July 31st, 2016: Week 7 Weigh-in

Well, if you have been reading my blog this week, you know that it has been a hard week for me. Friday was the hardest day I have had since I started this journey. So when I woke up this morning, I was not excited to get on the scale. I was honestly just hoping to lose maybe a pound, but I decided to be happy as long as I did not gain anything. So I got on the scale... last week I was at 342 pounds even,  the scale loves me, 338.8!! Somehow, by the grace of God alone, I lost 3 more pounds! I don't even know how that happened. That just goes to show you that your body is more resilient to bad decisions than you think. Especially if they aren't very often. Because other than that one day, every other day has been totally on point. I do feel like I'm losing a bit of energy toward my workouts. And I think that's just because I'm going hard 6 days a week. I may consider cutting back to 5 days a week. But I will still do something at home that 6 that day. I don't know. It kind of depends on how my body reacts to it. I definitely do not want to get burned out.

I spent my entire morning in the early afternoon meal prepping & snack prepping. I put a ton of stuff together. And then of course I worked on packing my clothes and all of that mess too. I don't know what my problem is, but I feel like I have to over pack every time we go anywhere. I think that's a normal thing right? The problem is, my husband has the same issue. I was making fun of him and calling him a girl today. He has like two outfits per day packed, I believe! LOL. He used the comparison that I have two outfits per day, but that didn't fly, because I only have one outfit for a day on our normal days. The two outfits are for a convention because I'm going to dress casual during the day and a little dressy or at night. That's totally normal! He wants to take gym clothes, casual clothes, and nicer clothes, for... like everyday! Like I said, he's a girl! LOL

Meal Prepping Like a Boss!

After running around all morning like a chicken with my head cut off, I headed to Sikeston. I decided not to do YPump, because I just really didn't have enough time. So I went to Zumba, and gave it 100%. It was a good workout, and I was good a tired afterward! After running a few errands I headed back home to hop in the shower (because I had a spray tan scheduled for this evening & just worked out...nuff said) and then I rushed to make dinner and give my dog a bath since she is coming with us after all. She has to be so fresh and so clean!! Lol!! She hates the act of getting a bath, but she sure does love being clean. She just prances all over the house like a crazy dog afterwards. LOL. 

Anyways, my parents came to visit before we left (and to see their grandbabies who conveniently live next door in the same apartment building), so I went over and visited with them a bit, then came back home to work on getting everything finalized. It's not finalized. Lol....It must get done! 

I went and got my spray tan. I have a self-tanner through Younique that is great, but I really wanted a Professional Spray Tan for our vacation. So that's what I did. And the lady who does them is just a freaking amazing woman! She is just precious and I think she's great. So of course I stood there talking to her way to long (it's how I roll) and made us both get home too late! So here I am, writing my blog after 10 and I still have much to do. Oh well...that's the crazy life I live. :)

Here is the breakdown of my weird food choices for today, lol: 

Breakfast
PB Banana Smoothie = 340 cals

Lunch
Pistachios, Cottage Cheese & a Protein Shake = 360 cals

Dinner
A burger on a Sara Lee Sandwhich Thin (only 100 cals) and an extra burger patty on the side for more protein (and calories, cuz I had plenty), and a side salad = 610 cals

That put me at 1310 calories for the day :) 

Can you believe that tiny amount is a serving??
Boy I sure used to eat a LOT over a serving of a LOT of foods.
Just Sayin!

You guys have a great night! We are hitting the road in the morning. :) 

June 30th 2016: Crazy, Busy, Never-ending Day

As the title says, it's been a long crazy day. I started my morning with sleeping too late...rushing to get ready and make a smoothie, then out the door for Zumba. My sis rode with me and we got there just a smidge late. They were just starting when we went in, Yay for not missing any. After the hour long class, they went over a tad, which always makes me happy. I'd do it for 2 hours on the weekend if someone would instruct it! Lol! So they practiced a few songs at the end and I think I got 10-15 minutes extra, woohoo! I also came out of class and did another 20 on the Eliptical. I ended up burning 1500 calories at the gym today, woohoo!!! Then we went to warm up in the Sauna. Haha...and then showers since I was headed to Rue to try on that dress.

No makeup day, so silly Snapchat filters had to do! Lol!!

Sadly, the one I had my eye on was still too snug. I thought I was totally up a creek because I had tried a ton of dresses on before and it was the one that came closest to fitting. BUT, to my pleasant surprise we found a little black, cocktail style dress that fit perfectly! Yipee!! I now have a dress for the Gala!! Whoop whoop!! That just made my day!

So now that I am all set there, I was having a great day! I headed home, and blabbed on the phone for almost an HOUR with one of my fell Younique sisters! Lol, She is going to Convention too, and I'm just trying to work out some details and stuff so that things will run as smoothly as possible. I was SUPER stressed about my baby Pomeranian (she's not really a baby, but at 5 pounds, she will always be my baby). I booked a pet friendly hotel, but they have a stupid policy that you can't leave your dog in your room during the day if you aren't there, EVEN if they are kenneled. What the crap? Who takes their dog on vacation with them and is allowed to bring them everywhere? Um..no one...so they are just stupid in my opinion. DUMBEST policy EVER. I understand them not being allowed to roam freely in the room. That's a given. But this policy is ridiculous. So...we have a plan. We really didn't want to leave her at home, because she will stay under our bed and stress out the entire time. She does not do well without her momma. She won't eat or drink right and I'm scared to leave her that long for fear of dehydration. So.....she will stay with her daddy while I'm at convention. And she will go with us Monday and Wednesday. If we both have to go somewhere she will stay in the car with it locked and the air going. Tuesday we plan to spend the day at the Zoo, so she is going to a doggy daycare for that day. They are just going to keep her in a kennel with food and water, and I think that's best for her. So that's one more thing taken care of that makes me happy.

After we got all of that squared away I went to the store and got everything we needed for our trip (hopefully). So I headed home to cook dinner. I bought a rotisserie chicken, so I shredded that and make BBQ sandwhiches. I used these Sara Lee Sandwhich thins that are like a burger bun, but super thin and all wheat. They aren't amazing, but if you toast them and put some butter spray (zero calorie), they are fine when used with very flavorful ingredients, a.k.a. shredded chicken with BBQ sauce. :)

After dinner, I totally forgot about my blog for a little bit, and started going through my clothes trying to decide what I'm going to wear while we are on vacation. The "team shirt" that I'm supposed to wear to our opening ceremony is snug. A lot. The largest size they had was 2x, but I love it. I'm going to see if I can find a body squishing body suit tomorrow at Cato, and if not I WILL find one in St. Louis. Lol!

So that's about it. I've got over 16k steps today and still have some things to get done. How exciting!! Let me wrap this up and I'll see y'all tomorrow for my weigh-in. Fingers-crossed that it isn't a total train wreck!

Here's the breakdown of my food choices for today:

Breakfast
Pb Banana Smoothie (I will miss those while we're in St. Louis!) = 340 calories

Lunch
Egg scramble (3 eggs, turkey breast, tomatoes, mushrooms, & cheese) = 362 cals

Dinner
BBQ Sandwhich, Green beans, corn on the cob = 603 cals

That puts me at 1305 calories, which means I burnt more than I ate today! Woohoo!!

And that's all folks! Have a great day tomorrow!

July 29th, 2016: Nobody Is Perfect, Especially Me

So the day started out pretty good, I was so excited to have this one last shift standing between me & a 9 day Vacation. I mean, who wouldn't be? So I got up, threw my FitBit on the Charger and hopped in the shower. I must've gotten carried away in the lovely warm, muscle relaxy-ness (yup, made that word up), because before I knew it, my hurry up alarm was going off. I set lots of alarms for myself in the mornings so that I won't be late....but I'm still late...a lot. Lol...I'm late so much that the president of the company issued a new policy that if you're late, you have to stay over 15 minutes after 5. That was all for me.....lol. So I've been working REALLY hard on getting to work on time the past few weeks. When I hear that hurry up alarm go off, I go in to hurricane mode and start throwing clothes on and getting everything ready really fast. I made my smoothie in record breaking time and jetted out the door!

