at ALL.

Complete focus on getting my weight down this week and my walking pants on, so that I can begin to jog at least, I'm not planning on running the whole thing but I would like to for most of it if I can get my happy a$$ in shape before then.  I CAN DO IT! So here's where you insert the encouragement. ;)

Here's to another week!! :P

Guess which lane I will be in! Yep you guessed it! ;) I'm seriously
pumped for this run.

Oh the Struggles

We all know that I'm not perfect by any means and I don't intend to ever be, but this last weekend I felt like a total failure.... Not only did I have pizza 3 TIMES... yes 3, I also had a lot of other junk and a few drinks here and there....

Let's just say that I used all of my extra weekly points in like 2 days... :/ not good considering I didn't use any of my activity points or my extra weekly points the week before... so in turn I decided I would step up and make the situation better by either not eating all my points each day or I would workout so I can make some up with activity points, well I've failed at both, I did eat way less then my points yesterday but the other days not so much.  (I'm trying not to deprive myself too much so I don't give up)

I recently read on another blog that I read that it works better for this particular person to focus on one part of weight loss at a time in order to completely master their progress.  So what that means is first, they decided to solely focus on their eating habits, then once that was mastered, the second was to add fitness to it until that is mastered, then you can have all of it.  The reason I have really took this aspect into consideration is that I don't wanna get burned out, if I am trying to focus on both at the same time and repeatedly fail, I am setting myself up to be disappointed if not to completely quit all together.  So this is my stand point at this time, I am focusing on my eating mainly but I have been walking a few nights a week, but mainly for fun not for the hard workout!

Another thing that I guess I question or maybe I am just going to share my opinion and how I see it.  So we all know that I enjoy drinking... (maybe a lot) and this has been a struggle for me because I don't like to use my extra weekly points(I think cause I feel I won't lose if I do use them) but if I want to drink then I have to save some extra points throughout the day in order to be able to have a few drinks if I want when I get home.  That part doesn't really bother me because I haven't been using up all my points each day anyway but what I really don't understand about it is that, I looked up the nutrition facts for my drink of choice which is UV blue vodka, and it only has calories in it, nothing else, so in turn that would mean that it would be 0 points and also the diet soda I mix with it is also 0 points.... So in my logic I can drink if I want to because it doesn't count towards my daily point value. haha... I'm such a sneak at beating the system... Just so we are clear this doesn't mean I will be drinking EVERYDAY, just maybe more on the weekends... :)

I apologize for my long rant, ha, something that has really been working for me is to write on the packages of items in the house or things I eat often how many points it is.  That way when I go to pick something up to eat I know exactly what it will cost me.. hehe cost me... I've been learning a lot though regardless and it amazes me what I used to be able to eat.. Yikes.





You can't see much comparison here but the picture on the left
is the beginning of my journey and the right is today.

TGIF- Week One

Alright so I told you I would check in after week one....

Well, I'm over the moon because I lost 5 lbs.. wahoo!!! I was so nervous to step on the scale I almost didn't cause I didn't want to be disappointed if the numbers I wanted to see didn't come up but I was very surprise with what I saw, so that was way awesome and gave me that much more motivation to keep going! :)

I did tell you I wanted to get more active also so last week the bf held me too it we walked almost every night last week together, it was wonderful! Not only was I getting a good workout I also got to have my 'gossip' time too! As my bf says now you won't have to talk my head off for 3 hours while I'm trying to sleep... ha. (we have 'pillow talk' a lot, and it's mostly me talking.) Regardless, we both really enjoy the time we get to spend together, especially since I haven't seen him much the last couple weeks because he has been working his a$$ off!

In other news, :) this week was the start of the fall semester of college.... mixed emotions! I am SOOO ready to be done with school but at the same time I enjoy that I get to learn about stuff that doesn't come up in everyday life!  So I'm taking two online course this semester and it will be my first time with the online stuff so wish me luck! ha.  U.S. History and Intro to Business, I'm ready to kick some crazy white girl butt!

