I made it

It seems like a long month, but I made it through all my goals (just as soon as this is written and I'm in bed by midnight). Phew!

Exercise today was walking a lot.

Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Cereal

Lunch:

• Steak quesadilla
• Bean burrito
• Watermelon

Dinner:

• Hamburger
• Sun Chips
• Watermelon

Snacks:

• 1/2 cookie
• Watermelon
• Cupcake

Talk to you next week. I'm doin' the whole "family reunion" thing the rest of this week! Wahoo!

I like it

I have been soooo lazy today! I just could not find the motivation to work out at all. Not good if I want to keep my money. Thankfully, that thought gave me the motivation I lacked earlier. I ended up going for a brisk walk around my neighborhood with my dog.....at 10:30 at night. I really did put it off as long as possible.  That gave me just enough time to do 1/2 an hour and do everything else in order to be in bed by midnight.

I really liked the walk. It was very peaceful. There was cloud cover and a slight breeze. I wish I could do that more often.

Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Cereal

Lunch:

• Black bean quesadilla

Dinner:

• Panda Express:
• Mixed veggies
• Steamed rice
• Honey Pecan Shrimp (soooo yummy!)
• Manderine Chicken

Snacks:

• Watermelon
• Fruit snacks
• Popcorn
• Watermelon

It counts!

Today I cleaned my house for a couple hours. I'm totally counting it as my workout for the day.

As for the weekend. I didn't blog. I don't know if you noticed. :) Just know, I met all my goals.

Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Graham crackers and milk

Lunch:

• 1/2 peanut butter and honey sandwich 
• Ramon noodles
• Orange

Dinner:

• Chicken
• Yams
• A few baked Lays chips

Snacks:

• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Popcorn

Very tired

Holy cow! This has been a long day! Between taking my dog to the vet, a meeting for my new job, seeing the Blue Angels do their dress rehearsal, and a celebratory dinner and movie for my sister, I didn't  get any exercise in until 11:30. I did it, but my heart wasn't in it. Too bad. It still counts. :)


Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Graham crackers and milk

Lunch:

• Black bean quesadilla
• Watermelon

Dinner:

• Went to the Olive Garden....I had a new shrimp and crab dish and 2 1/2 breadsticks. It was DE-LICIOUS!

Snacks:

• Cookie
• Strawberries
• Watermelon

P.S. I was still 199 this morning. I gotta re-think this stuff.

Long walks

Today was "Library Day" with the kids (I'm a nanny by occupation).  That happens on Thursdays because the maid comes that day and I like to be out of the house. However, it makes my workouts a little difficult.....mainly because I don't bother showering until after my workout, so I go to work looking all lovely in my exercise clothes. Didn't really want to look like that at the library. I mean, one never knows if I'd meet a cute guy who might fall madly in love with me. I'd never know if it was just for my looks. No, it's best to look....well, different than that.

ANYWAY....I decided that a good workout would be a long walk around the river. That was fun. I wore the wrong shoes, forgot sunscreen and occasionally had to carry Lucas (my nephew) on my shoulders, but I got my workout in!

Breakfast:

• Graham crackers and milk

Lunch:

• Black bean quesadilla
• Watermelon

Dinner:

• Ribs (very small piece)
• Few chips
• Grapes

Snacks:

• Watermelon
• Ice cream sandwich
• Small slice of pie

Okay....looking at my food intake for today....No WONDER I'm so hungry! Gotta do better tomorrow!

Resistance is no longer futile

I decided to make things slightly more difficult on the Elliptical today. I decided to increase the resistance up to a 5 (thus far, I'd been at the lowest setting.....it goes up to 15). I definitely felt it and didn't go as fast as I usually do. When I was finished, I noticed I had burned more calories that way. Perhaps in a couple weeks I'll change that incline. I figure if I start gradually increasing the resistance and incline I might kick my behind out of the plateau it seems to be stuck in. We'll see how it goes.


Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Graham crackers and milk

Lunch:

• Black bean quesadilla 
• Orange

Dinner:

• Chicken
• Potatoes
• Carrots

Snacks:

• Watermelon
• Cookie
• Fruit & ice cream popsicle thingy

Is my clavicle showing?

I keep looking in the mirror to see if I can see my clavicle. I really want to. For some reason, that is a milestone in my book. Does that make me strange? Probably. But you know you love strange people!

Breakfast:

• German pancake

Lunch:

• Peanut butter and honey sandwich
• Watermelon

Dinner:

• Chicken
• Green salad
• Watermelon

Snacks:

• Watermelon
• Snickerdoodle cookie
• Rice Crispy treat
• Sucker

Exercise:

• Elliptical for 30 minutes

Carb Cravings

That's what I've been dealing with all day. I just wanted flour! What'supwiththat? Of course, I could go for some watermelon about now. Unfortunately it's WAAAAYYYY past 8:00, so I'd never be able to justify it. :)

Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Cereal

Lunch:

• Green salad with black beans

Dinner:

• Eggs, toast, bacon, milk

Snacks:

• Watermelon
• Banana
• 2 cookies

Exercise:

• 30+ minutes on Elliptical (I was into the show I was watching)
• Toning

As time goes by

Time seems to go by so fast. It's getting to be the latter end of July already. Does anyone else find that crazy? Wow. It seems just a few months ago we were all worried about the Y2K bug, now we are wondering if we'll survive the world destruction of 2012. Crazy stuff, man.


Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Cereal with fruit

Lunch:

• Peanut butter and honey sandwich
• Strawberries

Dinner:

• Roast beef
• Mashed potatoes and gravy
• Carrots (they were super yummy)
• 3 rolls - they were home made and delicious, okay! Plus, they were small. 

Snacks:

• Cake
• Ice cream

Interpretative blogging

And yesterday's post is meant to be read while asleep, as that is how it was written. I've got journal entries like that too....only the writing slowly slopes to the bottom of the page as well. It's not so effective in blog land.

Anyway....to interpret yesterday: It was a busy day, and extremely eventful. Dinner would have been a hamburger, but they went up in flames.....literally.....along with the grill, the hose connection to the propane and almost the propane tank as well. So.....we ended up ordering pizza.

I did go to a movie (Knight and Day.....excellent, by the way) and I did take some strawberries along with my M&M's. The strawberries were delicious! I didn't eat all the M&M's I took.

I failed to mention yesterday (can't imagine why) my weigh-in results: I'm back down to 199. That means last week was the last week I will ever be 200 pounds.....again! Wahahahaha!

So, today I didn't do any formal exercise. Just didn't make the time for it.



Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Cereal

Lunch:

• Chicken
• Watermelon

Dinner:

• Hamburger* (we tried the grilling thing again at another sister's house.....this time it worked!)
• Cheetos

Snacks:

• Strawberries
• Watermelon
• Cake*
• Ice cream*

*It was my nephew's birthday Friday. He had requested hamburger's for dinner, that's why we didn't give up the first time :)

So tired

I'm super tired....I hope I make it through this. I'm going to post it as it is when I'm done. I'm not going to edit it at all. It could be interesting to see what we get.

So, this has been quite the day.....busy, busy, busy. But, I haven't doon too bad. We went to a movie tonight and although I did have some new kind of m &m' that were pretty good. I don't know if that made sense. Don't ask me

Anyway, at the movie, I had nwew peanutbutter strawberry m&m's but  I also took some strawberries. They were yummy. Enough for two servings, cause I wasn't able to do fruits/veggies during a couple meals and forgot during another.

Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Pancakes
• Milk

Lunch:

• Grilled chicken sandwich from KFC

Dinner:

• 2 pieces of pizza (fairly small)
• Orange

Snacks:

• M&M's 
• Strawberries x2
• Cheese stick

Exercise:

• 1/2 hour on Elliptical
• Toning

Better today

Although the issues I had to deal with yesterday have not gone away, I feel stronger to deal with them and have lots of support. 'S'all good. :)

Today went well. My nieces and a nephew I watch usually have swimming lessons in the morning. I like to try and exercise while they are gone and I only have one more nephew to watch. However, I ended up having to take the kids to swimming lessons, so that didn't work out so well. Thankfully I still found time during water time outside and nap time. :)

Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Cereal - with fruit in it

Lunch:

• Peanut butter and honey sandwich
• Orange

Dinner:

• Chicken Cordon Blue
• Yams
• Orange

Snacks:

• Small, cherry-dipped ice cream cone from Dairy Queen

Exercise:

• 1/2 hour on Elliptical
• Toning

Tough day

I cannot explain how difficult today was.....emotionally, psychologically. I really cannot. Just know that things happened today that I cannot share, but threw me into a tailspin for a while....well, every time I thought about things. I did get some distractions, so that was good. And, even better, I met my goals, despite how difficult it was.

