Makes me feel great

Lately I have had so many people compliment me on my weight loss so far. Even though I still have a long way to go it helps keep me motivated to know that people can tell. It brings my confidence up a little bit each time. So thank you to all of those who have complimented me and those who are supportive of me doing this. It means a lot!

Results of Challenge

Today was the weigh in day of my challenge. As I stated in the previous post, I did cheat a little but not much. Compared to my usual intake of soda and tea I did great this week with drinking 99% water. The results are: the exact same as last week. 172.4 : ( I am not very happy about this, but I know I am still loosing inches so that is what really matters to me. I really expected to see a big weight loss this week after being told by so many people how drinking only water helps you loose weight. Well maybe I am an exception to this rule, I don't know. But my results did not show any loss. But I will continue to drink more water and less tea and soda. I know it is overall healthier, and that is my overall goal, to get healthy!

I needed motivation

Well I have done pretty good with the no soda or sweet tea this week. I will not lie I did have like 2 diet mt dews(all week) and 1 glass of regular sweet tea. I needed the caffeine, I was dying with no energy lol. But I did find out that when you go out to eat if you want tea then order unsweet and put the packets of splenda in it to sweeten it. That counts just like drinking water. I actually made me some tea today with splenda, and it is not that bad. I think i will stick to doing it that way.
As far as the scale goes, so far I have not seen a big drop in numbers, but I do my actual weigh in tomorrow morning. So we will see what the final result is. But tonight after working out I asked to be measured just because I needed motivation. I wanted to see if the inches were at least going down since the weight isn't. And to my surprise, after only 2 1/2 weeks, I have lost 1/2 in to 1 1/2in every where, except my arms and thighs. And she said that is probably because they are toning up. So as long as I keep seeing those inches go down I am one happy girl.
I can now wear a size 13/14 jean and they fit comfortably, some loose depending on how they are made. That is about 3 jean sizes down since Jan 3. : )

Ughh

This water only thing is not so fun. I am going through caffeine withdrawals and it is horrible. I never knew caffeine was so addicting. It is really like a drug. I have a horrible headache that will not go away no matter what I take, I am struggling to keep my eyes open, and just feel like crap. I really hope this week of no sodas and tea are worth it in the end. I really hope I see a big weight loss.

Personal challenge

As I have mentioned before, my weakness so far has been diet mt dew and sweet tea!! I just can't seem to give either one up. I think I could give up the diet mt dew before I could give up my tea. Us southerners love our sweet tea!

So starting Thurs, Feb 10, 2011, I am challenging myself to not drink any diet mt dew or sweet tea for a week. And not only those two things, but no sodas at all. Water will be my only liquid (besides milk for breakfast) for a whole week.

I have heard so many people say that just by cutting those things out of your diet you will loose more weight. So I am putting it to the test. I will weigh myself (for my weekely weigh in) first thing in the morning. Then on Thurs, Feb 17, 2011 I will weigh myself and see how much I lost.

Weigh in for Thurs Feb 10, 2011---172.4

Phase 2

Well I hit my plateau with my weight loss. So now its on to phase 2 with my weight management plan. In phase 2 the caloric intake goes from 1200 to 1500.

What I am allowed each meal

breakfast: 23 carbs; 34 g protein; 8g fat; 300cal
snack: 15 carbs; 23 g protein; 6 g fat; 200 cal
lunch: 30 carbs; 45 g protein; 11 g fat; 400 cal
snack: same as above
dinner: same as lunch

sample menu for phase 2:

breakfast: 1 slice whole wheat toast-1 1/2 T natural peanut butter-1 whole hard boiled egg-1 hard boiled egg white

snack: 1 oz nuts

lunch: creamy chicken sandwich---combine 1/4 c 1% cottage cheese with 1 t ranch dressing seasoning, and stir in 4 oz diced chicken breast. Serve on 2 slices whole wheat bread with 1 oz reduced fat provolone cheese and 1/2 c sliced cucumber on the side.

snack:  1/2 medium apple-1 T natural peanut butter- 1/2 c 1% cottage cheese.

dinner: (since Olive Garden just opened I'll give you a sample of what you could order from there)
Venetian Apricot Chicken or 1/2 portion of Mixed Grill

Whew..

