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January 19 Rants and Raves (Brittany)Hmm. I think I'll start with the rants first.
First of all, I am so tired of places not providing nutritional information for their foods. Give me a break! The hubby and I received a gift card to T.G.I. Friday's for Christmas. I'm off work on Monday and was thinking about getting dinner from there, so I can use the gift card up. So I go to their website. No nutritional information. I search for it online and can't find anything. It's complete B.S. And upon doing a little bit more looking, I see that they use the typical cop-out excuse. Every one of our restaurants is owned by someone different. Therefore, the ingredients and portion sizes vary from location to location, so we are unable to provide nutritional information. But please check our low-fat options. I am so tired of reading this excuse on restaurant's websites. How hard is it to have a standard for what should be in your food and how much of the ingreidents should be in your food? Apparently, it's pretty difficult. I, for one, refuse, from this moment on, to go to any restaurant that does not provide nutritional information to its customer's and that use the typical cop-out excuse. I'm just so sick of it! We pay to eat at your franchise, at least have the courtesy to give us nutritional information for your foods. I have to travel (for the first time) for my work in March. Granted, it is only about two hours away, but it is still travelling for work. Anyway, I wanted to eat at places up there, that are not down here. So I do a little bit of research online and find that COSI, California Pizza Kitchen, and Friendlys are all up there. So I start looking up nutritional information. COSI is fantastic and has nutritional information for EVERYTHING! I may end up eating there a few times. California Pizza Kitchen has very limited nutritional information. They do have nutritional info. for some things, but of course, it's nothing that I would be wanting to order. Friendlys is a whole different story. Growing up, I used to eat a Friendlys once a week. My parents would take me there and we'd get an ice cream from the walk-up window. Then, all the Friendly's around here shut down. The ONLY thing I wanted to order from Friendlys was a Reese Cup Sundae. Yes, I know. **Smacks hand** However, I would use whatever points it took to eat one of those because I haven't had one in so long. Friendly's had no nutritional information on their website at all. So I was going to break it down, ingredient by ingredient, and estimate my points for it. Then, I googled it, and somehow someone was able to get nutritional information for it. 23 points. Yep. That's probably about right. Because I was thinking 25. So, do I plan on using 23 points to eat an ice cream sundae? Dang right I do! To me, that is worth it. If there were a Friendly's around here that I could go to whenever I wanted to, it wouldn't be worth it. And I wouldn't do it. But because I haven't been there since 1996. I'll eat light the whole day, just to get the sundae.
I was sitting here the other day, going through some boxes of stuff that was in our basement. Upon going through the boxes, I found tons and tons of Happy Meal/Kid's Meal toys. It got me thinking. What in the heck is wrong with America?! I know, when I was growing up, I would sit in front of the television and play with my toys. A commerical would come on for McDonald's advertising their Girl/Boy Happy Meals with Barbies and Hot Wheels. "Mommy! Mommy! I want a Happy Meal!" So once a week, sometimes more often, my mom would bring me a Happy Meal so that I could collect every single Barbie. And several times, we would go to McDonald's before they changed toys for the week, which resulted in me having 3 or 4 of the same Barbie. Which in turn meant that in order for me to collect all the Barbies, we would have to keep going back for more Happy Meals. And I wonder why I have a weight problem. And America wonders why there are so many overweight children. We, basically, reward kids for eating crap. Here, have a cheeseburger and some french fries and a soda. And oh! Just for eating that, you get a toy too! And granted, even if restaurants did away with the toys in their kiddie meals, there would still be kids eating the meals. But don't you think that if restaurants stopped putting toys in their kiddie meals, which in turn would eliminate their advertising campaigns selling the kiddie meals that include toys based on movies, etc, there would be a lot less kids with weight problems? And I do know that there would still be kids with weight problems. However, I do think that by eliminating toys in kiddie meals, at least a few less children would have weight problems. Along the same lines, look at all the products at the grocery store that are based on cartoons and children's toys. Like Flintstones cereal and Spongebob Fruit snacks. Don't you think that if companies would stop putting cartoon characters on packaging for un-healthy foods, kids wouldn't ask for them in the grocery store? And that, in turn would result in at least a few less kids with weight problems. Of course, it may put several companies out of business. But what is more important, the lives of our children or the companies trying to make a profit at our children's expense? I do have to give some props to Disney. I noticed that they have started packaging some healthy options (like apples) with their character's faces. If only other companies would follow in suit.
I need someone to come and take my scale away from me. I find myself stepping on it every single time I go upstairs to use the restroom. And then, if I am up a pound or two from my weigh-in the previous Monday, I start getting upset. I'm relying too much on the numbers. Currently, the scale is saying 307. Last Monday, it was 306. So in my head, I'm coming up with reasons on why I can't go in to Weight Watchers on Monday morning. I'll still go. Of course. I went after Thanksgiving when I was up 4 pounds. I went after Christmas when I was up 2 pounds. But, I'm psyching myself out. And looking at the numbers on the scale. And getting paranoid. If I'm up, I'm up. I know that I've followed the plan this week. I didn't go over my points. In fact, several days I had to force myself to eat all my points. So really, the only thing that could cause me to be up is bloating. Which I'm definitely feeling right now.
