Desiree's Journal - (Posts welcome)

[Desiree]

I havent gone out and bought that scale yet so I dont quite know what my starting weight is. I plan on going out and getting one today. I just need to know where I'm at to start this.

I officially started my diet on Sunday, April 20th. I have been drinking water (lots of it), juice, milk or smoothies since then. I am trying to drink about 100 oz. of H20 a day if at all possible. Which I've been able to do so far.

I've been eating mainly salads, crackers, fruit. I'm leary of any diet plans because I am a picky eater anyway.

This is what I ate yesterday..... Crackers and an apple for lunch.

Last night had a small salad and a chicken pot pie.

If I get cravings for snacks I usually munch on crackers or fruit.

This morning I've done about 20 lunges, 20 squats and 20 sit-ups. Each day I'm going to try to increase the number that I do by 5. By the way, what are some good exercizes for the upper body and arms? I need to work on them as well. Any ideas and tips would be appreciated!!!

I'm about to go jog. Starting out slowly of course. This is my first "real" day of exercising!!! I'm eager to start. I may attempt some push ups too but forsee that going very badly LOL!!!

I will post my weight once I find a scale.

Desiree'

 

[Desiree]

Here's a little about my background.... to give you an idea of where I've come from and where I want to be.

I was born severely premature and have been really underweight most of my life. I dont remember what my weight was back then. (I really didnt care or even think about it at the time), but When I was in 8th Grade I know I wore a size "0". Way to small looking back on it now.

By the time I graduated from High School, I was a size 3-4. I may have gotten up to a size 6 before I got pregnant at the age of 19.

Once I did get pregnant... I made the worst mistake anyone could possibly do. I stopped moving or doing anything. Not to blame it on morning sickness, but I was really bad off with it and didnt have any energy to do anything. I ended up gaining ALOT of weight during my pregnancy. 50 lbs I believe it was. After giving birth to Devyn, I SQUEEZED into a size 12.

At my worst, during a bad marraige I weighed 180 or more and was wearing a size 18. After Ex and I divorced, I managed to get down to about 158 and then I plateaued. I was a size 14 and was very pleased but then got back in to poor eating habits again and I'm back to a size 16 currently. I want to see myself in single digit sizes again!!!

Desiree'

 

[Desiree]

Breakfast: A Hard Boiled Egg, 5 Crackers and a piece of fruit

Lunch/Supper: Chicken and Rice casserole and (gulp!) 2 Brownies.

The previous post listed what exercises I did yesterday. I didnt manage to go jog yesterday but I did mow the entire lawn without the riding mower. I push-mowered the whole thing! And suprisingly I'm not too sore today.

Still no scale yet..... I really want to see a starting point.

Oh well, off to exercise and get my morning water.

Best of luck to everyone today! I need to go work off those brownies now!!!!


Des

 

[Desiree]

And I must say I'm pleasently surprised.... I thought I was more than that. But hey, I still have a ways to go.

Starting point from today forward.........

169/169/130

 

[Desiree]

Well I know I'm only supposed to weigh once a week, but I hoped on there this morning after the first bathroom trip of the morning and I've shed a pound from yesterday!!!! I will try to resist the temptation of the scale until my once a week weigh in from now on.

Yesterday,
25 sit-ups, 25 squats. Unfortunately that was it for exercise

Breakfast: Nothing
Lunch: Grilled Chicken Ceasar w/ 1 1/2 yeast rolls
I wasn't really hungry for dinner until I got off work at 12:45 am, and by then the only things open were fast food. Sooooo I caved in and ate a cheesburger. (But I didnt get any fries).


Today so far...
25 sit-ups ( can't quite do more than that in one sitting just yet), about to do lunges and squats and attempt the bloody push ups again. I have to work during the day today so I'm hoping when Chris and I get home from work this evening that we will go jog tonight.

I plan on going to Fazzoli's today to get a Chicken Fettucini Alfredo for lunch. And I'm going to treat myself to a smoothie this morning too.

