Weigh In, Rejoining Weight Watchers, and 28 day challenge

So, here's some news:
1. I rejoined weight watchers with two of my roommates, Bri and Anna.
2. I maintained ALL summer, which I am super stoked about, although I would have liked to lose instead. I ate like crap so Im amazed that I maintained.
3. Antishay's 28 day challenge is going well so far. =)

One of my goals for my 28 day challenge is drinking at least 80 oz of water a day. So far I have managed to accomplish this most days. Last night I actually had to get out of bed because I was craving water so much! Which is weird, because normally Id be wanting a soda or tea or something like that. But, I had been drinking water all day, so my body is wanting more and more of it. Anyway, I <3 water. I always have, Ive just also really loved diet soda just as much, haha

Ill try to update again later =)

Shanti's 28 Day Challenge

I logged onto Youtube today and saw that Shanti (antishay) has posted a video. Shes doing a 28 day challenge and Im totally stoked! Its just what I need. You are supposed to pick small goals to obtain during the challenge. I think most people are picking one, but I think I will do two. I havent posted my video response yet but Im totally going to. I think doing my own challenge was too stressful for me and this one isnt intimidating at all, so I feel confident that I can do it.
My Goals are as follows:

1. Drink More Water
(At least 80 oz a day)

2. Track EVERYTHING, EVERY day.

If you havent checked her video out yet you totally should =)

Im gonna use this blog to check my progress, so expect more posts from me!

Day One- Doing it Right Challenge

Today went alright. I was much more busy and rushed than I thought I would be, so that messed up my planning a bit. But, it was definitely much better than I have been doing. I went to a Mary Kay party at my friend's house and that was the biggest fail of the day. Calorie wise, I think I did alright today, but I basically wasted my lunch on snacks at the party. I think finger food and stuff like that is one of my biggest challenges.
As far as eating clean goes, I did okay. Not perfect, but much less processed than I have been eating. Progress is what is important to me. As long as every day (or at least almost every day) is a little bit better than the day before that, then I feel like I am accomplishing something.
Im so excited for the benefits of this new lifestyle. I went a whole day without feeling any symptoms of my IBS and didnt feel bloated at all (even after the snacking, haha).
Im still working on the no soda thing. I always cave with diet drinks, because I make the excuse that it's not compromising my weight loss, which is really bullshit.

Anyway, I really feel inspired and excited still. I think part of it is keeping yourself excited. For me that means a lot of reading materials and documentaries on netflix, lol. I need to go to the library and stock up on some nutrition books to peruse.

Speaking of Nutrition, Im really excited to start my new semester at school. I am taking Community Nutrition and Food and Culture in the US. Im super excited about the second one. Hopefully these classes will also help keep me inspired.

Hope everyone is having a good week. If you still read this, let me know please. Sometimes I feel like Im talking to myself, haha. Even if I am, I suppose it doesnt really matter. It helps me stay motivated, and that's the important part.

Excitement

I am totally on fire for weight loss. For a long time I have wanted to start easing myself into a "clean" diet. I read Tosca Reno's "The Eat Clean Diet" about 7 months ago and fell in love with it, but have not been financially stable enough until recently to do it. I am not completely following what she recommends, only because I am trying to take baby steps towards it. I dont want to overwhelm myself and cause myself to fail.
I am also doing a challenge on youtube with one of my yt friends, which includes eating a much less processed diet. I plan on at least eating 2 clean meals of the day, and really striving to completely be clean, but that's for another challenge, lol.
I feel passionate and on fire for weight loss again. I feel amazing and like anything is possible for me. I know I am capable of doing this. I want this. Not just for weight loss, but I love the idea of clean eating. It's what we were meant to do. Humans were not made to eat processed crap. I have been having some health issues the past couple of years and Im convinced a lot of it is because of my terrible diet.

Anyway, I am ridiculously excited to see how this next month goes. Ill try to update as often as I can.

Thanks to anyone who is still reading this thing =DD

Food Blogging?

