Little Mrs. Married {is maintaining victory}

Eats, exercise, and a little extra motivation

2012-02-04T13:06:00.004-06:00

Last Week's Weight: 256.0

This Week's Weight: 254.4

1.6 Pounds Gone This Week!

7 Pounds Gone This Year!

24.6 Pounds Gone Total!

I'm pumped. :)

***Let's get the bad out of the way first, shall we?***

EXERCISE

This week? Well, not much different from last. I still haven't gotten back to exercising, which i HATE. I know i need to do just 20 minutes a day, but the new job is still killing me! I know that is just an excuse, but i mean it when i say i've been working long hours, and coming home absolutely spent. It's too dark to stop & walk the lakes alone & I often go straight to bed or do some blogging. I guess i need to get my booty up in the MORNING & get at least 20 minutes in. But getting up in the morning to exercise has never been my strong point. Especially since we're talking early enough to get me out of the house at 7:30 sharp! I know lots of you exercise at 5 am & such, and to that i say, 'more power to ya!'. But i am not that girl! Asking me to get up five minutes earlier is a tall order.

There is that gym opening on my way home that is very cheap. At the very least i could go there on my way home & be done with it? I don't know. No, i need to do the wii. Every other day. 20 minutes after work. Surely i can do that much, right? Or take a walk around the block! I can do that much, at least!

I know some of you will be disappointed that i still haven't got to exercising. And trust me, i hate it too! I love exercising! I mean... as much as a person like me can actually like it! HAHA! What i should say is that i finally actually got in the habit of exercising. When i never had before. And it was such a part of my life & I liked it. But i can't go out to that area of town for those classes anymore & i haven't been able to make myself after these stressful workdays. So, i have to figure something else out.

I did exercise last weekend, but not during the week at all. I am running around at work from building to building (fast-walking) but that's the extent! My zumba & bootcamp classes were amazing & I hope to go back one of these days! Isn't it funny how in 2011 i worked harder than EVER as far as eating & exercise & didn't lose much at all!? But now i'm not even exercising...just eating right...and my body is finally working correctly, so the weight is coming off? No telling how much i could have lost last year if only i had known about being insulin resistance! The metformin along with knowing the kind of diet i need would have helped tremendously! But that's neither here nor there.

I have to get back to exercising like that! Even though i know that food is a CRUCIAL part of weightloss, there is nothing like getting fitter & firmer, being able to do a plank for longer, or being able to run a little further. I love that. And i must get back to it.

* * * * * *

EATS

So anyway. The eating is going PRETTY well, but still not as spectacular as it could be. I need to take some tips from certain friends of mine (*cough*laura*cough) & just say NO to sugar altogether! I'm leaning towards the thought of eliminating it completely. It's bad for you... it's not even something that should be had in moderation (though i'm not judging, because i still have it every so often). Although i must admit... i have been doing very well with the sugar thing. I've had natural sugar like the fruit in my smoothies but that's it! No chocolate or cupcakes or anything like that for me! But bread? It's still somewhat a temptation!

Oops, i lie. At our Soup & Salad party, my friend Emily brought these cookies & i did have a couple. They were gluten-free & made without flour but they did have sugar. So yeah.

I didn't do too well when i arrived at the Manship Thursday night without any dinner.

I always confess the worst, but there are countless times I do the right thing. And you know what? Now i have a little bit of extra motivation. Wanna know why???

* * * * * *

A LITTLE BIT OF MOTIVATION

Maybe i'll come out right here on my blog & say that I am really REALLY ready for babies. I know I've hinted around & stuff here or there, but I haven't actually come out & said that we have been ready for babies since April 2011. That's when we decided to start trying to conceive. And that's when i had an 80 day cycle. That's when i decided a doctor visit was in order. And that's when she pinpointed the Insulin Resistance. And that's when i was sent to the Metabolic Clinic, and everything started making sense.

Since then i have been doing all that you do when you're trying to conceive (and i'm not JUST talking about sex here!), hoping that it'd be a normal (non 80-day) cycle & that my periods would regulate just a little bit more. You may not be aware of this but you have to ovulate to get pregnant. ;) And my long cycles were indicating that i was not ovulating.

So that is the deal. But after 6 months on the Metformin (which is supposed to regulate periods & increase fertility), my periods weren't regular. At that point, i was in between jobs (so, without insurance) & so i had no choice but to wait it out. I FINALLY had insurance again on the 1st & i had a doctor appointment with the obgyn again on Tuesday.

At this point I had been on the Metformin for 8 months & with each cycle praying it was the regular one! But it wasn't, still. My cycle that began January 9th seems like it's actually a normal cycle. But i won't know that until i see how long it lasts (if it's normal, i'd start next week).

ANYWAY. My sweet wonderful obgyn (who i love & adore) told me she wants us to try naturally for 2-3 more months. If i go back and still do not have normal periods then she will start me on Clomid. But right now she believes that with a little more weightloss, along with the metformin, i can get pregnant naturally.

I go back April 19th, so we'll see. PRAY FOR ME, PLEASE!

I hesitate to put this on the blog, for numerous reasons, but there ya go anyway. (P.S. I've still only hinted on my other blog. And not even that on Facebook. So please don't say anything!) (Yes, I know this is a public blog. Just humor me, okay?) (I may actually regret this later & take it down!)

But yeah. Now every time i want something bad i can just think about a sweet baby in my arms. Maybe that will help?

How was YOUR week?

{group hug!}

Last Week in Review

2012-01-28T18:08:00.002-06:00

Last Week's Weight: 257.0

This Week's Weight: 256.0

1 Pound Gone This Week!

5.4 Pounds Gone This Month!

I like this!

May not seem like a lot to some, but I think it's fantastic! I am thankful to not have unrealistic expectations when it comes to weightloss. Newsflash: A 1/2 a pound - 2 pounds a week is a HEALTHY rate of weightloss. Just wanted to throw that out there! ;)

Here's how I did. In a nutshell: I did well, but there is so much room for improvement. SO MUCH.

{2012 Goals}

1. Exercise Every Other Day: This is not happening, people. Not happening. I hate that, because when i was steadily working out 5ish days a week, i felt SO GOOD & I was loving it! I need to get back to this. I knew I woudn't this past week with how work was going, but i should have no problem getting into it now. I have no plans after work this week except on Thursday. I must get MOVING!

2. Low Carb/Low Sugar/Low GI: I am doing well on this. I always like to tell on myself first. I did really well with eating except last Saturday & this Friday. I worked the Manship Saturday & didn't grab anything to eat before going. This always sets me up to fail, especially when i forget to at least pack a healthy snack! I got popcorn at the bar. Popcorn is a HUGE no-no for me & you know what? I don't even like popcorn that much! It wasn't even that good! Argh! And then on Friday, Mom & Dad picked me up for lunch at The Londoner. I should have looked at the menu first. If i had, I'd have known there aren't too many healthy choices there. I was a little skeptical of their salads. So i got a grilled chicken & avocado sandwich & chips (chips = fries, in british talk. I'm sure you knew that!). I was happy to see the fries were at least a pretty small portion, but the sandwich came with WHITE BREAD. And I ate every last bite. Argh!

I am very proud of the fact that even when making stupid choices like that, I still got WATER. I ate out way too much this week (gotta get back in the habit of packing a lunch!), and every time i was tempted to get a COKE. But I got water every time. I also had delicious salads, grilled chicken, veggies & smoothies for breakfast everyday. No cereal for me! No sweets for me! SO i did well for the most part.

3. Track Daily on My Net Diary (iphone app): This is not a problem. It's easy now. I love this app!

4. Drink Plenty of Water: Done!!

I also saw my nurse practitioner at the metabolic clinic this week. FINALLY! I talked to her about all the stress I went through in October & November, which explained why i hadn't lost more weight. She understood, completely. My blood pressure was slightly elevated, but that is most likely due to stress at work (MAJOR STRESS this week - i cried everyday - including that one!). She was nice & wants to see me back in two months. Hopefully I will have made a bit more progress by then!

Now, a little inspiration for you! :)

Dear Smoothie, I love you.

2012-01-22T19:41:00.001-06:00

Let me tell you why I am loving smoothies these days.

1. They're delicious!

2. My husband loves them so much, he's said he'll start eating them instead of cereal! Great for me because his cereal is a big temptation for me!

3. I can make them quickly before work in the mornings. I mean, eggs are healthy, too, but they'll make me late for work! Smoothies are for on-the-go. Perfect!

4. I can stop spending so much money at Smoothie King. Not to mention having so many sugar/carbs there.

5. I can make them creamy AND yummy without using bananas or yogurt (high in sugar/carbs).

6. I don't even need to add sugar or splenda! They're good just like they are!

I also am loving the blender we chose. Especially the smooth-pour feature. Nice!

Need I say more? They're delicious!

Here's how I have been making my smoothies. There are a ton of recipes on Pinterest, by the way. I have the links to many smoothies on this pinboard. So far, though, I've just kinda winged it! And they're amazing! My friend Laura has tried several of them, though. Check out her post with some reviews!

I got my blender (& the book Sugar Nation) last Monday & have been enjoying smoothies ever since! The first one i made is picture below . It contains strawberries, a banana, milk & a scoop of whey protein. I think that's it? I can't remember at this point!

This one was my second smoothie. It's the same as above, except a mixture of blueberries, raspberries & strawberries instead of the strawberries/bananas. It was good but not outstanding!

Mid-week, i stopped at the fruit stand on the way home. They have big bags of frozen fruit... a lot cheaper for the amount that you get than at wal-mart. I got a bag of frozen strawberries & a bag of peaches. And this is how I make my smoothies everyday now. (I'll change it up at some point!)

So here is my process of smoothie making these days. And they are WONDERFUL! :)

You can probably figure out which picture is which. ;) First you put in some frozen strawberries. Then you add some frozen peaches. Next, put in a scoop of protein powder (I put in two for two smoothies). I think this also helps with the creaminess. I used Jillian Michaels' vanilla protein powder. I think it is nutritionally a little better than the other ones i saw at Wal-Mart. However, the other ones are WAY cheaper. We bought another one too, to taste it. It's still fine nutritionally, but in comparison, hers is a tiny bit better (& I suspect it might taste better, too!). Still, if the other one is yummy, I will be getting it just to save money!

ANYWAY... hers is delish & I highly recommend you adding this to get some protein in. If you are using greek yogurt or peanut butter, that will give you your protein. Just watch the sugar/carbs on the yogurt!).

(Katie, i know you said you get the plain yogurt & that it is sugar free, but i read every label in the store & all of them were loaded with sugar. Sad-face! What brand is yours??? I am sad our store doesn't have it!))

After that, I fill it with milk. Make sure you fill it enough to cover or almost cover the fruit! Otherwise, it won't chop/blend/whatever!

And there you go. Blend away.

It's SO good, y'all! And healthy! (I found that peaches have a low GI. GOOD THING!)

What do you like in your smoothies?

Have any good smoothie tips?

Yummies.

2012-01-22T17:42:00.000-06:00

I've been eating very well these days. I don't really miss sugar. I barely even notice it's missing.

Okay, I do sometimes miss & greatly desire a regular coke. But that's it, as far as sugar goes. And i haven't had one. When it comes to carbs, I'm doing well. I messed up when Deangelo's put two slices of cheesy bread beside my salad, but other than that? Perfection. :)

My aim is under 100 carbs a day & please understand that this doesn't have to be your goal. In fact, experts would say that it is too low for most people. Places like Sparkpeople & My Fitness Pal will tell you the correct range for you. But if you are Diabetic or Insulin Resistant, please know that they will NOT give you the correct numbers. It is the craziest thing, but I am finding that you have to do your own research & know that lots of "experts" know nothing about diebetes & pre-diabetes. Your body does not handle sugar or carbs properly, so it will not be able to have as much as of it as those who are healthy.

Please keep in mind that i struggled for 2 years to lose weight before I was diagnosed as Insulin Resistant. For the majority of that time I was staying within a healthy range of carbs, fat, calories, etc. And i could not lose the weight. It's all about your carb/sugar content if you are insulin resistant (or diabetic).

This week, I have had plenty of water everyday. My carbs have been under or right at 100, which is my goal. My sugar has been extremely low (mainly just the sugar from fruit). My protein has been great. My calorie content has been well under the max amount that I should have each day. I'm doing great. I'm excited.

Here are some things I've had this year so far...

Top left corner - an unwich from Jimmy John's. Delicious place with delicious bread, but I must stay away from it! I've been three times now. The first time was in December & I had it w/ the bread. You couldn't have paid me to get a sub without bread. It was amazing. The second time (the one in this pic), i tried the Club Lulu Unwhich. This is turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato & mayo. No bread. 2 net carbs. TWO! Know how many with the bread? 50. Ummm, yeah.

The third time I went, I got the Turkey Tom Unwich. Turkey, alfalfa sprouts, mayo, lettuce & tomato. Without bread? 3 net carbs. With it? 49. WOAH. That's bad.

If you are wondering about the mayo & the bacon, guess what? If you are IR or diabetic, you do not have to worry about fat as much as you do carbs/sugar. It's a carbohydrate condition. I'm telling the truth here. Getting low fat, fat free anything is pointless & not going to help you. Get the real stuff, it's okay. Just stay low carb, low sugar, low GI. You'll thank me. I know this stuff sounds crazy, but it's TRUE! (A few people tried to show me this when i first was diagnosed, but i was hesitant. However? It's truth. Pinky promise.)

Dear Jimmy John's - Thank you for the Unwhich. I love you.

Next Pic - Chicken & White Bean Stuffed Peppers. Easy to make & AMAZING. Thank you, SkinnyTaste!

Next Pic - top right corner - Blue CamelBak Water Bottle. I just guzzle that water, all day long. :)

Next pic - Lunch one day at Capital City Grill. I got sick of salads & this was AMAZING! Blackened chicken, sweet potato fries & green beans. Sweet potato fries are subbed for the smashed potatoes that normally come with that meal. I found this Glycemic Index Food Chart. It says that sweet potatoes have a low GI. All other potatoes, medium to high. So it was a much better choice for me.

Next pic - Salad at McAlister's Deli! I ordered the garden salad with a scoop of tuna. They brought me a HUGE bowl of salad with a scoop of tuna. Tons of delicious romaine, chopped cucumbers & tomatoes, shredded cheese, & tuna. It was YUMMY!

Big pic of oranges - The fruit stand is on my way home from work now. I used to NEVER go because it was too far out of my way & an area of town that i was never close to. Not anymore. I got two big bags of frozen strawberries & peaches, a staple for my smoothies. :) I also got an onion & some green apples. Delish!

Another thing I've been eating for dinner is tuna. I really love tuna!

I pretty much use the above ingredients. This is just for a quick bowl of tuna, i realize you can throw in other things to make it super yummy for a crowd! But i just throw a can of tuna in water in a bowl, add some slivered almonds, a sprinkle of shredded parmesan (i seriously LOVE this brand of cheese!), & a bit of mayo. Mix it all up & this is what you get. No bread necessary. :)

So this is what I've been eating lately. Not to mention smoothies for breakfast! Coming up next! ;)

How is your year going???

Rockin it!

2012-01-21T17:13:00.003-06:00

Last week's weight: 259.8

This week's weight: 257.0

:) :) :) :)

{LOSS OF 2.8 POUNDS!!!!}

Y'all. I'm rockin' this thing! Haha!

Early this year I set some goals for myself for how I wanted to live in 2012. Here's how I am doing...

1. Exercise every other day - Exercise is the area that could use the most improvement. I am in a brand new job that is kicking my butt, let's just say. It's tough. So my week went like this:

Sunday - Nada

Monday - 20 minutes of Just Dance 3

Tuesday -work all day, went to my friend's house, got home about 10pm, crashed

Wednesday - long stressful work day, got home & on the couch

Thursday - work all day, went out to eat with friends, came home & crashed

Friday - work all day, came home & went straight to the couch

Saturday - 30 minutes of Just Dance 3

(P.S. The couch is where i blog, facebook, read, etc.)

Now, I know these nights are no excuse & eventually i MUST get into the routine of exercising again. It isn't going to happen this week coming up. I'm telling you right now. We have my first new student orientation at my work, among other new-to-me things & I am going to come home every night & CRASH. Oh, but I accidentally scheduled myself to work at the Manship three nights next week. Basically, I'm going to be a zombie. Still. I know i gotta do more than this. I MISS doing more than this! I loved being active last year. I loved it. It felt GOOD. And it was so good for me! So i promise you I will get back to that very soon!

Also, I know i went to visit with friends twice, but that is also a resolution of sorts for me this year. I want to be a better friend. I want to spend more time with my girlfriends. And i did that this week. And no regrets about that, at all!

The Just Dance 3 game is sooo much fun, though. I LOVE it & I am dripping sweat! I spent all of Tuesday & Wednesday with a sore booty & sore arms, too. :) It's great! Can't wait to borrow wii fit from a friend.

2. Low Carb/Low Sugar/Low GI Diet - I am doing VERY well with my eating. Of the three, the thing I am most well-versed on is carbs. I am learning about sugar & I have a LOT to learn about the GI Diet. Really, I know next to nothing on that one, I haven't done research on it at all. If i hear of a food having a high glycemic index, then i try to avoid it or at least limit it. But i haven't read on this at all. i do have a book in my Amazon shopping cart that i plan to order soon! (GI is something you probably don't need to worry about unless you are also IR or have diabetes.)

Low Carb/Low Sugar are going very well. I am eating VERY well. This week i have had ZERO soda & no sugar, as far as sweets & junk food goes. I messed up once with carbs: went to dinner with 2 girlfriends & ordered a huge salad. I didn't realize it came with cheesy bread. Two small slices. And i ate them. But that is the only bad thing i had this week!! Yeah! I've been having smoothies daily for breakfast & usually a salad for lunch. I'm also loving tuna & chicken. For dinner, it varies, but well...there's an entire loaf of bread sitting on the counter that i haven't touched. I haven't even been tempted to. It's a "good" bread - lower in sugar/carbs than most others, but still. I just don't crave it as much. (And let's be honest: the bread I really crave involves the words french or croissant or bagel or roll or biscuit...haha...those do not exist in this house!).

And the best thing ever? In the mornings I make our smoothies. I make Brad one too. We take them to-go for our breakfast. Brad said he loves them so much he could stop buying his cereal! This makes me so happy because it is my ONE & ONLY temptation in this house! And at a really weak moment, that's what i want. (It's not the worst cereal in the world, but i definitely eat a lot more than one serving when i eat it!).

3. Track Daily on My Net Diary app - Following this religiously. I track it all. I HIGHLY recommend this app, btw.

4. Water, water, water - Doing very well with this too. I have coffee & a smoothie in the morning & the occasional UNsweet tea (a miracle) with lunch. Other than that, it's water, water, water!

I'm supposed to be doing that Made to Crave Bible Study & I have yet to do that. I read the intro but should be on Chapter Two by now! This is because I am consumed by the book Sugar Nation & apparently can't read two things at once?! I'll do it, though. I definitely want to read it again!

Sugar Nation is awesome. I highly recommend it! He talks a lot about insulin resistance & diabetes, but i recommend it for anyone because Diabetes is an epidemic. And if you have it, you need to know it & educate yourself to reverse it. Not to mention that Insulin Resistance & pre-diabetes (some books say it's the same thing & some say IR is before pre-diabetes...who knows?!) are way more common than you think. I will blog more on this later.

This post is long enough. And I gotta run!

Here's to another great week!

Nothing like an eye-opener!

2012-01-15T19:51:00.000-06:00

Last Week's Weight: 260.4

This Week's Weight: 259.8

I am down a little more than a half a pound. But I was still on my period when I weighed. So maybe it's better? You should also note that my weigh-in is on Fridays. Before the terrible eating day I had yesterday. Oh, yes, yesterday was bad. Very bad!

I actually am glad. Glad because I had kind of an eye opening experience.

Usually, if i eat well most of one day & then blow it, i don't write down the bad part that i ate. I track my food on My Net Diary app. And don't get me wrong, I do track EVERYTHING i put in my mouth, the good & the bad. Like if i have a good day overall, but have one thing i shouldn't really have, i'll still put that down. But if i have a good day & then blow it at the end of that day... i normally won't put that down. I don't usually think i blew it simply because the beginning of my day was so awesome & "this one thing" wouldn't have sent it into "ruining your diet" category. Does that make sense?! (And yet, i don't track it... so i must have blown it, right?!) ANYWAY...

Well, last night, we went to Texas Roadhouse. Brad had gotten a gift card there for Christmas. We decided to have a date night at the last minute. Before we left, i looked at my app. So far that day I had only had 800 something calories. Only 30 grams of net carbs. And very low sugar (7 grams to be exact - it came from the oatmeal i had for breakfast).

At the movies, I considered getting a snack, but didn't. YAY.

texas roadhouse rolls with cinnamon butter

Then we got to the Texas Roadhouse. Now, this is not a place we normally go to for dinner. Both of us think we've been there once before, years ago... not together. So we were not prepared for the delicious rolls the hostess puts on your table as she seats you. White rolls with cinnamon butter. If you know me at all, you know that i ADORE cinnamon. I also happen to adore bread of any kind. Uh-oh. I thought, "it's just a couple of rolls. Big deal." & proceeded to eat THREE rolls. There were only 4, but Brad only had one, so i ate his other one. Oops.

Dinner was a steak, a side salad, and a sweet potato. No dessert. Water to drink. This was good. My day would have been okay if i had just refused those rolls!

Well, SOMEBODY posted the nutrition info on those rolls from Texas Roadhouse onto My Net Diary. So i went ahead & added it.

I had 1372 calories at DINNER. Guess how many of those calories came from the three ROLLS? SIX HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-ONE! You see the picture? That's exactly what they looked like. Guess how many net carbs in the rolls? 83!!! HOLY CRAP!

I didn't realize this until i got home. if i had, we might not have stopped at Baskin Robbins.

Um, yeah.

I got two scoops of Recees Peanut Butter ice cream on a sugar cone. A SUGAR CONE! WHAT THE HECK????! Know how many calories/carbs THAT was?! 645 calories. 62 net carbs. Now the net carbs is the sugar/starch/bad part of the carb minus the fiber/good part of it. Guess how much of the 62 net carbs was SUGAR?! 58 grams!And that's just the ice cream. Not the cone. WOAH.

I know, maybe i shouldn't be surprised. I'm not surprised that most of the ice cream carbs comes from sugar. But seeing it all down. The rolls are honestly more shocking to me than the ice cream.

Iam kind of glad i did this, because when i got home & added it, well. That was a huge eye opener for me. I DO track it all as far as the good & the bad, most of the time. But it's just those times when i blow it at the end of the day where i don't see a need to write it b/c it's the end of the day & it's in my head that I didn't do well. But i still don't know the extent of it. This showed me that even a couple of rolls & some ice cream is NOT okay!

The app I use tells me each day if i am on track for losing a certain amount of weight in a certain amount of time. For example. Everyday so far in 2012, it has said something like this...

The main thing you should look at is, "you are on target..." & that last part. "At this rate you will be losing..." See? That is the kind of thing it has said everyday so far in 2012.

But yesterday? Yesterday, it said this! {GASP!}

See the difference here?? And "at this rate you will be GAINING"?!? Wow. Talk about putting something in perspective. And seriously. Thinking of how BADLY i ate before 2009! It's no wonder i got myself to a body weight definied as OBESE. I mean, it's a no-brainer when you see it in black & white.

