What is the Caloric Value of Family???

As I am sure you all know, it is extremely hard to diet on the weekends especially if you have company! Family and Friends are great for the soul, but BAAAD for the diet! :-) Love you! Even though I spent the weekend going out to eat and enjoying the company of my family, I still did pretty well as far as sticking to my diet! See the below for a synopsis of what happened this past weekend:

Okay.. so I slipped a little for Breakfast on Sunday, but you can only pass up Cracker Barrel breakfast so many days in a row. Grant it, this is not all I ate, but just a high level view of the dedication I showed to reaching my weight loss goals! And the proof is in the pudding my friends!

Weekly weight loss (Thurs-Thurs): 4.6lbs! You read it right! :-) And even though my badges say I've lost 30lbs and have 44 to go.. It is actually:

Total Loss: 34.6 lbs
To Go: 40.4 lbs

Even though my goal is a total of 75lbs. I have curtailed that to 15 more lbs by mid-January. After that I am focusing on Manuel Baby 2012 (nope not pregnant... not yet at least)!

Did You Feel That?

Did you feel that? That was my fat @$$ falling off the dieting band wagon.. and it hurt! You know why? That would be due to the fact that I have put on a terrible 9-10 lbs since I stopped this Blog!! What else have I stopped? Probably the one last thing that made me feel better about myself & my body --- Running..

However... I am back. Maybe not at full speed, but I am definitely back. I have an end in sight.. As many of you know, I am the proud mother of a 2 1/2 year old little man named Bryson Alexander (the absolute love of my life). My husband and I would like to be the proud parents of two, but I cannot proceed down that path until I have a lower body weight. If I was to get pregnant right now, at my current weight, I think it would do more harm than good.

So as of tomorrow, I am starting an actual diet plan. I am paying for this (for real). I am joining a few ladies at my work with this program... Hopefully the support from fellow dieters and family and friends, will help me get back on track to where I need to be. Even though I won't be able to meet my ultimate goal of 75 lbs, at least I will get on track and have healthy eating skills engrained at the same time.

Wish me luck and I will talk to you later!

(Also, this is the new sign I am putting up @ my desk - haha)

Truth Be Told Tuesdays -- Don't Hate!

I know I haven't posted in a while.. but there has been a lot going on....
I've been to Southern Shores (OBX), NC beach with my husband's family.. Which was a blast but very exhausting... Then I left the beach half way through the week and went with my family to the Big Apple! An amazing trip, if I must say! If you ever make it to NYC, go see The Lion King on Broadway! AMAZING!

After all the traveling and somewhat decent eating, I came home on Tuesday last week and realized.. "Oh Shit! I have not trained at all for the Bluegrass 10K.. That is freaking 6.2 miles and I have only ever gone 3.1"! I definitely slacked in the running department while on vacation.. I ran about 2 miles at the beach one morning and then ran 2 miles in the Gym at my hotel in NYC... But I did tons of walking there... Still not enough to be prepared for the big race on Monday, July 4th!

As we are all aware (but just in case some of you don't own a calendar or go by the dates in a year), July 4th has come and gone.. and may I first say "God Bless America" and thank you to those who to this day still fight for our freedom and rights as Americans... There is no better place on Earth than the United States...

The Bluegrass 10K was by far the most fun race I have been in (although I only have the Possum Ridge 5K to compare to)... It was bigger, there were people cheering, there were a ton of water stations with people holding out hoses to soak yourself with... it was just bigger! The start and finish lines were "OFFICIAL" looking.. it was overall exciting!

I am so proud of my friend for her time.. she did AMAZING.. She finished in about 1 hour and 4 minutes... she did amazing and she RAN the entire time! I am so proud of her! Me, on the other hand, ran it in 1 hour and 33 minutes... I wanted to make it in 1 hour and 30 minutes, but I will take it. It is my first 10K and I had not run in several days. My friend and I did a test run on Thursday and it took me 1 hour and 47 minutes to finish... Several factors playing into that time: no practice in a week, it was at 5:30 pm, it was 88* and was on the Legacy Trail which I think is a harder course... Small victories.. I beat that time by 14 minutes.. They keep telling me baby steps, but my competitive side (which knows I will probably never win any of these races -- unless I am the only one in it), says I can do so much better! See the results below from the race...
Bluegrass 10K Results

BTW.. Weight results for the week ... down .4 lbs since the last weigh in! I will take it because I haven't weighed in in 2 weeks and I was on a crazy vacation for 1 1/2 of those weeks...

