totally in the zone

wowie wow. i am totally in the zone and it's finally paying off on the scale. i'm down 6 lbs since 7/14. i was at my high weight, the weight that i absolutely never let myself go above: 144. today the scale said 138.4. love that, and i know that since i have more muscle tone now, that i'm a better looking 138 than i was before! hah :) ok, enough of the big head, but it was a really nice feeling. especially after a long vacation weekend. my goal is to maintain the 138 by friday. i think thats reasonable.

today's plan is to get to the gym and do weights & cardio.



last night D picked up the new smart ones breakfast sandwiches. he bought the egg, cheese & canadian bacon on an english muffin. i took the canadian bacon off (not a bacon girl), which eliminated like 3/4 of the cheese unfortunately, but its pretty good! the english muffin is pretty chewy though. but at 3-4 pts (minus the bacon)....its a pretty filling breakfast!

hope everyone can find their way into the zone this week too. i've noticed that when i'm off, my blog friends are usually off too? maybe its the different times of year. but i hope everyone is back on track so we can all share in the fun together! :)

still here....still a gym slacker

hi everyone!! still here...not to worry. i've been SO busy at work & finally finished up harry potter 7....very good! sad to see it end. haven't been keeping up with any blogs unfortunately. we're being audited at work so any free time i have, i'm either doing my normal work or trying to catch up with deadlines. i'm out of town visiting my parents with D this weekend and next weekend is a bachelorette party. busy busy bee. i'd like to drop an lb or two before next week when i see all my girlfriends from high school. i feel like i look good though so i'm not too concerned about it.

food has been really good. still maintaining at 136 which i'm happy with. the gym, that's another story. i've been slackin!! but tonight i'm going to zumba dance class with my sister. she went last night and said it kicked her butt! so i'm excited to see how it is.

alright...hope you're all doing well! i'm going to try to catch up on blogs tommorow night :D

owwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

that dvd from monday: kicked. my. butt! ouch. i feel like someone cut up my leg muscles. i guess that means the muscles are growing but DAMN. OWWW!! anyone read harry potter? when the kids get injured, they can magically regrow bones. i'm thinking it feels something like this. haha.

anyways....happy hump day! enough with my debbie downer attitude. this morning has flown by. scale is sticking at 136.2 which is fine. i was 137 this time last week so i'll take it! and my google tracker is of course keeping me focused!

BL was great last night! i loved seeing bob & jillian compete and brittany kicked butt on the escalator!! i felt bad for her when she cried about bob not picking her & then only losing 2 lbs. that's gotta hurt. esp since last week she lost like 1 pound since they tried to throw the weigh-in. i really could watch that show every night if it were on, its so motivating! i did arm weights for about 10 mins during the show and i feel the burn today. it feels good. not like my legs burn, like a good burn.

alright...back to work! trying to get to the gym today if my bum legs can handle it. i may just walk on the treadmill or try the elliptical. have a great day!

i hate math but i love these graphs

it's monday!! and i am feeling great. the scale said 135.6 this morning. i will take it! even if it disappears for a little while...it will come back. that's what i've noticed this month with water weight and fluctuations. if i see the number at one point in the week, i have ended up seeing it stick around by the end of the week or the following week.

i plugged that into my google 15 tracker this morning (get yours here) and look at the graph!



pretty nifty, huh? the numbers at the bottom are the moving average weight changing~ not the actual weight plus/minuses. it took me a while to figure that out. the moving average is a different number. as long as the blue dot stays below the yellow line you're on your way to your goal weight. i love it. it lets me know what i weigh at this time last week which is a great way to keep the whole weight fluctuation thing in perspective.

onward and upward!! i mean...downward. :)

have a great day! going to try to get to the gym later despite having on a really cute outfit & hair do. like i said, not an excuse!

tuesday check-in

hi all!

not much to report. had a great 50 min elliptical session at the gym tonight. i'm trying to step up my game and i've been to the gym twice already this week. i want to go two more times this week i think.

had leftover breadless chicken parm for dinner. YUMMY! for lunch i had a new smart ones frozen meal: fruit inspirations: honey barbeque chicken with mango and orzo rice. it was pretty good. 5 points. i loved the orzo but could take or leave the mango/sauce combo.

the flatbread melt was yummy - kind of like the panini but definitely good.

scale holding steady at 136 :) i'm happy with that.

