How to Catch Yourself From Falling Off Your Weightloss Plan

Lately I have been really screwing up. I had my first day that I went over my maintenance calories since June just a few days ago. I have gone over my goal calories a few times, but never over my maintenance calories. That is really bad. On top of going over, I was majorly slacking on working out. I was starting to hear myself tell myself the same excuses I used to say when I wasn't serious about losing weight. 
I did the worst thing I could've possibly done, I stepped on the scale. Rather than giving me the push I thought it would to get in the right direction, I immediately felt defeated and like all my hard work the past few weeks had gone down the drain. I even thought about going to eat something! How terrible is that? Luckily, there was still a little voice of wisdom in my head that said simply "Don't Stop!" . I told myself, you know what, just because the scale says I gained 2 pounds it doesn't really mean I gained two pounds. Let me elaborate... my body all together weighed two pounds more, but that doesn't mean I gained two pounds. That would be impossible since I only barely went over my maintenance calories one day and just slacked a little on working out. I probably have a bunch of junk stuck in my digestive system because I was stuffing myself with carbs.
So what am I going to do to reverse this? Yesterday, I got in a good one hour workout that burned a whopping 770 calories. I used that extra food I had eaten the day before as fuel to get in a good workout.  I have to admit that eating more does give me more energy the next day. I still ended up eating over my goal calories yesterday, but not by much. Now, today I am going to eat lightly and very healthy. I will make sure that I get at least 100 oz of water in as well. My next official weigh in is on Saturday and I want to make sure that my day or two of weakness doesn't result in a gain for my weigh in. My goal is to lose a pound a week.
It's always good to have goals, but I think sometimes we take them too literal. For instance, " I MUST lose 2 pounds this week or I'm going to cry!". What if you lost 1.5 pounds that week? Is that not worthy of a pat on the back? I think it is. Sometimes we need to look at things in a bigger pictures. I am not talking months or years, I am talking life. We have one life. Think about how much weight you can lose before your 40th birthday or if you are 40, think how much better you will look at your 50th! I have mini goals, but if  I don't meet them, I just move on to the next and I always think about the big picture which is life. I still have the rest of my life ahead of me and that is the real time-frame I have to reach any goal.

The best advice I can give is to always find a way to turn a negative into a positive. For me, I think it's engrained in my DNA since I have been doing this my entire life. I slip up sometimes, but I generally tend to find a silver lining in everything.

Now catch yourself from falling off your plan and stick too it! You're the only one that can keep yourself on your plan.

Calories Shouldn't Count on Your Birthday!

So, I'm sure you can guess my birthday was recent due to the title of this post. Yes, I turned 26 years OLD yesterday. Ok, I'm not that old but I am definitely feeling grown up. I let myself off the wagon a little and I know my next weigh in is going to pay the price for it. This past Saturday I went to Dave & Busters with my friends and had a million shots and some mixed drinks. Yesterday, I let myself have chocolate and candy for lunch. Then we had mexican food for dinner . I also got a mixed drink at dinner. I left the restaurant feeling more full than I have since I started my new lifestyle. It felt disgusting. I felt like I weighed 50 pounds more than when I entered the place. I felt like I was getting more stretch marks. I only ate half my food, but my goodness,  those plates are huge! I had yogurt for breakfast today and ate the other half of my dinner from last night for lunch and feel extremely full again. Tonight isn't going to be much better calorie wise because my Fiance is making me cupcakes and ice cream for my birthday! At least I know that I can control the portion size of dessert and I'll probably have salad for dinner so I don't do too much damage today. It sucks knowing that these few days will most likely end up in a gain this week. It's super disappointing because I have been doing so well. I'm not going to beat myself up about it too much though because I did get some exercise in. On Saturday night before I went out, I squeezed in a workout that burned 546 calories. Then on Monday I burned 667 calories. I know that will help a little and I am still better off than I used to be without exercising.

Looking back, I wouldn't take those calories back if  I could because I had a really good time and I can make up for it next week. Just gotta keep going. No stopping this time. No giving up and falling back into bad habits. Just suck it up, cut your losses, and move on!

