Progress Pics: 130lbs Down Yo!

Happy Saturday All!

And what a happy one it is as I'm excited to be sharing my 6th installment of progress pictures today! I've officially lost 130lbs and since I'm posting progress pics every 20lbs down, it's that time again! Unfortunately I don't see quite as big of a difference between these pics from the ones 20lbs ago but I feel it and I guess that's all that matters. Because it would take too long to post all the pics I'm just gonna post my first ones (taken at 333lbs), my previous progress pic (taken at 244lbs) and this one. So without further adieu...

(haha, clearly I didn't have anyone there to take the pic so you'll have to excuse my attempt to fit in the pic!!)

There you have it folks- I'm trucking right along fighting the good fight every step of the way. My brain is a little too scattered right now to compose a coherent post but I promise to check back in later this week with some thoughts for ya.

(PS- MELISSA- why can't I comment on your blog my dear???? I've been trying but it won't allow me :(

Have a great weekend ya'll!

Time to FIGHT!

Hello friends!

The last two months have been a whirlwind- between being in DC for 2 weeks for work & then trying to catch up with everything at home from being away- I'm just finally getting to the place where I have a grip on life again!

Life is good but it's felt a little bit like a roller coaster lately and while I haven't gained any weight because of it, I know that I wasn't doing my best for a couple weeks. Right now I'm weighing in at 225lbs, for a total loss of 127lbs since beginning this journey 1 1/2 years ago at 352lbs! As I've shared before I have felt a little directionless since meeting my 100lb goal since I really don't know how much weight I'm trying to lose in total, and the directionlessness has unfortunately shown in the mediocrity with which I've been moving along on this journey.

Well friends, I have found myself a new goal & have since gained direction once again and I'm excited to share it with ya'll today! I want to be under 200lbs by the end of the year- meaning I have approx 12 weeks to lose 25lbs! Looking back at my progress in the last couple months I've been averaging a loss of about 1.5lbs per week, which isn't shabby but I know I can do better because I'm not doing my best to even get the 1.5lb loss. Consistantly losing 2lbs per week is not going to be easy and it's going to take me truly getting back to a place of discipline and sacrifice- something I've wandered from recently & am ready to fight for.

Now, I don't believe I've lost 25lbs in a 3 month period since the beginning of this journey but I'm going to fight tooth & nail for what I want and what I deserve- AND I DESERVE TO BE UNDER 200LBS!

How am I going to do it? The same way I've lost this 127lbs:
- Tracking everything I eat through the My Fitness Pal App.
- Staying within my 1500 calorie budget every day.
- Do 1 hour of Cardio (usually spin) 4x's per week.
- Do HIIT strength training 3x's per week under the supervision of my trainer JZ.

Simple Plan. But one that requires dedication & sacrifice- particularly through this Holiday season.

Anyone with me in finishing out 2011 STRONGER THAN EVER?

p.s. I'm only 1lb away from my next set of progress pictures so fingers crossed that I'll be sharing them in next week's post! But until then, here's a sneak peek!

This was me at the beginning of my journey 12/09           And then me 2 weeks ago in DC!

What I Eat: I'm Not Afraid!

I am definitely a big believer that weightloss is 15% exercise and 85% nutrition- and it has been living by that principle that has helped me lose 121lbs to date (today's weigh in had me at 2lbs down!)

 However, one of the most daunting tasks that has plagued me ever since I started this journey over a year and half ago was the fact that I really don't know how to cook that many meals (especially not nurtitious ones!) nor do I really care to know how- and although I've had to put my big girl pants on and learn how to cook veggies and implement new recipes, I can say that it is possible to lose weight, eat in a healthy way, and not turn into a wannabe-gourmet chef. Please hear me, if clean eating/cooking is your passion and you wouldn't dare consider eating a frozen dinner, MORE POWER TO YOU- but, that's not me and although I knew I would have to step outside of my comfort zone so that my diet didn't consist of all things white, fried, and buttery, I'm losing weight by eating in a way that is nutritious, yet realistic for MY lifestyle which (SHOCKER) often includes eating:

- Healthy Choice Meals
- Drinking Diet Soda
- Putting Creamer in my Coffee
- Enjoying SmartOnes Desserts

