Merry Christmas

Just wanted to pop in and say hello and Merry Christmas. I hope everyone enjoys the day with their loved ones. Don't go crazy eating, but don't count every calorie either. Life if for living - living healthfully and balanced.

Much love,
Ashley

Struggling

I am really struggling right now. Every meal is an effort not to overeat. I am successful about 80% of the time which is obviously not good enough for weightloss. For awhile I was maintaining, but now I have actually gained- I'm at 185.8 lbs.

I'm very upset and very down trodden. I'm relying on food again for comfort. I forgot my office badge and train pass this morning. I had to buy a one way ticket on the train for $15. Then, I fell going up the stairs on the subway- majorly embarrassing. I found myself at Starbucks this morning getting a non-fat latte for comfort. Yes, it was non-fat, but using food as comfort is a red flag for me- that's how I found myself so overweight to begin with.

I've been exercising 3 days a week with 40 mins of elliptical, light weight lifting and ab work. Results are no where to be found. I guess my results are wherever my motivation and effort are.

Hitting a wall

I hit a wall for the second time in my weightloss efforts (the first time being when I started my weightloss journey). I found myself slowly doing away with healthy eating habits that took months (and will take many more months) to develop. After a cheeseburger, fries, AND soda for lunch on Monday I knew I was becoming a different person. Throughout this journey, I haven't ever restricted myself from eating a cheeseburger, fries, or soda BUT I would never be fine with eating that kind of a meal on a regular basis. I wait until I am truly craving a cheeseburger for a few days and then I get a yummy cheeseburger and savor it, usually only consuming 1/2 to 3/4 of it.
This cheeseburger incident is only one of the few horrific choices I have made lately. I have become lazy about preparing my food. I put my foot down though and went food shopping on Monday. I have made all breakfasts and lunches since then. It's only been two days, but it's two days of calories and money saved by making these meals. Bringing my breakfasts and lunches has also ensured that I get more fruit and veggies into my diet.

Food and Moves for the week;
Monday
B- oatmeal with brown sugar, almonds, and dried cranberries
L- Cheeseburger, fries, coke
D- Whole wheat pasta with shrimp and artichoke hearts in garlic white wine sauce
S- none
E- 20 mins shoulders and abs

Tuesday
B- bagel with 1tbsp butter
L- Smartones egg sandwich
D- pizza (2 slices) and salad with 1 tbsp vinegarette
S- 2 clementines, red wine
E

Wednesday
B- yogurt strawberries and sliced almonds, fiber one bar
L- sandwich thin with hummus, roasted red pepper, spinach, and roast beef
D- lemon chicken, cous cous, and spinach
S- non-fat latte, grapes
E- hitting up the gym tonight!

Where have you been all my life?

Well, more like, where have I been for the past 2 weeks....

Desserts-o-plenty

My fiance's birthday was 2 weekends ago and we celebrated at dinner with friends, then the bar, then we drove to my parents and had birthday cake for him the next night. I made a rainbow Italian cookie inspired cake. Omg, it was amazing and beautiful:

Then I had the 5K in my home time. Following that, I was blessed enough to work from home the three days leading up to Thanksgiving, which allowed me to spend tons of time with my beloved family. I was desparately craving time with them, as I hadn't seen them in a month and a half. It also allowed me to bake some yummy desserts for Thanksgiving:

Exercise Update

In other news, I have retired my running schedule for the winter. If I get the chance, I will run on the treadmill at the gym, but it has gotten too dark and too cold for me to continue outside runs. So, I switched back to a regular rotation of the Shred on Sunday. I started small with Level 1 and 5lb weights. Ouchie Ouchie Ouchie! I totally neglected strength training to get ready for the 5K and I am paying for it.

Thank you!

A big thank you for this award :-) It's from Bare It All, one of my favorite blogs to keep up with. She's got a very realistic approach to weightloss and I feel like every woman can relate to her and get tips from her.

I've never been good about posting rules and/or passing on blog awards so why start now? Sorry, I suck when it comes to blog awards.