30 Day Challenge Complete!!

 Here's what the past 3 days have been like here in Denver. Yes, REALLY:

Sunday was 87 and we were roasting. Monday was 30's and windy as all hell. Today it snowed like crazy... and tomorrow will be high 60's again. What the WHAT?

Well here it is, day 30. I can't believe it! It has actually gone by really fast. I've accomplished a lot and I have no desire at all to stop anything I'm doing. Eating right, tracking all my food, exercising... it's all feeling just awesome right now. So I am renewing the 30 day challenge and making it a 60 day challenge :) I may not still blog EVERY day (I got pretty close to every day) but blogging is part of my challenge along with tracking my food and exercising, so I will definitely be around.

Weigh in this morning was 208. A loss of .6 this week. I think it slowed a little due to upping calories but I don't care at all. My food choices and exercise are feeling great and I'm building so much muscle. I know all I need is a little patience and those numbers will start rolling again. I've lost 8 full pounds during my 30 day challenge which I think is amazing given how far out I am from surgery and that I am at a lighter weight now. I feel very accomplished!! Still 10 more to go to get back to my lowest weight of 198. Would like to achieve that by my birthday in 5 weeks, but it could take more like 2 months, we shall see.

Yesterday I finally got to see my macronutrient pie graph as close to perfect as it has ever been:

Pretty darn close!!

Tonight I had a yummy BISON meatloaf dinner at Ted's Montana Grill:

FYI, I ate one piece of meatloaf and 1/2 the potatoes, a little bit of green bean. Brought the rest home for tomorrow.

I spent the day with my father in law today. I am thoroughly saddened as his condition worsens. We are all preparing ourselves... we think the end is very near, maybe a week or two. Please, please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as well as my husband and the whole family for what they are going through. Today was such a tough day. I really need to go to bed and wake up to a new day.

Day 29 & Travel Ready

Hey guys. So I was supposed to have weigh-in this morning but yesterday was extremely high sodium and the scale didn't like me this morning. I will try again tomorrow morning and just report no matter what it says :) Today's been a lot better and I've had a lot of water.

Curves this morning was great! Burned 636 calories. I felt like I had more strength this morning. Not sure why... maybe because I was awake for over an hour before going, and had a protein drink beforehand. Hubby started his new job today so we are getting up earlier. Today we got up at 7, but tomorrow will be 6 (and all days after for 3 weeks while he is training). That will actually work out well tomorrow because I'll have time to work out, shower and pack food before getting to Ian's parents house between 10 & 11 to hang out with his dad.

I have been meaning to share this new food find:

Yasso frozen greek yogurt bars. Came across these at our last grocery shop... we picked up strawberry (not pictured) so that is the only one I've tried so far. My dad was going shopping at a different store today so I asked him to look and he found these. I haven't tried these flavors yet but I liked the strawberry. Wouldn't say LOVE like omg it's sooooo good... but it's good. It definitely tastes like yogurt and has that slight yogurt-y aftertaste. But only 70 calories and with 6 grams protein, definitely a good choice when I want something cold and ice-cream like. I love my skinny cow sandwiches but these are half the calories and 3x the protein. I can still have those when I want but these are a great alternative... and they take longer to eat, which is more satisfying.

Tonight's dinner was crock pot chicken in a mixture of campbell's cheddar cheese and cream of chicken soup (healthy request ones) over brown rice and with a side of green beans.

I almost finished my chicken and rice but not quite, and I had to give half my green beans away.

Just for the sake of comparison, I wanted you guys to see my plate next to my dad's plate. We use smaller plates and still eat half (or less) what he eats (or what most people eat lol).

Now for the "travel ready" part. This past weekend Ian and I looked around a few stores trying to find some good travel bags. They will be a carry-on when we fly, but then also be our "day packs" when we are out walking around each city. I wanted to be able to carry my ipad and my camera bag inside of it as well as water/snacks, wallet, etc. I found this to be my favorite bag and I didn't like the light blue color at the store so I looked online and found purple so I ordered it Saturday ... and it arrived today! (Thanks Zappos!)

This is the Keen Adele Computer Bag. It's a messenger style bag but with no flap. I hate how the flap of a messenger bag is in your way when you try to look through the bag.  This is also a great size... big enough for my macbook air, but not SO big that my ipad or other things flop around in it. Lots of exterior and interior pockets too.

Nice big zippered pocket on the front.

One of these pockets on each side.

The interior. The back has the padded portion for laptop/ipad with a foldover snap flap. The middle is deep enough for my little camera bag. Mesh pocket on the right side there holds my laptop cord well. Zippered portion at the ftont is perfect size for my travel wallet (the tall skinny kind) and then 3 more interior pockets below the zippered one.

