Things have just been sorta fuzzy for me lately as far as eating and exercise. I am not all-out binging, and I am still working out a couple of times a week, but I have totally lost the zest and commitment I had in the beginning. For example, I had committed to NOT EATING after a certain time of night, but lost sight of that, and justify eating because my total calories for the day are still usually under 1500. I have stopped losing weight however, and I'm just maintaining.
Here are my goals for one week:
1. Not to eat ANYTHING less than 3 hours before I go to sleep
2. Work out 6 times between now and next Wed.
3. Go to the gym at least twice
4. Ace all 5 of my finals : )
5. Pray/meditate every day
I guess that will be good for now... hope everyone is having a great day, let's keep it up girls!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
recommitting
I wanted to check in and reconnect with you all, who seem to be doing a great job sticking with your weight loss plans. I've had two really crazy weeks, and have had limited time to post, let alone exercise or manage to eat well. I was away on business this past weekend, but weighed myself in- no weight loss, but surprisingly no weight gain.
I've got a very busy week ahead and another crazy weekend followed by a business trip to Florida for the week. Any advice those of you that have been traveling recently have for staying healthy would be much appreciated. I'm planning on doing a lot of swimming (all the hotels I've booked have pools) and hoping that the weather will be cool enough for an outside run (though I'm not sure what sorts of neighborhoods I'll be in...and I don't want to end up lost, or dead!)
On Saturday, I'm working from 9-4, than babysitting from 6-late. I'm getting up at 8am Sunday to do a 20 mile charity walk, which will count as my exercise for the day. I've got a final exam on Monday night after work, and I will need to spend a lot of time studying for it.
Since I've been working like crazy for the past few weeks, I've decided to take a half day on Friday, so that I can get myself out and running before the baseball game in the evening. Over the weekend, I ran 2.5 miles, which is great, but it made me realize that I've still got a lot of work to do if I'm planning on running the entire 5 mile road race I've entered for June 4th. AAAH!
Now that it's springy outside, I'm going to have to fully recommit to exercising, and get myself out of bed to run in the morning. Or it's not going to happen. Wish me luck! I'm trying to put together a schedule to force myself to build up endurance to run for more than 3.5- ugh.
Hopefully, I will have some interesting updates for y'all soon. Good luck!
Beth
I've got a very busy week ahead and another crazy weekend followed by a business trip to Florida for the week. Any advice those of you that have been traveling recently have for staying healthy would be much appreciated. I'm planning on doing a lot of swimming (all the hotels I've booked have pools) and hoping that the weather will be cool enough for an outside run (though I'm not sure what sorts of neighborhoods I'll be in...and I don't want to end up lost, or dead!)
On Saturday, I'm working from 9-4, than babysitting from 6-late. I'm getting up at 8am Sunday to do a 20 mile charity walk, which will count as my exercise for the day. I've got a final exam on Monday night after work, and I will need to spend a lot of time studying for it.
Since I've been working like crazy for the past few weeks, I've decided to take a half day on Friday, so that I can get myself out and running before the baseball game in the evening. Over the weekend, I ran 2.5 miles, which is great, but it made me realize that I've still got a lot of work to do if I'm planning on running the entire 5 mile road race I've entered for June 4th. AAAH!
Now that it's springy outside, I'm going to have to fully recommit to exercising, and get myself out of bed to run in the morning. Or it's not going to happen. Wish me luck! I'm trying to put together a schedule to force myself to build up endurance to run for more than 3.5- ugh.
Hopefully, I will have some interesting updates for y'all soon. Good luck!
Beth
RoadID
If anyone is thinking about getting a RoadID, let me know. I have several coupons for $1 off that I can give you the code for - they are good online, over the phone, etc. They are valid until the end of the year, so plenty of time too.
My last final is in a few hours, and I've been studying like mad for it. My plan is to go for a nice long walk or a run when I'm done as a stress relief. I'm also hoping I'll eat better because yesterday I dove into the candy bag while studying, which wasn't great.
As for new clothes, I've been saving a lot of old favorites so I could wear them again, which I'm doing more and more, but I want to buy a few cute things for summer too. Some of the staples (tank tops and the like) I'm always the same size, because I'm fairly tall and don't have the bone structure to be a small - I was a very curvy size twelve at my best - which was running 6-10 miles 5 or 6 days a week. For the cute summer dresses, if the lines are simple, you could always buy what size you wear now and then get it taken in as you lose weight. If you're handy with a sewing machine it wouldn't be difficult to do yourself.
Mhray
My last final is in a few hours, and I've been studying like mad for it. My plan is to go for a nice long walk or a run when I'm done as a stress relief. I'm also hoping I'll eat better because yesterday I dove into the candy bag while studying, which wasn't great.
As for new clothes, I've been saving a lot of old favorites so I could wear them again, which I'm doing more and more, but I want to buy a few cute things for summer too. Some of the staples (tank tops and the like) I'm always the same size, because I'm fairly tall and don't have the bone structure to be a small - I was a very curvy size twelve at my best - which was running 6-10 miles 5 or 6 days a week. For the cute summer dresses, if the lines are simple, you could always buy what size you wear now and then get it taken in as you lose weight. If you're handy with a sewing machine it wouldn't be difficult to do yourself.
Mhray
Monday, April 28, 2008
New week
I lost another pound this week so my total lost is 13 pounds. I feel like I have my motivation back again. I will measure again tonight since I never did it last week. My fiance has committed to working out more with me and watching his own diet so that has helped me a lot. He might even do the 5K with me Saturday. Btw, this past weekend it poured so I didn't participate in the 5K. I didn't feel that guilty since I have another one this weekend. I still worked out Saturday to make up for it however. I bought pistachios and trail mix to keep at my desk while I'm at work. I also have some canned fruits in the fridge. It's helped me curb all my snack cravings. I made the recipe below tonight and loved it. I used light Ragu instead of tomatoes and it turned out great.
Quick question: What are you guys doing about new clothes? I want to get a few new items for the summer but I'm hesitant to buy anything because I'm losing weight.
Well it's been kinda slow on the blog... hope everyone comes back soon! Good luck with everything!
Chicken Capri
Serves 4
.
1 cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup crushed tomatoes
4 slices reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
InstructionsIn a blender or food processor, combine the ricotta with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Process to blend.
Rub the chicken with the garlic powder. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 12 minutes per side. Place the chicken breasts, side by side, in a large baking dish and allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Spoon 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture and 1/4 cup tomatoes onto each chicken breast. Top each chicken breast with 1 slice mozzarella. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest portion of a breast registers 170°F and the juices run clear.
Recipe from The South Beach Diet® Cookbook. For information on the book, click here.
Nutritional Information:340 calories 15 g fat (5 g sat) 115 mg cholesterol 6 g carbohydrate 44 g protein 1 g fiber 470 mg sodium
~Layla
Quick question: What are you guys doing about new clothes? I want to get a few new items for the summer but I'm hesitant to buy anything because I'm losing weight.
Well it's been kinda slow on the blog... hope everyone comes back soon! Good luck with everything!
Chicken Capri
Serves 4
.
1 cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup crushed tomatoes
4 slices reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
InstructionsIn a blender or food processor, combine the ricotta with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Process to blend.
Rub the chicken with the garlic powder. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 12 minutes per side. Place the chicken breasts, side by side, in a large baking dish and allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Spoon 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture and 1/4 cup tomatoes onto each chicken breast. Top each chicken breast with 1 slice mozzarella. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest portion of a breast registers 170°F and the juices run clear.
Recipe from The South Beach Diet® Cookbook. For information on the book, click here.
Nutritional Information:340 calories 15 g fat (5 g sat) 115 mg cholesterol 6 g carbohydrate 44 g protein 1 g fiber 470 mg sodium
~Layla
Monday weigh in
Weigh in stats - same as last week. No loss, but after some of the ice cream binges, no gain either.
My goals this week:
1. Do well on the one final exam I have
2. Go running three days this week
3. Really stick with my eating plan as much as possible (I have a wedding shower and a party to go to this weekend, so I'm going to try and eat some healthy snacks before I go, but we'll see how that works out)
Also, for anyone running, walking, biking, etc. outside - have you heard of RoadID? It's fantastic! You can get wrist IDs, ankle IDs, shoe IDs even dog tag style IDs that have your information and emergency contact numbers engraved on them so in case you get into an accident people can figure out who you are. I bought one last week and it's so much nicer than having to find a place to put my license when I run. I got a wrist one to "balance" out the watch on the other wrist. If you're interested it's www.roadid.com
Layla - How did the 5k go? I hope the weather wasn't terrible for your whole weekend.
Mhray
My goals this week:
1. Do well on the one final exam I have
2. Go running three days this week
3. Really stick with my eating plan as much as possible (I have a wedding shower and a party to go to this weekend, so I'm going to try and eat some healthy snacks before I go, but we'll see how that works out)
Also, for anyone running, walking, biking, etc. outside - have you heard of RoadID? It's fantastic! You can get wrist IDs, ankle IDs, shoe IDs even dog tag style IDs that have your information and emergency contact numbers engraved on them so in case you get into an accident people can figure out who you are. I bought one last week and it's so much nicer than having to find a place to put my license when I run. I got a wrist one to "balance" out the watch on the other wrist. If you're interested it's www.roadid.com
Layla - How did the 5k go? I hope the weather wasn't terrible for your whole weekend.
Mhray
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Ups and Downs
Hi everyone! Hope your week has been going great. I've managed to get in 2 workouts and food has been okay for the most part. I've had problems tracking my eating because I can't access the tracking website from work anymore. That was really helping me stay on track more than anything. Oh well, I'll try to figure something out. It's going to storm here all weekend so I have no clue what will happen with the 5K on Saturday. I guess they'll still have it but I'm not sure I'll want to do it! The ironic thing is it's called the 'Rise and Shine' 5k... the sun definitely won't be shining! A/w, I'm ready for Friday! Well, hope everyone else is hanging in there!
~Layla
~Layla
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Running
I've been running twice lately. The first two times in 7 months. It isn't pretty, but it feels good to finally be out there doing something. The first night I did 1.2 miles, last night I think I did 2. I'm still terribly slow, but you have to start somewhere, right?
Eating has been going well. I definitely feel skinnier. I'm starting to fit into more and more old clothes which is fantastic. With summer coming up I'm looking forward to getting some pretty, new, smaller clothes.
Layla - I'm sorry about your exercise ball. I use mine all the time, even if only a chair while playing video games.
Mhray
Eating has been going well. I definitely feel skinnier. I'm starting to fit into more and more old clothes which is fantastic. With summer coming up I'm looking forward to getting some pretty, new, smaller clothes.
Layla - I'm sorry about your exercise ball. I use mine all the time, even if only a chair while playing video games.
Mhray
Monday, April 21, 2008
What a weekend!
I had an incredible weekend... so much fun hanging out with friends and my man! I didn't have time for a real workout, but I did get a lot of walking in. I did pretty good with food, but lack of time for exercise has really hurt me! I am swamped this week with work so I have to be very careful with food and try to sneak in a workout at some point. It's unfortunate I'm so busy now because I have a 5K on Saturday. Oh well, I can only try to do my best! No weight loss this week, but I didn't gain either. My fiance says that I look leaner and my muscles feel firmer. I'm going to measure sometime this week to see if I've lost any more inches. My exercise ball has a hole in it so I'm sad about that. I love that thing.. guess I need to get another one soon.
Good luck, everyone... do better than me!!
~Layla
Good luck, everyone... do better than me!!
~Layla
Mhray's Monday Morning Weigh-in
Goal: 160
Start: 245
Current: 225
Lost: 20
To go: 65
I hope you all had wonderful weekends! Mine was drama full, and totally unexpected. I'd like to think that I lost weight because I've been good (which I have been to an extent). But the truth is I haven't been eating a lot because I'm in shell shock. One of my best friends (or so I thought for the past 6 years) sent out an email to a group of close friends about how much everyone in said group dislikes me and that my boyfriend (this all went to him too) could do so much better and he shouldn't propose to me. Emails flew back and forth with me and the bf pointing out half of her argument was lies, and if people dislike my behavior so much, then the could tell me and I'd work on it. Seems straight forward to me. Then she went on to attack everyone else in the group for not standing up and saying they didn't like me, when I was getting calls from them all saying that they did. The funniest/saddest/oddest thing is that 3 hours before she sent out the first email she was on the phone asking me to be a bridesmaid for her. The situation was a little more complicated, but that's the basics. Needless to say, I was hurt by the whole episode and in a funk all weekend because of it. *sigh*
That said, the drama has given me a strong desire to go burn off energy, so I definitely think I'll go for a run today. I sincerely hope everyone else had an enjoyable, relaxing weekend.
