Fast food FIGHT

I haven't been to a fast food place since my post about "fast food no more."  So that's good.

However, it hasn't been a breeze.  I've thought about wanting it (but mainly when I'm hungry) and I fight it off.  I've also thought of it for work reasons, but decided to work around it and avoided it altogether.  Today, was a tough one too...

I babysat for a family I haven't seen in about 5 months, and they live about 30 minutes away.  Usually when I leave their home, it's really late, and I get that late night hunger.  Even though I didn't leave their house that late today, I still felt the urge to go to the McDonald's on the way home because of the habit and also because I was hungry since I didn't eat a substantial dinner.  I fought it, and just kept driving home.  But what is bothersome, is the fact that it was that difficult for me.  I wanted to call someone and tell them to slap me.  I wanted to tell myself that I didn't care if I got fatter.  I just wanted to get the McDonald's.

I didn't go.  The angel on my shoulder won.  And I'm glad.  I came home and I DID eat, but I was so hungry that I made a quick PB&J sandwich and had 2 persimmons.

Just thought I should share.

Reach for the sky???

Really...am I aiming too high???

I haven't been able to meet any of my monthly goals, and the number of lbs I've been dropping, have been getting smaller and smaller as the months go by.

In the month of November...I lost a whooping 1 pound.  yippy, right?  Well, I guess ONE pound is better than NONE....which is better than gaining rather than losing.  So yeah, I guess I am glad that I lost even one pound.  I know what the problem is though.  It's as simple as me not trying hard enough.  Sure, I'm trying...a little bit.  But I know I can do better.  I need to make lots of smaller goals and work on them little by little, and as each day goes by successfully, I feel stronger and prouder.

I still haven't gone to a fast food or food court place since my entry about "fast food no more."  I AM proud of myself for that.  And even after the first week of not going to one, I felt stronger when I had the urge to go..and I thought to myself, "I've gone one good week without fast food...I don't need to ruin it."  I still have to keep working on that though.  I may have the urge to go to a drive through or even just think about it, but I do my best to stay away.  I will even look away from the tv if a commercial for fast food joints come on.  Doing that, makes me feel stronger instantly.

The goal for this month, will just to lose a minimum of 1 pound.  Rather than focusing on the number of pounds I want to lose this month (since that's not really working for me), I'd like to make a goal on the physical side.  I'd like to get to the gym at least once a week (which is a lot more than what I've been doing recently), and to do a Workout Trainer and/or Push Ups app workout at least twice a week.  Also, the next time I go to my mom's house, I'm going to grab the Slim in 6 VHS tapes my sister gave me.  I hope to do that as much as I can at work (after the girls have gone to bed).  I hope that in the future, I can do those videos 5 days a week as they suggest, but I don't think Anne has a VHS player.  And I don't have a tv.  And I don't want one.  So...yeah.

Keep on swimming'

Last night, Katie and I had plans to go to my gym for a swim.  We both needed motivation to exercise and get in the pool.  And what other better motivation other than each other?!

We got in the pool probably around 9pm, and decided to swim until 10pm.  Then at 10, we bumped it back to 10:30pm.  Then to 11pm.  We swam for 2 hours!  Neither of us have been to a pool for SO long, so we took several breaks, and kt tried not to black out, as she does when working out fiercely.  I did a total of 2200yds I think.  In 2 hours.  I used to be able to do 1000yds in 30 minutes.  So...I'll have to see how long it will take for me to get there again.

But either way, I really enjoyed my last 500yd stretch (I don't know what it's called in swimming terms, but I swam 500yds without taking a break other than to take a breath or turn).  I went at a slower pace and I could feel my body stretching with every arm's reach.  I've never felt my body that long before.  I told Katie that it was like yoga in a way, where I can think about my body and slowly stretch and tone at the same time.  It was just very rhythmic and I loved every bit of it.

Fast Food, NO MORE

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know...we've all said this before...

NO MORE FAST FOOD!

At least for now.  My goal is to NOT HAVE fast food until I feel like I "need" it.  I "need" it because I'm addicted to it.  And it's not okay.  I honestly feel like I'm not even hungry sometimes, and I see the golden arches and next thing you know...I'm at the drive through.  Even as I'm eating it, I can imagine the food not processing in my body and turning into bad fats because I know how bad it is for me.  And I know that if you leave a McDonald's french fry out for years...it will never go away - it will still hold it's frame...GROSS! Yet, I'm still addicted.

Even while thinking about how I have to give up fast food, I made up exceptions, such as, "when I'm traveling, I can buy fast food."  No.  The final answer is no.  Because once I have it, I will want it again and again and again.  And if I don't have it for awhile, I will buy SO much food because I've missed it all...that I feel ill afterwards.  Great example: White Castle.  I don't eat White Castle that often.  But when I do...I want cheeseburgers, regular burgers, fries (I love their fries), mozzarella sticks, onion peels, chicken rings, and a Dr. Pepper because I don't drink soda that often, and Dr. Pepper used to be my favorite as a child.  I will order about 90% of what I just listed off, and eat about 90% of that.  The rest 10% will be eaten later in the day.  Wtf?!  NOT OKAY!

