Ask and Ye Shall Recieve

I really wish I'd win the lottery, if for no other reason other than to be able to afford sessions with my personal trainer 3 or 4 times a week. The more I go and work out with her,  the more I love it - and it's not because it's easy - it's because it's HARD.

I had yet another grueling session this morning and there is no doubt in my mind that tomorrow and the next day, I'll be cursing all that is holy because my legs, arms and back will be sore as all get out. And yet, I am beginning to crave that pain. It means I worked my ass off to the point of my muscles tearing and repairing themselves. As Jillian Michaels would say, I don't "call in" these workouts - I truly give them my all. I'm not shitting around this time, folks.

Today, the focus was on my biceps, laterals, and core, but never fear, there usually isn't a session that goes by without squats and lunges involved, and today was certainly no exception. What I really love about the varied training sessions is the explanation behind what each exercise does (other than torture me), because honestly, sometimes I really don't know what I should be focusing on or feeling as I am doing each move. I have come to enjoy truly concentrating on my form - and I realize it does make a huge difference. When I do the exercises correctly, I can feel it in the muscles I am supposed to. What a concept, huh?

I've also gotten ballsier when it comes to asking questions about equipment and have developed a "no fear" attitude when it comes to trying new things. I don't want to be that timid, embarrassed girl at the gym who only sticks to the elliptical, treadmill and one or two machines because that's all I know or am comfortable doing. I want to explore the gym and get my money's worth....I want to make the gym work in my favor and I realize that's only going to happen if I branch out of my comfort zone. 

Today as Linda and I were nearing the end of the workout, I spied those big thick ropes that you see contestants on the Biggest Loser using. They look like this:

My true fantasy is to have a body like this.

And then you wave your arms up and down to move them like this:

Swing those ropes in the air like you just don't care!

The ropes are just one more thing I have wanted to try and so I asked Linda about them and in return, she asked if I wanted to give them a try. Of course I said yes, and let me tell you, they are another thing that looks a hell of a lot easier to do than it is in reality. But I gritted my teeth and I did it - and you know what? It was freaking elating! I also asked about Jacob's Ladder and Linda did say it is very challenging. She asked if I wanted to try that too, but since my legs already felt like Jello (lunges are the devil), I thought I'd better not. I feel it's something I need to tackle in the beginning of a workout when I feel my strongest. I'm pretty sure that machine eats people for breakfast.

Other than that, not to much else to report. The water consumption is going strong, as are the trips to the loo - but hey, I am back at my Friday weight today (yey), so all is well with the world as far as I am concerned. I'm OK with flushing the toilet a million times during the day if it means the fat is being flushed out of my body. And although 100 oz SOUNDS like a tremendous amount of water, it's really only 6 normal sized water bottles you need to drink throughout the day (they are 16.9 oz each). If you spread them out, it's doable - I promise!

I get one bottle and refill it throughout the day, and make a tally mark each time I finish one. I do have my handy dandy Crystal Light packets that help it go down, but since they are 10 calories, I try to keep it to only 2 packets a day and then make the rest plain old H2O. I NEVER used to drink even half this much water so I'm happy that I am sticking to it. I think I must have been living in a permanent state of dehydration prior to this week. It feels good knowing I am taking yet another positive step toward healthier living.

That's about it for now. Hope you are all having a great week! Let's kick some butt on the scale this week!

Oh - and BTW - I'll be posting some healthy recipes tomorrow!

SSSDC - Week 3 and details for Week 4

Hello everyone!

SOOOOOO sorry for the delay on getting the link posted for the challenge. Pam at Empty Nest was quite thoughtful to check in yesterday and ask if the delay in posting the link was because of a fun thing, and nothing bad. Thankfully yes, it was because of something good! No tragedies to speak of  - just a "sun emergency" if you will. I actually took a rather impromptu trip to the beach with my friend that is visiting from Colorado, her 2 kids and my niece. But I was sorry to have missed the opportunity to get the blog post and link up yesterday because I know you were all just chomping at the bit to share your challenge news (or at least I hope you were - LOL).
 
I'll be the first to admit that last week I was rather sucky with the blog posts -  although I did try to get around and visit most, if not all of you, to see how your week was trucking along.  The reason for MY lack of posts was due to a sizeable party we threw on Friday with about 15 adults, 5 kids and 2 infants. I was cleaning my house for what felt like an eternity, washing curtains, cleaning baseboards, and vacuuming, vacuuming, vacuuming - because let's face it, when you have three dogs, you can NEVER, EVER, EVER stop vacuuming - party or no party. I felt like I had little opportunity to sit for any chunk of time and get my fingers tapping around the keyboard. After I posted about doing the kettlebell workout (which took me DAYS to recover from, BTW - let's just say taking the stairs was a real treat - NOT), I went into Operation Clean and Cook and never looked back.

So, how did I do last week? Here's my recap:

My goals for last week were as follows:

• Lose 2 lbs - DONE! I actually weighed in at 224 on Friday (my weigh day) so I beat my goal by three quarters of a pound! My starting weight at the beginning of the challenge was 232, so my total so far is 8 lbs down! In three weeks??? I'll take it! The scale hasn't moved like this in MONTHS!!!!
• Try Jacobs Ladder and work out with kettlebells. - Will you accept one out of two?? I did NOT get to Jacobs Ladder because after the Kettlebell workout, I was dying for a good 2 days and by the time I felt OK to workout at the gym, I was doing all the stuff for the party. SO, I burned calories with cleaning - but really failed big time on getting back to the gym. I WILL be tackling that Jacob's Ladder asap - I even had a dream about it last night! Guilt for not meeting my goal? Maybe! But I am determined to get on that thing if it kills me!
• Continue to track - YES!!!! I have been great with this! I am now officially a tracking junkie! I truly contribute this single tool as helping me realize what I put in my mouth does, in fact, make all the difference!
• Complete at least 7.5 hours of exercise - Not in the "official" sense. Other than the one gym workout and 2 walks with the dogs (roughly an hour each), I really didn't hit my exercise goals which makes me feel lousy. Since I don't count my hours of housework, I only made about half my goal. Needless to say,  I better exercise this week or else!

I'm not too happy that I didn't hit all of my goals this week.  Funny how I feel like I truly let myself down, and feel like I have let down all of you in the process as well. But I am human, and I do know that life has a way of interfering with even the best laid plans sometimes. I also know I have to kick it into high gear this week because the scale is up a smidge from Friday and I know those sangrias and various other party foods (hello, hamburger and potato salad) will come back to haunt me big time if I don't fight them off tooth and nail with some serious sweat equity this week!