I'm thankful that my first day this bad was Day 15, and not day 3 or 4. I'm also thankful that I am starting my Made to Crave Bible study now. ;) And that I (should) get my blender tomorrow! And that I start reading Sugar Nation! And that I start exercising! WOOHOO!

I'm ready. And I'm excited. I know i messed up bad yesterday. But i am honestly glad it happened. Because my eyes have been opened for REAL.

Guess that's all I got for now!

Another good day!

2012-01-12T23:07:00.000-06:00

Had another really good day today.

Breakfast was a smoothie. Smoothie King smoothies are way too high in sugar/carbs. I always get the Chocolate or Strawberry Lean One. Both of them are way less in carbs/sugar than any of the others. Unless you get the "low carb chocolate/strawberry" - but those are really pretty gross. Anyway, I can't wait till my blender comes in so i can start making them homemade!

Question: If the only yogurt you can find is full of sugar (yes, even greek yogurt), and bananas are too high GI for someone with Insulin Resistance, exactly what should you put in your smoothies to give it that creamy consistency? Because that's how i like them. Thoughts?

You can see which blender I chose & other new & fun & healthy things in my life here. I don't know why i wrote about it there instead of on this blog! Who knows?! :)

Today I had the best salad ever. From McAlister's Deli. I've only been there once & I don't know why I never went back. It's delicious! I had forgotten. I got the Chicken Caesar Salad & asked for tomatoes on it. Usually they'll throw a few roma tomatoes when you ask that. But no. They put a ton of diced tomatoes. Very finely diced. Just how i like them. It was the best salad ever!!!

Tonight I had oatmeal & that is what is responsible for me having 99 net carbs today. Just barely made it under the 100! I LOVE the oatmeal i got. I had stopped buying it. But this was a cinnamon kind that is high fiber, very low sugar. VERY low. (I forget how low, but trust me.) It's so yummy!

Overall, I had a great day. I drank tons of water & had NO bad carbs or sweets. Unless you count my smoothie, which i don't. ;)

I think my period is finally over. It was a rough one. Hopefully the mornings weigh-in will not reflect any bloating!

I picked up my Wii today! So exciting. Hopefully we can get it all hooked up & everything! I want Just Dance 3 now!!

Happy weekend!

Oh, hey!

2012-01-11T22:06:00.000-06:00

I had a really good day today! YAY!

You should remember that i am on my period & it is a KILLER! This comes with incredible cravings.

For breakfast, I had a carb control myoplex vanilla drink. Delicious! I also had the Atkins Mudslide Bar. I had an Atkins bar before & it was gross. Someone recommended the chocolate peanut butter one, but they were out, so i grabbed the mudslide. It is pretty good & has almost no carbs. I also had a banana, but I gotta be careful with those. They have a high glycemic index (something I am still learning about).

For lunch, I got another UNWICH from Jimmy John's! This time I got the Beach Club, which is basically turkey, avocado, lettuce, tomato, sprouts, cucumbers... stuff like that. DELISH!

For dinner, I met some girlfriends at Applebees.

My three favorite coworkers from my old job, Tonya, Wendy & Monique. We've decided to get together about once a month. This is our second little meeting. Fun times!

Anyway, at Applebees, I spent awhile trying to decide. Their fries & chicken tenders are good. Not to mention their adorable little appetizers! I got the garlic sirloin steak. Which is very low carb. It came with creamed spinach & roasted potatoes... but don't worry about the potatoes. Yes, I ate them. Maybe I shouldn't have. But it was 4 tiny potatoes. Like... the size of quarters! Yeah. Kinda pitiful!

My friend got a cinnamon apple pie thing with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I'll be honest. I had a couple of bites. But that's all! I promise!

I know I could have stayed away from eating the potatoes & the few bites of dessert. That would have been better. But i still managed to stay under 100 carbs! And overall, i had a pretty good day.

I am REALLY excited, though! I am getting a wii! I've been thinking about it just cause i love that Just Dance game! I've been looking on Amazon & most of them are $167 new. That includes a game & a remote. Well, a friend's friend is selling it for a lot less than that & it will include 3 games, 2 remotes & a few other things they have (i don't remember). Good deal! And my friend Wendy (above) is going to let me borrow their Wii Fit! They never use it because they have new stuff they're into right now.

I'm so excited!

Happy Thursday! And Friday!

Carbs, Schmarbs.

2012-01-10T20:11:00.003-06:00

So i have been doing well this week. Not perfect, but a whole lot better than it's been in quite some time. I feel like I'm getting my bearings. Making all of this a habit.

Yesterday I really *REALLY* wanted Chic-fil-a. I don't know if you have one in your area but they are delicious! They have healthy things on the menu but I never get them because i must have their chicken nuggets & waffle fries. I used to love that they were way across town from me & I was never in that area. I only had to go over there to my bank (which was rarely thanks to direct deposit), so when i went I would go to Target & chic-fil-a, too. It'd be a once in a blue moon treat. But now that i work near it? Well! It's far too easy for me to get there! Anyway, i was driving along looking for something for lunch & next thing i know, I'm headed straight for Chic-fil-a. The thoughts were going through my head. Think: angel on one shoulder, devil on the other. It went something like this...

Me: What can I grab for lunch today? Something healthy? I should really start bringing my lunch again! Oh-well... hmm...Subway?

Angel: No...too carby. You are gonna want their bread, not a wrap or salad!

Me: True... Wendy's?

Angel: No Ma'am!

Me: Hmm... Capital City Grill? No, i've been too much & it's not cheap! Grrr... i wish i'd brought my lunch!

Devil: Chic-fil-a isn't that far you know... they have healthy stuff on the menu!

Me: Ooooh!! TRUE! I love me some chic-fil-a! I'll just get chicken! Or a salad! No fries!

Angel: Yeah, right! You'll get the fries. You ADORE their fries.

You get the point, right?! At some point, I remembered that Jason's Deli is nearby & has a giant salad bar. So that is where I went. To be honest... they've declined in recent years. It wasn't great. BUT. I made a wise choice. And I am so glad i did. :)

I was under 100 carbs yesterday.

I wasn't today, but it's alright. I did make a healthy breakfast & dinner, but lunch wasn't good. I had a small hamburger & fries from McDonalds. I KNOW. I actually left work because i had cramps SO BAD that i was in tears. (Literally. Embarrassing.) I had to go home. I have honestly not had cramps that bad in my life! Okay, maybe I have & had just forgotten. This is all TMI, but this is a good thing as it may indicate that my periods are finally regulating. But geez! I also had a migraine. And what did i want? A stupid hamburger from McDonalds. I know I could have done worse (large fries, anyone?!), but still. That is what messed up my carbs for today! I shouldn't have done it!

For dinner, I made this. It's one of my favorite meals & it's healthy. I'm not sure if white beans are okay if you are IR, though? I wondered it after I had started cooking it! There were a lot of carbs in this, too, but it was good carbs, I think.

I'm doing okay, but yes I know i definitely can do better. :)

Reversing Insulin Resistance (info)

2012-01-06T21:39:00.004-06:00

As many of you know I get a lot of wisdom/information from my online friend, Alison. She is the writer behind the Insulin Resistance Diet Info webpage & Facebook page. She's pretty awesome!

When you are diagnosed with Insulin Resistance (& many people have it that are not even aware of it), you are confused, overwhelmed & have no idea what to do. While I was thrilled to finally know there was a REASON i wasn't losing weight, it was still very overwhelming with all of the information surrounding me! Thankfully, Alison found my blog & sort of took me under her wing, leaving me comments & sending me emails that have been a great help to me.

Awhile back, she put together a booklet, "A Quick Start Guide to Reversing Insulin Resistance". I have read it & it is worth checking out.She has done the homework so you don't have to! And she knows what she's talking about!

If you can't do that right now, there is a wealth of information on her website.

She also has a brand new program that I am excited about. You can go here, watch a quick video where Alison will tell you all about it & then sign up! Each week is new information & recipes!

I hope you read this post. But also, if you are Insulin Resistance or if you are not but want to hear someone explain it well... please watch the video at the bottom of the post! Very well said, in my opinion!

Hope this information is helpful!

Week in Review (Fitness Friday)

2012-01-06T20:45:00.000-06:00

Well, my weight is not down TOO much, but I'll get there.

I'm back to weighing in on Fridays, FYI.

Last Week's Weight: 261.4

This Week's Weight: 260.4

{Loss of ONE pound!}

I've gained though. I had gotten down to 257 while in Pennsylvania. Since then I've gotten back up to 260. UGH! But i am very glad it's not worse than that! Geez!

All I have to do is STAY ON TRACK! And i can beat this.

So, Fitness Friday is a day of the week to share your progress & then head to Girl Talk to see what others are saying about their week as far as fitness goes! Check it out!

I have done okay this week. I can do better, though! I have definitely had some victorious moments! :)

Don't hate me for posting this!

CARBS/SUGAR: I am doing pretty well with this. My best days were Tuesday & Wednesday. Thursday was not good. I didn't have any sweets... & I did see some gorgeous cupcakes ALL DAY LONG, but didn't touch them. (Sorry about the pic. I hope that didn't hurt you! But I had to show you what I meant! I don't even LIKE red velvet but I wanted it just for that icing! HA!). That said, I did have some cereal & a biscuit. This is a problem because #1, refined flour just is not good for you at all & #2, I am insulin resistant, so it really is not good for me! I have to stop it. Today I was proud of myself. I went to Capital City Grill & did NOT want a salad again. They have the BEST fries but I didn't even allow myself to THINK about it! I got blackened chicken breast, green beans & instead of their smashed garlic potatoes, I asked for sweet potato fries. Now, you may think that's awful, but it's a better choice than regular fries & they were not covered in drizzled syrup or anything like that. I *think* they were baked. I didn't think to ask, though. In the future, I could always ask for a salad instead. SUCH a delicious meal! My lunch date, Danielle, had a shrimp poboy & fries & I was not even jealous or bummed or yearning for her fries. :)

Me & Danielle, after today's lunch. Sorry my eyes are weird & squinty, the sun was BLINDING me!

EXERCISE: i have not exercised at all this week. I am looking into classes that would work for me & still thinking about getting a wii. I can also walk the lakes & SHOULD! There is no reason not to. The classes I was taking before (bootcamp & zumba) are greatly missed but it just won't work out with my new job. So I'm looking for something else, because classes are really good for me! Until then i need to go walking &/or doing exercise dvd's at home.

TRACKING: I have been faithfully tracking DAILY on My Net Diary on my phone. It calculates everything for you & it is so convenient. I love it! If you do not have a fancy phone (or even if you do), check out Laura's FitBook, i thought it was pretty cool!

MADE TO CRAVE: Made to Crave is a great book that I read last year. I am going to read it again & participate in this online Bible Study. You should join us!

My main challenges with food this week? I've got to find me something good to eat for breakfast. I had bought a big tub of protein powder to make shakes with & it turns out i don't like it. I liked it at first, so I don't know what happened! Maybe if i had a blender & added some stuff? I don't know. Must be the brand or something, if i could find it to taste more like the Myoplex drinks, it'd be perfect. I have been having a lot of trouble eating something healthy for breakfast. I am back to not having time to make eggs or anything else in the morning before i leave the house at 7:30 sharp. And anything you can "grab & go" is too carby. (Alison, I know you have suggestions, I am looking at them & making myself a grocery list!)

All in all, even with my not perfect week, I am EXCITED. I can do this & I am going to!

{So, how was your week?}

Water & an "Unwich"!

2012-01-04T22:53:00.000-06:00

Today was my best day yet! I can SO do this, y'all!

Okay. Whew! So. I had a major victory today.

I didn't bring my lunch today & knew I would have to head out & get something. I wasn't really sure what, but my boss poked her head in the door & said she was ordering from Jimmy John's if I wanted anything. I said "sure" & went online to look at their menu.

Jimmy John's is new to Baton Rouge. I'd never even heard of it before! The first time I had their food was actually when I went to training for work in Lafayette. They have a JJ's next door. At that time I didn't even realize that we have one right down the street from my job! Their subs are AMAZING. The bread is fresh & soft & just, scrumptious. Mmmm.

I'm not in the habit of turning down food yet. I told myself I wouldn't eat certain things in October & November & December & yet, when faced with it (except for that good week in PA!), I would eat it! Every time! And trust me, I didn't have to do a whole lot of twisting my arm! Just being honest here.

I knew I'd have to get back to saying NO, but I still hadn't done enough of that. A little, sure. I mean, I would have LOVED a burger & fries at Capital City instead of a salad, but at least their salads are amazing! A sub is just not the kind of thing I'd take without bread.

ANYWAY. I looked at the nutritional items on Jimmy John's website (LOVE places that have GREAT websites like this one!) & everything has WAY too many carbs. Like 60-something net carbs. In ONE THING. Um, no.

But then I saw that you can order an "UNWICH". Any sandwich you like wrapped in lettuce instead of bread. I got the Club Lulu, which is basically a Turkey BLT. I told my boss what I wanted & she said she gets the unwiches too & that they're really good. Jimmy John's delivers, so we got ours & OMG! I could get used to no bread, i think! I barely even missed it!

Just a few more choices like this, and it will start to feel like a habit!

There it is. A beauty. Without bread. YUM!

I did better than yesterday on water, too. My water bottle holds 32 ounces. On Monday, I drank a few sips of it, plus 2 glasses of water with lunch & with dinner. Not enough by any means. Yesterday I drank about 1/2 of this bottle & then had 2 glasses olf water with lunch. Today I've had more than 64 ounces of water. That's better, right?! Getting there! (I had gotten to the point of being addicted to water. I didn't even WANT coke. But then had to have it around October/November & got myself back to being addicted. Grr!).

Mmmm.

By the way, these are Instagram pics. Feel free to follow me there! I am lissaraye33.

Oh! My net carbs for today? FIFTY-EIGHT!

In case you forgot, it was 68 on Monday & 97 yesterday.

I also had a good calorie range & plenty of protein & fiber! WOOT!

By the way. Remember how i used to always complain because our nearest fruit stand was not near me? Well, guess what? It's near my new job. I could totally stop there on the way home sometime. YAY!

Tomorrow will be even better!

{GROUP HUG!}

Today's Eats...

2012-01-03T22:34:00.000-06:00

I stayed under 100 net carbs today, but I made two stupid decisions.

Stupid, stupid.

I was starving at breakfast & ran to chic-fil-a & got a chicken biscuit. It wasn't until it was going down that I gasped, "Chicken on a BISCUIT?!! NOOOO!!!!"

And then at dinner, we had a pizza. I did okay, meaning that I got thin crust instead of my favorite thick crust & I carefully cut out 1 serving size. However. crust is still white flour. BAD!

Those are the bad points.

The good points?

I drank a LOT more water today. Still not where I should be, though. I got out my camelback water bottle (since I left my favorite cup at the Manship & continually forget to get it when I go back!). It holds 32 ounces. I used to refill it constantly throughout the day. Today? I'm still working on it. BUT i did have water with lunch & got a refill, plus water with my chicken biscuit.

I met my mom for lunch & she treated me to Capital City Grill (2nd time this week). Love it. I had a tenderloin salad: steak tenderloins, blue cheese, romaine lettuce, chopped tomato & caesar dressing. Yum! And water. Mom's doing no sugar or white flour, too. She did it years ago & lost a good bit of weight. She knows it works.

So anyway. I'm kinda bummed at how far I've gone backwards. Most of this had gotten EASY for me last year. It was just second nature. But now, it's as if i'm starting over, COMPLETELY. My fault, I know. But I have to get back to that & keep it up. I want to feel the way I felt last year. And lose weight again!

My sister's wedding pictures came in. They all look great. I hate one pic of me, though. My back fat is spilling out of my dress SO BAD in that particular pic, it is DISGUSTING. I am not exaggerating. DISGUSTING. Gotta get rid of that!

I'm bummed about not doing bootcamp or zumba right now. It is just not feasible because of it's location. If it was a little closer to my work or house... OR... if it was earlier to where I could go right after work & not have to wait around for 2 hours... I'm looking into something to do at home or classes near my work. But i'm bummed because I LOVE zumba & bootcamp. I will go back once we move to Central (i am praying for this to be the year.). But i need to find something for now. And i need to get to doing it every other day. At the very least.

I know I'm sucking at this only 3 days in, but don't worry. This girl don't give up! And I've had about enough of being LAZY! UGH!

P.S. Read this post at my other blog. Just a quick little FYI to make blog reading a little easier!

Today's Tracking

2012-01-02T21:37:00.001-06:00

So I am thrilled about My Net Diary. It is really convenient to track on your phone as you go. It's nice! I originally had My Fitness Pal, but found one I like a bit better. My Net Diary. It is not a free one, but it's less than 3 bucks if I remember right. WELL WORTH IT, in my opinion!

This is what it looks like when you go to track each day.

As you can see. I did not exercise today. I will tomorrow!

As you can also see. I only had 3 glasses of water today. FAIL. I am a water drinker! All I can say is, I must have been dehydrated, because I didn't drink much else! :(

The calories may seem like a lot to you... and that's okay. It's actually a lot for me, but still within what this app has recommended for me according to my size.If I need to adjust this later, I will. I am a whole lot more concerned right now with carbs & sugar than I am with calories & fat. Just so ya know.

This is another cool thing about this app! They "analyze" how you did each day. See?

I need it to say, "Congratulations! You had less than 100g of net carbs today!" Because I did.

I had 68g of net carbs today. That is a good thing! These carbs came from fruit, a granola bar & triscuits (which are the best cracker I've found so far. Let me know if there are better ones out there that still taste good!). I said no to sweets, no to sweet tea & no to croutons on the salad I ordered for lunch. Yay! And no to cereal. I really love cereal. Hubby is chomping on some right now. Mmmm.

It was a good day. But I know I can do better.

How did you do today?

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T20:20:00.000-06:00

Well, well, well. It's 2012. And there was much rejoicing.

:) SERIOUSLY. I am READY for a new year!

I have several resolutions & you can read about them here. Because here, I will be focusing on the ones related to my health. It makes sense, ya know?

My new year's resolutions are...

1- Say NO to sugar & white flour (follow the IR diet).

2- Exercise at least every other day.

3- Drink plenty of water.

4- Track food daily on My Net Diary.

I know these have pretty much BEEN my goals, but I say them again because I got derailed during the last few months of 2011. I would like to make them my focus this year. ESPECIALLY Number 1. The others have been my focus for the better part of 2 & a half years now, but I didn't discover my IR until June of this year. And that is the #1 reason for my needing to get off of carbs. And sugar. I believe it is very healthy for ANYONE to stop eating sugar & white flour, but I'm saying it is imperative as someone with Insulin Resistance, because I really really don't want diabetes. And I will have it if i don't stop the madness!

I do need to clarify my "no sugar/no white flour" thing. I will be following the Insulin Resistance Diet as much as i know how. My friend Alison has done her homework & is now putting out a program for those of us who want to reverse insulin resistance. Her program will definitely cut out the bad carbs & sugar, but it will allow some carbs IF it has a low glycemic index. If you want to hear more about her program, click here! For the recipes, if nothing else! :)

So that's it! I know I can do this! And i am ready! :) I told Brad that the good thing about starting over at the new year is that by the time it finally arrives, you are so sick to your stomach with all the bad food that you don't want another BITE of sugar! Seriously... no desire today at all. I guess after a week or so I'll forget this feeling & wish for some french bread or chocolate chip cookies! The only bad thing I've wanted is some ghirardelli peppermint bark that my friend got me for a hostess gift. I let myself have some the other day but NO MORE! I made Brad hide them & he will take them to work tomorrow. ;)

CHEERS!

Made to Crave.

2011-12-27T23:02:00.000-06:00

I am joining my friends Laura & Amy in an online Bible study of Made to Crave, by Lysa Terkeurst. I think a few others that I know are doing it, too, but I'm not positive.

We read this book last year, and it is a powerful book. I really need to read it again. Anyone want to join us? You can ready more about it & sign up here & be sure to like the facebook page to participate more in the study. You can buy the book here. It's worth every cent. Let me know if you are joining in!

Just Do It, 2012

2011-12-27T22:48:00.001-06:00

I have no idea how much weight I've gained. No idea.

My guess is that I've gained two or three pounds. Everything still fits, but I am eating horribly. And I'm not exercising. At all.

I'm done being stupid at this. I'm done. I have to get my head in the game again. 2012 can be my year. I refuse to let the whole year go by with me ignoring that voice that tells me NOT to eat something or to get my butt to Zumba or Bootcamp or the lakes or whatever.

It's time. Again.

Surely y'all are sick of these posts. I'M sick of them! It bothers me that I'm so dang complacent. So LAZY. So unmotivated.

I have the solution. I know what to do. I CAN do it. And I have to.

What if losing weight is all I need to do to get my cycles regulated? What if getting healthy is all I need to do to feel better about myself? What if eating right & moving my body every other day is all I need to do to reverse my Insulin Resistance? It could very well be. If i want diabetes, I can keep going like I've been going the last couple of months. Eating what i want, without regard to my health at all.

I am not saying I have been gorging. I haven't. What I am doing is eating the very things that i CANNOT have, unless I want diabetes. I'm eating bread & pasta & potatoes & chips & candy. Lots of candy.

I know someone close to me who is huge & who has tons of health problems. I worry that this person will die an early death. I think he will, actually. If he keeps going like he's going. It makes me mad. I think it's selfish. It bothers me, a lot. This is the first time I'm actually writing this. I've never even said it, at least this bluntly. I have said that i don't understand why he doesn't change his eating habits. How hypocritical is that? It's the same thing with me. I could be in the same place as he is if i keep going like I'm going & ignore the things i should be doing. I'm not as far as in this as him. I'm many years younger. But that is my future if i continue to eat crap & be lazy.

So here it is. 2012 is a new year. A new opportunity. Another chance. I love new years. I love them. So I have several resolutions, I always do. I like them. But this post is about my plans for 2012 reagarding to my health. I'll write about the others later.

In 2012, I will...

1- Do the Made to Crave online Bible Study, beginning January 9th.

2- SAY NO to carbs (when I say carbs, I also mean sugar. It is included in the carbs on the nutrition label, that is why i just say carbs). More specifically, stay under 100g of net carbs each day (& these should be good carbs). Say NO to those high carb/sugar foods & drinks.

3- Exercise a minimum of 4 times a week, or every other day, whether it be zumba, bootcamp, jillian michaels or the lakes.

4- Cook healthy meals.

5- Track my food at least 3 days a week on my new app, My Net Diary (great app! I was going to go with My Fitness Pal but I am liking this one better).

I can do this. You can do this. We're doing this!

Books Recommendation...& apps, anyone?

2011-12-09T15:08:00.001-06:00

So, some of you know that I got an iPhone. I LOVE IT! I am writing about it to find out if you can tell me any apps that would be helpful to someone with Insulin Resistance. Or diabetes, because if it's for that, it will probably help someone with IR.

This is the thing. I have the My Fitness Pal app, which i think is AWESOME! I had heard you could scan the barcode of a food with your phone & it would automatically enter the data for you. It works & I LOVE THAT aspect of my phone! How crazy & cool! And convenient!