Phases of Fitness

One of the biggest challenges of starting to workout again after being a sedentary couch potato with a desk job for many years is that your heart can't do what your body and mind can. I would actually call this phase two of getting back into shape. Let me explain: 

Phase 1) When I originally bought Zumba for my Wii I weighed about 10-15 pounds more than I do now (between 196-201 lbs) and even though my mind somewhat wanted to get into shape, my body and heart really struggled. I would do the easiest 20 minute Zumba and my feet would be killing me and my calves would ache so bad the next day. At first I figured it was just because I had new shoes and I needed to break them in. After having this happen multiple times I got frustrated and I didn't want my feet to hurt anymore so I tried doing it barefoot. What do you know? That hurt my feet too. Not only did my feet hurt, but my heart was pounding out of my chest, and I felt like it was just way too hard for someone like me. This was a few years ago and since my mind was only partially committed, I gave up and stopped doing Zumba. I figured I would need to lose a little weight before I could workout.

So as far as my personal journey goes, there was a long period of time between Phase one and Phase Two. Phase one could be broken down as my Mind was only partially committed, my Body "couldn't" do what I needed it to and it ached too much afterwards, my Heart held me back from being able to keep up.

Phase 2) This time when I decided that I need to workout in order to meet my weight loss goals my Mind was in it 100%. I calculated how many calories I would need to burn exercising every week in order to not have to sacrifice by in-taking too few calories that I would feel restricted and give up on my new diet. I had a game plan that made complete sense to me and I had to workout in order to eat the amount that  I wanted to. I started Zumba Fitness Coreand I enjoyed it. My feet only hurt a little because I had already lost a little bit of weight. I was sore the next day and I still couldn't keep up with the zumba lady on the screen, but I did my best. Since I needed an accurate way to track how many calories I was burning, I bought a Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor
. After using it the first time, I realized that I was pushing myself way too hard and going over my max heart rate trying to keep up with the zumba wii lady. I told myself " that's alright, that computer graphic is fit and you need to modify it to work for you". The heart rate monitor has become a very valuable tool for me. It lets me know when to slow down a little and when I need to try harder. It gives me valuable information that keeps me going. I also pick individual songs that I like on Zumba now and take short water breaks between each song. Picking individual songs helps me workout longer because I have no idea how long I've been working out and I don't look at my watch. I wait until I feel like it's been a long time and then I check my calories burned and determine if it's a good time to stop or not. Oh, and by the way, my feet don't hurt at all anymore, even after 2 hours of Zumba with the same shoes!

I would say Phase 2 would be broken down as my Mind was completely committed, my Body was being pushed to the limit and could now do things I used to say it could not, my Heart is getting stronger every time I work out. 

Even though I feel like my heart is holding me back sometimes, it's not my heart's fault. I let it just sit there and flutter lightly for a few years and now I am putting it in overdrive. I've started taking Omega -3's and I know it will get stronger with more cardio. I have to say that I think it's very interesting how your mind can be one of the biggest determining factors of whether your weight loss journey will be successful or not. Nothing has really changed between Phase 1 and Phase 2 except for my Mind set and commitment to getting it done this time.

Dealing with Problem Areas with Muscle Targeting

Muffin Top. Saddle Bags. Love Handles. Flat Butt. Bye Bye Arms. Back Rolls. Thunder Thighs. We all have one or more problem areas that we wish would go away. Losing weight in general will just make us a smaller version of ourselves. So, unless we specifically target these muscles in our problem areas, they will always be there. There is no way other than muscle targeting that you can target a specific problem area. Spot reducing fat in one specific area is impossible. That is why we must lose fat in general by having a calorie deficit and then target specific problem areas by building the muscles. I particullary want to shape and tone my Triceps (goodbye, bye bye arms!), Obliques (not lovin' those love handles), Latissimus Dorsi (Rolls belong at the bakery, not my back!) and Adductors (wouldn't mind a "thigh gap"). I have provided a muscle chart below so you can relate to the muscles I just mentioned . Plus, you can pinpoint which muscles you need to work for your problem areas.

Image from www.fitness4her.com

How do we know what exercises will help these muscles? It's called Muscle Targeting. I could already tell that some of the at home dumbbell training moves I am doing were targeting these problem areas. I can feel the muscles sore the next day and over the past few weeks I have seen the difference in those areas. There's a better way to know what exercises to do to target an area rather than gauging your soreness and guessing which exercise helped. BodyBuilding.com has an awesome muscle targeting chart to tell you exactly which exercises you need to do. Click here to get to the chart. While this is a great chart, it definitely does not include all of the exercises possible to target that specific area. Some exercises may also require a gym machine which I personally don't have access to. In that case, just try googling things like " adductor exercises" or "adductor swiss ball exercises" . I have a swiss ball at home so I found an exercise using that rather than the adductor machine.

