Update, Taking a break and getting things better together

Hello,
Long time no post huh? Yeah, I'm sorry about that and I do feel bad that I haven't been keeping up with this blog. But I'm more disappointed in myself for not keeping up with my exercise and healthy eating choices. I'm really disappointed in myself and yet I'm not if that makes sense.

I know that I haven't posted since September but this will be the last post for this blog this year as I plan on taking the month of December to really doing some hard research on not only healthy eating, serving sizes, exercises that I can do and working on a plan that works for me.

I think my main issue was that I just jumped right into this without a plan of what exercises I would be doing, what I would be eating and all of the research that I now know needs to be done before I begin this journey.

Not that everything is bad, no not at all. I have been doing wonderful on my water drinking, not at a level in which I am super proud of but water has become my main daily drink and it continues to improve. I also managed to lose a bit of weight, not enough but it was about 10 pounds all together so that gives me courage.

So yeah, in December I am planning on doing research in how much I should be eating per meal, what exercises I need to be doing and how much, how much water, etc. I am also going to be more strict on myself, even more than I have been but also I feel like I need to reward myself if I reach my goals for the week.

So until next year my  lovely readers. I ask you to be patient with me and give me this time to research what is best for me and my body. Not to say that I don't want tips at all cause I really do and any tips will be greatly appreciated.

Until Next Time!

Update and some Questions for my Readers.

Hi guys!
So things are going pretty well I must say. Still need to work on the exercising daily thing but I now find myself walking for at least 1/2 mile every two days or so which is much more than what I have been doing; which makes me happy.

My snacking has gotten loads better but its nowhere near where I want it to be. I find myself sticking to eating the same thing for dinner, which is two small chicken wraps with grilled chicken and a bit of ranch dressing. Its delicious and very filling, since I eat it when about 1/2 can of whole kernel corn (my all-time favorite veggie).

But what I find myself needing to do is to get either a container or a plate that is separated into three different areas so I can have an even meal, instead of feeling the urge to splurge and whatnot. That is simple to find as is a bunch of small containers that I can separate my snacks, healthy of course, into individual portions. I plan on making these purchases this week at my Dollar Tree, which is just a treasure-trove of things like that and they can easily be replaced after a number of uses as they are only $1.00.

Also I have some questions for my readers and I would really appreciate some feedback because I would like to hear from others who are going through the same thing, or have gone through what I am going through.

I buy greens in bulk to make smoothies with, usually Spinach and Kale. I am the only one in my home that uses them so I only use about a cup of them each time I make a smoothie, which is daily. Now my question concerning this is, how do I keep them from wilting and ruining? I hate wasting money, much less food that I know I was going to use because I can't figure out how to store them properly. I asked this on my Twitter earlier today but I wanted to put it in this blog as well to see if anyone else had any tips. I take them out of the container that I buy them in, I wash them and pat them dry, then I put them in a zip-lock bag and press out all the air. It does keep them from wilting for a few days but after that the start to wilt and ruin and I really don't want to waste anymore. Thanks for any help given on this!

Another question is that I still find myself hungry throughout the day, even though I'm not. I was wondering if anyone knew of a natural vitamin that I could get to suppress my cravings and appetite for when I'm not actually hungry. Now I know I said at the beginning of this post that my eating habits had gotten better and they have but I feel that they could be much, much better. So I'm looking into vitamins that I can take daily to help curb my cravings and whatnot.

So any help on the questions would be appreciated! Thanks guys and see you in the next post!

Coming to some Conclusions (Hurtful as some of them are) and Seeking Advice

So the past few weeks have been filled with some insights and deep soul searching on many areas, including weight loss, dieting, exercising and whatnot.

While I've been doing better on my water intake, cutting back on what I eat and even exercising by walking outside since the weather has been getting better; which these are things that I am very proud of and some that I hope to only advance in. I've been doing portion control on my meals and only limiting myself to one soda a day, which works out wonderfully because I don't really care for soda that much. I've also pretty much stopped drinking milk all together, finding that I much prefer the taste of Almond Milk. I still need to work on my vegetable intake but I've been drinking smoothies for that so that's been helpful.

But with the good news comes the bad as well and over the past few weeks I've come to some really hurtful conclusions that actually make my heart feel like its breaking over and over again the more I think about it. I write to make myself feel better as I stated in another earlier post, so I'm hoping that by writing all this out that I will feel better and prevent myself from falling into a depression. So here it goes...

Over the past few weeks I have noticed that my family just simply doesn't care to help me, nor do they try. Let me explain why I have come to this conclusion by telling of different events that have happened over the course of these past few weeks.

The first event occurred when my father showed up for his random weekly visit to make it look like he's a good son and father. He walked to my room and I was laying on my bed reading and listening to music on the radio. As he stops at the door, I turn my attention to him to see if he wanted anything. He just scoffs and walks off but not before saying that "you look like a beached whale." I'm not gonna lie I do have thick skin from teased so much about my weight growing up while in school but to hear something like that from my own father kinda hurt a bit. I mean its not like we have the greatest relationship out there but still, no father should say that to their child.

Another event occurred when me, my stepmother and my brother were all out one Saturday going to yard sales. Every chance my stepmother got to ask someone if they had exercise tapes, weights, whatnot as she pointed to me and saying, "As you can see, she really needs them." Her saying that hurt worse than my father saying what he had said to me. Because this was a woman who willingly worked with me in order to help me try to lose weight a few years ago and it meant so much to me that she was actually willing to help me, push me to achieve a healthier lifestyle. And now she goes and says stuff like that to total strangers. And this isn't the first time she has said anything like that to strangers in front of me. When I used to go out with them somewhere, she would also let the comment slip of how I needed to sit down carefully in the car or else I would break the seat.

My grandfather, God Bless Him, tries and I know he does but sometimes his words hurt too. He tells me that I don't need to exercise but in the next breathe he tells me that I'm just getting bigger and bigger. And while his words hurt at times, his do the least amount of damage.

My uncle, who has down-syndrome and I know isn't in his full right mind but he's picked up on several things throughout the years, when he sees me exercise or going out for a walk he always breaks out into laughter and telling me "that won't help you. You'll still be a fat bitch."

Its just been one realization after realization these past few weeks but tonight it really hit me hard how my family just doesn't support me at all. My father came by again and my grandpa told him how for the past few days I had been walking, to which my grandpa was very proud of me for doing so; but its what my father replied with that seem to make everything fall into perspective. My father laughed and looked at my grandpa and replied "What has she been doing? Walking back and forth to the fridge all day?"

