New Job and Progress

Hi, all!

Happy Friday! It is finally the weekend, can you believe it? This week had just flown by for me. How are your goals coming along? Have you made progress on them? My goals have been met and surpassed already, which I can't believe. I can't wait to share my weekly results on Sunday!

My interview went really well yesterday, in fact, just 15 minutes after I left, I was called again and told that they wanted me to come back in for a second interview today. Then at 4:30 this afternoon, I got a call from them and I was told that I got the job! I have orientation on Wednesday, so I'm really psyched about it. I can't wait to start. I'll be able to pay off the unexpected bill that I received earlier this week and I'll be able to save up some money for my move. This takes a lot of stress off my shoulders, so I'm incredibly thankful. We also got good news from my brother today, he got a pretty significant raise at his job. Plus, since he's the general manager at his location, he'll get 10% of his store's profits. I'm excited for him because it will definitely help his family a lot.

Today and yesterday I had to go to another town for my interviews and typically I would have been tempted to grab something to eat at a fast-food restaurant. Whenever I would go out, I felt a great need to get food, that was my food addiction. Amazingly enough, I didn't feel the need to stop and get some food either time. That also happened on Tuesday when I had a meeting, I didn't stop and get any food. This is an amazing feeling, knowing that I'm making progress with this food addiction and I'm not letting food control my life.

Well, I'm off. It's time to watch the game and relax a bit after having my nieces and nephews over. I hope that you all have a wonderful evening. Until next time!

~Sara~

Listening to Your Body

Hi, all!

Happy Thursday! How are you all doing on this beautiful day? We're in the homestretch of the week, are you close to accomplishing your goals?  I have another interview this afternoon, so hopefully I'll get positive results. This job would be nice because hopefully I'd be able to transfer to one of their locations out in Seattle once I move.  

This morning, I was feeling incredibly tired and a little fatigued, so I chose not to workout. Maybe I'll workout after I get back from my interview and maybe I won't. I'm trying to do a better job at listening to my body. If I need rest, then I'll give myself rest. If I don't need rest, then I'll workout. Too many times, I've pushed my body too far and didn't give myself rest and that's when an injury happens or I feel so fatigued that I'm down for days.  I'm definitely a work in process but as long as I move forward, that's all that matters.

It's been sort of strange for me lately, I've been under my calorie goal by quite a bit this week. 3 of 4 days, I have been at least 300 calories under my goal and this is after forcing myself to eat a bit more in the evening to get a little closer to my goal. I don't want to be too far under my goal and honestly, this could be the reason why I've been feeling so fatigued lately. It seems that I'm going to have to start eating a little bigger breakfast and lunch because those meals have been lower lately. I never thought I'd have to try and eat more because I'm not getting enough calories.

Well, I'm off. I need to finish up a few things, have lunch and then head to my interview. I hope that you all are having an amazing day. Until next time!

~Sara~

Strange

Hi, all!

Happy Wednesday! The week is half over already, how are your goals coming along? How's your day going? It's a cloudy day here, but I'm loving the 60-degree weather. Can you believe that it's already the 20th of May? It seems like this month just began and now it's closer to being over.

This morning I had an interview at a staffing agency, which was awesome because I was shown a few more options that would be better for me. I'm really hoping that I'll hear from one of the places soon and I'll be able to start working soon. It was funny though because the woman I spoke with is the sister of a girl I graduated high school with, so it was nice to have that connection.

I've gotta tell you, it felt really strange to not workout this morning because of my interview. I worked out as soon as I got home, but it still felt weird to not throw on my workout clothes and my HRM as soon as I woke up. One thing that I realized during my workout today though is that when I do strength training, I focus far too much on my biceps. Don't get me wrong, working on your biceps is perfectly fine, but I focus too much on them. I find it incredibly easy to work on my biceps because I can work them while I'm walking. My biceps have always been an area where I've had some muscle, which is great, but I need to focus on other areas as well. So during my workout today, I tried to focus on some other muscles as well. I'm definitely going to work on doing more strength training and not just upper body.

Well, I'm off. I hope that you all have a wonderful afternoon and evening. Until next time!

