AND Another Thing!

So, Keke - I was facebook stalking you today to see what you've been up to since you haven't posted on here since like 2002.  Then I happened to come across this little message:

I mean seriously?  SERIOUSLY?  More attention?

Ow.

I'm in pain.  Even more pain than yesterday.  Yesterday only my arms and legs hurt.  Today my arms legs and abs hurt.  In fact, my abs don't just hurt, they're so tight, I've been having to fight not to walk hunched over.  

But beauty is pain, right?  RIGHT?  It friggin better be.  

Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot

BIKINI?
No thanks. Did get into one today to lay out by the pool, but only because there was nobody around. That was a BIG step in the gaining self-confidence department for this girl.

FINALLY finished with the busy weeks so hopefully I can get into a normal routine for the next 2 weeks and semi-keep it going over spring break. Managed to fit in that weight/body conditioning class on Tuesday. I was SORE. LOVE IT. Didn't work out yesterday, but had enough coffee to keep my HR pretty high the whole day. Does that count? Today was about 40 min cardio and 10 min ab, but it was a light day because 4 hours of sleep isn't fun.

And here is the treadmill workout I promised:
0-4 min: Walk at 3.5 mph on a 3-6% incline. It should be steep enough so you really feel your glutes and calves working.

4-6 min: Jog at 5 mph on 0% incline

6-8 min: Walk at 3.5 mph on 3-6% incline

8-10 min: Run at 6 mph on 0% incline

10-50 min: Repeat circuit 4 times

50-52 min: Cool down at 3mph on 0% incline
It's pretty tough at first, so if you need to bump the speed down on the 6 mph or take it down 10 minutes, go for it.

Also, I've been listening to Tracy Byrd this afternoon. Remember when I was in love with him? (bday present HINT)

BREAKING NEWS!

I actually worked out for an hour yesterday.  5 bonus points for Lauren!!

Good Luck

One:  Mimi - Good luck on your test Thursday.  Don't stress eat.  Workout instead.  I'm probably the last person that should be telling you that, but learn from my mistakes.

Two:  Tomorrow is Second weigh-in, lest we forget.  As such, I'm declaring today Skinny Tuesday.  So no Mardi Gras pigging out today, ladies.  Good luck at the scales.

In other news...since I discovered the sabotage that was my Weight Watchers spreadsheet on Sunday, I've turned myself into a Rabbit.  I went to Trader Joe's and stocked up on organic, all natural everything:  salad, tomatoes, artichoke, fresh green beans, fruit, and pretty much everything else Mother would approve of.  

So, I've been eating really well the last...well...yesterday.  I did well on Sunday, except JWalker had us over to watch the Oscar's and made us enchiladas.  I couldn't be rude, right??  Turns out ONE enchilada is a serving.  Not Two.  I thought this would be an excellent opportunity for a lesson in healthy eating.  I made a chart to demonstrate:

Keep in mind my daily point limit is 24.  On Sunday, I had one actual meal - dinner.  The enchiladas alone were 16 points.  It was the only thing of actual substance that I had all day.  Not to mention my Starbuck's trip cost me 11 points for breakfast. 

Compare that to yesterday.  I actually ate quite a bit, and still came in 2 points below my point target.  I did get lazy and popped a frozen pizza in the oven for dinner.  But, because I ate only what was in a serving, and not half the pizza like I normally would, it really didn't cost me that many points.  

Emily - I still haven't worked out this week.  But I swear I'm going to tonight. 

Kerri - where the heck are you??

Alright, I know I said no gorging today, but I'm going to go have another Diet Coke, since I can't have any more until Easter.  Plus, they're 0 points, so they don't count.  :)

Quick One

I'm exhausted. One midterm today and a killer one Thursday = NO FUN. Still managed to get in an hour of cardio. This time it was a treadmill workout where you do intervals of running at different speeds and walking on inclines. Burns a lot of calories, so I'll post it later this week when I have time. I'm off to sleep as tomorrow will be non-stop studying. Hoping to try out a weight-class at the gym if I have time.

Happy working out this week!!

