Typical rambling post

Wow...can you believe it's Friday, AND that this month is halfway over?! I'm having a hard time grasping that! It means the year end is approaching, and much faster than I realize. I want to hit my upcoming goals, so that means I really need to put it in gear and hang on. Yes, it's going to be tough with Halloween candy, my birthday (my Mom will make me a special cake just so I can stay on track), my FAVORITE holiday - Thanksgiving, along with a work pitch in breakfast, and then of course Christmas and the parties that come along with that. Ugh. Yeah, it's going to be hard...BUT, I can do this!!!! I read something yesterday (or maybe it was the day before), that stuck with me and I keep remembering. "To get something you never had, you have to do something you have never done"... Wow! When I think hard about that I KNOW that is true. It's the exact reason I plateaued last year, and then why I got so frustrated and eventually went the other direction and regained 20lbs. Now I have that phrase to remember...and it will clear things up in my head! :) Whew! I MUST do this!

So, I'm truly in a different mind set this week. Something is clicking, and I feel relief to finally be there again. Yes, I wasted a few (10) months this year...but the important part is that I never gave up and I'm still going. This time I'm going to finish!!! I FEEL it!

This weekend dh will be racing...so that leaves me and the boys. It should be fun...we will for sure get lots of dancing in! We have my family reunion on Sunday, and my goal is to take the backpack carrier and put my little guy in it and take a nice hike! I'm hoping the 4 year old can "hack" it and walk! There will be awesome food at the reunion, but I'm going to do ok...I know I can! Besides that, nothing really going on this weekend! I like that...means it's easier for me to stay on track!

Forgive me with my journals. I keep saying I'm going to get pics and post them...but then forget... so NOW I'm going to post Tue,Wed,Thurs from this week. I don't want to go back any further since my weeks start on Tuesday. So let me do some explaining. This week I decided to start a points system up of my own. Where I get points for water, journaling, exercise, steps, calories, etc. My goal is 70/week. Maybe eventually I'll put the way my points works on the side...but I dont' have the desire to do so now. That sounds bad...sorry. I somewhat got the idea from the GAG challenge. We did points last week, and I think that seemed to really help me stay on track. I also want to say that a blog I read, Christine, does something very similar too, and I REALLY liked how she did it. So, that's where I came up with my own (hope that's okay!). Oh, and you'll see lots of acronyms... here's a little key

DP = daily points - this has to do with my own point system

But these go along with WW. Remember I count calories and pts (because that has what worked for me the best int he past).
APE = Activity Points Earned
APU = Activity Points Used
FPU = Flex Points Used
FPR = Flex Points Remaining

okay...enough rambling

Tuesday 10/13



















Wed 10/14



















Thurs 10/15




















And a picture of my special birthday cake from last year! YUM!

TGIF!

Wooohooo! It's Friday friends! I'm excited too. I don't really have anything to be excited about though. Maybe that's why...means I'm not stressing about how I'm going to stay on plan for the weekend. This should be simple. And I like that. I have the meals planned out for the weekend and I will be working out and getting my steps IN! :)

Anyway, this is a fly by post since I have much to do!!!

Thursday Oct 8 Journal

Thinking Thursday

I have a lot going on in my life right now. Seriously, from one angle to the last A LOT on my plate...and though I feel overwhelmed with it all, I feel I'm back on track to finding me again. I think if I take the time to focus on me, I will be fine. I worked on my weightloss goals, reasons, steps, obstacles, solutions, rewards and timeline yesterday....and having that will help me with the rest of this journey!

My coworker tells me that I am being tested with all that is going on in my life right now... and she says "stop to think about what it could be teaching me". Even though it's lots of negatives, there will bloom a positive. I'm trying to find that right now. I think it's that I don't cave. Yes, I have a lot on my plate between a severely burned baby nephew, a water/mold problem in my brand new home, a naughty cat that is pushing my buttons, finances (don't we all know about this one!), and other issues here and there - I'm just blah! But I'm not caving. I'm going to make a positive out of this. The positive is that I'm going to stick it out, and I'm going to see a loss on Tuesday!

