Day 26

Hello All : )
OK, so my day is not starting out the best.... I did not get up and work out this morning - BOO ME! I did one of those, the alarm went off and I thought I would lay there for a sec. yeah, a sec turned into 20 MINUTES!!! And then it was too late to get my full workout in, so, I turned over and went back to sleep and had a weird dream about being LAZY!!! Seriously, i did... it was weird : ) anyway... I stopped by McD's for my friend that I see on the way to work - I got him a med. coffee and 2 sausage burritos, guess what, I didn't see him. Darn Maurice... he wasn't there... so I thought I would look for more friends, nope, none... So what happened, I ate them myself!! NOT good - it was like eating 700 calories : ( I am so disappointed in myself....

I weighed in today and only lost a half of pound... I mean I truly am grateful, but it's been four weeks and I was really hoping for at least 8 pounds... and instead, I'm at 6.5. I hope that when I measure myself next week the inches make up fr the pounds.

But I like to think that GOD is teaching me patience through this.. I have been praying for patience and I have also been praying to KEEP THE WEIGHT off!!!! They always say the slower it comes off the easier it is too keep off... so maybe this is an answer to prayer??? Who knows, I will keep praying.

I will have to come back on and outline my food for today, because the breakfast I had really threw me off my planned schedule!!! BOOOooooo.

Talk to you soon : )

Day 24 and 25

Ok, so this might be a longer entry - I missed yesterday! I took a snow day and did things I have been meaning to get done. It was such a great day!! Wish I had like 2-3 in a row... not the weekend, the weekends bring too much stuff -everyone is trying to take your time... they are so draining. But this Sunday won't be for me, Church and then home to be a couch potato and then super bowl at 6:30.....

Anyway, yesterday, i did pretty good! But didn't get my fruits and veggies in : ( I was lazy with that for sure....

My workout was shoveling snow.... I didn't workout yesterday while I was home all day... disappointing, but I didn't stop moving.

Breakfast: Crispex, and 1 cup milk - 330 Calories/1370
AM Snack: Bagel and Cream Cheese - 370 Calories/1000
Lunch: Soup (potato soup) - 320 Calories/680 (I screwed up here, I thought it was 160 for the can, nope, I should have know better, it was per serving... ouch)
Dinner: 1.5 cup of noodles, 1 cup spaghetti sauce, and 6oz. ground turkey, 8oz milk- 520 Calories/160
Dessert: WW Fudge Bar - 100 Calories/60

I had a prayer group last night and the snack that was brought was VEGGIES - And I ate the heck out of some veggies : )

Now, as I start into Day 5 - I did my workout this morning and I will be going tonight too!!

Breakfast: Bagel and cream cheese - 370 Calories/1330
AM Snack: WW Yogurt and Kashi Bar - 220 Calories/ 1110
Lunch: Green salad with check peas, dressing, 2 tacos (from home), cheese and sour cream - 570 Calories/540
PM Snack: Celery and dip and 2 Clementines - 80 Calories/460
Dinner: 4oz Chicken Breast and baked potato, 1/2 cup cottage cheese - 400 Calories/60

Tomorrow is weigh in #4... I would just love to drop an unexpected amount... but I would be happy for a pound or two... We'll see...

Talk to you soon - and tune in tomorrow for week four's weight loss results!!!

Day 23 -

I decided that I can't have that many calories left in a day (like yesterday) I use them on JUNK!! So I need to plan better... I think that I planned better today : )

Oh, and something else I decided to start with on Monday - changing up my work out schedule... I want to keep my body guessing! So starting Monday, I will go with the following workout schedule: M- PM Workout 1 hour cardio, T - AM/PM workouts, W - PM workout 1 hour cardio, Th - AM/PM workouts, F - AM workout, SAT - AM workout, SUN - Wallyball workout. So this is still good - but will change it up a little for me... I will change it again in a couple weeks I'm
sure : )

Breakfast: oatmeal, kashi bar - 280 calories/1,420
AM Snack: yogurt and 2 clemintines - 150 calories/1,270
Lunch: 2 hard tacos with 4 oz meat, cheese, sour cream, 100 calorie snack pack - 480 calories/790
PM Snack: celery and chocolate pudding, chunk of cheese - 190 Calories/600
Dinner: Tuna Helper (love it : ), green salad with cheese and dressing - 420 calories/180
Dessert: WW Fudge Bar - 100 Calories/80

So I have 80 left... but that's alright. I might add some sunflower seeds to my salad if we have any : )

Calories take two....

OK. so I owe you some more info about my calories for the day - So for dinner we will be having tacos - two shells are 110 calories - so out of the 420 I had left, I have 310 now. I had some chips today - 150 calories, leaving me with 160 calories. I'm sure I will use the remaining 160 toward a WW fudge bar for 100 calories...

Talk to you tomorrow : )

Entry 22 -

Ya, I know I missed reporting this weekend - sorry! I did workout on Saturday for about 1.5 hours or so... last night I went an played Wallyball for an hour.... So I did get some exercise in. Saturday and Sunday eating was alright - not the greatest. I need to write DOWN what I am eating on the weekends, if I am not going to get on and blog about it....

Today - I did get up at the crack of dawn to exercise :) Yay me!! I really do feel so great - my body really does feel like it's toning up and it's only been a couple weeks!! I mean 5 inches off in three weeks is pretty good : ) I will not be working out tonight, I forgot I have a meeting to go to at 7PM.