I exercised on the Elliptical for 30 minutes, plus did some toning.

My food log today is not going to be divided into meals. I didn't really get "meals" today (except dinner), but just ate when I can, what I could. So, I'm gonna lump them it all together:

• 2 protein bars
• Cereal - fruit in it
• Watermelon
• 1/2 peanut butter and honey sandwich
• Cheese stick
• Sucker
• Chicken
• Rice
• Peas
• Bread

I wonder if it will effect the color of anything

Tonight I ended up going to Red Robin for dinner. Instead of fries, I asked for "as much broccoli as I can get." Usually they bring me just a little cup of it and it's never enough. Well, sure enough they brought out the little cup, but the waiter later asked if I wanted more and brought out two more cups. I knew they had "bottomless fries" but apparently they have "bottomless broccoli" as well. They should totally market that. :)

Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Cereal with fruit in it

Lunch:

• Salad with black beans

Dinner:

• Chicken sandwich
• Lots of broccoli (and I felt obligated to eat every last bit....and it was delicious)
• Okay, I still had a few fries....but only a few

Snacks:

• Lots of watermelon (I really love that stuff)
• Another protein bar
• Some strawberry-banana milkshake

Exercise:

• Elliptical for 30 minutes
• Crunches and reverse crunches

Aaaannnnd.....here we go again

Man. This motivation stuff is tough! And it doesn't help that I'm so lazy! What does help is that I have a friend who recently made it to day 50 of her goal of walking 30 minutes a day for 100 pounds. And, she's lost 50 pounds from it. Good heavens, Kristi! If I've been at this for, what 6 months, and have only 30 some odd pounds to show for it....well, that's pretty pathetic. Get off your lazy, lazy bum and do something. Whatever it takes to be motivated, do it!

Desperate times call for desperate measures! I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet and make me a month-long commitment at least! It's the 12th of July. Wait....the date just changed cause it's midnight. Okay....it's the 13th of July. I can set some short-term goals to get me shrinking again. Y'all know what my consequence (your reward) will be if I fall short of my goals ($10 each). Of course, y'all also know there will be a few exceptions. SO.....here are my new goals:

Goals:

1. Bed by midnight on "school" nights
2. No eating after 8:00 on "school" nights
3. Exercise Monday-Friday at least 30 minutes
4. Eat at least one fruit/vegetable for each meal of the day (or at least 3 times a day....if I happen to forget for a meal, I can make up for it with a snack)
5. Blog daily.....of course

Exceptions:

1. Weekends are really tough....during the summer especially. I am going to go easy on myself on the weekends. No, I won't go crazy, but I won't stress too much either. If I miss blogging on Saturday or Sunday, well, that won't count against me. Besides, it'll just mean there's nothing too exciting to report and y'all will probably be bored anyway. 
2. I have a family reunion coming up at the end of the month.....so, I'm certainly not going to focus on any of this stuff.....so, these goals are in effect from now (excluding "bed by midnight," obviously) through July 27. 
3. I reserve the right to add any exceptions I may have not thought about before they arise (within reason) :)

 Wow....I'm really pulling out all the stops with 5 goals and only 3 exceptions. Hehehe


Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Baked oatmeal with peaches

Lunch:

• Green salad with cheese, crackers and black beans (amazingly yummy)
• Apple slices

Dinner:

• Salmon
• Fried rice

Snacks:

• Some fudge
• Watermelon

Exercise:

• Elliptical at Kathi's - 30 minutes
• Crunches, reverse crunches and side exercise stuff with a stretchy exercise thingy - 10(?) minutes

P.S. Have you heard about/checked out my new blog on my bird watching experiences? myfinefeatheredfriends.blogspot.com/

um....something

I'm only doing this because I love you. I really don't have anything special to report, but I know how much you look forward to hearing about my extremely exciting and entertaining weight loss endeavors. :)

Yes, I got my exercise in. No, I haven't committed to make any formal goals yet. Yes, I know I should, but I don't want to, okay!

Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Cereal

Lunch:

• Pasta salad
• 1/2 peach

Dinner:

• Sushi

Snacks:

• Little bit of caramel popcorn
• Lots of watermelon
• Pudding pop

July already?

That's not good. July is the end of my Tai Slim challenge. Oh dear! I've really got to get on the ball.

So, tonight for my exercise, I went for a walk around the greenbelt. It was great! It was so pretty! I loved it and plan on doing it more often.

Breakfast:

• Pancakes with homemade strawberry jam (yum)
• Milk

Lunch:

• Pasta salad

Dinner:

• Chicken and broccoli panini
• Pasta salad

Snacks:

• Watermelon
• Sucker
• Watermelon
• Kit Kat
• Watermelon

More exceptions

This blogging stuff is too hard while traveling. New exception: the whole thing is over. I'm only blogging now cause I needed to officially end this, or I'd owe lots of money. As it is, I have to do this in the bathroom, cause my nieces are complaining of the light coming from the computer. :)

So....come next week, I'll have new goals and you'll have a new hope for some money. Good luck. :)

Whoops! I forgot

Shocking that I would forget something, I know, but I did. I forgot to mention an exception I needed to make when promising you all $10. And yes, I can add it now, cause I'm the boss! That exception is that I don't have to be in bed by midnight tonight, cause I have to go out of town tomorrow and have to pack tonight. Mind you, I'd LIKE to be in bed by midnight, as I will be doing some driving, but if I don't make it, don't expect any mula from me.  :)

Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Graham crackers and milk

Lunch:

• Poppyseed chicken

Dinner:

• Hamburger (cooked on the grill, with cheese, vegenase (however you spell it -- mayo-like stuff), ketchup, mustard, and lettuce....on a sesame seed bun) (just kidding, no sesames seeds)
• Salad

Snacks:

• Heaven in a glass

Sunday nap

I love my Sunday nap. That's all I have to say.

Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Cereal

Lunch:

• Leftover salmon and veggies (just as yum!)

Dinner:

• Spaghetti pie
• Slice of garlic cheese toast
• Salad (fresh from my garden...yum!)

Snacks:

• 2 mints
• Some chocolate trifle thingy....small bowl
• Piece of cake (no frosting)

Almost forgot!

I just about went to bed without updating this thing. That would not be good! I'm so glad I remembered!

So, my father makes the best breakfasts....especially fried mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs. Well, he was making that this morning and I indulged. It sure wasn't good for my goal, but it was good for my soul! I mean, really....he's 75 years old. How many more breakfasts do I get to share with him? I've made a decision that I'm going to indulge in his breakfasts every week! I'll just have to make up for it somewhere else.

Tonight I got to play volleyball for my workout. I cannot think of a better workout and wish I could do it more often. I usually play for as long as anyone would play with me, no matter how hard the ball is or how bad my arms hurt. Unfortunately, after about 3 hours of playing with a rock, I had to cut out before the playing was done. I wanted to play more, but my arms didn't. I'd hit the ball and it would do something wild and crazy, just cause my arms wouldn't work the way they are supposed to. It was sad. Next time I'll have to remember to wear long sleeves.

Breakfast:

• Fried mashed potatoes
• Scrambled eggs
• Sausage
• Toast
• Milk
• I wasn't kidding about indulging!

Lunch:

• Black beans and chips

Dinner:

• Salad (fresh from my garden! Yum!)
• Some kind of corn/bean/cucumber dip....although I didn't like it so much
• Fruit salsa with chips....oh my goodness, that was good stuff!

Snacks:

• 1 mint

This is my sad face -----> :(

I tried so hard to get the scale to say 199 this morning. I moved it around, I tried it several ti.....wait. I forgot to hold my breath. Dang it! I was sad when I had to accept 200 as my weight this morning. Not good at all!

So, since I don't have to be in bed by midnight tonight, I'm rebelling and staying up really late. Of course, I've only made it one more hour and I'm getting very sleepy, so I'll be going to bed after this.

Went to dinner with my mom and two sisters tonight. We went to the Outback. Did you know they have some dishes where you can ask for the light version and it says it's only 500 calories or less. I l-o-v-e their salmon and it's one of their light version options. It came with steamed veggies and another side. I got broccoli as well. And, I didn't do it just because of today's weigh-in or anything, but rather because I really, really wanted them! And they were so good!!! Truly, every time I ate a bite of my veggies, I said, "mmmm." Does that make me odd?

Breakfast:

• Graham crackers and milk

Lunch:

• Poppy seed chicken

Dinner:

• Salmon
• Mixed veggies
• A couple pieces of my sister's quesadilla

Snacks:

• Couple pieces of cake (no frosting)
•  Swedish fish
• Rollos

Phew! I made it!

