Monday, September 17, 2012

I'm Back!

Alright, I know I have been gone for awhile. I found that blogging every single day is just not for me. This actually makes me a little sad, considering that for the longest time during my teenage years I really wanted to be a writer. I even had one of my college professors tell me that she thought I really had the ability to pursue writing. But I honestly don't lead a very interesting life so finding something to talk about every single day was not easy. Unless of course you want to read my bitching and ranting of my work life. 

However, I am going to try to get back into the swing of things with blogging and my weight loss journey. So here it is, my Monday weigh-in blog...

I have lost a total of 8 pounds! I am really excited about this because I am almost to 10 lbs and I have NEVER been able to stick to a diet plan long enough to reach this milestone even though it seems like a small one. I am determined to be down 10 lbs by next Monday! 

I had started an exercise routine a couple of weeks ago but last week I came down with a vicious cold so my exercising fell to the side. But I am feeling good and coming back strong this week. I am going to make that treadmill my bitch! 

On another note, I am starting an American Sign Language class on Wednesday! I am so incredibly excited! And to keep the good news coming, my parents will be closing on their new house later this week which means I am moving soon! 

Well I am off for now, worked all day so I am relaxing while catching up on Melissa and Joey (yay for finally showing the latest season on Netflix)! 

Current Weight: 189
Starting Weight: 197
Daily Points: 27

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Too Many Choices

Anyone else have the problem of opening their refrigerator and just having way too many options to choose from? That is what I am dealing with and because of all the choices nothing seems all that appetizing. My mind and taste buds cannot agree on anything at the moment. 

The one thing they can agree on at the moment is the my latest dessert decision. Instead of going with my usual WW English Toffee Ice Cream bars, I decided on the WW Latte Ice Cream bars. They are 2 pp as opposed to 3 pp from the first dessert selection. I really like them! My all time favorite Ben & Jerry's ice cream is the Coffee Heath Bar Crunch. I love coffee ice cream and the latte bars are a fantastic alternative! 

When I take a look at my points for the day I always mentally deduct 2 pp so that I can enjoy a cool treat at night before bed. 

Catching up on PLL and then heading to bed. Another long day of work tomorrow!

Happy, healthy eating!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Weigh In!

So today was the second Monday for my weigh ins. Unfortunately I did not lose any pounds. Thankfully I didn't gain any either! I've decided to see this positively considering I ate fried chicken strips and 2 heaping plates of spaghetti last weekend. But I am using this lack of weight loss to keep myself motivated! I have definitely upped my water intake, which was actually my challenge for last week but I didn't do so well. But after doing some research I have decided that Crystal Lite can count as my water intake. Usually I have about 24 oz of water in a day. Sometimes less. Today alone I have gotten to 40 oz of water. Thanks to Crystal Lite! Now I am going to relax a little before an early bed time because I need to be up before the sun!

Happy, healthy eating!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

FOOD FOOD FOOD!!

Ok, if you are ANYTHING like me then you loooove cheeseburgers. Seriously if there was any food I could eat and there would be absolutely no negative repercussions in doing so it would be cheeseburgers. And pizza. I am also a person who loves instant gratification. That's why I never really got into the habit of cooking. I really don't care for all the prep work that goes into making a meal. A drive through was the easiest way. But I always feel bad afterwards. I don't ever feel satisfied eating a greasy, unhealthy meal no matter how much I enjoy the taste. I would lay in bed at night and start panicking that I was going to have a heartattack. So why did I keep doing it? Habit? Punishment? Absolute hatred for my body and never believing I could ever change it? All of the above.

So I have been trying to figure out the best ways to enjoy the food I love and still be healthy and within my Weight Watchers points. Way easier said then done. However, I think I have discovered the best way to stick to healthier eating! At least for me that is. The secret is this: A well stocked kitchen keeps you from giving in to temptation! Ok, I know it doesn't roll off the tongue very smoothly but you get it, right? Right! So today my mother and I went grocery shopping to Costco and the local supermarket. Don't hate on me for being 25 and having my mother buy groceries for me. We all eat the food, I just make sure what she is buying is something I can eat and not over do it.

