Anger, Delays, and a Major NSV..

Okey doke, so hopefully you all can read this entry (and the rest of the blog too) much better now that I've changed the color.. better to be seen than to look "cute" or "pretty" right?!  lol

So I had a HUGE NSV tonight.. So while I didn't originally think I was going to make it to the gym tonight, I made myself go, and while I was too late to do Zumba (which I saw was super crowded, so I wasn't too disappointed).. so I went straight to the treadmills and instead of hitting the "manual" button, I hit the "5k loop" button.. and did my 5 minute warm-up walk, then proceeded to finish my 5k in 41:00!!  HOLY COW!  I'm so proud of myself.. I could have given up.. I could have stopped when my throat was parched (I'm a dummy who left her water bottle at home).. BUT I DIDN'T!  And I prevailed!  :)

Now onto the delays part.. I guess FB pics aren't uploaded as JPEG images, so I couldn't upload them at work and then pic them up like I wanted to.. so hopefully tomorrow night, after I get home from the gym of course, I will take some time to find the originals and get them ordered.. I WILL get this done by the end of the week, damn it!  I am sick of carrying around this half-done book!

And last but not least, the anger part.. but first, a little warning..

** I AM ABOUT TO GET SERIOUSLY MEAN.. IT DOESN'T HAPPEN TOO OFTEN, BUT CERTAIN THINGS BRING OUT THE BITCH IN ME.. "IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING NICE TO SAY, DON'T SAY IT AT ALL" DOES NOT APPLY HERE! **

Okay, so on my last post I had someone leave an Anonymous comment (and while I'm okay with anonymous comments, if you have the balls/guts to leave a harsh comment, at least leave your name)..  If you haven't seen it, here it is:

"Sarah, I think that you need to honestly sit back and take a look at your life. Ask yourself if you really want to lose weight. Your patterns and history prove otherwise. Don't let this upset you but take it as a fellow blogger trying to help you out. If you were serious you wouldn't give yourself "breaks, or weekends off" You wouldn't binge on doughnuts. You wouldn't keep switching your diets because they were not working maybe it's not the diet and you would be honest and put up your weigh in and not say that you skipped it or forgot to weigh in. The scale is the one thing none of us on this journey "forget" about that thing makes it or breaks it for us. If you want to be successful you will not even see this as a "diet" this is a lifestly change once you hit goal if you have binge weekends your just going to end up back to where you started if not more. Cut the crap and get a hold of yourself. Do THIS for yourself!! It is the best gift you could ever give yourself. Once you see the scale moving you will not regret it. But to see that happen you have to take action and be responsible for your actions and take this seriously. Don't skip the gym unless you have a serious reason don't eat shit food unless it's going to help you in this journey (which it won't). Yah it may taste good for all of 30secs but that isn't going to get you anywhere and you won't die if you don't eat it. It's not going to be easy don't take the easy way out like you have done previously. It's time to get serious!!!!"

I just want to say a few things in reference to this comment.. One, if you don't like my take on this damn journey, then stop reading it!  Two, if I had time to "sit back and look at my life", don't you think I'd do it?!  Three, my journey is NOTHING like anyone elses.. and that's not just because of my ADHD.. 

Honestly, I forget to brush my teeth some days.. so it's totally understandable that I forget to weigh in.. some days I don't even know what day it is until well into it.. Yes, I agree that the crap food won't help, but I KNOW that I will want crap food when I'm thin.. I want to be able to eat normally when I get "done" with this journey.. This journey is a daily thing for me.. But I know I am not the only one who hits a wall, wonders why they are really going through all this torture (which sometimes it feels like it is), and if it's all really worth it..

My "health" is fine.. I have 33 % body fat (which isn't great, but 1 % less and I could join the Navy), my blood pressure is normal, I don't have high cholesterol, so that is not my reason for doing this.. I want to feel sexy!  I want to look in the mirror and like what I see.. I have been skinny before, and I don't like myself fat.. BUT it's fat that I'm comfortable being.. I've been fat for so long that some days I'm not sure if I want to be skinny and bring on the attention that comes with it.. 

So, Anonymous, if you read my blog with any regularity at ALL, you'd know that with my depression, social anxiety, and ADHD, I'm lucky I'm even doing this at all!  SO SHUT THE HELL UP!  and keep your damn comments to yourself.. or at least have the courage to put your name..

I'm Goofy!

Well, according to Michelle, I already posted about my PinkSTRAVAGANZA swap swag.. so oops!  lol.. guess I need to read my own blog sometimes, just to make sure I'm not repeating myself..

So Tim pointed out that my font was a little hard to read.. and now that I look at it, it is kinda hard.. so I changed it.. Voila!  :)  Hope it's easier to read..

