Goal Week #3

I'm going to continue working on the goals I set for myself in weeks one and two. These were to cut my portions, watch what I eat and to walk more. I've been doing well on all of them, except yesterday as I had 3 Twinkies. Yes I know I posted below that I would prefer an apple, but the problem is I also had the apple. hahaha I should have reached for it first as I was instantly satisfied after the first couple bites.

So for week three I am going to try and add in some sort of aerobic exercise. Perhaps jumping jacks and dancing as these both entertain my son as I do them. He's at that age were he tries to copy my moves so if I jump up and down, he jumps up and down. It makes for a nice game and a good way to get in some more intense exercise.



Here's some simple, no weights required exercises to try this week:

http://search.msn.com/images/results.aspx?q=jumping+jacks&FORM=MSNH11#focal=c0bf3729958646afc7eebf4aa510dbbd&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.timeinc.net%2Fhealth%2Fi%2F200804%2Fclassic-jumping-jack-225.jpg

Loving the love

Wow, just got to say seeing some comments makes me what to work that much harder. I set this blog up so I and others could have a support team. I haven't really been pushing it, just blogging in general so it is surprising when someone you don't know pops in and comments. Thanks Mrs. Dwiggins!

Oh and Courtney I am not forgetting you either...I have to make some time so I can sit down and review your blog. Readers be looking for that review later this week. I am so excited to learn about vegetarian eating....from a non-vegetarian point of view.

So I am down some in the waistline and even hubby noticed! I haven't grabbed a tape measure yet, but I'd say it has to be a couple of inches as my size 12 pants kept trying to slide down my hips. I am still very fluffy in the upper tummy but at least me pooch is starting to wane. Hopefully when school gets over in March and things start warming up around here, I'll have the energy to get out bed in the mornings and go jogging before work.

Update

How did I not post this?? Ok on the 11th I weighed myself....164.6 YIKES! This is what made me start the idea of posting weekly goals. Well in week 1 I lost 4.4 lbs!! Yep I weighed myself last night before bed and I came in at 160.2. Still not my lowest weight but hey it's a start.

Here's an update on some of the things I have posted about over the past month or so.

Walking: I am still doing this, just not everyday like I had planned. I like sleeping and have been struggling to get out of bed with enough time to get dressed, use the bathroom, eat breakfast and gather my things to head out the door. Right now I give myself enough time to do those things but have to rush out the door to get in the truck and barely make it to work on time. I'd be 20 minutes late if I tried to walk after all that. This I will try to incorporate into a weekly goal.

Juice Fast: Never did it. Thought about it but money is tight so I couldn't afford to buy the things I needed as well as the food the rest of my family needs. This is on the back burner for awhile.

Sugar: I have so, so cut back on this. I am so proud of myself. If I need sugar I snag a jolly rancher or a stick of gum. I've been eating more fruits and heck even my husband is reaching for fruit instead of the snack cakes.

Self Control and Motivation: I've been really working on these and applying them to all aspects of my life from dieting and weightloss to school, my career, my house and my family. One of my business classes is on motivation and amazingly it has really helped me to focus on the important things.

Goal Week #2

I did well with my first goal...though I never used a measuring cup.  I kept my portions small and didn't go for seconds even once.  For this week I am going to continuing working on my first goal and add a second goal of walking more.  It is freaking cold outside so I think I am getting exercise from  not only walking, but shivering like crazy too.  I can't wait until it warms up again.

My wish

I wish I had money. The kind of money that will buy me a personal trainer, a assistant to plan my day and to make me stick to it, and a nutritionist. These can be all one person, if such a person exists.

I've been doing alright with meeting my personal goal for this week. I haven't gone back for seconds, not even once. I have given into cookie temptations but limit myself to one or two. I still feel sluggish though and my brain power is waning. I need to stop procrastinating and just do but I don't do will with structure I have come to realize. I'm more of a fly by the seat of my pants kinda of person, but it is causing me some problems. I'm so tired of taking second fiddle to well....everything.

