Day 214

Jumped on the scale to some GREAT news today! I waited a couple of days past my usual Friday weigh-in as I wasn't sure how much my less than perfect eating last weekend would effect the numbers, but lo and behold, I hopped on today to see a friendly little 196.4 on the scale! That's another 1.8 pounds, folks!

I'm getting to a point where I'm ready to change my goal weight from 170 to 140. 140 was always the real goal, but I guess I went with the more achievable 170 in the beginning so I wouldn't freak myself out with the knowledge that I had 100 pounds to lose. Now that I'm almost halfway there, I know beyond a doubt that 140 is perfectly achievable for me! But still, I might leave it at 170 until I actually hit it, just to give myself another big milestone to achieve.

Really for the first time now, I'm beginning to notice how much better I feel, physically and emotionally, having lost so much poundage. I really began to notice over graduation weekend, when I not only allowed my picture to be taken, I asked for my picture to be taken, and once it was, I actually enjoyed looking at myself in them. I could picture how those days would have been had this weight loss journey never happened. I would have been uncomfortable in whatever dressy outfit I had found to wear. I would discourage picture taking. I would hate what I saw in the pictures I was obliged to pose for.

That in itself made the weekend so memorable and fun...I didn't feel like a tub of lard, and there was no trace of that hopeless feeling I used to get that I would never find a way out of my weight problems. Now, with so much weight gone, I not only have more energy and optimism, but my whole mindset has changed. And, obviously, for the better.

So the goal for this week is to get some recipes together, cook a few meals, and get some exercise in. I got two bouts of my ab workout in last week, so if I can double that this week that'll be the ticket! Love you awesome people, and I'll be back to check in soon!

Day 201

Oh my gracious we've passed day 200 and I didn't even know it! Well isn't that just dandy, as I swooped right under 200lbs last Friday to a exciting 198.2!

So I just turned in the very last paper of my college career, and of course the first thing I had to do was scoot on over and give my poor neglected blog a little sugar! More Splenda, really. But you get my drift. I wish I could be more jumping for joy over the fact that I don't have to write another paper for a very, very long time (Fate, don't even think that's me tempting you to set me on a path to grad school!), but I had to get up at 5AM this morning (it was really more like 4:45...thanks Gigi) to make it back to Athens for an 8AM final.

You may ask: Did you do that on purpose?

No. No I did not.

I was just hanging out with mi madre last night around this time, uploading Lindsey's graduation pictures to Facebook and generally just hanging out. I just happened to check our class website somewhere in between all that, being all extra prepared and looking up what time my final was scheduled on Wednesday. I look at the date my professor posted, which clearly says "May 10." I think, hmmm, that's funny, today's the ninth, but tomorrow is Tuesday...

Yeah, it clicked into place pretty fast. I buried my face in my hands and groaned, "Mom, I have a final tomorrow at 8AM."

Hello, 5AM.

Happily, I made it back to Athens safely, despite my grogginess, and against all odds somehow plowed through that three hour final. Yes, it took me all three hours, which is great on an English exam as it means you have enough info in your head to keep your pencil scrawling away for three hours straight. Despite the fact that I hadn't reviewed half of the material, I think I scraped through pretty well. We'll see on Monday!

Oh, and I made the same mistake with the other final paper that I mentioned in my last post as being due Wednesday night, but somehow I figured that one out several days ago. I have no idea why I was unable to apply this knowledge to my exam. All's well that ends well, I guess! At least I got done with everything a day earlier than expected.

But yeah, I am wiped out. You may have already guessed, but I didn't cook anything tonight. Maybe tomorrow, when my vacation begins!!!

Love you all. Can't wait to venture into the one hundreds with you guys!

Day 179

Oops, I just realized I never posted on Thursday! I even had pictures! Oh well, guess I'll just include it today. I improvised a very delicious burger "salad" Thursday night (the leftovers from which I had tonight!) with lean ground beef, spring mix, tomatoes, avocado, pan-fried shallots, and goat cheese. Yum!!

Isn't it loverly? So nice I had it twice! I'm telling you, I do NOT miss buns when I can eat burgers like this. So very, very tasty!

