My Weekly Food Routine & 1st Group Fitness Class!

I am just beyond words excited for the changes that have been happening in my life lately.

No major life change has happened, but my point of view, focus, determination, and thought process has completely changed. I am stepping out of my comfort zone, I am beginning to be able to visualize the person I will become and the body I will have, I am gaining the control that I so desperately wanted to have over my food choices and impulses- in short: I AM BECOMING THE PERSON GOD CREATED ME TO BE in so many different ways. Not that God wasn't happy or didn't love me at 352lbs but I know that I wasn't glorifying Him with the choices I was making, nor was I a good reflection of a life that has been completely satisfied by Him. More on that another time.

Here are some Highlights & Updates from the last week:

• FOOD: One of the most VITAL keys to my success has been food preparation. Becasue it is hard for me to control myself when eating out (although I still do it quite often) as well as it being expensive, I usually bring my lunch to work every week (M-F). However, because I don't have time in the mornings to cook and pack a lunch everyday, I do ALL of my food prep and packing on Sundays. Luckily, I don't have a hard time eating the same thing for lunch everyday, but if I don't like what I'm eating then it becomes difficult to do that week in and week out- so, I usually try and cook a brand new lunch recipe at least every other week. Some common lunch reoccurences: Turkey Chili, Tuna or Chicken Salad Sandwhiches, or Pasta; and this past week PIZZA joined the ranks of my lunch favorites! The pic above is the pizza I made this past week and it was seriously the BEST thing I have EVER made- I could prob eat it for lunch every day for the rest of the month! I used: Trader Joe's rustic ciabbata pizza crust, Trader Joe's basil marinara spaghetti sauce, reduced fat part skim mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, spinach, red onion, garlic, and chicken. So. freaking. delicious. Next time I make it I will be more careful to calculate the exact nutritional info but if I had to guess, I believe for 2 slices it was about 350 calories and with 4 servings coming out of each pizza, I'm good for lunch for almost the entire week! You all will be seeing more pizza creations from me in the future, no doubt. Anyone have any good recipe suggestions that are easy to make & pack for the week in advance?
• My weigh in this week was pretty much exactly what I expected: At last week's weigh in I had a 7lb loss so my goal for this week was pretty much to just maintain that loss (something that is hard for me to do for some reason); however, I was able to do just that and weighed in at 270lbs this Thursday. My goal for next week's weigh in? A 2lb loss, total loss of 84lbs, at 268lbs.

• One of my goals for the month of February was to check out a group fitness class- this is something I've wanted to do for a while for a couple of reasons: 1) I can feel myself beginning to get a bit bored with doing 45 min on the elliptical 4x's a week and was in need of some variety, 2) I don't want my body to get used to using the same muscles at the same amount of resistance, and 3) I am ALL about not allowing fear to keep me from doing ANYTHING and working out with a group of people who may be more fit than I am and might judge me if I'm not able to keep up w/the class is pretty scary to me. WELL...this past Wednesday I had my first group fitness class experience through my local YMCA and I attended Zumba. Prior to going I had heard really good things about the class from some co-workers (mostly that it was fun and a really good workout) and it seemed to be the least intimidating option; when I arrived I was suprised to see that I was one of the 5 people there under the age of 50, which immediately calmed my nerves but made me suspicious about how much of a good workout I would actually be getting. My final evaluation? While it was a nice break from the old elliptical, there were numerous times throughout the class that I found myself wondering why I was finding it so easy and if I was wasting my precious workout time. I had to constantly make the moves more challenging and continue marching while everyone else took water breaks after every song, but when I checked my calorie burn on my heart rate monitor, it did show I had burned 592 calories in the 50 minute class session AND my butt and legs are freaking killing me- perhaps it was a better workout than I thought! In the end, I probably will be attending the class on more of a bi-weekly basis than weekly (for variety), I am glad that I went and proud of myself for not allowing fear to hold me back from something I had no reason to be afraid of. My next step of kicking fear in the face? Spin. I am by no means confident in my ability to even make it through a class but I am going to try. I'm hoping that it will have the challenging aspect that I'm looking for and that I may end up being passionate about it. I'm not gonna lie- I'm truly nervous about it, but that's not gonna stop me. I plan to take my first class next week if not this weekend. What has your experience with Zumba been? Did you like or dislike it? Also, should I be afraid to try spinning?

