Day 60 - Water

60 Days!!!! 2 full months of being on a journey for a healthier me!!!! Whoo! I am still so excited to see where this will lead me as I continue down this road. Lately I have been having some trouble with drinking enough water. It's the only type of liquid I consume, I haven't even been drinking Vitamin Water Zero lately, just water, but I know I'm still not getting enough. Normally I wouldn't have to force myself to drink it, but now I have to make sure I do. So the water thing is reminding me of day 1 again and forcing me to drink water again..... 

So here's to drinking......water! And more of it! 

Day 56 - Chili Recipe!

I was watching the Food Network, which is never a good idea, lol, but they were making chili and of course it made me hungry for chili. I've made chili in the past, but I decided to make it a healthy one this time. Here's the recipe: 

 

Minutes to Prepare: 10 
Minutes to Cook: 40 
Number of Servings: 8 

Tips 
Let the chili sit for five minutes after cooking, and be careful when eating, it will be hot! 


Ingredients 

1lb Ground Turkey Breast 93% Fat Free 
1/4 Medium Onion 
2t Minced Garlic 
2T Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
1c Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth 
1 6oz can Tomato Paste 
1c No Salt Added Tomato Sauce 
1 15oz can Peeled Whole Tomatoes No Salt Added 
1T Dried Parsley Flakes 
1T Dried Oregano Leaves 
4T Chili Powder 
1 Small Pinch Cinnamon 
1 Small Pinch Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 
1t Salt
1t Black Pepper

Directions 
Put the olive oil in a pot to start heating. 
Finely chop the onion and place it and the garlic in the pot along with the ground turkey. Let it brown and fully cook. 
Once the meat is done add the juice from the whole tomato and then individually smash each tomato in your hand into the pot. 
Then add the chicken broth, tomato paste, tomato sauce, parsley flakes, oregano leaves, chili powder, cinnamon, cocoa powder, salt and black pepper. 
Mix together thoroughly and let the chili simmer at a medium low heat for 30 minutes. 


Serve with crackers and/or cheese and enjoy! :-) 
Serving Size: Makes 8 1-Cup Servings 
Number of Servings: 8 


It was super yummy and I was surprised by the taste. :-) But in other news I've lost a total of 34.8lbs since Jan. 1, 2012! I'm officially down to 310.2lbs. It's getting there slowly but surely!


For nutrition facts check out the recipe here.

Day 54 - Discouraged No More!

I feel so discouraged today. I am still eating within my calorie range which is from 1700-2050, and I've actually lowered it from the one SparkPeople gave me since I've been losing weight. However, I gained a pound! I know, I know, it's one pound and I really shouldn't be making a big deal out of this, but I am on the road to a fitter me. That one extra pound I gained back feels like I'm driving in reverse and picked it up after I've already kicked it out of the car. 

Today I drive forward and I will be kicking it back out of the car! I know I can do this! I've been through losing 33lbs already and I know it's possible! 

I haven't been exercising every day like I should and I haven't been going to the gym either. I used the excuse of letting my tattoos heal, but I know in the end that was really just another excuse to not work out. My gym buddy has been busy and I feel really intimidated going to the gym alone. But no more! Today I AM going to the gym, alone or with my gym buddy! No more excuses! After going to the gym a couple of weeks ago and losing the 4lbs in 2 days I should have known to keep going. BUT that's okay, because I'm still fighting and I WILL lose this extra pound that crept back AND many more pounds to come!

Day 50!

Day 50 is here and I'm still doing this!!!! I'm still super excited because I'm still eating right and exercising, and I've only really cheated once since I started and that was at the beginning. 

Friday I had a jewelry party to go to for my sister in law and I wanted to look nice.

Previously when I went clothes shopping, I had to shop at Woman Within online. They were one of the only places online really that I knew about to shop. But since I've lost a total of 33lbs now (officially at 312lbs!!!!) I am able to shop at places like Torrid and Lane Bryant. So I can actually go into the store and try on clothes and not look dumb when they don't fit. So before when I shopped on line I would get a size 34 in jeans, and Friday when I went shopping I found that I am down to a size 26! Of course right now that is still not enough for me, I eventually want to fit in normal sized clothing!! But I am incredibly excited that I was able to shop in a store rather than online for once in a long, long time! I also got a few new shirts and am down to a 4X in shirts rather than the 6X I was in. 

Things are definitely looking up in my weight loss journey and I cannot wait for more milestones to cross. :-) 

*Original Post Date 02-19-2012

Day 48 - Busy Bee & Restrictions

I'm haven't weighed yet this week after weighing last time. I don't even remember when that was I've been so busy. I haven't been to the gym all week because work has kept me busy and so has life really. Also, I got two new tattoos and I'm really trying to let them get good and healed before causing myself to sweat excessively. 

