Today's Low Down - Day 3

I'm not feeling to well today with a sore throat, stuffy nose, and major headache, so we'll see how this goes. Got any tips to keep the cold away?

What did I eat?
8:00am - 1 cup of Kashi GoLean Crunch honey almond flax with 1/2 cup of 2% milk.
11:00am - Spinach salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, turkey, and garlic vinegarette.
3:00pm - Spaghetti with fresh mushrooms, artichokes, and Ragu tomato sauce.
4:00pm - 4 pieces of Dove dark chocolate.
8:00pm - (Wang's Garden) Egg drop soup, 6 unagi rolls, 6 california rolls, 6 philadelphia rolls, and 3 small cups of green tea.

How much water did I drink?
Only about 20oz today.

What did I do to get moving?
No workout today, as I didn't feel so well. But I pretty much talked for 2 hours straight at our florist appointment (which burned about 150 calories).

How much do I weigh? What is my clothing size?
Still 169lbs. Still size 14.

I know I definitely splurged at Wang's Garden today (great new chinese/sushi place across the street...dangerous!), so tomorrow I've got to work out...maybe twice! How do YOU think I did?

Today's Low Down - Day 2

What did I eat?
11:00am - Banana with Jif peanut butter.
12:00pm - Leftover 1 cup of spinach, tomato, onion, cucumber salad with raspberry dressing.
3:00pm - HealthyChoice tomato basil soup with 1/2 cup of 2% milk and grilled cheese (multi-grain bread with Kraft american single).
3:15pm - 3 pieces of Dove dark chocolate.
9:30pm - Whole grain penne with Ragu tomato basil sauce.

How much water did I drink?
About 56oz.

What did I do to get moving?
20 minutes of Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred on Level 1.

How much do I weigh? What is my clothing size?
169 pounds! Size 14.

That's it for today. How do you think I did? 

The Wonders of MyPlate

Did you know that just about everything you do burns calories?
Folding laundry. Cooking dinner. Taking a shower. Typing on the computer. Taking care of the kids.
Yep. EVERYTHING you do burns at least a few calories.

Wanna know how I know this?
1. Because I can feel the energy exerting when I do those things.
2. Because MyPlate told me so.

Who is MyPlate, you ask? Well, MyPlate is this amazing tool on Livestrong's website that allows you to track calories burned burnt burned throughout the day. It also helps you to keep track of how much water you've had to drink, how many calories you've eaten and much, much more! I'm absolutely in love with this tool and have been using it for about a year now. It's really helped me to pay more attention to my portions and to keep tabs on how many calories I'm taking in every day.

Compared to other calorie-tracking tools, I've found MyPlate to be the simplest, most thorough, and easiest to use. Take a gander! To visit MyPlate, click here.

Today's Low Down - Day 1

Alrighty. I hear that tracking your progress becomes easier and more motivating if you write it down, so I've decided to track what I eat and what workout I do. Every. Single. Day. *GASP*

Keep me on track everyone! Push me to go beyond my limits! Remind me to workout and keep track!

TODAY
What did I eat?
9:00am - Leftover Johnsonville bratwurst dipped in ketchup and mustard and a small cup of orange juice.
1:00pm - HealthyChoice chicken and dumpling soup with rice crackers and a bowl of peaches.
4:00pm - Fiber One oats and apple streusel bar, a handful of salted sunflower seeds, and 1 piece of Dove dark chocolate.
11:00pm -  Rare steak, tbsp of A1 Steak Sauce, small baked potato with light sour cream, and 1 cup of spinach, tomato, onion, cucumber salad with raspberry dressing.

How much water did I drink?
About 45oz.

What did I do to get moving?
9:00pm - 24 minutes on the elliptical at 3.8mph (245 calories burned)

How much do I weigh? What is my clothing size?
170 pounds. Size 14.

That's it for today. How do you think I did?

Struggling to Find My Happy Weight

"Step off the scale! Judge your weight loss on how your clothes fit, how you feel both inside and out, and the choices you make."

"Why do I want to lose weight? Is it out of self-loathing or self-love?"