Maybe it's silly but for awhile I've been ashamed to admit that I still make those choices a regular part of my diet- as if I ever ate something with preservatives in it the weight would just never leave. I knew from the beginning that what I ate was going to have to change in a MAJOR way (and it HAS!) but I continue to choose my battles according to my priorities and I know that for me, monitoring my daily calorie/carb/fat intake is just what's most important in this journey right now. Ahhh- maybe no one else struggles with having no desire to cook or kick all things preserved/frozen out of their lives and feels guilty about it- but I just needed to get that off my chest and encourage anyone that feels overwhelmed by cooking and what seems to feel like an obligation to become an organic/clean eating/vegan chef/eater that IT'S OKAY, you can still lose weight if you monitor your calories/carbs/fat, keep a strict food journal, and are honest with yourself.

Ok, venting sesh over :)

And because I can be cooking challenged, one of the reasons I enjoy reading blogs is to get healthy meal ideas from other bloggers- I love seeing what you're eating and creating- so I figured I would share what my eats have been this week (yes, I pretty much eat the same thing everyday, for one week- it's what works for me!)- and you've already been warned that none of it is very culinarily impressive :) 

Dinner one night was this yummy salad! (Consisting of: romaine, spring mix, Trader Joe's reduced fat shaved parmesan, slivered almonds, and TJ's cranberry garganzola dressing (LUV!)

Lunch for this week was a new recipe I tried (pat on the back for me!); chicken fried rice! It consisted of: minute brown rice, egg whites, white meat from a rotisserie chicken, 1 bag of mixed veggie steamers, lots of garlic and garlic powder, and lite sodium soy sauce. 280 calories for a 1 1/4 cup serving! Here's an up close shot:

Nothing super fancy, but I was definitely impressed with myself and it was YUMMY. Next time I plan on trying to make a Vietnamese version with Jasmine rice and coconut milk.

This was one of my snacks this week (I usually eat 2 per day); Trader Joes pretzel slims (23 for 110 calories), with a serving of TJ's garlic hummus. Yum!

My dinner from last night: Lean Cuisine 4 cheese frozen pizza (with some mushrooms I added) and a diet Arizona green tea. 

I've just gotta keep it simple. Right now I'm staying within a 1500 calorie budget and plan to move it down to 1400 by the end of September. So, what about you guys- have any of you struggled with not caring to learn to cook or just not having the experience? Are frozen meals still a part of your diet? Psst- there's no shame if you have totally kicked them out either! 



Alright- that's all for me today! Hope everyone is kicking butt! Oh- and if you haven't gotten a chance to check out my Israel Blog Site- please do! Especially because the rest of the MULA is due today and I still have a wayyyyyyys to go! :) You can visit it at: www.youcansend.me/tiffanyhendrix

Peace out ya'll!



Beating Temptation & Israel!

Happy Friday Friends!

This week my mind has been on food. Since beginning this journey over 1.5 years ago I haven't ever really had killer cravings that I just couldn't handle (lucky, right?) and although I know there will never be any craving that comes my way that I can't handle (1 Corinthians 10:13), I certainly have had my share of close calls this week. We all know that just because we made 1 decision one day that we'd like to lose weight and become healthy that doesn't mean that suddenly our tastebuds for all things salty, sweet, and creamy go away- the 1 decision to lose weight is really just 1 of a million and is probably the easiest one you'll ever get to make on this journey.

The hard part comes when everyone else in the office is eating pound cake, ordering Chinese take out, and chowing down on fried chicken (yes, all 3 have happened at my work in just the last 2 weeks!) or when you've been "doing SO good" and just feel like rewarding yourself with a candy bar or fat/sugar filled fancy coffee drink (can you tell I'm speaking from experience here???) and it is THOSE small decisions that really is where the victory is lost or won.

SO- how do I handle what sometimes feels like cravings that are just impossible to say no to? (BTW- by cravings I'm referring to something that is not something you've PLANNED to eat and will not help you get toward your goal and live in freedom):

1) The battle here really isn't stomach vs. mind...it's really just all in our minds so that's where all of the "work" that I have to do in these situations takes place. I first ask myself a few different questions: 
- If you give into this craving, who will be in control? The food or you?
- Why are you trying to put the imprisoning handcuffs of being addicted to food back on when they did nothing but harm you before?