So...once again...the answer is NO.  Maybe I'll have to give "Fast Food" an acronym "FF" and think of it as "fast fat" or "f*cking fat" or "free fat" or something along those lines to remind me of what I'm doing.

I will have to meditate on this everyday until I feel confident that I've passed the "unnecessary cravings."  I know that millions of other Americans suffer from fast food addiction as well.  I hope to be one less addicted American.

SWEATIN' at the Gym!

Yup....I finally made it back to the gym.  Tuesday was a busy day with appointments, and meetings.  In between, I scheduled time to go to the nearest gym to get a workout in.  I almost didn't go because the Highland Park LTF, has a parking ramp (free for gym members who swipe their lifetime card) and I couldn't find my card that afternoon.  So I freaked out and decided not to go because I didn't know where the gym's actual front door is (I'm only been in through the parking ramp) and I chickened out.  For me, it wasn't worth the stress of trying to figure it out.  Then I decided I was dumb.  So I decided to go, and just grab a parking ticket and pay for it.  I went inside and asked the LTF front desk if they validated parking since I had misplaced my member card.  She told me to grab one on my way out.  I did 30 minutes on my favorite "total body conditioning" elliptical machine at the interval program.  I forgot my headphones so I couldn't listen to my music which is the best part of working out on those machines.  And I hated it because they only have 2 of those machines and they are RIGHT in front of the mirror.  Literally about a foot away from my face.  So it's just really awkward working out that close to a mirror because I can't see a tv.  The only thing I can look at in front of me is the mirror which is the length of the entire wall...so I'm actually looking at everything that is  BEHIND me.  It's weird.  Anyway, I was there for about 1.5hrs, and the parking validating coupon said 30min.  I handed it to the guy and he let me out.  So they must just use those old tickets for no time limit.  This is good to know for the future, in case I forget my card again.

It was good to be back at the gym.  I actually had plans to go to the pool for a 30min swim the next day but due to confusion and schedule changes at work...I wasn't able to go.  As Sasha said in her last blog...people who go to the gym at 4am BEFORE work DO make me feel and look lazy.  And she's right.  It IS possible for us to fit in a workout.  We just choose not to.  ugh.  I hope to get to the gym sometime next week to swim.  Swimming is somewhat of a newer exercise for me, and it's really addicting.  I know that it will just take me one time to the pool...and I'll be going there a LOT more frequently.

ALSO...an update on my last blog entry about being more consistent with the workout apps on my phone...I DID complete that workout program.  So YAY!  That's over.  But I haven't started a new one, nor have I started up on the Push Ups app yet.

Even though I've been a teeny bit more physically active...I haven't lost any pounds yet.  Why?  Because I've been eating shit.  Once again.  I'm choosing to.  I don't know how many drive thru's I've been through this month.  What's wrong with me?!

30 MINUTES TO FAT FREEDOM

I worked out today!!! It felt so good. I've decided to dust off those Biggest Loser Workout videos that I purchased years ago and use them:-) I have a video called Last Chance Workout and it is really motivating; just 30-minutes a day for 6 weeks. What I love about the Biggest Loser is that it's everyday people in the videos working out. Seeing them struggle just as much as I am with each move is much more validating instead of some insanely ripped fitness model who is not even breaking a sweat.  I've always had good results with doing workout videos at home in the past and I hope to see results with this. 30 minutes doesn't seem like a long time but I was drenched in sweat by the end the workout. Jillian Michaels knows what she's doing!

Yesterday at work one of my co-workers was talking about how she wakes up at 4:00 am to go to the gym before work. Made me feel like a total slacker. There is no excuse to not exercise. I don't even have to go to the gym I can just wake up and do a 30 minute video in my living room before work. I'm really proud that I worked out today! Gonna keep it going!
 

Getting back in shape

I haven't really been very active these past few months.  Especially now that Sasha and I have declared an end to this tennis season...we've decided to bike until it snows.  I feel like it takes a little more effort to organize our biking dates.  Or maybe we're just both slacking?  Either way, I can be much more active but I'm just being lazy.  Isn't that the reason why I downloaded those two apps (Workout Trainer & Push-ups) on my phone?  I haven't done them since the first week of October.  I've been meaning to get back on track with those, and I finally did a workout trainer 9 minute session tonight.  I will do another one tomorrow afternoon, and I'll do push-ups on Sunday.  

I'm writing this here, so I can be accountable for it.  

WHY I HATE BEING FAT

11/8/12

Apparently I don’t hate being fat, because I’m still fat and have not lost any weight in the month of October. November is not starting off too well but my goal this month is going to be minimal. I know I’m not even trying to lose weight. If I really hated being fat I would get off my ass and doing something about it.  The best I’ve felt this month was after Lesley and I biked 17miles last Friday. I felt really good about myself even though it was really hard and I was extremely sore the next couple of days it was the best I’ve felt all month. Why can’t I do that every day or at least 3x a week, or even once a week? So my goal: Work out once a week that’s only 4x this month. I have 3 more times this month to work out if I can’t do that something’s really wrong with me. So here’s a top ten list of why I hate being fat:

1. Feeling tired all the time, lack of energy

2. Hating the way I look and feel about myself—low self-confidence/self-esteem

3. Not being able to be active and do the activities I want to do without feeling winded—bike, I want to rock climb, hike, run and be able to keep up with the healthy people I’m doing those activities with.