This past weekend was rough.. on me and on my diet.. it had bright spots (lots of them actually), but I basically took the weekend off from my diet, because I knew it would be almost impossible to stick with it with all that I was doing.. helping my BFF move all day Saturday, planned to go to a car show in Louisville on Sunday afternoon, then see a movie with Chris, then go to dinner with the fam and celebrate my sista's birthday.. PHEW!  Oh, add to it that I volunteered to do an overnight/sleeper visit from 9pm Sunday to 7am Monday.. Hospital "recliners" are a laugh.. I think I woke up more to keep myself from flying out of them than I did to readjust.. lol

But I am back on the Atkins plan.. and I am planning to keep a stricter eye on my carb intake.. because yes, after the induction, I CAN eat berries.. just not a whole pint of them.. lol.. As my kiddos I babysit are taking a nap (yay!), I'm going to go scour my FB profile for pics to go print out later today.. and then when I get home, I will post pics.. I can't believe I let this fall to the sideline.. well, actually I'm sure we all can imagine me doing that.. lol..

This morning, I didn't think I'd be going to the gym tonight (seeing as I'd be working 3 shifts and would be pooped by the time 6pm rolled around), but my thighs ain't getting any smaller and my endurance ain't getting any better for that half-marathon by me sitting on my ass.. so I'm going.. even if it's to run a little and then leave.. at least I'll have went, right?!  :)

Well, I'm off to go look for pics, and then to catch up on what you all did over the weekend..

A Little Late..

But better late than never, right?!  I absolutely HATE that I totally forgot to post the pics from the PinkSTRAVAGANZA swap that Katie over at Are You Willing (formerly Finding The Thin Within) decided to do.. And I jumped at the chance to do a swap that was all about PINK!  My favorite color!  WOOHOO!  And of course, weight loss friendly..

So I was excited when I got to know who my swap partner was.. SJB over at This isn't cute anymore.. and while I was a little dumb about it (I got it all packaged and then forgot to keep money for postage.. how stupid is that?!  lol), SJB was AWESOME!  I got it on the 10th (I think that's right), and barely restrained myself long enough to take pictures before I tore into the box.. lol

So without any further ado, here's my wonderful gifts from my swap partner.. and SJB, I hope you are healing well from your surgery!  And I hope you are enjoying your gifties too!  :)

 This was what I saw when I opened up the box.. ON PINK PAPER TOO!  :)

 OMG, seriously, I love sticky notes!  and these are all different sizes 

and for different things.. I love them!

Okay, so I've worn these like twice (each pair) since getting them..

there are three pairs (dark pink, white, and light pink)..

 It's hard to see what the note says, but it says "Since you get up so early, 

you might forget something".. Seeing this makes me love my swap partner that much more!

She actually reads my blog!  lol.. and I have yet to use it because the first piece, it says 

"Remeber to:" and she put SMILE!  :)  I always need to see that! 

 Okay, so this made me realize how long it's been since I've scrapbooked anything.. 

and I can't wait to use these on something super cute!  Again, she reads my blog!  :)

 Okay, so I'm proud to say this has actually made it OUT OF THE BOX, 

but I have yet to really use it.. I've tried, but with the crappy weather and 

being indoors, I've not had the opportunity to use it outside.. 

But I'm hoping to change that this week.. :)

 Okay, so I was wary of these at first.. thinking they were ONLY smoothie recipes.. 

BUT they aren't!  YAY!! And they are simple enough to modify for the Atkins diet, 

so this summer is gonna be FREAKIN SWEET!

Okay, so this is freaky.. I was just thinking about buying another pair of ear buds,

so I'd have one for working out and one for daily life.. and these are super cute!

I use these all the time now.. :)

I love these kinds of swaps!  And I can't wait til SJB gets well enough to blog about her loot I sent her.. :)  Now off to get some stuff done for my Inspiration Notebook.. look for a post on that (with pics) tomorrow!  Cross my heart, hope to die (ya know what I mean.. lol)..

I've Been A Bad Blogger..

I used to love blogging.. and I've been seeing it quite frequently lately that other bloggers have been slowly losing the "blogging-edge".. or whatever you want to call it.. And I have been slacking a lot when it comes to this journey.. I've rested on the fact that I'm SUPPOSED to lose weight with the Atkins diet.. and while I have been losing some (I've lost 4 lbs in the past week, but didn't lose anything the week before), it's not as much as I should have been losing..

I haven't been to the gym in FOREVER!  Bad Sarah.. My willpower has been buried in busyness and lazyness..  And I figure since it's the end of February, I'm going to re-commit myself (yes, again! haha) to getting the last 50 lbs off!  I'm finally down below the 220's.. and I'm so happy about that!  But if I don't shake it up, or get this back on track, I will stay at this number..