Mhray
Start: 245
Current: 225
Lost: 20
To go: 65
I hope you all had wonderful weekends! Mine was drama full, and totally unexpected. I'd like to think that I lost weight because I've been good (which I have been to an extent). But the truth is I haven't been eating a lot because I'm in shell shock. One of my best friends (or so I thought for the past 6 years) sent out an email to a group of close friends about how much everyone in said group dislikes me and that my boyfriend (this all went to him too) could do so much better and he shouldn't propose to me. Emails flew back and forth with me and the bf pointing out half of her argument was lies, and if people dislike my behavior so much, then the could tell me and I'd work on it. Seems straight forward to me. Then she went on to attack everyone else in the group for not standing up and saying they didn't like me, when I was getting calls from them all saying that they did. The funniest/saddest/oddest thing is that 3 hours before she sent out the first email she was on the phone asking me to be a bridesmaid for her. The situation was a little more complicated, but that's the basics. Needless to say, I was hurt by the whole episode and in a funk all weekend because of it. *sigh*
That said, the drama has given me a strong desire to go burn off energy, so I definitely think I'll go for a run today. I sincerely hope everyone else had an enjoyable, relaxing weekend.
Mhray
Friday, April 18, 2008
Hey girls, I have totally been MIA, so I thought I would touch base. I have been doing pretty well, very good eating-wise, and I have been so slammed with work and school, that I haven't worked out besides some lame walking trips to the store and stuff since MONDAY. EEKKK!! I do like that it makes me this uncomfortable NOT to work out, I am really looking forward to getting home this evening and getting in some exercise, at least a good 45 min cardio session. Then tomorrow morning get my ass to the gym! Anyhow, life is good, the semester is almost over, and I have lost 32 pounds since the end of January. I am blessed.
Good to see that everyone is steadily working out and posting on here! Everyone have a GREAT weekend, and hopefully some of you are lucky to be enjoying gorgeous weather like here. And I live in Houston, TX, we NEVER get pretty days!!
Erin
Good to see that everyone is steadily working out and posting on here! Everyone have a GREAT weekend, and hopefully some of you are lucky to be enjoying gorgeous weather like here. And I live in Houston, TX, we NEVER get pretty days!!
Erin
Friday!
I hope all of you are having weather as beautiful as where I'm at right now! It makes me want a hammock, a beach hat and a book.
I've been doing pretty well eating wise, although I need to run again. I'm at work until 9pm tonight though, so I think that will have to wait until tomorrow.
I'm really glad to see that some of you are doing well with working out! I'm even gladder to see those of you who have fallen off the wagon getting back on it.
Mhray
I've been doing pretty well eating wise, although I need to run again. I'm at work until 9pm tonight though, so I think that will have to wait until tomorrow.
I'm really glad to see that some of you are doing well with working out! I'm even gladder to see those of you who have fallen off the wagon getting back on it.
Mhray
Still out of commission
Hi ladies,
Ugh, I am officially off the wagon!! I don't know what is wrong with me, but I have not been caring about what I'm eating, and I haven't been making going to the gym a priority. I haven't even weighed myself for this week, but I know there won't be a minus next to the number. I am stressed out with a lot of changes in my life (changing my full-time job, and also adding a part-time job and taking a leadership role in my church group). Sorry I haven't been the best buddy! I am hitting the gym tomorrow and am determined to try and turn myself around....good luck this weekend everyone!!
--Lins
Ugh, I am officially off the wagon!! I don't know what is wrong with me, but I have not been caring about what I'm eating, and I haven't been making going to the gym a priority. I haven't even weighed myself for this week, but I know there won't be a minus next to the number. I am stressed out with a lot of changes in my life (changing my full-time job, and also adding a part-time job and taking a leadership role in my church group). Sorry I haven't been the best buddy! I am hitting the gym tomorrow and am determined to try and turn myself around....good luck this weekend everyone!!
--Lins
late week weigh in
I've finally gotten around to weighing myself on a scale where the sliding part isn't broken. Good news!
Current: 165
Lost: 3
To go (short term): 8
To go (long term): 15
I have to say, I'm a little surprised that I've lost anything since my eating hasn't been great and I haven't been to the gym since Tuesday. However, maybe it's all the work that I've put in last week catching up. I'm going to hit the gym late this afternoon, then I'm babysitting for a friend tonight which should keep me out of trouble at the bars. I'm working on Sat. evening and Sunday afternoon, so I'm planning to do a longer run on Saturday morning again and try and do something physical on Sunday. I don't have to go to work on Monday (Yay Boston!!) because it's "Patriots Day" a.k.a. the day of the Boston Marathon where the city shuts down and no one has to work since the runners clog the main streets. So instead of sitting along the sidelines of the marathon with a daiquiri like everyone else, I'll probably go for a bike ride if it's nice, or to the gym if it's rainy. I'm also planning to use that day to make some meals to-go later on in the week and hopefully keep myself better on track with dinners. Breakfasts and lunches I've managed to work out pretty well, but that dinner is what always kills me.
Speaking of portable healthy dinners, I think I need to buy stock in Gladware. Since I've been dieting, it seems like my poor dishwasher is always filled with that stuff- salads for lunch, veggies and meat for dinner.... oh well.
Enjoy your weekend and keep me updated! Layla, enjoy the crawfish!!
Beth
Current: 165
Lost: 3
To go (short term): 8
To go (long term): 15
I have to say, I'm a little surprised that I've lost anything since my eating hasn't been great and I haven't been to the gym since Tuesday. However, maybe it's all the work that I've put in last week catching up. I'm going to hit the gym late this afternoon, then I'm babysitting for a friend tonight which should keep me out of trouble at the bars. I'm working on Sat. evening and Sunday afternoon, so I'm planning to do a longer run on Saturday morning again and try and do something physical on Sunday. I don't have to go to work on Monday (Yay Boston!!) because it's "Patriots Day" a.k.a. the day of the Boston Marathon where the city shuts down and no one has to work since the runners clog the main streets. So instead of sitting along the sidelines of the marathon with a daiquiri like everyone else, I'll probably go for a bike ride if it's nice, or to the gym if it's rainy. I'm also planning to use that day to make some meals to-go later on in the week and hopefully keep myself better on track with dinners. Breakfasts and lunches I've managed to work out pretty well, but that dinner is what always kills me.
Speaking of portable healthy dinners, I think I need to buy stock in Gladware. Since I've been dieting, it seems like my poor dishwasher is always filled with that stuff- salads for lunch, veggies and meat for dinner.... oh well.
Enjoy your weekend and keep me updated! Layla, enjoy the crawfish!!
Beth
Thursday, April 17, 2008
One more day til the weekend!
Not much to report here... my week has been so busy. I've gotten home relatively late every night. Tonight I got home a little earlier so I will definitely have time to work out. I plan on letting Tommy Deters kick my butt in a kickboxing cardio workout. The dude is so annoying, but his workouts are killer! I even skipped a work happy hour tonight to make sure I could wok out! Saturday and Sunday is slammed for me... car goes to the shop that morning, then afternoon at a friend's housewarming party, then casino night at another friend's house. I'll definitely have to watch myself Saturday night.... then Sunday my fiance and I are going to a huge crawfish festival... hopefully I'll be good and we'll be walking a lot so that will help! Only one more week until the 5K... I need to kick it in high gear! Well, hope everyone is doing good... Have a good Friday!!! :)
~Layla
~Layla
I Heart Lara Bars
Can I just say that I LOVE these bars? If you're looking for healthy calories to keep you energized before or after a particularly tough workout, you should give these guys a try. I've decided that any time I do a huge cardio workout (running 3+ miles outside or biking 15+), I get one that day. While they are 220 calories, they also have 5g fiber(20% daily recommended), 5g protein (10%), and 250mg potassium (10%), no cholesterol or sodium, and count as a daily serving of fruit (they have a fig base).
While they may have a similar calorie count to a small brownie or a few cookies, they're great for energy. I like the Larabar Coconut Chew and the Jocalat (same company) Chocolate (supposedly tastes like a brownie, but I think that's not accurate but equally delicious).
What else do you guys like?
Beth
Sorry to be M.I.A. I've been checking the blog but don't really have much to update since my last post. I haven't lost any more weight, which is strange, but I don't really mind since my clothes are all fitting much better and i'm getting some noticible definition in my shoulders and sides, so I won't complain.
I had an o.k. diet day Monday; I ended up snacking on healthy snacks all day which put me over my goal calorie intake. Tuesday, I dieted and worked out like a rockstar . I had a doctor's appt. at 10:30, so I went to the gym and got a good workout in beforehand. Then I had time to make myself lunch, snacks, and dinner, since I had to work job II from 5-9. I got to work around 11:30am, had a short day, went straight to work II and had dinner there, then got home and went to bed and was well under my caloric goal.
Yesterday, I had planned to go to the gym but had a family crisis (my baby brother decided that he was going to move out/run away [he's 17 so I think it counts as running away, but it wasn't that dramatic] and I spent the evening on the phone with my dad, who was trying to track him down, and my mom, who is on a business trip in Florida and freaking out). Not to mention that my boyfriend's grandmother sent us an enormous box of homemade chocolate chip cookies. Anyway, so I had a couple cookies, had chicken cooked by the BF for dinner, then went out to bar trivia and had one beer all evening (and no snacks!). So, given the stress level of yesterday, I think I fared pretty well, except that I normally get to sleep around 10pm and managed to keep myself up worrying until around 2:30am. Yuck.
Anyway, the eating plan for today is:
[home]Breakfast: kashi go-lean crunch with vanilla soy milk
[car] coffee with skim milk.
[work ]Snack: fat free yogurt
[work] Lunch: salad, string cheese
[home]Dinner: ? probably chicken sausages with veggies- TBD.
[class] flavored water.
I should be home by 9:00 and do not plan to eat anything before bed. I had been planning on getting a quick work out in between work and class, but since I'm running on 4.5 hours of sleep and have to make it through class, I don't see that one happening.
So I might not weigh less, but at least I can see some definition in my muscles!!
Beth
I had an o.k. diet day Monday; I ended up snacking on healthy snacks all day which put me over my goal calorie intake. Tuesday, I dieted and worked out like a rockstar . I had a doctor's appt. at 10:30, so I went to the gym and got a good workout in beforehand. Then I had time to make myself lunch, snacks, and dinner, since I had to work job II from 5-9. I got to work around 11:30am, had a short day, went straight to work II and had dinner there, then got home and went to bed and was well under my caloric goal.
Yesterday, I had planned to go to the gym but had a family crisis (my baby brother decided that he was going to move out/run away [he's 17 so I think it counts as running away, but it wasn't that dramatic] and I spent the evening on the phone with my dad, who was trying to track him down, and my mom, who is on a business trip in Florida and freaking out). Not to mention that my boyfriend's grandmother sent us an enormous box of homemade chocolate chip cookies. Anyway, so I had a couple cookies, had chicken cooked by the BF for dinner, then went out to bar trivia and had one beer all evening (and no snacks!). So, given the stress level of yesterday, I think I fared pretty well, except that I normally get to sleep around 10pm and managed to keep myself up worrying until around 2:30am. Yuck.
Anyway, the eating plan for today is:
[home]Breakfast: kashi go-lean crunch with vanilla soy milk
[car] coffee with skim milk.
[work ]Snack: fat free yogurt
[work] Lunch: salad, string cheese
[home]Dinner: ? probably chicken sausages with veggies- TBD.
[class] flavored water.
