Monday, April 4, 2011

April Showers not SNOW....

It's been a bit but I haven't had much to report.  I am in good spirits and things are slowly moving.  I decided to join a weight loss group for support so I joined the biggestloserclub.com and I have become part of a group that does weekly/monthly challenges with each other and the group splits into two teams.  I have found a lot of advice and help on this site and I am hoping it keeps me going and focused.  They have experts you can ask questions and get advice from as well and they have helped me too.

I have realized and really long known that I do great as long as I have a schedule.  Mon-Fri is no problem.  I get up, work out, go to work, go to gym, come home make dinner and get ready for next day, sleep and repeat.  It works for me.  I don't get off track during the week and I eat pretty healthy.  It's the weekends when I am more relaxes and lounging around the house or out for drinks with friends that I overindulge and just loose track of what's going on.  If I can get my weekends in order I think the weight will come off more steadily.  I do go to the gym on Saturday mornings and I have been trying to get some form of exercise in on Sundays.  This past weekend my eats weren't great but the snacking was down to a minimum which is a huge improvement.  So I am happy with that.

I have also added 2 days of weight loss yoga to my morning workouts and 3 mornings are strength training.  I spend more time at the gym doing cardio and more time at home doing the weights.  I get to the gym still 4 days a week and I have been toying with the idea of going 5.  However I have added at least another day at home using the elliptical or treadmill.  I have started doing walk/jog intervals and I am looking forward to getting better at doing that.  I feel like if I can jog I can go anywheres.

Spring I think is finally here.  I am hoping that the last snow showed itself last week and we will have better days and more sunshine ahead of us.  April is here and I am 3lbs away from the next decade down and I know I can do this.  I want to do it.  I must stay focused. 

Happy Spring!!!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Is it Spring Yet?

So this weekend was so, so.  I could have done much better but I didn't do horrible either.  Saturday morning we got up and hit the gym.  I did a great workout and burned a little over 700 calories according to my Polar HRM.  We went back home and showered and went grocery shopping.  I had some chobani yogurt for breakfast before the gym and the hubby wanted to stop at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and a little something afterwards so we split 1 order of hashbrowns and a sausage, egg and cheese wrap.  That was pretty much all I had til early evening.  I was hungry but didn't know what for and we were going out with friends later in the night.  So my first downfall was not eating proper meals earlier in the day.  I had some hummus and pita bread and I had a few chips.  We went out to dinner and I only ate about 1/2 of my turkey wrap and 1/2 my fries.   I also had 3 beers.  So overall I would say Saturday sucked but could have been a lot worse.

Then there's Sunday....the hubby was heading down to visit friends overnight and see his mother.  So when I got up, the first thing I did was start making chocolate chip cookies for him to bring to his friends and mother.  I was not hungry and I think that's because I was because of the food/beer I had the night before.  So I had some coffee and baked his cookies.  I did have a cookie just to test, then I made him breakfast and he was on his way out.  I decided to clean the house and by lunchtime I was starting to get hungry so I had some banana chips and the other 1/2 of my turkey wrap.  I was going to my parents for dinner and it seems when I go there I end up in trouble.  So they know I am working on loosing weight and I am watching what I am eating.  So you would think they would be nice about it and not keep stocking all my biggest temptations.  WRONG!!!

So for the past few months everytime I go to my parents they have a huge bowl of reeses peanutbutter cups sitting there in front of me.  That bowl never seems to be empty and it just calls me.  I tend to cave and I hate it.  I am not a huge chocolate person but those things are just like crack!  So anyways....I get there Sunday and there's the candy dish full and then my mother (who by the way is watching what she is eating) says oh I bought that lemon bundt cake on the table for you.  I said for ME?  She say yes....I am starting to think she is trying to sabatoge me and it's getting OLD!  I absolutely LOVE LEMON STUFF!  It's my all time favorite and mind you this cake is HUGE!!!  So I tell her I will take some of it home for us b/c my hubby doesn't have a big sweet tooth.  So I when I am getting ready to leave I take half of it and she tells me it's not enough.  I said oh yes it is!  My mother then proceeds to tell me how she isn't eating that stuff and doesn't want it in the house!  At this point I am ready to scream!!  I tell her oh well, either am I and 1/2 a cake is enough for 2 of us....knowing  I will most likely eat it.  Why does she do this?  My father for the most part has learned to stop buying all my favorites but now my mother who is also overweight (blamed on my birth and my brothers) and has some bad eating issues is constantly buying food I don't eat anymore for me and she gets very mad/offended when I reject it.  So half the time I end up taking it home with me just so I don't have to hear her complain b/c I don't want it.  Sometimes I throw it out but other times I end up eating it.  What can I do?  I want to stop going there but I know that wouldn't go over well either.  I go 2 times a week for dinner and those 2 days usually are high calorie days.  I just don't know what to do. 
Over the past few years I have cut out processed foods and junk food.   I still eat it but not that often and when I purchase it, I try to do it in small quantities so once it's gone it's not sitting there tempting me to eat more of it.  I don't buy cakes, cookies, chips etc....it's very rare.  So if I don't buy it and my mother knows this then why does she turn around and buy it for me?  I don't like it!  I am rambling on but I guess I am trying to figure it out in my head.

