The Consequences of Being a Lazy Ass

So I'm back in the desert after spending 10 days at home. Ten days of eating cake, pie, beef, bread, cheese, and endless chocolate cookies thanks to not only Turkey day but a continuous celebration of my sister, mother and cousins birthdays who all landed in that 10 day stretch.

Add to it hours and hours of movie watching, catching up on my favorite cable shows and just plain laziness (that was definitely helped by colder weather and comfortable beds and blankets).. and you have me back, trying to get past my laziness and worst of all

Pounds and Pounds heavier.

I wanted to lie on this post. I wanted to lie and say that I was so busy getting back to work that I didn't have time to weigh myself this Monday, that I had bad internet access (that part is true), that I lost my scale, that Batman came to my window and told me to glide away with him for a week and I couldn't refuse.

How could I say no, right?

But no. That's not what happened. I wasn't busy and I DID get to check my weight in the scale this Monday. The number I saw on it put me to shame. I couldn't be shocked I just hoped it hadn't been so bad. But it was. It was bad.

I'm not going to post my weight today. I'm going to wait until tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the first day of December and the day I have to update my Monthly weigh in on the side panel--------->

I'll let you know the damage then.

Sigh. This only proves to me how low I can get and how much I have to stay on the ball or else I can gain weight back in an instant.

Damage report tomorrow. You have been warned.

*lowers head in shame*

-w0rld

Thanksgiving Review

So, I ate big.
I was eating like crazy all day not just during dinner. I was eating like crazy all week actually. I just ate breakfast and I still feel super stuffed.

So, I knew every time I put something in my mouth that I was doing wrong. I kept telling myself that I'll work on it later. That I'd work out later.

But my guilt was eating me up more than I was eating up chocolate.

Once we put the pre-cooked Turkey and Ham in the oven it looked like we had an hour and 45 minutes to kill.

I was already feeling full and dinner wasn't even ready. *shakes head*

I told myself NO, I had to do something now.. anything to make me feel better.

So I told my mom, I was going out for a little while. She understood what I meant.

I was going to the gym.

I drove to the gym. 24 Hr Fitness right? They should be open at 6pm right?

WRONG.

I got there and the place was a Ghost Town. I couldn't even get upset. The roads were almost completely empty anyway. Everyone was at home, warm and toasty.

I wanted to be warm and toasty too.

But no. I told myself I had to work out at least a little.

So I drove up to a jogging park in a nice-ish neighborhood literally up-hill from my own neighborhood.

The place was dimly lit with streetlights and abandoned.

It was COLD. I was only wearing my hoodie. I admit I understood the stupidity of what I was doing. Cold, abandoned street, dim lights and a girl jogging it with earphones.

A recipe for disaster right?

I did it anyway.

I put on my favorite tunes and started jogging/power walking. The street led to a park up a hill. I jogged to the hill, turned around and jogged back.

I took it easy and let the music lead my speed. It took me a little over 40 minutes. The trip was about ~2 miles round trip.

After my initial concern it actually turned out to be very calming and nice. The park/path was surrounded by houses. I could smell the cooking in all the houses. It smelled A-mazing. It made me happy knowing all these people were with loved ones cooking amazing food and enjoying it together.

Once I finished my jog I felt better. I had gone out of my way to get a work out in. I felt refreshed and dare I say it, hungry. Not only for food but hungry to get home and be with MY family and smell MY houses cooking.

I drove home. I took a shower. I helped set the table. We ate and everything was good.

Weigh In: Pass

I'm going to pass this weeks Weigh In. I'm home and I haven't been eating well already. I know I have to watch myself or else I'll blow up like a balloon but at the same time I don't want to stress out over every little thing I eat this week.

This is my vacation and I know that I'll probably gain weight this week. I don't want to ruin my good mood by looking at the scale.

I still need to go to the gym this week and continue swimming. I haven't swum since last Thursday and I'm feeling angsty.

I'll report my progress this weekend.

Have a Great Thanksgiving Everyone!

-w0rld

If My 13 year old Self Could See Me Now

As promised I bring you pictures of what Elina looks like at 218 lbs.
*Bear in mind that I had limited resources so these are pics of my reflection, in my cramped little room. LOL*




It might not look like a big difference compared to the last pictures I took at 230 lbs but I can definitely see the difference.

-My arms are more toned and less flab.

-My legs have also gotten slimmer.

-My overall torso has turned from two huge tires to one big gut aka less rolls, over all with a smaller circumference.

-I've lost 4 inches from my middle since I started.

It's a work-in-process definitely. :)

----------
I've been contemplating the changes I've made since I started this journey. One thing that really caught my eye was when I was preparing dinner the other night:


Rice with a lil soy sauce and herbs and a baked tilapia fish with onion, tomato, and green bell pepper, marinated with lemon.

My mouth was watering when I opened the foil and then it hit me. I HATE fish.. or more like I used to Hate fish.

I laughed at this and commented outloud,
"*LOL* If my 13 yr old self could see me now"

My co-worker (who was preparing his own dinner.. also fish btw) turned absently and said "Huh? What was that?"
"Oh nothing."

I suddenly walked out of the kitchen came back with my camera, took the beautiful picture of my food, and put the camera away without comment.

My co-worker said nothing. I smiled and ate my dinner happily.

~Oh these days I live in~

love
-w0rld

Weigh In: "I Did It!!"

Let's get right to the meat of this post;

Current Weight: 218 lbs (YES! I have now re-lost 30 lbs! And three extra pounds for good measure! YAY!!)


Work Out Achievement(s): So, first of all, yes I was finally able to lose those last few pounds and I have now officially (re)lost 30 lbs. Not only that but I jumped ahead and now I'm in the 2-teens. I haven't been in those numbers since middle school. It's a bit surreal.

