182.2 Can I Do It?

Ok.  I gained a whole pound yesterday, which means I will have to lose 1.6 lbs by tomorrow in order to reach my goal of 180.6.  I did some very rude things to my body last night, including drinking too much and eating slew of terrible junk food.  The concert was tons of fun, but unfortunately the necklace I was wearing, which I had gotten at a flea market in Berlin, fell off and broke.  I was very upset and once we got back to our friend Ted's house I drowned my sorrows in pizza, chicken wings, and more chips than you want to know.

For my workout yesterday I did 20 minutes on the elliptical, 20 on the treadmill, then walked .4 miles and ran .65 miles.  My total distance was 4.75 miles.  Here's what I ate:

cereal
3 carrots
yogurt
apple
3 pork belly sliders
1.5 smoked trout belly slices with toasted baguette
parmesan fries
2 glasses red wine
many beers
1 slice pizza
3 chicken wings
chips.  so many chips.

181.2 Week/Month Goal

I don't really think I lost 3 lbs yesterday.  Some of it must have been from the day before yesterday but I didn't see any loss on the scale because I went to the gym later than usual.  This Friday will be June 1st, which means I can set a weekly as well as monthly goal for that day!  I'm gonna go for 180.6, since that way I will have lost 8 lbs in May (quadrupling my initial goal!).  I think .6 lbs between now and Friday is fair, since Jack and I are going to Columbia tonight for a concert, and first we're eating at Sycamore, our favorite restaurant (where it's almost impossible to order something non-fattening,  but even if I could, would I?  Probably not).  And we will also be drinking at the concert.  So I expect to, if anything, gain weight today and then hopefully lose enough Thursday to be down at 180.6.

Yesterday for my workout I went to the hour-long Muscle Works class then ran for half a mile.  Here's what I ate:

nonfat greek yogurt
1/2 spinach chicken wrap
hardboiled egg
apple
potato gnocchi with white wine butter sauce
kale salad with homemade dressing
3 Bud Lights

184.2 Job Interview

Hello everyone, today I had a job interview and I think it went very well.  I'm pretty sure I got the job!  If so, I will be a full time optometrist's assistant.  That's the perfect job for me since I'm applying to optometry school for Fall 2013.

I apparently didn't lose any weight yesterday, but I went to the gym much later in the day today so I think that's why.  I should have lost some weight because I didn't eat very much yesterday and even did an extra workout.  I did my regular workout of 20 minutes on the elliptical and 20 on the treadmill then walked .4 miles and ran .65 miles for a total distance of 4.75 miles.  Then later after dinner I took an hour long bike ride on the KT trail (it was so beautiful with the sunset!).  Here's what I ate:

cereal
1 carrot
apple
2 bockwurst in 1 bun with mustard
salad with walnuts and feta cheese
baked beans

184.2 Happy Memorial Day!

I gained 1.8 lbs this weekend, which is ok with me because I was just hoping for less than 2.  Friday afternoon Jack and I drove down to his family farm which has a lake.   We stayed there until Sunday, a day less than expected.  We started to get bored after a while and wanted to come back home.  Today we are barbequing bratwursts with some friends.  Here's an overview of what I ate and did for workouts over the weekend:

Friday I went to a class at the gym called Muscle Works.  It really worked all the muscles of my body and I felt great afterwards.  I went to this class once before in January and was sore for 4 days afterwards; this time I wasn't sore at all except for a little bit in my abs the next day if I tightened them.  I also walked for 3 quarters of a mile on Friday.  On Saturday I swam in the lake for about 45 minutes and Sunday I did not work out at all (unless you count playing foozball--which did in fact cause me to break a sweat).