I also had a pretty awesome realization hit me earlier this week. I am losing weight and I have been restricted from certain things because of my overweightedness(is that a word? lol). But the realization is that as I lose weight more and more, several previous restrictions are being lifted. 

I don't know why it took me that long to realize it. I work in security and possible jobs from here are police, military and such and so many of the guys are I work with are usually ex-military, or going into the police departments and/or military. Usually when one of my co-workers would tell me they were going into either work field I would be like, "Oh I could never do that!" But now I know that when I lose all of this activity restricting weight, I can be "Oh I don't want to do that." Because in all reality I do not want to go into either field. I just can't see being happy getting yelled at, but I could totally do it. 

Last weekend I have a total of four days off, which was a super lovely mini-vacation! I ended up getting two different tattoos. I went on Friday with my brother who was getting on in memory of our mom, and ended up getting one with him that night. But when we got there we put our names in a drawing and I won a free tattoo up to $100. 

This is the first tattoo I got, it's my last name. 
 

The next tattoo I got was my free tattoo and is only half way done. It is in memory of my dad. I still have to add wings and his initials. 
 

And of course I can't end my blog without a quote. :-) 
 

*Original Post Date 02-17-2012

Day 46 - My Birthday Goals

Part of one of my Live Mind Motivational class assignments is to post a blog of the goals I want to accomplish by my birthday on June 30th. 

1. Lose weight! I know I know, I'm supposed to put a specific number. I can't do this the easy way? .... Darn. Okay, so my goal weight by my birthday is 275lbs. I currently weigh 315.6 (lost another 2lbs, yay!) and I KNOW another 40lbs can be dropped within the next 4.5 months. 

2. Buy new clothes! I don't want to buy all new clothes just yet, especially since I'm still losing. Although the scrunched up pants look isn't the hottest trend, or especially professional at work, it's a sign of my weight loss and reminds me where I cannot go back to. 

3. Walk the entire way around the local lake near my house. Not truly a lake, but a reservoir pond near my house that my family and I walk around to see the sights. My brother, sister-in-law and their three children go with me. The last time we walked it we got 1/3 the way around it before having to turn back because it was getting dark. But totaled 1.88 miles. So walking the whole way around will be a great accomplishment! 

And those are my first 3 goals on the journey of many goals to come. 

This is so true so I must share it! 

 

*Original Post Date 02-15-2012

Day 41 - Such A Difference

You know, people say going to a gym makes a big difference. On the 8th I weighed myself at 321.6 and today I was curious, after going to the gym three days in a row I wanted to see if it had affected my weight at all, and boy did it. Just two days after going to the gym, I am now weighing in at 317.4!!!! A difference of 4.2lbs! I am ecstatic about this and it really erases any doubt from my mind about paying for a gym membership. I knew that I wasn't doing enough exercise, but eating right was still letting me lose weight, but by exercising, it's helping me take off even more! :-D 

So to taking it one day at a time!: 
 

*Original Post Date 02-10-2012

Day 40 - Enough Said!

I can't believe that it has been 40 days since I've started this journey. I weighed yesterday morning at 321.6. My lowest in a long time! I am actually getting too small for my pants! That is such a good feeling. Tuesday I joined 24 Hour Fitness and after a two hour sign up process, I finally got to use the treadmill for a quick exercise. Yesterday I went back and hit the racquetball court, rowing machine, four various weight machines, and went swimming. Needless to say I am sore today! 

I am excited about tonight though, because I have a 1 hour session with a trainer at my gym. :-) 

I can definitely tell a difference between how I feel today and how I felt when I first started. I can't believe I've made it 40 days. I'm still sticking with my motto "One Day At A Time", but I still can't wait for that end result I know is coming. :-D 

January 1, 2012  

February 8, 2012 

*Original Post Date 02-09-2012

Day 37 - Wow!

I did my weekly weigh in on Saturday and I am now down to 322.8. I didn't lose much weight compared to my last weight in at 323.2. I think it's because I stopped tracking my food for last week. I still truly believe I ate healthy, but might have gone over by eating a little too much due to not tracking. And I really wasn't being true to myself by not tracking. So this week, I'm back to it. No more skipping tracking, there are no excuses really. I've got reminders set up on my phone to help me and two apps to track on. :-) 

Another is that I've been super busy last week with work and other stuff, plus the rain kept me indoors a lot of the days, so exercise was pretty non-existent. But that is an excuse and one of the mottos I have is No Excuses! So time to start doing some more exercises! 

Goals for this week: 

1. Track every day. 

2. Really start using Coach Nicole's 28 Day Boot Camp DVD. 

Positive Motivational Quote For My Day: 

*Original Post Date 02-06-2012

Day 33 - Groundhog's Day

January is done! It was a tough month, especially at first, to be motivated to eat right. Now I feel fuller when I eat a normally portioned meal, I am staying at my calorie range and only ate over my goals one time this month. :-) I know they say that anyone who starts off as losing weight for their new years resolution usually gives up by the middle of February, but I am going for beyond that, and I think that if I make it that far, I can do this! 

