Let's Try This Again

So, obviously I have been doing terrible when it comes to this blog and weight loss.  The good news is that I have actually lost some weight, but not very much.  I am down to 238.  I have gone between 239 and 234 for the past month.  I was at 260 this time last year, so that is definitely progress.  I have not been in the 230s since 2012.  I was consistently in the high 240s most of the spring and summer.  I attribute my current weight loss to all the walking I have been doing in NYC recently.

Let me step back a moment.  I moved to NYC in August to begin working on a PhD.  Coming from Alabama, I was used to driving everywhere.  NYC is the complete opposite.  I left my car in Alabama, and if it's within 1.5 miles, I normally try to walk it.  I am sure that will change as the temperature begins to drop though.  For most other trips I just use the subway (or "train" as New Yorkers say).  Sometimes I am walking around 5 miles a day just going back and forth for daily activities.  Most days I probably average 3 miles though.  So, my weight loss has really been out of necessity and not because I have really been trying.  I have honestly been eating everything, because there are just so many options and everyone, I mean EVERYONE delivers!  This weekend I decided to batch cook a lot of things to curb eating out so much.  So far I have made it two days without eating out.  I am craving Thai food and/or tacos though lol!

My best friend also bought T25 for me, so I am going to try that out.  She honestly bought it a few weeks ago.  I lasted a good 5 days before I was off track.  I will be going home for the holidays in a few weeks, so I am challenging myself to stick with T25 at least until then.  We will see what happens.  I am also planning to hit my university's gym to weight train.  I miss the weights.  When I was at Innovate Fitness, I completed a two month training program and when it was over I had a 1 rep squat max of 215 and a 5 rep deadlift max of 210.  I am sure that has fallen off quite a lot by now.  I might see if I can get back with them for a month while I a back home for the holidays.

Me, Day 1 of T25 this morning, looking a hot mess lol!

I've lost a few pounds while up here and I would like to lose a few more before I go back home.  I would like for people to be able to notice a difference, even if just a small one.  Anyway, I hope to do a better job of keeping up with this blog and hopefully this time next year I will be in much better shape.  Have a great day!

So glad Missy's back!  Definitely going to work out to this!

Missy Elliott - WTF (Where They From)

Catching Up

I have not posted in awhile, but I am still going pretty strong.  I was sick towards the end of last week and the beginning of this week, but I am better now.  I am getting ready for graduation.  I will have a 2nd Master's in about two weeks, but I have a lot of writing I need to do before then.  Plus, I have my comprehensive exams next week.  My exercise still pretty much consists of Crossfit and jogging.

Food is alright, but definitely not perfect.  I am trying to make good choices, but I have not logged my food in close to a week.  I eat a lot of chicken, fruit, and oatmeal.  Salsa chicken is my go to.  It's just chicken breasts in a crock pot with salsa.  It's so easy that I do multiple chicken breasts like this almost every week.  I use fruit to replace candy.  My breakfast is normally turkey sausage and oatmeal.  I need to do better with vegetables and maybe eating fruit that has less sugar (like pears).

Let me just say I am such a slow jogger.  I know it really should not matter, but yesterday I was teamed with a partner and we had to jog together.  I was teamed with a super fit guy, and I could tell it was difficult for him to jog so slowly.  To his credit, he was nothing but supportive and never complained.  It was a little amusing to me because I was trying my hardest and so out of breath, but he was chatting it up lol!  He was really sweet, but I felt like I was holding him back.  He honestly did not seem bothered at all.  I think I just have to learn to be comfortable with what I can do and be happy for my own progress.  I am working on that.

Here's a couple of images from my gym...

You cannot see me very well, but I am in the red shirt towards the open door in the back.  We were in a circle for warm up.  We all chose an exercise and how many to do.  I chose 10 squats.  Warm up is different everyday.

Below is a video of my class pushing sleds on Wednesday.  You can catch a glimpse of me in the corner of the video on the Airdyne.  The Airdyne is a bike that is terrible lol!  It has built in resistance and the resistance gets stronger the faster you pedal.  We had to do sprints on the Airdyne and it wore me out.  On the plus side, it burned a ton of calories really quickly.

Nothing like some sleds for breakfast!!
Posted by Innovate Fitness on Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Just Another Day

As I was leaving Publix today I realized how often I go to the grocery store now.  The reason is that when I am eating healthier and eating more naturally occurring foods, then I have to keep going back because items spoil and I cannot bulk buy them.  I know this is really common sense, but it is something I never really thought about before.

Today I jumped on the elliptical machine for 20 minutes.  Then I did some upper body weights (lat pulldown, strict press, chest press, tricep pushdowns, shoulder press, bicep curls, and modified pushups.  I did 3 sets of 12 with various weights.  Afterwards, I went for a walk/jog for about 25 minutes.

I had more Crossfit/functional fitness training last night.  It was really great.  Three other women are in the class with me and they are really nice.  I arrived as a regular class was ending and they were also really nice to me.  I think I just assume that super fit people would judge me, but they were not like that at all.  They were awesome and full of support, and they don't even know me.  I think I am really going to enjoy this aspect of group fitness.

As you can see, I really did not have much to talk about today.  I just wanted to get on here and log my journey in some way.

I recently heard this song and I really like it!  I am all about dancing to burn calories, so this song really hit the spot!  Enjoy!

Walk the Moon - Shut Up and Dance

Doing Great!

So, it took a lot of work, but now I feel like prepping food was the BEST thing I could have ever done.  Here are a list of things I have learned and benefits I have found from pre-packing my food.

• I pretty much just heat and go for the most part.  It really saves a lot of time in the long run.
• I am not having to think about what I'm going to eat and whether or not I have anything at home to eat.  It's all there just waiting on me.  
• Measuring has also made it much easier to track/log my food.  I know exactly how much I have.  It's great! 
• Measuring also means that I see how much a proper serving size is, and to be honest, a normal serving size is a lot...especially with pasta, rice, and veggies.
• I have a nice variety of food, and so far I am not bored with any of it. 
• I am not stopping at fast food places.  So far I have been able to keep some kind of food with me/in my car so that I don't stop.  Stopping whenever I'm in the car became such a habit that my body just says I should be stopping or at least eating something, so if I eat something small that I brought from home while in the car then the craving for fast food goes away.

I feel like I have my mojo back.  I know it won't be like this everyday, but I feel awesome today!  I did some strength training today for the first time in awhile.  It was nothing fancy, but it was something.