What I ate Friday:

cereal
hardboiled egg
2 fried mushrooms, 1 jalapeno popper, and some onion rings
1 hard shrimp taco and 1 soft steak taco
refried beans with cheese
2 Bud Lights
1.5 frozen margaritas
1 cookie
cinnamon roll

What I ate Saturday:

2 fried eggs
1 large sausage patty
1 biscuit with butter and jam
sweetened tea
hot dog with bun
veggies with 2 T dip
pita chips
2 small cookies
grilled turkey leg
corn on cob with butter and salt
roasted squash
1 piece cheesy garlic bread
2 pieces gooey butter cake
5 light beers

What I ate Sunday:

3 small sausage patties
glazed donut
1/4 sub sandwich
1 carrot
1/2 spinach chicken wrap
cottage cheese
3 Bud Lights

182.4 All Right Then!

Ok!  It would seem I lost 2.2 lbs yesterday, surpassing my goal by .6 lbs.  I think this may be a bit misleading since I didn't eat before going to the gym.  I went there earlier than usual and wasn't hungry yet.  But I think at least part of it is actual loss and this shows that my gain from the day before yesterday was probably from water retention.  I ate a very light lunch yesterday, and if I can lose this much weight daily just by doing that, I might start making it a habit.  I was a bit hungry throughout the day until dinner though.

Yesterday for my workout I did 20 minutes on the elliptical (stepped it up a level towards the end) and 20 minutes on the treadmill (also stepped up the incline a bit).  Then I walked for half a mile and ran for half a mile, bringing my distance to 4.5 miles.  Here's what I ate:

cereal
3 carrots
apple
nonfat cottage cheese
penne with red sauce
1 Bud Light
1 Kraeftig Light
3 bites of leftover Chinese food


EDIT: I forgot to add that I am leaving town this weekend and will not have internet access, therefore I will not be able to post again until late Monday.  Have a good Memorial Day Weekend!

184.6 Not On Track :(

I was so disappointed to weigh myself today and find that I had gained .4 lbs since yesterday.  I was really looking forward to meeting my goal tomorrow and weighing 183!  Now that will only happen if I lose 1.6 lbs today, which is unlikely.  I'm thinking part of the gain may have been from the salty Chinese food I had last night; if this is the case, there may still be hope.  I was thinking of having the leftover Chinese for my lunch today, but I may skip that and go for a salt-free day with lots of water.

Yesterday for my workout I did 20 minutes on the elliptical, 20 on the treadmill, walked a quarter of a mile and ran a quarter of a mile.  My total distance was 4 miles.  Here's what I ate:

cereal
leftover corn on the cob with butter and salt, baked beans, and bread
hot and sour soup with wonton strips
2 crab rangoon
small portions of General Tso's chicken and Szechuan chicken
almond cookie

184.2 Right on Track!

Yay!  I lost .6 lbs yesterday, which means I'm right on track for being 183 by Friday.  I just have to keep this up for the next 2 days.

This weekend's going to be bad for me, though, and I know I'm going to gain back all the weight I lost this week, because it's Memorial Day weekend which means 1 more weekend day than usual!  Plus Jack and I are going out of town so I won't be able to do my usual workout.  Maybe I can talk Jack into bringing our bikes with us so we can still get some exercise.

Yesterday for my workout I did 20 minutes on the elliptical, 20 on the treadmill, then ran a quarter of a mile and walked a quarter of a mile.  My total distance was 4 miles.  What I ate:

cereal
leftover salmon
3 tomato slices with salt
filet mignon with butter
corn on the cob with butter and salt
sauteed mushrooms
salad with homemade dressing (yum)
1 slice bread
1 serving vanilla frozen custard with Remy's caramel sauce
2 small cookies (those cute little ones that are dipped in chocolate)

184.8 Weekly Goals

I lost .8 lbs yesterday, which makes me feel great.  This is the same weight I was Friday, which means I've gotten off the weekend weight and have 3 more days to lose in order to have a net loss by this Friday.  I've decided it would be helpful to set weekly goals, at least every so often, in order to keep myself on track for net weight loss throughout the week.  This week, my goal is to be 183 by this Friday.  That's .6 lbs a day til then and would mean 1.8 lbs of weight loss for the week.

As far as my monthly goal, I have already doubled it at 4 lbs.

