Twenty Something Weight Loss

What a Great Day!

So today has been awesome so far! I’ve followed everything on my list thus far. I found out that Cesar Milan will be coming to Long Island to do a book signing and talk! And most importantly, I weighed in and measured up. I’ve lost 10 lbs since the start, and 4.6 since September 1. And I’ve lost 5 inches since September 1 as well! What a great motivator! It’s a bit cold and looks like it might rain. I will either go for a bike ride or do indoor cardio today. By the way, the 6 minute morning was awesome and a great way to start my day!

And here’s last month’s photo plus stats!

Stepping it Up

Yesterday I took my $100 TJ Maxxgift card I got for my bday this year and went shopping! Funny how I can go into the dressing rooms innocent and feeling better about myself and then walk out with a whole new perspective

I took that energy and looped it though. I went over the the active wear section and purchased some new workout clothes and a Yoga/Pilates box o’ fun. It included some rubber bands and a DVD. I tried it out for the first time tonight. Wasn’t too impressed with the DVD because half of it required me to use my door. Wasn’t going to happen with the positioning of the TV and door. Oh well. I can always use them for toning without the DVD, and just do the exercises that don’t required said door.

I also bought a bunch of books; two about dogs, one about Dali and two more called “6 Minute Mornings: Toning” and the other is the same title except it’s Hips and Thighs. I’ve decided that I will be using these for 6 minutes in the morning (though I doubt it will take any less than 15!)

I’ve also been reflecting on my miraculous run on the beach, where I had a sudden burst of energy and had the best work out thus far. What did I do different that day…. I woke up, ate 1 egg, yogurt I think ( I have it logged below), did some laundry,  then went for my run. Who knows why, but I do know that the night before I made a list (remember?). I am now going to take a few minutes every night to plan out my next day. I am a very disorganized spur of the moment person. I lack structure. I am going to see if this helps me in that area.

So here is my list for tomorrow:

1. 6 Minute Morning (Toning)
2. Breakfast: 2 eggs, ham, toast, 32 oz water, craizins, coffee)
3. Walk to CVS to buy a tape measure (lost other one)
4. Weigh in + Measure up (yes, first of the month )
5. Blog…
6. Beach Run/jog/walk
7. Lunch – grilled chicken sandwich
8. Shower
9. Free Time!

So tomorrow I will report back to let you know if I have done 1-5 and my newest measurements!

The Hard Work Really Paid Off

So I have a confession. When I got home on Monday, I weighed myself and I was XXX. That’s right. All my hard work gone in two weeks in Fredonia! So I cracked down on myself, which wasn’t really that hard core at all. Tuesday was a 2 mile walk with a few short sprints. Wednesday was a truely vigorous exercise at the beach (ready below) which I really really enjoyed. Thursday was a 3 mile walk in Terrell River Park and some wii fit and Friday was Wii Fit, which I realize doesn’t count, but that’s what I did on Friday, if my memory serves me. Anyway, I also ate low carb.

So anyway, I stepped on the scale this morning and I am XXX-7 lbs!!! HOW DID I LOSE 7 LBS SINCE MONDAY?! IS THAT HEALTHY?! I DIDN’T THINK I WORKED THAT HARD?! I’ve always heard that people who are very overweight will lose weight quicker, but this doesn’t seem normal. I guess all it shows is that I am capable of losing more than 2 lbs a week with a little extra work. So now I am aiming for 3 lbs a week or so. Let’s see if I can do it

Did I Actually Enjoy That?

So two nights ago, I made a list before I went to bed, of things I need to to the next day and their order. This was it.

1. Eat Breakfast (Scrambled Eggs, Ham, Ovaltine, Coffee).
2. Put a load of laundry in.
3. Run/Walk/Jog.
4. Shower.
5. Eat a healthy, low carb/carb free lunch.
6. Finish painting.

So, I did everything on that list, except for finishing a painting I’m working on. I did not have milk, so I didnt have ovaltine, but I replaced it with a yogurt. I definitely had my coffee! My parents bought the Keurig One Cup Coffee Maker and it’s awesome (not really helping my coffee addiction though!). I only had about a half an egg though, as I didn’t really like it much. So the laundry and the shower, those are things normal people would just automatically do, but I included them on my list just to make sure!

