OH, THE HUMANITY!!!

The gym has been whipping my tater!  I'm positive I have ab muscles under the jiggly stuff because they HURT!!  After my weight didn't drop this past weigh-in, I really cranked it up a notch at the gym.  Instead of 20 minutes on the elliptical, I'm staying on for 30.  When I do my strength training, I do it with a quickness ... not so quick that I'll injure myself, but quick enough to keep my heart pounding.  Needless to say, I've been feeling the burn long after my workouts are over.  I go to bed sore and wake up sore.  I guess it's a necessary evil that I will eventually get used to...

I've been trying to still keep my calorie count between 1200 and 1500 (even though Jamie says that is not enough).  I try to make those calories really count by eating healthier foods.  This week I've had a packet of oatmeal for breakfast with a bit of Splenda for sweetness, a few chunks of watermelon (lots of sugar, but filling) for a mid-morning snack and Healthy Choice meals for lunch (with a side of carrots and sugar free pudding).  Dinner is probably my most calorific meal (Yeah, yeah ... I know it shouldn't be).  I have been cooking healthier for dinner for the most part.  On Monday, I baked some chicken and then made chicken quesadillas with these super duper wraps that I found.  Hey, they won awards from Men's Health Magazine ... they MUST be good for you ... right??  Don't worry ... I read all the packages to find the best ones.  These were whole grain ... well, heck ... Here's a link:

http://www.latortillafactory.com/products-4.aspx

I'm just hoping that staying on track will be the answer to getting this weight off because right now the scale is not being kind.  Could be retained water ... could be muscle ... but it sure can be discouraging.  But my mommy always tells me:

"COWGIRL UP!"

Sugar Free Me!

Well, I'm not totally sugar free, BUT I have cut out A LOT of it.  Sodas are out, sweet tea is now only made with Splenda, and dessert has been fruit all week at lunch.  I DID have frozen yogurt twice this week ... BABY STEPS, PEOPLE!  I skipped the granola bars this week since they are sort of just glorified candy bars.  I've been eating two packets of LOW SUGAR oatmeal every morning with a packet of Splenda and a few almond slivers for crunch.

I'm going to have to figure out something different for lunch next week.  We wanted to use up the deli meat that we had already bought, so I ate turkey sammiches (yes, sammiches) all week.  I'm going to have to do some googling and thinking to figure out what will work.  It's tough to figure out something that is easy to take to work and healthy.  Soups are super salty, and the low sodium versions are hardly worth consuming.  Same goes with the frozen meals.  Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, and Healthy Choice have some things that I don't mind eating, but they are not filling and are loaded with sodium.  I've done salads in the past, but that can get really old really fast!

SEE WHAT I MEAN?!?!  I'm sure it shouldn't be THIS difficult to find something that works.  Anywho, I'll work that out over the weekend.

I've been to the gym three times this week for about an hour each time.  I've been doing cardio and a bit of strength training each time (and a bit of Zumba with my buddy Angela for fun).  I caught the tail end of a TV program yesterday, and they were saying that Harvard did a study that found you needed at least five days of exercise a week to achieve weight loss ... WELL, THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR!!  I'll continue doing what I can.  I know moving more and eating better will cause results ... maybe slow results, but results nonetheless.  I've also been trying to get up from my desk at work now and then to move a bit.  One day a while back I sat at my desk for nine hours and only got up to go to the restroom ... I realized that was a problem.

I'm going to weigh in on Sunday.  Hopefully, my weight is still down at least the five pounds it was last week.  My bestie Sarah has been doing this whole weight loss challenge and weigh in thing with me long distance (She's in Acworth).  I think the end of this week will make three full weeks that we've been at it.
 
It is definitely tough, but some things have gotten easier.  I don't really crave carbonated drinks anymore, and I don't HAVE to have caffeine.  I think I've been pretty good with my food ... not SUPER strict, but pretty strict I think.  Trying to keep the sugar down ... carbs down ... calories down ... bad fats down.

OH ... forgot to mention that Crystal Light (sometimes my saving grace for get extra water down) has started giving me headaches.  I've had this happen in the past and had to give it up.  It seems like certain flavors are worse than others.  I've been drinking the Raspberry Tea with no problems, but the Fruit Punch has my head splitting.  I'm going to go ahead and guess that it might be the aspartame in it because certain diet sodas used to do the same thing.

