Weekly Weigh In - Phase 4 Week 4

Well the results are in, down 2 lbs this week.  Kinda disappointing, but, I started the week not really focused, but with all the support I received, the rest of the week went well.  I've got my motivation back in spades, to be honest, I didn't think I was going to lose anything this week because of how it started off, but when I saw a drop on the scale I was overjoyed, and I'm ready to see a lot more losses.

This week is going to kick ass - it's shape up or leave the challenge, and I don't want to leave, so, 1200 cals, zillions of ounces of water, and nothing else, except the exercise that is.

Let's have a great week everyone!

And thanks to Debbie and Fat2Fit for two more Stylish Blogger Awards!

Brownies and Cookies and Pastries - Oh My!

Brownies, cookies and pastries are only a few of the things that are currently being carted in by the caterers.  I ate none of these things - I usually go for the veggies, but as there were none today, I had nothing.  Just the sandwich and apple that I brought for lunch.  That was enough anyway.

I'd like to sincerely thank everyone in the Challenge who reached out to me.  I've never had to many emails in a day - unless we're talking about penis enlargement ads and offers to help princes in far off countries. 

When I first saw my name on the list of people needing help I was embarrassed, ashamed, and kind of horrified.  I knew I hadn't been doing well, ok, terrible, but seeing my 0.8% really put things into perspective.  I really don't want to be the person who signs up for a weight loss challenge, who writes a weight loss blog - and doesn't lose weight.  It's say, and it's not going to be me.

To be honest, the emails I received were nothing short of amazing.  I teared up in the lunchroom and got quite a few odd looks. 

While I felt like a complete disappointment after reading them, I was also incredibly inspired.  I know what to do to lose weight, it's just really time to start doing it. 

I made the trek to the gym yesterday, I attempted to take the LRT there, big mistake.  The stop is really far away from the gym, normally, that's awesome b/c it's a bit of extra walking, but, through huge piles of mushy snow, it's just a huge pain in the ass.  I'll be driving to the gym tomorrow, assuming I don't get stuck in the alley, which happened a few days ago.

Side note: if you have to get stuck in the snow, make sure you're blocking the whole road, that way people are forced to help you if they want to continue on their way!

Weekly Weigh In - Phase 4 Week 3

Down 1 lb this week, landing me at 236lbs.

Tomorrow I'm going to venture to the gym.  Adding that to the exercise that we're expected to do for Phase 4, I'm hoping it'll give me a boost to have a good loss this week.

We've been getting catered food at work.  I've skipped all of it except for a couple pieces of fruit, and a bunch of celery and carrots.  Most people have been complaining of stomach aches after eating it anyway - so, it's a good thing I'm not indulging in it.

The Worst January Since 1974...

... well isn't that just great.

The snow piles are taller than me, my legs are popsicles and my patience has run out with this snow.  As I was shoveling the drive way, I had to stand and ponder for a few minutes, I couldn't figure out where I was going to put the snow.  There's so much, I don't have any more room in my yard.  It's insane.

Lets not even start with the topic of having to pee while shoveling and then having to take off your boots 3 times.  What a pain in the ass.  Flipping water.

I ended up eating supper at 8pm tonight.  Way later than I normally like to eat, but with all the shoveling, there was no avoiding it.  I'm extremely full.  I can't imagine binging on this plan.  I'd explode immediately.

Phase 4 - Week 2 Weigh In

Down 2 lbs this week, sitting at 237 lbs.

I've been following the plan, but I didn't get all the walking in.  It's been -36 here with the wind chill, we have mounds and mounds of snow, and it just didn't happen.   I got in 2 of the 3 days of walking, but they were stretched apart.   I got in all the strength training though. 

Did anyone watch the Golden Globes?  I watched part of it, I love watching all the gorgeous dresses.  I want to lose weight for my health, but to be honest, I'm really really really looking forward to the clothes.

How gorgeous is this dress?  Stunning, I think it was my favorite of the night. 

