Sunday's Seafood Stuffed Mushrooms

I'm hanging in there.  Had my 3rd good day in a row.  Today was really tough.  I wanted all kinds of stuff I shouldn't have...candy bars, Chinese, etc.  But I held strong and stuck to my calorie budget.

2 oz. Boar's Head low sodium ham, 1/2 c. egg beaters, onions, mushrooms, bell pepper and 2 Tbsp. salsa.

Calories:  140

6" on wheat philly steak sub from Publix deli.  Boar's Head roast beef, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers and provolone.  Ballparking the calories.

Calories:  600

Chobani blueberry yogurt.

Calories:  140

I decided to make one of my favorite simple recipes today...seafood stuffed mushrooms.  I used some large white button mushrooms, 3 oz. of shrimp that I sauteed with some diced onion & just a sprinkle of garlic and Adobo seasoning, 1/4 c. of imitation crab meat and 1/4 c. of Panko italian bread crumbs.  Instead of the butter I used to use to moisten these in my pre-weight loss days, I simply used a tbsp. of water to moisten the bread crumbs and get everything to stick together.

I moved the oven rack down to the 3rd row so I could broil these and get the mushrooms done w/o burning the top of the stuffing.  I cooked them for about 15 mins on broil.  I ate every single one of these.

Calories:  310

I finished off the day's eating with a scramble using 3 oz. of the sauteed shrimp, 3/4 c. egg beaters, onions, mushrooms, bell pepper and 2 Tbsp. salsa.

Calories:  204

I'll be having 2 c. of decaf coffee w/ sugar-free creamer shortly.

Calories:  30

Total Calories:  1424

I'm also keeping up with Chris' challenge of an hour of exercise 6 days/week.

Hooray for 3 sane days in a row.  :)

What's Cookin'?

I'm having a hard time getting back into the swing of things at the gym after being out for a week.  Things went haywire on Friday and I wasn't able to make it there, so Saturday was my first day back.  My left elbow is still screwed up, so my plan was to just do cardio and ease back into things.  I only did 8 minutes on the elliptical because my quads felt like lead bricks.  I jumped on the treadmill and ended up carrying some hand weights for part of the time.  I've figured out that if I keep my arms engaged (bent at the elbow) while holding the weights on the treadmill, then the elbow doesn't hurt as bad.  I did 22 minutes on the treadmill, 15 of those minutes were with 7.5 lb weights in each hand. 

Since the exercise is slow going I decided I better make sure I get the food REALLY right this week.  I've got some food pics to show you.  The first one is a dish I made the week of St. Patrick's Day.  I normally make the traditional corned beef and cabbage, but decided not to this year because the corned beef tends to be WAY too salty and I'm trying to cut most of the salt out of my diet.  So this year I used some lowfat turkey kielbasa sausage, cabbage, onions and red potatoes.  I added the cabbage and red potatoes to the pot first, then mixed in the sausage and onions that I sauteed first:

Next is a pic of some chicken breast that I sprinkled with onion powder, garlic and rosemary and sauteed with some Pam olive oil spray....I used the chicken in an egg white scramble the next morning:

I made some chicken chowder this weekend that was pretty tasty.  I've never even attempted to make chowder before and didn't think I'd be able to pull it off.  Granted, it would have been thicker and creamier if I would have used more fattening ingredients or added more calories, but it was still good.  The recipe called for milk and 2 cans of creamed corn.  I used 50% less sodium creamed corn, and only 1 can instead of 2.  I also skipped the milk and used 3 tbsp of cornstarch to thicken it, along with the instant mashed potato flakes that it called for.  The recipe called for you to stir in some full fat cheddar cheese after it was done cooking.  I skipped that step and used 2 tbsp of reduced fat cream cheese just to make it a little creamier.  It made 4 servings, each serving being 2 1/4 cups.  Each serving has 348 calories, and has cubes of boneless chicken breast, shredded carrots, creamed corn and cubed potatoes.  Yum.:

I roasted some radishes with some Pam olive oil cooking spray, reduced fat parmesan cheese, and black pepper:

Steamed some broccoli w/ Mrs. Dash garlic & herb:

Sauteed some zucchini & mushrooms w/ Mrs. Dash tomato and herb blend:

And I grilled some asparagus on the Foreman grill:

Well that's all for now....I'm off to the gym.  Gotta' keep going and get back in the habit again.  Hope everyone's having a Super Sunday!!  :)

My Muscles Feel Like Jello

Amy and I weren't able to go hiking today due to circumstances on her end.  But we're planning on going tomorrow morning.  The blue skies and sunshine have vanished once again.  I woke up to an overcast, rainy, dreary day.  I opted for a walk at the park instead as my additional exercise for the day.  I took Scarlette and we made it 3.5 miles.  I was still sore from the nearly 5 mile hike yesterday (back and legs), and Scarlette started pooping out on me around mile 3, so we wound up at 3.5 miles.  Not too shabby I guess.

I went to the gym tonight and did my workout.  10 min warm-up on the elliptical, then I ran through the exercise sheet 2x that Chris gave me...doing more reps than required on each exercise, and raising the weight on a couple of them, just like before.  Threw in 30 Mountain Climbers just for fun.  Then I did something a little different when I got on the treadmill tonight.  I grabbed a 5 lb. weight for each hand, and walked 15 mins on the treadmill with the weights in my hands.  That sh*t started hurting after the first minute, but I made it 15 mins.  When I got done and put the weights up, my arms felt light as a feather, like they would float away.  My whole body feels like jello right now.  Muscles are shaking and twitching and sore as all get out.  Makes me smile.  :)

Something else that makes me smile is that after a high calorie weekend, I finally reigned it back in today to a normal level and even a little under for me.  Calorie total for today is 1393.  Yay for self-control!!  This doesn't happen often enough, so I have to celebrate it when it does.  By the way, I didn't have to babysit for my sister tonight....that's why I'm posting on a Monday night, and another reason my calories are decent.  Thank God for small miracles.  It's time to hit the showers.  It's been a fantastic day, even with the crappy weather....fantastic because I made it that way.  I controlled the calories, I exercised 2 different times, I've got a soul-satisfying soreness in all my muscles, and a hot shower waiting on me.  Looking forward to tomorrow.  'Nite friends.  :)

Quote For the Day:

"It's the constant and determined effort that breaks down all resistance and sweeps away all obstacles."  -Claude M. Bristol

Give Up? Ain't Happenin'

Thanks again friends for all the comments on my last post...a lot of you told me to hang in there, and to look at how far I've come. I appreciate your thoughtful comments. I want to make sure that everyone knows that I am by no means giving up....never. Never. Ever. I have a goal and I'm going to reach it. And I HAVE come a long, long way. My highest point was 340 lbs....that was back before I started blogging. I didn't discover the wonderful world of Blogland until June of this year, when I weighed 272 lbs and made The Decision to finally get serious, once and for all.

