The Harvest

So hard work has paid off.  I am back down 20 pounds.  It has been an effort but I am trying to stick with it.  I've been sick.  I've been lazy.  I've made excuses.  But I've also tried to stick with it.

The fall has dawned with such vibrant color.  I am trying to remember to embrace those colors in my meals.  It is so easy to order McDonalds or pizza.  But those are not healthy options.  The other day at a restaurant I had cheesy corn out (a combination of corn, peppers, cheese and cream).  I tasted the yumminess and deciphered what it would take to create a lighter version.  I plan on serving that soon for guests.

Trying to eat a larger variety of vegetables.  Still not my favorite.  But much better for me.  So I keep trying. And I keep trying to avoid the Halloween candy.  It's on sale.  That doesn't mean I have to have it in the house for weeks before the date.  Pumpkin cakes are available again.  It's that yummy time of year.  Again, doesn't mean I need to have them piling up in the apartment.  I think maybe this all is finally denting.

Headed in the Right Direction

So recently I was asked by someone "Don't be mad at me.  Are you pregnant?" My response was "No." Her response was, "Oh sorry you know your mom will be thrilled when it happens." Yes, I know.  But unfortunately apparently God doesn't think we are ready yet.  So with the fire under my rear from this person's comment, my resolve to get healthier is back in place.  I started my battery of routine doctor's appointments.  It is time that I make sure that I am no longer my last priority.  I'm still not the type to make myself my first priority.  But it is time that I learn that I cannot come last either.

So Bill and I joined a local fitness center together.  This Tuesday I had my first appointment with my personal trainer.  I enjoyed working with her.  She gets it.  I am willing to try hard.  I am willing to work it.  I am not willing to kill myself on machinery or with too much weight.  But she did put me through some great options to see how well or not well I did.  Now she can "prescribe" a regime for me to begin following.  As I don't want to lose momentum I have scheduled meeting two with her already for next week.

Deciding to decide.  So after struggling with many different emotions and recent events I am determined to try again.  I have begun instituting some better eating habits again.  I have decided that rest is important.  I have decided that physical activity is important.  I have decided to eat the smaller portion.  I have decided to eat half.  I have decided to drink water instead of soda.

I have also decided my scale is not quite so mean.  I lost a pound under this new found resolve.  I hope to lose a bunch more.  But little goals help keep me going.  Right now my main goal is to lose 1 more pound.  That would put me below a plateau point that I have been at for a long time.  After that my next goal will be to lose 5 more.  If I keep working in small increments I will eventually reach my ultimate goal of 45 pounds lighter.

So I have a gym bag packed so that tomorrow afternoon I can hit the gym to add some cardio to my day.  I realize I need to put the effort into me that I put into everything else that I do.  I can longer come last in my priority list.  I must make time for me... offer to read a magazine for a little me time before attempting sleep so that I am well rested for tomorrow's workload and exercise.  Night all.

Renewed

Okay, so I had stopped blogging.  Some people had expressed negativity and I decided it just wasn't worth it.  But lately I have decided I was wrong.  Their negativity was not worth it.  My journey is worth it.  If you don't care about my weightloss/health journey then don't visit the blog.  I didn't bookmark it on your computer...

So recently a family member had some negative comments about my physical appearance and weight.  I admit my oldself, Neene1.0 would have sought solace in food.  I would have inhaled ice-cream and candy.  The newer version of me, Neene 2.0, decided to renew my motivation on my health journey.

I made a cucumber sandwich instead. Take that negative thoughts! Yes, cucumber sandwiches growing up were an earmark of summer and relaxed living.  I thoroughly enjoy them.  So instead of Haagen Dazs I had a Health Dinner.  This weekend I visited the local farmer's market.  I got fresh mini-cucumbers to enjoy.  What a treat!

Tonight's latest health find... Crystal Light, long a favorite of dieters, has now started making another line of drinks.  Crystal Light - Pure.  I am learning to treat myself with healthier options.  So I am curling up on the couch with a nice glass filled with Strawberry-Kiwi Crystal Light Pure. I am determined to bring more purity to my life and avoid the negativity and additives that are so common in today's foods.

Here's to a healthier me in a few more months.  If you too are on your own health/wellness journey, Here's to you as well!

February 6, 2011 Progress Logging

Superbowl Sunday! So not into football.  Who is playing again? The Yankees and the Jets? Okay, so I'm not quite the bad.  I so could care less if the Steelers or the Packers take it home.  Just grateful to be home and to have the husband home.  But usually today would have been a day of preparing a huge naughty spread for the husband to enjoy his game.  Now that we have both started the road to a healthier us today was a bit different.  Still indulged but with limits.

