Christmas Baking!

I love this time of year because I love to bake!! This year I decided that I would try to half my recipes and give most of the goodies away. Then I still get the fun experience of baking but don't have treats for weeks that I for sure will eat! Today I'm thinking about reindeer cookies, ginger cookies, homemade caramels, peppermint bark, M&M cookies, no-bake cookies, sugar cookies... pretty much any cookie. I am such a cookie person, can you tell?!
I should be thinking about my 10-pg. paper due on Friday, but I'm not. I'm thinking about cookies.
Here's the good news. I am at 147.8! That means I've actually lost weight this month, even though it's finals! Usually I gain during this crazy time. It's probably because I haven't had time to think about food. Or haven't had an appetite because I'm so nervous about school. It also is because every time I want to eat bad I think "Do you really want that or would you rather look hot?" :)
Merry Christmas everyone! Back to my paper.... ugh....

Thanksgiving is Over!

Thanksgiving is Over! Which means I need to stop eating pie and start counting calories again. I haven't really assessed the damage yet. I decided to take a week of being good and then weigh on Sat.
I had a great Thanksgiving enjoying time with my family and good food, but honestly, I am sick of pie and sick of feeling stuffed! :) I still have lots of leftovers so I am measuring to avoid the pigging out. I measured out 1/3 cup stuffing, 1/3 cup mashed potatoes, and turkey with two spoonfuls of turkey gravy for lunch. I brought some green beans but wasn't really hungry after my other food so I didn't eat them!
I am starting to write down what I eat again. That should help get me back on track.
Hope everyone had a great holiday! And don't worry if you pigged out for 3 days like me :) Just get back on track! :)

Dear Readers

Dear Readers,

I am a 24 year old full time student and employee trying to lose weight. I know that eating right is the key to really losing weight since exercising can only burn so many calories. I don't always have time to exercise but I can eat right. The problem is that I am really good during the week when my schedule is steady- go to work and go to school. I pack my food and only eat what I pack. The real problem is my weekends. There's always a family dinner with TONS of food, and I feel like I should "reward" myself for making it through another stressful week. I am sabotaging my own weight loss efforts! I gained 2 lbs last weekend and now am scrambling to get it off before Sat. Please Help!

Sincerely,
"Shrinking Me"

Slooooow Dooooown

Lately I've come to realize that I usually eat really fast. Maybe it's because I'm usually in a hurry, or because I let myself get too hungry and then I want to scarf it down!

Today in my Jillian Michaels newsletter they were giving tips on how to slow down your eating! They must have read my mind :)

Here they are:

"To slow down when eating, keep these tricks in mind:
If you're right-handed, eat with your left hand, and vice versa.
Cut your food into small pieces, and eat your meal one morsel at a time.
Make yourself put your silverware down in between bites.
Take a sip of a beverage in between bites. Water is always best. "

(Brandon has told me I don't drink enough when I eat :)

This week has been SOOOOO stressful and yesterday I was stressed and depressed and just wanted to go get something bad for me to eat. I thought about calling my friend Becky to get her support, but I didn't even have to call her to feel motivated. This may sound silly but I could hear what she would say in my mind and it helped! I thought about my goals and what I really wanted and made a choice not to eat bad food. Self control is hard! Making good choices can be hard. But so worth it.

Hope everyone's having a great week and Happy Friday!!

Motivation!!

This is from Summer 2008 in St. George. I look so skinny! I was about 10 lbs. lighter then.

I want to look like this again! Even better than this!

My Current thoughts on Free Days

I don't do well when my free days are on weekends. If I have a free day Sat. then I want one Sunday too. Next week I'm going to try having my "free day" on a weekday. If I even want a free day.

This weekend was really emotionally charged with lots of stuff going on and I ate lots of candy to drown my emotions. But the thing is that the candy wasn't even that good!!!!!!!!! Candy is not my favorite and if I'm going to eat bad that's not how I would like to do it, but that's what I had around so I ate it. And it made me feel sick to my stomach.

Lesson learned: Don't eat it if you don't want it, Amber! It will only make you feel yucky and all your hard work the week before is down the drain.

I'm finally seeing some results in losing weight and having motivation again and I'm not sure that free days are worth it. I have to work extra hard in the week to make up for the weekend. Just think- if I didn't have bad weekends and still worked that hard during the week, I could be so much healthier and lose so much more weight!

Guts and Perseverance

From LOSING IT! With Jillian Michaels, Friday, November 06, 2009
"Listen, getting in shape is all about setting goals. Losing weight, building muscle, and getting rid of the unhealthy eating habits take guts and perseverance. You're dealing with something big here. When you decide what you want, make it specific and concrete. For example, don't just say that you want to lose weight. Ask yourself some questions: How much weight? And is weight really the most important thing? Or is it more important that you climb your front steps with ease or lower your body-fat ratio? Think hard about what you want, and use your journal to keep track."

I want to be more specific in my goals. This week my goal was to lose the "Halloween weight" that I had gained by having TWO free days. :S I have accomplished that as of today so I want to now see if I can lose some more by tomorrow for my weigh-in.
My goal for next week is to reach 148 lbs. so I don't have to pay for WW and can be a Lifetime member again!
My goal for the end of the year is to be down to 139 lbs. ( I like the 1-3 part of that! It's always exciting to hit the next number.)

What are your goals for yourself? Remember to make them realisitic and mix the large with the small. If your overall weight to lose is daunting, break it up so you can see your progress in meeting your small goals!

Happy Friday! Yea for the weekend!

What's keeping me going today...

It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up. Vince Lombardi

Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness. - Earl of Derby

To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art. - La Rochefoucaul

Not Giving Up

So yesterday I was in my car which is still filled with all my Halloween stuff from the party including all the candy. As I was going to school straight from work I was hungry and a little depressed and so I started eating candy. I ate at least 5 pieces of chocolate and then called Brandon. When he answered I said "I ate candy" and he laughed. "That's why you called me?" But it was really helpful because he encouraged me and reminded me that not all is lost. I can make up for 5 pieces of candy.

I went to the gym last night and read my homework. I did the elliptical for an hour. It felt SOOO good. I have realized that by not making excuses I actually feel better about myself. Plus I am not distracted from getting my reading done and I get a workout. It feels good to be productive and use your time for good things.

Don't give up! So you ate 5 pieces of candy today. That doesn't mean all is lost and you can skip your workout or blow the whole week. Just get back on track. Not next week, not tomorrow- right now! You can do it!

SUCCESS! and then failure...

This week I lost 1.4 lbs! I am in the 140s! 149.2, but still! I love that it starts with 1-4. I was very proud since it was Halloween week. I didn't have any treats til Sat., my free day. Our Halloween party was really fun, but I ate too much, of course. Then we had leftovers on Sunday that we didn't want to go bad (of course) so I had another Free Day. Dangit. Brandon and I decided this counts for our free day for this week, so no treats til next Sunday.
I am going to have to be really strict eating this week. I am hoping just to not GAIN! I have 1.4 more pounds to lose to be Lifetime again and not pay at Weight Watchers.
I have been making excuses to not exercising- I'm too busy, I have way too much homework, I'm too tired, even I don't want to has been a good enough excuse for me lately. So today I am changing that. After class tonight I am going to the gym at my apt and working out while I read my homework. Two birds with one stone.
NO MORE EXCUSES!