It's been awhile....

Hello!

So it has been awhile since I have updated my blog, life has been so busy with work, school, family and friends! I am still moving along in my weight loss journey! Last Thursdays weigh-in went well, I was down 3.5 lbs, that is down 30.8 lbs all together. It has been amazing to loss this weight but I still struggle with my inner voice that tells me it is not good enough, I have so much more to go, my old clothes still don't fit me, etc... I find myself making so many changes on this journey, I am eating the medifast meals instead of the "regular" food I am used to, I have made major changes to my dinners, only having protein, greens, and healthy fats but the one thing I do indulge in once in a while is a couple glasses of wine or vodka and club soda. How bad is this I wonder? I tell you I definitely feel guilty but as I sit here in type I am telling myself I have to be realistic, I enjoy a glass or two of wine once in a while. Anyone have any advice for me?

I currently on business in Seattle and what a town! There are so many delicious restaurants here and although I am utilizing self control and I have to say no to a lot of things, there are a lot of options for me! Seattle has so many fish options and they are big on local, fresh, organic foods. It is practical straight from the land to your plate! So fresh and clean, I love it! The hotel I am staying at as an amazing gym as well, I have worked out everyday which it helping me stay focused and hopefully leads to a successful weight loss week!

To weigh yourself everyday or not weigh yourself everyday, that is the question!!!!

So since I have started this diet I have been a little obsessed with weighing myself! Now there are things I have grown to love about doing this and things I have grown to hate!

Things I love:

#1- It is great to see the scale move down day to day! (that is when it moves down)

#2- It keeps me motivated and reminds me why I am making this life change

Things I hate:

#1- This really has nothing to do with weighing myself everyday, but my scale at home weighs me about 4.5 lbs less the the scale at Medifast...annoying!!!!!

#2-The scale not moving!

#3-The scale going up!

#4- Being obsessed with the number and not enjoying the journey!

It looks like I have 50% more things that I hate about weighing myself everyday! Maybe I should lay off! The thing is, the motivation factor is huge and I love to see the number go down, but the reality is that it will not go down everyday and I need to be o.k. with that!

I weigh in every week at Medifast and that is great and every since I have started the diet I have not gained any weight but last week I only lost 1.1 lbs.! I know, people always say, that is so great or at least you didn't gain! This is what I struggle with, the number! I do not want to seem ungrateful for what I have lost, I just hope with all the work I am doing, I see the weight loss above 2lbs on Thursday!

What are your thoughts on weighing yourself? Do you weigh yourself everyday?

Exercise....

Today was what I like to call a productive day!!! I had the day off because of Presidents Day, thank you Washington!!! So, why was my day so productive??? I cleaned the whole house, worked out, finished the laundry and got a pedicure with Katie! After I cleaned my house this morning, I was on a mission to work out but to be honest it took some convincing after scrubbing showers, kitchen counters, and vacuuming! Now that I sit here relaxing after my day I am so happy I exercised! It makes me feel so  much better. I found an article at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676 that discussed 7 benefits of regular physical activity. All of the reason listed below we have heard before but it doesn't hurt to hear them again!

1. Exercise improves your mood.

Need to blow off some steam after a stressful day? A workout at the gym or a brisk 30-minute walk can help you calm down.

Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. You'll also look better and feel better when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem. Regular physical activity can even help prevent depression.

2. Exercise combats chronic diseases.

Worried about heart disease? Hoping to prevent osteoporosis? Physical activity might be the ticket.
Regular physical activity can help you prevent — or manage — high blood pressure. Your cholesterol will benefit, too. Regular physical activity boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol while decreasing triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly by lowering the buildup of plaques in your arteries.
And there's more. Regular physical activity can help you prevent type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer.

3. Exercise helps you manage your weight.

Want to drop those excess pounds? Trade some couch time for walking or other physical activities.
This one's a no-brainer. When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn — and the easier it is to keep your weight under control. You don't even need to set aside major chunks of time for working out. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk during your lunch break. Do jumping jacks during commercials. Better yet, turn off the TV and take a brisk walk. Dedicated workouts are great, but physical activity you accumulate throughout the day helps you burn calories, too. 

4. Exercise boosts your energy level.

Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Don't throw in the towel. Regular physical activity can leave you breathing easier.
Physical activity delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. In fact, regular physical activity helps your entire cardiovascular system — the circulation of blood through your heart and blood vessels — work more efficiently. Big deal? You bet! When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you'll have more energy to do the things you enjoy.

5. Exercise promotes better sleep.

Struggling to fall asleep? Or stay asleep? It might help to boost your physical activity during the day.
A good night's sleep can improve your concentration, productivity and mood. And you guessed it — physical activity is sometimes the key to better sleep. Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. There's a caveat, however. If you exercise too close to bedtime, you may be too energized to fall asleep. If you're having trouble sleeping, you might want to exercise earlier in the day.

6. Exercise can put the spark back into your sex life.

Are you too tired to have sex? Or feeling too out of shape to enjoy physical intimacy? Physical activity to the rescue.

Regular physical activity can leave you feeling energized and looking better, which may have a positive effect on your sex life. But there's more to it than that. Regular physical activity can lead to enhanced arousal for women, and men who exercise regularly are less likely to have problems with erectile dysfunction than are men who don't exercise — especially as they get older.

7. Exercise can be — gasp — fun!

Wondering what to do on a Saturday afternoon? Looking for an activity that suits the entire family? Get physical!

