After week 4 the total is.......

16.8 Gone! WHooooo. Hope I can keep up with it. We have a goal of 3 lbs for next week. Looks like I need to step it up a notch. I lost 3.4 this week...

We'll see! :)

I just had the best lunch ever!

It was SOOOOOO good. I can certainly tell when I don't have protein for breakfast.. I get hungry at 10:00am! This morning I went with a fiber bar and yougert. So for lunch I ran to the grocery store and made a salad. It was so good. Let me just tell you about it. I used spinach leaves/mixed greens. Then I added some cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, culiflower, broccoli, shreaded fresh parmesean cheese, green olives and finally, some grilled chicken strips--and I doubled up on the chicken since I didn't have any hard boiled eggs added in! It was very, very good. I am literally filled up! Now, does that seem like a diet to you? No way! I'd take a salad like that any day over fast food. Even when I am not watching what I eat, I'd still rather have that salad! I also had some whole grain crackers. The only thing that I should have done differently was have water instead of the diet pepsi I drank but I just needed some fizz... ya know?

I jumped on the scale this morning.. I believe it looks like 3 lbs. Which is right on track with what I've been doing. So I'll take it. Now, if I can manage to have a great weekend, which I plan too... it should be another good week for weigh in. Im am down just under 14 lbs total. I have been taking Alli--which I need to get more of soon! I think it helps. Tonight we're having Chicken Parm on whole wheat pasta. That dish is SOOOOOO good. And perfect for a Friday night. It's nice and cool here. Perfect fall weather. I am excited to clean my house this weekend and focus on my stuff for a change! Whoo

Today is Friday and that makes me so happy!

Catch up with ya on Monday. Here's hoping for a great weigh in!

I'm 2 days late posting my weigh in results!

I am happy to report a 3.8 lb loss for week 3! Is it week 3? err wait, maybe week 2..hmmm no.. I've had 3 weigh-ins so I guess it is 3. The first weigh in was the start of it all. So according to the WLC scale, I weigh 228. On my scales at home, I weigh 222. Either way, its moving in the right direction. I also had the largest amount of weight lost. AND I won a free 1 pound advantage for the final weigh in! This thing is really making me accountable--and I like it! I've really been focusing on the protein intake and not so much on precise calorie counting. I've been taking in more calories than in previous attempts. When I think about HOW many times I've done this, it kind of upsets me because if I would have just stuck to it rather than "taking a few weeks off" I would have been at goal. I can't focus on that. What I do have to focus on is how I am going to make this work once an for all. Still feeling extrememly hopeful, positive and ambitious. We shall see. Here's looking to the next weigh in. Hope its a good one.

G

Welp, it's weigh in day---

I know I will not lose 10 lbs again this week (or 9.8 rather). Week 2 is harder and a lot less water weight! I jumped on my scale this am. According to it I've lost 3.5 however, this is in the morning, no clothes, no water no anything. SO. I am thinking that it will be more like 2 lbs by the time I get to my weigh in. I was right on track this entire week. Not sure why its so slow. But Oh well, I'll take it. It would be super nice to see 3.5 this week but in reality, you weigh less when you first get up. This week I will add in my formal exercise plan. The last two weeks, I've been working at Jeremy's grandpa's house, doing restoration, cleaning and upgrading so we can get the house on the market. I pulled weeds, painted, scrubbed floors etc. I am pretty sure I got a great workout. I guess I will need to step it up! I would like to keep to 3-4 lbs per week. I will update tomorrow- Hopefully its good news! :)

On an upswing!

