One Day of Christmas Blog Challenge :)

Jenny over at peanutbutterjenny.com created a 25 days of blogging challenge. Since I'm not particularly good at keeping up with these challenges, I figured I'd just pick a few that I wanted to answer!

1. ELF! Is there any other movie with watching every year? Well, Charlie Brown. And I've never actually seen A Christmas Story so I guess maybe that too.

5. Christmas of 2012 my boyfriend gave me a Tiffany & Co necklace. I seriously never take it off unless I have to. It's actually starting to look a little dingy but it's held up tremendously. 

11. My family has this tradition of making gifts "from" famous people. An example would be a nice cooking pot might be from Paula Dean or a trendy shirt would be from Kim Kardashian. I think it's really fun and I plan on continuing it once I have a family old enough to understand.

22. Oh man do I love eggnog. I look forward to it every year. This year has been difficult because eggnog is SO caloric that I haven't really indulged. That's made a little harder by the fact that I work at Starbucks and have unlimited free eggnog. Wahhh.

So that's all for that :) Now a Kristen update. I had a huuuuge loss two weeks ago after being sick and not having an appetite. The week after, my eating was more normal (well, WW normal) and I went up three pounds. I realize that that was just my body readjusting after being sick but it was still sad to break the "haven't gained" streak. This week I hope to lose those three pounds but we will see! Slow and steady wins the race.

Shrinking Kristen Is Actually Shrinking?

I know people have said it time and time again, but there is no secret to weight loss. For the most part, it really is a simple concept - eat less and move more. Burn more calories than you consume. For such a simple concept MY GOSH is it hard! I believe for me it's mainly psychological. There are really very few foods that taste "worth it" for big time splurges. Yet, it has taken me this long to get the drive to lose weight. For the past few years, I have HATED the way that I look in clothes. And people treat you differently when you are overweight. That's just the way it is, I think.

I started college around 155 lbs (and thought I was chubby then) and had a thriving social life. Through a series of events, I transferred schools, went through some personal issues, and began gaining the weight. There was about a solid year of me being somewhat of a recluse. I wanted SO BADLY to have friends and live the normal college student life but I just couldn't do it. There were numerous diet attempts. I think another one of my problems is/was an "all or nothing" mindset. I was either 100% healthy eating and working out or I was binge eating fast food. There was no happy medium. Just failed attempt after failed and attempt and depression.

Again, I'm hesitant to say that this time is IT. I've been in this place before. But the thing it, it's working. I've been faithfully tracking and counting points. I've been eating healthy foods probably 80% of the time and 20% of foods that fill the need of keeping me satisfied and binge free.

I stopped a binge the other night.I was working on a huge assignment and was feeling rather snacky. I decided to order a pizza. I got the 10 dollar deal from Pizza Hut because it really is a great deal - a medium pizza, 5 breadsticks, and 5 cinnastix for 10 dollars. As soon as I ordered it, I regretted it. I didn't need it! So I calculated out the points for two pieces of pizza and three breadsticks. After I ate that, I destroyed the rest of the box with mustard. I felt awful wasting food, but I felt that is was the best way to keep me accountable. It worked though!

Here is my sad pizza :(

When I weighed in on Friday, I was SHOCKED at the results. Down 5.8 more pounds. This brings me to a total of 21.2. I'm just .8 away from my 10% which was a goal that I thought MIGHT be possible by New Years. My sister bought me the Activelink as an early Christmas present and it's done wonders with helping me move more. My sister and I have been trying new recipes like crazy and I have not gone to bed one night feeling hungry or unfulfilled.

Shrinking Kristen is actually shrinking. I see it the most in my ribcage area and my face. My work pants are also fitting looser. I'm not down any sizes just yet but I know to just be patient. I'm hereby declaring it - this is it. This is the time where it will work. It already is!

Awkward mirror pic. I've never been great at taking pictures of myself!

Survival of the (not quite) fittest

I survived Thanksgiving! The morning of Thanksgiving I sat down with my sister to figure up PP of everything we thought would be at dinner and giving ourselves a rough estimate of what we would have. I ended up going over just a bit but still stayed in my weekly points so altogether wasn't that bad. Still, I felt bloated and kind of swollen and was worried about my weigh in. I went this morning to weigh in. Now, Saturdays are NOT my typical weigh in day. I normally go to the Friday noon meeting. I try to eat/drink as little as I can and I always wear a dress/leggings because I feel like I'm lightest that way. I don't know, it works somehow haha. Because of Black Friday, I couldn't go to my meeting yesterday and needed to go during drop in hours today. I was in my work clothes and had just drank a big mug of coffee cause I was dragging this morning. Still, I was down 0.2 lbs. Not bad for Thanksgiving week!

