Getting prepared for 2014

Just wanted to give a little update as to what I am doing so far to prepare for 2014. I am hosting a biggest loser competition at work. I also joined an accountability group on facebook with some of my friends. I even joined a couple of challenge groups on myfitnesspal!

My mom helped me out and took some before pictures, front, side and back views. I took them in some shorts that are too small in the hopes that I can continue to have my picture taken in those shorts to show my progress until they truly fit.

Going grocery shopping after payday to get some fresh fruits and veggies and whole foods again. And, there will be a purging of all the crap foods that tempt me to much…hubby..if you’re reading this..hide your candy and treats from me! Lol.

Hope everyone had a happy new year’s! Let’s make 2014 our year! ~Charity 🙂

Something’s not working…Let’s re-evaluate

Hello all! It’s been a little while since I’ve been on here. I am happy to say I have been loyally logging all my calories and food each day using the MyFitnessPal app. If you have a smart phone and want to join me, my user name is tyedyechick0930 on there.  I have logged everyday for 31 days…now ask me how much weight I have lost in 31 days???? One pound is the answer I’m looking for folks! One stinking pound! And it’s one pound away from my first goal! My first goal on that tab is to weigh 275, which would be 10 lbs down from my starting weight. I’ve lost 9lbs total since starting to eat healthier and paying attention to what I’m putting in my body. I weighed in at 276 Monday morning. I would really like to be able to scratch off that first goal by next Monday!

So after looking at my goals tab, I’m going to post the ones that have to be counted for 30-90 days:

• Exercise at least 30 minutes every day for 90 days straight
• Get up and exercise in the morning every day for 30 days straight
• Drink at least 64 oz of water a day
• Eat at least 5 servings of vegetables a day for 90 days straight
• Take the stairs every day at work for a month

These are my measurable goals that I will be keeping track of for the next 90 days, I will be including these goals and how I am doing with each new post.

I bought a journal and thought maybe I’d get back in to journaling at the first of the year, but since I type way faster than I write, blogging now seems more convenient than journaling. Plus, by blogging, I’m sharing it with everyone to see, which is another way to keep me accountable.

Well, I’m also looking for other weight-loss blogs or health and fitness blogs. So, if you know of any or if you have one, please let me know so I can add you! 🙂

I hope everyone has a great day and makes healthy choices! ~Charity

 

Turkey Trickery

So, I’m back again! I know my posts have been very sporadic. But, I just had to post how I thought I was doing so well! I had lost 5lbs!

I thought that I had overcome the horrible temptations of the Thanksgiving holiday! I thought I did well at only having a small portion of the foods I love most. So, I had every bit of confidence when I got on the scale this morning…

Um..FAIL! Every pound I had lost; all of that hard work..was back on the scale this morning!!! So, here I am again..starting all over again! My first thought was “Screw this..I’m getting a frappacino this morning!” But, then I knew that mindset would not help at all! If I’m ever going to succeed and actually lose the weight, I’m going to have to take it one day at a time. I’m going to have to persevere and continue to make healthier choices.

Therefore, I will be on here more. Sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly! I’m hoping this outlet will help me observe my behaviors more and help me overcome my food addiction.

So, here goes my first confession: I think I’m a self –sabotager! I do so good during the day. Then in the evenings, the cravings get to me! I know my husband thought I was a crazy person last night! I wanted cookies so bad; maybe not even cookies so much as I wanted some sweet cookie dough! Well, we didn’t have any baking soda, so I searched online until I found a cookie recipe that didn’t require baking soda and just used baking powder. When I say I searched, I mean I had to have been looking for at least 45 minutes before I found one. And then, I went in the kitchen and whipped up the dough. I think I took my teaspoon and got three different bites before I even made any cookies. Then, they didn’t really turn out to be “cookies” more than a sweet biscuit thing. I then proceeded to eat 4 of those with a glass of milk. All I did was go over my calories and waste a lot of flour, sugar, and butter!  

I am admitting as I think back on my crazy person actions last night…I obviously have a problem, right?! Ugh… But, I don’t want to give up. I’m still trying. I still got up this morning and made my breakfast and I’m still going to have my salad for lunch. I just have to get it under control in the evenings.

To my husband, if you read this…please talk me out of crazyness like that last night!

Ok, carrying on now.