I just want to tell everyone that might be struggling with weight lose or even things in their personal life, I have definately been through my fair share of heart ache and disapointments but one thing I have found is to NEVER GIVE UP ON YOURSELF!!! No matter how hard something is or how much you are struggling things will always get better as long as your positive and keep your head up! Okay, that's enough advice from me for one day! lol. :)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!

Finding Joy Along the Way

This journey that I've started on is so inspiring.  I am learning a new way of life and eating and finding the joy in small things.  Yay, I get to come back to ya'll and tell you that I am succeeding even if it's not a major progress yet, I feel my mind and body changing and it feels amazing.  My boyfriend and I have been walking almost every night now.  I feel so good just the fact that I have gotten myself up off the couch, that little step has made me feel fantastic.  I'm pushing through the pain of my knees hurting in hopes that as I start to lose more weight the pain will decrease and I will feel immaculate.  :)  I can't tell you enough about how supportive my boyfriend is, I think he wants this for me more then I do some days! He always encourages me and asks me how I did and what he can do to help! Love you!

So far on weight watchers.... The best part about it for me is that I get to see what I'm eating and I actually have to think about what I put into my mouth and if it's worth the points or not.  Being conscious of my food intake has really opened my eyes to how much crap I used to eat, just because.  I could seriously eat 2 whoppers from Burger King for one meal, mainly for lunch I would eat something then I would stop at the gas station by my work and grab a bag of chips or munchies to snack on in the afternoon! ( SO MANY CALORIES.. WOW)  Another thing I enjoy is that you get activity points, which add to your weekly allowance, so if you go over a night or if you have a party or something you can use your activity points that you have EARNED that week to make up for the nights that you may not have done as well at or that you have something unexpected come up.  I can't tell you how successful it is yet because I haven't even completed my first week, but I'm greatly enjoying this new journey, and I feel a lot better because I'm not stuffing my body with food that is weighing me down.(those things are WAY too many points to sacrifice)  So veggies are my new favorite thing to eat, Most of them are points free, and also if I feel like snacking I can have sugar free jello which is 0 points also! I'm finding all the things that are few or little points so that way when I wanna snack I don't over do it, I can just have something small that is just one or two points.

I'm still learning a lot its only been a few days since I started, some other things that are nice is I can enter in all the recipes that I already make during the week and I can figure out the portions that I'm allowed to eat or at least how many points each portion is so that way I know exactly how much.  Keep in mind that I have done weight watchers online in the past and the other times I tried it, I always seemed to cheat myself by only putting down that I had a small portion of something so that way my points wouldn't add up so fast, but in all honestly I was only hurting myself in the process, so this time I'm completely committed to being successful! Thumbs up for me on taking my first step in this new life journey! :)  Hope you will all come along for the ride and maybe I can encourage others on the way but mainly this blog is for me to keep track of where I am on my journey and how far I've come!

So can't wait for my first weigh in Friday!!!! Even if the number doesn't move I'm gonna stay positive in the fact that I already feel better without knowing if the number is changing or not! (Although, I do hope it does, don't get me wrong!)

This is me at size 20, just staring out folks be prepared to see
that number fall soon! :)

I'm just SO happy! ;)

Fun Filled Weekend!

Here is what we did all weekend! (in case anyone was wondering)

Friday we went out to camp for Brenlie's 7th birthday, one of my aunt's 4 girls, here is a picture of her little sister enjoying a delicious looking cupcake.. (no I didn't eat one, I was good and passed.)

Saturday we decided to check out the fair, well we checked out most of the beer gardens at the fair.... not to much of the things to see, we did get to try a few delicious goodies ( I was good and still stayed within my points allowed.. wahoo)



And you see why I started WW. :) But that
bacon wrapped corn dog was pretty good!



 



 

After an exciting weekend we decided to stay home and relax on Sunday after we went to see Scott's godson Colin get baptized.

