This is what I get.

So this is what I get for not writing my post over the weekend. I have lost the paper that I recorded my weight on. But I do know that I weighed 265 but my fat had dropped while my muscle went up. I'm sorry! This week has just been completely crazy with school starting and tests and such. I have been working everyday since last Thursday as well! Gah!

Any who! I have begun the insanity workout program that my cousin has been doing as well. I did the fit test on Monday, and I am off to a rocky start because I didn't even do the workout yesterday because I had lab stuff to do when I got home. I'm just so exhausted! I did work out today though... and it's pretty damn ridiculous! According to this program as well, I am supposed to eat 2600 calories a day! That just isn't happening because that it more than I normally eat. Of course, you can supposedly burn up at 1000 calories in a workout. I was pouring sweat not to long ago. It was pretty gross. And in case you were wondering, I suck at it. Haha. I am very uncoordinated. Shaun-T is going to kick my ass for the next 60 days. Insanity! Click Here!

I am still frustrated I lost my stat sheet. I guess today is Wednesday though and I weigh again in 2 days... and I am off Friday so I can assure you that I will post a new blog THAT day!

Another thing, I had pizza the other day. Its been over a month without eating it and I have to say it was quite delicious, but don't worry I only ate one slice... even though it was a 20in slice... is that still bad? No sugar though! Not really much fake sugar either! A diet beverage every now and then just to keep things interesting. The only place I can tell I am losing weight is below my boobs and a little in the face. I knew I was going to have to start exercising, so why not jump start it with this 60 day program. Maybe it will work wonders! No really, maybe will just get me on the right track. I still have to buy a measuring tape to measure all the limbs and such on my body to see how many total inches I lose on the program. That is where I am most concerned after all, that is how I am going to fit into my skinny Capri's!

I really don't have much to say because I need to study for my Biology Test! Wish me luck for an A and a couple of lost pounds this weekend!

Katelyn

No Change isn't Always a Good Thing!

Here it is, Monday. A very big day for me. Why you may ask? Well I started class today. Started Again, I should say. This time will be different and I will make A's and hopefully by October be applying to Nursing school for the Summer of 2011. But that's not what this blog is about, although I must say it will have to be discussed sometimes, as it is a part of my life. Anyway, it is also a day where my motivation gets kicked up a notch.
I have had a month of just watching what I was eating a learning the basics of eating healthy. Which I am not saying that I didn't enjoy my Chicken Quesodilla from Moe's the other day. But I have been looking at what is in the food I am eating. Calories, Sugars, Fats, Serving Sizes and until you do that you just don't really know what you are eating! For instance, last night during our bowling league, it was League Appreciation Day and we received this massive tray of 20 or more hot dogs and a box of mini bags of Cracker Jacks. Well I love my Cracker Jacks as much as the next Jill, but do you know how many grams of sugar there are in that little bag of Crack Jacks? 19 grams! 19 grams of sugar! I might as well ate 4 teaspoons of sugar and be done with it. The equivalent of 4 teaspoons of sugar on some popcorn that would have been an otherwise healthy snack! I didn't even look at the calories because as soon as I saw that number I put the bag down. It's not about sacrifice here people, its about redemption. I can have that bag of Cracker Jacks if I want too and give in to my whims and be done with the bag in 5 minutes in I eat slow, or I can eat something I would enjoy even better like a tub of fruit salad! I am not saying I am perfect by any means, because if I was I would not need the aspartame in the Equal or the Splenda to help me overcome my intense ice cream cravings, but it is about choosing other options that are better for you. To be good to your body. Granted, that artificial sweetener isn't being a true friend, but we are getting there.

The thing that I need to motivate me is the beautiful and sometimes painful act of exercising.  I have been saying for a month now that I need to exercise, and for a month now you have been wondering when I am going to start. The answer is today. I am not sure what I am going to do today as the clouds are about to open up on my boring little town, but it will be something to get my heart rate up. I also thought of buying a treadmill for when the weather is a little dark and I don't want to get out in it. Let's face it, in my eyes this is the perfect napping weather. A think a treadmill will be good, I can walk and watch TV at the same time.. you think then they will balance each other out? I also plan on joining a gym, it's just my funds are a little short right now and you may say well if you can afford that going out to eat you can afford a monthly gym membership, and I would say you are right. But I am also paying $40 a month to bowl once a week. That's for my right arm in case you didn't know.