My walk/run was AWESOME! I went to the beach and I walked/ran from the pavillion to the inlet and back. At first it was hard to just walk on the sand, but I’ve done this workout before and I know how beneficial and effective it is. After the walking started to feel easy, I decided to step up my game by running. I told myself I’d run for a minute (it’s hard on the sand!). That minute came and went and I was still able to run. So I gave myself another minute. That came and went. My energy was increasing. I was feeling great. Smiling from ear to ear. Before I knew it, 10 minutes had gone by. I had run for 10 minutes straight on the beach! It seems to insignificant! But it was hard for me and it made me feel great. I couldn’t stop smiling. I had just run a mile on the beach without stopping.  I was much closer to the inlet and was there in a minute or so. On the rocks, I stretched for a couple of minutes before I turned around and started walking back to the pavillion. On the way back, I ran in 8th mile spurts 5 or 6 times.  To the inlet and back is a total of 2.5 miles, and I can easily say that I ran more than half of that!!!

For lunch I made shrimp in a tarragon/dill sauce. I used olive oil instead of butter and kept it pretty lean (aside from the shrimp being high in cholestertol!)  It was filling enough that it was my dinner too. I do admit, I should have eaten more often yesterday, but it’s really hard while I’m trying to eat very low carb.

Today I am going to go to a County Park in my town that has a 3 mile trail called “Terrell River”. It’s mostly in the woods, but it ends up on a beach. Hopefully the ticks won’t be so bad!

I have chicken thawing right now so I can have a good lunch when I get back Here we go, Abby!

Ah, Back on Track

I got home Monday night, after a long and grueling 9 hour drive (alone!). I used Tuesday as an excuse to rest up after my trip. I almost did the same today, but then decided to take Abby to the track. We did 3 miles, mostly walking, and just enough running to get my heart rate up.

I have not been at all diligent about my diet since being back home. I was better today than I was yesterday though. But from tomorrow until Monday, I will be eating very little carbs and remembering to take my fiber pills (and exercising of course).

It feels good though, to have exercised today. Makes me feel more enthusiastic about going at it again tomorrow.

Also, I’ve asked for an eliptical/stationary bike for Christmas, to set up inthe basement in front of a TV. I am confident, that with the right episodes of Dog Whisperer, I could go for hours (OK, maybe half hours). In the meantime, the regular bike and walking and running will have to do.

It’s late, I just wanted to update. Good night.

An Extended Vacation

So for Labor Day weekend, I drove up to the Catskills to camp with Danny and his family (Danny was able to drive home from college for the 3 day weekend!). I’m jobless right now, and I’ve been referring to myself as a fart in the wind, going wherever I please. So it was no surprise that on Sunday morning, when Danny said (half joking) “why don’t you just come back up to school with me?” that I realized ‘Hey, why not?’. So I did. I was planning to stay until the next Monday. Sunday rolled around and I said I would leave Wednesday. Tuesday rolled around and I decided to stay until Monday again…. so it’s Saturday and I really will leave on Monday.

But inevitably, I have no been keeping up with my blog nor have I exercised in two weeks. Still, the food I’ve been eating is not that bad, and after revisiting college life, I’ve made a few more rules for myself to follow.. (And I took a body shot of myself as reference…)

9/14/2009

1. No more buffets! No matter what! I still don’t have the self control!

2. No more fast food! (I’ve broken this rule several times to get coffees, but still haven’t eaten the food).

Ha, the college life. I was missing it for the summer. Then when I came back here, and slept in the shitty college apartments, and spent time around the mindless frat boys and their women… well, I don’t miss that. What I was missing was my Danny, and spending time with him. What I wasn’t missing was the amount of unhealthy activities that college life is based around, like eating shit food and drinking copious amounts of liquor. I am guilty as anybody else though, and there is photographic evidence…

Why as a unit, we are referred to as "Earth Quake" !