3x12 Squats

3x12 Forward and Walking Lunges

3x12 Calf Raises

3x12 Squat Jumps

50 Jumping Jacks

Because I am feeling so great today...

Irene Cara- What A Feeling

Food Prep

In the last post I talked about how my commitment has been pretty lackluster.  So I took a very good look at myself, and I have to stop being so lazy.  I am not going to do more than I feel I can keep up (the whole lifestyle vs diet/quick fix conversation), but once I get on a schedule I know I can do this.

Yesterday I spent a few hours prepping food for the next week or so.  Here's a pic...

What you see is
-salad (lettuce, cucumber, carrots) which I will add banana peppers and tomato to when I get ready to eat it
-chili with ground turkey (1 cup)
-ground turkey (4 oz), brown rice (3/4 cup), peppers and onion
-spaghetti sauce with ground turkey (1/2 cup)
-crockpot chicken (3 oz) with peppers and onion
-salmon (4 oz) with sweet potato, brown rice (1/2 cup)
-whole wheat pasta baggie (2 oz)
-grilled chicken baggie (3 oz)

Add in my egg whites, Greek yogurt, oatmeal, pears, and watermelon and I think I am pretty much set for the week and probably longer.  I placed most of the chili and spaghetti sauce in the freezer.  This is my first time prepping food, so I am not sure how long this will last.  Because of that I wanted to freeze food just in case.  I did not want anything to go bad.  I'm actually proud of myself for doing this.  I really hope it helps.  I'm almost positive it will.  It HAS to cut out my fast food trips right?!?!  I'll be sure to come back and share my experience with this next week.

For exercise I have mostly been walking and doing Zumba.  I need to get back in the gym and hit weights though.  I love weight training.  I just get intimidated going into that area of the gym by myself.  I just have to get the courage and go anyway.

Well, I feel like I have made progress this week, and I am really starting to feel that desire to change.  Have a great day!

Daft Punk- One More Time

Binges

I haven't blogged much, but I am still here.  The last two weeks have had ups and downs.  I have definitely eaten better (with some bad choices here and there), but the exercise has been lacking.  Something happened yesterday though, and I was craving EVERYTHING!  in one sitting I ate two chocolate iced doughnuts and a medium 10 piece nugget meal (with sweet tea).  I have no idea why, other than I just wanted it.  I wasn't particularly hungry.  It was like a compulsion and I had to leave my house.  Afterwards, I felt terrible...physically and emotionally.  It's like after a few days of making healthy choices my mind/body rebels and says "Give me Junk!!!"

This was my body last night...

I know slip ups happen, but I felt like last night was really bad.  I won't dwell on it, but I want to at least get it out there that it happened.

Over the weekend I have been doing a lot of thinking about the true nature of my commitment to change.  So far I feel like I am quasi-committed.  I've been making half-hearted attempts.  I eat well and exercise so long as it does not inconvenience me.  This means that I eat better a heck of a lot more than I exercise.  I'm normally a planner, but I don;t know if it's better for me to plan things or to just take it one day at a time when it comes to my fitness and health.  I need to sit down and think about why I really want this.  Right now the first thing that comes to mind is to feel better.  My knees ache, and I think it's because of the weight.  I remember being much happier when I was eating right and working out regularly.  Happiness should be enough.  I don't know.  I'll think on it and update on my next post.

This is a song from the Coke commercials.  I love this song...seriously, love it!  Have a great day ladies and gents!
Clean Bandit- Rather Be

Starting Over Again and Again

I am back at it, and once again I am heavier than ever before.  This week I have been working on eating better, which has worked because I dropped 3 lbs by eating better.  Nutrition is always the hardest part for me when it comes to losing weight.  I really enjoy the convenience of fast food.  I eat out constantly.  I think steak, potatoes, cheese, ice cream, and things drowned in butter are the absolute best!  My favorites are the things I should not have or that I should at least not have often.  I'm working on that.  Years ago when I did really well with losing weight it just took a little faking it until I made it.  So, I had to cook and eat things that I knew would get me where I wanted to be.  With a little research and experimentation I eventually found foods that were healthy for me and that I really enjoyed eating.  I need to go back to doing that.

When it comes to food I need to stop:
1) buying junk food- I have really been on a chip kick lately.  Up until a few days ago I had 3 bags of chips in my pantry, not the good kind...golden flake bbq, dill pickle, and tortilla chips

2) buying Michael Angelo's Shrimp Scampi- Honestly, this is probably my favorite frozen meal EVER!  The stuff is capital G O O D!  Let's look at the nutrition label though...540 calories, 28g fat (16g saturated fat...that's an entire days worth for me, I like to stay at 15 or below for saturated fat), 820 mg sodium, 46g carbs, and 25g protein.  Looking at the fat content gets me every time, but it is so so so good lol!  I can't resist it when it's on sale.  It's my kryptonite.  I need to stop buying this stuff.

3) saying I don't have enough time to cook- We all know the truth is that I do.  I sit and watch tv every evening when I could DVR something, prep my food, then come back and watch the tv program.

4) eating food on impulse- I pass by a Jack's and I just have to have a Big Bacon burger.  I am at a restaurant and I have to have what is probably the worst thing on the menu for me.  If I just take a few minutes and think I know I can make better choices.

5) skipping meals- Eating better foods more often will probably aid greatly with #4.

When it comes to food I need to start:
1) drinking more water

2) eating more fruits and vegetables

3) drinking more water

4) replacing some beef with chicken, fish, or vegetarian dishes

5) drinking more water

6) Did I say drinking more water?!?!?!

I think it will be good for me to remember good foods that I like (relative to what I normally eat, a lot of these items have cheese, but I try not to use much)
-egg white omelet (3 egg whites, chopped onion and bell peppers, dash of cheddar cheese, salsa)
-plain greek yogurt with blueberries
-sweet potatoes
-chicken quesadillas ( while grain tortillas, slow cooker chicken, small amount of cheese, pico de gallo)
-turkey sandwich (whole grain bread, real turkey, thin cheese slice, tomato slice, then placed in a hot press)
-pears (yay for good tasting fiber)
-natural peanut butter with a touch of honey
-apples
-salads (I just have to watch the dressing-I probably need to explore making my own)

I went walking one day, but other than that I had no exercise this week.  I am not sure when I will write again, hopefully soon though.  Maybe my next post will be about getting my exercise on track.  Anyway, I may not be excited right now, but I know it will be good to get back into things.  I can remember how great I felt when I was exercising and eating better.  So, good talk lol...see you next time.  On, I'm going back to posting songs I like to work out to at the end of my posts.  Have a great day!