So needless to say Sunday went downhill pretty fast.  I need to count calories on the weekend but I find it to be hard.  No more excuses.  So far so good this week.  It's Tuesday, tomorrow I go to my parents. 

Anyways I did some yoga this morning and I am off to the gym tonight.  I had a chobani for breakfast with a slice of toast and some fresh strawberries a little bit ago.  I don't know what's on the menu for lunch today.  Not sure what I am in the mood for. 

I am curious to know if anyone has any similar issues with their parents?  I would be interested in knowing how you resist or how you deal with the situation.  I know I need to get stronger when I am there.

Anyways have a great day!!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Happy Friday!!!!

Well it's Friday, made it through another week.  This week my weight has been going up and down.  However I am still lower than I have been so I will take it. =)  I know it's not all about weight and I know I feel good.  I got in 2 yoga workouts this week and 2 weight workouts.  I also did 3 hour long workouts at the gym on the elliptical or treadmill.  So I feel accomplished and I hope I can finally shed some more inches and pounds. 

I had a few days where the food wasn't terrific...meaning it was pretty high in sodium because it was processed.  Plus a few days were fast food that I never have.  I went out for a quick lunch with my father and we went to Burger King one day.  I haven't been to one of those places in years.  Let me just tell you I got a whopper jr. and fries and they didn't taste as good as I thought they would.  That tells me I am growing and definitely changing.  I use to go crazy for fries at fast food places but they were just ok.  Nothing special about them and the whopper wasn't what I thought it would be.  It definitely wasn't worth 780 calories but it didn't ruin my day.  I worked out extra hard and I had a healthier dinner.  I am just thinking the sodium is what is bringing my weight up a bit and the fact that it's that time of the month.  I know TMI.  But I am thinking those 2 things are factors with my weigh in this morning. 

On a healthier note is anyone else in love with Chobani yogurt?  That stuff is just so delish!  I have been buying the plain for a long time and adding my own stuff for breakfast.  Recently I have been exploring and trying their other flavors and let me tell you I am in LOVE!  Chobani is awesome and really good for you.  I really like the mango and strawberry banana.  However I do think adding my own fruit is healthier and I will probably still do that most of the time but for a nice quick snack I think I will keep flavors on hand.  Oh and I absolutely without a doubt love the Chobani Champions honey-nana flavor.  Let me just say it's heaven.  Add a little dab of peanut butter to that and it is just so delish yet pretty darn healthy.  I am sure I am not the only one.

So the weekend is upon me and that's when I tend to undo all the hard work I did during the week.  I do so much better with exercise and eating when I am on a schedule.  I am going to try my hardest to stay really focused this weekend and eat healthy.  That is my goal.  To not come out of this weekend with a gain.  Weekends are SOOO Hard!!!  We don't have much planned so it should be interesting.  My husband and I always get up Saturday morning and hit the gym first thing so that is a good start but I find Sundays are my hardest day.  I am going to be strong.  I can do it.  I know I can.  I have to do it.  If I ever want to loose weight and feel more comfortable in my own skin I must do it.  There's no choice.  It's time to move.  I have lost almost 45 lbs and I was happy with that but I need to loose a lot more...I am thinking about 100 more lbs I have to go.  It's a lot but I feel if I can just get out of this decade of numbers that I have spent the past year in I will be that much closer.  I have sat still long enough.  I want to say bye bye to all this extra fat and hello to a happy, healthier me!

So here's to a great weekend filled with lots of focus and healthiness.  I can do it and I will.  I will report back early next week with how it went. 

Anyone have any healthy food they can't live without?  Having any struggles with your weight loss, I would love to hear. 

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

I think I found the light....

Happy March Everyone!!!  We are that much closer to Spring and I can feel it in the air.  I am so done with this fierce winter.  It has been rough and the storm that pounded us this past Friday left me feeling helpless but thankful for such great neighbors who helped me out and towed me out of the snowbank I was stuck in. 