Breakfast: Oatmeal and kashi bar - 270 Calories/1430
AM Snack: Yogurt, 2 clementines - 150 Calories/1280
Lunch: Progresso Soup, strawberries - 210 Calories/1070
PM Snack: Cheese Chunk, Celery and dip - 100 Calories/970
Dinner: Ground Sirloin 4oz., Baked Potato, Salad - 550 Calories/420

I need to eat some more calories!! Wow that's a lot to have left... I will let you know how I decide to use them!!

Talk to you all soon : )

Day 19 - Plus Weigh In

Hello - Good afternoon : ) So today was my third weigh in and I lost another pound. So far 6 pounds in 3 weeks - pretty good! And the slower it comes off, the more likely I am to KEEP it off!!! So Thank you Jesus, I will take the 1 pound this week!! So to recap, I have lost 6 pounds and 5 inches in 3 weeks. So pretty cool...

Breakfast: Bagel and cream cheese - 370/1,330
AM Snack: Kashi Bar - 140/1,190
Lunch: Progresso Soup, chunk of cheese 220/970
PM Snack: 2 clemintines, chunk or cheese - 110/870
Dinner: Not sure yet.... I will get back with you : )

Day 18

Sorry, I'm late today - boy it's been a low day work today... business is NOT good!
Not worrying about it though, because honestly, no matter what, I know we will get through no matter what happens!! God is good and truly have all my faith and trust in him, after all "Father knows best" (smile).

So today - yep, I was up working out this morning doing my own grooves to my own tunes, wow so much fun and I felt great - 45 minutes!!

Breakfast: (can you guess?) Whole Wheat Bagel and 1 TBS PB - 390 Calories/1310
(I will get off them - it's not like me to stay on the same thing for so long, but seriously, these bagels are better then the kind you get a bagel shops - they are Thomasville I think - big, and REALLY filling - Wlmart had them on sale for $2.88 - worth every penny!)

AM Snack: 8oz V8 Fusion and 2 clementines - 200 Calories/1110

Lunch: 1 Can of Progresso soup, 100 Calorie pack, 8OZ of skim milk, 6 Chunks Cheese - 320 Calories/790

PM Snack: Strawberries and WW yogurt - 150 Calories/640


Dinner: 6oz chicken breast, stuffing and salad - 400 Calories/240

Other: 2 pieces of Dove Chocolate - 75 Calories/165

We need to go shopping - we are like out of food!! Seriously : ) Time to get some different things!

Off to the gym tonight - 20 minutes on the treadmill - still running for that 5K - still on 5 minutes brisk walk, then rotate 60 seconds run, 90 seconds walk - so far so good....

Then I will work on my legs/calves and abs tonight too!!

OH - one more thing... I did an early measuring to see if I was losing inches, I measured myself on 1/6/09 and in that time, 2 weeks and 2 days, I have lost a total of 5 inches. Pretty cool huh!! I am not recording though until 2/2/09 - so I still have some time to get some more off... LOL. Have a great day!

Day 17

OK - so I missed working out this morning - I was tired and had a great workout last night, so I was still pretty sore. I know I should have still got up and didn't, oh well... The part that really stinks is that I am not going to get to work out tonight : ( I am signing up my first recruit for AVON - which I just started selling by the way - I LOVE AVON, so I figured why not try selling something I LOVE!!! I really need some extra money : ) But I have a new recruit ALREADY to sign up tonight - whoo hoo.

Breakfast: Same thing all week - wheat bagel and cream cheese - 370 Calories/1,330
(These bagels are SO good and SO filling!!!)
AM Snack: WW Yogurt and celery raw with homemade dip - 160 Calories/1,170
Lunch: Pork and 100 calorie pack, strawberries - 250 Calories/920
PM Snack: grapefruit and cheese chunks - 220 Calories/700
Dinner: 4 oz beef and thai noodles - 400 Calories/300
Other: 4 pieces of Dove Dark Chocolate - 150 Calories/150

So, I still have some calories to eat, but since I didn't workout today, I am noting to force them down my throat : )

Recipes....

Ok, so here are some really good little things that we have found along the way.

First, this dip - it's like only 30 calories for 2 full TBSP and only two ingredients: Container of Sour Cream )fat free or Light) and a packet of Fiesta Ranch mix - mix the two together and wow, eat veggies ALL day long - SO GOOD! Good on baked chips, crackers, just about anything - so easy and wonderful : )

Second - Taco Baked Potato
Bake a potato (medium size) for an hour unwrapped for about 1 hour. Ground up some turkey or very lean beef, and mix the meat with taco seasoning. Cut open the potato and then sprinkle light salt on it, 1/4 cup of shredded cheese, 1/4 cup of ground meat, 1 tbs of sour cream and then salsa or taco sauce - totally FILLING - for about 430 Calories. Great for a dinner and top it off with a green salad and use about 70 calories for the dressing and you have a very filling dinner and healthy for only 500 calories. Plus, what I love about it, is that it didn't feel like I was eating super healthy : )

Let me know if you try them!!

Day 16 -

Hello - oh man would I love to be home right now : ) I had to take my truck in this morning, again - something is acting up!! Gosh, I really hope it's nothing too expensive, Lord you know where we are at financially right now, please let it be something within our budget, please.