One Republic: Love Runs Out

Results of Eating Better

A little over 3 weeks ago I decided that I wanted to try eating better and see what it would get me. I know how I love food and how I'm used to eating, so I did not want to commit to this for too long. Spring Break was coming up, so I decided I would do it until Spring Break started. The hope was that I would get decent results in 3 weeks and it would be enough to motivate me to continue to make better choices. Surely I could do this for 3 weeks right???

Well, kinda lol! For the most part I did extremely well (I think so anyway). I probably had 2-3 bad meals a week, compared to every meal being a bad meal. Let me say I was not trying to eat clean. I tried eating clean one day, and it was just too hard for me to go from eating junk all day to eating clean. So, I just aimed to eat better. I went to the grocery store and I only shopped the exterior of the store (except for my Fiber One cereal and whole grain spaghetti and spaghetti sauce). I pretty much grilled/baked chicken and fish and shrimp. I ate tons of veggies and fruit, and I only drank water. I cooked at home a lot! Frozen veggies was a life saver for me, because I'm normally really short on time. I also decided I did not want to do any microwave meals because of the sodium.

I'm not the best at picking healthy foods when I eat out. So, when I got off track it was usually because I went out to eat with friends and family. I know I know...look at the menu ahead of time and decide what you're going to have. The problem is that when I get there everything looks so good! Oh gosh, let's not even talk about rolls at some of these places geesh! Anyway, I didn't do too bad. I also continued working out with Sam twice a week and on my own at least twice a week.

So, enough blabbering...here's what you all really want to see...results:


I lost 8.2 lbs and 4.5 inches in 3 weeks and a couple of days! I'm super excited about that!!!!! Go me!!! In the past it has taken me 6-9 weeks to do that! To me this proves what everyone has always said...your diet/nutrition is sooooo important.

On another note, I want to talk about a killer workout Sam made me do last Thursday. I had to workout with a deck of cards. The four exercises were squats, push ups, v-ups, and burpees. They each corresponded to a certain suit. Face cards counted as 10, aces were 20, and a joker would double whatever the next card was. By the end I had done 104 push ups, 104 v ups, 106 burpees, and 113 squats. It was so hard, but I felt like super woman when I was done!

Also my co-worker has gone out of the country for 3 weeks and he let me borrow his Insanity dvds. He didn't give me the schedule, so I just picked one to do yesterday. I chose the dvd that says Pure Cardio. Oh my gosh! Since when did a warm-up become so much work? lol! I made it through the dvd and only took 3 breaks, so I was proud of myself.

So, in summary my little experiment worked and I am definitely motivated enough to continue to make better food choices.

Long Time No See

Sorry I've been away.  I've been so so so busy (5 classes and a full time job).  I've been working out with Sam twice a week, as usual.  I normally get in 1-2 other days a week by myself.  That has really been hit and miss. 

I have not really gone jogging since I did the 20 minute jog almost a month ago.  I do sprints with Sam from time to time, but no real jogging with any true distance.  That stinks, because I was really excited about finally being able to jog for 20 minutes and I just let it go.  I'll have to work back up to it, but I'm determined to do it.  I want to do a half marathon this year.  I'm planning to do the Rock n Roll either in Vegas or the one in Miami.  I'm going to consider it my 30th birthday gift to myself.  I wanted to take a nice trip for my 30th (in July) and I also wanted to do a half.  I probably can't afford a separate trip for each the way I would want to,so I'm planning to postpone the July trip and roll it into a half marathon trip (Sept or Dec).  So, I'll still be celebrating my 30th (just months later lol) and I'll get to check off a major item on my list of things to do for year.

Today Sam said I might have a "come to Jesus" moment, and he was not joking.  Here's the list of what I did:
100 Push-ups
60 Burpees
100 Deep Squats
800m on Rowing Machine
12 Shuttle runs
36 Lat Pulldowns (80 lbs)
60 Leg Lifts
45 Lying Tricep Extensions (10 lb dumbbells)
300m on Rowing Machine
0.5 mile walk to class to cool down

I asked him if I was being punished because I had to cancel my session on Tuesday.  He laughed and said no.  I'm not so sure lol!  It was really really hard.  I did all of this over an hour.  The lat pulldowns, leg lifts, and tricep extensions were done in sets of 3.  The burpees, push-ups, and squats are a little difficult to explain.  Basically, I would do as many push-ups as possible in 1 min.  At the top of each minute I had to stop and do 4 burpees, then immediately into the push-ups.  At the top of that next minute I would do 4 burpees again.  I continued this until I had reached 100 push-ups.  This same cycle happened for the deep squats.  I hope the way I explained it makes sense. 

I felt like this was a completely ridiculous workout and I asked him several times if he was serious.  This was only me 2nd time on the rowing machine.  Oh my gosh, it works EVERYTHING!!!  I was shaking and fell like a combination of jello and dead weight by the time my our was up.  My shirt was completely soaked.  It was weird though, because although it was hard, I wanted to do it again this weekend.  This was one of those workouts that made me feel like I had instantly lost weight.  I'll probably do the push-ups, burpees, squats, leg lifts, and tricep extensions on my own at home this weekend.  It's good to leave a workout and know that I gave it my all and that I completely rocked it!

Oh, I purchased a 65cm stability ball and a 10 lb medicine ball to add to my home gym (which doesn't include much...dumbbells, adjustable weight bench, sit up rack, and tons of Oxygen magazines).  I would like to buy some cardio equipment (treadmill or bike), but we'll see.  I know plenty of things I can do for cardio without having the machines, so I'm in no rush to buy anything.

I've also been making an effort to eat better the past two weeks.  I made the pledge to do this until spring break (which is in less than two weeks) and then take a look at my results.  I'm hoping it will be motivation to make me continue to eat better.  I can already say that I feel better though.  So, it might be a a week or two before I'm on here to blog again, but I should have some measurements to post by then.  Have a great day!

Chris Brown - Turn Up the Music

Almost Lost It...

...it being everything I ate for breakfast yesterday.  Yesterday was a Sam day.  First, let me tell you what I did

3 rounds of 30 seconds each
Wall Balls (12 lb ball)
Burpees
Jumping Jacks
Kettlebell Swings (12 lb kettlebell)

3 rounds
Woodchoppers (10 each side)
Alligator Walk (12)
Walking Lunges  (12)
Sprints on Stationary Bike (2 min)

3 rounds
Modified Push-ups (10 but I had to go all the way down to the floor before I came back up)
Bicycle Crunches (15)
Lat Pulldowns (12 using 60lbs)
Dumbbell Punches (30 seconds)

2 rounds
Deep Squats (15)
Pulsing Squats  (10)

Mountain Climbers (30 sec)

I did everything except the mountain climbers for 30 seconds.  My stomach was feeling really funny and Sam asked if I was lightheaded.  I was, but only a little.  He told me I was on the verge of throwing up and we had to stop.  After about 4 min of just sitting I felt fine and wanted to do the last 30 sec of mountain climbers, but Sam said no.  So, I made it through all but the last 30 seconds of my planned workout. 

