Week #7!!!

 I finally made it to week #7 of my weight loss journey. I still have a lot to lose. Still fat on my stomach that I'd like to see G O N E!!! I have time before summer. Feb, March, April and May. So even if I just lose 5 pounds a month that is 20 additional pounds lost! I'm hoping for more weight loss at least 10 per month 40 pounds not including January! I'll be under my goal weight at that point! Just have to keep it going. Sometimes it's difficult. 

Yesterday I only worked for an hour. After, Steve and I went skiing in Hastings for an hour. Cross country skiing burns 472 calories per hour. A good amount of exercise/calorie burn!

I would have liked to go to the gym too, but instead we did a few store purchase returns. Plus, I did some quote and Invoices that I needed to get out. 

After Skiing we went to Tuesday night Bingo! 

I was one number away from winning multiple games and finally won double Bingo for a win of $47 dollars which paid for dinner/tip and a little extra bingo cards. I haven't won in awhile, so that was nice! 

We also got there for happy hour prices, saved a few dollars on drinks and got the taco special, which made for a cheap dinner. We also bring our own salsa to make them taste better. 

I felt hungry last night even after eating two taco's without cheese! It sure didn't help smelling all the fried food around me. Always tempting to get a 2nd beer, but I didn't. I stuck to my pre-planned meal/calories. Still ate above 500, at 850 for the day. 

Lunch- popcorn 3 cups 130 calories

Dinner - 2 beef tacos on soft tortillas 500

1 beer 180

1 small cutie 40

Today, work will be around 3- 4 hours = 400 calories burned

I want to ski this afternoon another 470 calories burned

Maybe go to the gym for a massage and to lift weights tonight. 

I also have to start doing our taxes, some data entry. Working on it a little every day. First I need to sort the bags and go through the receipts to make sure they are in the correct pile. It aways feels great when this yearly project is done! 

Logan left yesterday morning at 6 am with two friends to drive down to Alabama to stay with another friend for the week. They arrived at 11:15pm last night! 15 hours of driving with some stops for gas and dinner took an extra almost 2 hours on to the drive. He will either come back Sunday or wait till Monday. I'm thinking they will be going out Saturday night, so will not leave by 6am, might as well rest up and come home Monday. He goes back to college in Milwaukee, Sunday. We plan to drive him back and will stay in the dells for the night at the Casino. I got a $100 deal for the night. Much cheaper then staying in the city with an additional parking fee and of course hotels are more expensive. 

Down 1 inch!

 That's right! Down one more inch on my waist this week! For every inch lost is supposed to equal 4 pounds of weight loss. I sure hope that is correct! I've gone down a total of 5-1/2 inches, but since I didn't measure my waist till day #9 and I could have lost at least 5 pounds that's another inch lost for a total of 6-1/2 inches or 24 pounds total lost. 

Do I feel like I've lost at least 24 pounds? Yes, my tops are fitting so much looser. Tank tops and my zip up jackets used to be very tight and now they have extra room. I was feeling very uncomfortable in my clothes when I started this diet. My jeans were skin tight and the waist was uncomfortably tight. Now my jeans are saggy and I can pull them off and not even unbutton or unzip them. Has anyone really noticed my weight loss? Yes and no. My family said yes after prompting them. No other customers have said you lost weight! I'm waiting for that to occur. Some haven't seen me in a few weeks. I might need to lose another 10 pounds for anyone to say something. 

I have an idea! Keep losing weight! I'd like to lose at least 50 pounds and I'm half way there! I only started this diet on Nov 30th. It's now January 10th. 42 days of dieting. Can I expect in another 42 days I will reach my goal weight? That would be Feb 21st.

I haven't always been sticking to 500 calories per day this is what this week looks like

                                      Day:          Ate:          Burn:

                                  Wednesday      660        708

                                  Thursday        790.        600

                                    Friday        920.       672

                              Saturday        1120.      400

                                 Sunday.       1250.      300

                                 Monday       580.        400

                  Tuesday      (today)

What have I been doing to burn calories

Cross country skiing

Gym biking and lifting weights

Working /Cleaning 

What do I mostly eat

nothing for breakfast, did eat on Christmas morning

Lunch - popcorn 3 cups

Dinner - Soups mostly. Loaded with veggies. 

Snacks- pomogranates or some humas/ Guac with pita rice or corn chips. 

I've kept it simple most days, making a large pot of soup or having a can of veggie soup that I know the actual calories. It's a guessing game of calories even if I look it up. 

The popcorn I have a container that I just pour a set amount into. Never eating out of the bag. 

Does it matter if I'm not at 500 calories per day. No, but I'd like to be around that number to lose weight fast.

Do I feel hungry? Yes, usually for lunch and then I'm good till diner but want to eat early around 4:30pm. I usually hold off till 5:00 or 6pm. Eating actually makes me want to eat more after diner. I added a pomogranate in the evening as an after dinner treat. 