Physical activity doesn't have to be drudgery. Take a ballroom dancing class. Check out a local climbing wall or hiking trail. Push your kids on the swings or climb with them on the jungle gym. Plan a neighborhood kickball or touch football game. Find a physical activity you enjoy, and go for it. If you get bored, try something new. If you're moving, it counts!

I have always been the type of person who likes to exercise, but having it be regular is a struggle! My hope is to get a routine down that I can stick to. When I struggle I will review the 7 reasons above!  

 

 

 

Weigh-In

Yesterday was weigh in day and I am doing another 3.4 lbs! That is a total of 24 lbs so far! I am so excited and feeling so good!

Traveling

So, it has been a crazy week! During the weekend we had Eric's Grandparent's staying with us! It was so good to see them! We kept them busy by playing darts, cards, and hiking Cowles Mountain! Yep, that's right they hiked Cowles Mt. they are my heroes!
We had the family over for dinner on Saturday night and we made street taco's with rice and beans. Eric and I passed on the rice, beans, and tortilla and had all the other fixings on a bed of lettuce. It tasted so good and it felt good to make an adjustment like that and still enjoy the meal! On Sunday my niece Morgan got baptized, so of course that meant a party! My mom made the greatest meal! Since we are all watching what we are eating, she put together a salad bar, with all the fixings, veggies, grilled chicken and turkey! I did give in to one temptation, and that is my mom's homemade blue cheese dressing! I probably had about 1/4 cup once the day was over! I hope it does not effect my weight loss too much this week!
After that busy weekend I had to catch a flight at 6am on Monday morning to Tampa for a conference. This is the first time I have been away from my routine since starting the diet and it has been different. I am so proud of everything I have sad no to, and I have stayed on my diet, It is nerve wrecking not have complete control over my lean and green meals but I think I have made wise choices!

Monday Night: Tapas dinner with chicken, steak, ahi, and veggies. 2 glasses of wine (This dinner was so good, we went there twice!)
Tuesday Night: Chicken Ceaser Salad, no croutons, dressing on the side. 2 glasses of wine
Wednesday Night:  Tapas dinner with chicken, steak, ahi, and veggies. 1 Vodka and Club Soda.

I went to the gym once as well! I think this is pretty good given the fact that I have been around fried appetizers, dessert, and we went to an amusement park which I brought my medifast meals to!

I hope my weigh in goes well! Let you know on Friday! 

What is Medifast you ask?!?!?!

It has been another good week! I lost 2 lbs  during my weigh-in on Thursday, that is officially 20.6lbs! Whenever I tell people I am on Medifast, they kind of look at me weird and I have to explain what it is. Some people automatically think we are fasting, but that is not the case.

We go to weekly weigh-ins and have a one on one meeting, after the meeting I go "shopping" in the medifast store. Everyday I have to eat 5 medifast meals and one lean and green meal. The medifast meals can be anything from bars, soups, shakes, eggs, oatmeal, pancakes! It is all packaged food that is bought at medifast weight control center, each meal is about 100 calories, and the perfect combination of protein and carbs. Once a day I have a lean and green meal. The lean and green consist of 5,6,or 7 oz of protein, the serving size depends on how lean the protein is, along with the protein I have 3 servings of veggies and one serving of a healthy fat. The healthy fat serving size also depends on how lean the protein is. I am very satisfied at the end of the day, of course I miss certain foods, but that is part of the process, those cravings go away the longer I am on this routine. Here is a typical day:

6:30am: Black Coffee
8am: Medifast Eggs
10:30am: Medifast Peanut Butter Bar
12:30: Medifast Soup (It is really good, it is not just broth, there is consistency!)
4pm: Medifast Parmesan Cheese Puffs
7:30pm: Lean and Green: 6oz grilled chicken, 3 cups of lettuce, 2 tbsp of salad dressing (Newman's Own or Marie's Yogurt Dressing)
9pm: Medifast S'more Bar

See doesn't that sound good, and look how much I am eating!

I realized the other day that I have not posted a "before" picture yet. I found the picture that made me say OH MY GOD when I saw it. This picture was taken Thanksgiving Weekend right before I went zip-lining in Catalina 2010. I actually out on about 5 more lbs. through the holidays.

I have a busy weekend ahead! Hope to stay focused and centered!

Weekend Review

All and all it was a successful Super Bowl Sunday as far as my diet goes. The commercials were so so and the game, well I hate both of those teams so I really didn't care! Chargers don't worry, next year we will make it!

In my previous post I told you that Eric and I were starting the day of with a hike to burn some calories and keep us motivated through the day! When we got to Cowles Mountain it was very apparent that we were not the only one's who had that idea! It was crowded

The hike really kicked my butt, I think Eric got to the top of the mountain about 10 minutes before me, but I made! It took about 40 minutes to get to the top, I will shoot for 39 minutes next time :)  The view from the top is gorgeous, you can see all of San Diego.

As far as food yesterday I was so proud of the temptations I said no to! There were chips, nachos, chili cheese dip, queso dip, candy  and I said no to all if it and stuck to the veggie platter!

The kabobs turned out so delicious. We used chicken and steak, each kabob had the perfect protein portion and lots of veggies: onions, mushrooms,  yellow, green and red bell peppers! Our sides were rice, pasta salad, fruit and green salad. I stuck to just the green salad...

One more difficult social event down that gives me hope that I can do it! This diet has difficult days but all in all it is worth, I got to step on the scale the day after the Super Bowl and see the scale down 2 lbs, not up 5!