Winner of the Target Gift Cards

Hello everyone!  I am back from my nice weekend which was filled with family and friend stuff. Thank you all for the kind words that you shared on my blog last week.  I appreciate all of the support that you have given me during this journey.


So the winners are...

Numbers in a bowl.

Picking them out...

Sorry about the sideways, but number 7 and 5 are the winners!

CONGRATULATIONS Karen at Waisting Time and Tabatha at Ate My Inner Skinny are each the winners of a $15 Target gift.  I will contact you to get your address.

(Wo)Man Vs. Food

This is my 100th post.  It is a combination of my feelings on a really bad day and my feelings now.  What you see below is a description of how I felt last Sunday evening.  I was two seconds away from getting horribly back off track again.  I decided I was going to start blogging about it.  I wrote down everything I was feeling at the time and I saved it on my blog and didn't publish it.  I went back and looked at it several times this week and just thought about it some more.  I will let you read it and then I will attempt to make sense of my food feelings.  So, here it goes...


This afternoon I made a huge mistake.  I was watching TV in my room.  I had just had a delicious healthy snack of hummus veggies and some cracker crisps.  I was watching trashy mindless TV shows because I had already worked out and cleaned the house and I was just taking some much needed "me" time.


I ran out of shows to watch, so I started to scan the channels searching for something else to occupy my time.  I ended up stopping at Man vs. Food.  He was in Philadelphia and was on his typical spree to find the biggest, greasiest most delicious food that he could.  I was intrigued.  I have never been to Philadelphia.  Maybe I want to go there?  Hmmm, what do they have to eat that is so special.  I watched the entire program.


As the show ended I sat there thinking to myself.  I want some french fries.  I NEED some french fries.  Or maybe some Nachos?  Salty chips could be good too.  If have the salt though I am going to need the sweet. Dairy queen has a brownie batter blizzard.  I love that slice of chocolate cake from the bakery down the street.  I became obsessed with thinking about food.  Maybe I could just have a small fry.  Or a few chips and some chocolate. Or better yet, maybe I could just "take the night off" .  Weekends are meant to be bad.  One bad night won't matter in the big picture.


LIES.  It is all a great big lie.  I want the chips and the fries and the chocolate.  I can't have them.  It kills me that I do not yet have the willpower right now to eat unhealthy foods in moderation.  I am not strong enough to only have one or two.  I know that I am only one fast food run away from a binge.  If I get a bag of chips I will eat them all in one sitting.  I could eat a whole piece of cake no problem, with no guilt.


I hate that food is such a problem for me.  I know if losing weight was easy everyone would be skinny.  I get it.  It is really hard.  It is hard for me.  I want to be healthy.  I want to lose weight, to be thin. I want  so bad, but I want it to not be so hard.  I know at the end of this when I look back on these struggles I will think that it was all worth it.  That I went through all of those hard times to finally get to the end of this battle.

Last night was another "close call".  I got home from work and was about to make dinner when I got sidetracked.  All of a sudden it was 7:15 and I hadn't eaten dinner.  The thought of Wendy's was haunting me.  I grabbed my keys and my wallet and I got in my car.  I decided that Wendy's was bad, I should get something else.  I should go to Subway.  Then I thought, "McDonalds is across from Subway... maybe I could just get a four piece chicken nugget and a small fry."  I drove past the Golden Arches and parked at Subway.  I ordered a sandiwch.  I got baked chips.  I got in my car dreading driving past the Golden Arches again.  I thought about the french fries again.  I kept driving.  I got home and as I pulled in my garage I literally said out loud, "that was close."  It was.  Too close, but yet I am not writing to you to tell you that I have fallen off plan.  I am here to say that I am human.  I am here to say that my willpower is not always iron clad, but it is growing stronger everyday.  It gets easier everyday.


Right now I am in a back and forth battle with food and with myself.  Right now is really just the beginning of a long road.  Right now I am stronger than I was yesterday, but not as strong as I will be tomorrow. Right now I have lost 7 pounds this week.  Right now I feel the fire.  Right now I am in control of my life, my body, my weight and it feels GOOD!