If you've noticed, I put my original weight back up as my starting number on my tracker.. I need to see that I haven't just lost __ lbs since ______.. I've lost 33 lbs since the beginning.. and yeah, it may take me til July to get it all off, but that just means that it will stay off permanently (hopefully).. :)

I just ate lunch, and after getting "dolled up" for my movie date with Chris, I'm going to go get my pics to FINALLY finish my Inspiration Notebook..  I've slacked SO much on letting you guys know what's going on.. Like with the PinkSTRAVAGANZA swap I participated in!  I've had the pics, I got it and was SUPER excited about what I got..  So I will post about that after posting this, because that'll be chock full of pics.. :)

One last thing.. My girl Katie asked for my help with her Learning How to Lose It segment she'd doing on her blog.. If you haven't checked her out yet, what are you waiting for?!  Go now!!

It's Been a Little Bit..

and I apologize.. I have no good reasons for being gone.. Just that I've been busy and lazy over the past few days.. I haven't even logged on to read other people's blogs (which I hate more than not posting).. Honestly, I'm not sure what my funk is, but I hate it..

To do a little re-cap, this past weekend I decided I wasn't going to weigh-in because I wanted to see the difference after the two weeks (plus, I wasn't feeling any lighter.. lol).. then I went to work, and my new client I was supposed to spend 48 hours with (who is super sweet) had to go to the hospital about 6 hours into my visit.. So I went home (after having my cheat for breakfast.. disappointed in myself about that) and then proceeded to go shopping at Target.. I got a pair of 16 grey pants and a blue dress for spring/summer in a Large!  I'll post pics later tonight..

After I got home, I really didn't do much.. I COULD have worked out before leaving town.. but I didn't.. I COULD have done my Zumba or Just Dance games.. but I didn't.. yes, I'm beating myself up.. I deserve it.. I'm allowing my laziness override my determination with getting thinner.. which brings me to Sunday.. basically this past weekend SUCKED!  Diet?!  What diet?!  I slept most of the day..  I went to see Adam Sandler's new movie Just Go With It with Chris (a guy I knew back in high school) and then proceeded to go to McDonalds' and get the crappiest food ever.. grr!!

I'd like to say my Monday was better.. but it wasn't.. I basically took a three day weekend from my diet.. and I honestly don't know if it was even worth it.. my pants don't feel AS lose, but not that much tighter.. and I let myself go home instead of going to the gym.. ugh!  I'd love to know where my gym mojo went.. I used to love going to the gym.. and sadly, I think it's because the Zumba class I LOVE is at 7:30pm.. and honestly, on days like today (when I've been working since 7:30am) I just want to go home and do some homework and then surf the blog world..

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On a different note, I have decided after a little debate not to do another blog.. I don't spend enough money on different things to blog about it.. lol.. But I am working towards saving money, I have opened two sub-accounts in my bank account, one for my "race savings" and the other for "general savings".. I have been wanting to do races for some time (but I'm partly scared and partly cheap), most of you have seen my written intention, but I usually don't have the money to register for them when the time comes.. so I am nipping that in the bud.. I've started saving $10 a week for race registrations.. and I plan to start saving $50 a week for general savings (starting this Friday)..

The general savings will help pay for my trip to Disney/Florida to do the Disney Princess Half-Marathon next February.. by next year, that'll be over $2000 saved (and that's if I ONLY save $50 a week).. so I'm hoping I can have more.. plus, I plan to do lots of things during the rest of the year.. concerts, dating, trips, etc..  I plan to find other ways to add money to my general savings too..

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I don't want to lose my momentum with this Adkins life.. And I AM back on track today.. and plan to stay on track for a while (aka no more cheats for a bit).. Because my old way of eating is why I was fat.. and going back to that will make me fatTER!  Not just fat, but FATTER.. and I don't have any clothes if I get fatter, and in that body, I sure as hell ain't going around naked.. eww! 

I'll be back later with some other stuff.. I'm sure by now (if you've made it down here in one trip, bravo!) you are ready to close this browser.. lol.. ttyl!
And of course, my Monday wasn't much better..

Scratch That..

Okay, so I'm just saying, my previous post must have gotten to my subconscious.. because I went to the gym today, and had an NSV!  WOOHOO!!  I ran/walked a 5k in 43:36!  Holy hell!  I was hurting (well, my lungs were a bit) afterwards, but it was a good hurt.. My legs were fine, and I was breathing through my nose a majority of the time (I was told this is how hard-core runners breathe.. idk).. the only reason I stopped was because my lungs were starting to burn a bit.. but I pushed myself to run 30 minutes!  and then walked 13 total minutes.. 

