1Year4Days: 2011 Recap

Hey Folks!!!  I know you thought I had given up on the whole 50 pound weight loss journey.  But I am still here and will continue to work toward reaching my goal of losing 50 pounds.

+20lbs Dec2010

-20lbs Dec 2011

Well lets recap all the different diets and exercise programs I attempted to incorporate into my lifestyle.

1. The How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days from the book "The 4 Hour Body"
• Lost 8lbs and didn't seem like something I would consider doing continuously
2. Counting Calories
• Lost additional 4 pounds for the couple of months I focused on calorie counting.  I think this works for me, but you have to stay focused and make sure you track everything
3. Roller Skating
• I really enjoyed roller skating and think if I did this at least twice a week it would make a huge difference with losing weight and keeping the weight off.  This is something I think I could continue to do and add to my lifestyle
4. Salsa Dancing
• Salsa dancing was fun, but it requires you to have a partner.  Currently I am single, so it really doesn't fit into my lifestyle as something I can depend on doing throughout the week.  But who knows, maybe in 2012 I might find that special someone who is game for going out and doing the latin 2step!
5. Going to the Gym
• SMH...I think I went to Golds Gym maybe 3 times this year.  I know not working out is the major reason why I haven't dropped as much weight as I have hoped for.  I recognize that I am just lazy and trying to find the easy answer to losing weight and keeping it off.  
6. P90 X
• P90 X is made for someone who is already dedicated to working out on a regular basis.  For someone like me, I think it is a little to much to soon.  It is difficult to go from no exercise to 6 days a week worth of exercise(avg 60 mins per workout).  I believe I would have had better luck with 30 minute workouts 3 times a week.
• After the first month of P90X I was burn out and think I averaged 1 workout per week during second month.  The last month I didn't even do 1 workout.
7. Phentermine (appetite suppressant)
• Phentermine is appetite suppressant that can be prescribe by your doctor.  It is great if you need a little jump start to help kick those food cravings that occur when you decrease your food intake.  When I take phentermine I am to get through the day without feeling like I am starving, which usually leads to over eating.  
• I am currently only taking phentermine when I feel I need it.  This month I actually have not taken it because I no longer feel like I am starving between meals.  I rarely crave unhealthy food now and noticed that I crave healthier foods (fruit and veggies)
8. Weight Watchers(WW)
• WW worked really well for me and I am still participating in the program.  When I finally joined WW in June I had put on weight about 6 pounds and felt myself slipping back into old habits.  I lost close to 18 pounds while on WW, bringing me very close to 25 pounds total.  Unfortunately November 2011 I fell of track and let the holiday dinners and desserts get the best of me.  By the time December rolled around I had gained about 6 pounds.
• WW is great for the support and if you attend the weekly meetings will encourage you to be more accountable for what you eat.

I didn't reach my 50lb weight loss goal, but I am happy to say that this time last year I was 20lbs heavier.  When I look at my weight loss compared to my starting weight in Jan 2011 I feel pleased with the progress I have made.  

I will continue to share my weight loss journey with all of you until I reach my goal.  For my next post I will share some of the new exciting things I will be doing to help me reach my goal.  

Looking forward to a happy and healthy 2012!!!

+20lbs Dec2010

-20lbs Dec 2011

DAY 276: P90X IS NO JOKE!!!!

Hey Folks,

This past week I did really well and lost 4.4 pounds brining me to a total of 22.8 Pounds!!!  I decided to only eat my meals and not snack at all during the day.  I guess it paid off because this week has been one of my best weigh-ins at WW.

Since I only have 3 more months until the new year I have decided to buckle down and exercise.  I am going to do 90 days of the P90X "Lean" program.  You all know how much I have been avoiding doing a regular exercise routine throughout the year.  So this is a really huge challenge for me and for extra support I have recruited several friends to also do P90X for 90 days.

