Day 2

It's Day 2 on my protein-shake plan, and I've gotta say...It's a LOT more challenging than I thought! Not even so much the fact that I'm restricted from eating most of the day, because I don't really like all that many foods anyways. No, my problem is more the fact that I'm NOT constantly eating, so I get hungry like a normal person.

Yesterday, I went out to breakfast with a group from my church after our weekly prayer meeting to this greasy little diner in town. I sat there with my protein powder and a glass of cold water (note: the powder is GROSS mixed with water!) while everyone else ate eggs, biscuits, gravy, oatmeal, and french toast. Really, I was fine not eating, because as I said: food isn't a huge obsession in terms of WHAT I eat...just how much. The restaurant owner even brought out plates of fresh watermelon, so I got to munch on about three pieces of that to go with my shakes. This is a weekly outing, so I'm going to need to remember to bring my own milk (I'm only allowed to mix with skim milk and water, but the diner doesn't have skim milk), and probably my own fruit so that I don't hog all the watermelon from the rest of the table!

For my lunch shake, I took an idea that I'd been seeing on Pinterest for quite a while and froze a banana while I was at my job interview (which, by the way, went well!). When I got home, I had just enough time to make my lunch & change clothes before I headed off to my friend's senior track meet. I mashed the frozen banana in a cup, mixed it with my protein powder, 6 oz. of skim milk, and the tiniest bit of sugar free chocolate syrup for flavoring. It was fantastic! I also took some Laughing Cow and a string cheese for a snack, and we went to McDonald's for dinner, where I got a grilled chicken sandwich, lettuce and tomato. I must say, I was pretty proud of myself for it, but I wasn't pleased with getting Fast Food. Live and learn, I guess. Last night I had 7 triscuits and some more Laughing Cow since I'd eaten dinner so early.

Today, I drank the shake straight with just milk for breakfast. Then, my dad (bless his heart for trying to do a good deed) decided to make omlettes, bacon, and biscuits. He made me a veggie omlette with cheese, and so I had that and barely half a biscuit for lunch, and a string cheese a little later on. This just means that I'll do my second shake for dinner today, and probably have a small snack later on, like an apple or some cheese.

For what it's worth, I feel like I'm doing well. I made the decision to add in a few snacks throughout the day that aren't just fruits, because there is going to come a time when I'm going to have to eat more than just powder, milk, fruits, and one meal a day. I'm no dummy, and I know that the second I go from barely eating to eating an appropriate amount of calories, I'm going to gain back a ton of weight. So that's the reason for the cheese strings and the Laughing Cow/Triscuits. At least they're not terrible decisions!

Also, I'm no longer going to be alone in my journey...one of my girl friend's, Lauren, is joining me in my month-long regimen, so it'll be nice to have some support (and someone else sitting at the diner nursing a shake every Tuesday morning!)

I haven't yet weighed myself, I figured I'd wait until Sunday (going to Cedar Point on Monday, so I won't be by my scale) and see how week 1 on this program went! I probably won't blog again until then, however, so happy Wednesday! (:

-Britt

221.1 and Summer

Nothing like your doctor forcing you onto a two-protein shake and one-meal per day diet for the next month to get your butt in gear.

I guess that she didn't take too kindly to my gaining around another 5 pounds since Spring Break and my meds not working, so this is what I've been instructed for the next (at least) month. If it works, though, I have absolutely no problem continuing it for the entire summer.

Shake for breakfast
Shake for lunch
High-protein, low carb dinner
Fruits & veggies ONLY as snacks

This starts tomorrow morning. Hopefully it means more blogging, since I'll need to keep myself responsible for what I'm doing.

I've also got a job interview in the afternoon....fingers crossed it goes well, and prayers are appreciated! I really REALLY need to start making money this summer!

This Time, I Promise.

In the last few months, it seems that my blogging (and subsequent dieting/exercising/getting healthy) has been a whole lot of talk and not a lot of action. It makes me sad and ashamed, because there is absolutely no reason for it to be this way, and there is nothing that I can attribute it to other than my own laziness. I wanted the weight to come off; I wanted to be able to fit into all of my summer clothes and things that I haven't worn since high school. I wanted all of that and more, but I wanted it without the work. Late-night market runs for nachos, chicken tenders, Ben&Jerry's, and Bosco sticks meant more to me than making sure that my dress fit for my cousin's wedding (that is now just barely a month away!).

