Friday, December 22, 2006

The Challenge

Apparently, I won the Bringing Sexy Back Challenge by default because I was the only one who sent results in for the final week. In the past 7 weeks, I have lost 7.7 lbs. That's a lot of 7s. Aren't triple 7s lucky? I think there is a slot machine where you win the jackpot when you get three 7s in a row. Yay! I won the jackpot! In any case, I was 2.3lbs. shy of my 10lb. goal for the challenge. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

Hopefully, I will continue to lose over the next 3-4 weeks, given that Christmas is in a couple days, then New Years and then the BIG game. Go Bucks! Not too mention Broccoflower's bachelorette party and wedding. Wow, I'm going to be pretty busy. That always suprises me.

Well, that's all from me. Oh, except, Becardi and Kmbuckeye, come back to blogging! I miss you! I don't have anything read online anymore! ;-)

Friday, December 15, 2006

Minus One

Amazingly, even after eating 2 pints of Ben & Jerry's (one ice cream, one sorbet) over the past week, I lost the pound I gained last week. That brings my total back to 5 lbs. for the "Bringing Sexy Back" challenge. I think there is one week left in the challenge, so I don't think I'm going to hit my 10 lb. goal. However, 5lbs. isn't too shabby during the holiday season.

Hopefully, I'll lose a couple of pounds during the upcoming week. I have to be really good this week because I took home the traveling journal from my WW class. Each week a different person takes the journal home and uses it. It's kind of fun to look back through the previous weeks to see what everybody else eats on a regular basis. Although, some people's handwriting isn't so legible. I volunteered this week to get back OP. Although I lost this week, I wasn't really following the WW plan; I was following the Starfruit plan....perhaps that is why it's taking me so long to lose weight. Imagine that :-/

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Tip of the Day

In light of the upcoming holiday season, just a little something I've learned from my new job:

If you ever get pulled over in Ohio after partaking in a little too much alcohol, DO NOT REFUSE to take the breathalyzer (or any other chemical test) when requested to do so, even if you think you are going to blow over the legal limit. You will lose your license for much longer if you refuse than if you have a positive test.

Ok, that's my advice for the day. Enjoy!

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Plus One

No, that's not my response card for Broccoflower's upcoming wedding - it will be just me like usual (not to complain or anything ;-) ). Plus one is actually how much I gained over the past week. Not too shabby if I do say so myself, given that I was not OP at all this past week. For example, I ate ice cream a couple days in a row because my throat hurt so bad. Anywho, better luck next week, I hope.

Oops...

R.C. 4511.191(H)(4) [dealing with implied consent for alcohol/drug testing when pulled over] prior to amendment:

If the court declares a surplus in the fund [the county indigent alchohol treatment fund], the court may expend the amount of the surplus in the fund for alcohol:

Mistake? I think not. Too bad it was amended.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

The Great Flood of '06

It seems like it's one disaster after another - first, the mice and now, the flood. Isn't there a Bible story about that? Oh wait, that was locusts and some other stuff. In any case, I digress. So sometime between 11P last Thursday night and 8:30A last Friday morning, my parents' basement flooded. Which pretty much sucks, since all our belongings are in the basement because they don't fit in the house. All my mom's living room furniture and decorations, not too mention all the pictures and old school stuff (like art projects, report cards, etc), important files, books, games/toys. A bunch of my stuff was down there too, from my bedroom at home (SYR) and a bunch of stuff from my apt. The list goes on and on.

Apparently, the sump pump stopped working and, given the amount of rain we've had here lately in the Heartland, the water just started pouring in. I got an hysterical phone call from my mother while I was at work around 10A on Friday. So I went home and spent the weekend sloshing through shin deep water, trying to salvage as much of our stuff as I could and throwing out the stuff that couldn't be saved...like about 1/2 of my books, some rugs, a stereo, etc. Well, the situation is almost under control. There's still stuff drying out all over the house. It's a frickin' mess.