4. Having sore joints, foot and back pain from the sheer pressure of my body I’m crushing myself

5. Fear of developing diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and other chronic illnesses at a young age.

6. Not being able to wear the clothes I want or shopping in a normal size.

7. Jiggle and flab everywhere all the time, in addition to skin chaffing.

8. Feeling ashamed to have my picture taken

9. Feeling like an embarrassment/disappointment to friends, family and myself.

10. Feeling like I’m missing out on truly living my life.

Thanks Lesley, for still trying to have faith in me and pushing me to be accountable through blogging. Our bike rides have been the most successful I've felt lets keep it up. Your overall weight loss has been a great motivation!!! You can do it!

November Begins!

October was a busy month...and it came and went so fast...I even turned 29!

Once again, I did not meet my monthly goal.  My goal was to lose 7lbs, that would bring me down to 173lbs.  Even though I didn't meet the goal...I did manage to lose 4lbs, so I'm at 176 today.  I'm seriously proud that I haven't gained any lost weight back since Aug 31st!  That alone, is a huge success in weight loss.  I know that there are still several more years to come...but I'm just trying to focus on one day at a time here.

I guess my monthly goals are getting smaller and smaller...because this month's goal will be to lose 6lbs, so that I'd be at 170lbs by December 1st.  I hope to lose more this month, but I see the pattern already of not being able to lose that many.  Which is fine...as long as I'm still going down not up.  And it's not like I'm going to stop trying to lose weight if I reach my Nov goal by Nov 18.  I'd obviously keep going, and lose more if I can!  But we'll see how this works out.

Speaking of working out...I didn't achieve my workout goals for last month either.  With the winter approaching, I've been craving the cold swimming pool.  I don't know why but I've always loved the feeling of jumping in the cold pool, then being hot and sweaty quickly, and then walking outside in the cold after a warm shower.  Yeah, I'm weird.  So I hope to swim a couple times this month, and maybe get a couple runs in too.  As for the rest...I'll just do what I can do and see what happens.  All I know, is that I have to get some physical exercise in.  I will set more specific goals once I get active again.

GOOD LUCK, SASHA!

October update

Since Sasha and I went biking...I haven't been physically active at all.  I dog-sat at my aunts house all of last week, so I walked the dog several times, but each walk was less than a mile...so it wasn't much.  I could've kept walking (and would've liked to...) but Candy is a shitzhu nearly 13 years old and can't walk a lot with her short little legs!

My schedule has been weird because I've been STILL sleeping in late, going to work, and staying up late.  So I felt like my late night eating would make me gain weight.  I weighed myself this morning and I was at 177...so that means 3lbs down for this month's goal and a total of 8lbs lost since Sept 1st!  It's not the best, but it's still 8lbs lost!  I'm just surprised and glad that the 5lbs I lost in September are still gone!

I feel like there's been a lot of change going on in my life recently...and I feel out of sorts.  I need to get my life organized again, and get to the gym and do my phone apps (I haven't done the workout trainer OR the pushups in a long time!), and be physically active again!  I also need to make better food decisions more often than I am right now.

I really hope I can meet my October goal of losing 7lbs.  Only 4 more to go!!!!!

Post workout meal

I read another article, only this time it was about post workout meals.

Here's an excerpt of it that applied to my goals:

"If your primary goal is fat loss, you'll want to take a different approach, says Coleman, because a high-carb postworkout meal blunts the fat-burning effect.  She instaed recommends choosing protein and fibrous veggies and suggests waiting to eat for at least an hour or two after exercise."

This will be difficult after high calorie burning workouts such as swimming or running because I tend to feel "hungry" shortly after this activity.  I'll try to keep water stocked so I can chug that afterwards to keep the hunger pangs.  

Intuititive Eating for weight loss = eat what you want, when you want?

I just read an article from my Lifetime Fitness magazine, about how "Intuititive eating" can help you lose weight.  I've attached the web version of the article here.  It's an anti-diet, which sounds great for me because I hate the word "diet".  I don't ever enjoy saying that I'm on a diet, nor do I ever feel like I'm dieting.  I prefer to say that "I'm trying to lose weight."  Here's why...I love food and culinary arts.  I wish I knew more about food to be able to cook to an art form, or to know what goes well with what.  I want to be an amazing chef (not for a restaurant but for myself).  I think that food and cooking can be art.  I love discovering new ingredients, tasting new combinations, learning about the health benefits of ingredients, etc.  I love junk food and I love "healthy" foods.  Because of my love and appreciation for food, I don't like the idea of "restricting" myself from it.  What is happiness with restricting something you love?  What if someone took your significant other away from you, whom you love more than anything else in the world?  Okay, I'm not saying that I love food more than anything else in the world...because I don't.  I'm not Liz Lemon ;)  But you get the point.  Anyways, read the article if you're interested in learning about this technique.  I'm not saying I'm going to live by the principles of intuitive eating, but I think many of the principles are important and can be helpful for me (and everyone else).  And with an educational background in psychology, a lot of these points make sense to me.