I realized, I didn't check in after my first official weigh in. 9.8 lbs. I was pretty thrilled--additionally, I had the highest weight loss in the group so I was even happier! I've switched up my strategy this time. I am not calorie counting. Well, not really anyway. Instead, I am focusing on high protein foods, portion control and estimation of calories per day. I think the high protein is really helping me out. I'll see how this works. Lemme tell you, Aldi, the grocery discount store? Has the BEST stuff! I've been getting string cheese, whipped yogurt, cottage cheese, turkey burgers, cereal and their fit and active protein bars and snacks. Not only is it saving me money, it's all the right stuff. I am really trying very hard to stay away from salty chips, even the wow's which was a real staple in my previous attempts. I still can't ditch the lunchmeat totally, however, I am going for the carved turkey, which really does look like it just came out of the oven. This one farmers market has it available, and I was able to look at the nutrition information. Mostly, I've been eating a protein bar for breakfast, or some yogurt, Cottage cheese, fruit, a little carb and veggies for lunch and trying to put in the chicken as much as I can for dinner. I've also found out that I love the Kashi high protein for breakfast. So that's good. I know have a variety! I know what my protein target is, which I didn't know before, and quite honestly, didn't care.. But now I do care and I hope that his will help me stick with it this time around. I am feeling pretty good. The challenge definitely is helping me be accountable. Something I need to be doing. I'm not doing the "day off" over the weekend. After weigh in, if I do well, I will give myself a little treat - you know, something that I really might want to have during the week. We'll see. So far so good. My neighbor is in the challenge with me, she's definitely my competition. I'll keep you posted on that. I don't like to lose! :) Well I guess in this case, I do want to lose! :)

And so it begins.

The weightloss challenge has started! I went last night to the first meeting. This will be good for me. I have not ever done weight loss in a group. One thing is for sure, this is a competition, with prizes/money involved. Those that know me well, know that I do not like to lose. I've done this yo-you thing one too many times. I honestly thought last time would be it but it wasn't. I am glad I stopped myself from complete sabbotage.. I didn't gain it all back but a good bit of it. I have to figure out why I do so well and then boom- 30 lbs back on. I am trying to determine if there are any similarities involved. Usually, I believe, it's my mind saying- oh, go ahead and eat that, you know what to do to burn those extra calories. That then leads to "if I didn't eat right today, I might as well not exercise" which leads to, "I just don't feel like exercising, I'll do it tomorrow". We all know that tomorrow never comes! I know what to do. I know how to do it. I have all the tools necessary to make it happen, in fact, It has happened before. I am hoping that by being accountable in a group setting and trying different things I can accomplish this goal once and for all. According to the scales (at home) I am officially 237. I have gained 30lbs back since May-- that is totally disgusting and embarrasing. I desperately need to do this for my health. I honestly can't believe I did this to myself again. I really hope that this is it. It just has to be. It just has to be.

I am so glad to report that I am off to a great start today. I think I am on my 3rd bottle of water..and it's noon, so that's a good thing. I've taken my multi vitamin. I am using Alli and for breakfast I had Kashi cereal and skim milk with a banana cut up into it. For lunch I had an array of finger foods: 2 turkey lunch meat rolls for protein, red grapes, baby carrots, string cheese, and some pickles! I was going to add in my whole wheat bread, that would have been a complete and balanced lunch, but I wasn't feeling in a bread mood. LOL!

Tonight, I will be leaving directly from work to a hair appointment. There won't be any time for a full dinner so I am having a whey protein shake and an apple. I wont be home until after 8pm which is entirely too late to eat. I don't believe I will exercise either--any exercising after 7pm for me keeps me up at night. I still haven't determined the routine for exercise. I know that WATP will be there for sure... I also plan to do the treadmill and weight train. I don't know which days for what yet. I'll get that all figured out. I am focusing on protein and water intake this week. I'll let you know how that goes!

G

Holy Crapinoli..

Wow- Has it really been since May?-- So like 4 months? That's horrible. We've had a busy summer--filled with all the wrong foods. I am not going to tell you what I weigh--AGAIN! I've joined a weight loss challenge that starts TONIGHT! It's 13 weeks. Winner wins some CASH! If that's not motivation, I don't know what it. I do know that by the end of this challenge, I HAVE to be under 200. HAVE TO BE.

Today, I don't feel really great. I am so achy and stuffy and plain ole not right. I think I will probably leave work 1/2 day and go home to hit the sack. I do have to weigh in tonight at the challenge, but I think if I can get some rest for a few hours, I'll be good to go.

I promise to stick around this time. Promise. Keep me on track y'all. I need this in the WORST way!

G