And Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Weigh-Ins

I don't want to say I'm glad my vacations are over because I won't really mean it.  But, in a way, I'm glad the vacations are over.

I went away for a couple of weeks.  Got back home for a couple of days and then went away again.  It was exhausting.

And you know what all that left me with?

An apartment full of dirty laundry, an empty bank account, and cravings for naughty foods.  ;)

But it was fun.  FUN.  FUN!!!!  I got to see my family, have my mom cook for me, get oohed and ahhed over for finally being engaged, meet my brand new twin nieces, and see one of my closest friends get married.

Good times indeed.

I know I've missed a couple of weeks of weigh-ins, but I honestly have no idea how many because I didn't weigh myself at all while I was gone.  So I'm just going to jump right in and get the ball rolling again.

Huzzah!

And now to get everyone up to speed ...

Let's see.  My Weight Watchers subscription came to an end a couple of weeks ago so I'm counting calories which is kind of the same thing (but cheaper!).  I'm still running three times a week (up to 5 miles!) and I have officially started my countdown to my Wedding Plan.

Yes, a wedding plan.

As of Tuesday, September 25th, I have 44 weeks until August 1, 2014.  And wouldn't you know, I'd like to lose 44 pounds before my wedding.  Now, I don't have an exact date for the day just yet as we still aren't sure if we're having an actual wedding or eloping, but I do know no matter what, it'll be closer to September because we think that is when we want to take our Honeymoon.  You know, priorities.  So I have given myself an August 1 goal date just in case plans change (as they often do).

And with 44 weeks, that leaves me with a goal of losing a pound a week on average. 

So what am I doing to reach this goal?

1.  I'm eating in a deficit.  I chose to use this calculator to find my BMR.  Then with the help of Leigh Peele and her Fat Loss Troubleshoot book and Activity Calculator, I found my activity multiplier.  End result:  I supposedly need 1980 calories to maintain my current weight given my daily activity and exercise regime.  So to start, I'm taking that number and eating 35% less which leaves me with 1287 calories to shoot for.  (As time goes by and my weight drops, so will the level of the deficit.  But we can talk about that when I get there)

In a perfect world, that would leave me in a deficit that would create a 1.4 pound loss per week.  While I wish we lived in a perfect world, we do not.  So I will be adjusting that number as necessary.  In any case, I'm hoping it's enough for the 1 pound per week that I'm shooting for.

2.  I'm exercising.  When I calculated my calorie needs, I added exercising to the mix.  I chose the 3-5 days per week of moderate intensity.  So that means I actually have to DO that or I won't be eating the right amount of calories.  DOH!  So far, I'm running 3 days a week and I don't know about you, but for me running DEFINITELY counts as moderate intensity.  So as long as I continue that I'm covered.  And if for some reason my routine changes, I'll have to remember to rethink my calories.

3.  I'm eating good, whole foods.  Not only do you get more bang for your buck calorie wise, but your body gets the nourishment it needs.  It's a win-win situation.

4.  I'm going to try to not stress and enjoy the ride.

My weight loss has taken on a whole new meaning since I got engaged.  I think this is the first time I've had a REAL end date.  I mean, a wedding isn't something you can keep pushing back just because you haven't reached a weight loss goal.  You see, I want to wear a certain kind of dress and look a certain kind of way on that day and to be honest, how I look right now doesn't really go along with that image.  So when I say #4 is to try not to stress I really mean it.  I already have anxiety about whether I'm going to succeed or not.  It's not to a debilitating point or anything.  I guess I have recently just realized how important it is to me to start my new life with my future husband the way I've always envisioned.  Not just skinny, but healthy and crazy happy.

So for the next 44 weeks, I'm going to do my best to make sure that happens.

Whole30: Staying the Course AND Serving my Country

I had my first challenging day with my Whole30 yesterday.

I had jury duty.

Ugh.

This is my first time ever being called for jury duty. 

I would not mind doing jury duty at all except my employer does not pay me for doing my civic duty.  And the average trial in Los Angeles is 5 to 7 business days.

Yeah, that would be 5 to 7 days of work that I would just not get magically paid for.  I could use my vacation time for this but 1.  who REALLY wants to use their precious vacation time for something stressful like jury duty and 2.  I have already paid for a vacation that is happening in September which will use up what vacation I have left.  

I don't know about any of you but that's a lot of money to just give away.  And the $15 a day that Los Angeles provides (starting on the second day natch) doesn't really cover much. 

But I digress.  This is NOT a post about the injustice of my employer (or probably most employers) not paying me for jury duty.  Wait, one more complaint.  Government employees give unlimited days of jury duty paid.  UNLIMITED.  They should just be required to cover all jury duty requirements.  End complaint.

This is a post about what to do when life throws you a curveball.

So I had jury duty yesterday.  And since I've never served before, I had no idea how I was going to survive food wise.  So instead of hoping that things would swing my way, I planned on having to provide for myself.

So what did I do?

I PLANNED!

I pretty much knew I would NOT have access to a kitchen so anything I took had to be good sitting in my purse.  And since I was using public transportation to get to the courthouse, I had to make sure it wasn't too bulky.

I knew I couldn't take full meals but snacks were completely doable.  I figured if all else failed, I would eat my snacks and just wait til I got home to eat a big meal.

And that's what I did.

I packed an apple, 2 larabars, a bag of baby carrots, almonds and a bottle of water.

When I got there, I found a cafe right outside of the jury assembly room.  So, I went in there during one of our breaks and I kid you not, not a single thing in there was compliant.  Actually not a single thing in there was even healthy.  It was bags of candy, bags of chips, sodas, pizza, hotdogs, nachos ... you get the picture.  It was like a little gas station in there. 

I also checked out the menu for the cafeteria in the courthouse and again, nothing.  If I wanted an iceberg lettuce salad with tomato only maybe I could have found that but otherwise, everything was a no go. 

Now, we DID get an hour and a half for lunch, and downtown Los Angeles has great restaurants within walking distance, so in all fairness, I'm sure I COULD have ventured out and found something.  But I'm so glad I packed my snacks.  I ended up only needing the apple and one larabar.

I'll be honest, I was SO STRESSED about getting picked for a panel and losing my pay that I wasn't really that hungry. 

And while it was one the longest, most stressful days I've had in awhile.  I managed to make it thru 9 hours and not get called.

Service done!

Today's Menu:
B:  paleo casserole:  eggs, sausage, onions, sweet potato, coconut milk
L:  tomato soup, almonds, apple
D:  mushroom stroganoff, cauliflower rice