Day Twelve: TGIF

I mean it! Thank God It's Friday because at least now I have two days to recuperate. 

Today at work we had a luncheon at work for Hispanic Heritage Month or in other words....a dieters worst nightmare. I skipped breakfast (I know the most important meal of the day) and I indulged in the delicacies that my co-workers charmed us with.  I also contributed by making Cuban Ham Spread but seems as though I made too much and had tons of it leftover.  Damn It!  I need to get rid of it PRONTO, hopefully my Cuban friend will take it off my hands tomorrow, if not this could be trouble.  All of the food at the luncheon was delicious and afterwards I felt as though I was going to explode.  It was a good feeling...I'll explain.

On Fridays, it's jeans day at work.  I knew that as of Monday I had lost a few pounds so when I put on my jeans this morning & had a little trouble pulling up the zipper for an instance I thought, FML are you KIDDING ME??? I gained some back?  Then I realized I was putting on a pair of jeans that just a few weeks ago I couldn't button, so pulling up the zipper was COMPLETELY out of the question and now although a little snug the button was buttoned and all I needed to do to get the zipper up was lay on my bed.  YIPPEEE!!!!  So you see there was a method to my madness, I did not need to eat a lot to get the OMG I will explode feeling so that means I COULD not overeat :)

Furthermore for some odd reason I was barely hungry at night so for dinner I ate what would normally be equivalent to a snack and that was after I did my nightly cardio.  Cool beans!  I honestly would not be surprised if today's indiscretion had minimal to no impact at all, I just have to be extra good on the weekend and I think I will be ok.

Day Eleven: Bad Day - Part Two

I'm exhausted! No really I am. Funny thing is that it is not just from getting up earlier than usual and exercising twice a day.  My mind is also exhausted, professionally (so much to do & so little time) and personally (but that's a whole other story I'd rather not get into at 12:15 AM).  In a nutshell I am one tired chick!!!!

However, is this going to get me down? HELL NO!!!!

I still got up this morning & did the ab roller (15 minutes).  I still counted my points all day (woot woot) & I still plan on getting in my cardio before taking a quick shower & drifting off to sleep.

I have to!!!!

You see tomorrow we are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at my job & people are bringing in all kinds of goodies from their countries for us to taste.  I made Cuban Ham Spread.  It should go without saying that there will be minimal to no point counting tomorrow.

So what that means is that I have to work extra hard with my exercise routine so that the damage I inflict on myself tomorrow is not so terrible.

Hopefully if I manage to scrape myself up early enough I can do 1/2 hour of toning exercises tomorrow instead of 15 mins & push myself to do the same with my cardio at night.  In other words, double my routine for the day.

Day Ten: Bad Day

Today was just a really bad day for me. Woke up exhausted, but I still did my dumbells (half asleep and in my pajamas but I did them). I did not have the energy to do the kettleball (that thing wiped me out the first time I tried it). I was good all day, thank goodness! I planned my meals from breakfast, through lunch & had a piece of tilapia marinating and waiting for me to get home for dinner. However, somehow my day got complicated.

I had a meeting (seminar) in the morning (they were serving donuts & chewy chocolate chip cookies as treats, I reluctantly walked away) & a training class in the afternoon.  Needless to say, my work was majorly backed up. Instead of leaving at 6:30 PM, I left at 7:30 PM mainly because my brain could not function anymore.

I decided to stop at Walmart to pick up a few things, like some more fruits.  I have been paying $1 a banana at the cafe downstairs & got 6 for $2 and change at Walmart, which when you work paycheck to paycheck makes a heck of a lot more sense.  Needless to say my "few things" turned into a full fledged food shopping trip which involved picking up something for my friend's kid which I then had to deliver. I did not mind doing her this favor since she is always there when I need her but I was starting to get hungry & my only choice at Walmart was McDonalds <cue in dramatic music>.

I looked at my points calculator based on the choices they had to offer (no salads for me, I think I mentioned this before) & although there were things on the menu that were worth less points I went for my usual....chicken nuggets and french fries (just medium & no sauce, I am not completely insane). 

You see I checked my points tracker and realized that based on the foods I had eaten all day, if I had my usual I would only go over my daily allowable points by 4.  That's not too bad, considering all the exercising I am doing, which add activity points (AP) plus the weekly bonus points (BP) I have not dipped into yet.  Granted chicken nuggets and french fries is not what one would consider a healthy meal but it's what I'm accustomed to at McDonald's and it hit the spot so I am not tempted to continue dipping into my AP or BP.

So there you have it, I was "bad" today, however because I was aware of what I had eaten all day it allowed me to make a sensible choice (it was sensible for me, although some may disagree) & I also know what I need to do to make up for it.  Cardio!  Still have not done my 15 minutes & I need to go make a move on (no pun intended) before it gets any later, it's already quarter to one in the morning!  Hula hoops, here I come :)

Day Nine: Inspirations

Sometimes I wonder what inspires me, what drives or motivates me. You would think the visit I had with my birth mother earlier this year and seeing how she has deteriorated due to her weight.  You would think it would be when my gynecologist practically yelled at me after my last annual exam because I allowed myself to undo all of the progress I had made and added a few extra pounds just for good measure. Nope, I did not change my ways or had the passion to do so either.  That is until recently.  Something just clicked & I finally decided enough was enough, no more excuses.  In an odd way, it was seeing someone I work with who used to be probably close to 300 lbs, just melt before my eyes.  I sometimes wonder how this person did it and I don't dare ask but I got inspired by their accomplishments, so here I am beginning my journey & oddly enough inspiring others.

