Random Friday

It's Friday!  But today is going so slow.  I looked at the clock this morning at 10:00 and was so bummed, because I seriously thought it was lunch time.  Yeah, big hit to the gut.

Yesterday was not so good.  You may remember that I went to McDonald's for lunch.  Well, that wasn't the only time I stopped at McDonald's.  I went there after work for an Oreo McFlurry.  I have no idea what was wrong with me yesterday.  Was it the "blah" feeling I had?  I have no idea.  But all I wanted to do was eat.

I'm not going to beat myself up, though.  It's over with, I can't change it, and it's time to move on rather than dwell on it.  So that's what I'm doing.

Had an english muffin with PB for breakfast (no coffee today).  Then someone brought in banana bread here at work, so of course I had to have a little slice.  For lunch I had leftovers from dinner last night - stir fry.  It was pretty good.  Oh, and I had a Mountain Dew.  Sigh.  Some things never change.

I'm really going to focus on working out next week.  I just cannot get in to the habit, and that needs to change.  I'll have some goals in the fitness side of things to really work on next week.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Gross

That.  That is not cool.  Why oh why did I decide I needed McDonald's?  And why did I decide I need the TWO cheeseburger meal?  Ugh.  So I'm already over my calories for today.  What a fatty!!

Blah

I am dirt tired today.  And just in a blah mood.  I really don't feel like being at work right now.  All I feel like doing is laying in bed and sleeping all day.  I have no idea why.  Could be all the financial stress, or the personal stress...who knows.  But it's taking a toll on me.

Oh.  And it's only 10:30 in the morning, and I've already eaten 520 calories.

Sigh.

Hope your day is going better than mine.  Hopefully I'll wake up soon.

Weigh In Wednesday

I told you I would fix my nail polish problem!

Sigh.  I guess it's better than a big gain.  And it is good considering I had a big salty hot dog (or polish sausage) at the Twins game last night (go Twins!!  Beat the Yankees 5-4!).  AND....I only went over my calories by about 200....that's awesome!  I was so craving some nachos, but didn't give in.  I knew I didn't have enough calories saved for that.  That would have easily put me over by about 900-1,000.  So go me!

Just got to work, and I am TIRED.  Didn't get home last night until about 11, and went to bed at about 12:00.  Needless to say, I decided to sleep in rather than do my morning workout.....again.    :-\

Change of Topic

I know this is a weight loss blog, and I try to keep this a happy place.  But I am going through a lot of personal things right now that I feel are just going to make me go bat-shit crazy.  It's starting to get to be too much.

I hate being alone.  So much so that I have allowed myself to be in my current relationship (and a past relationship) for far too long.  I continue to allow myself to not be happy.  Just so I don't have to be alone.  I'm tired of seeing all my friends start families, while I'm stuck here.  I find myself wondering why I was dealt this shit card in life.  What did I do?  I am a good person, and have never done anything wrong to anyone.  My friends would all describe me as one of the nicest people you will meet.  So why am I having to deal with all this?

I feel like at this point in my life, I shouldn't have to deal with this.  And I definitely should not have to deal with the crap my boyfriend is putting me through.  He acts like a hormone-crazed teenager.  I went through that in high school.  I'd rather not go through that again, thank you very much.  There are so many examples I could give you, but I'd rather keep those to myself.  Both because it's embarrassing for me, and because I don't really need to air my dirty laundry here.

I know it's wrong to stay with him.  So why do I continue to torture myself?  In the past month, he has packed up his clothes and left more times than I can count on one hand.  And I continue to beg him to come back (and he does, because he doesn't have money to be on his own).  WHY????

Sigh.  Sorry for the negativity.  I just needed to get my feelings out there somehow.  I promise a more happy post next time.  Sometimes life happens, and it's certainly not all about weight loss.  Weight loss would be a lot easier without all these stressful things going on in my life.

Meal Plan/Workout Plan - 9/24-9/30

I was supposed to post this yesterday, but life got in the way.  So sue me.

Meal Plan 9/24-9/30 (can you believe it's the end of September already?!?!)

Chicken Drumsticks - with Rice, Plantains, Eggs, and Salad

Tuna Noodle Casserole - with Rice (not for me, I'll have a salad)

Stir Fry - with Rice (not for me)

20-40 Clove Garlic Crockpot Chicken - with Rice, Green Beans, and Eggs

Buffalo Chicken - with Rice (not me), Celery, and Salad   --> Had this meal last night

Garlic Shrimp in Coconut Milk, Tomatoes, and Cilantro - with Rice, Avocado, and Plantains



Workout Plan 9/24-9/30
Monday
PM: BodyStep

Tuesday
AM: Power Circuit (I didn't do this this morning....ugh)
PM: Off - Twins game!

