Hiatus Makes the Fat Grow Fatter

Wow. Not only did I take a hiatus from writing in my blog here, I clearly took a hiatus from eating like a smart, rational person. Oh good lord. Well, let's recap the 7 weeks, because I think it's been at least that long, if not longer, that I've given an update on process.

So, one of the fabulous ladies I am doing this whole "Biggest Loser" challenge with went to NYC on vacation a few weeks ago. It happened to fall on one of our weigh-in weeks. Rather than change our calendar, we just decided to skip the one weigh-in. Our rationale was that it would be a whole month that we'd have to work out, eat right, and then come back in and have lost a ton of weight and be really excited and motivated. That sounds good......in theory. In practice, it did not work out the way we envisioned. Three out of the four of us gained weight... the fourth didn't gain, but didn't lose either. I gained 5.5 lbs. I was so upset with myself. I gave myself a stern talking to and resolved to do better.

This happened March 17th. Two weeks later, I lost 2 lbs. Today was our 6th weigh-in.... another 2lbs down. So, I've almost made up for my 5.5 gain, being only 1.5 lbs away from the lowest I've been in the competition. I'm still at a net loss, so that's good. However, my goal is to be 5 lbs down at the next weigh-in.....and I have a secret weapon.

Are you ready?

Green smoothies!!!!! I have been meaning to start making smoothies for a while now, and just haven't gotten off my butt to do it. My breaking point? I was recorded giving a presentation in class and had to watch it to write a 1-pg self critique. I couldn't bear to look at myself. I have learned, in years of being chubby, which angles flatter me in still photos and I have mastered looking good in a picture. However, in the video, that doesn't so

much work. So, I decided that something MUST be done.

I went to Farm Fresh, got some kale, parsley, mixed berries, lemons, grapes, flax seed.....I've been doing research online and printed off some yummy recipes. I have had one each day this week for breakfast. Monday my smoothie consisted of: a little more than a cup of kale, a cup of frozen mixed berries, 1/2 a banana, flax seed, and 1 cup of water. I was SO hungry 2 hours later. The next day, I made a lemon and parsley shake and added a cup of almond milk, and that sustained me a lot longer. I can't wait to come up with new recipes to try next week!

My smoothies haven't been this pretty of a green, but darn close. And so easy to make and drink while I'm getting ready. I have been really pleased and it usually sustains me until lunch. I still struggle with what I eat when I get home, I need to start bringing a healthy snack with me to work and eating it on the way home.

Also, I've recently become addicted to these:

They are chips that are made from brown rice. They are so so so good. They

have tons of flavors, but my absolute favorite is this Sweet Chili flavor. It's so good. I won't allow myself to buy them anymore because I can't control myself... I eat the entire bag. They are so good. They are "heath" food and all, but like I told my friend megacom, nothing is healthy when you eat an entire bag.

So all in all, things are back on track. I took a giant detour, but I'm focused and can see the light again. And I promise not to be neglectful of you, my loyal 3 people that I'm pretty sure read this, again.

soy un perdidor, i'm a loser, baby...

I sit here, on my lunch break eating a carrot and doing Bugs Bunny impersonations. (What's up, doc? smack*smack*smack). I'm feeling free-spirited and light hearted and oh-so-happy. Por Qué? Because I'm a LOSER baby! yeaaaaaaaah! Today was weigh-in #3. I am down four pounds from my unfortunately gain two weeks ago; six pounds overall. I have lost 2.26% of my weight. AWESOME! :) I am so happy. I'm close to dancing in the street.

I've been oh-so-good recently. Calorie counting like a crazy person. Turning down beer to run on the tread mill. RUNNING ON THE TREADMILL!! There's the big one. I've been running on the treadmill for at least 20 minutes 2 nights a week. I am trying to bump it up to 3, then 4, then maybe even 5.

I haven't been drinking water like a good girl though. Did you know that if you leave a plastic cup full of water on your desk over the weekend, mold spores will start to grow? Yeah, me either. So I trashed that cup and just haven't brought another one to the office yet. I'm going to try to get back on the water train tomorrow, making sure to take much better care of my water vessels.

