Day 31

Today was another slow day.  I really don't have much to say but I did get my 5th perfect day today.  Tomorrow I'm going to weigh for my 1 month mark but I don't know if I'll post or not.  My results were not stellar this morning and I really don't want to back track if it means my numbers will drop at the end of the week.

We shall see!  Here's to a great month and more perfect nutrition days in front of me!

Serving Size?

I made some Jasmine rice the other day for dinner.

On the package it said that 1/4 cup was 70 calories. 

This simple statement started the biggest confusion on serving size I've ever had!

My issue was this:  1/4 cup of dry rice is 1/2 cup of cooked rice and the package didn't specify whether the serving size was dry or cooked.

I asked everyone I could think of...  Facebook, Caloriecount, my hubs...  Everyone kept coming up with different answers. 

Finally I got in contact with a nutritionist through caloriecount and managed a straight answer!

1/4 cup dry is 70 calories, so is 1/2 cup cooked!  The calorie content doesn't change unless you use broth or something like that.  The same goes for pastas too.  I know it was a big question I needed answered clearly so I thought you might too.

Day 30

I wasn't motivated to do crap today.  But I did it anyway.  I knew I was in trouble when I woke up and the left side of my head was completely congested.

I drug myself outta bed and took some sudafed then got dressed and trudged out the door.  School helped pick me up and I pumped the vitamin C in everywhere I could.

After work I was feeling much better and hubs and I did our grocery shopping for the week.  We got home and unloaded/unpacked everything and had just enough time to have a quick snack before hitting the Y.

The pool closes at 8 on weeknights so I had to get there and boogie to get in the water and start swimming.  Today was the 3rd day of week 4.  I'm almost back on my regular schedule from the mix up last week.  I'm not going to try to swim tomorrow because of C25K, but Wednesday and Thursday I'm owning that pool and then I'll do my 3rd day on Sunday!  I think once I get through week 5 I'll start my regular schedule on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.  That way my swimming and C25K don't overlap anymore.

Here are my 100 Mile Club totals so far!  564 lengths out of 7000 or 8.06 miles!  I'm on track for my 2 miles a week!

After my swim I went upstairs and did my weights tonight.  Even though I may not feel like going out I've been able to keep up my pace.  I may need all of that hard work if I really do get sick and can't swim or what not.

My last little tid-bit for today....  I'm in 2nd place in the Biggest Loser at school!  I'm behind the Tech Ed teacher but I will be triumphant!

P.s.  Today was day 4 of the "perfect" nutrient day!  I'm going for 7!

Day 29

Today has been a pretty busy day!  I got up around 9:30 this morning and did my excellent weigh in.  I had a bite for breakfast then I planned out our meals for the day.

Hubs and I took the kiddos (Dolce and Allegro) out for a walk and a few rounds of fetch in the big field by our house then we came home just in time for hubs to head to work.  I grabbed my lunch and then searched EVERYWHERE for my goggles and ear plugs.  They weren't in my bag yesterday and the water in my ears just about drove me crazy so I wasn't going to swim without them.  I pretty much ended up cleaning the entire house only to find them in the key basket under some other stuff.  DUH.

I met *J* at the Y at 2 to do day 2 of week 4, C25K.  It was pretty hard and we were both pretty stiff after but we decided to play racquetball anyway.  I'm going to have to start stretching before bed if I'm going to keep this pace up!  We played for about 25 minutes and called it quits.  I came home and started to get stuff ready for dinner and started my laundry.  Since then I've been a laundry/dishes/organizing queen!

I'm starting to go through my clothes and take stuff that isn't fitting anymore out to put into storage.  I have no idea how much weight I will lose, but I figure I can hold onto these clothes so I don't have to buy a ton of maternity wear when we eventually have a baby.  After hub's gets home I'd like to take all the Christmas boxes down to the storage unit and pick up some empty totes for my clothes.  So far it's only a couple pair of pants, but I know I will be filling those boxes in NO time!

Today was another "perfect" nutrient day!  I'm on 3 in a row.  I just need to keep it up this week so I can get 7 in a row to get the little badge on calorie count!  I think I'm taking too much pleasure in accumulating those, but it means I'm eating the way I should have been eating for a LONG time.  Positive changes people!  Here's hoping for a great week!

Week 4, Weigh In

 

Ok!  Here we Go!

Week 4

Weight in Pounds: 233 (-3.6)

Waist in Inches: 40 (- 2)

Hips in Inches: 47 (-1.5)

In total that's...

Weight: -13 pounds!

Waist: - 5 inches!

Hips: -3.5 inches!

I'm totally happy with my progress this week and this month!  I made it more that 10 pound in a month and I'm seeing some real progress on my inches!  I did take a look back at my hip measurements and decided that week 2's numbers could not have been correct.  It was 4 inches bigger than the first one at week one, so my inches lost in my hips are back to normal.  Maybe not as shocking, but I'm still one happy little(r) girl!  Only 3 more days left in this month so I will be doing a mid-week weigh in for my Month 1 official totals.

I'd say this week gets a great big SMILEY!

Day 28

I may have overdone it a bit today!  Whoops. 

I got up and saw my loss and was super motivated to work my ass off to make a great weigh day tomorrow.

I went up to the Y and swam then met *J* to play some racquetball.  About 20 minutes into our game we ran into Hub's friend.  We'll call him little j.  Cause he's short...  Anyway, *J*, little j and I played until someone had the court reserved then we spent 45 minutes doing weights.  After that we went to the track and did some CRAZY exercise that hubs introduced me to this summer.  You take an aerobics step and put it in front of you.  You have to jump on and off the step, both feet at the same time, ten times then take a lap around the track.

Little j made it twice and *J* and I made it three times but IT WAS HARD!  And exhausting.  And as if that wasn't enough, *J* went home and little j and I stayed and played racquetball for almost another hour.  Oh me geezies.  I must be insane!

I had to go get groceries for tonight and tomorrow and I was hurting pretty bad after that work out.  My calorie deficit is CRAZY today.  I hope it reflects tomorrow when I weigh!