I emailed with one friend today who thinks I'm being too negative with myself. They're afraid that I'll doom myself and undo all the good work I've done if I continue with the self-loathing. I thought about this for several hours today to see if that's really what I am doing. I've decided it's not. I don't hate myself, per se. I don't call myself "fat" names anymore....I stopped that a long time ago. And I'm extremely proud of what I've accomplished so far, because as we all know, getting the mental part of the process right is damn hard.

I get what they're saying, and it makes my heart smile to know that their concern comes from a place of true love and caring for me. Their opinion will always be welcome. But I don't really think that's where my true problem lies. However, there are a couple of people who comment that know exactly where I'm coming from....they totally "get it".

Jack Sh*t always pops over and comments on my weigh-in Friday mornings. He basically told me to get my butt in gear, because I posted that I've been flitting around with the same pound or two for 3 weeks now. His advice was to get my act together and do it right this week. I love that....he gets it...totally. He tells me what I LOVE to hear....get it right, get it done...and do it now. Not next week...not next month....do it now.

Another person named Marcelle, the chic from South Africa that's now living in Germany (listed on my blogroll), left a great comment on my last post. Regarding eating 1800 cals the last 3 days, when I set the goal at 1600, told her that I'm losing my focus. She's spot on...she hit the nail on the head. Losing my focus is EXACTLY what I've done this week. And I hate it. I don't hate ME...I hate my actions. They're unacceptable to me.

My mindset when it comes to losing this weight is simple. I'm either going to do it...or I'm not. I made The Decision to do it....and to work on it continually until I reach my goal weight of 180. I will have gone from 340 lbs that I carried on my 5'10 frame, to a curvy, healthy 180 lbs. that I plan on displaying quite proudly for a total loss of 160 lbs. That will be an astounding accomplishment for me, and I'm betting the one thing I've done in my life that I am MOST proud of. Chances are, I'll drop another 10 lbs or so while I'm trying to get comfy with maintenance, but the day I get to 180 lbs is the day I'm celebrating!!!

When I first started, I gave myself a monthly goal of 10 lb. losses. Along the way, I decided to drop that monthly goal, and make my new goal consistency. I want to get my calories to where they match my fitness level, for a consistent, healthy loss of 2 lbs. a week. Yes, I'm bright enough to realize that it might not always show up like that on a weekly basis...but if it balances out to around 7-8 lbs a month, then I feel like I have reached the consistency level that I'm aiming for.

We all know that each of our journeys and our goals within that journey are different. Some of us don't care how long it takes. It's enough for them to know that they have changed their eating habits to healthier ones, and therefore, changed their lives. That is just beyond awesome....what we should all be shooting for ultimately is great health. Others of us have a more specific time frame in mind because we're driven by deadlines, timeframes, etc. I'm definitely in that group. Did it kill me to drop that 10 lb/mo goal? Oh you bet it did. I wanted to go right back to it the very next week....but I didn't.

I've tried to do my best to end the crazy cycle of dropping 6 lbs in a week, and then staying the same or gaining a lb the very next week, all due to my brain being fried from the previous week of insanity. I'm looking to replace that insanity with some harmony...I want to tone things down a bit, and get on a more even keel. That, in turns, takes some figuring out. I'm now a firm believer that 1500 cals that work for some and produce fantastic losses every week, just doesn't work the same for everyone. How can it? Our bodies are all so different. We don't all weigh the same, nor do we metabolize the same. We don't all work at the same fitness intensity in our workouts, or work out the same amount of days in a week or month.

However, I sincerely think if you're obese and just need to get started, then 1500 calories a day is an excellent jumping-off point. Most of the 43 lbs I've lost since starting this blog have been based on 1500 cals a day, and that's thanks to Sean at The Daily Diary of a Winning Loser. It's a good number. As you progress, if you feel like you need to change things up, then by all means, do so. Nothing is written in stone...it's all about what works for each individual.

I still don't know what's right for me...that's why the weigh-ins have been spotty for the last 3 weeks. But I'm working on it, and will continue to work on it until I get it figured out. There is no giving up. It's just not an option, and it's something I never think about. In fact, my most recent thoughts have been, "How fast can I get back to the gym?" I've been working out at least 5 days a week, usually 6 days. Today was my 5th day in a row, and I'll be back in there grinding it out on the treadmill again tomorrow morning. I'll probably make Friday a rest day because I think 6 days in a row is a good streak, and I do think that a day for rest and recovery is important....muscle repair and all that jazz.

I love that my best friend Pam at Journey To The Healthier Side Of Life turned me on to blogging. I had no idea how awesome this stuff was. What an incredible outlet for the process of losing weight, getting healthier, and changing your life for the better. It's so therapetutic, so uplifting, such a feeling of community. I love that even though you may have never met someone in person, they can get to know you through your writings, and really start to care about you're doing to change your life for the better. You guys are the best...I'm so glad I found you....and now that I have, I can't imagine what I'd do without you. This blog doesn't end when I reach goal.....I'll be bugging all of you all the way through maintenance!! You're stuck with me!!

I want to give my friend Cherie a shout out. She's a friend from grade school and found me on Facebook a few months ago. She reads my blog every day. She got in touch with me a few days ago and offered me some encouraging words after my disappointing weigh-in last Friday. And she gave me some FANTASTIC news that just excites me to no end. Since reading the blog, she's found a belief in herself that she can do it, too....and she's doing it!! Cherie has lost 14 lbs so far and is well on her way to her to becoming the healthy wife and mom that she desires to be. So, so proud of her and just love her to death for taking the leap.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again to anyone who's contemplating getting started. Make The Decision....jump in with both feet....and then just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I definitely encourage starting your own blog if you're able to....and then post as often as you can...it really helps with accountability....and you can say as much or as little as you're comfortable saying. Your blog is about YOU and what you need to do to work through the issues and improve YOU....your body, your health, your mind...all of you. Success is waiting....it's there for the taking. Do it....and do it now. :)

P.S. I ate 1600 calories today...I'm back in control...what a wonderful feeling!

Quote For the Day:

"Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself." -Elie Wiesel

Stress Eating Sucks

Thanks to everyone for sending me kind words and lots of hugs from last night's post. You all know that I'm an emotional basketcase most of the time...no secret there. So when things get too hectic, stressful, or just out of the ordinary, the floodgates open. This week my schedule is all out of whack. I've been gone most of the day Monday and today, either helping family out, at the gym, or whatever...but I haven't been home, safe and sound, with my healthy foods.