This week I'm determined to track everything that goes in my mouth! Often times at work, I'll have the remnants of the blender/pitcher or tiny cups of milk or a dollop of whipped cream and I rarely count it but I know they'll start to add up. Instead of eliminating them, I'm going to try and just cut back on them and track them to the best of my abilities. I figure most of the little servings I have are about a point each. I'm usually pretty good about tracking my regular Sbux beverages though. I've got a few "go to's" that I know are safe so I usually stick to those.

Also, it's my last week of blocking!!! I couldn't be more thrilled. It's been a rough semester but I know that  in the end it'll ultimately be worth it :)

Thanksgiving Survey - Friend Makin' Monday

I've decided that I need some blog friends to help keep my motivated to I decided to do All The Weigh's Friend Makin' Monday survey. This week's survey is about - what else? - Thanksgiving!

1. Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions? My family always eats together at my Grandma Ada's house. It's a pretty mellow with lots of food, football, and fun (most of the time). 

2. List at least three dishes that are on your family’s table every year. Turkey (duh), deviled eggs, homemade gravy

3. Do you prefer pumpkin pie or pecan pie?  Pecan for sure! I can totally pass on the pumpkin.

4. Will you watch football on Thanksgiving Day? Mehhh. I'll probably watch it with my family but I'm not that big of a football junkie.

5. Do you plan to exercise Thursday?  Hopefully we will try out the new Zumba DVD set my sister just got for her birthday!

6. Do you prefer ham or turkey?  Ham! But we never have ham on Thanksgiving, just on Christmas and Easter.

7. Will you shop on Black Friday?  I have a little bet with myself this year - if (and only if) I stay in my PP on Thanksgiving, I'm gonna let myself go to Ulta on Black Friday to reward myself with some makeup. Otherwise no because I have to be at work at Starbucks at 7 AM :)

8. Do you take a nap on Thanksgiving? I might this year! My goal though is to not be in a food coma.

9. Share one dish that probably won’t be on anyone else’s table. My family makes this wilted salad every year...although I'm not a big fan!

10. What are you thankful for today?  I’m thankful for my family - they are always there for me. I'm thankful for my boyfriend. We've been through so much and I'm pretty convinced that he's as close to the perfect guy as you can find. I'm also thankful that I have the day off of everything! No student teaching, school, or work! RARE!

What a loser...

In a good way!

In a shocking twist of events, the scale was definitely my friend at WW weigh in this week! I had a not-so-great eating week and even went over my weekly allowance so I had my fingers crossed for a wash at the scale - anything was okay with me as long as I didn't gain. I held my breath as I stepped on the scale only to hear the receptionist say, "You're down three more pounds!" I couldn't believe it :)

This makes 15 pounds lost so far and I'm feeling pretty proud of myself. I hope this gives me the extra push I need to make good choices on Thanksgiving!

Fingers Crossed

For the first time in a long time, this seems to be clicking. I've made going to Weight Watchers a priority and I've lost 12.2 lbs. I have hit my 5% and am hoping to hit my 10% by New Years. I'm hesitant to say that this time will be "it" but I honestly think that I can do it. I know that I have the power to succeed and all the right tools - it's just up to me to use them.

What's different this time? For one, my sister and one of my best friends are going with me. It's nice having that safety net there for days that I'm feeling week. I live with my sister and it's been really helpful to actually be in a house where nearly all the food is healthy. We have tried quite a few new recipes and have made eating more about preparing the food and really savoring it. We've tried South African style bulboti (a sweet meat pie), bacon-fried cabbage (OMG all the points come from the bacon so it's really not that bad - 3pp for a serving but it tastes like a treat), cinnamon rolls (kind of a flop - definitely tasted diet), Mexican pork tostadas with spiced sour cream (holy yum) and a garlicky white pizza with ricotta, bacon, and spinach. Next week I'm going to make a lightened up version of my favorite Indian dish - paneer masala.

Funny story - after weight in each Friday, my sister and I have been going for one cheat meal for the week. It's our way of normalizing this - no food it totally off limits, some just have to be enjoyed in moderation. But, we still ALWAYS track our cheat food. How else will we lose weight? For the most part, we both dip into our weekly points on those days but figure that's what there for. Last friday, my sister chose Red Robin for our cheat meal. I picked the A1 peppercorn burger which is what I always used to get with a diet freckled lemon. I ate my whole burger, half of my fries, and 1 1/2 lemonades. Afterwards when I was looking up the PPs, HOLY COW the burger by itself was 40 points!!! I only get 33 a day to begin with! Half the fries was 5 and each lemonade was 2 so 3 for the lemonade total. Yes folks, that is 48 points for one meal!