WEEK FOUR,  the challenge is:

Week 4 - (begin June 24) - 100 oz OF WATER AND SHARE A FAVORITE HEALTHY RECIPE
This week presents a big challenge for me - I don't know why, but I really struggle with drinking enough water. I aim to correct that since weight loss and water consumption go hand in hand. If you already drink copious amounts of water - kudos to you - this will be an easy week for you. For people like me, it will be interesting. Increased trips to the bathroom will at least burn extra calories!
Since I'm also always at a loss for flavorful low-cal recipes (and really am at a loss when it comes to good breakfast food that is filling), I thought we could all swap a few recipes of our go-to dishes we love while losing weight. I'm always curious to see what types of food people turn to while adjusting their lifestyle. I love stretching my culinary muscle and think it will be fun to share what our healthy eats are now that we understand that donuts are, in fact, not diet food.

So, I have to dig through my best healthy recipes and see which one I want to share. I may have a few in my arsenal that I can post  throughout the week. I'm really excited to see what everyone else will share too! I'm always down for a good recipe swap!

As for the H2O, I'm good so far with the water (well, we are only one day in, so hopefully I can keep up the momentum). Yesterday, being in the sun all day, I was so thirsty - so I knew I could meet this goal easily. I drank a liter of water right when I got up and had water throughout the day. Then when I got home, I drank like a camel. This did not bode well for my nighttime sleeping - as I was up twice in the night to run to the bathroom - but hey, a deal's a deal, right?


I have to get on it this morning. I only had one bottle of water so far and my goal today is not to let the bulk of my drinking go until the latter part of the day. Otherwise I might be inclined to throw on a Depends tonight before bed - LOL - JUST KIDDING!!!!

So - my goals for this week are:

• Lose 2 lbs
• Keep tracking
• Drink 100 oz of water a day
• Get on Jacobs Ladder FINALLY
• Share at least 2 healthy go-to recipes with nutritional info included.
• Get on my BIKE!!!

Anyway...that's about it for now. Link is set up below!
Once again, sorry for the delay but please post below if you have written your week 3 challenge post so we can all visit you!

Delay for link

Hello  everyone!
Just a quick notice that the linky for the challenge will be up tonight. I am heading out of town today and did not have time to do a full post so tonight when I get home, I will post my update for week 3, refresh everyone's memory for the challenge for week 4 and put the link up for each of you to notify us of your review post for week 3!
Have a great rest of the weekend!

Kettlebell Hell: A Recap

Have you ever heard the saying, "Careful what you wish for...you just might get it."?? Well, this was kind of my situation today and it has to do with the personal goal I set up for this week for the SSSDC. Some of you may recall that on Sunday I wrote that in order to meet this week's challenge of tackling a new piece of equipment or fitness activity, I had two specific things in mind. First, I said I would try the Jacob's Ladder which looks like this:

I bypassed this today, but I'm tackling this scary beast later this week.

I also said I would take on a workout that involved kettlebells, which believe it or not, I have been dying to try (and no, I'm not a sadist - or at least I don't think I am).

Today was my scheduled training session so I thought at the very least I'd ask my trainer, Linda, if she could show me a few quick moves with the kettlebells so I could work out with them later this week on my own without feeling like a complete moron, or end up being carried out of the gym on a stretcher. She quickly jumped on it, asking me if I wanted to do a full body kettlebell routine today. With some minor trepidation and sweat instantaneously forming on my brow, I sheepishly said, "Sure, why not?"

Why not, indeed.

If I didn't require the use of my limbs for the rest of the day and could lie perfectly still, I'd probably be OK - but seeing as we are having a party here on Friday and I have much physical movement that my body is required to do to get this place in tip-top shape,  the fact that my body feels battered to hell isn't cool at the moment. And if I feel this beat-up today, I can only imagine how I'll feel tomorrow....

Let me show you the workout and you can be the judge of whether or not I am a major wuss.....

It started out simple - 10 lb kettlebells in each hand, stepping onto and off of a two step platform. 3 sets of 12 reps of each leg. Sounds simple enough, no? My heart rate shot to 166 almost right out of the gate...I heard voices in my head screaming, "Damn girl - you are in bad shape."

My next move was a curl and press with 10 lb kettlebells in each hand. 3 sets of 15 reps. Not awful but the last few had me grunting like a warthog.
It looked alot like this, except with much more sweat:

If I only knew what was coming after this, I would have fled the gym screaming...

Then, it really got fun! (bonus points to you if you sensed a bit of snark in that comment).....
She had me do that infamous kettlebell swing motion that I THOUGHT looked so "fun" when I saw others doing it....Turns out - it's hard as shit. Not fun. It also didn't help that she upped the weight to 20 lbs for this move and I had to swing it 60, that's right, 60 times. Yeah, I wasn't happy about it either.
The move looks like this:

Harder than it looks.....like, I mean, REALLY harder than it looks.

The next move made me feel like a contestant on the Biggest Loser...I swear - the sweat was just dripping off of me in what felt like rivers, and it was splashing on the mat in front of me. Doing planks while lifting a 5 lb kettlebell above my head was not something I thought this body of mine was capable of doing....and yet - I did it (2 sets of 16 reps - each side), even if only for a short bit. I really felt my strength weakening at this point and about half way through I went from the toe position to my knees, so the core muscles were less engaged, but it was still by NO MEANS an easy move, no matter how you dice it.
It looked like this:

The move also known as: "I Never Thought In a Million Years I Could Do This"

 By this time, I thought we were finished (because my body was telling me I was ready to check out)...but NO - we had one last move and that was the kettelbell row - not to be confused with Deathrow - which I sort of felt like I was on at that moment. 15 lb kettelebells, 2 sets of 15 reps.
It looked like this:

"Are we done yet???"

 And so there you have it. Goal #1 has been met and now I just have to climb that crazy looking Jacob's Ladder. And seriously, for all of my whining in this post about the difficulty of my kettlebell workout - you know what? I'd do it again! Yes, it was hard, but being fat is harder and this workout really worked so many muscles - I feel like it really gave me a lot of bang for my buck, so to speak.
All told, my HRM said I burned 193 calories in 30 minutes. Not bad!

Oh, and just so you know I'm committed (or is that, should BE committed?) I also completed 30 mins on the elliptical after my workout, jello legs and all, because maybe, just maybe, I am a total sadist afterall....

How is everyone else doing with the challenge? Can't wait to check in with you all and see what fun stuff you have tackled this week!

Until then,
Sweat on, my friends!

SSSDC Week 2 Update & Details for Week 3

Hi Peeps
Here we are at the end of week two for the SSDC and the beginning of week 3.
How did everyone do?

This past week's challenge was to get in at least 6 hours of exercise and after last night's wedding, I am happy to report that not only did I meet the goal proposed in the challenge, but I also met my personal goal of 7 hours, tacking on that last extra hour just to see if I could. Guess what? It looks like I absolutely can! I'm proud of the amount of exercise I got in because in all honesty, even I thought 6 hours was a lot right out of the box....it just makes me realize I can work hard again this week and do even more. The Polar HRM is a big motivator, too!

Up until yesterday it was touch and go as to whether or not I'd make the goal but with my added walks I came just 20 mins shy of meeting the goal. Dancing last night made up for the 20 mins and then some, despite my horrendously uncomfortable shoes.