Half way to work I realize my wrist is naked. No FitBit. Shoot me now. My life is over. How will I EVER survive the day?? I was crushed. I have NEVER done that before! I talked to my sister after I got to work and she says she will bring my FitBit with her when she comes to the Y after work, so at least I'll have it to work out....Nope....she left early and forgot it. Sadness....such sorrow in my life. Lol. I seriously was lacking all motivation for working out because my steps wouldn't count and it wouldn't read my heart rate. How ridiculous is that??

So I head over to the Y after work, with zero motivation. I've decided that I'm going to do a short workout, and then go swimming with my family. My mom was meeting us there. I get there and they are already there getting dressed. JUST as my sister goes in to the pool area to let her babies play, they close the pool. How sad. Her 3 year old was crushed. He LOVES to swim and he could not understand why such a cruel joke was played on him. It was heart breaking. And it was even worse because we couldn't do a dang thing about it. A storm was coming and they are very particular about letting people in the pool when there is lightening nearby. I totally 100% get that. What I don't get, is why they told her the pool was open and let her change those babies, only to close it a few short moments later?? Why not tell her that a storm is looking like it's headed this way, and although it's open now, it will most likely be closing soon. We had looked at the forecast and it totally looked like it was going to miss us. It was just so sad to see that baby bawling and not be able to do anything about it.

At that point I was 100% drained of all motivation to do anything at all as far as working out. So I did what any reasonable person would do. I went to eat Chinese with my momma. I had a really great time visiting with her and hanging out and talking our heads off. And then...I had an epic fail. I went and got Peach Cobbler with Ice Cream. I didn't have the available calories for it. I was already full and had NO business going up there. I didn't need it. But I wanted it sooooooooo bad. And I got it. And I ate every bite. And I felt awful. Terrible. Disgusted. When we walked out of the restaurant I was so sick to my stomach I thought I would be sick. I drove home crying almost the whole way. I came in the door of my apartment, and I lost it. I ran to the bathroom and was sick.

I honestly don't think it had anything to do with the actual cobbler other than the fact that I was already full. But I seriously beat myself up the whole way home. I'm pretty sure I committed emotional abuse on myself. It was bad. I don't know what happened, or why I let it get to me that bad, but in that moment, I felt like a total and complete failure. It was rough.

Lesson learned. Behave. Don't be an idiot. Losing weight and getting healthy and Living Longer is way more important than some damn Peach Cobbler. I can and will do this the right way. I am strong enough. I am smart enough. And I am worthy of being that person. I may need to say that to myself a few hundred times a day. The struggle is real y'all. Say a prayer for me. ;)

Here's the breakdown of my Food Choices for today:

Breakfast
PB Banana Smoothie = 340 cals

Lunch
Half Turkey Sammy, cottage cheese, celery w/almond butter, fresh (not ripe enough) cantelope = 463 cals

Snack
2 Boiled Eggs and a Protein Shake = 236 cals

Dinner
Broccoli Beef with Water Chestnuts, Shrimp, & Mushrooms and a side of Black Pepper Chicken, peach cobbler with Ice cream = 737 cals

Total for the day 1776. Not insanely high, but much higher than I want. Not good. Tomorrow is a new day.

July 28th, 2016: One More Day!!!

That's right folks, only one more day until this girl is officially on vacation for 9 whole days!! I'm soooo excited!!! We will leave Monday for St. Louis, so I will be spending the weekend getting my grocery shopping done and doing my food prep, and then packing and cleaning and blah, blah, blah. My brain is going 1,000 miles an hour right now trying to make sure I have all of my bases covered!

I don't know if I told you guys this or not, but I joined yet another Diet Bet. The second one that I joined ends on Monday and I'm only 1 pound away from winning that one. I joined the third one for 2 primary reasons. #1...the pot is over 100,000 so the winnings will be bigger, but also because it runs right through my vacation...so I feel like it will motivate me to make smarter decisions. I'm SUPER stressed about behaving while I'm there. It will be very easy to sneak in some bad decisions and I don't want to go backwards...heck I don't even want to stay still! I want to LOSE weight on my vacation. Does that make me crazy? People do that don't they? I sure hope so!

I had a nice & busy day at work today. It went by pretty quickly and then it was time for the gym, of course. I went to Zumba as usual. My sis joined me so that was great. About halfway through the class we had done a bunch of songs in a row where turn in circles and I don't know what happened, but my sister turned pale and just about got sick. It freaked us out. Zumba is hardcore FOLKS! Lol. She said she hadn't eaten much all day, and then she ate right before she came.

So after all that drama (haha) we finished Zumba, she was a real trooper and finished it out and just skipped the turning. The instructor was cracking me up! She would yell what our next move was and she would shout, "TURN" then look at Elizabeth and say, "No not you, I'm watching you!" LOL!! It was super funny, but you could tell that she really cared and was worried about her. I think the instructors are always afraid one of us fat girls are gonna hurt ourselves! Lol We are literally the biggest girls in the class and we may have to modify moves here and there, but we do it!

After Zumba we did leg weights just to add to the torture and we met this girl that has lost over 100 pounds! She was truly inspirational and SUPER nice!! It's always uplifting to meet people who have been where we are and overcome and achieved their goals! I just love it!

I finished my workout in the sauna and then headed home. I made Petite Sirloin Steaks today and all I put on them was salt (I use Kosher salt-less sodium) and the Strawberries Steak Seasoning. They were sooooooo amazing!! I had 8 ounces and could have ate another one! Lol. Jamie always ruins my masterpiece and he did so today. He cut his into tiny pieces and put it in his salad. What a waste! Lol!!

Alright, that's all I've got! Y'all have a super fantastic Friday tomorrow!!!

Here is the breakdown of my food choices for today:

Breakfast
PB and Banana Smoothie is back! Lol & a Nutrigrain Bar = 460 cals

Lunch
Turkey Sammy half, Cottage Cheese, Baby Dill Pickles, Fresh Cantelope = 354 cals

Afternoon Snack
2 boiled eggs = 136 cals

Dinner
Petite Sirloin Steak, Balsamic Mushrooms, Side Salad = 530 cals

That puts me at 1480 calories for the day and it was a great food day. Thanks for tuning in!

July 27th, 2016: Stronger Every Day

Today was a great day!! Yup, you heard me, I'm not complaining...yay!!! That could have something to do with the fact that it's Hump Day, which literally means we are OVER the HUMP of the work week!! Woot Woot!! And in 2 more Days my 9 day vacation starts and I am sooooooooo excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Lol

I've been thinking about it, and I have every intention of blogging every day while I'm there, but honestly Thursday through Saturday's blogs of next week may be short and sweet and then I'll fill you in on all of the wonderful stuff when we get back. The Convention starts Thursday and I know it's going to be CRAZY and I may not get much sleep and that stresses me out! Lol

So today, work went pretty great. I got a lot accomplished and was feeling pretty good! I also traded desk chairs with Brandon to see if my hips have gotten small enough to use it yet, but not quite. It pinches my hips too much. Boo. I know that I've lost at least 2 inches off of my hips and that's just since 2 weeks ago when I took my first measurements. I'm SURE I lost some in the first 4 weeks too. So, I am making progress, it's just not fast enough. Lol.

After work I headed to the Chiropractor and got adjusted. Ever since Monday night (after my second visit), I have been sleeping sooo good. I hope it keeps happening! I feel so much better after a few nights of more restful sleep.