To those of you who say reading Sam's workouts makes you feel like a wimp...don't.  Remember, it takes me an hour to do this stuff.  A lot of you have been exercising longer than I have and could probably do these workouts faster and with heavier weights.

I completely bailed on jogging over the weekend and earlier this week.  I'm on the day I'm supposed to jog for 20 minutes straight and I've been completely psyching myself out.  I was supposed to do this on Sunday, then Tuesday and I kept making excuses not to go.  This morning I woke up with a back ache, but decided to go anyway.  I didn't make it.  Each step seemed to make my back feel worse.  So I was out there for about 25 min, but less that half of that was jogging.  So, I came back home.  I'm going to take a Motrin or Aleve and see if my back feels better later.  If so, then I will try it again after class today.

My nutrition sucks.  There's no other way to put it.  I think I've eaten out once a day 4 out of the last 5 days.  I don't know what it is with me and food.  Well, I do know what it is...lack of willpower.  I have stayed away from burgers and fries, but getting a sirloin with a Parmesan cheese crust and a loaded backed potato isn't any better.  It's actually about the same thing.  So, I'm going to work on it.  Telling you all about this all the time does nothing, if I don't put some action behind what I say I want to do.  So, hopefully my next post will say I've done much better with my eating habits.  I also hope to be able to say I jogged 20 minutes.

Not a Nicki Minaj fan, but this is a nice tune for me to jog to.
David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj - Turn Me On

Busy Little Bee

Whew...I've been busy this week.  I'm sorry I'm not able to blog as much.  During my work week I used to posts blogs at work.  Now, Blogger is blocked (but facebook is open, so figure).  With work and school, I only have time for sleep during the day.  So, when I work you will probably only see 1 blog from me and it will be on the weekend.  I'm off right now, so whoo hoo!

School started on Wednesday.  I am taking 5 classes.  What was I thinking?  I work a full time job and I decided to sign up for 5 classes!  This honestly might drop to 4.  If it does, then I will graduate in August and not May.  During my work rotation I will average about 4 hrs of sleep Monday through Thursday.  Also by the end of April I will have read about 25 books for these classes.  This all seems very overwhelming to me right now.  So, we will see how it goes.  I have until the 19th to drop a class and it will completely disappear from my transcript.  After the 19th, a W will show up on my transcript, but I can still drop it.

Now for my most exciting news...I saw Sam Wednesday!!!!!!  Yay! Yay! Yay!  I didn't even realize how much I missed the entire experience of training with him.  I can't remember everything we did, but it was quite a lot.  Jogging is difficult for me, but I don't produce 1/10th of the sweat jogging as I did while I was with Sam.  Here is what I can remember that we did:
Walking Lunges (as I came up to switch legs I had to pause with my leg in the air...hard to describe...sorry)
Squats (with 25lb weight)
Burpees
Wall Ball
Alligator Walk
I probably did another 10 exercises I just really can't remember them.  When it was all said and done, my shirt was soaked, my legs were shaking, and I was breathing like a crazy person.  Sam chose that moment to say, "Welcome back.  You missed me didn't you?" He had a smile a mile wide.  lol!

I also got my body fat measured in a machine called the Bod Pod.  I'm not pleased at all with what it said.  This is supposed to be one of the most accurate ways to measure body fat.  I'll let you all know what my number was the next time I get it done.  I hate the number is so high, but I will feel better posting it if I can at least say "look it's lower than that now." So, you'll just have to wait another 6-8 weeks or so.  This machine also tell you how many calories you can eat.  Sam said I could eat 2100 calories.  Here's my breakdown. 
If I were in a coma and never moved at all for 24 hrs my body would burn just under 1700 calories.
Sam said he would consider me active, given that I am jogging 3 days a week and seeing him for 2.  As an active person I could eat 2600 calories a day to maintain my weight right now.
A sedentary person could eat 2100 calories.  Sam told me to stick with the sedentary calories in order to lose.
2600-2100=500 calorie deficit per day
500 calories x 7 days a week=3500 calories=1lb of weight loss per week.

This is the Bod Pod when you sit in it and what it looks like closed.

Jogging:
So, all last week I was referring to my jogs as week 3 of the couch to 5k plan.  I was wrong.  I was actually doing week 4 then.  I am now on week 5.  Today was week 5 day 2 which was...
10 min warm up (the plan says 5, but I have found that I need 10)
8 min jog
5 min walk
8 min jog
cool down
Here a link to the plan if anyone else is interested.

Day 3, which I should do on Sunday is a warm up and then a 20 minute jog.  20 minutes nonstop...really???  Yeah, my mind is already playing games with me.  I'm really worried I will not be able to do this.  I'm going to try really hard though, because I can imagine that the sense of accomplishment I will have if I do this will be insane.  I have to remember that a few weeks ago I never would have believed that I could jog for 8 minutes.  So, I just have to give it all I have and do my very best.

Last week I was tagged in a post by Hyla, one of the lovely ladies I met through Win, Lose, or Blog.  I am supposed to:
1. post these rules.

2. you must post 11 random things yourself.

3. answer the ques­tions the tag­ger set for you in their post.

4. cre­ate 11 new ques­tions for the peo­ple you tag to answer.

5. go to their blog and tell them that you've tagged them.

6. no stuff in the tag­ging sec­tion about ‘you are tagged if you are read­ing this.’ blah blah blah, you legit­i­mately have to tag 11 peeps!

I'm going to cheat here, because I've done something similar not too long ago and the people I would tag would be the same ones I tagged then.  So, I am going to give you my random facts, answer Hyla's questions and probably list my favorite blogs.

Random facts:

1. I bite my nails...not a good habit and I'm hoping to change this
2. I love really good hummus dip.  I mean REALLY love it.
3. I'm obsessed with Christmas.
4. I love scented candles.
5. I have cracked my sternum before...not a pleasant experience AT ALL
6. I hate to work out in front of people
7. I'm a sucker for Hallmark movies
8. I'm terrified of roller coasters that go upside down.

