Week 7

So this week was a little different for me.  I completed all of my workouts on schedule and did a pretty good job of keeping up with my calories, however, this weekend was different than normal.  This weekend I went to spend time with my sister and her family.  So I took some food with me, but I had to be extra careful because they are all tiny, so they can eat whatever they want.  Usually that is not a lot, but it is still different than what I normally eat, so I had to have salad at every meal, basically.  I also had to add things to meals, and avoid certain things that in small doses aren't bad, but for me they cannot be had yet.  For instance, they have ice cream, and a lot of their dinners are just a main meal, no side dishes at all.  This caused me to have to have my own deserts that weren't sweets, and adding in side dishes (salads) to my meals.  But one good thing is that they do not eat a lot, so it was easier to not eat too much because I tried to eat only when they ate.

Another thing that killed me this week was that I went with my sister and brother-in-law and played tennis with them on Saturday.  I used to play tennis in high school for a team, but since high school I have not played very regularly.  I usually play 1-2 times a year, which does not help when playing against others.  Let me just say that I did it, without quitting, which I could have done so many times that day.  I am still sore to this day from that day of playing.

So here it is: 298 (current weight) - 150 (goal) = 148 pounds to go!!

I now have less pounds to lose than I want to weigh!!!

Goals for this week:

• Cardio exercise everyday M-F
• Strength Exercise M, W, F
• Eat more fruits and vegetables
• Keep track of calories and serving sizes
• Do something active on Saturday

Week 6

So during this past week, I have added a new part to my exercise regime.  I decided that 3 nights a week I would also do some strength/muscle training exercises.  So 3 of the 5 days that I exercise I am actually exercising twice as much.  That has been kind of hard to do, but I find that once I put on my music and get started, I am more motivated to finish it.  So I just need to continue working on this and I think that I will gain muscle along with lose the fat.  This week was pretty good for me.  It was not the easiest week ever, but I also feel that it wasn't the hardest week that I've had either.  I just feel that I need to start getting closer and closer to counting calories.  That is the one thing that I hate to do.  Right now I am simply paying attention to the calories and trying to be conscious of how many calories I am eating in a day, but I am not writing them down and subtracting them from a total, yet!  I will eventually get to that point, but I feel that I first need to be able to control myself from overeating, and hating the idea of counting calories.  At this point I am looking at the calories before eating, and if the calorie count is high, then I can stop and see if these calories are really worth it.  I can already see how the transfer from that to counting calories daily will be a lot easier than when I tried it before.  I have noticed that during this time I have had a bigger craving for meat, but considering how much I am exercising now, it is not a big surprise.

I know that this week is not a very big post, but there was not a lot of big revelations or hardships this week.
So now onto the part that everybody is waiting for:  302 (current weight) - 150 (goal) = 152 pounds left!!!

I know that this is not a big difference compared to last week, and I am a little disappointed.  However, as I said above I have started doing a lot more muscle exercises.  So I have a feeling (thanks to a sore body) that a lot of what happened this week was actually muscle gain.  Hopefully next week will reflect better than this week did of how much work I am doing.

Goals for this week:

• cardio exercise everyday M-F
• muscle exercise M, W, & F
• eat more fruits and vegetables
• eat until full
• pay closer attention to calories

Week 5

Hey guys, so it has been about a month now since I've started my weight loss journey.  It was really hard starting out, but I think that now I am starting to live a healthier life.  While I still get those cravings like everyone else, I am better at avoiding them than I was before.  I still have trouble with making too much, but now I can give myself a serving and then put the rest away.  Which causes me to have to ask myself once I've had the serving amount, "Do I really want this?" and "Am I really still hungry?"  Sometimes, unfortunately that means skipping out on some foods that I used to love.  But in the long run I am still able to eat the foods that I like, I just realize how even though I like them, they are not worth it, so I am choosing other foods.  For instance today I went to the grocery store and I went to look at the mac-n-cheese that I used to get, to see how bad that would be to have as a side for dinner.  And I about passed out!  It was like over 4 servings of chicken in calories!! I couldn't believe how bad it was for me.  It was much worse than the frozen kind, so I decided to just stick with that.  Just one of the many examples of eye-opening experiences during this journey.  I also found that when I am bored with whatever I am doing (reading, watching TV or movies, playing games, etc.) that I am much more likely to eat.  However when I found a show that had me hooked, I completely forgot about eating.  Which made it the easiest week of this experience.  I am now working on stopping myself from eating when bored, or lonesome.

