With winter right around the corner, I am starting to feel like warm food instead of just my cold salads. So, I googled some vegetarian recipes and found some pretty good looking ones on the Food Network's website! The first one I want to try is the Spicy Vegan Sloppy Joe. This looks amazing! And most of all, easy to make. I REALLY don't enjoy cooking, so these recipes seem to be not too hard to do.
I really hate winter. It is such a depressing time. With the shorten daylight hours, I am so tired when I get home from work. This makes me not want to go to the gym or do anything active after working. Thank goodness my current job is not very stressful. But, the little daylight hours and the COLD and the SNOW (because seriously, being parked at the gym for at least an hour is going to accumulate at least an inch or two of snow on top of the car).
Report on the weight watching... My goal was to get to 155 lbs by 10/14. Last week, this was super easy. The weight was just meling off without me doing much. This week, that number jumped back up to the 158 range. This is probably because I had some yummy Famous Dave cornbread muffin. (SO DELICIOUS!) But, now I'm back to focusing on eating right again and getting to the gym to work out. I need to find a new workout routine. Seems like my current routine is not as hard anymore. Will talk more on that another time.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Monday, October 6, 2014
A Little Bit of Before, A little Bit of After
The last two weeks were AMAZING! The weight was just dropping off like crazy. This past weekend, something changed. I started going back up on the scale. My lowest so far was 155.9 lbs, and then yesterday and today, it has slowly been creeping up. I've been to the gym all weekend... eat nothing but raw foods on Saturday. Although, on Sunday I did have some rib tips at Famous Dave's. I don't think that ONE meal would add over 2 lbs to my weight in the last two days! I mean, I was already inching up Saturday.
With my trip coming up, I will REALLY need to focus on getting down to my short term goal of 155 lbs. One more week to lose these 2 additional pounds.
This is a photo of me. The top photos are me at about 175 lbs. I was happy that I've lost almost 20 lbs, but when comparing photos side by side, I am a little sadden that there isn't more 'visible' changes in my body. Even though the top photos were taken in 2013, I didn't really start working out until February 2014. So, the 20 lbs loss is within 8 months. I did weigh myself in March 2014 that I was 179 lb. I tend to fluctuate up and down 5 lbs with my weight. Is this normal? I don't know.
This is a photo of me. The top photos are me at about 175 lbs. I was happy that I've lost almost 20 lbs, but when comparing photos side by side, I am a little sadden that there isn't more 'visible' changes in my body. Even though the top photos were taken in 2013, I didn't really start working out until February 2014. So, the 20 lbs loss is within 8 months. I did weigh myself in March 2014 that I was 179 lb. I tend to fluctuate up and down 5 lbs with my weight. Is this normal? I don't know.
Hopefully, in a few more months I can do some more before and after photos that will show more visiable changes. Even though I am disappointed, I cannot give up. I must keep on going. Twenty pounds is something to celebrate! Twenty more pounds will be even MORE to celebrate!
Friday, October 3, 2014
I'm Melting!!
I have been stuck between 160 - 164 lbs for months! And in the last two weeks, I've dropped almost 9 lbs! I have cut back on the weight training. This might be the reason why the lbs seem to just be melting off. I have decided that I am not going to train as hard on weights for a little while. I am going to do less weights and concentrate on cardio to get to a lower weight and then add in the weight training again. This will hopefully give me a leaner look. After all, I'm not that tall so I don't want to look stocky. That is not a very feminine look.
I also found some older photos of myself that my sister took of me for recording my weight "loss" from 2 years ago. I have to admit, I did look bigger at 175 lbs.
I'm so happy and excited to see the pounds melting off! My goal is to reach 150 lbs by the end of this year. If this trend continues, I might reach that BEFORE the end of this year. And, that means I have less to loss in 2015! Hopefully, come summer again, I will be at my goal weight.
I also found some older photos of myself that my sister took of me for recording my weight "loss" from 2 years ago. I have to admit, I did look bigger at 175 lbs.
