Hey everyone,
This has been a bad week in terms of motivation. I have had about zero. Zero motivation. I've gone over (way over) my calories at least three days this week, and have only exercised three times. It's been really hard to make myself go down to the gym. Normally, once I'm down there, I'm fine working out. I'm glad I'm down there and I feel better all day. This week, I have been forcing myself to get on the bike, and am resentful the whole time! I don't know what's going on with me, but it's been a tough week.
I've also been craving a lot of junk food these past few days. We went to our local bar for dinner one night. We picked up an extra shift on Saturday for the managers at work, so we got sent home with two entrees, which we ate. And I baked a Texas Sheet Cake to bring in to work on Easter. We over ate with calories a lot this week, and I'm pretty sure I'll be up at weigh-in tomorrow.
I did try a new recipe substitution this weekend. Texas Sheet Cake, for those who don't know, is a flat, dense chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. It looks almost like brownies with frosting made of milk, powdered sugar, cocoa and butter. I substituted half of the butter for avocado in the frosting, as well as in the cake which saved 1 1/2 sticks of butter. It cut down the calories per serving by 14% (29 calories per piece) and the fat by 40%. There was no taste difference, and no one at work noticed, which made me feel good and also sneaky. I miss baking a lot, and that's the only baked good that I'll eat a lot of if you let me. So, for Easter, I had cake for breakfast and snacks throughout the day, and more cake at night time. It was bad. I did work out after work, but I don't think it made up for it.
Even as I'm writing, I'm having hot chocolate! I can't get focused this week. Yesterday, I made myself put on workout clothes, worked myself up to going to the gym for another 15 minutes, finally went down there, and it was closed! It was hard enough to make myself go down there the first time, and I had to do it again, later that day. The second time I went down, the guy I always run into down there was working out on the treadmill, with his headphones on. He had accidentally (or on purpose) locked the door and I couldn't get in, nor could he hear me knocking. I had to motivate myself three times to go down there, and I hated every minute of it while I was on that stupid bike. I was even reading one of my favorite books that I found at a thrift store, jamming out to my show tunes station on pandora, yet I was still miserable. Today I couldn't even make myself get down there because I've had a killer headache all day.
I'm telling myself that next week will be better, and I will get my focus back. I've noticed that we've been eating less veggies lately, so Tim is at the store now, picking some up for supper. We are making chicken on the grill (breaking the lease agreement) and roasted veggies. I don't normally condone rule-breaking, but our lease is up in less than two months, and we have to move anyway, so we're going for it!
I'm sharing my crappy week a day early, because I'm sure I'll be up at weigh-in tomorrow, and I wanted to let everyone know ahead of time! I also have to work both jobs tomorrow, so there may not be time for my usual Wednesday post.
I wanted to share this mostly because these weeks are part of the weight-loss process. I didn't gain weight every week when I was putting on the pounds, and I sure as hell won't lose weight every week while I'm taking them off. Even when everything is going well, you're seeing progress, feeling better, and losing weight, you can hit a wall. This week my wall was no motivation or drive. Next time, it could be that I do everything right and gain that week. No matter what, I just beat myself up a little bit when I have a setback, then move on. Tomorrow starts a new week for me, and after weigh-in, I'll do better these next seven days.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Down Again!
Hello!
Well, following my checklist of what to do last week paid off! I am down 2.2 pounds today, losing the weight that I gained last week plus a little extra. I've been focusing on working out almost everyday (five days this week), drinking a lot more water, and staying under my 1500 calorie limit each day. We even had a splurge day- Tim and I went to Applebees Monday after our lunch shift. We went for the $5.99 burgers, and happened to hit happy hour as well. We went a little crazy, and got burgers, mozzarella sticks, and I had a margarita. It was wonderful after a rough shift at work, and nice to not think about the calories for a little bit.
I was immediately filled with guilt after we splurged. We also aren't used to having that heavy food anymore, so we promptly passed out when we got home. After the nap, I hit the gym for the second time that day, doing 35 minutes on the bike in the morning and 25 in the evening. To top off the day, we went for frozen yogurt (we did walk there- about 1/2 mile). Total calories for that day were very high, about 2400! I burned about 800 at the gym, and serving averages about 150-230 calories burned per hour, so I ended up breaking even. Still, it is crazy to think that used to be a regular day for us- without the exercise. Now, when we go over on food for the day, I make sure to make up for it. I'm ok working off the food, as it allows me to break the healthy food cycle every now and then. Days like that also serve as a reminder to how easy it would be to slip back. 2400 calories is about 2/3 of a pound. If we didn't work out, I could easily have gained about a half pound (theoretically) in one day! I also recognized how terrible I felt after eating. We fell asleep almost immediately after returning home- I felt so sluggish, and had to make myself go back down to workout again. I have gotten used to feeling better everyday, and I don't want to give that up for burgers!
