get ready for 100 degrees

just thought i would share from one of my fav websites ---> today, July 31st, is the very last day of National Ice Cream Month. Don't forget to have your final celebration with a guilt-free ice cream treat...

well, i made it thru the weekend not eating/drinking as much as i was expecting too - the german fest was a joke so after about an hour, we all headed to fells point in baltimore instead... i maybe had two beers all day and did well on the food aspect, even made it to my spinning class in the morning... sunday, i headed over to eric's and we went to see 'pirates of the caribbean' (it was good but not as good as the 1st), played some frisbee, hung out at home w/the kitties, and then met his friends for dinner downtown (indian)... i've now had curry three times in the last week so i hope all the sweet coconut sauce isn't going to kill my weigh-in wednesday... we took the harley which was nice, though quite warm for an evening ride...

today was the first, full day of my workout and damn - leg raises w/weights around my ankles were horrendous... i told andy i wasn't sore this weekend but i'm sure i will be sore later this week and even showed him that i was sweating (i hardly sweat when working out unless its really really really hard)... he said, "good, that's how it should be"... ugh!

heading to screen on the green tonight on the mall, they are showing 'bullit' which is supposed to have one of the best car-chase scenes... a bunch of us are going and have brought food along to share during the evening... i made this huge fruit salad with fresh blueberries, strawberries, cantelope, mango, and grapes... YUMMY... hopefully i'll be able to stay away from the cheese/crackers/hummus/bread... :-o

happy monday...

we made it

i'm so happy its friday, its been a busy week at work and w/other stuff... i just had my training session w/andy - i think he was trying to kill me, some of these moves are hard... reverse lunges off a 4-riser platform are not meant for the weak at heart, i know my legs are going to be sore as shit tomorrow (but in a good way)... either way, i'm looking forward to a new workout - 2 months doing the same thing is long enough...

i found another blog today, jen has some WW friendly recipes that look pretty good... i'll have to try some of them esp. the tuna casserole, who can pass that up... i've had green peppers and ground beef in my fridge all week, one of these days i'll get around to making stuffed peppers... YUM-O...

i had leftover thai last night and after calculating points, looks like i blew around 22 points for dinner w/eric for his bday... any of you feel really anxious when dipping into your flex points so early in the week? i normally don't go over but after that dinner, going for drinks after work tonight, going to a german festival tomorrow, going to dinner sunday night, and probably going to dinner monday night before screen on the green - i'm scared to death i won't have enough... i guess i just need to do better planning-ahead and make sure to get in more exercise... i'm definitely going to spinning tomorrow but perhaps i need to go on sunday as well (so much for my sleep-in sunday)...

anyhoo, i hope you all have a great weekend...

counting down...

i will be so glad when this week is over and even more glad when sunday is here cus that means i can sleep in... whaaa hooo, you don't know how i look forward to that... last weekend was a bust w/the party and overnight guests but this week, its just going be me and the kitty... course, if things went his way - i'd be up at 6:30am everyday but that's another story...

eric's bday was yesterday so i took him for thai food, i have no idea how i did points-wise so i'll need to do some research... i didn't bake a cake or anything so that's another bonus in my eyes (plus he had cake at work)... i got him this black tshirt w/a dog sitting on a motorcycle (he has two, including a harley) and an iPod nano - yea, i totally went overboard but i knew he'd like it being he's an Apple freak... now we both have one (gag) but he can use his in his Mini since there's some special adaptor-thingy... :o)

other than that, things are going well... i'm feeling pretty good dressed up in my bargain $12.99 wrap dress from the Gap and $24.99 leather, pointy-toe, sling-back shoes with a 2" heel (i can't do 4", no way in hell)... i'm really trying to focus on the positive aspects of my body and not all the negative like i usual do (hate my hips, hate my thighs, hate my wiggly arms, etc.)... the book i'm reading calls is bad body fever and the only way to get over this is to legalize your body and accept yourself as you are... from there, you inhabit your body with love and understanding... sounds silly but break it down in layman terms and it makes complete sense... if you don't love your body now, what makes you think you'll love your body down the road any better and if you don't learn to understand what your body is telling you - you'll never know what it needs... the book is really good, i just need to keep reading it...