Desiree'

 

[TigH]

http://www.muscleandfitnesshers.com/hers/062502/strength_train.html

Follow that link for some good information on working out your upper body (well, all of you!) You have a great attitude! Don't forget to give your body a rest between workouts though. If you do lunges and squats every day you might not see the results you want. It's a good idea to give your muscles a break between workouts, so maybe try doing lunges and squats on Mondays and then again on Thursday (just an example). I'd hate to see you doing all this hard work and then not see your body change as much as you'd like it to.

When I started lifting weights, I worked the same body parts every day. I felt like I was doing something good for my body, but I didn't see the results I wanted. A friend of mine who is a gym rat (has a great bodybuilder body) told me to not train each body part every day, but to spread things out. It took me a while to get used to that idea, but it worked! Now I just have to get back into that part of my exercise routine! Good luck!!!

 

[Desiree]

TigH!!!

Wow, I guess I never thought of that. It sounds reasonalbe though. I will give it a whirl this week. Thanks for the tip and the link! I'm about to go check it out now.


Des

 

[Desiree]

Well I did better eating yesterday. I've finally gotten to the point where I'm not starving and I seem to be eating a considerable amount less than I was before. I think the water is helping.

No sit=ups, etc. for me today with my neck. It's not as bad as it was yesterday but it is still hurting pretty badly.

B - nothing
L - Baked Chicken Fettucini
D - Chicken and rice

Dessert - one small piece of choc. cake that Dev won at a fair this weekend. It needs to hurry up and disappear from the house!!! Honestly, I dont even have much of a desire for it.

I really hope the weight will start coming off. (sigh) I hate not seeing results.

I *might* go try to play tennis today while Dev is in school. I have some problems trying to motivate Chris to do any exercise with me. I dont want to sit around all day but I dont want to go anywhere by myself either. I can't afford a gym membership right now also. Chris did mention to me last night that he wants to lose some weight too so maybe he's found his motivation.

 

[Desiree]

Ok so I'm still holding steady at 168. I've accepted the fact that I cant hide my scale from myself. So I guess I'm doing daily weigh ins.

Yesterday wasn't great but at least I didnt gain any.

B - Peanut butter and jelly sandwich w/ 1 tbsp of jelly
L - Hamburger (no bread)
D - Uggh, here's where I did bad. I planned on eating my salad last night, but the kids at work did so well with the sneak preview and selling combos I bought pizza for them and helped myself to 3 dang slices! At least they were small ones. (sigh)

But I did do well on my water.

Today will be a different story. I started off with a banana and at some point today I'm going to drive to my mom's house and use her treadmill.

 

[Desiree]

Uggh, what am I doing wrong?!? I am still at 168. I hate not seeing results. Maybe the fat is just turning into muscle so I'm holding steady. I have got to start jogging. Maybe then I'll start seeing other results.

Yesterday,
B - Banana
L - Ham and Cheese Sand.
D - Sm. portion of Chicken and dumplings.

No snacks in between and alot of water yesterday. I did have two small sips of Chris's coke at Devyns game last night. Other than that I did manage to avoid the temptation of donuts. A whole dozen of them. I didnt have one bite.

Exercise wise, I tried those new sit ups suggested and some suggested by a co-worker. Feet up in the air and doing crunches. Man, those were hard. But I do see where they will help. I did 3 sets of 12 of those. I also got a sturdy chair and did dips by extending my feet and pushing up and down. I will go and get some dumbells to start working my arms. (Chris says we already have two dumbells.... buzz and grendel *the dogs*) LOL

Somehow I dont think they would like me doing lunges and working on my arms with them....

Ok back to my sulking......

Maybe tonight we will finally get to go jog.

(sigh)

Des

 

[Desiree]

Back up to 169. I'm getting very discouraged about all this. But I vow not to give up. I know this is the right thing for me to do.

