Day 187 - Where Does The Time Go?

It seems like so much has happened since I posted last. Honestly, time has just been flying by recently.

In the past 40 days, I went on vacation, started a couple summer classes, and have been working like a crazy person. Trying to make some money before classes start back up in the fall.

I have not been with my healthy/weight loss lifestyle 100% like I was in the beginning. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's fallen to a very sad 65-70%. But I'm still with it... and little by little, still losing. I don't think I'm going to reach my final goal when I originally wanted, but it doesn't matter. I'll make it. And if it takes me a whole year, well then that year wasn't wasted.

Soo... here's like 5 weeks worth of weigh-in's...

June 5th - 177.2 (-3.2)
June 12 - Vacation No Weigh In (I was on a train)
June 19 - 176.4 (-0.8)
June 26 - 177.0 (+0.6)
July 3    - 175.8 (-1.2)

As you can see, I have kinda just been bouncing around 176. Which is alright, I guess. It's what happens when you stop exercising (because it hasn't been below 103 degree in like 2 weeks) and only watch what you eat 4-5 days out of the week. I'm more or less maintaining, with a little loss in there too.

I'm realizing that one of the most important things to keep in mind during these long journeys to health is to start loving yourself now, so you'll love yourself when you get to the end. I'm so hypercritical of myself, I sometimes lose sight of the fact that I've lost almost 45 pounds since January (ok - 44.2 to be EXACT). And that is amazing!

I also really struggle with the way I look. I'm seeing changes and improvements, and that makes me happy. But I'm still just stuck at this terrible in-between point. Not as heavy as I was, but not as fit/trim/healthy as I'd like to be...

Clothes and getting dressed is a nightmare too. Nothing fits right anymore. It all just hangs off me. But I can't bring myself to buy anything new. I feel like that's giving up and resigning myself to where I am. Plus, I'm not made of money. haha So, I get depressed almost every time it's time to get pretty-ed up to go somewhere.

However, there's always good news too. I was at the store today and saw a friend of mine I haven't seen in probably months. He commented on my weight loss and told me I was looking great. He's one of the first people outside my family (and my bf of course) to compliment me. It felt awesome. And as lame as it is, it really kinda put the wind back in my sail. So I'm back with it. 100%. Giving it everything I've got. And as soon as this horrible heat lets up, I'll be back on the running trails. I can't wait!

I think when I hit my 50 pounds lost mark I'll post some body shots. I couldn't bare to post my before's until I had lost enough to tell a difference. It takes a brave person to post these kinds of pictures for the whole internet to see, so I'm still deciding if I'm one of those people. Soon though! Just gotta see the high160's for a week or two first, to know it's official.

That's all I've got... Till Tuesday!

Here's to hard work and determination,
-E

Allllsooo.... Sophie, you're the best and your post is definitely one of the bigger reasons I decided to start posting again! I miss reading your blogs and all your wonderful, supportive comments! I hope you're doing well and we can get back into the swing of things soon! (:

Day 147 - So Disappointed

Last night as I laid down to sleep, I think I knew deep down today wasn't going to be a good weigh day. And I hoped, and hoped when I stepped on the scale, since I knew it wasn't going to be a loss, that I'd see a maintain. But, today goes to show me exactly what happens when I let "Not worrying so much" transform into "Eat like I ate 4 months ago".

Last Week:              178.8
This Week:                  180.4

I gained 1.6 pounds! I wanna say I don't know how... but I do.

And I'm really, REALLY trying to reason with myself. An *actual* 1.6 pound gain means I ate like 5,600 calories over my maintenance calories. I don't know if that's even possible... So I am sitting here, trying to convince myself this is just a little hiccup, or maybe water weight, or maybe I did gain some but not ALL of that almost 2 pounds?

Calories, calories, calories...
Calorie Range: 1,200 - 1,350

Tues, May 22   1,415 (-142 from exercise) = 1,273 "net"
Wed, May 23   1,286
Thus, May 24   1,844 (visited my grandparents)  
Fri, May 25      1,180 
Sat, May 26      1,380
Sun, May 27     1,292
Mon, May 28    ???? (Went to a BBQ, then had Mexican, too many to even try to count)

As you can see... it's been a week since I last exercised. And I had 2 very high calorie days along with a couple that were a bit over my range. 

I need to light that fire inside me again. It's like I got to halfway and decided I could just coast the rest of the way there.

Well news flash! I can't! Time to get back with it. Starting TODAY. This week and next week: No more days were I just arbitrarily stop trying to count. No more excuses for why I can't exercise. And no more excessive late night snacking. This doesn't really show in my calorie counts for the day, but I snack entirely too much late at night, right before bed. So from now on... one small snack after dinner and before bed, and that's it. 

On a more positive note... I bought our train tickets to New Orleans a couple days ago. So our hotel is officially reserved and our tickets are purchased. I don't think I could be more excited. 14 days and counting! 

Sorry there wasn't much else in this one, to anyone who unfortunately happens across it. Hah!

Here's to hard work and determination (and actually listening to that advice),

-E

Day 140 - Today Just Feels Like A Good Day

Today is my day off. I'm going to do some much needed cleaning around the house today. Get a couple loads of laundry done. Then I'm going to make myself cute and the boy and I are going to go across town for a half-night out. I say half-night because I doubt we eat while we are out. But I think we might drop by the mall a bit and catch a movie.

Before I get all that started though, I wanted to post an update.

First... wwwweeeiigggghhh ddaaaayyy


Last Week:                  181.2
This Week:                  178.8

A loss of... 2.4 pounds! And it's TOM. How? HOW? I dunno, but I'm okay with it.

Calories, calories, calories...
Calorie Range: 1,200 - 1,350

Tues, May 15      1,373 (-457 from exercise) = 916 "net"
Wed, May 16       1,350
Thus, May 17     1,290 (-201 from exercise) = 1,088 "net"  
Fri, May 18        1,239 
Sat, May 19       1,265 (-181 from exercise) = 1,084 "net"
Sun, May 20      1,292
Mon, May 21      1,209 (-181 from exercise) = 1,028 "net"


So I'm really on the fence when it comes to "net" calories verses calories consumed.
Like... when it tells me I should be eating between 1,200 - 1,297 (which is my new calorie range apparently), does it mean that's how many I should EAT or how many I should be NETTING??


Obviously, by eating within that range... I lose weight, as seen from this week's calories and loss. But I don't want to be eating too little, and stall my body either. Or make my metabolism sluggish. I take a lot of precautions to make sure I'm eating every 2-3 hours. 


I didn't take a single "day off" last week. One day was a little bit higher than the others... but all were a totally acceptable number. I'm also really proud of myself for going running 4 times this week. I feel like such a badass when I look at that and see how dedicated I look. I have to keep it up.


So today I'm also taking new measurement and progress pictures. I take my measurements once a month and I have taken pictures at the beginning, on April 3, and now today. I want to make sure I have a lot of "in-between" pictures. I think those are way more motivational than the before and after. I like to see how someone got there, not just the final product. When I feel a little more comfortable showing everyone what I look like in my undies, I might post my progress pictures on here. Perhaps... Maybe... haha I'm just sort of modest and the thought of underwear pictures being on the inter webs makes me a little queasy. 