I was concerned about the time getting away from me tonight. I like to talk with my family. I really do. But it can get me into trouble when it gets to be 11:00 and I haven't done any of my goals. EEEEEEE! Thankfully I was able to get it all done.....just gonna have to shower in the morning instead of tonight.


Okay, so I'm so worried about my weigh-in tomorrow. I really, really, REALLY don't want to be 200+, but I'm afraid I'm gonna see at least that on the scale tomorrow. Can I just skip this week? Would that be so wrong??? I can't wanna be held responsible!!!! *sniff*


Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Cereal

Lunch:

• 1/2 roast beef sandwich from Great Harvest (YUM!)
• Carrot sticks
• A few chips I snuck from my nephew's bag

Dinner:

• Salad
• Chicken
• Roll

Snacks:

• Pudding pop
• Peach cobbler
• Snitch of cake (no frosting)

Cliche

 Cliche and so not something I would have ever thought I would say. I like to exercise. I don't really like it without a distraction, because it's just plain boring, but if I am listening to a book or watching a movie (which I did tonight) then it's not so bad. The part I like is when I'm done. I don't mean it like that, silly. I mean, I like the feeling I have when I've finished a good workout....a little sweaty, maybe somewhat sore muscles (love it when they're sore, cause I know I done good), and just feelin' good. I like it. Huh. Whodathunk?


Breakfast:

• Cereal
• Protein bar

Lunch:

• Peanut butter and honey sandwich

Dinner:

• Small salad
• Chicken
• Potatoes

Snacks:

• 2 pudding pops

Did I eat that???

I've just been thinking back over my day (cause that's what I do when I update this thing) and realized I really didn't eat very well. And, although I got my exercise in, I could have done more. Dang! If I get back up to 200 this week I have no one to blame but myself....and I cannot tell my mother!!!

Breakfast:

• Protein bar - I forgot to mention this one yesterday. I have one every morning. 
• Cereal - a new yummy kind I discovered, although I cannot remember what it is just now....it's got strawberries and blueberries and maybe raspberries in it. Mmmm!

Lunch:

• Peanut butter and honey sandwich

Dinner:

• Pot pie

Snacks:

• 2 home made pudding pops (does it help that I used sugar-free pudding?)
• Some popcorn
• 3 mints

On the road again...

....or at least the Elliptical. I did my half hour workout at my sister's house. It actually went by pretty quick, cause I had found a good show she had recorded from Lifetime (it's called "Double Wedding," and I really liked it). When you're doing a mundane workout, it's good to get your mind off of it. That makes it go by so much faster. So, my half hour (plus some toning time) went by pretty fast. Love it.

Let's see if I can remember my food intake today...

Breakfast:

• Pancakes
• Milk

Lunch:

• Peanut butter and honey sandwich

Dinner:

• Salmon
• Fried rice
• Jello

Snacks:

• Small bowl of cheesy popcorn (I brought it home from Popcornopolis in Hollywood...yum!)
• A few pretzel M&M's
• A few Swedish Fish
• Another peanut butter and honey sandwich for a late snack....I was hungry and it sounded good...

A NEW new beginning

Hehe.....um....hi everybody. I'm back. Did you miss me??

I know, I know, I disappeared for quite a while and you are all wondering what the heck is going on! Lemme 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up: I puttered out. It was a slow, but steady process. Oh, I didn't quit altogether. Well, not until this last week. But, that happened because I went on vacation to Disneyland. Who diets at Disneyland? I'm hanging my head in shame, actually. *sigh*

On a positive note, though, I did manage to get down to 197. That was pretty exciting. I was super excited the week I was under 200. I vowed never to see the 200's again unless I am pregnant, and even then I hope not to see it. So, I guess I didn't do too bad during my hiatus. Of course, when I weighed the Friday before I went on vacation (I didn't want to, but I had to hold myself accountable!) I had gained back a pound and weighed in at 198. It was sad. That was the first time I ever gained during this whole process. :(

Well, I've now that I'm back from vacation and have no more excuses, I have decided it is time to take a deep breath, eat one last ice cream sandwich, and refocus! That's right. I'm back!

Of course, to jump start my new beginning and to ensure I work super hard this week so as not to see 200 again from my vacation, I better give myself some incentive. We all know what motivates me more than anything and that is paying money if I do/don't do something. So, you have a chance (yeah, right) to get some money this week. No, scratch that, let's make that for the rest of June (with slight exceptions on the 29th and 30th). So, what are the goals and what is the consequence?

1. I will do at least 1/2 hour exercise every day except Sunday.
2. I will update my blog every day
3. I will be in bed by midnight. 

Exceptions:

1. I am going to Washington for my niece's wedding Tuesday, June 29. Therefore, I will not have to exercise that day or Wednesday, June 30. 
2. While in Washington, I am going to visit with my family and will not give myself a bedtime deadline of midnight.

Sound good? Good. Now, what if I don't do the aforementioned items? I will pay each of you faithful followers $10.

Okay. And this starts......NOW!   GO! 

Two days down

I have SO much to do this week, I can't even hardly think straight. I am just trying to take it one day at a time. I figured that was the best way to prioritize everything; what needs to be done today. Sad, really, because a few of the items on my "to do" list involve study, research, and pondering, and although there is a certain time frame and it will be "over," it isn't just a one time event. I don't even know if that makes sense. Just know, that if I don't work on those things while completing the rest of my to-do list then I will not likely do well on those things. (I know, I just cleared that right up, didn't I)

Today was my brother, Cody's birthday. I threw him a surprise party with several friends. Unfortunately, someone gave the surprise away. However, he didn't know there would be so many people, so it all worked out. It was fun.

Unfortunately, that took up my evening. That and taking him shopping to spend all his money. Can we count that as exercise? I wish. Another "unfortunate" thing for me was the fact that the party was at an all-you-can-eat pizza place. Thankfully I know how to monitor myself. I had a big salad and 3 small slices of pizza. I was weak, but considering it was all you can eat, I thought I did pretty good. I also had a small piece of cake. Dang, but I wish I could have exercised!


Breakfast:

• Cereal

Lunch:

• Leftover chicken and yams

Dinner:

• Salad and pizza

Snacks:

• 2 protein bars
• Cake

A new way to warm up

Tonight I was sitting in my living room and I was feeling awefully cold. My feet were especially chilled. Normally, that is when I'd take a nice, relaxing hot bath to get warm. However, tonight I decided to try something new. I exercised. Amazingly, that did the trick! I'm warm!

Breakfast:

• Cereal

Lunch:

• Peanut butter and honey sandwich

Dinner:

• Chicken
• Yams
• Corn

Snacks:

• Protein bar
• Special K cereal bar

I may need to do something drastic

I fell asleep in the chair again. The problem is, not only am I lazy, but I'm a procrastinator as well, which is a baaaad combination. So, yeah. I may need to come up with something drastic to kick my bum out of the chair at night and go to bed! I'll have to think about that one....

Anyway, not much to report for Sunday besides my food consumption:


Breakfast:

• 2 protein bars (I was running super late to do anything more than that)

Lunch:

• Leftover salmon
• Black beans and tortilla chips

Dinner:

• Mustardy chicken
• Corn

Snacks:

• Trifle 

I'm on a roll!

Two nights in a row. Wow. That's pretty impressive for me. :)

Okay, I didn't do much today towards my new contest. I did, however, make the best choice I could for dinner tonight (aside from not going out at all). I went to the Outback with my family tonight. That sounds a little ominous for weight loss, don't you think? Well, on their menu, there are a few meals with an option to make it a little more healthy. I don't know what they do, but the menu claims it's only 500 calories (I'm sure that's just the main dish calories). I got salmon, veggies and a salad (with dressing on the side....and I'm not a big fan of their ranch, so I used just enough to make it have a little flavor and not be dry). The salmon was delicious.....moist and flavorful (but not the usual Outback "spicy" flavorful...which is good, cause I can't handle much spice at all). The veggies were soooo good! There were pea pods, squash, carrots and broccoli. Really, really yummy (is it weird that I like veggies so much? It sure is to me!). Okay...I did have some bread too....with butter....but, I thought I did pretty good for eating out. Oh, and I didn't eat all my salmon. I brought some home for lunch tomorrow.