I haven't had dinner yet, but I've got it in the food log and after my fruit for dessert I'm going to have my 2nd perfect day in a row!  WOOOHOOO!  I'm getting slowly addicted to finding the right foods to make my nutrient goals.  It's funny because I was not planning on changing the way I ate, but I have.  I have a lot more than I've even realized.  I'm excited for the changes I'm making in my life!

WOOHOO!

Ok, so I cheated and weighed when I got up this morning!  I'm down another .8 pounds from yesterday!  That combined with yesterday's great food day have me motivated to shake it for tomorrow's weigh in!  220's, I'm coming for ya!

Day 27

Oh my!  What a day!

I weighed this morning for Biggest Loser and although my weight is recorded higher at school, I've lost 11 pounds so far.  And I've lost 11 pounds according to my home scale, so in some sort of twisted way I guess they're actually consistent!

11 POUNDS!   I broke the 10 pound mark in less than a month!  Woot!

I planned our dinner and my snacks really carefully today and I got an A- with all but 2 of my key nutrients in the green!  I was really excited to get that little button on my screen!

We finished out the day with a little C25K, Week 4/Day 1.

Here's what this week looks like!

5 minute warm-up

4 minute run

2 minute walk

6 minute run

3 minute walk

4 minute run

2 minute walk

5 minute cool down

The first two runs weren't that bad!  It was the last one that killed me!  It's the knowing that you're on the last run and you're almost done that makes the time go slower!  EXCLAMATION!

Hubs, *J* and I played racquetball after a lot of stretching and a bit of a cool down.  I won the first match 12-8-10.  *J* and I played another 10 minute match and I won 3-2.  We were tired!

I'm going swimming tomorrow and I have to get in and do weights and some more racquetball!  I'm ready to work my tukkus off and shed some more pounds and inches for my official weigh in on Sunday!

Day 26

Today went SOOOO much better than I expected!

I had to take a bunch of my kids to an audition tonight and I knew I wouldn't be eating at home tonight.  In the past they have always catered sandwiches so I had a pretty good idea I'd be able to eat at the auditions.  I ended up having two quarter cold cut sandwiches, a serving of tostito's scoops and two oreo's.  AND I WAS UNDER CALORIES!!!!  Wahoo!

To celebrate the kids hard work I took them to a local ice cream shop.  I had a scoop of rocky road in a cup (not on a cone) to celebrate my excellence in eating which pumped me up to a healthy level.

I was almost SURE I was not going to get to work out tonight.  This audition traditionally takes FOREVER to post results and I normally get home around 10 (when the Y closes.)  I actually got out of school around 9 and home in time to grab hubs, I mean litterally, he met me in the street, and get to the Y for 30 minutes of racquetball.  And we busted out buts and kept the game fast paced.

I'm super happy with my day!

We have weigh in for Biggest Loser tomorrow and I'm hoping I've made good progress!

Day 25

Today was a LONG day and tomorrow will be even longer.

I actually had a pretty good day.  I am finally getting into this routine and I feel like my body is settling into my exercise regiment.

I ate well today and after last night's dinner disaster I went for comfort classics and had my all time favorite, spaghetti.  I adjusted my normal intake and only ate 3 oz of spaghetti, added chicken to the sauce and had broccoli and green beans along as sides.

I went and did my swim tonight because I have to take several of my kids to an audition tomorrow night.  This audition generally takes several hours so I won't be able to get my work out in tomorrow night.  The people who run the audition have provided Subway for dinner for the past 3 years so I'm hoping the trend doesn't end tomorrow and that I can actually have a pretty good food day.  If not I'll eat as carefully as I can and work my but off on Friday to make up for it!

I strained one of the muscles in my fore arm tonight playing racquetball.  It's already swollen a bit and hurts pretty good.  I'm hoping resting it tonight when I sleep will let it heal enough that I won't be hurting to bad tomorrow.

I'm going to close tonight with my AWKWARD moment of the day.

When I go swim at the Y I go in my suit and then change afterward.  Tonight as I was grabbing my clothes to change into I remembered my hubs had done laundry today.  There were some undies on the couch and I was going to grab them on my way out the door.  And you can guess where it goes from there!

I got out of the pool and sat in the steam room for 10 minutes.  I got out, dried off, got my bra on and then it hit me.  I had no underwear.  I had a wet suit and no underwear.  DAMN.  I pulled my pants on and parked it outside on the bench by the locker room.  I texted hubs and he was kind enough to bring me a fresh pair.  Geesh!  That was the most uncomfortable 30 minutes I've had in a long time!

Day 24

I kinda feel like I am just on repeat! 

Today was a pretty good day.  I was really disappointed in my dinner cause my potato didn't get cooked through and I couldn't finish it.

My back was pretty sore today but I went to the Y early and walked for about 30 min before *J* joined me foe week 3, day 3 of C25K.  It actually made the run a lot easier to be more than 5 minutes loose.  We played a pretty good game of racquetball too. 

I'm feeling good about my progress and I'm looking forward to seeing how I do on Sunday!

Day 23

Day 23...  Day 23...  What to say about day 23. 

I think today went fairly well.  Work was a little tough.  I got hungry after 1st hour and after 3rd hour I was definitely ready to eat.

My back was bothering me pretty good by lunch but after I downed some ibuprofin I was good to go.

I came home and relaxed for a bit while I cooked dinner and then headed to the Y and FINALLY finished LAST weeks swimming!

My progress is as follows!

414 lengths/7000 laps

2 miles of swimming closer to my 100 mile goal!

After I swam I did some stretches for my back then met the hubs and did weights.  I added the torso twist machine back into my regiment but at a REALLY low weight.  I'm pretty sure this was the machine that screwed me over in the first place.  I'm trying to rebuild strength in my back in hopes it will help get rid of the pain or at least lessen it.

Against my better judgment we played a quick game of racquetball before we left.  I tweaked my back just a bit during the game so I'm sitting here with a heat bag on my back and I'm going to attack some more ibuprofin before bed.  I love me some ibuprofin.

Hubs tore his foot up tonight at work so I'm not sure he'll be running tomorrow.  I'm making him ice and elevate and hoping he'll be good to run tomorrow.  Here's hoping we'll BOTH be able to run tomorrow!

