Moving forward

Ah, the diet... the exercise...THE AGONY!

Just kidding. It really isn't all that bad.  I'm only down about 5 more pounds, but that's mostly because I haven't been so active.  I tried Insanity and I liked it, but an old foot injury flared up and since it's so high-impact, I decided to scrap it for now. I'll probably start it again but I'm going to wear my foot brace so that I don't hobble myself. I'm going to the gym again...I know... BORING! It's better than nothing and doesn't leave my apartment smelling like a men's locker room (no offense, gentlemen).
In other news, I just turned 30 a couple of weeks ago! Aside from getting fat again, I really feel great. My prospects are looking up and I just feel like I'm settling into my own skin.

I decided to start watching my carbohydrate intake.  I've completely eliminated grains and have drastically slashed my sugar intake.  I did the Atkins Diet back in 2003 with great success.  I lost 26 lbs. in about 6 weeks - which is a lot of weight. I was only consuming 21g of net carbs per day. To tell you the truth, I don't remember feeling bad, either. That's just A LOT of weight to lose in that amount of time, and boy, did it come back with a vengence when I stopped doing it. I'm taking a better approach this time. I'm aiming to consume under 50g of carbs per day and increasing my activity level. Don't worry, I'm also monitoring my calorie intake, as well. I'm not talking bacon sandwiches with steaks substituting the bread. I'm a green-a-holic. I belong to a CSA and can't get enough of the stuff.  The real bitch of it all is not being able to eat fruit. I had a bunch of bananas and a couple quarts of peaches that I cut and froze to eat on a later date. To tell you the truth, though I haven't really experienced so many sweet cravings. I am going through a bit of Keto Flu at the moment, but I know it'll pass.

Alright, I guess I'll tie things up here since I'm in a fog.

Until next time...

Calorie Counting + Insanity

Today is a new day - at least that's what I keep telling myself.  I decided to start counting calories again.  I'm normally not a breakfast eater, but I forced myself to eat cereal this morning. I keep reading that it's supposed to jump-start my metabolism.  Plus, I figure that I'm going to need all of the protein that I can get since I'm starting Insanity today. I did the Fit Test a few days ago and that alone seemed to whip me.

To be honest, I feel like crap - both in mind and in body.  That "jump-start" that breakfast gave my metabolism made me nauseous, yet ravenously hungry. Seeing as I failed to prepare snacks, I started rooting around the office.  I found a cereal bar to tide me over until lunch. Great - an extra 120 calories, mostly from sugar. Come to think of it, I should have just eaten the egg that I packed with my salad.  I'm just not in a clear state of mind.  I feel kind of depressed.  I'm not feeling sorry for myself, I'm just in a funk - a pissy, cranky funk. I'm sure that I'll be fine once Monday passes. I'm pretty sure that's 90% percent of my problem. ;)  Time to work on my attitude.

Until next time...

Sigh...

So here I am again. Since the last time I posted, I managed to gain back all of the weight I lost last summer. I don't know what it is. I keep falling into these patterns. I keep telling myself, "Starting Monday, I'm getting serious. I'm going back to the gym 4 times a week and I'm going to start counting calories again...blah blah blah." then I never do. It took me unpacking my summer clothes and finding out that they didn't fit. I finally face the music and stepped on the scale. Ouch. I am right back where I was over a year ago and lost everything that I worked so hard for. I went through a period of self-loathing and I still think I am. I started going back to the gym a couple of weeks ago and I was becoming more aware of what I was eating. I'm down 5 lbs- which is great, but it just feels like a drop in the bucket. I'm very self-motivated, which is both a good and a bad thing. When I want it, nothing can stop me. When I don't want it, there is nothing that one can do to convince me. I feel like I'm kind of in between worlds at the moment. Both comfortable and uncomfortable in my own skin, motivated and doing the damn thing, but also depressed about a giant setback. When will I learn? Why can't I become a gym addict instead of a cookie-dough addict? If my followers are still reading this, I'm sorry for the somber post. I know what I have to do and I'm doing it. It's just hard.

zoom post

Work picked up and I'm slacking again. Time to get back on track...

