Friday, November 30, 2012

Now let's get caught up....



Wow...it's been awhile since I have dumped my thoughts onto the computer screen. Maybe that's why I've been such a lunatic jumbled mess lately :) So here we go...I have LOTS of info to catch you up on!


Yes, this is the wonderful ONEDERland! I have hit it and am not going back. It was one of the prouder moments I have accomplished in my life. I would throw it in the ranks of graduating college, getting married, opening my own daycare business, etc.(Nothing can ever come close to having my daughter though!) If you have ever been over the 2 number...then you know how much you dream of that day. It is not a day that I want to throw away in one emotional eating binge. Not. Worth. It. And those socks...yes I know they don't match. Fun Fact: I never match my socks...unless it's a formal occasion and dress socks are needed, then it pains me. Only 9 more lbs to go before I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight(which I am still in no way proud of!)

The last time that I posted, I had just lost 30 lbs. Well since then, I have lost 5 more to put my grand whopping total at 35(I did the math for those of you whose brains have been fried by the long week. You're welcome :)). I was able to maintain over Thanksgiving by cutting my normal Thanksgiving portions in half and drinking a ton of water. It really wasn't as difficult as I thought that it would be! Especially since my Bread Machine decided to crap out on me the night before and didn't warm the dough, which in turn did not activate the yeast, which ultimately led to hard...only edible if you heat them up first rolls. Those are my one weakness..you put mine or my mom's Dinner Rolls in front of me and I have no control.

I think I also finally found a routine that keeps my energy up and recent knee pain subsided during my runs. I'll share my secret(which is common sense really) I take 3 Ibuprofen 2 hours before and then eat a Clif bar 15 minutes before. I have done this twice now, which both led to awesome 3 mile runs that felt effortless. I also need to give credit to my friends Michael Jackson, Fort Minor, Maroon 5, and Nicki Minaj. I think ultimately I need to invest in another pair of shoes because the ones that I have are getting worn out. I have a second pair of Asics but my feet fit a little weird in them so they remain strictly as everyday outside shoes.

Here's a whopper for you...my mom and I have now brought the idea of doing a Half Marathon onto the table. I want that 13.1 sticker for my car. Like really bad. I also know that in order to keep trucking along on this journey, I need some sort of goal...or ends to an mean. So a race(I hate to call them that because the only person I compete against is myself) is what we will do! So if you know of any around the Kansas or neighboring states for September/Octoberish next year, we're all ears! This means I am also looking at different training programs to use that get me to my goal, but aren't so intense that you would have to run a bajillion times a week. I need to usually cap it at 3-4 times a week or I feel like I'm skipping out on my daughter and husband. I have narrowed it down to a couple of plans that look terrifying attainable.

I have started doing what's called "Carb Cycling." Chris Powell was on the Dr. Oz show explaining how it works. Now I'm not doing it completely hardcore by the book right now. Just instituting basic principles and trying to ease into it. I have learned that through this journey of mine that if I just jump into something and go full speed at first...I end up crashing hard. So slow and stead wins the race for me! It works along the basic principle that you always need to keep your metabolism guessing. If you restrict what you eat to 1200 calories a day, every day, your body and your metabolism soon becomes accustomed to that. Sure in the beginning you may lose a bunch, but then you end up plateauing and have to find other means. With this, you alternate doing low carb days and high carb days. On a low carb day you would have an egg a slice of whole grain wheat toast and a slice of tomato for breakfast, snack would be celery and pb, lunch would be boiled chicken  breast and salad, afternoon snack would be a protein shake, and dinner would be something like steak, chicken, or tilapia and veggies. A high carb day would be the same breakfast or something else like oatmeal, snack would be yogurt with granola cereal in it, lunch would be deli turkey and cheese wrapped in a tortilla and some sort of veggies, snack would be a banana and dinner could be something along the lines of marinara sauce over chicken and pasta. You do that for a cycle of six days and then the last day is your "Cheat day" where you basically can eat whatever you want, as long as you don't go over 2500 or so calories. I feel that it also helps me to not feel so worn down and tired when I try to eliminate carbs several days in a row. Carbs give the body the energy it needs to perform physical activities. I need that energy...therefore I think this is the perfect approach for me!

If you want to learn more and do your own research into it here is a link http://www.everydiet.org/diet/choose-to-lose I really encourage you to look through it and give it a try! I haven't bought the book but will eventually when I decide to fully implement the eating plans. Like I have said before, I hesitate to use the word diet or fall into something that seems like a fad, but this is more of a basic way of eating healthy and giving the body the energy and nutrients it needs.

One last thing...I think that I am being given signs at my weakest eating moments. When I was making the Dinner Rolls for Thanksgiving I kept thinking about how bad I wanted one and was going to have one right when they came out of the oven. Well...we all know what happened there. I was so mad I took 1 bite and threw the rest of it away. And then just the other night, I was CRAVING anything Red Velvet. I mean this is a once in a month kind of craving that only women can understand. All I wanted was one flipping bite and my husband could have the rest of whatever it was. It didn't help that we were at the store and I see it. Red Velvet Cream Cheese Roll. Made from the bakery. I pulled it out of that freezer so fast and stuck it in my cart that I didn't have time to talk myself out of it. We got home, I took my one bite, and it was flipping freezer burnt. Disgusting. Almost got sick. All I could think was "Well played God, well played."

