25 Random Things (from Facebook)

This thread is going around Facebook like crazy, so when I was tagged, I filled mine out and tagged others. Just thought I would share it with y'all. Feel free to do your own!

1. I love climbing in bed and watching Gilmore Girls all weekend long.
2. I own (and love) a cd of Patriotic Hymns sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
3. My husband is so good to me that he makes me feel like I'm a horrible person/wife sometimes.
4. I don't own anything that lives. Not even plants. Or a fish.
5. I have four tattoos and can't wait to get more.
6. I'm just dying for us to have kids so that I can take them to Disney World.
7. I haven't spoken to my sister in over 2 years.
8. When the BFF and I lived together we had a pact that we would clean out each other's room if we died so our parents wouldn't find anything embarrassing. LOL.
9. I'm finally starting to crawl my way out of debt so that one day (in like 3 years) I can actually go back to school and finish that blasted Communication degree that I'm so close to.
10. I wish I could travel more - Fiji, the Bahamas, NYC, LA, Greece, Italy, the Keys are just some of the places I'm dying to go.
11. My "little" brothers (13 and 14) impress me every day.
12. I wish I could have a "do-over" for High School. There are so many things I would have done differently...
13. I want to join a community choir sometime soon.
14. The Hubs turns 30 tomorrow.
15. My friend Natalie and I were born 2 days apart. I'm older.
16. I can be a real bitch sometimes.
17. Harry Potter books are my favorites.
18. I heart Wikipedia. I spend a lot of time there linking from one random thing to another. For instance, recently I checked out the recent deaths (as I always do), and made this trail: deaths, ultramarathons, rogaining, backronym. Where else could you learn about such completely random things by them all being linked together?!? Have I mentioned that I heart Wikipedia?
19. I bite my nails.
20. I want a Chocolate Laborador. There are so many things standing in the way of that, though, I'll get one in 2012 probably.
21. I won at Roulette in Vegas at The Bellagio. I hit on a $5 bet on the number 9, and won over $300. The BFF and I got tickets to Blue Man Group at Luxor with the money.
22. I wish I was more patient.
23. I have diabetes.
24. If I could re-do my wedding I would do a lot of things differently.
25. I only like fruity scents.

Oh, and by the way, the diet's off this week. I officially gave up, but you'll still get a Monday Weigh-in, and I'll be back to it then. (Don't hate me too badly!!!)

Mrs. B.

I've got nothing...

I racked my brain and couldn't think of a song that went with this weeks theme of "oh, boy, was I sick, but I'm getting better..." If you can think of one, be my guest!

So that whole golf ball-sized tonsils, fever, achy, simultaneously running, yet completely congested nose, and headache that goes away only to come back 10 minutes after I've taken medicine for it? It was kinda worth it.

This week's weigh in: 251.4

That's 4.4 pounds gone from last week, and 8.6 down from 260 at the beginning of the month! I guess it helps that I couldn't even bear to think about eating anything all week! LOL. I did start eating more than a couple slices of toast by Friday, but I was still only eating about once a day all weekend. I just had no appetite. And I'm not really complaining.

So thanks to this little sickness, I'm now ahead of schedule for January. This doesn't mean I'm going to quit working...I'm back to trying to get some time on the treadmill this week. I don't think calorie counting will be an issue - I'm still having a hard time forcing food down. I'm just glad the pressure is off to hit 252 by 1/31.

Guess what else? I had my first diet victory last night! I fit into a pair of jeans that caused me a major melt-down a few months ago! These are the jeans that caused me to break out in tears because I couldn't even get the two sides to touch, let alone button or zip. I flipped out, and Jack and I went and bought the treadmill that day. Of course, the treadmill didn't help me until now, but better late than never, right? Last night, not only did the two sides touch, but they buttoned, and zipped all the way up, with little discomfort! They are still a wee bit snug, but I'm just super excited to be able to tell a difference with something! Woot! Small victories, people...

Guess that's it for now. Have a great week!