Now, on to trigger foods. I cannot eat mozzarella sticks. Or potatoe skins. Because once I get started, I can't stop. Most people are that way with chocolate or ice cream. To me, it's more of the appetizer type foods. I made the banner at the top of the page to be creative. Actually, most of the things on it, I was craving at the time. But I improvised. I made my own version of the nachoes. I took two servings of Baked Tostitos. Two tablespoons of salsa. Two servings of Weight Watchers Mexican cheese. And two tablespoons of sour cream. I heated the cheese and chips in the microwave. Threw salsa and a few jalapenos on top of them. And there's my dinner! In fact, I ended up drinking 2- 1 liter bottles of water because the salsa was hot salsa and because of the jalapenos. And previously, I would have kept eating those nachoes. I would have probably had 4 or 5 servings of them. But, I'm starting to develop self-control. On New Year's Eve, the hubby and I got Chili's for dinner. I saved my points for the say and got a Guiltless Black Bean Burger and an order of the Texas Cheese Fries. And granted, the cheese fries are really, really bad for me. I saved my points and ate them. For several meals. A few months ago, I would have eaten them. For one meal. And then had the burger and a dessert. I ate the burger, a few cheese fries, and was stuffed. And, to tell the truth, the cheese fries weren't that good. And looking back, they weren't worth the points I used on them. Maybe sometime soon, I'll try my hand at eating some cheese sticks. And seeing if I can stop myself. But for now, I'm not risking it. I love cheese sticks, but I really don't care to have the 55 pounds I lost come back. No way!
And on another note, I got on the treadmill last night. I'm not good on my feet. I can walk just fine. But when it comes to using the treadmill, I'm not too steady on it. So I usually do a mile or two at 1 M.P.H. Which is so bad. I know. But I'm trying to work my way up. And I'm trying to wean myself off of using the handles for support. So last night, I hopped on the treadmill. "La Vie Boheme" from Rent popped on, and I went from 1 M.P.H. to 2.6. And I did run for a few seconds without touching the handles. And then I almost flew off, so I grabbed the handles again. Baby steps, I suppose. One of these days, I will be able to run without using the handles for more than a few seconds at a faster pace. But for now, I am proud of myself for moving the speed up like I did. And for running without using the handles. Even if it was only for a few seconds.
I think that's all that I have to rant and rave about right now. I'm currently working on my menu for next week because we literally have no food in the fridge or freezer. So we need to head to the store tomorrow to buy some groceries. Right now, I'm thinking, several kinds of stuffed peppers. Some kind of wraps. Some steamed salmon. And I have been craving hummus like no other! So definitely some hummus! And I'd really like to do some kind of peanut butter dessert and some kind of caramel brownie thing.
Holy... my shirt's not tight! - CrystalThis morning was a rough morning. My kitty's a little hell raiser and she tends to keep people up at night, so I awoke about a half hour early to my mother yelling at her. I then opened my door to let said hell raiser in. The furball got petted then continued to want attention, until she rested on her little kitty ledge to stalk birds outside. I love my kitty, but love my sleep more
 . (turns out kitty was quite the eater last night so had no food left, which is why she was a nutcase this morning)So I started my morning at 5 something this am and not 6:10... not fun. Who wants to 1. work on the weekend, 2. wake up early for it? Oh well, thats my job. Though there was an upside to 6 this morning when I was getting dressed. I'm dressed up a bit more than I normally would for a weekend shift since I'm heading to a concert shortly after work. My outfit: jeans, a pretty dkny sweater w/a tank underneath. My jeans went on fine... well sweet!... then when i put the tank top on, it actually felt kind of big.. it wasn't extremely fitted to my body (especially my tummy). Well hell! I'll take a morning like that!
 Thats a way to start a day, especially knowing I wont be able to make it to the gym today (only some ab work if i dont get home at midnight since i have to work tomorrow am also). I'll take it!My trainer suggested something to me... let's make this mental as well. Just keep thinking low numbers along with following my diet to see what happens on monday. I'm to put stickies everywhere that say "169". I haven't done the sticky part yet... but I have been thinking it. Who knows... i'll take anything right now.
 Has anyone also added in positive thinking to help them out? January 18 "Hey let's go to stew leonard's it looks like fun" - CrystalOh yes... I survived. How does someone trying desperately to lose weight & stay on track end up at Stew Leonard's? Well after a trip to Target on the way home, my boyfriend states "Hey let's go to Stew Leonard's it looks like fun"... so I pull in. Now this is CT's only (if i'm correct, there may be one somewhere else but not in my area) and neither of us had ever been in, so what the hell let's go! Dumbass i am... well no i'm actually proud of myself. I did give into the free wine tasting... luckily they only give you a little bit so i'm not that worried. Then we actually entered the store, while he went nuts on samples I tried my damnedest not to sample. I did good, only a small piece of the donut & the meatball. Go me!! I was actually really hungry, so darnit i did good. I didn't buy anything bad, only cherries. I really wanted the
 . Really bad. I'm pmsing & was extremely hungry so i think i deserve a star for being that good.  I've done good this week. I'm shocked i'm doing so well, really I am. I did eat out today, but I got a salad when we went out, it was the "Garden Grilled Vegetable Salad". It was grilled eggplant, grilled zuchanni, and grilled peppers, and since i desperately need protein right now I added chicken. SO GOOOD!!! Absolutely amazing. Plus i did over 7 miles at the gym today. YAY! I really so badly want to go and eat some bad food, i'm not even kidding how bad I want it... pizza, stuffed bread, cheeseburger, fries, bagel breakfast sandwhich, pasta...... excuse me i need to wipe some drool. oooo junk food.
okay no more bad thoughts. I'm going out again for dinner tomorrow so I'm going to be good again.