~Sara~

Progress, not Perfection

Hi, all!

Happy Tuesday! How are you all doing today? I'm doing fairly well and I'm enjoying this new week. It's the final full week of the month, how are you doing on achieving your goals? My goals are going well thus far, especially the monthly ones. :)

I began writing a post yesterday and I was going to write about how wonderful my day was going and talk about the week ahead. Well, that didn't happen because I received some unwelcome mail that turned my day quite negative. Thankfully I have everything all worked out, as of last night, and I was able to stay on track nutritionally. After receiving the piece of mail, I started applying to jobs around here and, amazingly enough, I have an interview tomorrow morning and I just applied yesterday. I'm hoping for a positive outcome to this interview because it would help my situation a lot!

Although yesterday was not pleasant throughout the day, I have something very exciting that came out of it. During the troubled time, I did not turn to food to help me work through it. Typically, I would have turned to food as soon as I received the piece of mail. I would have eaten a large quantity and done so throughout the afternoon and evening. I've gotta tell you, I'm incredibly proud of myself for not turning to food and sticking with my nutritional goals. In fact, when this happened, I didn't even think about turning to food. At all! I didn't turn to food, that is SO FREAKING AMAZING! This means that I'm making progress with my food addiction and that makes me so dang happy. This kind of thing may not always happen and I may turn to food sometimes, but this is progress. I'm not perfect, but all I can ask for is that I continue to move forward.

Okay, now that I have all this news out of the way. Yesterday I did really well both nutritionally and with my fitness. I was under my calorie goal by a couple hundred calories and I had a 41-minute walk. For some reason, my legs were feeling sort of fatigued, so I didn't get to walk at the level I normally do. But, a workout is a workout.

Well, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my afternoon. I hope that you all had a wonderful Monday and your Tuesday is even better. Until next time!

~Sara~

Marathon, not a Sprint

Hi, all!

Happy Tuesday! How are you all doing today? It is rainy and a bit cooler here, but I love it! :) It's in the lower 60's today and that is absolutely perfect weather for me! This morning my fat caliper came in the mail, I can't wait to use it! :) Also, I went out for coffee with my best friend again and had a wonderful morning with her.

I received a bit more information about the job I interviewed for and I'm not taking it. Ugh! After doing some research on my own, I realized the hiring managers photo was not a part of any of the offices. When I realized this, I thought that maybe this job wasn't legit. Now the website that I apply for these freelance jobs through, has taken down the posting altogether. I've sent them a message asking why, but I have a feeling that it is because the job was not legit. It sucks because this job would have been amazing, but I'm glad I know now before anything more happened.

Other than finding out this crap about the "interview" I was on, I had a great day. I was under my calorie goal a bit and had a great 67-minute walk. At lunch, I ate a bit more than I wanted but I made sure that it fit into my day. This is how my life will go, sometimes I will eat more than I plan or choose a not so healthy option. Let's be honest, all of us will do that from time to time. However, I won't let that ruin my day and just eat horribly for the rest of it, so I make the food/meal fit into my day. I had a delicious and healthy fruit smoothie for dinner and a healthy snack in the evening, even after my calorie heavy lunch, I was still under my goal. This journey is a marathon, not a sprint, and I am teaching myself how to pace myself and complete this journey.

Well, I'm off to make my lunch and then I'm going to get my workout in for the day. I hope that you all have an amazing day. Until next time!

~Sara~

Interview and Other Randomness

Hi, all!

Happy Monday! How are you all doing today? It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining and it's in the low 70's, I definitely won't complain about that. How was your weekend? Mine was wonderful, I had a healthy and happy weekend. :)

I had an interview this morning and it went well, they're sending me some paperwork soon and then I'll be making my decision for sure on whether or not I want to accept the position. It would be a great position and helpful toward the future, as long as it's legit, so only time will tell. Then I went out for coffee with my best friend and we spent a few hours together. It was an amazing morning.