This was my 2nd day of P90X and I just finished the Cardio X workout. The Cardio X wasn't that bad, but I don't care for all that Yoga mess at the beginning of the Cardio workout. Yesterday I did the Core Synergistics workout, which was definitely NO Joke. All I can say is that when I was doing the Superman/Banana I felt like I was just rolling around on the floor looking like a beached whale.

If anyone would like to join the group for 90 days of P90X, please let me know and I will send you an invite to the group page I have created for us all to share our experience.

DAY 270: Pulling Out All the Stops...P90X

Hey Folks!!!
I know I have been MIA, but I have still been actively focusing on losing this unwanted weight.  Ever since I hit 20 pounds I have just been maintaining.  I keep going to my weight watchers meetings, which offers great support and keeps me accountable for my weight.  So for the past two months I have been back n forth between -18 and -20 pounds.  You don't know how horrible you can feel when you go to weigh in and the lady says "you went up 0.40 pounds".  Now most folks will think that is no big deal, but those +.40 and -.60 pounds add up and can make or break your week.  Weighing in, going to meetings and checking in my my girl who is also doing WW  is a life saver.  If I weigh in and they said I have went up .60 pounds you better believe I am working my but off to get it back down for the following week.  The problem is once I go back down and weigh in with a loss, I guess I don't work as hard the following week and what do you know .40 pounds has snuck up on me.

So basically for the past two months I have done a great job at maintaining but have failed to lose more weight.  That means I have to face the one thing I have been avoiding throughout this entire year.  EXERCISE...Yep I'm definitely not crazy about it.  But I can no longer avoid it.  The last time I lost a significant amount of weight it was a combination of diet and doing Bikram Yoga 3 or more times a week.  I lost 25 pounds in 3 months doing just that.  So you would think I would just go do the yoga again, but I'm just not as Gung-Ho about going to Bikram as before and I don't want to waste my money.  Bikram is very expensive and I only want to sign up when I know I'm serious about it.  Shoot...I'm already wasting money on my Golds Gym membership.  I actually went a couple times last month...Woo Hoo for me…Yeah Right.  I know that is just flat out pitiful.

So I'm just going to dive right in and go all out for the last three months of this year.  My sister has done the P90X 90 day challenge a couple times.  She is currently going into her last 30 days of P90X.  A couple of her girlfriends are thinking about doing it in October as well.  So I decided to dedicate 1.5 hours of my day to P90X for 90 days starting Oct 2nd!!!

Updated Progress Pictures Coming Soon!!!

DAY 214: 20 POUNDS GONE ...Good Riddance to Yah!!!

WOOO HOOOO!!!!  Yep I finally hit 20 pounds.  It took me long enough to get there, but I am hoping I will reach 50 a lot faster now.  Since I started weight watchers in June I have lost 14 pounds.  I think losing 7 pounds a month is awesome and I hope I can maintain that momentum throughout the next couple of months.  It  would be great if I can reach my 50 pound goal before the January 2012.

I have to be honest, I haven't done much exercise for the month of July.  I still have a hard time motivating myself to go to the gym.  I am kind of disappointed in myself because I haven't been getting my "Roll Bounce" on at the skating rink.  I haven't been roller skating since June, and that is just sad.  If I did exercise I think I could have easily shed 10 pounds or more each month instead of just 7.  So I plan to get my lazy butt up and be more active this month.  I figure I can at least pull out the Wii and Dance for 1.5 hours twice a week and hit the rink on Sunday.  Who wants to hit the Rink with me?

So last time I posted here, I mentioned that I was singing at the historical Blues Alley.  I had an awesome time...the musicians were on fire, the crowd was great and I felt right at home on the stage!  Below is the audio recording of my performance...sorry no video.  But I did record a video of myself right before I left for the show just to share with you.  If you remember me being kind of blown last time I performed because I couldn't find anything to wear...well this time I found a cute sexy number to wear to the show.  Enjoy the music folks!!!

