Just when I got going...

Just when I thought I was getting somewhere, my period strikes. That darn menstral cycle!! I was 162 this morning, but I know that it just "puff" bloat, etc.. It will be gone soon.

This is also first time... I think ever... where I didn't binge on chocolate because I am still in "no sweets mode." I am kinda excited about that, because once all this is over, I'll for suresies be under 160!

I am not worried about Christmas. Aaron is a Chocolate Eating Machine and he'll take care of any "temptations" along the way. ;)

Wishing you the best!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Jess

Those New Glasses

Here is a picture of me in the new glasses that no one noticed. ;)



I was 161.00 pounds this AM! That's 5 pounds lost since my knee surgery!

It feel SO GOOD getting my body back in shape! I plan to be in the 150's again by New Year's! That's just 2 pounds. I think I will reach that goal!

Have a Great Day!

Jess

Moving Again!

Last night I was able to do 2.06 miles in 27:00 minutes on the Precor! (218.4 calories, 3440 strides)

I put in our copy of DDR Extreme 2 and put it in weight loss mode!



DDR is so much fun and it is a great way to trick yourself into being active. Like I said, they even have a weight loss mode that allows you to miss like every step, and the game doesn’t end! Instead of racking up a score, it shows the calories you’re burning with each step! So I cued up “Endless mode” and got on the elliptical trainer. I got a great workout as the beats per minute changed between the songs. Some songs were quite a sprint and others were more of a brisk walk. I liked the Variety!

I LOVED playing straight DDR, but with my (formerly) crappy knees I could never do more than a “Light Mode” because of the “jumps” when you have to press two arrows at once - It was too much stress on my knees. I am also so competitive so I would play until my legs were too wobbly to stand, trying to break the high scores! There are lots of weight loss stories of people who lost like 80 pounds just by playing DDR! It’s a good game and a good workout. It’s worth “borrowing” your kids (or significant other’s) PS2 to play! Heck, they might have a Xbox 360, or PS3 now, so just take the old PS2 for yourself! ;)

Random Tangent…

So I got a brand new pair of glasses on Tuesday, and no one has noticed. :-(
It’s not like the pairs were alike either.

My old glasses were half frames.



My new ones are big round and "gunmetal."


How can people be oblivious to a 300% increase of metal in front of my face?

Maybe they don't like them, and are just being nice by not saying anything at all...

Aaron however loves them! He says I look like a Meganekko.

Meganekko is Japanese slang for “Glasses Girl.” The "Cute Girl with Glasses" is a staple of Anime and there are many fan-site devoted to these Myopic Misses.

But I Already Do That!

"If you stop drinking regular soda you’ll save 200 calories a day (each)! This will help you lose 20 lbs. in a year!”

*Sigh* I am so tired of articles that lure me in with a promise of weight loss, but just turns out to be something like this. I want inspiration but just get frustration because all of their “tips” are things I already know or do!

With a heavy heart I asked “I am already doing all that stuff! How can I lose weight?!” That is when I found an article titled “Weight Loss for Healthy Eaters - The subtle diet tweaks that'll deliver real results” (And The Angels Sang! ) Finally what I’ve been looking for!

Here is the article in its entirety:

Weight Loss for Healthy Eaters
The subtle diet tweaks that'll deliver real results.
By Teresa Dumain, Prevention

You snack on fruit, check calorie counts, and start most days with a walk or swim. So when you step on that scale and the needle stays put, you wonder what the heck you're doing wrong. Even with such healthy habits, sometimes a seemingly inconsequential snack choice or a larger (but common) food myth can keep pounds in place. Take heart: A simple, slight adjustment in how you eat and think can help you reach your weight loss goal.

Healthy Habit: You Count Calories
The key to weight loss: Take in fewer calories than your body needs to maintain your current weight and you will drop pounds. But only 11% of Americans correctly estimate their ideal daily calorie requirements, according to a recent survey. The rest of us tend to overestimate, says Bonnie Taub-Dix, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, and that's what keeps you from losing weight. Let's say you assume that a target of 2,000 calories per day will allow you to get to your weight goal, but it really takes 1,800: Those extra 200 are enough to keep an additional 20 pounds on your frame.

Do It Better
Determine the right number of calories you need each day — and stick to it. Get your max intake. (Follow the link to Prevention.com’s calorie calculator.) Plug in the weight you want to be (as well as your height, age, and activity level) to get your daily calorie allowance.

Divvy it up
Set limits on your meals and snacks. If 1,800 calories is your max, split it into three 500-calorie meals and one 300-calorie snack.

Create a custom meal
If your favorite frozen entre has 500 calories, that's all you get. Find one for 300, however, and you can have some fresh fruit and a small salad with it.

Healthy Habit: You're Consistently Active
Spend a few hours running errands and it feels like you've worked off some serious weight. But even between the aisle laps at the mall, hauling around shopping bags, and loading and unloading the car, you burned only about 400 calories — that's about a 10th of a pound.

Do It Better
Rev your routine: Short bursts of intense activity burn more calories — and up to 36% more fat, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology. Strolling around the mall or the park for an hour works off about 150 calories; pick up the pace 1 minute out of every 5 to burn over one-third more calories (try a similar method if you bike). Swimmers can switch from freestyle or breaststroke to a more challenging crawl every few laps, or just go a little faster.

Even small steps make a difference: Skip the elevator and carry your groceries up the stairs to burn 128 more calories, or instead of hitting an automatic car wash, do it yourself and zap 204 calories.

