Wed. February 26

Well, I did it. :)

3 days left in the month and I was able to reach my goal for February; I got back into the 1X0's. Oh God. It's been so long and I'm so happy. Especially after the crappy weekend I had. This puts me at 17lbs lost total and now means my next mini goal is to get to 20 lost. I guess I can make that my March goal, but I'd like to think I could aim a little higher. However, slow and steady still wins the race.

I'd like to report that the 21 day challenge is going well, but... it's not that it's not, it's just that it could be doing a lot better. As you know, this past weekend was not great, but I was able to recover a bit over Monday and Tuesday and I was doing well today, except that I did split a poutine with a friend at dinner. Between the calories I burned at the gym and all the "better" things I ate today, it's probably not gonna ruin things in the grand scheme of things, but it's obviously a cheat. I'm probably doing worse for those this time around, but I'm really trying not to. Today is almost the half way point, so I have a bunch of time to redeem myself, but I really gotta be better prepared for temptations; both with healthier snacks and knowing what the healthier options are at the restaurants I frequent.

Things at the gym have been going well. I've gone everyday this week and I see no reason for me to not go tomorrow and Friday as well. Even a minor cold/sore throat couldn't keep me away. I know, it's not nice to go out in public when you're sick and risk making other people sick, but I made really good friends with all the hand sanitizer stations. And if I'm sitting at home, in bed, I'm gonna binge. I know it. Also, I've been trying to help shrink my stomach a bit by wearing a waist-training corset at night. Not some store bought thing with plastic boning. A real deal "my ribs are hurting and I can't bend over properly" corset. I'm sure there are findings that prove that this works, and some that prove it doesn't, but it makes me feel better and if I'm not hurting anyone but myself, why not? I'm wearing one as I type this and have it almost completely done up properly (with both halves at the back touching). At the beginning of the year, that would not have happened, so it helps me feel good about the inches I've lost. Speaking of which, I was able to fit into another pair of my old jeans fairly well today. So happy. :)

And one last thing making me happy is that apples and oranges are finally starting to go on sale, along with a few other veggies I can tolerate. Makes me feel like this is all so do-able and I'll be looking super good for my BDay (in April) and bikini season. Oh! And remember those dresses I posted pics of? The "sailor" and "tattoo flash ones"? I tried them on today for kicks and the zippers went up a lot easier and the sailor one may be a smidge too big now. Good thing I sorta know how to sew and take things in. haha

Alrighty, that's all. Gonna try to find a comfortable position to sleep in cuz I gotta kick some more ass and take more names in the morning. :)

The back of my corset. And a lot less back fat. lol

Sun. February 23

Belated blog. Sorry. Sorry. Let's get right to it.

So, I'll save you some long winded stories and just say that since I've started the 21 day challenge again, I'm down 4lbs. That puts my grand total of weight lost to 16lbs. I'm so proud. And it's been so long since I've seen that number. I'm like 1lb away from getting into a new, lower weight "class". So exciting. :)

My work outs have been going pretty well. I feel like I'm slowing getting stronger and my tighter work out pants are starting to fit a lot better, along with all my other clothes. I've also been trying to do other little exercises during a little free time at home or on the weekends (when I don't make it to the gym). Just some jump squats, simple push ups, and bicycle crunches. I know it's not much but, it's definitely something and every little bit helps.

