Week 3

This week was a rough one, it was one of those weeks where getting to the gym was a little harder then normal and staying on track took a little more effort. I'm okay with it though; today is a new week, which means a new start! Even though I had a rough week, I still lost a little bit of weight. When I first got on the scale, I was mad at myself for not doing better but then I had a "Come to Jesus Meeting" in my head and realized I was being ridiculous for being hard on myself. Needless to say, I am perfectly happy with my 1.6 lb weight loss this week but I am hoping for a better Week 4.

I am little less then 5lbs away from my 5% goal and it feels amazing! I had two moments this past week where I finally realized that I had lost a little weight. On Friday, The Mr. and I went out for dinner and when we sat down in the booth I realized that it wasn't such a tight squeeze anymore, I had a little breathing room! I was pretty excited about it even though it's a small achievement, I was super stoked! On Saturday we had to go to Othello to watch my niece perform in her Jr. Cheer performance and when I went to put on my shirt for the day I noticed it felt a little loose. I had worn it a few weeks before and remember it feeling a little snug around the tummy area but on Saturday it felt comfortable! Woo hoo!

So as of today, I am currently 12.8 pounds down from where I started and I have never been happier!

Week 2

My second week of WW is now over and today marks my first day of week 3! Week 2 was good and I'm proud of where I am. Again, I still have a lot of weight to lose but I didn't get fat over night so I'm not going to lose weight over night.

I didn't get to go to Curves twice this week but the days that I didn't go I did a walking video at home. I wanted to get some kind of exercise in and it paid off in the end as I still lost this week.

On Friday we had friends over and Kyle cooked us dinner, it was super yummy but uber fatting too. I felt so sick after dinner and I didn't know if I was going to throw up or poop my pants, literally. I felt so nasty. It just proved to me that my body is getting used to eating healthy and eating the way I used to is horrible.

So anyway, back to the good news, I lost a few more pounds this week and I'm so excited! For week 2, I lost 4.6 lbs making my total weight loss 11.2 lbs so far! Whoop Whoop! That makes me want to do a dance!



Here's to a great week 3 and hopefully more pounds GONE!

If you lost a pound a week in 2011....

By Valentine's Day you'd be 7 lbs. lighter... How lovely!
By St. Patrick's Day you'd be 11 lbs. lighter... Who needs Luck of the Irish?
By Easter you'd be 16 lbs. lighter... Talk about a happy spring!
By Memorial Day you'd be 23 lbs. lighter... Is there a better way to kick off summer?
By Flag Day you'd be 25 lbs. lighter... Just another thing to take pride in!
By Independence Day you'd be 27 lbs. lighter... Another step towards independence from bad habits!
By Labor Day you'd be 36 lbs. lighter... What a day off!
By Columbus Day you'd be 41 lbs. lighter... And discovering a lot about what you can do!
By Halloween you'd be 44 lbs. lighter... Hopefully by now you've overcome your fears!
By Thanksgiving you'd be 47 lbs. lighter... With so much to be thankful for!
By Christmas Eve you'd be 51 lbs. lighter... You'd have plenty of reason to be merry!
By New Year's Eve you'd be 52 lbs. lighter... It's not just a new year, It's a new You!

How's that for inspiration?!?!  I love it!

I have a dream....

I dreamt last night that I was running, not running away from anything, not running in fear but running because that's how I was getting my exercise. I remember enjoying my run and my body not hurting or being in pain, I remember wanting to run more and more and more....then I woke up.

I want to live that dream, I want to be at the physical point where I can run and enjoy it; I want to be able to run and not hurt or feel pain in every joint of my body. It was so liberating to feel that way in my dream last night, I can not stop thinking about.

I know it's a long way until I will be able to do that and that's okay. I know that I may never be able to run as far as other people and that's okay. I do know that someday, I will run until I can't run anymore and the only thing that will hurt is my feet from running so far, okay maybe my knee too, damn that dislocated knee in sixth grade!

