Is your number secret?

I have always had an issue with sharing my exact weight...I have no idea why.

Even when I was thin but ESPECIALLY when I started packing on the lbs.  I have a spreadsheet that I have kept since 1999 with my weight at periodic points and pictures that show me what I looked like.  Can you say O.C.D?  Anyways, earlier this year my husband sheepishly told me he saw my spreadsheet.  Gotta give him props that he knew I was going to flip my shit and he told me anyways.  Now that I am losing I STILL do not tell him what I weigh...I will share what I have lost but not what I weigh.  WTH?  What is up with that?  

I am perplexed about people who just post their secret like it is not a secret.  Whahuh?  Not this girl. Nope.  

Have you ever checked out a weight loss simulator like this one??  http://modelmydiet.com?

Pretty cool, if I do say so....

Here is where I started and where I am today...honestly this makes me not look at fat as I did....it is a kind application...That's 23lbs off...

Here is what it says I will look like when I get to goal from where I am today...Another 33 lbs...That does not look like what 33 BETTER look like...just sayin!

Go give it a try...good way to entertain yourself if you are on a boring conference call from hell...

Post Vacation Scorecard!

Back from an amazing vacation!!

I am working on a cruise post but for now, I wanted to circle back on how I did on my vacation with staying on plan.

1.  Stay away from the buffet's - WIN!  Didn't even walk into one!

2.  Stay away from the foo foo drinks - WIN!  Didn't partake...wine and 

beer however...don't ask.  

3.  Drink your water - WIN!  Didn't drink as much as I do at home but 

did ok!

4.  Do not take the elevator - FAIL!  I forgot how flipping BIG this ship 

is...with the Deck we were on, virtually everything was more than 5 

flights... that said I did get a lot of activity in with all of the walking!

  
5.  No eating after dinner - WIN!  I went with the boys several times to 

get snacks but was good!

6.  Log my food - FAIL! I was really good the first few days and then the 

wheels fell off.

7.  Start every meal with a garden salad - FAIL!  I forgot my dressing 

(my son was so happy because he was already embarrassed)!



8.  Exercise every day - FAIL!  If there was an EPIC FAIL, I would 

assign it to myself since I did not intentionally exercise ONCE.  We were 

super active with other things so I guess it came out in the wash.

8.  Nip the mindless nibbling in the Concierge Lounge prior to dinner- 

WIN!  I nibbled a little but did not go crazy.


9.  Plan for my splurges - WIN! I enjoyed every last bite of that Red 

Velvet cake...took me 5 days to eat it but it was wonderful!  Souffle 

was mostly left on the table since it was not as good as last year.  We 

will not discuss the ridiculous amounts of guac and Tecate Lite while in 

Mexico... was amazing and I would do it again.  I will, in fact, next time 

I am there!

10.  Become a "food snob" - WIN!  I left many things on my plate if 

they were not something that was really really good.

11.  Stay out of the bread basket - WIN! I had a few but certainly not 

every night and I really paid attention to it.



I also took my withings scale and weighed in every day...everyone 

thought I was insane but I think that is the ONE THING that made the 

difference.  I will definately be taking that bad boy on all long vacays 

from now on...



Bottom line - I gained 2.6 lbs from the time we went into vacation 

mode (my son's friend came two days before and we were eating out 

nonstop)!  I certainly didn't maintain but I'm pretty happy with that 

given what I did eat and with all of the alcohol...

Miami weekend AND a cruise?   I'm down 1.2 of that in 2 days so I am 

feeling good and am back at it.  On a mission for that next 10 lbs!

NSV Linkup!

Yes, it is that time again! I am linking up with KTJ and Lex for non-scale victories (NSV's).

Had to seriously think about this one since I am honestly too obsessed with the scale at the moment...

1.  I bought an actual swimsuit.  Except for getting WAY to personal with the sales lady (yep, she saw me mostly naked) - no major issues!  I didn't feel like I needed medication or a drink.  Awesomeness.

2.  I have logged every single bit of anything shoved into my piehole since 4/15.  Major Streak for me!

3.  I fit into not one but TWO of my formals for my cruise.  NOT the one I really wanted...ok, I fit but my boobs did not.  Go figure.  It was handy since I went to look for formals and everything looked like a bad high school prom.  Pass!

