I did.

Lost 2 more pounds. Someone told me yesterday I looked a lot thinner. It's kinda amazing what 16 pounds can do. I celebrated a bday for someone yesterday w/ a slice of ice cream cake. Today is back on track though. We don't have any food in the house so we ordered Jimmy Johns. I really didn't eat much this morning, maybe like 200 calories at most. So I ordered the Beach Club, w/ no mayo on the 7grain bread. It's only 11 weight watcher points when all is said and done and around 500 calories. I can do that.

I'm totally cool with losing at this pace, as long as it keeps coming off.

Surprise!

I think I lost some weight. My clothes are big on me. Maybe I should weigh myself.

Pizza & Ice Cream!

Why is it that once a month my uterus demands Pizza & Ice Cream? Why can't it demand steamed broccoli? Back on plan tomorrow. One meal is okay, as long as you jump back on the wagon tomorrow.

Passed.

I passed on ice cream at The Brown Cow tonight. I passed on French Fries at dinner. I did however have a quarter of a beer & then gave Justin the rest to finish. My weight is the same. I am happy with that. Going to try for a few more pounds this week.

Blah!

I'm so sick of eating the same things all the time. I have to do it though or I won't get better. Strawberries, almond butter & fish. That's what I've eaten today so far. Maybe I will make an egg w/ the fish to mix it up!

Yay!

Back under 200 pounds! I stepped on the scale this morning and it said 198. SO happy to see a 1 and not a 2. It's one of the best feelings ever.

How I did it, on vacation.

I can't believe I lost weight on vacation. This NEVER happens for me!

I went to St. Louis with 5 other people for a weekend mini vacation. I knew it was going to take a lot of self discipline, but I was determined not to fail.

The most difficult thing on this vacation was staying away from alcohol. One of the things that I do w/ this group of people is drink. We go out to bars, drink lots of beer, have fun & laugh together. I knew that I could not drink any alcohol on this trip so I stuck to water & diet cokes. It's not fun when you're hanging out with a bunch of drunk people & you're not drunk. Luckily they were nice enough to bring beers back to the hotel, so at least I wasn't in a bar environment.

Eating was pretty easy. The first day we went to an Italian sandwich place. I really wanted a sandwich but instead I got a salad w/ salami & ham on it. At the BBQ place the next day I just didn't eat the bread & I got green beans and coleslaw as my side (I was so happy to see that the coleslaw was oil/vinegar based and not creamy). I skipped on all desserts besides for a bubbletea & a sugar free cheesecake at the casino. I even skipped on the appetizers that were deep fried. I also brought packets of almond butter with in my purse. When I would get hungry & couldn't just eat a bag of chips from the gas station, I would eat the almond butter like astronaut food. It did the job.

We also did a lot of things that required us to walk a lot. We went to the zoo and walked around all day & we also went to the St. Louis City Museum which is basically a giant jungle gym. We climbed through things, climbed up ladders & slid down slides. It was fun & I bet it burned some calories.

So, all in all the vacation was a success. I am currently 12 pounds down from a little over a week ago. It's going well.

Yay!

I kicked 8 pounds in the face this week. Go me!

New Post!

Okay it's been forever. I've been having a lot of health problems lately which have caused me not to focus so much on my diet. Food makes me happy, so when I am sad, I eat. W/ the combination of stress, my diet & health problems... the very expensive antibiotics I've been on 3 times now, are not helping.

I know someone who is into holistic healing & she introduced me to an illness that I may have. All my symptoms match up. It's a little unreal. But it also makes complete sense.

So for a week now I've been following a very strict diet in order to balance the good & bad bacteria in my body. It's been going okay.

Things I can't have:

- SUGAR! This eliminates all carbs & even fruits w/ high sugar content like apples.
- Beans & Legumes cause they break down into sugar.
- Moldy fruits like melons & oranges.
- Potatoes, squash & corn.
- Dairy
- Alcohol
- Caffeine (which I am cheating on & allowing myself 1 small cup in the morning)


Things I can eat:
- Meats: Beef, Buffalo, Chicken & some fish (fatty fish like salmon)
- Green veggies!
- Sweeteners like Stevia & Agave Nectar because they are natural
- Walnuts & almonds
- Eggs
- Live culture yogurt, plain & not sweetened
- Herbal tea
- Alternative grains like quinoa
- onions, garlic, spices, olive oil & coconut oil
- Avocados (cause they help to break down sugar)

So example of what I might eat is as follows:

Breakfast- Yogurt w/ agave nectar, walnuts & cinnamon & small coffee.
Lunch- Fish & quinoa.
Dinner- Beef, onions, green beans w/ an over easy egg on top.