Oh, how I hate chugging plain water constantly.  I love it when I'm exercising ... That's when it tastes great!  But just sitting at my desk sipping this tasteless liquid is sometimes torture.  I guess I should just be thankful that I have clean drinking water readily available ... right?

Ta-Ta!

A New Beginning

My son is now 18 months old, and I've finally gotten serious about losing weight again.  It has not been an easy process to get this all into motion again.  I have a crazy work schedule, and when I'm not at work, I'm taking care of Tyler on my own.  I just joined the YMCA near my house in January which offers daycare, and Tyler HATES it.  He cries hysterically when we enter the parking lot now.  Yet another challenge.  Last week I managed to make it to the gym three times, and I hope to do the same this week.  

I've now been off sodas for two months, and we have just switched to decaf iced tea at my house (sweetened with Splenda).  Jamie just quit sodas about a week or two ago and has already lost 7 pounds ... SO UNFAIR!  I know giving up that sugary mess was for the best though!

I just started reading Bob Greene's Best Life Diet, which is not really a "lose weight quick" diet.  I'm not saying I'm going to follow his plan, but I checked out about 10 diet/fitness books from the library to get ideas and gain some knowledge (and hopefully not totally confuse myself).  I must say that he does a pretty good job of breaking down how weightloss works (talks about the different types of weightloss - water loss, fat loss, and lean loss).  I'll continue to look into that book this week and see how I feel when I finish it.

I am down FIVE pounds since I started focusing really hard two weeks ago.  That little bit of weight did not go easy ... It went kicking and screaming.  Hopefully, that was mostly fat loss, but I have no real way to judge that ... do I?

I'm always fearful about telling too many people about what I am doing because I feel like even more of a failure if I don't succeed.  I've got to let the idea go, and just focus on doing what is right for me.  One thing I have like about Bob's book is that he stresses that you need to put yourself first when it comes to your health, and you don't need to listen to other people's negativity about what you are doing.  I've had SO many setbacks because I give into doing what others want too easily.  

"You aren't going to try my [insert dangerous dessert here]??"

"Let's go grab some Mexican/Chinese/pizza!"

"You're having a salad???"

"One or two cookies isn't going to hurt you."

"You want some ice cream?  I really have a sweet tooth right now!"

I've heard all of that and more.  All too often I give into those temptations.  I think my ability to give up sodas really showed me that I COULD stay away from something unhealthy and still enjoy myself.  Now, I just keep unsweet decaf tea made at home, and I order water or unsweet tea when we go out.  HELPFUL HINT: WATER IS FREE WITH YOUR MEAL.  BE HEALTHY AND SAVE MONEY!

I'm at the very beginning of this journey AGAIN, and I SO SO SO hope that I can make it through this time without sabotaging myself.  I think I'm better able to resist temptations offered up by others, but it is my WILLPOWER that I have to keep in check.  It is very helpful that Jamie is now on board with this whole getting UN-fat thing ... in the past he would know I was trying to drop the pounds and STILL offer to take me out to get a fatty dinner.  I think he will be less likely to sabotage me if it means he will be sabotaging himself ... I HOPE!

I haven't completely cut bread (whole grain) from my diet, but we have eliminated all of the excess pasta and junk food we were eating.  Since Jamie jumped on board, I was given the OK to not buy anymore cookies.  Jamie has a HUGE sweet tooth.  It helps not to have temptation in the house!  This week's dinners consist of mostly lean meat and vegetables (brown rice one night).  I just had some low sugar oatmeal, and I ate two packs since I have no mid-morning snack (that's 260 calories, but who's counting? ... oh, yea ... me).  This week I'm still eating sandwiches for lunch with plans of changing that up next week.  I've already replaced my Pringles with carrots and hummus, and I have an apple and peanut butter for dessert (all of that is about 575 calories ... Jamie hates when I do this ... haha).  I'll continue to adjust my diet as we go along, but I want to be as healthful as I can from the start.

My gym routine has been Mon, Tues, and Thurs for 45 mins to an hour.  Jamie went with me last week and gave me a little weight lifting routine and ab routine to add to my usual cardio (bless the inventor of the elliptical ... I can exercise pretty hard without hurting my bum knee).  I'm hopeful I can maintain and improve upon everything I have started.  HERE WE GO ... AGAIN!