Tis the Season for Overeating

Okay, not really a newsflash, but the weekends are so hard; especially the weekends leading up to the holidays. I went to 2 holiday party this weekends and I def didn't do so great with the eating; I can't resist finger food it's so teeny and delicious.

Here goes my confession; on Friday I went and did some holiday & grocery shopping and by the time I got home I was starving and baked a frozen pizza. It was 10:30pm; not so good. It was a single serving pizza, but I still ate it all and then went to bed. Should have eaten dinner out at a reasonable hour.

On Saturday I started out good with cereal & bananas with soy milk and I walked to City Hall to do some shopping at Christmas Village and then walked back home. Got some good exercise in; which was good. I did have a hot cocoa- with a little whip cream. I had a turkey sandwich for a late lunch and then went to holiday party where I ate at least one of everything, including homemade marshmallows ( I had at least 2 of those) and had 2 glasses of wine and 2 beers.

On Sunday I started with a good veggie / egg white omelet and ww toast. I then went to another holiday party and had a slice of pizza, a handle of cookies, and several diff kinds of dip; one of which was beer & cheese - yum.

Beginning with a clean slate today; had oatmeal for breakfast and packed a nice salad w / tuna fish for lunch. I think its easier to eat healthy during the week and stay focused and indulge a bit more in the weekend. I just may have to be okay for that and work harder during the week.

Checking In!

So, I tried emailing my post yesterday with no luck. Well, I was trying to send an email from my blackberry using my gmail account to the skinny blog. I am already confused. I was going to let technology decide whether or not I would confess my carrot cake sins but since it didn't go through I thought that I would confess away. Pew had it's holiday luncheon on Thursday. I tried to be good - I did stay away from bread - but the carrot cake got me: on Thursday AND Friday. Other than thank, I am doing really well as far as food goes- wait, except for the pepperoni stromboli I ate last night for dinner (only ate a little bit though!). sigh. Been really trying to stick to the first phase of The Best Life Diet as prescribed by Mr. Bob Greene. Been diligent about eating breakfast and taking my vitamins. Trying to stop eating 2 hours before bed, cutting out the alcohol, and trying to ramp up my activity.

Went to the gym on Wednesday night and it seriously kicked my ass. I usually go to level 1/2 or 2/3 classes - this was a 3/4. Our trainer made us do these crazy exercises where you balance your neck, head and shoulders on a pilates ball with your legs and butt stabilizing and balancing you. With a weight bar your arms are extended to the ceiling and then you lower the weight above your head with the arms straight. Oh my god - my triceps hurt so bad that i was unable to go back to the gym on Thursday which was the only other day that I was going to be able to squeeze the gym in. Boo. Gotta try to get more exercise at home without the gym - since my gym is all classes and I can only got at certain times - it makes it really difficult to go when I want to go. This weekend I must do something active - it's just so hard when you don't have someone there to push you!!!

Weds, Thurs, and Fri - so far

So, my recaps... (at least what I can remember)

Weds, December 10th
I had two events on Weds. which can either be good for eating or terrible, all in all I think I did well. I had a low fat multigrain bagel with low fat cream cheese and strawberry jam and coffee for breakfast mtg, I had salad and white rice for lunch, and then at our afternoon event we had coldcuts, cheese, and veggies, so I snacked on those and brought some home and ate coldcuts and steamed veggies; quite good actually.

Thursday, Dec 11
I went to the doctors on Thurs to get tested for thyroid and pre-diabetes; which scares me a bit; I've been having some sluggish symptons and so my mom (a nurse) recommended I go and get some bloodwork done. I def hope its not diabetes. fingers crossed.

After the appt I had a cultural fund site visit, so I went to starbucks and had a coffee and reduced fat turkey bacon sandwich. John took out the marketing department for lunch and so while I didn't eat the healthiest things, I did a great job with portion control. Len and I split a pulled pork sandwich, mac and cheese, and string beans. I ate more string beans than french fries and only had 4 bites of the mac and cheese. I did have a hot chocolate with cool whip for dessert.

Needless to say I went to the gym. I did some strenght training, mostly squates and some curls then did my 30 minutes of cardio and burned 280 calories. I then went out to dinner and had 2 beers and a shepards pie, made with lamb. Not sure how healthy that was.

