Day 110

Today was weigh-day and guess what! I lost 2 more pounds. That brings my grand total now to 22 pounds down! Only 28 to go to meet my goal! :) I'm definitely back in the swing of things. I had a minor hiccup during the time that Grandpa was sick and dying but now I'm right back on track. I hope to have lost the 50 pounds by October. I think I should be able to do it. Oh ya, I did some research online and it seems that 4.2 "sweat points" (on Just Dance) equals 1 calorie. I've been doing about 950 calories per night dancing for about an hour and a half. I guess it's working. :) I'm having much more fun dancing than walking or jogging on the treadmill. Today I did about 5000 "sweat points". I accomplished 7 days worth of the intense program in only 4 days and got a 3000 point head start on another week. Woohoo! I'm a dancing machine! :)

Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-strawberries
-blueberries
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-Coke Zero (I really need to stop drinking soda...that was one of my goals through this journey)

LUNCH:
-s.f. pink lemonade
-1 cheese stick

DINNER:
-salad w/tomatoes, cucumber, croutons & ranch dressing
-crab stuffed shrimp
-broccoli
-3 french fries

Day 106 to 109

Still not much to say these days. I need to get better at posting on my blog what I've been up to and what I've been eating. I haven't been on the treadmill the last few days. I have been dancing with the Wii every night after Emelia goes to bed. I've been doing an average of 3000 to 4000 "sweat points" per day. I still need to find out what that translates to as far as calories. I hope it has been as beneficial for me as the treadmill has been. We'll find out tomorrow...weigh day! Wish me luck. I feel smaller so I hope I've lost more weight.

I can't remember what I've eaten everyday for the past 4 days. I'll just post what I ate the last 2 days. Here it is:

WEDNESDAY:

BREAKFAST:
-strawberries
-blueberries
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-homemade granola
-Coke Zero

DINNER:
-gyro meat w/tzatziki
-Greek salad w/feta
-hummus
-pita

THURSDAY:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter

LUNCH:
-leftover chicken souvlaki w/tzatziki
-leftover Greek salad

DINNER:
-s.f. pink lemonade
-pork w/sauerkraut
-carrots w/margarine

Day 104 & 105

Not much new to report. I've been busy the last couple of days and I didn't get a chance to blog until now. I've still been able to get on the treadmill both days. I went about 4 miles yesterday, 4.2 miles today. I burned about 775 calories yesterday and 800 today. I've been pushing it pretty hard on the incline, at about a 9 or 10%, and have been able to get my workouts done in about an hour. I haven't been able to dance with my Wii the last 2 nights. Hope to get back to it tomorrow. It's time for bed now and I don't really have much else to say. Here's what I've been eating the last 2 days:

SATURDAY:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter
-Coke Zero

DINNER:
-Asian dumplings
-chopped salad w/lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, salami, chickpeas, basil & mustard-Parmesan dressing from California Pizza Kitchen
-cranberry spritzer
-plain frozen yogurt w/strawberries, raspberries, blueberries & blackberries


SUNDAY:

LUNCH:
-Coke Zero
-gyro meat w/tzatziki
-Greek salad
-hummus w/pita

SNACK:
-100 calorie pack cocoa almonds

DINNER:
-scrambled eggs w/cheese
-bacon
-tomato slices
-1/2 piece rye bread

Day 103

Not much to say again today. I had to watch my niece and nephew today. Did chores...dishes, laundry, gave Emelia a bath, etc. Besides that, I did my workout on the treadmill. I was on it for just over an hour, went just over 4 miles, burned 804 calories and 100 grams of carbs. I was able to walk at a 9% incline for almost the entire time. Pretty good I think. I also did some more dancing tonight. I got another 3000 "sweat points". I did mostly songs I hadn't done before and I still managed to do pretty well. I'm getting better and better at this dancing thing every day. :)

Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-strawberries
-blueberries
-lo-carb vanilla yogurt
-homemade granola

LUNCH:
-Coke Zero
-3 slices salami
-1 cheese stick
-apple slices w/peanut butter

DINNER:
-steak
-spinach salad w/strawberries & pecans
-corn
-small amount of baked potato w/ranch

Day 102

I have wondered on some days what to say that is new and exciting so as not to be redundant. Today is one of those days. I'm not really sure what to blog about besides the obvious. I guess that's going to have to do for today. :/

I did my treadmill-ing today. I was on it for 56 minutes, and burned 675 calories. I am having a brain fart as to how far I went. I want say it was just over 4 miles. I was kind of distracted by the A/C repair man being here when I finished. Speaking of which, thank God we have A/C again! It was only 101 degrees today! I don't like "roughing it"! I prefer to do my sweating in climate controlled environments thankyouverymuch. :)

I did some more dancing this evening. I earned another 3000 "sweat points". I initially set out with a goal to do only 2000 per day but I've been able to exceed that the last 3 days. It's fun. I think my favorite part is seeing what my score is at the end of each song and beating my previous record with a new high score. I've always been competitive with myself. :)

I did well on my diet today. I had a little bit of bread with dinner but it was soooo good I couldn't resist. We tried a new restaurant called Bravo tonight. It was Italian food with a twist I guess you would say. It was really yummy. Dad kept raving about how good it was. I think we may have found a new favorite spot. Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-blueberries
-strawberries
-lo-carb vanilla yogurt
-homemade granola

LUNCH:
-Coke Zero
-1 cheese stick
-apple slices w/peanut butter

DINNER:
-salad w/romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, crispy pasta strips, bacon & creamy Parmesan dressing
-grilled shrimp over orzo & faro w/chickpeas, tomatoes, kalamata olives, spinach, artichoke hearts & rosemary pesto
-3 pieces of rosemary bread dipped in olive oil

Well look at that...I guess I had more to say that I though! :)

Day 101

I'm back in the swing of things. I ate well and exercised today. I was only able to do 30 minutes on the treadmill but I still managed to do 2.1 miles and I burned 371 calories. I also did Just Dance 2 and got another 3000 "sweat points". I'm not sure what that is supposed to translate into calories but I imagine it's got to be somewhat decent as it took me about an hour to complete. I would like to make it a goal to try and do both the treadmill and dancing every day. At the very least I want to get on the treadmill every day like I was doing before. Gotta get to my 50 pound weight loss goal...I'm getting the itch to have another baby! :)

Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-strawberries
-blueberries
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-homemade granola

LUNCH:
-Coke Zero
-3 slices salami
-apple slices w/peanut butter

DINNER:
-taco salad w/iceberg, turkey taco meat, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream & tortilla chips

Day 85-100

It's been a long time since I have blogged. Much has happened in the last few weeks. I am sad to report that on May 21st Grandpa passed away. It still seems very unreal to me. We were not here to see him go. We were at the beach in Pensacola, FL when Dad called to tell us the news. I think maybe that's the way Grandpa wanted it. He knew it would be too hard on Mom if she was there when he died. I am happy that his pain and discomfort are now over and that he is now with Grandma but he is dearly missed here. The house is not the same without him. It is very quiet. :( I am very grateful for the time we had with him and extra grateful for the time that he got to spend with Emelia. I know she brought him much joy. We promised him we would not let her forget him and I intend to make good on that promise. I know he is looking down on her from heaven. :)

Let's see, what else is there. With all the stress around here lately I haven't really gotten a lot of exercise in. We got a Wii and Just Dance 2 and I have been doing some dancing here and there. Last Thursday was the first day I had been on the treadmill in a long time. I jogged then and Friday as well. On Saturday I did my first 5K with my sister-in-law Kerry. I finished 3rd to last and she finished 2nd to last. :( Oh well, I can't beat myself up too bad. At least we started and finished the race. It took us 53 minutes to complete. We plan on doing another one in a few months and trying to beat our previous time. I need to start training harder and sooner. I know I can do better next time. I took Sunday and Monday off and I got back on the treadmill today. I walked for 65 minutes, went 4.6 miles and burned 730 calories. I also did Just Dance 2 tonight and earned over 3000 "Sweat Points". Today is the official kick-off to my next goal of losing 20 more pounds before Emelia's 2nd birthday. That's 11 weeks from now. I think I can do it, if not get pretty darned close.

I haven't been eating all that great the past few weeks either. :( I've been trying to eat lo-carb when I can but when we were on vacation pretty much all bets were off. I haven't lost any more weight but I have thankfully kept off the 20 pounds I have lost thus far. With this new kick-off I am going to get back to blogging every day and keeping track of what I have been eating. Here is what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-strawberries
-blueberries
-lo-carb vanilla yogurt
-homemade granola

LUNCH:
-s.f. pink lemonade
-lo-carb tortilla w/salami, Swiss, mayo & mustard
-2 Totino's pizza rolls

DINNER:
-1 pork chop
-baked sweet potato w/margarine & cinnamon Splenda
-corn

Day 83 & 84

I still don't really feel much like blogging. Grandpa is still with us, but just barely. We are praying that God will take him home soon. Hopefully it wont be much longer. :(

Still haven't been back on the treadmill yet. I went for a walk today with Emelia. We went our old route that is about 2 miles. At least it was something. We also bought a Wii yesterday and I got a Biggest Loser game and Just Dance 2. That will give me a couple more options for working out. I've been trying to eat as best as I can given the circumstances. In the past I probably would have just gone on an eating binge to make me feel better but I've tried to stick with my diet now. I've had maybe a few more carbs than I'd like but I just am not feeling it right now. Hopefully when everything is all said and done I can get back on track. I told Grandpa that I had lost 20 pounds and that I would keep going for him. I know he is proud of me. :)

Here's what I've been eating the past couple of days:

SATURDAY:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter

LUNCH:
-leftover spaghetti squash with meat sauce
-s.f. pink lemonade

DINNER:
-gyro meat
-Greek salad (lettuce, feta & dressing)
-hummus
-pita
-vanilla frozen yogurt w/strawberries, blueberries, blackberries & raspberries

SUNDAY:

BREAKFAST:
-strawberries w/Splenda
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-homemade granola (oatmeal, almonds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, pepitas & s.f. maple syrup)

LUNCH:
-4 slices salami
-cheese stick
-tomato slices w/basil, olive oil & balsamic vinegar
-Coke Zero

DINNER:
-grilled chicken thigh w/BBQ sauce
-baked sweet potato w/margarine & cinnamon Splenda
-corn
-vanilla & blackberry frozen yogurt w/strawberries, blueberries, blackberries & raspberries

Day 81 & 82

I don't really have too much to say. It's been a rough couple of days. Grandpa told me yesterday that he is ready to go. :( He has stopped eating and taking his medication. He's barely even drinking water anymore. We though we were going to lose him last night. He said he wanted to see the Chaplin at 1:30 am because he didn't think he'd make it until morning. God bless the Chaplin...he came out at 2:30 am. Grandpa looked more at peace once he left. Grandpa made it through the night. Unfortunately today he's having a lot of nausea and can barely keep even his Morphine down. I don't think it will be much longer now. I doubt he will last the weekend. :(

Not that it really matters right now, but I thought I'd mention that I have hit the 20 pound weight loss mark. Don't really feel like celebrating though. :(

Here's what I ate the last 2 days:

THURSDAY:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter

DINNER:
-spaghetti squash w/meat sauce
-s.f. pink lemonade

FRIDAY:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter
-Coke Zero

SNACK:
-tomato slices w/salt & pepper
-1 cheese stick

DINNER:
-s.f. pink lemonade
-ribs w/homemade BBQ sauce
-corn-on-the-cob

Day 80

Is it bad that I can't really remember what I did today? Hmm, I got dog food and had to pick up a prescription. I also got some groceries. That's about all I remember doing. Doesn't seem like much, so why am I so tired? I didn't even get to do my workout again today. Yikes! I gotta get back on it tomorrow. I think I'll wake up early and try to get it done before Emelia wakes up. Hopefully I can get my shower in before then too. Grandpa's nurse comes out tomorrow and so does Emelia's physical therapist. Then we have the kids for dinner. I think it will be another tiring day. Better be off to bed soon then!

Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-strawberries w/Splenda
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt

LUNCH:
-s.f. raspberry lemonade
-lo-carb tortilla w/ham, Swiss, mayo & mustard
-jicama

DINNER:
-diet Sprite
-salad w/lettuce, cheese, grape tomatoes, croutons, crispy chicken & ranch dressing
-Chicago hot dog (hot dog, mustard, relish, onions, tomato, pickle & hot peppers), no bun (OK, I ate 1/4 of the bun)

Day 79

What's that expression, it never rains, it only pours? Well, it was one of those days. We finally met Grandpa's hospice nurse today. She had to come out and draw some more blood today to check his Coumadin levels. She got us the approval to increase his Morphine as well. It seems to have helped. He slept most of the day and didn't eat much besides some Ensure. That, in itself, is stressful, just worrying about him and his health. While I was making myself lunch, Emelia decided to make the day more stressful. She has just started climbing up on dining room chairs and today she managed to get up on one and proceeded to do a swan dive right of the edge and landed face first on the ceramic tile. There was very minimal bleeding but both Mom and I noticed right away that her upper lip looked like it was stuck between her front teeth. She also had a huge goose-egg forming on her forehead. I rushed her to the pediatric ER. Luckily they weren't busy and they saw her right away. The pediatrician didn't seem to think she bumped her head hard enough to cause any damage. As for her lip, he wasn't willing to take on her case and told us to take her to a pediatric dentist. So home I went to find a pediatric dentist in the phone book. I called as soon as I got home and they told me to come right in. So off we went again. The dentist didn't seem to think her lip was stuck between her teeth. He just thought her frenulum was swollen from the trauma of hitting the floor. They took an x-ray and her left front tooth does look crooked. He had no baseline to compare it to, but his best guess was that the tooth probably moved and the resulting position and the swelling made it look different from before. We're just supposed to keep and eye on it and give him a call in a couple of days. There wasn't really anything he could do at this point. I just hope it doesn't effect the growth of her permanent teeth later on down the road.

Needless to say, with all the hubbub of the day, I didn't get a chance to do my workout today. :/ I want to move the treadmill out of Grandpa's den because I don't want to bother him any more now that he's sleeping in his recliner almost all day long. I know he says it doesn't bother him but it kind of makes me feel a little uncomfortable. If he was doing better I might have gotten on the treadmill tonight. Oh well, I'll just have to shoot for tomorrow.

Here's what I had to eat today:

BREAKFAST:
-strawberries
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt

LUNCH/SNACK:
-2 1/2 cheese sticks
-2 flatbread crackers

DINNER:
-harvest chicken salad (lettuce, cheese, chicken salad, dried cranberries & ranch)
-cup of chili
-s.f. lemonade

Day 78

What a hectic day! I am so tired right now. Dealing with the hospice nurse visiting, oxygen delivery, giving Grandpa his medication, taking care of Emelia, welcoming Uncle Jeff from out of town, watering plants, making dinner, working out, blah blah blah. I guess it doesn't really seem like I did all that much today but it just seemed hectic to me. Worrying about Grandpa is probably just wearing me out a little. Not saying I don't want to help take care of him though. I'm happy to help him any way I can. We booked a long weekend in Pensacola, Florida when my Mom is here and let me tell you, I am looking so forward to that! It will be nice to get away and relax for a couple of days. I think it will do Mom a lot of god too. Just hope Grandpa does well while we are gone.

I got back on the treadmill today. I changed it up a little. I started at a 5% incline and every 10 minutes I went up another level. I managed to burn about 750 calories but I can't remember how many carbs. I went just over 4 miles. Not too bad. I'll try to push harder tomorrow though.

Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter

LUNCH:
-Oops, I was so busy I forgot to eat!

DINNER:
-2 turkey mushroom burgers w/horseradish cheddar, mayo, Dijon, tomatoes, pickles & red onion
-jicama sticks
-s.f. lemonade

Day 77: Happy Mother's Day!

I had a lovely Mother's Day today. :) I went out for brunch with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. When we got to the brunch place they said it would be 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours wait! Normally that would just send me right back out the door but we made it work. We bellied up to the bar and Mom and Kerry ordered mimosas and I had a diet Coke and then we went outside and sat in the van with the A/C on until our beeper buzzed. It was good because we got to spend some girly time together just chatting about things. Something we almost never get the time to do. Our "brunch" turned out to be more like a late lunch by the time it was all said and done but that was alright because it ended up being pretty tasty. Afterwards we took Mom shopping for some new clothes and we were her fashion consultants. She got a few nice new pieces that are very versatile. I think it did her good to get out of the house. Grandpa's declining health is weighing very heavy on her. We decided that we need to have a "girls day" at least every 2 months. I think it will do us all good. :)

We finally got home a little before 5 pm. I spent some time with Corey and Emelia. That was probably my favorite thing I did all day. Just lounging on the bed cuddling with my Peanut and getting sweet little toddler kisses. Nothing gets better than that. :) After all, she's the reason that I am a Mommy today.

Corey took me out to dinner tonight for Greek food. It was very tasty. We had a good "grown-up" conversation too that I think we needed. We also went to Walmart and I got some pumpkin seeds. I'm excited to grow my own jack-o-lantern for Halloween! We ended the day with some ice cream from Sonic. All together it was a really good day and I am very thankful that I get to be a Mommy to such an incredible little girl. Thank you God for my sweet baby girl, Emelia Grace. I love her!



No workout today (Cheat Day). Here's what I ate:

BRUNCH:
-part of a strawberry, yogurt and granola parfait
-crab cake eggs Benedict (2 poached eggs over crab cakes w/hollandaise)
-hash browns
-diet Coke

DINNER:
-Greek salad w/gyro meat (lettuce, tomato, feta & dressing)
-3/4 of a pita
-regular size Oreo Sonic Blast

(Dammit, I know it was "Cheat Day" but why are those carbs I ate making me feel so guilty?)

P.S. I'VE MADE IT 11 WEEKS NOW!!! :)

Day 76

Have I mentioned how much fun I am having with gardening lately? I think I may have but I felt it was worth mentioning again. It's mostly vegetables that I am growing right now because it seems more rewarding to have an end product that you can do something with after all your hard work. I cannot wait until I get to taste my first tomato! I've got 1 Roma tomato already starting to turn red. I'm not really sure how long they take to ripen. I need to find a good book about growing your own vegetables. More specifically I want one especially for my Zone, which is 8. I found out today that it's not too late to plant pumpkin seeds. I'm excited to try my hand at that. How fun would it be to say that I grew the pumpkin that I carved at Halloween! Or maybe I'll grow some smaller ones and make pumpkin pie with them for Thanksgiving! I can't describe how rewarding this is to me! I only wish I had more space to grow more things. Well, I should say, I wish I had my own home to grow my own things. One day, one day....

Ok, back to reality. I did my workout today and pushed a little harder to try and make up for yesterday. I only burned an extra 22 calories for my effort though. :/ I went just over 4 miles, burned 822 calories and 101 grams of carbs. I had dinner at my brother-in-law & sister-in-law's house tonight and we were going to do Just Dance 2 after dinner but it never happened. Oh well, I worked out hard enough for one day! I think in observance of Mother's Day tomorrow I am going to take the day off. I'm going to brunch with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law and I think I just might have to cheat a little bit. The place we're going to has lots of different eggs Benedict on their menu and after all, what's a Benedict without an English muffin? Can't wait...should be tasty!

Here's what I had today:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter

LUNCH:
-s.f. lemonade
-lo-carb wrap w/ham, Swiss cheese, mayo & Dijon mustard

DINNER:
-smoked pork
-carrots w/mandarin oranges
-tomato stuffed w/spinach
-grilled onion
-small amount of mushroom rice
-1/2 cheesy biscuit
-1/4 slice pound cake w/small scoop vanilla ice cream & strawberries

Day 75: Are you ready for it?

As the title reads, are you ready for it??? And by "it" I mean the results of today's weigh-in. I lost another 2 pounds!!! That brings me up to a grand total of 18pounds! YAY!!! I am so excited. :) I definitely think I will be able to lose 2 more pounds before my Mom gets here on the 19th so that we can go for spa pedis together! :) I can't wait for a pedicure...my toes are looking so dull in my new flip-flops without any nail polish. Speaking of new flip-flops, I MUST mention how much I LOVE my new Crocs flips. They made a flip-flop just as comfy as their regular shoes, only not so umm, fugly. I knew when I finally got my first pair of Crocs in December that I should have jumped on that bandwagon a long time ago. My feet have missed out on so much comfort. It took me that long to give in and to admit that their comfort far outweighed their less than stylish look. But I am pleased to announce that the flip-flops are cute AND comfortable. Oh ya, and my foot that's been hurting...it doesn't hurt in my new flip-flops! Who knew? I wonder how much longer I could keep going on about these shoes....???