Also, I weighed in on Friday, and Wednesday's weight turned out not to be a fluke...I'm at 205!! That puts me 35 lbs down, half way to my first goal!! An exciting landmark, so I had to take pictures to document my progress. Here are the results: 

click for larger

Crazy how there's not much difference between 240 and 220, but 15 pounds more and you can really tell a difference! So exciting to see that! When I first looked at these, my initial thought was, "Oh my gosh, I look like a person again!" I know, I know...I've been a person the whole time, lol. But for once I don't hate the way I look. Of course, it always helps to stand next to a couple of chubbier gals. :) 

My most wonderful and awesome Mom took me shopping this weekend, and I'm officially down a pant and shirt size as well...the pants in the above picture are size 16 (down from 18! yay!) and the shirt is a large. SO nice not to see an X on the tag!!

This Friday will mark my six month point. I can't believe I've been at this for a full six months. Amazing! You guys have helped me so much...don't know what I'd do without y'all!

Here's the calorie count for the day: 

Breakfast

Puffins w/ skim milk — 228

Coffee w/ fat-free creamer — 60

Lunch

Gala apple w/ peanut butter — 275

Dinner

Burger salad again! — 387

Snacks

Sugar-free pudding — 60

Total: 1,010

I'm getting better about eating enough calories. Still need to eat better lunches though! And more green things. Always more green things.

Day 174

So I got some crazy news on the scale this evening...of course, it's not my usual weigh-in, so I can't really trust the numbers, but I jumped on just for the heck of it and was down to 205.6! This came as a shock, because I weighed on Monday to find myself at an abysmal 210, which I blamed on a week that started with chocolate and ended with cupcakes (though none of that bad stuff in between, thank goodness!). But somehow, between Monday and today, I dropped 5lbs. Water weight, I'm hoping? Maybe I didn't do as much damage as I thought!

Part of it might be due to the fact that my appetite sort of fled today, so I weighed on a mostly empty stomach. Don't know what happened...I had a pretty hearty omelet for breakfast, but after that I got wrapped up in finishing projects and didn't get hungry until tonight at 8, at which point I had a Slim Jim and a grapefruit. Seriously, I had no intention of eating so little today, but I got in the zone and kind of forgot to eat. Trust me, that doesn't happen to me very often! But I'm due for a trip to the grocery, so we'll get back on food planning tomorrow.

Here's the meager calorie count:

Breakfast
Omelet w/ pepper jack, goat cheese, calabrese salame, and avocado - 365

Lunch
Eek! Nada.

Dinner
Grapefruit w/ Splenda - 76
Slim Jim - 40

Total: 481

Yikes!! I'm going to go have something light before bed or I'm going to wake up starving!

Day 152

So despite my good intentions, I went off the blogging radar over spring break. I did cook a couple of nights, but I totally forgot to take pictures, and otherwise just got out of my routine. I did stick with good eating and exercising though! Which is probably why I surpassed the 30lb mark (I weighed in this morning and was 207.6!) and am now well on my way to the 100s!

I really can't wait until I turn that first number on the scale from a 2 to a 1. I'm finally starting to feel the weight loss in my body...for example, I looked at my thighs at one point over spring break and was surprised at how much smaller they looked. My clothes still seem to fit about the same, though I have gone down a bra cup size, which is not exactly appreciated. I would much rather lose from the stomach or booty! Oh well...a smaller size is always welcome, no matter what the clothing item is.

I just got back from the grocery, but for some reason when I was looking for recipes before going I really hit the doldrums...I just couldn't get excited about most of the things I came across. I think this was mostly because I was hot (it's currently 80 in Athens and I had only just turned the AC on) and the prospect of eating a hot meal was not very appealing. All I could think about was cold salads! So I got plenty of salad stuff. I also got a pound of ground beef, which I haven't had in a while, in order to make Susie Bee's Burgers and Kalyn's Greek Meatballs. I got some chicken too, in case I decide I want some later in the week.

I also discovered some yummy chipotle hummus at Trader Joe's! Very very tasty. Sadly, although they usually have the biggest, most delicious avocados of all the grocery stores I frequent, they were puny and expensive today. So I only got one, planning to go back to Walmart or Kroger later in the week if I need to. However, Trader Joe's did not disappoint with their Gala apples! I had one a minute ago and it was kind of amazing. Although this may be partially due to the fact that I was starving!

Oh, and a quick question...why in Sam Hill are sunflower seeds so fattening? I mean, they're tiny! And yet, 18g of fat for a 1/4 cup. Seriously, sunflower seeds? Seriously? They're practically pure fat.