Side note: I do not like being put in uncomfortable situations and I dislike being judged and receiving snide comments because I don’t want to participate in an uncomfortable situation. A co-worker’s mother passed away, and the office was passing around a card for her. That’s sweet and all but the co-worker’s mother passed away-A MONTH AGO! Really?! I stated I didn’t want to sign the card because I thought that would be awkward and didn’t want to bring it up again. And, I go snapped at by my co-workers because I didn’t sign the dang card?! “I’m sure she thinks about her mom dying every single day”-says one coworker. Yes, so let’s just rub it in her face again…no thank you. Sigh..ok that kinda makes me feel better. Rant over for that.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day and stays on track; make healthy choices! 🙂

Paying for bad choices…along with 3 dogs and a cat :)

I’m pretty sure I paid for some bad choices yesterday. I thought I did so good planning ahead last Sunday. I bought plenty of fresh vegetables, cut them up, and put them in containers to take to work. However, I’m still not where I can just pass up a free good meal..sigh.

Tuesday we had this big convention thing at work, which is why I haven’t been on here lately because I’ve been so busy. Well we ordered bbq sandwich stuff with all the fixins and sides. After the bigwigs ate their lunch there was plenty of leftovers and we common folk were told we could partake in what was left in the break room….Did I eat my cut up veggies like I had planned????!!! Um, that’d be a no! I had an openfaced sandwich with pulled pork on one side and chicken on the other, as well as a cup of beans and probably 2 cups of potato salad (the kind made with sour cream and ham). So, not only was that not very healthy choices, but that was more than a serving of pork. Which, if I haven’t mentioned every time I have bacon of any sort makes me sick. But, I thought this meat would be ok. And, granted I haven’t really had any meat other than tunafish salad in over 3 weeks (with the exception of Genghis Grill which was divine and healthy..but I digress).

So, the end effects? Bad trips to the bathroom til midnight Tues and then again Wed morning and practically no sleep for me! When people will I learn my lesson?!

1. Lesson #1: No pork of any kind will be ingested if at all possible!!!
2. Lesson #2: I will stick to my planned lunch!
3. Lesson #3: Oh, yeah, NO PORK OF ANY KIND WILL BE EATEN!!!

On a positive note though, I have been eating very healthy today. And, staying on track. Now, I just need to get my booty in gear and get some cardio done! 🙂

Ok, well on a whole non food related post…I’m a complete animal lover, but if I had to choose between cats and dogs..dogs would win hands down. I’ve never had a cat because my dad was allergic. And, every time my husband would ask I’ve always said no when it comes to cats. We have 3 dogs though! I got my first dog right after we bought our house, Duke a male mini dachshund.

Then, I wanted a female companion, and I’ve always wanted a piebald. So, I got Pixie a female piebald mini dachshund.

Well, the hubby decided those are not “manly” enough dogs..so we also now have Lucy who is a lab mix and is our “guard dog” outside.

I tell you all this because yesterday afternoon it started to storm. When my hubby got home he opened the garage door to come in through that way. Well a couple of hours later it stopped raining and we decided to get out and run some errands. When we returned I opened the garage door to park my vehicle and after parking to the right in my husbands military supplies and extra uniforms was this little cat. Probaby only 6 months old. He meowed just once and stole my husband’s heart. Of course I said we needed to make sure it didn’t belong to anyone else in the neighborhood. And to no avail did anyone claim him. Of course my husband’s conscious along with my cousin who lives with us couldn’t abide letting roam around (which, ok I couldn’t either because we live close to a busy highway and I didn’t want him to get run over). So, now, I have eaten my words of sayin I will never own a cat. Because before I knew it he stole my heart, and has been named Jasper. Oh, please help me, now we have 3 dogs and a cat!!! We might as well apply for grants as an animal shelter. But here is Jasper….

So, now you see my dilemma.

Anyway, I hope everyone else is have a great day and making healthy choices!

~Charity 🙂

Busy..Busy..Busy

Hello there folks! I promise I have not disappeared off the face of the earth! I will write out a nice long post either later today or tomorrow and update y’all on how my weekend went. And, I’ve been super busy with work. We have this big summit conference here so a bunch of corporate people are here….yikes. So, I probably shouldn’t be on here too long. But, I will let you know about the successes and failures of my weekend and I finally got my new cool pedometer toy in yesterday! I’m going to try to set it tonight and put it on tomorrow to count my steps starting in the morning. Ok, well, I’ll talk at y’all later. Hope y’all are having a great day and making healthy choices! 🙂

~Charity

No Self-Sabotaging Allowed!

Ok, let me just say that today I have been in a horribly foul mood and just plain mad at the world right now. I’m tired of feeling like I’m always on the crap end of the stick! And let me just whine and say, “IT’S NOT FAIR!!!” Now that I have gotten my whining out of my system I shall move on.