Weight loss this week is as follows:
Starting Weight at beginning of SSSDC - 232 lbs
Weight last week - 229 lbs
Weight this week (6/5) - 226.75 lbs

A 2.25 lbs loss! It's not setting the world on fire but it's a loss - and frankly, after my two kind of lousy eating days, I think this smallish loss is no surprise. I will not be hitting the cocnut rum this week, that I can promise you.

I have continued to track faithfully and by doing this, I definitely see where my "indulgences" most likely derailed having a bigger loss. Here is to a much better week!

Speaking of which - This week we are facing the challenge of trying a new piece of fitness equipment or an activity that you have never tried before. This isn't something you necessarily are afraid to do but maybe something that you just haven't embraced yet but have been meaning to....like jumping rope, hula hooping, or even trying free weights if you never have. The details are below in case you forgot!

Week 3 - (begin June 17) - TRY A NEW FITNESS ACTIVITY OR PIECE OF EQUIPMENT 
I don't know about you but there are plenty of pieces of equipment at the gym that I eye up plenty enough but never give them a try (hello Jacob's Ladder, I'm looking specifically at you).  For example, I have always wanted to try aqua aerobics but never have....I have also wanted to try working out with kettlebells but never have. (WHY???) This challenge is meant to get us out of any fitness ruts we may be experiencing, and to embrace the beauty of change starting on a small scale. Change is hard, and scary sometimes, but I do think that in order to succeed in losing weight, we can't get bored - so let's try new things and find a few new faves. This is one of those challenges you could easily do week to week. You never know - you just may become addicted to something you least expected - like lifting barbells or using the tricep machine! Go for it this week and give us your review on how you did!!!

My personal goals will be as follows:

• Lose 2 lbs
• Try Jacobs Ladder and work out with kettlebells.
• Continue to track
• Complete at least 7.5 hours of exercise

That's about it....I'll be checking in with you to see how you all did and see what you're thinking in terms of meeting this weeks challenge head on.
Best of luck to all my challengers!

Link is up and ready to go so let us know when your post is ready!

Burn, Baby, Burn....

I imagine this is what I must look like at the gym when I am torching calories.....LOL

Good morning! Happy Saturday!

I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to feel spoiled. We've had  quite a few consecutive days of beautiful sunshine and my motivation to work out and be outside has sharply increased, even when last evening, the gnats residing around the town square tried their best to have me for dinner. All I was trying to do was get in an extra walk so that I could make my exercise goal for the week.....why they gotta mess with me like that?

Gnats be damned, yesterday was excellent as far as exercise was concerned. I had a session with my trainer (focus was on legs - ouch), then did 35 mins of the elliptical and then in the evening, the hubs, furry babies and I went for the afore mentioned gnat infested walk. However,  the BEST part of the day was when my husband surprised me with my very own Polar HRM AND a new odometer for my bike! See, wishes do come true! My husband is an amazing guy and so supportive when it comes to this weight loss thing. Doing it together and having a partner who supports your goals is tremendously important and his dedication to his own weight loss has been nothing less than inspiring.

So, cutting to the chase - my calorie burns looks like this from yesterday:

First the session with my trainer which was 30 minutes - by Calorie Count's calculations, I should have burned approximately 206 calories.

Then I hopped on the elliptical for 35 minutes....

Yep - 412 calories - POOF!

After the elliptical, I did another 15 mins of nautilus working the shoulders, biceps and triceps.Not sure what the burn is for that????? Maybe 100 cals??? Maybe less? I dunno! (I didn't have the HRM at the time I was at the gym yesterday).

And later that evening, we walked for just under 35 minutes.....

We only walked just under 35 mins because I was literally being eaten alive....

We even went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner (I had a $50 gift certificate) and did well (and kept within my caloric budget). Granted, we probably stood out like sore thumbs because after all - who on God's green Earth goes to Outback STEAKhouse and orders salmon and Mahi Mahi  with steamed veggies, sauce on the side, no bread and NO bloomin' onion? Uh, Dieters,  that's who.

Knowing we have a wedding to go to today, I knew I had to get the exercise in early today, since I need to have my goal met by tomorrow. So, this morning we walked another hour and 10 mins:

I'm loving this Polar HRM - it's so empowering!

As of Wed, I had logged 3 hours and 41 minutes of exercise. Thursday I cleaned my house for several hours, and although I know it counts kind of as exercise, I'm not really going to count it "officially." Yes, I was sweating and running up and down stairs and bending over to clean and scrub, but I didn't really track my time so I'm sticking with counting "traditional" exercise for my goal totals this week, so Thurs was unfortunately a wash for that...

Yesterday, I tacked on another hour and 55 minutes combined, and today another hour and 10 minutes.


Total so far this week: 6 hours and 46 minutes!

All I need to do is shake my moneymaker tonight at the wedding for 15 minutes and I will have met my challenge goal this week!!!!  I don't foresee that being a problem at all!

I have to say that the pressure to succeed is great, being the one that has coordinated the SSSD challenge. I really feel a responsibility not just to myself, but to all of you!

Hope you are all having a great start to the weekend and I will catch you back here tomorrow for check in time. I should have the linky up in the AM sometime, but I do plan on sleeping in a little - so it won't be the ass-crack of Dawn, I can assure you!

Until tomorrow!

When the cat's away, the mouse drinks coconut rum apparently.

Not cheering so much when I got on the scale this morning...that much I can tell you.

Looks like we are being gifted with another incredible weather day again....unfortunately I have a ton of indoor duties I have to jump on but hopefully today will be the day I get on my bike and ride until my hindquarters scream for mercy. I used to have a odometer on my bike that told me my distance and speed but every time we drove to the beach with our bikes on the back of the car,  we'd arrive with bike still intact but the odometer long gone, no doubt crushed into tiny bits along the turnpike or some other beach-bound highway. I'd like to get another one, simply because I have become interested in the numbers game (doesn't every weight-loss hopeful fixate on numbers at one point or another, be it calories, distance, measurements - you name it?)....I'm starting to like the idea of setting a goal and then seeing if I can beat it. But I need a baseline, and that's where the odometer comes in handy.

Anyway, enough about the bike. I've come here to confess today because I'm feeling pretty guilty about some food and drink choices I made late yesterday afternoon and I figure if I can purge my feelings about it here this morning, I can start my day with a clean slate and move the hell ON. One thing about dieting that I have learned over time is that yesterday's indulgences can't be undone - so there isn't any sense in berating myself for extended period of time simply because I had waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much cheese over waaaaaaaay too many tortilla chips and washed it down with waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much coconut rum and diet coke and called it dinner.

The hubs is away on a short business trip and I took advantage of a little me-alone time outside on the patio and enjoyed the summery day just a tad too much. I would have never done that if he was here because if he had been here, we would have had a healthy dinner together. And since he is not a drinker, I would not have been inclined to imbibe those lovely summer-in-a-glass libations. Thank GOD Josh doesn't travel often or I am beginning to think I'd be a 500 lb. alcoholic. Ok, Ok, not really but seriously, there was no excuse for me to toss all my marbles to the wind and eat and drink what I did. What's worse is, the scale had made me very, very happy that morning, and this is how I repay it? Stupido, stupido, stupido...

