Week 3- Day 1

Chest & Back, Ab RipperX
Elliptical- 400 calories(I don't pay attn to the time, only my set goal of how many calories I want to burn)
Walking- 30 mins

One thing that I can say about P90X is that it definitely works in strengthening. I am getting better by the week with the push ups in this video. My daughter walked in the room as I was doing the dive bombers and said "oh wow mom you're killing it",(I interpreted that to be good but had to ask to make sure ;) She is my witness. She has watched me work out with these vids since day one. That 1st week was definitely a comedy show for her (and me too). I heard her go on to tell a friend on the phone how in my 1st week I could barely do one of each move. My chin up bar is still sitting in the corner sadly. I replaced the chin up exercises with more push ups.
I'm going to make it my mission to get my walk in early in the am. We waited until 7pm this evening and it was just frustrating for some reason. I'm super, super shy or rather very self conscious ( a new low that has come over me since gaining weight). There were too many people on the trail, walking, running and biking. Just too much was going on for me and as soon as I attempted to break out into a sprint, Sashi got herself wrapped around a pole. I ended my walk after 30 minutes.

I lost an old friend today......

Just as I was making my lunchtime smoothie, my blender started smoking BAD. Now I don't know about you, but I'm not one of those people who go looking for the problem when I see smoke. I pulled the plug, poured the little smoothie that did get mixed in a glass, and chocked that thing in a box then out to the trash bin. I'll definitely have to head out to Wal-Mart tonight before bed to get another. I'm loving those smoothies too much to let it all end so soon.

Breakfast: 2 crepes filled with scrambled egg whites (with spinach, mushrooms, & onions) and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard

Lunch: smoothie (half scoop syntha 6, 3 teaspoon flax seeds, 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1 whole frozen banana, 1 cup almond milk) 

Dinner: mixed salad with 2 boiled egg whites, 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, 3 baby carrots shaved,1/2 cup chopped tomatoes, 1 teaspoon flax seeds, 1/2  grilled chicken breast

Snacks: 1/3 cup energy trail mix, 3 Dare cabaret crackers (found them in the pantry & didn't want to throw them out) with 1 tablespoon of spicy three pepper hummus

                                                                
Breakfast crepes

                                                       
Dinner salad

 

I was invited to two bbq's but thought it best that I just stay away. I don't feel that I'm strong enough to be in a setting with an abundance of delicious fatty foods and not stuff my face with more than my share. I knew what the menus were going to be for both people and both are great cooks. Especially dessert wise. One person was serving one of my favorite simple desserts- punch bowl cake. She makes it exactly how i used to like it with buttery cake and lots of pudding. I knew I would have gone overboard with that so I was ok with my decision. :)

R.I.P old friend

Week 2 -Day 7

Rest day for P90X
Elliptical- 400 calories burned


I had a choice to do XStretch or rest for P90X.  I chose rest. However I did burn 400 calories on my elliptical machine. I wish I had gotten a walk in but it rained pretty much all day here. I have been wanting some crepes since yesterday so I decided to make my own this morning. I can eat these all day they're so lite but I wouldn't dare. In the past I had always used the whole egg for my crepes but this time I only used the egg whites and almond milk. They were delicious.


Breakfast: 1 breakfast crepe -1/2 Tofurkey (I did not like these) chopped up, 2 egg whites, mushrooms, onions, spinach, 1 cup honey dew melon, 1/2 grapefruit
Lunch: missed lunch on accident but grabbed a foil of energy mix (1/3 cup)
Dinner: 1 boneless chicken breast, 1.5 cups cauliflower, 1 cup green beans, 2 strawberry filled crepes for dessert
Snack: 1/2 bar semi sweet baker's chocolate





Breakfast crepe

Dinner

Weigh In

Sunday's are weigh in days for me. I was so scared to step on the scale this morning after being so disappointed so many times before. In past attempts to lose weight I would work out extra hard and not lose a pound but I now realize it was because I wasn't eating right at all.I was eating things that I "thought" were healthy and too much of it. I'll settle for a -2 loss than my past zeros any day =)

Week 2- Day 6

Kenpo X
Elliptical- 250 calories burned
Walking- 30 mins


I slept in this morning so my day started close to noon. I had originally planned to wake up around 8 am to get in a morning walk before the sun started beaming but my alarm did not go off. However I did get 8 hrs of sleep and it felt good!