I should be home by 9:00 and do not plan to eat anything before bed. I had been planning on getting a quick work out in between work and class, but since I'm running on 4.5 hours of sleep and have to make it through class, I don't see that one happening.
So I might not weigh less, but at least I can see some definition in my muscles!!
Beth
Where are you?
Weight loss buddies - come back! You help keep me motivated and I need you.
I didn't eat the greatest yesterday, but I did go running for the first time in forever. It took me 15 minutes to jog 1.2 miles. But I did it all without stopping, which I consider pretty good.
How is everyone else doing?
Mhray
I didn't eat the greatest yesterday, but I did go running for the first time in forever. It took me 15 minutes to jog 1.2 miles. But I did it all without stopping, which I consider pretty good.
How is everyone else doing?
Mhray
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Only Tuesday?
Is it really only Tuesday? I've been immersed in the world of term papers and it feels like it should be Friday already. Only a few more days to go...
My biggest triumph the past few days has been figuring out good snacks that I can eat while working on aforementioned term papers. I do best munching on things. It's really hard to sit at the kitchen table, working on my laptop and NOT want to snack.
I've been sticking to the eating plan - paying very close attention to portion sizes so that I can continue dropping weight. I also worked out a little yesterday. Not much, but I got in a few minutes on my bike and some crunches. I'm hoping that tomorrow I can get more in - my goal is a 1-1.5 mile run. I need to start now if I'm going to be in good shape for a half-marathon in October.
I hope everyone else is doing well with the quest to be healthy.
My boyfriend and I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious. It isn't my recipe, I modified it slightly from the Roman Style Chicken recipe on foodnetwork.com. I took the picture after I made it last night because it looked nice. Tasted good too!
Roman Style Chicken - Slightly healthier
3 large chicken breasts
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1-2 TBSP olive oil
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow cooking onion, diced
3 ounces prosciutto chopped (I didn't have any, I used deli ham finely diced instead)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can of chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine (Didn't have any, used cooking sherry)
1 TBSP fresh chopped thyme leaves (Used 1 tsp ground thyme)
1 tsp fresh oregano leaves (Used 1/2 tsp dried oregano)
1/2 cup chicken stock (Used 1 chicken bouillon cube)
2 TBSP capers (Didn't have, didn't substitute)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leave parsley leaves (Didn't have, sprinkled on dry at end)
Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a heavy, large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When oil is hot, cook chicken until browned on both sides (it may not be cooked all the way through - this is ok) Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
In same pan over same heat, add peppers, onion and prosciutto. Cook until the peppers are browned and the prosciutto is crisp (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, wine and herbs. Stir everything together, scraping browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Return chicken to pan, add chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through (about 20-30 minutes).
Add capers and parsley and serve!
My biggest triumph the past few days has been figuring out good snacks that I can eat while working on aforementioned term papers. I do best munching on things. It's really hard to sit at the kitchen table, working on my laptop and NOT want to snack.
I've been sticking to the eating plan - paying very close attention to portion sizes so that I can continue dropping weight. I also worked out a little yesterday. Not much, but I got in a few minutes on my bike and some crunches. I'm hoping that tomorrow I can get more in - my goal is a 1-1.5 mile run. I need to start now if I'm going to be in good shape for a half-marathon in October.
I hope everyone else is doing well with the quest to be healthy.
My boyfriend and I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious. It isn't my recipe, I modified it slightly from the Roman Style Chicken recipe on foodnetwork.com. I took the picture after I made it last night because it looked nice. Tasted good too!
Roman Style Chicken - Slightly healthier
3 large chicken breasts
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1-2 TBSP olive oil
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow cooking onion, diced
3 ounces prosciutto chopped (I didn't have any, I used deli ham finely diced instead)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can of chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine (Didn't have any, used cooking sherry)
1 TBSP fresh chopped thyme leaves (Used 1 tsp ground thyme)
1 tsp fresh oregano leaves (Used 1/2 tsp dried oregano)
1/2 cup chicken stock (Used 1 chicken bouillon cube)
2 TBSP capers (Didn't have, didn't substitute)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leave parsley leaves (Didn't have, sprinkled on dry at end)
Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a heavy, large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When oil is hot, cook chicken until browned on both sides (it may not be cooked all the way through - this is ok) Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
In same pan over same heat, add peppers, onion and prosciutto. Cook until the peppers are browned and the prosciutto is crisp (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, wine and herbs. Stir everything together, scraping browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Return chicken to pan, add chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through (about 20-30 minutes).
Add capers and parsley and serve!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Is it really Monday again?
Oh Mondays.... not the best times for me! LOL. So no weight loss this week, but I didn't really expect it. My life was just too crazy the past couple of days! At least I maintained the weight loss tho. Fortunately, I think I finally have my fiance on track with me! I made a bet with him... we're competing to see who can lose the most weight by May 25th, our 5-year anniversary. His support is going to help me so much... now I need to think about what prize I want when I WIN! HA!
I'm still thinking about going on the 'Flat Belly Diet'... it seems like an easy enough diet. One thing I've already tried is the sassy water.. Here's the recipe:
Sassy Water
2 liters water (about 8 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 medium cucumber. peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium lemon thinly sliced12 small spearmint leaves
Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and let flavors blend overnight.
It's not bad.. a good alternative to plain water. It's supposed to help cleanse your body. I'm not sure about that, but I still like it.
So here's some goals I have in mind!
Long-term goals - Lose 10 pounds by May 25th
Run 3 miles without stopping
Weekly goals - Lose 1.5 pounds
Do 3 cardio workouts, 2 strength training workouts
Drink Sassy Water
That's it for me! Good luck with your goals, everyone! And congrats on losing weight and sticking with your plans!
I'm still thinking about going on the 'Flat Belly Diet'... it seems like an easy enough diet. One thing I've already tried is the sassy water.. Here's the recipe:
Sassy Water
2 liters water (about 8 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 medium cucumber. peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium lemon thinly sliced12 small spearmint leaves
Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and let flavors blend overnight.
It's not bad.. a good alternative to plain water. It's supposed to help cleanse your body. I'm not sure about that, but I still like it.
So here's some goals I have in mind!
Long-term goals - Lose 10 pounds by May 25th
Run 3 miles without stopping
Weekly goals - Lose 1.5 pounds
Do 3 cardio workouts, 2 strength training workouts
Drink Sassy Water
That's it for me! Good luck with your goals, everyone! And congrats on losing weight and sticking with your plans!
A Life Changed, an effort DERAILED.
Hey ladies. On April 1st 2008, I lost my father. It was a shocking and devastating event that was horribly unexpected. He did not have heart disease or anything like that but it appears he died of some form of cardiac arrest. Anyway, I don't mean to gloom up everybody's day as I see you are all making great progress, but I need you guys right now. I need you to get me motivated again and get me back on track. I know you all know the nature of funerals and the like and how all the out of town family flies in and all we do is eat out. And I know you guys know how it feels to want all that comfort food. So right now I need to get back to work. I need to undo this damage and get right again. Help me out you guys.
Now I did not gain anything, but I haven't lost anything either over this two week hiatus. And I know that it takes two weeks of being off schedule to lose cardio fitness levels. So I have to start...once again...from scratch. Well here goes nothin........
Now I did not gain anything, but I haven't lost anything either over this two week hiatus. And I know that it takes two weeks of being off schedule to lose cardio fitness levels. So I have to start...once again...from scratch. Well here goes nothin........
Beth's Monday Morning post
Good morning! I can't do an official weigh-in until tomorrow morning (I've been using the gym scale since my office scale is sort of broken), but I thought I'd check in and re-group.
I had a pretty good weekend- relaxing, got two great cardio workouts in, minimal alcohol consumption. I strayed a little from my planned diet (I got taken out to dinner on Saturday night, and had more carbs than planned on Sunday) but at least on Sunday, my body really needed the extra calories from the 18 mile bike ride that my boyfriend dragged me (almost literally by the end!) along on. But, it was worth it and I slept very, very well last night.
Last week's goals:
Week goals:
-fully recover from Friday's workout trauma: done and done.
-do one outdoor longer run this week without damaging myself: 4 miles total, less than one of walking on Saturday
-Bring my bike out of the basement: went on an 18 mile ride on Sunday even though it was rainy. My body is definitely feeling that today.
-plan dinners: not so much. We ended up going out for pizza on Saturday night because there wasn't anything in the house and we were exhausted. To make up for it, I ordered a side of broccoli so the night wasn't a total wash.
-No alcohol, except for one light beer at Wednesday's red sox game: and two glasses of wine on Friday night...but I did some push-ups to even things out :)
All in all, not a bad week. Unfortunately, my weekend was really busy so I feel as if I'm hitting the ground running and don't really have any time to plan, much less cook, dinners at all this week. I made a delicious crust free broccoli quiche (I added in some ham for extra protein, used 75% fat free cheddar and added a little feta for taste. I also think egg substitute is gross so I used 7 egg whites and two whole eggs instead- worked fine) last night which I plan to eat for breakfast all week long with two slices of turkey bacon. I had some almost three hours ago and am not hungry at all this morning. This recipe is great- low fat, really high in protein, lots of vitamins, minimal carbs, minimal calories, and VEGGIES FOR BREAKFAST!
If any of you have a chance to try it, let me know what you think!
I'll post soon with a weigh-in and goals for the upcoming week.
I had a pretty good weekend- relaxing, got two great cardio workouts in, minimal alcohol consumption. I strayed a little from my planned diet (I got taken out to dinner on Saturday night, and had more carbs than planned on Sunday) but at least on Sunday, my body really needed the extra calories from the 18 mile bike ride that my boyfriend dragged me (almost literally by the end!) along on. But, it was worth it and I slept very, very well last night.
Last week's goals:
Week goals:
-fully recover from Friday's workout trauma: done and done.
-do one outdoor longer run this week without damaging myself: 4 miles total, less than one of walking on Saturday
-Bring my bike out of the basement: went on an 18 mile ride on Sunday even though it was rainy. My body is definitely feeling that today.
-plan dinners: not so much. We ended up going out for pizza on Saturday night because there wasn't anything in the house and we were exhausted. To make up for it, I ordered a side of broccoli so the night wasn't a total wash.
-No alcohol, except for one light beer at Wednesday's red sox game: and two glasses of wine on Friday night...but I did some push-ups to even things out :)
All in all, not a bad week. Unfortunately, my weekend was really busy so I feel as if I'm hitting the ground running and don't really have any time to plan, much less cook, dinners at all this week. I made a delicious crust free broccoli quiche (I added in some ham for extra protein, used 75% fat free cheddar and added a little feta for taste. I also think egg substitute is gross so I used 7 egg whites and two whole eggs instead- worked fine) last night which I plan to eat for breakfast all week long with two slices of turkey bacon. I had some almost three hours ago and am not hungry at all this morning. This recipe is great- low fat, really high in protein, lots of vitamins, minimal carbs, minimal calories, and VEGGIES FOR BREAKFAST!
If any of you have a chance to try it, let me know what you think!
I'll post soon with a weigh-in and goals for the upcoming week.
Mhray's Monday Morning Weigh-in
Goal: 160
Current: 229
Lost: 16 (1 more since last week)
To go: 69
So I've been doing better with some of my goals from last week, which is good. I went on an hour walk yesterday with the b/f and then played DDR on my Wii for a little while. If you have DDR it's great because you can set how many calorie you want to burn and off you dance.
I've also been eating and writing it all down. Which I know helps because it keeps me more accountable. I tend to fudge things a bit when I don't. I also got a new water bottle so that I can keep water with me when I'm at work. It makes it tricky because I can't keep it at my desk, which is in a lab where no food or drink is allowed, but I can keep it just outside lab. Then I have to get up and walk to it, which isn't a bad thing anyway.
Goals for this week:
Get in a few runs - even if they are short.
Make sure to really be drinking enough water.
Write down everything I eat.
Good luck this week!
Mhray
Current: 229
Lost: 16 (1 more since last week)
To go: 69
So I've been doing better with some of my goals from last week, which is good. I went on an hour walk yesterday with the b/f and then played DDR on my Wii for a little while. If you have DDR it's great because you can set how many calorie you want to burn and off you dance.
