Finding the Ideal Me

Announcing..

2009-04-02T19:26:00.002-04:00

My new blog. (It is in progress, template to be completed this evening).

http://melissavegas.blogspot.com/

I will not be posting to my diet blog any longer. I don't feel I'm really doing it justice as solely a diet-related blog.

I will leave this blog up, but no more posts to it :)

I will also be discontinuing my lasvegasbride blog (though I LOVE the website address). My planning is done, so no need.

I will be keeping my LJ, so that I may still read my friends lists, but again, no more posts.

I hope you'll join me on the new blog!

2009-04-02T09:35:00.001-04:00

148.0 this morning. Yippee :)

Another post about clothes :)

2009-04-01T23:45:00.003-04:00

After my last post, I said, lets see what Polyvore can do. I am new to it. But I love that you can put in a color (for example, "mustard") and up come hundreds/thousands of combinations of outfits you can put together! I used one I found from the mustard search to help me put together my outfit for tomorrow.

What do you think?

I used my mustard shoes as my starting point. Put it with my dark gray cords, a white t shirt, and a 3/4 sleeve black cardigan over it. Added gray pearls, a silver & black ring, sparkly antique dangly earrings, and my mustard yellow & amethyst bracelet. Not too shabby!

Of course this outfit will prove difficult when going in for tanning tomorrow evening, but, one thing at a time!

2009-04-01T23:19:00.002-04:00

Shannon made me a series of polyvore outfits, like the one below. I'm left wondering, why does everything look so fab when placed together on a screen, and on me, it doesn't. Like this outfit. It's fairly simple. The accessories aren't anything too fancy. And I could probably make something very similar from my current closet. Yet...doesn't look as good on me in person! Why is that?

I'm determined to start piecing (sp?) together outfits & accessories the way Shannon has done them, because it just seems awesome. But I don't think I'll ever look as good as all this stuff looks on a blank page. I don't think its just me though. I think, its that the pieces really DO look better as individual pics on a page than they do on a person. Even a celeb. :)

Ghost Tours by ShannonF27 featuring Dorothy Perkins bracelets

2009-04-01T22:38:00.002-04:00

Ran 1 mile tonight, and did arms :)

Made some tasty, totally unhealthy, homemade mac & cheese for dinner (after I did my workout!)

Weighed in still at 149 this morning. I'm super psyched that, even with weighing in almost daily since I stopped trying to lose weight, I haven't hit 150 again :) I'm maintaining. I thought it was going to be so hard to do!

A follow up on the previous 3 posts

2009-03-31T23:57:00.000-04:00

Please read the 3 posts and comment if you have any :) I know a few people occasionally read the blog, the more opinions, the merrier :)

By the way, Shannon, somehow, in my itunes collection, i actually had the radio version of Dirrty. So yay, I get to keep it! :)

Post 3 of 3

2009-03-31T23:09:00.001-04:00

The dance music. What do you think? I think the ratio of slow to fast is good. White Wedding is the father/daughter dance. We'll insert cake cutting somewhere before the Village People, and after the VP, Brad and I have to get some pics done for about a half hour. Its a 2.8 hour playlist, most likely, the end won't get played.

Post 2 of 3

2009-03-31T22:42:00.004-04:00

Last 3 songs: (single ladies being the bouquet toss)

Cake Cutting:

Post 1 of 3

2009-03-31T22:38:00.002-04:00

Opinions please? "Final" Dance playlist. We start with the bridal party intro (Ever Ever After), move into our first dance (A Groovy Kind of Love), then right into dinner music. I have a 1.8 hour playlist, but I don't think dinner will be that long. Does this look good?

I think you can click to make it bigger.

2009-03-31T11:56:00.000-04:00

Lookie what Shannon made for me!!!

For Melissa - by ShannonF27 on Polyvore.com

2009-03-30T23:02:00.002-04:00

Tonight I did 1.35 miles on the treadmill (ran .5 miles). It's a busy time at work so I had to work tonight from home, and also, I'm weirdly sore and had a hard time doing even this much.

I went tanning again tonight. I am already seeing some color, which is cool. But I fear i may have burned a little this time. I'm not red yet, but I'm quite itchy (even after a shower), so I'm thinking I may have a little burn.

I wish I had saved my old pants from before I lost weight. It would be neat to step into them today and see how big they are. Next time I'm at ON, I'm pulling out the size 14's and trying them on!

2009-03-29T22:50:00.000-04:00

Just a little bit of abs and legs tonight. Went bowling today. A little grocery shopping. Laundry, and some cleaning.

Checked myself out in some cute lingerie today, and thought I looked pretty hot :)

2009-03-28T23:31:00.001-04:00

Today I worked out TWICE! This morning, I got up and ran .75 miles and walked .25, and I did some arms. Tonight, I ran another .5 miles and walked .5 miles. And now I am POOPED!

taking a break from diet stuff...

2009-03-27T14:33:00.002-04:00

For a huge vent.

Wednesday, I went to my mother's for lunch. She mentioned she wanted to borrow the sapphire pendant that my grandmother gave me to wear at the wedding. (She's envious of this pendant, that's pretty clear). anyway, i say fine, no problem, never ONCE say she can't have it, but I do tell her that since her dress has a high neckline, with silver all around it, I don't htink its appropriate to wear a necklace of any sort with the dress. (Shannon can vouch for me here). She gets all pissed off, acts like a total bitch at dinner wednesday night (barely speaking to me, being nasty, refusing to help me fix a button my jacket, etc). So i avoid her yesterday, and instead, stay at work. To have a day to just...break away.

My grandmother has given me a 3 strand, probably 300 pearl chocker to restring for her (it has small small fake pearls), and wants knots in between each one. I got a tool to do it. She gave it to me approximately a week ago, wants it by the wedding. I told her when she gave it to me, it would take me alot of work, but I would get it done. She's already asked about it 3 times since.

I have been trying not to talk wedding for a few days, because I had such a bad day on Tuesday. I went over for lunch today, and both mom and meme are there.

First, my grandmother brought up the pearls AGAIN. And insisted she would keep bugging me til I get it done. I told her, don't you will piss me off. Like the only fucking thing on my todo list is to do her pearls. I'm getting married in less than 4 weeks! I have ALOT to do, nevermind work. I'm not farting around, doing nothing, BELIEVE me.

Then, she says to me "oh, that pendant I gave you would look REALLY nice with your mom's dress" to which mom replies "no! we're not talking about this. she told me i couldnt have it." Which i never did. So i told her so. I never said that mom, i said i didn't think you needed one, but heather can vouch for me here (she was there) i NEVER said you couldn't wear it! I said wear whatever you want! I don't care!

Then mom tells meme, as i'm sitting rightthefuckthere, oh, you can borrow my pearls for the wedding, they'd look nice with your dress, and on and on describing the pearls, and offering to go get them. She did it just to piss me off, and i'm sick of that shit. Like 1) its rude to do that because I SAID I WOULD GET IT DONE, DAMMIT! and 2) what if she does borrow them after i've scrambled to get them done. That's so fucking oh my god rude.

I'm so sick of the two of them. My mom, my grandmother, and my sister, have been the rudest, bitchiest, most unbelievably ridiculous people through my entire wedding planning process. I wish they weren't coming. And I FULLY, WHOLEHEARTEDLY PROMISE YOU I MEAN IT. Don't fucking come.

I wish I had eloped. If I knew 2 years ago, what I know today, I would never have planned this weddding. brad and i would have flown to vegas and eloped, and be done with it. its so not worth it now. I want to be married, and i dont want my family there. How awful is that. Family i've loved my entire life, i can't stand to be around anymore. It is absolutely unbelievable.