Every time I turned around, there was another "reason" that I couldn't exercise or make better eating choices in the cafeteria. There are some foods that really do react terribly with the medicine that I was on, but an upset stomach over a salad or veggies is better than a flabby stomach over pizza and junk food...I just need desperately to grasp that concept and keep it in the forefront of my mind at ALL times!

I went to see my doctor yesterday, 1. because I haven't been in for a PCOS evaluation since last spring break (a year ago on the 11th) and 2. because my meds for it went from making me feel sick because of certain foods to making me feel sick because of ANY food. I expected that I'd be only a couple of pounds lighter than I was last year, because I knew that I'd gained about ten pounds since the summer (when I'd stopped eating and was being a pitiful, broken-hearted moron)...but what I didn't expect was to actually be almost two pounds HEAVIER than I was at my last appointment.

I know that two pounds isn't really a huge deal, but knowing that I was almost twenty pounds less than that this summer makes me feel a whole lot worse. I was doing well this time last year, and I feel like (read: I know that) I have just given up. Part of me thinks that I should just start completely over and use the weight that was recorded at the doc's office yesterday as my "starting weight," but I know that this is a JOURNEY, and the stumbles, mishaps, and bad days are all a part of it. For that reason, I refuse to "start over" and forget about all of the progress that I made from October 2010. I may have cancelled my WW membership, but that was only because of money and the inability to attend meetings both at school and home, but that doesn't give me the right to stop!

After leaving my doctor's appointment yesterday with a different type and dosage of meds and the realization that, no, PCOS isn't a life-threatening thing...but if I want to stop it before it turns into something worse & keeps me from having the big family that I've always dreamed of, then I need to get my mind back to where it was this time last year.

I came home and dug through the closet until I found my mom's Turbo Jam DVDs: They were always some of my favorite things to do, and she used them all of one time before giving up and packing them away, never to be seen again. I rocked it out to the first workout, then made a shopping list of things to take back to school with me. Mama looked at me like I was crazy, but I think that she really does have a heart for seeing me achieve the goal that I've wanted for a long time, so she helped me write down ideas of snacks and healthy things to take back with me. Then I woke up this morning (kind of late, but hey: it's Spring Break...I deserve the rest!) and immediately jumped into the next Turbo Jam workout.

I don't know what we have in the house as far as healthy food options, but I'm determined to find something. I still have a little over a month before the wedding. While that is not the be-all, end-all of this whole thing, I NEED to make sure that my dress fits, since I haven't worn it since November. If I can just get a move-on and really get myself in gear, I'm confident that it will only get easier after that point. I just need to keep thinking of how rewarding it will be once I can slip into that dress and feel genuinely good, and see people that I haven't in months and be healthier than when they left...it'll all be worth it.

I WILL be more faithful in blogging. I'm busy: work, the last half of spring semester, and sorority initiation/new member process (oh yeah, I went Greek!). But with a good mindset (and reliance on God to keep me from sinking) I know that I'll be just fine.

So no more excuses, FOR REAL THIS TIME! It's all or nothing! (:

Back to School Update

Today was the first day of Spring semester for me, and I must say: I've never been this unexcited to go to school. When I got home Friday night, I literally cried non-stop all night long, and then continued when I woke up Saturday. I really just didn't want to come back.

It doesn't make much sense, because this is my first semester taking classes for my English major (I decided last semester to switch from studying Public Relations to Creative Writing), but I'm just...I'm not in the mood for school. I had an Economics class last semester that literally kicked my butt, and caused my GPA to fall below the minimum requirement for my academic scholarship, so I have to basically ace all of my classes this time around in order to bring it back to at least a 3.25 and keep the scholarship. Otherwise, it's goodbye college for me. I think that's part of it; I'm terrified because this is the most important semester

of my education, ever. Add on to that the fact that by the time it's over in May, I'll officially be halfway done with college, and in just two more years, it's "hello, real world."

I know that a big part of my sadness over the last few days is that a very close friend of mine had been visiting from North Carolina since the 30th (my birthday!!) and he was going to be heading home as well. It's hard having to say goodbye to friends and leave home, but it's even worse when those friends are also leaving. I know how much it hurts him to have to go home, because his heart is in Michigan and going back to NC kills him. But I digress.

Despite literally crying every single day since Friday, I've been doing fairly well. I got up this morning and had a breakfast shake, and I completed Week 1, Day 1 of C25K. I didn't have lunch today because I had a really emotional moment after talking t

o the aforementioned friend between classes, and ended up falling asleep for about an hour. However, I had a grilled chicken breast with a slice of swiss cheese on a bun and a bowl of chili and glass of skim milk for supper, and I treated myself to a frosted cookie just because.