happy thursday... :o)

weigh-in wednesday

last week: 164.4
this week: 163.2
loss: -1.2

i've changed my weigh-in to wednesdays - it just seems to make more sense with my schedule, plus having a few days after a possible high-point weekend really helps... i thought i would go overboard at the garden party but because there were so many family members there plus friends w/kids, i was too busy to eat and drink since i was being "hostess with the mostess"... i kept getting a drink and then would walk away and forget i had one, and then start all over - i probably appeared drunk but i never even got close... all in all, it was a success - our moms got along swell, my brother came and was a hit w/all my friends - they now see where my sense of humor comes from, we're like our dad... all the food i made was gone quickly too and at one point, there was a line coming out of the garage just to eat! okay, so maybe it was the hamburgers made from grass-fed cows from eric's family's farm in pittsburgh, but my potato salad was GONE by the end of the night... it was a lot of hard work, time, and money but well worth it in the end... :o)

one of my girlfriends at the party kept calling me skinny-minny and i'd say, "no i'm not" and she'd go, "yes, you are - do you not take compliments very well? you were much bigger when i met you"... and i think back and according to the scale, i'm like at LEAST 10 pounds heavier than i was when i was doing atkins 2 years ago... and the only thing i can attribute it too, is weightlifting - it has totally changed how my body looks... yea, its hard work and there are some days where i REALLY don't feel like doing it but i do, and as i go thru each set - i feel better and more energized... i have an appt. w/the trainer on friday for my new workout - its always good to switch things up after 2 months so your body doesn't get accustomed to the same thing... variation is the key, my friends, that's the only way you're going to see progress...

and since i've lost in the past two weeks, i think the flex plan is working for me... it probably doesn't hurt that i've started spinning again and trying to jog more during the week so i'm going to keep that up... i've lost track of the challenge since i was so busy w/everything - i will probably start a new one on august 1, if i think i need too... i've already made my 5 pound goal so that's pretty cool... yay me!!! :o)

happy hump day...

TGIF

day: 12/30

food: 15/25 (so far)
exercise: weights
mood: happy its friday!

i'm so happy its friday, i could scream... i'll be more happy when this party-planning is over and i can just sit back and drink my wine/mike's hard lemonade/amstel light... how in the hell did we get 44 people? and its supposed to thunderstorm too so maybe some won't show up (is that bad for me to say?!?!)... either way, i'm looking forward to seeing eric's family and for my mom and brother to meet them as well... i'll have a full report on monday...

i found this list on washingtonpost.com, thought you might find it interesting... it lists 16 super foods and after reading it, i really need to eat more: oranges, sweet potatos, salmon, and dark chocolate... i think i do pretty well with all the others - had a yogurt everyday this week, whoo hoo... :o)

well, its time to hit the gym and then i may scoot out early since both bosses are out today... shhh...

have a great weekend...

one more day

day: 11/30

food: 23/26 points
exercise: 40 mins jog/walk
mood: tired and sore

oy vey, i have so much to do tomorrow - at work and at home... i have tons of food to make for saturday's party - potato salad, baked beans, ambrosia salad, and chocolate chip/oatmeal cookies... AND i have to go the grocery store before i can do any of this - i'm sure it will be a madhouse too... i feel like i need a day to rest but there's no end in sight - not til sunday anyway and with 6 people and 2 kids at eric's house, who knows how much sleep will get... my mom laughed and asked, "where are they all going to sleep?"... thank god for futons and carpeted floors... :o)

my back is sore but the stitches look okay, i can't wait to shower w/out a bandage tomorrow... its been quite a trip putting bandaids on, while looking in the mirror and having to do everything the opposite way... its times like this is when i wish i was living w/eric - so he could be my 24/7 bandage changer... ok, there are other reasons too - like being able to see norman and max run around the house, they are halarious... :o)

i had a nice bowl of cereal for dinner (ever just crave something cold?) and when i got back from eric's, i was craving popcorn... was i hungry? not really but the more i thought about it, the more i wanted it... it was the healthy kind but still - no one should be eating at 10:00pm esp. before going to bed... i need to work on that...

nighty night...

yea, that's blood

day: 10/30

why on EARTH would i wear a white shirt when i knew i was having a mole removed today, and there could be a potential of bleed-thru? because nothing else looked right w/these pants but instead of changing, i wore it anyway... by the time i got to work, i had a nice blob on my back so my poor coworker had to put more bandages over what they gave me and so far, so good... luckily i have an office cardigan that i have when it gets cold so i've been wearing that... had to buy some waterproof bandages so i can shower tomorrow and the stitches come out in two weeks, how exciting... i had a revelation while being numbed too - why can't tattoo artists numb you before they start? makes sense to me and yes, i have 4 and yes, i'll probably get another one (eventually)... :o)

since i was home this morning, i hopped on the scale and it read - get this - 164.4... i guess 168 was pretty far off so i'm not sure what i should use as my first WI - maybe 165? i've been very good w/my food and keeping track of everything so maybe its working... imagine that, a plan that works when you follow it... i was starving a few mintues ago and bought a bag of those cheddar soy chips (2 pts) and boy were they tasty... i really need to bring in more snacks for the afternoon, yogurt and fruit for lunch aren't doing it for me...

