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

Day 46 - I'm Becoming Too OCD

So I am a crazy, calorie counting fiend. I've said this a few times I think. Today just really proves it though.

I use an app on my iPhone called Lose It! It's an awesome app because I can scan the barcode of something and it instantly has all the nutritional information and all I have to input is how much I'm eating. In the mornings, I like to plan out my day. So I'll decide what I'm eating and I'll plug it all in ahead of time. Then, when I go through the day, I stay on track instead of just mindlessly eating or randomly picking whatever I want for lunch/dinner.

This WORKS for me. It keeps me on plan... It keeps my calories in check... It keeps me sane. I don't like having to think about my food ALL DAY so when I do it in the morning, everything is thought about and I just have to follow it.

WELL. Today, about 5 minutes before I was leaving for my lunch break, bf asks if I wanna get pizza with him and some work friends/co-workers. I hate being anti-social, which I often am... But I said no. Then he pushed a little harder. He *really* wanted me to go with him. I still said no. I brought my lunch. I already planned it out. Another push... He'll pay, he says. He really doesn't want to leave me out. At this point I wanted to just scream. You aren't leaving me out. I AM LEAVING ME OUT. But... I didn't. I agreed. And I ate like half of a slice of pizza (which was a ridiculous 150 calories, btw). Then, when I got to work and scarfed my planned meal. Because I'm stubborn like that.

I don't mean to over react... but I have a way I do things. And I know he wasn't trying to be a pain in the ass. He was trying to include me in his lunch plans. But I couldn't help but be so angry with him. Uggghh... Am I insane? Just completely insane??

I still ate around 1,030 calories today at this point. I'm going to have a snack in a little while. But I'm craving chocolate like it's no body's business... I'm trying to let that pass first.

I am also trying a fun new snack I read about yesterday! You take a low fat string cheese and dip it in a couple tablespoons of warmed marinara sauce. It sounds kinda like mozzarella sticks... only without the breading. I'm really jazzed about it.

Besides all this, it's been a pretty alright weekend. I'm reading for a day off. And REALLY ready for Spring Break. I'm kicking my Spring Break off with a concert and a fancy hotel stay in Indianapolis. I do NOT intend to be on plan this day. I plan to eat and drink a ridiculous amount and probably suffer the consequences the next weigh in. Worth it. Oh yea,  I don't think I ever said where I'm from... Surprise! Indiana! haha

Alright... it's snack time. I want a bowl of cereal I think. I'm so in love with my Special K with Red Berries. (: Mmm

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Day 43 - I Survived Valentine's Day 2012!

Hello lovlies!

Today was definitely not a normal day for me... I woke up just blah. I know it was from all the badness I ate yesterday. I was so stuffed when I went to bed and I woke up kinda nauseated and still full. Since I've adjusted my daily intake and gotten into the habit of eating breakfast every morning, I wake up fairly empty feeling and within a half hour I am almost ravenous. This morning, it was a chore to even drink my coffee because I was still feeling so full.

I also did something I NEVER do... It was out of complete curiosity. I weighed myself on a NOT weigh day. I should be ashamed. I am a once-a-week weigher through and through... but I HAD to know how yesterday's festivities effected me. The scale was a less upsetting 201.2. Which is a pound more than yesterday morning... but much less than last night. I can deal with that.

My grandparents came to town this afternoon to visit bf and I. They insisted they take us out to eat, then they wanted to go for coffee and donuts. AH! I hate turning them down when they come and visit because I never get to see them. So I did the best I could. Or so I thought? My lunch ended up being pretty okay, calories wise. Like 384? THEN came the fun part... Coffee isn't bad. I had black coffee with 2tsp of sugar and a splash of skim milk. It was the ONE donut stick? thing that I got with it. 370 calories for that thing alone. GEEZ. That combined with my very small breakfast leaves me at 920 calories already today. I feel so bloated anyway... so I am okay with having a light dinner.

Unrelated to weight loss and nutrition: I just ordered a new lens for my camera and a remote shutter release. I am pretty excited about those. Used my birthday money... which is by far my favorite thing about birthdays. The other part of my birthday money is going towards new running shoes. Yay, running!

