Thanksgiving break

I don't think I did too bad over the holiday weekend. I definitely could have ate more vegetables, but I didn't stuff myself silly like I normally do. Now, don't get me wrong I still had pie, but only piece and only one serving of everything else. I could have been better, but could have been worse! One thing I am disappointed about is my exercise. I just didn't do it. I should have taken the "kids" for a walk every day, but I did not. Oh well.

Tonight, I am heading to Gameworks to meet a friend. Hopefully, I won't drink too much!

Hope you had a good holiday!

November 20

What an interesting and confusing evening. It was very very nice, but I just feel weird now. Don't get me wrong! I am very happy about this evening. Just very confused! :)

Believe it or not, I actually was very good today. For breakfast, I had a bagel with peanut butter and turkey bacon. For a snack, I had grapes. Lunch was a Wendy's Oriental Salad and dinner was Chicken with Broccoli, which there was tons of leftover. It was taken home for later. :) Unfortunately, I also had three Coors Light, but it all evens out!

Tomorrow, I have been roped into going to Brazenhead with a friend. Anyone who wants to come is welcome! We will be there right after work. Hopefully, I will have time for the gym.

Well, have a good day and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Post for Claire

OK. I know I have been slacking in the posting. I do have some good news though. I started the gym. I have done weights, the treadmill, and even tried a belly dancing close (Oh my goodness is all I have to say about that!). Getting on the scale at the gym was a scary process. I promise that the number was shockingly high. I don't think I have EVER seen that number on the scale before. :(

Anyway, other parts of my life are going pretty well at the moment. I am meeting new people and enjoying myself. I am also getting involved in the Project Mentor program in the Columbus public school system. It should be pretty interesting and definitely an eye opener. I hope that I can have a positive influence on some child's life. You start with an eighth grader and follow them through graduation in 2012. I am really excited about it!

I will try to update more often. I have some very exciting plans for tomorrow evening so I won't be posting tomorrow (or maybe I will if it is a good evening!). And Wednesday I have plans as well. Then I head to Mom's for Thanksgiving, and she does not have the internet. Anyway, I will at least post when I return.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!!

Starting Over

I have been horrible at keeping this journal as well as horrible at changing my life style. For instance, today I had a McChicken biscuit with two hash browns for breakfast and seasame chicken with an egg roll for lunch. Now isn't that awful? I need to realize that I am literally killing myself. My health is literally declining. I already have high blood pressure. It is only a matter of time before diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, and everything else joins the mix. Today a new study came out directly linking obesity to six different types of cancers, two of which my grandmothers had. Talk about frightening. What is it going to take to make me realize I need to change? I just do not get it. I guess having my soon to be ex tell me that he wasn't attracted to me anymore wasn't enough. Or maybe feeling the elevator bounce when I step on. Or maybe being embarassed to sit on an airplane because I am crowding the person next to me. Or worrying about breaking a chair at a restaurant when sitting at a table instead of a booth. What is it going to take? An actual heart attack or stroke? My breathing is already more labored due to the asthma and excess weight.

Anyway, that was my vent for the day. Now I am off to hand out this terrible candy to all the trick or treaters. I hope that they aren't like me. I would hide and sneak food and candy when I was younger. Food became my comfort.

OK. That is enough. Have a good day!

I didn't keep my promise to exercise. I did take my shoes and workout clothes. However, I hung out with a lot of coworkers and drank too many margaritas and beers. You don't even want to know about Tuesday night! It was a lot of fun though, and it reminded me that I need to get out more.

When I returned home to my house, I had my favorite "kids" to greet me. I missed my puppies and kitties! It was still sad to return to an empty house though. Oh well. One day and one weekend at a time. That is what I keep telling myself. It will take a while to heal completely. I will have my bad days and good days.

Anyway, I am getting back on the scale tomorrow. I know that I will be starting all over again, but at least I am doing it. Today I plan to eat somewhat healthy. There is no more ice cream in the house. That helps!

Saturday

Although I have a limited readership, I thought I would inform you that I will be MIA for a while. I am going on a business trip. Believe it or not, I am taking along my sneakers and hope to get some treadmill time in.

Well, enjoy your week! I am looking forward to mine. :)

Brazenhead

Good Friends, Good Cheap Food, and Good Booze. Need I say more?

Sad

I am really really sad today. A new chapter in my life has just begun. Unfortunately, it means that I have lost a good friend. It is really depressing. I know that I will be OK, and the future is promising. It is just hard right now. We just were not meant to be. I just wish that things could have been different. I will miss this person for a long time. I will always care about the person, but I need to distance myself. I cannot be friends. It becomes too confusing for me because I will always have certain feelings for this person. At this point, I do not know if I will ever stop loving him. Maybe I am just meant to be the old crotchity cat woman in the neighborhood. The good thing is that I haven't eaten anything to feed the loneliness and sadness!

Anyway, I haven't paid attention to my eating at all. However, I am back on track today. Tomorrow, I plan on just having cereal for breakfast and soup for lunch. I need to start watching my spending and I can buy soup for $1.29 at the work cafeteria. :) As long as I stick to a broth based soup, I will be good to go!

Enough of my depressing rantings. Have a great week! Tomorrow is weigh-in day.

I am not very good at posting, am I? Well, last week I gained 2 pounds, which was very much expected. This week, I lost 1 pound of that gain. I really have not been doing well with my eating. I seem to let a lot of different things get in the way. I know I shouldn't, but I do. I need to get my butt in gear and focus. I really need to improve my health. I am not in trouble yet with diabetes, cholesterol, etc., but it is only a matter of time. My blood pressure is already moderately high.

