Day 102: Weekly Weigh-In

I think I'm going to prefer having meetings on Friday nights instead of Mondays. It just makes the week go by more smoothly. And today, for example, I was able to eat conservatively throughout the day so I could enjoy pizza for dinner with friends this evening. I don't know why, but it's some kind of mind game with me.

This week: -0.8lbs.
Total: -14.4lbs.

I must say that I feel like this loss isn't completely deserved. I only tracked my food points once this week and I haven't been exercising at all. Again, it's some kind of mind game. I just have to make a decision that I'm going to get disciplined like I was at the beginning of Weight Watchers and I'm going to make myself do it.

This is my week, I tell you! I'm going to get back to tracking the points...my Weight Watchers app on my iPhone is getting an update as I type this.

It's crunch time...8 weeks until my wedding. I don't want to try and do a crash diet for my wedding and then do whatever I want once the wedding is over, though. I want to continue my plan even into my marriage and continue to move toward a healthier body and lifestyle. But one thing that's really important to me is that I want to feel pretty on my wedding day. I don't want to worry about the size of my arms in every picture I'm taking, or wonder what I look like from behind while I'm reciting my vows. None of it is about that....and I want to do what I can right now to make sure I'm not so concerned about all of that.

So my goal for this week is to seriously get back on track. The hem-hawing around is over. Right now.

Day 101: A Surprise Date!

Shortblog tonight because I'm on my phone.

Date Night is every Friday night and this week we were kind of at a loss as to what to do. We finally settled on putt putt golfing, but neither of us was super excited about the idea.

But Adam called me today and said we had a change in plans and I should wear outside clothes. I kind of thought we would end up at a carnival or something until I hopped in his car and he told me we were going to a Peoria Chiefs baseball game!

I love baseball games....so needless to say I was really excited.

The game was muggy, but a lot of fun. We had a really good time. I'll let you in on a little secret: I act like I hate when he surprises me, but I think deep down I really love it!

Day 100!!

Well, it's official! My daily blogging life has lasted 100 days! And I've only technically missed 2 of them (according to my count!).

I'll admit sometimes the blogging life can get a little boring. There have been days where I simply didn't know what to write about or how to convey it.

But I pushed through (case in point: Day 95).....some posts weren't as good as others, but that's okay.

I just want to thank everyone for stopping by to read the blog every day...or several days at a time. It means a lot to know that people care that much about what's going on in my life.

This fitness journey has been a series of ups and downs, but I'm glad to say that writing this, I'm lighter and more fit than I was on Day 1 way back in March.

But I feel like over the last 100 days I have gotten a sense of how to eat healthy (I don't always choose to do that), and how to push myself physically when it comes to exercise (I don't always do that, either).

Now comes the tricky part...I know HOW to get where I want to be; I just have to figure out how to discipline myself to actually GO there!

Self-discipline is hard for most people, I think. It's easier to follow rules if someone else makes them and expects you to obey. But establishing rules for yourself is tougher because there's no accountability. If I tell myself that I'm not going to eat junk food for an entire month that's great....but who's going to be there to throw down the consequences when I break that rule?

So maybe the next 100 days can be a journey of self-discipline...and figuring out exactly how to put all of my knowledge about good health into practice.

Thanks again for reading, and I hope you keep stopping by! The daily blog is supposed to go for 6 months, which means I have a little less than 3 months left....

Day 99: Wedding Wednesday

The count down is on! Only 59 days until I marry a man who is better than I could have ever dreamed....

I am so excited!

Plans are still coming together perfectly.

I have so many people working so hard to help me out with everything:

My friend (and bridesmaid) Amanda and I got together this week and made a bunch of beautiful hair accessories for all the girls to wear.

My sister is putting together a personal shower for me, and dealing with all of the rigamarole associated with that.

My Aunts are planning me a bridal shower that I'm so excited about.

Out of the blue I was informed that some ladies from Adam's church wanted to throw me a shower.

My cousin Karie is custom making the most beautiful wedding invitations I've ever seen.

