Before...

Before...
Las Vegas May 2011

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

12 POUNDS DOWN!!!!

I have to start off with saying that I cheated........I had an inkling to get on the scale yesterday after breakfast. I WAS TWO POUNDS LIGHTER! I'M IN THE 220S! 228! WOOP WOOP! (Today is my official weigh-in day. No change and that's OK!)

Not going to lie...I came out into the living room and did a "happy dance."

The weekend wasn't too bad eating and drinking wise with another house full of people. We went out -- I did get the Eddie D from Champs which probably wasn't the best idea. It's a pretty big sammich. But, I only had 1/3 of a sampler of beer and water the rest of the night -- and had a side salad instead of carbs. Then we went to a pizza place on Saturday night and I went for a yummy chicken dish loaded with veggies. And a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon -- good for the heart :) Only had two or three beers during tailgating.

I was craving a milkshake the past few days so I made myself a smoothie. I really can't stand most Greek yogurts and I try to suck them down -- even adding Agave Nectar which didn't help a few weeks ago. So, I took a Greek Yogurt. (I actually do like umm I think it was Oikos brand but I didn't see that in the store this week.) I put it in the blender with some blueberries, strawberries, dried cranberries (that I usually put on my salad), almonds, and agave nectar. Turned on the blender and poured like molasses into the glass. YUMM-O!!!!!!!!!!!! Had the perfect amount of sweetness and texture of a milkshake. Had plenty of vitamins and protein in there as well. I think I'll have another one today!



Been having some trouble trying to find some things to write on my Step it Up with Steph  except about people that hold you back/help you. Gotta give a shoutout to my manager, Josh, who asks me every few days how things are going. He works in NY (I'm in State College...work from home) and we were just talking about what I'm to work on to start with this morning so he said same as yesterday... and "and update blog, obviously."  Gotta love it! I was also shocked to hear from people that I don't really talk to much anymore that wrote me and told me they read this! Awesome! A few people have said I hope to inspire them -- YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! GO START NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

My ending quote this week comes from a guy I met freshman year of college at Penn State Berks. Steve has lost a TON of weight and said this on his Facebook status...

"Think you're out of gas? You're not -- do another set. Think you're at your limit? Push a little harder and see if you were right -- I bet you weren't. You haven't lost the game until you're defeated in your head" -- Steve Spohn


Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Sorry for the delay...

First off, my apologies for my lack of blogging and a huge THANK YOU to those that remembered Wednesday is my weigh in day and have been asking where the new blog updates are. You really help to keep me on my toes. The last two weeks have been insane. I did have a couple fabulous workouts at my gym. WOOT WOOT. Then last week I was so swamped with work, I fell behind with everything -- blogging, exercising, and my Step it Up with Steph workbook. I got caught up today...phew! I certainly learned a lot and had some interesting exercises. She had a quote in there about treating your body like it's your friend. Never thought about that before. You don't want to treat you friend like poop with giving him/her junk food and crap all the time -- you want you friend to be successful and happy in their life.  That was very interesting. Another thing was reading about how people that always think they are right are miserable. Man, could that not be any more true!!!!!!! I took a recent event and thought, "Wow, that is so dead on."

OK, so now that's out of the way, I must say...I was feeling kind of down last week with still at the same freaking weight. Then, I was getting ready to go out to the bar for my dear friend's 21st birthday and I started trying on some old clothes...THEY WERE FITTING BETTER!!!

(I'm the one in silver! Haha...OK, stop laughing ;) )

But I noticed the fat rolls/muffin top/love handles/insert nickname here had gone down...and I fit a little less snug in my skirt. HOLLER! So that made me feel good. I limited myself to three drinks throughout the night...and we boogied on the dance floor to shake off some calories. It was a great night.

This past weekend I went to Philly with my friend and saw a bunch of friends and family I haven't seen in quite some time. Though the Penn State game had it's up...and downs...the Phillie's game was great! My second Phillie's game...first in the new stadium which is pretty bangin'.

My friend from college, Claudia, and me outside Lincoln Financial Field

From the picture I first posted in the blog from my trip to Vegas in May til now, I can see changes in my face...thank goodness! 

Last night I was watching The Biggest Loser for the first time in several seasons. Not sure why I stopped watching...I think because I had "given up" on myself for a while. But, I watched last night and was shocked to see that I could be a contestant! I weigh the same as some of them now! Definitely not a good feeling. The only good feeling was knowing that I could definitely do better in that mile run/walk to get to my trainer of choice. 