BL is on....i'm tivo-ing idol, i'll catch up on that tmw. have a great night!!

just keep swimming....just keep swimming

remember when dory says that line in the movie finding nemo? just keep swimming...just keep swimming. i feel like that sometimes with this whole diet/exercise thing. that little voice that just tells me to just keep eating right, getting to the gym and avoiding temptations. it's hard but it's nice to be back in the zone. i'm down a lb today....so that's always a good feeling to step on the scale and see a lower number than you expected :)

biggest loser couples was great! no one lost hardly any weight though which makes it more real to me for some reason. you don't always get on the scale and see 5-10 lb losses, it's not realistic. maybe if you're severly overweight but you know what i mean. i can't believe bette-sue fell off the treadmill, ouch! i can't lie, i did laugh, it reminded me of the video on anne's page. haha

i bought some rice quakes, apple slices, a fiber one bar and 100 calorie pack of cupcakes for snacks. i doubt i'll eat it all. lunch is at subway and tonight i might do a chicken breast/veggies/one serving of risotto. we have a delicious organic risotto at my grocery store that is 3pts a serving, so creamy and delish.

have a great hump day!!

lunchin & munchin

it's almost friday!! this week has flown by. i've already gotten in 2 good workouts this week and i'm planning on another one after or during work. haven't decided. i need to do something though! maybe a workout DVD? it sure is cold outside but maybe an outdoor jog is in my future?

i have the munchies today. i'm already up to 9.5 points and its only 12:45. Well thankfully I'm full now and i have grapes in the fridge if i need something sweet later. scale said 137 this morning. i went over my points last night by 4 or 5. i've been playing with eating more points than usual this week which was working. so i will cut back today and only eat 20. see if that works. hopefully i can get back to 136 by tmw. i'll take a half a pound loss, i dont care.

alright...not much to say. i have the after lunch sleepyness going on! ta ta!

happy hump day!

scale: 136.6

yesss :) back down to the comfortable range. hopefully i can stay around 136 by friday, that would be great. plan today is to hit the gym sometime during work...eat my lean cuisine and try to stay low cal. i may go to happy hour tmw, which i might cancel on bc i forgot about weigh-in. i don't want to mess with weigh-in!!

biggest loser was great last night. i'm glad that girl won the car (i forget her name)...how great. i'm glad isabeau got to stay, i like her. is anyone suprised how they all lost more weight than usual (with the exception of one or two people) working out without electric treadmills/ellipticals/etc....thought that was interesting.

alright, may post later. have a great day and here is a good link for you: grab & go: healthy fast food choices

entertainment needed?

well i made it to the gym again this morning. 50 minutes on the elliptical doing hills. about 500 calories. i have to admit, i get bored very easily and to curb my boredom, i always bring magazines to the gym. they help a lot but i definitely go through them fast and magazines are kind of a waste of money, ya know? i have a subscription (that i've bought through coworkers/boyfriend's little sisters school sales) to self, fitness, glamour, lucky & shape. wow, i know. but they go for about $10 on amazon.com (or though the sales for the schools) so i don't think that's ALL that bad. considering i would spend $3 for one copy if it caught my eye at the grocery store.



so my question is, what do you do to stay entertained at the gym? i know, it's bad that i need to be constantly entertained but....i guess it's a generation X thing. i listen to my ipod and sometimes there is something good on tv but i think i need to start reading a soft-cover book on the elliptical. i'm reading harry potter 6 right now but that thing weighs like 6 lbs, i know that won't be making it to the gym with me, and i doubt i could keep it stable while elliptical-ing. :) my dad's gym has individual tvs on all the ellipticals/treadmills....and you can watch 50 channels! i'm jealous!

going shopping later with my boyfriend....i need to find a cocktail dress for this black tie dinner his work is putting on at the ritz carlton. yay baby!!! :)

scale crept down to 137.2 - lets get to 136 by friday! woo!!

