Still Chasing!

Well it has been 8 months since my last post but that doesn't mean I have given up hope. Wow how my life has changed in the past 8 months. Oh the things I have learned and the changes I have made to reaching the 50# goal!
Since my last post I have moved, got a puppy, started my career , joined a new gym and learned so much about what I have been doing so wrong!

I have to admit the weight I had lost I have since gained back, lost it again and gained it back. You know this endless circle I have been stuck in. However, I am finding something that seems to be working for me and feels so right. 

My new gym is  organized around classes. There are no treadmills, no elipticals, no cardio machines...all weights! They are 30 minutes classes of high intensity, weight trainin. 30 minutes?!? Really?!? yes. 30 minutes of crazy intense working out. I thought when I first started that 30 minutes wouldn't be enough but I was basically crawling out of my first class. It is so much fun though. 

In addition to the new gym style I have done 2 cleanses with this group. This cleanse isn't anything that like what you are thinking. It isn't a starve yourself and eat/drink nasty things. It is a cleanse of toxins and processed foods. Therefore, the cleanse is all the meat (grass fed, free range, organic), veggies (organic) and fruit (organic) you want. That means, no dairy, gluten, soy, eggs, alcohol, or caffeine. It is really not that difficult. The hardest part is the gluten. Gluten is in EVERTHING!!! It just takes some meal planning and devotion to food shopping. My first cleanse was in October. 

For the beginning of the year I decided that it was time to not only lose weight, which is the ulitmate goal, but to have a lifestyle change. Therefore I decided to dive right in. I joined the cleanse that was happening mid January. I did really well on the cleanse, it helped that I had some experience :) 2 days after the cleanse ended the ME Fat Loss Program started. I signed up, dove in and am still going strong. My third weigh in is in 2 days and I am super excited to find out how I did this week. 

From the first weigh-in to the second. I lost 6 lbs of fat, went from a 10 to a 9 in visceral fat, dropped 7 years on my ME Age, dropped body fat%, gained almost 2% of water%, gained 3lbs of muscle, and made my bone density go up from 10 to 114 :D!!! I was on such a high when I found out my results!  I have been eating sooo well and and going to the gym 3 times a week. In the next post I will talk about the food plan but for now I just wanted to get back on track with reporting to and keeping myself honest with my goals. 

I may have had a goal of 50# by Christmas...and I did, I missed that goal. However, my new goal isn't an amount of pounds--IT IS TO GAIN MUSCLE, LOSE FAT, and BECOME A HEALTHIER ME!!!!!! I have already seen results so I am already reaching that goal :)

Sunday...Funday...Monday

Yesterday was a boring day for me. It was Mother's Day and I didn't get to see my mom and Mieka went home. I hit the gym for 2 hours. I ran 1.5 miles!!!!!! Okay well not all at once, I ran half a mile then walked .25 miles then ran .25 miles then walked and so on until I had run a total 1.5 miles and then walked at a high incline until I had done 3 miles/1hour. My right hamstring is bothering me so I tried to stretch really well and then did weights. I wish I had a gym buddy :( As far as eating yesterday, I got up late and had a late breakfast -394cal (an open face sandwich with an egg, cheese, and bacon sandwich). Then it was the gym and then I had a chobani yogurt as a late lunch and then I had an amazing dinner...made by me :)

Chicken cooked in honey mustard on a salad of spring greens, red pepper, grape tomatoes, cucumber, and carrots, with a bit of spaghetti on the side. :D

...and now it is Monday blahhhh. USA, Law & Order marathons make it really hard to get motivated to go to the gym. I haven't seen the one that is on right now and I really want to know how it ends! I will make myself go the second this is over (even though I'll miss the beginning) but then I can see the end while on the treadmill :) My goal today is to run .75-1 mile straight today. I know lame lame lame...I am so bad at running! I don't know if it is because I am so out of shape or if it is because I don't know how to breathe or what...it is actually kind of frustrating. I read something yesterday about how to get rid of "arm pit fat" hahah. You know the stuff to the side of your sports bra, or that hangs out of a tank top :( or at least for me. I plan on doing some push ups, pull ups, planks and lat pull downs today haha!! 