the only exercise i've done today is a brief walk so i'm trying not to feel guilty - i don't want to do anything that will screw up my stitches so i will take this as rest day (plus its really starting to hurt)... so as far as my challenge goes, i've missed 2 days but other than that, i think i'm doing well... at least i'm doing good on the food part which is what i expected...

happy hump day...

29 more minutes

day: 9/30

the movie was excellent, i highly recommend it and if you're worried that its scary - its nothing like the sixth sense... its quite funny actually and paul giamatti plays THE perfect lead in this story - it may be slow in the beginning but the ending makes up for it... that's my movie review, in a nutshell, don't want to give away too much of the plot (fyi~ m.night is going to be on the daily show tonight)... dinner was pretty good too - had some hummus w/grilled pitas and a beef kabob w/fresh salsa and tiki sauce... no dessert just some cappuccino, mmm mmm good...

eric found out that now his mom and other sister are coming to the party this weekend (from pittsburgh) so his tiny house will be filled to capacity... good thing we finished the living room cus we'll need the extra carpeted space for an air mattress... this will be the first time our moms will be meeting so i'm pretty excited, i think they'll get along swimmingly... :o)

food's been good - had another fruit juice this morning but added an english muffin half with natural peanut butter, that seemed to hold me over til lunch... just had some cherries so i may be okay until dinner, i'm craving cereal so maybe that's what i'll have... i need to paint some chairs after work, clean-off some other chairs that we borrowed and hang my lights... then i have to go home - haven't been there since thursday (had to borrow a shirt this morning since i ran out of clothes!)... eric and i don't live together, i told him i wouldn't feel comfortable until we're engaged... as crazy as i am about some things, i'm pretty old fashioned in others...

anyway, i have much work to do - need to format a 400+ page publication and i'm only on page 81...

happy tuesday...

monday weigh-in

day: 8/30

this morning's weigh-in may be inaccurate - i didn't have my digital scale and had to rely on my boyfriend's old school model which was pretty funny... instead of starting at zero, i adjusted it to be 2 pounds heavier just in case - we'll see what happens once i'm home... either way, i'm feeling pretty good and i have to give kudos to eric - he is being very good about what we're eating and asking if things are "on plan"... i told him that technically anything is on plan as long as i stay within my range, but by making small adjustments - i can get more bang for my buck (i.e. 2 slices of multi-grain bread = 4 points OR 1 light multigrain english muffin = 1 point)... for breakfast, we had a big glass of homemade juice consisting of: carrot, celery, apple, pear, orange, beet, and cantalope... how yummy does that sound?!?!? it was so tasty that i actually spilled some on my clean, baby blue polo shirt and had to change before leaving the house... damn beets!

i got free tickets to see a special screening of "lady in the water" (m.night shyamalan) tonight so that should be fun... for dinner, we're having some healthy mediterranean food at this place near the theatre - can't wait for some homemade hummus and pita... there's still much to do for the party since all we accomplished this weekend was painting but at least we have til saturday... i need to start making my list of what i'm going to make, i may try this new couscous salad that has dried cranberries and walnuts...

anyone care to share some healthy and/or WW friendly recipes?

happy monday...

these tacos look different

day: 7/30

note to self: make sure to actually READ the menu before ordering anything... eric and i decided to go to baja fresh on friday night (oh how i love that place) and ordered the taco combo plates like usual... well, they were different than before and apprarently they now have 2 kinds - one w/corn tortillas and one w/flour tortillas and lots of cheese... guess which ones we got? ugh! i looked up the points and it wasn't pretty - 7 points for each one and i had two of them! thank god for flex points cus i certainly had to use them! ugh! i'm still under for the week so i hope it shows tomorrow... :o)

its been a busy weekend, full of painting and getting ready for the garden party... the living room looks awesome - the walls are now a medium coffee latte and they make the room so homey and inviting... the white trim still has to be done yet and then we'll be done - next will be the dining room... i just LOVE to paint, must be the artist in me...

exercise has been okay - went for a long walk yesterday since i didn't feel like getting up early for the 8:30 spin class... told myself i would go today instead but eric didn't set the alarm and we woke up at 9:15 instead, oops... i will have to go for a long walk tonight which is fine, eric lives in a great neighborhood with many streets so i can change up my walk everyday if i wanted too... one of these days, i'll get him to go with me but i'm not going to complain...

