Down 32 lbs!

What a beautiful weekend in Texas! I had a busy weekend with very little time to sit around the house. Friday night, Holly and I went to walk at our local park. We walked for an hour walking 3 miles and my HRM said I burned 350 calories. I guess I had not totally recovered from the work out the night before, because I was not moving too fast. Every time we walk, we always talk about what we are cooking for dinner. Holly has a way of making it sound soo good that I always want to go home and cook what she is going to cook. Well Friday night, Holly was not planning on cooking, and since her son and my husband tagged along to hang out at the park while we walked, we all decided to go eat at our local Mexican restaurant. I did not do great, but I could have done a lot worse. I ordered the lite plate which was one cheese enchilada, rice, and beans. I guess the trick they taught me at weight watchers worked because Holly ordered the same thing instead of getting a higher in calorie selection. Our meal took a long time. I think our table went through at least 4 baskets of chips. Thankfully, I received a work phone call and missed out on a couple of them. My husband said dessert was at home. He said he picked up a couple of slices of pie at the grocery store that were Sugar Free. He bought both of us a slice which I thought was pretty awesome. He could have easily bought me the Sugar Free and him the regular one. So 1 pt for Chuck. As I usually do before I could even think about eating the pie, I flipped it over and checked the calories. 300, but as I pointed out to him. The retailer was trying to trick us. What a normal person would consider one slice, the nutrition label claimed it was two servings. Although I was disappointed at the high calories, I went for it and ate 1/2 of one of the slices. Yeah, still 300 calories but it was soooo good and as Cat says 1/2 the calories.

Saturday morning, I got up and cooked breakfast tequitos on whole wheat tortillas. My two tequitos consisted of 1/2 egg on each, very little 2% shredded cheese, and a touch of Jenny-O Turkey Sausage. Very good and filling. We headed to Dallas to see a new baby born in the family. He was so precious. I have been WANTING some Chipolte, so that is what we had for dinner. I know I went a little over my points but I have been craving this for sometime. I did decide to get the burrito bowl instead of eating the extra calories from the tortilla. It filled my craving and I should be good for at least another month or so. : ) We were supposed to go work out at the gym, but the devil took over and I traded the gym for a night at the casino. The only exercise I got for the evening beside my hand on the slot machine, was the stairs from the parking garage into the casino. There was a long stairway in between two beautiful escalators. I ended up running up the stairs two different times before the night was done and would have done it more if my family was not ready to go. I don't remember seeing another person on those stairs all evening, besides my cousin Amy who did it once with me.

Sunday, since it was beautiful, I met my friend Lola at a trail in Waxahachie and we walked 4 miles! YAY! I was determined to walk 4 miles and I think since we had so far to go, I was walking faster than usual. Then on the way back, Lola's friend called and said she did not see Lola son at the park. Well the adrenalin sunk in and we were booking. Of course her more than me. I had to stop once because my toes were SCREAMING! We did the 4 miles in a little over an hour and I was shocked when I looked at my HRM watch. I burned over 600 calories! That was awesome! I only ate Subway and fruit for the rest of the day.

Today was weigh-in at Weight Watchers and I really considered not going because my scale at home did not look like I was going to have a loss and ALL my buddy's were not going. Three of my co-workers and one friend all cancelled out on me on the same night. Last week our meeting was on the importance of coming to the meetings so we can get the encouragement from each other, a little advice, etc. I totally agree with our instructor, I need that. So I went to the meeting, and I am so glad I did. I had a LOSS. 1.5 lbs to be exact. I have now lost 32 lbs. I am 16.5 lbs to meet the weight I would like to be before I head to the Biggest Loser Resort in one day shy of 7 weeks. It's going to be hard, but I CAN DO THIS!!!

Day 1 at the gym with my Polar Watch

I LOVE THIS THING! I wish I would have invested in this watch MONTHS ago!

Today at work,I was telling the exercise guru in my department about my purchase and using it at Zumba last night. I told her I could not wait to go to the gym tonight to see how many calories I would burn. My biggest calorie burn so far had been 800 calories. This number was compiled from all the "machines" at the gym that record how many calories you are burning. Well my co-worker then burst my bubble. She told me those machines can not be trusted because it is based on an average person. She of course is petite so she said the machines always say she is burning more calories than her watch would show. Before talking to her, I had set myself a goal to burn 1000 calories tonight. After talking to her, I decided I did not want to set myself up for failure, so I set my goal at 600.

When I first got there, I jumped on the Stepper as usual. I was determined to go 20 minutes AND I did. I went 50 stories in that 20 minutes, 1 mile in the sky. : ) The machine said I burned 140 calories -- my watch --- OVER 200. I don't remember the total amount because my watch keeps track of it all for me. I did not stop it after each exercise, I just kept letting it rake up the calories. When I got off that stepper I was dripping with sweat. I went to the rest room and put a wet towel to my face, then headed for the treadmill.

In my preparation for the Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge, I upped the incline to an even higher incline than I had done before a 4.5. I was lucky, tv right in front of me was showing Texas Hold 'em. I was like YES, that will take my mind off the workout. I decided to get off the treadmill after 30 minutes because my toes on my right foot were SCREAMING! I jumped off and looked at my watch -- OVER 600 calories. HOLY COW -- I have only been here almost an hour and I have already made the goal I had set for myself.

Next I went and did the weights for about 30 minutes. I went to the gym about an hour earlier than I usually do tonight and there were TONS of people there. So the weight machine for Crunches -- everyone loves that one. I had to get on the Harder Crunch machine where you are actually lifting your legs too. You know the whole seat moves. That was an awesome burn!

I don't quite remember what my calorie count was when I headed to rowing machine. Since I had my watch to keep track of the calories, I chose to do "the fishing game" on the rower. Basically you have to get out of the way of the Black Fish. You move your fish on the left by how hard you are pulling the row (if that is what you even call it). I was concentrating so hard on getting out of those black fish way, I have no idea how long I was on there. LOL. I do know that I was grunting and carrying on. LOL. I laugh about it now, but at the time, I did not CARE who heard me. I was trying to rack of the points. I did the game twice and if I had to guess, I bet each game last 5 minutes. After I got off, my watch said that I was OVER 900 calories burned!