But I bought some anyway. After much hemming and hawing. I mean, they're good on salad. Just have to make sure I moderate!

Love you all. Thanks for keeping up with me. You guys are the best!

Day 137

Hi all! Sorry for the long silence. I took a breather over the weekend and recharged my South Beach batteries. I'm going to go back to Phase One rules this week and steer clear of carbs, in hopes of burning those pounds off a little quicker! I haven't really been eating that many carbs, but I figure it can't hurt to cut back. Especially because next week is spring break and it might be a little harder to stay on track while I'm on vacation.

I did 30 minutes of my ab workout today! It's great, I've gotten to where I can do everything they do in the video, even though I have to work a little harder. I hope my abs are grateful. But the repetition feels really good...that belly better start shrinking!

I made a delicious salad for dinner tonight, but it didn't look like much, so I didn't take pictures. I discovered beef bacon at Trader Joe's today, which is half the fat of pork bacon. So I thought I'd give it a try and see if it was better than turkey bacon. Well, it definitely is! There's not as much crunch or crisp as in pork bacon, but the flavor and texture is so much better than turkey! It was great on my salad, and since I only eat bacon on salad anyway, I think it's safe to say I'm a beef bacon convert! Plus it doesn't have any nitrites, which are what really make bacon bad for you.

Otherwise, I've been working like a dog on various school things...my professors decided to make everything due the week before spring break, of course. So I've got 2 papers, a video project, and a midterm to complete before Friday. Pray for me, and don't be shocked if I go missing for a day. I planned meals for this week though, so hopefully I'll have some fun pictures to share!

Oh! By the way! Weigh-in on Friday was finally good news! I'm down 1.2 pounds to 211.8! Woohoo!!

Day 120

So wow, folks. It's been about four months since I started this. Four months. One third of a whole year! Frankly, it's still a little unbelievable to me that I've kept this going for this long. Sure, I've had my ups and downs. Over Christmas, I just about put things on hold. But the fact that I came back full force after Christmas is a sign that something about me has changed. Usually once I let things go, it's hard for me to pick them back up again. Not so in this case. It's like something in my brain just clicked into place!

I've been consistently exercising four times a week since I got back to school (and before I left, too). It might not seem like much to most people, but for me, who led an almost completely sedentary lifestyle prior to October 22, 2010, it is a HUGE accomplishment. I have never been an exerciser. Let alone a regular exerciser.

Now, I feel confident enough to say that I am. Whoa.

I've also gone four months without french fries, cheeseburgers, or candy. Four months. And while I've had my moments of cravings, I haven't given in to them. And honestly, I really don't miss it. Because I feel so much better without it.

I've also gone four months without binging or sneaking food. Four months. I don't know exactly what has adjusted emotionally to stop me from binging, because I haven't even felt tempted to. Not even when I'm stressed or feeling down. Crazy stuff, guys. Crazy.

Now that I've italicized about half of all that, we can move on. I just had to step back and revel in it for a minute.

In other news, I weighed in this morning, and lost another .6 pounds! That officially puts me down 27 pounds total. I've noticed that my weight loss seems to have slowed down lately, but I've been keeping under my calorie goals and have been exercising, so I'm not sure what's causing it. I think maybe I'm actually digging into the tough poundage now. But I feel great, and that's what matters!

As I mentioned in my last post, not only did I walk today but did 15 minutes of my ab workout video! I'm going to try to start doing 15-20 minutes of the ab stuff every day, on top of 30 minute walks four times a week (I'd like up it to five, so we'll see how that goes). That way, I'll be getting cardio and some tummy work done, and I'll be able to double my weekly exercise time. I don't know if I'll manage abs tomorrow though, as I'm really hurting after doing it two days in a row. I might just try decreasing the time. But the video really gets those abs working! Ouch!

Man, I sure seem to have a lot to say today. But let me get to the most important part: dinner! Dinner tonight was a total win!!

I actually used a recipe I saw on Food Network from Aarti Sequeira, Pea-lafels. They're basically falafels, but with peas and edamame instead of chickpeas. I know, I'm going all international this week, aren't I?