Day 22

Today was long, but good.  We got up (before my alarm!) and I did my weigh in.  I'm still totally shocked I lost so many inches in my hips but I'm going to accept it and keep on truckin!  I tried on a few more pair of my smaller pants and I'm totally fitting into a solid 22.  Some of the 20's even fit! 

Hubs and I had a "stay-date" last night.  We rented a couple movies from red box and swung by the theater to pick up some pop corn.  It was awesome to sit at home on my comfy couch and watch movies and munch on my favorite snack.  Anyway, after breakfast today I returned the movies and swung into Wal-Mart to pick up a hair band and some clips.  My baby hairs in front have a tendency to fly up in my face when I'm swimming.  I ended up getting a swim cap instead.  Too bad I didn't get to try it.

The Y had some kind of alarm issue when they opened and ended up opening 20 minutes late.  Then they put up signs saying the lap pool would be closed at 2:30 today.  UGH!  We ran and by the time we finished running I didn't have enough time to swim.  I'm going to have to go tomorrow.  My only problem with swimming on Mondays is the lap pool is only open swim from 7-8.  It's just a big time crunch and I like knowing I have time.  Oh well, gotta get it done.

After we ran we waited for a racquetball court to open and then played another hour.  I got torn up in there today.  I kept twisting my back (which has been acting up as of late) and I ended up on the ground several times.  I flat out RAN into Hub's friend and ended up on the ground, nailing my knee on the way down AND I was a bit overzealous in trying to hit the ball once and nailed the back of my head with MY OWN STUPID RACKET!  It was a tough game.  *J* and I won though!

After the Y we went and got groceries for the next couple days and then came home and made dinner.  I made some KICK ASS steaks, mashed potatoes and corn.  Oh man, they were GOOD!

I'm going to help finish laundry and dishes and chill for the remainder of the night.  It's been a good day and I'm excited to start next week so I can shed some more of this body of mine!

Week 3, Shocker!

 

Today was my week 3 weigh in.  Here are the stats!

Weight in Pounds: 236.6 (-1.2 pounds!)

Waist in Inches: 42 (-1inch!)

Hips in Inches: 48.5 (-5.5 inches!!!!)

I'm in total SHOCK at my measurements.  I had to have done something wrong last week.  I worked hard this week, but 5.5 inches in a week???  I'm not complaining, I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around it.  I'm going to have to go in my room and try on all my small pants that haven't fit in forever!  I don't think I'm there yet, but I have to be pretty damned close!

I'd say this week gets a GIANT SMILEY!

Day 21

Today has kinda kicked my butt!  I got to sleep in today and after I got up and ate brunch Hubs and I headed to the Y.

Hubs met a recently re-discovered friend and they played on the rock wall while I did my make-up swim from Thursday.

After my swim I met the boys and climbed the wall twice (not all the way up, but about 10 min.)  Then we all went and played racquetball.  I pretty much sucked it up, but we played for over an hour.  BURN CALORIES, BURN!

After we played racquetball Hub's friend talked us into the hot tub which turned into the family pool, which turned into the slide and then we ended up back in the lap pool.  I did a couple more laps with Hub's friend (he's trying to get back in to swimming.)  We finally got home and I had a tuna sandwich and some apple slices with peanut butter for a snack.

I spent the next few hours on the couch doing nothing but after a long hot bath I'm up and ready to cook dinner.  Tomorrow is my 3rd official weigh in and I'm nervous and excited.  I really worked hard today and I might do some Wii Fit before I go to bed.  Nothing hard, just fun stuff.  I hope it is all paying off with a loss (weight and inches!)  I know I expect a lot, but I'm really determined to make this a life change, not just an attempt at a diet.  Keep your fingers crossed for tomorrow!

My PANTS!

On Christmas Eve I got up and put on a pair of jeans.  They were uncomfortably tight.  I wore them until my other jeans were dry and then shed them and haven't touched them since.

Last night I grabbed those jeans (a Lane Bryant size 20) and put them on to see if I could wear them today at school without being too uncomfortable and what do you know?  THEY FIT!  PERFECTLY!

I'm excited to be getting back into clothes I bought last time I lost some weight.  At one point last spring I was able to wear a Target size 20.  I still have those pants, and some others like them, and I am ready to let them get loose too!  YAY for progress I can see!

Day 20

Oh man, today was tough!

I started out this morning by weighing at home and then going to school and weighing for Biggest Loser and there was a +2 pound difference at school.  It pisses me off that I can't get a real reading at school.

Then I realized that I drank my last OJ at school YESTERDAY and I forgot to bring Tuna for lunch.  Double damn.  I ended up having PB&J for lunch which bumped up my calories a bit.

I came home and made dinner, which was roasted turkey sandwiches with salad, and then waited for Hubs to get home from work.  He came home, ate and we headed to the Y.  Just as it was coming into sight I remembered that they close at 9 on Fridays and it was 8:40.  I was pissed.  Tonight was a C25K night and I'm already making up my swim tomorrow.  We went in and played racquetball for 15 min but I was so mad I couldn't put any real effort into it.  I was just disappointed that I had made such a mistake.

Hubs and I came home and decided to do our run outside. 

Week 3 looks like this:  

Warm-up for 5 minutes

Do the following 2 times

Run for 3 minutes

Walk for 2 minutes

Run for 90 seconds

Walk for 2 minutes

5 minute cool down

Oh man it was cold!  But we did it and didn't die.  I just couldn't go to bed tonight without doing something.  Especially after my (larger than normal) calorie day.  I didn't go over by any means, but still more than I have been taking in.

Tomorrow is my last day before my official Week 3 weigh in.  I'm swimming tomorrow and depending how I feel I might tackle the rock wall and do some racquetball.  I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.  I kinda like when I'm home on the weekends because I sleep through breakfast and I can work out through out the day instead of late at night.  

Day 19

I got back on the exercise train today.  Although it wasn't quite what I wanted it to be, I still got almost an hour in. 