Wednesday
AM: Step & Intervals
PM: Treadmill; Circuit Workout

Thursday
AM: All Step
PM: Off - Eye Appointment

Friday
AM: Kickbox
PM: Treadmill; Circuit Workout

Saturday
10-10-10

Week In Review

Another week down.  This past week had me seeing a drop on the scale...so it's starting to move in the right direction.  I'm also a little more pleased than I have been regarding my weekly report....

My days of going over my budget is dwindling.  I'm about half and half right now....before, I was going over my budget pretty much every day with the exception of 1 day.  So I'm happy to see that.

One thing I'm not too happy about is the exercise.  I just cannot seem to get that down.  I did wake up this morning to do Turbo Kick....I went to the gym, and saw I had the whole place to myself, so I popped in the video.  As soon as it started, someone walked in.  *Sigh*   So I left.  I put the DVD in the player in my apartment, but I just was not feeling it.  I got through the warm-up, but stopped then.  Kickboxing just isn't my thing.  And I had a rough weekend, personally, so I was just a little down in the dumps.  I think I may end up selling my TurboFire set (if anyone is interested, please let me know!!).

Another good thing about this past week is that I packed a lunch....every day!  I'm so proud of myself.  I had Buffalo Chicken Wraps every day, along with an apple and some natural peanut butter.  And I was satisfied with that.  I love my Buffalo Chicken Wraps....which is why I didn't get bored with them at all.

BUT.  But I didn't pack my lunch today.  Like I said, I had a crappy and stressful weekend.  So I'm going to be making a meal plan for the week today, and going to the grocery store tonight (after I go to BodyStep at 5:00!).

Life is full of setbacks.  This weekend was no exception.  But I just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  I want to change so badly.  Nothing is going to stop me from getting to my goal.

Wellness Program

So our company, like many other large companies, has a wellness program.  Basically, we get all our vital information, and based on those, we get a certain % discount on our medical premiums.  I got my results in the mail yesterday.  How did I do?  Um, well let's start with the good news.

I did pass all of the tests (the company-defined goals, not the national standards - you get bonus points for passing national standards), so I'll be getting a 20% discount.  My blood glucose levels were normal.  That was a relief, because my dad's side is full of diabetes.  My dad was diagnosed a couple years ago, so it certainly scared me (but apparently not enough, because I still drink soda like I'll never drink it again).  I fell right in the middle of the normal range.  My blood pressure was also great (118/75).  That's also a good thing, because my grandpa has high blood pressure and has to take meds (along with a few other people on my mom's side).

Now for the bad news.  We all know I'm overweight, and am not in the normal BMI range (although I passed the company's goal...but not by much).  I have a BMI (or at the time of the testing I did) of 28.1, and my Body Fat % is 34.8%.  Gross.  But like I said, I already knew this.

Now on to the part that scares me....I have high total cholesterol and high triglycerides.  Which puts me at a high risk of heart disease and stroke.  And I'm only 27.  I have too much LDL (bad) cholesterol, and my HDL (good) is good.  As far as triglycerides, I should be below 150.  I'm at 226.  WHAT?!  That means I have a lot of fat running through my blood.

This really puts my weight loss in to perspective.  Yes, I do want to lose weight to look good.  And anyone who says that's not a reason they're losing weight, they're lying.  Everyone wants to look good.  But now it's more than just looks.  I don't want to end up like my Grandpa.  Not only does he have high blood pressure, but he also has take a lot of medication for his high cholesterol (my dad, too).

Looks like I'll be eating fewer egg yolks, high fat cheese/dairy, and butter; and I'll be trying to eat much more  egg whites, lower fat cheese, and cut my butter intake.  **Sigh**

Breakfast

I switched it up a bit for breakfast this morning and made a pit stop at Caribou before work.  Got a small iced pumpkin latte, with skim milk and no whip.  Ummm....not as good as I remember.  But it's still nice to switch it up once in a while.  And it was only 150 calories, which means I may be really hungry by the time lunch comes around.  I'm trying to think of what I could do to tide me over.  150 calories for breakfast is not enough (I didn't realize the calorie count was so low until I looked it up this morning...I thought it'd be way more than that).