I'd like to thank Brittany... really she's the one who asked to do this, even though at the same time I thought about it before she asked... and now I'm being very careful and trying to curve my pms cravings (i know i'll give into one soon but not yet). Really she's helping me get back on track. Now it's just up to me to keep it up.
Here's to not screwing up tomorrow night... A Revelation And A Few Recipes (Brittany) I had every intention of coming home and using my treadmill. I came home to discover that my darling (not so darling in this case) husband loaded my stove top full of dishes. On top of that, he loaded up both sides of the sink, and there were a few dishes on the counter. Now how, I just don't know. I left for work at 11:30am and there were maybe four dishes floating around. He left at noon. 30 minutes after I left and 50 million dishes later (OK...so I exaggerated. There weren't 50 million dishes, but it sure seemed like it!), he apparently decided to go to work too! And I am the kind of person who cannot focus on ANYTHING else when there are dirty dishes. They sit there on the counter and taunt me. (Trust me, I do have a point to this rambling, so just bear with me!) So instead of getting on the treadmill, I came home and did dishes. We don't have a dishwasher, so I had to do all 50 million of them by hand. On top the stove, there were 5 glass plates. I grabbed the first two and threw them in the sink to soak and went to grab the next three. I glanced down at the top plate, and seriously, the sight made me sick. Darling husband decided to eat some fish fillets with tartar sauce before work. From the time he put the dish on the stove (probably around noon, right before he left), and the time I got home from work at 4:30, the tartar sauce had turned all icky and gross. Not trying to make anyone sick, I do have a point! I promise!  But it had gone from its nice white, creamy color to a gross yellowish-greenish-clear color. Eww! I stood there for a minute and just thought. I thought to myself...I used to eat that tartar sauce. I used to dip everything in that tartar sauce. If that is what the tartar sauce looks like after sitting out for a few hours, think of what is is doing to your body! Ouch! The very thought of it just completely disgusted me. Now, I eat pretty healthy, if I do say so myself. I try to limit the processed foods that I eat. But something inside of me just clicked. I used to put that in my body by the cup-full. I don't even know what's in the stuff! And yet, I would put it into my body. And then, I decided that I'd have enough. From now on, everything I eat is going to be free of the processed junk. From now on, I'm going to carefully examine labels. And if I can't pronounce something in it, I'm not buying it! Instead of buying salsa with 10 unpronounceable ingredients in it, I'm going to make it myself. I've just had it. I'm sick and tired of putting foods into my body that have an ingredient list a mile long with the majority of the ingredients being things I've never even heard of. And it's pretty bad that with all the health and fitness books that I read, it took a pile of tartar sauce to make me come to this revelation. But, at least I came to this revelation!On a side note, I have a few recipes to share. I'll try to take pictures of them the next time I make them. The first is Salsa Chicken: 1 can of Chicken 1 jar of salsa 1 packet of taco seasoning (in whatever heat level you prefer) 1 can of black beans 1 can of corn Peppers to your liking I throw it all in a pan, stir it up, and throw it in the fridge. When I get hungry, I grab two Flat Out Wraps. I throw 1/3 cup of Weight Watchers Mexican shredded cheese blend on them (divided among the two of them). And then, I throw a few spoonfuls of the Salsa Chicken mixture on them. Throw them in the microwave for 1 minute, and voila! Simple to make. Very tasty! And healthy too! Once they're warm, I add a tablespoon of sour cream to each tortilla and roll them. The second recipe is a sauce for salmon. It's a Cherry sauce: 1 bag of frozen cherries A teaspoon of chili powder A teaspoon of minced onion Thaw the cherries over night. Throw all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. It makes a ton of sauce! I throw a piece of salmon in a Zip 'N Steam bag and steam it with a little bit of veggies. Once the salmon is done, I throw it on a plate and throw two tablespoons of the sauce over the top of it. It's very healthy and very yummy! January 17 what is up with my body? - crystalFirst of all i love our new name... and who does not love wicked anyways! some use regular music to get through, we use broadway. Like Brittany I was equally crushed yesterday to find out Rent was closing, but am lucky enough to live close by & buy a ticket for the afternoon performance of the last day. (side note my impatient butt should have waited since they then sent out discount codes) Rent is amazing and really "no day but today" is a line that also has stuck with me throughout it all... it's true you leave the theater ready to start anew and change your life. It's sad that more generations won't get to see it in NYC and i cant imagine what will be there next. I will be taking a lot of pictures that day & crying extra hard during more scenes. (okay there's currently a commercial on tv for rent right now, its coming to a local theater next week... i'm going with my boyfriend)
Well after that news yesterday and some other stuff i headed to the gym for my weekly cycling class. Now as I've noted the past week when working out I've been beaten and just want to give up. After 2 days off (had appointments monday & tuesday) I went yesterday in hopes that it was over... NO! my body is still revolting. I don't get it at all. I have all the ambition in the world to be there but once i start it hurts and is just harder than normal. I started yesterday with 25 mins on the stairmill, then a good 15 mins on abs with a medicine ball... then an hour cycling class. The stair mill was hurtful... the abs a little... and the cycling class.... well of course that was. I'm getting tired more than normal and just aching... I wonder if it's because my period is approaching... I dont get it. But I kept going anyways. Let's just say cycling kicked my booty to no end & everyone in there... I love that class! Today I have a training session @ 1 and I hope it is as amazing as always but I dont feel like giving up b/c my body wont let me go anymore.