I'm so happy and excited to see the pounds melting off! My goal is to reach 150 lbs by the end of this year. If this trend continues, I might reach that BEFORE the end of this year. And, that means I have less to loss in 2015! Hopefully, come summer again, I will be at my goal weight.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Me Minus You, I mean, Sugar
On August 25, I promised myself that I would stay away from sugar. I don't have too many bad habits. I barely drink alcohol. I don't smoke. Barely drink soda. So my one vice was sugar. I could eat a whole bag of M&Ms (the BIG one) all by myself... and probably in one or two sittings. I can go shop at Sam's club (and we all know those are not small packages) and buy cupcakes and cakes and I would eat it all within the week. So, with all the working out and starting to eat healthier, I decided to also try cutting out sugar from my diet. So far, I do miss eating it. But, since August 25, I have lost 164.4 - 158.7 = 5.7 lbs!
I'm excited. I haven't been in the 150 range in a very long time. All the working out and the eating better wasn't allowing me to lose weight quick enough. Friends are saying that they are seeing the weight loss. But, I wasn't seeing it. You are your harshest critic. But, waking up and seeing that scale below 160 lbs has been a really good feeling. Unbelievable, almost.
After October 14, I will allow myself to have some sugar back into my diet. But, I do not want to allow myself to believe that it is ok for me to take in as much sugar as I did before.The more educated I become about what I am putting into my body... the more I realize that sugar really is not good for me. Cancer feeds off of the sugars in our body... and if I can help it, I want to not help that mutation start. (We have a family history of cancer.) I remember seeing a video on Facebook about how sugar makes your brain behave like it's on drugs. I'm sure a little sugar is needed in our bodies to function daily, but we are a generation of excess and we are abusing the sugar available to our bodies. Mine... I know I abused sugar.
Nowadays, I find my sugars in fruits. Grapes are so sweet tasting lately. And I drink water infused with various water flavors such as the Crystal Light water drops. These little droplets are sweet even though I don't put a lot in my water. I usually have a 32 oz water bottle at my desk and I squeeze some into the water to give it a boost. Not so boring going down. Because I do this, my mouth always has a sweet taste to it. This seems to be enough of a taste to squash my sugar cravings for now.
I'm excited. I haven't been in the 150 range in a very long time. All the working out and the eating better wasn't allowing me to lose weight quick enough. Friends are saying that they are seeing the weight loss. But, I wasn't seeing it. You are your harshest critic. But, waking up and seeing that scale below 160 lbs has been a really good feeling. Unbelievable, almost.
After October 14, I will allow myself to have some sugar back into my diet. But, I do not want to allow myself to believe that it is ok for me to take in as much sugar as I did before.The more educated I become about what I am putting into my body... the more I realize that sugar really is not good for me. Cancer feeds off of the sugars in our body... and if I can help it, I want to not help that mutation start. (We have a family history of cancer.) I remember seeing a video on Facebook about how sugar makes your brain behave like it's on drugs. I'm sure a little sugar is needed in our bodies to function daily, but we are a generation of excess and we are abusing the sugar available to our bodies. Mine... I know I abused sugar.
Nowadays, I find my sugars in fruits. Grapes are so sweet tasting lately. And I drink water infused with various water flavors such as the Crystal Light water drops. These little droplets are sweet even though I don't put a lot in my water. I usually have a 32 oz water bottle at my desk and I squeeze some into the water to give it a boost. Not so boring going down. Because I do this, my mouth always has a sweet taste to it. This seems to be enough of a taste to squash my sugar cravings for now.
I am hoping to lose a little more weight this year. I am hoping that if I can stay away from the sugars I can reach my mid-point goal by the end of this year.
For Myself
"Getting back in shape" has been something that came and went with the seasons with me. My twenties were spent in rather good shape. Of course, in anyone's twenties, they never think they would gain weight. My thirties were a different story. I started gaining weight and refused to see what was happening to me. I stopped being active, stopped going to martial arts classes, no more sports. The extend of my "exercising" was walking at the beach or around a lake. Yes, this is still exercising. But, to go from a very active twenty-something to just walking wasn't going to cut it.
Then, one week, the week of June 15, 2014, my life changed. I went out on a date with someone (no details will be revealed) and the way I felt about myself after going out with him was just terrible. I felt I had gotten to the lowest point of my life (I'm still single, so dating was perfectly normal). Why would I, someone who's a pretty good catch, just 35-ish lbs overweight, need to involve myself with someone as the person I had gone out with?
