Now that I've decided on a name for my personal assistant business, The Errand Fairy, I've been super busy trying to pull things together. Tina at Fat Girl Dives In is going to design my website, so I've been creating content in a word document for her. Lots of editing and fussing and trying to get it just so. I'd rather it be more personable than cold-sounding or ultra professional. I want it to reflect who I truly am.
Dwayne and I went to Office Depot last night and he bought me a planner/appointment book, a receipt book, and a mileage book to get me started. So sweet!! Today on my lunch break, I ran to the bank and set up another checking account as well as another savings account, aside from the ones I already have. I want to keep this side business separated from my current paycheck/bill paying activities, etc. for now. Next on my list to do this afternoon is to sign up for Google Check Out and PayPal as a means of taking VISA/MC as one of my payment methods. I don't understand how either of these work, so I've got to jump in, do some reading, figure it out, and get them set up. Just trying to get started is a lot of work!! But I'm so looking forward to this new venture for 2011. It feels positive...it feels good....it feels right. :)
My friends Kim and Crys have already vowed to hire me when I get up and running and I'm so thankful for that!! Having 2 clients before you even get your website up is encouraging, and I thank them for believing in me and wanting to help me get my business off the ground. If I've got any fellow Atlanta bloggers reading...call me!! lol
Hope everyone is doing well with easing into the new year. Personally, I've taken off like a shot! And I haven't forgotten that this is a weight loss blog, first and foremost. I'll get to Walmart this wknd to buy those scale batteries, pay the piper, and get that show back on the road, so you'll be hearing more about that soon.
Before I go, I want to share something with you that made me laugh out loud last night. I've got a blog friend named Matt, at Lots to Lose, listed on my blogroll. He commented last night on my post about naming my business The Errand Fairy. He said as soon as he read that in my post, his daughter came in and tried to sweet talk him into going to the store to pick up some junk food for her, and he turned to her and said, "I ain't your ERRAND FAIRY!!!" lmao .....LOVE IT!! Thanks for all of your support Matt, and to everyone else who has been wishing me well on my new endeavor. Have a fabulous day friends. :)
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Scratch That
Ok....so the last post I did stated that I found a business name. It was Dwayne's suggestion. We tried to do Right Hand Ma'am, as Pat at "ishitunot" suggested. But it was already taken....cool website too, by the way. So Dwayne was going off of that and suggested "Last Minute Ma'am"....with the thought process of last minute errands that people didn't have time to get to, etc. So I went to Go Daddy....bought a URL with my full name as the url address, and then chose the sublet name of Last Minute Ma'am for my company. About 2 hours later, I decided I hated it, lol. In and of itself, the name doesn't really work. It made more sense going off of Right Hand Ma'am...but nobody else would know that. So it stinks, and I'm dumping it.
I was laying in bed last night and thought of "The Errand Fairy". I just googled it when I got to work. Someone out in California has that name, but nowhere in metro Atlanta. So I'm going with "The Errand Fairy" as the company name, but when I tried to set up the email with yahoo, it was already taken, so I pluralized it. My email is now errandfairies@yahoo.com. Still got some other things to work out and will be working on that today! :)
I was laying in bed last night and thought of "The Errand Fairy". I just googled it when I got to work. Someone out in California has that name, but nowhere in metro Atlanta. So I'm going with "The Errand Fairy" as the company name, but when I tried to set up the email with yahoo, it was already taken, so I pluralized it. My email is now errandfairies@yahoo.com. Still got some other things to work out and will be working on that today! :)
Monday, December 27, 2010
Eureka!
I think I've got the business name figured out. Sadly enough, it didn't come from any of my awesome followers....though I tried!! Right Hand Ma'am really struck me....as well as I'm On It!! Alas, I googled them, and both of those had already been taken as a name for a personal assistant business. I'm telling you....I've had 50 good ideas in the last 2 weeks that have ALL been previously confiscated. It's been maddening!
I was sitting here stewing at the computer....looking at the google screen...and finally got as basic as I could. I typed in "You Need Help" + personal assitant and lo and behold nothing came up....I thought I'd found it! But then I went on Go Daddy and found out that the URL is on backorder...my only chance of getting it is winning an auction. Forget that. So I went with Dwayne's idea of "Last Minute Ma'am".....I set up my url as my full name at Go Daddy...and my sublet company name is now "Last Minute Ma'am". I also set up a business email at YahooMail. It's called lastminutemaam@yahoo.com. Next I need to get with Tina to start getting the website set up.
By the way, I'm meeting Tina from Fat Girl Dives In and Crys from Bigger Than My Body this Wednesday after work for dinner....trying to get in touch with Kim to see if she can meet us, too....so excited!!! Tina is designing my website for me, and Crys said she'll be my best and most loyal client!!!! Kim also told me last week that she would definitely hire me to do some home organizing for her. Woo Hoo!! I'm off to a GREAT start!!
Thanks for ALL of your ideas...I truly appreciate your help...and can't wait to keep everyone updated on my new business venture. :)
I was sitting here stewing at the computer....looking at the google screen...and finally got as basic as I could. I typed in "You Need Help" + personal assitant and lo and behold nothing came up....I thought I'd found it! But then I went on Go Daddy and found out that the URL is on backorder...my only chance of getting it is winning an auction. Forget that. So I went with Dwayne's idea of "Last Minute Ma'am".....I set up my url as my full name at Go Daddy...and my sublet company name is now "Last Minute Ma'am". I also set up a business email at YahooMail. It's called lastminutemaam@yahoo.com. Next I need to get with Tina to start getting the website set up.
By the way, I'm meeting Tina from Fat Girl Dives In and Crys from Bigger Than My Body this Wednesday after work for dinner....trying to get in touch with Kim to see if she can meet us, too....so excited!!! Tina is designing my website for me, and Crys said she'll be my best and most loyal client!!!! Kim also told me last week that she would definitely hire me to do some home organizing for her. Woo Hoo!! I'm off to a GREAT start!!
Thanks for ALL of your ideas...I truly appreciate your help...and can't wait to keep everyone updated on my new business venture. :)
Update On My New Business Name
The update is that I'm still looking! Thank you so much for the suggestions that are starting to come in. I've been thinking on this for 2 solid weeks and can't believe how hard it is to come up with something that hasn't already been taken. I really love "At Your Service" that Kelly and Brenda suggested, but I googled it and there's already a couple of errand svcs in Marietta, Ga. that have that name...drats!! I wanted to throw out there that I was also considering using my initials as part of it from my first and middle name. "T.J.'s something or other...." Keep those ideas coming....surely we'll come up with something that nobody else has yet!! Thanks so much!! :)
Sunday, December 26, 2010
All About My Life
This blog has definitely transitioned over the last year and a half from a weight-loss inspired one, to all about my entire life. It's been an interesting ride to say the least. Lots of highs, lots of lows...it's all in here. I actually kind of like it like this....the "journaling" or blogging has provided an outlet I've never had before. Some things solve themselves simply by writing them out. Others are worked out from hearing the comments, ideas and suggestions from my dear blog friends. I've made some really close, fantastic personal friendships from this blog, too....and I think that's been the absolute best part. I want to thank all of you who read and/or comment for spending this last year and a half with me....and I can't wait to see what happens this year. I hope you'll come along for the ride. :)
What's on the horizon for 2011 thus far? Two things that I'll tell you briefly, and expand more on it later. The number one thing is Dwayne and I made a pact back in October to quit smoking the first of the year....so one more week, and we should be at each other's throats with our nicotine fits. Let's hope we both survive it, lol. We've both tried to quit several times in the past..separately...but now that we're around each other 24 hrs/day, I told him if I was going to quit, he was going to have to also, because I wouldn't be able to handle him smoking around me all the time. Since I gave him 3 months notice...he agreed. And he's sticking to it. He's going to buy some Nicorette gum for us to wean ourselves off the smoking....and then I guess we'll move to regular chewing gum. Naturally....being a FAT girl...my main concern (besides ripping his head off) is gaining MORE weight. We've all heard when you quit smoking, you trade it out with eating more. Probably the hand to mouth habit? Oh I really don't want to go there.....so pray for me friends. I really want to beat it this time...and not get any fatter in the process.
Speaking of fatter, the battery in my scale died 2 weeks ago. I want to 2 different Walmarts to replace it, and they were sold out. The last Walmart actually told me the batteries had been back ordered for nearly 2 weeks now. WTF?? Are scale batteries really that popular, lol...so anyway. Going to try to find one again before the new year gets here.
The 2nd bit of news for the new year is I'm starting up a side business. My HOPE and DREAM is to grow it big enough to eventually be able to quit my current job. My first goal is to get it big enough to go part time at work by this June. I hope I can do that in 6 months time, but I'm just going to do my best and see what happens. I have a friend in Charleston, SC who has a personal assistant/concierge business and I'm modeling my business after hers. Personal errands, etc.....the list of services I'm offering spans a wide variety of things. I'm setting up a free website and my FABULOUS friend Tina is helping me design it. Tina from Fat Girl Dives In is a graphic artist with mad skills....her resume is truly impressive. If you need any work done, don't waste your money going anywhere else. Go straight to Tina. She's the best. :) You can always contact her through her blog, listed on my blogroll.
I've asked several people for help naming the business (thanks Jack!) but haven't totally settled on one yet. So I'm throwing it out there.......got any ideas? Tina suggested "Go-to-girl-Atlanta"...but I googled it and found "Atlanta-Go-To-Girl"....and that's too close. I don't want to get confused with the other person, so I'm still looking. My favorite suggestion from Jack Sh*t was "Chore Whore" but somehow I don't think that will go over too well. Still makes me laugh out loud though. :) I want to figure out the name first, because it will be on my business cards, and I'm going to build the rest of my website around it, so throw your suggestions at me and if I pick YOURS....I'll be mailing you a little gift as a token of my appreciation. :)
I hope everyone had a very safe and happy holiday....MERRY CHRISTMAS to each and everyone of you....and only a week 'til the NEW YEAR is upon us. Wish me luck in my new endeavors...and don't forget to send me those suggestions for the business name based on a personal assistant/errand business. To give you an example....some of the ones in my area are called "Just In Time" and "Xtra Pair of Hands". Thanks everyone! :)
What's on the horizon for 2011 thus far? Two things that I'll tell you briefly, and expand more on it later. The number one thing is Dwayne and I made a pact back in October to quit smoking the first of the year....so one more week, and we should be at each other's throats with our nicotine fits. Let's hope we both survive it, lol. We've both tried to quit several times in the past..separately...but now that we're around each other 24 hrs/day, I told him if I was going to quit, he was going to have to also, because I wouldn't be able to handle him smoking around me all the time. Since I gave him 3 months notice...he agreed. And he's sticking to it. He's going to buy some Nicorette gum for us to wean ourselves off the smoking....and then I guess we'll move to regular chewing gum. Naturally....being a FAT girl...my main concern (besides ripping his head off) is gaining MORE weight. We've all heard when you quit smoking, you trade it out with eating more. Probably the hand to mouth habit? Oh I really don't want to go there.....so pray for me friends. I really want to beat it this time...and not get any fatter in the process.