I was at a complete loss for words and I didn't know to respond to that. My father has always said crude things to me, like calling me a 500 pound drum with a basketball for a head. Telling me that no man would ever love me for my size and that I should just marry for money. How I'll never end up happy like my sister who has a great job and is married. On and on his words go and I honestly never gave them much thought until tonight after he said that.

Even with all his cruel words, my stepmother always seemed to be there to give just a little support but even now that is gone. If it weren't for my close friends, I would have no support in my weight loss journey and that hurts. It really hurts knowing that my family has no faith in me whatsoever and have basically given up on me.

Now I know that I should cut my ties or losses and move on with my life. But that's the difficult part, I can't. Not because I don't want to, it's literally because I can't because I can't leave. As I stated in a previous post, I am the main caregiver for my grandpa and my uncle, so if I were to just up and leave they would have no one to take care of them. I am the only who knows what medicines they take, what doctors to take them to, I am the only one who makes sure that they have food to eat everyday and clean clothes. I'm the one that writes out the checks in order to pay the bills so without me, they would be basically be left completely alone. And as much as it hurts to stay here and be subjected to harsh and cruel words daily, I would rather be here knowing that they were taken care of than always wondering if they were being taken care of.

I have also come to the realization that there is no emotional ties between many of my family members and while that is hurtful, what hurts the most is that I wanted there to be a relationship there but sadly it seemed like no one else wanted there to be. I often found myself wondering what kind of horrible child I must be for my own father to tell me that he has never loved me and that has often wished that I was never born.

And its not just the fact that they don't support me in losing weight but also for the fact that I am in a stressful environment daily when I am in my home. As I stated my uncle does have down-syndrome but the older he gets the more violent he becomes. Over the past year, he has lashed out at not only myself but at my grandfather and I have found that I always put myself between them because I know that if my uncle were to hit my grandfather that he would suffer more damage than if I were the one to take the hit; so whenever he lashes out at my grandfather I always step between them, not the smartest move to do but its the only solution that I can think of. My uncle is also prone to death threats, especially towards me and has told me more times than I can count that he will stab me with a knife if I get out of his life.

I really have no escape from all this or so I thought. One of my close friends gave me a I-pod Mini as she didn't have any need for it so I no longer have an excuse for not walking. And for that past few days I have really enjoyed just getting out and walking around my neighborhood in the mornings when the weather is still a bit cool. I don't even mind the dogs barking at me because its just so calming.

And since I started walking, I have noticed how truly out of shape I am. I've been walking a quarter of a mile everyday with the intention of increasing it weekly by a quarter of a mile until I am walking two to three miles a day. Even though I'm only walking a quarter of a mile, I get out of breathe so easily and my legs hurt so bad. But I don't stop or take a break, instead I make myself put forward until I am finished with my walk.

Also another thing I have been keeping my eye on is my blood pressure, which has gotten seriously out of control and that frightens me. I know that it is a combination of not only not exercising but also that of my diet and stress as well but I seriously need to get this under control and soon because I don't want to have to get on blood pressure pills if I can.

So I'm seriously asking if anyone knows of anyway that I can lower my blood pressure through diet and vitamins then please let me know. I don't want to get on prescription pills if it can be avoided. So if anyone can help then please leave a comment.

I'm also looking for sites where I can talk to others that are going through the same thing so that we can give each other support. I wouldn't mind starting a group like that but I have no idea how to even begin with something like that.

I also plan on updating this blog more and more because I want to be held accountable for my actions and I feel that this blog could help with that. Also I wanted to say that I know that my life isn't as horrible as others' but I am not trying to compare lives at all. I just tend to feel better after I write stuff out and I really just wanted to share.

Until Next Time!

Current Weight: 400 :-(
Height: 5'11"
Age: 27 soon to be 28

Update, Noticable Changes, Making Changes & Looking for Tips.

Hi!
So its been literally three months to the day since I updated this blog. And to tell you guys the truth, my weight loss journey has pretty much stopped itself in its tracks. Not for lack of trying though but from the lack of my sheer will to do it. However, a visit to the doctor today has finally shaken me out of my slump and I'm more than willing to get back onto it. But before I do, I was wondering if I could some tips from some others out there that are trying to lose weight as well.

Now I'm not one to do calorie counting or restriction of any kind. In fact, I don't really look at my calorie intake at all. I usually just go by portion size of whatever I'm eating. This is how I did it when I went to a nutritionist years ago and I guess it just kinda stuck with me. Another thing I've noticed is that over the past few weeks, my body has started to reject certain foods. I can't say what foods they are specifically but it happens at least once a week now. I'll have eaten something that just doesn't agree with me and I become physically ill for the next few days. Since I do find myself drinking milk on most days, I think I'm going to cut out milk completely for the new week and see if that is the cause of the issue. Which would be strange if it was as I, nor anyone in my family, has ever been lactose intolerant. But I must admit I am curious to see if this will change me becoming physically ill every week. And besides Almond Milk is really delicious so it's not like I would be sacrificing anything, :-)

Another thing that I've noticed over the past couple of months is that whenever I try to eat before 11 am, I get physically ill. This is not pleasant and I don't know what causes this but the thought of food as soon as I get up just makes me ill. I've taken to drinking a half-cup of Iced-Mocha in the mornings and it settles my stomach until I feel ready enough to eat.

Also another thing that seems to be coming to light is that when I'm out eating at restaurants, I cannot eat nearly as much as I use to. A year ago, I could clean my plate without any problems at all but now, I do good to get at least a quarter of what I ordered into me without feeling bloated and sick from overeating. Does anyone knows what is causing this to happen? Or am I the one doing it unconsciously? Anyway, since I've noticed this occurring, I don't eat out nearly as much and if I do, I usually find myself going to Smoothie King and getting a smoothie instead of a meal.

That brings up another thing that I'm curious about. I've been craving smoothies lately, which isn't a problem at all because I love them and I can never get tired of them. My question is, does anyone know of a good protein mix that I can add to my smoothies? I'm looking for one that curbs my appetite as I find myself being hungry for most, if not all day. Even when I know I'm full, I still feel hungry and I want to eat and eat and eat. I don't know if this comes from me having to be in my home all day or not but it has quickly become an annoyance and a big pain in the butt. So I feel like I need something to help curb my appetite and keep it under control.