This is it for today... I wish I knew what sort of things to write about that would be interesting and useful to other people on their weightless journey, but I'm not sure if many people are actually reading this anyway...


Here's to hard work and determination,
-E

Day 135 - Accomplishments and Setbacks

So I think I mentioned I've taken up running. We are legit running. Not this sissy jogging on a treadmill in air-conditioning watching TV stuff. (Not to discredit the people out there that do exactly that... I'm just saying it's vastly different) We run on trails that wind through really pretty wooded areas. The terrain ranges from paved tracks to fairly treacherous (with roots and fallen limbs and holes and that sort of thing). It's very hilly where we run. There are also other factors to consider when arguing that running outside is more challenging than on the treadmill... Like wind resistance and the fact that you are actually propelling yourself with each stride, rather than the "ground" moving below you. I'm not ragging on anyone that runs on a treadmill... though I think it may come across that way.

We have started and stopped and restarted the Couch to 5k program a few times now. I didn't want to officially start until I was able to honestly dedicated 3 days a week to it. Which is what is recommended, I guess.

Tuesday we completed Week 1 Day 1. I think this is like the third time we have done W1D1. And overall, it wasn't bad. I'm also a little bit surprised by how out of shape I apparently am. I even cheated on a couple of the running bits. Probably chopped off, in total, about 10-15 seconds of running. Whoops.

We rested yesterday and then completed W1D2 today. Today I only cheated on the very last 60 seconds of running. It wasn't because I decided it was time to stop. Or I just gave up when it got hard. No, it was my body telling me to stop... in the form of a full-blown asthma attack. In the middle of the woods. And my inhaler offered NO support. The scariest feel in the world, that I've experienced anyway, is the feeling in the middle of an asthma attack when you just can't seem to find your breath. It doesn't matter what you do, or how much you try to calm yourself down, the breaths just aren't there. It's like running, then trying to breath through a straw. And what's even more terrifying, is you don't know when it's going to be over. And of course, your thoughts inevitably wander to, IF it will ever be over.

In case you were wondering, it did end. My inhaler, combined with a few serious relaxation techniques, ended the attack after only 10 minutes or so. But the feel of fear is almost crippling. I hate it.

But I'm not giving up. Saturday we will be back out on those trails. Completing W1D3. Because I'm not a quitter. And I'm not going to let something like asthma keep me from my goals. I'll get there with or without these stupid lungs. Haha (Okay, probably not really... but you know)

Besides all that, nothing particularly interesting has happened. Staying within my calorie range isn't all that hard anymore, most days. It took almost 5 months, but things like fast food and junk food don't even sound pleasant anymore. I still haven't kicked my sweets habit. But I know the foods that I can eat without consuming a million calories, and I know the foods that just aren't worth the temporary satisfaction. It also helps that 2 or 3 days out of the month, I choose to eat more or less what I want, and I don't count at all. That's always something to look forward to and enjoy occasionally.

If the me from 5 months ago read that previous paragraph, she would have laughed in present day me's face... and probably called her something rude. haha It feels good to know what kind of progress I've made.

I'm going to dedicate a little bit of time to articles discussing runners with asthma. There have to be others out there. Then, I'm going to make a very delicious spaghetti dinner with ground turkey meat, made from scratch sauce, and some high-fiber whole wheat pasta.

Here's to hard work and determination,
-E

Day 133 - Quickie

My life has become so much more relaxed. It happened all of a sudden. I went from seemingly moving and doing things and having to be somewhere nonstop... To pretty well total peace. I still have to goto work. But work isn't that bad when you don't have to worry about get to class every single day and fitting all the other important things (like grocery shopping or doing laundry) in around an already cram-packed work and school schedule. 


So today is wwwweeeiigggghhh ddaaaayyy. (: And I have some pretty alright news.

Last Week:                  183.0
This Week:                  181.2

A loss of... 1.8 pounds! Not quite 2... but I'll take it!

Calories, calories, calories...
Calorie Range: 1,200 - 1,350

Tues, May 8      1,292
Wed, May 9       1,428
Thus, May 10     1,238  
Fri, May 11        ?,??? 
Sat, May 12       1,225
Sun, May 13      1,278
Mon, May 14      1,283


Everyday was on track except for the day I visited home (Friday) and actually Wednesday was a little high, but I don't really count that as a real "off" day. 


Of those days listed, I exercised Tuesday (brisk 30 minute walk ~175 calories) and Wednesday (30 minutes on elliptical on moderate intensity ~ 300 calories).


I'm still really wanting to get 3 days of exercise in a week. But I feel like 2 days is definitely progress.


Today I'm making chicken quesadillas for lunch and turkey meatloaf for dinner. Yummmy (:


That's it for me today! Not much going on here, so I don't have much to say. Hope anyone who reads this is having a fantastic week. 


Here's to hard work and determination,
-E

Day 127 - Two Days In A Row. Hot Damn. AND pictures!

I'm pretty sure I've caught the death. I am all congested. I haven't been able to breath for days. My throat is sore when I wake up from my sinuses draining at night. And now I'm started to develop a really annoying cough. It isn't a productive cough, but I expect I'll be hacking up gross slimy stuff soon enough.

This is a quick post tonight. Just to keep me on the bandwagon. I'm doing laundry right now. Since we don't have a washer/dryer in the apartment I have to either lug all our laundry across the street and do all of it at once, or I can do one load at a time in our apartment building. We have one washer and dryer on the top floor, so I just go back and forth up the stairs for a few hours. haha When I say it like that, it makes a lot more sense to just go across the street, but I prefer spending the time in my apartment, not in the sticky laundromat.

PLUS! It gives me an opportunity to do other things in the mean time. Like update my blog. And hop on the elliptical, which is what I'll be doing once I switch the clothes from wash to dry. (:

We spent the day out and about. Went all the way across town and then some to this little restaurant. It's called the Tin Fish and it's a place that looks like it belongs plopped along the coast somewhere. Super yummy fish, really adorable place. I got grilled salmon and cole slaw. Very delicious. Pretty healthy too, for the most part. Avoided the fried fish and the ones smothered in butter. Then we window shopped at the mall for a few hours. And I fantasized about which outfits I will buy when I reach my goal.

I've currently forbidden myself from buying any new clothes. Because I have no intention of sticking around this weight for very long. And once it's gone, I don't want to ever see it again. (:

Before I go, I wanna post a couple pictures from our trip to St Louis.

Before we left. Nooo make up. And my living room is a little messy (:

I weighed like 182 this week, if I remember right. 

My wonderful boy and I when we got to the hotel

This is us looking gross after the Anheuser-Busch tour. It was hot in the brewery. We got free beer though, to cool off after. I'm a sucker for the dark brews. yumm

So I realize I don't have any pictures to compare... So I'll tack one on the end. It'll be a Christmas picture. Literally 2 weeks before I started this lovely journey to health. 