Alright... I have to go do a little shopping tonight before it gets too late. I hope everyone had a successful Valentine's Day, whatever your definition of successful was, and if you temporarily hopped off the weightloss wagon like I did... get your butts back on today! (;

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Day 42 - I Am A Rockstar Today

No, seriously. I'm a freakin' rockstar.

So. Where do I even begin? Let's start from the beginning of my day!

NO! We have to start with yesterday after work. I came home to find my new MacBook Pro was delivered a day early! I am so in love with it right now. It's name is Prometheus. (MacBook Pro... Prometheus... Oh yeah, I'm clever. I KNOW) So I am currently typing this blog on my beautiful new baby. I have to stop gushing. But I really do love it and it's so much better than my 5 year old Dell I had been banging away at.

Back on topic... I was so exhausted this morning. I have been congested and my throat is sore and so sleeping is just an all around pain in the ass. I woke up and did what I often do (and it sometimes gets me in trouble). I drug myself out of bed... and straight to the couch. I sat there for probably 10 minutes. Willing myself to move, but pretty much failing. Then I remembered! It's... Weeeeeiiigggghhhh Daaaaay! So I hopped up and got on my scale. Weighing only once a week is without a doubt the way to do it, in my opinion.

Sooo....

Last Week: 205.0

THIS Week: 200.2

My jaw pretty much dropped. It bounced around between 199.8 and 201.0 and finally settled on 200.2. I weighed 3 times just to make sure it was accurate. I could just die.

-4.8 pounds this week! Definitely met my 1 pound goal and DEFINITELY made up for a measly .4 pound loss last week!

So let's just say, I'm really thrilled about that. I can honestly see small changes now too. Like, really see them. I'm wearing my not so fat jeans today and they are fitting perfectly, I might add. (:

I'm so close to being down 20 pounds. Exactly 19.8 pounds so far. Damn it feels so good to see those numbers dropping and starting to see and feel  difference in my body is just so rewarding.

THEN! I get to class a few minutes early and find out the prof didn't hand back the exam on Thursday (which I missed). This makes me happy, because I hate missing the day we discuss the exam. This is my Industrial Psych class, for those of you who care? lol. Anyway... He gave a little speech about how difficult this test was for people and how there was a huge range of scores from awesome to "Why did you bother taking it at all?" I knew for sure I was the latter. Then I get it back to find out I got a 103/100 because there was a 3point bonus question. Freakin' blew my mind.

The rest of the day will undoubtably be uneventful. Bf won't be meeting me for lunch because he's tied up with homework. I was also too sick/lazy to pack anything last night or this morning. So I tossed a meal bar in my bag and decided that combined with breakfast would have to tied me over till I got home and heated up something for dinner. As boring as the rest of the day might be for me... The natural high of a 4.8 pound loss and a 103% on my exam will keeping me going for at least 2 days...

Today is also Valentine's Day. So Happy Valentine's Day! I know a lot of you out there are probably proponents of doing something unconventional for Valentine's Day and avoiding the box of chocolates. And I have to agree, it's a way better idea. But I am a chocolate fiend. And I need some truffles today or I will just die. This isn't going to be, "Go crazy and eat everything in sight" day like Superbowl... but I am totally buying something for myself. Bf and I agreed to skip it this year. We get totally slammed around this time of year because it's Christmas, his bday, my bday, and Valentine's day all in like a 3 month span. We go all out for Christmas and bdays and then just kinda skim over V-day.

I'm going to install Photoshop CS5 and Microsoft Office for Mac onto my new pretty now. I wish I could share all my happy and positivity with you guys, cause I have a ton to go around today and that's pretty unusual for me. Just stick with it, everybody! Good days always come around, you just have to get through the bad ones to get there sometimes!