Now for the changes that I'm going to be making. Along with removing milk from my diet, I want to do a few more things over the next week. I want to actively get outside and walk around my loop at least 4 times. My loop, the road I live on, is about 1/4 mile walk all the way around. So if I walk around my loop four times I will have walked a mile. I want to do this at least once a day, if not twice. I used to be able to walk for an hour and thirty minutes when I started losing weight back in the day and I want to get back up to that again.
Another thing that I want to change is my water intake. I need to up my water intake badly. So I got myself a refillable container that holds 50.7 fl and I'm going to make it a goal to drink out of this at least 4 times a day, which would bring my water intake up to about 200 fl oz daily, which is half of my body weight. The only issue I have with the water is that I tend to get bored of the taste but I'm going to try a tip that I used to by adding just a little bit of lemon juice to it so I won't tire of the taste.

A concern however that I have with the exercising is that I just won't do it. I hate exercising with a passion and I really need to get out of that mindset. Well I won't say that I completely hate it, as I do love going on walks but I guess my thing about that is, is that I tend to get very bored very quickly. However one of my friends decided to give me her I-pod shuffle that she never uses and I think that might help with the boredom of walking by myself. So as I type this, I am putting some good and upbeat exercise music on the I-pod so that I can take it out in the morning and do some exercise. Wish me luck!

Also thanks for any tips that anyone can give, they are greatly appreciate. Also recipes to help increase my weight loss and curb my cravings are always welcome!

Until Next Week, which I think I'll be posting again next Friday so until then!

Update! :-)

Hi everyone!

So my last update was a bit...angry I guess would be the correct term for it. Yeah angry and for that I apologize for ranting on and on. I was going through a difficult time when I posted it and was severely overstressed that I wasn't taking care of myself as I should have and thus I got sick.

Anyway there have been some changes that have occurred in my life and thus things have calmed dramatically. I have taken time to myself in order to fully let myself relax and not let the stress get to me as it had been. And I must say that I have noticed a big difference in my stress levels and I am much more happier and content.

I will admit that dieting and exercise had been put on hold while I was becoming stress free. But now that I have seem to found a good balance with everything, I'm going to jump back on the dieting and the exercising so hopefully I can see some real results pretty soon.

I can say that I feel better now than I did at the beginning of the year, which I am very thankful for.

I'm not promising weekly updates but do know that I will try my best to get the updates out as regularly as possible. Also in the next post, there will be a Before picture contained within the post, so keep an eye out for that. I'm not looking forward to that because I don't like to look at pictures of myself at all but as said in a previous post; perhaps it is what I need.

Until next time!

Update (and a bit of a rant) - April 17, 2015

So I haven't updated this blog in a while and it wasn't because I have forgotten about it at all, nor my journey to lose weight. Its just that things in my life have become a bit more hectic and stressful than they were previously.

I love doing my meal prep and I want to keep that up but I've hit a snag in the form that I have no vehicle in order to go to the stores in the next town over in order to get the foods that are better for me. Because I'll be honest, I live in a small town and our town store doesn't really cater to the healthier life choices that other stores do. So in order for me to get a good selection of healthier foods/drinks, I have to go to a Corner Market that is roughly thirty minutes or more from my small town. Now this has become a difficult task since I do not have a vehicle, which I'll explain more on that topic later, and since I don't have a vehicle; it really is impossible for me to go shop for healthier food without inconveniencing a friend or family member. Well mostly just one friend that has proven time and time again that she is one of the best friends that I could ever ask for in this life.

When I say I don't have a vehicle, I don't mean that I literally don't have a vehicle. On the contrary, there are three vehicles in my yard right now just waiting to be driven. Problem is...none of the work. My father, who is suppose to a master mechanic and has a master's degree in the field, has basically not done anything in the form of fixing them. My household has literally had no vehicle of our to drive in over a year and its really starting to piss me off. But what can I do? I can't work because no one is hiring in this town and if I do find a job, there is no way that I can drive to said job when I have nothing to drive.

Not to mention that I am the primary caregiver of my elderly grandfather and my uncle who has down-syndrome. And when I say primary, I really do mean primary as I seem to be in the only in the family that gives a damn about them. Please pardon my language but its really a sore spot for me at how they treat them. And it doesn't end with just my grandfather and uncle. When my grandmother was put on hospice when she was dying from a brain tumor, I was still in high school. But you know who was her primary caregiver...me. I was the one that got up at 3 in the morning in order to calm her down when she was crying or move her when she was in pain. I was fifteen years old and it seemed like I was the only that cared. Not saying that I didn't get help but most of the time I was her one and only caregiver. I almost got kicked out of school because I stayed home so much after staying up all night with her, making sure she was okay. I don't regret it and if I had to do it over again, I would do it in a heartbeat. This is why I stay here with my grandfather and uncle, its because I know that they are being taken care of and even though I do complain from time to time; even though my uncle is far from the nicest person in the world and tells me daily to go "die and burn in hell", I still wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

I am so sorry for venting that long paragraph but the stress has just gotten so much for me that I feel like if I don't get it out that I'll explode. And one of the main things I do when I am stressed is that I write. This is why I wanted to get more into blogging but I venture from the topic at hand...

So yes when I do my meal prep, I go out of town because the selection of food is much healthier. And I am able to do this due to the fact that I have one of the greatest friends in the world and I am so glad to have her in my life. For the past several months, she has driven an hour and a half to come get me so that I could go grocery shopping...and she asks for nothing in return! I mean I don't know many people who do that and do it for nothing. I can't even depend on my own family to do a quarter of the things she has down and I make sure to tell her every time I see her how appreciative I am. But now with me being sick, both from stress and a cold, my grandfather now sick, my uncle sick last week and now my friend has turned out sick; its really hard for me to keep up with my meal prep when I can't go to the store that I desperately need to go to.

Not saying that I have given up on dieting, oh no that is not the case. I've just had to make some sacrifices when it comes to my weekly meal prep for now. I'm hoping that once we are all over being sick that I can get back into a semi-natural routine again.

I want to again apologize for the rant above but like I said, I had to get that out of me before I exploded or made myself sicker. So if you guys will just stay with me for another week or so, I can get some better updates going and whatnot. Hope everyone had a Happy Easter and that you are all doing well.

Until Next Time!

Meal Prep Week #2! (March 22 - 27)

Hi!
So the last few days of Meal Prep Week one were not that successful at all. But I am not going to be deterred as I start my second week. Though I do not have any snacks like the fruit and trail mix that I had during the first week. But perhaps that is a good thing in the long run. Reason for me not having these items this week is that I live in a small town and our local store is, not up to standards of other stores. Our healthy food selection is pretty much non-existent. During the first week I was lucky enough to be able to shop in a store that had a much better selection. Unfortunately I was not able to go shopping there this week so I made due with what I had.