Christmas 2011. This is me with the three most important ladies in the world world. Mom and two little sisters. I looooove them. Also, me at around 220-225 pounds. There's a bit of a difference. 

Okay, that's all I've got. 

300 calories burnt on the elliptical since I started this post, also. Time to find something small to eat for a snack before bed... 

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Day 126 - Noooo Moooore Exxxcuses!

Seriously though. No more.

I'm back after an even longer hiatus. And I'm sticking with it this time! Many thing have happened since I've been here last... I feel like this will be an update on my life. Then next post, business as usual.

I weighed this morning and I was 183 even. So far I am 37 pounds lighter than I was in January.

I'll take it since I just came back from vacation in St Louis a few days ago. We went to the arch and did the typical STL sights, and then we spent the rest of the time eating and drinking. I'll post some pictures, perhaps!

I also started a new job. I'm working as a pharmacy technician now. My work is paying for all the fees associated with getting state certified. So that should be neat. It's a lot more fast paced and a little more challenging than what I was doing, but I really like it so far. Oh, and it was like a $2 per hour promotion. (;

I have also semi-taken up running. It's kind of a combination of running, jogging, walking, and dying. I've completed the C25K day 1 three times now. I can't stick with it, so when I wait a week in between runs I end up back where I started. I do see improvements, however. I can kickass on my elliptical like it's no body's business. I do 30 minutes on the high resistance like it's (almost) nothing.

School is out for the summer. I get around 4 weeks off, then we are going to New Orleans, then I am taking two summer classes for 4 weeks, then I get another week off, then Fall 12 starts. My final semester of undergrad. Bittersweet, for sure.

I am also setting a mini-goal for myself. I would like to lose 8-10 pounds before my New Orleans vacation. That would put me at around 175-173. I told M he was required to take something kinda dressy with us, because I want to spend an evening out somewhere nice and wear a pretty dress. But I wanna be in the 170's when I do it!

I'm also going to try to venture out and find more diet/weight loss/fitness bloggers out there. I know you're there. I just haven't tried looking!

Until next time...
Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

PS - Sophie I hope you still check my blog! I'm sorry I went MIA. I'm back. We can be blog buddies again! lol (;

Day 112 - I'm Glad I'm Better At This Weight Loss Stuff Than This Blogging Stuff... Cause I Suck At This.

Well... after two weeks, I decided to show my face around here again. I think we all know I'm going to say something about being very, very busy... but in all honesty, I don't want to say that anymore. I have been neglecting my blog in a way that if it was a child, I would most certainly be in custody because this kid would be running around town at all hours of the night, probably defacing public property, and would definitely be without health care.

What the hell am I talking about? Good god finals have fried whatever was left of a brain. On to other things...

Today is wwwweeeiigggghhh ddaaaayyy. It seems I missed last week. So I'll recap.

Week Before Last:      186.4
Last Week:                  185.6
This Week:                  185.0

A loss of... 1.4 pounds!

In two weeks... Umm... Lame much?

Okay, let's talk about calories. This is going to be a little embarrassing...

Calorie Range: 1,200 - 1,400

Tues, April 10     1,472
Wed, April 11     1,194
Thus, April 12    1,512 
Fri, April 13        1,415
Sat, April 14        2,272
Sun, April  15      1,338
Mon, April  16     1,276
Tues, April 17      1,231
Wed, April 18      2,473
Thus, April 19      1,455
Fri, April  20         1,718
Sat, April 21          1,336
Sun, April  22        1,361
Mon, April  23       1,313

So I guess if I look over the past 14 days, I can kind of see why my loss is so little... But not really? I only had 3 days where I flew past my calorie range and 4 where I just kinda tip-toed over it. It still averages to 1,528. That's higher than I expected. That's why I didn't lose much. My average was not in my calorie range. In fact it's 125 over my max. Huh.

In those days, I also worked out a little... let's see...


Tues, April 17 we walked 4.5 miles briskly. This was kind of an accident. We didn't know where we were going. But that burnt around 311 calories
Wed, April 18 we did Day 1 Week 1 of the C5K Program... That burnt around 235 calories

Yep, I suck. That isn't much at all... We are going to be sticking with the C5K program though. I liked it. We just got busy and I started having some hip pain, so that didn't really inpire me to go running much either.

Okay...

     1. Eat within my calorie range 6 out of the 7 days this week.
     2. Get out and run/walk at least 3 times.

 Those are my goals.

Here's to hard work and determination,
-E

Day 98 - In the Words of Professor Farnsworth... Good news, everyone!

Been a week since I've come around.

I think a weekly update might be all I can muster from now until my schedule becomes a little less chaotic. But, couldn't miss wwwweeeiigggghhh ddaaaayyy.

Last Week: 189.2
This Week: 186.4

A loss of... 2.8 pounds!

Woo! *does chair dance*

Okay, let's talk about calories.

Calorie Range: 1,200 - 1,400

Tues,    April 3        1,351
Wed,    April 4        2,000+ - Easter Candy. Off day. Grilled out. Whatever?
Thus,    April 5        1,291 
Fri,       April 6        1,235
Sat,       April 7        1,431
Sun,     April  8        1,352
Mon,    April  9        1,362

I sort of feel like I've pretty well gotten into a 1,300 calorie/day groove. I almost naturally eat that many calories anymore with almost no thinking about it. I do occasionally go over and I also occasionally have to have a snack at night, to make sure I'm not eating too few calories. And this week was LITTERED with Easter Candy (in moderation). So I'm very proud of my daily totals and my loss.

I also feel very officially in the 180's. I'll be happier when I'm 185 or lower. But pretty happy right now.


Bf and I have gone running once. It was last Tuesday. It was a very exciting and humbling experience. It was more of a "Let's run... okay no, let's walk... NO WAIT we're here to run! Omg I'm dying I need to walk." I haven't ran in a looooong time. As it turns out, I'm very out of shape. But. I plan to change all that, obviously.

We aren't running today, so I've decided to make it my goal to elliptical today and tomorrow. For probably 20 minutes or so.  Thursday I'm hoping we can maybe get a run in. But definitely this weekend. The primary reason we aren't today is because bf is extremely sunburnt. I don't know how he managed to get sunburnt when it's only around 70 degrees outside... but he did. And his arms and face definitely need a little break from the sun.

I am also wearing a pair of jeans today that 4 months ago barely buttoned. Going up and down the stairs here at school is a pain because they slip down my obviously smaller hips and kinda hang around my buttcrack region. Thankfully I'm wearing a longer sweater or this would be a sad sight for the people climbing the stairs behind me. So success and failure at the same time, I suppose! haha I refused to buy new clothes until closer to goal. Or when I literally can't wear my jeans anymore. But even then I might buy belts. haha

I have to give a 20 minute presentation in like 4 hours. I haven't really even done a practice run. So that's what I'm going to go do now. A practice run. I was somehow selected "randomly" (read: my prof doesn't like me at all) to present first. So I have no idea if what I'm doing is really what she wants. The only positive thing I can think is... at least I'm not going after someone who happens to be really awesome. I'm just not planning on setting the bar too terribly high. I hate public speaking. I hate it with a firey passion. And it doesn't help that the prof and I have a pretty strong mutual dislike for one another.