Then we went and bought Scott's new pride in joy(besides me of coarse), and the first delicious healthy meal being cooked on it!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot the most exciting part of my weekend!!!! :)

I bought my first pair of boots at the state fair! Aren't they sexy. ;)?



There you have it! The excitement of my weekend, stay tuned for updates on my weight lose, and how weight watchers is going.  (So far, I feel great and am loving the program, definately learning a lot!)

Sick of IT!

I'm so sick of it, talking about losing weight and week after week I come back to my blog and have to write to everyone that yet another week of no weight lose and less self confidence for this girl.

Well, things are about to get exciting because I've finally put my food down on this journey that hasn't taken me anywhere but crazy!  I can't seem to get my food balance and exercise down on my own so I have looked to somewhere that can help, WEIGHT WATCHERS, yep I said it, I made the plunge to finally get a plan for getting my life back instead of being disappointed week after week. 

Today is my first day of keeping track of everything, mind you I was keeping track of everything I ate throughout the day before, but it didn't stop me from eating way more then what I was supposed to so this way I have a more mindful way to keep track and know what to eat and how much I can eat.  It's not a free for all anymore, this portion thing is gonna be my new focus (as in a previous post, isn't easy for me). 

Yes, I have tried weight watchers in the past a few times and those times I wasn't completely committed so I didn't stick with it, I have a lot of support from friends and family to get healthy and get my life back so I'm taking this serious this time! I will keep you updated on the weight lose and what I like and don't like about the Weight Watchers program!

Here are a couple of pictures of me, this is the beginning of my journey! 

The hardest part of this journey is going to be my drinking habits! :/  Yes, I love to drink, and yes they have points too! (it's a good time they give you weekly extra points-- mine will most likely be used on alcohol! Or I will just we working out more so I can swap my activity points for beer, :) I got it figured out-- i think)

Just Checking In

Here I sit yet another week of disappointment in myself.  My weight in this week was not what I was expecting, so I was a little down and out today.  I shouldn't beat myself up, I know it takes time to lose but you would like at the weight that I'm at that the pounds would come off a lot quicker since I have quiet a bit to lose.... that doesn't seem to be the case for me.  I will be completely honest and there hasn't been much working out in my schedule the last week, but I feel that I have been very good with the portions I've been eating and even the choice of food. 

Next weeks goal: walk at least 30 min 3 nights a week or more, and eat EVEN better!!!! :)


In other news, I have been reading lots of blogs lately and as I mentioned in my last post I read MamaLaughlin's blog a lot, she is great inspiration for me and I have found that there are a lot of people out there just like me who struggle everyday but have also succeeded greatly in their weight lose journey.  So, I'm taking in all the times I'm hearing from other people and slowly applying them into my life.  


My boyfriend and I have been super busy the last couple weeks doing all kinds of different things, this last week was Sunday Funday as guest bartender and the legion! :) I had a blast.  Here are a couple pictures that might explain how much fun we had! As for the contest they have for the guest bartender that brings in the most money, I was $20 away from getting second place (damn you Robbie ;))

Hope everyone has a great rest of their week!

Also look for some changes on my blog page I'm gonna try to spruce it up a bit, after seeing all these other fancy blogs mine is beginning to look a little boring. :)

Portions

Ha, what are portions!?! :)

Omg, let me just tell you how terrible I am when it comes to portion control, especially spaghetti or any type of pasta.  The typical me will go get about a whole plate full of food, usually just a main dish, and because I am usually Starving by the time dinner is ready I eat pretty rapidly, well because of that I seem to think I'm still hungry and also because food tastes SOO freaking good, I will go get a second plate, and by the time I am about done with the second plate I start to slow down very fast.  Well, according to most things I read they say you are supposed to eat your food SLOW and take about 20 min so that way your stomach realizes your full before you pack EVERYTHING in sight into it.  HA that's funny, me listen to what the experts say...

