Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Day 22 - Last day of 2008!

Today went pretty smoothly. I didn't weigh-in again this morning and I don't think I will until this bloating goes away because I don't want to get discouraged by looking at the scale.

I decided not to do a juice fast. I picked up the Winter 2009 issue of Oxygen magazine. There is a total hottie on the cover with the body I want. Except she has had 6 kids and I haven't had any. She says not to skip a meal and keep the metabolism going. Of course I know that. I have a degree in the stuff. But we all get crazy ideas now and then. As soon as I have a chance I will go to the grocery store and buy more clean food and try to eat six small meals a day. Maybe I'll go tomorrow.

I worked 9-9 today and I didn't workout. My fiance and I are staying in for this New Year's Eve. I know, we are boring, haha.

BF: Zone bar, Lunch: 5 pieces of sushi (the kind with a piece of rice and a slab of fish on top) and a small amount of fresh mozzarella and tomato salad, Dinner: Smart Ones meal. I don't plan on eating anything else tonight, maybe one or two bites out of a Fiber One bar. I will have a small glass of champaigne at midnight.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Past Success: 20 Pound Loss

I thought I would take this oppotunity (boredom) to write about how I succeeded in weight loss a few years ago.

I was always a little chubby growing up but during my second year in college I was at my heaviest. I was always on some sort of diet that I would fail at and start over each week. I never really had the drive or motivation to follow through. That summer I started a job at a plastic surgeon's office as a office assistant and surgery intern. Everyone in that office looked great and everyone was on a diet so I decided that I was going to start watching what I ate. I remember that time so distinctly. I would eat 2 Eggos for breakfast, a Luna bar as a snack, an apple and a Slim Fast shake for lunch, some sort of snack before the gym and whatever my mom cooked for dinner (I was home for the summer and living with my parents). I lost about 5 pounds in 2 weeks and I was feeling pretty good about myself already. My dad picked me up from work that day for some reason (I think he changed the oil in my car) and during the drive we chatted....
Dad: "So, I see you are dieting and getting results right away."
Me: **Smile**
Dad: "You know, you seem so happy now. I don't understand why you didn't do this a long time ago."
Me: "What do you mean?"
Dad: "Well, everytime I look at you at home you have something in your mouth. If looking better makes you THIS happy, well... (***key phrase to my success...***): Do you not have enough character to eat less, not stuff yourself and therefore make yourself happy?"

Wow, I thought. Well, I was pissed. Character? He is questioning my character??? Always something in my mouth??? I was so pissed but I was angry mostly because I knew he was right. I was so mad that from that day on I continued my eating plan but I didn't stick one thing in my mouth after dinner for the rest of the summer (4-5 weeks or so). He would offer me cookies, fruit, etc. while we watched TV as usual. I wouldn't eat one grape and give him the satisfaction. Haha. I ended up losing 20 pounds or so and feeling like a rock star. It was tough, we ate dinner at 6pm the latest. I went to bed starving some nights but it got easier. I am so happy that my dad gave me that reality check years ago. He didn't mean it to hurt me. He only wanted the best for me. I was so mad because I was embarrassed. He never told me I looked bad or anything like that...now he even tells me to put on some pounds here and there. I love him and I thank him for that.

Day 21

I woke up feeling like crap again and I didn't weigh-in. I have been having trouble with my BCP for the past few months...breakthrough bleeding and week early bloating and so forth. Plus I just looked at the calandar and realized I would have my period on my honeymoon. So today I got a new Rx for a pill I used to be on that was pretty dependable and I am manipulating my cycle to perfection, hehe. Meaning I won't have it for my cousin's wedding, my wedding, the honeymoon, or my friend Nicole's wedding. Gotta love messing with hormones. Anyway, today was so horrible that I refuse to post about it. I think I might do a juice fast tomorrow. Still thinking about it. I gotta start eating clean. I have to to start cutting out all the processed food I have been eating...like ice cream bars for one.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Day 20

Today went fairly well despite my horrifying weigh-in this morning: 140.9. Ugh, I am hoping it is not just from non-ideal eating but also because it is the week before my period and I have been feeling very bloated. We'll see. The true test will be after this period, around January 10th...I should be a solid 138 by then. January 10th will be day 32, so we'll see.