And I have found the best alternative to fast food cheeseburgers. Costco has awesome options in the frozen food section. They have all kinds of frozen burgers with bun and all, full size and slider size. They also have frozen hamburger patties. But all of these choices have high pints and it's just not worth it to me. Until I found the Kangaroo brand cheeseburgers! They are little individual wrapped half cheesburgers in pitas. They are soooooo good! I had one for lunch with a little bit of ketchup and a side of low fat cottage cheese and a pickle. I was happy and satisfied and I DO NOT FEEL GUILTY! Of course we got a ton of other things like more veggies and fruits so I can have zero points snacks and not feel hungry and have the urge to go overboard with my meals, which is always possible even with the foods you buy at the store.

I know I mentioned in a previous blog about not feeling guilty for giving in to temptations occasionally. And you shouldn't. Sometimes you just need a little something bad. Just keep it to the barest minimum and don't make an ugly habit out of it again. I'm hoping that I will reach the point that I will feel bad even thinking about eating out when I have a very well stocked kitchen full of better choices. But I promise to keep it honest when I do slip a bit and hope that all of you will help keep me going.

Happy, healthy eating!

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Family

I love my family. I wouldn't feel like a complete person without them. But sometimes living with them can be quite tricky.

My mother has a wicked sweet tooth. Her favorite late night snack is a bowl of chocolate ice cream and pound cake. But she also loves cheesecake (my personal favorite dessert), key lime pie, apple pie, cheese danishes etc. There is always something in the house. And it sucks! It's not like I can't eat it, I just know that it's not a healthy way to use up points. Especially when I am trying to get into a good rhythm with my eating habits.

Thankfully I am discovering all kinds of tasty things to satisfy my own sweet tooth. As I mentioned before my favorite is the WW English Toffee Crunch bar! I have yet to try other ice cream delights from weight watchers but I will be. I'll keep you all updates on what makes a delicious and still point savvy treat!

Goodnight!

Friday, August 17, 2012

Wagon

So that's what the back of the wagon looks like...

Just having one of those days. Ate chicken strips from KFC and then enjoyed a delicious bowl of spaghetti. And I have tracked my points at all today. It happens. Life happens. Shit happens. Work happens. In my case work and shit happening are synonymous. I truly dislike my job. And I know that instead complaining constantly I should just get a new job. However, I know how easy it is to transfer stores with the company I work for and that's exactly what I intend to do when the time comes and the money is saved for me to leave. So I am really just trying to suck it up and get through. I work with some fairly decent people and there are some that I look forward to seeing because I know they will make my shifts bearable. I just need to keep thinking positively. That used to come naturally to me. My smiles used to be genuine, my laughs legit. Now I can tell that happiness does not reflect from my eyes and my laugh is just a little forced. Maybe positive thinking should be one of my challenges.

On an actual positive note, a good friend of mine and I were discussing being weight loss buddies! He is going to look into some gyms for us to join. Thinking we can go when we get out of work at night. Or maybe before work because working 9 hours and then going to the gym for at least an hour at eleven at night does not sound great, considering the new house we are moving into is a half hour from town. He and I will discuss it further later.

As for tomorrow, it will be better. I will get back on track with tracking. Pretty soon here I will definitely need to get a exercise routine in if I want to make any real differences in my weight.

Goodnight!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Only Me

Everyday I learn some kind of lesson. And everyday it becomes more and more obvious that the only person I can count on is myself. But sometimes that's a hard realization. It's true though. Only I can lose the weight, only I can save money, only I can get myself out of here. I can't blame anyone around me for my failings and I won't praise anyone for my successes. If I want to give up then the only person I can hate is myself. And I am done feeling that way. I am putting myself first from now. I am not going to cry when someone tells me I can't do it. I am not going to be angry when someone tries to pull me back. I am going to fight to keep moving forward and when I get to the top, wherever and whenever that may be, I will thank no one but myself, for finally being able to show all of them that they were wrong.

"Who honors those we love for the very life we live? Who sends monsters to kill us, and at the same time sings that we will never die? Who teaches us what's real and how to laugh at lies? Who decides why we live and what we'll die to defend? Who chains us? And who holds the key that can set us free... It's you. You have all the weapons you need. Now fight!" -Sucker Punch

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Temptations

I want a cheeseburger!! Seriously it is all I can think about! Giving up fast food is difficult. I've always been an indulger. Of course, that's how I got in this position. I've read all kinds of articles and blogs with advice about giving in to some temptations as long as one is smart about it. If I want some McDonald's then I should just go with a hamburger as opposed to a cheeseburger. Life shouldn't be about holding yourself back from things that you enjoy. That's why I went with Weight Watchers. I could enjoy flavor and foods that I love without needing to feel guilty. Just so long as I keep track of what I am eating and making good decisions.