On another note, I did my workout today but I had to cut it a little short. I have been trying to Skype with my Mom the last 3 days and have had to cancel 2 times. By the time I got around to my workout today it was cutting it real close to our agreed-upon meeting time. I only managed to get in about 35 minutes today but I pushed it and walked at a 10% incline almost the entire time. I only burned 507 calories and only went about 2.3 miles but it's better than I used to do. And at least I did something today, right? I don't know why I'm so hard on myself sometimes. It's like I'm beating myself up for not completing a whole hour. I have to keep reminding myself how far I've come in just 11 weeks and that 35 minutes at a 10% incline is WAY better than sitting on the couch or napping like I used to do. I guess my Mom is right; when I've committed myself to something I want to achieve, there is nothing that will stop me until I get what I want. I guess I've always seen things like that (such as not completing a full workout) as set backs that just put me a step behind getting to my goal. Somethings never change. The only thing that has changed is my motivation to get thin. :)

Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter

LUNCH:
-leftover basa w/refried beans, cabbage, pico de gallo, cilantro-lime mayo & salsa verde

DINNER:
-chef's salad w/iceberg, tomatoes, cucumber, ham, turkey, Swiss cheese, olives, chickpeas, a few croutons & ranch dressing
-4 deviled eggs

Day 74

Grandpa was evaluated for hospice care today. I was really worried about what they were going to say. Mainly about how much longer they thought he had. I am feeling a lot more positive about the whole thing now. They aren't just here to administer medication and bathe him etc when needed. It sounds like they are really going to do whatever it takes and whatever he wants to make him more comfortable so that he can spend his time, however long that is, doing whatever he wants to do. I'm really happy about that. I want him to be able to enjoy himself and not be in pain. I think they will be able to help him manage his pain and hopefully it will improve his outlook as well. The nurse said that he is still in good enough health and that however long he has left on this Earth is going to be up to God and him from here on out. I am happy that he has been given this gift and hope that he can make the most of it.

I got my workout in today as usual. I needed to get it done a little quicker today so I kicked up the incline to 10% for part of the time. I was able to complete my workout in about 56 minutes, burning 800 calories and 100 grams of carbs. I didn't go quite as far but at least I made the goals that really count. Tomorrow is weigh day and I can't wait to see how much I've lost since I've started stepping it up more. Wish me luck! :)

Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter

LUNCH:
-s.f. lemonade
-leftover pulled pork
-pickle slices

DINNER:
-s.f. lemonade
-2 fish tacos (lo-carb tortillas, basa, cilantro-lime mayo, pico de gallo, salsa verde & shredded cabbage)
-refried beans w/shredded cheese & salsa verde

Day 73

Not a lot to report again today. The day didn't start for me until about noon. Emelia wasn't feeling well last night (she had a fever) and didn't get to sleep until after 11 pm. Consequently she slept in until almost noon. After I gave her breakfast, ate my own, putzed on the computer, washed dishes, watered the garden, etc, it was almost 3 pm. I still needed to go out and get my Mom a Mother's Day card and go to the post office to mail it. By the time we got back it was after 4 pm. I put Emelia down for her nap and finally got on the treadmill at about 4:30 pm. I did my normal workout. As usual I burned 800 calories and 100 grams of carbs. My foot hurts so much now. :( I wish I knew what was wrong with it. I had the same pain in my other foot and had an x-ray done last year. There wasn't anything that they could find on the x-ray and my doctor said I could go to a podiatrist if I wanted to. The pain finally went away on that foot but now it's back in the other foot. Maybe I should go to a podiatrist. I hate having to go to new doctors all the time. It makes me feel like there's something wrong with me. :( We'll see...I'll have to think about it.

Anywhoo, here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter
-s.f. lemonade

DINNER:
-pulled pork w/BBQ sauce
-coleslaw
-pickles

Day 72

Not a good day today. Grandpa is not doing very well. He needed a lot more pain medication than normal, he has lost his voice and now he's really not eating well. It hurts me so much to see him in pain. Mom is going to call for hospice care tomorrow. I hope they can help relieve some of his pain. I'm not sure how much longer he will have now. I hope he goes peacefully and doesn't suffer. That is all anyone can hope for at this point I think. :(

I woke up and did my workout early this morning. I really wanted to go back to bed but I'm proud of myself for getting up and going. :) I went 4.2 miles, burned 802 calories and 100 grams of carbs. I can't wait until Friday to see my progress now that I've been doing these killer workouts.

My diet is still doing well. Here is what I had today:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb tortilla w/turkey, horseradish cheddar, tomato & mayo

DINNER:
-3 fried eggs w/ketchup
-bacon
-tomato slices

Day 71

Another boring day here. I can't even think of anything of any interest that I did today. Yawn! I did my workout as usual. I went 4.2 miles in about 62 minutes. I burned 800 calories and 100 grams of carbs. That's about it. The highlight of my day. I think this will be the shortest post I have ever done because I really have nothing more to say other than that.

Oh ya, and here's what I ate:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter

LUNCH:
-s.f. lemonade
-lo-carb wrap w/salami, cheddar cheese & mustard

DINNER:
-3 hot dogs topped w/slaw (cabbage, red onions, ketchup, mustard, relish, oil & vinegar)
-pickled beets

Day 70: 10 weeks!

Woohoo! I've made it a whole 10 weeks now. Hard to believe, it has gone by so quickly. Another 10 weeks will go by just as quickly I'm sure and hopefully I will have lost over 30 pounds by then. I should be able to fit into some of my cute short sleeved shirts sometime this summer. :) I am so proud of myself to have made it this far. I don't think I have ever stuck to a diet this long. I don't think I will have any problem reaching my goal of losing 50 pounds. All it takes is patience, perseverance, and a little perspiration. The 3 P's of success! :)

I did my usual workout today. Went 4.2 miles, burned 800 calories & 100 grams of carbs. It's so rewarding knowing that I can do a workout like that and burn off so much and it really doesn't take an incredible amount of effort. Just one hour set aside each day and a little bit of a push and I've done it. One step closer on this journey to a new me. :)

Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter

SNACK:
-Coke Zero
-baked brie w/apricot jam & jalapenos on 6 small slices of baguette
-3 sugar snap peas

DINNER
-a few tortilla chips
-chile relleno w/steak
-small amount of refried beans
-small amount of rice

Day 69

I hurt today. :( My feet and legs hurt. I must have really worked hard today on the treadmill. I did my new normal workout today. I start at about an 8% incline and stay on that until the 50 minute mark at a 4 mph speed. Then I go down to a 5% incline and kick it up to 4.5 mph for 5 minutes. The I do the last 5 minutes or so at a 3% incline and 4 mph until I have burned 800 calories and 100 grams of carbs. It usually takes about 62 minutes to get to that point and I've usually gone about 4.2 miles. I've come a long way in 69 days when it would take me 45 minutes to go 2 miles and I would be out of breath. Everyone is so proud of me. And I am too. :)

Here is what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter (anyone noticing a trend?)

LUNCH:
-s.f. lemonade
-lo-carb tortilla w/salami, cheddar cheese, mayo & mustard

DINNER:
-corned beef w/ mustard
-cabbage w/vinegar
-carrots

Day 68

I lost another pound!!! That brings me up to a grand total of 16 pounds. :) Only 34 more to go. I bet I would have lost even more if it weren't for the pie incident! I started the day off well again today. I got on the treadmill at about 8 am and did my workout for just over an hour. I went 4.25 miles and burned 800 calories and 100 grams of carbs. At that rate I should be burning over 1.5 pounds per week just from exercising alone. I don't think it will be a problem to lose another 4 pounds by the time my Mom gets here in 3 weeks. Pedis here we come!

Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter

LUNCH:
-flakes of ham (ground ham w/mayo & mustard) on a lo-carb tortilla
-celery sticks
-s.f. raspberry lemonade

DINNER:
-taco salad from Taco Bell (lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese, ground beef, beans, rice, salsa & tortilla shell)

Day 67

Today was my last day to make one final push before weigh-day tomorrow. I think I succeeded. I got on the treadmill and started at an 8% incline. Rather than decrease the incline every five minutes I managed to do my entire workout up to 55 minutes at the same incline. Woohoo! I burned a total of 800 calories (according to the treadmill) and 100 grams of carbohydrates. I also went the furthest I have ever gone before at a total of 4.2 miles. It wasn't even hard to do. I think I can manage to do the same every day. I think it will be my new workout. :) Can't wait for weigh-day tomorrow. Hope I lost at least another pound. Wish me luck!

I did well on the diet today. Here's what I ate:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter
-diet Pepsi (I was really tired...needed the caffeine)

LUNCH:
-strawberry spinach salad w/pecans

DINNER:
-country style pork ribs w/sauerkraut
-carrots
-small scoop cheesy mashed potatoes

Day 66

I started the day off on the right foot today. When I woke up I went straight to the treadmill and did my workout. Today I managed to get in a whole hour too! Trying to make up for the "pie incident" of yesterday. I went almost 4 miles, burned something like 670 calories and 88 grams of carbs. I started at an 8% incline and the lowest I got even during my cool-down was 3%. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. I think I will aim to do the same tomorrow. Gotta make one last push before Friday's weigh-day.

As for the rest of the day, it went good as well. I was watching my niece and nephew again today. I took them and Emelia to an indoor bounce house. Emelia didn't like it...again. It's understandable though with her gravitational insecurity. At least her cousins had fun and got to burn off a lot of energy. :)

I did well with my diet today. Gotta keep on track because of yesterday's blunder! Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-sliced apple w/peanut butter

LUNCH:
-1 chicken nugget
-a couple of fries
-strawberry spinach salad w/pecans

DINNER:
-s.f. lemonade
-smoked sausage
-corn
-cabbage salad

Day 65

I am feeling fat and guilty right now. :( I gave in to temptation after dinner and had a slice of strawberry-rhubarb pie AND ice cream. I feel so bad now. I don't know why I did it. I've been doing so good. I hope I still lose weight this week or I am really going to feel like crap. Maybe I'll do some extra time on the treadmill the next few days. That better do the trick. :/

My foot has been bothering me lately. It was hurting a lot on the treadmill today. I still managed to complete my workout though. I went 3.35 miles and burned 545 calories and 68 carbs on my backwards workout. Oh ya, then I stepped on this spiky ball tree nut thing (I have no idea what it is really called or what tree it falls out of) and hurt my foot even more! Aaarrr! Do you just ever have one of those days? I've been having one today. I'm feeling grumpy. Maybe that's why I ate the pie...to try and make myself feel better. Bad bad me, now I only feel worse!

Here is the good and the bad of what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-sliced apple w/peanut butter

LUNCH:
-salad w/lettuce, grape tomatoes, cheese, bacon, grilled chicken & ranch dressing from McDonald's
-a few fries

DINNER:
-s.f. lemonade
-1 pork chop
-baked sweet potato w/margarine & cinnamon Splenda
-carrots
-green beans
-1 slice strawberry rhubarb pie w/vanilla ice cream :(

Day 64

Busy day today. Had to watch the niece and nephew this morning for a few hours. Grandpa had his follow-up appointment with his primary care doctor today. Looks like the biopsy came back negative for cancer. That's good news but we still don't know what's wrong with him. There is obviously something going on still. He is very short of breath and can hardly do the things he was doing just a few weeks ago, he doesn't have much of an appetite, he's still in a lot of pain and he's sleeping a lot more than usual. He may not have cancer but I still don't think he is going to make it much longer. :(

Emelia had an appointment with her new nephrologist today. He was much nicer than the other one and I walked away feeling informed, not put down. The only problem I have now is that his advice for treating Emelia totally contradicts what the urologist has told us. So now we've got to figure out whose advice we agree with and who's advice we need to follow. I think I'm leaning more to the urologist but we will continue seeing the nephrologist every few months at least for the next year or so. Thankfully it is not a major problem and we are not talking about life or death decisions here.

