Day 30

I don't think I ever announced my weight loss for the month of January. My total loss is 12 pounds...down from 264 to 252. By then end of February I hope to be in the low 240's.

I am just now getting home from graduate class so this will be short and sweet...
Breakfast - Kashi Cereal, Skim Milk, Banana
Lunch - Slim Fast Bar and Pineapple
Snack - Kashi Bar
Dinner - Sonic Grilled Chicken Sandwhich (380 calores) and Sonic Mozzarella Sticks (nearly 400 calories as well) ....I shouldn't have had these!!! I felt guilty while eating them and afterwards...I will not slip up like that again. It's not worth it....I hope this slip up will not impact my whole day.

Day 29 (Start of Week 5)

This weekend went by so fast and now Monday is nearly gone, too. Time is flying. In a few minutes I am taking R.J. to gymnastics. It will be his first lesson. I want him to be active so that he will not ever end up 100+ pounds overweight like me.

A coworker today noticed my weight loss. I haven't really been telling anyone that I am dieting, but she noticed and referred to me as the "incredible shrinking woman". I plan to take new pictures either tonight or tomorrow so I can see if I notice a difference.

Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast - Kashi Cereal, Skim Milk, Banana
Lunch - Slim Fast Bar and Pear
Afternoon Snack - Salad with a Serving of Baked Doritoes and a few Almonds
Supper - ??? not sure since I won't be back home until 7:45 or so. I have pork chops in the Frig, but I also have a frozen Weight Watch Meal in the Freezer so I guess if just depends on my moom when I get home...who knows? I may just have some yogurt or something...

Day 28 (End of Week 4)

Well, today has been alright I guess. My in-laws are here so we went out for lunch. My husband chose some out-of-the-way home-style cooking buffet restaurant. What was he thinking? Anyway, I ate a big salad there and then took the crust off a piece or fried chicken breast and ate that. Then, I ate some vegetables...sweet potatoes, lima beans, collard greens. None of it was very good...probably the best thing at the restaurant were the desserts which looked really good, but I didn't dare try any. For supper my husband is grilling hamburgers so I bought some extra lean hanburger meat for me and some Sara Lee Wheat Buns and Fat-Free Cheese and also some baked Doritoes. It has been a challenge to eat healthy today, but I think I have done O.K.

Breakfast - Honey Nut Cereal with Skim Milk
Lunch - Buffet foods (see above)
Snack - Lite Yogurt
Supper - Hamburger with Baked Chips

Day 27

Well, the skating thing didn't work. R.J. tried, but just didn't master the whole skating thing. He said next time he wants to get skates with no wheels on them! I guess I am going to have to get him some beginner skates so he can practice in the driveway.

Today my Leslie Sansone DVD's arrived. I ordered them from Ebay and they are great. I have three workouts: the one mile, two mile and three mile. Today I did the one mile and I was finished in no time. I may try the two mile tomorrow and if it's not too hard I will alternate between the one mile and two mile. It will probably be a few weeks before I can do the three mile.

Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast - Honey Crunch Cereal with Skim Milk
Lunch - Weight Watcher Frozen Meal
Dinner - Going out to eat with husband probably to Applebees so I can order from the Weight Watcher menu
Snacks - Strawberries, Banana, Almonds

By the way, my husband bought a new vehicle today to replace the car that was totaled last week. I am back to driving our Chrysler Town and County MiniVan and he's now driving a Dodge Truck with a Hemi engine...he's so excited because he has always wanted a truck and this is our first ever brand new car purchase.

Day 26

TGIF again!!

This weekend will be busy. Tomorrow I am taking R.J. skating and then I have to make sure my house is presentable since my in-laws are coming into town on Sunday from Florida. They are coming to buy a car...my husband is a car salesman.