I'm so ahead of myself and there are a ton of other milestones that I have to reach before I can do all the things I dream of, but it's okay to dream, isn't it?

I remember waking up this morning and the first thing I said was "Babe, I dreamt that I was running!" I'm sure The Mr. thought I was crazy but it just felt so real and so good.

I hope I dream about that again tonight.

Weekly Plan

It's been a lovely day off, well besides the fact that I woke up with a horrible headache but it went away quickly after I took an Ibuprofen 800! The weekend zoomed by and I'm really not ready to head back to work tomorrow but it'll be a quick week and then I have Monday and Tuesday off next week for Scentsy's Spring Sprint in Spokane! I'm super stoked for it but I'll write about that later.

I meant do to this yesterday with my weigh loss post but spaced it so I'll post it today! Here's my weekly weight loss chart from WW's, there's also a graph that is shown on my end but it shows my actual weight and I'm not ready to show that yet. I don't think I've even told The Mr., he may have seen it, but I haven't voluntarily given him the actual number. Not only did I lose 6.6 lbs, I also lost 3.25 inches! Whoop whoop!

As promised yesterday, I will try to post our dinners for the week. I'm excited to try some new items and cook from scratch again! I did cook a few I found this weekend and they were awesome. So far, I'm 2/2 on them and plan on keeping them forever!

For dinner on:

Saturday: Beef Nachos; there we're really good and made with a black bean/meat mixture that was amazing and I'll be using it for other items like tacos and other yumminess! 3+ points per serving too!

Sunday: Slow Cooker Lasagna; this was AMAZING! I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out because of the noodles in the crock pot. I was worried it would be dry and the noodles be a little hard but it was perfect! I'll be keeping this forever and I don't know if I'll ever make it another way. So easy and so perfect! 9+ points per serving.

For dinner this week we will have:

Monday: Chicken Divan, Lightened Up; 8+ points per serving

Tuesday: Shepard's Pie, Lightened Up; 7+ points per serving

Wednesday: Skinny Sloppy Joes & Oven Fries; 6+ points per serving

Thursday: Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry; 5+ points per serving

Friday: Slow Cooked Sweet Barbacoa Pork with Chipotle's Cilantro Lime Rice; 11+ points per serving

I haven't planned for next weekend because I'm not sure what our plans our yet but I'll have it figured out by the end of the week.

Here's to another healthy week and more lost weight!

The number is...

I'm so excited to share with you my weight loss for the week, I don't even know what to start writing about. I'll recap the week and then end with the great ending I had!

Week 1 recap:

• I worked out 5 days this week, followed my plan to the T, and even when our plans got altered a little bit, I still did my best to eat healthy and stay within budget, and I did!


• I tried grapefruit again and I enjoyed it and can't wait to buy more!


• I tried a few new recipes this weekend and The Mr. and I loved them both, they were so good and filling!


• We had dinner before we went to the birthday party like I wanted to and I was able to stay within my points, I was very proud of that!


• I drank 48+ ounces of water everyday and I can really feel the difference in the way I feel.


• I'm trying to think of this as a major lifestyle change rather then a diet and so far I haven't had a day where I don't think I can do this.

I really still can not believe  what I lost this first week, I had to look at it a few times to believe it. Okay...are you ready?!? As of today, I am 6.6 lbs lighter then I was last Sunday! I know it's a very little number for the amount I should lose, but it's a huge step in the right direction! I'm so excited and can't wait to tackle week 2!

I'll post the new recipes I tried this weekend and our dinner plans for the week tomorrow!

I still can't believe it, 6.6 lbs!

Weekend Plans

I changed the way I post item into my Weight Loss Diary so if you're subscribed to my blog or just read my blog you don't have to go and find any post about my weight loss. Everything will be updated like normal in normal order, but if you want to just read about my weight loss then you can go and click on my Weight Loss Diary.

I had to change the date each time I posted something about weight loss before and it was just becoming annoying!