The bad part is that the meal was our lunch. I had to close at work that night and got hungry for lunch. My lunch break wasn't that long so running to Subway wasn't an option. I was feeling pretty crummy for my previous choices, so what do I do? Have a piece of pumpkin bread. Yep. I ate 66 points in one day. That's exactly double my daily allowance!

I'm weighing in today and this has honestly been one of the toughest weeks yet. On Tuesday, I knew I was going to be gone from 7:30 AM - 11 PM so I planned ahead and packed lunch, dinner, and snacks. I was feeling great and had eaten nearly all my packed food when a regular at works who owns a pizza shop called and said he was bringing us a pizza. His pizza is legit NY style deliciousness and I couldn't resist. I wasn't even hungry! The temptation was just too great and I ate two slices. Boom. Now I am officially over my weekly allowance. Let's hope that I at least stay the same on the scale this week!

There Might Be {A Little Dust on the Bloggy}

Per usual, I gave up. Summer and life got in the way and I stopped trying to lose weight. I began student teaching four weeks ago and it's certainly been a whirlwind. I wish I could talk about how I've been feeling, but on the off chance that this blog ever becomes public, I'll refrain. I'll tell you though...this is probably the worst semester of college that I've had thus far.

My weight has remained about the same (I think). I haven't wanted to visit Mr. Scale but my clothes are fitting about the same so that's that. I'll find out for sure though on Friday because I am returning to weight watchers! This is the first time in a year that I'm actually trying the physical meetings and the I actually have a friend going with me. I'm really hoping that it clicks this time.

The funny thing is, it's not the weight loss programs that aren't clicking. It's something in my head that is preventing me from losing the weight. I'm not sure what it is...I'm a tough egg to crack I guess.

Survey Says...

Okay, so it's not really a survey. I'm pretty sure that no one is doing this blog challenge anymore, but I'm gonna roll with it because I kinda like blogging. I know I have zero readers haha but it's just been someone/something to "talk to." And no, I'm not crazy. It's just been a nice outlet.

Day 11 - About six years back, I was doing toe stops in tap dance class and I came up/down too fast or something and got a really small stress fracture in the ball of my foot. It's pretty much unfixable but doesn't hurt when I'm managing my weight. I'm at the heaviest I've ever been right now (save 10 lbs) so it pretty much hurts all the time.

Day 12 - Since fourth grade, I've been involved with this program called Odyssey of the Mind. It's a creativity/problem solving competition and I absolutely love it. I've actually won World Finals three times and also gotten one silver and one bronze metal. I consider it a huge accomplishment and one I worked really hard for (along with the rest of my team, of course!).

Day 13 - That's a tough one. I've always been healthy, just now I'm overweight. My blood pressure is great and I'm physically healthy, just overweight. I've always been poor. Well, my parents help me out but still. I struggle with money and live paycheck to paycheck. I'd say rich, because then I could afford the best treatments and just get back to spending my riches ;-)

Day 14 - I have a mole on my right ribcage. I have a scar on my right hand from burning a rope to seal the ends and a scar on my left hand from stabbing my finger with a screw driver while trying to puncture a hole into a penny. Both of those are courtesy of Odyssey of the Mind.

Day 15 - I've been taking a bunch of people's shifts at work. But I guess that helps me out too so whatever. I'm just selfish

Day 16 - I've never been fishing. I even live in the country but I just never have! 

Day 17 - 

     1. I hate cold fruit. I like it room temperature. Or, if it's been in the fridge I'll microwave it for a bit.

     2. I am a volume eater. I pick my restaurant choices whichever has the most food.

     3. I love the color pink. My laptop is pink and so is my camera.

     4. I've attended four colleges. I'm on my fourth and hopefully final. I'm getting my MA and have no PhD dreams.

     5. I have a Hanson tattoo. MMMBop, anyone?

     6. I love to read and am a super fast reader. If I'm into a book, I can read it in a few hours.

     7. I think I don't like seafood, although I really haven't tried much. Although, I LOVE canned tuna and can enjoy shrimp cocktail.

Recovering After A Binge

Last Thursday was awful for me. I was at an absolute low and I have no idea what brought it on. I woke up and all I could think about was the food. I binged and then felt miserable. My stomach was in a massive state of discontent and I didn't eat anything for the rest of the day. My eating the rest of the weekend was awful. I ate a very large dinner at Olive Garden on Friday night and although it was delicious, I was miserably full the whole night.

Saturday I worked in the morning and then drove the hour and a half to my parents house for a cookout. Before I left work, I made myself a vanilla bean frappucino which is basically like a vanilla milkshake. At the cookout, we had salad, corn on the cob, NY strip steaks, grilled onions, and homemade eclairs. Delicious and had the potential to be healthy, but of course I ate too much.