Thursday is normally one of my swim days but by the time I got home and got dinner made it was too late to get to the pool in time so I waited for Hubs to get home and we went and did weights and racquetball.  Another racquetball win for me!!

Turns out I couldn't have done my swim anyway because the local swim team had a meet at the Y tonight and the pool closed at 2!  Love it when things work like that!

My only other exciting news for today is that I forgot to eat my fiber bar for breakfast and I didn't even notice until dinner.  I never got hungry!  Maybe I'm adjusting to my new diet!  It's not something I want to make a habit, skipping breakfast, but I'm happy I didn't get hungry!

Tomorrow is our weigh in for Biggest Loser so let's hope I can get rid of all this water I'm retaining from my period.  TMI, I know, but it's what I'm thinking and it's what you're going to read!  See you tomorrow!

Day 18

Today has been a long day!

I am having a SERIOUS case of  "want to break the diet and grab a candy bar"-itis.  It's almost all I can think about, but so far I have managed to quash the impulse.  I even picked up a Kit-Kat today.  Saw the calories on it and set it back down.  OH MAN!  I'm trying to save that candy bar for the day I REALLY need it.  So far I've only come about half way.


I'm not sure I'm going to make the work out tonight.  My body is starting to revolt!  My back has been acting up for the past two days and yesterday I fell off my podium (I stepped on a plastic box and stubbed my pinky toe pretty good).  Today I must've rolled my ankle or something random and now the side of my foot is really, really tender.  Not to mention I'm super soar from bumping weights up the last time I lifted.  I'm taking Ibuprofin and my foot is wrapped and elevated but still hurting.  Hub's and I were going to play racquetball tonight, but it might be wise for me to take the night off.  I just worry that I won't want to step back up tomorrow night.  I just have to make the best decisions I can and know that I'm totally committed to seeing this through!  SELF-CONFIDENCE, not self-doubt!

I did pretty good again tonight on my Nutrition Grade, 4 days in a row I've been in the A's.  I was a B+ but then I added another serving of fruit salad and WHAM!  A!  I like having a good grade point average.  Being able to track it so easily has really effected the way I eat.  I was not originally planning on changing my diet too much, but I find that little nutrient chart VERY motivating.  We haven't changed a TON, but I have done more than I thought I would.  Here's what I've done so far...

1. We are eating TONS of veggies.  Where before we'd have just pasta or just rice, we are eating a veggie or salad with every dinner.

2.  I replaced chips in my lunch with yogurt.  About the same amount of calories but the yogurt is much better for my diet.  I'm not eating the light yogurt, which I'm sure would be better for me, but it's a taste thing.

3.  I replaced my PB&J with Tuna sandwiches for lunch.  Less calories AND more protein.  Not sure how long til I get tired of tuna, but I'll ride the train as long as I can stand it!

4. I'm totally avoiding sweets!  When I have done this diet in the past I padded my calories so I could have chocolate almost everyday.  This almost ALWAYS led to a spiral that broke my diet and made me start buying tons of Gihradeli Carmel Chocolates and Pretzel M&M's.

5.  I'm trying to stay under 1500 calories.  My official goal is 2000, so 1500 is a little low, but most days I'm in between 1250-1400 calories.  If I can adjust to this I can have big days and still stay under 2000 calories and feel like I've totally blown it.  Or I can have that scoop of ice cream with out sacrificing my calorie count for the day.

I know these are all things you should strive for on a diet, but they are things I didn't expect to be doing.  I find myself itching to get on caloriecount and look at my progress!  I'm hoping these things are the difference between BIG me and Little me!

Day 17

Not much to report today.  I did pretty good with food today even though I put too much soy sauce in our stir fry and made it WAY too salty.  I still got an A on my nutrition grade and did my swim and Week 2 Day 3 of C25K.  Me things we're actually going on to week 3 on Friday.  It has two three minute runs in it so it's a little scary. 

I'm super tired after today and I still have lots of work to do and it's late.  I might take tomorrow easy on the exercise and just play racquetball or something easy.  Trying not to burn out!

Day 16

Today was pretty great!  I had an in-service day at school and they tried to tempt me with yummy food and boring meetings but I resisted and that's saying something!

This wasn't just any yummy food either.  I teach in a very small town and they have one bakery/lunch place and a bar-b-que joint that are pretty rockin.  The doughnuts from the Bakery are some of the best I've ever had.  Just the right combination of fluffy and chewy to glaze.  I have eaten up to a half dozen in one day before because they are THAT good.  Not to mention the double whammy of the CHOCOLATE GLAZED doughnuts.  OOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhh.   I wanted one.  I really, really wanted one, but I did not give in.  I had my fruit and OJ for breakfast and sat back there smelling doughnuts and watching everyone eat them and told myself that I was TOTALLY gonna win Biggest Loser.

They also served barbecue for lunch from the local place.  I walked back up to my room, fixed a tuna sandwich, grabbed a yogurt and a fiber bar and a bottle of water and walked back down just in time to watch everyone eating the cobbler.  MAN  doughnuts and cherry cobbler in the same day!  I was good and stuck to my guns.  The skinny me is going to thank the present me in 6 months!

Hubs and I went to the Y and did weights and played a pretty great game of racquetball tonight.  I was SWEATING hard.  Like, I must have sweated a whole bottle of water during that half-hour.

I also got an A- on my nutrition day!  Now if only I could get in bed at a decent hour.

Day 15

Today was a GREAT day!  I big loss is always a great way to start the day.  I continued to make good decisions today and rather than going out for lunch I had left overs from yesterday.  Hubs and I headed home from my mom's and when we got here we went straight to the Y.

I swam and here is my running total for my 100 Mile Club so far.


266 Lengths out of 7000 or 3.8 Miles out of 100!

I hit my goal of 2 miles this week and I'm ready to start week 3 of my mini-goal on Tuesday!

Hubs, *J* and I also ran Week 2 day 2 of C25K tonight.  It was TOUGH!  I had just swam and hubs had just gotten done on the rock wall.  We were TIRED, but we pushed through and finished.  I took it A LOT easier than I did on Friday but I still ran. 

I'm proud of myself for making the right choices today and doing what I needed to do to keep shedding those pounds!