Alright, I think this post has gotten long enough (this posting only one time a week thing usually leaves me with lots to talk about!), but I've got to say- there's absolutely nothing like doing something you never thought you could do before and becoming a person you never even thought you could become. I love it.

Have a good weekend :)

Inspiration: The Biggest Loser!

Happy Thursday!

Well friends, today is my weigh in day and I am pretty. stinkin'. stoked. b/c FINALLY after MONTHS of floating around between losing 1lb one week, gaining 2lbs the next, losing 3lbs the next, gaining 1lbs the following week (which was probably more due to my lack of commitment than a plateu), my newfound determination has tangibly shown on the scale this week:

Last Weeks Weigh In: 277lbs

This Weeks Weigh In: 270lbs (-7lbs!!!)

For a Total Journey Loss of: 82lbs!!!

Seeing this # on the scale this morning was honestly a pretty big shock as my goal was to be 275lbs this week and 273lbs by the end of the month- so YAY!

Lately I have found some newfound commitment, focus, and determination in myself and when I thought about where this has come from I can undoubtedly say that a BIG source of it has been from watching The Biggest Loser. I know it is obviously not shocking to hear that I'm inspired by TBL, I'm sure ALL of us are, and although I've been watching for seasons none has seem to have the effect on me that this season has. First of all, it's just great tv- the addition of 2 new trainers has definitely stepped up the drama and I love it- but besides that, here are some of the ways the show has been truly inspiring me and helping me on this journey lately:

• The girl above has one of the BEST attitudes about weight loss that I have ever seen. Every time she steps on the scale she can do it with confidence because she KNOWS that she has given everything she has that week. And when the scale doesn't necessarily show a number that she feels is equivalent to how hard she's worked that week, she just shrugs it off and keeps on moving becuase she knows that sooner or later- she'll get there. I would like to believe that I have adopted her attitude on this journey- I will give my BEST every day so that when I weigh in I will know I've done everything I possibly can and allow that to determine my progress and success and not a number on the scale. I truly hope Courtney goes all the freaking way!

• The BIGGEST thing I have gotten from watching TBL is help in the form of the way I think. There were NUMEROUS times this past week that I didn't want to workout (I had a cold) or I wanted to eat cookie cake like everyone else in my office did and right in the middle of me rationalizing these thoughts in mind as to why I could just skip a workout or have that piece of cake I thought to myself, "What would I do in this situation if I was on The Biggest Loser right now?" or "What would I think of a contestant (aka Arthur) if they were eating a piece of cookie cake right now?" And suddenly it all becomes very clear in my mind- and I make the right decision. When I'm watching TBL I realize how serious it is for these contestants and just how desperately they need this and how determined they will have to be to change their lives and even though there aren't TV cameras following me around, a televised weigh in coming up, or the chance to win half a million dollars, I still HAVE to be just as intense, just as focused, and just as determined because the very same things are up for stake.

• Some of you may know that running is something I have always wanted to do but felt extremely intimidated by. I have had multiple DREAMS (like literal sleeping dreams) about running and every time I'm running in my dream I always have the same thought: "I love this, I could do this forever." How crazy is that? Anyways, I have been trying to figure out when I should begin running and I just keep wondering if I'm too large to start running now or if I should wait until I lose some more weight- it's truly a thought that's been plaguing me. And THEN, I saw Rulon (one of my absolute FAVORITE players this season) running 12mph with his 400+lb frame and I KNEW I could do it to. Furthermore, even Arthur has been running on the treadmill. If they can do it, I CAN DO IT. Plain and simple. It may take me a little longer, but I will become a runner. Who had been placing these limitations on me? No one but myself! I have recently made a pact with myself, every time I go into the gym I want to think about something I currently don't think I can do, and then do it! I need to stop putting limitations on myself, the sky is the limit for me and I need to start living that! And yesterday was the 1st step in doing that: I went to the gym (even though I stayed home from work for being sick! ...haha) and after doing the elliptical I decided to jump on the treadmill and start running. At first I though I would probably be able to do 30 seconds one time...well, by the time I was finished I had jogged for 1 minute, twice! If it weren't for me having seen Rulon and Arthur running on the treadmill weighing almost 150lbs more than me, I would never have done that yesterday.

I am doing this and it feels great. I have new goals and am experiencing some really cool things with my weight loss and I'm truthfully enjoying the journey of transforming into the person I was created to be. I am going to give it my all, every day and destroy any fear or impossibility along the way.