BUT, since I can't undo the day, I'm confessing here and then leaving that shit behind me. I've got my eating actually planned out for today which should safely keep me from going off the rails on a crazy train and Josh will be home tonight to make sure I stay focused,  thankfully.  Oh, and just so you know, I am still tracking! I think despite it's "boring-read" factor, I will try to once again post my food tracking here because I know that if others are reading, I won't want to list the bad stuff. I realize that this week since I didn't have to post my food tracking, I had TWO bad days. I think there has to be something said for accountability there...if I am going "public" with my food choices, I tend to make better choices. Hmmm....
I'm no rocket scientist, but I don't think you need to be one to realize what's up here.....(and it ain't just the number on the scale this morning, people). (Sodium,  you suck).

So, you don't need to read my food log (I'll put it at the end of my posts starting tomorrow), but I will be posting it again just for the sake of my own waistline. Fair enough?

Ok,  that's about it. I feel better for having revealed my f-up and feel so much better about getting my head in the right place today. I do think the old adage "the devil finds work for idle hands" is so true - and it surely was for me yesterday.....if I had kept busy instead of lazying around reading my latest Jennifer Lancaster novel, I wouldn't have had time for my tortilla and rum love affair to occur. Luckily for me, I have PLENTY to keep me busy today (since yesterday NONE of my to-do's got checked off my list).....it should be a successful day, all around.

What about you? What do you have going on today that will lead you not into temptation?

Feeling Sunsational!

Nice of this elusive guy to make an appearance today!

Miracle of miracles - the sun is shining!!!!!
I never thought I'd see it again! But the clouds have parted,  the rain has moved out to the Atlantic and it's quite possibly one of the most glorious days we've had all season. Nice breeze, birds singing, warm sun....just AAAAAHHHHHHHH.......

After yesterday's soak-fest, it's a welcome sight and it had me super motivated to start the day off right - which means I hauled my ass out of bed at 6:30 to walk with my husband and the dogs this morning - no whining, no hesitating, no kvetching of any kind. Just bounced right out of bed and popped my contacts in and put on a baseball cap to hide the bed head and off we went on a 3.1 mile trek about town. It took us an hour and 15 mins (roughly a 24 minute mile) because you know when you're walking with dogs there's a lot of sniffing and peeing and pooping and general lollygagging - but I'm not complaining because A) it was fun, B) I made my hour of exercise goal for the day BEFORE 8:00 AM and C) I burned 387 calories. Not freaking bad.

I'll most likely do some free weight/floor exercises here at home later to up the ante a bit but in terms of meeting this weeks goal I am now up to 3 hours and 41 mins...I have about the same amount to meet my goal this week which should be no problem. In fact,  I am hoping to beat my 7 hour goal with a little luck and a lot of hustle.

Since this week's challenge is all about moving our butts more, I thought I'd share an article that was on SparkPeople this morning. This article touched upon a few things, for me, that I know I have been guilty of in the past and if you get a minute to read it,  you may see a little of yourself in it too.....
Here is the link:

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1209

I don't know about you all, but in the past I personally have really been lax about "pushing myself" when it came to exercise. Even now, it takes a lot of inner monologue to get me to push past my comfort zone when I am at the gym. I can make excuses like you wouldn't believe. Things like, "I have a bad wedgie - I better get off the elliptical so I can pick it" or "It feels like there is a stone in my shoe, I have to stop walking" or "my bra is chafing me" or "it's drizzling, and apparently I melt in the rain"....you know - total BULLSHIT.

I wish exercise was easy and I wanted to do it all of the time. The reality is it's not, and I don't. If it was easy and always enjoyable, I wouldn't be 100 pounds overweight. Am I right? The article also talks about sabotaging your efforts when you allow your self extra food or treats simply because you worked out. Doesn't that defeat the purpose? I can see once in a while, but I used to be of the warped mindset that justified dessert each night because I burned some calories during the day....I mean where's the logic in that? No wonder the scale was frozen in place for so long. The long and short of it is that you have to give up in order to get.....I finally understand that now. I guess with age really does come wisdom. Ha! An upside to turning 40!

In other news, Debbi at Debbi Does Dinner sent me info to do the linky so that it will be easy to keep track of who has their challenge posts up on Sunday. I will let the link open for two days so people that don't get to it on Sunday have an extra day or two to share their results. Fingers crossed the link thing will work on Sunday....stay tuned!

That's about it for now....I have a house that is begging to be dusted and vacuumed. Joy of all joys! Ha - NOT.

Have a good day everyone. I hope the sun is shining where ever you are!

That fat isn't going to melt itself, ya know...

Big surprise - it's raining here again. I'm talking hours and hours of a steady downpour. Hibernation-mode weather, if you know what I mean. Last time I checked, I wasn't a duck, so no - I'm not really digging this wet crap that Mother Nature has been concocting on the east coast as of late. It does a number on my motivation to workout like you wouldn't believe which is NOT GOOD considering the challenge for this week is to get in at least 6 hours of exercise. How bad would it look if the creator of the SSSDC failed at her own challenge? Never mind, I'll answer that. It would be horrendously bad.

THANKFULLY, I didn't let the ice-cream loving, cellulite-rippled, lazy devil that resides on my shoulder talk me into being a couch potato today. I donned the old sneaks and hit the gym today to get my sweat on, proper. I knew I had to go, no matter what my motivation level, because yesterday was a complete bust eating-wise and exercise-wise. Yes, I'm still faithfully tracking my eats and drinks, but the foods/beverages on my calorie count page yesterday was akin to the lifestyle enjoyed by the "old Rochelle"....it was a complete carb-fest that involved a litany of profane words such as "bagel", "cream cheese", "soft pretzel", "quesadilla" and "beer".  All told I was nearly 800 calories over my recommended 1270 that I have been diligently trying to stick to. Talk about self-sabotage. Jesus!

So, you see,  getting to the gym really wasn't even a QUESTION today. It was a MUST. And because I aimed for 7 hours of exercise this week, I knew I had to bust a move today, come hell or high water. (And if it doesn't stop raining soon, that high water will definitely become a reality - and yes, it will be hell). Today was SUPPOSED to be my swimming day, but since that didn't happen, the elliptical trainer and "dreadmill" were my go-to calorie burners for the day, followed up by some nautilus machines for a quick upper body workout.

I have been incredibly inspired by Shannon over at Mama Shan who has been working out like Wonder Woman on speed lately and she takes pictures of the equipment she works out on to track time/calories. I think this is so cool because I often forget what the machine says I burned by the time I get home (they say the memory is the first thing to go - Ha!) and this is a great way to remember AND to keep accountable on here to show I actually made the effort to get my ample arse to the gym! I do want to get a heart rate monitor, especially now that I bought one for my husband for his b-day and he is addicted to it....seeing the calorie burn is highly motivating and he is hooked! I want the same feeling - I honestly have no clue what I burn while doing the free weights and nautilus machines so I think it's a worthy investment. I bought Josh (my hubs) the Polar F4 which is probably what I will get for myself.  Do any of you use a heart rate monitor to gauge your calorie frying?