Sigh...

Okay! Everyone have amazing days.
Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Day 91 - I'm Sucking At This Recently.

I have no new excuses to explain my absenteeism. I'm so busy. I want to be finished with this semester so much it's actually kinda painful. But I keep pushing on. And one of the unfortunate side effects to me NOT deciding to quit school and join the circus is that my blog suffers.

Today is weeeeiiggghhh day. Which is honestly, the only reason I'm taking the time to write at the moment. I just don't want to fall behind.

Last Week: 189.2
This Week: 189.2

A big, fat maintain.

Oh well. It's better than gaining. Besides an absolutely attrotious begining of the week, and some early Easter Candy sprinkled in there periodically, my eating habits have been on the normal - high side. Eating at the tippy top of my calorie range, if not occasionally over. And no exercise. Let's be honest. That requires time. HAH!

Calorie Range: 1,200 - 1,400

Tues,    Mar 27 2,096 - Mom and sisters visit! Umm this is the best guess at my calories?
Wed,    Mar 28 1,800 - Still a little mom and sisters visit damage...
Thus,    Mar 29 1,352 
Fri,       Mar 30 1,363 
Sat,       Mar 31 1,318
Sun,      April 1 1,489
Mon,     April 2 1,590


You can see why I maintained this week, I'd say... Sheesh

This week will be better, minus one day where I told bf we could go out to eat and enjoy Easter Candy without me complaining about how fat it is going to make me.
I'm still very much on track to hit my goal by October-ish. And I'm still ever vigilante in regard to my calorie counting.

Also, as an exciting bit of news... We finally bought official running shoes yesterday. I found a nice pair of Sketcher's. I didn't break the bank or anything... but I really like them. Check 'em:

They're really lightweight and comfortable. They seem like they'll be really breathable too. Pretty cute, I think. And they'll definitely serve their purpose. So today after classes, despite all the crap I have to accomplish in the next 9 days... We are going to start the Couch to 5K progam. Yaaay!

I want this weight to just melt off. And I think if I have lost 30-ish pounds just watching what I eat, if I can continue to eat similarly AND start running... it's bound to just drop off me. We will see!

That's all the time I have right now... I've got a big Stats exam in a couple hours and it's about that time I start cramming things into my brain last minute. FUN!

Here's to hard work and determination,
-E

Day 86 - Back On Track

Well... The past two days went exactly as I expected them to go. I had an amazing time with my mom and little sisters. We ate pizza and ice cream and watched a scary movie the first night they were here. Then yesterday we walked around the zoo for probably 3 hours and took a million pictures. Then we ate hamburgers. Then they left. It was an all around awesome visit. Then for some reason after they left... I had more ice cream and skipped dinner. I guess I was stuck in "eat whatever" mode. Two "off days" in a row, while completely worth it, can't really be happening a lot. So... no more off days for at least a week. Maybe two.

Needless to say, I'm not expecting to see much loss this week. Which is okay, I guess. I don't FEEL as bad as I expected myself to. I feel normal. But surely two whole days of crap food and no water will wreck some kind of havoc on my body. And I'm betting it'll reer it's ugly head on weigh day. We will see, I guess!

I can't help but think... This far in I thought I'd have everything under control. Completely figured out... Ya know? 86 days since I began this journey. I've lost 30 pounds. By now, I shouldn't be having 2 off days in a row. I just want this weight loss to be permenant. I want this to be a lifestyle change. But I guess enjoying a couple days with your family is a part of your life. And maybe, since I know what I did wrong and I'm back at it now, I'm making alright decisions.

Blaah... Guilt.

I have 4 more weeks of classes. Which sounds like forever. But... I'm only going to class twice a week, which means I actually only have 8 classes left. THAT sounds amazing. And terrorfying too... since I have so much to do and so little time to accomplish it.

I am really excited about this summer though. We are planning a few little getaways and I am thrilled to be getting out for a few weeks. I need the break. And a little adventure.

But thinking and daydreaming about summer isn't going to make it come any faster... And I still have loads to accomplish before then. So I'm going to wrap this up, work on studying, and maybe find myself some lunch.

Here's to hard work and determination,
-E

Day 84 - Eventful.

I was trying to think of an alternate word for busy. I say busy a lot. I thought eventful might also be an accurate way to describe my day. Occupied, perhaps. Maybe unavailable?! Hectic and engaged are also good ones. Okay... I'm done.

Sooo. Today is wweeeeiigggghhh daaaay! And a good one, at that. I'm very excited to be posting this...

My bones were incorrect last night, when they were telling me I'm a fat cow and have stopped losing weight. I know, it isn't nice to call yourself names. That was just the sort of overall feeling I had last night. Anyway!

Last Week: 192.6
This Week: 189.2

A loss of... 3.4 pounds (ounds)...(unds)...(nds)...

That was an echo for those of you unsure about what just happened. (:

Very happy to be below the 190's... even if it's only a little below. It still counts in my eyes.

I feel like I should really have been working on cardio and maybe some weight training this whole time... My results, while noticable and super exciting, aren't what I thought they would be after a 30 pound loss. I'm wondering if I would be looking different [tight?] [tone?] [not so flabby?] if I had been exercising the whole time. And the obvious answer is yes, E, that's a really dumb question. OF COURSE you would.

Calories for the week: (Again, more for my record retention than anyone else's benefit. But if anyone is curious about foods I consume day-to-day or how I determined my calorie range, please feel free to inquire!)

Calorie Range: 1,200 - 1,400

Tues, Mar 20 1,708 (Went out to eat... No nutritional information. This is a guesstamation.)
Wed, Mar 21 1,151- unconsiously making up for the previous day?
Thus, Mar 22 1,135 - oops.
Fri,    Mar 23 1,057 - oops again.
Sat,    Mar 24 1,382
Sun,   Mar 25 1,431
Mon,   Mar 26 1,327

I promise, despite what it looks like, I'm not starving. I don't do a lot of snacking. And my schedule makes big lunches/dinner difficult. Blah.



Today I'm counting everything up until dinner. And then I'll start with my approximations. I really want a Frozen Hot Chocolate from Dairy Queen tonight. My sisters will want ice cream when they visit and I'm more than willing to oblige. I'll work on searching for nutritional information and getting an accurate calorie estimation made and plan a little for tonight... TO THE INTERNETS!

Alright... back to work. Everyone have wonderful days. Someday... in the near future... I'd like to add a little more content to my blogs. I'm just not sure where I wanna go with it just yet. So until then...

Here's to hard work and dertermination,
-E

Day 83 - I Feel Like I'm Starting Brand New

It's been SO LONG!!!

Hello wonderful people,

I'm very excited to be posting on my brand new Blogger blog. Word Press can kiss my grits.

Well, that's not nice... It was nice while it lasted. I just can't tolerate websites that don't maintain a certain level of upkeep.

Anyway... Hopefully I will find lots of new diet buddies around these parts. I can say though, I am SUPER excited Diet Riot and Dysfunctional Barbie are here too! Super. Excited. (:

Without going through and monotonously updating about the last 6 days of my life... I'll summarize.