I will stick with My Fitness Pal, unless you can tell me an app that is more geared towards those that have to watch carbs because of diabetes or insulin resistance. It seems that all Sparkpeople, My Fitness Pal & others are concerned with is your calorie count & MFP doesn't make it easy to find the carb count. Or maybe it does & since it's new to me, i just haven't fully figured it out yet! Any other apps you recommend? Please tell me in the comments! I am especially wanting to hear about FREE ones that are geared toward health & weightloss! I have plenty of other ones!

I used Sparkpeople, but heard about that scanner thing with My Fitness Pal & was SOLD! But do any of you use the Sparkpeople app & like it?

Changing the subject...

I picked up this book at the airport in Pittsburgh. Read the first half on my first flight & the second half on my flight home. I am so glad I picked it up. It was very VERY good with tons of helpful information!

Don't let the Bible part of the title throw you off! Don Colbert is a medical doctor who also happens to be a Christian. This book is about 90% his advice & opinions on reversing diabetes (or pre-diabetes) with your diet & exercise & good nutritional supplements. But he does give you encouraging scripture & talk about how he believes God is our healer, too. I love it, because it is the perfect balance of medical wisdom & Godly wisdom, in my opinion. But I just wanted to share that it is not too in your face, for those of you who might be put off by the words "Bible Cure". :)

A little breakdown for you:

Chapter One: Know Your Enemy

I felt like he described Diabetes (Types I & II) & Pre-diabetes simply & in an easy to understand way. I think for the first time I understood some things that I didn't before.

Chapter Two: Battling Diabetes with Good Nutrition

Chapter Three: Battling Diabetes with Activity

Chapter Four: Battle Diabetes with Weightloss

Chapter Five: Battle Diabetes with Nutrients & Supplements

Chapter Six: Battle Diabetes with Spiritual & Emotional Strength

So there is a breakdown for you. VERY good book! And an easy read.

I know I don't have Diabetes, by the way. I just choose books on it sometimes, because it can help those of us with Insulin Resistance in some ways, too! :)

Fitness Friday: Back on track!

2011-12-09T14:35:00.000-06:00

I read a blog called Girl Talk where several awesome girls write posts about all the things us girls like to discuss! They decided it was a good time (being that it is temptation season, aka The Holidays!) to have "FITNESS FRIDAYS" & I thought I would join in. It's just a time to give & receive some encouragement from others who are trying to get healthy!

You should hop on over & read Katie's experience with the C25k & check out Laura's blog to see how she's doing as well! I am sure others will be joining in, too!

I am thrilled to be back on track... it looks like it is here to stay this time! My posts became sporadic because my eating got worse & worse, and my exercise? Well, it wasn't happening.

I knew that going to Pennsylvania would give me a chance to get back on track because my friend Laura said she filled her house with healthy things & she was doing the 30-Day Shred. I remembered hating The Shred when I did it before, but decided to do it with her... & I am so glad I did!

I flew to visit Laura last Thursday, so on Friday I did DAY ONE of The Shred. It was tough. But it was fun having someone to do it with! It definitely helped! Today I completed DAY EIGHT! At this point, I want to keep on going... make it to Level 2! I did 3 pound weights at Laura's, but I am doing the 5 pound ones at home. That's the only weights I had... so that's the ones I'm using! (Yes, my arms are sore! Ha!)

I also have been eating right again! Yeah! I have had some things i shouldn't have had, but for the most part I have done really very well.

When I left Baton Rouge for Pennsylvania, I had gotten up to 260. It was actually over that, but i can't remember if it was .6 or .2, so we'll just say 260. When I got back, I was at 258. And today i was down to 257.4. Yeah!!!!! It is working again! All I have to do is DO IT.

I am wanting to encourage all of you... even if you get in the biggest rut of your life, like the one I just came out of, do not let yourself lose the vision that you have for yourself. Keep seeing yourself in shape. Keep remembering how much better you felt when you were eating right & exercising. That's the one thing I can say... is that even in my times where i couldn't get motivated to walk to the mailbox, much less do a Jillian Michael's DVD, I always knew that I had to get back to it. And then I DID IT. And I am so thankful that I did!

I can't wait to see the changes happening again. The thing I loved about bootcamp (which i would SO still be doing if I could afford it right now!) is that even if i couldn't see changes on the scale, I still saw definite improvements week by week. I could run a little farther, hold a plank a little longer, squat a little lower, grab heavier weights, & do better push-ups! That is so good to see & I am ready to see those improvements happening again! I feel fantastic when I am in a regular exercise routine.

You just gotta DO IT! And don't say you don't have time... this DVD is 20 minutes. Sometimes I won't be able to do it first thing in the morning. I am not a morning person, so I won't be getting up at 6 am before work! But I will just have to do it after work! The point is, I will make sure it gets done each day, because it is WORTH IT! And even if you have way more obligations than I do... if you have to skip one day, fine! Every other day is good, too! Just MOVE!

I want to challenge you to get back up & keep going if you have found yourself in a slump. Don't wait. Don't say, "Christmas is in a few weeks & there is NO WAY i can say no to all that good food! Might as well wait till January!" NO! You CAN do this! Maybe you won't be perfect, but making the right choice 9 out of 10 times is better than 0 out of 10, wouldn't you say?! I would.

Back in the GROOVE!

2011-12-06T17:25:00.001-06:00

I am so excited to say that today I did my 5th day in a row of The Shred with my friend Laura.Yay! I talked to my husband today & he said he will do it with me now. It's the 30-day shred, so I want to keep it up. Laura is on Day 15, wow! Awesome!

I have to keep it up. And honestly... I don't know why I disliked it so much when I did it ages ago. But it's only 20 minutes & it goes by quick! Not too bad. It's not a sissy girl dvd, either, so I think Brad will like it. He's always saying he needs to be doing push-ups & weights, and that is what this is! He better do it with me EVERY DAY! Haha.

Kim, Laura, me & Rainey

I've had an excellent time here in Pennsylvania. It is AWESOME meeting blog friends. You should do it if you ever get the chance! I met Laura, Kim & Rainey. And a bunch of their friends! We've had a great time.

As far as eating, I have done SO well! I did have a 2 chocolate covered strawberries at dinner yesterday. And I did have some carbs then, too. But I did wayyyy better than i have done in the last several weeks, for sure. I am going to go home & be more conscious of how I eat. I had gotten into a slump that lasted too long! I was hoping this trip would help me to get back into it, and it seems that it did!

Just a little update. When I left BR, I was back up to 260. That is a gain of 5 pounds, if I'm remembering right. I am hoping that maybe I lost a little bit while I was here. We'll see!

A friend in this journey is a good thing to have!

2011-12-03T22:30:00.001-06:00

Just so you know, I have not fallen off the face of the earth. :)

I am in Pennsylvania, visiting my friend, Laura. I am having a GREAT time! We had a BLAST at a Girl's Night, & I have tagged along with her to her MOPS group & her book club Christmas party. It's been a whole lot of fun. (You can read more about it on my other blog.) I am SO THANKFUL for this chance to meet her in real life! I know there were people who didn't understand me going to visit a friend i met on the internet, but people who don't blog don't understand. These are REAL friends. She is exactly who i thought she would be. Six years online is long enough to really get to know somebody!

Right after first meeting in person!

So yeah. It's been great! And she is motivating me to do well again! She's been one of my number one supporters in my weightloss journey from the very beginning. Laura herself quit sugar. Sure, she's had times where she's fallen back into it, but for the most part she has stayed strong & said no to sugary things on a very consistent basis. She knows she has an addiction & has to watch it! It's pretty fantastic.

She recently was in a slump with eating well & exercising, but she got out of that & is motivating me to do the same. She made sure her house would be full of healthy things & she told me she'd be doing The Shred everyday (Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred) if I wanted to join. So we did it Friday & today, and yep... we'll do it again tomorrow! Tomorrow will be my day 3 & her day 13! I'm just SO GLAD i am getting back into it ... I better keep it up when i get home! :) Exercise at least every other day has been my goal & will continue to be.

I have eaten pretty well, too. I didn't plan to eat perfectly... I just wanted to do well for the most part. And I have. At the book club christmas party today, I had 2 mini-cheesecakes. You know, the little square ones sold at Sam's Club? But I turned down this amazing chocolate eclair thing. Oh, man. ;)

I did have some carbs at both parties, but overall I did great & I certainly did better than I have been doing. WAY better.

I also got the Fitness Pal app on my new iphone & it is amazing! You can actually just scan the barcode on food & it will come right up! Instead of having to search for certain foods or enter all that information. Awesome! I only did it one day, though (yesterday). i want to keep that up!

So it's going well. I just pray I can keep it up after I leave!

Hope you all are having a great week!

It's time, y'all! I want to be HEALTHY!

2011-11-30T21:34:00.001-06:00

So. Tomorrow I take a trip to Pennsylvania to visit my best bloggie friend, Laura. I CANNOT WAIT.

We have been blog friends for 6 years. Well, we didn't actually meet here on blogger. But we met online back then & eventually both got on Facebook & started blogging. I LOVE HER!

So I am going to visit. And you know what? I have a real good feeling that THIS is when I will finally get my butt back in shape! I feel myself coming out of this slump I've been in. Life's gotten a lot better & I am READY to do well in this again! It's been forever. And I don't like that.

At my new job, this adorable girl works there. Her name is Jamie. She is a black girl and has a huge beautiful smile. She is 12 weeks pregnant & she is the products specialist at Aveda. She taught one of the classes for the new student orientation, which I sat in on. Anyway, she mentioned how she is all about eating healthy & exercising. She runs. And she eats mostly fresh fruit, veggies, etc. And i was nodding, thinking "awesome". But it was the first time I was NOT thinking, "me too, me too!". I am not that girl anymore. I haven't eaten well in so long, that there is no way i can pretend to! Before, if someone got to talking about that, I could join in the conversation or nod enthusiastically, because even at my weight, I felt like I identified with them. Even if they were thin (as Jamie is) & I was fat. Because i was getting to where I was passionate about this whole thing. And I had been doing it for so long, it really & truly felt like a "lifestyle".

But it's been so long now. And I've gotten back into drinking cokes and eating fast food. I have gained a little weight. Less than 5 pounds. Thankfully. But still.

Laura has told me that she's been in a slump too, but that she is ready to get back in gear! And you know what? This is going to help me. She is not having sugar in her house & she has asked me what kinds of things I can eat. She will not be the reason I mess up there, if i do. She's doing everything she can to make sure I can eat well there. I am not expecting to eat PERFECTLY, but I am expecting to eat well overall. To do my best.

She is also starting the 30-Day Shred. And you know what? I am going to do it with her. She'll be a few days ahead of me and that's okay. I am doing it with her! Even if I don't feel like it, I will. As a guest in her home, I will feel like I should it if she wants to without complaining. That's just how I was raised! Haha! So this means I WILL actually DO IT!

So i am going to come back sore. Yes, yes, I am. Haha.

And I'm thrilled about it!

And when i come back? I will walk those lakes with my friend Amber & I will go back to Zumba & I will go to bootcamp (if i can afford it. If not, i'll have to join Snap or do the weight training on my own!)

Also, this iPhone? I LOVE IT. Wait, did i mention that I got an iPhone? Well, I did. First smartphone & now i see what all the fuss is about. LOVE. One thing I wanted was My Fitness Pal. Online, i use Sparkpeople. I prefer it over any of the others, including My Fitness Pal. But on the iPhone, My Fitness Pal's is better. So I'm going to use that to record what I eat. It is so easy to just be able to click on your phone & add what you ate! Easier than waiting till you can get online. It even has a SCANNER to scan the barcode on foods & it will automatically update it that way! Awesome!

So here we go. Time to GET BACK INTO THIS!!!!

But it'll be great!

Lately...

2011-11-23T22:51:00.001-06:00

Hey, Y'all!

So sorry I have not been around! It's been crazy. Tough. Scary. Emotionally trying. And then, things got a whole lot better, but I still have not been able to get my groove back! It's frustrating. But I am not feeling down right now. I am feeling like I am *this close* to giving it my all again.

I think it's been awhile since I last wrote. I mean... AWHILE. I am not sure what I told you all last! But I got really overwhelmed going through too much at once. Planning a wedding, watching a very close in-law die, job searching, plus going through some personal things that shall not be mentioned... all of that at once time is a LOT. It is. But time passes.

My sister's wedding was November 12th. I had never been to a catholic wedding before, but it was absolutely beautiful & a lot of fun. I was heartbroken that my husband couldn't share this special day with me, but honestly his heart would have been elsewhere as his Granny (who he is so close to) was on her death bed. We had so much fun at the reception & i am in love with my bridesmaid's dress.

Granny went home to be with Jesus on November 14th. Our anniversary. We had a great day & went to dinner & to a movie. It wasn't until we got home & had relaxed for awhile that we got the call. It was 11 pm. We went to Aunt Paula's, where she was, and spent time with the family. We were very lucky to have seen her twice before this as well. The wake & funeral took place the following Wednesday & Thursday. Both were hard days, but it was also comforting to be surrounded by Brad's family. I love every one of them.

That was a tough time, but we are thankful that she is now at rest & totally free of cancer.

That Friday, November 18th, I interviewed at Aveda Institute, a cosmetology school here in Baton Rouge. If you have one in your area, you know that Aveda has great products! Well, i found out on Monday that I got the job! i am absolutely THRILLED! Better pay, good benefits, a discount!! :) Not to mention a cute little office with cheerful yellow walls. YAY! I am excited! I officially start December 12th, but will go in this Monday & Tuesday. It's orientation for their students & they want me to be there for that. I will be working in Student Services... whatever that means. (Ha!) (I do have an idea of what I'll be doing, but it's probably better explained once I have started!)

So that is what is going on. Meanwhile, i'm thinking about how i have got to get back to GOOD HEALTH! I can't drop the ball on this! I have gained some weight. I am at 259 most days. I had gotten down to 256. Overall, this isn't a HUGE gain, but still. I cannot let it keep happening. And tomorrow is Thanksgiving!

I am going to get back to regular posting. And it's good that i am starting work soon. That kind of schedule should really help in getting me to eat right regularly! And saying no to (most) carbs!

we heart it

P.S. I have (for the most part) been keeping up with my other blog, so check it out if you are ever looking for me! ;) I should be back to regular postings here soon, though!

Well, hello...

2011-11-07T16:44:00.000-06:00

Y'all. I am SO SORRY i have not written!

I honestly do not know what my deal is.

My last weigh-in here was 257.0

Today's weight? 257.0

I am a very lucky girl. I'm just saying.

Some of you have commented on my blog not to be too hard on myself. That I am probably doing better than I think I am. Hmm. I would like to say you are right. And sometimes? You are! It's kind of a day by day thing. It seems like i will do AWESOME for 2 days & then the next 2 days? Make some really stupid choices. However. One thing about Insulin Resistance is that when eating carbs, you should pair it with protein. And i have realized that I've been doing that for the most part - even when I didn't think about it until after the fact. I am also still drinking water like crazy.

But I'm still being STUPID on way more occasions than I care to admit. And really, i need to get this under control soon. This is November. When i first started this journey...way before the IR was a factor... even then i didn't make some of the mistakes I have been making. I bought a thing of Keebler Cookies the other day! I have not BOUGHT something like that for my own pantry in probably 4 or 5 years! What was I thinking?!

In 2009, when i first started trying to change the way I eat... I lost 23 pounds in my first 15 months. It was slow, because of undiagnosed IR. But then? I GAINED 14 back in TWO MONTHS! HOLY CRAP! Those two months? November & December. I figure that getting myself to at least keep writing here & maintain little bit of accountability ... well, that should help me to not go hog-wild over the holidays. Or something. So here i am.

I am going to set goals, just because it's good to know what I am aiming for. And I'm going to take the advice of my friend Alison. She has an awesome website & it is helping lots of people! She is a walking testimony of how changing your diet to watch carbs is helpful for those with IR. And she encouraged me to make some changes on my goals.

NOVEMBER GOALS

1. Exercise every other day.

2. Less white stuff - cut down to half portions & balance with protein.

3. Aim for under 100g carbs a day (but be happy with 120g carbs).

4. Track food on Sparkpeople twice weekly.

5. Lose Five Pounds

They are similar to my October goals...just not as strict. A little more realistic & that is probably what i need right now!

What else has been going on? It has been a trying time for me honestly. I have been going through something personal that has been very tough - however God is really helping me to feel happy & at peace about all of that today. :) Brad's Granny is dying of cancer and that is really hard. We got to go see her last week and it was SO SPECIAL. My sister is getting married this weekend, and I am excited about that. I am still job searching. Kind of enjoying my time off, to be honest with you! AND... well... how cool is this? I finally SPOKE to a long-time blog friend. On the phone! Yes, my best blog friend, Laura, called me last week! And now?! I AM GOING TO SPEND A WEEK WITH HER! I can hardly believe it!! I am going to stay at her house!! I am freaking out. She bought me a plane ticket. And i will stay at her house. So it will be low-cost for me. We have been wanting to visit each other for YEARS & realized this is the best time while I don't have a job. I cannot WAIT to meet her! This is a 6 year blog friendship, y'all! (We met on MySpace actually! Back when it was cool!)

So that's what's been going on, for the most part. Hope you all are doing well! I have been reading your blogs... but haven't been the best commenter. I am sorry for that. Trying to get back into the groove.

Blogging Funk & Metabolic Visit

2011-10-26T13:28:00.000-05:00

As it turns out, I'm in some sort of blogger funk. It's not you, it's me. ;)

Really. It is me. I kept thinking I was not wanting to blog because i was so busy at work. I thought as soon as my job ended & i had some down time, I'd be blogging too many posts a day & you'd all be sick of me!

But it's my 2nd week at home & I just haven't really felt like blogging! And i don't mean just because I've been doing badly. I've been doing (a little bit) better, actually. But I'm slacking on my other blog as well! It's ridiculousness! So please still love me! :)

Yesterday I had an appointment at the Metabolic Clinic. It went just fine. I love the nurses there!

Thankfully, i had not gained since my last visit. I'd only lost 3 pounds, though. She was totally cool about it though. I'm also on my time-of-month again. So... yeah. There's that.

She had told me last time to fast the morning of this visit so that they could do another cholesterol test & see how that's going. Well, I had forgotten. When she saw me yesterday, she said, "So, we're doing bloodwork today? You fasted this morning?" & I gasped & said, "I forgot!" Then i quickly said, "Oh, but i didn't eat this morning!" True fact. I had not eaten. My appointment was at 8:30 am, I wasn't hungry before that!

It wasn't until i was on my way home, talking to Brad on the phone, that i was reminded that i had coffee that morning. With cream. Oops.

So i guess my results won't be all that great?! CRAP!

In other news... tonight is our first night with an audience for A Streetcar Named Desire. And woah. It is AMAZING! I am so excited!!! These actors are GOOD. And with the costumes & lights & sound? Beautiful show! I just hope i get it all right tonight! I have 75 light cues & 8 sound cues. That's a lot for a play!

Alright, well. Hope you are all having a good week!

I heart my readers. :)

2011-10-21T09:19:00.000-05:00

Last Week's Weight: 258.4

This Week's Weight: 257.0

Loss of 1.4 pounds!

SERIOUSLY!?!?!

I am not sure how that happened.

I did go to Zumba, but only twice.

And I did eat SOMEWHAT healthy, except for 1 fast food meal & WAYYY too much cereal!

Oh, and a mini candy bar.

So I am not sure what this is about.

But I do want to say: THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. :)

I am not sure how I ended up with the kindest readers, but you are all so encouraging! I expected a serious lecture from people in my comments after my last post, but it didn't happen. I got nothing but love & encouragement & support. I love y'all!

I am still struggling, despite the weightloss. And i'm wondering if that's just a fluke! So please continue to pray for me. I am pushing through!

I will write more later! I am going to clean a friend's house to make some extra money! I am sure it will turn into a workout! :)

Happy Friday!

Struggle

2011-10-19T00:10:00.002-05:00

Y'all. This really sucks.

I am NOT maintaining victory. I am struggling. Really struggling.

It's not that I'm eating every bad thing. But I'm not doing awesome, like I did in August. It's like that was my one perfect month & that's it. I have not even come close to doing that well again.

I've found the answer, and still i struggle. Daily.

It sucks.

We only have healthy food to eat at home. Except Brad's cereal. Which I keep eating. It's all I want.

Yesterday, i started out well. I had an omelette - eggs, broccoli & cheese. Delish!

Then I had CEREAL for lunch! Ugh!

Today, i started out good again. I had a protein shake for breakfast. Then i went to Zumba. And then i had CEREAL for lunch! We have soup & sandwich stuff! But all i want is dumb cereal.

I am really just writing to tell y'all that I'm not writing because my heart is not in this at all. It's terrible & it sucks & i am wondering WHEN i will get a GRIP! It needs to be NOW, because i have a Metabolic Clinic appointment in one week & I don't want to go weighing the same as last time!

And that's just one reason. Obviously i have many more reasons that i want to do this, NEED to do this!

And yet. I keep eating stuff I'm not supposed to eat! Ack!

I'm still pushing forward. I still believe I am going to succeed. EVENTUALLY! I just hope i still have readers left when i do. I know my blog can't be all that fun right now.

Prayers are welcome. Thanks for listening.

Weigh-in & dress fitting!

2011-10-16T11:06:00.000-05:00

Last week's weight: 260.6

This week's weight: 258.4

Loss of 2.2 pounds!

Yay. Thankful. I got back to bootcamp & I got back to eating well...for the most part! I do not think i did as well as i was before. I had a Wendy's mini-date with Brad before rehearsal one night & I did not get my usual salad there. I also ate kinda bad this weekend. Other than that, I did okay. I have LOTS of room to improve, though!

I am not trying to make excuses, but i really do believe that a lot of my struggle is due to the craziness of my life lately. Lots going on. Lots of stress. And i don't even FEEL that stressed all the time, especially now that my job is done & my sister's shower is done! Haha. I am excited about some of these changes in my life! But still... even good stress can be stress. I really believe i'll get better when things calm down a bit. This is not meant as an excuse, though. I still need to choose victory in every decision!

Yesterday was my sister's shower in New Orleans. It went very well! We had a great day. We had the bridesmaids dress fitting that morning and y'all. I am in LOVE! I didn't want to take the dress off. It kinda reminds me of my wedding dress, except it's blue and doesn't have the beading. :) But it does have the same neckline & sash. It even has a little train! But the BLUE! The blue is brilliant! I remembered it being a dull kind of blue... so wrong! It's GORGEOUS! i am in LOVE with it! And so excited about who Michelle picked as her photographer! He's going to get amazing pics!

Anyway, my dress was big as expected. It wasn't falling off like I thought it'd be, but that's a good thing when it comes to altering! Just big on the sides & in back, but the seamstress will fix that for me! The length is perfect. I am in love.

All the bridesmaids got different styles, but they're all long & are the same color & material. The blue looks good on everyone.

Oh, and Brad is now an usher. So he will have a tie on in that same blue. {Sigh!} I am going to have a HOT DATE that night! Cannot wait!

This is the color of the dress...

So pretty!!!

{source}

And this is the style i chose. Doesn't do it justice, though! The dress part is blue & the sash is champagne.

So excited! So the wedding is in less than a month! November 12th. I can't wait! It's going to be a fun-filled weekend.

