Meatless Days!!

Hey Everyone,

It’s been a while since my last post but thought if there was anytime that I should be writing about my weight loss experience, it’s NOW!

Since the last I was here a few great things have occurred. I am currently the lowest I have been since maybe my first year of high school! It’s amazing to think that and also sort of sad at the same time. To think that I was a young teen and weighed more than anyone should at that age is sad for me! Wish I had the guidance and will-power that I have now, then!

Any who, some of you may know that I’ve dabbled with the idea of giving up meat for some time. And I actually very rarely eat red meat (I have a burger here and there).  As you all know, yesterday was Ash Wednesday for the Catholic community and for Lent I will be giving up…you guessed it..MEAT! Not just red meat…ALL MEAT! Say goodbye to steak, chicken, and pork!  I am actually really excited about this! I know it’ll be a challenge but I am hoping that I will be able to make a lifestyle change out of this! We will see?!?

And I know often times when people thing of meals with no meat they think this:

 

or this:

(blah!)

But I am looking forward to meals more like this: (!!!!)

HOLY YUM!!! 

Look forward to daily posts of my eats! I’m going to try to keep it very interesting for you all!!

Biggest Loser Competition!

Hello Everyone,

Some of you may already know that I am a huge Biggest Loser Fan. I love watching the week to week progress made on the show. And although I know that achieving weekly numbers like they do are really, really, tough, it motivates me to have a great week after watching the show!! And did you know that I applied to the show a few years back?!? CRAZY HUH?!? I think it’s the competitive edge in me! Who doesn’t want to look like this in 3 months flat (crazy!!).

But now I have to look no further when it comes to joining the Biggest Loser! I have met a great group of young women who have started their own competition and I am lucky to be a part of it! The BL competition started this past Sunday and goes until April 30th! It may not be a $250,000 prize and I may not lose 60+ lbs in 3 months, but I know that this will be some added motivation in getting me to where I want to be by August!

I hope to keep you all posted during this journey and you never know, maybe come April 30th I can consider myself, “THE BIGGEST LOSER!”

2010 in review

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

A year has come and gone and I have had some great times and some hard times. All in all, I’m happy to be healthy and have those that I love around me everyday

But it wouldn’t be a health blog if I didn’t touch on some New Year Resolutions! But unlike other years, I am truly looking forward to understanding what I need to do in order to be at my healthiest weight. I have given myself many of chances, but this time I am looking at things a bit differently and more serious!

Here’s to a great 2011 everyone! And thanks to all of you who checked into my blog and got me to the “Your on Fire” Status on the Blog-O-Meter!!!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is on fire!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,600 times in 2010. That’s about 4 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 24 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 28 posts. There were 97 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 63mb. That’s about 2 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was August 12th with 81 views. The most popular post that day was Sweaty pics and major updates!!.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Sweaty pics and major updates!! August 2010
1 comment

2

Exciting News!!!!! April 2010
6 comments

3

Weight Loss Numbers March 2010
2 comments

4

About Me! August 2009

5

Blogroll March 2010

Before and After!

Hey Everyone,

I left off with the last post saying that I was going to re-commit and head to my first WW meeting in more than a month or so.  I was really hesitant in going because I was certain I had gained some weight. The night before I had even told my hubby that I think I gained because I had done zero form of exercise other than playing Wii the night before for my father-in-law’s birthday get-together.

I reluctantly went into my meeting location, and stepped on the scale. My heart was racing as I waited for the receptionist to tell me – “You gained a little bit”.  And lo and behold – my fears were put to rest when she told me “You’re down 1.4 lbs”. WHAT?!? Seriously?? Did she really just say that!

I took a second to think back on the month that I had been away. And although I did very little when it came to exercising, I was very persistent on making the right food choices for the most part! And that in turn shows me that I really needed to shift gears when it comes to this weight loss journey. For whatever reason, I have always thought that the more exercise you do, the more chances you will have at having a successful weight loss journey.  But, as I’ve been told before so many time by my leader; making the right food choices and fueling your body with what it needs is the most important step in this journey, then comes the exercise.

I am hoping that as I try to rethink this process and get myself used to the fact of eating well and eating REAL FOOD, hopefully the numbers will start to steadily drop!

Another thing that I struggle with at times is being able to see the distance I’ve come thus far. To date, I have lost a total of 34 lbs. I certainly feel that I don’t give myself credit for these 34 lbs. Then I stumbled across a before and after picture that I did a while back and realized that I certainly have come a long way:

Before & After

I hope to continue to make the right choices on this journey and will keep you all posted on things to come!

P.S. As an update, since I’ve been gone FOREVER. I wanted to let you all know that my mother is now Cancer-Free! She was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer and had a hysterectomy to hopefully remove all of the cancer. She had an amazing surgeon and with his help and the help of God, and of course my mom’s great strength, she is now cancer-free!