I also take a supplement called acidophilus which helps balance the bacteria in your system. I also drink A LOT of water. It's really hard eating out like this. I was at a wedding this weekend & luckily it was family style so I had beef, chicken & veggies. I was SO sad to pass on the bread, pasta, blue cheese in the salad & the root beer floats. I'm hoping this makes my body feel stronger & healthier. I feel a lot better only being a week into it. Another week & I should be able to introduce a few more things into my diet.

Jogging & Goals

I've decided the only thing that will keep me on track is setting a goal. My goal is 50 pounds by October. We've decided to take a little vacation then. It will be the end of wedding season & pre-holiday season... my favorite month & perfect for a mini vacay. We'll probably end up in San Francisco again because I LOVE that city & want to move there... so until that becomes a reality (if ever) I will just visit once a year. If we do end up going there, it will be twice in 2010.

50 pounds is my ultimate goal. I will be 150 pounds then. Perfect weight to me.

I know I can do it. That's about 10 pounds a month. If I stick to my calories & up the exercise it will be a piece of cake. Easier said then done of course.

I've kinda been into jogging lately. I still have a mini fear of public humilation when it comes to jogging though. I really don't want anyone looking at me. I REALLY enjoy it though. Load my iPod shuffle w/ some fun songs & jog away. I'm so antsy & it really helps to clear my mind. Lets hope I stick to it!

Something Positive.

Today I went to the "lady doctor". I haven't been since well before I was married because I didn't have health insurance. It was so nice to have the doctor have a really positive response to seeing my weight written down on paper next to my old weight. She was proud of me. I even had nurses congratulate me & ask me how I did it. It makes it all worth while knowing that not only do I look better... the more important thing is that I am a lot healthier now. It also made me realize that I need to do it... to lose these last 50 pounds. It's been SO HARD!

I totally went to my friend's house and ate a chorizo taco. The only difference is that new Maggie got a Styrofoam container of 2 chorizo tacos, beans and rice and only ate one taco & not all the beans and rice.... old Maggie would of polished that puppy off. It was still gross of me to eat it at all. It sure was delicious!

Okay, I need to stop being gross.

The Things I love

www.livestrong.com

The Livestrong.com "My Plate" application. It allows me to keep track of calories as well as my workouts. I also like that it will keep track of your weight as well as your measurements. It's really fantastic & has helped me get back into the swing of things.

The Jackie Warner, Power Circuit Training DVD.



This video is almost an hour long & I feel like it works every single muscle in my body. I was sore for 3 days after I tried it for the first time. I pair it w/ Biggest Loser Cardio Max or a Jillian Michaels video for some cardio. I just LOVE it.



Such a GREAT podcast. I listen to it while I'm photo editing. It's hosted by 2 women. One woman lost a large amount of weight & the other is a body builder. They talk about various health related topics from what foods to eat or how to start running... I think it's really inspiring.



I am a REALLY big coffee drinker & I like sweet coffee. One thing I refuse to give up is half & half. So, I buy the fat free half & half. It still makes my coffee really creamy. The Splenda coffee flavors are soooo good. I've had mocha, hazelnut, caramel & vanilla... the mocha is by far my favorite.


This Recipe for Gingery quinoa salad w/ apples, peas & coconut. It is quite possibly the most delicious thing I have ever made. When I made it before, Justin and I ate it as dinner but I think I'm going to try making it with some baked fish. Quinoa is incredibly filling!

I just want...

To lose 50 pounds. That's all I ask. Why don't I just do it? I just need to stop eating food & exercise more. It's not hard. Do it! I'm sick of hearing myself talk about doing it. So JUST DO IT! sheesh.

Fitting Room Confessionals

So us DeRolf's (meaning my sister & I) have this thing we do. We photograph ourselves in outfits that we try on in fitting rooms. Why? Because when you look at yourself in a fitting room mirror you try convincing yourself that an item of clothing looks okay, even if it doesn't. You stand in front of that mirror & you suck in your gut.... you turn to the side.... you say, well maybe if I wear it with a tank top underneath it won't look as clingy. If you snap a photo, it gives you a much better idea of what you actually look like in something. Sometimes we even send each other photos of things we've tried on to ask each other's opinions. I've gathered a rather nice collection of images on my phone of myself in various fitting rooms. Anthropologie has the best lighting.

Fitting rooms get easier with every pound I lose. They used to be terrifying. Buying a size 28 pair of pants isn't very fun. It really isn't. Some days I miss the ease of Lane Bryant. I knew that I could always go there and get what I needed. Their quality was nice, prices were okay & the fit was perfect. Now, I have NO idea where to shop. I used to complain that I couldn't shop in the regular sizes at Target, now I can buy anything I want in the store. It's almost overwhelming.

No Blog mean No Weightloss...