Also.. my dad has joined the game of life (as we should all refer to is as).. cause if we want to live longer, we have to treat our body with respect so we have a nicer ride along the way... He has gone on two walks with David, Bryson and I... And needless to say it has been a little bit of a struggle for him, but he has stuck with us until the end.. He walked about 2.2 miles the first time and 1.8 the second... I am very proud of him... He also lost 3.8 lbs since last week! That is 3.8lbs less that he has to worry about... and 3.8lbs worth of energy that he can spend on his grandbabies! Go Papa!

If anyone is interested in joining my friend and I in some of these races, let us know... We are having fun doing this (never thought I would say that) and the more people we get involved, the better we feel about what we are doing for ourselves... Even if you have to walk, then at least it is better than nothing.. Right!?

See you next week!

Official Race Results from the Possum Ridge 5K

Official Time: 41:52 (sweet because I thought it was around 42:30 something.. the seconds count)!

Official Page with Results

Truth Be Told Tuesdays ~~June 14~~

Well.. another week has come and gone with a lot of things going on in between! I weighed in today with an official weight loss of 1.8 lbs! Yea! I have broken into a lower weight range. I felt like the last few weeks have been a struggle for me to see any progress in my weight loss goals... especially since I have started training for my half marathon...  Things are getting better though!

If you read my previous post, I completed my first 5K this weekend with an unofficial time of 42:32. Official time will not be posted on the website until Friday-ish (which is when I leave for vacation- Beach and NYC here I come- Don't be jealous! wink wink)! I also saw my friend for the first time since she has lost 72 lbs! I've said it before and even told her that she is my "Thinspiration"! Seeing her look like a sexy momma gives me hope and faith that I can get there too! She has worked long and hard and I know she is happy! :-) Good job to her! I love her!

I put together this handy dandy chart today (as I pull my hair out at work in frustration at other things) ... I wanted to see my weight gain/loss since the start side by side... I have another chart that does the calculations and tracks my weekly and to-date weight loss and percentages, but nothing that has just the lbs +/- since the start... I thought it was an awesome picture of the journey I have been on.. Definitely some ups and downs, but the downs out weigh (no pun intended) the ups! :-D ~~Also.. Note that the chart is purely gains/losses and not the week to week ups and downs... Anything below the green line is a loss...

Until next week (which may be a little delayed to Weight a minute Wednesdays (as that is when I fly back to town from the beach and will have an opportunity to weigh in before I fly back out to NYC)!

Possum Ridge 5K - 6/11/11 - Taylorsville Lake State Park

My friend and I ran our first 5K on Saturday.. She could've finished with a faster time but instead she was a good partner and stuck with the slow poke! We finished in 42:32 (unofficial time) which was under my 45 minute goal... Check it out!

Half Marthon... Here I come!: Possum Ridge 5K - 6/11/11 - Taylorsville Lake Stat...: "Wow! My friend and I finished out first 5K this morning! Needless to say I am tired now! I definitely did not run the whole way, but I did..."

Picture Update (Thursday, June 9)

I know this is silly... But I just wanted to share with you my new Brooks running shoes (From John's Run Walk Shop here in Lexington) and my new Half Marathon visor! 

If I am going to be serious about this (which I am), then I need the gear to go with it. I've been running in my Nike + shoes and just putting on the Brooks shoes is a world of difference! They were expensive and almost hurt to buy, but I know they will help my feet and the rest of my body out a lot.. Getting fit for running shoes has been the #1 suggestion from all my running companions! 

The visor.. probably not needed, but my friend and I got the same one! We thought it would be great inspiration/reminder for what our end goal is *besides being healthy and in shape*... It also is going to be part of our team gear! Then it will also help (hopefully) keep the sweat from rolling down our faces and into our eyes... We are going to try it out! 