and can't wait for biggest loser tonight! i can't get enough of that show

133.8?

you guys, the scale said 133.8 this morning. i'm not even kidding. normally this would excite me but i know its impossible that i went from 137 yesterday to 133.8 this morning. it's just not possible. it's probably from the 3 glasses of wine i had last night :O - i'm definitely paying for it right now at work. needless to say, i was probably dehydrated so i'm not counting it. it was nice to see 133 again though! for my christmas weigh-in i'm going to say i'm down 1 lb. only bc i don't know how much i really weigh and don't want to jinx it by saying 2 lbs. i'm weird, i know.

so....not feeling that great but at work. i'm going to attempt to get to the gym tonight. i definitely feel like crap though :( it's my own doing, i am totally accountable for it but it still sucks.

hope your weighins went well! have a great weekend!

how is it already november?

challenge: day 3 of 5 complete!
25 minutes elliptical
7 minutes treadmill

it's almost friiiiiday! :) which means it's almost the weekend but it ALSO means that it's almost christmas weigh-in #4. i weighed this morning. down 1 lb, so that's good. let's hope it stays that way for tmw. i've been bouncing between 136-139 these 2 months and i'm pretty sick of it! i've gotten my gym time in lately, which feels amazing and i can definitely see the flab melting away. it's so weird how 5-6 lbs will totally change the way i feel, the way i look, and how my clothes fit. i think it has to do with being short (5'2)....5 lbs for me is like 10 lbs for the tall girls out there.

i had a good workout today. i went on my lunch break to the "nice gym" on our work campus. those elliptical machines are great, it doesn't hurt my knees like other ellipticals. and it adjusts with steeper intervals, which i like. i realized once i was all changed that i forgot my towel. um...yuck. lately i've been pouring sweat on the elliptical....so i didn't go for as long as usual and didn't do any inclines. then i walked on the treadmill. i didn't sweat that bad. i took a quick rinse and used an extra (clean) t-shirt that i had in my gym bag to dry off. why does that make me feel like such a hobo? it was clean!! but i'm glad no one saw me wiping my bod with my boyfriend's tshirt. lol ;P

halloween went by smooth & easy. i did have 2 "fun-sized" snickers. fun-sized....lol. for some reason, i think those aren't "as bad for you" as some of the other candy. my exbf (who was training to be a personal trainer....back when we were in high school....lol) once told me that if you couldn't eat a regular meal, you should eat a snickers bc it was high in protein and low on the glycemic index. i don't know why that's stuck with me but for some reason i feel like baby snickers aren't that bad.



wow, look what i found: "1 Fun Size candy bar (Snickers, Milky Way, Butterfingers, etc.)...that comes to 80 calories. You will need to walk 0.8 miles, 1.29 kilometers, or 1600 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps."

how far to walk off the trick or treat candies

interesting. well i had 2 mini snickers yesterday at a work party. and now i'm over it. luckily i'm not big on candy so i don't feel the need to splurge on the leftover candy at our house. a few bites definitely satisfied my "candy sweet tooth". now ice cream/froyo...that's another story.

this week has been good points/exercise wise. i plan on going to the gym again tmw during work & then doing a long walk or some sort of activity over the weekend! i'm loving these exercise challenges, they really do motivate me!

no pain no gain?

WRONG! i am so sore right now from the cardio/weights i did this week. and what do i get for it? a GAIN. oh well.

so time for honesty: 1.2lb gain.

scale: 138.2

hmm. i don't even know how that happens after this perfect eating/exercise week. i drank 12 glasses of water yesterday people!! i never do that. my clothes fit better, so that's a plus. but shouldn't the scale reflect this? i exercised A LOT this week. more than usual. oh well. i feel good about the choices i made, i haven't dipped into flex points. i have given up my nightly glass of wine (except for last night). so....whatever. i'm over that scale! let the challenge continue :)

today i plan on hitting the gym during or after work. havent decided. 2 meetings on my agenda so who knows. i don't have any plans this weekend except date night with D tmw night. i actually might just stay in and watch a movie tonight. it might sound boring but sometimes that's all i want to do is sit, in silence and relax. i feel like i'm always surrounded my noise...at work, sometimes at home...so it's nice to just have "me-time". maybe i'm a loner, but that's okay.