And on top of all of this, I got sick. Booo.... It's actually not too bad. I don't feel really sick anymore. Basically, I've just lost my voice, which is a pain in the arse. I get annoyed when I hear myself speak, so I can only imagine how everyone else feels. The judge I work for said I was the perfect woman - I didn't feel bad, so I could still work; but I didn't have a voice, so I couldn't talk. Good thing I knew he was joking ;-)

The weekend wasn't all bad. I had a great time celebrating J's birthday and I hope she did too. And I enjoyed going to the Capital U. Christmas Festival and listening to the various Capital chorus groups perform, despite the frigid nature of auditorium. And I lost 0.8 lbs. last week for an even 5 for the 'Bringing Sexy Back' Challenge. Only 5 more to go to hit my goal. This week should be interesting though. I haven't been OP in days, first due to the flood, then due to the sickness. Hopefully, I'll maintain this week.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

MOUSE IN MY BED

No, your eyes do not deceive you. There was an f-ing mouse in my bed, along with mouse sh*t and piss. I am not happy. I thought we had taken care of the mouse issue...clearly not. All I wanted to do was grab my computer of my bed and take advantage of my new satellite internet (yes, I currently live in the boonies, where the only way to get high-speed internet is by satellite). Anyway, I grab my computer and all of sudden, a small gray creature explodes from out of nowhere and darts across my bed and pillows and disappears. There are currently 7 mousetraps in my bedroom. I don't want to sleep in my bed because a mouse might crawl on me, or in the alternative, I might be asleep and I might be awakened by the snap of a mousetrap. Bleck, bleck, bleck... Maybe I should've moved in with my parents, even though that would have been lame.

As a side note, I'm down 2.2 lbs. this week. Yay. At least one thing has gone right today.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Down 2

I was suprisingly down 2 lbs. this week. I haven't really been OP, but I guess I haven't been eating like a pig either. This coming week I am going to be OP and make my return to the gym...hopefully.

I'm going to be house/cat-sitting on the other side of C-bus for the next 6 days, so I need to find a YMCA closer to Morse Rd./Easton. I'm not going to drive all the way to Hilliard to use the gym, especially since I'm already driving to/from Morrow Co. everyday. We shall see...

Friday, November 03, 2006

Mental Block

Apparently, I have a mental block that inhibits my ability to lose the remaining 3.5 lbs. to get my 50 lb. star. I have been within 3.5 lbs. of my 50 lbs. star at least three times in the last three months and each time I hit a wall and gain weight back instead of losing it. This time I am truly embarassed to admit how much weight I have gained over the past two weeks. Who knew you could gain so much in fourteen days? Okay, here it is ~ 7.4 lbs. I keep trying to tell myself it's just a number. That's what my WW leader said last night when she weighed me in. It's not really helping. It might be just a number, but it's an extremely large and ugly number.

So it's a good thing that this week is the kick off week of the Bringing Sexy Back challenge. I'm very excited! It will keep me motivated. I started this blog at the end of the last challenge, which was the last time I continuously lost weight over an extended amount of time. Go figure.

In any case, I suspect that once I begin to stay OP and make my return to the gym (and treadmill #13 - it misses me), that the horrendous amount of weight that I've gained will go away. I haven't been OP or to the gym in 2 weeks. Moving really messes with your schedule. It's a pain in the arse.

Friday, October 27, 2006

No Weigh In

I didn't weigh in this week because I didn't have time. I've been cleaning and painting my new room at my brother's place and trying to pack my apt. up. It's been more difficult and time consuming than I originally thought. Mostly because I'm having to divide stuff up among three different places - there isn't enough room at my brother's for all my stuff and there is hardly any room at my parent's house to store anything (they haven't totally unpacked yet), so that leaves my grandma's basement. So I've been trying to decide what furniture and stuff I want/need at my brothers (that will fit) and what furniture and stuff needs to go to my grandmother's and the leftover will go to my parents. It's complicated. Basically, I have too much stuff.

It's amazing how much stuff I have accumulated over the past 3 years. Most of it large furniture. When I moved in, I had my bed, dresser, desk, bookcase, futon, 2 living room chairs, 3 side tables, 4 lamps and a kitchen table w/4 chairs. Since moving in, I have acquired another desk, a wing back chair, 6 side tables, 2 dressers, a desk chair, 4 lamps, 1 sewing machine with cabinet, another sewing machine cabinet (without the sewing machine in it), 1 wicker setee, a large tv cabinet and a rocking chair. (Note: This list isn't totals; it's additional furniture that I've either bought or was given). Not too mention all the kitchen stuff and decorations I have acquired. I think that's all. I'm not entirely sure where my roommate's or my dad's stuff fit when they each lived here. All in all, I have a lot of crap.

