Update and Fitness (Day 665)

Hi all!

Happy Thursday! How are you all today? I hate that I am so consumed with finals this week because I don't have enough time for you lovely bloggers. :( But that is my life, I'll be taking 2 classes each session until I graduate, so the end of every session will be this busy. Thankfully I'm about halfway done with one of my finals and a quarter of a way through the other.

On a happier note, I've worked out 3 days this week already and planning on work outs at least 1 more day this week. And I've killed my workouts (today I did 2 workouts because I needed a break from my finals). I have a goal of at least 80 fitness minutes each week and I'm already at 101. I'm so glad to be back in a fitness routine, I feel so much better, finally. And even though I have been eating within my calorie goal, the actual macros have been lacking. I desperately want to get back to carb cycling but with my budget it is quite difficult. Next time I go shopping I'm going to invest in a variety of lower carb options.

Coach HASfit killed me during my 2 workouts today!

\

Okay, sorry to cut this short (again). My finals are calling my name... only 3 days until they are both done. Eh!! Have a wonderful evening everyone! So until next time!

~Sara~

Weigh-In (Day 535)

Hi all!

Happy Sunday! How is everyone doing today? It's a rainy day here, but I won't let that get me down. I'm sitting here with my delicious coffee and thinking about how excited I am because it's weigh-in day. :) But before I get to that, I want to be more honest with you all. In the past I have hid my current weight, because it's a number I don't like. No more of that though, it's time to start being 100% honest with you all about my weight. So here it is (and this is how it will be from now on):

Starting Weight: 315
Last week: 289.2
This week: 285.4 

That is a loss of 3.8 pounds! Right?!? How awesome! The carb cycling is working, quite well.
Speaking of carb cycling, it is a high carb day today. But I did adjust my numbers since my weight decreased, so I think I'll be doing that from week to week with my new weight. The numbers didn't change a ton, just a few grams lower than last week. Here is a recap of my numbers yesterday:

Type	Carbs	Protein	Fats
Total	173	347	144
Used	154	141	76
Left	19	206	68

Oh and I tried out my new protein powder and I absolutely love it! Honestly, when you warm it up, it tastes like hot chocolate. :) How awesome is that?!? Plus I brought it with me to church last night and added some coffee to it, so it was pretty much a mocha. It is one of the new staples in my diet, especially now that I'm adding strength training back into my routine.

Now on to today, I got to try out my other new toys today. I'm doing the Couch to 5K program (just walking right now), and I'm on week 2. The goal today was to walk for 25 minutes, so it wasn't too hard. So I put on my pedometer and picked up my weights and started walking, I even did some upper body strength training while walking. I'm so glad to be able to exercise some again, I was really yearning for it. And it's really nice to not have to count my own steps because then I can't do anything else really. Now I can just focus on walking and upper body strength training. Today I did two sets of 20 of these exercises: bicep curls, lateral shoulder raise, chest press, tricep extension, shoulder row, and hammer curl. Those were the easiest ones to do while walking, plus I want to add some wrist curls next time. Even after I was done with my strength training, I still held onto the weights while I was walking. And now I can't wait until my workout tomorrow. I've planned more walking, 1.75 miles. Not sure how long it will take me, but that's the longest I will have walked in awhile.

So I don't know how many of you are baseball fans, but every day I've been watching the World Baseball Classic pretty much every day. Because I'm obsessed with baseball, it's one of my passions. I could watch baseball every second of every day, and honest, I do watch it most of the day while I'm at home. :) If I could get paid to watch/talk baseball, I totally would. I love it in general, no matter what teams are playing. But tomorrow is going to be even better because I get to watch my Brewers! It's their first televised games of the Spring, and I am more than excited to watch my boys play. I can even workout during the game if I want, just be walking around my living room while the game is on. :)

Time to finish up my paper and the discussion posts for this week. Week 4 is about to start, I can't believe it!  I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday! So until next time.

~Sara~

Self-Image (Day 533)

Hi all!