Last night was a success.  I went to volleyball with the boyfriend, and I packed my own snack (instead of buying a bag of chips there, along with a soda).  I packed some mini triscuits, and brought along my big bottle of water full of ice and some tea.  Go me!  Yeah, I did still want some chips when I saw all the kids running around stuffing their faces with chips, but I didn't grab the bags of chips out of their little paws give in.  Baby steps!!

I didn't see Big Brother last night (will be watching tonight).  But I did look at some spoilers, and I am so happy with the winner!!  He totally deserves the money (not that everyone else doesn't deserve it)!

Meal Plan / Workout Plan (Late)

Okay, I forgot my notebook at home again.  But I did have my grocery list in my purse, with a summary of my meals on the other side.  So that'll have to do.  I just don't have the details of the sides for each meal.  So here ya go...

-Chicken Drumstick Dinner
-Shrimp Creole (had this Monday night)
-Buffalo Chicken
-Chicken/Broccoli Noodle Casserole (tonight's dinner)
-Seco de Pollo (had this last night)
-Maple Apple Chicken in the crockpot

And I have kind of a tentative gym schedule here (Monday's and Tuesday's already done):

Monday: Step, Jump, & Pump - Step Only premix
Tuesday: Dance Class
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: BodyStep
Friday: Off
Saturday: TBD - most likely a video at home
Sunday: Off

I mentioned in an earlier post that I wanted to try out TurboKick again.  But then I figured out (mentioned in another earlier post) that I don't have a way to get in to the exercise room, because my boyfriend takes the keys in the mornings.  And I don't want to work out in our living room (the exercise room has a separate room with a TV/DVD player in it...how can I not take advantage of that??).  So I'm going to be telling my boyfriend my plans, and he's going to have to open the door for me in the mornings.  Problem solved.  TurboKick starts NEXT WEEK in the MORNINGS!  Promise.    =)

Weigh In Wednesday

I was certainly surprised to see that number this morning, but a good surprised!  Especially since aunt flow is making her appearance this week, and I didn't eat too great last week.  Makes me wonder what the heck (how much) I was eating before to maintain/gain weight!!!  Probably close to 3000 calories a day.  Yuck.  So this puts me at 1.5 pounds lost for the week, and a total of .4 pounds lost since the beginning!

Just goes to show....you need to just keep going when you're losing hope.  Something will happen eventually!

Snackity

Yummy snack...1/2 banana, raspberries, and sugar free chocolate syrup. Got the idea from Mama Laughlin (her Instagram page). She is such an inspiration!

An Apple a Day...

I forgot my notebook at home again so it looks like you won't get to see my meal plan for the week.  Not now anyway.  If I have time tonight, I'll post it.  Otherwise it'll have to be tomorrow.  More than likely tomorrow, since I have dance tonight.

Breakfast today was an English Muffin with natural peanut butter (I got up late, and was in a hurry...story of my life).  For lunch I had the same as yesterday....Buffalo Chicken Wrap with 1/2 a medium apple and 1T of natural peanut butter *cough* and a Dr. Pepper *cough*.  But I only drank half the can!!  My afternoon snack will be the other 1/2 of my apple, and a light yogurt.  That all puts me at 905 calories for the day (so far).  Not too shabby!

As you can see from the previous post, I worked out at home after work yesterday.  So proud of myself!  There were no good classes at the gym that I really wanted to go to, so I figured I'd pop in a DVD.  It was only a 30 minute workout, but it's better than nothing.

I got out of bed this morning at 6:00, and realized that I don't have the keys to get in to the fitness area in my apartment (remember, I'm trying to do morning workouts), because my boyfriend takes them in the mornings since he gets home first.  Shoot.  I didn't think about that part.  Now, I could have stayed up and just worked out in the living room.  But did I do that?  No, I went back to sleep, and ended up getting up late.  Ugh....I'm going to have to think of something to do now.  Maybe I'll make him come with me to the gym and open the door with me before he goes to work.  Or I'll just work out in the living room.  I'd rather not do that, because it just makes a mess in there, and I don't like getting footprints all over the carpet....and I'm sure there's tons of dirt that gets on the carpet too from my shoes.  We'll see.

It's Tuesday.  Blah.  The only good thing about today is that I have dance tonight.  Oh, well.  Only 3 more hours, and I can go home!

I Workout

No good classes at the gym tonight, so bringing the workout home (looks like my cat, Ricky, wants to join in too)!