I got back on the treadmill today. I did my workout backwards again and I still think I like it better this way. I went 3.3 miles and burned 535 calories. I got back to my diet today too. I am feeling fat right now for some reason though.
:( Hope I didn't gain anything back. There is about half of each pie from yesterday leftover and it is killing me not to have a piece right now. I kind of feel like an addict. One taste of my drug of choice (sugar/carbs) and I am craving more. It's kind of scary to think of it that way but I swear, that's what it's feeling like. I hope I will not give in to temptation! Here is what I have eaten today:

BREAKFAST:
-sliced apple w/peanut butter
-a couple of strawberry slices

LUNCH:
-s.f. raspberry lemonade
-leftover unbreaded chicken Parmesan
-3 deviled eggs
-diet Pepsi

DINNER:
-salad w/ranch
-grilled sausage
-Swiss & cheddar cheese
-tomato slices
-pickle slices
-a few french fries

Day 63: Happy Easter!

Hope everyone out there in cyber land had a Happy Easter. We had a nice day here. Took Emelia to church in the morning. Had an egg hunt this afternoon. Emelia was adorable finding all the eggs and putting them in her basket. I was surprised at how quickly she figured out what to do. I love watching her learn and discover new things. :) The Easter bunny treated Emelia very well this year. Her favorite gift that he brought her was a magnetic drawing board. She LOVES scribbling on that thing! We had a nice dinner tonight too. Wish my blueberry pie had turned out better though...it was soupy. Everything else was very tasty. I felt a little guilty eating carbs but it was cheat day so I have to remind myself that it's OK. I am so full right now I feel as though I've gained all 15 pounds I lost back! I think my stomach is in revolt from all the carbs I ate! Hope I don't feel so bloated tomorrow. I didn't workout either today and I am feeling a little guilty for that as well. Oh well, back to reality tomorrow. I have now completed 9 weeks and tomorrow is the start of week 10. Gotta lose 5 more pounds in the next 4 weeks. Mommy is coming on May 19th. :)

Here's what I ate for Easter Cheat Day:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter

SNACK:
-veggies & dip (carrots, celery, bell peppers, cucumber, yellow cherry tomatoes & ranch dip)
-1 deviled egg
-diet Pepsi

DINNER:
-ham
-cheese potatoes
-carrots
-asparagus
-strawberry spinach salad w/pecans
-3 deviled eggs
-Parmesan money bread
-1 small slice blueberry pie
-1 small slice strawberry-rhubarb pie
-1 scoop vanilla ice cream

Day 62

Today was an OK day. I spent a lot of the day in a crabby mood but the day ended on a high note. Not really sure why I was crabby. Corey was kind of getting on my nerves because he was being a crabby patty. He has a way of doing that to me sometimes. Anyway, I helped Mom stuff plastic Easter eggs to hide on the yard tomorrow. This is the first year Emelia can hunt for eggs. Should be fun to watch. :) Speaking of hunting, is rhubarb really such an obscure item in the south that it is really necessary to have to go to 4 different stores just to find it? Seriously, Mom and I had to hunt it down. When we finally found it at Fresh Market they had it priced for $4.99/lb! Luckily there was no bar code on the package so the cashier gave it to me for $2.49 total. Hehe! That pie tomorrow better be good is all I gotta say! Later this afternoon we dyed eggs as a family. It was Emelia's first time being able to do that too. She kind of threw her first egg in the dye and got some on her dress to which Corey freaked out. That's what put me in a bad mood. I wish she could just have fun and get messy without him worrying about it. Oh well, can't let it bother me. He is a very good Daddy. :) After that I made my pies for tomorrow. Blueberry and strawberry rhubarb. Can't wait to have a piece of each! I love cheat day! :D As I was saying, the day ended on a high note. My sister-in-law invited me over to play Just Dance 2 so I could have a break from the grumps (not only was Corey grumpy, so was his Dad and Grandpa). I didn't know if I was going to have time to go since I had a few things to prepare for tomorrow. I didn't get a chance to do my workout either. I really wanted to go so I got my stuff done and me and Mom went over there at about 8 pm. I'm glad I did. I had lots of fun and got my exercise in for the day too. We danced for almost 2 hours! I totally suck at it but oh well, I had fun and that's all that matters. I wonder if they have a category on my calculator for 'calories burned while playing Wii Just Dance 2'. Hehe! Maybe I'll just check out dancing. I'm sure it was quite a bit. I'm pretty proud of myself too. Last time I did it I needed my inhaler after just one song. Tonight I didn't need it at all. :) I've come a long way. :) So proud!

Can't wait for tomorrow so I can cheat!!! Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter

LUNCH:
-s.f. sweet tea
-lo-carb tortilla w/salami, Swiss, mayo & mustard

DINNER:
-unbreaded chicken Parmesan
-Caesar salad

Day 61: Guess what!!!

Guess what, guess what, guess what!!! I've lost 15 pounds!!! YAY!!! I am so happy/proud/encouraged/motivated etc!!! I don't just think I can make it to 50 pounds, I KNOW I CAN! Could I possibly use any more exclamation marks? Hehe! Yep, there I did. My Mom is coming to visit in 4 weeks and I hope to make it to 20 pounds lost by then so that I can share my reward, a spa pedicure, with her. That's my next mini goal. To lose at least 5 more pounds by the time she gets here. I'm so looking forward to my spa pedi. My feet are looking so dull. It's definitely flip flop weather here already. I mean, I have been wearing them for like the past 2 months already, but we're only April and today was 89 degrees out. Looks like we're in for a scorcher this summer. Blah! Don't think I'll be putting the flip flops away anytime soon.

I remembered to try doing my workout in reverse today. After warming up I started at a 7% incline and then worked my way back down. I think I actually like it better that way. I get all the hard work done first and then it just feels like a relief every time I get to go down another notch whereas before I would be dreading having to go up. I actually burned more calories today, 535, according to the treadmill. That's 10 more than yesterday. I don't think I've mentioned it before but the treadmill also calculates carbs expended. Today I burned almost 68 grams of carbs. I wonder if I even eat that many in a day. Speaking of eating, here's what I had today:

BREAKFAST:
-apple slices w/peanut butter (I'm kind of addicted right now)

LUNCH:
-leftover burrito bowl (refried beans, scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese & salsa)
-s.f. raspberry lemonade

DINNER:
-7 layer salad (iceberg, peas, cheddar, red onions, bacon, hard boiled egg & dressing)
-3 chicken tenders from Cane's (I scraped some of the breading off)

Day 60

People are actually reading my blog! Wow, I can't believe someone is actually interested in what I have to say. Hello out there readers!!! Thank you for listening to what I have to say about this journey of mine. :) Maybe someday I will inspire someone else to start a weight-loss journey of their own. Please let me know if I do! I'd love to hear from someone. :)

Anywhoo, not much going on today. Emelia had physical therapy. Her PT is so pleased with her progress that she says she cannot validate coming every week and she will now only see her every 3 weeks just to check up on her. I am so proud of my little Peanut and so pleased with the therapy she has received. She has come so far in such a short amount of time. :) As much as I am sad to not see the therapist every week (Emelia really likes her, and she really likes Emelia) there are a lot more babies out there that need the help more than her at this point. I am so grateful that her issues were so minor in comparison to some children. Thank you God!

Other than that, pretty much all I did today was my workout. I forgot that I was going to start at a high incline and work my way back down, so I just did the usual. I'm getting up to 7% incline and burning 525 calories according to the treadmill. Can't wait for weigh-day tomorrow! I'm starting to feel lighter. :) We shall see what the numbers say.

I've been doing well on my diet. Gotta keep in check since Sunday, Easter, is going to be cheat day. Hey, it's a holiday! Cheating once a month isn't too bad. I don't think I'll go too crazy but I am making strawberry rhubarb pie and blueberry pie and I would like to have a piece of each with ice cream. Hehe, I'll always have a sweet tooth, dieting or not! Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-sliced apple w/peanut butter

LUNCH:
-s.f. raspberry lemonade
-leftover spaghetti w/meat sauce over spaghetti squash

DINNER:
-breakfast burritos (2 small lo-carb tortillas, refried beans, scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese & salsa)

Day 59

Today was another busy day. I took Emelia to Lowe's to buy some plants for Mom for Easter. We were there for quite some time picking out lots of goodies. Along with the flowers for Mom, I also got another cherry tomato plant, basil, cilantro, 2 red pepper plants, a chocolate pepper plant and 2 cucumber plants. Like I said in another post, I am getting quite an itch to grow my own veggies. I've already got about a dozen Roma tomatoes growing on one plant and another 8 on the other regular tomato plant. It feels very rewarding to grow my own food. Maybe someday when we have our own place I will have a real garden, not just pots, where I can grow lots of different things. Anyway, back to my day. After Emelia went down for her nap I spent almost 2 hours outside planting everything. I didn't get a chance to do my workout today, but I checked my calories burned calculator and for the hour and 45 minutes I spent gardening, I burned about 700 calories. That's about what I would have burned on the treadmill so I'm happy. My legs are hurting so I must have been doing something!

Still doing well with my diet. Mom tried to tempt me with Red Mango frozen yogurt for dessert but I resisted. Here's what I ate:

BREAKFAST:
-sliced apple w/peanut butter

LUNCH:
-s.f. raspberry lemonade
-small lo-carb tortilla w/ham, pepper jack cheese, mustard & mayo

DINNER:
-spaghetti with meat sauce over spaghetti squash

Day 58

Oh boy, what a day! I was planning on waking up early to do my workout and shower before Emelia woke up (because I knew I had a busy day ahead) but I didn't plan on waking up as early as 6:20 am. Dad came knocking at our door at that time to let us know that Corey's car had been broken into. Why is it always us? They ripped the stereo out, got his sunglasses, phone charger and some parts to an engine hoist. All together only about $200 worth of stuff...hardly seems worth it. We had to replace the driver's side window and part of the dash. It sucks that our insurance deductible is $500...not even worth reporting it to them. And the police were no help. They said that the couldn't get prints off the outside of the car because it was wet from dew. Understandable. Then they said that it was too hard to lift prints of the dash because of the material. Sounds like another way of saying they didn't care/were too lazy to try. Guess another bad guy gets away with committing a crime. Schmucks! Why do people do that? Makes me so angry!!!

Anywhoo, enough of my vent. After everything else I had to get done today, I finally was able to get on the treadmill at 8 pm. It was a good workout. I got up to a 7% incline. I forget how far I went. It's less than when I'm jogging, obviously. I burned 521 calories. While I am quite positive that I am burning more than that, even if I only burn as much as the treadmill says then I am on track to lose a pound per week just from exercise alone. Woohoo! I think I'm liking this new walking on an incline thing. :) I wonder how it would be if I started high and worked my way back down? It might be easier that way. Maybe I'll try it that way tomorrow.