So to remind myself to keep on track, here is my schedule for the rest of the week:
For now I'm out... i'll try to be back later if the computer is available (i can only post from my parents computer or at work, since i have a mac & the site is not mac friendly). January 16 Not A Good Day (Brittany)I am just crabby beyond belief and having a really bad day. I found out this morning that my favorite musical, RENT, is closing on June 1st.
 RENT was part of what brought Crystal and I together as friends. I have seen RENT more times than I can count, and each time, I am inspired by it. "No Day But Today." Think about. What do you get from that phrase? Honestly, you just don't know what tomorrow may hold for you. You need to live each day as if it is your last. You can't keep putting things off until tomorrow, because who knows if there is going to be a tomorrow. And yes, I am getting somewhere with my ramblings. Each time I've gone to seen RENT, I've come out of the theater, inspired to change my life. I come out inspired to do something with my life. I come out inspired to change my behaviors. And granted, I have completely changed my behaviors and my way of thinking since starting on Weight Watchers last July. It just really hits home that this musical that has meant so much to me is closing its doors. Each time I've seen it, I've been going through something in my life. A bad relationship, the death of my grandpa, my struggles with my weight. And (I know I sound like a total dork saying this) RENT has helped me get through those stages. And it just stinks that it's closing it's doors. On top of that, I am just struggling to eat all my points these last few days. I'm just not hungry. I don't know what's wrong with me. I've had to force myself to get all my points in, which means eating when I'm not hungry. And I know that I was always taught, "Don't eat it if you're not hungry." And sadly, I don't think that applies when it's 10pm and you have 20 points left to eat. Oopps!
I had planned on coming home and doing a couple of miles on the treadmill. But instead, I came home and sat on my butt and did nothing. I really need to get on the treadmill tomorrow! Someone come motivate me! This exercise stuff is hard!
Oh! And on a side note, if you look to the right on our page, I've added a picture and a link to the Million Mile Walk that is hosted by me and Crystal! So go join in on the fun! January 15 We're hosting a challenge!!!!We challenge you. Yeah...you! The one behind the computer screen! I'm talking to you! We're challenging you to help us to walk ONE MILLION MILES in 2008! Sound like a challenge? Of course it does! Come and join us in the fun! Everyone is welcome. The more the merrier! Let's see how many miles we can walk in 2008, America! Let us know if you want in! Back on Track! - CrystalHello Everyone! Yay we have some friends here now!
And our page is changing and becoming so much better thanks to Brittany, especially since I'm not so good at making websites or much online. I can blog though! So yesterday was weigh in after my lovely 3 pound gain I was just hoping for something good. I worked out everyday since I weighed in last monday & ate extremeley well. I even watched my parents eat real nice pizza
(even the picture makes my mouth water) in front of me on sunday and did not give in. My efforts paid off with a 2 pound loss! YAYAYAYAY!  I havent seen a loss like that for a while. I'm so proud of myself and so is my counselor at Jenny. I can get back on track, I swear I can. I'm still going to try my hardest to hit 170 by February 4th. I'm now at 174.6, so we shall see... 170 has haunted me for months and I'll make it damnit. Since I got back on track with the amazing help of my partner and support system, it's time to make some new goals for this week:
Todays goal: Ignore my feelings... well not eat through them. I woke up feeling down today and normally I'd eat (even with jenny craig)... but i'm ignoring that today and staying on track. I cant gain anything back again, especially when I weigh in with my personal trainer on thursday too. lol. I will be good... I can stay on track... damnit i'm gonna see 170 soon! I'm determined. Hope everyone has a great day! January 14 How does this make sense? (Brittany)I weighed in this morning. 306.2. Down 3.8. And I am thrilled with that. I've also determined that my scale at home has suddenly decided to be in sync with the scale at my Weight Watchers meeting room. It showed me as 306 right before I left the house this morning. But what doesn't make sense to me is that last week I kicked my butt doing all sorts of exercises. Walking on the treadmill, Cardio Kick Boxing, weight training, etc. And lost 3 pounds. This week, I did nothing but clean some and lost 3.8. I don't get that. I mean, I am thrilled to have lost 3 and then 3.8 the following week. I just don't understand how I can work my butt off and lose .8 less than I did when all I did this past week was cleaned. Maybe I need to clean my house more often. I am a little over 6 pounds away from being under 300 pounds. And I am 13.7 pounds away from my 2nd 10% weight loss goal at Weight Watchers. Shortly behind that will be the 75 pounds lost mark. Which is mighty close to 100 pounds lost! January 13 A note on my books, and a small rambling (Crystal)I did want to make a note about my books. I realize that they are not traditional "How to lose weight" books, and kind of enjoy the difference. As I wrote before I just received my Master's degree in Women's Studies which drives my life. My books are more empowerment books at any size and how to fight back against the wrongs done against women who are not a size 2. A lot of the books make you think not only about your own life but about how different things in popular culture cause us to eat or feel we must look a certain way. In Unbearable Weight by Susan Bordo, she looks at advertisements and the shame that is put on women for eating in the first place. In my own journey it has been beneficial to have this background and know how others are feeling about their own weight and body image. We are all beautiful and that's all that matters.
