Day #64: I'll take a dose of that...

Wouldn't it be great if on the days that we needed to re-focus and really give it our all we could just go to the Dr. and get a shot of motivation that could last us even for the rest of the week?

While I will be the very 1st to say that motivation isn't something that can be relied upon, waited for, or necessary- in order to lose weight it is helpful. What do I mean by that? Well- think of all the things you did yesterday that you didn't necessarily FEEL motivated to do: you woke up, put your makeup on, did a few dishes, went to work, took your kids to school, etc. Why did we do these things if not because we had motivation to do so? Because we know that if we want to get a certain outcome, there are just things we HAVE to do. If you want your child to be successful in life, they've got to go to school, if you want to be able to wear clean clothes, you've got to do laundry.

Our living healthy lifestyles IS no different. I pre-make my lunches not because I feel motivated to, but b/c I'm looking forward to a certain outcome, I go to the gym right after work not because I feel motivated to, but because I'm working for a result that OUTWEIGHS my need to FEEL motivated.

But regardless, motivation DOES help and I believe is periodically needed in order to keep going in the long run- but sadly as I've continued into this journey I realize that it doesn't just come on it's own at random times- I've had to make it happen, to keep certain things always in front of me to keep me motivated; things like:

- Monthly Goals.
- Remembering the reasons WHY I am losing weight and how important they are.
- Looking at pics of myself at my heaviest and realizing I don't want to be that person.
- Envisioning the future.
- A few quotes/mantras that I've read.

I've shared before that the picture on the right hand side of this blog titled "My Wake Up Call," was my staff picture that was taken for my church's website. Man, when I saw that pic I just kept thinking, "I look like I'm in a prison of fat..." I had never ever ever saw myself that way before and I was definitely at the heaviest I had ever been. Well, THANKFULLY they didn't end up putting that picture on the website, but they DID put this one, which I find just as horrifying...
Yep, my last name is Hendrix (please don't steal my identity!) bahahaha- But seriously, WHO IS THAT? I still don't even recognize her.

This is the pic that I've been using as my source of motivation this week. I've been thinking about how sad I look in this picture (and unhealthy) and that motivates me to not want to go back to looking like that. BUT I've also been thinking about how freaking HAPPY I'm going to be when they change that picture in November and I look like a completely different person!

So if you're feeling a lack of motivation to work out and eat healthy today... too bad- work out and eat healthy anyways. But make sure that very soon you give YOURSELF a shot of motivation b/c it really does make it that much easier!

Anyone have some tips to share about how you stay motivated every day?

Day #63: March Goals!

Good morning you amazing, generous, compassionate, encouraging bloggy buddies!

Thank you SO much for your kind words on yesterday's post- it means more than even I realize to have people that tell me I don't have to put my health on the back burner just because life is crazy. You all rock and when I finally lose 100lbs you all seriously desire like... a dollar each! HAHA

Ok so I'm FINALLY getting around to sharing my MARCH GOALS! For those of you who are new to my blog (*hello!*) I have found setting small, challenging, yet attainable goals for myself KEY to staying motivated to workout harder, eat healthier, and gain confidence- and I just so happen to set those goals monthly!

So... here we go!

Goal #1: Do the elliptical for 25 minutes! My February goal was to do it for 15 minutes and I thought that was a CRAZY goal, but I did it! And I'm definitely thinking the same thing about this goal to but pushing myself farther than I think I can go is what this journey is ALL about.

Goal # 2: Win The Biggest Loser Challenge Round 2! Some of you will remember that I actually won round 1 of this challenge and I'm ready to go for a repeat victory! TBLC is a competition that me and about 20 other people here in PGH do to motivate eachother to lose weight- whoever loses the highest % of body weight during that round wins and gets a wad of mula $$$! This round ends March 31st and I'm going for the green! (Uh..I mean...gold!)

