Side by Side Comparison

Thoughts and Realizations

I have been thinking about the past year and a half and my own weight loss journey. Quite a few times I have panicked and cried about “plateaus”. Then I pick apart the past year and a half and analyze my “plan” and what I see is at the beginning, though I wanted to lose weight, I really hadn’t committed myself 100%. I was “closet” eating each time my boyfriend left for work or went to bed or ran to do errands. I would immediately grab some high calorie/high fat foods and shovel them in like I was starving. That along with the fact that I wouldn’t log/track those foods, as if not tracking them meant they didn’t count..right? Wrong. Those things are the reasons that earlier in my journey, I struggled with the scale, watching it go up and down and up and down, like a friggin rollercoaster.

I use to find an excuse so many times for not working out consistently…it was that time of month or I didn’t get enough sleep or it was the anniversary of the day my husband, my momma, my daddy passed or I had a headache…excuse after excuse. But now that I do exercise on regular basis, I can really tell a difference in my body and I am generally in a better mood(except during stressful times) but even when I am stressed, depressed, mad, sad, etc..I still exercise. I refuse to punish myself anymore and that is what I was basically doing. I wasn’t hurting anyone else by not eating right or exercising..only myself.

I haven’t done those things in months and I am so proud to be able to post that today. I am so proud that when it comes to the battle with food and my mind, I can now win(99.99% of the time anyway, no one is perfect). I am proud that I can be honest with myself and I track everything I eat and drink, no matter how big or small. I am proud that today I am on track and on plan and I will always do my best to keep me there.

Yeehaw!!

With my Weight by Date program, I measure myself..bust, waist, hips, biceps, forearms, thighs and calves.

Yesterday for the first time in a looong time, my hips are finally below 40 inches!! 39 inches

Also, according to the program, in 3 months I have lost a total of 18.5 inches all over. I am not sure if that is normal, good, slow, bad, etc but I am dang happy about it

My Recent NSV

I recently posted about being able to wear my bfs medium size tshirt, after starting out wearing size 3X and 4X so this morning I took a pic.

And just as a comparison – this is me before at 330 pounds

This is from 2 days ago

Commitment to myself

This is mostly just an accountablity post to myself.

This morning, already, for the first time in months I slipped off plan and ate 2 slices of cheese pizza. I am really upset with myself and almost got into the I give up mentality but I have come too far for that so I am making a deal with myself.

I will eat 1500 calories a day
1 will continue my 1.5 hours of cardio 5 times a week with 3 days of added full body w/s training
I will not even think about weighing myself until October 1st 2009 (it’s best for my sanity)
I will not give up on myself

Yep, I am promoting or whatever you want to call it

One of the best sites I have found to utilize in my weight loss journey is

3 Fat Chicks on a Diet

If you ain’t a member, become one today! It’s free and you won’t regret it.

Look me up there, I am “Onederchic”

All-Star Veggie Burger

INGREDIENTS

* 1 (15.5 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and mashed
* 8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
* 1/4 cup oat bran
* 1/4 cup quick cooking oats
* 1 cup cooked brown rice
* 1 (14 ounce) package firm tofu
* 5 tablespoons Korean barbeque sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 3/4 teaspoon dried sage
* 2 teaspoons vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, stir together the mashed garbanzo beans and basil. Mix in the oat bran, quick oats, and rice; the mixture should seem a little dry.
2. In a separate bowl, mash the tofu with your hands, trying to squeeze out as much of the water as possible. Drain of the water, and repeat the process until there is hardly any water worth pouring off. It is not necessary to remove all of the water. Pour the barbeque sauce over the tofu, and stir to coat.
3. Stir the tofu into the garbanzo beans and oats. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and sage; mix until well blended.
4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Form patties out of the bean mixture, and fry them in hot oil for about 5 minutes per side. Serve as you would burgers.

Servings Per Recipe: 8

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 161

• Total Fat: 4.7g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 340mg
• Total Carbs: 23.8g
• Dietary Fiber: 3.9g
• Protein: 8.3g

My Changes

For my own benefit(mostly), I wanted to list all the changes I have made in the past year (yes, today marks a year exactly that I decided to change my life).

1. Stopped eating fast foods.
2. Stopped eating junk foods (with the exception of a handful of chips or fries on rare occasions).
3. Stopped smoking.
4. Started exercising.
5. My skin is no longer dry and flaky.
6. My hair is no longer dull.
7. I can breathe when I am walking now.
8. Before, I had these dark marks on my fingernails and toenails, all gone now.
9. I can see my feet when I look down without having to push on my belly.
10. My menstrual cycle is more regular and not as heavy now.
11. I no longer suffer with insomnia.
12. I no longer sleep walk.
13. My sleep apnea went bye bye.
14. I am not on medicines for high blood pressure any longer.
15. I don’t have ulcer troubles anymore.
16. I don’t suffer with acid reflux or heartburn anymore.
17. I moved from Tennessee to New York.
18. I went from a size 28 to now size 16 and even 14 at times.
19. I don’t wear 4 x shirts anymore, I can wear large.
20. I stopped drinking a 12 pack of soda everyday, now I have 2 diet sodas in a week.
21. I drink water now, lots of it when before I cringed from it.
22. I have lost, to date, 133 pounds.
23. I stopped wanting to die and now I am eager to live and be alive.

There’s more, I am sure but those stand out for me at the moment. I am pretty dang proud of these changes.

The end, lol.

*I* Did It!!

I know I said I was done weighing for awhile and it has been about 2 weeks since I last weighed but curiosity got the better of me and I dug the scale out from the back of the closet and this is what I seen

Finally under 200 for the first time in 10 years!! I am so excited

My New Fitness Routine

Day 1

10am – Wii Fit Advanced Step – 30 minutes

1pm – Cardio circuit – 30 minutes

4pm – Wii Fit Expert Rhythm Boxing – 30 minutes

Day 2

10am – Wii Fit Advanced Step – 30 minutes

1pm – Strength circuit – 30 minutes

4pm – Wii Fit Expert Rhythm Boxing – 30 minutes

Day 3

10am – Wii Fit Advanced Step – 30 minutes

1pm – Combo circuit – 30 minutes

4pm – Wii Fit Expert Rhythm Boxing – 30 minutes

Day 4

REST

Then repeat the cycle.

The times do not include warm ups or cool downs, which I do.

I also just recently received 3 Zumba Fitness DVDs that I will try out. Plus I am getting Gold’s Gym Cardio for the Wii on Monday