52

Wow, Michele's right, I have been slacking.

So it's really only been about a week since I've been going back to the gym, playing sports and being more active, but I feel much better about things already. I've been trying to get back into the things I used to LOVE - softball and dancing. I went out and bought a ball the other day and I've been meeting up with friends to play. I also set up a big game for this weekend with a bunch of people from school. In a couple weeks I start a dance class I signed up for. I am soooooo excited to start dancing again! I've also been playing tennis, and yesterday I finally started running again. Note to self: NEVER TAKE 7 MONTHS OFF AGAIN. I am back at square one. But this time around I'm running on a slight incline so it's more akin to running outside.


Anyway, I had some free time this evening so I started reading through a book that helped me a lot last year: Cook This, Not That. It's all about stocking up on ingredients that are better for you based on fat/fiber/protein and cooking more. For instance, if you follow their recipe for a homemade caesar salad, it is about 400 calories rather than 1000 from a restaurant. I am going to follow a couple of their recipes this week, and I think this weekend I will treat myself to their version of french toast with vanilla bourbon caramelized bananas. It's obviously not as healthy as fresh fruit, like I've been eating most mornings, but it's a great way to treat myself to something delicious for 400 calories as opposed to the 1500 it would be a diner. Here is the recipe:


Heat 2 tbsp unsalted butter in nonstick pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of bourbon and 1/4 cup brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until bubbly. Add 1/4 cup of walnuts and cook for an additional 2 minutes; add the bananas and heat through. Stir in 1/4 cup of 2% milk and keep warm.


Whisk together the remaining 3/4 cup of 2% milk, 3 eggs, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons of bourbon. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is warm, spray with a light coating of nonstick cooking spray. Dip the bread into the bourbon egg mixture and... well, you know how to make french toast. Serve with the warm banana topping.

54

I am excited to weigh in tomorrow! This week went pretty well. I am finding things are becoming easier at the gym.  When I am on the treadmill, I usually climb on a hill because I have bad knees. I walk for the first five minutes. I then put the incline at a 3 for two minutes.  Every two minutes I raise the incline by one until I get to 8. I stay at 8 for 5 minutes and then attempt to do 9 for five minutes.  In the past It was too difficult at a 9 incline. Yesterday, I was able to stay at a 9 incline for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes I went to a15 incline for one minute, back to 9 for a minute, and did that about 5 times.(I don't hold on to the treadmill at all) Even today at spin, I felt I was able to push myself more.  It's a really good feeling.

Tomorrow I am going to start to go to the gym at 5 am again.  I am going to start adding weight lifting to my workout. On Friday I am going to begin my 6 days of juicing.  I will be in New York on Thursday! woohoo!

58!!! wow

I've been blog slacking.. Big time!!!(you too Selina)


The last two weeks flew by.  I've lost a total of 12.8 lbs.  I have been eating healthy, but I  feel like I can eat healthier.  I need to add more veggies to my meals.  I also feel like there are times I come home and I should grab a fruit, but instead grab chips and salsa.  My goal for the next few weeks is to add more fruits and veggies.

During the 90 day transformation I decided to stop drinking. I have to say, I've been more productive on weekends.  I'm not wasting any days by a toilet bowl or exhausted.  I  did decide to drink on St. Patrick's day.  St. Patrick's day was a blast, but stepping on the scale two days later was not.  St. Patrick's day week I lost .8 lbs.  That was the worst I have done since I started.  I know it  was a loss, and I am happy about that.  I was just upset because I killed myself at the gym. Makes me think if it was really worth it...


 I am starting to take spin classes on a regular basis.  It's such a great workout. One spin instructor pushes everyone  like I've never seen before.  He is very inspirational and I've done things I never thought I can do.  I will continue to go to his classes even though I leave with a purple face(so worth it).


This healthy thing is starting to feel really good, especially because I am able to do things I couldn't do on day 90. As embarrassing as it is,  I was having trouble tying my shoes,  sitting with my legs crossed, walking on the treadmill, and going up a flight of stairs.  I can now do those things now and my workout at the gym has becoming more intense each time I go.


Another thing that makes me feel good and keeps me going is all the compliments I've been getting.  I feel like 12.8 isn't even that much, but I have had lots of complements from coworkers (who didn't know I was even trying to loose weight) and my roommates.  It always feels nice when someone recognizes something that you've been working so hard for. 

74

No #*$%ing around.

Last week I mentioned that it was primarily important for me to "get my ducks in a row" basically. Well, I did. I made a ton of progress on my Master's, I caught up on grading, and I also took care of piles of work at my second job. Now it's time to get to business.

I went food shopping today and bought some stuff to make fresh juice in the morning. I'm not that excited about  about cleaning the juicer after. :-P Tomorrow I have the day off from meetings/school, and instead of working on more data analysis there is just too much I have to get done around my house. So tomorrow I plan on juicing, CLEANING EVERYTHING, doing laundry, and finally getting back to the gym!

I am really looking forward to it. Lately I feel as though I have been in a rut - I lose and gain and lose and gain the same 8-10 lbs over and over. Well it's GOING and I am getting back into the swing of things. I think back to how I felt last May when my 90 day commitment was over: I was so happy, I felt so confident, I was more positive, and I was just glowing in general. Once I get moving in the right direction again and gain some momentum to keep moving forward I know I will feel those things once more.

So here we go!

74

I weighed myself today and lost another 2.6 lbs. I've lost a total of 10.6 lbs in two weeks and going strong.   This weekend I went to New York and it was a big test for me.  I forced myself to workout Saturday in my basement. I turned purple and thought I was dying.  Saturday night I had my aunts 50th birthday party.  There were garlic nuts, pastas, heros, chips, cake, and all that yummy food at the party.  It was very difficult, but all I ate was a turkey wrap, salad, and fruit.  I drank water all night too. I have to say, I am feeling a lot better and have a lot more energy. After this weekend, it was difficult  waking up at 4am this morning for the gym, but I did it... I gotta stay focused!