Trying to get fit and healthy should not feel like a punishment. It's about being comfortable in your skin and enjoying life and food and all they have to offer.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Challenge Accepted

Still feeling good about my weight loss success!!

I had to work all day today. And sometimes working in retail can really try my patience. The longer I work for this company, the shorter my tolerance fuse seems to get. The littlest things really push my buttons. For example: a gentleman called the store today to ask where the nearest store was to a certain town. Well I really don't know every location in every store in the US let alone this state. So I got on the website that is available to the ENTIRE country and looked it up. Now I am thinking to myself that in the time it took for this guy to call the store, listen to automated messages and finally get a real person who then had to do the research he could have done it himself 5 times over. There is a high percentage that he has a computer and Internet. It's just really irritating. People need to learn to help themselves.

So as I am going through all the daily irritations in my job I thought to myself "I should really take up meditation. Or drinking. Or drunk meditation!" All jokes aside though, it's a real consideration. So maybe that should be one of my challenges! And then I thought of all the other challenges I am currently thinking about and I have decided that this next year is going to be the "Year of Challenges!"

Some of my challenges in mind:
-Lose Weight
-Blog everyday
-Learn American Sign Language
-Learn to Meditate
-DIY arts and crafts
-Cook one meal a week
-Save $$$
And the biggest one of all...
-MOVE OUT OF THIS STATE. Take the risk, start a new life!

There will be more challenges, big and small, as the year progresses. Join me in figuring out just what my mind and body are capable of!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Weigh-In Day!

My weigh-in days are Mondays. I did not weigh-in last Monday because it had only been a few days since I had started the Weight Watchers program. So today was the day!! And I am very happy to announce that I have lost 3lbs!!! And my daily point intake is now 28.

I've decided that my challenge for this week is to consume more water. For me water HAS to be ice cold. And whenever I get a little tired of just drinking plain water I add a little lemon juice to give it a refreshing bite!

Can't wait until I weigh in next week and see the number be even less!!

Current Weight: 194
Starting Weight: 197
Daily Points: 28

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Hmmm...

I have just spent the past hour trying to figure out this whole blogger thing. It took me a little while to figure out how to find other blogs to follow. Don't judge my slowness! I find some blogs that I would like to follow but it seems like maybe they don't want followers? That doesn't seem to make much sense to me. So if anyone can give me some great pointers on getting this blog on a roll, I would greatly appreciate it! I just want to share my challenges and triumphs with others out there!

Went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. I love that the first week I am back on weight watchers I have gone out three times for dinner. Just a nasty habit I need to break. Tonight was for a going away party. A good friend of mine is moving to North Carolina for a teaching job. I am so proud of her! To be safe, I spent sometime researching nutritional information for items on the BWW menu. That way I could plan exactly what I should eat and even tracked them before I went out so that I would stick with it. However, for this next week I will try to not eat out at all.

Tomorrow is weight-in! Fingers crossed that I can show something for it.


Saturday, August 11, 2012

Hanging out

Seriously blogging on the go right now. I'm in my friend's car and we are trying to find a good place to watch the meteor shower. So far I have seen three in 2 hours. So it's a fail.

So as you might have noticed I haven't mentioned any workouts. I'm trying not to overwhelm myself by trying to eat better and workout. I want to get into a good habit of keeping track of what I eat and when I'm comfortable then I will start exercising.

Ok back to star gazing!

Friday, August 10, 2012

Team USA

I am not longer house sitting, which means I am catching up on a weeks worth of Olympics! So excited to see the Gold Medal Match for women's beach volleyball came down to 2 USA teams!!

In other news: it has been one week since I rejoined WW. Today, after a week of frozen food, I was dying for something new. When I got out of work I had dinner with my parents to celebrate finding a house. The place we went is known for their burgers and have very few other options. I decided on a blt with avocado and a side salad as opposed to fries. Instead of ranch I had honey mustard for a dressing. Now I have spent my whole life eating ranch with just about everything. If I don't order ranch when out to eat someone almost always makes a comment. But my newest obsession is honey mustard. Nothing better then chicken and honey mustard for dipping. And I believe it is less points then ranch. I still need to do my research. I was pleasantly satisfied with my meal. I hadn't felt like I ate to heavy and wanted to fall into a food coma like burgers usually make me want to do. I feel good about my decision.

Ok, going to finish watching the match and then it is time for bed. I am just beat.