So, this is me right now.  On my 100th post I am still 20 pounds down (27 if you count my new 7 pounds) from  my first post, but I have many pounds to go.  So, thanks to all of you for reading and supporting me through my many ups and downs.  Sometimes, the support that I get from all of you helps me to keep going when I just want to quit.  As a thank you I am going to give away two Target gift cards.  All you have to do is comment on this post about why you like to read my blog.  I will accept comments until 8:00 a.m. on Monday June 27th.  At that time I will pick a winner, conatact you for your address and mail you your gift card. :)  Easy peasy.  No more posts until Monday.  Happy weekend!                                  

Clothing Motivation

I have been buying smaller sized clothing for 3 months now.  I wasn't really eating well when I bought most of the clothes, but I always had good intentions of starting on Monday, or next week, or after the holidays.....


So, I have clothing that is too big, just right, too small and way to small.  It is now serving as one of my big motivators (besides my upcoming wedding).  I don't dress the way I want to dress because I don't look the way I want to look.  Yes, I am the same person who posted this post "Dressing for the Body You Have" a few months ago.  I do mean everything I said back then.  I think you should dress the body that you have, not the one that you used to have or want to have.


In a general sense I don't dress awful.  I try to wear things that fit at the time and make the best of it.  However, the majority of the clothes that I am drawn to are not in my size or I am not willing to wear them at my current size.  It can make things really difficult.  I feel like a fashionista that is trapped in a fat body.  I read many blogs about people who are curvy and they all dress so well and are so confident with their bodies.  I think that is AMAZING!  I on the other hand am not content with the body that I have right now.   I am looking forward to the body that can wear these items below.  


I apologize that the picture quality is so poor, it is taken from my phone as my camera is MIA right now.

Navy dress with unique back straps from Forever 21+

Cute denim jumper from Forever 21+

Gorgeous skirt for the winter.  It has a nice shimmer to it that you can't see here.  Forever 21+

Fun dress for work or a special event.  Forever 21+

Cleaning up your diet

When I wake up in the morning I take a shower and brush my teeth and then i sit in bed for a few minutes reading emails on my Iphone and checking out all of my daily deals and health tips.  I read them all, but some of them are more meaningful than others.  This morning the email was from Prevention and it was called 9 Ways to Clean Up Your Diet.

I thought that it was really interesting and thought that I would share it with you.  Check out the article and also Prevention's website.  They have great health tips and recipes on there.  I am not getting paid to endorse them, I just think that their site is awesome and love getting their emails!

1. 86 (get rid of) the processed junk.
Ditch the soda and corn oil.  I am four weeks into kicking soda to the curb and honestly I feel better than ever and my sugar cravings have seriously decreased.  Will I never have a soda again in my life? No, but it is becoming a very rare occurance and I like that.  Also try to replace white bread and things with refined flour with other items that have whole grains or wheat in them.

2. Buy organic when you can for your lifestyle.
The article suggests that buying organic produce if you're a vegetarian is wise.  I am not a vegetarian, but I still try to buy organic when I can.  I get that their message is that organic is expensive, so if you eat meat you should try to buy your meat without hormones, grass-fed and natural and stick to the regular produce to save money.

3. Stick to the four corners of the store.
I read this everywhere, but it is so true.  Stick to the outside perimeter of the grocery store and avoid the overly processed and fattening foods found in the middle.  I have been working on this for the past month and really it is true.  Everything that is good for you is usually on the outside of those long dreade aisles.

4. Read the labels.
This seems really obvious for someone who is trying to lose weight, but it is more than just looking at the fat, calories and protein.  You should skeep to the bottom and see what is IN the food that you are putting IN your body.  If you can't say it, skip it.  The more simple the ingredients, the better!

5. Consider the nutrients first.
This goes along with reading the label.  Make sure that your hard earned money lasts longer and get things that pack a nutritional and filling punch.  Think fiber, protein, minerals and vitamins and not things high in fat, calories, sugar and carbohydrates.

6. Say NO to eating out.
Buy a cute apron and cook at home.  I know that Ron and I have struggled with some of the food that we are eating and we still miss our favorite restaurants, but we are really loving cooking together.  It makes eating the food a lot more enjoyable too!

7. Tastebud Makeover.
Do your tastebuds crave the the sweet and salty demons from your past?  Try to retrain your tastebuds to crave the good stuff.  I know that this is easier said than done.  I have by no means mastered this yet.  The article suggests that one way to move over is to try introducing some of your favorite foods with healthier alternatives in varying amounts until you are evntually eating the healthy one entirely.  Personally, I am a cold turkey kind of girl.  If I try to ween myself off of it I will only miss it more.