I like KenpoX, I could have done this video twice but I wanted to get in some time on my elliptical and a walk in before dark. I do find the exercises kind of hard on my left knee, there is a slight pain there ever so often but not enough to make me stop exercising thank goodness. As soon as we headed out to walk around 7, it began to rain. I didn't have any plans for tonight so I didn't care. It actually felt good great! We even got in a couple of sprints every now and then. This time we went to the high school down the street from us and used the huge parking lot. I would set a goal to run/jog to the other side of the lot and made it each time even though I felt like I was gonna pass out. This time my legs didn't feel as sore but I do need to work on my breathing. I'm always out of breath like nobody's business! I attribute that to smoking. I just quit last month cold turkey. I was/am so determined that any and everything that hinders me from reaching my goal has got to go!

My breakfast smoothie was frozen and I was pushed for time to wait for it to thaw so I grabbed my Naked protein, poured a shot, and grabbed one of the foils that contained my energy trail mix. I know...what a breakfast. Still working on my food choices. I hope to be meat free one day but until then I will take my baby steps. I have no problem with that. First things first. I'm still in the learning stage that healthy food can taste good great. I can sit here for hours viewing healthy recipes on different blogs that I have come by and cannot wait to try some of them. Especially the vegan recipes. I love food. Ah I said it and I don't feel as guilty about it as I thought I would. I love it and I want it to taste good. Is that so bad?


Breakfast: Naked protein drink - 50 ml , 1/3 cup energy trail mix
Lunch: 2 Old El Paso stand n stuff shells (broken up for nachos) 4 oz ground turkey n taco seasoning, 2 tablespoons pico de gallo, 1 oz fresh mozzarella,  1 cup honey dew melon
Dinner: Quinoa spaghetti with 4 oz ground beef in 1/4 cup of prego harvest & mixed salad with mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes drizzled with 2 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette (raspberry)
Snacks: 1/2 sq Bakers semi chocolate



                                                             
Enjoyed lunch, I heart tacos

                                                  
I'm beginning to really love salads :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Week 2- Day 5

Legs & Back, and Ab RipperX
Brisk 1 hr walk

I woke up energized this morning and without an alarm clock. While I waited for my dtr to get dressed for school, I decided to try a recipe out for a smoothie. It came out pretty tasty but I do attribute most of the taste to Syntha 6 protein. Think strawberry Nestle Quick.
After I dropped off my daughter, Sashi and I hit the walking trail at 8:15. It's always nice to see others out as well. I had a lot on my mind so this walk was extra nice today it helped me clear some of it a bit. One thing I was debating were my plans for the weekend. A) go to NC to visit my mom and other siblings, B) go to the mountains alone because my SO and I are on bad terms or C) stay home . I chose C. My weight has yo yo'd for years and one thing I've never had much of within my family is a support system. I guess they do it in their own special way but to me it always feels like I'm being judged.  Mind you as I stated in a previous post, we  are all overweight. The last time I visited was last year for Thanksgiving. I had just decided to cut off my dead, dry, chemical treated hair so that I could be natural and was excited about it. My mother and my oldest sister made comments about me not being this big the last time I was there and perhaps I have thyroids. I was hurt. When you are overweight you KNOW it inside and don't need anyone to tell you. I love my mother to death but I believe she has developed what I call "old people syndrome" (when old people age 70 and up just say whatever pops in their head good or bad.my mom is 85) I remember 10 years ago an old high school friend came over to my mom's to visit while I was there and she was a tiny size 3/4.  My mother says" Oh you look so beautiful so tiny and petite", and turned to me and said "You need to get down to that size". My mouth flew open, and I believe my eyes popped out in disbelief I couldn't believe she had said that. At that time I was wearing sz 7/8 in jeans which I'd give my left boob to be in right now. When she makes these comments I want to say to her " You did not raise me to make healthy eating choices...you did not teach me to make healthy meals or even encourage it...the only exercise I've ever seen you do in my life are arm circles". But I can't say any of this because this is my mom. I love her with all of my heart and I know she means well. Being that I am not even close to my goal weight I'd rather not put myself through any discouraging comments. They make me sad and when I'm sad I eat ALOT. I called today and made up an excuse but it didn't sound like she was up for company anyway so I didn't feel bad.  Wow, just looking over what I have typed. It is alot. I had to release that. My SO and I are not speaking (a whole other post) so a trip to the mountains we had planned a month ago is just sitting. Already paid for and just sitting. And so it shall remain...unused and "sitting". Letting go of that as well.
Anywho..I have to admit because of this blah mood today I did not do the Legs & Back video to the best of my ability. I had so many thoughts racing through my mind. The same with the Ab Ripper X video as well. Could have done much better. Afterward I went to Kroger, Publix and Walmart all in search of some Shirataki noodles. I was craving some Thai peanut sauce and thought this would be the best time to try it out with the noodles. Neither store had them so I settled for China Boy Lo Mein . I also got lazy and instead of making my own peanut sauce I opted for a pack of  A Taste of Thai peanut sauce. It was my 1st tme using these items so next time I know what to use more or less of. I added broccoli and chicken. It was not restaurant quality but it was decent. Plus I was really hungry by the time I got home.


