#winning

Sorry, had to make a Charlie Sheen reference! I've never liked the guy much but I'm loving his crazy. It's hilarious and I'm sorry, if someone was tasked to write a script for him to come off as crazy and hilarious they wouldn't have come close to what he's delivered in interviews. I do feel bad for this family though.

ANYWAY! I ended up getting sick. I was out of work Monday and Tuesday and still felt like crap Wednesday and Thursday. It was a bad cold and I had a low fever and then it turned into possible allergies. I had really bad itchy and watery eyes, no, really bad. I started taking Zyrtec on Friday because I can't function taking Benedryl. It knocks me out.

Long story short, not one workout this week, and even though I felt sick I had my appetite for the most part. I was super worried I'd have a decent gain but by some miracle of god (after the weekend and half-ass counting points while I was sick) I managed to be down .6!

I actually skipped my meeting today so I could sleep in and rest but I weighed on my home scale on Friday for work and again today. Today it says 173.6 and hey, I'll take it.

I'm thinking the previous few weeks of doing well helped me out but I can't mess around anymore. I am going to kick ass this week!

John and I have been talking about playing basketball for a while. We're huge Magic fans and besides that, I played basketball in middle school and high school. I was really into and actually pretty good. I was a really good shooter and really loved but what held be back was my lack of confidence and my sophomore year of HS the coach said I was too short to make varsity so I ended up quitting after that year. I regret it in some ways, I wish I had finished out HS playing. In middle school my dream was to play for the WNBA. I did go on to play lacrosse my junior year but I didn't have the same passion for it.

So yeah, the point of the story, we bought a ball and found a park to go play! It was beautiful out today and we shot around for a bit and then played a game of HORSE. I won! I didn't even get one letter! It took me a while to get my groove back and I'm by no means as good as I was in high school but it was fun! We did a little one on one too but I was so tired and out of breath I quit. I also made the mistake of wearing sandals and my sundress but I thought we were only going to play HORSE! :)

We had dinner out tonight at this Mexican place in Tampa called Algusto's. It's really good and if you're in Tampa I recommend it! We were pretty hungry after basketball so I went a little crazy with the chips but not too bad. We had some salsa and guacamole and then for my entree I got green mole chicken. I estimated the best I could with e-tools help and I estimated my meal to be 19 PP. Luckily I had 15 PP left and earned 1 AP.

We went to Urban Outfitters and then to Target to get some cleaning supplies (apartment cleaning mission tomorrow) and shared a frozen yogurt. When it was all said and done I used my 1 AP and 9 WAP. I don't like having to estimate but I did the best I could. E-tools said 5 PP for 15 tortilla chips (they were small size chips) which sounds low but I'm going to go with it.

Tomorrow I am planning to do an outdoor run while John bikes but it may rain. In that case I'll hit the gym for a run. I got some new knee things, patella bands(?) to try out instead of my shitty knee sleeves. I'll see if they help.

Okay, time for bed, I'm sleepy!

party time

This will be a short post because I'm not feeling well. Last last light I started getting a sore throat and today it was still there and I feel a little weak and stuffy. Ick. :\

On to the good stuff, on Friday I had my weigh-in for the work Biggest Loser contest and I was down .6 and my teammate was down 1.4 so I was happy! We were heading out of town so I went to WW to weigh-in on Friday since I'd miss my meeting Saturday. My scale at home was an ass again and gave me the impression I'd be down a pound. I rush to get to my meeting and I stayed the same. Annoying.

Friday we went to a Magic game and it was really fun. We got sushi for dinner and I didn't track too well but I didn't go super crazy.

Saturday technically started my new week in terms of WW. Saturday was our engagement party! It was really nice and we had a great time. I didn't track and honestly didn't pay too much attention to what I ate. I don't think I went SUPER CRAZY OMG but I know I used a lot of WAP. I just went ahead and said I used all my 49 WAP for the week.

Today wasn't a perfect day like I'd hope and since I feel crappy I was sort of meh about things and ate random things throughout the day. Nothing crazy though I think I stayed in my dailies. I hope...

I have been bad about water since Friday and eating a lot of sodium so I really need to drink a ton of water the rest of this week and be super good. I am worried I will see a significant gain but I have to try and be positive and kick ass this week.