8. 80-20
Ever make a dieting plan and get so wrapped up in it and cut everything out that you find yourself one month later binging and losing control?  Make and 80-20 rule.  That means you should try and eat clean and healthy 80% of the time and the other 20% you can allow yourself to indulge a little bit.

9. Find a new way to love food.
This one is hard.  Food is so comforting and non-judgemental and soothing.  It really should be an enjoying thing, but you should choose things that are healthy and in the right portions to enjoy.  It is when we indulge too much or with the wrong food that our love for it becomes unhealthy.

Happy Wednesday!  I have a presentation today for a Leadership class that I am taking at work and I am nervous.  I have been doing it for 6 months now, so I should be over it, but I just get stage fright worrying about if I have memorized it or not.  Oh well!  Tomorrow's post is going to be the one about clothes and Friday is my 100th post and I am giving away two prizes that will be announced tomorrow!

Lunch....My Favorite Meal of the Day

When I was growing up my parents owned several restaurants in my hometown.  It was awesome because I always had somewhere to work and somewhere to take my friends to hang out.  I also thought it was awesome that I could eat there for free.  I am starting to realize that it was in fact not so awesome.  No, I am not going to blame my weight gain on my parent's restaurant.  That would mean that I was taking no responsibility for what I was putting in my mouth.  I know that there were salads on the menu and I chose burgers and fries instead.  I also know though that if it wasn't so easy and free to get food there I wouldn't have had the opportunity to eat whatever I wanted.

I worked as a waitress for 6 years before I started my "big kid job" that I do now.  I loved being a waitress!  I loved always having cash in hand.  I loved seeing regulatrs who felt like family and tipped me really well.  I also loved that I was on my feet all day.  I was constantly moving and never sedentary like I am at my current job.  I used to work the lunch shift which was about 10-2.  I would then clock out and order some serious food.  I would be starving because I never ate breakfast.  I was usually still half sleeping when I would get to work.  I am not really a morning person.  I honestly had to practice getting up early enough to make it to my "big kid job".  Sad, I know.

Okay, so back to lunch food.  I usually ordered a grilled chicken sandwich that was either covered in swiss cheese and bacon or buffalo sauce and blue cheese.  Just typing it makes my mouth water.  Is that bad?  I would usually get the 1/2 and 1/2 with it which is 1/2 french fries and 1/2 onion rings extra crispy.  I would then dip everything in homemade ranch dressing.  The food at my parent's restaurant was awesome.  All of the sauces were homemade and delicious.  We also had two lunch specials everyday which were things like; spaghetti, meatloaf, beef stroganoff, hot turkey, hot beef, goulash, baked chicken and so on.  They were either accompied by bread or mashed potatoes smothered in homemade gravy.  It is no wonder that I gained approximately 50 pounds or more from freshamn year to senior year!

So, lunch no longer looks like that for me for many reasons. For starters my parent's no longer own those restaurants and I no longer live in my hometown.  The most important reason though is that I am choosing a different way of life.  I may not want to eat healthy right now, but I want to feel healthier and look better.  So, that is my driving motivation right now.  Although my lunches of yesteryear are mostly a thing of the past lunch is still my favorite meal of the day.  I feel like lunch is exciting and always changing and never boring.  Lunch breaks up my day and makes me realize that my work day is half over.  Lunch means socializing with friends and take a much needed break.  Lunch is delicious!

So, what does lunch mean for me now?  What do I eat to satisfy my hunger all the way to dinner?  I am a big sandwich person.  Sandwich usually means carbohydrates, which I try to eat less of, so I by bread that is light, whole grain and fiber filled.  I want it to make me feel full longer.  I like to make wrap sandiwches, regular sandiwches, panini's, salads and soup for lunch. 

Flatout Wrap sandwich with turkey, lettuce tomato and onion sprinkled with herbs and garlic powder.  Side of raspberry/blackberry mixture along with some Veggie Straws.

Mixed Greens, lean beef tips, feta cheese, tomato and Newman's Own Lighten Up Roast Garlic Balsamic Dressing.