I am heading home tomorrow and I am starting to get a bit nervous about being away from my gym and my normal daily routine! There is a gym at home that I can use and I know my mom will help me to eat healthy it is just the change that scares me. My best friend comes home from California and she is definitely a horrible influence on my eating. That is going to be my biggest challenge while I am home. I have a favorite restaurant at home, Montezuma's Mexican, and I MUST eat there while I am home. That is going to be my 1 and hopefully only huge, calorie loaded meal. I just have to keep telling myself that it is going to be worth it in the long run! I have to keep telling myself I CAN DO IT!!

I CAN-I CAN-I CAN-I CAN!!!

for now, to the gym... :)

Red Sox/Circus/Celtics

After my wonderful, amazing, outstanding news on the scale Friday I had a relaxing yet productive swim in the pool. I then sat in the hot tub for 10 minutes. It was a good hour workout while letting my muscles rest a bit.

B: 250

L: 245

D: 530

S: 170

We went to see the Red Sox game at Fenway Park so I had to eat light throughout the day so I could enjoy a ballpark fav. I had a soft pretzel at the park then I wanted to be able to grab food afterwards with friends. At Boston Beer Works I made a good choice of the veggie burger and garden salad with the balsamic dressing on the side. I ate half the burger so I could have a buffalo wing or 2 :). I am so proud of the way I am making good choices at restaurants. It is very hard to watch my friends eating everything they want and more, but I know it will be worth it by Christmas!! :D Because I had to sit and watch my friends devour a "midpie madness" for desert, I treated myself to a couple bites of frozen yogurt when I got home.

Saturday

I had a very busy day planned ahead of me. To start my day I headed off to the gym!!! WOOO GOOD FOR ME! It is hard to stay gym motivated on the weekends! I can't take my day off of the gym until Tuesday or Wednesday (I am heading back to Pennsylvania and will be driving). Anyway, I went to the Kore Knockout class taught by the same person that teaches Kick Boxing :) It is a mixture of standing yoga and kickboxing. I had a good time it was such a good work out. Subway for lunch. Mieka and I then went to the Circus :D It was my graduation present from her! I had a good time, made me feel like a kid again! The acrobats and trapeze artists were very good. Mieka got a chirro and I had a few small bites.  Right from the circus we had to cross town to go to my first ever Celtics game. Game 1 of round 2 of the playoffs!! Ahhhhh it was sooo exciting...and...THEY WON!! For dinner we ate at Qdoba. Normally I would have chosen the chicken quesadilla and chips with queso and eaten half of all of it. I, instead, chose the children's chicken quesadilla with a side of chips. I didn't get sour cream. I had a soft pretzel at the game and drank water instead of a beer!! Apparently I was under my calorie count for the day yesterday but I don't really know because I couldn't find all the nutritional facts for Qdoba. I had a couple of bites of frozen yogurt once I got home...and called it a night.
B: 170
L: 338
D: 353-400
S: 160

Off to the gym... <3

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

And the results of the weigh in are....

-9 lbs

Mieka says she would give me 9.5lbs but I am going to be modest and just take the 9 and next time I weigh in it will feel that much better :) I really need a new scale because this is so hard to read when it isn't on a 5lb increment.

With 14 weeks until vacation I am feeling pretty good about that 20# drop!!!

5/10

Breakfast : 155
Lunch : 435
Dinner : 670 and probably the extra 170

I made it through our trip to TGIFriday's :) I chose a healthy option and just picked at the appetizer Mieka ordered! I am so proud of myself!!! However, I think I am going to need a crane to get me out of bed in the morning. I am so sore :(
1 hour on the treadmill, abs, and weights and lotssss of stretchingggg I do believe I am going to be in the pool tomorrow for my work out and I will be taking it easy. HOT TUB? I think so...

Tomorrow is the big day!!! I am really hoping for like -5lbs but I don't want to get my hopes up! I will be happy with anything...lets hope there is some negative amount of weight! If I am pleased maybe I will treat myself to something good to eat...

I have a headache and not much to say tonight but am super excited for tomorrow!!!

Feel the burn....

First day to the gym = SUCCESS...well kinda sorta!

All I can say is I hope it gets better from here haha. I am definitely out of shape :( I started out on the treadmill going about 3.5-3.7mph at a 1.5 incline. I walked 1/2 a mile at that pace. I then ran a 1/2 mile at a 5.2 pace (not sure why that number haha) No Laughing...I was dying during that 1/2 mile :( My body felt it but mostly I was just struggling to keep my breath. I was ready to quit but I pushed through! I then walked another mile at my original speed and incline. Dripping wet, and a half an hour later I decided it was time to stretch. I really didn't want to be so sore I couldn't do what I wanted on day 2.