On another note - now that I've started working full time its about 1000 times easier to get all my fluid in.  A 16oz coffee in the morning, followed by just over 4 liters of water. 

I've also noticed that while I'm filling up my 32oz bottle 3 times while I'm there, coworkers only fill up a mug, and some of them don't even drink a while mug during the day.  No wonder by the time the afternoon rolls around I'm running to the washroom ever 40 minutes and they sit contentedly at their desks. 

Zomg!

Kelly over at Life in the Fat Lane gave me my first ever blog award!  This of course increased my guilt of not being around here that often lately exponentially, but, still, an award!

And here are the rules!

• Post and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
• Share 7 things about yourself.
• Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers (or as many as you can).
• Contact the bloggers and tell them they won!

7 things about me, hmmmmmmmm

1. The only thing I like about winter is my raccoon toque.  
2. I don't really mind being single - I can't imagine being in a relationship at the moment.
3. I'm a complete night owl - AM is my arch nemesis
4. I really want to run a marathon - I was told by someone I could never be a runner, and I really want to prove him wrong
5. My brother and I go to all the Harry Potter movies together - we're planning on going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter together too
6. I love public transportation
7. I'm addicted to HBO

Awards:

1. Christina
2. Ann
3. Kelly
4. Ann-Marie
5. Jess
   

Phase 4 - Week 1 Weigh In

Up 1 lb this week.  Sitting at 239 lbs.

I think it's the increase in water, definitely not increased calories.  Also - I'm completely plugged up - I tried eating prunes (my first time - delicious!) but I haven't had the expected prune benefit.

I forgot how fast weekends go by.  And how much people dread Monday.

We're in blizzard weather here, tonnes and tonnes of snow.  Shoveling every few hours to keep it manageable. 

The new job is alright - though I'm not a fan of waking up super early :(

Phase 4 - Day 1

Day 1 is in the bag.  Calories came in at 1185, walking done, strength training tomorrow.

In other news, I'm half moving tomorrow.  To be closer to my new job, but I'll be coming home to my parents house on the weekends because I'm sure my mom will be having empty nest syndrome, and also I'll completely miss the dog.

The job starts on Wednesday,  I don't know if I'm excited or not.  Kind of I am, but, it's a little tricky going from super part time work to full time.  I'm used to sleeping in and kinda being in vacation mode, so, pretty much I've gotten really lazy.  This will definitely be a shock to the system for the first bit.

Excited for tomorrow - bring on day 2!

Starting Over

I've been trying to write this post for a few days now, but the words are not really forming properly in my head.

I ran into my old boot camp instructor a few days ago.  I had to leave boot camp for monetary reasons, not the lack of desire to go, but at $200 a month, it was out of my price range while working so infrequently.

When I left, I of course had every intention of continuing to get in shape and lose all the weight I need to.  I envisioned that the next time I saw him, I would be thinner, happier and proud.  This, of course, did not happen. 

When I saw him my whole face turned red.  I was mortified.   Still fat, fatter than I was when I left boot camp, just pure horror running through my veins.  I wanted to run away, hide, more ashamed than I've been in a long long time.

Phase 4 of Allan's Challenge starts in a couple days.  I'm excited for it.  One of the main rules of Allan's Challenges is No BS. 

If I'm completely honest, up until now, I've been, I'd say, 43% full of BS. 

Phase 4 is 100% BS free.  100% commitment.  100% of what I should have been doing since Phase 1.  No more excuses, no more BS, no more whining - just eat less, drink more, move more, and lose it all.

Why Me?

A while ago a friend of mine signed me up for a dating website, in the hopes that I too would find love in the same fashion she did.  While I think it's great that she found her mate, I find it hard to respond to messages as most of mine turn out like this:

Me and my buddy are just sitting here browsing pof and we both REALLY like your pics, you are a gorgeous woman!

We're both good looking single guys, 28 and 31, normal, sane, non smokers, no drugs/diseases.

We would love to meet you and give you a massage sometime - if you think a massage from 2 hands feels good, think how good a massage from 4 hands would feel!

