And another one bites the dust...

Ok. I haven't written a blog in like 2 weeks! It's been crazy at work and the holidays delayed me. I have also been super freaking sick! Yuck! I really got off the wagon for a while. Not eating unhealthy foods or anything like that. I went one week just doing one shake a day and then I got sick and didn't do any shakes for a week. I am getting back on the wagon today...well almost. I had one shake and took some vitamins so that's a start! Tomorrow my schedule is clear at work so I should be able to do my two shakes and vitamins without any problems!

I am happy to report that I lost 20 lbs before Thanksgiving and 3 lbs after Thanksgiving!! Woo hoo! I am so incredibly excited! My pants are very loose and I just feel better! Thanksgiving wasn't difficult for me. I have never been all about the food and I didn't feel well so I wasn't even concerned about overeating. However, I went to my parents' house for four days and WOW they eat really bad food! This diet has really helped me to look at food totally differently than I did before. Instead of seeing yummy deliciousness, I see fat and calories! Everything in my parent's house was like super fattening! I was like no wonder I'm fat! LOL!

I haven't been doing a whole lot of exercising. I have been walking every day but nothing else. I have to start back up now that I'm feeling a little better! Life is kicking my butt lately! I don't have enough hours in the day! I'm just happy that even with all of the craziness I am still losing weight. I hope to be down another 15lbs by Christmas. We'll see how it goes.

I have a few friends that kind of fell off of the diet train over the holidays. If you did, don't worry about it. Pick yourself up and jump back on the wagon. Truth is, no one is perfect and diets aren't super easy especially during the holidays so there's no sense in beating yourself up about it. Just try to do better next time! That's my advice for the day! Now I need to get back to work!

Plans? Ha! Good luck with that!

I haven't written a blog in a while because work and life has been crazy! I started my new routine just in time for all the craziness. So needless to say the routine lasted two days and then I got off of it. It's been a little over 5 weeks and I am down 18.4 lbs. So exciting. I am hoping to be down 20 lbs or more by Thanksgiving. We'll see if I can do it! I have to get back on my routine this weekend. I have no plans so I should be able to.

I have only been having one shake a day all week and just snacking for lunch which isn't good. Next week I have got to get back on track with the two shakes a day. I also need to start taking my vitamins first thing in the morning. Ugh! It's just so difficult to keep up a routine when work is always changing around and junk but I am determined!!

I finally measured myself last week so that I can keep up with my measurements for this month. I know that I am losing inches all over. I can't see it when I look in the mirror but I can totally feel it when I wear my clothes and stuff. All of my pants are loose. I have lost a lot of inches in my legs and upper body. I wish I could lose more in my stomach but I just gotta get my butt up and start exercising those muscles some more.

I still feel great about the diet. I still love the shakes. I'm still trying all different recipes and eating healthy foods for snacks and dinner. I am allowing myself one cheat dinner a week now within reason. My taste buds have totally changed. I had a coke this afternoon and it tasted absolutely disgusting. I had a few drinks and then I tossed it. Nasty! The junk that I used to eat and drink just doesn't taste as good as I remember. Now I just associate it with a lot of fat and that makes it lose it's appeal a little.

Well...sorry this blog is kind of boring. Once I get back on track with my workouts and diet I'm sure I will have so much more exciting things to talk about! :-)

Shakes...they're what's for breakfast!

Happy Monday All! I am in a great mood today! I woke up and felt rested and wonderful. For breakfast I had a shake with orange juice, cranberry juice, vi shape, frozen pineapple, and raspberries! It was phenomenal! I had to run some errands at lunch so I didn't get my full walking in but I did get some. I am sitting here now trying to figure out what kind of shake I want for lunch. There are so many options!

I was hoping my new pilates DVDs would come today but I guess they're not. Hopefully they will be here soon because I am ready to workout! I am approaching the end of my first month of this diet and I feel great. I'm not burnt out or anything! I am excited for month 2! This time I'm going to actually measure myself so that I can know exactly how many inches I lose!

Moving along to Tuesday...I got my Pilates DVDs in the mail and did them after dinner. Those things are not made for fat girls!! I just don't bend that good but I'm going to keep doing it until I can!!

Tomorrow morning I'm going to start my new workout routine. I'm going to measure myself tomorrow too! We'll see how it works! For now I'm taking my butt to bed. This time change has me jacked up! I'm on an old persons schedule! Early to bed and early to rise!

Time Change = Productivity

I crashed out last night after I got home and took a shower! I was so exhausted and I thought that I would be so sore this morning but surprisingly my eyes popped open at 8 and I was ready to go! It was crazy! I took care of the animals and started laundry. Then I had a delicious shake with Cranberry-Pomegranate juice, orange juice, Vi Shape, frozen strawberries and a banana! Lots of natural energy! I got all of the laundry done and went to the store and got a few things. Then I got home and put everything up, did a little bit of light cleaning and took Jaxson for a walk! My legs are a little sore but not much! For lunch I had a shake with Vi Shape, orange juice, frozen pineapples, and frozen cherries! Great for joints, loaded with vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants! Perfectly delicious, too!

Oh and my jeans that didn't fit last month are so lose in my leg area I could fit another person in them! I just wish I could lose some more inches in my stomach area so that I can actually go down another pants size! I feel so amazing that my small jeans are now my big jeans. I know that I've lost some inches in my stomach because these pants wouldn't even button last month but now they button and fit great. Now if they would just get loose!

Right now I am trying to relax and catch up on my shows but I got a new heart rate monitor and my bike is calling my name! After I watch this stuff I am going to make some dinner and head out on my bike for a little ride. Tonight I have to do my Firm Express because I didn't do it yesterday! I should be getting my pilates videos this week so I can start my new routine! I am so excited! I am aiming for maximum results, people!

Well I had some delicious fish and sweet potato fries for dinner. Went for a ride and did my DVD. Now I'm headed to bed to get ready for another week of work. Hopefully it will go by quickly!!

A nice and relaxing trip to the park...

I woke up at 8:30 this morning and couldn't contain myself! I fed my babies and then made breakfast. Half cranberry and half orange juice, vi shape and mixed berry pomegranate! Amazing! I got ready an headed to the store to pick up a few last minute things. Then packed the car, had a snack and walked Jaxson. Then I had lunch. Instead of mixed berry pomegranate I added strawberries and mango! So delicious!

I got to the trail and walked by the water and saw my first gator! Then the trails started. I felt good up until mile 6. The terrain was kicking my ass because I didn't have a bike made for trail riding but I kept pushing on! I got to a little past 8 miles and I was so excited because I thought I had finally made it back to the car for a break! WRONG! I had taken a wrong turn and was now 2 more miles away! Those last 2 miles nearly killed me but I made it!!

Then I loaded up and headed over to another set of trails. My legs were burning, my ass, and missy were hating me but I hopped back on for another trail. I'm riding along thinking about how beautiful it is with all of the trees and animals around when suddenly out of the corner of my eye I see something move. It pops up and is shaking its tail! What is it? A water moccasin! I bet I went 40 mph screaming the whole way! I freaked out and had a panic attack. I made it through the trail, thank God! I hopped on another trail around a nice lake and saw a few gators. Then it started getting dark and I wasn't trying to stick around to see what animals come out in the dark! Yikes!

Now I'm sitting at Golden Corral eating dinner and all I wanted was mashed potatoes, a roll, green beans, and a piece of lemon and herb baked fish. Now I'm stuffed and about to pass smooth out but I still have to go home and walk Jaxson!

I am so proud of myself for riding so far and sticking with it even though I wanted to quit so many times! Too bad I haven't received my go and pro yet because it probably would've made it a lot easier!!

Fast Fridays

Yesterday was a good day. I was super tired for some reason so I didn't get around to writing a blog. Nothing eventful happened. I was curled up in bed at 8:30 thinking it would be just fine if I went to sleep instead of doing my Firm Express workout. I forced myself to go through it and it kicked my ass. I don't think it's ever going to get easier! I wonder what the neighbors think when they hear me bouncing around, panting, and screaming at the tv! LMAO! I'm surprised there aren't lawn chairs outside and someone taking money for tickets to listen to my crazy ass!

