Weekly Update

This week, I lost 2.2 pounds this week!!! Much better than last week! It brings me to a whopping total of 32.8 pounds lost since January!!!!! I am only 4 pounds away from first goal!!!!!! I plan on purchasing a Garmin when I reach my goal...I just can't wait!! Once I reach this first goal, I want to lose an additional 5 to 10 more pounds which will put me close to my wedding weight, I think. The problem is, I can't remember exactly how much I weighed on my wedding day. I think I remember an approximate number so I am going to get as close to that as possible.

I had a pretty good week and I made sure that I upped my workouts and watched my caloric intake. I am looking forward to the weekend because one of my besties is coming to DC. We are planning on dinner, going out, and shopping! I plan on taking it easy on Friday because I plan on using my calories for Saturday and Sunday. I had to move around my workouts because I know that I won't be wanting to run 5 miles on Sunday so I plan to rest on Friday, run 5 miles on Saturday, and cross train on Sunday. Next week is Teacher Appreciation week and our school PTO will bring/cater food in each day. I don't plan on counting calories this week too seriously but I will be watching my portions and won't go overboard. I think this will be a good practice once I eventually start to wean off of the calorie calculator...not sure when that will be because I am using it like a crutch right now! 

My family weight loss challenge begins on May 1st so let the games begin!

Weekly Update

So this week, I only lost .4 pounds this week. I'm okay with that...at least I didn't gain weight or stay the same. I felt like I didn't have a good week last week anyway so...here's to having a better week. One of my friends and I are going to resume the weekly check-ins so hopefully that will help keep me accountable! I am looking forward to next week being a better week. I am still doing good with no candy and chips! I have been surrounded by all this Easter candy but I haven't eaten one piece...can't wait til May 16 because that's when I will start to munch (slowly) on my Easter stash that I have collected!

Weekly Update

I'm down 3.0 pounds this week!!!! I only lasted about 6 days before I didn't have any chocolate/sweet. I broke down on Monday and had a brownie-a rather large piece at that but I had a horrible day at work and I didn't get home until late. I didn't feel bad about eating it but I did feel bad about my committment to giving up sweets and chips. I have failed horribly at the sweets but I still haven't had chips OR candy since the 5th so yay for me!Especially about the candy because its taken over my classroom due to Easter!!! So maybe (and I hate to do this after I already said I was going to stick with it) I will just not eat chips and candy until May 16th. We will see...I'm going to try to stick with that. I have also decided that if I choose, I can eat whatever I want on my weigh in days ONLY if I have lost weight. Now, if I only lose less than a pound during that weigh in, I probably won't eat whatever. But on Wednesday, I wanted something sweet so I treated myself to a milkshake. It was a small and I left off the whipped cream-I mean who needs the added calories!?! I also decided that once May hits, I will be treating myself on Wednesday only to a small Rita's ice, a mini blizzard, or a small Chick-fil-a milkshake. This will be my cheat day...I think.

So with all that said, I am only 6.4 pounds away from my ideal weight!! Once I reach this weight, I don't want to ever weigh anymore than that number. My online calorie calculator says I should reach that goal by May 7 which is sooner than I anticipated so as soon as I reach that goal I am going to set another one to lose 10 more pounds by July 4th. So by then I want to lose 16.4 more pounds which is very attainable because guess what!??! I have lost 30.4 pounds since January 3rd!!!!! I am SOOOOOO super, duper proud of myself. I now know that I can lose the weight but my biggest challenge will be KEEPING it off. For my wedding, I lost a ton of weight and I looked great but it slowly began creeping back on and before I knew it I had gained all of PLUS some since then. So I knew that something had to be done and I'm doin it and I'm doin it big!!!

Oh yeah, I already reached my goal to lose 5 more pounds for the month of April...I've actually lost 5.2 since the beginning of April...go me! go me!!

Weight Loss Challenge

I won!!! I was awarded $125!!! I lost the biggest percentage of weight loss out of the group of 5 other girls with a whopping 9.49% and 18 pounds lost from January 25-March 31st. It has not been easy especially when the first couple of weeks, I was in the bottom. But once I started using the online calorie calculator and taking what I put in my mouth more seriously, I really was able to amp things up. I am going to buy myself some new workout clothes that fit with this extra money. Or I could save up for a Garmin watch. I haven't really decided yet but I did see some Nike dri-fit racer back tanks that I want. I already own one and it is so comfortable and cute! Go me! Go me! Go me!

Weekly Update

Down another 2.2 pounds this week and considering the weekend I had, I was estatic!!! That brought my total weight loss to 27.4 pounds in 13 weeks. I have finally gotten into a groove with my exercise and I've determined that Tuesdays are my worst workout days. I only have to run 2-3 miles and its very hard to do. I am thinking that its because of the long run on Sunday and then strength and yoga on Mondays. I am not sure what to do about that but my running time was really slow! Weather permitting, I am going to run outside on Tuesdays with my co-workers. A second grade teacher mapped out a trail in his car that is a 5K route which is good because next week, my Tuesday runs get bumped up to 3 miles. The only thing about this route is all the hills! Hopefully it will get better the more I travel it.

This past weekend, I ate a lot (like way more than normal) but I worked most of it off with exercise and a lot of walking around Georgetown and downtown D.C. My sister and brother-in-law came in town early Saturday morning. My sister and I spent the day walking around and shopping while the guys went to see an Atlanta friend who was in the DMV. I had a great time but I tend to adapt to other people's eating habits and especially when out because there really aren't that many healthy choices. On Saturday, we got a snack at the Leesburg outlets. My sister got fries from Nathan's and so did I. I could have gotten something from this deli that was next to it but I decided to spurge and get a small fry. It wasn't that good although I didn't regret eating it. We also stopped by Panera for bagels for Sunday morning. Saturday night we went to Ledo's Pizza because the last time my sister was here, she tasted a pizza my grandma got and wanted to return on this visit. Since I'm not eating any meat, that limited my choices. I decided to go with a bell pepper, onion, and spinach pizza. I was not good! I also ate three small squares. The crust was too soggy and there were too many veggies on the top. I ate a small square of my sister's buffalo chicken pizza (with the chicken pulled off) and it was good. I should have gotten that with no chicken. Sunday, we stopped first in Georgetown to pick up our cupcake order from Georgetown Cupcakes/DC Cupcakes. We pre-ordered our cupcakes the day before and boy, I'm glad we did! The line was off the chain! We went right up to the door, gave the man our name and were whisked right into the store. All the hoopla about these cupcakes is because the cupcakery is on TLC. My sister and I were very disappointed! The cupcakes were not worth the money and definitely not worth the calories. The cupcake I had at Hello Cupcake was better and bigger that DC Cupcakes. We also went shopping and I got some things at H&M-namely a blue jean jacket that I had on my shopping list. We stopped at a smelly pub that didn't have a variety of things on their menu so then we went a couple of doors down to the Tackle Box. OMG....that food was SO food! They specialize in seafood which was right up my alley. I had been craving shrimp so I got the Tackle Box with crispy shrimp, sweet potato fries (my favorite) and grilled corn. We also had hush puppies. They weren't the best I've ever had but they were good. Everything was so scrumptious and I had plenty of shrimp left over. I can't stop thinking about that place and I am thinking about the next time we go to Georgetown. We also went to the White House and the America I Am exhibit at the National Geographic Museum. The weather on Monday was gorgeous so D and Casey put shrimp, fish, brats, chicken, and veggies on the grill. It was delicious especially the shrimp skewers.