Today's Intake:

Breakfast:

A Thomas' Bagel Thin with Two Tbsp of margarine

(~200 calories)

AM Snack:

YoCrunch yogurt parfait

(~90 calories)

Lunch:

Two hotdogs... one in bun with ketchup and sauerkraut, one without the bun (~540 calories)

Dinner: 2 Sliders and beans

(~600 calories)

Superbowl Fair: Light beer, creme de cacao, pretzels

(~360 calories)

Lots of water throughout the day

(~0)

So about 1790 calories all told for the day.  Considering what I would have done in the past with cake, chips, dips, cheese, soup, mozzarella sticks, etc and all the other things I would gotten... not bad.  1790 for one day won't kill me.  Tomorrow will be back to better eating.  At least I have learned it is okay to occasionally have a fun meal, as long as it is balanced with a healthier meal.

February 1, 2011 Progress Logging

New month, newer me! So since Christmas I have lost 8 pounds.  Since the Fit42 Challenge began I have lost 5 pounds.  It is amazing what support does.  I am learning portion control.  I am learning to find my motivation to get moving.  I now understand the relationship between physical fitness and general wellness.  And how this affects metabolism and weight measurements.  I have started using a measuring tape to keep more accurate records of my progress.  My waist is actually 2 inches narrower then before.  Still got a long way to go. But at least I have the car on the right road.

Yes, that is my car driver's side window.

Today's physical activity included scraping the ice off my car before coming home.  What a horrible way to spend the afternoon!  When you are tired after a long day at work this is just not what one needs.  But I guess I should look on the bright side.  I had a job to be coming home from.  I had a car to eventually take me home.  And I did make it safely home in order to post this blog.  So life is good... if just ice cold.

Today's meal logging:
Breakfast, Cream of Wheat


Lunch, Salad greens with a few nuts, cranberries, and chicken strips

Dinner, 2 McDonald's Cheeseburgers - yes, needed a treat after scraping that ice

The problem with the treat box at work being refilled by a coworker is then I know that it has been refilled.  I tried keeping it empty for awhile.  Now I just need to make myself believe that it is empty.  But at least I am learning portion control.  This is all that I had from the box.  And I am learning to be honest with myself.  I logged it in my digital food journal here and in my calorie counter there.

So although today involved a few treats on a yucky day, I kept things in control.  I burned 2158 calories and only consumed 1363.  Yes, I have learned to look up what I eat and track that calories and other values.  And did I mention that I lost another pound this morning bring me to 8 pounds less!

January 29, 2011 Progress Logging... Back in the Saddle

Okay, so I took a small hiatus from blogging.  We had a family wedding near Washington, DC to attend.  What a lovely time.  Nice to visit with family and tour such an interesting city.  But I was still making progress.  I made sure to count calories.  Made wiser choices. Exercised. (I even visited the fitness center in the hotel).  And it worked.  I lost 1.6 pounds this week.  I am so pleased that my hard work is beginning to pay off.  Can you hear me doing the Happy Dance?  Hey, and that burns calories too!  Woohooo! I am so glad that I joined the Fit 42 Challenge.  Other years, I probably would have gone to a family wedding and indulged in all the possible goodies on display.  But instead I had some of the treats and made my selections wisely.

So this week, I walked at work.  I came home and used the Wii Fit Plus.  I fit in a few workouts with an 8 lb weight for my arms.  I used a few fitness videos.  My legs still hurt.  But I feel my knees getting stronger.  My hips don't hurt (as much) during normal daily activity.

So I see how it has all come together and paid off finally.  So I am back to digital food journaling.  Perhaps my meanderings mean nothing to you.  Then please feel free to close the window.  But if you are one of the kind supporters in my life on my road to an improved me feel free to read on.

Today, January 29, 2011: A Very Good Day
I woke up this morning.  I weighed in.  I lost 1.6 pounds!!!!
Only negative... Bill had to go to work.  But as he was away I was able to take care of some gift buying for the near future.
I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast.

So I walked to our local CVS.  I made a few special purchases.  Then I walked home with my purchases.  Resistance training anyone?
I dropped off the packages at home and had a small snack. 210 calories to be exact.  But at least now I know, because now I check.  Two peanut butter cups is exactly 210 calories.