So, one thing I've learned since losing all the weight is that I need to allow myself to splurge. I went to California last weekend & didn't eat very well. I ate ice cream & chorizo tacos & bread with lots of butter & crepes & pancakes & beer. I mean, I'm in CALIFORNIA! I gained a lot of what I loss, back. I'm okay with it though & back on track. It's veggies, lean cuisines & splenda for me.

On a side note, I miss California. I've never felt like somewhere felt more like home then it does there. I want to move.

HOLY CANNOLI!

I weighed 193 pounds this morning & that folks, is a record low. :-)

Gr!

Lost 10 pounds since weigh in, but ate some Pad Thai today.

I'm going to try and workout every single day this week. We'll see what happens.

Yay!

Down 8 pounds from my first post New Years weigh in on the 3rd. That's really good considering it is my womanly time of the month. I usually gain weight around then.

It's also been really easy getting back into the swing of things. I think the fact that I feel better, helps me continue doing it. I love the fact that I don't wake up with heart burn, or that my skin is amazing. I like putting on a shirt in the morning & not feeling bloated. I like the fact that I can almost wear a size 14 regular pair of jeans. I love that I can't buy a new pair because 16's are too big. That's pretty good considering the largest pair of pants I have ever owned is a woman's 28 plus. It's those tiny things that keep me on track. I'm getting a bio picture taken of me in February while in California, for my website. I have a $100 gift certificate from Anthropologie that I'm going to spend on an outfit for that. I'd like to drop another 10 pounds, at least... 20 would be nice, for my trip. I'll keep working on it.

Getting Easier.

About 5 days back in, and I'm a lot more used to this. I worked at the studio today. An absence of food usually makes it easier to eat less of it. Robin keeps a large jar of almonds in the cabinet that I often like to snack on when I get hungry. Today I ignored it. I did have some hot chocolate though. At least I picked the one with the least amount of weight watchers points- 3 points for the whole packet. I felt like it was worth the splurge.

Today's Grub.

50 Percent less fat cheddar sandwhich, I was in a hurry.

lunch was a small, very small, portion of shepherd's pie (boca, veggies & butternut squash)

I had two cups of coffee... one in the morning, the second was in the afternoon. This is where the hot cocoa came into play. I poured a whole packet in a cup of coffee. I felt like I was going to gnaw my fingers off if I didn't.

Dinner was 2 eggs, easy over covered in hot sauce... one piece of vegetarian chorizo & a make shift grilled cheese sandwich made with fat free bread and fat free cheddar. I made the grilled cheese w/ spray butter- the can't believe it's not butter stuff. Just a few spritz' to make sure the bread didn't stick. A dinner packed full of protein without actually eating meat.

Afterwards I ate Kashi GoLean w/ a little agave nectar & Better Than Butter, Peanut Butter (BEST STUFF EVER!- hardly any calories and I am ADDICTED to peanut butter). I usually try to eat yogurt as a late night snack, but I'm a little sick of it.

Good Weekend!

So, I've lost 5 of the pounds I gained over Christmas already. That's a good start. Good weekend, good day. I exercised this morning & could tell that it had been a while. I really want to join the gym, I just can't decide if I really should right now or if I should wait a little.

Food for the day...

Activia yogurt, Kashi GoLean & mango

Salad & fat free cottage cheese, serving of animal crackeres

1 serving of the sweet potato chili we made yesterday, w/ fat free sour cream

I REALLY wanted dessert so I had some more yogurt & mangoes.

Not bad for the day. I'm trying to stop eating right after dinner & no late night snacks.

Back to Normal.

So, today was a good day. I cleaned half of the apartment to my liking & will finish the rest tomorrow. When I mean clean, I mean- dust the spices & reorganize the closets... as well as the normal cleaning. I feel like in order to start off 2010 in the right direction, I needed to do this.

I ate well today, but I did notice being terribly hungry at times. 5 o'clock rolled around & I thought to myself "FOOD NOW!". It also helps that I'm reading "Half Assed", a weight loss memoir.

Today I ate...

Strawberry Activia yogurt w/ half a serving of the Kashi GoLean Crunch! cereal
a salad for lunch w/ a slice of less fat cheddar in it & a serving of fat free cottage cheese

For dinner we made the Squashtastic Shepherd's Pie from the Hungry Girl cookbook (LOVE IT!). It consists of Boca meat, a bunch of veggies & a layer of pureed butternut squash on top (although I mix in some pureed sweet potatoes too). Before that we had a giant bowl of salad w/ very green lettuce (the more it looks like actual leaves, the more I like it), tomatoes, peppers, cranberries, raisins, walnuts & clementines. It was good, but even after dinner, I probably could have piled in a lot more food. I just had to tell myself "only one portion, no seconds, remember this is how you lost weight the first time".

Then w/ a cup of coffee I ate one serving of animal crackers (13 crackers to be exact).

Today was good... and I'm just going to take it one day at a time.