I'm so proud of myself!!  Especially when I wasn't sure if I could do it.. but it's nice to see that my doubt in myself is unfounded.. :)

After that, I went to Zumba (and got my ASS KICKED!!).. I'm sore, but I can live with that.. because while in the shower, I noticed that my butt is getting slimmer (width-wise, not bubble-wise.. lol).. I'm so sleepy now, so I'm off to bed.. :)

Oh, and I guess I don't know how to count, because my WI is on Friday, which is two days away, not three.. lol

Might be..

I might be biting off more than I can chew with this blogging thing, but in sticking with my "goals" for this year, I have started a blog about my debt and trying to cut it out by the time I turn 30.. If you are interested, check it out..

Clearing My Debt By 30

Okay, on to weight loss stuff.. I went to American Eagle last Friday, and bought a pair of 14 khaki pants and a coral polo shirt (yes, I've always wanted to wear the preppy clothes.. lol).. well, the coral shirt fits, surprisingly.. it's a little tight in the arms (surprise surprise), so I plan to get on the ball with strength training.. I keep letting myself get out of it at the gym because all the guys intimidate me.. but I need to get over that and "man up".. They all didn't look that good when they started out, plus I'm sure I'm not even on their radar (as it is a gym, not a bar.. lol)..

Not sure why, but I took the night off last night from the gym.. went to the grocery store to get some goodies.. aka low-carb bread, blueberries, strawberries and some tuna.. lol.. I washed the fruit and packaged it away.. then totally ate both containers of blueberries in one sitting!  WHAT?! I love blueberries, but that is nuts!  When I posted this as my status on FB, one of my friends said something about giving myself an hour and it would not feel so good.. but I felt, and still feel, fine.. guess blueberries don't have that effect on me (silently, I'm jumping for joy.. lol)..

Oh, and I have decided to put the 5k aspirations on hold (in case you hadn't noticed, I'm a little unmotivated in that respect).. I don't really have the money or time to devote to do races.. HOWEVER, I do plan to hopefully revisit the idea sometime in July/August.. hopefully by then I will have enough money saved (see my other blog above) to be able to do them.. :)

Hope you all have a great Wednesday!  Only 3 more days til Weigh In!  WOOHOO!  I can't weight!  ;)

Randomness and Exciting Stuff

Okay, so this entry is gonna be a bit all over the place, just with all sorts of stuff that I've forgotten to talk about, and stuff that others have asked about.. So just be warned.. :)

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So I will start with the exciting stuff.. my mom made a point that I was letting her down that I hadn't posted about this first thing this morning.. lol.. My friend Katie @ Are You Willing decided to do a swap.. a PINK swap.. and I participated with my partner Stephanie over @ This Isn't Cute Anymore.. :)  And while I'm a dufus and lost her address to send her package on time, she sent me mine and I got it in the mail Friday!  Of course, with work and prior plans, I didn't get to open it and enjoy it until yesterday.. and I am LOVING all my pink stuff!  Wanna see?  Here ya go.. :)

This note was what I first saw when I opened it.. :)

CUTE socks!  Now I really can work out in pink style!  :)

In case you can't see it, the note says "Since you get up so early you might forget something".. how sweet!  They hang on my door!

Pink scrapbooking letters!  I love these!  I have a few of them already, so they'll work perfectly.. :)

Okay, so I kinda LOVE this the most.. a jump rope is JUST what I need to kick up some cardio at home.. :)

We all know I <3 smoothies!  Can't wait to try these out.. they look easy enough to "carb down".. :)

How Stephanie knew I needed new earbuds, I don't know.. but seriously, I can't wait to use em.. :)

Some Cynthia Rowley "post-it" notes.. yay!  Too cute!  :)

OMG, I love the stuff that Stephanie got me.. and this makes me feel even worse that I haven't been able to send hers yet.. :(   Stephanie, if you are reading this, I am SO SORRY I messed this up.. Hopefully I can get yours to you soon.. 

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I have decided to go along with the Second Phase of the Atkins Diet, but instead of moving to more carbs WEEKLY, I plan to move to more carbs BI-WEEKLY.. So for the next two weeks, I will stick to 25 carbs/day, then move up to 30, and so on.. Hopefully this will help me lose more weight continuously, instead of leveling out in the beginning like I used to see..