2009-03-26T22:43:00.002-04:00

Tonight I did 2 miles on the treadmill. I kept cramping up so I couldn't run too much. I ended up running .75 miles but split into spurts. I also did arms and abs :)

Had Thai for dinner, yum, after my first true tanning experience. Weird, but awesome. It was nice to get warm in the middle of a cold rainy evening.

Now I am tired, and ready for sleepy time!

Idol...

2009-03-26T09:35:00.002-04:00

I am officially in love with Adam Lambert. This guys is LEAGUES better than anyone else this season. He is amazing, super talented, and just oh my god good.

That being said, is it me, or does Idol keep getting longer and longer each season? This year, with 4 judges all having their say after each contestant, god, it gets so long. I was able, luckily, to catch a bit of each performance (and all of Adam's) and just Simon last night in about 15 minutes. But the whole program? 2 hours. Geesh.

2009-03-25T13:50:00.002-04:00

I am not stressed today, I am determined not to let anything bother me today.

But, it would be REALLY nice to just take a month off from my family. That would be the best thing ever.

2009-03-25T09:38:00.003-04:00

More relaxed today than yesterday. I am hoping to focus more on work today and less on wedding stuff.

I dressed all cute today. Took Tylenol PM last night which gave me an amazing night's sleep, so I think that contributes to my relaxed feeling this morning.

149.0 this morning, which is good. I'm up from that 147.5 but I'm ok with it. However, makes me want to exercise more again. Hoping to treadmill tonight but it is Uncle Andy's bday so I may be getting home pretty late, so we'll see.

2009-03-24T22:06:00.002-04:00

Weight is still good. Was 148.5 this morning. I am just doing my best to still exercise and keep my calories high enough to stay in the same weight range.

I did drop from a 38DD to a 36D. Got a new bra this weekend because the others are a bit big now. I wish bras didn't cost $20 (for a cheap one). Underwear is like, $3 each, why are bras so ridiculous?

Today I ate pretty well. I had my typical breakfast and snacks, steak & green beans for lunch, and my fat free hotdogs and Ore Ida tater tots for dinner.

Gave myself a pedicure. I've never had one, and though I have a gift certificate for one, I still don't know if I will ever get one. Shannon & Ali were nice enough to get me a certificate but even just doing the ped egg on my own feet tonight was too ticklish for me. I don't think I can handle someone else touching my feet, I'm way too ticklish. I'll think about it though, for sure. I might be able to put the certificate towards another service if I just can't deal with it.

Anyway, the pedicure went well. I used the ped egg, took a hot bubble bath, exfoliated my feet with a scrub, clipped, filed, and buffed my nails, used cuticle oil and lotion, and then I painted my toes a cheerful pink! :) I am not very good at doing toenail polish though :( I think they will be ok though! :)

Emailed out the info for viewing our wedding online :) I saw the wedding of someone else and it looks totally great, so I'm excited and nervous about our own wedding being broadcast. :)

Stressed and tired. My feet feel nice and relaxed. If only I could do a full body pedicure :)

2009-03-23T20:50:00.003-04:00

Ran .5 miles tonight, walked 1 mile. I've upped my speed to 4.5 mph running, and 3.8 mph walking. I did arms again, and I also did some legs. Squats and leg lifts, etc. I am tired, but taking the 40 minutes to exercise makes me feel so much better. I like doing it. I hope I always feel that way.

2009-03-23T10:17:00.001-04:00

Last night I did arms, abs, and ran .5 miles :)

147.5

2009-03-21T13:49:00.001-04:00

Officially lost 34 pounds now. But I am seriously not trying to lose right now!

I did run a mile last night, and walked .6 miles. But we had Chili's for dinner (I had 2 egg rolls, 2 slider burgers, and some french fries, and about 1/4 of one of those chocolate mountain things). How did I LOSE a half pound?

2009-03-20T09:57:00.001-04:00

Last night I did 1.6 miles on the treadmill. I ran .75 miles, and made myself stop so I didn't run too much. But I felt I needed to run, at least a little. It just makes me feel good. I walked the rest.

One of the weird things that kind of bugs me is that, I feel like I want to run also because it makes the time length of my workout shorter. I get more accomplished in a shorter period of time. Not that I mind working out. It's just that I feel like I have too many other things to do. So I want to just get the workout part done so I can work on my other things. Walking 2 miles takes a whole lot longer than running it.

Glad it is Friday. Means I get two days to sleep late :)

148.0

2009-03-19T13:41:00.002-04:00

I lost a pound without even trying. I havent done any cardio since Friday, and I'm eating more calories. WTF?

Last night I was too tired for treadmill still. I blame ladytime. But i did arms and abs and legs again. :)

2009-03-18T14:23:00.003-04:00

I have for food today (pre-Gibbitt Hill)

oatmeal, milk, banana
yogurt, ff pringles
apple (may not eat it)
smart ones pizza

I plan to treadmill after dinner tonight :) I was happy I at least did arms and abs last night, because I had intended to do the treadmill and was just too tired. No excuses tonight though, I'm hopping on!

LadyTime this week, ugh. Bloaty and crampy and poopy. Yuck.

2009-03-17T23:46:00.003-04:00

I did arms, abs, a lil' bit of legs tonight instead of the treadmill. I was exhausted (don't know why I'm still up) and had to finish my thank you cards.

Not counting calories right now (though I swear, I am definitely paying attention to what I am eating). But here's today's foods:

Lower sugar oatmeal package
1/2 cup of skim milk
banana
1 serving of fat free pringles
leftover chicken with 1/2 cup of white rice from Cheesecake Factory
dannon yogurt
WW lemon cake
2 fat free hotdogs with light wheat buns
1.5 cups of goldfish

Britney!

2009-03-17T09:41:00.002-04:00

Man, I had a great time at Britney last night!

We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, so yummy. I asked for a to-go tray right away, and took more than half my dinner home (all the rice, and a little more than half the chicken). I did have probably 6 small pieces of chicken, and 4 slider burgers.

I am hoping to run tonight - haven't run in the past 3 days so I'm aching to get up on that treadmill. Just been so busy and/or exhausted! :) This morning I'm quite tired but for the first night in 4 I actually slept well. Except for some damn nightmares about Brad leaving me for another woman. THAT was not cool.

Overall, I'm still trying to stick to a food routine. The past few days I've obviously been eating out a bit so it was hard to plan every meal, but I feel I've made some good choices as far as what I do eat while I am out. But during the day, I still do the same breakfast of oatmeal, milk, and a banana, and I still have yogurt and fat free pringles, and an apple with lunch. Just trying to keep with the healthier foods that helped me get here in the first place.

Still 149.0 this morning! Yay :) (Never thought I'd be so happy to have my weight NOT drop).

I am very excited for May 1st, when I return from our honeymoon. Because then I can get back into running as much as I was, and dieting again. Maybe after a month away from being so strict I won't be as excited to return, but so far the desire hasn't left. I almost wish that my mom COULD take my dress in so I could keep it up, but really, it isn't that bad that I have to stop for awhile.

But stopping doesn't mean pigging out! So I'm sticking to that philosophy!

2009-03-15T11:20:00.001-04:00

Only ate a little yesterday. Surprising, since I fully intended to pig out at the shower :)

I ate a mini bagel in the morning
A serving of FF pringles at noon
Had 1 plate (not full) of food at the shower
1 piece of cake
2 pieces of candy
1 fuzzy navel wine cooler
1 piece of lasagna for dinner
2 cookies

That was it :) Not alot of food yesterday at all. No exercise though, but still 149.0 this morning :)

I needed to post this

2009-03-14T23:41:00.002-04:00

This picture just made me feel like all the hard work for the past two years was worth it. I don't think I've seen myself so thin since high school.