So, just a random thought.....my bra doesn't fit. Isn't that fabulous??!!?! It is, and yet it's not. See, I ordered a new one on the internet (that's really the only place I can find any that fit). I got a size smaller both in band and in cup. It fits fabulous in the band, but I haven't quite made it that far to the smaller cup size. It's so frustrating! I want to wear a bra that fits in the worst way!!! So, I'm stuck with what I've got for a while, because it's much worse to wear a cup too small than a band too big! What's even more frustrating, is the particular bra I have been wearing does not come in the smaller band size. This was the smallest band size available. Buggy.

On a side note...I've been in this kind of situation before. I've been kind of in between sizes. Sometimes I could wear the smallest of the bigger "women's size" clothing, but sometimes I could get away with the largest of the "normal" clothing. Does it seem like men have it so much easier? They know their measurements and they can walk into a store and purchase something off the rack without even having to try it on. So not fair!

And on another side note...why the HECK do they charge $2 more for larger sizes? I mean, really! I do believe they try to get away with it using the excuse that it uses more material, but that doesn't make sense at all!!! If the cost of the clothing is relative to the amount of material used, then why do baby clothes cost so much....or bikinis for that matter? It's so stupid!!!

Okay. I'm off that particular soap box for now.

Breakfast:

• Some kind of earth-friendly, organic, healthy for you, packaged in recycled cardboard cereal. I can't remember what it's called.

Lunch:

• Hot dog
• Little tortilla rollup thingies
• Strawberries, grapes and kiwi

Dinner:

• Salmon
• Veggies
• Salad
• Bread

Snacks:

• Protein bar
• A few Swedish Fish

And the winner is.....

ME!!!

Can you believe it? Of course you can't. Y'all thought I fell off the wagon and blew the whole Biggest Loser contest. Admit it. I don't blame you. I mean, how could you think otherwise when I never update my blog???

I apologize.

Anyway. Yeah. I won our contest! I was pretty dang excited. And it was really, super close! It was like a photo finish! It was like Michael Phelps winning that gold medal just because his opponent cut his fingernails the morning of the big race. My final weightloss percentage was 12.55. The person neck and neck with me....12.22. Isn't that crazy??? It was like the real show. When it is a matter of one pound. Wow.

I must admit I was quite disappointed with my final weigh-in though. Wait. Let me go back a bit. I just remembered that you don't know how I did last week. I ended up losing 3 pounds...202.....for a total of 29 pounds. Today when I weighed in, it said 202. *frown* So, I tried it again....203. Oh, no! That would never do! I tried it a couple more times with 203. Then I decided to try Horton's trick (from Horton Hears a Who) I took a deep breath, held it, and stepped back on the scale. 202!!!! Wahoo!!! (I tried holding my breath a couple times with the same result...I think I'm gonna have to remember that trick). So, my final, final weight loss was 29 pounds. Do you realize how irritating that is?? I mean, really? Bah!

So. Yeah. I won $250, so I'm over the irritation. How cool is that? I'm gonna save to go towards a new wardrobe. I'm going to combine it with the $500 I'm gonna win next time. That's right. We're starting again. We've got a couple more friends who are joining us (a total of 6 of us) and we've upped the anty to $100 each. Wowsers! Kathi is convinced that she is going to win, but she's wrong. It will be me. However, I know her. She is going to be a force to be reconed with! Did you watch the Biggest Loser when Ali won? Remember how she had been voted off, lost tons of weight at home then was able to come back, kept losing tons of weight and ended up winning the whole thing? That would be Kathi. Did you watch the episode with Tara? Remember how she won all the challenges, even with major disadvantages. That would be Kathi. No matter, though. Tara didn't win that season. The winner will be me this time! Bwahahahaha!!!

Anyway, I'm fired up. I'm ready to go. I had ice cream tonight so I could start again tomorrow. Hehe.

Here are the first and final numbers and pictures for this particular contest. Couple things to note:

1. Lost at least 0.25 inches.....everywhere!!!!
2. Take a look at how much was lost in the bust!!!

Date...................1/4/10..........4/30/10............Total Lost

Neck...........................14.5................13.75.....................0.75

Right Arm..................15....................14.75....................0.25

Left Arm.....................16...................15.........................1

Bust............................52....................46.........................6 <---WAHOO!!!!

Midriff........................40...................37.75....................2.25

Waist..........................43...................39.5......................3.5

Tummy..........................51.5.................47.75....................3.75

Hips...........................53.75...............50.........................3.75

Right Thigh................28...................26.5......................1.5

Left Thigh..................28...................26.75....................1.25

Right Calf..................15.5.................14.75...................0.75

Left Calf.....................15.5.................14.75..................0.75

Total Inches..............372.75..............347.25.................25.5

Weight.....................231....................202.......................29

Percentage Lost..........................................................12.55%

And pictures:

What's that? You want to see just the before and after pictures together? Okay....

And, how about the much missed progress chart....

I'm not going to insult you with an excuse

Kathi has pointed out to me that when I get something in my head, I am very focused and I just have to let it run its course before I can move on. She calls it my "thing." Sometimes my "thing" is a certain food I have decided I really like. I've had a Twinki "thing," a Chex Bar "thing," a Ruffles and Ranch "thing" (among many others). Sometimes my "thing" is books. I focus, focus, focus until the book is done. Last week my "thing" was researching and building my raised garden beds. This week my "thing" was finding and purchasing a "new" car. That was completed yesterday. Now I can get back to this.

Anyway...this week in a nutshell: not too bad. I didn't exercise as much as I could/should have, but I did some. Um....eating? Pretty good. I will admit that yesterday I did have a small bacon cheese burger and some French fries, with ranch. It didn't settle well with my intestines later that evening. I don't know if that's cause I'm getting older or because I don't eat those things much at all. Probably a combination. I'm certainly not tempted to go do that again any time soon.

So. You're probably wondering about my measurements. Yeah. Me too. The last couple weeks Kathi has not been able to help me out with that. I talked to her tonight, however, and begged her to do them tomorrow. Although I'm feeling a little bloaty because of my period, I'm hoping to have at least a little success, since I haven't measured for about a month. As far as weight last week...I was down a pound. I'm now at 204.

Can you believe that next week is the final weigh-in for the Biggest Loser I'm doing with my sister and friends? That is so crazy. I'm obviously not going to meet my 180 goal. However, I would like to reach at least 30 pounds lost. That means between tomorrow and next week, I will need to have lost 3 pounds. That's totally do-able.

Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think that will do at all. I am a little OCD and although 30 pounds is a nice round number, it would mean I weighed 201, and that will never do! Nope. I would rather lose 31 pounds and be an even 200. Of course, what would be even cooler would to be out of the 200's altogether and get to at least 199. I know! That's not an even number, but it's okay. See, that would be the beginning of the 100's and that doesn't bother me so bad. In fact, that will motivate me even more!

Let me give you an example of how this works: when I get up in the morning, my clock has to be either at a zero or a five (i.e. :00, or :05, or :10 or :15, etc.). If I happen to open my eyes and look at the clock and it reads :04, that will never do. I will have to close my eyes and try to catch the :05. In anticipation of it, I tend to open my eyes several times before that :04 changes. Once it hits the :05, I can get up. However, if I keep them closed for too long and when I open them I see :06, I cannot get up. I have to wait until :10. That's just how it is. So, if I stop at 201, that is really going to bug me! I need to "end" this competition at 200. But, if I were to be at 199 that would be great because that would mean I was out of the 200's, but it would also bug me and motivate me to keep going because I'd have to keep going to get it to a nice round number. So, I'm going for 199! (can I do 5 pounds? We'll have to see what tomorrow's weigh-in brings...)


Okay....that is all. I'm going to bed now.  :)

I like!

I just have to say....it was a beautiful day today!! Unfortunately, I had lots to work on, on the computer and didn't take advantage of the sun. I'm going to have to make a point of that tomorrow.

That's not what "I like" though...although I do like that.....um....yeah. Anyway, what I was referring to is sweating. As I've mentioned before, I am extremely lazy and I used to avoid exercise at all costs. Of course, with my new focus I force myself to do it. For the most part, I have waited until I get home in the evening to do my exercising, but I tried something different yesterday and today. I took my exercise clothes to Kathi's house and exercised during nap time (yesterday) and the late afternoon (when I was off the clock and before dinner) (today). I used her Eliptical (okay, that's what I call it, but it's not really that....it's something else. I was taking note of it while exercising today, but, of course cannot recall that information now). Pretty much what persuaded me to do so was the fact that I wanted to listen to an audio book that I have, but didn't want to just sit around to do it. So, I took advantage of that time to both "read" and exercise. I really liked it when evening came and I knew I didn't "have" to exercise. I could just relax at home. It was really nice.