Weight a Minute Wednesdays - 6/8/11

Oh man.. I'm late on posting again! A lot going on in this little brain of mine! :-) Just an FYI, Bryson's 2nd birthday was Sunday! Very bittersweet that my little man is just that... a little man and not a baby anymore! I love him to pieces! Sunday was fun but overwhelming for me! I did good though, with all the grilled food and potato salad and cake and cupcakes around me, I did not indulge myself in them! I had one cheeseburger with no topping and a spoonful of amazing strawberry salad (not as healthy as it sounds- the Reliford family will know what I'm talking about) and I only had a smidgen of cake! I didn't even cut myself a piece! Go me!

However, I am disappointed in myself that I did not run on Sunday as I was supposed to as I was too exhausted to do so! I did walk on Monday and run yesterday and today is another walk day... I also have my first 5K on Saturday AM @ the Taylorsville Lake State Park (Possum Ridge 5K)... Wish me luck! Next time you hear from me, I will officially be a runner! :-) Doesn't mean a good one though! Haha!

Status for this week: I lost 1 lb since last week! 

Goal: 75 lbs
Gain/Loss: (27.8) lbs -- 37.1%
To Go: 47.2 lbs -- 62.9%

~~Truth be Told Tuesdays -- May 31 ~~

Well.. another Tuesday has come and almost gone.. Not as happy with the results this week ... I am .2 lbs up on last week.. This totally sucks! However, I am not as upset as I normally would be! I wish I would've lost, but I will take a slight gain as I have been running and walking a LOT since my last weigh in! Like I said before, I've got a ton of stuff coming up from Birthdays and Vacations to a 5K! Lots of planning, training and packing! Wouldn't trade it for the world.. I've traded candy bars and candy for waters and running... It is not the most fun (at this point), but it definitely makes you feel better about yourself!

Check out my Marathon Blog

Truth Be Told Tuesdays ~~May 24~~

 Weighed in today and needless to say, I am not overwhelmed by my weight loss, but I still lost. I am down .2 lbs from last week... It really is almost a downer because I didn't go crazy last week, but I guess I didn't do all I could. Definitely going to step it up a notch from this point forward! I definitely have a lot of tests coming up as well: Bryson's 2nd Birthday (6/5), Outer Banks, NC (6/18) and NYC (6/23)! June is going to be tough for me but I am ready for the challenge!    


Goal: 75lbs
Gain/Loss: (27) lbs-- 36%
To Go: 48 lbs -- 64%

How am I going to be ready for this challenge? My friend and I have decided to add a new goal to our weight loss program (that we are doing).... We are running a Half Marathon on Sunday, October 23 in Myrtle Beach (http://runmyrtlebeach.com/site80.aspx)! CRAZY I KNOW! However, we are not running this race to finish at a certain time (besides under the allotted time), we are running to finish! We are also going to participate in a 5K in June and a 10K in July (and will repeat that in August and Sept).. This will help us get prepared for the Half in October! We are very excited and have officially started our training program as of yesterday, Monday May 23! I made my husband take a photo of me for my first day (it is like Kindergarten)! Wish us luck! And obviously I will keep you posted ....

Picture Update (Tuesday, May 17, 2011)

Just wanted to do a photo update on my transformation...

Went into the attic on Friday and pulled out my smaller jeans! Love seeing results like this!

Truth Be Told Tuesdays ~~May 17~~

I am pretty sure that I wrote up a post for last week, but guess I never posted it. Quick summary for last week: We started the weight loss challenge @ work! I am on a team of four women (and one honorary member) and we have named our team "The Meltaways"! We weighed in last week and I had lost only .6 lbs... Not great, but it is better than a gain any day!

Let me just say that this week.. "The Meltaways" are melting away! I weighed in this week and LOST 3.6 LBS! And so far my other team members have lost 3.8lbs, 5.2lbs, 2.2lbs and I am still waiting on the last one (but I know she lost)! We are doing GREAT!