Here's to a fantastic week!

Week 40 of 2011 - Monday's Eats!

2011-10-11T12:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I did well. I just barely stayed under 100 net carbs, but still - I did it! :)

{MONDAY'S EATS ON SPARKPEOPLE}

Breakfast was my new Chocolate Protein Shake. YUM!

For morning snack, I had a Kashi Granola Bar.

Lunch was a yummy salad from home, topped with tuna.

For a pre-workout snack, i had an apple with some peanut butter.

Then i went to bootcamp & man! I am feeling it today! My booty hurts! Haha.

I realized on my way to the theater that i had filled up my Smoothie King punch card & could go get a free one for dinner. Now, for awhile i'd stopped having Smoothie King because every single smoothie is FULL of sugar (sugar = carbs). But i kinda went back a few times during my stupid phase over the last two weeks. Well, i realized the smoothie i get is not as bad as i thought. It has 28g of carbs, but it has 7g of fiber. That is their best one, y'all! Besides the low carb one, which is GROSS!

Anyway, that leaves 21g of carbs, which isn't THAT bad for a meal. It could be better, of course. But anyway, i went with it & that was my dinner. It's the Lean One Smoothie if you're wondering. The chocolate one. The strawberry one is higher in carbs & the vanilla one is lower. Just FYI. Anyway... it's delicious. But now we're on a TIGHT budget. The only reason i could get that one is because i had a full punch card for a free one. :) So that's it!

I later had a snack of triscuits & laughing cow cheese. I have been hearing of laughing cow cheese forever, but could never find it! Some dear person (I don't remember who!) told me that it's near the produce/deli of Wal-Mart, instead of with the other cheese! I happened to notice it there this week! So thank you! I LOVED the laughing cow cheese! YUM!

I was afraid those night-time triscuits would send me over 100 net carbs. But they didn't.

I know i could improve... i know it'd be better for me to stay a lot lower than 100, instead of just a little. But I think I did okay! :)

(FYI to new followers: I'm doing Low Carb because I'm Insulin Resistant & this is the only way my body will lose weight. See links in my sidebar about this. I'm not preaching low-carb to everyone, although i think saying no to bad carbs is really good for anyone!)

Today I go to the dentist! I hope my recent candy fits are not noticeable!

TODAY is the day.

2011-10-10T10:05:00.001-05:00

-That I stop being stupid.

-That I start making wise choices again.

-That I start doing what I know to do!

-That I stop hitting the drive-thru.

-That i stop having too many carbs.

-That i stop eating candy!

-That i get back to eating a good breakfast.

-That i start tracking daily on Sparkpeople.

Seriously. THIS IS THE DAY. THIS IS THE WEEK. NO MORE EXCUSES.

Am i trying to convince you? Or myself? A little of both, actually. I was serious about this last post, but I didn't follow through. I did get back to exercising, but I only went twice a week. I went to bootcamp Monday & Wednesday. That's it. Not good enough.

Before last week, i had gotten back into drinking some soda. Now, I have gone MONTHS with no soda before! It can be done & when it's done that way, I start actually craving water. I wanted to get back to that. So last week I had nothing but water. Even when i was eating bad, i still made sure to have water to drink. Until Saturday. I forgot & got a diet sprite in the walmart checkout line. Ugh! Other than that, though, I've had water only. (And my usual morning coffee, but I'm okay with that.)

But i have still been eating carbs. And not just good carbs! Bad carbs! Cookies & brownies & whatever else is presented to me! Rolls! French Bread! Oh, my gosh. The madness must stop!

So i weighed on Friday, but didn't feel like blogging. Of course there was a gain. Why wouldn't there be?

Last Week's Weight: 258.6

This Week's Weight: 260.6

Gain of 2 pounds. Yikes!

It was up more today, y'all. I will not say how much!

This is nobody's fault but my own. WHY when i have found the answer, do i decide it's the time to quit? Or to get lazy?! I'm not quitting, but it seems like i am. I'm not doing what I know i have to do! And the more i don't do it, the harder it is to get back to what I should be doing!

So here I am. Taking another step towards PROGRESS. Success! Doing what i know should be done! And i WANT to! For my health. For my quality of life! For everything!

So here we go.

I finally got me a tub of whey protein for a protein shake for breakfast. I am so glad i did! I was not eating eggs due to a queasy stomach, and this was highly recommended to me by a few of you. I got chocolate & this morning mixed it with skim milk & put it in the freezer for 20 minutes. This is how we do our chocolate milk, because it gets it SUPER cold which is how i like it! It doesn't freeze it, just gets it very very cold. I drank it on my way to work this morning & it was delicious! It has 2g of net carbs & 25g of protein! YES!

For lunch, I brought a salad with tuna. Something i used to eat a lot for lunch, which is extremely low carb & high protein! :) And for dinner i brought a soup!

I have bootcamp after work.

I'm doing this! Thanks again for your encouragement & for sticking with me even through my not-so-wonderful seasons!

{GROUP HUG}

One day at a time.

2011-10-03T23:13:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much for your encouragement on my last post. You are awesome!

Well, I tracked. And... I went over on carbs. However, I am thankful that i at least tracked! And that i thought about what I was eating! Sad i went over on carbs, though!

{MONDAY'S EATS}

Breakfast - I had peanut butter on a sandwich round. And coffee. Breakfast is becoming a problem for me. Growing up, the thought of eggs for breakfast made me queasy. Mom would finally get me to drink some OJ or eat a grapefruit...that was the best she could do. I was going to hurl if i was forced to eat eggs.

Lately I've been eating eggs for breakfast & it was fine. And i was glad, because for me that's the best kind of breakfast. But over the last couple of weeks, I have not desired eggs at ALL. I have wanted to be sick just thinking of them! A food aversion, if you will (but not because of pregnancy!). :) So I don't know what to do. My choice would be cereal, but that is full of carbs! If any of you know of a very low carb cereal that actually tastes decent, let me know! I do have steel cut oats in my kitchen but the one time i had them they were gross. So if you know of a way i can use them to make them delicious, let me know. I don't even know if i should be eating those! Too lazy to get up & look at the nutrition facts. :)

I think i might boil some eggs & mash them. That doesn't make me feel sick! Ha!

Lunch- SOUP!

Dinner - I had to stop & get food, so i got a salad from Wendy's. It was pretty amazing. The salad is so fresh & the tomatoes are ripe. Believe it or not! Delish!

However. I didn't put croutons on my salad. But later, at rehearsal, i was starving. Unfortunately, i had saved them instead of chunking them. Should have packed myself something else to snack on! Eventually i ate them. Shouldn't have!

I did okay today, but not great. I have to do better. It's difficult, because (a) we need groceries, (b) eggs are gross right now & (c) i'm not home in the evenings to cook these days. But i can do it! Advice is appreciated!

Went back to bootcamp today & so glad i did! It was a great class. :)

I was thinking all day today... ONE DAY AT A TIME. I got this. I just gotta take it day by day.

I HAVE TO DO THIS!

2011-10-02T21:33:00.002-05:00

I have four weeks until I have another appointment at the Metabolic Clinic.

Two weeks until I have my bridesmaid's dress fitting for my sister's wedding.

I have to get my head in the game.

Seriously.

Obviously, i'm doing this for life. Not for an event such as a wedding. But that doesn't hurt. I do think my dress will be HUGE on me. She told me they run 2 sizes too big but ordered it 3 sizes above my normal size! And, um, I've lost 15 pounds since that visit! Ha!

But i don't want to go back to the metabolic clinic without more weight gone. Last time, she was so excited she clapped for me! I had found the secret - cutting most carbs. But oh, how i have been struggling so!

September - Struggle
October - VICTORY!

That's all I'm saying!

So this week? I have to do it. I have got to DO IT. I cannot continue to rationalize, justify & eat whatever I feel like! I have to make WISE CHOICES! I have gotten in the habit of thinking to myself, "is this a wise choice?" Only, normally i wait until it's already in my mouth & being chewed before i decide to ask that question! And I'm pretty sure my thoughts go something like this, "Terrible choice... but it's so good!"

No more. Gotta get back to the low-carb lifestyle. SERIOUSLY, Mel!

Goal for this week?

Under 100 grams of net carbs/day.

No starches & no sweets & no white flour!

I CAN DO THIS! I am asking God to give me the strength & wisdom to do what I know to do.

I also go back to bootcamp tomorrow. This should help.

Prayers are appreciated!

Have a great week!

Good news & bad news!

2011-09-30T13:13:00.000-05:00

Last week's weight: 258.0

This week's weight: 258.6

{GAIN of 0.6 pounds!}

So, that's the bad news. And i'm not upset. I deserve it! I have been foolish in a lot of my choices lately. I know I did this big talk on having found my motivation, but it seems to be lost again. I am just being real with you all. I fear writing these things because I'm scared all of you will say, "What a fraud!" & leave me! But i have to be real with you. There are ups & downs in this journey & right now is not the easiest time for me. But I am pushing forward & I WILL be successful.

The good news? I won the weigh-down challenge at work!!!!! AHHHHH!!!

The prize money was more than I expected: $125! HALLELUJAH!

Ha! It was announced at Wednesday's meeting! Yeah! Everyone cheered. A LOT of people have been telling me how skinny I look lately - that you can really tell it! Yay! It was pretty exciting!

And my Office BFF, Tonya, won 2nd place! YEAH!!! GO US!!!! :)

I know it's blurry, but it makes me laugh! Something was funny, apparently!

I was pleased! It is ironic, though, right? After all, you all know that i haven't been doing THAT well lately. Now this challenge ran from July through September & I did well in July & August! So i guess it IS deserved! But it's just ironic because the last weigh-down challenge I worked SO HARD & didn't lose anything! This one, i'm in the middle of a bit of a struggle when they announce the winner. Still. I am proud & happy & THANKFUL!

I did make some wise choices this week. For that meeting we ordered Brewbachers. My order? Chicken Caesar Salad, no croutons, add tomatoes. :) I always get sweet tea there, but i just had water.

But then i got a tiny piece of cake! Ahhhhh!

So that's kind of how i've been. Making an unwise choice right after a great one!

I also still haven't gotten back to exercising, which i have done VERY faithfully since January! September was a bust, though! I haven't been to Zumba because it's at 7:30 & i am doing a show, so i have rehearsals every night from 7 - 10! But bootcamp is at 4:45, so I can do that between work & theater. Going to do that starting Monday. Very very sad, because I will not have my bootcamp buddy Amber with me this go round! :( (Love ya, Amber!) But hopefully I will find a friend to work out with.

I am excited to be back to bootcamp because it seems like when i exercise, i do better with my eating. It motivates me to do better with it! So that is good! I will try to use the days i don't have bootcamp to go walking. We're finally getting some beautiful not-so-hot/humid weather here! YAY! I really miss Zumba, though, so come November I will be able to get back to it - most of the time at least! :)

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I'm typically way too busy at work & then i go to the theater for rehearsal & then i fall into the bed! I know i sound TOO busy (& i am), but sometimes you gotta fulfill your passion, which for me is THEATER! I do enjoy time at home a LOT, though & once this show is over I will be thankful for some R&R.

On the job front, well. I thought I would hear from 2 companies this week for a second interview, but i didn't. Hopefully they're just taking longer than I thought, which i truly believe is the case on at least one of them. I also have an interview with a 3rd company on Monday. Not sure about it, though - it's a bit of a far drive! Please pray for me! Our job is officially OVER on the 14th - well, that will be our last day at CAAA. If I know by then that i have a new job - even if i can't start it the following Monday (the 17th), i am okay with that - i wouldn't mind getting a few days off out of the deal! :) But if i have NO PROSPECTS at that point, well. That will be no good at all! Prayers are much appreciated. I do believe that i will do better w/ my eating with some stability in my life. It's just crazy right now. I did great with eating/exercise on my last show 6 months ago, but i also didn't have all this job craziness going on!

Love you all. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Week 38 of 2011 - Day 2 - EATS!

2011-09-24T23:32:00.000-05:00

So. I tracked today. I went way over in carbs, but honestly? I'm just glad to be back to tracking!

The culprit of my overdoing it with the carbs? Cereal & bananas.

I got the best bananas at Fresh Pickens yesterday. They are sooo good, y'all. So I had two today. And I had cereal for breakfast. These two things together? Too much. Maybe if i had the cereal & no bananas. Or maybe if i had cereal & one banana. Or one banana & no cereal at all. Anyway. That is how i went way over in carbs.

I am still just so glad i got back to tracking!

Let's hope i can keep it up. Took me a bit to figure out what week I was on. :)

{SATURDAY'S EATS}

For lunch, i had a delicious wrap...low carb tortilla, lettuce, grape tomatoes, avocado, a little mayo, shredded mild cheddar, & chicken. YUM!

For dinner I made Turkey Meatballs with Tomatoes & Basil. It suggests serving it on pasta, rice or a hoagie-type roll. I didn't, though. I just served it up as is with broccoli on the side. YUM! So it was very low carb. I actually thought this recipe would be a disaster, but it turned out pretty good. Hubby LOVES it. I will make it again, but i have some different things to try. I may do that soon. It was kind of a pain. Took too long to cook them the way the recipe says to do it. Halfway through i put them in the oven just like i do turkey burgers - so much faster! I also used crushed tomatoes, i don't think i will do that next time. Oh, the ideas i have to make this better. I will do it again soon & then blog my version. Anyway. Pretty yummy.

By the way. My friend Alison wrote a guide for people who are just finding out they are Insulin Resistant & don't know where to start with their diet. I read it last night & it is a fantastic guide! Check it out on her website!

Well, that's all for today. Hope ya'll are having a great weekend! I am loving today... just relaxing all day with my husband! Good times!

Take a look at my ticker NOW!

2011-09-24T09:05:00.001-05:00

Would you mind if I counted TODAY's weigh-in? Instead of yesterday's?

I mean...it's my journey... & it will all even out in the end. If i do bad this week then next week there will be a gain. If i do well, then there should be another loss.

I want to count this morning's weigh-in. Please?

Yes, yes. I think my motivation might go through the roof if i can count it.

September 9th (2 weeks ago): 259.8

September 16th (1 week ago): 262.8

September 24th (Today): 258.0

{LOSS OF 1.8 pounds (from the 9th...the 16th was my time of month)}

Ya'll??? That is awesome! WOOHOO!

The reason i want to count it, is because i would be thrilled to death to be at the 20 pounds

lost mark. Take a look at my ticker!

Sideways glance at my September goals. Um, yeah. Haven't been doing so great this month. But now? I am ON IT! Ready to go!

Have a great weekend!

I may have found my motivation.

2011-09-23T23:41:00.005-05:00

September 9th (2 weeks ago): 259.8

September 16th (1 week ago): 262.8

September 23rd (Today): 259.4

Down 0.4 (or 3.4 from last week - but that was all time of month bloat).

I was actually THRILLED about this. And i instantly felt encouraged...excited...and, dare I say it? MOTIVATED.

This isn't about what i DESERVE. If it was, I would have lost a ton of weight by now...for the months at a time that i did work hard & had nothing to show for it! Still, I was surprised I didn't gain. I have not been good.

I was telling a friend how, throughout this journey, i seem to go through phases. Back since mid-2009 when i started all this, i have had phases where all motivation was gone. Where I didn't eat right or where I got in a slump when it came to exercise. Honestly? I believe this is all part of the process. We are not going to be perfect. Nobody is. The healthiest person you know probably allows "bad" food at certain times, don't you think? Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but for the most part I am sure this is true. Still, though. When i get in these slumps it seems like there is nothing you can say to get me out of it. It is almost as if i have to let it run its course.

The good news is that even during these times, i still have the mindset of "must keep going...can't give up... gotta get back to it". Always. That mindset has never stopped. But having the mindset & actually following through are two different things.

Let me just say this. Some people are just DISCIPLINED. I don't mean that they were born that way or that it's easier for them. I know that they worked hard to develop that - or maybe their parents raised them to be disciplined individuals. I don't know. But I am not a disciplined person. I am becoming more discplined in this area of my life. And I am very disciplined at work. But for the most part... if i don't want to do something... it's not happening. I know this is a bad thing & something I should work on - at least in how it relates to my health! But I am just telling you this little bit about myself. I'm not a "just do it" person. I wish I was! But I am just not wired that way. (Yet. I hope to develop that kind of character in me!) All of that to say... when i get in these unmotivated modes, it just doesn't matter what i do, what i tell myself, what scriptures I post on the mirror, what mini-goals i set, what rewards i set.... nothing gets me going! Or, it may get me going for THAT particular decision...but it doesn't last.

So, in seasons like the one i am going through (or just went through?!)... all i know to do is to continue to ask God to help me get back on track. To continue to thank him for what he's done so far. To continue to ask for his guidance & wisdom. I try to think healthy thoughts. I try to remind myself that each victory comes with each next choice. And i tell myself that giving up is NOT an option. And eventually? The motivation is BACK.

So that's what happened with today's weigh-in... I found that spark. I found myself WANTING to do this again. I had to weigh at work & it showed that I have lost 15 pounds in our weigh-down challenge! At Wednesday's staff meeting they will announce the winner & i *think* it will be me. Nobody else is saying that they have lost weight. My pants were literally falling off of me today. I was skipping through the hall when i weighed myself there! Total, i've lost 19.6 pounds. Wow. That is awesome.

I know I could have lost more if i would have just buckled down. But I didn't. And now? I just have to look forward.

I was kind of on a high after i weighed.... both at home & at the office. I know I didn't necessarily "deserve" to have not gained, but i didn't & i am so thankful. It's ironic because gaining never encourages me to do better! It only makes me angry, bitter or sad. But losing or saying the same...when i didn't do well? It just motivates me to finally get back to it! 100%!

I went & got a salad for lunch. It was amazing. I had water with it. I ran by Fresh Pickens on my way home today. I bought fresh pineapple, onions, apples, bananas, squash & romaine lettuce. YUM. (I never get to go to Fresh Pickens - a local fruit stand - because it's not on my way to anything. But today I had a hair appointment, so i was near it. Yay!)

So week...what week are we on? Well. It wasn't good. But hopefully the motivation i found today is here to stay for awhile. I really REALLY appreciate all of your encouragement here on the blog, to my email or through prayer. Thanks a ton. :)

{Happy Weekend!}

Get.A.GRIP.

2011-09-16T19:54:00.002-05:00

Alright. I am soooo sorry I have not written in awhile. When i tell you that life is crazy, please believe me & please don't hate me. (Because honestly I have hated when people have said that in their blogs. I mean, DUH. Everyone is busy. It's kinda how life just IS sometimes, no matter who you are or what you do or how many kids you have! Only now i am realizing i am busier than USUAL.)

Anyway.

I did gain this week. And it's okay. Because it truly IS my time of month. I may tell you at every weigh-in that "it's okay, b/c it's almost that time, b/c i am bloated". If i have told you that, it may make me seem like a liar. But this is the thing (TMI alert). I have been waiting for a period for lots of weigh-ins now. I just had a 58 day cycle. Aunt Flow came Wednesday. FINALLY. (I sound like someone who was hoping to NOT be pregnant. Such is not the case. I would be thrilled, in all honesty. But right now i just want my cycles regulated.)

Anyway. This is why I may have said "i am about to start, so i may be bloated" at my last few weigh-ins. Because honestly - i should have started ANY DAY NOW....

And i did. Finally. On Wednesday. Day 59. SERIOUSLY!?!

The Metformin is supposed to regulate this. I hope it does soon.

So now i am ACTUALLY on my period & I am ACTUALLY bloated & it is okay that i gained 3 pounds. It happens.

I have NOT been doing very well though. I did Zumba on Tuesday. That's it. I ate well, um....never? i don't know when I ate well. Oh yeah. Tuesday.

I am not making wise choices, like my blog quote talks about. AT ALL. I feel like my life of stability is not so stable right now. My healthy habits are following suit - aka, going by the wayside as well.

I seriously do not know how to get.a.GRIP!

I did not get that job that the interview was for. They said they'd call by the end of the week & they didn't call. To be honest, i am PERFECTLY FINE with this. I know that there is a great job for me out there! I know that God has a plan for my life! I know that the job that is in His plan is the job i will get! I have also done my part by applying to about 25 different places! It will happen! My only worry is that it will not happen by October 16th. I cannot go without benefits. I cannot. I know some people do & I have certainly had my years of having to do that. So i just didn't go to the doctor. I don't have that choice right now. Even if i skipped my metabolic clinic visits until benefits kick in again, i would still need to get my metformin refilled. But even though our last day is the 14th, our benefits will stay "good" until the end of October 1st. No benefits as of November 1st. Unless I have a job! I mean, with a new job, it may be 30 or 60 or 90 days before the new ones kick in. THIS IS OKAY! As long as i know that eventually i will have my benefits back! :)

So yeah. Those are my worries. BLERG!

Sorry for no actual review. But i did awful.

By the way, though! Did i tell ya'll this already? Our work has one more weigh-in for the challenge! So glad today was not the last weigh-in, since i'd gained 3 pounds! But next week will be the last weigh-in! I hope i win! I could...even though i've been bad. But I will have to get in gear this next week!

If you are a believer, please pray for me!

Love ya'll!

Sometimes, you just gotta DO IT.

2011-09-13T23:18:00.002-05:00

Tonight I went to Zumba.

My first Zumba class of the month.

I still have not gone to Bootcamp this month.

What is the DEAL!?

It's like... one thing after another...until i was finally actually ABLE to go, and didn't want to.

Tonight, after a long day (i had an interview - it went well - but I have no clue if i have the job or not!), I wanted to stay home SO BAD! I finally got my booty in the car & just WENT.

By the time i got there, it was 7:45. Class starts at 7:30. Because i procrastinated so long in getting in the car! But i suppose 45 minutes of exercise is (a lot) better than none!

Now if i could just get back to eating well! Today i know i did well...mainly because I didn't eat much. Nerves do that to me! But i have not been tracking again.

I feel like i need a SERIOUS dose of motivation! UGH!

So yeah. Today i forced myself to go. And i LOVE zumba, ya'll! I mean... you know how much I love that class. It's just that when you get in a habit of missing, you get used to it. Even if you feel like crap.

So there's that.

Things have been crazy. Lots going on.

I gotta run!

More later.

Oh, wait! FUN NEWS! On Sunday I went to the theater to help with some auditions. I had not been there in awhile. I was there in June for the Beaux Arts Ball & i've seen 2 shows since then, but that's it. When i was there Sunday, 4 people came up to me asking how much weight I had lost!!!! :) Made me feel SO GOOD! One said i looked like i'd lost more than I'd said. YIPEE!

{LOVE YOU ALL!}

review, update & excuses. ;)

2011-09-11T16:12:00.002-05:00

Hi! Sooo sorry it has taken me forever to post something again. Here is what happened:

My computer stopped working again. It's all a big blur, but at some point earlier this week (Monday, i guess?), my laptop would not come on. It just wouldn't. Brad worked on it & worked on it & got really frustrated because nothing he did seemed to fix the problem! We finally decided for me to take it back to the computer repair shop. Now, i still have my old laptop, but i hate it. I have to press the same key 34903 times for it to take affect! So anytime i blogged on my other blog, i would end up quitting before being able to update THIS blog. It just was a PAIN in the you-know-what!