This week, we are planning on trying out this recipe I found on Women's Health Magazine for a healthy version of Arroz con Pollo. We will also be walking to the frozen yogurt place down the street a night or two this week. As long as we don't pile on the toppings, an 8 ounce serving only has 110 calories, and it's delicious! This coming from a girl who loves ice cream- got hooked on it from a young age. This is just as good, and we walk there and back, so it's not a terrible treat to have!
I am hoping to be officially down a size within a month. I can fit into one size smaller jeans, but they are a little snug for how I like the fit. I have lost three inches around my waist (so it looks like I am curvy), an inch around my hips, belly and boobs, and about a half inch each from my neck and arms. That's a total loss of seven inches!! Sadly, I haven't lost anything from my legs yet, but I'm really looking forward to it!
I hope this is helping some of you get motivated to be healthier! If I can manage to lose weight without feeling like I'm suffering, I know anyone can! Feel free to ask any questions, or comment any tips of your own! I still haven't worked out with the website how to comment anonymously from smartphones, but hopefully that bug will be worked out with blogger!
(you may be able to if you go to the full site version on your phone)
Have a great week!
Well, following my checklist of what to do last week paid off! I am down 2.2 pounds today, losing the weight that I gained last week plus a little extra. I've been focusing on working out almost everyday (five days this week), drinking a lot more water, and staying under my 1500 calorie limit each day. We even had a splurge day- Tim and I went to Applebees Monday after our lunch shift. We went for the $5.99 burgers, and happened to hit happy hour as well. We went a little crazy, and got burgers, mozzarella sticks, and I had a margarita. It was wonderful after a rough shift at work, and nice to not think about the calories for a little bit.
I was immediately filled with guilt after we splurged. We also aren't used to having that heavy food anymore, so we promptly passed out when we got home. After the nap, I hit the gym for the second time that day, doing 35 minutes on the bike in the morning and 25 in the evening. To top off the day, we went for frozen yogurt (we did walk there- about 1/2 mile). Total calories for that day were very high, about 2400! I burned about 800 at the gym, and serving averages about 150-230 calories burned per hour, so I ended up breaking even. Still, it is crazy to think that used to be a regular day for us- without the exercise. Now, when we go over on food for the day, I make sure to make up for it. I'm ok working off the food, as it allows me to break the healthy food cycle every now and then. Days like that also serve as a reminder to how easy it would be to slip back. 2400 calories is about 2/3 of a pound. If we didn't work out, I could easily have gained about a half pound (theoretically) in one day! I also recognized how terrible I felt after eating. We fell asleep almost immediately after returning home- I felt so sluggish, and had to make myself go back down to workout again. I have gotten used to feeling better everyday, and I don't want to give that up for burgers!
This week, we are planning on trying out this recipe I found on Women's Health Magazine for a healthy version of Arroz con Pollo. We will also be walking to the frozen yogurt place down the street a night or two this week. As long as we don't pile on the toppings, an 8 ounce serving only has 110 calories, and it's delicious! This coming from a girl who loves ice cream- got hooked on it from a young age. This is just as good, and we walk there and back, so it's not a terrible treat to have!
I am hoping to be officially down a size within a month. I can fit into one size smaller jeans, but they are a little snug for how I like the fit. I have lost three inches around my waist (so it looks like I am curvy), an inch around my hips, belly and boobs, and about a half inch each from my neck and arms. That's a total loss of seven inches!! Sadly, I haven't lost anything from my legs yet, but I'm really looking forward to it!
I hope this is helping some of you get motivated to be healthier! If I can manage to lose weight without feeling like I'm suffering, I know anyone can! Feel free to ask any questions, or comment any tips of your own! I still haven't worked out with the website how to comment anonymously from smartphones, but hopefully that bug will be worked out with blogger!
(you may be able to if you go to the full site version on your phone)
Have a great week!
