one pound at a time

I don’t really have too much to say tonight.  I’ve been doing okay with food and exercise but definitely not as good as I should be doing.  I didn’t go to the grocery store last weekend which led to a week of food choices that weren’t ideal.  I will be going to the West Side Market (a really cool place in Cleveland that sells fresh fruits, veggies and meat by numerous vendors) tomorrow as well as an appearance at the grocery store.  I’ll also be going to the gym tomorrow and Sunday.  I really can’t commit to days I’ll workout this week since everything’s really contingent on the weather.  I’ll be golfing Monday and playing softball on Thursday this week.  My brother would have turned 26 on Wednesday.  It’s our first birthday without him so I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a really emotional week.  I keep hearing one day it’ll be easier.  We’ll see. 

I have a busy day tomorrow so I’m going to hit the sack.  Good night.

I’m on a mission.  I need to get out of this rut.  I’ve weighed around same for the past 2-3 months and I’m tired of it!  I’m finally back at my house and I’m trying to get back into a routine.  The summer weather is coming and I want to wear cute clothes.  Not only do I want to wear cute clothes, I want to feel GOOD in cute clothes!  The only way that will happen is if I shed a few pounds.  Okay, I need to shed more than a few, but my blog is called One Pound at a Time for a reason.  Here is my plan:

1.  Workout at least 5 days a week.  This won’t be difficult since I’m pretty active in the summer between softball and golf.  The days that I golf it will be difficult to squeeze in the gym, but softball days should be no problem.  I’ve started back at the gym and I forgot how much I love it.  
2. Be very strict with my WW points.  No slacking, no mindless munching, nothing.  I’ve been okay, but not great.  What really gets me is Subway.  If I get a a turkey sub that’s 11 points..poof, gone!  Geesh!! 
3. Plan all meals for the week.  I’ve found this helps me in SO many ways.  I won’t spend money on impulse-hunger buys if I have a plan.  Not only can these meals get pricey, they will never be as healthy as it would be if I made something myself.  I pack my lunch and snacks for work, and even my dinner depending on my schedule for the evening.  My problem is I get lazy and sometimes don’t pack my stuff, which means I buy all day long.  Do you know what I could buy with all the money I save on crappy Aramark (they supply our cafeteria) food??  I should set a reward for myself.  If I don’t by lunch for a month I’m going to buy myself….hmmm…I’m going to have to think about this.  TBD is what I’ll say for now.
4. I will take weekly measurements along with my weigh-ins.  I think this will help me see progress, especially since I’m working out.

I think that’s all I have for now.  I will be updating with my progress and any additional thoughts and goal to keep myself on track.  If anyone has any other comments or suggestions about my plan please let me know.  It can only get better and I’m open to your input!

Have a great night!! 

I’m having such a great day with food and exercise! 

I woke up and decided I wanted a “real” breakfast this morning.  I made myself egg whites, turkey bacon and toast. 

Did I tell you guys I’m playing in a co-ed softball league on Tuesdays and Thursdays?  I’m a full-time Thursday player and I sub on Tuesdays when needed.  I’ve wanted to play with this team for the last couple years so I’m really excited I’m playinng this year!  I was so nervous to play on Thursday…I mean nervous.  Everyone on the team is so athletic and they are the star team of the league.  I was really terrified that I wouldn’t play up to my potential and they would all wonder why they asked me.  I still have that REALLY fat girl self-image I’m trying to break.  Do you know that they played me at second base!?!  And guess what…I did pretty good!!  I was even complimented how well I played after the game.  How cool is that?  I always played sports in high school and intermural sports in college, but the last 6 years the most exercise I got was walking from the car to the store.  I forgot how much I love being active.

I went for a walk/ run today but I’m still sore from softball so I only went about 3 miles.  After I came home I worked on my abs and obliques.  I’m training for a 5k.  YIKES!  My friend’s mom passed away from what started as breast cancer so I said I was going to run the Race for the Cure, which is a 5K, in her honor this year.  The Race for the Cure in Cleveland is September 13th, so I have 21 weeks from today to get it together.  I started following the Couch Potato to 5k training program.  I really like it because it’s an 8-week program that gets someone trained slow enough so it doesn’t hurt too much.  I decided even if I have to take 2 weeks to progress to the next steps in the program I’ll still have enough time to be prepared.  It’ll be a challenge, but I can and WILL do it!

This afternoon I had three vine tomatoes for lunch.  Tonight I ate a salad and sirloin steak.  I know I could have had chicken, but I really, really wanted a steak tonight. 