The diet went so so today. I did well for breakfast and lunch but dinner was a little iffy. Here's what I ate:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-strawberries w/Splenda
-1 1/2 cheese sticks
-Coke Zero

LUNCH:
-small lo-carb tortilla w/turkey, pepper jack cheese & mayo
-s.f. raspberry lemonade

DINNER:
-southwest salad from McDonald's (lettuce, black beans, corn, cheese, tortilla strips, breaded chicken breast & southwest dressing)
-a few french fries
-apple slices w/peanut butter

Day 57

Today was another average day. Didn't do too much. Grandpa's procedure was postponed until tomorrow because his Coumadin levels were still too high. Hopefully they will be able to proceed as scheduled tomorrow. I know he's wanting to get home.

I worked out today as usual. I got up to a 7% incline today. I burned 527 calories too. :) I hope I'm still losing as well as I was when I was jogging. We'll see on weigh-day.

Oh well, like I said, not a very exciting day. Not much else to say. Here is what I ate:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-strawberries w/Splenda

LUNCH:
-lo-carb tortilla w/ham, mozzarella, mayo & mustard

DINNER:
-s.f. pink lemonade
-leftover Greek salad
-roast beef in au jus w/creamy horseradish mayo
-1/4 of an oatmeal raisin granola bar

Day 56: 8 Weeks!

I have now completed 8 weeks of my journey. Yay me! I can't believe how far I've come. :) It hasn't been all that hard either. It's just become part of my life to eat better and exercise daily. I foresee no problems in being able to continue until I reach my goal. :)

Besides reaching 8 weeks, today wasn't really a very exciting day. About all I did today was get some groceries. Of course I worked out. I walked at a 4 mph pace, raising the incline 0.5% every five minutes until I reached 6%. I think tomorrow I'm gonna start higher so I can get to a higher incline in the end. We went to see Grandpa after dinner tonight. We didn't stay long because they gave him some medication to help him sleep and he was fading fast. Tomorrow is the day he is having his biopsy and we will get the results on Tuesday. I hope everything goes well. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Still going strong on my diet. Corey wanted an ice cream for dessert on the way home from the hospital but I was a good girl and resisted the temptation to have one. :) Here is what I did have today:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-1 apple

LUNCH:
-s.f. pink lemonade
-lo-carb tortilla w/turkey, pepper jack cheese & mayo

DINNER:
-2 lamb chops
-Greek salad w/romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, feta cheese & oil and vinegar dressing

Day 55

Grandpa is still in the hospital. :( He will most likely be there until at least Tuesday. He is having a biopsy done on Monday to test what the mass on his lung is. Odds are not looking good. I'm feeling very sad about it. While I know that 92 is up there and that he has lived a good life, Grandpa has always been so full of energy it's hard to believe that he may not be with us for a lot longer. I don't want to think about it too much until we have a diagnosis but it is hard. He will be greatly missed when ever his time does come. :(

Anyway, I still need to write about what this blog is all about. I did my workout today. This time I increased the incline every five minutes until I built up to 6.5%. I decided to slow down the pace to 4 mph so I wouldn't have to hold on for dear life. I think it worked out well. The treadmill said I burned 502 calories; just a little less than at the higher speed. Plus we all know I'm actually burning more than that. So, I think I found a good balance. I'll think that's what I will do all this next coming week. See how it goes as far as the weight loss on Friday. If I'm not losing like I need to be I'll kick it up again.

Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-1 apple

LUNCH:
-small lo-carb tortilla w/turkey, pepper jack cheese & mayo
-5 pickle slices

DINNER:
-salad w/iceberg, romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, green pepper, 1/4 of an egg, pickled green bean, croutons & ranch dressing
-boiled crawfish w/remoulade
-small piece of potato
-small cob of corn

Day 54

Today was a very bittersweet day. I began the day very excited about losing another 2 pounds bring my total up to 13 pounds lost so far. The day went south from there. Grandpa came to me again and asked me to take him to the hospital because he was having chest pain again. He spent most of the day in the ER where they did a lot of tests and he was finally admitted tonight. Thankfully it was not his heart but it looks like he has some sort of mass on his lung which they are suspecting may be mesothelioma. Not a good diagnosis. We are all hoping and praying that he will be well, but it is hard to remain optimistic given the fact that he is 92 years old. If you are reading this and are of the religious persuasion, please say a prayer for Grandpa. It would mean a lot. Thank you.



It seems silly to be posting what I ate today but as this is the main purpose of this blog, I will continue as usual. Grandpa would want it that way. :) Here is what I ate:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-strawberries w/Splenda

LUNCH:
-chicken Caesar salad
-caffeine free, diet Coke
-a few forkfuls of macaroni & cheese
-a few bites of cornbread muffin

DINNER:
-salad w/apples, craisins, pecans, chicken & pomegranate dressing (from Wendy's)
-small cup of chili w/cheese

Day 53

Just another regular day here. Had to go get the dogs some food at the vet's. Emelia had physical therapy today. She's doing very well. :) Oh, I talked to my bestest friend Aimee who I haven't talked to in forever. :) Did my workout...50 minutes walking on the treadmill. The treadmill said I burned 527 calories but I did my research and according to my weight I actually burned more like 850 calories! Woohoo! I think I'm going to walk on an incline rather than jog for a lot longer. The only problem I am having is holding on to the handle bar. My shoulder is hurting me and I think it's because of that. It's hard for me to walk that whole time on an incline without holding on to something. The side bars are hard to hold on to. Only the one up front is comfortable but I kind of feel like I'm holding on for dear life! Maybe I need to slow down a little when I'm on the incline until I can catch up. Can't wait for weigh-day tomorrow! Hope I lost more than 1 pound. Wish me luck!

Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-1 apple

LUNCH:
-small lo-carb tortilla w/salami, cheddar & mustard
-s.f. pink lemonade

DINNER:
-leftover Asian chicken salad
-toppings scraped off of 2 slices of pizza (cheese, pepperoni, ham, sausage & mushrooms)

Day 52

Pretty dull day today. I spent most of the day just doing chores...dishes, laundry, picking up my meds, watering the tomatoes, cleaning Emelia's room, putting up a new shelf in Emelia's bookcase, making dinner, Swiffering, etc. I kept busy but it was just random boring things. I did my workout today too. I spent 50 minutes on the treadmill as usual, but I just walked the whole time again. I walked at an incline pretty much the whole time except for the first few and last few minutes. A 5% incline seems pretty good for now. My calves were hurting when I got up this morning so it must be working. I think the treadmill said I burned 545 calories. I'm going to see if I can find a calories burned calculator that calculates walking on a treadmill at an incline. I'll post what I find out!

Here's what I ate today:

LUNCH:
-egg salad on lo-carb tortilla
-s.f. pink lemonade

DINNER:
-Asian chicken salad w/napa cabbage, iceberg, shredded carrots, green onions, orange pepper, sliced almonds, mandarin oranges, shredded chicken breast & Asian sesame-ginger dressing

Day 51

Today was much better than yesterday, workout-wise. I was able to get back on the treadmill. :) I decided to just do some walking at an incline for a few days to try and lessen the impact on my knees. I walked for my entire 50 minute workout, at a pretty decent incline for almost the entire time and I walked at my normal speed of 13 minutes & 20 seconds per mile. At the greatest point I was at a 5% incline. According to the treadmill I burned a total of 537 calories. Corey told me that you actually use more muscles when walking at an incline so that's why you burn more calories. I probably burned even more than the treadmill said since it doesn't take my weight into consideration when it does the calculations. Maybe I should just walk at an incline for a while rather than jog! We'll see...maybe I'll just alternate.

With all my healthy, vegetable eating I'm getting a hankering to grow a vegetable garden. I bought 2 tomato plants last week. I planted the cherry tomato in my Topsy Turvy today but the top half of the plant broke off. :( Hope it still grows. We were at Walmart tonight and I got another tomato plant. This one as well as the other, came already planted in a pot with a tomato cage and they both already have baby tomatoes growing on them. Hopefully I will have better luck than last year. My only 2 tomatoes that grew split open and got mouldy before they even ripened. :( I feel like growing something else too since produce is getting so expensive. Just not sure what or where I could grow anything else. I'll have to figure something out. Anyway, here is what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-strawberries w/Splenda

LUNCH:
-salami
-1 cheese stick
-pickles

DINNER:
-blackened shrimp over salad w/remoulade dressing
-a few french fries
-1 hushpuppy

Day 50

Week 8 is not off to such a great start. I haven't worked out today and I don't think I am going to. :( My knees are really hurting me today so it's probably best to give them a break. My sister-in-law (who is a nurse practitioner) said I should probably just do some walking at an incline for a few days instead of jogging. I guess it wouldn't be so bad. At least I'll still be doing some sort of aerobic exercise. I'm not giving up though. Gotta get closer to my goal! :) Went to the OB/GYN today and I weighed 230 pounds on their scale. Usually I weigh more at the doctor's office, not less. Hope that means I lost some more weight. Will know more on Friday's weigh-day. The doctor seemed happy with my plan to lose 50 pounds before we try for another baby. She said the weight loss will help my chances of conceiving naturally too. Fingers crossed!

Did well on the diet today. I saw a website with rainbow cakes and that was making me really want baked goods, but I'll be good and resist. :) Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-1 apple

SNACK:
-honey roasted peanuts

DINNER:
-basa w/pesto
-asparagus w/margarine
-s.f. pink lemonade

Day 49: Seven Weeks!

I have now completed Week 7 of my journey!!! :) So proud of myself. :) Corey told me last night that he is proud of me. :) And Grandpa told me I was doing a good job and it's starting to show. :) Lots of smiley faces. :) Today was another difficult workout. I managed to push through and do 25 minutes of jogging and 25 minutes of walking and went 3.82 miles. I don't know why some days are just more harder than others. Hopefully tomorrow will be an easier day.

I've been doing good at my diet. Here's what I ate today:

LUNCH:
-tuna melt on lo-carb tortilla (tuna w/mayo & melted cheese)
-cucumber
-s.f. pink lemonade

DINNER:
-caprese salad
-Asian chicken salad from BJ's

Day 48

I'm back in my groove! I'm back to jogging for 30 minutes. Woohoo! I managed to go for a 20 minute stretch followed by two 5 minute stretches. My knees hurt a little still but not as bad as yesterday. Hope I can keep it up tomorrow. I think I also went the farthest I have ever gone today too at 3.92 miles. Maybe I should just forget about mentioning the calories that the treadmill says I burned since I know they are way off for me. Not much else going on today to report. Just a boring Saturday.