But then I continued my daily exercise.  Back outside, I also walked to Dunkin Donuts.  I took the long way.  A local car dealership has closed.  Naturally they didn't shovel their walk.  So neither side of a busy street was plowed.  So I went around the long way to stay safe (added distance works for me now where as earlier I would have been complaining).   I had a birthday coupon for a free coffee.  I ordered a grilled cheese flatbread for lunch.  I came home feeling motivated and happy that I had added exercise to my weekend.

Since I lost 1.6 pounds (finally!!!) I decided to have a little splurge.  I was craving food from AJ's Burgers, http://ajsburgers.com/.

But through the Fit42 challenge I have learned that I can indulge just limit that.  So I ordered some yumminess delivered to the door.  But I had half of everything.  I grabbed a smaller paper cup.  When my soup filled it, I put the lid on the rest and put it away for another day.  I took a small dessert sized paper plate and placed some french fries on it.  I scooped half of the macaroni and cheese out.  And of course I will eat the yummy chicken sandwich that I ordered. So I am learning portion control.  I can have a treat.  I just can't let it get out of control.  So for a weekend splurge I feel that I have still made progress.

January 18, 2011 Progress Logging

Rough day. According to my Body Media Fit machine I got adequate sleep. 5 hours and 20 minutes to be exact. For me, that is a full nights sleep. But all day I just wasn't running on all cylinders. The worst had to be when I went to the store and made some purchases and then proceeded to leave them in the parking lot. This weekend will be a busy one in our family. I am just hoping to get some rest too. I have my sneakers and exercise clothes all ready. I am trying to stay motivated to do this. I didn't remember to photograph as well as I should have throughout the day. But as I am making the same things for breakfast and lunch tomorrow I will just use those photos. I was good though and when I stopped and had a piece of chocolate I photographed it. So I think I am learning to accurately document my meals.

So here goes:

breakfast – a Thomas' Flat Bread (110 calories) with two tablespoons of cream cheese.

AM snack – a Lindt chocolate

(photo will be posted tomorrow)

Lunch – a Thomas' Thin Bagel (110 calories) with turkey breast and a little mayo

Dinner – macaroni and cheese, broccoli, and fried ravioli (Okay so I ate one ravioli before I remembered to photograph)

PM snack – piece of dark chocolate and a bag of apples

(Photograph will be uploaded tomorrow)

I was so tired today that I came home for a nap. But I stuck to my commitment to the fitness challenge. When I woke up at 9pm (lol) I spent some time on the Wii Fit. I did a free fun for 1.483 miles. I burned 91 calories. Not much activity but better than no added activity. Perhaps I will find the energy later to do some work with my hand weight. But I make no promises about that. And at least I managed to blog again this evening in draft mode to try to stick with doing daily logs.

January 17, 2011 Progress Logging

So starting week 3 of the Fit42 challenge with having lost 3 pounds.  I wish that number were higher for all the effort I have put into this.  But it is a start.  And I guess the change is noticeable.  Someone told me today "You had two chins.  Now you just have one.  Keep up the good work." And we wonder why I have issues...

But thanks to the Fit42 Challenge, I am working on being more active and eating better.  So here goes for today's digital food log. Breakfast was a Rice Squares cereal.  I like this because it only has 2 grams of sugar.  Why would I eat Special K which doesn't have all that much more flavor for 7 grams of sugar?  Hey, Apple Jacks is something like 12.5 g of sugar.  But at least I am learning to have the healthier alternative.  So I opted for Rice Squares...

My mother and my sister wanted us to go out for lunch together today.  So, of course, I thought ahead last night and looked up my nutrition information on the possibilities.  I decided on Applebee's.  I like that they have a PDF with ALL their food choices and the amounts of calories, carbs, fats, sodium, etc.  It makes it much easier to choose.  So I opted for the Asagio Peppercorn Steak.  This way I know I was bad, but only moderately, bad not completely wicked.  390 Calories, 14 g of fat, 1520 mg of sodium, 26 g of Carbo, and 43 g of protein.  I can work around this and yet enjoy.

So then it was off to Mom's house for a brief visit.  Went through a few women's magazines that she had and stole some ideas for future healthy meals.  But one interesting thing we saw was taking a slice of bread and making it into a fold over peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Then taking that and making french toast out of it. Of course Mom has to make a full two slices of bread sandwich.  (You are missing the point)  But as we split it down the middle it will be the same thing.  But I like this idea.  Protein, sugar, and yummy a well balanced dish if you ask me.  So of course I had to try a half.  This will count towards part of my dinner.

