you want some of these guns?

Did I tell u I've been working out really hard lately?
Finally, results!!!
Lol

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Grasping the Concept

Some of you may be wondering where I have been. (or maybe not ha ha). Anyway, just been busy with life and now that the 'newness' of blogging has worn off its not near the top of my list. I actually wouldn't even be on here writing this (because I have more important things to do with my family, and hence the reason its not near the top of my list---not that it was ever above my family u understand, but since the newness is gone its not pushing itself up there stealing my time as much anymore). So anyway, BUT... I wanted to share with u where I am because I feel its important. I think its healthy, and I think its good.
So that being said... no, I haven't dropped a ton of weight and entered a modeling contest for the boniest 40 year old on the  planet. :)    In fact, I've actually gained weight. BUT... I'm pretty ok. In fact, I'm good. I am finally absorbing into my attitude and outlook all the things I've been saying with my mouth over the past 9 months or so... and that is... JUST BE HAPPY!
I've said it before, it seems women are never happy with their weight, but yet they always wish they were x number of pounds lighter, BUT when they WERE x number of pounds lighter they weren't happy then either because they wanted to be Y number of pounds lighter!    Well, I am not at my lightest, I am not even really at my 'pretty normal' weight (it is the holidays u know?)  but I'm happy. And I don't want to spend all (or actually ANY) of my time talking about weight, food choices, or denied foods with anyone.  There I said it. I am tired of talking about weight and food.  I mean it.   There is more to life than this, and I am going to live my life enjoying life and enjoying my family, and NOT thinking in my head all the time about this stuff. If anyone doesn't like me for this. oh well.  I think you will find I am an actually better and  happier friend, wife, and mother when I am not beating myself up over weight and food. I am not obese. I am not huge. I am not unhealthy. I am not hideous to look at. I am normal. I hope everyone accepts that. I think they will. There is one person who doesn't want my attitude to give me free reign to hop on the chocolate cookie induced fat train. But don't worry, I'm not taking this to the extreme. I'm not saying get me the Big Mac and the shake, in fact make it a double and lets pack on the pounds. No, I'm just saying I'm sick of highs and lows, I am just going to stay here in the middle and enjoy life and myself. I'm not taking it easy. I'm not giving up. I'm not a wimp. I still work out 6 days a week doing running, treadmill, weights, and classes. I still try to make healthy food choices BECAUSE they are healthy for me, NOT because I want to deprive myself of something. In fact, there isn't much deprivation because my attitude has changed. If I don't eat it its because I don't want it, not because I'm depriving myself. If I do eat it (Bang Bang Shrimp I love you) its because I want to and I'm living a normal life where people do indulge some, but we just make some adjustments in other choices to cover the big indulgences.

So there u basically have it. I'm not going to keep going on about this because honestly I don't want to be on the computer, I want to go play with my daughter. But if u are around me, don't think I'm being rude if I change the subject when talk turns to 'dieting'. Its just not something I feel is worth talking about anymore, and I don't want my young girls to overhear those conversations. Even though I've tried to make sure they don't hear much (because I want them to have healthy body images), I'm sure they've still heard some, because even if its not coming out of my mouth I can't say how often it comes out of the mouths of women any time they get together, no matter what the circumstance of the gathering may be.  So, this is why I won't be partaking in those conversations anymore and I will either change the subject or remove myself from the situation. Hope u all understand. Happiness is better than a number on the scale. Happiness makes for a better mother, a better wife, and even a better lover. If you aren't happy with your situation, you aren't confident, and being unconfident in the bedroom is a real buzz killer. Just ask my husband :) In the past we've had several nights where my unhappiness with MY body ruined the fun we could have had together. So I'm just saying, it took me awhile to fully grasp this concept. (I knew it and said it, but didn't really get it into my heart and soul until now), if you can grasp this concept too, it might be something good for u. Its been good for me.   Talk to ya later gals! Rene'

coming clean

You are probably not wondering, but I'll tell u anyway, I deleted all those posts from July that had the yucky pictures in them. They were just depressing and I didn't want to see them anymore. So if u got a chance to see them before I deleted them u know I'm not perfect, but if you didn't you'll just have to trust me ha ha. Anyway, good riddence!

chugging along

Just a note to keep u  updated. Not much excitement or change around here lately, just living day by day. Not really being deprived in regular meals, but trying really hard to resist the sweets. Still working off that bday weight, actually I probably did work it off, but then it crept back up a bit. Anyway, not going to beat myself up over this. I'm still happy. Clothes still fit. I'm not 135, but I'm not fat either. I'm actually just pretty normal. No, I'm not a model, but I'm not an overweight housewife either. So I can't really complain. That is something I am getting a grasp of (and have been working on it for about 10 months now) is to just be happy/content with where I am, not always wishing for something that used to be whether it was 3 years ago or 20 years ago. Accepting myself for who I am now and what my body looks like now. Not letting it go to crap, but taking care of it in a HEALTHY way , not a maniacal way. Anyway, that's where I am right now. Hope u are happy with where u are too :)

The famous pie

I made a post on my other blog about the pie and its recipe if you are interested. You can make it and see for yourself how awesome it is. Check it out at this link.

The results of turning 40!

Just checking in with an update. For those of you who don't know... I turned 40 a week ago-woohoo! I say that to explain why I haven't quite been seeing the progress I'd wanted (a wee bit of celebrating). My husband and I went to Aspen CO with our friends for my birthday weekend and had a glorious time. Albeit there was no restraint. I ordered gourmet food I've never had before (yum!), and also consumed $50 worth of chocolates almost all by myself! Then add to that a lot of raw cookie dough and cooked cookies that my friend Jen and I made together to celebrate my birthday, and u can see that I probably wouldn't be losing any pounds this week. Therefore, I am not unhappy with the 2 pounds I gained. It had to be expected, I'm just glad it wasn't 5! Two is a lot easier to get off than 5! We also went camping this weekend which wasn't so bad, but yes there were treats there too (ice cream on the patio). Now I'd like to say this has all come to an end and I am back on track... but I still have a candy bar (that my daughter's thoughtfully bought for me for my birthday) to eat, and I have a pie (to make) and eat. I haven't made it yet, but just because my bday was a week ago doesn't mean I'm not going to-ha ha. (It's my favorite pie, and we make it for every birthday in our family) Its the BEST! Maybe I'll post a recipe and pix when I DO make it :) But after my pie is gone, u will see some improving posts from me I guarantee it! Also, my jean shorts are wearable again :)

P.S. I would like to point out, that even though I was indulging a bit in the food, I still had some great exercise... when Marlenes and I went for our massages at the Aspen Club, we also took a pump class, plus we went on a couple hikes, plus while we were camping I rode my bike, ran with the dog, and hiked up the foothills of the mountains. So even though I had a few splurges, I was still staying active :)

probably not making the goal

Remember I wanted to be at 140 or 139 by Monday (my birthday)? Well, it probably won't happen. I appear to be on a plateau right now at 145 and I'm heading out Fri for a weekend birthday celebration trip (which means... not much restraint is planned in the eating department). i.e. Probably not going to lose any weight over the weekend, and therefore won't reach my goal. Bummer.
But I will enjoy my birthday with friends, and I will enjoy my favorite birthday pie Monday (even if I have to make it myself-I already bought the ingredients) :) so after Monday, I'll get back on my stricter plan to continue my weightloss journey. I'll keep u posted.

making progress, taking the plunge

Well, I've made some progress lately, so I took the plunge...
I wore my purple shorts with the black stripes to the gym today.
Of course before I put them on I spent a full five minutes trying to pull them in every direction possible to stretch them out as much as I could LOL (but very true).
They clung a tiny bit under my butt which I don't like, but the rest fit perfect. I even got compliments from my girlfriends, so even though I still think they would look better in another 5 pounds, evidently everyone else thinks they are ok. Even my husband seemed to think so ;)

Those measurements I promised

Finally getting around to posting this... the measurements!
If you'll recall I promised I'd post the ugly numbers so that ideally someday I could compare them to improved numbers and revel in the glory of that progress with you. Well, today is the day. Here they are...

I took these measurements:
Date: 7/15---> 8/13
weight 155---> 145
diameter of widest thigh area 24.5"---> 24"
diameter around body at widest
butt area 40.5" --->39.75"
diameter at my panty waistline 34" --->33.25"
diameter at belly button 31" --->30"

There u have it. I've seen some improvement and I hope to keep improving. But I must admit I am starting to think/dream about cookies and snacks. I need to make sure I don't succumb, yet also don't feel deprived. Because the deprivation will cause me to fail. I'll keep u posted.
p.s. I DID eat a few chips and queso recently, but wasn't that satisfied by it (yippee) and didn't eat too much of it.

More progress

Things are still going well. Been eating good (ok, a few chips with a few dips of queso at the restaurant on Sunday), and I'm down to almost 145. Its hovering just a hair over it , so its probably 145.5, which means I've lost 9.5 pounds so far. My clothes are already fitting better (yippee) in fact I'm wearing my chino shorts again and totally enjoying the way they fit-Yay! Now I did succumb to the temptation when my friend Jen brought over homemade cookies today (darn those cookies!) Don't know how many I ate but probably about 5. I TOLD you I like cookies! I'm secretly hoping to be at 140 (or 139 fingers crossed) by my birthday at the end of the month. I turn 40, and I'd like to be able to say and feel like "look at 40, pretty good", instead of feeling old and fat. Hopefully, I'll be at my goal so I can feel hip and healthy and 'young at heart', even if my age does say 40. Which by the way, my husband and I were discussing recently how fast the first 20 years went by (since h.s.), and at this rate, the next 20 could go fast too, and that means in a blink of an eye I'll be celebrating 60 (!!!) Yikes! Our parents are celebrating 60's, not us! Anyway we also came to realize that in 13 years BOTH our kids will be out of h.s.---wow! that is too fast, especially since our youngest is just starting school this year! Time better not go as fast as it has up to this point over the next 20 years because that will just be TOO fast! Anyway, enough of this, have a great night!

progress continuing...

