Hiking the 'Hooch

A HUGE thank you to Ms. Magnetism at Mission to Lose 130 Lbs. for bestowing the Sunshine Award upon me.  I'm honored that she found my blog worthy of such a sunshine-y award, especially when I post so much CRAP on here, lol.  Nonetheless, I sincerely appreciate her thoughtfulness!   As far as I can tell, the only rules are to pass it along to 12 other bloggers who bring sunshine into your life.  That's impossible for me.  If you're listed on my Blogroll, then I love all of you, and the award is yours for the taking, so enjoy it!!

I'd also like to say another HUGE thank you to Kelly at Happy Texans & Brittany at :Deliciously Healthy  for passing along the Beautiful Blogger award to me.  I've won this award previously and have it listed on my sidebar...that's why I don't have the picture here in the post.  Thank you again Kelly and Brittany for your sweetness and your always-entertaining blogs!  :)

My sister and I decided to hike at part of the Chattahoochee Nature Preserve today.  It was more of a walk than a "hike", since there weren't really any hills or tough inclines.  We walked the 4 mile loop...it started out  along the Chattahoochee River and looped around through a swamp with lots of ducks, turtles, etc.  The weather was crappy....overcast, cold, windy...but that was no surprise.  I took a lot of pics that I'll put up at the end of the post.

When we got back home I decided to try out that whole wheat pizza dough I bought at Trader Joe's.  I saw a recipe on TJ's Test Kitchen for whole wheat calzones so I gave it a whirl.  Rebecca at Screwdestiny was right....whole wheat pizza dough tastes like dirt, lol.  I thought of her and had to laugh out loud when Amy and I were trying to choke down our lunch today.  The filling was very good...turkey pepperoni, black olives, cheese, fresh mushrooms, bell peppers & red onions....but the crust, not so much.  Pam at Journey To the Healthier Side of Life has her own version of homemade whole wheat pizza dough on her food blog, Lobster and Fishsticks, so I'm going to try that the next time.  I also cooked mine a little too long...25 mins at 400 degrees....I should have only cooked them 20 mins.  I'll post those pics, too.

I went to the gym tonight totally dreading it.  Tuesday's are our nights with the personal trainer, Chris, and after walking 12.5 miles in the last 3 days, my legs were so dead.  But I went and I did everything he told us to.  A little slower maybe, but I got it done.  He showed us some new stuff tonight, and made up some new exercise sheets to give us the variety I asked him for, so that was very cool.  He's a good trainer....I really enjoy the workouts.  I still think I could do a little more than he asks of me....but I also understand that he's just trying to build up my strength and endurance right now.  There will be plenty of time to get to the harder stuff.  So everything's cool.

While I was on the elliptical for my warm-up, I was watching the news on the overhead TV's and the weather is calling for a little snow north of Atlanta.  Although we probably won't get any here where I live (we rarely do), it will still be freezing temps.  That's a little more than my lungs can handle, so I probably won't be doing any outdoor hikes or walks tomorrow.  However, I'm planning on making it to the gym sometime in the afternoon for some sort of workout.  I'm sore, but I don't really feel like taking a rest day yet, especially after the bad eating this past weekend.  I need to do as much work as I can before Friday in hopes of not showing a gain.  Staying even on the scale would be a blessing this week.  My calories are just below 1500 today, so I'm happy with that.

I hope all of you are making fantastic choices this week and striving to be a better you.  The freedom that we're all searching for is out there, it's just going to take a little work to get there.  We can do it....I know we can...I believe in us!  :)

Quote For the Day:

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

Here's the stats on the calzone:

4 oz. whole wheat dough            240 cals

1/8 c. pizza sauce                 15 cals

1/4 c. 2% mozzarella chz       70 cals

veggies                              40 cals 

4 Hormel turkey pepperoni      17 cals   

Total calories:  382 

My best NSV yet

This is the 3rd day in a row that the weather has been absolutely gorgeous.  I'm not sure what the temps are exactly but it's been sunny blue skies w/ no clouds in sight!  I decided I better get out of the house and take advantage of it today.  I skipped the gym and opted for sunshine and fresh air.  I grabbed my sister Amy and went hiking at Kolb's Farm Loop.  The whole thing is 5.5 miles and I've never hiked the whole thing.  Dwayne and I have been hiking on this trail 2x before, and we've hiked 2 miles in, turned around, and hiked the 2 miles back out.  We had Scarlette with us both times and just wasn't sure how far her little legs would carry her, so we didn't want to push it.

Today I was determined to do the whole thing, mainly out of curiosity.  First of all, I wanted to see what the rest of the trail looked like, and secondly, I wanted to see if I could walk a whole 5.5 miles w/o dying!  Well, it didn't happen.  If I would have rememberd to take my book with me, I probably could have figured it out.  But I forgot my trail book AND my camera.  Amy and I passed the 2 mile marker and eventually ended up in a parking lot.  I was confused....I thought it was supposed to be a loop, but it was like the trail just ended, and I didn't see any signs pointing me onward.  I figured we had walked about 2.5 miles by the time we reached the parking lot, so I told her we'd just turn around and walk back the way we came and at least I would have gotten 5 miles of hiking in. 

When I got home I looked at my book, I realized we had walked 2.4 mi before we turned around, so we hiked a total of 4.8 miles today.  Not bad!  But I'm still determined to go back and find my way around the whole dang trail.  I'm not sure still where to go once I hit that weirdo parking lot, but I'll take the book with me the next time and try to figure out what the directions are talking about by the landmarks it gives. 

Here's the really cool thing.  When Dwayne and I walked this trail the first time, it was last summer, not long after I started my blog and FINAL attempt at weight loss.  I started blogging in June, and I think we did this trail in August.  We didn't even reach the 2 mile marker I don't believe before we turned around to head back out.  There's one really steep hill that you have to climb on the way back out and it seems to stretch out a good ways...a steady incline.  I've named it the Hill of Death.  I remember the first time I did the trail, only 3 miles worth total probably, I absolutely thought I was going to die.

I had to stop at least 3x, maybe 4, while trying to climb that steep hill.  I could hardly breathe.  Dwayne had to keep stopping and waiting on me, probably wondering if I was going to fall and roll back down the hill.  He kept asking, "Are you okay baby?  You're doing great, just hang in there...you can do it baby.  Do you need me to help you?  Do you need to hang onto my arm?"  I hated that shit.  I hated the coddling, I hated that it looked like I had to be helped.  Of course I didn't accept his help.  I just stood there until I could catch my breath, walked a little further, and stopped again.  I was overheated, sore as could be, incredibly worn out and tired, and was really starting to wonder if I could make it back to the car.  I didn't say that to Dwayne, but I was worried.  And embarassed to be in such bad shape. 