Next, it was time for my burn...lol. I headed to the Y (running late because the Chiro was running a bit behind) and I popped in the Zumba room right as she was starting class. Whoo, that was close! Haha...I did better in her class today! She did this stupid ab song that I remember the first time I did it with her like 5 weeks ago, I couldn't do much of it at all! In the song, we do 3 sets of: Regular crunches, bicycle crunches, crunches with both feet straight up in the air, and then crunches with your right foot crossed over your left knee, then vice versa. Then the song ends with a nice long plank. The first time I did the song I did the regular crunches, then I could barely do the rest at all! And planks were a no go! This time I did almost ALL of it, AND I held the plank at least half of the time. Wooohoooo!! I'm just getting stronger every dang day and it makes me so happy!

Afterward, I had to go do arm weights, because I've been procrastinating on them. But they MUST be done. And I kicked the weights up on all of them and the reps too. I'm going to HURT so bad tomorrow! Lol...my abs are burning, my arms are burning and my shoulders are burning. And that makes me feel fabulous! Haha...burning is gaining muscle and I am doing it!

Well I guess that's all I've got to say! Lol...I can't believe I'm out of stuff to talk about!

Here's the breakdown of my food choices for today:

Breakfast
1 and a half packs of Strawberry Oatmeal = 195 cals

Lunch
Half Turkey Sammy, cottage cheese, and celery with almond butter = 409 cals

Snack
Sweet Cherries, boiled Egg & a Protein Shake = 255 cals

Dinner
Boneless Pork Chops, Green beans, Pinto bean Chips (found them at Walmart) and Avocado Dip (Avocado, Sour Cream, Salsa, and seasoned with Salt & Peppa & Garlic Powder) = 572 cals

That puts me at 1431 calories for the day and I am 100% happy with that!

You guys have a great night and a wonderful Thursday tomorrow. :) I'll catch you tomorrow night, same place, relatively same time...haha.

July 26th, 2016: Recipes...what's that?

Well, today was better than yesterday for sure. Thank the good Lord! I still had a busy day at work, but I think that the thought of being able to come home and relax made it much better. I came home and started right in on the pictures I had to edit, and had nothing but issues. Ugh! It's so stressful when my programs don't do what they are supposed to do. I'll save you all the boring details, but in the end, I haven't even gotten to START editing them thanks to the issues and when almost an hour was wasted and I was getting extremely frustrated, I stepped away and cooked dinner.

I had no idea what I was going to fix but I had these thin Beef strips of steak. They are primarily sold for some Mexican dish, but they are like thin strips of Ribeye Steak. Oh and they are nice and lean! Only 170 calories per 4oz. So I get inspired and decide to do Steak Roll-ups. I had no plan whatsoever, but they turned out great! I put some seasonings and mozzarella cheese and Worcestershire Sauce on them and rolled them up! Lol....they turned out really great!

I have people ask me all the time about what recipes I use and where I get my meal plans and stuff. I even have a lady from Zumba asking me to make her a meal plan! Lol...but seriously, I hardly EVER use recipes. The only two I can think of is the Doc's Chili (which you can google and get the recipe really easy) and the Chicken Caprese I made last night. (that one you can find on YouTube if you search 'Chicken Caprese by Delish') For the most part I try to keep my meals kindof simple, because that's just easier to calorie count. The fewer the ingredients, the easier it is. I also like to add a lot of seasonings like Chili Powder, Cumin, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Rosemary & Thyme (GREAT on chicken), I also use this seasoning mixture by Weber called Garlic & Herb, it's really great on Chicken and Pork, and broccoli, and potatoes. Lol

Sorry to cut this so short, but I have GOT to get these pics edited!

Here is the breakdown of my food choices for today:

Breakfast
Peaches & Cream Oatmeal and Turkey Bacon (I love it when it's crispy) = 365 calories

Lunch
Half Turkey Sammy, Doc's Chili, & Celery w/ Almond Butter = 471 cals

Snack
Sweet Cherries = 87 cals

Dinner
Steak Rolls, 1/2 Corn on the Cob & a small salad = 512 calories

That puts me at 1435 calories for today. Perfect. :) Alight, I'm out of here y'all! Have a great night and an awesome Hump Day tomorrow!

Junly 25th, 2016: A New Week

I'm tired and cranky and I really don't like it!! I can't stand being a jerk. I know, it sounds crazy, but when I'm in a bad mood, it makes me mad, which just puts me in an even worse mood. Am I crazy? Yea, probably so, but what am I going to do about it! Lol

Even my smile looks fake, lol. 

I had a busy day. One of my co-workers is on vacation again, and it makes the office life extra crazy. Plus, you add in the fact that it was Monday, and it is seriously like, "Who Let The Dogs Out" in there! I felt like I was rushing to get everything done, and then running out of time before I knew it.

After work I headed to a super quick (like 10 minutes long) trip to the Chiro and then off to the Y. When I pulled up, I saw my sis AND my cousins, and my mood was suddenly lifted! No working out alone today! Yay....but....then we went to Zumba and it was SUPER packed, and before I knew it, all three of them left and went to workout on the machines. :( I was so sad, but Zumba is how I get the best burn. So I stayed where I was. Afterward, I kind of wished I had. I only burned 650 calories in the whole hour. We did a lot of songs I didn't know and it was hard to get in to.

After that I found my deserters, lol, and we went to the sauna to gab and sweat. It was a good time. My muscles felt much more relaxed. Then I headed home. I keep trying to work on my time management. I swear, it's like I'm going & going, and before I know it, it's too late and I don't have enough time to rest! Ugh! What is a girl gonna do? I feel like I'm at the point where I can push a little more at the gym, but I literally don't have the time. I'm constantly getting home at 8, cooking dinner, and writing my blog and then it's 10. I just really have to work on this.

Well I'm gonna get off of here and take my cranky booty to bed and hope for a MUCH better attitude tomorrow. ;)

Here's the breakdown of my food choices for today:

Breakfast
PB & Banana Smoothie = 340 cals

Lunch
Half Sammy, Doc's Chili, Cottage Cheese = 462 cals

Snack
Protein Shake & Yogurt = 155 cals

Dinner
Chicken Caprese & Broccoli = 469 cals

And I'm about to have some Wild Strawberry Froyo! = 80 cals

That puts me at 1506 calories for today. Right on target! And that's all folks! You guys have a wonderful day tomorrow. I'm going to enjoy my day off from the gym. :)

July 24th: 6 Week Weigh-in!!!

Ok y'all, if you read last night, then you KNOW I was dreading this weigh in! My body has not been cooperating this week, and I just didn't want to see it. So I get up bright and early at 11am (I slept like a BABY) and walk into my bathroom to accept my fate. Last week my weight was 345.2.....and today it's 342.0! Another 3 pounds baby! That puts me at a total of 29 pounds lost! And that is a 7.8% total loss in just 6 weeks!! I'm on Cloud 9 y'all!! My goal is to blow right past the 340's next week!!

I really am super impressed with myself! So I celebrated with a Mean Bean (of course) and a two hour workout in the gym!! Haha...I burnt 1500 calories today!! Not to mention all of the strength training I did to my whole dang body in YPump! Then I ended my workout with 15 minutes in the sauna. It was lovely. I sweat like a pig, and all of my muscles felt so much more relaxed afterward.

After the gym I headed home and picked up my camera. I went and did a shoot that was going to be a quick shot of all of the Grandkids and it turned in to a full session. It was great! I remember that not to long ago, I would do a session like that and by the end I would be out of breath, it seriously didn't even PHASE me today. I got them done, visited in the sauna, oh I mean front yard, haha...and then headed to Wal-Mart for my weekly grocery shopping trip. This week was way more fun! I got to go with my cousin Jessica. :) Grocery shopping is way more fun with a friend to blab at!!

