It's been a while, but I am back :)

Hi everyone! Although I haven't blogged in a while I have stuck to my, weight loss and healthier me, journey. I've lost 40 pounds! I still have 49 pounds to go, but I know I can do it. Here's hoping that my lovely gift of the Polar FT7 heart rate monitor will assist me in this. I can't believe I am as excited about a fitness device! This contraption should really help me understand how many cals I truly burn and not just what the machine/MFP tells me I burned. Oh and one final change, we are also trying out a new gym, LA Fitness. So far it is kicking Urban's butt with the exception of the drive (UA-5 Minutes vs LA- 15 minutes). I'll let you know what we chose :)
Peace!
-Ali

Progress!!! With Pics :)

Hi everyone! It has been a while since I've blogged, but here I am :) I have continued on my journey even though I have not blogged, be rest assured! Recently I got a little unmotivated, but once I looked at other's success stories I was easily re-motivated. Being healthy is not easy and that is something I have to remember. Also, as cliche as the saying "Rome wasn't built in a day" is, it truthfully applies to my weight loss journey. I know that I didn't gain the weight in a day and it certainly wont come off in a day. I also know I need to pay more attention to what I eat, so I have been eating more vegetarian meals which surprisingly hasn't been hard.  What have you tried lately to become healthier?

Ali

Pics below are from the beginning of this journey to today. I have revised my goal to 165 pounds, so I have around 57 to go.

Friday weigh-in+August Pics

So... I am only down 1lbs from last week, but a pound is a pound! Total weight lost is 21.4 pounds and 53.6 pounds to go.I have my levels on livestrong.com as wanting to lose two pounds a week, but that is something I have not been able to do. Hopefully with personal training I'll be able to do that, if not this weight loss endeavor will take for forever! However, I do my best to look at not only the overall picture, but the current picture. I have small goals in addition to my larger goal of 75 pounds. One of my first goals is to get into a size 16 in clothes, without muffin top. Yuck... Another goal I have is to have less arm baggage. What are your long term and short term goals?
Ali
02/11

06/2011

08/2011

Not a good side shot because of the shirt. Normal picture clothes were in the wash.

Day 2: The Aftermath

Good grief. Is it okay to be so sore in your armpit area it's hard to drive? I have no clue, but you might not want to follow me closely... Apparently doing standing push ups is the way to go if you want to feel the burn and then feel it some more. Oh well back it tomorrow, with a prayer that arms aren't the main focus, or it could be a long time before I can move again.
-Ali
PS- So excited to have new followers, Stephanie and Eric!! Woohoo :)

Personal Training=You know I'm dedicated!

Thanks to Eric Fiegl and Mission 5 Fitness I got my first training session :) I know Eric, but was still scared for the toughness of the workout. Let me just say I do NOT know what I was doing for the last 5 months, but I am not sure it was working out, haha. I am ubber sore! It's a good sore mind you. I am super pumped and excited!

I've been stuck at 20 lbs lost so I am hopeful this will help. Based on my session today I don't see how it couldn't help my weight loss and health. I've posted some pics(well I hope they come through,also please please pretend like there is no mess behind me) below of the beginning of my journey til early June. I will take pics Friday and post more.
-Ali

Healthy Start to the week!

Weekend over, and it wasn't too bad. I started the week out with a serious workout, about 30 minutes of weights and 35 minutes on the elliptical. This is shocking because the person I used to be would never be happy about spending time in the gym, but I actually enjoy it now. How did you all start your week?
Ali

Weekend= Killer?

Not too much weight change. :( I had been down to 20lbs lost two weeks ago, but put on 2 lbs, and I am now at 20.8 pounds lost!The weekends kill me on the weight gain. I had good success last weekend on only gaining a pound over the weekend, which was gone by Tuesday morning, phew. So 54.2 pounds to go, but I know with my drive(stubbornness) I will make it. I just have a problem with being patient. This will all be worth it though since I want to live the healthiest life possible, so that I can be around for my friends and family.

So wish me luck this weekend,
Ali

Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping while trying to be healthy is not cheap. When I consider how much cheaper it is to buy a frozen pizza than a healthy dinner such as salmon and rice it makes me irritated. How can America and other countries fight obesity and other related problems if it easier to feed your family on unhealthy cheap food while in a recession? (By the way if we are truly out of the recession, pinch me so I can wake up now from this horrible nightmare). I know that I am lucky in that I do not have a large family to feed, unless you count my furkids, but even their food is expensive. A lot needs to change in our country, maybe instead of focusing on healthcare our government should focus on the health of its people first. Food for thought...(haha, don't worry not quitting my day job to be a comedian ;)
-Sorry for the rant
Ali

Food...

Why does food have to taste so good, but be bad for you? I thought I ate pretty healthy today, okay minus the coke icee, but I tried to get cherry I swear! If you look at my plate you will see I ate pretty well, but even with exercise I went over. I will not starve myself, so I need to find a way to achieve my calorie goals, but still have yummy foods. Any ideas?
Ali

Revelations...