2009-03-13T14:51:00.002-04:00

So I got a good bra last night, and it helped with the dress being too loose. But it's still slightly loose (as in, I do worry that over the course of an evening it might slip down), and I have to make sure I don't get even a mm thinner.

But I'm in this mindset. I do not want to eat bad again. And I do not want to stop running. I'm addicted to how wonderful I feel being thinner, and a big part of me wishes my dress could be taken in so that I could continue to try to lose more weight.

I know, I know, I can certainly cut down on the dieting and exercising a bit for the next 40 days, and try hard to maintain my weight. And that's what I just HAVE to do. But I just don't want to do it. Man, a month ago, I would have killed to be able to just eat and not have to exercise, and now, I just don't want to stop.

So I'll resign myself to the idea of cutting back, and then after the wedding, I can aim for that bikini body! :) Maybe I can drop another 10 pounds by Florida. That would be nice :) And then, there won't be anything that I have to fit perfectly in.

I don't know how other brides do it. I mean, you have alterations and fittings, but what if you drop 5 pounds the week before your wedding? You are SCREWED.

2009-03-13T09:44:00.002-04:00

I managed to get in a little bit of exercise late last night. I did arms and abs before bed. No cardio. I have to cut my cardio down anyway, so I figured 2 days off between was ok. I think from now on I'm going to try to go 2 days a week with no exercise, 4 days with cardio, and one day of just arms and abs.

Also trying to add more calories to my meals without eating too much more food. Last night I had hibachi at Tokyo, and I saved probably more than half the rice for today's lunch. But I had steak, lobster, shrimp, veggies, and some rice, and some broth, so I think the meal is good.

Still 149.0 this morning :)

Today I had a full Panera bagel for breakfast.

Tonights goal - run til I have to stop, lets see if I can do 2.3 miles again! :) But between now and 3pm tomorrow, I also have to finish the 2 bracelets and 1 necklace for the bridesmaid jewelry, wrap all the gifts up, write out my thank you notes to each of them, and take pictures of the jewelry for the weddingplans blog. I think I can do it, no problem :)

2009-03-12T09:18:00.003-04:00

I did enjoy a hamburger and small fry from McDonald's last night for dinner. But I got a salad and just didn't have the appetite to eat it. And I didn't eat anything after dinner. My hunger is just gone. I often forget my mid-morning snack. The only time of day I feel a little hunger is around 4pm.

So I have to figure out a good balance, in order to maintain my weight. I can cut down some of my exercise (maybe do 4 days a week, more strength training and a little less cardio) and add some higher calorie foods to my days, but I honestly don't have the hunger to eat MORE food. (Nor do I want to be able to eat more food). But I also really, really, am not enjoying the idea of adding more calories either.

I'll figure it out. I'll monitor everyday. Today I was still 149.0. But the key is going to be not getting thinner while still running, because I don't want to give that up, and that just sounds hard. (Seems weird to say that since it was so hard to start losing in the first place).

Reached my goal (by accident!)

2009-03-11T14:42:00.003-04:00

Okay everyone! I am officially at wedding weight. It's not 145 pounds, but unfortunately/fortunately, my wedding dress is now too loose! The waist is perfect, but because I've toned up so much in addition to the 7 pound loss, I am not supported up top - and there's a bit of a gap between my skin and the dress.

I am hoping/praying that a good fitting corset-style strapless bra will do the trick (because I really don't want to have to put weight back on). So I'll be ordering one of those tonight.

The key is now, I have to maintain my weight (and still exercise) until the wedding. That's going to be tough, but I'll weigh in every day to monitor it. I figure, if I keep jogging as I've been doing, I should probably just add some extra food to offset it. Again, it will just be tough.

But a serving of McDonald's french fries - here I come! :)

So my ticker has now been updated to say I've met my goal - and I've set a new one for myself.

I hope to just continue to keep my body looking fit, and healthy, and maybe even loose a few more pounds after the wedding (before our Disney trip). But my weight loss is now open ended. I'm happy with my weight. Very, very, very happy. :)

Going to try to find a ticker that just shows how much weight I've lost, as opposed to a specific goal.

2009-03-11T11:42:00.001-04:00

Still 149.0 this morning. Makes 7 pounds since I started doing the WW plan/exercising alot.

Think I might try on my wedding dress at lunch!

2009-03-10T21:32:00.001-04:00

Musician choice on tonights Idol = AWESOME!

2009-03-10T21:28:00.001-04:00

Ran 1.25 miles straight tonight. (walked .35).

Didn't have evening snack so total points in werer 19, and about 1.5 activity points - net is 17.5.

Not having the greatest couple of nights.

2009-03-10T17:37:00.002-04:00

Food so far today: 13 points. Dinner - 2 FF ballpark dogs in light wheat buns, 1 potato sliced into fries, fried in pam, plus a dessert item = 20 points for the day.

Planned exercise tonight - hopefully approx 2 activity points (treadmill, abs, arms).

Spring Wishes!

2009-03-10T12:26:00.001-04:00

2009-03-10T09:52:00.002-04:00

I ran 1 mile straight last night (and walked .3 miles). I had considerably less energy last night but was very happy to complete that mile after eating so much sushi! :)

Weight this morning was 149.5, so I'm happy with that.

Had a little bit of an emotional night last night. Things are fine, but something came up and I didn't sleep so well because of it. Therefore today, I'm exhausted.

I did, however, wear a cute spring skirt and puffy sleeved shirt and cardigan, and white heels! I'm sick of winter! Time to dress for the spring that is inevitably coming!

149.0

2009-03-09T09:35:00.001-04:00

Woo, down another half pound this morning :) Weighed in at 149.0 today. Yay!

I would like to say I am not going to weigh in again til Friday, but I know I will continue weighing in every day. At least I can see how my body fluctuates. :)

I hope I can run again tonight. Last nights run was sure motivating! 2.3 miles! Go ME!

So crazy I almost can't believe it!

2009-03-08T22:31:00.002-04:00

Tonight, I ran 2.3 miles without stopping! (at a pace of 4.2 mph).

Seriously, I took some very awesome advice from Shannon - about how she seemed to have way more energy after she took 2 days off from cardio in a row, so I did that. I didn't exercise at all on Friday night, and yesterday only did the strength training.

And I had crazy energy tonight, and so, I just started running. I hit a mile, didn't feel tired, and just said, hell, I'll see how long I can go for. And I just kept getting closer to a mile and a half. Then two miles. I actually think I could have gone even further than the 2.3 but I felt like I probably should stop, before I really hurt myself from doing too much at once.

I doubt I can do that 2 days in a row, but man, I am so...just...amazed. This is something I never thought I'd ever do. I mean, a mile was a huge feat for me, and now I've gone way beyond that.

I wore my HRM too, and it said I burned 687 calories (I walked .4 miles in addition to the running) - 39 minutes. I think its possible that I could have burned a little bit more only because I checked the running HR early, at 156, and when I checked around...1.5 miles I was at 165, then later at 168, so my HR might have been a little higher than it was reading at.

For foods today - I was planning to count points but couldnt because we ate out unexpectedly, and Heather didn't make the world's healthiest meal - plus I forgot my fudgecicle. So here is what I ate today (which i STILL consider eating just fine).

