Valentine's Day Challenge, Travelling and More!

As you probably noticed, I changed my blog colors in preparation for my Valentine's Day Challenge. I just had a New Years Challenge to myself and I found that it really motivated me to hit the gym and knock off some minutes. Even though I only got about 1/2 of the minutes in, I'm confident I'll be able to hit my Valentine's Day goal.

We leave on Monday to head to South Dakota. For the most part, I enjoy flying. However, I do find it a challenge to eat in airports and also, I have no idea what types of food Stephen's mom keeps at her house. So, I am taking plenty of healthy snacks with me for the flights as well as to munch on during the week. I'm taking Fiber One bars, real fruit leather, clementines, small bags of high fiber cereal, and Teddy Grahams. I'm also bringing my water bottle so there's no excuse to not always have water with me. I am making some turtles to take but that's a gift for his mom so not eating those should be easy (otherwise I'd have to explain a 1/2 empty box of food and that would be awkward). Stephen's mom doesn't know we're coming and it's a huge surprise for her. It's lead to a whole web of lies this week though. She had her friend, Pat, send us our Christmas presents. Well, Pat knows we're coming so he actually kept our presents in South Dakota (they're hiding at his office). But Stephen's mom, Kathy, wants us to take a picture of our presents under our Christmas tree. We have had to come up with so many lies to explain why we can't take a picture. She's getting really frustrated with us but I'm sure she won't mind when she sees us on Christmas morning!!

Well, I probably won't post until I get back from South Dakota. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and stays safe and warm!

New Year's Goals

2008 Goals (first 6 months): since I might or might not be going to school in the fall, my goals are for the first 6 months of the year. They may continue on to the last 6 months or they may be changed.

Physical

*Eating
-Eat more whole foods and less processed foods. Over the last couple of months, I've been doing well with this and actually I prefer fruits and veggies to processed carbs now.
-Stick with 1800 calories/day. Anything less than this is starving my body, particularly when I'm working out.
-Focus on getting in more protein and dairy servings. Good fuel for my workouts.

*Working Out
-Continue with working out, aiming for 5-6 days/week. This is a step up from 3-4 days/week I'm doing now. I also want to continue my regular weight training routine. Muscle burns more calories!
-Set 6 week work out challenges for myself. Even though I won't make my New Years Workout Challenge goal, I've been super motivated by it! The next one will be a Valentines Day Challenge Goal.
-Try classes at the gym! You pay for them…stop being shy and get in there! I miss my yoga and mixing up my routine will be great for my body!

Mental

-Take classes, either Italian or business school prep.
-Read more nonfiction books. I read a lot but I read almost all fiction, most of it chick-lit. While those are good for an escape, I also need to feed my brain a bit more.
-Read the WSJ every day. I want to go to business school so being up on the business world would probably be a good thing.

Financial

-Follow budget and debt reduction plan.

Overall Health

-Dentist and eye doctor appointments.
-Complete physical and blood tests.
I haven't gone to the dentist in about 3 years (I pay for health insurance, I should use it). I can receive a free physical and blood tests here at work once a year...I need to take advantage of it!

Misc.

-Italy scrapbook. Went to Italy almost 3 years ago...still don't have the scrapbook finished!
-Recipes into computer database. I got a computer program that basically serves as a computer recipe file. I need to put all of my recipes in there and use it to plan meals. This program is super cool...you can create menus for weeks at a time and then it will create a shopping list for you for one week, two weeks, etc! I just got the program last week.

Doing Much Better

Thanks for your kind words yesterday. I'm doing much better today. Stephen took off early yesterday too and took me out to lunch and bought me some flowers. We watched "A Christmas Story" yesterday afternoon. My family and friends who all knew yesterday was a big day called me throughout the day to check up on me. I'm really blessed to have such great people in my life! The good news is that I still have pending applications at two more schools; one of the schools I have an interview with at the end of January and the other I'll hear from by January 28. So I still have some options available to me. I decided that if I do not get in anywhere this year, I'm going to reapply next fall (probably to different schools). If I don't get in anywhere, I'm going to make a career move to a different company or agency. Where I am now, I don't have hardly any responsibility and I have had no work in several months. It doesn't matter if I tell my boss I have nothing to do, assignments and cases always get assigned to other people. It's very frustrating and I want to be somewhere that I'm actually doing something and acquiring skills not just counting down the time to when I can leave.

So thanks again for your support! I really appreciate it! I'm working on my New Year's Goals today so I should have a post about that later.

Didn't Get In

The title says it all. I'm going home for the rest of the day.

Weighing In

I weighed this morning and it said 181.2 which is a loss of about half of a pound. I'm losing weight but it's extremely slow. I've actually began to wonder if perhaps I'm not eating enough calories? When I workout I usually go for 1.5 to 2 hours (typically about 3-4 times a week plus other activities like ice skating or extra walking). Right now I'm eating about 1600 calories a day and quite honestly, I don't think it's enough for the days when I workout. I get in all my fruits and veggie servings (usually have about 10 servings of f/v a day) but I'm lacking on my dairy and protein. I think I'm going to up my calories back up to 1800 a day and add in a protein and dairy snack in the afternoon. I think my body has switched to a starvation mode and is clinging on to every calorie. Anybody have any thoughts about this?? I'm going to do some more researching about this today but from a few articles I found yesterday, I think I'm not nourishing my body well.

So today's the day I find out about my 2nd choice for grad school (I'm sure you are just as excited as I am, especially because once I find out, I'll shut up about it!). I am a great big ball of stress right now! I woke up at about 3 this morning to go to the bathroom and could not go back to sleep. So I laid in bed for an hour, watched TV for a while, played on the computer for a bit but never got sleepy. It's actually a little frustrating since Stephen and I live in a studio apartment, when one of us can't sleep, there are limited activities. Luckily, Stephen is a heavy sleeper so the TV or computer didn't bother him but I couldn't turn on a light and read a book. I was almost crying on the way to work this morning thinking about grad school. I've given myself a pass from the gym and from counting calories today. I just can't deal with it. I'm sure it would make me feel better but the thought of being away from my computer to work out seems ridiculous right now. So no inspiration here today for working out or eating healthy. I just keep telling myself, I just have to make it through today. On the way to work this morning I was driving Stephen nuts b/c I kept talking and most of it didn't even make sense. He just kept looking at me like, "I am so glad I am not spending the entire day with you." It's what I do when I'm nervous, I just ramble on and on (like I'm doing now!). And, on that note, I'll stop this post here.

One Day Away...

Tomorrow I find out about my 2nd choice for grad school. I'm trying to remain calm about it but inside I'm a nervous wreck! Yesterday it was so hard to sit through the day without anything to do at work. Today I brought my laptop from home and plan on spending part of the day playing games or something to keep myself occupied. Work will continue to be slow until after Christmas and most of my superiors are already gone for Christmas vacations.

I'm working on my goals for next year so I'll probably have a post about that tomorrow or even later today. I like to have goals for all areas of my life. And I think that this year I'll have goals for the first 6 months of the year and then set new goals when I go to school in the fall.

On the weight loss/workout front, things are going well. Made it to the gym yesterday and will do the same today. I don't know if I've ever talked about this but working out for me is so much more than the physical benefits I get from it, it's such an emotional and mental medicine for me.
I have had episodes of very deep, dark depression but working out keeps me from going into those episodes. I used to take a couple of anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medications but stopped (with my doctor's permission, of course) and started working out. I was thinking about this yesterday when I was at the gym and how much happier I am when I'm getting regular exercise. Activity is my medicine now and it's the one I prefer. Just like regular pills, if I go a couple of days without exercise, my body feels out of whack and I feel out of control. What's even more powerful for me is that my moods are even better when I choose activity as my medicine than the way my moods are when I chose pills as my medicine. Anyways, just some thoughts I had yesterday at the gym.

Alright, off to keep my mind occupied! Later gators!

What a Weekend!

I did it! I made it through the weekend and only ate 450 calories over my limit! While it's still over my limit, it's only by 450 calories and compared to past weekends of being over by several thousand calories...this is a victory! I knew I could do it! It was all in my attitude. This weekend I approached it and said, "I can do this. I've done it before." And you know what? That attitude shift helped me succeed. So for next weekend, I want to stay in my limit. It's definitely possible.

Goals for the upcoming week:
Eating--same as before: Monday-Friday 1600 calories/day, Saturday and Sunday 2000 calories/day (only 200 may be alcohol)
Exercise--Monday-Thursday 75-90 minutes cardio, 20 min strength, 10 min stretching; Friday 60 minutes cardio, 10 min stretching; Saturday/Sunday 120 minutes of activity (shopping, gym, park, etc.)

