Aftermath.

I was home for Thanksgiving from Wednesday evening until Sunday night. I made some poor, poor decisions.. but I also had some successes.

The Ugly:
* Taco Bell for dinner Tuesday night.
* GORGED myself on dinner last night.
* Chocolate milkshake and fries on the way home last night.
* Didn't get as much activity in as I had planned.
* Ate too much fried food.. bleh.
* Too much regular Pepsi.

The Good:
* Only ate ONE plate at Thanksgiving dinner & left some scraps on that plate as well.
* Went for two three-mile walks with the fam.
* Shopped all day on Friday, so I was at least somewhat active.
* Went to the movies and did not get popcorn.

This week is a new week. I've already been to the gym today and I love how much happier my body feels when I'm getting some good, quality exercise in. I'm going to do my best to do the best that I can within these next three weeks!

#7

210

-12 total

GRRRRRRR*!($!

Positives:
I did SO much better this week.
I upped my vegetable and fruit intake.
I watched my portions.
I did not eat out during the week.
I did not drink during the week.
I went to the gym everyday.
I really busted my ass at the gym everyday.
I did elliptical workouts at 10+ resistance.
I can feel my fitness level increasing.
I'm not SO winded anymore.
I tried on a pair of knee-high boots at Target (not at a PLUS-size store) and they fit over my calves! They were snug, but they went up!

Negatives:
I kept snacking on the onion pretzels I made. (Loaded with butter.)
I went out to eat three times over the weekend.

I am very, VERY nervous about this next week with it being Thanksgiving and not being in York by my gym. I'm going to have to rely on will-power and motivation to get my ass out and moving and watch what I'm eating.
I drank half a bottle of wine on Sunday.
I didn't get any exercise in on the weekend except for walking Lucy.

My new love.

First off:

Dear Biggest Loser,

Thank you for making me cry for the last hour SOLID.

Love,
Heather

Second:

I discovered a new love of my life this week... PINEAPPLE. LOVE it.

Yesterday afternoon, two of my girlfriends and I went off to explore the city. I had just done laundry and one of my two "good" (read: fits without making my legs look like sausages) pairs of jeans was still a little wet from the dryer. I dug through my closet and pulled out a pair of Old Navy jeans that I don't think I've worn comfortably since I went back to school in 2007. I wore them to walk Lucy one day a few months ago and thought I might die on the way out because they were SO. TIGHT. I threw them on real quick, just to see, and lo and behold... THEY FIT! They're a tad bit tight in the knee, but other than that, they were super comfortable. Perfect around the waist, if not a little big, and butt.. thighs were good.. and they made me look THINNER because they weren't hanging off of my ass and sagging in the thighs. We even went out to eat at Hoss's and I wasn't uncomfortable in them after gorging myself on the salad bar.

I feel like all I've done this weekend is go out to eat. Friday afternoon, some of my co-workers and I went to a Mexican restaurant. I took half of my meal home with me. Friday night, I went to Cracker Barrel with some girlfriends. Once again, I took half of my meal home with me. Yesterday I ordered a dinner with my salad bar and I took the ENTIRE dinner home with me. I won't have to buy groceries at all this week! It's good to see that I'm leaning self-control. A few months ago, it wouldn't have been odd for me to eat three plates from the salad bar AND my dinner. It actaully disgusts me to think about that. It was so filling yesterday that I ate my salad bar around 2:30 and I wasn't hungry again until almost 11 last night.

#6

211.

-11

Yesterday's log:

Breakfast: two wholegrain waffles, one with 1 tbsp. low-fat peanut butter
Lunch: Apple slices, low-fat homemade macaroni and cheese
Snack: Cup of coffee with powdered creamer and Equal
Dinner: XL diet Cherry Coke, soft pretzel, celery & carrot slices with ranch
Snack: two onion rings, picked at a few fries, & a pint of Miller Lite

Exercise: two short walks with Lucy

I don't feel too bad about the onion rings & fries last night at The Vault because I had a lot of calories left to spare at the end of the day, but I still shouldn't have eaten the fried food that late at night. If I'm going to go to a bar to visit with friends, I gotta cut back on the beer as well.. there's no law that says I NEED to drink if I'm at a bar.

Veggies.

I went grocery shopping at Weis this morning. I always hit the produce section first and today it was a JOY to go through there! I found a veggie tray, a bag of Chiquita pre-sliced apples, full pineapple, and a bowl of melon chunks for 99 cents each. I bought stuff to make low-fat macaroni & cheese (made with 2% cheddar, fat-free cottage cheese, & fat-free ricotta cheese... as well as fat-free evaporated milk) and I've eaten one serving of that plus the melon chunks and some veggies today.

I think I might make another grocery store trip at some point this week to get some fat-free sour cream and hidden valley ranch mix and some veggies. I forget how much I like veggies and dip until I eat it again.

Lucy and I did a 6-mile walk on the Rail Trail this afternoon. I didn't realize how far we had gone until we got back to the parking lot and I grabbed a trail guide. It was quite the hike for her little beagle legs! I would love to do the entire trail, but unfortunately, I have guilt issues with walking without her and her little body can't handle much more than the 6 miles we did today. She fell asleep as soon as we got in the car and I literally had to carry her downstairs to go pee pee.. she wanted to go to bed instead, lol.

This week, I'm not setting a very high fitness goal for myself. I have parent-teacher conferences until 8 PM on Monday and Wednesday which leaves little time for gym since the one I go to closes at 9. I discovered that I can get workouts on demand, so I'm going to do either yoga or a Leslie Sansone 2-mile walk these days after I get home. Tuesday and Thursday will definitely be ass-kicking gym days, as well as Friday since it's a 1/2 day at school.

