End of Daze & Weigh-In

It took all week but I finally snapped out of my daze.  It wasn't a pleasant awakening....  I felt like Rip Van Winkle.  I had been out of it for a long time and didn't even know it.  Worst of all, life (and the scale) had continue to go on without me.  I found I had gained 20 pounds in the last 3 months. I have a lot of work to do.  So much work.

I had to ease into it and gave myself a lot of flexibility last week.  I went out to eat.  I snacked more than I should have.  But I also got to the gym four times. I got all my weight workouts in.  Being on the elliptical was painful.  I can't believe the difference 20 pounds and 3 months of immobility can make.  I just keep telling myself it will get better.

I spent Sunday prepping prepping prepping.  I made this UH-MAY-ZING Lentil Quinoa Salad.

I grilled a lot of chicken and boiled a lot of eggs.  I made a ton of green salads in plastic containers to keep on hand. (Cuke, Carrots, Chickpeas, Baby Spinach, 1 T Craisens, 1 T Walnuts)

I made this tasty Broccoli Cheddar Breakfast casserole.

I cut it into 6 pieces and put them each in individual plastic baggies.  That with a piece of fruit makes for a fast and delicious healthy breakfast!

I have been trying to make myself feel like some one worth taking care of. It's hard when your clothes don't fit and you feel uncomfortable.  I've been doing my hair and makeup.  Does it make me super shallow that stuff like that actually works wonders for me??

Nails: Paint nails a neutral color. Let dry.  Dip in water for 5 seconds, hold a piece of newspaper to the nail for 5 seconds.  Top with clear.


Makeup:  Ulta is having an enormous sale! Hello BrONzERs!! And mAsCAra!! And eye sHAdoW!!

I love this baked bronzer as a highlight. Perfect!







And I love this bronzer for contouring.
 

These bronzers are normally $10 and $15.  But they are on sale for $5 each. AND THEN...there is a $5 off $10 purchase. So you can get these for $2.50 each. **Be still my heart!**

I am still trying to find a GREAT mascara.  I really like Rimmel Glam Eyes.
 

I also really like Maybeline Define-a-Lash.
 
But I want to find something new.  Any ideas??? Any mascaras that make you say "wow" when you put it on?

I traded in my bribe gift from Hubs.  As much as I wanted to love the Urban Decay Naked2 Palette...I just didn't.  The colors were muddy and not pigmented.  I traded it in for the Lorac Pro Palette.  Good call!! I love love love it!

It's so hard to tell in photos...but it's natural, bright, versatile, and oh-so-pretty.  There are 8 matte shades (on top) and 8 shimmer (NOT sparkly) shades (on bottom).  Highly recommend this palette!

Here's another one.  What do you guys think??


Hair:  Just been playing around with it....here's something I came up with that I thought was kinda cute.
 

Now, for the weigh-in....drum roll not necessary....

Weight:

255.4

Week Loss:

-3.6

I will post the recipes for that Broccoli Cheddar Breakfast Casserole and the Lentil Quinoa Salad.  Stay tuned!

  

Bring on the Bacon & Weigh-In

Weight:  238.2 lb

Week Loss:  -3.8 lb

Total Loss:  -36.8 lb

Hello 230's!! How I've missed you.  The first week of The Eat Clean Diet was GREAT. I felt so good. I was eating a lot and wasn't hungry.  Everything was clean, healthy and filling.   I am super happy with my weigh-in. 

I had planned on having a Cheat Meal on Saturday afternoon.  But the thing about Cheat Meals is that they are slippery little suckers...and this cheat lunch spilled over into dinner...and then over to the next day.  Once I eat healthy I can ride that train for a long time.  But once I break the seal with one cannoli it turns into three with an ice cream cone on the side.  

I am not willing to give up my cheat meal. Sorry no.  Can't do it.  And I don't think I should. It's something I must learn to do. Because I am not going to go through my whole life never having a treat.  And I need to learn how to do it without wrecking my whole weekend and falling flat on my face.  Speaking of falling flat on my face, at least it was face first into THIS....

Holy Trans Fat, Batman!!   Yes, that is a BACON SUNDAE.  I felt like they should have ID'd me or something before selling it to me.  This thing was amazing.  Bacon and Carmel and Fudge, Oh My! Why do people do drugs when Burger King will give you one of these suckers for $2.59??  I guess even crack heads want to look good in a bikini. I certainly can't blame them. 