Headed to my favorite exercise, the stationary bike with a fan. I decided to set it at Level 8, Random Hill, for 40 minutes. I stayed going pretty fast the entire time until after about 18 minutes and the hills got intense. There was nothing on the tv's in front of me, but luckily the lady next to me started talking to me so it made the time pass. She was quite comical. She was looking at a magazine and at times she was so into it, she was not even pedaling hard enough for the machine to register. I don't see how these people can sit there and read a book. I guess I still, as my fellow blogger puts it, jiggle too much. : ) I wouldn't be able to see the words without getting a headache. LOL. Anyway, she had some magazine that had an article on that lady that is wanting to become the Biggest Woman in the World. That is so sad. What an ambition? I think she is looking for a reason to EAT BAD and LOTS of it! No way! I cringe to think about pallbearers at my funeral straining to carry my coffin. I know that is morbid, but can you imagine? I bet she does not even live long enough to reach her goal. I feel bad for her. The Biggest Loser ought to give her another way to be popular, a change of life style!! Hopefully she will come to the light of things before it is too late.

I stayed on the bike my 40 minutes going a total of 11 miles. And what was the total after I got off the bike? 1375!!!! I did not even know that was possible, but I guess if you are an obese female my size moving that much, it's possible. For those of you not familiar with the Heart Rate Monitor watches, during set up, you enter your weight, birthday (so it can determine your age), height, sex, and today's date. There may be a few other things that I am forgetting. Then I have a chest strap that has a little computer in the middle that communicates with my watch. It keeps track of my heart rate. What I was not expecting that was cool, is it also communicates with all the machines at the gym. You know how on the treadmill for example how it has the part where you hold your hands on it to find out your heart rate? Well I did not have to do that on ANY machine tonight. It automatically showed up on all the machines. At first I was puzzled on the stepper wondering how it was getting a heart rate because I have never seen a place on there to find it. But I looked at my watch and sure enough they matched. What an added bonus I wasn't expecting. So at the end of each workout, the machine gives you the summary, you know for sure the heart rate they posted was your highest during that workout because it kept track of it the whole time, not just when you touched that special spot. At the end of my gym experience, my watch told me that my heart rate averaged 145 the whole time I was there and the highest it got was 158. When I got off that bike -- my butt was asleep. LOL. So I did some stretches, and headed out the door.

Next to the gym is a Taco Bueno. I was really hungry and thought about driving through and getting me a nacho salad. I got on my phone and googled the calories and even if I omitted some of the items, it was going to be 600 calories. HECK NO! Not after the workout I just got. I did not go there! During my workout I drank all 64 ounces of my water and I was still thirsty so I drove through Sonic to get a Large water with lemon. The drive thru attendant was taking his sweet time so I had PLENTY of time to look over the entire menu. I was so hungry. What did I decide upon you ask? Apple slices with Fat Free Caramel. It was good! I enjoyed ever bite. Once I got home I put a couple of pork chops on the George Forman and had some veggies for a whopping 320 calories.

What a GREAT NIGHT!!! I can not wait to see how many calories I burn tomorrow night when Holly and I go walking. : ) I totally suggest everyone get a HRM watch!

Polar F7 HRM

Today I got my Polar F7 HRM in the mail. It came just in time to get me out this rut I seem to be in. When I had scheduled my trip to FR, Travis mentioned that this was a good brand and model to try. I was a little disappointed to find out that the only way it gets your heart beat is with the chest strap. Not a big deal because the chest strap was pretty comfortable. For those of you that have one of these, is all that water proof? I mean, when I go swimming I want to be able to calculate my calories burned, but that does not seem to be waterproof. I will do some research before I get into the pool with it. I mean I know I sweat with it on, but submerging into water sounds dangerous. LOL.

I have always wondered how many calories I burn while doing Zumba. Well I don't have to "wonder" anymore. I know all instructors vary, but tonight I burned 450 calories. Not bad! The highest my heart rate got up to was 158. That is equivalent to my last time at the gym.

I can not wait to go to the gym tomorrow night. Through my cousin, I have a new workout buddy. I have never met her, she just happens to be a member of 24 hour fitness as well and was looking for a buddy. It is going to be strange meeting someone for the first time, then working out. I have no idea what she looks like but she sounds like she is pretty active. I can't wait to see how many calories I burn!!

I want to thank everyone for the encouragement! Because of you and the Polar watch I feel I am back on track and ready to move forward! I have goals to face and pounds to lose. : )

10% Weight Loss

Well I weighed in last night at Weight Watchers! I lost 2.2 lbs, making my weight loss 30 lbs, giving me a 10% weight loss since I started. YEAH!

You would think that would motivate me even more, right? Well, it has actually doing the opposite. When I first started this diet I weighed 300 lbs. I have gotten below 300 three different times in the past 6 years, but never below 294. At my heaviest, I weighed 330. That was probably 6 years ago. At that time, I got down into the 290's and lost motivation! Again two years ago, I started another diet and got down to the 294, then lost motivation. I truly believe something comes over me. I don't know if I don't believe that I can be successful, afraid of failure, tired of eating well, or just scared of gaining it back. Or maybe the stress from work? Our busy season has started back up and my days are extremely stressful. My job is what I believe is "hard to succeed" with options that are out of my control. Remember I am hard on myself when I am not perfect or feel others are thinking I am not doing my job.

Then there was the Biggest Loser Audition, I did go to the gym Sunday night after I went to the movies with my family. I was even good and packed my own lower in calories and sodium popcorn. Although I went to the gym I was just not "into it" as I have been in the past. I only burned 450 calories and was there two hours. I have not worked out since. : ( I am getting over the disappointment of not getting a call back. I am just telling myself that they could tell I was energized to lose weight and they are there to help those with "no clue". Whether it is true or not, that is what I am going to believe.