Uugh.

I'm sick. I feel like crap. I want to die.

(Yes, maybe I'm overly-dramatic, but you're stuck with me. )

:-(

"I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad, I got sunshine in a bag..."

(Gorillaz, "Clint Eastwood")

Soooooo....guess what?

Give up?

Thought so. I lost weight! My official weigh-in weight for this week is (drumroll please?!): 255.8! (Okay, so maybe that was a tad dramatic for a 2.8 pound weight loss, but I'm happy, dude!)

What's working for me? Well, a couple of things. First of all, I've broken down my weight loss by month. Meaning, I started at around 260 (that's where I've been hovering for months now, so that's what we're going with), and I want to lose 2 pounds per week, so that's 8 pounds per month. Instead of focusing on that big ol' number in October, I'm focusing on 252. So if that's my goal, I've got 12 days to lose about 4 pounds. Seems easy enough now that I'm actually moving in the right direction!

What else is working? That damn treadmill is kicking my ass! (In the best way possible). I walked/jogged three times this week for an hour each time. I have found that it helps if I take a little 5 minute break at the 1/2 hour mark, and then get right back up and go for another 1/2 hour. According to my treadmill and TDP, I'm burning somewhere between 375-400 calories every hour. And what is helping me make it through an hour on the treadmill? Oy with the Poodles, already - The Gilmore Girls. LOL. It's one of my favorite shows of all time, and I own all of the seasons on DVD. Each one is about 45 minutes long, so one episode gets me almost all the way through a workout. Then I get 15 minutes into a new one and get to relax and watch the rest of it when I'm finished! It's an excellent plan! And since there are 7 seasons, and I just started the 3rd season (for about the 5th time), I've got a long way to go before I run out.

And just to give me that extra little push when I'm struggling on the treadmill, I also posted a sheet of paper under the tv that says 01/31: 252. Just to remind me what I'm working towards. And last night, when I was having a tough time trying to get there, I'd shout to the Hubs (who was on the computer in another room) how much longer I had to go every 5 minutes. "25 more minuuuuutes!!!" and then I'd hear a random "Woo Hoo!" or "Yay!" from the other room. LOL. He kept me going.

I'm starting to get the hang of the whole calorie counting thing. We had dinner with one set of my parents and some family friends (10 of us all together!) Saturday night at Mimi's. I checked out their website for nutritional information and narrowed down my choices before we even got there. (Which meant staying as far away as possible from the bbq baby back ribs - almost 3000 calories in the ribs alone! Eek!) In the end, I chose pretty well, and again limited myself to one piece of bread.

Sunday, I attempted to be Suzie Homemaker - and failed miserably! LOL. I have had this idea in my head that I wanted to try to make a pot roast, envisioning tender meat falling apart, sitting in juicy gravy, covering tender potatoes and carrots. What did I get? Tough, hard meat that was an adventure to cut, let alone chew, in a watery, flavor-less gravy, soaking potatoes and carrots. Yeah, I've got a long way to go to get that "Donna Reed Wife of the Year" trophy. I tried, though, and the Hubs (amazing man that he is) ate his, and mine too! LOL. He's a good guy, that Hubs of mine.

At any rate, crappy roast kept me from over-endulging. Actually, it kept me from endulging at all. LOL. I ate a couple of rolls and was on my way.

Oh, and I would be a bad citizen if I didn't mention the fact that today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I truly believe we should all take a minute today to reflect upon the history of civil rights in this country. We've come a long way, but we've still got so far to go! Hopefully when Barack Obama takes the Oath of Office tomorrow, it will be a new dawn for the American people, and he will set us in the right direction towards providing true equality for all.

At any rate, that's where I stand. I'm "officially" 2 pounds down, but I'm calling it 4.2 from 260. I'm the one working my ass off here, so I say I can choose to look at it which ever way I want. LOL. I've got 3.8 pounds to go. *Puts her game face on* Oh, it's (and I'm) goin' down, man! It's goin' down...

Have a great week!