 Breakfast: smoothie (1 cup of almond milk, 1 frozen banana, 1 cup of frozen unsweetened strawberries, 3 teaspoons of flax seeds, 1/2 scoop of Syntha 6
Lunch: Grilled chicken breast on an Earthgrain thin wheat bun with a thin slice of fresh mozzarella cheese, 1 tablespoon of prego & spinach, and a cup of watermelon
Dinner: Lo mein noodles in Thai peanut sauce with broccoli and grilled chicken pieces
Snacks: 1/3 energy trail mix, 1 slice Amy's organic orange cake, 1 Edy's lemonade fruit bar, 1/2 piece semi sweet bakers chocolate



I use myfitnesspal.com to keep up with how many calories and servings etc..I am consuming and it works for me and helps me to not go overboard.




this breakfast smoothie was really good. it made alot so I had half

I measured out 1/3 cup each of my trail mix and wrapped them up in foil so that i won't go overboard.

This lo mein will last me for some days!

Week 2-Day 4

Ab RipperX & YogaX
Brisk 1 hr walk
Elliptical-500 cals


I hate YogaX. That friggen video is way too long so I have to admit, I shortened it by 1 hr. I also did ab ripper x because I missed it yesterday. I still enjoy that one. I switched up my routine a bit today and hopped on my elliptical in the early am and went for my walk in the evening around 7. It was so nice outside but the trail was packed with people bumping and running into each other so Sashimami and I took a detour and walked around the neighborhood block a couple of times instead. I tried to do a 2 min sprint at the end because I want to run so bad. I only lasted a minute and a half. That's ok though..baby steps. Weeks ago I could only do one lap (walk) around the trail. I was out of breath and my legs hurt so bad. Now I can do at least 4 or 5 walks around.
Of course I didn't get much sleep last night but I think it's catching up with me now because I am sleepy as I type.

Breakfast: Greek yogurt and pineapples& Naked protein shot
Lunch: 2 boiled egg whites stuffed with Starkist ready made tuna sprinkled with paprika and cantelope & cherries
Dinner: Turkey burger, french cut string beans and 1 mini corn on the cob
 Snack: 1/3 cp of energy trail mix, 1/2 square of semi sweet bakers chocolate




lunch was def nothing fantastic but it was quick and hit the spot

A repeat of that turkey burger but I love them.

Week 2- Day 3

Brisk walk for 1 hr
Elliptical: 420 calories burned
p90x Shoulders & Arms

I did not get my 8 hrs of sleep last night at all. I went to bed around 1 but didn't fall off to sleep until 2:30 am. Ugh! I woke up sluggish and grouchy and didn't think I would get my walk in but...with determination I knocked out one of my goals for the week today! Today was my 2nd day walking. Sashimami and I headed out at 8:15 this morning and walked for a little over an hour. I felt great and energized when I got home. I showered, ate breakfast and ran out to run a ton of errands. I didn't take any snacks with me while I was out but surprisingly my stomach did not growl...that's a first. When I got home I made a nice lunch to eat at my desk while I worked. That burger was so good I forgot all about working :)

I was better with the Shoulders and Arms video this week. I kept up with the people in the video. I actually like this one as well. I couldn't do the chair squats though because my thighs were soooo sore from my walk this morning, but I guess that's a good thing. After my usual 200 cal burn on the elliptical, I just kept "upping" it to 20 calories until it all equaled up to 420 calories burned. This is the most that I've ever burned in one day on that thing. Baby steps...

I am definitely getting at least 7 hrs of sleep tonight. Epsom bath here i come and then it's off to la la land. I also put in some lavender to help me relax more. Maybe that's the problem? While I was blog reading H.S. posted some great tips that I will be trying out starting............now.



Breakfast: Dannon Greek Yogurt w/berries, Naked protein shot
Lunch: Turkey Burger, apple, and watermelon
Dinner: Homemade salad & chicken breast
Snacks: 1/3 cup of energy trail mix from Publix


I used the P90X recipe for turkey burgers and it is so good. Much better than the dry burgers I used to make. One thing I can say is I always hated dieting because to me (and alot of other people) it meant terrible tasteless food. I love reading other blogs with recipes for healthy stuff I am so inspired by so many.