Let us know if you're interested :)

Ok, this is the weirdest, but, a lot of them aren't much better :P

My dog's favorite pastime

I think I need to take some advice from my dog.

Panic Craving Carb Cruncher

It's been two weeks since my pre-interview for a job I sort of applied for.  I finally heard back today and am going for an actual interview on Thursday.  At first I was extremely excited, it's a really tough competition, but getting an interview is a great sign, there are only a couple of people who are getting one.

Now I'm kind of panicked.  With panic I usually just stuff my face, crackers, chips, something salty and crunchy.  As I type this it's turning into complete anxiety.  I've needed a job for so long, it's a little overwhelming.

At least the typing kind of sounds like crunching, the salt I can do without, and instead of carbs I'm having water.

Lately I've been eating some kind of fiber cereal for breakfast, 110 cal for 3/4 cup, Fiber Plus maybe?  Anyway, I ran out, wrote it on the list, but the wrong cereal was brought home.  This new one is 260 cal for 3/4 cup.  No way - that's not happening. 

Instead I had Rice Krispies, something I've always loved.  110 cal for 1 cup, plus 1/2 cup skim milk for 45 cal.  I feel unsatisfied.  I'm hungry, stomach growling.  Banana time I think. 

Shrinking - Weekly Weigh In

Down 4 lbs this week!

This is amazing, I survived the movie theater and a cookie exchange (with soooo many delicious looking things) - which I should not have signed up for in the first place.

So 2 NSV's and a 4 lbs scale victory! Woot!

As for my weight. Well, I've decided to go by what my scale says, and assume that my starting weight was actually 8lbs higher than I thought *shudder*

So my new weight is 240.5 lbs (232.5 lbs if you subtract that 8)

NSV - Tangled

Tonight I went to see the movie Tangled.  A friend and I were supposed to see it on my birthday, but it had sold out by the time we got there, though we were quite early.  Anyway, we finally got around to seeing it.

All I can really say is that is was delightful.  The plot was great, the little chameleon, Pascal,  was super cute, the animation was great.  Overall is was extremely enjoyable.  I had always wondered why Rapunzel had such long hair, and now I finally know.

My NSV - well, first off, my favorite thing in the world is popcorn.  If I had to choose anything to eat it would be warm popcorn with butter and salt. Yummo.  Movie theater popcorn is pretty much the popcorn supreme.  Normally the smell of the theater completely overwhelms me when I walk inside - but tonight, no effect!  I wasn't even remotely tempted, I walked by the concession, sat in my seat and pulled out my 1L bottle of water and sipped through the movie!

I've Got a Problem

Well I've ignored my blog for almost 3 weeks ... sorry guys.  I just got lazy for a while.

I've been following Allan's Challenge - and things are going great so far.

I've been losing, haven't been cheating.  Things are going well.

Up until a couple days ago.  On Sunday I weighed in at 236.6lbs, down 1lb from the previous weigh in. 

Now here's the problem, the next day I went out and bought a new scale, as the one I had wasn't that great.  I used the new scale the next morning, and it added 8 lbs to my weight!  I thought maybe it was just an irregularity, so I checked again the next day, and the next, I'm now down 1 lb from the original 8 lb "gain".  I'm thinking maybe my original scale had my weight wrong this whole time ... but now I'm not sure what weight to use.  Should I just use the number on the new scale?  Or should I subtract 8 lbs from the new scale weight?

I try not to weigh myself other places, like the gym, because it's not first thing in the morning, and the little gain from the water and food usually bums me out so I avoid it.

Any advice would be appreciated :)

*EDIT: I just wanted to be clear that this is not a BS post where I actually went mental and ate 8 lbs worth of calories, I've been sticking to my 1200 cal and drinking all the water.

Weekly Weigh In

Well I'm stalled at 237.5 lbs - no loss this week.

I'm not really surprised, I didn't get in all my water for a couple of days, and I ate a couple meals that were really high in sodium.  I'm kind of depressed about it - but, I'm on track again today. 