I woke up and went to the gym and had a heavy duty leg workout even though I desperately wanted to sleep in. I worked 9-9.

BF: Cheerios with fresh strawberries (165), Snack: Zone bar (190), Lunch: homemade ham sandwich on wheat, few pretzels, some popcorn (385)- I didn't actually eat all the pretzels and popcorn with lunch, I sort of grazed on it the rest of the day. We were so busy with work that I didn't get to eat dinner there. So before 10pm I had a toal of 740 calories. At 10pm I ate 300-400 calories worth of bean soup and 1 chocolate (about 60 calories). So 1200 calories max. I was very tempted to have a Skinny Cow ice cream tonight but I resisted.

One fifth of my challenge is complete. I am happy with myself for the most part so far. I actually kept up with the blog and I have been bouncing back after cheat days. So lets see...Day 40 will fall on 1/18, 1/2 way mark on 1/28, Day 60 on 2/7 (dress fittings start around the 10th), Day 80 on 2/27 (gotta look great for my cousin's wedding on the 28th) and finally Day 100 the day before my wedding. Craziness...this will fly by.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Day 19

Ugh, I woke up bloated and feeling like crap. I should've known better not to weigh myself: 140.1. Serves me right...what was I thinking yesterday...salty pistachios, salt and vinegar chip, beans and bread so late at night and a Skinny Cow ice cream cone right before bed that I didn't log in. Geez, now it sounds bad. Back to Cheerios and low fat today. We are having dinner with my fiance's dad tonight so I'll have to order grilled fish and steamed veggies instead of pasta at one of my favorite Italian places.

BF: 1.5 servings of Cheerios with fresh strawberries (250), Lunch: 1/2 ham sandwich and Skinny Cow ice cream cone (300), Dinner: Ugh...2 rolls with garlic butter (I would honestly call these rolls "small" compared to most restaurants), salad with italian dressing, baked salmon with a side of angel hair pasta and marinara sauce, Snack: Skinny Cow ice cream cone + piece of chocolate. OK, obviously something is wrong with me. I really have to crack down tomorrow. I work my usual 12 hours tomorrow so hopefully I can control myself and not eat after work. I am going to try to make it to the gym before work.

So I had 2 semi-bad days in a row. This is where the true test of strength comes in. I personally believe there is a huge different between "cheating" on a diet and "breaking" a diet. Every diet break begins with a cheat. But every cheat doesn't lead to a break. I feel a cheat is necessary for diet sanity. The problem comes in when you cheat for longer than a day or two. This is when you get so down on yourself that you continue cheating...leading to gaining all of the weight back that you worked so hard ot lose. We'll see how tomorrow goes. I have to keep reminding myself how good those size 6 jeans feel. Tomorrow marks the end of 1/5th of my journey. No excuses!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Day 18

Post sauna/alcohol intake weigh-in: 138.6. I have the worse dehydration headache ever.

BF: Glass of OJ, Snack: 120 calories or so of pistachios, Lunch: 150 calories of chicken, hot sauce, 140 calorie WW ice cream, bite size piece of chocolate, Snack: 1 servings of potato chips (140 calories) 10 grapes, 5 strawberries, Dinner: full bowl of bean stew, 3 slices of rye bread (from the end of the loaf so smaller pieces) with smart balance spread. I think I probably had about 1400 calories today. My fiance makes this awesome bean stew that is super healthy...it is made with a bunch of beans and veggies and no oil is used to make it. The only bad part about it is some thin slices of lean turkey kielbasa and dumplings. Sometimes we use pasta instead of the dumplings. He blends some of the beans and veggies so the soup ends up having a thick tecture. It is really filling and loaded with protein.

I did 2.3 miles of cardio outside around 3pm. I walked 0.2, ran 1.4 straight, then walked 0.7.