The best news? The weekend should be much more successful. I have a Longaberger party on Saturday, but I'm making healthy treats, and I'll go racing after that. But I'm determined to get in my steps, drink my water and stay on plan!!!! I think I'm fairly excited for this weekend and not having to worry about going here and being tempted by this or that. I can make it!

Wednesday 10/7/09 Journal

Weekly Weigh In

My internet went down yesterday as I was typing my blog...so I couldn't report in my nasty horrible bad weigh in. I gained 1.4. Yeah, disappointed in myself. But know what caused it. Several higher calorie days too close to weigh in. Not only am I disappointed with THIS weigh in, but the way I've been going about this. I have been sitting still now for too long, even though in my mind I feel like I've been trying. Deep down I have NOT.

So yesterday I must also note that I splurged...thanks to being so mad at myself. I suppose it could have been A LOT worse...but seriously Mandie, not what you're supposed to do. Today is better!



Here's my journals

Monday Oct 5




















Tuesday Oct 6

Journals

That's basically all I have time for today. The weekend was fun, and I splurged maybe a little too much on Saturday...but I believe it was still a successful weekend :) Anyway, I really only have time to post my journals...tomorrow I weigh in and REALLY hope the scale is my friend!

Friday






















Saturday























Sunday

Finally Friday!

That's right my little chick-a-dees it's....FRIDAY!!!! I've got a good busy weekend planned out of town with my 2 little ones...for my girlfriends wedding reception, should be a blast. I'm confident in succeeding this weekend even with being out of town. I know that I am WORTH this...and I CAN do it!

I want to admit that I did NOT want to go workout today at lunch. You know what I wanted to do instead? Eat....yeah, and not just what I brought/planned....but something terribly good and fattening and derailing....Qdoba. But I have the best coworker in the world, and she PUSHED me to go workout with her. Whew. Thank you D! She's my rock...because if I would have caved to my cravings, that would have only set me up for ... gulp ...disaster already for the weekend, and we all know I don't want that! SO...I went and ran 2 miles and then did my 15 min FYM supersets...KILLER 15 mins I want to add there!!!

I now feel even more confident I can do this. I'm taking a veggie tray to the reception, so I can fill up on those! WOOHOO! And I've got my workout clothes packed...just in case I can squeeze in a few moments of jumping jacks. etc. MOVE MORE MANDIE!!! Gotta remember my weekly goal of 10,000 steps on the weekend...so I've gotta be moving!!

Hope all my fellow GAG'ers have a successful and fantastic weekend!! I DOUBT I'll be online this weekend, and that stinks, because I'll miss out of some points, but it'll be okay.

October 1st Journal

Weekly Weigh In

I can't believe yet another week has gone by for this challenge...wow! It's going fast, and my weightloss is going SLOW SLOW SLOW. But, I'm happy to report a 1.2lb loss this week! Hey, I'll definitely take it! Now, if I can just continue to get ones like that, I'll be HAPPY.

Yesterday I wanted to try and FLUSH out as much of the weekend as possible. Eating my homemade, low calorie soup, drinking gobs of water, and staying away from sugar and too many carbs. Well, I stuck with my plan, but what I wanted to happen...didn't. ARGH! I even drank some Metamucil and worked out hard at home for 30 mins. Nope...I'm still sitting here pretty miserable. Hmmm...thinking I'll try an apple this evening!

I might have goofed though yesterday with my calories. I was WAY more under than I thought...and that isn't good for the body. But a few higher days, with a few lower days SHOULD keep my body guessing. I know I'll have more calories today, because I don't want the wrong thing to happen where my body is HOLDING ON. So...that'll be different today.

I also had a KICK BUTT workout at lunch today. I love working out at lunch...working out last night was TOUGH. Making myself do it for one thing, plus I went to bed right after...and it felt like it did no good. I know that's not the case, but you know how empowered I feel after an awesome lunch workout?! I didn't get that last night cuz I went to bed. Anyway, today I made up for it with 30 mins of spinning using Cardio Coach ; and then did some wogging - a total of 50 mins of interval training. Yay me :)

So here's to a kick butt week with eating and exercising!!! I'm feeling the power again!