Week 2, Weigh In

My weigh in was GREAT this week!  I'm so excited!  I totally made up for last week and THEN some!  So here they are:

Weight in Pounds: 237.8
Waist in Inches: 43
Hips in Inches: 54

Total Lost: 7.2 pounds, 2 inches at the waist, 1.5 inches at the hips!  That's 3% of my body weight!  WHOOHOOOOOOOOOO!

This week gets one GREAT BIG...  Smiley Face!

Day 14

Today could have gone SOOOOO badly.  I am visiting my Mom this weekend and she is notorious for eating out.  Especially when there is company.  It's not necessarily a bad thing, because I rarely eat out when I'm at home, but I knew it would be a challenge to come here and be eating out for most of our meals.

I was mentally prepared to go over my calories.  We planned to eat out for lunch AND for dinner and we went bowling and got a GIANT bag of pop corn.  Now, I've told you about my weakness for pop corn...  BUT I kept as close track of my calories as I could today.  They gave us 8 oz cups at the bowling alley for our tea and I used mine to measure out my popcorn servings and I let myself indulge and have 3 cups.  I only ate half of my sandwich at lunch and I piled on the veggies at the Mongolian grill we ate at and went for noodles instead of rice.  I think I made good decisions all day AND I went to the gym with Mom this morning and did weights and 20 minutes on the bike.

I did have a bigger than normal day but I stayed under 1800 calories (I think)!  I'm pretty proud of myself!  I even talked my Mom OUT of the Baskin Robbin's Ice Cream across the street from where we had dinner.  I LOVE THEIR PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM!  Hubs and I are even leaving early enough to be home in time to go to the Y before they pool and rock wall close!  YAY FOR GOOD/HEALTHY DECISIONS!

I weigh in tomorrow and I'll be using a foreign scale so I might use tomorrow as an unofficial weigh in and do one Monday morning at home.  I'm hoping for some more progress than I saw on Friday, but that was still more of a loss than last week so I'll take it!

I couldn't be happier about my restraint and dedication today.  I know I need days like these to let go and take a break and I'm glad I know I can do it without blowing my week!

Day 13

Yesterday was Friday the 13th.  While the movies have cast a rather gloomy view on this day I tend to find them pretty lucky.  Not BAD luck anyway.

I did pretty well today.  I had a bit of trouble at lunch because I was trying the Yoplait Whips, chocolate, and IT WAS NASTY.  So I only had about half of it.  I was going to eat a pickle instead but by the end of the day I decided to just go home and have a snack instead. 

I ended up eating a one slice of bread tuna sandwich and then I met up with *J* to do C25K.  I really pushed myself and ended up doing the first run (of 9) at a 4.5 and the rest at a 5.  Yay ME!  I was really gross and sweaty after though!

After running I went home and ate dinner.  When hubs got home we packed up the car and headed to Tulsa to visit my family for the weekend.  I'll do a post about today in just a bit but I wanted to give the 13th its due.

OH!  I almost forgot.  We had weigh in for Biggest Loser at school and according to the school scale I have lost 6.5 pounds since last Friday!  Now, I weighed myself Thursday night after swimming on a doctor's scale and I was a whole pound lighter than I was at school on Friday.  I was also a pound lighter when I got home yesterday.  That makes me down 2.5 pounds this week for my real weigh-in.  YAY PROGRESS! 

Day 12

Had a pretty good day today.  I was still pretty tired today but I managed to eat well and get to the Y to swim and do the weights we didn't do last night. 

I did give in and weigh tonight.  I had much better results than last week.  I'm interested to see my "before food" weight tomorrow morning at school.  It's our second weigh in for Biggest Loser.

Hubs and I are going to my mom's for the weekend.  I'm concerned about my ability to control myself when we have meals.  I think I can make good decisions, but we are planning on seeing a movie and Movie Theatre Popcorn is MY WEAKNESS!  I love it so.  I'm going to have to do some careful calorie planning to make sure I can have pop corn because I know I won't be able to resist it!

It is sooooo cold here.  I can't seem to get warm.  My fingers and toes are always freezing.  It makes it hard to make myself go outside.  Anyway, here's to tomorrow! 

This was one very random post.  Oh well.  See you tomorrow!

Day 11

Today has been a rough day.  I knew I pushed it too far yesterday and I paid for it today.  I wasn't really sore, just tired all day long.

I got home from work, made dinner and sat down to wait for hubs to get home and I DID NOT want to get up.  Hubs came home and ate dinner and I had to convince us both to get up and go to the Y.

We didn't do much, just a half hour of racquetball, and I'm still tired and unmotivated.  Middle of the week blues!  I think we also really needed the rest.  Tomorrow I will go swimming and do the weights I didn't do tonight and Friday is another C25K.  We're repeating week 2 to get more comfortable with the longer run and to let poor *J* catch up.  She's had a rough couple of weeks.

I'm also having to battle the urge to get on the scale.  I know I should wait but I had such a discouraging week last week that I really want to know I'm making progress.  Ughhhh  tough day!  I hope that tomorrow will be better!

Are Your Eyes Bigger Than Your Stomach?

Well, it's not my eyes exactly.  I am very strict about counting my calories.  I use a great website that does everything for me.  My "problem" as of late is that my mental vision of one serving is WAY to small.  When I'm putting a food in I will look at how many calories are in a serving and if I can afford 2 servings I do it.  Primarily I do this with dinner and dinner is my big calorie splurge of the day.

Anyway, tonight I was inputting dinner and I decided I could have 6 oz of ham and one "potatoes' worth" of my mashed potatoes and a cup of broccoli.  It turns out, though very nutritious and delicious, it was A LOT of food.  I'm talking a good 2 inches of ham and a good 2 cups of mashed potatoes.  I mean, I love me some mashed potatoes but I was surprised when I ended up with so much food after what I saw the calorie count was on my meal.  The whole meal was only around 630 calories.  And I ate every bit of it!  And it was delicious.

Day 10

Day 10 was a tough one and I think I pushed a bit too far today.

