Falling off the horse...

Ok, I'm going to own up now. The reason I've been neglecting the blog-o here...well...I haven't been the best in my exercise and diet. I have had an absolutely horrible week (diet and exercise wise). I ordered out, I had foods that aren't very good for me, I didn't make it to the gym, and I had a single soda this week (gasp!). I did however make it to dance class, and auditioned for a musical today (which there was about 20 minutes of dancing) so it hasn't been a total loss. I havn't lost any weight this week (I actually think I might of gained a pound). But let me show you my biggest thing to overcome:

Yes...buffalo chicken cheesesteaks. They are my kriptonite, so to speak. With all the snow we've been having, me not having time to make it to the grocery store, I kind of had to order out at work...which is never a good thing, since all the places people order from are HORRIBLELY tempting.
So, ok...I'm gonna try to do better starting later today, so sorry everyone. Not only am I cursing myself for having no confidence to say NO, but I also am cursing Mother Nature in giving us all this snow!
Anyways, back on the horse I go. We all fall sometimes, we just got to get back up and continue trying!
Laters.
M

Tired Thursday

Ok. So its Thursday night, and I am sooo tired. I think I might even head to bed early tonight. I originally planned on going to the gym after work, but I was so beat after the super-long day at work, that I knew it just wasn't going to happen. That, and it is supposed to snow tonight, and I'll be damn if I am going to drive home in the snow. I already did it once this week, I don't want to do it again.
Meals today were so-so. It was basically a leftovers kind of day. Here's the lowdown:

My meals today: Thursday, Jan. 20th, 2011

Breakfast:

• Plain bagel with 1 tbsp of Pumpkin cream cheese (260+75 cals)

Lunch:

• 1/2 cubano sandwich (leftover from Cheeseburger in Paradise) (~350 cals)
• small pile of sweet potato chips (~100 cals)

Snack:

• 1 Golden Delicious Apple (80 cals)

Dinner:

• 3 cups of cooked penne pasta with light tomato sauce, 1 meatball (600+100 cals)

Total Calorie intake for the day: 1565 Calories roughly

Once again, not 100% sure this is the right calories for everything, but guesstimation is the winner here...or looser, depending on your viewpoint. lol
Anyways, I'm off to go chill on the couch and possibly crash to bed early.
Have a wonderful evening everyone.
-M

Weak Wednesday

Today was a much harder day for the eatting and working out stuff. Work was super busy, so by the time I got to the gym, I was already tired. I did get 1/2 hr of the eclyptical and 30 minutes in the pool, however I didn't get any weight lifting in today...I was just too pooped. Luckily the hot tub in the women's lockerroom was open, so I could relax a few minutes after my rough swim.
My eating wasn't the best either today. I tried to go more of a portion control, since I longed for Chinese food while at work. Also the hubs and I went out to dinner after our gym workout (I know, kinda counter productive, don't you think). But I did save half of my dinner to bring for lunch tomorrow.

 (The Chinese food lunch portion)

 (I left about a 1/4 of the rice and a few vegs that I just couldn't eat it all)

Anyways, here was all my meals today. Not the best, but we all have days like today, right?

Meals today, Wednesday Jan. 19, 2011

Breakfast:

• Plain bagel with 1 tbsp pumpkin cream cheese (260 + 75 cals)
• Orange Peach Mango juice, 8 oz (120 cals)

Lunch:

• 2 wontons in small wonton soup (90 cals)
• 1 1/2 cups of cooked white rice (306 cals)
• 2 cups of Hunan chicken: chicken, spicy sauce, snowpeas, water chestnuts, carrots, mini corn cobs, bamboo shots (455 cals)

Snack:

• 1 Granny Smith Apple (80 cals)

Dinner:

• 1/2 cuban sandwich with no pickle from "Cheeseburger in Paradise" (~350 cals)
• 1/2 serving of sweet potato chips from "Cheeseburger in Paradise" (~100 cals...not sure on this one)

Total Calorie intake for the day: Roughly 1836 calories 

(this is a rough estimate, as no one seems to be 100% sure how many calories are in my Hunan chicken lunch or pretty much any of the Cheeseburger in Paradise menu items, so these are all rough estimates based on other peoples findings of similar foods)

 (Dinner. Very yummy...but I had to resist the urge and not eat it all in one sitting)

(To-go Box...yes, I managed to not eat it all...Portion control...must keep chanting that)

Since it always is tough to figure out calories when you order out, the above is an estimation. I might be way off, so I could of been really good today, or really bad today, depending on how you look at it. But if my estimates are anywhere near close, at least I was under 2000 cals today. Not my 1500 that I strive for, but I'll take it- It's been a long day, and sometimes you just gotta relax. We all have our ups and downs days. At least I'm making an effort, right? And I DID get some exercise in.

Anyways, off to bed soon.

Night webland!