Speaking of fatter, the battery in my scale died 2 weeks ago. I want to 2 different Walmarts to replace it, and they were sold out. The last Walmart actually told me the batteries had been back ordered for nearly 2 weeks now. WTF?? Are scale batteries really that popular, lol...so anyway. Going to try to find one again before the new year gets here.
The 2nd bit of news for the new year is I'm starting up a side business. My HOPE and DREAM is to grow it big enough to eventually be able to quit my current job. My first goal is to get it big enough to go part time at work by this June. I hope I can do that in 6 months time, but I'm just going to do my best and see what happens. I have a friend in Charleston, SC who has a personal assistant/concierge business and I'm modeling my business after hers. Personal errands, etc.....the list of services I'm offering spans a wide variety of things. I'm setting up a free website and my FABULOUS friend Tina is helping me design it. Tina from Fat Girl Dives In is a graphic artist with mad skills....her resume is truly impressive. If you need any work done, don't waste your money going anywhere else. Go straight to Tina. She's the best. :) You can always contact her through her blog, listed on my blogroll.
I've asked several people for help naming the business (thanks Jack!) but haven't totally settled on one yet. So I'm throwing it out there.......got any ideas? Tina suggested "Go-to-girl-Atlanta"...but I googled it and found "Atlanta-Go-To-Girl"....and that's too close. I don't want to get confused with the other person, so I'm still looking. My favorite suggestion from Jack Sh*t was "Chore Whore" but somehow I don't think that will go over too well. Still makes me laugh out loud though. :) I want to figure out the name first, because it will be on my business cards, and I'm going to build the rest of my website around it, so throw your suggestions at me and if I pick YOURS....I'll be mailing you a little gift as a token of my appreciation. :)
I hope everyone had a very safe and happy holiday....MERRY CHRISTMAS to each and everyone of you....and only a week 'til the NEW YEAR is upon us. Wish me luck in my new endeavors...and don't forget to send me those suggestions for the business name based on a personal assistant/errand business. To give you an example....some of the ones in my area are called "Just In Time" and "Xtra Pair of Hands". Thanks everyone! :)
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Top 50 Diet Blog Award...Me???
I received an award? For a Top 50 diet blog from Diet Spotlight? Ummmm....you can all stop laughing now, lol..
Yeah...I know it's crazy. It's still an honor, no matter how misguided Diet Spotlight may be, lol. Here's the link showing all 50 blogs that were chosen. Congrats to all of my friends and fellow bloggers who also won!
http://www.dietspotlight.com/top-50-diet-blogs
Monday, December 20, 2010
This Is Getting Ridiculous
My great aunt Voncille died a month ago. My aunt Terri died last weekend. While she was being buried, her father, who lay in the hospital with cancer, also died the same day. My best friend Shane, who I was roommates with for 5 years before he married, is at the hospital now with his dad who is dying. His dad has been in the hospital for 2 weeks now and is steadily getting worse by the day. One of my girlfriends, who is like me and has no human children...only doggie children, told me today that one of her babies is dying of a cancerous tumor.
I have never experienced so much death and dying during a holiday season before. This is too much. Too many of my loved ones are sad and suffering... and I'm sad. We all need some peace and prayers.
I have never experienced so much death and dying during a holiday season before. This is too much. Too many of my loved ones are sad and suffering... and I'm sad. We all need some peace and prayers.
Friday, December 17, 2010
My Sweet Friend Tina
I had dinner last night with Tina from Fat Girl Dives In. Can I tell you how much I love this girl? She's so much fun to be with...so easy to talk to...so down-to-earth, funny...no pretenses...just one of those genuine, caring people. Well last night I discovered another adjective to use when describing her...thoughtful. She brought me a gift to dinner, and I brought her one as well. I gave her 3 little loaves of Christmas bread in a basket with a holiday cup and hot chocolate to enjoy. She gave me 2 big bags of FRESH PRODUCE from the Farmer's Market. She had read a blog post I wrote a couple of weeks ago saying I wouldn't be buying any groceries this month because I needed every last penny to buy Christmas gifts for my family and Dwayne and Scarlette. I wrote that I had plenty of food in the freezer and pantry to make it through the month....it just wouldn't be very balanced with no fresh produce. So that was her Christmas gift to me....just so thoughtful...makes me want to cry!!! I love my gift...and brought some fruit with me to work today....fresh fruit...oh how I've missed you!! I also have some fresh veggies at home now that I get to cook up later tonight after my dinner with my other awesome friend, Kim. I'm very blessed and thankful to have such good friends in my life...and I want everyone else to know just how awesome they are, too. :)
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Enjoying the Season
Just dropping in to say hi real quick. I've been busy baking all kinds of Christmas cookies and breads for gift baskets for friends and family. I'm meeting Tina at Fat Girl Dives In tonight for dinner and Kim at All About the Bottom Line for dinner on Friday. Very excited about getting to spend some quality time with my friends during the holiday season. I hope all of you are enjoying the season, too! :)
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Remembering Aunt Terri
My Aunt Terri lost her battle with breast cancer this weekend and was laid to rest today. It's been a reminiscent weekend.....fond memories mingled with tears. Don't really feel like talking about anything else right now, other than to remind you to hold your loved ones near, let them know they're appreciated and treasured, and remember that you can never say "I love you" too many times. Take care friends.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
New Goal Weight
I just updated my stats on my sidebar with last week's weigh-in. I also updated my goal weight. I changed it from 170 lbs. to 199 lbs. Why? Because I was sick of staring at 170 and it feeling so far away...and, just because I can. :)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
S.A.D.
I wonder if I have Seasonal Affective Disorder. I first wondered this last winter, having never experienced it before. I might have blogged about it...I don't remember now. But I think I just chalked up the unexplained sadness to being on unemployment for so long. This time, I have a job...and while things are still hard, they're not as hard as they were last year, yet I'm having the same feelings. I broke down and cried at my desk today at work for no apparent reason. I really wonder if it's simply the cold and the grey. It's weird because winter has always been my favorite season. The colder the better....and it also encompasses my favorite holiday...Christmas. I'm sitting here at home now, surrounded by my Christmas decorations and the lights twinkling on the tree. The heat is set on 70 and is running, but it's in the 30's outside. I am freezing my ass off. I can't seem to get warm enough...and the sadness is overwhelming and unexplained. This totally sucks. I need to be finishing my baking for the baskets I have to deliver this wknd and I just can't seem to drag myself to the kitchen to do it.
Leslie texted me a few minutes ago just to see how I was doing....and I told her I was trying to talk myself out of ordering Chinese food. I'm sitting at 1300 cals right now and haven't had any dinner yet. I'm a little scared to eat anything, because I'm afraid whatever I choose is going to be the wrong thing, and too much of it...for all the wrong reasons. I crawled out from under my blanket and got off the couch to come to the computer and blog about this crap. Is it even possible to have SAD when you're already on Zoloft? That doesn't seem right. Maybe that's not what's wrong....but this feeling has been looming for the last few days and it finally overwhelmed me today and brought me to tears. And I have the ridiculous desire to eat bad, bad things. Just the thought of that brought me to tears again a few minutes ago. I hate having this food addiction. This is my favorite season of the year...the time that I should be the happiest. And I'm just not right now.
I've been thinking about something Allan said several weeks back in a post, about treating his weight problem like Fat Cancer. He gives it that level of seriousness to get the weight off as quickly as possible, eating around 1200 cals. a day. He's dropped a ton of weight and has held fast to his plan. I have really tried hard over these last few weeks to get that kind of mindset for myself...Fat Cancer....and I can't seem to grasp it. I fail so easily....and have for such a long time, and it's very discouraging. I haven't lost any weight in an entire year. I'm about the same thing now that I was at this time last year. I keep asking myself why...what is wrong with me? Do I not want it bad enough? I start to think that's what it is...but then try to put on a pair of pants to go to work in the morning and they don't fit right now. Then the feeling of disgust moves in...and I think that yes, I do want to lose the weight....but back to why haven't I?
Then I think about one of Chris' posts at A Deliberate Life a while back about cleaning out your chicken coop. She said that you're never going to get the weight off and keep it off if you don't dig down and get to the root of the problem....the reason you let yourself get obese in the first place. I've scratched around and scratched around, and I can't find out what the heck is in my coop full of poop. What is it? I can't seem to find it? Is it possible to be that friggin' fat and not have a reason? That doesn't seem right....but if it is, that's even more maddening.
Ok, so I know I'm rambling....just trying to keep from eating, so decided to blog instead. Still no answers, but I'm still at 1300 cals today. Thank God for that. I think I need to go to bed soon. 'Nite friends, and thanks for listening.
Leslie texted me a few minutes ago just to see how I was doing....and I told her I was trying to talk myself out of ordering Chinese food. I'm sitting at 1300 cals right now and haven't had any dinner yet. I'm a little scared to eat anything, because I'm afraid whatever I choose is going to be the wrong thing, and too much of it...for all the wrong reasons. I crawled out from under my blanket and got off the couch to come to the computer and blog about this crap. Is it even possible to have SAD when you're already on Zoloft? That doesn't seem right. Maybe that's not what's wrong....but this feeling has been looming for the last few days and it finally overwhelmed me today and brought me to tears. And I have the ridiculous desire to eat bad, bad things. Just the thought of that brought me to tears again a few minutes ago. I hate having this food addiction. This is my favorite season of the year...the time that I should be the happiest. And I'm just not right now.