PRINCIPLES of Intuitive Eating

1.)  Learn to recognize mild sensations of hunger that emerge even while you are busy doing something else, and feed them before you become ravenous or become tempted to make unhealthy eating choices.

2.) Give yourself permission to eat whenever you feel hungry, and let go of internal feelings of guilt of rigid rules that say you can't eat more than a certain number of calories a day or enjoy a slice of cake.

3.) Derive pleasure and satisfaction from the eating experience moment by moment, without distraction, and savor your food.  Notice when and how your hunger abates.  While you are eating, do not watch television, work at the computer or think about your plans for the rest of the day.  Instead, look at your food, observing color, shape, taste, smell, texture and quality.  Observe your own sensations and reactions.

4.) After a meal is done, take some time to focus on your inner feelings - sluggish or energized, anxious or calm?  Decide whether the meal and its contents are worth eating again.

5.) Don't eat to alleviate anxiety, boredom or depression.  If you find yourself overeating to treat a mood or emotion instead of to satisfy physiological hunger, search for the emotional root of the problem and then soothe or stimulate yourself through yoga, a long walk or a talk with a friend.

6.) Exercise and move for enjoyment - not expressly for weight loss or calorie burning.

7.) Notice how you feel when you choose healthy, high quality food.  Take stock of your physical, mental and emotional responses.

8.) Keep caveats in mind.  Many integrative health experts point out that the foods we most crave are sometimes those to which we are allergic or intolerant.  If you suffer from this sort of food "addiction," be aware that feeding it may make your cravings worse.

Gateway Trail & PANTS!

Sasha and I turned today's tennis date into a bike date. We rode the MN state trail: Gateway Trail, an 18 mile paved trail.  It was a wonderful ride. We did a little less than half the trail and turned around for a total of about 11miles. There were hills to get on the bridges that went over the highways. But we rode every hill!  We hope to ride the full length sometime :)  I know we can totally do it.

Lastly, I found a pile of jeans in my closet that are in plain view and I'm sure I've seen a million times but ignored. When I noticed them now, I assumed they were size 12's or 10's which don't fit me. I'm currently a 14.  Well, the first few were 14's but after I put them on, I remembered that they were in that pile because they were getting tight and I didn't wear them anymore. They fit perfectly well just now.  Then I got to a couple size 12 pants and didn't think they'd fit but...THEY DID!!!!! 

I really have to do my measurements soon. I still haven't lost any weight this month, but from awhile ago, I lost maybe about 10lbs which is why these pants may fit again. 

YAY!

Get Up or Get Fat

So Anne makes fun of me because sometimes when I need a little more motivation to wake up in the mornings...I record a message on my phone and set that as an alarm.  Sometimes it works, sometimes I just get annoyed at my own voice.

Well...I need motivation right now.  I don't know what my problem is, but for the past few weeks, I feel like all I've been doing is sleeping and going to work.  I have a HUGE to-do list, and it just keeps growing longer and longer because I'm not waking up early enough to work on any of them.  Here's the thing...lately, I've been doing more 2-10pm shifts for work.  I've been waking up around noon.  This means I have just enough time to eat "breakfast", take a shower, and spend like 30 minutes doing random activity (trying to catch up on my to-do list, or just staring at the to-do list making a new mini list on completing the to-do list, catching up on my email, etc).  The only days I've woken up earlier than the lunch hour, is to meet Sasha for tennis, or to work on the random days I picked up a 6am shift.  Okay, in reality...this has only been going on for like one week.  But it feels like forever, because I haven't been doing anything other than sleep and work.

For those of you who know me...I don't like to get up.  Don't get me wrong...I actually LIKE waking up early and being able to get things done, having a longer day, etc.  But it's so hard for me to wake up...so it rarely happens.  This is why I don't consider myself a morning person.  I'd love to be a morning person though, because I like the way I feel when I start the day earlier.  I feel accomplished.  I feel like a mature adult.  I feel like I'm in a tv commercial featuring coffee or a delicious high-fiber cereal.  But repeat: I don't wake up early.  However, if I AM successful and I wake up earlier...I'm up.  All it takes is for me to brush my teeth and I'm awake and I can start the day.

So...back to the needing motivation story...

I need to wake up earlier than noon.  I can function off of 7 hours of sleep (unlike the 12 hours I've been getting this week), so I'd like to try to go to bed by midnight.  That gives me about 1.5-2 hours to dily-daly after I get home from work.  Ideally, I'd like to wake up around 7-8am to start the day.  But knowing myself, I should be more realistic and shoot for 9-10am.  Maybe in the future, I can move it up earlier!  For now, I use my alarm clock/radio and/or my cell phone alarm.  They both have snoozes on them, which I think is a problem.  In the near future, I think I'd like to find a non-snooze alarm clock.  Yes, this can be dangerous, but for important days, I could set my phone alarm as a backup.  I also need to get in the habit of brushing my teeth right away.  I often get up to go to the bathroom around the 8-9am hour.  (SEE!  It's already a natural time to wake up!)  But I pee, then go lay back down, thinking about how I shouldn't do what I'm doing.  So I need to brush my teeth.

