Diet Update

I have improved my eating habits by about 50%. Not quite the 100% goal that I was going for, but every little bit counts. I have cut way back on the fast food which is a big help. I haven't exercised, which I think is the biggest key to weight loss. With being sick and having a lingering cough it has been hard to even talk without coughing. So the extra breathing it takes to work out would really do me in. ( Yes I know it is another excuse) The good thing is that I am going on vacation this Friday and we are going to Disneyland and Seaworld. We will be doing a lot of walking around. So I will be getting my exercise in. I won't be taking my protein shakes with me because I don't have a lot of room in my suitcase, so eating and sticking to my diet will be a challenge. I will try and do the best I can. I just hope this cough goes away by the time we leave. I am just excited to be back in Southern California. It will be like going home. I really miss San Diego and am really anxious to get back to the beach.

Have a Snack

Here's a quick diet tip from me: ALWAYS HAVE A SNACK HANDY

I think one of the biggest reason's people have a hard time with diet's is that they are hungry. They starve themselves trying to cut back on calories and fat and before you know it... the hunger pains take control and you give up and binge. To avoid this, I like to always have a snack available. My favorite snack is cashew's. They are high in protein, so a small handful will satisfy me for a while. My hardest time of the day is late afternoon. For some reason I find myself starving after lunch. I can eat breakfast at 6:00 a.m. and go until noon no problem. I feel no need to eat, I'm not hungry, and I probably wouldn't even think about eating except that is when my scheduled lunch is at work. But, if I eat the exact same thing for lunch that I had for breakfast, or even something different, it really doesn't matter, I am starving within two hours. It drives me crazy!! So by the time I take my 3:00 break, guess what is calling???? The break room and all the vending machines. Well, having a baggie full of yummy cashews at my desk that I can pop in my mouth when needed helps crave the hunger urge. Followed by a cold 32 ounces of water and I am set until dinner. I also like to carry around a baggie of cashews in my purse. Never know when you are going to be stuck in traffic, held up in school, stuck in a long line at the grocery store, or whatever. Of course it doesn't have to be cashew's, it can be any healthy snack that is right for you and the eating plan you are on. Nuts just happen to fit perfectly into my eating plan.

There are those out there that point their fingers and say not to snack, stick to your meals, and don't graze. I say graze all day, as long as it is the right type of food. Of course if you graze on a bag of chips all day you are going to gain weight, everything needs to be in moderation, but you get what I mean. Have a good day!

DAY 1 - Excuses Are For Wimps

Okay, so here is the report of my first day of my weight loss goal.

I actually did pretty good, but I have a few excuses, so I guess I am calling myself a wimp. I did have some soda because I still have a sore throat and cough. My job requires me to be on the phone 10 hours a day, therefore, the carbonation was needed. I did do "diet soda" so that was good. One other excuse to give, is I didn't work out today. I get up at 5:00 a.m. to get ready for work. If I come straight home after work (which I rarely do) I don't get home until about 6:30. Well tonight was one of those nights where Dave and I had to make a couple of stops on the way home and we didn't get home until after 8:00. I was hungry, tired, and most of all my throat was so sore from talking on the phone for 10 hours while trying to get over this virus that I have. So there are my excuses for the Soda and not working out.

Here are some great things I accomplished on Day 1 of my diet:

I drank about 150 ounces of water, which is excellent. It is important to drink plenty of water, especially when you are trying to lose weight. Both my Doctor and Personal Trainer have recommended this formula:

Your Current Weight Divided by 2 = # of ounces of water you should be drinking daily.

For example, if you weigh 150 lbs, you should drink 75 ounces of water a day.

I drink way more than is suggested just because I have seen the benefits of drinking water and how it has helped me with my overall health, especially my weight loss. At first it may seem overwhelming to you to drink so much water. But after about a week (and many trips to the bathroom) your body will adjust and you will notice the difference.

Here are just a few benefits:

-Weight Loss (A full Tummy of H2O means you will not eat as much)

-Hydration (For Example -Your skin - Look Younger)

-Flush Toxins

-Healthy Skin

-Burn More Fat and Build More Muscle

-Keeps you brain healthy (Our brain tissue is 85% water, we want to keep our bodies hydrated so our brain can function properly)

- Boosts Energy Levels

So my challenge for each of you is to increase your intake of water. See what a difference it can make!