I said I was going to eat 1600 calories this week. Apparently I lied. I was soooo proud of handling Golden Corral beautifully Sunday evening....and then at 10:30pm that night I decided I needed a 200 calorie snack. I didn't know why...I go to bed hungry every night....I eat dinner around 5:30p and usually don't have anything else before I go to bed around 11pm-12am. I should be used to it. But I felt the need to shove a little something into my mouth, so I did. Then I did the same damn thing on Monday.....and again today.

I've had 1800 calories Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I finally realized I was stress eating. I'm 5 months into my weight loss travels....in my mind, I should be waaaaaayyyy past this kind of behavior. This is something I should have worked out and moved past in the first couple of months. Why am I doing it this far in? I have been DYING for a decent loss for the last 3 weeks, and I really thought this was going to be the week. I even had a decent eating weekend for the first time in weeks....and here I am screwing up mid-week. WTF???

The only good thing I have to report is that I've worked out hard Sat, Sun, Mon and today. Thank God I've done SOMETHING right!! Several people have told me that now that I'm doing weight machines on top of cardio, that I need to be eating more calories. Problem is....I have no idea how many more calories....nobody's told me that part. So I raised it from 1500 to 1600 this week...or at least that was the plan. For the last 3 days, it's been at 1800. That may be TOO MANY calories, but I really have no idea. One thing's for sure....I'll know Friday morning when I climb on that scale!! Ughhh. I'm shooting for 1600 for Wed and Thur.....someone please send up a prayer that I can get some dang control these last couple of days. Thanks friends.

Quote For the Day:

"Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was." -Dag Hammarskjold

Irritated With Myself

I weighed in at 229.0 this morning, so I gained 1 lb. I've been flitting around with the same 1-2 lbs. for the last 3 weeks. Starting to get irritated with myself. I'm changing my calories to 1600 a day this week and will continue to work out.

Interestingly enough, Dwayne emailed me yesterday and said he checked out the gym close to his house and took the tour, but hasn't joined yet. Then earlier in the week he took a 2 mile walk. And he said he wants to start eating better (mind you....this still means no veggies for him)....so he said on his way over to my house tonight, he's picking up some fresh fish to grill out for us, along with some salad and fresh fruit. Hooray!! We're grilling chicken out for dinner on Saturday along with some corn on the cob for him and some veggie kabobs for me, along with another salad. Sounds like it's going to be a good eating weekend and it's such a relief to hear that after 5 long months, he's finally climbing on board!

Let's hope all of you have a better weigh-in than I have this week!! Have a fabulous weekend!! :)

Quote For the Day:

"The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph!" -Marvin Phillips

Low-Cal Homemade Tacos??? Yes!!!

I haven't made homemade tacos in YEARS...mostly because Mexican food is last on my list of faves. But my cousin said she made some the other night and all of a sudden I got a hankering for them. But when I think of tacos, I most certainly don't think of a low-calorie food. Well they're not....when you eat 6 of them, lol. But if you only eat 2, and you use 99% fat free ground chicken breast and reduced fat sour cream, then Voila!! It's doable...and damn tasty!

I also used the 40% low sodium taco seasoning packet....and only 2/3 of the packet itself, to cut even further back on the sodium. I didn't have any reduced-fat cheese, only the regular stuff. The brand I have is 110 calories for 1/3 of a cup, so I budgeted for half of that 1/3 c., and then used even less than that...just a sprinkle on each taco. Breakstone's reduced fat sour cream is 40 calories for 2 Tbsp, so I used 1 Tbsp on each taco. Ground chicken breast is only 31 calories an ounce...and I used 2 oz. on each taco. The taco shells are 130 calories for 2 of them. Here's some pics:

Since I used less cheese than I planned for, and a little less sour cream, this meal ended up being a little less than 360 calories!!! It was tasty and satisfying...just enough. Thoroughly enjoyed it. :)

Just got back from the gym with Billie. I've been a tad bit frustrated with my workouts the last couple of days. I work hard and feel tired and sore when I get done, and up until the time I go to bed. But when I get up the next morning, no pain. No soreness. Makes me think I'm doing something wrong....not working hard enough. So tonight I raised the weight on all of the machines on the circuit. I've been doing between 30-50 lbs of weight on each machine. Tonight I did between 50-80 lbs. Maybe this will make the difference.

I also found out tonight just what kind of machines our bodies really are. And just how much our limits have to do with mentality, and not physicality. Your body will do what you tell it to do....what you make it do. Don't tell yourself you "can't" do something...until you try. Tonight I raised the weights until I could just barely lift enough to do one rep....then I backed it off 10 lbs. and went at it....doing between 10-15 reps on each machine. Then we did 2 full rounds on the circuit, so that we got a double round of reps on everything. Except the crunches....I did 4 reps on those because my stomach is my biggest problem area.

It's been a great day....great workout, and my calories are sitting pretty at 1334. I do, however, have some serious bloating going on this week due to my cycle. I got on the scale this morning to see what I'm looking at and it's not good, lol. I'm hoping to at least weigh the same as last week when my weigh-in gets here this Friday. Not sure if I'm going to show a loss or not....but I know I'm doing the right thing by being in the gym. If I don't see a loss this week, surely I'll see one the following week. Just gotta' keep doing what I know is right...and tighten up the calorie control on the weekends. Been too loosey goosey the last couple of weekends. Maybe I'll learn one of these days. Sure would be nice to get the rest of this weight off sooner rather than later. :)

Quote For The Day:

"Those who wish to sing, always find a song." -Swedish proverb

Monday's Food Pics

I did a 2 mile walk at the park yesterday since it was so pretty outside and Billie wasn't able to go to the gym with me. We're going to the gym tonight at 6:30 this evening though for some good cardio and weight machines. My calories today are 1300 and I'm done eating for the day. Had a little too much fun over the weekend and need to shave a few off for the rest of the week.

Here's some bbq pork ribs and butternut squash w/ cinnamon and nutmeg that I baked last week and forgot to post the pic:

Today my mom, sister Amy and nephew Cyress came over for lunch. We made shrimp quesadillas with shrimp, cheese, spinach & fresh salsa on whole wheat 50 calorie tortillas. This was the first time I've ever made these at home and they were delish!

Dinner was a scrumptious stir fry w/ turkey sausage, yellow squash, onions, mushrooms, carrots and bell peppers.

I'm headed to the gym soon so I've got to wrap this up. Hope everyone else has had a yummy Monday! :)

Quote For the Day:

"More powerful than the will to win is the courage to begin." -Unknown

I Bought Smaller Jeans!!!

It's been a good weekend...I made it to the gym Friday and Saturday and did the treadmill and the weight machines both days. Billie and I will be going back later on this afternoon to make it 3 days in a row!! It feels good to be working out again after having to take a week off from having that cold.

Mother Nature is visiting this week, so it seems like there's ALWAYS something to affect the weigh-in, isn't there? First my knee was shot for a week, then I had a cold for a week, and now this!! Whatever, lol....it's always going to be something. I'm just going to keep counting the calories and working out every day and I'll deal with whatever comes.