Since I have lost 30 lbs, I have grown more confident. I know I still have a lot to lose, but do you know how long it has been since I was in the 270's? Probably 10 years. That makes me feel AWESOME and POWERFUL! I need to stay positive and remember that. The 260's are just around the corner. I need to continue to focus on my weight loss 10 lbs at a time. I am hoping to be in the 250's when I go to FR! I don't care if it is 259.9, I just know that would be awesome and that will just be that much less weight to haul around during the hikes.

My 2010 goal of losing 80 lbs is totally doable. It is only March and I have lost 30 lbs. How awesome would it be to be closer to 200 than 300 at the end of the year! I have got to get my "I CAN DO IT" game face back ON! I have GOT to focus on ME! I have GOT to forget about work after I leave for the day! I need to stay positive and do what I can at work, and if I can not get everything done each day, I don't need to feel bad about it, because I can not handle circumstances out of my control.

I really need extra encouragement now! If you have gone through these "moments", please share! Only 53 days until I leave to go to The Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge! I still have LOTS of shopping to do! And oh yeah, I forgot to share, I bought me a Polar Watch!!!! Yay! I am so excited to get it in the mail this week! I am hoping it arrives before my Thursday night at the gym!! I think the watch might be arriving just in time to help!!!

Biggest Loser Casting

Well I went to my LAST Biggest Loser Casting Call yesterday. I have gone to many before but this one was the best. I went with a co-worker that although we both have lost weight on Weight Watchers, we have the most to lose at our group and we have "mental issues" that we are facing. NO we are NOT INSANE, we just are "Food Addicts". For our whole lives we have gone to food for comfort.

The reason this is my LAST time to go is mainly because I plan on NOT being over 100 lbs overweight next time they hold auditions, which is one of their requirements to be on the show. Although I told myself I was NOT going to be depressed if I did not get a call-back, it has not worked. It is the day after and I stayed in bed until 2 pm today. =( So before I eat my entire house, I decided to get on here and blog about my feelings, eat a reasonable lunch, then head to gym. I always feel better after I go to the gym. I need to replace exercise with over eating!!!

The casting call process is so brutal. I will have to say that the auditions in Dallas this year was the most organized one yet. In the past you take a chair and wait in line the whole time until you are seen. Don't know if that was the case this year for other cities, but Dallas ROCKED! It was at Dallas Methodist Hospital in their Auditorium. It was raining on Saturday morning and cold so before I left home, I packed snacks, blanket, umbrella, a chair, and even cards to help with the boredom to help time pass.

BL had posted that no one would be allowed to line up until 3 hours before they started auditions at 10 am. NOT the case! We arrived at 7:10 am, and there were over 250 people already in line. I was thankful to see that the hospital had put up some tents for us to be out of the rain while we were in line. I was extremely thankful for that. I don't care what anyone says, overweight people are GREAT people. Even though the lines were not formed by ropes to keep us in order, we all made our own lines by just staying behind the person in front of us basically. I was actually only standing up for maybe a little over an hour. The line was just to get you into the auditorium. Once you reached the front to enter the building, you were given a numbered application. The auditorium was full, but since Rae Cene and I brought our own chairs, we just sat in the back of the auditorium.

Once in the auditorium, the hospital had a "Health Fair" going on. They had a schedule of speakers throughout the entire day. But before the speakers started at 10, they were playing episodes of Season 9, which is on tv now. So that really pumped up the audience reminding us why we were all there! I was a "little" disappointed that there was a section on surgical weight loss. As an obese woman, it seems every time I turn around someone is trying to talk me into doing one of these surgeries. I have "thought" about it, but really want to do it the old fashioned way with diet and exercise. At 38 years old, I have NEVER had any type of surgery and am actually scared! If I had surgery before, I might feel differently. I am not saying that decision is wrong for anyone that chooses to go that route, that is just not the decision I am going to make, at least at this point in my life. There were lots of vendors lined up in the hall with tons of FREE stuff and information to take home with you. And there was even a trainer there that spoke during the day. Someone asked about the heart monitor watch and she spoke on that and said she got hers at Walmart for like $30. I have been looking at these and was planning on spending over $100 for mine. She is the second person that told me Sportline has one that does everything just as well for cheaper. I might stop by Target or Walmart on my way to the gym and buy me one. THAT would cheer me up!!! =)

The night before the auditions I watched TONS of You Tube videos that the Biggest Loser Casting Crew have posted on tips for auditions. I did EVERYTHING they asked for! I dressed up as if I were going on a job interview, I smiled and stayed energetic through-out the entire 7 minutes I was in front of them. It may sound funny but I really think maybe I am not fat enough? Those words coming out of my mouth don't even sound right. If you watch the show, you can see that each season they keep getting BIGGER people. This season there were at least 3 contestants that weighed over 500 pounds and I believe the heaviest female was maybe 350?

My co-worker and I would have made a great team, but maybe you have to be family? They have never come out to say that as a requirement, but who knows? I still think we were heavy enough! And they are definitely missing out! My co-worker is one of the best ladies you will ever meet. She is so caring and extremely funny. She is a lot like myself and I know America would have loved us! I am going to encourage her to make a video with me because we would have the opportunity to let them see the real us in more than 7 minutes they allowed us after waiting 7 hours just to be seen.

My sister Erin, was not able to make it to the auditions. She is such a beautiful girl and I wish she would have been there! She and I have discussed doing a video together as well. We need to hurry and do it this week if we are, because the taping of the show begins in May. We have a great story to tell. Although we have different moms, we have the same dad. Growing up our dad was not around much and since there is 8 years difference in our ages, we never saw each other much growing up. Therefore, we were not given the time to "bond" as sisters. Now that we both are adults married with children and live 2 hours apart, it is still hard to find time to get together. I really believe that if we were given the opportunity to be on the show, it would definately bond us! I know, I know -- we need to make more time for each other!! We don't need a TV show to get us to bond!! I wish Erin could afford to go with me to Fitness Ridge in May.