I'm posting this as motivation... Left: Summer 2007, Right: Summer 2011

LET'S DO THIS!!

Zoom post!

I just zipped up and buttoned a pair of size 10 jeans. No sucking in, no struggle, just success. I haven't been able to do that since high school. Hooray for one more accomplishment in my journey!


Hopefully, I'll be down into the single digits soon. =)

SQUEE!!

Social Networking sites make it so easy to forget to blog. I make announcements about my progress without posting here. Perhaps I should just save the micro posts, put them all together to make a coherent, full blog post and just link everyone to it.

Anyway, the past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind for me: My boss was out on vacation and I was preparing for more family to visit. Speaking of said family, this weekend, I threw careful eating and exercise to the wind and I STILL lost weight. I'm now down to 169.5 lbs. That makes 50.5 lbs. of weight loss since I started my journey 4 years ago. 

I'm a little overwhelmed and I still can't believe it. I mean, I only have 2.5 lbs. to go until I reach my mini goal! I said that I would reward myself with some new ink once I got there, but I think that I'm going to wait until I reach my full goal. 

I know in my last post, I stated that I didn't want to lose weight due to wardrobe issues, but it gets me so excited when I see the return on my work...especially when I can still stuff my face from time to time! I said that I wanted to get below 170 by August 4th in my last post and I'm there on July 25th. It's a great feeling. 

Last weigh-in: 173 lbs

Current weight: 169.5 lbsRecent activity: Still hiking (and loving it!), gym (mostly strength training)
Short Term Goals: More toning, more weights. Possibly get down to 160-165 by the end of August? 

Down 5 more lbs!

June was a pretty lax month for me. I celebrated my birthday and my mom and sister flew in from New Orleans to visit me. Admittedly, I gorged myself on the fine wine and cuisine that the Finger Lakes area offers, but with no regret. It was my birthday and I'd be damned if I wasn't going to enjoy it. All that being said, I still lost 5 lbs since I last posted. I'm quite pleased with myself the rate of my weight loss. Not too fast, but not too slow.

Hell, after years of being in a size 14, creeping up to a 16 and 4 subsequent years of being in a 12, I'm really starting to take notice of the continuing changes in my body. I decided to do an experiment. I walked into my local consignment shop and tried on a few size 10 pieces. Granted, all brands of clothing have different measurements and aim for different body shapes, but THEY ALL FIT! I was in such a swoon, that I almost walked right up to the register to buy everything that I tried on. I have to admit, though they all fit, most of the pieces that I tried on were dresses and skirts. The skirts weren't uncomfortably tight, but too tight to be comfortable, if that makes any sense whatsoever. I will label myself as a small size 12, but I see that official 10 quickly approaching. I haven't seen that number or the single digits that I hope will follow since high school.

I know that I can really make it happen if I focus more making calorie counting a religion and hitting the gym 5 times per week instead of 3-4, but all my clothes are falling off of me as is. I'm not really in the financial situation to go out and purchase a whole new wardrobe, so my focus is going to be more geared towards toning and strength building. I'm going to incorporate more protein in my diet to increase muscle building.

I always had and will always have big arms and legs, thanks to my not-so-dainty German heritage. I need to focus more on toning the aforementioned areas, or else I'll look like Chun Li from Street Fighter II.  My waist is shrinking like crazy, but I still have this blasted belly fat. This has been my biggest challenge. I see my abs trying to form, especially when I "suck in".  It's frustrating.

Alright, well, back to life. Today is a holiday and I plan to enjoy every minute of it.

Last weigh-in: 173 lbs
Recent activity: Hiking (3.5 hours yesterday alone!)
Short Term Goals: Toning things up. Remember to drink water! Maybe get below 170 by August 4th?