I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I wanna say it's been about a month and I have finally made it below 210 lbs. Now, the trouble is trying to make it below 207. It's been reallly reallyyyyyyy hard. So, I've decided to recalculate my diet and this is what i found.

I have to be eating 1905 calories on non-workout days.
I have to eat 2199 calories on workout days.
I have to eat 207 grams of protein every single day.

This is gonna be tough to get used to, considering I've been used to the myth of "eating less" and "exercising more". I have been exercising more, but doing more weightlifting. I just never thought I'd have to eat over 2,000 calories on workout days!!!

So, I decided I will experiment this over the next month and see if it works or not.

Here's to changing my diet!!!

On Hiatus

So, I've decided that since I've been wayyyy to busy to post here lately, I'd put my blog on hiatus. Just my blog tho. My weight loss is still going. 16 lbs off so far and soon to be 20!!! I should be back around the middle of May.

Day 63

wow....yet another week without posting. I am quite the busy girl.

I've finally been able to control my eating more, which is a good thing, and am now down to 215 lbs. Haven't been there since I got with my ex last year.

Hoping to be 210 within the next 2 weeks, and then at 208 for the Biggest Loser Challenge final weigh-in on the 8th.

I've picked up HIIT as part of my cardio. It really kicks my ass and kicked up my weight loss a notch. LOVE IT!!

Today, My body is exhausted. And tomorrow, I'm officially on SPRING BREAK!!!

Where am I going? To my bed....and the gym. And I'm hitting the books too...yup. Good ol' week in the same ol same ol...no tropical sunshine for me.... but hey, that's what summer's for right??

Anyway, since the BLC challenge is over in 3 weeks, I have to start coming up with some new weight loss goals.

I want to be under 200 lbs for the month of april...most likely 198. There, that's my goal.
I am going to increase my HIIT rounds by one every two weeks.
I am going to stay within my calorie range everyday. EVERYDAY.
I will only weigh-in on fridays, and when the new BLC challenge starts, I'll weigh-in which ever day is decided then.

There, those are some fantastic goals. And this year, I'm gonna start the summer in ONEDERLAND!!

Day 55- uhoh...slacker.

So, yeah, I admit I've slacked off on here a bit, which isn't as bad as slacking off on school work,while also trying to maintain two other blogs as well (one for school, and a fiction blog). Life is rough, but oh well, what can we do?

Target cals: 1510-1940

Exercise for the day?: attempt treadmill during BL tonight...hopefully I won't be too tired. 

Anyway, back to reading the canterbury tales....luckily its just 10 pgs.

I'll post more when I get the chance.

Day 49- FINALLY A BREAK!!

So, even though I do get a break from working out today (I'd been exercising for 10 days straight!), I do not get a break from the school work. I am working on a five page paper that is due TODAY, and I can't seem to stop procrastinating...which is why I am here now...haha. Anyway, just posting my food eaten and planned for the rest of the day.

Weigh-in: 216.6

Breakfast- oatmeal w/ nonfat milk & 1 banana, 1 dunkin donuts coffee w/ skim milk- no sugar: 316 cals

Lunch: 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast filet (grilled a la GF), 1 cup of Trader Joe's Nasi Goreng (mmmmmmmmmmmm...)- 270 cals

Dinner: turkey and swiss w/ dijon mustard on whole wheat bread, 1 banana- 447 cals

Snacks: 1 grapefruit, 1/2 banana, 2 hard boiled eggs- 283 cals

So far: 1317 cals....that's still not enough for the day....i need to be on the low end of 1590-1940.....what else should i eat?? lol...i've never had that issue before haha!!

Back to the gym tomorrow, and a day off from school!! YAY!! Going out for pizza on friday!! WOOHOO!! lol.

(I Don't care if she's 52, I want a body like the ultimate Goddess....Madonna aka Madge)

Day 47 & 48...exam today! Finally over 10 lbs lost!!! YIPPEE!!!!!

 So, yesterday wasn't too bad. I went a little overboard on calories, but I did do about 80 minutes of cardio. I did 25 min of Yoga w/ rodney ye(sp?), and I did 55 minutes of Jillian Michaels' new DVD no more trouble zones. I absolutely loved it, and today my abs are feeling it. I feel more and more goddess-like every single day.