Alright, on to my weekend. It was good. We got all of our shopping and errands done by Saturday afternoon and we were ready for this big ice/snow storm that we had been hearing about for almost a week. It never happened! I think we got maybe one inch of rain and that was it. No snow, no ice, no sleet, nothing. Very anticlimatic. We went and saw "I Am Legend" with Will Smith. It was good but the infected people actually creeped me out quite a bit and I had trouble sleeping last night b/c I kept seeing them when I closed my eyes!

I am actually very excited about this week. Once I make it through Friday, I'll be off for 11 days! I'm going to South Dakota to meet some of Stephen's family. We leave on Christmas Eve and get back on New Year's Eve. And of course being government workers, we have New Year's Day off. Work is extremely slow right now so I've been working on some "personal" things at work quite a bit to pass the time.

I also find out on Wednesday if I got into my 2nd choice for grad school. I am actually so nervous about this already. I keep telling myself to just relax but time seems to be passing so slowly...I want to know right now!! I'm focusing on keeping myself (and mind) occupied over the next couple of days so it's not so bad.

I hope everyone else had a good weekend!

Tremendous Thursday!

I am having a great day! Yesterday S and I had a lot of fun ice skating. We went to a different rink (which is outside but it was 55 degrees yesterday) and the ice and skates weren't as good as the rink we usually go to. We even shared a piece of cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory. It was so good and I'm so glad we shared it b/c it was so rich, I don't think I could have eaten more than 1/2 of the slice anyways. But what's even more awesome is that even with the cheesecake, I still stayed under my calorie limit yesterday! I had to eat a smaller dinner than usual but I wasn't as hungry since we had cheesecake in the middle of the afternoon. This is just the confidence I need going into the weekend...I can do this, I can stay under my calories on the weekends.

I am still a bit bummed about not getting into my top choice but like Sara said, I believe that things happen for a reason. I'm positive that going to grad school is the right step for me, it's just a matter of finding the right school. I have a back-up plan in place in case I don't get into my top choices. I'll find out on Wednesday if I got into my second choice and I'll go from there.

This weekend is going to involve a lot of errands. I still have to get a few presents and I need to get them mailed on Saturday (since I'm not going home for Christmas, I am mailing all the gifts I bought for everyone to Oklahoma). The DC area is supposed to get a pretty significant winter storm on Saturday evening/Sunday morning. My plan is to get all my errands ran before Saturday afternoon so that if we get a lot of snow/ice, I'm not trying to get out in that type of weather. I have tomorrow off (I looooove having this alternative work schedule) so I plan on doing my shopping then. Hopefully, the mall won't be as crowded on a Friday as it will be on Saturday/Sunday. Have a good weekend everyone!

Wednesday Weigh-In

182.0--basically a maintain and it all has to do with my weekend eating. Not this weekend...I'm not doing all this work counting and busting my butt at the gym to maintain! I'm a loser and I'm going to lose next Wednesday.

I got some disappointing news last night. I found out that I didn't get into my top choice for grad school :( I'm pretty bummed about it but there's nothing I can do so I'm not wasting energy on moping about it. Big NSV: when I found out last night, I didn't pig out or go crazy eating everything in sight. Normally that would be my first response so I'm glad I've moved away from using food to medicate.

S and I did take today off to do something fun and I think ice skating is on the agenda! I know he's trying to cheer me up b/c I love ice skating and he doesn't really like it so the fact that he suggested we do it today, he's trying to cheer me up! So cute. Anyways, I'll be back tomorrow to comment and post on how I did at the holiday party. Later gators!

Holiday Party Tuesday

Today is the holiday party here at work and I have been dreading it. It starts at 12 and goes until 4 with lunch, desserts and alcohol provided. The lunch isn't catered but is more of a potluck type lunch. Here's why I'm dreading it: I hate, hate, hate eating potluck meals. I hate them so much b/c most people's food doesn't taste that good! I realize this sounds very cocky but my food tastes so much better than a lot of other people's food. And I'm not wasting my calories on food that's only so-so. So here's the plan for today, I'm going to go do my normal workout at the gym around 11. Come back and eat my brownbag lunch like I do every day. Then S might come over (or he might not) and we'll go at 2 to have dessert and maybe a glass of wine. I realize it's antisocial to not go for the lunch part of the party but I think it would be more rude (ruder?) to take my lunch in there and eat. Plus I want to workout like usual. And I can go around 2 and still get all the mingling and networking in that I need to do. I haven't decided for sure if I'm even going to eat dessert or have wine. I'll see how I feel when I get there.

I'm going to pat myself on the back for a minute...last night S opened a bottle of wine and I really wanted some but I just kept telling myself, "you had 3 bottles over the course of the weekend. you do not NEED any more wine." And it worked! No alcohol on the weekdays is still intact! Which is motivating me even more to not have wine today at the holiday party to keep my streak going!

S weighed himself yesterday for the first time in months. He knew that he was gaining weight and didn't want to see how bad it was but he finally bit the bullet yesterday. He weighed 179.2 (which is still very healthy and normal for his height) but that means he's gained almost 20 pounds since January, and most of it over the last 5 months. (He lost 50 or 60 pounds a couple of years before I met him.) Prior to August he worked at the same company but in a different position where he wasn't that busy so he would workout for 2 hours a day around lunchtime. In August he took a different position and he's super busy and can't leave during the day to work out. So we talked about it last night and he wants to get back into working out. He isn't for sure how he can work it into his schedule but I told him I would love it if we worked out on the weekends together (we used to do this a few months ago) and he would have at least two workouts a week in. I'm going to keep talking about it and encouraging him to find some time. I wouldn't mind if he came home later if that meant he was working out (honestly, I would love it b/c it would give me some alone time at home but that's a different post entirely). If nothing else it sounds like I have a weekend workout partner now! Anybody have any tips about encouraging your sig other to get back into working out??

Christmas Pictures

This is one of our Christmas pictures that we finally took this weekend. And here's a pic of just the tree.

Weekend Wrap-up and A Weight Watchers Question

Hmmm...well I'll start with the confession: my weekend wasn't good, food wise. Between Saturday and Sunday, I drank nearly three bottles of wine! Yes, I know, 3 bottles! I do love the wine (but I am not an alcoholic before you get too concerned). Last night I had a couple of glasses and actually didn't want any more but my head said, "you should have some now, you won't get any more for another 6 days." So, I think next weekend I'll put a limit on how much wine I can have and that way I'll truly enjoy it. I'm still going to follow my no alcohol during the week rule as that seems to be working out very well for me. I also made Christmas cookies last night for our Christmas party at work this week and I am very guilty of eating several balls of dough and some finished cookies. My explanation for my behavior this weekend is something I told myself mentally on Friday. In the midst of my crankiness and blah-ness on Friday, I acquired this "screw it" approach to the weekend and I don't know where it came from but suspect it has to do with my bad mood and wanting food to make me feel better.

So, here's my WW question: does anyone do WW online? I'm interested in WW (and have done it before with success) but actually making it to a meeting would be difficult. If you do use WW online I would like to know how you like it and what differences there are between WW online and WW in person. I'm just very curious about it. Counting calories works for me but there's no accountability to myself. With WW there would be more of an accountability.

Now onto this week's goals:
Eating--1600 calories/M-F; 2000 calories/Sat & Sun (only 200 calories each day may be used for alcohol)
Work Outs--I am getting back to my strength training schedule! So here's the plan:
Monday: 75-90 minutes cardio, 20 minutes strength, 10 minutes stretching
Tuesday: 75-90 minutes cardio, 20 minutes strength, 10 minutes stretching
Wednesday: 75-90 minutes cardio, 10 minutes stretching
Thursday: 75-90 minutes cardio, 20 minutes strength, 10 minutes stretching
Friday: 60 minutes cardio, 10 minutes stretching
Weekend: 120 minutes of walking (Christmas shopping!), cleaning, playing at park
Total: 480-540 minutes cardio, 60 minutes strength, 50 minutes stretching
I'm also going to look into the classes at my gym. I know they have yoga and I love yoga!

Well, I'm off to go raid the office supply closet at work...rumor is we got a new shipment of supplies! I heart office supplies!

Friday Randomness

Lots of things I want to talk about today. Not sure I'll have the time but I'll get started and see how far I get.

So, yesterday was a snow day. I picked up my vehicle at the auto body shop where it's been for the last week getting repaired from my wreck. It was finally finished and since there was ice and snow on the ground, I felt more comfortable driving my big SUV than S's little car. So we pick it up and then had some errands to run. (S got his brother's Christmas present and we went to see "August Rush"...such a good movie!) Well, somehow when they put the door back on my vehicle, they didn't hook up the power lock/unlock so we took my vehicle back to the repair shop. It only took them about 30 minutes and they did it while we were waiting so it wasn't too bad but just a little frustrating.