In a general sense I stay away from frozen meals.  I usually find them to be less filling, more sodium filled and more carbohydrates than just making my own lunch creation.  The one exception to this is Smart Ones Santa Fe Rice and Beans.  It is my cure to a chipotle craving.  I really miss Chipotle sometimes, so I make this Smart Ones meal and I put it over salad greens to make a sort of homemade burrito bowl.  It really does the trick and makes the craving go away!

Santa Fe Rice and Beans Smart Ones

This is what it looks like before it is mixed.  Yum!

This is making me really hungry for lunch.  Today I have a delicious wrap sandiwch just like the one shown above!  Tomorrow's post is about clothes.  Those that fit, those that don't and those that hopefully will soon!

Breakfast... Then and Now

I am sure we can all think of our favorite breakfast foods.  You know the sweet, sticky, sometimes salty deliciousness that is oh so comforting, but just a total carb overload.  I don't love breakfast.  I think it is alright.  I know it is one of the most important meals of the day, so I always eat breakfast, but in a general sense if I have the option to indulge in breakfast foods or lunch foods I will choose the latter everytime.
Having said that I have a small obsession with one particular breakfast item.  It is a soft, warm, giant sticky caramel roll.  It is sent from heaven above.  It comes from a little shop in St. Cloud, MN called Mom's cinnamon rolls.  I used to them too often.  Now I only eat them at Christmas.  I woke up yesterday morning and all I could think of was this caramel roll.  Luckily I live over an hour from Mom's cinnamon rolls, so eating one wasn't an option.

Caramel roll goodness.

So, what did I do?  I made a sensible veggie omelet and accompanied it with some cherries and some peanut butter toast. It was just what I needed to start my day.  It had fruits, veggies, protein and a little carbohydrates.  

My delicious breakfast without the guilt!

My fiance the omelet maker :)

I then went to Zumba at Lifetime Fitness and proceeded to get my butt kicked in a very good way.  Proof is in the sweaty picture seen below.  I now live right by two Lifetime Fitness gyms so I have double the amount of group fitness classes to attend!  I went yesterday morning to Zumba with a new teacher Kristen who was so good.  She let some of the participants teach the class too, which was really fun.

It turns out it is hard to take a picture of yourself on your phone.  So sweaty and gross.  It feels good!

Happy Monday!  Tomorrow's post is all about lunches! :)

Also something to look forward to is my 100th post later this week which will feature a prize giveaway!

Our House on the Corner of Our Street

So we moved into our house on May 2nd, so we have been homeowners now for almost two months.  It is crazy how time flies.  We have made some real progress since we were up to our eyeballs in moving boxes, but we still have a long way to go. 

The only room that is completely decorated so far is our bedroom.  I wanted to start there so that it felt like we had one space that was clean and nice and completely decorated the way we want it.  I love the end result and I must say it turned out better than I had hoped.  Check out the pictures below.

A view from the door of our bedroom.

A view from the end of the bed looking at my pretty new headoard.

Since we didn't plat the majority of the plants and flowers at our house we have been waiting to see what we have growing in our yard before planting a lot of new stuff.  I guess you could say that we are doing a lawn and garden inventory. I must say that I really enjoy walking outside and finding new flowers blooming every week.

Something pretty and purple (my fav color) growing outside our house :)

When I was growing up my mom was always planting flowers and she had some gorgeous gardens.  When we built our house that we lived in for much of my childhood my mom made me a secret garden that I could look at from my window.  I loved it!  I miss it a lot.  My mom has window boxes now at her house and they are stunning.  People sometimes stop off of the street to tell her how lovely they look.  They really are gorgeous and I have always wanted window boxes.  Mine aren't quite as fancy as hers yet, but they look pretty good considering that it is my first time.

Two of the window boxes under the big window.

A side profile view.  I hate the white tubes coming out of the basement.  Hopefully our bushes will be tall and block them out someday!

This is the first one we did.  It has the smaller plants and flowers in it that need a little more love than the other two baskets.  This basket is under our bedroom window.

           

Happy Sunday Everyone!  There is some good stuff coming this week, so stay tuned!



Stir Fry Beef and Asparagus

This is not our first attempt at meal planning our meals for a week and grocery shopping for only those items.  It is, however, going to stick this time and become a habit.  So, as my earlier post indicated I went grocery shopping last night and got a lot of good food.  I looked on our handy chart to see what delicious creation was slated for tonight and was happy to see that it was Stir Fry Beef and Asparagus.  I was already craving chinese food, so this was a step in that direction.