Today, I'm proud to announce that I walked a total of 4.8 miles.....further than the 3 miles I walked that day.  I'm extremely proud to say that I climbed that Hill of Death w/o stopping a single time, and did not even stop when I reached the top.  I just kept on moving!!  Huffing and puffing, yes.  Further behind than my sister, yes.  But I was too proud to be embarassed in front of her, who by the way, is 5'7 and maybe 120 lbs soaking wet.  I kept thinking back to the first time I walked it (this was the 3rd time), and just being blown away at how much my endurance and strength has improved over these last few months.  I had a smile on my face that I just couldn't hide.  There was no controlling it.  I really NEEDED this today. 

This has got to be one of the best NSV's I've had so far.  I really haven't been very impressed with myself where the food and the weight loss is concerned.  I've lost 41 lbs. so far.....but so what.  That's taken me 9 months to do, because I went backwards, gained some back, and now I'm having to re-lose it.  I had gotten down to 222.4 lbs at one point, and then climbed back up to 240 lbs.  I've still got a ways to go just to get back to where I WAS.  My eating this weekend has been kind of bad, too.  I still struggle so much with the food and making consistently good choices. 

I can say that I've made improvements with the food.  That would be a true statement.  For instance, I very rarely ever eat fast food anymore, whereas before I started my blog, I was the Queen of Fast Food.  You'd have to go back and read at the beginning of my blog to see just how bad it was, but trust me.....beating that part of my addiction was HARD.  But I did it.  I no longer feel controlled by fast food.  I used to drive down the road and could smell each different restaurants food that they were cooking.  I smelled Big Mac's, Whoppers, fried chicken, french fries, Wendy's double cheeseburgers, and don't even get me started on Krystal's....it was a horrible addiction.  Just horrible.  But it's gotten to the point where I now think most of it sounds downright nasty, and can't believe I ever liked it.  I've gotten to where I'll be out somewhere, starving, and will drive right past 10 fast food restaurants to go home and make something to eat that I know will taste better and be healthier.  That is HUGE for me. 

But I still struggle in a lot of ways with the food.  I have a lot of days where I don't feel good (thank you PCOS for being my living hell on earth)....where my emotions are tied up in knots from the job situation, no extra money to do ANYTHING,  living so far away from Dwayne etc.  Most of the time I'm just cooking for me, because Shane (my roommate) has made other plans or something.  I get TIRED of cooking for just me, and I still find it hard to cook a small amount for just one person.  I grew up in a family of 5 and that's the way I learned to cook...usually enough for everyone to have seconds.  Huge amounts of food.  Shrinking recipes down for one person is a pain in the a$$.

And I get lazy....that's easy to do when you've been out of a normal job routine for so long...a YEAR now.  I don't have any daily responsibilities, nobody to answer to, it's just me and the dog most of the time, so why cook?  I tell myself sometimes that I'm going to be like Sean or Jack and purposely put myself in an eating rut where I eat the same thing day in and day out.  Hey, it works!  You always know the calorie count and there's very little room for error that way.  But that only lasts a few days....I get bored with it.  I like variety too much.  I like food WAY too much.  Different tastes, colors, textures.  And then I get stuck in the bad thinking pattern that I'm doomed forever.  That I'll never get it right no matter how many different things I try.

This post isn't about being in a depression, or losing my focus again.  I don't have either one of those problems right now.  It's just about trying to press on and do better with the negatives (the eating), and accentuating the positives (the exercise).

So I was thinking today that I need to just keep trying to do the best I can with the food...maybe one of these days I'll get it all right.  But what I CAN do is concentrate on the positives for me, which seems to be the exercise department.  I've been doing pretty darn good in that area.  I've been working out 5-6x a week for months on end now.  It's really become a habit.  A lot of it has to do with getting out of the house every day and actually having somewhere to go, something to do, and people to see.  But who cares what the motivation is, as long as it's working.  And it seems to be working great.  I realized today just HOW great when I walked all that way without stopping, even up that hill that nearly defeated me the first time I tried it.

It really made me feel fantastic.  I know for a fact now that I'm actually, really, truly building endurance and gaining strength.  I'm getting better, no matter how many fat rolls I still have hanging off my body.  I was telling my sister today about my first time on that trail, and then compared it today's hike and she was really happy for me.  I told her that since I have this free time with not having a job, that I should take more advantage of it.  I decided that I'm going to do some kind of exercise 2x a day, every day, for the rest of this week.  What I'm not sure about is how it will affect my nights at the gym.  I'm a little sore after my hike today, so I'm not sure if that would have taken away from a workout if I would have gone to the gym tonight.  But I'm going to try some different stuff and see how it goes.  I mentioned to Amy that we might go on another hike tomorrow morning.  Some days I may just go to the park and walk around the trail there.  I'll be doing something to move more.  As my trainer says, you can never get too much cardio.  My brain might be wanting to do more than my body can actually handle, but I'm not going to know unless I try.  So I'm going to get out my hiking book tonight and see where we can go tomorrow.  Dwayne bought me this book for my birthday last year in July.  He knew that I wanted to lose my weight and do more physicial activities, so it was a very thoughtful gift and I just love it.  I need to take more advantage of it and that's exactly what I'm going to do. 

I'll leave you with a pic of my book, and a food pic of a crockpot dish I threw together today.  I took some boneless pork chops out of the freezer and threw them in the crockpot this morning, along with a large can of diced tomatoes, a jar of mushrooms and a jar of salsa verde.  I was going to put in the Rotel, but I figured the salsa would be spicy enough.  I was wrong....I should have used the Rotel.  I cooked it all day long and had a LOT of liquid in the pot, so I threw in 2.5 c of instant brown rice towards the end.  Pretty tasty.  :)

Quote For the Day:

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

Yeah Baby!!!

I weigh 237.0 this morning for a 5 POUND LOSS!!!!

It was SUCH a hard week for me, for no good reason. I had the urge to binge nearly every day. I'm so, so glad I didn't. I broke into the 230's this week and I'm saying goodbye to 240 FOREVER!!!

This weigh-in is a bittersweet milestone. I haven't seen 237 lbs. in many, many years. This is what I weighed in my senior year of high school when I was 17 years old.

It's bitter because 237 lbs. is a WHOLE lot to weigh when you're surrounded by 100 lb. twig girls , otherwise known as skinny b*tches, lol. So saying "I'm back to my high school weight!!" doesn't sound all that hot coming from me, lol.

It's sweet because right after I graduated from high school, a couple of life-altering events happened, and I ended up ballooning up to 340 lbs. at my highest weight. So this 237 lbs signifies that I've lost 103 lbs. so far. When I look at it like that, it's something to be proud of. :)

I'm fixing to eat breakfast and head to the park for my daily walk. I pushed past the 3 mile marker this week and I'm now walking 3.5 miles as my regular walk. Looking back when I first started, I was walking 1 mile and thought I was dying. Now I'm up to 3.5 miles and I'm actually starting to enjoy it. Did everyone catch that? Tammy, who wrote a post entitled "E is for Evil...and Exercise", is now enjoying the walking. Thank God for progress!!