The eating was pretty decent Friday and Saturday. I'm not as strict on the weekends as I am during the week....making sure I don't go one single calorie over 1500. But I've also noticed that while the weekends are little more lax, they're nowhere NEAR what I used to eat on a daily basis before I started my weight loss travels 5 short months ago. So I'm okay with that.

Dwayne gave me some money and told me to go buy a new outfit yesterday, so I did! The last clothes I bought were 22/24's....both tops and jeans. I tried on an 18/20 blouse and it fit well all except for one problem. It was too short, and my big ol' low-hanging stomach was hanging out underneath it. I just can't handle that....makes me so self-conscious. So I bought the 22/24 blouse because it was a little longer and covered my stomach better. However....I bought a smaller size in jeans.......a size 20!!

When I posted the pics of me in jeans at mom's retirement party last weekend, I had several comments telling me the jeans were way too baggy....so I bit the bullet and tried on a pair of size 20's and they fit!! I don't know why I have such a hard time believing that I can fit into smaller clothes. I think part of it has to do with the fact that my stomach is still so freakin' huge. That's where I carry most of my weight. My body is so disproportionate. I've said before that I think I look like a potato on stilts. I have this big, fat, long torso and my legs are a lot smaller in comparison. It's irritating. It'll be nice when I finally start losing some weight in my stomach and then clothes will start to look better on me.

Dwayne took me to Bailey's Pub and Grille for dinner last night and to see all the people coming in dressed up in Halloween costumes. We had a great time together. I had a grilled mahi sandwich and a few fries....which is what I usually order when we go here. I just love grilled fish, and considering we are talking about a menu full of "bar food" where everything is fried or smothered in cheese, this is about the healthiest thing you can get.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!! It feels so good to be back in the gym. I'm already looking forward to the weigh-in this coming Friday! :)

Quote For the Day:

"We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse." -Rudyard Kipling

Early Weigh-In This Week

I decided to go ahead and weigh in today instead of tomorrow. As I mentioned earlier in the week, I'm scheduled to go out to dinner with my friend Chris tonight....the only night that worked for both of us while he's in town for a few days. I'm not even going to deal with a "fake" gain tomorrow due to the sodium in my restaurant meal tonight. I've been known to gain 5-6 "fake" lbs overnight just from sodium in one meal. No thank you, lol.

So....this morning the scale reads 228.0, for a loss of 1.8 lbs. this week! Knowing I've had a little cold all week and have done NO exercise, I'm happy that I still had a decent loss. I'm looking forward to hitting the gym again tomrrow and seeing what a week of exercise gets me!!

This completes my 5th month on my weight loss travels and I have a total loss of 5 lbs. this month. I'm only 1 lb. away from my next 15 lb. mini goal. If I lose at least 1 lb. next week, then it will be time for my next reward! I'll be posting pics tonight of my dinner out with Chris. Have a fabulous day! :)

***A message for blog reader Steelers6....I know you've asked me to respond to a couple of your comments but when I click on your name, I can't find a profile or blog for you, so I don't know how to reach you!! Please email me at the gmail addy listed on my sidebar, and I will be more than happy to answer all of your questions...thanks! :)

I Bit The Bullet

Well, my friends, I did it. Billie and I joined the gym together today. We spent about 2 hours there this morning taking the tour, getting educated, signing up, etc. We left and went and did our errands for the day and met up tonight for our first workout session. We got there at 6:45 and worked out til 8pm. They have 3 or 4 different circuits of machines to use. Naturally, we chose the newest, most state-of-the-art machines. Very easy to use, very efficient, and very painful, lol. I felt great while I was there, but it's not even an hour and a half later and I just cannot believe how sore I am already. I didn't expect the soreness until tomorrow morning. Wrong!

We spent half of our time getting familiar with all of the machines, finding out how they work, and doing 1 rep of 15 on all of them. There's about 12 machines I think. There were only 2 of them that I didn't get on....they were to work out the calves. I've already got the calf muscles of a man, so I seriously don't need anymore work in that department. I'll take a picture of them for you sometime to show you what I mean.

We spent the last half of our time on the treadmill. I burned 400 calories on that baby tonight and it felt damn good. I've had an easy week due to the knee and I've hated it. I was on it for 30 mins, part of it jogging, and park of it with a 5% incline. The trail I walk at the park is flat, so even a 5% incline on the treadmill was work for me. I walked just over 2 miles. I'll be going back in the morning by myself.

I talked to Billie about her schedule and it looks like we'll probably be able to go 4 nights a week together. That's when I plan on doing my weights. When I go by myself in the mornings, it will probably just be to do the treadmill. I worked with a personal trainer lifting free weights about 6 years ago when I lost 83 lbs., and I remember muscle fatigue all too well. So I will NOT be doing free weights or weight machines 2x a day. Ain't happenin', lol.

I ate 1400 calories today, but that was accidental. I was supposed to eat 1600 like I've done all week, but I put 200 in my calorie counter this morning to account for 1/4 c of almonds I was going to have as a snack this afternoon. When I was closing out the website a few minutes ago and looking over my calories for the day, I realized I forgot to eat them! I cannot believe I forgot to eat something, lol, that is just a trip. Too tired to eat now....sounds like too much work and my whole body hurts right now.

I'm glad I stopped waivering over this decision and just did it. I think I'm really going to enjoy it. I'm not overly excited or too pumped up....I just feel a resolve deep-down telling me that this is just the next step in my travels. I'm on the right path and I'm doing what I need to be doing. I feel good. I feel like I'm progressing nicely. I no longer fear that I won't make it. I no longer feel like maybe I can't do this. I know that I can now. How long it's going to take is becoming less important. Just the knowledge that I WILL make it is comforting. I'm not doing everything perfect...but I'm letting go of the quest for perfect. I wasn't hitting that unrealistic goal anyway. What I'm looking for is nice and steady progress.

No idea how the weigh-in is going to turn out this week, but surprisingly, I don't feel too worried about it. I've been told by several people this week that raising my calories may cause a gain at first until my body adjusts to it. I went to 1600 this week, and with getting back to my normal cardio next week, I plan on raising it on up to 1700. Of course, after I have my appt with the nutritionist at the gym in a day or two, that could all change. I'm sure he knows tons more about what I should be doing than I do. We'll see. I've also been told by 3 or 4 people at the gym today that adding in the weight machines will also cause an initial gain....we've all heard it before...muscle weighs more than fat..blah, blah, lol. So I'm trying to take it all in stride. Just going to keep doing what feels right and take it as it comes. This all totally goes against my personality, but sometimes change can be a good thing. :)

Quote For the Day:

The first and the best victory is to conquer self." -Plato

To Join Or Not To Join?

