Boo-ya! Welcome to the 170's

Check it out!

Don't mind my poor cracked scale - there was a mother-in-law incident. Look past the crack, and check out that number - 179.8 lbs!!

There was no parade or statues erected in my name, but there was a hug and kiss from my fiance and a big ole smile on my face :-)

Here's to making the 170's a much shorter lived visit than the 180's.

Die 180, Die!

No 170's for me :-(

It looks like I won't be reporting from the 170's this week. I weighed myself and I am at 180.4 lbs or +0.2lbs from last week. It's disappointing and a bit disheartening.

I may have set myself up for failure by eating out for dinner 3 times last week, knowing I would be attending a baby shower this weekend. I tried to make wise decisions in all of these instances, but I also didn't get in as many workouts this week (only 2).

Me and my fiance are on the offensive this week to bust through the 180's. He will help me by food shopping so I may bring breakfast and lunch to work every day and he will not tempt me with eating out - we'll be sure to eat dinner at home all week. I'm really lucky to have my fiance on my side as I attack the 180's in hopes of being rid of them for good.

A complete 180

That's what I weigh... 180... well, 180.2 lbs to be exact.

I have had a go hard or go home mentality the past two weeks and I have been rewarded with two big losses in a row: -4.2lbs and -3.6lbs.

I have been at this crossroads before. I am at the threshold of a new weight decade. I truly hope to report to everyone next week from well within the 170's.

My life hasn't been peachy lately, but I'll save that post for another time. I want to keep my message positive, my spirits high and my efforts focused.

Manic Monday

Blah! It is disgusting out. It is pouring and so windy. I wish I was still at home in bed.

This week was an up and down week. I had emotionally good days and I had some really bad days. I think this will be my trend for awhile as I grieve. Last night was particularly bad, so I am proud of myself for pulling it together this morning and going to work.

I've been doing a much better job of controlling the eating which paid off when I weighed in today: 185 lbs (-1.8lbs). I also got in three sessions of exercise.

Steady as she goes...

Why is weightloss so easy at times and so difficult at others?

Is it your mindset? Is it hormones? Stress? Motivation? Focus? Laziness? Is it in relationship to the amount of exercise you do? Temptation? The time of the year?

If I knew this answer, I would never falter because I would constantly keep this item in check. It must be a balance of all areas or balancing ate of putting more effort into one area when needed and lessening in another.

Whatever it is, I seem to have a handle on it again. It feels easier and the weight is coming off. I have been weighing myself 2 - 3 times a week and I am at my lowest weight around 180.0 - 180.4. I cannot wait to leave the 180's for good. I have spent 8 months in the 180's. I've never thrown in the towel, but I have faltered. When I do surpass the 180lb mark, I will know that my hard work has paid off. It might take another week, or another month to get there, but I know I'll keep pushing forward until I do.

The Lowest of Lows

That's right- last night I weighed in at my lowest weight: 180.6 lbs (-2.4lbs)

I felt completed defeated when I got home from work yesterday- I just wanted to go to sleep. I was already planning to get into my pajamas, skip my workout, and not cook dinner. I remembered to weigh myself, and it was exactly what I needed after that rough day.

Seeing my lowest weight since beginning my weightloss journey, motivated me to march myself to the bedroom and change into my workout gear. I completed Level 3 of the Shred. I've been doing a really good job of keeping up with my exercise DVDs since I decreased my running last month. I did the Banish Fat and Boost Metabolism and the No More Trouble Zones DVDs this weekend.

I really want to see myself leave the 180's. I have been stuck in them since February. It's amazing how I fly through some weight decades in a matter of 3 weeks (the 210's and the 190's) and have to fight my way out of others for 6 months (the 200's and the 180's).

I sure want this to be the last week EVER that I am in the 180's!

Weighing in and Excitement

I weighed in at 183.0lbs last night (+0.6 lbs) from last week. I must say that I am accepting the gain and moving on. After the amount of pizza I ate in the past week (1 small pie or 6 slices- not all in one sitting!) it's a wonder that I didn't gain more.

