Plans

My week of weight loss was set to begin yesterday but I guess my body had other plans.  I woke up on Saturday not feeling well and by lunch time I had what was clearly the flu.  I have been bed ridden for four days and it's not been fun at all.  And on my vacation no less!  And to make matters worse, the interview that I was set up for never happened.  I don't know what happened but out of nowhere it disappeared.

Truly it has been a horrific week.  I hate that I'm sick but honestly, if I were well I think I would be incredibly distraught and stricken over this job thing.  But I can't concentrate on anything other than trying to get well because I haven't been this sick in so long.  So in a weird way I'm thankful for that distraction.  Also, I can't imagine what kind of impression I would have made in the shape I'm in.

Anyway, just wanted to jump on here and let you know that my week is NOT going as I have planned.  Never in a million years did I imagine this week would turn out this way.  Hopefully I will wake up tomorrow feeling somewhat better.

Until then, I'm going back to bed.

Celebration Smorgasboard and Body Fat

I got home from work yesterday to find some good news.  I got a call back for my second interview!

And the icing on the cake is that it's going to be next week which helps greatly as I have the week off.  There's nothing worse than trying to find time in your work day to go out on interviews.

So, we ordered from my favorite Italian restaurant (of course) in celebration!  I had a little of my favorites and then I had some more :)  It was both amazing and crazy filling.  I even woke up this morning and was full.  Come to think of it, it's 11 am and I'm still full.  In any case, I'm very excited and hope next week goes well!

A couple of months ago I bought a hand-held body fat monitor.  Ok, I'll be honest, a couple of months ago I bought a hand-held body fat monitor and then I placed it out of my sight and totally forgot I had it.  I've been reading online the best way to use it and so last night I took my first, real reading.  The results were not so good.  I'm not going to take this reading as set in stone as I want to take a few more because they're varying wildly but my first reading was 36.6%.  I will take a few more using the guidelines I found and hopefully they will all be somewhat similar and then I will tell you my official reading. I'll be taking weekly readings with my weigh-ins now so I can hopefully see progress with both.

And as you can see from the chart below, I definitely need to get that number down into the average category

And for fun reference - here are some ranges for different athletes.  I wouldn't mind looking like a swimmer or tennis player.  I guess I have my work cut out for me.

Today's Menu:

B:  none (rough, rough morning)
L:  Italian Salad, Romaine, String Cheese, Turkey
D:

Week of Weight Loss

Today turned out to be very exciting.  I got a call back from the recruiter I met with last week.  We discussed money a little bit and I made the decision to move forward with the job interview.  It's not as much as I was hoping but it's more than I'm making now.  Not to mention that I'll be starting off at a salary that will continue to rise.

Very exciting!

Also, it occurred to me today that I have yet to take any vacation time at my current job.  I get over 3 weeks vacation every year and I'm 6 months in (my anniversary roll over date is OCT) and am FEELING IT.  I've been anxious at work lately and that is usually due to needing a break from work.  So I will be taking all of next week off.

And since money is tight in my household right now, I'll be vacationing at home.  Therefore, I have decided to use my vacation to focus on weight loss.  I'll be working out, eating right and trying to lose as much weight as possible for that week.  In a typical week, it's pretty hard to get in major workouts and plan for all eating but with my vacation, I'm just going to pretend like I'm at a weight loss spa or something.  I'll be blogging every day and hopefully once I return to work, I will be a few pounds lighter :)

That's not til next week but I'm excited already :)

Scale Fluctuations

I'm pretty sure there's nothing worse than scale fluctuations.  I'm aware of how fickle the body is and how it can vary by huge amounts from one day to the next, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

I actually haven't encountered that today I'm just making an observation.  I have been going thru my progress over the last 3 months and have noticed how sometimes the scale just doesn't match to what I'm doing and how that is completely frustrating.  I know you're not supposed to look at the scale but come on.  Also, I just think I'm in a bad mood today ;)

I made the spaghetti pizza last night and I have to admit it was one of the tastiest things I've had in a long time, and I enjoyed every last bite!  The portion I made is way too big so I'll probably be pushing it off on my boyfriend but still, I'm glad I made it.  Truly a nice treat.