Well I have vented! I DO feel better! I need to get off of here and enjoy the rest of my day off!!

I did the Stepper for 20 minutes!

What a GREAT work out I had tonight at the gym! I am so proud of myself! I once again went to the gym BY MYSELF! I am getting where I don't really mind it much! I do miss having a partner to high-five when I do something above and beyond what I have done in the past. I have been trying to get one of my co-workers to start going with me but she says she does not want to go to a gym with MEN! I guess because I am married and not there to meet anyone, I don't mind it at all. Tonight I even had some small talk with a few women. I guess if I go more, maybe I will meet some of the other ladies and not feel like I am there by myself. Everyone is really nice and encouraging. Guess just because I am obese, they applaud me for trying to do something about it. I have noticed at all these workout that I attend, I very rarely see anyone bigger than me. One day, that too will change! : )

Today we had a carrier in from Canada so everyone went out to eat with him. Everyone chose Chili's. I was like, oh GREAT! That will be HARD to be good. Well, I decided upon the Fajita trio without rice and beans and I asked for corn tortillas instead of flour. The corn tortillas were so greasy that I wiped the grease off with my napkin before I ate them. I ate two full fajitas with all the fixings. Then I ate the left over meat. I did not care for the steak too much so I did not eat all of that. When I got back to the office, I pulled up Chili's nutritional information and YEP -- not good. It totaled 1250 calories for EVERYTHING. Even though I did substitutions and did not eat everything, I always "charge myself" for the full calories. It equaled 25 WW points. Considering I only get 32 a day, HOLY COW! Glad I decided to have my oatmeal this morning instead of cereal. : ) And for dinner, I am having a Steamable Broccoli and Cheese. I am going to eat the whole bag which is about 1 1/2 cups for a whopping 2.5 points leaving me a whole 1 point uneaten! : )

Well after a BAD BUSY day at work, I came home started a load of laundry, changed into my work out clothes, filled up my brita water bottle and headed to the gym. I got there about 6:30 pm and did not walk out of there until 9:45 pm. Here is a recap

Stepper -- 20 minutes -- burned 140 calories went one mile on that at a level 3
A trainer came by and asked me how I was doing, I told her good this was my first time to go longer than 5 minutes! She said I was doing great and keep the level down until I get more used to it.

Elliptical -- 10 minutes -- burned 65 calories My knees don't like this machine. I am going to still get on it some because when I go to FR I don't want it to be my first time on one if I get stuck with it.

Treadmill -- 30 minutes -- burned 151 calories I did the majority of the 30 minutes at 4.0 incline and 3.0 speed. I did play with the incline and speed some going higher, but my right foot was starting to hurt. I was really paying attention to how I was walking and I do need to go to the doctor. I really think my hip might not be aligned correctly. I was noticing that my left knee was pretty much staying locked and my right leg was doing what it was supposed to do. Maybe I will need physical therapy. I definitely need to get this figured out before my trip.

Weights -- 30 minutes -- burned ? calories I so need to get me a Watch that tells me how many calories I am burning because I have no idea on the weights, but I was doing 4 sets of 10 on all of them. I went and did the crunch machine twice. Once at the beginning and again at the end.

Rowing Machine -- 20 minutes -- burned 145 calories What a workout. I purposely stayed on there long enough to burn at least 144 calories because 144 would put me at 500 calories burned! My goal tonight was 600!

Arm Rotation Machine -- 5 minutes -- 30 calories

Stationary Bike -- 45 minutes -- 256 calories -- 12 miles at a LEVEL 8 Random Hill I started out planning on only riding it for 20 minutes, but the tv in front of me had Texas Hold'em on it and since I LOVE TEXAS HOLD'EM, I started up another 20 minutes so I could see who won. At the end I REALLY wanted to reach that 800 calorie mark, but the darn machine cut-off on me because my set time was done. I missed it by 13 calories which I AM sure I burned more than doing the weights.

At the end, I went over to the stretching area and propped my leg up on the bar to stretch just like I used to do in ballet. I even bent forward to touch my toes on the bar and bent my leg that was touching floor. It felt great to stretch like that. After stretching I headed out the door for my 45 minute drive home.

There is NO workout like a gym workout! I really need to go more than once a week! I am going to try to go once during this weekend. I REALLY want to have a good loss on the scale this week and reach my 10% weight loss goal!!! I have a good feeling about this week. : )

More Water Gain?

I am having a really odd week. I don't remember being this bloated since I started my diet. I MUST not be drinking enough water. I have gotten busier at work which results to less extra time to fill up my water bottle. And I did notice tonight, I have only drank 32 ounces since I got off of work. So I guess I need to intentionally make sure I am drinking more. I will work on that the rest of this week.

I also have been experiencing foot pain in my right foot around my toes. It starts about 45 minutes into my exercise. Yesterday after I got home, I changed into my Hiking boots to go walking. Well, a glimpse of my future occurred. After I put on my left shoe, I noticed pain behind the heel like something was either in the shoe OR in my sock. Well there was something in my sock alright, a BLISTER on the back of my heel. Well instead of irritating it further, I chose to walk in my tennis shoes. Holly and I walked 4 miles! Yay! After about 2 1/2 miles, my toes started hurting, but I pushed forward and felt GREAT for accomplishing the 4 miles.

Tonight we went to Zumba. On the way there, I said a little prayer and gave myself a pep talk. I wanted to have a good work out and burn lots of calories. I did pretty good. I am starting to learn some of the routines and getting better at the steps that require jumps. They had the a/c on and I was right in front of a HUGE fan. I did break a little sweat but not like in the past. At first I was afraid my asthma was going to act up, but I concentrated on my breathing and I was fine. The hour flew by and the instructor could not believe the hour was up. She asked if anyone wanted to go another hour. A few people said YES, and Holly and I were right there with them. The instructor ended up only doing about 20 minutes more, but that last dance -- Holy Cow! Cardio Extreme! It was fun!

I really need to purchase a watch that tracks my calories burned. For those of you that have them, please comment and let me know what kind you use.