2) I'll remind myself of my goals (therefore it's obviously important to first have clearly defined goals!) and decide which I would rather have...that reese's peanut butter cup or the satisfaction of getting into ONEderland at the end of the year?

3) I play pretend! I know this one might seem a little strange or weird but I can't tell you how many times it's saved me from chowing down on some nachos: I pretend that I'm a contestant on the Biggest Loser and then ask msyelf what I would think of myself if I was sneaking nachos while I was on the show? I remember when Rulon was chowing down on tortilla chips last seaons and I remember thinking, "What is he doing? Doesn't he know that doing that is just going to get him right back where he started from? What is his problem?" and yet I don't think it's that big of a deal if I were to sneak some stuff I knew wasn't good for me. Just because I'm not on the biggest loser doesn't mean I'm not big enough to be or that my situation is any less serious than theirs- and even though America isn't watching me, my friends, family, and co-workers are and they need someone to inspire them and show them that they can do it to. I'm in the same boat and I need to act accordingly.

Hopefully some of my little tricks will be helpful to some of you the next time you feel like you are being hard pressed to make any form of healthy decision. However, when all else fails (even my questions, mantras, and playing pretend), I can rely on the word of God that NEVER FAILS : "No temptation has come to you that is not common to the human race; and God is faithful- He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear- but when you are tempted He will also provide a way out, so that you can stand up under the temptation." 1 Cor 10:13. Sometimes it is just comforting for me to remember that even though something may seem inevitable or unbearable, it's not- I can have control.

Also, because as I mentioned in my last post I've been on a kick of comparing pics from this years events to last year's, I thought I'd share another set; the pics below are of me from an event we do every year called Hope 4 the 'Burgh where we provide back to school items and health screening services to needy families in our community:

I'm guessing you can tell the one of me in the red is from last August and the one of me in green is from just a week or two ago. I can look at pics like this and remind myself of why making the right choices in all of the tempting situations truly is worth it.

As I head out, I did want to share about a new adventure coming up in my life- in 3 months I will be traveling with a few friends from my church to the nation of Israel. I cannot even begin to explain how excited I am about this opportunity- if any of you would be interested in learning more about the trip, why I'm going, or be intersted in helping me raise the remaining $1500 I need by next week to get there you can do it at my Israel blog site. Any help or prayers would be greatly appreciated :)

Changes that Change has Brought:

Hello there!

Wow, I feel like life is flying by! Not only because I feel like I just posted last week and it was more like last month but also because now that I've been on this journey for awhile I'm beginning to see some repeat yearly events coming and it's crazy to look at pics of myself at them last year compared to this year. Last year I destinctly remember posting pics from when my friends and I went to the Pirate game and thinking, "Wow, I'm looking really good!" and now I look at them and think, "Wow, I was really big!" See what I mean?

Right now I am officially down 119lbs (weighing in at 233lbs) and I'm truthfully beginning to reap some of the benefits and seeing many changes that come from having lost 119lbs- some that I was hoping for and are a bit more expected and other's not so much. Today I thought I'd share what some of these things with ya:

- One of the more obvious changes has had to do with clothes. I'm still generally shopping in the plus size section but instead of wearing the biggest size jeans available, I'm now comfortably wearing something around a size 18 pant and I don't really fit in any plus size shirts at all. I wouldn't say that anything has dramatically changed with my wardrobe as of yet other then that I'll actually wear short sleve shirts nowadays (still haven't quite made it there on the sleeveless tops although I'm sure I'll get there); I've also become just a tad more bit comfortable wearing dresses as showcased in this dress I wore to my bff's rehearsal dinner for her wedding:

I mean dresses definitely are still not my first pic but I'm a bit more comfortable showing my legs these days- although shorts will definitely NOT be happening anytime soon! Things I'm still looking forward to in this area with these last 40-50lbs: Wearing sleevelss tops, wearing shorts, and eventually feeling comfortable wearing a swimsuit- not sure how but I somehow avoided having to wear a swimsuit at all this summer!