I still plan on drinking water for every meal as well as in-between meals as well. I do also plan to eat three meals a day so even though I am without healthy snacks at the moment I will not let that deter me.

I am also planning on adding light exercise to my daily routine this week, though it is not really a part of meal prepping, I know that I need to get out and walk. So I'm going to make an effort to walk at least 20 minutes a day if not more.

The meals I'm having are very simple but I know that these meals will fill me up.

For breakfast: 1 pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar), an Everything Bagel w/ Strawberry Creme Cheese.

For lunch and dinner: Grilled Chicken Strips, Steamed White Rice w/ Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning) and Whole Kernel Sweet Corn.

I decided to forgo the Lo Mein this week as it seemed to not really fill me up. But when it came to the grilled chicken that I had for dinner during the first week, it seemed to fill me up longer.

Now as I said, I do not measure how much chicken I put into each container but I do measure the rice and the corn. I put a little more than half a cup of rice into each container and about a fourth of a cup, or more, of corn into each container. I know that some people measure the ounces of the chicken but I do not have a scale nor the means to purchase one so I divide them as evenly as I can and that works pretty good for me.

I am still struggling with cravings, especially late at night, which makes me annoyed more than anything because I do not know what is causing it. I feel like I'm eating enough during each meal and that I only get cravings just to get them and that I'm not really hungry. I'm trying to find something to help curve my cravings so again if anyone has any tips please feel free to leave a comment.

Well until next week!

Mid-Week Update!

Hi!
So I decided that today would be a good day to give a mid-week update on how I'm doing with the Meal Prep.

First off, I do still get late night cravings and for the life of me I do not know why. Its a bit aggravating to say the least and more so disappointing cause I don't even realize that I'm eating junk food until I'm halfway through with it. If anyone has any tips then please let me know cause it is very frustrating.

My water intake is going good. I'm drinking a 16.9 oz bottle of water with every meal and also drinking at least 20-30 oz of water in between meals. So the water intake is going good.

The meals themselves are delicious and they do their job in filling me up completely.

However I did have to make a change with breakfast, instead of eating just one pack of instant grits, I increased it to two because I was still feeling hungry after. But tomorrow I'm going to have oatmeal and I'm hoping that that will fill me up better than the grits did.

I've also been making green juices to go with my lunch and dinner meals. I make these green smoothies by using Kale, Spinach, Chard, 1 cut up Strawberry, 2 Tbsp of Vanilla Yogurt, 1/2 Cup of Peach Juice and one scoop of protein powder. I actually enjoy the smoothies more than the meals.

The fruit and the homemade trail mix I made, are another one of my favorite things to snack on. I'm just hoping that I can get the fruit to last throughout the week cause the are just so good. Also I'm wanting to try different fruits so if anyone has any ideas please let me know!

All in all its going pretty good and I'm happy that I am enjoying it as well as I am. But like I said the only thing I'm disappointed in is that I still get cravings, especially late at night. If anyone has any tips then please leave a comment as to how I can stop these late night cravings. I do suffer from Insomnia most nights as well if that helps anyone.

Until the next post!
Thank you for reading and again feel free to comment!

Meal Prep Week #1 Begins!

HI!
I am so excited to finally start my meal prep for the week! Me and my friend went shopping all day yesterday to stock up and we spent nearly all morning/afternoon getting everything ready and I am finally finished! I feel so accomplished and excited to start this and I know that I can keep up with it no problem.

I also would like it to be known that I am new to meal prep so I am going to be learning about it for a while but that's not to say that I don't want to share what I made and what I'm going to be eating for the next week starting tomorrow morning.

So I'm going to be listing what all meals I'll be having for the next week along with snacks. Pictures can be found at the end of this blog and I do encourage anyone that if they have any suggestions that they leave me a comment. I love hearing suggestions, especially if I can benefit from them.

And now onto the list!

Breakfast:
- 1 Pack of Instant Oatmeal/Grits
- 1 Bagel (Everything) with a light spreading of Strawberry Creme Cheese

Lunch:
- Stir Fry Steak Strips
- Homemade Lo Mein (Recipe will be linked at the bottom of the page. I highly recommend the recipe as it is really simple and delicious!)
- Green Juice (Mixture of 1 Strawberry, Kale, Spinach, Chard, 2 tsp of Vanilla Yogurt, 1/4 cup of Peach Juice)

Dinner:
- Grilled Chicken
- Steamed White Rice with 1/2 Tsp of Furikaki on top (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- Whole Kernal Sweet Corn

Snacks:
- Homemade Trail Mix - Honey-Roasted Peanuts (1 tsp.), Sunflower Seeds (1 tsp) and Special K Granola Mix (2 tsp)
- Fresh Fruit - Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries and Grapes. 

And of course for every meal I will be drinking a bottle of 16.9 oz water as well as throughout the day I'm going to be constantly drinking water as well. But the 16.9 bottle of water will be drunk for every meal without fail. I am swearing off all other kinds of drinks except for the Peach Juice that will only be used in my green juices. This is really easy for me to do since I become quite ill whenever I drink a carbonated drink. Though I do have MIO water enhancer if the taste of water becomes to plain for me in order to keep my interest in the water. 

Oh also I wanted to let anyone who was curious that I was lucky enough to find all of my Tupperware containers from the Dollar Tree. I lucked up and found a bunch of Betty Crocker Tupperware that came in a pack of 2 for just $1. The bowls that are pictured below that hold the fruit are 8 ounce bowls and each one cost $1. So just wanted to let you guys know that you don't have to spend a bunch of money in order to find good Tupperware for meal prep. And the Tupperware is freezer and microwavable safe, which are great if you are meal prepping!

And now I come to a end with this blog post. I will try and post another by the middle of the week in order to tell of my progress and if I like it or not. Which with how excited and happy I am that I know I can succeed with meal prep!

Until Next Time!

Easy Lo Mein Recipe: http://damndelicious.net/2014/10/03/easy-lo-mein/

Pictures: (Sorry for the quality, my camera isn't really any good)

SO MUCH DELICIOUS FRUIT! YUMMY!

YUMMY!

Weight Loss Journey - Week #6 (Mar. 1 - 7, 2015)

Hi!
So this update is gonna be a bit different because I'm changing up my way of dieting starting the 14th of this month. And I really feel like that this new plan is gonna help me more and help me on my way to achieving my weight loss goal.
Me and one of my closest friends are going to start doing weekly Meal Prep. We've both been thinking about it for a while and now we feel like we can completely commit to it. Now not to say that for me its going to be easy because I do live with two other people, who are very set in their ways of eating that will not be doing meal prep with me. So for them I will be cooking and such everyday for them. But that really doesn't bother me at all and I know that if I can succeed in keeping to my meal prep meals and snacks that I will be a stronger person for it. :-)

Now not to say that I have it all figured out but that is what this week is for. Me and my friend are planning a big shopping day next Saturday (Mar.14th) and I was wondering if anyone had any tips that they would be willing to share. The main tip I'm looking for is that what are some good Tupperware containers that are good for freezing and microwaving but ones that are also inexpensive.