Do I plan to change anything? 

Yes, more exercise. Ski and gym most days of the week and up intensity of biking at the gym. 

Weekends are always going to be higher calorie days. I want to live a little. I do have a drink (beer while out) maybe more. I try to keep it to just one drink. Also sharing food and having the smaller portion. Only having a few fries or picking something that isn't fried. 

Morning exercise some yoga stretches

Dumb bells and a 1 min plank to start my day. 

Little changes has added up to lost inches around my waist and hips. 

Hips have gone down some too, but more slowly 

at 3" total lost. Could be 4" from the start? I'm sure once I am doing more cross country skiing that will also shrink. 

 

Back to Monday!

 Almost week #7, just one more day to go! 

I've been higher on my calories but that's to be expected over the weekend. I did manage to burn calories too. Worked Saturday and worked out and went skiing Sunday. 

I just ended up eating two meals on Sunday, with having popcorn for lunch and salad with some bread, then having a gyro for dinner. I'm guessing still under 1500 calories, but not even close to 500. I need to get back to only eating 500 calories Sunday- Thursday with a splurge on Friday/Saturday. I'll just up my exercise on the weekends. 

Took this cute picture off FB of Madelyn. So cute! She was wearing the dress outfit I bought her for her birthday. Nice to see her wearing it with the purse. 

Goal Day #40

 I didn't do great on day #39 with going out for Mexican and out to see a band late at night. We also stopped before dinner at a new to us Brewery. I didn't finish my whole beer, drank a little over half and gave the rest to Steve finish. I did drink 2 seltzer 100 cal drinks while listing to the band. Plus, indulged on chips/salsa while we waited for our shared meal of chicken/steak fajita's. I let Steve eat the cheese filled peppers and stuck with one soft taco filled with meat and veggie topped with a little guac and lots of salsa. I did have a taste of the peppers with cheese and skipped a drink only having a few sips of Steve's beer. It might have been a higher 1120 calorie aprox night/day, but that was still a diet win since it was under 1500 calories for the day. Will I have lost 4 pounds this week? Probably not, but still losing weight. 

I also worked and burned at least 400 calories, but didn't get to the gym or have time to go ski. 

Since it's Sunday today. I have plans to cross country ski with Evan and I will also go to the gym this morning. Plus I can not skip my plank or weights at home. 

I'm due for a reward. I could use one more pair of jeans and I still need to find sunglasses! Maybe I'll go shop today or wait till next week to look around? 

It's back to low cal diet day.  I don't have my soup, so I'll be eating what ever is for dinner. We have Canadian bacon which I'd like to eat some days this week. Maybe with a scrambled egg. Once that's all gone, I might have some rice/salsa since that is one of my favorites and some sweet potatoes. Saving the soup again for next week. I'm looking forward to being done with week #6 and moving on to week #7 on Wednesday. 

No food photos since I was extra hungry! 

Day 39.. oh my!

 I had an oh my this morning. I was taking care of one of my customers cats when it passed away this morning. The 2nd cat to die on me from this customer. Ugh! I felt bad, but what can you do. It did move two times, but I think it was just exhaling its last breath since it was already stiff and semi cold with its teeth showing. I'll have to go back tonight and put it in a box in the garage. At least it's winter and can be outside in the cold to wait till they are home and can take care of Misty. Looked like a kitten but it was a very old black cat. 

On other notes. I should have taken a photo of my Chicken sandwich taste test last night. I purchased a Popeye's chicken sandwich and Bonchon chicken sliders along with pork belly buns. We all agreed that Popeyes was the best. Not like Malcolm in the yard but good with the hot sauce. I liked the saurcha sauce the best from bon ton on the chicken sandwich. 

It was a lot of calories but I only ate1/2 the Popeyes sandwich with out mayo and ate one of the sliders from bonchon along with a taste of the pork belly. After, I ate the last bowl of my Thai soup. I was stuffed. Probably around 930 calories for the day, I figured after looking up calories maybe a bit more? 

I thought I did a snap of the kids skiing yesterday, but it never went through and I deleted it. Ugh! We skied for an hour, during around 435 calories. Good exercise! I'll go later today with hopefully Steve. I'm working this morning till around 2pm. 400 more calories burned cleaning! 

Day #39! One more day to go for my goal day of #40! 11 days away from half way there to 100 days on a weight loss diet. Will I quit after 100 days. Nope, going to keep doing what I'm doing and live a little too. Just don't want to gain back any weight and also want to keep losing weight. On Wednesday morning, I'll do my measurements but skip the new scale to weigh in. It was hard enough seeing a higher number than I thought I weighted. I don't need to get discouraged if the scale hasn't dropped by another 4 to 5 pounds. I need to keep myself motivated to lose weight and lose it fast! 

38... two more days till Goal!

 I'm so close to day #40! Two more days till I hit another goal day. I have lots of "goal" days to keep me motivated. 

