Day 14 Progress

My weight this morning

My apartment gym... nothing fancy

Junior Prom. I thought I was fat then... smh

Valentine's flowers instead of candy :)

Happy Valentine's Day

My mom would get me for sniffling during the video...She'd say "go blow your nose!" LOL

Shaky starts!

Sorry about the video, it was done with my phone lol!

Day 10 started out VERY rough... I didn't know how I was going to make it through without some food therapy! It was so bad that morning that I was about to post an emergency blog, I made a video and everything. Once I was done with the video I realized that I just needed to vent my frustrations with the weight loss process; you know the ups, downs, hard work, and disappointments. After  feeling down for a while I decided not to post anything and to get up, go out in the rain to the weight room, and get some cardio in. I have to say it made me feel a little bit more  energized when I was done:) I also decided I needed to get out of the house so I took a trip and walked around the mall for a bit. Getting out really felt good and took my mind off the scale and food for a while. Even after my mini melt down that morning I was happy with myself for making it through the day without cheating, I stayed active, and lifted my own spirits!

Day 11 didn't start out too much better although I didn't have any sort of melt down lol! I really didn't feel like doing much today so I decided it was going to be a pajama kind of day. I got up pretty early, did some laundry, prepped my lunch, vacuumed, and did some other cleaning around the house. That was all done just this morning, so the afternoon I kind of lounged around in the living room watching movies, playing iPad games, and looking at old pictures. Finally after getting pretty darn bored I decided to have my own private dance party, so I moved the couch back and scooted the coffee table over and had at it! That lasted for a good 45 minutes, I was pooped afterwards, and my face was starting to glisten. I didn't stop there though, I popped in my Rockin' Body workout and went to town bust out those moves... I swear, I don't know how many times I will say it but it is one of the best and fun workouts I have ever done besides Zumba! Well, I mean it is pretty much like doing Zumba...

These past few days I've tried 2 new recipes one of which I liked and the other I'd like to burn! The cream of chicken soup (has no cream) was so tasty, and although it's only one serving of protein it ends up making enough for two meals so I froze 1/2 of the recipe. Now the shrimp étouffée I did not like one bit and choked it down just so I could say I ate something for lunch... I've had this dish before several times at a restaurant named Razzoo's in TX and it was AMAZING. This recipe was nothing close to amazing and nothing like étouffée which is served in a type of gravy over rice (love it over dirty rice!). Later this week I will be trying 2 more new dishes that I hope turn out well, one has cherries in it so I'm really excited to try it :)

Days 8 & 9

Hi :)

I guess I'll start by telling y'all how day 8 went for me... AWESOME is the word I'll use! I got up between 5 and 6 that morning determined to start my day off active, so I popped in my Rockin' Body videos. After I completed that days workout I had a burst of energy and did another day too. By the time I had finished 2 days worth of workouts I was almost at my 5 mile cardio goal without even stepping foot on a treadmill! Well ladies and gents... I didn't stop there, as usual I started getting a little sleepy around 2 in the evening but instead of laying down for a nap I laced up my sneakers and headed over to the gym. As I approached the door I head some voices, now normally I would've done a 180 and headed back to my apartment but I chose to go in and get'r done! HA, I wasn't going to let my shyness of working out in front of others stop me. I walked in, smiled, put my belongings down beside the treadmill, turned my iPod on, and the world was officially TUNED OUT! Now while I did only 35 minutes I was proud of myself for running some and walking on an incline the rest of the time. On day 8 I decided to take it easy on the eating and made sure I got my 128 ounces of water in.

So, I suppose everyone is now wondering how day 9 went? You want to know did I keep the momentum going from the previous day or did I totally slack off... DRUMROLL... BAM, I kept that sucker going! :) I started my day early, heading to the grocery store getting only what I needed for my menu. Early on I was hit with temptations, ALL the snack food seemed to be BOGO :( Oh how I wanted some cookies, but I put my head down and kept pushing past them. As soon as I got home I peeled and diced my apples for another weeks worth of that yummy cinnamon applesauce I love. I pulled my meat out for tomorrow and tuesday, and wolfed down some applesauce that was already in the fridge. As today went on I found myself lacking the steam to keep pushing through being up and active instead of lounging around.  After about 30 minutes I talked myself into getting up and doing my workout, even did my 3 flights of stairs 3 times but decided I didn't want to get on the treadmill today. 