Do I Really Look Like That?!?!?!

So they put up pictures of a recent charity event on our company web site.  And there was a picture with me included....

Ummmm....ew!!!!  It looks like I have a tiny midget head on top of an elephant's body!!  I need to take this weight loss thing a lot more seriously and work a lot harder.  This has got to change.

Lunch-a-Roo

This is my lunch today.  As mentioned last week, I'm a sandwich/wrap and chips gal.  So here is my wrap and "chips."  The wrap is a buffalo chicken wrap (please ignore my bad wrapping skills), with a side of 1/2 apple with natural peanut butter (the other half of the apple is my snack, along with a cheese stick and mini triscuits).

So far so good today!

Week In Review

Happy Monday everyone.  I did not get much sleep last night, so I'm dragging today.  The boyfriend decided he wanted to watch a movie until midnight, and then he couldn't sleep, so was tossing and turning and kept me awake.  Plus it was a million degrees in the apartment, so I was completely sweating.  The boyfriend needs to find his own damn bed.  Sigh.

Anyway...time for my week in review.  Here's the LoseIt report....

I'm not too pleased with that.  Again.  2,658 calories over my budget for the week??  And I only worked out once.  Ugh.  It could be that aunt flow will be making her monthly appearance this week, and I'm always craving salty and chocolatey goodness around that time.  But I know that's also an excuse.  I just need to keep on trucking, and focus on the positives.....I tracked everything, every day.  And it could have certainly been worse.  Based on this report, I am scared to think how many calories I was eating before when I wasn't tracking.  One day, one minute, one second at a time Heather.  I just need to remember that.

My weekend was all right.  Pretty uneventful.  Friday night I went to Cowboy Jack's with the boyfriend and had some drinks.  Got home and finally went to sleep around 3AM.  Saturday I woke up at about 8:30...couldn't sleep.  I'm always like that when I drink, I don't know why.  Then the boyfriend and I went out to eat at RED LOBSTER.  Yum.  I haven't eaten there in forever....I think the last time was my birthday in May.  And no, I did not eat healthy.  Ate two of their bread roll thingies, a salad, and some fried shrimp and french fries.  Yum.  And no I did not feel guilty.

After Red Lobster, we went to the mall and looked for shoes for him (oh joy).  And he had a couple things he had to get for his car.  We got home, and he went to work.  While he was at work, I vegged out, and went to Potbelly for a sandwich.  I was craving their sandwiches.  Notice the theme of the weekend?  Bad, greasy food and alcohol.  My boyfriend didn't get done with work until midnight, so when he got home, we just watched a movie and went to bed.  Sunday I got up at about11, and the boyfriend didn't get up until 1:30!!  Poor guy was tired from all the working lately.  So while he was sleeping I took advantage of the quiet time and cooked some breakfast/lunch, cleaned, and put out the Fall decorations (yay!).  I also made the meal plan for the week (I'll put that up later...forgot my notebook at home).  Then we left, and while he spent some time at his parents', I went to the grocery store.  Then picked him up and we headed over to volleyball where he played a couple games, and we went home around 8:30.  Then I cooked, and we watched a movie (as mentioned above...really late!).

More updates to come later today.  Have a good one!

Big Brother

Oh my gosh....that Big Brother show last night was AMAZING!  So classic.  And I have to say, this is the best season we've had in a LONG time, if not ever.  I love it.  I'm so sad it's coming to an end.

Today our department is going on a boat cruise on the Mississippi river (the loading dock is just a couple blocks away, since our company is right along the river).  We'll be heading over at 11:00 today, and then we'll be going to lunch when it's over.  I think we'll be done around 3:00 or 3:30, so I'm hoping that means that we get to leave early.  So here's to hoping our manager is having a good day!!

I've been so bad at going to the gym this week.  Ugh.  I just can't get myself together.  But I need to be patient.  I've spent so many years being unhealthy.  I can't expect to change everything overnight.  As much as people want things to change fast, it really is baby steps.  I just wish these baby steps were a little bigger!

Again

Yep.  I changed my calorie budget again.  I'm sorry, but I don't know how some of you stay at or below 1200/day.  That is humanly impossible for me.  I like my food, and I like a lot of it.  I can't go from eating 2000+ to 1200 calories a day like that  *snap*.  So back to 1470.    =)   And that makes this girl a happy camper!