I've also been eating and writing it all down. Which I know helps because it keeps me more accountable. I tend to fudge things a bit when I don't. I also got a new water bottle so that I can keep water with me when I'm at work. It makes it tricky because I can't keep it at my desk, which is in a lab where no food or drink is allowed, but I can keep it just outside lab. Then I have to get up and walk to it, which isn't a bad thing anyway.
Goals for this week:
Get in a few runs - even if they are short.
Make sure to really be drinking enough water.
Write down everything I eat.
Good luck this week!
Mhray
Saturday, April 12, 2008
I love Saturdays
I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend as much as I am. My fiance and I had a picnic at a park and hung out by a creek all day. We walked a good bit (in sand and on trails) so I did get some exercise. My food wasn't very healthy so I have to do better! I normally start the day out doing pretty well, and I slip up later in the evening. Since I've recognized this pattern, maybe it will help me control my evening food choices.
Review of goals for the past week:
Workout 4 times - cardio and some strength - got 3 workouts in
Keep water bottle at my desk - check!
Try to eat in as much as possible - I had a half and half week with this... the car trouble threw some kinks in my plans so I didn't have as much time for cooking. I can do better next week!
I'll check back in tomorrow with new goals. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
~Layla
Review of goals for the past week:
Workout 4 times - cardio and some strength - got 3 workouts in
Keep water bottle at my desk - check!
Try to eat in as much as possible - I had a half and half week with this... the car trouble threw some kinks in my plans so I didn't have as much time for cooking. I can do better next week!
I'll check back in tomorrow with new goals. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
~Layla
Weekend update
So at this point I haven't lost anymore, but I haven't gained anymore either. I need to be better about what I'm eating - and I have been for the most part, just not totally. We're having people over for dinner tonight, but it's a grill out, so I figure I can make sure to get more veggies (the biggest thing I've been ignoring).
It's sounds like several of you are doing much better as far as working out. Good job!!
Mhray
It's sounds like several of you are doing much better as far as working out. Good job!!
Mhray
Happy Weekend!
Happy weekend everyone! My week was pretty crazy but no major (unplanned) strays from my eating plan. I made it through Wednesday's baseball game with a light beer, hot dog and pieces of a pretzel, but that was both my dinner and the VAST majority of my carb intake for the day. Also, since I had no time to work out on Wednesday, I walked to and from the baseball stadium which was about 4 miles round trip. I called it even.
I managed to get to the gym on Tuesday, but had class and a work emergency on Thursday and some weird health problem yesterday (I took a three hour nap after work, did some quick push ups during the red sox/yankees game, then went to bed at 9). Fortunately, the same things that kept me from working out also kept me from eating anything but what I had already packed for myself (except popcorn during the game).
This morning, I went fora long run outside (it was one of my goals and it's already Saturday...so now or never!) and did 3.5 miles in 40 minutes, then walked another mile home for a total of 55 minutes. Now I'm exhausted and will be going to my side job all afternoon and evening (retail) which is usually a great way to get in some walking.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll post again on Monday with a weigh-in!
Before:
After:
Friday, April 11, 2008
Weekend!
Hi Ladies,
Hope you all had a good week! Mine flew by really fast and had a few ups and downs. Traveling went well and I didn't fall of my diet. But I didn't get to workout with my friend.. she cancelled. Maybe next time! And I've had car trouble all week.. but I think it's all fixed now. I forgot to report Monday that I was down another pound. So that's a total of 12 pounds. It's coming off slowly but at least it's coming off at all! I haven't worked out as much I would have liked this week... just been really busy with work. And it's only going to get worse. In 6 weeks we will be on mandatory 55-hour work weeks for 3 months... no fun, but it's gotta be done. I signed up for another 5K for some more motivation so now I have one on April 26th and another on May 3rd. The weekend should be nice here so I will try to go hiking and enjoy the weather. Besides, the dogs need to get outta the house!
I'm so glad it's the finally the weekend! I hope everyone has a great weekend and can control their temptations. Keep up the hard work... it's going to pay off!
~Layla
Hope you all had a good week! Mine flew by really fast and had a few ups and downs. Traveling went well and I didn't fall of my diet. But I didn't get to workout with my friend.. she cancelled. Maybe next time! And I've had car trouble all week.. but I think it's all fixed now. I forgot to report Monday that I was down another pound. So that's a total of 12 pounds. It's coming off slowly but at least it's coming off at all! I haven't worked out as much I would have liked this week... just been really busy with work. And it's only going to get worse. In 6 weeks we will be on mandatory 55-hour work weeks for 3 months... no fun, but it's gotta be done. I signed up for another 5K for some more motivation so now I have one on April 26th and another on May 3rd. The weekend should be nice here so I will try to go hiking and enjoy the weather. Besides, the dogs need to get outta the house!
I'm so glad it's the finally the weekend! I hope everyone has a great weekend and can control their temptations. Keep up the hard work... it's going to pay off!
~Layla
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Snack attack
So I got hit by a snack attack yesterday - big time. And I was bad about it too. I came home about 2pm and was hungry, having not had lunch yet. There was a bag of tortilla chips on the table because I'd made taco salad for dinner the night before and I went to town on them. I finally stopped myself and made a tuna-curry wrap but there was some damage done.
The bad news: I think I used up my 150 calories of treats and at least one 85 calorie block of grains.
The good: I felt guilty even as I was eating the chips and finally stopped.
But then I started snack on pretzel goldfish rather than eating fruit. Again, I recognized it and went to eat an apple, but even as I was enjoying the taste I felt guilty eating them because they weren't giving me anything nutrient wise. There was a reason I always keep a limited amount of bread products in the house - because I'll eat them all.
But, because I feel guilty I'm going to pack a bag, leave early and go hit the gym after work. So maybe this will be the beginning of truly getting in shape. I just hate the feeling of knowing that I'm eating badly when I don't have to be. Although, a few months ago it wouldn't have bothered me, so I guess that's improvement.
Ltl- I know you aren't where you want to be weight-wise yet, but I've always thought that saris are so beautiful! How lucky you get to wear some!
Stay strong everyone! Beware the snack attack monster.
Mhray
The bad news: I think I used up my 150 calories of treats and at least one 85 calorie block of grains.
The good: I felt guilty even as I was eating the chips and finally stopped.
But then I started snack on pretzel goldfish rather than eating fruit. Again, I recognized it and went to eat an apple, but even as I was enjoying the taste I felt guilty eating them because they weren't giving me anything nutrient wise. There was a reason I always keep a limited amount of bread products in the house - because I'll eat them all.
But, because I feel guilty I'm going to pack a bag, leave early and go hit the gym after work. So maybe this will be the beginning of truly getting in shape. I just hate the feeling of knowing that I'm eating badly when I don't have to be. Although, a few months ago it wouldn't have bothered me, so I guess that's improvement.
Ltl- I know you aren't where you want to be weight-wise yet, but I've always thought that saris are so beautiful! How lucky you get to wear some!
Stay strong everyone! Beware the snack attack monster.
Mhray
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
lose the lard post #6--the pre wedding freak out.
Wedding stress has full on smacked me in the face. a phone call last night from my best friend who asked me to wear a sari to all the wedding events.
i'm trying not to freak out, and admittedly this wasn't entirely out of the blue, but the actual reality of having to be fit for the top and showing a little bare midriff has me ALMOST over the edge.
so...i'm increasing (or trying to) my workout time by half an hour (cardio) which makes me want to slit my writsts. to top it off, i'm leaving town for a mini vacation on friday and will be gone for 5 days...hoping i don't do more backsliding there, but how can i travel to the netherlands and not indulge in some cheese and beer?!
on the upside, i've just finished cooking for the next few days and am really enjoying my diet. what's everyone's favorite diet meal/diet food?
mine has turned out to be roasted veggies with just a tad of olive oil, salt, and pepper. i pretty much roast everything---broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, etc. they're just tasty and easy to prepare. it takes some adjustment to get used to eating vegetables without sauces and and other condiments, but i'm feeling nicely de-toxed.
also...is anyone taking fish oil pills? any suggestions for brands that won't give you fishy burps?
i'm trying not to freak out, and admittedly this wasn't entirely out of the blue, but the actual reality of having to be fit for the top and showing a little bare midriff has me ALMOST over the edge.
so...i'm increasing (or trying to) my workout time by half an hour (cardio) which makes me want to slit my writsts. to top it off, i'm leaving town for a mini vacation on friday and will be gone for 5 days...hoping i don't do more backsliding there, but how can i travel to the netherlands and not indulge in some cheese and beer?!
on the upside, i've just finished cooking for the next few days and am really enjoying my diet. what's everyone's favorite diet meal/diet food?
mine has turned out to be roasted veggies with just a tad of olive oil, salt, and pepper. i pretty much roast everything---broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, etc. they're just tasty and easy to prepare. it takes some adjustment to get used to eating vegetables without sauces and and other condiments, but i'm feeling nicely de-toxed.
also...is anyone taking fish oil pills? any suggestions for brands that won't give you fishy burps?
lose the lard-post #5
today's post is on the virtues of cleansing.
i'm not sure how many of you are still eating processed foods. but i've switched over entirely to whole unprocessed foods. i cook everything myself, so that when i go out to eat and have less control over the pieces of the puzzle, it does less damage. first of all, i'm eating a lot more veggies--broccoli, spinach, mixed greens, watercress. in general, i feel much better when i eat greens, but i knew i was getting enough of them per day. combined with drinking more water, it has a very, ahem, cleansing effect on the body. and i'm telling you, you will never feel so good.
i've indulged several times in mashed potatoes this week too. :(
back to exercise.
glad to see everyone making progress! we should set up a private flickr pool and post before and after pictures (without faces or heads or whatever) once we get to our goals! that would be good motivation too.
i'm not sure how many of you are still eating processed foods. but i've switched over entirely to whole unprocessed foods. i cook everything myself, so that when i go out to eat and have less control over the pieces of the puzzle, it does less damage. first of all, i'm eating a lot more veggies--broccoli, spinach, mixed greens, watercress. in general, i feel much better when i eat greens, but i knew i was getting enough of them per day. combined with drinking more water, it has a very, ahem, cleansing effect on the body. and i'm telling you, you will never feel so good.
i've indulged several times in mashed potatoes this week too. :(
back to exercise.
glad to see everyone making progress! we should set up a private flickr pool and post before and after pictures (without faces or heads or whatever) once we get to our goals! that would be good motivation too.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Inspiring thoughts....
I read this today and decided it belonged in my journal....I'm sharing with all of you as well because it applies to what we are trying to accomplish!
The Virtue of Patience by Denis Waitley (from The Psychology of Motivation)
While persistence is the dermination to strive to ahieve your ultimate goal, there is another virtue of equally great value. Persistence keeps us moving in side ourselves to see the purpose behnid the purpose, but patience is the wisdom behind the persistence.
Patience cautions us to focus our efforts on what we can change while accepting what we cannot. When external cicumstance rains on our parade, patience is our umbrella. Rather than blaming what we cannot control, patience is the wisdome behind persistence.
It is when a goal is distant and difficult to reach that patience is an ally. Time changes everything, but with patience you can keep your desires relatively constant. If you can just hang on long enough, time will finally create the conditions in which you can succeed.
____________________
WOW - does that sum up my journey in a very eloquent manner. Hope you can find a piece of this to hang on to!!
Dawn
The Virtue of Patience by Denis Waitley (from The Psychology of Motivation)
While persistence is the dermination to strive to ahieve your ultimate goal, there is another virtue of equally great value. Persistence keeps us moving in side ourselves to see the purpose behnid the purpose, but patience is the wisdom behind the persistence.
Patience cautions us to focus our efforts on what we can change while accepting what we cannot. When external cicumstance rains on our parade, patience is our umbrella. Rather than blaming what we cannot control, patience is the wisdome behind persistence.
It is when a goal is distant and difficult to reach that patience is an ally. Time changes everything, but with patience you can keep your desires relatively constant. If you can just hang on long enough, time will finally create the conditions in which you can succeed.
____________________
WOW - does that sum up my journey in a very eloquent manner. Hope you can find a piece of this to hang on to!!