So, yesterday, I had a huge cheat day. Like, it was super bad. I went to a Marlies game with some friends, so I knew there was gonna be bad food there, but I figured I could just find the healthiest food option I could and have that. I'd had some watermelon for breakfast, so I figured I'd just keep the good food trend going... and that did not happen. When we got there, we got poutine. I got just a plain one, thinking it wouldn't be as bad as if I got bacon or pulled pork on it or whatever. Then ,on the way out, they had these huge garbage bags of unsold popcorn. I happened to walk by a bag that was open, and just stuck my hand in to grab several pieces and started walking away. Well, my friend decided he wanted the whole bag. So, he just picked it up and started walking out. We all started pigging out on it and, after a while, I could tell it was having an effect on me. I was painfully bloated and just felt like crap. After hanging out for a bit, we went to a local Boston pizza to watch the UFC fight and I ended up hvaing 8 slices of a large meat lovers pizza. They were thinner slices, but still.  I knew there were going to be serious repercussions, so I just started drinking a ton of water. I had probably 8 glasses. Maybe a little more. Went pee a few times and started to feel better. In hindsight, I should've just bought my own "healthy" food at the area, not had so much popcorn, and passed on the pizza for a salad. I can't change the past, but I'm hoping next time I know better. I also hope this doesn't have a huge effect on my weight loss efforts. I'm sure it wont. One day won't make or break this, but still. Good thing I have a few days for grease and sugar to clear my system. Either way, I ended the day.

And so, onto today. I woke up just before 6am to get read to go back to that same Boston Pizza to watch the gold medal hockey game. Met up with some of the same people from last night and had another good time. They had a special breakfast menu on, but none of it seemed that appetizing. So, I just started chugging water again. Personally went through at least 2 pitchers, had a few BP mints, and that was it. Ending up going to a pub for "breakfast" at like 11am and had bangers and mash. Probably not the best choice again, but the caesar salad at this place is really crap and I thought I'd give something new a try. After that, came back to my friend's place, napped for a good few hours, had an apple and some of my homemade smoothie, and I'm now sitting here, typing this while feeling achy with a stuffed nose. Perhaps I should just go back to bed and try to drown this sickness with fluids. I'll see. Hopefully I don't stay sick for long cuz it kinda looks like I could possibly make it to the gym like 5 times this week, if I really try. At least 4 for sure.

So, that's everything up to this point. Hoping for some more good numbers this week. Just 1lb away from reaching my February goal and 1 week to do it. Pretty sure I can. Have a good week everyone. :)

P.S. - Go Canada! :D

Mon. February 17

Well, I'm doing it again.

I have completed day 1 of 21 days of no junk food again. And I'd say it went pretty well. I had work, so I wasn't just sitting around all day trying to deal with temptation. However, I was sorta tempted when my dad decided to bring home KFC for dinner, but I dealt with that by having oatmeal and peaches for dinner. :)

I foresee this attempt going fairly well. I have a bunch of apples, carrots, and cucumbers kicking around. I'm gonna grab some more frozen fruits cuz I'm just about out. I'm gonna make a list of quick meals/snacks that I can have an post it to the fridge door, so I just need to look at the list and not rummage through the pantries and whatnot. I'm also taking Slimquick; the pill that alleges you'll lose 3 times more weight than with diet and exercise alone. I've used it before, but during those times I really wasn't eating as well as I should've been for the program. I'm hoping this will end up being the perfect trifecta to get some really go results. Honestly though, with my weight at what it is now, I'd be ok with like a 5-6lb weight loss this time 'round. Really aim hoping for more, but it's kind of both in and out of my hands at the same time.

Anywho, that's all for now. I have tomorrow off, so once my nephew goes down for a nap in the afternoon, I'm gonna take off for the gym. I know he's not my responsibility, but my sister usually pawns him off on me or my parents so she can go run usual errands and I feel bad if one of my parents has to care for him by themselves. This is probably one of my bigger excuses for not going to the gym as often, and also why I prefer to go late at night, when he's sleeping. But, ya, this was supposed to be a closing paragraph and I turned it nto a mini rant about how my sister sucks. Whoops. lol

Night everyone.

Here's the dress from the party I went to on Saturday.

Fri. February 14

Ugh,  so much to say, but I don't wanna do some long-ass entry. Gonna try to do this in point form.

- Weekly weigh-in: Was up a bit, but I'm not super worried. Obviously, not happy, but these things happen and with the way I've been eating, I'm not surprised.