Our handy meal planning dry erase board

The recipe is from the Weight Watchers Momentum Cookbook.  I know that WW is doing Points Plus now, but there are still alot of great recipes in it and I got it at a garage sale for .25 cents. 

Here is the handy cookbook.  If you don't have it you should get it.  I really like it!

I can't tell you the recipe, because you should buy the book, but here are the ingredients.

Here is the end result.  It was pretty good.  Not as salty as regular chinese food, but still good.  Ron and I are rating each of the recipes and we both gave it a 3 out of 5.  It may have more to do with the fact that we were craving wontons and sweet and sour chicken than the recipe not being good.    

Happy Friday Everyone!  What are you doing this weekend?  Celebrating Father's Day?

Weekend Posts: House Decorating Updates and Lawn and Garden Landscaping

Girl's Night, Grocery Shopping and New Food

So, Tuesday night was one of our first girl's nights in a long time.  My friends and I have been really busy moving, traveling and working so it has been hard to get together, but somehow all 7 of us were able to get together on Tuesday night.  To say that we had a blast is a complete understatement.  We laughed until we cried and laughed some more and drank too much wine (okay not me because I didn't want to waste the calories).  My girlfriends are amazing and I love them all!  Some of them I have known since I was 7 years old!  They are all great in their own unique ways, but we all get along so well as a group.

What is the other great thing about hanging out with my girlfriends?  They are all a healthy weight and for the most part they make healthy decisions, so hanging out with them doesn't leave me with guilt.  In fact I am surprised I have gone on this long with skinny friends and I haven't started losing weight sooner.  Anyway, we made veggie and chicken kabobs and fresh corn on the cob and it was amazing!

This was before cooking, but don't they look great!?

After having this fresh, healthy and satisfying meal on Tuesday I was inspired to pull out all of my healthy cookbooks and do some meal planning.  My fiance and I each took a book and looked for 4 recipes that we wanted to add to our list.  I went out grocery shopping yesterday and I got everything on the list and nothing that wasn't on the list.  This is normally hard for me.  I used to go grocery shopping and buy everything that looked good to me (which was pretty much everything salty, fatty, cheesy and not healthy).  This time I avoided all of the bad foods like a pro. 

I got to the check out and the person in front of me was extreme couponing.  I have seen the show, so I know how it goes, but to actually see it happen in front of your eyes is surreal.  This woman bought $600 worth of groceries and paid $23.42 for them.  I was SHOCKED.  My shocked feeling quickly turned to bitterness after I checked out and spent $143.00  Blah.  I packed up my food and drove home crabby.  I got home and set out all of my food and then it hit me. I got a lot of good food!  I have tons of healthy options.  I remembered some of the woman's order in front of me and it was at least 10 bags of chips, 6 packages of cookie dough, 20 frozen pizzas, frozen fries, donuts and about 10 packs of pop.  So, when I think about it like that it is easier for me to think,

"I would rather spend $143 for healthy food, than $23.42 for WAY more food than I could eat or need to eat that will not help me get to my goal!"

Having said all of this, if you know a way to healthy extreme coupon I am all ears.  I am not knocking couponing in the least, but it just doesn't seem beneficial for me to extreme coupon since I only have two people to feed and healthier options don't seem to be as cheap as the other food.  Check out my haul below. 

I think I did pretty good!  What do you think?  I had to take two seperate photos because I couldn't fit it all in one photo.  A lot of the things that I got are items that I normally buy when I am eating healthy, however there are some new things that I have heard about or that I saw in the store and wanted to try.

Shantal over at My Journey talked about Veggie Straws the other day, so I had to try them.  They were not disappointing and perfect for someone who misses her crunchy salty chips.

A couple of recipes call for this.  I have to admit I am a little scared of it.

A couple of recipes call for this.  The word germ is kinda of gross, but I am willing to give it a shot!

Some fresh herbs and some deliciously hot jalapenos.

Do you have Salsa Lisa by you?  If you do go and get it!  It is a local MN company and I always try to buy local.  Even better than that though it is freshly chopped, with limited preservatives and thus less sodium (only 80mg per serving rather than like 200+ in other salsas.

Hmmm, Ginger.  Will I like eating you?  I like ginger ale, but actually ginger is up for debate. 