Happy Friday! How is everyone doing on this lovely day? It's a little chilly here, but we have a high of 37 today, so I'm not complaining. :) Today I am feeling really wonderful, refreshed, motivated, happy. Not really sure why, but I am. And I thought, I haven't shared a picture with you all in awhile. Don't mind the lazy clothing and no make-up, because it is a very lazy day today. These pants that I have on are my size 24's that I'm saving for my comparison picture in the future. The legs are freakishly huge on me, but it's a lazy day, so it's okay. :)

Yesterday, not long after I posted my blog, I got a phone call from Abid. :) Oh, you have no idea how happy that made me. His job has kept him very busy over the past week. It saddens me, the conditions that he has to work in. When he got the job his hours were suppose to be 11 am until 8 pm, that's not so horrible. But he hasn't been getting home from work until much later than that. Yesterday he called me at 2:40 am, his time and he didn't get home from work until about 1:40 am. And it's not that he lives that far from where he works, it is that he is working more hours than he was suppose to, every single day. I can hear the exhaustion in his voice and it brings me to tears. He is working so hard and earning so little, but that is what he is doing for our future together. Oh, I love that man so very much. But on a happier note, my mother will be printing out the finished paperwork for Abid's petition. All I need to do is sign it and get the money together and then send it in. The process will be starting very soon. :)

Today is another low carb day, thank God. Those high carb days are a lot of work. I still need to work on that protein, but after talking to my mom, we're buying some protein powder tomorrow. So my protein numbers will be much higher next week, but my other numbers were pretty good yesterday. I even stayed within my calorie range! :) I'm really starting to get use to this carb cycling thing, and I'm loving it! I feel sort of funny saying this after NSV Thursday yesterday, but I'm really excited for my weigh-in on Sunday. Here is a recap of my day yesterday:

Type	Carbs	Protein	Fats
Total	404	404	86
Used	340	70	77
Left	64	334	9

This morning I received this awesome email from SparkPeople, included in the email was this awesome article. The article was about how to boost your body image, here's the link: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/wellness_articles.asp?id=1760. It was an article that I first read back in June of last year but it was wonderful to read again. This is one of those articles that I save and look back on from time to time. It is all about self-love and accepting yourself no matter what size you are. And I want to share the tips from the article on how to boost your body image every day:

1. Find one thing to compliment yourself on every day.

2. Wear clothing that fits well and makes you feel great.

3. Exercise

4. Nourish your body with foods that will keep it functioning well.

5. Thank your body with some pampering.

6. Every time you receive a compliment, write it down in a journal.

7. Don't join in the complaint brigade

8. Stop negative self-talk immediately.

And here are some tips to boost your body image over time:

1. Experiment with mind-body exercises.

2. Ask your friends and loved ones what they enjoy most about you.

3. Explore and appreciate your personal strengths.

4. Take stock and marvel at what your body is capable of doing, not matter what size it is.

5. Who do you look up to, admire, or seek as role models?

6. Become media savvy.

7. Consider throwing the scale away. 

These are tips that I try to remember each day, especially since I still have a ton of weight to lose. But self-image is important at any weight. We need to love ourselves now, it is so insanely important. I know women who are at a healthy weight who have a horrible self-image of themselves. So just remember, being at a specific weight will not make you love yourself.

I am so very excited for this weekend, my best friend is coming home for a visit! And then she'll be back home again for Easter! :) I miss her a ton, even though I saw her about a month ago and I talk to her at least once per week. But I miss her nevertheless. So I'm excited to have a coffee date with her tomorrow morning and really catch up! :)

But I have some discussion posts to respond to and a paper to finish. Not to mention a ton of blogs to catch up on. So until next time!

~Sara~

Recap and low carb day (Day 529)

Hi all!