On a completely different note, I followed up with my doctor about my cholestorol today. I am now the proud owner of a prescription for Zocor. Apparently, that's the medication for people who have a family history of high cholestorol. The whole medication discussion was remarkably awkward because I wasn't expecting to be questioned about my sex life or pregnancy plans in order to get a prescription for cholestorol meds. But Zocor and pregnancy don't mix. Definitely, not an issue currently, but something to keep in mind in the future according to my doctor. Awesome.

Friday, October 20, 2006

I HATE CHOLESTEROL!!!!

I am 26 years old and I have high cholesterol (225). Your cholesterol level is supposed to be less than 200. This whole situation really pisses me off. Last fall, I had my cholesterol checked as part of my annual physical and it was high at 211, but my doctor wasn't too concerned. He just wanted me to watch my diet and recheck it in 3 months. Well, I didn't get rechecked in 3 months; I got it rechecked last week. AND IT HAS GOTTEN WORSE!!!

But, since I had my cholesterol checked the first time, I have made some major (and good) changes in my diet, mostly because I switched to the Core plan. I only whole grain products; I have oatmeal almost every day for breakfast; I don't eat a lot of eggs; I only use skim milk; and I don't eat many processed foods that have cholesterol in them (only Totino's Lean Pizza Rolls and Trader Joe's Mini Beef Tacos, but they don't have a lot of cholesterol and I don't eat them very often). Also, on average, I exercise 3-4 times per week and I have lost at least 15 lbs. All of these things are supposed to make my cholesterol go DOWN, not up! But no, my cholesterol has gotten worse, particularly my LDLs - the bad kind of cholesterol.

I guess on the upside, my doctor circled my triglyceride level (72) and wrote that my "diet is actually very good!" Your triglyceride level is supposed to be less than 150 mg/dl and mine has gone down 34 mg/dl (it was originally 106). But I still have high cholesterol and it has gotten worse....grrrrr!

Apparently, genetics plays a bigger role in this whole thing than I imagined. High cholesterol does run in the family on my dad's side. Both his dad's and his mom's families have a history of high cholesterol, so I've gotten screwed. I guess this means I'm going to be taking yet another medication. As if four medications a day for my allergies and asthma weren't enough. In the grand scheme of things, taking another medication doesn't really bother me (as long as it's a pill and not a shot or nasal spray, both of which I hate, but must get/take for my allergies); it's the principle of the matter. I have made a lot of lifestyle changes that are supposed to lower my cholesterol, but they didn't and that's not fair!

Okay, that's the end of my diatribe against cholesterol. The lesson is everyone should get their cholesterol checked every once in a while because high cholesterol isn't an old person thing. Sustained high cholesterol can lead to all sorts of bad things - heart disease, heart attacks, diabetes, coronary artery disease and a host of other bad things. It's best to catch it early.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

YAY for the gym!

The gym is the only explanation I can come up with for losing 4.5 lbs. this week. Yay! Well, and I pretty much stayed on program this past week. I've been to the gym 5 times since I weighed in last. I think it's a record. I've made myself up this working out schedule which requires me to exercise 5 times per week. Three days of jogging and two days of crosstraining. So far so good, aside from the incredible soreness of the past couple of days from lifting weights on my crosstraining day. I guess I'm going to have to continue going to the gym a lot if I want to continue losing weight (and if I expect to jog 13.1 miles next May). In any case, I'm only 3.5 lbs. from my 50 lbs. star (again). I'm back on track.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Oh Dear God...

I can't even explain how incredibly sore I am. It hurts to move - mostly standing up and sitting down, like on/off the futon or in/out of my car. I lifted weights for the first in 5 months on Mon. Those squats always get the best of me. It made it very difficult to jog on the treadmill. I hope it all gets better tomorrow...please.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Wow...

