Tough It Out Tuesday

My sleep pattern is so messed up. After waking up yesterday at 5:30am to get to the gym I went to work came home cooked dinner and did my mommy duties. Before I knew it the kids were in bed around 9:30pm and I was working on some digital scrapbooking. I became bored with doing that so I went on Pogo.com to play Keno, then I went back to digital scrapbooking....I know 31 years old and a very boring life. Before I knew it the time read 12:30 midnight. I forced myself to turn off all electronics to get some sleep. I had a visitor around 2:20am. Yeah I know pretty late so my sleep was disturbed. I was still committed to my 5:30 work out regardless of having a sleep distraction and I am proud to say I did it. I got up and worked out. I cant let activities or people around me get in the way of the goal I am trying to achieve.

I had plans to walk during lunch with my coworker yesterday. I went to retrieve my sneakers and in the hustle of the morning I forgot them at home. I said oh well and walked in my dress shoes. I tell you what, the walk was great and I felt rejuvenated after doing it. We are going out again today and I am not forgetting my sneakers!!

Stay positive and motivated....The scale will move eventually and our bodies will be transformed!

Here is the most recent picture of myself. My boyfriend and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary two weeks ago at the beach. I will post a pic of myself from time to time so you can hopefully see a decrease in size.

A New Monday Beginning....

It is Monday morning. I rolled myself out of bed at 5:30am and went to the gym. I got in a great 45 minute workout. As I did my 35 minute cardio on the Elliptical machine I thought about how I did not have anything for lunch. I made sure I left the gym in enough time to head to Walmart to get myself some salad, grapes, pistachios, chicken breast etc. I am ready for the week. I got on the scale this morning and almost cried at the fact that it said 226.8Lbs which means I failed myself by getting sidetracked this past week. I am moving forward and trying not to dwell on it. My mind is focused although my body is fighting it. Going to the gym today was like the first day I started my journey. Not working out last week made it that much harder to get up and I really pushed myself while screaming not so nice words. The SAGA continues!! Have a great productive day at work and think positive in regards to weight loss and healthy living!

Fresh Start....

This last week has been a struggle for me. I have not followed the strict regiment that allowed me to lose 10Lbs in 5 weeks. I slowly let junk food creep back into my life. Although I did not overly eat I still ate it and it was not necessary. Tomorrow will be a fresh start. Get my mind focused. Continue with my exercise routine and eat healthy portion controlled meals. I am taking a pair of sneakers to work with me so I can go out and walk for lunch. As I stated in a prior post my distractions that take me off the right path I will not call failures I will simply continue on....who said it was going to be easy....What in life is easy?? Not too many things I can name....I will keep you posted. I am going to weight myself again in the morning to give you my weight and again weight myself on Mondays...I am debating about weighing myself each week or every two weeks...I am a scale whore and I think sometimes it makes me crazy...ok it makes me crazy everyday cause I find myself weighing myself several times during the week...See ya tomorrow for my 5:30am workout....YIPPIE...

I Have Been MIA...

I am going to be honest and say I have been dealing with sick kids and some extracurricular things since my last post and I am using that as my excuse for not sticking to my goals....I will always be honest and let you know when I am not doing what is that I need to do to continue my weight loss. Some places I have failed:

1. I have not fulfilled my water intake every day.
2. I have not eaten a well balanced meal 3 times a day. (I was skipping meals to compensate for not so good higher calorie food)
3. I have not worked out since last Friday (Since I do 5 days a week M-F, that equates to missing 3 days so far this week).

I had a talk with my coworker Patricia and she had me motivated and back on track. I can honestly say I was not eating bad per say but not enough and not make the very best choices I could have made. I am starting fresh in that next bite as I say....I will be back at the gym at 5:30 am and I am not going to let the extra sleep I think I need get me down. I have to add that although I have not been the best I have not gained but I have not loss any weight either which means I have defeated myself in this short period of time but I will NOT FAIL!!...

Today I drank all of my water. I consumed the following: Breakfast: 1 gala apple
Lunch: a tossed salad w/ 2 tsp of Low Fat Balsamic Ving and 1 apple sauce cup and Dinner: 2 dry measuring cups of tuna casserole and 2 garlic toast. I should not have eaten the garlic toast but I called myself eating half and did not use control.