Dwayne and I are going on a little weekend getaway to Cherokee, NC tonight when he gets off work. It's only a 3 hour drive. We're staying 2 nights and coming back Sunday morning. My plan is to do a 3 mile hike on a trail that Brittany from "Me vs. the Buffet" told me about and I was all excited about hiking a new trail. I reminded Dwayne yesterday that we'll be doing a hike on Saturday, and he said, "Well just make sure it's not too hard, or too far, or too long...I don't want to be worn out the first part of the day and not be able to enjoy myself."

Now....the first thing I wanted to do was scream "Lazy Ass!!" and hang up on him. But I didn't, I politely responded that the trail is only 3 miles and we'd walk as much of it as he could handle. In my mind, I was wondering what he was afraid he was going to be too worn out for?? Holding up the TV remote in the motel room? Pushing the buttons on the quarter slot machines at the casino? Leisurely strolling through souvenir shops? Lifting up his greasy Big Mac to his lips when it's time for lunch?

I was already a little anxious about the weekend eating with him while we're away from home and will be doing nearly all of our eating out of a very limited amount of restaurants in this tiny mountain town. But now he's trying to eff up my exercise, too??? If you've got a significant other who is completely supportive of the work you're doing, and is even willing to join in w/o offering too much resistance....be very, very thankful. :)

Weekend Warrior

I battled all of the bad weekend eating that I normally go through...and I won!! A few of you asked me on another post about whether or not I could talk to Dwayne about not eating so badly when he's with me on Fridays and Saturdays. Let me explain our situation as best as I can.

Dwayne is 100% supportive of me losing the weight for my health, especially because we are both diabetic. However, he just isn't interested in losing any of his weight. He's too attached to his bacon double cheeseburgers and racks of baby back ribs. He and I have been dating for 5 years now and we do not live together. Sometimes I see him one weeknight, and then I see him on Friday nights when he stays over and we spend all day Saturday together.

I talk about my blog to him all the time. He is very well aware of what I'm trying to do. And although I can tell that he feels bad about wanting to eat crap in front of me....he still eats it. We just do not eat the same things. A few things we do, but not for the most part. For one thing, he does not eat veggies....aside from a little lettuce and a thin slice of tomato on his bacon double cheeseburger, but that's about it.

I've been cooking for him on the weekends for many years now. I just don't feel comfortable stopping cold turkey and telling him to go out to a restaurant and buy something for all of his meals now when he's with me. So I'm trying to teach myself to ignore the smell and looks of his yummy, calorie-laden foods, and just eat what I've got here for myself.

I told myself this weekend was going to be different from all the others. I swear to you, it takes me all week long of busting my a$$ with exercise and shaving off calories every day for a week to not gain, or only lose 1 lb. I know if I ate right all week, including weekends, I could lose much more. I was ready for another good loss this week, so I called Dwayne on Friday before he got here. This is how the conversation went:

Me: I'm going grocery shopping, and I know you always say not to spend my grocery money on you....that you don't want anything....but PLEASE tell me something I can get you so we don't have a repeat of last weekend where you decide you're starving at midnight and we end up going to the IHOP.

Dwayne: I really can't think of anything I want baby. Don't worry about me.

Me: Pizza rolls? Stouffer's french bread pizzas? Chocolate chip cookies? Potato chips? Tell me something Dwayne....you need to say something.

Dwayne: Okay, get me some pizza rolls.

So, I did my shopping, and got him some pizza rolls and a few other things, and we got through Friday night just fine. I came in at 1497 calories, eating all of my healthy foods and no junk and I got 3 miles of walking in that morning...very pleased!!

Last Saturday, I asked him if we could take Scarlette and go walk the 2 mile trail at the park. He HATES exercise, never does any, and I figured if I could sneak in at least 2 miles (instead of my normal 3), then that's better than nothing. He said yes, and he lazed around the house all day and we never went. I was very disappointed. So.....THIS Saturday, I told him I'm going for a hike and would he like to go with me? I didn't ask, and give the day a chance to slip away....I simply told him I was going....and he came along. We hiked an easy trail called the Allatoona Pass, which is part of the Civil War battlegrounds. I know he's a huge Civil War/history buff, so this was an excellent choice. We ended up walking 3 miles, and he actually enjoyed himself, constantly commenting on how beautiful the woods were.

Here's the rest of Friday's phone conversation regarding Sat's dinner plans:

Me: I was thinking we could grill some chicken for me and some italian sausages for you for dinner on Saturday night. Is that cool?

Dwayne: (hemming and hawing....acting like he either didn't want chicken & sausages, or he was going to be too lazy to do the grilling)

I stepped in.....Me: It's either we grill out, or you can drop $50 for us to go to dinner at the Appalachian Grille.

Dwayne: Grilled chicken sounds great baby! Forget the sausages, I don't need those....let's grill some chicken.

(When the going gets tough, hit 'em where it hurts, the wallet, lol)

Here's how a full day of eating went with Dwayne on Saturday:

Breakfast:

Me: 1/2 c. of cottage cheese and a banana
Dwayne: scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits

Lunch:

Me: big turkey sandwich on sourdough w/ tomatoes, dill pickles & banana peppers
Dwayne: plate full of Pizza Rolls

Dinner:

Me: grilled chicken breast, grilled mushrooms & onions, 1 c. of watermelon
Dwayne: grilled chicken sandwich on sourdough, a whole box of noodles, 3 c. watermelon

Snacks:

Me: 53 calorie Russel Stover sugar-free chocolate mint
reduced fat mozzarella cheesestick
2 c. decaf coffee w/ sugar-free hazelnut creamer

Dwayne: 1/2 bag of potato chips, chocolate chip & peanut butter cookies, Coke

I'm very, very pleased with myself for staying on track with my eating both days. Today wasn't so hot...I did some mindless eating late in the afternoon around 5pm, and before I knew it I was sitting at 1579 calories and hadn't even eaten a real dinner. So I stopped eating for the day....no real dinner for me. I shouldn't have been so stupid with my calories. I'm 79 over for the day, but I've gotta' tell ya'.....last Sunday I was probably over by 600. So I can deal with the 79, especially knowing I came in under the last 2 days. Friday was 1497 & Saturday was 1460...with 3 miles of exercise on all 3 days so far.

About the progress pics, you people kill me, lol. Thank you so very much for all of your very kind words. It was so much more than I was expecting. Several of you mentioned that my shirt looked way too big. That kills me, because I just bought that shirt at Cato's that morning!!! It's a 22/24. I just don't feel like I'm ready for an 18/20 yet because I'm scared it will hug my fat rolls, and that is one thing I can NOT stand....especially when I sit down and all the fat spreads out. I'm telling you...that shirt I'm wearing is covering up a HUGE stomach. That's where most of my weight is....if you knew what I looked like naked, you'd totally understand, lol. My best friend Pam thinks I'm ready for a smaller size, and it won't feel tight like I'm thinking. I don't have any more money to buy anymore clothes with right now, but I decided when I hit my next 15 lb. goal and have 45 lbs gone, then I'm going out to try on some 18/20's and we'll see how they fit. Hopefully I'll be comfy in them by then.