- Another change has to do with the opposite sex. To put it bluntly I don't really ever remember any guy that wasn't some perv ever really expressing interest in me during my adult life; while I find this kind of sad I also know that it kept me out of a lot of trouble during my earlier years which I'm thankful for. Particularly recently, this has begun to change. I wouldn't say that it's non-stop but the fact that I've been asked out twice in the last week or so is a definite difference from how things were before. I remember always thinking that it was shallow and ridiculous for a guy to not be into me just because I was overweight but I now see things very differently. I still don't think that it's okay for someone to base their feelings for you purely based off of physical appearance but I now know that for someone to be 150+lbs overweight is evidence that there are some deeper issues that I can understand not being attractive to someone. In fact, I'm not sure how I would feel about dating someone who wast that overweight- obviously there could always be an exception but I want to marry someone that is going to make me better and that I can truly enjoy life with- not watch them slowly kill themselves with food.

- Extra skin. This is a topic that I'll be addressing more here in the near future but I've found out that having saggy loose skin is an unfortunate reality that comes along with losing an excessive amount of weight. From what I've seen everyone's body is different and it handles losing weight differently- someone may hardly have any lose skin while someone else may have an excessive amount. Again, I'll be talking about this more here in the very near future :)

- One of the changes that seem to sneak by all too easily is just how much easier the little things in life are. It has only been recently that I've had to force myself to remember how difficult turning over in bed had become, or tying my shoes, or fitting in chairs, or finding clothes that fit. Now that I've lost 119lbs I'm able to ride in an airplane with extra room in the seatbelt instead of having to use an extender, walk distances without getting winded, and just go through life without the extra struggle. In short, I feel more normal.

What are some of the great/unexpted changes you've encountered or are hoping to encounter as you go along your journey?

4 Unforseen Challenges I'm Facing...

I would say in the last 3 months I've felt a major lack of motivation towards losing weight even though I still have about 55lbs left to lose. It's shown itself in a bunch of different ways:

1) I could care less to measure myself or set goals, something I would literally anticipate so much that I'd write it down in my planner!
2) I spend SO much less time reading about health & weight loss (whether via blog, article, or magazine).
3) My fervor for working out has waned.
4) I really have no desire to try new foods or healthy recipes.

Luckily, by God's grace and the fact that so much of my healthy lifestyle has just become habit, it hasn't really stopped my weight loss or me from working out altogether- I'm currently down 112lbs and am weighing in at 240lbs, it's just that things have been feeling SO different.

Tonight, after dragging myself out the door to the most intense (and rewarding) spin class yet followed by a quick HIIT session at home, I finally decided that I needed to get to the bottom of this weird apathetic feeling towards continuing to be a bad a** at weight loss like I've always been. And again, by God's grace I feel like He (God) clued me in a little bit as to why I'm struggling right now and what I can do to change (fyi- If you haven't invited God into your weight loss journey, you really should start thinking about it- b/c He cares) and really it's all about some unforseen challenges that I never could have predicted or prepared for at the beginning stages of my weight loss b/c the challenges were different then; so here's what I realized tonight:

1) Unforseen Challenge: I lost a lot of my drive, focus, and motivation after I lost 100lbs. For over a year losing 100lbs was the one HUGE goal that I was working towards and had never even come close to attaining before, and although I knew I would still need to lose more weight after hitting a 100lb loss, I really had never given much thought or put any desire towards what my true long term goal really is. The Bible says, "without vision the people perish;" and I can definitely see that is what happened in my case. After I lost 100lbs, I kind of have been feeling directionless. I am the kind of person that needs a goal, needs to have a picture in my head (a vision) of what it is that I'm sacrificing for and working out so hard for, and I really haven't had that. Solution: I'm still not sure what my exact goal end # is (and I'm okay with that), but my goal is to be at 199lbs on December 31st b/c I want to end 2011 being completely out of the 200's- something that even now I can hardly imagine. So, that's my goal- I know it won't be easy to lose 41lbs in 5 months but I know what my best is and I believe my best is good enough to do that!