Tomorrow, I aim to actually eat all three meals, and do some kind of workout, maybe abs or something, so that I don't just sit and do absolutely nothing on my off days of C25K. In the meantime, I really should go to bed and get a good night's sleep so that I'm prepared for classes tomorrow.

After finishing C25K today. (:

Comeback

I don't even want to talk about how long it's been since I've posted or even thought about posting. With that also comes the length of time that it's been since I've actually followed any sort of "weight-loss" program, and it makes me sick to even think about.

This morning, my breakfast was two giant spoonfuls of Duncan Hines Cream Cheese icing. Sick, right?

I have done good not to gain back everything that I lost last year, but back in June I let a heartbreak get the best of me, and from that point on I used every excuse I could find not to work out or eat properly.

Well, no more.

I stayed away from my blog because I was ashamed of the way I'd just let myself go. I thought many times about writing a blog about what I was going through...I experienced my first real, legitimate, earth-shattering heartbreak and it really messed me up. I probably should have written about it; it would've made me feel much better. Regardless, I didn't and it's over and reconciled now anyways, so there is no conceivable point in rehashing dirty details of a summer-romance-gone-wrong.

I cannot let that, or any other situation, define me anymore. I started on a path to fitness and good health for my OWN benefit, and I was, up to a certain point, doing incredibly well. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of the progress that I was making and the goals that I had set, and indulging in food became more important than anything else.

I'm done. Starting this moment, my mindset is changing. I have to get back to where I was (mentally and physically) when I came home from school in May. A lot may have happened and changed me as a person, but I still have the same desire: to look and feel amazing, for no one but myself. I NEED this...I need to once and for all wrap my mind around something and genuinely change how I look at my life, in every aspect.

It won't be easy...because of being away at school, I can't do WW anymore. I can't have a meeting membership that will work both at school AND at home, and $40 a month is too costly to have to cancel over every extended break in which I won't be on campus. I've still got an online membership, but the challenge is going to come in actually logging my food and utilizing the tools.

I'm considering buying the eBook of the 17 Day Diet, hoping to kick-start myself and recharge my batteries, so to speak. Starting Sunday (I'll officially be back on campus), I'm going to begin the Couch To 5K program, and hopefully by mid-March, I'll be in much better shape than I currently find myself.

Ideally, I'd like to lose about 20 lbs by April 10th. My cousin is getting married on the 14th, so my family is taking a trip to North Carolina that weekend, and I've got a dress to fit into. It fits me now, but it's a bit more snug than I'd really like, so I know that dropping some weight will help out. Another 20 lb loss will (just a guess) put me at/around a size 14. That's not too shabby in my book, considering that I haven't seen clothes that size since the end of my junior year.

So this is it. No more excuses, no more relying on other people. Just me, myself, and a daily decision to look and feel better than the day before. I can do this, I know it. (:

Starting Weight: 206.0

On a Roll

Today, my WW monthly pass for the month of May expired. I didn't re-up because it costs a lot more for the membership at home than it does at school, and I was going to have to start over with my etools subscription. Instead, I got up this morning, went to weigh in one last time, and then changed my membership from a monthly to online only for the summer. I'm sure that this is going to be a challenge, not having to go every week and weigh in, but it's only for the next 2.5 months, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to manage it and hold myself more accountable for what I'm doing, since it's all on my own now.

After I weighed in, I decided to finally purchase a copy of the "Just 5" cookbook, which is a WW produced cookbook that has all sorts of recipes that are made with five (or less) ingredients. The best thing is that it includes the PointsPlus values for all of the foods so there's no extra calculating. I plan to use it quite a bit this summer, as well as once I get back to school for the days when we feel like having roommate dinners.

I also bought a box of snack bars, in the "Chewy Chocolate Caramel" flavor. To me, they taste almost like a Milky Way, so I can sort of trick myself into thinking that I'm eating a candy bar, when I'm really eating a healthy snack that only costs me 2 PointsPlus.

Now, on to the weigh-in. All I needed to do in order to hit a 10% weight loss this week was to lose 0.6lbs. I've been really busy at work and missed lunch a few days, but I was never entirely hungry, other than Monday, when I ate an early breakfast and spent all day trying to (finally) unpack from college and then had a relatively late dinner. Other than that though, I was pretty satisfied with breakfast, a snack before work, one after work, and then dinner. I need to figure out a better plan though.

For now though, I weighed in this week at a very exciting 202.6lbs, which is a 3.6lb loss since last week, which puts me over 10% and only about 5lbs away from having lost 30lbs! I'm ecstatic!