That's it for me!  I'm off on vacation starting tomorrow!!  Peace Out!

Bathing Suit Shopping - Shoot me!

Sweet baby Jesus is there anything worse than shopping for a bathing suit?  Let me cast my vote...NO!  

What can be worse than bad lighting, pale skin (haven't spray tanned yet) and wishing to hell and back I had gone on HCG in January!  In any event, after a slew of try-on's I settled with a cute one piece...

BTW - when did it become acceptable for sales ladies to just knock once and barge in when you are naked? WTH?  Uh, I don't want to share my lady bits...thanks anyways.

I also cannot find my favorite beach hat ANYWHERE.  #superpissed.  

I dragged my son all over two malls looking for something that was not Scarlett O'hara big...Nope.  Nada.  Fail.

HCG Update - I am down 17lbs  in exactly 30 days.  Not as much as I wanted but still pretty happy!  Down 22.7 since January!  My goal was 25lb before my cruise but maybe I can get a little closer since I have 3 more days left before I leave!  I have 2 shots left...they told me to expect around 10lbs this month. Can I do it?  Setting the goal right now to grab those 2.3 AND an extra 10 by 6/15!!  

Maybe that will help keep me in line on vacation!  

Strategy for avoiding weight gain on my cruise

I am already stressing about putting weight back on when I am on vacation....I leave next Friday for a weekend in Miami and then a 7 day Western Caribbean Cruise.

I only gained 2 lbs last year BUT I was not coming off a VERY stringent diet...I got to say - I am REALLY nervous.  I don't want to come back with a huge set back.  I am ok with 1 or 2 = I will be on vacation after all!  

Theme = mindful eating.  Sounds easy, right?

Well, this is not a skill my inner chubbo has mastered just yet!

A few obvi one's that won't be difficult for me:
1.  Stay away from the buffet's - easy for me since buffet's gross me out
2.  Stay away from the foo foo drinks - I don't like them so no biggie!
3.  Drink your water - I love water so this will be no problem!
4.  Do not take the elevator - this one will be tricky since the ship is so big!  I will try to keep it to anything under 5 floors = stairs!
5.  No eating after dinner - We just never do this any way...we see people hitting up pizza and midnight and never understood it.  Ditto for 24hr room service.
6.  Log my food - I've been doing this for quite awhile so I just need to stay on top of it.
7.  Start every meal with a garden salad - and I will be taking my trusty Walden Farms dressing.  Don't care if I look stupid.  Dressing is not even close to good enough to me to waste calories on it.

OK, so now on the harder ones!
7.  Exercise every day - make a concerted effort to walk 1-2 miles up on deck.
8.  Nip the mindless nibbling in the Concierge Lounge prior to dinner - the appetizers aren't really that good anyway...looking back I have no idea why I hoovered through so many!
9.  Plan for my splurges - I am already telling you that the red velvet cake is happening.  That said, there are typically only two desserts that I really care for anyway...grand marnier souffle'...happening also. (it's not actually very big, the photo looks huge!)

10.  Become a "food snob" - if it is not amazing, I am not going to feel inclined to keep eating it.  I typically will just mindlessly nibble on it.
11.  Stay out of the bread basket - this one is HARD for me.  I could just take one of those baskets and snarf it myself...then go into a carb coma!


We'll see how I do!  I wonder what other tricks you might have up your sleeve?

3 Weeks of HCG Down!

After a MISERABLE showing late in week two and early week three, I am back on track!  I was out of town on business and had TOM during that window but I went into total BEAST mode when I got back and have taken off 5.7lbs in the last 4 days.

My totals look like:

Week 1:  -9lbs
Week 2:  -2.8lbs
Week 3:  -3lbs

TOTAL - 14.8!
Starting BMI - 31.7 (Obese - shoot me in the eyeball)
3 week BMI - 29.5 (Overweight!)  Progress!

I have 10 more days of injections left and am going to be rock solid to finish it out...My goal was 20lbs and I dont see any way possible I won't hit that!  I'd lose my mind to be down another 10!

