This week has been so long! I can't believe it's not even Friday yet. I'm going home for the holiday weekend - exciting! And I'm done my class!!! No homework for two months now!! Translation: No more excuses!

I did work out Friday, Saturday and Sunday this past weekend. I've been watching my diet pretty well this week, too. The new full time job has definitely worn me out a bit, so the gym fell to the back burner.

I was also sick with a throat infection & double ear infection this week, so I didn't weigh in. My biggest concern was adapting to more work hours and getting healthy!

Just a quick update for tonight, talk to you all soon!

Thanks for reading ;-)

Happy Saturday, everyone. I wanted to post a quick blurb today because I am trying a new concept. I am reading a book (that I referred to in my last post as well) that proposed making a contract with someone to meet your goal of change.

In my last post, I talked about how I want to try aiming for smaller goals and working up. In my contract, I wrote that I will exercise 10 minutes per day, drink 48 oz of water daily, go out to eat no more than 3x a week, and eat my meals at the kitchen table, rather than the living room or my bedroom. So far... so good!

I started yesterday and actually rode my bike to the gym, worked out for 12 minutes, and then rode home. Of course, with the biking, my workout was more like 25 minutes total, so I felt great! I know that 10 minutes a day isn't much right now, but ultimately - 10 minutes a day feels amazing, and I don't feel like I'm spending a lot of time doing it. I get the high from knowing I worked out, and I think 10 minutes a day is better than not at all.

Eventually, I'll move up my minutes if I can stick to this, but right now this is so simple, I couldn't excuse my way out of it if I tried!

I've also noticed that, by making sure I eat at the dinner table most of the time, I realize much easier when I am full, and have been putting away more leftovers than I thought I would.

By drinking water most of the time, I am realizing that sometimes when I think I feel hungry, I'm actually just thirsty.

Finally, I wanted to see if anyone has experimented with whey powder? I ordered some today to try based on Bob's reccommendation to put it in smoothies. Wish me luck!

Is it really Thursday already? June 23rd.... Wasn't it JUST the end of May? Time is flying this summer!!

OK! Updates...

I have been half and half with my exercise habits - working out each week, but maybe not in a routine yet. I am reading a book right now that focuses on meeting your resolutions, and really changing, and I realized that although I have said "I want to lose weight," and I know my reasons (health concerns, vanity, confidence, past events, and my ambitions) - I haven't fully outlined what this goal means to me.

I have decided to dub this year - From June 23, 2011 to June 23, 2012 as "The Year I'll find myself"

In this, I needed to outline all the yearnings I've been having about how I want to change. I know the things I see myself doing and the places I want to go, but I don't really have a set path there. I realized that I am trying to become a wine guru, a literature geek, fluent in two languages, get my license, learn how to fix a car, become an active volunteer, lose weight, pay back my debts, learn about owning a business, balance a budget, and much more AT ONCE. Of course this is too much!!

Now, I know that I could run five miles a day and, if I still eat crap it's not going to balance out in the end. But I'd decided to solidify all my goals into four solid goals that I think I can legitimately accomplish in one year.

1st - to figure out my mental state. Am I happy? If not, why? I am content, and I know there are things that make me happy. But can I truly say that I am happy overall? I don't know. I know that depression, alcoholism, addiction, and bipolar run in my family. Am I affected by any of these?

2nd - Volunteer on Saturdays. I have wanted to become a regular volunteer for years, probably since before college. When I volunteered with my animal organization, at a food bank back home, and the YWCA in the city - I loved every minute of it. Now, I need to make the commitment and be involved every week. For my do-gooder sanity!

3rd - Save $4,500. I want Invisiline. Braces can be damaging, and one of my insecurities is my teeth. It isn't necessary, but for how much I've wanted this, I need to set a financial goal. Also, $1,500 of this goal is to go towards a new wardrobe. I hope I eventually get to my goal weight - and when I do, I'll need to go shopping! There is really know point in buying new clothes right now.

