FitnessGirl

Well I have backtracked quite a lot. It happened after I got married and moved in with my husband, which made me feel like the biggest cliche that ever walked.  But now, I am learning the tools to succeed once again. That’s what life is; it’s a daily learning lesson. The best thing you can do in choosing your best life is to learn the most that you can about yourself. That is what I am striving to do now.

In May, I had almost reached my goal weight. I was 124 pounds, but I soon made myself miserable. I told myself it was because I wasn’t getting to eat enough, but that wasn’t it. I was obsessing, and I was binging on the weekends. When I being like that, my blood sugar and digestive reflexes get all messed up. Alcohal causes depression and anxiety, two things to which I am very prone.

But I want to keep going! I’d like to be back to 121 by the end of April. I actually have no idea how much I weigh now, though I roughly estimate I am between 138-145.

I have a couple weekends on the horizon to watch out for, one of which is this weekend! Tonight is my little sister’s bday. Grace is a huge inspiration to me. She is so continually diligent with her exercise and diet, even if she slips up for a few days. I have such an extreme personality that a few days always turns into a few months. We are making a healthy dinner for her because it’s bday girl’s choice tonight:

Grilled salmon with orange zest and dijon rub and roasted squash and veggies with garlicy fat free sour creme.

I have decided to stop drinking for a while. I am worried that the alcohal use (as innocuous as it might be) is taking a toll on my skin and liver. If your liver is destressed, it cannot properly mobilize fats. It also makes your skin look sucky, haha.

I am hoping this blog will help me to exocize out my feelings, so I don’t turn to Doritos and wine. I also hope it will allow me to illustrate my ups and downs, so I can learn to prevent those down-related binges.

One of the largest problems I have had are the nights Paolo decides to go play music at Chris’s. My new vow is to go to the gym (5 minutes from our place) and stair climb 10 minutes and jump rope 10 minutes. This is a tiny high intensity workout, (will not be my actual workout for the day) and it will just put my mind back in the right place.

So here is my year, at least the first half. There is no “and then I will be done” points. Those markers usually start my weight gain, and I want to live day by day feeling good and thin.

The end of feb will start the difficult weekends, because Paolo and I are going away two weekends in a row, each to a mountain cabin with different friends. I am looking so forward to it, I just don’t want it to ruin my diet AND vice versa. The last weekend in Feb is the Poconos with our PA friends and the first weekend in March is Deep Creek with JJ and Regis! JJ is my BEST FRIEND FOREVER (ahaha), every since the first grade. That weekend there will be drinking, but there might also be some out doors activities. The first weekend in April I am going to Florida with Sarah to visit our third musketeer Kay. I won’t be QUITE to my goal, but I should be 4-5 pounds away from it and I would like to look nice in a bathing suit, a task whose outcome should best be left to my vigorous weight training a few weeks before. The last weekend in April my wedding dress is arriving!!! (Paolo and I are having our ‘official’ big church wedding in June. He’s Portugease so we were married by a justice of the peace to get his citizenship underway before the honeymoon) I would like to be done with my weight loss and start the maintenance phase (the most difficult) then, because I want to fit in my wedding dress. END OF JULY I GO TO PORTUGAL! One week there, then we hop on over to Provence, France to meet my family in the biggest, most bomb-ass chateau you have every seen. I am one of five children, three of us is married and my older sister has 3 kids under the age of 4, and we are all staying there. So that is what I have planned so far. My friend from college is getting married in May. I was almost in her wedding but we decided it would be too tricky, thank god. Then Sarah, my love of live, is getting married in September.

Whew. It will be quite a year. I don’t want it to be wasted, like I feel the last half of 2009 was by my living habits. I was 100 percent more miserable than the last week of my diet when I was irratable and carb hungry. I don’t want to go back to that place, where my trigylcerides were clogging my brain. (at least it felt like it)

I hope you all will join me!