Here's what I ate today...
Breakfast - Shredded Wheat Cereal with Skim Milk and Orange Juice
Lunck - Slim Fast Bar and Apple
Dinner - Salad and a Weight Watcher Frozen Meal

Day 25

Friday is almost here! This weekend will be an important one since I will be taking my month-end measurements and also I will soon be taking progress pictures. I will post updated pictures on Wednesday probably with side-by-sides on my Jan. 2 pictures and Feb. 1. I hope I will be able to see a difference. Today a coworker asked if I had lost 20 pounds already and was surprised when I said that I have only lost 10 so far. So, I guess there is a noticeable difference.

Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast - Shredded Wheat Cereal with Skim Milk and Orange Juice
Lunch - Kashi Bar and Banana
Dinner - Salad, 2 Chicken Fajitas
Snack - Almonds

Day 24

Well, this week is going by so fast. I can't believe tomorrow is Thursday already and I really can't believe the month is almost over. I had a meeting after work today and then went to church so I didn't exerise again today...I know...I have to make time. But I really don't like the tapes I have right now...one Richard Simmons and one Pilates...however, I will be getting my Walk Off the Pounds DVD's soon and then I am going to commit myself to getting up early on the days I have lots to do in the evenings so that I can do exercise every day...or at least almost everyday.

Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast - Shredded Wheat Cereal with Skim Milk and Orange Juice
Lunch - Slim Fast Bar and Carrot Sticks
Dinner - Weight Watcher Frozen Meal
Snack - Strawberries and almonds

Day 23

This will be a short post because I am tired. I did fine today.
Breakfast-Shredded Wheat Cereal, Skim Milk, Orange Juice
Lunch-Slimfast bar and orange
Snack-Kashi Bar
Dinner-Grilled Chicken Salad

Today I ordered "Walk Off the Pounds" DVDs from ebay and I am excited about getting them. I think they will help me to incorporate more exercise into my life.

Day 22 (Start Week 4)

Well, today I am so tired. I had to drive to Hattiesburg to take care of some business after work and I did not get home until almost 7pm. Needless to say, I didn't feel like cooking. Also, I had a bad headache. So, I stopped at McDonald's and got a grilled chicken salad. I didn't workout today and I feel bad about that, but my eating was fine. Tomorrow will be another busy day because I have to do back to Hattiesburg (35 miles away) to go to graduate class and I won't get home until late. I may not have time to post tomorrow, but I will catch up on Wednesday.

Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast - Shredded Wheat Cereal with Skim Milk and Orange Juice
Lunch - Slim Fast Bar and an apple
Supper - Grilled Chicken Salad
~no snacks

Day 21 (End of Week 3)

Well, this morning I weighed in and the scale is stuck at 256 still. I am hoping that I will see a loss this coming week. I need to lose 2 more pounds to meet me goal of 10 pounds for this month. I hope to be out of the 250's soon...

Today so far I have been eating O.K. For breakfast I had Shredded Wheat Cereal with Skim Milk and a banana and then for lunch I had a South Beach Diet Frozen Meal and two pieces of wheat bread. I had a McDonald's fruit and yogurt parfait for a snack. For supper I am having mexican baked potatoes (potato, lean ground beef, taco seasoning, sour cream, cheese, bell peppers, onion).

In just a few minutes I am going to do a Pilates workout...or at least try to do it. I haven't watched if yet so I don't know how difficult it is. My goal for next week is to do at least 30 minutes of exercise every day and to drink more water.

I am really starting to get irritated with my husband. He was supposed to be doing this with me, but he only lasted a day or two. Now he says that once he starts seeing me lose more then maybe he will get motivated. It is even more important for him to lose than me because he has high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, and he's about 350 pounds. I just can't get him motivated. Today I sent him to the store to get some fat-free shredded cheese for our supper and he came back with 2% Cheese and a giant family size bag of potato chips and a container of dip to eat while he watched football. Already today he ate 3 pork chops for breakfast and then for lunch he had two double cheese burgers and two orders of fries. He lives on fast food for breakfast and lunch every day. What am I going to do with him??? I told him today I was going to take out a lot of life insurance on him since he wants to keep eating this way.