Goal for the week: Make it through Thurs at noon with some kind of physical activity besides walking between the Starbucks counter and the table I will be occupying there for the next 3 days and try to avoid this theory:

Cake Makes Me Happy

You know I had to make a Cake post.  And I ain't talkin' 'bout the pastry!  The concert last night was amazing.  Beforehand we went and ate at Zachary's Pizza in Oakland.  It's this tiny restaraunt is in this cool corner spot.  We had reservations and it was still a 30 minute wait, that's how packed it was.  But the pizza was SOOO worth it.  We had Chicago Style Deep Dish.  It's the thickest pizza I've ever seen in my life. The crust wasn't thick, it was just deep and piled high with cheese, pepperoni, mushroom and fresh diced tomatoes.  I know it had to be really bad for me, but I didn't drink so I justified the extra calories :)

On a depressing note, I got on the scale this morning, because I've been doing pretty well with my points - at least compared to last week - and I wanted to see if it had made any difference.  ABSOLUTELY NONE.  I started wondering if the Weight Watcher's spreadsheet I'd found online had a bad formula or something, so I did a little research this afternoon.  Sure enough, the formulas were completely off.  It turns out on days when I thought I was staying within my point range, I was actually about 10 points over.  No wonder I haven't been losing any weight!  

If there's anything that proves there's no substitute for the original.  That being said, I am really cheap, so for now I've fixed the spreadsheet and will continue to use it.  

So...here's hoping the next 3 days are productive on the weight loss journey.  Also, I have yet to work out this week, which means I'll have to do my 2 workouts Monday & Tuesday (Oscar Party Tonight)

losing weight is hard.

Little Miss Disappointed.

Well.  Initial weigh-ins are in.  As you can see from the chart below (yes. I made a chart), it's not looking good for our first week.  Instead of putting actual weights on the chart, I just charted change in weight.  So, since Emily and I gained weight, our lines went up.  Kudos to Kerri (where is that girl?) on at least maintaining. 

I would like to give myself a pat on the back, though.  I ate only 24 points yesterday!  I didn't even have to dip into my bonus points.  YES! Can I get a virtual high-five, please?  Now I need to work on working out.  I had every intention of using the workout Emily posted last night, but instead I went to California Pizza Kitchen & bought jeans at Banana Republic.  

Anyway - Happy Thursday, Girls.  I hope we all have a better week this week.  I want the next pair of jeans I buy to be 3 sizes smaller.

Weighed in before and after step, because I wasn't satisfied with the before number. After sweating for an hour, I was 1 lb. more than last week. I'm going to say this is normal weight fluctuation. "Oh, puh-lease" (this is what my brain is telling me). It's okay..next week starts Lent and my quest to once again give up chocolate, which will be harder than last year, I'm certain. Thought about throwing alcohol in the mix as well, but I gotta have one or the other to put me to sleep at night.

By request, I will find my old workout plans I had to make in my kinesiology class, but until then, I'm bringing you wisdom from the trainer who tried to kill me 2-3 days a week. If you ever live in Austin, you should look him up. (Jeff, I'm trying to get you business! :) )
This is from his blog, which you can find HERE.

15 Modified Pushups
30 Jumping Jacks
12 Modified Pushups
30 Second Plank Hold
8 Real Pushups
30 Bicycle Crunches
45 Second Wall Sit
Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

One thing I know for sure is that it's important to get some kind of strength training in with cardio. Muscle actually burns more calories/fat. So get some!

Kerri, are you alive?

Time To Get Serious.

Little Miss Greedy and I are fat!  I did my weigh-in this morning.  I'm up 2.6 pounds from last week.  I am attributing it to the fact that I have no concept of portion control (thanks, Dad).  When I let myself get really hungry, I don't know when to stop.  This is especially true of foods that come in bags or boxes, where I have to pay attention to how much i'm eating.

So here are my goals for week 2:

1. Stay at my 24 point goal every day.  
2. Work out at least once this week (baby steps, right?)
3. Eat 5 times a day.  I find when I have a snack between breakfast and lunch & lunch & dinner, I don't feel the urge to gorge on tortilla chips when I get home.

Well, Shucks.

A week already? Crap. & since Mom will read this, by crap I mean, oh dang. This is why I don't do "weigh-ins." But I will give in and do mine tomorrow anyway.

Healthy eating progress? No chocolate cake for bkfst = good. Chocolate for a snack = improvement, I would say.

Workout progress? Did step yesterday for cardio day. Today was upper body weights. Hopefully I will manage to get something in during the hectic-ness that will be me going home briefly Thursday.