So on Danny. He noticed (as did his mom) that I lost the weight. Even though it’s only been 6.6 lbs! But of course…. as these things go, Danny has inadvertently lost 10 lbs… with pretty much no effort. So how is that fair? He hit a “peak” of 249 lbs over the summer, and is now down to 239. We both gained 35 lbs since we’ve met. Interesting. And we’ve both gone on several attempts to lose weight together. He has better will power than I do. And his endurance is better too (he’s a drummer, so that’s helped him build up some serious endurance). I remember one attempt, in the beginning of 2008. I joined Curves (again) and he just went to the track on campus or treadmill. He would run about 3 miles a day, non stop. We ate the same. I would supplement my workouts with more workouts alongside him. Still, after our first weigh ins, he had lost like, 8 lbs in two weeks, while I didn’t see a change. Finally after a month, I had lost 6 lbs and he was up to 16. I love Danny so much, and he’s my biggest source of support, but trying to lose weight with him can honestly be discouraging. I know that men lose weight quicker and more easily, but that doesn’t really help. I believe that my recent success (though menial) might be because I was on my own. I would still rather be with him and try… but, this is working.

Why Danny has great endurance!

Haha! Only having Danny’s macbook to work with is showing some benefits! I have some access to hilarious pictures of him drumming to supplement my blog! But seriously, with the amount of sweat that drenches his clothes after a show, I believe that drumming for 3 hours HAS to be a great workout!

I digress. I need to say, I am nervous about weighing in when I get home Monday. I may even wait until the following Sunday, so maybe I can get back on track and my the numbers move in my favor. I miss having Abby, my exercise buddy. When I move out of my parents house, I want to get a dog so I can continue to have my exercise friend (and friend in general).

On a similar, yet sadder note, while I’ve been here, my oldest and dearest gerbil (yes gerbil) Garth died. Garth was a little over 3 years, which is not bad for a gerb. He had a traumatic experience while I was gone, in which Raymond, my cat, collapsed in the top of Garth’s cage. Garth was either crushed or had a heart attack from the scare. While he did not make it through the ordeal (damn you Ray!), his room mate, and son, Zo did.

Goma!

On another similar (but weird) note, I have, in the past, enjoyed the hobby of gerbil husbandry, which is my least embarrassing way of admitting that I’ve been a gerbil breeder. Yes! It’s true. I’m that weird. But being in college, and loving animals, I missed having pets, and when two gerbils turned into 5 one day, I decided it could be something I could enjoy. So I bred gerbils, and re homed them for about 2 years. I stopped for a 7 months or so, but now that Zo is alone, I’d like to get him a girlfriend. And I have since I’ve been here, I found and adopted the perfect girlfriend for Zo. I named her Goma, which is the backwards acronym for “A Memory of Garth”, and, coincidentally, a real name.

So on that note, I will end this tangent with a picture of my beloved and missed Garth.

2006-2009

A Day Without Exercise

Today, when I woke up, I talked to Danny’s mom on AIM. I found out that not only had her father is still recovering from a surgery he had in August, and that her mother would be getting a heart valve replacement in two weeks (both of which I already knew), but also that her younger sister would be undergoing an operation tomorrow to remove a mass from her intestines. Post-surgery, her sister will be staying with her parents, so it’s going to be an overwhelming time over there. I decided to spend the day cooking meals for them so that they could freeze them now, and pop them in the oven whenever they want.

I decided to cook for them, a tray of chicken parmesan, spagetti and meatballs, stuffed bell peppers, negima, which is a japanese dish of asparagus rolled in chicken breast and a tray of penne ala vodka. The stuffed peppers are the last thing to be cooked, and they are in the oven right now.

While I ate breakfast, I didn’t bother with lunch or dinner as I’ve been picking from everything I’ve cooked so far. I also “didn’t get a chance” to exercise today, although it’s probably for the best as my asthmatic cough was terrible this morning after kick boxing last night. My wheezing is actually what woke me up! Still, it’s not too late for an evening walk with Abby, which is looking more and more like it will materialize.

Anyway, just wanted to update any followers. I’ll be back~

Trying to not use my illness as an excuse…

Last night, in spite of my cold, I went to kick boxing, and it kicked my ass. This morning I felt even worse. Tonight, Hannah is going to kick boxing today, and I am trying to find excuses of why I should go.

I made delicious turkey burgers with roasted red peppers and sweet potato fries for lunch, and exercised 80 minutes after eating by taking a brisk 1.5 mile walk with Abby. Brisk is probably a bad word, because it was hot out, but it was a speed walk, and I tried to remember to keep my abs tightened the whole way.