I've been thinking about something Allan said several weeks back in a post, about treating his weight problem like Fat Cancer. He gives it that level of seriousness to get the weight off as quickly as possible, eating around 1200 cals. a day. He's dropped a ton of weight and has held fast to his plan. I have really tried hard over these last few weeks to get that kind of mindset for myself...Fat Cancer....and I can't seem to grasp it. I fail so easily....and have for such a long time, and it's very discouraging. I haven't lost any weight in an entire year. I'm about the same thing now that I was at this time last year. I keep asking myself why...what is wrong with me? Do I not want it bad enough? I start to think that's what it is...but then try to put on a pair of pants to go to work in the morning and they don't fit right now. Then the feeling of disgust moves in...and I think that yes, I do want to lose the weight....but back to why haven't I?
Then I think about one of Chris' posts at A Deliberate Life a while back about cleaning out your chicken coop. She said that you're never going to get the weight off and keep it off if you don't dig down and get to the root of the problem....the reason you let yourself get obese in the first place. I've scratched around and scratched around, and I can't find out what the heck is in my coop full of poop. What is it? I can't seem to find it? Is it possible to be that friggin' fat and not have a reason? That doesn't seem right....but if it is, that's even more maddening.
Ok, so I know I'm rambling....just trying to keep from eating, so decided to blog instead. Still no answers, but I'm still at 1300 cals today. Thank God for that. I think I need to go to bed soon. 'Nite friends, and thanks for listening.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Final Challenge Weigh-In
This morning was the final weigh in for the Phase 2 of Allan's Challenge. I was up 8 lbs. last week....this week I lost 7 of those lbs for a weigh-in of 243 lbs. Yay! I've got lots of baking to do today to start getting out my gift baskets...hope everyone else is having a GREAT weekend!! :)
Thursday, December 2, 2010
I've Been Tagged
One of my most favoritest people in the world, Leslie at Something Brilliant Is Brewing, tagged me in a recent post. She gave me 4 questions to answer. Normally I suck at receving awards, passing them on, answering these types of questions, etc....but since it's YOU Leslie, I'll play along today. :)
1. Who has had the most influence in your life and why?
Aside from God, my Saviour, the answer is hands down, my parents. They are amazing. You just couldn't ask for any better. They've taught me valuable lessons...helped me when I needed it w/o handing me everything on a silver platter....both have excellent work ethics...both have always told me I can do anything I want to do..the sky's the limit....both believe in me fully and support my every endeavor...especially the one to lose weight. Mom has a heart the size of Texas and I learned compassion for others through her. I remember when I was a child...one of my sister's friends Mom was having a hard time financially. She was going through a divorce, was raising 3 kids on her own (maybe 4...can't remember exactly..I was young)...but what I DO remember is that mom wanted to help her out...so she sold the lady her car...for $1.00. Even at such a young age, I remember that totally blew me away. It's just one example of thousands through the years where my mom has given of herself to help others. I learned it from her.
My dad is equally as amazing. I don't know another man on the face of this earth with the strength of character that my dad has. What's always impressed me about him is he's as honest as they come. If you ask him a question, he'll tell you the truth every time, whether it hurts or not. He believes that honesty is more important than saving your feelings, and in my lifetime, that's been hard to find. It means I can always count on him, no matter what...and I cherish that feeling. My parents, now both in retirement, are now helping to raise their 5 grandkids the same way they raised me and my 2 sisters. Me, my sisters and my nieces and nephews are so blessed to have them. They are a treasure to all of us....still married after 38 years...loving, disciplining, encouraging...a special commodity today. I am blessed, indeed.
2. What is your favorite quality about yourself....and what would you change about yourself?
My favorite quality is the one derived from my mom...compassion and a desire to help others. I truly care about others and want to do all I can to help in any way I can. It gives me joy to help someone who truly needs it. My blessing has also always been my curse. Helping others to the point of giving the shirt off of my back or my last dollar leaves me with ....well...no shirt and no dollars. lol. Ironically enough, my mom...the one who I learned to help others through....has also been the strongest one in telling me to learn how to say "no" sometimes. I've done a lot better with this over the past few years and came to learn the truths and value in what she meant in not giving to the point of hurting myself.
What I would change....is my lack of self-discipline and lack of consistency and focus in the weight loss department. I read where Allan commented in one of his posts recently that if you've been in the weight loss blogging forum for a year and you haven't lose any weight or made much progress, that's not good. Yeah...no shit. lol So this is one of my most glaring flaws and the one that really needs changing the most in my opinion.
3. When was the last time you cried?
Let's see....that would be Monday night, lol. On my cycle, in a tremendous amount of pain, and the mood is straight from Hell. Scarlette kept me up til 3:30am Sunday night w/ barking, etc...so only 3 hours of sleep before work on Monday....no bueno. By Monday night I was exhausted, in a shitty mood, and Dwayne said something that rubbed me the wrong way. So I went to bed and cried.
4. Best vacation ever?
I can't pick just one...but I'll sum it up by saying any/all beach trips to Hilton Head, SC with Dwayne. Special times. :)
1. Who has had the most influence in your life and why?
Aside from God, my Saviour, the answer is hands down, my parents. They are amazing. You just couldn't ask for any better. They've taught me valuable lessons...helped me when I needed it w/o handing me everything on a silver platter....both have excellent work ethics...both have always told me I can do anything I want to do..the sky's the limit....both believe in me fully and support my every endeavor...especially the one to lose weight. Mom has a heart the size of Texas and I learned compassion for others through her. I remember when I was a child...one of my sister's friends Mom was having a hard time financially. She was going through a divorce, was raising 3 kids on her own (maybe 4...can't remember exactly..I was young)...but what I DO remember is that mom wanted to help her out...so she sold the lady her car...for $1.00. Even at such a young age, I remember that totally blew me away. It's just one example of thousands through the years where my mom has given of herself to help others. I learned it from her.
My dad is equally as amazing. I don't know another man on the face of this earth with the strength of character that my dad has. What's always impressed me about him is he's as honest as they come. If you ask him a question, he'll tell you the truth every time, whether it hurts or not. He believes that honesty is more important than saving your feelings, and in my lifetime, that's been hard to find. It means I can always count on him, no matter what...and I cherish that feeling. My parents, now both in retirement, are now helping to raise their 5 grandkids the same way they raised me and my 2 sisters. Me, my sisters and my nieces and nephews are so blessed to have them. They are a treasure to all of us....still married after 38 years...loving, disciplining, encouraging...a special commodity today. I am blessed, indeed.
2. What is your favorite quality about yourself....and what would you change about yourself?
My favorite quality is the one derived from my mom...compassion and a desire to help others. I truly care about others and want to do all I can to help in any way I can. It gives me joy to help someone who truly needs it. My blessing has also always been my curse. Helping others to the point of giving the shirt off of my back or my last dollar leaves me with ....well...no shirt and no dollars. lol. Ironically enough, my mom...the one who I learned to help others through....has also been the strongest one in telling me to learn how to say "no" sometimes. I've done a lot better with this over the past few years and came to learn the truths and value in what she meant in not giving to the point of hurting myself.
What I would change....is my lack of self-discipline and lack of consistency and focus in the weight loss department. I read where Allan commented in one of his posts recently that if you've been in the weight loss blogging forum for a year and you haven't lose any weight or made much progress, that's not good. Yeah...no shit. lol So this is one of my most glaring flaws and the one that really needs changing the most in my opinion.
3. When was the last time you cried?
Let's see....that would be Monday night, lol. On my cycle, in a tremendous amount of pain, and the mood is straight from Hell. Scarlette kept me up til 3:30am Sunday night w/ barking, etc...so only 3 hours of sleep before work on Monday....no bueno. By Monday night I was exhausted, in a shitty mood, and Dwayne said something that rubbed me the wrong way. So I went to bed and cried.
4. Best vacation ever?
I can't pick just one...but I'll sum it up by saying any/all beach trips to Hilton Head, SC with Dwayne. Special times. :)
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
I Love This Season
I've got classic Christmas songs playing softly on my computer now here at work...ahhhh. So happy. :)
Time to get down to the nitty gritty with my budget this last month of the year. I budget $100 for groceries out of each of my 2 checks per month. Instead of buying groceries this month, I'm using that $200 to wrap up all of my Christmas shopping. I'll be eating what's already in my pantry, fridge and freezer. There's enough food to last for the month....just won't be very balanced meals due to running out of fresh produce soon. But it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
Dwayne bought some baking supplies for me, so I'll be starting my holiday baking this weekend. I bake 2x a year....one weekend in the Fall, I make a couple of pumpkin rolls. I kept half of one at home for Dwayne, and gave the other half of that one to his mom. The other one I brought into work for my co-workers to enjoy. The other baking time is during the month of December. I bake cookies and mini loaves of Christmas bread as well as make chocolate-covered popcorn and chocolate-covered pretzels w/ sprinkles. It is a LOT of work, very time-consuming...and I love doing it this time of year. I make baskets filled with the homemade goodies and shrink wrap them, then tie them up with a big, beautiful bow and an ornament attached.
This year I'll be giving one to my parents, one to my sister Brandy and her husband, and one to my sister Amy. Also my sweet friend Kim, my supervisor and friend Billie and her husband (my ex-roommate) Shane, and my friend Melissa and her husband Aaron, and their precious little 4-year old daughter, Abby.
This is such a blessed time of year. There is a certain magic in giving from the heart...I encourage you all to do as much giving as you can. Make a difference in someone else's life this beautiful holiday season. :)
Time to get down to the nitty gritty with my budget this last month of the year. I budget $100 for groceries out of each of my 2 checks per month. Instead of buying groceries this month, I'm using that $200 to wrap up all of my Christmas shopping. I'll be eating what's already in my pantry, fridge and freezer. There's enough food to last for the month....just won't be very balanced meals due to running out of fresh produce soon. But it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
Dwayne bought some baking supplies for me, so I'll be starting my holiday baking this weekend. I bake 2x a year....one weekend in the Fall, I make a couple of pumpkin rolls. I kept half of one at home for Dwayne, and gave the other half of that one to his mom. The other one I brought into work for my co-workers to enjoy. The other baking time is during the month of December. I bake cookies and mini loaves of Christmas bread as well as make chocolate-covered popcorn and chocolate-covered pretzels w/ sprinkles. It is a LOT of work, very time-consuming...and I love doing it this time of year. I make baskets filled with the homemade goodies and shrink wrap them, then tie them up with a big, beautiful bow and an ornament attached.