And I'm just sitting back with my feet perched on the desk, having a good old time.

Well, not really. But I do delight in having so many people help me out with so many different aspects of the wedding. I'm actually able to enjoy the planning and not feel like I'm too stressed.

I've been focusing this week on details and little pretties I can get to make the wedding even more lovely.

So thanks to everyone who is lending their support and help right now...it means the world and I'm so grateful for you all!

Day 98: Tuesday Treasures

So, normally I do my "Weekly Weigh-In" on Tuesdays because it's the day after my Weight Watchers meeting and it's the time when I can update everyone with my progress.

BUT

My mom and I have decided that Monday night Weight Watcher meetings just aren't working out for us. Even if I have a really good week, if I mess up on the weekends it shows on the scale on Monday. But if we were to go later in the week I'd be able to make up for those weekend slip-ups by working out a little harder during the week.

SO

We decided that we're going to go to Friday afternoon meetings instead. This does not give us a license to eat whatever we please on the weekends (I know I still need to do better and be more disciplined). But it will at least afford us the opportunity of relaxing on the weekends and not spending Sunday nights moping around because we don't want to go to our meeting the next day (I keep saying "we", but I think the real problem is just myself...sorry, Mom.).

So the Weekly Weigh-In post will now be on Saturdays. Which means I have an opening for a topic on Tuesdays.

I've decided that Tuesdays blogs will not be about weight loss or wedding stuff necessarily. I just want to use it to share some little gems I've found...whether it's a new product I found at the store, a new website, or just some new information. And I'll call them Tuesday Treasures.

Our first Tuesday Treasure is a site I've come across while doing some detail planning for the wedding. Etsy.com is a site where artisans can put their handmade crafts on the web and sell them.

You can find everything on there from jewelry to clothing, to wedding supplies and, toys, vintage items, music, and the list goes on and on.

Some of the stuff is terribly over priced...but some of the stuff is VERY inexpensive! I've been considering buying a dress I found for $195, but I was mortified by that price tag. I really didn't want to spend that much. I'm not sure that I've ever spent that much on a dress. So I did some searching on Etsy and found one that's similar, but better, for less than half that price! I'm very excited, and I'm working with the seller right now to figure out colors and everything so she can make the dress CUSTOM for me!

I would highly recommend checking out this site if you like unique, pretty, handmade items. You won't be disappointed.

Day 97: Champion Chow - SOBE!

I usually try to drink water, rather than sugary juices or teas. But sometimes you just need a little something more. Enter, Sobe Lifewater.
This stuff is a delicious drink that will satisfy your sweet craving and prevent you from grabbing raiding the fridge for a soda. The best part: They have 0 calories and 0 artificial sweeteners!

My Aunt Janine introduced me to these wonderful little morsels several months ago, and I've been hooked ever since. Now, when it comes to fruity drinks, I have a little bit of a picky palate. So there are a few flavors that I'm not too crazy about. But there are several that I absolutely love. My favorite is Fuji Apple Pear, followed closely by Mango Melon and Yumberry Pomegranate (I'm not sure that I've ever come across a Yumberry in real life, but I imagine they're amazing).

Sometimes you can find Sobe Lifewater on sale at Target or Wal-Mart for $1 apiece. I've even seen them at Target before for $1 and if you bought 10 of them, they have you a $5 gift card! If you don't find them on sale, you can expect to pay about $1.50 each for them, which is okay if you're only buying a couple, I guess.

They're definitely worth checking out.

Alternatively, if you want a little more flavor bang for your caloric buck, Sobe does have some options with fuller flavors and only a few calories. The Agave Lemonade is my absolute favorite. It has a refreshing, almost Sprite-like flavor. They also have an Orange-Tangerine that is delicious. These bottles contain about 40 calories per serving and each bottle has about 2 1/2 servings in it. So you're talking 100 Calories for the entire bottle (still only 2 Points). I tried to put a photograph on here of these bottles, but it's not working. The 0 Calorie bottles have white labels, though, and the ones with calories have colored labels. Agave Lemonade is green and Orange Tangerine is orange (obviously).