hope you're all having a great weekend and thank-you for commenting and reading my blog... i know it may not be the most interesting read some days but its still nice to share thoughts about whatever's going on... i truly enjoy reading the ones i have listed, its great to have such a diversified bunch of online buddies... :o)

i'm semi-famous

day: 5/30

a few weeks ago, i submitted a graphic for a website that i found re: daring yourself to do something and its finally been posted... mine is the first one in the top row (jodi, 35), check it out here --> daring female... i should send an email and thank her for letting me design my own too - maybe i can start a business doing icons for blogs - how fun would that be... :o)

my book, when women stop hating their bodies, came today - i can't wait to begin reading it... unfortunately i won't have ANY time this weekend - eric and i will finally be painting his living room, the sample swatches have only been on the walls for months (i remember it was cold outside)... we also need to start getting ready for our garden party next week - so much for having a few people over, looks like there might be 30+ coming... yikes, what were we thinking?!?! if anything, it gives me a good excuse to hang these awesome lights on his backyard covered patio - screw making food, i'd rather decorate!!!

day 5 is going well, had some freshly picked blueberries and raspberries w/yogurt for lunch and did my weights at the gym... i need to research classes at the gym near eric's so i can plan my weekend workout - hopefully i can get in at least one spinning class, if not two... its supposed to be in the 90s this weekend and very humid so if i went for a walk, it would have to be at 6:00am... i love summer but this humidity is killing me...

hope you're having a great friday and enjoy your weekend...

p.s. weigh-in will be on monday morning, wish me luck!

whoo haaa

day: 4/30

so i have decided on doing a 30-day challenge where i will do the following:
- exercise everyday (weights, cardio, pilates, etc.)
- stay within my daily points range
- lose 5 pounds

well, how hard can that be, you ask? HA HA HA! speaking from experience, i would say around the one-month stage - i start to become (a) frustrated if i haven't lost weight, (b) lax on my food because i've been losing and think i can cheat and/or (c) tired of keeping track of what i'm eating... so i figured 30 days would be a good amount for me to work on and if things go well, i'll do another and another until i get to a point where i am happy with the results...

i have also updated my daily read list to include some pretty interesting blogs, one of them being 100 days... in less than 3+ months, she has managed to lose over 34 pounds which is something like 11 pounds a month! that is awesome and quite scary since she started at a higher weight and is now very close to where i want to be (145)... i don't know what kind of program she is doing but i'm going to keep reading because she's very motivating and maybe i could learn a thing or two... that's why i love jumping from blog to blog - you never know what tidbit of information you're going to come across and use in your daily life... and it may not even be weightloss related which is even better, like this one --> carrot divas...

and in other news, tonight i'll be bringing max (my cat) over to my boyfriends for the weekend and we'll see how him and norman (the new kitten) get along... i'm hoping things go well but if they don't, i will just have to believe they will after they get used to each other... i just hate it when people don't get along and its worse when it comes to animals, esp. mine... i hope that doesn't mean i'm going to be a super-protective mom... yikes!

happy thursday...

the "E" word

so while burning calories today on the eliptical, i read an interesting article in prevention magazine about how exercise, for some of us, has turned to work instead of fun... when you were younger, remember how much it was to ride your bike to your friends house or rollerskate in your driveway or take dancing lessons every week? at a certain age (puberty), our bodies become objects instead of something that lives and breathes - we are more concerned about how we look over how we feel... this carries over into later years and suddenly, you hate to exercise and have lost your way...

what can you do? well, the article says, "approach the E word with softness, humor, and care... stop battering, threatening, and torturing yourself... stop whipping yourself into shape... learn to appreciate the body you have right now"... and it goes on to discuss doing things that you used to love to do, regardless of how stupid the activity may be, and make a firm committment to do it... moving your body shouldn't be about anything other than physically connecting with the fundamental pleasure of and gratitude for being alive...

so guys, what is an activity that you loved doing as a child and miss?

gentleman start your engines

did the scale really say 170 this morning? and to think, 2 months ago it said 161 so its definitely a good thing that i'm getting back on track today... granted, that weight is probably a bit high considering what i ate this weekend but still - its higher than my last restart which is pretty depressing... this just goes to show you that going off-plan, for whatever reason, is NOT a good idea my friends... so far today, food has been tracked, weights were done at lunch AND i'm going to try and make the 6:30 spin class...