Expect pictures for CERTAIN within the week!

-Britt

Big things are happening!

It's finally summer vacation for me. Actually, it has been since May 3rd, but my grandpa passed away before I even made it back from school and then I was job interviewing and starting summer classes, and still not really eating right, so I was too ashamed to blog. That's not good.

But I'm back, baby...and I'm here to stay! My WW membership expires in a few days, but because I'm not able to weigh in at the center near campus, I have to just let it expire and start using only etools and get a reliable home scale. This scares me a little, but I'm pretty confident that I can do it!

I've got to get a shower and get ready for work, but here are a few VERY good things that have happened recently:

1. I got a job. A LOFT opened up in our mall, and I applied just for giggles. Turns out, it was the best decision ever! Grand opening was yesterday, and I worked the busiest shift of the day. So many people came in that were excited that we finally have a LOFT, and even more that had never heard of the place, but ended up buying a significant amount of stuff.

2. I'm down another clothing size! After work yesterday, I went back to LOFT with a friend to buy some work clothes. I get a 50% discount, so I planned on spending quite a bit to get me through the summer. I ended up with a yellow ruffle top with white and beige polka dots, a white linen wrap sweater, and a pair of dark wash knee-length crops and a bright pink and orange striped t-shirt, and then a lime green linen skirt and plain white tee, all for only $116.60! Best of all, the shirts are all size Large (and even a bit loose like that), and the shorts/skirt are (you're not going to believe this) a size 14. FOURTEEN. I almost fainted when they actually fit. I'd set my mind to the fact that they weren't going to, and I was okay with it, knowing I'd just have to work harder to be able to wear them. But I decided to try them on to see how much more I'd need to lose to wear them, and they were perfect! A bit more snug than I usually wear, but that gives me room to shrink into them all summer!!!

3. I've started doing Zumba. I bought the Zumba fitness game for the Kinect on Wednesday, and I'm currently blogging with sweat dripping down my forehead. Zumba is HARD WORK! Let me tell you though, it's fantastic! I had an absolute blast, and I can't wait for tomorrow afternoon for my next workout! Wooo!

4. I lost weight (first time in a month!) I went to WW today expecting to have lost maybe a pound or two. I had my wisdom teeth removed last Friday, and only started eating solid foods again this past Wednesday. I figured that there'd be some change, but that it would probably just be the 3ish pounds that I'd put on over the last month. Boy, was I wrong. When I stepped on the scale, even the woman behind the counter gasped. In the last two weeks (I didn't go last week because I couldn't drive/was looped out on pain pills for my teeth), I've lost a total of 6.2 pounds!!! Right now, I'm only 0.6 away from losing 10%, and I'm pretty sure I can do that this week.

My goal is to have lost 10% by Friday so that I can get my medal and set an UGW at the next meeting....Fingers crossed!!

If I make the goal, then expect progress pictures coming at the end of the week as well! I'm due for some 20lb ones anyways, so hopefully I don't forget!!!

-Britt

Ranting.

I don’t usually get mad about a lot of things, but right now there is something that’s really just working my nerves. I don’t understand society’s double standard when it comes to food/body size.

It’s always “blahblahblah, don’t eat this don’t eat that.” and “blahblahblah you need to lose weight…this girl’s fat…that guy’s going to have heart disease.” And people are constantly degrading other people because of their size/shape/weight, which may not even be something that they can help, and it makes them feel absolutely terrible.

But then when someone tries to watch what they eat or attempt a diet, it has to be some huge secret because the same people that were just judging them for eating too much are now judging them for being a “priss about calorie intake.”

I’m sorry, but how is this okay? Coming from someone that has struggled with my weight for years, I can absolutely say that it’s not. If someone is counting calories/watching what they eat/dieting, then who are you to cut them down? Maybe they’re doing it for a legitimate health reason and not just because of what they see/hear people talking about. Even so, it’s constantly being thrust in our faces that we should look a certain way, but yet when we try to, we get chastised for it.

It just makes me sick.

Procrastination Blog 2011

I really need to get back on track.

A lot of things have happened in the last few weeks, and they're honestly not even worth blogging about at this point. My weight loss has taken the biggest hit from it, as I've been stuck between 18-20 pounds since the beginning of the month. I know that I need to get back on track, and as much as I try to convince myself that it'll happen this week and that I'll hit the 10% mark on Saturday, I just highly doubt that I will.

My last regular day of classes is tomorrow, and then I have four finals next week (2 Monday and 2 Tuesday), and then I get to head home.