So this weekend, I have the house to myself and plan on making healthy dinners. I was in the grocery store and stopped by the organic section. The Clean Eating magazine caught my eye. I stopped and browsed through it and found some really awesome recipes. The food looked so good! I am going to search for a coupon or recipes online because I really did not want to spend $6 for a magazine although it was full of recipes.

Looking forward to another great week on and off the scale!

Monthly Update & Goals for April

So the end of March brought my 5K training to an end and a succesful completion of my first race. I am planning on setting a goal of running 6 races this year. The other four that I have planned as of now are: a 10K in May (still trying to figure that one out), a half-marathon in September, a 5K in November for Thanksgiving, and I still need to find two more, preferably another 10K or a 10-miler in July/August and a 5K/10K in December.


I met all of my goals for March!! I lost 10% of my beginning weight on March 16th!! I actually lost more than 10% on that weigh in. I was able to run the ENTIRE 5K with the help of my supportive husband, God, and my survivor aunt who was cheering me out despite what she was going through! And I successfully began training for my first 10K that I plan to run in May.

I also had a goal in my head that I wanted to weigh what I weighed 2 years ago before I started bootcamp before the two year anniversary came around in April. I started bootcamp in April of 2009 weighing 2 pounds more than I weigh in April 2011!!! Yay for reaching my goals! I cannot thank God enough. He has really helped me through this all! I know that my strength and discipline comes from Him!


I didn't decide on anything to give up for Lent so I decided to make my own 40 day period of fasting from a particular item. I have decided to give up sweets and chips (!) from April 5 to May 15. I really hope I can do it! I plan on eating some sweets before then but not overloading. I don't really eat a lot but I want to really kick my weight loss into high gear since me and several of my close friends will be going on a beach trip to Destin, FL in the middle of June. I really want to wear a two-piece on this trip but I still need to do more work and I want to lose those last 11-15 pounds by this trip so I can rock my new two-piece!!


Here are my goals for April:
Goal 1: Fish only for the month of April. Along with none of the following: candy, desserts, sweets, fried foods, and chips until May 15th.

Goal 2: Lose at least 5 more pounds by the end of April. I keep wondering when I am going to taper off...I really hope no time soon since I am not too far from my first goal.

Goal 3: Eat cleaner. I am not going to eat clean all the way but I am going to limit my intake of white foods-raw sugar instead of white sugar, no white breads, no white potatoes, etc. Again, this was something that I did during my boot camp and it seemed to help.

Still looking forward to more and more changes! I'm in this to win it!!!

Weekly Update

I lost 1.2 pounds this week which brings me to a total of 25.2 pounds!!! I am soooo proud of myself. I have lost a total percentage of 12.8% since January 3rd. This week makes 12 weeks of steady exercising and about 10 weeks of eating healthy portion sizes and watching my caloric intake. I have been using loseit.com. I can't remember if I put it on here but it has really helped me watch what I eat. Before I started counting my calories, I just hoped that what I put in my mouth didn't cause the scale to increase. I have no idea how many calories were in some foods that I thought were "healthy".

The weight loss challenge I was doing with my friends ended this week but the results still have not been posted. I really hope that I won because I have worked so hard to get here. I am only 11.6 pounds away from my first goal of losing 30 pounds. Technically once I get to my goal weight, I would have lost  36.8 pounds. I am thinking that I want to lose more than that but I will be happy to get that off first.

Last week was the first full week of my 10K training and its been good so far. I run on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. My run on Sunday was pretty smooth. I ran 3.25 miles in about 35 minutes on the treadmill with no stopping. I feel like I have to emphasis no stopping because on some of my runs, I have to stop. My run on Tuesday was rough because I ran outside my school with a co-worker. I felt like I was running so slow because there were a lot of hills. I am not used to running hills. We ran 2.1 miles and then I went to the gym to walked about 3 more miles. I have started going back to spin class and that's fun. My booty isn't sore anymore so that's a plus! I don't like getting up at 4:30am on Wednesdays but by the time I get home from work, I glad a workout is one less thing on my to-do-list. We are still trying to figure out which 10K we are going to run but it looks like I might have to run this one by myself because one race doesn't allow jogging strollers and the other one is not sure if they allow them or not and both weekends we will have Amaya. I will update on later on with my goals for April and a montly re-cap...

Non-Scale Victories

So remember the GAP black and white pants that I said I wanted to wear before the school year ended in June? Umm, yeah well I wore those pants on Monday, March 28th!! I had been trying them on every so often since setting that goal and I put them on on Monday and they fit! Actually, they were a little loose in the crotch area and in the waist but I was just so happy I could wear them again. I haven't worn them comfortably since buying them in October of '09. So its nice to see results on the scale but even nicer when your clothes fit loosely even if your husband tells you that you need to go to Goodwill. I thought he meant to donate clothes that were too big but he said that's where I can pick up my new wardrobe as well! He's too funny!!!