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Someone had left a comment about why I have stretch marks (don't wanna put anyone on the spot), and I wish I didn't have any stretch marks.. but I do.. because I, at one point in 2003, weighed 180 lbs.. and then got depressed, moved home, etc.. and gained 70 lbs over 2 years (most of it within the first year).. so I was bound to have stretch marks..  But thank you for the ideas on how to conquer the itching. :)

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In my last entry, I wrote about foods I eat on the Induction phase of the Atkins Diet (which I have been misspelling since I started writing about it.. hehe).. and I KNEW I'd forget certain foods that I love to eat.. Like tuna!  I live on tuna on this diet.. especially when I get to eat the low-carb bread.. mmmmmm.. and vienna sausages.. those things are GREAT snacks!!  And I love McDonald's Grilled Chicken Bacon Ranch salads and plain Double Cheeseburgers with no buns.. but that gets expensive, so it happens about once a week..

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Someone else had left a comment about what happens after I get to goal weight.. and what usually happens is that I usually go to Weight Watchers to maintain.. which worked for a while (until something dramatic happened, then I fell off the wagon).. I'm not sure if I plan to do that again (a better version of it, of course), but I know I will figure it out once I get closer to that point..

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Well, I'm off to do some math homework, and then back to bed.. lol

A Day in the Life..

This post is for Renea.. and anyone else who wonders exactly what I eat to lose this weight with the Atkins diet.. This is a general idea of what I eat at each meal, plus snacks, during the Induction period..

Breakfast:

** scrambled eggs with chunks of ham

** scrambled eggs and turkey bacon

** turkey roll-ups (turkey and swiss cheese)

Snacks:

** string cheese

** spoonful of peanut butter

** baby bell cheese wheel

** sliced cucumber

** sugar-free jello

** carb-friendly strawberry yogurt

Lunch/Dinner:

** smoked sausage with cabbage

** chef salad

** "taco" salad (meat on top of sliced lettuce with salsa, sour cream and cheese)

** grilled chicken with a green veggie (green beans, asparagus, broccoli)

** grilled chicken with cheese and salsa on top

** beef/chicken fajita salad

** most fish with green veggie

** turkey roll-ups with small salad

That's all I could think of right now.. lol.. I'm sure I'll think of other stuff and I'll try to update this.. basically, I am not a big person on cooking yet.. I don't have the time I'd like to have to cook, I don't have the knowledge (which I'm working on) to cook well.. but if you are interested in doing the Atkins diet, please check out the Atkins website..  they have recipes for all sorts of foods that you can eat, and they even have them separated by "phases", so you won't eat something that will screw up the Induction period..

It's hard.. anything like this is going to be.. but your appetite will decrease, your cravings for CRAP will go away (as long as you aren't constantly around Krispy Kremes.. lol), and you will see the weight fall off during the Induction.. I usually lose between 10 to 14 lbs in the Induction phase.. This time, I lost 12 lbs.. and I'm so proud of myself for those 12 lbs gone FOREVER!!

The pain of getting skinny..

Okay, so we all know that being fat creates pain.. not just physical pain, but mentally pain and emotional pain too (whether inflicted by others or by ourselves)..  we have to deal with stretch marks (and if you don't, well lucky you **cough** I hate you **cough**).. we have to deal with rubbing of body parts that isn't sexy at all..  it's something that most, if not all, of us chubby people have to deal with at one time or another during our fat days..

But you honestly don't think about the pain your body goes through when you are trying to get skinny.. or at least I didn't, until recently..  I don't remember having itching when I GOT my stretch marks, but I wish it'd stop now that my stomach roll is shrinking.. lol.. I need to buy stock in hydrocortisone cream, that's how much of it I've been buying in the past few months.. don't get me wrong, I love that I'm shrinking.. LOVE LOVE LOVE!  But if it could just happen without all the itching, I'd love it that much more.. lol

I'm still working on my inspiration "notebook" (basically got to get my pics printed out).. and I can't wait to share with you tomorrow something that I'm so excited about.. so be sure to check back tomorrow.. 

:)   Goodnight!

Guest Post Fridays!

This weeks guest poster is Eric Stevenson.. here's a little blurb about Eric, from the email he sent me.. 


"I am very passionate about people's mental and physical health and the long term side effects if things are not handled properly. I feel that I could write a compelling article that would be of great interest to the readers of My FAB Challenge"

Happy Reading!  :)

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Everyone who works out does it for a reason. Some hope to lose weight and some hope to bulk up. Others may have medical conditions that require particular exercises and others may simply be pursuing a healthier lifestyle.  Since there are so many different motivations, it’s important to find a gym that suits you and your goals.

The Crowd

Ask yourself, “who goes to my gym and why?” Your fellow gym members play a large role in how you emotionally perceive your workouts.  If you find yourself feeling uncomfortable, guilty, or embarrassed when you hop on the elliptical in front of your fellow gym-goers, it may be time to examine the motivations of those around you. For example if you’re focused on shedding some extra pounds, and your gym is largely composed of guys and gals hoping to beef up, you may not feel as though you fit in and your work outs may be less rewarding. Your gym should feel welcoming to you and accommodating to your needs.  Explore your reasons for going and see if they’re compatible with everyone else’s.