I did not go to body step this AM because my boyfriend really wanted to spend time together, and we haven’t had much quality time because I was gone last weekend. So we lounged and cuddled, and mostly just wanted to feel close to each other. I have been getting up at 630 every morning I don’t work early and it has really helped my schedule. This morning I woke up and made coffee and my boyfriend’s lunch and watched Medium with my breakfast before it was time to wake him up. After he went to work, I only had 25 minutes to do on the treadmill before Body Pump. I can really feel my body getting stronger and being more….able over all. My foot was bothering me while I was running today though, I need new shoes. I don’t want to have to take days off, I prefer cross training so I don’t get over use injuries. I don’t move a whole lot during the day so getting at least a bit of exercise is crucial. I really want to get 30 more minutes of cardio on the elliptical before I wash the towels, we will see if that will happen….

            I’m also going to pick up a frozen dinner to bring to my boyfriend’s tonight, so I can stay on track with my calories. I feel like I have been eating a lot now that I am used to my lower calorie count. That probably means next week or so I should change it up a little bit, so I keep loosing and don’t plateau. I’ve been adding more and more vegetables, which is good. This weekend I hope I can behave! I won’t be able to work out Sunday, and it’ll be the first day in almost three weeks…I hope it doesn’t make me loose my speed.

 Count for Yesterday:

Food:

3 pts150 2 slices light bread with 1 slice fat free cheese, 1 tbsp spaghetti sauce, I slice tomato, spinach, whipped cream on coffee

1 pt 180 Large green salad with blackberries, pickled purple cabbage, some sauerkraut,

3 pts 150Handful of almonds and a few raisons

3 pts 140 Protein Bar,

3 pts180 more almonds and raisons

1 pt 95 Red Pear

(Plan for tonight:

0 pts 80 Large mixed green salad with celery and blackberries

0 pts 110 calories veggie soup

2 pts 140 calories Spanish tortilla

0 pts 50 cal salad

3 pts 190 calories Creole chicken

2 pts 140 cal ice cream sandwich)

Exercise:

Ran 4.6 miles in 40 minutes.

I had an awesome weekend at my parents house even though my boyfriend did not end up coming with me. Next weekend is Easter, so I have to really behave this week! I ran almost five miles today through my parents neighborhood, and there are some HUUUGE steep hills but I really pushed myself and got an awesome workout. I’m still sore from a Butt & Gutts class I took at the gym yesterday!

I am planning on cooking some calorie friendly meals for easter next weekend. I was encouraged this weekend, when I tried on some stuff that hadn’t fit in me in a while and it fit! My butt is still enormous, unfortunately( we all have problems with something!) but I’m telling myself that weight loss doesn’t happen overnight, it happens in phases, and this has just been phase one. I haven’t weighed myself since I went to the gynocologist last fall and I was 140, a horrible weight I haven’t been since freshman year of college. I’m hoping I’m done to 130 now, because I would like to be 123 by my birthday in June. More importantly than a number, I’d like to sleep into some sweet sizes that make me smile! Because I have a small frame, even though I’m 5′7” 130 or 140 makes me looks like a giantress, like Hulk Hogan’s love child hahaha.

I’m looking forward to another week of fitness challenges!

So yesterday Knox and I rode our bikes into the city. The weather was gorgeous, and I was proud of myself because I wasn’t sure I would have the bravery. It was so worth it; the trail was amazing, and the last 6 or seven miles hugged right up again the windy parts of the river. It was also scattered with parks and little sunny patches of people hanging out, watching the crew boats go by. We met up with my older sister, Honor, to leave the bikes at her house. (There wasn’t time for a return trip before dark) I don’t really hang out with Honor much so we all went to dinner together. I love the city in the spring time because you have the option of walking everywhere. We walked to a restaurant about 13 blocks from her house where I knew they had healthy faire. Ugh, I had originally wanted a Korean bimbibab, which is steamed mixed Asian veggies with chopped egg and shrimp with red pepper dipping sauce. Then the waitress explains theirs is different and, No I cannot get it without rice, I might as well get a mixed grill salad. SOOOO I did, with crispy seitan ( I <3 seitan). I knew it wasn’t enough food and we had so much tea left I thought, hey I am going to order dessert.