Individual Servings - Weekly Goal #1

It's 2am on Sunday the 11th of January 2009 and I am awake with a bellyache and a headache. Why? I'm an idiot that is why. For dinner all I had time for was a bowl of cheerios that was at 5:30pm. I had a 6 hours shift at the store. I nursed sugar free cappuccinos all evening until I developed the headache; I then switched to water. I was starving at midnight and because I was lucky enough to find $20 on the ground I decided to purchase my husband and I each a cheddarwurst, soda and some candy. I'd been craving twizzlers, so I bought me some of those as well.

I ate my cheddawurst with gusto, enjoyed my chewy nerds and sipped my sprite. I could have stopped there and saved the twizzlers for another day, but no I ate the entire bag. All of this junk in a two hour time span. I repulse myself at times; and so brought on the stomach ache.

I get up in 7 hours for a class. I told hubby I would make waffles for breakfast...I'll split mine with my son once again. I really need to work on myself control and sharing....I only gave hubby 1 piece of that entire twizzler bag. They were yummy though. Bah......so help me if I gain another 10 pounds this year......it better be because I am pregnant, not because I am just a slob.

So to get back to the subject header.....my goal for this week is to watch my serving sizes closely and to stop at one serving of what ever I am eating. This way even if I munch on junk, I am not killing myself. To achieve this goal I am going to keep my measuring cups close by and only purchase packages that are marked as one serving. If it is pre-measured it is less likely I will eat more than I should. If I still feel hungry after eating, I will drink a glass (or two) of water and wait 15 minutes before eating anything else.

If they can do it

I'm an Idaho Gal and proud of it so when I read in the newspaper that two of the contestants for this seasons Biggest Loser Couples were two sisters from my home state I had to go check it out. Now I missed the season premier but by what I read in the paper one sister has already been eliminated, but her other sister could work to get her back on. How exciting and motivational, I mean when you truly have someone other than yourself relying on you to succeed it makes you work that much harder. I'm looking forward to seeing who comes back in 30 days, it would be great to see them all back and to see how the team member that went home did on their own knowing what they could come back to.

Check out team Idaho er I mean Yellow here: http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/contestants/current_cast/
While you are at it check out all the teams because in the end they are all winners in my book. Got to go put this show on record now.

Progress

I've done well over the past two days. I haven't over indulged my sugar cravings at least. Tuesday afternoon I wanted a Nutty Buddy (chocolate cover peanut butter waffer) and since they come in packages of 2 I gave the other one to my husband. Yesterday I couldn't resist consuming 3 bowls of tomato soup...it was yummy and only 90 calories and hardly any fat per serving (which I did watch the serving size each time) so I didn't feel to guilty. My triumph was before dinner when I got home from work. I instinctivly reach for a strawberry snack cake, even had it unwrapped when I decided to put it back and have a bowl of cheerios with fruit instead. I really made my day. Of course the Nutty Buddies were calling my name later so again I spilt it, this time with my son.

I took one of those weight loss tests yesterday with Jillan Michaels, one of the instructors from the Biggest Loser and found out something interesting:

You're a balanced oxidizer.

Because you crave fruit and bread as well as salty foods, cheeses, and meats, you may be a balanced oxidizer. This is the fancy term for your metabolic rate. It simply means that you need equal proportions of protein, carbs, and fat to process the nutrients in your food optimally, and to produce and use the resulting energy. Lucky you — your diet is the easiest to follow! You feel your best on a diet that incorporates a wide range of foods, and your ideal macronutrient ratio is 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat. But the bottom line is, you have to burn more calories than you take in. That's it. And to really do this successfully, you have to eat the ideal diet for your body and metabolism. Believe me — I've struggled with this myself. And I've done a lot of research and work to figure out my ideal diet. And now I want to share my findings with you. I have recipes and snacks that will help you eat better for your body type. And I have secrets and tricks to make it easier. (I didn't say "easy.")

