Day 25: Allow yourself a break!

Well, what a long break it has been! I know you have all been anxiously waiting to hear from me and quite frankly, I don’t blame you! J I am just kidding but it has been a while and I am ready for an update. Don’t we all love how life’s little things get in the way? So I am proud to report on my 25^th day that my grand total lost is………6.4 pounds!! Woohoo!!!

Oh and what a roller coasted ride it has been. I have had some …rough days, to say the least. I think this past Tuesday I did nothing but pig out. It began quite innocently, oh, pizza day at work for lunch, no big deal, I can resist and eat my…cough,cough…tuna and melba toast….mmmmmm….. Ok, so I love pizza, can’t say I love the pizza in Florida, it is sub-par at best compared to Chicago but I’ve gotten over it. Well the aromas filling the air and all I could think about was the ooey gooey cheese and the yummy sauce and crisp, fluffy, crust. So I went down to the kitchen and grabbed a slice…or two!

Ugh, lunch fail! So, I had my apple for a snack, no big deal, I’ll just pick up where I left off for dinner. Well, I had the hankering for some spaghetti and meatballs, which trust me, is much more delicious then the grilled chicken breast and spinach I had planned. So again, I let the temptation get the best of me and I had the spaghetti and meatballs. And some garlic bread because how can you have spaghetti without garlic bread? Unheard of.

I felt pretty bad by the end of the day about the food choices I made. I thought to myself, “here I go again, derailing myself!” A funny thing happened the next morning, I woke up feeling more prepared to get back on the wagon and begin again. It was as if I got whatever it was out of my system and I was ready to move on. I had no problem going back to the tuna and melba toast for lunch and I was satisfied with my chicken and spinach for dinner.

I talked to a very good friend yesterday and she told me to not think of it as cheating but giving myself a break. And that is what I did, I gave myself a break, let myself indulge a bit and I felt good about it the next day. You cannot let little indulgences throw you of course; there is no reason to punish yourself.

I was also inspired by another friend who just finished her first Triathlon! I am so proud of her, she worked so hard and it shows. So, I decided that I would compete in a Triathlon with her in April of 2012. It’s a ¼ miles swim, 10 mile bike ride and a 5k….just call me crazy!

So, 340 days to go,  93.6 pounds to loose.

Day 6: Hi, my name is Megan and I am addicted to food....hi Megan...

So, I have some good news....ok, ready.....?? When I weighed in yesterday I came in at 283.8...yay!! SO this means I have lost 1.4 pounds in a week. Small little triumphs! For those of you following along, that means I have 359 days to loose 98.6 pounds. I do have to up my game a little if I am going to reach my goal but for my first week that's not too bad. 

The thing about me is I love sweets, I also love salty foods, I love meats, I love cheese, I love me some butter, I love fried foods, I love pretty much anything! I have zero discrimination when it comes to food. I love Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Greek, French, Brazilian, Ethiopian or Spanish, it's all good to me. So, as you can see, I really enjoy food. I love trying new things or just sitting down and having my favorite linguine dish.

Luckily or unfortunately I do enjoy cooking. I like whipping up new dishes and making them my own. In my quest to loose weight I have gotten into fish lately. I have learned to cook them properly and my kids even like them. My favorite has to be mahi mahi.

I would say though my adoration with food is beyond emotional eating, I would say I have a food addiction. Sometimes when I eat, I eat in excess...it's not just 2 cookies, its 6. I don't just have 2-3 oz of steak, I have 7. At times I am very good about my portion sizes but most times I am not. I don't know how to "trick" myself into feeling full sooner or looking at my plate and feeling satisfied with the correct portion size in front of me. Who out there has some good advice on this?

Every time I sit down and get ready to write I feel a little bit of anxiety. I worry that I sound ridiculous or that people will find my writing stupid. I then remind myself that I am not doing this for everyone else but I am doing this for me. For those of you who have been supportive and helpful and encouraging, I thank you...everyday I thank you for being there for me. It makes this journey that much more fun and exciting. I look forward to sharing my progress with all of you.

Day 3: My love affair with chocolate!

I have heard on occasion someone say to me “Oh, I don’t like chocolate…” You don’t like chocolate? What!? Oh, you must mean you LOVE chocolate….no? Well I don’t “like” chocolate, I LOVE chocolate! After a crappy day at work who’s there to soothe me? Chocolate. When my kids are driving me crazy and acting like wild animals, who’s there telling me it’s all going to be ok, it’s almost bedtime. Chocolate!

So needless to say I really like the sweet dark master and I indulge in it quite frequently. I’ve tried sugar free pudding, frozen yogurt vs. icecream, chocolate goldfish crackers, and even this great new thing called VitaMuffins Vita Tops. These are great if anyone is interested. Not only are they loaded with fiber, whole grains, low sodium, and 15 vitamins and minerals, there is a velvety chocolate one out there for only 90 calories and NO SUGAR.

But even with the lovely vita tops, I still crave a good ol’ candy bar or some Ben and Jerry’s. It’s said if you change a habit for 21 days you can break that habit so from this day forward I vow to not have one candy bar or any icecream!!! (Yikes!) Who out there is willing to go forward with me and tell the sweet lovely cocoa bean to kick it?

I will continue with the sugar free vita tops and sugar free pudding because I don’t know if I can go cold turkey on this. We shall see.

I also decided not to weigh myself daily because I am only going to make myself crazy. Last Saturday morning I weighed in at 285.2….I will weigh in every Saturday morning and keep everyone posted. Starting on Saturday I am going back to spin class, it’s been a while since I have done it but I need to go again. Also I am going to be doing measurements as well to keep track of inches lost and what-not.

I can’t thank all of you enough for all the support and love you’ve given me. I received an overwhelming response to this and I am just so fortunate. Love you all!!!!

Below is a link for the vitamuffin tops, I found them in the frozen breakfast sections of Target and Publix, they only have select flavors in store and a lot more selections online.

http://www.vitalicious.com/

OMG.....Day 1: D Day

Ok, so this is it, huh? Day 1, I suppose I had to start at some point. I am going to loose 100 pounds in 365 days. I would like to loose more but one step at a time. I want to do it the right way and not yo-yo anymore. I am determined to do this and I hope you come along with me on this journey.

So I have battled with my weight for nearly all of my life. I was a chubby little girl and I was plump in grade school. I luckily lost weight before starting high school and I stayed at a decent weight thru high school and I began loosing weight again after high school.

I met a boy and fell in love and poof! I became pregnant at an early age and my daughter was born when I was 19 years old. I began loosing my pregnancy weight and I was close to being back to my pre-pregnancy weight and baby girl number two came along. Yes, my girls are 13 months apart and no, I am not completely nuts (just slightly). Well I gained nearly 70 pounds with my next pregnancy and the weight just kept piling on. It's amazing how quickly things can spin out of control.

Here I am, a woman at 5'6 and I was about 140-145 pounds and now I am at 285. Yes, there it is....aside from my physician/nurse I have never written that anywhere else or told anyone else that and I am now publishing it on the web! I do know that I am going to change things around. I am going to explore a new healthy lifestyle and change some bad habits. I will not continue the same cycle I have been following for these many years.

So here I am, day 1, 365 days to go and 100 pounds to loose!