Spring Forward

Well I went to weigh-in this evening! I gained .2 (2/10 of a pound). I am not going to let it get me down. I was down 3 pounds a few days ago, then last night I don't know WHAT I was thinking, but I ate some popcorn at the movies. I got it WITHOUT butter, so the "points" were not that bad, BUT I did not think about the salt resulting to water gain for my weigh-in today. I have been feeling all bloated ALL DAY! So I had a feeling it was not going to work out well on the scale.

Like I said, two days ago I showed a loss of 3 pounds. Had that 3 pounds stuck with me tonight, I would have hit my 10%. But you know what, I KNOW I will hit it NEXT WEEK! I am just going to stay focused, keep doing well, and NOT eat any salt!!!

Although, before I went to the movies last night I had done my work out to the Wii Biggest Loser Game burning what it said was about 130 calories. If you have not tried it, IT IS HARD! Since I don't want to slack on the workouts, I went ahead and set my workout level to Medium to burn the maximum calories. I DID NOT pick Advanced because I KNOW I would not have been able to hang with that. I barely can handle the 39 minute workout I am doing. It makes me sweat like crazy, which is good.

After the workout, I took a quick shower (which my husband could not believe) and I met some friends for a 3 1/2 mile walk. We walked on great little walk path I had heard so much about. This is the one that 1/2 of it is 3 1/2 miles, and if you walk the whole thing it is 7 miles. It is amazing to me where all the path travels through the town, in the wooded scenic area and ends at two different parks at each end. It amazes me that I walked it without much trouble breathing trouble. I bought my new hiking boots for my trip to The Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge. I felt I looked funny walking in them on that path with everyone else in tennis shoes, but I want to get them worked in really well before I go. I am hoping to miss the all so popular blisters on my feet. The boots worked out well, did not even feel like a new pair, but my toes on my right leg were in pain. I think I must walk funny or something and am putting too much weight on them when I walk. My friends suggested I go to a foot dr and I probably should before I go on my trip. They said maybe he can help me identify some exercises or something to help. Who knows? I sure don't! I guess it might help.

Throughout the day, I drank at least 64 ounces of water and I noticed that I was not spending as much time in the bathroom as I usually do. All this occurred BEFORE I went to the movies. I thought it strange. I did get up 4 times last night. So I am glad about that. Maybe I was sweating yesterday more than I thought? My weight watchers leader suggested I eat some melon and continue drinking my water. I went and bought me some watermelon on the way home. I think it will all work out this week. If anyone has any other suggestions, please do so. All is welcome. : )

Usually during the Time Change - Spring Forward, I HATE IT! But I am actually looking forward to it, for the first time in my life!! Texas weather has been nice and the moving the clocks up means I can walk longer in the evenings after work. I am so proud of Holly! She was working 9 am to 6 pm. She is so motivated to exercise and lose weight that she was able to change her hours at work to be able to get off at 5 pm each day, meaning we have PLENTY of time to get our walking in. We talked about trying to walk 4 miles tomorrow. I think it's a good plan. If we can add a 1/2 mile onto our walk each time we try, it will be no time and I will be able to do that 7 mile walk no problem. My legs are still hurting from yesterdays walk, but if I keep on track, I should be able to handle the hikes at FR. I am NOT saying it is going to be easy! I hear the first one called the Stop Sign Hike is HORRID! I hear there is an incline that about kills you! But I am training for that by upping the incline on the treadmill. I wish I were able to go to Turner Falls with my cousin this weekend, I could really go on a good hike there. Hmmmmm! Maybe after The Biggest Loser Casting on Saturday, I can talk my hubby into going for the night? But then again I have already encouraged another friend to join, what is becoming, my "Sunday Walking Group". How cool is that? Sounds like a challenge --- wonder how many people I can get to join? If you live in Ellis County, Texas, you are MORE than welcome to join us. We go at 2 pm on Sundays. E-mail me at Stephany_Gallaway@yahoo.com for more details.

I went to the gym by MYSELF!

Well since my last post, A LOT has gone on! I can not believe how busy my life has become. TV? What's that? Hard to believe that is all I used to look forward to each night. What was coming on TV that night.

Tuesday, I FOUND the charger for my Wii remote! YEAH! I got it all plugged in, letting it charge while I went to walk with Holly at the park. We were only able to get in 2 miles before the sun went down. =( After that, I went by the grocery store to buy ingredients for a Roasted Chicken and Vegetable Recipe I saw in Good Housekeeping magazine. After getting home from the store, it was way too late to start the chicken so I settled for my Tuna Sandwich. At my weight watchers meeting someone mentioned a new product called "Sandwich Thins". It is basically a way to have a TOP and a BOTTOM to your sandwich and it only is 100 calories (1 WW point), whereas my 100% whole wheat bread is 70 calories per slice, costing me (2 WW points for a top and bottom). So I definitely wanted to try these so I bought some of those at the store as well. Another product I have discovered is Starkist Tuna Salad Chunk Light which comes in one of those flat packages, not the cans but you can find it in that same area. It is already prepared and it has a little bit of pickle in it and apples. I say its apples, my husband disagrees. Anyway the WHOLE package is 2 WW points. This has become one of my favorite quick snack / meal. Anyway, I tried it on the Sandwich thins and they TASTE GREAT! But be careful if you are on weight watchers, if you eat two tops and bottoms -- it is 3.5 points. Found out that the hard way. LOL Live and Learn!

So I am fed and READY to play my Biggest Loser Wii Game. Well even after charging for over an hour, remote was still not charged. I was soooo busy worried about getting it to work, I FORGOT IT WAS BIGGEST LOSER NIGHT! I checked twitter after 10 and everyone was talking about it! So I ran to my bedroom praying that my Tivo recorded it for me! YEAH IT DID! I am sooo glad it did! What a GREAT episode and so fitting for what I am going through this week. Trying to fit my workout plan in with my day to day life! Well Biggest Loser, you inspired me again! I was sad to see that Cheryl went home! I love the Orange Team!!