Better yet - I am losing inches!!  As of now:

Neck:  -.4 inch
Chest:  -2.5 inches
Bicep: -1.25 inches (each)
High Waist:  -1.75 inches
Low Waist:  -4 inches
Hips:  -2 inches
Thigh:  -2 inches (each)
Calf: - .75 inch (each)

Total - 18.65 inches!!

I find myself poking my waist since I just am freaking out that the roll I had around my waist is literally melting away!

Here's to another week!  Go, get 'er done!

San Diego Recap

San Diego was loverly!!  I was lucky enough to be staying at the legendary Hotel Del Coronado for my conference.  Work, work, work!  LOL!

I splurged and upgraded to an ocean view room!

I registered for the event, took a walk on the beach before I met up with some friends before the cocktail reception on the beach.  

Amazing Sand Artist!

View of reception from my room

It was a little chilly for that but the firepits helped!  Smore's on the beach anyone?  Stayed away from that but not the fire!

After the cocktail reception, I headed back to my room for an early evening...starting to feel ill and can't keep up with my fellow party animals!

Day Two - nothing but work all day...but did have a nice set up for lunch outside!

 then a cocktail reception (sensing a theme,?)

I didnt take any interesting pics of the dinner we sponsored...the food was so so and the drunk clients were on my nerve since I was straight up sober.

Next day - Round 2 of freezing in the conference rooms.  We did have a special private dinner at Sea World which I was super pumped about!

When we got there - the cocktail reception (yes, more cocktails) was in front of this tank...

I got a driveby hello!

Then we went upstairs to eat and have a private show.  The animals are truly amazing but it is so sad to me that they are in captivity.

Next stop - Airport home for a 9am flight back!

Speedbump...and a Rebound!!

Ok, so I am back from San Diego...I will have photo highlights shortly BUT...newsflash...did well and stayed on plan some of the time....did ok on the food...wine, uhhh...well no.

It is so difficult to entertain clients and everyone is having a good ole' time and before you know it...crash and burn.  I lost count if I'm bein honest.  Oh and BONUS - TOM.  Well - thanks for that extra challenge. Oh, and I am sick as a dog with some freaking head cold.

Long story short - I came home with 2.4lbs in tow. One step forward, two step back!  Just shows I really need the structure of P2 and then heavy oversight going into P3.  

As of this morning, I have lost those pesky critters as well as another 1.8.  I am sooo close to that 20lb mark!  I weigh in tomorrow so fingers crossed...

Perils of eating out

Had a dr's appt this morning and on the way back decided to stop in and try:

no - ok, that was a run away day dream....400 calories and 18g of Fat...just NO. Oh, but my inner fat girl was salivating!!

Instead I went for one of Chick-fil-A's new salads....the Market Grilled Salad.  180 calories and 3g Fat!

Yummo!  Except!!  You better pay close attention...even when it clearly says 180 calories AND shows the dressing in the picture...dressing AND toppings are not included.  Indulge in those and you will add a whopping 370 calories and 30g FAT!

Kudo's for redo'ing your salads but party foul on the labelling and clarity!!   

My how some things change!

Am on my way to a conference (for work)....typically I would hit the sky club and have a glass (or two) before boarding, then grab a carbalicious wrap before boarding.

Well, NOT today! I packed all my crap (including my trusty withings scale and HCG rx and my syringes, vitamins, fat burners, walden farms dressing, an "emergency pack" if I can't find anything to eat)....seriously worse than traveling with a toddler!

But, I went to the Skyclub (clean place to swizzle before getting on the plane). Then grabbed 2 apples, some celery and a small pack of hummus. Shoved me into my bag like a squirrel getting ready for winter!! The dude sitting next to me looked at me like I was a lunatic but whatev... Glad I have it now....I figured they'd at least have a salad. But...NO. Damn you Delta. Not a single healthy option to eat. Nice.

Side note- I was down another 1.4 this morning! Sweet!! Counting the days til I hit 20 lbs lost!!

Business Travel Stress

I am heading out to San Diego for a conference tomorrow.  Seriously kind of freaking out.

Why?

a) 4 days of seriously reduced ability to control my environment

b) an atmosphere of overindulging in food and of course adult beverages (hey, my company is Irish....it's tradition!)

c) I don't trust myself yet

I have packed my hcg (and rx to allow it and my needles) and snacks, and green tea, and lemons...if my carryon bag closed it will be a MIRACLE!

