Weightloss Progress Update. Slowly but Surely!

Since it's been a little while since my last progress update, I though I would check in. Normally if there is a lapse between posts it meant that I fell off my diet. That's not the case this time. I am just really busy with life! I am still very active on Instagram and I feel like it's helping me a ton this time. The best part is that it's free :-) . Here are the results from my last weigh in on Saturday the 27th :

As you can see, there's not much of a difference, but I am still happy. I had a few less than healthy items last week, but overall I stayed close to my calorie goals for the day. I majorly slacked on exercising though. I am happy with the decrease and tomorrow I am going to do my official end of the month weigh in. Maybe I'll be at 186?! By the way, the percentage you see on the scale is my body fat. Pretty scary, huh?

I appreciate my slow and steady weight loss. I know that it means I have a pretty good chance that I will stick with the changes I've made. Everything so far has been manageable and I don't feel like I've sacrificed very much. Below is one of my new mottos:

To see my progress on a daily basis and for motivation, follow me on Instagram. My username is @lazygirldiet .

On a side note, I found the next book I want to read! I haven't finished The China Study yet, so I am going to have to wait, but here is a link to the new one I found. #1 New York Times Best Seller, Salt Sugar Fat:

It also got voted by Amazon as one of the best books of 2013 so far! The reviews on it are great too. Check it out!

Update of my Failure

Of course, once again, I have failed. I'm back up to a whopping 188 pounds! I started using Calorie-Count.com and my app on my phone again today. I would like to say I am committed, but I am not sure that I am any more committed this time than I was the other times. I plan to do Zumba tonight. I get to use some of the new workout clothes I bought off Hautelook. Yay! I also just bought some Puma Shoes off there today. I am a little addicted to shopping. Anyways, I have been doing pretty good on my food today. Working out is going to feel great . I also purchased a Weight loss Stack off Amazon. No, it's not a miracle solution. I know that. I only purchased it in hopes that it would give me the "umph" I need to get off my booty and do Zumba. I am always so exhausted after work and this vicious cycle is killing my dieting and exercise plans. I am too lazy to cook and too lazy to workout. GRR! Too bad that stack won't be here for another week. Anyways, I will continue to update. Hopefully not with more failures :(

Week One Review

Well, I am done with week one and all is good so far!

I am down 3 pounds... so the scale says. The thing is, I started (this time) at 188 and now I am 184. I honestly do not consider that being down 4 pounds. My reasoning? My weight can fluctuate that much already week to week anyways because I am not consistent with my eating habits. With that being said, I have been doing pretty well, so I am not dismissing the fact that the scale has gone down. However, I am not even going to do a smidgen of a victory dance until I am under 168 pounds. Why is 168 a magic number for me? Well, that is the weight that I was at when Dereck and I met. Once I can get under that again, I will allow a small victory dance. Once I am below 150 pounds, I may do a big victory dance and some clothes shopping.

It's not all about pounds lost though. I am going to be exercising and trying to get toned. That means that I may look awesome at 160 pounds. Therefore, I am going to be taking progress pictures and I need to do my measurements tonight. Pictures and measurements will tell more truth than the number on the scale.

So, how well have I done 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 worked out twice last week. Both times it was Zumba and I actually did 60 minutes. It was tough, but it made me feel great!
2. I only went over on my calories one day. It was yesterday and I only went over by 45 which is amazing considering I felt like it was a pig out day. Even though I went over, I still netted over 400 cals, so I was still "technically" under.
3. I have been trying to incorporate as many vegetables as possible and cut down on meat consumption.
4. I've been very active on Calorie-count.com and love using the app. The calorie camp feature is great and my BFF joined so we can keep each other in check!
5. I have been very conscious about the amount of water I am drinking and even chugging some when I realize I am way under. It's hard to remember to drink a lot of water in the winter time. 
6. While I have not been religiously eating every 3 hours, I have been using the Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner structure. Eating that way almost makes you eat every 3 hours without really timing it. I started having mixed feelings on how important it really is to eat every 3 hours. Some things I have read now say that it doesn't really matter. However, I did that in the past and it worked well for me, so I am not going to abandon my previous beliefs.