Today has been a good day as well so far, except I am overwhelmed with the stress of my CHaucer exam...ahh!! Anyway, eating has been good. We bought chocolate protein powder and I had it blended with nonfat milk and a banana after my workout, and it was the absolute best protein shake I have EVER had. Delishhhhhhhhhhhh.... Anyway, my workout today was awesome, too. It was W1D2 of Fat Loss I. It wasn't as ridiculously hard as I expected it to be. But it wasn't easy at all, either. I did deadlifts @ 40 lbs, dumbbell incline bench presses at 25 lbs, Bulgarian Split Squats (OUCH!!! The first time I did those I couldn't get out of bed for a week.), Mixed-grip lat pull downs @ 35 lbs (i think? can't remember...it was 30-something tho), romanian deadlifts @ 40 lbs, and swiss ball crunches with 10 lbs. I also did the catch-and throw swiss ball crunches. Those were interesting. 

Anyway, I'm gonna make myself a sandwich to take to class with me today and pack a few snacks too. I'm in class from 4p-9:30p tonight...yay...NOT.

Oh, and did I mention I start 1/1/09 weighing 228 lbs, and am now at 215 lbs?? That's 13 lbs in 2 months!! YAY!!! GO ME!!! I can't wait to keep seeing more results!! This is awesome.

I lost 4 lbs this past week. :) Just 9 more lbs to my first goal weight of 206.2!! YAY!!

Day 46 continued

Today I FINALLY was able to go back to the gym and start my Fat Loss I program of "The New Rules of Lifting" by Lou Schuler. It was a really challenging workout, but I had a lot of fun with it and got some intense cardio with it. I did squats witth a squat rack at 75 lbs, cable seated rows at 40 lbs, supine hip extensions, dumbbell push press, rotational lunges and swiss ball crunches. This exercises helped me realize how strong I really am. I never thought i'd be able to row 40 lbs or squat 75....it is insane, especially pudgy ol me at 219 lbs. 

I'm hoping this program along with the clean eating helps me reach my goal weight for wednesday (216 lbs). I'm nervous about weigh-in...eek!!!

Cals Burned: 447 (more than I ever burn when jogging on the  treadmill at intervals for 30 minutes!) The best part of strength training? EPOC- I'm gonna be burning calories and fat for the next few days. YIPPEE!!

Day 46

So, today was a good day. I went on a trip to Whole Foods Market just to see what the big deal is, and boy, did I get hooked. The produce and food there smells delicious and  looks amazing. I can't afford it, so I just got 2 93% lean, fresh made spinach and feta turkey burgers, that I cannot wait to dig into tomorrow!! lol. I should go there more often. Their food selection is amazing!!

Here are my meals for the day:

Breakfast: 1/2 c oatmeal w/ 1/2 c skim milk, omelet made w/ 2.5 large eggs and 1/4 c peppers and onions, 4 strips of jenny o turket bacon- 586 cals (pre-workout)

Lunch: 1 large hardboiled egg, and 1 protein shake- 189 cals (post-workout)

Dinner: 1 c brown rice, 1 chicken breast (baked, no skin), 1/4 of a plaintain- grilled, 40 oz of bud light, 1 stick extra gum- 887 cals (whoa)

Snacks- 1 grapefruit- 91 cals, cup of coffee w/ 1/4 c skim milk-114 cals

Total cals: 1855

So, I actually didn't go over today, despit working out...yippee!!

Day 45: OMG....I'm in this far??

Wow, so I just realized I've been at this for 6 or so weeks now...woohoo!! That's exciting!! I ate really well today, up until I had 2 funsize Snickers and 2 funsize twix bars....whoops. went over cals just a little tiny bit...ahhhhh. Anyway, here's my list for the day:

BREAKFAST:

Pancakes, 2 pancake (4" dia) 147 28 2 4 Pancake Syrup, 0.5 tbsp 30 7 0 0 Louis Rich Turkey Bacon, 2 serving 68 1 5 4 Regular Coffee, 4 cup (8 fl oz) 9 0 0 1 Granulated Sugar, 1 tsp 16 4 0 0 Milk, nonfat, 0.5 cup 43 6 0 4 Apples, fresh, 1 medium (2-3/4" dia) (approx 3 per lb) 81 21 0 0

BREAKFAST TOTALS: 395 67 8 14

LUNCH:

Subway 6 inch Turkey Breast Sub, 1 serving 280 46 5 18 Subway Tomato (3 wheels), 1 serving 7 2 1 0 Subway Pickles (3 chips), 1 serving 1 0 0 0 Subway Lettuce, 1 serving 3 0 0 0 Subway Onions, 1 serving 5 1 0 0 Subway Swiss Cheese (2 triangles), 1 serving 53 0 4 4 Subway Mustard (2 teaspoons), 1 serving 5 0 0 0

LUNCH TOTALS: 354 49 10 22

DINNER:

Whole Wheat Spaghetti, cooked (pasta), 1 cup 174 37 1 7 Perdue Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, All Natural, 1 filet, 4.8 oz., 1 serving 140 0 2 32 Red Ripe Tomatoes, 4 slice, thin/small 13 3 0 1 Spinach, fresh, 1 cup 7 1 0 1 Milk, nonfat, 1 cup 86 12 0 8