It's been a super fantastic weekend and I'm so very proud of myself. I'm not going to pretend that eating cottage cheese while he was eating bacon and eggs was easy, because it wasn't. But I was focused....I knew that a big loss was more important to me than eating 1/2 lb of bacon, so I stayed on plan. I knew that if I could just get to Friday's weigh-in, then I'd be proud of the effort I put forth while he was sucking down all of those calories in front of me. I'm glad he was willing to go on the hike with me....it made it much more enjoyable. I'm happy all the way around....except for eating too much before dinner tonight, thus not having a normal dinner. Stupid mindless snacking. Oh well...lesson learned. I'll be watching that much more closely from now on. I don't like being over my calorie limit, and I don't like having them all used up by 5:30pm when I'm usually up til midnight.

One last note about the pics. When I read everyone's comments, and I kept hearing where the shirt was too big, I pulled up the post again and looked at the pics more closely. It was then that I noticed that my left ta-ta was trying to escape out of the front of my shirt. I am so embarassed. I truly apologize to anyone who was offended by that...I really wasn't trying to be crude, and actually got a little miffed at Dwayne. He was the one who took the pics and you'd think he could of told me that my cleavage was out of control....but he didn't say a word. Guess he was too busy enjoying the view. Dork. lol

Hope everyone has had a fabulous weekend, too. Going to go catch up on everyone else's blogs now! :)

Quote For The Day:

"What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself." -Hecato, Greek philosopher

Spreading The Love

Today has been pretty good. :) I stayed within my calories, and while I didn't walk on the treadmill, I did move a truckload of stuff to new house we're moving into in a month. With all the lifting and carrying boxes, up and down the stairs several times, I'm quite sure that my heart rate was elevated for an extended period of time and I can count that as my cardio for the day. :) Tomorrow's goal is to hit the treadmill right after breakfast, then over to the tag office to get my sticker for the car, and then to Mom's to borrow the truck to move another load. I really need to up my exercise...I need to push harder if I ever want my endurance to improve.

I spent a LOT of time on the computer tonight reading weight loss blogs. There have been a couple of ladies who have been commenting on my posts lately and I finally set aside the time to look them up and check out their blogs. What a great bunch of people! I've added all of them to my blogroll as well as signed up on theirs. If I missed anyone, please let me know!

I found Sheilagh at 60x60.....she lives in England and has a fantastic list of things she wants to do before she turns 60. I need a list.....still working on that!

I found Amy at The Not So Secret Life of a Not So Super Together Mom....I haven't read her entire blog yet....or anyone's for that matter....but I think she lives in VT. because she posted some pics of a lovely hike her and her husband took. The views from the mountaintop that she climbed are just gorgeous. I also learned that her sister is her personal trainer and I think that's great...I'm really going to enjoy following her blog.

I found another Amy at Amos the Lionheart a couple of weeks ago and she is one of my inspirations for walking. She's doing SO much more than I am.....just as K from Fat(free)Me is doing and I'm super jealous of these awesome women! They're really pushing through and getting it done and I think of them daily when I'm gearing up to get my exercise done.

There's also Tena from Texas over at Shrink To Fit. I love the way this woman writes. It comes across as if she's sitting right across the kitchen table from you. And she is perfect at placing her curse words in just the right spot.....her blog is REAL....and she knows, just as I do, that sometimes only a curse word will do. :)

Then there's Less of Lisa that I found about a week ago. Can't remember where she lives right now, but this girl is a TRIP! We have a lot of the same health issues, including PCOS, so I identified with her immediately when I found her blog. Lisa is so cool....she posts fat pics in her bathing suit and her underwear, lol. She's letting it all hang out there for the world to see as she grabs the bull by the horns and gets her weight off. God bless anybody who's got that kind of guts....I sure don't.

I have been amiss in not mentioning Diane from Fit to the Finish yet. This lady is amazing. I learned about her through my best friend Pam at Journey To the Healthier Side of Life. She has like 7 kids, lives in Florida and did all of her exercising in that high heat and humidity that I remember so well (I'm originally from Jacksonville, FL), and she lost over 100 lbs and has kept it off for like 12 YEARS!!!! Her blog is a help to me every day. She learned so many valuable tips and lessons along the way and is more than willing to share with anyone who wants to listen and better their own lives.

Speaking of Pam....I will never stop singing HER praises. Pam's blog is also REAL...she has her ups and downs and she blogs about all of it. What I really enjoy about her blog is that she's always reading and learning about health stuff that otherwise I'd never know about if she weren't informing me of it through her daily posts. Right now she's got 2 posts up that are REALLY cool.....all of you go check it out. One is a challenge by one of her blogger friends that I joined tonight and will be starting tomorrow. The other is Operation Fat Blaster...a website where you can list your goals and there's a whole group of people there to cheer you on to your victory. Very positive stuff. :)

I've mentioned Sean and his blog several hundred times now, lol, but in case anyone missed it, it's called the Daily Diary of a Winning Loser. Sean started his blog at 505 lbs. He is now down almost 200 lbs. and I just don't even have the words for amazing he is. He has a humility and a true desire to help others than I rarely see in people. In fact, he helped me reach out to a fellow weight loss blogger just tonight, which leads me to Susan's blog.

Susan has a weight loss blog called The Quiet Diet. I'm fixing to ruin the "quiet" aspect of her blog and I apologize to her for that....but she needs some encouragement. I'm hoping mentioning her in the post tonight will lead you to check it out on my blogroll, and head on over to offer her any kind words that you can. We are all in this battle together and when one of us is lagging, it is so important for the rest of us to lift them up and tell them that they CAN do it. I know Susan's got it in her...I can read it in her words...she just needs a little help from us. Thank you Sean for already reaching out to her with your amazing story.

There are others that I read every single day but to list them ALL would keep me here all night. Jack, you know you're loved. I also recently found Fitcetera...as well as Zaa who I'm really enjoying at Zaababy....and of course, there's Lyn at Escape from Obesity who was one of my first inspirations to start my blog, right behind Pam. There are a few others and I love you all!! You are all just incredibly amazing people...fellow soldiers in the battle...terrific inspirations to me during my travels...and I'm so glad I found you. I want you all to know how appreciated and special you are. :)

Quote For The Day:

"Every man has in himself a continent of undiscovered character. Happy is he who acts as the Columbus to his own soul." -Sir J. Stephen

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

First I want to say thanks to everyone who has commented on my posts. I have read every one of them, but haven't had time to respond to everyone due to a REALLY busy and enjoyable weekend. But I have noticed....and thanks to those who aren't even followers on my blog, but have stopped by to leave their kind words. You're a fantastic bunch of people and I'm really enjoying the comraderie that is forming with us. :)

My weekend has been spectacular. You already know about the 2.5 mile hike on Friday and the 4 mile hike yesterday. We decided not to hike today and just let our bodies rest. I ran out to the salon and got a pedicure with the money Dwayne gave me for it last week....very sweet. I did a few chores around the house, just enjoying my day until Dwayne showed up to take me to Outback for dinner. I thought his gift-giving was complete but I was happily mistaken.