Happy Monday! How is everyone doing today? It's a quite chilly day here in southeastern Wisconsin, but we're suppose to get more of the accursed white stuff tonight and tomorrow. :( But thankfully, it's suppose to start warming up on Friday, to upper 30's! And yes, that is warm to me. :) I had PT this morning and it was crazy, I'm hurting a ton from it right now. She tried something new today and it definitely moved things around, we'll see how I'm feeling over the next few days.

I want to do a little recap of my first high carb day. But before I get into that, I do want to mention that I am trying to reach my levels through healthy foods. Anyway, it was quite difficult to reach my levels throughout the day. In the evening I did reach my levels, but it was because of unhealthy foods. :( This was a major defeat for me. My mother, gotta love her, decided to make brownies for when my SIL, nieces, and nephew came over. Thankfully, they are gone now, but I ate way too many of them last night.

Now today is my first low carb day, it's going well so far. I can't wait to give you all a recap of how it went, tomorrow! But here's a little preview of my day, my delicious lunch. Baby leaf greens with grilled fajita chicken (6 oz), cucumbers, mozzarella cheese, and some Caesar vinaigrette dressing. :) About 400 calories, 18 g carbs, 15 g fat, and 51 g protein. You'll get the full recap tomorrow.

Today I received my giveaway prize, it's downloading as I write this. And I am super excited about it, I can't wait to start using it. I'll be able to use this for so many things, invitations for all my wedding activities, calendars, and all sorts of cool things. It takes a long time to download, but that's alright. Thankfully I'm just sitting here writing this blog and working on homework while I'm waiting for it. But then I'll probably go on there play around with it just to see what I can all do.

Time to go work on more homework, I've got quite a bit of reading to catch up on along with this weeks. So until next time.

~Sara~

Starting carb cycling - High carb day (Day 528)

Hi all!

Happy Sunday! How is everyone doing today? It is an absolutely gorgeous day here, a little cold but the sun is shining. :) I had a weigh-in today, and I maintained since Friday (I weigh-in on the first and last day of the month as well as my weekly weigh-in's).

Today I started carb cycling, and it's a high carb day. Honestly, it's freakishly hard to eat this many carbs and protein yet stay lower on fats. One thing that I'm trying to do is plan my meals to see how I'm doing with all my levels. I thought that my low carb days were going to be hard, but it seems that my high carb days are harder. I've had breakfast, a morning snack, and lunch already, and I'm doing good on carbs and fat but my protein level is greatly lacking. But I feel like I've been eating all day, I'm sure I'll go over my calories some on my high carb days (because of all the dang food I have to eat). I'll make sure to stick to my calorie goal on my low carb days though. I'm really trying to eat healthier foods on my high carb days as well. But I guess throughout this week I'll have to research what foods will give me a good amount of protein.

A few of my classmates are finally getting their acts together and posting in our group discussion. Thank God. We're making good progress on our thesis statements (that's a good thing since they're due tonight). It stinks that we weren't able to make progress on this sooner though because this coming week there is quite a bit to do. I have to write a paper that will take a little more time, thankfully the reading assignment is pretty minimal.

But it's just about time for dinner with the family and then onto some homework. So until next time.

~Sara~

I won a giveaway! (527)

Hi all!

How was every one's day? Sorry this post is coming so late, I've been crazy busy all day. Honestly, I haven't done the best with my nutrition today, but tomorrow is a new day. Plus I have a weigh-in tomorrow, we'll see how it goes.

Tomorrow I am starting carb cycling, it will be an adventure for sure. But today when I went shopping, I stocked up on lots of veggies and protein. We bought tons of leafy greens, cabbage, cucumbers, green beans, etc... And then ham, turkey, chicken, and other proteins. I'm planning on eating salads for my lunches mostly with a much of protein (except for my high carb days of course). Still need to plan out my breakfasts, maybe eggs (since those are lower carb) and other things like that. My mom was pretty smart too, she mentioned Atkins meals because they are low in carbs. I'm so thankful that my mom is being supportive in this venture that I'm taking, even planning our menu out in a way that our meals will be lower carb on my low carb days and higher on high carb days.

