Amber's Best Life Journal

[Foxfiregrrl]

Hi, everyone!! Happy New Year!

I have been here on the WISH boards working on my weight loss for two years now. The first year I started out great, then work stress got me and I put most of the weight back on. Starting 2007, I was still down 10 pounds or so from my starting weight of 205. I piddled a lot last year though and never really got on track. I was managing to stay around 190 for most of the second half of the year though. UNTIL the holidays... then I just went wild. I'm back up to 202.4 as of today

2008 is going to be different though!! I feel energized and really ready to begin this journey!! I have a basic plan and feel really good about the fact that a lot of the people around me are wanting to work on their health this year also.

I'm gonna give a few basic facts about me, then I will do a new post with my resolutions/diet goals.

I am 29, married, with no children. I am a full time social worker. I will hopefully be going back to college to get my masters degree starting in May. We also have been talking about starting a family for the last two years now. We were going to start trying this past September, but then I found out that I could go back to school. So that delayed us some. I am now hoping to start trying toward the end of the year (school will only take one year). I want to lose the weight and get healthier before getting pregnant though.

So that is a little about me. I really could use all of the support that I can get, so PLEASE join me on this incredible journey!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

So these are my goals/resolutions:

1. Workout a minimum of three times a week for thirty minutes each. Ultimately/Ideally get up early and workout most mornings Monday through Friday and still do a workout on the weekend.

2. Eat three well portioned meals a day and one or two healthy snacks. Eat more Fruits and Veggies. Try to get a minimum of 3 servings of veggies and 2 fruits a day.

3. Stop eating at least two hours before bedtime.

4. No Alcohol for at least the first month but according to the Best Life I'm supposed to cut it out for the first two phases which is at least 2 months... we'll just have to wait and see on that one.

5. Take at least 5 yoga classes (getting a 5 class GC for a belated Christmas gift). I've been wanting to do yoga for awhile now and just haven't.

6. weigh in at least once a week and measure monthly. My official starting weight is 202.4 (I kept thinking to myself that I wouldn't get back over 200 and I weighed myself daily for the last week and a half, but then I hit 200 over the weekend ) I haven't measured yet. I will try to do that later today.

I have read through a good bit of the Best Life Diet book and I am going to kind of use it as a guide and my minimum guidelines. I am really ready to kick it into gear and get motivated.

The girls in my unit at work are all talking about doing a unit challenge and working together to loose weight. They are talking about regular weigh ins, taking walk breaks, and maybe taking turns bringing in a healthy lunch periodically. So, I'm hoping that will help me some. Two of them go to the gym several mornings a week. I am seriously trying to decide if that is a commitment that I can make...

DH has agreed to exercise on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and one or both weekend days. So that should get my minimum days in. I also recorded several 25 minute workouts from Fitday and am going to try getting up and doing those in the mornings for a couple of weeks. If that goes well, then I am definitely going to join the gym that my coworkers go to. If I don't end up getting up early (hmm... I really shouldn't give myself the option ) then I will most likely still join the gym, but I may end up having to commit to going by myself mostly. Because the girls only go in the AM and Dh has said that he doesn't want to join at this time. He has said that I can join if I want to though. I'm only reluctant because it costs twice what our last gym was. However, this one is Super nice w/ an indoor pool, walking track, and all the other usual stuff. They also have a raquetball court, which I really enjoy, but there is an extra fee for that.

For my diet, I haven't set any exact diet plan. I may go by the menus that are in the BLD bk, but I haven't decided yet. In the first phase it really just has you eat 3 meals plus a snack daily and doesn't restrict calories or specify foods to cut or add. I think that I am mostly past that because I already eat my 3 meals. I do usually skip the healthy snack though and I know it will help to put it back and keep me from getting too hungry.