M

Tuesday Two-step

I just got back from my Adult Ballet Class that I attend, taught my a friend of mine. Me being the 'big girl' size wise in the class of 6 women (there were only 3 that showed up today in the class), makes me sometimes a little uncomfortable, but my love of dance sometimes out weights my weight issue. I started dancing at the age of 3, and have continued to do so ever since. Since the class is an hour long, I don't have time to go to the gym on top of that, so Tuesdays is my dance nights.
I also hope to keep a food journal while I'm blogging about my weight loss goals, so below is my meals today. Here's the food I've had today:


My Meals today: Tuesday, Jan. 18th, 2011

Breakfast:
(Sadly I missed my breakfast today, due to having to get my car out of the ice...making me run late for work)

Lunch:

• 1 bottle of cranberry juice (120 calories)
• 1 cucumber roll, aka. 6 pieces of sushi (~110 calories)
• 3 wontons from wonton soup, with a dash of broth (~105 calories)

Mid-snack:

• 1 bottle water (0 calories)
• 1/2 a banana...I couldn't handle eatting the entire thing for some reason (55 calories)

Dinner:

• 2 cups of penne pasta (~400 calories)
• 2 meatballs and a hint of sauce on it all (~250 calories)

Night snack:

• mini boneless buffalo poppers...I know, the worst healthy wise of my meals today (440 calories)

Total Calories consumed today: roughly 1480 calories

I danced the night away, so now I'm dead tired. I know my meal today wasn't the absolute best, but it could be a LOT worse.
Time to dance/step with a smile!
-M

Day 1: Stepping up to the challenge

So I've already joined the YMCA gym (been twice so far) and already cut out soda completely from my diet, along with other choices I've decided upon. So what got me in this exercise and weight loss kick?
Well, I think it all started when I looked in the mirror not that long ago, and didn't recognize the person in the mirror. Was that really me?
It was only 3 1/2 years ago that I was close to 60-70 lbs lighter and was in college. When I graduated college I was a cool 140 lbs, and before college I was at a slim 120 lbs. At the time of college, I thought I was a little curvy...but little did I know I would long for the day when I was back at that weight only 3 years in the near future.
First, I blame the job I got out of college. I went from walking everywhere in college and going to the gym on the occasion, to a desk job, where I had to drive 35 minutes to and from work. The most walking I would get at work was to and from the printer and the fridge.
Secondly, I blame my eatting habits. I love my pasta and pizza. When I was done with college, I never left my bad college eatting habits behind. Eatting super late at night and eatting loads of carbs and soda = not a good thing.
Third, I blame my lack of drive to stick to a diet or exercise plan. This is all pure laziness on my part and the fact that I HATE giving up the foods I love.

But I plan to change all of this. I always know when my eatting was getting bad, because I started to get horrible hearthburn. I'm only 24 years old, I shouldn't be getting heartburn to the point of not being able to function! I also want to be able to not get winded from going on a short jog down the street to catch my scarf on a windy day. It's all got to start here.

(this is me. Currently, at 205 lbs and age 24, I tend to wear a lot of black clothes to hid my chub as best as I can)

I want to Smile stepping onto the scale, not get the urge to cry myself to sleep after seeing that number. I need to step up to the challenge, and it starts here.

Goals:

1. Loose roughly 70 lbs...however long it takes, My goal weight is 135 lbs. I know the closer you get to your weight goal the harder it gets, so I plan to give myself over a year to reach it. Ideally I'd like to loose it in a single year, but I know myself, and that's gonna be really tough.
2. Eat and drink healthier. Cutting the soda intake completely, no diet sodas either, no pure caffinated beverages. Also, drink more water in general. Cut my portions and eat less pre-packaged foods, and sub out white bread for wheat. Go for more whole wheat pastas and eat less fatty and greasy foods. Cut down or out completely eatting from Fast food places. I know this is a lot, but I refuse to give up foods I love...I just need to eat them in smaller portions and in healthier ways.
3. Exercise as much as I can. I plan to go to the YMCA gym at least 4-5 days a week. I plan to give myself 2 days of rest for the weekends, because to be honest, who really wants to go to the gym on their day off. I know I don't. That, and my gym is close to my work, not my home. So far, I've started a routine at the Y: 30 minutes on the eclyptical or treadmill, 30 minutes weight lifting (focusing on arms and abs), and 20-30 minutes doing laps in the pool. I hope to improve upon this, as I hope to be able to handle more exercise as I progress. Luckily for me, the pool is open late in the evening, so I can go after work.
4. Feel better about myself, no matter how much or how little I loose. As much as I'd love to be able to wear those cute little dresses I see in stores, I realistically know, everyone's body type is different. Mine for instance: I have hips and large boobs. Both of which I don't expect to change much, even after I loose the weight. Those two parts of my body, I know will pretty much stay the same. This weight loss is more so I can feel good in my body, and improve my health.

So, in close, this blog will help me (hopefully) to track my progress in weight loss and exercising. I plan to post my meals and improvements in exercise and weight loss, as well as the struggles that I am trying to overcome. I hope, in turn, that someday, I'll be stepping with smiles.
-M