Stuffed

Well, I got myself full last night - LOL. On beer, cheese, and fries.

Yep, I managed to eat 1977 calories yesterday. To be honest, it's not as bad as I expected considering the junk I put in my mouth. I still feel icky from the amount of grease.

It could have been a lot worse by the way. Sure, it would have been a lot better had I ordered steamed veggies as a side instead of fries. Also, if I had not ordered to Crimson and Bleu Balls (KU bar!) as an appetizer (Fried balls of chicken and cheese - like a cordon bleu). But it would have been worse had I not ordered the turkey patty over the beef and eaten the entire burger rather and cutting it in half for today's lunch!

Hey, mitigating damages is more than a law school thing!

Diet dilemma

Something has been off this week.

Just a few days ago I wrote about how hard it is for me to eat 1500 calories in a day ... and the past few days have found it hard for me NOT to eat 1500 calories. I blame PMS.

Seriously, I don't know what is going on, but I just can't seem to get full.

I've let myself go a little crazy (no more than 1500 calories!), but tonight is diet night and I am facing a dilemma of sorts.

The past two days have found me consuming more than 1300 calories. To balance it, shouldn't I go back to the 1300 I follow? But tonight is date night ... and with that poses some drama. I want to enjoy the evening and DON'T want to be stuck with a garden salad.

Oh screw it ... I'm going to put on my size 12s for their first date night and have fun! As Abby says, I can work it off later!

Drop it like it's fat!

I have been so good all week - even added sit-ups and some type of arm curl thing to my routine every other day! Plus, I bought jeans in a new size and have totally noticed changes in my body shape.

Clearly, it's been a great week, so I stepped up on the scale this morning full of excitement and anticipation.

And I was not disappointed!

The scale stopped at 180 pounds!!! I can't remember the last time I read that on a scale - seriously. This means that since September, I have lost a grand total of 15 pounds!!!

Power in a plan

Tonight's experimental recipe is in the oven and will be tested for lunch tomorrow. So now I'm settling in to watch The Biggest Loser and then get to studying. But before I study, I shall blog.

Since starting school this semester I have taken my lunch every day. It's part of my dinner routine actually. I mean it sounds like a duh, but I usually either make extra at dinner time for the next day's lunch or I just go ahead and make whatever I plan to eat the next day.

Knowing ahead of time, even just a day, helps me make better decisions for my other meals. Will I want to make oatmeal for breakfast and salmon for dinner? Or can I splurge and get an Egg McMuffin for breakfast with shrimp salad for dinner (usually I can't splurge on fast food because I'm broke)?

Anyway, I also plan dinner a day or two ahead. I'm pretty sure weight loss experts call this approach a meal plan. Weird, huh?

I'm pretty excited about tomorrow's lunch, too. It will be leftovers from tonight's Turkey Sliders, a Balsamic Vinegar pasta salad and my new recipe for Sweet Potato Chips! Doesn't that sounds super yummy???

Oh! Interesting info from The Biggest Loser (I'm watching the show for my first season, will blog about it soon): When you're stressed out your body retains water. FASCINATING!

Not Counting.

Natalie's post was about counting calories. Whelp, that works for some people. But when I used to do that it drove me nuts. I became obsessive compulsive about it. Everything I did was about how many calories and although I lost a lot of weight, I was incredibly unhappy. So I started working out instead and worrying less about how many calories a saltine had.

Working out, I've discovered, has helped me learn that I can eat whatever I want... as long as I run. So I run. A lot.

Yesterday I did 6 miles. Today, probably 3. Take a day off tomorrow. Thursday 3, Friday some cross training and then Saturday: 8 miles.

Of course, upping mileage is also about marathon training but it is amazing how your body changes when you have a consistent workout. Crawling into bed at night sans clothes and having your boyfriend say things to you like, "Wow you look amazing..." Well, that's enough for me. I do try and eat a little less. All things in moderation. But if I really want something, I have it.

I haven't been weighing in every week because weighing in can be a wee bit decieving the first few weeks of running. Your leg muscles are building up and although you are losing fat, you are gaining muscle weight.

All I know is that my six miles yesterday felt better than anything I've done in a long time (burning nearly 750 calories). So I had a piece of Oreo cheesecake last night.

Calories be damned.

1500 or bust ... I wish!

Generally, I limit myself to 1300 calories a day. However, on Friday and Saturday, I get to have 1500. This allows for a more enjoyable date night (or just an extra beer!) and relaxing Saturday breakfast.

