The Whirlwind

The past couple weeks have been such a whirlwind. So many things have happened and changed and gone forward. 

First, let me tell you about Hawaii. Two week ago, Matt and I went on a trip to Kauaii with his family. I had never been to Hawaii so I was very excited. And I was so right to be excited! It was so much fun. We went on a 9 mile hike, did a kayak/hike trip, went to a luau, and ate a lot of good food. I am IN LOVE with mochi brownies. I am so glad that we don’t have those on the mainland. Then, my diet successes would be forever doomed. 

Matt and I had a great time with his family. His brother also got engaged on this trip so fun was had by all. During this trip we found out that we don’t really enjoy the touristy stuff. We enjoy going out into the rural areas and finding the small hide-away places and farmers markets. One of the best times was our hike. Just out in the nature and seeing the seldom seen sites. When we plan our next trip we’ll definitely plan things out based on this direction. 

Since getting back one major thing has changed. The deli has closed! Due to things we couldn’t change with our landlord, we decided to close up a couple months earlier than our lease. It has been a wonderful two and a half years but it is time to move on to my other numerous pursuits. I’m excited for the new prospects but there is a lot of work ahead to move forward on it all. 

The closing is exciting but also a little sad. It’s a major life change that I’m ready to seize. At the same time it’s been difficult and stressful. The stress of closing plus the week vacation has meant that I put on a little weight. Right now, I am at 146.8 pounds. Not too shabby. Now going forward I will be going back to the Medifast route. Without the temptation of the deli, I am hoping it is easier this time. 

I have a race coming up! November 17th I am registered for a half-marathon. Time to get to work hitting the pavement. 

Have a great day all! This is a time of moving forward and I can’t wait to succeed with my weight loss, my running, and my new ventures. Wish me luck!

Happy Blogiversary

Hi everyone! 

Apparently it is my blogiversary! It has been one year since I started this blog. 

It has been a crazy year! Ups, downs, lefts, rights, the good, the bad, and the ugly have all occurred during this year. But, I wouldn’t have changed any of it.

This blog has been my way to keep myself accountable. Even though I have had some starts and stops, especially with actually writing to this blog, I have made a lot of progress. At the start of this blog I weighed in at 161 pounds. Today I am proud to say that this morning I weighed in at 145.2! Yay!

My memory, ever failing as it is, tells me that I must have been in middle school (probably 6th or 7th grade) since I weighed this amount. I can not tell you how exciting this is to me. I feel confident. I actually love how I am looking in the mirror!

Of course, I am not done. I still have future goals that I intend on reaching. It can be easy to get complacent but this is the time that I will reach my ultimate goal. So what is this goal? 130 pounds. My current deadline is my birthday (familiar, isn’t it?).

Some short term goals:

I would like to reach 140 by the time I leave for Hawaii with the amazing boyfriend. That’s just a short 15 days later. While I may not get there exactly, I’m going to work hard to get close.

Also, I have recently signed up for the Silver Strands Half-Marathon on November 17th. Yay for another run!

Lastly, I promise to write more to this blog!

Have a great night all. Now I am going to hightail it out of the deli so that I can hit the gym and work towards those goals.

And the Results Are In!

And the results are in! This past week my first dietbet ended. I had 28 days to lose 6.0 pounds. Drum roll please…. I lost 6.1 pounds. Yay!

After all the results were finalized I ended up receiving $42.45 off of my $25 bet. Not too shabby 🙂

This dietbet motivated me to start another one on the day the previous one ended. This time I need to reach 140.2. Yikes. That will be the lowest I have been since starting high school! That would be exciting for that reason but also I leave for Hawaii just 5 days after this bet ends. So I will look smoking in a bikini (once I buy one lol).

Since ending the last bet I have gained two pounds back due to holiday festivities putting me at 148.2, but I’m not worried. Two hour workout today and eating well should mean I’ll get back on track very soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Have a great day and make good choices. 🙂

Betting on Weight

Hi everyone!

So what’s been going on? A LOT!!

Life is kinda crazy at the moment. I have been working 10 hour days consistently. Deli full time, flipping a condo, managing a 12 unit apartment building, trying to sell a home, and taking a class to become a mortgage loan originator. All of this has left my head pretty tired. I haven’t really had a break in a while. 

In the past, I have found it difficult to manage all of this and lose weight. Heck, even maintaining weight has been difficult. But, this time it has been easier! I’m not sure what it is but I am slowly losing weight again. In the past 3 weeks (ish) I have lost about 5 pounds. The exciting part of this is that I found a way to put my words to the test. 

I bet on it. I found a website called DietBet.com. This website works on the premise of joining a game with an entrance fee of something around $25-35. After proving your starting weight through pictures, you start the game and the mission is to lose 4% of your bodyweight in 28 days. At the end, participants win by proving their ending weight through pictures. Then, they split the pot. As long as you lose 4% then you win an amount that is at least your starting bet. 