I am very shocked at this weight loss, but not terribly.. The reason I say I was shocked is because I weighed myself at home this morning and expect an almost flat week, but I guess I can't base my weight on the scale I only check in on on occasion... Very happy today! Very much so! I am officially over the 20lb weight loss mark.. Make it 22lbs to be exact! And like I've always said.. 22lbs since the very beginning but 26.8 lbs since the beginning of my blog! Love it! :-D This is going weigh better than I expected it to (*haha*)! Until next week!

I'm going to start posting my current weight loss goal status (this started with the Blog, so it will coincide with the Blog weight)

Goal: 75lbs
Gain/Loss: (26.8) lbs-- 36%
To Go: 48.2 lbs -- 64%

Moment of Truth Mondays ... 5/2/11

I want to apologize for missing my post last week.. there is really no excuse for why I didn't blog my weight GAIN! I unfortunately gained 1 lb last week (Stupid Easter Bunny)... Haha... The Easter Bunny used to not stop at our house, but Mr. Bryson now gets visits from him! Ugh!

So I want to say I am sorry for not posting this unfortunate gain sooner... I had a lot going on at work (as it was Earnings Release week) and knew that it wasn't going to be a good week for me.. But I took it in stride, as I said to myself... "Hey.. 1 LB... Not bad for a bad work week and Easter!".. Plus when I weigh in here @ work, I tend to wear the same type of outfit, to make sure I have a little consistency.. The day I weighed in last week, I had jeans on and wet hair.. when normally I have lighter weight dress pants and dry hair.. Haha.. Also, I failed to mention that last week was the worst weather week I have ever been through in a while.. so I stress ate as well (since Storms are a phobia of mine)...

However.. a pound gained is still a pound gained, no matter how I look at it! 

THANKFULLY, that week is over and a new week has begun... I weighed in today (with dress pants and dry hair- haha) and I have lost 2.4 lbs since last weeks awful weigh in! Bringing my total up to 17.8 lbs since the beginning of February and 22.6 lbs since the beginning of blogging!

This week I am also going to get back on the wagon of tracking my calories... last week I didn't do that good of a job and my friend called me out on it (on the My Fitness Pal app on my iPhone)... It has a wall (like facebook) and it said that Rachel M has not logged in for 3 days.. and my friend said "Where are you?" Yup.. she did.. she called me out! I am ashamed, I am back on and re-tracking my calories Katie! :-D

My friend and I saw online (here at work), that they are going to do a weight-loss competition here... It officially starts, Tuesday May 10th and ends Tuesday, Aug 9th. My friend and I have decided to form a team to give us additional motivation. The team with the highest total percentage lost after the final weigh-in in August will be declared the winners! Each member of the winning team will receive a $250 voucher toward the purchase of a gym membership or home fitness equipment! How awesome would that be! That would be enough money to buy an Upright Bike for the basement or a Dumbbell Set and a different Upright Bike! Oh, the fitness stuff I could buy with that!

I don't think we are going to win as there are some hardcore people here at Lexmark. However, I think it will be good for us... So Moment of Truth Mondays are moving to Truth Be Told Tuesday (have posted a few of these before, but this is the official announcement)! See you then!

Moment of Truth Mondays ... 4/18/11

Let's start this week off with a weight-loss of 2.0 lbs! That brings my total weight loss to 16.6 lbs (and 21.4 lbs since I started blogging)... And I feel every pound better... :-D David even lost 4 lbs since last week, bringing his total to 21 lbs as well!

Eating right and doing some sort of exercise has melded its way into our everyday life now... It makes it so much easier that David is doing this with me! I am so proud of him (as he is of me) and we are kicking butt!

We splurged a little bit this weekend and had dinner at Waffle House with Bryson and my dad (Thanks Dad)... and then Sunday we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel.. I had mutligrain waffles w sugar free syrup, scrambled eggs and two turkey sausage patties ... Wish I would've known that bacon was actually fewer calories than the Turkey Sausage because I got tricked! I love bacon and killed me not to order.. next time I will check!

