It's official

I have finally hit 125! I haven't been this weight since my junior year of high school. Insane! Although I weigh that much, I am so bloated it isn't even funny. It has been a few days since I went number 2...sorry tmi...so I feel gross and swollen and fat! My intestines literally hurt. This is not good. Anyway, so today I have to get Derek's oil changed in his car, and if I am feeling any better this evening I will go walking. My throat hurts and my head is congested so who knows, but it's only 11:45 AM so you never know :)

Oh and by the way here is my banana bread that I made last night.


For breakfast today I had some yummy oatmeal with raisins and some Splenda brown sugar. It was so good and hit the spot for a sick girl. I have a headache coming on again so I better go doctor that. More updates later!

**update

My banana bread was made without a single drop of sugar. That's right, and it tastes completely "normal"! I replaced sugar with Splenda, and just to make sure it tasted sweet enough, I added in about a half cup of Splenda Brown Sugar Blend. It is amazing. I also put in bananas by how much I personally wanted. I know a lot of recipes just call for a generic "1 cup of mashed banana" well I just broke apart about 4 bananas and threw em in then blended them up with the rest of the other ingredients. Simply delicious and about 50 calories less per serving!! :)

Lazy Sunday

I slept in today until 11:30! What's even crazier about that is I went to bed at 12:30 last night, so I slept a nice, solid 11 hours. I must have needed it. I got up, had a quick breakfast, went on a 35 minute walk to just wake up and cleaned up the apartment. Then my friend Amber came over and we went to the beach for a get-together the unit had for all the wives. It was alright. I'm more excited about the pot luck we are having next Sunday! After the beach I came home and just relaxed, made dinner watched some football, and then I went walking for 65 minutes. For dinner I baked some chicken that I had dipped in fat-free milk and then covered them with some flour, cajun seasoning and bread crumbs. I also got a couple small tomatoes, drizzled them with olive oil and spread some minced garlic, salt, and pepper on them and baked them until they popped and browned. It was delicious and light!

I am going to make homemade banana bread tonight too. I'm so excited! I will post a picture of it when I'm done.

On the downside today, I feel like I am coming down with a cold. I also feel so gross and bloated almost like my whole body is feeling the swelling. My stomach looks huge :( I just really hope everything "flushes" out soon!

Week 1 in review

Soo counting calories is the best thing you can do (in my opinion of course) if you are trying to shed pounds. I am not really trying to lose weight, but more like tone up and target these last little areas of improvement (my tummy, underarms, and back fat...typical woman areas). I am now down to about 125 pounds. When I started trying to lose weight about a year and a half ago I weighed between 148-150! My how things have changed!!! I eat more now, however I go walking a ton and do strength training and yoga so it keeps my metabolism constantly ablaze.

ANYWAY!

So this past week I decided that I needed to reevaluate how I handled my day because before I got promoted I was able to take scheduled breaks and lunches because I was working hourly. Now that I am salary I pretty much decide when I take my breaks and lunches. For the couple weeks prior to this past week I had gotten off track and felt sluggish and blah because I was sitting at my desk all day long and not getting to get outside and get a few laps in to recharge and clear my head. this last week I made it a point to get back to my routine and it felt great. I had a great week! I also weighed in and the last time I had weighed myself I was 126 and I got down to 125 woohoo! To end the week on an amazing note...I went to Wilmington today with my friend Ashley and we had lunch and went shopping and just enjoyed the day, I went walking a couple times, anddd I got to talk to Derek for...TWO HOURS! Ahhhhhh that's craziness! It's the most we have gotten to talk the entire 2 months almost that he's been there! It will be 2 months the 22nd, so pretty much 2 months lol.