4th - To lose 135lbs. My healthy range is 110 - 150lbs from now, so that would be about 2-3lbs a week. Now, I know in the beginning you lose more because of water weight, and the amount you have to lose. So I'm hoping to hit bigger numbers at first. And ultimately, I would be happy with losing 52-78lbs by next June, as well. This is 1-1.5lbs/week.

In order to meet #4, I plan to commit to two things: Drinking water all day, and Exercising daily. I want to eventually become that active person I know is inside. A runner, yogi, rock climber, skater, and snowboarder. For not, I will just make sure I either work with my trainer, go to the gym, go for a run, do yoga, walk, work on the Wii, or even just run the stairs in my apartment!

Oh, and I am limiting my restaurant/food budget from now on. It is out of control!!

Finally, Tuesday was weigh-in day. Down 2.6lbs! Back on track =) I think the 5 mile walk last week helped...

Until next time. Thanks for reading!

Hello, hello! No worries, I'm okay! I haven't had internet for a bit because my house is having issues with our router, yuk! So here's an update, while I'm in the computer lab ;-)

Food: Not so good, I went home, visited a buffet with a friend, and have been generally not eating so healthy. I definitely need to keep myself on track...

Exercise: I have been doing OK with this! I went to the gym 3x last week (significant improvement from zero times...) and went running with Austin and our dog. And by running... I mean he escaped in e closed field and we had to catch and tackle him! Super fun! Not to mention running around with my 3-year-old neighbor while I was home!

Overall well-being: OK. It's been a long week, and I'm trying to get a nanny position, so I've been shuffling around my work schedule and trying to make it all work out. Plus, going home is always a change for me, being used to my independence and excessive produce collection =D

Weigh-in day: Today I did not gain or lose. While I would prefer to lose, I'm glad I didn't gain. Between stress and mother nature.. .plus my recent eating habits - not gaining is a serious accomplishment.

Goals: I have a few clothing goals now, I really want to fit into this dress for a dinner I am going to later in the summer. It's smaller than my size, so here's to hoping!

For now, Stef is reading over my shoulder so I'm going to go so we can drive around town. I hope you're all having a great week! I'll blog again ASAP!

Thanks for reading!

By the way, special thanks to Katy, who suggested this really awesome inspirational website!: Inspire by Discovery Health It reminds me of Sparkpeople!

Oh, and I found this really cool website yesterday Organic Authority that you should check out!

If you want to check out Bob Harper's book, that I mentioned in the post earlier, here is a link: Are You Ready! You can even read the first chapter with Kindle on the Web - available on Amazon (no downloads ;-)

I'm also reading Jillian's book - Winning By Losing. You can read the first chapter of this too!

Finally, I wanted to some of the sources I draw from online, to get my health info:

Self

Self Workout Builder - You do need to create an account to save a workout, but it's free!
My Fitness Pal - I use this when I want to check out the nutritional info on something. It also let's you track your progress. Another account, but again - it's free =D
Let's Move - This is the official webpage that tracks the First Lady's Obesity Initiative. Interesting Stuff!

Hello all! I hope the month of June is treating you well ;-) I know Summer One classes are almost done at MU, so some of you should be relieved, hah. As for me, today represents a few things. Today is June 7th - which means in two months I'll be turning 22! One of my goals for this summer was to lose 20 lbs. I'd love to lose that in time for my birthday. Not that there is any big reason why, that just seems like a good timeline. So far, I'm 5lbs down(for the summer). 15 to go!

Today, Tuesday, is also my weigh-in day. I knew this day was coming on my journey... I gained weight since last week. I know, it happens, but it's still disappointing. I'm not giving up - if anything, I'm more determined for next week. I also know why it happened. I could blame it on mother nature, who will be giving me a gift in the next few days... but ultimately I need to be responsible and own up to the fact that this past week I have been eating poorly.

I still don't want to count calories, but I think I am setting a month-long goal, today. Here is what I want to aim for:

Going to the gym 20 out of the next 28 days. (5 days/wk - I've been seriously slacking on my exercise.) If I can't go to the gym, I will go for a walk or work out with Bob.

Eliminating carbs after 6pm, and not eating after 9pm. Tyler suggested this, and given that he is incredibly fit... maybe he has some good tips.