I left home at 4:30 the next AM to go to work. I stopped at Sheetz to get something to eat and got a pretzel melt with roast beef. Not the worst choice but not the best choice. My boss wanted me to go around to local businesses to do sampling of our new refreshers so I ended up eating at Olive Garden AGAIN. For dinner I ate pancakes. Lots of butter.

I woke up yesterday with full intentions on getting back on track. I had a healthy breakfast and then went to the grocery store to get healthy groceries. My sister called me to see if I wanted to go to lunch and use up a Groupon. We went to Slouvaki's in Blacksburg to get gyros. Afterwards, my sister told me that she was starting the healthy eating plan tomorrow (which is now today) and that she was gonna go get cookies at our favorite place - Crumb and Get It. So I went with her.

Now it's Tuesday and I'm for real starting again. This morning I had coffee with FF half and half, an omelette, and fruit. I'm making a pinterest dinner of chicken baked with sauteed garlic and brown sugar. I made some AAMAZING homemade ranch dressing with FF buttermilk and greek yogurt. It tastes like drippy restaurant ranch and it only 60 calories for 2 tbsp. The key to it is to use regular full fat mayonnaise. It's just enough to give it some fat/flavor.

I downloaded a Couch 2 5K app. I'm planning on trying that tonight after work and dinner. Here we go again!

Self Sabotage

I really thought that I was doing well this time. I thought I was finding a balance between living my life and losing weight. Yet, this morning I find myself at Kroger. Buying my favorite binge food. Going to the self checkout line to avoid eye contact with cashiers who would certainly judge my purchases. As if that was enough, the drive through at McDonalds called my name. It took all the willpower I had not to break into my food on the drive home. I was so excited.

I ate my burger first. Tiny bites, savoring each taste. Melty gooey cheese with tangy ketchup and zesty mac sauce. Crunchy pickles and even those delicious re-hydrated onion bits were all that I could think about. Then it was time for chips and dip. My favorite flavor combinations. An entire bag of Wise's Honey BBQ chips and a family sized tub of Kroger brand french onion dip. Even as my stomach began to hurt, I kept eating. When I was done, I cried.

I don't understand why I do this to myself. I enjoy healthy eating and cooking new foods. I want to be in shape more than anything. Being fat sucks. I want to look good in clothes again. After the first few chips, they didn't even taste good. I could have worked a burger into my calories. I just don't understand why I sabotage myself.

Camera Action!

Exciting news! I found my old camera and charger! It's nothing fancy AT ALL. I got it as a graduation present when I graduated high school in 2007, so it's well loved. But, it will get the job done for now. I found it yesterday and charged it last night. I think I'll share some of the old pictures that are on it!

This picture cracks me up. It's me and my boyfriend shortly after we started dating so 3 1/2ish years ago. I promise he doesn't normally make that face when we're together ;)

I used to teach dance and it was the best job in the whole world

Two of my little lovebug ballerinas

I'm not sure how to rotate this...but this is me before the beach last year I think. Think I'm tan? It's totally a spray on.

So many alligators! I'm borderline obsessed and HAVE to go to Alligator Adventure when we go to Myrtle Beach.

At Alligator Adventure. Because I'm so mature haha.

Challenge Catch Up

Day 8 - I'm really not sure where I'll be in 5 years. I'll graduate in one and finish my masters in two, so I guess in the working world? I've been with the bf for almost 4 years so I'd say marriage might be a possibility, but I'm not rushing. Trying to pay off my student loans, that's for sure!

Day 9 -  I believe that food should be enjoyed. I'm bad about this, but I also believe that foods shouldn't be labeled good or bad. I also believe in moderation. Believing in and being able to control myself are two different things ;-)

Day 10 - My grandma passed away last summer and she was one of the most inspirational people that I have ever met. She worked hard to make a life and a name for herself and didn't let anyone run her over. She had several successful businesses and always gave away everything she had to help others.

The fair!

These past few days, I've just been too lazy to blog. At least I admit it, right? I've been enjoying life and working. I still want to complete this challenge though, so I'm gonna play catch up today! First, I want to just tell you how proud I am of myself for my eating on the day of the fair. OMG...fair food smells so freaking good! I knew that if I planned to go out to eat after the fair, I would definitely cave in to a delicious polish sausage or funnel cake (or fried kool-aid?!) so I planned accordingly.