Last weekend, when he thought it was my birthday and was actually a week early, he gave me $100 for new clothes, $40 for the pedicure and 2 awesome books that I've really been enjoying this week. Today he gave me the sweetest card....4 beautiful candles with lovely scents....and a pair of diamond earrings in the shape of little flowers....they are gorgeous!! I explained before in a post entitled "My Guy" that Dwayne shows his love through giving you material items and cash...it looks like he loves me a lot! :)

Regarding the food this weekend....it's been bad. I admit it. I had a 3 lb loss this past Friday and will probably follow that up with a 5 lb. gain this week. I'm not being melodramatic. I got on the scale this morning and I've gained 5 lbs. since Friday and not sure if I'll be able to get it off in the next 4 short days!

Friday I had a light breakfast and a light dinner but after our 2.5 mile hike we had a heavy lunch in a restaurant. Sodium. Saturday I had a light breakfast and 2 c. of watermelon for lunch....maybe a total of 350 calories before dinner....but for dinner we had that food from the Publix deli...some of it was fried...plus MORE sodium. Today I had a light breakfast and a light lunch....maybe 500 calories before dinner. But then we went to Outback. I had 1 grilled chicken breast, 3 grilled shrimp, 1/2 of my rice pilaf, 1/2 of my grilled veggies, and HALF A LOAF of that dang bread they bring you!!! Plus EVEN MORE SODIUM!!!

I'm not worried about the gain that I so very much deserve and will probably see this Friday and here's why. My mind is still in the right place. I was conscious of every eating choice I made this weekend. It's unrealistic to think I will never eat in a restaurant again.....although most weekends I don't and won't be eating restaurant meals 3 consecutive days like I did this time! But that's just the way the weekend went, I enjoyed every single second of my stress-free weekend....the hikes way more than the food. And I've still got a tight grip on the overall picture and goal.

The weekend was full of sodium...... but it was also full of hiking, together time with my guy and my puppy dog, some lovely birthday gifts, positive thoughts and lots of laughter...and this will usurp any disappointment I earned on the scale this week. The next week will be better and will produce a loss....I just know it! I've got this thing...I'm going to beat it. I've never been filled with so much resolve in my entire life. I've never been so SURE of something before. I know I'm going to slay Obesity. I know I'm going to win. Not exactly sure how long it will take me....hopefully by next April....but if it's a little longer....it doesn't really matter....Obesity is going down!!! It's days are numbered...and that's an incredibly powerful feeling. :)

Quote For The Day:

"Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement." -Brian Tracy

Hurts So Good

This is going to be a short post....I am soooo exhausted tonight. But I'm happy. :)

Dwayne and I felt so good about our hike yesterday that we decided to do another one today. It was in the same general area but a different trail. This one is called the Kolb's Farm Loop. It was a 5.5 mile hike, and we knew we wouldn't make it all the way, especially after still being a little sore from yesterday, but we decided we'd at least do 2 miles of it.

We had another beautiful day today...enjoyed some lovely scenery. Part of the walk was in full sun and part was shaded deep in the woods. We crossed over two bridges that spanned Ward's Creek so I got to enjoy seeing the water....my favorite thing in the world. It's my therapy. We picked some blackberries and munched on them along the way but they were nowhere near ripe, lol. It was still fun to do. :)

We walked 2 miles in before we realized we needed to stop and turn around to get back to the car. That meant 2 miles back.......4 MILES altogether and we were only going to do 2 miles!! It was a lot harder getting back out than it was going in. There was a little uphill walking going in, but there was a HUGE hill that we walked down....which meant that we were going to have to climb it to get back out. After about the 3rd mile of walking I became painfully aware that I had blisters on nearly all of my toes and the pads of my feet. Unfortunately, I didn't get to enjoy the scenery as much heading out as I did going in. My concentration was on my screaming feet and trying to breathe while climbing that dang hill. There were a couple of times I had to stop while climbing it and the thoughts of rolling back down it seemed like a very real possibility.

I think Dwayne thought I wasn't going to make it a couple of times. He would slow down and let me catch up. He knew my feet were shot so he held my hand in the downward spots so I wouldn't slip and fall. He gently encouraged me all the way....told me what a great job I was doing. He was awesome to take me hiking both days and I'm glad we got to spend that time together. We also had our little puppy Scarlette with us. Bless her heart, lol. We had been giving her plenty of water but she started lagging behind and when Dwayne told me to stop and let her rest, I turned around to look at her and she plopped down right in the middle of the trail, just a panting. We felt sorry for her so I carried her for a ways....and then Dwayne stuck her down in the backpack and zipped it only halfway to hold her in. I was walking behind him so she could see her Momma. She was so adorable....cute little face and front paws hanging out of the bag...bouncing along the trail on Daddy's back. Too precious. I really need to invest in a digital camera.

We finally made it out and I've never been so happy to sit down in all my life. I was hurting bad...even Dwayne was in some serious pain this time. We made it home and hobbled upstairs. We both got showers and sat down to eat some dinner we picked up at the Publix deli. He knew my feet were ruined and wouldn't be able to stand up and cook the turkey breast I had planned for dinner, so he suggested Publix, picked it up and paid for it. Works for me.

Our original plan was to hike all 3 days of my birthday weekend (birthday tomorrow!), but after today, we mutually agreed that there will be no birthday hike tomorrow, lol. My feet really need to heal a bit first. But I am so happy and content right now. I'm working towards my goals every day and now Dwayne is starting to tag along with me. It feels good...it feels GREAT!! Even the exhaustion feels good because I know it's due to really pushing myself with the exercise. It hurts to even walk across the carpet right now...but I'm doing it with a smile. :)

I said this was going to be a short post tonight didn't I? You guys should know me better than that by now. :) 'Nite nite.

Quote For The Day:

"Keep steadily before you the fact that all true success depends at last upon yourself." -Theodore T. Hunger

The Sunshine Is Back

Today has been FANTASTIC!!! Dwayne came over and we took the puppy and headed out for a little hike. He's in better shape than me and said he didn't want to kill me on the first hike out of the new hiking book he bought me for my birthday, so he said we'd take it easy today. We went to Cheatham Hill which is part of the Civil War Battlegrounds tied into Kennesaw Mountain. We did a 2 1/2 mile loop....some of it uphill, some of it down. It was nowhere near as uphill as our hike up Ft. Mountain a few weeks ago, but it was enough to feel the burn. I was proud of myself for doing it. Some of the walk was in the sunshine, but most of it was under the cool shade of a beautiful wooded area. There was a light breeze and we crossed over a creek in a couple of different places along the trail. The birds were singing...the june bugs were humming...it was a beautiful summer day. I released all of my negative energy and breathed in all the fresh air I could hold. I thoroughly enjoyed my happy day and it felt good to smile and laugh again.