My main food goal will be to increase my fruits and veggies so that what I'm eating is healthier. Also a main component that really helps me is to plan our dinners out ahead of time. I am also going to try to make an effort to plan my lunches to give me a variety so that I'm not as likely to want to eat out. DH & I did sit down Sunday and plan enough meals for the next two weeks. We don't plan the day, but just the recipes that we want to make. Also most recipes will cover two meals which helps since we both work. I think that as long as the meals are healthy and balanced and I watch my portions then I should be fine on calories. If I start to struggle though, I will begin counting everything.

I have also joined the Biggest Loser Challenge thread here on WISH.

I really want to make the commitment and feel that I need a lot of accountability. So, please join me AND get on to me if you see me slipping!!

So, I think that is it for the start. I will check in later with my first day. It's 1pm already and we are just rising from our drunken stupor, so it may not be much to report Today is exercise day though, so something will be done!

Have a WONDERFUL first day of the year!!!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

DAY 1:

I have to admit that for all my thinking about what my plan would be... I failed to plan for today very well I think I managed to not do too bad.

Thing is we had friends over last night, drank a LOT, and stayed up til 5am and during that time I had dinner around 8pm then a snack at 4am, but nothing else. So, when I got up today I was HUNGRY! And we had planned to do our shopping today, so there wasn't really much in the house

So here is what I ate:
B - cereal w/ milk (very late)
l - 75% of a double patty frisco burger, small bowl of chili, side salad w/ 2 cherry tomatos, cucumbers and half the light ranch, coffee w/ way too much sugar (trying to cover up the bad flavor ), water
s - one piece of toffee
d - Red beans and rice (dh is making it w/ low fat sausage)

So, we went out for lunch, but I was somewhat proud of myself. I Really wanted to order cheese fries, but got the salad instead. Plus I normally would have taken the cucumbers and tomatoes off of the salad. Today I decided to try eating them and they weren't half bad who knew? So, I'm making some choices that over time will lead to better health, if I do them consistantly. Ultimately I shouldn't have gotten the burger, but it was what I really wanted. I should have stopped at half, but I was way too hungry when I started.

Exercise: 25 minutes of Total Body Sculpt w/ Gilad from FitTV

Dh had said Sunday that he would exercise with me today because it was Tuesday, but then he backed out on me. I came VERY close to just skipping it myself because I'm So tired from staying up all night. BUT, I read Millenium Mickey's journal and was inspired to get off my duff! So thanks to her I went upstairs and let Gilad totally kick my butt! The one I did today was SO hard!

So, I'm off to an ok start. I know that I have to work on my food, but I got good food at the grocery store. So now I'm stocked up and ready to go

Ok, I promise to try not to Always be this long winded

 

[lindalinda]

Congrats on joining the biggest loser challenge. I think it will be very good for you, and keep you focused. I was just looking thru the thread to see what it involved. Having some support at work sounds good too, so good luck for the new year!


I know I am really old when I see a post about staying up til 5am. I have no memory of the last time I did that, am thinking it was more than a decade ago!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Believe me it had been a WHILE since I had stayed up that late too! I'm still paying for it, too!

Today started off BAD!! DH woke me up to say that the water wasn't working and the well out back had frozen. Well, this was our fault because we still haven't done anything to weather proof the well, but we also hadn't realized that it was going to be that cold last night. There wasn't even frost on the windshield of my car either His work isn't very flexible and mine is so he made me deal with it.... Gee thanks.

I ended up defrosting the pipes w/ a heating pad. LUCKILY, nothing was busted and once it defrosted everything was fine That was definitely So, my dad gave me some insulation to wrap it with and I covered it with a tarp. It is getting down to the low 20s again tonight so we will leave a faucet dripping for safe measure too. We are going to build a building around it this weekend though.

So, I tried not to let that throw off my food plan for the day. It did just a little, but not in too bad a way. I ended up eating lunch at like 3pm and having my snack as part of lunch. Then I also failed to set out the ground deer for dinner. My parents called DH though to tell him they had some sausage they cooked that was too hot for them (he Loves hot food). So, we had that instead of spaghetti It doesn't really equate, but it was a time saver. The sausage wasn't even hot... I think they just try to find excuses to feed us I'm not complaining though.