Here is an article my sister sent me today which is really good......This woman loss 125 Lbs in 9 months with healthy eating and exercise...that is it...the 2 essential elements of weight loss...no pills, gimmicks etc...Read it if you want to be inspired...http://photos.essence.com/galleries/meet_biggest_loser_tamara_harbison?xid=032509-Enews-Wednesday-tamara-robinson-imglink

Focus and Execute as Shea would say...and tomorrow is a new day filled with new motivations and desires to get it right....One Day At A Time!!

A Challenging Day.....

There are many times when I feel like the devil is trying to get me down. Last night was one of them. I was having major sugar cravings. I expressed to my mom in the midst of us IMing what I would not give for a donut. She told me I was WEAK....I said there is a difference between having a craving and acting upon that craving. She told me she was coming over shortly. She arrived and came into my room with a bag of donuts. I looked at her and asked why would you bring that, you know I am not going to eat it. She laughed and said I know....mean while I sat there a little disturbed trying to figure out why she would do such a thing...is she trying to sabotage my efforts, was she looking to see if I was really weak enough to eat them...I am not sure but I can say I did not eat any. Sometimes those you think should have your best interest at heart may not....things that make you go HMMMMMMM...........

Today I did not have the best eating day. Breakfast consisted of 3 slices of turkey bacon, 1/2 multi grain english muffin w/ 1 tsp of peanut butter and 1 blueberry dannon lite and fit yogurt. For lunch I had 1 spicy chicken go wrap from Wendy's. For Dinner I had 1 sloppy joe w/ 10 steak fries and some ketchup. I would say my choice of dinner was not a good one. I will be working out a little later this evening. Is it me or when you eat something you know you should not have you start to feel worthless....Well I am getting back to eat right in my next bite which will be breakfast.

I wanted to take the time to thank one of my followers Alissa...she so kindly gave me a book of light recipes that I have not had the opportunity to try yet but I surely will!!

Hard Work Pays Off!!!

I DID IT....For those of you who follow my blog I explained that I have been challenging myself to loss 30Lbs in 90 days. Today marked my first 30 days and I needed to be at 224.2lbs in order to meet my first short term goal...I talked about it so much yesterday and I had convinced myself that if I barely missed the mark I would not be utterly disappointed....but this morning I woke up, got on the scale and the numbers to your left appeared! 223..8 lbs....I have officially loss 10Lbs...so now on to the rest of the challenge. I need to be at 214.2 by April 17th..I will fight hard to make my next goal...

I had the conversation with a friend today and expressed how important I think it is to have long term and short term goals to reach that ultimate goal. In the past I only saw my long term goal and could not reach it due to how unrealistic it was to look at the big picture with no stopping points along the way. I have come to believe that it is necessary to have realistic short term goals that can be met. When each goal is met it is a motivation booster and keeps you going for more. These short term goals and weight loss eventually lead to you meeting your ultimate weigh loss goal. I know as a society many of us want results now..as I am one of those people but I have learned with my many weight loss failures that results now is NOT A REALITY...put in the work and do the time...sacrifice and make healthy eating and exercise a part of your daily life and the results will show eventually!! Here is a quote that is inspirational....

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." – Confucius

This is such a great quote...you can make this relate to almost everything we do in life!! Put it in a picture frame, post it around your car...take it and absorb it!! In relation to losing weight if you fall off and eat that donut or piece of cake be sure to do better in the next bite....I know it is easy to eat the donut and say I have already messed up so let me add a whole pizza to the equation...but lets make a change in how we think and challenge ourselves to make a difference in the next BITE!!

Monday...Weigh In Day

Hey people's.....Today marks my 5th week...I did my Monday morning weigh in and I was nervous but also excited to see the results as last week was disappointing with only a .2lb loss after working my butt off....so the survey says..."225.0 lbs" that is a 4 lb loss for the week...YIPPIE...I think I told you before I was challenging myself to 30 Lbs in 90 days which started February 16th....I need to be 224.2 tomorrow morning....UGH I am not sure if it will happen but we will see...I will not be utterly disappointed if I don't hit it since I am .8Lbs away from my goal and if I don't it will make me work harder for the next 30 day weigh in...so stay tuned to see if tomorrow I am able to say I did it.............

Today proved that is not always in the numbers I can start to feel my clothes fit a little different and I can see a difference when I stand naked in front of the mirror....that is not a sight to see let me tell you.....Tomorrow will mark my 30th day...this is the longest I have maintained my weight loss effort....I am going to measure myself tomorrow..I wish I had already done that but did not think about it...I am also going to take a pic...not one that I can put on here but I will take my one month picture so I will come up with something to post on the site....