I have a feeling I may feel too icky to workout tomorrow but we'll see.

Time to go rest up but one last thing!

Congrats to Jen on finishing her first half-marathon with an awesome time!

John and I at our party. :)

All the bitches love me...

Sorry, I'm listening to that Dougie song which I half love and half think is a joke. :)

I realized I haven't posted in a while. Last week went pretty well. Towards the end I use more WAP than I would have liked. I ended up losing 1.4 putting me at 174.2. I was happy but was hoping for 2.

So far this week is going well. Yesterday I had a tough strength and cardio circuit type workout. I was super sore today. I still managed to drag myself to the gym and ran a 5k distance on the treadmill in around 35 min.

I am super sore so I may rest tomorrow or do light cross training.

Thursday I have spin class and Friday is a rest day and I will have to weigh-in Friday since Saturday is our engagement party. :)

I am trying really hard this week and hope to see at least 172.something on Friday!

Glee tonight was epic. I just downloaded two songs from the episode. Darren Criss is hot.

yikes

So this has been a really good week. I haven't snacked at night all week! Not only that, I stayed in my daily points target most days. I went over a little last night and I went over by 2 tonight.

That being said, I'm ending the week with 23 banked WAPP and 20 banked AP.

I did the following exercise this week:
S - 8.5 mile bike ride
M - 5k run (struggle, slower pace)
T - rest
W - spin class (intense!)
R - 30 min. cross train (elliptical)
F - 5k run (great run, great pace)

I'm proud of myself for working out FIVE days this week. :) I really want five to be my minimum.

I wanted to post this tonight because I've also noticed the scale not budging much the past few days and it has me down. I deserve a two pound loss. I want to see 174 on the scale so badly even if there is a point something after (except .8, fuck you .8). I worked hard this week and I don't see why I shouldn't have lost.

That being said, it is what it is at this point. I just have to keep going and kill it this next week and so on.

Jen is coming over tomorrow and she'll help cheer me up if needed but hopefully she won't have to! We are making a WW dinner, I'll be sure to post about it!

Off I go!

smelly cat

Tonight John and I went to our second official spin class at this new spinning studio in Tampa. The first one we went to (that I'm not counting as official) was an intro ride.

Let me just say, this week was way harder than last week! I was dripping with sweat and man do I smell, I need to hit the shower once I am done posting.

I think I mentioned it, but the spin the bikes they have move so you can "turn." It takes a lot of upper body and core strength to do it. A lot harder than traditional spin! John did great again, I'm proud of him and thankful he's doing it with me. Thanks Groupon! The thing that sucks is this place is way to expensive for us to go once our 10 sessions are up. :(

I'm happy to report I didn't snack at night for the third night in a row! Yay! I feel empowered in the morning when I know I wasn't a bad girl going to the kitchen at 3 a.m.

I've also been doing good since Sunday with points. I've stayed in my dailies every day! I feel really great knowing that I'm doing so well, it's reminding myself that I am capable of being a little more strict and kicking some ass.

In other news, my company is having a Biggest Loser competition! You make a team of 2 to 3 people and it goes from February 14 through April 22nd. The team with the highest percentage of weight loss wins $100 Amex gift card for each member. I made a team with my old co-worker Anna. She used to work on my team but hasn't the past year. We have a lot in common when it comes to diet and exercise so I think we'll make a great team! We're in it to win it!

I don't even care about the $100. To see that I've lose 10, 15, 20? pounds is a reward enough. The best part it is it ends the week after my birthday so it should help push me to be at a great place in April. Not only that, but I will be getting prepared to start my wedding gown shopping in May or June!

I know it's going to take a lot more than three good days to get to my goal, but I feel confident and good about it.

OH! One last thing, John and I had a dinner reservation at a nice steakhouse for Sunday (early V-day dinner) and I talked to him and we decided to cancel it because there would be no way for me to count points and it'd be inevitable I'd use a ton. We made a reservation at Seasons 52 instead where their full nutritional information is online and I can make smart decisions. :)

Ok, now I better really go shower!

Gym over lunch tomorrow, I gotta keep pushing hard so I see the number I want on Saturday!

Hmm...