On a side note, due to my lazy tendencies, I have decided to purchase another set of workout clothes so I don't have to transport my one set back and forth from Kathi's house. That would require too much effort. 

Wow. I still haven't gotten to what my subject is referring to. Anyway! Working out on that really makes me sweat. That's what "I like." Mind you, I don't necessarily like sweating. Nor do I like to be hot (Kathi will attest to the fact that I try to make my exercise environment as cool as possible...even if that means messing up the heating system). However, there is something strangely satisfying in working out enough to make oneself sweat. Am I the only one who feels this way?

Breakfast:

• Kashi cereal - Strawberry Fields (are you familiar with Kashi? I just discovered the company. When I went shopping last night I found that they make a few organic cereals. Since I'm starting to get into things like that, I was very happy to make this discovery)

Lunch:

• Hamburger (not the kind I'd like to have, but I also don't want the food to go to waste)

Dinner:

• Black beans and rice burrito (like last night)

Snacks:

• Protein bars
• A piece of the best chocolate on earth

If it's not one thing, it's another

Well, we can tell by the time of this post, that I've still got to work on that whole "getting to bed at a decent hour" thing. This time, my excuse is I'm listening to a book....The Hound of Baskervilles (a Sherlock Holmes Mystery). I have a weakness for not being able to put a book down (or pushing pause) when reading it at night. Thankfully there are only about 2 hours left, so it shouldn't be so bad tomorrow (no, I'm not going to listen to any more tonight). Well, at least that won't be my excuse for not going to bed tomorrow night.

The brilliant thing was, I exercised during the kids' nap time today (while listening to my book), so I didn't have to worry about getting that in tonight. Instead, I went grocery shopping....lots and lots of grocery shopping. I'm trying several new recipes over the next couple weeks and I got all the food for it all. I'm very excited about it. So excited, in fact, that I was tempted to cook all the recipes tonight just to sample them all. Like the title of this entry says, if it's not one thing (reading/listening to a book) it's another (staying up forever cooking 2 weeks worth of dinners).

So, I have acquired a new fan of my humble little blog...welcome, Michelle. :) She gave me some suggestions in a personal email, and I appreciate them greatly. Any time someone has advice/suggestions, it is very welcome. One thing she was wondering about, however, was my water intake. Let me just state for the record (for anyone who may not know)....I only drink water (except for those occasions, like breakfast, when I have milk), and if I do not have water, I cannot eat (for example, if I run out of water in my glass at a restaurant....I stop eating).  I have to have water with my meals. So, rest assured, I am drinking water....lots of water. Although, her question was a good reminder to me to consciously ensure I'm getting enough (I think I'm gonna be up in the night a couple times tonight...hehe).

Breakfast:

• Oatmeal Crisp (with Almonds) cereal

Lunch:

• The last of the nachos

Dinner:

• Black beans, rice and cheese burrito on a spinach and herbs (or something like that) wrap....kind of like a green tortilla. 

Snacks:

• Protein bars
• Pumpkin bread

So much for that

I really was going to keep up with everything after I got back from my vacation. Why do I do that??? I guess it's like writing in my journal. If I don't make it a point to do it every night, despite how tired I am, I end up not doing it for a long time. Sometimes I think that I'll catch up the next night, but I'm usually pretty tired that night too. Before I know it, a couple months have gone by. With me, it's either do it or don't. If I give myself any room for procrastinating, time gets away from me fast. Eventually, I stop thinking about it altogether....and by "eventually" I mean like 3 days.

I don't know if I've mentioned it or not, but I truly, sincerely am the laziest person I know. I'll freely admit it, although it's embarrassing to do so. I am constantly fighting my "natural man" just to do the simplest things. Isn't that just the saddest thing?

*Hi Jaime!* :)

Anyway....why did I mention that? I guess because it all goes hand-in-hand. I'm lazy. I'm forgetful. I'm unmotivated. Hence, offering money to motivate myself. I'll probably be offering some shortly if I don't get my rear in gear.

Just to update over the past few days:

• Saturday was the weigh-in for the 12 week challenge at Gold's Gym. I was officially down something like 17 pounds....1.5 inches in my bust, 4 inches in my waist (wahoo!) and a couple inches or so in my hips. Not too bad....but I don't think I'll be going to Hawaii any time soon. :)
• Friday I weighed in for this...I was down 2 pounds. Unfortunately, Kathi didn't have time to take my measurements, so I don't know where I'm at with that. I was happy with the 2 pounds though. I'm down to 205, a total of 26 pounds lost thus far. Wahoo! 
• I'm not going to post my meals, just because I am lazy and I don't want to take the time to do that tonight. So sorry...I know that's the whole reason you read this, too. ;) I will say, however, that I am (thus far) still motivated from watching Food, Inc. and have been doing more with that. I'm actually starting a blog for that as well (I know...something else to procrastinate on, huh!). I'll let you know when that's up and going when it is up and going....if you care. 

Okay....here's April's photos added to the other months...to see the progress. I'm just happy that I can see some progress this time! Feeling good!



























By the way....that blue shirt...it's the "large 12/14" one I bought a few weeks ago. :)

Colds

Last night I decided to take some nighttime cold medicine. Then I forgot to update my blog before I fell asleep. Whoops.

Breakfast:

• 2 crepes with strawberries and nutella
• Milk

Lunch:

• Hamburger

Dinner:

• Beef Teriyaki

Snacks:

• Protein bar
• 3 Tootsie Rolls
• 1 piece of the best chocolate on earth

Food, Inc.

So, today I watched the movie Food, Inc. Scary stuff, man. I have been converted to eating better, making healthier choices, choosing organic, buying locally whenever I can. I just hope I can afford it! How does one do this without going broke?? *sigh* Let me know if you have any ideas for me.....or if you know where I can buy some locally raised meat. I think I know where to get beef, but what about chicken and pork? Oh, and I need to find local, fresh eggs too... AH! So much to think about!!!

On another note, I'm getting sick. That is not good. That means my body doesn't want to exert any more energy than is necessary to stay awake (and it's fighting that as well)....which means exercising is pretty much non-existent. Besides, I am a believer in letting your body rest and use the energy to get better instead of going, going, going. In my experience, if I take the time to rest, I seem to get over it a lot quicker. Besides, it doesn't take much to convince me to let myself sleep. Wow...does any of that even make sense?

Anyway....


Breakfast:

• Easter egg (they're almost gone)
• Toast
• Milk

Lunch:

• Nachos 

Dinner:

• Crepes....with strawberries and bananas....and nutella

Snacks:

• Protein bar

New Motivation

So, a good friend of mine went to a little presentation about Tai Slim tonight, where they introduced a new product designed to work hand in hand with Tai Slim. It's called Tai Slim Skinnys.....little chocolate pieces (kind of like Tootsie Rolls, and we all know how I like to snack on those). It's supposed to help a lot with metabolism and keeping you feeling full (it expands in your stomach when you drink water with it as well), etc.

While that news is pretty exciting in and of itself (I'm excited to try it), it is not the motivating factor. My new motivation is that the company who makes Tai Slim (Freelife), is having a Summer Slim Down Challenge....where first prize is $10,000! I'm pretty dang excited about that!!! There are also prizes of $5,000; $3,000; and $1,000 (top 10 winners get at least $1,000). How cool is that?!!?!??!!

Yeah, I'm so signing up for that challenge. And if I win, I'm going to Hawaii....and taking my sisters with me! WAHOO!!!

Breakfast:

• Easter egg
• Toast
• Milk

Lunch:

• Nachos

Dinner:

• Chicken 
• Fried potatoes
• Carrots

Snacks:

• 2 protein bars

Back in the saddle again...

Okay, I'm home. Easter is over. And I've got lots to do before Saturday!!!

Can you believe that Saturday is the end of Gold's Gym's 12 week challenge??? How crazy is that? I have only a few days to completely transform my body so I can go to Hawaii! Too bad the weigh-in didn't happen before vacation, since traveling/vacationing/holidaying is not conducive to losing weight.

Of course, with that weigh-in this weekend, the Biggest Loser weigh-in is coming up quickly as well! I'm not quite where I had hoped to be, but at least I've made progress. I'm also pretty focused again, so that's good. I'll keep pluggin' away and hopefully have some good results.

I did some exercising in tonight. I don't think I got much done while on vacation. I would have done more, but my friend had to take it easy, so we didn't walk very fast. However, I didn't take the moving sidewalk at the airport! Yea me! 