Let's get the crappy news out of the way first....I went out to dinner with Shane and we had Chinese. It was my idea. I just wasn't feelin' it today and didn't want to cook. I had 900 calories left by dinnertime, so I think I came out of it okay. And hopefully I'll have the sodium flushed by Friday's weigh-in.

I'm sticking to walking at the park every OTHER day, due to my knee, so I didn't go today, since I went yesterday. This is really killing me....I can't wait to get back at it full force. I've got a serious itch.

My one goal this week was to start gaining some consistency. All I want to lose is 1 single pound. That will mean I'll have a loss 2 weeks in a row, and that's what I want. With the limited exercise, let's hope I get there.

I did some exercises here at home today. Here's what I did:

Skullcrushers: 75 - 3 reps of 25 on each arm with a 10 lb. weight
Single DB extension: 75 - 3 reps of 25 on each arm with a 5 lb. weight
Behind the head extension: 75 - 3 reps of 25 with a 10 lb. weight
Wall Push-ups: 75 - 3 reps of 25 each
Crushes: 200 - 4 reps of 50 each
Leg Lifts: 40 - 4 reps of 10 each
Lateral Lifts: 20 w/ a 5 lb. weight

I'm debating on whether or not to join a gym. I've never joined one in the past, for a lot of reasons. But one of the main reasons was I didn't want to be one of those people that paid for a membership, was on fire for the first month, and then ran out of steam, lost their interest, and had to continue to pay for a membership. Same reason I've never owned my own treadmill....I didn't want it to become a dust-covered rack to hang your clothes on, like it had for so many other people I knew.

But all of this "free" time with no job is driving me insane. Someone asked why I don't get a part-time job. I haven't tried, because I'm lucky enough that I made enough at my last job, to get the full amount of unemployment. It's obviously less than I was making when I was working, but it's enough to cover my monthly living expenses. Part-time work wouldn't pay all of my bills, so I have to stick to the unemployment check until I can find full-time work again. I hope it's very soon.

But, for now, I'd like to get out of the house more, but with a purpose. Billie, my roommate's girlfriend, told me about a gym in Cartersville, about 10 mins from my house, that only costs $15/mo and there's no contract! I found out about this last weekend and have been mulling it over ever since. I would have to re-adjust my budget, and use some of the Christmas money I set aside to buy my family gifts this year. That's the main reason I've been hesitating.

Tonight, I'm starting to think differently. Getting healthy, fit, strong and living longer has got to be one of the BEST presents I can give to every member of my family. I think investing this little bit of money in myself, instead of a few extra things to wrap and put under the tree, is money better spent. As far as possibly losing interest, or just not being comfortable in the environment....well, that's the beauty of no contract.

Anybody have any tips or advice to share on what I'm contemplating here? I'd love to hear it. 'Nite friends. :)

Quote For the Day:

"The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It's your mind you have to convince." -Vince Lombardi

I'm Off My Meds!!!

I got my lab results today and it's mostly good news!!

I took myself off of all of my meds earlier this year (except for the thyroid meds, that one is for life). None of my illnesses were terribly dire, so I wanted to see what I could do with diet and exercise alone, with no meds in my body. In 4 1/2 months, this is what I've accomplished with healthier eating and regular exercise:

I was on 2 diabetes meds (thank God it was never bad enough to need insulin). My A1C # should not be above a 6. When I got it checked in January, it was an 8.4. Today it was a 6.7. This is still a little over, but the doctor said that I've made such great strides, and he knows I'm continuing to do so, that I do not need to take any more meds for the diabetes!!

I was on a high blood pressure med. But the last 4x I was at the doctor, it was a normal reading, so I was okay with taking myself off of that one. My visit last Wed gave me another normal reading of 120/80, so he said no more blood pressure med!!

My bad cholesterol (LDL) shouldn't be over 130. Mine is 114! No more bad cholesterol med!!

My good cholesterol (HDL) should be at least a 45. Mine is a 25, so it's too low. They want to put me on a med for this when I go in for a follow-up appt in a month. I'm disappointed about that. I asked what kind of food I should be eating to improve it. My doctor said you don't improve good cholesterol with food...only bad cholesterol is improved with food. He said you improve the good cholesterol with exercise. I explained that I've progressed from walking less than a mile all the way to walking/jogging 4 miles a day/6 days a week! He was shocked and said that I'm doing plenty of exercise then, and that unfortunately it's heredity that's causing it. I emailed Sean and Pam to see if they knew anything about this. Both of them said that their dr's said it CAN be improved with food.....good stuff like fish, walnuts, almonds, etc. So...I'm planning on incorporating more of these into my diet and see what I can do on my own.

My thyroid nearly killed me in 1999. I went to bed one night and woke up in a hospital 4-5 days later. I had been on life support for 4 days and nobody knew what was wrong. It was finally determined that I had hypothyroidism, meaning an overactive thyroid. My doctor told me today that your thyroid should run between a .34 and a 5.6. When I got out of the hospital, mine was at a 67. No wonder I damn near died!

It has been super high for many years and my meds have steadily increased. I don't understand the thyroid at all...I do not know if diet and exercise affect it, or if there's any way to improve it on your own. All I know is that when I went and had labs done in January, all of a sudden I had gone from HYPO to HYPER, meaning now my thyroid was too low. He lowered my dose from 2 pills a day to 1 1/2. My labs today said that my thyroid is still too low, and in fact, lower than it was in January. No idea why. It shouldn't be lower than a .34. It was a .30 in January, and today it's a .22. He told me to drop down to 1 pill a day. So although I'll be on this one for life, at least the dose is decreasing, and that makes me happy. :)

I was so excited to get this news today...I said when I started this blog that I wanted to lose weight, but most importantly, I wanted to get healthy. I didn't want to die an early death and leave my family behind and that's exactly where I was headed. In less than 5 months, I've turned it all around. Almost all of the meds are out of my life, and I hope they're gone forever. This proves what you can do when you make The Decision, set your goal, and go after it. The trick is not to never fall....it's to get up EVERY TIME you fall....never quit. Ever. Life is too important. If I can do it, so can you. Without question. :)

My calories are at 1650 today. I was shooting for 1600 because my exercise is limited, but I just couldn't seem to stop munching on that dang turkey breast I baked today! I took the skin off, covered it in spices, and then sprayed it with some olive oil cooking spray to hold in some of the juices. It came out very moist and flavorful. I'll use it to make some turkey pitas w/ lettuce and tomato for the next couple of days. I made a great breakfast and it was under 200 calories. It was an egg white scramble with fresh mushrooms, onions and 1 oz of Boar's Head 47% lower sodium ham, with some tomato diced on top. It was delicious! This afternoon I made a Greek chicken wrap. It was sauteed chicken tenders with fresh spinach and artichoke hearts. I used a low-carb wheat tortilla, and added some shredded lettuce and 1 tbsp. of reduced fat sour cream. Yum! I took some pics:

On the exercise front...it was 40 degrees this morning with thick, heavy fog. A good day to stay in cuddled up on the sofa with a warm cup of coffee, lol. But I headed to the park anyway, and did an easy 2 mile walk. My knee felt okay...not totally right yet, but not hurting. Again, I didn't want to push it, so I left the trail after 2 miles, ran some errands, and went back home. Josh at "A Personal Journey of Fitness and Fat Loss" was kind enough to give me some links to some more bat wing exercises (triceps), so I tried out a new one today.