DINNER TOTALS: 419 53 3 49

SNACK:

Scrambled Egg, 1 large 101 1 7 7 Louis Rich Turkey Bacon, 2 serving 68 1 5 4 Twix Fun Size, 2 bar 160 20 8 2 Snickers Candy Bar, 2 bar, fun size 140 19 6 3 American Cheese, 2 slice (3/4 oz) 158 1 13 9 Old Fashioned Quaker Oatmeal- Plain, 1 serving 150 27 3 5 Milk, nonfat, 0.25 cup 21 3 0 2

SNACK TOTALS: 799 72 43 32

CLICK TO ADD/EDIT EXTRA MEALS

			CALORIES	CARBS	FAT	PROTEIN
			1,967	241	64	117

my counts have been pretty good so far, so i'm happy with them. I'm extremely excited to start the second segment of my weight training program tomorrow, called Fat Loss I. I'll post the workouts I do tomorrow, because I don't have them written down and don't remember them off the top of my head. I have a headache right now, so I am gonna go to bed and post after my workout tomorrow...yay!! 

Day 44: Hungrier than usual

Breakfast: 1/2 c of oatmeal, 1/2 c skim milk, 1 egg, scrambled, 2 slice turkey bacon, 1/2 banana, 2 sugar packets, a cup of coffee with 1/2 cup skim milk- 508 calories

Lunch: whole wheat tortilla with 1 tbsp marinara sauce, 1/4 c of shredded cheese, 1 serving pepperoni- 638 cals

Dinner: 1 Asahi beer, 1 tuna roll, 6 oz of Sashimi- 374 cals

Snacks: 1 oz almonds, 1/2 banana, 1 c of wheaties cereal w/ 1/2 c of skim milk, 1.5 oz potato chips (OUCH!! that's what killed my calories!!!!!)- 617 calories

Total Calories: 2,138...wow

My calorie range is prescribed from 1600- 1950, which is perfect considering how active i've become and that i'm trying to lose weight....i actually think i may have been eating too FEW calories before. At least yesterday was my cheat day for the week, so i got to eat whatever I wanted. I'm just glad I still went pretty healthy anyway. And yesterday for some reason, I felt much hungrier than usual. It was kinda weird, especially considering all i did for exercise was about ten minutes of yoga stretches. 

Anyway, I'm glad to be starting my weight training again tomorrow. This was my week off from the gym, so I'm excited to be going back. I felt weird not going to the gym. I tried doing smaller workouts here, but it's really not the same. 

I have also figured out that my new BFF, low and behold is the George Foreman grill. I love that thing. You can make ANYTHING on it. If you don't have one, go get it!!! lol.

    

Day 43

Breakfast: 3/4 cup of oatmeal w/ 3/4 c of skim milk and 1 sugar packet; 1 hardboiled egg, 3 slices of turkey bacon; 1 cup of coffee w/ 1/5 c of Skim milk and 1 sugar packet- total cals: 400

Snack:smore (whoops!)- 190 cals

Lunch: turkey bacon, ham and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread- 519 cals

Snack: 2 oranges- 123 cals, 1 slice honey ham- 37 cals, 1/2 slice of american cheese- 39 cals

Dinner: 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast; 1/4 cup tomato & onion salad w/ 1 tbsp EVOO, 1 cup brown rice with veggies- 536 cals

Total Cals: 1845

Carbs: 204

Fat: 70

Protein: 104

     So, lately, I've been doing a pretty good job of tracking my food and staying within my calorie allowance. Today, I did as exercise the Biggest Loser Cardio Max Level 1 workout, and boy did it kick my ass!!! It was tons of fun though, and that Bob Harper really knows what he's doing. No wonder the blue team always does better than the black team!! haha.

     I watched the Biggest Loser last night, and though I understand the reason for taking out Dane (to keep Ron on the ranch), I feel like Ron is gonna be a kind of handicap for the blue team, unless he can really start moving and pull his own weight (pun intended).Otherwise, if he keeps losing just 5 lbs a week, which realistically speaking isn't bad AT ALL, the blue team will be going down. And, if the Blue team falls below AGAIN next week, he will most likely be gone, and it will be a team of four women, each with their original couple (GIRL POWER!!) I personally like both of those teams, Mandi & Aubrey and Kristin & Cathy a lot. They are my faves along with Filipe & Sione, who are also doing absolutely fabulous. But let me just say I was ECSTATIC for Cathy when she pulled off a 14 lb weight loss!!!! That was insane!! But it was about time she had something really big like that!! I was very happy for her! Anyway, I really enjoyed last night's episode a lot. It was a good change of pace to get the two separate teams. I am rooting for the Blue team. Who are you rooting for

?? 