David and I have incorporated walking into our regime... We walk around our neighborhood (1.8-2.0 mi) or we will walk around the county park (1.8-2.3 mi)... Bryson loves to go on these walks with us... However Saturday, it was 43* with 15 mph winds (which made it feel like 36*) ... He could not got with us, but I wanted to walk... There was no reason that David and I couldn't go walking as long as we had someone watch Bryson for 30 mins or so.... Thankfully my dad was able to watch him.. otherwise David and I would've went out one person at a time...

As we were walking, a car pulled up to us and it was David's friend and his wife (a very sweet couple) and they just wanted to say hi... then they said that they could tell we've lost weight.. It makes it worth while when people you don't see on a daily basis can notice the chgs... Just like the other day when I went to the doctor.. She had told me last time I was there (in March) that I could probably use a few lbs off... and when I came in last week, I had lost 14! She was impressed and proud.. and it really made my day! I love it!  

Truth be Told Tuesdays ~~April 12~~

Even though it is an awfully dreary and wet day outside, my day is not! I started this week off with a...

.... loss of 1.6 lbs ... :-)

This brings my total weight loss since the beginning of February to 14.6 lbs... but brings my total weight loss since my blogging start to 19.4 lbs! It also got me past another goal in this journey. Its always nice to see the tens digit (in your weight) change (in the right direction) when you are trying to lose weight!

David and I have changed things up a little bit, we have incorporated walking into our daily routine (if we can- yesterday is was pouring down rain, so we had to skip it). Bryson gets to go with us on these outings as well... We've been averaging about 1 1/2 miles per walk in about 30 minutes. The other day we walked 2.2 miles at our county park and that is tough because its uphill/downhill and the path isn't laid exactly straight so you are slanted for most of your walking. We love taking the walks though for several reasons: (1) it gets us off our butts and moving, (2) we get to enjoy the nice weather, (3) we get quiet family time and (4) we get to meet new people (as they are all interested in the St Bernard were walking)..

I wore a belt the other day for the first time in a long time and I had to take it in a notch because my normal spot was waaay to loose! That is always good! :-D I am chugging along on this journey and I don't want to stop! I will reach my goals (however slowly they may come around), but I will!

Moment of Truth Mondays 4/4/11

Another week has past me by... This weekend was a struggle for me. My little sister got married on Saturday and there is nothing healthy about Wedding Reception Food! Then, we celebrated my grandma's birthday on Sunday with a Steak and Baked Potato lunch along with an awesome cake (made by "Cakes by Holly")!

It was definitely a struggle! HOWEVER... I pulled through and at today's weigh in ...

I lost 4.8 lbs!!!!!

I love it! I love seeing those numbers when I walk into work on a Monday morning! Since Mondays are for the birds, I actually look forward to coming into work just so that I can weigh in! I love it!

I can see, feel and tell the difference as this weight is coming off! I wore a new shirt this weekend and when I bought it, it was a tad bit tight in the love handle section! However, this weekend it fit so nice! I kept getting complemented on how I looked! I love it! I am starting to feel better about myself.

The challenge of eating right is becoming less of a challenge. I tell you what.. It is all about portion sizes. I had cake, but I had a small piece. I also didn't eat another piece (even though I could've enjoyed another slice of that Heavenly goodness)... I also went out to eat on Friday (for lunch) to Smashing Tomato and willingly ordered a ceasar salad with blackened chicken on it! And it was sooooooo good! I am loving it!

Deal with the Devil (It is Wednesday 3/30/11)

Back when I started this weight loss journey a month ago, I made a deal with myself! I made a deal that if I stuck true to my weight loss goals, that I would treat myself with a haystack today at lunch time! We're talking MAJOR caloric intake! Haha! Refer to my post from that day:

http://75lbstolose.blogspot.com/2011/02/haystack-day-wtf.html

Here is a view of my weight loss journey so far:
2/14/11:  +2.2
2/22/11:  +2.6 ***Official Start of Blogging and Tweeting***
2/28/11: -5.2
3/7/11: -2.6
3/14/11: +1.4
3/21/11: -4.2
3/28/11: -2.4
Overall weight loss of 8.2 lbs (but an overal weight loss of 13 lbs since I started Blogging and taking it serious)

I definitely think I deserve to splurge and endluge myself with a little bit of Haystack in my life! But I am actually.. Not interested! I weighed myself today and saw that I was down a lb or so from Monday's weigh in and I don't want to ruin all the hard work I have put into this!