Friday, December 12th
The day of leftovers; no food at my house. I had a leftover bagel w/ low fat cream cheese and strawberry jelly for breakfast. I also had some coldcuts and veggies for lunch and the rest of my shepards pie for lunch. I have had some green tea and pretzels and am on my finally to the grocery store to get some healthy food in my house.

As of Tuesday I lost 4 pounds!!!!

In my mind I have been posting all week, I guess not. I think that I'm starting to develop this as a routine way of thinking and so I forget that I'm not actually typing it even though I'm thinking it. Every time I eat or feel like skipping on the gym; I think of our blog and I have to say I think its working; because I LOST 4 LBS this week!! I'm almost in the 180's which would make me feel good.

Some co-workers were going out Tuesday around 7:00pm and I promised myself I would go to the gym and I did. It felt so good to keep a promise to myself. I left work at 5:00pm andsqueezed in a quick, but intense workout. I did cardio for 30 minutes and burned 275 calories. I read somewhere try to eat 250 calories less and move 250 calories more and thats a way to begin, so that's been my goal this week. moving towards at least 300 calories / per workout next week. Slow and steady.

I did pretty well out with cor-workers too; I had a salad with chicken for dinner and only had 2 beers. Others stayed later and kept drinking and I left and that also felt really good. Again, I felt like I chose me and that was nice. So all in all Tuesday was a good day.

Reconsidering the Scale

So, I am fully engrossed in this book "Best Life Diet" by Bob Greene. One of the little words of wisdom that he has said is not to look at the scale every second when first starting. He goes into the whole physiological reason which took up a whole chapter and gives reasons as to why other diets don't work - but in a nut shell, your weight will fluctuate when you first start as your body begins to adapt to it's changes. Many diets focus on quick fixes which leads to loosing water weight. His suggestion is to judge by how your clothes fit at first. His method - like the the South Beach diet - is in phases. The first phase though if for four weeks and you don't really change what you eat - rather you change some of your habits. Ramp up your activity (burn more calories) - eat three wholesome meals with a snack - stop eating 2 hours before bedtime - drink more water. Weight yourself the beginning of the four weeks and then do not look at it for another four more weeks. During the first phase, you are basically getting your body ready to cut calories and adjust what you eat to better prepare for weight loss. I think I may be a convert. Check out his website: http://www.thebestlife.com/

In the spirit of Best Life Diet - my biggest struggle is breakfast - I usually don't eat it! I don't allow myself the time in the morning to wake up and make it. So, I have started to set my alarm clock earlier so that slowly but surely I won't be rushing out the door and I can have time to sit and eat. In the meantime, I have picked up some Slim Fast shakes to grab on the go. I am also working my ass off at the gym. Need to make it a priority to go 3 times a week and try to be active as much as possible on the off days!! Let's do it ladies!

Also, I propose we each make a workout mix CD that we can share. I will make one and give two copies to Arin (one for you Kendra) - unless we can figure out a way to see eachother soon!

Day 10. Does Assembling Ikea Furniture Count as a Workout?

I'm back! I went to the gym last night after work and FINALLY had the euphoria workout again, which is great because it's the thing that keeps me interested in going to the gym more than once a week. It took a little while - for the first 20 minutes on the treadmill I was just pushing through, but my body finally loosened up and remembered how much I actually LIKE working out and having that time when my mind focuses only on breathing and not cramping up. I pulled out another 25 minutes on the treadmill and then got on the elliptical for 10 minutes and ran my ass off to a couple of my favorite workout songs (Buckcherry's 'All Lit Up', for instance...) 475 calories - that first crap 20 minutes were pretty low calorie.

Today I did have half a pastry at work, but at least when we split it I took the small half. And THEN I had some dark chocolate covered edamame from Trader Joe's after work... damn it! AND my FINAL failing was having a bite of Andrea's Lumpy Bumpy Bar (also Trader Joe's... and delicious). And I just finished putting together an Ikea couch and crawling all over the floor, contorting into bizarre positions, and trying to force unwieldy pieces together. I'm thinking that's at least 400 calories. 