Dwayne said we could go on another hike tomorrow....if his back and butt muscles stop aching, lol. It does my heart good that Mr. I'll-take-it-easy-on-you-today is in a lot more pain than I am. :)

I'm headed to bed....it's been a long, fulfilling day and I'm looking forward to getting some good sleep tonight. And by the way, I didn't have to delete any emails today because nobody tried to contact me....hallelujah!! The clouds have parted and the sun is shining on me once more. :)

I Made It

Well I made it to weigh day without screwing it up. I weigh 251.0 this morning for a 3 lb. loss. Although this isn't the highest amount of lbs. I've lost in a week, it is by far the biggest victory, due to the rough week I've had while trying to stay on track. Dwayne just called and said he's taking the day off and he's coming to pick up me and Scarlette to take us hiking. I'm glad. I need to get out and get some fresh air and a fresh perspective on things. I made the decision to delete any further emails I get from the girls w/o even reading them. This craziness has to stop sometime. I want my life back. I want to sleep again. I want to think positive, happy thoughts. But above all, I want my full focus and attention back on this weight loss thing. It's just too important. :)

My Guy

I haven't said a whole lot about my boyfriend, Dwayne, since I started this blog, but after the sweet weekend I had with him I felt the need to share. :)

Dwayne and I have been dating for 5 years. My friend Pam in Florida, http://www.thinnerin08.blogspot.com/, is my best girlfriend and my roommate Shane is my best guy friend....but Dwayne...he's my BESTEST friend, and I'm his. He's college-educated, polished and diplomatic when he needs to be...but he's also very much a guy's guy....he's the funny guy, everybody's buddy or "bro", can throw back the beers with the best of 'em, and he's also the instigator in his group of buddies. In fact, I found out his nickname in the fraternity he belonged to in college was "Bueller", if that tells you anything.

As far as his role as a boyfriend, I have very few complaints. I've never had to pick him up drunk from a bar, drag him out of a strip club or bail him out of jail. So that's a plus. He's bought me jewelry for every Valentine's Day, birthday and Christmas since I've known him...except for this past Christmas. He really outdid himself this time. He gave me the cutest, sweetest, most precious puppy dog in the whole world. She is my angel, my sunshine, and I just love her to pieces. Major, MAJOR points for Dwayne. He's a good Daddy to Scarlette....he's bought her tons of toys, leashes, harnesses, pee pads, bags of treats and paid for all of her medicines (flea and heartworm pills) and all of her vet visits since I got her. He also loves to take us to the dog park so she can run around and play with other dogs, as well as take her on vacations with us when at all possible.

Since I got laid off in February of this year, he has given me between $200-300 each and every month to ensure all of my bills are paid, as well as paid off a $700 debt I owed to the IRS because I screwed up my tax forms this year and ended up in the red. Now, I'm not driven by money when it comes to my relationships, but cash and material things just happens to be the way Dwayne expresses his feelings and shows how much he cares. He's very affectionate with hugs and kisses, but he does NOT like to express his emotions verbally. To give you an example, we were together for nearly 4 years before he first told me he loved me (I mean, actually said it out loud). Now, he says it a lot more often....but it took him 4 long years to get comfortable with it. That's just the way my guy is.

As far as day-to-day life with Dwayne, he's pretty typical for a guy. He's sweet and caring and GREAT on holidays (thank God for calendars), but in our day-to-day life, sometimes he doesn't even hear me talking, lol. I get the "Uh huh, yeah, cool, uh huh" responses when I'm trying to tell him something important and he's engrossed in the latest Sci-Fi show on TV. So while I'm busy telling him about all the important things in life while he's busy digging for the remote, I'm thinking in my mind, "He'll never remember or notice this....why am I wasting my breath?"

Well, it turns out he HAS been paying attention to SOME things. A couple of weekends ago Dwayne indulged me and took Scarlette and I to Ft. Mountain to go hiking. I wrote a post about it called "High On Life...and a Mountain". Although it was a rough workout for me...hard time breathing..all of that...I absolutely LOVED it, and Dwayne knew it. Also, on my very first week of weight loss, I lost 6 lbs and was so excited....he showed up at my door that night with a food processor that I've been wanting but couldn't afford. He said he knew I would like to have it to chop up all my veggies and make my healthy recipes, so it was just a little reward for all of my hard work and that he was proud of me. Yay!!!

My birthday is coming up next weekend. Let's talk about Dwayne and birthdays, lol. The first 2 years we were together, he forgot them altogether. The next 2 years, I would give him gentle reminders about a month ahead of time. In fact, last year, I asked him in June, "When's my birthday honey?" and he got upset and snapped at me, saying, "Why do you ask me that?? It's like you want me to get it wrong just so you can get upset and pick a fight with me!!" After getting over my shock of him snapping at me (he's the most laid back guy in the world, so that was probably only the 2nd time in 4 years he had ever done that), I politely told him that I was simply trying to do him a favor by reminding him....because if he forgot me on my actual birthday after being together for FOUR YEARS, it wasn't going to be a fun day for either one of us. Apparently he got the point. :)

Normally Dwayne spends the night at my place on Friday nights but we were both super tired and he had to work really late, so I told him don't worry about it...just come over Saturday morning. Well noon rolled around and he wasn't here yet. I was starting to wonder what was going on when the phone rang. I answered it, and Dwayne yelled, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW BABY!!!!!" (My birthday is on a Sunday this year). I said, "What?" Again he said, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW BABY!!!! I REMEMBERED IT THIS YEAR!!!!!!" Bless his little pea-pickin' heart. He was trying to be so "on top of it" this year w/o any reminders from me, that he was a week ahead of time! LOL! As gently as I could, I told him, "Honey....my birthday's not til next weekend....." Long pause. Silence on both ends of the phone. Then we both busted out laughing at the same time. It was one of those great moments in life. He was so proud of himself for remembering, and then so embarassed for getting it wrong, even though it was a "good" wrong by being a week ahead.....and I was just so tickled that my honey bunny tried soooooo hard to remember it this year all on his own. Very sweet. I love moments like that. :)

We're having a birthday party at a friend's house next Sunday to celebrate my special day, but he was so excited about my gift from being psyched about it being "this" weekend, that he didn't want to wait another week for me to open my gift from him. (By the way, knowing Dwayne like the back of my hand and knowing what a procrastinator he is with buying gifts, I now know why he was late getting to my place...he was out shopping. :))

He first gave me the $100 back that he told me to go out and buy clothes with the other day...that was part of my gift. Then he gave me $40 to go to the salon and get a pedicure because he knows how much I adore them, and haven't had the money to do it in a few months. Then he gave me the most beautiful gift bag....so beautiful, I had to ask him if his mom had picked it out for him. He said, "NO!! I picked it out....you like pink, right?" Another "proud-of-my-guy" moment. :) Inside the bag were two books and a card. He told me to wait and open the card at the party next weekend. One of the books is a hiking book!!!!! He's actually been paying attention to my new weight loss goals, and my desire to get out and do things outdoors that I've just been too fat to do. Another reason I haven't pushed the outdoor thing is because of Dwayne. He's not big on traveling or doing a lot of outdoor stuff. For one, he loves to just sit and veg out on the sofa and watch TV/movies on the weekends. Secondly, he doesn't like to sweat, lol. Outdoors in July requires a whole lotta' sweating. And third, he's got this weird thing about not wanting to drive too far to get to places (unless it's a trip to the beach and he's going to be there for a few days).