All in all I've had a very successful past 2 days with my eating and being active. I have to say again, and I can't say it enough how lucky I am to have such a great support system with my friends and family. There's no way I'd be able to do this without them!

Sometimes there're hiccups along the way...

Day 6 went pretty well for me, it's still not easy getting through the days without craving something but I pushed through successfully. Too bad I can't say the same for day 7, I caved! Early in the day I started having what I thought was a craving for cake, but soon realized I just wanted carbs... ANY CARBS. I gave in, ordered a meat lovers stuffed crust pizza, and after 2 slices I regretted it. Soon after I realized it wasn't even as good as my mind told me it was going to be, I guess the joke was on me. I've never been one to really dwell on mine or any other person's mistakes, so I'm pushing forward and just going to try to do better tomorrow.

I started a new workout called "Rockin' Body" and I'm in LOVE with it already. I love music, to dance, and have fun which is exactly what this workout combines. It's by the makers of the Insanity and P90X workouts so I did sweat and have a bit of a challenge doing them! The great thing is that there is a person that you can follow at all times if you need modifications to harder moves in the dvd. Not to mention the package comes with a calendar tell me what workouts to do on what days and a book of recipes, some of which I can use now on the HCG diet.

My goals for day 8 are to get my butt up and put in an hour of cardio on the treadmill, complete my Rockin' Body workout, push through any cravings, get in 100 ounces of water, no nap, and do an activity outside. All of that I want done before 5pm, WISH ME LUCK!

Days 4 & 5 were sick!

Hello all!

I'm finishing day 5 up right now and still not feeling 100%, but am feeling better than before. So far I'm very happy with the meals I've been fixing and at night I haven't been hungry. It's probably because on day 4 I had 117 ounces of water and tonight I had 120 ounces. To ensure I get my water in I've been mixing 5 ounces of zero calorie vitamin water with about 19 ounces of water, it's makes it easier for me to tolerate.

Tonight I skipped making what I had on my menu but had a meal replacement shake, I wasn't hungry but knew I needed to put something in my stomach. I have to say the meal replacement shake is a good "go to" for nights like this :) I told myself I was going to be active but since I haven't been feeling well I haven't done much but lay around for the past few days. Tomorrow I have every intention of getting up and doing 30-60 minutes of cardio, we'll see how that goes though.

A few days about I was at the nail shop getting my mani/pedi on and Katie Couric's talk show came on. Topic of the day was stress and Goldie Hawn was one of the guest, my interest was immediately peaked since I love them both and I STAY stressing about EVERYTHING! Here are some tips I took away from the show about how to lower stress:

1. Take a deep breath - Calms your mind and gives you perspective. Also it releases endorphins in your body giving you a sense of well being.
2. Shout it out - Remove yourself from the situation and let it out in private, this way you don direct misdirect your frustration.
3. Visualize a peaceful place - A mini mental vacation can put you in a happy place.
4. Turn on your favorite tune - Music helps act as a distraction, at the same time helping us explore our emotions.
5. Peel an orange - Aromatherapy is a great stress reliever, so take a whiff of the citrus as you are peeling it.
6. Pet your pooch - According to the National Center for Infectious Diseases, spending time with your pet can decrease blood pressure.
7. Clean your desk - Physical clutter can reflect what is going on inside. 

Hope everyone tries to stay stress free and has a wonderful day!

Second verse, same as the first :)

Hey everyone!

I'm back in full effect :) It's day 3 for me which means it's my first day of changing my diet. This was not an easy day, I wanted to snack early but then at night I wasn't even hungry for dinner. Also My head has been hurting all day long, nothing serious but it's still annoying. My goal was to drink 128 ounces of water today but I only drank 96 ounces, but that's a lot more than I've been drinking recently I guess. I'm thinking maybe I'm getting sick but really hope I'm just having a not so good day instead.

I decided to make a menu from now on so I know exactly what I'll be eating. It also helps when it's time for me to make a grocery list for shopping. I was in and out the store so fast this morning! I also looked up a lot of new recipes that are good for this diet and am trying them out. The ones I really liked I printed out and put into a recipe binder for easy access when I wanted to reuse them.