Thursday, August 30, 2012

Week 78

Overall, not my best week, but still not too bad. Today, I was 173.8, which has me joyed beyond belief! Each new pound lost is cause for celebration. I never thought I would get out of the 180's and now I am sailing through the 170's. No goal in mind right now, I just want to keep working hard and see how much more I can loose. I'm pretty sure when I hit a plateau again, I'll probably be done. But time (and hard work and dedication) will tell.

Curves, still loving it, but I don't feel like I'm working it as hard as I should. My heart rate has been lower then normal this week. And each workout says I'm only burning 270 calories vs. my normal 350-370. I know several mornings, I was just plain tired, but I would still rather go in the morning. I would rather have a guaranteed calorie burn of 270 in the morning then take a chance of burning 350 in the evening. I know me and I'm just not as likely to go after work. Today, I pushed myself harder and did a little better. I got my heart rate back up towards the end of my workout. I burned 290 calories and the sweat was rolling off of me. The big thing I did was push myself harder on the recovery boards. I still ran in place on most of them, but I went faster or lifted my legs higher to kick my butt. But I also did jumping jacks several times. That was one of those times, I continue to amaze myself. I used to could NOT do 10 jumping jacks. Today, I did several sets, the largest one being 50. :)

Thursday - I forgot to log in today and keep track, so here is what I can best remember. Breakfast was yogurt w/ granola and coffee. Lunch/dinner was at Ruby Tuesday. I went all out, which I still can't decide is a good thing or a bad thing. But I did well all week and decided I needed one day of no restrictions. I had a salad, onion rings, mac n cheese, baked potatoes and 2 drinks. Then later, I had another drink. I did go to Curves this morning (because I knew I would be cheating on my diet) and we did a lot of walking.

Friday- No Curves today, I just wanted to pack and get home. Breakfast was coffee. Lunch was some chicken strips and a small fry at McDonald's. Dinner was fajitas at Los Hermones. We spent the entire day driving, so no exercise.

Saturday - Stress makes me eat in two different ways. 1) I eat. And eat. And eat. Or 2) I forget to eat. Today, was one of those days. I had to make a birthday cake for my nephew (and of course, I wanted it to be perfect). I didn't even take time to make coffee, I just jumped right in to make frosting and working on the cake. At 1, I realized, I was running late. I hurried and showered and headed for Vernal. About 10 miles down the road, I realized, I hadn't eaten a single thing yet today. But I was late, so I didn't stop. Silly me, I should have realized I would still be the first one there. I got there at 2. Then we waited until 3 for everyone else to get there. So I finally ate at 3:30. It was so hard to pace myself and not eat everything in sight. The only thing I didn't stop myself on was grapes. I had a ton. Then I had a hot dog and a hot link, both without buns. Then we had cake and ice cream.

Sunday - Oh my, there is no food in my house. I got up and started right into housework and didn't stop until I was done around noon. That is when I realized, I should have gone to the store yesterday. I found a box of mac n cheese, so I ate half for lunch and half for dinner. I also finished off the popcorn I bought a few weeks ago. I rearranged the furniture in my front room, so I decided to count that as my exercise for the day.

Monday - It feels so good to get back into a routine. Vacation is nice, but after awhile, I miss regular life. Curves in the morning and I walked on both of my breaks. Breakfast was coffee and yogurt w/ granola. Lunch was a salad from Maverick. I always get the chicken salad, but today they were out, so I got the chef salad instead. It was gross. So I only ate a little bit and then didn't bother to save it for the next day. As I was finishing lunch, another coworker heated hers up. It was tomato soup and it smelt divine! Its not often I have a craving I feel like I can indulge in, but last night I did! I usually have a cheese sandwich with tomato soup, but I was out of bread. But it smelt so good at lunch, I had to have it anyways. And it was delish. :)

 Tuesday - Curves in the morning. Breakfast was coffee and yogurt w/ granola. I tried a new brand today, Oikos Greek Yogurt, and I really liked it. Lunch was half a Maverick chicken salad (much better then yesterday). Dinner, sigh. I really need to go grocery shopping. But I'm cross training at work so I haven't had even a free second to write a list. And if I go without a list, I don't make the healthiest choices. Last night, it was a battle. I finally had to yell (just in my head) at myself to go buy SOMETHING so I at least had something to eat for dinner. Cause if I went home with no groceries, there literally would have been no dinner. So I went to the store. It was insanely busy! Each checker had 6 people in their line, and each of those people had a cart full. So I grabbed some milk and tomato soup. Then I got in the "express" lane to be an example of what a few items really means, but the people in line with me, still had cart fulls. Grrr. So dinner was tomato soup again. And the rest of the week doesn't look any less busy of getting a list put together. And I didn't do it tonight because I was tired. I showered, dried my hair, ate dinner and went to bed. Grrr. Oh, and I only did Curves today, no walks. :(