So Food:
B - Kashi w/ light soy milk, coffee w/ 2 tsp sugar (trying to work on this again )
S - Banana (was supposed to be part of breakfast, but I was too busy)
L - chicken sandwich, fruit and nut trail mix
D- sausage on wheat bread, black eyed peas, corn
Total calories- 1409

Oh, yeah, I ended up snacking on a banana after supper last night

Exercise.... none, unless you count 10 or more trips back and forth to my well which is 150 ft from my house I wasn't really planning any exercise for today though.

k, that is it for tonight. Tomorrow I have to make a Long drive and probably won't get home til 8:30 or 9pm, so I probably won't log on. Oh, yeah, we start our work weight loss challenge Monday. We will all put in $10 and the winner gets it

See ya friday!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Yesterday I did pretty good on food but did not get in any exercise because of my long road trip.

Food:
B- kashi w/ soy, coffee
S- Banana
L- shepard's pie
D- chicken sandwich, grapes, slimfast optima bar, 12 oz coke (this was my on the road meal - a compromise that still allowed me to stop and buy some road food because I am bad about wanting to eat junk on the road )
S - hot chocolate
Total - 1570

Today:
I took three of my foster kids ice skating as a treat. They had never been before & I have only been a few times. The skating session was for 2.5 hours and we stayed the whole time. They took awhile, but eventually all got a fairly good hang of it. I skated a good bit, but also spent a lot of time helping the youngest. I'm counting it as a 30 minute workout for today Especially since I fully expect to have difficulty walking tomorrow MAN those skates HURT!

Food:
B- kashi w/ soy
S- fruit & nut mix
L- veggie soup, whole wheat english muffin sandwich, grapes
D- Applebee's WW confetti chicken, side salad w/ lite ranch
Total - about 1400
I will probably have some hot tea in a bit.... it is COLD tonight!!

Overall I think I'm doing pretty well with my foods. I know that I have to try to get some variety in there or I will burn out on some of my foods. I stepped on the scale this morning and was down 1.6 pounds!! Now if I can just get more consistent with my exercise I'll be rockin'

I have not had any alcohol since Monday night (or should I say early Tuesday morning ) and I'm proud of myself. Tonight was hard though! I wanted some pretty bad when I got off of work, even though I had a pretty good day. Then DH and I went out for dinner and he got beer the beer doesn't bother me too much because I'm not a beet drinker, but it is just the point. Really that didn't bother me as much as the two tables near us having wine. I just wanted some and saying that I'm not allowed made it worse. I think that it is like the sweet tea challenge though, once I've been without for a couple of weeks I won't even miss it.

K, have a great weekend!!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Good Evening! Gonna start w/ the facts, then the news.

Food:
B - none ... slept in
L- meatball sandwich on whole grain, minestrone soup
s- square of chocolate and mini snicker (parents kept trying to give me junk food )
d- chicken & corn chowder w/ whole grain bread for dipping
total - 1444 not really sure how much the meatballs or the bread was, but that is the Fitday estimate.
I bought the bread at Panera for us to use w/ the soup and leftover meatballs.

Exercise:
30 minute kickboxing video (it kicked Dh's butt )

So, we had a pretty good day today. We started out both in really bad moods, but we got over it. We did our exercise first thing and got it out of the way. We were suposed to take down all of our christmas decorations today, but ended up goofing off too long and only took down the small tree upstairs. I guess we will do the big tree tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it... I hate putting up the decorations.

