907.18474 Grams = 2 Pounds

IT HAPPENED!

I lost the first two pounds! Or, as I prefer to look at it, 907.18474 grams; Got to love a much more impressive number like 907. Ha! If I keep at my current routine I should lose one pound per week which should be around 35-38 pounds by October! Everything might have an exclamation mark at the end of this post because I am just so EXCITED!

Hooray and Happy Sunday!

Inspiration for the week? This little number.
I want to wear it this summer.

 

The One Where Anna Died of Exhaustion

If you ever watched Friends then you know all the names of the episodes started with, "The One..." Thought I would throw some irrelevant cultural references into today's post. Enjoy.

Okay, so today I have pushed myself to every boundary I have and I am paying dearly for it. Samantha is in town, and yes, that would be the bride for which the reason this blog and hard work are being done, and we went and worked out at the rec center today like tomorrow would never come...and I mean it.

After thirty minutes on the elliptical at high resistance (which by the way said I burned upwards of 500 calories, but I never believe those, I just do my own calculations on MyDailyPlate) we went downstairs to lift weights but, little did I know, Samantha had her own personal kick-A trainer on her Ipod Touch.
She downloaded this app from Shape magazine which is made for brides to get fit before their weddings. Shape magazine is cruel to their brides, let me tell you what. Whew. Between the crunches, weight lifting, and leg shapers I will be surprised if I can pick up my car keys tomorrow much less a hairbrush or gallon of milk. (Dear AOII's who read this, do not judge me tomorrow if my hair is in a tangled hot mess, just know it is all in the name of being thinnish.)

Despite all that activity, I was feeling pretty good when I got back to the house and played outside with Chester (Megan's dog); by outside I mean I was sitting in our kitchen chairs with the back door open and throwing a squeaky dog toy out in the yard in which Chester would bring back to me at my chair. Ha. But still, I felt okay until I left to go babysit...

Child A and Child B, who will not be named because I think that would be innappropriate to put them on the internet, wanted to go for a "wagon ride" around the neighborhood. Okay folks, a "wagon ride" is where the kids get into the wagon and then I pull and push them all around the neighborhood. Basically I am like a viking slave rowing them across the ocean, if you needed the visual. It. is. torture, BUT highly effective as a workout so I attempted to look at it from my new healthy perspective.

Didn't work.

Combined, Child A and B weigh around 100 pounds if not more, their neighborhood consists of multiple hills and we went around the ENTIRE neighborhood. My hands are aching and feeling blistered, my legs and back hurt from the straining of muscles to make it up all the hills, and I think I am sunburned from the glorious sunshine we were so nicely given today. Exausted is an understatement. Then, on top of all this, Child B requires lifting very often and my arms are just pooped from all this motion! Throw a huge staircase into the equation and you have got one wiped out babysitter. fo' sho'.  Now I totally understand why mom's can be so skinny, if I did this daily I would be a world champion weight lifter...you know the ones who can lift and pull cars on ESPN? Yeah, that kind.

In food news, I have kept my calorie intake under 1300 today and that is without including the calories I have burned from working out and tramping through the nieghborhood. Pretty incredible when I think about all that I use to eat in the course of a day. It really puts things into a new light for me.

Also, went to my school placement for the first time on Friday and guess what? My mentor is on Weight Watchers! We pulled out our lunches and we both had identical baggies of raw carrots, turkey sandwiches with mustard and a little something sweet on the side. How great is it that I will also have support in my classroom placement? Awwesome! Loving life right now but don't ask me tomorrow, I might be whistling a different tune...or crying. Ha! Have a happy weekend!

Ramen-Dorito-Taco Salad

Just did a quick burst work out in our living room listening to Comcast's '90's selections/watching Jerseylicious while Kristen sat on the couch eating some ramen noodle/Doritos/taco salad concoction that smelled like heaven and tasted pretty delicious too (I only had one bite, seriously, Kristen can attest).

I have to admit, and Kristen insisted, that I tell you that I was the one who found the devil Ramen-Dorito-Taco Salad recipe online. But the only reason I looked up such a high calorie meal was because of Kristen's massive amount of ramen noodles she purchased on a binge when she was borderline broke. Seriously, she looks like she is stock piling for some major catastrophe. She will be out of luck though should she be unable to boil water, but let's hope we never have to test it. Anyways, the reason I looked it up for her was because she had eaten Ramen for at least one meal per day for about a week. It was wretched to watch and to smell, ha. So I did some googling (one of my most favorite past times next to reading and watching Colin Firth) and found all these recipes that you can add ramen in with so that you are not constantly eating, well, ramen. I am a glutton for punishment because that stuff smelled sooo g-double o-d...good. But back to the point...