One tip I learned from Janine: these drinks make great frozen drinks! Just stick the bottle in the freezer (I would say no more than an hour). And your drink turns a little slushy. In my opinion, the 0 calorie drinks don't slush as well as the others. They tend to freeze more into one whole ice cube....but perhaps that could be remedied by freezing it for a shorter amount of time.

However you take 'em, they come highly recommended and they're delicious!

Day 96: Summertime Marinated Veggies

Sorry this blog is so late being posted....my blog site was experiencing outages in select areas (I guess I was "select") on Sunday and Monday, so it's Tuesday now...today is really Sunday's blog. And don't count it against me as misssing a day because I had it all ready to go...I just wasn't able to post.

My mom always makes marinated vegetables as a side dish in the summertime. It's cool and refreshing and healthy. Here's the super-simple recipe!

Ingredients:

Whatever veggies you want (carrots, cauliflower, bell peppers, onion, cucumber, etc.)...enough to fill a large mixing bowl when chopped.

1/2c. Olive Oil

1/8c. Cider Vinegar

1/8c. Sugar (or Splenda)

Salt and Pepper

Whatever seasonings you like (I used a couple of tablespoons of Italian Seasoning)

Directions:

Slice all the veggies and mix them in the bowl.

Mix all the marinade ingredients together and pour over veggies.

Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours or more.

Serve cold.

You can mix it up with the seasonings...try garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, or ginger, for example. The possibilities are endless.

Day 95: A Fitness Limerick

There once was a girl with a blog

She spent her week being a hog

Her elliptical she tried

But it squeaked and it cried

She should have just gone for a jog.

Day 94: Survival Strategies.....The MONTHLY!

Ok, ladies....I have recently become very open and honest on this blog (VERY open and honest)....and I figured we might as well continue with this trend.

I want to know how you incorporate healthy living into your monthly cycle.

For me, it seems like I start getting really, really hungry all the time....for junk food about a week before my period starts. And I continue craving this food all the way through the period. During this time I can eat and eat and never feel satisfied. It seems like that's an awfully long time to be eating so much unhealthy food.

And during the period I usually get moderately painful cramps. Cramps that make me tired and take away any desire to exercise at all.

So basically, if I catch myself on a month when I'm not disciplined (like this month), I'm eating whatever the crap I want to shove into my mouth for 2 weeks straight and not exercising for at least 4 days or so.

That just can't continue if I want to lose weight.

I'm sure that these symptoms are real. I know taht a lot of women deal with PMS and other symptoms leading up to and during their periods. But I think sometimes I like to cling to that excuse as a crutch to eat whatever I want and to do whatever I want.

I've always joked that there are a lot of women who use PMS as an excuse to be cranky to whomever they please. But now I realize that I'm the pot and they're the kettle.....I use PMS as an excuse to eat.

Nobody ever said you have to give in to every craving that enters your brain. I'm not going to die if I don't allow myself to have that King Size Snickers bar that's calling my name in the grocery checkout.

I know from personal experience that exercising and being active helps to minimize or alleviate menstrual cramps....so why can't I make myself do it?

Does anybody else have any ways they conquer their "monthly"?

Day 93: Same Ol' Same Ol'

Last week was a great exercise week for me. I worked out 4 times in the morning and then did a weights workout on the days when I didn't do a "real" workout. I really liked that system. I was getting out of bed early and taking care of it in the morning, and then feeling great all day.

But this week my exercise has taken a back seat to sleeping, cramping, bloating, and blah. I can tell a difference, too. I don't feel as energetic and lively during the day if I don't get in that exercise.

I have to remember this when the alarm clock goes off and my bed is so comfy and warm. It pays off in the long run to get up and get it done (I resisted using the popular Larry the Cable Guy saying here because, well, I think it's obnoxious).

So wish me luck...hopefully now that the monthly stuff is coming to an end, I'll have some more energy to get up and go in the mornings.