For my workout yesterday I did 20 minutes on the elliptical and 20 on the treadmill, then ran for a quarter of a mile and walked for a quarter of a mile.  My total mileage was 4 miles.  Here's what I ate:

cereal
leftover chicken curry with rice
hardboiled egg
apple
1 serving spicy potato chips
salmon
romaine, spinach, and kale salad with caesar dressing and croutons
strawberry rhubarb pie

185.6 Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

I think my pattern of weightloss is pretty much to take two steps forward during the week and one step back on the weekend.  I do pretty well Monday through Friday, working out everyday and watching what I eat and drink.  Then the weekend comes and it seems like there is always something to celebrate and reasons to drink waaaaay too much and be totally lazy.  This weekend I gained 1.6 lbs; I don't know if it was mainly from Saturday or Sunday since I didn't get to weigh myself yesterday, but it was probably a combination.

I suppose it could be worse--I could be taking one step forward, two steps back!  At least as of today I have still lost a total of 3 lbs which is past my goal for May.  Yesterday I didn't work out.  Here is what I ate:

cereal
a few chips
bratwurst on a bun
2 chicken wings
softserve ice cream
1 Bud Light
fried chicken: half a breast and a wing
stuffing with gravy
coleslaw
apple sauce

??? Good Weekend

I didn't weigh myself today because I didn't have time to stop by the gym.  Yesterday my friend Emily came in town and we went to the parish picnic at Jack's old grade school.  I got a couple things in the silent auction, ate festival food, and drank a lot of Bud Light.  Later we went down to the Lounge to celebrate our friend Drew's birthday.

I cut my workout yesterday in half because I didn't have much time.  I did 10 minutes on the elliptical and ran half a mile for a total mileage of 1.75 miles.  Here's what I ate:

1.5 pieces of truffle toast (toasted white bread with truffle oil, butter, and an egg)
grapefruit juice
2 thin slices salami
8 chicken wings
funnel cake
1 car bomb
countless Bud Lights

184 Unexpected Loss

I don't think I have any idea what actually makes me gain or lose weight.  I weighed today fully expecting to have gained at least a pound, and I lost .8!  I did do a pretty good workout yesterday, but I did the same workout a couple days ago when I GAINED .8 lbs.  That day I had 3 drinks, yesterday I had 6.  Maybe weighing myself everyday is just misleading since it fluctuates naturally anyway.

Yesterday for my workout I did 20 minutes on the elliptical, 20 on the treadmill, and ran half a mile.  My total mileage was 4 miles.  Here's what I ate:

1 donut
leftover sausage with mayo
apple
cottage cheese
small glass lemonade
very greasy steak sandwich on texas toast with fries and cole slaw
2 bites carrot cake
1 Bud Light
4 cocktails
1 shot

184.8 Excited for the Weekend

It would seem that not drinking yesterday worked, because I lost 1.2 lbs.  I have a net gain of .2 lbs this week, which isn't terrible, but I'd like to see a general trend of loss.

Tonight Jack and I and a couple of friends are going to a burlesque festival.  It sounds fun and I'm excited because I've never been to anything like that!  And tomorrow my friend Emily is coming in to visit from Memphis.  We will be going to a historical festival in St. Charles then a friend's birthday party later on.  Emily is very excited about the "fife and drum corps" which will be performing tomorrow at the festival.

Yesterday I biked 1.5 miles on the KT trail.  Here's what I ate:

cereal
leftover sausage with mayo
3 tomato slices with salt
apple
2 thin salami slices
hardboiled egg
chicken curry with basmati rice
1.5 pieces of naan

186 This Has to Stop

Oh goodness, it looks like I'm continuing to gain weight.  Yesterday I gained .8 lbs.  It must've been the shandies and sausage po' boy I had for dinner last night; too much sugar, fat, and carbs.  It looks like I may have already reached that plateau where I need to give up alcohol completely.  I will certainly try, at least during the week!

Yesterday for my workout I did 20 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the treadmill, then ran for half a mile.  This brings my total mileage up to 4 miles!  Here's what I ate:

cereal
2 hardboiled eggs
leftover corn on the cobb
leftover cole slaw
greek yogurt
andouille sausage po' boy with lettuce, tomato, and mayo
red beans and rice
collard greens with bits of bacon
3 shandies with Coors Light and homemade lemonade

185.2 Weight Gain Disappointing but Still on Track

I'm 185.2 today but I don't think I actually gained 2 lbs yesterday, I just think there was something wrong with the scale at my parents' house.  Although I've gained weight lately, I'm still on track for my weight loss goal for May.  Hopefully by Friday I will be back down to 184.6, however, so I don't have to say I had a net gain this week!