No sense in worrying about it, so lets move on. I was up at the crack of dawn today to workout - Turbo Jamming it all the way for a wonderful 40 minutes!! I will be heading to the gym tonight for my 20 minute 5K training workout on the treadmill and some strength training on my biceps and triceps : )

Food - well, I am starting to get bored and I am changing my food all the time!!! So not sure why this is happening. I am starting to REALLY crave carbs... I'm still wondering if I am getting enough calories for all that I'm doing. CARBS, I want MORE CARBS!!! Not Veggie Carbs, but bread, potatoes, crackers... those kind. Oh did I mention my SWEET cravings???? Ya, these are getting kind of bad too... And normally, I am more of a salt person than sugar.... but I go through this EVERY TIME I start to eat differently again. Doves dark chocolate pieces usually do the trick - 4 of those throughout the day or so.. but that's 150 calories, on candy - but dark chocolate is suppose to be really good for your heart!!

Breakfast - Whole Wheat/Grain Bagel and cream cheese - 370 Calories/1,330
AM Snack - 2 pieces of dark Chocolate and 100 Calorie Pack - 175 Calories/1,155
Lunch - 4 oz ground Turkey, raw veggies, 2 clementines, 2 slices of bread - 320 Cal/835
PM Snack- Grapefruit and Yogurt - 220 Calories/615
Dinner - Ground Beef (not sure what for yet), potato of some sort and milk - 620 Cal/-5 over

Oh well, I should be able to burn that little 5 calories off at the gym tonight. Not going to worry about it. Talk to you later : )

Day 14 & 15 -

Good Morning and Happy Monday to everyone : )

I am having a pretty good day so far! I have to share something with you, kinda of funny, or at least I thought.... So, I am pretty crazy person at times and I tend to use my imagination quite often!! It's so much fun : ) Anyway, I got up to do my Turbo Jam DVD this morning and found one that I had never done before. So, I thought to myself, since I am doing so well on the there DVD's why not try a different one... starts off pretty good and kind of the same worm up as the others... i was getting kind of excited - that I had a new one to put into the mix : ) Ya, then it gets going.... Oh boy, it was WAY over my head - I have been doing Turbo Jam for about 2 years now off and on and I actually and pretty good - ya, not at this one... I was like, "whoa, what, wait go back... what.. oh forget it.." But I didn't forget it : ) I got my new $35 MP3 player this weekend and loaded like 90+ songs on it, so I grabbed that bad boy popped it in my ears and started my OWN workout!! LOL, here comes the imagination - I put my own 40 minute routine together and acted like I was teaching a class - I will say that it was one heck of a workout!! I was pretty impressed : ) It was fun and I really feel it... So much fun - I am thinking of doing this at least once a week maybe twice - who knows, maybe I will teach a class someday... that's a long way away : )

Alright, onto other things... I know I missed writing yesterday. I did pretty well yesterday and I had Mickey D's Breakfast and Taco Bell for lunch.... I know, not the things I want to be eating while trying to lose weight, but you know what, I counted EVERYTHING yesterday and only came in 40 calories over 1700. I had TONS of fruits and veggies - I mean TONS - like 8 servings minimum!!! And I did drink a lot of water. Oh, and even though I ate fast food yesterday - I made GOOD choices, I didn't go nuts!

Ok, so onto today!

I did my 40 minutes of cardio this morning!
Breakfast: Whole Grain Bagel and cream cheese - 370 Calories
AM Snack: 10 Whole grain baked wheat crackers, grapefruit, raw cucumbers and ff dip - 250 Calories
Lunch: 4 oz. ground turkey, 1/4 cup ketchup, two slices of bread, 100 calorie pack and clementine - 390 Calories
PM Snack: green peppers raw, dip, yogurt, clementine - 210 Calories
Dinner: Subway sub, baked chips and pop. - ? Calories (I have to figure them out and then I will fill it in).

I just found out we are having a HALF DAY !!! Whoo Hoo!!! Talk to you soon~

Day 13 -

Hello - I realize that my Saturday and Sunday blogs are probably going to be shorter and straight to the point. I am not on my computer all that much while I am at home : )

I started my day with a two hour gym workout - 40 minutes of cardio, then abs, back and chest. I feel great..

Breakfast: Special K, 1/2 cup skim milk, whole wheat waffle, 1 tbsp PB, grapefruit = 460 Calories
Lunch: 4 Cups of lettuce, 1 hard boiled egg, 1 cup green peppers, tuna can, yellow peppers, 1/4 cup of cheese, 3 tbs light dressing = 380 Calories
Dinner: ( I will get back with you : )

We have bowling tonight, so that will be fun : ) It's still SO COLD here though.... SO COLD.. leaving the house stinks.

Day 12 - Food Exercise track

Alright, so I did get up and workout this morning, I did 20 minutes of cardio and 40 minutes of sculpting! It was fun and I felt great afterward. I burned about 350 calories to kick start my day - pretty cool. There will not be a PM workout on Friday nights -

Breakfast: 1 large egg and 1 egg white, 1 slice of cheese, 2 slices of high fiber bread, 8 oz skim milk - 305 Calories. AM snack: Grapefruit and yogurt - 220 Calories. Lunch: Spaghetti with turkey - 250 Calories. PM snack - Whole Wheat Chips and Salsa - 190 Calories. Dinner - Medium baked potato, 1/8 c shredded cheese, 2 tbs lit sour cream, 4oz chicken, green salad - 485 Calories. So on the day I will have had 1,450 Calories - But I will be having popcorn tonight while watching Friday Night Lights - So that will take up the remaining 250 Calories to close out the day.