9. I love cheese grits.

10. I'm obsessed with keeping track of how much fiber I eat.  I know this is odd.  I really don't track what I eat, but I do keep a mental note of how much fiber is in everything I eat and I get ticked if I am below 20 for the day.  I shoot for above 25 though.

11. My guilty pleasure is watching young adult tv shows and reading young adult novels (The Secret Circle, Vampire Diaries, The Hunger Games, Artemis Fowl, etc.)

Hyla's Questions:
1.How do you plan on meeting your goals this year?  Are they realistic?  If so do you have high hopes of meeting them and surpassing them? 

I plan to reach my goals through old fashioned diet and exercise.  I think the key for me will be finding exercises and healthy food that I love.  I think my goals are realistic (40-50 lbs this year) and if I stick to my plan even remotely I should hit them.  I lost close to 25 lbs last year in about 5 months and I was very hit and miss with workouts and good nutrition.  So, I have very high hopes

2.Are you looking forward to any big events this year? 

I turn 30 this year, and believe it or not I am really looking forward to it.  I'm going on a big trip, but I have no idea where yet.  I also think I'm going to have a new body by the time I look 30 and I'll look better at 30 than I did in my 20s, so I'm pumped.

3. Where in the world is Carmen San Diego?  LOL, I meant where would you like to be? 

Lol!  I used to watch Carmen San Diego with my cousin and sister as a kid.  If I could be anywhere I'm not sure where I would want to go.  Somewhere with temps around 75, a light breeze, and plenty of sightseeing, attractions, good food, and shopping...and no school and no work lol!

4.What is your favorite piece of comfy clothing? 

lounge pants and t-shirt

5. What is your favorite piece of "I feel hot!" clothing?

a dress that properly fits me (I have a lot of over sized clothing)

6. Honestly, what are your thoughts on Facebook? 

Some days I love Facebook and other days I think Facebook is the devil lol!  I don't post too much on there because it's so easy for people to get all of your info.  I like some of the connections I've made through it though.  I refuse to have Facebook connected to my phone, because it's really not that important to me.  The people who are really important to me have my phone number, so I don't feel the need to constantly be on there checking updates.  So, I guess in a nutshell I like it, but I am not obsessed with it.

7. Have you ever done anything daring?  If so, what? 

not really.  The most daring thing I've done was probably when I was in high school.  As a senior I would leave school for about an hour every day to go eat out lol!  I did end up getting caught by the assistant principal one day, but I was one of those stellar students who made straight A's,was in every club, and never did anything wrong. He was in shock and believed I was confused about the rules of being a teacher's assistant and let me go.  Haha!

8.  What is your favorite book and author?

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (the 1st book I remembering completely loving.  I had to read this in 6th grade)

A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines (This is just a fantastic book.)

9.  What is your favorite movie?

Braveheart

10.  What is your favorite Disney princess or other princess?

Ariel

11.  Do you dream?  What about?

I hardly ever remember them.

Favorite Blogs:

Win, Lose, or Blog (motivation, weight loss, giveaways, competition, etc)
Fitness For the Rest of Us (weight loss, reviews, giveaways)
Avery and Winslow (crafting)
Runs for Cookies (maintaining weight loss, running)
Changing from Fat to Fit (running, weight loss, fitness, etc)
Gina's Skinny Recipes (recipes)
Carbie Girl (weight loss)
Girl with Curves (fashion)
365 Weighs (she has not posted in awhile, but it's still good stuff)
Pril's Place (fashion)
Hourglass Red (weight loss)

Sorry about this being such a long post, but a had a week's worth of stuff to cram in here.  Congrats if you made it through it all lol!

Bee Gees - You Should Be Dancing (Despicable Me version)  I really do jog to this song and I love Despicable Me, so this is a fantastic video.

Blah, Workouts, and New Shoes

The Blah:
I actually gained 3 lbs this week!  WTH!  I worked out hard this week and I ate better than I have in a long time.  This is complete BS!  That is what I thought when I stepped off the scale.  Then I remembered all the candy I stuffed in my face Sat-Tues.  Plus, the fried shrimp, mashed potatoes, salad, and 2 raspberry lemonades I had at Ruby Tuesday on Wednesday.  Add to that the fried catfish I had at work on Thursday night (even though I had brought grilled chicken and veggies).  Then I thought...oh...do better Briana.  So, I will do better.  I cleaned my fridge and pantry and have no junk whatsoever in them.  I went to the grocery store and filled up on only good items.  Now I have to have the will power to not go to the cafeteria at the hospital.  Can you believe I brought healthy food, did not eat it, and paid for something unhealthy instead?  Yeah, I really did that.  Anyway, I just have to do better.

Workouts:
Wednesday:
OFF

Thursday:
W3D1 Couch to 5k (my version)
10 min walking warmup
5 min jog
2 min walk
3 min jog
1 min walk
5 min jog
2 min walk
3 min jog
2 min walking cool down
Ended up being 2.2 miles in 33 minutes

Friday:
  (x3)
50 Jumping Jacks
40 Squats
30 Push-Ups
20 Leg Lifts
10 Burpees
50 Mountain Climbers
40 Lunges
30 Curl to Press
20 Tricep Dips
10 V-Ups

Today:
W3D2 Couch to 5k (my version)
10 min walking warmup
5 min jog
2 min walk
3 min jog
1 min walk
5 min jog
2 min walk
3 min jog
2 min walk
5 min jog
super short walking cool down (I was tired and just wanted to get to the car)
Ended up being 2.5 miles in 40 min

Looking at this and the workouts I posted earlier in the week.  I am proud of myself.  I have been consistent for a solid week.  So, yeah, I gained weight, but it was not from lack of working out.  I've heard people say losing weight is 20% exercise and 80% nutrition.  Now I can believe it.  So, I know what I have to do from now on.  I can do it!  I got caught in a small rain shower today while I was jogging and it felt great.  At first I though "oh no," but it was not pouring down or anything, so it was nice.  I'm also excited that my little DailyMile app to the right is changing, because it means I'm being active again!

New Shoes:
I went to out local running store on Wednesday and bought new shoes.  They are called the Brooks Pure something.

I love these shoes.  I was told they are supposed to keep you from striking with your heel when you run so much.  I am in the very early stages of beginning to run so I don't really know about all the technical stuff.  All I know is that these shoes are fabulous!

Am I the only person who looks at background stuff when someone posts a pic?  I just really noticed all the stuff I have in the background of this picture.  In can you are wondering, the Christmas boxes are what my Christmas cards arrived in,directly behind the shoes are dvds of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, True Blood, Thundercats, and the Ocean's trilogy (11, 12, and 13).

