Update!

Damn, I'm looking GOOD.

That is all. :)

Long way to go still, but I'm loving the journey and the joy it's brought me.

re-adjusting

I've been holding steady at my current weight for the past few weeks. I haven't gained any weight, but I'm also not losing much. Plateaus are a fact of weight loss, there will be periods where the weight won't fall off like it had done previously. I'm just disappointed that it happened only 30 pounds into my weight loss regime.

I've also noticed a few of my old habits trying to sneak back into my life, and I'm stopping them in their tracks today. For the past few days, I've been staying up later, which is a no-no, and I've been eating a bowl of cereal every night before bed, another no-no. Those habitual problems are down the drain. Eating before bed makes it harder to sleep because instead of resting, your body is digesting the food and then of course your metabolism is down while you're sleeping, so nothing is being burned off, it's just being left on your body all night.

This leads to my detrimental habits of sleeping for ten+ hours, not feeling rested, rolling out of bed and running into work, eating haphazardly. This isn't going to happen. The thirty pounds are staying off, and seventy more are going to follow.

I'm excited, looking forward to a happier and healthier me that is down the road. I look at pictures of girls and I realize that I will eventually look how I want, and I will feel confident and be able to smile and glow like they do. I'm not looking at them and wanting to have their body, oh no, I'm looking at them and I want their confidence! I want someone to be able to take a picture of me, and I can smile and not worry about looking like a walrus in the picture. I can't wait for that day to get here, and I know it's within my grasp.

There's a lot of work ahead, but I've made it this far. I'm not turning back now. This plateau is not going to trip me up. I'm running right past it and continuing up!

My plans to get over the plateau:
Work out BEFORE work and on my dinner break at work. I've been skipping my workout before work, and I think that early boost to my metabolism is very important and greatly enhanced my weight loss, so I have to get back on it.

I'm not eating before bed, and starting my day with a quick breakfast such as toast or yogurt or fruit. Eating breakfast is very important. It doesn't have to be anything heavy, just a quick bite to break the fast from sleeping. I've been skipping breakfast, so I have to start eating breakfast again.

Other than those things, I'm going to stick to the path I'm on, and just do harder workouts, since my normal workouts aren't working me as well.

Onward and upward! :D

day fifty-two: time flies when you're having fun!

I can't believe I have been going steady and strong on the road to happiness and health for 52 days now. Edging closer and closer to two months, which will bring me closer and closer to three months, four, six, a year! It's getting harder and harder to keep track of how many days this has been going on because it's become a lifestyle, it's become the way I live, and that was the goal all along.

However, I must confess... last weekend has thrown my sleeping schedule a bit off course, and I'm struggling to get back on track. I haven't been waking up with enough time to work out in the mornings, but have been maintaining my lunch break workouts in the evenings. Tomorrow is Friday and yet another weekend will then be upon me and I will stick to my sleeping, eating, and exercising schedule through the weekend.

I have plenty of projects to keep me busy over the weekend (I'm re-decorating my bathroom as a tribute to a trip to London and Liverpool, England, I took a few years back complete with a London-themed shower curtain, framed photos from my trip, and a Mind the Gap sign. It's going to be magnificent!) and I'm also planning on going clothes shopping and maybe getting my hair cut. It's starting to become bothersome, especially when I work out and my hair gets sweaty and falls in my face, so I'm planning on getting it cut over the weekend.

Through all of that, I have to fit in at least one workout a day, and stick to eating home-made, healthy meals, at a set schedule. Otherwise everything gets thrown off track and I start slipping and sliding down that scary slope toward my bad habits. Just this week I've eaten out numerous times: once at Puerto Vallerta, and twice at Subway. And I even slid through the Arby's drive thru on the way to work one day this week because I hadn't eaten before leaving, thinking I wouldn't be hungry, and I was as soon as my car hit the highway. So I had a Grillen Chicken Salad Wheat Wrap at Arby's, and was quite proud at resisting the urge to get curly fries and a soda with it.

But it was still a bad/lazy decision to eat fast food. I have to pull the reigns back on myself, plan my meals, and stick to the plan, as I have been doing, instead of wasting money eating calorie- and fat-filled food at fast food places. NO more. I'm through with fast food, I'm sticking to my guns.

This morning for breakfast I had a yogurt and then for lunch I made a salad with grilled chicken on it. It was delicious. I had ranch dressing with it, but I just put the ranch on the side and dipped the bottom of my fork into it before spearing my food with the fork. I do that so I don't use hardly any ranch dressing and I refrain from just pouring it onto my veggies and drowning them in excess fat and calories, which is all ranch dressing is (hence it's tastiness). The salad made me feel so good and I could feel my body almost heaving a sigh of relief at getting fresh and wholesome calories and nutrients instead of stuff prepared at fast food places.