I am more determined than ever this week.  This is it. This is going to work.  I can feel it.  It's been a rough road but it will be worth every drop of sweat and tears.

"The steeper the mountain, the harder the climb, the better the view at the finishing line."  --Unknown.

Weigh-In 235.4 lb

Weight:  235.4 lb
Week Change:  -2 lb
Total Loss:  39.6 lb
Left to Lose:  60.4 lb

This is the third week of the Ready For Summer Challenge and The Fat Smash Diet.  I am more than thrilled with my 2 pound loss this week.  That makes a 16 pound loss in 3 weeks. Crazy!! Now all I have to do is NOT.GIVE.UP. That's the hardest part.

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” 

--Dale Carnegie

Hubs and I went for another bike ride on Saturday.  We biked for 1.5 hours and covered 10 miles. Yes, that's pretty slow, but I don't care.  I invited a bunch of people to go on the canal path for a walk/bike and then out to dinner after. I was shocked that 16 people showed up!  They all loved my bike :-) I still need to get a basket for her, but here's another photo of her...

I had a yummy salad at the restaurant on the canal.

And then we all decided to walk over about a half mile to this new frozen yogurt place.  It was amazing.  It's all self serve.  You get your bowl and pick out your flavor (or flavors).  The nutrition info is listed on each one!! And there were fat free, sugar free, and lactose free options.  Then there are two stations with every topping you can imagine Including fresh fruit which they chop every hour.

They charge by weight which I loved because I could control my portion size. You can put as little (or as much) as you want in there.  I got fat free cheesecake yogurt (120 cal per cup) and topped it with fresh mango, strawberries, raspberries and toasted wheat germ, flax seed, some graham cracker crumbles and a teeny bit of dark chocolate shavings and raw slivered almonds. So gooood!

We already have plans for another bike ride next Saturday.  And we will probably walk over and get frozen yogurt again :-) 

This week the Ready For Summer Mini Challenge was to visit all the challengers blogs.  I managed to do it! And was really impressed by so many of the posts.  I am constantly encouraged by February Fitness Project.  I love how she tracks her calories and fills us in on where she stands.  Her motivational pictures are great.  And she is so close to goal (well, compared to me) and yet she is dropping pounds.  Just goes to show that it IS possible. She also posts some great recipes.

Also Raeesa Getting Fit pushes me to keep going.  She has some great progress photos that show all this hard work is well worth it!

Seeing other people push through this crazy weight-loss thing reminds us all that we CAN do it. And we will!

These are my Ready For Summer Challenge Goals....with the necessary adjustments...

1. Weight Loss:  Lose 15 26.6 pounds and weigh 225 by June 2nd. 
2. NSV:  Fit into the pretty dresses hanging in my closet.
3. Exercise: Be active 4 hours 5 days each week.
4. Nutrition:  Stay within my PointsPlus allowance on the Fat Smash Diet Monday-Friday every day of the week.

Hard to believe that I am 10.6 pounds away from my June 2nd goal of weighing 225 pounds!  There are still 7 weeks left in the challenge so I know that I can accomplish this. I just have to keep on keepin' on!

Weigh-In: 237.4 lb

Weight:  237.4 lb

Week Loss:  -2 lb

Total Loss:  - 37.6 lb


Left to Lose: 62.4 lb


When I stood on the scale this morning I could not believe my eyes.  It was my second week of the Ready For Summer Challenge and the Fat Smash Diet.  After losing 12 pounds Week 1, I was not expecting much of a loss Week 2.  And then I got sick and spent the whole week on the couch.  I am not one of those people that loses weight when I'm sick.  It feels GOOD to eat when I have a sore throat.  Weird.  I did my best to stay on plan.

Instead of eating ice cream to make my throat feel nice, I made Banana Soft Serve.  I had read about it on 100 blogs but never tried it cuz...well...it sounded dumb.  I didn't think it would be good. And I was WRONG.  So good and the same consistency as ice cream!

You just cut up a banana and freeze it.  Put it in a food processor with some vanilla extract and cinnamon.  Run the food processor until it looks just like this!  



It really hit the spot.  Doesn't it look like ice cream??


 And I exercised when I felt up to it.  I have lost 14 pounds in the last two weeks!  I have a callus on my shoulder from all this patting myself on the back.  But I can't help it. I am so proud of me.

