One Year Later: Slightly Frustrated

Before: September 2011. After: October 2012

October 2011, I started my weight loss adventure. I had the original goal of losing 70-80 lbs (or ate least four dress sizes) in one year, so I could be back to my high school weight/size. The idea was to be “as skinny as I was when I thought I was fat.”

One year later, I’m not to my goal. Six months into my journey, I moved 200+ miles away and took more time than I should have to get settled and back in the gym. I didn’t start up again until August and that really set me back on my goal. I’m still close to where I was in April and I’m kicking myself for it.

Today I had an evaluation with my current trainer. I was weighed and he took my measurements. I was frustrated to see that my weight wasn’t much different from my weight in August. However, my measurements showed that progress was indeed being made.

Fall 2005; Senior Year of High School. From the RSHS Production of “Mr. Fixit”

My trainer has asked me to type up a “report” so to speak about my weight loss journey and how it has changed since I started last year. He’s looking for the differences between his techniques and my old trainer’s techniques, what I like/don’t like, how the location of the gym effects my motivation, etc. I’m also suppose to come up with short term goals. In the words of my trainer “You can’t win the war without strategizing each smaller battle.”

So today I took my new “after” photo. And looking at a picture of me from high school (very few left on Facebook for me to grab), I feel like I’m close. What’s frustrating is that looking at the numbers, I’m two dress sizes and about 30 more pounds away from my high school size. It’s becoming a mental game and I feel like I’m suffering from an acute case of body dysmorphia. From those who knew me before, I get compliments. To those who know me now, I’m unimpressive. I’m smaller than what I was, but not small enough.

I need to keep reminding myself that I’m 42 pounds down. Forty-freaking-two! I’m so proud of my number, but I’m not done yet. I have so much more work to do and I’m struggling to find the time and motivation to do it. So my message to you all, is to keep working and keep your eyes on the prize. To reference a quote I saw online:

No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everybody on the couch.

Sushi Cheat-Sheets

It has taken me a while to jump on the sushi bandwagon.  I would try it if someone else offered me a piece, but I never had a desire to go and get sushi.  Until now.  Something changed and now I really love sushi.  Maybe it’s the fact that the two places I’ve tried sushi in Kansas City were both amazingly delicious.  And then I found some in my workplaces’ cafeteria.  Win for them.

But then the questions start popping up in my head.  How much sodium is in this?  What is the calorie count?  Can sushi be made to order or is it something that you don’t mess with and eat as is?  I did some investigating and found some good information.  Several sites recommended asking to switch the white rice with a  brown rice, avoid “tempura” dishes, and be cautious of spicy dishes.  Spicy generally means a higher calorie count (although there are always exceptions).  A common thought about sushi is that it is a low-calorie food.  But the per-roll calorie count can vary greatly from 140-500 calories.  Some top picks for rolls that are lower in calories per six pieces and a little lower in sodium are:

• Veggie Roll
• Tuna (Maguro) Roll
• Avocado Roll
• Cucumber Roll
• Salmon and Avocado Roll
• Yellowtail Nigiri
• Shrimp Nigiri
• Rainbow Roll
• Salmon Cucumber Roll
• Mackerel Roll
• Sashimi

I’m guilty of ordering two-three different kinds of sushi every time I’ve had it.  I want a variety of flavors to try and it’s just so easy to order several.  However, that means I’m eating two-three servings for one meal.  One website had this to say about serving size:

Portion size is very important when it comes to sushi. For most types, six pieces is considered one roll, or one serving. Since each piece is practically bite-sized it’s easy to eat a bigger portion than you mean to. So stick to six pieces and add a salad, steamed veggies, or a bowl of soup.