It has certainly been a while since I have blogged, but here I am :) I've recently come to the realization that there are very few things we can control in our lives(i.e., not getting a teaching job!). There is one thing though that I can control, and that is my weight. Is it easy? Um heck no! But I am even more determined to lose my weight. I have decided that the one year anniversary of mother's death will be my deadline for my 75lbs weight loss. Wondering why? Well you will have to wait until 2.7.12 to find out ;)Hope you all are having a healthy day and are staying cool!
-Ali

PT Tuesday

I didn't work out today(I did track), shame! Well I did if you count cleaning and PT. After all the crud I go through with PT I know I burn at least 100 cals. Unfortunately today at PT I learned that Humana will likely only approve 2 or 3 more visits. So this means a trip to the Ortho doc, which I am going with a different one at Commonwealth. Appt is set for this Friday. I don't know what they are going to want to do, but my guess is a MRI(which I don't want). However, after over a month of PT and a minimal improvement something has to give. The irony of the fact that I want to work out to be healthy and my body is hindering me is hysterical...not.
-Enough whining, good luck in your health journey!
Ali

Workout Buddies :)

Hello all :) I haven't blogged because my laptop was a piece of crud and moved slower than I don't know what. From my FB posts you know I have been keeping up on the weight loss. Now, this weekend was DJ's birthday weekend and I was not as a good as I should be :( I did workout Saturday and late today.
Anyway... My point of this blog is that workout buddies are awesome. I am starting to collect more and more :) My husband comes when he can, I meet Rebecca as much as possible, and on the off chance I get to see Laura. Seeing familiar faces always helps. Remember though even if your buddy can't make it you should!
-12 lbs down, 8 to my mini goal
-63 pounds to go to final goal!

Good luck
-Ali

Update:)

Live has been a bit crazy. I've still been plugging away at trying to lose weight, just haven't had the time or energy to blog. Anyway, there for a while I was having knee and elbow pain, but went to the doctor and it was just inflammation. Now I get to wear not only an elbow brace, but knee brace plus take Naproxen twice a day... However, I did not let the pain deter me from working out. I've worked out at least 5 days a week for the past 3 weeks. So far I have gotten down to 250.2, close to 5 pounds :) I hope to add more weights to my regiment, but am still nursing the elbow and knee. How is everyone else doing in their journey?
Ali

Saturdays, eek!

So I began my morning with great intentions. I played Dance Central for 45 minutes and ate a good breakfast. My lunch was an egg white omelet, potatoes, and half an english muffin. Those two don't sound bad, but the cals add up so quickly! Then Moes for dinner did not make for the best last meal. Of course, I could have done worse. We did walk around a lot today so maybe it's not that bad, haven't put in my cals yet on livestrong(I'm going to, so check it out). I am proud of myself for working out this morning:) By the way I cannot wait for Spring! I think we might look into getting bicycles. Anyone else bike? If so what kind of bike did you get and where do you go?
-Ali

Salty, but sweet!

Well, I weighed myself today and.... I lost 2.6 pounds. Woot woot! Only 73 more to go... I did okay on my food today, not perfect, but hey who is. Great on water, which is a good thing. I really need to find ways to cut sodium, any thoughts? Apparently tasty food is salty.
-Ali

Zumba

So after a low cal day and bracing through a headache I tried Zumba :) Verdict is... totally fun and exhausting! We apparently were video taped, so I may be on You Tube! ha ha. There were definitely some steps that I had no clue what I was doing, but I don't think I was alone :) After Zumba I got Chipotle and got a bowl instead of a burrito to save on cals. I was so proud of myself! Hope you all had a happy and healthy day!
-Ali

5:15!

Holy kitten caboodle! I got up at 5:15am(in your face dj "the pyschologist" plavsic ;) ) to workout today because Wednesdays I have school right after work. I am exhausted, but glad I did it:) I ate Moe's without feeling guilty and feel proud that I didn't make excuses. The old Alicia would have said ohh I can't because of school, but new Alicia pushed through. To the makers of 5 hour energy drink I thank you! Just as a side note to all my Weight Watcher fans, you might want to try www.livestrong.com, you can track foods and exercise all while participating in a very supportive health community for FREE! I have a link on my blog to my livestrong info.

-Ali

*Trying Zumba tomorrow, lord help those around me!

Walk this way...

I have been walking about a mile or so lately when I go to the gym. So today I decided I am going to walk two miles. My goal is to get up to 5 miles a day. This may sound lame, but I'm trying to get ready for the Mini Heart on 3/20. Plus walking burns some serious cals, 250 or so for me in a 40 minute time period. But, man I am sore and tired. I'm slowly working my way up to weights again. But, hey like in Zombieland cardio is one of the most important things to have. I'm just getting ahead of the game ;)

Hope you all had a healthy and happy day!

Weekends are scary...

So the dreaded weekend, at least it's dreaded in that my self control tends to go bye-bye, went okay. I gained a pound, which I'm sure was water weight. I did not eat too terribly, but I could have been better, which is obvious with the gaining of a pound. I didn't track over the weekend, but started again today. I tell DJ that Rome wasn't built in a day(yep I'm lame) and neither will our weight loss occur in a day. Getting ready to go to the store and try to get some healthy stuff :)

By the way do you all weigh yourselves daily or weekly? I tend to weigh myself every other day just to see how my foods affect me.
-Alicia

Day 2, 2/27/2011

So Day 2 went pretty well. I drank all my water and didn't have my first Diet Coke until 3! Both are a huge accomplishment for me. Also, we worked out after work today! We walked a mile on the treadmill, phew. This took me 25 minutes or so and DJ 20 minutes. Now you all know I can't let DJ beat me, so my goal is to beat him in the mile. Oh and we signed up to walk in the Mini Heart marathon in March. Hope you all had a healthy day!

First Day 2/16/2011

So today started the first day of this journey. I have had a rough couple of weeks as you may know and feel like I need a fresh start. What better way than to focus on being a healthier me? As any good couple would do, DJ and I started this together. I'm sure he will lose the weight much quicker, must be nice to be a guy. That commercial where the lady only slims down a little and the man gets skinny quick just by not drinking soft drinks is so true! Speaking of soft drinks, this is one of my main problems. Not necessarily regular ones, but Diet Coke. However, lately I've been drinking Sprite because of this nasty stomach bug I've had or stress whatever it may be. Anyway, here we go!

Weight-254.0-Yep I posted it, gasp :(