I was not in the mood to eat but I did since I know my body needs the fuel to keep it going..I had the following:
1 multi grain english muffin with 1 tsp of peanut butter
3 slices of turkey bacon
1 blueberry dannon lite and fit yogurt

For lunch I went to the mall to pay some bills, bought some birthday gifts for my daughter and decided to get a subway sandwich..I walked passed a pizza shop and I said ummmmm....that is my favorite, if I could splurge on one thing it would be a pizza with extra cheese, pepperoni and hamburger....YUMMY...but I told myself nope keep on going to Subway.....needless to say I was very disappointed in my sandwich..I generally order the same sandwich as I am not a big sandwich person...Turkey and American cheese on 6" Honey Oat with L, T, O, Green Bell Pepper and Honey Mustard. I always ask if the bread is soft...if it is soft I like to enjoy the freshness and would opt out of having it toasted...if it is not so fresh I like it toasted so I can't tell that my bread is a little hard....so I asked the question and the server tells me it is soft...of course I say don't toast it then.....I tried to make it a combo with water and apples..they tell me they are out of both...I said see that is very annoying since I am trying to forgo having the chips.....so in my frustrated nature I say I will just take the sandwich......I get back to the office and bite into it and the bread was FREAKIN HARD....what did the guy not understand regarding is the bread soft or hard...SHEESH...some peoples children.....he need reprimanded and so does the person who thought it was not important enough to have a back up of apples and water....and they wonder why we make bad choices....ha ha had to blame my issues on someone else...that is the reality of most over weight people...EXCUSES!!

I decided before leaving for work this morning that I was not in the mood to cook when I got home. I went to Boston Market and got a Family Dinner...Roasted Chicken..yummy, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans and macaroni and cheese.....I ate some chicken breast...4 curl macaroni noodles, green beans and sweet potato casserole...I should have probably left the casserole alone but I think I deserved a little bit....it was not going to kill me....that is my Boston Market weakness....sweet potato casserole....I savored every spoon full.

Aria (my 5 year old daughter) and I did the Jillian Michael DVD and along with doing Level 1 we incorporated half of Level 2...when I first started i thought Level 1 was bad....well Level 1 does not have anything on Level 2....man it feels like starting all over again....I wont move on to Level 3 until I am comfortable doing both levels which turns it into a 40 minute workout.....

My daughters birthday is coming up on April 1st and my first thought is I will be able to have a slice of pizza...since that is my weakness if it is not a Lean Cuisine pizza I wont eat it and even then I don't want to make that a normal thing to eat Lean Cuisine or not....so she expressed that we haven't had pizza in a while...I said I know I am trying to lose weight and if it is around I know I am not ready to say no....I promised her i would allow her pizza the day of her birthday party which will be on April 5th. My daughters went from a traditional every Friday pizza day to none at all...So the day of the party I will indulge in a slice of pizza but make sure I eat a salad as well...and of course a cupcake...well maybe a half of cupcake...or maybe I will skip it all together since I am having the slice of pizza....we will see I will keep you posted....LOL

Weekends....

It is officially 1:54 am on Saturday and I am just getting in. I took some time after work and hung out with a couple of friends of mine. I dread the weekends. There is a correlation between words that start with "W" for me on the weekends. Weekends=Weaknesses.....Yep, that is right I have this weird correlation. I have to focus on walking the straight and narrow path as the weekend can easily lead to detours, hard to bounce back from detours. I have been extremely focused these past 4 weeks and have not allowed the weekends to put a damper on my weight loss efforts but like a 12 step program I have to take it one day at a time.

Today my consumption consisted of the following:
Breakfast:

• 3 slices of turkey bacon
• 1- Fiber One strawberry pop tart
• 1- dannon lite and fit blueberry yogurt

Lunch:

• A turkey sandwich on wheat bread with lettuce, tomato and yellow mustard. It was not actually a whole sandwich as I used 1 piece of bread and cut it in half.
• 8 Lay's Lite potato chips

Dinner:

• 1- Spicy Chicken Go Wrap from Wendy's
• 1- Side Salad
• 2 TBSP Low Fat Balsamic Ving.