Below are some good websites I found that offer great guidelines.  The first link is an easy to follow list of what’s good and what’s bad on sushi menu’s.  The second list is a compilation of “6 Best Low-Calorie Sushi Rolls” that breaks down their nutritional information.

http://www.eatingrules.com/2011/03/healthy-sushi-options/

http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/meal-ideas/6-best-low-calorie-sushi-rolls

Spicing it Up

Kansas City has a great farmers market. One of my favorite aspects of it are the spices. There are a couple vendors that have so many types of spices. And for one to two dollars a scoop, I can try so many of them. I’ve tried Sweet ‘n’ Smoky, Applewood Smoked Hickory, Jamaican Jerk, Curry, Apple Pie, one made for seafood, one made for poultry, etc.

If you don’t have a farmers market near you, or maybe it doesn’t have any spices, check out some mom and pop shops around your city.  When I lived in St. Louis, down the street from me was a Penzeys Spices.  The walls were lined with spices and herbs and the shop always smelled delicious.  They even had some recipe cards throughout for a select few of their spices.

I’ve found that the easiest way for me to use them, is to just cover some pieces of chicken or fish with one and cook it on the stove. Add some vegetables and a starch and you have a fabulous meal.  I tried the Apple Pie flavoring in some oatmeal and it was very tasty.

If you ever have the opportunity to try some awesome spices, don’t hold back.  Try just a basic recipe to start and once you get an idea of how it tastes with other foods/spices, add it to your existing recipes or come up with some of your own.

Taking the Stairs

The company wide weight-loss competition that I’m participating has officially begun and so has my efforts towards winning. It was a rough start, however, because I caught some sort of bug.  I was coughing, sneezing, constantly tired, achy, and grouchy.  I typically gain weight when I’m sick so I was not looking forward to the first team weigh-in.  Luckily, I did manage to drop a couple pounds since my Starting Weight weigh-in, so I didn’t completely let my team down.   We’ve decided to try to weigh-in every Thursday to keep track of our progress.  I will not be posting weekly updates on that.  I will post monthly like I have before.

So what have I been doing to get healthy again?  I’ve been able to maintain my diet, so that hasn’t changed much.  And I sit in front of my computer all day while I’m work.  So I’ve had to find something to do.  And the easiest thing to change at work?  Taking the stairs.

The building that I work in has six floors and I’m stationed on the bottom level.  However, I often work with people on the fourth and fifth floors.  So there are three to four flights of stairs for each meeting.  What about did me in was a trip to the sixth floor.  I figured “hey, it’s only one more flight.  I can do that, no problem.”  Wrong.  By the time I got to the top of the stairs, I saw the health cricket congratulating me.  I have never had such a desire to rip down a sign and yell profanities at it.  I was out of breath for the first several minutes of my meeting and I realized how pathetic that was.  It had to change.

I’ve been continuing the stair habit and the health cricket’s face is getting less irritable.  Luckily I only see him when I have meetings on the sixth floor and those are few and far between.

Back At It!

I know it’s been months since my last post, but I’m back!  I’m moved to KC, I’ve started my new job, and gotten settled.  I have slacked in my visits to the gym, but I’ve kept up my diet and I’m proud to say that I’ve maintained my weight loss.

But now I need to stop slacking and get back to work!  The company I work for is doing a team-based weight loss competition and I am partaking.  The team that loses the highest combined weight percentage wins.  And I refuse to let my team down.

You can expect more recipes coming your way and more weigh-ins.  There are only two official weigh-ins for this competition, so I’ll be doing unofficial weigh-ins as I go.  So stayed tuned!

March Weigh-In

I know it’s already April, but this weigh-in counts for March.  My original weigh-in was scheduled for March, but we had to reschedule.  I’m not going to lie, I was worried about this month.  It was a stressful month in addition to a very fun St. Pat’s weekend at my Alma Mater (lets just say my diet was not even close to the front of my mind).

In addition to a stressful month, I was in the ER last week because of back pain.  My best friend was doing my hair (like we’ve done numerous times before) and my back began to get really sore.  When she was done putting the dye in, I stood up and could barely walk.  Every movement cause my back to scream at me.  I was leaning over a table with my bestie near me when I just fainted.  I woke up on the floor leaned against a side table squeezed between a wall and couch and her yelling at me to open my eyes.  After I came back around we called my parents.  Side note: no hair dye got anywhere on my furniture or floor (my bestie is just awesome that way).  So I am finally able to stand up so I get in the shower to wash out the dye (praying my hair doesn’t fall out because of how long the dye was on).  I am then whisked away to the ER to learn of a couple internal infections that caused the pain that lead to the fainting.

