Day 17

Wednesday's eating was all kinds of wrong. I was really bored at work so what do I do to pass the time? I eat.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with tomatoes and 1/2 hotdog weenie, toast w/ butter and jelly, chocolate milk
Snack: 1 clementine
Lunch: rice, tuna and green bean salad, 2 bites of the bf's philly cheesesteak, handful of chips, 1/4 Jason's Deli roast beef sandwhich (it was small, I swear), 1/2 JD brownie, 1/4 tuna sandwhich and another handful of chips
Dinner: rice, carrots, pork chop

The workout was my beloved ALA strength exercises and 20 minutes of HIIT on my archnemesis, the elliptical machine. God, I really hate that machine. But deep down, I really do love it.

Day 16

I caved and peeked at the scale this morning. I am very pleased with myself. Hopefully, I will be pleased with myself when I weigh in on Friday morning.

I didn't want to post my menu for Tuesday as it was not a very healthy one. Not unhealthy because of the things I ate but because of how much I ate. I didn't eat very much and the things I did eat were not nutritionally rich. But here goes.

Breakfast: 2 slices of toast with butter
Snack: carrots and dip
Lunch: popcorn
Snack: 2 clementines
Snack: tostada with butter
Dinner: rice, tuna and green bean salad, 2 pieces of plantain

Workout: 20 minutes of HIIT

There was no freakiness on the elliptical machine. I was able to get a great workout in. A very late one at that. When I got home from work, I rested a bit. Then rested some more. Watched American Idol and the Biggest Loser. And at 9:45 PM, I hopped on my machine and worked out. I didn't do any strength exercises beforehand, so it was a bit tougher on my legs but I still finished it.

Hooray for 16 days!!

Day 15

I can't believe I've made it to Day 15!!

Monday
Breakfast: 3 oatmeal cookies
Snack: carrots and dip
Lunch: Pb & j, apple
Snack: 2 clementines
Snack: 1 oatmeal cookie, 1/2 hot dog weenie
Dinner: rice, Swiss chard, chicken, 1/2 potato, avocado

Workout: ALA, 20 minutes HIIT

My menus for the next couple of days will not be nutritionally sound because I'm poor and I'm trying to eat what's in the pantry and fridge (actually, I don't have much of a choice). But it seems to be working out okay for me. Except for those oatmeal cookies. I just didn't have enough time in the AM to get something with a little bit more nutritional value. But, hey, they had oatmeal and raisins. That's got to count for something.

The strangest thing happened to me yesterday. As I was finishing up my HIIT on the elliptical, I got this weird tightness in my chest. Not a painful tightness, more like an uncomfortable tightness. It was while I was doing my superfast interval. I'm not sure it was because I was hungry because right after my workout, I rested a bit then ate dinner and I started to feel better. Or it could have been because I was really pushing myself to go superfast and I just got out of breath. Whatever it was, it was pretty weird and I hope it doesn't happen again.

Just what I needed, another excuse NOT to work out. =/

Day 13 & Day 14

Saturday
Breakfast: fresh carrot, pear, and apple juice, kashi and milk
Lunch: ajiaco, rice, salad
Dinner: 3 slices of pizza

Things I shouldn't have eaten: 1 PB egg and that 3rd slice of pizza

Workout
ALA

Sunday
Breakfast: chocolate chip pancakes (yummy!!)
Lunch: parmesan chicken with angel hair pasta, salad with fruit
Dinner: rice and plantain (a very small piece)
Snacks: 3 oatmeal cookies (the best oatmeal cookies I have made so far)

Workout
20 minutes HIIT

Completing 2 weeks of consistent workouts feels AMAZING. I really am seeing a difference in my arms and legs. I have yet to see anything in my tummy but I'm guessing that's where the fat is going to go last. =/

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and got a bit discouraged. I have such a long way to go. It's frustrating. I think I am working hard and it's just depressing to think that I may not see results for a long time.

Woe is me.

I just have to take it one day at a time. This is going to be a true test of my patience. I hope this weight doesn't defeat me once again. I'm way too old and I've been like this for way too long now.

Something's gotta give.

Day 12

Friday was a good day.

The workout consisted of 20 minutes of HIIT and ALA strength. It was a good one. My arms were super sore, but I fought through it and completed the workout.

My eating was just okay.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with onions (sounds weird but it's really good), toast
Snack: 2 clementines
Lunch: rice, chicken with potatoes
Dinner: Colombian hamburger and french fries

Two things I really shouldn't have eaten were a chocolate chip cookie (you know, the ginormous ones) and 2 small pieces of brownie.

The boyfriend and I decided that we will only eat out once a week. He's trying to lose weight, too. And we eat out way too much. So once once a week is good enough.