I've spent most of the day today doing all the laundry that piled up while I was in KC.  Later Jack and I are going to grill some Andouille sausages for BBQ Wednesday.

Yesterday for my workout I did a Bollywood dance workout video for 45 minutes.  Here's what I ate:

hardboiled egg
1 piece whole grain toast with butter and jam
banana
greek yogurt
spinach/romaine salad with salmon, quinoa, and couscous
weizenbock and cider at Urban Chestnut
a few pieces of sausage and bread from a sausage platter
1 prosciutto spring roll
part of artichoke salad and caprese
1 slice pizza
3 small homemade donuts

183.1 Back in St. Louis

There is definitely something wrong with my parents' scale, because today when I first weighed myself it said 185.6 again.  I thought "that can't be right," so I got on the scale a second time and it said 183.1.  The third time it also said 183.1 so I'm going with that.

I got back into STL around 4 pm today and Jack and I decided to stay downtown awhile until rush hour traffic died down.  We went to our favorite brewery, Urban Chestnut, then met up with a couple friends at a really great pizza place.

Yesterday for my workout I played tennis with my mom for 1 and half hours.  Here's what I ate:

granola bar
hardboiled egg
Thai chicken salad at Panera with whole grain baguette
salmon
2 small rolls
salad
couscous and quinoa mix (it was great, my mom's a genius!)

185.6 Size 16

Today I went shopping for a potential bridesmaid dress.  My sister Megan is getting married in November and wanted me to go look and see what I liked.  It turns out I'm a size 16; I used to be a size 10.  : (  Size 10 even sounds a little big for 145 lbs, but I don't think I would ever be a size 8 unless I got a breast reduction.  I often found myself having to up a size in dresses then getting them taken in at the waist.  What's frustrating about having to buy this dress now is that I know I will have lost weight by the wedding and will have to get it (perhaps substantially) altered.  I wish I could see the future and know what size I will need!

My parents' scale told me I was exactly the same weight today...I'm thinking it's not very accurate!  : )
Yesterday for exercise I took a two hour walk with my family in the park around the art museum.  What I ate:

scrambled eggs with mushrooms, bacon, and spinach
small cinnamon roll
fried chicken: drumstick, wing, and half a thigh
potato salad, cole slaw
vitamin water
Planet Sub California sub with tempeh
frozen yogurt from Yogurtini

185.6 Happy Mother's Day!

Well, technically I'm a little late with my well wishes because it is already Monday.  I didn't have time to update earlier because I was busy hanging out with my mom all day!  I came into Kansas City to see her, my dad, and my sister this weekend.  Today we had a fried chicken picnic in the Nelson-Atkins art museum park then took a two-hour walk around the premises.  Kaufmann gardens had some beautiful flowers in bloom and the wildlife preserve nearby was also nice.

My weight today is most likely not actually 185.6, but I have to use my parents' scale instead of the one I usually use at gym.  Therefore I assumed no loss or gain so I can "calibrate" on the next couples days I'm in town.  Yesterday for my workout I did 20 minutes on the elliptical and 20 on the treadmill.  Here's what I ate:

leftovers from Remy's (1 stuffed grapevine, 1 polenta fry)
6 pieces of sushi
southwest patty melt from Hardee's (bad idea, it was kinda gross and I felt gross afterwards)
panini with tomatoes, spinach, and mozzarella cheese
1/3 slice of cake
a few orange slices

185.6 Best Dessert I've Ever Had--And I Paid For It!

Last night Jack and I went to a very nice restaurant/wine bar called Remy's.  Actually the food and wine were only just good but the dessert was AMAZING.  It was bread pudding literally drenched in a warm homemade caramel sauce.  They could have put anything, I mean anything, in that caramel sauce and I would've eaten it.  I loved it so much I got a pint of it to take home with us (thought it would be great on ice cream).