The feelings I was feeling about myself, along with my own family medical history, started a change in my inner most person. I needed to feel better about who I am. Not that I wasn't feeling good before. My confidence and my self-worth has always been with me. But, it was a deeper feeling. A mirror held up to myself to reflect back at me what I REALLY thought about myself when I am alone, when I am in the quiet of my own mind palace. My inner most self wasn't happy with the ongoing unhealthy lifestyle I have been living.
This is all about me now. It's not about looking good for someone else. It's not about having to fit into a dress for a party. It's not about how the world sees me. It's about me and how I feel about myself when no one can see me. Maybe this "wisdom" came with age, maybe it is the result of the two life events I've had this year, I don't know. What I do know is that I am my worst critic and my own motivation. And this has helped me this far.
Since June, I've been working out harder. I'm sure I can spend more time and more energy working out to lose this weight faster. But, according to my doctor, 1 lb a month is the healthy way of doing this.... so that in the long run, I can keep this weight off. Losing weight too fast, of course I knew this, would only mean for a temporary weight loss and I mean to keep this weight off forever. I am nearing my fourties now, I want to go into my fourties healthy and agile and when fifty comes around, I want to still look like I am only in my thirties.
So far, I've gone from 172 in September, 2013 to 179 in March 2014 to 158 now. My goal will not be reached this year, I know that. But, I will reach my goal sooner or later and I am determined to stay at my goal when I get there.
Then, one week, the week of June 15, 2014, my life changed. I went out on a date with someone (no details will be revealed) and the way I felt about myself after going out with him was just terrible. I felt I had gotten to the lowest point of my life (I'm still single, so dating was perfectly normal). Why would I, someone who's a pretty good catch, just 35-ish lbs overweight, need to involve myself with someone as the person I had gone out with?
The feelings I was feeling about myself, along with my own family medical history, started a change in my inner most person. I needed to feel better about who I am. Not that I wasn't feeling good before. My confidence and my self-worth has always been with me. But, it was a deeper feeling. A mirror held up to myself to reflect back at me what I REALLY thought about myself when I am alone, when I am in the quiet of my own mind palace. My inner most self wasn't happy with the ongoing unhealthy lifestyle I have been living.
This is all about me now. It's not about looking good for someone else. It's not about having to fit into a dress for a party. It's not about how the world sees me. It's about me and how I feel about myself when no one can see me. Maybe this "wisdom" came with age, maybe it is the result of the two life events I've had this year, I don't know. What I do know is that I am my worst critic and my own motivation. And this has helped me this far.
Since June, I've been working out harder. I'm sure I can spend more time and more energy working out to lose this weight faster. But, according to my doctor, 1 lb a month is the healthy way of doing this.... so that in the long run, I can keep this weight off. Losing weight too fast, of course I knew this, would only mean for a temporary weight loss and I mean to keep this weight off forever. I am nearing my fourties now, I want to go into my fourties healthy and agile and when fifty comes around, I want to still look like I am only in my thirties.
So far, I've gone from 172 in September, 2013 to 179 in March 2014 to 158 now. My goal will not be reached this year, I know that. But, I will reach my goal sooner or later and I am determined to stay at my goal when I get there.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
6/6/2014 Lunch Outside
We finally had a nice day here in MN. So, I went outside for my lunch break. This was my salad....
Baby greens with eggs, avocado, cherry tomatoes, shitake mushrooms, and a touch of French dressing. I wouldn't do a dry salad if I can help it.
Memorial Weekend 2014 Eating Tour
This Memorial Weekend my friends and I decided to go on a food tour of Chicago. I know, I was on LLGD, but I couldn't just pass up some good food. Remember, I did say I LOVE eating.
This isn't the recommended way of starting a diet, but, actually, I started in February ;-). This was just a weekend off of LLGD.
Squid, ribs, and chap chae at Joy Yee
Stuffed pizza from Giadorno's
Samgyupsal from San Soo Gab San
Japanese ramen from Kayabe in Mitsuwa
Greek medley of foods from Greek Island
This isn't the recommended way of starting a diet, but, actually, I started in February ;-). This was just a weekend off of LLGD.
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