I have been very, very busy. I finally finished running experiments for my research course. I'm done with data collection and officially writing up my results. Which are all bad and disappointing... But I won't chat about those boring details either.

I have been eating within my calorie range. Everyday but one in the past week. A few days below my calorie range, unfortunately. For some reason I can feel it in my bones... I'm just not going to lose anything tomorrow. I just don't FEEL it. Usually I feel lighter, or slimmer... Nothing. I feel exactly the same and maybe even a little bloated. All I wanna do is eat.

That leads me to my next point... TOM is right around the corner. We're talking... Within the next 2-3 days. I wanna blame my fat feelings on that. But who knows... Maybe it's officially time to stop talking about exercising and just actually start exercising on a regular basis.

My water intake has been unusually low recently too. I haven't substituted anything bad in its place... I just haven't wanted it. ): That'll change when it gets warmer and I start really kicking my ass with the exercising.

I guess the past week has been more about living and getting by then focusing a lot on health. While I was eating very mindfully and all that jazz... I just haven't been as involved as I normally am.

Tomorrow my mom and sisters are coming to visit me! We are going to have a fun pizza and ice cream sleep over. And then Wednesday morning we are going to the zoo. I'm really, nerdily excited. I haven't seen them in what seems like forever. And if the night they are here I toss my healthy lifestyle in the toilet for some pizza and ice cream, well I don't see much wrong with that.

Well that's it for now... Sorry that seemed short. I'll be posting again late tomorrow morning, for my weekly weigh in. And more chitter-chatter, no doubt.

I'm also planning on sticking around the 3FatChicks forums. I still love the forums and the awesome people that hang around there. 

Here's to hard work and determination,
-E

Day 77 - I Did A Number On Myself

Helllooo lovelies!

I am sorry again for my absence. This blog has really lost my interest since it decided to be all broken...

I do feel an obligation to post on wweeeiiggghhh daaaay, however.

For anyone curious about my title, I'll get to that soon.

So... the results!

Last Week: 194.0

This Week: 192.6

A loss of 1.4 pounds.

Now... the way I look at this today: A loss is a loss is a loss. Whether it's half a pound, one pound, or four pounds. So I'm a happy camper. I weigh less than I did last week, and the week before that and the month before that. And isn't that the ultimate goal, anyway?

A rough estimation of my calories for the week were:

Tues, Mar 13 1,361


Wed,  Mar 14 1,237

Thus, Mar 15 1,283

Fri,    Mar 16 1,171

Sat,    Mar 17 ????

Sun,   Mar 18 ???? (<700... I'll explain!)


Mon,  Mar 19 1,396

Anyone who skimmed those is probably thinking... What the heck, E? What's your problem? What happened Saturday and Sunday?

WELL! The answer to that is... Saint Patrick's Day happened. I went out, innocently enough, for a few drinks. Fully intending on keeping myself in check. However, I ended up going out with someone turning 21, and all their free shots also became free shots for me as well. I don't know why, but I decided in a drunken stupor no doubt, never to decline free shots from a man in green suspenders and a glittery green hat. So I didn't. And that's what happened Saturday.

Then... early Sunday morning consisted mostly of me swearing off alcohol forever, crying, and being violently ill. This, my friends, was not my finest hour. I didn't eat on Sunday until around 7pm, which was coincidentally also the first time I left my bed that day. I'm not exaggerating when I say I drank entirely too much. In fact, it's possible that's an understatement. I'm still feeling the ill effects... which really just tells me I'm getting old.

My small loss is probably a combination of me eating below my calories this week, and then throwing up anything I might have eaten over my calories on Saturday. I'd say my weight loss is slowing because I haven't fully incorporated exercise into my life. Which is something I must do. And soon.

Besides all that, the jeans I'm wearing are making me upset. I know, no one wants to read about someone complaining about clothes not fitting because they're now too big... For some reason, I'm losing weight unproportionally, so my jeans are too loose in my butt, legs, and hips... but still okay in the waist. So I'm walking around all saggy looking. Boo.

That's all for me today! Going to see if there have been any improvments to the commenting situation. My expectations are low...

Here's to hard work and determination!

-E

Day 73 - Quickie

I have to work in just a little bit... but I wanted to get on here and post a picture. Actually two, but one you've already seen. I'm a big fan of pictures that SPAN the weightless journey, rather than one before and one after kinda thing. Those are very inspiring too. But I wanna see what it was like in between the beginning and the end. So... here's a "during" photo. It's from yesterday. I thought since I was wearing the same shirt yesterday as I was in a before picture, it'd be good to show the differences. Anyway, it's only after like 30ish pounds... So it isn't a mind-blowing difference. But I can see little differences!

November/December 2011 - Between 220-225 pounds

Yesterday - Around 194 pounds!

Like I said, not mind-blowing... but I like during pictures. And I can't wait until there IS a huge, crazy difference.

Hope everyone is staying on track and being good to themselves!!

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Day 72 - I'm More Than A Little Annoyed

I'm almost to the point of boycotting this website until they get something fixed. It's driving me insane having to practically hack into my account to sign in, then be unable to comment once I get here. For a while, it was letting me comment if I was running IE... but now every time I get a, "This site has a programming error" screen. Annoying. More than annoying. Get this crap fixed! I accept this is a free service and I should keep my expectations relatively low. However, I see ads all over the place. If the people who maintain this blog are making money off the advertisements, I'd say they need to be fixing this broken crap.

On to other things...

Yesterday I played a fun game called... "It's Warm Outside, Let's See What Spring Clothes Fit Now." It was lots of fun. And I definitely won. I pulled out all my shorts and a couple summery skirt things. I even dug out the stuff at the very bottom of my drawer that had been retired for being too snug/not fitting AT ALL.

All the shorts I was wearing last summer are way loose. Then, all the shorts and things I didn't wear much because they were tight and uncomfortable fit perfectly, if not a tiny bit on the big side. Then I got to the stuff I didn't even bother trying to wear last summer. I have a pair of khaki capris I was wearing when I graduated highschool, we're talking 2007 so that's like 5 years ago. This time last year, I tried them on... couldn't really get them past my hips, cried and took them off. Yesterday, I got them up and buttoned. Now... they are still way too tight to wear in public or for long periods of time. BUT the fact that they fit at all made me really happy, muffin top and all.

I'd found a few more shirts I can fit in more comfortably too. And I'm finding shirts that I'd been wearing the whole time (and probably shouldn't have been) are looking quite awesome on me. Today I'm wearing a shirt that I'm wearing in one of the pictures on my photo page. It's a cotton black short sleeve zip up shirt and I always wear a tank underneath it. It fits so differently on me today than it does in the picture. It's longer and looks less like it's uncomfortably stretched around my body. Pretty freakin' exciting.

So celebrations there.

I'm also still trying to decide what fun things to do with my hair! Even though I know you will not be able to comment... I'm going to be optimistic here. Here's a photo of my hair now... If anyone out there with a flare for hair styles or if I'm really lucky someone who is actually a stylist. Toss me some fun ideas. I'm ready for something new!



