Wicked Wednesday

Why, you may ask, would I want to start my new eating and exercise habits in the middle of the week - Wicked Wednesday - to be more exact? Because I have got to get a grip on my weight (and ultimately my life) immediately. Every night I promise that tomorrow I will start again. June 1 was going to be the first day of the rest of my life. I think I ended up skipping the gym and probably swinging past Dairy Queen.

So, today is the day. So far, I have done relatively well. Protein shake for breakfast, yogurt for a snack, and a healthy chicken salad for lunch. A co-worker brought in chips and salsa this afternoon. I took a little bit as well as a few M&M's but really limited myself. I don't feel bad about it because I would usually consume so much more. It can count as an afternoon snack as long as it isn't a large quantity. I am doing well drinking my water as well (60 fl. oz. already done). I didn't make it to the gym this morning so I am going to do one of The Firm workouts tonight (I have put my plan to exercise in writing so now I HAVE to do it!).

But, the best thing about today is that it doesn't seem very wicked. I am focusing again on losing weight. And because of that, it feels like life is good and I have so many doors that will be opened. I don't know, it sounds kind of crazy, but I think I am on a "diet high." Hmmm, never heard of that before, but I will take it! :)

I'm BAAACCK!!!

So, let me re-introduce myself. I am a complete slacker who desperately wants to lose weight. However, I seem to let "life" get in the way. I have come to the realization that life is never going to slow down, get easier, or take a back seat so I can focus solely on weight loss. I wish I could . . . it sounds so much easier.

So, I am still behind at work. I am still trying to get my house organized and clean. I am still trying to be a good friend, sister, daughter, aunt etc. BUT I am also going to lose weight. Because, if I can get a handle on my weight, I might can get a handle on the rest of my life.

Food Journal - March 11, 2009

I think blogging every day about my food choices is going to be very helpful. It makes me so accountable. I have decided to post my food journal the next day so I won't cheat and eat something after I post. So here it goes:

6:45 a.m. - Protein shake with flax seed oil
12:00 p.m.- Chicken, rice and stuffing casserole
3:00 p.m. - Handful of almonds
5:15 p.m. - Two chocolate mints
7:00 p.m. - Chicken, rice and stuffing casserole
7:00 p.m. - Green beans

So that was my day. The casserole isn't great for me. I ate it with white rice and it has cream of chicken soup in it. I am going to make it again and use brown rice and the 94% cream of chicken soup. I love it so I am just going to try to make it healthier. Also, I ate the two mints without consciously thinking about it - I didn't really want them. After eating them, I realized I did it to procrastinate a project that I was not looking forward to doing. It is a habit that I have that I really need to break. If I don't want to do something, I almost always decide to eat in order to postpone it. The payoff is not worth it!

I did add green beans to my dinner because I realized how unbalanced my food was yesterday (Okay, honestly, I knew someone would mention that I didn't have any fruits or vegetables.) And although it is the only vegetable I had yesterday, it was something. Plus, I ate less casserole which means less calories and enough to eat it for lunch tomorrow. I need to go grocery shopping and pick up some produce.

I also drank 96 oz. of water and exercised yesterday. I walked 4.5 miles on a treadmill in 76 minutes.

Healthy You Challenge Check In #4

So . . . I maintained. To some this may be a huge bummer. But I know how I ate this week and I am thanking my body for maintaining. In fact, I think it is quite amazing. I didn't even move a tenth of a pound in either direction. I am a little OCD so I have to weigh myself at least three times so I know I for sure got the right weight. Does anyone else do this?

Anyway, I need to be more accountable. I have been trying to figure out how I can do this. So, I am asking a favor. I am going to post every day. And every day I am going to include what I am eating (at least until I get in the groove). Now, the favor - {please} hold me accountable. My posts will be boring, but I am hoping it will really help me. Stay tune . . . will I eat tuna fish or chicken. Oh the mystery of it all. ;)

Work = Emotionally Eating

Okay, so I am still struggling! I can't believe this - I usually am better than this (at least in the beginning). So, I posted my last blog and was m-o-t-i-v-a-t-e-d. I wrote down everything I ate, I drank tons of water, I quit eating at 7 p.m. and I exercised. The next day, I woke up at 4 a.m. and did cardio for 36 minutes walking 2.22 miles. I got to work an hour early and was feeling great. And then . . . work happened. This seems to happen all the time. I didn't go to lunch (to busy) and just ate junk food. Lucky for me (dripping with sarcasm), I had to attend a retirement reception that afternoon for a co-worker so I ate brownies, rice krispies, and cake for my lunch and dinner. I ended up staying at work until midnight trying to catch up on work. But I left with a ton of stuff still on my desk that I need to deal with. :(

This morning, I didn't work out because I was to tired. I had to pick up some documents before I came into work so guess what I did? I stopped in at the grocery store next door and picked up reese's peanut butter eggs (6 pack) and a king size Symphony bar. I figured, why do good in the morning if I am just going to end up working all day and night and eat poorly. So I started early this morning! Terrible!

I must admit, I have done a bang-up job on my food binge today. And I would probably still be eating if I hadn't read some weight-loss blogs. They put everything into perspective for me. I wish I had more time to read blogs. I get so motivated when I read about other people's successes.

So, I need to get a grip. I have stopped eating for the night (one point for me). I keep thinking if I could catch up at work, I would have some control over my eating. I am realizing that my job really affects me emotionally. And I deal with it by emotionally eating. Hmm, I might need to write a future post about my job and my career history. It might help me draw some connections. But . . . I need to get back to work. Grrrr! However, does anyone have any suggestions to handle stress (specifically at work, if possible) without turning to food?

Healthy You Challenge Check In #3

I was shocked when I weighed! I actually lost 1.4 pounds. I am not sure exactly how that happened, but it did. I, for one, am not going to complain. This is the motivation I needed, even if it doesn't make any logical sense.

So my goals for this week are the following:
* Exercise five days (cardio all five days and strength train for two)
* Drink eight bottles (about 16 fl. oz. each) of water a day
* Keep a food journal
* No eating after 7 p.m.

Okay, I can do this! I am actually pretty excited about it.

Basketball Games = Bad Week

So this week didn't go exactly how I planned. Confession . . . I did worse this week than last week. Last week I still exercised six days. This week I only exercised two. Terrible! I also ate dreadfully. You see I now realize I am a basketball junkie. Monday night I went to an NBA basketball game and ate pizza and ice cream. This weekend was a high school state tournament so I watched games all night Thursday and Friday as well as a full day on Saturday. I didn't do a whole lot more except EAT!

I actually walked into the games Saturday morning in pants that were comfortable, but by 9:30 that night, my pants felt so tight on me. I can't believe I can eat to the point where I am so uncomfortable and still eat more. It is wrong!

Needless to say, I know I will have a gain tomorrow. :( I hate to post that my weight has actually gone up again. I have to get a grip. Maybe if I blogged more frequently that would help.