 Now onto a small rambling... I HATE SNOW! OK, I lied, I don't hate it, but dislike it strongly. Right now they are predicting a lovely storm for our area overnight. Now because of this prediction I'm prepared to stay overnight at work (they put us up in a hotel, I work in a 24 hour call center)... if this happens I don't get to work out (unless the hotel has a gym, which I've never checked on, and it's free). I'm prepared for whatever, and do kind of hope to stay over since my car is not the best in the snow and I hate driving in it, especially with 6 inches by 6am. We shall see what happens... also if I stay over, no Jenny food tonight and I'll hope for a good salad at the hotel. I dunno. I just don't want to drop the ball right before weighing in.
And onto a fun thing... how cute is this kitten? I so want to be that kitty with the fries, staring at the fries, licking my lips.... yeah, I'm not PMS'ing really. Be strong kitty & I'll be strong too. January 12 Ouch (Brittany)I'm saying ouch for two totally different reasons. First of all, I spent most of this week cleaning the house. Deep cleaning the house, I should say. I didn't stick to my exercise plan like I wanted to, but I think I sweated more cleaning the house than I did using the treadmill. So I settled for that being my activity for each day. Thursday night when I got home from work, I didn't clean or get on the treadmill or anything really. I sat down and relaxed. Friday morning, I wake up and can barely walk. My left ankle hurt so bad. I don't know what I did to it! In the course of the day, my ankle started hurting less and less and the pain went up to my knee cap. I'm sitting here with my leg up on the couch and a pillow underneath it. I really just wish I knee what I could have done to injure myself like this, so I could figure out how to treat it. Yuck! My ankle still hurts a little bit if I try to twist it. But my knee cap is just killing me. So much for trying to get on the treadmill tonight. The other reason for me saying ouch is because of my wonderful supportive family. And I do say that sarcastically! Right before Christmas, I overheard a conversation between my mom and my aunt. My mom said, "We just got back from Weight Watchers." My aunt's response was "Oh. You mean she's still going to that. How long do you think before she quits again?" Nice. My family has so much faith in me. It's just upsetting. Your family is supposed to support you and stand by you. It just really stings. I also overheard my dad say something similar to my mom the other day. And Chris (the husband) barely acknowledges that I'm losing weight. I work in a very small police department. I am the only female in a department of nine guys. And my co-workers ask me every Monday how much I lost. Every single one of them who is there on Monday asks me. Yet my own husband doesn't say a word? I need to do this. And hit my goal weight. Besides the fact that I need to do this for myself. To get healthy and fit, and lead a long life. I need to do this to prove everyone wrong. To just show everyone that doubts that I can do this that I'm not a failure. And the problem doesn't lie with me. My entire family has been on a "diet" for as long as I can remember. My entire family is overweight or obese. Every year there is the "We're giving up sweets" or "No more candy/cake/junk food/fast food for me." I've heard it from them every year. And maybe, just maybe, if they see me doing this, it will give them the motivation to do it themselves. My grandma and aunt watch "the fat people show" (AKA The Biggest Loser), as my grandma calls it, but the show just doesn't touch their lives as much as it touches mine. But maybe by doing this for myself, I will be able to touch their lives. On Track! (Crystal)Hello everyone! So i've been mia for a couple of days, but with good reason. Let's just say things have gotten a bit nuts, unexpected good things but also leading to unexpected stress. Wrong yet right timing. Okay enough off track rambling... onto how I'm doing with this Biggest Loser. I'd have to say that without doing this with Brittany and for myself I probably would have not been as good as I was this week. I've only eatten off of Jenny once since Monday... and that was yesterday. I was craving a nice salad with grilled chicken, so I had that for dinner instead of a meal. Not exactly a bad thing to substitute into my schedule, but I did forget a fruit, however at least I didn't have a huge burger or donut or bagel.... or any of my habit foods.
Along with eatting well I've gone to the gym everyday. Tuesday as I wrote was one of the most intense training sessions I've had. I dont know whether it seemed bad because my body was just truly exhausted or because of everything we did. Wednesday I went to one awesome Cycling class. I had heard the woman who taught the class the previous week and couldnt help but laugh at her enthusiasm. I jumped on the chance to take her class this past wednesday since I can no longer take the Saturday morning class due to my job. Let me tell you, it kicked my ass but it was so much fun. I really truly enjoyed it. It was intense and she was fun which made the hour fly by. Mind you I took the class with my butt (literally my butt) already sore from the day before, so Thursday it hurt even more... and I had another training session. Good Lord my legs and butt still hurt. LOL. Luckily Thursday was great because I had a lot on my mind & it helped release a lot of stress that I had going on. Note to self: working out when stressed a bit better than eating. So after 3 intense days I still dragged my booty into the gym yesterday. Granted I only did 45 minutes of Cardio (as per my workout sheet from my counselor) but i made sure to make those 45 minutes count. And they did damnit. I'm going again today and will do more, just not quite sure how great I'm going to feel. hehe. I know i need to do the gym 6x this week, next week I wont be able to. Its going to be hard, so lets hope i do good weighing in. I always take Monday's off from the gym since I weigh in after work and dont make it home til late due to traffic. So I wont be able to work out on Monday, Tuesday I won't be able to either due to an appointment I have after work, and Saturday is still up in the air.