Goal: Start running outside again to get over my rut of working out only in the gym.

Goal 2: Hurry and finish school so I can hire a professional to kick my butt working out again. & throw in a chef while I'm at it, I guess.

Nervous?

So...tomorrow is first official weigh-in, girls.  Is anyone else as scared as I am?  I have been horrible with my eating since Friday.  To the point that I haven't even recorded anything I've eaten for the last 4 days.  bad Lauren!

I think in the spirit of motivation, we should start making weekly challenges for each other.   These can be anything that we think will help each other lose weight.    Thoughts?

There should be punishments if the challenges are not met.  Of course, this would all have to be honor system, but I think we can do that.

One step forward, 7 back.

Where do I even start? Got to Austin Friday and was greeted by red velvet cupcakes and wine. Then Trudy's marg & tacos. Followed by 6th street. Then lunch out with others, brownies with others, finishing Saturday with bbq from Salt Lick & then chocolate chip pecan cake. YIKES. My stomach needs to be pumped. Don't get me wrong, it was all delicious, but I don't want to even LOOK at sugar until, well, tomorrow, maybe.

Glad to be back in Galveston where I can manage to maintain working out regularly and eating (mostly) much better.

As for step tomorrow, I'll be feeling and looking a little like this:














On a good note, We did encourage healthy habits of others when we were on 6th street by doing the following:
1-One of my friends pulled out her hospital ID badge and told people smoking in the bar that she was with the Austin health dept. When the guy started smoking another cigarette, she pulled out her phone and told "back up to come help." So, we helped somebody smoke one less cigarette.
2-Telling somebody who offered me a cigarette, "no thanks, I like my lungs."

In which Lauren tries to lose weight by chopping off all her hair

Bad news.  Apparently hair does not weigh that much.  Even as much as I have (had).  I cut like 7 inches off, and was convinced it had to at least drop my weight by a pound.  I have a TON of hair!  It wasn't all in vain, though.  I do like the haircut.

Anyway...here are pics of the new 'do: 

        

Your Weekend Guide

It's Paycheck Friday, Girls.  You know what that means - time to drink some calories!  So, I made a chart to help us avoid the bad stuff: 

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I hate saying "No" to delicious treats...

A'ight... So here's the problem: Craig. When he is in town, I eat terribly and I don't exercise; I am healthy in cycles of three weeks at a time. Time to break the vicious cycle... Starting in three weeks cause that is when he comes home -- the real test.

And last night, I made crab cakes, spinach and black-eyed peas. I sauteed some sausage in Jamaican Jerk sauce but only had a few slices of that. That was more for Craig. Then he had a Drumstick (the ice cream cones with the chocolate at the tip of the cone) and I had two bites. And then... it was like Lestat... One taste of blood and I was hooked. So I had a scoop of mint chocolate chip. SINNER! AND I DIDN'T EXERCISE!!!

But this morning I ate an apple for breakfast (still hungry) and might have a granola bar as a mid-morning snack. AND ALL WATER.

For lunch I will have soup, although it is kinda full of calories. But it is only a small portion. And dinner might be sushi. Anyone have any idea how bad sushi is for me? Like, I usually get the veggie and spicy salmon rolls. Is that bad? Anyone? Bueller?

Today's Workout

Today was a weight training day, so a friend and I dusted off an old workout I stole at one point and did some circuit stuff. Did I want to go to the gym at first? No. Was it productive? yes. Fun? also yes.
Advice: Work out with a friend. It makes you keep going.

YUMMY!

Ok.  So I swear I'm not going to do 3 posts a day everyday (can you tell I'm excited?), but I made this for dinner tonight and it was SOOO good.  So I had to share.  I got it off of caloriecount.about.com.

Chicken with Asparagus and Roasted Red Peppers

makes 4 servings.  15 mins prep, 30 ins to cook.

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 lb. chicken breast

1/2 lb. asparagus

7 oz roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

1 clove garlic

1/2 cup chopped tomato

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup low fat mozzarella

1/2 c. chopped onion

Directions:

• Brown chicken in large skillet w/ chopped onions
• Once browned, add broth and cook (appx 15 mins) until chicken is almost cooked through.
• add asparagus, red peppers, and garlic
• Continue cooking 10 minutes, until chicken is done and asparagus is tender
• Place tomatoes in skillet during last two minutes of cooking
• Sprinkle with vinegar. Top with mozzarella cheese and serve

And it's only 271 calories (4 points!)