This year I'll be giving one to my parents, one to my sister Brandy and her husband, and one to my sister Amy. Also my sweet friend Kim, my supervisor and friend Billie and her husband (my ex-roommate) Shane, and my friend Melissa and her husband Aaron, and their precious little 4-year old daughter, Abby.
This is such a blessed time of year. There is a certain magic in giving from the heart...I encourage you all to do as much giving as you can. Make a difference in someone else's life this beautiful holiday season. :)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
That's What I Thought
I reported a gain of 8 lbs this week, weighing in on Sunday at 250 lbs, and reported it in my last post. I didn't freak out about it, because I knew it was mostly due to my cycle....which is still going strong this morning. Nothing like the feeling of an elephant tap dancing on your ovaries. I also knew part of it was due to some serious sodium ingestion from eating every meal out for 2 days while Christmas shopping with Dwayne on Friday and Saturday. I knew that I made decent choices in the restaurants...for example, we went to Marietta Fish Market on Friday. Dwayne had the fried flounder sandwich and I chose grilled grouper. After 2 good days of being on plan and drinking ALL of my water both days, I hopped back on the scale this morning. Back down to 246...just as I thought, the sodium is releasing, and I'm back to dealing with the cycle gain as expected. I can NOT wait til this wknd gets here so I can start feeling back to normal and not like a puffer fish. :)
Sunday, November 28, 2010
I've Got Mad Skillz
Today was weigh-in day for the Allan's challenge and I gained 8 lbs. How's that for talented? Here's a recap of my awesome weekend...
Thanksgiving was a success. I went to Mom's for a couple of hours, ate 1 moderate plate, plus one more spoon of potato salad. There was turtle cheesecake, pecan pie and pumpkin pies for dessert...I had one teensy bite of my sister's cheesecake and that was IT for my dessert. The only leftovers I brought home for myself was a small bit of turkey. Extremely proud of myself....extremely.
As you all know, I struggle w/ a monstrous, painful cycle 2 weeks out of every 4 weeks, every single month. I have PCOS. The only "cure" for it is to lose a massive amount of weight. Ha.
I started my cycle last Sunday night...weighing in at 242 that morning for the challenge. By Tuesday morning I had full-on bloat and the scale said 246....I ate 1800 cals that Sun, and 1200 that Monday....so I knew the 4 lb. gain was all water, and I wasn't upset over it....just felt like sh*t, physically. The next time I got on the scale was Friday morning, after Thanksgiving dinner. I was 246 lbs...no change.
Moving onto Friday and Saturday. Dwayne and I had a fantastic time together this weekend. We shopped for 6-7 hours on Friday, and another 6 hours of shopping on Saturday, and we ate EVERY meal in a restaurant for 2 days. Water? What's water? I drank almost none. Instead, I've had 2 Cokes, too much of the 60 calorie, no sugar added, Swiss Miss hot chocolate, and lots of coffee w/ creamer....with a little water thrown in.
I'm in mid-cycle now...one week down, one week to go...and this is the point where my mood normally goes downhill very fast. Still having terrible cramps....major lower back and ovary pain....and I'm sooo over it, but can't do anything about it for another week. However, my happiness from my weekend with Dwayne is actually overriding the normal bad mood and bad attitude that mid-cycle always provides.
He helped me with some Christmas shopping money....we found some fantastic sales....he bought me some new clothes that I've desperately needed., etc. Dwayne doesn't follow a budget, he just buys whatever, whenever. His last phone was $300. Well it finally died Saturday, so he ran to the store to get a new one. Following MY budgeting skills (finally!).....he chose $150 phone instead of the $300 one. I was quite impressed and happy that he's paying closer attention to his money. He was out doing some of his own Christmas shopping, while I was out buying the clothes he gave me money for, and hitting some different sales for Christmas shopping on my own. After 6 hours, we met back up at home and he told me about the phone. He knows that I always buy the least expensive phone I can find in the store. The last one I bought was $80...and it works just fine. He told me he say a $100 phone on sale for $50 and really wanted to buy it for me as an early Christmas present.....so back out we went and bought the phone. It was very sweet of him...and I'm thrilled with a few new tops, 2 new pair of pants, a new pair of shoes, and a new phone.
We decorated our little apt together this weekend for Christmas and it's just adorable. I found a CD at the Dollar Store....the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra...and it's playing quietly in the background. The lights on the tree are twinkling....and despite the cramps....I am happy.
Am I bothered by the 8 lb. gain? Sure...of course I am. But I am not wallowing in guilt over it. I know that getting back to drinking 180-200 oz. of water a day will take care of a lot of it.....my cycle ending next weekend will take care of some more of it. And I've had such a good weekend with Dwayne and Scarlette that this just happens to trump any bad feelings I have over that gain. I know I didn't gain 8 lbs. of fat...I know what I did wrong w/ ingesting so much sodium in the restaurant foods and drinking next to no water...so I know how to turn it around. I also know I set a plan for my Thanksgiving dinner....one of moderation...and I stuck to it. For that, I am extremely proud.
More shopping today....we're heading out shortly....and then it's back to business. I hope everyone else is having a fabulous weekend, too. :)
Thanksgiving was a success. I went to Mom's for a couple of hours, ate 1 moderate plate, plus one more spoon of potato salad. There was turtle cheesecake, pecan pie and pumpkin pies for dessert...I had one teensy bite of my sister's cheesecake and that was IT for my dessert. The only leftovers I brought home for myself was a small bit of turkey. Extremely proud of myself....extremely.
As you all know, I struggle w/ a monstrous, painful cycle 2 weeks out of every 4 weeks, every single month. I have PCOS. The only "cure" for it is to lose a massive amount of weight. Ha.
I started my cycle last Sunday night...weighing in at 242 that morning for the challenge. By Tuesday morning I had full-on bloat and the scale said 246....I ate 1800 cals that Sun, and 1200 that Monday....so I knew the 4 lb. gain was all water, and I wasn't upset over it....just felt like sh*t, physically. The next time I got on the scale was Friday morning, after Thanksgiving dinner. I was 246 lbs...no change.
Moving onto Friday and Saturday. Dwayne and I had a fantastic time together this weekend. We shopped for 6-7 hours on Friday, and another 6 hours of shopping on Saturday, and we ate EVERY meal in a restaurant for 2 days. Water? What's water? I drank almost none. Instead, I've had 2 Cokes, too much of the 60 calorie, no sugar added, Swiss Miss hot chocolate, and lots of coffee w/ creamer....with a little water thrown in.
I'm in mid-cycle now...one week down, one week to go...and this is the point where my mood normally goes downhill very fast. Still having terrible cramps....major lower back and ovary pain....and I'm sooo over it, but can't do anything about it for another week. However, my happiness from my weekend with Dwayne is actually overriding the normal bad mood and bad attitude that mid-cycle always provides.
He helped me with some Christmas shopping money....we found some fantastic sales....he bought me some new clothes that I've desperately needed., etc. Dwayne doesn't follow a budget, he just buys whatever, whenever. His last phone was $300. Well it finally died Saturday, so he ran to the store to get a new one. Following MY budgeting skills (finally!).....he chose $150 phone instead of the $300 one. I was quite impressed and happy that he's paying closer attention to his money. He was out doing some of his own Christmas shopping, while I was out buying the clothes he gave me money for, and hitting some different sales for Christmas shopping on my own. After 6 hours, we met back up at home and he told me about the phone. He knows that I always buy the least expensive phone I can find in the store. The last one I bought was $80...and it works just fine. He told me he say a $100 phone on sale for $50 and really wanted to buy it for me as an early Christmas present.....so back out we went and bought the phone. It was very sweet of him...and I'm thrilled with a few new tops, 2 new pair of pants, a new pair of shoes, and a new phone.
We decorated our little apt together this weekend for Christmas and it's just adorable. I found a CD at the Dollar Store....the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra...and it's playing quietly in the background. The lights on the tree are twinkling....and despite the cramps....I am happy.
Am I bothered by the 8 lb. gain? Sure...of course I am. But I am not wallowing in guilt over it. I know that getting back to drinking 180-200 oz. of water a day will take care of a lot of it.....my cycle ending next weekend will take care of some more of it. And I've had such a good weekend with Dwayne and Scarlette that this just happens to trump any bad feelings I have over that gain. I know I didn't gain 8 lbs. of fat...I know what I did wrong w/ ingesting so much sodium in the restaurant foods and drinking next to no water...so I know how to turn it around. I also know I set a plan for my Thanksgiving dinner....one of moderation...and I stuck to it. For that, I am extremely proud.
More shopping today....we're heading out shortly....and then it's back to business. I hope everyone else is having a fabulous weekend, too. :)
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Up 4 lbs...and Doing Ok
My original title to this post was Up 4 lbs...and Happy. Then I erased "happy" and just put "doing ok". I can never really say I'm "happy" when I'm only 3 days into a nearly 2 week cycle. Physically, I feel like crap...a lot of pain and heaviness and general "yuck" feeling. However....the reason I'm ok with being up 4 lbs is I know it's ALL from the cycle bloat. Every time I start, I'm up 4-5 lbs within a couple of days. I've been tracking it long enough to know now. I may not especially like it, but it doesn't piss me off like it used to.
My goal for weekend calories is the goal I started this challenge with...to eat at the calorie level that I willbe stuck with have when I reach my goal weight. I am 5'10 and my goal weight is 170 lbs, so my maintenance level is 1870 cals. I weighed in at 242 lbs. Sunday morning. By the afternoon the serious cramping had started and I knew what I was in for. I came in right at 1800 cals. on Sunday. On Monday I came in at 1200 cals on the nose. I've also drank all of my liquids...water and coffee. I knew when I woke up Tuesday morning that I had full bloating going on. I hopped on the scale to confirm it...yep...246 lbs.
Monday night I had a few things to cook for our Thanksgiving luncheon at work. I was up pretty late making broccoli, cheese and rice casserole....bread stuffing....baking sweet potatoes and making a sweet potato bake with them, baked a pumpkin roll w/ pecans and cream cheese filling....plus 2 loads of dishes through the dishwasher. Tuesday morning I got up at 5am and made a pan of baked mac 'n' chz....took down all of my Fall decorations, packed them up and loaded them along with all the food into the car.
