Weigh In (week 16) & Thank you!

What a difference a good purging makes!  I feel 85% better about everything.  I am so deeply appreciative for your comments on my last post!  I didn't know if it would seem weird to others or unrelatable but thank you & reading what you had to say really helped!  I will do one short little update - the ex and I spoke one final time and he asked to come visit me.  At this point I calmly say - "our story, volumes 1 through 20 are finished.  No you may not come visit me."  Reaffirmation of God's answer to me - would I want someone who is willing to "visit" (note the quotation marks...I mean really you are gonna travel hundreds of miles to say only hi?!) a woman other than their fiance?!  Absolutely not.  Thank you Jesus!

Now back to our regularly schedule program.  I've been picking it up at the gym!  Dare I say...I am starting to like exercise?  Um...maybe not quite like, but appreciate how it makes me feel and how far I have come fitness wise!  Yesterday I did 30 minutes of intervals on the stair climber and 15 minutes on the treadmill, followed by 15 minutes of ab work.  I relaxed in the sauna afterwards - not without spritzing my hair with conditioner first (of course! lol) and as I left the gym...I felt AMAZING!  Sweaty, funky, stanky - but still so good!

I didn't eat badly yesterday but today I've gotten back to sticking to the meal plan 100%.  I won't hit my 153 goal by Friday...I have to re-evaluate the way I think about my goals.  I think in my head it goes something like this:  Let me set a really high goal and even though I doubt I will reach it...it sounds good to strive towards.  I need to really commit to my goals and realize that I can do it!  And then just go ahead and get it done!  I am still wanting 25 lbs lost by the first day of summer.  So...I am going to get this one.  The Cute as a Bunny, Beach, and personal Birthday challenges were all fails for me....I'M GOING TO GET THIS ONE!

Stats for this week:  Down 0.4 lbs to 160.0 lbs.
Goal for this week 2 lbs.  I've yet to lose 2 lbs in 1 week and its about time I experience that high!

Weigh-In (Week 15)

Up 0.6 to 160.4 lbs.  Two things:

1) Its that TOM so I am hoping I am retaining water and
2) My area had a natural disaster.  In the 3 grocery stores by my house there was no meat, dairy, produce, or frozen anything.  I had plenty of meat at home but no veggies, so I have been eating out a lot this week.  And not good stuff either...sorry to report.

I've been exercising...but I realize that the same things are not causing me to gasp for air, be sore, or fatigue me the way they did even just a month ago.  I've got to step up my intensity.  I went swimming yesterday and swam laps.  And let me just say...as fun as it was, I definitely burned some calories because I was gasping for air after each lap!!!! LOL.  Not a great week, but noting to be depressed about either....I am going to 2-a-days this week.  Two of my May goals are to exercise 400 minutes per week and to complete 10 2-a-days.  I'm going to get that crackin' this week!

Weigh In (Week 13) & Beach Challenge Results

I CHANGED DECADES!  I wanted it SOOOOO badly for this week!  Starting May in the 150's...bye-bye 160's foreverrrrrrrr!  As for the Beach Challenge, I began at 163.4 and now I weigh 159.8 so I didn't lose the 10 anticipated pounds.  And that is OK...I still had a great month with a 3.6 lb weight loss.  And I really did give it my all - I kicked up my exercise and worked out almost everyday (except the few sick ones I had), I drank a TON of water, cut back on my sodium, found some new workouts, and stuck to my diet plan much more consistently.  So with that said...I can't be disappointed in myself!

One thing that pisses me off is I don't think my scale is 100% accurate.  I think its close, but if I get on it 10 times in a row...it will give me 10 different numbers.  I do think I weigh 159.8 because yesterday morning I weighed the same.  But...maybe I will start weighing myself at the gym in the same clothes each time....I haven't decided yet.  And maybe it isn't that big of a deal.  I mean the scale isn't WAY off - I just wish it were more consistent.