Still on vacation. Getting lots of walking and sweating in while at SeaWorld (ha ha), have also used the treadmill here at the hotel. Have eaten pretty good (ok, 3 shortbread Shamu cookies), and the gourmet mac and cheese at lunch today was probably alot more calories than the shrimp skewers I also ate. But if u are at new restaurants, sometimes u have to try new things, and it looked tasty. Even though I love salads, I don't want to eat them for EVERY meal!
They did have the most amazing looking dessert though -don't fret, I didn't get it- its my favorite, hot cookies and ice cream, mmmmmm! I was certainly contemplating it. But by the time I was done with lunch I was too full anyway. Thankfully. Remember Rene'-may taste good for moments on my lips, but will look horrible for TOO long on my butt!

Progress report

I'm on my second day of vacation, and I'm still doing good. Today I actually REALLY wanted some ice cream -because it was so hot and because I couldn't eat much of anything (I'll explain later) and ice cream always go down really easy for me. But I didn't. Instead I grabbed a peach and 2 pieces of string cheese. Was very satisfying too so I'm glad I refrained. I haven't told anybody this, and I haven't really made a 'bet' with myself, but I'm sort of trying to see how long I can go with NO junk. Its going good so far :)

So to explain last night, yesterday we ate at a really great authentic mexican restaurant. I ate the most delicious shredded beef tacos ever. Very flavorful :) But they didn't bode so well with me (probably because my body was already kind of wacked out from the long bumpy (love these roads) ride here. I've come to realize that long car bumpy car rides sort of make me sick. Well combine that with these spicy tacos... oh it was a very long no-sleep filled night. I literally slept only a few hours and was in the bathroom on the toilet and trying to puke the rest of the night and early morning. I never did puke (I wish I had, because I know I would have felt better if I had) but was still very queasy with a sensitive stomach all day today, which means I ate only bland/healthy food and very little of it. Fortunately I feel better now so when we head to Sea World tomorrow I hope to be a peak form and have full energy and stamina for the day's events.

Best (and very healthy) meal I ever made!

A few weeks ago my husband taught me how to use the grill (I blogged on my other site about this). May sound simple, but I had no idea how to turn it on without fear of blowing it up. So now that I've learned I'm made some absolutely FABULOUS marinated chicken on it as well as veggies. Its the best way I like to eat chicken and since chix is about the only meat I eat, its nice to finally have a way to cook it that I actually look forward to eating it. (I'm not much of a meat person if u can tell). So I decided to try my marinade on shrimp ( I love flavorful grilled shrimp at restaurants but have never been able to duplicate it trying to grill them on the stove).
Oh
My
Word!
They were AWESOME! Best meal I ever made. Dan AND the girls loved them too (I didn't even make plain ones for the girls and they STILL loved them marinated!) I'm going to get them eating a wider variety of food yet, eh?
Well, anyway, it'd be nice if I could post some fancy homemade marinade sauce recipe for you. But I just use packets from the seasoning aisle. They are McCormick's Grill Mates. Tonight's flavor was Mojito Lime. FANTASTICO! And besides being delicious, its so incredibly healthy to cook on the grill! LOVING IT! (except for the sweating part. I came in at one point and my face was drenched in sweat and my daughter was like "Whoa what happened to you?!" lol

By the way I read to cook each side for 2 minutes. I did them a bit longer just because I couldn't get them flipped fast enough and I wanted to get some black grill marks on them. I also did them at medium heat for most of it, after I realized the grill was still on high from lighting it, and I finally turned it down (ha ha) (still getting this grilling technique down pat obviously) :)

I have some metal skewers so filled four of those, but had extra shrimp so cooked those in a grill pan (the kind with holes). All turned out fabulous.

By the way, on a funny note, I invited Dan's dad to eat with us because I thought I had too much shrimp. He couldn't come though. It turned out that was a good thing, because we devoured it ALL (it was so good!) and if there was more we probably would have eaten that too, ha ha.

147

Well the countdown is on. Its been two weeks and I've gone from 155 to 147. The crazy thing is I haven't really changed my workout routine, but I have changed my eating habits. I haven't even cut out bread or pasta, I've simply only snacked on fruit and veggies instead of crackers/chips/ice cream/cookies. Its great to see this improvement just from good eating, but its also bittersweet because I had this knowledge all along (eating right is more important than working out), and I just didn't apply it regularily. It just shows you that it can be a lifestyle and not a diet, but it will still take choices and willpower, so I have to make sure that old mentality doesn't creep back ('I can eat whatever I want 'cause I'm skinny now') because if it does I won't be skinny for long and I don't want that to happen. Keep rooting for me to stay on track please :)

Where do I start...

Well, if you've been reading this you know that I got pretty mad lately when I realized that all the clothes that should fit me, didn't. I also said I was going to make a change , and I am. I don't have all the figures yet (yes I promised to post measurements too and haven't yet), but I started this mess at 155 and I've already lost 5 pounds just by not eating JUNK, so I'm at 150. I was hoping after my 5 days in Houston I'd be UNDER 150 because the clothes that I took to wear there (that were going to be really tight, remember I was punishing myself lol), weren't that tight and were actually presentable in public. Still tighter than I like, but I could tell already that I had lost some by the way they fit. Good news.
I still want to get under 140. That is my goal. I want to stay there. That is my MAJOR goal. THAT goal is going to require a different gameplan than I have ever used in the past. So let me share some things I learned recently through a not-so-fun conversation with my husband, and share how some things have changed in my head which I believe will be instrumental in helping me attain my goals.

First off, some history.
I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted until my freshman year of college when I gorged myself and wound up with stomaches (u'd think that would have told me to stop) and gained 25 (!) pounds. In h.s. I LITERALLY ate 5 HUGE servings of ice cream every day during the summer and ate all the candy bars I could find. I didn't have much pop, cookies, or chips bc my mom didn't keep them in our house, but I certainly made up for it with the ice cream, didn't I? I only weighed 120-125 then.
Well, fast forward several years, and unfortunately I realized I still have had this mentality.
When I'd reach my goal, I'd hold fast for awhile (even a few months), then I'd fall back into this old way of thinking that "I'm skinny, I can eat whatever I want". Well, guess what. I don't have the same metabolism that I had at 17 and I can't do that! So consequently, my weight since college has gone up and down, up and down, up and down, about 20 pounds in each direction. No fun.
Well, in talking to Dan, he made me realize that yes, people probably do 'crave' or "want' some things, but they make choices NOT to eat them. He himself does this. I get myself into my pity parties, whining to myself that its "not fair" that others can eat anything and not work out, or never seem to battle weight, but I do. So he made me realize that for most people (yes there are those lucky few who have such a great metabolism it doesn't seem to matter at all what they do), but for MOST people, they are making WISE choices. I wasn't. I was in la-la land thinking I could do one thing (eat anything) , but reality is , I can't (anymore). I am coming to face this reality head-on with the maturity of an adult. I'm not going to whine that its 'not fair'. I am going to accept it , and then deal with the cards I am being dealt. I am going to make wise choices. I am not going to eat candy bars/chips/ice cream all the time just because someone else might be partaking, including my kids. AND I'm reducing the amount of that stuff in our house so that they can start making healthier choices instead of always choosing crap for a snack. I'm not cutting it all out, because I think that can cause problems for kids, and its not fair to them to go cold-turkey on this when its not THEIR problem, its mine. But with less and less of it around, I am sure I will see them making better choices too, which of course can only be good news for them and their lives to grow up making wise food choices.
In our discussion, Dan couldn't get over the fact that I told him, that yes, in my head I really do want all that junk. I want (or used to) want to eat it. SO, in my mind, the step I'm in now is to NOT want it. To CHOOSE the jeans that fit and the happiness that brings, instead of the momentary taste of that item in my mouth. I purposely kept those hideous pictures I posted earlier on my camera, so that if I am out and about and about to falter, I can pull up those pictures and remind myself that NO I DON"T WANT THAT JUNK, not in my mouth, nor in my trunk!
I watch some people always trying to eat the healthy thing on a menu or plate, and I used to think (that's so sad, it seems so depressing to never get the 'good stuff' which is really the CRAP). Now I realize that they were doing what Dan talked about. They were making wise choices, they knew they couldn't eat anything they wanted to all the time, so they were making good choices so that they didn't have to battle yo-yo's all their days. I'm almost 40 (yes, I really do wish I still had the body and metabolism I had at 16-17. But I don't... so) I'm going to have to be more diligent in my choices ALL THE TIME, not just when I'm on a 'kick' to lose it then gain it all back because of that old la-la land mentality that doesn't work for me anymore (obviously). So there u have it, that's my game plan... realizing that it IS going to take EFFORT, but that effort will be well rewarded and worth it in the LONG RUN, not just in short runs. I'm not in la-la land anymore, I am facing this head-on and its just the way it is. Is it fair? probably not, but its life.