These are a few of the many words that jumped off the screen at me today. I was reading an article on Yahoo! about 8 Weight Loss Transformations and struggled to keep myself from crying.

From the time I was born until the year I started high school I had always been a toothpick. My mom dressed me in leggings all the time because jeans just weren't small enough to stay up. But as I started high school, I gained and gained and gained until I went from a size 4 to a size 10 between my freshman and sophomore years. I know this is normal during puberty and other changes during those years, and I never felt uncomfortable in my skin until something broke the ice. My sophomore year of high school, my mom and I were out shopping and I wasn't fitting in the size 10 jeans, when she said, "I guess we'll have to get a size 12, Chunky Chick."

 This picture was taken right before my dad and I left for Europe between my sophomore

and junior year of high school. Approximate weight = 150.

She didn't say this to be mean. She didn't say it to purposely hurt me. But that one comment made me hate myself, my habits, and the "chunky" body I lived in. I've never battled an eating disorder like bulimia or anorexia, but overeating became the way I dealt with my depression. Food tasted good. Food looked good. Food smelled good. And food wouldn't judge me. Food wouldn't call me fat. So I turned to it as a way of hiding the fact that I was afraid of my body. I ate because I figured eating would keep people from thinking that I considered myself fat. And during those first two years of high school, I gained and gained and gained some more. 

But surprisingly, without any reason at all, during my junior year I dropped at least 20 pounds. I didn't do it purposefully, I didn't diet, I didn't exercise. And for the first time since middle school, I actually loved the way I looked. And so did everyone else. I kept getting comments like, "Wow! You look great!" and "Have you lost weight?" These comments, and people noticing how great my body looked made me feel incredible. So incredible, in fact, that it made me want to take better care of myself. And I did. I didn't necessarily change what I ate, but how much of it I was eating. And I drank water like crazy. My junior and senior years were the best years for me, weight-wise. But that would all soon go down hill.

 One of my senior pictures. The skinniest/happiest I ever was with my body. 

Approximate weight = 125.

The fall following my graduation from high school, I moved out of my parents' house and into my cousins' house in Michigan to go to college. I attempted to buy healthy food for myself, but money was tight and finding time to cook meals seemed like too much of a hassle. I also hated the school I was at and started the self-loathing again because I knew how much money my parents had shelled out to make it possible for me to go there. On top of this, I had gotten 2 jobs. All of this kept me either too busy or too tired to cook healthy meals for myself, so I turned to frozen pizzas and chicken tenders as a quick fix. 

Pretty soon, everyone started noticing my weight gain, which by now was almost 20 pounds between graduation and the end of my first semester of college. I hated how groggy I was. I hated how easily I caught a cold. I hated the way my clothes fit. And I hated that the way my clothes fit made me feel even more depressed. I was angry at myself. And I was angry at my parents. Why hadn't they taught me healthy eating habits? Why hadn't we been more active as a family? But I couldn't blame them as much then as I can now.

In November 2010, I weighed my heaviest.

Approximate weight = 180.

After that horrible first year in Michigan, I decided to move back into my parents' house because I thought it might be easier to change my unhealthy ways. Boy, was I wrong. As soon as I moved back in I had even easier access to Doritos, mayo, white bread, and even less control over what I was putting in my mouth. I had no job, so buying my own groceries was not an option. And any time I asked my mom to pick up something healthier at the grocery store, she refused, saying, "When you pay for the groceries, you can buy whatever you want."

Today, January 18th, 2011.

Approximate weight = 174. 

 

And now, as I'm sitting here staring at my size 14 wedding dress that I barely fit into, I can't keep myself from crying because I see the consequences of my mindless, depressive eating habits and I see the consequences of staring at the computer for hours, rather than taking a walk or getting on the elliptical. And I hate it. And I hate myself. And I hate that stupid size 14 wedding dress that I barely fit into.

Today is the day that all of that changes. No more excuses. No more letting my mother control what I eat. No more lounging around on Facebook when I could be doing my 20 minutes of 30 Day Shred. No more being afraid to go shopping for clothes. No more crying because my jeans won't button. No more. Today is the day I change my life for the better and today is the day I take control.