I look at myself in the mirror and say, "Well yes, I can see the difference. That's good. But you're still fat Elina. Don't get too cushy yet. Keep going."

Maybe you can hear the not-so-excited tone in my voice here? Maybe it's because I've already lost 30 lbs once and this is the second time getting to the Same weight. Maybe it's because my goals are now further ahead (I want a figure DAMMIT!). I'm not sure what it is but right now this feels more like simply 'advancing to the next level before getting to the castle' than an actual victory. I'm still happy though!

Anyway,
I continued my swimming streak for most of last week. After my fall (read my last post ) I decided to take a break from swimming to let my wounds heal (having your wounds wet really doesn't help) but not before going in to the pool Friday (the day after the fall) and finishing 50 laps.

50 laps! Yes! I did it!

I was so proud of myself you'd get sick of hearing about it soon enough.

However one of my cuts looked worse after the swim so I decided to take the weekend off.

It wasn't easy. The weather was Fantastic on Sunday and I had to stare at my leg hard and continuously to convince myself NOT to go in the pool. But I'll be going in tonight, no worries. LOL

I have to do some research and order a few things online in order to start mixing it up and doing different things in the pool.

As for food I am paying close attention to what I'm eating and portion control. It's an on-going battle for me. I have to remind myself that I'm NOT hungry. I Don't need that granola bar. I Don't have to eat that extra bagel when I already had one. I Don't want a banana split with extra whip cream and sprinkles.

Oh man... mmmm...
It doesn't always work. But atleast I'm so secluded from the nearest fast food restaurants I simply have to settle with the food I have with me. Thank goodness what I have is fruit and water... and dark chocolate.. mmmmm...

LOL

Goal(s):
For now I think what I'm going to do, as recommended by midlifeswimmer, is work on my lap speed. Swim out at a decent pace and come back strong, repeat. That sort of thing.

I have to go into spark people and use their calorie counter to help me calculate what my calorie intake range should be. I'm assuming this new weight will also mean cutting down on calories as well.

For now I'm just happy I made it this far. It's a nice comfortable feeling knowing that I'm going in the right direction. (It's kind of like the 'aaah' feeling of slipping into clean sheets after a shower knowing that, at THAT moment, all is right with the world..mmm.. yeah that feeling)

I hope that by the winter holidays I'll be even closer to the 200 mark. (That was my original goal to reach the 200's by the end of the year).

So we'll see.

Pictures of a 30 lbs lighter me coming up soon!

Have a great day everyone! Yay!

love
-w0rld

The Bumps (& scrapes) on the Journey to Wellness

*this post was inspired by a post from the blog that introduced me to the "blogging world" and brought me this far *
--------------------


A couple of nights ago I was swimming.

This was the night I decided I would really go for it and make a new record... and I did.

I swam 49 laps in 49 minutes. I was ECSTATIC!

I walked out of the pool feeling preeety cool:


But then tragedy struck. SLIP! Woop! BAM!!

I slipped and fell:


The men in the pool with me were worried. I waved it off and said it was just a scrape... but that didn't stop me from complaining like a baby by the time I reached the showers:

"hisss~ Aaaah.. dam***, sh**, you freaken klutz!"

My earlier high quickly diminished and sadness swept in:

But after a shower and a few minutes of complaining I told myself to stop acting like a baby.

Be strong!:


So I put some ointment that I found in my first aid kit:

I brushed my hair and my teeth:

I put on my lucky socks:

"Oh Yeah!"

Laughed it off and told myself this is just one small price to pay for getting healthy and well.

I put a smile on my face (and popped an advil LOL) and went to "town" for some soup and some company!:


I can do it!! You can too!

love
-w0rld

What does She Eat Anyway?/Pictures!

So as promised here is my Food post. (Get ready for some amazing looking food! lol)

So this is a typical day for me out here.. at least for the last couple of weeks

6:15 a.m.

This is every morning. Cold cereal with (vanilla) Soy Milk and a banana. Usually I would slice the banana in to the cereal but I was in a hurry this morning. (Ignore that "nutritional shake" in the corner. That belongs to my co-worker. I don't touch that stuff.)




around 10 a.m. I would usually have grapes and water OR a granola bar but yesterday was special and I had Chai tea and the rest of my pomegranite. Mmmm.



Lunch 12:00 p.m.

This is delicious. We have a toasted "Bagel Thins" bagel with a WW cheese spread. Greens, onion, tomato, avocado and an already cooked chicken patty from Costco.

It makes a delicious sandwich!

around 2 or 3 p.m. I would usually have either another granola bar or fruit but today I was a little bad and had

yummy bread pudding from the local diner AND one tablespoon of peanut butter (crunchy) to add it with. I drank it with a glass of (vanilla) soy milk.. so this all means I didn't eat any granola bars.



Dinner 7:00pm
I'm usually really hungry after my swim so this is my favorite meal of the day.

Last night I had curry (Indian Fare from Trader Joes) with ONE slice of Naan and a TON of grapes. All accompanied by my forever with me water bottle.

I am back to not drinking juices or sodas (I already don't drink coffee) so again my drinks are usually water, (soy)milk, tea and the occasional gatorade though the last one is so rare nowadays.

So, how many calories is this? According to sparkpeople.com's calorie counter this is around 1,975 calories.

The bread pudding really added a few calories there but overall this is ok. I'm trying to keep my calories between 1,700-2,000 and as long as I don't go over 2,000 calories I think I'll be ok. (Of course the more I keep it near the 1,700's the better right?) lol

Well that's some insight on my diet.

What do you think? LOL

love
-w0rld