one day at a time

I've been in Houston for the week. Things have been going good. I took workout clothes hoping I might get in 3 workouts while away, but only got in 1 mile run (in 98degree heat). Its ok. I ate cereal, oatmeal, and one regular meal per day. Twice we were at cafeteria type arenas and didn't have anything I really wanted, but still feel I did ok on what I did wind up eating. And I was full, without being stuffed, so that was good. One thing for me is learning to stop before it hurts.
Was staying with my mom-in-law in the camper and she had a bag of mini candy bars she had purchased mainly for my girls. I normally previously would have been craving those and eating as many of those as possible at a time , but not this time. I didn't eat a single one, and I wasn't bummed about it.
Last night Dan and I played in a dodgeball tournament (a whole 'nother hilarious story in and of itself!) and afterwards we all went out to a restaurant to play pool etc. Everyone ordered buffalo wings, nachos, mozz sticks, chix fingers, potatoe skins, etc. Everyone that is but me. And you know what? I didn't even want it. I was not sitting there agonizing over the fact that I wasn't eating a mozz stick (like I used to do when the girls ordered them and I 'tried' not to eat one). I truly didn't want any, wasn't hungry, and certainly didn't wasnt THAT food.
YIPPEE for me! 99% of my success and failure in choosing the right foods is mental, so if I can get the mental part down (not desiring it), then I win win win.
Also on an 'improvement' note... Dan and I went to Bonefish before the game. I told him I wanted to get my free Bang Bang Shrimp that I love so much. He said I thought u were giving that up (with my new desire to eat better). I said no, Bang Bang will always be with me :) BUT I ordered it with the sauce on the side and probably only used a tablespoon out of the cup they gave me. So instead of about 1300 calories, I'm sure it was ALOT better. It still tasted great and I still got my hot Bang Bang flavor!
Anyway, I've got a post I need to write about my rude awakening in my weight history/hurdles, but I've been away all week, so that enlightening post will have to wait to be written ;) talk soon chickas!

Throwing it away!

Went to the store and returned $18 worth of m&m's, ice cream, and chips. Also threw out 3 bags full of junk food from our house. Its not empty (amazing after getting rid of that much stuff eh?), but at least now there isn't a plethera of stuff to tempt me. Need to set a better example for my kids by snacking on carrots and celery or fruit instead of junk. I will keep u posted. I'm still pissed. But I'm trying not to be pissed at the world. (That's my problem, when I get mad, I get mad at EVERYTHING, and that's not fair to those around me, so I'm trying to direct my anger appropriately). hopefully I'll have a good progress report when I get back Fri.

Thighs wider than a freight train

Here are the first pictures that started me realizing that I might have gained more weight than I thought... We were celebrating Jen's birthday and took these pictures and I realized that my upper body looks fine but my lower body looks wider than a freight train! I guess not weighing myself everyday and eating basically whatever I wanted, combined with less running has had a very negative consequence.
Compare these pictures to the ones on the left side of my blog. My thighs have gotten extremely wider!

In fact, in these photos with my husband, even though I KNOW I am smaller than him, my thighs and butt look BIGGER than him! I certainly don't want that!

This is when I first got these jeans. They are still body-hugging, but they just didn't seem as wide in the thighs back then. So I am on a mission to lose this extra 15 pounds I have gained this year and get rid of it.

I'm mad

I'm mad.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, I'm not sure which, that is what it takes to get me to get my big butt in gear and get in shape again. So it starts today!

I was trying on shorts to take with me to Houston next week (none of the newer and obviously larger ones I've recently bought, but my old shorts that USED to fit). They didn't fit. They looked disgusting. So disgusting that I took pictures to prove it to myself so anytime I start to think "oh I haven't really gained weight" I can look at those photos and be disgusted enough to not eat junk. I will post them, because its probably not fair that I only post pictures when I've lost weight and feeling really thin. I guess I should share the disgusting pictures as well so that when I DO lose this weight (again! ugh!) I can look back and see the improvement. Nothing like a picture to prove it.

What really pisses me off (or one of the things) is that it seems I am a complete yo-yo, or even worse... a complete growing blob IF I don't watch it and be careful with what I eat. Its ridiculous that I continuously gain weight. It really pisses me off and makes me mad! Its not fair (to borrow that horrible phrase from my oldest daughter).

Anyway, I will post these pictures soon just so u can relish in my disgust as well.
AND, I'm making myself take some of these shorts with me to Houston to wear. How's that for punishment?! (and my husband won't be there to see me in them, I certainly won't wear them in front of him because I want to look good for him. But since he won't be there I will suffer in the discomfort (too tight) and humiliation (looks ridiculous) to teach myself a lesson that these shorts better start fitting darn well soon! I'm taking my shakes with me as my main meals while I'm away, and some running clothes to hopefully get in quick workouts each morning b4 the girls get up. So this better be a jump-start to get back on track. I am so PISSED! You don't even know how much!

I said no

Was at Lone Star tonight and ordered a delicious salad. I REALLY like salads, so its not hard for me to eat them. Now if I can just make sure to take off the unhealthy toppings (like bacon) then I can be sure they are good for me too. I used to never eat dressing as a kid. Then I slowly began eating italian only. Then about 15 years ago I tried Ranch (on chicken fingers no less! It was Vegas, that was a popular way to eat them there), and I wound up liking it. So mostly I eat the healthier version of dressing (italian or a balsamic), but every once in a while I go through a 'ranch-phase' and want that instead. Fortunately I have come through my latest ranch-phase and am back into my italian/balsamic phase. This is healthier, BUT in the past I've never used alot of dressing, just about one teaspoon for my whole salad (this is easy for me bc remember I used to eat them dry), but lately I've been adding more and more dressing and I'm realizing I have to reel this in bc this is a bad habit to get into. I can totally ruin a healthy salad if its drenched in dressing. Also, I never ate the croutons. I wasn't that infatuated with them and I learned they are the worst item on the salad bar for you, so it was easy for me to fore-go them. But lately with my added dressing consumption , I've realized I like croutons when they get drenched... so not a good thing.I'm not only eating some croutons now but I'm eating too much dressing. So both need to be reeled in.
Anyway , the reason for my post is that an appetizer of spinach dip was ordered, and I didn't eat a drop! not even a chip! and I wasn't feeling deprived, I really did NOT want it, especially since it looked gross and smelled sickening (I think they had sour cream in it and the smell of sour cream makes me nauseous---hey maybe I should spread sour cream on cookies, then I won't eat them!) So I am happy to say I refrained from the appetizer-yippee!
Now I will admit that I really WANTED to order the onion blossom, but I would be the only one who liked it or ate it, so fortunately I didn't. And IF that had been on the table I would have probably ate over half of it, but fortunately that wasn't ordered so I didn't inhale it and I therefore wound up having a pretty good dinner. (Plus a few fried shrimp off my husband's plate, and a few nachos at the bowling alley and 2 cheese sticks there too) No wonder I need to work out so much , eh? Oh well, at least dinner was good, even if the bowling alley fare wasn't.

not so cool at chili's

So I took the girls to dinner at Chili's a week or so ago because I was craving their Southwestern egg rolls (which I love). While there on a whim I order us a dessert to share. It was some chocolate chip paradise cookie and ice cream concoction. It was tasty... but
today I found out that that dessert is a measly 1600 calories!!!!!! yikes!!!!
This is really bad news because I ate devoured more than half of it myself! That means I probably consumed 1000 just on dessert, not to mention everything else I ate that day. ugh. what a total bummer! You know its actually amazing that with the number of calories in everything EVERYONE (including me) DOESN'T weigh 500 pounds! my goodness!

check out THESE guns!

Sometimes I get bored with the same old routine...

so I decided to lift my daughter instead of weights ha ha ha Here is my 9 year old flexing her muscles. I think its sad that her 'guns' are better defined than mine, and I'm the one who works out trying to get guns!

When can I stop?

When can I stop?
That's the question I want to ask.
When can I stop working out? At what age is it ok to not workout all the time? I really want to know.
When I was a teenager I thought I would work out till I was 30 then just coast in middle-agedness (is that a word?). When I told my husband this in my early thirties, he just laughed at me like I was crazy. He was right. And so are all my friends at the gym. When I asked them this today, they reminded me that as I get older my metabolism will slow down and I'll have to work out more, eat better, and I will also feel worse (sore muscles, aches, pains, and all).
They are right (although I don't claim the sore body part), but they are right, our bodies are built to typically change with age and that means if we are trying to maintain something we will have to work harder at it as we age.
This news stinks!
I don't like it.
I want to stop... yea, right! On the one hand I would love to stop. Meaning, more time to do other things. But on the realistic hand I know that if I stop... I will gain weight and keep gaining weight, just like I did after high school. I was 120 in school. I peaked the scale at 150 my freshman year of college (hey, I thought it was only supposed to be the 'freshman 15' ???!!!), which then caught my attention and I brought it down, and up, and down (notice the yo-yo pattern beginning here), till I got married at 128. Then I was basically 130,135,140,145,150,155 over the next several years. See what happens. When I don't work out consistently and regularily I gain a pound at a time till about every 12-18 months I've gained 5 pounds. I can't keep going at this pace the rest of my life, so I've GOT to workout. But I seriously want to know when do I EVER get to stop? Because, deep down, I really wouldn't mind stopping. If for nothing else, just to get that time back to do other things.
Maybe this isn't the kind of post fitness fanatics want to read. You probably just want gung-ho, super-motivational stuff to keep YOU going. Problem is... right now I'm having a hard time just keeping ME going.