I went with my friend Amanda and we started out at The Great 611 Steak Company. The best thing about this restaurant is their massive salad bar. You can order entrees (their steaks are fab) but we decided to stick to the salad and potato bar. They ask you which type of potato you want - I chose baked - and then you have access to all 4 bars. The bars are as follows:
1. The salad bar - pretty standard fare but good quality ingredients
2. Pre-mixed salads (cole-slaw, potato salad, ect) and hot dishes such as mac and cheese and casseroles
3. Baked potato fixings, soup, and taco ingredients
4. Dessert

I started out with a massive salad from bar one with sunflower seeds as my good fats. I hate low fat dressings so I got ranch on the side and did the "dip the fork" trick. I ate it slowly and tried to register how my stomach felt. My second go around, I went to the second bar. I got a big portion of the green beans and cabbage. I also got itty bitty servings (like one bite) of the foods I couldn't live without like mac and cheese, broccoli casserole, potato salad, and cole slaw. When I got to the table, I tested each food. None of them were out of this world so I just had a tiny taste with the exception of the broccoli casserole. It tasted really good so I ate all of it. The green beans were standard canned fare, but I really like those so I chowed down.

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Last, I had my baked potato. Now, I love my baked potatoes with butter, sour cream, and salt. Not very healthy, I know. So I decided to scoop out the carby insides and just eat the skins. My mom always told me that the healthy part of the baked potato was the skin, so I'm going with it haha. I dipped my skins in about 1 tbsp of honey mustard. I skipped the last two bars completely. They bring out baskets of gigantic warm yeast roles with delicious honey butter. I finished my meal with about 1/3 of a role + honey butter.

I left feeling totally satisfied and proud of myself. I didn't deprive myself of anything that I wanted, but I ate in moderation. That way, it was easier when we got to the fair to pass by the delicious smelling cart foods. We paid the 24!! dollars for wrist bands and started riding the rides. It was HOT on Sunday. Like 100 degree hottest day of the year hot. We were pouring sweat so we got lemonade shakeups. They are literally three ingredients - lemon, sugar, water. They had sweet and low but I think that those pink packets taste like death so I decided to go with the real sugar. Perfect thirst quencher.

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We were about halfway through all of the rides when we got on the UFO ride. It's one of those centrifugal force rides that spins you around super fast and sucks you to the back wall. It was hot in there and it smelled awful. When it began to slow down, I looked over at Amanda and she did not look too hot. So yeah, she lost her cookies. I felt really bad for her. She was such a trooper about it though! She wanted to keep riding but I knew that she would regret it so we decided to drive on home. I did make a stop for a refill of lemonade in slushy form and my COTTON CANDY! I got the small bag which was one ounce. All the info I found online said that one ounce of cotton candy was about 110-140 calories, which was perfect.

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I got home, showered off the funky sweat, and watched Army Wives while I ate half of my cotton candy. I ate the other half for breakfast yesterday cause you only live once :)
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The past is the past

Today's question on the blog challenge: if you could live in any time period of the past, when would it be and why?

This is a toughie...I'm not really sure! For no reason other than the dresses, I pick the 1950's.

 Source

I met half of one of my goals tonight! I tried taco cupcakes from a recipe that's been floating around Pinterest. I lightened it up even more and each cupcake came to 123 calories. I had three for dinner (they were kind of on the small side) with some low fat sour cream. They were really good except for the fact that I got preoccupied watching Drop Dead Diva and let them get a little too well done.

I also mowed the lawn tonight which definitely counts as exercise in my opinion. I live on top of a hill and it's a serious workout pushing the push mower up and down the hill! I did half of the lawn tonight and I'll do the other half tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'm going to the Salem Fair with my friend Amanda. I'm excited yet apprehensive. The number one thing that I'm scared about - am I too fat for the rides? I LOVE roller coasters - LOVE them. If I went to get onto a ride and they told me I was too large/heavy, I would be mortified. I'd probably cry and then want to eat all the fair food. I guess we'll see. I'm excited for my favorite treat in the whole world - cotton candy! If I had access to it, I'd take cotton candy over any sweet all the time. Ice cream, cupcakes, candy, froyo - they all pale in comparison to the deliciousness of cotton candy. And the plus side - it's relatively low caloric wise. I know, I know. Absolutely no nutritional value. But it's not something that I eat often so I'm totally fine budgeting it in. My plan is to eat before the fair and then only have cotton candy and a lemonade (only if they have the splenda version).

Drink a little drink

Last night got a bit crazy. I had budgeted for 4 ounces of rum (yum) in my calorie count which I figured was about two rum and diet cokes. I ate dinner beforehand as to not be hungry. When I got there, I saw that they had redone their drink menu and had added some things. They have 32 beers on tap which they constantly rotate so I always like to try new beers. I decided to get a flight which was 4 5 oz pours of any beers on tap. I loved all of the beers I tried last night, especially the Peachicot. It was a light beer with a slightly peachy taste - so refreshing! Anywho, my sister was going to see a movie downtown (which is where the bar is) so I asked her if she minded driving me home. She said sure and I proceeded to get a little schnockered. I didn't order a meal but we did order a plate of vegetarian nachos to share and I munched on that. All in all, wayyyy too many calories. But oh well, I had a blast.