I have to thank Britt for all of her support this week. She has checked in with me everyday and really encouraged me to stick to it & encouraged me in my personal life. So thanks hun!
Here's to hoping I remain good today & tomorrow and have a good weigh in monday. January 09 Rough Night (Brittany)It wasn't rough in the way you'd probably think though. I didn't overeat or go off plan at all. It was rough because of what I was doing. I decided that I had had enough of clothes that are too big for me. As my Weight Watchers leader said, if you keep the clothes that is too big for you around, you will think it is alright to go back to those sizes and gain all your weight back. So, I decided to go through my drawers, my closet, and any clothes piles I could find. And I tried things on...piece by piece. I had bought a pair of pants from Lane Bryant in July. Size 28. Those pants were too small in November. Now, they are huge. I have worn them TWICE. It was so hard to part with them. I paid $40 for the dang things and wore them twice, and now I'm giving them to Goodwill. And then, I tried on a pair of size 28 pants, also from Lane Bryant, and they're too tight. WHAT?! I don't get it. That pretty much summed up my night. Many of my size 26/28 are too small. Even a pair of size 30 pants are too small. Yet, several pairs of size 24 pants I have fit just fine. I just don't get it. It was so frustrating to try on so much clothes and have so much of it still be too tight. I lost 50 pounds!!! Why does this stuff not fit? What size was I before? Some of my size 26 pants fit me before. I had a pair of size 30 pants that were too tight in the calves and around the waist, but baggy in the butt and around the legs. Those are going to Goodwill because they nearly fell off of me at work today. Literally. They almost fell off. I had to grab them really quick. But if those barely fit back in July, what was my size at that time? I squeezed into many pairs of my size 26/28 pants. Some size 26s pants fit me just fine then. I just don't get it! Why is sizing so different? It's just so frustrating to have lost so much weight, and I still can't even wear a bunch of my clothes. I took a picture of myself in a pair of size 24 pants. They're semi-tight still. And a 26/28 blouse that was too tight in November and now it is pretty loose. I'll post that tomorrow when I get home from work. I guess on the upside of everything, I have three bags of clothes that I'm getting rid of. Two are going to Goodwill, and one is going to my mom. Time to Move Foward (Crystal)So I had an extremely disappointing weigh in on monday, which I wrote about below, so Tuesday meant back on track. And by back on track I truly mean back on track. I did not eat one thing that was not part of my Jenny Craig program yesterday (okay well I had coffee, but that's still allowed
), and even made sure to have my 2 glasses of milk. The only problem I had was that I cannot take the vitamins that have been supplied to me by Jenny. The vitamins contain green tea, and that just upsets my stomach to no end and also causes me to feel naseous. Because of this I'll be heading to the grocery store tomorrow to find a new multi vitamin that doesn't contain evil green tea and hope it will help me in my journey.Along with eatting completely on track yesterday I also had a session with my personal trainer. I have never wanted to give up while working out with her, but yesterday it took everything I had to not give up. We started by weighing in, where the dreaded 3 pound gain was still showing. It was great to hear her still support me after the gain, however i think she took it out on my body quite well. It's strange, there are a couple of people that I grew up with who go to my gym, one guy and one girl. The guy I've been in school with since 1st grade and get along with now, but somehow in the back of my head I sometimes go back to being that elementary school student who was afraid of being picked on by him. During one part of my workout my trainer, Kim, brought me into the class gym to do some lovely sprints and he was in there, in my head I felt like that girl he picked on in elementary school and I was the fat kid again. It's strange how even if we get along with the people now we can still find ourselves psychologically reverting back to grade school, you truly remember everything from a child. Especially if you were one of the fat kids who didnt fit in.
After my butt was completely kicked I headed home, stayed on track with my food, watched the Biggest Loser (i've now gotten my mom addicted) and talked to Brittany. I also took the dreaded full length picture. I think that it was the first time since like 5th grade I've willingly taken a picture in a sports bra and shorts. It was traumatic but also liberating. My boyfriend finds me sexy, my family thinks I'm beautiful. I can be beautiful at this size and who I am. Not that I'm gonna take another one any time soon, but I did get through it.
Today is another day, another day to do better and just try my hardest. I'm going to stay on track again today, take a cycling class and just keep moving forward.
