Thursday, April 29, 2010

I thought I’d shoot this off before heading to work. Yes, I’ve been horrible about updating this week. My weight has been roller coasting up and I down and I have been…sick or unwell. No symptoms a doctor can help with just run-down.  Food, ahh, sweet food. I’ve done ok. Tom and I had Mexican earlier in the week and we both think the food was bad. We were both feeling unwell the next day. Because of feeling unwell, my trainer wouldn’t work with me on Tuesday so I did a little cardio and yesterday was my first real day of working out. I felt stiff and the workout had more of an impact on me.

My friend Andrew said that a lot of people who work out almost every day take 1 week off in every 10 or so to let their bodies recuperate. Anyone know if that’s right?

 
This book is great, lots of good information in it. Winning by Losing: Drop the Weight, Change Your Life

Saturday, April 24, 2010

So I meant to post this on Thursday, and then on Friday. So, I finally got around to it today, bah and humbug.  215 solid, yay! That’s 17 pounds and a lot of inches. I’ve very pleased.  Today is my day off from the gym / Jiu Jitsu. I only went 4 times this week, sue me. Twice to Jiu Jits, twice to the gym, and I’ll try to go to the gym tomorrow and work resistance.

Overall, I’ve eaten pretty well.  There is an exception: Last night I had angel hair with Alfredo. NOT healthy, however, I measured everything out (even the pasta) so I could watch exactly how much crap I was putting in my system. Mmmm, bad for you food. My own, my precious!  

Eggs and toast for breakfast.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

I think I need new pants…. That’s the dilemma of wearing wide leg slacks. But my slacks are baggy at the hip, baggy at the leg, and require a belt to stay up (by the way, YAY!).  I even had a coworker say I looked like I was losing weight and my clothing was loose! I had another one ask me how I was eating in order to lose weight.  I explained what I had done and she said she was doing weight watchers. We then discussed what she was eating and I was actually able to offer some suggestions!!!!!!

That being said and shared:  I’ve been not so great about food the last few days. I haven’t had anything extremely bad, just not great.  My weight is static at the moment so that’s good. I also haven’t worked out since Friday. I was exhausted on Saturday and Sunday and then yesterday I went and bought new workout shoes instead of working out (procrastination anybody?).  The shoes are great, I turn my foot when I walk and they have extra support to keep my foot from turning and to keep me from injuring myself in the future. I have a PT appointment today at 6 so I’ll be there for that and work cardio afterward.  After that I have homework to do and sleep to nab. I also need to start building a blog or webpage to make money off of for my ecommerce class. Hmm, maybe something weight loss oriented?

Sunday, April 18, 2019

We went to the Montgomery County BBQ Cook off yesterday. Tom’s dad is on a team there and they won 3^rd place for ribs! Yes, the ribs were wonderful, as was the brisket. I had a little bit of both of those, shared a cherry icee with Tom and stole a little bit of cotton candy later that night from Jordan. Annemarie made chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes for dinner.  After the BBQ that really seemed too heavy and since I am trying to eat healthier than just about anything cooked, I ran to HEB and bought some food, which will work well for lunch this next week.  I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich and an avocado for dinner. It hit the spot.  The only negative to yesterday is the sunburn I’m now sporting on my upper arms and my collarbone. Ah well.

My body is still pretty tired and sore so I’m debating NOT going to the gym today. I think I could use another day off to replenish my energy. Also, I need to buy new tennis shoes, so I might run out and do that a little later.

Weight 216!

Weight at peak 232

Gym days last week, 6

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Yup, it’s that time again: Updates! My weight is annoying me. 218 – grr ((takes a deep calming breath)). That's ok. I'm very proud of myself today. I was tired all day and it was the April birthday bash at work. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't believe tha Cake and Pizza fall under that "healthy" catagory. I really wanted the pizza. I had 1 slice of cheese pizza. That's it. No Cake. No Soda. A coworker who brought her lunch (peanutbutter and jelly, sugarfree on sourdough bread) gave me her sandwhich, which I ate at 2:00 with applesauce. Yum! I was surprised how good it tasted. I got home and immedietly set out for the gym.

I worked 20minutes or so on cardio (was boring me to tears) with a good book. I then worked stability with Sean. Then crunchies over 150 of them (I think I did around 180). Mmmm, flab covered steel, how I love you (not the flab, the steel).

