Plateau!!

I hate weight loss plateaus.  I have had a rough couple of weeks as far as losing more weight.  I had a death in the family a couple of weeks ago and didn't get to the gym for a week- or use my food journal.  Thankfully I did not gain anything - but I did not lose.  Last week I got back on track as far as the gym is concerned but I have had trouble with food.  So yesterday I buckled down again and started paying better attention to what I am eating, and began to count more closely again.

I really need to get back in the zone- and a big part of this is that I need to get to the grocery store.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Dedication!

Hello! Happy Monday!

This past weekend was great.  I woke up early Saturday and Sunday and went to spin class.  And Sunday I did something I haven't been able to go yet!  I took a 9:30 spin class, followed directly by an hour Cardio/ Weights Class.  I was so proud of myself.

I am another 3.5 lbs down this week which is great.  I am so excited to be seeing results from all my hard work.  I am finding that I am a lot stronger and I am able to do things that I did not think was possible when I started this journey.

So I tried a new recipe on Saturday.  I made Low Fat Baked Ziti with Spinach.  I got the recipe from Gina's Skinny Recipes and it was DELICIOUS and pretty easy to make.  I want to try to make something new at least once a week.  Having tasty and healthy options makes such a huge difference.  It gets monotonous having grilled chicken and salad all the time.

And a Year Later...

Okay, so last year I started this blog to keep track of my weight loss and to encourage myself and others to stay with it.  Obviously I wavered on my commitment and got wrapped up in other things- I accepted that I was bound to be big and gave up.  Than in October I got fed up with myself and I joined a gym.  It was the start of my latest journey and I could not be happier.

I started to take classes at the gym, spin class and cardio classes and I was going around 3 or 4 times a week and I was feeling great- but nothing was happening- I had maybe lost about 3 lbs.  So I started to really pay attention to what I was eating.  I bought the Biggest Loser Food Journal and began to count my calories.  The food journal is such a wonderful tool.  It lists almost every type of food you can think of in the back with its nutritional facts.

Since the beginning of February I have been using my Food Journal religiously, I bring it everywhere I go- and I plan ahead.  I bring fruit, low fat yogurts, 50 calorie string cheese, Fiber One bars to work so that I have healthy snacks with me at work so I won't be tempted. And I do 60-90 minutes of cardio 5 times a week. As of this past weekend I have lost my first 10lbs!

There is no motivation like hitting your first major milestone in weight loss.  Whenever I feel like I want to cave in and eat something fried (and delicious!) or I feel lazy and want to skip the gym- I think that I can lose ANOTHER 10 lbs in a month.

Anyway- the moral of the story is I am back and I am finally on the right track.  And I am looking forward to exploring this new healthy lifestyle with followers!!

Dontcha Wish...

So I finally took my Pussy Cat Dolls Workout DVD out of its plastic and testes it out yesterday.  The dvd is broken up into different segments, a warmup and cool down as well as choreography to some of their songs.  It is a fun work out!  I felt a little silly at times, trying to do the sexy moves (unsuccessfully so) and I didn't care for one segment- the burlesque segment where the whole routine revolves around a feather boa- or as it's suggested a man's tie or scarf.  But I enjoyed the dancing, I definitely broke a sweat and felt it today.  

My over all review:

Is the DVD Fun? *****

Is is a hard workout ? *****

Is it easy to follow the routine? *****

Did you break a sweat? - Yes

Would you do it again? - Yes!

-Meredith

And The Kick Off..

So I am really proud of myself for yesterday.  I have to admit I had a rocky start, I was very discouraged when I woke up and had gained weight again, but I didn't let it get to me, and instead of getting down on myself I got fed up and moving.  I ate well yesterday, I had half of a blueberry muffin in the morning (not that great but I hadn't gone food shopping yet), for lunch I had tuna salad with lettuce and tomato on whole wheat, mid afternoon snack I had low-fat pb&j and whole wheat light bread and for dinner I had a diet taco bowl.

What is this taco bowl you ask?- Make taco meat as you would, than instead of a flour tortilla you put your ingredients in a bowl.  I used WW shredded cheese, diced tomatoes and lettuce and a tablespoon of guacamole.  The dinner was around 8 points- I am going to try it again with chicken to see if I can get it down to 6 points.  Anyway it was delicious.

After work I went to the grocery store and loaded up on some necessities- one very important thing I've learned is to ONLY buy healthy food.  You are not going to melt down and eat a pint of ice cream late at night if you don't have it in the house!

But the reason why I am REALLY proud of myself is this.  I was exhausted when I got home from work, I had lugged heavy groceries in the rain, it was gloomy out, all I wanted to do was lay down for the rest of the night.. BUT! I got off my butt and did 15 minutes on the elliptical followed by a series of lunges and squats and light weight training.  I'd say it was a total of 30 minutes of exercise.  Not bad when you're usually a lazy slob like me!

-Meredith

lolz!

Get Inspired...

"If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done."
Vince Lombardi