I do get cravings for something sweet or for something I shouldn't have, and I have a support system in place. Yesterday in fact I was at work and said out loud to my self, I think i'll have my cupcakes... one of the guys I work with said, and I hope those are healthy cupcakes. Of course they were, they were the 100 calorie pack cupcakes that satisfy those sweet tooth cravings I still have. I gave him a high five and am so glad that he said that, because to me that's just more support I have to keep going on this journey. 

I talked to my brother yesterday on the phone. I told him on New Year's Eve that I was going to start eating healthy on New Year's Day and he is still sticking with his plan that we agreed to when I joined SparkPeople for the first time. When I get down to 250lbs he is going to quit smoking, and when I do get down to that weight goal, I'm going to hold him to it! I'm going slow for now, taking everything one day at a time, so he has plenty of time to prepare to quit smoking. 

So I've never shared my actual weight on my blog, but today I'm going to. I think it'll hold me more accountable for getting the extra weight off. 

I started at 345lbs. I am now down to 323.2lbs. That's a total of 21.8lbs in the month of January alone! (I weighed on Jan. 31st.) I haven't been this light is years and it really is feeling great, I actually have more energy than I did before, eating lighter meals, and shedding the weight is making me feel amazing. Before I would eat way too much, and afterwards I would feel like I could hardly move. Now when I eat, I feel like anything is possible. :-) 

But to end my blog, here is one of my favorite picture quotes right now. :-) 

 *Original Post Date 02-02-2012

Day 23 - Continuing the Journey

My weekend went well! Well, besides not enough calories that is. But again it was by a hundred calories or so therefore I am not going to beat myself up about it. Good news is that when I weighed Saturday (Saturdays and Wednesdays are weigh days) I've gone down more. :-D So I've lost a total of 19 pounds!!!!!!!!!! Extremely excited about it, yet trying to keep a calmness about it too. 

I went riding at Terry Hershey park again on Saturday. I went pretty late so I was unable to go as far as I wanted before it got too dark. Still rode for a total of 3.59 miles! 

In other news I have decided to walk a 5k in February. I've decided that if I can ride my bike 5 miles I can walk a little over 3. I'll be signing up on February 4th and walking February 25th. It is the Conoco-Phillips Rodeo Run. In my case, the Rodeo Walk, lol. Running is definitely not in my picture yet, but eventually it will be! 

My goal for the end of the year: Be physically fit enough and able to ride the Terry Hershey trail the entire way and back! Which is a total of 13.24 miles. :-) I think that if I keep this up, I can do this! 

However! I am still taking everything one day at a time and right now, that is what is working for me. :-) 

*Original Post Date 01-23-2012

Day 18 - No Excuses!

This season on the: 

 their motto is, "NO EXCUSES" 

So that's going to be mine along with "One Day At A Time". Two pretty good mottos to have on this journey. :-) 


*Original Post Date 01-18-2012

Day 17 - Bicycling

Today my sister-in-law and I went to Terry Hershey Park in Houston, and rode our bikes for a total of 3.68 miles. The very first time I got on a bike and rode the same trail in 2008, I could barely ride a mile. But this time I went for almost four!!! Love, love, love this new me so far!!! I've lost a total of 16 pounds and I can definitely feel the progress!!! 

A map of the trail we took. 

Me with my bike. 

My sister-in-law (luckystars86 on SP) and I. 

*Original Post Date 01-17-2012

Day 13 - Not Eating Enough

Yesterday when I got home I was tired. Around 5p.m. I fell asleep in my recliner. I slept through supper until 5a.m. The 12 hour shifts I had this week really threw me off. I ate a little over 1200 calories yesterday and definitely felt my hunger this morning when I woke up. The last three days I have failed to meet my calorie goals. Wednesday and Thursday it was just under by a hundred calories or so. 

I knew that I would be changing my eating habits when I started this, but I didn't think I would have trouble meeting my caloric intake. Lol. 

And just to add: 

*Original Post Date 01-13-2012

Day 10 - Motivation

I seem to have lost some of my motivation. But I think it's because they've got me working 3 twelve hour shifts here at work. All in a row. Normally I don't mind working the shifts at all, but right now I get here at 6a and then leave at 6p. So it's dark when I get here and dark when I leave. Really kills my motivational "buzz". I love being outside, especially when it's nice and cool outside like it is in Houston right now. Thankfully this is just for this week and next. 

I also think that my "One Day At A Time" motto has gone out of focus. So I am really trying to focus on that, because that is all I can do. Take everything one day at a time. 

I was browsing on Facebook feeling generally sorry for myself when I came across the following, and I realized that it was a sign that I'm on the right track with my motto. So without further ado. 