Gym plan for the rest of the week is to go Thursday and Friday evenings (yes, I'm the coolest) and then Saturday morning. This means I can't go to the Hanukah Happy Hour with Andrea's coworkers, which makes me a little sad. But my ass fitting in my suit pants feels more important!

Kendra's Update

I did go to the gym on Sunday and had a pretty good workout; I did some strength training for about 20 minutes, including some squats that are still making it hard to walk down stairs and then 40 minutes of cardio to burn 300 calories. I did 20min on treadmill and I realize that that's just not good workout in terms of burning calories, but I do like to walk and I like to split up my machines, so we'll see. I think I may also add more time to my workout as well.

Remember that whole idea about going to the gym in the mornings? Fat chance. I already gave up on that, its way too cold and dark to want to leave my apt at 6:45 am and before a cup of coffee. So, I will be going to gym tonight. I was invited for drinks afterwork with one of our developers for our website, so I will go and have a drink and then head home to the gym.

In terms of eating; I think I've been doing okay, mostly because I am so broke that I am only eating what I have in my house, which has been frozen tilapia, whole wheat cous cous, and some frozen veggies or salad. I haven't weighed myself yet, but will do so tonight and let you know if the dial has moved. Gosh, I hope so.

So far today I had a 1 egg and 1 egg white scrambled on whole wheat roll, coffee, and for lunch we had some leftover noodle dish with peanuts and cucumber from a work meeting; it was really good and felt rather light.

I posted this message by trying the new email feature that Arin sent. Fingers crossed.

Life on the Road

Hello ladies! Wow, the past couple days have been a whirlwind! I won't bore you with the details but I will give you a little debrief:

Been doing okay I think! Went to a great yoga studio last Wednesday. I even got some free passes so if you ladies want to check it out - let me know! I felt so great afterwards. Too bad I countered that experience with having a liquid dinner of three beers at the bar for my friends birthday. Sigh. Had to go to Bowling on Friday for work. I really made a concious effort to eat well - instead of just grabbing Micky D's chicken nuggets. (Which by the way - are my most guilty of pleasures and it is so NOT FAIR that they have been doing all these commericials about them!! Especially the one with the wedding cake made out of Chicken McNuggets...it's like my dirtiest fantasy come true!!). I digress.... so when I was away, I went to Panera to get a salad and ate light the rest of my travels.

I didn't excercise on Thursday or Friday - honestly I was kind of sore from jumping back in! But, I did bring my gym clothes on my trip and I forced myself to go to the gym at the hotel on Saturday before my flight. Only did a 1/2 hour but it's better than nothing!!! Sunday, I did nada but tonight I went to the gym..... 25 minutes on the spinning bike - 25 minutes strenght training - 25 minutes yoga. Definitely burned some calories there. This week will be tight for working out too....so busy. But I am trying to schedule my work out time too. Got to do it!!

While I was in Bowling Green I went to a Goodwill where I found a book on detoxing and another book by the dude who apparently is behind Oprah's weight loss/lifestyle. I saw it before and kind of wanted to get it so I was thrilled I was able to pick it up for $2!! I will let you know if it has any pearls of wisdom.

Day 8. 177.5 Pounds.

A miraculous loss of 2.5 pounds last week, especially given the aforementioned Saturday feast. I love that Kendra brought up the amount of booze that we drank as a redeeming quality.

This week: I plan to continue to skip any kind of sugar or dessert and to stay active. Last week I only made it to the gym twice, and vow to do 3 times this week. 

Today: I had a delicious tomato bisque for lunch with a couple of oyster crackers. As a side note, I also won the grocery raffle at Trader Joe's because I'm the dork that completes a raffle ticket every time we bring our own bag. And then instead of a gift card for $10 I got one for $25! Woo hoo! So I was able to buy some pecan halves and some fairly healthy TJ's lunches for this week at work. Andrea made a delicious salad for dinner that I had with some bacon and feta quiche. Don't let that fool you, though, the salad was topped with 3 breaded and pan-fried, garlic & capers, goat cheese balls. Delicious? Yes. Healthy? Not so much.

Andrea was home sick all day, so I spent the night with her doing laundry, working on my class for winter quarter, and watching Top Chef. But it's the gym for me Tues - Thurs this week, and I'm hoping for a Saturday morning inspiration as well. 