            A word about me: I am not a dessert person. In fact, I never/rarely crave sweet things unless it’s in the morning, but I figured the calorie count wouldn’t bother me because we just biked for two hours. However, on the weight watchers plan, this puts me waaayyy over the top. The rest of the day, I ate very frugally, munched on healthy food, but I still managed to pack away 35 points. 35. HOWEVER, science, the wise old cat that it is, tells me I only consumed around 1800-1900 calories, and I probably burned a total of 25-2600. I still want to stick with the weight watchers though, because I have felt the least deprived on this program. It also encourages me to eat lots of vegetables and steer clear of the cheesecake!

Good morning everyone! I’m at work, just settling in to my day. This morning for breakfast I’m having 2 tbsp peanut butter on a light eng muffin, then I microwaved it so it tastes like an amazing dessert! I feel decadent. Wanted to record my stuff for yesterday. I have to really stay on track this week because this weekend is my dad’s birthday and we’re doing a german style dinner. I’ll try to stick mainly to the sauerkraut and green beans. ANyway this was yesterday:

Food:

3 pts 145 cal cup cheerios/ ½ cup skim milk

.5 pt 3 chopped strawberries

1.5 pts 160 cal 3 mini apples

4 pts190 calories 2 tbps peanut butter

.5 pt 1 slice 45 cal low calorie bread

1 pt 75 cal I tried to make no calorie noodle fettuccine and it was horrible!

0 pt 90 cal salad

1 pt 25 cal dressing

3 pts 90 calories turkey

1 pt 60 cal pudding

6 pts 280 calories frozen dinner

1 pt pop corn, 110 calories

Total: 1290 calories, 23 points Exercise: Outside jogging 30 minutes

Let’s hope today I’ll do well too. The weather is supposed to be amazing. I get out of work at one, so I think my boyfriend and I are going bike riding!!!

I take body combat whenever my Saturdays allow me to, and I definitely am going to try to get there more. I always think it’s not going to be hard and then it kicks my ass. I ran for about 15 minutes before hand, which was a little added calorie boosts, to make amends for the night before. Knox had a guys night so when Harlow was done we went shopping which was so fun, then cooked and had a bottle of portugease green wine (also very light in calories). We went back to my house and watched a movie and had an over all delightful time, especially when Knox called in a rambling drunken state

That brings me to today. The weather is improving slightly. I got to run this morning because I didn’t want to waste gas going to the gym. I think this document is good because it keeps me real about how much I’m consuming. I never realized that sub consciously I really was down playing what I was eating in my mind.

I also don’t want to obsess, but I would really love to start loosing weight. I don’t want to be derailed. I am just happy I feel better, and feel like my habits are improved. I got up early to stay on my schedule this morning and let knox sleep while I ate cereal and ran. Then I made him some mini breakfast burritos with the left over tortillas and we watched tv and looked up apartments online. I even got to straighten and take out the garbage and everything. He was much more lax this morning than he normally is about letting me do my thing on a late morning we have together.

            I hate the way relationships have rolling hills. Knox and I are great, but sometimes I don’t feel as connected. I love him, but then I have panic attacks we aren’t connecting enough. I want to do things for him and get things done, but then I really want to connect.

SO I have been consuming way more calories on weight watchers than I was on my other plan in December. Even though it’s a bit better because I’m not really hungry the same way, I worry I won’t loose weight. I’ve decided to use this to really get me on track for a few months, and if I stop seeing improvement, first I’ll cut out alcohol completely for a month and THEN I can always go back to counting just calories

I did not want to work out today. I think this was mostly because I didn’t work out yesterday and I get out of routines that fast. This is why, during my periods of extreme health compulsion, such as the October of 07 and September of 08, I do not take days off. In October 07 I went 21 days straight without exercising for less than an hour every day, and then only took a day off because my mom took me shopping all day and there was no time, and I figured I would be walking all day anyhow. This, obviously, is not healthy and is very characteristic of my compulsive personality. The problem is, once I take a few days off, I am completely off the wagon. SO off in fact, not only have a tumbled out the back, but have fallen off a cliff into the ocean and swept away to Cote D’Ivoir in
Africa, where there are no wagons. This is one thing I am desperately trying to change. It is nearly impossible to make it through some days.