I should also mention that I have no plans to count calories at all. The main reason I'm doing this is because I want to be able to chose a healthy food option instead of making a sandwich and whatnot.

I'm also looking for different fruits and veggies to eat along with my prep meals. I'm good with starches cause I love steamed rice and I never get tired of it. Meat is pretty simple too cause I can never get tired of chicken and steak. Again if anyone has any tips that they are willing to share then please let me know. I really will appreciate any help/advice/tips that can be given! :-)

Until Next Week!

Weight Loss Journey - Week #5 (Feb. 22 - 28, 2015)

Hi!
So yeah last week was a very dark post and I apologize for that but I felt that it was something that I really need to hear. Sadly this week has proved to be no better, especially since I have been feeling sick nearly all week.
I don't know what's causing it at all. I can only think that it is the weather, which has been pretty crappy where I live this past week. I mean rain and cold nearly everyday. The days it didn't rain it was so cold and damp outside that no one could stand it. I really hope that our weather gets better and soon.
Sadly with the way I've been feeling and with the weather being like it was, I couldn't get out and walk like I really wanted to but I did change something of my everyday activities.
Since I stay at home all day, I'm pretty much on my computer for over 8 hours a day. Just sitting and doing nothing but surfing the web, watching YouTube and playing games. But this week I made it a point to take an hour or two to do something else and surprisingly it works. I started out reading a book for an hour one day and when I got tired of that I found a new hobby that I never thought I would enjoy again. Coloring. Yes you have read right, coloring has become my new favorite hobby to do. It keeps me busy, thus taking my mind off of food which is awesome.
Sadly however, my water intake for this week has been reduced to 20 oz a day which is not good at all. But with tomorrow starts a new day and I know that this next week I will get better at this.
I have also come to a decision that I will indeed be posting a before picture tomorrow (Sunday, March 1) in order to really encourage me to work out. Now I will go ahead and say that while comments are welcomed I will not tolerate name-calling on this blog. I get enough of that from my father but that is another topic for another day perhaps.
And now for this week's food diary, I only forgot to write one meal down and by the time I saw that I didn't write it down.

Sunday - Feb. 22
Breakfast:
- 2 Scrambled Eggs w/ Ketchup
- 2 Sausage Patties
- 1 Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 1 Everything Bagel w/ Apricot Jelly

Snack:
- Chewy Dipp Peanut Butter Quaker Bar

Lunch:
- 2 BBQ Chicken Sandwiches (Patties)
- Chewy Dipp Peanut Butter Quaker Bar

Dinner:
- 2 Hamburgers w/ BBQ Sauce
- 16.9 oz of Lipton Green Tea (Citrus)

Snack:
- 1 Cup of Popcorn

Midnight Snack:
- 1 Bowl of Cornflakes
- 2 PB&J Sandwiches

Monday - Feb. 23
Breakfast:
- 2 Scrambled Eggs
- 2 Sausage Patties
- 1 Everything Bagel w/ Apricot Jelly
- 1 Pack of Instant Cheese Grits (Quakers)

Lunch:
- 1 Pack of Beef Ramen Noodles
- 1 Dozen (12) Popcorn Chicken w/ BBQ Sauce
- 1 Small Strawberry Yogurt (non-fat)

Dinner:
- 1 Bowl of Cornflakes
- 1 1/2 PB&J Sandwiches

Snack:
- 1/2 Cup of Vanilla Yogurt
- 1/4 Cup of Mandarin Oranges

Tuesday - Feb. 24
Breakfast:
- None

Lunch:
- 1 Hamburger w/ Mayo, Bacon and Cheese
- 1 Medium Cheese Fries w/ Bacon Bits
- 32 oz of Sweet Tea

Dinner:
- 2 Cups of Lo Mein
- 2 Cups of Sweet and Sour Chicken
- 16.9 oz of Lipton Green Tea (Citrus)

Snack:
- 1 Small Pack of Buncha Crunch Candy

Wednesday - Feb. 25
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack of Instant Cheese Grits
- 2 Scrambled Eggs
- 2 Sausage Patties

Lunch:
- 1 Dozen (12) Popcorn Chicken w/ BBQ Sauce
- 1 Pack of Beef Ramen Noodles

Dinner:
- 1 Mini Pizza
- 2 Spicy Chicken Pattie Sandwiches
- 1 Medium French Fry

Snack:
- 1 Small Pack of Buncha Crunch Candy

Thursday - Feb. 26
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 1 Piece of Honey Wheat Toast w/ Apricot Jelly
- 1 Special K Cereal Bar

Lunch:
- 1 Mini Pizza
- Chicken Pattie Sandwich

Dinner:
- Don't remember at all

Friday - Feb. 27
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack Instant Cheese Grits
- 2 Scrambled Eggs

Lunch:
- 3 1/2 Pieces of Pizza
- 1 Cinnamon Roll
- 3 Cheesy Bread Sticks
- 12 oz of Sweet Tea

Snack:
- Nachos and Cheese

Dinner:
- Lo Mein (2 Cups)
- Sweet and Sour Chicken (1 1/2 Cups)
- Sobe Green Tea (16 oz)

Snack:
- 1 Pack of Buncha Crunch

Saturday - Feb. 28
Breakfast:
- 2 Scrambled Eggs
- 1 Pack of Instant Cheese Grits

Lunch:
- 1 PB&J Sandwich
- 1/2 Cup of Milk
- 1 Mini Pizza (Did not settle well and I got sick from it)
- 1 Small Spicy Fry (Did not settle well and I got sick from it)

Dinner:
- A Dozen (12) Popcorn Chicken

Snack:
- 1 Personal Ice Cream (Bunny Tracks)




Even though this week was still bad, it was still better than the week I had last week. I really don't understand what happened last week but I am glad that I posted what I did. I think I needed to hear it and get it out of my system more than anyone else.
I do hope that this upcoming week is better in not only exercise and water intake but in all moods and feelings. This week I've felt so emotionally heavy that it seemed to just weigh heavily on me, emotionally and stress so to speak.

Until Next Week!