Not too bad today : ) Can't wait for 9PM tonight!! It's back - YAY!!!

Day 12 - Week 2 Weigh In

This week will be a short weigh in because I am going to go back to weighing in on Fridays.
So I lost another 2 pounds today - Not the number I was hoping for but I'll take it! I am down to 245 now. Not bad, 5 pounds in two weeks. Although one of my goals this week was to lose 5 pounds - that didn't happen. Thats alright, the slower it comes the off the better chance I have at keeping it off - I have to remind myself of that ; )

Day 11

Taking it day by day, one step at a time : )
Today - I failed to workout this morning... I know... I let myself down. I will be going tonight and I think that I will get in an hour of cardio, to help make up for it a little... I will do the Trifecta again, that was fun!

Breakfast: 1 egg, 1 egg white, 2 pieces of high fiber whole wheat toast, 1 slice of cheese, 8 oz of V8 Fusion = 325 calories. I was happy with that and it's filling!! That's what counts matters, staying full!! AM Snack: Medium banana and WW yogurt = 205 Calories. Happy again. Lunch: Progresso can soup, whole wheat chips and salsa = 350 Calories. Cool.. that's good!! PM Snack: celery and peanut butter = 200 Calories. Dinner: (We don't know yet, something with ground turkey though) 4 oz of ground turkey for 120 calories and then whatever else : ) I will let you know. So far without dinner though, I did pretty good today, with a total of = Wow, only 1,080 Calories on the day before dinner!! That's great!!! So I have 620 left - the 120 for the turkey = 500 Calories!! Whoo.

Tomorrow is weigh in though - so I will have to be careful on how I use those calories.... I will!!
So besides the no AM workout, I am feeling pretty good about today!!

New Blog...

So I thought I would let all of you know that I started another blog page : ) Along with my goal of losing weight this year, I also made it my goal to grow more intimately with God. I thought since this blog is helping me so much with the weight loss journey, I would also track my journey with God - you can find it at http://megansjourneywithgod.blogspot.com - I have only a couple posts so far, but I think that what I have been sharing is pretty amazing, at least to us : ) Enjoy! Don't forget to comment and let me know what you think!

Day 10

Good Morning All! How are you today? I am pumped and ready to go!! I started my day with a 40 minute workout with Turbo Jam - Turbo Sculpt. OK, I know I mentioned it before, but Turbo Jam is awesome - I love working out in the comfort of my home in the morning and this video set is FUN and I look forward to doing it!! So, I did get in 40 minutes this morning - I won't be able to workout tonight because we have an orientation meeting to go to tonight - Chris and I are checking out Fostering to Adopt infant/s. I'll keep you posted : )

So for breakfast today - I had kind of a lot of calories: 2 whole wheat waffles, 1 tbsp of PB, 8oz. of V8 Fusion and 1 medium banana = 475 Calories - This is high, I like to stay around 300, NO more than 350 - (so I failed here). AM Snack: Yogurt and grapefruit = 220 Calories. Lunch: Bean soup, 1/4 cup shredded cheese, 2 tbsp sour cream, whole wheat chips = 525 Calories. PM Snack: Celery with Peanut Butter = 200 Calories. Dinner: 1/2 whole wheat pita, 3 oz. tuna, 8 cheese chunks = 280 Calories.

So, out of 1700 calories, lets see how I did - 475+220+525+200+280= 1700 - WOW on the nose!! No SNACKING TONIGHT MEGAN!! You had enough calories through the day, you shouldn't be hungry!!! NO snacks at orientation either!!! ONLY have whatever they have to drink : ) I can do it!!!

I'll be back later, I'm sure. I love writing on here and love that you guys are supporting me and reading what I am writing : ) Thank you so much!!

Fast Workouts That Really Work!

SELF.com

By Lucy Danziger, SELF Editor-in-Chief - Posted on Wed, Nov 26, 2008, 1:47 pm PST

Happier, Healthier You
by Lucy Danziger, SELF Editor-in-Chief a Yahoo! Health Expert for Women's Health

Visit Women's Health Home »

More By This Expert

• Uncover Sexy Abs Without Crunches!
• Jillian Michaels' Motivation Tricks
• Three Cheers for Healthy Cocktails!

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I love my long training runs, but most days carving out more than an hour to work out just isn't in the cards. And when my schedule is really crammed, shoehorning a sweat session seems next to impossible.

Luckily, the fantastic fitness team at SELF let me in on a little secret: You can get an hour's worth of fitness and calorie burning in 20 short minutes. Yes, I was skeptical at first, but this fat-blasting routine is as ultraeffective as it is speedy, and the secret lies in high-intensity spurts of energy. Here's how to do it:

• Pick any cardio you like (running, swimming, the elliptical trainer). Warm up for 2 minutes at a moderate pace, then sprint for 30 seconds at the highest intensity you can muster. Slow down and do 90 seconds at a catch-your-breath recovery pace. Repeat eight times. You'll torch more calories in less time, while you burn fat faster. Follow this cardio session with a few of the following fast firmers for a total-body workout in less than 30 minutes.