Since I had the gym to myself, I used the last five minutes of my treadmill workout to work my arms as well. I used long sweeping motions up down, out and in all the while flexing and extending my wrist to target different muscles. This burned quite a lot, and helps tone the muscles in an elongating way, the way yoga or pilates does.

            I also ate jerky for my post work out snack. My sister who is on ther aw food diet, would have a heart attack but 12 grams of protein for 70 calories cannot be beat

 Exercise:

45 minutes elliptical on aerobic intervals

20 minutes treadmill

They did a study up in
Canada a few years ago about interval training. They had a group of people cycle at a high intensity for 4 minutes, low intensity for 2 minutes then repeat for a total of 10 cycles. They lost more weight than the control group, that cycled for an hour at moderate steady state intensity. So, today I did that except on the treadmill. I only did nine cycles because my knee was bothering me. I noticed a big difference though. Usually I max myself out on the treadmill too early. After I was finished, I didn’t feel like I had just destroyed my body like I normally do. Even though I did it for fifty mintues and definitely got a great cardio work out, I didn’t have the sore old person feel like I do when I do a 12 minute interval, 2 minute walk, 8 minute interval. In fact, my knee only started to bother me because I added two extra minutes to the interval.

2.23

So It’s Monday and I’m back on track after a family weekend! Even though I ate badly on for each day, I am proud I am back on track today. Usually after I return from such a trek, I spend the rest of the week eating moodily. Sunday I lounged with the roomies and ate too many carbs and bad movies, but I didn’t give into beer temptation. Saturday night was spent polka dancing my self to dance, and has now become a new favorite pursuit. I even got a short run in that morning.

            Today I’ve been battling an upset queasy stomach. I can’t tell what it’s from; or if it’s a side effect from my ever- tiring birth control. Each time I eat I find myself nauseated today. I could barely enjoy my morning installment of Gilmore Girls. Almost.
Harlow’s ( my lil sis) convinced me to do the weight watchers system with her. It will be fun to change up my routine, if nothing else. My salads are completely pointless (And therefore so filled with point. Ha ha) as are the veggie soup recipe, so I can fill up quite a bit on these. Dinner will be tricky as usual, but I think I’ve found some awesome recipes Knox (my boyfriend) will enjoy, especially ones in the crock pot. I am allowed 21 points a day on days I don’t exercise. On days like today, I probably burned 2-3 points worth of food, so I can add that on, but on account of my tummy and still having 3 hours worth of sausage and potatoes still in my colon from this past weekend, I probably won’t.

            This weekend
Harlow is taking her praxis test for middle school teaching. (She’s so grown up!) so we’ll get to experiment with cooking or restaurant points. I’ve researched a bunch of different places to find the best restaurant meals for low points. PF Changs has the steamed buddha’s feast for 8 points, the stir-fried eggplant for 7 pts, egg drop soup cup for 2 points.

FINAL COUNT

Exercise:

30 minutes elliptical

20 minutes weight training

15 minutes treadmill

Food:

2 pts 1 ¼ bowl cheerios

1 pt½ cup skim milk

4 pts 1 Special K Protein Bar

1pt 1 large mixed green salad with cauliflower, 25 cal dressing

4 pts ½ cup roasted white chicken meat

2 pts 2 mini apples

2 pts 1 hummus sandwich with 2 slices low calorie bread, 1.5 tbsp hummus, spinach

1pt 60 cal pudding cup

3 pts-1/2 cup diced tomatoes, skinny cow cheese, 1 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 pt- pudding cup

1 pt- dressing on lettuce, green bean, broccoli and carrots (1.5 cup raw veggies)

1 pt- 45 calorie steam fresh vegetables, ½ cup

23 points, 1’225 calories

This is what the Online Calculator That Cannot Possible Be Correct said

• Resting (basal) metabolic rate: 1371 calories per day
• Typical daily activities: 634 calories per day adjustment: 250
• Calories burned from Running: 91 per day
• Calories burned from Other: 210 per day
• Total calories burned: 2307 per day adjustment: 1923

Note: 3500 calories = 1 pound weight loss

Calories consumed: 1090 so far (at 7:30) 18 pts