Steppin' Up to the Challenge

Nerd, I know. You'll understand if you keep reading.

I'm so glad we're all doing this together. The only times I really stick to things like this are:

a) when I'm being held accountable

b) when there is competition involved

c) when there's a chance to win something

Unlike some people seem to think, I do need to lose more than 2.3 ounces and regain muscle lost from 2 years (off & on) of working out with my trainer. booooo

Here's my goal:

To look like I did in this picture, taken in Aug. 2007. And, yes, I still have the bathing suit to try on in the end like a cheap weight-loss commercial.

The problem: I hate scales. As in I get obsessive-compulsive and end up weighing myself more times than necessary a day.

Today's workout: My new adventure. Taking a STEP class with an overly-flamboyant instructor. I love it, even though he says right and I'm usually doing left. Burned 541 calories to make up for the 541 Valentine hearts & mini-chocolate chips I ate today. Anyway, I highly recommend it for a cardio day.

Good luck suckers!

Lauren's Week One.

So...I technically started this thing a week ago today...but I guess I'll start my "official" weight tracking starting today.  I just wanted to let y'all know that, unfortunately, I went over my 24 point target 4 out of the 7 days this week.  One day I actually consumed more than 24 points in one meal (more about that in a sec).  On the bright side, I did my weekly weigh-in this morning, and I lost 3 pounds this week!  HELL YES FACE -->

So. While my diet could still use some work, it's nice to be reminded that Weight Watchers really does work!  I'll work on getting a spreadsheet added up here in case you guys would like to start using it.  I find it much easier than counting calories.

And in case you were wondering, here's how you eat more than an entire day's worth of points in one sitting:

• Velveeta Queso (about a cup): 9 points
• Bean Dip (1/2 cup):  1 point 
• Mission Tortilla Strips (20):  4 points
• Peperoni, Tomato & Mushroom Pizza, Original crust (2 slices):  9 points
• Corona Beer (1 beer): 3 points

The Weigh Down Low Down

Ok girls.  Now that this has turned into a group project,  I'm laying down some ground rules (btw these are all negotiable with a quorum vote): 

1. I hereby call October 28 as d-day.  That is exactly 37 weeks from today.
2. Winner will be determined by % of total weight lost.  This is because if some people lost 30 pounds, they would be non-existent.
3. Weigh-ins are every Wednesday.  I don't know how I feel about the entire inter-web knowing my weight, so we may just report pounds lost, not actual weight.  Feedback?
4. Prize is yet to be determined.

Happy losing!

You're going down, Kotara!

Question:

If you throw up, do you get to subtract points?

On an unrelated topic, He's Just Not That Into You is EXCELLENT.  I'm so Gigi.

Points consumed: 27

  

Where I Introduce Myself

Well, Hello!

So...here's the back story on this blog.  I've been a fatty pretty much all my life, but I've had periods (however brief) of acceptable weight.  I moved to San Francisco 10 months ago from Texas and I guess maybe I've been too busy enjoying my new life that I haven't really be doing so hot at keeping in shape.  I got on the scale on Wednesday and made my wtf? face (that's my sister doing the wtf? face with me): 

I was quickly approaching the weight I was my Senior year of college (which was almost my heaviest), before I started Weight Watchers.

I decided it was high time I do something about this.  

Weight Watchers is pretty much the only "diet" (don't tell them I called it that) that has ever worked for me.  The points made it super easy to count my calories, and it made it easier to decide what I wanted to splurge on and what I didn't.  So, taking all of this into account, I promptly decided to go back on WW.  Then I promptly went over my points values the first two days of my new diet.  So much for resolve or will power or whatever you want to call it. 

So this led me to here.  My biggest problem with my MANY plans to lose weight is that I lose my resolve the moment something cheesy or chocolatey walks in front of me.  This is my way of holding myself accountable.  I figure if the world can see my failure, I'm more likely to step away from said cheesy & chocolatey things.  Even if no one ever sees this, it makes me feel better that it's out there.

Points allowed: 24

Points used today: 29 (darn those peanut m&m's calling me from the candy machine!)