So I bought a weight loss dvd for yoga and I have been giving this a shot since early February.  I decided to do this for my morning workout instead of my usual use of the elliptical/weights.  At night I still go to the gym 4 times a week and use an elliptical or the treadmill for about an hour and do some weights.  So in these past few weeks my weight has shifted.  I had gone back up to 278lbs while I was sick.  Now I am down to 273lbs.  The only thing I have really changed was my morning workout.  Is is possible I have been doing too much?  Is it possible I was just overworking my body and it wouldn't let me loose weight?  I mean yeah I don't always eat perfectly but I do eat 99% better than I did 2 years ago, heck even a year ago so am I on to something?  Could it possibly be that I am better off doing a little less?  So these are all the questions I have creeping around in my head.  I am going to give it a shot and see what happens. 

I wear a Polar HRM when I workout.  My morning workout usually is around 300 calories burned and now when I do yoga I am only burning around 175 calories.  When I am at the gym I burn usually between 550-650 calories.  So when I was doing both I would be burning as much as 950 calories a day and I am thinking it was too much?  I wasn't starving myself either.  I would eat when I was hungry and I would have snacks. 

So this month  I feel like it is going to be the month.  I have been stuck in this decade of numbers for around a year now and it's time to get out.  I am 3lbs to the next decade and I can just feel it.  I am feeling inspired and I feel like if I can just see the 60's it will give me a whole other wave of motivation and determination. 

I have also stopped tracking my food and fitness online.  I am not doing it in a journal and I think it keeps me more accountable because it is there in front of me.  If I need to see where I am or what I have eaten I just grab it and look.  If I need to look at previous weeks/days to see what's going right or wrong I just flip a page.  I don't have to turn the computer on and search for previous days....it's all right there.  I think it registers with me better when I write it down vs. typing it in.  So I am going to continue writing in my journal and see where that gets me.

This month I want to get into the 60's and I want to soar through them.  I am going to stay positive and keep track of my food and fitness.   I am going to continue to find healthier foods and options and keep at it.  I think the more sunshine and warmth I get the more motivated I will be.  The happier I will get.  I think this winter has brought on the blues and I am ready to get out of them and move on.

Here's to a great March!  I hope everyone is doing well on their journey and if you have any thoughts please share.  Thanks. 

Friday, January 28, 2011

It's already the end of January

Time is flying by so fast...I don't know where it's going.  The one thing I do know if the weight is not dropping.  I have been sick all week and I made it to the gym Monday and Tuesday and worked out at home both mornings before realizing that this wasn't a good idea.  So I have been resting for the rest of the week and just trying to get better.  I can't taste food which has been leading to a lot of picking at things.  I have been trying to eat healthy just to get the nutrients in my system but when I am sick I crave bad stuff.  So on top of the healthy is also the bad.  I have been considering going to see a nutritionist to see if they get help get me on the right path.

Last year I lost around 5-6lbs total.  That's not much for a year especially when I joined a gym in May and have been going regularly since.  I use a HRM everytime I work out and my total calories burned at the end of a week runs around 3000 calories so wouldn't you expect to see a drop?  I know I do indulge but I didn't think my indulging was that bad.  I might go out for drinks a few times a month and I might have a few bad desserts a month but overall I am a healthy eater.  I am learning that even though I am eating healthier foods, it isn't going to help me if I can't reduce my quantity.  So, I have been working on reducing my quantity and my other problem is I go all day on schedule with food and exercise.  I eat great and track calories but then at night I start getting intense cravings for food and not healthy ones.  I will have a snack but then I want more.  It's like I just can't seem to get full at night.  Does anyone else have this problem?  I tell myself no but I end up grabbing something anyways.  I drink tea, snack on fruit but it doesn't always work.  I have been trying to make my go to snack popcorn with nothing on it except some seasoning that I add or maybe some EVOO but not a lot.

So here I am again saying the same things.  I loose a few pounds but by the next week it's back.  Right now I just want to get better and get back on track.  Today I am determined to stay good and not go overboard as with this weekend.  They seem to be my downfall.  It's such a battle but I don't want to be 275lbs anymore!!!  I wasted a whole year and it's time to get this weight shifted and downwards.  No more excuses... NO MORE!!!  It's time to move on and get it going.  It's time to find the strength I need to say no to myself at night.  I have no choice if I  want to loose weight.  I don't blame it on others.  It's my own self. 

Yes, I lost inches last year and I have gone down in clothes size but the fact is I am at 275 and I should be able to loose this weight with all the working out I do.  I average 5-6 hours a week of official exercise.  I don't eat fried, fatty foods.  We might eat out once a week but I always try to have the best option and I don't eat it all.  So I feel if I can get my nighttime snacking down I will get somewheres.  I want to get out of the 70's and into the 60's I feel like if I can get over this hump it will get me some motivation and spirit again and I will feel like it is possible.