Skullcrushers (triceps) - 20 reps on each arm with 5 lb. weight. I tried it with a 10 lb. weight and couldn't even lift it 2 inches, lol.

My normal tricep exericse (dropping 10 lb. weight behind my head with both hands, bending at the elbow, then extending over my head fully). 50 - 2 reps of 25 with a 10 lb weight.

Wall push-ups - 50 - 2 reps of 25

Crunches - 100 - 2 reps of 50

Leg Lifts - 20 - 2 reps of 10 (my stomach is still so big that these are the hardest exercise for me right now).

So all in all, today has been great...especially with the news on the lab results. I'm a little worried about whether or not I'll lose this week, because of my lack of cardio....but I'm not freaking too much. If I don't lose this week, I'll do my best to lose some the next. :)

Also, I want to give Josh a shout out. If you haven't seen his blog yet, it would behoove you to do so. This guy inspires me each and every day. Since he's posted his weight on his own blog, I hope he doesn't mind me mentioning a ballpark figure here. Josh started his journey at over 300 lbs. He's had some consistent, fantastic losses. He is an absolute machine in the gym...always giving it all he's got.....he swims, lift weights, plays basketball and the list goes on and on. He does things now at his weight that I only dream of at my current weight of 230. I'm so glad I found his blog....he's a true inspiration and he inspires me to want to try and do more than I think I can. Josh, this quote is for you tonight. :)

Quote For the Day:

"Unless a man undertakes more than he possibly can do, he will never do all that he can." -Henry Drummond

Change: Hard but Necessary

I've been feeling really out of sorts since I posted my weigh-in Friday morning. Now that I've thrown out my 10 lb/mo goal and said I'll just be happy with any kind of loss, as long as I can find some consistency, I don't know what to do with myself. As an all or nothing person, and someone who is goal-oriented, I'm feeling kind of like a ship without a sail. One thing that has added to this feeling is that I can't do my normal 4 mile walk/jog at the park this week and that is really messing with my mind.

When I got out of bed Friday morning my right knee started popping, and continued to pop all throughout the day and night. It's been doing it all weekend now, and my knee is really weak. This happened 2-3 months ago, when all I was doing was walking on the treadmill for exercise, and not nearly as far as I'm walking now. I guess I've just got a bad knee. It feels weak, strange, like it wants to pop out sideways. So my normal exercise is just out of the question. It's irritating the crap out of me that I'm probably out of commission for at least a week....but I really don't want to injure it any further. That would just be stupid. So I'm having to suck it up and deal with it...accept it...and that's just not my style, lol.

My day normally starts with rolling out of bed, taking my thyroid medicine, waiting a little while and then eating a small breakfast, making sure my lower back is loosened up enough to move, and then out the door to the park to do my exercise. I'm the type of person that REALLY likes to get the exercise over with in the morning. If for any reason I can't, and it has to wait til afternoon or evening, it messes with my whole day. I can't rest or clear my mind until I know I've burned those calories. I sincerely think the reason I've had so much success with the weight loss up to this point is because of the exercise.

I also think that doing it earlier helps to burn calories longer throughout the day and raise my metabolism. Dwayne and I have been talking about him buying me a used treadmill as a Christmas gift. One reason is for the winter weather, but the other is so that when I finally get to go back to work, I can wake up an hour earlier and get the exercise out of the way. That way I have killed any excuses for not doing it after work....I'm too tired, I've got to go home and take care of Scarlette, got to stop by the store, I've got to cook dinner, something just came up....you know all the reasons it doesn't get done.

So anyhoo...back to the weekend. My knee is screwed, I'm floundering a bit in my brain because of it, and I overate Friday and Saturday. I didn't binge, it wasn't that horrendous, but it was more than the 1700 calories I said I was going to try out this week. Now with me not being able to do enough cardio, I decided I better keep the calories at 1600 to try and make up for some of it.

Friday my knee was hurting too bad to do anything at all. Saturday I got up and went to the park and did a 2 mile walk. I didn't even break a sweat. That was disappointing, but I kept telling myself not to overdo it, so I made myself leave without doing another 2 miles. Today I went next door to my mom and dad's and rode on their stationary bike for 15-20 mins (I forgot to time it). Then I did some exercises here at home. Let me see if I can remember it all:

50 wall push-ups (2 sets of 25)
100 crunches (2 sets of 50)
20 leg lifts (2 sets of 10)
40 tricep (I think that's the official name for my bat wings?) exercises with a 10 lb free weight (2 sets of 20)
10 shoulder exercises with a 10 lb free weight

None of this required any sweating, so I don't feel like I did near enough. I just can't wait til I can get back to normal. I'm planning another 2 mile walk in the morning. I want to do this every other day just to try and stay in the mindframe of going to the park. And like I said, it's not enough to even make me sweat. It's funny to me to say that now. I remember when I did a post entitled, "E is for Evil...and Exercise". I did NOT want to get started...it was shortly after I started my blog and I didn't want exercise to be part of my weight loss...it was too painful. But I knew it had to be, so when I got started walking on the treadmill at my old apt complex, I could only do 15 mins at a time. I thought I was dying. I was sweating like a pig in heat and falling off the treadmill with legs that felt like Jell-o. It's amazing how things progress and improve if you just keep at it....just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I'm glad I did.

I finally got my eating back on track today. Can't say I feel any better about this whole change yet....but I'm sure I'll be okay soon. It takes me more than a couple of days to adjust to things. It will get better. I ate 1500 calories today, and I have a few food pics.

The first one is my Grandma's recipe for Beef Soup. It's one of my favorites. And I dished it up in a bowl that used to be hers. She gave it to mom to give to me a few years back when she heard how sentimental it was to me. Grandma used to serve beef soup to us in these bowls when we were little kids. It was a memory I wanted to hold onto, so she gave me one of the bowls. It's orange on top with a black bottom....kind of fitting for the upcoming season. :)

I ate 5 or 6x today like I said I was going to. It does help to keep me feeling less hungry and less frantic. One of the things I had was a 4 oz. bbq chicken breast that Dwayne grilled for us for dinner last night.

Mom invited me over for dinner tonight. She said she was making fried catfish and coleslaw and I forget what else. I decided to skip it, and had a veggie plate at home instead. Cabbage, cauliflower/broccoli, and sliced tomatoes.