Wednesday - Curves in the morning and I walked on both of my breaks today. Breakfast was coffee and yogurt w/ granola. Lunch was the other half of the salad from yesterday. I spent an hour in the grocery store tonight. I had planned out meals for the weekend when Josh is home, but I forgot to plan for tonight! I was just ready to go home, so I decided to see what they had in Lean Cuisine and got a pizza. It was small, but yummy.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Week 77

Thursday - I must had not slept well last night cause it was HARD to get up and go to Curves. But I reminded myself I would only gain 30 mins of sleep if I didn't go, but I would get lots of regret too. So I went and I'm glad I did. Today is my dress up day, so no walks. I'm wearing a dress I found, but have never worn. Not sure why, cause I think I'm a knock out in it. :) I love how I feel so much more comfortable with my body then I ever used to. My dress up days are the highlight of my week.

Breakfast was coffee and yogurt w/ granola. I REALLY wanted something else for lunch. Not sure what, just not salad. But I decided to just eat the rest of my salad from yesterday so it wouldn't go to waste. (Trying to buy a home has made me a penny pincher.) But also, I decided to stick with the salad because I know I'll be eating out tomorrow. While in Vegas, we are going to do our own cooking. But tomorrow we are staying in St. Goerge, so that will be a few meals before we are back to cooking our own. Yikes, I'm remembering the Arby's diaster. Hopefully, that won't happen again. Still, I did splurge and eat a few chips with my salad. Dinner was kobobs at my mom's. I had 3, but I decided since it was just meat and veggies, I could splurge. I also had a small salad and some rice.

Friday- Breakfast was coffee and a small bowl of honey nut cherrios. I saw a new number on the scale this morning....174.8! Ok, so its only .2 pounds away from 175, but still, that is a number I never thought I'd reach. I did decide to take my scale with me to Vegas. (H will lecture me on that.) But I've done so well lately, I don't want to loose the momentum I have going and I want to stay on track.

We wanted to drive straight to St. George, so I really didn't get a lunch. At some random gas station, (I think in Provo) I did buy an apple and 2 cheese sticks. And I thanked them for having some fruit on hand. Dinner was at Chili's. I had one of their "healthy" options, but then I counteracted it with chips. :p Then I realized that there is a Sub Zero and I wanted the others to experience it. So I went out in the HOT weather and walked 3 miles. BTW - How hard it is to turn one little room into an exercise room in a hotel!? Just a treadmill and a bike will be just fine. Then we went to Sub Zero so I could treat everyone to it. :) I even splurged and got a large since I walked so far.

Saturday - 175! So the walk paid off. I went to Curves this morning. I love that they do a traveling pass. Breakfast was at the hotel. I had a small yogurt, some oatmeal and a bagel. Then I took a banana to eat a little later. Which worked well, because after shopping, we headed to Vegas. That banana ended up being my lunch. Then dinner was fajitas with some spanish rice I made. It was delish.

Sunday - Curves is closed on Sunday, so instead I went to the gym at the hotel. I did an hour on the treadmill. Also, today, we did a TON of walking. Like several miles. I was pretty stiff and sore by the end of the night. Breakfast was yogurt w/ granola and coffee. Then shortly there after, everyone had an early lunch so I decided I better eat a little more, so I had an apple and some sliced cheese and a glass of milk. Today, was a no miss on the no sugar thing. My belly was upset all afternoon, so I had a sprite. Then tonight, I decided to splurge and got a frozen daiquiri. Dinner was roast with potatoes and carrots.

I DID keep track of this all week! But when I logged in Wednesday night, my computer went funky and its like it resorted back a few days so I lost all of Monday and Tuesday. GRRRR! So I guess I'll type up what I can remember,.

Monday - We did some walking today, but I don't think we did as much as yesterday. I did go to Curves, I think in the morning... Breakfast was I yogurt and I think some fruit, but now I can't remember. (Insert the 12th curse word I've thought in the last 2 sentence. Stupid laptop!) I'm pretty sure this is the day we went to a buffet. I was not impressed, but I've never liked buffets, not even pre-diet. I took a little bit of a lot of things, but then only took a few bites and pushed it all to the side. I even did that with a few dessert. Nothing was good enough to waste calories on.