well hopefully next weeks weigh-in is better....i think i might do the 5 day challenge again next week? or possibly 4 day...what do you think? anyone else want to do 5?? i love a good challenge!

have a great friday! :)

christmas weigh-in: week 3

christmas weigh-in time! drumroll please.......

scale: 137

woo! yes :) awesome! i saw that on wednesday too so i feel pretty good about it. that means i'm down -2 from last week! sweet. i have to admit though, i wasn't particularly wonderful last night with the eating. all because of this:


apple pie ice cream
oh. my. god. this is so delicious. i will be bringing it to thanksgiving dinner and have it as my desert. it's 120 calories for a 1/2 cup. it has pie crust & apples in it. and it tastes JUST like apple pie. i'm not kidding you guys, this stuff is good. the cashier at the grocery store was like "apple pie ice cream? wow, thats WEIRD"....well guess what's not weird lady, how delicious this stuff is. i love it. you need to try it.

anyway, so yesterday i went over points by 5 or 6 or 7? i'm not sure. i did have a NSV though. went to the movies by myself! i've never done that before. so that was a fun experience. but the NSV was bringing a 100 calorie bag of popcorn & some lay's light chips. about 3 points worth of snacks and delish.

randi's blog challenge: why i'm awesome
(hopefully i don't sound vain...but oh well, all in good fun!)

1. i can run for 45 minutes without stopping (even though i haven't done it in a while)...but i used to hardly be able to run 5 mins without giving up
2. people at work always ask me about my working out & ask for tips about working out
3. my jeans feel looser :)
4. i like my body. especially my curves. i like how they look in clothing.
5. i tell my boyfriend that i grew new muscles in my legs. i might be the only one who can see them but that's all that matters
6. people say i'm tiny. i don't agree but it's a nice compliment.
7. i'm in the same weight range i was in high school
8. i've been working out for the past 2.5 years (taking weeks off here and there). i keep a log on my computer
9. i don't feel like an oddball at the gym, i know what i'm doing and i go often enough that i see the same people.
10. not diet related but still, this make me feel awesome: i'm very tech savvy. but i'm definitely not a nerd. this week i upgraded my bf's new laptop with more memory, after the geek squad guy at best buy told me not to bc i would probably fry the motherboard. HA! i did it! i did it! :)

so i hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. i will probably post tmw, not sure. going to the skins game on sunday so that should be fun! go skins!!

grocery obsession & a new challenge

i have a confession. i go to the grocery store almost every single day during the week. last night i was strolling through bloom at a leisurely pace with my cart, just checking out new products and eyeballing nutritional information on things i would never buy like: donuts, muffins, banana split ice cream, oreo cookies, etc. and i realized, it was very peaceful. i love being at the grocery store. especially at night when its nice and quiet. i looked for at my pedometer 2,000+ steps just from being there. wow! physical activity and i didn't even realize it. i hope my love of everything grocery isn't strange but that's okay if it is.

so, i've had my quick & cheesy quesadilla recipe 3 times this week. and OMG, its just so good. 3 points people! and its very filling! i think the melty laughing cow cheese is the best part, it's just too delicious. you need to try it.

totm finally arrived. i thought it was here bc i had cramps but no. it's here today. so katie, we may now be back on track! haha :)

CHALLENGE!!
over the summer sarah & i challenged each other to get in 5 days of exercise in one week. it was very challenging and fun. i challenged sarah again last night so starting sunday, i am going to get in 5 days of exercise. i love a challenge! wanna join?

scale said 137 yesterday. and 137.8 today. sooo what will it say tommorow with TOTM? who knows...and i dont feel like caring about it. just for this week. no numbers.

weekend control

hi everyone!

weight: 138.4

that's good! i can handle that. scale was up to 139 yesterday morning. i feel like i can lose these 4 lbs and get back down to my comfort zone. i am proud of myself, i stayed in last night, ate some lean cuisine mac & cheese (which i add hot sauce to and it totally feels delicious). i think i may have used 4 flex points, which is great since i usually use about 10-15 on friday nights!