Speaking of my boyfriend. I am so jealous of him. He's just barely started getting into cardio and his tummy is shrinking already. WTF?? I have so much more ways to go than him and I know he's going to see results so much quicker than me.

Oh, how I hate him. <3

Day 11

My arms are killing me!! And I didn't even do any arm exercises yesterday. They have been sore since my last arm workout which means it was a VERY good workout. Tonight is my strength day so bring on the pain!

Day 11's workout consisted of 20 minutes of HIIT on the elliptical. The creaking noise on the foot pedal of my machine isn't as annoying as it used to be. Especially if I have my music on really loud. I can't believe I let such a little thing stop me from getting a good sweat going.

The scale was down 0.8 pounds this morning. Yes!!! It isn't much but it's almost a pound and it's definitely in the right direction. I'm so close to being under 255 that I can taste it.

It sure tastes good!!

Day 10

I finally got 20 minutes of HIIT on the elliptical. With annoying noise and all. I just said "F*** it!" and went for it. I know the hardest part of working out is that little fight you have with yourself. "Should I do it or should I not?" is how my battles usually go. But yesterday, I didn't even think about it and did the damn thing. And the time really did fly by. I always make it seem like a big deal but after I've done it, it's really not.

I also added in an extra set to my strength workouts. Boy, did I really feel those extra 12 reps. "No pain, no gain", right?

It was a great day for working out.

And I'm glad to say that I did not stop for chocolate chip cookies this morning. I would be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about it. But they're totally not worth it. I am not about to throw away that great workout.

Day 9

I have been eating way too much.

And my tummy is not happy with me right now.

I know that when I eat chocolate chip cookies for breakfast, I feel like crap for the rest of the day. So why do I continue to eat chocolate chip cookies for breakfast?

Woe is me.

Anyways...

I was googling exercises this morning and came across a great one. I sit at a desk 8-9 hours a day. Besides, the occasional stroll throughout my suite, I don't get any exercise during the day. The thing is, I sit at the reception area so I can't really do much without getting caught. So, moves I can do underneath my desk are GOLD to me. They save me from some very awkward moments.

I tried this one already and really like it.

Taken from About.com

Leg Extensions

1. Sit tall in a chair or on a ball with the abs engaged.
2. Keeping the body stable, straighten the right leg, foot flexed, and try to bring it up until the leg is parallel to the floor.
3. Lower the leg back down, lightly touching the heel to the floor, and repeat for 16-20 reps before switching sides.
4. You'll feel this in the front of the thighs as well as in the hip flexors of the working leg.

"The leg extension is a simple, classic exercise targeting the quadriceps muscles. This exercise is great for anyone who needs to strengthen the muscles surrounding the knee to provide more stability and support."

You really feel it in the front of your thigh. Trust me.

Any more exercises that can be done incognito, underneath a work desk??

By the way, yesterday was my off day from workout. =)

Days 6, 7 and 8

Day 6
ALA (arms, legs, abs) workout

Day 7
no workout

Day 8
ALA workout

I have yet to find a cardio workout that is right for me. The elliptical machine is still making that annoying noise. I tried to use it this weekend but I am seriously not feeling it. The weather has been pretty crappy here so an outside walk doesn't seem to be calling out to me, either. I need to find something because I need some CARDIO in my life.

The good thing about doing my strength workouts: my arms are definitely toning up. There's still some fat that I need to get through, but my shoulders and arms are starting to get some definition. The boyfriend says he can see a difference in my legs but I haven't noticed yet. I am too busy admiring my arms.

On the food front, I was doing so well with not having had fast food for one week. There was no breakfast food at the house yesterday morning so I caved and picked something up. There was LOTS of snacking going on too. I made these awesome mini muffins and while the boyfriend had friends over, I was downstairs in close proximity to said muffins. All I can say is it wasn't pretty.

Day 5

I lost a pound last week, so I needed to celebrate, right? And what's a celebration without lots of FOOD?*

Breakfast: turkey sandwich
Snack: cottage cheese, pineapple
Lunch: Michelina's Frozen thing
Dinner: red potatoes, chickpea salad, grilled chicken, grilled fajitas

Should have nots: 2 ginormous chocolate chip cookies, Mars bar, lots of soda

No workout =(

The boyfriend ended up inviting some friends over for a BBQ and they didn't end up leaving until real late. I was busy preparing some food for the feast so I never got the chance to workout. It's days like this where I wish I woke up early to get one in.

My legs feel like I hiked miles yesterday. They are sore and my feet hurt. I was wondering why when I remembered I wore a higher than usual heel to work yesterday. It was only a 2 inch heel but, sheesh, what a workout. Hmmm??? Can I be on to something?

*I am totally kidding.

Day 4

TGIF!

And it is soooo nice outside! I'm going to try to talk the boyfriend into going to the park for a walk after work.