Day 20

Today I finally decided to stop just talking about starting to exercise and today I actually did some exercise. I did a Richard Simmon's video workout (Sweating to the 80's). R.J., my 4-year-old, did it with me and he had fun. He called Richard Simmons "that sparkly guy" because of the glitter on his clothes. After I finished the workout video and did arm exercises for 30 minutues while watching the National Body Challege on the Discovery Healthy Channel. Then, I did 50 leg lifts on each leg and about 20 squats. My goal for next week will be do some type of exercise everyday.

Eating has been fine today. I ate some "Weight Control" Oatmeal for breakfast and left over chicken stirfry and brown rice for lunch. I am about to eat a big salad before I take R.J. to yet another birthday party. Then, for supper my husband decided to pick up something on the way home from work so I got a McDonald's Grilled Chicken Salad with Light Dressing and a snack size Fruit and Yogurt Parfait. I hope this wasn't too many calories...

Well, tomorrow I will report my official 3 week weigh in and then next week will mark the end of month 1 and I will do my measurements again.

Day 19

TGIF! This has been a challenging week. It started off good enough with a three-day-weekend, but quickly turned into a trying week when my car was totaled by a driver who lost control of their car...still waiting to hear what the insurance is going to do about my car, which has $13,000 worth of damage.

As far as eating, this has been a good week. The only day I had anything not exactly healthy was on Wednesday when I had lasanga and a few chips, but I didn't overdo it so I don't think this will impact my weight loss much. I will weigh in for my official weekly weigh-in on Sunday to see if I lost anything.

Today my eating was fine. Here's my summary...
Breakfast - Shredded wheat cereal with skim milk and orange juice
Lunch - Slim Fast Bar and Banana
Snack - Salad
Supper - Chicken Stirfry with Brown Rice

I can hardly believe I have stayed with my eating habits for almost a month now and that I have faithfully logged in her m0st everyday. I know that if I keep this up I will be ready for my ultimate reward which is a family Christmas portrait in December! I have always wanted to have one, but have been too ashamed of how I look, but I hope that will not be a problem at the end of this year.

Day 18

Well, most of the soreness from the car accident on Tuesday had worn off. My hands still ache a little from tensing up when I grabbed the steering wheel, but they are much better. Today I didn't stray from my good eating habits at all so I am feeling good about that. I hope to see a loss this week. Today for breakfast I had a slimfast bar and some orange juice. For lunch I had a slimfast bar and a banana. For supper I am cooking Tilapia fish, sauteed squash and sweet potatoes. Also, I had a salad when I got home from work and few almonds. I passed up a huge birthday cake that was in the teacher's lounge for my boss so that was an accomplishment. I will be faced with more birthday cake on Saturday when I take R.J. to another friend's birthday party, but I feel confident that I can "just say no".

Day 17

Well, I am still sore today, but I am planning to go to my regular doctor if the soreness doesn't go away. Today I strayed a little on my eating plan. For breakfast I had a Slimfast granola bar and some orange juice. For lunch, I ate in the school cafeteria...I was tempted by lasanga so I had a serving of lasanga, green beans, salad, and a roll. Then, when I got home I had more salad and about 10 small tortilla chips with jalepeno cheese dip. For supper I had a 1 piece of cube steak and baked potatoe with sour cream. Tomorrow I will be back on track. I don't think I did too terribly bad...it could have been worse, but considering the week I have had I think I am doing O.K.

Day 16...2nd post

O.K. Well, now I am feeling a little sore. I went to the ER just to get checked out, but after three hours I was still 3rd in line since every time someone with a more serious problem came in, I got bumped down the list. I could have been there all night so I left.

As far as eating, I have been doing O.K. For breakfast, I had 2 eggs cooked in the microwave with splenda and cinnamon (I know it sounds weird, but it is actually good). Then, while I was waiting the ER I was starving and ate some snacks in my purse that I keep for R.J. I ate 2 packs of Sunkist Fruit Snacks (80 cals/each) and one fruit roll up (50 cals). I know that this was way too much for a snack, but I was starving and stressed. On the way home, I picked up a grilled chicken salad from McDonald's. For supper I had a chicken and cheese sandwhich on wheat bread.