*Original Post Date 01-10-2012

Day 9 - The Weekend

On Friday my family and I went to a local park that has a reservoir pond. It is approximately 2 1/2 miles to walk around it. It has a small trail and has hills and the path is uneven which I feel makes for better exercise. I was sore when it was over, but had a great time. :-) We walked towards the back of the trail and found that there is a man who keeps sheep and goats. They were all over a hill towards the back! It was really neat, because one of the goats had a baby about ten minutes before we got there and it was so small and tiny and cute. :-) But with my Nike+ GPS app, we tracked walking a total of 1.88 miles. Which for me is pretty great! 

Path and trail we walked according to the app. This place is in the middle of the city and feels like the country when I'm there. 

 
Saturday I went to Texas City with my family and found tons of temptation! We went to a seafood restaurant and I had the grilled chicken. I also had the french fries and half a slice of buttered(margarine?) toast. I know I shouldn't have had the french fries, but they didn't have green beans or corn on the cob, essentially the only two veggies I eat. I also treated myself to half a cup of soft serve chocolate ice cream. (It was free!?) I really felt like I had blown it after eating that and really just felt like blowing the whole day. But my sister helped me out and supported me convincing me not to do so. So I was over in calories and fat in my nutrition tracker (which I did track everything), but not by much. Which really made me glad that I had not completely blown it! :-D 

Oh and GO TEXANS!!!! Whoo hoo for their play off win!!! 

Sunday was good, I had to get up and go to a meeting for work, so I ate breakfast before going and then I was energized for the whole day! I was able to get so much done around the house that I normally wouldn't have done. After a meeting I usually just sit around and end up taking a nap or lazing the day away. 

So Saturday wasn't horrible with my nutrition, but it wasn't super great either. But I did spend all of my time outside playing with my nephews and neice in the parks we went to and walked around at the Texas City Dike. And Sunday was even better staying within my nutritional goals and doing something I've not had the energy to do for a while. All in all I had a great weekend, kept moving and had a great time! 

A couple of pictures from Texas City. :-) 

The ocean from the Texas City Dike! 

My twin nephews and niece, who I affectionately call the monkeys. 
Left to right(Nathaniel, Miriam and Elijah) 

Being attacked by the monkeys! :-D 

A few shells I gathered at the dike. 

 


*Original Post Date 01-09-2012

Day 6 - Exercise

Yesterday I started Day 1 of the boot camp DVD[Coach Nicole's 28 Day Boot Camp]. I'm going slow, my physical state is not that of Coach Nicole's. Lol, but I am doing the basic exercise and I found that I really enjoyed it! But after I got done with the Warmup, Cardio and Cooldown, I found that I wasn't ready to be done. I also put in 10 minutes on the Wii Fit, then took a walk around the block with my dog! I am really feeling great about the Boot Camp DVD. It really motivates me to keep going. :-) 

Here is the path (provided by my Nike+GPS app) I took around the block, you can see at the bottom where I had to go back to get my dog away from what he was sniffing at, lol. 

*Original Post Date 01-06-2012

Day 3 - A New Start

2012 is here! I can't believe it, especially with all the craziness of last year. So to start it off right I am going to back to SparkPeople! My new motto for this year? One day at a time! That's all I can do. I think last time I tried this I didn't look at it that way and just kept looking towards the future. But now, I am simply going to focus on one day at a time. 

One issue I seem to be having right now is that I am not eating enough calories? This is a first. I know that I am limiting my food intake, but whenever I get done eating everything, I realize that I am full. Well that and the choices I am making are healthier. 

I found that whenever I cook for myself, it is always a healthier alternative to whatever may come in a box. And I am controlling my portions. 

Random thoughts everywhere today. 


*Original Post Date 01-03-2012

Introduction

As a New Year's resolution I decided to lose weight. On this blog I will share everything from my weight to what I ate, the issues that are bugging me, the triumphs I celebrate and the downfalls I may have. 


My name is Emily or Emmy for short, I live in Houston, TX and I am 29 years old. I have been overweight for my entire life. And I am sick and tired of having all of this baggage I carry around with me. So in the month leading up to January 1, 2012 I decided that New Year's would be my day. My day to start a new life, to become healthy, to start exercising, and to eat better.


I am a lucky girl. I have so many friends, family and co-workers supporting me as I go through this journey.  I call this a journey because at the end, I will have gone through so many things. I know that this is a physical challenge, but some people don't realize that it is a very emotional challenge as well. I am asking myself not only to change my physical appearance but to also change my mental state of mind. 


So, no more treating me like it's not worth it! When I started this on January 1st I decided that I am worth it and that I WILL do this! I'm in a fight and I will win!

*Note - When the blog shows an original post date, all of my blogs were originally started at SparkPeople (a great website for anyone who wants to start a new lifestyle)