Today is already shaping up to be a less than stellar day.  Yesterday it was 80 and sunny and beautiful.  Today it's barely 50, overcast, and hideous.  Amazing how the weather can affect your entire day.   I overslept because it was too cold to get out of bed so I didn't have time to make my breakfast so I went to Starbucks and may I say - their spinach and feta breakfast wrap is quite tasty.  Also, it's only 280 calories.  Not bad at all.

Anyway - today's plan:

Is to hope the rain holds off so I can go on a lunch walk - if it doesn't, I'll be visiting my gym for the first time in who knows how long.

To eat what I have planned (which happens to include another night with my spaghetti pizza so I'm looking forward to that).

To do strength training when I get home from work (maybe, I don't know, I'm hoping ? )

B:  Starbucks latte, spinach feta wrap
L:  tuna salad, Italian salad, romaine
D:  Spaghetti Pizza

Monday Weigh In

I had a very uneventful weekend.  It was in the 80s, sunny and beautiful out but I was determined to finish cleaning my apartment.  You know, one of those semi-spring cleaning deals.  I take these very seriously.  I'm pleased to say that my apartment looks amazing.  I even cleaned the ceiling fan blades.  For whatever reason, this always makes me happy.

Also, I'm a little low on cash so I was trying to be good and any venture outdoors inevitably leads to me spending money that I don't have :)

All in all, it was a lovely, kind of relaxing (despite all the cleaning), weekend.  And on this fine Monday morning I'm pleased to report that I have lost another 0.6 pounds!!

YEAH!!

That puts me to a total loss of 5.7 pounds since mid December.  I'm actually very pleased with that.  I am just DYING to get to 10 pounds but slow and steady right?  I do have a hard time with the slow moving progress considering I am being diligent and proactive with my eating and exercise, but, I just have to remind myself to look at the big picture.  I mean, if I continue on this path, then feasibly by the end of the year I could be 20 some pounds down.  Yeah, that sounds much better than saying 0.6 pounds :)

And in case anyone is wondering (because I always am when I read other people's blogs) ...

This past week I averaged a daily deficit of 445 calories thru both diet and exercise.  I'd like to get that number to 500 a day to pull a one pound loss but I'm not going to force anything. Also, I'm going to start the pep talks with strength training.  I really need to keep the muscle mass that I have otherwise my metabolism might suffer.  UGH.  Man, I love to whine about strength training.

Today's menu:
B:  Protein Shake
S:  pre workout bar (they're called PR Bars and I LOVE THESE)
L:  Not Pasta Salad (sans pasta - it's just cucumber, carrots, and red pepper diced and tossed with some light Italian dressing with a few colby cheese cubes thrown in) - tossed with shredded Romaine with tuna salad on the side

D:

for dinner I think I am going to indulge my inner child.  I'm going to make Spaghetti Pizza!  How awesome does that sound?  Seriously, this week I just wanted to make something that satisfied some cravings I've been having.

So, I found an easy recipe, exchanged a FEW things to make it a little lighter (low sugar pasta sauce, added some veggies - you get the picture) but overall I'm just going to go for it.

It'll be a nice treat. 

I Need Sleep

It's true.  I'm not getting enough shut eye.  Oddly enough, when I don't get enough sleep, I'm actually chipper in the morning.

Crazy chipper.  Like, if it were someone else in my office, I'd probably slap them.

And though I'm chipper, it doesn't actually mean I'm in my right mind.

So, due to this lack of sleep, I had a rough start to my morning.  It was odd the way it worked out.  Though I slept badly, I woke up way earlier than I had to.   I had plenty of time to get ready, make my breakfast protein shake, pack my lunch AND get out of the door on time.

Pretty good start right?

WRONG

That's when things started falling apart.