Weekly Update

Considering all that I ate this weekend:
Fri.
-glass of Riesling
-Crab Linguine
-2 RL biscuits
-2 Fried butterfly shrimp


Sat.
-Cookies-n-Cream cupcake
-chips
-pizza w/pasta


Sun.
-Blood Orange martini
-countless tortilla chips
-guacamole
-fajitas


and whole bunch of other stuff that I didn't even track, I lost .8 pounds this week!!! I was thrilled and just either wanted to maintain or lose even the slightest amount of weight. I was very pleased! I am up to 24 pounds and counting!!! Whoo-hoo!!! I said that when I hit 20 pounds, I was going to pick out my two-piece to hang up on my mirror for motivation. I went to my favorite store and wasn't pleased with their selection or my body. I remember last time I did this, I didn't even try it on, I just bought it and hung it up which is what I think I will do. On another note, I now weigh what I weighed when I started boot camp in April 2009 which was one of my goals-can't remember if I shared that one or not. So next week is the last week of the weight-loss challenge that I have been doing with my friends. As of last week, I was in the lead but you never know how everyone else did. I hope I win cause Momma could use a new pair of shoes or swim suit! I will be sure to post the results at the end of next week.Wish me luck!

Weekend & Race Re-cap

In short, the Scope It Out 5K was amazing for many different reasons. We arrived in D.C. around noon on Saturday. We had to pick up our bibs and d-tags at City Sports in Dupont Circle by 1PM. We got that taken care of and wanted to get lunch since we couldn't check in to our hotel until 3PM. I had been wanting to try this cupcake place called Hello Cupcake and turns out we parked right across the street from it! I was so happy and who cares that we hadn't eaten lunch then. :-) I got the Cookies-n-Cream cupcake and D got the 24 Carrot cupcake. I had a little bite of his and both were very delicious, especially the Cookies-n-Cream. So after our cupcake stop, we continued to walk around the circle looking for lunch. We ate at a place called Potbelly's because D saw a sign that said lunch special-he is all about a good deal! They had the "Skinny" sandwiches and small bowls of soup. I got the Tuna skinny and D got the T-K-Y (turkey) skinny. Both sandwiches were very good. We also split a small bag of kettle BBQ chips. We had plenty of time to kill afterwards so we went in a couple of shops and even sat down on the benches in the circle and just talked. Once our parking meter was up, we headed back towards Arlington. We still had about an hour to kill so we hit up Marshall's. D wanted to get a new shirt and tie and I wanted to get a short sleeve shirt for the race. We finished up our shopping and headed to the hotel.

We got checked in and got our bags out of the car. I had brought a light jacket and a heavy jacket but I wanted to bring both so I told D to grab it out of the car because I wanted to wear the heavy one to the concert (remember his birthday present was tickets to the Kem concert). That's when he told me that he didn't bring clothes for the concert!!!!!!!! He had on track pants and a UGA sweatshirt so he couldn't wear that to the concert. We both were in disbelief! I was cracking up because if you know us, I would definitely be the one to forget my clothes when traveling away from home-not D. So we headed back to Marshall's. I had planned to take a nap but this trip cut my nap time out. I also got a different shirt to wear to the concert so it was a trip that was well worth it. We also got pasta for dinner before the concert. The concert was great! We both enjoyed ourselves. We got back to the hotel about 11 and got our stuff ready for the next morning. We wanted to be up by 6:30 and at the train station by 7:30.

Sunday morning we got up and got dressed. We ate a light breakfast (half of a banana, half of a bagel with peanut butter). We walked to the train station, actually we lightly jogged because it was so cold! We got to the race site and we are walking to where the vendors are and I hear someone call my name! I turn around and its my Aunt Valerie!!!!!!!! I was so, so, so, surprised!!!

I had talked to her on Saturday and she said that she wished she could be there. Back story: my aunt was diagnosed with colon cancer May 2010. This was a race for colon cancer research so of course she was my motivation for running this race. I felt like I had a vested interest and knew that it would help me throughout the race. So we spent a few minutes taking pictures and video. Shortly before 8AM we headed towards the start. The race was nothing like I imagined. I had no idea what to expect so that's kind of a good thing. D and I started off and pretty much stayed in the middle. The weather was cold at the beginning but very shortly we both started to warm up. I just remember hearing the footsteps of all the runners and I felt exhilarated. D and I pretty much kept the same pace although, I took the lead for the most part. :-) I had my iPod and I don't even remember listening to the music other than the first song. I felt a little fatigued probably between 2.25-2.50 miles. D kept saying "almost there baby" He was a great partner. When we got to the part of the course that I could see the finish line sign, I got chills. I saw the first (last) mile marker which was mm 3, I knew the end was in sight. Lots of people were on the side line cheering and saying "sprint to the end"! I started to sprint and it felt great! I told D to speed up but he slowed down because the paparazzi (my aunt) was taking pictures of me crossing the finish line. I finished in 32:57 which is the fastest I've ran 3.1 in all of my training. I also finished under my goal of 35:00 minutes. I ran about a 10:37 mph pace which was also amazing! I know the sprint at the end added to this! Oh yeah-I RAN THE ENTIRE THING!!! That was very important to me and I did it-thank Jesus!!! He will grant you the desires of your heart. D finished right behind me! We took more pictures and got water and fruit and granola bars to eat. We headed back to the train and made plans with my aunt and her friend Ms. Marion for lunch. We went to Chevy's Mexican Cantina and ate yummy food! I also got a blood orange margarita-one of my first drinks since starting on my plan. This race was a great one for my first race and now I am addicted to running more. I will go into more detail when I share my April goals next week!

Weekly Update

This week was an amazing week in the exercise and weight loss department. I decided to switch things up at the gym. On Sunday, we got back early enough for me to hit the gym for my hour walk. I love reading my NOOK while walking because it makes the time go by so much faster. I find myself walking more just so I can finish reading a chapter in the book. Monday was kind of a rough day on the treadmill. I had to wait for one because the gym was packed. So instead of standing and waiting, I decided to get on the Stairmaster. Holy moly! I was on that thing for 15 minutes and I was dripping with sweat within the first five minutes! It was a great workout! The girl beside me said she could tell a difference since using the machine. Tuesday I ran the last "long" run before the race. I ran 3.1 miles in just under 35 minutes. I kept wanting to speed up but I kept my pace consistent at 5.5 mph. This morning I woke up and went to spin class. I decided to do this because I am not working out on Friday or Saturday due to the race and I wanted to get my workouts in. My butt is killing me even though I wore padded bike shorts! 

Needless to say, I was VERY surprised when I hopped on the scale and saw I lost 4.8 pounds!!!!!!!!!!! I mean what??! I was thinking it had to be a mistake. I hopped out and cleared the scale out and got back on. It said the exact same thing; I had lost 4.8 pounds. I can only attribute it to working out only 5 days last week and switching up my cardio exercises. 

 I am proud to say since January 4th, I have lost 23.2 pounds!!!! I met my March goal of losing 10% of my total body weight from my first weigh-in. 