Breakfast:

• Easter egg
• Toast
• Milk

Lunch:

• Nachos

Dinner:

• Hamburger
• Carrots
• 3 chips

Snacks:

• Protein bar
• A sucker

Sorry...no money this time :)

Well, I made it through the week. I met my goals and I'm back on track....just in time for me to go on vacation. Tomorrow I am leaving for Arizona. I fly back to Salt Lake City on Wednesday, but don't get back to Idaho until sometime Thursday night. That is a week of possible disaster. Yikes! I've really got to focus. It's good I did my refocus goals this week. I think that will really help while I'm gone. In the mean time, I sure am going to enjoy the nice 60's-70's temps!

Breakfast:

• Egg
• Turkey bacon....only like one piece though, cause I accidentally burned it and it was yucky.
• Toast
• Milk

Lunch:

• Black beans and tortilla chips

Dinner:

• Hot dog with chili
• Small bag of Cheetos
• Apple

Snacks:

• I made cream puffs today...and I had a couple....and they were yummy :)

Exercise: Yup...I danced while packing (yes, I'm counting it)

Results for the week:    -1 pound :), +1.75 inches :(

Date --------------3/19/10------------3/26/10------------Total Lost ------ Grand Total
Neck -------------- 14----------------- 14 --------------------- 0------------------- 0.5
Right Arm--------- 15 ---------------- 14.75 --------------- 0.25 ------------------ 0
Left Arm----------- 15.5 --------------- 15.75 -------------- -0.25 ---------------- 0.25
Bust ---------------- 47.25 ------------- 47.25 ----------------- 0 ------------------ 4.75
Midriff ------------- 38 ---------------- 37.5 ------------------ 0.5 ------------------ 2.5
Waist -------------- 40 ----------------- 41.5 ----------------- -1.5 ------------------ 1.5
Belly --------------- 48.5 -------------- 48 -------------------- 0.5 ------------------ 3.5
Hips --------------- 50 ----------------- 50.5 ----------------- -0.5 ------------------ 3.25
Right Thigh ------- 26.75 ------------- 26.5 ---------------- 0.25 ------------------ 1.5
Left Thigh --------- 25.5 -------------- 26.25 -------------- -0.75 ----------------- 1.75
Right Calf --------- 15 ---------------- 15.5 ----------------- -0.5 ------------------- 0
Left Calf ----------- 15.5 -------------- 15.25 --------------- 0.25 ----------------- 0.25

Total Inches ----- 351 ------------- 352.75 
Inches Lost ----------------------------- -1.75 --------- -1.75 ---------------- 20

Weight ------------ 208 ---------- 207
Weight Lost ---------------------- 1 --------------------------------------------- 24
Percentage ----------------------- 0.48% ------------------------------------- 10.39%
Lost

Phew!

I made it. I was concerned about getting my exercise in today. I went to the Spring Fair with Kathi and her kids, and got home a little later than anticipated. Of course,  as we left I had to push the stroller up a mountain of inclines to get out of the building. I ran the whole way. Does it count? I swear it was at least half a mile....up hill.....both ways! :)

Okay, so I didn't count that...at least not for my official exercise for the day. For the official exercise, I came home and did some toning. I know, I know....it wasn't aerobic, but it was something. I didn't have time to do more and get to bed on time. I had to compromise. Of course, I almost counted getting into my house as a bit of a workout, as I was really struggling unlocking the door. :)

Breakfast:

• Egg
• Turkey bacon
• Toast
• Milk

Lunch:

• Black beans and tortilla chips

Dinner:

• Teriyaki chicken and steamed rice
• A couple bites of corndog

Snacks:

• Protein bar
• Tootsie Rolls

Exercise: check

Bed by 11:00: just about check

Wahoo!!

Spring is officially upon us and I took full advantage of it today for my exercising. I took the kids for a walk around the new neighborhood (okay, so walking with them doesn't really count as exercise) and while my cars tires were being rotated, I took a long, brisker walk around town. And, although it has nothing to do with the exercise, I got me some new SANDALS!!! I'm so happy!

Oh, and speaking of happy. I found some shirts at Walmart for only $5. Okay, I can do that. I figured that's not much to spend on some cute spring/summer colorful shirts. So, I tried them on. I automatically grabbed an XL(16-18). However, on a whim, I also grabbed a L(12-14). IT FIT!!!! I could not believe it! I was so dang excited. I bought two! And a medium to wear later this summer! WAHOO!!!!

Breakfast:

• Egg
• Turkey bacon
• Toast
• Milk

Lunch:

• Black beans and tortilla chips

Dinner:

• Some noodle dish with chicken, bacon, peas...maybe tomatos (it was at a Relief Society dinner)
• Salad
• Bread

Snacks:

• Protein bars
• Some peanut butter marshmallow treat thingy

Exercise: check

Bed by 11:00: yup...as soon as I post this.

That's better

I've got a few more minutes than last night, but I've also gotten a lot farther in my bedtime routine, too. So, I'm felling a little more relaxed tonight. Sorry, folks....I'm keeping my money still. :)


Breakfast:

• Egg
• 2 slices turkey bacon
• Toast
• Milk

Lunch:

• Black beans and tortilla chips

Dinner:

• Chicken
• Roasted potatoes
• Roll

Snacks:

• Cadbury eggs

Exercise: check....did the step aerobic thing and some toning (weights, cruches, etc.)

Blog updated: check

Bed by 11:00: Sure will be!

AAAaaaarrrgggghhhhh!!!!!

Okay...quick. It's a quarter to 11:00. As much as I love you all, I don't want to pay you!! I was talking to my parents and didn't realize what time it was!!! EEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Exercise: check

Breakfast: check

• Protein bar
• Oatmeal Crisp (with almonds)

Lunch: check

• Black beans and tortilla chips

Dinner: check

• Salmon
• Rice
• Salad

Snacks:

• Um....I don't think I had any today

Update blog: check

Bed by 11:00: I sure hope so!!!!!!!!

Refocus!

Okay...I totally admit that I have been slacking off a whole lot more than I want to with this....and not just the blog, but all of it. It makes me less accountable and that is just not good for me. So! I've decided to refocus! Just the fact that I'm refocusing now is great. I'm going on vacation next week and normally I would say bag it all until I get back. However, I still have my long-term goals and I cannot afford to keep going down hill until after the vacation.

I've got three specific goals for the week, and if I don't do them *gulp* I'll pay each of my "followers" $10. Wow....that will definitely help me!!

Ready for the goals?

1 - Exercise every day (the only exception to this is if I am vomiting sick/break a bone/or any other such thing that may effect my ability to do so)

2 - Go be in bed with the lights off and eyes closed by 11:00 every night!

3 - Update my blog every day.

These goals and my $10 consequence will be in effect from Monday, March 22 - Friday, March 26 (well, actually the bed time won't count that night...weekends don't count. Plus, I'm going to leave Saturday morning and I might need to pack and such)

Okay. I'm officially refocused!

Just cause it's after 11:00 (I know, it's never stopped me before) and I don't officially have to refocus until tomorrow, I'm just going to do another quick update on my weigh-in results and call it good until tomorrow:

-1 pound (really surprised at this) (23 pounds total...wahoo!)
-0.75 pounds (even more surprised at this. I was totally expecting to go up)

Uh Oh!

I was unable to exercise today and I'm not happy about it. A couple years ago my right knee was bothering me quite a bit. It would hurt at random times...sometimes walking up the stairs, sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night in pain. It was very odd. I ended up having an MRI done on it and it was discovered I have torn cartilage in there. The pain at random, unrelated times was dependent upon where/when the cartilage decided to move. Today has been one of those days in which wherever the darn cartilage is, it is causing pain. It hurt too much to exercise. Really, I'm not happy about it. I'm hoping it will be back in place tomorrow night in order for me to have a really good last chance workout!

I'm very nervous about this week's weigh in!

Breakfast:

• Protein bar
• Oatmeal Crisp (with almonds) cereal

Lunch:

• Black beans and tortilla chips

Dinner:

• Pancake
• Eggs
• Turkey bacon
• Milk

Snacks:

• Pretzel shamrocks  (I think just one....perhaps 2)
• I also snuck in some licks of cake batter (have I mentioned that cake batter is a weakness of mine?) as the kids and I were making rainbow cupcakes. (Which, by the way, do not turn out so perfect as those pictured on the site...the picture was clearly Photoshopped. They did, however, turn out pretty dang cool with a rainbow marbled look)

Oh boy!

You know...you take a day off to not update your blog and suddenly it's like 5 days later. What'supwiththat???

I'm sorry, people. I have been such a slacker. I have so many good intentions and then I don't do them. I obviously have SOOOO much more to work on than just the weightloss thing....but I'd need another blog or two in order to touch on them all.