I really don't have much to recap you on my week as it was not a very eventful week. I a lost a little weight, not exactly what I was hoping for, but I am ever approaching that 260 mark. I am going for my first 20 pounds. So are you there with me to cheer me on? Ready to get motivated with me? Ready to take it to the next level. I'm not sure how we are getting there yet but are you ready to trust yourself to get there? I know we can do it! It is getting warmer here in the South and won't be long it will be time for swimsuits and I do have a beach trip coming up in June. Do I want to not be able to enjoy myself on the beach? No! So my goal is to fit in my swimsuit from last year in 3 months. Do you think I can do it? Do you have a swimsuit you need to fit into? Well lets get started. I want you to do what you need to do to get at least 30 minutes of cardio in today! Go ahead!

Here are my stats from Friday:

Weight: 264.6
Fat: 48.0 %
Water: 33.0%
Muscle: 20.8%
Calories Suggested: 1857

Last Weeks:


Weight: 265.2lbs
Fat %: 47.9
Water %: 33.1
Muscle %: 20.8
Calories Suggested: 1744



Difference:

Weight: -.6lbs : (
Fat: +.1% : (
Water: -.1%
Muscle: no change

I hope that this will motivate you! Let's go! Get off that computer and dance around the room for 30 minutes!

Katelyn

Down Goes the Pounds!

So if you can't tell from my excitement in the title of this entry I have lost some more weight! How much you may be inquiring... I have reached my first step in weightloss! I have now lost a total of 10.2 lbs! The 1st 10 of many to come I am afraid to say, but what an exciting week. It has been 3 weeks into my new "eat less and eat better versions" lifestyle and I have to say that it isn't the epic struggle that I thought it would be. Yes, I still crave sugar and eventually I will try an move away from artificial sweeteners as well, but right now they are keeping me from giving in to my greatest desires of sugar and fat heaven.

Really the only changes I have noticed are around my waist and my waist is not to be confused with my hips. I can tell you from past diets that the next place I will probably see a difference will be in my face. If I were exercising, which I know I should be, it would help with the other areas. All of my pants have holes in the thigh area right now because of them rubbing together... and by all of my pants I mean my total of 2 pair. I really don't want to by more fat pants and I am hoping that I can drop a size soon to fit into my 18s. I have also thought about buying a pair of 14 jeans to be my goal jeans. I have a lot of 16s that I guess will do for now. I mean that is a goal in itself. To be the size I was when I went to Paris. It's sad to think that I thought I was fat then and now I just feel obese... because hey, that's what I am. But I won't be in a year from now. I won't be in 6 months from now. I am not saying I will be where I want to be yet, but it be a significant difference. You just wait.

I want to thank all those who have said such wonderful things to help encourage me. It really means a lot and has helped me. Especially my family. They have always been there to help me out. They have been with me my entire life and have seen my struggle. So I have to thank y'all for being there for me when I need you the most!

A breakdown of my week, it was a slow one and while me and the boyfriend have eaten out a couple of times I have chosen a more healthy option or just eaten less. I have noticed that my stomach has shrunk and I don't need a much food to feel that "full" feeling. Although it pains me to leave a plate un-emptied . I just think about places where the people are starving and here I am throwing out this food. If the restaurants would cut back to normal portion sizes we wouldn't have all this waste going on and be tempted to eat way more then we should! I have to say that last night I was craving ice cream really bad. Ice cream is not healthy by any means, but there are better choices of ice cream than others. I gave in to my ice cream craving and bought Edy's No Sugar Added ice cream. Splenda was used and also the natural sugar with brought my sugar count to 3 grams per 1/2 cup of ice cream and 110 calories. I only ate 1/2 cup and my craving was sated. I am not saying I should have eaten the ice cream, but I could have done a lot worse. Say the same kind of ice cream just plain would have been twice the fat and four times the sugar.
I am still figuring out healthier versions of my favorite foods. We will see how it goes.

This is shorter entry today but I hope that everyone can see how I am trying and I hope that I can inspire others to try too. Weight loss isn't joke. It's a long difficult process that takes a lot of willpower. I hope that I can continue to be strong and motivated not just for my looks, but for my health as well. I have noticed that when I stopped eating sugar like I have been and have been choosing things with less than 5 grams of sugar in them I have noticed that my headaches have gone away almost completely. Now the only ones I have been getting are from my sinuses. I honestly think I was borderline diabetic. I hope that I have saved myself from that disease.
Thank you for reading and keeping up with me every week. Lets hope for at least another 2lbs off next week.