It seems like every Friday I cave into my old fatty cravings for the weekend and any weight I had lost through the week I seem to gain back over the weekend! I’m tired of self-sabotaging the weekends away!

I love spending time with my mom whose one of my best friends. We usually have some kind of errands to run or a project going on and we usually eat out once or twice throughout the weekend. My usual favorites were Mexican where I would have chips, salsa, cheese dip or guacamole or both, enchiladas or quesadillas, and a margarita (ok, I’ll be honest more like 2-3 margaritas)..do you know that came up to over 1300 calories?!!! That’s crazy!

My problem is my mom is not a fan of trying new things. But, tonight I have decided she’s coming with me to Ghengis Grill which is a “build your own bowl” type of place. I’ve already gone on My Fitness Pal and added up the ingredients and it will be about 600-700 calories for a bowl with shrimp, scallops, mushrooms, squash, onion, sweet n sour sauce, on udon noodles. Oh yes, be jealous! You know that sounds amazing right now!!!Hopefully my mom will be open to this place and enjoy it..we shall see. I will probably take some pictures and post them later.

Let me be honest with myself when I get into a bad mood or when Friday rolls around, I use any excuse in the typical fat person’s book as to why I can “cheat” and have foods I know are over my calorie limit and not healthy at all. And, if I had a dime for every excuse I’m making for not exercising I would be a millionaire!

I’m not letting myself do this to me anymore! I can’t! If I want to see progress at all, I have to stop making excuses. Afterall, this isn’t a diet; this is my lifestyle now. I have to learn to always make healthier choices than the old habit me. Because, even though I’m not in the greatest mood today…the old way of eating me was seriously unhappy all the time. The old way of eating me was bordering on depressed. I don’t want to go back there. I feel so much better when I eat “clean”-no fried or processed foods. And, I don’t want to go back to that crappy feeling and have to start all over Monday morning.

There will be no regrets this next Monday morning! I am determined to  eat healthy! As the hubby says, “I have my resolved face on-this is the resolved face”. 🙂 Prepare and plan ahead is what I shall be doing from now on. I still want to enjoy my mom and me time, but it will be eating healthier foods.

Wish me luck on trying to convince my mom to eat healthier with me and try new places… 🙂

Wishing everyone else a fabulous weekend!!! Make healthy choices! ~Charity

Baby Steps vs Giant Leaps

When it comes to weight loss, I’m sure I’m not the only one who has ever been a “yo-yo dieter”. The person who decides to lose weight, overhaul their diet completely; lose the weight, then go right back to eating unhealthy like before and gain all the weight right back. Well, this viscous cycle has to end!

I’ve been researching small things I can change in my diet and exercise routine to make this weight loss a permanent change. This is a life long journey. I found a poster that says it perfectly:

 This is a lifetime revolution, a permanent change.

On the other end of the spectrum, my husband has decided he wants to give up meat and eat a mostly vegetarian diet. That’s a huge leap! This should have thrilled me since I am trying to lose weight and I want to eat healthier. After all, one of my daily goals is to get in at least 3 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables. So, why did I freak out?!

I suddenly thought about all the things I loved that had meat that I would never eat again and I panicked almost. Over food! That’s insane! But, I did. This week my husband is now giving up beef. First thought in my mind, was no more steak or never putting hamburger in the spaghetti again. Really?! Should this be a terrible thing? No! Of course not! Thankfully, I’ve had my “aha” moment today and have come to terms that yes, I to need to eat less meat.

My husband is one who can give something up “cold turkey” as people would say. He can just decide to quit something and that’s it, no turning back.

I don’t work quite like that. I don’t know if I can say I will never eat beef again. But, I am going to try to cut out meat mostly from my diet. If I do this, I’m guaranteed to get in my daily servings of vegetables and fruits. Ideally, I’d like to reduce my meat intake to just 2-3 days a week. But, I digress.

My point is, he may be able to just stop eating or doing something, but I am not that strong willed. And, I want this to be a permanent weight loss. Therefore, I have been reading articles and research on small changes that can add up to weight loss.

Thankfully, I have already made some of these changes. I hope these ideas will inspire you to also make small changes that will lead to a permanent weight loss and a healthier lifestyle. It’s all about the baby steps.

So, here are some links to articles and a video on some small changes that add up big when it comes to weight loss.

http://soc.li/gQgUdiK

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/small-diet-changes-big-rewards

http://th3skinny.tumblr.com/post/4726223667/small-changes-make-weight-loss-easy

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/small-changes-get-healthier

Here’s to a healthier week this week! ~Charity