Okay, so I'm not going to be too detailed about the last few days....mainly because my brain isn't able to hold the information for long. I think I have a slow leak somewhere. I'll just sum it up:

Friday: I'm not really sure. I can't remember much about it. I probably ate some sushi in there somewhere.

Saturday: I did well with my eating during the day, but that night I did a calorie splurg and went out to eat at the Olive Garden. It was DELICIOUS! I had 2.5 breadsticks (yes, I did have alfredo sauce with them...and I know I should feel guilty, but it was totally worth every calorie!) and ordered Seafood Alfredo. I mostly ate just the shrimp and scallops....a few noodles. No salad.

Sunday:  Hmmm....good question. I do remember having meatloaf and baked potato for dinner.

Monday:  Dinner was breakfast. I did exercise, although it was quite late.

Tuesday:   A friend and her two boys happened to hang out with me tonight. I ordered pizza with them (since I don't really have food in my house). I really like Papa John's pizza, and knowing that, I didn't order it. I couldn't care less about other kinds, so I wasn't even tempted to eat it. Instead I had black beans and rice and cheese burrito. I also discovered that tortilla chips dipped in the black beans is DELICIOUS! Yummy stuff. My friend stayed much later than expected (and it was great), so I did not get any exercising done. Dang it.

Quicky

Just to let you know my results from yesterday (I'm only doing a quick post tonight because it's late and I'd like as much sleep as I can get tonight)

Weight: +/- 0
Inches: -6.75 (as in...I'm down that much)

Does anyone else think my body is W-E-I-R-D???

hmmm

I have low expectations for tomorrow again. It's been a difficult week....out of the routine, others are cooking for me, lazy lazy lazy. :)

I did have a good workout with Bob tonight.

Surprisingly, I wasn't sore from last night. It makes me wonder if I did enough with the new toning thing.

Kathi got me a resistance tube for my birthday. I tried it out tonight. I like.

Anything else besides the food journal? No? Okay...

Breakfast:

• Oatmeal Crisp (with almonds) cereal

Lunch:

• Sushi

Dinner:

• Um...I'm not really sure. It tasted like a Chinese dish...maybe meatballs? with rice and broccoli

Snacks:

• Fiber One bar
• Protein bar
• Couple Tootsie Rolls
• Couple bites of: marshmallow treat, chocolate covered peep

Movin' On

So, Kathi bought a new house and this week she has been doing lots of moving. I hate it. I moved just a few months ago and the thought of packing, moving, unpacking and organizing makes me want to vomit. I really want nothing to do with it and try my darnedest to not be involved. I do feel that I should feel guilty while watching everyone else work. Hmmm.

How does this affect this little life change of mine, you ask? Well, I will tell you. First of all, I have to go into work a little earlier. Ew. Second, I have to stay longer...not necessarily "ew," cause I like hanging out there....but it's not so fun with Kathi running around crazy making me feel like I should feel guilty for not helping. I'm happy to keep the kids out of the way! Third, we have avoided doing any grocery shopping until after the move. That means there's not much to cook. It's not that bad, cause we get sushi quite often, and (sorry Camille) I really like it. And, starting tonight, people in Kathi's ward are bringing dinner in for us all. Isn't that fabulous? Of course, that means I'm at the mercy of what they bring.....unless I go get sushi :)

Anyway. I didn't do anything as far as exercising yesterday. It was a lazy day for me...just watching everyone take load after load out to the car. Very tiring stuff. Okay, I did help a little after watching my dad take a few trips up and down the stairs to bring up heavy boards. I figured I should help him cause he's 75. It was either that or watch him have a heart attack right in front of me. Yeah, that would have gone over well. So, perhaps that could count as some exercise. I don't really count it, though, cause I didn't even break a sweat...and once my brother got there, I gladly let him take over for me.  So, yeah, probably doesn't really count. Like I said, lazy day.

Today I went to my Aunt Vora's funeral in Pocatello. Then I had to take my brother to the doctor and my nieces to get their hair cut. And when I got back to Kathi's house, she asked me to help with specific things. I am trying to be more helpful, so after the grimace, I was able to paste a rather convincing smile on my face and help. I don't count that as exercise, but when I got home I did some step aerobics and toning.

I tried a new toning thing tonight. See, I still have a two-pack and nothing down a little lower in the abdomen region has been showing much progress. Although I know you can't really lose weight in target areas of your body, I figured I could at least tone up those muscles under the flab, so when the flab is gone, I'll have a nice set of muscles underneath! Wahoo!

Yeah, I think I'm gonna be sore tomorrow. I like being sore like that, actually, so it's all good. :)

Tuesday

Breakfast:

• Oatmeal Crisp (with almonds) cereal

Lunch:

• Sushi

Dinner:

• Tortilla soup (I think that's what it's called....I ate at a friend's house)
• Pears and cottage cheese

Snacks:

• Protein bar
• Ice cream

Wednesday

Breakfast:

• Special K cereal bar
• Apple
• Protein bar

Lunch:

• Subway sandwich
• Cheetos

Dinner:

• Lasagna
• Green salad
• Roll

Snacks:

• Protein bar
• Fiber One bar
• Tootsie Rolls
• Ice cream

Fighting

I've had a very interesting weekend....but I won't go into that. I will say, my body is a war zone, and I think I'm winning! Whahoo! This weekend I've been feeling like I'm getting a cold. I took immediate action and started overdosing on vitamin C....I totally believe in the stuff. I think it's working *crossing fingers* cause I'm not feeling so bad, perhaps even a little better. Wahoo!!!

So, I didn't really do anything this weekend....at least as far as exercise or anything. I didn't do so bad with food, but I didn't really focus on it, either. Tonight, although I was fighting the cold, I did do some step aerobics while I watched a movie. I remembered that I physically (and mentally) feel better when I exercise, so I decided to go for it. Yup, I feel good.

Oh, I also started taking some multivitamins today. I'm gonna see how they are working for me (if I can tell any difference). I couldn't really tell any good from them today, just because of this cold I'm fighting. Perhaps they are also helping in my battle? Hmmm

Anyway, here's my food journal for the past few days (I wonder if I'll remember it all)


Saturday

Breakfast:

• Oatmeal Squares

Lunch:

• KFC - took the skin off
• Biscuit

Dinner:

• Chicken and cheese in a tortilla
• Bean dip and chips (I went to another game night thingy)

Snacks:

• Protein bar(s)
• Mini Delights
• A slice of lemon cake

Sunday

Breakfast:

• Oatmeal Crisp (with almonds) cereal

Lunch:

• Um....a protein bar?

Dinner:

• Poppyseed chicken and rice
• Broccoli

Snacks:

• Protein bar

Monday

Breakfast:

• Oatmeal Crisp (with almonds) cereal

Lunch:

• KFC - skin off
• Cheetos
• Cheese stick

Dinner:

• Sushi
• Fried rice

Snacks:

• Protein bar
• Orange
• Cheetos

Eh

The results are in! I lost 2 pounds. Wahoo! I gained 1.25 inches. Bah! I've been having a bad self-image day. I had Kathi take more pictures of me, now that I've been doing this for 2 months. I decided to wear the same clothes as last time. When I saw the pictures, I felt that I at least look the same as last month, if not bigger....except my hair is longer....and it was doing something funky that was not attractive. Then I took a look at my legs in comparison to my body and imediately thought of a wildebeest. Take a look:

See what I mean? :)

Anyway, I was feeling pretty discouraged. I think part of my problem is that I've got cabin fever. So, I booked a flight for Las Vegas at the end of the month; my final destination is Arizona. I'm pretty excited! That helped a lot, just booking the trip. Wahoo!

OKAY! Now that that is out of my system, let's move on...