Not a Fan

I've been going around, reading a lot of blogs lately.  And there are a lot of Jillian fans out there.  It's really inspiring to read about all the success stories that have been posted from people finishing her 30-Day Shred. I did try it a while back, and I have to say (please don't shoot me)....I am just not a Jillian fan.

Don't get me wrong...I love watching her on The Biggest Loser, and it's great what she does for so many people.  But I just don't like her workouts.  They're a little too....boring?  And by boring I don't mean easy.  TRUST me on that!!  I just prefer the up-beat, fast-paced workouts - step is my all-time favorite (probably because I'm a dancer, and it's almost like I'm dancing).  And no one beats Cathe Friedrich in that department.

One purchase I made a few months ago (and haven't used), was TurboFire.  I was looking at some reviews, and the schedule, and I'm starting to get really interested in it again.  When I first bought it, I was going through some hard times personally, so it just got put on the back burner.  But I'm thinking I'd like to start up on it again.  And then I was thinking....well, I've been trying my hardest to get those darn morning workouts in, so why not use TurboFire for my morning workouts??

Now if I could just find that tape measure I got with that.....

I'll post more details later.  Just wanted to get my thoughts out there.   =)    Hope everyone is having a great day!

Lunch

So I packed a nice big salad for lunch today.  But what am I eating??  This....

Seriously?!  SERIOUSLY, what is my problem?!  I really, really think that I need to re-think my "Salads of the Week."  I touched on this a little last week, but decided I'd give it another try.  And even when I do have my salad here, I don't want it.  I've been thinking about it all day....how I really don't want my salad.  So I didn't eat it.  It's still sitting in the office fridge.  Lovely.

I am NOT a salad kinda gal, no matter how hard I try, or how "creative" I am.  I really am a sandwich/wrap and chips kinda gal.  That's not something I can change.  I can certainly get my veggies in with a sandwich, and I can keep the calories down if I'm creative enough.

So no more Salads of the Week.  Time to surf the web and other blogs for some lunch ideas.

What I Weigh Wednesday

Yes, I know I still haven't taken care of my gross chipped-off nail polish problem.  Deal with it, because I'm crabby about that number.  That number means I'm up 1.1 pounds.  I know I mentioned in a previous post that I can't only concentrate on the number on the scale, but it's still a little disheartening.  And speaking of that, I was supposed to take my measurements today, but for the life of me I couldn't find my tape measure.  I think I remember throwing it away when I was moving.   :-\     So that might mean a trip to Target to pick up a new one.

That's it for now.  I may be back later to make a new post.  Happy Hump Day!

A Day in the Life

Even though none of these bloggers know who I am, I still decided to join in the fun.  It's fun reading how others go about their days.  And here's mine!

6:45-7:15     Hit the snooze button until I get my lazy butt out of bed.

7:15-7:40     Get ready in the small amount of time I have, and curse myself for hitting the snooze button.  I also attempt to put my lunch/snack together, but most days I don't have enough time.

7:40-8:05     Sit in traffic and curse myself some more for being lazy and not getting out of bed on time.  Now I'm late for work.

8:05-9:00     Go through emails, respond to any that need to be taken care of right away.  And, no, I shouldn't be doing this, but I also catch up on blogs and Big Brother spoilers.   :-/

9:00-12:00    Work, meetings, etc.  I typically don't have enough work in this job, so some of this time is spent working on my blog, weight loss plan, and reading more blogs.

12:00-12:30  Lunch time!  On days I had time to get my lunch together, I just heat up what I have and eat at my desk.  Other days I have to run to Subway or the deli to get a lunch (or McDonald's).  This means a lot of rushing with only a half-hour lunch break.

12:30-4:30    More work, meetings, and doing other people's work  favors for other people (no, I'm not bitter at all.....).  

4:30-5:00     Time to head home.  My commute is usually about a ½ hour in the afternoon.

5:00-6:00      Sit around with the boyfriend (if he’s home).  If he’s not home, this is usually the time I get ready for the gym and go to a workout class.  Workout classes usually start at 5:30 and go to 6:30.  Sometimes I decide to stay for 2 classes, and then I’d be done around 7:30.

6:00-10:00     If the boyfriend is home, I’ll go with him to volleyball and watch.  Yep, 4 more hours of sitting on my butt and surfing the web on my phone (if he’s not playing – he doesn’t always play, he sometimes watches).  If he’s not home, like I said, I’m at the gym until about 6:30 or 7:30, depending on how many classes I go to.  Then I come home and cook dinner, which is usually ready at about 9:00.