Now it's time to post this weeks stats:

Weight: 265.2lbs
Fat %: 47.9
Water %: 33.1
Muscle %: 20.8
Calories Suggested: 1744

Last Week:

Weight: 267.8 lbs
Fat %: 48.6
Water %: 32.5
Muscle %: 20.5
Calories Suggested: 1738

Differences:

Weight: -2.6 lbs
Fat: -.7%
Water: +.6%
Muscle: +.3%

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below and be sure to follow me!

Katelyn

Week 2 ( A little late, I'm sorry!)

Week two has closed and I apologize for not blogging on Friday like I said I would, but I had to work that day and I had plans to go out with some friends that night. Don't fret though because I weighed myself before I went into work that day and wrote it down. That bit will come at the end as you know. Today I wanted to talk a little bit about what it is like to be an overweight person. This is more so for the people who have never been overweight a day in their lives, someone who doesn't really have a clue what we as people go through. I am not saying that they cannot connect with us at all, it is just the phrase "walk a mile in their shoes" should be applied here in order to completely understand.

Being overweight almost my whole life, a whole 22 years, I have never know what it feels like to be what my culture at this day in age calls "Skinny". I could blame it on several things if I wanted to because I have thought of these things over time. I could blame it on the junk food I was always given instead of a decent meal. I could blame it on the mini pecan pies my Grandfather would have waiting on me after school everyday. I could blame it on not sticking to a sport in school growing up. I could blame it on my parents for not making me eat the way I was supposed too. I could blame it on some hormonal imbalance in my body that is keeping me from reaching my slim potential that I want to achieve. But it all comes down to ME. It is I who ate those pecan pies. It is I who didn't stick to sport. It is I for not always eating the way I should and snacking on junk food. It is I who thought that if I did have some kind of hormonal imbalance then being overweight would be okay because it wouldn't be my fault. The not so shocking truth is that it is my fault! Only I can fix my faults. Only I can do what so many people wish to do and to be. Only I can lose the weight and achieve a level of satisfaction with my body that I have never had.

To those who have never been above a size 12 in your life, you couldn't imagine what it is like to be a size 18 or 20 or anything beyond that. You couldn't imagine all the things you CAN'T do just because of your weight. At a size 18 you stop fitting into the seats at amusement parks and fairs so either you squeeze into them and endure horrible pain and embarrassment from the park attendant having to help you squeeze into the seat or you don't ride the ride at all and watch your friends have all the fun. Being overweight you hate to go shopping for clothes, at least I do anyway, because every time you try on something and it doesn't fit or it makes you look fatter you want to cry your eyes out and throw the stool in the fitting room at the mirror. You hate going "out" with the girls or really "out" at all because you feel like you are this giant whale that everyone wants to come and poke and stare at. Don't even think you will want to go out "dancing" and anything that will catch attention to you, especially when the people you are with are 3 times smaller than you. You just feel like holing yourself up in the house and never wanting to come out. But there is a problem with this, I love to be outside in the nice weather. I love the sun! And I love to swim! But I fear that if I don't get down a couple of sizes in the next few months I will not be getting in a bathing suit this year. The thought of it makes me cringe. Lets not even get started on the self conscious feelings in the bedroom ladies, because I know I can't be the only ones. Women are already self-conscious to begin with, without adding being overweight to the equation. That is a hard thing to get over.

I am tired of feeling all these negative things about myself which is why I am serious when I say I am going to lose all this weight. I want to eventually weigh 140lbs in the end, after everything is said and done with. In case you haven't been paying attention that is 130lbs less than I am now. That is a lot of weight. Also that is almost half of what I weight now. I am trying not to get discouraged because these things are in need of some positive light. I am tired of not fitting into rides and amusement parks and I'm tired of not being able to enjoy shopping. I love shopping for everything else except clothes but I could bet you that I would love shopping for those too if I looked decent in them.