Has anything from this season of BL inspired anyone else? If so, I'd like to hear about it!



Poppin' In for a Weigh In!

Hey friends-

Just poppin' in real quick to share my weigh in results:

Last Week: 279

This Week: 277

Meaning an OFFICIAL 75LB loss!!! Whoo freaking hoo :)

Movin' forward, movin' forward :) 

An Update in Pictures!

Hi!!!

With me only blogging weekly (*cough* and sometimes bi-weekly *cough*), I always have SO much that I want to share with you all! Ahhh, where to start....how about an update in pictures? Yes.

Well, one good thing that came out of my 3 weeks of veganism is that I began to learn to cook with new foods (primarily vegetables) and I'm no longer afraid to encorporate them into my diet! The pasta below (while it may may not look appetizing due to having taken the pic w/ my cell phone and it being in a plastic container), it was truly yummy. I used ww ronzoni healthy harvest pasta, 1 can of stewed tomatoes, lots of fresh spinach leaves, reduced fat feta, evoo, lemon juice, artichokes, shrimp, and mushrooms. YUM. Aren't you proud of me? This may have been the most creative thing I have ever cooked! haha Sad, I know :)

 I have also become newly obsessed with making omelets for dinner, lunch, breakfast- shoot, I'll eat one wherever and whenever! Can you believe this WHOLE plate of food was only 200 calories???!? LOVE IT. To be specific, I used egg beaters, spinach, red onion, and reduced fat colby shredded cheese and 2 slices of turkey bacon. I wouldn't be surprised if I eat this meal a few more times this week.

 As you all know, I live in Pittsburgh and this past weekend was a BIG weekend for us Steeler fans which ultimately lead to a BIG disappointment. Ahh...oh well, although it was agonizing, it was pretty amazing to live in the city of Pittsburgh during this time and get to experience just how crazy dedicated Pittsburgh fans truly are. Below is a picture of me (not a super great one obviously! lol) and my dear friend this Sunday at church- obviously rockin' our Steelers gear! Next year...next year... ;)

 A new love has entered my life- his name? Cinnamon Burst Cheerios. For real- these things are AMAZING. I have always had a dilemma with Cheerios as I really like the honey nut ones, but think the regular (and consequently more healthy) regular Cheerios taste like cardboard. Discovering the Cinnamon Burst Cheerios has officially restored my love for the brand as they honestly taste creepily (in a good way) like Cinnamon Toast Crunch- and I'm sorry, but who doesn't love them some cinnamon toast crunch? Paired with some UVAB (unsweetened vanilla almond breeze) it is kind of out of this world! It has more fiber than the original cereal and doesn't make me want to pour sugar on it- super sweat, super decadent. Wonder if they could ditch the Bee and make me their new spokesperson??? ;)

Ok, enough pictures for today.

In the last week I have regained my focus. I never "fell off the wagon" but I definitely was struggling in my mind to do anything related to weight loss/fitness last week: I didn't want to exercise, eat anything green, or even think about goal setting and then I turned to old faithful (AKA- The Biggest Loser) to put things into perspective and give me the motivation and focus I needed to get back to being the committed person I am.

Here's something odd that I'm realizing: Because I am currently the smallest that I can ever remember being in the last...well, a long time, and I'm not experiencing a lot of the discomfort that I was when I weighed 352lbs, that I don't feel the need to loose weight to be as pressing and urgent as I once did. Obviously this is not true- I still have 100lbs to lose, but I've always had a hard time being disatisfied with the way I look (I know that may sound crazy), but I've always just dealt with what I had and made due.

Right now I am focused as a laser beam running right toward what I want: To become the healthy, fit person I was created to and want to be.

I am:
* Staying within my 1700 calorie budget (that will gradually decrease over time).
* Counting/Writing down my calories.
* Exercising 4x's per week (75% Cardio 25% Strenth Training).

So that I can:
* Weigh 265lbs by March 26th (1st Wedding I'm in for 2011).
* Lose 100lbs by May 15th (losing an avg. of 2lbs per week)
* Begin running by April/May of 2011.

Keep moving forward friends, because IT is worth it and YOU are worth it!

p.s. Tomorrow's Weigh In Day... hoping to see 277lbs on the scale (a 75lb weight loss!)