Tuesday - This was our lazy day and I was going to skip Curves, but I did end up going that night. Breakfast was small, I think just fruit. ?? Then I had a small bowl of salad before we left to go see the Hoover Dam. I should have ate a little more, because around 3, I was starving! So when my mom stopped for fuel, I bought some nachos. But that is what forced me to go to Curves that night.

Wednesday - I did NOT sleep well last night. At 1, I turned the alarm clock off. I'm on vacation and I'm willing to go to Curves in the morning, but not when I'm still awake at 1 am. PS, my mom snores a LOT. But I made it to Curves tonight so I still feel good about myself. Breakfast was english muffins. No lunch cause we were out exploring, but I did snack on some nuts in the late afternoon. Dinner was stir fry. And I had a few oreos for dessert. I took 6, but then gave half to my brother and only ate 3.

Few notes about the stir fry. I felt like I had to fight to get it on the menu. But in the end, my mom really liked it. AND she mentioned that I have inspired her to start a diet of her own. I know she can do this because she has before. And this time she has me and my sister to support and encourage her. I hope we can help her.

Overall, I'm really proud of myself this week. I'm on vacation, but have managed to hold a steady 175 all week. I've done a lot of walking most of the days, but still made it to Curves. And overall, I've made good eating choices. I will admit, tomorrow is going to be my splurge night. I persuaded every one to go eat at Ruby Tuesday, which I chose just so I can order onion rings. ;)

We were gone for a week, but I still made it to Curves 5 of those days. I did end the week at 177, but its hard to diet on vacation.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Week 76

Thursday - I am on cloud nine over my weight today, 175.5. I NEVER thought I'd see that number on my scale. And it must have lifted my mood, because today was my best day at Curves this week. Breakfast was coffee and yogurt w/ granola. Lunch was at Canton City with Barb. Dinner was ribs and potatoes at the fair.

Friday - Breakfast was Honey Nut Cheerios. Lunch was half a salad from Maverick. Dinner was some chicken dish that Kevan made for the workers. It was DELISH! It was chicken, potatoes and carrots soaked in some kind of gravy.

I was able to make it to Curves today and that felt good. Then I was able to stay busy helping at the fair again.

Saturday - My weight is back up to 187.8. :( I want to blame it on my period because I know it will start in the next day or two, but I think I've been eating over sized portions the last few nights. So I'll buckle down tonight and do better.

Breakfast was oatmeal and coffee. Around 4:30, I realized I didn't eat lunch before heading to help at the fair. Kevan's food wasn't going to be ready until 6 and then we would be super busy. So I decided I better eat because I probably wouldn't get the chance again until 8 or later. Of course, its the fair, and every thing is deep fried. But there was one stand selling fajitas so I went there. Then also that night I had some cobbler and a few of Brenda's fried donuts she bought to share.

Sunday - What is it about periods that make you throw all dieting reason out the door?!? Seriously, I did lousy yesterday, but I was too miserable to care. The thought process was even there, but its like it couldn't follow itself out. And its not like I ate super horrid, I just normally don't eat like. Breakfast was mini raspberry muffins. So was lunch. Then I had skittles. Dinner was the left over fajitas from last week, but I added more onions and a red bell pepper. Then I ate half of Josh's cobbler I brought home for him AND a brownie. He started to remind me about my no sugar thing, but PMS yelled at him that I didn't care today.

Monday - I've noticed I never do well at Curves on Monday. I think my body is still trying to reset from the weekend. But a 3/4 effort is better then not going at all. I walked on both my 15 min breaks. Then I felt guilty last night so I did 90 mins on my exercise bike.

Breakfast was coffee and yogurt w/ granola. And chocolate covered caramel popcorn. A few months back I ordered some popcorn through a fundraiser. It came today. And I munched on it all day long. :( Hence the exercise bike last night. Lunch was a salad. That meant turning down left over Cafe Rio stuff in the back break room. But I felt like being unsocial so healthy was a good alternative. Dinner was fajitas.

Tuesday - Back down to 177.4. I can't complain about that. I also realized, that while my period was here, I never hit 180. Sweet! Went to Curves in the morning and then walked on both of my breaks. Breakfast was coffee and yogurt w/ granola. Lunch was the other half of the salad from yesterday and some chips. Dinner was a pork chop and real mashed potatoes. (Thanks for feeding me Vanessa!) I also snacked some on my popcorn today, but not near as much. Then I took it home last night so it won't tempt me at work!

