Project Complete!

For some reason, Saturdays have become my extremely busy day on the weekend. Sunday is normally spent recovering from all of the things that I did on Saturday. But man do I feel better once it is all done!

Saturday started with me waking up at 8am, and heading to Lowes to buy spray paint for my end tables and my deck chairs. Also needed to buy bulbs for my sidewalk lights since they have been going out. Next I hit up the Farmers Market(which has become by new Saturday activity) and picked up some fresh peaches and a big ole’ cinnamon roll for Luke. Next stop was Kohls, and then Walmart for new chair cushions. Once I got home, it was time to get to work!

I absolutely love my chairs. So far it seems like this is my yearly activity. Last year, I painted them white and the year before that I painted them brown. This year:green! Luke isn’t a fan because he says they look “old” but that is what I love about them! They are retro and totally the colors of summer/spring. Here is the before and after:

{Chairs Before. Wa Waaa}

{Chairs After. Love!}

I maintained my weight loss this weekend which is a little celebration for me! I had my splurges but only when I had the calories to cushion the blow a little bit. I didn’t suffer nor did I go crazy. It was a great weekend spent getting projects completed, spending time with friends, and more importantly, spending time with Luke. With our schedules, we only really see each other on the weekends. I am so excited for my 4 day weekend so that I can spend three of those days with Luke! Should be fun-maybe a day trip with the puppies is in order!

I’m looking forward to getting things back to normal with diet and exercise and watching the lbs get smaller and smaller!!

This might be….fun?

Oh goodness, am I ready for the weekend! I don’t know why, but this week seems to have crept by. I’ve been doing well with tracking my calories and hitting the gym the days that I had decided would work best. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Fridays are my workout days. This way I give my body rest and also don’t burn out. If I try to do too much too soon I will end up just stopping everything altogether. At least I know myself well enough now to know what would happen if I did certain things. 

I’m actually starting to find it fun to count my calories. I think the part I like the most is coming up with new recipes and figuring out how many calories they are. I don’t know if it’s the honesty that I am enjoying or if it is the fact that I am seeing it is possible to have things that I like to eat without having to sacrifice my weight loss. 

It’s been almost two weeks that I have been on this and to be quite honest, that is the longest I have truly stuck with something like this in a really long time. The last time that I was on track like I am now, I lost quite a bit of weight and went down to a size 14(lowest I have been since high school). I feel good about the decisions I am making and I don’t feel like I am suffering. I know that at some point I will start to talk myself out of doing the right thing but the difference now is that I am not afraid to admit it and ask for help. Having people read this blog and talking about everything so openly provides a sort of accountability and support that I need to make this time successful. 

I’m feeling great now and I really appreciate all of the support and feedback you guys are giving me. You will never know how much that helps! 

Little Victories

If there is anything I have learned throughout my life concerning weight loss it is that you have to celebrate the little victories to keep your motivation to achieve the big victories.

My litte victories from the last week:

1. Maintaining my weight loss on the weekend and NOT gaining a single pound

2. Being able to walk up a flight of stairs and feel the same as if I was walking a down a hallway

3. Being able to run on a treadmill at walk 2min/run 2min for the entire 30 minutes. Normally I would tell myself, I can walk the first 5 min to warm up and the last 5 min to cool down. These are both lame excuses

4. My pants are more lose than they were a week ago

5. I am down 7 pounds since I started on the 7th. That’s a pound a day on average

Excited to add a lot more little victories on my way to the 100lb weight loss!!!

To heck with you McDonalds!

I wanted to find some ways to cut calories without having to cave on the things I was craving. I love breakfast sandwiches. They are what I like to eat in the mornings and lately I have been eating some Yoplait Whips Yogurt but sometimes you just want something hot and cheesy! I stumbled across this alternative on Hungry Girl’s Website and I must say, it’s a winner!