And work? Forget it. Work is CRAZY. There has been almost NO time for emailing or blogging...though i have done some emailing... it's not as much as i used to! Good thing i type fast or there would be no way!

Tracking was hit or miss. I tried to keep up with that at work, but dinner was harder.

You can see WEDNESDAY'S EATS here, which totaled 80 net carbs. YAY!

THURSDAY'S EATS are here, and as you can see i blew it on fast food for lunch. I was an ANGRY woman (long story) & also running late getting back to work, so this choice was based on emotion & convenience. I ate better for dinner. :) However, the damage was done: 128 net carbs. :(

I have been a major slacker about working out. I have missed Zumba & bootcamp for all of September. The first week I was SICK...that is excusable. :) But this week, things just kept coming up... Monday we did not have bootcamp because of Labor Day... this is also excusable. Tuesday, I had to go take a test for a new job I hope to get & i didn't get out of there until too late to go to my zumba class. (Again: excusable. HA!) (Is excusable a word? It looks funny.)

Wednesday, I worked a little late, so my bootcamp buddy Amber & I walked the lakes instead. I have SO MISSED those beautiful lakes! And the weather was GORGEOUS this week! So we walked almost 3 miles, i think, Amber? She made me walk farther than I've walked there before & let me tell you! I am still sore! HA! You'd think someone who has been doing bootcamp since January wouldn't get sore from walking, but how not true! HAHA! I am only a little sore now, you should have seen me on Thursday! But yeah...that's the only exercising i've done this week! I tried to make it on Saturday - even got dressed on in the car - but about halfway there i realized i was WAY too late... so i came back home (this was the morning after working at the Manship until almost 1 AM, i might add). This has been a crazy & bizarre week, ya'll. BUT! It's time to get back to it on Monday & i am excited!

I did not track Friday, but it was not good. A business associate brought all of us lunch (those of us getting laid off) because we've helped her company tremendously. We had Subway - i had a 6 in sub but also had TWO bags of chips & A COOKIE! UGH! Then, the staff we have came in with a cake & ice cream for us. I wanted some. I had some. But i did tell my coworker that i wanted a TINY piece of cake & TINY spoonful of ice cream & that is exactly what i got! That was some serious portion control - if i had not had the chips & cookie, i would feel good about those decisions!

So there you have it! I just caught you up to last week!

I DID manage to lose a small amount of weight. And i am very happy about it. Why? Well. I have just entered a new decade, folks! So to speak! :)

Starting Weight: 279

Last week's weight: 260.4

This week's weight: 259.8

This is a LOSS OF 0.6 POUNDS! A little over half a pound! I can deal with that. :)

And i'm now in the 250's!

So here is a brand new week & it is time to get it together & remember my September Goals!

I WILL be back at bootcamp & zumba this week as well.

No fast food & no "white stuff".

I can do this!

Thanks for being patient with me! :)

Oh, and i guess I didn't mention that Brad decided to give it one more try this weekend with fixing my computer? It's now up & running, thank the Lord! :)

Week 35: Days 4 & 5 - Much Better!

2011-09-06T23:21:00.000-05:00

Yes. Much better yesterday after breakfast, which was kind of not so good. (But delicious! You cannot beat my mother-in-law's cooking!)

TODAY WAS AWESOME.

You can read both here:

MONDAY'S EATS

TUESDAY'S EATS

Um, yeah. Let me just say. Yesterday was a little over 100 net carbs. And i didn't even eat dinner! I was sooo full from breakfast (not uncommon when you have breakfast at the in-laws!) that I did not want lunch until LATE. And then i only got hungry for a snack, but that's it!

Today i did AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! 50 Net Carbs! HOLY COW! Can you believe it?!?!

I'm so happy with that. SO HAPPY! That is pretty much amazing. Probably the best ever. YAY!

I am sad that I had to miss Zumba. I found a job that i really really REALLY want, and I had to go take a test for it. It was at 5, so i figured i could do that & then make it to Zumba, but i didn't leave the test place until a little after 7! Zumba is at 7:30...across town (kind of). And i had to run home to change! It couldn't happen. And i can't go Thursday because i have plans to see a play. We didn't have bootcamp yesterday due to Labor Day. Saturday i couldn't go to bootcamp due to some crazy weather & flooding. So tomorrow will be my ONLY day of exercise this whole week! BUMMER. I actually really miss it!

But i'm just going to make tomorrow & Thursday that much more amazing. Hopefully will have a good weigh-in on Friday, though I'm not sure with all the terrible eating i did this weekend!

And seriously... if you think about it... pray for me. I really want this job that i'm applying for this week. I have to send a packet in with all kinds of junk. I hope i get it!!! :)

Thanks, too, for all your kind comments on my last post. Some of you were TOO lenient on me! HA! But it's good... I love ya'll.

Hope you're having a good week!

Week 35 Day 3 - Sunday's eats... Bad, Bad Girl. :(

2011-09-05T15:06:00.002-05:00

When i was in school, the only thing i ever got in trouble for (for the most part!) was my grades. I didn't do very well sometimes & i would get yelled at when I got home with a report card or tests to sign.

I started hiding my report cards & I even forged my parent's signature on a test a time or two.

Dirty laundry, y'all. We've all done stupid/bad things, right?

All that to say... I kinda feel like that again. I did AWFUL yesterday...TERRIBLE!!!! A lot worse than I've done since i started the low carb journey! And it is tempting for me to "hide" it, to avoid the "yelling" comments I am bound to get. Which is silly, because even when i make dumb choices, you all are so stinkin' encouraging. So i have nothing to worry about, right? RIGHT!

I think it is important that i share the bad with you as well as the good.

I love accountability, it is good for me, but sometimes i don't listen to it. Sometimes 'Lissa's gonna do what 'Lissa's gonna do. Which is bad & I know that. But I still want to blog/track yesterday's food just like I blog the good days. It would be bad/wrong/dishonest to blog for you only when i'm awesome!

Be easy on me, okay? :(

Yesterday was AWFUL.

I ate well for breakfast & lunch. Very well. Then, the skies cleared up, the raining ... well, continued ... but we decided to go on our date. We'd been planning this for awhile & it had been awhile since we have gone on an actual date! We're such homebodies most of the time! However, after being sick & then being stuck indoors because of Tropical Storm Lee, we (I) were getting a little stir-crazy!

So we went. The plan was to head to Perkins Rowe for some bookstore-browsing, pizza-eating & movie-watching. We went to Barnes & Noble & browsed a bit until it was closer to time for the movie to start. On the way to the movie, we decided (we meaning "me") it was time to try a frozen yogurt place called The Red Mango. OH MY GOSH! I LOVED IT. I got some of their original frozen yogurt & topped it with chopped strawberries, mango & kiwi.

This is exactly what i got. Yum!

I did that because I had been craving chocolate & wanted peanut m&m's in the movie. I decided this was a wiser choice than peanut m&m's. Only to discover later that the peanut m&m's, carb-wise, would have been a whole heck of a lot better. Sad but true.

We saw "THE HELP" which was EXCELLENT. I loved it. Book was better, but they still did a great job on the movie & it was so well cast!

(Celia & Minnie...these two cracked me up!)

Moving on....

Then we went to California Pizza Kitchen. I got The Greek pizza on whole wheat crust. The greek pizza is amazing. It's topped with chopped chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, & onions. It's sprinkled with feta & drizzled with some dressing. It was amazing. I drank water with it.

This is The Greek at CPK

We (we meaning I, again) decided to share dessert. EVEN WHEN I WAS NOT TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT, i NEVER got dessert! We got the chocolate souffle cake thingie that comes with a scoop of ice cream. Hagaan Daaz, vanilla. We shared it. IT WAS HEAVENLY.

chocolate souffle' cake at CPK

That is what I had for the day. You can see it all tallied here. It's bad. The numbers are bad. I ended up with way more calories/carbs than i could imagine. Worse than i've ever done! I do have to say, i am VERY PLEASED with the California Pizza Kitchen website. I should have gone there first & picked something low-carb to eat. Their salads look AMAZING. I would have been fine with that. And they had pizzas with a lot less carbs, too. I did not imagine that their site would have such organized complete nutritional information. Well done, CPK! They even, to my horrors, included the chocolate souffle cake.

Red mango also had complete nutritional info, except for the fruit. Which is fine, really. That is not what was gonna break me.

So yeah. If you don't wanna hop over to sparkpeople, just know that I had 224 total carbs. And only 28 of that was fiber. So 196 net carbs. HOLY CRAP.

So yeah. I did really really really AWFUL yesterday.

You know that verse where Paul is like, "what i need to do, i don't do. and what i know i ought not to do, i keep right on doing it"?? Um, yeah. That's me.

I am NOT going to lose weight if i keep stuffing my face with CARBS! And sugar! (Sugar is included in the carbs, fyi. This is why i just look at the carbs!)

What is crazy to me is that before I was diagnosed as IR & before I started watching the carbs... what I ate at CA Pizza Kitchen? I would have patted myself on the back for it. Why?

-For choosing pizza with whole wheat crust

-For choosing pizza that was topped with veggies

-For drinking water only

-For splitting dessert with my husband

Sadly, i ate that way all the time! To me, splitting dessert was called 'all things in moderation'. Having water was saving calories (still good on that one, at least!). Having whole wheat was better than not (I still believe this to a degree, but the carbs were only a LITTLE better when i looked at the nutrition facts. Still not low-carb!). NO WONDER I NEVER LOST WEIGHT!!!!

Alright. Obviously I know i did wrong. And just a warning: today's isn't gonna look much better either. We went to my Mother-in-law's & she made breakfast for us. It included homemade biscuits & grits, both of which i ate. SERIOUSLY?! This was BEFORE i came home & tallied up yesterday's nutrition & had a small freakout. And reality check.

The rest of today (& tomorrow) will be MUCH BETTER. I am back to Zumba tomorrow & i have to tell you. When i'm working out regularly, it also encourages me to eat right. So that's a good thing! And i said to Brad yesterday that i couldn't wait until zumba & bootcamp! I meant it! I miss it!

{SIGH.} Pray for me if you think of it!

Comment away... but be nice! Haha!

P.S. For a little fun inspiration, check out this blog post. This guy has gone primal (aka, eats only meat & plants, i believe) & look at his transformation! WOAH! :)

Week 35 Day 2 Eats... & wraps are delicious!

2011-09-03T23:17:00.000-05:00

So... you know how I've been slipping up lately?

This happens to me every few weeks or so. I do awesome & then i eat one bad thing & it starts this downward spiral. It's happened this way since I first began my journey, in 2009. I just always get back to it, eventually! This past week (& a few days before that), I kinda went into "i don't care" mode. It's where I face a temptation and, before there is even time for me to talk myself out of it, I eat it anyway. On purpose. It's almost conscious. I eat it before I have a chance to change my mind. How crazy/goofy/ridiculous is that?!

But NOW? Well, even though i've continued in that mode, I have also been saying to myself: "Melissa, STOP IT!"

I mean, enough is enough, right?!

Today, I decided that it was time to write up my monthly recap for August. And man! If that didn't motivate the heck out of me!!!!! :)

Seriously. August 2011 was my best month EVER.

I want September 2011 to beat that!

All of that said... now you know why i had PIZZA for breakfast today... & then straightened up after that! {First, can i just say, Domino's Pizza is pretty much the BEST website for ordering delivery & for nutritional information? You can build your own pizza & it will give you the exact info for your exact pizza. I had medium, hand-tossed crust (i know.), topped with beef & green peppers. So you just tell the tracker those things & it tells you the info. I wish subway did it that way!And Zoe's Kitchen? Doesn't even put nutritional info on their website (I love them, but that's annoying.)! They're supposed to be HEALTHY! Ugh!

That said, I should not be eating pizza - especially with hand-tossed crust! I didn't track yesterday, and that was our dinner. This was the 2 leftover pieces that I didn't eat yesterday. And yes. I like cold pizza for breakfast just fine. :)

So anyway... after that i was GOOD, ya'll! Real good! Because I did the August Recap & got seriously motivated again. Thank heavens! :)

For lunch, I made THE MOST delicious wrap! Wanna see?

AHEM. I present to you.... {drumroll please}...

"THE MAKINGS OF AN EXCELLENT WRAP"

Yeah....it rained all day... I was bored. :)

MOVING ON!

For dinner, I made the hamburger veggie casserole again. Which, by the way, you are so missing out on, because it is AMAZING! I did not put potatoes in it this time. Extra veggies instead. Not because I'm awesome, but because we didn't have potatoes on hand. :) It was SO GOOD!

So there ya go. :) Good day. Net carbs = 96.

Whew! Barely made my under 100 limit! That is all because of that pizza! 48 net carbs in the pizza (2 slices). YIKES.

You can view the all the details here, on sparkpeople!

Overall, I'm happy, though!

Even better tomorrow, right? RIGHT!

Have a great rest of the weekend!

August 2011 RECAP!

2011-09-03T13:55:00.002-05:00

Um. I'm confused. I cannot find a monthly recap from July or June. May is the last one on here, unless for some reason I'm just missing it?! It's lost. I guess I forgot to do one for those months?! Strange.

{I always feel like apologizing in advance for long posts. My monthly recaps are always like this. There's just so much to say! If you skim, I will still love you!}

But I am THRILLED to do a RECAP for AUGUST because it turns out that it was by far my best month EVER. :) EVER! In this entire 2.5 year journey, ya'll!

In August, I started low carb/sugar & it is WORKING. I also finally started losing weight. FINALLY!

(I didn't do so great the last week of it, but let's put that aside for now, shall we?)

WEIGHTLOSS.

Week 1 (7/29 - 8/4) - I gained 0.8 pounds. (But was not worried about it because it was my best week ever as far as eating & exercising! Was also my first low carb/low sugar week!)

Week 2 (8/5 - 8/11) - I lost 2.8 pounds! YES!

Week 3 (8/12 - 8/18) - I lost 2.8 pounds...AGAIN! YAY!

Week 4 (8/19 - 8/25) - I lost 0.8 pounds!

In the middle of week 5, on August 30th, I did a mid-week weigh-in, because I had an appointment with the Metabolic Clinic. And on that day, I reached a low that I had not seen in a long time. 260.4. Which was another 1.8 down! Am I counting it? You betcha!

Week 5 (8/26 - 9/1) - I gained 1.8 pounds... sorry, didn't blog this review. It would say nothing but "I was sick all week. I missed working out. And i started eating crap again. The end." Yes, it would have been so depressing. (But since it's week FIVE of August, can i not count it???)

You know what this means?! (overlooking week five, i mean?)

This means that in AUGUST 2011, I lost a total of 8.2 pounds!!!

Unless you count Week 5, which means that I lost a total of 6.8 pounds.

EITHER WAY YOU WANNA LOOK AT IT, This was my best month EVER!

Pitiful or not, I have never lost this much (either amount) in one month. I have done nothing but gain, lose, gain & lose each month. Even in months where (by anyone's standards) i did awesome! Do you think it is a coincidence that THIS is the month i stepped AWAY from the white flour & sugar?!

I think not. :)

Also, I did my measurements. Not as great as I'd hoped. But still...improving!

Date	Waist	Chest	Hips	Thigh	Arm
08/01/11	45.5	46.5	56	33	15
09/02/11	45	46	56	31.5	15

Waist started at 47, I think, so that is better! And look at my thighs. That is a GOOD THING. Haha!
I really don't buy it about my arms, though! I see muscle I've never had before! Now if the fat would just move out of the way! And my hips. Ya'll. I have the HUGEST hips. I like how when I started out, my chest & waist were the same size... & now, it's like they are competing on who can be bigger (you can really tell it if you look in the "Progress!" tab!)... I would like my chest to win out, please! (justsayin!) ...ANYWAY!

NSV's for AUGUST!

I started tracking DAILY on Sparkpeople...even on weekends!
I started staying under 100 net carbs per day because of this article!
I started actually staying away from white flour & sugar!
I tried a veggie smoothie, which was crazy good! (Maybe this is not an NSV as it turned out to be WAY too high-carb!)
I actually made WISE choices at Mike Anderson's one evening!
I started really paying attention & focusing on maintaining victories one choice at a time!
I exercised (bootcamp or zumba) 3 or 4 times each week (except for week 5, when i was SICK!)
I brought salads to lunch nearly everyday.
I cut way back on carbs...many times having no bread for breakfast or lunch...this is something when i used to have bread with every meal! :)

{SEPTEMBER GOALS}
Let's get real now. I have not done well for this last week. Even before I was sick, I started slacking a little bit. That can be a free week, but now, i have to get back to being AMAZING! :) So this weightloss trend can continue!!!

1. Exercise at least 4 times each week.
2. NO white flour, sweets or starches!
3. Stay low carb...under 100g per day!
4. Continue to track DAILY on sparkpeople!
5. Cook 2 new low-carb recipes!
6. Lose 5 pounds this month.

I know 5 pounds does not sounds like a huge goal. But that is a little over a pound a week & I will take it. :) It is a realistic goal that i can live with. I never put goals like this, because I went WAY TOO LONG doing things WELL & not losing at all & that got frustrating. But that was before IR. :) So it should be okay as long as I continue to stay away from so many carbs! Besides 5 down will get me to 255, which would be pretty cool!

Well. Here we go! Happy September to ya!

*pics from we heart it.

Today's eats & other whining...er, i mean, rambling...

2011-09-01T22:32:00.000-05:00

Um, yeah.

I am really struggling this week & last, if you couldn't tell. A lot of this is me being SICK. Some of this is hormonal. Some of that is entirely too personal for the blog, but I keep going through PMS without actually having Aunt Flo come along... (Insulin Resistance can mess with your periods; the Metformin is supposed to figure this out for you, but it hasn't yet). And another part of this is just that somewhere along the line, i had carbs when i shouldn't have, and it is just SO HARD to say no once you've had them! So now i have to get back to saying "NO!" to temptation, & i know that eventually it will get easier.

I'm having a hard time tracking, too. I did track today. It's not good. 116 net carbs. It's been awhile since I went over. The culprit?

Well, for breakfast i had NOTHING. Then a little later, i was hungry but feeling kinda nauseous. So i had some plain triscuits I had with me. It's a carb & one i will allow, but it's better for me not to have carbs for breakfast! Which is essentially what that was. Oh-well.

For lunch, i got FAST FOOD. Ugh. But it was actually soooo delicious. I got the crispy chicken sandwich, which probably wasn't the best choice. I am PROUD that i did not get fries. Do you know how much i LOVE wendy's fries? They're pretty amazing. But i got the ceasar side salad instead. And it was so good. I mean, sooo fresh & delicious. Still. I ate the croutons. That, along w/ the bun for my chicken sandwich, boosted up the carbs also.

When i got home, i had some apple juice because my throat was hurting again. I pretty much kicked the juice habit, but we got it again just because it sounded so good for my throat. The Trop50 juices are REALLY yummy. It has 15g of sugar in 10 oz, instead of 30 or so. So yeah... I still can't make it a habit, but it was okay, today.

I have to FORCE myself to get back to being VICTORIOUS. Because right now? I'm so not. But i will be! I am still super excited about all that i've accomplished so far! It's just sucky being sick. But i know i will get back to it, because i want to keep this weightloss trend GOING! :)

Today, i went back to work. I immediately regretted it, as I had 100 voicemails waiting for me. I kid not! I actually had about 97. Within 5 minutes of being there, i had 100. (I hadn't even logged on to my computer yet, people! Give me a minute!) I really wasn't stressed about it, it happens as I am SO BUSY there! Anyway, everyone was laughing & saying they would quit on the spot if they had that many voicemails! The best was when my boss came to talk to me & mid-sentence she saw that my voicemail said "100 messages". Her jaw DROPPED. I was rambling about it while we were staring at it & it suddenly switched to 101. We died laughing.

I mean, it's either laugh or cry, right??? :)

But i felt bad ALL DAY & around noon, i had a migraine. It didn't go away. When i got home, it was SO BAD. I took a 30 minute nap & it was gone when i woke up. Thank the LORD!

Well, it's the weekend, right??? And i can start fresh tomorrow! My week's start on Friday, so yay!

Now, tomorrow is weigh-in day & i've probably gained. I feel bloated. Like time-of-month bloated. So we'll see. But i may win that weightloss challenge at work! I am down 11.2 pounds according to their scale! And we are ending the challenge end of October instead of mid-November, since so many of us are leaving. And i could win!!! :) I have a feeling tomorrow is a gain... but next week's weigh-in will surely be a loss! Right? Right! :)

So sorry for all this rambling! I am excited that tomorrow is already the weekend! HA! A long one, too!

Just a few things I wanted to mention...

2011-08-30T22:49:00.000-05:00

Remember recently when I said I made a Hamburger Veggie Casserole for dinner? Or maybe i didn't say that's what it was... but anyway.... I finally went back to where I originally blogged that recipe & updated it with pics! YUMMM. It's SO GOOD, ya'll! And you can make it with or without the things you don't like or can't have! If you're watching fat, you can have ground turkey instead of ground beef. If you're watching carbs you can leave out the potatoes (I'm watching carbs, but it ended up being very little per serving, so i left them in there), if you don't like broccoli you could probably do celery or spinach instead. CHECK IT OUT. It's easy & delish! :)

Also... I would like you to meet my friend, Nicole. I met her through blogland ages ago as she blogged her weightloss journey at ...Let Them Eat Lettuce. i LOVED reading her blog, it was one of my faves & she lost 35 pounds!! Then she got pregnant & took some time off to grow a human, have said human & NOW, he is 5 months old & she is ready to lose some weight again! So, check her out & welcome her back. You have 2 posts to catch up on. She is one of my favorite people!

Today, I ate well. You can see it here. Only... I didn't include dinner. We went to my mother-in-law's. She made Taco Soup & it was DELICIOUS!!! It was made with ground turkey. I topped it with just a FEW fritos (promise!), shredded cheese & a dollop of sour cream. I had a salad on the side....romaine, tomatoes, celery, green onions, & dressing. I tracked all of that, but didn't know how to track the soup itself. Still stayed under 100 net carbs, & i doubt the soup brought it over. I told Brad i wanna go back tomorrow, it was DELICIOUS! :)

Did I mention that i lost another 1.8 pounds???? And am down to a total of 18.6????

Oh yeah. I did. SO HAPPY!

Mid-week weigh-in, anyone???

2011-08-30T14:28:00.000-05:00

OH, DEAR HEAVENS!

I am so excited!!

HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY

Despite my moments of weakness over the past week or so, I am still losing weight!

Appointment at the Metabolic Clinic was today. The first time I went was June 3. The second was July 1 & there was ZERO weightloss in that first month. But THIS time, according to their scale, i was 11 pounds down!! (10.6 according to mine, this morning. Good enough for me!)

So yeah....

Starting weight - 279.0

Last week's weight (Friday) - 262.2

This week's weight (today, Tuesday) - 260.4

A loss of 1.8 pounds!!!! (in 4 days!)

A loss of 10.6 pounds (in 8 weeks!)

A TOTAL loss of 18.6 pounds!!!! (Total, including what i lost in '09-'10)

I am so happy, ya'll. And honestly, i have felt VERY unmotivated this past weekend & last week. I've been doing better this week. But if this does not give me a good ol' extra dose of MOTIVATION, i don't know what does!