I decided to start two of these bets a couple days apart and so far I am experiencing some great success. For me 4% equates to around 6 pounds. So far, I have lost 5 pounds! On the road to winning!

Another thing that I’ve been doing lately is going to the gym with the boyfriend. We have been trying to make it three times a week but that has been proving difficult. We both have been working so hard that we are really tired at the end of the day. But, we’re trying.

So for now I am going to sign off and head home. A lot of cleaning left to do tonight but hey that’s a good workout. Have a good night everyone and keep chugging along in all your endeavors.

Weigh-In and Extra Motivation

I promised a weigh-in. So drum roll…150.8.

Not too bad for the craziness of the past couple weeks. Since I got back from Europe I haven’t had the best diet even with my attempts at gluten-free. The best descriptive word I can use to summarize my appetite as of late is ravenous. Still, I am down 4 pounds from then.

I believe this insatiability is due to the fact that I am over-working myself. There are a lot of projects on my plate at the moment and I want to do so much that I haven’t let my mind rest whatsoever. I’m still working on finding balance. The boyfriend does help a bunch by keeping me sane and letting me vent when I need. It’s a work in progress and I am seeing progress.

I do have some good motivation to get it together. In 66 days I will be taking another trip with Matt. Matt, his family, and I are going to Hawaii for a week vacation. This is extra motivation for me to lose a bit more weight. I know I won’t make my goal by that time but I believe that I could be 5-7 pounds lighter by then. I want to look great in that bikini!

Additionally, I have decided to run the Silver Strand Half-Marathon on November 17^th. That is just about 20 weeks away. Currently, I can run only run about 2 miles without walking. My goal will be to run the whole thing so it’s time to hit the pavement.

For tonight, Matt and I are starting a new exercise commitment. We have planned to go to the gym together three times a week. This will help me stay on track and keep that motivation up.

Have a Great Night!

Weigh-In and Extra Motivation

I promised a weigh-in. So drum roll…150.8.

Not too bad for the craziness of the past couple weeks. Since I got back from Europe I haven’t had the best diet even with my attempts at gluten-free. The best descriptive word I can use to summarize my appetite as of late is ravenous. Still, I am down 4 pounds from then.

I believe this insatiability is due to the fact that I am over-working myself. There are a lot of projects on my plate at the moment and I want to do so much that I haven’t let my mind rest whatsoever. I’m still working on finding balance. The boyfriend does help a bunch by keeping me sane and letting me vent when I need. It’s a work in progress and I am seeing progress.

I do have some good motivation to get it together. In 66 days I will be taking another trip with Matt. Matt, his family, and I are going to Hawaii for a week vacation. This is extra motivation for me to lose a bit more weight. I know I won’t make my goal by that time but I believe that I could be 5-7 pounds lighter by then. I want to look great in that bikini!

Additionally, I have decided to run the Silver Strand Half-Marathon on November 17^th. That is just about 20 weeks away. Currently, I can run only run about 2 miles without walking. My goal will be to run the whole thing so it’s time to hit the pavement.

For tonight, Matt and I are starting a new exercise commitment. We have planned to go to the gym together three times a week. This will help me stay on track and keep that motivation up.

Have a Great Night!

The Gluten-Free Me

The gluten-free me started out well. I went four days without gluten. The only exception was a beer on Wednesday night. Those first few days felt like a great success. I felt confident about my eating habits and I lost 2.5 pounds those first few days.

The problem: I worked 10-12 hour work days that entire week. 

By Friday, I was completely burnt out mentally. I had a huge appetite even though I wasn’t really hungry. So, I let myself slip. And buy did I slip. On Friday I had a bagel with cream cheese, half a panini, a quesadilla, and a big Mexican dinner. All this was laden with gluten and a ton of calories. 

Then, Saturday I was in Costa Mesa for Matt’s brother’s graduation. It was a party. And so far I have not figured out how to eat well during parties. My demise comes from all the food just sitting there all day… staring at me. It was an exercise in willpower and I definitely came up short. Next time I am in that situation I will have to practice the skill of moderation. 

Since then, I have made the effort to eat a bit better with less gluten. The only issue has been my snacking. For the rest of this week I plan to avoid as much gluten as possible and drink A TON more water. I’m hoping water will help curb some snacking and keep me fuller throughout the day. Since I am finding it hard to exercise due to long work days, my diet needs to be on point this week. Challenge accepted!

Next week I’ll give y’all a weight update. Crossed fingers for some progress.

New Plan

The only thing constant is constant change. This mantra has been the hallmark of my life. Keeping the status quo doesn’t really occur very often.

So what changed this week…

Well many things are changing this week at the deli. But that’s a story for another time.