Weight Loss Journey - Week #4 (Feb. 15 - 21, 2015)

This week, there is no word for what this week has been. My emotions have been all over the place and for once I don't know what is to blame. I haven't been sick nor has it been anything that can be blamed on being a female (if you catch my meaning). I honestly don't know why but this week I have never felt crappier or more depressed in years. And of course with my luck it affected my eating habits, which have also gone to crap.

Sadly this week is gonna be a bit different as I didn't write down what I ate for about 4 days and I don't want to lie about what I ate because that is hurting myself and I really don't want to lie to my readers either. So in this post, I'm not going to include my food diary for this week because there is simply none. I do admit however that I went overboard with eating sweets and that just makes me feel even more depressed with myself.

For instance, last night was the worst night ever. I sat here in front of my laptop and I ate a whole box of Girl Scout cookies at one time! That's about 20 cookies! That is just too much and I was so disappointed in myself that I just sat here and stuffed my face with those cookies. Now I bought the cookies in order to support one of my friend's little girl and I didn't mind doing that and helping her out at all. I ordered them because I thought I was strong enough to resist temptation an only eat the serving size once a day; but apparently I was wrong.

I didn't really eat anything different from my previous weeks and pretty much stuck to the same thing. What really depressed me was the fact that I snacked all during the night and for the life of me I don't know why. I wasn't hungry at all but the food was there and I wanted it.

Sadly, I didn't exercise any either and this just made me want to cry in frustration that I still don't have the get-up and go that I need to have. I don't know why it is so hard for me to actually get outside and walk around for 20 or 30 minutes everyday. I mean my street that I live on is fairly quiet and I know that I can walk safely on it without having to worry about getting hit or anything. And it hasn't been the weather, cause while it has been cold here it hasn't been nearly as bad as it has been in other parts of the US. I mean it was in the 70s today and we had a nice breeze! But did I get outside and walk around? Nope! I just sat cooped up in my house all day.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll exercise. My mother brought me over a couple of Tae-Bo DVDs that I plan to make use of tomorrow since we're suppose to get rain nearly all day. My plan is to do a DVD in the morning and then go out walking close to the evening or visa-verse.

I have also come up with a sort of reward or incentive if you will that will hopefully make me want to work even harder at getting my goal. I'm not gonna say what the reward/incentive is but if it works this week, I'll be sure to let you guys know in next week's post. :-)

I thank you for reading this blog and apologize for a different style of posting this week but I will be back to posting as I have done in Weeks #1-3 next week. I also maybe doing other posts between this one and next weeks. Let me know what you guys think about that in the comments or you can even tweet me! I'll include my Twitter at the bottom of this post.

Oh also, I'm thinking about posting a before pic on this blog in the next week's post and I'm a bit nervous about doing it because I don't like the way I look at all. Which is mainly why I don't like to post my picture up for anyone to see because I dislike what I see so much but maybe putting my picture up is just what I need to happen and for reality to really smack me full in the face. Again let me know what you guys think and thank you again for reading this blog!

Until Next Time!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeekyWriter26

Weight Loss Journey - Week #3 (Feb. 7 - 14)

Okay so here we are at the end of week three and not much has changed. There are some bad days with my eating and some days are pretty good.

My water intake is about the same per day, ranging from about 20 oz to 80 oz daily. I know that I still need to work on my water intake and get it up to half of my body weight in oz but that is more difficult than I originally thought it would be. I mean yeah I can see how most people would have no problem with that but half of my body weight is 200 oz of water! I mean wow that's a lot of water! But putting a little more than 1/4 of a teaspoon in every 20 oz of water works when I'm at home and when I go out I usually get a big bottle of Smart Water, which is by far my favorite water ever! It just tastes so crisp and clean that I've become slightly addicted to getting a few bottles every time I go out so that I can drink it when I get home.

I have still cut out most of carbonated drinks, which is just awesome cause like I said in last week's post I could drink a big glass a day which was not good for me at all. So I'm happy and over the moon that I was able to kick that little habit. Not to say that I have totally cut them out completely cause I do still have them every so often but not nearly as much, usually 1/2 a cup.

One thing that I discovered this week was that I love bagels! I have never tried bagels before but my friend recommended them to me and I gave them a try. I really do love them now and have to have one with my breakfast or as a snack some days.

One thing that needs to change desperately now is my lack of exercise. And its not even about me not having time to do any kind of exercise, cause I do have time; its that fact that I haven't seem to have made it a priority and it makes me mad that I'm still putting it off like that. This week I am buckling down and exercising at least once a day. I am sick of putting off something that I know I need to do and the only person I'm hurting by not doing it is myself. So hold me to my word folks and I will make this happen. I have so many plans for this year that I refuse to let not exercising be my downfall!

Oh, this has nothing to do with weight loss or anything but I'm so proud of this that I have to share it in this post. My grandfather, who has chewed tobacco for the better part of 20 years or so quit at the beginning of this year and hasn't picked it up since! I am so proud of him and him being able to put down his addiction has only encouraged me more to get mine under better control. I mean if an 80 year old can beat addiction why can't a 27 year old right? So even without meaning to, he has once again encouraged me.

And now for this week's food diary. Now some days are better and some days are a bit worse, though I must admit that seem to have been more good days than bad days; which encourages me. Also I have still noticed that most of my snacking or cravings as it were comes during the night. I need something that curves my appetite during the evening and throughout the night, so if anyone has any suggestions then please feel free to leave a comment. And now onto this week's food diary!

Sun. - Feb. 8
Breakfast:
- 1 pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 2 Whole Wheat Toast w/ Grape Jelly
- 3 Sausage Patties

Lunch:
- 1 Hot Dog w/ Mayo
- 1 Medium Fry w/ BBQ Sauce for dipping
- 1 Cup of Milk (2%)
- 3 Ritz Crackers

Dinner:
- 1 Cup of Steamed Rice (White)
- 1/2 Tsp of Soy Sauce (Kikoman)
- 1/2 Tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1 Cup of 2% Milk
- 2 Boneless Porkchops (Cooked in oven w/ a light coating of Bake N Shake)
- BBQ Tangy & Sweet Sauce for dipping

Snack: 
- 1 Cup of Popcorn

Water Intake: 40 oz
Exercise: None

Mon. - Feb. 9
Breakfast: 
- Ramen Noodles (Beef)
- 1 Cheese Sandwich

Lunch: 
- 2 PB&J Sandwiches

Dinner: 
- 8 Steak Fingers w/ Sweet & Tangy BBQ Sauce for dipping
- 1/2 Cup of Mashed Potatoes
- 5 Small Garlic Breads on Whole Wheat Bread