This morning when I weighed in, my hard work from last week showed. So, it seems that my body is finally adjusting to my new healthier eating and fitness routine. I'm trying to add more strength training into my routine, so I'm adding some dumbbells while I'm walking since my hip still isn't 100%. I can definitely tell the difference when I walk with weights though and I'm going to continue to do this. Yesterday I did well, both nutritionally and with my fitness. I was under my calorie goal and had a nice 38-minute walk. :) Today is going well thus far, however, at lunch I did eat a bit more than I had planned. I'm still on track for the day, especially after my 67-minute walk.

Well, I'm off to go and make dinner for the family. I hope that you all have an amazing evening. So until next time!

~Sara~

Weigh-In and Looking Back

Hi, all!

Happy Sunday! How are you all doing today? How are all of your goals coming along? Mine as going fairly well thus far. :) It's been a wonderful weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing what this week has in store. Plus, my best friend got to town today and we'll be spending time together numerous times throughout the week. :) I'm going to go over how Friday and Saturday went before I say anything else.

I had a good day on Friday until the evening. I ate more than I wanted to at dinner and then my two youngest nieces and I made cookies together. If I wouldn't have eaten so many cookies, I would have been fine. I did workout more to make up for it, so ultimately I was only 80 calories over, but it wasn't as a good a day as I had hoped. I let my food addiction take over, it's as simple as that. I did not make good food choices in the evening and I ate way too much. Overcoming this addiction is hard work, but I need to move forward. One bad day will not dictate how the rest of the week and month goes. On Friday I received the scale from the weight loss study I'm a part of and I'm in love with the scale. UCLA sent me a $100 scale for free! Plus, I downloaded a free app on my phone and the scale syncs with it, so that's amazing. The even better news, when the study is over, I get to keep this scale. :)

Saturday was wonderful. I wasn't planning on working out, but I felt the need in the morning. So, I got in a nice 25-minute walk. Then in the evening, I made this delicious peanut butter, chocolate, strawberry/banana smoothie, and it was healthy! It tasted more like a shake and I added some protein powder to it, so it had some added protein. :) I love having a blender again! I weighed in for the weight loss study's official beginning weight and it was back up to 311.4, so my loss from a few days ago was not correct (just as I suspected). So, I'm correctly my weight from 308 back up to 311. Overall, I had a great day Saturday! I was under my calorie goal and worked out. :)

Okay, now on to today. I'm weighing in every day for the study, but Sunday is my official weigh-in day. So here are those results:

Starting Weight: 315 lbs

Last Weight: 311.4 lbs

Current Weight: 312.4 lbs

Weight Lost: 2.6 lbs

Well, the scale showed a gain this morning. I'm not too worried about it because I know I didn't eat enough to actually gain a pound. In fact, according to my records, I should have lost at least .75 lbs. So, I'm probably retaining water or something like that. I worked hard last week and I know that as soon as my body is used to what I'm doing, I'll start seeing results. This week I'm planning on adding more strength training, at least 3 days and cardio at least 5 days. 

Tomorrow morning I have an interview for a freelance data entry position, so I'm pretty excited! It's just a temporary position, but it could possibly lead to other projects and give me some more experience. Something else exciting, my best friend is getting into town later this afternoon and she'll be here for a week! I'm either going to see her when she gets here or we're getting together tomorrow sometime. :) I can't wait to have some one-on-one time with her again. Well, I'm off, I've got to do some things around the house and then make some lunch. I hope you all have an amazing day and week. Until next time!

~Sara~

Excitment (Day 673)

Hi all!

Happy Friday! How are you all doing today? It is a beautiful day in Colorado, the weather has been absolutely perfect the past few days.

Let me tell you, I am so freaking excited for a few things. First, I am done with all my homework for the week (I was done yesterday, it was Thursday yesterday!). This is huge, I was actually able to relax last night, I have not been able to just relax and do nothing in a long time. Second, I'm going to a hiring event tonight. I am feeling very hopeful and praying that it will go really well. I'll be honest, if I don't get a job soon, I don't know what I'm going to do. And third, this one has two parts. I was picking out what to wear to the hiring event tonight and I saw a pair of 18 khaki shorts (I'm in a size 20 currently), not that I would wear them to this event, but I just wanted to try them on and see if they fit. Most of my clothes are big and I know I'm inching closer and closer to a size 18, so I thought "what the hey, I'm going to try them on". So I tried them on and although they were a little tight in the waist, I could still wear them and they look good! :) Ahh! I'm so close to an 18, I can almost taste it! Now onto part two, a few weeks ago I got a free shirt from the young adult group I attend at my church. My shirt is an XL, unisex shirt and it's too big! You may or may not know that I use to be in a men's XXL shirt that fit when I was at my heaviest.