I am not sure if it is in my head or not, but my pants feel a little loser in my outer thigh area. That is one of my major problem spots, so if it's true, that is awesome. That's also the reason I am going to take measurements tonight.

10 pounds in 3 weeks?

I'm going to try! I booked the hotel for Sedona yesterday and it is non-refundable. My goal is to be 10 pounds less by then. When I weighed myself this morning I was pretty pissed. I felt like I had been eating good this week and worked out last weekend, but I guess it didn't matter. The scale says 188 lbs. That is completely ridiculous . So, my goal is to be at 178 (hopefully 175) by the time we go to Sedona to do wedding stuff. To achieve that goal I am going to take my own advice and do the following:

1. Work out a minimum of 2 times a week for 45 minutes at a high intensity (i.e. Zumba ...it kicks my butt)
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. (it really helped last time I successfully lost a decent amount of weight)
5. Drink a lot of water
6. Eat every 3 hours (based off reading Jorge Cruises Three Hour Diet)


If you are interested in reading Eat to Live, click the picture to buy it on Amazon or even just read the reviews of what everyone else is saying . That is where I bought mine from and they always have great prices on books. I also just bought "The China Study" which is meantioned in Eat to Live. I'll let you know if that book was worth the buy.


(this is an affiliate link)

I'll keep you updated!

What I still buy from Advocare after the 24 day Challenge is over

Hey everyone!

I've been eating pretty well this week and I've been a little more active than normal. I still feel like I need to get back into doing Zumba though and I want to try going hiking every weekend. It's perfect hiking weather in AZ right now! We are going to Sedona over Valentine's Day weekend to check out possible wedding spots. I hope to be 10 pounds less by then so I need to really get on it.

I wanted to share with you what Advocare products I still continue to buy even after I failed the 24 Day Challenge.



Advocare Meal Replacement Shake in Berry. $44.95 for 14 pouches. The way I look at it is about $4.00 a day for breakfast (that's including about $10 for shipping).  This is hands down THE BEST meal replacement shake I have ever had. I even bought more because I found myself missing them. It gets the job done. Here's a short list of why I love it.

1. Tastes Amazing!
2. Only 220 Calories
3. I actually feel full most of the time. Occasionally I will have a banana within an hour of drinking the shake.
4. 24 grams of protein (Very important when your diet mainly consists of veggies and fruit)
5. Packed with tons of vitamins
6. Fits in with my on-the-go lifestyle

There really is nothing that I do not like about this meal replacement shake. I tried the Vanilla one and all I can say is "Bleh!". Don't do it. I couldn't even finish half the box. I have heard if you mix PB2 (a powder form of peanut butter) in with it, it will taste better. I'm just not willing to dish out the money for it. You just need 9 oz of water and a shaker bottle in order to make the shake.



Advocare Spark Energy Drink . $22.95 for 14 pouches. This is a great replacement for coffee and it gives you tons of energy. It tastes better than a lot of the energy drinks available in cans. I am a coffee lover though so I do find myself missing coffee and have actually been drinking coffee since I ran out of Spark. They offer it in a variety of flavors. Seven total flavors actually. I have tried a few different ones, but I find that I like the Fruit Punch the best. That is quite surprising for me since I normally hate fruit punch flavored drinks. If you feel like you never have energy to do anything, much less exercise, you may want to grab a box of Spark.  I buy the box since I like the convenience of grab and go individual bags. Oh and something super important that I should mention is that Spark is sugar free and only 45 calories. Just think of how many calories you would save in one week by substituting your current caffeine fix with Advocare Spark!