Along with this splurge I had a half bottle of wine plus one glass and did not work out yesterday, causing me to gain a pound.  Here's what I ate yesterday:

large bowl of cereal (I was starving in the morning)
8 pieces of sushi
food at Remy's: polenta fries, mussels, endive salad, veal meatballs, and stuffed grapevine leaves
1/2 bottle of red wine + 1 glass
2 Corona Lights
1 fruity shot

184.6 Four Pounds in One Week!

Jack and I dancing last night  :)

I lost .2 lbs yesterday, bringing me down to 184.6.  This means I've lost 4 lbs since I started this blog 1 week ago.  That's twice the amount I had planned for the whole month!  I don't expect to keep losing weight at this rate forever though.  At some point I expect to plateau, and when that time comes I will probably have to cut certain things out of my diet (such as alcohol).

Last night Jack and I went to see our friends Lee and Drew do a DJ set at a bar called The Lounge.  It's always a fun bar to go to because another friend of ours is the bartender and yet another friend is dating the owner!  It's a small world here.  Lee and Drew played some great music and gave out those sweet "Olympic gold medals."

As I wrote about in my last post, yesterday I did an hour-long class called "Cone 'n Tone" for my workout.  I'm very sore today!  Here's what I ate:

cereal
3 leftover pork tenderloin medallions
leftover baked beans and cole slaw
Kashi granola bar
dinner at a buffet: little bit of everything and I got quite full but not stuffed.
4 Kraeftig Lights

184.8 Group Class Kicked My Ass

Look at me, losing weight!  I lost another .8 lbs yesterday and I even ate barbeque and drank 4 beers.  Yesterday for my workout I did the 30 seconds on, minute and a half off on the elliptical and treadmill (adding the slight incline on the treadmill) for 20 minutes each.  My total mileage was 3.5 miles.

For my workout today, I went to a group class at my gym called "Cone 'n Tone."  The description of the class online was "work and tone all muscles of the body."  I wanted to work my muscles so I thought it would be a good class to go to.  I didn't know what the cone part was all about, and if I had I might not have gone.  The class ended up being about 1/4 muscle toning, and the rest was heavy, HEAVY cardio.  We were running laps around the room, running backwards and sideways and whatnot, WAY more running than I've been doing, and I felt like I was going to die.  It was sort of disappointing because, although it was a good workout, I can do cardio on my own and I was hoping for an hour full of muscle work.  It's ok, there's another class at the gym that fits this description.

Here's what I ate yesterday:

cereal
leftover PF Changs (not much left)
greek nonfat yogurt
hardboiled egg
1/2 ribeye steak
corn on the cob
baked beans
cole slaw
2 slices garlic bread
2 Kraeftig lights
1 Wheach (a peach wheat beer...mmmmm)
1 very large (22 oz. I think?) Weihenstephaner kristallweizen

185.6 New Workout Plan

I gained .2 lbs yesterday, which is less than I thought I would since I though yesterday's loss was only due to not eating before weighing in.  I guess I really did lose a lot of weight 2 days ago!  At this point I've lost 3 lbs, which is already past my goal for May.

Yesterday when Sophia gave me my re-assessment, we talked about what I've been doing in my workout and she made a suggestion to help me get faster results.  She said that when I'm on the elliptical or treadmill I should do 30 seconds at a higher level than usual, than a minute and a half back to normal, repeating for a total of 20 minutes.  I tried it, going from level 8 to 11 on the elliptical and speed 3.8 to 6.4 on the treadmill.  My workout on the elliptical was definitely more challenging this way, but walking for a minute and a half between running just seemed too easy on the treadmill.  Today I made it more difficult by walking and running on a slight incline.  It was the perfect challenge!  I did the elliptical and treadmill for 20 minutes each yesterday, for a total mileage of 3.5 miles.

On a side note, someone hit me on my way driving to the gym today.  I was waiting to turn left, and he just rammed right into me from behind!  He said he was looking down at the time, which to me means he was texting.  Texting and driving is worse than being drunk!   Luckily neither of us got hurt.