I've debating stopping my blog a lot lately. I feel like no one really reads it or cares. For now I'll keep it I guess.

Just an FYI to those who do read. If you comment here (even as anonymous) I get notified of it.

I skipped WW this week. On Friday it looked like I'd be down half a pound to a pound but then Saturday it looked like I stayed the same. It really upset me because we event went for a bike ride Friday night to get in a little extra activity.

Yesterday we went out for Daniella's birthday. I went in with a "plan" but they ended up not having the original thing I saw on the menu. It was also a tapas-style place which meant sharing small plates. I tried to not go crazy but I still went over points. I estimated the best I could after but I still felt depressed.

My goal is to only use my dailies the rest of the week. I know it will be a challenge but I have to do it. I also want to earn at least 10 AP 15 AP would be ideal.

Today John and I rode our bikes to Target. It was 8.5 miles and it took us around 55 minutes including stops at cross walks etc. Our average pace was 9.24 mph which was pretty good as far as I am concerned.

We were going to go to Bern's Steakhouse on the Sunday before Valentines but today I told John I think we should postpone it and go after I've lost some weight. If we go I know it will result in me going WAY over points for that week. So we are going to go to Seasons 52 instead where I know I can control and count points a lot easier.

My workout plan for this week is:
-Sunday: bike ride
-Monday: 5k run
-Tuesday: rest day
-Wednesday: spin class
-Thursday: cross train/upper body strength (will have to do over lunch)
-Friday: 30 min. run

If I can stick to that and stay in my daily points I know I'll see a good loss Saturday.

I am really going to try hard to lose 6lbs by our engagement party. I have three weeks which means three weeks of kicking ass is needed.

That's all for now. I hope next time I post it's with good news and it's more positive.

Actions speak louder than words...

So here I am, about to be facing my first weigh-in and February and I am in about the same place I was several weeks ago when I mad an infamous IT'S TIME TO GET SERIOUS post.

This morning when I was getting ready for work and regretting my late night binge (because that's basically what it was) I thought to myself, "Today is a new day!" Then an a voice inside my head replied with, "Really? I've heard that one before."

So there are a few things I want to address.

I was down last week, .8 to be exact. Nothing that was going to get me to that 165 goal for our engagement party. I have been half-assing my diet. I've been doing this long enough to know that even though I'm working out it won't do shit if I don't stick to the program.

My biggest problem is, like I've mentioned before, I'm a TERRIBLE snacker. I have a hard time identifying my true hunger signals (or maybe I choose to ignore them?). I've tried many things, reward jars, notes on the fridge reminding myself not to snack but what it really comes down to is that it's a deeper change I need to instill in myself.

Also, I don't snack on fattening/bad foods. I eat very healthy things but I eat too much of them. NOT GOOD!

I've actually been better about my night snacking. I have talked myself out of it a few times even! I have figured out though that when my anxiety is high and I'm not resting well my tendency to snack at night is greater. I'm guessing it's a comfort thing.

Well, last night was the worst snack night in a while and possibly ever. I ate a ice cream sandwich (4PP, snack mix 4PP and a mini-granola bar 2PP) at like 1 a.m. Really Danielle? REALLY?!

I can't really tell you what went though my head. Other than that I wasn't sleeping good, I felt crappy (my knee hurt, my facial pain was hurting) and that I clearly felt like I was very hungry. I wasn't.

So there is my confession. It really does have to stop. Even if it means keeping no snacks in the house until I can learn to control myself.

I do have a positive thing to report! John and I got a Groupon for 10 classes each at a spin studio. The bikes are crazy and you can "turn" on them which works your core and shoulders. It's intense!

Anyway, I'll end this by saying tomorrow is a new day where I can make new choices. No, screw that, right now is a new MINUTE where I can make new choices. If I make the right ones, I'll succeed and if I don't I'll face set-backs.


I hope to report that I'm down a pound on Saturday, so those good choices need to start now.

So I won't get my Magic jersey reward, it sucks but a deal is a deal. However, if I get under 170 by the 26th I can get a new dress if I choose to for our engagement party.

Wait! I did have one more thing to mention! My "no wedding dress shopping until I'm 160 or under" rule is still in play. I want it to be a happy and positive experience, not a depressing one. I don't really need to start looking until summer so there is plenty of time! I will be one hot bride.