The Men's and Women's winners for the Columbus Marathon finished in 2 hrs. 18 mins. and 2 hrs. 45 mins., respectively. That is a lot less time than I am planning on taking for the Indy Mini Marathon (3 hrs.; 13 min. mile pace) and they ran twice the distance. I wasn't bred for speed.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Bangs

I cut my bangs last night in a fit of frustration. They were getting in my eyes and not looking nice when I did my hair, etc. After I cut them, I decided haircutting really should be left to professionals. Thank god my hair grows quickly because my bangs are much too short. It's amazing how a haircut can change the shape of your face too - mine is looking very round today. Yesterday, prior to the shearing, my face didn't look this round. Oh well, like I said, the bangs will grow.

New Goals

I was up 0.8 lbs. this week. I'm not too worried considering it's TOM. I usually maintain or gain up to 1 lb. That puts me 7.2 lbs. from my 50 lbs. star. It's amazing how I keep going the wrong way in this whole weight loss process. After 5 years, you would think I could get a handle on it. Apparently not. But moving on, without further ado, I present my new goals:

1. November 9, 2006: 50 lbs. star!
Reward: Have an awesome time in the Hockings Hills.

1A. November 30, 2006: Mini goal of 55 lbs. lost.
Reward: New CD.

2. December 21, 2006: 60 lbs. star!
Reward: New jeans or other article of clothing in a smaller size than I currently wear.

2A. January 11, 2007: Mini goal of 65 lbs. lost.
Reward: New book.

3. February 1, 2007: 70 lbs. star!
Reward: Manicure & pedicure.

4. March 15, 2007: 80 lbs. star!
Reward: New purse - a really nice one, maybe Coach. (mental note to self - must be employed for this reward)

5. June 5, 2007: 90 lbs. star!
Reward: Being unrecognizable at my 5 yr. college reunion because I will have lost 90 lbs. since my senior year of college.

Alright, I'm going to stop here. I'll reevaluate as things go along. By the way, it's really difficult picking out rewards. I had no idea what I really wanted; they also may change depending on what's going on in my life, but for right now, I think I'm good to go.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

It's Official...

I have registered for the Indy 500 Mini Marathon. In 204 days and 19 hours (May 5, 2007), I will be jogging 13.1 miles. I guess I should start training to train for the 1/2 Marathon since I've never jogged more than 3 miles total.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Back in Business...

Hi Everybody! Sorry, I've been MIA for the past couple of weeks. It's been kind of crazy for me. First, I was in Syracuse for a week working my arse off repainting my little brother's room from gold (walls & ceiling) with black trim. It took 4 coats of paint! Two coats of paint killer and two coats of white paint. We also did a bunch of other stuff, like lawn work, taking out window screens, etc. Second, right when I got back, my uncle, aunt and their 2 small spawns came into town from Hawaii. I have felt honorbound to spend time with them, since I generally only see them once or twice a year. Since I have been busy the past couple of weeks, I didn't weigh in last week.

Not to mention, life has been pretty crappy lately. I got 2 more job rejections in the past 2 weeks. You would think after as many rejections as I have received, I would be used to it. I am unemployable....after 7 years of higher education and $91,000 in educational debt. Fantastic. Since I don't have a full-time job, I can't afford my apt. and I'm moving out at the end of the month. I'm very sad because I heart my apt. I'm moving in with my older brother, who lives almost in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, it's only almost the middle of nowhere, not totally the middle of nowhere. On the upside, I'm closer to my parents' house and free meals and laundry.

I have pretty much been eating my feeling the past couple of weeks. No holds barred. Candy, cupcakes, and chips have been a mainstay of my diet. Therefore, instead of getting my 50 lbs. star this week, I am up 2.8 lbs. and 6.4 lbs. from my star. I definitely need to revise my mini goals and maybe I'll add rewards too. I'll update my blog as soon as I figure them out.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

3 Down, 3.6 To Go

Yay! I lost 3 lbs. this week! Only 3.6 lbs. to go for my 50 lbs. star! I'm very excited if you can't tell by the abundant use of exclamation points. For the first week in a while, I followed the WW plan as opposed to the Starfruit plan. I mostly stayed OP and I've been to the gym 4 times since I weighed in last week. The challenge now is to lose weight this coming week while I'm in the 'Cuse.

For those who don't know, my family moved from Syracuse to Columbus this summer, but we had to leave a few things behind (like a 17 ft. U-Haul amount of things behind). So I'm leaving tomorrow morning for SYR with my mom and sister to pack up the rest of our stuff to bring back to C-bus. It's always challenging for me to stay on track (OP and working out) while I'm at home. But I'm going to do it this time. I want my 50 lbs. star!