• Tighten your tummy: Do two sets of 10 to 12 crunches on a stability ball. Research from the University of Auckland, Tamaki Campus, in New Zealand, revealed that using the ball makes crunches 20 percent more effective compared to hitting the floor.

• Firm up legs: Stand on left foot, hands on hips, and bring right knee to hip level in front. Trace a horizontal figure eight in front of you with knee. Then bend left knee and hop to right, landing on right foot. Repeat figure eight with left knee, then hop back to left to complete one rep. Do 10 reps, then hop back and forth 10 times to complete one set.

• Boost your bottom: Stand with feet hip-width apart, hands on waist. Shift weight to left foot and lift heel of right foot so you're resting on toes. Bend left knee and sink hips back, keeping weight off right foot (toes stay on ground). Rise up. Do 12 reps on left leg, then switch legs and repeat.

• Bare amazing arms: Holding a dumbbell in each hand, stand with feet hip-width apart. Raise arms, palms down, out and slightly forward to shoulder height. Slowly lower them behind you so weights almost touch. Do 12 reps.

• Slim all over: Stand with feet hip-width apart. Keeping legs as straight as possible, bend forward and walk hands out until they're under shoulders. Do two push-ups, then walk hands back and stand. Repeat twice, doing four push-ups, then six.

Jillian from the Biggest Loser! Great Article!

Jillian Michaels' Motivation Tricks

SELF.com

By Lucy Danziger, SELF Editor-in-Chief - Posted on Tue, Jan 06, 2009, 7:51 pm PST

Happier, Healthier You
by Lucy Danziger, SELF Editor-in-Chief a Yahoo! Health Expert for Women's Health

Visit Women's Health Home »

More By This Expert

• Uncover Sexy Abs Without Crunches!
• Jillian Michaels' Motivation Tricks
• Three Cheers for Healthy Cocktails!

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71% of users found this article helpful.

As sure as the ball dropping in Times Square, New Year's resolutions to get
in shape abound. After January 1, the gyms are packed, lines at the health
food store snake down the block and everyone's talking about looking fine in
2009.

But a few weeks into the month, just as the mercury dips and retail
prices decline, you can also count on a sharp dip in workout dedication. To
the rescue: Rev-your-resolve tricks from one of the most inspirational
trainers around--Jillian Michaels of TV's The Biggest
Loser, who developed the workout to go along with our annual Jump Start Diet.

MAJOR MOTIVATOR 1: Write down your goals
Hoping to slim down for your college reunion? Want to tone your butt and
thighs in time for shorts season? Looking for flat, sexy abs you'll be proud
to show off at the pool? Put it all in writing, either in a journal or
somewhere you can see it easily (the door to your fridge, perhaps?). When
you find that your motivation is dwindling, simply read your list to get
back on track.

MAJOR MOTIVATOR 2: Reward yourself
Each time you fulfill one of your goals, treat yourself to something you
deserve: a pedicure or a magazine (like SELF!). This will help you stay
excited and motivated to clear your next hurdle.

MAJOR MOTIVATOR 3: Pair up for workouts
Planning a sweat session with a pal is one surefire way to ensure you
actually show up. Someone's waiting for you! Beginning a healthy eating plan
with a friend is similarly effective. Dieters who have support from their
buddies are more likely to keep the weight off than those who fly solo,
according to research from the Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology.

MAJOR MOTIVATOR 4: Tune in
When the beat goes on, so does your workout! Listening to music as you walk
can make you go farther, according to research from the Journal of Music
Therapy. And choosing an MP3 player over the TV at the gym can help you
feel more positive as you sweat, a study from Elon University in North
Carolina indicates. Michaels loves any song by The Roots, but you can find
plenty of keep-you-going exercise playlists at Self.com.

MAJOR MOTIVATOR 5: Envision fun workouts and a fitter, firmer, more fabulous
you
Visualizing an energizing and entertaining workout a few minutes each day can
make you feel more excited to exercise, research shows. Once you've covered
your workout, focus on you: "Think about what you're trying to achieve," Michaels says. "Having intention behind your actions is extremely powerful."

My lunch....

Ok. so Margie is right, I need to not skip writing anything down - so she sent me a link for my chicken salad sandwich - 658 calories! Yikes. My carrot cake, now that was pretty hard to find, I am going to use 300 calories, the numbers I was finding were between 245-340 and none of them were for homemade carrot cake. So for lunch my total was 958. Wow!! Well, it's done.

Day 9

I'm going to be honest here, I don't have too much to say so far today. If you read my last post, that's where all my energy went : )

However, today, I did NOT get up and work out this morning. I think I slept on my shoulder wrong last night and the pain was going up into my neck. But you can bet your bottom dollar, I will be there tonight : ) Getting my 40 minutes in!

Food - well, we are celebrating my birthday today at work. My boss made from scratch my most favorite cake ever, carrot cake!! And we are getting lunch from the best place ever too - 18th Street Deli, they had a Chicken salad sandwich there that I CAN'T pass up. So, with all that said, I made sure to bring LOTS of fruit and veggies to eat today. I have no clue how to count the calories in the sandwich or the cake and I am having both.