The Sanitation

Make sure that your gym is not only free of germs, but free of toxins.  Older homes and gyms were often built using a natural mineral called asbestos.  If inhaled or ingested, asbestos collects in the lungs or stomach and leads to a cancer called mesothelioma. Mesothelioma symptoms include chest heaviness, shortness of breath, and coughing.  To reduce your risk of mesothelioma, avoid asbestos exposure. Check with your gym about the possibility of asbestos before you make a choice.

The Staff

Finally, make sure that you and the gym staff are compatible.  If the staff is geared towards areas of fitness that don’t interest you, you may want to rethink your choice.  Staff members should be encouraging, boosting both your drive and your self-confidence. If you feel that the staff members cause you to feel guarded, overly guilty, or bashful, it may be time to do some searching.  Of course, if staff members cause you to feel unsafe in any way, it is vital that you leave the situation and the gym immediately.  Finding staff members that you can trust means that they can in turn invest in you.

Once you’ve decided on your reasons for working out and joining a gym, make sure your gym caters to those motivations.  Working out in an unsanitary gym, especially one that contains toxins, may hurt you more than help you; if you experience mesothelioma symptoms, you should speak with your doctor about a cancer screening.  If the crowd or the staff at your gym is moving in a different direction than you are, you may want to consider somewhere better suited to your goals. Stay focused, stay positive, and let the search begin!

New Addition..

Well, as I said in my entry on Wednesday, I was asked by Eric Stevenson to do a guest post on my blog.. and of course, I was a little skeptical at first, but it sounds like a good idea.  Anyone that wants to make an appearance on my blog is more than welcome to drop me a line and I would love to show my readers a different perspective on this HUGE world of health and fitness..

Today starts this series.. As of right now, I only have the one entry.. but I hope to put up more, so if you are interested, please see my Contact Me! page for my e-mail address.. I look forward to having your opinion on my blog!  :)

Decision Making Time Again..

So my two week Induction period for the Adkins diet is almost over.. it ends on Saturday, technically.. now, I have a decision to make between now and then.. basically, I need to decide if I stay with the 20 grams of carbs/day for a few more weeks, or start the second phase and do the 25 grams/day for the next week..

Basically, the "new" Adkins plan states that if you have a large amount of weight to lose (which I consider myself one of those people) that it's advisable to stay on the Induction phase for longer than 2 weeks, as to promote maximum weight loss.. The other option is to go into the second phase, where you add an extra 5 grams/day each week (25, 30, 35, etc).. While I need to lose a lot of weight still, part of me doesn't think I can go another week without berries, peanut butter, or sugar free york peppermint candies.. lol.. 

So I have to debate between those options.. I had planned to do the Induction every 3 months, to keep myself from plateauing.. so if I stay on the Induction, that may have to change..  As of right now, I'm leaning towards doing the second phase for TWO weeks each, instead of just one.. because I know I lost weight with the "old" Adkins diet, where I got 60 grams/day.. so by the time I got to 60 grams, I'd (in theory) be almost to my goal weight doing it this way.. and then I'd be able to have my candies, berries, and peanut butter (among other things like low-carb bread.. hehe) in moderation.. which is what I have to get my head around..

Yes, I will never allow myself to eat a whole Large french fry again.. I will never allow myself to eat a serving of mashed potatoes again.. I will never eat another pint of ice cream again.. BUT, I will probably allow myself to get a Happy Meal every now and then.. I will allow myself a few bites of mashed potatoes when I want them.. and I will allow myself to eat one of those mini cups of ice cream when I have the urge.. :)   Not sure what it is about this diet, but it gets my attitude in check when it comes to doing this..

I Did It!

I did it!  I went to the gym last night and didn't have problems breathing.. woohoo!  lol.. but seriously, I'm proud of myself for going to the gym.. I'm proud of myself for doing the elliptical for 45 minutes.. I left before Zumba even started though, because I was so wore out after that..  :(   But at least I got in 45 minutes of sweat-inducing exercise.. I used the elliptical machine that moves up and down levels (making it higher or lower steps).. I started at 10 and went up to 15 after 15 minutes, then to 20 the last 15 minutes.. My legs were hurting in the beginning but then I found it got easier.. so I plan to do this tonight too, possibly with higher resistance.. Who knows.. :)

But on a different note, I weighed myself this morning.. I couldn't help myself, I just got a feeling that I couldn't let pass, I guess.. so I weighed in and I was shocked!  We all know about my Krispy Kreme binge, right?!  haha.. but it's like it didn't even happen!  I weighed in today at 221.4!  That's a 12 lb loss in 12 days!  I officially weigh in on Saturday, and I'm debating whether to go an extra week for my KK binge, but I'm not sure I can go another week without some low carb bread.. lol.. I love sandwiches too much, I guess..