     On my BLC 9 team on Sparkpeople

we're starting a new challenge tomorrow for exercise and food tracking. Here are the rules:

What: CICO Challenge 
Huh, you say?!? This is where we get back to the basics, Calories In Calories Out (CICO). 

When: Friday - Tuesday midnight 
You can do a practice run on Thursday if you want to work out your questions but it won't count towards the results. 

Why: 
We all know the importance of tracking what we eat and calories burned, but are you doing this daily? Honestly tracking everything that goes in your mouth? Each step you take?? I find myself so surprised when I haven’t tracked my meals for the day and then start adding it up later to find out I either forget what I ate or found out there’s twice the calories than what I thought. 

Points are awarded as follows: 
- 1 pt for each day you post your results 
- 2 pts for each day you stay within your calorie range 
- Calorie Burn 
- 1 pt for each day you burn between 100-499 
- 2 pts for burning between 500-999 
- 3 pts for burning 1000-1999 
- 4 pts for burning 2000+ 

Use this template 
SPARKNAME, Fri, Post, 1, Range 2, Burn, 2, Cal In, 2117, Cal Out, -763 

That would derived from the following information 
Today’s calorie range: 1920-2400 
Calories In “consumed”: 2117 (I’d get 1 pt for staying within my 1920-2400 cal range) 
Calories Out “burned”: 763 (I’d get 2 pts for burning between 500-1000 cals) 

You'll use the above eample to post your results each day and insert your own data. I know it's a lot of numbers but I hope at the end of this challenge we'll all have a better idea at what's 
going on for each one of us. Plus I have some ideas on ways to make the results more relevent/helpful to all of us. 

To add interest, excitement and additional motivation on this challenge, we're going to break up into teams. You'll be responsible for selecting team names by Friday, checking in on each other and basically being the support to one another that we all know we need on this journey. 

I'm really excited about this challenge. I'm motivated to be able to keep track of all my food and my exercise, and see exactly how my emotional and physical well-being will be rewarded. 

I also measured myself today, and have lost 3 inches around my waist and 1.5 inches around my hips. I am also a lot stronger and have a bit more muscle than when I first started my program 1 month ago. I may have not lost too much weight over the past month ( 5 lbs), but at least I have other measurable ways of showing my progress.

Day 42 of Challenge, Day 1 of Blogging

So, I started my Sparkpeople Biggest Loser 9 Challenge exactly 42 days ago, and let me just say that although I have lost 5 lbs, it's been pretty frustrating...why? Because I expected to lose more.

     Every week, I have this expectation of myself to lose at least 2 lbs a week, because I have enough body weight to do it. And I believe it because everyone always tells me that the first 10 lbs were the easiest to lose. If you've ever been told this, too, just know: IT IS A LIE!!!

Why are the first ten pounds hard to lose?

   Easy, you're just getting into your diet and exercise and you may not get it perfectly down, so it's gonna come off slower. BUT, the second 10 are a lot easier than that once you're into you're exercise and eating regimen and you really are serious and know what you're doing. 

Now, to get those first 10 lbs off I just have to lose 5 more, and I'm hoping that since my program is going to change every 4 to 8 weeks, with increasing weight, that my weight will start coming off a bit more steadily, and then the second ten will come off more easily.

With all this said, and even though my weight has been pretty stagnant for the past 2 weeks, I am not giving up. This week is my week off of weight training, and I start my fat loss weight program next week, so that should show me some significant changes. I'm keeping the faith in the program I'm using because it is the first time I have ever felt like a program can work for me. And, this is the first time I've ever wished I could go to the gym, when I'm not supposed to be there.

    This week, I have also been working on my clean eating habits. The past two days have been kinda difficult, but I have miraculously been able to lay off of the chocolate and eat a bit more sensibly and I am gonna keep working at it until I get it right.

     I'm excited to really head back to the gym next week. It should be a fun time, and I'm extremely excited to start seeing some results due to my ass-kicking hardwork!!

What I Ate: 

Breakfast- Wheaties (1/4 cup) with Skim Milk (1/4 cup)

Mid-Morning meal: 2 eggs, 3 pieces of turkey bacon

Lunch: egg burrito

Snack: A slice of cheddar cheese, a handful of almonds, an apple

dinner: egg burrito, 1/2 glass of red wine, medium DD coffee with skim milk and one sugar

Water: 64 oz.

Exercise: 20 minutes of Jillian's Blast the Fat... video, and 20 minutes of taebo t3