So, my parents called Wednesday and said that they made reservations w/ their timeshare company to go to Las Vegas in March and wanted to know if we would like to go with them. I told them that Dh & I would talk it over. It was kind of a hard decision for us. We had spent two days there on our trip out west in 2004 and wanted to go back, but we were really wanting to go somewhere out of the country this year. And somewhere we had never been. But this was going to be really easy and fairly cheap (since they already paid for the room), plus I know that my parents like to travel w/ people and it can be hard to find good traveling companions. I hopefully will start school in May too so it is important that we take a vacation kind of early in the year. Anyway, we finally decided and... WE'RE GOING TO VEGAS!! It's going to be the first week of March, so we don't have a whole lot of time to plan it... but then again there isn't much to plan... eat, drink, gamble, watch free shows, shop We spent most of our day over at their house talking about it. We've gotta get plane tickets, but I told my parents to wait a bit because I'm hoping that the price will go down a little.

So, that was my exciting and fun day today! I'm gonna check journals and then get to looking up Vegas info

 

[mom2alix]

Hi Amber! Just checking in. You're doing such a great job journaling. I have a hard time keeping up with a journal. It looks like you're really motivated to start the year off right!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Hey! Thanks for coming by! I have started out very strong with my journaling... the trick is to keep it up. A lot of times I get busy during the week and let it slide then I just keep sliding. NOT THIS YEAR!

k, so far today has been iffy... we were supposed to get up and exercise, but my ankle is still sore from ice skating so I opted to take a rest day today. We did walk over to my grandmas for lunch and back, but that is probably less that a quarter mile total better than nothing I guess.

Food so far was:
L- Very small slice of baked chicken, boiled potatoes, green beans, small bite of rutabegas (yuck), wheat bread w/ butter, one slice of fried eggplant, 2 glasses sweet tea
S? - coffee w/ sugar and soy milk

Not sure what dinner will be

We are almost finished with taking down all the Christmas stuff. I just have a couple more things to do and then put the boxes away. DH is working on his computer because when the guys were over for New Year's he ended up with a virus so he's having to reformat or something like that. I'm probably going to spend the rest of my day looking at stuff about Vegas I looked at shows last night... Geez they are expensive! Mom looked at roller coasters and was talking about that at lunch. So now I've gotta go look at them

Later!

 

[lindalinda]

Amber vegas sounds great! Esp. if you get to do it for kind of a "budget" vacation. Hopefully you can find a cheap airfare.

I have never been but lots of my friends have. I am not a gambler at all, so I skip it. However they have told me about the other stuff. The roller coaster and one of those rides that shoot you up in the air and drop you are ON TOP OF A REALLY TALL SKYSCAPER. Let me know if you can do them. I know I am too chicken, I love rollercaosters, but the height thing would totally freak me out!


I am gonna make a huge assumption here also, that you guys might like the Star Trek Experience. My friends really love that. And of course theres lots of shows and stuff. I bet you guys will have a blast!

 

[DisDee]

Hi Amber, You're doing an awesome job with your journaling and commitment. Keep up the good work! A trip to Vegas sounds like fun! DH and I throw that idea around now and then, but still haven't gotten there. We're pretty close to Atlantic City, but the 2 cities can't be compared.

Have yourself a great week! Denise

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Hi, guys! Thanks for stopping by, DisDee!

I am home for lunch and had to post. I had to leave work really quickly so as not to cry in front of my coworkers. I got to work today and went to put in my leave request only to find out that we are having a huge audit in March and they have decided that noone can take leave in February or March! (can't find the little flaming guy) I talked briefly to my supervisor and she said there is a chance that it might get approved IF the audit isn't that week, but she doesn't know when she would be able to let me know I am SO upset/frustrated!!! I was really starting to get excited! I had already read most of an old guide book that I had for Las Vegas, and now we might not be able to go!!! Usually there is no problem getting leave approved and I've never been through an audit before so I REALLY wasn't expecting this!

Ok, breathe in, breathe out... I know I'll be ok even if we don't get to go. Just had to get away from the office and vent for a minute. Thanks for listening.