Lately, I've been eating at home a lot. Turns out, I really enjoy cooking for someone other than myself. Unless my roommate and boyfriend are lying, I'm not half bad at it either.

Sure, there are times when it's nice to be served, but cooking dinner is just a fun activity. On a Friday night, when you don't have a lot of money to spend entertaining yourself, trying out a new recipe can be an affordable alternative.

Cooking at home is also pretty diet-friendly, duh. When you cook at home, you have a lot more control over what goes in your food. You can determine for yourself whether the pan needs oil before you throw in the onions. Or decide if you need the full pound of ground turkey the recipe calls for or can cut that in half.

Apparently, I am really good at making these choices! This Saturday, I was very excited for my extra 200 calories - but couldn't find any acceptable way to add them to my day! Friday we went for a rare meal out and I chose a black bean burger ... it wasn't on purpose, but the only way I actually came close to my 1500 limit was by drinking three Magic Hat #9 beers!

Then, on Saturday Kevin and I cooked at the house. I just couldn't figure out how to eat more than 1321 calories! That included wine and babyback ribs, too! So, I gave myself the extra 200 calories for Sunday's food.

I know it sounds weird to be trying to eat extra calories when I'm on a diet, but the point of the extra calories is so that I don't feel cheated out of anything. It's like a cheat day without being counter-productive (remind me to blog about my opinion of cheat days!). If I want a hamburger, I can have it on Friday or Saturday as long as I keep things below 1500 calories. But, allowing myself to have 1500 calories means I get to have that burger. It means I don't hate my new lifestyle. It means I can have my cake and eat it too.

This is why I find it important to get close to my 1500-calorie limit on the weekends.

So, how did I do Sunday? After eating an egg white omelet, chili for lunch, roast chicken for dinner and 4 Thin Mints (yes, Girl Scout cookies!) for dinner and finishing it all off with a glass of dessert wine, I consumed 1367 calories.

I tried to overeat, I really did!

Downsized, the sequel

Twelve apostles ... 12 people on a jury ... 12 days of Christmas ... and now, NATALIE IS A SIZE 12!!!!

Recently, I noticed the my favorite pair of 14s were loose in the waist. Since the thighs were still snuggish I figured my age-old problem of being big-butted was the culprit. Also, I figured I would be a 14 for awhile thanks to my monster thighs. However, lately, I've found myself hitchin' up my britches more and more often. On a whim, I decided to visit TJ Maxx this afternoon and see if something I barely let my self think could be correct. Could I have really downsized again?

I tried on three different brands of jeans and fit all in size 12 - that included Levis, the true measure of jean size.

I don't know if anyone understands the awesomeness of this. I have NEVER been smaller than a 14 as an adult. NEVER.

Honestly, I just want to open the windows and squeal with glee at the top of my lungs.

I'M A SIZE 12!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unleaded Fuel? I wish!

Um, like, WHOA.

I have a great liking for gas station "cappuccino" - you know, the kind that comes from the machine when you press (and hold!) that magic button?

They tasty, sweet and deliciously affordable.

I've never really known the calorie count or anything, mainly because I couldn't find it online, but today, as I drank one purchased I decided to really hunt it down. OH. MY. WORD.

We are talking between 200 and 500 calories for a 16 ounce!

Why can't my lovely gas station fuel be unleaded? Instead, we're talking premium diet-buster here!

Now, as I stare at my cup o' goodness, I see sinister foam rather than friendly. I have only eaten a banana today and was looking forward to some yogurt as my mid-morning snack. French Vanilla yumminess or Cherries Jubilee? Oh the decisions!

Ignorance is bliss and knowledge is power, I guess.

Totals: 1,381 calories 163 carbs 24 fat 76 protein

Cupcakes and torture

Will the torture never end?

First, my roommate is making dozens of cupcakes ... then she shows me the Girl Scout cooking in the freezer.

I caved and am eating two Thin Mints (80 calories).

And yes, I sampled a cupcake :-( What can I say? I'm weak and they smelled HEAVENLY.

The cupcake I ate was made incorrectly (she didn't know the difference between dry measuring cups and liquid) ... so I figure I just ate 300 calories of junk. BLAH.


Luckily, I have been pretty good most of the day ...
TOTALS: Calories: 1,347 Carbs: 181 Fat: 37 Protein: 72

There's the rub

I discovered a meat rub that I adore made with brown sugar and chili powder. Honestly, it reminds me of those mango suckers I ate as a kid that were dipped in chili powder. Just thinking about them makes me want one now!