i've seen some bloggers do a 30, 60 or even a 100-day challenge and its not that i can't do it (becuase i know i can), i'm just not sure what type of challenge it should be... some do XX-days of being on program OR XX-days of exercising - i can easily do both so maybe i just need to decide which one i would want to let slide first and pick that one (prob food)... anyone have a suggestion on how they picked their own challenge? i'm thinking it will be good for me, this time around anyway - gotta keep shaking things up, right? any feedback would be appreciated...

happy monday...

search me

i registered this site on blogs by women today because i feel its a great site that promotes various blogs written by women and they're not just diet-related... there are blogs about business, art, food, news - you name it, there's probably a blog for it... check it out if you have some time...

and thanks to pink bunny foo foo, i have purchased the book "When Women Stop Hating Their Bodies: Freeing Yourself from Food and Weight Obsession"... on her site she talks about some of things in the book and i think it may be a good read for me considering i'm back and forth between liking/hating how i look these days... okay, hate is a strong word but you know what i mean... i think if each of us really took the time to understand just how much our bodies do for us, on a daily basis, that maybe we'd treat it a bit better... granted, our bodies crave chocolate and tortilla chips on occassion but being lazy and drinking 3 cans of soda a day shouldn't be acceptable in anyone's book...

i'm getting ready for my restart on monday and feel that its time... things have been SO unstructured for weeks that going back to counting points will be good AND i'll be accountable for what happens each week (loss/gain)... as much as i've enjoyed being 'carefree', i know that its not going to give me the results i want so being unhappy w/how i feel OR how my clothes fit - is my own damn fault and no one elses... i wish i could blame someone/thing else but i can't - its time to face the music...

i'll be out of town this weekend visiting my sister, nieces and dad - the weather looks to be good so i'm happy about that... my boyfriend is also taking his new kitten, norman, to the vets tonight for the first round of shots - hope they do okay... we may try the whole my cat meets his kitten next week which should be interesting considering max weighs 13 pounds...

have a great weekend, everyone...

shout out

since we're all on the same journey together (pretty much), i like giving kudos to new blogs that i've stumbled across and today's find can be found here --> iportion... her post today talks about putting things off until you reach your 'ideal' weight and how that shouldn't stop you from doing things you love... "live you dreams now," she says, and what a great line that is... we all need to print that out and stick on next to our computer, refrigerator and bathroom mirror... she also writes the following, in a different post, and i think its a great list (hope you don't mind)...

• I will be excited about small losses
• I will celebrate every 5 pound loss
• I set an initial goal of 5 days exercise per week, anything over will be counted as a bonus (once I reach 20 bonuses, i treat myself to something special but NOT food)
  
• If i bite it - I write it
• I will not let a derailment lead me off plan for weeks on end

a lot of us weightloss bloggers talk about setting goals and one of the great things about that is, we can share, discuss, bitch, and celebrate w/each other without being judged... we all have different processes and views, we all feel great when we lose, and we all feel miserable when we gain but hey - that's life, right... just knowing that i'm not alone in this journey is more than comforting, its like having your very own support group (and its free!)... and even though i can't see you or hear you - i know you're there when i really need the motivation and inspiration and for that, i thank-you...

i'm stuck

sorry for the lack of posts, i'm still deciding on my plan of action so i feel that there's not much else to say right now... then again, most of the blogs i read aren't just about losing weight - they are about life and what's going in the world... i feel that i need to be accountable for something so that is why i decided to start blogging but like just like losing weight, that excitment and enthusiasm disappeared when the weight stalled (and came back by a few pounds)... so, once again, i am back to ground zero and struggling to find something i'm excited about...

i am stuck between two things: (1) accept my current weight, continue to exercise and make good food choices but not necessarily count every, single thing... this option would probably see minimal weightloss, if at all... or (2) getting back on the saddle and start counting points again which would hopefully lead to losing... its not like i hate the way i look - i think i look pretty good (being tan helps) but i know i've gained a few pounds back and can feel/see it in my clothes... i don't know where the slip-up happened, probably back before i went camping and i just haven't given a damn since... for that, i am disappointed in myself more than anything...

so the planning begins and i'm mentally preparing myself for what is next... i have started to take spinning again so that is one good thing i can add to my list of accomplishments... i've also started to walk/jog again and will continue doing so... as for the food and what 'plan' i'm going to follow, we'll see - i don't mind counting WW points but maybe if i try the flex plan, it will get things moving again... and if that doesn't work, i'm not sure what plan B will be... guess there's always slimfast...

just kidding...