"...Saturday I said I'm Sorry, Sunday came and trashed it out again..."

(Billy Joel, "You May Be Right")

258.6.

Oy.

So that's +0.8 lbs, if you're keeping track.

Last week? Awesome. Friday night? Awesome. (We went out to eat at Lone Star and I did so good! I had about 1300 calories to use, and I got the 6 oz. sirloin, when I would usually get a much larger cut of meat. I had a salad, with ranch on the side, and barely used any of it - which is a feat for the girl who doesn't like salad! And I used very little butter on my potato, and didn't eat the whole thing. I was uber proud. We came home and I burned off some calories helping the hubs lug in and put together this monstrous cabinet that we bought.

Saturday was Girls' Day with the BFF and Tonja, so I knew that would be a challenge. We had O'Charley's, where I (amazingly!) limited myself to only one of those deliciously evil rolls. I did okay there. Then we went and burned off some calories with a little shopping therapy, and saw Bride Wars. The movie was pretty good. Not the most awesome movie in all the land, *cough* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button *cough*, but it was a satisfying chick flick.

Sunday, bloody Sunday. Uugh. I so want to lie and tell you I was good on Sunday. I made Chicken Casserole, which we ate at like 2pm, so of course, we were hungry again right before bedtime. Oh, but that's not the worst part. Nooooooooo...I, this girl who has finally turned over a new leaf, the girl who has sworn that she's going to do it differently this time, the girl whom you've all come to know and love...made a cake.

Phew...now it's out there. Somewhere on Sunday this craving began creeping up inside me and I caved. Part of the problem (I know, excuses, excuses...) is that we have all this awesome stuff from the wedding that we haven't used much - a new Kitchen Aid mixer, new cake pans, a new cake plate, etc. So, one, I want the cake, and two, it's fun to use all the new stuff. Double Whammy, still a fatty. Bah.

The good news?

"It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me, and I'm feeling good." (Oh, Michael Buble, you're added to my celebrity boyfriend list, too.) It's Monday, and I'm back at work, where I do really well with this whole diet thingamabob. My treadmill is no longer a shelving unit - how embarrassing is it that when we finally freed it and I got on for the first time yesterday, I didn't remember how it worked. Uugh. lol. And I'm ready to go. Even with my slip-ups this weekend, I'm still under 260, and I'm still in a good mood about this whole thing, dammit! Now we're going to kick it up a notch, stick with the calorie goals, add in some exercise, and get this thing going.

Have a great week guys!

After all, it's a step in the right direction. It's a step in the right direction after all..."*

*and yes, it is my intent to get a random song stuck in your head after every blog. This time, it's "A Step in the Right Direction" from an awesome Disney movie, Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Previously, you were blessed with "In The End" by Linkin Park, and "#41" by The Dave Matthews Band (one of my all-time favorite bands - there's a reason he's on my celebrity boyfriend list!) Any-hoo, it's my hope that these songs will not only get stuck in your head, but that they will actually pertain to the post I titled them with.

Okay, here's what's going on...

I'm on day #4, about 1/2 way through my first week. The good news is this: so far I have stayed at or under my recommended caloric intake (RCI) as provided to me by My Diet Mecca. I have also done really well while I'm at work, eating a good/healthy breakfast every day of Light & Fit Yogurt with granola and a plain mini bagel. I'm bringing my lunch, which, while it may not be the healthiest of things (read: Lunchables Nachos with Cheese, lol) it is controlled calories, and that's what I'm working on right now.

Dinner is where the real challenge is. While I've been doing awesome (if I do say so myself) at halting the hand-to-mouth motion when I've used up all my calories, I'm still eating crap. Just less of it. I'm on day #4, and I can honestly tell you that the only veggies I've eaten this whole time was some lettuce from a crappy and non-satisfying salad at Arby's. (Who, by the way, I'm now boycotting because they did away with one of the only salads I really liked - the amazingly awesome Martha's Vineyard. Who does away with awesome salads at the beginning of the year when the most people are interested in eating healthy?! They replaced their awesome salads with some crappy crap that in no way tastes as good, and costs just as much).