So this past week I exercised everyday, and worked to find other exercises to do that wouldn't become boring.  While we love Richard Simmons, we can only do his workout a few times a week, so that we don't become bored of it.  So something that we did was that we went through my music collection and composed a workout mix.  We then took that mix and played it instead of listening to the instructors, since we have them basically memorized anyway.  That really helped to change the pace a little.  It is also funny to find how wrong the song is for the workout.  For instance, while doing Tae-Bo we had a Britney song come on, and it was hilarious because that was never something that would be playing in the background of one of his workouts.  At the end of this week I have also really started looking into finding exercises to do to help me lose weight in my stomach faster.  I am losing weight, but one thing that I learned from a friend, who knows about nutrition and the body, is that to lose weight in a specific area (instead of where it normally does) then I have to do exercises in that particular area.  So I have started doing some exercises to gain muscle and lose weight in specific problem areas for myself, and boy am I feeling it!!!  It was so painful to go up and down my stairs today.  And don't even think of asking me to lift anything heavy!  But I think that I will add those into my own personal workout regime for at night.

So here's what you want to know: 303 (current weight) - 150 (goal) = 153 pounds to go!!!!
 (So something to consider here is that I am now using two scales because one is electric and tells you a different number depending on different conditions, and the other uses a needle, but is harder to be accurate on.  So I am combining the two and averaging them out from now on.)

My goals for this week:

• Do cardio workout everyday M-F
• Eat more fruits and vegetables
• Pay more attention to calories
• Do muscle exercise 3 days a week

So for those of you who have been reading since the beginning here is an updated pic:

             So for the past month I've lost: 12 pounds total!!!!   Here are the pictures to compare. 
                                             (pink beginning, blue one month)

Week 4

Thinking back on this week, I had some really good moments.  For instance, I went to one of my favorite places to eat, Cafe Rio and I was able to eat the half of the salad instead of all of it.  This is a pretty big salad, which I used to eat in one day, even though I knew that I was full.  I would just get the thought in my head that it wouldn't taste as good tomorrow, so I need to eat it now.  But this week, I was able to get it when I was really hungry and still able to give myself only half before putting it away from myself.  So what was normally just one huge dinner, ended up being two more filling dinners!  It is getting easier to stop myself from just going with the quick dinner, and taking my time to make a serving of something really good and still good for me.  For instance today I could have had a quick dinner, but my roommate and I took the time to make homemade Alfredo sauce for our chicken Alfredo.

This week I was able to exercise everyday, but one.  However, that was the 4th of July, and I still ended up exercising (probably more than I would have on that day anyway) because my roommate and I went to a fireworks concert and we had to park far away to escape the crowds.  So we had a like 4 block walk to and from the concert (plus going up the stairs to our seats).  So we definitely felt the workout that day.  We also had some fun on Saturday and went to a local water park, which caused us to stay in the lazy river for like 2 hours, just swimming and talking.  So I actually exercised 6 days this week instead of 5.  We are both definitely feeling the results of the exercise, since my arms are killing me everyday!

So here's what you've been waiting for:  304 (current weight) - 150 (weight goal) = 154 pounds to go!!!

My goals for this week:

• Exercise for 30 minutes M-F
• Eat more vegetables and fruits
• Stop eating when full
• Pay more attention to calories

Week 3

So today is the start of week 3 of my path to getting healthier!  So this week I did pretty good, except for one day.  I was hanging out with my friends at a game night, so I didn't have dinner that day until after it was done.  So I ended up eating a little more than I should have.  That experience taught me that I need to be careful when I go out to eat, to not worry about how things will taste the next day, and saving the best for last.  (Which is a bad habit of mine.)  However, even with that little set back, I have still maintained my goal of eating until full, and exercising for at least 20 minutes everyday (M-F).  That has been a little hard for me because I get up and exercise with my roommate before she goes off to work, so then I am awake, but not really because I am still really tired.  So I am still working on getting my sleep schedule to match with my exercise schedule.  However, I am really grateful to have my roommate doing this with me because we can laugh at ourselves while working out, and keep each other from sleeping and motivated to continue.  We have also found a very funny friend in Richard Simmons!  lol I know what you are thinking, but trust me, if you haven't ever done his sweating to the oldies (original) video, then try it!  He is the perfect pick-me-up that we sometimes need.  For instance, on days when we are having trouble figuring out which workout to do, and if we are both a little unmotivated, or my roommate just needs a good laugh/moral boost, then we put in Richard Simmons and let him pick us back up by being his crazy self.  I have also been eating a lot more fruits and vegetables.  I really like taking all of my veggies and putting them into my salad, or putting them, chicken, and some seasonings in a frying pan and cooking them.  They are great for a wrap for lunch, or even on their own they are really good.  The only problem now is finding enough room in the fridge for all of my leftovers!

So here's what we all wanna know about:

309 (current weight) - 150 (goal) = 159 pounds to go!!!!!!!

I'm only 9 pounds away from having to loose exactly the amount that I should weigh!

Here are my goals for next week:

• Stop eating when full.
• Exercise for 25-30 minutes M-F
• Eat more fruits and vegetables.