I realized last night that if I could get my stomach down I would feel SO much better.  I’m not sure how to do this besides lots of cardio, sit ups, side bends and leg lifts.  By the way, the leg lifts are the worst!  It gets those pesky lower abs that just seem to never go away.  Does anyone have any advice on how to shrink a mid-section? 

The other day I tried to post pics.  I’m not sure I really know what I’m doing.  I’m going to work on it more tonight.  Another thing I tried to do was add a blogroll.  I’m going to work on this tonight, too!

Okay, well I’m off to do some laundry and clean up a bit.  If I’m staying home on a Saturday night I mind as well make it productive!!

Hello!  Well it’s Wednesday and finally sunny!  It’s not going to last for long, but it sure is nice to see the sunshine even if it’s just for a day.  I truly believe the sun makes everyone happier.

I didn’t start out having the best food day, so I tried to clean it up this afternoon.  I ended up within points, but I definitely didn’t get all the fruits and veggies I should have eaten.  I’ve packed everything for tomorrow so I shouldn’t run into this again.

 As far as exercising goes, I didn’t do it.  I’ve been walking/ running about 4 1/2 to 5 miles at least 4 times a week, but my feet started to bother me.  It was seemed that the arch in my shoe was too far back which caused cramping and charley horses in my feet.  I decided to go this shoe store called Second Sole.  If anyone is in NE Ohio and needs a good pair of shoes, I strongly suggest Second Sole.  The employees there eat, sleep and breathe running.  They watch you walk and run to make sure you get exactly what you need.  I ended up with a new pair of shoes and I’m really looking forwarad to trying them out tomorrow.  So, while I didn’t actually workout today I did have make a proactive move towards a healthy workout for the future…starting tomorrow.  

It’s late and I need to get going.  I know it’s a short post, but I really needed to get something on here so it becomes routine again.  It’s tough trying to get back into the swing of things!

Have a great night and a good day tomorrow! 

Well, a lot has changed since my last post.

Bad news first:
I lost my 25 yr old brother unexpectedly 4 days after Christmas. We were both at our parent’s house when I heard him around 11am…I thought he was laughing, I SWEAR he was laughing. 3 minutes later my mom went to check on him and he was turning blue and not breathing. He was a healthy, normal 25 yr old guy. We don’t know what the official ruling will be, but it appears to have been a heart issue. I wish I would have gone to see him when I heard him, I wish CPR would have worked or the paramedics could have helped him….there are a lot of wishes that didn’t come true that day.

Our house immediately turned into a frenzy of people…and FOOD! Everytime I turned around someone else was bringing something…mostly baked goods and heavy, comfort food. I managed to get through it as best as I could. I actually maintained weight through everything.

The last 3 months have been really difficult. My dad travels often and I ended up unofficially moving in with my mom. I finally transitioned back to my house over the last week and a half. It was really nice being with my mom and being at “home” again. I found that I transitioned into the old, lazy Katie, though. I didn’t workout, I layed around and watched tv all the time, I ate good home-cooking. I don’t know why I give myself a license to eat and be lazy when I’m there.

Good news:
I’m home. It’s bittersweet, but I’m home. I’m back to a schedule. I’m training for the 5K and WILL run Race for the Cure this year. I am back to planning my meals. I finally have my bed again!! Summer is back and so is my summer schedule:

Monday: golf league (west side)
Tuesday: softball
Wednesday: golf league (east side)
Thursday: softball
Friday: free day…moonlight golf once a month
Sat/ Sun: golf

Good news II:
I look better, although the scale isn’t moving. I have a lot of work to go, but I’m finally starting
to see it. It’s really frustrating that the number isn’t moving at all, though! Does anyone else go through this? Any suggestions? I seem to go in cycles. I stay exactly the same, then I lose about 5-10 out of nowhere. I can’t figure out the pattern.

Well that was a lot to post. I’m back and will post regularly now.

I hope everyone has a great day!

Alright….I’m back from Vegas and ended up gaining a pound when I was there….ughh.  All I can say is I’m back in the saddle and hitting up the magic cereal in the morning.  I WILL lose 5 pounds before Christmas.  I’m relieved that I can set a schedule for my meals and workouts again.  I’ve cooked today so I will have less temptations throughout the week. 

1.  When I stop counting my points/ watching what I’m eating or making hasty, unhealthy choices, I don’t stop.  It’s not that I think “oh darn, I blew it”, I just regress to my old habits where I simply don’t think about it and do whatever I want.  The funny thing is I feel like crap when I do it, I know I’m doing it and continue to do it.  What’s wrong with me???  I just have to stay on the wagon…I WANT to stay on the wagon.