I still think I should go to kick boxing tonight. I have the perfect motivation. Today, even thought I shouldn’t have, I weighed myself. I am a whole pound less than I was on Sunday! So that brings me to XXX-6.5 lbs! I attribute that to the kick boxing with my protein/veggie snack afterwards. I guess I should just go. It’s only an hour out of my day, and my instructor insists that it’s always easier the second day. I wouldn’t know, because I only go on alternate days. Hannah can’t go tomorrow, and I know I won’t go without her. Plus, I vowed last week that I needed to do this at least twice a week. So I guess it’s solved. I’m going! Blah. I hate it!

If anybody reads this, please tell me, do you still hate vigerous exercise? I’ve asked Sue, if while she is on the treadmill, in the middle of her 3 mile run, if she is praying for it to be over. She says she’s not, and that she actually enjoys it. Is that like, something I will acheive? Actually enjoying really hard exercise? Am I going to reach a point where it’s something I don’t want to end? Please tell me, if you are reading, if you ever feel that way?

My first post.

So… here I am. Writing my first blog. Three weeks ago I started to take my weight loss seriously, and inspired by other weight loss blogs (of which names  I am not so sure I have the rights to post), I decided that I would also blog about my journey.

It all started when I got fat… I got fat(ter) when I started college 5 years ago. Forget Freshman 15… I gained 60 lbs or so in the 5 years I attended college. Now that I’ve graduated, I have no more lame excuses (lots of beer, constant buffet style eating, no real physical activities).

Living with my parents means that I have access to the best exercise buddy (Abby, the Golden Retriever), and healthy food (which I couldn’t afford while living on my own at college.  So now, along with my best friend Sue (extreme Gym Rat/ Health Nut), “Kardio Kickboxing”, and said ameneties, I have begun to take this weight loss thing seriously.

I started 3 weeks ago. I’ve been exercising (almost) every day. Usually its a mile and a half walk/run/jog with Abby, sometimes its more than that. Other days I’ll go to my 7pm kickboxing class.  The hardest exercise was probably climbing a mountain in the Catskills with my boyfriend Danny.

As far as a new way of eating (not a diet!) goes, I don’t eat carbohydrates after 2:00 pm and I don’t eat at all after 7:00 pm. When I do eat, I eat a lot of lean meats and vegetables.

So where has this brought me? Well three weeks ago, my weight was XXX (that’s right, I’m not letting that top secret info leak!). Now my current weight is XXX – 5.6 lbs. I didn’t do before pictures three weeks ago, so I took some last night, and included my current stats. I’d like to make a habit of doing this on the first of every month.

*Thighs are actually 30.25″

I plan on taking these pics in the same type of outfit for as long as I can, just for the sake of consistency. I actually had to go to a funeral yesterday when I took these, but the black shirt and skirt are form fitting and kind of work for guaging weight loss.

I want to go over, on paper, so to speak, what I consider my problem areas.

Starting at the top:

Double Chin

Flabby Arms

B cups on my back

A Belly that is questionably 4 months pregnant

Legs  that resemble Turkey Drumsticks

So today, to continue my menial weight loss, I ate a very lazy breakfast. Granola bar, left over gummy sharks and a liter of water. Lunch on the other hand was stuffed red peppers (stuffed with chopped red peppers, chunks of white meat chicken and a little parmesan cheese sprinkled on top). Lunch was so delicious. Tonight is Kick Boxing, which should do a number on my pre-existing cold. I will blog later tonight about how that went and what I ate for dinner.

_____________________________________________________

So I went to kick boxing class with my other best friend, Hannah. It was brutal, and sure enough, my cold feels worse. Afterwards though, I rewarded myself with a high protein snack. I wrapped chopped asparagus in thin and lean chicken breasts, and baked them with a little teryaki and cracked pepper. It was good, and the perfect post workout snack, even if it does break my after 7:00 pm rule.

Tomorrow I may go on a nature sight seeing cruise off of the north shore with my mom ( I live on Long Island… cringe, I know).  If I feel like total turd tomorrow though, I’ll probably just sleep in. I have been meaning to start painting again. I haven’t been able to get into it because of work, but that was a seasonal job, and currently, I am officially unemployed and loving it.

I did want to post some pictures in this first post though,  of some older pics of me.

So Let’s start in 2003:

2004

2005

2006

2007 (where it really begins)

2008

So it’s pretty obvious where and when I started gaining. My first *major* goal is to look the way I did in 2004 by July 2010. That means losing 50 more lbs before then… I guess we will see.