LOVE YOU MOM!

Re-Committing!

Whoever said that the journey of living a healthy lifestyle was easy must have been healthy to begin with! LOL.

No seriously though, I am struggling! I have had some ups and downs to my weight loss journey since I had my breast reduction a few of months back.  For the most part I’ve still made good choices when it comes to eating, until the weekend that is!!! Then I find myself bingeing and of course soon after hating the fact that I even let myself do that!

So, with all that said! I am on the re-commitment path! I hope to be able to get back on the right path and start the weight loss journey that I envisioned for myself all along.

Right after work, I am heading to my first WW meeting since who knows when. I know the number that I hear back will not make me a happy camper, but it’s the only way for me to know the effects I’ve had on my weight loss and then re-commit from there!

Wish me luck!

Sweaty pics and major updates!!

Hey everyone,

So sorry that I’ve been MIA but life has taken over the best of me. Since the last we spoke (almost 2 months ago) my life has been in a world wind! Let’s try and back u a bit…

The last post I spoke of was about me visiting Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass for a Master’s Program. Since then I am happy to report that… I GOT ACCEPTED!

So exciting! This was great news to hear especially after being laid off of work. So starting August 30th, I will be starting my Master’s program in a Clinical Mental Health Program. By the end, I hope to get my Master’s and move on to be a School Adjustment Counselor with kids in grades 5-12.From there, the news just kept on coming!!!

Another major update is that…I HAD MY BREAST REDUCTION! Can you believe it?? I actually had it done and it was the best decision of my life! I contemplated putting it off until I lost more weight but the more weight I lost, the more my back ached due to the size of my breast.  The process was extremely easy for me and I knew that this was my sign to have the surgery done. I will do a post more specific to my breast reduction a little later, but until then, here is a before picture (44E’s!!!)

And now I am happy to report that I am at a 38D. Couldn’t be happier! I have yet to take any after pics as I am still healing a bit. But once I get into a regular bra, I will be sure to post an after.

On some not so happy news! A week or so before my scheduled breast reduction, my mom was found with a tumor in her uterus. She was later scheduled for a prompt surgery to have the tumor removed. Ovarian cancer is prominent in my family, specifically my mom’s side. So we wanted to do everything in our power to be as preventative as possible. She had the surgery a week after mines and is doing very well. We did get word that they did find cancerous cells in her right ovary and would need to have a second surgery! Not what we were hoping to hear. But, we are hopeful that things will turn out okay and that we will fight this cancer until it no longer exists. My mom is an extremely strong woman who has endured so much in her 57 years of life! I know she’ll pull through this one too with the help of GOD! Please say a prayer for her.

MY WORLD!

And also, since the last time I posted, I am happy to report that I am down an additional 10 lbs!!! With the help of my breast reduction of course. The last time I was at this weight was at the age of 17!! How crazy is that!!!!!!!! Check out my picture of me being all sweaty at the gym @ Prior Fat Girl. Thanks Jen for posting my pic!!! LOVE IT!

Look forward to more food posts and some post pics of my surgery!

So Happy to be back

One of those days!

Today has just been one of those days! Hubby and I packed a majority of the day. Why you may ask? No,no vacation for us. We are moving Due to my job situation, we are trying to make the best decision that will hopefully help out our finances a bit. At around 1, I had to get ready for the exciting part of my day.  After weighing out options for what I will be doing since I will be unemployed, I know going back to school for my Master’s was a big one. So, I recently completed my application and submitted all paperwork for Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass. And today, I went to meet with Faculty of the program that I am interested in (School Counseling). Every time I visit the school I get more and more excited to attend. Cross your fingers and say a prayer for me. This would mean so much to me!!!

On my way home, right before I hit bumper to bumper traffic, I was pulled over!! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! I needed to get into the left lane and did so abruptly. Of course it happened to be a State Police Officer behind me. Great! As soon as he pulled me over, he says “Lisa, bad news!”. He asked for my license and registration and says that my registration is revoked due to non-insurance. WHAT?!?!? We recently got new insurance and that obviously must have caused some sort of glitch in the system. After waiting all of 30 minutes, he comes over, apologizes, and a big ol’ tow truck appears out of no where! Yup, you got it, my car was towed away! Not the best way to end my day!

So, with all that said and all of the emotions rising, I made my way over to a Pizza shop to wait for my sis to pick me up. I was super hungry and ordered a grilled chicken salad (which was blah!)

Grilled chicken salad

….AND…

Cheese Pizza

a slice of cheese pizza!

TOTAL EMOTIONAL EATING..and I should’ve known better. And on top of that, I didn’t even make it to the gym.

Oh well, fresh start tomorrow! Wish me luck on getting my car back

She’s baaaaccckkk!