My sister called last night and she invited me to go with her and my mom to Hawaii in January! My mom has a conference in Hawaii every January and usually my stepdad goes with her, but this year the heater died at their house and since that's going to cost them about $10,000 to redo the entire heating system, they decided that he wouldn't go. So my sister decided to go with my mom since she's never been to Hawaii and since her hubby hasn't gotten her a Christmas present yet, her plane ticket to Hawaii is now her gift! I really want to go and it would be a ton of fun, just me, my mom and sis hanging out in Hawaii for 4 or 5 days. I thought about it and ultimately decided not to go. I've made a commitment to paying off some of my debt before I go back to grad school and as much as I would love to go to Hawaii, doing so would be putting myself even further away from my financial goals.

So, on to the topic of losing weight...I did really well yesterday (even though it was a snow day and felt like a Saturday) and stayed within my calories. I've been doing well eating wise and I'll continue that this weekend. Working out, I haven't been doing so well. I went Monday and Tuesday and then the snow actually did deter me from working out on Wednesday. I won't go today since I'm leaving work early as S and I have tickets to an event tonight. I need to get back to my strength training, I've been doing cardio only for the last couple of weeks, but strength training builds muscles and muscles burn more calories!

No real plans this weekend besides the Christmas event tonight so we'll see what we end up doing. I don't know if it's the weather, TOM, or what, but I feel so blah today. I'm not really excited about anything and I'd like to just lay at home in my warm bed. Well, I'll see you all on Monday...have a good weekend!

Snow Day!

I'll be back tomorrow with a real post and comments but we got about 3 inches of snow yesterday (I know that's not a lot for you Canadians but for DC, it's a lot) so we got a snow day!! I'll see you all tomorrow!

Wednesday Weigh-In

I am all about the alliteration in my post titles the last couple days. Anyways, so I lost 1 pound! I'm excited! Actually, a little disappointed that it wasn't more but I need to focus on the positive...I lost weight instead of gaining or maintaining. And, although I did well eating during the week, my weekend eating wasn't so good but on Monday I outlined what I need to do better during the weekend so I feel confident going into this weekend that I will do better!

Well, in other news, it's snowing here in DC! We might get up to 3 inches of snow but most weatherpeople are predicting closer to 1 inch. I heart snow! I don't like ice or sleet, but I love snow! I will NOT let this deter me from hitting the gym at lunch though! I repeat, I will NOT let this keep me from the gym at lunch! I am making this statement so you all will hold me accountable.

We have a bagel breakfast here at work in a few minutes. Our bureau does this every 3 or 4 months. They have bagels, donuts, coffee, and juice and it's basically a time for everyone to mix and mingle and catch up with what everyone in the bureau is doing. I think it really helps the top directors of the bureau. Since the top 10 or 15 people in my bureau work in a different building a few miles away, they don't always know what's going on over in my building. Anyways, it's kind of a nice tradition. In the past, I would say that I wasn't going to have a bagel but everytime I would cave and get a bagel (usually after I'd already eaten part of my breakfast and thereby putting me over on calories for the day). So I decided yesterday that I would change my usual breakfast menu to accomodate a bagel. Usually, I have oatmeal and an apple when I get to work (around 8:30) and then have a yogurt and a banana around 10:30. But today I had a yogurt when I got to work and then in a few minutes, I'll have a bagel at the bagel breakfast. So it works out b/c I know I get to have a bagel plus I still got some healthy protein and calcium in with my yogurt. Last Thursday I thought about getting a bagel as I was walking to work and then I thought, "No, I'm not going to pay for a bagel. I'll get to have a free one next week at the bagel breakfast and I'll be looking forward to it." And even though I love coffee, I will not have any of the coffee they serve at the bagel breakfast...it's atrocious!! Yech!!

Well, time to go get my much anticipated bagel! Later gator!

Tuesday Thoughts

So yesterday at lunch I decided that instead of going to the gym, I was going to run outside which is something I haven't done in a few weeks and I was really craving some sunshine and fresh air. Sounds like a fantastic decision right? It was actually a horrible, horrible decision. I forgot that DC was under a wind advisory with winds of 50 MPH expected. At times, I was running but I wasn't actually going anywhere, the wind was that strong! It was definitely a great workout though. When I got back to the locker room, my arms and legs were shaking! It was crazy. We have another wind advisory today so I'm hitting the gym!

When I got off the subway this morning in downtown DC, it was snowing! Not heavy snow or snow that's actually going to stick around but just these flakes falling from the sky. I love it when it snows! I love snowglobes so when it's snowing outside, I feel like I'm walking in a snowglobe, it's so cool!!

Tomorrow's my weigh-in and I'm actually looking forward to it. I've worked hard over the last week and I'm ready to see some results from the scale. I'm hitting the gym hard today and doing a last chance workout...I'm pumped!

Weekend Wrap Up

The weekend went really well!! Our plans changed, as they always do, and we didn't go ice skating on Saturday. The weather got pretty cold on Friday night and since it's really the first cold weather we've had all year, we just stayed home on Saturday. Yesterday we saw "Fred Claus"--we both thought it was a good movie. It's predictable, as all Christmas movies are, but it was good. Saturday I made a huge pot of homemade chicken noodle soup for S and I to have for lunches this week since the weather's supposed to be cold this week. So, due to the change in plans, I only got 60 minutes of activity in this weekend. Food wise, I did really well Friday until S wanted me to make oatmeal cookies. Instead of trying to talk him out of it, I made cookies. I had two cookies which didn't do too much damage to my calories for Friday since I was actually under for the day's total. Saturday and Sunday...I didn't do so well. Most of my mistakes were mindless eating. I would get bored, so I would eat or the basket of bread is in front of me, might as well have 3 pieces. Things like that.

So, some goals for the week ahead:
* Eating during the week--did very well last week. Keep it up this week! No alcohol on the weekdays really helps.
* Eating during the weekend--watch the mindless eating. Stop and ask myself, do I really want this or am I just bored or eating just because it's there. Don't know for sure all of our plans for this weekend.
* Activity--did pretty good last week. Didn't get in as much exercise as I had hoped but this week my goal is 450 minutes total.

All in all, I did well last week and I feel so much better physically and mentally. I'm going to rock this week again!!

So, for something not eating/exercise related, my financial situation is pretty tight lately. Again, it's all choices I made and I'm having to live with the consequences. I just got paid on Friday and already it seems like I have no money. I have money in my account but I have to pick up my truck from the shop this week and it's going to be expensive. They can hang on to my vehicle for 5 days after they finish the work and then after that, they start charging $50/day to have it there. Part of my problem is that my paycheck on Friday should have been several hundred dollars more than it was. I recently got a promotion and this paycheck should have been the first paycheck where I was making my new salary. But, as things go, the paperwork didn't get in on time and so it'll be my next paycheck before I see the new salary. I'm looking into getting one of those payday advance loans. I've never had to do it before. I think it's really my only option. My only other hope is if it takes the shop until sometime later this week to finish my vehicle. In which case, the free 5 days will be up close enough to my paycheck that I can afford to pay for it. My plan is to wait until they call and tell me my truck is done at the shop. If it's early this week when they call, then I'll get a payday advance loan and go pick it up. If it's late this week when they call, I might still have to get the payday advance loan but maybe not. It's totally my fault that I'm in this situation. I'm just really ticked at myself about it b/c I didn't follow my budget in November and now look at where I am. In December, I'm following my budget. I shouldn't be hoping that it takes the shop longer than anticipated to finish my truck. Oh well, live and learn, huh?

Alright, well, time for me to get some other things done today. Later gator!

Tag, I'm It!

So I wasn't "officially" tagged but I'm playing anyways b/c it's my Friday afternoon and you know I'm not going to do actual work!

I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 5 items. You can only pick one thing from the following departments.. what is it?
1. Produce: Right now, clementines! But I'd probably try to sneak a few bananas past you as well.
2. Bakery: Whole Wheat bread, preferably Nature's Own Double Fiber Light but if S is with me, it'll be Pepperidge Farms
3. Meat: Ground chicken or turkey, tastes very close to ground beef but is so much better for you!
4. Frozen: Weight Watchers Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Bars, I looooove these but think they're too expensive to buy more than a few times a year but if someone else is buying, I'm getting as many boxes as I'm allowed!
5. Dairy: Yogurt. What happened to the Yoplait Light Thick and Creamy? Did they stop making it? I miss it a lot but I still like the regular Yoplait Light.