I don't know why my face looks 5 shades darker than my neck... and I promise my hair is even on both sides. It's hard to discretely take a photo of yourself in the middle of a computer lab full of people. Haha

I have no idea what I'm doing about meals today... It's a lot of running around and going to class and getting stuff done. I'll probably be very low on calories today. But one or two days of that isn't all that bad, I don't think. Better than WAY too many, in my opinion!

Evvverrrybody have an awesome day!

Here's to hard work and determination, and getting this blog fixed,

-E

Day 70 - It's Far Too Pretty Outside For Me To Feel This Terrible

I have a headache from Hell right now. It's all in my right eye and the right side of my head. It's also making me sick to my stomach and super tired. And obviously, it's really bumming me out. Oh yeah, did I mention it's freakin' 75 degrees out and sunny? Yeah... and all I feel like doing is yacking and going to bed. And maybe cry a little )':

I skipped my first class and slept in this morning. So I weighed myself around 11:45, rather than 7:30 when I normally would have.

Today's weeeiiggghhhh daaaaayyy goes as follows:

2 Weeks Ago: 196.2

This Week: 194.0

A loss of 2.2 pounds.

This is really okay, in my opinion. It seems more likely to me that I maintained the week of Spring Break and then lost this past week. Rather than somehow lost 1 pound over SB eating nonstop garbage and only 1 pound this week, being completely on track everyday but 1.

A rough estimation of my calories for the week were:

Tues, Mar 06 Last Day of Spring Break


Wed, Mar 07 1,258

Thus, Mar 08 1,254

Fri, Mar 09 1,108

Sat, Mar 10 1,354

Sun, Mar 11 1,325

Mon, Mar 12 2,205

Well. As it turns out, I was off plan TWO days this past week. Huh. Well, whatever.

Yesterday, we went to Red Lobster on kind of a whim... I ended up having a Sangeria, Half bf's Salmon, Half my Sirloin with A1 sauce, like 3 coconut jumbo shrimp, steamed broccoli, a cheese biscuit and a half of their crazy Chocolate Chip Molten Lava Cookie with Ice Cream and Magic and Heaven. It was incredible. And all bad. Sooo... that's what happened there.

My head hurts so bad it's making it hard to really concentrate on anything... But I couldn't let TWO wweeeiiggghhh ddaaaays go by without a post. What kind of blogger would I be if I did that?

I did also realize I've reached my first mini goal. I am now a little bitty bit past my 25% mark. So that's extremely exciting and I will be getting my hair did soon. I have been carrying around $100 in my wallet from my birthday that I keep meaning to deposit into my bank. I might just use that and see what kind of amazing things I can have done to my hair. I might chicken out and not do anything too exciting. Either way, I'll post a before and after picture.

Anyone know anything new about the comment stuff being broken. It's kind of hit and miss for me. It's honestly getting on my nerves. It's been a few days too many for something so vital to not be functioning.

I have approximately 1.2 million things to do between today and this time next week. So I'm going to get off here and see if I can't knock a few of those things out right now. Before I make an early retirement to my soft, cushy bed.

Here's to hard work and determination... and my headache letting up.

-E

Day 66 - This Comment Business Is Bugging Me!

I have been trying to comment on a handful of blogs for a little while now... With absolutely no success. I saw DietRiot was having similar issues on my blog... How about everyone else?

After typing that... I realize you will likely not be able to post a comment telling me you are experiencing similar issues, if you are in fact experiencing the same problems. I'll take your silence as a yes. haha

Today at 4pm is the official end of my vacation. I am so so so so sad. I need at least another 3 days. Ugh. ):

On the other hand, getting back into my routine will be nice too. I feel like I eat more regularly and am able to get off my butt and exercise more when I'm in a routine. So that's good...

My nails have finally started growing out again. I haven't mentioned my nails much in the weeks I've been posting but... I love nail art. I've been really into it for about 6 months... Then January/February came and all my nails started breaking and looking gross and I lost all interest in nail art. Well... I looked down today and can happily report my nails are looking healthy again (no doubt because I'm eating more). So I'm going to take some time today after laundry and before work and paint my nails! But while I'm waiting for my laundry to dry... I thought I'd share some photos with you all!

Let me also say, I'm no professional... This is just a hobby and I know they aren't amazing! But it's a lot of fun and I wanted to share with you guys!

I'll start with the really simple ones... Black tips!

Snowy French Mani-type Tips

Pretty Jade color... My nails used to be long and pretty. ):

First attempt at water marbling. Only on my ring finger. This is a pain in the ass! lol

Next water marbling attempt... Decided this was way too much work. But it looks neat!

I wore these all through January. Fun snowflake design...

Another fun Christmas design... Christmas lights!

Wore these on Christmas Eve/Day. Cute little Santa hats!

This one looks messy. I just did it to see if I could. Kinda neat tho, I guess.

Saved my favorite for last... Super Mario Nails!! My index finger got smudged. Sad face.

Okay that's it! Looking at these, my fingers look super pudgy in a few of them.... but oh well! I'm very excited that my nails are getting stronger again, so I can get back into this little hobby. Yay!

Okay, this was completely unrelated to weight loss... Forgive me! I just don't have much to report today... I eat the exact same things everyday almost. So... Uneventful. I'll do better next post. Promise!

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Day 64 - A Tornado Didn't Eat Me

Hello lovelies!

I don't have much to say despite being kinda MIA for like a week.

We have been experiencing some crazy weather here in Indiana recently. Cold one day, warm the next, and tornados and snow. I don't even know what to expect till I actually go outside. Where I live there were several tornados in the surrounding towns, but fortunately nothing here. A little wind damage and we went 5 hours without power at work one day last week, which was exciting.

I'm on spring break. I just got back from a weekend in Indianapolis. It has been a weekend of complete debautury. Steak and Shake, Russell Stover Store, Dunkin Donuts, lots of crown and coke, gross/delicious gas station burritos at 2am, Starbucks, Godiva chocolate store, PF Changs, amazing downtown Indy pub food... Honestly, I could probably keep going. But I'm not going to. I absolutely love Indianapolis. The concert was awesome. We saw Puscifer. Who I doubt may of you have heard of... Usually this helps: The lead sing of Tool has a solo project. That's Puscifer. I got to meet the guys in the band and get some stuff signed. Pretty freakin' amazing. It was a small venue, which is my favorite. Walking around downtown, in the middle of the night, while it was snowing was also pretty awesome.

I didn't weigh myself yesterday. Mostly because I wasn't home to do so.

I can also happily report I'm back on the healthy lifestyle bandwagon as of today. I missed it to be honest. I had a lot of fun this weekend, but I started feeling really crappy after like 3 days of it. I missed my nutritious food and I got really sick of the bloated, ate too much crap feeling.

I can't wait to catch up with everyone and I promise I won't disappear and go crazy like this again until the first week of May. At which time I will be on vacation in New Orleans, and I will NOT be very mindful of my intake then either. I believe you can vacation and eat healthy... but I'm a foodie and I want to really experience what Louisiana has to offer (:

Here's to hard work and determination!!!