Getting on a definitive sleep schedule. 11p-7am. I want to be in the habit of getting up early and always getting 8 hours of sleep, no matter what. This will help with planning my meal times.

Eating every 3 hours. I have 16 hours of awake time, two of which I won't be eating during. So this would mean I eat at 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, and 7pm.

Making sure, since I'm not tracking calories, that I track my food groups. I really love this idea (thanks Jennifer - my nutritionist!), but I haven't been implementing it enough.

Limiting my intake of fatty/sugary foods. Yesterday I had ice cream, a donut, and cookies. In one day. Now, generally they were in moderation, but still - this is too much. I've also struggled with making the right choices at restaurants - skipping the fries has been a challenge.

Really sticking to my convictions about being a vegetarian. I've been a 90% vegetarian since March. I still think I am going to eat turkey and chicken if I can't find a vegetarian (low fat) option. But I'm not buying anymore meat, and the few times I've eaten red meat - it wasn't worth it. So this is the end of that.

I'm reading Bob's Book Are you Ready! and he suggests making a plan for one month, and sticking to it. One month is not the long in the grand scheme of things, but it is long enough to make lifelong habits. So hopefully, these gym, food, and sleep habits will stick.

Today, I'm not getting in the front seat of the bandwagon. I'm pushing it the presidential mile.

Thanks for reading!

Happy National Donut Day! Of course, just because it's such a special holiday doesn't mean I plan to indulge... Just going food shopping =D

This week went pretty well. I didn't struggle to much, and I went to the gym (Wednesday...)

I have two goals that I plan to follow for the next two weeks: 1) Go to bed by 11pm and wake up at 7am. I really wish I was a morning person, and I think I can train my body to get into that sleep schedule. I'll need to in the real world, anyhow! 2) Exercise daily. Now, I know that people say you have to be specific when you set a goal, otherwise - how can you tell if you've really met it? So, I plan to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, for a total of 10 days out of the next 14. I will do this by working with Tyler on Tuesday and Thursdays, and by going to the gym after work during the week. If I skip the gym, I will do a workout video, Wii Fit, or run stairs at home. Specific enough?

Next week, I think it will be easy enough to hit my -0.8lb mark. I also can't wait until I lose 6.8lbs (maybe in two weeks?) because I'll not only be within 100 lbs of my goal, but also at a weight I haven't seen since 11th grade. Wooot!!

As for food, I am planning out my grocery list now. I am pumped to go shopping for produce, but I know I have to limit what I buy. I want to get only necessities, and make sure nothing will go bad. I thought that, perhaps if I planned my meals (not my snacks, I need some variability day-to-day) for the next two weeks, made my shopping list around that, and then found coupons online - I might be good to go. The biggest problem I find with coupons is that I want to buy fresh produce! Not all processed foods... Sigh.

Until next time - thanks for reading!

Welcome to June my lovely readers =D As you may well remember, Tuesdays are my weigh-in day. Well... given the unusual circumstances of last week, I forgot. So, I weighed-in this morning. Drumroll please....

I lost 2.2lbs! Woot! I love that I can point out that, in 0.8 more lbs, I will have lost a total of 40 lbs since January, when I started. The best part is, since I started this blog, losing the weight has been easier.

Plans for the week: I am going to the gym today. I haven't been (AGAIN) since I worked out with Tyler last week. I only have been working out with him 1x/week and going to the gym 1x/week does NOT work for me. So, I am going today! If you're an MU student (or you were in Spring) feel free to join me around 4:30pm!

Starting next week, I will be working out with Tyler 2x/week - Tuesdays and Thursdays after work. I hope to go to the gym throughout the week regardless, but apparently - biking to work and watching what I eat has been just as effective in losing weight while my brain was in reprieve last week!

As for food, I FINALLY get paid on Friday - it seems like it's been so long since my last paycheck.... It won't be much, but it'll be enough to pay for my gas bill, my rent, and go on a little food shopping trip ;-) It's weird, and I never thought I would say this... but I can't wait to buy some more salad!

The only other thing I need this week is to study, study, STUDY for my final next week... We'll see when that starts! Until later, thanks for reading!