So Today is like day 1 all over again.  Getting in all my liquids, eating no more than 1200 cal.

I've signed up for part 3 of the Challenge, and I'm excited for it. 

I haven't been blogging b/c we're having an issue with our internet at the moment.  But it's cleared up (as far as I know anyway). 

On the plus side, I've finally got a lead on a job - so I'm really hoping I get it.  Haven't gone for an interview yet, but my pre-interview went well.  And I did good on the assessment exams.  So, fingers crossed!

Waking Young and Feeling Old

Well it was my birthday on Friday - the big 28.  I always find it to be bittersweet.  It's kind of like the feeling you get at New Year's when you realize you're still fat and didn't lose any weight.  I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I pretty much psych myself up that next year I'll be skinny on my birthday.

The pants on the left are the pants I am currently wearing.  I hate them.  They're a size 22, and I hate everything about them.  The way they fit, the color, the size, the way they look.

The pants on the right are my goal pants.  They fit me 10 years ago.  They're my lucky pants.  A lot of things went downhill after those jeans stopped fitting.   I know I've said it before.  But this year is going to be different.  I'm dedicated to losing this weight.  And on November 19, 2011; I will be posting a picture of me wearing those jeans.  They're not even stretch jeans, they regular, before I was fat, real denim jeans.  With a butterfly patch covering a hole in the knee caused by a rollerblading accident, yup, from exercise.

Weekly Weigh In

Down 2 lbs this week, sitting at 237.5 lbs now.

It's much easier to drink the water these days ... but I have had a couple days where I didn't want to drink anything at all, and it was a chore all day to drink.

More later ....

Chip Eater

During my final year of University, both my brother and I were living with my grandma.  I was kind of living there on a part time basis, driving to and from my parents, and my brother was there full time.  After my first degree, it was deemed that my time was up, and my brother got the basement suite I had been living in.

Anyway,  one evening, my brother, my grandma and I were sitting around watching TV.  This was a pretty standard evening.  Out of the blue, my grandma says, "Stephanie ... there are two types of people in the world."  My heart catches a little bit, because it's usually this kind of opener that leads to a slightly - if not significantly - racist remark, but give her a break, she's elderly and has been through a lot.  (Though I do often end up yelling at some most of her remarks).

Then this happens: "There are two types of people in the world ... tea drinkers and chip eaters.  Dan and I are tea drinkers, but you Stephanie ... are a chip eater."

I should mention that I was NOT eating chips at the time.

At the time that this conversation took place, it seemed like one of those "grandma" moments, but looking back I see a lot of wisdom in the comment.  My brother, tea drinker, didn't eat chips - he was on the University soccer team (starting goalie - so proud!),  totally fit, exceptional grades (now in medical school).  My grandma - though not in her healthy weight range - eats mostly healthy things, she does love pizza .. and butter.  And while both of them do eat chips on occasion, it's rarely a whole bag at once. 

It's four years later (approximately - counting is hard) and this conversation still resonates with me.  I AM a chip eater!  I love them.  I love a lot of crunchy things that are terrible for me, but chips top the list.  BBQ especially.  But not this new age mesquite bbq business, I like the old school flavor that is now only found in the boxed version of Old Dutch.

We're veering off topic and I might be drooling a bit - With Allan's Challenge, and my previous attempts to lose weight, I have, obviously, given up my chip eating ways.  Tonight I thought, if I'm no longer a chip eater, maybe I can be a tea drinker?


One of my University habits (along with daily exercise) was a cup of Sleepy Time with a tiny bit of maple syrup (invented when I ran out of honey) - but this only lasted a couple years, and was early in my first degree, before my full fledged chip eater days.  Anyway, tonight I decided to revive my tea drinking days, with half a teaspoon honey (30 cals - not sure it was worth it to be honest, but maybe I just didn't steep enough).

So here I am ... Stephanie - Former Chip Eater --->  Current Tea Drinker

A Night Out

I'm braving the cold temperature to go see Dan Mangan tonight.  I've heard great things about his live show, so I'm looking forward to it.

Have a good one!