The big race is on Sunday! I got emotional on my run yesterday (Tuesday) because I cannot believe I have made it this far! I was never a runner before and all I can remember is running 1 mile and then quitting to walk or get off the treadmill. I thought I was doing something with that one mile. Now, I can run 3.1 miles without stopping. Check me out! And I can do this more than once a week. I was reflecting on how I was doubting my weight loss this morning and I realized that I asked God for this and He is doing what He said He would! How dare I doubt Him!?!? He has definitely made all of this possible. When I felt like giving up, I just called on Him, literally! So I am just going to sit back and watch God do His thing in me and through me! I can't wait to see the end results! This Friday is my hubs birthday!!! So we will actually be spending the weekend in DC. We plan on going up on Saturday morning to pick up our race packets and hang out. We are going to a concert on Saturday night. We will be going back to the hotel as soon as that's over to get a good night's rest. I plan on sleeping late on Saturday morning because I know it will be a long night and an early Sunday morning. I still have to figure out train routes and all that good stuff before Sunday. I am both nervous and excited!!! I will be back with a race re-cap.

Weekly Update

So this week I lost another pound. I don't know what's going on! I have been running my butt off and its slowly coming off. I am a little discouraged because with the amount of calories I eat, I should be losing at least 2 pounds per week. I am glad that I didn't set my weight loss goal for the month any higher because its taking me a while to get to 10%. I am this close coming in at 9.53%. I want to go try on bikini's when I lose the 10%. The beginning of Lent came and went and I decided not to give up anything health related because I have already cut back so much! We shall see how things go next week. I can't believe this is my eighth week of training for the 5K. I have come so far and am glad to be doing the extra week of training since I started a week earlier than the program.


We are going out of town this weekend so I had to move my workouts around. I usually work out 6 days a week and this week I will only get to work out 5 days a week but I got all my running in. I am a little concerned about eating since I won't get to work out on Saturday. Who knows what time we will get back on Sunday but I am hoping to be able to get my long walk in before the day is over. I will check back in next week!

Weekly and Monthly Update

So since last week, I lost 1.0 pound. I am happy with that considering that I lost 4.4 lbs. the week before. I also have to take into consideration that I ate "out" Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of this week. I was in Richmond for a testing panel. I had loads of fun and lots of good things to eat. I was tempted but I stayed on the straight and narrow. The hotel also had a nice gym with treadmills, an elliptical, medicine balls, and free weights. I woke up bright and early on Monday to hit the treadmill. There were only two so I wanted to make sure that I got on one in the morning since I had plans to hit the malls when we were finished for the day. Monday was my day to walk/run. I ran the first two sets of 10 minutes at 5.8 mph and the last set at 5.5 mph and walked 5 minutes nin between each run. I did this for a total of three times and ended up running for a total of 30 minutes and boy was I drenched!!! Even my booty was sweating :-). It was so hot in that room and it had poor circulation. When I was near the end, a hotel employee came in and turn the air on. I had a hard time running the last 10 minutes but I made it! On Tuesday, I got up at 5AM since I couldn't sleep. Silly me took non-droswy nasal congestant medicine right before I went to bed so I was up at almost every hour. I ran 3 miles in 33:33 at 5.6 mph. Pretty good...I was drenched with sweat after this run too but it makes me feel like I actually earned my workout.

I ended the month of February with a dinner at Longhorn since we were on our own for dinner. I had the salmon and I was just a little disappointed. The next day the hotel served grilled salmon with fruit salsa and it was delicious. I was supposed to be able to go back to eating chicken and other meats on this day but I really did not have a strong desire. I still really don't but since D has made it clear that he needs meat(!), I cooked whole wheat pizza (from Trader Joe's) with veggies and turkey pepperoni on his side. The next day, I made chicken tortilla soup. I was expecting this to be the best soup I had ever had since it got GREAT reviews but it was just okay. The guacamole I made definitely added to the soup.

For the month of February, I reached my goal of losing 5 more pounds. Since January 3rd, I have lost 17.4 pounds to date. That averages out to be about 2 pounds per week which is healthy and recommended by trainers and health professionals. I am happy with the results so far.

Here are my goals for March:
Goal 1: Lose 10% of my beginning weight by March 30th. I am only 2.3 pounds away from this goal and I think I will reach this goal before the end of the month but I don't want to put too much pressure on myself.

Goal 2: RUN the entire 5K on March 20th. I have recently run three miles in 33:33 minutes on the treadmill. The weather here still has not been that great but I am hoping to get some outdoor runs in next week at least on Saturday and the following week. I am curious to see how fast(?) I can run outside. I know that some people run/walk but I really, really, really want to run the entire race.

Goal 3:  Continue my race training. Once the 5K is over, I am immediately beginning training for a 10K. I actually am scheduled to start this program on Monday, March 21st. I need to find a 10K to run. I have my eye on one in May but I will just have to see how the 5K goes before I commit to another race even though I am definitely sticking with the training seeing how I have lost almost 20 pounds just training for a 5K and I am so happy with the results thus far even though I feel like I still have a long way to go. People are definitely noticing a difference and it makes me smile!!!

So let's get it!

Oh, I also have to think of something to give up for Lent...I don't have many ideas since I don't want to do chocolate because I don't eat that much of it now and I've already given up meat before. I might have to get really creative this year!

Weekly Update: Expect the Great!

So....another week on this journey and since last week, I have lost 4.4 pounds!!! I know that it is only through constant prayer and His grace that I have made it this far. I am in constant amazement of how this weight loss journey has gone thus far. So with this recent weight loss, it has brought my total weight loss since January 3rd to 16.4 pounds!!!! I  AM SO EXCITED. One of my goals for February was to lose an additional 5 pounds to the first 10. I have exceeded that goal by 1.4 pounds and I am just a little more than half way to my goal of losing 30 pounds! Watch out now! Thus far, I have lost 8.33% of my weight. Just one step closer to losing 10%! I remember years ago when I did WW, I longed to lose 10%, that meant I would have been a lifetime member. While J. Hud is my "thin-spiration", I am so proud of the fact that I am losing this weight through my eating habits and exercise which is the same thing that WW does but I don't spend the money on their program. I use a calorie calculator that I used when I did boot camp and I love it!  I think weight loss is about 80% diet and 20% exercise. I know people who work out seven days a week but they don't lose weight because they eat junk! I have to go out of town for work next week and I hope that I can find healthy things to eat. I plan on taking fruit and my healthy non-perishable snacks with me so I am not tempted to stop at fast food joints on the three hour drive down to Richmond. I have already scoped out the malls and shopping centers. I really wanted to meet my goal of 15 pounds so now I can "treat" myself to something new!!!!! I also think that the fish only thing is attributed to my weight loss for this month. I talked to D. about continuing to eat fish. I know that it is still going to be the majority of what I eat but I want to cook a couple chicken dishes next month and someone said they would take me to Ruth Chris as a treat for running the race. So we shall see...I love seafood anyway so its a win-win situation for me!