I recently heard from a dear old friend, whom through circumstances in life I seldom see or talk to anymore.  I sometimes miss the relationship we had & now through this journey we re-connected because unbeknown st to me, she is on a similar journey & I am inspiring her.

There is also a friend I work with, whom I am also inspiring. 

They are also inspiring me because now if I allow myself to fail, I not only fail myself but I fail them & I just cannot let that happen.  So I keep going, I work through the pain of sore muscles & the cravings for things I should avoid.  I drag myself out of bed every morning & keep that promise I made to myself to work on toning my upper body & abs.  No matter how tired I am at night, I find the time to raise my heartbeat & do my cardio.  As I said before it ranges from 10 to 15 mins, it does not have to take all night but based on the results I have seen thus far...it's doing the trick!

So today, I worked my abs in the morning & danced 4 numbers with Ryan on Wii Just Dance in the evening. Tomorrow, it's kettleball and at night Wii Fit Hula Hoops. 


Now it's time for bed, all this working out is wiping me out & I need to rest in order to make good on my promise to myself and to those whom I inspire.

Day Eight: The First Weigh-In

I was somewhat of a bad girl yesterday. I did not exercise, I did not count my points. I even went out for a late night dinner with a friend and made a conscious decision to treat myself to some otherwise, no-no's.  I did not skip out on the Mozzarella sticks, I ate a cheesy pasta dish (it had grilled chicken) & I had BEER!  Granted, I only had a few sticks in comparison to what I would normally do and I also separated my main dish into 3 servings.  I also chose Light Beer...but one could say I was still "bad".

The way I see it is like this, first of all "bad habits" are hard to change overnight. Second of all, I never was and probably never will be one of those salad eating chicks. Third of all, I am the type of person who likes to have freedom of choice & I need to allow myself to exercise that freedom just as long as I can remember what my ultimate goal is & can get myself back on track.  This is how I have succeeded in the past & how I will succeed now.  It's not about total deprivation, it's about moderation & it's about awareness. I could have eaten all of the Mozzarella sticks, but I didn't.  Ditto for the pasta & don't even get me started about the alcohol (what I really wanted was something creamy & sweet....MEGA CALORIES), but I didn't.

My bad behavior even carried over into this morning.  I got home late & when the alarm went off at 6:30 AM for me to get up and get moving on my morning abdominal routine, I chose to ignore it & hit snooze several dozen times before I actually emerged from my bed. Needless to say, all I had time for was a quick shower before getting Ryan and me off on our day.

Breakfast used to be a bagel or biali, much better huh?

Once I got to work, I settled back to "good" behavior. I had a yogurt parfait and a banana for breakfast & a Lean Pocket for lunch. Snacking which usually involved Fritos or something like it, was replaced by another banana & a Special K bar. At dinner time, I chose to have another 3rd of the pasta from Sunday night (I don't want it to go to waste and I really did not have the time to make an elaborate meal, since Monday nights are my Zumba nights).  I knew that no matter how many calories were in that pasta, I would probably sweat them out at Zumba tonight, so I was not overly concerned. 

Good or bad? Really doesn't matter because whatever I am doing, it's WORKING....at my morning weigh in I discovered a weight lost of 4.4 lbs this week, GOOOOOO ME!!!!!

Days Five, Six & Seven: The First Weekend

Wow! Have I been busy.  On Friday I decided it was time to switch my closet from Spring/Summer to Fall/Winter. I worked out in the morning (dumbells), counted points all day & decided the closet job was enough of a work-out that I skipped on my nightly cardio routine.

Saturday - It's amazing how much work was still to do & my apt honestly looked like a department store blew up inside of it.  I got up early to continue what I started the night before, dropped off my kid at a birthday party & then came back to finish what I started the night before.  I took an afternoon break to go to the dentist (I need a root canal, oh happy joy) and later spent some quality time with my friend Yvette. I was so proud of myself, I behaved! Made sensible food choices & even had the will power to say NO to a piece of birthday cake when I picked my son up from the birthday party.  When Ryan & I got home we decorated the apartment for Halloween & went to bed.  No traditional exercising for me today but I did finish cleaning up the house & broke out in a sweat moving the bins in and out of my closet.  That counts, doesn't it?

Sunday - totally lazy day. I had already decided that as long as I behaved during the week I would not exercise on Sundays. I figured if the All Mighty could rest on the 7th day, so could I. Basically, I just sat around watching football...Giants won! Woot woot woot!  Yankees won! Another woot woot woot!  I must admit the Giants and Yankees winning are not the only reasons I am doing a happy dance right now, I am mainly doing the happy dance because I am wearing a pair of capris that were a little snug just a few weeks ago and they are not so snug right now...WOOT WOOT WOOT for me!