Before dinner, around 7, I did a small heart pumping workout. 20 quick squats, 5 push-ups, 20 squats, 10 push-ups, 20 side lunges, 10 push-ups and 20 tricep dips. Followed by leg lifts and 100 crunches. I wish I had gone to the gym today becuase it is closed on Sundays. So tomorrow I can't. I will probably do The Shred tomorrow. We'll see. I am scared to step on the scale tomorrow because I am SO full from dinner right now.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Day 17

Morning post-holiday weigh-in: 139.6 (haaaaaaa-llllllleeee-lujah, ha-le e e e-lujaaaaahhhhhh).

This is kinda too embarassing to type out but here goes....

I slept in till almost 1pm. I ate Cheerios. My fiance and I didn't have anything in plan for the day so we decided to go out with his friends tonight (a lot of them are visiting from out of town and we haven't seen them for a while). Since my social life in this new town is extremely limited I got excited to get pretty and wanted to devote the day to doing something that will make me feel that way. When I was in college, my best friends and I would have days where we were really excited to go out...we would go to the mall and get a new outfit, do our nails, tan by the pool and then listen to music while we all got ready. Those we the days! Anyway, so I put on my gym clothes, and set out to run a million errands. I went to the mall and got 2 pairs of new jeans at Express (they were on sale!). And get this...they are both size 6!!! I even bought a new shirt for the fiance that he wanted. Then I went straight to the gym. I was kinda light headed so I bought a bag of pretzels and a bag of fruit snacks at the gym and ate about 1/2 bag of each before my workout. I did back and biceps. I wanted to cram in a cardio workout so between sets I would do about 40 lunges really fast to get my heart pumping. It felt really good to lift. I guess my whole 10 day focus on legs went down the drain. =(
Anyway, so I like to tan in the sun. I gave up tanning beds a long time ago. But I am the most pale I have ever been so I decided to look online earlier in the day to see if there was a Planet Beach in the area. I got so lucky because not only did I find one 3 minutes away from my gym but it is not just a tanning salon, it is a spa version of Planet Beach. The website had a "3 services pass" coupon for first time visitors! So I went there and and did their hydration theray (pretty much a cocoon shaped thing you get into that acts like a sauna). I think I lost 3 pounds of water weight in there. Then as my second free service I did a stand up tan. I still have one service left. Not sure what I will do. They said I can use it for a mystic spray tan but I am kinda nervous to do that. Especially since the girl that was telling me how natural it looked was kinda orange.
So I rushed home to get ready. It was 6pm by this time and the fiance wanted to leave between 6 and 7. Yikes. Naturally we didn't leave the house till 8, haha. I'm a loser. So we went to a party and then to a bar. All night I was starving and ready to eat afterwards. I had 2 beers and a cranberry-vodka. We almost stopped by a McDonalds but both the fiance and I talked ourselves out of it. We got home at 2:30am. I ate 450 calories worth of food and went to bed.

Catch-up Day 15 and Day 16

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! Both my fiance and I worked till 7pm on Christmas Eve. We then drove 1.5 hours to my parents' home and spent Christmas Eve with them. We had Christmas breakfast with them as well and then drove 2.5 hours to his sister's home. We spent the day/evening with his family.

Day 15

Up until 9:30pm I ate about 750 calories...BF: Cheerios, Snack: 4 Combos my co-worker had, Lunch: Lean pocket, early dinner: Lean pocket (the day was so busy I really had no time to eat, I didn't even have time to order a wrap...it was frozen food or nothing). I didn't over-eat on Christmas dinner. I had a little bit of everything and only one serving: Small piece of roast beef, small piece of duck, 1/2 small potato, beet salad, mlince (Croatian dish I compare to stuffing), sauerkraut. For dessert I only had 3 bite-size homemade cookies.

My parents noticed my small weight loss! My dad actually commented that I needed to gain 3 pounds. I think he was kidding but he did tell me not to lose anymore. I wanted to tell him that he doesn't know whats under my jeans but that would've been too much information.

