Yuck

So I jumped out of bed this morning, all excited for my weigh in. I've been totally on point this week and I knew it.

And I lost 6 ounces.

6. freaking. ounces. I could lose 6 ounces by shaving my legs.

I don't know why this happened. In general, my body always follows weight loss rules. I do the work, I get results. I don't do the work, no results. Which means none of those weigh ins where you magically lose 5 pounds and you have no clue why. However, it also means that if I follow all the rules, I can always bank on at least a 2 pound loss per week. At least. This was not so this morning. I have worked out everyday for the past week for at least an hour, and stayed within my calorie range.

I still have 10 days until my TOM, I haven't eaten anything very salty or sodiumy (yes, I just made that word up), so I can't fathom what's going on.

I kind of think my scale's broken. I know you are probably thinking "Yeah, Sarah, whatever.", but I really kind of think it is. I've had it for literally 7 years, and the other day I accidentally dropped it on the hardwood floors. I also probably move it around too much. If my clothes weren't so much looser, and I didn't actually look thinner, I wouldn't think this. But I do, so I'm thinking I'm going to have to invest in a new scale.

I don't seem to be the only one having this problem. And there's nothing we can do. We can't give up, so I guess we just have to Keep on Keepin' On...

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Just because....

This is a picture of my niece, Grace, while we were singing Happy Birthday at her party on Saturday. She brings a smile to my face every time I see her, so hopefully she'll bring one to yours. I literally could not love this child more than I do, and I cannot believe that she is already 6 years old!!!

Sorry, Miss O

I love, love, love me some Oprah. Although I don't always agree with all her opinions on politics, religion, etc, etc, I really do think she is a wonderful example of someone who has worked hard and truly uses her fame & fortune to change the lives of other people. Plus, there's something about the sound of her voice that is extremely comforting to me.

And since I work from home, I am generally able to watch her show every day. Which I love. But yesterday, Oprah brought me the first true NSV I feel like I've had in a long time.

I'm sure everyone has probably heard about Oprah's "No Phone Zone" campaign. Basically its about no texting or talking on your phone while you're in the car driving. And what started this campaign was a show she did about people who were killed by a driver who was texting. I am guilty of this sometimes, but lately I have been making myself put the phone down if I catch myself doing it. It is so true that you take your eyes off the road for 75% of the time you are texting. I'm really trying to make a point not to do this anymore.

However, for whatever reason, I missed the first airing of the show that started it all. And they were rerunning it for Oprah's show yesterday. Last week I saw the commercial and wrote myself a note to make sure and watch Oprah on Tuesday.

Well, yesterday rolled around. Work literally exploded in my face and I was busy all day. The next thing I knew, I looked up at the clock and it was 3:45. Oprah was about to come on. I had not worked out yet. I'm sure you can see where this is going.

Yes, dear people, I skipped Oprah and worked out instead. Even though I really, really wanted to see that show. I wanted to see what inspired her to feel so passionately about this subject. But I didn't. I didn't see the show because I made the decision to work out instead.

After a few weeks of going through the motions to get back into my healthy lifestyle, I finally feel like my mentality has caught up. I am no longer just going through the motions. I worked out because I knew that if I didn't do it right then, I wouldn't do it. And I knew that I would feel much better last night if I had worked out. And you know what? I'm pretty sure Oprah would rather me have gotten my work out in instead of watching her show.

I've also noticed again how much daily exercise just naturally cuts my appetite. I haven't had that "I want to eat everything and anything regardless of my hunger level" feeling in a while. However, I did indulge in a little too much pizza and birthday cake at my niece's 6th birthday party on Saturday. But that's been it this week and I'm looking forward to my weigh in on Friday.

I'll let you know how it goes. I'm expecting good things.

Sarah -

Go get on the freakin treadmill.

You are completely dressed, running shoes on, and all you have to do is walk into the next room and hop right on.

Remember how you've worked out every day for the past 15 days? And how you feel 100% better than you did 2 weeks ago? You notice how your legs look stronger, you have more energy, feel better mentally, etc, etc, etc???

So what is the problem?

Yes, your house is a wreck. And yes, you have work to do. And yes, it is freezing and rainy outside and you really want to finish your book.

HOWEVER - did you see the back page of the newspaper today? The page that has your sister's engagement announcement on it?

Yep, that little dose of excitement means you have about 9 weeks before that wedding. You cannot afford to take days off from exercise just because you don't feel like it.

So go DO IT.


UPDATE:

I did it. And felt great. Just once I'd like to feel crappy after exercise, so maybe I would have an excuse not to do it if I didn't want to.

I'm here....

My laptop crashed and I am dying. Not only do I need it for my blog reading, etc, etc, but I work from home and all my work was on that thing. It is at the computer doctor right now and I am praying that I won't lose everything.

Speaking of lose.....

I am down 6.8 lbs. Operation recommitment is in full force and working out well. I just got finished with a sweaty, nasty hour long workout on the treadmill. Hopefully I will have my computer back soon, and get back to reading your blogs and posting on mine.

Happy losing!

Flippin the switch...