We didn't get back to my house until almost 9!! And at that point, I hadn't had any actual food to eat today. I know, I know, bad, bad....but I slept til 11 and then I had a smoothie (so it had fruit in it) and then I had a Protein shake. Lol! What a mess! So I hurried up and made Tacos, those are a pretty quick & easy thing to make. And then here I am. That's all folks! I'm super sad that tomorrow is Monday and the weekend FLEW by....but that's life. I got a LOT accomplished and got some serious steps in this weekend. Sadly, no 20,000 step day, lol, but I got well over 10,000 on both days, so I'm happy.

Here's the breakdown of my food choices today:

Breakfast
Smoothie w/ fresh Blueberries & Frozen Berry Blend, (out of PB Powder, got some today, yay!) = 342 calories

Lunch
Protein Shake & a Mean Bean (my Sunday Treat!) = 320 cals

Dinner
2 Tacos (Joseph's Pitas, lean ground beef, lettuce, tomato, salsa, sour cream, four cheese mexican blend) and homemade refried beans = 550 calories.

That puts me at 1212 calories today. I totally forgot that Sundays were going to be my higher calorie days...maybe I'll do that tomorrow. I'm not sure because I only have a week left before my DietBet ends and I am 1 pound away from losing the 4% for this one. So I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch!

You know I love you guys!! I hope you have a great Monday! Remember that YOU decide how your day is going to be. So take a minute when you wake up in the morning, and set your mind on having a Fabulous day! We can do it...Lol...well we shall see how that turns out. ;) Goodnight y'all!

July 23rd, 2016: Being An Overcomer

Shoo-wee! Today was MUCH harder than I anticipated! I had 2 birthday parties to go to. I thought ahead and packed my lunch and snacks in a cooler, so that I wouldn't be arriving anywhere hungry. I started out my day with Zumba in the gym, and then I had someone meeting me at the Y to order some makeup. Afterwards, I headed up to the Arc Trainer and did 15 minutes on the Weighloss Program and then headed to the sauna for 15 minutes. I feel like the sauna really loosens up my muscles and helps everything relax after a workout. I forgot how much I loved it! It's also great for your skin and immune system, so for me, it's kind of a no-brainer. So I'll be making sure to hit up the sauna at least 3 times a week from now on.

After my workout, I got all showered and unsweaty (I made that word up), and painted my face, and headed to my bosses house for her surprise birthday party. :) That's what I have been working on the past few days. A gift for her. It turned out soooo cute! It's a Beer Bouquet! I'll put a pic at the bottom so you can see. I was so proud of myself. Lol.

I stole the Birthday Boy today!! :)

So we get to her house and her husband had cooked all kinds of super yummy looking (and smelling) stuff. I came prepared, but dang! Big ole fat cheeseburgers, the fattest hot dogs I've ever seen! I wanted everything! It was seriously the most difficult temptation I've had so far. I kept trying to make justifications for how I could have some. In the end, I ate my lunch I brought with some super amazing cantelope and a teeensy weeeensy little piece of cherry dump cake. It was DELICIOUS! I mean, I could have eaten the entire pan!

After we visited for a while and played with her kittens (she has a Ragdoll Catery), I headed to my cousin, Jessica's House. Her little boy just turned 6, and he is one of my main men (he proposed to me last year xoxo), so I just had to go hang out with him! I had a wonderful time visiting with family and having fun.

I came home (later than I should have) and threw together some Breakfast Style Pizzas and turned on Food Network Star (I love that show!), and here I am. Overall it was a great day. I turned down birthday cake TWO times, and stuck with my calorie goal. Begrudgingly. Lol. I REALLY wanted some ice cream cake. Bad. So bad.

And that's it. I made it. I survived normal life. But I'm still not skinny. What the crap? Lol. I can do this. I think I can, I think I can! Tomorrow is weigh day. I am NOT looking forward to it. Every morning this week has been disappointing. I think that's why it's been such a hard week. I mean...I know part of it is a water issue, complicated by being a stupid woman (that one special week a month), so I KNOW that is affecting it. But it still makes me crazy. To do all of that hard work ALL week long and not see what I want....it's hard. Pray for me. I'm struggling y'all. It's all in my head. My brain is going crazy with this stuff. Cravings, laziness, I just want it to be easy. WHY CAN'T IT BE EASY?! Lol.

Alright, I've got some things to do before I go to bed and then I'm headed to bed to sleep as long as I want! Here is the breakdown of my food choices for today:

Breakfast (on the go)
2 boiled eggs, 4 pieces of Turkey Bacon = 296 calories

Lunch
Turkey wrapped cheese logs, small tomato, Baby Dill Pickles, tiny piece of Cherry Dump cake, 2 tortilla chips w/cheese dip (I had to try it), and Cantelope = 515 calories

Afternoon Snack
Almonds & a Protein Shake = 270 calories

Dinner
Breakfast Pizza (2 Joseph's Pitas with, salsa as the sauce, scrambled egg, cubed turkey breast, mushrooms, spinach, and Four Cheese Shredded Cheese) = 430 calories

That puts me at 1511 calories. Not too shabby. I'm out of here y'all. Have a great day tomorrow! Talk to ya tomorrow night!

July 22nd, 2016: Fighting Negativity

Friday can never come soon enough for me. It's not that I don't like my job, because I really do. I enjoy it quite a bit. It's actually probably over all, my favorite job. I loved doing photography, but I hated all of the other parts of it. I didn't like selling, I didn't like seeking out customers and feeling like I was BEGGING people to take pictures all the time. It's hard. And even harder if you have a fear of rejection. I mean, I know that no one likes to be told no. Who would? But to come from a lifetime of feeling rejected, that no is even harder, in my opinion. I'm not going to go into a big all sob sorry and try to get you to feel sorry for me, but, everything I've been through has made me the person I am today. And I'm thankful for it.

As a young child I never really had a lot of friends. We were poor. We dressed poor. But we were Loved, unconditionally. The rejection I got from my classmates stung, but I was raised with amazing morals and values and I was taught the value of hard work and just being an over all good, productive member of society. The first 11 years of my life, my mom did that all on her own. We never had name brand clothes or fancy shoes, but really? What is more important in life? Surely not the name on the tag of your clothing. That doesn't bring you happiness. What brought me happiness was playing barbies with my little sister, who has always been my very best friend. Or having a fancy dinner, just the 3 of us and getting to use mom's China! That was a big deal! Those memories are what truly matters to me. But there was still this little dark cloud of negativity when I went to school. It was like I was in 2 different worlds. The first one, everyone loved me unconditionally. I had AMAZING Grandparents that were ministers and took me to special church events and camps and such and everywhere I went there was love and acceptance. And then in world #2, I went to school and I was judged and criticized and torn down. It was confusing. I honestly didn't know how to handle it. And my mom couldn't really help, because the exact same thing happened to her. She ended up finishing her schooling at home because of all of the horrible children that made her mere existence miserable. Parents need to do better. Parents need to raise loving, accepting children. Not bullies. And trust me, there are MANY more bullies in schools than the parents realize.

Thankfully, many of those people got their act together at some point and grow up to be lovely people. Thank God. If the world were filled with the grown versions of those children, I don't know how we could survive. I don't know when it clicked in me. When I was a teenager I was so deeply affected by the fact that most of the kids didn't care for me. I tried to hard to fit in. It changed nothing. So what was the point? After I graduated, it was like that dark cloud was lifted. College was SOO different. I felt accepted. I still didn't put myself out there much because I had absolutely ZERO confidence. But more and more, I made friends and became more sociable. (I know it's hard to believe that I was once shy and introverted, haha.) Now, I couldn't care less. Take me or leave me. I have so many friends that I feel that I neglect people that truly matter to me at times, because my life is just so full and time is the enemy.