Day 16

I guess we could almost call this day Cheat Day 2 but then again I was pretty good compared to how I wanted to eat. BF: small piece of Italian fruit cake and 1/2 cup milk, 2 bite-size cookies, 1 tiny slice of bread with 2 pieces of cheese, few cherries. Once we got to my fiance's sister's home, we had some appetizers which I will call Lunch: few tortilla chips with spinach/artichoke dip, 4 bite-size strips of seared tuna, pasta and brocolli salad, 2 slices of tomato with fresh mozzerella, couple of sugar-glazed pecans. Dinner: Small piece of grilled swordfish, small piece of chicken piccata, 3 fingerling potatoes, streamed brocolli (they are very healthy eaters, thanks goodness). I didn't eat any bread and butter, which was difficult. Dessert: slice of chocolate cake, a bunch of dark chocolate covered pomegranate (these are amazing by the way), 2 bite-size tea cookies, few more sugar-glazed pecans, some more chocolates later on. I know, haha. I love sweets.

It could've been a lot worse. But the horrible part is that I didn't exercise at all. I will defiantely workout hard core for the next 3 days. I really need to build some muscle. My thighs are flabby.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Day 15

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Morning weigh-in: 139.1 =)

I most likely won't be posting tonight. My fiance and I are going out of town to visit my parents directly after work. We will be spending the night there (so no Christmas morning weigh-in) and going straight to his sister's house the next day. I am not sure what we are doing after the Christmas festivities and I'm not sure how late we will be getting home. I will probably get to post tomorrow night. Otherwise...I will update all three days on the the 26th.

I plan on eating very healthy all day because I am sure we will be having a big dinner at my mom's and dad's tonight and we will be eating it late. Christmas breakfast is always pretty big as well. I know I will be able to be good at my future sister in law's house. They usually eat really healthy.

I am hoping not to be above 140 point something on Thursday. That might take some work.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Day 14

Woohoo 139.0 (I know I say this a lot, but I seriously think I am dehydrated today. I was so thirsty all day at the mall yesterday.) But then again, when I used to be dehydrated the number would never go that low. When I was studying for the pharmacy boards in June I was 149 or so. Dehydration meant 147.

The name of this blog is no excuses...well I've found one...Christmas shopping. I still kept up with my calories and all...but I missed working out again! Ugh. I am so beat though...shopping all day must have burned something.

Not ideal by any means...kinda embarassing but here we go....BF: Cheerios and Fiber One bar 20 minutes later, Snack: slice of fresh cheese, Lunch: frozen yogurt from TCBY (ridiculous I know), Dinner: "Fit size" turkey sandwich from Subway (smaller than 6 inch) and vanilla cone from Chik-Fil-A, Snack: another piece of fresh cheese, 1/2 cup OJ.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Day 13

Wow, I love Christmas, but shopping all day it torture. I am beat. Morning weigh-in: 140.5 (Yay)

I can't believe that thought I was sore yesterday. I could barely walk today. It is a good kinda pain but it ruined my hopes of doing a cycling class.

BF: Cherrios (bigger serving than usual unfortunately), Snack: WW ice cream cone, Lunch: 1/2 sandwich (wheat bread, ham, cheese, pickle), Snack: chocolate truffle (I know, I'm a moron), Dinner: Mediterranean chicken wrap from Nature's Table (mall food court): chicken, feta cheese, onion, olives, tomato, dressing on the side), no sides. I am actually pretty proud of myself because I really wanted chinese food. My fiance helped me out...he said, "You don't wanna blog about chinese food tonight do you?" He's a sweetie.

So today wasn't ideal. But then again I did resist some temptation. I feel extremely bloated right now. I hope the sodium from that Mediterranean wrap doesn't mess up my weigh in tomorrow. I am very worn out from shopping and I have tons more to do. Time to get some rest.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Day 12

I had to have my fiance step on the scale this morning to make sure it wasn't broken: 141.1 again.

I didn't workout today. It was pretty much a workout just standing and bending over to reach for stuff at work. Not only are my legs beyond sore but so is my back from the deadlifts. Its feels awesome actually. At least I know my time at the gym was worth while.

BF: Protein shake plus tiny amount of Cheerios, Snack: 100 calorie popcorn, Lunch: homemade sandwich (wheat bread, fresh cheese, lean ham, pickle), Snack: Fiber One bar plus milk, Dinner: Weight Watchers ice cream cone, 1/2 sandwich (same as for lunch but only one half). All together about 1300-1350. I wish I ate less calories today but everything I ate was pretty low in fat.

Tomorrow I have to get a lot of cardio in, along with some sort of leg workout.