My sister has mentioned a few times now that she is reading this blog. At first, I felt a lot of extra pressure to be perfect (that is SO me), but I realized that I need to share the good and the bad because that is really how it is. I do have bad days. I've had bad months! But then, when I have good moments, they seem extra sweet. Like today, a coworker commented on my shirt. I remembered that it was the very first shirt I bought with OUT and "x" in the size. I remember buying it and how happy I was. It was a little tight then, but now, it fits perfectly. Yes, there is hard moments when you want to give up. "Its too hard! I'm too stressed. Chocolate will feel better then a workout." You can use any excuse in the book, or even make up your own, but in the end, if you want something, you have to work for it!

I've adjusted to getting up at 4:30 am. But still, most of those mornings, I will admit, I want to go back to bed. But I roll out of bed anyways. I don't even hit the snooze button anymore and I used to hit it 3 or 4 times each morning! But it is worth it. My whole day goes better when I go in the morning. I feel more rejuvenated and more energetic. I tried going at night after work and my attendance sucked. Now, I rarely miss a morning. Even when I worked at the fair the night before and didn't get to bed until 11:30, I was still there the next morning. I have decided to make this important to me and that seems to make it feel like less of a sacrifice. I would rather feel good about myself and my body then get just a little bit more sleep.

Wednesday - Back to 175. :) I think the diet gods are pleased with me. I have to take dinner to my scrapbook group tonight. I was really thinking about just ordering pizza's because its easy. But Heather talked me into cooking something. I think she was trying to save me money (which I'm now putting in the house fund), but really, she also saved me calories. ;) Last night, I browned some hamburger. Then this afternoon, I'm going to cook a tator tot casserole about an hour before I get off work so it will be ready just in time. Then I bought a veggie tray, rolls (both wheat and white), and cookies (for those who think they need dessert). UPDATE: Glad I didn't buy pizzas. I think I only saw three other people, besides myself, dish up food. I took 2 dozen rolls (a package of wheat and a package of white) and only like 5 were eaten total. I also had half the casserole left, but Josh was thrilled about that. And the cookies disappeared about as slowly as the rolls. Oh well, I thought it was delish and it was much healthier then the pizza I had been planning on.

Breakfast was coffee and yogurt w/ granola. Lunch was half a Maverick salad. Dinner was cowboy casserole, carrots, one wheat roll and 2 cookies. (After my day, I'm lucky I stopped at two!) I went to Curves in the morning and walked on both my breaks.

Final weight this week: 175! A number I thought I would never see. Its only 1/2 a pound down from last week, but with my period being here, that still makes it an amazing week. I think at the height of my period, I was 178. So glad to not see the 180's!!! I'm so proud of myself.

Now the challenge is to not gain it all back while in Vegas with my mom. But I am armed with a Curves travel pass and a map to the one closet to our suite. And I have stressed to my mom several times, no sugar, no white breads, lots of healthy treats and meals. I can do this! If I don't melt....I hate the heat.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Week 75 and Curves measurments

This is a long post, but I've had lots of thoughts this week. In case you get bored and don't want to finish reading, the important part is, the plateau is OVER. I haven't seen 180 on my scale for a week now and this morning I saw a new number...175.5!

Thursday - I love Curves in the morning. :) Breakfast was half a protein drink and coffee. BTW, my coffee isn't near as good with the sugar free creamer, but it works. Lunch was half a salad from Maverick.

Its now almost midnight, but I'm so proud of myself, that I had to turn on the computer, log in and finish recording my day. I went to Curves before work and then I also walked on both of my 15 minute breaks. I've been up since 4:30 and have been able to go strong all day. This weekend, I am helping my uncle with his catering business (trying to earn some money for a house). I was pretty much on my feet non stop from 6-11 tonight. I only sat a few times when there was a lull in the crowd. During those few times, I felt antsy, like I should be doing something and I would find my legs bouncing or my arms drumming. Just some kind of movement. And the second a line started to form again, I was right there to dish up food. I loved it! I want to feel like I earn my money, so I only took a quick break. And that was only because I realized I left my meds in the car for my tooth ache (which is much better by the way). So while I ran to the car I had a very small dish of potatoes and a little while later I had a corn on the cob that had broke in half. I'm proud to report that  I never touched the cobblers. I wanted to. But I find the strength to resist thanks to my commitment to keep the weight off and stay away from sugar.