going out tonight but nothing too crazy. and no more eating out this weekend. i've had too many restaurant trips lately and i need to start cooking more or picking up some subway if i really don't want to make anything.

so i will try to have some control for the rest of the weekend and start dropping some pounds. they have overstayed their welcome! haha

have a great weekend!

slacky mcslackerson

hi everyone!

slacky mcslackerson here!! this week has not been the best. starting with a 9 course meal on tuesday (i know...more on that in a minute), followed by a girl's happy hour on wednesday that turned into a beerfest & then out to dinner for BF's mom's birthday last night at bonefish....i just feel like a slug! i hate this, i am normally not like this. i haven't been to the gym in 2 weeks and im really getting frustrated with my bad choices.

i brought my gym bag today and im ready to get in there once again. im ready to start eating dinners at home and i need to definitely cut back on the flex points that i keep making up. 10 here, 10 there....way over 35 pts most likely.

so tuesday was our 2 year anniversary. we went to a swanky restaurant located in the mandarin oriental hotel. it was SO nice, we were waited on hand and foot. it's the kind of place where you just order the chef's six course meal and hope for the best. and it was AMAZING. gluttony at its finest. and of course the chef sent out extra plates with extra bites. i couldn't resist and since it was quite pricey i felt like i should just got for it. we had: sea bass, salmon, beef carpaccio, duck mouse (gross), lamb, lobster (omg so delicious), 5 assorted cheeses, guiness bread (wow!), wine, champagne, root beer ice cream thing & then chocolate "pudding" which was more like a gooey delicious chocolate cake. so basically, i ate everything on the planet that night.

wednesday was the girl's happy hour and i totally let myself indulge in appetizers, without a care in the world. last night was bonefish and i definitely gave in to the calamari and bang bang shrimp. i haven't been like this is so long, i feel so out of control. and i know that i'm done with the "eating crap" period. im ready to move on. today, so far so good.

so my christmas weigh-in: 139 - yes, that's right. up a lb. and i'm wondering how its not up 5 lbs but hey, i'll take it. i'm getting back on track starting today. i know its a friday but i have a very low key weekend planned.

hope you are all doing better than i am. i've been eating/drinking crap since july. weddings, vacations, birthday dinners, anniversary.....it's got to stop! every event is not an excuse to pig out! it's time to turn this around before i gain too many LBs. i'm so bloated and i hate this feeling. time to make a change.

did anyone watch the office last night? i love that show! andy was too funny with his conference call serenade. lol. take a chance on meee....haha. i love it.

have a great weekend :)

OP on a friday & christmas weigh-in

hi everyone! :)



my xmas challenge weigh-in
week one
starting weight: 138.8
1st weigh-in: 138.0

hey, thats good! i still can't belive the scale has gone up so much since the summer but i will admit i had a fun time getting there :) mexican food, pizza, beer, and basically just letting myself slip are to blame. i'm glad i have taken control though.

weight this morning: 137.2 :) yipeeeee - hopefully next week's weigh-in will be even better and i know this because last night i was totally ON POINT! no flexies. on a friday too! i don't remember the last time that happened.

it's partially because i went to the dentist and couldnt feel my mouth for 4 hours, thus preventing me from eating. but when i had the chance to eat i had a gardenburger on a light english muffin with a little bit of hummus. 3 pts and it was very filling. i called it an early night i'm very proud of myself. weekends are my weakness!

this morning i've had a light english muffin with a little bit of natural peanut butter & some coffee. i'm going to the mall and running errands with my sister today so that should be some good activity for the day!

hope everyone has a fabulous weekend, i'm going to try to not use too many flexies tonight, i like the way i'm feeling right now.

alright....bye!

5.5 lbs?

scale this morning: 135.2 -- which im not TOO excited about bc i had a few glasses of wine last night so i know this is probably just dehydration. but hey, it was nice to see :) weigh-in for week one of the christmas challenge is tmw. my starting weight will be the highest weight ive seen this week: 138.8 ~ i'm hoping for a loss!!

i read in SELF magazine that the average weight gain between summer and christmas for women is 5.5 lbs. wow, so it's not just me! that's close to what i've gained since the summer. i need to get it in check though and i really feel like i am :)

i have a work happy hour tonight :\ i'm going to order sushi and red wine. so i should be good to go!
have a great night! the office & greys are going to tivo for me, can't wait to chat about them!!