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

Not to be cheesy but what a powerful question. No wonder it is the theme song of the Biggest Loser. I mean, think about it...did you just live your life today as usual or did you actually accomplish something? Did you get up an hour early and actually work towards your goal? Or did you sleep in because one excuse or another kept you in your comfy bed? Did you refuse to eat junk that was offered to you? Did you spend an hour making mini meals instead of buying unhealthy food at work? Its funny how quickly we forget our goals when the temptations of food and laziness come along. What dress? Oh, I'll look fine. He loves me the way I am...

I feel that if someone is serious about a diet or exercise program, they should feel proud 8 days out of 10 at least. And they should almost never answer "Yes" to the opposite question...What have you done today that you are ashamed of?

I realize that in all my years of dieting I didn't always feel proud of myself. At the end of the day I was satisfied with the fact that I didn't eat the kind of junk that others around me ate. I was satisfied that I walked 1 mile. But I didn't make sacrifices to acheive my goals. Not ones to boast about. When I watch the people on the Biggest Loser workout I think...wow, they weight 3 times as much as I do and I don't push myself that hard. I still don't on most days. But isn't admitting that you aren't doing enough to transform the first step?

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Day 11

Morning weigh-in: 141.1

I can't get out of this 141 business. I guess I can't complain because I couldn't get below 144 for a while. Plus I did just have a cheat day.

Well day 1 of legs went really well. I was at the gym by 7:30 and lifted for almost an hour. I focused on leg extensions and deadlifts. I did a lot of lunges and a few sets of leg curls. Right now both my quads and hams are on fire. I seriously ripped my muscles to the max. I hope I can walk tomorrow. I worked 10 hours today and will work 7 tomorrow.

My food intake was pretty good. BF: Zone bar around 11:30, Lunch: 1/2 of my usual turkey wrap, Snack: sample of grocery store meal, again pork and potatoes (about 4 bites), Early dinner: other 1/2 of wrap around 6:30, Late dinner: 1 slice of ham, 5 tortellini, few bites of bean salad, 2 small slices of fresh cheese, 1 slice wheat bread with small amount of butter and jelly. Before the "Late dinner" I was at about 1050 calories...so even if this was 300 or so I am ok with that.

I expect to weigh 2 pounds or so more tomorrow. My muscles are extremely worked and I expect them to hold on to water. I will try to not beat myself up when I see the 143 pop up. I guess i am a little bit number-obsessed. I try to think it out logically but all I want is to be in the 130s right now.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Day 10

My post-cheat day weigh-in this morning wasn't too bad: 141.3.

I didn't get up for cycling as planned. When I woke up at 5:30, I had a bad headache and was exhausted. I did eat really well today and I hope that means a small loss for tomorrow.

BF: Zone bar, Snack: 100 calorie popcorn, sample of pork and potatoes (only 4 bites or so) that the grocery store was serving up, Lunch: Small tomato, olive and fresh mozzarella salad, Dinner: Smart Ones meal. 1200 calories tops.

It seems like I just started this blog yesterday and now I am 1/10th through. Ten days passed in a snap. These first 10 days allowed me to get started...working out regularly and eating better. Now I think it is time to divide each 10 days section and assign each one a focus. For example, on days 11-20 I can focus on legs. I can lift a lot, cycle, do leg lifts daily, etc. Then I can switch the focus to abs, or back, or flexibility. You get the idea. This way, I know I only have 10 days to master a section of the body. This will give me a focus and more motivation to accomplish something in a short period of time. Obviously, I will still work on legs, or whatever, for the remainder of the time. But during each 10 day section, I can work extra hard on that part.

We'll see how it goes. I think I will start with legs (my least favorite body part to workout).

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Day 9 - Cheat Day 1

I feel that every diet needs a cheat day here and there. I like to take one every 10-14 days or so to keep me sane. Plus, when you take one you realize cheating doesn't feel as good as you thought and it keeps you going until the next time you slack. Plus, if you have the urge to cheat, you can always save the craving for a cheat day.