First weigh-in of 2011!

So today was my first official weigh-in at Weight Watchers of 2011. It's a good thing I mentally prepared myself for a gain because it was a little more than I'd hoped. I was up 4.8 since the beginning of December, but still less than before I did the cleanse.

I'm excited to really commit to the new program this week and see the results. Today went well and I only went one point over into my weekly allowance.

Tomorrow I'm going to my first bridal show with my friend Claire, who is getting married in September. It will be a little bit of a challenge with free champagne, food tastings, cake tastings but I need to stay in control. We bought this little frozen breakfast souffle things today at Whole Foods which were pretty low point so I'm going to have that tomorrow morning before I go.

That's about all for now, just relaxing and watching the Magic game. Go Magic!

Here we go.

So tomorrow is my first official weigh-in in oh, five weeks. Yeah...

Between my NYC trip and the holidays I need to face the facts that I'll be up. Especially since my last official weigh-in was right when I completed my cleanse.

I am going to cross my fingers and hope my run this afternoon helps that I'll only be up 4lbs.

I'm going to do a 5k distance run today. I know it will be rough with a few weeks of no running but I am going to do it!

Considering everything, it could be a lot worse.

So far I really like the Weight Watchers Points Plus system but next week will be my first full committed week back on program. I'm excited!

I realized that there is a lot of negativity all around us (as well as within us) and I need to try harder not to let that affect me. I have to spend my life doing what is right for me and those I care about most.

I am hoping my weigh-in is no more than 175.8. That means a 10.8 lb loss for me to get to my goal before February 27th. It's super doable and I want that Magic jersey! :)

That will also put me close to a place I'd like to be for starting wedding dress shopping. Yay! I am really liking these two-in-one dresses. It's a long, formal gown with a removable skit so that it turns into more a cocktail dress for the reception!

I must run, but wanted to make a post before my weigh-in tomorrow. I will not let the gain bring me down, I will use it to push me forward and work to see a 3lb loss for the next week!

I hate posting without photos so I'll leave you with a picture of John and I on New Years Eve at dinner.

All new in 2011.

So here we are in 2011. It's crazy how fast time passes.

I renamed by blog today. "Look forward with hope, as opposed to back as regret," will always been a quote near and dear to my heart. Jillian Michaels said it a long time ago on an episode of the Biggest Loser that I was watching and it really affected me.

I'm not sure if I'll stick with this new name, but I was thinking and it sort of reflects how I feel about weight loss and health.

One of the things I realized when I started my weight loss journey was that time will pass regardless of everything else. For example, losing over 100lbs seemed impossible and like it would take forever. Yet, whether I did something or not time would pass. I could sit around for the next year being overweight and depressed or I could do something about it, because regardless of what I chose to do that year would come and go.

As far as everything changes, well, it does. It makes me think of a quote I read once, "However good or bad a situation is, it will change." If that's not the truth I don't know what is.

So here is to a fresh outlook for 2011.

- - - -

In other news, I thought I'd share a small goal for myself.

I want to lose at least 10 lbs by the end of February. If I really apply myself I should be able to lose more than that. I'm excited about really going full force with the new Weight Watchers Points Plus system.

Anyway, if I make this goal, my reward is going to be an Orlando Magic jersey. We are going to a game February 25th so I'd love to meet this goal well before the end of February so I can wear it. :)

[Image Source]

Lots of updates!

So it's been a while since my last post but I come with lots of updates. I'll try to keep it short though.

1. I'm engaged! John and I got engaged when were in NYC. I am so happy and we are so excited for what the future holds. No solid wedding plans yet but it looks like the date will be in Spring 2012.

Here is a photo from right after he asked me! :)

2. So as far as my weight goes I'm not sure. After our trip and the holidays I knew I'd be up. I got down to 171.8 before the trip. If I can get out of this and not be over 175 I'll count it as a success. I'll update this weekend about where I'm at.

3. I only have one more challenge coming up which is New Years dinner/drinking. I'm going to try and be as good as I can but I'm also going to consider it a last splurge.

4. Assuming I'm around 175 I need to lose 15lbs before I'll start trying on wedding dresses. I refuse to try them on before I hit 160. My goal is 145.