Britney Spears - Toxic

Keep it Moving

So far so good.  I have nothing earth shattering to report, just that I am still moving.

Saturday:
30 min Zumba

Sunday:
30 min Zumba
50 Modified Push-ups
50 Squats
50 Leg Lifts

Monday:
60 min Zumba

Today:
50 Mountain Climbers
50 Jumping Jacks
10 V-Ups
(I did this circuit of 3 exercises 6 times for a total of 300, 300, and 60, then)
15 Modified Push-ups
15 Squats

I was planning to do more push-ups and squats, but then I realized I am scheduled to do quite a few of them tomorrow, so I stopped.  The point is that I am moving and have been moving for 4 days in a row.  I had forgotten what it felt like to be sore...thank you 50 squats and push-ups from Monday.  I hate and love the soreness all at once.  I hate it because it hurts...no brainer.  I love it because I know I worked out. 

I was looking over some of the workouts I used to do with Sam, and I'm wondering how the heck I used to do all that stuff without vomiting.  I decided in December that I am probably going back to him.  Do I "need" him? No.  Can I physically do his workouts on my own? Yes.  Do I want to train with him? Does he motivate me? Do I think he is the best trainer ever? Yes! Yes! Yes!  So...I will probably be back with him at some point this month.

Here's my food diary from yesterday:

Ugh!  I have the absolute worst time with pictures on my blog lol!  You can always just click on the picture though to bring up a larger version of the chart in full.  I think my sat. fat and cholesterol are cut off on the side lol!  Saturated fat for the day was 9 and cholesterol was 162.  I don't really track food a lot.  I know it helps, but it takes up too much time for me.  The only thing not listed is the Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning I used on the chicken breast.  The point is that I was doing GREAT until I went out to a sports bar last night.  I had a small order of cheese fries, which I assume was about the same as a large order from a fast food place.  I also had two 6 oz. amaretto sours.  Do you see the calorie count and carbs in those 2 drinks????  944 calories and 152 carbs...whoa!  This is why one of my goals for the year was finding ways to celebrate that do not involve drinking.  Anyway, since I don't track often I just thought it would be nice to share the one day I did track with you all.

Have a great day and keep it moving everyone!

Breathe Carolina - Blackout

Just Get Up and Go

First, I'm sorry that I have not been by a few of your blogs lately.  I just realized that for some reason all of the blogs I follow are not showing up on my dashboard.  I had just thought a few of you had not written anything recently.  I'm going to try and figure out what happened and find your blogs later tonight.

I have not blogged in a week.  I have not worked out in a week.  I really feel horrible.  I have gained weight over the past month.  I feel sluggish again. I just feel awful all the way around.  You can always tell when I slack off, because I disappear.  If I'm not exercising or eating better then I really have nothing to talk about on this blog.  Plus, I don't want to have to come on here and say I've done nothing, so I avoid it like the plague.

Well, today I was sitting feeling sorry for myself and I just snapped out of it.  It's not much, but I did some burpees before I came to work.  I also packed my clothes, so I can go to the gym when I get off.  I can't even pinpoint why I quit or drastically slacked off.  I was feeling great, confidence was up, clothes were too big, compliments were flowing in, my energy level was sky high, my skin looked fantastic...why would you give all that up?  I have no idea. 

So, I'm going back to the philosophy of day by day.  Each day I am just going to get up and force myself to do something.  I know initially I will not feel like it at all.  I will just have to make myself do.  Eventually, I'll feel the way I felt a month ago.  Until then I'll fake it until I make it lol!  Tomorrow I'm planning to begin C25K again.  I'm hoping I will still be able to begin where I left off, which was week 3, but we'll see.

I'm going to the grocery store in the morning to get healthy foods.  I love the grocery store.  I have no idea why, but I do.  I was looking up foods with fiber and I ran across some info about McDonald's oatmeal.

I got this info from here

I realize I made the pic too large for the blog template I use, but I wanted to make sure you could read the info.  Did this info shock anyone else?  I have never had their oatmeal, but everyone I know has told me how good it is.  So, I had always planned to try it.  I think the sugar surprised me the most.  I guess I'll be sticking to my steel-cut oatmeal.  

One of my favorite pics from Win, Lose, or Blog...I think Catherine posted this one, but I'm not 100% sure.  It is exactly what I need to read and remember right now.

Since it's almost Christmas I'm going to post Christmas songs.  The workout songs will be back once Christmas is over.  I LOVE this song!  I look forward to hearing it every year.  Yes, it's filled with cheesy awesomeness and I love it haha!

Wham! - Last Christmas

I Have to Do Better

First, the Win, Lose, or Blog before and after photos are up.
WLB Before and After Photos
I really don't think I look any different with regard to my size.  According to my cousin my pics look like the makeovers they do on the Today Show where they pull someone off the street and give them a makeover lol!  I have to admit she is right.  I took the first picture after a walk and I took the "after" photo on the way to church...instant makeover lol funny funny!

Wednesday and Thursday were exercise failures.  I had every intention of doing another c25k jog on Wednesday, but I was so sore.  So, I made plans to do it Thanksgiving morning when I got off.  I think we all know THAT did not happen.  I don't even know why I was so sore.  On Monday I jogged/walked for close to 50 minutes.  Tuesday I did the elliptical for 40 minutes and then I got on a bike for 15 minutes.  I was so freaking sore on Wednesday.  It felt like I had been lifting weights the day before.  I guess it happened because my legs were not used to the jogging I did on Monday???  Anyway, I was a bum Wednesday and Thursday.

I am proud of myself for not overeating on Thursday.  I tried a small amount of everything and I was full.  I did not go back for seconds, and to be honest I did not have much of a desire for anything sweet.  I did end of eating a piece of pumpkin bread though.  I had to wake up early in order to see my family, so I will be happy to get off in the morning and just crash.