Yesterday, I didnt do bad at all. I did sit ups, lunges, squats. I bought some dumbells and worked on my arms. And we even got to go jog a wee bit. Of course, I couldn't do much. But I started out jogging 1/2 a mile and walking 1 1/2 miles. I dont anticipate that we'll be able to go jog tonight. I work until 6, and then we've got Devyn's softball game, and then I have to go back to work for 10:00 pm for inventory. I hope at some point we'll be able to squeeze it in somehow.

Yesterdays food:

B- Banana
L- Chicken Caesar Salad
D - 1 slice of pizza and 3 cheesy breadsticks

What am I doing wrong?!?!

 

[TigH]

Hang in there!!!!

Do you think it's possible to have your larger meal earlier in the day? Maybe just have more at lunch and less at dinner?

What about scrambling some egg whites for breakfast instead of the banana? I hated egg whites a long time ago, so I would use one egg white and one whole egg, then two egg whites and one whole egg, then eventually went with just egg whites. Maybe you could have some turkey bacon and egg whites and a small piece of wheat toast for breakfast? I know alot of people don't like to eat early in the morning, but I love breakfast and like to think I'm stoking the fires of my metabolism early in the day!

You can do it!!!

 

[lmhall2000]

I have to admit- I think we were raised by the same family! All the foods you listed you ate are my all-time favorites- all starchy veggies are my faves and love pizza, alfredo, dumplings- but ya gotta cut these down some. I saw where you bought slim-fast- I agree that they're way too high in CARBS but it's working for me- but just use them to help you shrink your appetite for awhile- this really helped me.

Add more raw veggies- I can't stand cooked carrots/spinach/bell peppers- but I can eat them raw- a good salad to try is spinach leaves, strawberries, and almonds with a raspberry vinegarette. Very tasty. If I eat bread I eat it at lunch and slimfast breakfast and dinner- I think this has really helped me- and I ONLY eat whole wheat bread- the kind that lists whole wheat flour as its first ingredient.

Drink lots of water and try to add more protein into your diet- deviled eggs are good, turkey salads, salmon steaks are great broiled with dill sauce, steak, you name it!

But I think the key to consistent weight loss is moving for more than 30 minutes a day. Due to the Alex challenge I had to bump it up to an hour today! But I could really feel my metabolism pumped up for several hours after the walk-- I walk as fast as I can for as long as I can- an hour is about my limit. I do this 6x a week. Crunches and all are great but they don't get the larger muscles working (legs, derrier) these are your buddies- if you get them hot for an hour a day they'll carry those pounds right off you!

Hope this helps!! You listed my favorite veggies! corn, Carrots, green beans and potatoes- try to slip in some red peppers, scallions, purple onions anything- you might find you like some of them!!
It's hailing here got to get off the computer!!!!
Tara

 

[Desiree]

Thanks Tara,

I am planning on getting out there and moving more for sure. Problem is that I woke up with a very sore throat and I'm hoarse. I think I need to take it easy today.

I didnt gain anything from yesterday, still at 169.

B- Banana
L - Slim Fast and 3 carrot sticks
D - Sm. portion of Hamburger Helper.

I've been doing alot of thinking since my other post. I've thought about each and every posters suggestions. I am going to cut back on the fruit and the crackers for sure, but as far as everything else, I think *I* just need to eat sensibally. (sp?) I will just watch the calories myself and start educating myself more on what is healthy and what is not. Water is not a problem, I've been drinking a ton of water a day. I just need to get out there and move. I'm not so sure I could just stick to one type of program without getting sick of other stuff. So I think if I just cut back on the stuff I already am eating right and check into the light cooking recipes and such I should *hopefully* be ok.

On the positive note, I must be doing something right, as a few of the pants that are usually cutting into me are fitting nicely now. And my legs are getting really strong too. My body is sore so something must be working somehow!

