Saturday, January 8, 2011

149 days to go!

Hello World,

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Your reflection is the most obvious answer, however, when I look in the mirror, I see all of my flaws. I wish that my eyes were blue instead of dark brown. I wish that my gymnast body would turn into a dainty lady's body. I wish my face was more beautiful. Above all, I wish that I weighed 25 pounds less like I did 3 years ago.

3 years ago, my grandmother died and I went through a lot emotionally. I weighed in at about 130 pounds then. Since then, I have graduated from college with my Bachelor's, I have secured a job with the county being a high school English teacher, I got married, and now I am in graduate school. Since my wedding in February 2010, I have gained 22 pounds. I, embarassingly must say, weigh 152 pounds. I can no longer fit into my size 4 skirts without my stomach hanging out. I can no longer look and feel beautiful in my high waisted, pencil skirts anymore. I feel more comfortable in a sweatshirt with jeans than I do with a top and jeans; probably because I feel so self-conscious in jeans. I don't necessarily have a gut, but I think I have a little belly now.

This blog is going to help me change. I have tried to diet and exercise to lose weight for 9 months now with no success. Last February, I weighed 133 pounds because I has a wedding gown to fit into. In the last 9 months, I have gained this weight and I am giving myself 5 months to take it all back off. I have tried Weight Watchers, and just counting calories, but I will sabotage everything simply because I feel so terrible about myself. No, I am not depressed by any means, but my self-esteem needs a lot of work. I want to be able to look in my mirror 5 months from now and see what I used to see and feel what I used to feel.

I feel if I blog about it, then I am responsible for owning what I am doing. If I sneak a piece of chocolate, I must be honest here and admit that. I am also hoping for guidance, advice, inspiration, anything at this point on my journey. I cannot lie to the public and at the end of all of this I am hoping that I can look back at all of my posts and appreciate the hard work that I put in to make myself better. I am going to stay committed to myself because I am tired of feeling this way. When someone tells me I look beautiful, I want to believe it in my heart and actually agree with them. I am doing this on my own...without a bootcamp, without a trainer. I am empowering myself to be the writer of my own destiny.

Here's to day 1 of this journey.
Today for brunch I had the serving size for frosted mini wheats and I had a banana. I drink skim milk because of a lactose intolerance tendency, but I only put in about 1/3 of a cup in my cereal. This all equaled 5 points out of the 29 I am allotted for weight watchers.

I am about to go work out for 2 hours- 60 minutes for cardio and 60 minutes for weight training. I'll probably have a fat free light yogurt as a snack between this time and dinner which is 2 points.

For dinner I am goingto eat my leftovers from dinner last night at Mossfire Grill out in Five Points Square. It is half 3/4 of a chicken and spinach quesadilla. This is worth about 8 or 9 points because the cheese in it is not reduced fat.
I will probably be a little under my points for today, but I decided to sleep in and have brunch instead of breakfast and lunch as two separate meals.

I appreciate you following me on this journey and any advice or encouragement you can give, please don't hesitate!!!!!!

Only 149 days left :)

3 comments:

  1. I'm glad you are doing this in a very healthy way. Here is some advice:

    Step 1: Believe in yourself. Stick to it. Be determined. It's a lifestyle.
    Record. Write everything you eat down in a journal. EVERY SINGLE THING! "If you bite it, write it." (If you eat two teaspoons of ketchup, write it. Ten grapes, write it.)

    Step 2: Manage your carbs. Carbs are important. Embrace the different carbs.
    Leave em carbs: bagel, muffin, scones, pizza (they make you hungrier)
    Love em carbs: Brown rice, corn, peas, whole wheat bread. Sauces: soy sauce (Leave carbs for dinner) Spice and seasoning are okay. Oregano, paprika...seasonings are okay.

    Step 3: Fiber: helps keep digestive track regular, keeps us full. TWO SERVINGS A DAY
    Fiber crackers (Matzo crackers or Triscuits have at least 3g of fiber. Matzo has 90 calories.) High fiber cereals. (Breakfast only.)

    Step 4: Water: straight water. Water makes a difference. Helps fight fat and hunger. Get your water in the beginning of the day. A liter by lunch (4 cups). I find it easier to drink from sports bottles (like 32oz) by an hour, I'm already refilling it! You need at least 8 or 9 cups (8oz) water a day and I get more than that now.


    Portions:
    -iPhone/Blackberry = the size of what protein should like. (Meat/fish/chicken)
    -Clenched fist = brown rice, sweet potato...your portion of carb.
    -Fill up on veggies.

    Breakfast options:
    -Greek yogurt. Fiber cereal. (Special K is really good) Berries. You can add vanilla extract. ;)
    -Scrambled eggs, tomato. Crackers
    -Oatmeal!!!!!