Funny fact, I need new shoes. I should have replaced these, oh, 5 1/2 years ago. Funny fact, they'd be easier to afford if I wasn't going to the gym..... I'll be analyzing my budget at the end of the month to buy a new pair. I'm back at home and hoping that tomorrow my scale will show me around 217 instead of 218. Please? Workout Gods, I'm trying. I'm worshiping your alters (the gym) a lot. CUT ME SOME SLACK!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Tom drug me to the gym yesterday. Yes, I know I should be happy, but all I wanted to do was go home. I spent 25 doing cardio and 30 minutes on machines. I went back today and completed 10 whole minutes of cardio and met with Sean, my personal trainer. We worked legs, legs, abs, and more legs. By the time i made it home I was sore and tired. Nobody wanted to cook so we did pizza (hush!) we bought on Pzone from pizza hut and split it. I still ate too much, but that is still better than 1/2 a pizza or a whole one on my own. NOTHING healthy in it though. In my free time (yeah right) I have been reading Willing by Losing by Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser. Interesting book, learning a lot. I recommend it.

Now, quite exhausted, I need to work on my portion of a group project for school and go crash into bed.
Cheers!

4/11/2010

First of all, let me start with the good thing, an entire day off. Not a day off of school, or working on music for Lauren’s wedding, or cleaning, or WOW. A day off from leaving the apartment, from driving, from work, from friends, from everything the gym, from everything that exists outside of my own home. Thank goodness. I really needed this. I fee energized (if tired since I went to bed at 2:30 am, work by at 9am, and it’s 11:20pm and I need to be up by 7 at the earliest). Also, my biceps finally stopped hurting from Thursday. I was beginning to think they'd never stop aching.

The apartment main rooms are clean, and Tom and I decided to see if Rebecca wants to come over and hang out on Wednesday. Tom’s going to cook, I’m going to get the Wii set up, and It’ll be a midweek day to chill. We’re thinking Chicken, but haven’t totally decided yet. It will be something fairly healthy, but absolutely yummy.

No, we didn’t get crawfish on Saturday, I’m bummed. We are going to the BBQ cookoff of Friday though. Tom’s dad is competing. Apparently it’s BBQ, booze, and fun. I might have to indulge in a margarita :-)

Hello Faithful Blog Watchers (if any of you actually exist – hint, hint)
I feel sore, tired, and fantastic. I woke up at 6:30am (a time which no clock should ever read in my humble opinion) and worked on my masters paper. At 8:30 already developing the foggy research head I decided it was a good time to get my rear out of my chair and get my blood flowing. I geared up and ran over to the gym for the Body Combat class at 9:00 am. For those of you who have followed my thoughts up-to-date, today is my day off from working out. Huh. I guess I’ll be taking tomorrow off. Because, let me tell you, I think my body needs it. All of the high impact training has left me sore. Luckily, body combat is basically an aerobic kickboxing class. No contact, just lot of punches, kicks, knees, strikes, and fancy footwork. You sweat a lot in the class.

There were a lot of nice, toned, in shape women (and a man) in the class. Then there was me and a few other nicely rounded individuals. That was kind of a relief. It sucks to be the only fat girl in a class. Can you imagine, walking into a large mirrored room, everyone nice and toned, very little fat on them, then there’s you. 216 pounds of flab covered muscles, just started working out again, and you can’t completely keep up. Add to that, you’re the only new person there, everyone knows everyone else. I was so happy when a few other women around my size walked in.
In my own defense, I held out better than I would of a few weeks ago but by the end of the class I was ready for it to be over!

I got home, fixed my protein shake and slowly drank it while writing this. I’m going to take a shower and return to my paper 

Oh! Crawfish Festival in Old Town Spring, hoping to talk my friends into going. It would be a lot of fun (Yes, I do like Crawfish)

I stayed at 216.8 J I'm really happy. All of my clothing fits better except some of it is now on the big side.  Yesterday was biceps and core along with cardio. My lower abs really ache. I think this is really good, those are the abs I want to see smaller right now. Really, I'd love to see everything smaller right now, the lower abs consist of some of my more noticeable belly fat.

 

Just ate 1/2 a milky way with a coworker (my cheat) soooo wonderful.

216.8 today -- I'm thrilled. I'm also expecting it to pop back up a little tomorrow. That's down a little over 3 pounds all at one time. As nice as it would be for it to stay there I'm not overly optimistic. Fruit for breakfast, yogurt for lunch, pasta and chicken for dinner. Snacks were a peanut butter and bread sandwich and fruit. Went to the gym today -- it was great. I feel really good and, let's be honest, I hurt!

Sean (my personal trainer) wins. Ugh. Arms & Legs (specifically inner-thigh) today, no abs. That's ok. I did 150 crunchies yesterday. My abs are steel covered by flab :) I'm sure others know this pain. I feel stronger, this strength will enable me able to crawl into bed and sleep! Yes, my strength is mighty.