NOTE: Usually I put cream cheese in the eggs with splenda and cinamon and that is really good, but I didn't have cream cheese.

Day 16....Car Crashed

R.J. and I were in a bad accident today, but we are O.K. I had just left the house at 7:30 to go to work. I was less than a mile from home when another car hydroplaned in the rain and crashed into the driver side of my car. I was hit so hard that my car turned completely around in the road and my airbags deployed. R.J. was in the back and on the side that was hit, but he was not hurt. He didn't even cry until I told him we were in an accident and then he got a little scared, but only for a minute.

Needless to say, I didn't make it to work and now I am waiting to hear back from insurance adjusters so I can get a rental car soon until my car is either paid for or fixed.

Day 15 - Start of Week 3

Well, here I am in week 3. I feel like that if I can make it this far, I can keep going and really lose all this weight this time. Today I have been somewhat productive. I cleaned up the house and I am almost finished with the laundry. I have been a little bored and once or twice felt like eating when I wasn't hungry, but realized I was wanting to eat out of boredom and I stopped myself. I have been off work all day for MLK day, but tomorrow I will be busy from 8am-9pm because I have work all day and then graduate class tomorrow night about 30 miles away. I will be glad to go back to work so that I won't have to worry about being bored and wanting to eat.

Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast - Fiber One Honey Cluster Cereal and Skim Milk
Lunch - Sandwhich with whole wheat bread, chicken luncheon meat and fat-free cheese
Snacks - Big bowl of salad, Almonds
Dinner - We are having Chicken Fajitas tonight with chicken breasts, bell peppers, onions, whole wheat tortillas, sour cream, and fat-free shredded cheese

Day 13 & 14 (End of Week 2)

Well, yesterday was fine. I was not tempted by party foods and did well at my dinner out with my family. Here's what I ate...
Breakfast - Bran and Honey Clusters Cereal with Skim Milk and Banana
Lunch - Salad and Weight Watchers Chicken Pasta Meal
Dinner - Lemon Pepper Fish and 3 Hush Puppies (my only poor choice)

Today has been O.K., but I feel hungrier today for some reason...probably nearing that time of the month when cravings strike. Anyway, I think that next week I am going to try to make some changes...switch Fat-free Italian dressing for my Fat-Free Ranch because it has many fewer calories and I have got to start being active. My husband and son are laying down for a nap right now so I think I may get out my Pilates DVD that my sister sent me months ago, but I have never even watched.

Here's what I have eaten today....
Breakfast - Bran and Honey Clusters Cereal with Skim Milk and Banana
Lunch - Grilled Pork Chop and Salad with one Roll
Dinner - Plan to eat a left over pork chop and some steamed broccoli
Snack - Weight Watchers Frozen Dessert and Almonds

By the way, I did'nt lose any pounds this week :(, but I did take me two week measuremements and since Jan. 1 I have lost 1.5 inches from my bust, and 1 inch from my waist so I am getting smaller slowly. My goal was to lose 10 pounds this month so I only need to lose 4 more in the next two weeks to meet that goal so it is still a very doable goal. On Jan. 31 I will post progress pictures to see if there is a visual difference.

Day 12

TGIF! I am so glad it's Friday because I get a three day weekend since our school is closed for MLK day. Today was a busy day, but I did not give in to temptation. I almost opted to eat a hamburger for lunch in the school cafeteria instead of my Slim Fast bar, by I didn't. Tomorrow I will be around a lot of food at RJ's friend's birthday party and then dinner out with my family so that will be a challenge, but I think I can handle it.

Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast - Raisin Bran and Skim Milk
Lunch - Slim Fast Bar with some carrots and broccoli with fat-free Ranch dressing
Dinner - Baked Potatoe with Lean Ground Beef with Taco Seasoning, Sour Cream and Bell Peppers (Mexican Potato)
Snack - a few pieces of snack cheese (RJ shared his Mickey Mouse shaped chees with me)

Day 11

Well, I think all my cravings have vanished and as long as I steer clear or sugar I think they will stay away. Saturday I will be taking my 4-year-old to a birthday party and then I am meeting my parents and grandparents for dinner at a buffet style restaurant so that will be a challenge, but I know I can do it. I will eat something before I go to the birthday party so I won't be tempted by cake and I will fill up on salad at the restaurant for supper. Here's what I ate today...