I'm interested in trying out some of the classes at the gym... I know there's at least one evening yoga class and I may give that a try to break up the cardio!

Saturday - not so good. Today - much better

I had a bit of a slip on Saturday and didn't eat so well and also didn't exercise. It helped to make a much more productive Sunday though, so I guess all wasn't lost.

Saturday; I slept in until about 11:30 which is super late for me, but I think I needed the rest. I had some eggs, potatoes, and toast for brunch. I had some yogurt with honey later in the day, so far not so bad. But then I went to Arin and Andreas where Andrea and Desiree made a feast of all things so bad that they are so good, we had clams casino and steamers that I drenched in butter, steak in bleu cheese fondue and bread, olives, and peppers stuffed with cheese and salami. whoops. but it was so good. Our drinks were relatively healthy with vodka tonics, so that's good. Topped off with 3 pieces of chocolate. ugh...

So Sat def motivated to do better today. I had a shredded wheat with soy milk & bananas for breakfast with coffee. I have drank about 8 glasses of water already; trying to detox a bit, and for lunch I am having white bean salad with every vegetable I can find in my house with a cup of green tea. After this post I am making a new playlist and hitting the gym.

This week I am going to try to "schedule" my workouts and I am going to try to do mornings. I think this will free me up more in the evenings and lessen my stress about working out and hopefully make for good beginnings; its going to be hard, its going to be dark. But I am going to try to be in bed by 11:00 pm each night and workout from 6:45am-7:30am in the morning.

Wish me luck.
K

Diet Tip - Eat More

Found this online and thought what a great perspective....

Best Diet Tip No. 2: Think about what you can add to your diet, not what you should take away.

Start by focusing on getting the recommended 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

"It sounds like a lot, but it is well worth it, because at the same time you are meeting your fiber goals and feeling more satisfied from the volume of food," says chef Laura Pansiero, RD.

You're also less likely to overeat because fruits and vegetables displace fat in the diet. And that's not to mention the health benefits of fruits and vegetables. More than 200 studies have documented the disease-preventing qualities of phytochemicals found in produce, says Pansiero.

Her suggestion for getting more: Work vegetables into meals instead of just serving them as sides on a plate.

"I love to take seasonal vegetables and make stir-fries, frittatas, risotto, pilafs, soups, or layer on sandwiches," Pansiero says. "It is so easy to buy a variety of vegetables and incorporate them into dishes."

Getting There

Unfortunately my work schedule didn't receive my memo about trying to diet and workout; this week has been insane with back to back meetings ALL WEEK - with that being said, I think I'm doing okay, at least at the healthier eating part, haven't been so good about the gym part, haven't been since Monday, but did walk to work on Tuesday and will be walking again today.

Wednesday night I went to the Arden and then had a light dinner afterwards; I shared a flatbread pizza (w goat cheese) and a salad and had water, no wine or beer, so that was decent.

I did okay yesterday, I had oatmeal for breakfast with coffee, and then waited way too long for lunch, like 3:00pm, and so what I thought was piece of lasagna from my freezer actually was a hunk of meatloaf, so I had 1/2 of my meatloaf hunk and a bowl of yogurt with some fruit and honey. Total Sullivan lunch. : ) I redeemed myself with dinner, grilled chicken, roasted potatoes and string beans.

I haven't done the scale yet, I think I am going to wait till Monday and do it weekly, plus that way I will get to the gym over the weekend.

I think one cup of hot cocoa a day is a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth with relatively low calories, as long as you pass on marshmallows and half and half, I say enjoy it, it usually my dessert.

Day 4. Holding Steady... Along with my Weight.

Okay, no real surprise that the pounds aren't falling off - I'm not drastic South Beaching or Atkinsing, but I do love that first week where you drop 4 pounds. Everything after that seems so much easier. However, this time I'm really trying to change my general lifestyle and not just peel off some pounds as part of a temporary adjustment to my normal routine of eating my face off. Still going to check the very precise work scale and see if I've lost any kilograms (we can't figure out how to get it to measure us in pounds). 

Today: egg breakfast, coffee (with extra shots), caesar salad with chicken for lunch, and some chicken stir-fry for dinner... with a couple of coconut/curry taquitos from Trader Joe's (they were delicious). Biggest accomplishment? No hot chocolate! Woo hoo! No gym, but I walked all over center city before coming home tonight.