Maybe I just need something new. (No Jen, I don't want to press 'play'. But who knows, maybe I should. I guess it would be something NEW. Honestly though , its just hard for me to get motivated to do different at-home routines than the ones I already know from my collection).
I'm loving riding my bike, but I know its not enough of a workout to do much for me. At least not in comparison to running or classes or weights. So even though it may be fun, its actually too easy to count as exercise for me in my book. Maybe I want new classes at the gym, maybe I should try some, or use my free pass at my husband's gym and do classes there. I don't know, I just need something, because I'm just not 'feeling the love' for my workouts lately, if you know what I mean. Don't get me wrong, I love my teachers, and my gym friends. Its just me. On the inside, some switch has gotten turned and I'm having a real hard time getting it switched back. Then I think of people I know who never work out and look perfectly fine and I get mad (and ok, a little jealous) that they don't have to spend time working out, yet they look great and are in good health. Wrong, probably. But I'm being honest here. Or maybe I'm just whining, I don't know. But since I'm probably not really accomplishing anything with this post I'm going to end it. Comment for me if you have any ideas on how to change this mindset I'm in right now or any other helpful ideas for anything! thanks :)

eating choices

I posted on my other blog, but u fitness buffs may want to read it too since it applies to food choices. If you want to check it out, click here.

bike rides

hello blog land, the weather here has been gorgeous lately so I have taken my bike out on the turnpike trail for a couple rides. T's been at school, so I took W with me in the bike cart and pulled her behind me. She has been having fun watching the cows and horses go by as we ride. For mother's day I said I wanted to go for a family bike ride, so I wanted to scope out sections of the trail to see if any of them had a flat part that the kids could ride on (I know W will not be able to do a lot of the big hills yet without walking up them or whining the whole time). So I found a section over by Grace that is about 1.5 mi long that is very scenic through a marsh area (lot of wildlife for the kids to enjoy) that I think we can all do together as a family (without the bike cart-everyone on their own bikes), so as long as it doesn't rain on mother's day that is our plan.
I had lots of fun riding. I REALLY love bike riding.It's also been nice to get outside and get some scenery changes instead of just staring at my tv in my house while on the amt or treadmill. Yet, still able to get some exercise. I know its not as intensive whole-body-wise as running or even my classes at the gym, but it is definately a leg and glute workout when pulling 50pounds behind me on the cart. Especially when it seems that those 90 mile an hour winds are ALWAYS blowing in my face instead of against my back! That wind is insane! At one point I couldn't even catch up (on the bike mind you!) to a RUNNER until I rounded a corner and the wind wasn't blowing straight into me. I swear I think that cart acts as a parachute sometimes catching all the wind! Anyway, still lots of fun, having a good time out in the fresh air! We stopped yesterday and tried to feed a baby calf with its mommy (no-go they wouldn't come close enough to the fence) it was still fun though. W loved it.

Beachbody Fast

Well, I am on day two of Beachbody's 2-day fast. I am certainly counting down the minutes till bedtime so I don't have to think about food. Why is it that when u can't eat, THAT'S the time you will think about it, fantasize about it, dream about it, and salivate constantly over it??!!
Today wasn't as bad because I was at work so I was busy. But yesterday was bad. It was raining (which always makes me want to bake) so I was dreaming about my new infamous cookies that I love baking (and eating). But, thanks to a phone call from Jen, to boost my resolve, I did hold strong and I haven't cheated at all. My stomach already feels shrunken, but this morning my weight was the same. We'll see what it is tomorrow, and maybe I can wear my favorite purple shorts to the gym tomorrow ???? That would be nice. I think they are my 'favorite' only because they are elusive- ha ha.

sore and happy

Oh I am so sore. I think its a culmination of working arms/back/shoulders for 3 days in a row. I am so sore. But you know, it feels good in a sick sort of way. Although it is also making me tired and I'd love to curl up and take a nap right now. I just might, however, I really want to go get my nails done-they are all chipped and cracking off so they are certainly overdue for a fill. I joined my friend Chris at his gym today for a spin class. My first ever. It was great but certainly hard. I was sweating all over the machine and myself. Then afterwards the same teacher (who was very good and motivating) was teaching pump so we went to that too. Problem was even though I take pump classes every week at my gym, she does more reps than my instructors, so for the first 20 minutes or so I had my weight too heavy...I'm feeling it now! I need a massage!!!!!! ooohhh, that would feel so good. I wish that was on my agenda today, but its not. Before class started we went into what is called the Cinema Cardio room. It had a huge movie screen with a movie playing in the dark and rows of treadmills and ellipticals. I ran on that for almost a mile. It was really cool. Since its dark and u are watching the movie, u pretty much forget that u are working out, and its awesome. No distractions with anything around u (bc its dark and u can't see!) I loved it. His gym is REALLY cool. Clean. New. Hip. Lots of classes and equipment. All in all, very awesome! I wish my gym was like this. However, I LOVE my instructors and my gym buddies so I could never switch gyms unless we all switched together (ha ha) instructors too. And since that isn't likely to happen, my lifetime membership at my gym will just continue. It just goes to show u that the people really make an experience great for you. Even though my gym is dirty and old, I love my peeps there, so I won't leave. I did enjoy my experience though at this new gym. Certainly a great workout. Honestly, though, I think the main reason I am so sore and tired is a culmination of the last 3 days, NOT just from today. So kuddos to everyone involved in giving me great workouts this week! woohoo!

feeling great, going strong

I am still in a great place mentally. Very focused, which thus makes me workout really well. I am having excellent workouts-enjoying every minute and pushing myself on every exercise. Eating good but not beating myself up over imperfect choices (such as a bacon/cheddar baked potato at lunch with the gym girls today, and fried catfish and hushpuppies at the fish shack for dinner tonight). I know those aren't lo-cal meals, but I'm ok since I know I'm eating great 90% of the time and working out like I used to. Ran (I repeat Ran---I haven't run before the gym in a LOOOONNNGG time) before going to the gym today, then ran (yes, ran) again before class. I haven't done that in a long time either because I've fallen into a trap of saying I want to 'conserve my energy for Shelley's class'. Screw it! I'm going all out before, during , and after, because like my friend Jen says "if you're gonna take the time to work out u might as well make it count!" She's right, why waste the time not giving it your all. If you're there, give it all you've got. That's what I'm doing again. I'm excited. I'll keep u updated on this fun and exciting journey and hopefully my weightloss which will result in pictures of some of my favorite clothes that I haven't worn in 2years.

I'm BAAACKKK! yahoo!

I guess I need to give u some history before I can share my great news of my comeback, so here goes...

Last Friday, I cried myself to sleep.

After having a very unsuccessful time of trying on all my summer shorts and capris, that did NOT fit! Very upsetting. I've been fooling myself that everything was ok with my fitness level and weight because those jeans I bought this winter still fit, albeit a bit tighter, but they still fit, so I was fooling myself that I wasn't gaining weight and all was ok. Well, its not ok. All my other jeans, that are a bit smaller don't fit at all, so I have to wake up from this delusion and face the facts that I am gaining weight because I am eating crap. Too many sugary snacks, ice cream, and cookies. I still work out, but not as intensely as I used to during the great year of 2007 ( my awesome year when I got to 135 pounds and was NOT on a diet, it was simply that I ate good food and not crap, and worked out like a maniac).

So that did it. I got mad. I only see REAL results when I get mad. I haven't been mad lately because as you've seen from my previous posts I've been pretty happy just coasting. Sure I wanted to lose a few pounds but I wasn't upset enough about it (because those expensive jeans still fit) in order to make any serious effort. My husband is right, I'm a yo-yo in my fitness regime and therefore a yo-yo in my weight. Nothing extreme like 100 pounds, but within 15 pounds either way. Doesn't sound like too much when u watch Biggest Loser, but for me 5 pounds is a jean size, so 15 is actually pretty significant. Its the difference between wearing clothes in my closet, or not even fitting in them because they are so disgustingly tight its pathetic. I personally hate it when my pants get so tight in the thighs that there is a little 'window' u can see through right at your crotch (because my inner thighs are sticking out and thus touching) ugh! yuck! I HATE that! Other people probably have other areas that bother them more, but since I gain weight in my thighs and butt first, those are the areas that piss me off when I see them grow. So as u can tell, I am MAD! And fortunately, that means good things for me...

Saturday I woke up and I made a change. A change in attitude. A change in my mind. A definate new motivation. So, I say... I'MMMMM BBAAAACCCKKKKK!!!!!!!!

The following is my intake and cal burn for the last few days. (u can scroll quick if u don't care-its sort of just for me to keep me accountable. I didn't look up all the cal counts on the foods yet, and I may not. When I did that in the past it became a bit too controlled. I just want to make wise choices to put good things in my mouth, and when I do make a decision to eat something unhealthy I want to do it in moderation so that there is no regret.)

Sat:
880 calories burned: fun run, treadmill run, AMT
2 cups cheerios/skim milk
1 C strawberries
2 slices english muffin bread (YUM) with 1T butter (about 240cal combined)
3 carrots
2 small croissant turkey,sprouts,pickle,1slice salami sandwiches (I know,croissants are the worst bread choice, but I really like them).
dinner out:3 C tabouli
5 grilled shrimp
2 fried shrimp
1 baked potatoe with chives,cheese,& butter

Sun.
423 calories used on bike and short run, plus did 30minutes with the weighted hula hoop
1C cheerios w/ skim milk
banana
1 C raspberries
2 sandwiches(like yesterday)
1C tabouli (brought some home from the restaurant)
2 grape tomatoes
1 string cheese
1/2 cinn roll (100 cal)--I nibbled on the girls' that I made them-shouldn't have-wasn't worth it.
1 t butter
2C spagetti squash w/salt/pepper

Monday
540 calories used on treadmill and AMT
1C cheerios w/skim milk
banana
1C tabouli
1/2C strawberries
1 mini snickers(after I ate it I craved more sugar-yuck, so I ate more berries instead :)
4 hard boiled egg whites
2C grapes
porkloin/roasted
6 carrots
1 potato with butter and salt/roasted

Tues:
1250 calories on AMT and gym classes, plus digging in yard to make garden
1C cheerios with milk
2 bananas
2C strawberries
2 sloppy joes
salad + olive garden italian dressing(big cal on the dressing, but this is the only dressing that I use a lot of, usually I just eat my salads without dressing)
apple
2 oranges
3 celery
15 cheese crackers(organic) 130cal (this was my snack/treat bc I was starting to crave something, so I counted out the serving size of 15 crackers instead of eating the whole bag which I have been known to do in the past.)