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Perks!
Hey everyone!
Sorry I missed yesterday, I try to write every Wednesday after my meetings and weigh-in, when everything is fresh in my brain. I had to meet with my bank yesterday because they kept calling me... to help me avoid my monthly service charges. Never had a bank do that!! It was awesome. The woman also helped show me where I can start saving, paying off debt, and improving my credit. Thanks Wells Fargo! Because of that meeting, and because I'm one of those weirdos who loves making budgets, lists, and plans (see fitness goal), I spent the three hours after the meeting, before work, working on financial planning. I am now set up to either be extremely poor or extremely stable- money-wise.
To move into weight-loss talk, I have to admit that I gained a pound this week. 1.4 pounds to be exact. I stayed under my calories, but instead of working out everyday, I did three 1 1/2 hour sessions in the gym. I did a lot more strength training than normal, doing full circuits of weight-lifting followed by about 35-45 minutes of cardio. Each session burned about 700-800 calories.
We also worked less hours than normal last week, as we had just paid rent, just got our student loan rebate, and had an opportunity to take three days off in a row- so we did!
Because serving burns a lot more calories than I factor in, I ended up gaining a bit back. I know that some of it is muscle weight, and I'm ok with gaining, as long as I'm losing more often (which I am). Gaining some weeks is completely normal! They tell me at TOPS, "no one loses every week." When I do gain, I make a list of things I'm going to focus on this week, including: staying under my calories everyday, balancing out a hard workout (cardio + strength) with a day of just cardio, not giving away any shifts all week (which will keep me burning calories all day), and drinking more water than I did before. Gaining doesn't make me feel frustrated, I use it to get more motivated. I want to win my biggest loser dollar next week!
With financial planning, and since we've been eating healthier, Costco has become our new friend. We buy all our meat in bulk, freeze it, and try to make dinner at home. We went today and got 20 dinners worth of meat, 10 pounds each of taters and onions, 2 dozen eggs, and a gigantic bucket of cottage cheese for under a hundred big ones!! We are set up for healthy eating for a while again.
One of my biggest reasons for not losing weight in the past is that I didn't want to lose out on cooking. We love to cook. We eat at home almost every night, and cook as much as we can. We both come from families that sat down to eat together every night, which was weird to do when I was in grade school. We do it now. The surprise of losing weight and trying healthier things, is that we get to try a lot of new recipes. We experiment in the kitchen a lot more, and have found some healthy staples. I thought I'd share a few pictures of some of our favorite dinners we rotate through:
I haven't been missing out on cooking, we have just been finding different things to make. I definitely miss making fried chicken, homemade pizza, and snacks that we always refer to as "super bowl food." But, when we get a craving for them, we try to make healthier versions, or just make it in smaller amounts. Eating healthier hasn't deprived me of kitchen time, we've just gotten craftier in there.
The last perk I want to talk about is energy. I've mentioned before how much more of it I have. And, something that our leader at TOPS said got me thinking: he mentioned that he doesn't like to workout because he wants to have time to relax, or just kick back on the couch. I used to think the same way. Why would I want to waste an hour at the gym, and an hour showering, when I could have two hours on the couch? It sounds like a bad deal. After working out regularly, I realized I'm not losing one hour of feeling better by not exercising. The hour of exercising sucks- but I feel good doing it. I feel powerful, and awesome. I do not feel those things on the couch. Plus, the exercising gives me a good feeling the rest of the day. I've accomplished something, and made myself better. I get all those hours in the day of feeling strong and healthy. I'm not losing an hour of relaxing, I'm getting a day's worth of awesome. I'll trade that hour in the gym for that satisfied feeling every single time.
Hope everyone has a good week!!
Sorry I missed yesterday, I try to write every Wednesday after my meetings and weigh-in, when everything is fresh in my brain. I had to meet with my bank yesterday because they kept calling me... to help me avoid my monthly service charges. Never had a bank do that!! It was awesome. The woman also helped show me where I can start saving, paying off debt, and improving my credit. Thanks Wells Fargo! Because of that meeting, and because I'm one of those weirdos who loves making budgets, lists, and plans (see fitness goal), I spent the three hours after the meeting, before work, working on financial planning. I am now set up to either be extremely poor or extremely stable- money-wise.
