Gratitude is the new attitude

Health- we always take if for granted until we no longer have it.

Weekend binge

I treat myself to whatever I crave on the weekends. All week is steady and strict eating, then Saturday and Sundays are my "fun" days. In time, I'll eventually wean off Sundays and stick to just Saturday binges. 

I've been on and off again with the "Myfitnesspal" app. The main reason being- I eat the same thing everyday. It gets boring and repetitive recording the same meals. I pretty much know what 1200 calories a day looks like.

I measured myself today, and the results are pretty much the same. Not that I'm disappointed, but just a little surprised that my healthier eating habits haven't effected my numbers.

Starting tomorrow, no more white carbs. I'm promising myself that much at least. I read somewhere that fruits don't help contribute to weight loss as well. Well, let's put that to the test. Fruit and white carbs are black listed for now during the week. This is definitely a challenge. Let's hope this works.

I stepped in the scale...

I can't believe it. I stepped on the scale today to find the few pounds I worked off are now back on. Maybe it's my new muscle weight. Maybe not. Actually, yeah. I'm sure it's not. I haven't been consistent with my strength training in months.

Big sigh. I keep telling myself that I'm going to work hard at this, but I always find some really good excuse to talk me out of it. I mean, Sex and the City just can't wait any longer from a day's worth of hard work. 

Tomorrow. I promise. I will start on my new fit and healthy body transformation.

Weekend Grill

Meat tastes so good cooked on the grill.


Maybe I can do this "no-carb" thing for a week.  Serena said she tried it and in time her stomach didn't look bloated or stuck out as much. She started to see more definition in her muscles and felt lighter.


I've already cut out all of the sugary white carbs easily, so now I need to challenge myself on sticking strictly to protein and vegetables. I'm going to say I can do it...easily. Let's hope I don't get cranky on the way.

I'm baaack....and so is bikini season

Wow. I can't believe it's been 2 months since my last visit here. A lot has definitely changed between now and then.


First off, my fitness routine completely fell apart and spiraled down the drain. Just as I was starting to feel the results I messed it all up. It always feels better to pin the blame on something, so with that being said, I blame it on work.


I've taken on a new role at my place of employment and it's been draining all of what little energy I have left of me. By the end of the day I just want to plop down on the couch and catch up on my favorite shows. My favorite colleague just got promoted and transferred to another city, while I'm here left to pick up where she left off. It's not necessarily a bad thing, being that I'm slowly strengthening my role by gaining more skills so to speak. But it's definitely not helping my body at all either.


I've been too scared to step on the scale. I'm afraid to see higher numbers staring back at me which will then result to finicky mind games slowly generating in this little brain of mine. 


If my broken routine wasn't discouraging enough, I walk into target and see a wall full of bathing suits. Really cute...and some even sexy bathing suits.

Is it bikini season already?? Where has the time gone?


Starting Monday (because tomorrow I'll be busy stuffing my face with buttered bread rolls and mashed potatoes) I'm finding my inner focus and getting back on track. Until then, I'll be having a really really good "last supper" tomorrow.

A Happy and Fresh New Year!

Well, it's here. The new year has arrived along with our expectations to follow through with our ever predictable resolution-to lose weight. While some may disregard the yearly tradition to get back into shape, it's actually helped me get back into it.

It wasn't until my last year's resolution where I found the umpf to jump start my new healthy lifestyle. Reflecting back on the year 2011, I've actually accomplished a lot to get me on the right path.

• started going to the gym on a daily basis (4-5 times a week)
• cut out fast food completely
• avoided buying unhealthy snacks to beat temptation
• started juicing and eating more vegetables
• gained knowledge of healthy eating habits
• cut down my eating portions (This rule of thumb came in handy for me- Eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch, and a pauper for dinner.)
• replaced morning coffee with green tea
• started taking fish oil and multivitamin pills everyday
• became familiar with workout and weight machines at the gym
• drank water 90% of the time
• bought less processed and microwavable foods
• started buying organic meat and produce (and yes, I notice a taste and quality difference, especially in chicken and beef. Cleaner is better)
• replaced the little sweets that I had left with fruits
• avoided foods that contained high fructose corn syrup (although some I just couldn't, such as ketchup and what not. Yum.)
• cut down consumption of enriched flour and opt for whole wheat/grain as alternatives

Of course, I didn't achieve these all at once. Everything takes time and so did my new eating habits. It also helps when you have support on your side be it friends, family, partner, or even coworkers. Just them knowing about your goals help motivate the continuation of your process and pushes you to prove to them that you can achieve them.