The weather got pretty cold here this weekend and I noticed Scarlette was shivering when I'd take her outside. Dwayne and I went to Walmart and bought her a little sweater to help keep her warm. The sides of it hung down, and Dwayne asked me where my sewing kit was. I went and got it out of the closet for him, and he took it upon himself to hand-stitch the sides together underneath, so that her tummy would stay a little warmer. It's the little things like this that make me love him so much. :)

Yes, she's standing on my diningroom table. She doesn't listen very well, but shes still momma's baby. :)

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. If you're struggling or floundering, hang in there. Just don't give up. There IS no quitting....maybe just a little re-adjusting to figure out what's best for you. We'll all get there...and we'll do it together. :)

Quote For the Day:

"You see things; and you say "Why?" But I dream of things that never were; and I say, "Why not?" -George Bernard Shaw

It's Time For Change

I weighed in at 230 lbs this morning, so I lost 9 lbs. this week. Apparently the 6 lbs I was up yesterday was due to the 5 gallons of water I drank trying to make SURE that sodium would have no part in this week's weigh-in. I peed myself to death last night, so sleep was intermittent.

Now before anyone gets overly excited, you all know I gained 6 lbs. last week. I'm willing to bet at least 4 of those lbs was from the sodium I ate the previous night and just didn't have time to fall off yet. So in the 9 lbs I lost this week, I think 4 lbs of it was water weight, and 5 lbs of it was actual fat lost. I'm 2 weeks into my month, so with a 6 lb gain the first week and a 9 lb loss this week, I've lost a total of 3 lbs, which is an average of 1.5 lbs a week. I am perfectly happy with that.

I'm ready to change some things. It doesn't excite me to lose 5-6 lbs in a week and then have a gain the week or 2 after that. It just doesn't. What I am longing for is CONSISTENCY. I want to figure out my own personal groove where I'm dropping 1-2 lbs a week nearly every week.

My first thing I'm going to change is up my calories to 1700 this week. I'm hoping a few more calories will lesson the deprivation feeling I've been battling with. Also, I'm re-distributing my calories through my day. I've been eating 4x a day. Breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner. I eat dinner between 5-5:30pm and I don't eat anything else before bed, which is usually around midnight. I don't like going 7 hours with no food. It irritates me. So I'm going to start incorporating a snack around 8pm probably. I had a personal trainer once tell me that not eating after 6pm is a myth. She said it's perfectly fine to eat an evening snack, but the trick is to make sure it's no more than 150 calories.

Also, I've been eating the bulk of my calories at lunch due to something Pam's doctor told her. He said to eat the bulk of your calories earlier in the day to give your body a chance to burn them off and make dinner your lightest meal. I've been trying to work towards that. For example, my dinner last night was a 150 calorie bowl of soup. I know the dr is probably correct in his thinking, but it doesn't feel right for me. I want to try to make the calories I eat at each meal a little more even to see if it keeps me feeling more full throughout the course of the day.

Another thing. My mom told me last night that she thinks my metabolism still isn't right. She said that I eat way too little fat. I haven't done this by design, I actually never count the fat in anything I eat. The only thing I count is calories. Naturally, with scouring the earth to find the lowest calorie foods so that I can have as much volume in 1500 calories as possible, I've ended up with way too little fat in my diet. Sparkpeople says I should have between 45-60 grams of fat I day. I usually average 20-25 grams. I had to go back and look at this at their website from where I track my daily calories, because as I said, I've never paid attention to the fat before. So upping the fat is going to reduce the volume, but she says that fat helps to satisfy you, so I'm hoping the less volume won't bother me.

This is all trial and error for me. Obviously, if I get to next weigh day and I've gained, I'll have to do some more adjusting. But I don't think my problems lie with my exercise. I think walking/jogging 4 miles 5-6x a week is pretty good for my exercise. I've also been lifting free weights every other day to work on my bat wings, but I plan on incorporating some other free weight exercises this week. I think the issue is with my calories, and the way I'm eating them.

My goal is now to get to a consistent loss every week, even a small one. If I can find my groove, I will gladly nix my 10 lb/month goal and just be happy with whatever I lose....as long as I'm losing pretty consistently. The people that I've been thinking about are Jo at 282.5 and "K" at Fat [Free] Me. They are so consistent....1-2 lbs week after week after week for months on end. That's the kind of success I want.

Keep your fingers crossed for me this week!! I really need to get the "diet" feel off of this healthy eating lifestyle and find a groove that I can settle into for life. I'm in this for the long haul. :)

Quote For the Day:

"If you don't do what's best for your body, you're the one who comes up on the short end." -Julius Erving

Stay Tuned...

When I got up this morning, I took a peek at the scale, and was planning on writing a pretty confident post tonight about tomorrow's weigh-in. Then I got back on it a couple of hours ago and I've gained 6 lbs over the course of the day. I swear, my body is so effed up. I've done everything right...not much sodium, under 1500 calories, walked/jogged 4 miles at the park this morning....just amazes me how that can happen. So....Thurday (weigh-in eve) has been just as stressful today as they've always been. I think I've been holding my breath for the last 2 hours. I need to go to bed and get this over with tomorrow morning. Tomorrow's post, along with the weigh-in, will be about a couple of changes I'm planning on making this week in my quest for consistency. Let's pray I don't REALLY eff things up and gain 10 lbs next week, lol. 'Nite friends. :)

Quote For the Day:

"It is much easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is much better at the top." -Henry Ward Beecher

C25K...Maybe

Thanks for all of the comments from last night. You really know how to make a girl feel less crazy. Today was a little better where the bingeing feelings are concerned, but it totally sucked on the exercise front. I ate 1600 calories today. It's 100 over my limit, but after having 5 perfect days, I'm okay with going over a little. However, I didn't walk at the park today. This is the 2nd rest day this week, which means I'll be out hitting it hard tomorrow morning. Last chance workout before weigh day!