Journal 9/28

My rump is in a slump

This should be like a thankful Thursday...or even a THIRSTY Thursday...but instead my "rump is in a slump". Ugh. I have so much going on in my mind right now that I'm getting dizzy from the circles. It all boils down to how much I HATE where I am right now. Really, I do. I feel like I'm going no where. I've lost this weight before...and here I am trying to lose it again. I can't help but wonder am I going to lose and regain for the rest of my life...and NEVER be happy? What am I doing wrong? HOW did I regain the weight? Maybe my workout isn't good enough? Maybe I'm cheating on my journals? Whatever the reason I just want to SCREAM!

It doesn't help that I feel "fat" today. I know you all have those days too...where you just FEEL "blah" and fat. Well that's me - TODAY. Maybe tomorrow I will feel better!

On a positive note I made myself go to Step class and sweated my heart out for 45 mins, and tonight I'll do the Hundred(s) Challenges. TRYING to put a smile on my face... because I know I can do this and I know what it takes....

So, here's my journal for yesterday!! Over by 149 calories - again pretty good and I'm happy with that.

Wacked out Wednesday!

Biggest Loser was awesome last night. I love it... it really inspires me. I KNOW realistically I can never (nor anyone I know) lose as much weight as these people do, but I LOVE seeing them be able to do it. I realize I have a life and family...so burning 6000 is not feasible for me. I'm okay with that. These people NEED this change, they NEED this drastically...and look at them! Amazing progress already! WOOHOO!

Last night focused more on nutrition, and I LOVED that! Yes we all know that on the BL they get beat up by their workouts...but it's good to see that nutrition is important (MORE). I learned a lot, and honestly loved the little advertisements with Ziploc and the protein powder. I know for a fact I don't get enough protein in daily, UNLESS I use my powder, and I firmly believe it will HELP the weightloss.

Anyway...good show, and I look forward to next weeks episode. Oh, and I'd also like to note that even though I skipped out on the gym yesterday (ugh) I still made myself ACTIVE for the last 30 mins of BL. I walked, jogged, kicked, punched, and all sorts of other sweat producing moves all while watching TV! I was so sweaty I had to take a shower afterwards! Yay me!!!

Sooo, here's my journal picture from yesterday (Tuesday). Over by 56 cals. MUCH BETTER!

Weekly Weigh In

I lost 0.2lb ...I lost...not much, but I did. Yeah, I'm disappointed, but I deserved it. The weekend was really out of the water when I figured all my calories up. I'm over it...over the week, and now I'm focusing on the new week. That's that. Not a happy camper today...BUT I will make up for it next week!!!!

What did I do last night to prepare for this week? I made a huge pot of veggie soup....and I did 30 mins of kick butt cardio circuit training with bands and weights. I also started my Hundred(s) Challenges over. I was supposed to do them over the weekend, but didn't...so I'm counting yesterday as Day 1 over!

Here's my journal from yesterday (Monday) and the ones from the weekend, to be honest with myself.... BEWARE, they aren't pretty...and it's amazing I had any loss at all!!!

Thursday




















Friday





















Saturday






















Sunday





















Monday

Before the storm....

Okay, it's NOT going to storm, I'm gonna be okay. I can pull this weekend off, I KNOW I can. I'm planned and ready to tackle it! I made some "healthy" banana bread last night for breakfasts...but then when I figured the calories I was kind of bummed it was still so high. Next time I'll tweak the recipe some more.

So yeah, my body is sore sore sore today! Abs, quads and chest ... all from Day 1 of the Hundred(s) challenges! GULP! I went to a step class today and she had us do squats, crunches and push ups and I thought 'NO WAY woman'. But I pushed myself and though it hurt like hell...I DID it!

Ready for my journal pic? Still on FIRE here which is going to help me stay on track this weekend so come Tuesday I will have a KICK BUTT number on the scale! Finally feeling I'm in the groove again!

Sept 16 Journal

Week 3?!

Um, yeah, it's already week 3 of GAG! I still can't believe that. Wow. Now is the time to get my butt in gear too! And guess what, I'm headed that way! I've had 2 successful days, and I plan on MANY MANY more!