    Lunch options:
    -Chicken Cesar Salad w/ Balsamic Vinagertte. Or parmesean cheese. Keep dressing on the side. (make sure it's not a lot.)
    -Soft mozzarella and tomato
    -Turkey sandwich

    Snack in the afternoon: (helps you eat less at dinner) Under 200 calories.
    -cheese
    -Banana,
    -Fruit

    Dinner:
    -Sweet potato, brown rice. Chicken, fish. Organic frozen dinner. (Under 380 calories. Portion control .Thai. Indian.) Frozen veggies.
    -Lately I have been buying Tilapia (it's more like chicken than it is fish). I'll boil it and I will steam the veggies on top. I will add a very thin slice of butter and some seasoning on top. (Seasoning has zero calories) and it's a pretty healthy dinner.


    Eating a hamburger is usually better than eating a salad because it has 280-500 calories.
    Salad - dressing has more calories in it than a burger. Nuggets - They are fried and breaded.

    If you ever go to a Suns game (wink):
    A hot dog is the best choice. Anything sweet/sugary means that the sugar won't satisfy you. This will make you buy something else.

    Appetizer:
    Deviled eggs - they don't have as much mayo. 130-150 calories
    Swedish meat balls
    Hummus and pita - Hummus is healthy in moderation. Made of chick peas. Too much pita means too much bread.


    I hope you reach your goal!!!!

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  2. i'm so excited for you! i've been trying to slim down myself.

    and i love jen's suggestions! here's a few of my own:

    FAT - don't worry about it so much as carbs! and a lot of low-fat products are higher in carbs, so when you have a choice go for the fat over the carbs.

    CARBS - girls' and boys' bodies gain and lost weight very differently, but i can tell you that nothing drops the #s faster than cutting carbs back as far as possible. for the first two weeks especially (or the 3rd & 4th, if you wanna get going first) i would try to go no bread, no potatoes, no rice, no hummus (or any dried beans), NO FRUIT, etc. then you can add 1-2 servings/day of low-carb tortillas, low-carb pancakes, 1 rice cake, berries, or similar. it's a rough few days, but you'll be shocked how quickly your appetite will decrease when you cut carbs out!

    sugar free products: if you haven't already, go shopping and get sugar-free everything: ketchup, relish, syrup, jelly, bbq sauce, peanut butter... almost all of these have hidden carbs.

    veg - replace potatoes or rice at meals with a second veg, but make sure it's from the low-carb list. NO CORN, potatoes, sweet potatoes, or hard squash; limited peas, carrots, and tomatoes. try mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes. i'm totally hooked on roasted bruxelles sprouts lately. asparagus, broccoli, zucchini (sautee then add some crumbled feta and fresh basil)

    veg - can't say it enough, add more veg! i keep a steady supply of cut-up broccoli, green beans, cukes, and carrots around for an afternoon/night snack w' a couple tbsp of ranch dressing. (i steam the broc and beans for a couple min then dunk in ice water so they're not so raw.)

    salad - there are a million and one "meal" salads besides the old chicken caesar - mexican (3oz gr beef sauteed w/ taco seasonings, tomatoes, green peppers, cheese (not sure about carbs in soy cheese if you're keeping kosherish) w/ ranch); nicoise (1/2 can tuna, kalamata olives, chopped egg, tomatoes w/ caesar); antipasto (pepperoni, sausage, tomatoes, olives, pepperocini, broccoli w/ italian - all of the above w/ lettuce, of course.

    cheese & crackers - most nights i have 8 wheat thins with a piece of pepperoni or summer sausage and a piece of cheese. i keep a container of cheese & sausage in the fridge at all times. if i need a pick-me-up midday i'll have 4-6 crackers w/ cheese. just a few carbs.

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  3. cont.

    juicer - for $100 you can get a nice juicer for a great afternoon snack. i have a breville and i love it! super easy clean-up too. (a small cuke, 1-2 stalks celery, a few broccoli florets, 1 roma tomato, a clove garlic, & 1 small carrot makes almost a litre of super fresh low-carb drink.)

    treats - after your 2 carb-free weeks you'll be shocked at how little you crave sweets, and how the littlest bit tastes amazing. if you have the self-control, get a bag of fun-sized candy bars or resse's and allow yourself one each night after dinner. atkins makes some pretty good low-carb bars too. one of my faves: take 1/8 small tub of cool whip, mix w/ 2tbsp peanut butter and 1tsp choc syrup, whip it together for a tasty low-carb dessert!

    aldi - unfortunately i don't think there's one very close to you, but the next time you're down towards daytona, stop in and stock up! if you're not familiar, they contract with all the best brands but have their own store labels, so you save 50% or more on everything - tuna 52¢/can, cheese <$2/8oz, bags of shredded cheese, peanut butter, frozen fish, turkey bacon, ground turkey, lunch meats... i can't rave enough! pretty much everything is 1/2 what you'd pay at a supermarket, even lower than sale prices. i buy tons of blocks and bags of cheese and keep it in the freezer along with tons of portioned meats.

    once you start losing, you can add some carbs back in, but you'll be shocked how little you'll miss them once you adjust to a diet without or with limited.

    it also helps if you and josh are on the same meal plan - because it's not a diet, it's a whole lifestyle.

    i know you'll do great! drop me a line for ideas or encouragement!

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