To move into weight-loss talk, I have to admit that I gained a pound this week. 1.4 pounds to be exact. I stayed under my calories, but instead of working out everyday, I did three 1 1/2 hour sessions in the gym. I did a lot more strength training than normal, doing full circuits of weight-lifting followed by about 35-45 minutes of cardio. Each session burned about 700-800 calories.
We also worked less hours than normal last week, as we had just paid rent, just got our student loan rebate, and had an opportunity to take three days off in a row- so we did!
Because serving burns a lot more calories than I factor in, I ended up gaining a bit back. I know that some of it is muscle weight, and I'm ok with gaining, as long as I'm losing more often (which I am). Gaining some weeks is completely normal! They tell me at TOPS, "no one loses every week." When I do gain, I make a list of things I'm going to focus on this week, including: staying under my calories everyday, balancing out a hard workout (cardio + strength) with a day of just cardio, not giving away any shifts all week (which will keep me burning calories all day), and drinking more water than I did before. Gaining doesn't make me feel frustrated, I use it to get more motivated. I want to win my biggest loser dollar next week!
With financial planning, and since we've been eating healthier, Costco has become our new friend. We buy all our meat in bulk, freeze it, and try to make dinner at home. We went today and got 20 dinners worth of meat, 10 pounds each of taters and onions, 2 dozen eggs, and a gigantic bucket of cottage cheese for under a hundred big ones!! We are set up for healthy eating for a while again.
One of my biggest reasons for not losing weight in the past is that I didn't want to lose out on cooking. We love to cook. We eat at home almost every night, and cook as much as we can. We both come from families that sat down to eat together every night, which was weird to do when I was in grade school. We do it now. The surprise of losing weight and trying healthier things, is that we get to try a lot of new recipes. We experiment in the kitchen a lot more, and have found some healthy staples. I thought I'd share a few pictures of some of our favorite dinners we rotate through:
Spicy chicken with cumin, over brown rice with cilantro, lime, avocado. With sautéed green beans with garlic.
Roasted veggies. Just toss a pan full of vegetables with a tiny bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 400 for about 40 mins. Some nights this is all we have for dinner. It's that good.
Spicy pork chops (we use cumin a lot) with sweet corn, and our favorite veggie: the green bean with garlic. Seriously- eat it.
I love pierogis (best recipe I've found for them). However, they are problematic: 1. They are a ton of work. 2. They are not good for you.
This is a healthier, faster version of them. I still use a mix of dry cottage cheese and egg for the filling, but stuff them in wonton wrappers instead. You can cook them with just a little bit of oil or butter, no need to boil first with these (or make the extremely temperamental dough).
I haven't been missing out on cooking, we have just been finding different things to make. I definitely miss making fried chicken, homemade pizza, and snacks that we always refer to as "super bowl food." But, when we get a craving for them, we try to make healthier versions, or just make it in smaller amounts. Eating healthier hasn't deprived me of kitchen time, we've just gotten craftier in there.
The last perk I want to talk about is energy. I've mentioned before how much more of it I have. And, something that our leader at TOPS said got me thinking: he mentioned that he doesn't like to workout because he wants to have time to relax, or just kick back on the couch. I used to think the same way. Why would I want to waste an hour at the gym, and an hour showering, when I could have two hours on the couch? It sounds like a bad deal. After working out regularly, I realized I'm not losing one hour of feeling better by not exercising. The hour of exercising sucks- but I feel good doing it. I feel powerful, and awesome. I do not feel those things on the couch. Plus, the exercising gives me a good feeling the rest of the day. I've accomplished something, and made myself better. I get all those hours in the day of feeling strong and healthy. I'm not losing an hour of relaxing, I'm getting a day's worth of awesome. I'll trade that hour in the gym for that satisfied feeling every single time.
Hope everyone has a good week!!
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Loser! With Photos!
Hey everyone!