Stay tuned to see what I use this in later tonight when I post the first recipe from our weekly meal planning. :)

Working 9-5

Many hours of our lives are spent at work.  In fact some people spend more time with their co-workers than they do with their loved ones.  Luckily, I really like my co-workers and I really like my job.  It makes things a lot easier.  I decided to give you a glimpse into a typical 9-5 day for me.  Making sure to withhold all of the boring and confidential pieces.


So, I actually start my day at 6 a.m.  I get up and shower and then I put a towel on my head and I lay back down unless I am going to the gym.  I rest in bed and read some emails and watch some TV and wake up slowly.  I am not a jump out of bed 20 minutes before I need to walk out the door kind of girl.  I also set my alarm for 5:00, 6:00 and finally 7:00.  Call it an hour long snooze if you will, but something makes me feel better knowing that I have some more time to sleep.


I usually make my lunch the night before, but if not I put everything together and I am usually out the door by 7:35.  It takes me about 15 minutes to get to work.  I settle in and usually make my breakfast right away.  This is typically one of two things, namely oatmeal or a breakfast sandwich.

This morning it is Oatmeal (probably my last for awhile because it is getting too warm), a banana or other fruit and a whole lotta water.



As I said before I wont go into deep explanations of what I do, so that I don't bore you.  I will tell you that I work in downtown Minneapolis.  I love working in the heart of the city.  There is always something going on and I love the Farmer's Market in the Summer.

A view out of one of our buildings.  That deflated mess in the background is the Metrodome, which is home to the MN Vikings.  We had a bad storm this winter and it deflated and several damaged the roof of the metrodome because we had 19 inches of snow.  The building right in front of the metodome that looks like a trivial pursuit pie piece is my building.

This is my desk.  It is pretty messy, but try not to judge :)

What do I like most about it?  If you look closely you can see that it is raised up so that I can stand and work rather than sitting on my bum all day!

Flowers on your desk can help brighten up most anyone's day!

So, this is my 8-10.  Later I will add some afternoon photo's and tonight or tomorrow I will share with you my picture's from girl's night tonight.  We are making chicken and veggie skewers!  Yum!  More to come later!



Are you there Blogger? It's Me Shannon!

Is anyone else happy to finally be able to comment and get comments on blogger again?  I was beginning to think that I was writing about really boring stuff because of the lack of comments until I went to other people's blogs and and tried to post with no luck.  What a relief to be able to see other people's thoughts and to be able to add some comments about them!

How was everyone's weekend?  Mine was crazy and hectic.  We found out that Ron's grandma had a stroke and has some other complications so we spent the majority of our weekend at the hospital with her and his family.  Although it was very tiring and sad at times, it seems like they're doing everything they can to help Joyce, so we continue to pray for her and hope for the best. 

Being out of the house made me nervous at first, because it meant getting fast food and quick meals.  I really made the absolute best of it.  Choosing salads and healthy sandwiches and fruit when possible.  I only had one diet coke all weekend because I just needed some caffeine.  All in all it was a busy weekend, but it was filled with healthy choices. 



Goodbye lovely apartment view.

Yesterday we went to our apartment to clean it because we have to be out of it by June 30th.  When we moved into our new house on May 2nd we basically moved everything, locked the doors and never looked back.  We were really dreading going back to clean and priming one of the bedrooms that we had painted blue.  We ended up spending nearly 6 hours cleaning!  We were both exhausted after all of it.  When we turned off all of the lights and were ready to walk out I looked around and started crying.  Baaah, so embaressing!  I love my new house!  What is wrong with me?  I chalked it up to a long weekend filled with emotions.  This was our first place that we lived in together.  We had many great memories here and as much as I hated our long commutes and living confined, this was once our home.  So, we locked the door and are ready to move on.

More to come this week:  A look at our meal planning.  A look at our progress with home ownership.  A look at our new healthy living addition to our neighborhood.  A weigh-in and much, much more.

Take Me out to the Ball Game

Happy Friday Everyone!  What are your plans this weekend?  Is anyone getting out in their yard and gardening like me!?  I am so excited to get my other two window baskets up and get all of my flowers planted.  Tell me what you're excited about this weekend!?


