LOST: all motivation

Wow, its funny how all it takes to throw you off is a few bad days. POOP! Sure, the sun has been out for 2 days. You'd think I'd be motivated to get OUTSIDE and enjoy the sunshine! Oh no, my allergies had another idea. I basically spent the last weekend in Benedryl haze, in misery on my couch. I finally feel better today, but I still feel a little out of it, but at least my nose isn't running (and running... and running... and running...)

SOOOO needless to say I was pretty  much a suck for 2 days. And then the boyfriend offered to make me dinner cause I was feeling poopy, and sure enough he made chicken parmasean, the fattiest worst thing I could have eaten. But how could I say no?!

I know, I know, I really need to get on the exercise kick, along with the diet. So, I'm going to do just that. So here's my plan-a-roo:

• Starting tomorrow I'm going to re-start the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Its pretty die hard, but its only 20 minutes a day of ass-kickery. OH man, does she kick your ass. I'm honestly not looking forward to it. I'm going to do her program only three days a week.
• I'm also starting a Couch to 5K program, so I can actually run a 5K sometime this year. I'm going to do the couch to 5K training on my "off days" from Jillian Michael's. So this means I'll be couch to 5King three days a week.
• Yoga 2 days a week. I found a new yoga place in town, so I'd really like to get to some real classes. But its $10 a time (pretty cheap as far as yoga goes). I'd like to also try to do some of the "on demand" videos.

I'm aware this sounds daunting. But I gotta get off my ass and get to it! I feel that if I'm more structured and rigid with my "plan" than I will be better at actually making myself DO. IT. ya know?

Besides the weight-loss motovation, I feel like I'm falling apart. Last summer I was having some joint problems, mostly discomfort when I was sleeping; hips and knees. When I started the 30 Day Shred last time, the aches and pains all but went away. Well now not only my hips, but my right knees is killing me, along with my right shoulder and right elbow. NO IDEA what's going on with the right side of my body, other than I'm falling apart and am ancient. I'm hoping getting my joins moving will help!!

And I picked up this new book, I'll let you know how how it is!!

the challenge of a hangover

Hangovers are evil. Seriously. They do more damage to my diet than anything. Does anyone else get the craving for Mt. Dew, Cheddar Sour Cream Ruffles and Pizza? Greasy, greasy, oh-so-delcious pizza? No? Oh, maybe its just me. Anyway. The drinking the night before didn't help either. Book club was a raging (see: drunken) success and so much fun, but I'm paying the price today. I'm sure the millions of calories of beer and wine weren't helpful either.

I weighed myself this morning and I weighed 172 pounds! WOO! But around 4 o'clock I weighed myself and I weighed 180 pounds again. I think my scale is broken.

I've tried to be good today, but its so hard when cravings are running crazy. I've been really bad about remember to take pictures of what I'm eating, but I'm working on it.

 I love these Lean Cuisines. They're pretty tastey (most of them anyway) and are safe for calories. And all you have to do is microwave. I highly recommend picking some of these up because they are really a dieters salvation. Can't eat too many calories, can't mess up on the portion size, and its so quick! Great for lunches.

 Home made chicken soup, barely any salt. Not sure of the calorie content, but I'm sure its pretty low. Low fat, whole wheat egg noodles.

 Total cereal. I had two bowls today, so probably about 3 "servings" But still better than chips and Mt. Dew.

Frozen mangoes. My new favorite snack.I picked them up to add to my Greek yogurt in the morning, but they're great as a snack all by them selves. Delish!

Beets. Its whats for dinner.

aaaaaaand dinner.
Beets and white wine. Yum!!

FEED ME!

Okay, for serious. Fasting is not easy. I'll admit, that day one was pretty cake. I was hungry, yes. But it was kind of a mild pang that just hung around all day. Today, day two however, not so easy. Oh man. I woke up with a major growl in my tummy. I just couldn't make it go away with soup or coffee. So I caved a little and had a glass of V8. Craaaaaazy I know! But I couldn't help it.

Then I went to visit my mom at the hospital (long story, she's fine) and was hungry again. I had 3 cups of tea and had the biggest head ache in ages. So when she ordered lunch, I ordered "Lentils in Vegetable Broth." Sounds simple enough, but it was so thick it was almost split pea like. Don't get me wrong, it was DELICIOUS, but I wanted to be strong and not lose it all. So I had some very thick broth and tried to eat a few spoonfull sof lentils. It helped a little.