The question for today on the 30 Day Challenge was If you could spend 15 minutes with any celebrity, who would it be and why?

This is gonna show my redneck roots, but it would definitely be Troy from Swamp People. For as long as I can remember, I've been slightly obsessed with alligators. They're really neat animals. Troy has been a swamper for his whole life and I'm sure has some crazy cool stories. Plus I just like his accent :)

Choot em! I wonder if he would be proud of these alligator handling skills ;) This girl has my dream job.

I also got a new blog design! I really like it. I know I don't have any readers but I really like blogging. It's keeping me accountable and gives me something to look forward to!

Challenge Day Cinco!

I finally have a day off of both jobs! I've been working a lot lately (although I'm not complaining) and am really excited to finally have a day off to do nothing. I finished Season 4 of Gossip Girl and found out that Season 3 of Drop Dead Diva is on Netflix! I was pretty pumped because I love a show with a good female lead, even more so when she is a plus size woman.

Today's challenge is to post a picture of something or someone that made my day special. First off, my sister and I made lightened up beef stroganoff for dinner. I enjoy evenings when I can cook leisurely and also have time to calculate nutritional stats. Meals like this don't feel like diet food. They make lifelong healthy eating habits seem attainable. So first off, I'm thankful for beef stroganoff! (I realize that makes me sound odd, but let's just go with it)

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I'm headed out with two of my friends in a bit for a Happy Hour adventure. These two girls are in my cohort at school (we have all the same classes and will up until we graduate) and I seriously don't know what I would have done this past school year without them. They always make my days special :)

L to R Me, Kristina, and Amanda

Blog Challenge Day 4

If I could rid the world of one thing, it would be child neglect. I know that I should probably say world hunger or war or something of that sort, and I do think that those are all serious issues. But in my line of work, I see kids just in my local community who go without basic necessities. Children should never have to wonder where their next meal is coming from.

It's the 4th of July!! I work until 1:30 (time and a half pay woop woop!) and then my parents are coming into town. They live about an hour and a half away and they're driving up here for the holiday. There is this cookie place here called Crumb and Get It and it's pretty much the most amazing thing ever. It's like Coldstone Creamery but with cookies. You pick your flavor of dough and then your mix ins and then the owner bakes them up fresh for you. Served piping hot with a glass of milk. I've made room in my calories for them and I'm pretty excited! The hardest part is figuring out what flavor combinations :)

I had been off of my weight loss plan for a while when I started blogging again most recently (Julyish) and I was unsure of my weight. I decided to get on the scale this morning and I'm down 8 lbs from my heaviest which means I'm almost back on track! That was a nice sight for my eyes.

Movie Magic

Yesterday, I got off of work and had nothing to do. It was way too hot to go for a walk outside and I was bored of my house so I decided to go to the local little theater and see Ted by myself. I'm not gonna lie, I laughed a whole lot. It's a seriously dumb movie though, but sometimes I like mindless dumb things. I am glad,  however, that I only paid $3.50 for it. Any more and I probably would have thought that it was a waste.

I'm adding a goal to my list! I want a camera. Not a fancy schmancy blogger camera, just one that I can take pictures with and put them onto my little blog. I have an iphone that takes pretty good pics but I'd like a inexpensive point and shoot. It probably won't be a July goal fulfilled considering I AM a college student (therefore I don't have the money to just go out and buy a camera) but I'm gonna start saving.

Today I work both jobs. I have a small babysitting job that I started working with a precious two year old. Then I work at Sbux!

30 Day Challenge - Day 2

If you could offer a newborn child one one piece of advice, what would it be?


Learn to go with the flow. Life is unexpected and confusing at times, but the more open you are to the changes the easier it will be to live happily!

I live in Virginia and the past few days have been insane. We had a pretty massive storm on Friday night that caused widespread damage and severe power outages. It's estimated that over half the state is/was without power. I was at work when the storm hit and it was one of the scariest experiences of my life. It was kind of like a tornado, but the winds were flat lined and not circulating. I ended up riding home with a stranger (scary, I know) because I was out of gas and had planned on filling up after leaving work. The storm knocked out all of the power in the area way into the next morning.

At work we had just received a milk shipment and had about 150 gallons that were going to go bad if they weren't moved. I spent the next morning at work loading the ice bins with milk and taking items to various other stores for preservation. We had no idea when the power was going to come on but we were preparing for the worst. Luckily, power came back on in that part of town at around 10 AM and we were able to open at 2. At my house, we were VERY lucky to only lose power for about two hours during the actual story.