Here's what I ate yesterday:

greek nonfat yogurt
2 carrots with artichoke dip
half a leftover strip steak
apple
nonfat cottage cheese
3 leftover pork tenderloin medallions
dinner at PF Chang's, where we all shared a little of everything:
2 pork wontons
2 lettuce wraps
small portions of kung pao chicken, wok-charred beef, and shrimp in a white wine sauce
a few bites of a fried banana spring roll (yummmmm)
ginger mojito
1/4 can of squirt

185.4 Re-Assessment

I apparently lost 2.6 lbs yesterday, but I think this is misleading because I went to the gym earlier than usual today and hadn't eaten yet.  The reason I got there so early was because I had an appointment with Sophia to get my re-assessment.  Here's the results (in inches):

shoulders: 44.5
chest: 43.5
waist: 40
hips: 41.5
thighs: 22.5
arms: 12
body fat: 35.0 %

All of that is the exact same as when I first joined the gym in November, except that my arms and thighs grew half an inch.  Hopefully by next month (when I get another re-assessment) I'll have shrunk a bit!

I did a lighter workout yesterday because I was very tired from not getting much sleep the night before.  I just walked uphill on the treadmill for 30 minutes for a total of 1.85 miles.  I also ate quite a lot yesterday, probably because I was tired and stressed about my finals (which I'm done with after today!).

What I ate:

hardboiled egg
cereal
2 carrots with artichoke dip
leftover burger with bbq sauce
apple
10 cherries (from a friend's cherry tree)
greek nonfat yogurt
1.5 hardboiled eggs
3 pork tenderloin medallions with a mushroom sauce
small portion mashed potatoes
caesar salad

188.0 My Very First Garden!

Yesterday Jack and I (with the help of his parents and our friend Drew) planted a garden!  We don't have much of a yard and it's very shady, so our garden is in Jack's grandma's backyard, which has plenty of room and gets lots of sun.  Since his grandpa used to garden a lot, Jack is a bit of a seasoned gardener, but I had absolutely no experience!  I learned a lot and had a great time.  It was hard work though, especially in the 90 degree heat!  Although this area was the same spot Jack's grandpa used to garden it, it hadn't been used in a few years; therefore the whole area (about 20 by 30 feet) had to be overturned with shovels and tilled a few times.  I can't really say I took part in any of that!  I helped put up the fence and plant the vegetables and herbs.  We planted mainly tomatoes and hot peppers, but there's also bell peppers, lettuce, green beans, cucumbers, horseradish, squashes, and various herbs.  I can't wait til it's ready to harvest!

So that was my workout yesterday.  I lost a pound yesterday, which sounds like a lot, but I was hoping to be under 178.8 which is what I was two days ago.  Since I'm not, I'm led to believe that my weight gain two days ago was partly water weight and partly too many calories.  I'm not too worried about it, however, because I'm already more than a quarter way to my goal for the month in less than a week.

Here's what I ate yesterday:

1.25 cups cereal with milk
Pickleman's chipotle chicken sandwich on wheat bread
glass of homemade lemonade (with 1 T sugar)
hamburger on toasted bun with smidgen of mayo and mustard
baked beans
2 slices garlic bread

189.0 What Happened??

I gained 1.2 lbs yesterday which is a bit confusing.  Although I celebrated Cinco de Mayo last night, I didn't think I did too bad.  Perhaps the margueritas had more calories than I thought, or perhaps it is water weight from how salty the food was.  If it's the latter, then I should see some weight loss tomorrow.

For my workout yesterday, I did the elliptical for 20 minutes, walked uphill on the treadmill for 20 minutes, and ran a quarter of a mile.  My total mileage was 3.5 miles.

What I ate and drank yesterday:

1.25 cups cereal with milk
apple
2 shrimp corn dogs (I don't know.  They were good and much smaller than regular corn dogs.)
nonfat greek yogurt
chips and salsa
3 fish tacos with beans and rice
3 margueritas
1 bloody mary

187.8 Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Wow, looks like I'm off to a great start!  I lost .8 lbs yesterday.  I wasn't expecting that because of what I did to my body last night!  I had 9 beers and did some drunk junk food eating when I got home.  Perhaps not too much damage was done since I made a point to drink light beers instead of the heavier craft beers I usually enjoy.