Today was a crazy and hectic day! I have been all over God's creating and trying to do everything! I didn't get to have my shake until an hour later than usual. Then I had lunch. I ran out of milk so I was trying to find a recipe that I could do with what I had on hand. I tried a can of sliced peaches, water, cinnamon, and honey. It tasted almost like peach cobbler!! It just needs something else. I am sitting here trying to figure it out! I just saw a recipe for S'mores shake so I am excited to try it!

My mom got her shakes today. I sent her some recipes and stuff. We'll see if she likes it. She says she needs to lose like 30lbs but I can assure you it's probably more like  10! She is so psychotic! One of my co-workers got hers too so I am excited to see if she likes them or not. Two of my other co-workers have been asking about them so maybe they will decide to order some too! I am just so excited about how amazing these things are and how great they work that I just want everyone who has issues with their weight to use them! I am on my fourth week and I have already lost 14lbs total! My goal was 12 in a month! It's so exciting!! I am currently wearing a pair of jeans that didn't fit me a month ago and guess what? They are too big in the butt and legs!! Woo hoo!!

I left work early and spent 2 hours walking around the store! I treated myself to Carl's Jr because it was still pretty early. Then I went home and cleaned everything top to bottom, took Jaxson for a walk, rode my bike and did my workout! I don't feel bad about the burger but I definitely won't be doing that often!

Now I'm watching tv about to pass out! I'm so excited for my trip to the Brazos Bend State Park tomorrow! Animals everywhere including tons of alligators! Biking and hiking trails, an observatory and picnicking outside for dinner!! Yay! Well I'm off to bed!

Less is more until it's not...

I finally lost a half of a pound! I think the reason my body was as a stand still was because I wasn't eating enough calories. So I am trying to make sure that I eat enough but not too much! This is a lot of work! I'm just making sure to add some stuff to my shakes and eat healthy snacks. Pretty simple. Work has been slow so that makes it super easy. I finally decided to become a distributor. I'm not going to go out of my way to sell the stuff but I am going to let people know that I'm doing it and it works. If they want more information I'll give it to them and maybe they will decide to try it! If I can get my shakes for free that's great and any extra money will just be icing on the cake!

I need to get some fruits and stuff to add to the shakes. I am getting a little burned out on the same stuff every day. When I go grocery shopping on Friday I am going to mix it up. I have plenty of different healthy snacks so I'm happy with that. I just need to try my new dinner recipes and try some different shake recipes! Thank goodness there are so many to choose from! I think I also want to get a pilates video so that I can rotate my firm express and pilates. I did pilates for a while and absolutely loved it. I have no idea what happened to my DVDs though.

Well I found some Winsor Pilates DVDs on the Internet for super cheap and I ordered them. I can't wait for them to come in! More workouts! I made some delicious scrambled eggs mixed with onions and ground turkey for dinner. Then I went for a walk and a bike ride. I am so sleepy right now! I am trying to force myself to get moving and do my workout so I can take a shower and get my butt into bed!

I did my workout and I'm so glad I did! It kicked my ass but it felt great! Now I'm headed to bed! Tomorrow is a new day...hopefully a lighter one!

Stuck

Okay readers...today I am feeling stuck. I have been stuck at 12lbs for almost a full week! I have been exercising every day, eating healthy, sticking to healthy calorie goals, drinking water, taking vitamins, and doing my shakes but the numbers on the scale haven't changed. It's very discouraging but I'm trying not to just quit. I keep reminding myself that I feel like I'm losing weight and I feel great so I need to focus on that and not the numbers on that stupid scale!

I have started to analyze all of the things I'm doing and trying to see what I can do to change. First, I am not hungry during the day so I haven't been snacking at all. I've vowed to myself to make sure that I snack. I've even set the alarm on my computer to remind to have a snack every day at work. I think this will help keep my metabolism on track. Over the weekend I didn't have enough water so I am trying to make sure that I have plans set in place to ensure that even when I'm busy I drink enough water. Last week was a hectic week so I didn't get to finish my shakes both days so I have to make sure that I stop what I am doing for 10 minutes so that I can complete my shakes. I also feel like I am eating the same thing for dinner every week so I have made it my goal this week to research healthy recipes that seem yummy and fun to make. This way I stay interested, I'm trying new things and eating healthier. I also feel like I need to continue mixing up my exercises. For the first two weeks I was walking and riding my bike for exercise. This week I have added The Firm Express DVDs to it. I also found a park where I can go to play tennis. A change of scenery from time to time will be good to. I can go walk or ride at a different place or take a different route. These are the things that I feel like I need to work on so that I can stay successful with this diet. Wish me luck.

So yesterday when I was getting off work I wasn't feeling really great and the guys had ordered some pizza so I just had a slice and then went for a walk with Jaxson and then went to bed. Boy do I regret that slice of pizza. It made me sick all night long! It was like my body was just rejecting it! I woke up this morning still feeling pretty nasty. In the future I think I will stick to healthier options because apparently my body has decided to make me pay for any junk that I eat! I had a shake with some vanilla, cinnamon, and honey for breakfast. I had my vitamins immediately afterwords. I've had 16 ounces of water and working on my next 16 right now. I am going to have some almonds as a snack. Trying to stick to the plan. Today is a slow day so it's a good day to try to get it going in the right direction.

So I had a shake with a little bit of natural peanut butter in it for lunch..so delicious! One of my agents came in and gave me this weird look. I was like, "Umm...what's the deal?" He told me that I looked different and he just couldn't figure it out. I sat there and thought about it and I am not wearing any new clothes or different make-up, my hairstyle is the same, and I just couldn't figure it out. About ten minutes later he came in and was like,"I know what it is! You've lost more weight!" So clearly I look like I've lost weight and my clothes are fitting looser so I know I'm making progress the scale just needs to get with the damn picture!

Well I went for a walk when I got home, cooked an amazing chicken roast outside on the grill and then did my firm express exercise! I ended up on my mat at the end and I just laid there for like 20 minutes after! My legs are still burning!

I am happy to report that I reached my calorie goal today and I'm hoping that if I continue to do that I will start losing weight again but I am not going to give up! I can't do it!

Cheating Without Regret

Today has been an awesome, busy and crazy day! I have been going non stop since 9 this morning! I had a shake for breakfast and then off to the Ren fest I went.

I decided today would be my cheat day. I got to the Ren fest and didn't even really want anything. I had a few bites of a turkey leg, half a sausage on a stick, a bite of a chocolate covered banana, and water. I walked for four and half hours only sitting down a total of 15 minutes! The food was delicious, the costumes were great and I felt awesome!

When I got back home I cleaned the house, did the laundry, walked Jaxson, showered and baked and decorated 24 eyeball cupcakes for work! I am beat! I put everything I ate in my fitness pal and all of my exercise and I burned almost every single calorie I ate today! What an awesome cheat day!

Well I am off to bed! I hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween! A special Happy Anniversary goes out to my best friend Crystal!

Possessed

According to my friend, Tommie, I am possessed. I talk to her every day about my eating, work outs, and weight loss. This morning I got up, took care of the animals, had a pumpkin spice shake, and my vitamins. Then I crawled in bed to watch Captain America because I passed out last night after the first 5 minutes!

I usually have no problem sitting still during a movie but I just couldn't. Before I knew it I was laying in bed doing floor exercises with my legs while watching the movie! I had to laugh because maybe I am possessed! LMAO!

After I watched my movie I did my firm express DVD workout and the chick almost killed me again! She had me jumping and lunging all over the place! Then she had me doing push ups! Ha ha ha! You should've seen that!

After my workout I was pouring sweat so I showered, fought my way through Walmart where I bought myself a workout mat for all those floor exercises and pet smart where I got Jaxson a frog costume! So cute!

I just had Italian crusted flounder with steamed veggies for dinner. It was amazing now I'm off to the Ziegfest to watch some concerts and walk around!