As soon as I get home, I know that things will get better, because I'll be able to seriously consider every morsel that goes into my mouth without having a ton of papers and homework and exams and general pressures that come along with being a full-time university student. Plus, I'm going to buy the Zumba Kinect game ASAP when I return, which I know will help kick-start my exercise.

My goal for the summer is to lose another 30 lbs (going off of the assumption that I've lost 20 lbs, since that was the highest loss that I've seen recorded at weigh-ins.) for a total of 50 by the time I return to school, which is on August 10th this year.

I promise that I'll get better with updates and (for my own sake) eating once I'm done with school...I really need to, on both counts.

The List

It seems to me that the times during which I am the busiest are the times that I explore and dream more about my weight loss. However, I don't actively take the steps because I know in my mind that I'm paying more per credit hour than I am to weigh in every week and that I can pick up the pace and work extra hard this summer. Ultimately, I know that's not the ideal situation, but my education is far more important and expensive, so it comes first.

This week, I've stumbled across a lot more quality weight loss blogs, including Jack Sh*t, who I find to be quite unconventional, but absolutely effective. One of the things about Jack's blog that I thoroughly enjoyed was W.I.D.T.H. It really is a great concept, and I immediately started thinking. Of all the reasons that I have given myself about why I'm willingly embarking on this journey, what is the one that reigns supreme over all the others? I honestly don't know, but I managed to come up with ten that stuck out to me. I decided to make a list and think about the reasons over the next ten days, hopefully coming out with one (maybe two) that are the ultimate reasons Why I Do This Here. When I figure it out, I'm going to submit it to Jack Sh*t, and also post it here. In the meantime, here are my top ten W.I.D.T.H's, in no particular order:

1. Because I want to look good during halftime!

2. Because I want to be confident when I meet my future husband.

3. Because I don't want Diabetes, Cancer, or Heart Disease.

4. Because if I don't, PCOS will ruin me & I may never have children.

5. Because one day, I want to live near a beach.

6. To prove to myself that I CAN!

7. To prove everyone else wrong.

8. Because I want every guy that's ever rejected me based on my weight to regret it.

9. Because college only happens once, and it's a time for pictures.

10. Because sometimes, I wonder if I actually have two thighs.

Obviously not all of those reasons are major driving forces behind why I'm doing what I'm doing, but they are important. My goal over the next ten days is to figure out the most important. Expect blogs.

-Brit

Uh Oh

I am not hungry right now, and it's lunch time.

I'm thinking it's because I didn't eat breakfast until later than normal, and that I had more to eat than I usually do...still, if I don't eat lunch now, then my next opportunity is at 3:30...and that's if I don't get to go home.

I'm hoping that I do get to go, because I want to see my grandpa, who is not doing too well, along with go to my high school's musical and the funeral of a close family friend. Plus, my cousins are up from North Carolina, and one of them is like my big brother, and I haven't seen him in two years. Thus, I need to get home.

But back to what I was saying: not hungry, no food in the room for a snack, dliema.

Back on Track

I'm so utterly disgusted with the fact that I haven't updated since March 1st. School has been a never-ending dumping of work, and during Spring Break, I was doing more homework and looking for summer jobs, so I didn't manage to find time even then.

Even in my absence, I've managed to keep my weight tracker updated, so that's one positive thing.

Other (non-weight loss related) news is that I have a job interview for a desk receptionist position for next year in the residence hall that I'm living in. It pays minimum wage and only averages about 15 hours a week, but I'm completely content with that because it's basically the easiest on-campus job that I could find.

Now, as far as my weight loss goes: I haven't necessarily been as strict as I know that I should be. I like to chock it up to school and being overly busy, but I know that I could make the time for it if I really tried. I did pretty well at the start of Spring Break, but by the end of it I'd gained 3.2 pounds and was feeling miserable. A good portion of that gain was due to TOM, and 2.6 of it came off last week, but I know that I could also combat the rest of it if I just got back down to business.

I've done better this week, eating salad for the first time in months and trying to keep myself from getting a stomach ache from it (for whatever reason, salad and mass amounts of bread do not agree with my medication...I still have yet to figure out why this happens.) In addition to the salad, I've had better breakfasts and I worked out yesterday (I would have today as well, but it started to blizzard and I was on my bike, so I needed to get back to my dorm before it got too bad.) Still, I ride my bike almost everywhere now, so it's not like I'm just not getting any physical activity at all.