 January 08 Ramblings (Brittany) I'm sitting here watching the Biggest Loser, and I'm inspired to Blog. We didn't include it in our "Why We Should Win" Statement, because it would have been so long, but let me just go over some things. I was born into a Days of Our Lives family. So needless to say, I was beyond thrilled when I heard that Alison Sweeney would be the new host of the Biggest Loser. I have literally watched Days since before I was born. Stop laughing! I really did! My mom watched it when she was pregnant with me. And my grandma watched it. As a child, I remember spending the days at my grandparent's house. At 2pm, everything in the house would stop, and we would all gather in front of the television set and watch Days. I grew up watching Alison grow up. I watched as she battled her weight on the show, and I connected with her. It would be such an honor to be able to see someone I grew up watching on television. I watched as she gained and lost weight. And I admired her. She was able to lose the weight. And she looked amazing! I would love to have the opportunity to say hello to someone I "grew up with." Both Bob and Jillian have been huge motivators in my life. They have encouraged me to get off my butt and do something about my weight problem. And I just want one chance. One opportunity to tell them thank you. I deserve that. I know that there are millions of Americans out there right now saying the exact same thing. But without Bob and Jillian, I would probably be well over 400 pounds by now. Watching Bob and Jillian on the show. Watching them work with the contestants. Listening to what they had to say. Listening to their tips and tricks. They made me realize that I can do this. That I can change my life. That I can get my life back. That morbid obesity, and at the rate I was going, probably death, did not have to be my fate. And I just want one chance to say thank you for changing me and changing my ways of thinking. I think I deserve that much. And on top of that, I am deathly afraid of heights. I have never been on an airplane before. I'm scared of flying, in fact. But I would get on the plane to head out to Los Angeles in a heartbeat! Forget my fear of flying! Knowing that upon landing I would be meeting my friend Crystal for the first time. Knowing that I would be meeting the contestants and Bob and Jillian and Alison. That's motivation enough for me to get over my fear of flying, and get my butt on a plane! Enough rambling about why we should win. I'm going back to watching the Biggest Loser now! January 07 She did it! I... didn't (Crystal)Yay! Brittany did it! And I could not be more proud of her. It's so amazing that she was able to hit it, I can't express how happy I am for her.
While she did it, I did not. I again gained weight. I've been at this plateau for what seems like forever.... when in fact forever is only since November. I finally worked my way back down to 173 and I was determined not to screw up again. Sadly my whole goal was not met. Again I gained weight... what the. I just wish I knew how to stop this horrible cycle. I know there was a lot to add to this week, and to add into why I didn't lose weight, let's go down them shall we?
Why I gained:
Despite the fact that I know why I gained 3 lovely pounds, I'm still completely crushed. So how do we fix this? How do I get back on track, here's how I get better this week:
Seems doable right? This has been so hard, I don't want to let anyone down. I'm really scared I won't be able to do this, do we all get scared? I'm going to try to keep my boyfriend's advice in mind "you have to take the 3 ponds of bad with the 40 pounds of good that you've already lost." I did it!!! (Brittany)Today was my weigh-in day. I lost 3 pounds, but more importantly, I hit the 50 pound mark!! -51.2 overall in fact!! And I am 11 pounds away from being under 300. It's been a long time coming, and this road has been full of so many ups and downs. But I'm more motivated now. And I'm on track and will continue to be on track! Under 300 here I come! 75 pounds gone...here I come!! My Weight Watchers leader, Heather, shared the greatest story with us today in our meeting. Here's the story. Thank you Heather for sharing it with me. It was written by a Doctor Harry Clarke Noyes: The Goose Story This fall, when you see geese heading South for the winter--flying along in a "V" formation--you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. PEOPLE WHO SHARE A COMMON DIRECTION AND SENSE OF COMMUNITY CAN GET WHERE THEY ARE GOING MORE QUICKLY AND EASILY BECAUSE THEY ARE TRAVELING ON THE THRUST OF EACH OTHER. When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone--and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front. IF WE HAVE AS MUCH SENSE AS A GOOSE--WE WILL STAY IN FORMATION WITH THOSE WHO ARE HEADED IN THE SAME WAY AS WE ARE. When the Head Goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point. It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs with people or with geese flying south. Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. Finally-- and this is important--when a goose gets sick, or is wounded by gunshots, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend a helping hand and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies; only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group. IF WE HAD THE SENSE OF A GOOSE, WE WOULD STAND BY EACH OTHER LIKE THAT. This story is just so true! For me and Crystal, we are both headed in the direction to better ourselves. To become healthy and fit. To reach our weight loss and fitness goals. And we can think of ourselves in terms of the geese. We stand by each other in good times and in bad. When one of us is gaining, the other one is there to support her and carry her through those troubled times until she is able to get herself back on track. That constant support and encouragement is crucial in any journey we must face in our lives, but it is most important for our weight loss journeys. We need support to help motivate us. To help encourage us. And to help us stay on track, during the good times and the bad. I found this picture on Yahoo Images and thought it related well to the story and this entry. January 06 Crystal and her fatHey everyone! I'm the other half of this amazing pair. My name is Crystal, I'm also 25 years old and I'm from Middletown, Connecticut. Like most who are inspired by The Biggest Loser weight has been something I've struggled with, or at least been aware of a good portion of my life. Even though I was asked once in elementary school if i was pregnant by a younger student weight and size didn't really hit me until I was in middle school. Thats where the overall feeling of being the "big" friend started, and most of my new friends were a little surprised I was a cheerleader considering my size. My size then was a size 14, that then was 6th grade. I don't really remember sizes after 6th grade, but I know they were around the same. My freshman year in high school since I was a cheerleader I had to get an "official" physical from the school, and I remember it clearly. There it said, in front of everyone, during school time... 199. What! But how? Right then I decided never again. HA! If only it was that easy right? Well I lost weight for a while, I went to college and it started again, even after seeing a nutritionist. This over all feeling of being the big girl, which was again emphasized by my cheerleading coach, didn't go away in college. Though I was shocked and amazed that I made my college squad, I accepted it and tried my hardest to enjoy the time... that was until it was uniform time. I was never given a skirt, sorry not never, I was allowed to wear one for the final squad picture. I still maintain I never lost weight during that time period, but my jerk of a coach wouldn't let me try one on, told me to see the school nutritionist and I swear he would have jumped for joy if I developed an eating disorder. I was also not officially put on the team for the next year unless I lost weight, I later quit. (He got fired) I joined a sorority (something I never thought a fat girl could do) and embraced life through school. But the pant size kept going up and I always felt like the fat sister and fat friend (but kept it all inside). I tried Weight Watchers once during that time, I got paranoid, I couldn't weigh in around people and it just didn't work. I tried a trainer my senior year in college while i was home in the summer. I was over 200lbs when i started (so much for that never again right?), she was great and I was motivated, she was then fired. Out of anger I never returned to the gym (never got my money back for remaining sessions) and continued to grow. The amazing store Torrid arrived in state and I was excited to not have to buy clothes online anymore. I became pro-fat and took that with me everywhere I went and started analyzing popular culture and body image for women. I also started graduate school for my Masters in Women's Studies.