Snack:

• 1 serving of Cashews
• 10 Tortilla Chips w/ Salsa

I did not have a bad day but could have changed some of my choices to raw veggies. I also did not do any exercise but I am planning on running around the community on my day off to compensate for not having a Friday work out. I am committed to 5 days a week so that means if I don't do it all during the week...well there goes a weekend day....LOL

Today my sister booked our airplane flight to Miami for our Carnival Cruise in May...I became so excited at the thought...it also made me realize that with each day that passes the time to leave gets closer so I need to step up my intensity this week with workouts....It would be soo great to drop 20 lbs by May....I am working hard at accomplishing this goal so I need to put in a little more effort...Keep moving even when it is really uncomfortable and I feel I cant do anymore...majority of the time its your mind playing tricks on you....Our body can take much more than we think...It's like our brains are programmed and when it feels discomfort, stress or a little pain we say stop...push a little harder and rep the benefits!!

I am sitting here watching this infomercial for the AbCoaster... I am one of those people who use to purchase all of the weight loss items and use it for a minimal amount of time and then let it collect dust....I wont be getting it but I wonder if it really works...LOL Have you heard of the bodybugg??...they use it on the Biggest Loser...man I am contemplating getting it....check it out on bodybugg.com...tell me what you think...would you go there?? For some reason my mind keeps telling me this would be a great investment but I really don't have the funds to get it...maybe if I save fifty dollars a month I can get it eventually....I will keep you posted as to my decision to buy or not to buy.......

Push Back Is Needed At Times.....

I am sitting here trying to get my body into rest mode and am unsuccessful. I went to the gym after work and my body is in overdrive at the moment. It is 2:13am and while I am laying here typing I am thinking to myself sleep is needed....

My day did not start off normal as I decided to lay around and did not eat my structured meals as I normally do. The first piece of food I put in my mouth was not until 11:30am....that is a no go!
I did not eat enough food today which could result in my body thinking it is starving and wondering when it would get its next meal...end result fat will be stored!!

Today my meal consisted of:
Breakfast: (well it was not really breakfast...too late in the day)

• 1 Light Multi-Grain English Muffin
• 1 Tsp. Peanut Butter
• 1 Gala Apple

• Seemed like I missed out on a lunch....My next meal was dinner....A funny story for you...or not really funny but made me realize you need people in your corner that will pull the plug on your excuses. I was considering what to eat for dinner. I was having many cravings that I think stemmed from me not eating like I should have. I came to the conclusion that I wanted some french fries so I thought to myself...Wendy's....french fries and a 5 piece chicken nugget would hit the spot. I called my boyfriend and said do you think it would be really bad if I had chicken nuggets and french fries from Wendy's? He responded yes...you know you cant have two fried items....he said right..I played silent...and then I said in a child has been scolded type of voice "yeah"...He proceeded to ask how many calories where in both...I looked it up on line and of course it was not good so I tried to come up with some other combinations....1. Baked potato w/ sour cream & chives with a small chili, 2.chicken nuggets w/ small chili, 3. spicy chicken wrap with a small chili.....I then decided on the spicy chicken wrap with a small chili but felt ashamed that I wanted that instead of opting for a salad. I reminded myself that I had left over spaghetti in the refrigerator so I ended up have the following"

Dinner:

• 1 1/2 C. Spaghetti w/ Meatsauce
• 1 Tossed salad that I made in the Cafe...iceburg lettuce, onions, tomato, broccoli and green bell pepper w/ 2 TBSP of Low Fat Balsamic Ving...

I was proud of myself for going the healthier route....so I say THANK YOU...for questioning what I was trying to pollute my body with...In life we all need a little push back from time to time...I was making all the excuses in the world to eat some junk food..I even told myself at times you need to eat what you want so you don't fail. I do believe that statement to be true but today was not the day to have a treat.

I have learned through the last 4 weeks it is very easy to make an excuse not to eat right or exercise. I have to do this for me and I cant let anything stand in the way of my success. With that being said I think it is better to do something than nothing, but if you are going to do something go HARD!!

Today Was A Challenge

Here is my food consumption for the day:
Breakfast:

• 1/2 C. 2% Milk
• 1 C. Fiber One Caramel Delight Cereal
• 3 Slices of Turkey Bacon

Lunch:

• 1 Grilled Cheese Sandwich -I could have made a better choice but was craving it
• 8 Lays Light Potato Chips

Dinner:

• 1 Tossed Salad w/ 2 TBSP LF Balsamic Ving.
• 1 1/2 C. of Spaghetti w/ Meatsauce

It was not bad until I got home from work at midnight and was craving food. I drank a bottle of water but could not mentally shake the cravings. I ate a bowl of Fruit Loops. Not horrible but I did not need it. I ended up doing my Jillian Michael 30 day Shred DVD to make myself feel better...