I did some leg presses and some other quad weights and well as inner thighs, biceps and triceps. I used a kettle bell to do some side to side ab things and then some squat thrusts with the kettle bell. I stretched again and did 6" for a bit then got on the elliptical for a 10 minute cool down. Not too shabby for the first day at the gym...1.5hours and I definitely was pooped!

Breakfast: Kashi, Indigo Morning 1 1/2c - 200cal
                 1% Milk 1/2c - 55cal
                 Banana 1 - 75cal

Lunch: Morning Star, Spicy Black Bean Burger 1 - 120cal
            Thomas, Everything Bagel 1/2 - 135cal
             Mozzarella Cheese 1/4c - 90cal
            Homemade applesauce sweetened with splenda - 90cal

Dinner: Chicken Breast, 7oz - 240cal
             Leftover Rice and Veggies from Hibatchi 1c - ?? (200?)
             Snap Peas 10pods - 14cal

Snack: Steaz Mint Tea - 80cal
            Cliff Bar, Chocolate Chip 1 - 240

Total: 1541cal

I went over my limit today :( I don't want to make excuses but just talking out why I think this happened. I woke up early to take Mieka to school, had my breakfast and then planned on going to the gym as soon as I got back home. She told me she was ready to go so I went back for her, she wasn't ready so I turned around and came back home. By the time I got back home and got ready for the gym, a couple hours had past since breakfast and I was starting to get hungry. I ate the cliff bar and headed to the gym. Mieka was then ready to come home so I went for her. I didn't have lunch until around 3:30...wayyyy too late. I was sooo hungry. I was then ready for dinner at 6 but didn't eat until 7 so I could have made a healthier choice for dinner as far as the rice. However, only going over by 111calories isn't too bad considering I probably burned 3 times that at the gym today. I DO NOT want to make a habit of using the calories I burn at the gym for food. Although like I mentioned before, I think I should be eating closer to 1500 calories anyway. Today was the first day that I was actually hungry since my journey began...that means I worked hard at the gym right?

Back to the gym tomorrow...
We have been invited to go to TGIFriday's tomorrow for dinner :( grrrr I will have to search their nutrition page and find something that fits my budget :) because weigh in is in 2 days!!!

Sweet Dreams!!

Day 8 comes to an end...

Late Breakfast/ Early Lunch : 1/2 Everything Bagel - 135cal
                                                2 slices Hickory Smoked Turkey Bacon - 70cal
                                                1 1/2 tbsp Philadelphia 1/3 less fat Cream Cheese - 53cal
                                                2 Large Eggs - 140cal
Snacks: 1 Pomegranate Real Fruit Strip - 45cal
             2 tbsp Roasted Red Pepper Hummus - 50cal
             11 Everything Pretzel Crisps - 110cal
Dinner: 5 Sweet Thai Chili wings - 435cal
             2 tbsp Blue Cheese Dressing - 160cal
             ~1c Sweet Potato Tater Tots - 218cal
Total: 1416cal

After my wing dilemma, I was pleased when we got to the restaurant and realized you can only order wings in increments of 10. Mieka and I shared 10 wings, allowing me to have some sweet potato tots and still staying under my calorie count!! Although I stayed under count by 14 calories I am going to say that it is safe to say that I hit the total mark. Therefore, I will not be eating anything else for the rest of the evening. In addition to the food above, I am consumed an immense amount of water today about 3 Nalgene bottles full :).

Mieka heads back to classes tomorrow so I will be home alone for about 5 hours. My biggest down fall is eating when I am bored so the plan is to keep busy, busy, busy!
TOMORROW IS GYM DAY!!!! I am pretty excited but also very nervous! I know it has been a while since I have done anything physical. I will have to start out slow/try not to test my limits on this first day. I don't know what I am going to do, probably the treadmill/elliptical then STRETCH hahah and maybe some weights. No matter what I do I will be doing abs :) Abs everyday!!! I am looking forward to going back to kick boxing classes, which I believe are Monday and Wednesday. I don't know if I am going to be up for that tomorrow on my first day back...we shall see!

side note- it is so hard to be at a bar with the game on and not have a beer. I don't need it though I just need to keep telling myself that...and I really don't need it so it shouldn't be too hard to not drink much beer! ...but summer is coming!

Blogger App

Yippie!!! I just downloaded the blogspot app so now I can blog anywhere, all the time!!!