Below, I will show you the exercises that  I am currently doing at home to target my problem areas:

Adductors:

Exercise:  Adductor Squeeze

HOLD THIS POSITION	HELPFUL TIPS
	Squeeze ball with legs inwards. Hold this position for 10-30 seconds. Note:  This exercise is intended for the inner thighs. Source : http://www.fitmoves.com/Video/Exercise%20Dictionary/Adductor%20Squeeze.htm

Latissimus Dorsi: 

Exercise: Bent Over Dumbbell Row

Start by standing with your back straight, your core braced and your shoulders pulled back.
Lean forward from the hips, not the waist. Ensure that your feet are shoulder width apart with your knees slightly bent holding the dumbbells just outside your knees.
Pull the weights up to your sternum allowing your wrists to turn naturally during the movement squeezing your sholder blades together at the top of the move.
Lower the dumbbells slowly back down.
- See more at: http://www.supplementwarehouse.co.uk/blog/exercises/whole-body-beginners-dumbbell-workout/#sthash.MQh90j4r.dpuf

Start by standing with your back straight, your core braced and your shoulders pulled back.

Lean forward from the hips, not the waist. Ensure that your feet are shoulder width apart with your knees slightly bent holding the dumbbells just outside your knees.

Pull the weights up to your sternum allowing your wrists to turn naturally during the movement squeezing your sholder blades together at the top of the move.

Lower the dumbbells slowly back down.

Source : Click here 

Obliques:

Exercise: Dumbbell Side Bends

Source : Click here

Exercise : Russian Dumbbell Twist

I do this exercise with my 10 pound dumbells. It is tough! I do multiple sets of 20 and my heart rate gets up really fast. I love doing these because I can really feel it. 

Source : http://munfitnessblog.com/abs-workout-4-russian-twist/ 

Triceps:

Exercise: Dumbbell Tricep Extensions

To perform a basic dumbbell triceps extension, hold a dumbbell in your hand, extend your arm straight above your head, then bend your elbow so the dumbbell is close to your ear (your elbow pointed to the ceiling). Extend your arm, raising the dumbbell up toward the ceiling. Repeat lowering and raising.

I use 10 pound dumbbells. It should be hard to do!  I normally do 2 sets of 25. I may be moving up in weight soon.

Source: http://www.healthylifetoolkit.com/dumbbell-exercises.html

These are some good muscle targeting exercises. However, I do many other exercises than these that also help these muslces and the surrounding muscles. I do squats for my quadraceps and my gluteus maximus. I do dumbell curls, dumbell flys and other exercises as well. I just wanted to show you a few that you could do if you are targeting the same areas as I am. I hope this helped!

Start by standing with your back straight, your core braced and your shoulders pulled back.
Lean forward from the hips, not the waist. Ensure that your feet are shoulder width apart with your knees slightly bent holding the dumbbells just outside your knees.
Pull the weights up to your sternum allowing your wrists to turn naturally during the movement squeezing your sholder blades together at the top of the move.
Lower the dumbbells slowly back down.
- See more at: http://www.supplementwarehouse.co.uk/blog/exercises/whole-body-beginners-dumbbell-workout/#sthash.MQh90j4r.dpuf

Bent Over Row

Start by standing with your back straight, your core braced and your shoulders pulled back.
Lean forward from the hips, not the waist. Ensure that your feet are shoulder width apart with your knees slightly bent holding the dumbbells just outside your knees.
Pull the weights up to your sternum allowing your wrists to turn naturally during the movement squeezing your sholder blades together at the top of the move.
Lower the dumbbells slowly back down.
- See more at: http://www.supplementwarehouse.co.uk/blog/exercises/whole-body-beginners-dumbbell-workout/#sthash.zvqEb2gW.dpuf

Bent Over Row

Start by standing with your back straight, your core braced and your shoulders pulled back.
Lean forward from the hips, not the waist. Ensure that your feet are shoulder width apart with your knees slightly bent holding the dumbbells just outside your knees.
Pull the weights up to your sternum allowing your wrists to turn naturally during the movement squeezing your sholder blades together at the top of the move.
Lower the dumbbells slowly back down.
- See more at: http://www.supplementwarehouse.co.uk/blog/exercises/whole-body-beginners-dumbbell-workout/#sthash.zvqEb2gW.dpuf

Progress Picture and Update!