Got to work and we set up everything buffet style....with the racks and the pans with the water in the bottom, setting the smaller food pans inside, with lit Sterno underneath. Decorated the tables and the office, lit some seasonal candles....and everyone showed up to eat at 12:30p. My plan was the same plan I have for Thanksgiving at Mom's house on Thursday. One plate w/o any major piling....not the 2-3 plates I would normally eat....and no leftovers going home. (I had one of those 230 cal. Jimmy Dean breakfast bowls at 7am).
Billie and Staci also cooked food for our get together, and some people brought in some store bought items as well. Here's what all we had yesterday:
Baked mac 'n' chz
Broccoli, cheese and rice casserole
Bread Stuffing
Sweet Potato Bake
Cornbread Dressing
Gravy
Turkey Breast (Boston Market)
Ham (Honey Baked Hams)
Deviled Eggs
Green Bean Casserole
Asparagus
Corn Souffle
Mashed potatoes
Cranberry sauce
Pumpkin pies
Petit Fours
Truffles
Chocolate-dipped strawberries
Carrot Cake
Cheesecake
Pumpkin Roll
Hawaiian rolls
Parker House rolls
I did almost exactly as planned. I had one moderate plate w/ turkey, a tiny piece of ham, and a small spoon of the broccoli & rice, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole (less than 1/2 c. each). One deviled egg & 1 roll. And then a spoon of my sweet potato bake that served as my dessert. That's it...didn't touch the rest of the stuff on the buffet table or dessert table. For a Thanksgiving meal, this is moderation for me and I'm proud of it. The "almost" part comes in with taking a small bowl of leftovers home for dinner. After 5 hours of sleep the night before and being busy all day I was exhausted and there was no way I was cooking. Not at all. I put some food in a small tupperware bowl...it equaled less than the amt of food I ate at lunch, plus it was shared with Scarlette. I felt good about the day...but just to make sure my thinking wasn't too skewed, I got on the scale again this morning. Said the same thing....246 lbs...no gain, not even from sodium. Apparently I didn't eat enough of the casseroles for the sodium in them to affect me, and that's awesome.
Also, after doing so well with my plan of moderation yesterday....I'm not near as worried about eating at Mom's now. If I did well yesterday, I'll do well again tomorrow. It also helps that I keep thinking of Allan's phrase in my mind..."first it's food, then it's poop"...lol. Kind of simplifies things, while also taking some of the allure away. :)
I totally meant to take pics yesterday, but just forgot my camera with the rush of getting all the decos and food in the car and getting to work. I did remember it this morning though, and I'm shooting for another 1200 calorie day today. I took a pic of my breakfast....a Jimmy Dean breakfast bagel...and will post it along with my other food pics from the day later tonight.
By the way....regarding the 1200 calorie/day thing I'm doing right now....this is not for life. It may not last through next week. I don't know. I'm just messing around with different stuff right now. I intrigued myself the first day I actually did it w/o starving to death and that made me want to do it again the next day. Then I got on the scale and started to see the #'s drop after only 2 days, and that fueled my fascination. I ended up with a 6 lb. loss last week and it was worth dealing with the hungry feelings most of the week. I had one weird day last week where I was under the 1200 and wasn't hungry. Not sure what was up with that, but the honest revelation about the rest of the week is that 1200 a day is damn hard to stick to. Most days you ARE hungry...and it sucks. Nobody likes that feeling. But I'm trying to keep that in perspective, and Allan is helping with that, too. He talks about starving people in third world countries....and what do we really have to complain about? The little bit of hunger you have to deal with at 1200 cals isn't even worth mentioning when you think of it in those terms. So....I'll do the 1200 cals/day for as long as I feel like torturing myself a little....as long as I continue to be amazed by the fact that I'm actually being this regimented....and also amazed with the scale results.
I can go back to 1870 cals/day...the original rules of this challenge...whenever I feel like it. Still just taking it day by day....one day at a time seems to work best for me. My brain can't handle looking too far down the road. So far, Sun-Tues have been good days....I'm a little anxious about the next 4 days being spent with Dwayne thanks to the 4-day holiday weekend. Those will most probably be 1870 days....I don't even want to TRY to stay at 1200 when I'm around him. My head might explode from all THAT stress and I'm not even going there.
I hope you all have your Thanksgiving plans firmly in place. Don't be too anxious....it's just food, and then it's poop. :) Enjoy your loved ones friends...and I'll be back later tonight with food pics. :)
Oh! And Allan offered us a "No Coddling" badge for Friday....the day after the Thanksgiving, and most assuredly where we'll be reading about all of those people who did NOT stick to their plan....or who flat out chose to eat as they normally would...with no diet in mind. I don't judge....it's up to each person how fast and in what way they want to lose their weight....it's none of my business...and I'm not cool with judging peoople for ANY reason. With that said, I don't think I'll be coddling people either to make them feel better afterwards. We're all going to make conscious decisions at the Thanksgiving table...and we all get to own them on Friday...and again on weigh day....including myself. Here's my badge:
My goal for weekend calories is the goal I started this challenge with...to eat at the calorie level that I will
Monday night I had a few things to cook for our Thanksgiving luncheon at work. I was up pretty late making broccoli, cheese and rice casserole....bread stuffing....baking sweet potatoes and making a sweet potato bake with them, baked a pumpkin roll w/ pecans and cream cheese filling....plus 2 loads of dishes through the dishwasher. Tuesday morning I got up at 5am and made a pan of baked mac 'n' chz....took down all of my Fall decorations, packed them up and loaded them along with all the food into the car.
Got to work and we set up everything buffet style....with the racks and the pans with the water in the bottom, setting the smaller food pans inside, with lit Sterno underneath. Decorated the tables and the office, lit some seasonal candles....and everyone showed up to eat at 12:30p. My plan was the same plan I have for Thanksgiving at Mom's house on Thursday. One plate w/o any major piling....not the 2-3 plates I would normally eat....and no leftovers going home. (I had one of those 230 cal. Jimmy Dean breakfast bowls at 7am).
Billie and Staci also cooked food for our get together, and some people brought in some store bought items as well. Here's what all we had yesterday:
Baked mac 'n' chz
Broccoli, cheese and rice casserole
Bread Stuffing
Sweet Potato Bake
Cornbread Dressing
Gravy
Turkey Breast (Boston Market)
Ham (Honey Baked Hams)
Deviled Eggs
Green Bean Casserole
Asparagus
Corn Souffle
Mashed potatoes
Cranberry sauce
Pumpkin pies
Petit Fours
Truffles
Chocolate-dipped strawberries
Carrot Cake
Cheesecake
Pumpkin Roll
Hawaiian rolls
Parker House rolls
I did almost exactly as planned. I had one moderate plate w/ turkey, a tiny piece of ham, and a small spoon of the broccoli & rice, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole (less than 1/2 c. each). One deviled egg & 1 roll. And then a spoon of my sweet potato bake that served as my dessert. That's it...didn't touch the rest of the stuff on the buffet table or dessert table. For a Thanksgiving meal, this is moderation for me and I'm proud of it. The "almost" part comes in with taking a small bowl of leftovers home for dinner. After 5 hours of sleep the night before and being busy all day I was exhausted and there was no way I was cooking. Not at all. I put some food in a small tupperware bowl...it equaled less than the amt of food I ate at lunch, plus it was shared with Scarlette. I felt good about the day...but just to make sure my thinking wasn't too skewed, I got on the scale again this morning. Said the same thing....246 lbs...no gain, not even from sodium. Apparently I didn't eat enough of the casseroles for the sodium in them to affect me, and that's awesome.
Also, after doing so well with my plan of moderation yesterday....I'm not near as worried about eating at Mom's now. If I did well yesterday, I'll do well again tomorrow. It also helps that I keep thinking of Allan's phrase in my mind..."first it's food, then it's poop"...lol. Kind of simplifies things, while also taking some of the allure away. :)
I totally meant to take pics yesterday, but just forgot my camera with the rush of getting all the decos and food in the car and getting to work. I did remember it this morning though, and I'm shooting for another 1200 calorie day today. I took a pic of my breakfast....a Jimmy Dean breakfast bagel...and will post it along with my other food pics from the day later tonight.
By the way....regarding the 1200 calorie/day thing I'm doing right now....this is not for life. It may not last through next week. I don't know. I'm just messing around with different stuff right now. I intrigued myself the first day I actually did it w/o starving to death and that made me want to do it again the next day. Then I got on the scale and started to see the #'s drop after only 2 days, and that fueled my fascination. I ended up with a 6 lb. loss last week and it was worth dealing with the hungry feelings most of the week. I had one weird day last week where I was under the 1200 and wasn't hungry. Not sure what was up with that, but the honest revelation about the rest of the week is that 1200 a day is damn hard to stick to. Most days you ARE hungry...and it sucks. Nobody likes that feeling. But I'm trying to keep that in perspective, and Allan is helping with that, too. He talks about starving people in third world countries....and what do we really have to complain about? The little bit of hunger you have to deal with at 1200 cals isn't even worth mentioning when you think of it in those terms. So....I'll do the 1200 cals/day for as long as I feel like torturing myself a little....as long as I continue to be amazed by the fact that I'm actually being this regimented....and also amazed with the scale results.
I can go back to 1870 cals/day...the original rules of this challenge...whenever I feel like it. Still just taking it day by day....one day at a time seems to work best for me. My brain can't handle looking too far down the road. So far, Sun-Tues have been good days....I'm a little anxious about the next 4 days being spent with Dwayne thanks to the 4-day holiday weekend. Those will most probably be 1870 days....I don't even want to TRY to stay at 1200 when I'm around him. My head might explode from all THAT stress and I'm not even going there.
I hope you all have your Thanksgiving plans firmly in place. Don't be too anxious....it's just food, and then it's poop. :) Enjoy your loved ones friends...and I'll be back later tonight with food pics. :)
Oh! And Allan offered us a "No Coddling" badge for Friday....the day after the Thanksgiving, and most assuredly where we'll be reading about all of those people who did NOT stick to their plan....or who flat out chose to eat as they normally would...with no diet in mind. I don't judge....it's up to each person how fast and in what way they want to lose their weight....it's none of my business...and I'm not cool with judging peoople for ANY reason. With that said, I don't think I'll be coddling people either to make them feel better afterwards. We're all going to make conscious decisions at the Thanksgiving table...and we all get to own them on Friday...and again on weigh day....including myself. Here's my badge:
Monday, November 22, 2010
Monday's Food Pics
I'm busy cooking for our Thanksgiving luncheon at work tomorrow so this will be a quick post.