So FINALLY, the time has arrived to eat. Yummy yumm yummmmm! I was to make "lean" meat and two vegetables. So I cooked up a slim piece of steak and broccoli and carrots. Funny thing is, I couldn't even eat all the meat!!

Best. Steak. Ever.

I'm so full now its crazy!! And that plate was so small!! (that's a salad size there, the steak was probably about 6 ounces, those are baby carrots).

I feel proud of myself though. I did it. Mild "cheating" but I hardly think a glass of V8 and some lentils will break the bank. I was really wondering if I could make it. I'm a serious snacker too. I did really well with drinking lots and lots and lots of hot tea. I even bought some more today, a green tea medley pack, peach black tea, and some more chamomile (caffeine free). I'm doing really well drinking it without sugar too, which is a big leap for me.

So the "French Women Don't Get Fat" jumpstart Leek Soup diet was a success. The scale said I lost 2 pounds this morning. We'll see what it says tomorrow. I'll probably only finish my steak tonight, and maybe have a couple more servings of veggies. I bought some "ready to eat" beets from Trader Joe's, so I'm curious to see how those are.

BMI

I checked my BMI today, for shits and giggles. 

Body mass index (BMI) is measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both adult men and women.

BMI Categories:

• Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
• Overweight = 25-29.9
• Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Your Body Mass Index

The Height you entered is 5 feet, 8 inches. The Weight you entered is 180 pounds.

Your Calculated BMI is: 27.4

Yikes! Not a surprise, I'm "overweight"
Guess I'm on the right track!

What's your BMI? Are you on the right track?

Leek Soup: Day One

Well, day one of my leek soup diet. Yup. I've gone for the entire day only drinking the leek soup. And for dinner? This is what I had:

Conclusion?

I don't really like leeks.

Don't get me wrong, the soup tastes alright. Kinda like carrots. But the leeks themselves? Meh. I'm a texture person, and it was just too slimey or stringey, or... something.

And thus also concludes day one of my photo food journal. Oh-- I did have coffee this morning. BLACK. First time ever. No milk. No sugar. No splenda. Nada. It was alright. I can do it. But not my favorite. I'm also having tea now. I figure those two things aren't cheating. I kinda have a headache now. Probably low blood sugar. I tend to eat a bit of sugar and carbs, so I'm sure my body is pissed at me.

I did take the dog for a walk today. About 2 miles. So I figure that was pretty low intensity exercise, but I still broke a mild sweat. Yay me!

I wonder how tomorrow will be...

photo food journal

Woo!

Had a great evening last night, and did pretty good with the diet... except for the 8 beers.

Fail.

And of course today's mild hangover has caused me to fall off the wagon too. Pizza. Pasta. M&M's. Two, count 'em TWO sugared sodas. Dammit.

Double Fail.

So. Tomorrow beings two things.

First off is I'm starting a photo food log. I've been keeping track of my eatings in a handy little notebook, but I read somewhere that its a good idea to take pictures of what you eat. Since you can get a good idea of your portion sizes, and the more "colorful" you food is, the more diverse in vitamins and minerals it tends to be. So I'll start posting that tomorrow! :)

And tomorrow I'll be starting a Leek Soup food fast. About a year ago I read the book French Women Don't Get Fat. I'm sure you've heard of it, and I enjoyed it. The Leek Soup is basically leek broth that you eat for two days. That's it. Leek soup and the occasional leek. I'm curious to see how awful it will be. Not the flavor, but how starving I'll be. I'm not going to do a ton of exercising, other than walking, but I'm going to start doing yoga. Time to get use out of the mat my boyfriend bought me for Christmas. YES!

Today

So I've been reading the book The Flex Diet, which you may see pictured on the sidebar as an "inspiration." I really like the book so far because it gives you over 200 easy ways to lose weight. They're mostly simple, no brainer type solutions that you can easily use every day (you know, besides the whole exercise thing).

The book is broken down into three sections.
     Today which is things you can do immediately to jump start your weight loss
     Every Day which gives you more ideas to incorporate into your every day routine, and
     Your Way which are more ideas to help you from plateauing or a way to switch up your weight loss plan.