So there you have it. Not 100% perfect (fried shrimp, dressing, butter), but lots of really good healthy stuff (egg whites, fruits and veggies). I wanted to have zero sugary snacks for at least 3 days straight to break the craving that sugar does in your body, I caved with the snickers and the bites of cinn roll, but I don't feel bad, its still pretty good and I made wise choices to go for the berries when I wanted sweet things, and maintained portion control on my cracker snack. So I feel I am doing good and headed on the right path. If I stay motivated (and mad ha ha) my eating habits will change (like they did before) and I'll only desire the good food, and the mozzerella sticks and ice cream won't even be tempting me anymore. That's my goal, to get back to a complete change in food intake. I know exercise is important, but as anyone who works out a lot like me knows... what really dictates your body shape and size is what u put into it. That is my main goal to focus on that. I did have great gym workouts and I feel the intensity returning to my workouts, so that is good too.

By the way, I don't think I mentioned it, but when I was trying on the clothes that were too tight I got on the scale afterwards and sure enough I had gained 5 pounds and was now at 150-ugh that makes me mad!!!!!
After 3 days of refocusing my food intake to healthy things I am already back to 145. Now my goal is to work towards my 2007 weight of 135 again. Help me on my journey, will ya? :)

An egg-ucation

I'm posting this on my workout/fitness site because it relates to health. This post is about eggs, and its an egg education :)
While driving about 3 miles from my house the other day on a road I've never recalled being on before, I saw an "eggery". That's a place that sells eggs. Chickens in the hen house and fresh eggs. I stopped in a few days later to check it out. I normally buy organic or omega eggs, or at least brown/cage free eggs. I rotate my purchases because the organic and omega's are pretty expensive ($2.50-$3.50 a dozen if I remember right). So I check this place out and sure enough, I can buy my eggs here, fresh from the chickens for only $2 a dozen. For me that's deal, but if you normally buy the regular ones (I think about $1 dozen) this might not be a bargain, but its still good and healthy :) The lady was explaining to me that the eggs in the store are already about 3 months old before they get to the shelves, so when u buy these fresh eggs u can keep them for 4-5 months without going bad. wow! As eggs sit they get air in them, so hers being only a few days old have no air and feel heavier. The yolk stands up firmer and when fried the white stays in a circle instead of spreading all out (from the air). Its true I came home and tried it, sure enough she was right. She did say however, that if you are going to hard boil fresh eggs u should wait about 10 days so they DO get some air in them which will make them easier to peel. Interesting, eh? I never knew any of this stuff! So there you have it, a new egg-ucation! And if you live near me, I'll tell you where she is if you are interested in buying fresh eggs too :)

Academy vs Sports Authority

Ok, you know I've found some good deals on my favorite running shoes at Sports Authority since I have posted about it. However, I found out Asics was discontinuing that line and that is why they were cheaper, and soon EVERYBODY had them cheap too. But I will admit S.Auth was the first, so at least they still had my size.
However, as far as shopping in the stores goes... Academy can't be beat! I was reminded of this today and I decided to give them a shout out because I'm sick of S.Authorities lack of REAL sale prices. Academy ALWAYS has great clearance racks (virtually the only place I shop) and I can get stuff anywhere from $2.99-$19.99. Well, I was at Sports Authority today and they had about EIGHT clearance racks. They had really good stuff on them too (great Nike and Adidas and even some Under Armour stuff, plus the black pants I love)...BUT they weren't priced as clearance. How can a "clearance" item still be $50!!!???? gimme a break! Not to mention, half the stuff they had on clearance (for $50 mind you), Academy had had on clearance SIX MONTHS AGO for $10-$20! For pete's sake S.Authority! If you want to stay in business lower your prices sooner to clear out the old stuff. The stuff was so old, yet they were still at prices as if it had just hit the sales floor. Insane. Made me mad too, because I'm getting excited seeing all this stuff, but then super deflated when I realized it was just marked down a little, not a true CLEARANCE price markdown.

So there you have it, if u want a good deal go to Academy and shop their clearance racks, you'll actually get clearance prices there :)

chicken pot pie

This is the chicken pot pie I made for dinner the other night. It used to be a real easy recipe with canned soup and frozen veggies and cooked chicken. But Dan said he thought it would be better with fresh chopped veggies, so here is what I did and how it broke down calorie wise...

It does take 2 frozen/thawed pie crusts (I guess u could not use the bottom one and save 1048 calories from the whole entree, which would save 262 calories on a 1/4 portion (pretty significant I guess). I didn't do this though, maybe next time?? I filled it with chopped/shredded cooked chicken -about 2-3 cups I guess. It was 3 tenders and one breast. I added about 1 cup frozen peas. 2 cans crm potatoe soup. pepper and thyme (1/2 tsp each). one half cup milk. Now instead of using a bag of frozen veggies , I peeled and thinly sliced carrots (1 cup) and celery (half cup), then I steamed them both before I put them in the pie, just so they would be sure to be fully cooked. After u dump everything in the bottom pie crust u turn the other pie crust upside down and put it on top and crimp the edges to make a top. put slices in in, cook it on 375 for 40 minutes and waallaa, your pie! I figured out that the whole pie as I made it (with 2 crusts) is 2467 calories. So 1/4 would be 616.75 calories, or if you're really hungry 1/3 of the pie would be 822 calories. Remember you could change this to 354 or 560 if u only used one crust instead of 2. Maybe I'll try that next time.

I know this wasn't a really clear recipe since I didn't list it out nice and neat, and there are no step by step photos, but I kinda wanted to share it just because it looked so pretty with the heart :) And since I didn't use a whole bag of frozen veggies this is the first time I made it where it didn't overflow, so it looks much prettier this way. ha ha. (as always, with about 10-15 min left on the timer, I put tin foil on the edges to prevent burning of the pie crust). Let me know what u think.

its negative...

That means... I am not pregnant. I took an (expired pregnancy test) to confirm, and then was doubly confirmed a few hours later with my cycle. This news is fine, however, it just means I need to kick it in gear in the workout department, because my stomach shouldn't look like this if I'm not preggers! I hope its just a culmination of too much carrot cake and banana bread, and I hope its NOT a sign of things to come with my metabolism or hormones changing because I am on the verge of turning 40! Time for some crunches I guess... and a lot less unhealthy food!

Belly bulge

I've probably mentioned this before, but if not, here's the skinny... when I gain weight it goes to my butt and thighs first. Consequently that is the last place I lose it too (bummer). I usually never gain weight in my stomach. Before kiddos I had a natural 6-pack without ever really having to work at it. Just good genes I guess-I'm certainly not complaining about that area (I will ALWAYS complain about my butt and thighs though ha ha). After kiddos though, I've had to make an effort to do more ab work to keep my tummy relatively flat. Welllllll, for some reason I've noticed that my belly these past 5-7 days is bulging out, as if I was 3-4 months pregnant! I'm not sure what the deal is, but it is boggling me and driving me crazy. On the one hand, it looks like a baby bump, so I get sweet thoughts about it, but then I remember there is no way I could be pregnant, so there is no reason for me to have a bump like this. Except ... that maybe I've been eating too much food! Yikes! I've got to get this bump under control, because that's just crazy. My youngest daughter even told me today that it looks like I have a baby belly! crazy.

queso update

By the way, if you recall I promised to give up restaurant queso and chips for a year. I made it through Feb, but in March I did eat them one time. It was during the week when I was sick and feeling weak if I didn't have food fast, so when we got to the restaurant I was already at that point and just began eating them mainly so that I wouldn't throw up before my meal arrived. My stomach was all messed up. So yea, its a bit of a cop out but its still only one time in three months so I'm going to keep trying to maintain this for the next 9 months and we'll see what happens. If nothing else, at least I'm decreasing the amount of chips and queso I eat and THAT'S got to be good for my waistline regardless. :)

getting back in the groove

Finally recovered from my cold, sinus infection, allergies, etc. so I am feeling GOOD again- yippee! That is until I went to class yesterday and Jen about KILLED the muscles in my hamstrings (which by the way were already sore from Tues, since besides last thursday is the only real workout I've had in about 3 weeks (!yikes!). The weather has begun to turn warm here, which means that the mornings are absolutely BEAUTIFUL! A little chill, but just right for walking or running or biking....so, I am re-motivated to get out there and get going! I even pulled out our bike rack and I'm going to try to install it on my car so I can transport the bikes easier to the turnpike trail to go riding. This year W should be able to ride along with me (or I can run as she rides), instead of my pulling her in the bike cart like I've had to do in the past. Since I don't have to bring the bike cart, I think I can use the rack and it'll be easier to transport everything, which means hopefully I'll do it more often :) Anyone locally want to go with me?

Got my Garmin out again and used it on a short run last weekend with the dog. I love that thing! It is so amazing and cool to know your speed, calories burned, etc while running outside. Helps with motivation too :)

throwing up while running-eek!