Here's what I ate:

LUNCH
-tuna melt on lo-carb tortilla (tuna w/mayo & melted cheese on top)
-cucumber slices
-s.f. pink lemonade

DINNER:
-hamburger w/cheddar cheese, ketchup, mustard, pickle, tomato & red onion
-cantaloupe

Day 47: And another one gone...

...and another one gone. Another one bites the dust! Yep, I lost another pound bringing my grand total now to 11 pounds down, 39 to go! As always I wish it was more but I am proud to be continuing to lose. :) Got back on the treadmill today too. It was my knees killing me today so I only managed to jog for 20 minutes and walk for 30. I still burned 420 calories and went 3.82 miles. Maybe tomorrow I can push harder. Oh ya, Corey fixed the treadmill last night. Yay! I was getting worried what was going to happen if it was broken. It's too icky to go outside! I'm already sweating much more than I like. If we had a pool that would be ideal. I like swimming because you can't tell that you're sweating. Hehe. :) I think I need to look into a Mommy and Me swimming class for me and Emelia. I wonder if she'd like it. She's never been swimming but she likes her baths. Only one way to find out!

I did much better on my diet today. Back on track. Here's what I ate:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-strawberries w/Splenda

LUNCH:
-1.5 cheese sticks
-6 slices salami
-grape tomatoes

DINNER:
-ribeye steak
-spinach salad w/strawberries & pecans

Day 46: What a day!

What a day, what a day! Woke up this morning, made breakfast for Emelia and myself, started eating. Then Grandpa lets me know he's having chest pain...yikes! I quickly got dressed and grabbed Emelia and we ran Grandpa over to the cardiologist. THANK GOD, he was OK and nothing was wrong with his heart. Just some muscular pain that the doctor gave him some pain meds for. I am so grateful that he is alright. Emelia needs to have her Great-Grandpapa in her life. We love him so much. :)

Anyway, I got a little behind in my day because of that. Had to go to Walmart to get Grandpa's meds. When we got home Emelia's physical therapist came. Then it was time for lunch and a nap and time for me to start making dinner. By the time I got all that done and sat down I was feeling kinda dizzy and my head was hurting so I went and laid down for a bit. Then it was time for dinner. Then we had to run and get me some Tylenol. Then it was time to put Emelia to bed. Now, here I am sitting here blogging. Needles to say, I didn't get any time to workout today. I guess I could have fit it in if I really wanted to but I'm still a little weary about the jerky motion the treadmill has been making. I had Corey look at it and he says the belt needs to be tightened. He's going to look at it for me and try to fix it. :) Hopefully I will be back on track tomorrow. Maybe I will be able to get back to jogging for a 25 minute stretch now that I've had a day to rest.

The diet went OK today. Maybe a few more carbs than I would have liked again. I did maintain control and didn't go overboard. Hopefully I will have some results to report tomorrow for weigh day. Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-strawberries w/Splenda

LUNCH:
-lo-carb tortilla w/salami, cheddar, mayo & mustard
-leftover strawberries

DINNER:
-braised country-style pork ribs
-small amount of cheesy polenta
-carrots
-Madagascar vanilla non-fat frozen yogurt w/strawberries, raspberries, blackberries & mini chocolate chips from Red Mango

Day 45

Boy, my legs are still killing me today! I could not push myself to do 30 minutes of jogging today. I did, however, still manage to do 20 minutes of jogging and 30 minutes of walking. During the walking portion I walked at a 4 degree incline so I did burn more calories in that regard. The treadmill seems to be mixed up though because it said that I burned more calories today, 425, and yet I didn't go as far (only 3.8 miles) and didn't jog as long. Weird. I think there is something wrong with the treadmill anyway. All of a sudden when I'm jogging it will make this jerking motion and scares the crap out of me. I'm afraid one day it's going to just stop while I'm jogging and I'm going to fall forward and smack my face. I hope it doesn't take a dump on me either. I'm really getting into this whole workout thing. :)

I did OK on the diet today. Wish I had done a little better at dinner though. :/ Here's what I ate:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-1 apple

LUNCH:
-small lo-carb tortilla w/salami, swiss & mustard
-grape tomatoes
-s.f. cherry pomegranate drink

DINNER:
-chicken ranch taco salad from Taco Bell
-insides of 3 regular tacos

Day 43 & 44

I didn't get to post an entry yesterday because we had a power failure AND the cable was out. I hate being without my modern amenities! I've been doing well with my workouts the last couple of days. Both yesterday and today I jogged a total of 30 minutes and walked for 20. It's my new usual. Yesterday was a lot easier. I was able to go for a whole 25 minute stretch of jogging. Today was kicking my butt. I did 15 minutes, then 10 and then 5 and I really had to push just to get that done. My legs are killing me right now. I worked hard today on cleaning out our fridge too so that contributed to by legs hurting. Note to self: next time we move and need to leave our fridge in storage for over a year, remind me not to believe my husband when he says he's going to clean up the maple syrup that spilled in the fridge before loading it on the moving truck. What a mess! I had crystallized maple syrup that had become one with the fridge all over the bottom and back side of the fridge and all over the coil of plastic water line. It was a workout in itself just trying to clean that up! Oh well, guess I burned more calories today.

Still be going strong with the diet. Here's what I've been eating the last couple of days:

MONDAY

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-strawberries w/Splenda

LUNCH:
-lo-carb tortilla w/salami, mozzarella, mayo & mustard
-s.f. pink lemonade

DINNER:
-grilled chicken Caesar salad
-s.f. milk chocolate mousse pudding


TUESDAY

LUNCH:
-lo-carb tortilla w/ham, mozzarella, mayo & mustard
-s.f. cherry pomegranate drink

DINNER:
-chicken souvlaki w/tzatziki sauce
-oven roasted veggies w/balsamic vinegar & olive oil (mushrooms, red onion, green pepper & zucchini)

Day 42: 6 weeks done!

Woohoo, I completed 6 weeks of working out today! That's the longest I've ever gone. Oh wait, have I ever worked out before? Not sure...hehe! I celebrated my 6 weeks achievement with yet another workout today. I jogged 30 minutes in 3, 10 minute intervals and damn, did I ever have to push myself to complete that. I think it was because I worked out so late yesterday and didn't rest for 24 hours in between. It was kicking my butt! Oh, and we didn't have the AC on and it was BOILING in Grandpa's room. I was sweating buckets. When I went to get undressed to take a shower there was only a spot maybe 2"x6" on the front of my underwear that was still dry. Eeww! Ya, TMI I guess, sorry! Anyway, I managed to go 3.9 miles in 50 minutes and I burned 411 calories. Oh wait, I checked out an online calculator last night and figured out that by jogging 30 minutes and walking 20, according to my weight I actually burned about 648 calories. :) At that rate I should lose 5.5 pounds per month just from working out alone. Can't wait to see more results!

Here is what I ate today:

LUNCH:
-leftover spaghetti squash w/meat sauce
-s.f. pink lemonade

DINNER:
-roast pork
-sauerkraut
-carrots

Day 41

Had a busy day of shopping today with Mom and Emelia. Spoiling Emelia of course! We didn't get back until after 4 pm and I was tired so I took a nap. By the time I woke up, made dinner and we ate, I didn't think I was going to be able to fit in a workout today. I said something at dinner to the effect that maybe I wouldn't workout today and Mom was like "No, No, you have to". Haha...I called her the jogging Nazi! So I pushed myself and got on the treadmill at about 8:30 pm. I'm glad I did. I pushed myself farther than ever before. I jogged for a whole 25 minutes straight! I think I could have even gone on a little longer. All together I jogged 30 minutes out of 50 total. Damn, it really wont be long before I'm jogging the entire time (minus warm up and cool down of course)!

Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-strawberries w/Splenda

LUNCH:
-salad bar at Jason's Deli (spring mix, grape tomatoes, cucumber, feta, bean salad, eggs, some croutons, lite ranch dressing)
-2 flat bread crackers

SNACK:
-decaf, nonfat, sugar-free, grande caramel frappuccino from Starbucks

DINNER:
-spaghetti squash w/meat sauce

P.S. My newly rediscovered favorite veggie is spaghetti squash. It was so tasty and surprisingly sweet. Might have to fix it again just as a side dish.

Day 40: 10 pounds down!

Yesiree, I have now lost 10 pounds!!! :) I am currently listening to my new Katy Perry CDs that I acquired today as my reward for reaching my first weight loss milestone. :) I am so proud of myself. Ten pounds may not seem like a lot but if you think about it, that's 10 pounds that I would not have lost if I had just been sitting on my ass the past 6 weeks. Heck, I may have even gained some if I wasn't working out. Speaking of workouts, today I managed to jog for a total of 30 minutes, with one stretch lasting for 18 minutes! If you had told me 6 weeks ago that I would have made it to this point this quickly I would have laughed in your face. My next goal is to have lost the next 10 pounds by the week after Mother's Day. That's 6 weeks from now. Maybe along with my spa pedicure I can have some other treatment as part of my Mother's Day gift. :) I'd really like to have lost 40 pounds by Emelia's birthday. I think it's doable...it's not for another 19 weeks. At the very least I think I can make it to 30 pounds. I don't see myself giving up on the diet or exercise any time soon. The payoff is too big and too rewarding to give up now or any time soon.

Here's what I ate today:

LUNCH:
-lo-carb tortilla w/buffalo chicken, swiss, arugula & mayo
-s.f. cherry pomegranate drink

DINNER:
-Mexican Caesar salad (romaine, tomatoes, pepitas, cotija cheese, tortilla strips, Mexican Caesar dressing and carne asada)
-1/4 deli flat bread

Day 39

Holy cow, today was a monumental day! I jogged for a total of 27.5 minutes and I did a whole 15 minute stretch all at once! I don't think I've done that in my whole life ever before!!! I think as long as I don't keep looking at the timer on the treadmill I can push myself to go farther than I ever thought I could go. I am so proud of myself today. :) Today's workout stats are as follows : 27.5 minutes jogging out of 50 total, 6.9 miles (damn!) and 408 calories (I'm sure it was really more than that). Woohoo! I can't wait for weigh-day tomorrow. Hopefully I will have hit the 10 pound mark and I can go get myself some Katy Perry CDs. A little reward for all my hard work would feel nice right about now. Not that 10 pounds lost wouldn't be a reward in itself though. :)

Still going strong in the diet department as well. Here is what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-1 apple

LUNCH:
-s.f. pink lemonade
-leftover broccoli slaw
-1/2 cheese stick

DINNER:
-grilled chicken breast w/buffalo sauce
-ranch slaw
-sweet potato oven fries

Day 38

We made it to story time this morning! The last 2 times we missed it but we were finally able to get our act together in the morning and make it there on time. The bad part was that it was the last one until June. :( I found out there is one at Barnes and Noble as well but it's at 7 pm on Fridays. We'll see about that one but it would be cutting it awful close to bedtime. We had lunch with Mom today as well. Felt nice to get out of the house and do something. When we got back I did my workout while Emelia napped. I pushed myself today and went up to level 4.5 during the walking which is equivalent to a mile in 13 minutes 20 seconds. I went a total of 3.75 miles today but only burned 418 calories. I would have thought it would be more. Oh well. Still managed to do my 20 minutes of jogging. I don't think it will be too much longer before I can bump it up to 24 minutes done in 8, 3 minute sessions. Maybe another week or two is all. :)

The diet went well today. I feel so proud of myself for not caving in to any cravings. I'm feeling good about what I've been eating and I don't feel deprived. Sure, I'm missing eating carbs but I have been able to resist thus far. I'm really amazing myself these days! Here's what I ate:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-strawberries w/Splenda

LUNCH:
-chicken Caesar salad (from La Madeleine)
-cup of tomato-basil soup with Swiss cheese & 1 crouton on top

DINNER:
-antipasto salad w/romaine, tomatoes, red onions, roasted red peppers, artichokes, pepperoncinis, salami, pepperoni, provolone & Italian dressing
-s.f. pink lemonade

I have not eaten it yet but I think I will end the night with a s.f. chocolate mousse pudding. Sounds tasty!