Finally home after a night full of music and drunken idiots! I was standing there listening to music when some drunk guy behind me says, "Whoa! That's a whole lot of woman!" OMG! I almost knocked him the fuck out! I wanted to cry but I turned around and told him it wasn't that I was a whole lot of woman it was just that he was such a small little boy and if he didn't watch his mouth I was gonna knock him upside his fucking head and teach him some manners. Suddenly he didn't feel so macho! Him and his little slut and douche filled entourage decided to go elsewhere. Too bad...I was certain that a fight would burn a lot of calories! WHAT is wrong with people?!?

Other than that Ziegfest was great and I was around a lot of really amazing looking food and didn't really want any. Which is really weird because I just checked my calories for the whole day and I was only at 800! I just wasn't hungry and I was so busy I forgot to snack!! Craziness!

Tomorrow is Ren fest. A day full of walking and having small bites of very delicious food! I can't wait! Oh and I have to do some laundry and cleaning! Boo! Well I am taking my ass to bed!

Pain never felt so good...

I slept so freaking good last night but when I woke up this morning my entire lower half of my body felt like I had been hit by a truck! I love it! That means that my 20 minute workout last night actually did work me out! I can't wait to get home and do it again! I must be out of my mind!

I went grocery shopping yesterday and got a bunch of snacks. My new obsession is Blue Diamonds oven roasted almonds with sea salt. It even comes in this cool little bottle that helps you measure how many ounces you are eating! SCORE! Healthy, delicious, and easy to control calorie intake. I am such a dork but I just love when I find healthy foods that I really think are delicious!

I had a shake this morning with a smidge of natural peanut butter, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a tsp. of honey! It was like freaking Heaven. It tasted like a peanut butter cookie but much better! I love just mixing different things into my shakes to try different flavors. Hmm...I wonder what I am going to try for lunch? It's slow today so I am actually going to get to take my sore legs for a walk during my lunch break! Yay! More burning calories!

I took a nice walk for lunch and had a plain shake. Then I had a few Rtiz Roasted Vegetable crackers. So freaking good. After work I went for a long walk. The wind felt amazing!! Then I cooked dinner and went for another nice walk and bike ride.

I decided to do the next video in my workout program and what do I suddenly realize?!? I did the 3rd video last night instead of the 1st!! LMAO! No wonder I could barely walk today! I'm such a dumbass! So I did the first one and it was MUCH easier yet it still kicked my ass. This crazy ass woman had me doing push ups...yeah right...I tried. I bet I looked like a damn fool! Every time I had to do a floor exercise jaxson thought I was playing with him and would jump on me. And any time I was doing leg exercises Wally (my Bengal cat) would attack my legs! Crazy animals!

Now I think I've worked my ass off enough for tonight. It's time for a shower, my warm bed with my boys and Captain America! I hope it's good. Tomorrow is Ziegfest! Woo hoo!

The quickest way to die...20 minutes of the Firm Express!

Today was a busy day! I had to work late but I managed to get in some walking during lunch! Yay! I also finished both of my shakes.

Today was the beginning of week 3 of my shakes. I'm happy to report that I have lost 12lbs! I feel amazing!!

I've been having major cravings for a burger and fries so after looking at all of my options I decided to make my own. I grilled some delicious lean turkey burgers with veggies no cheese and a tbsp of mayo. Then I baked some delicious sweet potato fries! Such a great alternative to the highly fattening fast food burger and fries!

I decided to get the firm express DVDs while I was grocery shopping. It's raining outside so I popped the first one in. 20 minutes...no big deal...right? What the hell ever!!! Five minutes in and I considered knocking myself out. These three bitches had these ripped bodies and were sweating their asses off. The bitch kept asking me if I felt good! Hmm...let's see...I'm soaked with sweat, panting like a hippo in a horse race and my legs feel like someone poured gasoline on me and set me on fire. Yeah...I feel amazing! Throughout the whole twenty minutes she was asking me if I could give her one more push. Bitch needs to learn to count! I gave her one more push thirty pushes ago and i was out of them then!! However, I am super proud of myself for continuing through the whole thing even though I maybe didn't do all the exercises as good as her. Do you know how hard it is to lunge down and back and down to the ground for a pushup when your ass is as big as mine? Hell when it was over I wasn't sure if I could get up off the floor. I fell into the chair and I don't know if my legs will hold me up long enough to shower!!!

If this doesn't burn some freaking calories I just don't know what will!! Well I'm going to try to get my stinky, sweaty ass in the shower. Not sure if I'll make it. Check back tomorrow for more exciting news. I have 12 more DVDs to do! You're supposed to do 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week, a different DVD a day for a month. Oh and if that isn't enough they've included a bonus one. Just in case you don't die from the first 12. Go ahead and take bids on how many it takes to do me in!!

Fast Food...Fast Death

 

I have really been craving a hamburger and fries lately. I wanted some Red Robin so I started checking out their nutritional value. Yikes! That place has burgers that are like 1000 calories! This prompted me to just go through all of the fast food places and start checking out the healthier options. There aren't very many of them. I started with Carl's Jr. which is quite possibly my favorite fast food place. They definitely win for having the most options. They have carb friendly burgers that are wrapped in lettuce instead of bread, they have burger options with no cheese or mayo, and they also have a whole line of turkey burgers which are much healthier than beef. Chick-fil-a is next in line because they offer several different healthy options along with healthier sides. They have chicken salad sandwich, grilled chicken sandwich, chicken salad in a cup, chicken noodle soup, and fruit cups. Whataburger, McDonalds, Burger King, and Jack in the Box all offer like one healthier sandwich. Of course all of these places have several different salad options. However, none of these places offer sweet potato fries and their fries have as many calories as the burgers!! 

So that picture looks totally delicious. All of those juicy burgers with cheese and bacon and yummy french fries! But whenever you see this picture you should remind yourself just how many calories are in just one of these things! So instead of seeing that...you should see this...

That puts a whole new perspective on things, doesn't it? Oh and by the way...I have lost that and more! Ok...I am through with my ranting about fast food.

Moving on...today has been pretty uneventful. Thank goodness! I've been busy but not too crazy which is a nice switch! I got my first compliment today about my weight loss and I was so super excited. The girl didn't even know that I was on a diet and she told me that I looked like I was losing a lot of weight!! I was so excited I almost fell out of my chair! This prompted me to go on like an hour long rant about how great the products are and how great I feel. So now she is going to look into it and pass the info on to a few of her friends. Maybe I should become a distributor! If only I had time with this crazy job!

I've been trying to walk a lot while I am at work. I have been getting up and just walking around the office every hour or so to burn some calories. Every little bit helps. I think that I am going to get The Firm Express dvds next week. I have been trying to decide if I want to try them but the more I read about them the more I think they would be a great part of my exercise routine. Pretty much everything I do is outside and I want to have an inside option so that when it rains or the mosquitoes are out like crazy I will still be able to get in a good workout. 

I've also decided to try the two new products that Visalus has available on November 1st. Go and Pro. I have been kind of wondering if I wanted to do it or not. They both have some caffeine in them and I really didn't want to use them because of that. I have worked so hard to not drink caffeine and I really don't want to get back into those bad habits. But they don't have a lot in them and they seem like they could really help me get the best out of my workouts so I am going to give them a try and see what I think. I'm excited because anything that is not unhealthy that will help me burn more calories is phenomenal!

Well I got home from work, went for a walk, cooked dinner, and then went for a 4 mile bike ride. I just finished showering and cleaning the kitchen. I had an amazing turkey cutlet for dinner with mixed veggies. I love turkey so much. I'm seriously probably going to turn into one! I really wish the mosquitoes weren't so freaking bad because I could ride some more. That's why I need the firm express! I could be doing that right now! It makes me want to take my butt to Target to get it! I might get it this weekend if I find time. I am going to the Ziegfest on Satirday and the Ren fest on Sunday! Yay! Lots of walking! If this week would ever get over with!

In other news I ordered the iPhone 4s today and I'm super excited to get it. I can use Siri to do all of my bidding!

Anyways, I guess I'm going to get ready to lay it down and watch An American Horror Story! Woo hoo!

Eat to Live, Don't Live to Eat!

I saw this quote and I just loved it! Before this I would plan my day based on what I was going to eat for the day. I would hang out with friends and we would base our activities on where we were going to eat and so on. Now I now that I am going to have a shake for breakfast and lunch. I have my healthy snacks at home and at the office. I don't have to worry about planning it. I am eating to live. I am eating to stay healthy. Now I plan my days based on what physical activity I am going to do for the day.