Goodnight!!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

After midnight

I have a wonderfully relaxing day with minor cleaning since it is my last night house sitting. Unfortunately I was having such a good time watching movies with my sister and having an ABBA dance party that I completely forgot to blog until now.

I'm bored with the food I have. It's been cereal and frozen food since I've been here. I am looking forward to being back at home with all kinds of food in my reach. More freshness and flavor but still healthy. I really do need to learn how to cook so it's not just microwaveable food every day of my life.

Challenge accepted!

Goodnight!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Wednesday

Ok coming up with titles is hard! Especially considering this is an every day kind of blog. I could have titled it Happy Hump Day but I hate that phrase so obvious reasons.

Today did not start out well. I woke up at 6 am and was really sick. This happens occasionally and I still can't figure out what the trigger is. Maybe I am eating something I'm allergic too or maybe it's just the beginning of acid reflux. I don't know. I've only been eating healthier for less than a week so I can't imagine it has to be that my body doesn't want to properly digest not-quite-so-healthy food. Who knows. If the problem persists then I might make an appointment with my doctor.

Today I am back on track. In fact I still have 8 points left even after dessert. I don't think this is technically healthy. I can't remember exactly what was said at meetings but I think a person can have as little as 24 points a day and still be in a healthy range of food consumed. Anything less than that is not a good thing. But I say considering I was sick this morning and ate a lot yesterday I am letting this slide. Plus I'm just flat out not hungry.

Tomorrow is my day off and I am really looking forward to just relaxing with minimal cleaning thrown in. Second to last night house sitting. I cannot wait to be in my own bed with a real computer within reach. I want to search other blogs but haven't figured out how to do so on my phone.

Goodnight!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Good Day!

Today was a fantastic day! Took a nice drive a couple hours north and got to spend some time with an old friend. We had a fun girls day with lunch, wine tasting, shopping and then dinner.

As I expected I went over my points today and had to draw from my weekly points. That's just how life goes sometimes. You can't expect to do everything perfectly every single freaking day! Unless your an olympic gymnast or other equally awesome athlete. And I don't feel guilty or ashamed. I had a good day, I feel good about myself and I'm just straight up happy! But tomorrow I will be back to behaving. It's not like I consume close to 5 glasses of wine on a regular basis. In fact I usually only go wine tasting once a year. And of course, I did not drive. Safety first in my book!

Tonight when I told my dad that my diet was NOT perfect he surprised me with a story. When he was in the military he would be strict for weeks and then once in a while would allow himself to go crazy eating mint chocolate chip ice cream and cookies. What can I say? We're a foodie family!

Oh speaking of family, my parents have been looking for a new house. Something bigger and more elegant. They found just the one and today their bid was accepted!

Yes all in all a very good day!

Monday, August 6, 2012

So...

And thus the end of the fourth day. At this point I'm beginning to question my decision to blog everyday. But I'm really trying to be ambitious in my life. Maybe I'm just already bored blogging about my WW journey. Today was a pretty uneventful day though. I worked all day and now I just showered. I still have a few points left and that will be used up by a delectable WW English Toffee Crunch Ice Cream bar. And probably a coke zero which is a whole whopping zero points!

I am a caffeine girl. In the colder months it's a big mug of hot coffee and in the warner months it's a little can of cold Coke Zero. I know, I know, I shouldn't be drinking any of it. Although, I did read somewhere that coffee is good for the skin. That sounds promising and not at all negative. I believe there are other health benefits from coffee. Straight black of course which is something I will need to get used to as that is also zero points. A tbsp of white sugar is one point but I don't usually enjoy that much sugar. I usually stick to flavored creamer but that is not a good idea. Especially because by the time the colder months come back my daily points will probably be a little less. I'll just have to play it by ear for now.

Ok time for dessert and off to bed! Early day tomorrow that will include wine tasting. Still haven't figured out how to count that in my points though but I will let you know!

Goodnight!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Oops, almost forgot!

I'm just laying in bed reading and I suddenly remember that I haven't done any writing today.

I finally went grocery shopping today. Most of my food consists of Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers and Lean Cuisine. They are so convenient with the WW points put directly on the box!

Now I knew going into this that the most difficult day of the week is going to be Sundays. We have family dinner every week and I don't want my parents to be hindered by my weight loss journey. Not that they aren't supportive because they really, truly are.

Sundays are when portion control comes into play more than during the week. Tonight was a simple dinner of bratwursts and corn on the cob (and a small helping of spanish rice as opposed to chips). I can be thankful that my parents are pretty healthy eaters. They aren't really into cream sauces and fatty meats. And after the day was done I still had 3 pts and I helped myself to a WW English Toffee Ice Cream Crunch Bar! Best part of the day!!