Day 92: Wedding Wednesday

There haven't been too many developments with the wedding planning in the past week because everything is pretty much together.

I did drive about 20 minutes out of my way to another town to see a guy about chairs, which ended up being about $1 more than I thought they would be for each chair. AND to add insult to injury, I realized he had lured me there hoping to entice a bride into renting a bunch of wedding crap from his wife's fledgling wedding business. That was more than a little frustrating. If I'm there to look at chairs, don't try to sell me table linens, pillars, back drops, hooks, candles, center pieces, lamps, out door lighting, signs, and everything else you can think of that I might possibly need as someone who is planning a wedding. Oy! Needless to say, we went with a different company for our chairs, and they will end up being $100 less or so....plus I don't have to worry about pushy salespeople.

I also bought a bunch of feathers, much to my groom's chagrin.....The wedding has a peacock theme, and how can you do a peacock theme without some peacock feathers? They'll be here soon and we'll start figuring out what we're going to do with them. One bridesmaid and I already have plans for several of them....but I'm not telling.

We made arrangements for our cruise add-ons, too. We bought a soda package (that is ridiculous, in my opinion, that you should have to pay for soda when you're paying that much for the cruise, but we'll enjoy the trip anyway....and you better believe that souvenir cup will not be leaving our side the entire time. We also decided that we're going to give snorkeling a try. I'm really excited about that. I think it will be fun. And as Adam said, the minimum age is 6 for the snorkeling adventure....so if a 6 year old can do it, I'm sure we can, too!

I think that's about all the updates I have this week....everything is coming together beautifully, and I can't wait!

Day 91: Weekly Weigh-In

My mom and I skipped Weight Watchers last Monday, so we went and weighed in on Friday instead. We have to stop skipping these meetings just because we know what the scale is going to say. It's counterproductive to manipulate the program like that.

We decided we're not skipping anymore meetings until after my wedding.....

But regardless of our delinquency, and in spite of my monthly (as my cousin Katy likes to say),
This week: -0.6lbs.
Total: -13.6lbs.

So, that's good news. I still want to lose another 16.3lbs before my wedding. I think I can do it if I make myself stick with the program a little while longer.

Day 90: Fiddlesticks!

I feel terrible for missing yesterday's blog. I should have done it in the morning when I was home, but I spent all my time cleaning house. Then I went over to Springfield for a family get together. And then back to my parents' place because Adam is in town visiting. The only problem is, they have used up all of their Internet for the month, so they are operating at a slower than dial-up speed. I don't really understand how their Internet works over there, but if you want to know more about it you can ask my dad; he loves coming up with new analogies to try to explain it.

So today is Memorial Day. We're going to do our traditional family cookout with the Gorbett side, then Adam and I are heading over to Springfield to hang out with the Jeffers side for a while since they haven't spent much time with him. I figure it's important for them to get to know him since he's going to be my husband and all.....

I'm going to try really hard not to overeat today. I don't have to keep eating all day long, but I can focus on enjoying the company rather than having to have a plate of food in front of me at all times.

Sorry for the short blog again today....I'll be back on track tomorrow. I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day.

And I would like to thank you to anyone who has served our country in any way. Your service to our country makes it possible for us to enjoy the luxuries we often take for granted.

Day 88: A Personal Question

Ladies, as most of you know this wedding planning stuff has been a breeze for me. Everything is flying into place and we've managed to stay organized through the entire process and I'm really not worried about anything wedding-related.

However, one issue has really gotten me stressed, worried, upset, and freaked out.....Birth Control!

I've never practiced any kind of birth control before because, well, I've never had a reason to. And once we're married Adam and I are looking forward to having children...probably a lot of children. But we would both like to get a handle on being husband and wife before we start to throw children in the mix. We also want to be in a better financial place because we would like for me to stay at home once kids come in to the picture. So we want to wait at least a little while before we have a baby.

The problem is we're finding a ton of conflicting information and it's all really overwhelming.