In other news, I really have no other news. I'm lacking in wit and humor today, but I just wanted to share my exciting news. I am splurging on Chinese food with my husband tonight, so I already put that in the calorie counter and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, so that's not terrible. I have to be really really really good the next few days because on Wednesday, I will be another year older and one of my fantastic co-worker friends is throwing me a fondue celebration with all the gals at work. So I will be eating lots of cheese and chocolate and fruit and pretzels and marshmallows.......... yum. *drool*

Knee's a' Knockin'

Last Thursday, there was a strange sound reverberating around the office. It echoed off the dormer windows and clattered around between the cubes. It lasted for a good solid two hours...... up until the point it was time to weigh-in. Yep, it was the sounds of my knees knocking together, terrified of what would happen when I stepped on that evil white tile.

It had been a bad seven days leading up to weigh-in. I was PMS-eating like a crazed person and had one of those months where you just can't be satisfied when you eat, no matter what it is. Coupled with an exhaustion I'm not really used to, I was lazy and ate like crap. I was terrified of what this week's weigh-in would be like.

Rightly so, it turns out. I gained two pounds. I was very disappointed, because when I had weighed-in at home that morning, I was down 1.5, and I didn't eat all day up until the weigh-in (not on purpose, I just had a busy morning and forgot about breakfast). I was the only one who gained weight and I dutifully put my $2 in the pot. I blame a lot of factors, but the one I blame the most is not drinking water. I always feel better when I drink water and it is my opinion that if I drink water like a good girl, I will be down again next week.

I also wasn't diligent about my lunch last week. I went out a few times and fell off of the lean-cuisine wagon. Well, I'm back on it today. Yesterday I had a cup of soup for lunch and a SmartOnes for dinner, topped off by a bowl of Chocolate Cheerios for desert. In a moment of weakness, I ate some chips too, and paid for it this morning. I felt bloaty and sick when I woke up and I was up 2 lbs when I weighed in at home. Thirty-two ounces of water I feel better, and I'm determined to drink another 32 oz of water before I leave here today. Today I had my SmartOne and a yogurt... yum.

Also, I'm working on accountability. My darling husband got me a DROID X for Valentine's Day. Yay! So I downloaded the My Fitness Pal app and have been trying to record everything I eat. When I get to work in the morning, I add my oatmeal AND my microwave lunch/yogurt so I feel like my fate is already written. Also, when I went to a super bowl party, I loaded up on fruits and veggies and a calico bean chili instead of all the crazy other stuff. I did eat two cookies and some amazing nacho cheesey dip, but I didn't pig out on bad food. So I was proud.

I'm still not pleased with myself on my exercise. I wanted to get up this morning but I fell back to sleep.... good thing my body naturally wakes up at 7:15 or I would've been super late for work. Tonight I'm going to make a very concerted effort to run on the treadmill when I get home. Fingers crossed that I'm successful!!!

BL Week 1 & 2

So, our very own Biggest Loser competition got off to a great start. On January 6th, 2011, we all scampered into the bathroom, scale and change of clothes in hand. We agreed before Christmas break that we would each wear leggings and a university t-shirt to be "even". We were praying no one from the other office suites would come into the bathroom. So, armed with a clip board and a excel spreadsheet I made, we dutifully wrote down what each weighed. To my surprise, only 34 lbs separated the heaviest from the lightest - I thought it would be a much larger spread (I seriously under-estimated what one friend weighed, she looks so tiny!). We set up a bi-weekly weigh in schedule, so we all set off determined to see less weight on the scales in two weeks.

The Monday (which happened to be MLK, Jr. day) before the impending Thursday weigh-in, we had a last chance workout, just like they do on the NBC tv show. We met up on campus with one of the cops who we're friends with. He is a personal trainer and agreed to work with us, so we were thrilled. He worked us! We did cardio and weight training, and I left feeling pretty good, especially considering I had to wake up and drive to campus by 9 am on my day off!!

On Thursday, we all delayed weighing-in as long as we could. Talk about anxiety. We made sure the halls were clear and scampered back down to the bathroom, changed clothes, and had a staring contest until someone finally (graciously) volunteered to go first. The scale flashed while it was calculating (OoOoOoOo).... DOWN THREE POUNDS!! Cheers were shouted, congratulations all around. Our first victim contestant succeeded... would we all?

One by one, the rest of us climbed on the small, white, potential harbinger of bad news. One by one we were greeted with happy news! The first three of us who climbed aboard the small white tile of doom lost THREE POUNDS! We're awesome. Finally, it was the final turn. The results: SIX POUNDS! Way to go! Our first w-i, and we were tremendously successful. We happily changed back into work attire and giddily went back to the office. Week 1: Major Success.

So, here are my stats for week one:

Weight lost: 3 lbs

% lost: 1.23%

BMI: down .5

Hoping this momentum continues!