1 cup milk, 1 mini bagel
1 tuna crepe from burlington mall, 1 fruit cup
1 bowl salad w/a teaspoon of italian dressing, 2 small, thin slices of french bread, about 1 cup of pasta (really, I didn't eat much pasta at all)
1/2 cup of vanilla ice cream
1 small sugar cookie

2009-03-08T11:26:00.002-04:00

Still 149.5 this morning. Phew. After two days of being over points with no cardio I was worried. But my arms/abs workout last night was impressive. I think I did over 200 crunches total, plus 4 different dumbbell workouts and pushups. I also did the single leg lifts too, as an added exercise.

More house cleaning and laundry today. Oh, and I hate daylight savings time. I don't lose sleep - it just cuts an hour out of my day. Which sucks.

2009-03-07T22:03:00.002-05:00

Points eaten: 24

Activity - I cleaned the car, part of the house, went out shopping for a few hours, and did arms and abs today.

Flex points so far this week (week ends tomorrow) = 15.5 of 35 available.

I don't know what is for dinner tomorrow night, but assuming its fairly healthy, I don't intend to go over my points. Which means that based on the flex plan, I did really well this week, because I won't have used even close to all my flex points. I have no interest in cake - I plan to bring a fudgecicle to my mother's so that I can have some dessert for her bday party.

However, my intention was to try not to use ANY flex points and clearly I did use some. So that's a little disappointing.

I am not counting points on Monday (sushi day) so my new week will being on Tuesday.

Picture post

2009-03-06T14:56:00.005-05:00

I swear. Sometimes I don't even recognize myself. I look huge. I've never been very photogenic, but the change from my starting weight to today. It's crazy.

Some shots of me at my highest weight (as close to it as I could get - I was prob in the 170's here, no pics of the 180's).

Last picture is as of today. Sorry so crappy quality. My camera phone sucks.

Pissed at myself

2009-03-06T13:56:00.002-05:00

Ugh.

I'm pissed at myself today.

So, i started the flex plan on Monday. I get 35 additional points per week. So actually, I'm going to be great for the week. But I'm still mad.

I'm trying hard to be perfect. And not use the flex points. I used 2.5 the other day, which I accepted.

But today, i ate a whole bagel, so after breakfast I was at 9 points. then, surprise lunch for lyz, i decided to have the tilapia and that would be 4 points. This would lead to being perfectly on target for points for the day (20 or even under).

However, didn't I get to chili's and change my mind. I ordered this lunch combo where you pick a soup, a salad, and chips & salsa.

I ate the soup (potato) which filled me up. Ate only the lettuce on the salad (dipped into the dressing so I had lowfat ranch and only used about a teaspoon of it), no cheese or anything but the lettuce, and then maybe 1/5 of a basket of the chips and salsa because I was so full.

I get back to work - and the damn soup is 13 points & 510 calories. Mother Fucker.

So after scheduling in dinner (no snacks for the rest of the day) I'm at 28 points.

I'm just mad about it. Its perfectly within the plan I am following to eat those 8 points, but I feel like such a failure.

I planned to take tonight off from exercising because I am so tired, but I may change my mind and do some moderately paced walking to try to burn off something, at least.

I just feel like I'm going to wind up 5 pounds heavier tomorrow. I probably won't, but still, I am really upset about this.

Luckily, my calorie count comes in at 1256 calories, which really isn't bad.

But ugh. This sucks.

2009-03-06T11:11:00.000-05:00

On another note:

My boobs have started shrinking. Seriously. Even Brad thinks so.

2009-03-06T09:49:00.001-05:00

So, boo for unexpected birthday lunches that throw my whole food plan for the day out of wack.

Yay for the birthday girl picking Chili's, where I can have that cedar plank tilapia for 4 points.

And double yay, for me being capable now of re-arranging my food plans to still be within my daily point range :)

2009-03-06T09:12:00.001-05:00

I will be taking tonight off from exercising. My body is exhausted today.

2009-03-05T22:22:00.002-05:00

Points eaten: 22.5
Activity (2.5)
Net: 20

Calories: approx 1250
Calories burned: approx 450

I did 2 miles on the treadmill - .9 running and 1.1 walking. I did abs and arms tonight too. I was a little pooped out when I hit around 1.5 miles, so I did 2 miles and called it a day. I know I can't expect to be able to run 3 miles every day. So I am happy with today.

And now...bed time. I am tired!

Thoughts...

2009-03-05T12:08:00.002-05:00

I was thinking this morning, how much I've changed in just these few weeks. I don't know how long it will last, but I find myself in a completely new frame of mine, that I honestly didn't really have before.

Even back when I lost the bulk of the weight, I floated around, I exercised alot, and did some diet plans, but if I wanted McDonalds, I got McDonalds.

These few weeks, even when I've gone out to eat, I stop and think - what is healthy for me to eat? I look at calories. I am disgusted by the amount of calories in Chili's foods. I even have skipped ordering fries at McDonalds (and settled for like, 5-10 french fries from Brad's - enough to satisfy my craving, but few enough that its not going to be that unhealthy).

With Chinese - I'm thinking - I can't have those fried foods. And I honestly don't want them. I mean, I want them, but the thought of actually eating them kind of disgusts me.

My daily life for these few weeks has been thinking about points and calories, about fitness, and the best things I can have, still be happy with my foods, but also not feel guilty for eating them.

When we went out for drinks last week, I had a couple of drinks because they were celebrating me. But I chose Sangria, usually not something I'd order - because of its low point factor. A margarita is 800 calories (for a SMALL one). No thanks.

My point is, I'm changing the way I'm looking at foods. I hope I keep this up for a long time. I don't want to get back to the point where I can eat 2 chicken sandwiches, a large fry, and 2 apple pies with a large diet coke at McDonalds. And still be hungry. I LIKE being full from a cup and a half of mac and cheese. I like not being able to eat an entire plate of chinese food.

2009-03-04T23:15:00.003-05:00

Points eaten: 26.5
Activity (4.0)
Net: 22.5

Flex points used this week: 2.5

Calories eaten: 1193 per Sparkpeople
Calories burned: approx 630

We ordered Chinese tonight. Instead of something totally fried like I usually order, I decided to order something I'd never had before (I'd tried a bite of Shannon's once) - Mu Shu pork. I only had half of it. According to the WW site, thats 10 points, and Sparkpeople puts it at 426 calories. One thing I've noticed since I started this diet is that I get full ALOT faster. In the past, I would be able to eat that entire box of mu shu pork - or an entire Chinese meal (plus appetizers, usually). Now half of a meal is almost too much for me. This makes me happy :)

Did 3.2 miles on the treadmill (1.5 running). When I walk I walk at 3.7 mph so still really brisk. Did it in 10th of a mile increments again.

Love to Run!

2009-03-04T13:24:00.001-05:00

I get a really amazing adrenaline rush when I run. Was disappointed that my legs were too sore last night to do it, but hey, I can't expect to be able to run every single day. I am not a runner :) (At least, not yet!).

But they had their rest day, and tonight, it's back on. Going to do the 1/10th of a mile increments again, I found that that worked well last time. It allowed me to run more distance, without getting as tired. Burns a ton of calories too! My HRM isn't as affective because I'm changing paces so quickly, but what I do is, I know my average Heart Rate while walking, and the rate while running, and I calculate using the online calculation (based off weight, sex, and time) to get an average.

I also calculate activity points using the guidelines WW sets up. That helps too.

Woo! 149.5!

2009-03-04T08:05:00.003-05:00

Yay! I made it to 149.5 this morning!

This weight watchers plan is REALLY paying off. I am so happy today!

Still totally stressed out about other stuff, but really happy about the weight! :)

2009-03-03T21:49:00.003-05:00

Points eaten: 21.5
No points burned - my legs were very sore, so I did abs and arms instead.