I just wanted to share this revelation and maybe I will set another goal for myself.. Another food reward...

If I have dropped another 6-8 lbs by the end of April (set the date for April 28th), then I am going to get a small strawberry blizzard at DQ!!! This will be a tough one since April is Quarter Close @ work and it is going to suck this closing cycle! Bad! Stress and eating bad go hand in hand.. But I am going to try and let eating bad walk by itself! I can do it!

Moment of Truth Mondays 3/28/11

What a way to start off my week!

Not only did the KENTUCKY WILDCATS beat UNC and get a ticket to the NCAA Final Four in Houston, Texas....

I lost 2.4 lbs since last week! Bringing my total weight loss to 8.2 lbs since the official beginning of the journey... But brings my total weight loss since my blogging (when I got serious) to 13 lbs!!!! This is so great! I love it!

I feel so much better about myself.. I can't fully see results yet but I feel better, certain items are fitting better... I even went shopping this weekend and grabbed a pair of capri's to try on. Put them on and they fit great! Then when I was about to check out, I realized that I had inadvertently grabbed the wrong size and to my absolute delight, they were a size smaller! LOVE IT! That made my day!

I hope everyone is having a good a start to their week as I am! If you are on this journey with me, keep going strong! We can do it! There may not be an end in sight, but as long as you keep trying it will happen!

Moment of Truth Mondays 3/21/11

Man... Last Monday was such a bummer for me. I was really down on myself for letting myself slide and gain 1.4lbs! It actually hurt my morale a little bit. However, I took it upon myself to make sure I did better!

My friend convinced me to download an App on my iPhone 4 (which I love) --can also be downloaded on any Apple product (iPhone3, iPad, iPod Touch)... It is called "My Fitness Pal" and it is totally FREE! I highly suggest anyone who can, download this app!

It helps you track your Calories and Exercise. You can also link it to FB or Twitter (which I haven't and probably will not do just because I already do this).. :-D It keeps track of what you ate and if you aren't sure about the calories (for example a home cooked meal), you can type in the pieces that you had and it will find the best matching results. I won't say that it is 100% accurate because sometimes you do have to guess about how much you ate and if their best matched result is really that... But I love it! You can also friend people on it, so I am friends with my girlfriend here at work and... guess what.. You will never believe it! I am also friends with my husband! You heard it right!

My husband David has joined in on this weight loss journey with me. I wasn't going to force him to join, but I think he finally saw the light that I was shining in his face! Haha! He downloaded the App as well and has been doing AWESOME! It is so nice to have him on this journey with me, it makes it that much easier to continue to work on my weight at home now! Having both parties eating better and supporting each other is AMAZING! It works!

And the verdict is.... I lost 4.2lbs since last week! I think this is amazing! I know it is a ton of weight to lose in one week, but if you counter it with the 1.4 I gained last week, it nets to 2.8lbs which is more reasonable!

I tell you, it has made all the difference having David go through this with me now! I love it!

Moment of Truth Mondays.... 3/14/11

This is definitely not my best post.. but I have to stick to being truthful about this journey... Moment of Truth Monday was just that. It let me know that just because UK Basketball is on TV, doesn't give me an excuse for eating pizza both days.. :-(

I gained 1.4 lbs this week! :-( No good... Oh well.. I learned my lesson..

Even if I want to eat pizza, I can but maybe not the breadsticks next time. Also, stick to the salads girl! Ugh.. Disappointed in myself. But we all slip up sometimes, lets just not make it a habit!

Moment of Truth Mondays.... 3/7/11

Once again.. the time has come for me to step on the giant scale of truth... I was very wary of this weeks weigh in... I stuck true to my goals through the work week.. However, over the weekend I did not do so swell. Grant it, I did not stuff my face with a hamburger and french fries or an entire pizza (or anything to that nature).. but I did snack a bunch yesterday and was very scared of which way the scale was going to tip...