I wanted to post some food pictures but I can't seem to remember to bring my USB (?) cable for my camera into work. =/

Thursday
Breakfast: turkey sandwich
Snack: Kashi and milk
Lunch: arroz con pollo
Snack: queso fresco, 2 clementines
Dinner: Rice, chickpea salad, Baked Chicken with Dijon and Lime (yummy!!)

The only things I shouldn't have had was one chocolate marshmallow egg and a 16 oz. Dr. Pepper. I was really thirsty in the morning so I stopped by to pick up something to drink. I bet if I had just waited until I got to work and had a glass of water, that would have quenched my thirst just fine.

I did get to do my arms, legs, and abs workout. Go me! I'd rather work with weights than cardio ANY DAY!! But I know, to get in a really well-rounded workout, I need to do it. Besides, I was looking at myself in the mirror while I was working out. It wasn't a pretty picture. And in order to start burning all of this fat off, I NEED to get me some cardio in. Plus, I hear it's good for my heart. ;)

I was really eager to weigh myself this morning because I have been better with my eating than I have been in a while. And the scale says: I am down 1.4 pounds. I'm happy that I'm going in the right direction but I will not be that happy until I get under 255 since I'm just losing and gaining the same couple of pounds over and over again. Now that's when the partying will really start!!

Day 3

So close...

...yet so far.

Wednesday
Breakfast: turkey and pickle sandwich, strawberries and blueberries
Snack: apple w/ peanut butter
Lunch: rice, chicken breast, chickpea salad
Snack: piece of queso fresco, 2 clementines
Dinner: arroz con pollo, salad

And the only thing I shouldn't have had was 1 slice of Hawaiian pizza.

I was so close. But I feel that I did have a pretty good day. It would have been even better if I had worked out. The boyfriend had some friends over and they didn't leave until pretty late. Now that I think about it, I could have worked out in the other bedroom but I didn't think his company was going to stay so long so I was waiting to work out in my bedroom. Now I know, if there is a place to workout, just do it and get it over with. If I wait around, I won't get around to it.

Day 2

It's been awhile since I've had a great day, but Tuesday was pretty good.

Breakfast: turkey sandwhich
Snack: berries and Kashi
Lunch: Lentils, rice, hamburger patty
Snack: 2 clementines
Dinner: chicken breast, rice, green beans

2 (3) things I really didn't need to have: 2 ginormous chocolate chip cookies and 1 marshmallow chocolate a co-worker gave me

When I got home, I rested for a bit, put on my workout gear and hit the weights. I did some great sets of arm and leg exercises. Then I attempted HITT on the elliptical. I didn't have much success there. The elliptical machine started making this weird (annoying ) noise. It appears to make it only when I am on it, so I'm figuring that I am just too damn fat for my machine. Seriously though, the noise was bothering me and I really wasn't feeling it. I think I'm getting bored of the elliptical machine. I really look forward to my weight session but thinking about the elliptical machine really brings me down. I lasted about 4 minutes on that blasted machine and then finished it off with some ab work.

I need to find some new forms of cardio.

Let's try this again...Day 1

I was really hoping to start my second week yesterday, but no go. Out of the 5 workout days I had planned, I only completed 3. Plus, the weekend eating was...well, it wasn't too bad except for a couple of things I really shouldn't have eaten. Nonetheless, I thought I'd start off fresh.

Monday's eating was pretty good. The boyfriend started working with one of my tenants so I packed our lunch and snacks for us to share throughout the day.

Breakfast: Kashi Berry Crumble, milk
Snack: berries, half a turkey and pickle sandwich
Lunch: Michelina's Lean Gourmet something or other, chickpea salad
Snack: half an apple, peanut butter
Dinner: lentils, rice, hamburger patty

It sounds pretty good, right? Well, it would have been REALLY good except that I forgot to mention that there were 2 chocolate chip cookies involved. Two ginormous chocolate chip cookies. The boyfriend tried to talk me out of eating them but with Stubborn being my middle name, I was doing what I wanted to do and not listening to anybody.

When we got home from work, we decided to lay down and take a 20 minute nap before getting to our workouts. 3 hours later we woke up. Doh! I guess the time change really messed with us or we just didn't get enough sleep this weekend but we knocked out until 9:30 pm. I'm sad to say there was no workout last night.

But it's just the start of the week and there is still a chance for us to have a good week. As long as we get our 5 days of workouts, me and the boyfriend are good as gold!

Day 4

Thursday nights workout was a yummy one again. Strength training: arms, legs, and abs; and 20 minutes of HIIT on the elliptical. I seriously love this workout.

I was much better with my snacking at work, too. I didn't eat so much. Maybe because I kept myself so busy at work. I guess that's the secret! I didn't have time to think about food. And if I'm not thinking about it, I ain't eating it!

It's still rainy outside. The sun hasn't been out in 3 days! But it is Friday, so it's going to be a great day!!