Audio recording of me singing at Blues Alley

Me the Night of the Show 

The Shoes

DAY 190: Losing Weight During the Holidays

Hey Folks!!!  Hope everyone enjoyed spending time with the family and friends during the 4th of July.  This is a difficult time of year to stay focused and eat wisely during all the cookouts and warm weather celebrations.  What works for me is planning ahead.  If I know I am going to a cookout I decide what I will eat and how many drinks I will have.  

My clothes are fitting lose and I have actually started transitioning into wearing my clothes that are one size smaller!!!  About three months ago I found a pair of pants with the perfect cut and I loved how they looked on me.  But I just couldn't seem to zip them up...LOL....yeah I know I should have put them back on the rack, but they looked so great.  I could just imagine how great they would look on me, if I could fit them :-)  So I got them and stuck them in my closet.  Every couple weeks I would try to squeeze into them and then peel out of them after I didnt' have any luck zipping them up.  Well Sunday July 3rd I slid into those pants and zipped them up.  Hey Folks, your Girl was Looking Good ;-) I will be sure to post pics next time I wear them.

I will be singing at Blues Alley again next week.  Hoping this time I have better luck with finding something cute to wear.  Wish me Luck!!!

DAY 169: Lost 7.8 Pounds in Two Weeks...It's a NEW DAY

Hey Folks!  Great News...I am back on track.  The last time I posted I mentioned that I was thinking about joining weight watchers.  Well I bite the bullet and signed up on June 1rst.  I am happy to say that I have lost all the weight I gained in May in two weeks!  The first week I lost 4.4lbs and when I weighed in today I lost an additional 3.4 pounds for a total of 7.8 POUNDS!!!!  


Even though I can't stand that commercial with Jennifer Hudson singing "It's a new dawn...."  I can't help but sing out today "IT'S A NEW DAAAAYYYYY!!!!"  I think what I like most about WW is this new concept of no penalty for eating all fruits and most veggies.  My new snacks of choice are strawberries, cherries, blueberries, watermelon, mangoes and the list goes on!!!!  I find at the end of the day I don't even end up using all of my allocated points because I have filled up on mixed veggies or fruit.

Knowing that I will be weighing in on Saturday mornings and getting a print out of my current weight really motivates me to stay on track.  It's just something about collecting that print out showing my weight going down that gives me a little natural high.

I am also extremely happy that a very close friend of mine has also joined WW with me.  I couldn't ask for a better support system.  We have been checking in on each other during the week, sharing how many points we have used and what exercise we plan to do.  We also share when one of us decided to go to Chick Fil'A or Starbucks and use up over half our points for a taste of the good stuff :-)

As I push forward in this weight loss journey I hope that I no longer see months like May where my weight is going up instead of down.  The added support from WW meetings and friends should keep me more focused and on track.

Below is an example of what I have been eating and how many points are used.

Monday, June 13, 2011
-----------------------------------------------

     Allocated : 37.0
     Earned    : 0.0
     Remaining : -3.0
     Total     : 40.0

     10.0   Chick-fil-A® Side Items Cole Slaw 1 serving (184g)
     8.0   Chick-fil-A® Side Items Chick-fil-A Waffle Potato Fries® 1 servi
     11.0   Chick-fil-A® Classics Chick-fil-A® Chicken Sandwich 1 sandwich (
     5.0   Kellogg's Eggo Waffles nutri-grain blueberry - made with whole w
     6.0   2x Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Patty

     0.0   Fruit Salad

Tuesday, June 14, 2011
-----------------------------------------------

     Allocated : 37.0
     Earned    : 0.0
     Remaining : 21.5
     Total     : 15.5

     3.5   3.5x Fresh frozen vegetables (Birds eye)
     3.0   frozen boneless chicken breast
     8.0   Lean Cuisine Chicken Margherita
     0.0   Fruit Salad

     1.0   Breyers Yogurt light

     0.0   Fruit Salad