Day 37

Nothing new or exciting to report today. Just another normal Tuesday. Got back on the treadmill again today. I put in my normal 20 minutes of jogging out of 50. I went 3.69 miles and burned 408 calories. The jogging doesn't seem to be hurting my legs as much as before but boy, was my hip hurting! Hope that starts to get better in a hurry. For a brief second I thought I might have to cut my workout short. Egad! But I posed through. :)

The diet is still going strong. Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-1 apple

LUNCH:
-lo-carb tortilla w/salami, swiss, mustard & mayo
-s.f. raspberry lemonade

DINNER:
-pork chop w/peach-ginger glaze (I used s.f. peach jam)
-broccoli slaw
-1/2 small risotto cake

Wow, this is really a short post. What a dull day. :/ Tomorrow we're off to story time, lunch with Mom and possibly a bang trim for Emelia. Hopefully I'll have more to report.

Day 36

Got back on the bandwagon today. I worked out for the first time in 5 days. Finally! I was starting to feel guilty for not getting back to it sooner. I managed to pick up right where I left off. I jogged for 20 minutes out of my 50 minute workout, went 3.65 miles and burned 408 calories. My left hip was hurting pretty bad towards the end and still hurts a little but I experienced the same thing when I first started walking. I think the pain will go away soon. It feels good to be back in the saddle again!

I had an appointment with my endocrinologist today. She was impressed with my dieting and exercising. I'm down 12 pounds from my last visit back in January. :) She said the diet, exercise and Metformin should all help to lower my testosterone levels and that another baby could be possible. :) Just have to get rid of another 41 pounds before we start trying. That's my goal anyway. Speaking of which, I finally came up with the rewards I want when I lose 30 & 40 pounds. I want a new pair of nice sunglasses at 30 pounds and a new hairdo/makeover at 40 pounds. Better go back and edit my post so I'll remember these!

I did well on my diet today. I decided at lunch that my new favorite vegetable is jicama. I mean, I've had it before but it's like a new discovery. So tasty and refreshing. Dammit, why didn't I buy any at the store tonight? Anyway, here's what I ate:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-1 apple

LUNCH:
-leftover chicken salad
-veggies w/ranch (carrots, celery, jicama, green pepper,orange pepper & sugar-snap peas)
-s.f. cherry pomegranate

DINNER:
-leftover mushroom ragu
-1 slice leftover beef tenderloin
-leftover caponata

Day 35

Today was a very nice day. We went to a craft show at Oak Alley Plantation. It was pretty hot and humid out but all together it was nice to get out as a family. Got some new hair bows for Emelia. I think/hope she finally has one to match every outfit. Didn't get a chance to get back to my exercise today as anticipated but I will definitely be back at it tomorrow. I've got a doctor's appointment at 1 pm so I will either wake up early and workout or do it when I get back while Emelia naps.

Despite the fact that we were surrounded by typical fair food at the craft show, I managed to stick to my diet. Here is what I ate today:

LUNCH:
-diet Coke
-chicken kabob

DINNER:
-s.f. raspberry lemonade
-chicken salad on lo-carb tortilla
-baby carrots, celery sticks, jicama, orange & green bell peppers, sugar snap peas & cucumber w/ranch dressing

Day 34: Cheat Day

As you can tell from the title of this post, I cheated a little on my diet today. I made a special birthday dinner for Mom and in order for me to partake in the meal I needed to consume some carbs. It wasn't too much so I don't think it set me back any. I just hope that I can keep off the 5 pounds I lost while being sick. I'm really starting to miss my workouts. I'm not sure if tomorrow is going to work out in my favor so my goal is to get back on the bandwagon on Monday. I hope I wont have a setback and that I will still be able to do 20 minutes of jogging.

Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-cantaloupe
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt

LUNCH:
-3 leftover turkey meatballs w/tomato sauce & mozzarella
-leftover zucchini

DINNER:
-s.f. raspberry lemonade
-bruschetta w/caponata, baby arugula & burrata cheese
-beef tenderloin w/rosemary red wine sauce, risotto cake w/mushroom ragu & sauteed broccolini
-vanilla panna cotta w/strawberry-fig compote & almond tuiles

Day 31, 32, 33

No, I haven't given up on my journey after only one month's worth of effort. For all of you out there in cyber land (hahaha) wondering where I've been, I've been sick. :( Some sort of a gastro thing got me. My tummy's been in knots and just churning away and well, the other end hasn't been very nice either. I'm feeling mostly better but not 100%. I feel bad because I haven't been able to workout these past 3 days and I'm not sure if tomorrow will be any better. I'm going to try to get back on the bandwagon by Sunday or Monday at the latest. The good thing about being sick is that it payed of for today's new "weigh-day". I lost another 5 pounds, putting me at a grand total of 9 pounds lost so far! Woohoo! Let's just hope I can keep it off and it doesn't come creeping back when I start eating more regularly. Speaking of eating, I tried my hardest to stick to the diet while I was sick. Yesterday however, I gave in and had some Top Ramen because that's all that sounded good. Snap peas and carrots just didn't sound like the most appetizing thing with a queasy tummy. Anyway, here's what I've been eating the last few days:

WEDNESDAY:

BREAKFAST:
-1 1/2 s.f. fiber plus cran-raspberry applesauce cups

LUNCH:
-ham & swiss on a lo-carb wrap w/mayo & mustard

DINNER:
-egg salad on a lo-carb wrap

THURSDAY:

BREAKFAST:
-s.f. cherry pomegranate drink

DINNER:
-chicken flavored Top Ramen
-s.f. raspberry lemonade

FRIDAY:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-1 apple
-s.f. pink lemonade

SNACK:
-strawberries w/Splenda

DINNER:
-4 turkey meatballs w/tomato sauce & mozzarella
-zucchini sauteed w/garlic & oregano

Day 30

I've been walking/exercising for a whole month now. Can you believe it? I can't. That went by really quick. I'm seeing more and more how doable this can be. It's just become part of my daily routine. Lately I do my workout while Emelia is napping. I have just enough time to complete my workout and have a shower and she's awake. It works out well. Today I jogged 20 minutes out of my 50 minute workout. I went 3.67 miles and burned 411 calories. While I was jogging it seemed like my legs didn't hurt as bad as last week. Maybe it wont be long before I am able to kick up the jogging to 3 minute intervals or more. I plan to at least keep it at 2.5 minutes for the rest of the week though. Grandpa said I got an A++ for today's workout. :) He seems to be impressed. I think everyone is, and they're proud of me. Everyone's encouragement is really helping me persevere.

Did well on the diet today. My belly has been hurting me today so I didn't have too much to eat for lunch. Hope it stops soon...Mom's been having tummy troubles for over 2 weeks now. Here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-1 apple
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt

LUNCH:
-s.f. cherry pomegranate drink
-leftover taco meat w/cheese & salsa
-1 cheese stick

DINNER:
-basa en papilotte w/carrots, leeks & red bell pepper
-1 small spoonful of brown rice
-peas

Day 29: Another one bites the dust!

Ya, that's right baby! Another pound down! That brings me up to a grand total of 4 pounds lost. I know, it's been slow going, but I'm still losing. Gotta be happy about that. :) I have, however, decided to change weigh day to Friday instead of Monday. Weekends are a little tough...we usually go out to eat and there may be more carbs involved than I'd like. I think I'd show more results weighing in on Fridays. So this week I will have 2 weigh-ins. Hopefully the scale will budge by then and I wont get discouraged.

Today I did my usual workout. I accomplished 20 minutes of jogging out of 50 minutes total. I went a total of 3.68 miles. I burned 408 calories according to the treadmill. I found a website that I believe may be more accurate at calculating calories burned. It takes into account your weight when determining how many calories were expended. According to the website I actually burned more like 535 calories, which would put me in line to lose 1 lb per week by burning roughly 3500 calories. Now hopefully the diet will help me lose more!

Did really well on the diet today. Loving me some spinach & strawberry salad and broiled tomatoes with pesto! Who knew veggies could be so good? I've been craving those dang pickled beets too! Anyway, here's what I ate:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-1 apple

LUNCH:
-strawberry spinach salad w/pecans

DINNER:
-s.f. raspberry drink
-2 poached eggs w/mushrooms & cheese
-1 broiled tomato w/pesto
-asparagus w/margarine
-3 slices bacon

Day 28: Four weeks down

Not too much to talk about today other than the fact that I have completed my fourth week of exercising. So proud of myself. :) Today I walked 3.67 miles in 50 minutes, 20 minutes of which I jogged. My legs were hurting a lot from jogging yesterday but I managed to push through. I also burned 405 calories. Not too shabby. Tomorrow is weigh day so wish me luck that I lost something. Hopefully more than 1 pound but if that's all it was, at least it would mean I'm still losing. I'm feeling really good and I'm motivated to continue so I need to remember that that is what is important. Anywhoo, like I said, not much to report today. I stuck to the diet. Here's what I ate:

BRUNCH:
-s.f. pink lemonade
-lo-carb wrap w/turkey, swiss, tomato, pickle & mayo

DINNER:
-BBQ split chicken breast
-2 slices oven roasted potato
-spinach salad w/strawberries & pecans

Day 27: Date Night

Today was a very nice day. Did my workout this afternoon and really pushed myself. I jogged for a total of 20.5 minutes out of 50. I went farther than I've gone before at a total of 3.7 miles. I only burned 405 calories according to the machine but I'm still not sure if that thing is right. Anyway, Corey saw me doing my jogging and he was impressed. He told me to keep it up. I think he's proud of me. :) After my workout I had a shower while Emelia napped. When I was done she was awake and the three of us spent time as a family in our room, playing and rough-housing, and giggling and having a good ole time. I like it when it's just the 3 of us...the way it's supposed to be. :) We took Emelia to the park. She had lots of fun swinging and practicing her steps on one of the jungle gym set-ups they have. We took Emelia home and then Corey and I had date night. We tried out a sushi restaurant and it turned out to be really good. I think I managed to stick to my diet pretty well. Had a bit of rice in the sushi but it's pretty healthy for you so I'm not too worried. We also saw the movie "Paul". It was funny and not at all what I expected. All together it was a really good day. :)

Here's what I ate today:

BRUNCH:
-lo-carb tortilla w/turkey, cheddar, mayo & pickles
-s.f. pink lemonade

DINNER:
-cucumber salad w/soy-ginger dressing (Yummy! Must try to replicate this!)
-3 pieces of Lacy roll (w/crab, cucumber, cream cheese & tempura shrimp)
-3 pieces of spicy tuna & cucumber roll
-2 pieces crispy dynamite roll (w/tuna, yellowtail & crunchy tempura bits)
-beef, onion & rice bowl (only a few bites)

Day 26: Happy Birthday Mom!