After getting up early and doing some work this morning, I am just now finding time to update you on my "recommitment". Percy Jackson had nothing to do with that. Promise.

Anyhow, things have been going really well. It’s almost like a flip switched. I just decided to do it and now I'm doing it. I'm not foolish enough to think this ease will last forever. Probably by next week I'll be jonesing to skip my workouts and devour a pizza. But its true what they say - one good decision makes the next one that much easier, so I'm trying to continue to make good decisions. It’s weird because your body really does not forget. Between the endorphins from the exercise and the empty stomach feeling (I'm not starving myself by any means, but compared to what my stomach has been feeling lately, it does kind of feel empty these days), I keep thinking, "Yep, I remember this." I remember the light feeling and the general feeling of goodness.

Plus the mental aspect is so much better. Just knowing that I am doing something every day to contribute to my weight loss makes me so much happier and I don't constantly have that feeling of "I should do that."

Weigh in will be Friday, and I will let everyone know how it goes. (That's assuming you would actually care.) I am just trying to take things one day at a time.

I also have a recipe for black bean quesadillas that I really want to try out so I may do a post on that.

Have a great Monday!

Addiction

I told myself I wasn't going to get addicted to this series. I haven't even seen the movie, but I am a complete Twilight/Harry Potter addict (and yes, I am 30 years old) and I needed something to feed my addiction to addiction. So I started this book yesterday and am almost done with it.

I ventured out to Wal-Mart tonight to pick up the next two in the series. Let me tell you, the people that come out to Wal-Mart on a Saturday night (being in the south probably doesn't help), are a sight to be seen.

I am a ferocious reader and constantly looking for something new to read and this series should keep me occupied for the next week. Things are going really well on the weight loss front. I have been exercising religiously everyday and keeping my calories in check. I'll write more about that tomorrow. Percy's waiting!

Oh, yeah...

So now I remember why I have never counted calories before. It is a total pain in the ass. This morning it took me 15 minutes to find my tape measure so that I could measure my banana and determine through Calorie King how many calories it had. To me that is just a lot of work. But I'm going to give it a few more days. I am doing this mostly to get myself back on track, and once I do, I am going to quit the calorie counting. I just can't handle that much detail. I also think that I might have a tendency to become obsessed with the numbers, and I know weight loss is basically a numbers game, but I lost 60+ lbs. without counting, so I feel like its not something I have to do.

That being said, this is how today shaped up:

Breakfast:

Yogurt - 100
Banana - 105
Serving of RF Wheat Thins - 130
Laughing Cow wedge - 35

Morning Snack:

Pear - 80
Serving Baby Carrots - 35
Roasted Garlic hummus - 140

Lunch:

Sandwhich Thin w/ turkey, Laughing Cow, baby spinach, mustard - 185
Cup of green grapes - 104

Supper:

Lean Cuisine Swedish Meatballs - 310
Reduced Fat Ice Cream Sandwhich - 130

Total: 1,354

I also worked out on the treadmill for 60 mintues today. The Lean Cuisine is not something that I eat very often because the sodium scares me. However, I have been sitting on my couch all day with my laptop (I work from home), and I was just looking to fill my stomach because my eyeballs were hurting too badly for me to concentrate on putting together a meal.

I should also probably focus on getting more veggies in. Especially green ones.

Today....

This picture pretty much sums up my entire day. I know - I have man feet.

This cold has taken over my body and I basically didn't get up all day long. I know I said I was going to count calories starting today but honestly, there was no point. I've probably had 700 calories the whole day, if that much. I can't taste anything, and I can't breathe with my mouth shut so chewing is miserable.

I'm hoping I'll be back on my feet by tomorrow. I just took a big gulp on Nyquil and am heading to bed. Goodnight!

Seriously.....Like, seriously.

Ok, After all the festivities of the birthday week, I weighed in this morning at 222.2. Seriously. This has got to stop. I am not going to sit here and tell you how I feel and what I think, because you have probably all been here before. But I can tell you that an extra 14 pounds does not a happy Sarah make, and I am ready to kick them to curb, plus more.

So I am recommitted today. I know exactly how to do this, and just because I have forgotten it in the past 2 months, doesn't mean I can't remember it.

One lovely nugget of information that I haven't mentioned yet is that my baby sister is getting married on June 4th. And I'm the maid of honor. And in May I am having breast reduction surgery. And I am not going to put myself under the knife and not make the absolute most of it. And the weight loss is definitely a big part of it.

And even though I am fighting the world's nastiest cold today, I have already managed to get in 45 minutes of heart pumping cardio. So that's a good start.

I have decided that I am going to document my food/calories everyday on the blog. I hate to do it because I feel like it may bore some, but I really need the accountability. And I will weigh in next Monday morning and let you know how much I am down.

Aside from obvious reasons, its really important to me to come back from this gain because it shows that my healthy lifestyle (and consequent weight loss) is an actual lifestyle, and that I am actually going to do this for real for the rest of my life, and not just long enough to lose some weight and gain it all back.

Please send lots of strong thoughts my way. I have a feeling I'm gonna need them!