In conclusion, I need to wake up earlier so I can get in more physical activity (to help me lose weight) and to give me more time to get things done in my life (which will help my mental state).  I recorded a new alarm sound where I say, "Get up or get fat.  Go start the day."

Answers about Calcium

When we were first introduced to Herbalife, one of the consultants asked us what kind of calcium supplements we took: plant-based or animal-based.  I wasn't sure, and she mentioned the container would state if it was plant-based.  I looked at my calcium supplements and it didn't say anything about being plant-based.  So I assume it's animal-based...but what was from animal...the lactose, I'd assume?  I wanted to look it up and read up on it.  This was back in April I think.  It's now 6 months later, and I'm finally getting to it.  This article was the most useful:  animal-based vs. plant-based Calcium supplements

This part was shocking to me: “the association between the intake of animal protein and fracture rates appears to be as strong as the association between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.”  That's a pretty strong association!

From what I understand, adult women are supposed to have 1000mg per day.  Ugh, things like this can be frustrating.  I want to make the best choice, but it's not always easy.  So there are non-animal-based calcium supplements, but they contain calcium sources such as limestone and some other inorganic rock.  These can be harmful for the body and may not digest correctly.  So...where do we find supplements?  I guess the best thing to do is increase your daily diet with items in high calcium.  Here is a chart I found from a different article:

Food	Calcium mg
Dairy Products
Skim Milk 1 cup	301
Whole Milk 1 cup	290
Plain Low fat Yogurt 1 cup	415
Cow Milk Cottage Cheese (Paneer) 1 cup	208
Baffalo Milk Cottage Cheese (Paneer) 1 cup	480
Feta cheese 40 g	144
Whipped Cream, 15 g	13
Beans & Grains
White beans 3/4 cup	120
Navy beans 3/4 cup	94
Black Turtle beans 3/4 cup	75
Chickpeas (Chhole) 3/4 cup	58
Tofu 150g	350
Soy bean curd slab 150g	310
Cooked Soy bean 1 cup	130
Instant oats, 1 pkt	165
Fish
Sardines in oil, tinned, 100 g	500
Salmon, tinned, 100 g	91
Fish paste, 35 g	98

Food	Calcium mg
Nuts
Almonds roasted 1/4 cup	93
Brazil Nuts 20 g	34
Hazlenuts 20 g	28
Walnuts 20 g	19
Almonds butter 2 Tbsp	88
Sesame seeds 12 g	80
Rice, plain, boiled 180 g	32
Fruits & Vegetables
Cabbage/bok choy 1/2 cup	190
Turnip greens 1/2 cup	104
Broccoli 1/2 cup	33
Okra 1/2 cup	65
Orange 1/2 cup	52
Orange juice fortified with calcium 1/2 cup	165
Calcium in Breads, Pizza
White bread, 1 slice 30 g	53
Wholemeal bread, 1 slice 30 g	32
Muesli, Swiss style, 50 g	55
Lasagne, 400 g	400
Pizza, cheese & tomato, 410 g	873
Pasta, plain, cooked, 230 g	85

Run for your LIFE!!!!!

Okay, we're not being chased.  Or maybe we are?  By our food addiction thoughts?

Sasha and I played some tennis this morning.  It was really cold, but we warmed up pretty fast.  We did our first run/walk today.  As I described in an earlier post, my first week of running has to be as simple as run 1min/walk 2min.  She agreed to do this with me, and we both powered through it together.  The park we played tennis at today, is known for their difficult disc golf course.  We see people disappearing into the woods all the time, and coming out of a different place.  I've always been curious as to what it looks like in there.  There is a long curvy paved path around the park that looks beautiful with the hills, but we decided to avoid the hills until we're more advanced runners.  We decided to stick to the flat sidewalk path.  Well, as we were running, we turned onto the paved path and went with the small hills that we cam across.  It honestly wasn't that bad.  The biggest hill we came across, was during a walking interval, so I was thankful for that :)

Anyways, we did it!  Run 1 for Week 1 COMPLETE!

We've already scheduled the next tennis and run date.  And as far as the third one goes...we'll either do it on a day we tentatively scheduled, or do it alone.

In conclusion, I'm very happy that Sasha and I decided to run together today.  I haven't run with someone since I was in the running class.  And I didn't care for it because they were all much better than me.  I'm glad to know that Sasha and I are at the same level and even though she has more running experience than I do, she's willing to take it slow with me.  While we were running, I said that I'm excited to do this together because instead of me saying, "I increased my run by this much...in this amount of time..."  I can say, "WE increased this much and WE DID IT!"

Sasha - I can't wait to be able to become a stronger runner with you.  Maybe one day, we'll do a race together!

Hi, My name is Sasha and I'm a food addict....

So Lesley and I were playing tennis a couple days ago, and I brought up that fact that I think I'm a food addict. Then today on Good Morning America there was a news story on that very thing. They interviewed Tara Season 8 winner of the Biggest Loser, who gained a lot of the weight back that she had lost, she soon discovered she was a food addict.