Goal #3: Try 2 new veggies! (I can hear all you veggie die-hards cackling (ahemmm Dawne and Lucy!) :)

Goal #4: Run for 5 minutes straight! I can't lie- this one scares me the most. Maybe I'm more able to do this now than I think I am but I remember when I first started this journey I could barely run for 30 seconds without my lugs feeling like they were going to pop out of my chest...and that wouldn't be a good thing. (BTW- I will most likely cry WHEN I do this) :)

Goal #5: Track food 5x's a week! More on this later

Goal #6: Weigh no more than 305 on March 31st! That number seems just unreal to me at this point but I know I CAN DO IT! Very soon I'm going to stop setting numerical goals but I think this month is the last time- can I lose 10lbs this month??? Yes.


Alright, so there you have it! My goals for March- some are a bit lofty but I will attain them!

Off to work!

Anyone have any really great goals for March?

Day #62: Crankiness w/ a Silver Lining

I'm stressed.

VERY stressed.

The last week of my life has just felt SO topsy- turvy and for the organized/planning/control freak that I am- that's not a good thing.

I wanted to write about my March goals today (and I've got em set) but for me it's really important to stay extremely honest about what my life is really like on this journey and right now I would be lying if I said I felt like being super positive and chipper- b/c that's just not how I'm feeling.

It would take too long to go into the details but it mainly has to do with my job(s) situations and hopefully it will be all ironed out within the next week. Nothing has gone horribly wrong but I just have some big decisions and possibly disappointments to deal with and I wish that I just knew what the next 2-3 months of my life were going to look like. Egh.

How is this affecting my healthy lifestyle? Well, it isn't. I'm still eating great and exercising but being that my life has been craziness I haven't been able to keep my usual blog schedule which kind of makes everything else in this journey feel a bit... off. I think I'm being a baby and I need to just suck it up- accept that all of this isn't a derailment from my journey but just another part of it. If this healthy lifestyle is going to be a long-term thing (and it is), then I've got to learn to roll with the punches and adapt to new situations. Hah- but does anyone else have problems with this?

I think I just feel frustration out of having gotten into a routine that worked for me and now I'm completely thrown off kilter and I can't even say that the new routine that I'm trying to get used to is even going to stay the same for very long. Ugh.

But in the midst of all this mess there is a definite bright shining silver lining...

I have learned that situations that look like set-backs don't have to be recipes for disaster, but rather opportunities to demonstrate the true commitment and change that I've made to a healthier way of life. Remember the tea bag analogy? This is the time (hot water) when what is truly inside of me comes out.

The silver lining here is:

The old (pre- November) Tiffany would be responding to this situation by feeling compelled to go out to dinner w/ a friend and eat whatever I want, get a venti caramel frapp from Starbucks to comfort me, and allow that viscious cylce of emotional carbo loading to continue on through the weekend.

The new (and forever) Tiffany is responding to this situation by going out to dinner with a friend this evening and will eat a favorite healthy(and yummy) meal that she has already pre-planned, head to the gym to workout for an hour, and then come home to get a good night's rest so that when she has to face whatever tomorrow brings, she is ready and doesn't respond by emotional eating.

(haha and yes I did just refer to myself in the 3rd person :)

So I'm just gonna take a deep breathe and moooooooving forward to my goal- which in case you didn't see on that little ticker thing up there is only 63lbs away!!!! I know that may seem like a lot but it AINT 100!!! :)

Thanks for listening (or reading! lol) guys- it's nice to know that I don't have to be some crazy inspirational post writing machine 24/7- that I can have bad days (ahem-or weeks-cough) and that it's okay.

Love!

Day #60 & #61: Measurements!

Wow- what a long.crazy.ridiculous.hectic day yesterday was!

Most of the ensuing craziness was due to the job situation- having 2 jobs being offered to you is definitely not a bad problem to have- but it can definitely be a problem. Hopefully this will all be sorted out by the end of the week ... I'm just trying to do the right thing for me without completely screwing anyone else over. Ah- life.