Anyhoo - so,  in the spirit of biting off of Shannon's gym pic idea (thanks, Shan!!!),  my workouts today looked like this:

The elliptical machine (30 mins)  - Goodbye 343 calories - consider yourselves sizzle-fried!

And this:

The old Dreadmill - this one shows time (30 mins) - I even sprinted for a minute here and there!!!

Dreadmill calorie burn - 197.5 (hey, I'll take it!)

I also spent 15 minutes doing Nautilus machines - working on biceps, triceps, back and shoulders.
I plugged that into calorie count and it only allotted me 77 calories burned for that. Not sure if it is accurate or not, but without the HRM, I have no idea, so I have to just roll with it. So, all told, 517.5 calories torched today, even though I wanted to do nothing at all. I think this challenge is inspiring more than I ever thought it would.

So with my walk on Sunday and the gym today, I am at 2 hours and 26 minute of exercise for the week. It's not anything to write home about but I know I will kick some exercise ass over the next few days, plus I have my session with my trainer on Friday. I'm a little nervous because Josh and I have a wedding on Saturday and I don't want to be a crippled mess that can't move (usually the situation the day after I am trainer-abused at the gym).....we'll just have to wait and see!

Hope you all are blazing calories like it's your job this week....mainly because IT IS YOUR JOB THIS WEEK!!! Good luck to all - I'm checking in as I can with everyone! And I am working on trying to get a link for this week - so stay tuned!

Week 1 Summary of Summer Sizzle Slim Down Challenge & Details for Week 2

Don't let this be you! Get that butt moving this week!!!!!

Greetings!
I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! The weather here hasn't been the best - but this is no new news around here. I am so sick and tired of humidity, rain and general lack of sunshine. Lord knows I could sure use a major dose of Vitamin D, but I think Mother Nature has other plans.

Even if the weather hasn't been exactly ideal, I did get up and walk this morning for an hour and 11 mins (exactly). It feels good to have burned some calories (about 340) before the day really gets underway. I have to admit that my weekly exercise has been sporadic at best, and I missed my appt with my trainer this week due to a schedule conflict, so I am happy that the challenge for this week is dedicated to upping the ante on the sweat-o-meter.

But before I get into the upcoming week's challenge, let me ask....How did you all do with tracking this week?

I must admit for as much as I have hated, despised, deplored, and abhored tracking in the past, I surprised myself by my diligence with keeping track of everything I ate and drank AS WELL AS actually screening the foods that crossed my lips. Meaning, I was definitely more careful of my food choices (for the majority of the week, anyway), even though I did have some small indulgences here and there. I'll post my final three days of food tracking at the end of this post just so you know I have been accountable (but I know it's kind of boring to read - it's mainly for my own purpose). For the most part I stayed right within my daily calorie target - and it was easier than I thought it would be, though by no means would I describe it as EASY.  Best I can tell, before I started this little tracking adventure, I was probably consuming at least double the calories as I did throughout the past 2 weeks (I started tracking a week before the challenge started). The best part is, the scale is rewarding me!

So, my summary of this past week is as follows:
I did GREAT on tracking and it seems to be working.
Starting weight for the SSSDC on 6/3/12 = 232 lbs.
Weight as of 6/8/12 = 229 lbs. (my weigh in day is Friday)
Total lost so far = 3 lbs
I tracked all week, every meal and stayed very close to my daily calorie allotment which is 1270 cals.

NSV for the week was walking through Wegmans and bypassing their triple berry pie (it is the freaking BOMB). I may have walked out the store door with my shirt saturated in drool, but at least I didn't buy the damn thing!

And now - Onto this week's challenge!!! For those needing a reminder of what the challenge is,  see below:

Week 2 - (begin June 10) - "SIX HOURS OF EXERCISE"
I don't care if you are dancing around your house or lifting weights or walking or ice skating. The goal for this week is to simply get moving for at least 6 hours throughout the week. You can break it into smaller increments throughout the day if needed, but try to track your exercise so you can reach that weekly goal. Those of you that have long hours at work, this may be tough but the operative word for this challenge is TRY! Making time when you think there is NO time in the day will be an added challenge, but I have faith we can all do this one!
If you are so inclined, share your stat goals - like that you intend to walk 24 miles or whatever goal you have that will coincide with your 6 hours of exercise. I'll be here to cheer you on!
 
Yes - get that rumpshaker MOVING!!!! Fire up your iPod and torch those thigh muscles!
This will be a real challenge for me since I mentioned I have been a bit of a slacker as of late. But logic tells me that if I can lose 3 lbs this week being sporadic in my exercise, I should be able to do just as well next week IF I move it a bit more. My personal goal is 7 hours of exercise this week, and I plan on fulfilling it by working out at the gym, walking and bike riding - and maybe even some swimming if the weather holds out.

(Oh, and I have also decided I will continue to track my food throughout this challenge.)

SOOOOOOOO......How do you plan on getting in your 6 hours this week? Tell us!!!

I guess you realize I don't have the link set up yet but by next week I promise it will be. Debbi at http://debbidoesdinnerhealthy.blogspot.com/ just e-mailed me the instructions so I will get on it. For now, please let us know via my comments section that your post is up for this week. Don't forget to leave your name and the link to your post so we can stop by to check it out!!!

Good luck to all this week - I know we can do it!
Sending sweaty, fat-melting thoughts your way! LOL...

Rochelle


Below is my food tracking from the remainder of the week:

Thursday 6/7/12 (Total cals = 1154)

Breakfast (total cals - 351):
Coffee w/ cream - 40 cals
2 cups Special K with Red Berries - 220 cals
1 cup skim milk - 91 cals

Lunch (total cals (227)
salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, croutons & dressing - 227 cals
water

Dinner (total cals = 328)
3 oz grilled chicken breast - 187 cals
roasted green beans - 29 cals
roasted cauliflower (trace olive oil) - 112 cals

Snack
Banana w/ 1 tbsp peanut butter - 208 cals


Friday June 8, 2012 - (Total cals - 1298)

Breakfast (total cals - 330)
Coffee with cream - 40 cals
Dunkin Donuts - Egg white veggie flatbread - 290 cals

Lunch (total cals - 290)
Veggie wrap with 2 tbsp lite Asian Sesame dressing - 290 cals
Diet Coke

Snack (total cals - 185)
1 serving Tostito Rounds - 140 cals
 3 servings Newmans Own Pineapple salsa - 45 cals

Dinner (total cals - 335)
Salad with 3 oz grilled chicken breast, grape tomatoes & 1 oz goat cheese - 335 cals
Water

Dessert (total cals - 157)
small slice angel food cake with strawberries & fat free whipped cream - 157 cals


Saturday June 9, 2012 (Total cals = 1108 cals)

Breakfast (total cals - 428)
Coffee with cream - 40 cals
lite english muffin - 90 cals
Stuffed pepper filling (shrimp, cheeses, peppers, onions) - 298

Lunch (0 cals)
None

Snack (total cals - 75)
Apple (75 cals)

Dinner (total cals - 377)
Cob of corn - 90 cals
Wegmans Garbanzo bean & caramelized onion veggie burger - 200 cals
1 tsp lite miracle whip - 19 cals
 roasted green beans - 69 cals

Dessert (total cals - 177)
Mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries) - 177 cals

Indulgence (total cals - 126)
White wine - 6 oz - 126 cals

Some good news, some "eh" news, and some new challenge participants

Extra, Extra - Read all about my crappy food choices on Wednesday!