Last night I went with friends to a Twins game and it was wonderful!  It was a cooler night and slightly overcast, but it wasn't blazing hot and it didn't rain, so I can't complain.  A group of us from work go to a Twins game every year and it is a lot of fun.  I was bummed that Ron couldn't go this year because he had school, but I took one of my best friends Kelsey who is also one of my maids of honor.

We always go to the Imperial Room downtown beforehand because they have a FREE mashed potato bar, amazing buffalo chicken strips with homemade blue cheese and cheap drinks for happy hour.  I am proud to say that I looked all of these temptation's in the eye and went a completely different and healthier direction.  I had a water and half of a quesadilla with half the amount of cheese.  It was really good and in all honesty I was so busy being social that I didn't even miss the food or alcohol.


When we got to the stadium I was once again tempted by delicious warm french fries, ice cream helmets filled with crunchy and sweet toppings, hot dogs, snow cones, peanuts... okay you get it.  I could go on forever.  I literally stood 100 feet away from my friends who were in line and faced the field and not the concession stands because I knew that right now that was my only choice.  I am not going to sit here and pretend like my will-power is iron clad.  It is far from it. 


I was able to fight temptation the entire game despite everyone around me indulging in ballpark goodies.  It felt really good.  It is a small step in a long journey, but it is one that will help me build up my strength and willpower.

I have to stop and tell myself that a moment happiness now is not worth sacrificing a lifetime of happiness in the future.

All too often I have fallen into the category of,  "it is just one ice cream cone, it is only one thing of french fries."  Or else I will say to myself, "I can always start this tomorrow or on Mondy."  The classic line lie that I tell myself is, "This will be so much easier when this event is over, or when we're done moving, or when we don't have so many parties to go to."  Blah.  Excuses make me sick. I am sick of my excuses and I am really sick of being fat.  I know that losing weight is never wasy.  I know that there isn't a better time than now.  I know that I am in control of myself and my actions and what I put in my mouth.  I know if I don't lose this weight now I may never do it because life will get more difficult and I will get more discouraged with each pound I gain.  So the time is now.  There is no better time than the present and I am taking control of my life and my eating habits.  I have the willpower to say no and the power to win this battle once and for all.

Stay Back, Stay Alive

Stay Back, Stay Alive is my motto for many things in life.  If someone is being crabby, if there is a big mess or a disaster or if there is food around that you should avoid at all costs.  I get a lot of healthy living emails per week and one of the emails that I got today was about 10 Foods to Avoid.  Most of them seem obvious to me, such as cheesburgers, red meat, fried food.  This article got me thinking about things that I love that may not be good for me and what healthier alternatives may exist to satisfy my cravings. 

Top 5 Favorite Foods and Alternatives

1. Chips
The salty, crunchy delicious goodness of chips is my number one weakness.  I love Old Dutch Nacho Burst tortilla chips and Lay's Sour Cream and Onion.  Seriously, there isn't much I wouldn't do to get my hands on a bag of chips.  So, obviously chips are high in fat, calories and sodium, so I try to avoid them now, but I must admit that it is really hard.  I try to eat Popchips, Baked Chips or Goldfish to satisfy my desire for salt and crunch, but only in moderation.

2. Sandwiches
I know that you're thinking this seems like it couldn't be that unhealthy, however my favorite sandwich is buffalo chicken which is made with butter and other unmentionable fatty items and topped with delicious, but not nutritious blue cheese.  So, I try to make things that still give me the Buffalo chicken flavor without all of the guilt.  I love the Buffalo Chicken Choppity Chop Salad from Hungry Girl.  I eat it as a salad, as a sandwich topper and even on a wrap as a pizza topping.  It is delicious and has way less fat and calories in it.

3. French Fries
Honestly, I struggle with this one.  I mean, in my book there is not much that can compare to a hot crunchy delicious french fry.  However, I reallty like the Alexia brand foods.  They are all natural foods that contain real ingredients and several healthier alternatives when it comes to getting a potato fix.  I love the Oven Reds potatoes.  You can eat 8 pieces (which are pretty decent sized) for 3.5 grams of fat, 120 calories and only 19g carbohydrates!

4. Pizza
I used to work at a really good pizza place when I was in college and part of the perks of working there was being able to take home pizza pretty much whenever we wanted to.  It was a blessing as a poor college student and a curse to my waistline.  I have gotten pretty good about satisfying my pizza cravings these days by simply buying Flatout wraps and topping them with pretty much anything imaginable.  I make regular pizzas, veggie pizzas, taco pizzas and buffalo chicken pizzas.  The wrap is only 19g carbohydrates and when you top it with healthy veggies and just a little cheese it is a great alternative to greasy and fattening pizza.