I'm probably not going to lose 3.6lbs. in the next week to get my 50 lbs. star by my goal date of 9/28 (next Thurs.), but I hope to get it by 10/5. Only 1 week off track. I haven't figured out what my reward is going to be yet - maybe a new pair of jeans. But I already have a pair of jeans that I've never worn that are the next size down. I might need to content myself with those since I don't have a full-time job yet. I can fit into the jeans, as in they zip up and I can move around, but they still kinda of look like they are painted on. Not a good look for me ;-). Or maybe my reward will be new running sneakers. I definitely want/need a pair. I will have to ponder this.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

I am a PENGUIN

and I love wogging - not quite walking, not quite jogging, it's wogging. I read the greatest book yesterday about running. Specifically, about running for beginners. It's called No Need for Speed: A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running. It's by John "The Penguin" Bingham. He's a columnist for Runner's World magazine. I would highly suggest this book to anyone who is thinking about becoming a runner. The book talks all about the basics of starting to run and addresses a lot of concerns that beginner runners have in a thoughtful, funny and easy-to-read format. It's a fantastic book and I have requested two of his other books from the library. I can't wait until they come in.

In any case, the reason I'm reading about running is because I am going to participate in a 1/2 Marathon next year. I hope to be able to do the Indy Mini Marathon with Becardi in May 2007. So this is my formal declaration of intent. I have already started getting ready to start training in January 2007 (any suggestions are welcome). I discovered last week that I can indeed jog more than a mile all at one time without walking - I'm not going to break any landspeed records - but I'm proud to say that I can jog 2 miles at a 12:30 minute/mile pace. Only 11.1 miles to go to finish a 1/2 Marathon.

Friday, September 15, 2006

A Good Week

This was a good week, I've decided, for a couple of reasons. First, I got new glasses this week. I'm very excited because they are super cute and I can finally see clearly again. (No more almost running over old men crossing the street.) Second, I had a loss this week on the scale. It was only 0.3lbs., but I'll take it. It's puts me at 7lbs. from my 50 lbs. star, so I probably won't be getting my star by Sept. 28. But I'm still going to try. I have 2 weeks left. Third, I got the greatest birthday present from Broccoflower. She's awesome! I love my new "Disappearing Civil Liberties" coffee mug (I used it this morning.) and my new Beer Bands (they're like wine glass charms). Thanks Broccoflower!

The only thing that would have made this week better is if I had gotten employed. I'm still waiting to hear back from 3 different interviews. I'm starting to get very frustrated. One of the interviews was on July 24 and I still haven't heard anything. I even called them earlier this week to see what was going and they haven't called me back. Probably because my rejection letter is in the mail. I'll just add it to my growing collection. This time last year I was enjoying being unemployed, this year I'm bored. It sucks.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

2 Recipes

Here are two recipes I've adapted to the Core program that worked out well, if I do say so myself.

TACO DIP

16 oz. container Fat Free Sour Cream
1 or 2 pkgs. Old El Paso Taco Seasoning (0 pt./serving)
16 oz. jar Salsa
Shredded Lettuce
1 pkg. Fat Free Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 large can Sliced Black Olives
1 bag Baked Tostitos (not Core, but I don't remember the points) or baked polenta crisps (Core)

1. Mix fat free sour cream and taco seasoning together in a bowl. Spread mixture on the bottom of a large serving dish (at least the size of a 13x9x2 baking dish).
2. Layer salsa, lettuce, fat free shredded cheddar cheese, and black olives (in that order) on top of the sour cream mixture.
3. Cover and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
4. Serve with Baked Tostitos.
Note: The longer the sour cream mixture sits, the better the dip is. Sometimes I mix the sour cream and taco seasoning and let it sit overnight.

APPLE CRISP

3 medium Apples, cored, skinned & thinly sliced

Mixture:
1/2 c. Splenda
1/2 tbsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tbsp. Nutmeg

Crisp:
1/2 c. Quick 1-Minute Quaker Oats (can probably use the regular kind too)
1/2 c. Unsweetened Applesauce
2 tbsp. Brown Sugar Splenda (equivalent to 1/4 c. brown sugar; adds 1 pt. for entire dish)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put apple slices into 8x8 baking dish. No cooking spray needed.
3. Mix Splenda, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Add the mixture to the apples.
4. Mix oatmeal, unsweetened applesauce and brown sugar Splenda in a bowl. Spread over apples.
5. Bake for 30 mins. Makes approximately 4 servings.