I'm really kind of nervous about this week's weigh-in, but in a good way. I really just want to get back to the mindset that I was in a few weeks ago, when I was working out and the weight was coming off somewhat easily. I know that with the semester coming to an end, things are going to get pretty hectic, but my goal is to keep up with my tracking/exercise/eating and also with my blog updates. Just six more weeks and it's summer for me!

-B

Video Update

I didn't have time to sit down and type up an update, so I made a (kind of) quick video that hashes out the events of the last few weeks. Plus, pictures!

Here are the pictures of my face weight loss, as promised:

^^This was on October 8th, twenty days before I started WW.

^^This one was taken on Friday night. It amazes me how much my face has slimmed down in just five months.

Re-design!

Of course, when I should be studying for a math quiz, I decided to re-design my blog. Whatever.

I thought that the new title deserved some explaining, since I didn't start this blog to be a weight-loss blog, though that's exactly where it's ended up taking me.

Before I moved to college, I came up for a weekend camp, during which I was told that the food here was so good, people didn't gain the 'freshman fifteen,' they gained the 'freshman fifty.' I made up my mind at that point that I was NOT going to gain another fifty pounds this year (due to underlying health issues, I had during a very short time my senior year.) The day before I moved, I made a promise to myself in a conversation with my mother. I said that I was not going to gain fifteen pounds, fifty pounds, or anything of the sort. Instead, I vowed to lose fifty pounds over the course of this year, and then write a book about it (that's such a running theme in my life.)

I may have gotten a bit of a late start, and I may have just recently gotten into high-gear, but I believe that I can do it. I have until May 7th to reach 178.4lbs, and I feel like that's quite a reasonable amount of time, as long as I stay completely on track. I mean, if I don't lose quite that much then I'm definitely not going to be bummed; anything at this point is good. But still, it's nice to have that goal set, and that's the only date that I'm going to set for myself. The rest of it can just come off naturally, but I'd like to have lost fifty pounds by the time I move home for summer vacation.

Also, one other thing I'd like to point out: I fixed the sizing on my progress pictures, and they're now under a specific page, located up there (^^), along with a goals/rewards page. I really had a lot of fun sitting down and planning specific goals, and (even though it's not set yet), once I reach my ultimate goal weight, I have the biggest reward planned; something that I've wanted to do all my life. You'll have to check it out if you want to see though!!

Kay, that's all I have for now. (:

-Britt

It's Monday.

Surprisingly, there's not a case of the Mondays in sight for me today! I mean, I woke up later than normal, but I made it to class on time and the sun is shining and the snow is melting and Valentine's Day in college>Valentine's Day in high school. The only real setback of today was that because I woke up late, I didn't have time to go to the cafeteria to get a banana, so I had a really unhealthy breakfast of 100calorie bite-sized brownies, a box of raisins, and a swig of milk. What counts as 'unhealthy' now could have actually been a lot worse, but still.

I did something to mess up my knee, but I'm not going to let it stop me from working out after dinner with a group of my friends. I almost backed out because I have to go to a movie showing for class, but I told myself that if I wanted to get the ball rolling with this weight-loss, I needed to buckle down and start moving. I'm going to do the best that I can today with my knee, but I don't think it's going to bother me too much; at least I hope not.

I'm getting ready to go to dinner, but here's what I've had to eat today:

Breakfast:

100calorie Brownie bites

1/8cup raisins

1/4cup skim milk

Lunch:

turkey sandwich on wheat bread, piece of lettuce, slice of cheese, light mayo

2 pickle spears

4 orange slices

snickerdoodle cookie

Afternoon Snack:

100calorie Brownie bites

Dinner:

2 pieces coconut shrimp

mashed red potatoes

cupcake

1cup skim milk

Evening Snack:

apple

My daily points allowance decreased by 1 after this last weigh-in, but it's not really much of a change from last week.

-Britt

Cause for Celebration

I have many reasons to celebrate right now:

1. I think I'm almost over the sickness; all that's left is a runny nose and a cough. The fever started Tuesday and ended with a bang sometime late Thursday night/early Friday morning. All I know is that I woke up in my Mommy's bed (I was sick and needed to be taken care of like a toddler, apparently) completely drenched in sweat. Evidently it took leggings, pj pants, a t-shirt, sweatshirt, slippers, and three blankets to finally break my fever, but whatever works.

2. I got a super cute new pair of boots today that I'm absolutely in love with.

3. I got a zebra pillow pet from my parents. This made the day wonderful in and of itself because the zebra is apparently the rarest of all pillow pets...so much so that he was selling for almost a hundred dollars on ebay around Christmas. Somehow, with a magnificent stroke of luck, my mother found him at a Justice store three weeks ago when there were only two left from a shipment that had arrived an hour prior. I am in love.