Side Note: The food I chose at the fast food places was not that horrible. Veggie subs both times at Subway and the Grilled Chicken Wheat Wrap at Arby's. I had steak fajitas at Puerto Vallerta. However, for my wallet's and body's sake, fast food is back on the no-no list and I'm avoiding it at all costs.

I have some friends possibly coming over to help me paint some picture frames and hang them in my bathroom as a sort of "project party" and I'm going to make sure I have enough food around to feed them so the urge to run to a restaurant doesn't happen. If everyone gets hungry, I could throw together something quick and easy for them to munch on. That's the plan. I'm avoiding restaurants! All it takes is a little planning to stay on track, and I am the master of planning.

So there's a little update. I haven't died. I haven't given up. Me and my goals are going strong! Viva la HEALTH AND HAPPINESS.

neglecting this blog

I seem to be neglecting this blog, but rest assured, that my happy and healthy goals are still in the forefront of my mind and still being met. I haven't lost much more weight since my last post, but the numbers are still going down, slowly and steadily (which is exactly how I want it to happen).

I got a new Android phone, and downloaded a nifty app that tracks my food intake and that's helping me on the go with tracking what I eat and making sure I don't eat too much throughout the day. I'm usually at least 800+ calories below my daily allowance of 1690. But I try not to be too far below that intake because that intake is just to maintain daily functions. If you eat too little, it's harder to lose weight. Your body needs fuel to power your muscles to burn fat. Without that fuel, you aren't burning fat and that's the goal in losing weight, of course... BURN THAT FAT! Build muscle, because muscle burns fat, and then power those muscles so they can do their job!

This weekend has been a bit of a bust simply because I was quite busy. Memorial Day weekend is a big weekend for me every year because of a music festival I go to called Abbey Road on the River. So Saturday saw me hanging out in the beautiful and perfect weather, getting a slight sunburn, and listening to amazingly talented musicians covering the Beatles' musical legacy. It was a phenomenal year at the festival, truly, and I can't wait until next year.

Sunday I hung out with some friends, we grilled out for dinner and it was delicious, and also went on a bike ride. I'm now determined to get my own bike. It's a fun way to get exercise!

Monday I didn't have to work so I stayed in and cleaned my entire apartment, top to bottom, and also rearranged the furniture. So I stayed pretty active all  three days of the holiday weekend and ate well and stuck to my guns, even though I didn't necessarily plan workouts and stick to a workout schedule.

I must give a quick shout-out to my friends who do a great job of being active with me when we hang out. I'm all for chilling and watching movies with friends, but I'm so glad that they understand that giving me a little push to go do something like walking or biking is so much more better for me and they don't let me slack. Because even though I'm into working out now and I love the way it makes me feel, I'm also a lazy person at heart, and will take any opportunity to be lazy.

But they don't let me get away with that and I am eternally grateful!

Alright, so here starts a new week full of healthy food and hard workouts! I'm really excited and can't wait to see even more weight falling off this happy, healthy body of mine!

day forty-five: naturally habitual

I’m at the point in my healthier and happier lifestyle where things are finally becoming habitual. I no longer have to pay attention to a schedule to know when to eat. I get hungry at the appropriate times. I no longer have to remember to work out, or fight to fit it in, because it’s just a part of everyday living. I wake up every morning knowing that thirty minutes to an hour of my day, at least, will be devoted to exercising.

It’s all becoming habit now and that makes it so much easier and fulfilling. It’s no longer a chore. I’m seeing what a big difference only a month of doing this has made to my mind, heart, and body, and I look forward everyday to those feelings of success and accomplishment.

I find myself looking in the mirror so much more lately and that’s only after losing 25 pounds. How about after I lose 50? Sixty? Seventy? A hundred?? It will just keep getting better and better. My body is a resilient machine that has been yearning for this much attention and care, and is responding with feelings of euphoria and bliss.

Not only am I losing pounds, but I’m losing inhibitions. I’m losing self-consciousness; I’m losing that evil old habit of holding myself back from being happy! I can jut my no-longer-double chin out and strut my stuff, knowing that I’m working hard and it’s paying off, big time. People have noticed that I look different and have been working out and I can’t help but be blown away every time I walk past a mirror!