I can't afford the program she is offering in the long run it comes up to over $200 a year to get diet advice and workout tips. If I am going to fork over money I want someone to come to my house or at least meet me once or twice a week for a structured workout....I don't do well on my own when it comes to exercise. A gym environment really does help keep me motivated and kicks in my competitive self. I did like the insight I got from the test through and plan to use it. I'm not good at canceling things on time or I would order the started kit since it comes with like 5 workout dvd's for like $20...that isn't too bad. If I don't cancel within 4 weeks though they put me in the "program" and I get changed $52 every 13 weeks...honestly now that I write it down maybe it is worth it....we'll have to see what membership at the gym will cost me.

Confession of a Sugarholic

Hi my name is Merissa and I am a Sugarholic.

This is the thought that ran through my mind last night after dinner. I thought "hey I have been good so I will treat myself to two small cookies. Two turned into four and finally seven and included the small bowl of cookie dough I had leftover in the fridge. My realization point came when I took my son up to his room to change him and put him to bed. Before going upstairs I left the bowl on the couch and covered it up with my coat. I return to the couch, sit down and lift the coat.....the bowl is empty and slimy. I'm infuriated and frustrated as I track down the two possible culprits namely my dogs. Dizzy barely missed a boot as she ducked behind the couch and Rocky is covering his ears with his paws as I lay my wrath on him as well. I then sulked down on the couch and cried.
The dogs need to learn to leave things alone but they didn't deserve being chased around the house by a crazy sugar deprived woman. (Dizzy stayed behind that couch for an hour!) The epiphany I had through my sobs has lifted a terrible trouble from my shoulders. I felt awful for eating all those cookies, I wasn't even hungry. I felt saddened by my lack of control and my need to hide it. Today is a new day and you know what....I feel better, relieved.
This realization is new to me as I have struggled with my love/hate relationship with all things sugary. I shouldn't have to feel guilty because I have one cookie....but I shouldn't feel like I need it and all of its friends as well.

Here's to a new day.............

Stressing

It's only day three and I am so stressed out and tempted by the cookies that sit quietly on the counter at home. I've had 2 cups of coffee today and feel I need more. I had oatmeal with brown sugar for breakfast at 7:40am and here it is 11:30am and I am listening to my stomach growl. I was really hoping the oatmeal would last me until Noon. I'm contemplating lunch, probably some soup that won't fill me and I'll be hungry by time the workday is over. *sigh* It decided to snow this morning, a very heavy, fine snow that is sticking to everything. I won't let that stop me from walking though, I've done it for 3 days straight and I don't plan on quitting now. Now I just have to decide which dog to take with me.

2009- A new start

So its the 4th day of the new year and it has been a little rocky. First I made peanut butter brownies and promptly ate one and over the course of the next few days I ate like six!! Sure glad someone else was around to eat the rest. I did well with the rest of my meals however but was shocked to see 164.4 flash across the scale yesterday morning. Of course my resolve had me making chocolate chip cookies right before heading to my side job...which I ate 3 cookies and lots of dough...it gave me a headache. Dinner was doritios covered in nacho cheese, with shredded lettuce and tomatoes to make it appear healthy along with banana peppers because I heard spicy food helps with ones metabolism....I just got heartburn.

So this morning I am making a new start. I made waffles for breakfast splitting mine with my son. 2 cups of black coffee topped that off. I've been dancing and jumping all day to entertain my toddler and I have cleaned the floors in the kitchen and living room. As soon as I put my son to bed I am grabbing one of my hyperactive dogs and heading for a walk down the canel. I did that yesterday and it felt so good. I think the total walk is about a mile...I can't wait until the snow is gone so I can start jogging. Oh and I haven't touched a single cookie today!! I subsituted a nice crisp apple instead. Yea me!!!