To have the wings or not to have the wings....

It is 25c wing night at The Avenue...

How can you pass up 25c?? and wings??? Ugh, some friends invited us to go and we haven't seen them in a while so I agreed to go along. According to my calorie counting app, I still have 827cal left for today. I enjoy the asian sauce something wings at The Avenue so Buffalo Wild Wings' nutritional value page says that in 6 asian zing wings are 522cal probably add another hundred calories for the blue cheese dressing= 622. Therefore, I can still eat under my calorie amount for the day and actually have left over calories...but I know wings are by far not the best options. However, considering that I usually easily eat 12 wings myself...cutting my portion in half is practicing better eating.

Is it bad that I am justifying these things?

Its been 1 week!!

One week ago today I began my journey to being 50lbs lighter!!! 

I must say to this point it hasn't been to hard. Yet I have had many distractions and I haven't gone to the gym yet :(. Usually when I diet I am always hungry but successfully it hasn't been too bad, maybe I am making the right food choices to keep me full.
As for today:
Breakfast: Chobani, greek yogurt (peach)- 140cal
Lunch: Jiffy Pop, butter pop corn with cabot cheddar cheese shake- 560cal (a horrible choice I know but it was an awkward time and I had just woken up from a nap...I'm not too sure why I chose this. Probably because I have an obsession with popcorn. I shouldn't have eaten the whole thing though. I wish we had a microwave so I could get the 100cal bags :(
Dinner: Mrs. Paul's, roasted garlic tilapia- 80cal
             Idahoan, homestyle butter mashed potatoes- 165cal
             Fresh asparagus (cooked much better this time, not so crunchy)- 40cal
Snacks: Organic Hummus -50cal
             Simply Naked, whole grain pita chips- 65cal
             J.P. Licks- fat free frozen yogurt oreo flavored - 220cal (I could have gone without this)
             Steaz Iced Tea- 80cal

Total: 1360/1430 GOOD JOB!!!!


I have officially decided that Fridays are going to be my "weigh in days"! That way if I cheat/slack over the weekend I will have the whole week to make up for it before weighing in again. Maybe I should make "weigh in" day Monday...to keep me honest over the weekend? Hmmm we will see how it goes after weighing in this coming Friday. I will also be posting my before pictures on Friday along with my measurements, so for anyone out there reading...keep a look out!!! :)
I am super excited to say that I have lost even a pound, so that I know what I am doing is starting to work!
I saw this little tid-bit of inspiration of Pinterest and thought I would share....

1. I thought it was such good advice...and good advice to at least get you through 12 weeks. 2. It is going to make this journey so much more worth it when in 12 weeks someone notices I have worked so hard. 3. MAN WHAT I WOULD GIVE FOR THAT BODY!! hahahahahhaha

...until tomorrow <3

WOOOOOO I GRADUATED GRADUATE SCHOOL WITH MY MASTERS OF ARCHITECTURE!!!! It was a wonderful day with friends and family!

Days 4,5,6...

I know I know, not off to the best of starts with this blogging thing my missing a whole weekend. My family arrived on Friday and I have been totally distracted and busy since then! I must say that even through all the celebrating and running around I ate surprisingly well :) Hibatchi yesterday was probably the highest calorie intake of the weekend because of the rice, however it was basically the only thing I consumed on graduation day. However, I had my mom take me to Whole Foods for groceries. I got a lot of yummy healthy things to eat for this next week :)

I think we are going to have to mark this weekend up to a blur and take off again on day 7. I will also be heading back to the gym this week WOOOO :)!!!!  I will log day 7 later on tonight....

Day 3...

Phewww, it has been a longgg day.

Waking up early to head back from New Hampshire was no fun! However, today went much better as far as the topic at hand is concerned :)

Breakfast: skipped (I need to be better at this)
Lunch: Homemade baked ziti-probably about a cup and a half with a bit of parmesan cheese
            Cooked Carrots
Snack: Guacamole with Simply Naked pita chips
            Steaz iced green tea
Dinner: Barber Foods- chicken cordon bleu
             Near East- whole grain blend-roasted pecan
             Asparagus (well I attempted to make it and I successfully cooked it but little did I know that you
                                 are supposed to soak it to get the "grit" out of it. FAIL!! it was very crunchy so I
                                 only ate 2 pieces for fear of breaking my teeth....I know better for next time)