So I kept this post relatively short. Looking forward to the week ahead!

Goodnight!

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Blogging on the go...

... Which basically means I am writing this from my iPhone.

So, day 2 of WW and blogging. All day long at work I was trying to decide what to write about. It was very slow today. I have all kinds of ideas but I decided I should focus on my weight loss journey for at least the first few days to a week.

It was a hard food day for me considering it's only day two. I was trying to get everything ready because I'm house sitting for the next week. I haven't had a chance to go grocery shopping because I was waiting for my day off. My cousin, whose house I am staying at, is doing the Daniel fast (google it if you've never heard of it). So there is practically no food in her house. If I knew how to put in a picture with my phone I would show you the refrigerator. There is apple juice, water and a stick of butter. If this were an episode of Chopped we would be in danger. Wait, where was I? Oh, hard food day.

(Side note: when starting a diet/weight loss program I suggest doing your grocery shopping right away. You are motivated to lose weight and therefore motivated to shop healthy. Then you can hopefully avoid temptations.)

On my dinner break at work I was really tempted to make a quick dash to Wendy's and suffer the point system consequences. However I had the strength to run to the grocery store and got a Lean Cuisine pizza and Thai chicken spring rolls. I ate the pizza for dinner and just had the spring rolls as a late evening snack. With everything else I have had in the day that brings me to 28 points.

Andthenigotweakandatesomepringles. Which has put me over my daily limit by 3 points.

Now would be a good time to mention the 49 weekly allowance points. For those of you who don't know much about the Weight Watchers plan, along with daily points there is a nice pool of weekly points to draw from when you go over the daily. Great for if you are having a bad day and just need to go a little, and I stress A LITTLE, crazy.

So when all is said and done, I really need to work on my self-restraint. And possibly my babbling tendencies. For now though I am going to sit on the couch and watch my very confused dog try to figure which couch SHE wants to be on.

Goodnight!

Friday, August 3, 2012

And We're Off!

Here we are, first post! Today I joined Weight Watchers. At quarter of a century old it really is time to get this weight problem under control. I have been overweight for as long as I can remember. As I have gotten older I have gotten gradually heavier. And as far as I know it really has been a gradual thing. I didn't go from being a little heavy to very heavy in a years time. Actually now that I sit and really think about it, I think I had a pretty stable weight until I was old enough to drive. And since I was old enough to drive I was old enough to return pop bottles and beer bottles for my parents and pocket the cash. Which was then used to buy delicious Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers from the dollar menu at Wendy's (the place that my friends and I frequented almost every day of my senior year of high school). And then after graduation I moved in and out of my parents house. When I wasn't living at home I pretty much relied on fast food. I have never been much of a cook. During my childhood my dad did most of the cooking. I was never interested in sitting around and watching or trying to learn what it was he did. I think I was 18 before I even managed to make an actual meal (and by actual meal I don't mean macaroni and cheese with hot dogs or ramen noodles). It was Valentine's day and my then boyfriend and I decided to make chicken fettuccine alfredo (alfredo from a jar of course). Even now, at 25, I still don't really enjoy cooking. However, one of my goals for the next year is to teach myself how to cook but more on that later.

So Weight Watchers.... I have done this program before and I did enjoy it. But I wasn't very serious about it, probably because it was my parents paying for it. I have done a couple of other programs (Nutrisystem and LA Weight Loss) but none that I liked as much as WW. With WW you can pretty much eat whatever you want as long as you stay within your allotted points for the day. When I first did WW my roommate at the time was doing it as well and she and I went shopping with our WW Scanner app on our iPhones. We were there for 2 hours just going up and down aisles scanning food we liked, finding out the points per serving and deciding how to fit it into our meals. However, just because chips seem like a small 4 points doesn't mean it's a good idea. I'd rather save those 4 points and maybe treat myself to a fantastic little dessert instead. Oh, I should mention that I am doing WW Online. I have done the meetings but to be honest it didn't work out for me. I'm just really not into that kind of interaction and I hope I don't come off as a snob or hermit. 

Now before I sign off I will uncomfortably share my current weight and my weight goal. I hope that putting this information out there I will keep myself in check. Because I want to be able to look back a year from now and see the information in black and white and hopefully watch that number go down!

Current Weight: 197
Weight Goal: 125
Daily Points: 29