Just did my at home workout on exercise on demand! Did a 10 min ab workout and a 10 min leg workout. I already feel it in my abs!! That means it was a good workout!! : )

Back on track

I have not said this yet, but I have an obsession with weighing myself. I don't know why I do, but I think its because it helps keep me on track. So with this being said I did my normal morning weigh in today. I was so happy to see that the weight I gained from eating bad this weekend is GONE!!! I am back down to what I was on Saturday morning, which is 172. So after only one day of eating healthy again and going to zumba, my 2 lbs are gone!!

My diet yesterday consisted of the following:

breakfast: 2 turkey sausage links, one egg, one piece whole wheat toast and a glass of milk
lunch: a salad made with spinach, cucumbers, bell peppers, and fat free thousand island dressing; a spoonful of peanut butter, and diet mt dew.
snack: rice cake with peanut butter, water
dinner: smart ones frozen meal; water
snack: 100 cal ice cream sandwich
through out the day I snacked on a few almonds.

Super Bowl

Well I tried to be as good as I could for the Super Bowl, but I will admit, I could have done better. I did have a chicken salad for dinner, but with all the other finger foods the salad didn't do much good for me. So today I am back on the train all the way!! I didn't do too well on Sat with my eating either due to being on the road for about 9 hours, so it was unhealthy eating. Just with two days of making bad choices for one meal each day, I have gained back 2 lbs that I worked so hard to lose.
Now that I see the results of bad eating choices, I think I will work much harder no matter the situation to stay on track.

**I also have set myself a goal that I am working so hard to reach. (and gaining back those 2 lbs put me farther away from reaching my goal) My goal is to be at least down to 165 by my birthday. I have 20 days to loose 9 lbs. I think I can do it if I stay on track! I have found that setting small goals is a great way to loose, rather then just having your one big overall goal.

And on a side note I'm not happy that the Steelers lost!! :(

Zumba

If you want a great workout, zumba is the answer. I am a member of Curves which just started a Zumba in the circuit twice a week. I try to go to every one I can. You get your zumba workout along with a full body workout on the machines. Non members can go as well, it is just $5 per class. A great way to boost that weight loss and get in shape!

Breakfast

I wanted to share a very good, very quick to fix breakfast option. It has been my main breakfast for the past few weeks and still isn't old.

2 Jimmy Dean turkey sausage links (veggie sausage links would be even healthier, I just haven't been willing to try those yet!)
1 egg
1 piece of whole wheat toast
with a glass of milk

Today I decided to kinda make it a little differently and cut up one sausage link (already cooked) and mixed it in with the egg and cooked it together. I also bought "I cant believe its not butter" spray and sprayed a little on my toast.

I can make this whole breakfast in under 5 minutes. So even for those of you that are in a rush in the mornings you should be able to make this!!

Meal plan today

Ok, so some people may think this is crazy that I am posting everything I ate today. But I am doing it for the people that want to know what to eat and how to eat. My meal plans can be examples for everyone else.