Yesterday I was able to take my monthly measurements and here were the results... remember I really started in November but didn't start taking measurements until January:

February 1st- March 1st Measurements:
- Biceps: 20''/21'' (not sure what this was about...hmmmm)
- Forearms: 12''/11.5''
- Neck: 15''/15'' (haha I'm not sure this will ever change, it just felt right to do it at the time! lol)
- Boobage (Chest): 50''/49.5''
- Stomach: 49''/47''
- Hips: 60''/57''
- Thighs: 36''/35.5''
- Calves: 21.5/20''

A total loss of 9 inches for February!

Wanna see something cool- since January 1st, this is how many inches I've lost total... That would be 21 inches in just 2 months!

Pretty cool huh?

Tomorrow I'll be back with my March goals but for now I'm off to a 2nd interview and to buy some new clothes for the job I start tomorrow... I'll explain later! lol

Finally, I do want to say a huge THX for all of the great awards some of you have been bestowing up on me! I promise that I'll get to them asap! :)

Also, I'll be doing some MAJOR catch up tonight on reading all of your blogs- I've been out of commission for the last 2-3 days (partly b/c my computer decided to go on the fritz) and my life just doesn't seem complete without knowing what's on all of YOUR minds and how you all are doing! I'll be sure to make the comments exxxxtrrrraaaaa long :)

Peace and Love Friends!

Day #59: WI and Black Bean Tostadas

Morning bliggity bloggers!

Well as you all know today is weigh in day. Due to the I AM WORTH MORE CHALLENGE, I skipped last week's weigh in but my weigh before the challenge began was 319- and as I wrote about yesterday my February goal was to hit 315 today. And today when I stepped on the scale .... it .... said.....

315!!!!! I absolutely could not freaking believe it! That is a 4lb loss (over 2 weeks) and brings me to a grand total of 37lbs lost!!!! This is the most weight I have ever lost and I'm still a bit mystified that it is actually happening. Yay!

Well, before I go I thought I'd share last night's dinner- Black Bean Tostadas! You all KNOW that this AZ girl loves her some Mexican food so I figure it was high time I try this new recipe!

Ingredients:
2 Trader Joes White Corn Tortillas (sprayed w/cooking spray and baked for 8 mins)
Black Beans
Lettuce (I used Romain)
Trader Joe's Salsa
Fat Free Sour Cream
and of course I had to have a few tortilla chips! I chose TJ's Organic White Corn Tortilla Chips.

Put it all together and viola! All for 455 calories! Oh and in case you weren't able to check out my February evaluation post from yesterday... doooo it! (please!) lol :)

*BIG HUGS*

Day #58: Takin' Care of Business!

Helllloooooo Bloggies!

Alright, I'm officially out of my funk! I was able to make it out of the house for about an hour today so I think all I needed was some fresh air! :)

LOTS of business to attend to today!

First up on the list....

1) Job Update:
Well... I got offered a job yesterday! Don't get too excited- I haven't officially accepted the offer yet, because I still have an interview on Monday for the job that I realllly want. The job that was offered to me is a decent job- I think I could be happy there, it's not too far away, and most importantly it fits w/ the schedule that I need it to. The downside? I'd be making a dollar less than I was before. I know in this economy I should take what I can get but still. Either way, whether it be the job I was offered or the one I'm interviewing on Monday for, I am no longer on the job hunt which just makes me want to get up a do the boogy- b/c I HATE looking for a job- wait... does anyone NOT hate looking for a job!? lol I'll be sure to keep you all posted!

2) Evaluating February (via my Feb goals):
It seems like this was a bit of a rough month for the blog world- we saw quite a few bite the dust and completely deactivate their blogs, even more still struggling with fighting cravings and the social temptation of food, and a few kick butt; either way- in my eyes if you are still chuggin along, you have NOT failed- I am most certainly in that boat.

I look back on February and it definitely brought some unique challenges in regards to this journey...
- Snowmaggedon occured here in Pgh and besides leaving the house only to go to work, my gym routine was threatened and cut short for a little over 2 weeks where I was only able to get there 2-3 times a week instead of the 5 that I'd been aiming for.
- I lost my job and dealt with some SERIOUS stress w/ my mom. These events EASILY would have thrown me off course before but it didn't even phase me one bit- I just kept chugging- and it was my ability to stay true that really showed me how far I've come.
- I identified my 4 Pitiful Pitfalls and also had an epiphany about what it will really take to lose 100lbs this year.