Wednesday night, Holly and I went to Zumba. Boy was I feeling it! That work out is so intense! We are talking about maybe going two nights next week if, anyone would like to join us. After Zumba, I headed to my brothers house to spend the night. I babysat my newest niece and nephew today. The baby is 3 months old and although she is an absolutely perfect baby, that is some WORK! I was glad when mommy got home and auntie got to leave. I love those kids but I guess you get spoiled after a while when your kids fend for themselves, as much as teenagers will anyway. While I was there, I cooked the Roasted Chicken and Vegetable meal I had the recipe for. Turned out pretty good. I am not a fan of white meat because I think it is too dry and that portion of the chicken was and the vegetables were a little harder than I prefer as well. But the chicken leg I ate was good and I know I ate less than 500 calories. The recipe said it would have 4 servings at 500 calories a piece. I still have the majority of it left. I just threw it in the crock pot and I am going to cook it on low and eat it tomorrow. That should tenderize everything. I added a picture of the finished meal. All the punctures in the top are my cutting it to make sure it was done.





After I left my brothers tonight, I headed to the gym BY MYSELF! I drove the 45 minutes it took to get there BY MYSELF! I am so proud of myself! I am one of those people that needs a friend to go to the bathroom with me. LOL. So this was a achievement all by itself, but wait until you hear what all I did during my 2 hours I spent there.

Stair Stepper Machine, don't know the time or level, but I burned 30 calories

Treadmill, I usually do 30 minutes -- Well on the Biggest Loser Tuesday night O'Neal which is a 300+ male in his, I believe, 50's and has a bad knee excitingly told Bob that he walked on the Treadmill for an entire hour at a 3.0 speed and I don't remember the incline he walked at. Well as I mentioned last week, each time I go to the gym I am going to increase my incline - so tonight it was at a 3.0 Incline. I kept it at 3.0 speed. Every five minutes I would up it to 3.5 speed. I did that for the first 30 minutes! Then guess what -- If O'Neal can do it, SO CAN I! I stayed on it for an entire hour with 5 minutes extra to slow down. The highest my heart rate got up to was 169. I was stopping every 20 minutes to drink water. I have not mastered the drink while you walk on a treadmill. Too much body still flapping around to not spill it. LOL. So I walked 3.25 miles in that hour and 5 minutes, burning a total of 330 calories! YEAH ME!

Weights, I did look at the clock this time -- I did weight for 23 minutes. I worked my stomach, arms, shoulders, and legs. I did about 10 machines and on ALL of them but one, I did 3 sets of 10. The other machine, I only did 3 sets of 5. It was a killer!

Rowing Machine, I did not even see this machine during my last visits, but I saw a guy doing it and once again reflected back to Biggest Loser this week and everyone going to town on those rowing machines during their "Last Chance Workout". So I tried it and stayed on there for 10 minutes burning 75 calories.

Arm Rotation Machine, I did this one for about 5 minutes and burned 15 calories.

My favorite -- Stationary Bike with Fan -- I did this one a little differently this week. I started OUT at a Level 7 and did random hill. Well I KEPT it at a Level 7 the whole 20 minutes. Wow you can really FEEL those hills on Level 7. Last week I only did Level 7 during my last five minutes and I went a distance of 7 miles and I don't remember how many calories I burned on it, but I want to say it was 75. Well Level 7 the whole time, I went a distance of 6 miles and burned 125 calories.

So if you add this up -- on the machines that TOLD me how many calories I burned -- The total is 575! HOT DAMN!!! I am not sure how many calories I burned on the weights, but I bet it was over 25! So I am going to say that I burned OVER 600 calories tonight! I am extremely proud of myself and can not wait to go back!

As for now, I am starting to HURT! I am going to drink a little more water although I drank 32 oz while at the gym, take a shower, some advil, and GO TO BED! All is GOOD! Tomorrow is FRIDAY and my lovely mother-in-law is coming to visit!!

Out of Control

I have been having a tough couple of days! Although I feel like I am getting my diet under control, I feel like my life is OUT OF CONTROL! I am having a hard time balancing my new life into my existing life.

I work a full time job Monday thru Friday, I sell Scentsy Wickless Candles, am a mom to two teenage drama queens, and a wife in a not so perfect marriage. I have been selling Scentsy for two years now and still LOVE it! I am the type of person that I have to be able to do everything 100%! I can not settle for half-ass. If I can not do everything 100% than I am hard on myself and get depressed! Which is what is going on right now!!!

We just got a new catalog and I need to be out there busting my butt showing all my customers these new products. I also have a party booked that I have not gotten invitations to AND a fundraiser about to start that I need to get Fundraiser packets generated for by Saturday. I know that a successful business requires GREAT customer service and I can not stop being hard on myself for not giving 110% to my customers. I KNOW that without my customers, I will not have a business. I really want my business to blossom and am hoping that in the future it will become my full-time job. But none of that will just happen by accident, I HAVE to work on it! But how do I fit everything into my busy schedule and STILL have time to exercise?

The food part is a given! I have gotten that part under control as long as I don't allow myself to emotional eat. I really had a hard time last night, I snacked more than usual and it all resulted to the fact that I talked myself out of going to the gym last night! I did do an hour on the Gazelle, but I just was not into it! My house has gotten out of control! My bedroom and office look like a tornado hit them. I bought myself the Biggest Loser Wii game, I was excited and ready to start it tonight and I CAN NOT find my Wii control charger station and my controler is DEAD. We unplugged it and took it on a trip to my mother-in-laws at the end of January and it never got put back in the living room. I checked the still not totally unpacked suitcase it WAS in last time I saw it, and it is no longer in there! So I am FRUSTRATED and feel defeated yet again. I tore my room up even more than it already was looking for it but NO SUCCESS! UGH!!!

I am going to physically WRITE DOWN a day to day to do schedule for this week and see how that goes. I am going to have to STAY HOME and DO NOTHING this weekend except get this house in order! My daughter's bowling is over for the season except her Saturday morning league, which is over by 11. Yes she should be starting Softball soon, but before that I have got to get this whole time management nightmare worked out! I WANT to be successful in everything that I do!!! I need to learn how to NOT be so hard on myself when I am not PERFECT at everything! No one is perfect, right?