Oh yeah...

...I forgot.

I was up 0.8 pounds this week. Eeeek. But I ate way too much this week for there to be a loss so I'm not really surprised.

And to top it all off...fluffy days are back again. =(

At least I have another week to try again!

Day 3?

I decided to take the day off from a workout last night. When I got home, I was really sleepy so instead of hitting the elliptical machine, I hit the sack and took a 20 minute nap before heading over to the boyfriend's sisters house for a birthday dinner. Taking one day off between workout days is a very good thing because I am REALLY looking forward to tonights workout!

My eating has been....there, I guess. I have been snacking way too much at work. I have finally discovered that my mindless eating is in direct correlation with my constant boredom. You see, my job can be a bit boring at times. There are times when I am super busy and there are times where I am just staring at the clock watching the minutes count down. Well, I find that when me and the clock are in a staring contest, that is when I stuff my face...even if I'm not hungry. I'm not sure what I can do to solve this little problem of mine. This little problem is turning into a huge problem for my ass. Do you guys have any tips on how to control the boredom eating?

I was going to start complaining on how we are going on Day 2 of rainy weather and how it sucks so bad and blah, blah, blah...but I'm not. Instead, I'll say that I'm thankful I got to wake up another day with my boyfriend by my side and my kitty at my feet. Today is a great day!

Day 2

Tuesday Workout: 20 min. HIIT, strength (arms, abs, legs)

It was a yummy workout.

It would've been an even yummier day if I hadn't snacked so much. Kinda defeats the whole purpose of working out, right? Oh, when will this vicious cycle end?



Have you ever wondered where your fat goes? I've seen this come up in conversations on different forums and it really has me thinking. Where does all that weight go when you lose it? Does it just evaporate into thin air? I wonder if there is a scientific study as to what the hell happens to fat.

But who really cares, right? Just as long as it comes off my body, I really don't care where the heck it goes!

Day 1

If you look at the title of this post, you'll see that I have completed Day 1 of semi-good eating and a workout.

The workout consisted of HIIT for 30 minutes. It was awesome.

The plan for this week is to work out 5 days.

Another plan is to eat better.

Remember, failing to plan is planning to fail.

I have my freedom but I don't have much time

Am I in the right place? Isn't this supposed to be a weight loss blog? I think I'm just going to call it a blog from now on because there is no weight loss happening here.

The scale read 258.4 this morning. Yup, I'm up that 0.8 pounds that I lost last week. I didn't expect much of a loss because I haven't been 100% on point. I have been lots better, but not where I need to be to be losing weight.

Thursday - no workout

See? I told you it's harder for me when the boyfriend isn't working out.

Let me take this time to apologize to my readers (if there are any left). I know some people look to weight loss blogs for motivation and inspiration. I have not been very motivating or inspirational as of late (or ever?). But I think I am like lots of people who are on this journey. We are more talk than action. We know what we need to do, but have a hard time getting it done.

But I truly believe that one day we will have THEE moment where we realize it's time to stop dicking around and finally start doing something.

I hope you guys stick around long enough so that I can share MY moment with you. =)

She's nothing like a girl you've ever seen before

Tuesday - no workout
Wednesday - 20 min. HIIT, arms & abs

So, working out Mon-Fri didn't work out too much. I'll have to get a workout in on Saturday or Sunday. It's going to be tough working out this week because the boyfriend is super sick and can't work out. I always get lazy when he doesn't work out with me. It sucks not having your exercise buddy =(. I'll just have to try not being a weenie and do the workouts on my own.

My eating hasn't been too bad either. True, I did go a little snack crazy on Wednesday, but overall I've had some good days. So far, I have stuck to the sugary stuff (soda) once a day. That's a great feat my friends. I used to drink that stuff as if it were water. So bad for me. I know I'm being a tad healthier drinking it just once a day. Not 100% healthy, but healthier.

What we do is innocent

Friday workout - 20 min. HIIT, legs

Sat-Sun - =(

Mon - 20 min HIIT, arms and abs

20 minutes wasn't much, but it was something and I got a great sweat out of it. For some reason, the boyfriend and I get really lazy on the weekend. We are going to concentrate on getting a workout Mon-Fri and not so much on the weekend. I think 5 days a week of workouts is a good thing.

Hooray for semi-good eating. Yesterday, I planned out all my meals and with a few non-planned items, I have to say it was a good day. I only had soda ONCE! And it wasn't even that much, maybe about 4 ounces. Soda is so my downfall every time. I love the stuff. But Dr. Oz says you should treat soda like a dessert. And you don't have dessert all throughout the day. You have it once. So, soda once a day isn't so much a bad thing. And maybe one day, it'll be once a week. But right now, I'm just working on not drinking it a gazillion times a day. Baby steps, my friends.