Calories eaten: 1145

I did about 80 crunches (regular, side, reverse, bicycle), and I did the following for arms:

2 sets of 10 pushups
2 sets of 15 dumbell chest flies
2 sets of 15 dumbell chest presses
2 sets of 15 bicep curls
2 set of 15 of that dumbell press where you raise your arms straight up

2009-03-03T10:16:00.001-05:00

Down to 150.5 this morning :)

I sure am building up some crazy muscles in my legs. They are tired today. Mostly, my calves and hip area are sore.

More treadmillin' tonight! :)

2009-03-02T22:21:00.002-05:00

Long, draining day.

Points eaten: 22.5

Activity: (3.8)

Net: 18.7

Calories eaten: approx 1100 (mac & cheese was hard to be precise, but i did a good estimate)

Calories burned: approx 600 - didn't wear my HRM

I did 3.0 miles on the treadmill - ran 1.5, walked 1.5, and did it in 1/10th of a mile increments. I am beat!

2009-03-02T11:22:00.001-05:00

I also did abs last night, before bed. Lots of crunches!

I weighed in back down at 151.0 today, phew :)

Planning to do run/walk in 1/10th of a mile increments tonight, and see how many I can do before I poop out! :)

Ideal Weight...

2009-03-01T21:50:00.003-05:00

So my weight loss goal is 145 pounds.

How did I reach that number? Well...when I first started dieting (at 181.5 pounds), I wanted to lose 50 pounds, and get to around 130. In the end, this was not a realistic goal, as in high school I weighed around 135 or so, so getting to below high school weight just isn't going to happen. I have an ass, and I have big boobs. I have huge hips. I'd be a stick figure at 130.

I plateaued for a long time at 155. I got a wedding dress, and it fit nicely, but it was tight, and I had the dreaded "back cleavage."

Thus, the loss of 10 pounds, enough so that I'd feel better about how I looked in the dress, but not so much that I'd need the dress taken in.

If I make it to 145, I'll be so happy.

So today, there's an article on yahoo about ideal body weight. I did some searching, to see what my ideal weight range is, and the maximum of the range is 144 pounds. WTF?

Does ideal weight mean being bone-thin? Because it sure seems that way based off of these ranges.

2009-03-01T21:33:00.002-05:00

Points eaten: 23.5
Activity: (3.5)
Net points: 20

Calories eaten: 1100
Calories burned: 534

I did 2.5 miles today (1.2 of them running).

Tomorrow - I get to make homemade macaroni & cheese! And I get to eat it for lunch the next two days too :) I've got Shaws' whole wheat pasta, reduced fat shredded cheddar and reduced fat mozarella cheese. I can have about a cup and a half for 9 points. I worked it into my food plans for the next three days. What a treat!

STENCH!

2009-03-01T10:43:00.003-05:00

I am sooooooooo pissed off right now.

Either one of our jackass idiot neighbors, or a truck from the old used car lot behind our house, arrived at approximately 4am after hitting a skunk.

They are clearly still parked out there, and the entire neighborhood (inside our houses included) STINK.

I'm trying candles, turning up our oil plug-ins, air fresheners - NOTHING is helping. I don't think I can stand this all day. Honest to god. I have to get out of here. It's awful!

2009-02-28T19:05:00.002-05:00

Total points eaten: 18.5
Total calories: 910

No exercise tonight - I am really low on points and calories today so I decided to take tonight off. Tomorrow I have absolutely nothing that I have to do (other than, well, laundry) so I'm planning a long treadmill workout tomorrow.

At Shaw's, I found fat free ballpark hotdogs that are 50 calories & 1 point each, and light wheat hotdog buns that are 90 calories and 1 point each. Added a cup of corn (approx 2 points, 100 calories), and I had a nice 6 point dinner. It was so good, I'd been craving hotdogs. It was nice to find a really healthy hotdog & bun combination. That may become a regular meal for me. :)

Gotta do the dishes tonight, and plan the next two weeks of meals.

TGIF!

2009-02-27T14:13:00.003-05:00

So tonight I'm going to the movies with Shannon, so here's my plan:

Leave work by 6, home by 6:30. Brad will have cooked, so eat right away, be done and changed to workout by 7. Treadmill for 1/2 hour to 45 mins, then shower, and change to go out. Shannon's picking me up at 8:30...movies at 9:30, they are just under 2 hours, so home around...midnight! :)

(Brad may not use the car tonight so if you want me to drive I can, but I am cool with you driving if you are!)

Tomorrow we have to take my grandmother's car (yes, the one Brad borrowed while his truck is being fixed) to get a new battery. Her battery is dead and now Brad has to keep jumping himself to get places.

Oh, and he just heard from the mechanic that his clutch was going and has to be replaced too. Great. :)

Foods for today are scheduled at 22, with 2 activity points, so net points are 20. Back on track, baby!

I found free WW points tracking templates for your planners online, and printed out a bunch of sheets last night. Can't wait to start filling them in.

Top 10 Workout Songs!

2009-02-27T11:43:00.003-05:00

I don't think I've posted this before.

My ten favorite songs to work out to (in no particular order):

Working for the Weekend - Loverboy
Rumors - Lindsay Lohan
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme - Mamma Mia! Soundtrack (the movie)
Chris Cox Megamix (Britney Spears)
Dirrty - Christina Aguilera
Breathe - Michelle Branch
Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Animal Song - Savage Garden
Stronger - Britney Spears
Livin' on a Prayer - Bon Jovi

I challenge anyone to list their 10 favorite workout songs!

2009-02-27T09:50:00.002-05:00

Did a great workout last night - did 2 miles, in 1/4 mile increments (1/4 mile walking, 1/4 mile running..and so forth) until I had 1 mile walking, 1 mile running. :) Burned 500 calories!

2009-02-26T15:36:00.002-05:00

By the way, I drank about 15 points in Sangria last night. I ate probably 6 points of food. Added to the 10 points I ate earlier in the day, my points came in at 31.

For today, I ate 5.5 points for breakfast, a 2 point yogurt, but have no clue what lunch was. I searched, but apparently those bastards at Bertucci's don't release their nutrional information. Someone on sparkpeople put some info in, but who knows if it is right. They say each roll is 130 calories (I had two), the salad was probably almost nothing, just greens, a teaspoon of their weird dressing. But lord knows how much the two small slices of pizza were. I mean small - equivalent to one normal slice of pizza (if that). The pizza had about a half cup of sausage on it, and a couple of plops of ricotta cheese.

I'm just going to walk and run tonight, and eat perfect for the next 3 days. That's really all I can do!

2009-02-26T15:29:00.002-05:00

So pissed. Figured that today I could get back to being on track again. (Not that I have been overly bad the past two days, but not perfect, for sure. I mean, Tuesday, I just had too much salt. But yesterday I had those drinks, and no exercise to counteract it).

So Elmer had set a lunch meeting earlier in the week. Usually, almost always, they get sandwiches delivered. I figured, I'd have a half sandwich, and be good.

I walk into the meeting, and its Bertucci's pizza. Damn.

I did have a large portion of salad, two small (very small) pieces of pizza, and two rolls.

The rest of today is scheduled pretty low so I think I will be ok. But I was not expecting the pizza at all, and was not pleased that that's what was for lunch. I couldn't eat just the salad either, because it was a small salad for all of us, and was only like, the spring greens mix so not even a filling salad.

Grumble grumble.

Mariachi!