At home I can use this for when I want to take my laptop AND ipad somewhere with me - they both fit in that flap together (and that's what I'll do on the plan, also)... so I hope to get a lot of use out of this bag!

Really looking forward to the upcoming trips. :)

Day 28: Foods & Fashion Show :)

First of all, I didn't post yesterday so I have some food photos to share from yesterday :)

Looks delicious, right? Well, it was good in theory but it just didn't quite work out. I used plain oatmeal and tried to mix some of my chocolate protein powder into it. It was tough to get a good consistency AND it didn't sweeten in like I thought it would!! I also added sliced almonds and raisins. That part was good. But I think in the future I'll stick to getting my protein on the side (see sausage patty hiding on the side) and not try to mix powder into my oatmeal.

This is my meal from yesterday at Atlanta Bread Company. This was also a bit of a lesson. I hemmed and hawed over the menu looking things up in MyFitnessPal while Ian patiently waited for me. I thought hmm that soup is 300/400 calories... hmm that sandwich is 800 calories. I was thinking even 1/2 sandwich around 400 cals and a 300 calorie soup was just SO MUCH... so I was trying REALLY hard to find something suitable. I settled on the chicken noodle soup (130 calories) and the 1/2 turkey sandwich (something like 280-300 cals).

What happened? Well... DUH! I had to take 1/2 the sandwich bread off to finish it and I only ate 1/2 the soup. So I didn't consume all the calories and THEN my meal was too LOW!!!! SILLY ME. I completely forgot the whole "oh yeah, I won't finish it' part. Plus Ian made a good point... I shouldn't stress myself like that trying to make sure I stay under all the time because there are so many days that I'm way UNDER my net calorie goal that going over a day or two in the week would probably actually help balance things out. See... that's why I married him. He's smart. :)

I made it up to him by having a tall (small) frappuccino WITH whipped cream. Although I have to say, I was a little disappointed. I don't know if they just don't taste as good to me as I remembered... or if this one just wasn't made well. It was just "okay" and definitely didn't leave me feeling like I want another one anytime soon.

A little something I tried today. It's a Pillsbury product called Egg Scrambles. It cooks in the bag in the microwave, kind of like stem-in the bag veggies. I will say this was "okay". I tend to like my bacon super crispy (even overcooked/burned) so i didn't care for it s little soggy like that and I also thought this had a bit of a "fake" taste just from being prepackaged and frozen... but it may not be too bad to someone else. I've been getting more and more sensitive to it. So I still wanted to post it because it's probably worth a try. Ian got the sausage one and really liked it. The whole package is just 290 calories so not too shabby for breakfast. I wasn't able to finish it, I ate about 3/4 of it. Ian is able to finish one.

Now on to the fashion show part!!!! Well.... as some of you know.... I can't stand showing my arms right now. Had no problem with it when I was bigger but now that I'm smaller and my arms are still big and super flabby with extra skin, I just hate it because I feel like they don't go with the rest of my body and it's REALLY noticeable. Someday I want to get surgery (if it's still needed after I strength train for a while) but the earliest that would ever be is next winter or spring, so I have at least this spring/summer/fall to go. It has been unseasonably warm here in Colorado this month (87 today!!) so I have been realizing how much I need more summer stuff.

Last year I did a lot of tank tops with a light cardigan or crocheted piece over it. I don't mind it but I get kind of tired of it and sometimes it's just too hot for 2 layers. I would rather have a longer sleeve and have it be just one lightweight layer. It's just so hard to find a sleeve to the elbow or a 3/4 length sleeve in a lightweight fabric. Usually they do those for spring/fall and they are heavier fabrics.

I recently tried Old Navy, JCPenny, Maurices and a few other stores and came up empty handed. Nothing fit me right and the things that did were either totally see through or way too long.

Today I hit the jackpot at Kohl's! I have had luck there before too so I don't know why I didn't try sooner. Well I was able to get 9 shirts today all with longer sleeve and all lightweight. They are all Sonoma brand and all size Large. Enjoy the show!

These 3 are the same shirt in a couple patterns and colors.

 

By the way, I love stripes. I love HORIZONAL STRIPES AND I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS!!!!!!!! I am the size I am and I think if you look at those 3 pics my size looks the same in the solid/printed one as it does in the stripes. So there, naysayers LOL. I love my stripes and I'm gonna wear them. I wore them all the time at my biggest. I just never cared about that.

The next 3 are all the same cut as each other as well but in different colors and different patterns. They are super comfortable!