How do I define a cheat day? Its not an all-day gorge...but I usually eat whatever I want. Today I had my reglar Cheerios breakfast around 9:30am, actually a smaller serving, 145 calories worth. Frankie and I met with our officiant today so we didn't get to eat lunch till about 3. We went to Stir Crazy (Asian food). I had a full plate of szechuan chicken stir fry and white rice, with 1 fortune cookie for dessert. We looked for wedding rings but no luck finding them yet. We got home around 9:30 and I ate about 1 1/2 sandwiches (lean ham, 2 slices of cheese, pickles). Then I had ice cream for dessert (kid size Marble Slab with sweet cream, Oreos and cookie dough). I actually feel kinda sick right now and I think its from all that cheese and the cookie dough. It was just a little too rich. Ugh.

I am going to get to bed early tonight and maybe get to a cycling class in the morning before work to burn off some of these extra calories.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Day 8

I weighed-in this morning even though I said I wasn't going to. I couldn't help myself. I was 141.1. It could've been a lot worse.

This morning I walked/jogged 1.4 miles before work. Not too impressive but I didn't have much time. I worked 9-9. Tonight I did the 100 push-up challenge with my fiance. I have been slacking with the challenge. I "attempted" week 3, column 2, day 2.

BF: Zone bar, Lunch: 1/2 spinach wrap (turkey, mustard, veggies, no cheese), 1/2 small mozzarella and tomato salad, small piece of watermelon, Snack: tiny sample of salmon and 3 gnocchi the grocery store was serving up, Dinner: 1/2 wrap and 1/2 salad left from lunch, grapes. All in all about 1400 calories.

Today they had some samples of cookies out on the counter. I really wasn't too tempted to go out there and grab one. I thought, hmmm...it would be nice to eat some of those and then I let the thought go. WOW, I was surprised. I think sometimes food consumes our minds. You see something you want and the debate goes on and on and on in your head. Should I? Shouldn't I? Man I really want that. But I can't. Can I? Maybe one won't hurt? Ugh, I can't dedide!!!! In reality, it should only be a one-time question of, Is eating this going to help me reach my goals? or Do I think I should have this? If the answer is no, we should let the thought go. Why waste time on debating about it. Its a simple decision when you really think about it. A simple decision that is a true reflection of strength and power. How weak are we to sit there in agony debating?

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Day 7

I pretty much stayed the same since yesterday. I slept in and weighed 141.0 at 10am. At 11:20 I re-weighed myself and it was 140.7.

BF: (11:30) Cheerios, Lunch: (2:30) Slice of wheat bread, fresh cheese, tiny piece of watermelon, sugar-free redbull, "Snack" (6:45) 2 slices of white bread with veggie spread, 1 Fiber One bar, Dinner (8:30) thin steak, white rice, mushrooms in cream sauce, cabbage salad.

Ugh, awful. I lifted some weights around 4 and did a hour cycling class at 4:30. Then I went grocery shopping. By the time I got home I was so hungry that I ate that awful "snack" listed above. Then I had a full dinner with my fiance that I prepared. Luckily the steak was really thin and since I cooked eveything from scratch I know that I didn't add a lot of oil or fat to it.

This really makes me not want to weight-in tomorrow. =(

I think I might wait till Thursday morning to weigh-in. That will give me a day to redeem myself.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Day 6 Edit

Being that it is 12:30am and that I haven't eaten since about 7:30pm, I just ate the second half on my Ruby Tuesday's sandwich (chicken, wheat roll, tomato, no condiments). I actually feel kinda glad I did because I don't want my metabolism to slow down too much. But then again I feel kinda gross cause I wish I ate it slower, I am pretty full right now and I am about to go to bed. Hopefully the load of salt in this "snack" won't ruin my weigh-in tomorrow.

Some Inspiring Friends

Nicole:

My friend Nicole and I have beein dieting buddies since we reunited in college. Our weights tend to fluctuate and talking about losing is our favorite topic. Nicole's goal a few weeks ago was to lose 60 or so pounds before her wedding in June. She recently started medically supervised weight loss and has lost 12.5 pounds in the last week! I am very proud of her. She says she is forming a new relationship with food.