Anyway, I rubbed some on pork tenderloin earlier this week - I also stuffed the tenderloin with fresh jalapenos and fat free cream cheese (YUM!). I loved the rub so much that I am planning to try it on salmon tonight.

And there is the rub (ha!): I want to eat so much of it because it's so tasty that I am really going to have to guard my portions. This is why we eat so much in restaurants! We love it so we want to finish those huge portions. But the thing is, if we set some aside, we can eat it again tomorrow!

And now I'm off to rub my meat. Talk to you tomorrow (while eating my leftovers)!

Weigh Day!

Happy Wednesday, Ladies!

It was a morning rush thanks to oversleeping, but I managed to hop on the scale and am proud to announce a current weight of 183!!!

That puts my total weight loss at 12 pounds. (Enter smiley face). My BMI has gone from 33.5 to 31.5 - Yippee! I'm still in the obese range (enter frowney face), but don't plan to be for much longer!

I started back to counting calories Monday and am proud to report that I am doing great sticking to my limit - without feeling cheated at all. Deciding my breakfasts and lunches ahead of time is proving quite helpful as well - especially when trying to decide what to make for that night's dinner.

Sparkpeople.com gives you meal plans, but they are so blah to me. Plus, it's not normal foods for me. Since this is about learning to adapt my diet rather than jumping track to a completely new diet, I rarely eat what they suggest.

I haven't measured myself in a couple of months and need to do that, but am having a hard time finding the time in the morning. To be completely honest, I am just a week into this semester and am totally exhausted. I am not getting enough sleep and therefore am having a hard time getting up each morning.

Based on my calculations, I am supposed to be weighing in at 177 this week. That means I am 5 pounds behind schedule. Maybe I should take the Special K challenge - the one that says you will lose up to 6 pounds in two weeks if you eat Special K for two of your three meals - but somehow it doesn't seem like it is a diet geared to long-term weight loss :-) Thoughts?



Something that makes me smile:
Straight from Hungry Girl Newsletter: Dunkin' Donuts is REALLY getting into the guilt-free game! You can now order ANY of DD's breakfast wraps or sandwiches with egg whites. A Bacon, Egg White & Cheese Wake-Up Wrap has 180 calories and 8g fat!

Looking for the Cure!

Let the training begin!!!

August 6-8 will find me on a 60-mile trek through Chicago in an effort to cure breast cancer.

Yep, I am participating in the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure!!!

I used the Christmas money my dad gave me to pay for the registration fee and would like to use y'all for motivation.

I am going to blog my training here and I even offered to lead training walks in the city. If you want to join the team, feel free (coughAbbycough). The more the merrier!!!

The event is 199 days from now and I am totally stoked to do it!

Otherwise, I am on a mission to raise the requisite $2,300. If you want to donate, or even send it to others to donate under my name CLICK HERE!

Saturday. All day. Wow.

You should all be proud that I worked out 6 of 7 days last week. I took yesterday off because it is always nice to have a day of rest. But let me tell you about Saturday instead.

Saturday Josh and I decided was a full day. We set the alarm to hit the gym early and both had our long runs. Which, at this point really aren't "long." They are just the longest of the week. I had a 5 miler, he had 6. I made it 4.5 miles, and then walked. Not running for a few months has definitely taken its toll on me I shouldn't have quit that last half mile, but the run felt good just the same. My quads really warmed up about mile 3. So I stretched and headed out for the rest of the day.

In the name of being a good person all around (as I desperately try to be) I decided that Josh and I needed to go give blood at the local drive. So an hour and a half after we finish working out we are getting our arms stuck with needles and answering questions like, "Have you ever traded drugs or money for sex since 1972?"

Supposedly after you give blood you shouldn't drink for 5 hours. But I had an AIDS Walk meeting so Josh and I had a few beers with some power gays at 303 and played some Wii bowling. Josh then, in his cooking glory, made halibut fish tacos for dinner and all was well.

Pretty great day, but we passed out asleep by 10:30pm.

Ready to start my week again. Headed to the gym for non-running cardio, a core workout, and some IT band exercises for my legs.

Hoo-rah.