Hey Peeps,

Yup! I know, I know! My name should just be changed to Mrs. M.I.A. But with life’s changes comes uncertainty. And Lord knows a lot has been uncertain for me these past couple of weeks! There’s just been a lot on my plate (pun intended!). But, I’ve managed to keep at the things that are most important right now (not that my blog isn’t important!!).

Since the last we spoke tons has happened! I think you all had heard about my 5k that I registered for that is on June 27th (Hubby’s bday!!). Well, in addition to that one, I decided to take part on the Weight Watchers 5k Walk-It-Challenge! My wonderful leader Tanya decided to put together a couple of races for some of her members to attend. Once I heard about it, I knew I had to take part! And I figured I could even use this as preparation for my race on the 27th.

So, June 6th was the date.  The day came and I never thought I would be so nervous!!! The hubby aka my supporter, photographer, cheerleader, and water fetcher was amazing. He knew all the right things to say to me to calm my nerves. LOVE YOU BABE! And then I realized that I wanted to simply use this race as practice and pace myself to just finish!

The race was held in Dorchester. I grew up in Dorchester and was very familiar to the area but definitely do not remember the streets being so HILLY! So, I took my advice.  I did power walk a couple of times to catch my breath but once I took the loop around for the second half of the 5k, something came over me and I bolted! My official time was 37:04 minutes!!!!!!! I couldn’t have been more happier! I had only practiced for the race a total of 3 times and never managed to get my time under 40 minutes. I was thrilled and knew this would prep me for my June 27th race.

Here are some pictures highlighting my VERY FIRST 5K!!! (click to enlarge image)

Before the race!

Can you see me?

Not so happy face!

Hi Five Tanya!

Me and my amazing leader!

1st Race Bib!

Changes..

Hey Everyone,

Sorry for being so MIA these past few weeks. I have been trying to get my life together after myself, my daughter, and the hubby being sick!  I had to take some time off of work and get things together before I could devote my time to anything.

And once I did return back to work, I received some news that no one is ready to hear. I will be losing my job as of June 30th!!! I currently work as a Case Manager at a youth organization where we work with youth who are trying to attain their GED.  Being a non-profit, funding is EVERYTHING! And although we had some idea that this day would come, it still is hard to hear! And as you can imagine, it was time for us to think what options would be best for us. I am about 90% sure that I will be going back to school and utilizing this time off to go back full-time, bang it out, and move on to bigger and better things!

I hope you all understand my means for being away for so long.  I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and I am really looking forward to going back to school and getting ready to switch gears and a new career soon after!!

Now, back to food…

Yesterday the hubby and I went out for lunch on my break. I honestly just needed to step away from the PC and grab something to eat.  The hubby was nice enough to join me! We decided to go to Panera Bread. Something fast and some-what healthy.

I had the U-PICK-TWO:

 

I decided to go with 1/2 of the Chopped Chicken Cobb Salad, and Half of the Meditterranean Veggie Sandwich that had Hummus, Feta, and tons of yummy veggies. I was so satisfied with this lunch! Yum!

This past weekend and yesterday has been beautiful in our town. We did tons of this all weekends long:

Cousins

I’m back guys!! In full effect. Stay tuned for some great upcoming posts!

In honor of Earth Day (and my wallet!)

HAPPY EARTH DAY EVERYONE!!!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

 Earth Day can never go unrecognized with me simply because it is a day before my birthday!  But every year, when I think about Earth Day, it brings me back to grade school when we would go outside to plant something and the green recycling bins that would appear a couple of months beforehand.

Yesterday, I thought to myself what was one thing that I could do to make a difference when it came to re-using in specifics! And easily, I thought of my daily trip to Dunkin Donuts. Almost everyday, I stop in at Dunkin Donuts and purchase my Medium Iced Coffee. The hubby is never pleased with me on this decision and even this morning said to me

“Do the math for a whole year and see how much money you would save!”

To answer that question – $850.45!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yup, you read right. My coffee which costs me a measly $2.33 a day, adds up to $850.45 a year!!!!  So not only was I making a choice on helping the Earth by re-using, but I was also helping my wallet by not buying!!!

And to help with both of this, I bought….

Fill, Drink, Wash, Repeat – The classic To Go Cup becomes a reusable everyday cup. – (source: Copco website)

I actually saw this in the Bed, Bath, and Beyond ad and knew I had to have it! I made a batch of my own DD coffee this morning and it was just as good as my usual. Here’s to the Earth and my wallet!!!

Along with my coffee this morning, I had a wonderful Green Monster!

I was finally able to try my samples of the Green Super Food powder. This morning I tried the Goji and Acai flavored one and although it did enhance the flavor, it left it with a gritty texture that I wasn’t to happy with   But, I must say that it kept me fully satisfied way beyond my usual lunch time!

Planning on making some Blue Cheese Burgers for dinner since it is a perfect day for grilling! Check back later! Go out and do something for the Earth!!