Like I said last week, Tuesdays are my best run days. Today, I had an awesome run! 2.75 miles straight in 31 minutes. I got a new water bottle that I can sip rather than pour so that helped with my water intake while running. One reason I wanted to run and not stop is to impress the hubby! We both had a snow day today and we started out running next to each other until his treadmill went crazy so he moved. He wanted me to move with him but I didn't want to stop running. I ran the first two miles at 5.2 mph/11:18 and for the last .75, I upped it to 5.5/10:54 mph. I continued walking for another 30 minutes. I am still anxious to run outside. On Sunday, the weather was semi-nice so took Amaya up to an elementary school to ride her bike and play on the playground. The school had a trail that I walked. It was pretty nice but I didn't feel like I got a good workout. It was cold so I didn't sweat much. I think I went around the trail about 12 times and according to my trusty iPod pedometer, I walked about 2.79 in 45 minutes. Not bad, but not good either. I am so hard on myself but if I'm not, then who will? 

So I hope to be back next week with more great news...after all, I am expecting the great!

Weekly Update

Two pounds down and three more to go until I reach my goal for February. I have lost 6.1% of my weight!! In the weight loss challenge that I am doing we are calculating our weight loss by using percentages. Although, we did not start the challenge at the same time I started my "getting to skinny". So by the end of the challenge which is on March 31st, I hope to have lost at least 10% of my weight. That would also mean that I would be more than half way to my goal of losing 30 pounds by this summer.

The weight keeps coming off (slowly but at least its coming off) so I think I should keep doing what I am doing. Last week, I only worked out six days so I think my theory of working out everyday is true. If you remember, last week when I only lost .8 pounds, I worked out seven days that week. I will keep up with the six, working out Sunday-Tuesday, a rest on Wednesday, and then pick back up on Thursday-Saturday and repeat!

I am finishing up week 5 in the 5K training program. I ran 2.5 miles under 27 minutes on Tuesday. I have had my best runs on Tuesday!!! On Thursday, I was struggling to run 2 miles but I did it in 22:13. Which I thought was pretty good. I am also tracking my miles because my chapter in my sorority is participating in the 2,013 miles by the year 2013. Last month, I walked/ran 41.5 miles. This month so far, I have already walked/ran 43 miles and some changes. So needless to say, I will be exceeding that number for February!

Still sticking with the fish and if it wasn't for my poor husband and the fact that I LOVE chicken enchiladas, I would keep the fish thing up. I am going to talk to him about it some more. I know that we will probably continue to eat more fish than anything else! It tastes so good. In the last couple of days, I have made some pretty tasty fish recipes. My favorite was the Roasted Red Pepper and Herb Pasta w/Shrimp. I got the recipe from cooking light and it tasted so good to be "light". Next time I make it, I will add less crushed red pepper because it was a little on the spicy side! I also know exactly what to do to roast red peppers; to say I had a bit of a challenge would be an understatement. I love raw red peppers and they tasted even better roasted. 


Here's to another great week!

I Did It, I Really Did It!

I reached my first weight goal a whole week early!! I didn't lose much weight this week (only .8 lb.) but that .8 plus the 9.2 that I had lost thus far caused me to reach my goal of 10 pounds by Feb. 14th!!!! I am so excited. I am not really sure what is was this week as to why I didn't lose more. Maybe it was the chocolate cake I ate on Super Bowl Sunday; I would hate to think that I can't have any sweets!!! But hey, a loss is a loss anyway you look at it. So I am 10 pounds lighter than the day I began this blog and that's a lot to celebrate. I have to stop comparing myself to others. I got myself in this and I am the only one who can get me out of it. Its easy to get bogged down by what other people are doing but I have to focus on me and my goals for this journey!

Now, I am looking forward to challenging myself to meet my Feb. weight goal of 5 more pounds. It was pretty easy for the first 10 to come off so I am trying to figure out what I need to do to continue. I am still sticking with the fish only and to be honest; I'm surprised I didn't lose more because of that alone. Maybe it was because I worked out every.single.day in the last week. I actually worked out for 10 days straight and took a rest on Wednesday (2-9) because I was tired and had a busy day. That didn't stop me from feeling guilty though! And to top that off, I had a pretty sucky workout Thursday (2-10) morning because I didn't have much time before work. I only ran 1.5 miles (the standard for my training schedule) and walked a half-mile. I didn't sweat as much and by the time I looked at the clock, it was time to head back to the house to shower and get ready for work. To say I have a slight obsession with working out would be a true statement. I just hope I can keep it up. Today I plan on hitting the gym hard! An hour on the elliptical and abs and arms are what is on the workout schedule for today. Tomorrow, I am scheduled for 2.25 miles. I really want to get outside but this morning, the temperatures were in the single digits. Its supposed to warm up next week, so maybe next Saturday, I will run 2.5 miles outdoors.

I finally registered for the race, so its official; I'm running a 5K! I am finishing up my 4th week of training and I can hardly believe that I have stuck with it. Prior to this, I was not a runner, like at all. But now I see how people can develop a love for running. I am already thinking about my workout schedule once I finish training for this race. I am still searching for a bootcamp so hopefully once the weather gets warmer, they will be in full effect! I think I am going to sign up for a local 10K that will be held at the end of May. I haven't decided yet but its in the back of my mind. I also am entertaining the idea of a half-marathon. The only thing is most of them are in late fall and I do NOT want to train for a race in the hot days of summer. We surprisingly had a really hot summer last year and I can't imagine running outside. So my plan is (if I decide to do it) to start training for it in September and maybe run a half in January. I have my eye on the Disney Half-Marathon that will be in January 2012. That would be plenty of time. Hopefully, by then my weight will be what I want it and I would just be focusing on running.

Weekly Update and Goals for February

I heard the song "Expect the Great" early yesterday morning and it seemed to be the theme song for me yesterday. After a stressful Sunday and Monday, I was determined that Tuesday be a great day and I expected it. I had already made up my mind to weigh-in after my 2 mile run which was a great idea. The run was soooo easy (knock on wood!)!!!!! I kept waiting to feel tired or like I couldn't go on but it never came. So I ran 2 miles in 23 minutes and 05 seconds at a pace of 5.2 mph. I was so proud of myself. I cooled down for 5 minutes and then upped it back up for another 20 minutes and walked another mile. This is week three in the training program and I am happy to say it is getting easier by the week!