I'm down 16 pounds... sixteen!! I lost 1.4 this week, we cheated a bit on food. Tim was sick all week, and it was easier some nights to pick up dinner from Chipotle, or make something quick at home. We also tried a new recipe for Barbacoa, and that was pretty hefty calorie count. It was super good though. We did some experimenting in the kitchen. First we did the barbacoa, which was a new recipe for us. It was so good!! Tim had the leftovers for dinner the next day, and I'm sure that's what got rid of his cold. We also tried substituting greek yogurt for oil in a boxed brownie recipe. I love baking, and I really miss doing it. I have always liked baking and cooking, but with baking I never eat the treats. Unless it's Texas Sheet Cake. Then I'll eat the whole thing. I'll have cake for breakfast, I have no restraint or shame. But brownies, I don't really see the big deal about them, I just like to make them, and Tim eats them all. So we thought we'd try a substitution from my list last week, and we subbed out 3/4 cup oil for 1/2 cup greek yogurt and two tablespoons of oil. Tim is still eating the brownies, but I like them even less than normal brownies. They came out with a weird texture- a little tougher, kind of chewy (not in the good way) and I know people hate this word- moist. They were shiny on top. You know how brownies get that cracked top when they are perfect? Not these. And they get shinier every day. They taste more like really heavy cake than brownies. I would not recommend this substitution. Texture is a really big deal. Saving 1,000 calories isn't worth it if it doesn't taste good.
So, as you've figured out, I have TOPS meetings on Wednesdays, and we weigh in. I've been the "biggest loser" for two weeks in a row there. Sometimes I don't think it is fair- I'm competing against women 40+ years older than me. It's just easier for me to lose weight, I can do a lot more exercises than they can. Anyway, I won my dollar and change, last week for 2.8 pounds, and this week for 1.4. That's a loss of 6.6 pounds lost in the past three weeks! I've been exercising about six days a week with cardio, and I'll do a walk or yoga on the seventh day. I've also incorporated weight training two days a week- I think I gained some muscle this past week. I thought I'd include my "before" picture that I took my first week of TOPS, and show you what 16 pounds lost looks like on someone who is already bigger.
I'm down 16 pounds... sixteen!! I lost 1.4 this week, we cheated a bit on food. Tim was sick all week, and it was easier some nights to pick up dinner from Chipotle, or make something quick at home. We also tried a new recipe for Barbacoa, and that was pretty hefty calorie count. It was super good though. We did some experimenting in the kitchen. First we did the barbacoa, which was a new recipe for us. It was so good!! Tim had the leftovers for dinner the next day, and I'm sure that's what got rid of his cold. We also tried substituting greek yogurt for oil in a boxed brownie recipe. I love baking, and I really miss doing it. I have always liked baking and cooking, but with baking I never eat the treats. Unless it's Texas Sheet Cake. Then I'll eat the whole thing. I'll have cake for breakfast, I have no restraint or shame. But brownies, I don't really see the big deal about them, I just like to make them, and Tim eats them all. So we thought we'd try a substitution from my list last week, and we subbed out 3/4 cup oil for 1/2 cup greek yogurt and two tablespoons of oil. Tim is still eating the brownies, but I like them even less than normal brownies. They came out with a weird texture- a little tougher, kind of chewy (not in the good way) and I know people hate this word- moist. They were shiny on top. You know how brownies get that cracked top when they are perfect? Not these. And they get shinier every day. They taste more like really heavy cake than brownies. I would not recommend this substitution. Texture is a really big deal. Saving 1,000 calories isn't worth it if it doesn't taste good.
So, as you've figured out, I have TOPS meetings on Wednesdays, and we weigh in. I've been the "biggest loser" for two weeks in a row there. Sometimes I don't think it is fair- I'm competing against women 40+ years older than me. It's just easier for me to lose weight, I can do a lot more exercises than they can. Anyway, I won my dollar and change, last week for 2.8 pounds, and this week for 1.4. That's a loss of 6.6 pounds lost in the past three weeks! I've been exercising about six days a week with cardio, and I'll do a walk or yoga on the seventh day. I've also incorporated weight training two days a week- I think I gained some muscle this past week. I thought I'd include my "before" picture that I took my first week of TOPS, and show you what 16 pounds lost looks like on someone who is already bigger.
Those are obviously my before shots... Here are my current photos, please ignore the mess, I am cleaning out our hallway closets :)
Also, please ignore the dorky smile on this side shot, I was getting a little impatient with the posing.
I can definitely see the progress this way! I'm getting there, and have a long way to go, but sometimes it feels like you're just standing still- I know that I'm losing though. My pants are now too baggy, but I'm not small enough for the next size down. My clothes are fitting better, and these used to be pants that I couldn't wear without a really baggy shirt! Now they fit nicely!!
It feels awesome to be losing! If you're looking for support, I'm here! If I can do it, you can!
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