Funeral foods

My grandmother died last week. It was sad and sudden to me. I honestly thought I had more years with her. My grandmother was a beautiful woman who spent some time modeling after she retired. She was a perfect size 10, which surprises me because I always thought she was more like a 6. She was tall and fashionable and will be greatly missed.

When someone dies, it is customary for people to bring food and my grandmother's death was no different.

I spent the five days following my grandmother's passing with my grandfather. It involved eating fried chicken, pot roast, sausage, brisket and so much peach cobbler I'm surprised I'm not a peach myself. Funeral food is rarely diet-friendly.

Also, every morning my grandfather took me to eat breakfast at the cafe he has been going to for 40 years. I asked for egg whites only on my first visit - but they were so yellow from grease, I gave up and shifted to grits for the rest of the week.

I saw a lot of family members I haven't seen in years and all of them commented on how much weight I've lost - heck, even my immediate family, who I saw at Christmas, also commented on it. Today, my mother sent me a photo she took of me and my brother after the funeral ... and I have to admit, I do look a lot different.

StepMill = Evil

You know, I can run 13 miles. I can run for 2.5 hours. But today at the gym it was my off day from running so I did 15 minutes on the bike, some arm lifts, and a core workout (my obliques hate me right now). After all of this I knew I needed a wee bit more cardio to burn some fat. So my friend Rozanna, who works at the gym, suggested I do the stepmill for 15 minutes. She said I wouldn't be able to make it.

And she was right.

Holy hell. I went for 10 minutes and I was sweating more and breathing harder than I ever do when I run. Its like a torture device: an escalator to nowhere. Had I brought my book with me (Running with the Buffalos, the story of a year inside the University of Colorado cross country team... amazing), I might have been able to make it longer. But geez... that was miserable.

Anyway, another hour at my gym has officially been checked off, after a morning of putting fires out at my job. Must visit some accounts this afternoon... and finish drinking my designated 64 oz of water. Sigh.

I'm kicking that StepMill's ass on Saturday. And not the other way around.

Grossness.

Well it's official: I'm fat.

Since starting my new job as a beer sales rep there are two calorie problems I hadn't counted on:
1. Drinking lots of beer.
2. Eating lots of pub food.

Today I was getting ready for a meeting (which is now cancelled and why I'm blogging), and I tried on a pair of my favorite jeans, and I looked like I was pregnant. I mean I was hanging over all sides of them. Which makes sense, considering when I weighed myself Monday I was 10.5 pounds more than when I weighed myself in September. Grossness.

At least I got them buttoned. Barely.

So damn it, Monday I got on my horse and started my "eating right/working out" stuff.

There are tons of fresh fruit, fat free yogurt, veggies, and low fat protiens in my fridge now. I'm not drinking soda any longer. And trying to drink 64 oz of water each day. Not to mention working out 6-7 days a week, 4 of which I'll be running/training. Whew. So here's this week so far:

MONDAY:
Weighed myself, became depressed and went to the gym.
Ran 2 miles, walked .5 miles, did ab workout, and IT Band exercises.
Post run chocolate milk.

TUESDAY:
High Fiber cereal for breakfast. Packed a healthy lunch (small turkey sammy, grapes, carrots).
Bar owner made me have a taco. So tasty. So not on the plan.
Off day from running, so I biked for 30 minutes/stretched.

TODAY:
High fiber cereal for breakfast.
Ran 2.5 miles (faster than race tempo), walked .5 miles, stretched.
Post run chocolate milk and Clif Bar.

Anyway, back to blogging. Hoping this will help draw me out of my fatness.
My new goal/date/stuff is: 30 in 30. My target weight 150. Goal date: August 11th. Ugh.

Can't wait til I'm hot again.

Weigh Day ... New Year

Getting back in the swing of things ...

Well, it's the usual Weigh Day and, happily, I can say I lost a couple of pounds last week.

I am officially 185 which means I get to celebrate having lost ten pounds!

However, I did the math: I am supposed to weigh 179 by now. That means I should be celebrating a 15-pound loss!

So, I'm going to pull an Emeril and kick it up a notch! Ok, not exactly, but I did add some working out to the mix and have been refocusing on the foods I eat during the past week.

I got derailed thanks to finals and holidays and am glad that I didn't gain weight, but am still bummed I didn't lose any. Of course, I know it's my own fault and I know what I did wrong.

The point of this entire change, however, is just that: a change. I don't want something so drastic that I can't stick with it.

I'm no chicken!

I hate chicken breast.