I had a meeting at school this morning so I had to be there 15 min earlier than normal.  I know for most people that's no big deal, but I am a get up and get out in 10 minutes kind of person.  I sleep until the very last second and then get up with just enough time to get dressed and get out the door.

Now I forgot to take my multi-vitamin yesterday morning so I made a mental note to take it before I left this morning, which I did, on an empty stomach.  Not a good idea.  I wasn't feeling to hot when I got to school and I WAS SLEEPY.  Mornings and I just DO NOT get along.  My stomach settled down after I got some OJ in me but I had to battle the sleepies all day. 

I also had a hard time not snacking today.  I need a better lunch plan, one that's more filling for the same amount of calories as I'm intaking now.  I'm going for a big salad tomorrow and hopefully that will do the trick with my yogurt instead of my PB&J.  (Mental note, must get up earlier than normal to make salad in the morning...)

I made dinner as soon as I got home and ended up having a pretty great nutrition day!  I'm really frustrated with my potassium and carb level though.  I CAN NOT EAT ENOUGH.  It's crazy.  I had a pretty big potato with  my dinner and STILL didn't get enough potassium.  I looked into supplements tonight and they're just not worth it.  They only provide 3% of the daily value and I'm currently only getting about 35%.  Now, that's 35% of 4,700 mg's so I'm still eating a frikin LOT of potassium.  Frustrating.

I went swimming tonight and *J* joined me since she couldn't run (her ankle is jacked.)  I ended up swimming 55 lengths in 40 minutes which is pretty good but, as I figured out later, totally unnecessary.  I'm not sure how I came up with this number but I did and I did it all right.  Maybe a bit overdone actually.  I really need to be swimming  2 miles a week to meet my goal and if I'm swimming 3 days a week I need to swim (about) 24 laps (48 lengths) a day.  I guess I didn't go too far over, but still.  My body is already feeling it. 

That coupled with Week 2, Day 3 of C25K and about 10 minutes on the rockwall at the Y.  OVERDONE.  Yep...  Over did it today.  Whoops.  Hope I don't feel too awful tomorrow.  I teach and have to be energetic and on my feet all day.  Damn.

Day 9

I'm feeling pretty great after today!  I was way under my calorie count after dinner and at a pretty good nutrition day. 

Hubs and I went to the Y tonight and we did something new!  We climbed the rock wall.  It was pretty fun and terrifying at the same time.  We also did weights and I pushed myself a bit and bumped some weights up tonight. 

We were going to do bikes tonight but we decided to go play racquetball instead.  TOTAL WIN!  We had so much fun! 

I was so under on calories that I new I needed to eat when I got home, but I was so under I had to have a sandwich and a fiber bar.  I'm proud of myself because I chose to go for the fiber bar instead of the Frito Scoops that are calling for me in my pantry!  Yay for making good decisions and trying something new!  Let's hope I can keep this momentum for the rest of this week and bust off some pounds!

100 Mile Swim Club

Just an update on my 100 mile mini-goal.

At my YMCA it takes 70 lengths, or 35.5 laps to make 1 mile.  If I want to swim 100 miles this year that will be a total of 7,000 lengths in my Y pool.

As of today here is where I stand.  116/7,000 lengths.

1,750 lengths will be a quarter of the way there.  I was working on the calculations today and I'm going to have to bump up my distance to make it, but all good things come in time.  Not trying to push it!

Grwoing Pains

I think one of the hardest things about working out and starting a pretty strict exercise regiment is the growing pains that come with pushing your limits.

I have had a pretty severe issue with my middle(side) back for several months so I have been focusing on taking it easy on that area of my body and when it hurts I re-evaluate what I'm doing.  I've also been a stretching fool and have stretched for 10 to 15 minutes every night.

I knew I would have issues with my back, I prepared for it, and as accident prone as I am, I should have been prepared for MUCH more.

The other day I was working on the leg curl/extension machine and over did it a bit and ended up straining the back of my right knee.  I have been taking it easy on the knee, staying off the leg machines when doing weights, using only my left leg to push off the wall in the pool (it only really hurts when I bend it and put force on it when I'm bending) wearing a brace when running, taking Ibuprofen for the pain/inflammation and icing it before bed every night.  It's one of those things that is just going to take time to get better and it is by no means debilitating but it annoys me that I am constantly dealing with these kinds of "minor" injuries.

I have been very lucky in my life.  I have never broken a bone (knock wood.)  At least that we know of.  There may be a questionable experience with my nose (I went down a water slide head first on my stomach and put my head down to dive a little to soon) and another with my right big toe (I was messing around with a guard rifle and didn't catch it.  It bounced off the floor and hit my toe.  It caused a lot of bleeding under the nail and some swelling) but I never saw the doctor for either of these and they healed on their own within weeks.  I have, however, had more sprains, strains and pulls than I can count.  My mom jokes there's not a muscle in my body I haven't sprained.  I believe her.  I know a lot of my lower extremities can be blamed on my weight.  If I were at a healthy weight there wouldn't be as much stress on my joints... blah, blah, blah....  But it seems like I'm always doing something to myself.  I have totally kept the orthopedic brace business going over the years.  I own just about every one they've ever made. 

I know I need to give my body some time to adjust to my new activity level, it's just that my mind wants to do SO much more than my body is ready for.  I have to learn to be patient.  Hmmm, seems like there's a theme rolling here...  Maybe that needs to be added to my resolution list.

Day 8

And the Magic 8 Ball says....

Weight: 244.2 pounds
Waist in inches: 44.5
Hips (were I wear my pants) in inches: 50.5


Not the loss I was looking for, but a loss none-the-less.  From and from where I was on Friday, I'm down 5.8 pounds!

We'll put this one in the win column for today and I'm going to keep on chugging along and working my tail off!  Literally.

I just need to focus on eating well and keep exercising.  I'm blaming my small loss to all the weights I've been working this week and say that I'm just gaining muscle.  First week down, and I'm ready to tackle next week!

Today gets a happy face!

Day 7

Almost done with week one.  I weigh in tomorrow and I worked my booty off today.  I may still get out the old wii fit and play a little on that before bed. 