I started planning a weekend trip the other day and realized that instead of trying to find great places to hang out and eat. I was looking for great places to go and do some physical activity. I stumbled across the Brazos Bend State Park. I am so excited to go there! The reviews are phenomenal. There are all kinds of animals everywhere including over 200 alligators that just hang out all over the park! Yikes! Luckily no one has ever been hurt by an alligator there and alligators stop eating from November to March. I think I'm safe! There are 40 miles of hiking and biking trails that stretch through prairie land, marshes, and swamps! The weekend I am going they are having a guided 1/2 mile hike, scavenger hunt, owl and snake experience, alligator slide show, and an amazing observatory with lots of expensive telescopes to look at the stars. I also plan on having a picnic there and doing some bike riding! I am so excited! I get to be outside and see all of the animals AND work out! It's only 30 miles from my place so if I like it I might try to go for a day every weekend!

I also found a really awesome tennis court in a really great park that's only a few miles from my house! I have made it my goal to find exciting activities to do that are close. This will help me continue to exercise without getting bored. I feel like having a variety of ways to exercise besides just biking and walking will help me continue to do well. I've also been checking out new places to go biking and walking. A change of scenery is great too. I just don't want to get bored with this and lose my motivation. That's another reason why I love the shakes. I am eating healthy every day but I can easily change the flavor of the shakes so that I am not eating the same thing every day. There are so many recipes so I can try new things. I've also started checking out recipes for healthy dinners and trying new things. It's fun and exciting. It keeps me interested and motivated. I think that's a really important thing to make a diet successful.

Ok...now let's talk about the reality of the diet. I know that when you read this blog it kind of sounds like this diet is the easiest thing on the planet. It isn't. Don't get me wrong, it is way easier than any diet I have ever done and I feel so much better than I ever have but it's still hard. I still have urges to eat junk. I pass by a fast food place and think about how great a big juicy burger and some fries would be. I go to restarants and still want to order junk. However, I have made the decision to stick with this diet and I'm going to do it. I know that I might enjoy that crap for 30 minutes but I won't enjoy trying to work it off or hopping on the scale and seeing a weight gain.

So while we are on the subject of weight gain...I got on the scale this morning and I had gained a pound. Now I know that muscle weighs more than fat and that during a diet your weight fluctuates. I've read all of the information. It still doesn't make me feel much better about the gain. However, I am not going to let it get me down. I have been drinking the same amount of water, eating the same amount of calories, and working out the same amount so I know that the gain is not because of something that I've done. I also know that I tried on clothes yesterday and saw results. Hell I don't care if I weigh 700lbs as long as I wear a smaller size in clothes! :-) So my weight loss is now at 10lbs which is still awesome for almost 2 weeks!

I've been wearing a pedometer all day long just to help me keep track of how many calories I burn. I am a calorie tracking fool! I learned that I burn about 320 calories just working! That's almost breakfast and lunch! Pretty freaking awesome. Of course most of that is going back and forth from my desk to the bathroom because I drink so much water but whatever. A calorie burned is a calorie burned!

Today was a crazy day and I ended up having to work late but I still managed to have dinner before 7! I had some leftover turkey spaghetti and a tiny piece of turkey sausage. I absolutely love turkey sausage and it only has 100 calories for every 2 ounces! Oh and it's so much freaking better for you than pork or beef! Then I went for a walk about a half of a mile and then a 3 mile bike ride! I could've ridden some more but the mosquitoes have been so terrible during the day and they are about 10 times worse at night! I am hoping that they disappear soon so that I can go back to enjoying my bike rides! Well I am off of here. Gotta get ready for bed! I need my 7 hours!

Dont jiggle it when you wiggle it...just bust a move!

I swear that I have that song stuck in my head! Everyday when I exercise it plays over and over in my head! So funny!

So today I tried a new shake. A smidge of sugar free chocolate pudding and a dash of cinnamon. It was delicious! For lunch I just did a shake with nothing added to it. I swear it tastes like a vanilla milkshake!

Exciting news. I am down 11lbs in 12 days! I went to the store today and tried on some clothes. I started with a shirt. I am down two shirt sizes!! Woo hoo! Then I tried on some pants. I am almost down a full pant size. I say almost because they fit but they are just a tiny bit snug in the thighs!

I am so excited! It was the first time in my life that I was actually looking forward to trying on clothes! I'm just a little upset that I wasn't down a full pants size or two but at least I wasn't up one!! It just gives me more fuel to keep going and pushing myself further.

So my friend got her stuff in and started it today. I've been telling her all about the shakes and she sent me a message and she loves them! I'm so excited for her! I hope she sees results like I have!

Well I am off for one more quick ride before I get ready for bed. I'm praying these damn mosquitoes go away because they are killing me! I bet I have over 100 bites, no exaggeration!

Sunday...a day of rest? Not for this girl!

Today was a fun day! I swear I spent the whole day covered in sweat (yuck) from working out so much!

Breakfast was a peanut butter and jelly shake! So freaking delicious! Then I took Jaxson for a walk around the lake until he got tired and then I went for a walk. Then a break and 3 miles on the bike. Followed by laundry, cleaning, more bike riding and cooking!

I'm down 9 lbs in 11 days! It's so great. As a reward I went to Old Navy and bought some work out clothes. I am addicted to their yoga pants! And they had them on sale! Double bonus! I'm going to buy a new dress tomorrow! Go me! I'm hoping I'll be down a dress size. We'll see. Lunch was a banana nut bread shake! So good! Then dinner was grilled chicken and veggies.

I went to the movies to see Paranormal Activity 3 and I really wanted some nachos but I fought the urge and just had a water.

I've noticed that I'm having a hard time eating my recommended amount of calories. I'm actually eating under. The recommended amount for me is 1600 and I'm averaging 1100! Its crazy...with the shakes I'm just not hungry!

My goal for the month is 12lbs and it hasn't been a full two weeks yet and I'm almost there! Yay! I really hope that I can keep this up! Well I'm off to bed.

Carrot cake for breakfast...

I woke up this morning and tried the carrot cake recipe! Yummy! I think it might be even better with just a smidge of vanilla pudding mix added! I am so excited...today is going to be like the first day that I am going to be able to actually finish my shakes! Yay! Right now I am enjoying my shake, checking some emails at the office and catching up on a my shows. Then when I get out of here, hopefully very soon, I am going to go for a nice long walk with Jaxson to burn off my breakfast!

I am debating on whether or not I want to go on a long trek on the bike. I have been trying to push myself a littler farther and farther each day. Last time I went 7 miles but that was mostly because I got a little lost and was trying to find my way back! LOL! It got dark and cold pretty quick! I was like, Oh Shit! However, when I got back home I felt great! Well I will be back later to let you  know what I decide. It really depends on when I can get out of here!

Well I finally got out of the office! I ended up getting slammed right when I got ready to go! Go figure! I took Jaxson for a walk, it wasn't long because it is hot as hell out there and he was over it pretty quickly! I am going to watch a show and wait until it cools down a bit and then it's back at it! I have got to get moving! I think I might do some cleaning! I love weekends! I get to do more exercise than during the week! I think I am going to shoot for 10 miles on the bike this evening. :-) I love this!

Well the 10 miles didn't quite happen! The speedometer/odometer thing I got for my bike took a lot longer to install than I anticipated! The installation on that thing was insane! So I ended up only getting to ride about 4 miles. I cleaned and walked a little too.

I've been reading about local bike trails and I found the Brazos Bend State Park! I am going to go there one day soon to ride near some alligators! They're like all over! I also found a local place to go play tennis! I'm so excited! More places to work out!

I had Popeyes for dinner. I was craving some chicken! I got the naked chicken strips with green beans. Only 300 calories total! Woo hoo!

Now I'm about to take my butt to bed. I'm going to the movies tomorrow so I gotta get up early to get some walking and riding in before I go! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

And there goes another one

Today was another super crazy hectic day where I didn't get to eat but half of my shakes at breakfast and lunch! I tried my own shake this morning with the chocolate flavor mix in, caramel and vanilla extract. It had a weird after taste to it. It was missing something. Not sure what! Tomorrow I am going to try the carrot cake one!

