Quick Update

I just wanted to let anyone who reads this know that I have not given up. I have still been eating pretty well. The reason I have not updated since week three is because I have still been dealing with stomach pains and some days I would be well under 1,200 calories since I was scared to eat dinner. I knew eating dinner meant I would most likely have stomach pains and be up all night. Even though I have been dealing with this for many weeks now, it hasn't helped me lose weight. It's frustrating enough to deal with the bloating, constipation, stomach cramps, gas, etc. I thought maybe one little bit of a silver lining would be weight loss. Nope, not for me. I just get stuck eating way less and get to be in pain with no silver lining. I've gone to the doctor and they took urine and blood. I even got an ultrasound and I am waiting to hear back about the results. I'll keep updating the blog. I can't even begin to explain how frustrating this is since I am trying and not getting anywhere.

Week Three Review

So, did I do it? "Do what ?", you ask. Well, if you look back a few posts to the one titled "10 pounds in 3 weeks?" , you will see that I was hoping to lose 10 pounds before our little Valentine's Day / Wedding Spot Scouting getaway.

So, did I do it? Not quite, but I got super close! I have lost 8 pounds now and I am down to 180. I'm just thrilled that the 170's are within reach again and it will be only a matter of time until I am down to the 160's. Getting into different "groups" like that really motivates me to keep going! I'm quite confident that by the end of the month I will be 178.

How did I do at following my own rules?

1. Work out a minimum of 2 times a week for 45 minutes at a high intensity
2. Stay between 1200-1500 calories per day
3. Follow the Eat to Live lifestyle as closely as I can.
4. Use Calorie-Count.com for support.
5. Drink a lot of water
6. Eat every 3 hours

1. I didn't work out once. I was still having stomach pains which ruined it for me. Then we had family over too. Busy week, but no work-out. Hopefully I can get back on track this coming week.
2. I've been pretty good at staying below 1,500.  Some days it came close, but I didn't go over. This week went so fast.
3. I've been pretty good at eating veggies and fruit. However, I am still eating stuff that I shouldn't be.
4. This week I used Calorie-Count.com  a lot less. I was still on there and I even back-tracked so I could log my week and continue with the Calorie Camp. It is still a valuable tool for me.
5. Some days I know for sure I didn't get nearly as much water as I should have. I find that I really have to make a conscious effort at it in the winter time.
6. I've been skipping my mid morning snack a lot lately and having a larger afternoon snack. It just feels right to me. I think my body actually wants dinner around 4 or 5 pm, but we eat around 7. By that time I feel like I am starving and want to eat a ton. Having a larger afternoon snack is making me less interested in dinner and helping me not go over my calories by gorging at dinner time.

That's it for now! Let's hope I stay on this path :-). I'd love to share my wedding pictures on my blog with you guys and have a great before and after. That would be amazing!

Week Two Review

This week was a little tougher than last week. We had family over a lot so that threw a wrench in my workout schedule. Then I got major stomach pains,cramping, bloated, chills, etc. mid week and that really messed me up bad. I ended up eating way under my calories for two days and then went over yesterday (which yesterday is technically part of week 3). However, I lost another 2 pounds and I am down to 182. I can't help but wonder if that's temporary due to the lack of food I had, but we will see.

So, how well did I do at following my own rules?

1. Work out a minimum of 2 times a week for 45 minutes at a high intensity
2. Stay between 1200-1500 calories per day
3. Follow the Eat to Live lifestyle as closely as I can.
4. Use Calorie-Count.com for support.
5. Drink a lot of water
6. Eat every 3 hours

1. Very bad. I didn't work out once this week. I was actually sad about it though, so it's a good thing that I am actually missing working out!

2. I did pretty good except for one day I am pretty sure I went over at least a few hundred calories. Other days, I was under and closer to only 800-1,000 cals. Like I said, I was sick.

3. I've been trying to follow the Eat to Live lifestyle, but I definitely need to go grocery shopping.  Due to strict finances and trying to free myself of consumer debt, I have been trying to cut back in some areas. We have tons of food in the house, so I am trying to eat whatever we have here before spending more money. Unfortunately, that means most of the stuff is either frozen or canned rather than fresh. I may have to bite the bullet and buy fresh foods for the sake of my health rather than my finances.

4. I've still been using Calorie-Count and there are some amazingly supportive people on there. When you do the Calorie Camp and close out your day, you can write a comment. One of my comments last week received so much support and great advice. There are some awesome people on there! Check it out, www.calorie-count.com and they have an Android app, which I use every day!

5. I have still been making a conscious effort to drink tons of water. I don't feel like I did as good this past week as I had the week before though.

6. I have been pretty good at keeping a Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner type of eating schedule, but I do skip snacks sometimes. I find that to be a bad thing for me though because it seems like I end up "starving" and end up eating way more on my second snack. I will try to make sure I eat more often because I do find that it helps.

So, there is the week 2 review. Wish me luck in week 3! Thank you for stopping by.