About the hiking book....it lists 60 places to hike within 60 miles here in Georgia. It is so awesome! He told me that we could start with some local ones (that's the no traveling part), and then work our way out....COOL!! He said we could pack a picnic and take the puppy, and he said we could even get a bag to carry with us for healthy snacks, bottles of water, toys for the puppy, etc. He really put some THOUGHT into this! I was sooooo happy. :) My second book is one listing all of the locations on the coastal southeast, for our little weekend getaways and beach trips!!!! Dwayne and I both LOVE the ocean.......absolutely love it. This second book was just as perfect and thoughtful as the first one.

Finally, I'd like to mention that Dwayne and I are complete opposites on a lot of things when it comes to food. He won't eat a vegetable....I love almost all veggies. He's a carbaholic....loves the white breads, pastas, rice, etc. I eat them in very, very small amounts now....mostly converting to the whole wheat pastas. He loves Coke....I do too, but because of my lifestyle change, I noticed yesterday that I haven't had a Coke in 6 days...GO ME!! He's all about red meat and pork.....I'd say that 90% of my meat content over the last 5 weeks has consisted of turkey, chicken, seafood, and some very lean deli ham. He's got a pretty big sweet tooth.....mine's hardly noticeable.

However, I've noticed some changes lately. He's eating more wheat bread.....he let me know, on his own, that he's been going to Publix and getting 6" turkey subs on wheat for lunches instead of hitting the fast food restaurants. He's drinking a lot more water and a lot less Coke. He doesn't bring junk food into my house anymore. He'll forego the white rice sometimes and eat brown rice with me. And yesterday while we were out and about, we stopped by a Subway and he made sure we got a sub that we could share that I could eat....whole wheat, no cheee, lite mayo, turkey w/ lettuce and tomato. He's still not eating any veggies, past a little lettuce and a thin slice of tomato.....but you never know. I've noticed that because of me finally getting serious about the weight loss and making some healthy lifestyle changes....that he's picking up on it...and willingly. I haven't pressed him to change anything and have no plans to. Everyone has to do it for themselves.

So this is my guy....I just adore him. He's a great supporter of my lifestyle changes, he takes care of me and the puppy, and I'm glad that the healthier eating and the outdoor exercising/hiking is starting to rub off on him. I hope everyone has had as nice of a weekend as I have. Talk to you tomorrow! :)

"They can because they think they can." -Virgil

High On Life....and a Mountain

Today has been fantastic! Not in the way of eating right, mind you, but in the way of me being utterly HAPPY today.

Dwayne, Scarlette and I all headed out on our day trip around 12:00pm. Before he got here, I had a sandwich for breakfast that was about 250 calories. I had also done my absolute best to ensure that I had enough healthy foods for my part of the picnic. Dwayne told me to pick him up an Italian sub from Quizno's. Before I headed out to get it, I looked up their subs, soup bowls, and salads online. Most of the stuff was pretty hideous, nutrition-wise, but I settled on a small grilled chicken Caesar salad w/ no dressing and no flatbread that came with it. It was 210 calories. I packed his sub and my salad along with some Wheat Thins toasted crackers, some low calorie blueberry banana muffins (135 calories and 2g of fat each) some bottled water and 2 of those little 8 oz cans (100 calories) of Coke for Dwayne and I to share. That way I'm only getting about 50 calories at a time instead of the full 140 calories that comes in a 12 oz. can. I'm slowly getting better. :)

We stopped at Kroger in Jasper so I could pick up some watermelon. When I got back out to the car it was nearly 1pm and we both decided we were starving. We had lunch in the car in the Kroger parking lot, lol. I ate about 3/4 of my salad and less than a cup of watermelon. We headed on up to Fort Mountain State Park which is part of the Cohutta Mountains. We drove in to a place where there were some trails and started walking. We saw signs that pointed us to "The Stone Wall" and "The Tower". Intrigued, we started on this path. There were stairs at the very start of the path. Bad sign, lol. There were rock stairs/steps ALL THE WAY UP to the Stone Wall......and even more to get up to the Tower.

I don't know exactly how far we walked, but from the time we headed up til the time we made it back down it took us TWO HOURS!! I was so proud of myself. Of course, I thought I was dying at the time. But it was exactly what I wanted. I wanted to ditch the treadmill today and go hiking somewhere scenic. Of course, I had no idea it was going to be stairs all the way up the mountain. My thigh muscles were on fire, my sides hurt, I gasped for air the entire way up the mountain....and I loved every minute of it. The woods we were walking in were so beautiful. There was lots of shade from all the trees, so that was a blessing. After reaching the top where the Tower was, we took another trail across and down some to a scenic overlook, which was basically a wooden deck they had built onto the side of the mountain. We were literally hanging out off the side of a mountain. The view was magnificent. You could see for miles, even into Tennessee. It was so gorgeous.

After leaving the overlook we had to climb back up for a ways, then we headed down, then it curved back up again, then back down. Like I said, when we reached the bottom, we had been hiking for a total of 2 hours. It was so awesome. Fresh mountain air, fantastic views, an awesome workout....the day couldn't have been better. :)

When we left and headed back towards home, we each had a muffin and we shared a Coke. I was now at about 700 calories for the day. We had to stop by his house on the way home, so by the time we got back to my place it was about 5:30pm. I was STARVING....to the point of a massive headache. I knew I hadn't eaten enough. I rushed to fix dinner for the two of us, which was shrimp and noodles and a salad, and then realized I'd forgotten it was Friday, not Saturday, and Shane was going to be home in a few minutes. I didn't cook enough food for 3 people! Only for Dwayne and I. Another dinner disaster.

Except this time, I didn't stress. I didn't freak. I didn't get upset in the least. What did I do instead? I turned today into Free Day for me and ordered Chinese!!! I'm not even going to pretend to act like I was anguished about my decision. I'm not guilt-ridden in the least. I split the dinner I cooked between the guys, and when my lo mein and egg roll got here, I ate half of the lo mein and I ate the egg roll, and I enjoyed every last sodium-filled bite. LOVED IT. GUILT-FREE.