I did go to weight watchers tonight and despite all that snacking I did last night, I DID lose 1.5 pounds putting me down 28.5 pounds. I should be able to reach my 10% loss next week! I am sooo proud of my new weight watchers partner Holly! It was her first weigh-in and she lost 7 pounds! Go Holly! Keep up the good work!!

Great workout tonight!

Wow, what a workout! I am just now getting home! I really needed a good workout and I can honestly say I gave it 100%. After eating Chinese food today, it could not have came at a better time!

When we first got there, we did the stepper first. I told Betty if I am going to do it, I have to do it while I still have energy. I really can not remember how long we were on the stepper, but I sure do remember that I burned 50 calories and climbed 14 stories. I think it was only 5 minutes, and she was there cheering me on!

Next we did the treadmill. I told her that I wanted to do it for 30 minutes, which believe me I was kind of worried about lasting 30 minutes after just getting off the stepper. She encouraged me to bump up the speed every five minutes for twenty seconds. Since I am training to hike in the mountains and Bob from the Biggest Loser says you burn more calories by doing it at an incline, I set the treadmill at an incline of 2. I plan on bumping it up a level on the incline each time I go to the gym. Well, once my legs got moving I kept the treadmill on 3.0 and after five minutes, I bumped it up to 3.5. Instead of doing the 20 seconds as Betty suggested, I was feeling GREAT, so I did it for a whole minute! After that, I took it back down to 3.0 for four minutes. Next I bumped it up to 3.6 for one minute. Down for four, then up to 3.7 for one minute. This one about KILLED me! Down for four, then up to 3.6 for one minute Down for four, then up to 3.5 for one minute. I was extremely proud of myself! I did it! I walked 1.5 miles and burn 150 calories. The highest my heart rate got up to was 161.

Since my legs felt like jell-o, I suggested we do weights next. I need to better about timing how long we did the weights. I know it was at least 20 minutes. I did a great crunch machine, 4 sets of 10 of those resting a minute after each 10. I did chest pumps, biceps, and who knows what all else. But mainly weights that worked my abs and arms.

Next Betty continued with the weights, but I wanted to do the bike. Before jumping on that, I did the machine next to it which basically is rotations for your arms. Kind of like a bike, but you pedal with your arms. I stayed on there for 5 minutes, burning 30 calories.

Jumped on my favorite machine -- the bike with a back support and a FAN! Last time we went to the gym I rode it for 20 minutes and did 4 miles. Well this time I challenged myself to do on the bike what I did on the treadmill. I selected the setting "Random Hill" and started at level 1. I rode it for 4 minutes keeping my RPMs in the 80's, then for 1 minute I pedaled fast and kept the RPM's over 100. The fastest I got was 110. After that minute was over, I went back down to staying in the 80's RPM range and upped the level to 2. After 4 minutes, I went as fast as I could keeping it above 100. I tell you what -- I DID buy me a sports bra and I DID have it on, but my girls were all over the place. I don't think sports bras are meant to battle the bulge bouncing from below. LOL. There was a point where I thought, "OMG, I hope nobody is watching me". Then the next moment, my "positive voice" which I am growing to love answered and said "WHO CARES! BURN THEM CALORIES". After I had done this for 10 minutes, I looked at the calories and noticed I was not going to hit the 70 calories burned on this machine if I don't step it up! So I started resting one minute, and going hard for one minute with me bumping up the level after each hard minute. I ended the 20 minutes on the bike at level 6 with 71 calories burned and 7 miles traveled! Can you believe that? That is 3 more miles in that 20 minutes than I did last week! Yay me!!! I ROCK!!!

So if your doing the math, I burned 300 calories on the machines that TOLD me how many I burned. I am not sure how many calories I burned on the weights and the stretches we did with the ball before we left. Oh yeah, that little exercise with the ball Betty had me try to do last week that I could not even pick up my feet; I DID it! Last night after I blogged I mentioned that I was going to do some exercises with the ball before I went to bed. Well, I was actually able to do 5 of them last night and I did another 5 at the gym tonight! I want to challenge everyone of you to try this. (Erin - I will be watching your blog to see if you did) Lay down on the floor and hold the ball above your head. When I say above, it will almost be touching the floor atop your head. Next pull up your legs up keeping them straight and have your arms and legs meet in the middle. Spread your legs to take ahold of the ball. Now lower your legs WITHOUT letting the ball touch the ground. Lift them back up and take the ball from your legs. Lower your legs again but DON'T touch the ground. Get them like 2 inches from the ground before lifting them up once again to do it all over. This is alot HARDER than it sounds. I did 5 and next time, which will probably be tomorrow, I am going to do 6. I am going to challenge myself to be able to do 10 the next time we go to the gym.

I did not eat dinner tonight and although I am not hungry, I am going to eat me a salad, take a shower, and go to bed! Tomorrow is Friday!!! I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend and try my challenge!!

Motivating!

I am so happy! When I started my blog, I really didn't know if anyone would read it. That was ok, because the blog was more about me writing down my day to day feelings, challenges, and my whole journey as a type of therapy. I have been overweight the majority of my life and if I am going to be successful, I am going to have to be in this full heartily. Well since I have started, I have motivated so many people! I never really thought that it was even possible that I could motivate someone to lose weight. I am hearing almost everyday about someone I am motivating that I did not even know was reading my blog.

As I mentioned, I motivated one friend and she has now started going to Weight Watchers and Zumba classes with me. Multiple friends have said they would go to the gym with me and a couple have already. My cousin and cousin-in-law are starting to cook healthier meals for their families. Yesterday my sister posted on Facebook that she was starting her own Thin in 2010 Journey and she even started her own blog! I have added her's to my list of blogs that I am following on the right. Her name is Erin and I hope she will be able to motivate her friends as I have, and maybe some of you as well. Feel free to check out her blog and others that I follow. They are ALL so inspiring! A lot of them are ladies that have or will be going to the Biggest Loser resort this year same as myself! I can not wait until I go spend a week there!