My dinner salad was a spring mix that I got from Publix. I added spinach, carrots,cut up boiled egg whites, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and a grilled chicken breast. I ate every bite..and I mean every. Delicious.

Week 2- Day 2

Plyometrics (P90X)
Elliptical-20 mins
Morning walk- 1 hr

I got my walk in this morning and I was so glad that I did. It was kind of chilly out and had rained earlier. I started out at 8:30am and headed to the walking trail behind my house. Sashimami was happy to get some exercise as well. No one was there yet thank goodness because I was looking ROUGH. The sun wasn't beating down and there was a small breeze = my kind of weather. I started out with a little sprint but my left knee let me know that it wasn't ready for all of that just yet. Baby steps.....
I had my music playing and had a nice stride going and thought hey I can keep this up for a while. Next thing you know the clouds parted and Sashi and I were blinded by what seemed like SUPER sonic rays of sunlight.  Sashi and I agreed that it was time to go home, it was 9:30 and we had a good walk and by that time around 10 more people had joined us on the trail.
Plyo's was fun. It amazes me how easy they make the exercises look but they definitely make you work up a sweat.

My meal attempt:

Breakfast: 2 egg white omelette w/ spinach, mushrooms, & onions, 1 Thomas whole wheat muffin with raspberry preserve, 2 strips turkey bacon & 1 protein shot. (Naked in a 50 ml shot glass)<- baby steps
Lunch: mixed fruit & 1 ground turkey taco w/ pico de gallo
Dinner: Amy's teriyaki bowl
Snacks: Amy's organic orange cake, 1 pk Emeralds roasted almonds

                                                                        I ate half of this

                                             this stuff was pretty good I was surprised indeed

                                                         i devoured lunch! i heart tacos ;)

I'm off to bed this is so early for me but necessary. I have got to start getting in a full 8 hrs. *yawn*

Week 2- Day 1

P90X Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
Eliptical- 30 mins

I found it a little easier to do the push ups than last week but I still haven't installed the chin up bar. Or rather my SO has not had time to install it for me. I'm not handy like that :/ I like ARX alot even though I can't do those exercises..lol. I improvise and do them my own special way but hey I'm movin! :)
I had planned to take a long walk with Sashimami early in the am after I dropped mini me off to school but neither of our alarms went off (wow) so she was late. Oh well, I'll try again tomorrow. Went to sleep after 3 am again :(.  Not planning on doing that tonight.
I almost skipped lunch because I wasn't hungry at all but I made myself eat. I didn't feel hungry at all today and I think I like that feeling better than waiting until my stomach is growling louder than Sashi before I eat.

Breakfast: 2 egg white omelet (mushrooms, spinach & onions, 1 apple sliced
Lunch: leftover Quinoa spaghetti with ground turkey in sauce, 1 slice Amy's organic choco cake
Dinner: 1 homemade taco with ground turkey, topped with pico de gallo, 1 1/2 cups of watermelon and 1 slice Amy's org choco cake :)
Snack: 11 Snack Factory pretzels

                                         fav 3 ingredients for almost everything..mushrooms, spinach & onions

I am not a fan of apples but they were good with my morning omelette

got home late so dinner was super quick but good

Week 1- Day 7

Kenpo


Today should be my day of rest but because I'm behind in a workout I just finished Kenpo. I like this exercise very much. Not too stressful or hard which works for me =).
I did good at the baby shower. There were so many wonderful looking cupcakes displayed. I could see them from where I was sitting but I thought it best that I just remain in my seat and not cruise around the buffet table. My niece however did bring me a cupcake and I only ate half of it.

I only had breakfast - Greek yogurt and pineapples before I went to the shower so I couldn't wait to get home and cook. I made a small platter of fruit to tide my daughter and I over while dinner was cooking. I placed some sirloins on the grill and steamed some broccoli ( really <3 broc) . My 3 faves for almost any dish are mushrooms, onions and green peppers/spinach (do not like peppers & spinach together). I sauteed these items and piled them on top of my steak. This was my first time eating sirloin. I always purchased t-bone or porterhouse. They were delicious and i will definitely purchase them again.They were nice sized cuts and cost less! That makes me smile. I also had a slice of Amy's organic chocolate cake. DELICIOUS. And I didn't eat the whole thing in one sitting.