I got up this morning with the full intent of taking a walk with my husband and the dogs but when I got downstairs, all I heard was the echo of my own voice - I was too late - they had already left the house (uh, maybe because I never called down to them that I was awake and wanted to tag along - duh!). I plan on hitting the gym later so it's not the world's biggest tragedy, but I do like the morning air in my lungs and there is something that makes me feel good about taking a walk in the AM. I guess it makes my day feel like it has started off on the right foot, so to speak...Pathetic pun intended.

No worries about missing the walk today, though. I'm sitting here with a steaming cup of joe, catching up with people's blogs. I love to do this in the morning as well. I must admit, catching up with everyone is a bit of a challenge within the Summer Sizzle Challenge itself because there are so many people participating. As a matter of fact, we have three new people that have asked if they could join this week! They are:
Annie at http://annie-shrinkinggirl.blogspot.com/
Cathy at http://wordsworldandwings.blogspot.com/
Kia at a View from Here. (I don't have your blog url so please send it to me).

Please update your lists! I will add them to my blog list at the side of my page.

Because we have such a huge group (and for the sake of not hanging out in front of my computer all day), I think what I may have to do is limit comments to two or three times a week - Sunday and another day or two. BUT, I will check in and read every day if you have a new post! I like to see how everyone is doing! Please know I am always here to root you on. If you feel you need more support, please just ask for it!

Based on what I am reading as I make my blog rounds is that the general consensus among the Summer Sizzle challengers has been that tracking food SUCKS (Come on, admit you have been cursing me up and down this week - LOL) - but the good news is everyone is still doing it and we are more than half way through the week! I have been tracking every morsel, measuring and weighing (it's more exact if I am at home but I still track foods I eat outside of the house too) and for the first couple of days, I did great food-wise (see last post). Tuesday was awesome in the AM, then I skipped lunch and dinner was all kinds of crazy. When I say crazy, I don't mean "whole-pizza in my face" kind of crazy. But I do mean that  I consumed more than my caloric limit allows and I think it was because I let myself get so hungry, I wasn't able to stop at one helping for dinner. Plus dinner was really freaking delicious.

Wednesday would have been Ok except for the sneak attack lunch which included a burger and fries. On some level, it took the pleasure out of these foods knowing I had to  A) write it down on the food log, B) confess to eating it on my blog, and C) suffer the consequence of making such poor food choices. Even though it was good organic beef, and the fries were not greasy (it wasn't fast food), I know there was salt and fat and calories galore, and yeah, I am feeling a little bloaty today. And I'm up half a pound. It could be worse - I realize this. But it does make me more cognizant of the fact that I need to be more diligent about eating well the rest of the week if I want this weight to start disappearing. Call me insane, but I am pretty damn sure eating fries is not going to make that happen.
Pffft.

Anyhoo- so as not to drag the suspense out any longer (ha ha), I give you my eats and drinks for the past 2 days:

Tuesday June 5 (1546 total cals - Meh!)

Breakfast (total 251 cals)
Lite English Muffin - 90 cals
2 egg whites - 32 cals
Fresh broccoli - 12 cals
grape tomatoes - 7 cals
1 slice lorraine swiss - 110 cals

No lunch

Dinner (total 1295 cals)

Shrimp Stuffed Poblano peppers (I tallied entire recipe and divided by 12 peppers)
2 peppers = 400 cals
roasted red pepper sauce - 40 cals
1 cob of corn (corn = 150 g) - 89  cals
salad with lite northern italian dressing (3 tbsp) -  100 cals
1 oz pepper jack cheese - 110 cals
angelfood cake - 72 cals
1 c fresh strawberries - 79 cals
1/4 c fresh blueberries - 21 cals
fat free whipped cream - 25 cals
15 oz white wine (YIKES!!!!) - 349 cals (holy crap - this is totally my downfall)


 Wednesday June 6 (1848 total cals - Ugh!)

Breakfast (311 total cals)
2 c Special K with Berries - 220 cals
1 c skim milk - 91 cals


Lunch (782 total cals)
1/4 pound 95% fat free burger (organic) w/ lettuce, tomato, raw onion - best guess 242 cals
flour tortilla wrap - 180 cals
french fries - best guess 360 cals

Dinner (755 total cals)
Shrimp Stuffed Poblano Pepper - 200 cals
roasted cauliflower, brussel sprouts, carrots & parsnips - 160 cals
Dessert - 1 c chocolate ice cream (yeah, I know after the earlier burger/fries this was DUMB) - 377 cals


There it is - the good,  the bad, and the fattening.....Here's to a better day today!

Food Track Attack

How many of these have you had today???

Hello Sizzle Sisters,
I'm still trying to make the rounds! With so many people on this challenge,  it takes a while to get to everyone so if I haven't commented yet,  please be patient. :-) I'll get there soon... (I can't spend all day at the computer - someone has to cook dinner!)

I hope everyone is doing well with their food tracking thus far....I am going to document my meals for Sunday and Monday at the bottom of this post, but I have to say that this tracking thing, although a ROYAL pain in the ass, is making a difference! I really have to THINK about what I am going to eat instead of just doing mindless eating, which apparently I do quite a bit! I really commend those who track their food religiously because it does take time and work and, well it's just so much easier NOT to do it! This is one of the primary reasons I made it the first part of the challenge. It is a habit I need to start and stay with in order to be successful. When I weighed in this morning (I hop on the scale daily - it's just something I do...), I was down to 229. Granted, I know body weight can radically fluctuate, but I was 235 towards the end of May so I think something is working in my favor.

I'm doing my food/calorie logging through Caloriecount.com and they have given me a caloric amount to try to stick with daily. It's a little over 1200, which is kind of low but so far I have been able to stick with it most days. It's eating out that is difficult because it is hard to calculate calories when you have no idea how things are prepared or even what all of the ingredients are in the recipe. When I know I'm "celebrating" I have tried to make better choices throughout the day prior to going out - but again, I have to credit the food tracking for this because in the past, I never gave a rat's ass what I ate before going out to eat. I definitely feel more in tune with what I am eating, and so far, I have not felt "deprived" - although yesterday as I walked around Fresh Market, I wouldn't have minded had someone pushed my face into one of their delicious looking chocolate cakes. I'm just sayin'...