 

[mom2alix]

Oh that's so disappointing! Here's hoping that you still get to go. March isn't that far off so maybe your manager will be able to let you know soon when the audit will be scheduled. Since your folks already have the room, you might be able to still score last-minute cheap airfare. If nothing else you could try Priceline at the last minute if your boss gives you the green light. Would you fly out of Atlanta? It's such a big airport that I would think you might be able to get a good deal.

Are you ready for the first weigh in tomorrow? I'm not sure I am. My trainer was out of town this weekend for a family crisis and I wasn't motivated enough to go work out on my own, which led to a downward spiral of not eating well, (let's just say DH is evil and brought Krispy Kremes into the house).

I'm getting ready to leave for the gym now and work on getting back on track. I was pretty good last week on Wed-Fri, so hopefully my bad behavior this weekend won't be too bad on the scale. Start of a new challenge week and time to get focused and be good!

 

[lindalinda]

Oh Amber that sux! I hope she can let you know in time! I dont blame you for having to take a little break. Hope it will all work out!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Thanks for the support guys! I really needed it today. I talked to my supervisor again after lunch. She said that she will talk to her supervisor about it and see what she can do, but that it is bad that we want the first week of March and not later in the month. She also said that if I did get approved I would have to have all my files in tip top shape which really shouldn't be a problem. So, I guess for now I just have to wait and see.

Linda - We have been talking about that roller coaster on top of the skyscraper! I really want to do it, but I'm also Terrified so we'll see. I'm not really a star trek fan and DH is only a little, but yes, I figure if we are in Vegas for a week we are definitely going to the Star Trek Experience.

Here's the deal... I've done ok so far today on food, BUT I'm really struggling tonight. I'm an emotional eater or drinker. I'm trying to be good and not do either, but that just leaves me with the emotion . It is really not that bad, but I'm just really frustrated by the situation and then not having my usual coping mechanisms is really hard. I calculated my food for today though and it looks like I have a few calories to spare. So, maybe I can have some semi healthy soothing treat. I just feel like this is a challenge for me not to give into old habits... but I guess it isn't too bad if I don't go over my calories for the day right?

Here is my food so far:
B- kashi w/ soy, coffee
S- nut & fruit mix
L- sandwich, soup
D- spaghetti
Total - 1150 Gee if I weren't giving up wine I could actually afford a glass Or, should I say, believe me if I had any in the house it would be in a glass already

Didn't exercise today, but didn't really plan to. DH & I will tomorrow.

Almost forgot... yesterday I had Red beans and rice for dinner, a small brownie and piece of chocolate w/ milk for a snack (boy should have saved that for today) Ended at a total of 1600 calories... so a bit over.

K, here's to a better tomorrow!! Weigh in day!

 

[lindalinda]

Okay Pinot Noir has 24 calories per ounce , 0 fat and 1 carb. So an 8 ounce glass (thats a big wine glass) is 192 cals and 8 carbs. For a nighttime treat before you go to bed or something to help you sleep doesnt seem that bad. I know you are trying to give up alcohol and I dont want to be the "pusher" here, but I think if you give up the froo-froo sugar drinks and still allow yourself a glass of wine you might not feel like you are having to punish yourself. And a glass of wine is supposed to be good for you too!


I am thinking of starting drinking myself.

 

[mom2alix]

For those nights that you feel like you need a treat, here's a good one:

Get the Jello Fat-free chocolate pudding cups (60 cal per cup) and Low Fat Cool Whip (25 cal for 2 tbsp). Spoon the pudding out into a real bowl (it looks like a lot more when you do, for some reason those cups don't look very big to me. If you're really needing something you can do 2 pudding cups and 4 tbsp of cool whip for 170 cal, and it looks like a HUGE dessert and gets your chocolate fix in too. DH has been doing this to replace his ice cream habit and he doesn't feel so deprived.