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Edit: Bf and I decided to share a box of chocolates and have a nice dinner at a Hibachi grill not far from our apartment. My Stats prof also passed out fancy wedding cake flavored cupcakes, which I shared with bf. All together... I ate around 2,126 calories today. A very rough estimation. I also just weighed myself and the scale read a very ugly 205.2. But I'm not reading anything into THAT. I have lots of food in my belly and it's way later than I ever weigh myself.  So that's my Valentine's Day. 788 calories over my normal limit. Which means I should really only gain like... not even a quarter of a pound. If I gain anything at all from it. I'm being crazy. Just wanted to let you all know how I was insane and ate the entire Japanese Hibachi grill and like half a box of chocolates. haha Enjoy your days!!

Day 40 - I'm A Big Baby Today...

I feel like I never have super exciting, uplifting news anymore! I am getting sick and I'm being a big, whiny baby about it. I think it's just a cold... Or maybe my sinuses acting up. But I've got horrible post nasal drip and my throat is killing me and my body is all achy and my nose is doing some weird stuffy/runny combination thing. And I slept for like 11 hours last night and could probably sleep for 11 more.

I only have like 10 minutes before I need to blow dry my hair and get dressed for work at 1. 1-10. Talk about the worst shift in the entire world. Second to third shift I guess, which also really sucks.

I am going to do some changing around of my page again! I see other people's pages and get inspired to do things similarly. Jewlz280 (and I know a lot of other people also) made me really want to dedicate a page to goals, pictures, and weigh ins. I keep track of my measurements biweekly also. I think maybe I should throw those in somewhere also. It just seems like a good idea. For people who don't necessarily follow my blog regularly or those who are seeing it for the first time.

So that's something I'm going to do tomorrow after work, I think.

I am so dehydrated right now. My throat's dry and my lips are cracked and ready to fall off. I hate feeling like this! I've been drinking water by the gallon, but it never seems to help any. I'm also super constipated (AH! TMI alert). And so I'm eating bf's Fiber One cereal in hopes that helps. I don't wanna take a laxative.. because I know those are really rough on your system. But if this doesn't let up soon, I might have to budge on that.

I had a yummy egg white omelet this morning. And since I work such a stupid shift I'll probably have a meal bar around "lunch time" and eat something healthy for dinner at work. Maybe a salad with lots of veggies and jalapeno tuna again. I need something spicy to open my nasal passages up. hah Totally taking one of my Nature Valley crunchy granola bars to work to munch on between lunch and dinner too. Those things are so good. I like the maple flavored ones.

Okay... I have to start making myself beautiful now. Hope everyone is having an incredible day! Tomorrow I plan to go comment insane on some people's blogs I've been admiring from afar. haha I just don't have the time right now!

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Allllsooo!! Everyone who reads this should go check out my dear blogger buddie Sophie's blog "Diet Riot" off to the left under my blog roll and give her some love. She's going through some tough stuff and I think it would be nice to surprise her with some supportive, cheery comments for when she returns (: Thanks everyone!

Day 37 - It's My Biiiirthday!

It's true. Today's my birthday. Turned 23. Honestly, I always loved birthdays... but since my 21st, they all seem a little less exciting as time goes on. Looking forward to 25 when I get to see that big insurance price drop, though! haha

No celebrations are planned for this evening. I work at 8am tomorrow. This weekend there might be some celebrations. Fortunately (and unfortunately - I guess) my friends and I tend to celebrate more with alcohol than food... So I should be able to get through this weekend without completely wrecking my week.

I'm having some serious hunger pangs right now... I had a bagel thin with some laughing cow cheese this morning with my coffee, but I guess I've lost track of time because it is definitely lunch time. I think I'll hop on the elliptical for 20 minutes or so and then make myself something delicious for lunch. I'm thinking salad with canned jalapeno tuna. This tuna is so flavorful I never need dressing.. which is awesome.

Then tonight I'm making steak with baked sweet potato and some kind of frozen veggie. I'm feeling lazy and we have needed to cook these steaks for a while now. Can't let them go to waste, no matter how badly I want to avoid red meat.

I really wanna see at least a pound loss on Tuesday! I was a little disheartened about the .4 pound loss last week... Just wanna see a little more this week. It probably didn't help that it was my TOM. Which I didn't mention when I wrote that post.  Oh well. I've been really  good this week soooo far.