So for the weigh-in...drumroll please.................................................I lost 4 pounds this week!!! I am so, so, so happy! Considering I gained two last week, I definitely made up for it this week. This brings my Month 1 weight loss total to, wait for it, 9.2 pounds!!! I am *this* close to my 10 pound goal. I am hoping that I can meet my goal with next week's weigh-in. I figured out what I did wrong the last week and fixed it. I stopped all the snacking and I try not to eat dinner at 8PM.

I also started putting my meals and snacks into an on-line calorie calculator that I have used in the past and it seems to be helping as well. I really take into account what I put into my mouth because I have to enter it. So as I stated earlier, I am also proud of myself because the last two days have been extremely stressful and in the past (meaning before Jan. 2011), I would have eaten myself into a hole but I didn't. I used to consider myself an emotional eater, meaning when I was sad or upset, I would just eat and eat and especially eat junk food but that didn't happen! 

I met Goal 1 and 3 for January; I have to wait until my weigh-in on Feb. 15th to see if I met my 10 pound weight loss goal for the month. The chocolate intake was easy. Whenever I felt the urge to eat chocolate, I would drink water or eat a Dove dark chocolate piece. I don't really enjoy those but they help my chocolate craving. I did also have (throughout two weeks) 6 pretzel rods that were dipped half-way in white chocolate. I also had two granola bars that had mini chocolate chips in them. The water part was easy. I started putting a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice in my water bottle each time I filled it up. Now, I can hardly drink water with having lemons or limes. When at work, I would try to drink one bottle (26 oz) before lunch and then fill up for the second time after lunch and for the rest of the afternoon. Last Tuesday, I tried to drink 3 bottles of water which I think caused extra water weight (if there is such a thing) so I think 2 bottles of water a day is really what works for me! 

So my February goals are:

Goal 1:  Continue to train for the 5K in March. I have 6 more weeks left until the race and again it is getting easier. Along with the training, I want to continue to work out 5 days a week. With the training schedule, I am supposed to walk on Sundays, run/walk on Mondays, run on Tuesdays, rest of Wednesdays, run on Thursdays, rest on Fridays, and run on Saturdays. I think I am going to work out on Wednesdays instead of rest. The gym has Boot Camp on the 2nd Wednesdays of every month. I already have a prior commitment next Wednesday so I guess I will have to wait until March to attend. I tried the Precor machine on Monday so I think I will maybe do that on Wednesdays. This machine tells you which lower body muscles are being worked and it was definitely a workout on the glutes and thighs and calves. I definitely felt it! 

Goal 2: Lose five additional pounds by March 1st. This would mean that by the end of February, I would have lost 15 pounds. I think this is realistic because I am more than half-way there and I hope that I meet this goal!

Goal 3: Fish only for the month of February. I have done this before for one month when I was getting ready for my wedding and felt that it helped me. I have found lots of fish and vegetarian meals to cook for the month of February. 

I am wanting meet my 30 pound weight loss goal by the middle of July; my online calorie counter says I should meet my goal by the middle of May but I know that life happens and I don't want to be too hard on myself so that's why I am saying July. I am still trying to get into a two piece by 4th of July. I should go purchase one and hang it up so I can have it as a daily reminder seeing how so many stores have them out already! An important part of losing weight this time is the maintenance. I know that I can lose weight but the struggle this time is going to be KEEPING it off!

Weekly Update...

Two days and two pounds later, here I am checkin' in! Yep, so I gained two pounds this week. I was pretty upset about it but now I'm cool with it. It wasn't like I was pigging out and eating anything I wanted so it could be a number of reasons for the two pounds. I hopped on the scale right before I was supposed to run 1.75 miles...yeah, not a good idea. It was pretty rough and it should not have been. It was only a quarter of a mile farther than I have already been. So I just chalk it up to being upset. But when my hubs got home, he made me feel better. He put things into perspective which I really needed! 

So I know what I have to do in the upcoming week. I was snacking too much and since Wednesday, I've cut that out. They were all healthy snacks (well maybe with the exception of pretzels) but fruit, raw veggies, 100 calorie packs-occasionally, and yogurt) but when I put it into my calorie counter, snacks counted for over 40% of my diet which is not good. We've had two snow days so I have had plenty of time to research and put things in place. 

I think that planning my meals out will be a great start! Next week, I will start eating fish only all the way until the end of February. I did it before the month before my wedding. It seemed to work so I will try it out again. I have found lots of yummy vegetarian and seafood recipes that I can't wait to try out. I did tell the hubs that I would still make dishes with chicken, but I just wouldn't eat them. 

So I am still doing well on this journey...in 4 weeks, I have lost 5.2 pounds and that's something to be proud of!!! I am hoping that next week is even better and I have faith that it will be!

Weekend Recap

Because I felt like I ate horribly on Thursday, I began a food diary on Friday. This really helps me because its one of the things I did during bootcamp and it makes me more aware of what I'm eating. I have done good so far with writing everything down. When I worked out Thursday morning before work, I felt like I ate a ton more than usual during the day. I mean granted it was all healthy food (pineapple, carrot sticks, yogurt, etc) but I still felt like I was hungry the whole day. For dinner that night, I only ate one fish taco. They were soooo good too!

Friday for dinner I ate one brats dog with a bun and baked tater tots with ketchup. I had written earlier that I was going to get up on Saturday before my hair appointment to work out. Well, good thing I called the gym on Friday to make sure they would be open at 6 AM; it turns out they don't open until 7 on Saturdays and Sundays. I was pretty bummed but quickly realized that meant I could sleep a little longer. :-) So anyway, I got up went to my hair appointment, came home, and then hit the gym. I finished under 17 minutes this time only because for the last quarter of a mile, I had a 5.9 pace.

I was pretty good at the game and afterwards Saturday night. So much unhealthy food was calling my name and I politely ignored it. I did eat really late after the game but instead of getting fried chicken wings, I had two fish tacos (one of my new fav foods) and only 2 bbq chicken wings with NO dipping sauce! I was proud of myself. Sunday we ate breakfast at the hotel and when I was full, I stopped eating. It wasn't all that great so that probably had something to do with it. I am a bit nervous about hopping on the scale on Tuesday, only because I feel like I have been eating a lot but like I keep telling myself, its not chips and dips and sodas and things like that that I am eating. We shall see! I need to lose at least two pounds...