breakfast:
my allowance--15g carbs  23g protein  6g fat   200 cals
I ate 2 Tennessee Pride turkey sausage biscuits
nutrition facts: 29g carbs  10g protein  5g fat   210cals (went over a little on carbs...oops!! )
diet mt dew (i cant give up my diet mt dew and sweet tea just yet)

lunch:
allowance--30g carbs  45g protein  11g fat  400 cals
I ate a Lean Cuisine Shrimp Scampi and a couple hand fulls of almonds
nutrition facts: 32g carbs  15g protein  7g fat  250cals
(hopefully the almonds made up for some of the protein and cals)
water

snack:
allowance--8g carbs  12g protein  3g fat  100cals
I ate a rice cake (made with brown rice) with 2 t peanut butter
(dont know all the nutrition facts for this but it is in my book under snacks, so I know its within the allowance)
water

dinner:
allowance--same as lunch
Had Chicken fried rice--It is also in the book, so I know its within the allowance) I will include the recipe (it is actually really good, and VERY filling!!)
Cook 4oz chicken and steam 1 cup broccoli and 1/4 cup carrots. Heat a large skillet and add 2t butter. Add the chicken, vegetables, 1/2 cup cooked brown rice, 1/2 egg beaten and 2 t low sodium soy sauce and cook for 2 minutes, or until warmed through.
diet mt dew

snack:
same as above(only because it is all I have)
water

If through out the day I feel like I am hungry but I know its not time for me to eat I will drink a bottle of water and grab a couple almonds to satisfy that hunger.

pictures

Oct 2010--the day my husband left--I weighed about 197 lbs

Jan 22, 2011--I fit into my pre pregnancy pants!!!! I think I was weighing in at about 180

Feb 3, 2011--174lbs

**you can enlarge the pictures by clicking on them!!**

2nd weigh in

January 31, 2011 (just a few days short of a full month)

weight-179  (-5lbs)
body fat %-32.40%  (-1.60%)
bust-39.5in    (-1in)
waist-34.5in   (-1in)
abdomen- 38in    (-3in)
hips- 41in    (-1.5in)
thighs- 45in   (-3in)
arms- 24in    (-1in)

total inches lost -10.5

First weigh in

My starting weight and measurements as of Jan 3, 2011:
weight-184
body fat %- 34%
bust-40.50 in
waist- 35.5 in
abdomen- 41 in
hips- 42.5 in
thighs- 48 in
arms- 25 in

My story

I just want to put out there the reason that I decided it was time for me to get serious and do something about my weight. When I first met my now husband I was about 130 pounds wearing a size 5-7 jeans. But like most people who get in a serious relationship, I got comfortable being with him and let myself go. (Now I am usually not one to tell people my actual weight, but I am going to just put it all out there with this blog. I will hold nothing back.) In November of 2009 I was weighing in at around 175 pounds. So within the 7 years of being with my husband I had gained around 45-50 pounds. I found out 2 days after Thanksgiving in 2009 that I was pregnant. I told myself that I would try my hardest to control my eating and not let myself go. My husband was a huge help with this. He would not let me eat just anything I wanted just because I was pregnant and now I am very thankful for that. The day before I had my son in July of 2010 I weighed in at 218 pounds!! I never in my life thought I would go over 200 pounds. And here I was at 218.

I lost about 20 pounds of the baby weight in two weeks. Then the losing just stopped. I was not eating healthy, I was not working out. So I was stuck at about 197 pounds. In October of 2010 my husband left for a deployment to Iraq. I vowed that when he returned home that I would be in the best shape I had been in years. My goal, to wear a bathing suit this summer with confidence. In December of 2010 I was weighing in at around 185. I then made up my mind, it was time to get serious.

I not only wanted to get healthy for myself, but for my son. I want to make sure that I can live a long and healthy life to watch him grow and be there every step of the way for him. I also want him to grow up eating healthy and making healthy choices, but how can I make him do that when I wasnt doing it myself. So December 31, 2010 I joined Curves. And started on January 3, 2011.

this is me on Christmas Eve 2010

What this blog is about

I have had a lot of people ask me lately what I am doing to lose weight. So I thought what better way then to just blog about what I am doing and try to help other people figure out how to lose weight and get healthy as well. Now keep in mind I did just start a month ago, so I myself am still learning daily. I will post my workouts, what I ate each day, and even try to to throw in some recipes of good and healthy meals. I hope that by doing this I can help others to reach their goal of losing weight.