-E

Day 58 - Bleck.

I am bloated and swollen today. And I woke up really queasy. Breakfast didn't help and neither has the gallon (exaggeration) of water I've drank already today. I'm annoyed and would like to know what the deal is. I didn't eat anything unusual yesterday and felt fine when I went to bed.

Ugh.

And TOM still hasn't arrived. This isn't a possible pregnancy issue... It's more a side effect of my new(ish) BC.

I'm grouchy. ): That's all I wanted to say I think...

I'm worried I won't be able to eat much today because my schedule really isn't going to allow it. Had coffee this morning and a light English muffin with grape jam. Lunch will be a crunchy granola bar and a light yogurt. Then snack will be .5oz of almonds. Dinner is going to have to be something prepackaged like a Healthy Choice frozen something... Today isn't shaping up to be anything impressive.

I hope everyone else is having more successful days then me.

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Day 57 - Stresssssss

I might've fallen back into old habits today... I have only eaten about 900 calories today and it's 9:22PM. This is mostly due to all the crap I've had to do today. I ate 3 meals and 1 snack. So I'll eat another snack before bed and probably call it a night.

Today was my day off. One day a week I get a day with no work or school. But it's never a day off. It's a save-everything-I-have-to-do-till-this-day day. Had to goto campus for some research stuff, did some cleaning around the apartment, hung some pictures, went to the bank, dropped some packages off at FedEx, took a short 30 minute walk, and did laundry. 3 loads of laundry. How does 2 people accumulate SO MUCH laundry in a week??? uggh.

So I feel like I have to talk about this smoothie I just made. Honestly, I made it because I wanted something heathy to boost my calories for the day. Here's the recipe:

1/2 Cup frozen strawberry & banana pieces - 45 calories

2 Tbls Hershey's SF Syrup - 15 calories

3 Tbls 0% Fage Greek Yogurt - 25 calories

4 Tbls Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk - 5 calories

All together, around 90 calories. Made almost exactly 8oz of smoothie... which is about perfect for me. Much more than that and I get tired of drinking them.

It was pretty delicious. Nice and think and chocolately. I couldn't taste a ton of strawberry, but you could tell it was in there... I wanna experiment with adding spinach to my smoothies. Or maybe flax? Just boost the nutritional value of them, really.

So like I said, I walked like 30 minutes tonight. We have a ton of wooded trails and cross country trails on campus. I picked one of those and walked it. It didn't seem like a long walk, but it was getting dark before I knew it. It's in a wooded area, so it's mostly dirt and natural stone. It was pretty hilly too. It was nice. I think that's where I want to do most of my running. It'll be nice and shady and kind of away from everyone. Seemed peaceful. I'll make my running time my zen time.

I have a statistics test tomorrow that I need to review for. I hate stats soooo much. I'm pulling a good, solid B out of the class right now. And honestly, I hate it so much, I'll probably continue being satisfied with a B. As long as it doesn't get any lower than that, I'm happy. I'd kinda prefer a B+ though... haha

I hope everyone is having wonderful weeks! For those of you that get to enjoy time off on the weekends, only 2 more days! (:

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Day 56 - Experiment Successful!

So... who would have thought that eating MORE can actually leading to weight loss when eating less was failing? Yeah... I gave it away, didn't I? Haha Suuuurprise!

As many of you may know by now, and probably many, many more of you don't... Today is weeeeiiigggghhh daaaayy. And the second official rrreeeppooorrtt weeeeekllyy caaaallorriess daaay. (NOT as fun to type OR read).

I'm going to tell ya'll how my weigh in was first, because I'm just a little bit excited. And by a little bit I mean I'm pretty much bubbling over with enthusiasm.

Last Week:     200.2 pounds (for the second week in the row, I might add)

THIS Week:    196.2 pounds

Bing. Bang. Boom.

Down 4 pounds this week. A nice way for my body to make up for not losing ANYTHING last week.

Let me just say... Being below 200 pounds (for the first time in like... years) is pretty much blowing my mind.

So my calories for the past 7 days were as follows...

Tues, Feb 21                             1,562

Wed,  Feb 22                             1,317

Thus, Feb 23                             1,366

Fri,    Feb 24                              1,308

Sat,   Feb 25                              1,432

Sun,  Feb 26                              1,315

Mon, Feb 27                              1,346

I guess I added around 200 calories to my daily goal... Which seems to have worked very nicely. Therefore, I called this experiment a successful one.

Another fun side effect...

I've always hated and battled with my bras. I do this crazy stretch thing with them when I buy a new one and get it home. Where I probably break half the important stitches in it by wrapping it around my shoulders, then pulling the ends together in front of my body. A trick my (yea, overweight) momma taught me to get my bras to fit more comfortably. Then, it was always always always the very last clasp I would use, to make sure it was as loose and humanly possible.

Today, in order to keep my girls positioned where they should be, I actually had to use the MIDDLE clasp. And I did it by accident. Usually I'd be struggle to get it to fasten on the last clasp and I unintentionally used the middle one because that's just where my hands naturally went. Again... Mind. Blown.

I'm liking these new developments.

I'm wearing a pair of kinda of dumpy, lame jeans today though. Not for any other reason than I'm expecting TOM today... I call them my "Mom Jeans" because they give me what I also like to call a "Mom Butt" which is where my butt looks WAAAY longer than it should. They just aren't flattering. And before anyone hates me... I think mom's are awesome and can be super sexy and I totally plan to be a hot and sexy mom someday. But, you can't deny there are some moms out there that wear those really high waisted jeans that make their butts look 4 miles long.

I have a huge, disgustingly sweet treat waiting for me in the fridge when I get home. I'm probably not going to count my calories today... because I think it'll be really hard to find a calorie count for it. But I'm going to make very healthy choices otherwise for lunch and dinner. It's a piece of Tuxedo Truffle Nepolean Cake... I don't know what inspired me to buy it yesterday... because I'm usually a HELL of a lot more in control than that... but I can't let it go to waste. It was like a $5 piece of cake. I'm only going to eat half. And have bf eat the other half. That's a good plan...Exercise will also be in my evening. To make up for a little bit of it, as well.

This is already too long, so I'm going to wrap it up. I do wanna thank everyone that comments and gives me support and advice. (: And also all you creepy readers that don't comment but read anyway... I know you're out there. And knowing you're all there keeps me coming back and sticking with it. You're awwwwesome people. I really love this little community.

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Edit: Apparently, after very little searching... A piece of Tuxedo Truffle Napoleon Mousse Cake is around 380 calories. Which means I'll be eating ABOUT 190 calories in my half a piece. Aren't the internets wonderful? I mean just freakin' amazing. Yes... yes they are. haha

Day 54 - I Feel Like I've Been Gone Forever!

Now... Please, no one believe that because I have been a little absent that I've been slacking.

In my last post I said I wanted to start eating a little more each day... because I thought I was possibly dipping into the "not enough calorie" range. Well, I'm not going to go into my calorie breakdown for the week. Mostly because I'm saving that for Tuuuesday! (: I can say though, I have absolutely incorporated more calories into my daily diet. So pat on the back for me. We will see soon enough if that's positive or negative.