2009-02-25T22:42:00.005-05:00

My incredibly amazing co-workers completely surprised me tonight by throwing me a surprise bridal shower! We had scheduled drinks but we always go for drinks while Lisa is in town, and so I honestly had no clue anything was up.

Turns out, about 5:30, my boss asked me to do some stuff, and I was doing it, quickly, so I could get going to dinner, then he asked me for something else, and we were later than everyone else, He finally let me go, and was right behind me driving over. I walked in, went to sit down, and suddenly, there's a chair with balloons and presents! And it was for me! :)

Turns out my boss was deliberately stalling me. And he kept asking me to do more stuff because I was finishing everything so quickly!

It was so nice. So, in celebration, I had two very large sangrias and only a couple of quesadillas/nacho chips, and one chicken wing. I didn't eat alot. I probably even came in close to my points for the day based on the little bit I ate.

Everyone asked Brad to drive up, and he did! :) I was surprised, I didn't expect him to come :)

I leave you with pictures of us in the sombreros, as we were serenaded by the Mariachi band :)

Thinking ahead...

2009-02-25T16:54:00.002-05:00

So obviously, I'm on this jump start plan for 2 weeks (ends Sunday). They say, don't do it for more than 2 weeks.

However, the plan is 20 points per day. No flex points.

Going into next week, if I get below 150 (which is very close), my regular daily points are supposed to be 20 (minimum). Then 35 flex points per week.

So essentially, I'm on the same plan going forward, however, should I choose to splurge a little on a meal out, I now have that freedom.

I'm still going to plan 20 points per day, and then if there's a day I eat 22 or don't exercise, or if I'd like to splurge on a meal out, I'll allow it. I'm going to keep walking & running, and working out my arms, and I just know I'll look fabulous on my wedding day.

I can keep this up for 2 months, I know I can :) The hardest part of these two weeks was just the eating out part. And since Brad and I are crazy broke now because of his truck, well, there won't be too much eating out anymore!

I certainly will enjoy whatever tasty foods are at my bridal shower without feeling guilty. I'll have my birthday cake. I'll drink up at my bachelorette party. And just keep working extra hard. :)

2009-02-25T13:32:00.001-05:00

Ok. I've decided.

I am not working out tonight. I am too dead tired. I find myself sitting here at my desk, wishing that I was in bed right now. I have exercised (pretty hard too) for the past 9 days. I think I can take a day off.

Sooooo Sore...

2009-02-25T09:24:00.002-05:00

God I am sore today. Like, majorly sore. I actually stiffened up within a half hour of my workout last night, and today, ugh, my ankles, inner thighs, back of my calves, even my hip bones, just ache. And I am exhausted.

Had far too much salt and soda last night at Chili's, so today, I weighed in at 151.5 today. I am still pleased, its only up 1/2 pound, (and my scale rounds), and with all that salt, I am not surprised. It means I really have lost the weight, and that makes me happy.

Think I'll just be walking tonight :) Or running in very small bursts.

Phew!

2009-02-24T20:32:00.006-05:00

I tried to upload a pic of my dinner but blogger appears to be having some trouble, it will not let me upload. Says done, but doesn't add the picture. Even tried a couple of files, it just won't work. Anyway, it was Chili's tilapia again. When I get blogger working, I'll post a pic. Also had the chips & salsa. This time I had probably 1/2 basket, I was hungry and the food took forever, but I only ate 1/2 my fish, so the rest is lunch tomorrow.

Finished my workout about a half hour ago, and already, I'm terrifically sore. I mean SORE. I did awesome tonight.

First, I did a full arm workout.

Then, I did the treadmill. I walked at 3.7 mph for 1/4 mile. I ran 1/2 mile at 4.1 mph, then ran another 1/2 mile from 4.2-4.4 mph speeds. I almost puked after that mile, but instead, I walked another 1/4 mile at 3.7, then ran .1 miles at 4.1, walked .1 at 3.7, ran .1 at 4.2, and then walked .2 miles at 3.0 mph to round out 2 miles.

Todays stats:

Points eaten: 24.5
Activity: (3.75)
Net: 20.75

Calories: 1088
Calories burned: 490

Tomorrow I'm going out for dinner. Skipping the alcohol, but I've worked it out so prior to dinner, I'll have only 10.5 points eaten, and 660 calories. I am sure I can't run tomorrow but I'll at least walk. So that gives me about 10-12 points for dinner! :)

Oh, and I've now worked out every day for the past 9 days! Yay!

Holy Shit, Batman!

2009-02-24T15:31:00.002-05:00

Seriously. I just realized why I wasn't losing weight before. I was dramatically underestimating how many calories eating out was. I just spent some time pondering the Chili's menu, because we may be going there tonight. (I hope not!). Tilapia and Chips/Salsa are essentially the only things I can eat there.

My favorite dish, the honey chipotle crispers, as served (fries and corn) is 1990 calories, and 48 weight watcher points.

The healthiest salad they have is a side salad, no dressing, and thats 5 points still. A buffalo chicken salad is 27 points.

Seriously. a 2000 calorie meal SHOULDN'T BE LEGAL TO SERVE!

Will I eat them again someday? Sure. After the wedding. But not that often, and you can be sure I'm working my ass off to eat well/exercise around when I visit Chili's from now on. OMG. I'm floored.

I can't even imagine how many calories my beloved Pad-See-Ew is.

2009-02-24T12:44:00.002-05:00

Good day for feelin' great. I plan to run another mile tonight. Or more, if I can do it.

But not a good day for money :( Brad's truck is going to take a week and $2500 to fix. They have to take apart the whole transmission. YUCK.

Good news - its picture post time: Here's my lunch today. Its a homemade turkey salad sandwich (I roasted turkey this weekend because it was cheaper than the whole chickens for more pounds), green beans, grape tomatoes, and an apple. Oh, and that's my water bottle in the corner. Sorry the pic is kinda crappy, its quicker to use my camera phone than my actual camera (nor do I have my camera with me at work).

HUUUUUGE accomplishment!

2009-02-23T19:14:00.005-05:00

I just did something that makes me more proud of myself than the weight loss this week. I just ran 1.05 miles. (at speed of 4 mph). I've never run even close to a half mile before, I am not even sure I've completed a 1/4 mile, even. And I felt like I could keep going, but I'd hit 2 miles tonight and 408 calories, so I figured it was ok to stop.

I can't believe it, seriously. It felt amazing. I was able to keep my breathing in check, and I just went forward with "ok, I just want to get a 1/4 mile." Then I wanted to get to a half mile. Then I felt good so, why not try for 3/4 of a mile. Then I said, hell, I'm going all the way, baby! And I did it!

So now that I know I CAN do it, I'm going to try to make sure I get a mile jogging in at least 3 times a week, more if I can. And if I can keep going, well, then I'll try for 2 miles!

God I feel so proud of my body today. So proud. (I really really hope I don't sound all I am awesome here. I know I'm not awesome. And I certainly hope I don't sound braggy. I'm just really motivated and I like posting here, it keeps me motivated).

Points eaten: 21
Activity (3.5)
Net 17.5

I may add 1-2 more points since I'm so low with a snack tonight.

Calories eaten: 1180
Calories burned: 408

151.0!!!

2009-02-23T08:54:00.001-05:00

I lost another half pound! So five pounds exactly in one week doing the diet. Yay :)

This morning, for the first time, I finally FEEL thinner. My pants are a bit looser today, and I just feel so good :)

I'm glad to have broken that plateau I was in for a long time. I definitely was exercising and not eating overly bad, but I was maintaining, rather than losing at all. Now I'm the lowest I've been since I was on the Atkins diet about 5 years ago.