Healthy Habit: You Choose Nutritious Foods
What you put on your plate is important, but healthy eating is also about being mindful of how much you consume. For example, your husband has pancakes with butter and syrup for breakfast, your son grabs a doughnut, and you opt for a cup of oatmeal with a handful of walnuts, a sliced banana, and a large glass of organic blueberry juice. You may win on nutrients, but when it comes to calories you're dead last: That healthy-sounding meal adds up to almost 700, more than a third of your allotment for the day.

Do It Better
Keep portions of even healthy foods in check. The best way to know if you're eating too much is to write it down. "Even if you note it on a napkin and then throw it away, that's okay. Just the act of writing makes you more aware," says Taub-Dix. Portion control cues help, too: a baseball-size serving for chopped veggies and fruits; a golf ball for nuts and shredded cheese; a fist for rice and pasta; and a deck of cards for lean meats. Also, swap higher-calorie healthy foods for high-fiber, lower-cal varieties like these:

Fruit
A 1/2-cup serving of strawberries has 23 calories, while a medium banana has more than 100. An orange has almost half the calories of a glass of orange juice. More low-cal picks include melon and blueberries.

Vegetables
Per 1 cup, raw spinach has 7calories and boiled eggplant contains 35 calories; mashed sweet potato,however, has 249.

Whole Grains
Two full cups of air-popped popcorn (a whole grain) has about the same number of calories as three little whole wheat crackers.

Healthy Habit: You Order The Healthiest Sounding Item On The Menu
Choose the turkey sandwich over pizza and you think you're being good, but again, looks can be deceiving. A turkey sandwich at Panera Bread comes on focaccia with cheese and mayo and delivers 960 calories. Two slices of pepperoni pan pizza from Pizza Hut total 560 calories. Put your sandwich in a spinach wrap instead of regular bread? It's the same difference, says Tara Gidus, RD, a spokesperson for the ADA. "My clients think they get more nutrients and save on calories with 'healthy bread,' but often that's not the case."

Do It Better
Look up fast-food nutrition facts in advance. (Jess Interjection: My favorite site for this is HungryGirl .com! This site tells you the best thing to eat while out at dozens of restaurants!) Many restaurants offer nutrition information, from Taco Bell to Subway. See if your favorite eatery has nutrition facts online or in the store — you may be surprised at what you see. We were when we checked out Baskin Robbins: A medium strawberry-banana smoothie has 80 more calories than a strawberry milk shake!

At the Restaurant: 5 "Healthy" Foods to Avoid

1. Wheat pancakes - Ounce for ounce, pancakes made with buckwheat and whole-wheat flour have the same number of calories as the plain old buttermilk type. Save calories by skipping the butter and syrup.
   
2. Taco salad - Eat the edible shell and you'll consume nearly twice as many calories than if you eat the salad alone. Reduce temptation — order yours on a regular plate.
   
3. Soup in a bread bowl - The same theory applies to soup: The edible bowl adds more than 550 calories to your total count. Opting for oyster crackers is a little better, but 1/2 cup is still 96 additional calories.
   
4. Vegetable quesadilla - It has about the same number of calories as the chicken version; the reason is often the cheese, so ask the server to hold half.
   
5. Fish sandwich - Even without the tartar sauce, a breaded fish patty at a fast-food restaurant has more calories than a bacon cheeseburger. Go for whatever is grilled.
   

Healthy Habit: You Satisfy Cravings with "Diet" Treats
When you want something sweet, all those fat-free, sugar-free options seem like a smart idea. But researchers at Cornell University found that overweight people who choose low-fat versions of snack foods rather than the regular kinds consume on average twice as many calories. "The terms fat-free or sugar-free can create a green light effect, triggering people to eat more" says Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, Prevention's nutrition director. But many fat-free foods have about the same number of calories (or more) as their full-fat counterparts. Case in point: One variety of oatmeal-raisin cookie has 107 calories and 9 g of sugar, and the fat-free version of the same brand has 106 calories plus 14 g of sugar.

Do It Better
Go for reasonable amounts of the real thing. (Jess Interjection: I already knew this one!) If you adore ice cream, have a small scoop of premium. "You won't stick to a diet that doesn't include your favorites," says David Grotto, RD, a spokesperson for the ADA. Bottom line: Life's too short for forbidden foods.

--End

I hope that these little tweaks will help me get moving again quickly!!

-1.25 Down in November!

Even with surgery laying me up, I lost 1.25 pounds in November! I am working hard to make sure December will be just as successful! :)

I can only do what my knee can handle... and that is not much, but I am in good spirits. I am using my journal again, and really feel back on track!

This is the hardest time of year for weight loss, but I've been successful before, I am sure I can do it again!! :)

Jess

Two Weeks Without Sweets

I've gone two weeks without sugar, sweets, etc..

It's been pretty easy. I really wanted chocolate one day, and co-workers constantly tempt me with peanut butter bars, chocolates, and brownies... But I made it!

In honor of my success Aaron suggested a reward - New Sexy Underthings! ( I guess they are also a reward for him! ) ;) So now I don't eat sweets, but I sure look sweet! ;)

I am about 15 pounds over the weight I was last year at this time. It's a bummer, put I plan to get back to where I was by the end of January. It's kind of ambitious, but I think I can do it. :)

I work to the level my knee allows, and give it rest between workouts.

Today I made it up and down all three flights of stairs here at work, TWICE! Now my knee is like... you are done for today. ;)