Breakfast: 5 pieces of celery with 2 TBS of peanut butter - 200 calories, 8 0z. V8 Fusion - 100 Calories. Total of 300 Calories for breakfast.

AM Snack: 1 medium banana - 105 calories

Lunch - uncountable.... NO Clue.

PM Snack - Grapefruit cup 120 calories and yogurt 100 calories. Total of 220 Calories.

Dinner - La Choy dinner, very low in calories, pepper beef, not sure what the actual calories are though, I will get back to you on that : )

Not miserable, but you know....

Well, let's see....

I was talking to my friend Margie last night, she's my neighbor, sister in Christ and Friend! God knew what he was doing when I bought that house : ) It's funny, whenever I think about the things I don't like about my house, you know, start COMPLAINING, I always think about it being part of God's plan - Chris and I moving in next door to Margie and her daughter. It's pretty neat... anyway, I seemed have got a little side tracked.

So, I was talking to Margie and she is going to run a 5K in May, and I have ALWAYS wanted to run a 5K, then a 10K and so on.... well, I figured since my first Goal of weight loss I am pushing for in May, what better way to help me stay on track than to start training for this 5K. So guess what people, I'm doing it and I already started workout number one on the training plan last night - cool huh!

I went to the gym last night, walked at a good pace for 20 minutes and then went into the 20 minute training - so all together 40 minutes last night and right over 300 calories. So yesterday I burned around 500 total with the morning exercise and night.

While I am telling you about all this great news, I figure I would throw in something else, NON-Weight related..... I have been having some issues with my truck... it was starting to shake when I drive it. Well, I was a little worried, because we all know how car repairs and be EXPENSIVE and OUTRAGEOUS!! As I mentioned, I was worried at first, but then I thought, GOD, I am NOT going to worry, it's in your hands and you have kept me safe so far... you know our financial situation and I am just going to trust you - this is what I prayed as I dropped my vehicle off at the repair shop. I told them that I thought it might be my tie rods (Money pit), but wasn't sure, my truck started shaking once it got to a certain speed and then would stop... he said he would take a look. He called me like 20 minutes later, "nope, it's not your tie rods, I am going to rotate your tires and tighten up your wheel bearings, because there is too much give in your tires, and that should fix the problem - $55 for wheel bearings and only $18 for tire rotation, Total = $73.00 - GOD you ROCK!!! You are so amazing!!! You answered my prayer almost directly on the spot!! Thank you Jesus!!

Sorry this was so long - but I HAD to share : )

UPDATE: Please Read Regarding My Earlier Post!!

So earlier I posted a piece of info from an article I was reading, well a friend of mine pointed out an error in the article after reading my post. At first I thought it was my error, but it wasn't it was theirs. So there are some changes. When using the info below to determine you daily calorie intake - women use 65 NOT 655 - there is a HUGE difference.

I was thinking to myself, WOW, I was eating that many calories a day, that's insane. This calculation with the number 65 instead of 655, makes SO MUCH MORE sense.

My new stats, right now, to stay where I am, if I wanted to, which I DON'T, I would need to eat 2,002 calories - since I want to LOSE weight, I need to cut my calories and cutting them down by 300 should be a good start! I will see how week 2 goes!

Sorry for all the confusion~

Caloric Intake - what should it be??

So I wanted to see if maybe I am eating to few of calories at this moment. I did a search and here is what I found - I thought it might be helpful for you out there too so I copied and pasted it, you can find the whole article at http://weightloss.about.com/od/eatsmart/a/blcalintake.htm

Calculate Your BMR Your BMR is the amount of energy your body needs to function. We use about 60% of the calories we consume each day for basic bodily functions such as breathing.

Other factors that influence your BMR are height, weight, age and sex.

Step one is to calculate your BMR with the following formula:

Women:
655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

Men:
66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

Please note that this formula applies only to adults.

Calculate Activity

Step two: In order to incorporate activity into your daily caloric needs, do the following calculation:

• If you are sedentary : BMR x 20 percent
• If you are lightly active: BMR x 30 percent
• If you are moderately active (You exercise most days a week.): BMR x 40 percent

• If you are very active (You exercise intensely on a daily basis or for prolonged periods.): BMR x 50 percent
• If you are extra active (You do hard labor or are in athletic training.): BMR x 60 percent

Add this number to your BMR.

The result of this formula will be the number of calories you can eat every day and maintain your current weightt. In order to lose weight, you'll need to take in fewer calories than this result.

As you lose weight, you can re-calculate the formula to assess your new BMR.

ME again - not the article. So I did all this and this is what I came up with based on the numbers. In order to stay right where I am, I would need to consume about 3,300 calories in a day, that's almost double what I am trying to eat now.

Now, obviously I want to LOOSE weight, so I should cut that down, but I don't think I should literally cut in half off the bat - especially with all the working out I am doing - I am getting in 10, 45 minute+ sessions a week!!! That's 450 minutes in a week of exercise. That's a lot!!!

So, I think for week 2 I am going to stay at the 1700 mark to see what happens, but if I don't lose at least 5 pounds and I stayed on track all week with eating and working out, then I am going to increase my calories, probably to like 2,000.

I do know that you have to EAT to LOSE!!! Too few calories will not help you, it will only hurt.