In other news, Brad called me at 7:15 this morning - his truck broke. The gear shift box or something. He was at a gas station and not on the highway, thank goodness. He got towed to the Mobil in Chelmsford (of COURSE we don't have Triple A so the tow cost $120 when we really don't have the extra money right now), and so now he has my car for the day, at least, until we figure out how long it will take to fix.

What a Monday!

A word of thanks...

2009-02-22T19:40:00.003-05:00

I wanted to take a moment to thank Shannon. I would never have lost weight had it not been for her motivating me. She's taught me so much about what is healthy, how best to exercise. She's been a gym buddy, a salad buddy (even when McDonald's sounded so much tastier). So I'd like to thank her for always leaving me comments of encouragement, always praising me for losing, always just keeping me on track. She's the best weight loss buddy, best friend, and best Maid of Honor a girl could ask for!

2009-02-22T19:32:00.004-05:00

A note: I changed my ticker to show my 2007 starting weight. I'm proud of my total loss, and I decided to share it :)

Points eaten: 21.5
Activity points: (1.5)
Net points 20

Calories: 1026
Calories bured: 230

I ended up not having a true breakfast, because I got up late and spent some time chatting with Brad. So today, I had a mini bagel (smart balance butter), a scrambled egg, and 2 slices of Oscar Meyer low sodium bacon, and a banana with skim milk for breakfast. Snacks today were yogurt and a serving of FF pringles. Then dinner was homemade turkey soup (I finally boiled the giblets last night for broth, and it came out amazing) and a slice of WW bread. After doing a 1.5 mile fast walk, burning off about 1.5 activity points, I'm at 17 net points. So tonight I'll have my strawberries, and 3 pieces of Hershey's Bliss chocolate :) What a nice reward for a great week, and still within my points for the day!

I am so motivated right now. I am so pleased with my weight loss this week. I was perfect, all week. I couldn't have eaten any more perfect, and I exercised all 7 days! I'm just so proud of myself, and i haven't felt this way in a long, long time.

I realized I'm down THIRTY pounds since I started losing weight in 2007. It took me almost 2 years to get here, but it really is worth the journey. I just know I'll make that wedding weight goal, and hopefully very soon!

Now, the goal is not to weigh in for 3 days! :) Lets see if I can do it :)

151.5!!!!

2009-02-22T10:43:00.002-05:00

Weighed in today! 151.5! Wooo hooo!

That's down exactly 4.5 pounds since last Sunday :)

2009-02-21T19:41:00.002-05:00

Total points eaten: 23
Activity points (2)
Net points: 21

Calories: 1165

Did 2 miles on the treadmill. The steroids that the doctor has prescribed me for my sinus infection are making me extremely lethargic today. I forced myself to get on the treadmill, which was sad, because I was soooo looking forward to a long walk today. So I did the 2 miles, ate well, and am now curling up in bed with Confessions of a Shopaholic. Hoping to finish it before the movie with Shannon tomorrow.

And hoping tomorrow brings me new energy, so I can keep on treadmillin.'

My original workouts were planned on elliptical and using the Shred, but since I've got the new treadmill I'm changing that so I can walk/jog instead, at least for a little while, until the new-ness wears off! I set up my basement today to be a little more functional as a gym and a craft area. The table gets folded half way, until Shannon and Mommy come over to bead, then we can fold up the TM and unfold the other half of the table.

Treadmill!

2009-02-20T21:02:00.004-05:00

Woo! I love my new treadmill! This was a dream of mine for years. I always wanted one. And now I have one! Sweet little Brad helped me put it together (which was so necessary, since you have to lift it and its very heavy). It took us about...an hour to put together. I did 45 minutes/2.25 miles/335 calories tonight!

Tomorrow, I am planning to re-organize the basement slightly so that the equipment fits a little better in there without constantly having to fold up the table. But I'm so pumped.

It is a Weslo Cadence G40 Treadmill, from Walmart. It was $277 - tax free since I bought it at the NH store. It came perfectly packaged, no damage what-so-ever. And its actually very sturdy. The motor is a little louder than the gym ones but not so loud I can't hear my TV over it. There are lots of speeds (this thing can go faster than I could ever run). It has a little safety clip (won't run without it hooked on the machine - by magnet). It's not that long of a cord though so I don't wear it, I just leave it hooked on there. It has pockets at the top for your water, ipod, whatever. And a shelf for a book :) Tells you distance, calories burned, heart rate, speed. I just love it!

Here are some pictures of it!

A big thank you to Bryan Fisher, who pointed out to me via his blog post that Walmart has affordable exercise equipment! :)

Day 5, complete with a kitty!

2009-02-20T13:36:00.003-05:00

Today's not done but everything's all planned and I prob won't post again so:

Weighed in at 153.0 again today :) Yay!

Points today: 23

Less Activity: (3) - either doing elliptical and arms or treadmill & arms, if i get it set up in time

Net points: 20

Calories per sparkpeople: 1018

Calories burned: 200-400, depending on what I do!

I got my treadmill last night: Here's a picture of the huge box in my livingroom. Its a heavy sucker!

And for good measure, here's a pic of Eddy as I was leaving this morning. He was all about getting some lovin' before I left!

2009-02-19T20:35:00.002-05:00

Points eaten: 22.5
Activity points: (1.5)
Net points: 21

Calories eaten: 1041
Calories burned: around 175 - 1.7 mile walk with mom.

I did not get to the shred tonight. I did get my treadmill though!

2009-02-19T13:33:00.002-05:00

Walked at lunch, felt great. I also called my doctor about the fact that my sinus infection isn't getting any better - and they called in a stronger antibiotic for me. Some anabolic steroid called Z-Pac (azythromicin). That should hopefully clear it up. As long as it doesn't make me gain weight!

2009-02-19T11:20:00.002-05:00

Woohoo! Walking with my mom at lunch again today. Yay for extra exercise! :)

Getting my treadmill tonight!!!!!!! (incase, you know, I hadn't told you all 15 times already).

153.0 Bitches!

2009-02-19T09:01:00.000-05:00

I lost another pound! 153.0 baby! (I couldn't stay away from the scale. But I went into the weigh in this morning believing I'd gone up since I ate alot of salt yesterday). So the 153 was a huge, pleasant, awesome surprise!

Day 3

2009-02-18T20:16:00.002-05:00

Points eaten: 20.5
Activity pts: (1.0)
Net pts: 19.5

Calories eaten: 1164
Calories burned - sparkpeople said about 28 for my 100 jumping jacks. That's right, 100 jumping jacks, bitches! And I know I could do more! Also did 80 various crunches, and 30 pushups.

I know why the Tilapia is only 199 calories at Chilis. Its teeny. Comes with pico de gallo on top. And some broccoli. But that and the 1/4 basket of chips filled me up good! :)

Great day, I'd say!

2009-02-18T17:24:00.001-05:00

I adjusted my Friday foods to work in the mexican dip at work. I removed the yogurt (2 points) and the pringles (1 point) and added the Mexican (4 points). I also swapped the smart ones for the chicken salad sandwich. Same points. Total for the day now is 20 points. :)

2009-02-18T09:36:00.003-05:00

Still 154 this morning! i know i said I wasn't going to get on the scale til Friday but I wanted to see if the drop was a fluke, and its not! Yay! Now, I'm going to try to go a few days without weighing. The scale actually hovered on 153.5 for a second too, so I'm hoping that means I'm actually just under 154. That would be nice.

Anyway, the results are making me crazy motivated.