Right now, I'm still deciding what to do. Curves is only open until 1 tomorrow and I don't have to be to Roosevelt until 5. I really want to go to Curves, but I also am hoping to get an hour at home with Josh before I leave. So its either make 2 trips to town in one day or miss Curves tomorrow. We'll see how I feel in the morning.

Friday - I didn't have the energy to drive to Curves today. I went to do a Pilate's video, but apparently Netflix doesn't stream those anymore. :( So I decided it would be ok to take it easy since I would be running hard again tonight. Breakfast was oatmeal and coffee. Lunch was a small dish of stir fry. Dinner was a small piece of chicken, a small portion of potatoes and a very small portion of raspberry cobbler. I also had 2 diet Coke's last night and countless bottles of water.

Saturday - I think the plateau is over!!!!! I think its because I have been so good at attending Curves, but I think this extra work with my uncle has helped to. I'm a runner, which means I fill orders. I like that because its keeps me moving, but also, I think if I was at one of the food stations, I would peck at the food all night.

I had wanted to do Zumba today. But they were closed today for the parade, but that's ok, because I was tired and slept in. Tonight will be an even later night. Money for the house fund AND being on my feet all night to help me get away from that plateau.

Breakfast was oatmeal. Lunch was a small dish of stir fry. Dinner was a small dish of potatoes w/ cobbler. I also had a TON of water and a few Diet Cokes while working. Working with my uncle and family has been so fun. Can't wait to do it again next week.

Sunday - Breakfast was oatmeal. Lunch/Dinner was burritos. Well, lunch was more like a nap, but that is why dinner was so early. No exercise today. 1) I'm trying to recoup and 2) its too HOT! I hate the heat.

Monday - Curves in the morning, but I didn't get the chance to walk on either break. :( Breakfast was coffee and some grapes w/ dip. Lunch was half a salad from Maverick. Dinner was burritos with Spanish rice (which Josh and I made and it turned out pretty dang good!).

Tuesday - Curves in the morning. I choose to dress up today, so no walks again.

Breakfast was coffee and yogurt w/ granola. Lunch was the other half of the salad and a small brownie. Around 4, my uncle called and asked me to help him at the fair. So dinner was a small portion of ribs, potatoes and cobbler. I like the extra money, but I also like how much weight I've lost. :)

Wednesday -  Breakfast was coffee and yogurt w/granola. Lunch was half a Maverick salad and a large fountain Diet Coke (I am dragging today). Dinner was fajitas. Josh and I had a talk, he will add LOTS more veggies next time.

I didn't get to bed until 11:30 last night, but I decided to still get up and go to Curves this morning. 1) So I wouldn't miss my measurements appointment. 2) In case I end up working at the fair again tonight. 3) Just to prove to myself that I could do it. That made me realize, again, how much I have grown. I feel I'm constantly amazing myself at what I can do.

Some thoughts at the end of this week. 1) I missed Curves on Friday and Saturday. But the thing is, I MISSED Curves. By the time Monday came, I felt like I hadn't been in FOREVER and I hated that. I have another crazy this week with helping my uncle at the fair, so I don't know if I'll make it on Friday or Saturday this week either, but I'm going to try. We'll see how late I get home each night and how much my body needs to sleep. I hope to make it at least one of those days, if not both.

2) I forgot to mention this last week, but when I went to the dentist for my tooth ache, he noticed my weight loss. When you first start seeing him, he takes a photo to attach to your file. He told his assistant to take a new picture because I was a new woman. I was going to ask him to do that at my cleaning this fall, but for him to suggest it made my day.

3) I love the look of shock on people's faces that I haven't seen in years. That never gets old. Working at the fair I think will be fun for that reason. I used to live and work in Duchesne. Last night, I saw one guy who had given a false name for him meal (a spin off of Bond, James Bond). So when I figured out it was his meal I said "Funny, you look like a Mike" which is his real name. I don't think he even recognized me.

4) Some of my cousins started a Weight Loss Support Group on Facebook. I LOVE it. Its like we are each others cheerleaders. Its so awesome when one of them posts about their workout or weight loss. I'm so proud of each of them as they tackle their own weight loss journey's. I love it when we share insights or wisdom. I wasn't close to my cousins when we were kids (because all the ones my age were boys), but this has helped us become closer.