Today will be another run/walk day and tomorrow I am supposed to run 1.75 miles so only a quarter of a mile more. I feel like I can do that. I am really loving this training schedule. I keep meaning to talk to some at the gym to help me with some toning and stretch exercises. When I did bootcamp, it was strictly cardio and right at the end, I added a body pump class. Maybe I will do that this time, once the 5K is over, I could focus on toning. I am starting to get more into the running. I didn' realize this was such a big accomplishment for me. Some people may say, gee a 5K ain't nothing, but to me it is. I have never been a runner and I plan on running the entire 3.1 miles. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Feeling Guilty and Updates...

So on Wednesday, I treated myself to a chocolate chip whoopie cookie. It was like a sandwich cookie with cream frosting in the middle. I have had them before and they were yummy. I don't know if it was because I hadn't had sweets in about two weeks or because I knew I shouldn't eat it (even though it was a treat), but it was not good! In my defense, I picked apart the two cookies and did not eat very much of the creamy frosting. It was hard and tasted old but I still ate it. I guess that's the part I felt guilty about...eating when it wasn't even good. This has led to a lot of my over-eating.

I made up for that treat by hitting the gym bright and early on Thursday morning. I had a training after school and I knew I wouldn't be in the mood to go after the training and spending all day at work. Thursday's 1.5 miler was so much easier than Tuesday's. Maybe because I knew how long it would take me and I knew what to expect. I am anticipating that Saturday's run will be like a cake walk. I have a hair appointment on Saturday morning so I plan to get up early and get my run out of the way since we have plans on Saturday afternoon in D.C.

I felt really sore yesterday but did some stretches. I am feeling more "loose" today but my legs and calfs are still tight. Like my hubby says,
"No Pain, No Gain". I had him take a "before" picture of me and golly wow! I definitely need to drop a couple and its all around my mid-section. I had on a sports bra and yoga pants. I am thinking that I want him to take another with a sports tank and yoga pants. I'm just not ready to show that one to the world!

Weekly Update

Drum roll please.....................................I lost 4.4 pounds this week!!!!!! I was shocked when I stepped on the scale. I was just looking for at least a 2 pound lost but I almost started crying when I saw that I had lost 4.4 pounds. I even went out to dinner on Saturday. I ate pretty good. I drank water, had a little bit of the spinach dip appetizer not on bread but these cracker crisp things that were in the bread basket. For dinner, I had a crab cake sandwich sans the bread, a side salad instead of fries and dressing on the side. I planned on ordering dessert as a treat but instead a I ate three pretzel rods covered in white chocolate from the goody bag I received from the dinner. There was also dark chocolate and Reese's PB cups (my absolute favorite candy) in there but I didn't touch one piece! I actually haven't had any cravings for sweets which lets you know that I didn't need them! I do have a love affair with food, now I'm just remembering all the healthy food tips I learned in boot camp. Someone asked me "how hard it was to lose weight?" I know the person meant well but I am just using those insensitive words as my motivation to get through. To show that person that its actually not hard at all if I put my mind to it!

Yesterday was day 1 of training for the 5K in March. It was a pretty easy day as I just did a 5 minute walking warm-up,  3 minutes walk, run for 5 minutes-this was repeated three times. Today, on the other hand, was quite a bit challenging. I had to run 1.5 miles. I got tired right at one mile. I did complete the 1.5 miles at about a 5.3 pace running all the way in about 17 minutes!!! I was SO proud of myself. I had to keep giving myself a pep talk because I wanted to quit running especially right at the end but I was a little too close to the end. I am following this training schedule. I am actually a week ahead so I will just repeat the last week twice. Wish me luck because this schedule gets tougher each week! I am looking forward to the rest day tomorrow and hitting the treadmill again on Thursday. My hubby suggested that once the ice and snow slow down that I train outside some so I can get used to the actual race. I thought that was a great idea.

That brings my weight loss since January 4th to 7.2 pounds!!!! I am so amazed and even more inspired because I know that I can do this. I am more than halfway to my first goal of 10 pounds by Feb. 14th. I am actually only 2.8 pounds away and I hope that I can meet that by at least the 1st of February. We are going to a Wizards game on Saturday so I am hoping that I can keep my eating to a minimum. We shall see!!!!

Am I crazy or what?!

So after reading tons of weight loss blogs yesterday, I decided to run a 5K. I have always wanted to run a race but I never got myself together. I figured a 5K would be the easiest. If I live to tell about it, then maybe a half-marathon is in my future! The race is on March 20th. Yep, that's exactly 9 weeks from today. Good thing I found a training program that's only 8 weeks long. 

The great thing is that the race is called "Scope It Out" and its for colon cancer. I was REALLY wanting to run this race once I found this out because earlier last summer my aunt had a bout with colon cancer but now its all clear!! PTL for that but I thought this would give me very much inspiration especially when running and training get strenuous and daunting. I am nervous, excited, and scared but I know that I can do this! The naysayers will be my motivation. I know it will be hard but it will be worth it.

Bring It On!

I just signed up for a Weight Loss Challenge. We have to weigh-in on Wednesdays every week until March 30th. The one who has lost the biggest percentage takes the pot of $150. I am not even motivated by the money. I just don't like to lose but for some reason, I won't be sad if I lose because I will have gotten something out of it anyway. What you ask? A smaller waistline. :-) I still haven't gotten around to taking my before picture. I promise to take it this week probably only because I have to for the challenge. We also have to take pictures of the scale each week for the end results. I will probably end up taking those pictures with my camera phone since I don't take anything but my Nook, phone, and clothes into the gym with me.

As I said before my first goal is 10 pounds by Feb. 14th. I think that my goal for this weight loss challenge will be 20 pounds. I don't know if that's feasible because that's another 10 pounds to tack on. But I am consistently working out and eating right so with that said, there really is no reason that I can't do it! Right?!?!

I finally got some new workout clothes and for the low-low too! I love Target's clearance rack. 3 sports bras for $3.74 each, a pair of pants for $6.24 each, 2 long sleeves shirt for $3.24 each, and a cute track jacket for $6.24. I also went to Wal-Mart and got one pair of yoga pants for $10. Ross also had a good clearance rack with name brand (not that it matters) active wear. I got two sports bras (the long shirt like ones) for $9 and a pair of Adidas pants for $9.99 and a pair of Reebok pants for $7.49. I just washed and folded all of my workout gear and I think that I am set!