Advocare Catalyst. $31.50 for 90 capsules.  While I do not feel that I have exercised enough to really merit loving Catalyst, I can say that I like the idea of what it does. Typically you would take 3 capsules about 10-15 minutes before working out and without food. It's an amino acid dietary supplement that supports muscle tone and enhances strength and energy. When you are a calorie restricted diet, you can actually start losing some of your muscle mass if you aren't eating often enough. Catalyst will help you preserve your muscle mass, repair your muscles, stay focused, and give you a boost while you're working out. The few times that I have remembered to take it before working out, I have felt like it's made me more focused and more willing to persevere and work out longer.

There's tons of Advocare products that I would like to try in the future . When I do, I will definitely let you know how they work out for me. I'm not affiliated with Advocare and I bought everything with my own money. However, if I really get into using their products in the future, it's not out of the question that I could become affiliated. The opinions about are honest and I believe them to be true.

If you were to try just one thing from Advocare, I would recommend trying the meal replacement shake.
Thank you for stopping by and I'll see you soon!

24 Day Challenge: Day 16

Oops, sorry it has been over a week since I lasted posted. I am still doing the challenge. I am down to 175 LBS right now. I have strayed a little here and there, but mostly have stuck to the challenge. The things I have had over the past 8 days that are not 24 Day Challenge friendly are : A few fries, a couple crackers, a skinny cow ice cream bar, some bbq sauce,  granola bars, a sandwich that I realized a little too late was highly processed, and some bread.

I need to exercise more and the weekends continue to be the biggest challenge for me. I ran out of the meal replacement shakes and have had a sugar filled granola bar the past two mornings. It sucks. I forgot to order them and then when I remembered, I paid for 2 day air so they will be here tomorrow. I like the results I have gotten so far and I definitely plan on continuing even after the 24 days using some of the other supplements offered by Advocare and continuing to eat this way the best I can.

I really don't miss the greasy food all that much. I plan on having a turkey burger on lettuce for 4th of July. The one thing that I read that made so much sense to me was an explanation of why fast food just makes us fat. I will try to explain it the best I can remember. Fast food is highly processed and stripped of all of its nutrients. It also has added sodium to help preserve it. Therefore, when you ingest it, your body is not getting these nutrients which are needed for your body to tell you that you are full so you stop eating. It has so much added salt and fats to make it taste better too. I have always known that fast food is full of fat, but never thought of it this way. Fast Food is completely empty. If you want calories and fat, then go for it. If you actually want to give your body what it is asking for , then kick it to the curb. Your body is telling you it is hungry because it wants you to give it nutrients to give to your body, not fat to give to your thighs!

Anyways, I have to go for now, but I will be sure to keep you updated !

24 Day Challenge: Day 8

I just realized right now that I was following Day 8 instructions yesterday when I was on Day 7 and I was doing the same thing again today. I got one day ahead of myself somehow. So the other night when I was wondering why I had extra pills, that would be why. I really didn't have extra pills, I had lost a day in my head. I am not sure what to do, so tomorrow I am going to do the white pills (no fiber drink) and then at night the brown pills. You see, the difference is on day 4-7 you take the white pills in the morning and the brown pills and Omegaplex at night. Then on days 8-10 you take a Fiber Drink and the White Pills, but by this time you should not have any brown pills, so you just have your Omegaplex with your dinner and that's it. I feel pretty dumb :(. I really hope this doesn't have a bad effect on how much I could have lost, but won't lose as much now since I ruined it.

Anyways, I am doing very well on the challenge these past few days. I have not cheated at all. The only bad thing I did was yesterday I skipped my second snack. I just wasn't hungry at all and did not want to eat it for some reason. I weighed myself today and I am 179 LBS after completing 7 days. That is 6 pounds in 7 days! I'm starting to feel a little better now I am back in the 170's (even if only by a pound lol). I was going to share how my day has been so far, but I messed up, so there's really no point. It's not like I want you to follow my mistake. I will tell you that I ordered a Half size Caesar Salad from Jason's Deli today for lunch. By the time I was done tweaking it to take out the things I couldn't have, I was left with a bed of lettuce including a ridiculously small amount of chicken and Balsamic Vinaigrette. I paid $6.25 for THAT?! Well, I guess it would've been worth it if I hadn't taken off all the yummy stuff. Either way, I was hoping for more chicken.