When I first started this blog I was using it to record what i had eaten each day. I think I will probably be starting to do that again soon. Even if no one is reading this, I know it will still help me to put this out there. On August 1st I will be starting a new challenge on my youtube channel, While I obviously havent started my non processed challenge yet, I am doing a bit better than I have been the last couple months.

Speaking of the challenge, I will basically be attempting to eating 75% non processed foods each day. I know it is unrealistic for me to think I can dive into this and go all the way with it, so I am taking some small steps. Find me on youtube (LindseyBrooke27) if you wanna join along with me and my fellow youtuber, BlessedMommy21. If you wanna join please make a response to one of our videos, they should be up by Friday. =D

So far today I have eaten the following:

1 cup Rice Krispies with less than 1/2 cup of 1 % milk

Sante Fe and Rice Smart Ones meal

1 snickerdoodle cookie

That's all so far! Ill update later!

Change.

I really need to make some changes, and not just so that I can lose weight. For the past couple of months I have mainly maintained. I did manage to get to 159, but I feel HORRIBLE. I have been eating shit. There's no other way to describe it other than that. Just complete shit.
My body is reacting in a lot of terrible ways. My acne is acting up, my stomach is bloated to hell (even though Im the same weight), Im tired ALL the time even after sleeping for hours, and Im just generally feeling depressed. And its ALL because of the food. It really is. Its really amazing how much of an affect it can have on you.
I want to just eat natural things. Im sick of this crap I am putting into my body. knowing me, I probably will not go completely natural ever, because I just dont have the time to devote to it. But I am going to be making a real effort this time. Its time to get to basics. I need this. I dont want to feel pulled down by chemicals and crap anymore. I want to feel clean, which is going to be a huge change for me. I grew up on a standard american diet, and it has definitely carried over into my adult life. I have to do this. I dont want to keep hurting my body and being miserable.

Its time to make a change. For real this time.

Getting Motivated again..

For the past month I have really been slacking off. I had birthdays and moving and now I am FINALLY feeling that motivation that I needed SO badly. I am making meal plans, grocery lists, and catching up on my youtube videos. Im going to get my weekly weigh ins going again both here and on my channel. Im ready to get back on track. I feel so unhealthy right now. I not only feel like I have gained fat back, but I feel sluggish and maybe even a tad bit depressed. Its been a hectic month. I quit my job, and finally found a new one, but its taking forever to finalize everything, so I have been depending on my parents for money, so I have not been able to get groceries that I want. I am finally moved into my new town house and I LOVE it. Its beautiful! Anyway, I hope to start working sometime this week, and hopefully start returning my life to normal soon.
More updates soon!

Picking myself back up again.

Like I thought, I gained this week. However, I did not even begin to think I would gain as much as i did.
3.2 lbs.
I am horrified. And honestly, I dont think it was all a legitimate gain. I did not eat THAT badly and my stomach was messed up from my IBS.
Anyway, I just feel like a failure sort of. Ive been doing this since December. WTF.
And honestly, a lot of it has to do with how damn broke I am. Seriously, I take all blame and responsibility for this, but I believe my money situation is half the issue.
I have not gone to the grocery in 3 weeks (maybe more) and have no food. So, I ate out a lot. I broke my ff challenge and ate out. And Im really disappointed about that. But I just didnt know what to do.
So, Im changing my circumstances. I am applying for nanny jobs for the summer and hopefully will be making a LOT more money doing that. I may still work at my lame theatre job for some extra cash. but I dont know. I honestly really hate that place.
I really think that having enough money will help. I know that I have to take responsibility for the other part of it, but I really know myself and know that if I had more options and more healthy foods I would be doing a lot better.
Im re weighing in again tomorrow (mainly for my peace of mind so I dont beat myself up about this all week) and I will repost on here. Maybe I am in denial, but Im 90% sure that I am not 3 damn pounds heavier.

Anyway, better news next time I hope =/

Why do we always want to defeat ourselves?