Snack:
- 1 Pack of Pocky (Japanese Chocolate Snack)
- 1 Personal Ice Cream Cup (Bunny Tracks)

Water Intake: 20 oz
Exercise: None

Tues. - Feb. 10
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 2 Scrambled Eggs
- 2 Pieces of Whole Wheat Honey Toast w/ Grape Jelly
- 2 Sausage Patties

Lunch: 
- 3 Slices of Red Baron Pizza w/ Ranch Dressing as a dip

 Dinner: 
- 1 Cup of Mashed Potatoes w/ Cheese
- 2 Chicken Patties (Breaded and Oven-Cooked)

Snack: 
- 1 Cup of Popcorn

Water Intake: 80 oz
Exercise: None

Wed. - Feb. 11
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 2 Pieces of Whole Wheat Honey Toast w/ Grape Jelly
- 2 Scrambled Eggs
- 2 Sausage Patties

Lunch: 
- 3 Chicken Patties (Oven-cooked and breaded) w/ Ketchup for dipping
- 1 Cup of Mashed Potatoes

Dinner:
- 1 Pack of Ramen (Beef)
- 1 Porkchop (Oven-cooked and lightly coated w/ Shake N' Bake)

Snack:
- 1 Yogurt (Strawberry and Non-Fat)
- 4 Ritz Crackers
- 4 Cheese Crackers

Water Intake: 60 oz
Exercise: None

Thurs. - Feb. 12
Breakfast:
- 2 Pancakes w/ Butter & Maple Syrup
- 4 oz of Sweet Tea
- 1 Cup of Cheese Grits
- 3 Slices of Bacon

Lunch:
- 1 Cup of Grilled Chicken
- 1 Cup of Grilled Steak
- 2 Cups of Fried Rice
- 1/2 Cup of Japanese Sauce (I'm not sure what it is called officially but at the Japanese Restaurant I go to its called Yummy Sauce)

Snack: 
- 1 Small Pack of Gummy Candy

Dinner: 
- 1 Pack of Udon (Oriental Flavor) (Udon is Japanese Rice Noodles)
- 1 Biscuit with Brown Gravy
- 1/2 Cup of Skim Milk

Snack:
- 2 Small Packs of Gummy Candy

Water Intake: 60 oz
Exercise: None

Fri. - Feb. 13
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 1 Bagel (Everything Bagel) w/ Grape Jelly
- 1/2 Cup of Skim Milk

Lunch: 
- 1 Cup of Steamed Rice (White)
- 1/2 Tsp of Soy Sauce (Kikoman)
- 1 Tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 2 Chicken Patties (Breaded and Oven-cooked)

Dinner: 
- 2 Small Hamburger Patties
- 1 Medium Fry w/ Ketchup for dipping
- 1/2 Cup of 2% Milk
- 2 Small Pieces of Pound Cake

Water Intake: 20 oz
Exercise: None

Sat. - Feb. 14
Breakfast: 
- 2 Scrambled Eggs w/ Ketchup
- 2 Sausage Patties
- 1 Pack of Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 1 Bagel (Everything Bagel) w/ Grape Jelly

Lunch:
- 1 Pack of Ramen (Beef)
- 2 Chicken Patties (Breaded and Oven-cooked)
- 1/2 Cup of 2% Milk

Dinner: 
- 1 Cup of Hamburger Helper (Salsbury)
- 4 Corn Muffins

Snacks: 
- 1 Bagel (Everything Bagel) w/ Jelly

Water Intake: 20 oz
Exercise: None

Now as I stated in my first post, I am a creature of habit and that does include my eating habits. I do rarely stray from what I eat and perhaps that is my problem. But another problem that I have is that I hate vegetables and I mean I really hate them. The only vegetable I will eat willingly is corn and that is once in a while. I know that I have to change this so I am hoping that along with exercising this week that I need to work on eating at least one serving of vegetables with at least one meal a day.

So things that I'm going to work on this coming week is exercising, drinking more water and eating more vegetables. Let's see how well I can do!

Until next week! 

Weight Loss Journey - Week #2 (Feb. 1-7)

Well here it is at the end of week two and while there have been some improvement there are still improvements that need to made. I am so sorry for not having this up last night but since I had to go to my brother's birthday party I was dead tired when I got back home and was out by 10:00!

One improvement has been my water intake. Since downloading the app 'Water Your Body', I have noticed that my water intake has increased. Since the app alerts me every 2 hours that I need to drink a certain amount of water, it is a daily reminder. Also discovering that I need to drink at least half of my body-weight in ounces of water; now I am far from reaching this goal but within a couple of weeks or so I hope to achieve it. Another trick I now use is that I drink all of my water out of a Powerade sports bottle; the bottle itself holds 20 ounces of water and since I don't have to worry about it spilling, I can keep it by my laptop where I am found most of the day without worry. Keeping this bottle in sight also keeps me from reaching for something else to drink, even though my body has started rejecting drinks like that but I'll go more into that in a minute. A third and final trick I've started to use this week is that for every 20 ounces of water I drink, I mix in 1/2 tsp of lemon juice. I found out about this trick online and as I got tired of just drinking water all the time and felt like I was basically forcing myself to drink it; this trick has helped me out a whole bunch this week.

Now when I said that my body is starting to reject other drinks let me explain. For some reason, and I think its a good reason and can only be good for me, my body has started to reject nearly all forms of carbonated drinks. Perhaps reject isn't really a word that should be used, I guess its more like has stopped craving would be a better term. Either way my body has been changing this past week and I feel that it is for the better. Now usually I can drink a few glasses of Coca-Cola or other carbonated drinks daily but for some reason this week my body just was not having it at all. For example, I got a glass of Barq's Root Beer Monday so that I could eat it with my lunch; I literally took maybe two to three sips of it before I started to feel nauseous and had to put the drink down. After I set it down and let my stomach settle for a bit I tried to drink it again with the same results. Now it did take me a few days to realize this and then realize what this meant. As of right now, I can only drink Sprite and Vanilla Coke but I'm not complaining at all. This is because I never realized just how much carbonated drinks I drunk during a day. And even with the Sprite I can only drink it in small quantities and only for a short period of time. This has also made me turn to water as my primary drinking source and sometimes Milk. Again I don't look at this as bad thing but rather as a blessing in disguise.

Another improvement that I noticed was that I'm not craving really greasy foods. Such as fried foods for instance. I have also started to cook more in the oven, thus eliminating the need for cooking with grease on the stove top. Not only do I feel that this is a better, healthy option for me but for also my grandfather and uncle whom I live with and cook for.