So Blah..

Alrighty, so I got a post from F.A.B. today about how I haven't blogged since Sunday (thank you, btw), and it brought me back here to explain why..  My blah feeling that I've had for the past week, well it's turned into a wonderful cold (that I totally blame my mom for giving me.. hehe)..

So I'm sitting here with my scratchy throat, my stopped up ears and runny nose, wondering if I can possibly run while all this is happening.. because at this point, I really do want to go to the gym.. As I haven't been in almost a week, I feel horrible.. honestly, I can't imagine where my workout mojo went.. I used to love going to the gym, doing Zumba, seeing how long I could run while watching TV/movies.. Now it's like a chore that I want to find ANY way to get out of it, which isn't good.. :(

I have my workout clothes in my car.. I plan to go to the gym tonight and do SOMETHING.. whether it's walking on the treadmill or running, or staying until Zumba starts, I don't care.. but I have to get in SOME kind of activity.. Especially since I am so sedentary during the day (which I think is a bit of the problem)..

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In other news, I checked my email associated with my blog and found that I had a request for a guest blogger and a text link for a website.. WOW!  I'm not sure I want to give out my information to another person, but I may do a monthly spotlight kind of thing for this kind of thing.. who knows.. but the text link, I'm still a little confused about.  I wrote both of them back and hope to hear from them sometime soon.. So keep an eye out for possible changes.. :)

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OH!  I can't forget to mention that I have gotten 80 followers over the weekend!  I'm amazed that that many people WANT to follow my little ole blog.. You all hold me accountable (for the good and the bad), and I thank you all.. :)

Good Day Turned GREAT!!

Today has been eventful, to say the least.. So much going on, and none of it ruined my diet!  lol

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Today was my last day at my weekend clients.. :(   Kinda sad.. but they are moving to a facility that will be able to take better care of them.. sadly, I am a little relieved that they are going to this place.. it's so much better for both of them.. I am not sure what to do about taking on new clients.. but more about that later..

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Not sure if I've ever said anything about this, but my brother and SIL were pregnant with my first biological niece (I've talked about my niece and nephews before, but they are my BFF's children.. I still claim they are my niece and nephews though).. well, today as I was driving to work, I got a text that they were heading to the hospital!  And throughout the day I got updates..  A friend of theirs started a weight pool, and I guessed 8lbs 4oz..  Miss "LaLa" was born tonight at 6:01pm weighing in at 8lbs 6oz.. I won that pool!  lol..  she's so beautiful and I can't wait to hold her tomorrow morning.. We left so that they could have the evening to get some rest and get acquainted with their daughter.. :)

My beautiful niece, "LaLa"

More pics to come, if they don't object of course.. :)

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Today was a good day for my diet.. I think a little bit of yesterday was because I took the day off from my meds.. I do this every now and then, as I really don't want to become dependent upon anything.. One of my pills suppresses my appetite.. nice side effect, huh?!  lol.. 

Hope you all had a great weekend.. I'm off to catch up on all the blogs I've missed over the past few days.. :)

Punched in the Ovaries..

lmao.. like my title?!  I've been waiting to write that for hours.. :)   But seriously, that's what I feel like.. I feel like someone is using my ovaries as punching bags.. I've NEVER had cramps and pains like this.. it SUCKS!  :(

This was the start to my generally horrible day.. not work-wise, diet-wise.. Well, holy crap, I'd love to know who can possibly resist Krispy Kreme donuts sitting in front of them for 12 hours and not eat one.. or four.. eww.. I want to throw up just thinking about it.. but the worst part about it is that I just let myself loose today.. and I can only blame myself.. no excuses, I know what I did is counterproductive to my goals.. I will accept today as a FAIL and then start clean RIGHT NOW.. 

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I think my body is trying to tell me that it doesn't like all the processed foods I've been eating.. I've been getting itchy bumps randomly all over my stomach and back (not a lot, just a enough to be annoying).. Yeah, I know, I should just put a TMI Notice up at the top of this entry.. but still, I wonder if that's the reason why or if it's a medical issue.. eek..

I'm still so sleepy.. I'm hoping it goes away soon.. I'm off to bed..

Quick Post and Weigh In..

Well, okay, so for those guys that read this, please go back as this is a girl TMI post..  Alright, now that they aren't reading this.. lol.. I am about to shoot my ovaries, as they are killing me right now.. And that, you guessed it, means that it's my TOM..