So needless to say, I'm freaking excited! Not to mention that it is my birthday 12 days, not that I'm going to do much for it, but still. :) Ashley and John are coming to visit me the weekend after my birthday to celebrate and I'm really hoping I'll have more to celebrate by then! I'm taking an unscheduled rest day from working out because I am hurting today! I have been doing a lot lately with fitness and I know how important rest is to a healthy lifestyle. So I'm resting up today and preparing for the hiring event. Have a wonderful day! So until next time!

~Sara~

Quick Update and Confession (Day 666)

Hi all!

Happy Friday! How are you all today? This is going to be a really short post but I just wanted to check in and see how you all are doing. I've had an extremely busy day... worked out this morning, Skyped with Abid for a little bit, finished 1 of my finals, had to go to the library to print something out, had an interview, and a little more homework once I got home and 2 long conversations, one with my best friend and one with my mother. Even though I should have been working on my homework, it was nice to talk with them.

Today was a bad eating day for me though... I went way over my calories (700 calories over) because of stupid Panera Bread (where my interview was held) and I made a bad choice when I wanted something sweet. It is what it is. And I calculated it all out and as long as I stick to my goal tomorrow, I will still be 2000 calories under maintenance level. So that is encouraging and I'm going to do a kickboxing workout which will burn major calories and no eating back my exercise calories tomorrow. It'll all work out and I won't let one night of bad eating ruin the entire week.

Anyways... I have a lot of reading to do for my final, hopefully I'll finish the first one tonight before I head to bed. Tomorrow's goal, finish all of my reading for the final and write most if not all of the final. It'll be a challenge, but it needs to be done by Sunday. Time to get back to homework before I head to bed. I hope you all had a wonderful day and are having a great evening. So until next time!

~Sara~

Update (Day 664)

Hi all!

Happy Wednesday! How are you all doing today? It's a gorgeous day here in Colorado, a high of 81 and the sun is shining. So I don't really have much to say today but I just wanted to check in and see how all of you are doing. I've been staying super busy with my school work and thankfully I only have my 2 finals left. Oh and I had a phone interview today and I think it went really well! I was told that I should hear back tomorrow since the hiring team is meeting up tonight. So I'm looking forward to hearing back from them.

But anyways... I have to make this post extremely short because as I said, I have 2 finals to write and they're due by Sunday. Let's hope I can get everything done in time! Have a wonderful day! So until next time!

~Sara~

Weigh-In (Day 655)

Hi all!

Happy Monday! How are you all doing today? I am seriously a bad blogger.... again. I've just been so busy with all of my school work. I have all of my typical school work plus a final that's due on Sunday (which I finished yesterday :) ) and then 2 finals due next Sunday. Plus my friends Ashley and John are coming to visit me this weekend (hence why I need to get this homework done early, so I don't have to be doing it while they are here). It is going to be an amazing weekend, Friday we're going out to a Mongolian restaurant and I'll be showing Ashley the wedding dress that I fell in love with and she'll be trying on some bridesmaid dresses. Saturday and Sunday, who knows what we're doing. Either Saturday night or Sunday morning we'll be going to my church (which is amazing), I'm really excited to have them check it out. 

But yesterday was weigh-in day and I want to get back to posting my weigh-in. So I'm going to be doing that today. I'm so thankful that after my binge on Tuesday I was right on key with my nutrition and the scale showed that fact. I am still trying to get into a fitness routine again but at least my nutrition is better. It's a start and my goal for this week is to continue with my nutrition and add some fitness as well. 