If you have even had a weight problem you know that it is a mental battle. If you disagree, try to go on the 48 hour Hollywood diet where you drink nothing but juice for 2 days in a row. You get so pumped up about trying it that you maintain your will power for 2 days. At the end you take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror and think, "wow, for the past 2 days I haven't eaten any solids...What if I was allowed actual meals? What if I ate a few healthy things throughout the day? That would be a treat compared to juice. What am I doing pigging out on loads of food if I can actually survive on 2 days of liquids?" You just need the mental strength to tell you you don't HAVE TO eat something that is sitting in front of you. You will make it. You will survive without it.

Cristina:

Cristina is my friend from school, who I have the pleasure of living with for two months this past spring. During that time, I was in a high motivation mode. I was working out daily, if not twice a day. Cristina and my fiance would sit on the couch at night eating ice cream while I tried hard not to think about food. She said that she wanted to lose weight by her wedding (2/28/09) but she just wasn't ready to commit to a program. Cristina commited about 2 months ago and has lost 14 pounds! She watches what she eats and she is starting to exercise. I saw her at her bridal shower this past weekend and she looked amazing. I could really tell the difference.

She has a really interesting perspective on weight loss....her motto is "There is no way I am going to cheat now. I worked way to hard to lose this weight and I am not going to mess it up and have to start all over again." It makes me think about all the times I re-started in my life. Dieting is hard. Why do it over and over and over again? Instead, make a lifestyle change that involves less strict dieting and focuses on consistency.

Day 6

Morning weigh-in: 140.9 (Yay, didn't go up as much as I thought I would.)

Today went really well as far as weight loss but not so great as far as building muscle. I did a 6am cycling class. I worked 9-9. We were so busy at work that I didn't get a lot of opportunities to eat.

BF: Cheerios, Snack: Zone bar, Lunch: 1 slice bread, 70 calories of natural cheese, a sample of a sloppy joe sandwich the grocery store was cooking up, Dinner: Smart Ones meal, few grapes, watermelon. Overall about 1130 calories or so. I need to eat a lot more protein. Tomorrow I am going to buy some lean proteins, maybe even some fish. I plan on having a really great workout tomorrow, so I might up my calories to 1500-1600.

I thought that my new mini-goal was 138 by New Years. But I am hoping that if I know I am being good and working hard that I won't focus on the number so much. After all, I really want to build muscle.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Day 5

Today went okay. I woke up and had a sugar free red bull. I did level 1 of the shred around 12:30. I ate breakfast at 1pm: Cheerios and milk, 190 calories. Around 4:30, Frankie and I went out to eat at Ruby Tuesday's. I had salad bar and a chicken sandwich with fries. I ordered the chicken sandwich with no cheese, no bacon and honey mustard on the side. It was on a wheat bun and I ate half of it. I probably ate about 1/3 of the fries. Thats it for the day. I am about to make some fruit salad for lunch tomorrow so I will eat a small piece of watermelon.

I am thinking about doing cycling tomorrow morning at 6am before work.

Day 4

Ok, I am writing this post the next morning because I didn't get to last night. Yesterday went pretty well but not ideal. I didn't workout at all. I didn't eat much, but what I did eat wasn't exactly nutritious food.

I woke up around 8am, got ready and drove to Miami for a makeup trial. I was supposed to go straight to a bridal shower but the trial was so awful that I drove all the way back to Boca to wash my face and then go to the bridal shower in Davie. What a waste of time, money, gas, etc. On the way to the shower, around 1:30, I had a small sandwich. It was small but consisted of white bread, some lower calorie cheese and a piece of perchutto.

At the shower I had sugar-free Lemonade (some new product in a can by Tropicana, didn't taste sugar-free, very tasty). I had a few finger food appetizers, one small cupcake and 2 or 3 bite size cookies. I stayed away from the chicken fingers, which looked amazing and all the other baked goodies.

Around 6 pm I had a few pieces of beef my mom was cooking up for a spagetti sauce with a piece of white bread.

When I got back to Vero, Frankie and I went out for a drink...I had a Mojito and 1/2 shot of Jack. Obviously I know I shouldn't drink alcohol. I had a 100 calorie bag of popcorn afterwards.