So not only do I have an issue with portion control, for some reason probably because I love food, I seem to think that when I want to eat a certain thing, that if I don't eat it NOW I will forget about it and then I will miss out on the flavorful thing I was daydreaming about for the past 20 min. 

As I continue to just realize what I've been doing to get myself to this place of unhealthiness and "unhappiness" (just with my body), I understand that wholly cow I was eating SOOO much food that I just couldn't take time to stop and realize that I wasn't even hungry or that those things will still be there tomorrow or the next day or the next.  Did I tell you how much I LOVE food.. ha, I can't say it enough, I'm kind of obsessed.... which is just not okay especially when you are not eating the 'right' foods. 

Well, as I'm beginning this journey of a healthier happier me, I am recognizing what my body actually needs in order to keep me going instead of thinking it's gonna be the end of the world if I don't eat whatever is on my mind right this minute.(it also doesn't help that I sit at a desk all day and have time to think about food.) 

Cheers to finding a balance in what and when I can eat! :)

Who am I kidding?!?!

That is the question these days cause I'm certainly not kidding myself! The extend of this past week is asking myself, what is stopping you, and what are you going to do about it? Seriously, I feel so unhealthy, and my lower back has recently started hurting (I assume from being overweight), and I just plain don't feel good lately. 

I've been following a blog the last couple months and it has really inspired me to think about my health and the way I live my life, as far as exercise and food are concerned.  (http://www.mamalaughlin.com/) This is the blog.  Just a brief summary the lady from this blog was at 200 lbs at one time and is now down to 136lbs, all after having two kids.  As I was reading a post from yesterday it was a question answer post, and it was very encouraging to me, the main one that stuck at me was when someone asked "When you first started working out, how long were your workouts?" and she responded short about 25-30 min, OMG such a relief to here.  She responded its all I COULD do.  I often beat myself up when I go the gym and don't stay long, but first of all I should be proud of myself for actually GOING, and second I'm trying and I shouldn't get down on myself for not being about to do things I could do when I went to the gym in the past.  It takes time to build your muscles and your body back up to be able to work out longer and "better".  Also on other thing she talked about was how fast she lost pant sizes and she said it took her about 15 lbs before she really noticed a pant size decrease, well that's actually encouraging to me, makes me thing I just need to work that much harder because as soon as she went down the first couple sizes it seems the the sizes get going down faster from there.  My biggest downfall (so to say) is my motivation, yeah I can get down 5-10 lbs and to be honest it doesn't take me long to do, but its sticking with it that's my biggest problem. 

I'm pretty much at a breaking point, I'm sick of failing myself, and making up excuses for something that ONLY I can fix and make better.  I'm definitely not perfecta and I still expect to fail but I refuse to go downhill any longer, I am choosing to change my lifestyle. 

I SO miss running, I can't even run for more then 5 min a night because my knees just can't handle the weight of my body on them.  But that is going to change, as soon as I can get down and weight a little I will definitely be getting my run on (and damit that's a promise!)  I miss the "runners high" so bad, awh that was a great feeling, when you just feel like you could run forever and nothing else mattered. 

I have over 100lbs to lose to be in healthy weight range, I never thought I could ever get to this point in my life(ever).  I'm getting excited for this journey though, yea its going to be hard and YES I will need encouragement from people but I will not give up because I am worth this, and it's not fair to my loved ones around me to suffer for something that I can change rather then complaining about it all the time!

So, there it is, my plea for help and me motivation to accomplish a goal, and to not give up on myself!

I hope that everyone will follow me on this journey through the ups and downs, and maybe I can be an encouragement to others just as so many people have encouraged me (one of my biggest fans is my boyfriend!!-- who has in the last year lost over 50 lbs himself, and would tell me I'm beautiful no matter what I look like on the outside. ) 

I'm always up for tips on working out and also different recipes! PLEASE DON'T BE SHY! :)