And of course mom believes you need an afternoon snack.  I agree; so I grabbed a string cheese.  They are low fat and yet a good protein pick me up to keep me going through the rest of the afternoon.  But of course as I am sitting there being good eating my cheese stick.  What does my mother bring out? Kirkland Belgian Chocolate Cookies.  Now here is where the Fit 42 has changed me.  So what did I do? Dig in and eat six? Or push the entire tin away throwing a fit like a child? No, I grabbed my smartphone and googled the nutrition information.  Serving size is 4 cookies for 170 calories.  Okay so I can have two.  Of course the longer the box sat in front of me the more attractive they appeared.  So two became three.  But still this is less than the full serving treat of 4 cookies.  So after grabbing the third I snapped my photo for this log, put the lid on the box and pushed them quietly to the other end of the table.  I would say I am making progress.

And after logging all my calories I am now aware of what my body has taken in and what it has produced.  So to round out tonight's dinner is another Green Tea-Pomegranate and some of the left over chili in a rollup.  And so now except for my water, today's eating has come to an end.  I would say that I stayed on track even with eating out today.  Let's see how I do tomorrow.  Wonder if I will be packing a lunch for school or making a lunch here at the apartment? Snow expected but will it be a snowday? lol ;)

January 16, 2011 Progress Logging

Slept late so no breakfast.  Raced out to church.  Went for a .5 mile walk with the supportive husband at a local park.  I used the Cardio Tracker in my phone.  Love this droid app that tells me how many calories burned and how far I have walked.  It is amazing how different you feel when you go for a walk in the nice fresh air.  Luckily our county has plowed most of the pathways so that we can go for a walk in such picturesque surroundings.

 Came home to a Boar's Head Turkey Sandwich from Stop and Shop.  Not sure of the calorie count exactly.  But since the bread was so yummy.  Pretty similar to a Naan consistency I would count on at least 428 looking up Turkey, Naan, and the cheese individually.

 Yes, since the Fit42 challenge began, I have learned to look up the nutritional information of what I am eating.  And I have left soda behind me, so I had a green tea to drink. I love my new green tea it is actually a Green Tea with Pomegranate.  Yum!

After much research and additional reading at Fit42, I have been learning that you need to eat healthy in small balanced doses throughout your day.  This helps your metabolism work at optimal performance.  So this afternoon, I had a small snack of 1 egg, fat free cheese, a tsp of salsa all wrapped up in a tortilla.  I am also learning that eating off of smaller plates tricks your brain into believing that it actually had more than it did.  So you might notice this is a dessert sized plate so that my body wasn't looking for more until dinner time.  And of course another bottle of water (holds 3 cups of good old fashioned H20).

Dinner this evening was an interesting dish.  Those of you who know me also know that I hate vegetables and have to trick myself to eat more of them.  So this evenings dinner was easy tacos.  A can of Hormel Chili with beans, 1/2 teas of the taco sauce from the package, a few ounces of veggies from a pre-chopped mix of green peppers, red peppers, and onions.  To that I mixed fat-free shredded cheddar.  This was my main filling.  The taco shells I lined with veggies.  Then some of the mixture.  Then a little sprinkle of cheese.  Who knew I could enjoy eating healthier! lol.

And so how did your day go? Did you stay on track?

Neene Version 2.0

Okay, so a friend started the Fit42 challenge (http://teach42.com/challenge). I had wanted to join up when I heard him mention it sooner.  But I'm not that active.  I didn't really have a goal in mind.  I was wallowing in the me that I wish I wasn't.  I found an old prom picture.  I realize I felt so fat then.  I checked in to Weight Watchers for the first time.  LMFAO, that was 55 pounds ago.  What I would give to look like the fat version of me from my high school days.

I watched my weight just before the wedding.  I still looked like a whale in a white dress.  But that too was 25 pounds ago.  I am so not happy with the way I look today.

So that was it.  I had my goal.  I first return to the weight I was at our wedding (only 2 1/2 years ago).  And then I will work on bringing myself closer to my old prom fat days.

Since I joined the Fit42 challenge I have learned alot.  I have my motivation and the public accountability of facing the kind hearted souls that are also part of the challenge keeps me going.  Someone mentioned how important tracking your calories are.  Someone else suggested using your camera phone to snap photos of your meals to help your remember what you had to better, more accurately track.  Hmmmm let's combine technologies.  So today I begin a wellness journey blog for myself.  I will be digital storytelling my road to a healthier version of myself.  I like to think that I am actively creating Neene 2.0.  I just wonder what Neene 2.0 will look like.