You may not know it, but ever since I got home from vacation I have been battling some sort of sickness. Head congestion and weakness, that moved into my chest about a week ago. It causes me to cough a lot and I just haven't been able to get rid of it. Last Saturday I decided it felt like it had become a sinus infection (could feel pressure in my teeth) so I decided I would go to the doctor Sunday or Monday. Well, we got a bunch of snow sat/sun, so we didn't leave the house. By the time Monday rolled around I felt like I was on the road to recovery so I figured I didn't need to go to the doctor and didn't. Well, it still hasn't gone away and yesterday about 20 minutes after dinner the girls and I went outside, they rode their bikes and I walked the dog behind them. They were getting farther and farther away from me so I decided to start jogging slowly just to keep up. BAD IDEA! I started coughing, which then caused me to throw up on the side of the road. UGH! Guess it wasn't a good idea to run after eating while not feeling well. Duh!
Then last night I got out of bed and started coughing again, and AGAIN threw up. Yuck! I guess maybe it really is time to go to the doctor. I'll try to go Thursday while I'm in town. Hopefully this junk goes away and I can get back to some serious workouts. By the way I DID go to the gym Tues and do my 2 classes (at about 70%) and it took everything out of me. I hate feeling this way.

no workouts in a while

Its crazy, but I haven't worked out in about 2 weeks! I did go on vacation last week skiing so I do consider the skiing a workout (I break a sweat doing it), but even including that, my last day of skiing was one week ago today! I usually push myself really hard when snow skiing or waterskiing, because to me they are workouts that are fun and therefore don't feel like workouts. But I want to get the most out of them as possible so I cut as many turns as a can and drive my skiis into the snow or water to really work my legs. However, on this trip I was pretty much fighting off either a cold or altitude sickness the whole time, so I took it pretty easy the first two days. The third day I finally went down some black diamond runs (for those of u who don't ski, green is the easiest, blue is middle, black diamond is hard, and double black is really hard). So the third day we did some blacks, but my hubby was having sore knees so we didn't do as many as I'd hoped. Either way, I tried to squeeze as much as a workout out of that last day as I could, but it just didn't seem like I'd given it all I had, since I was saving some energy just to walk (remember I was getting sick). So anyway, we headed home and I DID get sick, and still am, which is why consequently I haven't been working out on the treadmill or going to the gym at all. Hopefully, I'll be all better by Fri, because we are hosting a birthday party sleepover for my daughter and her friends. I need energy!!!!! :)

I am not a stalker... I Promise!

So as you probably know, I am a big fan of the Biggest Loser. We watch it every week as a family, and we use it to try to teach our kids that our bodies need to be healthy on the inside too. Eating bad stuff not only adds fat, but hurts our heart, arteries, blood sugar (diabetes), etc. So you can imagine how excited we were last season when TWO of the contestants were from our town/area. Even more exciting as the season progressed was that one of those contestants became the winner (Danny Cahill).
Now I'm not a stalker, and I've even seen celebrities or psuedo-celebrities in person before (usually at the airport), like David Spade and Mrs. Bonatucci (that might not be her name, right now I can't remember it. She was the wife of the New Jersey body shop owner who had an affair with a teen girl, who then came to their house and shot his wife in the face-tabloid lore from about 15 years ago). Anyway, when seeing these people, I didn't feel the need to say hi, or get their autograph or picture or but into their lives in any way.
However... with the BL, we followed them every week and rooted for them, and sort of felt a "connection" just because they live in the vicinity. Plus our class at the gym would always discuss the episodes and root for him. Soooo, when I saw him, I just HAD to MEET him. Now I have to admit... I was hoping to someday actually meet him, but I thought it would be at a different gym that he supposedly normally goes to. My friend goes there, and I figured I'd need to do a "guest pass visit" and hopefully get to meet him. And of course get my picture taken with him too :) Every time I see this friend I ask her "so, did ya see him yet? Did you say hi? did you tell him about your weight loss journey(hers is incredible too, and she did it all on her own-over 100 pounds!)" , and every time she'd say "no , I haven't seen him".
I'm a bit of a fanatic I guess.
So imagine my surprise when today I was on the AMT before class just chugging away watching my little tv with my earphones in, when I realize Danny Cahill is standing not 2 feet from me talking to his wife! That's right! Danny Cahill at MY gym! I didn't even have to visit that fancy expensive gym to get to meet him in person! ha ha. So this is how it happened...
I'm almost done with my program so I take off my earphones and turn off the tv and my eyes just start wandering around the room for the last minute or so, when I realize that the guy standing not 2 feet away from me is Danny Cahill! I take a second look, and start to doubt myself. "Maybe that's not really him, maybe its just someone similar, boy would I be a fool to say something and then it NOT be him!" But I look at the woman one machine over from me(her friend was on the machine next to me) and I realize, "YES indeed THAT IS his wife, so that HAS to be Danny!" Silly as this is, I start getting nervous. I want to talk to him, but what do u really say? There is so much I want to say, but I don't want to be a freak! lol After all our discussions in class, I really want them to come to our classes and work out with our group so we can all get our butts kicked together by our version of Jillian, Shelly-Core! But how do you tell someone "yea, I want to work out with you so I can see you sweat as I sweat and then I'll somehow feel like I've gotten a "last chance workout" in with you" ????
Its really not normal is it? lol
So anyway, I DO, interrupt their conversation, and very quickly I say that I just realized who they were, and I'm so excited to meet them, and my kids and everyone rooted for them "Go BA", and so excited about what they've accomplished". He thanks me and shakes my hand, and I leave as non-chalantly as possible (is that even possible?)
And why on earth is NO ONE ELSE molesting them like I did???!!!! Am I the only crazy one here? Is that why they came to this gym, to get away from the weirdos at their old gym? Did I just run them off from our gym with my silly exuberance?
I hope not. I think it would be really cool if they became regulars there and actually took the same classes I did. Because quite honestly, (I'm competitive-surprise, surprise!), and I want to see if I can keep up or work out harder than someone who has survived the wringer of Jillian and Bob. Yes, its true, and now I've said it out loud. I want to see if I'm as tough as him.
So please, Danny, if you ever read this (yea right lol) come to Shelley's classes so we can all workout together! LOL :)

Oh by the way, I didn't have my camera with me (Darn, Darn, Darn!), so I have no physical proof of this encounter, but I really wish I did! Ooohhhh I so wanted a picture of me and Danny Cahill, or Me and Jillian-that would be even better! (Although I'd probably look like a freakish amazon next to her because I hear she is just incredibly tiny tiny tiny).

Oh Drat!

What happens when you bake and eat cookies constantly for 2 weeks?


You don't fit in your cute purple shorts anymore.


What a bummer! I guess I need to kick it in gear again. I need to stay consistent so its not yo-yo all the time. The problem is that I don't kick it in gear and stick with it unless I'm mad and VERY frustrated with myself. And quite honestly, right now I'm pretty happy. Therefore I don't have that extra stamina to keep me away from those blasted (yummy) cookies! Yes, I'd like to be in the purple shorts, and all the capris and shorts from 2007, but... I'm pretty happy with my new clothes that fit NOW, so I'm not in any huge hurry to change the way these things fit on me and therefore I'm not pushed to make that change. Oh well. We'll see what happens. I guess I could start wearing my old jeans (which are probably tight and would make me mad, and thus make me kick it in gear), but I LIKE wearing my new jeans, they are much cuter so I don't WANT to wear the old ones. Since the new ones fit, I'm just not that determined to make any huge changes.
There you have it the life of a yo-yo.

those purple shorts

I posted earlier that I was very excited after doing the cleanse to finally be able to wear my purple shorts again. I actually have two pair, one I've worn before (earlier last summer when I was about 141), and a new pair that I bought on sale to match this pink top shown, that I never even wore, because by the time I found them on sale I had gained weight, and when I gain weight it goes to my butt and thighs first, so bottoms are the first thing to not fit me right anymore. So after the cleanse, one of the "tests" was to see if I could fit into these two shorts... and I did! yippee! They actually fit and my rear didn't peek out (ok lets be honest, HANG out! Peek just sounds cuter ha ha). So there you have it... ta-da! they fit! And yes I'm a bit corny, I like to match most everything from picture frames on a wall, to the color running shoes I'm wearing with my gym clothes. So this outfit is a bit matchy-matchy, what with the purple sports bra peeking out an all, but I still like it, and I'm so happy to get a chance to wear them. Now if I can just make sure I KEEP being able to wear them ! :)

1 month down, 11 to go

At the first of the year I said I was going to try to give up queso and chips at restaurants. I purposefully didn't give up all queso, because I know a few times a year we'll have a BBQ cookout or party and I'll serve chips and queso. I will want to eat it and I will. However, whenever I go to a mexican restaurant I gorge on chips if queso is present. If there is no queso I can eat just a few with salsa, or none at all. So because of this, I told myself to give up queso at restaurants for one year. Well, we are one month into it (today is 1/31/10) and I have succeeded. Yippee! Now I will share that one night we did get takeout and Dan got queso for the girls, of which I did have a few bites of. (But technically it wasn't AT a restaurant right? ha ha even though it was FROM a restaurant lol). Anyway, I still consider this a successful month in this venture. Not to mention we went to a mexican restaurant after church today for lunch and I didn't eat the queso, OR one single chip! :)

Baking with Rene'