So BRING IT ON!!!

Weekly Update

I know that I am day late but last week was a good week. I lost 2.8 pounds!!! I am not getting my hopes up but I feel that was a good start. I am looking to lose about 1 to 2 pounds per week and I exceeded that wish/goal. Last week, I did not eat the best everyday but I did drink my 52+ ounces of water everyday. Every morning I drink a small amount of orange juice with breakfast. I found that I was "drinking" a ton of calories so I decided to just drink water during the week and if I want, I can drink ginger ale (the only soda I drink) or lemonade on the weekend. I really think the water has a lot to do with it and working out. Last week, I worked out four times. I will be the first to admit that I did not go hard in the gym, it had been about three weeks since my last visit so I wanted to ease back into things. I just did high intensity on the treadmill and ran for about 4-5 minutes. I want to get back into mainly running on the treadmill or at least doing intervals and maybe my cycling class. Last spring, I went to the 5AM on Wednesdays religiously. Then summer came and I got out of my routine and its been shot since then. Now, I struggle to get out of bed at 7AM on any given week day so I am going to build up the courage to start going back maybe when we are done with the snow. 

So this week, I am doing some of the same things as far as exercise and I am definitely eating better. I haven't had a piece of chocolate candy all week long and its Wednesday...shoot, that's an accomplishment in itself! I love chocolate candy and boy have I been tempted with all the Valentine's Day candy out but I take one look at the hearts and kisses and remind myself that V-day is my deadline for the first 10 pounds I want to lose. 

Today I have a snow day and I'm already bored so here's to drinking lots of water and staying out of the fridge and pantry.

My Inspiration

Have you seen the "new" Jennifer Hudson!?!? She looks AH-MAY-ZING!!!!! I should hang this photograph on my desk at work, in front of the workout area at home, and on the refrigerator. I can not get over how fab she looks. I know that she did Weight Watchers and I told my friend that I am going to try to do it on my own for about 4-6 weeks and if I haven't lost any weight then I will sign up for WW, especially if the results are this!!!!

My other source of inspiration is my sister. I was looking at photos of her on FB last night that my brother-in-law posted. She lost weight about three years ago and she has maintained and looks great!!!  Now, if I maintained what I lost, I wouldn't be writing this blog but 'tis is life, right?!?!?!

My hubby (thank you boo!) bought me two new pairs of running shoes (we are hoping to run a 5K or 10k this spring) so hopefully these new shoes will inspire me!!! I also went to Target last night to get new workout clothes but they were so expensive. I think I will go to Wally World this weekend because I know they have workout pants for about $10. I was looking thru my stash and that's what I need the most so hopefully I will be able to get at least two pairs of pants without breaking the bank.

One last thing that inspires me is looking at myself in the mirror and knowing I am not 100% happy with the way I look and feel. I *know* that I can do better!

What inspires you when it comes to exercise?

Goals for January

I think that setting 3 goals per month will help me attain my long term goal of losing 30 pounds. I still haven't come up with a deadline for the 30 pounds because I'm just not ready yet. I really could get by with losing 25 pounds but I want to get back to the weight I was at (or very close it) when I got married. I will also weigh-in on every Tuesday and post the loss (hopefully not the gain). I am thinking of getting a scale that measures body fat as well. The scale that we used at boot camp did this and it was nice because I got a weight goal and a body fat goal. I plan on taking a picture every 6 weeks to document my progress. I just need to get the first picture taken.

Since I've known myself all my life (lol), I know that I need to set small goals for myself. That being said, my goal for today is to not eat any chocolate candy today! This morning I had a half piece of WW toast with Nutella spread on it. So that should be my chocolate fix for the day. Now on to the real goals...

Goal 1: Limit my chocolate intake. I saw in Shape magazine that if you allow yourself two bite sized pieces of Dove dark chocolate then it will curb your appetite and for chocoaholics like me, it will give me my chocolate fix for the day. The thing is that I don't really like dark chocolate but I might buy it so I am not tempted to eat regular chocolate.

Goal 2: Lose 10 pounds by Feb. 14th. I know that it is going to be hard but I also know that it going to be possible. With this goal, I am committing to exercising at least three times per week. I am setting it at three but hopefully I will make it four times per week.

Goal 3: Drink at least 52 oz. of water a day. I know that's not a lot of water and that I need to be drinking more water but you have to start somewhere right!??! I have a water bottle that goes up to 26 oz. so I plan on filling it up twice a day and actually drinking all the water. I have added lemon juice today so hopefully that will help me!

I have been thinking of long term goals and here are a few. I want to lose 30 pounds-date tbd. I also want to fit into a pair of these black & white work pants that I got from GAP by the end of the school year-June 9th. They are waaaay too tight now! I can put them on a zip them but wearing them out of the house is another story. Another one of my long term goals is that I also want to get into a two piece by 4th of July. I guess long term to me is 6 months so I will continue to think about the weight loss goal and set a date soon.

Here We Go!

So I have been wanting to start a blog for a while now. I just didn't know what I wanted to write about...marriage, the state of Black relationships, family, photography, etc. So after joining hundreds of others at the gym yesterday, it hit me as I was briskly walking on the treadmill. As I excitedly came home and told D about my idea to blog about my exercise and food journal, he suggested that we make it a competition. We have competed before when it came to working out. We had to put money in a jar each time we worked out and we had to put even more money in on the days we didn't work out. We haven't discussed the details of this current wager, I just know that I want to come out looking better than ever and more importantly being healthier.

Almost two (gee, has it been that long?!?!) years ago, I decided to get on the exercise bandwagon because I was getting married on the beautiful, sunny beach in the Bahamas and we were also going on a cruise, so I wanted to wear a bikini for the first time in years. I began early on in 2009 by eating better and working out on my Wii. In March, I joined a boot camp which was the best decision that I had made concerning exercise and weight loss. I also contribute my 30 pound weight loss to the fact that I didn't have a real job (I was working odds and ends), so I was poor and saving any money I got for the wedding. Because of that, we did not eat out very often. But back to the boot camp; it was seriously the best thing! I hate that we moved and I have not been able to find anything like it since then.

So here I am now in 2011 trying to remember some of the things I learned in boot camp about healthy eating and exercising. I am committed to doing those things again but for the rest of my life. I think I looked at that time as only a temporary time, like oh, just let me look skinny for my wedding and then its over after that. And I quickly gained all the weight, plus some back over the past year. Like I said, its about life changing choices not temporary choices, so here we go!!!