Hubs and I went to the Y and did 30 min on the bikes and did some weight lifting.  I did 6.58 miles in 30 minutes and burned 208 calories on the bike today!  I was super happy with my stats on that!  I had to lay off the leg workout with the weights because my right knee has been bothering me for a couple days so I only did 20 min on the weights tonight.  My hope is that I am able to tone as I lose so I won't have so many problems with excess skin when I start dropping pounds.

I had an ok food day today.  We had a big dinner and I had a sandwich and some chips for lunch.  I also had a half a tuna fish sandwich right before we went to work out.  We stopped by Walmart on our way home from the Y to get more water and some more fiber bars for snacks and ended up getting some Activia and some other yogurts.  I haven't LIKED yogurt since I was a kid.  I remember eating it a lot when I was in 5th grade and lived with my mom but I've never been able to get back into it.  I tried the light stuff about a year ago and couldn't eat it because it tasted like aspartame (the stuff they put in diet soda) and I CAN'T STAND THAT TASTE!  YUCK!  So we went with the full calorie stuff.  I'm hoping it will be a good snack type food.  If I can get myself to like it I may even start supplementing it in my lunches instead of chips.  I'm trying to make healthier decisions but I'm SOOOOO PICKY.

I'm hoping tomorrow when I weigh in if I haven't lost pounds I've at least lost in the inches department.  I know I have to stick with it no matter what but I need a little positive reinforcement.  Tomorrow is also Week 2, Day 2 of C25K so that's something to look forward to at least.

Day 6

Ok, so I'm feeling less sad faced about gaining and I've gone into anger.  I've been working really hard at trying to stay excited and that was a big blow.  I managed to salvage my day though and ended up doing pretty well.

Tonight we went and did Week 2, Day 1 of C25K.  It was a little tough but *J* was finally able to join us and she even conquered her fear of the treadmill!  (She had a rather unfortunate accident in middle school that scarred her for years!)  Hubs and I also got in a little racquetball in before she got to the Y and I actually won tonight!

Food wise I did ok today.  I avoided the pizza at lunch but I did some research at home and discovered it really wasn't that bad nutritionally or calorie-wise if I limited how much I ate so we did have pizza for dinner.  I also had a tuna sandwich with miracle whip after our work out but I hadn't had any (meat) protein all day!  I still stayed under 1500 calories which is a feat for someone who is as addicted to chocolate and mindless snacking as I am.

We ended up having 15 people doing the Biggest Loser at school and first place gets $75!  I'm TOTALLY GOING TO WIN!  If I can lose the 4 pounds I gained plus another 50 I'll be in great shape!  My official weigh in is on Sunday so we'll see how I do on my books.  I do hope it's a better turn out though.  Today was TOUGH.

Sad Face

So we did our first weigh in for the Biggest Loser at school and I'm all sad face.  I HAVE GAINED 4 POUNDS!  Now, I know it's just the beginning and to be fair, I didn't realize we'd be weighing today so I ate breakfast before I weighed, but not four pounds worth of breakfast.  It makes me sad cause I've been working soooooooo hard to be good and exercise I thought I'd have at least lost a pound. 

I know weight fluctuates daily and my official weigh day is Sunday around noon so I'm hoping today is just an off day and that I'm really doing better than gaining four pounds.  I guess that puts me at a better place in the contest though.  More to lose I guess...  I'm still sad face. 

I'm also sad faced about the fact I am doing pizza for a group of my kids today and I'm not getting to eat any of it.  BOOOO.

Day 5!

Today marks day 5 of the new me and it has turned out to be an interesting day! My brother texted me yesterday and said he was going to be in town today and wanted to know if he could stop by school and have lunch. I totally forgot today until I saw his text today, about halfway through my lunch... Luckily it was just the soup that I had eaten so I asked him to stop by Subway and grab me a sub. I was really worried it would throw off my day, but we rearranged things and I've managed to stay under my calorie goal!

Hubs and I went to the Y tonight and I swam another 40 lengths (a little over a half-mile) which puts me at a little over a mile so far this week. They have this program called the 100 mile club. The goal is to swim 100 miles in a year. I think I'm going to sign up. I like having little goals within my big goal of losing weight. Now I know 100 miles is no little goal, but it gives me something to concentrate on other than losing the weight. When I eventually plateau it will help to have something positive to work toward.

I'm also using a calorie site that is offering points for goals reached and the more points you earn the you can choose to recieve gift cards to real websites! I'm super stoked that I can actually be rewarded by continuing what I'm doing. That plus the Biggest Loser and C25K and I've got four little goals in my overall goal to lose weight! I think that's pretty awesome!

Day Four

So I went back to school today.  I was worried that my new diet plan would mess me up throughout the day.  I get to school between 7:30 and 7:45 each day and I generally have a Sunny D (I know, it's not real OJ but I don't like real OJ because of the pulp and Sunny D has orange flavor and vitamin C so HUSH!) and I'm getting back into taking my vitamins.  (I take a B Complex and a vitamin C supplement cause I'm around A LOT of walking, talking germ factories.)  My first hour ends around 8:45 and then I have 10 min before I get my second hour kids.  I grab a fiber bar and call that good for breakfast.  I then teach two fast paced, kid filled band classes and then I have my lunch break.  I generally work through lunch but I do have an almost complete kitchen in my office...  I have a fridge/freezer, a toaster, a microwave and even a hot plate and what I don't have the teacher's lounge does.  I keep stuff for sandwiches, some soup, chips and some frozen meals on hand and drink tea or water through out the day.

I used to be a HUGE Pepsi fan.  I knew it was bad for me and that I was wasting hundreds, if not thousands, of calories everyday and I decided it was time to make a change around the beginning of October.  I have been soda-free since October 10th!  I even have a half case of Pepsi in my office that I haven't even touched!  I'm not totally caffeine free though.  I have to have it to get through the day.

After I eat lunch I take kids to lunch and have perpetual lunch duty.  I'm on my 4th year of lunch duty everyday and I have to say I'm not a fan.  After the kids lunch I take 5th grade to recess then I have a pre-k music class and then my plan period.  I'm normally pretty busy during this time and after my plan I have another music class and a 7th hour wheel class with the middle school kids.