So far this week, I have managed to make exercise a priority again, even with my busy work schedule; I did 45 minutes (Banish Fat and Boost Metabolism) on Sunday, and the Shred Level 3 on Monday. It's been really difficult to fit anything into my weeknights. I can't remember the last time (must have been 3 or 4 weeks ago) I did something on a weeknight that wasn't cooking dinner, eating, exercising, or reading. Tonight- I'm going to the mall and I'm really excited! I am literally quivering with excitement to go to the mall tonight, because it is a weeknight- wow, what a sad little life!

Weigh In and Summer Smoothies

Weigh in: 182.6lbs
-2.0lbs

This weekend I also made one of my stand-by favorites for the summer and or a breakfast on the go: smoothies! I was reminded off how much I miss them when I saw people blogging about "banana ice cream", aka blended frozen bananas.

I used to go to this awesome coffee shop in Hoboken called Frozen Monkey, and they had a specialty drink named after the place that had banana, Tasti D-light vanilla ice cream, and iced coffee. I recreated the smoothie to save money and calories when in college. I replaced the ice cream with frozen chopped bananas, threw in a scoop of protein powder, and used coffee and skim milk to help thin the smoothie to my liking. It was delicious and it prompted me to make different combinations.

I love these smoothies for some many reasons:
The combinations are endless and easy to customize. They taste like a dessert but are very healthful! They help me get bananas into my diet because I am not a fan of them. It also packs more fruit into your diet. They help use up fruit that would have otherwise gone bad. When the bananas are getting too ripe, and I don't have time to make banana bread, I chop the bananas up and throw them in the freezer, same goes for mangos, berries, and pineapple.

Some of my favorites are:

Frozen Monkey (Approximately 155 calories, 1g fat, 34g carbs, 9g protein, 3g fiber)
1/2 cup cold coffee, 1 frozen chopped banana, 1/2c of skim milk and more to thin the smoothie to your liking

PB Banana (Approximately 290 calories, 9g fat, 43g carbs, 14g protein, 3.5g fiber)
1 Tbsp Peanut Butter, 1 frozen chopped banana, 1 cup skim milk plus more to thin the smoothie to your liking

Banana Split (Approximately 300 calories, 1g fat, 64g carbs, 10g protein, 3g fiber)
1 -2 Tbsp Chocolate Syrup, 1 frozen chopped banana, 1 cup skim milk plus more to thin the smoothie to your liking

Berry Smoothie (Approximately 150 calories, 1g fat, 25g carbs, 12g protein, 2g fiber)
3/4 cup frozen berries (any kind- I like mixed berries), 1/2 cup fat free vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup skim milk plus more to thin the smoothie to your liking

Tropical smoothie (Approximately 200 calories, 1g fat, 39g carbs, 12g protein, 2g fiber)
1/2 cup frozen mango, 1/2 cup frozen pineapple, 1/2 cup fat free vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup skim milk plus more to thin the smoothie to your liking

Happy Blending ;-)

Weigh In and My Weekend

Weigh in Monday: -3.0lbs, 184.6lbs
Food
B: Oatmeal (3 pts), 3 munchkins (3.5 pts- whopps!)
S: Fiber One bar (2 pts)
L: 1/2 chicken sandwich and gazpacho @ Hale and Hearty (7pts)
S: Fruit salad (2pts)
D: Bruschetta angel hair pasta with grilled chicken and balsamic reduction (13 pts)
Total- 29.5 pts (used 3 AP earned and 0.5 WP)
Exercise: 30 Day Shred, L1 w/ 5lb weights (3 AP)

I went to the Bronx Zoo this weekend; I try to go once every summer. I love animals! It's really comforting and soothing for me to observe animals. The Bronx Zoo also does a really nice job with the animals' faux habitats so it's a pleasant experience instead of an animal in a cage kind of a feel. My fiance and I really enjoyed each other's company and were sure to act like children. Exhibit A: Take a picture with a weird prop from the gift store:

My greatest eating triumph this weekend was my lunch choice. Last year when we went to the zoo, fiance and I split the fried chicken fingers and a soda. This year fiance got his own and I chose and grilled chicken, tomato, spinach, provolone and red pepper romesco sauce on ciabatta. Props to the Bronx zoo for having choices. Eating the whole sandwich was around 11 points, which is high but I needed my energy for all the walking we were doing because the Bronx Zoo is huge!