I forgot to take my protein shake with me.  First ugh.  So, once I got to work I decided to walk next door to Starbucks to get a skinny vanilla latte in its stead.  Ok, so I'm kind of back on track.  Then, I sit at my desk and begin my morning ritual of starting my work day.  Things are still ok.  However, for whatever reason, the skinny vanilla latte is just not cutting it today.  My email goes off.  It's the receptionist letting us know there are bagels AND donuts in the kitchen.  This is usually not a problem for me but today I'm just starving.  Second ugh.  I go to the kitchen ONLY to get a bagel.  But while I'm toasting my bagel I end up eating an ENTIRE donut.  Third UGH!  It kind of just snuck up on me - I didn't even know I was doing it.  It was as if the room went black and when I finally came to, I was licking the frosting from my fingers.  So, I take my bagel and run back to my desk.  I eat half of it before I force myself to stop and survey the damage (ie:  logging the calories).  The damage tells me not to touch the other half of my bagel because I have had plenty.  FOURTH UGH!  Then, it started happening.  I felt horrific.  I was on a sugar high and I wanted nothing more than to get off of it.  Once it finally wears off, I'm left feeling like I have a brick sitting in my stomach.  It was the worst feeling.  My body is revolting against me and my food decisions.  I sit and moan at my desk for what felt like hours.  I even order my assistant to make it his job, NAY his DUTY, to not allow me to eat any more donuts EVER.   The feeling continues .. UGH UGH UGH!!!

Finally, after a few hours, it passes.  

It was a rough morning.  I finally got back on track with the foods I had packed for myself, but I'll be honest, I got myself into a little pickle eating those high calorie foods.  Which means I'm going to have to be extra cautious with dinner which isn't too fun on Friday evenings.

Why donuts WHY?

Anyway, the point of the story is I need to sleep.  Because when I sleep, I make better decisions.   And when I make better decisions, I don't eat the donuts!!

Stress Management

Today is March 1st and I weighed in this morning and I posted my lowest weight to date.  So, that officially means that February comes to a close with a 0.5 lb weight loss overall for the month - but what impresses me the most is that since February 17th I've lost 1.5 pounds!  Trust me, that's quite an accomplishment for this girl.

In addition to my fancy new low weight, I am also in the middle of a potential new job opportunity.  I had my first interview on Tuesday and now I'm just waiting for the phone call that will mean the next step.  I bring this up because man, is this ever stressful.  The job has so much potential so I'm very on edge about this.  And like so many people out there, I sometimes soothe stress with eating.  But, I'd like to brag a little about how I'm trying to be more aware of this obstacle and I'm using a lot of self-talk to help overcome it (yes, this is one of the tools I wrote down in my long writing session that I talked about in my last post).

How do I do this?  Well, for example, I like to call my best friend and exclaim to her excitedly how I have received the job offer and how they've offered me a 50% raise.  Ok, so it's not exactly that but I did do that just for laughs and it's incredibly close to what I actually do.  Take for instance this morning, I woke up early to get in an extra walk this week and while I was outside I chose to repeat some of my goals:

I have the job offer I want.
I have the salary offer I want.
I have the body I want.
I have control over my eating.
I am happy.

Those are just a few.  I always say them in the present tense because I read somewhere that your subconscious actually only understands present tense.  Now, whether or not this is true I don't know, but I figure why not?  I also make them short, precise statements because it also said that it's more effective to make the statements direct and to the point.

Now, whether or not my statements spring my subconscious into action, I don't know, but they have been helping me maneuver this stressful moment in my life.  The statements about the job help to remind me of what I really want.  I mean, I LOVE the job I have.  I get paid well, I've been there a long time, I have great perks and I have GREAT job security.  BUT, I'm over qualified.  I've outgrown my position and I've become complacent about that next step because staying is easier.  I know in the future that I want more advancement and in order to get that I need to go somewhere else.  And you know what, change is scary.  Especially a job change in this wonderful economy.  So these little statements help remind me of what I ultimately want.  I do want a bigger job with bigger money and bigger responsibility and the only way to get that is with action.  So basically I'm reminding myself to be proactive.  The same is true for the statements about my weight.  I'm not going to wake up tomorrow morning and discover I've lost 40 pounds overnight.  In order for that to happen, I have to constantly be mindful of my goals and remember that I'll only reach my goals if I put forth the effort.

And for whatever reason, this little thing I do helps keep things in perspective and makes me feel a little better.  Does it get rid of the stress completely?  Goodness no, but honestly, it does help.  And I need all the help I can get.

Today's Menu:

B:  2 eggs, 1 egg white scrambled with 2 pieces of pumpernickel bread, coffee
L:  tuna salad
D:

For dinner I think I might have some gnocchi with tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella.  If you've never had this wonderful dish, go get some right now.