Breakfast - 230 cals.
Salad w/ grilled chicken and light blue cheese dressing - 350 cals.
Sweet potato - 103 cals.
Apple - 80 cals.
Dwayne took the day off and I knew he'd be at home waiting on dinner. I picked up a rotisserie chicken and made him some noodles when I got home. I just had some of the chicken...nothing else. I came in right at 1200 cals. today. I've had 154 oz. of water...(4) 5 oz. c. of coffee and 2 mugs of hot tea. Another good day in the books. 'Nite friends. :)
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Thanksgiving Week? Really???
Warning...I'm in a crappy mood. Glad we got that out of the way. :)
I did the first week of Allan's Phase 2 challenge. My goal was to stay at or under 1870 cals/day. I decided to try out 1200 cals/day and drink 200 oz. of water for a few days this week...I think it was Tues-Fri...I don't remember now. My goal for the weekends is to follow the original allotted cals/day...1870. Sat I came in at 1700. This week was a total success. I lost 6 lbs. I went from 248 last Sun to 242 this morning. Yay. lol....
Seriously....I've been trying to be happy about this all day. I've been looking forward to it...I wanted to jump up and down. But I can't. I started my cycle today and I know it's here for almost 2 weeks. Yes...I bitch about this every month...and will probably continue to, since I post about my daily life here...not just weight loss. My cramps are soooo much like contractions. They just double me over in pain. My mood goes right in the toilet....but to ADD to the normal b.s....it's on Thanksgiving week...the week when things are going to get REALLY busy and stay that way pretty much through the end of the year.
I've been looking at my budget for Christmas shopping for my family. I bought my 5 nieces and nephews a few things from the Dollar Store. They're all under the age of 5 so I can get away with it w/o too much guilt. Now I'm looking at the budget for my 2 sisters, bro-in-law, mom, dad...and of course Dwayne and Scarlette. My parents and Dwayne are the ones that I really feel sad about. I am EXTREMELY THANKFUL for my job. I was out of work for nearly a year and a half after getting laid off from my last Accounting job. I have not forgotten how much living on the gov't cheese SUCKED. I have not forgotten the depression of feeling like life had forgotten me, while sitting inside my house, day after day, praying that someone would choose my resume out of the thousands that were just as desperate as I was. I have not forgotten. With that said...I make very little money. I make $1/hr more an hour than I made on unemployment...and w/ Shane (my old roommate) getting married...the bills are HIGHER than they were on unemployment. If it wasn't for the Zoloft, I'd be in tears every day like I was. I'm not crying...but boy is the stress there. I want to get stuff for my parents and Dwayne...the most special people in my life, because they've always done so much for me and they deserve something nice in return. I love them so much...and Christmas is that time of year that you get a chance to really say "thank you". I've always been one of those that got so much out of the giving...caring very little about the receiving. My budget is scarce...and it stresses me and makes me sad. It's moreso when the damn monthly cycle kicks in, so this is where my head is out right now.
I found out we're having a Thanksgiving dinner at work this week on Tuesday. I'm bringing some dishes, along with the other people in the office. With some of our adjusters coming in from the field, we'll have about 20 guys to feed. Gotta' work that into the plan, along with the Thursday Thanksgiving dinner with my family. Also...as stressed as I've been about the weekend eating with Dwayne....it finally hit me today that I have a 4 day weekend coming up off of work.....4 days with Dwayne. Oy.
None of this is the end of the world...I know that. It's just my own little stress bubble...a time when I really need to buckle down, focus, concentrate....and unfortunately, my mind wants to do the exact opposite. I want to go to bed and have someone wake me up after New Year's. My stomach hurts. My head hurts. I wish I could do more for Dwayne and my family. I wish I made more money. I wish I didn't have a food addiction. I wish food was calorie-free. I wish I didn't give a damn about weighing a deuce and a half.
But I do. I do care. I know what needs to be done. I want to say that I'd be happy if I just manage to maintain this week...but that would be a lie. I know what I'm capable of....which means I have it in me to see a loss this week IF I make myself do what needs to be done. Wouldn't a loss on Thanksgiving week be a fantastic thing....especially knowing you'd be one of the few. I've already heard several people say they're giving up til next week...and I heard a couple people say they're giving up til after Christmas. I have lost and re-gained the same 25 effing lbs over the course of this year until I'm friggin' sick of it. I'm sick of myself. I'm sick of writing the same sh*t over and over. It's time for a change. A positive change. I'm starting off the week on the heels of a 6 lb. loss. Let's see if, in spite of everything going on, physicially...mentally...emotionally.....let's see if I can build on that loss. Now THAT would give me a reason to smile. :)
I hope each of you has a plan for Thanksgiving week. Doesn't matter too much what it is...moderation, portion control...1 plate instead of your normal 3 plus leftovers....calorie counting...points counting....doesn't matter. But you need to have SOME kind of plan. If your plan is to wait until after the holidays, nix that plan right now and formulate a new one. Care enough about yourself to not find yourself 20-30 lbs. heavier in 6 weeks. Do what I'm going to do...one day at a time....the best choices you're able to make each day. You just might amaze yourself. :)
I did the first week of Allan's Phase 2 challenge. My goal was to stay at or under 1870 cals/day. I decided to try out 1200 cals/day and drink 200 oz. of water for a few days this week...I think it was Tues-Fri...I don't remember now. My goal for the weekends is to follow the original allotted cals/day...1870. Sat I came in at 1700. This week was a total success. I lost 6 lbs. I went from 248 last Sun to 242 this morning. Yay. lol....
Seriously....I've been trying to be happy about this all day. I've been looking forward to it...I wanted to jump up and down. But I can't. I started my cycle today and I know it's here for almost 2 weeks. Yes...I bitch about this every month...and will probably continue to, since I post about my daily life here...not just weight loss. My cramps are soooo much like contractions. They just double me over in pain. My mood goes right in the toilet....but to ADD to the normal b.s....it's on Thanksgiving week...the week when things are going to get REALLY busy and stay that way pretty much through the end of the year.
I've been looking at my budget for Christmas shopping for my family. I bought my 5 nieces and nephews a few things from the Dollar Store. They're all under the age of 5 so I can get away with it w/o too much guilt. Now I'm looking at the budget for my 2 sisters, bro-in-law, mom, dad...and of course Dwayne and Scarlette. My parents and Dwayne are the ones that I really feel sad about. I am EXTREMELY THANKFUL for my job. I was out of work for nearly a year and a half after getting laid off from my last Accounting job. I have not forgotten how much living on the gov't cheese SUCKED. I have not forgotten the depression of feeling like life had forgotten me, while sitting inside my house, day after day, praying that someone would choose my resume out of the thousands that were just as desperate as I was. I have not forgotten. With that said...I make very little money. I make $1/hr more an hour than I made on unemployment...and w/ Shane (my old roommate) getting married...the bills are HIGHER than they were on unemployment. If it wasn't for the Zoloft, I'd be in tears every day like I was. I'm not crying...but boy is the stress there. I want to get stuff for my parents and Dwayne...the most special people in my life, because they've always done so much for me and they deserve something nice in return. I love them so much...and Christmas is that time of year that you get a chance to really say "thank you". I've always been one of those that got so much out of the giving...caring very little about the receiving. My budget is scarce...and it stresses me and makes me sad. It's moreso when the damn monthly cycle kicks in, so this is where my head is out right now.
I found out we're having a Thanksgiving dinner at work this week on Tuesday. I'm bringing some dishes, along with the other people in the office. With some of our adjusters coming in from the field, we'll have about 20 guys to feed. Gotta' work that into the plan, along with the Thursday Thanksgiving dinner with my family. Also...as stressed as I've been about the weekend eating with Dwayne....it finally hit me today that I have a 4 day weekend coming up off of work.....4 days with Dwayne. Oy.
None of this is the end of the world...I know that. It's just my own little stress bubble...a time when I really need to buckle down, focus, concentrate....and unfortunately, my mind wants to do the exact opposite. I want to go to bed and have someone wake me up after New Year's. My stomach hurts. My head hurts. I wish I could do more for Dwayne and my family. I wish I made more money. I wish I didn't have a food addiction. I wish food was calorie-free. I wish I didn't give a damn about weighing a deuce and a half.
But I do. I do care. I know what needs to be done. I want to say that I'd be happy if I just manage to maintain this week...but that would be a lie. I know what I'm capable of....which means I have it in me to see a loss this week IF I make myself do what needs to be done. Wouldn't a loss on Thanksgiving week be a fantastic thing....especially knowing you'd be one of the few. I've already heard several people say they're giving up til next week...and I heard a couple people say they're giving up til after Christmas. I have lost and re-gained the same 25 effing lbs over the course of this year until I'm friggin' sick of it. I'm sick of myself. I'm sick of writing the same sh*t over and over. It's time for a change. A positive change. I'm starting off the week on the heels of a 6 lb. loss. Let's see if, in spite of everything going on, physicially...mentally...emotionally.....let's see if I can build on that loss. Now THAT would give me a reason to smile. :)
I hope each of you has a plan for Thanksgiving week. Doesn't matter too much what it is...moderation, portion control...1 plate instead of your normal 3 plus leftovers....calorie counting...points counting....doesn't matter. But you need to have SOME kind of plan. If your plan is to wait until after the holidays, nix that plan right now and formulate a new one. Care enough about yourself to not find yourself 20-30 lbs. heavier in 6 weeks. Do what I'm going to do...one day at a time....the best choices you're able to make each day. You just might amaze yourself. :)
Friday, November 19, 2010
Panic Mode
The weekend is here....time to panic. This is where everything always goes downhill. I go into every weekend with a "plan"...but rarely does it work out. When you've got someone else involved in your wknds, things can go awry...and they usually do for me. I have to weigh in for the challenge on Sunday morning. Let's pray things go smoothly for me tomorrow and I can stay on track. I think expecting myself to stay under 1200 on weekend days is, quite frankly, laughable. The goal for me is going to be my maintenance calories, the ones I started the challenge with....1870. Here's my food pics for the day...I have the calorie counts but just don't feel like posting it. I came in under 1200 because I didn't eat all of my dinner. My stomach has been in knots all day....I don't know why.