Let me know if this is helpful :)

Goals for Week 2

I want to lose at least 5 pounds this week!! I hope that I am eating enough for as much as I am working out. We'll see...

Goals for week 2:
1.) Lose 5 pounds
2.) 5 out of 7 days, not go over my calories in a day (1700)
3.) Not miss a work out - I will miss Wed. morning and Friday night - this will be standard my
Mon - Sat. But I want to make all the others!! (Last week I missed 3).

Every week I am going to try and come up with 3 NEW goals to accomplish for the week!! Help hold me to them : )

Day 8 - Weigh in Day

Good morning - it's Monday and feel pretty good!
I got up this morning and did 45 minutes of exercise - so that's good!
I have already had 64 ounces of water and it's only 10:10AM, so that's good!!

I weighted in today and Lost (drum roll please.....) 3 pounds, that's good too. I was REALLY hoping for like 5 pounds. But sometimes when you have a lower first week your second week will be great. That's what I am hoping for : ) So now, I weigh 247 pounds - HOPING to NEVER see 250 AGAIN!!!

Breakfast: 2 wheat waffles - 170 Calories, 2 tbsp sugar free jelly - 20 Calories, 1 medium banana - 105 Calories. Total Calories = 295

AM Snack: 6 chunks of cheese - 100 Calories, celery w/1 tbsp of peanut butter - 100 Calories. Total = 200 Calories

Lunch: 1 can of progresso soup - 160 Calories, 1/2 piece of pita bread - 110 Calories, 2 tbsp of hummus 60 calories. Total Calories = 330 Calories

PM Snack: 1 WW yogurt - 100 Calories and 1 green pepper w/ 1 tbsp of ranch - 50 Calories. Total 150 calories

Dinner - Homemade bean soup w/ ham - 250 Calories, crackers 2 servings - 240 Calories. Total Calories = 490 Calories

Late Snack (after the Gym) - WW yogurt and 2 tbsp of sun flower seeds - 300 Calories total.

For day 8 - Calorie intake = 1615 ( that leaves very little wiggle room.. but enough)

Day 7

OK. So I feel like I did a lot better today, but let's see once it's all written out.

Breakfast: Grapefruit 120 calories, 1 Cup Special K 120 Calories, 1/2 cup skim milk 40 Calories, 8 ounces of V8 Fusion 100 Calories = 380 for Breakfast.

Lunch: 1 sloppy joe and bun - 381 Calories, Cup of Chicken Noodle Soup - 120 Calories = 501 calories for lunch.

Dinner: 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (made low) 180 calories each, - 360 Calories, 1 cup of Salsa - 50 Calories and 2 servings of hint of line tortilla chips - 280 Calories = 690 Calories total.

Today's total = 1571 Calories - Goal was to eat 1700, so I actually had 130 calories left. Wow, I did do a lot better today! Yay me : )

Day 6

Sorry - I know this is over due! I missed Saturday and Sunday. Wow, what a weekend. Let me just say, it was a lot harder to stay on track then during the week.

Do you ever notice how during the week it's really much easier to stay on task because you are in this routine? Man, for me, it's MUCH easier - the weekends just seem like free-for-alls! In the past I did MUCH better when I did my weigh-ins on Friday morning. Yes, they would be bigger losses, but it kept me motivated so much longer. I think that I am going to go back to weigh in on Friday mornings, starting with week 2.

OK back to day Six - WOW, I had an amazing workout day today!! I worked out for 2 full hours - 1 hour of cardio and 1 hour of strength training. Within my cardio workout, I actually did the Stairmaster for 20 minutes - so exciting, along with the treadmill and elliptical... I figured out that I burned about 800 calories - 600 burned with cardio and about 200 for the strength training.

My eating today wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. I didn't get back form the gym until about 10:30 so we just went and grabbed some lunch out to eat. I had one of the BEST salads ever : ) So, I had about 7 ounces of Chicken - 220 calories, 1 hard boiled egg - 78 Calories, 10 slices of cucumber - 10 calories, 8 cups of romaine lettuce - 80 Calories, 3 ounces of shredded cheese - 150 Calories, 1 pita bread - 210 Calories, Greek Dressing - 135 Calories and I did have 3 fried cheese sticks : ( - 240 Calories - YIKES!!! So for my breakfast, AM snack and Lunch, I had - 1,123 - OUCH!! I could have done with out the stupid cheese sticks, they weren't even that good...

So, I didn't eat again though until dinner - Turkey Burger Patty - 120 Calories, Slice of Provolone Cheese - 70 Calories, Wheat Bun - 120 Calories, Baked Fries - 150 Calories and 4 TBS of Ketchup - 60 calories. And the dinner total was 520 Calories.

Later that night we went out and met up with some friends for Karaoke, and I had 4 Mick Ultra Lights - but at 95 Calories each wasn't too bad - total 380 Calories.

So, let's up the daily totals - 1,123+520+380 = 2,025-1,700=I was over by 325 Calories for the day. Oops, I guess I should do some better planning!! Let's hope I do better on Sunday!

Day 5 Follow Up

Alright, so for lunch I did have Taco Bell - but I was REALLY good!! 2 crunchy tacos and pintos without cheese for a total of 400 calories, not bad!! I would have had that anyway, and it was really filling.