5. It's time to get serious for 2011. Not only do I want to make my goal for myself but now with a wedding coming up I need to get serious!

6. Running, what's that? I haven't been running much the past month. I still have a 5k distance in me but I've def. lost my 10k endurance.  I am going to start running again this week because I want to maintain a 5k endurance but I also want to focus more on strength training and toning.

7. I got a bike for Christmas! John got me a bike so we can start riding together.

Okay! So that is my quick update. I hope everyone had a great holiday!

Isagenix 9-Day Cleanse review...

So I am done with my cleanse!

I lost between 8 and 9 lbs (scale said 8 this morning but I was weighing in at a different time than last time).

I lost about 11 inches overall.

To be honest the process really sucked.

The cleanse days I felt like shit. Saturday and Sunday were my last two cleanse days and I feel bad today even though I'm done with the program and ate breakfast already. I feel weak, shaky and have stomach troubles.

I will say that days 3 through 7 weren't that bad with the shakes and one normal meal. In fact, I was probably around my WW daily points those days as the shakes were 6 points each.

I did this cleanse as more of a quick fix before my trip. I achieved what I wanted because my dress fits me now. Most my other close are loser now too!

I started the cleanse at 178.6 and this morning my scale said 170.6. So being that most of what I lost was in my torso I'd say it's safe to say I went down about a size.

I am hoping to keep this weight off but have to be good on my vacation. I don't want to gain it back after that hellish 11 days (including pre-cleanse days) so that motivates me.

Would I recommend this to a friend? Not really. It wasn't fun at all. Then again, it wasn't the worst thing in the world.

If you know me, you know these fad-type cleanse/diets aren't my thing at all. I felt like I needed to do something drastic though.

In the end it shocked me how strict I was and how well I stuck to this cleanse. It made me realize I have it in me to stay on program and stay within points for WW. This cleanse also made me really evaluate my hunger signals. When I thought I was hungry before I was wrong! I think it will help me in the future.

Off to NYC on Thursday! :D

p.s. Learned the new Pro Points system on Saturday. I start today! I'll report on it later!

Just stopping by to check in...

Lately I've felt meh about my blog. I get minimal response to it (love all the people who do respond!) so it's not much of a motivator in that sense.

I missed my weigh-in today because I'm in Orlando. John and I came here Wednesday night to spend a long weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday.

His mom. step-dad and grandpa came for dinner Thursday. It was a nice time.

At night I watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince since I finally finished the book last week!

Just started Deathly Hollows tonight!

Anyway, I weighed this morning (brought my scale) and I appear to be the same or possibly down a half pound. Hard to tell since I'm not weighing in at my apartment (does that matter I wonder if it's the same scale?).

I started the cleanse I'm trying out. Today is day 1 of the intense cleanse part. It's going okay. I'm not going to tell you what the cleanse is until I finish it. Tomorrow is another hard day and then Monday through Friday is easier and I finish off with two more serious cleanse days.

I normally hate upon such things but I trusted my acupuncturist and went with it.

I'm going to WW next Saturday to learn the new program and hope this will kick start me in a good way for the new WW program.

Off I go...

p.s. Family is eating pizza in the other room. FML!

Weigh-in/Another 10k

So this past week my weight has been fluctuating a lot. Overall it was down but I'm thinking the fact Aunt Flo is here was causing a lot of changes.

I woke up early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep so I decided to go to the 8:30 a.m. meeting.

I was down 3.6! Wow. I feel great! I think the 10k last Saturday helped and I also snacked a lot less this week but I ate most of my WAP. I also just noticed I lost a point. Yay! It's a good thing. Heh.

I can't let this get away from me. I have to do good this week and keep the momentum going forward. I officially have 13.4 lbs to lose for my NYC goal which is 8 and a half weeks away. I can do it! It will take hard work!

Yesterday I had a pretty bad day, I won't get into the details but luckily it turned around when I got home. I took a nap and then around 7 p.m. John and I went to Whole Foods to get a bite to eat for dinner. I had a little salad and two bites of his pizza.

Then we went to the new Nordstroms Rack that opened by us which is amazing. It's a discounted Nordstroms with items 30-70% off.