I am 100% different from the person I was 15 years ago, because I evolved, I changed, I grew, and I matured as a person. I don't know what is waiting for me down the road, but I sure hope and can keep improving on myself and become the person God wants me to be. I make mistakes. Lots. I'm not a perfect wife, daughter, sister...person. At all. But that's what life is about. Continuing to grow. (just not in the physical aspect, lol!) I have no idea where all of this came from, I apparently am rambling today...lol.

Back to the whole Friday thing, yea...I love Fridays because I love the weekends. This is the first job I've ever had where I get every weekend off. It's the most amazing thing ever! And since I've started this weight loss journey, I love them even more. I kick some serious exercising boo-tay on the weekends! And it makes me feel invincible! It makes me feel like losing 200 pounds in 2 years is a totally achievable goal. And I am in it to win it! I wish I could just fast-forward for a minute and see what I would look like 200 pounds lighter! Lol. That would be some serious motivation right there. Just a sneak-peak...why not? ;)

Feeling Strong & Confident!

Today has been an interesting today. My boss usually buys us lunch once a month. So I was kindof stressed about it. I told our office manger that if we couldn't choose a place where I could eat healthy, that I would just bring my lunch today. But she was totally understanding and we talked the boys in to Colton's. So I was really excited. A 6oz Sirloin only has 240 calories in it, so I could easily have a 400 calorie lunch. Except...I look up the calories through MFP for Colton's 6oz Sirloin and it was WAY off. Like...they say there's has 490 calories! Unless you marinated it in BUTTER, that is just impossible. So I called and talked to the cook. He tells me that they just put some seasonings on the steaks and cook them on the grill with Pam. That's no calories or very, very few. So that calorie count on MFP has GOT to be wrong. It was causing me serious anxiety. I don't want my calories to be way off. I decided to go with my gut and put it in as 240, because that is just craziness. But I'm still stressing about it.

After work I headed to the gym. It was a solo workout day again and that just breaks my heart! LOL But I survived it! I did 30 whole minutes STRAIGHT on the Elliptical today, while watching the Bold & the Beautiful. :) And then I did legs and ended with some nice calm Spa Music in the Sauna. I was all by myself and it was wonderful. It was really nice to take 15 minutes and clear my head and just relax.

Then I headed home and threw together some leftovers and here I am. Gonna work on my secret project after I publish my blog. I'll show ya what I've been working on tomorrow night (if I don't forget). You guys have an AMAZING Saturday and I will talk to you tomorrow night!

Here is the breakdown of my food choices for today:

Breakfast
PB & Banana Smoothie = 335 cals

Lunch
6oz Sirloin, steamed broccoli, & half of a sweet potato with a tad of butter = 476 cals

Afternoon Snack
Baby Carrots & Sweet Cherries = 122 cals

Dinner
Chicken & Veggie Stir-fry, and those Corn Chips w/ Avocado Dip (the avocado had to be eaten before it ruined!) = 598 cals

That puts me at 1531 calories for the day.

Yum!!!

Goodnight y'all!!

July 21st, 2016: My 1st Trip to the Chiropractor

As the title states, today is my 1st trip to the Chiropractor. I injured my back when I was 11 years old trying to do a backflip on a trampoline...and have had back trouble ever since. I wasn't THAT heavy when I was a kid. yea, I was overweight, probably actually obese, but in comparison to how big I am now, I don't think it was THAT bad. But I had a ton of back problems as a pre-teen and teen all stemming from that incident. The doctor said I 'sprained' my back and put me in a brace and told me I would probably have back discomfort the rest of my life. Really? One little back flip can ruin you for life at the age of ELEVEN? Craziness! But he was right. I remember when I would go next door to help my grandma get ready for bed, I would be kindof half bent over her bed helping her dress and put lotion on and by the time I would be finished I was in so much pain that it was literally taking my breath away. Now that I think about it, I sure did find every way I could to be lazy because of that. What child wants to be in pain? So I would figure out ways to do things where it wouldn't hurt. Except when I went to help Grandma every night. I usually left in tears from the pain.

Eventually the pain lessened, and it was just an every now and then kind of thing. But I've noticed that the longer I work at my job where I sit the majority of the day, the more my back hurts by the end of the day. So I am hoping that getting my back all lined out and then working on the weight loss will help in a big way.

I had no idea what to expect when I went there, and it turns out that there are a few different types of Chiropractors. The one I chose doesn't do all of the twisting and pulling of a traditional Chiro, he uses this nifty little tool that just feels almost like a finger poke. After he examined me, he said he could definitely see that my back needed adjusted and my hips and neck too. I also mentioned that I have Plantar Faciitus and he said that he could help with that too! How cool! He said that most people report that after a few visits they sleep much better, so fingers crossed!!

I got the go-ahead from the doc to go on to the gym tonight. I wasn't sure if it would be ok or not. He said it should be fine but not to do any of the weight training tonight. Zumba was cancelled so I went in with the plan of doing some cardio and then heading on home. I knew it was going to be hard to get some good calories burnt because it's hard for me to keep my stamina up when it's not Zumba. So I started out in the Sauna with my cousins. LOL. That was some real hard work! Haha...but seriously, my back was feeling a little sensitive and after 20-30 minutes of baking in the sauna, my muscles were a lot more loosened up and I was ready to try to see what I could do. I started with 5 minutes walking on the track to warm up, then I did 15 minutes on the Arc Trainer in cool down mode. I was up to 20 minutes and feeling pretty exhausted. I planned to walk for 10 minutes to fill up a 30 minute workout and then head on home. After the 10 minutes, I looked down at my FitBit and I wasn't happy with how many calories I had burned and I STILL hadn't reached my 7,000 steps yet. So...I got BACK on the Arc Trainer and did 15 more minutes...LOL. It was rough. My leg muscles were feeling pretty tight afterward, so I decided to walk a few more laps. By the time I finally gave up and called it quits I had hit an hour of Cardio. And it made me feel amazing. Like really amazing! I don't know that I have ever done a full hour of Cardio straight through like that when it wasn't a class. It really shows me that I am totally capable of more than I give myself credit for! And that is a wonderful feeling. Screw limitations. Who need em'? Not this girl! I do what I want! LOL!

After work I headed to the store to grab some supplies for a project I'm working on. It's top secret until it's done, because it involves someone who reads this blog, and that's all I'm gonna say about that! Haha. I found some cool stuff for myself too though. I found Freeze Dried Apples & Peaches. I have never tried them before. The whole bag has 60-70 calories depending on which one you pick and they are super tasty! I love them because the ingredients are just the fruit! Nothing added at all. So after I tasted them and found that I like them, I went back in and bought a bunch more. I think they will be a really great thing to have with me on my trip that doesn't have to be refrigerated and it doesn't spoil. Score!

I feel like a quick change artist these days! Always changing clothes!!

I FINALLY walked in my door at nearly 8:30! Eeek! I hadn't made dinner either and I was starving. Thank God I am awesome and planned ahead for days like this! I had some Beef Steaks already cooked and in the fridge waiting for us. So I boiled some broccoli and made Jamie some mashed potatoes and then I made up some Avocado Dip and then we were ready to chow down. Now I am REALLY ready for bed, and hoping & praying for a nice restful night.

Here is the breakdown of my food choices for today:

Breakfast
2 packs of Strawberries & Cream Oatmeal & 3 slices of turkey bacon = 365 cals

Lunch
Half Turkey Sammy, Doc's Chili, Baby Carrots, & a Tomato = 405 cals

Afternoon Snack
Freeze Dried Peach Slices = 70 cals

Dinner
Chuck Steak, Broccoli, Popped Corn Chips, & Avocado Dip = 404 cals

Which puts me at 1244 cals. Low...but I'm really full and that's just what it is today. Lol

That steak was tiny! Only 3oz, but it was tasty. :)

July 20th, 2016: Hump Day!