This week my boyfriend and I have decided to try a gluten free diet. I have been doing a lot of research on gluten insensitivity with some interesting results.

Gluten sensitivity or gluten intolerance can have the following symptoms (http://glutenfreenetwork.com/faqs/symptoms-treatments/gluten-intolerance-symptoms-how-do-you-know-if-gluten-is-making-you-sick/):

• Weight loss or weight gain
• Nutritional deficiencies due to malabsorption e.g. low iron levels
• Gastro-intestinal problems (bloating, pain, gas, constipation, diarrhea)
• Fat in the stools (due to poor digestion)
• Aching joints
• Depression
• Eczema
• Head aches
• Exhaustion
• Irritability and behavioural changes
• Infertility, irregular menstrual cycle and miscarriage
• Cramps, tingling and numbness
• Slow infant and child growth
• Decline in dental health

Over the past year I have noticed a couple of these nagging symptoms. I have had issues with losing weight, had some minor anemia, been gassy, I always seem to be tired, I can be irritable, and I have consistent headaches. Of course, gluten might not be the issue. It could be something entirely different but I figured it’s worth a try. 

The basic premise of a gluten free diet is to avoid the gluten protein that is found in wheat, rye, barley, and oats. Basically, a diet that is gluten free will avoid bread, pasta, beer, and processed foods. There are two issues with processed foods. The first is that many contain flour and other gluten products. The other though is more insidious. Not all processed foods will list gluten related ingredients on the nutrition label because it doesn’t actually have gluten in the recipe. This doesn’t mean that it is gluten free. Many pieces of equipment are cross-contaminated with the gluten protein through the use of flour as an “anti-stick” agent. Additionally, may processing equipment can be used to make multiple products which may have gluten.

So, what are we going to do in order to be gluten free? We’re going the whole food route. Making things from scratch and getting fresh ingredients will make the transition interesting and easier. I know that I will miss bread but I will persevere. Two days in and I’m doing well. My boyfriend commented today that this diet makes it necessary to keep vigilant and attentive to what is being eaten. He is very right. I have been extremely careful to check foods for gluten. I’ll keep vigilant and see how it goes.

Sick and Snacking

Berlin sent me home with a cold. And it sucks! My mind has been in a fog for the past couple days. The cold and the jetlag has not made reintroduction to normal life easy. There is a mountain of work and housework and not enough brain power to get it done. Especially when trying to make better food choices.

Thankfully I have stayed the same weight the past couple days, but until this cold lifts, I will need to be more vigilant about my food choices.

The last couple days I have found that I am not aware enough of what/when I am eating. I seem to snack a ton on the non-“good” foods at the deli. I need to limit my snacking in general but I also need to be more aware of what I’m eating when I snack. Instead of grabbing for Cheez-its or Fritos, I need to grab celery sticks or carrots. My plan to do this is to prepare healthy snacks each morning at the deli so that I have no excuse to eat the bad stuff. Also, I know that I should drink more water and less soda but this seems beyond my grasp at the moment.

Have any advice on how to diet while sick? What are some good tips to curb snacking and drinking soda?

Back At It

Well, it’s been a long time! Hi again everyone.

I’m back, and ready to get on track. Lately, the only constant has been constant change. With the wild swings in my life it has been unusually difficult to keep on track with a healthy diet. In the past couple months I have worked an extreme amount, moved in with my boyfriend, and just got back from a two week trip to Europe. My trip with Matt to Europe was amazing. We had so much fun but ate way too much food and drank a lot of Italian wine and German beer. I was actually surprised that my weight remained level through this trip. Might have been the three to five miles that we walked each day.

Through all the challenges and successes of the past months I have fared decently with my weight. Since I stopped actively keeping my diet in line, I have gained back around five pounds. That means that this morning I weighed in at 153.4 pounds.

Now that I’m back I am ready to hit the ground running. Figuratively and literally. 

My tentative plan is to begin tomorrow with Medifast. I want to kick start this new diet with some good weight loss. Plus, a good break from my usual deli diet with a regimented system like Medifast will help break habits and slight addictions to certain foods. Soon though, in around 3-4 weeks, I plan on weening myself off of Medifast onto a basic lower carb diet. I’m currently thinking out a diet plan that will consist of 1200-1400 calories per day which will include 3 meals and 2 snacks each day. Slowly as I reach my goal of 135 I’ll increase my calorie allowance. This plan is in an effort to ween myself into a healthy diet that will be allow me to lose weight and more importantly keep it off. 

Additionally, Matt and I have tentatively made a deal to run a marathon together. So here comes the literal part of hitting the ground running. Since I am currently confined to being a snot machine (translation: my trip gave me a cold), I will have to slowly get back into running. But at least my legs are pretty well in shape from the walking while we were overseas. 

So, here goes. I promise to be better at this posting thing than I have been in the past couple months. Have a great evening and a healthy dinner!