Let's say we're heading out for a weekend getaway. You're only allowed to bring 3 articles of clothing with you. So, what's in your bag?
1. Clean underwear!
2. Tommy Hilfiger fleece pants I just bought last weekend. It's been a struggle to make myself take them off in the morning and put on work clothes.
3. A cute top I could dress up or down.

If I was to listen in on your conversations throughout the day, what 5 phrases or words would I be most likely to hear?
1. So
2. You know
3. What the? (I hardly ever finish this phrase)
4. Like
5. K (not okay, but K because okay is entirely too long of a word and I save so much time saying one syllable instead of two)

So, what 3 things do you find yourself doing every single day, and if you didn't get to do, you probably wouldn't be in the best mood?
1. Having coffee. Even if it's just a sip, I must have some.
2. Cuddling or just being near S, especially hearing him laugh.
3. Checking my email. Since I'm waiting to hear if I got into any graduate schools, I'm a little OCD about checking my email.

We're talking a 3 hour block with nobody around. What 5 activities might we find you doing?
1. Watching cooking shows or Gilmore Girls or whatever I want on the TV and not having to consult anyone else
2. Taking a nap
3. Basically vegging out on the couch not doing a whole lot
4. Calling my sister
5. Cooking/baking

We are going to the zoo. But, it looks like it could start storming, so it'll have to be a quick visit. What 3 exhibits do we have to get to?
1. Elephants! My fave!
2. Giraffes, my sister's fave
3. Polar bears or penguins

You just scored tickets to the taping of any show that comes on t.v. of your choice. You can pick between 4, so what are you deciding between?
1. Rachael Ray
2. Price is Right, I would totally kick some butt!
3. The Office! I love it! I wish the writer's strike was over so I could see new episodes :(
4. Numbers. Rob Morrow is so cute!

You're hungry for ice cream. I'll give you a triple dipper ice cream cone. What 3 flavors can I pile on for ya?
Dangerous question...I worked in an ice cream store for 4 years in high school and part of college.
1. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
2. Cherries, Pecans, and Cream
3. Soft serve twist (with vanilla and chocolate)

Somebody stole your purse/wallet…in order to get it back, you have to name 5 things you know are inside to claim it. So, what's in there?
1. A small purple cosmetic case with lip gloss and chapsticks.
2. A small tan cosmetic case with gum and medicine.
3. Pink Razr.
4. Small red business card holder with subway farecards.
5. Sunglasses.

You are at a job fair, and asked what areas you are interested in pursuing a career in. Let's pretend you have every talent and ability to be whatever you wanted, so what 4 careers would be fun for you?
1. Cooking show host
2. Journalist
3. Marine biologist
4. Chef

If you could go back and talk to the old you, when you were in high school, and inform yourself of 4 things, what would you say?
1. Don't be ashamed to go to the local state university. You'll go away for a year to a very prestigious school and hate nearly every minute and end up transferring back to the local university. You'll have the same opportunities no matter where you go so go where you're happy and fit in. Don't go to a school just because it's prestigious.
2. RELAX! (I was extremely high strung and anxious in high school.)
3. When Grandpa tells you all the stories about when he was younger, really listen and ask him to tell them again. At the time, you'll think that you will remember but when you're 24 and he isn't around, you'll give anything to hear him talk about almost dying when he was 6.
4. Go easy on Jim (my stepdad, he married my mom when I was a senior in high school). He's a good guy, he's going to stick around, he loves you, he is nothing like your father. In a few years he'll be one of your best friends and the two of you have so much in common, you'll wonder how he's not your biological father.

Well, that was super fun! Now it's time to go home and let the weekend begin! See you all on Monday! Have a good weekend everyone.

Almost the Weekend!!

Today's my Friday and I'm super excited (but that might have more to do with the amount of coffee I've had this morning)! I finished my work project yesterday so today I can spend slacking off. I have a couple of much smaller projects with no deadlines on them so I should work on those a bit but that's about it.

The weekend tends to be my downfall, eating and exercise wise. It's not having a schedule...I don't love my job but it does give some structure to my day. So I'm going to make a plan of where I'll spend my calories and where I can get in some exercise. Here goes:
Friday
Tomorrow S has a dentist appointment at 8 so we're going to come into DC, go to his appointment, have breakfast, do some sightseeing in downtown DC, and probably a movie in the afternoon. Side note: I've lived in DC for two years but it's a very touristy place (being the capital of America and all) so I only go sightseeing if I have visitors in town or it's the winter time and there aren't as many tourists. Back to the plan, I am going to steer S away from a big diner type breakfast and go for something quick and easy, like a bagel somewhere. We'll be doing a lot of walking on Friday so that should give me some good exercise. Lunch will probably be in DC at a sandwich/salad type of place, nothing too fancy. I'm going to get something healthy, either a salad or a low-cal sandwich. Maybe I can talk him into Subway...I haven't been there in a while and I've been craving a Subway sandwich for a while. Dinner we will have at home as usual. It will probably be leftovers from tonight's dinner (Pulled Chicken Sandwiches, Rosemary Potatoes, and Salad).
Saturday
Saturday I planned as a surprise for S but he figured it out. I'm just not sneaky enough to successfully plan a surprise for him! We're going to have brunch at a restaurant here in DC (we had brunch at this place about a year ago, when we first started dating) and then go ice skating at the gallery of art and see some of the exhibits in the gallery of art. In the evening there is a Christmas boat parade in Alexandria that we are going to and I just got an email saying S has made dinner reservations near where the boat parade is going to be. The brunch is definitely going to be my big caloric meal of the day...this place has awesome French toast and I've been looking forward to it for a year now! I'm going to get the French toast but only eat one slice and see if I can sub in turkey sausage or bacon for the regular pork version it comes with. Dinner I'll keep healthy or I'd actually like to eat at home so I'm going to see if I can talk S into cancelling our reservations. The ice skating will definitely give me some exercise!
Sunday
We have a bunch of errands to run on Sunday. I need to get stuff to make Christmas cards plus a frame for my sister's present. Plus the usual grocery store, Target, etc. We might eat breakfast out but should have the rest of our meals at home so it should be a bit easier to stay within my calories. Sunday I'm going to make a pot of chicken noodle soup for our lunches next week.

Having a plan makes me feel much more confident that I'm not going to overeat and make bad choices. This is my weekend! I can do this!

In other news, I just realized I didn't grab my two yogurts for my snacks today :( Good thing I keep extra granola bars in my desk. Well, I'll be back around later and I'll probably post again today since I'll be avoiding doing any work.

Weigh-In Wednesday

Well, the scale said 182.8 which is up from my weight at the beginning of this challenge. But I'm okay with it...my choices this weekend definitely led to this. My sister is an elementary school teacher and her big "life lesson" she tries to get through to her students is that you make choices and once you've made a choice, you have to live with the consequences of that choice. Basically, you're responsible for the consequences of your choices, not anyone else and not anything. (She always says this to her students when they are doing something they shouldn't be. She'll say "(Insert kid's name here), you have two choices. You can sit down and be quiet and stay in class with us while we do math or you can continue to talk and go see the principal. These are your choices." It's such a simple lesson but I've found if I think that about eating and working out, I make much better choices! Who knew that a 24 year old could learn something my sister tries to teach her 4th graders?? So, yes, I gained instead of lost but it was the choices I made that led to the gain. This week is different. I'm making much better decisions regarding food and the no alcohol on the weeknights really helps. It's like Randi said in her comment, it's not just the calories of the alcohol but it's the snacking and lower inhibitions that comes with the alcohol.

Last night I did really well. I'm super proud of myself! (pause while I pat myself on the back) We had steak tacos (made with flank steak which is one of the leanest cuts of beef). I cut up two peppers, half an onion, and a few mushrooms and sauteed them together with some taco seasoning. S doesn't like peppers so I knew he wouldn't touch my veggies! And then, I had 3 oz of the steak on a wheat tortilla with an avocado. I ate all of my steak (Can you tell I was raised on a farm? I love my beef!), 1/2 of the veggies and tortilla. And I was stuffed. About an hour later when I was counting up my calories, I realized I was under by about 250 calories and had two chocolate graham crackers. I was still under on my calories but I was closer to my daily target. I don't want to starve myself and screw up my metabolism so I really try to stay pretty close to my target. Anyways, I just had to share b/c I was so proud of myself about stopping when I was full and filling up on the veggies!!

Well, I have a project I want to finish today so that tomorrow I can slack off. I like my last day at work every week to be a little slower and not so rushed...I find that if my last day at work in a week is rushed, I spend my whole weekend keyed up and rushed. Oh, and I know tomorrow is Thursday but I have Friday off since I work an alternative schedule (I work 9 hour days and every two weeks I have an extra day off that I don't have to take leave for). Now, I'm just procrastinating on this mind-numbing project.