Yellow!! It's kind of a subdued medium yellow and I wasn't sure if I could pull it off but it looked good I think!

Orange! Hard to see the pattern in the photo. It's some scrolly stuff around the neckline and some at the bottom, in a lighter orange.

This one is a dark grey and again it's hard to tell in the photo... the colored parts are feathers.


Then I got this VERY lightweight blue top. This will be my saving grace in those 90-100 degree summer days...

It's a little short on me, but will look good with my shorter shorts. Usually I can't see my stupid shorts hardly at all so it will work well with those. Which I would be wearing on a hot hot day anyway :)

Last but  not least, more stripes!

These are a little loud for my hubby's taste... but too bad lol because I love them. I love the varying colors and I love that the stripes go DOWN the arms the way they do. I just think they're awesome.

If you like any of these, go to Kohl's ASAP. Just got them today.

I feel very lucky I found this many things A) with the sleeve lengths I wanted.... B) in my size .... C) in colors I like .... D) with open or v necklines .... E) on sale! $17.99 for most of them .... F) The right length on my body unlike everything I tried on yesterday which were all too long.

I can't wear t-shirt necklines and usually not boat necks or even scoop necks. The scoops are open, yes, but they tend to be too open and loose and show my bra straps or even the top of the cups.  All of these necklines were perfect.

There is one more shirt I tried on in white that I LOVED the shape of AND it was so so comfy, but I just can't stand the see-thru white. They didn't have my size in any other colors. So I might see if I can find them online. Similar shape to the top 3 shirts, but in solid colors and with some embellishing around the neck line.

NOW.... I have to go reorganize my closet. I'm out of room, there's tons of stuff I don't wear and i need to reorganize my pants, my pjs, and arrange my shirts by sleeve length and get the warm stuff toward the back.

Of course... it's supposed to be back in the 40's tomorrow :( So I'll be back in a hoodie and unable to sport my new stuff.

Tomorrow is weigh in!!!!! :)

Day 26: I LOVE Curves Smart

Well the title says it all. I love Curves Smart :) Today I went in a bit early to do a weigh and measure... Mainly I just wanted to do that so my calorie burn would stay accurate. I couldn't remember exactly when I started using the Smart program, turns out it was March 12.

So in the 18 days since then (and only 7 Curves Smart workouts), here are my stats: Down 5.5 pounds and 4.4 lbs of that is fat! She said usually the loss is more water. My body fat decreased from 38% to 36.9% and I lost an inch overall off my body. Most exciting: 1/4" off my arms which haven't gotten smaller in ages! I swear I was floating after that. I was never expecting so much change in just 2 1/2 weeks of using Curves Smart. I can't believe that!

 I really want to continue for a while before attempting heavier lifting with a personal trainer. I still love the idea but right now this is working and I am definitely both building muscle and losing fat. When it stops working, then I can try something new :) I'm thrilled with this progress.

 Still can't get on board with high calorie when I work out. I just can't eat enough to make up the calories. I have almost 900 calories left over today and only 1 more meal to eat (probably 300 max). But I do the best I can without choosing to eat junk. Again it's working so I won't try to adjust too much more unless I have a solid reason to.

Day 25... I Think?! & NSVs!

So, some really interesting things happened today.

First of all,  I got up early to head off to AquaZumba. I was in a bit of a stupor because I slept really horribly last night. I grabbed the wrong swim coverup and I was in my bathroom getting ready and went to put it on. Realized it was the wrong one... it is one that I bought for Hawaii, but when we went to Hawaii and I was trying everything on before the trip, Ian and I both decided it was too tight on me and didn't look good. It was really tight around my hips & lower tummy. It had been tight when I bought it but it was months before Hawaii and I thought it might fit, well it never did. However..... today, it did! And I still weigh 7-8 lbs above what I weighed in Hawaii. My shape must be changing a lot more this time!

I went off to AquaZumba in my correct coverup (mainly for its pockets lol) and met up with my friend April for the class. Unfortunately we had a sub and the sub wasn't trained in Zumba, so it was just a regular water aerobics class. We tried to be positive and just enjoy it but one main problem I had with it was that it was not very tough cardiovascularly... had some good strength training in it, but this was supposed to be a cardio day for me. The other thing was she kept making snide comments about her class being better than AquaZumba... get over yourself! Not true! LOL.

However one awesome thing came out of it. She had us do push ups on the edge of the pool... and I did really well at them. This led me to wonder if I could do regular, real pushups. I have NEVER been able to do pushups... I've always had to modify and be on my knees or stand at an angle against something or whatever it may be. I got home and tried it. I did 5 pushups!!!!!!!!! I think I could have done more but I was tired from the class lol. I was just so thrilled I can do REAL honest pushups!!!!!