Exhibit B for acting like children: a snapshot of some suggestive animal species

A snap of one of the lemurs in the newly constructed (2008) Madagascar exhibit. It's such a great exhibit!

There are even beautiful peacocks that roam the zoo, this one finds solace on the grass that is clearly labeled with "Keep off the grass":

Gaining some weight and some perspective

I gained over the past two weeks: 3.6lbs.

I understand physically why the gain happened: excess calories and not enough exercise, but I really need to evaluate why mentally/emotionally. I realized two things: 1) I still have an emotional eating problem. It got me to be 227lbs. I have not cured myself of this by losing weight. 2) I have become lax in my weight loss efforts because I am kinda happy with the way I look right now. I know that's typically a good thing, but I think I have used hate of my body as motivation to lose. I also convinced myself that the 180's are where my body is happiest, i.e. it maintains at this weight very easily.

Bullshit! I call bullshit on myself. I could have deemed any weight decade to be my comfy zone, the weight range at which my body is happy. My body is not happy there- it knows it can do better. It remembers being 160lbs and it liked it. My mind is happy there- convinced it couldn't possibly fit in another workout or plan ahead more with meals.

I know I can do better and I must.

Blogging Back Up

My goodness, so much is going on in my life that I have found myself in a blogging back up! I have so many posts to share with everyone, but I find myself swamped with a new project which means lots of changes to my schedule and commute.

I did post a nice loss this week after my feeding frenzy on vacation (-3.0lbs). Yay me ;-)

Look for some fun upcoming posts on:
My first 8K
My 24th birthday
My Engagement Party
Reworking my exercise routine to fit my new schedule

Lots of love to everyone!

Vacation Detox

Bermuda Vacation 2009

I'm back from my week long cruise to Bermuda. It was great- there was sleep, sun, booze, snorkeling, beach and lots of food AND it was my birthday. I definitely over-indulged, but I wouldn't change a thing.

The weigh in yesterday has me at 187 or +4.6lbs. This gain can be attributed to all of the following: crossiants with butter, desserts everday at lunch and dinner, lots of alcohol, and no official exercise.

So, I am officially on diet detox- no alcohol all week, lots of water, light eating. Yesterday I had egg whites, turkey sausage and a light bagel for breakfast, a salad with balsamic vinegar and oatmeal for lunch, tilapia, couscous, and spinach for dinner and cereal as a snack. I have to make sure I look like a knock-out in my engagement party dress this Saturday!

I'm happy to be home and to get back to my routine and my exercise. I'm excited to catch up on everyone else's lives and weight loss progress. I have lots more to post so stay tuned as I catch everyone up.

Just me- that's all I can be

No, this is not some fruity rhyming post nor anything overly emotional where I divulge the years of pain my weight gain has brought. This was just a particularly trying week for me emotionally. My emotionally distress caused me to fall ill with a fever on Wednesday into Thursday.

I have not felt like myself. I am finally starting to feel better. I hadn't done any true exercise since Monday thanks to my depressive mood, but I pulled myself together last night to do my 40 minutes of circuit training with Jillian Michaels. I upped my hand weights to 5lbs from 3lbs. I'm definitely feeling it today. I am glad that I did not allow myself to be lazy and skip yet another workout. It made me feel strong and empowered.

I posted a -1.0lb loss the week which felt great. I am a slow loser, but I prefer it that way. I get to eat out more than once a week, and when I go out I enjoy alcohol, appetizers, and desserts- something a strict weight watcher might cringe at, but I've made my own rules throughout this process and they work for me.