Overall it was a month that wasn't bad, wasn't great, but was most definitely NECESSARY. Alright, let's get to the goals!

I'm trying not to look at things so cut and dry so I've come up with this little system to evaluate how I've done: ***= Goal Achieved! **= Halfway there! *= Needs improvement!

Goal 1: Try 3 New Veggies
2/10/10: Spinach
2/20/10: Broccoli
2/21/10: Celery (by itself)
Result: ***Goal Achieved! As you all know, veggies are foreign objects to me, so even these tiny steps that I'm making are huge for me! I'm ready to step out of my comfort zone a little more and will be adding in some more veggies very soon!

Goal 2: Track Calories for 1 Full Month
Result: ** Halway There! I really must say that I'm proud of the effort that I did put into counting/tracking calories this month, I wasn't perfect but there were MANY days where I tracked even though I didn't want to. I have a new plan for this for March that you'll just have to wait to hear about until I share my March goals :)

Goal 3: Incorporate 1 serving of fruit in per day for 1 week
Result: * Needs Improvement! Yea- I'm not sure why this didn't happen- I feel like my grocery shopping was a bit out of wack this month due to the weather but um HELLO I did buy groceries this month and easily could have bought fruit! I guess eating fruit is just something I've never done a lot of so it's easy for me to just forget that it exists. I have been eating apples ever now and again but definitely nothing consistant. I know that this needs to change.

Goal 4: Work out at the gym 5x's a week for 1 month!
Result: ** Halfway There! I really wish that I could give myself three stars on this one b/c I gave a seriously valient effort but alas, not 5x's a week every week. But I must share this- in February, I went to the gym EVERY day that it was possible (aka no snow storm) except for 1 day. This usually worked out to going anywhere from 2-4 times a week. At least I can say that I know that it wasn't b/c of my laziness that I didn't go and I'm still suprising myself every time I'm at the gym of how much I enjoy being there and working out b/c those of you who have been following me for a while know that was NOT always the case! (Karen, I still remember your comment the day I got my membership :)

Goal 5: Try Every Machine at the gym!
Result: **Halfway There! You all probably remember me saying that there are some machines at my gym that I'm afraid to go on because I don't know how to work them or I think people will judge me for being on, so I made a goal to try every machine at the gym so I could conquer the apprehension that I have about it. I did pretty good- being that my gym time was limited this month I found myself really wanting to utilize the time I had there doing what I'm good at but I did step out and try a few new thinigs: the cycle plus (a recumbent that utilizes your arms at the same time), and all of the strength training circuit equipment. My gym isn't huge but there are still 2 machines that I've yet to try (I'll share about these little beasts another time)!

Goal 6: Walk 2 miles in 30 minutes.
Result:** Halfway There! Ok so here's how my Mr. T time usually goes- no matter how much I up the mph I finish my 30 minutes at 1.75 miles- I'm thinking that in order to do 2 miles in 30 minutes I'm gonna have to start jogging or something because I'm not sure that it's possible when I'm just walking- anyone have any advice for this? I will say that I have made progress with my speed- when I first started doing the treadmill (aka Mr. T) I was walking at 3.3/3.4mph and now I average 3.5/3.7 mph. A small improvement but one that puts a smile on my face :)

Goal 7: Do the elliptical for 15 minutes straight!
Result: *** Goal Achieved!!! Ok I am just SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO friggin excited about this!!! On January 23rd I was only able to do the elliptical for 5 minutes without feeling like my face was about to explode and I hadn't really stepped on the elliptical more than 2 times since then, so when I was looking over these goals a week or so ago I was thinking..."Hmm...maybe I need to adjust the goal to 10 minutes instead of 15 b/c this is just wayyy too hard," and then Wednesday I decided to hop on and did 15 freakin minutes!!!! I'm sure for some this probably doesn't sound impressive but this has been one of my proudest moments at the gym. And just to be sure it wasn't a fluke I did 15 minutes again today! This just proves to me that my endurance is improving and I am becoming more fit! :) : ) :) I do have a question though- does anyone know what the equivelant of being on the elliptical is to actual running? If you can do the elliptical for 30 minutes does that mean you can run for 30 minutes?