I went grocery shopping last night and bought some romaine lettuce for wraps...flatbread for sammies and a bunch of other healthy fruit and veggies. I plan on making hummus for this week's tailgate -- my apologies for garlic breath ahead of time. But, it's so gosh darn healthy and delish. My mom gave me a homemade recipe which is out of this world. Here...I'll even share.

In blender or food processor, 1 garlic clove (I used minced garlic that I have in my fridge), 1 can chick peas drained, juice of 1 lemon ( 2 tsps...I used lemon from the bottle in my fridge), little salt, little hot sauce, 2 sprigs fresh thyme ( I used it from the spice rack). Blend all that and then add olive oil till the consistency you like!!

Now, I think I added quite a bit extra garlic and lemon and thyme to it. You have to keep adding and tasting until you get it the way you like. Actually, I think I added extra of everything lol. I love to taste spices and herbs.  My friends really liked it, too.

I guess I should write about the weigh-in. Still the freaking same...though I'm not surprised with the lack of exercise from last week. I also failed myself in saying I would only have one cookie at the tailgate. I had three. Oh I was...am so mad!!! But, it reminds me for future tailgates how pissed I am now so I WON'T DO IT AGAIN!

And once again, thank you thank you thank you to all my friends and family keeping me on track. Through Facebook, phone calls, texts and even gmail chat -- you keep checking on me and I love it. I'm so glad I started this blog. Now it's time to start work for the day :)

My quote this blog comes from The Biggest Loser last night when Debbie got kicked off.

"It is OK for me to think about myself; that I can have a life, too" -- Debbie, The Biggest Loser


Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Holding Steady

Hopped on the scale this morning, and I'm still at 230. Not going to let that get to me, though. Just started using weights again.  Good news is I'm not pinching as many inches on those awful love handles as I was last week. Wish I would have measured around before I started this final transition!  Can definitely feel a difference in how I'm feeling and seeing definition start in the legs..WOO HOO!  Oh how I miss my high school calves...

It's been raining nonstop here in Happy Valley since Sunday so I went to the gym last night (and am about to head out there today.) Walked 45 minutes at different inclines and speeds between 3.0-3.5 or 7 and worked the arm machines. Today I'll see if any ellipticals are available -- those are my fave! And then I'll work my walking sticks on the machines. Have to get ready to climb to the top of Beaver Stadium again -- what a haul. Hmm...stadium steps anybody? Those about killed me in high school, literally...had to do them in band camp and my throat started to close up. EEK! Anyway, my mind and body are progressing along this lovely path of weight loss....

"You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be" -- David Viscott

Monday, September 5, 2011

Tough Tailgating

I have to start out with how happy I am that I started this blog. I really feel accountable and based my decisions this past weekend on thinking, "I have to stay strong...I have to keep the blog going to keep myself on the right track."  It helps that I got some tweets (I love Twitter) from David Garcia who has been seen on my all time favorite day time talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Talk about an inspiration there -- he's 32 and melted off 164 pounds!!! Check out his blog. I also got a retweet from Chris Powell's crew (Seen on Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition). Chris started "Reshape the Nation" -- also an inspiring man. I'd say that was a good start for one blog post!  My friend, Stephanie Mansour from Step it Up with Steph said she wanted to help me along the way as well and hooked me up with her 30 day program. It's a deeper look and holistic approach to becoming a healthier you. So far, so good :)

One thing that I have been looking forward to is football season. I'm a graduate of THE Pennsylvania State University and currently live in State College, home of the Nittany Lions. After really starting to push myself to lose 100 pounds, I found myself almost dreading the start of the season. What was once a happy word made me start to feel sick. Tailgating. Waking up early with friends to drink and grill all day, watch football, then go back out to the fields and continue on with the party. Can I be strong enough to say "No thank you" to all the fattening foods associated with tailgating?

It started Friday night when my friend and I went out to dinner. We decided on Ruby Tuesday's. As soon as I sat down I felt like I had just won the Biggest Loser and this was my first meal out on my own. I was a little scared reading the menu but I saw they have quite a few healthy options. My friend wanted to split an appetizer of their new shrimp fondue thing. I told her I'd only have a bite or two because I'm really trying to watch my weight. I stuck to it!!! She asked me to eat more and I declined. Score one for me! For dinner I went with the zucchini sliders -- YUM!!! Went for grilled green beans instead of french fries and the salad bar. I forgot to ask for mayo on the side, but luckily it was a light spread. The green beans were slathered in some sort of oil. Bummer. Let's hope it was EVOO.