Today's foods (I adjusted a little)
milk, banana, oatmeal = 5.5 pts
lean cuisine, apple, green beans = 6 pts
pringles, strawberries, carrots = 2 pts
chili's tilapia, 1/4 basket of chips & salsa = 7 pts

Total points = 20.5, 1164 calories per Sparkpeople

The plan was for an ab workout, approximately .5 activity points, but depending on what time I get home I may try for elliptical again. I'm loving the cardio.

Can't wait to get that treadmill tomorrow!

Day 2 stats

2009-02-17T21:14:00.002-05:00

Points eaten: 22.5
Activity pts: (3.5)
Net pts: 19

Calories eaten: 1164
Calories burned: 175 plus 320 = 495

We walked today, 37 minutes, we burned 175 calories per my HRM. I checked the google maps to figure it out and its approximately 1.7 miles.

I did the 18 minutes elliptical. About 25 jumping jacks to warm up, and an arm workout. 2 sets of 10 reps of chest flys, 2 sets of 12 reps chest presses, 2 sets of 10 bicep curls, and 2 sets of 10 of some move I don't know the name of. You stand and kind of squat, and push the dumbells straight out, and pull them back. Its from the Shred DVD.

Wasn't as hungry today, thank goodness.

And the best news of all, Brad said I could get the treadmill from Walmart! Its $277. Its the cheapest non-manual treadmill there is. I'm sure it won't be fabulous, but it just needs to work for me. No fancy stuff needed. I just want to walk, for hours! :) I'm going up to Amherst NH Walmart (only one close by in NH that has it in stock) to pick it up on Thursday night after work. Yay!!!

2009-02-17T13:00:00.001-05:00

Mom and I walked at lunch. We burned about 175 calories!

154!

2009-02-17T09:34:00.002-05:00

First, I actually ate 1095 cals yesterday - I forgot my apple.

Second, I updated my ticker (knowing full well this could be a fluke), but I lost 2 pounds yesterday! I'm at 154 today. I haven't seen that on my scale in probably a year :)

Now, the plan is not to weigh in until Friday! Its soooo hard :)

I forget which smart ones I'm eating tonight (something that's 5 points), but those are usually around 300 calories. Using that estimate, after plugging in all my other foods into Sparkpeople, looks like todays cals will be closer to just under 1200. Plus I plan to do the elliptical again and an arm workout.

Day 1 Stats

2009-02-16T19:58:00.002-05:00

Points Eaten: 22
Activity Pts: (2)
Net: 20

Burned 313 calories doing 25 jumping jacks plus 18 minute elliptical routine.

Calories eaten per Sparkpeople: 1014 (wow, that is low, but totally accurate).

Found myself incredibly hungry today around mid-afternoon, but that's because I stupidly only brought celery for my afternoon snack. For tomorrow I've added 10 baby carrots (o points) to the afternoon foods, and a cup of green beans (0 points) to dinner.

Mom wants to walk tomorrow (yay!) so hopefully I'll get some extra exercise in. I'm going to bring my HRM with me (not that the walk with mom will get it up too far) but I can at least tell how many cals burned while walking.

2009-02-16T11:28:00.003-05:00

Today is day 1 of my two week plan (see previous entry for full plan details). Also Day 1 of the whole "doing weight watchers until the wedding" plan. I'm excited to get back to exercising tonight. I'm still sick, and very tired, which I am attributing to the antibiotics. I am having some severe sciatic nerve pain today, only when I sit in certain positions, but it is killer. Luckily its not affecting the ability to walk, so I think I'll be fine with the elliptical tonight. I am aiming for the 18 minutes, but having not exercised in over a week, I'm a little concerned I won't be able to do it.

Here's hoping my plan will work. I am determined to be strict with it. I can figure out how to substitute points if I go out (the website I use has like, hundreds of restaurants listed), and I actually only have 1 meal planned out in the next 2 weeks so hopefully it will be easy. All I can do is try.

The 2 week plan

2009-02-13T23:00:00.004-05:00

This is my base plan. I can substitute for the same point levels if necessary, but I have to stay within my point range. Click on it to view it full size (meaning, readable!).

New (Old) Plan

2009-02-13T21:07:00.003-05:00

I'm going back a couple of years, and trying weight watchers again through the wedding. The new plan is to try the jump start plan for 1-2 weeks, then the flex points plan until the wedding.

The jump start plan calls for 20 points per day, no flex points. If you exercise, you should eat whatever you earn in activity points so you can even it out. (Or they say you'll gain weight because you're not eating enough).

The flex points plan calls for me to eat 22 points (20 if I reach below 150 pounds) plus 35 flex points per week (that I can use or not use as I like).

Also, WW encourages 2 servings of dairy and 5 servings of fruits and veggies per day.

I have already determined that my usual Panera Bagel with reduced fat cream cheese is 10 points total. So I am going to make a huge sacrifice, and cut that bagel in half til the wedding! I have already cut the bagels I eat at home down to the mini size, and I'm not missing the full size bagels at all. So I think I can do this!

I'm working out a food plan/exercise plan to begin on Monday. (allowing me to recover fully from this awful awful cold). I'll post each day with my foods & point values for the next day, at least as often as I remember!

The flex points plan is pretty easy, I followed that before. Its these 2 weeks on the 20 points with no flex points that's going to be tough for me!

2009-02-11T16:35:00.001-05:00

one more fashion related post - what is the new trend with birdcage veils? i hate them. but EVERYONE seems to be using them lately. GROSS.

2009-02-11T13:59:00.003-05:00

i just read a blurb in Cosmo that bike shorts are in this season. Pair them with a cardigan and heels. WTF?

That is NOT a hot look, people. If I see someone using bike shorts as their regular daily wardrobe, I think I'm going to have to punch them.

2009-02-11T13:15:00.002-05:00

Went to the doctor today. I still am running a fever, 3 days later. And my symptoms haven't gotten any better. In fact, I got worse. Starting yesterday morning, my sinuses have felt like they were BURNING. The pain was so bad. I tried ibuprofen, cold meds, a hot shower, nothing helped them. Turns out, I've got a sinus infection. At the doctors, my fever was up to 100.7. They prescribed me amoxicillan for 10 days. Also some saline nasal spray. My cold symptoms are still there too. Yay! I've got a sore throat, coughing, headache, its ridiculous. I have been out of work for three days. Luckily Karen at work told me that it doesn't seem like my boss is mad at me for being out, but concerned, so that's a bit of a relief. I do not like being out for so many days during review season.

Needless to say, Other than my walk this weekend, I haven't worked out in almost a week. Sucks, but when I can barely breathe I certainly can't do cardio. As soon as I'm better I'm back on it, hardcore.

Back to doing nothing. The sinus pain kind of interrupts my ability to do anything involving sight for long periods of time.

2009-02-10T08:45:00.003-05:00

Still sick today. I am miserable. Still running a fever, didn't sleep much at all last night. Today I have a major headache, I'm tired, my sinuses/face are on fire. I have a sore throat (not a strep type sore throat, just a very, very dry sore throat) and I'm coughing and sneezing and have a runny nose. It's just awful.

I'm trying to actually work today though. I am sooo behind at work anyway. This is my 4th sick day in the past 3 weeks. I did work one full day and I'm hoping to work all day today, so that narrows it to 2 but I've still been out of work those days.

I did lose weight though. Amazing how you can lie in bed all day, eat (not unhealthy food, at least) and lose weight. But I'm down to 155 today. Hopefully I can not gain that pound back :)

2009-02-09T11:01:00.002-05:00

Ugh. I think I have the flu. I've got what appears to be a pretty bad cold...but its accompanied by a fever. Throat isn't too bad so I don't think its strep throat. At this point, though, who knows. I'm so out of it.