If you are looking to satisfy the same craving I got, then this is a good way to go. All you need is: 1 light english muffin(which I bought in bulk at Sam’s), Morning Star Sausage Patty, and a slice of low-fat American Cheese. I normally don’t give myself enough time in the morning to add the egg to my sandwich, but you can if you have time. I just wanted something quick and easy. The calorie count on the sandwich I made this morning was 215 calories(100 calories for the muffin, 80 calories for the sausage, and 35 calories for the cheese). Obviously if you add egg, then you are adding calories but you are also adding protein, so it’s not too bad. If you compare this to a Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Muffin from McDonalds(at 450 calories) this is definately a great alternative! Now, I won’t be eating this every morning of course, but on those days you want something hot, this is a good change out. Plus it’s quick, it only took me 5 minutes to put it all together and get out the door! Less time than getting in line at McDonalds. I’d say that’s a success!

Whirlwind Weekend

How is it that every weekend just seems to completely fly by? I thought they were supposed to be restful? I’m thinking my first problem was calling Saturday “Get shit done” Day. That may have been where I went wrong.

Saturday, as I have previously called it, was “Get Shit Done” Day. Woke up early and hit up the Farmer’s Market with my mom. I LOVE the new Farmer’s Market. We officially have two here in town but I must say, the new one is great! Next time I will have to remember to bring more cash with me. After that, a quick stop in Nixa followed by a shopping spree at Kohls. I was in desperate need for some new workout clothes. I’ve heard that you should have a workout outfit for each day so that you aren’t tempted to use the excuse “I have nothing clean to wear, guess I won’t go”. Which, btw, I have totally used. So, after some pre-shopping onlin on Friday, I knew I would find some deals at Kohls. After sufficiently getting stocked up on some clothes, it was onward to the mall we went! Once we dropped some dough, we went to Sams. Going to Sam’s on the weekend takes some courage. The mass amount of people shopping there is just crazy. I like to go there to stock up on boneless skinless chicken breasts which I make all at once to help make meals a little easier during the week. Helps beat that temptation of stopping for quick food that is definately not healthy.

Saturday night was nice to spend with some friends Luke and I haven’t seen in awhile. It’s nice when you find friends that are also content with a quiet night of dinner and board games. Stayed up a little later than normal, 2am actually, playing some intense 13 Dead End Drive. I LOVE that game- I used to play it all the time as a kid. Never gets old.

Sunday was Mother’s Day so it was nicely spent with both my Mom the first part of the day and then stopped to visit with Luke’s Mom Christy. Needless to say, once we got home Sunday night, we were exhausted and ready to do nothing. Which we did. It’s Season Finale time so our evening was spent watching some of our favorite Sunday Night Tv Shows.

After this weekend, I feel like I may have needed another weekend to recover but Monday morning hit me like a wall. Luckily, I have gotten over it by now and am ready for the busy week! My sister’s final Choir concert is tonight. So it’s going to be a mad dash to get to the gym and get my workout in, but I will get it done! Can’t start off the week with skipping a workout.

It’s nice to get back to a routine as well. It’s so hard and unrealistic to think I could lose weight on the weekends so I have decided to just maintain on the weekends and hit it hard on the weekdays. I just need to be realistic about these things.

How do you keep yourself accountable and not go crazy on the weekends? Do you also find it hard to maintain your weightloss when you lose your routine?

100 Pounds in a Year

March 2012
245 lbs

Once again, I have deleted all of my previous posts and have started fresh. In the last couple months I have signed up to do my first Half Marathon and have gotten engaged. With my future being brought to the fore front of things, I have a new motivation for getting my health in order. I have to take care of myself for me as well as for my future husband.

I know there is no magic wand that will waive this weight away, but if I work hard, watch what I eat and continue to make small and achievable goals along the way, my big goal of 100 lbs lost is attainable. I will make sure to document my journey here in hopes that it will inspire others to do the same, just as I have been inspired by other bloggers and their weight lose journey.

As of this morning, I have lost 4lbs. I know I still have 96 lbs to go, but it’s all about celebrating the little victories and 4 lbs defiantly qualifies! In order to reach my goal of 100 lbs, I need to lose, on average 8.5 lbs/month. There will be some months that I will plateau and there will be months like now, that I will lose more than my monthly goal.

To begin my weight loss journey, I have started doing cardio 4 times/week for 30 minutes each day. I am also logging my food in the iPhone App “MyFitnessPal” and keeping my caloric intake at 1,200 calories a day. It’s simple, calories in calories out. It’s all math. I’m ready to have some badass before and after shots! I will let you in on each of my milestones. I appreciate you buying a ticket on the ride. Enjoy.