Doesn't that look delicious? After a week of pretty ho-hum meals (with the exception of that Roti Chicken, of course), this was a great way to end up. It was like a cheeseburger for a girl who's trying to be healthy. The bread is whole wheat pita, the sauce is nonfat Greek yogurt with fresh mint (which I ended up adding dill and lemon to, to make it a little more like tzatziki sauce), and the pea-lafels, while pan-fried, are full of really good (and by good, I mean healthy) stuff. So tasty, and I truly got the same satisfaction out of it as I would have with a big ol' burger! Seriously, y'all have got to try this. It's relatively easy to do, and so good. I think next time I'll add some greens and tomatoes in there...the recipe didn't call for it, but I think it would be pretty good.

I think for next week, I'm going to have to limit myself to making only 3 or 4 meals instead of 5 or 6, because right now, the fridge is jam-packed with leftovers. I have got to remember to half my recipes! So I should be very well fed this weekend.

Okay, I'll shut up now. Happy weekend everyone! Love all y'all!

Day 116

I'm going to make this kind of brief, as I'm exhausted and the head hurts and I need my beauty sleep. BUT, some good news first - the scale finally went down!!

I jumped on it tonight before my shower, just for a looksy, and lo and behold, I was down to 213.6! And at night, too! I don't really know what to make of this...losing almost four pounds in three days. Only thing I can think is that I was retaining water for some strange, unknown reason. But I'm not complaining! I hope it's not just a fluke. I rechecked it three times to make sure it was accurate, but who knows? Anyways, it was really nice to see some friendly numbers on the scale after two weeks of not so friendly numbers. Hopefully this will continue!

One thing I've decided to try doing is giving up soda. I drink a LOT of it. I always get diet, so I tell myself it's okay, but I know it's bad for me. And I've heard that it can actually make it harder to lose weight. So I'm going to try and nix it. Water is always better, but if I have soda in the house, I will always grab that first. So I got some flavored sparkling water to wean myself off, and it hasn't been bad so far! Hopefully I won't miss it too much...I've been using it to satisfy my sweet tooth at times, so I'm going to have to think of new strategies.

Also, I went for my walk today! It was an absolutely beautiful day, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

Here's what I had for dinner, Chicken Bacon Bites and Creamed Spinach. I switched with Tuesday because I don't trust the salmon at Wal-mart and didn't feel like dragging myself to Kroger just for salmon.

I know, I know. There I go again with the bacon. But between the two pieces of chicken up there, there was only one slice of bacon, so I don't feel too bad. Moderation! Sadly, the spinach didn't turn out quite how I intended. I'm not sure what I did to it, but it was a little too salty, and I'm really sensitive to salt. Sigh. I'll try to get it right next time! But the chicken bacon bites were pretty much amazing. The glaze you put on them is delicious...usually I have to put sauce on my chicken, but this didn't need it at all. SO good.

So I'm going to go crash now. Love you all! Thanks for all the sweet comments! You guys are so great at keeping my spirits up.

Day 115

So this post was intended for Friday, but then, of course, the weekend happened! So this will be a combination of end of the week/beginning of the week posts.

First of all: Sigh. The scale did not yield the happy news I had expected. Gained .4 pounds. I can't decide why this is, as I've been sticking to healthy eating and exercise. But I do know that, if I keep at it, eventually the scale will go down. This is the point at which, in the past, I would have started getting discouraged. I might have even let the disappointment get to me and resorted to fast food/candy to dull the ache.

Thus, it was a HUGE sign of how my habits are changing when, on Friday after the second disappointing weigh-in in a row, I resolved to redouble my efforts instead of sabotaging myself. I went out for my walk with renewed determination and worked it, thinking not about how nice a cheeseburger would taste, but about the great calories I was burning!

Because the fact of the matter is, even if the scale doesn't look like I want it to at the end of the week, you just can't go wrong with healthy eating and exercise. Eventually, you're going to lose weight. On the other hand, if you get discouraged and let your good habits go, weigh-ins are going to get increasingly depressing. DUH. So I'm not letting myself get down about it! I sat down and laid out my meals for next week, and I'm ready for another week of regular blogging, cooking, and being healthy! I won't be defeated that easily!

For dinner on Friday I had black bean burgers. The black bean soup, in case you were wondering, has been postponed indefinitely. Here are the burgs:

I don't know. They were okay. Might have been better on a bun. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but they were kind of crumbly and the flavor wasn't that great. I tried to adapt them from two different recipes, and I think I cut out too many things. After enjoying everything else I made this week, there was bound to be one not so great meal! I was inspired by this awesome black bean burger I had at the 5 Seasons Brewing Company in ATL a little while ago, but mine wasn't nearly as good. Oh well.