June 10th, 2013 was the date that I said enough with this! I am going to stop "trying" to lose weight and start losing weight period. I started up my Lazy Girl Diet Instagram , took my before picture and haven't looked back. Instagram and the #fitfam have proved to be one of the best support systems so far. It's inspiring and motivational to scroll through the pictures on there. I may have to make an entire blog post about it in the future. For now, I would like to share with you my progress thus far. It's been just over 5 weeks since June 10th. I've already lost 1.5" on each thigh, 0.5" around my waist and I can see a significant difference in my body. I've lost 5 pounds and definitely gained some muscle because my body fat percentage has gone down.  I don't know what I started with, but it is now 36.8% which is obviously still way too high. Below is the picture I posted on instagram. Wow, what a difference 5 pounds can make when it is the right 5 pounds. It is apparent that I lost fat and gained muscle! I couldn't be happier with this 5 week progress.

Onward I go! P.S. This is the book I'm reading right now (Click it and you can read the first few pages on Amazon!):

Using Wu-Yi Oolong for Weight Loss

 

Recently I discovered a company called "Fit Tea" . They claim that drinking their tea will provide all sorts of health benefits including fat burning and boosting your immune system . What originally drew me to them was their Instagram account which shows amazing weight loss result pictures from people who use their tea. What drew me away from the product was the cost. Granted, their cost is probably justified being that their blend is a loose leaf tea that consists of Organic Green Tea, Oolong Wu Yi, Organic Rooibos, Ginger, Pomegranate, Guarana, Senna, Birch, Stevia, Honey Powder. The 14 day detox will run you $25.00 for half a cup of tea on their website.   

Now, I am just looking to use this to aid in weight loss and I already own plenty of other teas for the other benefits. I consulted with my co-worker who is a tea fanatic and she advised that the only ingredient that is the major component for weight loss would be the Oolong.  I did a little searching to see if the Wu-Yi Oolong was the way to go. I decided to go ahead and try to find just a simple Wu-Yi Oolong instead of buying the Fit Tea for $25.00. I was able to find a bag of 60 tea bags for $11.99 with free shipping from a website called CurEase.com.

They say to drink two cups per day to get the fat burning effects. I am already trying to drink a lot of water every day, so I might as well make some of it a fat burning tea! Click on this link to get to the CurEase website to read all about what the Wu-Yi Oolong tea should do. Click Here to read about it on a website completely dedicated to this type of tea. I figure it's easier to link if for you instead of re-writing everything here. The tough thing about weight loss pills, tea, supplements and other devices is that you never know how much it is helping or not helping since you are supposed to be using it in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise (which I am). So, while I don't know if I would ever be able to wholeheartedly recommend something such as a weight loss tea, I definitely wanted to share the information. For me, the thought is that I am already needing to drink more water and I like tea, so I figured it is inexpensive enough that "What will it hurt?" .Please note: I paid for this tea with my own money and the company I purchased it from wasn't aware that I would be writing a review. You could purchase it from wherever you are comfortable with.

Road Trip Snacks !

I'm super excited that I am going on a road trip tomorrow. We are going way up north for a Family Reunion and even into Utah to hike (if time permits). It struck me that this could throw a wrench into my plans to continue eating healthy. Then again, it will only cause a problem if I fail to plan for my car snacking that I love to do. I already know that I am going to want something sweet, salty, crunchy or creamy and make an excuse to grab something crappy at the gas station. I am not going to allow myself to have that excuse by making sure I pack some healthy snacks. Shape.com has some good ideas, but I have to admit I already thought of these ones. They list Jerky, Fruit and Fruit & Nut Bars. My problem with these suggestions is....Where's that salty crunch that I am looking for?!

Here's what I came up with:

• Pretzels (not really my fav. )
• Quaker Rice Cakes. They even have mini ones in a bag called "popped" and they have Ranch!
• Raw Unsalted Almonds
• Popcorn (once again, not really something I care for)
• Frozen Grapes (mentioned by one of my Instagram friends. They aren't salty, but they are definitely crunchy!)
• Roasted Chickpeas. (I've personally never had these and found it by doing a search. Sounds yummy though! )
• Kale Chips (I really want to try these but I can't find them anywhere!)

Well, that's all I could think of . What healthy snacks do you take on your road trips?