What is going on??
Last week I lost another 1.4 lbs. I was SO excited to lost significantly two weeks in a row. When I made my weigh in video I expressed my concern that I might ruin it.
And I am currently in the process of doing so.
I have been off plan and eating not great things almost every day. Maybe my body will be nice to me and maintain. Maybe it wont.
In the past, I have given up at points like this. In the past I would have thought "This is too hard, Im taking a break" and then I would regain everything I had lost plus more.
That is in the past. It ended there. That person who gave up and decided that settling was okay is GONE. She doesnt exsist anymore.
This is FAR from over. Even if I (GOD forbid) gained back 7 lbs on Saturday, I will NOT feel defeated. I will pick myself back up and start again.
This is what I want. I will fight for it and I will NOT let it get me again.
I just dont understand why we let ourselves do this? I saw it coming and I STILL let it happen. Maybe I am being too hard on myself. Maybe I will lose. But if I do I wont feel like I deserve it.

Im going ot run on the treadmill tomorrow and get back on track. I owe it to myself. I deserve this happiness. I deserve to be healthy.

New Hope.

Weighed in today at Weight Watchers and lost 2.2 pounds!!! Im SO happy to have actually lost a significant amount!! I feel like Im finally in a good place with weight loss. It seems like it took me forever though. Anyway, I dont want to mess this up, so Im going to be doing MUCH better this week with my eats and whatnot.
Im still doing well with my 21 day challenge. No crispy chicken sanwiches for me!! haha.

Anyway, if you wanna check out my weigh in video here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/LindseyBrooke27?feature=mhw4

Thanks for reading!!

No Fast Food 21 Day Challenge!

Im starting a 21 day challenge for myself to not eat fast food for 21 days. Im on my second day and I think it is going to be easier than I originally thought it would be. The worst part is going to be on the weekends when Im not at my house most of the time.

Anyway, I have a video up on youtube (LindseyBrooke27) explaining everything. Join if you want to!

Also, my weight this week is down 2 lbs so far!! Yay! Im not going to get too excited though because Saturdays seem to be a weird day for me. Anyway, Im happy to see the numbers go down. Im feeling thinner and I really love it!

Some eats from the week

 

3 pancakes with a tiny bit of margarine with fruit on top. I added some sugar to the berries to make a syrup of sorts. They were thawed frozen berries and I honestly thought they tasted odd. It was overall pretty good, but next time Im going to just use fresh strawberries.

Lettuce with shredded chicken on top that I heated up in the skillet and seasoned a bit. it was actually just the canned kind. This was really really good. Also tomato. I <3 Tomato. Cant wait till summer when they are better. And, yes, that is a Disney Princess plate =D

OKay. This looks gross and it was gross. Its whole wheat penne with marinara with a little mozzarella. I like whole wheat spaghetti, but this was nasty. The texture of the pasta was horrible. Ughhh. I was sooo disappointed. From now on, Im splurging on points when it comes to penne. I couldnt even finish it.

Yummy grapes and yogurt.

 

These are just pics of what I actually remembered to take pictures of this week. I want to get into the habit of posting pics of most of my meals.

Anyway, byes for now. Weigh in Tomorrow =)

Weigh In #I have no idea

Went to weight watchers today and lost .8
Im happy about it, but Id be more excited if I had made up for what I gained last week. Anyway, Im headed in the right direction, so that's good.
Tonight I am going to try and work on a meal plan for the next week so that I know what I need to get at the grocery.
Anyway, not much else to say other than that. Perhaps I will post an entry with my youtube weigh in later when I feel more talkative

Update

Sorry its been so long since I last posted! I am on Spring Break this week (it's almost over =(( ) and was in KY for a few days and had no internet.

Anyway, last week I weighed in and gained 1.6 lbs.

Okay, honestly, Im not making excuses, but Im pretty sure it wasnt a real gain. I weighed in on my scale at home that morning too and I was at 167 and the next day when I weighed I was 165 (my scale is about 2 lbs more than the WW scale).
So, I dont know why that happened, or what I ate, but it was off. I didnt eat badly enough that week to gain and I honestly think I at least maintained. My weigh in just happened to land on the wrong day, lol.