Today was my mother-in-law's birthday. We spent the day shopping at Sam's Club, Walmart and Albertson's. That alone probably would have been enough of a workout since it took us the better part of four hours. But I came home and jumped on the treadmill as well. I'm not entirely sure how well I did on my workout today because I accidentally pulled the kill switch! I lost all the information on how far I'd gone, timing, calories, etc. I think I was at about 35 minutes so I did another 15 to make it to about 50 minutes. I think I went about 3.5 miles and burned somewhere around 400 calories. It was about my normal workout. I wasn't able to push to do 5 minutes of jogging at once but I still managed to do 2. I think I jogged for about a total of 16 minutes. Still pretty good I think. :) My legs hurt so much today. :( Hope I sleep well tonight.

I did well on my diet today. One tiny "slip up" if you want to call it that. I had said initially that I didn't want to drink any sodas but I was so thirsty at Walmart that I gave in and got one. The reason I'm not going to beat myself up about it is that it was a diet, caffeine-free Coke. No calories, carbs, not even the caffeine that gets my heart racing and making me feel crappy. I still don't plan on making a habit of consuming too much soda. Even the diet stuff can't be that good for me. Here's what I ate:

BREAKFAST:
-mushroom & cheese frittata
-s.f. pink lemonade

LUNCH:
-Greek salad w/feta dressing, tomatoes & artichoke hearts
-tabbouleh
-gyro meat
-1 dolma
-1 bite falafel
-diet, caffeine-free Coke

DINNER:
-taco salad w/ground beef, iceberg, tomatoes, cheese, salsa, sour cream & a few crushed tortilla chips

Day 25: Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patty's Day to anyone out there in cyber land! Today was a great day! I pushed myself even farther than ever before. Today I jogged for a total of 17 minutes out of 50! That's more than double what I've been doing this week. I was proud of myself for pushing for a 2 minute stretch but I was ecstatic when I managed to push through a whole 5 minutes without stopping!!! I'm not sure I've ever jogged 5 minutes straight in my life. It felt so good afterwards. Maybe I'm starting to feel what's known as a "runner's high". Who knows, maybe one day I'll be jogging the whole session. All tolled I did 50 minutes/3.62 miles/415 calories (which I think is probably more). I can't believe how far I've come in so little time. I'm doing great and it's giving me so much incentive to continue. New, sexy, skinny me here I come! :)

As far as the diet goes, I still did well. Mom brought home a piece of gooey butter cake and it's tormenting me from the counter as is the one leftover cinnamon bun, but alas, I have resisted. Here's what I did eat today:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-strawberries w/Splenda

LUNCH:
-lo-carb wrap w/turkey, swiss, pickles & mayo
-S.f. pink lemonade

DINNER:
-steak fajita (meat only) w/grilled onions, salsa, cheese, queso & sour cream
-few bites refried beans
-few bites rice

Day 24

Today started off crummy. Emelia didn't wake up until 11 am so we missed story time. :( I like going to it with her but I didn't want to wake her up just for that. If she was still sleeping I figured she must be needing it. Maybe she's going through another growth spurt or cutting some more 2 year molars. Anyway, that sucked. Then I spent the rest of the day in a pissy mood because I'm feeling like Cinderella. I spent the day running around cleaning up and doing chores and I still feel like I've accomplished nothing. :( Hopefully it added to my daily total of calories burned. I worked out today on the treadmill. I did 50 minutes with 8 minutes jogging in 1 minute intervals every 5 minutes. I stepped it up even more today, doing part of my routine at a 4.5 speed which translates to a mile in 13 mins 20 secs. That was kicking my butt today. At least I managed to burn more calories than yesterday...414, or so the machine says. I think it was probably more. My legs are hurting today! And boy was my heart pumping!

Despite my bad mood today I still managed not to give in to temptation and I stuck with my diet. Here's what I ate:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-strawberries w/Splenda

LUNCH:
-lo-carb tortilla w/turkey, swiss, pickles & mayo
-s.f. raspberry lemonade

DINNER:
-corned beef (Ya, we're a day early, so what?)
-cabbage w/margarine & vinegar
-carrots

Day 23

Jogging is hard. :S I remember why I never did it before. I managed to squeak out 8 minutes of jogging in 1 minute bursts every 5 minutes today. My calves HURT! Gonna keep it up all week though. That's this week's mini-goal. Today I went farther than ever....3.4 miles in 50 minutes. I only burned 401 calories according to the treadmill but I think that's because I took the incline completely down to nothing while I was jogging. I'm sure I made up the difference with my extra energy I expended jogging. I walked at a 4.3 pace again today which translates to 13 mins 57 secs/mile. Not too shabby! I am so pleased with myself for pushing myself. It's not something I've ever really done in any aspect of my life before I'm sad to admit. Things have usually come easy and I haven't really had to work hard and push myself for anything. Now is the time sista! One more step on this journey of mine. :)

Stuck to the diet well again today. Here's what I ate:

BREAKFAST:
-spinach & feta frittata
-s.f. cherry pomegranate drink

LUNCH:
-leftover chicken w/cheddar & bacon
-s.f. fiber added berry applesauce

DINNER:
-basa w/pesto
-small spoon of brown rice
-asparagus
-peas

Day 22: Weigh Day

I am pleased to announce a successful weigh day. I lost 2 pounds last week bringing my total to 3 pounds lost so far. Yay me!!! I'm averaging 1 pound per week which is pretty good. It's going to be slow and steady but that's the way to do it. Hopefully I will be able to keep it off that way.

More big news today. I did my workout as usual but today I mixed it up a little. Starting at the 15 minute mark I jogged for a minute every 5 minutes. I jogged a total of 6 minutes out of my 50 minute workout. I know, 1 minute at a time doesn't seem like very much to the average Joe, but for me that was really pushing myself. I'm pretty proud for it. I think I'll try it every day this week. It helps break the workout up a little more too. Oh, and I also stepped up my pace to 4.3 instead of 4. In 50 minutes I did 3.27 miles and 415 calories. Woohoo!

I did well on my diet today despite the fact that Grandpa brought home 8 giant cinnamon buns that look SOOOO tempting. I've managed to resist thus far. Hopefully they will be gone by the morning. I found myself craving vegetables again today. At dinner time Corey and I were fighting over the last of the Caesar salad! Wow, maybe I'm wearing off on him now too! Anyway, here's what I ate today:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt
-1 apple

LUNCH:
-leftover pork chop
-leftover green beans

DINNER:
-steak
-small spoonful of corn
-Caesar salad

Day 21: I made it!

I made it, I made it!!! I reached my goal to complete 3 weeks of walking everyday. That was what I was trying to achieve in order for it to become habit. I think it has actually become habitual already. It's something I now incorporate into my everyday regime no matter what, whether it be outside or on the treadmill. I've definitely turned over a new leaf. I am so proud of myself so far. :) My next goal will be another 3 weeks. If the first 3 were so doable so I'm sure the next 3 will be as well. Now I'm just worried about tomorrow, weigh day. I hope I lost more than the 1 pound from last week. I've been doing well on my diet. Just completed 2 weeks. I haven't cheated once. Here's what I ate today:

BRUNCH:
-mushroom & cheddar frittata
-sugar-snap peas
-s.f. raspberry lemonade

DINNER:
-chicken w/lemon thyme sauce
-Brussels sprouts w/pancetta
-green beans

Day 20

Not too much to report today. Did my time on the treadmill. I did 50 mins/3.18 miles/414 calories. I only did a 2 % incline because I was feeling crampy when I got on the treadmill. Still did pretty good. I think as long as I burn over 400 calories I'll be happy. I did well on my diet again despite the fact that Paula Deen tempted me with her evil ways AGAIN! Today she made a pink lemonade cake. Don't know why, perhaps it's the sugar deprivation, but that just sounded so yummy. Here's what I did eat today:

BREAKFAST:
-lo-carb strawberry yogurt (why don't they make the peach or blueberry anymore???)
-1 apple

LUNCH:
-chicken tenders w/bacon & melted cheddar cheese
-green beans

DINNER:
-s.f. pink lemonade
-2 turkey burger patties w/chipotle mayo, tomato, pickles & red onion
-sweet potato oven fries

Day 19

It was such a nice day today, not too hot, not too cold, that I decided to go for my walk outside with Emelia. I could tell that the treadmill is working me much harder because that walk wasn't nearly as hard as it used to be. We were going to count squirrels today but I got distracted by a phone call from Corey. We thought we saw a bunny and got all excited but it turned out to be only a cat. :/ I think I'll go back to the treadmill tomorrow. Maybe it wont hurt so much since I kind of took it easy today.

I was so proud of myself today with sticking to my diet. The phone call that I got from Corey earlier was some bad new and I was stressing. I pretty much immediately decided I didn't want to cook and called Mom to tell her I wanted to go out to dinner. That was probably not that great because I immediately thought of food. But I think I redeemed myself. We went to Applebee's and I was proud of myself for sticking to the diet. We also had to get a prescription at Walgreens and while we were there I was really wanting something sweet. I even looked at the sugar-free candy and was about to get some sugar-free Reeses peanut butter cups when I stopped myself. Even though they were very lo-carb, I told myself that the only reason I wanted them was because I was stressed and that it wasn't healthy for me to be drowning my feelings with food. Maybe I am an emotional eater after all. But I resisted. Wow, I'm so proud of myself right now. I'm not sure if I've ever made a conscious decision like that before. Kudos for me. :) Here's what I did eat today:

BREAKFAST:
-ham, artichoke & swiss frittata
-s.f. raspberry lemonade

LUNCH:
-leftover chicken breast w/BBQ sauce
-sugar-snap peas
-honey roasted peanuts (as a snack)

DINNER:
-chicken breast w/portabellos, roasted red peppers, onions, Dijon mustard sauce and melted cheese at Applebee's
-broccoli