Today I read a motivational weight loss quote that said the following: "MOTIVATION IS WHAT GETS YOU STARTED. HABIT IS WHAT KEEPS YOU GOING" -Jim Ryun This quote really hit home. All of my previous failures in part were due to me being unable to move from point A (motivation) to point Z (habit)....I am slowly but surely working towards Z...making exercise and healthy eating part of my daily routine...I want to get to the point that I don't focus on it...it is what it is, a part of what and who I am....I am getting there!! I have had many weight loss adventures that consisted of upward and downward spirals. I am currently in the upward stage with only positive energies surrounding me. If you can't be with me then move out the way. I have a goal in mind and will fight til the finish.

Week 4..A Thought Comes To Mind

Hello....and welcome to my blog!!....so if you are not sure who you see to your left...that's me....My name is Shalana and like so many people in the world I am overweight and learning to make lifestyle changes that will benefit me as I get older. I am 31 and will be 32 in April, a single mother of two beautiful girls and strong in many aspects of my life except for losing this weight...I have admitted it and that was my first step!

Monday started my 4th week of this weight loss journey. I speak with my sister daily about what exercises I am doing and what foods I am eating and asked her what she thought of me starting a blog. She thought it was a good idea so here I am putting my most personal information out there for you to read...my weight loss journey.....

A quick overview of the last 3 weeks. I looked at a picture of my boyfriend and I and I said that is not me!!...How can he like me looking the way I do?? I am not that big...what happened and when?? Reality hit me like a ton of bricks and the embarrassment set in. I said to myself...Am I really that big?? A picture does not lie, so what was I going to do to change what I was seeing? I started off by making the following realistic short term goals:

1. Lose 2 Lbs a week
2. Minimize fast food intake
3. Minimize candy and baked goods (I have a major sweet tooth...THANKS DAD!!)
4. Minimize fried foods
5. Lose 20 Lbs....UGH I dread telling you my starting weight but here it goes....234.2 Lbs
6. Incorporate exercise 5 days a week

The above was my starting point. I committed myself to going to the gym 5 days a week...Monday-Friday just like I was going to work....I thought about what program I would use to assist me in losing the weight and my end result was to use the Internet as a resource to succeed. There are so many websites to find workout routines, recipes and weight loss tips so why pay for it?? Some sites I visit regularly are:

• neversaydiet.com
• fitday.com
• biggestloser.com
• sparkpeople.com

I started healthy eating and exercise the very same day and have not missed a day of exercising per my 5 day a week goal. The first week I lost 2.2 Lbs. The second week 2.8 Lbs and the third week .2 lbs...I am currently at 229.0 lbs....Monday was a day from hell as I could not comprehend why I had only lost .2 Lbs when I remained consistent with my healthy eating and exercise regiment....I spoke with my Sorority Sister who has been where I am currently at and she assured me that it takes some time to see it on the scale...losing inches may occur first....fat turns to muscle and muscle weighs more....and last but not least she told me don't become a "Scale Whore"....I have taken all this into consideration and will continue to forge on although I will admit I felt like eating a donut when I did not see the numbers move.

While I would love to not be a "Scale Whore" I will continue to weigh myself every Monday morning and track it in my handy dandy Excel spreadsheet....I am also challenging myself to lose 30 Lbs in 90 days....yep you heard that right....what a great goal and very tangible....This began on 2/16/09...I need to be 224.2 by 3/17/09...I am working hard to drop the first 10 lbs...I will keep you tuned in....

My goal for this blog is to incorporate some motivational quotes, express myself and air my frustrations as I continue on this journey, document what I am eating and my exercise regiment. Please leave me some comments or any tips that you may have!! I am excited about this journey and committed to my goals...I write it on sticky notes and post them all over "I WILL NOT FAIL" this is what I am living by....and I will not fail!!

Oh yeah...I forgot to add my sister got me the best Christmas present...a cruise to the Western Caribbean on May 24th....what a great motivator to loss weight as well!! Let my journey continue as I am 4 weeks into it....LOL