Later gator!

Terrific Tuesday

Things are going well here...not much to report. Made it to the gym yesterday and did 25 minutes on the treadmill and 45 minutes on the bike! Food yesterday was good. I was planning on having steak tacos for dinner last night but by the time S and I left work and got home, we didn't want to wait 45 minutes for dinner so we had BLTs, corn, and leftover mashed potatoes. So my total calories were 1800...so still in a comfortable range but I'm trying to aim for 1600 now. I had no alcohol last night (go me!!). Tonight should be a bit better. We have to leave work a little early b/c I have to take my poor dented car to the shop to get repaired. And we'll have the tacos I'd planned for last night. Tomorrow is my weigh in so I'm going to push myself extra hard at the gym today and really keep an eye on my food intake. I think the alcohol from the weekend has hurt the good weigh-in I might have had. Oh well, I'll see tomorrow and keep moving forward. I just have to remember how great I feel when I eat healthy and workout!! I feel fantastic!! I'm making today a Terrific Tuesday!!

Looooong Weekend Wrap-Up

I ended up having a 6 day weekend! Nice! I totally didn't plan it and the original plan was to go to work on Wednesday but the weather was so super fantastic on Wednesday (around 75 degrees and sunny) that both S and I stayed home and played mini golf and walked around Old Town Alexandria. It was such a beautiful day. We got our tree this weekend and decorated it...it's so pretty. We got a live tree but it is so perfect looking it looks like a fake tree!! We had a good Thanksgiving...since it was just the two of us it was low-key and relaxing. Which is excellent b/c from conversations with my sister and mom, things were very tense and argumentative at my grandma's house.

I hadn't planned on doing any shopping on Black Friday or this weekend. But S wanted to go look for some things, and guess what happened, I ended up being the one who bought a whole bunch of stuff. The GAP Outlet had all of their sweaters and t-shirts for 50% off so I got three sweaters and three t-shirts. I finally found some black boots at Aerosoles that I liked (I was specifically looking for certain things in my boots: all the way up my calf, pointy toe--but not too pointy, a good heel--no stilettos or super bulky heels, not too high of a heel, not too masculine looking) and they had a buy one, get one 50% off so I found some green shoes that I love as well. The Tommy Hilfiger outlet had everything 30% off so I got two sweaters and a pair of fleece pants that I love. I also got some new dress socks and boot socks at Goldtoe (20% off). So I got a lot of stuff!! But it's all clothes I can really use and I can throw out some of my other clothes that are in bad shape. I feel good about what I bought. Oh, I almost forgot, I got "The Best of Cooking Light" cookbook. I was browsing through it last night and I'm already excited to make several of the recipes.

Okay, so back to the purpose of the blog. I did okay eating wise. There was only one time when I ate and wasn't really hungry and ate too much. My biggest issue was with alcohol (as usual). Okay, I realize that sounds like I'm an alcoholic but I'm not. I would feel much better about my caloric consumption if I had kept the alcohol in check a bit. I'm starting a new "rule"--no alcohol during the week. If I want wine, I'll have to wait until the weekend. It'll be better for my body as well as my wallet. When you consume one bottle of wine a day, that adds up pretty fast. I didn't do any formal working out but we were walking a lot shopping. We really didn't stay at the apartment too much. I gave myself 60 minutes for Wednesday's mini golf game but I didn't count the walking when shopping. I'm definitely ready to get to the gym today! I need to talk to S about going to the gym in our complex after work...he stopped working out when he got a new job with a lot more responsibility.

Well, on that note, I'm looking at all my responsibilities for today and I better get some things done so I can go to the gym.

Later gator!

Workin' From Home

Well, as the title says, I'm working from home today. I have an interview with one business school this evening and just decided to stay home today so I could prepare for my interview. (Plus I didn't want to wear or carry my suit to work on the subway...what a hassle.)

I would have had a great food day yesterday if I hadn't started drinking!! S and I left work early to catch the Okla State basketball game against LSU on TV and we stopped at the grocery store so he could get some beer and what do I get? Some very sugary Smirnoff beverages. And what do I do over the course of the evening? Drink all 6!!! For the rest of my New Year Challenge, no drinking on the weekdays. (Well, except for Thanksgiving.) My eating is so much better when I don't consume alcohol. And yesterday I would have been within my calories and everything if it weren't for the 6 drinks I had. And, more "big picture" wise, it's better for my overall health to not have 6 drinks in one day. I did make it to the gym yesterday and spent 60 minutes on the elliptical! Go me! I love the feeling when I'm done working out, it's such a sense of accomplishment and feeling that I can do anything in the world!

I'm trying to stay on track with eating over the next few days. It will be hard. As I mentioned yesterday, last year at this time is when my grandpa really took a turn for the worse. I was super close to my grandpa (my sister and I lived with my grandparents for most of my childhood so my grandpa was really my dad in a lot of ways) and this is the first holiday season without him. Eating crappy food doesn't make me feel better emotionally, so I'm going to try to remember that. What makes me feel better is thinking about how he's not in pain anymore, how great his life was, and how much he meant to me.

S and I are staying here for Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving was going to be such an emotional holiday for me, I honestly did NOT want to spend it with my family. I'm one of those people who deal with emotions on my own and being around other emotional people actually makes me "shut down" emotionally and that's bad for me. So S and I decided we would just stay here and do Thanksgiving the way we want to do it. The plan is to get up and have breakfast and then a cheese/cracker type snack around 11 and then have our Thanksgiving meal around 3 or so (or whenever we get hungry). We purchased a honeybaked ham and I'm going to fix green bean casserole, his grandma's mashed potatoes, and Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Tarts (cover of November's Cooking Light). The recipe for the tart is for a big tart but I'm making 4 small ones...enough for us to have one with our meal with an extra for later. We don't need an entire 9" pie! I'm also making a fall salad with spinach, pecans, and dried cranberries. That should be plenty of food for just the two of us. We're going to go get our tree this weekend as well and there's some good football on! Oklahoma State plays our rivals, the OU (sucky) Sooners. It should be a good weekend.

Well, I should get started on a few things around the apartment. Tomorrow is my first weigh-in on my New Year Challenge. I'll eat light the rest of the day but I'm a little worried. I'll see how the first weigh-in goes but I might cut my daily calories down a bit...1800 seems like too much. Enough rambling (and procrastination)! Talk to you tomorrow.

Weekend Wrap Up

I had a good weekend. I ended up leaving early on Friday and hitting the mall to get some new underwear and body wash before the madness of Christmas shopping really kicks in. S and I walked around a lot so I gave myself 45 of exercise time. We waited until Saturday evening to eat at Bonefish Grill and it was so good!! S doesn't like seafood so he had the porkchops but both of our meals were so good and well worth the money we paid. We've already decided to eat there for our birthdays (our birthdays are one week apart) in January. Saturday and Sunday we had a lot of errands to run. We decorated the balcony with Christmas lights last night and we got lights for our indoor tree. This weekend we're going to get a real tree!! I haven't had a real Christmas tree since I was very young...my sister is allergic to pines. I'm very excited. We went ahead and put up the lights outside and got everything moved around in the apartment so we have a place to put a real tree. We live in a 450 square foot apartment so all the furniture is strategically placed; finding a place for the tree took some moving around and rearranging.

I also gave myself 30 minutes of exercise time for both Saturday and Sunday...all the rearranging of furniture and running errands definitely torched some calories! Food wise, this weekend wasn't so good. I did well on Saturday until we got to Bonefish and while waiting for our table, I had two glasses of wine and then we had a bottle of wine with dinner. However, my entree was very low-cal (grilled fish with veggies). I had a couple more glasses of wine once we got home and then had an emotional meltdown. My grandpa died in April and last Thanksgiving is when he really took a turn for the worse. I remember flying back from Oklahoma after Thanksgiving and thinking I would be going back to Oklahoma soon for his funeral. So, anyways, Thanksgiving will be a hard time for me and I had a meltdown Saturday night relating to all of that (plus the six glasses of wine didn't help). I did okay on Sunday...could've done without the chips at a Mexican place for lunch but not too bad. Still over on the calories but it'll be okay. I'm getting better about stopping when I'm full and not eating everything on my plate just b/c it's there. Small victories, right?

My New Year Challenge and Other Odds and Ends

Since it's been a while, I've got lots to share so I'm going to do this post in an outline form so it's a bit easier to follow.

New Year Challenge

Inspired by Ro, I've created a New Year Challenge for myself. I started on Tuesday and it will go until January 1, 2008 (approximately 6 weeks). My goals during this time are:
1) Stay within calorie budget (1800 weekdays and 2050 on Saturdays and Sundays).
2) Get in 2700 minutes of workout time.
3) Follow budget.
4) Appreciate what I have.