I am so proud of myself and I’m proud of the steps I have yet to take because I know I will take them, sure-footedly, and get to the happy, healthy me that I’m destined to be.

day forty-three: swinging back into good times

I must admit, as far as daily exercise goes, I have been exercising at least once a day, but I just don't feel like I've been putting in my usual 110%. Instead of getting excited and looking forward to sweating and working hard, I was begrudgingly trudging down to the gym and working out for twenty minutes and then stomping back upstairs, missing that uplifting rush I normally get from working out.

Last night, I did the Power Sculpt DVD that I'm in love with, I looked forward to working out instead of dreading it, and I actually haven't felt that good from working out in a week or so. Endorphins rushed through me I could feel my muscles screaming with joy, I felt amazing the whole rest of that night, it was fantastic. I can't believe I had forgotten what a great workout feels like!

I'm looking forward to tonight's workout, I'll be doing the Cardio Max DVD and it's going to be great. I can't wait to jump around and expel all this energy and burn some fat!

I also went grocery shopping for this week's food and I'm excited about the meals I'm going to make. Today I had a grilled portabello mushroom sandwich with green pepper and red onion. Delicious! Tomorrow I'm making steak fajitas. I had planned on making a lamb burger on Thursday, but I couldn't find any lamb at Kroger. Not sure if they were out, or just don't carry it... but hopefully I can find some because I want to try some new meats. I'm tired of chicken and beef and fish, which is all I ever eat. So I'm branching out and trying some new meats!

This weekend is also Memorial Day weekend, which means hopefully my family will have some sort of picnic, and that will be fun. I might even be brave and wear some shorts or go swimming! I'm very excited! Also, Abbey Road on the River is this weekend and I look forward to that every year, it's a big music festival dedicated to the musical genius of my favorite band: The Beatles. It's going to be a nice day of fun in the sun and live music! I can't wait, I might buy a sundress for the event and wear sandals.

day forty-two: putting myself first

This seems to be what holds most people back from living their own happy and healthy lifestyles. They have kids, they have car payments, they have two jobs, they have family members they are caring for, they have mortgages, they have child support payments, they have bills and rent, they have school, they have spouses, they have other priorities that come first in their lives over themselves.

I don't have those things, so most people would think I don't understand how hard overcoming those obstacles is, and maybe I don't. I have a good-paying job that is relatively not stressful. My schooling is paid for through a state-sponsored scholarship. I have money saved up to where I can take trips if I want to and buy the things I want and my bills are never late in the meantime. I understand that in my life, putting myself first isn't just easy, it's what my life is really about. That may sound selfish, or even immature, but I love that I've chosen to put myself first and make my health and happiness a priority.

And even though I don't have the mitigating factors such as kids and a mortgage to worry about, I do know that everyone can do the same if they put their mind to it. Because putting yourself first is not about ignoring the rest of the world or those that depend on you. It's about seeing value in yourself, in your life, in your well-being. I know your kids, family, pets, whatever are important to you. I know you have to work two jobs while busting your ass in school to make ends meet. I know you have bills to pay and mouths to feed. But you are also wasting away and letting that hectic life you lead become who you are.

You can't let that happen. Before you know it, you'll be forty-five and wondering where your life went. Why you don't feel good about yourself even though in reality you accomplished so much in your life. But you won't feel that you have, you'll feel wasted, you may feel like you've lived your life for others, and you have. You can't allow that to happen. You have to step up and say, "No one can make me important, but me, and it's high time I did that!"

I know not everyone can afford to buy exercise equipment or spend an hour a day on exercise. I understand that. I know not everyone can buy fresh vegetables at the store three times a week or have time to make fresh meals every day. I know not everyone can plan out everything in their week because there are outside factors that pop up to throw everything off track. I know not everyone can do those specific things, but I'm begging you to make that choice: put yourself first. At least sometimes in your life, you need to put your needs above everyone else.

No one else can find your health and happiness for you, not even doctors. You have to do it for yourself. It isn't selfish! You have one life to lead and letting everyone else live it around you, working so hard for everyone else's health and happiness is not what your life should be about. Help others, take care of others, care about others, yes, but you have to take some time, maybe only once a week if that's all you can manage, every day would be ideal, and live for you.

I found that once I realized that I am truly responsible for my own happiness and health, it became all too easy to find these things. I couldn't rely on other people pushing me to be more than I am because I just resented them telling me what to do. I had to find the power and drive within myself. I had to realize that hating myself and just living day to day just to get by wasn't making for a worthwhile existence. Only I can push myself to live a good life. And I'm finally doing it! You can, too. Don't wait. Do it now!