Day 5- finally it's Friday!

253.8 today! I've started adding a little fruit back in to my day and right now I'm munching one of the greatest, newest things at Trader Joes - sliced granny smith apples with all natural peanut butter in a little pack together. They also have red apples with a little container of low-fat vanilla yogurt. I heart Trader Joes!

The weekend is always a challenge for us. We are out of our routine and we like to be social and drink beer and much while watching movies etc. The plan is to eat in moderation but really kick up the exercise on the weekend especially with the beautiful weather we're having right now. We can walk and hike with the dogs and have a blast while still getting our exercise in. I would be happy to just get through the weekends maintaining the loss from the week.

I feel like my attitude adjustment is really working!

Have a good weekend everyone in blog land!

Day 4-is it Friday yet?

255 today. That's probably the end of the quick part of the weight loss but I'm happy to be back down some.

I was not so good last night and had 2 slices of pizza and 3 beers but still down a pound so I'm not going to worry to much. That is probably the biggest part of my attitude adjustment. If I have something like that I need to move on and not say to myself "it ruined the whole week so I'll start over on Monday." I'm not going to do that anymore, ever. 1400 extra calories in one day sure beats another 3 days of what would probably be even more than that.

It's going to be a tough day at work on no sleep. We went to a concert last night and got home at 1am. We're usually in bed by 10 at the latest so it will be a challenge. I see a Starbucks Skinny Vanilla Latte in my future! Normally I would go home and crash tonight but I have to put up signs for the yard sale this weekend that we're having along with some of our neighbors.

Gosh what a boring post. I think it's just that kind of day.

Day 3 - getting in the groove

256 today. I know this isn't going to last but I'm enjoying it! Also, I don't feel nearly as deprived as day 1. I'm actually full and satisfied. I do hate the bad taste in my mouth that only sugar could fix but that goes away. I need some gum.

Yesterday our meeting was canceled in Nashville so my boss made us go with him to Steak 'n Shake for lunch because we are getting ready to pitch their business. That was a nightmare. I wanted a burger and shake so bad!!! I watched him drink a huge chocolate banana one.

I love nutrition calculators. I went online before and calculated my whole meal first Then I came back and calculated what I WOULD have had before. Here's the difference

Before:
Double Steakburger with Cheese
Chocolate Shake
Cherry Coke
1434 calories, 42.5 grams of fat

Now:
Cup of Vegetable Beef Soup
Grilled Chicken Taco Salad (no tortilla bowl, corn chips or sour cream)
Unsweet Tea
324 calories and 11 grams of fat.

I saved 1,110 calories. Almost a days worth : ) That's what this attitude adjustment is all about. Good decisions. Yay me!

UPDATE: I've just gone on Spark People to see what I could weigh if lost 2lbs a week by my 40th birthday. 129. I'd settle for 140 ; ) That is my goal (which incidentally is 20 lbs more than my ideal weight at 5 foot nothing)

Attitude Adjustment - Day 2

257 today. Whew. I vow to never see 260 again. That is just way too much for my little body. I know that 3 pounds in one day is all water but whatever. I feel better.

I made it through the first day despite being in a horrible mood and feeling sorry for myself. I did great all day but didn't go to my class due to working late. I did manage to make a delicious pork tenderloin on the grill with a huge pile of asparagus and it was delicious. Even have half of it left over for my husbands dinner tonight since I'll be away in Nashville. This whole planning dinner thing works so well. I just have to keep it up.

Feels like fall here which is always motivating to get outside. The shorter days are tough but we're not making excuses anymore : )

Attitude Adjustment

Today I weigh more than I ever have in my life. 260 pounds. I did well again for a few weeks and then vacation and visitors threw me off in a big, bad way. I have my period so it's probably about 5lbs. more than I actually weigh but regardless we are starting there.

That's all I'm going to say about that because I've been working on an attitude adjustment this weekend and I already feel better for it. Reading blogs has helped me get to this place. As much as I feel for other people who struggle as much as I do, I find comfort in knowing I'm not the only one. I'm 5 feet tall and I can't carry this around anymore. I'm tired of having nothing to wear, and I'm tired of feeling tired.

Today my husband and I start 2 weeks on phase one of South Beach. As I've stated before it's the only way for us to get rid of cravings and rid ourselves of processed foods.

Attitude Adjustment Weekend consisted of cleaning our house top to bottom (which is no easy task) and including a massive cleaning of the fridge. I planned all our meals, went on a big trip to the grocery store, made a huge pot of chili, mini quiches with ham, cheese and eggbeaters, packaged up cottage cheese for every day etc. etc. We should want for nothing this week. I AM READY!

I ALMOST talked myself out of starting today because I'm traveling to Nashville for work tomorrow and staying overnight. Normally I would be excited to sit in my hotel room and eat candy or chocolate or potato chips (or all of those together) after having gone out for a great meal. I have to push through things like this because they are going to happen and I have to remember I can eat healthy on the road. Luckily my 90 pound co-worker eats nothing but veggies and fish so it's easy to stay on track. I told her I would like to go to J Alexanders for dinner and get a huge pile of vegetables and either fish or chicken. We'll also start the trip with a veggie burger salad from the World Peace Cafe. I've already got some snacks for the road (and my hotel room) ready to go. The hotel has a pool and a workout room so I will bring my stuff. Since we gain an hour on central time it's never as hard to get up early there.

I'm hoping to go to my water aerobics class tonight but I may have to work late while a friend comes by to do some network work for us. I feel like I really need to go and I'm sure everyone is wondering If I'm still alive. No worries everyone. I've been busy gaining 10lbs!

where is my mojo?