Now it's time to hit the bar. I decided to be DD. 1.) so I wouldn't take in extra calories and 2.) so my friends could enjoy their night out on the town. I had one Miller Lite. Score two!

Saturday was a little bit harder with tailgating. But, I did bring a fruit and veggie tray and munched on that. Had a few bites of a taco dip my friend made. Same as the appetizer from the night before, I allowed myself a few bites but that was all. Fruit the rest of the night.  Dinner time, everybody was craving Olive Garden's endless pasta bowl. I said, "Sure, let's go...but I'm not eating the endless pasta bowl!" They said they thought they had whole wheat pasta I could divulge in. Nope. Nooooo thank you. I went with the grilled Mediterranean chicken dish. It had a ton of flavor.

Glad we did a lot of walking on Saturday so I was able to burn off some of the calories since I wasn't able to "fully exercise." It's Monday, and I'm back on track again. Went for a nice walk in the rain and am about to put on my Jillian tape. I'm trying not to get on the scale every day -- maybe once a week. I'm thinking Wednesdays will be my weigh in days. As promised, here is another inspirational quote:

"Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip." -- Arnold H. Glasgow

Thursday, September 1, 2011

10 Down

Everything I wanted to say came to me so clearly on my walk this morning. I didn't think about doing a blog about my weight loss journey, but my friend from high school and supreme fitness expert and life coach, Stephanie from "Step it Up with Steph" suggested I start one. So here it is.

I'm a brutally honest person so I should start being honest with myself, and you. Same story, different girl, right? Grew up overweight, made fun of, blah blah blah. You've heard it all before. I don't know where it started....I know on "The Biggest Loser" they really try to get to the root of your problems. I've been overweight since I was in 2nd grade. I'd grab a bag of Doritos and bring them to my room and close the door and start eating them. Why? They are delicious! My parents are happily married...though, like all couples, have their arguments. So I can't blame it on them. Mom always made a healthy dinner, I was in sports and marching band (not our best performance, but you get the idea...) (northerners, you can't make fun of that. I grew up in the south where marching band camp is harder than football camp. You run for miles, jumping jacks, arm circles, stadium steps, duck walks, lunges across the football field. Then you play a few notes. Did I mention our trainer was nicknamed "The Angel of Death"?) Anyway...so yes, I grew up with a normal family in too rich of a town for my blood. So I can't blame this fat on anything but my love for food I suppose.  Now, I am learning that you can eat what you like -- but be smart about it. Cut a slimmer piece of cake. Only take a small handful of Doritos.

Time to get honest with you all. I'm about 5'5" and 240 pounds. Well, 230 now. I lost 10 pounds prior to me starting this journal. There, I said it. My fat butt is...was...and never will be again... a whopping, disgusting 240 pounds.

Now that I never need to say that number again, let's get on to the positive. I've been getting up at 7:45am...eating a granola bar because I believe it was Stephanie who said to eat 100 calories in the morning before you start to work out. Just to have something in your system. I eat my granola bar, stretch out my legs and head out for a 2.2 mile walk/jog.. or wog as I thought of this morning. I walk for a while...then what I learned in band camp was to just put your body forward and you'll fall into a run...or in my case, wog. I look ahead, find a goal and wog to it. Then I'll walk for a while, take some deep breaths, enjoy the scenery and say hello to all around.

If you're like me, you hate seeing people up ahead. You're thinking "Can I keep running toward them? What are they thinking about looking at me? What if I can't wog that far?" Who the hell cares? Just go. You don't know them and they are just doing their walk of shame, anyway.

I come home, drink some water (and here's a tip: if you have a straw in your glass, you'll drink more water. I love water and drink it all day but I've found that with a straw, I drink even more -- especially later on when I'm being a couch potato, I hold my glass instead of put it down...and the straw is right there so I constantly sip. Try it!)

I gotta tell ya, Jillian Michaels...she'll kick your butt, too. Her "30 Day Shred" is amazing. It's getting easier as the days go by...and luckily there are three levels so I'm almost ready to get to level 2!

OK, I think this is too good of a start for my first blog. I'll update it as the days go on. And to all my friends out there trying to lose the pounds, I'll leave you with some inspirational quotes I've found along the way.


"Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give myself reasons why I can." -- Unknown