Yes, I should have left Free Day for tomorrow since it's the 4th of July and we have to go to his mom's at 3pm to eat at a cookout. But I didn't. So now I'm going to eat as few calories as possible before I have to be over there, and just make the best choices I can when I get there. I also had 1 beer with dinner, and half of a 3 Musketeers bar. After my guilt-free meal, I got up and cleaned my kitchen and started some laundry, all with a smile on my face. Today has been fantastic all the way around. No stress, no guilt, lots of good exercise, some yummy food, and quality time with my guy and my puppy dog. I'm going to bed tonight a happy girl. :)

Quote For The Day:

"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of." -Benjamin Franklin

Moving Right Along

Sorry this post is so late. I woke up at 5:30am this morning, decided I needed more sleep, and stayed in bed til 8:30am. I got a shower and finally weighed in. I'm at 258.4, so I lost 2.4 lbs. this week. Of course I'm a little disappointed that it's not the 3.8 lbs. I was hoping for, but it's still a loss. It looks like the large losses of 5-6 lbs a week are over. So I've lost a total of 13.6 lbs. so far and that's something to be proud of. :)

Dwayne is off work today due to the holiday. He's supposed to be here about 11am and we're driving about an hour and a half north to the Cohutta Mountains. We're taking the puppy and having a picnic and walking on the nature trails. I'm really looking forward to it. :) I'll be back later tonight to post my nutrition stats and food intake for the day.

Ants In My Pants

Today is a win! Only 10 calories over today and that's not enough to fret over. I had some trouble on the treadmill this morning. I was shooting for another mile like I did yesterday but couldn't make it that far. I wore blisters inbetween two toes on each foot yesterday and when I hopped on and started walking this morning they were killing me. They are so raw. I pushed myself as far as I could and made it 3/4 of a mile. Then I had to get off because my toes were just too squished together in the tennis shoes. Tomorrow I plan on wrapping all 4 toes in band-aids before I head down to walk. Hopefully that will take care of the problem.

I've had cabin fever for a while, feeling ancy, wanting to get out and do stuff but don't have anyone to do anything with. My friends all have JOBS (imagine that), my sister Brandy lives too far away, and my Mom is off for the summer, but stays insanely busy. So this morning I sent Dwayne a text msg and told him he should take the day off and go with me and the puppy to the park for a picnic. I knew he wouldn't, he's got a very good work ethic and very rarely plays hookie. Then he called me at 11am and said he's coming over and we're getting out of the apartment today. Woo hoo!

I ran to Publix and got him an Italian sub out of their deli, stared at their Mojo chicken wings (my favorite thing in their deli), drooled for about 5 minutes, then tore myself away and ran back home. I made myself the turkey burger that I had already planned on having today, packed us some watermelon and bottles of water, and off we went! We went to Kennesaw Mountain Civil War Battlegrounds. We had a nice little picnic under the shade of some beautiful trees, then drove to the top of the mountain. We got out of the car with Scarlette, my baby puppy dog, and walked the rest of the way to the top.

It wasn't far, but it was definitely uphill. Dwayne, with his skinny little chicken legs, went scurrying up the mountain like a spring lizard. I was so jealous. I huffed and puffed and followed up behind him, grappling for every breath. My thigh muscles were ON FIRE, but I was happy. I was out of the apt, spending time with my honey bunny and my baby girl, getting some sunshine, I ate within my calorie limit, and I was exercising in the middle of some beautiful scenery. I knew I sounded like I was about to keel over, so while struggling for air I told Dwayne, "I know...(gasp)...it sounds like...(gasp)...I'm dying here......(long gasp)......but...(gasp)...I...(gasp)...really am...(gasp)...enjoying this." He turned around with a sweet look on his face, chuckled a little, and said, "I know you are baby....you're doing great." I forgot to tell everyone the sweet thing he did last week. I called him last Friday morning after I got on the scale and squealed in his ear about my 6 lb. loss. He was extremely proud of me and congratulated my hard work over and over. When he came over that night after work, he had in hand the food processor that I've been wanting FOREVER and couldn't afford to buy. I was so surprised and excited...I was jumping up and down and squealing again like it was Christmas morning. He told me that he knew how bad I wanted to make Pam's homemade hummus and other healthy stuff and that this was a little reward for my first 6 lb. loss. How sweet is that?? :)

I appreciate all of you who offered me suggestions on the two topics I asked about last night. As far as the calories go, I'm going to go with Pam's advice. She suggested that changing it up every week would probably prevent a plateau from happening as soon and that makes perfect sense to me. Changing it every single week should keep my body from being able to get used to anything, so I'm going to give that a shot. Her, Rebecca and Mom also suggested that I not use food as a reward (the big plate of seafood I mentioned), so food is out. Thanks ladies! I'm thinking of taking an overnight trip about an hour and a half north of here, but have to talk to my friend Lori tomorrow to see if it will be possible. Her Aunt owns a lakehouse in Blairsville, and we don't have to pay to stay there, so I'm going to see if it's available either next wknd or the week after, provided I hit the 15 lbs by next wknd. If not, definitely by the week after. The only thing I'll have to pay for is my food, so that makes it a nice reward that I can actually afford. I hope it works out. :)

Goal stats:

Calories 1550
Carbs 250
Fat 60
Protein 136

Today's Stats:

Calories 1560
Carbs 158
Fat 36
Protein 172

Pam gave me such a wonderful, incredibly low calorie/low fat recipe for dinner that I had enough calories left over for a yummy little egg white/canadian bacon/chz sandwich this evening. Dinner was chicken florentine and she'll be listing it on her food blog soon.

Here's my food intake for the day:

Breakfast casserole
2 c. coffee

Turkey burger (Arnold's whole wheat sandwich thin, turkey burger, tomato, onion, lite mayo)
6 baby dill pickles
1 c. watermelon

Chicken florentine w/ brown rice (I added yellow squash and zucchini to get some more veggies)

Salad (romaine, spinach, broccoli slaw, onions, tomatoes, carrots, celery, hummus)
1 tbsp. lite Italian dressing
1 pc. Russell Stover Sugar Free 60% cacoa dark chocolate
protein water
lots of regular water
1 c. orange pomegranate red tea, mixed 2/3 unsweet, 1/3 sweet
sandwich (2 egg whites, 2 pc. Can. bacon, reduced fat ched chz, whole wheat sandwich thin)

Well tomorrow is the most important eating day of the week.....the day before weigh day. I still have the same feelings of wanting to gorge myself on big fat roast beef sandwiches and curly fries so let's hope my resolve stays in tact. I'm hoping to see a good loss this week. I'm signing off so I can go email Lori about that lake house. Keep your fingers crossed for me. :)