Today was a high calorie day! Thankfully it was not a result to me being depressed! I just used some of my Flex points to fulfill some of my cravings I have had. I had my enchiladas that I have been craving since last Sunday night. And for Dinner, I had some 2% mac and cheese with leftover meatloaf. I made the best meatloaf last night! I used 3 lbs of ground venison, 1/2 a bottle of Chunky Pace Picante, 1 onion chopped, a meatloaf seasoning packet, a little bit of garlic, and a package of my Quaker Oats Maple and Brown Sugar instead of crackers. I did not have any tomato paste, so everyone just added ketchup to their meatloaf on their plate. It was REALLY good! I asked my daughter if it was as good as Great Grandma's and she said "no, but your getting close". I know my grandma will never read this so I guess it is safe to post this, my husband and I both thought it was better. : )

I did go to Zumba today! Holly got off work early, so we were able to make an earlier class by a different teacher, and OMG she kicked our butts. I am so sore. The teacher talked to us before and recommended that we concentrate on our abs and I don't exactly know what that means, but I kept my stomach in A LOT and it hurts like heck now, so I guess that may have worked. I have not been to the gym this week and I HAVE TO GO tomorrow night even if I go by myself. I just don't feel like I am getting a good enough workout without going to the gym. Now that my dinner has settled, I think I am going to go in there and do crunches on the ball. : )

If your reading my blog, please become a follower. It is not a necessity as you know, I am just curious who all is reading this! It will help me stay motivated and increase my accountability. Love ya'll!

Learning to handle emotional eating!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have learned that I let money issues effect my mood, which in turn, makes me depressed and want to eat. Without getting too much into my personal life, I had told my step-dad that I was so depressed that if I had money, I would probably do some SERIOUS damage at a BUFFET! I am a firm believer that God test us and then helps us through hard times. Not even 10 minutes after I told my step-dad this, a co-worker came into my office offering me a Coke. She is diabetic and only drinks Diet Coke, but accidentally pushed the wrong button on the Coke Machine and received a Coke. Well she was there to offer it to me and I said NO. I kinda of startled both of us, as soon as I said it I felt bad. It was not WHAT I said, it was HOW I said it. I kinda of snapped at her. I did not mean to do it, I just was fighting off the urge to drink it. Truth is I could have taken it and drank it, but I want to stick to my guns. After that instance, and of course apologizing to her, I realized that even if I DID have the money I would NOT have eaten a lot at a Buffet. I am working too hard to slip!

My favorite show came on tonight! The Biggest Loser! Yeah!! I know everyone was giving Michael flack for the decision he made, but he was playing the game. He has a lot to lose, and he, just as I, know that the amount of time you get to spend on campus is priceless! How awesome to have a job to work on getting Thin! Not only that, but at the end of the season to have an opportunity to get a BIG bonus if you do the job better than anyone else. I was really proud of the Black team tonight! They prevailed when EVERYONE thought they would fail. Everyone, including myself, thought that the Blue team was so stacked that they would be picked off one by one. As long as my favorite, Daris stays each week! All is well! GO DARIS!!! Who is your favorite?

I did do my exercises as I had planned, however not for the FULL two hours. I asked my husband to bring the old gazelle out of the garage. Do ya'll remember that. Tommy Little creation? I did it for a SOLID hour. My legs felt like Jello when I got off and my knees were killing me. I did break a small sweat but don't really think I got a very good workout. After that I got my big ball out of the garage and did twists, lifts and crunches laying on the ball. I tried doing some of the leg lifts with the ball between my legs that Betty had showed me at the gym, but I just could not pick up my feet. My daughter was making fun of me for not being able to do it, so I made her little butt get on the floor and try it. She did it, but agreed that it was harder than it looked. I was able to do them without the ball. I actually got 10 done. : ) It's a start!

I have PCOS - Polycistic Ovarian Syndrome. Basically my ovaries are larger than they are supposed to be. During those lifts with the ball, my ovaries were hurting. I know that sounds bizarre, but if you have PCOS then you totally understand what I mean. Sometimes I can just move a certain way and I get a sharp pain. People with PCOS are usually heavy and have a hard time losing weight. I believe it was season two of the Biggest Loser and her name was Julie -- she had it and she prevailed. I know that I WILL too. So if you have PCOS, don't give up! Let's do it!!!

I did succeed!

I am happy to announce that I lost another 3 lbs! I am so stoked! I have now lost 27 lbs! Only 3 more lbs and I will have lost 10% of my start up weight! And ya know what? I don't care if you figure out my weight! Every week I am reaching a new weight that I have not been in ten + years. I told my husband the other night that I wished I still had my wedding dress! I so would be trying it on right now. I really believe I am smaller now than the day I got married. I know I am not as small as I was the day we met, but I am confident that I will be by the end of the year!

Chuck --- does that excite you? Maybe if you think about that you will not complain about all this healthy food I have stocked in the house these days. I am still hoping you are going to join me on this journey! But I am not going to pressure you, just continue to cook healthy meals for you! : )

It turned cold again today! YUCK! I am READY for Spring! I am ready to be able to go for a walk everyday if I choose. I am TOTALLY excited that the Biggest Loser will be coming back on tomorrow night! It feels like forever! That show is so inspirational! I thought about going to the gym and working out the entire time the show is on, however, I NEVER watch a show without crying, so I might work out at home tomorrow night during the show. I am going to get my exercise ball and do some of those exercises Betty taught me. My stomach is not hurting anymore, so I guess it is time to work it some more. : )

I have Zumba planned with Holly Wednesday night, and then would like to go to the gym on Thursday night! I have been doing so well, I don't want to slow down. I don't want to waste one week!!

I am so excited about what the future holds! 77 Days until I check into The Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge! I see online that past Biggest Loser contestants go there every once in a while! I would LOVE it if I got to work out all week with one of them and hear about their experience! : )