Dawn
Taking the plunge
So I've decided that in order to make myself really taking working out seriously, it's time to invest - both money and time.
For Christmas my brother said he would pay my entry fee for a half-marathon anytime this year, I just had to pick which one. So I've signed up for one in October, which gives me 6 months to get back into running shape. I've been there before, I know how to do it, now I just need to make the effort. I'm nervous, but I figure it's best to jump in with both feet rather than dipping in a toe.
Here's hoping that I don't fall flat on my face!
Mhray
For Christmas my brother said he would pay my entry fee for a half-marathon anytime this year, I just had to pick which one. So I've signed up for one in October, which gives me 6 months to get back into running shape. I've been there before, I know how to do it, now I just need to make the effort. I'm nervous, but I figure it's best to jump in with both feet rather than dipping in a toe.
Here's hoping that I don't fall flat on my face!
Mhray
Lins' Weigh In
Hi ladies!
Once again I have been MIA...I am such a bad blogger! Well, I have good news to report...I am down another 2 pounds for a total of 11 pounds lost over the course of 9 weeks! Now I am at 226. Woohoo. I am very pleased with myself, although slightly confused since I haven't been eating the best since the last weigh in. I guess that means my metabolism is up! I have some good things going on in my life that are making me motivated and happy...I got the part-time job at the grocery store!!! I also have a full-time job interview tomorrow...and I am so psyched/nervous!!! I will let you know how it goes. Tonight I have to go sign my paperwork for the part-time job and then I want to hit the gym. I went really late last night (about 830pm-930pm) which worked out because I was EXHAUSTED by my bed time and fell asleep quickly. Going later you also have fewer people and more access to the machines so you don't have to wait. My trainer has been out of town for 2 weeks so I am supposed to be doing strength workouts by myself...but I haven't made it much of a priority. I read in Lose the Lard's post that you are allowed to work your abs every single day? Is that true, and why is that? Tonight I want to do some lower body strength training along with some cardio. I have been kind of stressed out about my personal relationship with my bf, and going to the gym really helps deal with the stress and anxiety. Because of this, I want to really hit the gym 5 times this week! No excuses!!!!
Keep up the good work everyone! I am going to go through everyone's postings and comment on them. Talk to you all soon!
Lins
Once again I have been MIA...I am such a bad blogger! Well, I have good news to report...I am down another 2 pounds for a total of 11 pounds lost over the course of 9 weeks! Now I am at 226. Woohoo. I am very pleased with myself, although slightly confused since I haven't been eating the best since the last weigh in. I guess that means my metabolism is up! I have some good things going on in my life that are making me motivated and happy...I got the part-time job at the grocery store!!! I also have a full-time job interview tomorrow...and I am so psyched/nervous!!! I will let you know how it goes. Tonight I have to go sign my paperwork for the part-time job and then I want to hit the gym. I went really late last night (about 830pm-930pm) which worked out because I was EXHAUSTED by my bed time and fell asleep quickly. Going later you also have fewer people and more access to the machines so you don't have to wait. My trainer has been out of town for 2 weeks so I am supposed to be doing strength workouts by myself...but I haven't made it much of a priority. I read in Lose the Lard's post that you are allowed to work your abs every single day? Is that true, and why is that? Tonight I want to do some lower body strength training along with some cardio. I have been kind of stressed out about my personal relationship with my bf, and going to the gym really helps deal with the stress and anxiety. Because of this, I want to really hit the gym 5 times this week! No excuses!!!!
Keep up the good work everyone! I am going to go through everyone's postings and comment on them. Talk to you all soon!
Lins
Monday, April 7, 2008
This week 217.2
Last week 218
Goal 175
Yet to Lose - 42+ lbs
As I expected - not a lot of movement on the scale. But, I wasn't expecting much - it's the one week out of the month I can't lose. I'm feeling good about my sense of focus so that is keeping me in the game.
And, Beth inspired me by signing up for a 5k and that got me looking into what my options were locally. When I googled for training for a 5k, I realized that most training programs are about 8 weeks long. Then, I happened to go on a local news site and found a 5k on June 7th in the town I work in and that is just about 8 weeks from now. I took that as a sign of fate and decided I should do it!! So, today was my first day of training - not to bad. It felt good to accomplish it - even if it was only for 20 minutes!!!
It's cool to see what everyone has for goals this week - gives me some ideas!
Let's have a good week!!!
Dawn
Last week 218
Goal 175
Yet to Lose - 42+ lbs
As I expected - not a lot of movement on the scale. But, I wasn't expecting much - it's the one week out of the month I can't lose. I'm feeling good about my sense of focus so that is keeping me in the game.
And, Beth inspired me by signing up for a 5k and that got me looking into what my options were locally. When I googled for training for a 5k, I realized that most training programs are about 8 weeks long. Then, I happened to go on a local news site and found a 5k on June 7th in the town I work in and that is just about 8 weeks from now. I took that as a sign of fate and decided I should do it!! So, today was my first day of training - not to bad. It felt good to accomplish it - even if it was only for 20 minutes!!!
It's cool to see what everyone has for goals this week - gives me some ideas!
Let's have a good week!!!
Dawn
Beth's Check In
Good morning, Ladies!
Last week: 168.5
Goal weight (short-term): 160
Goal weight (long-term): 150ish
Current: 167
So I had a great week of diet & exercise last week. I "cheated" and weighed in after my friday afternoon 3 mile run (which I finished without walking!!) workout at 166, which was a loss of slightly over 2 lbs for the week. Unfortunately, that's where the good news ends...
In the process of my noteworthy run, I managed to do some damage to my foot on a hill. To compensate for that, I guess I started putting more weight on my other leg, so my knee was incredibly sore all weekend and with one bum foot and the other leg out of commission (think braces & bandages), that was all the exercise I was getting for the weekend. Add a planned "break" in my diet (I had old college friends visiting and did dinner/drinks/hangover all afternoon on Friday and Saturday), and I gained at least half of last week's weight back.
I finally had the feeling that those of you who have non-dieting friends/boyfriends have had- only this was my houseguests! My boyfriend very on board with the Get Healthy plan, but loses weight very quickly and therefore breaks the dieting more easily. Luckily, these distractions left on Sunday afternoon and won't be coming back before my short-term weight loss date of memorial day weekend.
I guess, all things considered, I'm still doing okay. I have class tonight so I won't have time to hit the gym, but I think I need this last day to rest my foot/knee. Hopefully I can pick up where I left off last week and avoid any major relapses over the weekend. The Boyfriend and I are going to a Red Sox game on Wednesday right after work, so I'm going to try and get to the gym in the morning before work since there will probably be a (light) beer and dinner at the game.
Week goals:
-fully recover from Friday's workout trauma (I'm such a drama queen- it's really not that bad, but I really can't exercise with it).
- once recovered, do one outdoor longer run this week without damaging myself, and get the rest of my cardio doing something low-impact (probably ellipticalling, which I hate).
-Bring my bike out of the basement and start to enjoy the sunny weather we've been having!
-plan dinners better so that I'm not stuck eating scrambled eggs & bacon for lunch AND dinner because I don't have time between work and class.
-No alcohol, except for one light beer at Wednesday's red sox game. No more. What a huge waste of calories. I got really grumpy after I figured out how long I'd have to work out to make up for Friday's night out!!
Take-aways from last week:
-I can do this, as long as I keep myself fully dedicated. If nothing else, I managed to get rid of over two pounds (fair enough, some of it was probably water) and work out 4 times AND run three consecutive miles.
-I officially registered for the 5 mile road race--there's no backing out of it now!
-my pants fit a little better, so something is working.
To everyone- good luck!
To those who are aiming to add more H2O to their daily routine: I suggest carrying around a Nalgene bottle filled with water at all times. They hold 32 oz of water and if you keep them alongside, you can finish off 2-3 in a day. Plus, think of the extra exercise walking to & from the bathroom!! Also, I have a 24oz water bottle on my desk all day that I put a little crystal lite in for extra fluids but no extra calories.
--Beth
Last week: 168.5
Goal weight (short-term): 160
Goal weight (long-term): 150ish
Current: 167
So I had a great week of diet & exercise last week. I "cheated" and weighed in after my friday afternoon 3 mile run (which I finished without walking!!) workout at 166, which was a loss of slightly over 2 lbs for the week. Unfortunately, that's where the good news ends...
In the process of my noteworthy run, I managed to do some damage to my foot on a hill. To compensate for that, I guess I started putting more weight on my other leg, so my knee was incredibly sore all weekend and with one bum foot and the other leg out of commission (think braces & bandages), that was all the exercise I was getting for the weekend. Add a planned "break" in my diet (I had old college friends visiting and did dinner/drinks/hangover all afternoon on Friday and Saturday), and I gained at least half of last week's weight back.
I finally had the feeling that those of you who have non-dieting friends/boyfriends have had- only this was my houseguests! My boyfriend very on board with the Get Healthy plan, but loses weight very quickly and therefore breaks the dieting more easily. Luckily, these distractions left on Sunday afternoon and won't be coming back before my short-term weight loss date of memorial day weekend.
I guess, all things considered, I'm still doing okay. I have class tonight so I won't have time to hit the gym, but I think I need this last day to rest my foot/knee. Hopefully I can pick up where I left off last week and avoid any major relapses over the weekend. The Boyfriend and I are going to a Red Sox game on Wednesday right after work, so I'm going to try and get to the gym in the morning before work since there will probably be a (light) beer and dinner at the game.
Week goals:
-fully recover from Friday's workout trauma (I'm such a drama queen- it's really not that bad, but I really can't exercise with it).
- once recovered, do one outdoor longer run this week without damaging myself, and get the rest of my cardio doing something low-impact (probably ellipticalling, which I hate).
-Bring my bike out of the basement and start to enjoy the sunny weather we've been having!
-plan dinners better so that I'm not stuck eating scrambled eggs & bacon for lunch AND dinner because I don't have time between work and class.
-No alcohol, except for one light beer at Wednesday's red sox game. No more. What a huge waste of calories. I got really grumpy after I figured out how long I'd have to work out to make up for Friday's night out!!
Take-aways from last week:
-I can do this, as long as I keep myself fully dedicated. If nothing else, I managed to get rid of over two pounds (fair enough, some of it was probably water) and work out 4 times AND run three consecutive miles.
-I officially registered for the 5 mile road race--there's no backing out of it now!
-my pants fit a little better, so something is working.
To everyone- good luck!
To those who are aiming to add more H2O to their daily routine: I suggest carrying around a Nalgene bottle filled with water at all times. They hold 32 oz of water and if you keep them alongside, you can finish off 2-3 in a day. Plus, think of the extra exercise walking to & from the bathroom!! Also, I have a 24oz water bottle on my desk all day that I put a little crystal lite in for extra fluids but no extra calories.
--Beth
Monday, Monday
Here's my Monday morning weigh-in information:
Goal: 160
Current: 229
Lost: 16
To go: 69
I've only lost one pound this week, which disappoints me, as I was losing more before that. But I think there are two reasons for this. First, I was at a wedding shower and a birthday party this weekend, both where food choices were limited, but I made do with what I had. Second was that I have started eyeballing food measurements, and I think that my eye isn't quite as well trained as I thought.
On the plus side, I took a 30 minute walk yesterday with my boyfriend so even though it wasn't much, it was still getting out and doing something. I'm also back at home now, so eating better shouldn't be a problem.
My goals for this week:
-Drink more water (my cross country team in high school had a slogan "pee clear!" to make sure you were drinking enough water - a little over the top in that you were going to the bathroom all the time, but I need to get back to carrying a water bottle with me)
-Really try and stick with the Self Challenge eating plan blocks - and not changing them around so I can have more ice cream, rather than eating veggies.
-Go to the gym or run outside three times this week. Currently scheduled for Tues, Thurs and Sat
-Do strength workouts on days not going to the gym
-Get back to writing down everything I eat. When I do I lose more weight.
Good luck on the week!! I hope everyone had a relaxing weekend.