Looking for a 'Hunger Fix'? Food Addicts Can Re-Train the Brain - ABC News

I started the day with warm water and lemon and went to the gym today. I'm so excited that I'm sticking to the program. I did give in to cheddar cheese popcorn and soda at the mall today.  Often times in the past I would get down on myself for cheating at one meal or sneaking in a bad snack and then the rest of the week I would just eat binge and eat bad and would give up. But I have to look at it as, that was one wrong meal out of 21 meals for the week. I know I will reach my goal if I just keep on trying!

Thanks for the support Lesley!

FALL-ing Down

September's end has brought me zero success! I started the month weighing 185 lbs. and I've actually managed to gain weight. I now weigh in at a whopping 187 lbs. The heaviest I've ever been in my life! I'm so disappointed in myself and letting you down Lesley. I don't know what I'm afraid of; at this point I know I AM my biggest barrier to my weight loss. I just have to get off my butt and start exercising and eat healthier. I have gotten so out of shape, I don't even recognize myself anymore.

Lesley's blogs have been very inspiring and looking back at this blog, I realize I have not blogged at all. I told Lesley I would blog everyday. So I need to be a better friend and keep up my end of the bargain. I like how Lesley has created some workout goals/strategies for October, so I am going to do the same.

OCTOBER GOALS
- Get 30-40minuts of a Cardio workout at least 2x/week
- Weight training 3x/week
- Go to the gym at least 12 times this month to get my monthly discount:-)
- Eat one serving of veggies daily.
- NO going to any restaurant with a drive thru for this entire month!


Better late than never, I promise to do better!

Lemon Water

Click here to read the article :)

I found this article from a friend's facebook post and looked into it.  I love it because I love hot water with lemon.  After reading this article, I will try to have it every morning.  If I don't have it in the morning, I'll try to have it at least once a day.

This really shouldn't be that hard for me to do since I already love it.  However, I'll probably do it more regularly, now that I know the various benefits of it.  Before, I just drank it for the refreshing taste!  And the article says to use WARM water, NOT HOT water.  This should make it easier, no?  I'd think so, since you don't have to wait for the water to boil!

Awesome!  I'm going to go cut some lemons in half right away, so they're ready to be used in the morning!

October Begins!!!!!

SEPTEMBER RESULTS
I lost a total of 5 pounds in September.  My goal was to lose 10 lbs, so I didn't achieve my goal...but I'm happy I lost at least 5!  I lost it within the first 2 weeks, and I somehow managed to keep it off for the remaining weeks of the month.

OCTOBER GOAL
I don't know about Sasha's new goal, but my goal for the month of October, is to lose 7 lbs.  I will go from being 180 to 173.  In order to achieve this goal, I plan on going to the gym regularly again and working out.  I enjoy a variety of activities: spin, swim, elliptical, weights, yoga, dance, etc.  At this point, I'm not worried about getting in a variety because I think any activity even if it's once a week will help since I haven't been there in awhile.  For now, I would like to go at least 2x/week.  I would also like to work on the running thing again.  It's hard to do it 3x/week while going to the gym 2x/week, and playing tennis...suddenly.  So for now, I'd be impressed if I can make a "run" even 1x/week.  I took "Learn to Run" through the Running Room a few summers ago.  I like their program, but it's hard on my legs so I add a week before their 1st week of the program.  So for example, week 1 you're supposed to do run 2 min and walk 3 min for 30 minutes total.  I start with a nice long walk to let my legs warm up a bit, then for week 1, I will do run 1 min and walk 2 min for about 30 minutes.  I'll do this maybe 2-4 times before I move on to the next "week" which will probably be run 1 min walk 1 min or run 1 min walk 2 min.  Either way, I will have to do it at a slower pace and move on to the next "week" of the program at my own pace.

MY OCTOBER TO-DO LIST:
  - Go to the gym at least 2x/week
  - Run 1x/week
  - Yoga 1x/week (whether it's at home or in studio)

End of the 1st Month...

I'm back from camping!  I had a blast, once again.

I didn't do any push ups or the workout trainer.  I DID do the gangnam style dance a tiny bit and I was pretty much winded even just seconds after doing it.  How pathetic is that?  I went on a short hike on Saturday afternoon, but spent more time hunting for agates on the shore.  My thighs and back are sore...probably from bending up and down over and over again trying to balance on slippery rocks, while looking for agates!

It's the end of the month, and I plan on weighing myself tomorrow morning to see how much I've lost and/or kept off from earlier this month.  I will post my results and I'll set a new goal for the month of October.

Sore Bum & Camping

Sore Bum
Sasha and I have been doing a set of drills on the tennis court, and we played 2 days in a row this week.  All I'll say is - my butt muscles are sore from sprinting around.  I think it's from running backwards.

Camping
I'm going camping this weekend, and I'd love to bring my yoga mat and find some place peaceful on the beach where I could practice yoga.  However...I'm not that good at yoga, and I don't know what I'd do without an instructor or DVD.  This sucks.  But I will get some hiking in, and I plan on doing my push ups and workout trainer still.  I'll have 2 friends with me, and my parents...I might try to make them do it with me!!!!!