Got off work and had dinner at Lupe Tortilla. I haven't had beef in over a week so I had some beef fajitas. I only had one tortilla, a tiny bit of cheese, guacamole and sour cream. Lots of veggies. I still didn't go over my calorie goal! Yay me!

Then I went to walmart and Target and walked around for two hours! I got a new little pedometer to wear when I walk and a odometer/speedometer thing for my bike! I can figure the distance I went and my average speed to determine the amount of calories I burn more accurately!

When I got into the sporting goods section I just wanted everything! It was ridiculous! I've been looking at the Firm Express workouts. I really want them but they're $90! There's a lot of DVDs in there an you only do 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week. I figure that would help me burn calories, get into shape and get toned. Has anyone tried them? I've read good reviews but just wandering if anyone personally tried them.

Oh yeah and the good news is that I'm down another pound bringing my total to 7.6 lbs in a little over a week! My goal was 3 lbs a week so I am doing awesome! Hopefully I can keep this up!!

Well I am off to try out my new gadgets and burn some calories! Maybe I can lose another pound this weekend! :-)

Eating at Friday's on a Thursday...

Today started out way too freaking early!! I got to work early and it was pretty much non-stop all day! I got  to drink half of my shake this morning! I was so made because it was so freaking good! I spent the entire afternoon in meetings! I had to go to a lunch meeting at Friday's. Listen people...DO NOT eat at that place! Literally almost all of their entrees have like upwards of 900 calories a piece! Really? Thank God for My Fitness  Pal because I never would've found something remotely healthy! I ended up getting the Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Anti Pasto salad. It was delicious! If you are on a diet or trying to eat healthy then you HAVE to get My Fitness Pal! It  is phenomenal! It keeps me in line every day! I literally track every single thing I put into my body and every single exercise that I do. I make sure that I reach my goals every day! It keeps you from eating way too many calories or even eating too few. Plus it makes me conscience of how many calories are in foods at restaraunts. It's a great way to try to find something healthy to eat when you eat out. It also tracks your progress! Love it!

Moving on...I had a freaking dinner meeting too. Thank God this one had Subway sandwiches! If I couldn't have my shake at least I could have something healthy! I had a great roasted chicken sandwich. I came a little under my calorie goal for the day! Yay! Once I got home I was ready to go! I went biking...6 miles in 30 minutes! I am kicking butt! It gets easier and easier every day! Oh and the good thing about biking? It forces you to push yourself. Why? Because once I ride my big ass really far and start getting tired I have no choice but to ride back! LOL! It's fabulous! Then I even went on a 30 minute walk. This weather makes it so easy to exercise outside! I think I might go for another bike ride before my shower! I need to burn 100 more calories to reach my goal for the day! Hopefully tomorrow I will actually get to have both of my shakes and FINISH them!

That's all for tonight...

Rough Day

Today was a crazy day! I worked straight from 9 to 6! I didn't finish my breakfast or lunch shake because I was so busy! But I didn't even feel hungry all day. I had delicious fish with carrots and onions for dinner! Yummy! Then I cleaned the kitchen and braved the cold wind for a bike ride!

I think that maybe I have been riding too much because my ass is killing me!! LOL! I got a quick walk in too! I fell way below my calorie goal today. I don't like to do that because I know it slows down my metabolism and I definitely don't want to do that! However, I also didn't want to eat too many calories late at night either. I'm just glad I managed to get some exercise in!

My friend got her Transformation kit in the mail today and I'm super excited for her! I hope she enjoys it as much as I am! Two of the guys I work with ordered there's too. They decided to go with the Shape kit. Another guy and his wife are looking into it, also! Too bad I don't have time to sell this stuff because I could make a killing! LOL! I'm just super glad that people are taking the first step towards getting healthier even if it isn't with the shakes!! I'm just going to convert everyone!

Well I better get ready for bed. Tomorrow is going to be another hectic day! Oh and FYI...the diet has gotten so easy that I don't even really have to try. No cravings or anything! I'm loving it!

Two Blog Kind of Day...Let's Get Real

I have had so much positive feedback about my blog and my progress. It's absolutely wonderful. I've also become hyper aware of other people's eating habits and relationships with food. It's annoying because if I were someone else I would be highly annoyed by me. I apologize in advance. I just really wanted to talk about a few things that I have read and stuff.

First, The girl that I bought the shakes from told me that I should pace myself and remember to give my body what it craves. I have actually heard this several times over the past week from several different people. In the past this would have been great advice for me. I would always push myself way too hard and deny myself everything. Then I would eventually realize I hadn't lost any weight, freak out, and eat everything I had been craving all at once. Then I would find myself naked in front of the mirror and crying because I felt hopeless and worthless and FAT. For those of you that have been on any kind of diet and crashed you can probably relate. For those of you that have never had a weight problem, you will NEVER understand. Not your fault of course but all the same. My new way of thinking is like this...if I have a craving for salt I simply grab a few ranch rice cakes or cheese rice cakes or almonds or a piece of watermelon with some salt on it instead of grabbing a whole damn bag of potato chips. Guess what? It works. The salt craving is satisfied and I am not sitting down, holding an empty bag of chips, and wondering what the hell is wrong with me. If I am craving something sweet I have some sugar free, low calorie french vanilla pudding or some crasins or a 100 calorie snack pack. This prevents me from eating a whole box of cookies and crying because I am going to gain 10lbs!

Second, two of the guys that I work with have told me that I really shouldn't completely give up caffeine altogether. It's okay to drink a coke a day or even two. Or maybe even have some coffee. Let's look at this. A regular coke can has 140 calories! My lunch consisted of 4 oz grilled chicken breast, zucchini, carrots, sauteed mushrooms and a side salad. That was 437 calories and it was amazing. Drinking 2 cokes a day would equal the same amount of calories as eating half of my lunch! Are you kidding me? Do you really get that much satisfaction out of a small can of coke that takes maybe 10 minutes to drink? Thus being the reason why I have given up caffeine and I don't even miss it. As a matter of fact I didn't even realize I had given it up until the second day! For those of you that are not on the shakes, I have given up caffeine before on several different occasions and it always sucks ass for like a day or two but then it gets better. That's a really easy way to cut out some of your calorie consumption.


Third, I have gotten this so many times. Don't you feel like you are sacrificing everything for this diet? Well let's talk about that for a second. All of these things that I have given up do seem like a really big sacrifice but if you look at everything I am gaining it is totally worth it. I think that a big secret to a successful diet is to have a positive attitude. You can't think about all of the things that you are giving up like caffeine, red meat, carbs, sugar, or whatever you might be giving up. You have to think about all of the things that you are gaining. I am gaining energy, will power, self esteem, and better health. I am giving up feeling ashamed about how much I weigh, not wanting to go shopping because I have to go to the plus size section, not being able to fit into my clothes because I just had to have a piece of cake at midnight, feeling worthless or less of a person because of my weight, and most importantly not being able to look at myself in a full body mirror without cringing. Those are the things that I am giving up on this diet. See how the caffeine, red meats, and junk food seem like less of a big deal when you look at it like that?

I believe that you should love yourself no matter what your size is or what you look like. I also believe that your friends and family should love you for what's on the inside regardless of the outside. And I do love myself very much and I know that my friends and family do too. However, I can still love myself and hate my weight at the same time. I hate it so much. I literally have spent my entire life hating my weight. I can't tell you how many nights I sat and looked at myself in the mirror and just cried. Going out with friends was always a miserable experience because I always felt so self conscience about my size. I have spent my entire life being the thick girl or the fat one or the curvy one. It doesn't matter how you put it, it all means the same. I am the fat girl. That's who I am. One word to describe Lezleecarbs, etc. I will. If it means that I never have to be the fat one again.