I'm a couple days early on my Curves monthly weigh in, but with the craziness of helping at the Fair, I decided to do it this morning in case I don't make it later this week. The last time I posted my measurements was on June 28th, but I think I mentioned that they had me do my measurements just 2 weeks later because of the contest they are doing this summer. I didn't like those numbers, so I never posted them. But since the numbers look so AMAZING this month, I've plugged them in as my last weigh in totals.

My measurements on 7/13/12.
Bust 40.00
Waist 32.50
Abdomen 36.50
Hip 42.50
Thigh 25.5
Arm 12.75
Weight 184.25 (lbs.)
BMI 31.62
Body Fat % 34.60
Body Fat 63.75 (lbs.)

My measurements on 8/8/12.
Bust   40.00
Waist 32.00
Abdomen 36.50
Hip 42.00
Thigh 24.50
Arm 12.50
Weight 176.5 (lbs.)
BMI 30.29
Body Fat % 34.40
Body Fat 60.72 (lbs.)

Results
Bust -0.00
Waist - -0.50
Abdomen -0.00
Hip -0.50
Thigh - -2.00
Arm - -0.50
Weight - -7.75 (lbs)
BMI - -1.33
Body Fat % -.20
Body Fat - -3.03 (lbs.)

Curves adds all the results together for a total loss of -3.50 inches and -7.75 (lbs.). So that means since starting Curves, I have lost a total of -6.50 inches and -6.50 (lbs.)

Few things. My bust size is never the same. I'm trying to always use the same lady to do my measurements. My bust actually went up today, but we decided to leave it as it was last month and then just watch it next month. But I'm not trying to get my bust smaller, so I don't really care, except that if it does go up, it makes my total inches lost less. I think that is why J decided to leave it listed the same as last month, which is fine with me.

3.50 inches and 7.75 pounds LOST! Those are some numbers to be proud of! I will admit, in June, I thought about quitting Curves. I had been stuck at 180-185 all YEAR and I was discouraged. I was convinced it wasn't working for me. But I decided to give it one more month and I devoted myself that month. Until July, my attendance was very sparse. So of course I wouldn't see results. You have to put in the work to see results. And it worked! For 6 months I was stuck in the 180's. I was finally ready to admit defeat and think I would never get past that. But I pushed through it and I haven't seen 180 on my scale for a week. I'm so proud of myself. And it gave me the will to keep trying. For a while, I kept thinking, if I can just hit 175. But now, I'm not ready to quit. If I can hit 170, that will be pretty awesome too.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Week 74

I've realized my grammar can be scattered in my post. I apologize and will try to do better. I try to log in often so I can keep a more accurate track of my eating. But sometimes that leads to me writing in present tense. Then went I get behind and play catch up, I fall to past tense. I will work on this so it reads more smoothly.
Thursday - I really thought about sleeping in today. I was up late last night. But I reminded myself I would only gain 30 mins of sleep and decided to just get up and go to Curves. Bonus, now I can go play with the nephews before book club tonight. I love those boys.

Breakfast was coffee and pop tarts. Lunch was a protein drink. Snack was a root beer float. Dinner was a potato bar at my mom's book club with home made ice cream for dessert. If I had remembered the ice cream part, I would have skipped the root beer floats at work. Oh well, it made for a fun day of splurging. Oh, and the boys were at their dads, so I didn't get to see them. But it was still worth going to Curves in the morning so my evening could be relaxing.

Friday - Breakfast was a bowl of life cereal and a glass of milk. I was having a hard time dragging myself to Curves, but I knew we needed groceries, so I finally went. About half way through,. I started to feel sick. I think I'm getting the stomach flu that has been going around. Grr. So no lunch, just a 7up, but I haven't even drank much of it. I did feel a little bit better at dinner time, so I had some stir fry.

Saturday - Josh ran his first 5K today. I'm so proud of him. My foot still bothers me from time to time, so I decided to not run with him. Breakfast was coffee and oatmeal. Lunch was a late bbq at Barb's house. I had chips, pulled pork sandwich, lots of grapes and watermelon. Along with grandma Vonne's carrot cake. I hate carrot cake, unless she makes it, then I LOVE it. Then about 5 pm, Barb brought out some kind of carmely goodness and I ate it. By the time we got home, it was late and I didn't feel like dinner. I did lots of walking today while at the park with Josh and again while out checking on the horses.