Okay, enough of that, I am making myself more depressed by the minute with all that talk. How have I been doing is probably what you really want to know. Week 1 of complete sugar cleanse has been a success. I have not eaten any cakes or candies or ice cream in 2 weeks actually. I haven't had a glass of tea or anything other than water as well. I am not going to lie it has been hard, and of course when you give up sugar everyone starts bringing the sweet things to work. Last Monday we were bought donuts at the store for all of our hard work, I was tempted, but I didn't have one. Wednesday there were cupcakes and cake in the break room, but I didn't have any. Friday I went out with some people and they all got delicious looking dessert, but I didn't have any. I wanted to break and give in, but I didn't. My feelings were hurt along the way, but I am not going to go into that because it is pointless to do so.

I wanted to get on the subject of viewers for a minute. I have noticed that I have had a lot of views of my blog and that's great but I think everyone is just being shy. No one want to make the first comment? I need to hear your thoughts too. I am not just doing this to type to myself. I am wanting to hear what my viewers have to say. I know you are reading so lets hear your input on the subject. I want to gain more followers not scare them into not voicing themselves. I don't want to just feel like the weekly gossip by no one writing anything. Come on people let me know what you have to say, because I know you are there!

I am going to end this entry the same way I have been with my weight and such. Again this is from Friday and I plan on weighing in again this upcoming Friday as well. Thanks for the patience with me.

Weight: 267.8 lbs
Fat %: 48.6
Water %: 32.5
Muscle %: 20.5
Calories Suggested: 1738

Last week:
Weight: 270.6lbs
Fat %: 48.9
Water %: 32.2
Muscle %: 20.3
Suggested Calorie Consumption: 1720

Weight: -2.8lbs
Fat: -.3%
Water: +.3%
Muscle: +.2%

Total Weight Loss So Far: 7.6 lbs
Weight left to lose: 127.8 lbs

How about that?

Katelyn

Cook This, Not That

Today I purchased the newest of the weight-loss guides from the Eat This, Not That authors David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding, and I have begun reading it trying to take in all the new information. This latest version tells you what foods you should choose when shopping at the grocery store to cook your own dinners. That's right, it is telling you that you need to cook your own food. Why? Because you have control over what you eat, how much a portion is, and how it is cooked. Case Closed.

The book then proceeds to help you out by color coding from best to worst things such as meats, carbs, diary, and even fats that we cook with. It even gives you a best food index with things such as blueberries, almonds, dark chocolate, and red bell pepper. The best thing about this book is when it gives you something that you should eat or not eat it tells you in plain English why or why not! Let me take an example of the Red Bell Pepper, because that was a new one I have never heard before... According to Cook This, Not That, it is "the best food for surviving flu season." Why is it? "Vitamin C is essential to your liver's ability to eliminate tocins, and vitamin A increases the efficacy of white blood cells and antibodies. A red bell pepper has twice as much vitamin C as an orange and three times as much A as a tomato." It is the little things like this that I find helpful when learning what is the right thing to eat, because lets face it, not everyone knows what they should or should not eat. We have a general idea, but sometimes we underestimate our generalizations.

The book likes to give little facts or "Nutritional Nuggets" as they would like to call them, all throughout the book which people tend to remember a little easier than all these facts and to dos coming at you. What is truly great about this version compared to the others is that it is essentially a cook book! The Cook This part contains recipes that aren't afraid to use a little fat every now and then but healthy foods for you. And they are things we tend to eat all the time, not some crazy diet, broccoli a la fritz yada-yada.... things like quesodillas and chicken fingers! I love both of those!

The point is that these books are very insightful to how you look at food no matter which one you buy. I now own 3 of them. They make you think about what you are eating and give you the facts about them and they don't hold back. The writers are witty and humorous while being knowledgeable at the same time. Its not dieting in a sense but a way to change how you eat by helping you make better choices.

I haven't tried any of these recipes yet but I plan to this week, so I will let you know how it goes and if they are worth a try. I am also going to start reading Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kin Barnouin because I hear that the book puts you in your place and lets you know how it is when it comes to dieting. And lets face it, sometimes when we see a pretty skinny girl we call her a skinny bitch in our heads.


You can purchase your own copy of Cook This, Not That at a local bookstore or if you are an online shopper, Here at Amazon.com.

Disclaimer: I do not own Cook This, Not That or Skinny Bitch and I used qoutes from these books and are not my own.

I will be writing again in a few days to tell you hour the "lifestyle change" is going and to let you know what I am doing to cut calories among other things.

Katelyn