But speaking of my mother, sometimes I wish that she would think a little more before she speaks or acts. This morning was pretty tough for me, I cried a few times. There are just moments when I feel that I'm not what my mom expects me to be. Or that I'm not that important to her anymore (especially since she's gotten grandchildren, it seems as if she has forgotten about me). We use to spend a lot more time together just the two of us, but now it's all about spending time with my SIL and her kids. Believe me, I love those kids to death, but sometimes I just want to spend time with my mom. I'm hoping to tell her how I feel sometime soon but she's just so busy all the time. I'll get around to talking to her sometime though.

Oh but awesome news, I won a giveaway from one of the blogs I follow! Back on February 22nd I entered a giveaway on Good Girl Gone Wife's blog (check her out, she's awesome!) for a free copy of MyMemories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software. I'm not really much of a scrapbooker but you can use this software to make photo books  invitations, labels, personalized stationary, plus a bunch of other things. (http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software) This is what I won, check it out, it seems pretty awesome. I can't wait to get my free copy of it. I've entered plenty of giveaways before but I never thought I would win one, so I'm pretty psyched about it! It'll be awesome to use since I'm planning on making my own wedding invitations (it'll be a lot more cost effective).

It's getting late, and I've had a very long day. My back/hip is hurting a ton, so I think it's time to go lay down, and watch Despicable Me on TV (I know, I'm such an adult :) but I love this movie). Then head to bed. So until next time.

~Sara~

Sabotage and March goals (Day 526)

Hi all!

Happy Friday! How is everyone doing today? It's officially March 1st, and how does the weather like to welcome it? Well it decided to snow here for a few minutes! Seriously?!? Wisconsin obviously has not gotten the memo that it's March now. So the snow is definitely not appreciated. But other than that, it's a beautiful day, mid 20's and the sun is shining a little.

But today I want to talk about something serious that I was thinking about last night and this morning. Sabotage. *dun dun dun* I'm going to talk about it in all of it's forms. First, what exactly is sabotage? According to dictionary.com sabotage is any underhanded interference with production, work, etc... So in this case it is anything or anyone that interferes with your weight loss/fitness goals. I have come up with my top three forms of sabotage.

1. Self-sabotage

2. Sabotage from significant other/family

3. Sabotage from friends 

First I'll talk about self-sabotage, and I think this one is the most prevalent (at least in my life). I see this one in my life all the time (no matter how much I may deny it). For me I think that sometimes I wish I could stay the way that I am because then I have an excuse on why I don't get a certain job, why someone doesn't like me, or just because being over weight is all that I know. Honestly, I don't know what it's like to be at a healthy weight. Or what it's like to be able to go into any store and try on clothes and know that they'll look good on me (That's never happened in my adult life). Staying over weight is staying within my comfort zone. It means I have an excuse for certain things. I guess that when I do reach a healthy weight, I still won't be perfect ( okay okay, I know that I'll never be perfect but I am a perfectionist, so I still strive for it). I'll still have flaws, physical, emotional, and spiritual. 

One thing I'm really working on is loving myself now (I'm this big advocate of it, especially to my friends who think they need to do certain things to be beautiful). I guess I've gotta take my own advice, huh? Don't get me wrong, most days I do feel beautiful. But there are those certain days where the little voices in my head come around and tell me how I'm not beautiful because of this or that flaw. I'm definitely a work in progress and thankfully I have more good than bad days with this. 

Second is sabotage from our significant other or by family members. This happens way too often as well (my family is guilty of it). If it is from our significant other, sometimes they sabotage us unconsciously  They don't want us to change because more often then not, if you're changing this part of you're life then they might be next. I am very thankful that Abid does not fear that, because he is the most supportive man. :) Now when it comes to family, it can be hard. Of course they want the best for you but some times they are jealous, especially if it's people of the same sex. Or other times it's just because they don't want you to change, they are use to the way you are. (Personally, I think that if most of a family is over weight then they are afraid that things will change because the focus may not always be about food). 