Even now as I type this I am in tears thinking about how horrible it feels to be that helpless and to hate your appearance so much. People always make comments like, "Wow. She needs to push away from the table and she won't be so big" or "She should just stop eating so much or exercise more." It's really easy to say that when you've never struggled with your weight. Hell if all we had to do was just stop eating so much and exercise a little more we would all be thin. For some people it's just not that easy. So if you're struggling with your weight just remember that. It's not that easy but I can promise you that when you start losing weight it will be worth all of the work. For those of you that have never had a weight problem I hope that this blog has helped you to see just how hard it is for some people so that next time you see a fat person you might not judge them so harshly. Research it. Some people gain weight more easily than others whether it's due to a medical condition, metabolism, genes or other stuff. Some people have a harder time losing weight for the same reasons. What works for me may not work for you. If you're on a diet and you're miserable, change it. Try something different. Find something that you can do and be happy and successful with. Do it before you give up and end up gaining more weight.

One more thing before I finish ranting, this blog has not been easy for me. It's probably more difficult than the diet. I have put myself out there for the world to see. My fears, insecurities, and issues. Some of these things that are in here my closest friends don't even know. I've never shared them with anyone but I hope that my story reaches out to one person and gives them the motivation they need to lose weight. No one should ever have to look in the mirror and hate what they see. I have to thank my best friend Crystal for not only introducing me to the shakes but for talking me into blogging about it and for always supporting me and loving me no matter how big I am. She truly looks at a person and doesn't even see their weight and that's something that most people could never ever do. And for all of you that have read my blog and rooted for me or given me words of encouragement, thanks. A little support and encouragement goes a really long way.

Sorry for the long rant. I just felt like I needed to get all of that off of my chest. I'm done now. You can all resume your normal lives. :-) Thanks for reading!!

Schedule Change

Today started out pretty good. I had to be at work early so I had breakfast about an hour earlier than usual. Then I had to go to a lunch meeting at Saltgrass. Great! I just gave up red meat and I'm going to a steakhouse!

I have to say I'm really proud of myself. I ordered a salad, mixed veggies and grilled chicken. The chicken was 8 ounces so I only ate about 1/2 of it! I didn't touch the bread or the yummy amazingly delicious butter they serve with it. To be honest I didn't even want it! That's an absolute first. One of the guys I work with asked me if it bothered me to not eat the foods I love. I thought about it for a second and the answer is yes and no. Sometimes I really wish I could eat what I want but most of the time I'm okay with it because it means lower numbers on the scale. That's how I've learned to look at food as numbers on the scale. You'd be surprised how much that really effects the way I eat!

So now I have to have a shake for dinner and I'm really hoping that I don't end up feeling hungry later tonight! But I have to do lunch meetings occasionally so I have to learn to be flexible! I had a shake with French vanilla pudding mix, peanut butter and honey! So delicious and creamy!

I went for a walk and the wind was blowing like crazy. I took a ride on the bike and I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when she was trying to ride her bike during the tornado! Ridiculous! I was pouring sweat, my legs were on fire and I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere! But at least it wasn't hot! Then I took a walk because I had some extra calories to burn. I was 50 calories away from my goal today because it got dark and too freaking cold and I didn't get to do my lunch walk. I think I might clean the house to try to burn some more before bed! Ready for tomorrow so I can go on my walk at lunch! I can't believe I actually missed walking! :-)

Shaking off the weight

Seriously? I get up this morning and I just decide to get on the scale. You used to could not force me to get on that thing and now I'm on it like every minute!! Anyways, I have lost 2.6 more lbs!!! Of course my first thought is that this has to be wrong so I take the battery out of the scale and reset it. I got on it about 10 times to make sure that it was right! I have lost 6.6 lbs total since the 12th! That is a little over a pound a day! I am pretty freaking amazing! I can't see the weight that I've lost just yet but I feel great and the scale doesn't lie so I am happy!

This morning for my shake I added a little cocoa powder and banana extract. I didn't have any fresh bananas handy. It turned out good but it would've been better with a fresh banana! I think that I might try apple pie for lunch. Sounds yummy! Well I guess I better get my butt to work and start drinking my water. What a great day!!

The question of the day: Have you ever cut an apple with scissors? As of just a few minutes ago, I have! Picture this...I have my personal blender sitting on my desk with everything in it except my apple. I have looked high and low and there is no knife to be found. When life throws you lemons make lemonade, right? I was determined to make my damn apple pie shake! So I improvised. I grabbed some scissors and cleaned them and then I proceeded to hack away at the apple. I say hack because it is not very easy to cut an apple with scissors. I'm actually surprised that I didn't cut my finger off! Thankfully I didn't. I got the apple chopped and I made my shake. It's super delicious. The only thing that I think is that I wish I would've had a knife to peel it first but that's okay. At least I got my shake.

I went for a walk at lunch with Jaxson. I'm pretty sure that he thinks I am the devil right now. He has to lose some weight so I think my diet is the perfect opportunity for that. I have been forcing him to go on walks more frequently. He loves it outside but after about 5 minutes of continuous walking he lets me know that he is done. Then he acts like he's going to die for the next 15 minutes of the walk! I swear he is a bigger drama queen than me!! He collapsed on the floor, right by the door, after only 20 minutes and proceeded to play dead so that I wouldn't make him walk anymore!!

Well whenever I got home from work I was exhausted and didn't feel like doing a thing! Needless to say it's 11 p.m. and I am just now sitting down!! I kept telling myself that I had to exercise or I would hate myself. So I forced myself to get up after dinner and get going. I went for a power walk, a 5 mile bike ride going 12 mph and a 1 mile bike ride going 15 mph. I pushed myself and I hated every second of it but now I'm super proud that I made it through.

Then I showered, cleaned the kitchen, made 2 dozen homemade cupcakes with homemade icing, decorated them, cleaned the kitchen again and got everything ready for in the morning! Whew! Talk about burning calories! I feel great. Oh and I didn't sample one cupcake! I wouldn't even lick my fingers or the spoon!

I surpassed my goals for today as far as calorie consumption, calorie burning, and water consumption! Yay! Well I must get my butt to bed. Tomorrow is sure to be another long one!

Accountability

OK. So today's topic is accountability. We'll discuss what exactly I mean in a minute. Let's talk about the day's events. Today was fair day. I was a little worried because I absolutely LOVE fair food! Seriously. We have like a love affair. Sausage on a sticks are my favorite thing EVER. But I am dedicated to this diet so I thought that I would be okay. I can't choose not to live my life and avoid places because I am on a diet. What is going to happen when I get off the diet? Am I just going to avoid everything because their might be some amazingly delicious yet horribly unhealthy food? No. I have to have willpower. So here we go.

My day started off all jacked up because I woke up late. So I had to make my shake later than I would've normally. I made the pumpkin spice and it was better than Starbucks! Yep. You heard me right. Better than Starbucks. Maybe it didn't taste as amazing as Starbucks but it was better because it did taste delicious AND it was healthy! Yay! So I took my am vitamins and started getting ready for the day. That's where it all started to go downhill. Listen people life is what happens when you are making plans so you should ALWAYS be prepared for anything. I was planning on having my lunch shake at 3 but we decided to go the fair early so I had to have my shake an hour earlier than I had planned. This was OK. I could handle this. I made the Gingersnap one and I just loved it! It tasted like a freaking gingerbread cookie! Phenomenal. Then I grabbed some water and rushed out the door.

I'm driving and trying to drink water because I have set a goal for myself to have 10 bottles of water a day. By the time we were on the road I had only had 2! No bueno. We get to the fair and since I missed my morning walk I opt to walk the mile to the arena instead of riding on the hay bales. I have to get my exercise one way or the other by God! So off I went. We get to the arena and that's where the trouble really starts. There is food everyone. My long lost lover is staring me in the face. It's ooey gooey goodness is everyone. Funnel cakes, sausage on a sticks, turkey legs, cheese fries, nachos, and everything else. Oh man. I was not fully prepared for this.

I told myself that I would be fine. I was full from my shakes and pouring sweat. Not really in the mood to eat. So I start watching the rodeo. It's so funny because at the fair there are lots of really large people that are eating really unhealthy food. I just wanted to jerk all of them up and tell them all about Body by Vi and just how many calories they were consuming and how much exercise it would take to get rid of them. YES. I have become one of those people! Isn't it funny? I hate those people! So I fought the urge not to piss off some really big people that could probably stomp me into the ground!