I originally lost 23 pounds but gained half of it back. In a little over 4 pounds, I will have reached 23 lost again. Which will feel so good! I'll be done losing weight that i've already lost! Ya know?! And then i'll just keep on losing! :)

I am HAPPY!

The appointment went great. She was SUPER happy about it. She was genuinely thrilled for me. I weighed this morning before i went & was down to 260.4. I was so happy but not sure what their scale would say. Well, it said 262 & last time i was there it was 273! So 11 down according to their scale! YIPEE!

My blood pressure was good, too. Or at least that's what they said, haha. It was 124/84.

She said next time they're gonna do a little bloodwork to check my cholesterol again. And something else, but i can't remember what! I go back October 25th... and hopefully will be 11 pounds lighter again! :)

YAY!!!!!!

Thanks for all of you for your sweet comments yesterday! I am feeling better, but not 100%! My throat is killing me & i'm super congested, but the sinus pain/pressure & that miserable "i just want to sleep or cry" mode is gone! Hopefully will be well enough to go back to work tomorrow... i guess. ;)

I got back to tracking today, too.

Hope ya'll are having a great week too!

P.S. I have a giveaway for a christian children's dvd going on here. Feel free to enter!

SO SICK.

2011-08-29T08:59:00.000-05:00

So sorry I haven't written. I hate to tell you this, but I haven't been tracking either.

I have been doing okay as far as tracking goes... I did have some chips at my sister's engagement party, but other than that I did okay! They had 2 cakes & I didn't have any... so that is good, right? I just had some sort of jambalaya-looking dish, pineapples!! (if there are pineapples, i will find them!), and some roast. Oh, yeah, and chips. With 7-layer dip.

The main thing is that i am SICK. Again. Real sick. 2 weeks ago or so, I had a bad cold. I took over-the-counters & felt much better for the last week (or two). But it has come back & it is BAD. I feel TERRIBLE. It hurts to breathe. It hurts to swallow. I've been drinking a lot of water. I also have been drinking apple juice. It is what sounded REALLY good to me when we went to Walmart this weekend & my throat was killing me. But it is the "Trop50" which is 50% less sugar (for real, i compared with the original). I don't know if i will track today... but there are only healthy things to eat here, so... :)

I am real sad because one of my besties, Amanda, is in town from Cali. I had to back out of something last night because of being sick. But we had also planned to meet for dinner tonight (a whole bunch of their friends) & I don't know. It depends on how I'm feeling, I guess, but it's not looking good so far! I think I will cry if i can't see her while she's here! :(

I also have an appointment today at the Metabolic Clinic today, but think I will be canceling that. I do NOT feel up to driving all the way out there! :( I will see about rescheduling.

So, here I am at home...I keep calling the doctor's office, but the line is busy. Ugh!!!

Hope ya'll have a great week!

Week 35 Day 1 - Friday's Eats

2011-08-26T22:42:00.000-05:00

WHEW. Today was a much better day, and I got back to tracking.

It was not a perfect day. At all. But it was certainly better than that cookie-ice cream-mcdonalds-godiva CRAZINESS! UGH!!!

I didn't have time to make breakfast, so i grabbed my last Kashi bar.

A whole bunch of us that are getting laid off went to a job fair at 10. We were done at 11:30 & went to Piccadilly. I got small hamburger steak, broccoli & mashed potatoes & gravy. Guess which one i SHOULDN'T have gotten?!?!

For dinner, I met my man at La Madeline after work. He suggested going home & ordering pizza (we just went grocery shopping, didn't we!!?), but i talked him out of it. I just cannot say no to the pizza crust! I got a chicken caesar salad & the small tomato basil soup.

I did have some sun chips for snack & probably shouldn't have. Drank water water water!

So there ya go. Here are my EATS on SPARKPEOPLE.

Did i tell ya'll my laptop is sick? I'm sad. This is my old one & it SUCKS! I have to retype most words several times. ANNOYING!

Applied to probably 15 places this week! Pray for me to find the perfect-for-me job!!! With more pay! Hahaha!

This weekend (tomorrow) is my sister's engagement party in Slidell. And then Sunday night, I will see my friend Amanda who is in town from California! YAY!!!!

Happy Weekend, Ya'll!

Week 34 Review...

2011-08-26T22:14:00.000-05:00

Hi!

SO sorry to have been missing from the blog more than usual this week! I've been...well, eating things I shouldn't. DAILY.

{SIGH}

I appreciate your encouragement from my last post. I know that the truth of the matter is, I am human. I am not going to be perfect 100% of the time. I'm not. Yes, God can help me. Yes, I can rely no His strength. But because I am human and flawed, I am not going to have a perfect week EVERY SINGLE WEEK. We all mess up, we're going to. The important thing is that we KEEP.ON.GOING.

I did not gain. For that I am THANKFUL!!!! I did lose, but just a little bit.

Starting Weight: 279.0

Last Week's Weight: 263.0

This Week's Weight: 262.2

Loss of 0.8 pounds!

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: 16.8 POUNDS!

I am happy about this. Being down 16.8. And who knows, it could make the full pound by morning! Now, 8.8 of the 16.8 is just from July 1 to now. That's pretty good, ya'll!!!! :) The other 8 is from the BEGINNING of my journey (2009-2010) where i lost 23 pounds - & gained back all but 8.

I am realizing that 256 - which is what I got down to when I lost 23 pounds - is not that far off. It will be SO GREAT to reach that & then fly past it!

I can do this. I know I can! But ... now it is going to be harder ... because eating crap makes you want more of the same!!!

i have to get back to the mentality that i was in last week, and the week before. This week - since finding out about losing my job - has been stressful. And i did NOT want it to affect how well I have been doing. It did. I don't know why, because it didn't feel like.... "oh, i'm so depressed, i think i will have a snickers?!" Truthfully, I never got depressed. Sad, yes. Worried, yes. But not depressed (I used to really struggle with depression, thankfully I did not go there this week!). But i guess it was more like... something along the lines of not having the mindset to say no AT ALL. I just didn't WANT to worry about it. Maybe being stressed about work made me not want to struggle with anything else, and sort of made me say, "You know what? OH-well!" I don't know.

On Wednesday & Thursday I did not track at all. I ate healthy for most meals, but I definitely gave in to SUGAR. At our staff meeting, they had "Happy Tracks" ice cream & cookies. Now. COOKIES - from the oven, not a box - are my weakess. Ice cream is NOT. Still, i got both. TWO cookies & Ice Cream. And, by the way, Bluebell's Happy Tracks is pretty AMAZING. Later that afternoon, i took an orange to the kitchen (at work) to cut up for an afternoon snack, and guess what I left the kitchen with? My cut up orange and ANOTHER COOKIE!!!! WHAT?!?!?!

So, that is Wednesday's confession.

Thursday's confession? I actually did better on Thursday, but I did have one serving (which isnt much!) of the Happy Tracks ice cream after lunch. I had a healthy breakfast & lunch. And then, i was out & about, so i went to MCDONALDS for dinner! Now, i have not had McDonalds (or any other fast food) in AGES! I told myself I would not get french fries. I didn't. I got chicken nuggets and water. I later looked at the nutrition facts & saw that i could have done better, but i could have done much, much worse. Yikes! Later, while shopping, i grabbed a caramel-filled GODIVA CANDY BAR.

Hey! I warned you it was bad!

I had Zumba after that, was exhausted, and DID NOT WANT TO GO. But after chicken nuggets (from McDonald's?!?!?!) & a (GODIVA!??!) chocolate bar, I really had no choice!

So there you have it. My confessions. As for the REVIEW:

EATS
-FRIDAY 08.19.11-
-SATURDAY 08.20.11-
-SUNDAY 08.21.11 & MONDAY 08.22.11-

TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY did not get tracked....see above.

A lot of these I stayed under 100g of carbs. But when i was staying under 100g of carbs before, it was only good carbs! I had a LOT of bad carbs this week! :(

EXERCISE
Monday & Wednesday - 1 hour BOOTCAMP CLASS
Tuesday & Thursday - 1 hour ZUMBA CLASS

So... that's it. I did pretty awful. More sweets this WEEK than in all SUMMER!

I have to do better this week!!!!!

By the way... I have implemented a new commenting system. You can reply to other people's comments easily & I will be able to reply to your comments from my email (and they will automatically post here). Give it time for you to get used to it & then let me know if you hate it! I may hate it & take it down, but i have heard good things.

And all you lurkers! Yes, YOU! The ones who I have no idea read my blog!! Why don't you leave me a comment & introduce yourself! If i know you "for real", i'd love for you to say HI! :) COME ON!!!

Week 34 Day 5 - Tuesday's Eats!

2011-08-24T11:24:00.000-05:00

MUCH better day yesterday, thank the LORD! :)

Thanks to ya'll too for not being too hard on me! Haha! I was tempted to leave out the whole m&m's fiasco, especially after the whole I-ate-my-husbands-pizza-crusts one, but what is the point of this if i can't be honest?

So yesterday was better. It was a better day, period. And i ate better too.

89 net carbs. :) I'm glad. The tortillas I ate were a little higher carb than they should have been (10 net carbs) but were SOOOO delicious! WOAH. Made me want to cook up some fajita meat & veggies! YUM!

{TUESDAY'S EATS ON SPARKPEOPLE}

I spoke to the doctor about that reaction to that medicine. Apparently "bedtime" means as my head is hitting the pillow. 10 if my bedtime is 10. Not 8 if my bedtime is 10. I took it last night & had no problems. It's just that usually there is a WARNING label on the bottle, but there wasn't! Oh-well.

Time for a staff meeting, I gotta run!

Happy Wednesday!

Week 34 Days 3 & 4 - ehhhh.

2011-08-22T22:00:00.000-05:00

TODAY'S EATS on Sparkpeople

YESTERDAY'S EATS on Sparkpeople

See links above for what I ate. I have to tell you - it's not all that great. Today (Monday) wasn't awful, especially considering i was CRAVING carbs all day. Well, not really, but when it was time to eat breakfast & dinner, all i wanted was carbs. Thankfully I brought a salad for lunch. 86 net carbs.

Yesterday was worse. I was under 100 net carbs, but barely & I hardly even had a real dinner. The worst? In the checkout line at Walmart, I picked up some M&M's.

Now, isn't that interesting? The one thing I wanted most at the conference. But I knew I would get a whole bag, so i declined & had a mini candy bar instead. Next thing you know, I'm grabbing a pack of M&M's! RIDICULOUS! So yeah. I had M&M"s. I knew I was flirting with disaster when i had those mini candy bars at the retreat! Before, i would have said that was FINE, it was a VERY small portion. But i can't think of it that way anymore. It's a lot of carbs (& calories, for that matter!) in that little bite. Not worth it! And once again, it's only made me crave the bad stuff more! So ... kind of mad at myself over that!

The scale is still 263.0. In case you wondered. I am so thankful for that! Seriously. But no more moments like that. One choice at a time, I can make wise decisions! And i have to, despite what's going on in my life!

Someone commented on my post where I shared my job loss with ya'll, not to let this allow me to sabatoge my new habits. And I replied that it wouldn't, it couldn't! But it has... i mean, i'm not beating myself up over it. I'm just gonna keep on making wise choices! But still... some of this is stress-related, even though it didn't FEEL like it at the time. Can't just be a coincidence!

Anyway... I gotta run. I'm in such a bad mood. I'm unhappy. I'm sad. I'm worried. I'm stressed. I know Who to give all this to. But i keep taking it back. Giving it to him & resting in the peace that only He can give... and then taking it back to worry about some more! SILLY!

Let's have a great week.:)

Did i mention that i almost passed out yesterday after taking a new medicine??? Literally... i have only felt that horrible once in my life & it was when i fainted after giving blood! Crazy!

Week 34 Day 2 - Saturday's Eats

2011-08-21T11:05:00.000-05:00

I didn't do as well on Saturday as I did on Friday.

For breakfast I had an EAS drink, and an apple with some peanut butter. I stuck a Kashi granola bar in my bag to take with me to the conference. Once there for a couple of hours, they had a break & we went back to the "candy room". Oh, dear. I forgot to mention in my last post that they also had tables for everyone to sit, and each table had a pile of junk food in the middle. Even what was probably bought to be a healthier choice (chex mix, pretzels, animal crackers) was a no-no for someone watching their carbs. Jessica, a girl in our group who is 9 months pregnant, was looking at the sodium on eveything because she is watching that to reduce swelling. So i started looking at the carbs of everything. And all of it had 30 or more grams of carbs and NO fiber. Or less than 1g of fiber! So, yeah! That's a no-no for me!! I so wanted some doritoes though!

I ended up getting 2 mini 100 grands bars. Durn, those things are good! Being that they are minis, the nutrition facts are not listed (probably are on the bag), and I assumed it wasn't TERRIBLE because it was literally two bites. It turns out that there are 10g of carbs in each one (no fiber), so i had 20g of carbs in 4 bites. Not sure if that was worth it, as delicious as they were. And remember, i had a granola bar with me! If only I would have just gone back to my seat to get it!! STUPID! (By the way, they did have baskets of granola bars, all of which were way too high in carbs & sugar!

So yeah. That wasn't good. The conference ended & i left about 12:30. I wanted to run to Borders because it is closing & I thought i might find a book i wanted for sale. That was a mistake. I left borders empty-handed and, literally, STARVING. It is in that situation that i end up eating something I shouldn't. It was nearly 2 & i had not had anything substantial to eat besides peanut butter from breakfast. The granola bar was in my bag, but that is not something I can eat without something to drink & my water bottle was EMPTY. I passed a Burger King and the temptation was strong to stop, but I kept going. I was actually shaky at this point. I called Brad & he really wanted to order pizza even though he knew I probably couldn't have it. We used to order it from Dominoes. I said that i supposed I could have it if i got thin crust (something i never did in the past because I LOVE the bread). I told him i would go to Rotolos on my way home instead of doing Dominoes because at least they have a whole wheat crust. I can't upload the pics to this camera for some reason... I was going to let you see it for yourself. But i got a personal size pizza (four small pieces) made with whole wheat crust (& it was thin). It was topped with tomatoes, bell pepper, olives & onions. It was DELICIOUS.

I think that would have been okay if i had not proceeded to eat the crust of brad's pizza. He had regular crust (because they only did whole wheat on the small & I knew he'd want a bigger pizza) & it was a bit thicker & looked HEAVENLY. And he doesn't like so much crust, so he would cut it off. And i LOVE pizza crust. So, I ate his pizza crust. I did.

I know.... fuss at me now!! I know i shouldn't have! :(

At least it ended up being lunch AND dinner. Right? :(

Okay, yeah. I totally shouldn't have. Today is a new day. And a healthy low-carb one!! PROMISE. :)

Here are the eats on Sparkpeople. I didn't include the pizza because i didn't know how! 63 net carbs not counting my pizza & brad's pizza crust! So yeah.... pretty sure i was over 100g!

Week 34 Day 1 - Friday's Eats

2011-08-21T10:39:00.000-05:00

Well, I definitely had some victories & some...uh...NON-victories this weekend.

On Friday, I had nothing but an EAS drink for breakfast. This was the morning after I found out I lost my job. My stomach was in knots & there was diarrhea (sorry!)... I just couldn't eat anything.

For lunch, I had leftover stuffed peppers which are AMAZING!

I was planning on going to a ladies conference Friday night & Saturday. I met with the girls I was going to the conference with for dinner first. We went to Dempsey's. I had never been there & thought they were mainly about poboys & french fries. Thankfully they had a lot of decent choices on the menu. Vegetable of the day was Steamed Veggies & you could also get a salad as your side. I ended up getting Chicken Maloy (or something like that). Ya'll. It was DELICIOUS & very healthy! Well, not for everyone... I know the sauce had more fat than what a lot of healthy eaters are okay with, but remember if you are IR, you can go a little bit higher in fat. Just gotta watch those carbs. The dinner was grilled chicken breast (spiced PERFECTLY! YUM!) topped with a cheesy cream sauce that had grilled shrimp in it. For my side i got the veggie of the day which was steamed broccoli, squash, & cauliflower. It was YUMMY! I got water to drink. I did very well!

I should have put a little snack in my purse for the conferece, though. I forgot that they give you a break & send you upstairs to a room full of candy tables - you know tables with jars of m&m's, gummy bears, laffy taffy's, jelly beans, etc. You can scoop to your hearts content & put in a little bag! Ugh! I did so well, but then finally got a mini snickers (& by mini, i mean the 1-bite size) & a mini 100 grand. I know I'm not supposed to eat that stuff AT ALL, but thankfully that's all i had! Was still PMS'ing & really & truly craving chocolate! What i wanted was a FULL BAG of m&m's. Those are my favorite. But there's no way i would have been able to scoop out just a serving. So, not sure what you'll think of that! But it is what it is.

My throat was also KILLING me. So i had a small coffee there & i had another one when i got home.Which was sitting next to my laptop on a tv tray. Which i knocked with my knee while trying to get situated. Which spilled onto the keyboad of my laptop. Um, yeah. It's not working anymore. Brad cleaned it up & dried it out & tried it this morning & it's not working. FABULOUS! Right now i'm on my old crappy laptop. :( Which we had to do a lot of updates on first. Which is why I'm just now getting this posted!

So anyway. You can view the detailed EATS on SPARKPEOPLE. It was 56 net carbs but I did not include that cheese sauce, because I didn't know. Seriously doubt if it brought it up much higher, though.

Another Loss! {Week 33 Review!}

2011-08-19T12:34:00.001-05:00

Starting Weight: 279.0

Last week's weight: 265.8

This week's weight: 263.0

{LOSS OF 2.8 POUNDS! AGAIN!!!!!}

I am VERY happy & VERY excited. VERY! Thankful. This makes about 8 pounds since July. And 16 since the very beginning. WAHOO!

WEEK 33 REVIEW

-EXERCISE-

Saturday/Monday/Wednesday - BOOTCAMP

Tuesday - ZUMBA

-EATS-

You can check them all out by clicking the following links. I know many of you have been reading each day, so I don't even know why I post this again! Haha! But just in case you are catching up or whatever.

FRIDAY 08/12/11

SATURDAY 08/13/11

SUNDAY 08/14/11

MONDAY 08/15/11

TUESDAY 08/16/11

WEDNESDAY 08/17/11

THURSDAY 08/18/11

-NSV's-

no brownie!!

no cake & ice cream!!

i also forgot to mention that i have these work pants that are my favorites but just a tad too snug...fit very comfortably this week! :) won't be long before i gotta go shopping!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

While i am happy about my weightloss, there are some other things weighing really heavily on my mind right now. I am losing my job. The reason I didn't say that in my last post is because I hadn't even told my family yet. It is a government-funded program and they are transferring our region back to the headquarters. I guess that's the way i can say it where everyone will understand. There is a possibility that i could go work at headquarters, but i think that is unlikely. I am very very sad. I started here 3 years ago. I didn't like it then. But since I have been promoted & LOVE where i am now. Especially since we moved offices! I love my office. And i love my coworkers. The work is hard...sometimes unbearably stressful... but i still love this job more than i ever have. By November 1st I will have a different job. I have no clue where that will be. I KNOW God will provide & I know He has a better plan in store. But i also HATE interviewing more than anything in this world & I will miss this place terribly. Pray for me, please!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Week 33 Day 7 - Thursday's Eats!

2011-08-18T23:03:00.002-05:00

Another good day. 77 net carbs. YAY!!!

I am so excited lately... I feel like things are happening. FINALLY! This has been such a struggle, but i knew in my heart if i stuck to it & never ever gave up, then EVENTUALLY the weightloss would start to happen. It took awhile for me to figure out exactly what was going on with my body & exactly what my body needed... but now that time is here. Cool thing is... I don't even have to learn some new diet. I can just continue eating the way I was, while making sure to focus on keeping the carbs down. I don't have to worry too much with anything else! The pounds are coming off!

Tomorrow is weigh-in day & I am actually excited. :)

{TODAY'S EATS ON SPARKPEOPLE}

For dinner, I made THESE. Seriously.... my favorite meal. It is AMAZING!!! And good for you! :)

I am loving sparkpeople. If you get involved in the message boards, you find a lot of answers & good ideas. It's pretty cool.

I know I sound really upbeat right now, but I got some sucky news today before I left work. I was fine until after I got home...the evening just didn't go the way i felt i needed it to go & I was kind of a basket case for a few hours. (This is also why I missed Zumba.) In fact...right now, my eyes are bloodshot from tears. Sorry I can't be more specific than that... nothing tragic has happened, no one has died, I just am really upset about something. Will tell ya'll later. Most important thing is, I know everything will be just fine. Eventually! If you are the praying kind, pray for me, please! :)

Love ya'll! I do! Have a great weekend! :)

Week 33 Day 6 - Wednesday's Eats!

2011-08-17T20:54:00.001-05:00

Another good day today. Total of 85 net carbs. Yeah!

You can view all my eats HERE.

This morning I did not want eggs. At all. The thought kinda made me queasy. Growing up, my mom always tried to get me to eat eggs & i wouldn't. I literally would get sick to my stomach thinking of eating eggs that early in the morning! Well, it was like that this morning. I don't know why. So I ended up eating a vitatop & some bacon. Have you heard of vitatops? They're new. i got the Banana Nut kind at the store the other day when I saw they're only 15 net carbs. It was REALLY good. It was a yummy breakfast & nice to have something different!

For lunch, I had a salad with tuna, just like yesterday. Although i'm about out of lettuce! :(

For dinner, I had a turkey sandwich & some fruit.

Bootcamp was tough today! Whew! Anything in a plank position KILLS me. Had to do 40 mountain climbers. I always stop around 18 & catch my breath & then go some more! Today, Sarah (our trainer) watched me & counted & told me i couldn't stop! I had to but only for a second! Ahhhhhh I was DYING! HAHA!

It was a great class, though. I love it.

Not much to say today! The leftover cakes sat on the table in the kitchen at work all day today & i had NO DESIRE. Yay. :)

Week 33 Day 5 - Tuesday's Eats! (& another NSV)

2011-08-17T09:57:00.000-05:00

Wow. I did great yesterday. REALLY great, in terms of carbs, especially!

64 net carbs! WOOHOO!

You can view what i ate HERE!

Or I can tell you that there was eggs for breakfast, a salad with tuna for lunch & leftover veggie casserole from the night before for dinner (will blog that one tonight, promise!). I had the EAS drinks for snack (twice...sorry but it's low carb & i'm okay with it for now!) & a banana once. I think that banana was the thing i had with the most carbs in it, which i do not like. I love my bananas! But i'm still going to eat them if i can do it while keeping my daily carbs below 100 (the lower the better).

See the "carbohydrate curve" link in my sidebar to see why I'm aiming for lower than 100g of carbs each day. I think it's a good guideline for ANYONE, IR or not. Check it out!

I also must share another NSV with you!!

At work, we used to have this janitor named Michael. He used to bring a Thanksgiving dinner to all of us & it was delicious. Sometimes he'd bring other things too. Well, yesterday he stopped by & brought 2 cakes & ice cream for all of us! I was standing in the doorway of a coworker's office when I heard Dusty walk by to tell some other coworkers in another office. When she passed by me, I heard her say, "ooh, i'm not telling melissa, she's doing so good!" (She only says this because she has seen what i've brought for lunch...she don't know the HALF of it! ;) ). Anyway, i turned & she had a plate of cake & ice cream (don't hate on her...she won our weigh-down challenge last time & looks AMAZING...this may have been a rare treat for her!). Anyway, I said, "Girl, i don't need that, i don't even want it!" but then when she passed back by & I saw her plate, it looked SOOO good. And the cake didn't even look good to me. It was the ice cream. Which i have never been a fan of in my life until my thirties (go figure!).