4. I can almost (ALMOST!) fit into a pair of black skinny jeans that I got for Christmas last year (2009) and refused to take back because I knew that one day, I'd fit into them. That day is almost here! I can get them completely on, which is already more than I could do when I received them, and they button. But the problem is that they're still snug and my belly sort of filters out the top of them. Regardless, I'd say another ten pounds and they'll fit more comfortable, and another twenty will get rid of some of the belly spillage.

5. (This is the big one!) I weighed in today, and I lost a total of 4.2 pounds last week! Granted a majority of this loss probably came from my sheer lack of eating adequately Wed-Fri because of my illness, but still; I'd like to think that the careful tracking that I did when I was eating had a lot to do with it as well. I really worked hard at considering and controlling what I was eating, and even though some meals were too small or even didn't exist, I feel overall accomplished about this week's progress. This loss gives me a total of 12.4 pounds, putting me beyond my first goal weight and quickly on track to losing 10%!!! Here's to hoping that I can do it with more ease, now that I know just how good tracking does!!!

That's it, really. I've also added some progress pictures to the right side bar, but they're abnormally large right now and I don't have sleep time to waste on fixing them, so I'll do that soon. I'm kind of upset that I didn't smile in my pictures from today, but I'll just remember to do it next time!!!!

-Britt

Oops.

Today, I sort of splurged.

I didn't track and I didn't really eat much at all, 'cept for a slice of cheesecake and some ice cream...but being that all I had was a little bit of chicken noodle soup for lunch/a turkey wrap for dinner, I'd say it all evens out.

All I know is that this sickness is hardcore kicking my butt...I just want it to be over; I didn't even have the energy to fully blog today.

mer.

Anchor

I am sick.

I've been so good at fighting all of the illness that's run rampant on campus since August, getting away with only one day of a stomach ache a few weeks ago. Of course, when I'm coming up on the busiest few weeks of the semester, I catch something. I woke up this morning and felt absolutely miserable. I had a sore throat and slight cough, but the biggest part was that I ached everywhere. Sitting through/staying awake in my morning class was a chore and I've wanted nothing more than a nap all day long. Earlier I felt so bad that I contemplated not eating lunch. However, after a nice long pep talk with myself, I managed to grab a little bite from the cafeteria before my afternoon classes. I felt better for a while, but I really can't wait for my night class to be over so that I can come back, watch Glee, and then just sleep.

After I posted yesterday, I ran into a few minor snags in the cafeteria: the stir-fry was chicken instead of beef, and the potato soup was gone. Instead, I got the stir-fry and brown rice, opted out of the slice of wheat bread, and got an "oriental hot and sour" soup. If dieting in college has taught me one thing, it's that I need to be able to adapt to sudden changes and overcome them. After dinner I went to The Munch (a campus convenience store) with my roommate, and there I got a cup of grapes and fresh strawberries, and a 3 Musketeer bar. The Musketeer bar was an almost instant regret, but I really wanted it and with 49 extra points every week, I could have it without guilt. I don't like to utilize the 49 points too often, because I can't trust myself with them yet; I really tend to go overboard on things easily.

Despite the dinner switch and the candy bar, yesterday actually ended up pretty great. Everyone parked on North Campus had to move their cars yesterday for plowing, so last night when we went to return them to the lot, I just threw on a CMU fleece that I bought back in October. When I bought the fleece, it was just a bit more snug than I would have liked, but I was thinking about starting WW so I just let it go. Well, last night when I put it on, it was quite loose-fitting!!! This was the first time that I'd actually noticed a difference in the way my clothes were fitting, and I was beyond ecstatic. I mean, every once in a while my jeans will be looser than normal, but they're made to stretch with wear and so I don't really count them as reliable. But this jacket, which I haven't worn since before Christmas, was just the pick-me-up that I needed.

Along with the jacket, I came across another anchor today. In my Honors lit class, we have snacks. They typically are oreos or something equally as inticing. Today was mini chocolate and cinnamon sugar donuts. Those two flavors are my favorite, but I took one look at them and told myself "No, you just had lunch, and those won't feel good on the scale this week." It worked, too: I saw them sitting on the desk all class, and I didn't want them after that. The necessity for an anchor is becoming more apparent, especially after last week's WW meeting. Even though I feel pretty bad today, little things like that have made me want to smile all day long.