In other news, I've really enjoyed my day off today and I'm so looking forward to my four day weekend, I just want it slow down. I'm currently waiting for The Mr. to get home from work so we can go grab dinner and then go grocery shopping. This is the first time I'll be grocery shopping while on WW, I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. I just want to make sure I pick healthy food and stay focused on that. I'll be taking my WW calculator and making sure I'm picking items that are low in points but still filling and healthy!

Tomorrow we will be going to one of The Mr.'s coworkers birthday parties. She's turning 30 and is throwing a huge party with a dinner and everything! I'm really worried about this and I hope we eat dinner at home before going so I stay on track and don't go over my points.

I can't wait for Sunday! I wish it was tomorrow! It's my first weigh in day and I hope I see something positive on that scale! After my meeting we will be watching the Seahawks game with friends and then heading to our FPU class. Our class is at a weird time so it makes dinner a little difficult but The Mr. thought maybe we could put something in the crock pot in the afternoon and then come home after our class and eat dinner. He's so amazing and I was so surprised to find so many recipes that will work great with my WW meal plan.

Come Monday I am going to be ready to sleep in and do nothing! I'll go work out and cook dinner but other then that, I plan on relaxing at home and enjoying a quiet day!

Slow down weekend, slow down!

Quickie

I thought I would update really fast before starting my day.

I just got done eating a healthy yet delicious breakfast. I've never really been a big breakfast eater but since starting WW, I wake up semi hungry and within 30 minutes to an hour, I'm ready for a meal. For breakfast I had: 1 low carb mission 8 inch tortilla, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup mexican style shredded cheese, salsa and a banana! I made a breakfast burrito and had the banana on the side, all for 8 points! Whoop whoop! It was good and filling!

I didn't realize how easy WW is and I'm glad I decided to join! I've been drinking 48+ ounces of water a day and maybe a Coke Zero for dinner and I can feel the difference in my energy and the way my body feels. The first day I was peeing like a crazy woman but I think my body is starting to understand.

Another thing The Mr. and I have decided to do is plan our weekly meals so we can shop accordingly. I'm excited! I went through yesterday and found a bunch of recipes through WW and Skinnytaste.com that we're going to try! I printed them out and just have to make the list before we go shopping tonight.

I have a busy day so I better get going! Here's what I gotta do in no particular order: workout, cash pay check, get nails done, make shopping list, eat snacks, eat lunch, plan dinner and shower.

On the right foot

I hope this determination to lose weight keeps going because I don't think I've ever been so focused on losing weight before. I'm really enjoying WW, I don't feel like I'm starving myself or that I'm not able to eat the things I love. That's one thing that WW prides themselves in; being able to eat what you want, in moderation and still be able to lose weight. I'll take it!

WW gives you a daily number of points you are allowed to eat and every food you eat has a point value to it. It's really a simple, clean cut program. I also get 49 weekly points that you can use however you would like, a lot of people save them for the weekend or for special events. If for whatever reason you go over your daily points, your weeklies get taken away. You can also earn points for activity (working out, walking etc.). I love the program so far and it works! Check out WW on Facebook and look at all the pictures, if that doesn't inspire you, I don't know what will!

I have also been working out at Curves and today I did Zumba. It feels good to be back at the gym and so far I haven't been too sore (crosses fingers!). I'm really dang proud of myself!

Right now my biggest problem seems to be cooking dinner, I'm trying to cook healthy meals but also be hearty so that way it fills The Mr. up too. I ran across Skinnytaste and I'm officially in love! The writer is a WW member and gives recipes for some amazing dishes that I need to try! I can not wait to try her enchiladas or some of her slow cooker recipes. I'm all about the crockpot!

I weigh in on Sunday and of course I will update everyone! I really hope to see something AMAZING on the scale! Speaking of scales, I bought a food scale this evening and I love it! I'm so damn determined. I dream to be a skinny bitch someday!

FPU and things

Weekends fly by too fast, especially this weekend because we had something to do all three days. On Friday night we went out with some of The Mr.'s coworkers for a few beers and chitchat; Saturday we went to Josh and Jami's for the amazing Seahawks football game and then yesterday we started our Davy Ramsey's Financial Peace University (FPU) class.