And also so tired. Losing weight is exhausting.  These last two weeks have been difficult because I have been working on getting a stockpile in my freezer of Fat Smash friendly foods.  After this week I should be good to go.  I have some tasty recipes coming your way.  This weekend I made  Stuffed Pepper Soup, Green Chicken Chili, and Spaghetti Squash Soup.  I froze all of it.  For dinners I am making Butternut Leek Soup and Hot and Sour Soup.  I also grilled up a bunch of chicken breast for quick meals.  I have really been digging on soup lately.  And I find that I lose a lot more when I eat soup.

I have also been throwing together stir fries.  My grocery store sells the stir fry veggies all cut up and in a big bag. So convenient and FAST.


The Ready For Summer Week 2 Mini Challenge was to spice up our workout and do something we haven't done before.  I was feeling better Saturday and went for a long bike ride.  There is a bike path on the canal and one section of it has all these shops and restaurants.  Hubs and I met another couple there and biked for 2.5 hours!!! Wow!! I love this couple.  They are a lot of fun.  The wife is about my size and it's nice to have friends who are eating healthy and trying to lose weight AND very close to the same fitness level and we are.  I couldn't believe how good I did.  I used to make Hubs stop every 15 minutes so I could rest and get a drink and BREATHE.  I didn't need to stop ONCE.  I was so nervous to go for the bike ride with other people because I was going to be embarrassed to stop and rest.  I had nothing to worry about.

I don't know if it's all due to my new physical prowess or the fact that I have a cruiser now.

And it's sooo much more comfortable.  It sits me up straight so I'm not all bent over.  And the seat is HUGE.  My butt did not hurt at all that whole time.  I do have post-traumatic butt pain though.  It hurts now!

I also think my stamina was improved by having a Camelbak Pack....ya know...one of those backpacks that is full of water with the straw that comes up next you your mouth so you can drink without having to stop your bike.  And it holds 70 ounces!! I shoved a ton of ice cubes in there too.  I felt a little silly on my blue cruiser while donning the Camelbak.  But a girl's gotta do......

After we had ridden for EVER we locked up our bikes and had lunch at a Greek restaurant on the canal.  I got a salad with grilled chicken and Skordalia dip.  Again, friends were there so no pictures of the food.  We already have plans for another bike ride Saturday. 

I just love eating healthy and being active!!! 

Weigh-In: 239.4

Weight: 239.4 lb

Week Loss:  -12 lb

Total Loss: 35.6 lb

Left to Lose: 66.4 lb

My first week of the Ready For Summer Challenge and the Fat Smash Diet was a total success! I lost 12 pounds!! I don't care if it was water and salt and air....or any other *not-actual-fat* substances. I am super happy!

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the first phase of the Fat Smash Diet.  Even though it was the Detox phase, it wasn't bad at all. I didn't feel hungry or deprived.

After breakfast of an egg with zucchini, onion, and fresh parsley...


....I had lunch with Hubby.

Sushi (yes...TECHNICALLY this is meat, but it was the closest choice available.)


A little bit of a cucumber dill salad with greek yogurt dressing.

We went out to dinner with some friends. I got a salad topped with grilled eggplant.  I didn't get a picture of the food. Kinda embarrassed to take a picture of lettuce in front of people...but here is a pic of us! 

The most shocking part of all is that I didn't miss my Free Day(s).  I usually take off Saturday (and sometimes Sunday too).  I started doing this because without those days I would never have gotten through the week. I am a food addict and a binger.  I thought not having a Free Day was going to be my undoing.

The opposite was true.  I felt empowered. I could say Goodbye to unhealthy food and not just store it up for the weekend. Instead of setting my mind on what I would eat on Saturday I pushed thoughts of unhealthy food out of my head.  The result was that I wasn't thinking about food 24/7.  And THAT really felt FREE.

I'm not saying that I'm never going to have anything unhealthy again.  The Fat Smash Diet actually starts working that in in a few weeks.  I have an issue with food.  And I need to deal with it in steps. The Free Day served its purpose. Now it's time to start eating right and training myself how to enjoy all foods.  And do so with control and not in a feeding frenzy based on emotion.

I am starting Phase 2 today.  This adds meat and cheese and basically increases the calories.  Along with this, exercise increases.  Instead of 30 minutes of exercise 5 days a week, now I will do 35 minutes.  Phase 2 lasts 3 weeks.

Week 2 is notoriously the WORST WEEK.  It's hard because the novelty of a new diet fades, the cravings kick into high gear, and worst of all, the scale barely moves. Week 2 stinks. It's usually when I give up.  I need to BRING it this week!!