Anyway, moving on from that, THIS week is the week I should gain. I havent eaten badly, but I havent eaten well either. Since I was in Kentucky I was eating out almost every meal. There are a couple places there that I never get to eat at, so I treated myself to things I would not have treated myself to otherwise.
Even though I will be disappointed if I gain, I will understand why.

This week, Anna (my WW friend and fellow blogger) blogged about eating non processed foods all week and I may challenge myself to do this starting this Monday. I want to start eating less processed foods anyway, and I know it will help with my weight loss.

For the past month or so, my weight loss has sucked. I know why and I know what I need to do to fix it. It really sucks that being a broke ass college student makes it so hard to stay on track. Im going to sacrifice all the money I have left from my paycheck to get good foods for next week.

I just have to start seeing results. Im beginning to start have negative feelings about myself and my weight loss journey and that is not going to help me. I find myself constantly trying to be positive, because I know that beating myself up about things will not do anything for me. I am not quitting this time. Im just not. I have to do this for myself. I have to be completely selfish and only think of me when it comes to this. I have to take care of myself because no one else can! This is important. I am important. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering that I am doing this for myself and that I want this. I want this more than anything I have ever wanted in my life.
I need this to work this time, and it will. If it takes me 5 years to get this stupid weight off of me, I will wait 5 damn years.

Anyway, enough rambling. I definitely feel good about this next week. I will LOSE at my weigh in after this one. I may lose this Saturday, but I dont want to set myself up for disappointment.
I can do this, and to anyone who is reading this; You can too. So, let's do this...

Okay Day

Today was an alright day. I didnt have a fabulous day but I didnt have a terrible one either. I did not track AGAIN, but I dont believe I went over my points by much if I went over them at all. Karissa and I went to McCallister's and I had an awesome sandwich, which probably wasnt terrible by itself, but it came with a mound of chips. I could have picked a different side, but I wasnt expecting so many chips and thought I would just splurge a little. I dont control myself very well around any kind of potato. lol. I think my semi-irish blood has something to do with it.
Anyway, they also had amazing sweet tea and I had two huge cups of it. The only other thing I ate today was a big bowl of chicken veggie soup when I got home with some bread. And later in the night a fiber one bar. Anyway, it wasnt a good example of how to appropriately use your points, but it is what it is. Every day is not going to be perfect. This is not a diet. This is how I plan on living the REST of my life. One day at a time.
Sure, I could eat salads and veggies all day long and eat "diet" foods, but that is NOT realistic. That is setting yourself up for failure. Sure, I could lose a lot of weight quickly, but I would gain it right back. There will always be good days and bad days and I am prepared to continue on this journey for the rest of my life. The day I hit goal will not be the end of it, but simply another chapter.

This next week is Spring Break and will be a challenge because most of the time I will be out of state and at the mercy of the family I am staying with and the restaurants we decide to go to. Im going to try and focus and do the best I can. I dont know how much exercise I will be able to fit it, but I will at least try to go on a couple of walks. Kentucky is pretty in some areas so perhaps I will convince my mom to go walk around the neighborhood with me.


Anyway, sorry to blabber. I guess that is what this thing is for. More soon!

Over Due ....

Sorry I suck at updating!

=/

Anyway, this past Saturday I went to my usual weight watcher meeting and lost 1.6 pounds. I was pretty excited to have a more significant loss than I have been getting in the past few weeks. I have now lost about 4 lbs, which doesnt seem like a lot, but I already feel my jeans fitting differently. I really want to get a 5 lb sticker at my next meeting, haha. Im a dork. =)

But anyway, I feel like my weight loss is finally starting to take off again. I am now 10 pounds lighter than I was last year, which is cool to think about. I wish it were more, but if I think about it that way rather than 4 lbs, then it motivates me more.

Anyway, I went to the gym tonight with my roommate, Karissa and we kicked some ass. I did 3.25 miles on the treadmill in 50 min, which isnt that fast I dont suppose, but my heart rate was between 165-180 throughout the whole workout and I was sweating like crazy.

I left feeling like I had had a great workout and I still feel awesome about it.

I really think that I am headed in the right direction and that I am going to start seeing better results on and off the scale.

Until next time, Byes!