Why you Shouldn't Trust the Scale

Of course, there are quite a few reasons you shouldn't use the scale alone as a tool to gauge your progress. However, I am only going to talk about one of those reasons. My scale was literally lying to my face. I was using one of the old style scales and it would give me different readings. I got tired of it acting up, so I went and bought a snazzy new digital scale. I also had suspicions because every time I would be weighed on a doctor scale it said I weigh more. Well, it turns out that my old scale was being too kind and was telling me that I weigh 6 pounds less than I really do. That doesn't mean that I didn't still lose those three pounds last week. It does mean that my starting weight was 6 pounds higher. Talk about a low blow. My starting weight is actually 193 pounds and I am now 190 pounds.  Rather than 187 and 184. Yes, it really sucks but it doesn't mean anything when I think about it. If I hadn't found out soon enough then it may have affected me more drastically . Even then, I still have my progress pictures and my measurements to fall back on. Those will never lie to me! So the moral of the story is, gauge your progress using mutliple tools and you are less likely to go awry when one gets messed up or is less than your desired result. You can also gauge it on how you feel as well. I took pictures, measurements, and I'm using the scale. I also feel so much better already.

A Tip to Use When You're Hungry Between Meals

I just shared this tip on Instagram and decided that it was important enough to share on my blog as well. I didn't really realize until now how much mind over matter is a seriously important tool in weight loss. So, here's my tip:

I originally started saying this to myself when I was following Jorge Cruise's 3 hour diet. He believes eating every three hours will help you lose fat rather than muscle. He has scientific studies to back it up. Some people believe it and others are still skeptics. In my opinion, I see no harm in loosely following it. I don't time my meals per say or use a stop watch to make sure I eat at exactly three hours.  I do, however, plan my meals in the same fashion. Here's what a typical days calories look like for me:

Breakfast @ 8:30 am, 300-400 cals (less if I am drinking my meal replacement)
Snack @ 10:30 am, 100-150 cals
Lunch @ 12:45 pm, 400-500 cals (less if I am eating a gigantic salad with low cal dressing like I did today)
Snack @ 4:00 pm, 100-150 cals
Dinner @ 7:30 pm, 400-500 cals (less if I am eating a 4 oz natural chicken w/ steamed veggies because I want dessert!)
Dessert @ 8:15 pm, 100-150 cals (I probably do this about 2 times a week and it's a sherbert w/ fruit).

So as you can see there isn't much time between each meal and I shouldn't be feeling hungry. Sometimes I don't eat enough cals at a meal because I don't "feel" like I need them at the time but then I end up eating a larger snack. You know what? That's fine! As long as I am within my allotted 1,650 cals at the end of the day then  I am doing just fine.

Remember: The next time you are reaching for something when you just ate an hour ago...You're next meal or snack is only 2-3 hours away and YOU CAN WAIT!

Please note: The 1,650 calorie allotment that I mention is based on my height, weight, activity level and sex. If you need help figuring out what a healthy amount of calories would be to lose weight , I strongly recommend doing a post in the forums on Calorie-count.com and asking. There are some very nice and helpful people on there. While the Calorie-Count.com website alone is a good resource, I don't feel like their calculators on there are very individualized and their calculator advised me to eat an amount under my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and I was feeling hungry because my body was starving. Ask for help in the forums and you will be happy that you did!

Week One Weigh In and Update

Hey guys! I've been doing great with my plan! I slipped a little on Father's Day but I am pretty sure I actually stayed within my calories at the end of the day. Saturday night I basically drank most of my calories but I didn't use being drunk as an excuse to eat everything under the moon to "soak up" the alcohol when I was feeling a little sick. My new Zumba game came on Friday so even after making cake pops for 3.5 hours I got my workout in and only ate one cake pop. I kicked butt and burned over 600 calories. It felt really good.  So I think I did pretty well over the weekend even though I did not log my calories.  I still kind of counted them in my head though.
    I did my week one weigh in on Saturday Morning and I am down three pounds!! Wahoo. Also, A non-scale victory is that I have more energy, I don't feel bloated half of the time and I swear I feel a little firmer in some areas from doing Zumba! I am so excited to continue. Here's a little comparison picture for you:

See you guys soon! Here's a link to the Zumba I got for my Wii. They also have it for X-Box Kinnect.

The Waist Trimmer Belt that makes me SWEAT!