Tomorrow: I've got another work lunch, but I think I can survive it. I've got something right after work, but I plan to be a super loser and go to the gym on a Friday night. Awesome.

Day 3. On Track, Sort Of.

Today has been good - although I almost chewed through my desk around 4pm today when I was suddenly struck by ridiculous hunger only a couple handfuls of peanuts would solve. I guess the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I had for lunch wasn't going to cut the mustard. 

Food: 2 eggs for breakfast with tea (we're out of coffee!!), 1 sugar-free hot chocolate and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, and I'm about to have a chicken wrap for dinner. I'm still resisting the chocolate in the kitchen drawer.

Gym: I went! Yahoo! 50 minutes of treadmill and bike later (you know why I had to move to the bike, don't make me type it) and 515 calories later and I'm feeling good. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do about getting dressed for tomorrow - I'm running out of clothes and some of my other clothes don't currently fit...

I'm going to weigh in on Friday. I'll keep you posted on how this week went!

-a

Day Three - Downsizing

I totally am rocking the George Castanza swishy suit today...I would have to walk with my feet 3 feet apart to avoid the sound my pants make when I walk due to the thunderness of my thighs. Sigh. On the up side, I do have to say ladies that I think this blog is really helping me see the error in my ways. Something about laying out all my dirty secrets (like, I may in fact be an alcoholic) is helping me put my eating, drinking, and exercising habits in perspective.

Went to a friends for dinner last night so I didn't have complete control of what I was consuming - beef brisket with some fingerling potatoes. I figure we can't completely deny ourselves or else we won't be successful, right? I guess it's all about making the right choices. For example: today I was at a meeting where a tray of divine looking sweets were passed to me...normally, I would have grabbed something completely decadent but instead I just grabbed a small little mini poppy seed muffin type thing. So in other words, I am downsizing. Maybe I should embrace this philosophy and have one glass of wine rather than two from now one.

Day Two Recap / Day Three

I ate pretty well for most of yesterday and then I sort of messed up with dinner; which consisted of a beer (light) and then a bowl of cereal at like 11:00pm. Not so good. Its hard dieting and dating at the same time. I have to better stock my cupboards.

Today I'm doing okay, fat free muffin and yogurt w/ fresh berries for breakfast (thank you Cultural Alliance catered breakfast) and for lunch I'm having a salad with some salmon and low fat ginger dressing and lots of water.

This blog is totally keeping me honest.

Calling all Playlists

hey ladies, sometimes the thing that gets me excited to go to the gym is a good playlist and so I thought we could start swapping some of our favs.

Of course, I don't have my ipod with me now, but I will try to post some workout ones that I have created, but would love to hear what gets you moving as well, I think I have overplayed Sexy Back and need some new tunes!

Day Two. The Day of the Hot Chocolate Fiesta.

At least it was sugar-free. And I put some coffee in it too. I'm turning into a coffee and hot chocolate crack head.

Here's my update: got my hair cut, and it looks good. Did a little bit of walking tonight, but not enough to count. Weighed myself on the Flo scale: did not lose any miracle weight. Bummer.

I am currently resisting a bag of chocolate that is hidden in the kitchen. I'm writing this instead - thank god for skinny blog. In fact, I'm drinking tea and doing push-ups as soon as I hit 'Publish Post'.

Oh! Forgot, egg breakfast, salad lunch, handful of peanuts and a dried mango slice, chicken and sweet potato fries for dinner. Hmmm sweet potato fries. But they're better than real potato, right?

Interested to see what that bastard scale tells me tomorrow.

-a

Day Two

So far so good today. I walked to work this morning cause I'm not sure I will be able to make it to the gym tonight, so i felt like that was a positive choice for moving more. I also passed on a bagel this morning and brought by own yogurt smoothie for breakfast, so 1 for 1 for eating right.

Dude, I lost 6 lbs!!

Just kidding!

I think the scale I hopped on at my friends house was wrong. I weighed myself at the scale at home and at work today where I found that I really weigh 185.2 (or 84.2 kilograms).