90 days until christmas!

scale is down! i know, i know, shouldn't weigh in everyday. this girl will never learn. but hey, better than what i saw yesterday. i need to be honest. yesterday i saw 138.8!! AHH!! wtf!! thats what i was thinking. ive stayed at 136 for the past month, whats with the 2.8 lb gain? TOTM is over finally, so i expected to lose. im realizing that i really went off track in august and this month. im so glad to be back ON track. hopefully my body will forgive me and the weight will melt off? i can only hope.

well today i saw 138.2 - so at least that's good, right? i need to stop with the scale, i can tell my clothes feel better, even since monday. like i said, i will never learn.

i did some arm weights while watching the biggest loser last night!! i love that show! jerry looks so great now. anyway, i tried what bob said about lifting weights (stand on a balance ball or one one foot to work more muscles. well i stood on one foot, man, it was hard! but i did it and can definitely feel the burn today. i really like lifting weights but sometimes after i do cardio i just want to leave the gym and shower off. i hate the feeling of being sweaty. you'd think i'd be over that by now, but no.

anyway...possibly hitting the gym again today. if not, definitely tmw. my legs are SO sore from yesterday. i really pushed myself hard and it felt great. we have a work luncheon at a chinese buffet (yuck...i dislike buffets, too many people around food i would be eating) but i scanned the menu (not the buffet, they have a regular menu) and they have sushi, steamed pot stickers & wontons and a vegetable grilled thing that you can hold the sauce on so i will probably get one of those. or maybe 2 ;)

i don't know what my starting weight is going to be for the christmas challenge. i guess 138.8? so, so far so good. down 0.6. gotta restart somewhere i guess....hopefully friday i will at least be down to 137.

alright back to work...have a great day ladies!

tarjay & healthy groceries

ohhh tarjay (target)...how i love thee. my sister and i spent about an hour and a half there yesterday. and most of our time was spent in the grocery aisles. i stocked up on healthy food and i'm excited for this week and ready to start doing the damn thing. :) some things i bought: nature's own honey wheat light bread, pickles, special k, crystal lite water bottle packs, 24oz bottle of water, coke zero, 100 cal key lime pie yogurt, 100 cal lemon cream pie yogurt, coffeemate pumpkin spice, fat free pringles (can't resist them), and some lean cuisines. all diet friendly, nothing bad. NSV!

i have 8 lbs to lose by christmas for the christmas challenge. can i really do it? i hope so. i'm going to really try. this morning the scale is down to 137.2. which is good considering on friday it was up to 138....i've never weighed less on a monday than i did on a friday morning. but it also could be due to TOTM. if i can see 136 tmw i will be happy. i actually had a great weekend eating wise. i may have indulged in too many beers friday night but i got myself back on track and saturday was not a complete waste. i babysat with my sister and we split a small microwavable pizza. yesterday we split a greek style pizza from trader joes (150 calories for 1/3 of the pizza). yum!! so delicious. had some red wine but mostly just had pizza as a cheat food.



today's sandwich i brought for lunch:
2 slices nature's own honey wheat bread (80 calories) = 1 pt
99% fat free turkey = 1 pt
spicy mustard = 0 pt
2 pickle slices on the side = 0 pt
20 sour cream & onion fat free pringles = 1 pt

and i have to say, i am stuffed right now. more stuffed than i am when i eat my lean cuisines. i need to start packing my lunch more. gym today after work. i really have no excuse not to go. i carpooled with my sister and i get off at 4 and she gets off at 5 so i might as well get a run in or hit the elliptical :) motivation is still in full force.


product find: pumpkin spice coffeemate
i keep this at the office, i love it! 45 calories a serving, which is way better than starbucks. but definitely not as tasty. it's a nice fake-out though!

alright....back to work! happy monday and let's get this christmas challenge started :o)