Having a hard time..

I dont know what is going on with me. I have been relentlessly unsatisfied ALL day and part of yesterday. Im not PMSing or on my period, BUT I do think this is slightly hormone related.
I didnt pick up my birth control on time and now I have been off of it almost a week (two if you count placebos). The last time I did this, my hormones got crazy too, just not this crazy.
Ughhh!! I am so off plan today its not even funny. I just hate this. I feel like I dont have any control and I HATE that. I know I do, but its just very frustrating.
I HAVE to get back on track. I HAVE to start agressively fighting this.
I feel like everyday I am constantly battling this. Every second of every day ( okay not every second, but a lot of them..) I am thinking about food and what I am going to eat next. Its absurd.
I need to make plans for myself. I need to establish what I am going to eat, What I will NOT eat, when I will eat it and plan my snacks. I keep setting myself up for failure and Im afraid Im going to just keep spiraling out of control. Im losing hope in myself and that has got to stop. I need to do this, because I CAN. I CAN do this. I will do this.

Exercise/Good End of the Day

Tonight I got home at 10:30 and decided I really needed to exercise. I alternated walking and running on the treadmill for 40 minutes. I usually only do thirty. I feel really really awesome about the workout, but I really really hope that Im not sore tomorrow.
Anyway, I feel good that I did it. I was pouring sweat and my heart rate was up pretty high. When I got off the treadmill it was at about 186 beats per min. This is considered HIGH intensity. Wow, Im out of shape! lol
Its good to know I got a good workout though.
I have weigh in tomorrow!

Weigh In!

Saturday I went to my weight watchers meeting and lost 1 pound exactly. I am proud of this loss, but feel that I can do much better. I hadnt weighed in for like 2 weeks, so this was a two week loss. I should have been able to do much better, BUT I am proud that I am still making progress, even if it is Slllooooooowwww progress, which will change soon.

Along with my aerobic walking class, my roommate and I are going to try and make it to the gym twice a week. Last Thursday we went and walked/ran around the track and then did treadmill. I stayed on the treadmill for only 10 min because I was already pretty tired from walking and running on the track.

Bear in mind, that I am starting all of this after leading a VERY sedentary lifestyle. So, running at all for me is a big deal. I got off the treadmill because I started getting a terrible sidestitch and didnt want to embarass myself by dying in the gym, lol.

Anyway, my heart rate was rather high the whole time (no exact number, sorry) and I know I got a good workout. I was reminded of how good this workout was all weekend. I was really sore. I feel like I shouldnt have been, but I was all the same.

I think it was because I am used to walking/running mainly on the treadmill and perhaps doing it on the track was just a little more difficult.

But anyway, I feel great about starting a more active lifestyle. I cannot WAIT till spring when I can do things at the park or go bike riding(which I am totally stoked for). You see, I have a little secret *whispers* I really dont like the gym. At all. Especially on campus because it's filled with all these athletic, skinny people and frankly it makes me feel insecure. I would MUCH rather go to the park. But, it is cold and this is my option. Plus, my tuition helps pay for the gym, so I need to take advantage of it.

Anyway, long rant. More later

Saturday Weigh In

I weighed in at Weight Watchers today and I lost 1 lb.
Im happy that I lost, but I only lost 1lb over the past two weeks. I am really ready to get my butt in gear.

Dinner. YUM

Im about to go work out with my roommate and just made this yummy chicken. A while back I was watching one of Shanti (Antishay on youtube)’s cooking videos.

She makes this exact meal and Ive always wanted to reproduce it, so here it is!!

So so yummy and soo filling.

Here is the Video I made it from :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFBdzEjCGYI

The only thing I did different was that I used less olive oil.