I didn't have enough to eat today. I really did try. I just wasn't hungry. At least I did have 2.5 meals heading into dinner. Better than my old average of 1.

Exercise tip: hold your last rep and squeeze those muscles. You'll really feel that rep.

Oh. My. God. The headache from Hell. Last night I was in the middle of a raid (Yes, I play World of Warcraft) when a horrible headache hit. I thought it was a migraine due to the light sensitivity which also hit. However, I get migraines located at my temple not like a normal headache. I had to bail on the raid and crawl into bed. It's a little better this morning and I have to teach SAMA today for work. Hopefully the pain killers I'm going to down will help.

Went to the gym yesterday. Did interval training for 20 minutes, workedo on arms and abs. Weight is up a little.

Saturday

The movie was decent (Clash of the Titans) with a lot of little Easter eggs to amuse the fans of the old version. Plot development could have been better, but the effects were good and it was a decent movie. I had no popcorn or soda at the movie. Tom had a Mr. Pibb. Since I’m not a fan of Mr. Pibb I was not tempted to sip at his drink. Afterward we came home and I packed food for dinner and took the Relay for Life brownies to the game. First of all, they were wonderful (I only tried the peanut butter ones, yum!) My friend brought other sweets and there were chips on the table. I confess I ate some of the gummy bears and 3 brownies. I also had one diet coke, my first in at least a week. Annemarie brought gummy rabbits, mmmm processed sugar. Yes, I ate some of them. Sugar, is there anything better?
Annemarie made red beans and rice. Tom loves red beans and rice…. Me? Not so much. I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich on white bread (2 pieces) with grapes. The meal was high in protein and carbs but kept me from snacking too much for the rest of the night.

The gym is closed this today so I’ll be finishing my paper for class and then resting a little. I plan to take Tonks out for a nice brisk walk at some point. This will at least get me moving a little. One step at a time, that being said check out my motivation quote at the bottom of the post 

Weight at high: 232
Weight this morning: 219
Weight loss motivation quote: Habit is habit and not to be flung out the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.

Saturday Morning

My shoulders hurt. That’s to be expected after Jiu Jitsu last night (see last night’s post Jiu Jitsu). I had Muscle Milk for breakfast this morning – really good stuff. I’m still not hungry from yesterday but I need to boost my metabolism so I’ll drink the protein drink and go from there. I also ended up poaching an egg due to watching Julie / Julia on Netflix. So good and even more protein. However, that will have to count as my snack :)

This is my day off from the gym. I've gone the last 6/7 days. My muscles are tired and need today off. Tomorrow the gym is closed for Easter. I intend to take the dog on a nice long walk and at least get up and move around. Maybe do interval? Walk and then run and then walk -- rinse and repeat.

Tom and I are going to see Clash of the Titans today. I’m a huge fan of the original (the clockwork owl amuses me!). Lately, Tom and I had started getting all the junk food at a movie. New rule: no popcorn and probably no soda. Actually, that’s an interesting point. I haven’t had any soda for a week. I’ve only had water. Unfortunately, I only drink Diet soda so I’m not cutting calories that way. It could explain some of the inches lost but I’m not sure. I’d rather think I’m burning fat and building muscle.

Today is game day. This mean Annemarie is cooking. I am bringing my own dinner and 24 brownies to share with friends. I’m going to try to just have one. You see, I can’t say no to everything. Oh, some people can and perhaps one day I’ll not crave the sweets. However, one brownie isn’t so bad. It’s when I eat 6 the problems begin.
Anyone know a good gadget for tracking weight? I was looking for one for this blog but can’t find one.

Weight Loss Tip of the Day: On a protein bar check the carbs. It shouldn’t have more carbs than protein.

Highest weight I stepped on a scale at: 232
Current Weight: 220.2 (slow and steady and almost back below that 220 mark!)
Also -- My Jiu Jitsu Pants are getting too big!

Jiu Jitsu

Jiu Jitsu Kicked My Ass. Actually, it worked my core, my legs, my arms, my shoulders, my back, and jarred my neck. We worked arm bars and triangles ("choke outs" by cutting the blood circulation off to the head by using your legs). Then we rolled with 5 different partners. Only one person made me tap and that was with a neck lock (ow!). I'm more solid than I was. My arm bars are pretty good and my hip escapes are getting better. It was an Amazing cardio workout (better than the treadmill!)