It never ceases to amaze me how one little detour from my routine can cause me to be lost for weeks. I of course went on vacation only to come back to 5 days of visitors from Wales that needed to be entertained which led to the whole of this week eating crap because I had no time to grocery shop and cook for the week. It's a lame excuse but it somehow allows me to justify going to drive-thrus for lunch and do takeout for dinner. I have a freezer full of things to eat but because I didn't plan anything I don't even know what I could make out of what's in there...not to mention it's all frozen.

From all of my recent blog reading I've discovered that many people suffer from this "all or nothing" attitude. When you really think about it, it's a ridiculous and destructive way of thinking. It would be like if you got a cut on your arm and thought "well I've ruined that so I might as well cut my arm off".

I guess the first step is being aware of it and trying to change that behavior.

I know why I feel down. It's because of my eating lately, lack of exercise, and feeling disgusted with my body. But what do I do? Continue to sit and watch TV and eat crap. My knees hurt, my back hurts, my job has been tough because I haven't been in creative mode at all but I continue to feed this all with more comforting food and sleep.

We were supposed to start phase 1 on Monday but that is being pushed to next Monday now for the simple fact that I need a whole day to get us ready for it. I will make a big pot of chili and some mini quiches and whatever else lies in the depths of the freezer.

I imagine I will feel better immediately and I'm really looking forward to it.

Back to the real world

So I'm back from paradise to the concrete jungle and it has not been an easy transition. I spent most of my time in Florida wondering how I could have ever left such an amazing place. Even though it would have been nearly impossible to get a job in my field there, I feel like I could have been just as happy as a waitress. I'm going to be patient and continue to work towards a goal of living there again. Even if I have to wait until I'm 50.

I'm ready to get back into my routine but we have visitors until Sunday. I'm not going to go crazy but we'll be eating out every night until then and I won't be going to the gym after work. My water aerobics friends are going to think I stayed in Florida! The funny thing is that I'm so ready to go back. I've never been excited to go back to the gym.

As I said in a previous post, we will be doing 2 solid weeks of phase 1 of South Beach starting Monday. It seems to be the only way I can get rid of cravings. When I start sneaking sugar and processed flour back in my diet it just makes me want more and more. It's a great feeling to conquer cravings but it will be a challenge at first.

With that said, I'm going to go look for some recipes and get ready to spend Sunday cooking for next week.

Sunny Outlook

The sun has returned and already I feel a million times better. Not to mention the fact that I'm headed to Florida tomorrow before dawn. I need some time off desperately and I pray that Gustav stays away. I said a little prayer to my dad, who art in heaven, to keep the seas calm so we can go out on my friends boat. He loved to fish and worked for a big boat company so I know he'll do his best to get the message to the big guy : ) There's nothing I love more than the ocean and I hope to live by the water again one day.

My pants are falling off but I still haven't gotten on the scale.

The dogs know something is up but they will be well taken care of at the place where we board them.

I hope everyone in blogland has a happy Labor Day weekend!

Gray Fay Day

It has been raining in Atlanta for 4 days straight. We needed the rain so much but it's bringing me down! I've been eating too much, my boss has been awful and now there's another hurricane in the Gulf just before my trip. I think I really need some time away. I'm not usually an angry person but you wouldn't have wanted to cross my path the last few days!

I've been afraid to step on the scale and I probably won't again until after the trip. Not that I'm planning on eating my way across Florida but I thought I'd get some goals down here before we go so I can look at them when I get back.

1. Do 2 solid weeks of Phase 1 of South Beach to get cravings back in check. We do pretty well with healthy eating but refined sugar and processed things are slipping back in.
2. Meal plan and grocery shop on Saturday. Prep for the week on Sunday.
3. Gym at least 3 days - preferably 4.

Oh and now my coworker has just come down to announce the dog they bred is pregnant. Sorry to any people who buy dogs from breeders or are breeders but it hurts my heart when people feel the need to "make" a dog when there are thousands and thousands with no home. Arrrrrrgh. My mutts will kick your show dogs ass : )

Short week.

What is it about an upcoming vacation that makes me feel like I can throw my whole routine out the window? Sure I'm busy getting things together and getting my hair and nails done etc. but since Friday I've been in vacation mode and putting anything and everything in my mouth. If anything I should be working extra hard since I'll be in Florida wearing a bathing suit the whole time! The negative side of my brain is working overtime saying I'm going to look like a beached whale anyway regardless of what I eat the week before.

This weekend was a blur. Friday I went to the grocery store to get a few things and ended up with wings, potato chips, and sweet tea (oh and milk duds!). I was actually embarrassed about what was in my cart but I bought it all anyway. I was watching cute girls in workout clothes buy laundry detergent and water or whatever and was envious that they didn't have a cart full of crap they were about to eat. Why I didn't put it all back I'll never know.

Saturday was mexican food and mojitos and last night was pizza. Today I have no lunch packed and find myself dreaming of fast food for lunch. That's how it all starts. One bad meal and all my cravings come back full force. Needless to say I didn't go near the scale today.

To make matters worse, we have tropical storm fay pounding down on us today which will have the pool closed for sure. I didn't even pack my bag for the gym. It's probably for the best since I have brand new highlights which probably need to stay away from the chlorine for a day or 2.

My number one goal after we get back from vacation is to add the Friday night water aerobics class to my schedule even though it sucks to get home at 8:00 on a Friday. That should keep me busy and even force me to do some extra cardio since I will have an hour to wait before class starts. I think I eat badly when I don't have anything else to do.

I'm will be good to myself this week even though I have a million excuses not to. We don't leave until Friday so I have a few days to feel my best. I already feel accountable to this blog which is helping and now that I wrote it all down I can move on.