Our convictions are that life begins as soon as an egg is fertilized by a sperm, which would rule out many (if not most) popular forms of birth control. From my understanding, birth control pills typically have 3 mechanisms in which they prevent pregnancy: first, they decrease the possibility of ovulation, so that an egg can't be fertilized by sperm, secondly, they change the cervical fluid so that it is impossible for the sperm to reach the egg, and failing those two mechanisms, the pill prevents an already fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. That's where we have a problem. We do not believe it is okay to destroy an already fertilized egg. So we need another option.

Because of that, I started looking into Natural Family Planning and the Fertility Awareness Method. With these methods, there is no need to take any medications or use any contraceptive devices regularly because you pay attention to your body's signals and determine when it is safe to have unprotected sex. The problem is that this method requires copious attention to detail and charting. We only have 2 months until our wedding and I've never kept track of my cycle before, so I'm nervous about determining the way my cycle works with only two months of charting to use as a sample. I'm not sure that my limited experience in charting would be enough to determine my regularity, and to ensure that I'm observing the signals properly. So that has me super nervous.....I mean, really, super nervous!

So we found a website that is written by Christian people who hold the same convictions as we do. They say that there are in fact some birth control medications that prevent the woman from ovulating at all so that there is no chance of an egg being fertilized. And they provided a list of pills that would be "okay" to take, according to them.

The problem is, you can't believe everything you read on the Internet. And we don't just want to read one article on one website and determine our course of action from there.

So I'm wondering if any of my lady friends have struggled with this issue before. Does anyone practice natural family planning or the fertility method? What's it like? Does anyone take any kind of birth control? What should I expect with that?

We're just kind of at a loss and we're at a point now where we really need to make a decision either way. So I'm really wanting some advice and some information from women who have been there before.

I have an appointment with my doctor to talk about all of this next week, but I still want to hear from some other women about their experience with their method of choice.

Once again, thanks for reading and responding. It means a lot to me!

Day 87: Survival Strategies - Cruise Food!

So I think most of you know by now that we'll be heading on a cruise to the Bahamas for our honeymoon.

I've heard horror stories about cruise food...how great it tastes, how they have such a variety, how it's available.....ANY TIME YOU WANT IT!

I'm not going to spend every waking hour fretting about how many calories I'm eating, but I also don't want to come back 15 pounds heavier!

Do any of you seasoned cruisers have any advice for me while we're away?

Day 86: The Early Bird Sweats Less

So I've gotten up twice this week an hour early to workout. I have to say, it feels really good to know that I've started off my day by burning some calories. And it's extra special to me because I can go throughout the day knowing that I've already completed that task and I don't have to fit it into my schedule.

The only problem is I HATE getting out of bed in the mornings. I mean hate it. Almost as much as I hate beans. My bed is so comfortable. And sleep is so good. I just have to absolutely force myself to take off those covers and hop to it.

I think I'm going to stick with my 3 day per week early rising workout schedule for now. Then I want to get in 1 or 2 additional workouts during the weekend.

Actually, I should say that I've done morning time workouts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays I would like to get in a workout with my weights in the evenings. I think this will help me to get a better toned and build some muscle.

When do you guys prefer to exercise? Do you find that it's a better time for you in the mornings when the temperature is a little cooler and you can take care of it first thing? Or do you prefer to wait until later in the day when you've had a chance to wake up and go through an entire day of work so you can come home and use your workout to give you an extra jolt of energy to make it through the evening?

I think I'm starting to kinda like these morningtime workouts. The only part I hate is that first five minutes where I'm trying to convince myself to get my butt out of bed!

Day 85: Wedding Wednesday

Today I can talk about a topic I'm actually excited about, rather than a topic that's been riddled with guilt and shame....I'm slightly joking...sort of.

But I do get excited about discussing my wedding with everyone. I'm really looking forward to the wedding, but more importantly I'm looking forward to spending the rest of my life with Adam!!

Let me tell you what has happened since last week:
I received a contract for my chairs, only find out that the bill was going to be 66% more than the quote I had been given (nobody bothered to tell me about the delivery charge).