21 Day Challenge

I've been kind of sucking more and more as each day comes this week. I think its because I have not been to weight watchers in forever due to inclement weather and crap.
Anyway, I am really looking forward to starting a new week. I really need to stop letting myself snowball. We talked about this in a meeting once. Just because you mess up breakfast, doesnt mean you should just trash the whole day. Or even worse, Just because you mess up Monday, doesnt mean you should binge the rest of the week.
I still really am struggling with getting out of this mentality. I KNOW that every day is a new day, but I have trouble letting myself get discouraged.
Anyway, Im starting a new 21 day challenge. People on youtube have been doing this a lot lately due to Jason(Tbossbone) doing them on his channel.
I am doing two different challenges for myself:
1. getting up before 9:30 every day.
I know this sounds simple, but for me this is a pretty big deal. I sleep ridiculously late and I want to stop. I waste half my day and I could get SO much more done if I got up earlier.
2. Tracking every day NO MATTER WHAT.
Some days I will post my tracking on here, but I will for sure track every day. I have to do this for myself.

Snacky

I have been SOO snacky today. I got stranded at my house today due to the snow storm and I have been bored snacking A LOT. Granted I am snacking on things that are not terrible for me, but I havent tracked today. =/ This is the first time lately that I have not tracked all day. Im sure tomorrow will be better. I just do SO much better when I am at my apartment rather than at my parents house. They keep all the things I tend to binge on around and it kills me!!
Anway, tomorrow I am going to track EVERYTHING and walk/run on the treadmill, since Im assuming I wont have work again tomorrow. No money for Brooke I guess =(

Linner

Just had my Lunch/Dinner. I will probably still eat something small for Dinner, but this has been keeping me full for a while now.

I managed to snap a picture and figured Id post it. It was yummy, and it took me FORVER to eat it, so I felt like I was eating more.

I had a wrap with turkey and shredded cheese (maybe 1 TB), with 1 oz of tortilla chips, 5 turkey pepperonis, and carrots and celery with a TB of ranch dressing.

I’m doing well on points today. Im majorly bummed because Im pretty sure my weight watchers meeting is going to be cancelled tomorrow. The weather is really bad here and I bet they won’t have it. I suppose I will weigh in on my scale, but I dont want to get discouraged if the scale is off.

Anyway, I will maybe post more later tonight.

Amazing….

I honestly have not felt this great in a long time. I am finally feeling what my new lifestyle is doing for me. My stomach feels less bloated and I just feel GOOD. I dont know how to explain it. I remember a time when I went to bed feeling horrible about myself and hating myself for what I was doing. I'd eat and eat until my stomach felt bloated and full. I havent felt that feeling in a while, and I used to feel it almost every meal.
I just feel so awesome right now. I actually have a desire to be active. I want to go walking for no reason at all. I want to go biking so much it is killing me. Why does no one have bikes anymore? I have no one to bike with =(((
Im hopefully going to find my mom one on Craig's List (lol) and get her to start riding with me.
I wish it were Spring. I just want to be outside (I am the most indoor person in the world!!). I want to go camping, which I actually enjoyed already, but now I really want to. I dont know what this is. I seem to be more connected with the Earth if that makes sense.
Im starting to sound like a hippie... lol. Anyway, lets just leave it at this:
I feel amazing and I never want it to go away.

Doing much better

Im really happy about how this week has gone so far. Ive tracked all week and just generally feel better. Im pretty positive Im going to see my first significant loss this week (everything else has been .6 or .8) So, Im really excited about my meeting on Saturday.
Im taking everything one step at a time, so I may not start food blogging right away, but maybe within the next couple of weeks.
I really am liking my aerobic walking class. Its definitely making me want to be more active. Im going to slowly start incorporating more exercise into my week, other than the walking and occasional treadmill.
Anyway, Ill post a weigh in on here and on my youtube channel (LindseyBrooke27) on Saturday. =D

Back to Blogging

I know I said in my last post that I was going to start blogging again, and it has been quite some time since then. My computer died (may i rest in peace) and I was technology deprived for about a month and a half. =/

Anyway, I have done SO much better this week than I have since I restarted weight watchers. Ive tracked ALL week. Which I know does not sound like any big deal, but right now it is. I feel good and I feel like Ive lost, but I wont be let down if I dont since Aunt Flo is a'visitin. haha.

Anyway, I want to start blogging my meals and I would LOVE to post pics, but I just dont know if I have time.
Ill be posting more tomorrow =D