From each section you can chose the ideas that will work for you which make them easier to stick to. Here's my list of goals/rules that I plan on sticking to during this first 2 weeks!!

1. Commit yourself by taking a photo. DONE!
2. Write a blog. HELLO!
3. Weigh yourself daily.
4. Keep a food diary.
5. Drink 6 glasses of water a day.
6. Take a multivitamin.
7. Eat more apples.
8. Eat greek yogurt
9. No eating after dinner (cut off is 8pm).
10. Sleep at least 7 hours per night.

pics and stats

As promised... here's my stats and pics.

From the beginning.

No laughing please!

Don't worry, I didn't do any bikini pics for you guys. I think you can get the gist of my beer belly, my muffin top and my fat ass action without needing to see actual skin. I'm wearing an Old Navy size "L" shirt and American Eagle size 14 jeans. They're both tight as you see, which is yet another reason why I need to lose some weight... I can't afford to buy new clothes! Ha.

No makeup. Yikes!

Please enjoy that double chin action!

Is-- is that-- a double muffin top? Sweet!

Current weight: 178.6

Pant size: 14

Hips: 45"

Waist: 39"

And nothing says Sad & Lonely more than going to the store and buying 10 "Lean Cuisine" frozen dinners. Hey sad cat lady!! Wah. Wah. Wah.

Day 2: Hunger strike

Well I'm off to a roaring start!

All I've had to eat today is 2 cups of coffee. Why haven't I eaten? Oh-- well I've been out of town for a week and a half and have no food. NO SNACKING FOR ME! Yes!! Hahaaa. The downside is that when I do finally eat, it'll be hard not to blow it out of the water and eat a ton of something bad for me. BOO!!

Gotta be good. Gotta work out too. My poor aching joints. That a major motivator for me. As I get older (at the ripe old age of 32) I notice aches and pains in places I never would have imagined! I currently have knee pain, elbow pain and shoulder pain all on my right side! I'm hoping some movement will grease up these old joints!

I spent this last weekend snowshoeing and had a great time. LOTS OF CARDIO involved in that. Especially when the snow is nice and soft and you sink in 3 or 4 inches. I got 2 days in while we were there, so I gotta keep the rhythm going today. WOO!

My goal per day of caloric intake is going to be 1500 calories. It could be a stretch. Pretty much since Christmas I've been eating a lot of sugar, and large quantities of food, and bad food. The daily mantra of "I'll start a diet tomorrow" has been flying around my brain since probably Thanksgiving. No time like the present.

Yesterday I took a picture of myself and thought... ewwwwwww... Why do I look so fat in pictures, but not that fat in the mirror! WHY?! Oh yeah-- cause fat sneaks up on you. Little bit here and there and everywhere. Apparently I've been carrying a lot in my face. YUCK!

Now I know I promised pictures and measurements... they'll come a little later, after I shower. You know... get the totally 100% correct weight. I don't want my slippers of pajama bottoms adding any unnecessary weight! Right?! Hahahaa.

Let's do this.

Well here I am. Another blogger trying to lose weight. Another blogger blogging about that journey. WELCOME!

I can't promise that this will be any different than any of the other blogs out there. All I can say is that I'll be totally honest about my journey. I really really need to do this for myself. I've been blogging for over a year now and have found that its a great outlet and support system. So here I go...

My current weight loss goal is 40 pounds. I'd love to lose 50, but who's kidding who. Lets be realistic, right? My reasons for actually putting on the weight are pretty simple. I lost my job about a year and a half ago, and unemployment has not been kind. Sitting on your ass all day doesn't do said ass any good. I originally thought "How great, I can go to the gym like 4 hours a day. I'll get in GREAT shape!!" Liar, liar, size 14 pants on fire!

Today is day one. The beginning.

My goal for this blog is to try to use it as a journal. Motivation to see in print (ish) what I've done, eaten or seen for the day. I'm not good at following up on actual paper, so again, I'm going to a format in which I'm comfortable with.

TOMORROW I'll be weighing in officially. Posting goals and pictures.

Join me. Or don't. Comment. Or don't. This is for me, and for you, but no one can make these major life decisions but you. And I've made this decision.

Are you ready?

Okay.

Let's do this.