So now for this weeks reflections...I realized that my body does not lose weight easily.  I mean I worked out 14 of the last 16 days, drank nothing but water (at least 8 glasses every single day) and STILL didn't lose as much as a person who follows my plan would.  I finally recognized that I was having too many "cheat" meals & snacks mainly because I was combining the FSD with calorie counting - which for many MANY people would probably work, but not me!  I had to buckle down and stick to my plan much more closely than I had been doing - although I still had some cheat days.  Actually on Tuesday I had a double cheeseburger meal from McDonald's - my first fast food meal since 2009.  I planned on having Subway, but ended up not finishing my day until after 9 p.m. - all the Subways were closed and I was hungry enough to gnaw off my left hand.  I know that it is imperative that I do not allow myself to become that hungry, and for the most part I have prevented it from happening.  But even despite that meal - I had a great weight loss this week (for me).  So I am thinking that cutting back on salt may have been the reason for my big number.

For example, yesterday I grilled fresh chicken tenders on the George Foreman instead of having my usual Butterball processed chicken strips from the grocery store.  I seasoned them only with pepper, garlic & onion powder and left out the Seasoned Salt which would have been the first thing I added before.  They tasted so good and I stayed wayyyyyyyy under my sodium consumption for the day.  Instead of having Progresso's Lentil Soup (canned) I made my own.  Rather than having lunch meat I had a Morning Start Black Bean Burger - still a convenience item, but it had much less sodium.  It was difficult at first but I feel I am starting to find my stride with the salt reduction.  Thank God for MyDailyPlate.com though because I would not be tracking the sodium on my own!  LOL.

I loved reading your comments on yesterday's blog.  Clearly I was in "I'm going to take over the world" mode...but I meant every word!  Thanks!

Weigh In (Week 13) - Great week!

DOWN 1.8 LBS = 161.6 lbs.
I had a pretty good week!  After my 1 lb gain last week I really kicked it into high gear.  The words from my trainer helped and also (as mad as he made me!) and DEFINITELY my new smaller measurements were encouragement to continue going!  So this week, I re-read a couple of chapters in the FSD book and tried to re-direct my eating.  And as for the scale, I am ecstatic!  This is the most amount of weight I've lost in a week and the 150's are sooooo close!  I am going to be there next week, before May, I can feel it and I am claiming it!

Okay, so I have no chance at meeting the Beach Challenge goal...but hey, I did get a personal record out of it.  1.8 lbs is a HUGE number for me!

Hits:

• Drank at minimum 2L (64 oz) of water per day, usually more
• Exercised everyday this week, longer than 30 minutes each day!
• Starting to enjoy exercising....finding myself making it a priority, finally.  YAY!!!!

 Misses:

• Didn't eat as many fruits & veggies as normal...need to get back to 6 servings per day
• Cannot control overeating on sweets.  Whenever I bring in a snack item (pecan rolls, brownie bites) I can't seem to stop at one serving.  So I have to go back to not having it at all until I can control myself.  Really sounds pathetic, but I'm just being real.
• Still have to cut back on salt even more, but I am definitely more conscious of it.  I'll get there...

Here's what I did this week:
Sunday:  Walk/Jump rope interval outside
Monday:  Personal Training Session
Tuesday:  500 jumping jacks + 500 Jump rope
Wednesday:  PT session + 500 Jump rope
Thursday:  Zumba class (1 hr) + ab work + elliptical 20 minutes
Friday:  Zumba class later...not sure of what else

Weigh In (Week 12), Beach Challenge, AND Zumba!!!!

Ok - My first official gain!  SMH.  163.4 (up 0.8 lbs).  But no worries, I am back on track.  The scale kicked me in the rear to get my life together!  lol.  After being sick and slacking on exercise for a week, I also wasn't cooking.  I got super busy and with being under the weather just didn't feel like putting the energy into meal-planning and cooking.  So all of that contributed to my gain, I'm sure.  I'm most likely not going to get 10 lbs in 2 weeks, so the Beach Challenge will be a "technical" fail, but it doesn't matter, I will still work hard for the remaining 2 weeks for a respectable number!  lol.