Friday, September 08, 2006

Burning in Hell

Not only am I going to hell, but I'm probably going to spend some time burning when I get there. "Why?" you ask. Because not only did I almost run over an old man while making a right-hand turn on to Bethel Rd., but then I yelled at him. He started it.

This is what happened: I pulled up to Bethel Rd. to make a right hand turn, look to the right, didn't see anything. Looked to the left, into the sun, to see oncoming traffic. Waited a minute or so for cars to pass, and then started to roll on to Bethel Rd. I hadn't even hit the accelerator yet (thank you, Lord). All of sudden there was an old man in front of my car who pounded on the hood and kept on walking past. Whoops, almost ran over old man. Naturally, I felt bad, so I rolled down my window some more to call out an apology to him. Next thing I know, he turns around and starts yelling at me - "What the hell is your problem?! Can't you see anything, don't you look?!" (Sidenote: The ironic thing is I was coming from the eye doctor because I can't really see out of my glasses which I was wearing).

What happens next is why I going to burn in hell. The old man made me mad by starting to yell at me when I tried to apologize. So instead of apologizing, I yelled back. I believe my exact words were, "Don't be such a jerk-off. I didn't see you and if you would've waited 5 seconds, I would've apologized. Now I won't. Being old doesn't give you an excuse to be an asshole." Then I drove away.

Being mean to an old man who I almost ran over = Burning in hell

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Not So Bad, Not So Good

WI went alright today. I maintained, which is fine. It wasn't a gain :-). I had a couple good days and a couple bad days this week. I also didn't journal or go to the gym at all this week, so it's probably a struck of luck that I didn't have a gain. I really need to get on track. I don't know what my problem is. As of tomorrow, I'm "turning over a new leaf" as my very first WW leader used to say. It was accompanied by a hand gesture and has always stuck with me. This coming week will be better.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Laguna Beach

So I'm addicted to Laguna Beach...I have no shame in admitting it. But here's my question - why do almost all the girls have super long hair? I guess it's the new "in" thing, but if I lived by the beach I would find it a pain in the arse and my hair would always look like arse from the salt, sand, sun, etc. However, they never seem to actually be on the beach or in the ocean, so maybe it's not a problem.

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Scraped By

Somehow I managed to lost 0.5 lbs. this week despite the fact I was following the cookie, brownie & pizza diet instead of WW. I think that 's a cruel joke personally. Last week, I was much better foodwise, plus I went to the gym at least two time, but I gained 2 lbs. And this week I was horrible and I lost 0.5 lbs. I think it was because I wasn't wearing jeans when I weighed in this week, I was wearing gray trousers. Jeans are very heavy. In any case, I will get back on track this week. I have exactly 28 days (4 weeks) to meet my goal of a 50 lbs. star and 7.5 lbs. to lose. I can do it.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Grocery Shopping

So I was reading the Opinion section of a newspaper today and I came across an observation that had never, and I mean never, occurred to me while grocery shopping. I thought I would share it:

Babies in grocery carts
How about a child sitting in a grocery cart seat in a diaper that has sprung a leak? Never put your vegetables on the child's seat.

I'm one of those people that puts their vegetables on the child's seat - but no more. I'm totally grossed out by this. I guess on the upside, I always put my fruit and vegetables in the plastic bags provided and I always wash everything before I eat it. But never will I put fresh produce on the child's seat of a grocery cart again.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Sample Menus

My friend J asked me to post what I eat during a typical day on the Core program. She thought it would be helpful for anyone who was thinking about switching to Core or who was already on Core but stuck in a rut. And maybe it will help me get back on track because I have fallen off the wagon BIG time. So here are some sample menus taken directly from my journal:
(Note: Any foods that aren't Core will have the points in parentheses next to them.)