Okay, I'm off the soap box. Back to veggies - I don't like them. Oh, I like those really-not-good-for-you starches, of course! Oh, potatoes, corn, how I love thee...lol. Celery? Ewww... Cauliflower? No thanks! Peas? Not in a million years. Last night we had tacos, which turned out to be one of the more filling/less calorie filled meals I've had this week. Since I'm extremely picky when it comes to lettuce, and I don't like it on my tacos, there were no veggies to be seen, unless you count the corn tortillas.

The only thing I've found to get me around the veggie issue is V8 Fusion, which is freaking awesome tasting, but expensive. I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet, though, because I don't see another way for me to get those blasted veggies in mah belly! (a la Fat Bastard).

So, here are my concerns:
1. I'm not getting any veggies. We've already talked about that.
2. I'm not eating particularly healthy foods. Basically, I'm controlling the crap that goes in.
3. I'm consuming the majority of my calories at dinner. I eat about 1000 calories for breakfast, lunch and snacks, and then another 1000 at dinner. (My RCI right now is 2028). While that seems like it looks right, I feel weird eating that many calories at once, and when I'm not as active. Which brings me to...
4. I'm not exercising. I'm doing things that burn calories - cleaning the house, vacuuming with our new, fancy-dancy but extremely heavy vacuum, etc. But I'm not sweating up a storm. According to The Daily Plate (TDP from now on) in order for me to lose 2 pounds per week, my net calories need to be at or below 2028. Net calories - so I could eat 3000 if I burned off 1000. Well, I'm not eating 3000. I'm eating 2028, and not working out. It's uber counter-intuitive, so we'll see if it works.
5. I'm concerned that my initial weigh-in was off. I haven't seen 257 since Monday. I really think it should have been 260, but I weighed myself twice, and that's what I got. I know you aren't supposed to weigh yourself every day, and I know that weight fluxuates, but I'm stressed that I won't have an accurate gauge to see if the TDP diet is working if my first number was off.

At least I know that I've stuck to something, if only for four days so far. Once I get to Monday morning, I'll feel really accomplished. Baby steps, people!

And as for the "step in the right direction", as if sticking to my calories wasn't enough, I am now a member of my company's Health and Wellness Committee. I joined yesterday, when they asked me to come in and give them an overview of TDP and how it works. There are six of us, and we're organizing all kinds of events, including a Heart Walk, Marathon, and a company-wide Biggest Loser program. They say you're supposed to surround yourself with people who will help you reach your goals, right? Well, I think I've done that! Plus, Samantha (the bff) is going to start a blog and we're going to motivate each other through these.

Things are looking up, people. Way up.

Survey Awesomeness

I was checking out my awesome followers' (I have followers!?! How cool!) blogs, and I found this little ditty here. Thanks, Amber!

Five things I suck at:

1. Being neat and organized.
2. Sticking with goals.
3. Video games.
4. Bowling.
5. Being "tough" when I'm sick.

Five random things about me:

1. I have four tattoos.
2. I was "tongue-tied" until I had a Frenectomy at the age of 22 which allowed me to stick my tongue out.
3. I'm slightly OCD. Seriously.
4. I have extremely ecclectic tastes in music. You name it, I probably like it.
5. I'm a bleeding-heart liberal and probably always will be.

Five things I will not do:

1. Eat anything that ever swam.
2. Give up on myself or my family.
3. Pierce anything other than my ears.
4. Get out of debt. :-(
5. Regret the past.

Five people I have to talk to:

1. Jack (the hubs)
2. Samantha (the bff)
3. My mommy
4. My dad/step-mom
5. You

Five places I'd like to go: (only five?!?!?)

1. Fiji
2. New York City
3. L.A.
4. Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas
5. Paris

Five celebrity boyfriends: (oh, poor Jack.)