But it felt GOOD saying no. REALLY good. Have you ever heard this?

Well, i never believed it until that moment. Now, being SKINNY is not my aspiration at ALL, but you get the point of what it means. (And apparently this is a Kate Moss quote? Because when i googled that quote for an image, I came up with a zillion pics of Kate Moss & other way too skinny models, along with a few 7-8 year old GIRLS wearing a shirt with that quote. Which kind of made me sick. But anyway...moving on.)

That thought of one bite of that cake/ice cream did not sound even CLOSE to how good it feels to say NO, to maintain victory & to keep this weightloss going!

I passed the kitchen later on...when most people were gone... & the cake was still sitting out on the table. It's on the way to the copy machine, you know. And oh, man... it looked so sad sitting there all alone. It tried to call my name. It tried...but i tuned it out. :)

I made my copies & on the way back to my office, I stopped in the kitchen & looked at those cakes. And honestly? They didn't look all that great. I mean, in the past i would have gotten a piece anyway. No doubt. But this time? It just didn't look like it was worth the calories/carbs/sugar!

{VICTORY!}

Week 33 Day 4 - Monday's Eats!

2011-08-15T21:52:00.001-05:00

Well, I feel like I did okay today!

I'm soooo sleepy right now, so I am going to try to speed through this, haha.

I did make 2 eggs for breakfast with some bacon bits & cheese. Yummm. I actually made 3, but I only ate 3/4 of it, because I wasn't feeling all that great. Who knows why?! Also, had a cup of coffee. I am so glad that i finally ordered my sweetener. I use EZ Sweetz, which I really like. My mom introduced it to me & it works for me! I had to buy it online, though & it should be in any day now. 0 carbs, so that is good! :)

Lunch was an amazing salad. Just like dinner last night. I was still hungry, though, so i had a banana. Which has 24 carbs apparently. Really???

I searched the shelves at Wal-Mart, high & low, for a granola bar with a decent amount of carbs. I just wanted one for those time when i need a snack on my way to (or right before leaving for) bootcamp. If i let myself get hungry before class, I will get all shaky & it is NOT a good feeling, especially when you're trying to workout! After looking at the carbs on every single box on the shelf, i finally found one with 15 net carbs. That was the lowest i found! It was Kashi Honey Almond Flax. And let me tell you. It is GOOD! I was pretty sure it wouldn't be, but i was wrong. I liked it. :)

For dinner I made this casserole...it's called Hamburger Veggie Casserole & ya'll. It is DELICIOUS!!! Ohmygosh! I am so full from it. I will tell you that the recipe calls for potatoes. I was not going to put them in, but then i saw that it only called for 2 of them in the whole recipe & i had some that were about to go bad, so i decided to put them in. It was a very small part of the whole dish. I am okay with this decision, especially after figuring up the nutrition facts. 247 calories per serving... only 10 net carbs! That's not bad for a meal, right? And honestly, I don't know if it's THAT much... you can enter each ingredient on Sparkpeople & it will figure up the nutrition facts for the whole recipe...but you have to tell it how many servings. I told it 8, but it may feed a lot more than that! We've each had 2 servings & there's PLENTY left. This was so good, i can't wait to blog it! Actually, I did a long time ago, but I changed it up some & took pics this time. So i will re-blog it soon & will post it. Because it is AMAZING!!! It's like comfort food but not all that fattening! :) YAY!

So i ended up with 90 net carbs. Which is great! Only... after bootcamp, Amber & I went to Paradise Smoothie & got another one of those veggie smoothies. Now, it's mostly fruit & veggies, but those do have carbs in it. He knows we're watching our weight, so he used the low-carb protein powder (which was 5 net carbs per serving, but I didn't ask what the serving size was!). I doubt it sent me too high over 100 if it did... who knows! So i did not track this smoothie. I will try to figure up the nutrition facts soon. We watched like hawks & wrote it all down. Haha!

But right now, I'm exhausted! Gotta go get some sleep!

Hope you're having a great week! :)

P.S. OOPS! Forgot to add the LINK TO SPARKPEOPLE!

Body BaYou Bootcamp!

2011-08-15T10:45:00.001-05:00

So I know a lot of you hear me mention my bootcamp classes a lot. I have been a part of them since January & I LOVE them. If you are in the Baton Rouge area (even better, Central or Denham Springs), you should consider joining. It is fantastic!!

Sarah, our trainer, has added another time slot, so there is really no excuse! ;)

The new class, which starts August 30th, will be:

Tuesdays & Thursdays at 5:30 AM & Fridays at 4:30 PM.

This is great for all you early morning exercisers. :)

There are two other classes available as well. The next session for these will start August 29th:

Monday & Wednesday at 4:45 PM & Saturday at 8:00 AM.

Monday & Wednesday at 7:15 PM & Saturday at 9:00 AM.

You are welcome to come try a class for FREE.

And you know... if you join, I get $10 off...per person...just sayin!!

If you need any more information, just let me know! We would love to have you join us!

Week 33 Day 3 - Sunday's Eats... & the brownie.

2011-08-14T21:58:00.001-05:00

I am SO excited right now. I am honestly feeling so much hope & joy about this whole journey. About how while it was a huge struggle for 2 1/2 years, I seem to have hit some sort of breakthrough. I have been thanking God everyday all week, because it is so clear to me the changes in my life! You know, for awhile there, I thought that it was just NOT going to happen for me. But now that isn't even a thought. It IS going to happen. I'm not on any time schedule. I am just eating the way I'm supposed to while aiming to stay under 100 net carbs per day. If that makes me hit my goal weight in 2 years, great. If it's 8, awesome. I really not concerned with the timing. I am just thrilled to be living a healthy life, making positive changes & being able to be in control of what goes in my mouth.

That being said, I was over my limit today. 111 net carbs.

Still, way less than i used to eat (around the 230's)! But you may be wondering why I am so excited if i went over my limit today. Well, i had a MAJOR NSV & i am PROUD. :)

NSV = Non-Scale Victory (for the newbies).

But first, let's discuss THE MISTAKE. Or misjudgement. You know, some days i will have victories AND defeats. Most days will have areas i did great in & areas where i really should stop eating such&such. This is not a race. It's a process. It's a learning process.

The reason i went over 100 carbs is because of one thing. OVALTINE. I was CRAVING chocolate today & happened to have ovaltine. So I asked Brad to make me a chocolate milk (he makes them & puts them in the freezer for 20 minutes which gets them SUPER cold & they are DELICIOUS!). It hit the spot, but yeah... it's just got a lot of carbs. 19 carbs & ZERO fiber. I always thought it had tons of fiber in it. I don't know why, but I forgot for the SECOND time while on this journey. (I have always been VERY forgetful, that is not an excuse! HA!) So that is the culprit & I just cannot have it! Maybe SOMETIMES, but not regularly. Oh-well.

You can check out today's EATS ON SPARKPEOPLE.

Really, today would have been perfect if not for that dumb chocolate milk.

Here is a picture of my beautiful & delicious salad (dinner).

That would be romaine, baby carrots, cucumber, celery, tomato, slivered almonds & shredded cheese. What's that? No croutons? But I always put croutons on my salad???? :)

Brad's parents called us today & asked if we wanted to come over for a cup of coffee. We headed over this evening & as we went to the kitchen to pour the first cup, i spotted a thing of BROWNIES on the counter.

BROWNIES, ya'll! Brownies made by Brad's mom, who is THE best cook. Not that they were even homemade, haha. But they looked perfect. I wanted one. I love brownies. I told Brad that it was going to be hard to turn it down. He said, "Well, I'm not going to have one." That kind of made me feel better. Like maybe i could do it. Later, we were drinking coffee & Brad's dad asked if we had seen the brownies. Brad said yes, but that we wouldn't be having any. Later they asked & i said i was doing low carb(sugar) because of the Insulin Resistance. (Brad's dad is diabetic, by the way.) Me & my mother-in-law ended up having a really good conversation about me going low-carb & why & about us all getting healthy, etc. It was nice talking to her about it. She even wanted to know what not to cook next time we come for dinner! Which i felt horrible about. Cook how you normally cook! But she wanted to know which things I couldn't eat. I told her not to worry, she always makes tons of delicious veggies. I would just have to learn to say no to the bread. And {gulp} potatoes.

But I never went back to get that brownie! Eventually my mind was off of it, we were talking about other things & it was fine. Brad's parents even got one & I was not at all miserable wishing for one.

Before, when I was in the kitchen telling Brad the brownies would be hard to say "no" to...I remembered what my friend A (from the IR Diet Info website) said to me in an email, after I had posted about eating those delicious cupcakes:

"When you say "I couldn't help myself" about having that second cupcake, I believe you. Your cravings control you and those refined carbs are making sure those cravings get stronger every time you have them."

That is what went through my head. I told Brad that it would be better for me to have none, because if i had one I would just want another. I came back home & went back to her email & here's what else she told me that day (hope you don't mind me sharing!):

"If I was going to describe the absolute worst food you could eat, it would be something made with white flour and sugar, no nutritional value at all, guaranteed to cause your blood glucose to skyrocket, and masses of insulin to be secreted, followed up by an uncontrollable craving for more of the same. When you say "I couldn't help myself" about having that second cupcake, I believe you. Your cravings control you and those refined carbs are making sure those cravings get stronger every time you have them...

I do think you did great earlier with the burger and no bun, but those cakes... man, they may taste good but they are evil. If you want to beat this thing, it's easier to have none than one...But if you succeed, there may come a day when you won't even want those cupcakes...

At some point I think you will have to decide if you love this kind of food so much that you don't want to give it up, or whether you can see a future without it, where it no longer has that hold over you. If you can do that (hard as it may seem right now), you can pretty much guarantee that the weight will start to fall off you! It all depends what you desire more - getting back in shape or 2 cupcakes? How many minutes of pleasure does a cupcake give you? And how many years have you been struggling to lose weight? Delicious or not - they're so not worth it.

I hope also that you understand about the cravings and how they control you. Saying no to cakes is hard at first but trust me, it gets easier. Every time you go to reach for a white bread roll or a cake (or anything you know to be a "bad boy"), think about your Friday weigh-in and what you want it to say on the scale. It will absolutely depend on your choices."

So glad I went back & read all that she told me! Girl, you are FULL of wisdom! :) I am so thankful for you. Now, don't worry, people, she did say I will be able to have a cookie again. HAHA. And that sometimes i may have a starch, but just to fill my plate with mostly protein/veggies & have just a LITTLE of the starch. She's not preaching 0 carbs. But the above (which is from a series of emails from her) was in response to my 2 cupcakes & i needed to hear it! It is good stuff! And that is what I thought of when I was saying NO to the brownies today... that if i had one, i would just want another, because my cravings control me.

And then, on my way home, i was reminded of the quote in my header.

{We maintain our victories with each next choice.}

I'm doing it, ya'll. :)

Week 33 Day 2 - Saturday's Eats

2011-08-13T22:34:00.001-05:00

First - I finally finished the tabs up top! Some have been revised & some are new. You'll also see that I added some links in my sidebar. Check them out! :)

I did okay today overall, but my carbs were a little over 100. The net carbs amount was 109.

If you look at my tracker for today, you'll see I did very well except for two things. One, my hubby got out those chicken fries again! At first, I said i was not going to have any at all! But then i decided to have just one serving, instead of the two i ended up having last time! And i did, have the one serving. That's 14 carbs & NO fiber.

Tonight, I had a salad & i did put croutons on it & they are high in carbs. A serving size is 2 tablespoons & i have to say I had more than 2 tablespoons. That is what put it over 100 net carbs. I have to say, though, that i finished the bag & tomorrow we are going grocery shopping & i will NOT be buying more! :)

I am noticing changes daily, though. Today, I was supposed to be at the Manship (theatre where i sometimes house manage) at 6:15. I took a nap at 4:30 & set my alarm to go off at 5:30. I needed to leave no later than 5:55. I suddenly woke up at 5:50 & FREAKED OUT. UGH! I hate that feeling. I shot out of bed & rushed around throwing on clothes, running a flat iron through my hair. It is Saturday, I had showered but let my hair air dry which gives me the, um, fluffy look! I was so upset, just not a good way to start off the evening! Anyway, I needed to eat dinner before I left, but I now was out of time! Brad asked me if i wanted him to make me a sandwich as i was getting ready. I told him no. I knew about how many carbs I'd had & didn't want more. I wasn't going to tell him how to fix me a salad, haha! I went & stood in front of the fridge for a second, finally throwing an apple & some baby carrots in a ziploc to take with me.

The old me DEFINITELY would have just made a sandwich. Or grabbed fast food on the way. No doubt about it! The old me certainly would not have been okay having just fruit for dinner!

So that was good. :) And as it turned out, the performance i worked only lasted an hour, so i was home before 9! I ate a salad when I got home & it was delicious (except, yeah... the croutons).

Oh, and yes...chicken salad is strange for breakfast. I'm telling you, we need to go to the grocery store! HA!

So that's my day & you can read the details on Sparkpeople!

I did want to let you know that the carbs I am tracking is the NET CARBS. Net carbs is basically the sugar/starch value after you subtract the fiber. When you look at my eats on Sparkpeople, it shows you only the four categories: calories/fat/carbs/protein. It shows me everything else but for some reason won't put all that other stuff on the page that you can view. So i usually look at the net carb amount (it calculates that for me) & let you know what those were in the notes. Just wanted to let you know, for those of you who were confused with me saying i had a certain amount of carbs, yet seeing a higher number on the Sparkpeople page. :)

By the way, I did not go over in sodium today which is pretty much a miracle! My main focus is carbs these days (sugar is included in carbs, remember) & fiber & protein, but to be so low in sodium did not go unnoticed!

Also today i went to bootcamp! I did not go last week because i was sick & i can't go next week because I have a conference that morning. So i was bound & determined to go today. It was a great workout! Afterwards, I went to Oak Point to get our produce. We'll do our wal-mart trip tomorrow, but we always end up going to Oak Point for produce because Wal-Mart's is TERRIBLE! SO i stocked up on lettuce, tomato, celery, carrots, grapes, pineapple & peaches. I think that's it! YAY!

Alrighty... hope ya'll have a good rest-of-theweekend!

Week 33 Day 1 - Friday's Eats!

2011-08-12T21:43:00.001-05:00

WOW. This is pretty awesome. I only had 54 net carbs today. FIFTY-FOUR!!! I just got done talking about how I only had 75 yesterday & how I couldn't believe it!! I am just gonna stop for a second & give myself a pat on the back. :)

{FRIDAY'S EATS ON SPARKPEOPLE}

This is fantastic!

Breakfast - I didn't have any eggs in the house. And very little bacon. I just had an EAS Drink, but that's only 110 calories! Hardly enough to fill me up for breakfast. Oh-well. I guess the 17 grams of protein was something, because i was okay until lunch!

Lunch - Yeah...we definitely need groceries. I didn't pack a lunch, so we went to Brewbachers. Brewbachers is known for their greasy burgers, but I got a salad. I said, "I would like the house salad with the grilled chicken...no croutons, please."

WHAT?!?!? NO CROUTONS!? ARE YOU KIDDING?!

That sounds like an NSV to me!

Now, i know i've been putting them on my homemade salads, but that is maybe 5 or 8 small croutons. Brewbachers always puts TONS of them on there, & there is NO WAY i'd be able to not eat them! So i requested for none & i am glad i did. That was a DELICIOUS salad & i didn't even miss those croutons! And it sure does feel good to say i only had 54 carbs today!

I am happy!

Dinner was just a grilled cheese & some broccoli. I like that combination. HAHA!

I even did well on sodium! (I never do, by the way!) It was the lowest number I have ever had...still a little over what's recommended (2300 is recommended, today I had 2385), but i usually have it in the 4000 range! YAY!

Look at this. Now, please remember I'm not going by Sparkpeople's guidelines. I'm aiming for lower of the carbs, but it is okay for me to have more protein & fat. (Because of the IR.) This is really good!

Anyway...good day. :) Tomorrow we will get to the grocery store!

Happy Weekend!

Week 32 Review!

2011-08-12T09:36:00.000-05:00

Starting Weight: 279.0

Last Week's Weight: 268.6

Today's Weight: 265.8

{ LOSS OF 2.8 POUNDS! YEAH! }

So excited. It's working, ya'll!

I feel like this was one of my best weeks. Not perfect, of course not. I know that. But better than I've ever done before, it seems. Especially as far as carbs are concerned. I know for many days, i had them in the 90's, but you have to understand that i JUST started counting carbs. I JUST started realizing how harmful they are to me, as someone with Insulin Resistance. And before, they were always in the 200's. And that's while on this journey! I can't even believe how many carbs I was eating before! Ugh! Before this journey!? I don't even wanna THINK about how high that number was!

Yesterday, they were low. 75 Net Carbs. Lower than ever, i mean. FABULOUS!

My Review for the Week:

EXERCISE

Monday & Wednesday - Body BaYou Bootcamp Class

Tuesday & Thursday - ZUMBA

Both of these are 1 hour classes. According to Sparkpeople, I couldn't have picked better classes as far as burning calories is concerned! One day I will get a heart rate monitor & see for myself!

EATS

You can check out my latest post to see my eats:

FRIDAY 08.05.11 - 86 net carbs

SATURDAY 08.06.11 - 113 net carbs

SUNDAY 08.07.11 - 102 net carbs

MONDAY 08.08.11 - 49 net carbs, not counting dinner

TUESDAY 08.09.11 - 96 net carbs

WEDNESDAY 08.10.11 - 100 net carbs, not counting the green smoothie

THURSDAY 08.11.11 - 75 net carbs (woohoo!)

{I couldn't decide if I should link you to the blog post or the spark page...what do you think?}

So there you have it. A very good week! I think the main thing that changed was my perspective? Or something. I just feel like I began Part Two of this journey. 2009 & 2010 = Part One. And some of 2011. But now? I feel like we're about to see some CONSISTENT weight loss. We already are! And it's because of having an understanding of what kinds of things my body cannot process correctly (due to being Insulin Resistant). Knowing that I've got to watch the carbs. And knowing that I can do it, one choice at a time!

Lucy recently shared this little carb guide on her blog & I really am using it as a guideline. My aim has been under 100, but because I managed to get down to 75 carbs, I'm going to raise the bar just a litle bit on that one! ;)

Okay, this is strange, but I cannot find a review for last week. Apparently, I didn't do one! I mean, i posted that I had a small gain, but that's it. Wow. LOL. The week before that, these were my goals (& i think i was planning on keeping them my goals for awhile). Let's see how i did.

1. No fast food/soft drinks/sweet tea. This was a perfect 100% A+. HONEST! You can check! I think I drank more water than I ever have. I didn't even have Orange Juice!! Just water & coffee. And the AdvantEDGE drink, as you know.

2. No White Stuff (other than cauliflower!). I did put croutons on my salad... just a little... and I'm not going to buy more croutons when this bag is done (that seems to work for me). The ingredients in the Triscuits Thin Crisps are: WHOLE WHEAT, PALM OIL, & SALT. That is IT. So I do not count that as WHITE. However, my new goal is about CARBS even if it is whole wheat! I also put regular sugar in my coffee (2 tsp) this week because I was out of the other stuff. Will fix that soon! This goal was written 2 weeks ago & now my focus is really on CARBS. NO white stuff, but i even have to watch the wheat. Too many carbs in the triscuits & ovaltine (i had a chocolate milk one night).

3. Continue eating lots of fruits/veggies for snacks & sides! I did very well on this. Did not eat chips at all. I had carrot sticks for my sides if i needed something. And an apple for some snacks.

4. Focus on adding in protein! I did VERY well with this, I think. Added eggs/bacon to breakfasts (instead of my used-to-be granola bars or cereal!). I also added tuna to put on my salads. YEAH!

5. Better Breakfasts!!! Again, AWESOME. This has been a huge change for me...making time in the morning to cook up something quick. I've been having eggs with a little bacon & some cheese. Protein, ya'll! I haven't even been pairing it with carbs anymore. :) YAY!

6. Bootcamp Sat/Mon/Wed & Zumba Tues/Thurs! I missed Saturday... was feeling terrible. But I made it to the other 4. 4 is my goal now, honestly - 5 even better! So I am happy with this. Especially since i know missing Saturday was because of sickness, & not because of just sleeping in!

GOALS FOR WEEK 33 of 2011

1. Aim to keep net carbs below 80 this week.

2. Continue with protein-filled breakfasts.

3. Try 2 low carb recipes for dinner.

4. Bootcamp Sat/Mon/Wed & Zumba Tues/Thurs

5. No fast food/soda/sweet tea

So there you have it! Week 32? I say it's a success! Sure, I can make improvements, but I have come so far! And my attitude was great this week. I really feel like I am reaching a breakthrough in this journey. :) Yay!

Thanks again for your sweet support & encouragement. Let's have a great week this week!

Week 32 Day 7 - Thursday's Eats!

2011-08-11T22:16:00.000-05:00

Wow, I had a pretty fantastic day today!

75 Net Carbs!!! Lowest Amount for me, EVER! WOOHOO!

You can read everything I ate here:

{THURSDAY'S EATS}

One question. How bad is it to drink one of these a few times a day?

My trainer originally recommended the Myoplex drinks for after workouts for the repairing of tissues (or something...haha). I drank them only after a class & LOVED them. SO delicious! Well, after awhile, i would drink another one if i was really hungry & needed a snack & that's all i had that was healthy. So normally I have one but sometimes I have two a day. However, today i had THREE.

I got home from Zumba today & was hungry. But we are running low on a lot of groceries & i needed something low carb. I wasn't going to drink a THIRD one today but wanted to keep my carbs low... & this drink only has 2 net carbs. I mean, seriously? 0 grams of sugar. 17 grams of fiber. Only 110 calories & 3 grams of fat. And very high in all kinds of vitamins!! I just couldn't think of a single reason why it shouldn't be my snack tonight. And it WAS after Zumba class, so it's still after a workout... it's just that i'd already had one with breakfast & one for a snack!

I guess i couldn't decide if this was okay because it seems too good to be true, because ya'll. It's SO delicious. So, i guess what I'm wondering is...what's the catch? It is a Body for Life product, so that's gotta be good, right!? :)

Anyway, that's all i was wondering. It sounds like it's just fine. I forgot to mention that i switched to the AdvantEDGE products from EAS, because it has a lot less carbs than the other one & that is my main focus!

Thoughts?

Tomorrow is weigh-in day & I cannot wait! I have a feeling we're gonna see a loss! :)

{HAPPY WEEKEND YA'LL!}

Week 32 Day 6 - Wednesday's Eats - & the best.smoothie.EVER!

2011-08-10T22:25:00.000-05:00

Today was good until about 20 minutes ago when i decided to have 2 servings of those thin triscuits instead of just one. Way too many carbs. I normally have the one serving, but because I only had a smoothie for dinner, I guess i was still hungry? I don't know... but I do know I could have picked something better than that! Choices, Melissa!