That point being I think Kristen might be my greatest challenge yet. If I can turn down all her yummy meals, then maybe I have more will power than I thought. Plus, she eats at the craziest times because she is always so busy so I always end up sitting on the couch eating something weird at midnight because that's when she eats dinner and who wants to eat alone? No one, that's who. But no worries, I will stick to my goal! Love you still Kristen:)

My workout was slacking today so tomorrow I will have to amp it up and work out for a full hour. I did 50 push ups tonight though so I am a little concerned that I will not be able to raise my arms above my head by the morning...I am stretching them out as I type in an effort to keep from having T'Rex arms tomorrow. Ouch. Maybe my muscles won't rebel like I think they will. Wishful thinking on my part, I'm sure.

Special thanks to Jodie for encouraging my two-a-day workout yesterday. I burned a thousand calories! Turns out I can do a lot in 2 1/2 hours of working out. However, my body was not appreciative of this and I laid around like the biggest laziest bum today. No repeats of this, it does me no good. I will need to remember this...so long for today!

The Shins.

Hey Al Gore, here is a real inconvenient truth, I have shin splits.

What a bummer. It makes running hurt and not in a "good kind of hurt" way. I have had to resort to the elliptical and the stationary bike because they are easier on the legs, which is fine, but I just really love to run. I like that for thirty minutes I can check out for a little while and just go. But, for the next few weeks I will have to be kind to the old shins and let them rest. Your welcome shins, I hope you appreciate the fact that I hate the elliptical and am doing it anyways.

Other than that, the eating under 1300 calories part is going really well. Making smart decisions and paying attention to serving size helps a lot too. Found  a recipe for a chocolate pie that has 171 calories per slice, so that has helped me with my chocolate fixes. If you know me, than you know I can't go without chocolate at least once a day. I am like Chelsea Handler and her Bellevedere (sp?) vodka...but instead my weakness is anything covered with chocolate! If Chelsea Handler can be fit and still drink all the time, than I am bound and determined to be thinnish and still eat my chocolate.

Thank goodness for sugar free chocolate pudding!

Weekend Challenge

Lesson learned, weekends are the hardest part of healthy living. With nothing to really occupy my time, it is really easy to fall off the wagon and eat oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and milk in front of the tv while watching Penelope (Which is an incredible movie, if you have not seen it).

But, now I know and next weekend I will be prepared. Kristen and I went to the grocery store yesterday and I bought healthy snack foods (edamame, bananas, carrots, low-fat vanilla yogurt, etc.) so when it comes down to sitting in front of the tv, at least some low calorie foods are being eaten instead of massive amounts of gooey oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. They were delicious though...

I think the bulk of the problem is the fact that I don't have anything to do on the weekends, but that will be fixed, hopefully, when I get hired at Olive Garden. Being busy keeps me from snacking. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

High Times-Workout Edition

I get why people love to work out now, it makes so much sense! I have burned the same amount of calories that I have eaten today. Incredible? Yes! I am so pumped about it I just want to keep moving to keep the momentum. Obviously I can't do that though because I am pretty sure my legs may fall off any second. I will keep you posted should that occur.

I am sure someone might read this and think, "She has stopped eating! OH NO!" If you are thinking this, don't. I can barely go 3 hours without eating, much less a whole morning of working out. So do not worry Friends! I promise I am eating plenty and to prove this, I will tell you what I ate.

Breakfast
A boiled egg with salt and pepper (75 calories)

Lunch
Mahi Mahi fillet on brown rice with cold green beans (274 calories)
1/4 cup mac and cheese (94 calories)
2 Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, I splurged, but they were so stinking good. (200 calories)

Pretty crazy, right? And I'm not hungry, just full and super worn out. I just did the elliptical, walked on the treadmill, ran on the treadmill, and thanks to my friend Jodie, I did thirty minutes on a stationary bike at the recreation center which helped me burn those last 220 calories. It hurt though and I am pretty sure I will not be able to move tomorrow, but it is worth it to feel this good.

It is such a good feeling to be in control. This is just a sappy/excited post, not clever or even interesting probably, so I apologize for it, but this is the reason for the blog! I know there will be a time down the road when I need encouragement and I will just hop on back to January 20th and look at how great I was doing. Solid plan. At least I like to think so.