5. Chocolate
My love for chocolate may be slightly abnormal, but I honestly love the stuff.  I grew up in a house where my Mom baked everything from scratch and everything was delicious, but very fattening.  I must admit that I still haven't found anything that really satisfies my sweet tooth that is still a healthier alternative.  I will eat some sugar free pudding, Skinny cow ice cream sandwiches or chocolate goldfish crackers or some of the 100 calorie packs that have chocolate things in them to try and satisfy my craving, but sometimes it just isn't enough. 

So, there you have it.  My five food weaknesses and some of my healther alternatives.  If you have any suggestions for me feel free to let me know. What are your weaknesses and how do you deal with them or satisfy them in a healthier way?

Fiance Boot Camp

I came home from work last night feeling better about being re-committed to weight loss, but I am also battling an awful sinus infection, so I was less than thrilled at the thought of working out or going on a walk.

I neglected to tell you yesterday that I had a mini break down of sorts on Tuesday night which resulted in me crying on Ron's shoulder and him pledging to help me get back on track and back in shape.  Let me just say that this is not the first time that my sweet fiance has agreed to help.  However, he is easily persuaded by me and in a general sense I wear the pants in this relationship, so I little hope that he was going to be my main source of accountability.

I got home and Ron was already here whipping up dinner (salad, corn, grilled chicken) and was all pumped up for our walk around the neighborhood.  I was kind of crabby from sitting in traffic and making excuses to just wait one more day before we start our "walk routine".  He wasn't having it at all.  He basically said, "put your tennis shoes on now, we are leaving!"

We got about 4 blocks from our house and I noticed that it seemed like we were on a mission.  Like Ron seemed to have a plan about where we were walking that I was not clued in on.  We were deep in conversation and enjoying the sunny 70 degree weather, so I didn't bother asking him what he was up to.  The next thing I know we are in front of Target.  I was SHOCKED that we had walked all the way to Target in less than 30 minutes.  We walked in and got what we needed and started our trek home.  

I am amazed by my fiance tonight and so thankful that he is really proving to be my rock.  He is not letting me give up this fight and most importantly he is not taking, "no" for an answer.  If this day is any indication of what the summer has in store then I am going to be well on my way to success come Labor Day!           

Lights, Camera, Action... Take Two

So, it has been nearly two months since I have posted on here and there has been a lot that has happened while I have been gone.  There have been some very exicting and fun things and some disappointing things that have been holding me back and causing me some stress.

Highs

1. We bought our house and have moved in.  We are officially homeowner's and we are loving it!
2. We have been spending a lot more time with friends now that we live closer and it makes me so much happier.
3  Both Ron and I now have a commute time of less than 20 minutes (His used to be 1 hour and mine was 45 minutes).

Lows

1. I haven't been to the gym in almost a month. 
2. I have been eating out too often and choosing poorly.
3. I feel like I don't know how I got back to this place.  How I let myself go so far off track that I am embaressed to even show my face on this blog.

I have spent the better part of the last month trying to figure out why I am not posting and why I don't feel like posting anymore.  I tried to convice myself that it was not because I wasn't eating that well and working out.  I must just not like it anymore or something.  I must be bored with it.  Well it is false.  I missed the blog, I missed all of you.  I miss the support and the accountability.  For me this journey is starting again.  I didn't gain all the weight back, so that is a plus, but I have a long way to go to get to my goal.  I just wanted to let you know that I am back.  I don't blame any of you if you don't quite believe me yet and if you want to see some action on my behalf before you come back on board.  I am here.  I am in a healthy mindframe.  I am going to do this and I hope you are here for the ride.

I have the tools and the support and now I just need the action. 

1. Weekly weigh-ins in front of a health professional.
2. A personal trainer.
3. My fiance who is going to change his eating habits (he wants to lose 30 pounds) and who has made a training plan that we can do together.
4. A fridge and pantry full of good choices.
5. Wedding gowns taped up around the house (and even in my car to serve as a reminder).
6. I have signed up for two 5k's. 
7. The drive, will and desire in my heart to kick this overweight, chubby, fat body to the curb for good!