2.  When I’m out of town, I eat okay….but not great. 

3.  When I go out to eat, I think it’s this great treat and I can order whatever I want because it’s a special occasion.  Here’s the thing…I eat out ALL the time!  I’m not kidding…ALL the time.  What’s really more of a special occasion is when I cook at home.  New rule….stop it.

4.  When I’m hungry whatever’s not nailed down is fair game.  I will eat everything in sight.  I need to remember to eat little meals throughout the day.

 5.  When I workout, I eat better and make healthier decisions.  It’s all put into perspective when you work your butt off and it’s only 400 calories.  I have a whole new appreciation for the calorie.

Well I’m back from Thanksgiving and now I’m off to Vegas…for a week!  That’s a long time in Vegas if anyone’s been there.  It’s a work thing, but a little play time, too.  I’m excited and I know I’ll be able to control my eating there.  I’m leaving tomorrow morning for the weekend with a friend and co-worker who is an avid runner.  We were originally going early (work time will be Monday and Tuesday) so she could run the LV Marathon.  Well she’s still recovering from the Columbus Marathon, so she opted out of this one.  I have to say she’s so supportive in my weight loss journey.  She even mentioned the room we’re staying in has a kitchenette so we can purchase healthy food and stay on track!  Isn’t that so thoughtful of her??  I wish everyone in my life was like that.  Anyway, like I said, I’m not too concerned with the food.  There are a LOT of partiers that are going, though so I’m going to have to be mindful of my wine points.  I can do it!!!  I’ll post my results when I get back.  I did an evening weigh in tonight, which I must say is usually my heaviest time, and I’m at 223.1.  Let’s see how much I’ve lost when I get back!  Have a great week everyone!

I started back on my Special K Protein Plus cereal again today. I really forgot how much I love this stuff! Just add a little fruit and the stuff is really good! I looked back at some old posts and tried to figure out what I was doing differently back then to melt the weight away and the only thing I can find is the cereal. Well now I remember why. I seem to do fine during the day when I eat high protein low-cal things in the morning. This helps me stay full and not have any food cravings during the morning. Anyway, bottom line is I feel great! Lunch was good, too. I had a small salad and 5 pieces of sushi. Dinner was 4 oz of Costco chicken. BTW, the $4.99 fresh cooked chicken from Costco is delicious! I don’t think it’s too bad for me….hopefully. Well I’m off to find a quick veggie since I’m getting a little hungry right now. Have a great night!

So, I’ve been a lurker on weightwatchen for quite a while now and it’s finally time to take control of my life, too. Roni, thank you so much for making this journey so much easier. I can’t tell you enough how nice it is to know there’s a place to go and feel support through success and challenges that everyone is facing. Even though I’m that self-admitted lurker, just reading people’s blogs let’s me know I’m not alone out here. Plus, I always look forward to your kitchen creations!! Have you ever thought of writing a cookbook or going on the food network? You would be a hit!!

Let’s start with a little history of myself. I’m a 27 year old single female. I have a great life with great friends and a great family. There’s only one thing missing…I don’t FEEL great. It sounds so crazy to me that I just don’t “fix” something that’s completely in my control, but I’ve found myself in this constant stuggle for so long.

It’s ironic that I was the skinny kid growing up. I was as thin as a rail until I hit puberty, and then it all started. I remember the first time anyone ever commented on my weight. I was probably about 12 at the time and my horseback riding instructor completely humiliated me in front of everyone. It was crushing…I didn’t understand. I had no idea it was just the beginning of what seemed to be a life-long struggle with myself and society. Here’s the funny thing…I thought I was the fattest girl in high school when I weighed 170 at 5′9″. While I realize this isn’t the ideal weight, I look back at some pictures and think I look pretty damn good! Fast forward a few years. College was great to me, maybe even a little too good. All the late-night Taco Bell runs and drinking really packed on the pounds. From my freshman year I went from 165 to 180 then to 195 my junior year up to 215 my senior year then hovered around 235 -240 in my fifth year ( I told you college was a little too good to me ). To make it worse, after college I gained an additional 23 pounds, for a record high weight of 263. 263….263???? WHAT?!?!? How did this happen?? Why did I do this to myself? I never thought I’d let myself balloon up to 263. I look back at 170 and 165 and laugh when I think about how fat I thought I was. Kinda funny, eh? Well the good news is I joined WW about a year ago. I’m currently at 223.4. I’m down about 40lbs. While I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me, all I can say is I’m going to take it one pound at a time. I should figure out how to post my menu by tomorrow (hopefully). I hope everyone has a fantastic Monday!