Now, I'm going to be honest, I was not very good with my finances until I met The Mr.. I didn't really care before and it wasn't because no one taught me the difference, I just wanted what I wanted when I wanted it and no one was going to stop me. I had credit cards up the yingyang and I'll be honest, rarely paid my bills. With that being said, meeting The Mr. was probably the best thing that has happened to me, and not just because he's an amazing boyfriend but because he opened my eyes to different things. He showed me how important it is to take care of and control my finances, he showed me what being debt free does and how important it is to live a debt free life. Am I debt free today? No way, I have student loans I'm paying on still and will be paying on for years to come, but that's okay. Am I on my way to being debt free? Heck yes.

I wasn't too excited about going to FPU but did it because I know how important it is for our relationship and how passionate The Mr. is about Dave Ramsey and what he believes in. So, we went and I listened and took it all in. Dave is an amazing speaker and is so intriguing to listen to so that part was easy. I'm sure I know I walked in with a guard up  because a part of me still wants no one to tell me what to do with my money and how to manage it, but I sat back, put my big girl panties on and took it in. Now I'm excited about the next 12 weeks of this class, I'm excited to learn more about his program and the way it works and I can't wait to be debt free!

I feel almost like a new woman, dieting, working out, financial classes and on my way to being debt free. Holy moly!

Anyway, the weekend went by so fast and now I'm back to work but The Mr. is at home enjoying a day off. I'm so jealous. We (the boys and I) went to the apartment for lunch and he was still in in his PJ's watching T.V. Must be freakin' nice!

Updated

I've started my Weight Loss Diary, if you are subscribed to my blog I'm not sure you will updated when I post something because of the way I have it set up. But if you click on my Weight Loss Story a drop down menu will appear and you can read my Weight Loss Diary from there.

I'll be blogging about life in general here and then anything that has to do with weight loss will be in my Weight Loss Diary.

Enjoy the journey!

Working on me

I've struggled with my weight my whole life, I always was the big girl. It used to bother me, actually it drove me crazy. I was always the fat one and I had beautiful friends. They always had boyfriends and cute clothes and though I had other things to worry about then boys I still wanted cute clothes and because of my weight it was very hard for me to find them. I was often made of fun, even by those who were close to me and by people who I still dislike today. But, I learned to cope with it, I learned to let it go in one ear and out the other, I learned to turn my nose up at it and kept telling myself that as long as I was happy then they could deal with it.

I never really tried to lose weight in high school, I was too busy (We all say that, right?). Between basketball stats, band and sporting events, I felt I had no time to focus on my weight. After high school, I went to college and we all know about the famous Freshman 15, yeah well, I was a victim of it. In September of 2005, after being in the college for just a month or so, I broke my ankle and with all that stress of school, not being mobile for 6+ weeks, the weight poured on. I then moved to Seattle July of 2006 and was in a very  unhealthy relationship, an unstable home and ate fast food ALL THE TIME, I repeat, ALL THE TIME. The weight poured on again. To make a long story short, I'm now at the heaviest weight I can remember and I'm sick and tired of being fat and unhealthy.

If you read my blog, I've been trying to get my butt back in gear and go to the gym but we all know that with losing weight it's also about the diet. I feel like I've tried it all this past year, from calorie counting to eating Nutrisystem like food and nothing seems to be working, so I've decided to try WeightWatchers (WW). I signed up yesterday, and went to my first meeting as well as started the diet today. WW just revamped their program and it is now called PointsPlus and I think it's amazing. I'm still shocked by how much I ate today and I'm still under my points value. I hope and pray this is the answer to my prayers and I can start to lose weight. I plan on going to the gym 3 days a week as well as following the diet and this time I am so determined.

I know I'm going to have bad days and good days, and even bad weeks. I'm ready to take this battle on full force and ride the bull! I'm excited to be going to the meetings, it will give me a way to hold myself accountable, to meet other people who are doing this and to get informed about the program week by week.