Totally overloaded yet? well then here's a gem for you...my daughter is a living Potato Head. She couldn't care less if there were no actual potato bodies in the kit, she will have her fun with the accessories.



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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

30 Days Shred results...a little late.

Here they are...



Proof is in the pudding!

Give it a try!
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

30 pounds of specialness



Why is today...November 6th, 2012 special to me? Not because today is the day that we find out who the President for the next 4 years is. It is because since April...to this date...I have lost 30 pounds. I'm giving myself a big fat smiley face sticker for this one. Sure...every pound before this milestone has been special to me. I have fought for every single one. Which is why 30 of them collectively is such a big deal. So here is a letter to those 30 pounds.


Dear 30 Pounds of selfish/self inflicted/emotion filled fat,

You have been vacated from this premisis. I do NOT want you anymore. I have put up with you for 2 years too long and am no longer willing to be your host. I have been blind, naive, ignorant, and at times even passive with your residing here. But like any old houseguest that has outworn their welcome, you just needed to leave. Because of you, I was becoming a bitter, unfriendly, and just generally unhappy person to be around. I didn't want to be around me...so why would anyone else? You caused health problems, cost us money for hospital stays and medicine, and cost me time off work. You caused many fights in my marriage, limited the activities that I felt comfortable doing, and instead of playing outside with my daughter, I chose to sit inside on the couch with you. How is that fair? Why did you get to dictate my life, when you were just a temporary resident? Well I can assure you, you no longer have that control over me.

You may have noticed that I have been spending less time on the couch with you. I have been taking less frequent sugar and salt filled trips to the fridge and pantry with you. I have traded off 6 of my Diet Cokes and replaced them with 1 gallon of water daily...sorry about that. Wait...no I'm not. Instead of all of the fried foods, double helpings, and endless sugar filled snacks, I have been using protein, vitamin rich veggies, water, and limited portions of chocolate and cheat foods to get rid of you. Slowly but surely it has worked. I have been noticing your presence less and less over the past few months.

I KNOW that you have not been a fan of the Wellness Center or Jillian, or even running outside. I can hear you whining and screaming and trying to cause pain to make me stop. Sorry...wasn't giving that up, just to help your stay longer. I didn't like it to start out with either...but if it got me closer to getting rid of you...I was all for it. I have even started to crave it. Suck to be you, huh? You almost got me a few times though, but then I would suddenly remember how annoying you can be and got my butt off the couch and got moving.

I'm starting to think that you were unpleasant to others too, because now people are starting to notice me more. Before, I was getting the ugly stares and sometimes just plain being ignored. Now people smile a lot more. They even compliment me...something that I never got when you were around. So if other people notice that you were unpleasant to me, that's saying something, huh?!

So in closing, this is me, giving you what will be your only warning. Leave and do not come back. I'm serious. If I have to pull the "My husband is a Cop and you will be arrested if you set foot on this property again" card, I will do it. If I have to post signs I will. I don't care. For me this is a matter of life and death, so if I have to take it to the fullest extent, I will. I reside here, not you. You started this journey with me...but you will not end it with me.

I would say it's been nice knowing you,(this is my "mess with me and I'm not going to be nice anymore" side) but it has not. I don't like you. I hope I have made that clear. I will NOT miss you. I will soon be vacating your other 30 pounds of friend also. Maybe soon, they can keep you company where you end up. Peace out.

Joelle...the 30 pound less version :)

There it is...my ungrateful goodbye to a part of me that I never want to see anymore. I am vowing to stay active, eat decent, and continue to lose the pounds that have so painfully crept up on me. I can not stress how much fun this has not been. It has been nothing but hard work, sweat, tears, feeling hungry, and getting back on the saddle after a few bad days. It's about not giving up, it's about finding that drive somewhere deep inside of you that knows you can do this. You have to work through all of the doubt, physical pain, emotional pain, excuses, and the plain comfort of life that you were used to, for it to work.You can't expect to stay the same person when you decide to do this. I am not the same person that occupied this body 7-8 months ago. I am a happier, healthier version. I am not yet the person that I want to be, physically or emotionally, but it is coming. I know that. I am okay with that. I just hope everyone that knows and cares about me, knows that too. I have had nothing but support from my parents, family members, friends, and my husband. And even more...total strangers, that have no agenda with supporting me, other than just sheer niceness.

If you are struggling to want to start your own journey, but don't know how, First and foremost you need a support base. Find someone. Anyone that will tell you what you need to hear. Not what you want to hear. But can tell you in a way that does not put you down, or further the issues at hand. Secondly...you have to find it within yourself. If you don't want to do this...you won't. It's that simple. That is the difference between the me now and the me for the past few years. I haven't wanted it bad enough. When you finally feel that, it will click.

And I leave you with the 30 lb progression(sorry about the scratches in the mirror...but you still get the point of it!)

 5 lbs lost

15lbs lost


22 lbs lost

 30 lbs lost



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