Sunday - Breakfast was coffee and about half an omelet. Then I got sick again and I was sick ALL DAY. I tried sipping on some ginger ale, but that didn't help. When Josh had dinner, I took 2 bites of my chicken taco and thought it was coming backup. So instead of eating, I went to bed.

Monday - Finally feeling better today! And starving, since I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday. I decide to not get up early for Curves, but hopefully I'll make it after work. Breakfast today was yogurt with granola and coffee. Lunch was a protein drink. Dinner was asparagus at my mom's, but I didn't like the sauce on her pork chops, so I went home and had a small dish of stir fry. Exercise today was two 15 min. walks and Curves.

I am thinking about trying to cut all sugar out of my diet and Josh is willing to try with me. I'm feeling overwhelmed, but I just need to remind myself I can do anything I put my mind to. I have amazed myself over the last year and a half. So I'm going to do some research into it and see what I can figure out and do.

Tuesday - Since I went to Curves last night, I think I might just go at night all week. I don't want to go at night and then go again 12 hours later. But I already miss the morning routine. So I'll go to Curves tonight, but then think about getting up in the morning. I like having my evenings free.

I swear I'm not sick that often, but since keeping a daily journal, I feel like I always am. This morning I woke up with a tooth ache. When I get those, I can usually take some ibuprofen and it goes away. But today, all it did was get worse. And then worse. So much so, that I called my dentist, which I have never done before. Thankfully, he got me in today. He couldn't see much on the x-ray, so to hopefully bypass a root canal, he put me on some drugs to hopefully clear it up. Here's hoping!

Because of said tooth ache, I haven't eaten much. I had coffee and a banana for breakfast, and even that banana hurt my tooth. My appt. was at 1:10, so I thought about skipping lunch until after my appt., but around 11:30, I ate another banana and some nuts because I was feeling shaky. After the dentist, I went to Maverick and got a salad. I've seen a few people at work eat them and they look delish! And huge! I ate about 1/3 of it and will eat the rest tomorrow. It was only $4.99 and it comes with a free bottle of water, so I think I have stumbled onto a great idea. That makes it only like $2.50 a day! I also let the pain get the better of me and splurged on a donut. But when someone bought ice cream later, I didn't have any since I already had the donut. Dinner was 2 small chicken tacos.

Exercise today was one 15 min. walk and Curves. I did my weekly weigh in last night and was down 3 pounds since last week! I finally got to pull some slips off of the lady on the wall! I was pretty excited. I also figured it up. In March, April, May and June, I averaged going to Curves about 6 times each month. Not very good numbers. :( In July, I went 20 times! I'm so proud of myself. My month weigh in is about a week away; I can't wait. I have finally committed to Curves and I think it will show.

Wednesday - The drugs the dentist put me on gave me some insomnia last night. I had already decided to get up early and go to Curves because I miss going in the morning so much. (Who knew I would come to love that so much?!) I tossed and turned all night and I think my tooth finally quit hurting around midnight. I woke up 5 minutes before my alarm and decided to get up and get back to the morning routine. It was a little hard because I was just there 12 hours previous, but it felt so good to do it in the morning.

Breakfast was coffee, half a protein drink and a banana. Lunch was the rest of the salad from yesterday. I was a little worried it might get soggy, but it didn't! I thought about keeping some croutons and craisins at work to add, but now I need to figure that into my "no sugar" plan.

Today, I have really struggled with the thought of eating out. It terrifies me. I spend all day thinking the best of intentions, but I get to the order menu and loose all reason. It bothers me so much, that I have thought of adopting a policy of no more eating out, but then there goes the rare date nights I get to enjoy.

Today, this struggle has been worse. So much so, I thought about faking an excuse so I didn't have to eat out with a friend. But I decided to push through it. I am going to go out and eat and order something decent. No fries, no onion rings, no shakes, nothing deep fried. I think I'll even take my stuff off the bun if it comes with one. I can do this for me because I'm worth it. I just need to take a minute to study out the menu and remember that nothing taste as good as skinny feels. My diet has done so well today, I'm finally seeing results again. I am not going to screw this up over one meal while eating out.

The last two paragraphs were written before dinner. Following, is my less then ideal experience.

With some help from H, she talked me into trying to eat out. So I went to Arbys.com and read through the menu and finally settled on a chicken sandwich. I don't eat there often, but I remembered you could get either a deep fried, crispy chicken or a grilled chicken. So I decided I would get the grilled chicken and skip all sides, like fries. I beat my friend there by a few minutes, so while waiting, I asked for nutrition info and looked it over and decided to stick with that option. I had also decided to eat just the chicken, not the bun. I also ordered a bottle of water.