Yesterday I went to the gym and before I started my workout I talked to one of the personal trainers, Sophia, about getting a re-assessment.  I got an assessment (which is pretty much measurements, percent body fat, etc.) when I first joined the gym in January and was supposed to get a new one each month but I haven't.  Since I'm actually serious about this now, I'm going to start anew and each month we will be able to see how much I've shrunk!  :)  We set up an appointment time for Tuesday.

For my workout yesterday, I did the elliptical for 20 minutes, walked uphill on the treadmill for 25, then ran half a mile.  My total mileage was 3.75 miles; I'm keeping track of this because along with trimming down I also want to get back to being a good runner.  Three or four years ago I used to run 3 miles every day, the first one on an incline and the other two flat.  Towards the end of the first mile it started to get really difficult, but then I'd take away the incline and it felt amazing!  Like I was running downhill.  I want to have that feeling again!

Here is what I ate (and drank) yesterday:

1.25 cups cereal with milk
nonfat greek yogurt
3 crab rangoon
2 large carrots with artichoke dip
handful of squid jerky (like beef jerky, but squid!)
spinach chicken wrap
cottage cheese
7 Bud Lights and 2 Coors Lights
1/2 cup chicken fried rice
2 handfuls popcorn
2 cookies

188.6 Inspired to Crack Down

July 2010, in Cologne, Germany
145-150 lb.

November 2011, at a "rapture" party
(and you better believe I'm sucking it in!)
185 lb.

Hello, Internet.  My name is Amy, I'm 23 years old, and I live in St. Louis, Missouri.  I've gained 40 lbs. in the last 2 years and I've had enough!  Most of the 40 was actually gained in the first  year, and I've been "maintaining" it since then.  Last January I decided to crack down and got a membership at a gym.  I've been working out there 5 days a week (with some off days--school got in the way sometimes) but I haven't lost any weight.  Why?  Because I haven't been motivated enough to change my diet.  I thought that just working out would be enough, but it wasn't.  You can't eat a lot of fattening foods and drink wine every night (along with some binging on the weekends) and still lose weight, no matter what you do!  Changing my diet has been difficult for me because my boyfriend Jack and I love to cook, and our recipes usually come from Cook's Illustrated.  Their recipes always turn out AMAZING, but guess why?  Most of them have a lot of fat!  And when we cook a nice meal it just seems fitting to have a glass of wine or two with it.

Well, dear Internet, no more of that!  Recently I stumbled upon Cherise Kelley's inspiring blog Size 12 by St. Patrick's Day.  This woman went from a size 20 to a size 8 (and lost 90 lbs) in 1 year!  As I went through her blog, something woke up inside of me.  If she can do it, I can do it!  I know 40 lbs is nothing compared to her 90, and I don't know if anyone will ever even read this blog, but just the idea that someone might be following and seeing if I'm losing the weight makes me feel more accountable.  I'm making this blog so that I'll be less likely to fail.

So I'm going to make changes in my life.  No more chips inbetween meals, and portion control at dinner time (which will be hard, because the stuff Jack makes is so good!).  And cutting back on, but not eliminating, the drinking.  I'm not going to count calories, because it's annoying and frustrating, and the last thing I want is to feel that way about my diet!  I am, however, going to write down everything I eat, try to eat healthier things (I'm adding more fruits and vegetables to my diet), and exercise portion control.  Just like on Cherise's blog, you'll be able to see what I ate on days I lost the most weight.

Along with this, I will continue to exercise at least 5 days a week.  Sometimes this will be at the gym (running, doing the elliptical, or participating in a class) and sometimes it will be outside (biking, hiking, or playing tennis).

So.  My goal is to lose 43 lbs by the end of December.  I've heard that it's harder to lose weight starting out, but it gets easier after a few months.  Therefore, my monthly goals are:

May: 2 lb
June: 3 lb
July: 4 lb
August: 5 lb
September: 6 lb
October: 7 lb
November: 8 lb
December: 9 lb

This is tentative.  I expect that some months I'll lose less, some more.  If I'm really lucky, maybe I'll lose all the weight earlier than I expected.  Here goes!