I weighed in this morning to see that I am at 227.0, which I am happy with for now.. I'm hoping that it will come off before the next weigh in, but if not, it'll come off that next week I'm sure.. But I have been noticing that I haven't been paying TOO much attention to my carb intake.. yeah, I've been staying away from the obvious carby things (aka bread, potatoes, ice cream, etc.), but most processed meats, like smoked sausage, have carbs.. Which I forget about sometimes.. And GREEN BEANS?!  They have 3 carbs per cup.. I usually eat a whole can (3.5 cups) of green beans by myself.. Hey, what can I say, I love me some green beans.. ;)

Yeah, gonna have to start paying more attention.. oh yeah, and my spoonfuls of peanut butter.. that's addicting.. but full of carbs too.. 2.5 for every spoonful (and who just stops with one, right?!)..  I'm still pretty bad with breakfast, but I'm intending to work on it.. One day at a time.. Well, I'm off to take two ibuprofen, and go to work.. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  :)

Bad Blogger= Me..

haha.. okay, so maybe that's a little bit much, but still, I feel like you all give me all this support and I've been slacking off this past week or two.. I'm sorry.. I hope to fix that in the next few days.. I can't honestly say why I've been so silent (on your blogs and my own), but it's partly because I've been so tired.. Not sure what's going on, as I feel fine other than being tired, but it's getting old quick.. Today I got to "sleep in", as I didn't have to work til 5pm.. and what happened?  I woke up at 6am, 6:30am, 7:15am, then finally got up at 9am.. My alarm was set for 10.. wishful thinking on my part.. lol

This week has been good, diet wise, and I will weigh in tomorrow to make sure it's working, but my working out has been sub-par.. I've been to the gym twice this week (instead of my intended 4).. I'm hoping to get into the swing of it again on Monday.. Well, I have to go pack my "lunch" for work..

"Side Effects"

So far so good.. I've been on this diet of mine for 5 days now.. and I'm pretty sure I'd kill someone for a donut, but thankfully I keep sharp objects away from me.. ;)   No, honestly, I have my sweet cravings and I kill them with sugar free popsicles.. and when I'm out of the Induction, I will use the sugar free fudgsicles (among other things).. 

So on to the title of my blog.. anyone doing Adkins out there, that reads this blog, notice the bad "side" effects?!  Like the lethargy, bad breath, or constipation (sorry, I had to say it)??  I know I've said something about the bad breath before.. but seriously, if I go to bed at 8:30pm again tonight, I may just have to look into caffeine pills.. lol.. not really, but seriously, I can't imagine why I am so tired.. ugh!

I am so proud of myself tonight.. I got off work earlier than normal (almost 1 hour and 15 minutes early), and could have talked myself out of going to the gym.. BUT I DIDN'T!! Woohoo!  I went to the gym and I even tried a new exercise class (well, new to me at LAC).. I did the TurboKick with Katie.. I've done the class before at the YMCA, and Brandi kicked my ass.. and I was surprised at how much I sweat during the class this time.. of course, I don't remember much from the first class, just that my legs hurt for days.. lol

I did about 10 minutes of elliptical after the class, and OMG!  I haven't done the elliptical in months, and I won't be forgetting it ever again!  I used to be able to do about 30 minutes on level 5.. I could barely handle 10 minutes at level 3.. guess I'll have to work back up my endurance.. :)  Which is exactly the plan..

I haven't been going to the gym regularly in the past month.. so I am re-committing myself to going to the gym for at least 30 minutes/4 x's a week..  So here's to success! 

Quick Update..

As I sit here eating turkey/provolone roll-ups for breakfast (I'm so sick of eggs already), I wanted to give a quick update before I went to work.. I have been sticking to my diet really well, actually.. It's hard sometimes, but my willpower on THIS diet (versus WW) is so much stronger.. I've been packing my lunches, my dinners have been kinda higher in carbs (but still within the 20 grams for the day), but that's how I want it.. I like salsa too much with chicken to give it up.. lol

For about 10 days, I had to wear my yoga pants (when I wasn't in scrub pants).. Why?  Because I ate so much crap that my jeans stopped fitting.. not just looking good, they wouldn't zip up without a HUGE muffin top.. that was kind of my last straw.. I don't own any bigger pants anymore, and I sure as hell am not buying a pair.. But on Monday, they fit again!  With a little muffin top, but I'm used to that.. Hopefully after the two weeks they'll fit too well, or I will be in my 14's?  :)

Well, I'm off to go make my chef salad for lunch.. yummy!  Hope you all are having a great Wednesday.. I'll catch up with ya later tonight..