I really need to come up with an exercise schedule for myself and stick to it.  It will probably be 3 jog days and 2 weight training days.  Oooh oooh oooh...I went to my mailbox the other day and I had the December issue of Oxygen.  At first I thought this was a mistake, then I forgot I signed up to get 2 free issues.  Let me backtrack a bit.  I have been a huge fan of Oxygen Magazine for about 5 years.  I literally have years of issues in my "workout room" at my house.  I would read them cover to cover (except the ads...not a fan of all the ads they have), and make plans to get started.  The getting started never really happened, but I just loved that magazine.  I was looking at this stack a little less than a year ago and decided to end my subscription and just recycle workouts from the old magazines.  Then about 2 months ago I saw an ad for 2 free issues, so I signed up.  Well, I had forgotten all about it.  So, I was thrilled to see the Dec issue in my mailbox.  It was so funny, because I had just read about another blogger doing an Oxygen strength training plan here.   Her blog inspired me to pick a plan from one of the old magazines.  I had decided to do one from their Jan 2010 issue.  Then I received this new issue.  There's a plan in this one that I'm going to try.  It has 21 exercises and I have the equipment to do them all at home!  You really have no idea how excited I am lol!  I did not mean to have such a long paragraph about Oxygen.  I'm a fan of muscle.  I don't like the extreme body builder look, but I do like some muscle definition.  Anyway, I'll let you all know how it goes.  I hope to try it out for the first time on Saturday.

Oh yeah, I was supposed to be talking about sticking to a schedule.  Gosh, I get off track quickly. I had originally thought about working out through the week and taking the weekend  (Saturday and Sunday) off.  I have more free time on the weekend though, so I'm not sure.   I am also considering taking Friday and Saturday off, because those are the days I am most likely to go out, and if I straighten my hair I hate messing it up by sweating lol!  I'm pretty sure I am going to shoot for working out 5 days a week.  I could do 6.  I've done 6 before and felt pretty good.  I just don't know.  I'll start with 5 and see what happens.

I'm supposed to be taking 6 week measurements on Saturday and I'm not excited AT ALL.  I think I have said this before every 6 week measure post though, so it's really nothing new haha!  I'll try to remember to take a new face photo too.  Anyway, have a great weekend everyone!

Flo Rida - Good Feeling

Just Catching Up

Today's post is just full of small updates

C25K
I have not started yet.  If I was going to give excuses I would say I've been tired.  The truth is that It has been 20 degrees outside when I have planned to go jogging and i just cannot bring myself to do it.  I have just started my off week, so now I'll be able to go jogging midday when it should be around 50 degrees.  50 is so much better than 20.  Therefore, I'm going jogging today no matter what.

New Wii Games
My best friend bought me the Your Shape Wii game.

Amazon Link to game

I'm excited to try this out.  I love my Wii and I easily get excited about new workout games.  This one is not new, but it is new to me, so I'm pumped.  I'll have to let you all know what I think about it later.

Also Zumba 2 is out.  It came out on Tuesday.  The reviews for it are really good and most people are saying it is much much better than the first one.  I already know the graphics are better, you can now pause in the middle of a routine, and you can make your own playlist (those were my 3 biggest complaints about the original game).  I think my sister will get it for me for Christmas.  Yay!
Zumba 2 Amazon Link


Nutrition
My food has been awesome the past couple of days, so I am really pleased about that.  This is the last week for WLB, so although my exercise has not been fantastic I'm glad my food has been on track.  I always feel so much better when I eat the right things.  I'm going to look online for a nice crockpot meal for today I think.

Misc
I'm planning to spend a good bit of the weekend watching holiday movies on The Hallmark Channel.  I have already looked at the lineup and some of my favorites will be on this weekend.  This is the first time all football season that I have no plans for Saturday.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do.  Maybe that's a good thing and I won't eat horrible bar food lol!  Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend!

Madagascar version of I Like to Move It

Fiber, Fiber, Everywhere

I don't have much to talk about today concerning exercise, so I'm going in a different direction today.  I'm a HUGE fan of fiber!  I know it sounds weird, but I really am.  This week I wanted to actively try to incorporate more fiber into my diet.  I always feel so much better when I am hitting my goal for fiber (25g).  It's great for choloesterol, blood sugar levels, and weight loss.  Don't believe me...check out an the following article below.
Mayo Clinic Fiber Article

You can find fiber in whole grains, nuts, veggies, and fruit.

Things I love with high fiber counts:

I always add extra raisins

a snack food for me...I carry them around in a ziplock bag and snack on them (I always eat my cereal dry.  I hate milk lol)



These taste like candy bars to me.  I buy large packs of these from Sams Club.

Another Fiber One product that I really like

I LOVE WAFFLES...I wish the ones with added fiber came with blueberries already mixed in

I've been eating the apples and cinnamon oatmeal since I was little.  I thought I would hate the reduced sugar, but I actually really like it and I keep this stocked in my house.

I probably get most of my fiber in by eating fruit or Fiber One products.

More Rambling...I'm Quite Good at Rambling lol

So....we lost.  6-9 in overtime.  The good news is that we are still #3, so there is a chance we can still go to the championship game!  No worries, I'm not going to go into a football rant lol!

For those who don't know, I am in Tuscaloosa, AL.  In April we were hit by a MONSTER tornado (stick with me...I promise I have a reason for mentioning this).  It destroyed a good bit of the city, including a place almost everyone here loves to eat at, Taco Casa. 

The top pic is before the tornado and the bottom pic is the exact same location afterwards.  If you look on the right side in the top pic you can see Taco Casa's building.  You can also see it's completely gone in the bottom pic.

Well, after 6 months they finally reopened their main building.  I HAD to go.  Well, it made me sick.  You see I have been eating better lately.  This is not the first time this has happened to me.  It happened with fried chicken a few weeks ago.  I'm not pleased at all it happened with one of my favorites places though.  I ordered a beef burrito and felt HORRIBLE after I ate it.  I thought I had a stomach virus or something, but it was just the grease I suppose.  I wonder if things would have gone better if I had ordered it with chicken instead.  I think I would cry if I could never eat at Taco Casa again.  I know each of you has to have some hometown favorite spot to eat.  So, on one hand I am glad to realize that I have made major changes to my nutrition.  On the other, I HAVE to find something I can eat there lol!

I weighed in and I'm not 100% pleased...maybe 85%.  I had gained about 4 lbs during TOM.  I lost 3 of that 4.  I know it could be worse.  So, I'm not complaining too much.  There are only 2 weeks left in WLB and I'm hoping to really make them count.  I had wanted to drop 10 lbs, but it does not look like that is going to happen.  That's alright though.  It was an ambitious goal for me to begin with knowing my average loss per week.  I can still come pretty close though.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do for a workout today.  Well, I just lied.  I looked at my list of options from Sam and I just picked one. 
       