10:00-11:30     Come home, cook, eat, watch some TV with the boyfriend, and go to bed.  I’m usually too lazy for a bedtime routine.  So no brushing my teeth (gross) or washing my face (gross again). 

The main theme of this post?  It's time to stop being lazy.  And as Dr. Phil would say, start getting real.  My routine needs to change.

Calories and Exercise

I’ve been doing a lot of research about how many calories I should be eating, as well as exercise calories.  The Lose It program is all about eating back your exercise calories.  But should I really be eating those exercise calories back?  I thought the whole point of losing weight was to exercise the calories off.  Why should my eating change just because I exercised on a certain day? 

I’ve read a lot of articles and opinions, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not going to eat back my exercise calories.  I’ve also decided to reduce my daily calorie budget to 1212 (to have me losing 1.5 pounds per week vs. 1 pound per week).  This is not going to be set in stone.  If I find that I’m still hungry/ravenous, the calories will be going back up to 1462.  I did a number of calculations, and the majority of them had me eating around this number just to lose 1 pound per week.  Remember, I’m 5’1”, so I obviously can’t eat the same number of calories a 5’6” or 5’8” woman can eat.  It sucks.  It’s not fair.  But that’s how life is.  I need to suck it up and deal with it.  And until I fix my metabolism and gain some muscle, I’m going to have to stay at that number.

I’ve also decided I can’t only go by the number on the scale.  It will only set me up for failure, because the scale doesn’t always tell you what’s going on in your body.  Starting tomorrow, I’ll be taking measurements as well as weighing myself on Wednesdays. 

And I need to suck it up when it comes to exercise.  I’ve been whining about morning exercise for quite some time now, and the past 2 days, I haven’t even attempted to get my butt out of bed.  I’ve been reading some of these “Day in the Life” blog posts going around, and a number of these bloggers are getting up between 5 and 6 AM to work out, and all the while are going to bed around the same time I go to bed. 

Come on, Heather.  Do you want to lose weight?  Or do you want to be stuck at this weight, or worse, keep inching up the scale, forever?? 

The decision is mine.  All mine.  And it’s all up to me whether or not I start losing this weight once and for all.  

Meals and Workout Plan for 9/10/12 - 9/16/12

Workout Plan

Monday - Rest or Zumba or BodyPump (not sure what my plans are tonight yet)

Tuesday - First night of dance!!

Wednesday - BodyStep

Thursday - Zumba

Friday - Rest or BodyPump

Saturday - Up in the air...will go with the flow

Sunday - Rest

Meal Plan

Salad of the Week - Sweet Talk Salad (greens with cottage cheese, mixed fruit, unsalted nuts, & bell peppers)

Tuna Noodle Casserole

 - With Green Beans and Rice

Seco De Pollo

 - With Lentils, Rice, and Plantains

Chicken Drumsticks

 - With Lentils, Rice, Egg, and Avocado

Chicken With Gravy

 - With Green Beans and Rice

Meatless Night

 - Lentils, Rice, Plantains, Avocado

Egg Night

 - With Rice, Maruchan, and Eggs

Turkey Meatloaf

 - With Green Beans, Rice, and Egg

***All my meals have rice, but that doesn't mean I eat rice at every meal.  My boyfriend is Ecuadorean, and it's common for them to eat rice with every meal.  I plan on either eating only 1/2 cup, or none at all for my meals, and just adding a side salad.

Week In Review / Goals for the Week

This is a little late.  I'd like to be able to get these "Week in Review"s up on Sundays, but my weekends are usually spent off the computer.  We shall see.

So let's start with my week in review.  Below is my weekly report from LoseIt!  Mind you, I didn't log anything on Monday (Labor Day), so my calories are really low.

Not good.  That's way too many days where I went over my calories.  We'll see what damage I caused when I weigh in on Wednesday.  As far as exercise goes, I'm a little happier with that, but I was obviously grasping at straws with the house cleaning and dancing (that was done at a night club, and not very strenuous).  And my weight obviously hasn't changed since I've only logged my weight once.

In all, I'd maybe give myself a C-.  While I didn't completely fail (I tracked my calories and exercise, and I was mindful of my food choices), I didn't excel either.  And with the adrenaline and excitement of a new plan, I definitely should have done better.

What did I learn?  I eat when I'm stressed.  I need to find ways to cope with my stress and calm down so I don't eat everything in front of me.