I hit right at 100 carbs today, which makes me sad. I didn't count the smoothie I had - more about that amazing thing later - so it was probably a little over that. My goal for now is to stay below 100, even if it's in the 90's....pretty soon I'll have a goal to stay under 80 & then 60... etc. :) Baby steps! {If you're just tuning in, I have to watch the carbs because i'm Insulin Resistant. It's not something I think everyone MUST do. But for me, in order to lose weight, that is what I must do.} And i'm doing it, ya'll! Maybe i had too many carbs today but i will do better!

For breakfast I did make eggs (with some cheese & real bacon bits) & for lunch I brought a salad to work. SCORE! After bootcamp, my friend Amber & I stopped at Paradise Smoothie in Central. YA'LL. OHMYGOSH. Okay, see, my trainer had recommended that we go there & get some kind of healthy smoothie there... but it was awhile back & i didn't really pay attention. Then later, my friend Aimie posted on her picture blog a pic of this crazy GREEN smoothie, saying it was healthy & full of veggies & that it was delicious! I had been wanting to try it even though i knew it was all veggies that i could not imagine tasting good blended together! My bootcamp buddy said she'd come with me. I went in & spoke to the owner, who was sooo nice! We just loved him! I told him i was scared to taste it hahaha. But i am SO glad I did! It was DELICIOUS!

Want to hear what was in this smoothie? Are you ready for this??? Okay... cucumber, kiwi, carrots, broccoli, pineapple, spinach, squash, a drop of honey, 2 oz pineapple juice, 2 oz vanilla soy milk, & ice! Want to see? (So glad Amber had her iphone to take pics with!)

CRAZY! I know that sounds like "oh GROSS" but no... i mean it... it was fantastic! And really... I'm not the pickiest eater, but I'm certainly not known to eat "weird" things. This was VERY DELICIOUS! Sweet & YUMMY!

He gave me some extra to take to my husband (just for being Aimie's friend! HA!). Brad really liked it too. He couldn't believe it.

Sadly, this is the only location that has such a smoothie! He calls it "The Allison". He said a woman (named Allison... i know) told him she really wanted a smoothie that had veggies in it. So he made this one up. And now it is a huge hit!

YUM!!!!

Thank you, Allison, whoever you are, for inspiring that drink!!!

Okay, so that's my story about the smoothie! I am sure Amber will be blogging about this, too, since she has a blog now! ;)

Sorry this one's a little blurry! Can you see our red & sweaty faces?! That's what bootcamp will do to ya! HA! (Love ya, Amber!)

{Check out WEDNESDAY'S EATS on SPARKPEOPLE}

Week 32 Day 5 - Tuesday's Eats

2011-08-09T22:46:00.000-05:00

So I am really excited about my new blog name & design. I keep coming to look at it! Haha. And I am feeling super encouraged right now. Like maybe, after two years, I have finally hit some sort of breakthru. Like maybe the weight is REALLY about to start coming off. What do you think? I think so! I'm pretty pumped. :)

{TUESDAY'S EATS on SPARKPEOPLE}

Click to see what I ate today! You will want to make sure it's on August 9th.

Today... hmm...today I did okay, but I want to try to have something like a sandwich with ONE meal...not TWO. And I didn't really do well with that. My goal (for now) is to stay under 100 carbs, and I managed that (96), but I had a granola bar with breakfast, a subway sandwich for lunch & a sandwich for dinner. I'm trying not to do that, and so far I've been really good about it! But today was just crazy. I woke up super late for work (due to staying up too late trying to finish The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks - not his usual romance, y'all - suspenseful & i couldn't put it down!). So there was no time for eggs or anything like that. I did have carrot sticks with some ranch for my side at lunch (no chips for me!). Also, I tried the flatbread at Subway last time & didn't like it...so that's why i went back to my whole wheat bread. That's a lot of carbs, though, so... I might have to figure out something else. Anyway... that's the deal with that. I am bringing a salad to work for lunch tomorrow, though! :)

You will also see that i put actual sugar in my coffee. We are out of splenda & ez sweets (something my mom introduced me to that has zero carbs/calories/aspartame & that you can only order online). I'll order some more soon!

Today I was EXHAUSTED after staying up so late last night! I came home & laid down in the bed for a bit to read. My hubby came in there & did the same. We talked for a few seconds & next thing i know, we were both OUT. Sound asleep, ha! We never take naps after work! I usually leave the house at 7:00 for Zumba, but if i leave at 7:10 I'll make it on time. Well, at 6:50, I woke up & thought "there is no way i'm going to zumba." Just felt dead to the world & like i could sleep for days. But at 7, I woke up again & was ready to go! HA! Energized! I got dressed quickly & got to Zumba...missed the first 10 minutes, but still got in a 50 minute workout! YEAH! I LOVE ZUMBA!

So that's it for today! I shall do better on the carbs/sugar tomorrow!

Hope you had a great day, too!

Time for a change!

2011-08-09T00:05:00.002-05:00

As you can see, I have changed up my blog! Yeah!

I am really excited. Since June 2009 I have written here with the blog name TRY TRY AGAIN. The reason I thought of that blog name was because that little saying kept running through my head like a broken record:

If at first you don't succeed {everybody now!}, TRY TRY AGAIN!

While I agree with that (the idea of NOT QUITTING!), I think it is time for a new title, a fresh start, a new beginning. And I wanted to incorporate my other blog name, because it's "me", i guess, and I want this blog to be more connected to that one? Or something. I'm not really sure. Basically, I like the idea of "Little Mrs. Married" & i wanted to tie into that somehow.

But the main thing is this. I recently read the book "MADE TO CRAVE" by Lysa TerKeurst. Great book. Lysa examines the heart of the matter in her struggle to keep control when it comes to what she eats. I love how she talks to you like she's sitting right across the table from you. She had a lot of great things to say, but I think the main one that stuck out in my mind was the one you see in my new header.

"Victory is when we pick something healthy over something that is not beneficial to us. And we maintain our victories with each next choice."

It's so simple, ya'll. I can be victorious. I AM victorious. This is a battle that I can WIN! But I have to understand that God's power is made perfect in my weakness. When i am weak, that is when His strength is able to shine! And all I have to do is take it one step at a time.

Once choice at a time.

Before each meal, each party, each celebration - I can CHOOSE. I can make the choice, and nobody else can make that choice but me.

In the past...even recently... I have constantly had whatever I wanted. I did learn to watch my portions in many of those situations. But I hardly ever just told myself "No". I hardly ever deprived myself.

But it's time to step it up. Especially now, with Insulin Resistance. I cannot eat carbs. I am not saying I will never ever taste the deliciousness of a chocolate chip cookie, but for the most part, I am not going to be able to eat that stuff. My body does not know how to process it & to continually eat it anyway would be to continue down a path headed straight for DIABETES. And i don't want that.

So I have to continue to live in victory. Little Mrs. Married is maintaining victory. This is not to say that I have reached some major goal (as you can see by my little weightloss ticker!). It doesn't mean I've lost the weight & am now maintaining that loss. NO. It just means that I am maintaining victory with each next choice.

Each temptation.

Each celebration.

Each recees peanut butter cup,

serving of mashed potatoes,

or slice of cookie cake.

I will lean on His strength & "just say no"

I WILL BE VICTORIOUS.

So there you have it. My blog design isn't perfect yet - still a few things to tweak. I will definitely be redoing the tabs at the top! And I think it will take a few days for it to start showing up in your blogroll with my new title. But i think this is a good start!

Week 32 Day 4 - Monday's Eats

2011-08-08T20:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I think I did okay at dinner! I was scared, haha! But I think I did okay.

Everyone's meal started with a small salad. It had in it lettuce, tomato, onion, & 3 croutons. I kid not. There were only 3 there. I ate them. And ranch dressing.

I looked over the menu trying to decide. I knew what I could not have: white rice, potatoes, garlic bread, any other kind of bread & no chips if they happened to order spinach/artichoke dip (they didn't). I also was not going to get anything FRIED. I got water to drink. And I ended up ordering "The Guitreau" (that's pronounced "gey-tro" for all you non-cajuns!). ;) This is the menu's description:

The Guitreau - Grilled fresh fish fillet topped with crawfish, shrimp, mushrooms, and onions sautéed in white wine, butter, and spices."

I think it was a great choice! It was DELICIOUS! And i know some of you are thinking the topping was fattening with the butter, but that is one okay thing about IR...even though I must watch carbs & sugar, fat is not as big of a deal (For real...this is true! In fact, studies have shown that a little bit higher fat intake with the lower carbs helps with the weightloss). And honestly, it was a lot lighter than i thought it would be. It was not a thick cream sauce.

I could get a side & i ended up getting sweet potato fries. There were no veggies on the menu (can you believe? their sides were "steak fries, baked potato, stuffed potato, sweet potato fries, & coleslaw!). The sweet potato fries had a little note that said they were available baked upon request. So that is what I got. And it was a MUCH smaller portion than i had assumed it would be! (A saucer size plate.)

There was a piece of buttered garlic bread that came with my meal. I immediately gave it to my husband & told him to please eat it right away or i could be in trouble. He said, "I'll slap yo' hand if you try to take my bread!" LOL. :)

I THINK I DID GOOD, YA'LL!!!!

Yay. :)

SO, you can check out my EATS ON SPARKPEOPLE (make sure you're on August 8th), but know that I didn't include what I had for dinner. There website is down, but even if it wasn't, i seriously doubt if they have the nutrition facts available! So I had 731 calories & 49 net carbs - not counting dinner!

Week 32 Day 3 - Sunday's Eats

2011-08-08T10:58:00.000-05:00

You are welcome to check out what I ate yesterday on Sparkpeople. (Make sure you are on August 7th!) It was kind of a weird day. I had a really delicious & healthy breakfast (recipe to come!), but pretty much snacked the rest of the day. I still had an appetite, but was all congested & mostly only wanted to snack if & when I felt like it. I didn't have an "actual" dinner or an "actual" lunch, but I snacked & some of it was on carbs. Blerg. (Thank the Lord we do not own things like cupcakes & cookies!) I also had chocolate milk at the end of the day... I thought it was okay, because we use ovaltine & it is DELICIOUS & supposed to be good for you...I didn't realize it until today that it was actually worse than i thought.

Note to self: If at all possible, look at nutrition info BEFORE consuming. (It was possible!)

Grrrrr.

So..my total net carbs is 102... meh. Not great at all.

Oh-well. Today is another day. I am back to work & feeling...okay. Not great. Not 100%. Sneezing & sniffing my head off! But I had another healthy breakfast & I brought an apple & some peanut butter for later. I don't know if i will feel like a proper lunch, but tonight we are going to Mike Anderson's for dinner for my sister-in-law's birthday.

I, Melissa, do solemnly promise not to partake of any of the following: chips, potatoes, rice, bread, or dessert - during our meal tonight. I will choose meat & vegetables only.

That is my promise. Can i stick to it? YES. Will I?????

YES. I must! (Lord, help me!)

They have this really good stuffed potato, though...

Kidding! I can do this!

This morning when I stepped on the scale, i was down about 3 pounds. That is crazy. CRAZY! I don't know if i should believe it. I came to work & weighed since i missed our weigh-in on Friday. Down 3 pounds here, too. According to her scale, I am down 9 pounds since we started the challenge. Which means i could WIN!!! Still, nine pounds?!?! I don't know if that can possibly be right!

Well, anyway. I gotta run. I hope you all have a happy & healthy Monday! :)

Week 32 Day 2 - Saturday's Eats

2011-08-07T14:36:00.000-05:00

So yesterday was not FANTASTIC or anything, as far as carbs are concerned. I did have something I shouldn't, but I also did some things I am proud of.

For breakfast, i just had coffee & later, a myoplex. I still wasn't feeling well & we didn't have any eggs anyway. I didn't have a mid-morning snack. For lunch, I just had a sandwich. We knew we would be having an early dinner at the reunion, so I didn't want to eat too much!

At the reunion, I was proud of myself. They were grilling hamburgers & hot dogs. I got some baked beans & somebody's mexican corn (which i had one small taste of & didn't finish - WAYYY too spicy for me!). Then i got a hamburger patty - NO BUN! I cannot believe I did that! That also means no mayo! Haha! I put a little ketchup on top & a beautiful red tomato slice on top of that & cut it & ate it, just like that! DELISH! I am very proud of myself. I have never done that before!

Another proud moment? I got some cream cheese nacho dip stuff, because I'd heard it was delicious. But what to dip it in? I put some tortilla chips on my plate. But before i even had any, I changed my mind & put it all on Brad's plate. YAY, me!

I also drank water the whole time, even though i REALLY REALLY wanted a coke or a sprite. Even after we left, I was still battling this, wanting to go through a drive-thru somewhere just for a soft drink! But i stayed firm. :)

Are you proud of me yet? Or waiting for the "but"??? Well, here it is...

CUPCAKES!!

OH, man. These were SOOO GOOD. The perfect cupcake. White cake, white icing, topped with a raspberry. LOVE! I had one & then on our way out, we each grabbed one more. I couldn't help myself! Or maybe I could have. But i didn't.

So there you have it. You can read the detailed info on my sparkpage. Make sure you are on August 6th!

Here's a pic of me & some of my elementary school girlfriends. Love it!

Michelle (with her daughter Isabelle), Jennifer, Jenni (with baby Noah), me & Mona (& yes, we are sweating in this Louisiana heat & humidity!)

Feeling a lot better today, by the way! :)

Friday's Eats!

2011-08-06T00:22:00.000-05:00

Today was weird. If you look at my tracker, you'll see what I mean. Guacamole & a wrap for breakfast? Just a drink for dinner??? My lunch was awesome, though - shrimp & broccoli! YUM!

I woke up sick today. Fine yesterday - Sick today! That sucks! So that is the reason for a lot of the weirdness of today's eats. I just ate at weird times & i ended up with WAY less calories than usual. However, too many carbs. Yesterday i had 83 net carbs (if i remember right?), but I also had a lot more calories. Today I had 86 net carbs - still less than 100, but I had hoped to get lower than that. But i only had 1260 calories today! So more carbs overall. Blerg.

I will be better tomorrow! Oh, but think of me & pray for me! We have a reunion tomorrow. It's CRAZY, i know, but almost two years ago, all of the kids i went to elementary school with started finding each other on FB. Someone started a "support group" for all of us! We ended up deciding to have a reunion of sorts. Not sure how it would go - these things can be awkward - we decided to just all have dinner at a restaurant! What is crazy is that almost everyone came... I'd say 25 or more of us at one LONG table in a restaurant. We TOTALLY hit it off & had a GREAT time. It was sooo surreal talking to these people i hadn't spoken to since the 4th grade! (5th grade i went to a different school). Of course, a couple of them i still know, from church & such, but even them I hadn't seen in at least 5 or 6 years! It was a BLAST. Since it was so awesome last year, we decided to have it at someone's house this year, earlier in the day & invite the kids. So it's a cookout at 4. I am SO looking forward to it & i just cannot miss it! I only see these people once a year. But I feel TERRIBLE tonight. :( So idk... anyway... pray that i steer clear of the carbs!!!! :)

Anyway... go check out FRIDAY'S EATS!!

(By the way...when you click on the link, make sure you're on the right tracking date on SP! It should be August 5th!)

Happy weekend!

SO not upset about this!

2011-08-05T10:30:00.000-05:00

So, according to my scale, i GAINED this week. I am honestly not upset in the least...because I don't believe that for a SECOND! Had my best week EVER & it will be even better next week because i didn't start the low-carb thing until Wednesday, I think? So yeah. I'm so not worried. I am believing that going low-carb/low-sugar is going to WORK.

And by the way. I am not telling anyone to go low-carb/low-sugar UNLESS you are Insulin Resistant or Diabetic. (Even then, it's your choice!) I think anyone can benefit from seriously limiting those things, but yesterday I was telling my coworker about going low-carb & why & she starts going through her snack drawer of healthy-ish snacks & was like "omg! this has this many carbs! i shouldn't be eating this, huh?! I've been snacking all wrong!!!!" While I appreciate her willingness to believe that I am some sort of nutritionist who knows all (hahahahahaha), I had to stop her & say, "You are not IR, Tonya. You will probably lose weight just fine eating well & watching your portions on the bad stuff & exercising!" She said, "okayyyy..." all uncertainly. And she only has a little weight to lose from having a baby recently! Other than that, she's not overweight!

I mean, if you wanna quit sugar/carbs more power to you (& it most likely WILL benefit you tremendously!), but I don't want anyone to think I'm stating that is your only way to lose weight! The reason I am doing this is because of research that shows that people with IR cannot process carbs/sugar the way everyone else can.

Back to subject!

It was a 0.8 pound gain. Not even 1 pound. From 267.8 to 268.6. But on Wednesday night...after bootcamp (when i always weigh more) & before Thursday's Zumba class... I weighed 266 (point-something)! Then i had two better-than-ever days! SO I AM NOT BELIEVING THE SCALE!

I will weigh again tomorrow, just to see. :) And I will let you know!

I also woke up sick this morning. SICK. Like, I cannot breathe out of my nose, sick. And i have a sinus headache the size of Kentucky sick. And my throat is sore & my ear hurts sick. UGH. I was perfectly fine yesterday, so what is up with that?! Whatever. I took one of my husband's allergy meds because it exactly described my symptoms. I hope it works, because I have to work at the Manship Theatre tonight! And it's too hard to find someone to take your shift at this late notice!

Tomorrow I have BOOTCAMP which i do not want to miss! And tomorrow at 4, we're having a reunion of sorts with some friends! I am bringing the baked beans & a salad & these are people i only see once a year, so we are going! Sunday is church & I gotta work at the manship again! I don't have time to be sick!

Before I go, I must tell you about Small Steps, Large Leaps! This is a new blogger & I checked out her blog after she commented on mine. And i LOVE IT. She is HILARIOUS. If you don't believe me, read this post (I'm not sure she will appreciate me telling you to read her "embarrassing moment" story, but she did write about it! Haha.) It had me cracking up (mainly because it's something i would do!). I seriously want to go back & read every single one of her posts, because i love how she writes! So go visit Amy & send her some love!

ALSO - remember my new bootcamp buddy? The one who found my blog through the Insulin Resistance Diet fan page on FB? Well, she started a blog, too!! Please visit her at READY TO SHINE & give her the same kind of encouragement that you always give me! You people rock!

Well, I guess that's all for now.

I love this pic from the weekend that Laura edited for me. :) My hubby is handsome, ain't that so?

HAPPY WEEKEND, YA'LL!

Week 31 Day 7 - Thursday's Eats!

2011-08-04T22:39:00.000-05:00

So, my eats for today are up at sparkpeople!

View them here: {Thursday's Eats!}

Yesterday, 93 net carbs. Today, 80 net carbs! Getting better & better! Yay!

If you check them out, please read my notes & comment here on the blog. I hope this isn't too much trouble... I like it because i don't have to repeat everything I already tracked! But if it's a pain for ya'll to check it out & come back here to comment, well - i can continue to post them here. Although i think another plus for you is seeing exactly how much is in whatever i'm eating. Unfortunately it doesn't show you the sodium, cholesterol, etc, though. You can ask & i'll tell. :)

I did look at the things I buy & manually enter certain ones today. Before i was just finding a similar thing that had already been entered in Sparkpeople. I'm glad i manually entered my own, because some were better than I thought (& some were worse). So from now on i'm going to manually enter if at all possible.

I had a really good day. I felt full & satisfied & healthy all day long. My zumba class was TOUGH. She added 3 new routines & man. I sweat all over in that class! Ha! But it was fun! I love Zumba!

One thing I thought was really cool is that they have these circle graphs they show you of where your calories are coming from. This first one is from July 13th. I stayed within my calorie range, but was on the high end of it at 1900-something calories.

This next one is from sometime last week. I had only 1500-something calories, & it looks a lot better than the graph above. But still... I hadn't had my lightbulb moment with the carb thing!

THIS one is from TODAY!! It looks better than any previous chart. I know I need more protein...& I'm not sure about the fat. But I do know that we as IR people can tolerate more fat (& i read today that studies have actually shown that it will HELP the weightloss), but cannot tolerate as many carbs. It surprises me that Sparkpeople recommends 50% carbs for people - even when they're on the diabetic program! I don't get that... but anyway! i am not worried about the recommended values. I am just gonna try to get the green area to get bigger & the periwinkle one (what? it is periwinkle!) to get even smaller. :) I am HAPPY!

I appreciate every one of you for your sweet comments. I love you all.

Tomorrow is weigh-in day! I hope i see a good loss!

Happy Friday!

Little Mrs. Married {is maintaining victory}

Eats, exercise, and a little extra motivation

Last Week in Review

Dear Smoothie, I love you.

Yummies.

Rockin it!

Nothing like an eye-opener!

Another good day!

Oh, hey!

Carbs, Schmarbs.

Reversing Insulin Resistance (info)

Week in Review (Fitness Friday)

Water & an "Unwich"!

Today's Eats...

Today's Tracking

Happy New Year!

Made to Crave.

Just Do It, 2012

Books Recommendation...& apps, anyone?

Fitness Friday: Back on track!

Back in the GROOVE!

A friend in this journey is a good thing to have!

It's time, y'all! I want to be HEALTHY!

Lately...

Well, hello...

Blogging Funk & Metabolic Visit

I heart my readers. :)

Struggle

Weigh-in & dress fitting!

Week 40 of 2011 - Monday's Eats!

TODAY is the day.

One day at a time.

I HAVE TO DO THIS!

Good news & bad news!

Week 38 of 2011 - Day 2 - EATS!

Take a look at my ticker NOW!

I may have found my motivation.

Get.A.GRIP.

Sometimes, you just gotta DO IT.

review, update & excuses. ;)

Week 35: Days 4 & 5 - Much Better!

Week 35 Day 3 - Sunday's eats... Bad, Bad Girl. :(

Week 35 Day 2 Eats... & wraps are delicious!

*August 2011 RECAP!*

Today's eats & other whining...er, i mean, rambling...

Just a few things I wanted to mention...

Mid-week weigh-in, anyone???

SO SICK.

Week 35 Day 1 - Friday's Eats

Week 34 Review...

Week 34 Day 5 - Tuesday's Eats!

Week 34 Days 3 & 4 - ehhhh.

Week 34 Day 2 - Saturday's Eats

Week 34 Day 1 - Friday's Eats

Another Loss! {Week 33 Review!}

Week 33 Day 7 - Thursday's Eats!

Week 33 Day 6 - Wednesday's Eats!

Week 33 Day 5 - Tuesday's Eats! (& another NSV)

Week 33 Day 4 - Monday's Eats!

Body BaYou Bootcamp!

Week 33 Day 3 - Sunday's Eats... & the brownie.

Week 33 Day 2 - Saturday's Eats

Week 33 Day 1 - Friday's Eats!

Week 32 Review!

Week 32 Day 7 - Thursday's Eats!

Week 32 Day 6 - Wednesday's Eats - & the best.smoothie.EVER!

Week 32 Day 5 - Tuesday's Eats

Time for a change!

Week 32 Day 4 - Monday's Eats

Week 32 Day 3 - Sunday's Eats

Week 32 Day 2 - Saturday's Eats

Friday's Eats!

SO not upset about this!

Week 31 Day 7 - Thursday's Eats!

August 2011 RECAP!