Tomorrow is my weigh in day, wish me luck!

Day Four: This Hurts!

Holy crap! I am hurting big time. Everything seems to hurt, my thighs, my arms, my stomach....places I did not think could hurt (like the back on my ankles, wth!). I am not going to let this get me down & kill my momentum. I still got up this morning & did the ab roller.  As usual my night got a little chaotic, after work I ran around like a chicken without a head but as soon as I got home (while my food was cooking) I took off my work clothes, threw on my smelly work-out clothes (less laundry to do) put on my TV, turned on the Wii and did my aerobics. Go me!

However, I am in pain & just the thought of getting off this chair is sending a chill down my spine. Honestly, right about now I wish the dog could walk herself because just thinking of going up & down a flight of stairs with an energetic dog is not something I am looking forward to. In fact, I wish I did not have to take a shower & I could just roll myself right into my bed. But these are things I need to do, the dog needs to be walked, the garbage needs to be taken out & I am really beginning to stink so I also need to take a quick shower before hitting my nice clean sheets.

Day Three: Ten To Fifteen

These days that's how long my usual workouts take, ten to fifteen minutes. Heck, I just started back up with an exercise routine & I want to build up to something, not push myself beyond what I can physically do. So that's what I am doing, in addition to counting my "points"...Weight Watchers (its a pain in the ass but the system works, I should know I lost 50 lbs counting "points" not so long ago). So far, I haven't really craved anything I know I shouldn't eat & yes I am well aware that it is only day three.

Today, started actually at about seven instead of six (I went to bed kinda late last night).  I did some dumbbell curls and worked my biceps, triceps & shoulders. At night I attempted to do 15 minutes on the elliptical machine but gave up at ten. I was a little disappointed at first but then I thought, hey that's 10 more minutes than I did yesterday when the machine was still posing as an odd looking clothing rack. 

Slow and steady, slow and steady will win....I just have to keep on going until I win!

Day Two: Chaos

I have to say I am very proud of myself today. I got up at 6:00AM & did some Core Exercises. Geesh, right about now I feel as if I slapped myself several hundred times across the stomach but I must admit it feels kinda good...no pain no gain.

Work was nuts, too much to do & too little time. In fact I have a pile of crap waiting for me in the morning.

After work, that's when my life became total chaos! The kid came home with a note from school, band practice starts tomorrow & he still did not have a saxophone...I still have trouble believing that he picked the saxophone.  Anyhow, after work I met up with him and his dad at Sam Ash & then proceeded to his dad's so assemble the damn thing. I did not get home until after 8PM. Shit!  Make dinner, feed dog, feed kid, feed myself, take out the recycling, clean up kitchen, fold laundry (screw that, I'll do it tomorrow), look over homework, get kid in the bath & ready for bed...needless to say it's midnight & I have not gotten around to do my cardio. 

Thinking about not doing it right about now but seriously this kind of mentality is what got me into the shape I am in right now. Hell no, I refuse to give into this! I may be tired but I made a promise to myself & even if I only exercise for 15 minutes, I am doing it!  So off I go....

Day One: Beginnings

I've decided to journal my hopeful transformation into my former self. I've tried this before & succeeded for the most part only to be knocked down and undo all of my hard work. Hopefully, this time will be different. Hopefully this time I will succeed once and for all. No more excuses! It's time I finally gained control and like the saying goes..."there is no time like the present".

My first day started at about 6:30 AM. I dragged myself out of bed, did some kettleball exercises, showered & got ready for work.

I proceeded to plan out my meals for the day (need to make more time for this going forward, since it almost made me late for work, but this is crucial to my success). I then packed up my things & headed off to work.

Work was work, nothing too exciting but lots to do. In other words, a typical Monday. I was beginning to feel a little under the weather & was a little sluggish and achy...did not stop me from going to Zumba though (after all I am on a mission).

After work that's when the fun began...picked up my son, rushed home, made dinner (turkey burgers sans the bread) & went to Zumba.  I have no idea what was into the instructor today but I swear she was trying to kill me, she did not succeed. However, I have a sneaky feeling I may need a crane tomorrow morning to get my fat ass out of bed. I may possibly need a wheelchair to get around because I just know I am going to feel this tomorrow & simply walking may just be a challenge.

After Zumba, did the usual Mom things & am now sitting down to watch the Giants destroy the Rams (what a game, so far!).


Going to take a shower now (you have no idea how disgusting I feel right now & I am not taking this sweaty, dirty body to bed) & then getting in my jammies to finish watching the 4th quarter (I paused the game, so that I wouldn't miss a thing).

So to recap, I did strength training this morning, ate healthy all day and did high intensity aerobics at night. Not to shabby for the first day, don't you think?

Tomorrow I'll be starting off my day with abs (I hope!) & then doing some Wii Just Dance to keep up with the aerobics.

Wish me luck ~ J