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Thanks for the snack idea Rebecca! That does sound good I haven't had any of the pudding cups in a Long time, but they are yummy and I am a Chocoholic so that would be a perfect snack

And..Linda... DON'T ENCOURAGE ME!! Actually that is good info to know and that is what I was thinking last night.... just one glass wouldn't be bad. The problem is that I was allowing it to get out of hand.
How did you know I have a hard time sleeping? I don't remember posting that? I had said that to a coworker this week, that I have such a hard time sleeping at night. I really have always had that problem. But it seemed like having a little wine helped me to get to sleep better.
What had happened though is that I told myself that I needed to cut back some because it wasn't good for my weight loss efforts. BUT, I'm really bad about boundaries... as soon as I tell myself to quit or cut something back, then I want it ten times more. So basically I had gotten to where I was drinking 3 or 4 glasses of wine most nights of the week. I would say that was really only in December, but I knew that if I didn't do something it could get bad.

SO, it is kind of like the Sweet Tea challenge that Marie had given me awhile back. I have to go AT LEAST 30 days with out touching the alcohol and then I can have it occasionally. I have always had a healthy relationship with alcohol in the past and I will again soon. I was just "enjoying it while I can" (since I know there will be None when I finally get around to getting pregnant) a little too much

K, so last night I ended up having:
S- 3 pecan turtles, small bowl of crispix in soy milk
Total calories for the day = 1383

Today, I really didn't eat much. I was busy at work and didn't get around to eating my snack. I'm a tad bit hungry now, but it is probably because I'm thinking about it. OH, SHOOT! It's past my cut off time for eating! I was planning to probably slip in a snack! Well, maybe I'll still let myself have some hot chocolate since I'm under in calories for today AND I had planned to have some last night and managed to say no

Food:
B- kashi w/ soy, coffee
L- HC chicken fetticini
S- grapes (was supposed to be part of lunch)
D- chicken corn chowder, wheat bread
S- hot chocolate (gonna put it down just in case)
Total - 1148

So, did good on calories, BUT not so good on exercise. Today is supposed to be DH & my exercise day. However when I got home he was already getting in the shower. He says that the exercise we did on Saturday hurt his butt (He cracked his tail bone about 2 months ago) so he didn't want to workout. I had a long day and my shoulder was hurting so I ended up not exercising either.

I will do my best to make up for it tomorrow though!!!

OH, I almost forgot the best news of the day!!! I am down 4.8 pounds for my weigh in today! My new weight is 197.6 I think that is the most I have ever lost in one week! (See another reason to step away from the booze ) Now, If I can just maintain some of that momentum!!

No word from the powers that be yet about vacation. I will probably ask about it tomorrow. I'm just gonna hope for the best and try not to worry too much.

Boy am I long winded tonight Have a GREAT WEDNESDAY!!!

 

[mom2alix]

Congrats on the weight loss!!!!!
4.8 lbs in a week is amazing!!!!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Thanks, Rebecca! I kinda think it was a fluke or bloat or something, but whatever it is I choose to celebrate it! I just Really hope that I have a loss again this week.

I've been really busy at work this week and ended up working late again tonight. I knew that I wanted to exercise tonight, but I also HAD to go to the grocery store. Well, so of course I opted to not exercise. DH came home and had a pretty bad day so we ended up going out for dinner before the grocery shopping. I tried REALLY hard to make good choices at dinner (and when I ate out at lunch w/ my coworkers) and I think I managed to do pretty good. I am a little bit over in calories today, but I think it is ok as long as it is only occasionally.

Food:
B- kashi w/ soy, coffee
L- Turkey sub, a few bites of some lame chicken veggie soup
S- fruit nut mix
D- 6-8 chips w/ salsa, guacamole salad, chicken soft taco w/ no cheese, shrimp soft taco w/ no cheese ( I was WAY proud of me for going easy on the chips )
Total - 1705

I bought some pudding at the grocery store

K, that's 'bout it for tonight. Gonna try to get some exercise in tomorrow!