It is Monday and there are still SO MANY people without power. To top it off, there was another huge storm last night and even more people lost power. Work has been so crazy the past few days with all of the people just needing a cool place and a meal since they don't have electricity. We've sold out of sandwiches by 11 AM for the past few days - a rarity. I guess we all need to thank our lucky stars though - only seven people lost their lives in the whole state. I think that's a pretty low number for such severe weather.

30 Day Blog Challenge

Things are going well over here! I really enjoy my job at Starbucks, the summer is beautiful, and I'm just enjoying life. I'm getting into the flow of healthy eating while working, although my weight has stayed about the same. Two days ago, I decided to tighten up the efforts and really fine tune my eating. I'm counting calories on a free app called Lose It. I am eating about 1500 a day.

One of my favorite bloggers has a challenge that I am going to try and do for the month of July. I'm hoping that this will keep my accountable to my blog and sub sequentially my weight loss efforts. So here we go!

                       

My goals for this month are as follows:

1. Lose ten pounds

2. Try two totally new recipes

3. Exercise once a week

The big 2-3!

Yesterday was my birthday! I'm 23 now. I told myself that calories shouldn't count on birthdays and I'm not going to stress over that. It was a good day.

I started out with lounging on the couch watching Gossip Girl on Netflix followed by a visit from my dad with some cold hard birthday cash. He told me to treat myself to lunch. I changed into some real clothes and made my way into Christiansburg and did a Target trip. I know it's not just me when I say this - Target sucks the money out of me. I can just wander the isles and pick up this and that and end up with 50 dollars worth of stuff. Thankfully I exercised a little more self control and only spend about 20.

Lunch was at a new place in town, Sakura. It's one of those fast food Japanese places and it was so. freaking. good! I got the chicken and steak combo and added broccoli (gotta get those greens in somehow!) I ate and ate and ate and still ended with what looked like a full plate of food. Great portions (well, not really for weight loss haha). I took my leftovers with me for an afternoon snack.

My next and final stop was Starbucks. Working at Sbux, you get a free pound of coffee a week. It's a pretty sweet deal! I'm all stocked up so this week I got coffee for the bf's friend Stephen. Since it was my birthday, I treated myself to a birthday cake pop! Believe it or not, this was my first cake pop! Very yummy. I also got a captain crunch frappuccino, but it wasn't made right and tasted kind of off.

When I got home, I did some more vegging out watching GG and then showered and got ready for a night out! My boyfriend came down from Charlottesville and we went out for dinner and drinks with my sister and two friends Amanda and Kristina. We went to our favorite local place, Sharkey's. Sharley's has the best happy hour deals on drinks - 2 dollar doubles! - and their food is pretty legit too. I got the No-Name Burger made with a veggie burger. I'm not a vegetarian by any means, but that burger has so many flavorful toppings that a big beef patty overshadows the other tastes. It has pickled jalapenos, cream cheese, chipotle sauce, lettuce, and tomato. Most delicious!

I drank quite a lot. I love happy hour and pretty much anything mixed with rum. My friends also ordered me some drinks. I tried to be responsible though and cut myself off before I could get too crazy. It was a great night! A great birthday altogether. And today I'm back on the diet train. Choo choo!

Embarrassed!

Wow, off the wagon again. I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to weight loss. I'll go strong for a few weeks, start to feel good about myself again, even see a change in the scale and then BAM! I'll binge. And once I binge, it's really hard for me to get control again. I rationalize it with stupid thoughts:
"I already messed up once today, I might as well eat whatever I want for the rest of the day."
"I'll take the weekend off and start back on Monday."
"Since I'm gonna start hardcore tomorrow, tonight I can eat a million calories worth of fast food because it's my last time ever (EVER - for real this time)."

I'm pretty tired of my excuses. I'm down 15 pounds from where I started but I've been stuck there for about a month thanks to unhealthy eating habits creeping their way back in. I also let my gym membership lapse. I'm actually afraid that I have gained some of the 15 pounds back, but for now I'm staying away from the scale because it makes me sad and is not my friend.

So here is my plan: My mom (who is also overweight) is going to her 30th class reunion in September - the same weekend that I am a bridesmaid in a snazzy wedding. She wants to shed a few pounds before her trip so she started going to Weight Watchers. I know the system works, it's science based and helps you choose good foods rather than eliminating any foods in particular. I can't afford to go with her, but I'm going to count points on my own.

I'm going to go to the gym today and re-join. I really enjoyed it when I went and there is no reason for me not to go. I love the classes (Zumba and BodyPump in particular) and the owner created a fitness plan specifically for me.