Breakfast: Raisin Bran, Skim Milk, Orange Juice (15 oz.)
Lunck: Slimfast Bar, Water
Supper: Salad, Grilled Chicken, Sweet Potatoe, Sweet Peas
Snack: Almonds

Day 9 & 10

Well, yesterday I just couldn't find the time to post since I didn't get home until 10:30 P.M. Anyway, I had a good day. I had cereal for breakfast, diet bar for lunch, and salad, grilled chicked and green beans for supper. I also had a banana and kashi bar for a snack.

Today was also fine. I had cereal and diet bar again and then beef stirfry and brown rice for supper. I had a salad when I got home from work. I am still steering clear of junk and sticking to my new eating plan.

Day 8

Well, today was another good day. These posts seem to be all alike, but I am glad that so far I haven't had to write that I have binged or something. So far, so good, but I know that day will come and when it does, I will write about it and then move on to more good days. My day at work went by fast and I am feeling good. Last week I was really cranky from sugar withdrawls, etc. I found myself yelling more than I should at my husband and son, but this week I feel more calm, but yet more energetic, too. I just finished cleaning my kitchen and bathroom, which is good for a Monday after a day of work. It would be nice to lose another 5 pounds this week, but I know that it is not likely since first weeks always tend to show more of a loss. I would be just as happy with 3-4 pounds lost.

Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast - Raisin Bran and Skim Milk
Lunck - South Beach Diet Bar and Bottle of Water
Snack - Banana and a few Almonds
Dinner - Salad and Chicken Fajitas (Whole wheat tortillas, fat-free cheese, sour cream, bell peppers and chicken breast)

Day 7 (Week 1 Complete)

My first week is finished and it was successful. As of this morning, I am down 5 pounds. I feel better already. Five pounds may not seem like much, but then I think of carrying around a 5 pound bag of sugar and that would be tiring after a while. I am geared up and ready for week 2. If I take this one week at a time, I can do this and at the end of the year I will be a new me!

Here's what I ate today...
Breakfast - Shredded Wheat Cereal Skim Milk
Lunch - Weight Watcher Frozen Meal + extra baked chicken from last night's leftovers and one piece of wheat bread
Snack - Almonds and a Banana
Supper - Thin Cut T-Bone Steak and Baked Potato

Day 6

O.K. Well, I accomplised a lot today. I took down all the Christmas decorations and I finished all the laundry...now I can relax tomorrow. Woohoo!

I did O.K. today as far as eating, but I did eat too much popcorn I think. I fixed myself a little bag and then I fixed my son a big bag...well, he didn't end up eating much so I ate his, too. I didn't eat any almonds today so maybe it will all balance out. Other than that, I had shredded wheat cereal and skim milk for breakfast, a Peanut Butter Sandwich for lunch (wheat bread and lite peanut butter), and some strawberries. Then for supper I has a piece of baked chicken, some red potatoes, and some green beans. Not too bad overall I guess.

Today the scale says I am down 4 pounds. Monday will be the start of a new week so my official weigh in for the week will be tomorrow. I hope that I have at least maintained my 4 pound lose today.

Day 5

Well, I made it through the entire week. Now, I just have to make it through the weekend, which is the tough part since I won't be as busy. I have to stay extra focused so that I won't be tempted to eat when I am bored.

Today I ate Special K Vanilla Almond Cereal, Skim Milk and Blueberries for breakfast. I had a South Beach Diet Bar and 2 small tangerines for lunch and when I got home I had a salad and some almond for a snack. For supper I had Tilapia Fish, Sweet Potatoe, and Sweet Peas.