I have been back to my daily exercising.  Yesterday I went to my first Zumba class (I know, I know, I'm late) and I am hooked!  I absolutely loved it!  Got up this morning for another class!  And surprisingly I sweat and felt like I got a great workout.  Plus, instead of my normal 30 minute shot, I worked out for an hour.  Several community centers around my city offer fitness classes, some free others cost a whopping TWO DOLLARS!!!!  That's what I'm talkin' bout!!!!  So - I have renewed enthusiasm about working out!  Next week I will be doing water aerobics, belly dancing and zumba. Watch out now!  I've been back on my game with my food plan also.

Pam (from The Rest of the Journey) posts regularly about her visits to the Farmer's Market, which inspired me to seek out my local market.  I got a bunch of goodies at less than grocery store prices so I was very happy about that.  Thanks Pam!

It is such a beautiful day, I think I will go for a walk in the park...that'll be 2 workouts today!  YAY!  :-)

Weigh-In (Week 11) & Challenge Updates

162.6 lbs, down 0.8 lbs from last week, 10.8 lbs lost total.  I'm still having trouble accepting how slowly my body is losing the weight, but I am no longer disappointed with small losses.  Slow and steady (as you guys have told me via comments!!!).  I'm proud that I've not gained any weeks so far and that is a victory for me in 11 weeks!

I was a part of Trina's Cute as a Bunny Challenge.  The goal was to lose 7 lbs in 7 weeks.  I began the challenge at 167 lbs and since I weigh on Wednesdays today is the final weigh in for me.  Altogether I lost 4.8 lbs.  I had some weeks where I didn't lose an entire pound and others that I stayed the same.  However, although I didn't get the 7 pounds, I am happy with my performance in my first ever challenge!!!

Which brings me to my next point - Tammy's Beach Challenge!  Read the post I did on it if you missed it!  I'm going to switch my weigh in days to Friday for the rest of the month for the purposes of the challenge.  The goal is to lose 10 lbs in 1 month.  I will be a grinning, skipping, giggling fool if I achieve that!!!  Since the start of the challenge, I've been exercising daily to help meet that goal and I plan to exercise 2x/day three times per week.

• Thursday (April 1) = only 20 minutes on the elliptical (hadn't seen the challenge yet)
• Friday = 30 day Shred with Jillian Michaels
• Saturday = 45 minutes at the gym on treadmill (intervals, walking, jogging, running)
• Sunday = 45 minute walk at the park
• Monday = personal training session at 5 p.m.
• Tuesday = didn't have time to workout but cleaned my apt, took all the trash down to the compactor on foot, not by car as usual.
• Wednesday = have a P.T. session at 5, will do 30 shred in a few minutes...

I've been drinking pretty much nothing but water, so that is one thing that I struggled with in the beginning that I really have made leaps and bounds of improvement in.  I just wanna see that scale move just a bit faster, but so long as I don't gain, I'm happy!

Thank you ALL so much for your comments on my last ranting post.  Some were so touching, they brought tears to my eyes.  It was such a moment for me, realizing that you not only sympathized but empathized with me.  Thank you very much.

Here are some pic's of what I've been eating lately.

Homemade Spicy Seafood Soup & Side Casear Salad (note only 5 croutons!)

Weigh-In (Week 10) & New Finds!

Well, I lost 0.6 lbs this week giving me a 10 week total of exactly 10 lbs.  I'm pleased that I am continuing to average at least 1 lb per week BUT SHEESH....next week has to be better!!!  My short term goal is to have lost 25 lbs total by June 21st (the first day of summer) and to achieve this I only have to continue to average 1 lb per week.  I can't wait until I change decades and get into the 150's!