Fat Free????

I took several health classes to fulfill my electives in college.  I remember learning about how food products that advertise as "fat free," "reduced fat," calorie free," and "low calories," can be more harmful for our bodies than the regular/original items.  I've also read this in several different magazine and online articles, that backed up my textbook.  So I'm assuming many others know what nutritionists say about how these "diet" products may actually cause you to gain weight due to certain ingredients used as substitutes or fillers.

I had a conversation with a friend about this earlier today and she stated that she prefers the taste of many items listed under these categories.  We also agreed that the producers of these items probably created them to market to our large obese population, whether they knew of the harm or not.  My friend does not purchase these items because she thinks it will help her lose weight, but because she likes the taste of it.  She said about 98% of the items she buys, are advertised as these "fat free" items.  I said about 98% of the items I buy are regular/original, mainly because I'm aware of the possible harm the "fat free" items could cause in the long run.  I have 2 known items that I will always choose "reduced fat" versions of: cheez its & wheat thins.  Like my friend, I just prefer how they taste!

I think it's important for people to know what they're eating everyday.  For awhile now, I've been interested in having a more clean and whole diet.  But it's very hard to do, especially in today's world where fast and easy is the key to our busy lives.  I'd love to be able to go "raw" but that would take several years for me to be completely raw, since I'd have to slowly cut back on things, and learn new methods, etc.  But more realistically, I'd like to just make better decisions for my body, as well as my neighbors.  I think it's important to support our local businesses because it's their way of survival and less funny business in involved.  So when it comes to food choices, I'd like to try to make better decisions about where my food is coming from - meat, specifically.  The summer season is easy for me because my parents have a large vegetable garden filled with various healthy items where I can fulfill my daily nutrients with ease.

Changing my diet is also tough because I love food.  I believe that food lovers love the healthy and clean stuff  as well as the really bad-for-you, greasy stuff.  This being said, I love bad-for-you foods like McDonald's and chicken wings covered in hot sauce...as much as I love a meal consisting only of raw veggies from my mom's garden.  This is why I say I don't ever say "I'm on a diet."  I've never been a "counter" for calories, and I also don't like to restrict myself from things I love...food, being one of them.  So I try to just learn how to make better decisions.  I understand this isn't the fastest way to lose weight, but it is highly recommended by nutritionists and other health professionals because it WILL help you lose weight and it WILL be better for you in the long run.

I don't want to come off as a hypocrite because I will fully admit that I make bad decisions knowingly sometimes, and that I eat a lot of shit a lot.  But one day...I hope I can find a healthy balance and not make bad decisions knowingly.

First Workout Trainer program completed!

I finished the first free program with the Workout Trainer app!  It was a 1 week/4 workout at "casual" intensity, program.  The first 2 workouts were more cardio focused I think because I would be sweating after the first 2 minutes.  The last 2 workouts were more core and strength building I think because I didn't break into a sweat right away, but I felt sore afterwards.  I've scheduled my second free program.  It looks like Workout Trainer has only 3 free programs out of their 12 programs.  The second one is a step up from the first one, and the intensity is "moderate."  I'll start this one on Wednesday!

I've also been keeping up with my push ups app.  A few days ago, it told me I was complete with 1/3 of the program!  Tomorrow I'll be doing 36 push ups.  The sets keep getting higher (7-7-8-7-7) and the rest time is getting shorter!!!  But so far, I've been able to keep up with it with the right amount of exhaustion.

Losing my marbles!

So far, I've already lost 4 pounds since Aug 31st!  6 more pounds to lose by the end of the month, to reach my first goal.

I got this idea while searching the web for motivational quotes. It's this thing people do as a visual motivator, to help them lose weight.  So I decided to do it too.

I'm calling it, "I'm losing my marbles!"  Here it is!!!!

So each marble represents one pound.  I'm not really sure how many pounds I want to lose because I'd like to see how I feel.  I don't want to overdo it and be too skinny, if that's ever possible for me.  I didn't realize how little the marbles would look, in these bowls.  Funny thing is, when I was at the store looking at them, I kept thinking, "I need a bigger jar" or "are there enough marbles in this thing?"  I don't have a picture of the marble container...but it's big.  I barely left a dent in it.  hahaha.  I thought maybe I'd do it goal by goal.  So I put in 10 and took out the 4 pounds I've already lost.  It looked pathetic.  I KNOW I'll want to lose more weight than that...so I figured 155lbs would be a nice long term goal.  But it still looked pathetic and empty with the 30 marbles in there!  So I set my long term goal to 135lbs.  This may be un-reachable, as I haven't been 135lbs since several years ago.  I don't even know if I will look healthy at that weight.  I guess we'll find out as I lose more lbs though!

I've learned that it's really hard to lose weight when you focus on how many more pounds you have left to lose.  Especially with a large amount!  However, this is the only thing that I have or will be using/looking at during my weight loss...that will remind me of how many MORE is left to lose.  And I will try to pay more attention to the "lost!" bowl and be excited about the success.  Even if it is little, like right now.