Day 4

Another good day...for breakfast I had Kashi Medley Cereal, Blueberries, and Skim Milk. For lunch I had a South Beach Diet bar and an orange. Right now I am cooking brown rice and chicken and vegetable stirfry for supper. Also, I ate a salad when I got home from work at 4 P.M. I have done really well about not snacking and I hope to keep that up. I was kind of cranky yesterdday, but I feel better today so hopefully my body is starting to get used to eating healthier and not having tons of sugar. I know I can do this! 2006 will be my weight loss fix! I think a huge determining factor in my success this year is my using this blog as a confessional and also the fact that I have some close weight loss pen pals this time around, too.

Every day is one day closer to my goal. I don't want to waste even one day that would push my goal further away so I have to stay focused. Focus is the key and so far I have kept my focus and I think I can keep my focus all year if I keep posting here every day without fail and e-mailing my friends as well.

Day 3

Well, another day down. I think I did O.K. today, but I have been a little cranky...probably sugar withdrawls. For breakfast I had a bowl of Kashi shredded wheat with blueberries and skim milk. Then, for lunch I ate the school cafeteria food and I hope it wasn't too bad. I forgot my diet bar and apple so I wasn't prepared. So, anyway for lunch I ate white rice with chicken on top (kinda of like tuna casserole). Then, I had some steamed broccoli and sweet potatoes. When I got home from work I had a salad with fat-free Ranch dresses and for supper I had about 3 oz. of eye of the round steak, a sweet potato and I had some more broccoli. I also had some almonds for snacks. I drank water today and I still haven't kicked the Diet Mountain Dew habit, but I am think if I did that right now I would be very difficult to live with. Tomorrow I am going to stay away from the cafeteria food because I am sure it has too much fat and calories. My husband did better today, but still had a sausage biscuit and a hashbrown for breakfast, but that's half of what he would normally eat. The scale says I have lost 2 pounds already so I must be doing something right. Now, I have just got to keep that scale moving in the right direction.

Day 2

Well, day 2 is almost done and I did well. For breakfast I had Kashi Cereal, blueberries and skim milk. For lunch I had a South Beach Diet Meal Bar, and then for supper I had a Weight Watcher frozen meal with 2 pieces of wheat bread. For a snack I am going to eat some strawberries. My husband has already bombed. He had chips yesterday, chocolate cookies earlier today and for supper he ordered pizza while I was at night class. I don't know what I am going to do with him. However, I am not going to let this mess me up...that leftover pizza is going in the trash! Today was all in all a great day except that I have had a killer headache all day. I hope tomorrow my head won't hurt and I can enjoy my new healthy eating habits.

Day 1

Well, day 1 is here. For breakfast I had Kashi Cereal with blueberries and skim milk and 1 scrambled egg cooked in Pam cooking spray. For lunch I had a Granola Bar (180 calories). I know this is not enough, but the cafeteria at my job is not open today since it is a teacher work day so I couldn't get a fruit...and I forgot to bring an apple from home. I will be getting off work in a little while and that will be the hard part because I am the most hungry in the afternoons. But I determined to just have a salad and maybe and apple to hold me over until supper. My husband's works until 8pm so I will eat supper around that time. Tonight I am cooking chicken fajitas with bell peppers, onions, fat-free cheese and sour cream, whole wheat torillas and skinless, boneless chicken breasts. We may have some brown rice on the side. Today I am one day closer to losing this weight...in about 364 mores days I should reach my goal if I stick to my plan of healthy eating. I really think this blog is going to help me stay focused. I have never thought I would want to make my diet struggles so public, but then again I love to read other people's success stories so I am hoping that my blog is right now the beginning of a success story that may one day inspire others.

Official Start Tomorrow!

O.K. The new year is here. I went shopping today and got everything for 1 week of healthy eating and I ready to start tomorrow. My husband is geared up too and says he's going to do this with me. He has struggled with weight as much as I have and needs to lose a lot, too. I got him to take me "before" photos today and I plan to update them at least once per month. I usually avoid taking pictures because I can't bear to see how I look, but I need to look so that I see how important it is that I make these changes. Even my 4-year-old is ready and says he wants to eat healthy, too. So, hopefully we can all get healthy together.