I am not going to be able to get a workout in tonight - but I will get a GOOD one in tomorrow, probably like hour and half or so... then on Sunday we are playing Wally Ball - YAY!!! I am hoping for a minimum weight loss this week of 5 pounds. I think I can pull it off!!

Alright - well Happy Friday!! Talk at you tomorrow.

Day 5 Entry

Ok, so I didn't get up and work out this morning, I know.... My bad! But in my defense, my abs hurt so bad that I felt like I was going to throw up. Funny thing, I haven't worked solely on my abs since Tuesday - So this is a good sign, I must be working out well!! Cardio is suppose to be amazing for the core and really help strengthen, and I think I believe them now : ) I always believed them, cardio is just the hardest for me, but I am doing it!!

So I have to share with you- I was planning on trying out for season 8 of the Biggest Loser, but instead I am going to try it my way one more time before I look to drastic measures, (if I have too). By starting this blog and having all of you to hold me accountable and to be looking at me to change, this is going to REALLY help me!! I know I can do it - I just have to do it!!

Moving on... Today is day 5 and I am getting really excited about weighing in on Monday morning, I am thinking it will be a good week! Breakfast today, I had a blueberry bagel and cream cheese with a V8 fusion - 440 Calories (wow, kind of a lot of calories for breakfast and I am already hungry for my morning snack and it's only 10:30). AM Snack - 1/4 piece of pita and 1 TBS of hummus and yogurt - 158 Calories. Lunch - not sure yet... : ) PM Snack - 6 chunks of cheese and something else... I'm sorry, not as prepared with my food for the whole day. I will have to write back later.

Oh, I am in for a test tonight. Chris and I are going out to dinner and I am going to practice making healthy choices. Wish me luck and be praying for me - I know I can do it and I like to start testing myself early on. Here we go : )

I'll write later!

Good NIght...

It's 10:07 and I HAVE TO GO TO BED!!! But, I was really proud of myself tonight - I was at the gym and did 30 minutes on the Eliptical machine, and 10 minutes on the stair master, ya, that's right I said stair master - Megan does not do stair masters, but I did tonight for 10 minutes. My goal is to get up to 20 minutes on it - it felt awesome!! I ended the night with 7 minutes on the treadmill - not bad. Over all, I exercised over 80 minutes today - pretty cool! OK, off to bed so I can get up and do it ALL over again : ) Good Night.

Whoo Hoo!

Guess what, it's 4:23 and I have not been hungry enough to eat my afternoon snack - so now I have 290 calories left over!! Whoo Hooo! Just had to share : )

Thursday, Jan. 8th

So as I mentioned in my earlier post, I am on day four! I am doing pretty well so far... yesterday was horrible - bad on eating and I wasn't able to work out. But, today is a new day. So far so great! I am doing good with my eating and I also worked out for 40 minutes this morning using Turbo Jam - By the way this workout program ROCKS!!! It's fun and you REALLY feel it!! It's like anything though, in order to get results, YOU HAVE TO DO IT :-)

Anyway, for Breakfast I had a blueberry bagel with cream cheese - 290 Calories -For my AM Snack I had 6 chunks of cheese and 1 pear - 200 Calories - For lunch today I am having a whole wheat pita, and 4 TBS of hummus, a 1/2 of cucumber and light ranch - 400 Calories - For my PM Snack WW yogurt and 6 chunks of cheese - 200 Calories - And Dinner, 6oz Cube Steak and baked potato w/ 1 TBS of Sour Cream - 520 Calories. I still have 90 calories left for the day!!

I will be hitting the gym for about 45 minutes tonight to get in some more cardio! Today I will have stayed within my calories of 1700 and have 85 minutes of exercise!

My water intake - I did some research and I know the standard is 8 glasses of 8oz water, but I found that really for women, it's more like 9 glasses of 8oz of water. And if you are working out more than 60 minutes in a day you should add an additional 2.5 glasses - so, I am aiming for 12 glasses of 8oz. of water, so really 96 ounces! I can do it....

YAY - go me :-)

4 Days In....

OK. So, I am starting 4 days late.. oops. Like so many others, I am starting my new weight-loss journey, and "get fit" program at the beginning of 2009! I started in full on January 5th. I weighted in at 250 pounds!!! Yes, 250 pounds!!! This IS the biggest I have EVER been, YIKES!!! I will be weighing myself every Monday Morning.

Here are my measurements: Arms- R 12.75" - L 14" Hips- 51" Waist - High 41" Low 48"
Thighs - R 30" - L 31" Calves - R 17" - L 17.25" - I am going to take NEW measurements every four weeks.

I'm sure buy now you have already seen my pictures - YUCK!! I need to lose the weight so I like to myself in pictures again! I will post a NEW picture of me every 4 weeks. The picture with me in the Green shirt and Black pants is the MOST recent- Taken on Christmas Day 2008.

I will be tracking here my food and exercise too - how many minutes I workout a day and the calories and food I am eating. While I know eating super healthy foods is the best way to go - I like to go as realistic as possible - I will add in the not so good foods. My target caloric intake for now, until I lose my first 10 pounds is 1700. I know this might seem high - But I am pulling two a day workouts to help jump start my weight loss and the more I burn, I do need some extra calories for energy. I will NOT be going below 1400 in a day - I am TOO active to go below that amount. And really 1400 is a very healthy amount of calories.

So wish me luck - this journey will be long and life changing : )