Thanks for listening to my rambles.  I am trying to get all my thoughts out there to find the source.  I hope you are all having lots of success and I wish you the best.  If you have any advice I am more than willing to take it. 

Have a great day!  Happy Friday!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

So Far...

This week has been good overall health wise.  I had an awesome workout at the gym Tuesday night.  My HRM said I burnt 780 calories.  I got lost in my thoughts when I was on the elliptical and I think I took my frustrations out on it as well.  I did that for 45 minutes and then did some weights for 15 minutes.  Tonight I hope to have the same results at the gym.  I have also gotten up every morning this week at 5:00 a.m.  Yup that's right and worked out for 30 minutes before work.  I have been trying to incorporate more weight lifting and use of resistance bands to try to to work on my core a bit so some mornings I do 20-25 minutes on the elliptical and then I will spend at least another 10 minutes doing some form of strength training.  Anyone got any good ideas about trying to dwindle the middle?  My upper body has gotten smaller and so has my legs but my waist??  Not so much.  It's just stuck.  I know you can't do my to control where the fat leaves and sooner or later it will leave the waist area too but I am ready already.  Haha.  Tomorrow is a complete rest day and then back to the gym Saturday morning for a good workout with the hubby.

So food wise this week it hasn't been horrible.  I have been tracking my calories on Sparkpeople again.  Man it's so hard to keep tracking and being diligent about it.  I at least have an iPhone and I have an app for that.  Haha.  I love saying that.  So I have been good all week and in range except yesterday.  I did good til I got to my parents house for dinner.  What is it about a parents home that makes you throw it all out the window?  Well there sat the candy dish so I had a few bite size pieces of chocolate and then dinner was home made beef stew with buttermilk biscuits.  That was the death of me.  So I ended up having 3 biscuits with the hearty bowl of stew at my parents and I of course brought some home for the hubby where I had another biscuit.  EEKK!!  I am starting to realize that carbs/white flour is a trigger for me.  I almost always eat multigrian, wheat, pumpernickel bread and when I happen to eat white bread, pasta I start to overindulge and then I get this hunger sensation that won't go away.  I ended up eating a bowl of cherries last night and then some peanuts.  I probably at about 1/2 a cup or a little more of peanuts.  i know they aren't the worst choice but we all know how high in calories peanuts are.  So not to jinx myself but I am planning on having no more slips or screw ups this week.  I already have entered my foods for the day and I am at 1350 calories so I still have room for a little extra if I need it.  I have all my meals in and the 2 planned snacks so I am feeling good. 

Heres to a great day and a great tomorrow!  Oh let's not forget the hardest part of the week....THE WEEKEND!  Boy I love them but that seems to be the hardest time for me and when all common sense and good intentions fly out the window. I am hoping to have the power and strength this weekend to get through it.  Who's with me now?

Hope you are all having a great week. 

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

A New Year...

Does a new year mean a new beginning??? I have been pondering that a lot lately.

So I know I haven't been posting an I am still pretty new to this but so much had happened. We went to Ireland and England and when we got back I was non stop busy. Also, my life just seems crazy! So I hope to be back and post more often. I think this is really what I need but since I am in front of a computer all day at work, the last thing I want to do it sit in front of one at night. So I am working on it and we shall see. So far this year it's been crazy!

The holidays got the best of me. I gained weight and I was pretty out of control. I wasn't going to the gym often but I was still working out most mornings at home. Then we made a decision that we were going to try and start a family so back in November I went off the pill. OMG! December was an interesting month by far with emotions! So Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years was great overall but I just have been feeling pretty blah.

I have a really great friend, well I thought anyways but I am coming to realize that she is only there when SHE NEEDS ME! If I need her she is nowheres. It's hitting me hard today to realize that our so called great friendship is so onesided and I can't take it. When I hear from her I end up upset and frustrated and it's not because I am mad at her, it's because I am worried for her. However, I then never hear from her again until another bad thing happens. However, when it's the other way around she never picks up the phone for me or responds to text or emails. So I am re-evaluating things there and it's killing me inside.

This year I want to be healthy and positive. I want to start budgeting my money better, I want to loose weight and I want to get pregnant and have a healthy pregnancy. I want to only have positive friends and friends that will be there for me when I need it as well. I want to blog more often and I hope to make connections that will help me on this journey throughout.

I read many blogs and I just love the inspiration the give me and I hope to keep doing that. So this week I am back to tracking calories, and headed back to the gym tonight. Here's to a new year and a new beginning! A better beginning!

Thanks for reading and sorry this is a little all over the place, I have a lot going through my head right now and I am trying to get it sorted out.

XOXO