I also learned that it would be best if I set aside one day a week to put all my salads together and ready to go for the week.  That way I can just grab and go.  Right now I don't have enough tupperware containers to do that.  Maybe I can assemble them in sandwich bags for this week?  I'm not sure yet.  But I learned that if I don't have the salads ready to go, I'm less likely to pack them for my lunches each day.

Another lesson learned is....I need to have some snacks on hand for volleyball.  My boyfriend plays volleyball a few nights a week, and chips and soda are my mainstays every time I go.  Even if I'm not hungry.  It doesn't sound like a lot of food, but it is, and it's a lot of calories.  I'll be searching the internet for some fun snacks (I'm thinking kid snacks.......shut up, you know you like them too) to take along with me.  And maybe some type of flavored water pouches to bring along.

And one final lesson - I am not a morning person.  Okay, I already knew that.  But my plan was to workout both in the morning and at night.  I just can't get my lazy ass out of bed.  I need to work on getting to bed earlier.  I'm not going to give up on the morning workouts yet.  I think it will definitely help with the weight loss to try the two-a-days.

What are my goals for the week?  I already kind of outlined them above, but I'll put them in nice little bullet points here...

• Find other ways to cope with stress
• Put my salads for the week in individual ready-to-go containers
• Create some go-to snacks for volleyball
• Stay within my calorie budget at least 5 out of 7 days
• Workout at least 4 days this week (afternoon)
• Workout at least 2 days in the morning

So there ya go.  Now let's get to it!

Stress Eater

By the Numbers from Yesterday (9/6/2012):
Calorie Intake Goal: 1462
Actual Calories: 2228
Exercise Calories Burned: 0

I guess you could say I'm a stress eater.  I was bummed and in a horrible mood yesterday.  It all started when I went to check my balance in my bank account.  Then it all just snowballed from there.

But it was a learning experience.  Today is a new day.  And I'm in a pretty good mood right now, considering the financial situation.  I got paid today, and although I don't have as much in my account as I'd like, I feel a little better.

Breakfast for today was another vending machine breakfast.  Cashew Crunch, and a coffee.  I didn't get out of bed until 7:15.  And I'm supposed to leave my apartment by 7:30.  Yeah.  Didn't have time to make a breakfast shake.  Luckily last night I put together some leftovers for my lunch today (dinner last night was amazing, if I do say so myself).  1/2 C white rice (I know), lentils, 1 chicken drumstick, 1/4 plantain, and 1/4 avocado.  I didn't have time to hard-boil another egg, so don't have one today.  But that's okay.

I know I mentioned before eating salads of the week for lunch.  I just don't know if that's something I want to do still.  It's so boring.  And I've never been a huge fan of salads.  BUT.  But it keeps my calories low, and I think it's cheaper to have to buy ingredients for only one lunch for the entire week.  So I'm still thinking about that one.  I guess I've only done it one week (and, um....I only had my salad of the week one day this week), so I should give it more of a chance.  We shall see.

Tonight I'm planning to go to BodyPump Express and BodyStep Express (each 45 minutes).  I'm ready to burn some calories!!

McDonald's

I am so stressed right now.  Nothing in the world is worse when you have money problems, and it seems like I just can't get a break.  Every time I feel I'm catching up, something happens and everything snowballs.  I was able to get my savings account to a good amount.  Now I have $20.  And this morning I checked my bank account - I was in the hole at -$25.  I had to do a cash advance just to keep me above water until I get paid tomorrow (which will be a lower check because they had to dock hours since I went in the hole with vacation time when I was sick).  I've been spending the morning trying to figure out how to get myself out of this mess.

And all I want to do right now is go to McDonald's and drown myself in their grease (and hey, it's cheap, so that will help with the money front!).  Which I know will make me feel worse.  And yesterday was a good day, until I went to watch my boyfriend play volleyball.  My lunch wasn't big enough, and I was starving.  So I had doritos and soda (even though I'm not supposed to have soda).  Then when I got home I was still starving (mind you, it was 10:45, and still hadn't had dinner).  So I had 2 lemon loaf cake slices while I was cooking dinner.  For dinner I had white rice, a hard-boiled egg, and 1/4 avocado.  The chicken wasn't done, so no chicken.  We had to get to bed.

Ugh.  What to do....

What I Weigh Wednesday

Today's weight....