Mhray
Goal: 160
Current: 229
Lost: 16
To go: 69
I've only lost one pound this week, which disappoints me, as I was losing more before that. But I think there are two reasons for this. First, I was at a wedding shower and a birthday party this weekend, both where food choices were limited, but I made do with what I had. Second was that I have started eyeballing food measurements, and I think that my eye isn't quite as well trained as I thought.
On the plus side, I took a 30 minute walk yesterday with my boyfriend so even though it wasn't much, it was still getting out and doing something. I'm also back at home now, so eating better shouldn't be a problem.
My goals for this week:
-Drink more water (my cross country team in high school had a slogan "pee clear!" to make sure you were drinking enough water - a little over the top in that you were going to the bathroom all the time, but I need to get back to carrying a water bottle with me)
-Really try and stick with the Self Challenge eating plan blocks - and not changing them around so I can have more ice cream, rather than eating veggies.
-Go to the gym or run outside three times this week. Currently scheduled for Tues, Thurs and Sat
-Do strength workouts on days not going to the gym
-Get back to writing down everything I eat. When I do I lose more weight.
Good luck on the week!! I hope everyone had a relaxing weekend.
Mhray
Lose the Lard - Post #4
Alright. It was another week of eating poorly for me, but I've (sort of) kept up with the exercise.
So that's two weeks of kind of effing things up on my part and undoing whatever progress i made.
but seeing as how it's sunday, and the beginning of the week, i'm not going to dwell. i did add on extra cardio to the workouts i did last week and will continue to do the same thing this week. and i'm back on track with the diet as of tonite.
Mainly what I plan on doing with food:
1. breakfast--2 egg whites 1 egg yolk fried or lightly scrambled, 1/2 grapefruit
1. nuts (almonds, walnuts) and fruits (apples, 1/2 grapefruit, grapes) as snacks throughout the day
2. lunch--Salad with home made balsamic vinaigrette (light on the oil), which includes sliced roasted chicken breast, dried cranberries, sliced pear, and slivered almonds.
3. at least 64 oz water per day
4. iced green tea for when i get the munchies. i make a big batch, stick it in a pitcher and keep it in the fridge.
5. iced mint tea for when i get a craving for diet soda. do the same as above
6. Dinner--more roasted chicken breast with a side of veg--roasted cauliflower, roasted broccoli, wilted watercress or spinach with garlic.
My resolution is to exercise at least 5 days this week with cardio and abs (remember, abs are the one muscle group you can work every day) each day, then alternating upper body and lower body workouts.
good luck to everyone! and thanks for the words of encouragement. ditto what mhray said -- i find everyone else's progress and struggles inspiring and the word of encouragement are, well, surprisingly encouraging!
So that's two weeks of kind of effing things up on my part and undoing whatever progress i made.
but seeing as how it's sunday, and the beginning of the week, i'm not going to dwell. i did add on extra cardio to the workouts i did last week and will continue to do the same thing this week. and i'm back on track with the diet as of tonite.
Mainly what I plan on doing with food:
1. breakfast--2 egg whites 1 egg yolk fried or lightly scrambled, 1/2 grapefruit
1. nuts (almonds, walnuts) and fruits (apples, 1/2 grapefruit, grapes) as snacks throughout the day
2. lunch--Salad with home made balsamic vinaigrette (light on the oil), which includes sliced roasted chicken breast, dried cranberries, sliced pear, and slivered almonds.
3. at least 64 oz water per day
4. iced green tea for when i get the munchies. i make a big batch, stick it in a pitcher and keep it in the fridge.
5. iced mint tea for when i get a craving for diet soda. do the same as above
6. Dinner--more roasted chicken breast with a side of veg--roasted cauliflower, roasted broccoli, wilted watercress or spinach with garlic.
My resolution is to exercise at least 5 days this week with cardio and abs (remember, abs are the one muscle group you can work every day) each day, then alternating upper body and lower body workouts.
good luck to everyone! and thanks for the words of encouragement. ditto what mhray said -- i find everyone else's progress and struggles inspiring and the word of encouragement are, well, surprisingly encouraging!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
New week!
Hi Ladies! I hope you all had a great weekend! Looks like everyone is still hanging in there. Sorry I haven't been able to post much... work has been busy and I've been looking at homes to buy. Talk about stressful! I had a horrible experience with a realtor on Wednesday, but I think I have found a much better one that will suit my needs. Hopefully it will make the process easier. I haven't tracked my food much this week, but I've eaten pretty well. I've worked out twice by jogging/walking through my neighborhood and doing some ab exercises. Before the night is over, I am doing a kickboxing/cardio workout. Tomorrow I'm working out with a friend. I have to go out of town from Tuesday -Wednesday and then I should be able to fit some exercise in at other points during the week. Social hours at work have been hurting my diet, but I'm trying to overcome that! Anyone else dealing with after-hour work events? Any tips on how to stay on track? I don't like to make it so obvious that I'm watching my weight/diet. Call me paranoid!
Mhray - I bought some WW giant chocolate ice cream cones... yum yum yum! It's the perfect way to get my ice cream fix! ;)
Dawn - congrats on the weight loss! Keep it up!
Gonna be busy this week, but I am determined to stay on track.
Goals for the week:
Workout 4 times - cardio and some strength
Keep water bottle at my desk
Try to eat in as much as possible
Well, gotta go get that workout in. Talk to everyone soon! Keep working hard!
~Layla
Mhray - I bought some WW giant chocolate ice cream cones... yum yum yum! It's the perfect way to get my ice cream fix! ;)
Dawn - congrats on the weight loss! Keep it up!
Gonna be busy this week, but I am determined to stay on track.
Goals for the week:
Workout 4 times - cardio and some strength
Keep water bottle at my desk
Try to eat in as much as possible
Well, gotta go get that workout in. Talk to everyone soon! Keep working hard!
~Layla
How was the weekend??
Hi all,
Looks like it was pretty quiet here all weekend - hope everyone is doing okay. I have had a lot of good movement this weekend and a pilates class this afternoon (Sunday...) and I also kept food in control (with the exception of pizza on Friday evening...I could have cut back on that)
On the positive, I have lost 2.25 inches from my hips since joining all of you. My arms and thighs are also tightening up - I can feel it!!!
I'll post my weigh in on Monday, but here are my other areas of focus for the week:
1) Drink 64 oz of water each day
2) 3 trips to the gym this week
3) Record my food intake each day
4) Stay in control on Friday evening (4/11)
Hope you're all holding together - we can do this!!!
thecic
Dawn
Looks like it was pretty quiet here all weekend - hope everyone is doing okay. I have had a lot of good movement this weekend and a pilates class this afternoon (Sunday...) and I also kept food in control (with the exception of pizza on Friday evening...I could have cut back on that)
On the positive, I have lost 2.25 inches from my hips since joining all of you. My arms and thighs are also tightening up - I can feel it!!!
I'll post my weigh in on Monday, but here are my other areas of focus for the week:
1) Drink 64 oz of water each day
2) 3 trips to the gym this week
3) Record my food intake each day
4) Stay in control on Friday evening (4/11)
Hope you're all holding together - we can do this!!!
thecic
Dawn
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Checking in
Hey girls, I am so excited to see that people are actually blogging on here every day! Very cool, and keeps me inspired and focused on our common goals. I NEED TO WORK OUT! Okay, I just had to get that out. I did not do anything yesterday or today so far, and it stinks! Tuesday, I went to the gym and did 30 mins of good cardio on the treadmill, then a little ab work, but that's it. I don't really remember the last good strength session I got in. I feel like I'm slipping after being waaay more consistent than that for so long, but in perspective, it has not been that long. I commit officially (you guys are my witnesses), to do an Exercise TV workout tonight. Jillian or Billy Blanks or something. Eating wise, I feel guilty due to the no exercise, but yesterday I only ate 850 cals, and today I am at 500 so far. Bad news, it's like I compensate for no working out by undereating. I don't go an extended period of time or anything, I just eat tiny when I do eat. I know this is not healthy in the least, especially considering that the heavier stuff I eat at the end of the day, like last night I had about 500 cals up until 9pm, then went home and ate a Lean Cuisine meal and a 100 cal bag of kettle corn totalling 350 cals. Whatever, just like the working out, I will get back to eating healthfully again too. As you can see, Lins, I am in your shoes too... the husband is often the reason I choose to skip the working out, so we can spend time together on the couch or what not... boo.
Dawn, I am quickly falling in love with Pilates as well! I haven't even gone to the class at my gym yet, I got a book, and there are a bunch of on demand Pilates on tv too. We should stay in touch about how it's going. I really do like it, I can already do a hundred... the first time I tried, I was like 'are you kidding?! I can only do that for maybe 30 seconds...) but I got up to 100!! I am still in the modified form though (knees bent)
Amber - just hang tough baby girl! Our bodies are stubborn! If you keep it up, the results will come. Maybe you could try calorie cycling... it is very possible that your body has plateaued.
Mhray- I hear you on the cleaning!! I love spring cleaning type comprehensive cleaning, it's the day to day stuff like dishes and vacuuming I despise!
Kia, hope you are having a great day, hit me up on the text!!
Talk at you ladies soon!!
Dawn, I am quickly falling in love with Pilates as well! I haven't even gone to the class at my gym yet, I got a book, and there are a bunch of on demand Pilates on tv too. We should stay in touch about how it's going. I really do like it, I can already do a hundred... the first time I tried, I was like 'are you kidding?! I can only do that for maybe 30 seconds...) but I got up to 100!! I am still in the modified form though (knees bent)
Amber - just hang tough baby girl! Our bodies are stubborn! If you keep it up, the results will come. Maybe you could try calorie cycling... it is very possible that your body has plateaued.
Mhray- I hear you on the cleaning!! I love spring cleaning type comprehensive cleaning, it's the day to day stuff like dishes and vacuuming I despise!
Kia, hope you are having a great day, hit me up on the text!!
Talk at you ladies soon!!
Checking In...
Hi ladies,
I haven't written in since Monday--sorry! Work has been so crazy and ridiculous that I haven't had a chance! Things are going well this week eating wise. however, I have not pushed myself hard enough to make exercising a priority. For that, I am a bit disappointed in myself. I have also been eating out a lot this week, which is expensive AND not the healthiest thing to do. Ugh. When my schedule gets crazy, i can't seem to get myself together. I would love to get up early in the morning to work out, but i don't have the energy!!!! I was psyched because on Tuesday I bought a 3-pack of Tae Bo DVDs and I have yet to try them. They seem like a lot of fun and I can't wait to get started on them. I guess right now I am just feeling a lot of pressure from my boyfriend to hang out with him, and then just to avoid the bullshit guilt trip, I am skipping out on my exercising. I need some support and encouragement because right now, I am NOT motivated to work out today after work...
Sorry this is so cynical. There are some happy things happening though--I have been quite unhappy with my job lately, and so I have a phone interview today after work AND I have a part-time job interview on Saturday morning. I just want to get out of this work environment that I'm in because it's not healthy to be stressed out and bitter all of the time!!
I will check in tomorrow probably...
--Lins
I haven't written in since Monday--sorry! Work has been so crazy and ridiculous that I haven't had a chance! Things are going well this week eating wise. however, I have not pushed myself hard enough to make exercising a priority. For that, I am a bit disappointed in myself. I have also been eating out a lot this week, which is expensive AND not the healthiest thing to do. Ugh. When my schedule gets crazy, i can't seem to get myself together. I would love to get up early in the morning to work out, but i don't have the energy!!!! I was psyched because on Tuesday I bought a 3-pack of Tae Bo DVDs and I have yet to try them. They seem like a lot of fun and I can't wait to get started on them. I guess right now I am just feeling a lot of pressure from my boyfriend to hang out with him, and then just to avoid the bullshit guilt trip, I am skipping out on my exercising. I need some support and encouragement because right now, I am NOT motivated to work out today after work...
Sorry this is so cynical. There are some happy things happening though--I have been quite unhappy with my job lately, and so I have a phone interview today after work AND I have a part-time job interview on Saturday morning. I just want to get out of this work environment that I'm in because it's not healthy to be stressed out and bitter all of the time!!
I will check in tomorrow probably...
--Lins
I know, I know!