So here's next week's menu:

Monday

Salmon Confit

Roasted Green Beans

Tuesday

Chicken Bacon Bites

Creamed Spinach

Wednesday

Spicy Pinto Bean and Tuna Salad

Thursday

Roti Chicken 

Friday

Avocado, Tomato, Edamame and Red Onion Salad

Saturday

Pea-lafels

Sunday 

Leftovers!

Can't wait...it's looking like a very exciting week! We'll see how it goes! Love you awesome people!

Day 110

Yikes, I didn't realize it had been eight days since my last post! The time really gets away from me sometimes. But I'm here now!

This post was meant for last night, but my homework ended up taking longer than I expected and I was up until 10:30 finishing it. So we're doing a daytime post instead!

First item: So, as expected, my weight did go up a pound when I weighed Friday morning. But it's no big deal...after measuring myself, I've found that the pounds matter less than the feeling that I'm being healthy. The real reward is seeing inches coming off! So I'm going to stick with the program and hopefully there will be some good news on the scale this Friday.

Second item: I finally got around to planning dinners for the week and stocked up on groceries! Here's what's on the menu:

Monday

Cobb Salad (my recipe)

Tuesday (today)

Shrimp with Mustard-Horseradish Sauce

Wednesday

Black Bean Soup

Thursday

Greek Salad

Friday

Yellow Split-Pea Soup

Saturday

Black Bean Burgers

Sunday

Leftovers!

Looks like pretty yummy week, eh? I also have it on my mind to try Susie Bee's tasty-looking Blueberry Banana smoothie sometime this week, so I'll let you know how that goes.

This particular grocery trip was somewhat of an adventure, as I was supposed to buy ham hocks for the split-pea soup. Let's just say I took one look at them and declined. Gross. I think I'm going to try using bacon instead. I know people use ham hocks all the time, but after I looked it up on Wikipedia and started think of them as pig ankles, I couldn't handle it. I would never survive as a vegetarian, but I can sympathize. I don't like being able to visualize the animals I'm eating. Ham hocks actually look like pig ankles. Ew.

Yesterday, I made a delicious Cobb Salad for dinner (and had the leftovers for lunch today). 

Now I know what you're thinking...that doesn't exactly look like the healthiest salad. And I would agree. Bacon is never the healthiest choice - it was definitely a treat. BUT, it's a good hearty meal if you're craving a good hearty meal. It's also low carb and has green things in it and beats a cheeseburger hands down! And it's filling and delicious.

Day 102

So, in continuing this dialogue of success, I had to drop in for an early post to announce that I lost another 2.4 pounds! That's right, folks...I got to see the number 15 on the scale today! I actually reweighed myself three times to make sure it was accurate, because the last time I weighed in (I think it last Friday or Saturday morning) I was still at 218.

Now, to be fair, I weighed in at noon instead of first thing in the morning, so I'm not going to panic if it's a little higher on Friday morning. But it just felt so good to see the scale go down, I had to do a little trumpeting!

It's especially encouraging considering the fact that I've been struggling a little lately.

Here are some more cool news:

1. I've lost an inch from my neck, two inches from my waist, and four inches from my hips!! I hadn't thought to measure until now, and I'm SO glad I did! I haven't really felt the difference in my clothes yet, but to see actual inches coming off, well, that was really cool.

2. On my walk today, as well as the past few walks I've taken, I've noticed that it's taken me around two minutes less to make my four laps around the neighborhood. When it started, four laps took me an even 30 minutes...lately it's only taken 28. I take this as a sign that I'm getting in better shape, and therefore walking faster! It looks like I might have to add a fifth lap soon. :)

I've thought of another important reason for me to keep this up: simply to prove to myself that I can see something like this through. For most of my life, I've been kind of notorious for getting really gung-ho about something, then dropping it like a bad habit (except a lot of times, it's a good habit!). Sometimes this happens because I found something else I'm more interested in, and other times it's because whatever it was got too hard. So really, this is also a test of my ability to stick with something that challenges me. I know that passing that test will boost my confidence far more than smaller waist ever could.

Thanks to everyone who left such sweet comments on my last post! It means so so so so much!!