Tomorrow I am going to the beach for a battalion event and to get some sun. I will also go walking and I think I want to make a chicken recipe for dinner. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Day 2

Today was my second day of getting back on track. It was a somewhat hectic day at work. I had to terminate an employee, and my goal to coach a lot of people was stopped one person short due to the que of callers we had. That added a little stress to me, but I told myself to breath and to still take my breaks and lunch. 2 fifteen minute breaks and a 30-45 minute lunch don't seem like they can make a difference, but they do! When I go walking around the building on my breaks, it helps me clear my head and re-energize. Walking is soooo good for you! On top of previous mentioned things that happened, I had to cover for the closer of the night. Which meant instead of working my 10:30-7:30 shift, I worked 10:30-11:15 PM. 15 minutes short of a 12 hour day :). But I still am not in a bad mood and I think it's because I have my exercise breaks back in control and it makes me happy inside which effects me on the outside! It's almost midnight and I'm beat. I don't go into work until 2 tomorrow because tomorrow was my original day to close. Today the food intake was okay, besides eating a couple reeses mini cups and 2 bite size Kit-Kats. Lol. I got to go walking and do lunges before work for 70 minutes and I did about 50 minutes total of walking today at work so it made my end calorie balance a positive one :) I am trying to shave off these last couple pounds of fat that line my body so I am counting calories! Lol. Goodnight world!

Starting over!

Yesterday I had an epiphany. I saw what work was doing to me emotionally and physically. Not having a game plan at work was making me stress out, not feel like working out, and I was eating without the exercise to compensate for the calories. So I decided that in order for me to be a more successful manager for my agents, I need to be happy and on the ball. So today I did two hours of work, and then took a break, did 3 hours of work and then took a lunch, worked for two more hours, took a break and then worked for another hour. I was able to go walking like I used to do every day and I was SUPER productive at work. Everyone thinks that Team Leaders don't have time to take breaks because there is too much work to do, but that isn't true. I did MORE in just today while also taking my breaks, than I was doing daily last week without taking breaks and hardly taking a lunch. I love it! I went walking before and after work too. I will be doing some push ups and crunches here in a bit. I started a food and exercise journal to keep up with my calorie intake and output. It really helps me keep myself accountable. Here's to a new, better me!

So up and down.

Since Derek left my appetite has been doing all kinds of weird things!!! Almost to the point where one would think I was pregnant, lol....btw I'm not hahaha. The first month and a half or so was me having absolutely NO appetite. Now for the past 2 weeks, I just want to eat everything in sight!!! Watching the Food Network does not help one bit :( Everything sweet is appealing and I find myself tempted to eat when I'm bored. This weekend I tried fighting the boredom by going on a walk when I got bored and had a craving. I went on 2 30-minute walks yesterday, and worked out for an hour with my friend that evening!!!!!! Anyone have any tips? Any diet pills that really work in curving an appetite? This is ridiculous! I have actually lost 3 or 4 pounds since he left because I am not eating out like we do normally or eating Coldstone lol. I am terrified of gaining any weight :( This deployment is for me to tone up what bit of flab is left!!!! Help!!!!!!!! :(

I do have to say that having "diet" treats around really helps because I am getting a fix, without all of the calories as a regular snack. Before I got promoted at work I was working hourly so I had 2 scheduled breaks and a 30 minute lunch. During those times I would walk laps around the building at work. Now that I am a manager I have a lot more responsibilities and find myself barely taking a lunch and not getting any breaks (even though we are still allowed to have them). Beginning tomorrow I am going to stick to a routine so I can still have those breaks and take some time during lunch to walk also. I have to get my life back in order!!! I just now realized that work really has a lot to do with this plateau I have hit as well. So here we go on a new action plan!

Two weeks and 5 days

Derek has been gone 2 weeks and 5 days. I have been dealing. On top of that my dad has to get -yet another- surgery on his colon. This would make the second surgery in about 2 months. And to put the cherry on top, work is stressful. I try to handle it by staying busy and working out...Hell my workouts have been more intense than ever. It only does so much for me. My heart hurts. I can't sleep right. My appetite has cut itself in half. Thank goodness at least what I do eat is healthy and I supplement my diet with nutrients and vitamins so my body is not deprived. I hate this. I don't cry. If I do it only lasts a few seconds. I feel like crying is pointless. It won't make my dad feel better and it won't get my husband home any sooner. At least what I will get out of this is a rockin body, lol. I do love thgat when I feel overwhelmed, depressed, or stressed that I don't overeat...I know it sounds bad, but I would much rather under eat than overeat. Derek also submitted his re-enlistment package. We are either going to be moving to California or Hawaii sometime mid-next year. I am so excited either way. California would be the smarter choice in many aspects. Hawaii would just be fun and good for Derek to get some down time to start college courses and stuff. I am just praying for my father's surgery to go well, and then from there I believe my heart and mind can slightly be put to ease. All I can do is just pray.