2 eggs, 1 egg white, 1/8 c. cheese, veggies
8 oz. shrimp on salad w/ 60 cals olive oil/vinaigrette dressing
Sweet potato
The sandwich platter that my supervisor picked up at Costco today for lunch for all of us....turkey, ham, roast beef sandwiches on croissants w/ cheese and mayo spreads.....this hurt, lol. If you want to know if I ate any, see the shrimp salad above. :)
Apple
1 c. 100 calorie Barilla pasta sauce with mushrooms, onions, bell peppers and spinach over 2 c. of spaghetti squash (42 cals/cup).
This is how much of my dinner that was left...stomach hurting today...couldn't eat anymore...but it was DELISH.
Have a good weekend everyone. :)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
I'm So Stoopid
Guess what? I forgot I have diabetes. Since I've lost nearly 100 lbs, my #'s are normal now...so it makes you think you don't have it anymore. My dr. corrected me on that one time. Mine is hereditary...it is under control with my diet now...I no longer take any meds for it, but he told me I'll always "have it".
Since my #'s have been normal, and are never in the high range anymore...I've discovered something I didn't know before. Your sugar can also DROP....your #'s can go TOO LOW. This doesn't happen often, but it has happened a couple of times. It's been a while though, so it took me FOREVER to figure out what in the hell was wrong with me today.
It started with a headache....then I was dizzy....then I noticed my hands and feet were freezing. I never freeze...in fact, they usually keep it WAY too warm in my office. It wasn't until I was in the car and driving home that I put all 3 symptoms together....ding ding ding!! My sugar was too low!! I quickly calculated my calories for the day in my head....I had around 750 or so by 5pm. Doh!! Soooo sleepy driving home...knew I HAD to eat....was thinking I need to grab a pack of crackers or something, but had already passed the ONE gas station between work and home. The only restaurants in the closes vicinity between work and home are a Red Lobster, a Dunkin' Donuts, Popeye's fried chicken, and a Chic-fil-A. SHIT.
Thank God the commute home is usually only 20 mins or so. Also glad that I already had dinner cooked and waiting in the frig. I popped it in the microwave and ate. That was about half an hour ago....still have a headache, still sleepy, and still freezing my ass off. But now that I've eaten things will improve. As of right now, I'm at 1093 cals for the day. I need to decide if I'll spend another 100 cals on food or my usual decaf coffee w/ creamer. I'm thinking food will be the smarter idea tonight.
1200 cals is enough for a diabetic...if you actually EAT. The danger is letting too much time go between the meals. I had lunch at 11am. I had some baby carrots at 2pm.....but by 5pm, things had gone way downhill today. I need to think more about spacing out my calories better. My breakfast this morning was under 200. Maybe I need to bulk that up to give myself a better start. Who forgets they have diabetes???? Feeling pretty stoopid right now.
Since my #'s have been normal, and are never in the high range anymore...I've discovered something I didn't know before. Your sugar can also DROP....your #'s can go TOO LOW. This doesn't happen often, but it has happened a couple of times. It's been a while though, so it took me FOREVER to figure out what in the hell was wrong with me today.
It started with a headache....then I was dizzy....then I noticed my hands and feet were freezing. I never freeze...in fact, they usually keep it WAY too warm in my office. It wasn't until I was in the car and driving home that I put all 3 symptoms together....ding ding ding!! My sugar was too low!! I quickly calculated my calories for the day in my head....I had around 750 or so by 5pm. Doh!! Soooo sleepy driving home...knew I HAD to eat....was thinking I need to grab a pack of crackers or something, but had already passed the ONE gas station between work and home. The only restaurants in the closes vicinity between work and home are a Red Lobster, a Dunkin' Donuts, Popeye's fried chicken, and a Chic-fil-A. SHIT.
Thank God the commute home is usually only 20 mins or so. Also glad that I already had dinner cooked and waiting in the frig. I popped it in the microwave and ate. That was about half an hour ago....still have a headache, still sleepy, and still freezing my ass off. But now that I've eaten things will improve. As of right now, I'm at 1093 cals for the day. I need to decide if I'll spend another 100 cals on food or my usual decaf coffee w/ creamer. I'm thinking food will be the smarter idea tonight.
1200 cals is enough for a diabetic...if you actually EAT. The danger is letting too much time go between the meals. I had lunch at 11am. I had some baby carrots at 2pm.....but by 5pm, things had gone way downhill today. I need to think more about spacing out my calories better. My breakfast this morning was under 200. Maybe I need to bulk that up to give myself a better start. Who forgets they have diabetes???? Feeling pretty stoopid right now.
These are awesome...tried them for the first time today after seeing them on someone else's blog.
Cooking breakfast...I do NOT do this every morning...I move too slow in the mornings.
7:30am
See there....took too long to cook, so not enough time to eat before leaving home....took it to work and ate it at my desk. :)
4 egg whites w/ a touch of mustard for color/flavor - 68 cals.
1/3 c. turkey sausage crumbles - 40 cals.
onions/mushrooms/bell peppers - 40 cals.
1/8 c. 2% cheese - 45 cals.
Breakfast total - 193 cals.
11am
salad - 50 cals.
8 oz. shrimp sauteed in Pam olive oil cooking spray - 240 cals.
2 Tbsp. olive oil vinaigrette dressing - 60 cals.
Lunch total - 350 cals.
2pm
15 baby carrots - 45 cals.
5:30pm
6 oz. chicken breast - 180 cals.
a whole bag of Steamfresh veggies - 120 cals.
1 slice 2% American cheese - 45 cals.
1 Tbsp. Heinz 57 - 20 cals.
Dinner total - 365 cals.
Total for the day so far: 1093
I had 120 oz. of water at work today....drinking another 32 oz. glass right now. Also had (4) 5 oz. c. of coffee at work.
I was a lot hungrier today than I was yesterday. I also didn't drink as much water today...that might have something to do with the fullness factor. As far as the diabetes goes, filling yourself up with water is not the same as eating your food. I'll space my calories out better tomorrow. 'Nite friends. :)
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Better Than I Thought
I'm sitting here, a little shocked....ok, a LOT shocked. I've had dinner, ready to post my food pics for the day, was totaling everything, and I'm sitting at 991 calories for the day...and NOT HUNGRY.
Let me say that again....I'm under 1000 cals for the day and I'm not hungry. My stomach is not growling.
Ummm....I have no idea what's going on with me. None. My absolute best guess is that it has to do with the water/fluid intake throughout the day. Yesterday I drank (5) 24 oz. glasses of water during my workday. Today I drank (6) 24 oz. glasses at work, plus (3) 5 oz. cups of coffee w/ creamer. So that's what? About 144 oz. of water and 15 more oz in coffee. Very interesting.
I'm drinking another 32 oz glass of water right now as I type this post. I'll end up with at least 200 oz. before I go to bed.
I'll tell you the truth. Knowing I have 200 calories left for the day makes me want to eat something else. I'm not going to have food....but it does allow me to have a couple of cups of decaf coffee with creamer, for another 70 calories. That's my wind-down thing in the evenings. I didn't have it last night because I miscounted my calories and thought I was too close to 1200...didn't want to go over. Turns out, I was a good bit under....came in around 1100-1125 last night. Tonight, I'm having it. While others are having a more substantial snack or dessert...I'm having decaf coffee w/ creamer. It works for me.
Here's my food pics w/ calorie count for the day:
Let me say that again....I'm under 1000 cals for the day and I'm not hungry. My stomach is not growling.
Ummm....I have no idea what's going on with me. None. My absolute best guess is that it has to do with the water/fluid intake throughout the day. Yesterday I drank (5) 24 oz. glasses of water during my workday. Today I drank (6) 24 oz. glasses at work, plus (3) 5 oz. cups of coffee w/ creamer. So that's what? About 144 oz. of water and 15 more oz in coffee. Very interesting.
I'm drinking another 32 oz glass of water right now as I type this post. I'll end up with at least 200 oz. before I go to bed.
I'll tell you the truth. Knowing I have 200 calories left for the day makes me want to eat something else. I'm not going to have food....but it does allow me to have a couple of cups of decaf coffee with creamer, for another 70 calories. That's my wind-down thing in the evenings. I didn't have it last night because I miscounted my calories and thought I was too close to 1200...didn't want to go over. Turns out, I was a good bit under....came in around 1100-1125 last night. Tonight, I'm having it. While others are having a more substantial snack or dessert...I'm having decaf coffee w/ creamer. It works for me.
Here's my food pics w/ calorie count for the day:
4 egg whites w/ a touch of mustard for color and flavor, mixed with 4 oz. chicken breast and 1/8 c. of 2% sharp cheddar cheese. The baby ate an ounce of the chicken, so I counted it as 3 oz. for myself.
7am
4 egg whites - 68 cals.
3 oz. chkn. breast - 90 cals.
1/8 c. 2% cheese - 45 cals.
11:00 am
Boneless pork rib - 200 cals.
Sweet potato - 103 cals.
12:00pm
I'm making a conscious effort to eat slowly. This is how much of my lunch was left an hour after I started eating it. I finished the rest of it sometime after noon.
2:00pm
Honeycrisp apple - 80 cals.
6:15 pm
6 oz. chkn. breast after the baby got some - 180 cals.
An ENTIRE bag of Steamfresh broccoli - 120 cals.
I wanted to say thanks to everyone who provided food tips and snack ideas...foods to keep you fuller, etc. I always appreciate the ideas. I will say that there will always be some convenience foods in my diet, like the Jimmy Dean bagels in my freezer....and there will always be pork..I'm a swine lover...that won't change. I did happen to be OUT of veggies as of today, so I stopped by the grocery store on my way home and picked up some stuff to get me through the next few days.