I did a LOT of prep yesterday.  I was barefoot in the kitchen for hours.  I made Cherry Vanilla Steel Cut Oats.  (I just put some vanilla extract in the water when making the oats, added some Truvia and then topped with frozen unsweetened cherries.)















I have a lot of recipes coming your way!! Stay tuned.

Noticing Nosy Neighbors

Our neighbors are the reason God created fences.  They don't work and are home all the time and love being in your business and complaining about everything.  We just smile and say, "Oh, okay, no problem. Thanks for letting us know!"  And do our best to keep the peace.  A fast way to make your life miserable is to be in an all out war with the people that live next door to you.  For the most part, we just try to avoid them all together.

So when I got home yesterday and my neighbor ran up to me I cringed silently and slapped on a fake grin.  Now what?  Before I could even get to my door he had caught up with me and said, "WOW! You have lost a LOT of weight.  I mean a LOT of weight!"

Awww.  He's my new best friend. I want to love him and hold him and squeeze him.  He is the FIRST person who has said ANYthing to me about me having lost weight.   

And no, he most definitely was NOT coming on to me.  He is in a long term relationship with his boyfriend  80)

I still feel really good about things. I am determined to *keep-on-keepin'-on* this week.  I started the morning with 40 minutes on the elliptical.  Wow! I am so proud of myself.  The elliptical really kicks my but and only a few short weeks ago I could only do 10 minutes at a time.

See how many calories I burned??  434!

I also packed healthy snacks.

Like raw asparagus spears.


And a 100 calorie pack of raw almonds.


And some rockin' strawberries....ooooh....pretty.


I noticed that my snacks were very *Sesame Street* in their Color Orange Theme.


My shirt is also an orange-ish yellow-ish.  I must be craving Vitamin C or Sunshine or something!  The weather is supposed to be wonderful so I will most definitely be getting some sun.  Tomorrow I am headed to the beach for a long walk.  Will have pictures!

Weigh-In: 241.2 lb (-1.6 lb) Total: -33.8

Weight:  241.2 lb
Week Loss: -1.6 lb
Total Loss: -33.8

I am so excited about this loss! This is the first time in over a month that I have lost weight TWO weeks in a ROW!  I have been struggling and wavering so much and it has been so frustrating.  I'm really happy.  Hopefully next Monday I can report that I am out of the 240's.  But if not, that's ok, as long as I move in the right direction I will be one happy girl.

I promise that is the last time I post a picture with my feet on the scale like this... it's kinda icky!! And it's also kinda difficult to snap a photo standing on the scale.

Weigh-In: 242.8 lb (-4.4 lb)

Weight: 242.8 lb

Week Loss: -4.4 lb

Total Loss: -32.2 lb

I am so happy the scale showed how great I did last week. I enjoyed the ride. There was no stressing and worrying. I just lived and ate healthy and loved it.

The clock Sprung Ahead yesterday and I am trying to ignore the fact that even though my watch said 7am when I walked into the gym this morning that in real life it was actually 6am...well, at least my brain and body thought it was still 6am. Changing the clocks was not enough to trick my brains and body.

I got a late start so I only did this.

But it was better than nothing. And a good start!

I made up this funky recipe. I guess it's soup?

I put a flour tortilla in a bowl, put 3 oz of chopped chicken breast in it, and then covered it with tomato sauce and one low fat string cheese. I microwaved it for a minute and this is what came out. An 8 PointsPlus dinner. The tortilla got all crunchy and formed a bowl in itself. Tasty!

The Difference

I have only been really successful at weight loss one time in my life. During the Great Weight-Loss of 2007, I lost 50 lbs in about 6 months. Why was I able to do it then but not now? It's not my body....when I actually stick to my plan (any plan, really) I have great numbers. At least a 2 pound loss each week, sometimes more. That proves my body is still capable of losing weight. Then what's the problem? What's the difference?

After much thinking and remembering, these were some defining traits of the *me* in 2007.