I DO NOT CHECK. E.V.E.R.

On the plus side, I have some good friends going with AND I am staying at the Hotel Del!!

Kind of super pumped about that!

Plus #2 - we have a private event at Sea World...I love me some Shamu...will take pics!

Side note - I am only down another .4 from yesterday but am losing inches like crazy.  Am going nuts shopping my closet!  So much fun!!

I will try to post from SD but no guarantees!

Epiphany!

You know moments of clarity come at the weirdest time and the weirdest of ways sometimes!

I had my weekly checkin early since I am heading out of town on Sunday for business.  I was already bummed since I am only down 1.7 this week on my scale.  Weigh in at the Dr and I am only down 1 lb on their scale.  womp womp.  Poke.me.in.the.eyeball.

The nurse sees the look on my face (kinda like a small girl who lost her puppy or something equally as pathetic).  

She started looking through my file and said tell me about the last few months and what you have been doing.  I tell her the readers digest - lose great for a week hit a stall for a few days and then decide pizza or pasta or something BAD looks REALLY GOOD=fall off wagon...start over.  Rinse & Repeat.

She goes...hmmm...seems like you have taught your body that if it just holds onto the weight for a few days you will quit.  Whaaahuh??  

Well, now...dammit that makes sense.  Duh!  Well, imma bout to pimp slap this metabolism and I am committed to my 31 days...it better just give it up!

I am not going to post my daily food - I figured out a way to save in on my PC (I am OCD and was posting it here so that I would be sure to have the detail when myfooddiary.com archives the detail and I only have the summary)!

Here's where I sit on VLCD12:

			Lbs Lost		Total Lost
Day 1	4/15/2013		0
Day 2	4/16/2013		-2		-2
Day 3	4/17/2013		-2.1		-4.1
Day 4	4/18/2013		-1		-5.1
Day 5	4/19/2013		-0.9		-6
Day 6	4/20/2013		-1.1		-7.1
Day 7	4/21/2013		0.3		-6.8
Day 8	4/22/2013		-0.4		-7.2
Day 9	4/23/2013		0.5		-6.7
Day 10	4/24/2013		-1.2		-7.9
Day 11	4/25/2013		-0.8		-8.7
Day 12	4/26/2013		-0.2		-8.9

YTD - on my scale, I am down 15lbs!  Yeah!!

This is on my trusty withings scale...I am down 11 on the Dr's scale.  Suddenly, I like that scale better. 

Rando thought of the day:

Another NSV Linkup!

Yes, it's that time again!!  

Love reading KatieJ's blog and joining her and Lex for the weekly NSV!!

I'm feeling great and am really in the groove with my new changes.  I don't freak out about going out to eat or feeling like I can't manage myself unless I am sequestered in my house (ok, I do but not out of control)!

I have two things that come to mind this week:

1)I actually went shopping!  For me, that sounds just ridic but I cannot tell you the last time I went shopping for clothes.  I have been wearing my fat clothes over and over and over.  When you are hating how you look and feeling like jabba the hut, shopping sucks ass.  No.fun.whatsoever.  I bought several tops that I knew I could still wear when I get 20+ lbs smaller and a maxi dress at the Gap that was freaking on sale!!  $23!  Have no idea why it is $55 on sale online but whatev...this dress is like wearing your pj's but great when working at home or slepping on the weekend!

2)I have an amazing sense of self control right now...I have had a few glasses of wine but I don't feel like I want to have another...ok, and maybe another.  I realize this makes me sound like a total alcoholic BUT I have routinely been having 2-3 glasses of wine and not even thinking about it.  Same goes with food.  I went out for dinner with my parents and had my cup of soup and side salad and felt fine.  UNTIL, they ordered QUESO AND CHIPS!  Are you shitting me right now?  I almost throat punched my husband.  But, I did not eat a single chip.  Queso is my kyptonite.  Just sayin.

Have a great week!