Allan suggested lots of salad. I picked up 2 bags of the pre-made stuff, along with tomatoes, cucumbers and onions to go on top. I ran out of baby carrots on Monday (those are a normal snack for me), so I picked up a big bag of those...along with some sweet potatoes that I am in love with. The only fruit I had left was 2 apples, so I picked up 4 more tonight. I also got some mushrooms, onions and bell peppers to mix with eggs in the morning so that EVERY breakfast isn't a convenient one. :)
This will sound bad...but it's honest....ever since I started my blog, I've never been interested in the "health" part of this jouney....as far as matching proteins with carbs, eating what would be considered "diet" foods, etc. The only thing I've been interested in is counting calories to get the weight off. I eat fruits and vegetables because I like them.....not because I'm "trying to eat all the right diet foods". I don't eat hardly any red meat...but that's not because I consider it a "bad" food in the diet world. It's because it makes me feel like crap for 2-3 days. I feel like I'm walking around with a rock in my stomach...it just takes too long to digest. So I'm sure my food pics will make some people wince, like I'm sure my pork ribs did , lol....that's ok. Just wanted to let everyone know that's reading that I will always welcome any food tips you want to share with me. Some of them I'll use...some of them I probably won't. As long as I'm within the calorie range I'm shooting for...I'm happy. :)
Here's a pic of my loot from the grocery store:
I thawed and sauteed some shrimp tonight. Will probably put this on my salad for lunch tomorrow.
That's 1 lb. of shrimp altogether - pre-cooked weight of course. For this case, 1/2 a lb. in each bowl resulted in 17 shrimp. At 30 cals an oz...that's 240 cals.
I also went ahead and measured out 2 Tbsp of dressing to take for my salad tomorrow. It's 60 cals. for 2 Tbsp.
So that's it for today guys!!! Hope you're having a good evening.....time for me to go make some decaf. :)
1200 Calorie Day Recap
Ok....so...I was going to try out 1200 calories yesterday and see what I thought. The good news is I DID IT!! And I'm still alive!! lol :)
So here's how the day went and how the calories broke down:
7am - Jimmy Dean D'Lite Breakfast Bagel w/ egg white, chz, turkey sausage 260 cals.
11am - One baked pork rib 200 cals.
Medium sweet potato - no butter 103 cals.
2pm - Honeycrisp apple 80 cals.
During day I had (4) 5 oz. cups of coffee w/ 1 Tbsp creamer in ea.
The creamer is 35 cals per Tbsp 140 cals.
5:30p - 4 egg whites @ 17 cals. ea. 68 cals.
1 slice 2% American cheese 45 cals.
7:00p - 2 grilled chicken thighs - no skin (5-6 oz. of meat off bone) 180 cals.
Medium sweet potato - no butter 103 cals.
Total Calories: 1149 cals.
Here's how the day went....I ate breakfast at 7am. By 10:30 my stomach was growling audibly. I finally fed it lunch at 11am. I normally scarf down my food in 5-10 mins. Yesterday, I purposely ate VERY slowly, putting my fork down inbetween (what a concept!), did some work at desk inbetween eating, and made the one rib and sweet potato last an hour...until 12pm. It's amazing how much better food tastes when you eat mindfully because you know there's going to be less of it.
By 2pm my stomach was growling audibly again...wow. I ate an apple. At 4pm I felt like my stomach was turning inside out, lol. I emailed Allan and told him "This is hard. You ROCK." He's been staying around 1200 cals for like 6 months now I think....now that's commitment. All during the day I consumed (4) 5 oz cups of coffee and (5) 24 oz. bottles of water to help stave off the hunger. Stomach still growling. Left work at 5pm, got home at 5:30p and ran to the kitchen to whip something up. I made a cheese omelet with 4 egg whites and 1 pc. of 2% American cheese. My baby had a couple of bites, so my calories are actually a little lower than I reported...maybe around 1100-1125?
Dwayne emailed me at work yesterday and wanted me and Scarlette to come to his house for dinner....said he was grilling steaks. I told him I was trying 1200 cals today and already had my dinner planned....some grilled chicken that he cooked for me on Sunday night, and a sweet potato that I baked Sun night. I told him he could grill a steak for himself and I'd bring over my chicken and sweet potato to stay on track. I got to his house just as he was pulling 2 steaks off the grill. He threw one in the frig and ate the other one with a loaf of crusty French bread. Watching him eat the steak didn't phase me....watching him eat the crusty French breaad hurt like hell, lol. But I didn't touch it. I ate my chicken and sweet potato slowly and noticed something about 3/4 of the way through. I was full. Huh? No way. I can eat WAY more than this...and of course I finished it. But full after so fewer calories than I normally eat during a day? Totally weird and I have no explanation for it, other than maybe the water intake.
After dinner we watched some TV and I drank (3) 16.9 oz bottles of water. I headed home around 9pm and when I got home, I drank one more 32 oz. bottle of water before bed. My total water consumption for the day was around 200 oz....with the coffee on top of that for even more liquids. Actually....that's a TON of liquids, and probably had EVERYTHING to do w/ why I felt so full at dinner. Yay. :)
So....I did it...I made it through...I didn't die. It got tough in the afternoon around 4p, but nothing I couldn't handle, so I'm going to do it again today. One day at a time here...that's all I need to focus on. I actually remembered to bring my camera this morning to work with me, so I'll be taking pics of today's food and will post it tomorrow morning with an update on Day 2. Have a super day friends. :)
*******SEAN hit goal yesterday at The Daily Diary of a Winning Loser!!! Head on over there!!*******
So here's how the day went and how the calories broke down:
7am - Jimmy Dean D'Lite Breakfast Bagel w/ egg white, chz, turkey sausage 260 cals.
11am - One baked pork rib 200 cals.
Medium sweet potato - no butter 103 cals.
2pm - Honeycrisp apple 80 cals.
During day I had (4) 5 oz. cups of coffee w/ 1 Tbsp creamer in ea.
The creamer is 35 cals per Tbsp 140 cals.
5:30p - 4 egg whites @ 17 cals. ea. 68 cals.
1 slice 2% American cheese 45 cals.
7:00p - 2 grilled chicken thighs - no skin (5-6 oz. of meat off bone) 180 cals.
Medium sweet potato - no butter 103 cals.
Total Calories: 1149 cals.
Here's how the day went....I ate breakfast at 7am. By 10:30 my stomach was growling audibly. I finally fed it lunch at 11am. I normally scarf down my food in 5-10 mins. Yesterday, I purposely ate VERY slowly, putting my fork down inbetween (what a concept!), did some work at desk inbetween eating, and made the one rib and sweet potato last an hour...until 12pm. It's amazing how much better food tastes when you eat mindfully because you know there's going to be less of it.
By 2pm my stomach was growling audibly again...wow. I ate an apple. At 4pm I felt like my stomach was turning inside out, lol. I emailed Allan and told him "This is hard. You ROCK." He's been staying around 1200 cals for like 6 months now I think....now that's commitment. All during the day I consumed (4) 5 oz cups of coffee and (5) 24 oz. bottles of water to help stave off the hunger. Stomach still growling. Left work at 5pm, got home at 5:30p and ran to the kitchen to whip something up. I made a cheese omelet with 4 egg whites and 1 pc. of 2% American cheese. My baby had a couple of bites, so my calories are actually a little lower than I reported...maybe around 1100-1125?
Dwayne emailed me at work yesterday and wanted me and Scarlette to come to his house for dinner....said he was grilling steaks. I told him I was trying 1200 cals today and already had my dinner planned....some grilled chicken that he cooked for me on Sunday night, and a sweet potato that I baked Sun night. I told him he could grill a steak for himself and I'd bring over my chicken and sweet potato to stay on track. I got to his house just as he was pulling 2 steaks off the grill. He threw one in the frig and ate the other one with a loaf of crusty French bread. Watching him eat the steak didn't phase me....watching him eat the crusty French breaad hurt like hell, lol. But I didn't touch it. I ate my chicken and sweet potato slowly and noticed something about 3/4 of the way through. I was full. Huh? No way. I can eat WAY more than this...and of course I finished it. But full after so fewer calories than I normally eat during a day? Totally weird and I have no explanation for it, other than maybe the water intake.
After dinner we watched some TV and I drank (3) 16.9 oz bottles of water. I headed home around 9pm and when I got home, I drank one more 32 oz. bottle of water before bed. My total water consumption for the day was around 200 oz....with the coffee on top of that for even more liquids. Actually....that's a TON of liquids, and probably had EVERYTHING to do w/ why I felt so full at dinner. Yay. :)
So....I did it...I made it through...I didn't die. It got tough in the afternoon around 4p, but nothing I couldn't handle, so I'm going to do it again today. One day at a time here...that's all I need to focus on. I actually remembered to bring my camera this morning to work with me, so I'll be taking pics of today's food and will post it tomorrow morning with an update on Day 2. Have a super day friends. :)
*******SEAN hit goal yesterday at The Daily Diary of a Winning Loser!!! Head on over there!!*******
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Experimenting
I'm going to try eating at 1200 calories today. There are a few things I know about myself. I still have obsessive food thoughts...eat when I'm not hungry..duh! And I'm a volume eater, so even when I'm eating within my calorie range, I shoot for the lowest calorie foods so I can have more of them. I'm at a desk for 9 1/2 hours during the day and that makes for a lot of idle time to snack.
But I thought I'd try something different on Allan's challenge. He eats around this number, and he's thrilled with his losses. He never has a gain..he never maintains..he always loses, and it's caught my attention and stoked my curiosity. I wonder if I could stick to 1200 cals/day? I've never tried. So I'm going to.
Mind you...if I start to feel like I'm going to cut loose and binge or something horrific like that, I'm taking it right back up to 1870...so we'll see. You never know until you try. :)
But I thought I'd try something different on Allan's challenge. He eats around this number, and he's thrilled with his losses. He never has a gain..he never maintains..he always loses, and it's caught my attention and stoked my curiosity. I wonder if I could stick to 1200 cals/day? I've never tried. So I'm going to.
Mind you...if I start to feel like I'm going to cut loose and binge or something horrific like that, I'm taking it right back up to 1870...so we'll see. You never know until you try. :)
Monday, November 15, 2010
Challenge Pic
For Allan's challenge, we had to take a current pic of ourselves. We didn't have to post it on our blog if we were uncomfortable or shy....but I'm not shy. :)
If my ridiculous stomach would catch up to my collarbone, I'd be a happy girl. :)
Off to a good start this morning...just can't remember to take the dang camera with me everywhere I go, so I'm forgetting to take all of my food pics. Still writing down every calorie though and drinking all the water. We did our first challenge weigh-in for Phase 2 after only 5 days. I was down 1 lb. I started at 249 last Tuesday, and weighed 248 Sunday morning. One lb. off my a$$ is better than no pounds. I'll take it.
Have a great day friends. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