I did relatively well last week, although I did have that one bad day on Sunday.  My workouts were much more intense than I had been doing and even a little longer - but I didn't do as many days as I normally do.  I finally fulfilled my water intake goal!!!!  Thank you LORD!  So I wasn't perfect last week, but I doubt that perfection exists as far as me and this weight loss journey is concerned.  I am proud that I've made so many positive changes in my lifestyle and just need to work on consistency.

I know I've mentioned this before but my skin is sooooo much clearer!  I've suffered with teenage cystic acne since I was 10 years old and as I've aged it never "went away" like other teenagers, but morphed into adult acne.  There was a time that I hated to be outside without some coverage on my face - at least powder, but usually full liquid foundation.  Now, most days I only wear tinted moisturizer and powder.  While my skin still has many flaws and imperfections, I still love it - because it is such an improvement from last year this time!  Can't wait til my momma sees it!  My dad is coming for a visit this weekend (spring break) and its his first visit to me without my entire family - so we will spend some awesome quality time together, and I already have a guest pass for him to the gym!

I tried 2 new items this week - Hood Calorie Countdown Fat Free Dairy Beverage and Flat Out Light Italian Bread/Wraps.   I use the dairy beverage in my smoothies.  I've taken to having a smoothie EVERYDAY, sometimes twice per day.  While I don't use a lot of extra additives I did want to make sure each drink was around 150 calories and this helped me to do so.  Also, my aunt bought me a Magic Bullet (which I am in love with thus far - despite the many mixed reviews on this product) and mixing a smoothie and cleanup has become a breeze!  Smoothies have become my indulgent treat and with just fruit, ice and the dairy beverage they are around 70 calories.  Sometimes I add fat free yogurt, sometimes not.  And the wraps - oh em gee! - I've had tuna wraps, breakfast wraps, grilled chicken wraps and egg salad wraps.  I love those things!!!  Even more than my beloved pita pockets!

Has anyone else tried the Hood dairy beverage?  What do you think of it?  I was curious what you ladies, especially those that are more ingredient conscious thinks of the product.  While in the grocery store and examining the nutrition info, I actually wished I could call each one of you and ask - HEY, DO YOU THINK THIS IS A GOOD BUY?!  lol.  So if you are familiar with it, let me know your thoughts - thanks! :-)

Sorry such a long post...but I am full of things to say today!  Have a blessed day!

Weigh-In (Week 9)

164.0 ~ down 0.6 lbs.  9 weeks & total weight lost = 9.4.

For once I am not questioning what happened, what I am not doing, or what I could be doing more or better...because after the weekend I had...I expected to GAIN!  So I will take my 0.6 lbs and RUN!  lol.

Since I fell off quite a bit over the weekend, my mini goals from last week will still apply.  Today was a training session and my PT had an awesome workout planned - circuit style as usual, but with a tire!  I was jumping on and off, doing push-ups, and even was flipping the thing!!!  I really have pushed myself the last couple of days so I am already looking forward to next week's weigh in!  Thanks for your awesome comments on my last post, I will be proving next Wednesday that one bad week won't break me!!!  You guys really helped me feel better and motivated me at the same time.  It was like okay, they understand how I'm feeling and are waiting for me to just brush it off and believe me, I'm going full force ahead!!!  Week 10 is gonna be a BEAST!  *does the Rocky dance*

Weigh In (Week 8)

I don't know if I have ever been more excited to step on the scale than I was this morning!  After (nearly) two weeks and a ton of adjustments, I was hoping & praying that Sunday's number wasn't a fluke. And since I was already praying, God...let me have lost more weight since Sunday...if it's not too much to ask!  Well, with great trepidation....I closed my eyes, eased onto the scale....and......

BOO YOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!  2.2 LBS GONE IN 2 WEEKS!

"Baby, I got 'dis"....those who remember B.A.P.S. (movie) remember this scene...