Now for some elliptical and lunch. Then making some dinner. Then taking a Clinical Psych exam this evening. Bam. Lots to do! No  more sitting on my butt on the couch!

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Day 35 - Another Impossibly Long Day

Wow... So I was typing this up in IE... but then it decided to crap out on me and just completely stop working. I should have known...

Sooo... (Once again) This is going to be a short little post. And honest to goodness short post... not one where I say it'll be short and then before I know it I've written 1,500 words.

I weighed today. I knew I shouldn't get TOO excited... But I wasn't necessarily disappointed either.

Last Week - 205.4

This Week - 205.0

So, a -0.4 pound loss. That's a heck of a lot better than a gain and even a little better than maintaining... So I'm satisfied. I wanna be a little dissappointed it wasn't more... but considering I lost 5 pounds last week, I'll take the tiny loss this week. I figure if anything this week has confirmed last week's loss, since I didn't gain it back.

This past week wasn't bad besides Sunday, but I still wasn't expecting great things this morning on the scale.

Now... I've taken my Industrial Psych exam already this morning. I'm going to have a salad from the campus buffet style lunch (I brought my own dressing because I'm a crazy control freak). Then I'm going to go to a few more classes, learn some stuff, do grocery shopping on the way home, clean my entire apartment, go back to campus for a club meeting, then meet bf's brother somewhere in town for hanging out-ness.

Whew. These long days kill me. Especially since I slept a whopping 5 hours last night. But, I do it to myself. So what can ya do?

Everyone have an incredible day! And since I keep reminding myself of this... I'll tell  you too. This is a life long journey to health... It won't happen over night. Small steps everyday and even though sometimes those steps seem bigger some weeks than others... You're still moving forward. Just don't quit altogether!

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Day 34 - Today Was A Chumbawamba Day!

I feel like this is almost embarrassing to admit... But I'm totally listening to Chumbawamba right now. They just get me super pumped. I'm not doing much right now that I need to be all pumped... but they put me in a good mood.

SO! How is everyone? I'm well. I have some positive and negative things to report for these past three days...

I can't even remember Friday... Which is why it's good I log my food... Let's see... Oh that's right. Friday was the first of probably a few birthday celebrations this week. My birthday is the 9th. The big "two-three". haha I'm feeling old! I ate really well all day... Then I drank my dinner. Went to the bar and had 3 pints of Guinness and a gin and tonic. I am NOT a binge drinker, usually... It was over the course of like 3 hours. That day was still only around 1,250 calories. Even if over half of that was alcohol... I consider it a success.

Then Saturday was also very good. And bad. I only ate like 1,000 calories. This isn't because I don't eat... I just don't eat a lot anymore. And It's always really healthy stuff. Plus work always screws me up when I close. I worked 1-10... So I ate a really late breakfast, kinda snacked for lunch then ate a normal dinner.

Sunday however... I went kind of insane. I considered not even counting my calories... but I thought I'd better. If I don't lose tomorrow, then I'll definitely know why. It was Super Bowl Sunday! (Yay, Giants!) And that calls for bad food, of course. We made a pizza and cut&bake cookies. I had 3 slices of home made pizza and freakin' 5 cookies. hah Dinner alone was 1,400 calories. The day ended up 1,880. I'm not sorry. I haven't eaten like THAT in a month. And that was something the old me would have not thought twice about doing multiple times a week. No wonder I weighed 235 pounds at one point.

At this point of my day I've eaten around 700 calories. I'm going to have a snack though before bed. I wanna keep it a lower calorie day because of yesterday. I'm not "making up for it" or anything... I just feel like I should kinda try and balance it a little? That sounds like making up for it... Oh well. Makes me feel better.

Tomorrow I'm going to WEIGH MYSELF! I get so excited about Tuesday's. I think I should probably lower my expectations a little... Since I had such a huge loss last week AND I stuffed myself last night. Also, I haven't drank hardly any water today. I'm probably retaining water like crazy. boo...

I hate an Industrial Psych exam tomorrow. I've never had this prof so I don't know what to expect from his tests... I hope it isn't too painful...

