Welcome to Nutrisystem

I signed up for Nutrisystem.

I picked 28 of what I thought were the most appetizing breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts. I have no clue how this is going to work but I want to give it a try. Since traveling I have found that I am always eating out and I know I could be eating better. Since I live out of a hotel eating the Nutrisystem dinners may be a challenge since I dont have a microwave. But I figured I can eat the dinners for lunch and have a salad for dinner.

I probably wont get the food for another week and a half but I'll keep you posted on my thoughts. For some reason I am both scared and excited!!

Weigh in at the gym last night....188.6. I am tired of staying in the same spot. I want the 170's sooooooooo bad!

Shaq attack

Did anyone watch Shaquille O'Neal's new show last night on ABC called Shaq's Big Challenge?
If not I definitely would recommend watching it next week. The whole point of the show is Shaq is the trainer/motivator/activist for a small group of kids that range in ages from 11 to 14 that are all over weight. A few of the kids were even morbidly obese. I was just in total shock after the kids went through a physical and the doctor was giving them the results.

I see myself in each one of these kids. I know I was fat when I was that age but I'm not quite sure if I would have been considered obese. Obesity for me hit in my late high school/college years. I really want to try to keep up with this show. I would absolutely love to see these kids change their lives for the better. I would love to see their dreams come true.

If you watched it, what are your thoughts?

Snooze

I was up at 4am this morning. Was I doing anything fun and exciting you ask?? NOPE!

I got up at 4am, got ready for work, drove to the airport and flew to DC. The flight was about 45mins total and I think I slept for 5mins on the plane. So I am sitting at my desk this afternoon doing anything and everything to keep my eyes open. I plan to go to the gym tonight but I dont know if that will actually happen. I may be satisfied if I just put in 30mins on the treadmill at a slow pace. We will see.

Even though this Monday has been rough I had a fabulous weekend. I sipped Mimosas by the ocean front yesterday and had the best seafood ever at local hot spot. My diet wasn't the best and I have worked out since Friday. Oh well!!!

If I get to the gym tonight I'll weigh-in. I have a feeling it's going to the right around the same thing it's been these past few weeks.

I almost forgot....

I HAVE been recording the food I've had for the past three days. I've been using an online tool. It's pretty resourceful but there are a few foods that I eat alllll the time they arent available. So I dont know if the calorie count is true to life but it's a good way for me to pick my snacks. Yesterday I saw I was getting a little high on the calorie count so I opted for a banana instead of hummus and pita. I probably wont do this over the weekend but I feel good about what I've done this week :)

Beach

I cannot tell you how excited I am to go home this weekend. I am leaving work in a few mins to head down 95 to Virginia Beach. I've gotten used to this travel life where I am only home on the weekends. It makes it seem like a small vacation. I do have to save the driving back and forth was getting really exhausting. But I ran the numbers and I will save my company around $5 if I fly up here! So that is what I am going to be doing for the next few weeks. I'll fly up bright and early Monday morning and fly home on Friday afternoon.

I am want to start a new goal for myself. I may save it for July but 'practice' next week. I want to start doing light cardio (walking on the treadmill or easy work on the elliptical) at the hotel gym every morning. I used to get up at 5:30am every single morning to go to the gym. Even though it was a hard routine to get into I got used to it and it was no big deal after a while.

I started working out in the evenings since I generally dont have anything to do after work. But things always seem to come up at night...dinner, happy hour, etc. I want to make sure I am doing SOMETHING every day. I did it this morning and I plan to do it all next week starting on Tuesday morning.

Anyways, have a great weekend everyone!!!

101 posts

This is my 101 blog post! It's very exciting to me because I've tried blogging in the past but never made it past my 10th post! I guess something is working :)

My weekend was wonderful. It was a bit longer than originally planned because I decided to take Monday off of work. I drove down to my Dad's house on Saturday and met the rest of my family. We went to the Charlotte Knights baseball game to celebrate Father's Day. They are the AAA team for the Chicago White Sox. The stadium was quite small but we had a blast!!! I eat before the game so I had no need to get food there but I did have a few (2) beers.

I visited the gym on Monday and was able to weigh myself. I didn't go to my usual gym and so it wasn't my usual scale but I saw......188.4!!!! I was shocked!! I don't know how it works to my advantage but I didn't work out at all and I didn't eat all that great and I still lost weight. I think I've increased my metabolism from all the hard work that I've been doing. It's very encouraging!

This week is nothing special. I had my first Deep Water Fitness class last night. It's a group of all women and I am the youngest by at least 20 years. There is nothing wrong with that but I made sure I was pushing myself to get a good workout. I could definitely feel my muscles working in my arms and legs. I have class again on Thursday.

I feel that I am doing okay on my goals this month. I've been trying hard to read AND comment on everybodys blogs! You guys are such an inspiration to me!!! As far as losing 5lbs is concerned, if the scale I used the other day is accurate I have lost 3.2lbs since June 1st. My lose has slowed down A LOT recently but as long as it keeps going down I'll be happy. Lets just hope I can lose the last 1.8lbs by the end of the month!

Weekend plans

I am getting ready to hit the road to head home. I wont be spending much time there because tomorrow morning I am hitting the road (Yes, AGAIN) for Charlotte, NC. My dad recently moved down there to work on their new subway system so my Mom and I are going down for a visit.

For Father's Day we are treating him to a baseball game at the local AAA team. It should be a good time. I have to admit that I am already craving a beer and a hot dog :) Maybe I'll do a beer and see if they have a grilled chicken sandwich!