Get your crazy under control

Is it bad if one of your friends and said "You seriously need to get your crazy under control" when I shared my new diet "scheme"....I wouldn't have mentioned it save for the fact that I look really odd with what I am eating...it is all healthy but decidedly different than most!  :-)

Haven't decided how I feel about that quite yet (if anything!) but on I go.  I committed to the 30 days and I am not looking back!  I have no idea if it worked or what, but I did a detox bath last night before I went to bed.  It was amazeballs and I slept like a baby...felt GREAT when I woke up!

Yesterday looked like:

Results VLCD D9 = -1.2lbs - 

Total - -7.9 Lost

YTD Loss = 13.9lbs

I stabbed myself...on purpose....

Today was the first day I had to put on the big girl panties and inject myself. Can you say skerrd shitless?  I was but - I did it!  Ended up being totally no big deal...I have enough of abdominal fat that I can grab it and pinch it...when that goes....uhhh....problem.  Anyways, I am feeling pretty proud of myself!  I am a total needle-phob so that shows my commitment (or new level of insanity!)

Interestingly, I have told VERY few people what I am doing.  Chalk it up to not wanting them to judge my level of cray or not wanting people to know if I fail...I dunno.  Anyways, it's kinda my personal secret right now.  :-)  

Yesterday looked like:

Results VLCD D8 = +.5lbs - WTF!?!

Total - -6.7 Lost

YTD Loss = 12.7lbs

I felt sooooo sure that I was down again but apparently I am in a mini stall...was supposed to have TOM Sunday but no.  I have been perfectly sitting in my calorie range so after today, I will whack my guilty pleasure of one glass of wine with dinner.  The nurse said it would be no problem but that is the ONLY thing it could be if tomorrow doesnt shake loose.

Sticking to the plan even if the scale pimped slapped me today.  I can certainly tell in my clothes the inches are coming off...the pants I could not button and breathe a week ago Thursday are more than comfy and loose in the waist.

Onward!

HCG VLCD Day 7 & Week 1 Recap

Happy Monday!!  I was super pumped to get up and head back to the Dr for my weekly checkup!

But yesterday looked like:

I weighed before I went and it showed:

Results VLCD D7 = -.4lbs

Total - -7.2 Lost

YTD Loss = 13.2lbs

...not what I had hoped for but hey, I will take it!  I would typically gain several lbs after eating and drinking with reckless abandon!!  But, overall I felt very much in control and not too tempted on anything except indulging in adult beverages when everyone else was.  I caved but didnt blow of the rails! Success!

Anyhoo, on to the Dr.  They reviewed my blood work up - all was good except my platelet count was high (have been fighting off a cold).  My cholesterol was a little high as well - perplexed me since I have NEVER had that but 215 was not too ridiculous...They will check everything again at the one month mark.

Weighed in there and they showed a 9lb loss.  Whaaaa???  I don't get it but there scale is surely better than mine (or we will just say that!).  It is a contraption that looks like it weighs 100lbs so we will go with that!

Got my B12 shot and my supply of injectible HCG for the next 23 days.  Little nervous about that but am so happy with how I am doing thus far!

Looking forward to a great week!

HCG VLCD Day 5-6 & Weekend Recap

Very busy!!  Heading over to Bama for A-Day weekend! Only in Tuscaloosa can you get 78,000 people to go to a scrimmage match!

Nick Saban sighting!!  Do you totally see this nutjob that ran in front of my shot?  Really??  Rude!

Barrett Jones was there signing autographs...look for him in the NFL Draft - he should have a great career ahead of him...AND he was super nice signing all kinds of stuff for kids and taking time with the crowd.

We had a great weekend visiting with my son and his friends....even though I was SUPER nervous about eating out for THREE STRAIGHT DAYS.  

I was super diligent, took my withings scale with me and tracked every single thing that I ate.

Here are the deets:

Day 5:

Results VLCD D5 = -1.1lbs

Total - -7.1 Lost

YTD Loss = 13.1lbs

DAY 6:

Yeah - Bad habits came to visit...wasnt as bad as I previously would have done but 3 glasses on wine (ok, it was over the course of 15 hrs but I should NOT have done it and KNEW that was GOING to show...) But, hey....we had a GREAT time!

Results VLCD D6 = +.3lbs (tots called it).

Total - -6.8 Lost

YTD Loss = 12.8lbs