I'm looking forward to a run today, let's hope the weather holds out. It has rained 18 out of the first 22 days of June so who knows. I can't wait to be on vacation next week- that's right kiddies, I'm off to cruise to Bermuda on Sunday and I can't wait to say Bon Voyage for a bit.

Fat Camp Progress Report

I am happy to report a loss this week at Fat Camp: -1.8lbs.

I am even happier, however, that I accomplished my longest run yet (5 miles in 50 minutes) in preparation of my Fat Camp Fitness test, an 8K the last weekend in June.

My Fat Camp diet and exercise for the past few days:

Saturday
Exercise: 40 minutes of circuit weight training a la No More Trouble Zones DVD
B: 1 1/2c Honey Bunches of Oats with Almond, 1c skim milk, 1c coffee w/ skim milk and Splenda
L: slice of pizza
S: apple, 1tbsp peanut butter
D: 1 1/2 cheeseburgers
Late night drinking and snacking at a party: 5 light beers, 8oz Doritos, 2oz pretzels, 1 small brownie, 1 small piece of vanilla cake with vanilla icing

Sunday
Exercise: Leisurely walking at the mall, light lifting to help clean up from party
B: bagel with 4tbsp light cream cheese, coffee w/ skim milk and Splenda
D:1 1/2c penne w/ 1c tomato sauce, 1 meatball, 1 1/2c salad, 2tbsp light Italian dressing
S: 3 pretzel rods, 1c Corn Pops cereal, 1c skim milk

Monday
Exercise: 5 mile run
B: apple, 2c coffee w/skim milk and Splenda
L: 4oz chicken terriyaki, 1 1/4c white rice, 1c miso soup
S: 2 pieces dark chocolate
D: buffalo chicken salad (4oz grilled buffalo chicken breast, 2oz pepper jack cheese, 8 crushed up tortilla chips, 4tbsp light blue cheese dressing )
S: 1 Italian cookie, 1c International Coffee

Tuesday
B: high fiber, high protein cinnamon oatmeal
L: leftover buffalo chicken salad
D: dining out with a friend from high school....

Fat Camp Progress Report

I weighed in at 185.2 lbs this week, or no change in weight since last week. My only saving grace is that my fancy scale tells me my body fat% and it is saying that I have had a 3% decrease in body fat from last week. I know sometimes the body doesn't lose pounds, but it decreases in size so I am hoping that is the reason for no change in weight. I'll be sure to take my measurements to help justify the reasoning.

As for my Fat Camp Goals, here is my Progress Report:

Goal
Get Active Daily
4 / 7 days or 57% completed
M- Shred Level 2 and Pilates (3 AP and 1AP)
T
W- Ran 4 miles (8AP)
R
F
S- Ran 3 miles (5AP)
Su- No More Trouble Zones DVD (6 AP)

Aim for 20+ APs/Week
23APs this week or 100% completed

Make Lunch 3X/Week
Lunch made 5 times this week, 100% completed
W - Leftovers from dinner
R - Leftovers from dinner
F - Made lunch at home
S - Made lunch at parent's home
Su - Homemade lunch from my Aunt

Don't splurge when eating out
This is a poorly defined goal because it is subjective. Let's create a more objective goal and set a points limit for all meals and drinks when dining out 30Points. I know that sounds high but the Fat Camp Field Trip meal was 44 Points!

Suggestions for Improvement:
Get Active Daily- This goal may seem unattainable right now, so let's decrease it to 5 days this week
Aim for 20+APs this week- This goal was easily achieved. Up the APs to 23+APs this week to continue to push yourself.
Make Lunch 3X/Week- This goal was also easily achieved. Including weekends, make lunch 4X/Week and Breakfast 4X/Week.