2) Unforseen Challenge: While I can't believe I haven't shared the whole long/hilarious/ridiculous story with ya'll yet, a little over 2 months ago I visited a chiropractor (just for kicks) who told me that I had some major issues with the alignment in my neck, which then caused me to not only pass out in the office but also to later throw up b/c I was so overwhelmed, and he advised me that jogging probably wasn't the best thing for me unless I was planning to get adjusted every week. For me this news was a little bit of a blow as most of you know running a 5K was kind of like my dream and I had slowly begun the C25K program and had gotten up to running for about 2minutes straight (a major accomplishment for this girl!), and so I followed his advice and decided to stop (until further notice I guess as I'm not seeing him due to $$$). Anyways, I realized tonight that one of the biggest motivating factors for me on this journey has always been when I've been able to prove to myself that I am capable of doing things I just thought were impossible- being able to see visible improvements in what I can physically do. I loved being able to go from wanting to die after jogging for 30 seconds to being able to jog for 2 minutes- it kept my fire burning, kept me encouraged by the progress. Now, my workouts consist of 2-3 spin classes per week and HIIT every other day so besides how much weight I'm able to use during HIIT, there's really not much opportunity for me to see improvement or do something new, which I believe is part of the reason I'm not feeling super motivated to workout. Solution: Well, I think it's obvious that I need to give myself opportunity to see improvements. How to do that? Eh, not really sure. Any ideas? Maybe I should consider starting to jog again? Hmmm...I'll need to think more about this one.

3) Unforseen Challenge: I really undersestimated how easy it is for me to put all of this (everything that goes along with my weight loss journey) on the back burner if I don't keep it constantly in front of me- I guess the saying "out of site, out of mind" really is true! I remember when I first began this journey (and this blog), I was astonished at how imperative it was that I always kept reading blogs or magazines or something so that I could be held accountable and be reminded of what it was that I needed to be doing. Well, since I honestly haven't been reading or writing in my own blog or doing any research on healthy recipes or anything related to weight loss, I have become disinterested with it (go figure!). Solution: I can't deny that weight loss is by no means the most important thing in my life- in fact, it's probably #4 at the highest, but that doesn't mean that I can let it fall to #20. I know the value in reading blogs & blogging and learning new things and it only makes sense to stick with what works- and this has worked for me. So, I'm gonna visit helpful blogs (hopefully that means yours!) once a week as well as post at least once a week- that's what is realistic for me right now and I still see it as helpful.

4) Unforseen Challenge: I don't remember the last time I weighed 240lbs. I mean, maybe...my freshman year of highschool (that's 10 years ago fyi!), but even then I don't really remember what life was like or what I felt like at that point. Basically what I'm saying is that I'm at the smallest I can ever really remember being at which presents 2 problems: #1) The only thing that ever even made me begin to lose weight at 352lbs was b/c doing basic everyday life things was becoming challenging, obviously not a problem I face as much anymore, and #2) I'm having a hard time envisioning what I would even look like at 180ish pounds (what I'm guessing my goal weight will be- remember I'm 5'10''!) So it's really been a challenge to keep pushing myself to desiring and working for lower and lower #'s when I guess I'm already impressed with where I am (twisted eh?). Solution: I need to start getting pictures in my mind of things that I want- and now they get to be a bit more lavish then fitting in an airplane seat, now it's one day shopping for jeans in the "normal size" section or being completely out of size 20 anything pants. I need to start dreaming again.

It really does intrigue me how the "challenges" of this journey have changed over time. At the beginning my biggest challenges were getting over my fears, self- control, and believing that I could actually have a certain life, now they are much more about perserverance and truly finishing what I've started.

My hope is that maybe someone who is at a similar place in their journey will be able to identify with one of these challenges and not feel so bad about the apathy but instead learn from it and adjust b/c the truth is- I really do care about finishing this strong, I really do know that I'm not at my best and deserve to get to where I want to go, and I do know that I'm strong enough to do it!

Hope my ramblings have benefited someone :) Any unforseen challenges that you've encountered that you care to share?

And because I feel like no post is complete without a pic, here's one of me and two of my dear friends at the drive in last weekend (loved Cars 2!)

Progress Pics: 5th Installment!

As promised, I'm posting my 5th set of progress pics! It took me so long mainly because I'm finally living on my own and don't have a roomate around to ask to snap these pics! lol Oh the unforseable problems of living alone :)

Without further adieu, my progress pics! The 1st pics are from my first set of progress pics at 333lbs (fyi- I started my journey at 352lbs though), the 2nd pic is from 20lbs ago (264lbs) and the third is me currently at 244lbs!

Be expecting a post from me later on this week, right now it's past my bedtime but I did want to post these!

Looking forward to catching up with ya'll!