It's more rewarding when others see how strong and determined you are about your weight loss journey. Encouragement is a big factor that plays in the struggling path of weight loss. You need all the help and support you can get. Whether it's books, blogs, websites, social communities, neighbors, etc, try to surround yourself with positive people and energy and you'll be able to succeed in your new resolution. Believe in yourself and this journey will lead to a better sense of well being along with physical and mental strength.

No more

Procrastination.

We've all had those days where we push our goals aside for another time. One day leads to one week, then leads to one month.

When I first signed up for the gym it took me a whole year to commit and go continuously. I wasted time going just once a week, or even once in a blue moon. What results were I expecting to get with that kind of determination??

Then I made myself a new year's resolution. I would make it a point to go to the gym at least 3 times a week, but ideally 5 times if possible. Surprisingly, I stuck to it and achieved results that wouldn't have been accomplished with procrastination or laziness as I call it.

I found that going to the gym in the mornings was easier for me. As soon as my alarm would go off I would spring up and start on my preworkout drink. The first month was kind of a dragger though. I wasn't seeing results and I didn't see the pounds dropping off the scale.
It wasn't until the second month I started seeing some muscle definition. My legs started toning up and my arms were slimming down. That was the result I was looking for. Just that little push. I needed to see some type of achievement even if it was little. My weight remained the same, but  I didn't care. The weight stayed on, but the fat got switched into progress.

That's all it took, just that little glimpse of those results to get me on my path now.

Food Rules

This book was stuffed in a lot of my friends' stockings this year......and surprisingly they loved it!  No excuses on skipping out on this read, it's simple to follow with cute illistarion to go along with it.

Baby steps add up

 

Now motivated more than ever, I look back and realize just how far I’ve come along. My eating habits have  drastically changed and I feel very proud of it. Just shortly over 2 years ago, I cut out the bad “stuff” completely and never looked back.

Not saying that this is easy for some if not most people, but I had some helpful pushes along the way. With a reason and a strong mind set these sacrifices can be given up a lot easier than expected.

Soda- This was my first step in losing weight and it’s a big helpful one too. It’s amazing, yet disturbing, knowing that one can of soda holds 10-12 teaspoons of sugar. (Which is about 10 sugar packets. Yikes!) That’s 10 times more the amount of sugar I put in my 1 cup of coffee. Add 2-3 cans a day and that’s just asking for fat to pile up. Once I saw the sugar content in these measurements I dropped soda cold that day. It’s been years since I’ve touched a soft drink and you now what, I don’t miss it.

Fast Food- Have you seen the movie Food Inc? If you have, you’ll know why I gave up fast food. If not, watch it! I highly encourage it. (I came across mine on Netflix.) I really enjoy my love for food, but after seeing this I couldn’t stomach eating cheaply processed meat mixed in with mystery ingredients. Who knows what the heck I’m eating if it doesn’t even rot.

High Fructose Corn Syrup-  When I used to buy food I didn’t really bother to look on the back of the ingredient list. I figured, hey, it’s food. What’s more is there to look for? Oh was I wrong. After helpful articles and advice from friends I realized that most of the processed foods I loved so much had high fructose corn syrup in it. This man made sweetener was hidden in almost everything that was in my cabinet. It was no wonder I wasn’t losing any weight eating those high sodium sugared products. Now if anything is packaged I quickly flip over to look at the ingredient list. If HCFS was in it, it wasn't going in the basket. It was simple as that. This was a helpful guideline when first learning to eat better and healthier.

These 3 steps are big stepping stones when trying to lose weight. After I followed these cutbacks I lost about 7 pounds. Seven pounds may not seem like a lot, but when you're 5'2 it does make a difference. I went to a size 11 down to size 9 in a year (with absolutely no exercise.) Can't complain about that.

Have you had any recent or drastic cutbacks that you've accomplished? How did you come to make the sacrifice and have you noticed a difference?

Madness

Who says being a couch potato won't help you shed a couple pounds? If anything I tend to think it helps with the process. You see, I found this show on Netflix. Maybe you've heard of it? Mad Men. Yes, this show is what's keeping me up late hours of the night and causing bags to form under my eyes when I wake up every morning. Is it worth it? I think so.


Even though this show has been out for a while now it's my new favorite series. This is what I look forward to when I get home from work everyday. Not only is the plot interesting and a refresher from those typical "reality shows" on tv, but I love looking at the girls. Whoever the costume designer is, I just want to give them I big ol' hug...and kiss. Watching the ladies in their classy everyday attire gets me motivated believe it or not. I wake up in the morning determined to look and dress better for work. And let's talk about Joan, shall we? Wow, her body is so voluptuous and womanly. Her curves could make any man's jaw drop. Now that's the type of body that needs to be shown more on television.

After watching a couple episodes of these a night, it gets me ready to hit the gym the next day to stay on board and right. Motivation is what keeps us going..............