I'm determined, I'm determined, I'm determined.

My heart hurts.

My heart is so heavy tonight and hurts. I don't know these people and I can only imagine the kind of people they were, but knowing they died a horrible death and knowing how they died breaks my heart and I weep for their families. I'm sure there are tons of people who are writing about this, talking about this or reading about this and just like I did, realize how short and precious life really is. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read the story here or check out their Facebook Support Page.

I read a lot of blogs and one of the blogs I read is NieNie Dialogues. She is a burn survivor and her story is amazing, she also is an amazing writer and is just inspiring in general. Because she's a burn survivor she has a heart for others who are going through the same situation she's been in and today she told us about Jesus and Kate and their horrible story. I read it and I prayed. I continued to read into it a little bit and was reading comments that people had left and finally got to the comment when someone updated us letting us know that Kate had passed away. I prayed again and I cried. Her life was cut so short, she had the world at her hand; she was beautiful, great job, was just engaged, planning an amazing future, I'm sure, and boom; it's gone.

I can't stop thinking about this, I can't get it out of my head. I can not understand how someone could just hate their life and the world so much that they would intentionally physically hurt others, even more so, burn the life right out of them. I hope this man rots in hell. I hope this man dies the way he killed them.

Then there are the people who are donating money to the family, offering to do skin graphs for her, offering whatever the families may need. These people do not even know the family but are touched and moved by the story and the heartache of it and are willing to help. My faith in humanity gets restored little by little with acts like this.

Life is so short, I often forget how short is it, how quickly something or someone can be taking away from me. I pray this family can find peace in all this horrible mess, that they get justice where it's deserved and that their hearts heal with time as quickly as possible.

I'm counting my blessings tonight and I hope you are too.

So. Frustrated.

With the new year upon us, everyone is talking about losing weight, going to the gym, getting their life style back in check and of course it's really got me thinking and wanting to go back to the gym. The Mr. pays for our membership every month and we have yet to go to the gym for a while now. A few months back, I was doing really good, going almost everyday and then something happened to my foot and I could barely walk and I haven't been back since. Horrible.

With that, I'm really going try to start going to the gym again. I told The Mr. I wouldn't go full force just yet because the last thing we want is to hurt my foot again. Now, getting off my ass and actually going is the tough part. It's a war in my head all day; "I'll go to the gym after work...no you won't, yes you will..." And then I don't. I recently went back to Curves and joined again, with good intentions, but I haven't made it to Richland to actually work out. I called today because I hadn't been charged for December's fee but they had the wrong card number and they asked me go down there to run the card, maybe it's a sign that I just need to go. See, I'm signed up to two gyms and I haven't gone in months. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!?!

I've said it before and I'm sure I sound like a broken record but I am going to go back to the gym, I am going to watch what I eat and I am going to lose weight. I wish I had something or someone holding me accountable! I'm really frustrated with myself and this situation. I'm GOING to Curves tomorrow and I'm GOING to work out and then I'm going to find out when the next Zumba class is at Club 24 and I'm GOING to go shake the fat off my ass.

Here's to you, 2011!

I mentioned before that I'm not big on coming up with New Year's Resolutions because I never stick to them. I'll be good for a few weeks and then I'll forget or give up. So, I really wasn't going to come up with one, until I got home this evening and was catching up on some of the blogs I read. I came across Your Wishcake and could not help but become moved and trilled about her resolution.

I want to embrace each moment for what it's worth, I want to learn to embrace the good times and of course the bad times, embrace each relationship, embrace my job, embrace my life and everything that comes with it. I want to learn to find the joy in everything and not focus on the bad. That's my resolution, that I embrace everything as it comes and learn to love it.

I know that I'll have good days and horrible days, I know some are going to be harder then others and I'm sure there are some things that I'm going to have a harder time embracing, like learning to enjoy doing laundry or the dishes, but it'll all come with time, right?

I'm looking forward to what the year has to bring and I'm ready to embrace everything as it comes. I'm just going to roll with the punches!