Day 1

Breakfast:
1 Thomas' Light English Muffin (1)
2 tbsp. fat free, sugar free strawberry jam (1)
1 bowl fruit salad (watermelon, strawberries, blueberries)
coffee with fat free milk
Lunch:
1/2 c. fat free cottage cheese
1 tomato with salt & pepper
1 bowl fruit salad
Snack:
1 banana
Dinner:
1 c. whole wheat pasta with 2 tsp. olive oil & oregano, basil, garlic
1 c. broccoli (mixed in with pasta)
1/2 c. fat free, sugar free chocolate pudding

Day 2

Breakfast:
Instant grits with fat free milk
1 bowl fruit salad
coffee with fat free milk
Lunch:
1 Garlic Rosemary chicken breast
1 tomato with salt & pepper
cucumber slices & carrot sticks
1/2 c. fat free, sugar free chocolate pudding
Dinner:
3 slices London Broil (marinated in fat free Italian dressing)
Roasted red potatoes (baked in olive oil and oregano)
green beans
1 bowl watermelon

Day 3

Breakfast:
1 Dannon Light 'n Fit yogurt (1)
1 peach
coffee with fat free milk
Lunch:
Tuna fish salad (made with 1 tbsp. fat free miracle whip & 1 tbsp. sweet pickle relish (0))
1 tomato
carrot sticks
Dinner:
1 Garlic Soy chicken breast
1 c. brown rice
green beans
1 bowl cantalope
Snack:
1 WW fudgesicle bar (1)

Curses...

So weigh-in didn't go quite as planned yesterday. I was up 2 lbs. which I didn't expect and it definitely sucks. I didn't actually expect to have a loss this week because I inexplicably had a big loss last week (3.7 lbs.), but I did think I had maintained. I thought I had a pretty good week food-wise, but then I went over my journal for the past week and I realized I didn't do as well as I had thought. There wasn't anything big on any particular day that I did wrong, though the 4 homemade chocolate chip cookies (made by mom for my little bro's first day at a new high school) on Wed. probably didn't help. It was just a series of places here and there where I could've made better choices. I also could have gone to the gym a little more. My goal for the gym is to go 4-5 times per week. I have only been twice this week.

In any case, I'm bummed because now I'm 8 lbs. from my 50 lb. star, instead of 6 lbs. like I had thought. I'm going to have to change the "6 lbs. to go" post-it note I have stuck to my bathroom mirror to keep me motivated...doh. However, I'm not discouraged because I still have plenty of time to meet my goal by 9/28 and I know where I got off track, so I know what work on for this coming week.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Goals

Here are my weight loss goals through the end of the year:

Sept. 28 - 50lb. Star
Nov. 2 - 60lb. Star
Jan. 4 - 70lb. Star

Basically, I want to lose about 30 lbs. by the end of year. I need to lose 6 lbs. to get my 50 lb. star. Hopefully, I'll work harder to achieve my goals by posting them for everyone to see. By the way, WW gives out stars for every 10 lbs. you lose, just like you used to get in kindergarten for being good or completing assignments, etc. It never fails to amaze me how hard I'm willing to work for one of those 10 lb. stars. Who knew the same reward system that worked at age 5 still works at age 26 :-).

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

And So It Begins...

After spending the past few months reading the blogs of my friends, I've decided to start one of my own. For the most part, I think it's going to be an attempt to chronicle my seemingly neverending journey to lose weight. Basically, I'm trying to keep myself motivated by being publicly accountable. I'll probably touch on some other subjects as well, such as my ongoing job search, rants about things I can't control, books I've read recently, etc. The plan right now is to post at least once a week (Thurs. or Fri.), but I'll try to post more often than that once I get the hang of this.

Here's some background info on me for those who don't already know it. I first joined Weight Watchers ("WW") in October 2001 - almost 5 years ago. To date, I'm pleased to say that I've lost about 45 lbs. However, I still need to lose another 60 lbs., at the very least, and maybe a little more than that. By the way, I probably won't post my actual weight ever, only how much I've lost. Maybe I will post it when I hit my goal, but don't hold your breath.

I'm currently doing the WW Core program, which has been really working out for me. I started this past June at the persuasion of my friend Broccoflower and since I started Core, I've lost a total of 12 lbs. So I highly recommend the Core program to everyone, especially to anyone who has been counting points and has hit a plateau. That's why I made the switch. Alright, that's all for now, but stay tuned.