These are almost identical to the goals I set for myself in November but I ended up getting a massive head cold last week and could barely move from the couch to the bed. Plus, I have all of my business school applications in now so my stress level has decreased dramatically. I've also set a goal of losing 12 pounds by New Year's Day but I'm not concerned if I don't reach that goal, as long as I've followed the four main goals above.

My reward for following this challenge is going to be the entire series of "Gilmore Girls." I really love this show and have always wanted to own the seasons and now that the entire series is all together, it will be a bit more affordable and something I really want.

Gone for So Long

I know it's been a week! Ack! I had all intentions of posting earlier this week but I had a b-school application due yesterday so I spent most of the work week on that. And as I previously mentioned, I got a nasty head cold last Wednesday so I ended up getting a 5 day weekend and doing nothing much more than laying down a lot. I felt a lot better after three days and it's because I listened to my body and just stopped and relaxed a bit.

But I realized on Tuesday that I was tired of this extra weight and I was done with eating bad stuff and being lazy, I wanted to feel better. (Side note: I think I got so sick b/c I was eating crap all last week, not worrying about fruits or veggies or good stuff, just eating a lot of sugar and crap.) So I created this New Year Challenge for myself...basically focusing on eating well and exercising over the next 6 weeks. It's a long enough time period to see significant results but a short enough time period to be able to stick with it.

I went to the gym on Wednesday and Thursday and did 90 minutes of cardio both times! (60 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes on the bike.) I'm going again today even though it will be a cold walk to the gym.

Weekend Plans

Not too much going on this weekend. S and I are going to "Bonefish Grill" tonight for dinner. It opened up near my apartment a few months ago and he keeps promising to take me but since he doesn't like fish/seafood at all, he's been somewhat reluctant to go. I told him last night I would buy dinner tonight if we went to "Bonefish" as a celebratory dinner out. Like I mentioned before, I have all of my applications in, I found out this week that I've been promoted and am getting a bonus, plus I also found out this week that I "passed" the first phase of one of my applications and am moving into the next phase (this particular school cuts 1/2 of their applicants during the first phase) which is an interview!! So lots to celebrate.

We've got several errands to run this weekend. Some fun stuff, like looking for Christmas decorations (we're going to get a real tree!!). Hopefully, we can go ice skating. We went last weekend on a whim (this was on Sunday after I was feeling much better) and had so much fun!! I want to go again...S is less enthusiastic but I bet I can talk him into it! :)

Well, I suppose I should wrap this post up. It's getting looooong. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Where is my motivation?

Don't know what's happened to it. It has completely disappeared.

Well, big news...had a car wreck yesterday morning. Totally the other guy's fault for being an idiot and not turning into his lane. Instead he turned into my lane and hit the passenger side of my truck. Luckily, no one was hurt but it makes me mad b/c I take good care of my vehicle and then some foreign idiot who doesn't understand the rules of the road hits me and screws it up. After the guy hit me, S and I were trying to explain to him that you can't just turn into whichever lane you want to turn into, you have to turn into your lane. He totally didn't get it! He thought he was completely right to turn into whatever lane he wanted. Ummm, if we could turn into whatever land we wanted, no one would ever know which lane someone was going into and it would be a mess! There are rules for a reason, you freakin' idiot! If you don't understand these rules, you shouldn't be driving!! The damage isn't horrible, I'll have to have a new door put on and some body work done but no one was hurt and since we were turning, we were going slow. It's just such a freakin' hassle. I have an appointment Thursday morning to have an insurance person look at it and make an estimate. Stupid freakin' idiot!!

Well, moving on (and back to the title of this post)...I have had no motivation the last few months. I'm eating horribly and not working out. It all changes Friday. I'm done with the half-hearted attempts to change. I want to be back at 165 where I felt really comfortable with my body. I'll weigh in Friday morning and it will start from there. No more eating when I'm not hungry or eating entire boxes of little donuts (this morning!) or not working out b/c "I Don't feel like it." Times are changing. I want to be healthy. At 24, I shouldn't be worried about being overweight or feel gross or not want S to touch me sometimes b/c I know I'm fat. This is it, motivation or not, things are changing. I once read/heard somewhere that if you sit around waiting for motivation to come, you'll never change. It will never be the right time or place or there will always be some other reason to not change. Even though I'm getting a cold (explains the migraine from last week), I'm changing. I'm done with eating bad or eating things I don't really want to spend the calories on. Things are going to be different, mark my words!

Weekend Check-In

Well, I weighed yesterday and the scale said 182.2 which is up, not down. I didn't have a great week, eating and exercising wise. With my migraine on Wednesday, things went downhill. I did make it to the gym Thursday and did 20 minutes on the treadmill, 20 minutes on the arc trainer, and 5 minutes of strength. Yesterday I didn't make it to the gym b/c I ran around doing errands. Getting the margarita machine ended up taking 2 hours to get (silly me, I anticipated only about 30 minutes)...oy vey! Even though I didn't get to the gym, I was doing a lot of errands.

This morning, I woke up and S went to the office and I decided to stay home and clean rather than go with him. So, I've gotten the apartment nice and clean and it smells wonderful (and it's not even 9 AM yet)! I've got the Food Network on and I'm about to get dressed for the day and make dinner menus for next week and a grocery list. Well, this is just a quick check-in and I better keep moving so when S gets back, I'm ready to run some errands. Okla. State plays Texas at 3:30 so we're heading to the Alumni Association watch party to enjoy the game! Go Pokes!!!

It's a New Month!

Well, I did end up going home early yesterday. My headache was just getting worse and since I didn't have any work to do, I decided it was stupid to sit at work in pain. So I went home. I made mac and cheese when I got home but didn't eat the entire box. I also made pumpkin bread (my mom sent me her recipe) but it didn't taste as good as hers does. :( Something was wrong with my tummy in the afternoon...I don't know if it was the mac and cheese or just feeling crummy. So eating yesterday, not so good--I'm estimating 2885 calories for the day which puts me over by 915 for the week so far. But it's okay, I wasn't feeling well. Today I'm back at work and looking forward to my workout in a couple of hours!

Since it's a new month I'm going to set some goals for November! November will be a calmer month for me. I only have one application left and it's due November 15. I don't have any trips planned although S and I are talking about taking a trip next weekend (Veterans Day weekend) since we have Veterans Day off and it will be our one year anniversary! Okay, back to setting goals:
1. Will stay at 1800 calories/day (with 250 more calories allowed on Saturdays and Sundays).
2. 1530 minutes of exercise. 20 workouts in November with 11 being cardio & strength, 9 being only cardio. (11*90=990; 9*60=540; 990+540=1530 total)
3. Follow budget! I should be getting a raise in mid-November as I'll have two years of service and be eligible for a promotion.
4. Stop and appreciate what I have.

So, two weight loss related goals and two non-weight loss related goals. The weight loss goals are pretty straightforward. As is the third goal of following my budget. The fourth is something I've noticed lately about myself...I get frustrated with S and don't fully appreciate what a great guy he is. Sure, he has his faults but I need to appreciate him more. I have also been complaining about my job a lot and I'm done with it! It only makes me feel worse about my job when I complain about it all the time and it's completely my fault that I'm still here. I could've left a while ago but I chose to stay so now I have to live with that decision.

Well, I think this post is long enough. I hope to comment on blogs and update my page with my new November goals!

Later!

Happy Halloween!

Honestly, Halloween is about the easiest holiday for me. I don't have kids and don't get any trick-or-treaters since I live in an apartment building so I don't buy any candy. And I don't really like candy...if I'm going to spend my calories on something sweet, it's a cookie or brownie, homemade of course, not candy. I haven't even seen anyone in a costume yet! Well, anyways, food yesterday was good (again!), only 1735 calories. As I was going to sleep last night, I was hungry and I thought about getting up and having something small but couldn't justify eating right before sleeping. I went to bed with a headache last night and woke up with one. Immediately when I woke up, I took two Tylenol. I also felt a little sick to my stomach this morning. My head still hurts. I haven't been sleeping well at all. I don't know what it is. I've thought about going home but I don't feel that bad and I really want to stick with working out and eating well this week. I know if I go home, I won't workout and I'll stop at the store to get the things for macaroni and cheese. I'll just stick it out at least until my workout. If I still feel bad after that, I might go home. Besides I have Friday off as my AWS day so I'll get to hang out then and watch my "Gilmore Girls." (Can you tell I'm trying to talk myself into staying at work?) Well, yesterday, I did 25 minutes on the elliptical and 35 minutes on the bike. Go me!!