Fast forward.... it's now summer 2006, I have a free gym that I go to and I'm trying to lose weight smart and on my own for my best friend's wedding. Well that free gym, not so smart and old equipment. I'm not really doing good on my own and I'm staying the same. My dress for her wedding is a size 18. I see the pictures and realize I really need to start beliving in myself to do this, I'm not happy with what I see. My pants size is now either a 22 or a 20 depending on what brand. Damnit. I continue, but after finding out that Kirstie Alley is kicking some butt on Jenny Craig and a family friend has also used it with success I decide it's time to bite the bullet and get help.
July 17, 2006. I go to my Jenny Craig Counsultation. Great some woman who's never had to lose weight before telling me how to lose weight. But oh crap! It's different here. The person who tells me all about Jenny has lost over 100lbs on her own and now uses Jenny to maintain. I weigh in and start at 216.6, wow. I couldn't believe it. I sign up for a year, determined that if I shell out this much money I'm gonna stick to it and really lose weight. We set a realistic goal of 180 lbs at first, but that gets changed later on. I get tossed around between counselors since some have left. I think i finally end up with my amazing (and skinny) counselor Liz by the end of the year.
January 2007. I hit the gym. I finally realize the old machines and "free" gym are not worth the "free" and get a membership to the gym near my apartment (a different one than before). I get two free training sessions, to which out of convience I'm paired up with Kim, she's a woman (my preferance) and available when I come in. She's awesome and after the two sessions I start meeting with her once a month. By the end of March beginning of April I hit my first goal of 180, and celebrate with a new tattoo and a new goal. The ultimate goal.... 150 lbs.
Now. My current weight is 173.2 (or .4 i really forgot). And as you can tell I'm stuck. The holidays and the stress of trying to graduate took its toll on my diet. I wrote my special project to graduate on body image which inculdes not only research but a proposed 4 meeting workshop for young girls about body image and body size acceptance. I'm now a size 14 in jeans and pants, while my skirt/dress size has shrunk to a 12. I can pull on a size 12 DKNY jeans, but know that after one washing they definitely won't fit anymore. I'm almost at my dream size of a 10 in a dress. I'm also meeting with my personal trainer Kim once to twice a week (thank you payment plans!) to get my butt to my ultimate goal.
My goal is to hit 150 by the end of this year, to better myself, and to not let Brittany down so we can win this thing! I know that with each other's support we can do this. Good times will hit and so will bad times, she'll be there to help me and I'll be there to help her.
How I hope to do this
If the Biggest Loser contestants can do it, so can we! Who We AreCrystal and I met several years ago on a community on Livejournal. We both were fans of a certain singer (who shall remain nameless) that was on American Idol. And we noticed that we had many other things in common. We became instant friends. Crystal and I have never met in person, but that doesn't mean that we're not close friends. Through the years, Crystal has been a great motivation and support for me as I've tried and failed at diet after diet. She's seen me succeed and seen me struggle. And through it all, she's been there, by my side (well..technically not by my side, but right on the other side of the computer ) supporting me and helping me get through it.All About BrittanyI'm Brittany! I'm 25 years old, from Cincinnati, Ohio. I have struggled with my weight my entire life. I remember going to a meeting when I was, maybe ten years old, with my mom. The meeting was for a diet and exercise program geared towards young people. There were maybe 20 other young children and their parents there. We were given these little work books to color in and write down our thoughts on different things. I lasted about a week on that. And every diet I tried after that. I would try the diet and give up after about a week because I was feeling deprived. I don't like feeling like I'm depriving myself of anything. If I go out to eat with friends, I want to be able to get the foods I love.
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(just add some major tears to that face and you'll get me). It's hard. It truly is hard. And I have to be thankful that I have the people around me that I do. I got a great talk with my boyfriend on my almost hour drive home from my boyfriend, well I rephrase he talked while I cried. My mom gave me a hug, and thankfully my amazing partner Brittany didn't disown me. I prepared her for the possiblility but that doesn't mean I still don't feel like a let down. Why can I not beat 173? Why is my body revolting? I'm a little worried about seeing my trainer tomorrow. It's weird, I never let my feelings show to my Jenny Craig counselor or my personal trainer, but once I hit that car the tears start flowing.
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