- I think I gonna do the 21 day No Junk Food Challenge again starting on Monday. Kinda debating if I actually wanna do the full 3 weeks or maybe just 2 or whatever. Gonna see how things go in the beginning and for how long I think I can go.

- I started running again. For a while now, the only cardio I did at the gym was the stairclimber and the elliptical (15-20 mins each), but I decided to see how my stamina was. So far, it seems pretty decent. My other cardio was pretty good at getting my heart rate up, so that's not a big issue, but I now realize what people say about running being hard on your joints. I wasn't super sore after, but my legs could tell we'd done something different. Definitely gonna add it back to my regime though.

- Today was an "everything fits" kinda day. I wore a plaid button up shirt that was looser than usual. I later put on a t-shirt I haven't been able to comfortably wear in years, and one of my tighter skirts wasn't as tight today. I also bought a dress for a party I have tomorrow night. The dress is a large and I can just about squeeze into it. It does look better with a pair of Spanx on underneath, but it's pretty passable without. And with the right accessories, it should be fine. I'll post pics after the party in a later post.

Ok, I believe that's everything. It's pretty late now, but I don't feel as tired as I should be. Gonna try to sleep anyway. Have a good weekend everyone.

Wed. February 5

Signs and symptoms of binge eating disorder:

• Eating even when you're full
• Hiding or stockpiling food to eat later in secret
• Eating normally around others, but gorging when you’re alone  
• Embarrassment over how much you’re eating
• Feeling guilty, disgusted, or depressed after overeating
• Desperation to control weight and eating habits 

These are not the only signs, but they are the ones that apply to me.

That's all I wanted to share today.

Oh, and I weigh the same as I did on Friday. I can deal with that.

Music joke

Fri. January 31

I had an unexpected little surprise this morning.

Again, I decided to weigh myself cuz I was curious if another day of good eating and going to the gym had made a difference and it looked like it did. I was down another 2lbs, putting my total for the month of January at 12lbs lost. That's 40% of the weight I was hoping to lose this year gone already. I know it's still gonna be an uphill battle, but it's encouraging. I know not to expect to lose that much every month, but seeing that much gone already is really good motivation. Another great motivator is the fact that I'm fitting into certain articles of clothing that I haven't been able to wear in a while or, in some cases, ever. And I'm starting to look better in some of the things I already where, including a few of my work out capris, which I bought a touch smaller than I should have months ago, but now they're feeling less tight. So, I'm pretty happy with all of this. And I'm still making my goal for February to be down another 5lbs, which will put me into the XX0's, which I haven't seen in quite a while and am very excited about. : )

So, February is gonna be a pretty interesting month. There's the Olympics and obviously I'm hoping Canada kicks ass, or just wins gold in hockey. I have another AHL hockey game lined up, and I'm going to 2 parties; one for a friend's BDay (a club with $3 drink specials, so I'm gonna get hella wasted) and a friendly acquaintance's Jack and Jill party (which is a Valentine themed masquerade). I'm really excited to go to these with my "new" body. I haven't seen these people in a while so, I don't wanna sound like an egotistical jerk, but I'm hoping for some positive feedback and stuff.
I watched a movie tonight called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead and now I wanna go on a juice fast. lol. If you haven't seen this movie, you should. It's really interesting and sort of like the opposite of Super Size Me. I won't bother typing up the whole plot, but I do highly recommend it if you're struggling with weight or general health issues. And I'm not saying everyone should be going juice diets or anything, but maybe something someone says or a small piece of info can help some one out there with their struggles.

And lastly, speaking of struggles, I think I've pretty much decided on how to deal with the whole wanting to eat junk food AND healthfully AND continue lose weight. I'll have weekdays be my "good" days and weekends will be for "cheats". Not major food binges; don't wanna have a ton of vomiting episodes or digestive issues, but maybe just have one bad-ish meal a day, if I really feel like I "need" it. Dunno if I'll be bad starting this weekend, but maybe I'll allow myself one little indulgence. We'll see.

Okie, gonna get to bed now. Everyone have a good weekend. : )