This is the most random post ever.. I just needed to sort things out in my head.

Inspiration.

I was so caught up in beating myself up earlier that I forgot to mention this story.

Last night when I met up with Tasha at The Waterway, as soon as I sat down she goes, "Holy shit, look at your face!" I was like.. WHAT?! What's wrong?! She goes, "You've lost SO much weight, at least 15 pounds!"

Last time I saw her was the first weekend I was in York by myself.. about 3 months ago.

It makes me feel really good to hear someone say that.

Relapse.

I did so well yesterday for a weekend day.. I bought a single-serve bag of potato chips and a single serve cup of french onion dip on my way home from work Friday night. I ate half the bag Friday night with dinner, then put it away. I had the other half last night while I was watching TV. I went on a long walk with Lucy while I was waiting for my laundry to dry, complete with hills and different terrain like sand, mud, etc. It was a GOOD walk.

I'm sitting around last night then, bored out of my mind, playing Wheel of Fortune online. (I'm 25 years old and I live in a city.. I sure know how to party.. :\) Tasha had texted me to see if I wanted to go out for her birthday around 8, but I didn't get it until then.. closer to 9. I decided to go out for a little bit (not like me) instead of sitting at home being lonely all night. At the bar, I had two bottles of beer and a shot. I would have been okay with myself if I could have left it at that, but I wanted to get home and I had a headlight out, so I was terrified that I would get pulled over. I ended up spending $9 on an order of crab fries and practically ate the whole thing..

I woke up this morning with the worst food hangover ever. Lesson learned and dually noted.

I do need to learn that I CAN go out and have fun, but not at the expense of my diet. I can go have A beer and some healthy-ish snack. Even two beers is not the end of the world.. but I need to keep myself from eating something crappy before I go to bed. I've been running in and out of the bathroom all morning. :(

#5

213.

-9

Inspiration.

I got hit on as I was walking into the gym tonight. Twice. Now THAT is motivation!

Activity log.

AM 15 min. walk with Lucy
PM 15 min. walk with Lucy
30 minutes on elliptical - around the world program
10 minutes arm, shoulders, & back

Food log.

Breakfast:
Yoplait Light yogurt - 100 cals.
2 frozen waffles - 240 cals.
Total: 340 calories

Lunch:
Leftovers from TGI Friday's..
Jack Daniels grilled chicken breast
loaded mashed potatoes
Total: 650 calories
(Basing this off a reading that says that 2 breasts, mashed potatoes and veggies is 500 calories.. & rounding up!)

Snacks:
Snack-size Three Musketeers bar (I couldn't help it.. ) - 70 cals.
Special K bar - 90 cals.
Total: 160 calories

Dinner:
8 oz. skim milk - 90 cals.
dry grilled chicken breast - 300 cals.
1 tbsp. BBQ sauce - 50 cals.
mushroom salad - 150 cals.
Total: 590 calories

Daily total: 1740

Today's food goal: Do not touch the candy in my desk! As a matter of fact, my REAL goal is to give it all out today so it's NOT sitting there.

Weighed myself this morning as soon as I got up...

220 lbs! That's up FIVE from Friday!

@&%*@(&%(*@%@

I feel some SERIOUS gym time coming on this week..

Home.

I went home this weekend for Mom and Abbie's birthdays. I knew I was putting myself up against a LOT of temptation, but I didn't think I'd do as bad as I did.. :\ I was so stressed Thursday night about not being able to make it to the gym for the whole weekend that I really thought I would do well.. BUUUUT.. no.

Friday night I went out to dinner w/ Matt's parents.. had a glass of wine, 4 pieces of ciabatta bread with spinach dip, a chicken bruschetta sandwich and french fries. To my credit, I only ate about 1/4 of the french fries and then asked the waitress to take them from me. Went to a friend's party, ate buffalo chicken dip, Goobers, and something else junky. Got home, ate more buffalo chicken dip that mom had made and drank Pepsi. GRR.

Saturday, went to Friday's for lunch. Shared fried green beans and spinach dip with the fam.. had Jack Daniel's chicken and shrimp for lunch. Only ate the shrimp and french fries, saved the chicken breast and mashed potatoes for lunch/dinner tomorrow. (Still have them!) Could have ordered healthier sides.. but.. :\ At least I did it in moderation. Dessert, had 1/2 Oreo Madness. At home, ate MORE shit.. had a ton of Halloween candy and buffalo chicken dip and a piece of birthday cake.

Today I did a little better.. had McDonalds for breakfast.. an egg mcmuffin and hashbrown AFTER I had already eaten a bowl of Apple Jacks and some leftover buffalo chicken dip. Had a venison hot dog and a hamburger (no bun) and a scoop of macaroni salad for lunch.. and a piece of boston cream pie.

Small success of the weekend? 1 - Did not stop for fast food on the way home. 2- Stopped at Ruby Tuesday last night to visit and did not eat anything. 3 - Did not stop for fast food on the way back.

Went for a walk on Rails to Trails with mom and dad and the dogs today which turned into a hike. I seriously get anxiety when I walk with them because I know it's going to turn into a damn hike everytime.. Today we took the dogs to get some water from a stream and mom looks up to this massive hill and says, "Hey, we should climb up there and see where it goes." HERE WE GO.. I actually made it up without getting as winded or as tired as I thought I would! Those incline workouts on the treadmill must be doing something good! It was a great feeling.

The hike today really inspired me to do my best and work till I'm dripping sweat this week. This entry itself inspired me to do REALLY well this week and to NOT have another entry like this when I get back next time I go home. Which is actually Thanksgiving.. that should be the biggest challenge I've faced this far.