I found my dress for Halloween! I'm going to be a take on Joan Holloway from Mad Men. I got a great Calvin Klein dress for $40 (originally $130!). I also got a pair of really awesome shoes for 50% off.

So much win. This place can be dangerous for my bank account though so I must watch it!

John also got pants, a tie and cuff links for his costume which is a take on Don Draper from Mad Men. :)

I'm trying to think of where we should go for dinner tonight. We always eat out Saturdays. I want sushi but I can't go crazy with points so it might be a bad idea. Hmm.

We are just going to relax and run some errands today.

Tomorrow we are going for a bike/run (either in the morning or early evening) and I'm going to meet Daniella for lunch and another trip to Nordstroms Rack so she can check it out. :)

Oh! I ordered this dress the other day as a night out dress for our trip (obviously, will need tights and a a big jacket!) to NYC. I am hoping it fits good. Now it has some reviews and they're all good so I'm happy!

Okay, last but not least! I signed up for the Founder's Day 10k on November 14th. I'm hoping to improve my time buy a few minutes! I'm excited to have another race to keep me focused on my running. :)

weekend update: good and bad

So let's see...where to start?

Saturday I had my WW meeting. I think we have a new leader. I'm not sure because I was 15 min late (they changed the time again) and the new lady was leading and my old leader was still there watching. Hmm. I hope we have this new lady because I could tell right away I liked her a lot more. I just looked on WW online and she is indeed the new leader for Saturdays. :)

I was up .8 which sucks. I didn't have a good week points wise though so I couldn't get that upset. Our location is a "pilot" where the center is open retail hours. The set-up is totally new and it's really nice. I left the meeting and headed home.

The weekend was relaxing. We saw that new movie The Town and it was really good! I highly recommend it!

We went to Michael's and I got a cute glass jar/bowl and pretty blue glass beads. So not only is it motivational but it looks nice. I stayed in points Saturday and Sunday and didn't snack at night so I have four stones so far! :)

So far it's working great.

Yesterday I did a 4 mile run outside. Not much to say as far as that goes. It was hot. Ugh.

Now with bad news...

I took Dakota to the cardiologist this morning. Turns out he does have heart disease. I have to wait to find out more details from the vet tomorrow. From what I know now, it's not that bad/advanced. He is most likely going to go on medication to slow his heart rate. I'm guessing his heart beats faster than it needs to right now? Like I said, I'll find out more tomorrow.

I just pray to whatever there is that he leads a happy and long life with us.

Short run to improve speed/worries for weigh-in!

So yesterday I had a short run and strength training. I ran two miles between a 6.0 and 6.5 on the treadmill. I've been running outside more but I wanted to be able to get a good feel for the faster pace. I normally run between a 5.0 and a 5.5 I know I can run two miles at a 6.0 and feel like I need to push myself to improve my speed.

It wasn't easy but I did it. I'm not sure of the time because it included a warm-up walk and I didn't really care to know. I know it was under a 10 minute mile.

I am nervous for my weigh-in Saturday. I have been doing my training plan for almost 8 weeks now and seen minimal weight loss, as in less than two pounds. Sure my eating hasn't always been in line and I'm waiting on some blood test results but I really want to see under 180 come Saturday.

I've had good workouts all week and have a 5 mile run tomorrow. I'm hoping to see good results! Eep!

Reminds self:

Credit: Oh She Glows

Here we go...

I've been tracking points and following Weight Watchers since October 5th, 2005. That was the day I joined and got serious. I weighed in that day at 256.4. That was the day I decided to change my life.


In May 2007 I plateau around 155lbs. My goal weight has always been 140(maybe 145). Over time I went up to 165 and just couldn't seem to get a grip on things and lose the weight.

Now it's 2010. I am ready to hit my goal. I just had some surgery and can't work out for a few weeks so I decided to start this blog.

Starting tomorrow, I will post photos of what I eat throughout the day and the points values. Should be pretty easy with my iPhone…
I will post recipes when I can and might not always post everything I eat. For instance, a photo of the decaf coffee I drink everyday might get a little boring.
So today I leave you, weighing 175lbs and on a mission to get to my goal weight of 140-145 range by the end of this year.
See you tomorrow!

Danielle :)