Breakfast:

• Oatmeal Squares cereal

Lunch:

• Black beans, rice and cheese

Dinner:

• Sushi (oh, I tried a new kind...very yummy!)
• Calamari rings 

Snacks:

• Protein bar

*Note: I have lost a total of 3.25 inches (and 9 pounds) since last month.....don't tell me you can't tell! *snicker*

 Date --------------2/26/10-------------3/5/10------------Total Lost ------ Grand Total
Neck -------------- 13.75----------------- 13.5 ------------ 0.25 ---------------- 1
Right Arm--------- 15 ------------------- 15 --------------- 0 -------------------- 0
Left Arm----------- 15.75 --------------- 16 -------------- -0.25 ---------------- 0
Bust ---------------- 49 ------------------- 49 --------------- 0 -------------------- 3
Midriff ------------- 38.5 -------------- 38.5 ---------------- 0 ----------------- 1.5
Waist -------------- 40.5 ----------------- 41 -------------- -0.5 ------------------ 2
Belly --------------- 48.75 -------------- 50 -------------- -1.25 ---------------- 1.5
Hips --------------- 51.25 -------------- 50.75 ------------- 0.5 ------------------ 3
Right Thigh ------- 27.25 -------------- 27.5 ----------- -0.25 ----------------- 0.5
Left Thigh --------- 26.75 ------------- 26.75 ------------- 0 ------------------ 1.25
Right Calf --------- 15.25 ------------- 15.25 -------------- 0 ------------------ 0.25
Left Calf ----------- 15.5 -------------- 15.25 -------------- 0.25 -------------- 0.25

Total Inches ----- 357.25 ------------- 358.5 
Inches Lost ----------------------------- -1.25 ------------- -1.25 ---------------- 14.25

Weight ------------ 211 ---------- 209
Weight Lost ---------------------- 2 --------------------------------------------- 22
Percentage ----------------------- 0.97% ------------------------------------- 9.52%
Lost

*fingers crossed*

I'm hoping for good results tomorrow. I was so anxious to know how I am doing, I actually weighed tonight...211. That was my weight last week, so it should be down in the morning. Phew!

Today was such a crazy day. It was go! go! go! all day. I didn't have time for lunch. That's bad, huh! I made up for it with some peppermint chocolate squares tonight, though. :)

I got a good workout tonight with Bob. Then I did some toning stuff and did twice as much as usual. So, my muscles are a little sore...and I love it!

Breakfast:

• Oatmeal Squares cereal

Lunch:

• I already told you, I didn't have time for lunch (but I did have a couple protein bars)

Dinner:

• Spaghetti pie
• Cheese/garlic toast

Snacks:

• A couple protein bars to get me through the day
• 5 peppermint chocolate squares
• 1 Tootsie Roll

Workin' on it

So, I got rid of Bridgemaxx. Wahoo! Unfortunately, now I have no internet access for a few days. Well, unless (like now), I can get a signal from a neighbor. But, in order for that to happen, I have to contort myself into all kinds of strange positions in odd places in my house. Wow, it's a good thing I've been successful in my weight-loss endeavors, or I'd never get out of some of these poses. :)

Yesterday and tonight I have been trying to get this Dance Dance Revolution down. It's tough! The problem is, I have an addictive personality and can't stop something until I do well. And "well" in this case is to earn an A. This is only achieveable at the "basic" level...anything below that is too basic and I have no patience for it, and anything above it....well....let's just say....HOLY FREAKIN' NO WAY JOSE! Perhaps one day I might be able to pass a level without failing....maybe get through the entire routine, but that day is a long way from here.

So, anyway tonight there was one song that was just darn near impossible to get an A in. Thankfully I was able to do it, finally. Then I remembered the one song I had skipped (after earning a D). I didn't like the song and I couldn't figure out the "beat" (I use the term loosely), so I had skipped it. So, I decided I have to get an A in that too. At 11:30, I finally decided a "B" was good enough for tonight. I'll have to conquer that song another night.


Tuesday

Breakfast:

• Baked oatmeal with peaches and milk

Lunch:

• Black beans, brown rice and cheese

Dinner:

• Pot pie with cheese slice

Snacks:

• Protein bar

Wednesday

Breakfast:

• Baked oatmeal with peaches and milk

Lunch:

• Ummm....I sorta forgot to eat lunch, but I had a protein bar around 4:00 

Dinner:

• Salmon
• Fried rice
• Broccoli

Snacks:

• Protein bar (another one)
• Strawberry shortcake

*guilty look* Um...what weekend?

I haven't been doing so well. What has happened to me?? I've got to get back into my nazi mode! I had a party Saturday evening, so I had some unhealthy snacks. Sunday we celebrated my Dad's birthday, so I had some cake. Today.....well, today I have no excuse. Actually, I didn't do too bad until dinner. And, I pretty much knew I wouldn't do so well at dinner, so I didn't eat much during the day.

However, Saturday I helped my dad move his food storage out of Kathi's house and to another sister's house. So, I got a good workout in.  And I'm about to go home and do the Biggest Loser or something.

Anyway...let's see if I can remember what I ate all weekend...

Saturday

Breakfast:

• Special K cereal bar
• Oatmeal Crisp (with almonds) cereal

Lunch:

• KFC - took the skin off
• Biscuit

Dinner:

• Bean dip and chips

Snacks:

• Fiber One bar
• Protein bar
• Chocolate chip cookie

Sunday

Breakfast:

• Special K ceral bar
• Oatmeal Crisp (with almonds) cereal

Lunch:

• Frozen flatbread sandwich

Dinner:

• Roast pork
• Mashed potatoes and gravy
• Green beans
• Roll

Snacks:

• Protein bar
• Piece of cake
• 3 chocolate peppermint squares
• Piece of the best chocolate on earth

Monday

Breakfast:

• Baked oatmeal with peaches and milk

Lunch:

• Black beans, brown rice and cheese

Dinner:

• 2 grilled chicken patties (from Arctic Circle)
• 2 mini corndogs
• I snuck a few fries too....with fry sauce, of course

Snacks:

• Special K cereal bar

HOLY COW!!

So, I reluctantly got on the scale this morning. I was looking at the last two digits of the weight to see how much damage was done this week. When I saw "98" I was confused, so I looked at the first digit: "1." Well, that didn't make sense. That would mean I lost..... FOURTEEN POUNDS??!?!!!?? WHAT???!?!?!???

Yeah, I didn't believe that for a second! So, I got on again.....199. Third time's the charm? 198. Something wasn't right! This was all done on the Biggest Loser game, so I decided to see what Wii Fit had to say. The little scale/widget guy has never lied to me before (he always grunts in pain when I step on the balance board...rude!). 197

I called Kathi and my mom in complete shock. How could this be. My mom was convinced something was wrong. I was as well. I had decided to weigh in on Kathi's scale as well when I got to her house. In the mean time, I thought that I should try it at home one more time. I had put the balance board away, so I got it back out and made sure it was how it was supposed to be. This time, I weighed in at 211. THAT'S more like it! The balanced board must have been unbalanced somehow with the earlier weights.

Not a funny joke, but I'm glad I caught it. I'm glad it was such an outrageous number that I thought to question it. I would have hated to count it and then gain 10 pounds next week. That would be bad! I'm just glad I didn't gain. I'll take 1 pound this week! I think that's great!

So, yeah. That was my weigh-in this morning. Sure woke me up fast, that's for sure! :)

Oh, and I gained 1.75 inches....I knew it!


Breakfast:

• Multigrain Cheerios
• Special K cereal bar

Lunch:

• Black beans, brown rice and cheese (not a burrito)

Dinner:

• Corned beef
• Baked Lays potato chips 
• (You think that's bad....you should have seen what the kids had!)

Snacks:

• Protein bar
• Fiber One bar
• Captain Crunch cereal (small bowl...no milk)
• A scoop of ice cream

Date --------------2/19/10------------2/26/10------------Total Lost ------ Grand Total
Neck -------------- 13.5----------------- 13.75 ------------ -0.25 ---------------- 0.75
Right Arm--------- 15 ------------------- 15 --------------- 0 ---------------------- 0
Left Arm----------- 16 --------------- 15.75 -------------- 0.25 ---------------- 0.25
Bust ---------------- 50.25 ------------- 49 ----------------- 1.25 ---------------- 3
Midriff ------------- 38.25 -------------- 38.5 ------------ -0.25 --------------- 1.55
Waist -------------- 40.5 ----------------- 40.5 ------------ 0 ------------------- 2.5
Belly --------------- 46.5 -------------- 48.75 ------------ -2.25 --------------- 2.75
Hips --------------- 51 ---------------- 51.25 ------------- -0.25 ----------------- 2.5
Right Thigh ------- 26.5 --------------- 27.25 ----------- -0.75 ---------------- 0.75
Left Thigh --------- 27.25 -------------- 26.75 ---------- 0.5 ------------------ 1.25
Right Calf --------- 15.25 ------------- 15.25 ------------- 0 ------------------ 0.25
Left Calf ----------- 15.5 -------------- 15.5 -------------- 0 --------------------- 0

Total Inches ----- 355.5 ------------- 357.25 
Inches Lost ----------------------------- -1.75 --------- -1.75 ---------------- 15.5

Weight ------------ 212 ---------- 211
Weight Lost ---------------------- 1 --------------------------------------------- 20
Percentage ----------------------- 0.47% ------------------------------------- 8.66%
Lost

*Is it just me or does it seem like I don't actually "lose" inches....they just relocate to other parts of my body?