Okay, I need to start working on something b/c thinking about going home makes me want to go home. Later!

Going Well

Yesterday was a great day! I went to the gym and did 60 minutes on the elliptical and 25 minutes of strength training. My calories yesterday were at 1695...I could have had an evening snack but I wasn't hungry so I decided to pass. Even though you can't technically "save" up calories, I'm just going to keep them. I'm sure I'll use them this weekend when we have the new margarita machine. We've bought some margarita mix but it's 140 calories for 1/2 cup! Add that with the tequila and you're talking about 250 calories for a small margarita. I'm going to research some sugar-free/lighter options since we'll probably be having a lot more margaritas now!

Not much else to report. Got my application in this morning so I just have one left and it's not due until November 15! Since I don't have a lot of work right now that'll be easy to get done while I'm at work. I'm going to try to find some finance/accounting textbooks and review them before going to school next year. It'll be good for me plus it will give me something to do at work. Okay, well, that's all I've got today.

Later!

Weekend Wrap-Up and This Week's Plan

Well, I didn't do too bad this weekend. I definitely ate more than I needed but, for the most part, I only ate when I was hungry. Which is a huge accomplishment for me. I didn't follow my budget that well...sweaters at Old Navy, haircut and wax, eating out Friday night and Saturday for lunch, etc. I am determined that in November I will follow my budget. I really want to pay off my credit cards before going to school next fall. I had a good weekend and got quite a bit accomplished. I have an application due tomorrow but I'm not too worried about it, I have today and tomorrow at work to finish it up and get it submitted. Next weekend, S and I are buying a Margaritaville margarita machine! I'm excited! We found one at Costco for $240 (everywhere else they are $300).

So, here's this week's plan:
1. Go to the gym Monday-Friday. 60 minutes of cardio all five days, 30 minutes of strength training three days, 10 minutes stretching all five days.
2. Stay under 1800 calories all week (including the weekend).
3. Weigh in on Friday morning.
4. Follow budget and get back on track financially.

Alright, well I've got to get back to my application. Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!!

MIA

Well, I've been MIA from this blog for a while. Went back to my alma mater this weekend for homecoming and had a lot of fun. There's never enough time when we go back now b/c my family lives there as well as S's friends and now his dad lives there. So between all the people we "had" to see and juggling what everyone wanted us to do, it was a bit hectic.

I've been counting calories for the last few days. I weighed this morning and 181.0 is what I saw. Before I go back to school, I will be down to 150, at least. I walked yesterday at lunch. It's been raining here in DC for the last couple of days so I went in between two periods of rain. I won't make it today b/c I have lunch with S and S's uncle (who happens to be in town). I really fell short of my October fitness and eating goals. I think I set myself up for failure with a lofty goal. Christmas is just a couple of months away and I want to be down to 170. We're going to South Dakota to see S's family...it's a surprise for his mom!

Well, today I don't feel like doing any work (luckily, I don't have any work!). I am going to update the blog this morning with links to the blogs I read daily. I should work on my remaining two business school applications but I'm not as excited about these two schools so it's even harder to make myself work on them. Plus, S has to work this weekend so I usually go with him to the office and work on my applications then. I wanted to stay home today and seriously thought about it but I have to pick up my commuter subsidy today and that $110 is well worth my appearance at work for a couple of hours.

I'm really thinking I'm going to have to get out of this job. I don't think I can stay here until next fall. It's so frustrating. I am going to try to stick it out b/c it's minimal responsibility and work so I have lots of time to do my own thing. But I don't know if I'll make it. This job just puts me in such a bad mood everyday. I am really unhappy here. I just feel so depressed when I'm here and the only positive thing I can say about the job is that I have plenty of free time to do my own thing. The last few months when I'm out of the office, I don't even fill out the leave forms...I would sit at work and do nothing so why should I take leave if I choose to stay home and actually accomplish something. I just think about all the time I've wasted at this job. I have to focus on the changes I am making...I'm applying to school and all this ranting about my job has inspired me to put in 100% on my applications.

Alrighty...off to actually update the blog.

Been A Bit

Well, it's been a bit since I've posted. Last weekend I went to Chicago to visit two schools and this weekend I'm going to Oklahoma for my alma mater's homecoming. In the midst of these two trips, I had one application due last week and two due this week so it's been a bit hectic. Surprisingly, not too bad but I feel like I've slacked off on my applications the past couple of weeks which is really when I should have been hitting them the hardest. To my credit, the only thing I had left to do on my applications was revise my essays one more time. I'll find out in about a month if I'm still in the running for two schools. The third school I already had my interview with and I'll find out in January (at the latest). I hope I find out sooner on the third school as it is my top choice. The biggest problem has been my recommenders getting their letters in. I can't submit my applications until their letters are in so I end up waiting on them.

Enough about all that. This is a weight loss blog so back to that. Hmmm...not much to report. Holding steady right now. With the trips it's hard for me to exercise and eat really well. I was proud of myself in Chicago...I never ate until I was stuffed. When I get back next Monday, it's back to working out every day and eating right and counting my calories. I'm mad at myself for gaining back 15 pounds. Before I go to school next fall I will be down to 150, at least. My secret goal is 140 but I passed that weight somewhere in grade school. I'm going to update my blog a bit today and get some links up to the other blogs I read. Next week I want to start commenting on blogs...I've been lurking for several months now but it's time to come out of the "lurkers closet." I have some goals for the week I get back so perhaps I'll post about those later.

Off to update!

Food and Activity Log-Oct042007

Activity: none :(

Food: 2490 total calories...ouch!
I'm not going to write down every single thing I eat anymore. It's a little tiring and pretty boring. But yesterday I was over on my calories. Here's what happened...I had to hand off this project yesterday to someone else since I won't be here to finish it up and I realized that there was no way I was going to get it finished before I left for Chicago. So yesterday morning I worked on my applications and got 5 possible interview questions answered. Then I get word that I actually am passing this project off (to someone who doesn't have access to the files, can't log on to the server, and doesn't know the program) so I have to get some organization done for the project and get it where someone else can understand what I've done. Plus I had to redo some of the work I had already done. So I work away on that (hence why no workout/walk yesterday) and get it where I can comfortably pass it off the remainder of the day. On Thursdays we have a weekly seminar with guest speakers and we have a new social event after the seminars where basically we stand around and talk and eat and drink. I haven't had an opportunity to go yet so I decided yesterday I would go. So I went and ate Oreos and chips. When I got home, I wasn't hungry for dinner. I warmed up some food for S and snacked around in the kitchen. S fell asleep early and then I got hungry in the middle of The Office so I ate a bowl of cereal. I had already had 1790 calories before I got home and then with cereal and snackies, my total calories were up to 2490. But that's okay because I've been a bit low the last couple of days and I can make up for it over the next few days.

I did a sneak peek at the scale this morning, 179.6! I want the numbers to continue to go down so I do need to watch my calorie intake. Chicago will be a challenge but I'm going to make good decisions and choose the right fuel for my body!

Well, I've got some things I need to do since it's my last day at work for a week. Toodles!

It's Thursday!

Today's Thursday which means tomorrow's Friday!! I've decided to take all of next week off from work. Monday we have off b/c it's Columbus Day and I was going to be gone Wednesday-Friday anyways to go to Chicago so I decided to take Tuesday off as well. I have to get four of my applications submitted and prep for an interview before we go to Chicago and with the way things have been at work, I haven't had the time this week to make substantial progress. I spent yesterday morning uploading resumes and transcripts to schools' websites and got a little bit of work done on one essay. Today my goals are to write answers to 5 potential interview questions and get revisions done on the remaining essays so that I can send the essays out to friends and family to get some feedback. I still have this "urgent" work project to do but I'm trying to pass it off to someone else and today I'm focusing on my applications. I love how in my entire two years here, I have never had an urgent project and then I get one the week I'm trying to get my applications done. Typically I have to beg to get work and even then it's very sporadic and I'll only be busy for a week (if I'm lucky). To be quite honest, I don't have any problems working on my applications instead of my work project...there's several people in my division who can do the work project and it's selfish but these applications are my future and there's no future for me at this job.

Well, I've got a clear set of my goals for today so I better get to it!