(Please don't mind my ugly toes and ugly paint job    :)

Well, I did it yesterday!  Like I said, I picked out the health(ier) choice from the vending machine for breakfast.  For lunch I had a Chinese Chicken Salad (very fresh) from the local deli with a low fat oriental vinaigrette; I also had a ciabatta roll.  Then after work, I looked at another YMCA location schedule and saw that BodyStep was at 5:30 (rather than the TurboKick - which I don't like too much).  So I went there and did an hour of BodyStep.

Earlier in the day I made a meal plan for the week, so I went to the grocery store right after BodyStep.  $100 later (ugh, shoot me now), I went home and had a yogurt because I was starving.  I then made dinner (a frozen pasta dish) and put together my salad of the week, along with other snacks for today and packed my lunch.  It was a good night, and I came out with a deficit (after the workout AND before the workout).  My allowance is 1462 calories, I ate 1446, and burned 450.  I came out with a net of 996.  That's a little low, I know.  So I'll certainly be more conscious of my deficit/net.  And since yesterday was kind of a "fly by the seat of my pants" sort of day, it was a little more difficult.

But I'm so proud of myself.  I didn't plan, but I made sure to make healthy, conscious choices throughout the day!  Now today I have my planned lunch and snacks here.    =)    For breakfast I had a Dashing Dish shake (chocolate/PB), for snack I have some cantaloupe and string cheese, lunch is a September Salad (more on that later), and for my afternoon snack I have popcorn (TJ's Organic with sea salt and Olive Oil).

Here's to taking it one day at a time!!    =)

Back-Up Plan Day

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend (all 0 of you that ready my blog)!  Mine was good...nice and relaxing.  It's this time of year that I really miss high school.  I loved the feeling of going back to school.  And my high school days were the best years of my life.  Not college, high school.  I had a real hard time making friends in college (I came out with none), so college wasn't as great as many had said it would be.  I blame my very shy and self-conscious personality.  I was starting to make friends towards the end of my 2nd year in Mankato, but then I decided to transfer to be closer to my then-boyfriend....who I'm not even with anymore.  Huge mistake.  NEVER pick a school based on where your current boyfriend is.  I probably missed out on all the great friends I could have had.

Anyway, moving on.  I weighed myself this morning, even though Wednesdays are my planned weigh-in days.  The scale said 150 even.  Gross.

And you'd think with all the planning I did this weekend, I'd be ready for this week.  Wrong.  I didn't do any grocery shopping or meal planning.  I have no food in the house to make salads.  And I woke up way too late this morning (had only 15 minutes to get ready) to make a breakfast shake.  But I'm still being conscious of my decisions.  Had a health(ier) option out of the vending machine - cashew crunch.  It was about 300 calories.  I also had a cup of coffee.  Mind you, normally when I don't have breakfast, I get peanut butter and cheese filled crackers (you know those orange ones?) that come out to be almost 500 calories, plus a Mountain Dew.  So this is much better than what I've done.

                     YES                                                                                               NO

I'm also planning on heading over to the local deli for lunch to get a fresh salad.  Even though I didn't plan for my "Salad of the Week," I still need to stick with the salad for lunch thing, and have a back-up plan.  So, so far so good.  I'm happy with the decisions I've made so far.

And obviously since I only had 15 minutes to get ready, I couldn't get my butt out of bed to workout this morning.  I do plan on going to the YMCA tonight, though.  Not for my planned workout, but I have a schedule I can look at to see what classes I can go to as a back-up plan.  So tonight instead of BodyStep and BodyPump at a location further away, I'll be doing TurboKick at a location that's only a couple miles away.  We'll see if I have time to do a workout at home (the one that I missed this morning) too.  If not, no big deal.  At least I'm making an effort.  And you always need a back-up plan!!

Planning Part 3: Rewards Plan

Now that I've gone through the details of how I plan to lose this weight, I'm going to go through what I'm get to get as I do lose weight.  I weighed myself this morning - 150.   :-(     So I think that a reward for every 5 pounds lost would be a good way to go.  Here are the rewards for each weight loss bench mark, all the way down to my ultimate goal of 115 pounds.

145 Pounds: Manicure/Pedicure (I'll be browsing Groupon for deals!)
140 Pounds: New Bedding
135 Pounds: X-Box Kinect Game
130 Pounds: Lululemon Outfit/Bra (I've been dying to go here ever since they opened a store near-by!!)
125 Pounds: $50 at Charming Charlie's
120 Pounds: Shopping at Victoria's Secret online (because I'll want to shop for my svelte new figure!)
115 Pounds: Spa Day!