I'm headed off to burn 200 cals on my eliptical then hoping to call it a night. My gaols for this week are to
1.at least get in 2 early morning walks with Sashimami,
2.complete all exercises before 8 pm.
3.eat 5 - 6 small clean meals per day
4. get to bed sleep by 11 pm.

Hmmm...we shall see. Have a blessed night/day if anyone is reading this from the other side of the world. =)

Just Desserts..

I had to have something good to satisfy these sweet cravings. Found these at Publix. Couldn't wait to open the chocolate one. Cut a piece or two and put it in the microwave for a couple of seconds. Omg it was so good and moist! I've got to restrain myself from eating the whole thing.

I didn't care for these at all...

Week 1- Day 6

 Who knew there were so many great blogs floating around out there. I've stumbled across alot of cool ones and gained inspiration.

Legs & Back

Since I missed my workout yesterday, today I picked right up where i left off . The legs video was pretty decent compared to the others. The only parts I struggle on are the chin ups.So exercising will be fine for me now that I'm getting the hang of it. Now I need to get the eating part down packed. Eating usually works one of two ways for me. I either miss one or two meals and eat alot when I do catch up OR I eat foods that are rich and super high in calories. My goal is to try to eat those 6 small meals throughout the day so I won't starve. I love love love LOVVVEEE sweets so if I can find something to satisfy my sweet craving then this ball will REALLY get goin.

Breakfast: Greek yogurt & berries
Lunch: Quinoa  Spaghetti with ground turkey meat sauce
Dinner: grilled flounder & lftovr steamed broccoli
Snacks: 11 Snack Factory Deli Crisps, 1 slice Amy's Organic Choc cake




                              I ordered this from Vitacost a week ago and couldn't wait to try it out.

Found this sauce at Wally World last night. I used half of it. Until I learn to make my own this will suffice.

Mixed seasoning, onions, mushrooms, & green peppers in with the ground turkey.

I wasn't hungry at first but now I'm ready to eat it out of the pan as is.

                          Finished product plated

                                                     Decided to go with fruit on the side

                                                   My biggest critic gave it a thumbs up...

                                 Okay she thoroughly enjoyed it. I swear I was only away for 5 mins..

I was still full from lunch but I know I had to eat dinner to get enough calories in. I wanted something super simple so I seasoned a piece of flounder and heated up the foreman. Had leftover broccoli on the side. I couldn't even eat half of it. I am craving a dessert soooo bad.

Going to bed earlier than usual tonight. I have a baby shower to attend tomorrow. I have to be sure to get up on time to eat MY breakfast and lunch! I don't want to show up hungry and have to FORCE (yeah right) myself to consume the goodies that will be on display.

Late Night Creep..

The Bentonite Clay finally kicked in and the nausea went away... finally! I peeled out of bed and headed downstairs to grab a Dasani and a snack. Opened the fridge, reached in the box and wth...empty. Grabbed the orange juice container..same thing...empty. ARGH!!!! I hate it when my daughter does that I just don't understand it and never will! No matter how many times I fuss at her for doing that, it never fails, she'll do it again the following week,. I'm just gonna have to start doing that to her. Let her get her mouth and tastebuds ready for her beloved Captain Crunch, and pull down an empty box from the pantry. I'm getting tickled just thinking about it.

I just can't make myself drink the tap water here in GA. I looked at the time (1:09 am) and decided wth, Wally World is walking distance, although I was driving, and open 24 hrs, I'll just go in to get some water.

It was so silent in there I LOVED IT! Although I went for water, I came out with this:

and these..How I love thee....

and some more Greek yogurt and chicken breast. I have very nosey neighbors with whom I'm quite sure think I'm somewhat strange as it is. I'm pretty sure me bringing in groceries and chasing Sashimami around in the yard at 2:15 am confirmed it for them. Oh well...

                                             Sashimami

Before and Now Pics

The first 2 pics were taken at the beginning of 2009. The last 2 were taken this year in Feb. My SO calls me (in his thick Haitian accent) "round face gal". I don't think I like that.... 

Did I Eat That?

...Why Yes I Did.


Sometimes I just sit back wondering how or when I allowed myself to gain so much weight. Or what was i doing that I wasn't paying much attention. I began parusing through my picture files and came across a TON of food pics I had taken at various restaurants. Well duh...it was all clear to me now. (It's been clear I was just in denial)
The latest pics taken were of various rum drinks and rich dishes that my bff and I had this past March in Jamaica. Oh my...I am a sucker for Caribbean food. Currently searching for low cal recipes. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

*yes Nik (dubbed my personal critic/friend), the date on my cam was totally wrong :|