           (x2)
High Knees for 2 min
1 min Mountain Climbers
20 Thrusters 
20 Leg Lifts

Jumping Jacks for 2 min
30 sec Squats w/ Pulse
20 non-modified Pushups
20 Wall Balls

Jog in place for 2 min
15 Alligator Walk  (words cannot express how much I hate this exercise..it is absolutely the hardest thing Sam has ever made me do and definitely my least favorite)
1  min Burpees
20 Squats

I want to go to a zumba class today at 3:30, but we'll see.  I have a test tomorrow and a 16 page paper due next Monday.  Zumba will depend on how much progress I make on my school work.

Oh, I can't remember if I let you all know or not, but I finally had to give the Insanity dvds back last week.  I'm not happy about it.  I really liked them.  Plus, the co-worker has not used them at all.  He has not even attempted to use them.  Okay, okay...I realize they were never mine to begin with, and I sound like a pouting child, but I want them back haha!  I guess I'll either have to save to buy my own or put it on my Christmas list along with the new Zumba on Wii that comes out sometime this month.  According to my sister I need to put new clothes on my Christmas list, because I'm still wearing clothes that are too big and she declares that sometimes I look a "hot mess" lol! 

I almost forgot.  I received a Versatile Blogger award.  So I have to tell you 7 things about myself and give the award to 15 other bloggers.  At the moment, I'm not even sure I follow 15 active bloggers and I know a few of them have already done this.  Some of the links will not be "traditional" blogs.  A few are tumblr sites that I just really like to look at.

1. I bite my nails...not a good habit and I'm hoping to change this
2. I love really good hummus dip.  I mean REALLY love it.
3. I'm obsessed with Christmas.
4. I love scented candles.
5. I have cracked my sternum before...not a pleasant experience AT ALL
6. I hate to work out in front of people
7. I'm a sucker for Hallmark movies

Blogs:
Win, Lose, or Blog (motivation, weight loss, giveaways, competition, etc)
Fitness For the Rest of Us (weight loss, reviews, giveaways)
Avery and Winslow (crafting)
Runs for Cookies (maintaining weight loss, running)
Changing from Fat to Fit (running, weight loss, fitness, etc)
Gina's Skinny Recipes (recipes)
Carbie Girl (weight loss)
Endurance Isn't Only Physical (running)
Girl with Curves (fashion)
Millie's Blog (another client of Sam's) (weight loss, running, triathalons)
365 Weighs (she has not posted in awhile, but it's still good stuff)
Finding Myself While Losing Myself (weight loss)
Fat Girl in a Skinny World (weight loss)
Pril's Place (fashion)
Hourglass Red (weight loss)

There is also a giveaway going on for one more day at Changing from Fat to Fit, so stop by and enter.  Sorry for the super late notice.

I love this song when I'm jogging.
Janelle Monae - Tightrope

Plan for the Weekend

Yesterday, I was a cardio day.  So here's what I did:
42 min on treadmill.
-10 min warmup
-alternating 3 min on incline and 2 min flat (I started with a 5% incline then 6%, 7%, 8%, 7%, 6%)
Went to the track and walked a 15 minute mile
Elliptical for 30 min

I had planned to do at least an hour using the inclines and I wanted to go all the way up to a 12% incline, because I had done that with Sam once, but I just couldn't make it.  The day I did the 12% with him it was part of a lot of other things, so I was on the treadmill for about 5 minutes and he gradually took me to the 12% incline and I stayed there for 3 minutes and then came back down and went to weights.  I remember thinking how good that was for my legs, so that's why I wanted to do something similar yesterday.  I did not do exactly what I wanted to do, but I still got in a good workout.

Since I didn't hit the 60 minutes I wanted to do (my calves and thighs were really at a breaking point) I decided to hit the track.  Walking a 15 minute mile for me is fast walking.  I was planning to stop after this, but I was on an exercise high at this point.  The endorphins had kicked in, so I looked for something else to do and saw the elliptical empty.  I did 30 min on it, and I honestly wanted to do something else, but I decided not to over-do it.

Today this is what I'm planning:
        (x3)
50 Jumpimg Jacks
40 Squats
30 Push-Ups
20 Leg Lifts
10 Burpees
50 Mountain Climbers
40 Lunges
30 Curl to Press
20 Tricep Dips
10 V-Ups

Hopefully, I'll do this as soon as I finish catching up with things online.  A friend told me about a website for core exercises.  The site is Random Abs.  There is no sign up or anything...just go there everyday and get a new core workout.  They also have links to show you how to do each exercise in case you are not familiar with the names.  I'm going to give it a try.

This weekend I'm really going to have to watch it.  Bama is playing LSU, so there will probably be 2-3 bars in my future this weekend.  In case you are not a college football fan like I am, it's a HUGE game!  In my opinion and according to the rankings we are the best two teams in the nation.  It's a shame we are in the same conference and this isn't the national championship game.  The game is Saturday and ESPN has been here since Wednesday and filming live since Thursday.  I was so excited to see the Gameday guys yesterday as I was coming from class.  Roll Tide!
ESPN UA/LSU Commercial

Back to something fitness related lol!  I'm going to have to give away this extra Halloween candy.  I cannot even tell you how many Blow Pops I have eaten.  I'm planning to take it to my parents and they will probably take it to our church to give to the kids there.  I have no idea what I'm going to eat today.  I need to go grocery shopping and I need to plan out my list ahead of time, so I won't stray from it.  So far, I've still been doing a good job avoiding the candy and cookie aisle.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I won't get any blogging done again until Sunday or Monday, so I hope everyone has a great weekend!


David Guetta ft Usher - Without You

It Pays to Read Labels

It is getting cooler here and for me that means a quilt, movies, and hot chocolate on my couch! 

This is exactly what I did earlier this week.  I was planted on the couch drinking my second cup of hot chocolate when I decided to read the label.  I was shocked.  First, let me say that I love hot chocolate.  I think the brand I use is absolutely the best, which is why I was on my second cup lol!  On the other hand, they range from 120-160 calories...yes...160 freaking calories for a cup of hot chocolate.  I probably have 20 of these in my pantry.  So, what's a hot chocolate addict to do?  I guess I'm just going to have a cup sporadically, because I'm not willing to give it up just yet.

Also, yesterday I did not feel like leaving the house, so it was going to be the Wii or a dvd for exercise.  I decided on a dvd.  I thought "try something you have not done in awhile."  So this led me to Tae Bo.  It's a really old dvd, but it was great!  I still can't kick like so many of the people in the video, but I got it done.  I always find it amusing when they quit (mostly the people in the back).  This dvd really kicks butt and now I remember why so many people lost weight doing Tae Bo.

My internet connection is ridiculously slow right now, so there's no song today.  I hope you all have a wonderful day!