Wow...so..that Root Canal went amazing! I was still pretty numb last night, so I really didn't know how I felt. I took some meds before bed to help with any discomfort that might wake me up, and then I was off to bed. I still didn't sleep as well as I would like, but it was a lot better (and longer) than the past few nights. So I'll take it!

Today was a pretty normal, slightly slow day at work. Which is great. Less stress that way and I like it! I was able to catch up on a few things that I had gotten behind on from being so busy the past few weeks. I hate having work looming over me. I'm that person who would rather get it done a week or two early rather than rushing to do it at the last minute. It stresses me out and then I miss important things.

I just want y'all to know that I am fighting some serious cravings right now. I want sugar! In the form of Snickers Mini candy bars. I could probably eat a whole bag of them right now. It's so bad. Like...I know that it isn't worth it, and I would feel like total and complete garbage afterward, and that's why I haven't given in....but....the cravings are still there. I'm actually craving things that I normally don't care much about at all. Like Ice Cream and chocolate. It's just my mind playing tricks on me, and I know it. And I know that the end result is worth far to much to allow myself a relapse.

As of Sunday I was about 5 pounds away from reaching my 4% lost for this new Diet Bet that my sister and I joined. I really think we are gonna make it again! How exciting! She's right there with me! In fact she just hit her 50 pounds lost mark! How amazing is that?? She has been at it for a few months and stayed pretty strict with a few bumps in the road, but she is definitely seeing some serious success with what she is doing. And it shows! She did a before and after picture today and I was so surprised! I see her almost every day. So, although I see small changes here and there, I don't really see the big changes. That's where the magic of before and after photos come in! You can REALLY tell!

I'm ready to be there myself! I could kick myself in the butt for not starting when she did. I'm just so, so glad that I started when I did!!

So after work, I headed to the Y. I wasn't really feeling it today and you could really tell by how many calories I burnt. I only burned a little over 500 in Zumba and then I did 10 minutes on the little side stepper machine thing that makes me feel like I'm trying to ski! lol...but it burns the calories so whatever. It's just a little hard on my knees, so 10 was about all I could.

I don't know what happened, maybe it was my blood just circulating faster from working out or maybe it was something else, but afterwards my tooth was REALLY throbbing. I had to get home. I cooked a super easy dinner (I already had some meat prepped) and now I'm ready to clean up, get ready for tomorrow, and head my booty to bed.

Here's the breakdown of my food choices for today:

Breakfast
PB & Banana Smoothie = 335 cals

Lunch
Half turkey Sammy, Doc's Chili, tomato slices, baby carrots and Berry Fruit Blend (I was a hungry girl!) = 343 cals

Afternoon Snack
2 boiled eggs = 136

After Workout Snack
More cherries (cuz I have a lot and don't want them to waste) & a Protein Shake = 187 cals

Dinner
Boneless Pork Chops, Green Beans, and some cheese (because I needed more calories & didn't want to eat more carbs!) = 370 cals

I'm at 1371 calories for the day, and I'm good with that since I didn't burn as many calories as I would've liked today.

Snack on a Christmas Plate, oh yea! Lol

Y'all have a good night, and a great Thursday! ;)

July 19th, 2016: Forgot to Whine? What??

Oh man! I forgot to whine yesterday! I know, I know, it's a shock to me too! LOL. On Sunday I decided it was time to step up my weights. I use a bar in Y Pump and I grabbed a heavier one. We use hand weights in there too, and I grabbed the next step up. We do light weights because we do 5 million of the same thing over and over, so if you have heavy weights your arms will rot off. Ok maybe it's not that serious, but in the heat of the moment, I feel JUST like that. Haha. Oh and I'm very vocal. I usually have the ladies in there giggling at me. Hopefully it's not an annoyed giggle...I mean...I'm really just being silly. But it's a very light-hearted group and they are soooooo nice! Everyone at the Y has been so encouraging and sweet to me. I seriously miss them when I'm not there. I'm a social kind of girl, so I love the interaction and building relationships. I 100% believe that it's way easier to go to a gym where people know you by name and know your story and what you've been through, than to go in to a gym with your headphones on and tune out the world. But that's just me. I know that what works for me doesn't work for everyone else. And that's ok. So anyways! I may have only made some minor adjustments in the weights, but boy can I feel it! My abs feel it the most. She worked our whole dang bodies on Sunday and we got to use the medicine balls, which I really liked. But shoo...I have just GOT to have the most amazing abs under this fat roll!

So, I think I've mentioned before that I am already very conscious about the idea of having too much loose skin. I know that I've seen a ton of people lose the amount of weight I plan to and some have it really badly and others don't. One thing that I don't have going for me is how stretched out my skin has been for such a long time. I've been over the 200 pound mark for at least 13 years. And in the upper 200-370 area for at least 8 years or so. So I've been big for a while. One good thing is that I'm 33. It would be fantastic if I were doing this when I was younger...but, it's too late for that.

I've done some reading on things that can help with skin elasticity, primarily due to weight-loss and I've found some pretty interesting things! Some stuff I already do, like drink lots of water, exercise (haha), moisturize daily, wear sun screen...but then there was Fish Oil Capsules..yup gonna add those to my vitamins, and I read that recent studies show that your skin elasticity can be incresed by 20%  if you eat foods that contain Lutein. It's an antioxidant in egg yolks, spinach and other leafy greens. Heck yea! I like fresh Spinach, and you already know of my love affair for eggs. I could eat them daily. So that's cool to know!

I also found a list of fruits & veggies that are proven to be great for your skin elasticity: Red Peppers (nope), Oranges (oh yea), Grapefruit (nope), Strawberries (I had some today!), Broccoli (I love it), Carrots (I like em, had them today too, haha), Mango (hmmm), Apricots (nope), Sweet Potatos (I need to start eating those), and Avocados (my new love). So yea...I can eat most of those! Lol

I've had some people ask me what Vitamins I'm taking, so I'll go ahead and throw that in to today's blog. Currently I take a Women's Daily Vitamin, B12, & Magnesium (it has been a miracle worker for my chronic migraines). I'm about to add Fish Oil. I was taking Biotin, but it gave me acne BOO! Lol. So I quit taking that. Oh and I take Fiber pills too. I am not a HUGE lover of vitamin pills, simply because I know it's better for your body to receive those nutrients from your food. BUT, I do think it gives me some piece of mind to know that I'm getting all of my nutrients one way or the other. I had already planned on adding the Fish Oil Vitamins because I can't stand to eat fish. So I'm missing out on some really important stuff!

Today was my day off from the gym, but it was also my day to finish my last root canal. I'm hoping & praying I don't have to have anymore of them. They are insanely expensive! So I worked until 1:30 and then headed over for my root canal. Then afterwards, I haded back to work for an hour. I didn't want to miss any more work than absolutely necessary since I have to leave work to see the Chiropractor on Thursday. Sheesh, I feel super busy just talking about all of this stuff!

After work, since I didn't have to go to the gym, I headed to my Bestie, Barb's house. We've been friends for 22 years! I have a small group of friends that I've stayed close to most of my life and I love them so dearly. She's definitely one of my main gals. I can always count on her to be there for me and support me, even if she doesn't agree with me. And those kind of folks are hard to find! We just had a nice, short visit, because I wanted to get home and get dinner made and head to bed! This garbage for sleep, is really catching up with me! I was wondering if it might be the B12 vitamins that I've added. But I looked it up, and can't find any real evidence that they could be causing it. I don't know, but hopefully I get it figured out soon.