* Sasha - I have a TON of marbles, if you want to do this as well.  You could buy smaller bowls/jars :)  They're really inexpensive.  Or you could just use mason jars (I didn't think of that one before I went to the store).

Up all night

I work at a 24hr care group home.  One of our overnight staff is on vacation this week, so I picked up tonight's overnight shift.  Usually when I do these overnights, I tend to eat a lot.  Probably because of boredom, tiredness, and boredom.  Tonight, I've been good so far.  But there's 8 more hours to go!!!!!
What are some things I can do to prevent myself from eating all night at the next overnight shift I might have to pick up?

I also had a chance to do my first workout of my first "program" through Workout Trainer.  Today's workout was about 9 minutes long and it didn't take long for me to be sweating and breathing hard!  I feel good about doing the workout, even though I just want my bed...

Workout Trainer & Bollywood

I was going to try my first workout trainer workout yesterday at work.  However, I didn't get time...so I decided to force Katie to doing it with me since I was at her apartment after work.  We had a wonderful late night workout session :)

We did the Harvard Health Warmup which was a 6 minute warmup...and boy, did it warm us up.  We were both sweating and slightly struggling through some of the routines (squats).  Then we did the Beginner BlastOFF! which is a 15 minute basic body workout.  Can I just say that parts of this was hell?  There were more squats, and it was tough especially if you're already sore!  I like that there was a variety of poses because you don't get too bored.  It was really nice having Katie do it with me because I probably would've slacked a lot more if I did it on my own.

I can feel it in my body everywhere today.  I know it was good for me, so I scheduled my first "program" through the app.  It's a free one, that is a one week - 4 workout program.  I'll let you know how it goes next week.

To wrap up the evening...Katie forced me to do a bollywood body workout DVD with her.  She chose a 15 minute session and it was hilariously fun.  We definitely learned a lot of moves from it :)  I can see how people choose to get in shape through those DVDs because I could feel the pain in my sore muscles.  However, I'd choose the workout trainer over the bollywood because it's a lot more intense.

Thanks again, Katie, for doing these with me last night!

September Goal

The September goal will be our first goal.  We are hoping to lose 10 pounds, each, by the end of the month. Yes, it's a lot...however, we figured it should be do-able since it's our first month trying to lose weight.

I weighed myself last Friday August 31st, and I weighed in at 185.  I've already lost 2lbs since then!

I plan on trying out one or two of the Workout Trainer sessions today.  I'll give an update/review on how that goes at a later time.  My arms and shoulder blades are already sore from the 14 push ups I did yesterday.  It's a good feeling :)

Android/iPhone apps

I remember awhile ago, a great local artist by the name of Jeremy Messersmith, tweeted something about a new app he installed by the name of "Push Ups."  I looked into it a few days ago, and I installed it along with another one that is called "Workout Trainer."

Push Ups:

You set a goal of how many consecutive push ups you'd like to do.  Please keep in mind that the minimum goal is 50.  So that's what I selected.  You begin by doing as many push ups you can do in a row until you can't do it anymore.  I haven't done push ups in awhile, so I was pretty much exhausted after 3.  It tells you to do the push ups every other day, so I did my first day of push ups today.  Today's sets of push ups were listed as 3-3-5-3 for a total of 14 push ups.  I started with the first 3 push ups, and it gave me 45 seconds or so to rest before going on to the next round.  It even blew a whistle at me so I didn't have to look at the timer to know when to begin again.  After you complete this, you are asked how it felt doing the set.  If it was too easy, just right, or too hard.  I struggled slightly and I could feel it getting harder with each set...but it wasn't too hard or too easy so I selected just right.  It looks like my next set for Thursday is 4-3-5-5 for a total of 17.  I'm excited to see where this takes me, because my upper body strength is kind of poor, and I always need to work on my core muscles. 

Workout Trainer:

Workout trainer isn't as simple as the Push Ups app.  However, it still looks like it'd be very useful for people who don't have a lot of time to get to the gym, or who LIKE to go do things at the gym.  I have a gym membership that I haven't been using very much lately.  But even when I DID go frequently, I always liked having options to do at home without needing any equipment...even if it was just for 5 minutes.  Well, this app is perfect for that!  There are tons of "programs" and "workouts" for you to choose to work on.   A lot of programs cost money, but there are several free options as well.  From what it looks like, most of the workouts are free.  A few have "pro" written on it and those will cost money.  You can choose a workout and it will have a description of it, with options to view examples of the workout.  It lists how many minutes the workout will take, along with the intensity level.  There is a button to "add to your calendar" and it will literally add it to your phone's calendar.  This also has a social community so you can add friends or help motivate strangers.  This also syncs with your Skimble web account, where you can also chart your physical activities.

My Fitness Pal:

I've had this on my phone for awhile now, and it is very useful.  It's an app where you can chart your food intake and exercise to help track calories.  With wi-fi connection, it automatically syncs to your web account so you can view it from the computer.  My favorite feature about the phone app is the barcode scanner.  You can easily scan whatever it is you're eating, and bam!  The info is right there on your phone already and you just have to push "add to diary."  

If you want to add me to your friends list on these apps, you can find me under my email address. 

Are there any apps you know of that have helped you or that you've heard of?