1. I felt proud about healthy eating. I loved looking at my conveyer belt at the grocery store. It looked so pretty loaded with brightly colored fruits and veggies. The cashier would often comment on how "healthy" my food was. Other people in line would ask if I was a vegetarian. (I wasn't but I guess only vegetarians eat THAT many veggies.) Even when no one esle was around to tell me what a Healthy Hero I was, I still felt super proud in my kitchen chopping away at my cutting board, making my soups and hummus for the week. I liked the person I was.
2. I felt "pampered" by eating healthful foods. Prior to 2007 I had never really been on a diet (which is ironic because I was a chubster my whole life). I just ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. And I only thought about what I was going to eat RIGHT before I ate it. I would often find myself in my house with nothing to eat and shoving the most random (and not even very tasty) food in my face (pasta with butter, peanut butter and jelly on crackers, ramen noodles, etc). So when I had real food in front of me that I had DECIDED about ahead of time, that I actually WANTED to eat, I felt pampered....like I was being well cared for.
3. I didn't have expectations about how much I should lose each week. Every Monday when I got on the scale I was genuinely shocked that I lost any weight. I didn't have a number I was hoping for. During the week I just put my head down and got to work. I did what I had to do and trusted that it would pay off.
4. I didn't ever think of my weight except for Monday morning Weigh-In. I never worried or stressed or even thought about my weigh-in. Ever. Unless I was standing on the scale. Which wasn't even mine. I didn't even OWN a scale. I used the one at my gym. I also never felt fat. Even when I was fat. And really, even after I lost 50 lbs I was still fat (I was 200 lb...so at 5'2'', that's still chunky). I just never felt fat. I felt good.
5. I always always always prepped ahead and had healthy food on hand. My freezer was full of baggies of 1-cup servings of brown rice, my fridge was stocked with cut up veggies and home made soups. If I was hungry, I had good food to eat.
6. I enjoyed the journey. I really liked seeing the changes in my body. I liked finding and making healthy recipes. It was all so exciting. I loved going for bike rides and walks outside. I was constantly amazing myself. I felt so *sporty* and *athletic*....I never knew I was capable or even WANTED to be those things. I was patient. I didn't feel like I had to be at my goal weight NOW. I was enjoying the ride....so I wasn't constantly asking "Are we there YET??"
7. My goal wasn't to get "skinny". I decided to lose weight after a routine doctor's appointment. The doctor took my blood pressure and wanted to send me straight to the hospital because it was sooo high. Scary. The thing is, I wasn't scared. I was like "Well, what's the big deal?" and the appalled doctor was like, "The blood vessels in your heart could burst at any second and you will have a heart attack OR the blood vessels in your brain might burst and that's a stroke!" Ohhh.... this was the first time that I saw *losing weight* meaning more than looking good in a mini skirt. It meant not dying....at 27. So when I started eating healthy and exercising, my goal was to get those numbers down to 120/60....and I did.
8. I looked forward to exercise. It was *me* time. It was my time to unwind and think about my day and my goals.
9. I loved writing in my "Diet Journal" each night to track my food & exercise. I made it fun with stickers and sparkly pens. I made notes about what I did and how I felt. It gave me a sense of accomplishment to see it all there in black and white (well....pink and purple and orange....i love me some pretty pens).
10. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could do it. Never once did I think I couldn't. I gave myself a very reasonable goal and time frame. It just made sense that it would work.

This list has been so helpful. I feel more relaxed already. I am ready to *own* my weight-loss. To live it. To love it.

Week 3 Weigh-In: 243.8 (-3.8 lb)

I am really happy with my number this week. Losing 3.8 lb is really great. It's extremely depressing that I went so far off the deep end Week 2 and gained over 5 lbs. I do that all the time. It's so typical. How do I stop that? I hate this one step forward, two steps back cycle. It's so self destructive. And pointless.

The one good thing about not having given up totally is that I am making progress on the *exercise* side of things. I took it pretty easy for the first three weeks. I walked on the treadmill at a very easy pace. I didn't want to hurt myself and more importantly I wanted to give myself time to build up some muscle and flexibility. This morning I was able to pick up the pace and do intervals with raising the incline up to a 10 every five minutes. I really had a *workout*. It felt good. No pain in my hip or in my plantar fasciitis.

Look at how far I walked and how many calories I burned in 45 mins!















I am really happy with how I'm eating and my workout schedule. Weight watchers is easy to follow. I love my free day each week. And getting to the gym Mon-Fri is very doable. Almost enjoyable. It's just my brain. I get this "freak out, out of control" attack and just shove food in my face. Its so connected to my view of myself. Which changes with the weather. When I feel good and healthy, I eat good and healthy. When I was really young I always felt huge. I felt like a fat girl and so I ate like a fat girl. There didn't seem to be any point to eating healthy or taking care of my body. And I still fall into that. I feel like junk. So I eat accordingly.

I have everything I need to break that cycle. I just need to keep working at it every single day.