Done pretty good today! Trying to drink way more water...only one cup of coffee....but now I have to pee all the time! Maybe I should get some adult diapers? Ha ha. I have been thinking about trying to do the Master Cleanse (http://themastercleanse.org/) but not sure if I want to put myself through that kind of hell. I don't know, I just feel like I need to clean my shit out, ya know. I have also heard that Dr. Natura (http://www.drnatura.com/) is a way to go....some people swear by it. If you want to really get grossed out - check out the Picture Gallery!!!!

Going back to the gym tonight. Unfortunately, I do not like the trainer who is on tonight but I am not going to let her get my freaking way!!!!

Flo's clocking in at 191!

Oh My Lord! I will admit it, I am an emotional eater and this past month has certainly held a lot of emotion! Saturday I went down to my girl friend Dana's house where we had a hawaiian pizza and split some pasta with crab and some sort of fattening sauce - then went to the family's bakery afterhours where I had a cannoli, a carrot cake cupcake loaded with cream cheese icing, AND had a slice of pecan pie with ice cream later. That was when I woke up in the morning - hopped on the scale and said, I must regain my life and STOP THE MADNESS!!!

My big hairy audacious goal: 30-40 lbs (150lbs would put me at my ideal weight)
When: As soon as freaking possible without jeopardizing my sanity.

So - today....did pretty well I think for the first day. Except for the six cups of coffee and two glasses of wine! No denying that I am a wino! I bet if I cut that out - it would cut quite a few calories. Other than that.... I actually ate the recommended portion size for my trader joe's lentil soup! that was hard. been munching on raw almonds and a cheese stick. for dinner - baked chicken and spinach. and, god damn i am hungry.

i too went to the gym where i soundly got my ass kicked. one good thing about Fusion is that they give great workout! 30 minutes on the spinning bike - 25 minutes strength training - and 20 minutes yoga. flo will hurt tomorrow.

we will prevail ladies! we will prevail!!
perhaps we should schedule a nice long healthy walk on Sunday if the weather is not shitty.

Saving...

Kendra's Goal

Goal: To lose 10% of my body weight in 4 months and to keep it off. So by end of March, I will lose 19 lbs; a little more than 1 a week.

Day one - 195lbs

wow, that hurt. 195lbs. I don't know the last time I weighed this much. While I am still able to squeeze into most of my clothes; its not comfortable and I doubt that I could buy a size 12 in a store anymore, I am def back into 14's. I never wanted to be here again, boy I feel real gross. So I'm joining Arin and Flo with public shame as my motivation and a desire to move more and eat less.

Today I passed on eating a peanut butter cookie, even though I really wanted it. I also did 30 mins of strength training and 30 mins of cardio tonight and my shirt was soaked; that felt kinda good. I had a big salad for dinner and a little bit of pasta with some shrimp.

skinny here I come.

Day One. 180 lbs.

So I weighed myself this morning and I'm about 10 pounds up from this time last year. Also, I don't actually fit in some of my clothing, and the clothing I do fit in is pretty tight.

I spent about 50 minutes at the gym tonight for the first time in a long time. Sadly, the treadmill nearly kicked my ass. What used to be pretty easy made me want to quit. Luckily an episode of Law and Order helped me keep my eyes off of the clock. Also, since Lauren convinced me that shaving my cooter was a good idea I had to deal with some chafing. I moved to the bike after 30 minutes where at least my ass-cheeks couldn't rub together.

Snapshot
Goal: 160 in 2 months
Today: 180
Gym: 50 minutes (with 20 pushups and some stretching this morning)
Eating: No chocolate, healthy for all three meals. However, drank more coffee than necessary and may fly out of my chair.

Until Tomorrow,
Arin

Skinny Blog

It's the most wonderful time of the year... the span between Thanksgiving and New Years when I start to eat fistfuls of chocolate on a daily basis and tell myself "it's the holidays". Unfortunately, my body looks like I've been eating fistfuls of chocolate on a daily basis for the past year. Maybe because I have. At any rate, it's time to stop the insanity and eat a little less and work out a little more.

So I'm going to blog about it here, mostly because my sister Mary has inspired me, but also because I think the public shaming will help me stay on track. So here it is. The Skinny Blog. I'm joined here by Kendra and Flo. Together we'll be some skinny bitches in the city of brotherly love.

-a