So today Mrs. Sheila announced Week 3 Challenge, and it's PERFECT for me considering my weekend planned. It is Annie's 365 mile challenge. She has challenged ALL of us to help her get a total of 365 miles over the weekend (18th - 20th). I'm committing myself to 15 miles. Yeah, that's A LOT...especially with a weekend at a drag strip...BUT I need this. I need to step it up a notch and get back into it! Woohooo!

My good friend Heather (anewheather) won for percentage of weight lost this week! WOOHOO girl! CONGRAT'S on that...but watch out, I'm gonna bust my rump to take that from you next week!!!

With me saying that, um yeah...I've GOT to stick on plan this weekend. I know, it's only Wednesday but if I don't start planning it now...I will FAIL! (remember "fail to plan, plan to fail" - it's ooooh so true!). So my plan is to take the grill. I'll be taking light hot dogs, polish sausages and even splurge on a brat. But I'll get the healthy buns, and possibly even eat one without a bun if I MUST have another! I'm going to saute some veggies up on the grill to add to it (so I can get full!). We'll have burgers (veggie for me), baked potatoes, and I'm even going to get/make a veggie tray. The Hunney likes certain RAW veggies, so I'll be sure to get the ones he likes. I'll also take a watermelon from my garden! YUM! Will only eat out once. And I must JOURNAL and drink my water. The hotel has a fitness center, so I SHOULD wake my happy butt up early and get something in....but I'm can't guarantee that. Oh, and I'll need to get in my Hundred(s) challenge workouts done. JUST IN CASE I have my good friends - on the same journey - numbers and will call them when I want to cave!!! Okay...so I have a plan!


Well, now for the fun/important stuff!!!


Day 1 Workout 1 Hundred(s) Challenge: Completed! I also did 20 mins on the Stepper.

and for all your eyes to see....yesterday's Journal ~ totally under my calorie goal by 4.5! WOWZA ME!!

Weekly Weigh In

If ya'll remember last week I was on vacation in VEGAS...yeah, Vegas. Though I had an awesome time I ate and drank crazy. I did walk a ton...but seriously, I didn't do great. Needless to say I was SHOCKED, stoked, happy, thrilled, excited and flabbergasted to see a loss today! I checked like 10 times (do ya'll do this too?) just to make sure. A NICE 3.2lb loss! Woohoo! Down to 174.4.

You know what a loss like that does for someone like me? It MOTIVATES my butt! Seriously! I'm on fire and so excited. I want to get out of the 170's like you wouldn't believe. I want to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (which is also my lowest weight as an adult) of 156. I want it, I need it...I'm GOING to get it!!!!!

OH, and I'd like to add that I REALLY wanted Qdoba at lunch yesterday, I mean I could TASTE it....and was all set for that, but then talked myself out of it and went to Subway instead! YAY ME!!!

So...here's my journal for yesterday...MUCH better than it had been!

Journal and dinner posting Sept 2, 2009

I measured out everything yesterday... and though I was over my calories, I felt GOOD about myself and the hard work I put into the day! Yay me! I believe consistently doing this will reap serious benefits!!!

I also did my Couch 2 5K training. W6D2 which consists of two 10 minute jogs. I'd liek to say that running outside is much easier than on a treadmill. Yeah, you have a weather factor and inclines, BUT the scenery totally helps! FYI this is my 2nd time doing the C25K training. I have already run three 5K's, but I went on "sabbatical" with my running, and wanted to work myself back into it. So...I feel AWESOME about it!!

Daily stats:
1,419 Total Calories (over by 119)
100 oz h20
12,280 steps


Okay, now on to posting my journal and dinner pictures! Enjoy :)

































Dinner was YUMMY taco salad (without chips even!) for me!!!

Until tomorrow :)

Journal posting Sept 1, 2009

My good friend Heather suggested I posted my written calorie journal on here so I could be held accountable without having to fuss around with Sparkpeople, or whatever else. I don't have a lot of time to keep adding...so this hopefully will work.

Yesterday was an okay day. My goal is 1300 calories, figured by WebMD Assessment. I had to answer a bunch of questions and "it" figured out how many I needed to cut by my answers. ANYWAY....counting calories is semi new to me, as I've always followed WW Points. I just needed something "different".

My goal for today is to measure everything. Yesterday I guestimated, and we all know how that goes. So today is more structured.

So...here is my journal for Sept 1, 2009.