I had been there for about an hour and this girl sat directly in front of me with a mother freaking sausage on a stick! OMG! Really? Can you please take your yummy goodness away from my face? So I decided that the best thing for me to do was to just have a tiny bite of a sausage on a stick just so that I could satisfy my craving and keep from going to jail for robbing the food stand at the fair and eating everything! I had a tiny bite and I was good. I wanted more but I thought about how much longer I would have to exercise to burn all of those damn calories off! So I opted for a big ol' pickle and 2 bottles of water. Every time I felt like I wanted more junk I just reminded myself that I would have to walk for like days to burn off the calories on top of my regular exercises.

This is called accountability. I was holding myself accountable for what I was putting into my body. It's no one's fault but my own if I choose to eat junk. If I don't drink enough water for the day or I don't do my shakes like I'm supposed that is my fault. Life is not going to always make eating healthy and exercising easy for me. I have to make it work. No matter what the situation is it is my job to make sure that I reach the goals that I set for myself.

So since I ate the little bit of sausage I opted to walk back to the car once the rodeo was over. I walked the entire mile back and I felt good about it. That little bite was so good and I didn't have to feel guilty about it. I went 5 hours at a fair and only had a tiny bite of a sausage on a stick and a pickle! I am freaking on fire. It was so not easy but I learned just how strong I am and how much I am capable of! Go me!



I've had a lot of people read my blog and tell me that I am an inspiration to them. Really? I never thought I would be an inspiration for people to lose weight. It's an amazing feeling. It feels good to know that my story and my struggles and triumphs are helping people to lose weight themselves. Knowing that people are reading my blog and encouraging me keeps me going on days like today. Every time I thought that I couldn't do it, I just asked myself if I was ready to disappoint myself and others. Guess what? I wasn't so I just soldiered on. A lot of people say that there is no way they could go to a fair and just have a bite of something scrumptious but...

Just make the decision to hold yourself accountable for the weight loss goals that you set. YOU decide what goes into your body and YOU decide what exercises you do. Make the right decision...trust me...it feels AMAZING!! Until next time...happy dieting people! :-)

Obsessed

Ok...so I know that I am totally annoying the hell out of folks because I cannot stop talking about this diet! I just feel so amazing and I think everyone should know all about it!! I've told all of my friends who want to lose weight about it. I just think that everyone should feel as great as I do! So if you're tired of hearing about it...get over it! :-)

So today has been a bit of a challenge. I slept in until 11 so I had to change up my meal plan just a smidge. I had a shake with my am vitamins as soon as I got up. I mixed a little vanilla, a little coco powder, a bit of honey and a tiny little slither of peanut butter. All of that only added 20 calories to the shake and it was amazing!! Then I went for a 30 minute walk and a 30 minute bike ride. Then off to the dollar store. I really want to do the Pumpkin spice but I don't have any damn pumpkin or nutmeg. I might break down and go to the store later!!

I got this sugar free, low calorie Cherry Pomegranate drink mix and it is PHENOMENAL! I am so addicted to it! So freaking delicious! Oh and did I mention that pomegranate is also an antioxidant? It sure is! Yay me!

Oh and another obsession is Craisins!! I have the original and the blueberry kind. They are amazing! I have to get the cherry and pomegranate kind. What a great snack! Who would've thought that I would ever be obsessed with healthy stuff? I love it.

So for lunch I tried the cinnamon bun shake recipe and it was freaking delicious! It tasted just like a cinnamon roll and I loved it. I've got a list of others I am going to try! This is so fun because I love to cook and bake and create things so I get to do that every day with these shakes! There is no way I'm going to get bored with this!

I got this amazing app for my phone called My Fitness Pal. You put in everything you eat and it calculates your calories! You put in your exercises and it tells you how many calories you burned and you put in water consumption! Then it tells you that if you continue eating this way you will be this weight in a month!! Love it!

So I was doing all of the cleaning and the scale was just sitting there so I decided to jump on it and see if there had been even a slight little change. What did I see?!? I've lost two more freaking pounds! I am totally on cloud 9 right now! I think I'm going to go for another walk! I always knew there was a skinny girl trapped in me and that bitch is kicking this fat girl's ass!

Well I went on another walk! Then I made a phenomenal turkey burger with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cheese. I also put mayo on it because I deserve it and I had some calories left for the day. Oh and I ate some green beans! So good! I didn't even miss the beef! Took my pm pills and I am going to take another walk! Oh and I went to the store and got stuff for the pumpkin spice shake which I will be making for breakfast!!

Tomorrow is fair day and I'm super excited. I am going to treat myself to a tiny little morsel of fair food because I have been doing an awesome job and fair food is amazing!! Well in off to go for another walk!

Grocery Shopping

Today I went grocery shopping for the week. I got me a cut little single serve blender to use at work! I'm so excited! I got some yummy snacks for the house. Fruits, veggies, craisins, rice cakes and almonds. I also replaced pork and red meat with turkey, chicken and fish! I have so many new recipes I want to try out. Who would've ever thought eating a completely healthy diet could be so dang fun?!?

A guy at work asked me out to lunch today for Mexican. I had no desire to eat Mexican food because I'd rather have a shake!! Craziness! So he asked me how I could possibly go without real food and just eat a shake. He totally didn't believe me but that's okay. He's an idiot!

So I know I'm supposed to weigh myself once a week but the scale was staring at me and I just had to get on it. I didn't expect to see any results but what did I find? I've lost 2lbs since Wednesday!!! I know that's not a lot considering how much I need to lose but it's so freaking exciting!!

I went to dinner with some friends tonight at Olive Garden. Usually I would eat a ton of breadsticks and a big plate of pasta but it didn't even seem appealing to me. I opted for the soup and salad. I had a plate of salad, half a bowl of soup and half a breadstick! Then I walked around Walmart for two hours and walked Jaxson for 30 minutes when I got home. I can totally do this! I've never felt so energized and so damn happy. I just make myself sick! LMAO!

I'm going to the fair this weekend so my real test is going to be resisting all of the fair foods. I'll have my breakfast and lunch shake before I go and I'm gonna shove some healthy snacks in my purse in case I get hungry. Wish me luck! I'm sure I'll be fine! Well I'm off here for now. I might go take a bike ride around the lake!

Chugging along and trying not to stab folks in the face

My diet is going great! I had the best sleep last night. I laid down and passed smooth out. No waking up all night, no tossing and turning and no just laying there forever! It was fabulous! I didn't have to force myself out of bed. I was excited to get up and have a shake! Insane!

I didn't feel hungry the whole day. I actually felt full and had to force myself to have some dinner! I haven't had any caffeine in two days and I don't even miss it!

I had a rough day at work because this idiot copy guy showed up and stayed for four and half hours! I almost didn't get my lunch shake and I was not happy! I almost stabbed him in the face. But I didn't! That is a great accomplishment.

I am working on drinking more water. I love water but I just don't drink much during the day. I drank a bottle at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then another bottle when I went for my walk. I am going to attempt to drink two more bottles before bed. I'm on a roll!

I didn't exercise as much as I wanted today since I only got a few minutes for lunch and got home late. I got in a 30 minute walk so that's a plus.

I'm just so excited that I'm not hungry or having any cravings! There were donuts and kolaches and candy all over the office today and I didn't even want it! I have to say that this product is like a miracle worker!!

I bought some great healthy snacks. I got some fruit, veggies, string cheese, rice cakes, and almonds. I wanna mix it up so I don't feel like I'm eating the same thing all the time. I'm watching my daily calories closely so that I don't have too much. Lifestyle changes all over the place! Woo hoo!

Well I need to get some cleaning done and take a shower! So excited about more shakes tomorrow and hoping to get to exercise more!!

And the transformation begins...

I'm so excited! I got my transformation kit with the vita pack in the mail this morning. I was like a kid at Christmas opening everything up and looking at it. I couldn't start the day off with a shake so I am going to have one for lunch. I just mixed some Vi-Trim in with water so that I could take the AM pills from the vita pack and a Vi-Slim. I hate swallowing pills and the pills in the vita pack are like vitamins so it's gonna take me a little bit to get used to taking them at night and in the morning. The Vi-Slim pills are smaller so that is good. I was actually really surprised when I mixed the Vi-Trim in my water. I kept drinking it to see if I could tell if there was any difference but there wasn't! That's so awesome! I've tried so many diets with drink mixes that just tasted awful. I was reading all of the suggestions about healthy snacks to go along with the shakes and I for the first time in my life I am so excited about starting a diet.