Chicken for dinner, haven't figured out a side yet -- I'm guessing fruit. I'm not very hungry. I... fell off the path. A half day by my fridge is not good for my self-control. I had an avocado with King of the Cajun Cream Sauce Seasoning (Saturday market sells it -- AMAZING!), a skinny cow, and a banana and peanut butter sandwich on 2 pieces of white bread. It was really good. All of the protein has really stuck with me. However, after that workout I want to make sure my metabolism stays up so something small is in order

Tired but motivated

Yesterday was exciting. I had to breakout a belt for the first time in… awhile. Some of my pants are fairly big at this point. They’ll still last awhile longer and I’m thinking a tailor will help me with some alterations instead of replacing them. Tom and I found the time to go to the grocery store yesterday and I was very happy with everything we bought. I can eat all of it. This morning I split it up into my budget.

I’m really strapped on time these days. I get up, got to work, work on homework over lunch, go home, go to the gym / Jiu Jitsu, come home, either work on homework more or log on to wow (depending on where I am on homework), and then crash into bed. I groan as my alarm goes off in the morning. Last night I was so tired I fell asleep with the light on and woke to my phone (not plugged in beside my bed, but half buried under the covers) buzzing my morning alarm. Snooze is always my friend. Tonks helped convince me to roll out of bed.

My arms and shoulder ache courtesy of my personal trainer. Still feeling motivated and I called Annemarie yesterday to ask her to make Red Beans and Rice for dinner tomorrow. I HATE red beans and rice so I won’t be tempted to eat any of it.

Breakfast was a protein shake and banana. I have yogurt and fruit with me for snacks throughout the day. I have Jiu Jitsu with Andrew at 6 and then I’ve got to, got to, got to work on the paper due on Sunday. Luckily? The gym is closed on Easter so I won’t be tempted.

Today, I decided that I would start this journal in order to chronicle my journey toward a healthier me. I am a 24 year old Caucasian female. As a child I had a horrible body image and looking back I can’t help but wonder why I hated how I looked. I was lean and weighed 150 pounds. I had a lot of muscle from Taekwondo workouts several times a week. Several years and pounds later, I still have a horrible body image and I still hate how I look in photographs. In my teens I was able to squeeze into one pair of size 8 jeans for a whole 2 weeks and there is one photograph of me in them. I was so happy…

When I was 15 or 16 (the details are a little fuzzy) I remember my mother wanting to try the Atkins Diet. This was the first time I remember stepping on a scale and worrying about my weight. I was 5’6 and 150 pounds. I regret ever trying that diet. It was the first time I was ever conscious about how I ate (except for the time period I wore braces). As a carbohydrate lover, cutting carbohydrates was one of the hardest things I ever tried to do. It was a mistake. I lost several pounds but when I started eating them again gained all of the weight back and then some. A year or two later I had surgery on my wrist and gained more weight. By the time I went to college I weighed 190 pounds. Through college I was pretty sedentary. I participated in Hapkido but due to lack of any other exercise and bad eating habits I continued to gain weight. After graduation I started a very stressful job and gained more weight, I worked for Child Protective Services and gained more. Last year I stepped on the scale and saw that I weighed 232 pounds.

At this time I decided to try Weight Watchers. I was fairly successful. I dropped down to 215 in 8 weeks. However, after 8 weeks I moved away from my support group. I attempted to join the new local group but found I didn’t like their mindset and approach. I dropped off of Weight Watchers and popped back up to 227. Then I switched positions in November 2009, and joined Jiu Jitsu for exercise in January of this year. That same week, my boss’s boss decided to encourage his staff (and himself) to lose weight by having a “competition”. There was no actual duration set, no prize determined, but it was a way of motivating his staff to move around and drop the pounds.

Small changes I have made over the last 6 weeks: I joined Brazillian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ). I started eating Smart Ones at lunch instead of fast food or unhealthy snacks. I am starting to cut back on carbohydrates – mind you this doesn’t mean I’m eliminating completely, just moderating them and trying to add more complex carbs. I’ve increased my protein, omega 3’s, and take fish oil almost every day. I moved on from Smart Ones to 4-5 small meals a day. I usually have cottage cheese with lunch. And I attempt to keep a food diary which is hit and miss. I’ve started printing out the nutrition facts before going to a restaurant.

The company started a wellness committee which worked with a local gym to give discounted rates to employees. I decided to join and begin working with a personal trainer. I work out around 6 days a week: 4 days at the Gym, 2 at Jiu Jitsu – Around 8 hours a week total. If my body is tired I will sit out a day rather than burn out or injure myself.

Highest weight I stepped on a scale at: 232
Current Weight: 220.8
Health issues: High tryglicorites, high blood pressure, high glucose (pre diabetic, type II runs in my family).

Weight Loss Tip (from my trainer): Don't be a scale watcher, only weigh in once a week. If you're going to measure, measure every three weeks or so.