I’m BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK

I am back and better than ever. I must first apologize to my fan (only one at the moment but growing) for my absence, I fell off the wagon. I am the ultimate saboteur, I started out wonderfully – I was motivated and I had a deadline- I made great progress ( almost 10 lbs.) and then I just stopped. I don’t know why I do this but I have the ability to make a 5lb. weight loss feel like a 50lb. loss and then I start to “treat” myself. I am so full of it at times that it hurts me to even conjure up the thought of some of the excuses that I make and subsequently believe about my habits. But why am I “better than ever,” it’s because I started over. I have been going to the gym since last week as well as watching what I eat. It’s only been about 10 days, but I feel good. I feel stronger.

So if you have read any of my previous posts then you know that I was dieting for my vacation. Well I went on vacay last month and I had the time of my life. It was great! I don’t think that I would have had a better time at my goal weight.

So here’s the problem.

My Top 8 Sweet Snacks

I must admit that I am a snacker. I am sure that that is not even a word but it works for me, I love snacks! I am always on the hunt for good snacks, but I do not eat nuts and I really try to limit real sugar as well as the fake sweeteners (they give me headaches). So I have spent some time compiling an arsenal of my favorite treats. The basic criteria are that it must taste good, be relatively low in calories (150 or less), fat, and sugar.

Time to sweat

Holy Batman, I exercised on Monday and it felt great. Well not at first but after I finished I felt so powerful. I recruited on of my friends and we were in the gym at my complex working out together. We went after work and of course all of the aerobic machines were occupied so we worked on our biceps, triceps, shoulders, thighs, butt, abs, and whatever else was free. I have a tendency to go hard my first day and not make it back after that so I did not overdo it so that I wouldn’t be too sore tomorrow. I was still sore. Man, I tried to pick up a few boxes the next day and I almost cried. My thighs were done. I don’t know who invented lunges but I would certainly like to have a word or two with him or her.

New Year’s Resolutions

I know that many have made resolutions, some for the first time others for the 100th, and these resolutions are usually what we live by for the first few weeks of every year until we ultimately fall off the wagon and start doing what we resolved to not do, only this time its worse than before and the guilt of the situation does more damage than if you hadn’t made the resolution in the first place. That is why I specifically started dieting a few days before the new year so that I wouldn’t have the pressure of a resolution, but for all of my resolution makers out there I support you. It is hard to diet

Eating healthy is so expensive

Day 6:
I finally made it to the grocery store and I gotta say that is was a very pricey trip. Earlier I mentioned that I had lost weight and kept it off for a significant amount of time. So I am very aware of what to buy and what to eat. It was like I went into automatic pilot. I stuck to the perimeter of the store. I spent extra time in the fresh produce section, I picked up ground turkey breast, boneless, skinless chicken tenders, 7 grain bread ( 9 grain is too much), light yogurt, and all of the other things that used to fill my cabinets. I had a full cart of healthy goodness. The only part that I had somehow managed to forget was the end when I got the total – $300.

How many calories does that have?!?

The internet is a wonderful tool. I knew going into this morning that today would be a big challenge. Eating well at work is very tough for me to do. I work in an area with lots of popular eateries and with my schedule I usually have 2 meals a day at work – either breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. So it can be a bit of a challenge. I am really trying to take on this healthier lifestyle with a positive outlook, so I decided to pre-plan my work meals. Eventually I will make my meals at home but that is a Valentine’s Day resolution and I can not deal with it at the moment. In the spirit of pre planning meals, I researched some of the places that are available for lunch. Luckily, most major chains have the nutritional information for their entire menu available on their websites. I have to say that I was amazed at some of the things that I found. Some of the items that I just knew were healthy were really high in calories, or sodium or even saturated fat.

Now I don’t mean to call anyone out for having unhealthy food but PANERA Bread’s bagels have an average of 340 calories without cream cheese. For Bread? You have got to be kidding me.

Day 1

Okay so here goes.  I don’t know if anyone else does this but before I go on a diet – which has happened more times than I care for – I try to eat every possible thing that I know I won’t be able to have for the duration of the diet.  Well I attempted this and for some reason I really was not able to do it.  Which may be a good thing.  It seems like self-sabotage.  I need to get over the mentality of diet = deprivation.

Intro to me

So here is the deal I am not a blogger.  This is my first attempt at blogging – so please bear with me.   I  I had a health scare a few years ago and I went on a serious, by-the-book diet and I lost 45 lbs.  I kept it off for a couple of years and then my life just spiraled out of control.  I was really busy with school, I hated my job and I was having issues with my best friend and I would just eat to gain some control.  It’s so weird to me that I can say that and completely understand what it means and how it affects my body but in the midst of that kind of situation you just want to find something that you can be in charge of that is just easy.  And although I do not like to consider myself an emotional eater – because I don’t eat when I am sad or lonely – I am.  I eat because I love food, I overeat because my life is out of control.

I have this vacation coming up with my boyfriend and his best friend and his best friend’s girlfriend.  We are going on this tropical cruise in March and I absolutely REFUSE to be miserable on my trip because I can’t find something to wear that fits or that I am embarrassed about how I look in a bathing suit.  So I am going to spend the next 90-something days getting into shape.