Breakfast: 0
Lunch: 490
Snack: 232
Dinner: 603
I am using the iPhone app, "My Fitness Pal", to record what I eat throughout the day. The app has set me up to eat 1430cals a day in order to lose 2# a week. I think it is a little low, I would prefer 1500 (3-500cal meals a day) but I may adjust as I go depending on how working out effects my hunger level. I luckily have not been too too hungry between meals. I would like to have breakfast and a smaller dinner to start to even out my day I will try it tomorrow? Unfortunately, for my diet, my family (mom, dad, and gram) are coming tomorrow GRADUATION WEEKEND!!! I see some eating out in my future, but I will try to make healthier choices instead of just picking what sounds the best!!

I plan to post my "before" picture soon! I am finding some fun inspirational things on pintrest that may be added along the way too!

Good night <3

Day 2...

Day 2 a day late,

I must say yesterday was not the best of days at all...

Mieka and I went to visit my friend Sarah in New Hampshire yesterday. We got up nice and early and got breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. I had a turkey sausage, egg white flatbread with cheese and a large unsweetened iced tea with lemon and 2 Splenda. Good Start 280 calories :)
For lunch we ate at Olive Garden...dun dun dun. Obviously it is much harder to eat healthy at a restaurant but I do pride myself on making much healthier choices then I would on a normal trip. I checked out the nutritional facts before ordering. I decided that because I love the salad so much I knew I couldn't have just one serving (nor did I know how much a serving was) but because a serving of the OG salad is like 260 calories I chose the minestrone (with no cheese) for 100 calories a bowl!! I unfortunately couldn't resist the bread sticks so I had 3. I am so unhappy with that and would do better if I went back. For lunch I chose the linguini alla marinara for 370 calories because I knew with unlimited soup and salad I would go above and beyond what I should have. All in all it wasn't too too bad and much much better then a normal trip :)!!
Dinner is where I slipped up. I don't even know my calorie count for dinner nor do I want to. We had PizzaHut :(. I had 2 normal bread sticks, 1 cheesy bread stick and 2 small slices of bacon (Mieka's choice not mine) pizza. I would have chosen just cheese but again it is really hard to please everyone. I am proud that I only ate 3 bread sticks because I could have eaten like 10 so I am happy about that.

I need to stop eating so many carbs...it is so hard though. I wish I didn't love pasta so much!!!!

Day 1...

Starting weight...229#
Goal weight...179#
Goal by...Christmas

          Welcome to my weight loss blog! I created this page for a place for me to vent, celebrate, and a place to keep me honest with myself. I plan on logging any weight loss/gain, pictures, my food log and my exercise log. I know this is not going to be easy, but I have decided to put my mind to this and it is going to happen! In high school I was at my prime at 160# and I would love be back down to that size, but for now the goal is 50lbs by Christmas 2012! Even then I knew I could have lost weight, but I have let myself get totally out of control. I have hit some road blocks with some health problems which has been my worst nightmare. I just want to be happy with the way I look and feel good about myself again. It is the world's worst feeling putting on a pair of pants and having to struggle to get them on, or having a muffin top, or just simply looking in the mirror and hating what you see. I have saved some of my smallest pants and I will get back into them again :).In August I am off to the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana and would really like to shed some weight before that trip I am hoping for a least 20-25# by then!! I have close to 3.5 months, so I would be happy with 2# a week until then! I welcome all support and words of wisdom along my journey.

As for day 1,
Food:
Breakfast: Subway 6" flatbread, ham, egg whites, provolone cheese, spinach, onion, green pepper, and sweet onion sauce.
Snacks: Cliff bar- chocolate chip peanut crunch, 3 Quaker white cheddar rice cakes
Dinner: Shrimp tempora maki roll, 3 pork gyoza
Drink: Sobe yumberry pomegranate Life Water, 2 glasses of water

           Not the best of days, but it was a start. According to my calorie counter I have eaten 1,200 calories today...not too bad. Not waking up until 11 and then not eating until 12 did not help but I have to work with what I have. I know I need to work on drinking more water. I plan on eating a high protein diet because I do plan on going to the gym 5-6 days a week once I get into the habit of things. This week happens to be a crappy week to start this journey because of being away from home and my family is coming to celebrate my graduation from the graduate program at Wentworth Institute of Technology(I see a good meal in my future). I am hoping that by next Monday I will be able to hit the gym regularly for some cardio and weight training!