Goal 8: Weigh no more than 315 on February 28th
Result: ??? My weigh in is tomorrow and truthuflly, I'm not thinking I'll be seeing 315- maybe something more like 317- but you never know. Whatever the scale shows me I'm going to be FINE with because my body is changing, my endurance is growing, and I am doing all of the right things! Still- it would be nice to achive that goal tomorrow! We'll just have to wait and see :)

And one last order of business....

Shout Out Time!

Today I have 2 Shout Outs to give to 2 VERY inspirational ladies!

1- Nicole reached a MAJOR goal of hers the other day when she ran 3 miles non-stop!!! She has a race coming up in a few weeks and I know she is going to do AMAZINGLY. I'll be cheering you on all the way over here in the Burgh Nicole! :)

2- I also want to say CONGRATS to Sunshine Mama! If you haven't checked out her blog YOU NEED to! She is hard-core... no really- she has some serious guns! And she just announced the other day that she is expecting her 6th child!!!

Alright, that's enough for me for today (sorry for the lonnnng post!) but be sure to check back tomorrow for my weigh in!

Oh and of course I got to give ya'll some sweat proof! (Warning I'm lookin a bit funkified but whatev- it's all in the name of sweat!) Today's workout included: 30 minutes on the hybrid bike (8 miles), 15 minutes on the elliptical, and a strength training circuit. Love ya bloggies!

Day #57: A Week In Pics :)

Today, I'm in a bit of a funk.

I had an 2nd interview this morning @ 9:45 in downtown Pgh and I was super excited- but when I woke up I realized that the snow has yet again plagued my life and there was no way it would be safe to drive in (especially downtown) so I called to reschedule and the receptionist told me that they weren't going to do interviews past this morning so basically... it's a no go. I'm really not THAT upset because I have an interview for a job that I reallllllly want on Monday but I'm kind of just bummed that the snow is here again and that I'll be cooped up inside all day (meaning NO gym)...I think it may be time to get creative...hmmm....

Due to my little funk I thought I would just share some happenings from this week in pictures :) But fear not, the next few days are always my favorite (the end of the month) b/c it's when I evaluate my monthly goals, set new ones for the next month, and take measurements! All good stuff to look forward to- tomorrow I'll be evaluating my February goals!

And now, my week in pictures... While driving around for an interview I snapped this picture- safe eh? lol This is a pic of downtown Pgh and it is quite the site to see (the camera phone doesn't quite do it justice!). Pgh is unlike any other place I've ever lived and (despite the SNOW) I really love it!

This is my friend Elizabeth and I at one of our church events earlier this week- she's a lovely girl :)
Pizzaaaa! Jussst Kidding! This was my lunch from yesterday and fear not- it's NOT pizza but it was SOOOOOO delicious! The "crust" is actually naan bread- if you're new to naan it is basically an indian bread and you can buy it either frozen or fresh from Trader Joe's (if you don't have a trader joe's near you- that really sucks :) Anyways, this is the frozen garlic naan, topped with my yummy spinach dip, tomatoes, chicken, and light provolone. Super filling and all for 395 cals- I know that's a bit on the high end but for my caloric goals it's still decent and it's not something I would have EVERY day. Except...I'll probably be having it for lunch again today :)Ok so this picture just cracks me up- I had to share it! lol I posted a pic earlier this week from a game night we had on Sunday night and I couldn't resist sharing one more- I love everything about this picture :) Except that I look amazonishly tall- haha!
Finally, here is a pic of right outside my bedroom window (it goes out onto a deck)- check out thos friggin icecicles! Those could kill somebody! lol Ahhh...Spring, promise me you're right around the corner?

Ok- I'm peacin' for now- check back tomorrow as I go through my goals from February!

Peace and Love :)