Have I ever mentioned that? It really makes dieting hard. Which is why I still force myself to eat it.

Chicken breast is good for you: it's full of protein and low in fat and affordable. I just wish it was tasty too.

But I'm no chicken - I'm not afraid of it ...

Rather than omit it from the food plans, I am forcing myself to like chicken breast. My biggest issue with the meat is that, when cooked properly, it's dry and sucks all of the moisture from my mouth.

Sometimes, I put it in soups, but if it's too stringy, I just end up giving all the chicken to Kevin. That means I'm not getting the nutrition from it that I need. I like it in my now-favorite chicken pot pie recipe. But that's mainly because it's surrounded by the cream of celery soup.

Tonight, I'm trying a baked Chicken Cordon Bleu ... However, unlike tradition chicken cordon bleu, I'm adding a mustard sauce ... I'll post the recipe if I like it.

Otherwise, I would LOVE suggestions for different ways I can cook chicken that won't make it torture for me to eat!

A Great New Reason to Get Fit

The holiday craziness is over...it's always so bittersweet. Family and friends have left town, back to their everyday lives and I'm left with a quiet, empty home. But sometimes its really nice just to have your home back to yourself. The diet and exercise both got off track over the past few weeks though. My mom loves Gordon Biersch's garlic fries so much we had to go twice while she was in town! Plus, I didn't have an extra second to go to the gym.

I'm back on track now. I went to the gym yesterday and today and got an extra bonus workout playing laser tag last night. Such a fun way to burn calories! Plus, I have a new reason to want to get fit....I'M ENGAGED! My boyfriend proposed a few days before Christmas during a carriage ride through snow covered DC. It was so romantic! So now I have to get fit and trim for the wedding. What a fabulous reason to workout!

Bollywood or bust?

So, following my new discovery (Exercise TV) I went looking for a quick workout this morning while Kevin played some video game up in my room.

I chose Bollywood Burn, a fifteen-minute routine to awesome music, very Slumlord Millionaire but without the child labor.

Basically, it is a version of cardio yoga. A lot of jumping up an down and stretching all at once. It was tons of fun, but the jumping sounds reached Curious Kevin and he came down to see what I was doing - spoiling my fun and causing me to run to the couch to preserve my pride.

I will definitely be trying it again, but have found a negative ... some of the positions it made me do were a bit foreign to my body. I'm feeling it in my joints (not the pleasant burn I love in my muscles). I can handle yoga so I know it's not just me being out of shape, this was just a bit hard on the hips and pelvic area. Next time, I will adjust a bit to make the positions feel more natural.

Things should work out just fine

I've been talking for weeks about finding a way to get exercise into my daily routine. I'm busy and it's going to be tough, but for the next 18 days, I am out of school and can make a pretty significant dent on my body.

I was going to start back on the Couch to 5k routine (LOVE IT!), but fear that will have to wait since there is at least a foot of snow on all the sidewalks and lawns.

So, I have had to go back to the drawing board, but have found the solution!

EXERCISE TV!!!

This is an entire channel dedicated to workout routines at your fingertips any time you want them! BRING IT ON!!!

There is a corresponding Web site (with videos for those who don't have the on demand channel) that has a lot of routines and plans to follow. I can't decide if I should do the Dorm Room Diva, Busy Businessman or Corporate Climber ...

Resolutions

How many years have you made the New Year's Resolution to lose weight?

I remember a New Year's Eve my sophomore year in high school spent writing out my resolution list, topped with "lose weight" and kissing the list at the stroke of midnight. And that was that.

Honestly, I've consciously been trying to lose weight since middle school - but never have I stuck with one plan the way I have with this one.

Finally, I figured out a way to lose weight that was about making a lifestyle change, rather than just a diet. Finally, I admitted to myself that things were too far gone and I needed to rein myself in and take control over things. I've never stuck to a plan as long as I've been practicing my 50n50 stuff. Sure, I got a little distracted over the holidays, but I maintained my weight. I didn't gain anything!

I consider this a success. If I stop "dieting" and don't gain weight, it means I am making the right decisions, you know?

I don't know if I can stress enough how hard it was to see myself described as "obese." It truly was a wake up call. It was the slap in the face I needed. The motivation came and I haven't looked back. I never succeeded on diet plans that starved and denied me. This isn't a diet - I had pizza for dinner just last night! But I know where to balance and I am truly grateful to have finally found this.

The next 40 pounds are going to be tough, I know that. But I am resolved.