Since I have started working out I have definitely become more interested in all of the things that come with that world. New workout clothes, supplements, tools to perform better, etc. Back in October I purchased a waist trimming belt. I used it a few times and was pretty pleased with the sweat that it produced. Now that I have used it even more I can definitely say that I recommend it. The particular one that I purchased was the Bracoo Adjustable Waist Trimmer Belt, One Size, Black from Amazon. Currently, it is $11.70 and ships free if you are an Amazon Prime Member. Here's what it looks like:

After doing 30-45 minutes of Zumba while wearing this belt, I have a ton of sweat in my mid-section. One of these days, I will have to take a picture of my shirt afterwards. There is a huge sweat mark under the belt because of all the sweat it makes. I love working out wearing the belt because I know it is working and it is not uncomfortable at all. Getting all of this sweat out is getting rid of water weight. There is a pretty good article explaining all of the benefits better than I could. Click here to see it! If you have any questions, just let me know .

Weight Goal Chart

Hey everyone! I made a Weight Goal Chart today to help me see if I am on track. I am using this strictly as a guide since I am more interested in what my body looks like and how many inches I've lost rather than a particular weight. I think this will help me see if I am on track along with taking pictures and measurements. I might pick a few weights in here to be a mini goal. Also, one of my close friends is looking for people to do a 5K Run in September and I told her if I am in better shape I will do it with her. It's time to get serious!
Here's my chart in case you want to take a peak!

My New Plan

So far I have actually stuck to my plan. I have worked out according to plan and I have been eating well too.

Here's my new (more aggressive) plan :

Currently, my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is 1,980 calories. This is how many calories I would burn if I did nothing but lay in bed all day . If you search the web for BMR calculators, you will get mixed readings from each one. I am basing my numbers off the one on Caloriecount.com because that is what I am using to count calories as well. Losing weigh is supposedly a simple mathematical equation. Burn 3,500 calories and you will lose a pound. You can burn these calories by either working out or by in-taking (eating) less calories than you would naturally burn that day. My new plan is using a mixture of both. Now, keep in mind that this is just going to be the simple mathematical version of what I am doing. Beyond mathematics, I am making other changes which I will likely talk about in future posts. Just to give you a run down, they include water intake, how I look at food, social networking, changing the food pyramid and other lifestyle changes.

Ok, So here is the raw math version of it:

Current weight is 187 pounds as of 6/08/13. I am 25 years old and 5'9".
I will eat no more than 1,600 calories EVERY day.  By doing this alone, I will save myself from 380 calories per day.
I will exercise 6 out of the 7 days of the week. My one rest day will be the weekend day that my Fiance has off work. My excercise goal will be to burn a minimum of 420 calories. I just purchased a Heart Rate Monitor with a Calories burned calculator. Here is a link to the particular one that I purchased, Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor (Purple/Pink) . They have it in "manly" colors as well. I wanted to get this because I am only cheating myself if I am using an app that says I am burning way more calories than I actually am. Also, using a heart rate monitor will help you keep your heart rate "in the zone" to get the most out of your workout.
Between food intake and calories burned from working out, my daily goal is 800 calories burned. If I happen to eat a little extra that day and go over my 1,600 calories, I better work it off somehow. Also, I picked 1,600 as my magic number even though Calorie Count told me to do 1,470. Why? Well, every time I shoot for 1,470 I end up closer to 1,600 and then feel like crap for going over. So, instead of feeling crappy about that  I am shooting for 1,600. You know what is funny about that? These past couple days, I have been closer to 1,500 anyways!
So, I will be burning 800 calories per day , except on my rest day which will be 380 calories. That adds up to a total of 5,180 calories burned per week. 5,180/3,500 equals 1.48 pounds per week lost. For easy math ( and hopeful thinking) I rounded that up to 1.5 pounds. 1.5 pounds times 4 weeks = 6 pounds. 1.5 pounds times 12 weeks = 18 pounds . This idea started 3 days ago on 6/8/13, so I am basing everything off that date.
 Here are my mini goals:
Current weight of 187 - 18 pounds = 169 pounds on August 31st
169 pounds - 18 pounds = 151 pounds on November 23rd
151 pounds - 6 pounds = 145 pounds on December 21st < that is my goal weight. Either 145 or a size 7.
That means I will look good just in time for Christmas Family Pictures!  Wahoo!

The only thing I need to remember to do is to adjust my allowable calories as I lose the weight. My BMR will lower and I will have to either eat less calories or burn more through working out. Here's to hoping I can stick to it this time!

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.