I lost 2.6 lbs from last weeks weigh in.. Bringing my total to 7.8 lbs since I started blogging!

Now that I had my weekend of fun .. I've got to get back on track! I'm feeling a salad or even a soup today for lunch.. Will have to test my strength as I have to run out @ lunch and run an errand for my parental unit.. but I can probably swing by Chick-fil-a and get one of their salads! Delicious!

Half way throught the week..

Being open about the fact that I need to lose weight has been such a blessing for me! I have found that a lot of my friends are paying attention to it.. If they see me eating something, they ask me how many calories or if that is in my diet... Which thankfully they haven't had to ask that a lot here lately! I have been sticking true to my goals.

Right now I am eating a salad I prepared last night (made David one too). Greens, Grilled Chicken Breast, 1/8 cup of mozzarella cheese and 10 sprays of the "Italian Salad Spritzers".... Delicious! Up next, a Dannon Light & Fit Strawberry Yogurt... all of this with Water to drink of course!

I have found myself drinking more and more water through out the day and at home as well! Water is not my favorite flavor as it has none... but I find that I feel better drinking it than anything else. I have maybe 1 can of diet dr pepper a day (if that.. as sometimes I forget and continue to drink water)...

This has just gotten easier for me .. We were @ Bed, Bath & Beyond today and my friend said "Oh... That all looks so good"... as we were standing in the checkout line right in front of the chocolate and candy bar section. And I looked at her and said "to be honest.. it doesnt really look that appealing to me anymore".. I was dead SERIOUS! I didn't even notice it was there! If you don't look at it or see it, it makes it harder for you to remember that you want it!

Moment of Truth Mondays

Mondays are weigh-in days @ work! I have two friends that (along with me) are trying to lose weight. We started this journey together at the beginning of February. I was not taking it seriously until last week when I started this Blog!

Today was the true test to see if I practiced what I was preaching! Tweet what you eat!

I LOST 5.2 LBS IN ONE WEEK!

All I can say is kudos to me! :-D I know 5.2 lbs in one week is a drastic drop in weight, but when you change your caloric intake to one that is recommended for you (in order to lose weight), you would be surprised at how much you can lose! I do not anticipate this type of result next week...

My Monday started off great... first a Tornado warning and now 5.2 lbs loss! What I am doing, must be working!

Thank Goodness for Thursdays

My battle of the bulge is still in its infancy but I feel that I am really figuring this stuff out.

Breakfast: Strawberry Parfait .. mmmmMmmmMMmmm
Lunch: 6" Turkey Breast on Wheat, Lettuce, Pickles, American Chz and some light mayo
Dinner: McDonalds Bacon Ranch Salad.. w/ a little ranch dressing and a Large Water

I feel like it is sooo much easier to make those more appropriate decisions for eating... After stopping at McDonalds, I also stopped at Kroger. We needed some food for breakfast, lunch, dinners and snacks.

I had so much fun @ Krogers.. I got strawberries, grapes, watermelon, oranges and apples.. Salad fixings.. Then went onto the snacks isle.. Yogurt covered raisins (120 cal), regular raisins, Fiber One bars.. mmm.. I cannot wait for snacks tomorrow.

I am actually enjoying this eating right stuff.. :-)

HAYSTACK DAY ----- WTF!?!

Wednesdays are HAYSTACK DAYS in the Cafeteria @ Lunch!

What is a Haystack?  Just the best damn thing on Earth (well maybe not but close)!

• Haystack: Multicolored Tortilla Chips, Savory Seasoned Beef, Queso, Shredded Cheddar Cheese & Sour Cream ... (other items are available ~~such as: beans, rice, jalapenos, olives, etc~~ but I'm a plain Jane...
• Haystack Names Outside of Lexmark: Nacho Bell Grande (Taco Bell), Loaded Nachos

I walked into our cafeteria today to debate on whether to get another salad or maybe get a Chicken Salad wrap (which isn't the healthiest, but is the healthier choice).... And to my surprise and enjoyment, I saw that our middle serving area had HAYSTACKS today! The smell... so wonderful.. the memories of me stuffing my face with its succulent taste ... always being finished but wanting more... more... MORE! And for those who work with me, they know that here lately, the Haystack has gotten me through some pretty rough and tough times here! :-D It always brought a smile to my face and my belly!