Hello ladies-
I am trying not to get stressed out about the numbers, but it's really bugging me out that I've gained back 3 of the 12 pounds I've lost, because I'm being so good! My body is definetly changing, and that's great...but you know how it is....gaining weight sucks. I've been eating right and working out consistently for about 6 weeks now, so I think that's when they say results really start. I do have my occasional birthday outings, social gatherings, etc...but that's like twice a month (compared to twice a week before, sadly!). I just feel like although I am not being perfect, I have so much to lose you think it would come off a little easier. I used to starve all day because I was so busy, then pig out on a huge meal at around 4...not good for the metabolism. Now I eat a small snack every 2-3 hours (granola bar, yogurt, slim fast, etc.), and my meals are probably half the size they used to be.
Does anyone have any ideas or pointers for me? Like I said I'm eating much more often, doing cardio 5-6 times a week, and strength training 2-3 times a week. I've replaced about anything I could in my house with a fat free or light version of itself. I'm more active than I've ever been...and I'm probably eating about 1600-1800 calories a day. My muscles are sore, so I know I'm doing something right....a little motivation, please!
Thanks!
Amber
I am trying not to get stressed out about the numbers, but it's really bugging me out that I've gained back 3 of the 12 pounds I've lost, because I'm being so good! My body is definetly changing, and that's great...but you know how it is....gaining weight sucks. I've been eating right and working out consistently for about 6 weeks now, so I think that's when they say results really start. I do have my occasional birthday outings, social gatherings, etc...but that's like twice a month (compared to twice a week before, sadly!). I just feel like although I am not being perfect, I have so much to lose you think it would come off a little easier. I used to starve all day because I was so busy, then pig out on a huge meal at around 4...not good for the metabolism. Now I eat a small snack every 2-3 hours (granola bar, yogurt, slim fast, etc.), and my meals are probably half the size they used to be.
Does anyone have any ideas or pointers for me? Like I said I'm eating much more often, doing cardio 5-6 times a week, and strength training 2-3 times a week. I've replaced about anything I could in my house with a fat free or light version of itself. I'm more active than I've ever been...and I'm probably eating about 1600-1800 calories a day. My muscles are sore, so I know I'm doing something right....a little motivation, please!
Thanks!
Amber
Spring is here
And with spring comes spring cleaning. I spent two hours this morning washing dishes - this after running the dishwasher twice. At least it worked my arms out some with all the scrubbing. I never before thought of cleaning as a way to lose weight, but it should help to tone my arms. I don't know about anyone else's housekeeping, but mine has been terrible lately because I've been so busy with work and classes. I snapped this morning and told work I'd be in late and spent three hours cleaning.
And then I bought some pretty tulips to put on my newly cleaned kitchen table :)
On a side note, when starting this blog I never thought that it would be so helpful and that there would be so many great comments. You are all helping me without me even really knowing you. So thank you!
I actually worked out a bit yesterday - both riding my bike and doing some strength training. I even ate pretty well. But the best part of all? I wanted ice cream and so I was able to eat a little bit without breaking the calorie bank. I used to think that losing weight required you to give up everything that tasted good - but it's so nice to still be able to eat ice cream.
Hope everyone is doing well
Mhray
And then I bought some pretty tulips to put on my newly cleaned kitchen table :)
On a side note, when starting this blog I never thought that it would be so helpful and that there would be so many great comments. You are all helping me without me even really knowing you. So thank you!
I actually worked out a bit yesterday - both riding my bike and doing some strength training. I even ate pretty well. But the best part of all? I wanted ice cream and so I was able to eat a little bit without breaking the calorie bank. I used to think that losing weight required you to give up everything that tasted good - but it's so nice to still be able to eat ice cream.
Hope everyone is doing well
Mhray
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Pilates anyone?
Evening all - I just returned from a pilates class and I can't believe what a great workout I got!! It is amazing to feel my muscles respond to the moves. The class was an hour long (could anyone survive longer???) and it was great. I will be going twice a week and I'm curious if others have tried pilates? They told me that "results" will come quickly if I stick with it (that's good news for those of us with no patience....
Beth - good for you on the commitment to a 5K - I aspire!! Running has never been of interest to me - I blame it on bad form. I do enjoy walking and would certainly consider a walk a thon - I'll have to keep my eyes open for one.
The scale voted in my favor today and I had great "food" day. I am satisfied that I did all I could toward my goals today - that feels good.
I am going to take a long hot soak.....my muscles are screaming!
Dawn
Beth - good for you on the commitment to a 5K - I aspire!! Running has never been of interest to me - I blame it on bad form. I do enjoy walking and would certainly consider a walk a thon - I'll have to keep my eyes open for one.
The scale voted in my favor today and I had great "food" day. I am satisfied that I did all I could toward my goals today - that feels good.
I am going to take a long hot soak.....my muscles are screaming!
Dawn
I may be out of my mind but...
I've just signed myself up for the Harpoon Brewery 5-mile road race on June 7th. I don't think I've ever ran 5 miles consecutively, but I've been consistantly a solid 2 miles at the gym, 2.5 if I really push it. It's a little more than two months away, and the weekend after my 24th birthday. I'm trying to find a local friend to run it with me, since my boyfriend is running too, but can already run four miles in 30 minutes and will leave me in the dust.
I will keep you all posted on my progress. I'm going to have to come up with some kind of fabulous reward if I manage to run the whole thing (very unlikely). Suggestions?
I'm also doing the Walk for Hunger on May 4th. It's a 20 mile walk through the greater Boston area. I did it last year with friends, and we made it a pub crawl, which sort of negated the calories burned on the 20 mile walk :). It was exhausting. But, it's for charity, and this year, my pub drinks will be water.
Have any of you done road races/charity walks before? It seems like a great way to incorporate exercise, spending time with friends, and raising money for charity into one event. If you're looking for something in your area, maybe there's an AIDS walk, a Breast Cancer walk, or a Relay for Life that you could do. My family has always supported the Cystic Fibrosis foundation, which does the Great Strides walk each year. I can't participate this year because of a wedding, but maybe there's one in your area!
I will keep you all posted on my progress. I'm going to have to come up with some kind of fabulous reward if I manage to run the whole thing (very unlikely). Suggestions?
I'm also doing the Walk for Hunger on May 4th. It's a 20 mile walk through the greater Boston area. I did it last year with friends, and we made it a pub crawl, which sort of negated the calories burned on the 20 mile walk :). It was exhausting. But, it's for charity, and this year, my pub drinks will be water.
Have any of you done road races/charity walks before? It seems like a great way to incorporate exercise, spending time with friends, and raising money for charity into one event. If you're looking for something in your area, maybe there's an AIDS walk, a Breast Cancer walk, or a Relay for Life that you could do. My family has always supported the Cystic Fibrosis foundation, which does the Great Strides walk each year. I can't participate this year because of a wedding, but maybe there's one in your area!
Happy Wednesday!
Hi Ladies,
Yesterday went pretty well diet-wise, and I was able to do a full 45 minutes of cardio (a four mile run...ew.) at the gym yesterday. I was really drained from the workout, so ended up with a dinner of whole wheat pasta. If I had the energy, I could have/should have added some kind of vegetable in there- but lesson learned.
I posted yesterday about sharing recipes. I've got two that I LOVE and that my boyfriend will also happily eat.
Alton Brown's recipe for popcorn. We use Canola oil instead of peanut oil, and use spray butter at the end instead of the unsalted. We also use kosher salt instead of popcorn salt, since we have it in the kitchen. This is beyond a doubt the BEST popcorn I have ever had. Much better than movie theatre popcorn, microwave popcorn, and certainly better than plain air-popped popcorn. It's great to have around if you're watching a movie so you're not tempted to have anything else. I also suggest filling an enormous glass with water and drinking that with the popcorn.
Second, we try every so often to make these Pear Bran Muffins that I got from a South Beach recipe book. They are sort of a pain to make, so we always multiply the recipe x4 and freeze them so that we don't have to go through the process again. We made about 5 dozen this weekend. They're great to have as a mid morning snack, or around 4pm when you're hungry and need something in you before you hit the gym. Tip: you may have trouble finding whole-grain pastry flour and/or wheat bran. Whole Foods has both and you can buy the exact amount you need (it's something like $ .69/lb). King Arthur Flour sells whole-grain pastry flour and you should be able to find it at the local grocery store.
Let me know if you try either one- and if you have other ideas!
Yesterday went pretty well diet-wise, and I was able to do a full 45 minutes of cardio (a four mile run...ew.) at the gym yesterday. I was really drained from the workout, so ended up with a dinner of whole wheat pasta. If I had the energy, I could have/should have added some kind of vegetable in there- but lesson learned.
I posted yesterday about sharing recipes. I've got two that I LOVE and that my boyfriend will also happily eat.
Alton Brown's recipe for popcorn. We use Canola oil instead of peanut oil, and use spray butter at the end instead of the unsalted. We also use kosher salt instead of popcorn salt, since we have it in the kitchen. This is beyond a doubt the BEST popcorn I have ever had. Much better than movie theatre popcorn, microwave popcorn, and certainly better than plain air-popped popcorn. It's great to have around if you're watching a movie so you're not tempted to have anything else. I also suggest filling an enormous glass with water and drinking that with the popcorn.
Second, we try every so often to make these Pear Bran Muffins that I got from a South Beach recipe book. They are sort of a pain to make, so we always multiply the recipe x4 and freeze them so that we don't have to go through the process again. We made about 5 dozen this weekend. They're great to have as a mid morning snack, or around 4pm when you're hungry and need something in you before you hit the gym. Tip: you may have trouble finding whole-grain pastry flour and/or wheat bran. Whole Foods has both and you can buy the exact amount you need (it's something like $ .69/lb). King Arthur Flour sells whole-grain pastry flour and you should be able to find it at the local grocery store.
Let me know if you try either one- and if you have other ideas!
Update and a few suggestions
Layla asked about keeping other people in your home from sabotaging the diet without meaning to. I sat down with my boyfriend and we both agreed we needed to start eating better. So far there hasn't been much complaining about what we make. My biggest problem is that I eat too many grains and so by dinner I'm often 'out' of them. We'll still make him rice to go with dinner, which I can't eat then, but enough so that we have leftovers for tomorrow.
Leftovers are the biggest thing helping me eat better though. I used to stop and grab food at the local food court which isn't always good for you. This way I can plan in advance what I'm eating and it's already made when I get up in the morning which is a big plus because I'm always running late.
On another note, I made a binder yesterday of a bunch of workouts. I get SELF, Shape and Fitness and each one comes with two or three workouts per issue. I had all my back issues, so I ripped out the workout pages, stuck them all in clear page covers and put them in a binder. That way I can flip through them until I come to something that looks interesting for the day and they are all in one place. I'm hoping because they are that much easier to reference that I'll be that much more likely to do them.
Still eating decently, going to try to workout some tonight from the new binder and generally enjoying the fact that the weather isn't totally nasty today.
Mhray
Leftovers are the biggest thing helping me eat better though. I used to stop and grab food at the local food court which isn't always good for you. This way I can plan in advance what I'm eating and it's already made when I get up in the morning which is a big plus because I'm always running late.
On another note, I made a binder yesterday of a bunch of workouts. I get SELF, Shape and Fitness and each one comes with two or three workouts per issue. I had all my back issues, so I ripped out the workout pages, stuck them all in clear page covers and put them in a binder. That way I can flip through them until I come to something that looks interesting for the day and they are all in one place. I'm hoping because they are that much easier to reference that I'll be that much more likely to do them.
Still eating decently, going to try to workout some tonight from the new binder and generally enjoying the fact that the weather isn't totally nasty today.
Mhray
Keeping In Touch
Hey, tonight I was delighted to have chatted a bit with Erin. She's a member of this blog and we texted eachother through upoc.com where I have started a group for Self Challengers. Thank you Erin.
Aside from that, I rested today. I didn't workout unless you count the running around that I do everyday with my heavy bag. Tomorrow I have some more pressing things to do and don't know if I can fit one in. But I think I will begin my midnight workouts now. It's getting warmer and I will be doing alot of things before I head to work (i work evenings) so I won't always be able to hit my usual gym location, however there is one in the city close to my job that is open 24/7. One of the instructors said that that's the "snobby" location so we'll see. Hopefully, it's not like that at 12:30 at night.