1. Jeremy Piven
2. Dave Matthews
3. Vince Vaughn
4. Patrick Dempsey
5. James Taylor (yes, he's old, but there's just something about him...)

Five things that annoy me:

1. Ignorance.
2. Intolerance.
3. Closed-mindedness.
4. My hubs (sometimes).
5. Bad drivers. Don't get me started.

Five things that scare me:

1. Staying fat.
2. Dying.
3. Heights.
4. Public speaking.
5. Failing.

Five things I cannot live without:

1. The hubs. (Okay, I probably could, but there's no way I'd want to).
2. My cell phone.
3. A job. Or a winning lottery ticket.
4. Date nights.
5. Christmas.

Well, that was fun!

"It starts with one thing, I don't know why..."

*editor's note: if you're looking for the before pictures, they aren't here. Seeing them staring at me was too depressing, so they've gone the way of all bad pictures. You can still enjoy the following post, though... :-)*

Allrighty-roo. Here we go! Let's start with the dirty facts, shall we?

Date: Monday, January 5, 2009
Weight: 257.8 (I'll go with that, even though it's about 3 pounds lighter than I think is true...)
Measurements:
Arm: 18"
Boobs: 51.75"
Belly: 50.5"
Hips: 53.5"
Thigh: 30"

The good news? Even though those numbers are absolutely horrific, they'll only get smaller from here! (That's the plan, anyway...)

And look, because I'm such a good blogger friend, I even gave you before photos. I must really want to lose weight, because under normal circumstances these photos would NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER make their way to the internet for all to peruse. The only reason you get to see them is that I'm finally confident enough that the "After" photos will justify the embarassment.

Here's the plan, kids: I'm going to weigh in every Monday. I'm going to post pictures and measurements on the first Monday of every month. I'm not going to bore you with what I like to call the "Clueless" experience. Did you ever see that movie? I'm not ashamed to tell you all that it was the first movie I ever owned on DVD. LOL. Anyway, at one point, Cher is explaining why she feels so fat..."I feel like such a heifer. I had two bowls of Special K, 3 pieces of turkey bacon, a handful of popcorn, 5 peanut butter M&M's and like 3 pieces of licorice." I'm assuming you don't care to know the exact proportions of every single thing I eat. I'll let you know if something is working. I'll let you know if I slip up. (Let's hope that doesn't happen.) I'll let you know what's going on in my life - my new hubby, my messy apartment, and my never-ending quest to get those damn ducks in a row.

Here's my philosophy on this whole thing: I've never done this before. Sucessfully, anyway. Now I have no choice. I actually have to *shudder* work at this. That thought depresses me, but being fat depresses me more.

This morning I was driving to work, and my road companions were being especially idiotic. I was much more pissed than I normally am, and I know it was because I'm thinking "This is it. Today I'm officially on a diet, and I'm in a bad mood. I'm going to take it out on all of you." Then I decided that it's probably not the best idea to spend the next year in a rage on complete strangers because I'm finally having to take responsibility for 26 years of inaction. I choose to be in a good mood about this whole thing. From this point forward. (I may need your help remembering that, though!)

I also choose to take this one day at a time. One meal at a time. One hour at a time if I have to. If I think about the fact that if I lost 100 pounds, I would still be considered 'overweight', I would go crazy. My doctor told me that, if you can believe it. In a conversation about how I really need to lose weight to get control of my diabetes and health issues, he said, "You know, even if you could lose 100 pounds, you're still overweight." Talk about being supportive and inspirational! Anyway, my magic number is 2. Not 100. 2 pounds per week. That's all I'm focusing on. I know in my head that it will add up eventually. Every year I look back and say, "Wow...look what you could have done last year, if you had only tried!" Next year, I'm going to say, "Wow! Look what you did!"

You're starting at the beginning with me. That's totally not as exciting as finding me in 6 months and getting gratifying 'after' pictures, I know. But maybe, just maybe, if you stick with me through this whole process, we'll all come out a little bit better in the end.

Here we go, kids!