It is a little after midnight, so I technically didn't get this post in on "DAY 1" of my diet. I am up way to late and should be sleeping like a baby right now. More on that in a future post. Sweet Dreams....

Happy New Year

Just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

I worked on New Years Day and it was super busy! Just to give you an idea on how busy it was. The day before I took 74 calls and on New Years Day I took 102. Most people were friendly and thanked me for working on the holiday. I was fine with it because I was getting overtime pay.

Just a side note, I worked Christmas Day too. It was just as busy. For example, the day before Christmas I took 67 calls and on Christmas Day I took 107. I was thinking, "Don't these people have anything better to do on Christmas then call their credit card company????

Back to the New Year... I have been thinking of what goals I want to set for the New Year. The biggest one is losing weight. As many of you know, who have been following my blog for the past couple of years. I lost about 80 pounds. Anyone who wants to go back and read 2007 posts I talk a lot about my weight loss and kept everyone updated almost daily. It was really hard work, and I had to be super strict on my diet and exercise. In the summer of 2008, something happened. I can't explain what, but I just stopped exercising. I used to exercise about 6-7 days a week, and it went down to about 3 days a week, then 1, then 0. Then I started eating emotionally again. I was going through some really stressful things in my personal life and I turned to food. Not the healthy food that I learned to eat from Dr. Hendricks. I turned to ice cream, fast food, cookies, candy, milk shakes, and the list goes on and on and on. As I continued having these personal struggles in my life, I should have turned to exercise to relieve the stress, rather than turning to food. I mean, that is what I learned to do from my experience with losing 80 pounds. That is what I had been doing for the past 1 1/2 years (see posts from 2006/2007) Instead, I just kept eating. I got married in October of 2008 and I am so happy. But I haven't changed my eating habits. I am happier than I have ever been. But my eating habits are still not good. I have gained about 35 pounds back. Alot of it in my stomach so I am back to my larger size as far as clothes go. Of course this is painful for me to write, but so many of you have been supportive in my weight loss goals, and I feel if I write about this on my blog I won't want to let anyone down and I will want to post in a week that I have lost some weight.

There are some things that I am going to stop cold turkey again. No more Soda, Candy, ice cream, junk food, fast food, chips, etc. I will follow the Glycemic Index as far as my eating goes, the same way I did before. I will also be doing my protein shakes. Thanks to George for sending them to me.

So everyone wish me luck as I tackle my weight loss challenge again. It's crazy how it seems like I gradually gained the weight back and then all of the sudden I was just huge again. I mostly notice it in my stomach area, where I have always carried my weight, but it is amazing how it just seemed to sneak up on me. It is so uncomfortable. Things like putting my shoes on and shaving my legs is so uncomfortable with this large mass in the way. I will lose it. I've done it before and I will do it again.

Gettin' Down With The Sickness

The title of this blog is dedicated to all of you "Disturbed" fans. For those of you who have no idea who Disturbed is, don't worry about it.

Anyway, I have been sick since Friday. I have the typical nasal & sinus congestion, cough, body aches, sore throat, headache, all the fun stuff that comes around this time of year. By the way, I copied all those symptoms off a Theraflu box since they all fit me perfectly. The only thing I left out was a fever. Thankfully I haven't had a fever. Anyway, when I woke up Friday morning I had white spots all over my throat, I decided it was time to attach with Vitamin C. Throughout the day I took about 15 Vitamin C, I did the same thing on Saturday. By Sunday all the white spots were gone. So I am glad about that. I still have a cough and no voice, which is horrible because my job requires me to be on the phones for 10 hours. So I had to call in sick to work on Friday and I called in sick today. I am still coughing really bad. I think by tomorrow I will be back at work.

I really can't complain about being sick for this short amount of time. Dave has been sick with a cough and sinus congestion for about 2 months. He has been to the doctor and been on different antibiotics and nothing seems to work. Hopefully he will get better soon!

The only good thing about being sick is that it is giving me a chance to write a few posts on my blog. I haven't been real up to date on my blogging and I am going to try and do better this year.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Yesterday we got a lot of snow. The news said to expect a couple of inches, but we got much more than that. Dave had to go out and shovel three times last night just to keep up. Here are some pictures of how much snow he has shoveled. Some is left over from a previous storm. But still it is a lot of snow!

Dave is 6'3 so that give's you an idea of how high this pile of snow is.