Here's the story... we are about to get a winter storm. We've known about this for days. I've not been too concerned because 1. people always overreact. 2. the weathermen are not always right. 3. I have a 4-wheel drive vehicle so if I HAVE to go somewhere I'm not too concerned. and 4. I grew up in Michigan so I'm used to driving in snow and it doesn't bother me. However... now I wonder if maybe I should have been a little more prepared (I mean my husband has even been running around for the past two days getting a generator hooked up to our house so that we can have power if the power lines fail like they did in '07 (we were in Hawaii at the time, but evidently our house had been without power for 5-7 days while we were gone-something I certainly don't want to deal now since we are here).
So, today, as the forecast calls for the freezing rain to start this afternoon, I start thinking (while lifting weights in my pump class at the gym, mind you) that if it really is going to be a ice/snow storm that I'll need to bake (for those of you who don't know me, I ALWAYS bake when the weather is rainy, chilly, snowy, or sometimes even just overcast). So while lifting weights I am concocting new cookie recipes in my head. Here is what I came up with: cranberries and walnuts, cranberries/pecans/wht choc chips, choc chip, and choc chip with walnuts. So, while everyone else is at the store buying water, batteries, and propane canisters... what am I buying? cookie ingredients! Yes, I am insane probably ;) But at least my sweet tooth will be satisfied as I'm hunkered down for the weekend :)
Now that just means I need to work out extra hard, so treadmill, here I come!

funny picture

I went and got some pictures taken with the girls this weekend. While I was there I posed for a few funny pictures myself, which not only made the girls laugh(part of the plan), but also the photographer (ha ha). Anyway, when we were done they put together this little composite and added the tag line "Milk makes the body grow", I thought that was so funny I had to show you! It is kinda funny isn't it? Especially since I still don't have any biceps, even though I REALLY do keep trying to get them to GROW! LOL

trying to maintain and continue

Well, I haven't officially weighed myself...but my clothes fit great and I can tell I was bigger before by the way they are fitting. So that feels awesome! I wore my other pair of purple shorts today to the gym and it felt SO GOOD to finally be able to wear them again after like 10 months of not fitting in them! Plus they are really comfy and stretchy and cute so I like them, but honestly the best part is just knowing that they didn't fit before, and they do NOW! yippee!!!! Had a great workout at the gym today, but I am feeling a bit tired so I'm going to try to take a nap because we have a late night meeting tonight at church and I know its going to be hard to stay awake.
And I have to admit... I baked cookies and ate a bunch of them. I know, not the best thing to do before I get this back on a "maintenance" level instead of still a weight-loss level, but I did it, and its done, so I just have to eat less calories for the rest of the day to make up for it.

Day 9

Today is supposedly the end of the cleanse/fast, but since yesterday and today I didn't do any cleanse drinks (bc I don't have any), its just sort of blended into my "continue to work at it and maintain season". In an effort to do that, I started the day with a 200 cal burn on the treadmill, had a isagenix shake for bfast, went to the gym and had one of the best workouts I've had in a long time (sure I was tired after each set, but I felt like I could still stand-lately I've been feeling like if I don't sit between sets I'll pass out-so it felt great to feel energized again!). Burned 750 calories there. Then munched a few brazil nuts and one snack tab otw to sam's club. When I got home I wound up doing 300 more calories on the treadmill because... I ate 140 calories worth of frozen thin mint cookies. (not my best moment, but at least I made up for it). And here's the deal... the girls brought home cookies from grandma's Monday and they have been sitting on the counter and I keep seeing them (they look pretty good), so finally I tore off a tiny piece to try it. It wasn't as good as I'd hoped but now I had cookie taste in my mouth and wanted more so I pulled out the frozen ones, ate them, then promptly got on the treadmill to burn them off! Definately was not worth it. They didn't even taste that great. And.... once they were in my mouth they DIDN'T satisfy me, so I kept craving something else. Fortunately I knew what was happening so I didn't eat anything else, I got on the treadmill instead. But that's what happens, that food doesn't provide any filling sensation or completeness so u just wind up craving and wanting more , and thus eating more. WHEREAS, if I had eaten a fresh orange, or celery stick it would have satisfied and I'd be done. I need to not cave into those stupid cookies. I KNOW to eat the healthy, fiber-rich , good-for-me food, so I just have to make sure I DO!
Anyway, decided to eat dinner with the family instead of a shake so I ate a bunch of steamed broccoli (good for me) and a little bit of chicken casserole (but I only ate the noodles really bc I gave all the chicken to my daughter, bc honestly I really don't like much meat). So the casserole wasn't the healthiest but I only ate a little, and the broccoli was incredibly healthy so I'd say it was a good day. Don't know my weight, but I do know those purple shorts fit me and I'm VERY happy! Its funny bc I was talking to a friend at the gym who has several pair of those same shorts (we both love them), and I mentioned that I could finally wear them again now that I was 140, but couldn't when I was 150 because my butt would almost hang out. And she said she was 148 right now and had no problem wearing them (and didn't-they looked great), but the difference between us was that I gain in the butt and thighs, so immediately my pants won't fit when I gain weight. But she gains in her stomach, so even though she had gained, her pants weren't a problem for her. Isn't that funny how we are all so different in our body shapes and stuff. Because technically her and I are about the same height so when our weight is the same you'd think we'd be identical, but we're not. God made us each unique and that's why we've all got different stories to tell and mountains to climb :)

Tomorrow I am planning on eating shakes&tabs all day bc tomorrow night I'm making my yummy(although not perfectly healthy) chicken pot pie again. I figure if I know I'm going out or eating something I can maintain by eating extra sensibly during the day to sort of bank my calories as Jen says. We've got a busy week with church meetings, dentist appt, work, girls' pictures and a bball game, so we'll have to see how this all plays out :)

I'll tell u one thing for sure... I AM MOTIVATED. I FEEL GREAT. I AM HAPPY. I AM FOCUSED. These are all good things so I plan to be able to stay on track because of them.

day 8 recap

Well, day 8 didn't go as well as I'd hoped.
Here is what was supposed to happen...
I was supposed to repeat the "cleanse days" of day 1&2 on day 8 & 9. But I don't have any more cleanse drink left (remember this was left over product, I didn't buy a whole new set and since I'd tried to do the cleanse before and not finished it-last yr I think-I had already used one of the bottles). So my plan was to drink the shakes, eat the "snack" tabs and almonds, and either skip the meal or eat sensibly.
Toss that all out the window (eek).
Started off ok drinking my shake b4 I left for work.These shakes aren't portable though unless u take the powder separately to mix bc once they are mixed u have to drink it immediately or the enzymes are lost. So instead of hassling with bringing it, I just grabbed a slimfast shake to take with me for lunch at the office. I also planned on eating my snack tabs every hour and a half (they recommend that. I think getting 'something' in your tummy helps keep your metabolism up so your body doesn't go into starvation mode and slow down its metabolism). Well, anyway, wasn't hungry at work, was too stressed and too busy to do it so I didn't eat anything there except that slimfast drink. Came home and intended to make a dinner, but Dan was starving and didn't want to wait the hour for it to cook, so we went to the chinese buffet (eek). I did eat sauteed green peas and mushrooms but that would be about the only thing considered low-calorie on my plate unless spring rolls, eggrolls, wontons, and fried shrimp (&sweet/sour sauce) count! Evidently not! So not only did I not do the plan well today, but I ate probably 1000 calories for dinner (yikes!)
The only good news is I woke up early today to get in a good pre-gym workout. AND.... last night b4 bed I tried on the two pair of infamous purple shorts... and they BOTH fit! So I'm wearing one of them today to the gym. Maybe I'll snap a picture and post it later. I know one meal won't ruin everything. So I am back at it today working hard and watching what I eat. I want to continue to lose and then maintain this weight. I don't want to go right back to 145-150 and have this past 9 days just be a waste. I'll keep u posted.

Day 7

Woke up today and weighed myself. Still at 140, (almost 141), so still have a 9-10 pound loss. Today though was the first day I ate a meal at a restaurant since starting the cleanse. We went to a pizza place after church. I chose a salad and I also ate 2 pieces of mushroom&green olive pizza. I DID however refrain from eating even ONE deep fried mushroom! Oooohhh that was hard too! They looked really good, but my husband and mother in law both said the breading wasn't very good, so that made me feel a bit better. But it would have been so much easier if they hadn't even been ON the table! ugh! I did tell my daughter b4 we went there that we would not be ordering mozzerella sticks (she threw a fit of course), but I know I love theirs, and it would have been anguish not to eat them. Unfortunately, my father in law didn't know my struggle and he ordered the mushrooms (oops).
I figure what I ate was about 750 calories (and I'm erring on the side of caution, rounding higher just in case. Hopefully it was lower). I'll drink a shake tonight so I think it will be ok, because honestly, my intake hasn't been 400-600 cal meals this week. Probably closer to 300-400 since all I've eaten is a giant salad once, and those tomato cucumber sandwiches the other days. (plus I changed it from 2 string cheeses on a sandwich to only one, so save about 100 calories). I'm ok I think. I'll tell u what... my hubby likes my body 10 pounds lighter-woohoo! and that's what makes me happy too!!!!! Now its time to (lose 5 more pounds) and maintain.
I can do it.
I will do it.
I have done it before (for 9 months), I will do it again! but longer or FOREVER this time!
I'm ready for some kick butt gym classes. At church today they were jumping and dancing and I wanted to do our frog jumps from the gym (u jump straight up and bring your heels up to try to touch you butt as your knees go out the the sides). However I couldn't because I was wearing a skirt and it probably wasn't the "right" type of jumping for the situation (ha ha), but my mind was there-I wanted EXERCISE! Watch out Shelley (my instructor), the Rene' you remember from the beginning is bbbbaaaaccccckkkkkkk! woooooohhhhhooooooooo!! Can u tell I am excited?!

Tried on my favorite brown J.Crew cords from 2007 and they are skin tight still (bummer), but I think I am VERY close to wearing my purple shorts again that I posted about on my first blog last summer (and unfortunately gained weight after I bought them so I quit wearing them!)
Its fun to wear stuff that's been in your closet "unwearable" for so long!