So we're going with a different chair company; I'm going to see some chairs tomorrow and the total bill should be much cheaper than that!

I also met with my florist and I'm very excited about my beautiful flowers! I'm getting exactly what I wanted and I think the flowers make me even happier than my dress! What's even better is that we're going to come in at around half the amount we budgeted!!

Right now we're dealing with our guest list which has become a thorn in our sides lately. We originally said we wanted to have a very small wedding with just immediate family and a few close friends. But I keep thinking of people I feel like I should invite and so the list just keeps growing. Finally I just called my mom and she talked me down. She helped me figure out who I really wanted to be there and who would have to wait for the reception. I just hate to hurt anyone's feelings, but we just don't have the space for 300 people in my parents' yard! So we're working it out. I'm sure there will be a few tweaks here and there, but I think we're pretty set on a total of about 130 people or so, and then many, many more at our receptions.

I've also reserved a block of hotel rooms for our out-of-town guests at a hotel that's only about 10 minutes from my parents' house, so that's exciting.

So that's the haps for now. Thanks for checking in!

I'm so grateful that things are coming together so smoothly for us. It almost seems like it's too good to be true, but I love the way things are falling into place.

Day 84: Weeky Weigh-In

I'm sick of coming on here to make a post and having to confess all of my sins to you guys. I apologize that the blog has been a little bit of a downswing lately.

My mom and I skipped our meeting last night because neither of us had stellar weeks. So we've decided that there's no more crapping around. We are sticking with the program and staying serious about it until at least after Rachel's wedding...hopefully after mine.

I haven't even weighed myself lately, but I'm sure I'm up a pound or two from last week. That's really disappointing and I hate to even have to look at those words as I type them.

But we're getting back on track and staying disciplined with it. I would be so disappointed if my wedding got here and I had gained all of my weight back, or even not lost anymore. Eleven weeks is a long time and there's a lot of weight loss that can happen in that short time. My goal is to have a total of 30 pounds lost by the time my wedding rolls around, which means I have 17 pounds to go from my weight last week.

I'm confident I can do it as long as I get disciplined and make myself behave. It's tough. And it's more fun to eat cheeseburgers and french fries. But my body is going to thank me if I can make healthier choices and become a healthier person.

Day 83: Champion Chow -- Grapefruit

What's better on a hot day than a cold, juicy grapefruit? That was my breakfast this morning, and that is my blog topic today.

Did you know that grapefruits are so named because when they're growing on trees they hang in clusters, like bunches of grapes?

We've all heard the rumors about so-called Negative Calorie Foods. These foods, including grapefruit, are said to require more calories to burn them than it they are actually worth. This may be true on the surface, but that doesn't mean that eating 14 grapefruits a day along with your normal regimen of deep-fried grease and sugar-filled glazed cream jelly donughts will result in weight loss.

Obviously, grapefruit and other vegetables and fruits are astronomically better for you than a hot fudge sundae. But don't count on eating crap, then compensating for it by eating other foods that will burn more calories because it just doesn't work that way.

This is particularly true if you're like me and you can't resist pourin' some sugar on your grapefruit. Just a teaspoon or so per half, to give it a little sweetness and crunch.

In addition to being super low in calories, grapefruit is also high in vitamins like Vitamin C.

Be careful of grapefruit juices and juice cocktails, though. There's a reason why the grapefruit juice is mysteriously so much sweeter than a grapefruit itself. Fruit juices and especially juice cocktails are loaded with extra sugar that pretty much cancels out any nutrition you'd be getting from the fruit.

If you want more information on the myth of Negative Calorie Foods, click HERE.

Day 82: Shortie

Well today was yet another crazy chaotic day. And this whole week is already booked up for me! I'll be looking forward to when my life settles down again and I can take a breather.

Once again I have no recipe for you today. All I have is to offer sincere congratulations to my brother and all of his friends who graduated from MacArthur High School today. He has a great group of friends and I'm glad they all got to celebrate together.