I am, obviously, fine.  But my weigh-in was suppose to be that week.  Since I couldn’t walk 30 minutes without my back being angry with me, we postponed the weigh-in for today, April 3rd.  We did, however, skip the plank and mile tests and just too measurements. So be sure to check it out and see how I did!

Midterm Exam

BEFORE; September 2011 

AFTER; March 2012

Well here it is: my halfway point for weight loss. I’m down about 30 pounds.  I feel stronger than ever and am getting more impressed with myself everyday.  For example, today with my trainer I benched about 315 lbs on the leg press!

I just hope that I can keep up the great work and lose the rest of the weight.  I am aiming for my high school weight.  To quote something I saw on Pinterest, “I want to be as skinny as when I thought I was fat.”  And I’m getting closer!

I’m in a size pant that I haven’t worn in years and I am finding shopping to be a much more fun experience.  However, I am trying not to buy too much since I plan on getting smaller.  Maybe when I hit my goal, Stacy and Clinton can surprise me with a $5000 shopping card, a trip to New York, and a makeover!  A girl can dream can’t she?

For now, I’ll stick to going through my closet and taking in a few pieces and living with some others being a bit baggy.  I think it’s a pretty decent problem to have; having clothes that are a little too big.  It’s a much better feeling than putting on your favorite shirt and looking at it stretch around the roundness that is your body.

February Weigh-In

Tonight was my weigh-in for February (despite it being the first day of March), and I am so excited!  I’m down a total of 29.6 pounds!  You can see all of the individual measurements on the My Measurements page.

Because I am making such great progress, the gym that I go to is going be putting a “Before and After” page about me on their wall featuring other great success stories!  So I had to go through some pictures and find a not-so-flattering image which was a lot harder than expected since I deleted most of the pictures (I’m a girl, what can I say?).  I also had to write a maximum 200 words about my experience so far.  So I’ve asked my trainer for a copy of the “After” picture.  And when he gets it to me, I’ll be sure to post it along with the “Before” picture and my little 200-word tidbit.

But for now, check out my visual encouragement button jars.  I got the idea from Pinterest to make these jars and they sit in my kitchen on display.  Four buttons = 1 Pound, and I round to make it easier on myself.

And as you can see, I’m so close to half of my goal.  If I keep on track, a few more months and I’ll be back to my high school size.  And who knows, maybe I’ll keep going!

January Weigh-In

Last night was my January weigh-in.  I was really nervous.  I kept thinking about all the fun-sized Hershey’s Chocolates and Reese’s I snuck in while at the office.  But alas!  My cardio and hard work canceled out those delicious distractions and I conquered!

My weight: 213 lbs (-6.25 lbs from December)

Huzzah!  I really think having all these recipes helped me as well.  It kept me focused on the goal and provided me with leftovers for a few days.  So it was easy to stay on track.

I’ll be making a new healthy recipe tomorrow night, so be ready to read about it on Thursday.  I’m pretty anxious to try this one.

You can check out all my measurements per month on the My Measurements page.

“My Fridge Food”

This is an awesome website.  I put in everything that I have in my fridge and pantry.  My results were over 100 recipes.  The kicker is that they aren’t all healthy, but the site does provide nutritional information for each.  So pay attention to that when choosing recipes.  It’s also smart to always keep your eyes for any healthy swaps that are possible.  Maybe you can get a “Light” option or “No Sugar” or something.

Overall, this is just a neat tool to have for those days where you want to cook something, but have no idea what and don’t want to go out and buy additional ingredients.  So helpful for those cold, lazy days.  Be sure to comment anything great that you come up after using this!

My Fridge Food – Recipes you already have in your Fridge.