Well that's all I've got for today. Here is the breakdown of my Food Choices for today:

Breakfast
2 Boiled Eggs, and a pack of Oatmeal = 286 cals

Lunch
Half ham Sammy, cottage cheese, baby carrots, and the same Berry blend I had yesterday (sooo yummy) = 387 cals

Afternoon Snack
Yogurt w/granola = 185 cals

Dinner
Doc's Chili w/a small Chicken Salad = 534 cals

And that brings my total to 1392 calories for today. :) Y'all have a good night! I'm going to hit the hay!!

July 18th, 2016: Making new Friends!

What is it about Monday's that make them drag on and on? I mean really! Today has been the slowest day, and my brain has been all over the place. I'm thinking about our upcoming trip to St. Louis, that will last a week at the beginning of August. I want to be prepared so that I can stay on target for my calories. I plan to make sure I'm under 1,800 calories per day while I'm there since it will be a lot harder because we will be eating out for dinner every night. But I will be bringing a cooler and I packing my lunches every day so that I won't have to worry about them, and I will be eating oatmeal and fruit or yogurt or whatever is available at the hotel. (I'm bringing oatmeal from home just to be on the safe side.) See, I've got a game plan!

I talked to my sister earlier and I am so dang proud of her! She has almost lost 50 pounds since she started! She started around a month or so before me and really gave me that last final kick I needed to get going. I wish I would've started when she did!  We've both decided that we are going to leave the 300's in 2016. Her goal is to get under 300 by the 21st of December because that's her birthday, and I will definitely be right there with her. I'd love to hit 300 by Thanksgiving. That would be awesome. But we shall see. I don't want to put a whole lot of stress on deadlines as long as I keep seeing the scale go down. That is my number one goal. Keep losing. More and more and more. Until eventually I have to figure out what to do next! Lol. But I have a long time before I have to really give that much thought.

So, if you tuned in to my blog the day I went to Rue 21 and tried on dresses for convention, then you might remember that I found a dress that I really liked, but it was just a little to snug. I've decided that the weekend before we head to St. Louis, I'm going to stop by there and try it on again. It may not be much of a difference, and I may surprise myself, who knows. But I'm going to try. I keep thinking about that stupid dress and I just want to be able to wear it! Maybe it'll happen, and maybe it won't. I guess we shall wait and see! I have just over two weeks to go and it's been about a week since I tried it on. I've already lost a few inches here and there, so maybe in that time, a few more inches will be just what I need, right? :)

So I finally made it to the end of my work day. I was so excited that I had to take a selfie!! LOL

Hahahaha I know, I know that I'm ridiculous. LOL. But I was ready to move ON with my day dang it! I made an appointment with a Chiropractor today and after work I had to swing by and fill out the paperwork so that it wouldn't take as long for the appointment because I'm going on a late lunch to do it on Thursday. I'm seeing one because my back has always bothered me, but it's bothering me more now. And the harder I push at the gym, the more I think I couldn't benefit from getting my backed lined out. I'm also hoping that he might be able to help me sleep better! I hear of all sorts of benefits you can get by going to a Chiropractor, so I'm excited to see how it might work for me. I've never been, so I'm nervous!

I was actually in the mood to workout today! Something about losing 3.5 pounds in a week will do that to ya! I was seriously READY to HIT IT! I went to Zumba, and was a little disappointed. The Monday night classes don't go as smoothly back-to-back like the other classes do, and then it ended 10 minutes early so I didn't really get the calorie burn in that I was looking for. I only burnt 556 calories in 45 minutes! That's crazy low for me for a Zumba class. So I headed up to the Arc Trainers with my sister. I tried the weight loss mode for the first time since I've been back. I set it for 15 minutes. It goes from easy to hard and back and forth the whole time to keep your heart rate up. I was 10 minutes into my workout and a woman I met this weekend hopped on the machine next to me. I don't know if I have just been extra chatty both times I've talked to her or what, but I think I talked her dang ear off! LOL, I talked to her for 20 minutes! So I did 30 minutes on there today! Woohoo! And it was really a breeze because I had great company that made it fly by! So I had decided I was doing good for the day and went down to leave....but I left my duffle bag upstairs! Boo!! Lol. So I go up to grab it and ran in to someone else I knew and talker HER ear off for probably another 20 minutes! I finally shut my mouth and go to leave and then somehow started up a convo with this super nice lady outside...and you guessed it...I blabbed for at least 15 or 20 more minutes...haha. I LOVE meeting knew people and talking about their fitness goals and mine and where they are going and how they got there and all of that! I just love it! So for me it was a great night!

I didn't get home until 8:30!! Sheesh! And I still had to cook dinner! I made me some super yummy stir-fry with Brown Rice..mmmm...(tip: if you use LOW SODIUM chicken broth in place of the water when you make your brown rice, you will love it so much more, just sayin').

Now it's 10 and I have to put together my lunch for tomorrow and get my booty in bed! I slept like poo last night, so I'm hoping for a more restful night tonight.

Here's the breakdown of my food choices for today:

Breakfast
PB Banana Smoothie = 335 cals

Morning Snack
Strawberry Nutrigrain Bar = 120 cals

Lunch
Half a ham sammy, cottage cheese and this yummy blend of berrie (pic below)=352 cals

Afternoon Snack
Vanilla Yougurt with granola = 175 cals

After Workout Pick me up
Protein Shake = 100

Dinnah!!
Veggie stir-fry with Brown Rice and Chicken = 450

That big ole bowl of berries was only 90 calories!!

That put me at 1532 calories total for the day. I had what I call a "fat girl day", which simply means I was hungry all day. So I ate 5 times and had a protein shake for the 6th. I do NOT go hungry, I promise you. I pre-pare myself for cravings so that I don't cause myself to go off plan and get crazy. I keep pretzels at work, I usually have some baby carrots or something super low calorie at work in case I get the munchies. I actually drink the protein shakes when I have a sweet tooth, because they are a flavored drink and it curbs that feeling. I set myself up to succeed. That's why this works for me.

Follow me on MyFitnessPal for more detailed info on my food diary. :) Username: honorwarren

Love you guys!!! Have a GREAT Tuesday!!!

July 17th, 2016: Weigh-in & 11pm Zumba

So...I said I was going to beat my all time high on my fitbit yesterday...oh I beat it alright! I started a Zumba video last night on YouTube through my TV. I love it! The TV is nice and big so it's almost like having a real Zumba class right there in your living room. I was around 13, 500 ish steps when I started and I was just looking for around 15k steps and then I would go on to bed it was already 11pm. Well.....I started really getting in to the video and the next thing I know, I look down and it says I've done 4,000 steps during this workout! What!? So I did a little quick math and realized I was INSANELY CLOSE to 20K steps!! Is this real life right now??! I'm pretty sure 350 pound women don't do 20k steps in a day, but I'm about to smash that. At the end it was like 11:50 and my video was over and I was still a few steps short, so I did what any reasonable person would do and I started high-knee slow-jogging throughout my apartment. LOL. I KNOW I looked like a crazy person, because my cat was looking at me like, "Um...mom...you're freaking me out" haha! I decided that since it was so close to midnight, I wasn't even going to look down at my fitbit, I was just going to do this crazy jog thing until 11:59 and see where I landed. 20,277 steps. Wow. That is gonna be hard to top!

Yesterday I burned 5,578 calories and I ate 1,254...so...3,500 equals a pound...I literally burnt a freaking POUND off yesterday. Wow. I literally just told my cousin Jessica, earlier this week, that I wanted to do that one day. And then I did it! Moral of the story?? YOU CAN DO IT TOO. No joke. Whatever you think you can't do, I just think you are full of it. Lol. I surprise myself almost every dang day these days. My body is capable of more than I give it credit for.

Fast forward to this morning....owwww.....my feet! My back! My legs! Haha...now I know why fat girls don't do 20k steps! I'm broken! I think I need an hour massage and a visit to the Chiropractor! So I get up, a little freaked out to get on the scale. If I don't see a loss, I'm fully prepared to throw an all out hissy fit. I'm home alone, no one here to judge me.