In other news, I started a new job at Starbucks! I love it so far. The only downside is no nail polish :(

Getting in the groove

I haven't written since my first post, but I haven't fallen off the bandwagon! I'm just getting into the groove of this whole healthy eating and exercise business. I've already had to make modifications, but I think that they are overall for the better! 


First off, eating. After trying my best to eat intuitively my first week and a half, I was becoming terrified of not knowing how many calories I was consuming - whether it was enough or not enough or this or that. I decided to weigh myself (only a week and a half in) and discovered that I had not lost any weight. Now, I'm a big girl and after a week and a half of healthy eating and exercising, I should have lost SOMETHING if I was fueling my body correctly.


I decided that I needed an eating plan and decided to count calories while still trying to eat as many whole foods as possible - i.e. not slimfast bars, 100 calorie packs, lean cuisines, ect. I downloaded this app on my iPhone called LoseIt! and am absolutely in love with it. It was free and asks for weight and basic stats at the beginning to set up your caloric needs based on what you want to do (lose, gain, or maintain). It has me eating 1500 calories which I feel is a good number. When I eat the right foods, I feel satisfied all day. Also, it's not so drastic that I feel like I can't have a night out every once in a while. My mom had a birthday two weekends ago and I was able to go out to Outback Steakhouse with my family and enjoy myself without sacrificing my diet.


The second thing that has changed is the goal for the half marathon. Now don't get me wrong, I still want to be able to run 13 miles by next year. The problem is that the Disney 1/2 marathon requires proof of speed from a previous race. I just don't think I can prepare for another half marathon BEFORE this one while being a full time college student. We'll see how it plays out, but I just don't see the Disney 1/2 Marathon as being a realistic goal for me at the time! 


That being said, I'm actually having fun at the gym! I've been trying to do a variety of activities as to not burn out or get too overwhelmed. I'd say my two favorite things right now are Zumba classes and the individual weight training plan that the trainer created for me. I feel like such a beast pumping iron - or maybe I'm just a nerd haha. I've also done two BodyPump classes and HOLY COW those are hard. SN - after my very first BodyPump class, I was so sore the next day that I could barely move. I actually laid on the couch to eat my oatmeal during breakfast so my arm would have a shorter distance to travel to reach my mouth!


I'm gonna try and upload some pictures so we'll see how this goes. Totally new to blogging!


WARNING!!!!! These pictures are extremely unflattering! If you see me on the street I'll (hopefully) look much better!

March 12, 2012
First day going to the gym

Side View

I'll leave you with this little gem because I'm a cat lady. She needs to lose some weight too. We're a work in progress ;-)  

Welcome!

Hey guys, I'm Kristen. I'm starting this blog to help document my weight loss and my training to complete a half marathon in February 2013. I'm 22 and a junior in college in Virginia. Here's a little bit of info on my weight. I danced all through grade school and my first two years out of high school as well as taught dance for several studios. I was never thin but I was a healthy and curvy 150 lbs. Back then, I would have given anything to get into the 130s. Fast forward a few years...I decided to really focus on college and pursue a career in early childhood special education. I moved by myself into an apartment and had no time for dance as well as settled into a mostly sedentary lifestyle. I like to cook, but I found myself eating a TON of fast food for no reasons other than convenience and taste. Over the past three years, I've gained 75 pounds. Yep, 75. I know it's a lot and it's gross.


Being overweight is both physically and mentally hard. When I wake up in the mornings, my joints ache from all of the extra weight I'm putting on them. I get heartburn almost nightly due to unhealthy eating habits. I am out of breath after a few minutes of activity. I have developed some anxiety and my self-esteem has been depleted due to my weight. 


I hate being fat. I hate not looking good in any of my clothes and having to purchase jeans from the plus-size store. I hate letting food cravings dictate my health and feeling addicted to unhealthy food. I hate that my boyfriend has gained weight and feel that I am partially at fault for his health as well.


So today all of that changes!  I joined a gym and have a personal trainer. He knows my fitness goal - to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February 2013. He says it's totally doable and a great goal. He has created a training plan for me which includes cardio and weight training as well as "fun" classes of Zumba and Bodypump. I had day one of my workouts today and I feel great. 


As far as eating, I'm trying to teach myself to eat intuitively with as many whole foods as possible. I don't want to become obsessed with calories or points so I plan to just eat carefully. After a month or so, I'll assess. If it isn't working, I will count WW Points Plus. But for now, I'm just trying to control my eating.


My ultimate weight loss goal is 149. As I said before, I weighed in the 150s since high school. To cross into that 140 mark would be beyond anything that I wan imagine right now. I'm only going to do monthly weigh-ins because I don't want to get hung up on weight - I want to be healthy.


So basically that's me in a nutshell! Time for class :)