I have to finish a paper before class, but here's what today's food looks like:

Breakfast:

1/2 whole grain english muffin, toasted

1tbsp Nutella

1 banana

1cup skim milk

Lunch:

1/2 white pita

2 slices deli turkey

lettuce

1 slice American cheese

light mayo

2 pickle spears

10 green grapes

a sugar cookie (our caf's cookies are delish, and only 3 PointsPlus; I can never pass them up)

Snacks:

WW Coffee cake

Ritz 100 calorie snack mix

Dinner:

Chicken Marsala w/ wide noodles

Steamed broccoli spears

cherry jello cubes

1cup skim milk

Evening Snacks:

1bag single-serve popcorn

string cheese

I'm doing really good with staying at my 36 PointsPlus, and honestly, with the way I'm feeling today, this might be a ton of food. We'll see.

-Britt

Feelin' Good, part 2

Of course I would forget something.

I wanted to include this in the previous post, but 1. I forgot, and 2. it was pretty lengthy anyways, so I'll just leave it here.

Jennifer Hudson was part of my inspiration to start WW from day one. She has worked incredibly hard and looks AMAZING! When the WW site offered this as a free download, you can bet I jumped right on it...it's a beautiful rendition of the song, and only adds to my motivation. I'm definitely going to be rocking this at the gym. (:

Feelin' Good

I was actually going to blog last week, because I went to the gym on Thursday and spent 30 minutes on the elliptical, but I ran out of time and then didn't actually feel too great about my over-all performance the rest of the week.

I'd like to take this time to interject something: this is slowly turning into a blog in which I discuss only my weight-loss. I'm kind of okay with it, because it helps me out a lot...I hope you're okay with it too.

Anyways, after my class on Thursday I met Hannah at the gym and we worked out; I was beyond proud of myself and decided that I needed to start doing it more often. It hasn't happened since then, but my intentions are still the same and I fully intend to get back there more than once this week, plus take advantage of my mother's Planet Fitness membership when I go home this weekend. I wish I could make up a reason as to why I didn't go to the gym on Friday, because I completely planned to, but the truth is simply that I didn't want to go outside. Saturday some of my family came up and we walked campus all day, so I'll count that as a workout, and yesterday I took a nap (my cousin was sick during their visit and was awake at short intervals throughout the night, therein keeping me awake as well), went shopping, and then watched the Super Bowl with my roommates. The good thing about yesterday: I bought yoga pants while shopping, so like I said, good intentions.

I texted Hannah last night and told her to meet me at the gym today, but when I woke up this morning, I felt terrible. Not sick, persay, but just all around gross....tired and achy, so I told her we'd have to postpone until later this week. Besides, I have a math exam tomorrow that I really need to study for.

However, I still feel really good as far as my mindset goes. At weigh-in on Saturday morning, I gained 1.4 lbs. I was discouraged at first, but I also knew that it wasn't going to be pretty, for a number of reasons (the biggest of which being that I was in a foul mood all week and ate whatever I felt like). Instead of letting the number get me down though, I decided that I needed to use it as motivation to do ten times better this week (not to mention that this was the theme of the meeting as well).

So far, so good though. I've written down everything that I've eaten/am going to be eating today, and I managed to have quite a bit of food and hit my PointsPlus target exactly. The beautiful thing about Weight Watchers is that I can really stock up on fruits and veggies and they don't cost me any points. Already today, I've had a banana, a pear, lettuce and tomato on my sandwich, and two pickle spears, none of which went against my target.

To get an idea of just how much I'm eating today, here's a rundown:

Breakfast:

1/2 whole grain english muffin, toasted

1 banana

1tbsp Nutella spread

1 cup skim milk

Lunch:

Turkey wrap: flour tortilla, 3 slices of deli turkey, 1 slice of American cheese, lettuce, 3 slices of tomato, and light mayo

2 dill pickle spears

1 small pear

100 Calorie Oreo Cakesters (for dessert and my never-ending sweet tooth)

Afternoon Snack:

Weight Watchers Coffee Cake (like I said...major sweet tooth.

And then, even though I haven't gone yet, here's what I'm planning on having for dinner:

Beef & Vegetable Stir fry

Meatless Potato soup

1 slice wheat bread

1 cup skim milk

Vanilla-Raspberry Parfait (I figure if I have something small and sweet then I won't crave later)

My evening snacks are planned to be:

1 orange

1 single-serve bag of light butter-flavored popcorn

All of this totals out to 36 PointsPlus, which is exactly on target and I couldn't be more excited.

I'm anxious to see how the numbers look at the end of this week!

-Britt