I forgot to post the pic of a new recipe yesterday. I made Chicken Pesto Pizza that I found in the Cooking Light magazine. I invited my mom, my sister Amy and my nephew Cyress over for lunch, and Mom brought a salad with her. The recipe called for red grapes, but that sounded gross to me for pizza, so I replaced them with black olives. It was very good, but if I wanted to be lax with my calories, I'd add more cheese. It only calls for 1/2 cup of 2% mozzarella, and that's just not enough for a pizza this big, so it was a little on the dry side. Here's the pics:

My family came over for lunch again today and I made another recipe from Pam's food blog, "Lobster and Fishsticks". It's called Spicy Creamy Zucchini Soup and my mom is in love with it. I made this for her last week, and she told me that I must make it at least once a week and have her over for lunch, lol. It really is an excellent recipe. I added chicken to mine. I just boiled it in the pot with the squash, removed it to puree the soup, then added it back in before serving. Here's the pic:

Dinner tonight was good old-fashioned chicken and dumplings. Ok, not really all that old-fashioned. My Aunt Shirley makes the BEST chicken and dumplings in the whole entire world, and she takes the time to make her own dough, roll it out 1/8" thick, cut it into thin little strips, and then cook them. I did not go to all this trouble, although one day I plan on it. I used reduced fat Bisquick, lol. The only problem was, I was scared to make too much dough, because I love this comfort food dish, and I thought I might eat too many dumplings. So I made very little, then I dropped only 1/2 a spoonful of dough in at a time, instead of a full spoonful. By the time I thickened the soup with some cornstarch and fat free half-n-half and stirred it a few times, the dumplings basically disintegrated, lol. (The chunks you see in the bowl are chicken...not dumplings). However, it was still very tasty...Shane LOVED it. He's taking some for lunch tomorrow. Here's the pic:

Only one more day before weigh-in. I hope I get a good number this week. My one focus this week was being stringent enough with the calories and working hard enough at the park to at least get off the 6 lbs I gained last week. And I do realize that most of that gain was due to the sodium I ate the night before I weighed in, so I feel pretty confident that I'll at least have those 6 lbs gone by Friday morning, since I think at least half of it was water weight.

I went and did my labs this morning. I'll know in a day or two how they turned out. I also downloaded the C25K thingie to my MP3 player. Now, I just have to work up the nerve to get started on it. I thought about it and I know exactly what has been holding me back from doing this. I've been proud of myself for improving my time with the jogging....but I feel sure that compared to this program, it's probably a drop in the bucket. I think I'm afraid that it will be too hard for me to accomplish....like maybe I'm still too fat and out of shape to start working towards a 5k...and if I am, I'm going to feel like I failed. I know I need to get started on it....just trying to work up the courage.

Gotta' run and load the dishwasher and finish up some laundry. Thanks again for all the support and encouragement you continuously give. You are all just a fantastic group of people and I'm thankful that you've become such an integral part of my travels along the road to freedom. :)

Quote For the Day:

"Just go out there and do what you've got to do." -Martina Navratilova

Porkin' Out

I bet when you read the title you thought, "Oh no! Tammy fell off the wagon AGAIN!!!" Ha ha ha...FOOLED YA'!!

I'm proud to say that I'm doing just fine, and feeling WAY better than yesterday. The reason for the title is because I made 2 pork dishes today...one for today's lunch, and one for tomorrow's dinner. And I have pics...although they're not that great. I'm not a good food picture taker. Sorry.

I found a new recipe in my Cooking Light magazine for Pork and Potato Hash. I've been craving pork for a while now...it's one of my MOST favorite meats. I am a total carnivore. So I was going to make it for dinner, decided I couldn't wait that long, and made it for lunch! Here's the pic:

I made the Butternut Squash Soup recipe that I found on Pam's food blog, Lobster and Fishsticks, listed on my bloglist. I've made several of her recipes now, and they never disappoint!! She's so talented in taking old, familiar comfort foods and "healthifying" them. I added a dash of cinammon to mine after I dished it up. Here's the pic:

After making my pork and potato hash today, I had part of a pork tenderloin left, so I threw it in the crockpot with a cup of diced potatoes and half a head of cabbage for tomorrow night's dinner. I went ahead and put some in a bowl to take a pic of it, and then threw it back in the pot and put in the fridge. Here's the pic:

I've got some good news to report on the exercise today. Last week I told you that I started trying to add some intermittent jogging into my walks. It normally takes me 1 hr 15 mins to walk 4 miles. When I started the jogging a week ago, I discovered that I can only do it for 10-20 seconds at a time and then have to fall back to walking. So I try to catch my breath and then do another jogging spurt as quick as I can. I end up with a bunch of short jogging spurts. The first time I tried the walking/jogging last week, my time was 1 hr 3 min, so I shaved 12 mins off my regular walking time and was very happy about that. Today, I did it in 55 minutes!!! That just thrills my heart. This, my friends, means I'm making progress with the jogging!! Woo Hoo!!

Who would have ever thought that Fat Tammy, who could barely walk a mile when she first started 4 months ago, is now starting to jog??!! I got news for ya'. Fat Tammy is standing at death's door. Her days are numbered. Girlfriend ain't lookin' too good.

Today was really stellar on the calorie front...until Shane came home. I could have beat him. He called me and asked what was for dinner, and I told him I saved some pork and potato hash for him...something I knew he would like. So a little while later he walks in the door with a triple Whopper from Burger King. Are you effing kidding me??? WTF??? He said he decided he'd take the hash for lunch tomorrow and was feeling like a Whopper. A TRIPLE WHOPPER.

I've mentioned in the past that my all-time fave fast food is Krystal's. What I don't think I've mentioned yet is that the Burger King Whopper is my 2nd favorite. I've never been a McNasty's kinda girl. I also mentioned just last week that I think I'm over the fast food thing. That's probably still true as far as me out driving around...I still don't have the desire to whip into those places like I used to. However, when the Triple Whopper is sitting right under my nose on the kitchen counter....not so much. I asked him if I could have a bite and he said yes. I had one bite. Heaven. lol I swear....it still tastes good to me and that just sucks. I told him I hated him with every fat cell in my body and he just laughed. Not so funny to me....but you know what...life is always going to be full of temptations.

That brings me to something that Sean wrote in one of his posts not too long ago. It was a real eye-opener for me. He said that he no longer calls any food a temptation....because to call it a temptation is to give it power. When you call everything a "choice" instead, you take away the power that the food has over you. Total epiphany for me. Just brilliant. I just wish Shane would keep his crappy "choices" out of the house! lol

So, total calories for the day are 1500 + one bite of a Whopper. I drank tons of water, just as I always do. And I walked/jogged 4 miles at the park. I wrapped my toes in band-aids before I left, and with my new shoes, I didn't have a lot of pain today. It was so refreshing. However, my joints were giving me hell just like they usually do, so again, I didn't make it to the 5 mile marker. I'm starting to think that goal was a little too lofty for this week.

One more thing before I sign off. I mentioned last week that Shane's girlfriend, Billie, has started her own weight loss blog. She took inspiration from me and started her own and I'm so proud of her. She's listed on my blogroll as "Let the Skinny ME Out!". I found out last night that her daughter Kandice has now started her own weight loss blog!! She's also on my blogroll and it's called "No More Chunky Dunking...". Seems like this healthy lifestyle change is really starting to catch on!!! I think that's just fantastic...I'm glad that these lovely ladies really want to change their health for the better. I hope you'll stop by and give them a high-five for getting started down the Road to Freedom. :)

Quote For the Day:

"When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, til it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." -Harriett Beecher Stowe