Letter from Fat Camp

Dear Mom and Dad,

Fat Camp is going well. On the first day, I did the 30 Day Shred Level 2 and Pilates. My core muscles are so sore that it hurts to breath deeply. I ate the following:

Breakfast- fruit smoothie (1/2c mango, 1 banana, 1/2c low fat yogurt), coffee (skim milk, Splenda)
Snack- 1 cup fruit salad
Lunch- Subway 6in roastbeef with light mayonnaise, baked lays, 8oz iced tea
Snack- 2 Hershey kisses
Dinner- 4oz white wine, 5oz tilapia, 1c couscous, 1c cooked zucchini
Dessert- Berry cobbler (3/4 c mixed berries, 2 tbsp oats, 1tsp butter, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp brown sugar) with light whipped cream

Everything was delicious! Unfortunately, I weighed in at 185.2lbs, which means that I still have to lose 21.2lbs to reach my goal. I also took my measurements, so hopefully there will be a change in them and my weight soon.

I'll write again soon.

Love,
Ashley

Weigh In Update

The readers were right! I must be retaining tons of water because I weighed myself when I got home from work yesterday. It had me down 2lbs from the morning to 183.4lbs.. It must have been all the non-stop water drinking at work. I was also a good girl, and I did the 30 Day Shred dvd after work.

I plan to keep up the water consumption and exercise today :-)

Blame it on the Alcohol

I wish I could just blame my weight gain this week on the alcohol. I weighed in this morning at 185.4 (+4.4 lbs). Yikes! I didn't even gain that much during Christmas time (which was more of a food challenge than this weekend). The sad thing is, that I don't think my eating was all that crazy. My boozing was definitely a lot more than usual, but the food was no worse than some of my recent weekends.

I'm not really going to dwell on this gain, because I feel so confident that the weight will be gone by next weigh in. I am a little annoyed with myself for "wasting" a week, in terms of weight loss, but I've got this!

Weigh In and Weekend Update

Boo-ya! I had an awesome loss this week: -2.6lbs! This puts me at 181lbs. I'm seriously excited considering the Panera debacle and the number of times I ate outside my home last week. I ate out for every single meal this weekend (but not all by choice).

It's been really difficult for me to teach myself that eating out is not an opportunity to eat whatever I want. Growing up, my family rarely went out to eat (usually just for a birthday or to celebrate a graduation) thanks to my mom's delicious and consistent cooking. So, going out to eat was always a free for all with my family. I am not lying to you when I say that one time at Outback Steakhouse blood was shed over the Aussie Cheese Fries. This wild event all ended with my father bleeding and my brother proclaiming to my father, "It's not my fault that you have paper-thin skin, old man!"

How many times did I eat out last week? 10 times!
Thursday
California Pizza Kitchen- pizza and red wine
Friday
Rest Stop Convenience store- cereal, apple, coffee, and a special k bar Cracker Barrel- two eggs, turkey sausage, 1/2 order hashbrowns, 1/2 order fried apples, 1/2 piece of corn bread
Saturday
Anthony David's (Italian) in Hoboken, NJ - eggs benedict with hollandaise on the side
Filipino food at a friend's home- puncit, roast chicken, lupia
Ralph's Italian Ice- small spumoni
Wild Ginger (Japanese) in Hoboken, NJ- sezchuan chicken and shrimp with white rice
Sunday
Bagel and coffee from a deli
Margherita's (Italian) in Hoboken, NJ- rigatoni with meat sauce, 1/2 caesar salad

Incidentally, my weekend of eating out ended at Margherita's, which is also the location of my and my fiance's first date. We decided to hit it up after our engagement session photo shoot, which was amazing! Check out the pictures and my weight loss progress here: Our Engagement Session

And a special thanks to Emily at Black Dog Photography for her amazing work.

Weigh In

I weighed in last night because I forgot to do it on Monday. I tipped the scales at 183.6 (-1.4lbs). Yay, a legit loss after all these small losses and gain! If I can keep this up this week, then I should be out of the dreaded 180's soon!

Happy losing everyone!