Apparently, they don't do grilled chicken anymore. Its either deep fried, crispy chicken or sliced sandwich meat chicken. My sandwich was a bun, sliced chicken, tomatoes (which I HATE), sauce (which I HATE) and lettuce. So basically, if I followed my "well thought out plan", all I could eat was the sliced chicken. I was ready to cry. I thought for a minute about eating the sandwich, bun and all. But since I forgot to say no sauce, that didn't sound good. So I wrapped the sandwich up to take home to Sage and went back up front and ordered a salad. I only ate half because it was not a very good salad. Maverick makes way better salads! Since the meal felt like such a disaster, I decided to add a 5 calorie flavoring to my water, even though H thinks I should avoid fake sugar too.

It was so hard to stay strong when I hated my food. I knew I could order something yummy, like jalapeno bites, but I have seen results this week! I was not going to blow it all on one meal, especially since the following morning was my official weigh in. At craft group, we had brownies and orange Julius. I skipped the brownies, but did have half a cup of orange Julius to wash down the yucky dinner.

I hate to admit just how distraught I was last night. I was falling back to my "unhealthy" relationship with food where I thought it would be better to skip eating all together.

Sticking very strictly to the salad last night (especially if you consider that is what I had for lunch too)  paid off. I saw 178 on the scale this morning! I haven't seen that number in MONTHS, and even then, I only saw it for a very short time.

When I got to Curves this morning, I went in to put on my work shoes and saw their poster "Will Power Vs. Curly Fries". I am so proud of myself of letting my will power win last night.  Now, to just hold onto that will power as I go through this month. With helping cater a few events and a trip planned, it will be hard, but I can do this!

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Some quiting sugar thoughts

I am seriously thinking about trying to go sugar free, but I want to do a little more research first. Right now, I'm reading a few books. I'm also trying to find some good articles online, but sometimes their ideas clash. So I need to decide what I think is best for me.

FYI - its seems to be the best way to do the math is take the grams of sugar and divide by 4. So something with 20 grams of sugar, divided by 4, is 5 tsp. of sugar. It seems to be that 25 - 30 grams is the recommended amount per day. That's not very much, which ok since sugar really isn't good for you.

Until then, I am carefully watching my sugar intake. I can't believe how it is in EVERYTHING and just how much there is! There is 26 grams in my protein drink per serving! That is just about 6-1/2 tsp.! Wow, so much for them being my "healthy" go to quick option. They are kinda pricey, so I think I've decided to finish them off, but try drinking only half a bottle at a time instead of the full meal. And also, with being sick and the toothache, I haven't had a chance to grocery shop so they really are convenient since I stocked up on them recently.

Some websites suggest going cold turkey which is what I want to do. But then these websites differ on what that means. Some want you to cut out any thing sweet, even fruits and honey. That is supposed to help "reset" your taste buds so they can really know what is sweet naturally.

There goes breakfast. Breakfast suggestions have been like wheat toast with an egg. I'm not against that, but I just don't have time in the morning and I do NOT want to give up Curves in the morning, I learned that the last two days by going at night again. I hated that. So I need to figure breakfast out before going cold turkey. I did find some sugar free creamer for my coffee. Its not near as good as hot chocolate mix, but it will work.

I am recommitting to no white breads! Josh and I gave up white rice YEARS ago (even before this diet). We love brown rice and we know its better for us, so that isn't a big deal. I do try to buy whole wheat pasta, when I can find it. Sucks having a small town grocery store as my only option. Speaking of Josh, he is willing to do this with me which is a HUGE support. I think he will slip during the week while at the work house, but if he can just help me do it when he's home, that would be a HUGE help. I think that is why my weight goes up every weekend.

Stir fry is my new favorite meal. Yep, the sauces have quite a bit of sugar in them too. :(

I guess, for now, this will be a work in progress. Which really, my whole diet has been that way. I started out just trying to exercise more. When I got that down, I started to eat better. When I got that down,I tried to drink more water. Once I feel like something is mastered, I take on a new challenge. I think if I had tried to do it all at once, it would have overwhelmed me. You can only eat an elephant one bite at a time and you can only loose weight one pound at a time.

I'll keep this updated on how I'm doing. I want to finish these books first, and I'm going to be busy the next several weekends helping my uncle with his catering business so now doesn't feel like the best time to stop completely, but a good time to ease back.