ALSO! Unrelated to food or weight... I finally ordered myself a new laptop. I had been breathing life back into my current one every few months. I've had it since my 18th birthday... Which makes it 5 years old in a few days. I think that's a long time for a laptop. It has been through a lot and it's been very reliable up until recently. I'm making the big switch from Windows to Mac and I'm very anxious. I expect to love it though... I ordered the 15" MacBook Pro with 8GB RAM and 720GB HD. And I opted for the high resolution screen. It should be a pretty sexy piece of technology. haha (;

It's a combination of what I'm doing with my tax money and a birthday present from my momma. She's wonderful and I miss her. ): She lives like... 3 hours away and it just feels like I never see her. sad. sad.

Anyway... I need to study. I never feel like I contribute anything of value to you guys. I just babble about my life and what I'm eating... Still lacking in the exercise department too. Soon (I keep saying that) bf and I are buying running shoes. For running. We have decided to give the Couch to 5K a whirl.

Okay...okay... Everyone have a good day or night, whichever it is when you're reading this.

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Day 31 - More Pictures... I'm A Glutton For Punishment.

Hellooo!! How are you wonderful people? I always wanna say ladies... but that is incredibly sexist. It's way wrong of me to assume there are no gentlemen out there in 3fatchicks blog-land.

So... I have to cut right to the chase. The hardest part of all this diet healthy lifestyle stuff is that I LOVE food! And I love sweets. And I hate telling myself no. Now, while I've done a pretty solid job of if so far (I cheat every once in a while - when I think it's really worth it), it's hard to think this has to be a forever kinda thing. So... I have to find new, healthier ways to satisfy these urges.

Enter: Arctic Zero. I'm sure some of you have heard of it... but those who haven't and love ice cream, please keep listening.

It's fat-free, low sugar, gluten free. It has 8 grams of fiber per pint and 14 grams of protein. It is non-GMO, which means it has no genetically modified ingredients. And of course, I've saved the best for last... It's 150 calories for the ENTIRE PINT. Yes. The whole pint. Which means for a serving, which is 1/2 cup... there's 37 calories. My mind was blown when I read about it, so I naturally wanted some.

Unfortunately, there are no stores within 100 miles that sells it. But that's what the internets are for. Amazon to the rescue. Last night, when I got home from my very, very long class day I had a wonderful little package waiting on me at the door. I ordered a 6 pack of this Arctic Zero... 3 chocolate and 3 peanut butter chocolate. (What can I say? All or nothing...) It was shipped in a styrofoam container with dry ice. I was a little worried it would arrive as soup, given the warm weather we have been having... but it was frozen solid!

Now... none of this matters if it tastes like complete crap. When I first opened it, it was really, really frozen. Once it thawed a little and I could actually get my spoon in... I was pleasantly surprised. It doesn't have the same consistency as ice cream. It's clearly labeled an "ice cream" replacement. If I had to try to describe it... I'd say it's a combination of ice cream and Italian ice. It's sort of flakey when you are scooping it, but it tastes very creamy. It's not too sweet and have NO weird artificial aftertaste. The peanut butter flavor is a little less intense than a typical peanut butter ice cream would be, but it's still very good.

You can sit down and eat the entire pint and have no guilty feelings... That basically won me over. I have been known to put away a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's in one or two sittings. I'm not proud of that... but yeah. I did it. Whatever. Now, while I don't condone this practice... if I ever want to sit down and eat a whole pint of this... I can. And I'll be 150 calories up rather than... what? 920 that a typical pint of B&J has. Wow. Huge difference.

Okay... now for the pictures!

My wrist looks kind of massive at this angle? But... taadaaaa!

Very important Nutrition Facts, in case you didn't believe me. haha

After a few bites. Looks like delicious chocolate ice cream to me. (:

*

I also wanted to do a little bragging about my after class snack last night... I'm pretty much famished after 12 hours of class and only having little nibbles, a small packed salad, and some stupid vacuum meal for dinner... So I came home and made a yummy cheesy spinach & mushroom egg-white omelet.

It's actually really hard to photograph food, as I'm learning. This doesn't look at awesome as I promise it was.