I feel like this is really a program that I can work with. I have a schedule set out for myself. Work has always been a tough thing for me because my hours are always weird and I never really know when I'll have time to stop and eat lunch. I am not a morning person so I hate waking up to have breakfast before work. By the time I get home I am super tired and I just want to eat something and go to bed. Now I can mix my shakes the night before and take them with me. I don't have to stop what I'm doing to drink my shakes while I'm at work so I can actually stick to a schedule. Whenever I stop to get a bottle of water I can quickly mix some Vi-Trim in it between breakfast and lunch. I really think that anyone can make this program work with their schedule!

Ok...so enough about the products for now. Let's talk about me. That's what this blog is about, right? Ha! I'm a Leo, can't you tell? It's all about ME! I am so excited but I'm really nervous at the same time. I don't want to get my hopes up and then not lose any weight. That scares me. I've done so many different diets and I'm talking about really committed to them and didn't cheat but I only lost a few pounds while people around me lost a lot more. So frustrating. So I feel like this is really my last step before choosing to do the lap band and I really want to be successful. I will be successful! That's what I am going to start telling myself from this point forward.

Fast forward to lunch time...I had my first shake! I just did a basic 2% milk with the powder and the banana flavor mix-in. So delicious! The mix smells exactly like cake mix! It dissolved in the milk perfectly without even using a blender! I had so much energy that I grabbed my english bulldog (who could stand to lose about 10 lbs himself) and we went for a 30 minute walk around the lake! Usually when I go home for lunch I just sit on my big butt for an hour. Sometimes I eat and sometimes I don't. Even now as I'm typing this there is smoke flying off the keyboard because I am typing so fast. When I was driving back to work I almost ran down a garbage truck because he was just going too slow! I bet I could've ran to work with all of this energy! I plan to go for another walk after work, then the movies (if I can sit still) and then a nice bike ride! I just started and I have more energy than I've had in forever! It just adds to my excitement! Oh and I have severe anxiety and a lot of diets increase my anxiety and give me the shakes and make me claw myself like crazy. Not this one. I just feel like amazingly great! This is going to work....

So I am sitting at home when suddenly I start getting super hungry for some chips. I only eat 4 and then grab some pineapple slices. So proud of myself for just satisfying the craving without going crazy. Now I'm cooking dinner. My plan is to way foods that I like for dinner but in smaller amounts. I already cut out frying my foods and I use a butter substitute. I really want to try to cut out sodas. I'm down to one can of coke a day. Baby steps.

So after a nice little dinner I drank a neuro drink which was delicious. Then I went for a 30 minute walk with Jaxson. Then I went for a 30 minute bike ride. I still have so much energy it's crazy! I might go for another walk in a little bit after Jaxson cools off.

So to sum it up...I love the taste of the products. I love the way I feel. I'm not bitchy or hungry or tired. Day one has been super successful and I'm actually looking forward to day two of a diet for like the first time in my life. We'll see how good i feel after a week! And I want to thank everyone for their kind words of encouragement!

The Scale is a Liar and the Devil

So after the quest to find a scale I get it home and set it up. I am sitting here staring at this scale. I am so intimidated by this stupid little thing. It's really ridiculous.

Ok. I've been staring at it for five minutes at some point I have to get on this damn thing and just weigh myself once and for all. Here it goes.

The numbers come across and I fly off of that thing!! What in the hell! I do not weigh that much. There is no way. Something is wrong with this damn thing. I got a defective scale. I'm taking off my clothes. This shirt and pants have to weigh like 20lbs. They have to. I strip down to my birthday suit and jump on the scale. One pound less?!? Are you kidding me? I take the battery out of the scale and put it back in. I get on the scale again and nothing has changed.

Now I am standing here in my birthday suit, crying and staring at these numbers glaring back at me. I swear the scale is smiling at me. This is a new low. When did I get so fat?

I have decided that the scale is a liar and the devil. Thank god I am starting a diet because the skinny girl inside of me is pissed.

Well at least I finally did it. I took the first step to facing the reality of my weight. The scale isn't really a liar. I'm clearly in a very deep seated denial. That has given me more motivation to really work this diet. To change my lifestyle.

I vow to get more sleep, to stop skipping meals, to stop eating late and to start eating better. I am here not only because of my thyroid disorder and PCOS but because of me and my lifestyle.

I still think the scale is the devil but maybe it's telling the truth...maybe.

On the hunt...

I thought the hardest part of my battle would be to actually get on a scale and weigh myself. Boy was I wrong! Turns out I don't even own a scale and getting one has been the hardest part! I am on my third store and still no scale!! I figured that I could just run over to the Dollar Store and get one. Wrong! The lady at the Dollar store told me that scales are...wait for it...SEASONAL! Yes people, it turns out that there is a scale season!! What season is scale season, you may ask. Summer. Apparently people only weigh themselves in the summer! I'm just a few months behind. Silly me. CVS doesn't have scales either. Just the ones that weigh food. So now I am at Walgreens on my quest to find a scale! Heck by the time I find one weighing myself will seem like a piece of cake!! And we have a winner! An hour and three stores later! Walgreens has a scale!

The Beginning

Hi. My name is Lezlee and I'm a fatty. Fat. Fat. Fat. I so hate that word! It cuts like a knife. You can call me a bitch all day long but the second you say I'm fat I will flip out and stab you in the face. I call myself fat all the time but there is just something about someone else calling me that. It's like confirming the obvious. I've been in denial for a long time about my weight. For years I was a closeted dieter. I didn't want anyone to know that I was on a diet because then that meant I was admitting to being fat. I could never do that. Pshh...like people couldn't tell by looking at my big ass! It's so crazy how we convince ourselves that if we don't admit to something then it somehow isn't true. Don't get me wrong, I love myself, fat or not I'm a pretty amazing person. I just think I would love myself a lot more if there wasn't so much of me to love. I spent a lot of time doing a lot of different diets and not really losing any weight. I would beat myself up about it all the time. That would just cause me to get depressed and gain more weight. It's this crazy cycle. If you're overweight or ever struggled with weight problems you know exactly what I'm talking about. I found out that after all of these years I have PCOS and a thyroid disorder. So basically there's an underlying reason why I'm fat and diets haven't helped much.

I finally decided that I wanted to get the lap band. I have been going back and forth between wanting it and not wanting it for several years now. I have done all kinds of research and I just felt like it was my last chance to shed the weight. Then last week I was talking to my best friend and she told me about a new line of products that a bunch of her friends are having great success with called Body by Vi. Listen I have had my fill of all of these miracle weight loss products. I have tried most of them and have been very disappointed but for some reason the products and the success stories just captured my attention. I've decided that I have to give it a shot. So I ordered my kit this week and I am so excited. I have really unrealistic expectations so I am trying to set realistic goals so that I don't get discouraged and give up.

The first step to starting the diet is to order the products. The second step is to weigh yourself. YIKES! I haven't stepped on a scale in a very long time and the last time I stepped on one I didn't like what I saw at all. The scale is so intimidating to me. I think it is for most people, overweight or not. I don't know why we judge ourselves based on stupid numbers on a horrible little machine but as a society we do. You are suddenly not worth much if you weigh too much. You feel less confident and have lower self-esteem the higher the number is.

I know that I will never be a size 2 or hell probably not a size 6 and I am just fine with that. My ultimate goal is a size 9. I do not need to be a supermodel...I just need to be a healthy me...regular sized not super sized! So my goal for the day is to get on the scale and weigh myself. Tomorrow will hold more goals but I am just going to take it one day at a time. Totally corny, I know.

If nobody reads this that is totally fine with me but if I can inspire one other fellow fatty to start their own journey to a healthier, happier person then I'm super happy. I also think there is something therapeutic about writing and I'm hoping that documenting my struggles and my successes will help me reach my goals. So here goes nothing!