Well...borrowing from one of my sistah-friends in weight loss Trina @ MeSoHongry who does "glows and grows" here are my lessons learned and lessons aced:

Lessons Learned & New Focuses:

• Eat within my calorie range (1150-1400).  As I stated, I realized I wasn't eating enough.  I am still working hard to get my calories "up."  I have not been successful at eating enough yet - I eat 3 meals and 3-4 snacks per day, but they are all so low in calories that it leaves me full, so I stop eating. But I know I will get there.  I should just thank my lucky stars I'm not going over everyday I suppose.
• Exercise longer.  So far I've been focusing on frequency of workouts, not length.  I really want to up my gym time to an hour - I currently only do 30 minutes.  Now that I consistently workout 4-5 times per week, I can focus on upping the length or at least the calorie burn.  
• DRINK MORE WATER!  I was such a pro at this when I did Weight Watchers...I don't know why I can't seem to be consistent with 6 glasses per day.  *Sigh*

Lessons Aced:

• I ate 5 servings of fruits/veggies per day - EVERY DAY!
• Increased protein intake for pre & post workouts.  I usually have smoothies enhanced with protein powder by designer whey.  This also helps me to increase my caloric intake and has eased the post workout soreness and cramping.
• I worked out a minimum of 4 days per week for the past 4 weeks.  I didn't hit my goal of 5 every week, but that is still pretty freakin' awesome in my opinion!
• Tracked regularly via LiveStrong.com - MyDailyPlate section.

I am thoroughly pleased with my progress, but any advice you can provide to keep up the weight loss, possibly increase it to 1.5-2 lbs per week, and how to get and stay within my calorie range I would love to hear it!  I read all of your blogs and most of you lose more than 1 lbs a week.  I haven't hit that in a while and I can't figure out why!!!  I'm not getting impatient or upset, just curious.  Thinking back to my WW days I almost always lost 1.5 - 2 lbs per week...and I wasn't even working out!  Perhaps its the water thing...I know I need to drink more.  Anywhoooo, I can't wait til I change that second digit!  150's here I come!

Off to the gym, gonna get there right as it opens...yep I posted this BEFORE I left this morning...pure excitement I tell you, because I am so NOT a morning person!

Weigh-In (Week 6) - Trying to stay positive

This is my 6th official week on the Fat Smash Diet.  I weighed in this morning and the scale read 166.8, which means that lost 0.2 lbs this week.  I know I should keep a positive attitude because a loss is a loss...but quite frankly I'M PISSED!  I worked out more, drank more water, & tracked what I was eating yet I still haven't hit 1 lb per week for the past 2 weeks.  What gives?!?!   Yesterday I worked out harder than I have since I've started!  I understand that muscle weighs more and all of the physiology, but I am still capable of losing at least 1 freakin' pound in 7 days!!!  It is re-evaluation time...

I had to check my calendar for the official start of my journey - January 18th was Day One.  That means that in 6 weeks I have lost a total of 6.6 lbs, which gives me an average of 1 lb per week...so I can't help but be happy with that progress.  That made me a little less manic...I have to remember to stop focusing on where I want to be and congratulate myself on the successes I've had so far.  It is too early for me to be plateauing so I just can't figure it out.  Yes, I am feeling upset and disappointed, but not enough to quit!  Not at all, not by a long shot.  On the contrary, I feel my scale has challenged me and landed the first punch.  And I am definitely going to fight back!  I will up the intensity of my workouts (adding resistance to the elliptical and walking on a higher incline on the treadmill) and sticking to my diet plan to the letter "T."  I really do not want to go back to Phase I but if I have just one more bad week, back to ONE it is...literally! 

As my weight loss ticker says Weight Loss is a Journey, Not a Destination!  Yes, I'm feeling a little down and disappointed now but the good thing is that I am motivated to work hard as hell tonight at the gym!  I'm in a battle with my scale and trust I will come out on top!!! *Doing the Rocky Dance*

No Loss No Gain...