• 3 tablespoons egg white


• one whole mushroom, sliced


• 1/8 C chopped onion


• 1/3 C spinach


• 1 light Babybel Cheese Wedge


• 2 tablespoons salsa


• 2 tablespoons plain, nonfat Greek yogurt (thought that was sour cream, didn't you! haha Tastes exactly the same!)

All together that's only 120 calories. And it was very yummy. It probably only needed 1 tablespoon of the Greek yogurt, which would shave off like... 10 calories. Not really all that impressive, but it's something. I sometimes put a little hot sauce in the egg white before I cook it, to give it a little extra kick. I like my stuff spicy. (;

Alright... I'm all done now. I just felt like chit chatting about food for a bit. I hope this gives you guys healthy ideas! If you have tried or plan to try the Arctic Zero, you should let me know what you think!

Here's to hard work and determination,

-E

Day 30 - Officially One Month In.

I think this post might be a bit complain-y. And also short. And probably riddled with typos.

So lots of excitment for my 1 month success. I feel like it's something noteable, because I can honestly say that I have been about 85-90% on plan for 30 entire days. Which is no small feat for me.

I didn't sleep very well last night. It probably didn't help that it was f*#$ing 45 degrees last night and for some reason, and since it's FEBRUARY and I refuse to turn on my A/C my apt stayed right at 78 ALL NIGHT. Which is just entirely too warm for me to sleep in. I prefer it to be much cooler in my room. So I can cuddle up beside bf and be toasty under the covers... Not too hot under ONE sheet.

So I had one of those fall-asleep-and-wake-up-every-15-minute nights. Basically the worst.

And I am dragging today. Just dragging. Even my morning coffee didn't perk me up. Blaaah

So, in one month I've managed to lose around 15 pounds. Honestly...technically... 14.6 pounds. Which makes me very, very happy. I'm wearing my not-so-fat jeans today. They are a pair I've been wearing for like 5 years now, because I absolutely love them. But they got a little too tight for a few months and I kind of stopped wearing them and switched to fat-jeans. It makes me happy that they fit again. They aren't as loose as they have been in the past, but noooo muffin top either! (:

I have also seen a fair amount of change in my face. It's less puffy than it had been. Looking at Thanksgiving/Christmas pictures, I can see just a little less roundness happening. I'd really like to start loosing in my fingers too. They aren't super fat, I guess... but I used to wear a size 6.5-7 and now I'm more like a 7.5 and all my pretty rings are too snug and I'm too proud to get the resized. Because, WHAT'S the point of that? I'm going to get all healthy and need them smaller again anyway, duh.

I am also very pround of myself... Today is the day I'm on campus for right at 12 hours. I get here at like 8:30a and I don't get out of my last class till 9p. So if I don't wanna eat at the BK on campus or try to just completely guess about the healthiest choices in the cafeteria... I have to bring my lunch AND dinner. Which is exactly what I did!

One salad with shredded turkey, a string cheese cut up, tons of veggies, pico de gallo, and some yummy salsa ranch yogurt dressing.

A big bowl of sliced strawberries and about a 1/2 of grapes.

Then a stupid, but almost kinda healthy, vaccum sealed meal for dinner. It's not the best, but considering what I have to work with... I can't be picky. Then an apple and a caramel rice cake. I know... you're probably thinking... Seriously? A rice cake? ...YES! They are delicious if you buy the right ones! haha

I usually love writing on this during the day... but today I just feel like I should be more productive. I have an exam in Research Methods and Statistics in like... 4 hours. And I know if I don't spend some time on it, it's going to kick my ass. Then I need to start thinking about a term paper for Industrial Psych. Oh... and one for Clinical Psych. Oh oh, and another for Psychometrics. ): I love psychology... but why does every single class have to end with a 10-12 page paper? Can't me loving it be enough? haha

Everyone go out and make your days awesome! I'm definitely not one to say that today... because I'm kinda walking around half dead and looking like I hate the world. But... do better than me today. haha

H t H W & D,

-E

PS: I really need to start exercising more. I've got the eating healthy foods and moderation on lock, I think. But why can't I master this get my ass moving stuff too? Ugh ):