I stay after school everyday teaching lessons or catching up on copying/chatting with *J*.  This is the time the hunger normally hits and the time I'm worried about blowing my diet.  I have A TON of candy my group is selling in one of my storage rooms and it is SOOOOOOO easy to grab one and take off!  Today I snatched the big tub of pickles from the last game (unopened until today) and had a pickle for a snack.  I figured they couldn't be to bad in calories cause they are a vegetable after all and MAN was I right.  A pickle is 5 calories an ounce and a full dill is normally about 6 ounces.  30 CALORIES FOR A WHOLE PICKLE!  And the ones I have at school are super sour, which I LOVE!  So I have a good snack plan for now.  Until I get sick of pickles that is....


So today after school I hung out with *J* and then came home.  I looked at our menu plan for tonight and realized we didn't have something we planned on having for left overs so I went to the store and bought some carrots and parsnips.  I broiled them in some beef broth and I wasn't impressed.  They still had the funky raw carrot after-taste but I'm not ready to give up yet.  I'm going to do a little research and see if I can't figure out how to get rid of that taste and add those two veggies to my like list!

After hubs got home and ate we went to the Y.  I bumped up my weight training to two sets tonight and then we did 30 min on the bikes.  I really pushed myself tonight and I know Imma be stiff in the morning.  I did some good stretching when we got home and was so low on calories I got to have a before bed snack!  I think I'm doing well and I'm excited to keep it up and see the results!

P.S.

I guess everyone was talking about losing weight at lunch today (not sure because I have lunch duty remember) and someone came up with setting up a Biggest Loser contest at school.  I'M GOING TO OWN THIS CONTEST!  I'm not excited about someone else knowing how much I weigh, but I'm totally going to kick ass!

Diet, Day Three

So I'm doing pretty well on this diet.  I'm not to sure about hubs...  He's prone to middle of the night snacking and loses control when he gets hungry.  He just needs to change his mindset!

Yesterday hubs and I sat down and wrote out a meal plan for the week.  We planned out lunches and dinners for the days we would both be home for lunch and dinner and we're only running into one problem so far...  I don't like veggies!  I mean, I do, just very few of them.  I like potatoes, corn, green beans, broccoli and cauliflower.  I can eat carrots if they've been roasted to death, but I'm not a fan of them (as a dinner veggie) otherwise.  I will snack on them dipped in ranch dip though!  Anyway, we're having a hard time finding sides for dishes with such a limited veggie selection.  I may have to add carrots to the veggie list for next week!  I'm also going to try and do some research on veggies and try to expand my horizons.  I KNOW I don't like spinach (on it's own, I like it in stuff), asparagus, squash or zuchini.  I'm a terribly picky eater!

So instead of just thinking of things to eat and putting it on the list I actually sat down and looked up calorie content and serving sizes on each of the foods we put on the list.  This way we can glance at the week and know how much we have for breakfast and lunch!  I have a pretty set menu for breakfast and lunch because I'm at school for both of those meals.  I'll have a granola bar and some OJ for breakfast and then around 11 I'll have a sandwich and some chips/pretzels/popcorn and water or tea.  I've also really gotten into the Stouffer's Bistro soups and sandwiches.  They're pretty low in calories and just the right size for lunch.  They're also pretty tasty!  I especially love the Tomato Bisque with the Ham and Cheese sandwich!  Yumm!  Since I have a short week at school this week (we start tomorrow) I grabbed 3 of those for lunches for the rest of the week.

So far I've been doing well about staying full and not being hungry.  I've been tempted to do some boredom snacking, but I'm sticking to the diet!  I've even come in REALLY low the past two days so I've been able to have a s'more for dessert and stay around 1500 calories.  I fear I've been doing so well because I'm sleeping in and not getting up in time for breakfast.  I find that when I go back to school I'm so active that I get hungry between breakfast and lunch.  I can normally hold off on eating, mostly because I don't have time, but after school is a different story.  I'm going to have to come up with a snack plan because I don't come home right after school.  I'm often there until 4 or 5 and need something to snack on.  I have a feeling I'll be hitting the pickles pretty hard!  I'm also going to try to keep gum around to chew on so I won't eat anything.


In the past couple of days hubs and I have done day 2 of C25K and last night we went to the Y and did 30 minutes on the bikes and another round of weights plus a little bit of walking.  We're going to do day 3 of week one tonight and I'm thinking about going up to the Y and doing a few laps in the pool while hubs is at work.  I do have a lot of work to do here at home to get ready for school tomorrow and I have A TON of laundry to do and hang up so I'll have clean clothes tomorrow!  Sounds like I have a pretty busy day ahead of me and I should get started!

Diet, Day One

So we spent last night celebrating the new year with LOTS of food and doing an impossible puzzle.  We  went out with a bang.  Today we start down the road to new us's!

I know there are lots of ways to diet.  There's all the pay as you go programs, programs where you can buy meals, and pills you can buy that boost your metabolism.  You really can get lost in all the diet nonsense.

When I was in High School my mom gave me a book called the FAT book.  It was a book with listings of a bunch of food, their serving size, fat content, and calorie content.  She told me that the key was to track your calorie and fat intake and just set a daily goal.

That advice has always stuck with me.  I have been on and off this diet a lot but have never stuck to it.  There have been a lot of reasons, mostly because I get very busy and give into easy and get take out.  The few times I have stuck to it for a good amount of time I really did see results.  I lost some poundage and it got easier to eat less.

This time I'm determined to make it work.  I am serious about losing 50 pounds before August.  I could really stand to lose about 100 pounds, but that's a lot in a year and I know it will taper off and plateau eventually.

I am not comfortable talking about my weight.  No one but me and my doctor know how much I weigh.  I just feel so ashamed that I have let myself get this bad.  I don't generally have low self esteem.  I enjoy living my life, but I know that I could be living a much healthier life.  So I'm going to put it all out right here.  I'm going to track my progress and write about the ups and downs and hopefully I will make some real progress.


Day One:  Weight: 245lbs
                  Waist: 45 inches
                  Pant Size: 22/24
                  Shirt Size: XL/XXL