Today is my husband's birthday and his parents are coming for dinner versus us going out, so at least I know I can calculate calories for the b-day dinner. I'm making a huge tossed salad and the main course will be shrimp, black bean, and pineapple stuffed poblano peppers. I may get some corn on the cob too, to have as a grilled side. There is something about grilling corn that makes it taste so much better than boiling. I love it! And finally for dessert, even though my husband requested just fresh berries, I insisted on an angel food cake at the very least so that I had something to stick a candle into. This kind of birthday cake is a far cry from our indulgences of years past, I can tell you that!

So - here we go for food tracking Sunday and Monday (since week one is all about accountability):

Sunday:

Breakfast
 1 1/2 C Peanut Butter Cheerios - 220 cals
3/4 cup skim milk - 61 cals
Banana - 105 cals
coffee with 2 tbsp cream - 40 cals

Snack
Lite English muffin with spray butter - 90 cals

Lunch
2 small slices french baguette - 82 cals
267 g of French Onion Soup (Home made) - 112 cals
Wegmans Small California Roll Sushi - 200 cals

Dinner
392 g of homemade gazpacho - 123 cals
2 cobs grilled corn with spray butter - 225 cals


 Monday:

Breakfast
Lite english muffin - 90 cals
1 tbsp miracle whip - 20 cals
1 can white albacore chunk tuna - 120 cals
1 slice (1 oz) lorraine swiss cheese  - 110 cals
Coffee w/ 2 tbsp cream - 40 cals

Lunch
6" Turkey Subway sandwich (no cheese) w/ lite mayo - 316 cals
Small bag Baked Lays chips - 130 cals

Dinner
Mixed roasted vegetables (cauliflower, brussel sprouts, parsnips, carrots) misted LIGHTLY with olive oil before roasting - 160 cals
8 oz white wine - 186 cals

 Not too bad, right?
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm kind of hungry....breakfast calls!

Summer Sizzle Slim Down Challenge - List of Participants

When I was thinking about creating a challenge for the summer I had no idea this many people would hop on board! I am amazed by how many people told their friends about the challenge and how the list has grown!

Below I have an updated list of everyone that has requested to join the challenge through today.
The last person to join was Debbi who e-mailed me this afternoon (she is listed at the bottom of the participant list). She is going to walk me through setting up the link so that when people place their notification that they posted their challenge update on Sundays, it will be more streamlined.

At least that's the plan, anyway!

If you sent me a request to join through the comment sections of one of the earlier posts,  you should be added to this list.

If I didn't answer you personally through the comments section yet,  please look at the list below and make sure I have you listed. I just haven't had time to get to check in with everyone yet because there are so many people - but I promise I will pop by and say hello and officially welcome you to the challenge.

I know it's going to be a great summer with so many people committed to this! Let's kick some fat cells to the curb and make this a skinnier summer, ladies!

Participant List for the 2012 Summer Sizzle Slim Down Challenge

JoNita at http://aboutjonitaandherweightloss.blogspot.com/
Kody at http://www.skinnysized.com/
Michele at http://ruminationsasiuncoverthewomanwithin.blogspot.com/
Julie at http://healthywealthandwisenotbutlearning.blogspot.com/
Nicole at http://www.colieskitchen.com/
Christina at http://last-weight-loss-journey.blogspot.com
Shannon at http://mamashan.blogspot.com/
Pam at http://www.emptynest1.com/
Alison at http://www.underthebigoaktree.com/
Shala (or Miss S.) at http://followmethirty.blogspot.com/
Plum Petals at http://plumpetals-workinitout.blogspot.com/ 
Dina at  http://fromwaddletorun.blogspot.com/
Jo at http://awellkeptlife.blogspot.com
Deb at http://debsdailylife.blogspot.com/ 
Betty at http://bltnever.blogspot.com
http://searchingforthefireflies.blogspot.com/
http://blogwobble.blogspot.com/
Tammy1409 (who does not have a blog but will give her updates through my comments section each week).
Tomadou at http://tomadou.blogspot.com/
Chica at http://studyabroadslimdown.blogspot.com/
Kenna at http://kennalarae.blogspot.com
Lora at http://lollyblabbin.blogspot.com
http://morethanihopedfor.wordpress.com/
Casey at http://caseys279.blogspot.com
Nanette at http://nanettesthejuicytruth.blogspot.com
Debbi at http://debbidoesdieting.blogspot.com/



P.S. - I still don't have first names for:
http://searchingforthefireflies.blogspot.com/
http://blogwobble.blogspot.com/
http://morethanihopedfor.wordpress.com/
 

Summer Sizzle Slim Down Pics/Measurements/Weight

Ok,  here goes....
On the first day of the Summer Sizzle Slim Down Challenge, my measurements are:
Bust - 48
Waist - 43 1/2
Hips - 52 1/2
Thigh 27 1/2
(I still need help doing the upper arm - will get the hubs to do that for me in a bit)

Starting Weight: 232

So, what does all of those numbers look like on a 5' 0" woman?
Well, it looks a lot like this:

Not pretty....but I vow to work on this all summer long (and beyond)....
I am hoping that this challenge brings me (and all of you) more than just weight loss success. Although that is the ULTIMATE goal, I want to completely readjust my mind set about food, and eliminate cravings and basically begin to live the life style of a person who is 40 years old and feels their life is worth living in the best body it can. That body is not the one that is in these pictures - that is for certain.

This challenge will be hard work and I know that I may not enjoy some aspects of it, but that is why I am doing it. It's all about breaking out of bad habits and escaping the comforts of food that are bad for me and the inactive lifestyle I had been leading that became so familiar to me over the years. Time to breakaway from all of that.

So, I will embrace each weekly challenge and hopefully come Sept 2, I will be looking at a 20 pound loss. It's a modest goal - one I think is completely achievable.

I wish each and every one of you the best of luck over the next few months. This is bound to be our best summer yet!

Who is ready to get their SIZZLE ON???

Good morning to my Summer Sizzle Sisters!

Since today starts the official kick off of the Summer Sizzle Slimdown Challenge, I thought I would do a quickie post this morning to clear up the questions I have received and post links to everyone's blog (or those that I have, anyway).  IF you see that I do not have your blog url in my list and you want to be a part of the challenge, please just leave the link in my comment section and I will add it to our list!

Here is the way this challenge should roll week to week:
As we embrace day #1,  those that are going to take pics/measurements, this is the day to do it. If you have a blog,  you will post your info there as a regular post. You can leave a short comment (including your url) in my comments section that will let everyone know you have posted. As new people come to my post,  they should check out the comments section to see who has posted for the day, and pop on by their blog to say hi and give some encouragement! I will try to have a cumulative list of ALL challenge members complete by today. I was amazed how many new people popped up suddenly but I think it's great that so many people are on board and excited to get the summer kick-started this way! I say the more, the merrier!