On Demand Lady

For the record, the Pilates lady on Comcast Fitness TV On Demand will kick your butt. Well, actually she will kick your abs. Swiftly. And it will hurt really really bad. You have been warned.

Alice Eve

I just created a profile picture! And, for those of you who know me, I am obviously not blonde and smoking hot like my profile picture seems to be.
Note: For those of you who don't know me, I AM blonde and smoking hot. haha. I kid, I kid.

But I digress, ahem, the women in the picture is Alice Eve. She is seriously gorgeous, as most movie stars are, but I like her for the following reasons:
1. She is pretty in a kind of normal way.
2. She is thin without being skinny.
3. She still has curves, which is good for me because I will be curvy no matter how much weight I lose. (You don't pick your genes.)

Taking this all into consideration, I have deemed her my inspiration piece for this weight loss. Much like interior designers go out and find an inspiration piece to design a room (You know, it's always a lamp, or rug, or sometimes a place mat), Alice Eve will be my inspiration to become thinner! Maybe I will post pictures of her occassionally to remind myself.

My third day of lower calories has gone pretty well, I am amazed at the fact that I am not near as hungry as I thought I would be. I am realizing the trick of "filling foods with fewer calories" and it has been a God-send. Another helpful trick? Eating full meals. Instead of munching on some chips at lunch then being hungry 5 minutes later, I am eating meals with a vegetable, fruit, bread, and some sort of protein and voila! I don't get hungry until 4 or 5 hours later. Miracle worker!

Anywho, bottom line is, I am feeling positive and motivated and that is a good thing.
I will leave you with this....

Maybe I can be some version of this in 39 weeks!

Giving It A Shot.

Hello Blog-o-sphere!
So this post marks the first day of my blogging my (hopefully) successful journey to lose some weight. The reasoning behind is not just because I want to be healthy, thin, and blah blah blah, but actually because I want to look stinking awesome in my dearest friend and future cousin-in-law's wedding in October. Shout out to Samantha for giving me some type of timeline to base my goal on. Thanks!

The current objective is to lose 30 pounds by October 14th.
Is this do-able? Totally.
Will I struggle the whole time? Totally.
But that is just the way it goes with these types of things, isn't it?

I officially started my "healthy intiative" (my clever way of avoiding the word "diet," which have never been of any help in the past) yesterday and I am feeling pretty good about it. Granted it has only been two days, but let me bask in the small victories. Here are the stats as they stand today:

Current Weight: 177 pounds
Goal Weight: 147 pounds
Calorie Intake Daily: 1,300

My exercise varies from running 3 times a week, abs for fifteen minutes once a week, and arms fifteen minutes once a week. I plan on upping the times for abs and arms once I have a better grip on them, for now though, fifteen minutes is about all I got before my abs feel like they are on fire and my arms feel like they might fall off. I am a weak woman, but I am working on it.

The point of this blog is to find some sort of focus throughout the ordeal. My schedule hardly has any routine to it, sometimes it just seems to be weeks of chaos, but that is something I am dealing with day by day. Between sorority, school, work, sleep, and a personal life, time is limited for things like working out and cooking, but I am hoping this will help me stay on track.

Finally, I want to thank some people:
Megan Massey for eating healthy with me. It's nice having someone keeping an eye on what they eat around the house, it makes me think twice before I eat that spoonful of cream cheese frosting. (Note: it also helps that her cabinet is filled with little baggie's of cheerio's that she made herself for portion control...it always makes me laugh but helps keep healthy eating on my mind.)

Jeff Gabriel: This boy is a work out machine and I am so proud of him! He is part of my reason to lose weight as well. He has gotten so fit and I can't stand the thought of having a super fit boyfriend and then lumpy old me sitting beside him. ew. Ha. So thanks sweetie:)

Kristen McCue: Thank you for your gentle teasing of my trying to lose weight. It gives me a determination to keep doing it. I just love to prove people wrong. Haha. Secretly, I think you want me to lose weight solely for the purpose of getting all my clothes in my closet. I promise to give them to you too. Just don't eat chocolate cake in front me, you know I have very little will power.

Last but not least, I want to thank my Mom who has ridden on me to watch my weight since I hit 9th grade. I am glad you have done it too or else I might be even bigger than I am today. You are always supportive of me and I appreciate it. However, if you see me eating a pop-tart, save me the speech about eating plain oatmeal, sometimes a girl just needs a pop-tart to get her day started. Love you!

So this is it, hopefully the next 39 weeks will see a skinnier me! WOO HOO!