So here goes nothin'! Last week I weighed in at 348.8..........and today I weighed in at 345.2. What? That's 3.6 pounds! I sure was NOT expecting that. My weight has been ALL OVER THE PLACE this week. I love how it always pleasantly surprises me on weigh in days. I think my body knows me and knows that, if I weigh in heavy the day before, that will push me to workout like a psycho on my last day. LOL. It's like the Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout! I did two and half hours of Cardio PLUS leg weights yesterday...I think that qualifies me for a Last Chance Workout! LOL.

If you tuned in to my blog last night then you know that I've decided to do higher calorie Sunday's (still healthy foods) to try to boost my metabolism and keep my body from getting used to what I'm giving it. I started my day with a big ole' healthy breakfast/brunch that left me full for hours!

I did some laundry and lazed around most of the morning. Then I headed to the gym. On my way, I treated myself to a Mean Bean. :) I have to say, they have Vitamins and Protein in them...so....they can't be all that bad, right? LOL...

Easiest way to bring me happiness....haha

At the gym I tortured myself with some YPump...I actually kicked it up a notch today and went with higher hand weights and a heavy weighted bar. I can feel it too. Ugh...lol. Then I went on to Zumba. It was a weird day for Zumba. No one was there except for myself and the instructor! about 10 minutes in to the class her daughter and her daughter's friend showed up. It really just felt like my own private Zumba class! Lol...it was great! I wasn't getting distracted by other people, and I pushed really hard since there was no one else to distract the instructor! Lol!! I burnt really close to 1,000 calories JUST in that class! Wowsa! I wish I could have my own private Zumba class more often! Lol...I really do enjoy the social part of the group classes though. It makes me feel more invested.

After that I headed over to my parents for a short visit, and then I did my weekly grocery shopping. I told myself I was going to make it quick, but...somehow, it wasn't. Haha I got home at almost 8! Tired...and having to put away groceries and then cook dinner. Thankfully my hubby was home and helped me unload and get things done. We had burgers for dinner. Pretty healthy, but lots of calories since I paired them with Corn on the Cob. I used these Sandwich Thins that I read about somewhere that are kindof like a super thin burger bun. I was afraid they would taste like cardboard, and they might, but with all the stuff I put on there, I sure couldn't tell.

My high calorie day didn't end up quite as high as I was planning, but that's mostly because I had a Mean Bean and Almonds for lunch instead of a real lunch...lol! That breakfast just STUCK with me!

And there you have it! My day was wonderful and I hope yours was too! ;)

Here's the breakdown of my food choices for today:

Breakfast
2 eggs w/ cheese on top, 3 pieces of turkey bacon, a piece of toast w/reduced sugar strawberry jelly (only 20 calories per TBSP!!), and a pack of Strawberries & Cream Oatmeal = 505 cals

Lunch
Amonds & a Mean Bean, and a Protein Shake = 490 cals

Dinner
Hamburger with Lettuce, tomato, mushrooms and pickles (I didn't even miss the cheese), corn on the cob, and a side salad = 704 calories

I'm sitting right at 1699 calories for today. Definitely higher than normal. I was planning for at least 1800 though. I have some No fat, no sugar added Yogurt that I planned to have, but I am sooooooooo full, I don't know if I will be able to eat it! Lol.

So that's all I've got for ya today! Y'all have a fabulous Monday...I'm gonna give it my best try, I mean...it's Monday after all, so we shall see. Lol. Good night!

July 16th, 2016: Beating Records! NO EXCUSES

Well I'm pretty proud of myself. Last night after I posted my blog, I wanted to do an at home workout, but I was tired and playing head games with myself. I didn't think I would be able to push myself as much and get my heart rate up, and I didn't want it to be a waste of my time. But, I sucked it up, and got on YouTube and just searched Beginner Cardio. There were actually a TON of options! I did one that was about 25 minutes long, and I wasn't super worn out, so I found another one that was 10 minutes and did that too. It was actually pretty cool and a little addictive!

So i went to bed feeling pretty good. I am really glad I pushed myself to do something. I always feel better when I go to bed if I feel like I've pushed myself.

So this week I hit 10k steps on a work day again! It happened after I posted my blog for the day and then I forgot to mention it. I LOVE my fitbit because I really feel like it pushes me to do a little extra. Right now I'm really close to my all time high and I'm GOING to beat it before I go to bed. NO EXCUSES... :) My current all-time high was 14,478 and I'm not to far from there so I'm super excited!

I've had a loooooong busy day! I started my day with Zumba. I LOVE the Saturday morning Zumba. I always burn more calories at that class. I think it's partially because I'm not already worn out from the day, but also because the instructor of that class does a lot of the songs we did 4 years ago and I know them and the steps are a little easier, so I'm able to DO it. I dropped 900 calories in the 53 minute class and then I headed up to the Arc Trainer and did some walking on the track and dropped another 472 calories! It was a very successful day! I also was able to do legs and then we went swimming for a little bit.

Today my cousins, my sister, and one of my cousin's daughters (she's 12) all did Zumba! It was so much fun!! Then we all went swimming and added in all the boys (4 little boys and a daddy). We really had a lot of fun today. We knew we were going to be out most of the day, so my sister and I were smart and packed a cooler. So we were fully prepared to eat healthy AND have a great time without any stress.

I'm so proud of them!! Everybody kickin' booty!!

After the gym, my sis and I had to pick up some presents for a birthday party we were headed to and she dropped me off at a store while she drove around to put her boys to sleep. I hadn't eaten lunch yet, and I was hungry. And I was standing in a store with a ton of junk food and nobody who knew me was watching. I wanted soooo badly to by of box of Peanut Butter M&M's and a bag of chips and pig out and then get rid of the evidence before my sister came back. I seriously thought about it. It is the WORST test I've put myself through. I walked away from the junk and did my shopping and didn't look back. No way was I wasting all the hard work I just put in at the gym!

Oh I could have eaten any of it!

So anyways, we headed to the park for the party when we got done with some errands. I knew there would be cake and I was already prepared. But then, lucky me, it was chocolate cake, which I hate! Lol. So I wasn't tempted at all. Thank the good Lord!

We had a good time visiting with the birthday boy and girl (my little cousins) and our family.

I was feeling kinda cute today. :)

Look at that pretty little Birthday Girl!

After the birthday party we headed home and I got busy doing some food prep, and laundry. And that about sums up my day. It was wonderful. I really had a great day!

I'm a little nervous about my weigh-in tomorrow. :( I've been retaining a ton of water and it doesn't look good. I'm really hoping to be surprised, but I guess we shall see. 

Here's the breakdown of my food choices today:

Breakfast

Trusty PB and Banana Smoothie = 340 cals

Morning Snack

Unsalted Sunflower Seeds = 190 cals

At the Party

From a Snack Tray(2 slices of Turkey, 1 piece of Cheddar, 1 cracker) = 38 cals

Lunch

Half Ham Sammy, Cottage Cheese, and Baby Carrots = 345 cals

Evening Snack

Protein Shake = 100 cals

Dinner

Chuck Steak, Au Gratin Potatoes (much less cals if you just add water and leave out the milk and butter), steamed broccoli = 241 cal

I'm currently at 1254 calories for the day...that's pretty low for me. But, I think I'm gonna leave them there, because I plan to have a higher calorie day tomorrow since I've been really consistently at 1500 calories. I really think I need a jump since it's been 5 weeks. I've done it before and it really helps get the weight loss moving again. I guess we shall see. :)

All of that food for 241 calories!!

Alright y'all. It's after 10 and I have to get a few more steps in!! Goodnight!!! Have a wonderful Sunday Funday tomorrow. :) :)