Have a great weekend everyone! Tell your Dad that you love him!

Sign me up!

So last week I had looked into a few community water aerobics classes near the area that I am working. Since I am now traveling I tend to spend most of my nights working out. I have just been craving something new and adventurous to get myself excited.

I found a Deep Water Fitness class that is every Tuesday and Thursday nights. I promptly signed up. I don't know anyone in the class and I have never been to the facility before but I have high hopes. The class starts next week and it goes to mid-August.

I have never done water aerobics before but everyone that I know who has says it's wonderful. I love the water, I love to swim and I love the fact that I can work out and not sweat! I'll let you know how my first class goes next week!

I am definitely in a weight loss plateau right now. I haven't gained or lost anything in what feels like a month. This is the first time I have experienced this kind of thing before so I am trying to make a few changes.

Have a good night everyone!

Finally!

I've been wanting to post some pics on the blog. Here are some pics from my weekend in Atlanta. I went to the Georgia Aquarium:

Me and the fishies!









Me in the "tunnel-of-fish"









Beluga Whales









Sea Turtle










**Please keep scrolling down for my other post for today!! I am looking for tips on counting calories**

It's the numbers that count

So I am feeling a change coming in the wind. In the past two weeks I have really started to feel my eating habits slipping. I've been eating junk and I'm not very proud. I need to get myself into some new habits.

I really think I need to start counting my calories. This is something I have never honestly attempted to do for longer than a day. I know it's something that I need to read up on but I thought I would ask my fellow bloggers for some advise.

Do you guys have any tips or tricks of the trade? Do you know of any helpful websites or books that I should look into?

I just bought a brand new 2008 Weekly Planner. It starts July 2007. I would like to spend the next few weeks slow and go full force in July. I'll let you guys know if I found out anything interesting out of the web!

AHHHH

Okay so let me set up this scenario for you:

There is this guy that works for my company that is totally gorgeous. He is the kind of guy who has a great body and a GREAT personality.

A few weeks ago I was waiting at the gym for my kick boxing class and I looked over and there he was. He was waiting for one of the weight machines. He smiled and waved and I smiled back and quickly (and probably red faced) went into my class.

A few days later I ran into him in the hall and he asked how my classes were going and we got into a discussion about kick boxing. It was the first time I had had a conversation with him outside of a work related meeting.

Now, I know I have a boyfriend and I know he has a girlfriend but I got all giddy after what happened this afternoon....

I had just gotten out of my seat to go get some carrots and humus for lunch (I was being good) and he came around the corner. He called my name and said he was coming over to talk to me...AHHHHH! Im sure I turned six shades of red and he then asked me some advice on going to Virginia Beach!

The whole point of this story is that I don't know if I would have ever had the confidence to talk to a boy like this before. I have no interest in him and I know he has no interest in me! I was just really impressed by myself for being so outgoing.

I see myself changing ever day, and not just physically. I have never been more confident or proud of myself than ever before.

Have a great weekend everyone! My goal for next week is to post some pics to my blog :)

Fit Flop

These are totally amusing to me! I found them over at Popgadget.net!

All I have to say is if these flip flops can make my butt smaller but just wearing them then sign me up. I am a flip flop-aholic but none of the ones I have promote a built in gym.

Im kidding of course!!! I would never by flip flops that promise a good workout unless they did the walking for me :)

They do look comfy though!!!

Motivation

Since we are all always looking for the motivation that keeps us going and working hard at our goals I figured I would post the positive things I have experienced since losing weight.

Pros of losing weight:

• Feeling healthier and more fit every day
  
• There is nothing like the high of trying on a size smaller and having it fit!
• Finding clothes that fit you in a "Normal Sized" store (ie. not Lane Bryant)
• Being able to wear sexy summer tops
• My fingers have gotten smaller so I can wear rings now that I never could before
• Crossing my legs makes me feel sexy
• Receiving compliments from people you haven't seen in a while
• Finding muscles you never had before
• Seeing new definitions in your body
• Fitting comfortably in an airplane seat
• Having the ability to walk up several flights of stairs without getting totally winded
• Looking forward to your next workout
• Watching the numbers on the scale going down is a rush
• Having your friends ask you for advice on losing weight or working out
• Having the confidence in yourself that you may not have had before
• I now wear sexy strappy sandals
  

These are a few reasons that I can find the motivation to keep going. What positive things have you guys realized since losing weight??

June Challenge

I am recommitting myself to the Challenge and to all the participants!

In June I want to:

Lose 5lbs
Blog 3 times a week and leave comments and encouragement to all my weight loss blog friends

June is going to be a good month :)

All natural

Thanks guys for all your comments on my last post. I really wanted to know other peoples opinions. I've talked to my friends and even my mom about it. I knew that I was opposed to it in the beginning. There just seems something totally unnatural about taking a pill like that.

In my humble opinion I think I have done phenomenal this past year. I have lost over 100lbs with a healthy diet and exercise. Im not going to let a "quick fix" get the better of me. I would however never judge someone if they chose to take a weight loss drug. Exercise has worked for me but I know it might not work for everyone.

I hopped on the scale yesterday and saw 191.6!!! I cannot wait to be in the 180's. I am really going to try hard next week to reach that goal. I am spending the weekend in Atlanta with my boyfriend and his family. That means we will be eating out a lot but there should also be plenty of site seeing (lost of walking!!!).

Have a great weekend everyone. Maybe I'll post some pictures next week!