So this morning (the next day), I weighed in at 140.3. I KNOW I am dehydrated from the alcohol. I expect to go back to about 142 tomorrow but we'll see. I will watch what I eat all day and workout.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Day 3

Morning weigh-in: 142.7 (Yay)

Today went ok. I didn't get to workout but I will do some leg lifts, etc before bed. I am exhausted. I went to one invitation appointment with my mom, saw the prices and decided to order invites online. We cancelled other invite appointments and went to the mall, shopped for a shower/wedding gift for my friend and then I did a makeup trial with a girl from MAC in Nordstrom. The foundation wasn't as smooth as I would like and the eyes were a bit uneven. We'll see, I have a different trial tomorrow morning before the shower.

My eating wasn't ideal. I ate a Zone bar around 8am, a Think Thin bar around noon and then didn't eat a thing until dinner with the parents at 9:30. The timing was horrible but I doubt I had more than 1400 calories or so. I really wanted something sweet after dinner but I resisted.

I won't be able to post a weight tomorrow because I am out of town so I can't use my scale. Hopefully the Sunday weigh-in will be good.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Day 2

This morning's weigh-in: 143.6 (I knew I was dehydrated yesterday.)

Today went really well. I woke up at 5:30am and did a 6am cycling class. It kicked my butt. I worked from 9-9 and came home and did Day 1, Week 3 of the one hundred push-up challenge.

I ate really well all day too. BF: plain Cheerios and milk, Snack: Zone bar, Lunch: cottage cheese, 100 cal popcorn, Dinner: Smart Ones meal. All before 8pm. This was about 1150 calories. I was really hungry tonight so around 10:30 I had some wheat cereal and milk. Together, about 1350 for the day. Not bad considering I did that cycling class. I only wish I had eated more protein.

Tomorrow is going to be a loooooooong day. I have 6 different wedding appointments. I doubt I will get to workout at all tomorrow. If anything, I will do some leg lifts and crunches before bed. I bought some Zone bars to bring along incase I need a quick bite.

If my weight goes up tomorrow, I will let the number roll off my back...I know I had a good day.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Day 1

Morning weigh-in: 143.3 (I was expecting higher actually because I have been really bad for the last 4 days or so. I won't be suprised if my weight goes up tomorrow. Maybe I am dehydrated.)

Today I worked my regular 12 hours. I really needed some sleep so I decided to skip an early morning workout. I did really well with my eating all day. I ate 1200 calories and made sure I got a lot of protein in. I also tried to drink extra water.

I probably won't be posting my food intake daily but here goes today: BF: Protein bar (new variety called Think Thin...pretty good as far as taste but I got some acid reflux afterwards), Snack: 100 calorie popcorn, Lunch: 1/2 turkey wrap (no cheese, no mayo...only mustard and veggies), 1/2 c. cottage cheese, Snack: Fruit salad, Dinner: other half of my wrap. I finished eating before 8pm.

I have a busy weekend of wedding appointments coming up so I better get a good workout in tomorrow. No excuses, right?

100 Days to Go

I joined The Knot a few months back only to find out I had under 200 days till "the big day", March 20th. At that time, I swore up and down that this was the time for change. I was going to workout daily, eat right, and take care of myself (do my nails, hair, take vitamins, use special skin creams, etc) in order to get in ultimate shape and look my very best on my wedding day.

Almost 100 days later and no real progress has been made. I keep fluctuating between 140 and 145 pounds. I keep eating well for a week, only to ruin my hard work in 2 days of binging and laziness. I do believe I have gained a little strength and muscle in the past few months but not nearly as much as I should've.

With only 100 days left, I have no excuses.

This is the last time in my life that I will be able to say, "I have 100 days till my wedding, I still have time to reach my goal." Why would I let this opportunity pass me by? Only to wake up on the day of my wedding and not like what I see in the mirror? To not be in shape for my Honeymoon? To not look back at my wedding albumn and say "Wow, I really worked hard to look like that, and it payed off."

Now, to those of you who think this may sound very superficial...to each his own. I realize that looks aren't everything. I realize that there are much more important things in life. I realize I will still be extremely happy on my wedding day regardless and that my fiance will still love me whether I change or not. This is one of my personal goals. This is my journey to get there.

Thanks for reading. =)