Last night, I had a 1/2 pomegranate along with more popcorn 3cups after dinner. Total of 790 calories for the day. I should have skipped the popcorn but it was either that or finish the other Half of my pomegranate which was the same amount of calories. 

I was exhausted after working for 3-1/2 hours yesterday. I pretty much stayed on the couch and took a nap the rest of the day. My legs from cross country skiing were aching me so much I couldn't sleep. They feel fine today, but my back is sore from the hard day of work. Yes, 3-1/2 hours isn't a very long day, but when you're getting lots of physical activity, its tough! Thankfully, I only work 1-1/2 hours at a leisure pace and I'm done. I'll be skiing this afternoon since the kids want to join me. It's going to be chilly 20+F day. Which will feel better for skiing. I'll take them on the shorter route since they wouldn't like 1-1/2 hours of skiing. I probably should look at the routes so we don't go too far before heading back. 

I'm working Saturday, so will ski after work and then Sunday I'm going to see if my grandson wants to ski, after I do a workout. This way, I'll get in exercise since I'm sure we won't ski very far or fast. 

Every day I look in the mirror in the morning expecting a big change in how my stomach looks. I know every morning I weight less than the day before. It's not enough to notice, but all these days and less calories with exercise are adding up to weight loss. I suppose to see a big drop I'm going to have to stay at 500 calories to see that big jump instead of around 700. It's not going to happen over the weekend. I'll work on that Monday! 

One last bowl of Thai soup is waiting for me. Not sure if I'll be eating that for dinner or we will be going out. I kind of don't want to go anywhere as it's easier to diet saying home. It's also not as fun staying home but cheaper too. 

I should add in more veggies, maybe having some pickles or carrot sticks to mix it up a bit. I'll have to figure out dinners next week since I'm out of soup. Should I make another soup? 

Day #37.. almost 40!!

  I am sooo close to day #40! Even though I weighed myself and didn't like the number, I'm still on track and didn't give up. I don't want to give up. I love waking up each morning knowing it's another day on my diet. More weight will have been lost even if I can't see it that morning. I know all the days are adding up and more weight dropping off. 

Yesterday, it was a snow day off from working. I waited till we had the roads cleared and the driveway before venturing out to ski. 

Since I didn't have to help much with the driveway. Steve took care of that with the snow blower. I had energy to go cross country skiing. 

The trails were just packed and not groomed for ski groves. It was still better than nothing. It was beautiful out there. 

I was a bit freaked out by all the down pine tree branches. There also was lots of snow falling from the branches so I kept my hood on till I got through that area. I decided to do the big loop around the park. Probably a mistake on my first ski of the season. It was a lot to ski! 5.5 miles I think and it took 1-1/2 hours to get back to the car. I was tired and my left foot toes were killing me. Might be arthritis in the toes? They felt fine once my ski shoes were off. I looked up calories burned and it was 700! That was a good workout!

Since I didn't work Monday (holiday) and Tuesday/Wednesday snowed. I have a busy Thursday- Saturday.. Yep working this Saturday to make up for having Wednesdays off. That's fine because I'd rather the roads are safe and clear for me to get around. Plus, we have nothing going on this weekend. 

I will be getting in lots of skiing. Not sure if I'll make it today to ski since I will be getting plenty of exercise just working today. I do still plan to go to the gym and get a massage, lift weights. 

It kind of feels like since I weighted myself that this is my starting point of weight loss. I probably shouldn't think of it that way.. I've come so far and should celebrate where I am now. I have until May/June to hit my goal weight. Even if I lose 5 pounds per month only that's 25 more pounds lost! If I lose 10 per month that's 50 pounds gone. I will make my goal weight either way. I just need to keep going and stay focused. My efforts on weight loss will determine when I start maintaining and no longer need to lose. I was able to maintain for 10 + years, so now it's time to do the same. I just can't fall back to bad habits of eating whatever, drinking as much as I want and not caring about getting exercise every day. 

I have to work out daily, eat healthy and limit alcohol. That's the key to maintaining weight loss. Plus, be honest and keep up with measuring and weighting in weekly. This will prevent the weight creep. 

Still having popcorn 3 cups for lunch (140 calories)

Dinner Thai soup 3 cups ( 400 to 500 calories) 

and now added a pomegranate for a snack. (240 calories) 

Total 880 calories for the day. 

Yes, it's higher than 500, but that's  a low number to keep maintaining. It was more to jump start my diet and weight loss. It would be nice to lose 4 pounds a week with eating 500 per day. I'll take 2 or 3 instead. It might be slower but I don't feel hungry this way and starving at night. I'll just want to up my exercise with the extra energy. I didn't really have extra energy when eating 500 calories per day. This gives me the extra boost and I can easily burn 400 at the gym or skiing etc. 

Oh and I'm done 1/2 inch on my waist for a total of 4-1/2 inches lost! I still have fat on my stomach that needs to go! It's going down every day and once again it will be flat! That's the big goal!!!