Des

 

[lmhall2000]

That reminds me- with your pants feeling nicer- you might want to take measurements every 2 weeks- I know I'll have weeks where I won't move the scale but it is encouraging to see my inches going down- I measure my arms, thighs, waist, hips (yuck!) and my chest- in two weeks I was down 5.5 inches! Somehow I gained 1/2 inch in my calves- blech- starting to look like Popeye! But this really helps me stay motivated!
You're doing great!! I think when eating sensibly- portion control and moving more are key- you can't lose with that combination.

Keep us updated- reading other's journals really keeps me on target and encourages me so much!
Tara

 

[Desiree]

Well I fell off the wagon yesterday.

My day started out good enough. I had nothing for breakfast. Wasn't really hungry. Then Chris and I went to see X-Men 2 at 10:30. All I had there was water! Afterwards we ran alot of errands and by the time the car was in the shop to get our a/c fixed, we were beginning to get a little hungry so we opted for the vending machine. I got a sprite and a milky way. I did manage to not drink all the sprite, only 2/3's of it. That was my first carbonated drink in 2 weeks. We knew we were going out to eat later on yesterday evening so we didnt want to eat anything big for lunch.

So, after more errands in our nice cool car, it was time to get ready to go meet up with some of our friends at On The Border and then go see Identity. They had a Cinco De Mayo special running where there margarita's were only $2.00 a piece. Uggh, I had 2. I ate a Chimichanga, fried rice and beans.

Today doesn't look like it's going to be much better. We're about out the door to go to a Festival that they're having downtown. Then after that looking at some houses, and then I have to be at work for 6 to boot.

The even worse news is that I'm still sick. Not as bad off as yesterday was, but still pretty bad. I think I've got laryngitis.

I think I may call this my lost weekend. To paraphrase John Lennon's Lost Weekend. (sigh)

Well the good news is that I am holding steady at 169. Hopefully I'll feel better soon and be back to full force with the exercising. Off to get my water and try to do a few crunches for now until time to go.

 

[Desiree]

Well, considering that I did so crappy on Friday, I had a much better day yesterday.

B - nothing
L - Pot roast, w/ steamed veggies plus one bite of Devyn's cheesecake
D- Here's where it went bad, I was not hungry at the *normal* eating hours for dinner, but after I got off work last night I was ravenous. Taco Bell was beaconing. I ate 2 Cheesy Crunchy Gorditas.

Didn't do as well on my water as in previous days plus I did manage to walk (not a good pace though), but we went to a festival that was downtown. And then we went to look at houses, and then it was time for work. So I was basically moving around all day long.

On the plus side, I'm feeling a little better. Still stopped up though.

This morning I weighed............. (drumroll) 167!

 

[Desiree]

Still holding steady at 167. I'm pleased with that since I've been off the exercise wagon since Thursday. I'm still a little stuffy but I can't wait any longer. I will do my exercises today.

Yesterday was ok, but not great.

B- Boiled Egg
L- Subway Turkey Sand. w/ light mayo & pickles on wheat bread. No chips!
S-Leftover Hamburger Helper. Very small portion

Other than that I'm rarin to get back and do stuff today. Hope the wheater cooperates!

Des

 

[lmhall2000]

2 pounds!!! That's awesome- but sorry you're not feeling well! Also looking at your diet, I would make two recommendations- always eat something at breakfast within an hour to when you wake up- it jump starts your metabolism- a boiled egg and a piece of toast would be fine and easy- also try and sneak in a fruit snack between meals- this keeps your body from entering "starving" mode and keeps your blood sugar stable. These are just recommendations but I feel much better making myself eat that piece of fruit mid morning and mid afternoon! And yes especially if you're sick water yourself up! You're doing great!!!!!
Tara

 

[Desiree]

Tara,
Thanks for the suggestions! You know what is weird though... I havent been hungry in between meals though!! I usually do eat fruit here and there, (just need to go to the grocery store LOL).

And water has been the drink of choice. I dont even crave cokes anymore. I'm so proud of that! It's been easy once my headaches have gone.