So I weighed in yesterday and the scale read 167.0.  At first I was thoroughly upset - after all for the previous 2 weeks I had been losing 2 lbs per week and I had definitely stepped up my exercising!!! SO WTH?!?!  Then it hit me - my guilty pleasure I had been indulging in had caught up to it.  I have some chocolate fondue chips (round pieces of pure milk chocolate) that I have been nibbling on daily.  A few pieces here and a few pieces there.  I didn't think it was too damaging because despite having them I had continued to lose.  But this week, I guess it caught up to me.  I have a tiny bit left and I am debating about tossing the rest.  If I could limit myself to 1-2 pieces just to satisfy my sweet tooth it would be perfect.  But the chances of that happening are slim-to-none.  I know that I do not have that kind of discipline and self-control which is why I never even bring "allowed" sweets into my home unless they are in pre-determined portion sizes (i.e. 100 calorie packs).  So lesson learned, bits of chocolate MUST GO!

On another note - working out has been going well.  I got a couple of new gym outfits, and for me its just like buying new clothes for a party, it helps me look forward to it a little more.  I got them from TJ Maxx so for both outfits and a zip-up sweatshirt it was only $45 after my 10% sales tax.  Pretty good, huh?  I still have not had my measurements taken which is why I haven't shared.  Yesterday I worked out with the trainer and he does a combination of strength and cardio training.  Today, I went to the gym again and used the treadmill.  I walked for 10 minutes at a speed of 3.5 and incline 4.0 then upped it to a light jog at speed 4.5 for 2 minutes.  I did this for a total of 3 cycles.  I also jumped rope for 5 minutes.  I felt SOOOOO good about myself when I finished.

Afterwards I stretched really well and then decided to unwind in the sauna.  I took a cue from my favorite beauty blogger, Traycee at Keep It Simple Sista and saturated my hair with Mane n' Tail conditioner, covered with a plastic bag and RELAXED while I deep conditioned.  My hair feels so so so so soft!!!  I am ecstatic that I tried this technique!  The sauna also helped relieve some of the tightness that had been plaguing my thighs as well.

Dinner tonight was quick and easy - as usual!  I grilled a Jennie-O Turkey Burger (the frozen straight to grill kind) marinated in Mesquite sauce, portabello mushroom caps (used instead of bread or roll), and some chopped tomatoes, onions and green peppers on my George Foreman.  It only took a total of 10 minutes to grill all of that and assemble my burger!  I enjoyed that with a side salad and believe me...it was so TASTY!   

Late with updating!

I totally have neglected my blog!!!  The importance of beginning this blog was not to gain followers, not to have a certain number of hits, etc. but to journal my innermost thoughts on losing weight.  Now that I have seemingly "left the building" for a few weeks let me recap the last few weeks.  I lost 3 lbs during my detox phase.  I was somewhat disappointed but realized I wasn't going to drop a big number for a few reasons:

1. I did not exercise 5 days a week as I was supposed to - it was more like 2 days a week.  This is probably the #1 reason I didn't lose more.
2. I don't weigh that much to begin with.  I am not minimizing my weight by any means.  I am overweight (yay for moving out of the obese category!) and I understand that.  But for most women in my weight category, losing between 1-2 lbs per week is normal.

That left me at 171.  I then entered Phase II of the diet and was doing really well, but then I left my parent's home and returned to school where I live alone.  Once I got back to my apartment, I did not have any food so I was eating out for a few days, didn't get right into exercising...yet again, and had a few "treats."  That being said, I did not gain any weight, but I did not lose anything either.

Now fast forward to today and I weigh 167.0 lbs!  YAY!  So in one month I have lost 6 lbs.  Not bad, but could be better.  I am definitely back on my game, eating extremely healthy and I have began exercising regularly - FINALLY!  I will give more details on my diet and exercise regimen in a separate post!  6 lbs down, approximately 1/5 of my goal!!!! Gotta celebrate the little victories!