Today, however, was different! Instead of a smile, I was stuck in the middle of the cafeteria.. Standing there like a idiot doing the "what should I eat" tango! My mind was at war with itself... "Go for the Haystack.. Live a little"... "Don't do it! Don't do it! Stay true to your goal"... Remember.. "Tweet What You Eat".... Oh what a battle it was and I finally decided that I would leave the Haystack to those poor souls in line! They too had obviously been sucked into the grasps of that mouth watering dish!

The only problem was that I ended up standing in the middle of the cafeteria for longer... debating on what good stuff to eat! All the while, thinking about just one chip with beef and queso! That would be soo nice! I finally drug myself over to the sandwich line and decided on a chicken salad wheat wrap.... with Lettuce, one slice of cheese and a small portion of light mayo...

But I have made a deal with the Devil (aka myself)... Today is Wednesday, February 23rd... If I can stay true to my weight loss goals for the next month, I am going to splurge on Wednesday, March 30 and get a damn HAYSTACK! I deserve a treat... I will put a poll out on my page when the time comes near to see if you agree that I have done enough to get one! :-D

Wednesday, 2/23/11

From starting the Blog/Twitter accounts yesterday and posting my struggle on Facebook, I have received a lot of support from friends and family .. People letting me know that they are going through the same things and want to go on this journey with me! I already feel better about my decision to post this...

For the first day, it wasn't too bad! I took the first step and moved my community candy container to my boss' office. Kind of cruel, as I see it every time I walk by or into his office... It has removed the temptation from right in front of me.. Now I have to make an effort to eat it! 

For lunch yesterday, I ended up fixing myself a salad @ the Cafeteria here at work. It was actually pretty good. I am a very plain food kind of girl.. So it consisted of spinach lettuce, grilled chicken pieces, small amount of cheese, small amt of bacon dust (as that is the cheap stuff our cafe buys) and a little bit of Light Italian. And a 20 oz Diet DP... It definitely wasn't a hamburger and french fries, but I didn't feel as guilty eating that. 

After I left work and picked up Bryson, David called and told me he wasn't in the mood to cook and neither was I. So I stopped at Chick-Fil-A.... Hmmmm... to get a #1 with Cheese (430 cal) and Large French Fries (440 cal) and a Large Sweet Tea (220 cal) or try out their Chargrilled Chicken Salad (180 cal) and drink water at home? Or even the Soup (140 cal) and Salad (70 cal)? Oh.. and should I get a fruit bowl (110 cal)?

"Alex... Can I have Chargrilled Chicken Garden Salad for 180 please?" And a Large Fruit Cup as well? That salad was actually pretty delicious and when David saw me eating it, he said "Where did you get that at? Does Chick-fil-A have salads?" Yup they do and they are good! Not to mention they give you Honey Roasted Sunflower Kernels (90cal) to go with it! Delicious! I highly suggest it! :-D I also got the Fruit Cup, but did not eat it last night. I saved it for today as a snack.. 

My dinner was healthier than David's and not to mention I was still chowing down on my salad for quite some time after he got done eating his sandwich and fries! I will trade a 400 cal meal (including dressing) over an 1100 cal meal any day! Just look at the Calorie difference! CRAZY!

To Be Held Accountable

How am I supposed to lose weight if I cannot hold myself accountable for the sh*t I put in my mouth and into my body.. I am going to blog about the stupid journey that 85% of us our on.. and that is weight loss (or for others--- weight maintenance)...

Being fat sucks! I hate not being able to fit into my clothes... I hate not being able to go into the normal stores and buy whatever I want... I have a goal.. That goal is to lose weight.. My user name is 75 Lbs to Lose... That is my goal.. If I lose 5 lbs a month, that is 50 lbs by the end of the year....

I am on Twitter to.. I am going to use Twitter to "Tweet What I Eat... and Think about Eating".... (75LBSTOLOSE)