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE (beginning 6/3/12):

If it passes your lips, you gotta write it down!
This week is all about BEING ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT GOES IN OUR GULLETS!!!!
No more samples of this or bites or licks of that without accountability!
The goal is to keep a food log this week. I know some of your do this religiously, others do it half-assedly, and yet others don't do it at all. One of the things I continually read in regard to weight loss success is the recording of what you eat and drink. I think they may be onto something!

IF you have a food scale, this would be a good time to dust it off and use it! The goal is to be as accurate as you can about what you are eating, and keep a week-long tally of calories consumed each day. Calorie Count has an excellent database of foods and is a wonderful (free!) tool to use for this very purpose. As an added challenge to yourself,  you can set a calorie limit you'd like to stick with each day. Since this will vary for everyone, please let us know what your goal is. If you don't want to count calories,  that is OK too, but just let us know how you are being accountable. Are you measuring portions? Are you staying away from all fast food? Are you doing something different this week in regard to how you document what you eat that you have not done before? Inquiring minds want to know! Next Sunday we want to hear the good,  the bad and the ugly about how you did (I'm optimistic - I think all reports will be STELLAR!!). We'll check in and give our two cents and some positive encouragement!

Following this initial kick off of the challenge, I will post the upcoming week's challenge info every Sunday. (I'll probably blog more than that throughout the week but Sunday will be the official Challenge Dedication Day). On Sundays, once you have created your post on your blog that gives us the low-down on how you did with the weekly challenges (and any weight loss deets if you are sharing that info), please remember to come back to my blog and post a quick comment that lets us know you have posted (and please include a link to your post!!!). That way people know with whom they can come and check in.

I wish I knew how to do the thing that Thursday's Child did last year with the Christmas Dress Challenge where people inserted their names right onto her page that allowed you to go directly to their post, but I am SO NOT that blog saavy - so I apologize. If anyone has an easier suggestion for how we can check each other's posts, I'm all ears, but until I get a better method,  this will have to suffice.

Remember this is a support system here and we are all in this together - through good and bad, so don't be afraid to ask for help, suggestions, or extra encouragement if you need it. I know some of the challenges seem hard or unpleasant but hey - that's why it's a CHALLENGE, right?

Anyway - I still need my husband to take my picture this morning (but first I have to shower so I don't scare the living bejeezus out of all of you (I have enough butt-ugly pics on this blog already). So I will be doing an additional post today once the measurements and pics are done.

As of right now, I have the following people taking the Summer Sizzle Slim Down Challenge (Please note: if I do not have a name listed, I apologize - it's because I either know you only as your blog name or when you commented your name was not included on the comment. Please provide us with the name you would like to be called during this challenge):

JoNita at http://aboutjonitaandherweightloss.blogspot.com/
Kody at http://www.skinnysized.com/
Michele at http://ruminationsasiuncoverthewomanwithin.blogspot.com/
Julie at http://healthywealthandwisenotbutlearning.blogspot.com/
Nicole at http://www.colieskitchen.com/
Christina at http://last-weight-loss-journey.blogspot.com
Shannon at http://mamashan.blogspot.com/
Pam at http://www.emptynest1.com/
Alison at http://www.underthebigoaktree.com/
Shala (or Miss S.) at http://followmethirty.blogspot.com/
Plum Petals at http://plumpetals-workinitout.blogspot.com/ 
Dina at  http://fromwaddletorun.blogspot.com/
Jo at http://awellkeptlife.blogspot.com
Deb at http://debsdailylife.blogspot.com/ 
Betty at http://bltnever.blogspot.com
http://searchingforthefireflies.blogspot.com/
http://blogwobble.blogspot.com/
Tammy1409 (who does not have a blog but will give her updates through my comments section each week).
Tomadou at http://tomadou.blogspot.com/
Chica at http://studyabroadslimdown.blogspot.com/
Kenna at http://kennalarae.blogspot.com
Lora at http://lollyblabbin.blogspot.com
http://morethanihopedfor.wordpress.com/
Casey at http://caseys279.blogspot.com
Nanette at http://nanettesthejuicytruth.blogspot.com
Debbi at http://debbidoesdieting.blogspot.com/



Did I forget anybody???

I am not sure of Taryn at Fat Girl in a Skinny World is joining (but Taryn,  we'd love to have you!).

Ok - gotta take a shower! Let me know if anyone has questions! Hope I have covered everything.

Please let me just say that I am excited to be doing this challenge will all of you and am proud that each and every one of us is willing to try their best to make a big difference in their health this summer! We can do this!!!!!!!
And if you ever need further motivation, repeat the words that were once posed to me by the wise (and weight loss success-story) Michele at http://ruminationsasiuncoverthewomanwithin.blogspot.com/

...IF NOT NOW, WHEN?????

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!

SIZZLE ON!!!!!

Getting Ready to Sizzle

Happy Saturday to everyone!
Tomorrow begins the Summer Sizzle Slim Down Challenge and I have to say, it's coming not a moment too soon. This week has been sort of rough with staying on track.  Although I have been logging my calories on CalorieCount.com, some of the food I had wasn't in the data base (which, duh, can't be a good sign, right?), so I just had to guesstimate the calorie value. Ugh. I think it's a sign from the fat gods that I need to stop going to restaurants and stay at home and cook myself things that I know are healthy. The problem is now that school is over, I have been playing catch up with my social life. This week  I scheduled three dinners out (gulp!) with people that I haven't seen in ages. This type of jam-packed social schedule is highly abnormal for me - but I know it can easily spell disaster if I don't watch it. I was down to 230.75 yesterday but when I weighed myself this morning, .75 pounds crept back on - so I know that the past few days of indulgences here and there (I've already had 2 of those 3 dinners out) are not helping my situation. Did I mention a cocktail or two was involved? I'm glad to be getting it out of the way this week because after tomorrow, I'm flipping the switch.

One difference I have made this time around (and it's probably why the scale didn't bounce right back to 234) is that I have PLANNED for these dinners out. I kept my calories low for the bulk of the day and banked a bunch to feed my social need, so to speak. It seems to help a small bit, at least.

So tomorrow starts the challenge and I feel good about the progress I intend to make and the changes I intend to see this time around. I have absolutely no obstacles standing in my way for the first time in a long time - there isn't an excuse to be had ANYWHERE so I am feeling more confident than I have in my previous attempts to tame the Fat Beast.

For those of you that asked questions or posted to the Details for the Summer Sizzle Slim Down Challenge, I did leave a reply on the comments section of that post. A few had questions about weighing in, or posting pictures. I am going to leave that part up to you. As long as you can monitor your progress one way or another and share with us, that is fine. Michele, I know you have dietary requirements the week of your bike event, so again, whatever you need to do is fine! I think I mentioned I am not the Diet Gestapo so I don't want anyone to feel like tweaks can't be made, but the goal is to stick with as many of the weekly challenges as possible without radical modifications (unless necessary). Some of the challenges even scare me, but I am willing to step outside my comfort zone and work at making slow, steady changes that will hopefully lead to big changes down the line.

So, get ready for tomorrow. It will be time to log EVERYTHING.
I'm ready! Are you????