This week has been a really sad week for me. It seems like there has been a lot going on, not just with me, but also my family and friends. Although I won't get into it here if you are reading this, please keep my family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. Believe me when I say they are needed. It is going to be a very difficult time for many.

Have a great week! :)

Returning

Now my back is definitely more manageable. It is feeling better every day. Unfortunately, I used my back as an excuse to eat with no abandon. Today was the first day since last Sunday that I have watched what I am eating. Although I have done some form of walking since last Wednesday, I have been eating a bunch of junk. I really do not know why I keep eating the way I do. It is like I am punishing myself for all of my faults. I also use food as a comfort. Obviously, I have issues...

This morning, I met a really great group of women to walk at the Hoover Dam. It was actually a lot of fun! Before I knew, we had walked two miles and were making plans to get together again. One of them is taking tennis lessons and wants everyone to give it a try. I may have to pick up a racket. Hopefully my tennis skills are better than my badmitton ones!

Well, that is about it for my rantings for today. I will report my progress on the scale tomorrow. I fully expect to have a big gain, but that is my own fault. C'est La Vie!

Well it is official. My doctor has put me on bedrest until Wednesday morning. NOT GOOD!!! I am on muscle relaxers and a steroid to help with the inflammation in my back. I am not even allowed to drive while on the muscle relaxers! This really really sucks.

I plan on watching several movies and reading a few magazines and books while on limited activity. I am already bored though. :(

In better news, I did lose 2 pounds. Go me!

Ugh

Well, I think that I am going to have to put exercise on hold. It seems that I have irritated my back again. Great. I am just going to rest today and hope for the best.

After thought

Wow. I was just reading my past entries and realized that I have really been struggling! I guess that is what happens when you are making a lifestyle change. I know that it will take a lot of time and dedication. I will have my setbacks, but I will get up, dust myself off, and start again. I CAN DO THIS!

Sunday Morning

Well, this weekend has not been the greatest for me eating wise. I had an unconventional dinner last night of Graeter's Ice Cream. That is the last time that I buy the pints and say I am only going to have a half a cup! I haven't journaled either, which I said I was going to do! I am going to sit down today and figure out the damage.

I did go for a long walk yesterday morning with the dogs. Teddy and Hannah were wore out, which was nice! I was supposed to meet a group of walkers this morning at the Hoover Dam, but it was cancelled due to the weather. I may go to the mall and become a mall walker for the day. :) I just feel the need to move. I wish that the treadmill was in the house instead of the garage because I would use it instead. However, it is too heavy to move by myself so it will stay in the garage.

Well, today is a new day, so I will make the best of it. I will stay within my calorie allotment and get up and move.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Progress

Well, I have lost 1.8 pounds in the first week, which isn't too bad considering I didn't really stick to my calorie allowance this past weekend. My mom was in town, and I just ate whatever. However, we did TONS of walking on Saturday and Sunday. That definitely helps!

This week, I am reading the VTrim, Eating Well book. It actually makes a lot of sense. I really need to concentrate on changing my mindset. I have a really bad tendency to minimize how I feel and worry about everyone except me. I also need to believe in myself. It is almost like I am afraid to fail, so in a weird way I sabotage myself. I guess deep down, I feel like I deserve to be unhappy and unhealthy. Obviously, I have issues that I need to work on!

Oh well, for this week I am working on writing down what I eat. I need to be aware of what I am putting in my body.

First two days

Yesterday was my first day of my lifestyle change. I ate 1,800 calories and actually found it pretty easy to stay on track. I ate very healthy as well, which I am quite proud of!

Today, on the other hand, was a different story. We had a breakfast at work to celebrate raising funds for a big charity event in Central Ohio. I filled half of my plate up with fruit then had a scoop of hashbrowns, a scoop of breakfast casserole, and two slices of bacon. Then, our floor won second place (WOOHOO!!!), resulting in two trays of cookies to take back to our floor. These were the BEST cookies I have ever tasted. That is no lie. The M&M cookie was sooo moist it was falling apart. The chocolate chunk was almost as good. So, I ate two of these wonderfully delicious cookies. I want more just thinking about it!

For lunch, I had plans to go out with a friend. I was pretty decent. I chose a trip to the soup and salad bar. I got a bowl of tortilla soup and lots of veggies with 1/8 c. blue cheese with balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. I stayed away from the heavy dressings, croutons, ham, and mayo laden salads. I was pretty proud of myself!

For dinner, I had Ginger mahi-mahi, a banana, and some grape tomatoes. I am still a little hungry, but trying to drink water because I am really thirsty. It is after 7:00 and I know I can do it!

I plan on taking the dogs for a walk around 8:15. I am waiting for it to cool down a lot outside.

Have a good night!

First Blog Post

Since this is my first post, I feel like I should say something insprirational or monumental. Instead, I will just tell you the purpose of this blog.

I am using this blog to record my weight loss struggles. In the next 18 months, I want to lose 75 pounds, 25 pounds for each 6 months. I am using the VTrim and No-Fad Diet(from the American Heart Association) for inspiration. I am currently 28 years old and unhealthy. I do not want to die young and have everyone say, "but she was so young. We just don't understand." That is already said too often. I have an entire life ahead of me.

To keep me accountable, my plan is to walk at least 5 days a week. I am also watching my calorie intake. Currently, I am eating no more than 1976 calories a day. If you want to know how I got that number, contact me and I will tell you.

Thanks for reading! :)