Alright, that's enough complaining. Off to being happy now :) 

24 Day Challenge: Day 4

You guessed it....(or maybe you didn't?) I am still keeping at it. Yay! This is not a diet, this is a lifestyle change and I feel that it is one that I can stick to IF I see the results I want. As promised, I weighed myself this morning. Before I tell you the results I want to tell you my thoughts about it. First, the day before I started the challenge I ate a pretty good amount for dinner and leading up to dinner. I ate an entire foot long sub and before I had that I ate chips and chocolate and gummy bears. I was pretty bad. I know that weight can fluctuate within a few pounds each day and I am definitely keeping that in mind. Also, I had only recently creeped up to 185 so I kind of considered that temporary and not totally my initial starting weight (in my head at least. On paper 185 is my starting weight because that is what the scale said). Alright, with that being said...After 3 complete days on the 24 Day Challenge...the beginning of Day 4 I am down 5 pounds and the scale says 180 . <<<Were you expecting an exclamation point there? I kind of was too, but I can't quite get my finger to do it. I do not feel accomplished yet.

Here is what I had for dinner last night. I am not totally sure if it is 24 Day Challenge friendly or not, but it seemed to fit in to me.

Tuna Wraps:

*5 oz White Albacore Tuna
*One stalk of celery chopped (I never cook, I have no clue if one strand of celery is called a "stalk" or not)
*1 TBSP of Canola Mayo (I realized after that Olive Oil Mayo is almost the same, so I could've saved my money and just used what I had in the fridge)
*Romaine Lettuce
*Brown Rice Tortillas (Trader Joe's)

It's pretty simple. Drain the Tuna, mix with the mayo and celery. Put some lettuce in the tortilla and slap the tuna mixture on it. I ended up making two wraps because I didn't want one mondo wrap. Here's the thing, I am not sure if the Brown Rice Tortillas really qualify as brown rice or not. I am also not sure if it was a no-no to add the mayo. I can tell you that I felt very full after eating it. Also, I am not sure if it was just because the brown rice tortillas were supposed to expire that day, but they were very crumbly. I might try it with a vinaigrette in place of the mayo next time and see how that turns out.

Last thing, somehow I lost my Step One instructions and I can not find them anywhere online! I had to pack everything for today based on memory. Eek! I have a terrible memory, but for some reason I totally remembered what I needed for the day.

I may not post tomorrow since it is the weekend, but I will try to remember to follow up on Monday!

24 Day Challenge: Day 2

Today is going just as well as yesterday! I think I might have messed up on my lunch a little though. I used a "recipe" that I found for a lunch for the 24 day challenge and it wasn't until after I had determined that as my lunch that I realized it doesn't really qualify. Dangit! I am not going to beat myself up about it because I am still doing pretty dang good. I have already drank over a gallon of water too.

Here is how my day has been so far:

6:45 am : Spark , then Fiber Drink, then glass of Water
7:15 am: Drink Meal Replacement on the way to work (forgot to take my 2 Omegaplex)
10:00 am: 1/4 Cup of Almonds (no salt or sugar) with 1/2 Cup serving of Banana mixed with Oranges (remembered that I forgot Omegaplex and took it with my snack)
12:00 pm: Spark
12:30 pm: 3 pieces of Foster Farms Lean Turkey (measured almost 4 oz) with a couple slivers of avocado and Uncle Ben's Brown Rice cup.

So here is what is wrong with that lunch...
    You are supposed to have a Protein, Carb, and Veggie for lunch. I had a Protein, Carb, and Good Fat. I also had the entire cup of Brown Rice and you are only supposed to have half a cup. Also, the Brown Rice is not supposed to be instant. Instant Brown Rice has oil added to it and you are supposed to stay away from that. Basically, I ate too many carbs, had a good fat when I wasn't supposed to have a fat at all and I had no veggies.  I dished the rice and avocados into the turkey meat and rolled them up for some little turkey rolls. It didn't taste half bad!