I will admit though, I think I am getting a bit cranky. My patience level seems to be a bit shorter with the girls these past two days. (I know that sometimes happens with me when I don't have real food, so I don't want to take this to an extreme because my weightloss is not more important than my family). I told Dan last night "I just want to eat. I'm not hungry, I just want the taste and sensation of eating!" He said I was weird, but its true. Today helped. Being able to eat a good yummy salad out of the house in the company of people. It felt good. I just wished the pizza had tasted better so it would have been more "worth it". (I ate my salad first so my pizza was not super hot-bummer). Anyway, I've got a lot of computer stuff to do so I'll write more later.

Day 6

Wow, this decreased caloric intake is beginning to take a toll on my energy level. I am really worn out today. Not really tired, just exhausted, like everything is hard to do. Hard to stand and brush my teeth(got to sit), hard to pour a glass of water(have to lean on the counter to do so), definately hard to workout .I tried to do my 21 minute treadmill program this morning that includes about half running, a quarter walking, and a quarter incline walking. Oh my word! I could barely do it today. Maybe it was because I didn't have time to warm up(I just started running, which I normally don't do), or maybe it was because I exerted 1200 calories on YESTERDAY'S workout, or maybe its from the decreased fuel going into my body. Or all three!
Anyway, I'm still holding strong on the cleanse/fast-doing my 400-600 cal meal and drinking my shakes, but I am certainly starting to miss eating. Not so much a craving for anything specific, in fact most things don't sound good right now. I just want to chew and eat something. To get that taste sensation in my mouth. That's what I miss! I am pushing through though because I'm not going to cave and go through all this and then blow my results and get nothing out of it! I want this to be a definate start to my weightloss program.
Which by the way when I got on the scale this morning I had lost another pound. So I am down from 150 to 140 right now-woohoo! That's only 5 pounds away from my "2007 goal weight" :)

Plus last night I tried on some pants that used to fit back then... and they did. They were a little tighter than before (5 pounds obviously), but I could wear them if I wanted to. But I really prefer to wait for that next 5 pounds-plus they are mostly shorts, so I don't need them now anyway.

Anyway, that is the post for today. 10 pounds total so far, but it is beginning to be a bit of a struggle. Tomorrow will be my first eating out meal (after church), since I started last Monday, but I think I can handle it with a great salad. I'll keep u posted for the next few days to tell u how it goes.

Run & not grow weary

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
[Isaiah 40:31]

Isn't this awesome?!
You can overcome.
You can do it!
Put your trust in Him and He will give u the strength.

When I was running 15k's and half marathons, I would try to write these words on my forearm or my hand. Because as I was running I would inevitably get to a point of being so exhausted I would want to give up. But I would remember these words and I would repeat them over and over in my head. Just like a gas pedal in the car, my steps would increase, and my stride would lengthen and I would feel better, in fact I would feel great, and I would just continue on. It's amazing how strong the Word of God is. Its not just for church. Its for our life. If your life is being lived without it... try some, you might find that you like it :)

Day #5

Not much time for details, I'll post those later, but let me share the awesome news I have...
I've lost 9 pounds so far! and counting 13 measuring points, I've lost 13 inches so far which includes a half inch in each thigh, 2.25 inches in my abdomen, 1.5 inches in my butt, and 2 inches in my waist! (the important regions I say) ;) I put on a pair of jeans that were snug in my thighs Sunday (but fit good everywhere else), and today they feel great in my thighs (can even pinch an inch of extra fabric while wearing them!), and are slightly baggy on my butt! I love baggy pants (when they used to be tight or didn't fit! Its the greatest feeling!)
Also, burned 1200 calories today while watching Biggest Loser on DVR with my friend Jen. What a great day!

Day #4 of the fast/cleanse

Things are going great. Today was another shake day. Had one for bfast and dinner. Had the same sandwich as yesterday for lunch. Also ate a couple of those Isagenix "snack" tabs and raw plain brazil nuts (I'm supposed to use almonds, but the only ones I have right now are salted and I don't think all that sodium would benefit the cleanse). As of this afternoon it looks like I've already lost 7 pounds so I am down from 150 to 143. Yippee! I will admit there have been a few moments when I looked or thought about a handful of doritos or m&m's and slightly contemplated it, but said "no, I'm doing this cleanse full-blast this time and I'm not going to screw it up like I have before". I know that if on day 10 I start eating all the foods I was eating b4 the cleanse it won't benefit me. But for me you see, its mainly mental. If I can get started on the right mental track with results (the cleanse) then I make better choices and hence stay on track with better eating, therefore maintaining my weight instead of going right back to where I was before. That's why this cleanse helps, because if u stick with it for 9 days (removing those foods) your body finally stops craving them, and they don't yell your name anymore. I'm not saying I'm never eating cookies again (NOT) but, I will do it in moderation instead of going overboard when that sugar is making me crave them. When u don't eat sugar a lot, then u don't crave it as much. (Its true, and I have learned this from experience).

Anyway, eating went well today. Workouts were great too. However, I do need to clarify that my energy level (during workouts only-not during the rest of the day) is lower than normal (because I don't have as many intake calories fueling my body). So my goal today was to do a big workout on the treadmill or elliptical (AMT) at home, then head to the gym and run, then do Shelley's pump class. THEN, I was going to go tonight and do Jen's bootcamp and pump class at the east gym. This was all because I got no workout in yesterday due to the water issues.
HOWEVER, I did some computer work before getting started today so I only had 20 min to workout before getting the girls off to school. As soon as I got on the AMT (see older posts for description of this machine), I could tell my energy was not there. I normally do level 12, I only had it on level 2 this morning and I was totally trying to figure out how I could do the machine while at the same time leaning on it to support me so I didn't have to stand up because it was draining my energy so much. I know its bc right now my body doesn't have enough fuel for intense workouts even though I am still trying to do them, so I'm not all bummed out that my body didn't perform. I know the reason. Its a temporary one and its part of a greater good(losing weight), so its ok. But its still a bummer when mentally I am SO READY to get a great hard workout in, and then my body doesn't bring it and I don't do as much as I really want to.
But anyway, then I went to the gym and did the AMT there for another 25 minutes before class (instead of running----easier on my stamina), and I did feel pretty good. Then I went to Shelley's pump class. It was great. In fact, on a normal day when I have enough fuel to fuel my body, I would have rocked that class hard and gotten an amazing workout. We did all the moves I love and everything was awesome... except my body couldn't keep up with my mind, so I had to keep catching myself from falling over. Do you think anyone would mind if I put a chair near my spot so between exercises I could sit down for 10 seconds? Because that's really what I needed. If I could just sit for a second and conserve energy instead of using it to stand up, I could make it better. Sounds ridiculous, but that's exactly how I feel out there. I WANT to do it, but I just need a little boost (a chair) to help me focus all energy on the workout and none on just breathing/standing/maintaining organ function/etc. Just the important stuff ya know-ha.
Anyway, class was great. Even though I didn't give it 120% I still gave it 100% and got a great calorie burn. Then this evening I knew I didn't have the stamina for bootcamp, so I only went to the pump class with Jen, but it was awesome too! Since her pump doesn't have any jumping around, I did really really well and gave it the full 120%. My body felt great as did my mind.
So in conclusion, its still going well, got a great 3 workouts in today, ate great, feel great, and am really excited the upcoming results of this 9 days.

this new blog

You'll notice this blog is new. I've imported my posts from another blog, so sometimes things are referenced that are no longer visible on this blog, only on the original blog. I don't think that will confuse most of you, bc most of u have been reading the first one too. You will notice some of the older posts refer to starting a new blog... that has happened and this is it (those posts were actually written on a different blog). fyi I thought this might clear up any confusion that might be out there for new followers.

day #3 looking good

Day number 3 is here. Its been a good day. Today is a "shake day" this means I'm supposed to drink two isagenix shakes, eat one 400-600 cal meal (preferably for lunch), and in between drink lots of water and eat those lovely (aweful!!) "snack" tabs.
Well, here's the recap. I drank my shake in the morning. Then didn't get a workout in as planned because our water was being turned off bc we didn't pay the bill ( no just kidding, a line froze and we had to turn it off to stop the pond being formed in our yard). Anyway, I got notice of this and had 10 minutes to jump in the shower b4 there would be no water. So, consequently, no workout for me. Then I went to the office and drank about one big bottle of water throughout the day (not enough) and ate about 7 celery sticks (about 20 calories). I meant to eat a light healthy lunch but didn't make it back home till dinner time, so instead of drinking the shake I ate the rest of my lunch which totalled about 300 calories. Its a yummy tomato,cucumber, mozzerella sandwich I make. I also put sprouts on it and toast the 100 calorie bread for a bit of a crunch. Its very yummy! Anyway, that rounds out a really good calorie intake day. However, no calories used exercising, I'll have to make up for that tomorrow!

By the way I got a new pair of Rock Revival jeans from zappos.com yesterday and wore them today... I love them!!!!!! They may be my most favorite jeans, except for my black ones which I REALLY love, but I feel they are a little dressy for everyday-wear. So I usually just wear those to "go out". Anyway really excited about these jeans because...
they are long enough
they fit
they don't feel tight on my thighs-they feel perfect
and most importantly... they don't gap at the back of the waist so I don't have to have them altered in any way.
Isn't this awesome!? Can u tell I'm happy with this purchase, and overrall my general outlook because....
I am turning that corner again (finally! welcome back the Rene' of 2007... I am ready and waiting for you!!!) (So is my husband probably-hee hee!)