My food choice for today wasn't as wholesome as my usual but it wasn't totally horrible either. I just had a craving for some fried chicken wings. So I ordered some from the Chinese Restaurant and my diet allows me to eat plaintains and not french fries or rice so I ordered some of them too. I resisted the temptation to drown them in barbeque sauce which is my usual preference and I had a seltzer with that . And as usual I had my Skinny latte from starbucks. Didn't eat much today other than that. Had my usual breakfast of organic whole grain toast with natural peanut butter this morning and some OJ. Well, I guess I'll read a few more entries then head to bed so I can get up early (hopefully) and head to the gym. Goodnight ladies.
Kia.
Aside from that, I rested today. I didn't workout unless you count the running around that I do everyday with my heavy bag. Tomorrow I have some more pressing things to do and don't know if I can fit one in. But I think I will begin my midnight workouts now. It's getting warmer and I will be doing alot of things before I head to work (i work evenings) so I won't always be able to hit my usual gym location, however there is one in the city close to my job that is open 24/7. One of the instructors said that that's the "snobby" location so we'll see. Hopefully, it's not like that at 12:30 at night.
My food choice for today wasn't as wholesome as my usual but it wasn't totally horrible either. I just had a craving for some fried chicken wings. So I ordered some from the Chinese Restaurant and my diet allows me to eat plaintains and not french fries or rice so I ordered some of them too. I resisted the temptation to drown them in barbeque sauce which is my usual preference and I had a seltzer with that . And as usual I had my Skinny latte from starbucks. Didn't eat much today other than that. Had my usual breakfast of organic whole grain toast with natural peanut butter this morning and some OJ. Well, I guess I'll read a few more entries then head to bed so I can get up early (hopefully) and head to the gym. Goodnight ladies.
Kia.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Almost Middle of the Week
Hi everyone! Tuesday is coming to an end and Wednesday is about to begin! I can't believe it's already the middle of the week. I did some jogging today and walking and then some ab work. Tomorrow night I'm supposed to go look at some homes, but I will try to squeeze in a workout. My food choices were okay today but could have been better. I live with my fiance and he supports what I want to do, but doesn't really want to make changes for himself. So dinner time has been a challenge for us. How is everyone else dealing with caring for or living with other people that don't have the same habits as you?
Btw, I've seen others mention posting recipes or meal ideas... I would love to hear them! I made a bruschetta chicken bake tonight (from Kraft recipes), and it was pretty good! It was filling and low-cal/fat. A/w, gotta head to bed... good luck making it through tomorrow! Remember that even the smallest changes are benefiting our lives in a big way. Night!
~Layla
Btw, I've seen others mention posting recipes or meal ideas... I would love to hear them! I made a bruschetta chicken bake tonight (from Kraft recipes), and it was pretty good! It was filling and low-cal/fat. A/w, gotta head to bed... good luck making it through tomorrow! Remember that even the smallest changes are benefiting our lives in a big way. Night!
~Layla
menu tips
In addition to the weekly weigh-in, would anyone be interested in sharing recipes and/or suggestions for great meals? I'm always looking to make my life easier by having a scheduled food plan--and I like what the Self Challenge suggests, but a lot of it is too involved for my schedule. I end up sticking with the basics- for weeks on end.
Most pressing- I'm looking for a great low cal salad dressing. My lunch for the past week or so has been a huge salad with tomatos, lettuce, carrots, turkey, a hard boiled egg (no yolk), and feta, but I've been stuck using a not-so-great lite dressing that's been in my fridge for...awhile.
Are there any that y'all like? I'd rather enjoy my lunch than suffer through it :)
Beth
Most pressing- I'm looking for a great low cal salad dressing. My lunch for the past week or so has been a huge salad with tomatos, lettuce, carrots, turkey, a hard boiled egg (no yolk), and feta, but I've been stuck using a not-so-great lite dressing that's been in my fridge for...awhile.
Are there any that y'all like? I'd rather enjoy my lunch than suffer through it :)
Beth
New poster- Beth's Posts #1
Hi y'all! I came over from self.com and thought that this blog would be a great way to combine my addiction to blogs and my goal to lose weight-- and hopefully support others in the process! I've just skimmed over the back entries and it looks like you all are doing very well with your diets/exercise routines.
I'm about to turn 24 and am busy with a full-time job, a part-time job, and part-time graduate school. That alone has allowed me to drop a few pounds since I graduated from college two years ago--just lack of time! Unfortunately, I've gotten to the point where simply not having the time to snack won't help me drop pounds anymore. I'm weighing in at 168 now, and I'd like to get back down to 150 where I was before and during my freshman year of college (I'm 5'9). My short-term goal is to hit 158 by Memorial Day weekend (my b'day!!) and my boyfriend is really supportive of the entire adventure (he's promised to buy me a new bathing suit for summer!!) and has put himself on a diet, too, to help out.
I've got some tips for those looking to fit in exercise into otherwise crazy days, and would love to hear some of your ideas! I'd also love ideas on fitting in healthy snacks into hectic days, healthy meals-to-go (I have night class twice a week so I used to pack a sandwich, etc. but I'm trying to cut down on the carbs). We also tend to go out with friends to bars, so I've got to be better about cutting alcohol calories. Any tips would be great! I'd love to hear your suggestions and promise to make my way back and comment on your posts a.s.a.p.
Good luck to you all!
Beth
Boston, MA
I'm about to turn 24 and am busy with a full-time job, a part-time job, and part-time graduate school. That alone has allowed me to drop a few pounds since I graduated from college two years ago--just lack of time! Unfortunately, I've gotten to the point where simply not having the time to snack won't help me drop pounds anymore. I'm weighing in at 168 now, and I'd like to get back down to 150 where I was before and during my freshman year of college (I'm 5'9). My short-term goal is to hit 158 by Memorial Day weekend (my b'day!!) and my boyfriend is really supportive of the entire adventure (he's promised to buy me a new bathing suit for summer!!) and has put himself on a diet, too, to help out.
I've got some tips for those looking to fit in exercise into otherwise crazy days, and would love to hear some of your ideas! I'd also love ideas on fitting in healthy snacks into hectic days, healthy meals-to-go (I have night class twice a week so I used to pack a sandwich, etc. but I'm trying to cut down on the carbs). We also tend to go out with friends to bars, so I've got to be better about cutting alcohol calories. Any tips would be great! I'd love to hear your suggestions and promise to make my way back and comment on your posts a.s.a.p.
Good luck to you all!
Beth
Boston, MA
A short administrative note
Sick of having to sign all of your posts? Now you don't have to.
If you want your post to show that it was from you, rather than Group Member follow these steps and you can log into the blog through your own account.
Click on 'New Post'
Select the 'Settings' tab (next to the 'Posting' tab)
Just below the line of tabs, click 'Permissions'
Click 'Add Authors' under the Blog Authors section
Then you have to enter your email address and send the invite. I think it only works with Google accounts, but I'm not totally sure on that. In the future, you log in through your Google account and post. It will automatically be signed by you.
Mhray
If you want your post to show that it was from you, rather than Group Member follow these steps and you can log into the blog through your own account.
Click on 'New Post'
Select the 'Settings' tab (next to the 'Posting' tab)
Just below the line of tabs, click 'Permissions'
Click 'Add Authors' under the Blog Authors section
Then you have to enter your email address and send the invite. I think it only works with Google accounts, but I'm not totally sure on that. In the future, you log in through your Google account and post. It will automatically be signed by you.
Mhray
Staying motivated
My biggest problem isn't staying motivated overall - my pants being looser does that for me. My problem is working out. I have a gym membership but I don't really like to go because the girls are all tiny and the guys are all huge from pumping iron. I have a stationary bike that I ride sometimes while I'm waiting for dinner to cook, but aside from that I don't do a whole lot. And I know I need to.
I don't have cable, so unfortunately I can't get Fit TV - but I do have several workouts on DVD that I need to start doing. Do you tend to do workouts at night, in the morning, during lunch? I'm a graduate student without a lot of time and I feel like I can never get enough time together to workout. Maybe I need to start scheduling workout time like I schedule everything else.
And while I think I just solved my own problem by thinking about it some, I do have one question for people:
What are one or two fun things you do for exercise?
Mhray
I don't have cable, so unfortunately I can't get Fit TV - but I do have several workouts on DVD that I need to start doing. Do you tend to do workouts at night, in the morning, during lunch? I'm a graduate student without a lot of time and I feel like I can never get enough time together to workout. Maybe I need to start scheduling workout time like I schedule everything else.
And while I think I just solved my own problem by thinking about it some, I do have one question for people:
What are one or two fun things you do for exercise?
Mhray
Cheers to a new life!
So here we go....
This is my first blog, as well as first day on this program. I'm quite excited to get going because I think having other people around is going to make me work that much harder. So some stats about me, I'm 24, stepped on the scale today for the first time in a few days and I weigh 214 and am 5'9". My ideal weight would be to get to 160lbs. I know it's going to be a lot of work, but i'm ready to do it right this time.
So I have a question. How often does everyone weigh themselves? I know when i'm trying to lose weight I get addicted to the scale and do it every morning when I wake up. I know this isn't good, but i'm just wondering what a normal amount would be.
This is my first blog, as well as first day on this program. I'm quite excited to get going because I think having other people around is going to make me work that much harder. So some stats about me, I'm 24, stepped on the scale today for the first time in a few days and I weigh 214 and am 5'9". My ideal weight would be to get to 160lbs. I know it's going to be a lot of work, but i'm ready to do it right this time.
So I have a question. How often does everyone weigh themselves? I know when i'm trying to lose weight I get addicted to the scale and do it every morning when I wake up. I know this isn't good, but i'm just wondering what a normal amount would be.
Post #3-LosetheLard
Location: NYC
Height: 5'7"
current weight: 195
goal weight: 145
Lost: ?
Need to lose:50
Great to see new people popping up and starting to interact.
Been a difficult few days since my last post. fell off the wagon a couple of times and now trying to make up for it. (because of this haven't bothered weighing myself.)
most of all, just being a little hard on myself for not having exercised the last several days. so hoping i'm able to keep myself under control today and the next several days.
Height: 5'7"
current weight: 195
goal weight: 145
Lost: ?
Need to lose:50
Great to see new people popping up and starting to interact.
Been a difficult few days since my last post. fell off the wagon a couple of times and now trying to make up for it. (because of this haven't bothered weighing myself.)
most of all, just being a little hard on myself for not having exercised the last several days. so hoping i'm able to keep myself under control today and the next several days.
Finally checking in!
Hello everyone! It's 11:30 p.m. and I'm finally able to get on the computer for some me time! Congratulations to everyone on your success! That's amazing!! I hope I can join in your celebrations later! I've been fluctuating between having lost 10-11 pounds... for two weeks now. I guess I'm lucky I haven't gained anything back, but I gotta jump start the weight loss again. Tomorrow I'm working out with a friend after work so that should be a good start. I signed up for a 5K on May 3rd. I did one about 3 weeks ago and I really enjoyed it. It really helped me stay motivated. I hope to run it more this time than walk it. I have to say that FIT TV and me get along well! That has helped me get so many workouts in quick and easy.
So stress has played a major factor in how I got here today... the last 3 years of my life have been physically and emotionally draining. My body was in fight or flight mode all the time. Things have finally seemed to calm around me and I can focus on myself again. Sounds selfish, but you gotta do it sometimes! But I'm looking to buy a house at the moment as well as finish up a class so I'm hoping I can keep from stressing out over the next few weeks. A/w, I'm so glad that we can support each other here. Good luck with everything this week!
~Layla
So stress has played a major factor in how I got here today... the last 3 years of my life have been physically and emotionally draining. My body was in fight or flight mode all the time. Things have finally seemed to calm around me and I can focus on myself again. Sounds selfish, but you gotta do it sometimes! But I'm looking to buy a house at the moment as well as finish up a class so I'm hoping I can keep from stressing out over the next few weeks. A/w, I'm so glad that we can support each other here. Good luck with everything this week!
~Layla
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