My Plan for the rest of the day:

3:30 pm : 1/4 Cup of Almonds and 1/2 cup of mixed berries
Bwtn 5:30 and 6:30 pm: Lettuce wraps made out of Romaine Lettuce, Ground Turkey and filled with onion, red peppers, and celery
Before Bed: 3 Brown Pills from the Herbal Cleanse Packet.

I'll make sure to continue posting my thoughts and feelings while on the challenge. Thank you!

CRAP.

You would think that by plastering my weight online I would get the nudge to want to lose weight huh? Nope! I am back up to 175. I've been kinda-sorta fighting it to get back down to 170, but it has slowly creeped up to 176 now. Dangit!

Drastic times call for drastic measures. I still have all those GNC Lean Shakes that I bought a little while back, so I plan on trying the little diet they include with those shakes. I mean REALLY try it. It basically consists of Lean Shakes, Fruit, and Veggies. Or at least my Turbo Lean Shake Diet is going to include those three things. Looks like I'm back to writing down everything I shove into my mouth.

We were going on bike rides on a bi-weekly basis, but the tire on one of our bikes popped and we haven't replaced it yet. It has been weeks and now I actually miss those bike rides. Hopeully we can get it fixed tomorrow or something. As for tonight, I will be working late, hitting the voting polls, then getting a little more work done at home hopefully. I've also caught this crappy head cold thing that is going around, so that is quite enjoyable. To top it all off I have to have all the reports for our accountant done by tomorrow while still trying to make the sales goal for this month. Oh my. At least my dad was nice enough to bring me a salad for lunch :) . That definitely helped me. I'm pretty sure I would've ended up at the gas station for lunch otherwise. Yeah, see how bad I've been lately! ARG.

I'll be back in a week to update. Possibly sooner if I can find the time!

P.S. If you need some extra motivation to lose weight Google "american obesity picture". Need I say more?

No Scale and No Calorie Counting for almost 2 months

Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted. I really will try to get better at that. Since my last post I have lost another 8 pounds and I am down to 175 pounds. The batteries in our scale died and I was either too lazy or didn't care enough to go seek out those odd disc shaped batteries that it takes. Finally bought one of the old school ones that doesn't need batteries. I was expecting to be around the same weight or even have gained some since I haven't been following my plan at all. I was pleasantly surprised to find I actually lost 8 pounds! I definitely don't see it and don't feel like I have been doing anything to be deserving of these shedded pounds. Then again...I pondered about it for a little bit and I changed my mind. I have been slightly more mindful about what I eat than I used to be. I subconsciously count calories of food before I stick it in my mouth. I still have the mindset that I want to lose weight. I didn't say "to hell with it" and start eating like a pig. I have been eating way more fast food than I would like to, but I eat smaller portions and make substitutions where possible (i.e. grilled chicken instead of fried chicken). I also have been fairly more active than usual. 

One last exciting thing. My BMI is down to 25.84. I am still in the overweight range, but once I am under a BMI of 25 I am in a regular weight range. Wahoo!

That's all for now. I will try to update more often. Don't give up!

I'm Doing Something Right!

I did my weigh in this morning and I'm happy to say that I am at 183.0, yay! That means I have lost 4.2 lbs since Sept 5th. Once again, not quite as fast as I would like, but I'm not exercising, so I don't feel like I have a right to complain. I also still eat what I want (but with some substitutions and in moderation). That puts me at a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 27 which is still in the "Overweight" range and rightly so. To be in the normal weight range for my height, I need to be between 125 and 169. That is perfectly fine with me! I hope to be around 145 anyways. :)

 I have noticed some ups and downs of changing my diet, here they are:
(I've bolded the highlights in case you don't want to read everything)

UPS:

*Feel like I have more energy
*Feel more confident just knowing that I am losing weight
* Amazingly enough my attitude towards certain foods has changed. I have started to view some really greasy foods as gross. I now sometimes crave fruits and other healthy foods.
* My pants are getting more comfortable and on the way to being a tad loose.
*Compliments! I have gotten a few compliments saying they can tell I'm losing weight. (I know I am quite verbal about it on here, but the only other people that know I am actively trying to lose weight in my day to day life are my boyfriend and my dad. My step-mom and sister now know after they complimented me and I then told them that I'm trying).
* That "full feeling" actually is started to give me a different vibe now. It is so weird to me. I used to eat until I felt "full", right? OK, sounds normal, but here is the thing... that "Full Feeling" has actually changed for me! Now when I feel full the way that I used to, I actually feel like I over ate and I am now the size of a whale. I think I have actually trained myself to now eat until I am "satisfied". It is a much better feeling too! Now I feel like I can still get up and do whatever after a full meal, whereas before all I wanted to do was lay on the couch and watch TV after dinner. Fascinating!
* I have changed the way I think about food. I now try to find food that gives me the most amount of Fiber with using the least amount of my daily calories while still tasting good. I say most amount of Fiber, but really just whatever will fill me up the most without using a lot of calories, but still be yummy :) .

DOWNS:

*Seems like my body (internally) is changing to accommodate the new way I eat. Sometimes leads to undesirable effects, but seems like that has stopped and my stomach is being normal.
*Going out to eat. I have noticed that the days I do really well on my diet are the days that I can completely control where I am going to be and what I will be eating. Days that I get asked to go out to eat at the last minute really screw with me. If I have a little advance notice, I have enough time to find the nutritional facts and make an educated decision, which makes eating out not a problem.
*Counting Calories- this is kind of an up and a down at the same time. I don't like it because sometimes I forget to do it, don't know the calorie content of a food, or I'm just being a lazy girl. I do like it because it lets me know where I am at calorie wise after lunch, so I am able to eat a sensible meal for dinner and not go over my calories for the day.


So,What have I been doing to get these effects? I think I better save that for another blog, this one is getting long! lol. But I will tell you, it doesn't involve buying any magic pills, diet program, or anything special. It's about finding your will power and determination.

YOU are the only person who can make yourself Fat or Skinny!

Support Groups, they really do help.

I just found the blog "3 Fat Chicks on a diet". I haven't had much time to poke around on it, but it seems to be pretty popular and is 3rd on the list if you google "dieting blogs".

I'm considering joining it since I kind of feel lost without a support group. However, I may just go back to calorie-count.com . When I lost weight previously, I was a regular on the forums and I feel like it helped me keep focus and learn new tricks. Besides, my dieting is mostly focused towards counting calories anyways. Last time I was dieting and using calorie-count.com, I think I lost around 20 or so pounds. I am a chronic yo-Yo dieter though. Obviously, I put back on the weight and then some.

A few cool features that I feel I should mention about http://www.calorie-count.com/ is they have a weight loss line graph, they calculate how many calories you should take in and help you set a goal for yourself to lose the weight in a realistic time frame. When you do weigh-ins, the website re-calibrates the time frame. Say you didn't do so well that week, they will push out the date and give you a thumbs down. They have kept my weight loss progress on their website for years! There was a time I was worried I may have lost it since I had not logged on in over a year, but they kept my account activated and I was able to log right back on. Also, when you work-out, it accounts for those calories burned as well. It has a very user friendly and "fresh" interface. You know what, after talking about it, I am definitely going back to Calorie-Count.com haha! Nothing against the 3 Fat Chicks blog, I am sure it is great, but I think I am going to stick with what I know. I might peak in every once in a while on the 3 Fat Chicks Blog too.

If I can find a way to copy the weight loss line graph to my blog, I will. I just want to show you how bad of a yo-yo dieter I am so when I finally keep it off for a while, you know that I am really trying and that it is hard for me to do. The reason I say that is because sometimes people that are dieting will say "If I can do it, then so can you!" and that just bugs the crap outta me! I think "How can you know what I am capable of? If you can run a 5k, then should I be able to as well?!". At least this way, when I do finally do it, you can see that it was hard for me to do.