Starting Weight: 315

Last Weigh-In: 272.8

Current Weight: 271

Total Lost: 44

I have an interview tomorrow with a university and I am very hopeful for it. From what I have heard and read, this job would be a great fit for me because I would get to unofficially provide students with counsel. Not to mention that it would pay the bills plus some and that way I would be able to pay off more of my student loans and save more each month. So please keep me in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow, I would appreciate it! 

Well it's time to get back to my paper and my finals. Gotta get these things done before Ashley and John come visit me. :) I hope you all have an amazing day. So until next time!

~Sara~

Raw (Day 650)

Hi all!

Happy Wednesday! How are you all today? The week is halfway through already, crazy, huh? It is a beautiful day here but it is starting to warm up again. The past few days have been amazing temperature wise but it is July, so I should expect 80 and 90-degree weather. Oh and just a quick warning, I'm going to be pretty raw today and much of my writing won’t be the happiest.

I had a phone interview yesterday and it went wonderfully. My interviewer wanted me to have an in person interview with the next person in line next week. :) I am quite hopeful for this job, it would be amazing. Please be thinking and praying for me about that, I would greatly appreciate it. This job would mean more to me than having a job, it would mean having a routine and being able to better control my eating.

Time to be honest: I know that the other day I posted a blog about refocusing and I truly am trying to but the afternoons and evenings are hard. My mornings are filled with Starbucks and Skyping with Abid but I spend the rest of the day by myself. I try to keep myself preoccupied with homework and other things but it gets lonely. And what do I do when I am lonely? I eat… it is not something I am proud of but it’s the truth. I was stupid and bought a little snack type food, thinking that I would be able to control myself. I am not to that point yet though. So no more snack food in the house for me, I know that I cannot control myself with it yet. I just really need to get back into a good routine and I have not been able to find one when I am not working.

It doesn't help that I'm missing Abid like crazy; it’s been getting harder to be apart. I mean, I’m in this new chapter of my life and he is a part of it. But I want him to actually be a part of it, not just over Skype or on the phone, in person.  I want us to start our life together and really be a family. Don't get me wrong, I know how lucky I am to have someone in my life who loves me just as much as I love him. And I'm incredibly thankful that he is in my life but it’s hard.

Sorry I'm so down today, but this is just something I need to get out. None of us are happy all the time though. One thing I love about blogging is that I can be raw and emotional. But it’s homework time, like usual. :) Have an amazing day everyone. So until next time!

~Sara~

Updates (Day 643)

Hi all!

Happy Wednesday! How are you all doing today? Before I say anything else, I want to wish my mother a happy birthday! Love you mom! It has been so long since I actually sat down and wrote a decent sized blog but I am excited that I am able to today. Things have been absolutely crazy since I moved let me explain:

I moved into my apartment 9 days ago and I love it here! On Tuesday of last week, I started my job and it was horrible. I worked again on Wednesday and I was in so much pain that night that I did not sleep at all. Thursday I emailed my boss and told him that this was not a good fit for me and I started searching for new jobs. On Friday, I had an interview at a University here in town to be an academic specialist, which went really well. On Monday, I received a phone call from them for a second interview, which is later today. I am praying that it will go well, because this job would be amazing. I have such a passion for education and helping people make the best decisions for themselves regarding school. So please keep me in your thoughts and prayers today regarding that.

Anyways, my Internet still is not set up because I am waiting on my modem. It stinks though; I have to go out to use the Internet, which is an almost daily thing, because of my homework. Thankfully, I have been able to get everything done on time and I only have a few more weeks of this summer session left (including next week off for the 4^th). Then next session I only have one class, which will be better for when I do start working. And then when fall sessions begin, I finally get to start my psychology classes! :) I am excessively excited for those classes to start, but I will finally be taking classes for my actual degree. I see the light at the end of the tunnel for my Bachelor’s… less than a year left. :)

It has been insanely crazy since I have moved but I love it. It is so beautiful here and I will upload pictures of my apartment and from my move as soon as I can. Thank you all for being patient with me. I miss you all! And good Lord, I miss Abid too. We haven't been able to Skype as much because I don't have Internet at home. Oh well, we will get through this, it will only make us stronger. I do wish he was here with me though. :( But I have homework to get to. I hope you all have an amazing day! So until next time!

~Sara~