Then I got to thinking, if that swim coverup fits, maybe my size 14 jeans fit again??? I went to my closet, slid them on and effortlessly buttoned and zipped them. They are actually a tiny bit loose. They fit pretty much how they did before... again, several pounds heaver but apparently leaner!

I still dont' LIKE these jeans that much because they are too low-cut for me and my tummy hangs over which actually makes me look & feel bigger instead of smaller. But, I will deal. The important thing is they fit again!!

I snuck a peek at the scale this morning and was actually up a pound, not sure why... but all these NSV's made me absolutely not care one tiny bit!!!!! :) :)

Ian and I went grocery shopping today also and we are all stocked up with good stuff and some recipes for the week.

Then we went out to buy him some new pants since he starts his new job this coming Monday. Its business casual and at his last job he was able to wear jeans. We found a great pair at one mall store and on clearance for dirt cheap... but just one pair. We found out another store had one 45 mins away so we went down there and snagged them! But then it was super bad traffic time so we just hung out at that mall, had some early dinner, walked allllll around the mall shopping & shopping. We took off to REI also because we were looking for some bags for our trip but we didn't find anything.

When we got home, my FitBit gave me over 400 more calories to eat from walking all over the place!! I did my best and had a big PB&J sandwich. That got me pretty darn close :)

Back to Curves tomorrow morning! Gonna keep building these awesome muscles that are making me stronger and slimmer :)

Day 23 - Oops!

Sorry I forgot to post last night!

First of all I snapped this photo at Curves on Monday, from the computer... this is all the workouts I've done at Curves since starting the Curves Smart program. Check out these calorie burns!

Yesterday I decided to go for another 5 mile walk. This time instead of going 2.5 miles and then turning around, I walked the entire 5 miles one way because it dumps me into a park where I was able to get picked up :) SOME DAY I'll be able to walk all the way there and back, right? :)
It was a beautiful day... only took one photo though:

I had my hydration pack and it sure did help! However I still felt just as tired at the end, so maybe hydration wasn't my only problem. I'm ABLE to do 5 miles but it is still pretty much max exertion for me. But I will just keep doing it as often as I can and it will get easier! The great thing is when I do 3 miles now I am left feeling like I could do more, and that used to be just as tiring as 5 miles feel now. So I don't need to rush it, just be happy that I am gaining more endurance and more muscle.

My back did get really tired this time so I iced my back last night and I elected not to go to Curves today. I feel like I COULD... but with my back it's better to just take the day off. I am planning AquaZumba tomorrow, Curves Friday and I don't know about the weekend but something then too definitely.

Had a tasty fish dinner last night. Parmesan crusted Tilapia with green beans...

Sorry, I forgot to take the photo before I started om-nomming my fish :) This was a very tasty dinner.

I had a lot of trouble meeting my calories yesterday, I just wasn't that hungry. I even opted for a hot fudge sundae at Dairy Queen last night (was really craving it) and still had like 900 calories left after that lol. So my last meal of the day was bumps on a log (celery, peanut butter, raisins) and a colby jack cheese stick so I got a lot of calories and protein in at the end there... still over 400 calories below my target... but that's how it goes sometimes! The nice thing is if I go over today (since no exercise) it's okay because I am usually under.

I have some exciting news to share too!!!!

We just booked a cruise for October, and are about to book a cruise for April of next year. Can't believe it! The one this October is just us for Ian's 35th birthday. Italy, Greece, Turkey, France, Croatia and Spain. We are so excited! And Ian really needs something to look forward to right now. We are going on Royal Caribbean.

The one in April 2013 is going to be my whole family (us, my dad, grandma and aunt) for my grandma's 95th birthday. It's very different... a river cruise instead of ocean and on a small ship where everybody gets a nice big window. It goes through Holland and Belgium at tulip time!!

We're very excited. I just wish my mom was going to be here to join us.

Day 22

Hey guys! Thanks for your nice comments on the last post. Feeling a bit better today but this is going to be a long road! Weigh in this morning... 208.6 :) That's 1.8 lbs down from last Monday. It's slowing a but but that's to be expected I feel so great about everything I am doing and I know I'm on the right track. All the exercise is making me feel great. Although my Curves session today seems like I did tweak my back a little, not too bad. Will have to see how I feel tomorrow because I'd like to do a nice walk tomorrow. I really don't have a whole lot to share today health and fitness wise! Curves was great. Food was on track except today was a little too high carb. A few hundred calories left over. I think I'm really tired tonight lol... More tomorrow :)