Third is sabotage from our friends or sometimes "friends". Let's be honest here, our true friends will support us in becoming healthier. But we all have those "friends", they aren't loyal to us, they say bad things about us behind our back (or sometimes to our faces), and yet we still consider them a "friend". Those are the friends I'm talking about here. Many times in this case, the person is jealous, especially if you were always considered "the fat friend". 

And since it's March, it's time to come up with some monthly goals. Honestly, I love coming up with goals for myself. I may not reach all of my goals every month but at least I have something that I'm working towards. So here are my goals for March.

Nutritional Goals:

1. Follow my carb cycling guidelines

2. Eat at least 5 fruits and veggies every day

3. Limit my sweets (only Sunday when the family is over)

4. Drink at least 100 oz of water every day

Fitness Goals:

1. Walk at least 20 minutes at least 4 time per week

2. Start strength training (upper body at least for the time being)

3. Do all of my PT recommended exercises

Weight Loss Goals:

1. Lose 3 pounds

2. Lower my body fat % 

Other Goals:

1. Finish physical therapy for my back/hip

2. Get the petition for Abid's visa filed

3. Continue rocking my class

4. Order my bridesmaid dress

5. Plan more of my own wedding

Time to head out to dinner with my parents. Have a great night everyone! Until next time.

~Sara~

Year 1 Day 160 (Day 525)

Hi all!

Happy Thursday! It's the last day of the month, can you believe it? February has gone by way too quickly. Since it's Thursday, it's time to link up with KTJ and Lex for NSV's (I'll get to these in a bit)! Plus I weighed in this morning (I'll get to this in a bit too). PT went well today, I'm hurting but that's pretty normal. And thankfully, she said that it would be a good idea for me to start doing a little walking. So this afternoon I got in about 13 minutes, I don't want to do too much too soon (especially since she had me do 5 minutes on the treadmill this morning already). Some is better than none, that's how I'm trying to look at it right now. I don't want to push myself and make my pain worse, so I'm taking things slowly.

Weigh-in time! Honestly, I almost forgot to weigh-in this morning (oops). I was just going through my morning routine, bathroom, brushing my teeth, etc .. you know the drill. Then I walked out the door and was just about to head down stairs and I thought, "It's Thursday, I have to weigh-in!" So I turned back around and got ready to weigh-in, and I have good results this week. I'm down .8 lbs! That is awesome in my book, especially after the week I've had with my nutrition.

Starting on Sunday I'm trying something new, carb cycling. I've heard good things about it and how it helps maintain muscle but losing fat. I'm just going to try it out for a month and see what kinds of results it will give. Typically people do high carb/low carb/no carb days, personally I'm not doing the no carb days. I rely on carbs way too often, I love them. Honestly, I would eat carbs all day if I could. This will be a challenge but I'm willing to give it a try. I've seen results that other people have gotten with carb cycling and they were awesome, so I'm hoping to see some results as well. So I've began researching lower carb foods and when we go shopping this weekend, we'll be stocking up on them.

I have awesome news, last night I talked to my mom, and she said that they could pay the rest of the fee's for  the petition for Abid's visa! :) You all have no freaking idea how happy this makes me, I almost cried last night when she said yes. So I'm just finishing up the paperwork and then we'll get it sent out sometime next week. I'm glad that this process will finally be starting.

But now I think it's time to link up, so here are my NSV's of the week:

1. My class is going great

2. My water intake is back to where it should be

3. My PT said that I can start walking again

4. I've realized a few reasons on why I snack a lot

5. My mind has been renewed

6. My parents are going to help pay the fees for the petition for Abid's visa :)

I'm trying something new for dinner tonight and I'm worried about it. It's this crock pot chicken Marsala, well it would probably help if I had some Marsala at home. But alas, I don't, so I used the Riesling that we do have. It's smelling delicious and I checked the flavors and it is delicious in my book, so that's exciting. Just goes to show you that improvising is a good thing. :) 

Time to go finish up some homework. So until next time.

~Sara~