I am reading an awesome book I picked up and Barne's and Noble on the Last Chance table this weekend. It's called, "Skinny Girls Don't Eat Salad." I haven't gotten too far into it, but I'm really liking what I've read to far. Basically it's talked about how our body uses glucose and how our bloodsugar levels can affect the way we feel/eat and our weight. All she's said so far is that you should eat frequently, so you don't have a bloodsugar drop and then a spike when you eat some crap instead of something nutritious. So that all makes sense and I agree with it so far. I'll keep you posted on the book and if it's worth a buy!

This weekend has been a lot of fun, but I'm ready for some down time. We went out for drinks on Thursday like I said... I ended up drinking a little more than I wanted, but still not too much. Then I babysat a friend who DID drink too much and had his head in the toilet for a couple hours. I ended up going home after he stopped power puking, but apparently he ended up passing out on the floor, in the doorway between the bathroom and the hall. Unfortunately I missed that... Oh, boys. Some of them just don't know their limit. Emmmmbarrassing.

Then last night we went out with some other friends to a new Sushi place on the other side of town. Terrible, horrible experience and we will definitely never be going back. We all had a few good laughs and the restaurant's expense... but overall not a fun time. The food wasn't bad. It was the 2.5 hours we spent there. Basically it took 45 minutes to get PART of our meals... Then an hour later the other people got their meals. The waitress couldn't keep our waters full. And one of the girls at the table wasn't given a spoon for her soup. But the time the waitress came back, the soup was cold and not worth eating... Ugh. There's so much more but I just can't get into it or this will end up one horrible rant.

I don't really have much else to report right now...

I still have around 350 calories to eat tonight... So I'm going to make myself a snack and maybe some tea with honey. (: Then we are going to watch The Walking Dead!! I don't know if anyone out there watches that show... but I absolutely love it. I'm a big horror movie fan and zombies are definitely my favorite.

Oh yeah! My work pants are practically falling off of me now. Which is awesome and makes me happy because in December they were getting almost too uncomfortable to wear. Given how my clothes are fitting, I'll be pretty surprised if I don't lose something this week.

Alright my pretties, everyone have a wonderful night and don't let Monday get you down TOO bad!

Here's to hard work and determination (Almost forgot that tonight!)

-E

Day 50 - Asthma Sucks...

I've made a decision... I've decided I'm not eating enough and my body is telling me so by completely refusing to lose weight. As a result... I'm going to start eating an absolute minimum of 1,350 calories a day... never to exceed 1600. I feel like this is a very good adjustment to my calorie plan. I like it. We'll see how my body responds at next week's weigh in.

I also really liked listing my calories for the week. I know that is probably painfully boring for you reading this... but I like having that information in one place every week. So. Tuesday will now become weigh day and calories for the week day. I like it!

I am having a stupid asthma attack. Not a full-blown one... but it was bad enough for me to get my nebulizer out. I feel so much better after I do a breathing treatment... It's almost worth all the twitchy, tingly feelings I get with it.

I have had an awesome day today. As far as food goes... I had a bowl of cereal and coffee this morning and a baked potato with cheese and sour cream and chives from a place in the mall for lunch. Then, a skinny mocha from Starbucks. Yumm...All together I've had around 730 calories. I've still got dinner and a snack to eat before bed though. So I'll make my 1,350 goal.

I took my measurements yesterday. First time in like 3 weeks. All together I've lost like 7 inches from all over my body. I thought about posting my measurements somewhere. I dunno. If I do, I'll make a page for it. But I've only done it twice. So I'm going to wait till there are more impressive numbers to report.

Tomorrow I'm going out with some friends. A local bar in town has Nickel Beer Night on Thursdays. I don't work early on Friday, so I'm going to take advantage of that and go out and have a good time. While I'd love to stay within 1350-1600 calories tomorrow, and I very well might, I'm going to accept that I also might not.

This week is an experiment. Less strict daily calorie goal... A night of moderate drinking... A little more exercise than I normally get to compensate for the extra calories... And come next Tuesday I'll see if it was a god change or a bad change! Next week is also my TOM. If all goes as expected... Tuesday should be when it arrives. I have to wonder how that will affect my weigh day. We shall see!

I guess that's all I've got tonight... I have some homework I need to work on before class tomorrow afternoon. My first class of the day (9am) and my last class of the day (6pm) are both canceled tomorrow, which means this is going to be one of the besssttt Thursdays ever.

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Day 49 - Trying To Be Optimistic... (it's not working)

Let's cut to the chase. Today is weeeeiiiggghhh daaaay. Except I really had to force myself to even type it like that because I'm just not excited. Today hasn't been a particularly good or bad day, really. Just kinda, meh.

So... the results.

Last Week: 200.2

This Week: 200.2

Absolutely NO change. None. While I know I should be realistic and keep in mind I won't see big changes every week... I am completely disappointed. I would have been happy with a little bitty loss. I want so badly to be below 200 and back into the 100's Even if it's just 199.WHATEVER.

I've debated how to handle this today... Instead of moping, which is what I want to do... I'm going to analyze what I ate for the past week. From my last weigh day to this one. My calories were as follows:

Tues, Feb 14                             2,196 (Valentine's Day Feast/Too Many Chocolates)

Wed,  Feb 15                             1,224

Thus, Feb 16                             1,145

Fri,    Feb 17                              1,079 (Worked till 10, Always messes up my intake)

Sat,   Feb 18                              1,307

Sun,  Feb 19                              1,143

Mon, Feb 20                              1,153

It's official. I'm a slave to numbers. Sigh.

So there's no way over the course of this week I ate "maintenance" calories. I've used 50 million calculators all over the internets. My maintenance calories for my weight/age/activity level is in the 2,000's. More like 2,300. Which is easily 1,000 calories more than I ate on any day last week, barring Valentine's Day.

I absolutely refuse to believe that ONE day I ate so much, it prevented weight loss the rest of the week. I refuse.

My only other thought is I'm not eating enough. I'm no dietition... And looking at those numbers, I'll accept a few of them are low. Okay. Several of them are low. They are low because I'm a control freak. I obviously don't have a problem eating a lot... I think Superbowl Sunday and Valentine's Day can attest to that. I have a problem with eating enough on days I am on plan and feeling good about it. I like routines and schedules and planning... So some days, when those things have been thrown off, I might not eat as much. I think ideally, I like 1,300-1,350 calories per day. But I guess you wouldn't know that by looking at my last week's consumption. ): Would you?

Bllllllaaarrrrrgggggggeeeeeiiiijjjffmfmmm.

That's how I'm feeling right now. Like making that noise. And then burrowing in bed the for rest of the day. BUT I can't. Duty calls and I'm sitting in a comfy chair in the basement of the Liberal Arts building, killing time during the break between classes.

My question: Can being on the borderline between calories to lose weight and too few calories cause a halt in loss?

Noooo optimistic and chipper conclusion today...

Here's to hard work and determination (of course),

-E