Food and Activity Log-Oct032007

Activity: 60 minute walk on the Mall, approx. 3.5 miles

Food: 1750 total calories
6:30 AM-1 cup skim milk and 2 Tbsp. fat free creamer (both in coffee) [150]
8:45 AM-1 cinnamon apple muffin [150]
10 AM-1 yoplait light and 1 cup (total) strawberries and grapes [150]
1 PM-Veggie chili (1/6 recipe), 1 cup baby carrots, and 1 banana [500]
4 PM-1 cup chocolate covered popcorn [150]
7 PM-1 Coors Light bottle, Tortellini with homemade sauce, and Antipasto Salad w/ no dressing [650]

Second Day on Plan Thoughts

Well, yesterday I got my food in under 1800 calories but had no exercise. Today I got a 60 minute walk in at lunch. I thought about staying at work and continuing to work on this project or my applications but then I thought about how truly "un-urgent" my work is and how I shouldn't feel guilty for getting out of the office...and then I went on my walk. I fully intended to run but I haven't ran in about two weeks and when I tried to run today, it felt so hard!! So I ended up walking most of the 3.5 miles.

I think I'm going to post some recipes on here or start a recipe blog to keep track of all my healthy recipes I make. It'll have to wait a few weeks until these applications are finished.

Food and Activity Log-Oct022007

Activity: 20 minute walk at lunch (to CVS and back, looking for Pumpkin Spice creamer)

Food: 1720 total calories
6:30 AM-1/2 cup skim milk and 1 Tbsp. fat free creamer, both in coffee [70]
8:15 AM-1 cinnamon apple muffin [150]
10:00 AM-1 yoplait light, 1 cup (total) strawberries and grapes [150]
12:00 PM-1 banana [100]
12:30 PM-Homemade veggie chili (1/6 recipe), 1 cup baby carrots [400]
3:30 PM-1 cup chocolate covered popcorn [150]
7:00 PM-2 Grands biscuits, 3 cups homemade chicken noodle soup [700]

First Day on Plan Thoughts

I did really well yesterday--got a workout in and my food choices were right at 1800 calories. I did have a bit of a problem with snacking while I was starting dinner so today I plan on eating my snack a little later and closer to dinner time. I didn't get to go to the gym today at lunch...the project I have to have finished before I leave from Chicago has suddenly been given the "urgent" status. And I was fully intending to still go to the gym but I got in a rhythm and wanted to figure one thing out (which turned into another thing and so forth). Perhaps I'll get S to go on a walk this evening. I'll definitely go to the gym tomorrow. I felt so good after my workout yesterday!

Food and Activity Log-Oct012007

Activity: 60 minutes on the elliptical at WSC.

Food: 1800 calories total
6:30 AM-1 cup skim milk and 2 Tbsp. fat free creamer (both in coffe) [150]
8:30 AM-1 cinnamon apple muffin [150]
9:45 AM-1 yoplait light and 1 cup (total) strawberries and grapes [150]
1:00 PM-Homemade veggie chili (1/6 recipe), 100 calorie pack Goldfish crackers, and one banana [550]
3:00 PM-100 calorie pack Pepperidge Farms Chocolate Chessman cookies [100]
While cooking dinner-1 cup chocolate covered popcorn [150]
6:30 PM-1 BBQ Porkchop, Salad (no dressing), 1 Niblet corn on the cob, 1 small potato [430]
8:00 PM-Sugar free hot chocolate packet (made with water) served with 1/3 cup mini marshmallows and 2 Tbsp. fat free whipped cream [120]

Wish it actually felt like the first of October.

Well, today's Oct 1 and the weather feels like August. I wish it would hurry up and get cooler.

Weighed in this morning at 181.2 lb. So that'll be my starting weight. Had a good Sunday: got some work done on my bschool apps, went to Target and the grocery store, and watched "3:10 to Yuma." Really good movie, I highly recommend it. I'm so upset that I haven't been able to find the coffeemate pumpkin flavor yet. I love pumpkin and love the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte but calorie and money wise, it's getting expensive. Every weekend I look for the pumpkin coffeemate and every weekend I come up empty handed.

I did have a rough night last night. I woke up at about 5:30 this morning because I was crying. Actually S woke me up b/c I was bawling in my sleep and it woke him up. I had a dream about my grandpa (he died in April) and I was crying in my dream and, apparently, I was actually crying. Anyways, I am hitting the gym at lunch to work out some of this emotional energy.

Today's going well so far. I've got some actual work to do as well as work on my apps so I better get to it. I have a project I need to finish before I'm gone next week for Chicago.

Toodles!

Lazy Saturday

The title describes it all! I have had a very good, lazy Saturday. Woke up this morning and it was a little chilly...got to have some great snuggle time and breakfast with my honey. Then we headed to an outlet mall and scored some great deals. I got brown pants and a pretty dark teal light sweater (both 30% off) at Gap which looks awesome with my skin tone. I also got two pairs of flats at Nine West (buy one, get one 50% off), one a brown suede and the other a brown/camel quilted suede--it looks kind of like a cute sneaker but nicer. We spent about an hour, or more, in Brooks Brothers as S was looking for some weekend, casual clothes that are still nice looking. He finally found a few things but he sure is picky about his clothes for a guy!! He always looks really nice and well put together so the extra thought is worth it. We ate lunch at On the Border and I enjoyed the food. Came home, did some laundry and watching football. I caught a quick nap while the clothes were in the dryer and now S is taking a nap...so why do I still have the tv on football? I can totally change it! I need to scrub the tub and plan dinners for next week, as well as make a grocery list but other than that, I'm going to enjoy the downtime. I might play some Sims 2 while S sleeps.

Later gator!

The Plan

So I should probably share my reasons for starting a blog and what I hope to gain from the experience. As I said in my first post, I lost about 30 pounds my senior year of college (my lowest weight was 168). I was still a few pounds from my goal of 165 which would have put me in the healthy range for BMI, barely. I moved to Washington D.C. in November 2005 with all intentions to lose the remaining few pounds. Well, when I was in college I was constantly moving, going from class to class or up and down at work. Now at my job I literally sit all day in front of a computer. Unless I make an effort to exercise, the only exercise I get is walking from the Metro station to my office and back to the Metro station (a total of about 16 blocks). Add that to the fact that I eat at work out of boredom and I'm back up to about 180. To be honest, I had only gained a couple of pounds back and then I met my boyfriend last November and my weight has steadily climbed in the last year.

So as I mentioned before, I lost the 30 pounds in college by counting calories and working out 5 or 6 days a week. Since I've had success with this method before, that's what I'm choosing this time. Over the last few months, I keep recommitting myself to this plan but within a few days I fall back into my old ways. I've thought about it a lot and determined the reason I continue to do this is because I don't want to change my life. I'm too comfortable with eating what I want and not considering the ramifications of my choices. But I'm tired of my clothes feeling tight and feeling lazy and unfit. I want to be a strong, healthy woman.

I've been reading weight loss blogs for a while, lurking around. It seems a lot of people have success with blogging, it keeps you accountable. So I'm looking at my blog as a way to keep me accountable and also as a way to share my experiences. My plan is to write down my food and exercise for the day, every weekday and possibly some sort of weekend wrap-up. As far as keeping track of my calories, I've used a small notebook in the past (and this seems to work well because I can take it with me anywhere) but I also tried SparkPeople for a couple of days. I like that SparkPeople gives you all kinds of information about the food you're eating but it's a little hard to use in the beginning b/c of inputting all the information about foods they don't have in their database. So I haven't decided...

Monday's the day!! I'm ready...my body is tired of this overprocessed food and no activity.

October Goals

My goals for the month of October:


1) Finish business school applications. Some are due in mid-October and others aren't due for a while but I just want to be done.

2) Exercise for 1860 minutes (31 days x 60 minutes of exercise a day = 1860 minutes). I realize this is a large amount but when I workout, it's usually for 90 minutes so 1860 minutes / 90 minutes = almost 21 workouts, leaving me with 10 days of rest.

3) Count calories for all days (including weekends) and stay with an average of 1800 calories/day.

4) Follow budget! This will be difficult as I have two, possibly three, trips planned for October.


I may have some more but these are the most important. So why am I waiting until October to begin these goals? Being a little OCD, I always like things to start at the beginning of the month, week, etc. Plus, I'm in the middle of writing application essays, which are stressing me out a little, and giving myself a few days to "psych" up for October.


Let me just say this: I haven't worked out or ran in several days and yesterday as I was walking to the Metro stop, I wanted to break out in a run so bad. My legs were aching to be used. Perhaps I'll post my reasons for starting a blog/what I hope to gain from the experience later.

The Beginning

Hmmm...where to start? Well, I'll tell you a bit about myself. I'm 24 years old and live in the Washington DC area, originally from Oklahoma. I work for the federal government but am currently applying for business school to get my MBA (Masters of Business Administration). I won't start school until next fall which seems an eternity to me. I gained a lot of weight my first three years of college. My senior year I lost 30 pounds by counting calories and working out. Since I moved to DC after graduation, I've gained 15 of those pounds back mainly because I sit all day long. I am rededicating myself to exercising and eating right. This is a good start--more to come tomorrow as I let myself think about some goals.