Oh! Another odd improvement that I've noticed is that I'm going to bed early and getting up earlier now, which is great! Though this doesn't happen every night but rather a few nights out of the week but still this is a vast improvement as I am not sleeping the day away due to me being up all night the previous night! So yay for that!

Now even though there have been improvements, there are still many more that need to come about.

For instance, this week I still didn't exercise at all and for that I don't have an excuse and I'm not going to give an excuse. I simply just kept putting it off and putting it off. My thoughts ranged from, "Oh I'll do it tomorrow" and "I don't want the people of the neighborhood to see me." It took me a few days, not gonna lie, to realize that what did I care what other people thought? That I needed to get out and do this for myself and not for them. I have nothing that I need to prove to them and why should I be bothered by what their opinion is of me. Now with that being said, I am hoping that Week #3 is going to be filled with daily walks, whether they are for five minutes or for 30 minutes. But no more excuses and no more putting it off.

Another improvement that needs to occur is my late night cravings. I suffer from Insomnia from time to time and the times that I suffer from it, I find myself almost constantly eating and eating for no good reason. I'm not hungry at all but I still can't understand why I keep on eating at night, especially here late at night. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can keep these cravings at bay then please send me a comment, I would really love to hear any suggestions.

And now with all that out of the way, let's get on with food journal. Now please keep in mind that when I don't list anything to drink during a meal, its because I was drinking water instead of something else. Also the amount of water that I drunk daily will be listed under the days as well. Also whenever I eat scrambled eggs, I do not add any salt or pepper to it, so I don't add any extra seasoning to them; though sometimes I add a splash of milk in order to make them fluffier but that's it.

 
Sunday - Feb. 1
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple and Brown Sugar)
- 2 Pieces of Toast (white bread) with Apricot Jelly
- 1 Apple (red) w/ 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter to dip it in.

Lunch:
- 1 pack of beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 1 sausage dog with slight mayo

Snack:
- 1 apple (red)
- 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter for dipping

Dinner: 
- 1 Hamburger w/ cheese & mayo
- 1 cup of steamed rice (white)
- 1/2 tsp of soy sauce (Kikoman)
- 1 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)

Snack: 
- 1 oatmeal cookie
- 2 pieces of to toast (white) with apricot jelly
- cheese sandwich with 2 slices of cheese
- 1 cup of sprite

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 80 ounces!

Monday - Feb. 2
Breakfast:
- 1 pack of instant oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 2 pieces of toast (white) w/ Apricot jelly
- 2 scrambled eggs w/ slight amount of ketchup
- 1/2 cup of sprite

Lunch: 
- 1 pack of beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 1 sausage dog w/ mayo only
- 1/2 cup of sprite
- 1 Oreo Cookie

Snack:
- 1 apple (red)
- 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter for dipping

Dinner: 
- 2 scrambled eggs
- 4 slices of thinly sliced beef steak
- 1 pack of beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 1/2 cup of Sprite
- 1 Oreo Cookie

Late Snack: 
- 1 Peanut butter & jelly sandwich

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 60 ounces!

Tuesday - Feb. 3
Breakfast:
- 1 Peanut butter sandwich
- 1/2 cup of Sprite

Lunch:
- 2 scrambled eggs w/ slight ketchup
- 2 Sausage Links
- 1 Hamburger w/ mayo
- 1/2 cup of root beer (which I regretted as soon as I drunk it...blah)

Snack: 
- Personal size of Double Strawberry Ice Cream

Dinner:
- 1 pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 10 pieces of Popcorn Chicken (Cooked in Oven so no grease)
- 1 Cup of 2% Milk

Snack:
- 4 Oreo Cookies
- 1/2 cup of 2% Milk

Exercise: None
Water Intake: Only 20 ounces (insert frown face)

Wednesday - Feb. 4
Breakfast: 
Nothing

Lunch: 
- 12 pieces of Popcorn Chicken (Cooked in oven so no grease)
- 1 pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 1 cup of Sprite

Dinner:
- 1 chicken patty sandwich w/ mayo (Chicken Patty was cooked in oven so again no grease)
- 2 Slices of Red Baron Pizza (Pepperoni & Sausage)
- 1 Muffin (Whole Wheat Banana)
- 1 Cup of 2% Milk

Snack: 
- 1/2 cup of Sliced Peaches
- 1 Oreo Cookie

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 58 Ounces!

Thursday - Feb. 5 (I think this is my best day thus far)
Breakfast:
- 2 scrambled eggs w/ slight ketchup
- 2 Sausage Patties
- 8 Mini Eggo Waffles
- 1 cup of 2% Milk

Lunch: 
- 1 Mini Sonic Fry
- 2 Small Sonic Cheeseburgers
- 1 pack of Fruit Gummies

Dinner: 
- 1 pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 2 pieces of Sliced Ham (Lunch Meat) Slightly Seared in a frying pan
- 1 cup of 2% Milk
- 1 Hamburger w/ mayo only

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 60 Ounces!

Friday - Feb. 6
Breakfast: 
- 1 pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 2 Pieces of Toast (Whole Wheat) w/ Grape Jelly
- 1 Cup of 2% Milk

Lunch: 
- 1 Cup of Steamed Rice (White)
- 1/2 Tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1 Tsp of Soy Sauce (Kikoman)
- 1 Cup of Sprite
- 1 Sausage Dog w/ Mayo
- 1 Whole Wheat Banana Muffin

Snack: 
- 2 Small Cornbread Muffins
- 1/2 Cup of 2% Milk

Dinner: 
- 1 Pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 2 Pieces of Sliced Ham (Lunch Meat); Lightly Seared
- 1/4 Cup of Sprite
- 2 Cornbread Muffins
-  1 Cup of 2% Milk

Snack:
- 6 Oreo Cookies
- 1 Cup of 2% Milk

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 20 Ounces (insert frown face)

Saturday - Feb. 7
Breakfast: 
- 1 pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 1/2 Cup of Tangerines
- 2 Pieces of Toast (Whole Wheat) w/ Grape Jelly

Lunch: 
- 1 Sausage Dog w/ Mayo
- 1 pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan) & 1 tsp of Soy Sauce (Kikoman)
- 2 scrambled eggs
- 1 Slice of Pound Cake
- 1/2 cup of 2% Milk

Late Lunch/Early Dinner:
- 1 Grilled Chicken Leg w/ Hot Sauce on it
- 1/2 cup of BBQ Baked Beans
- 1 tbsp of Potato Salad (Homemade) (A FIRST FOR ME!!!)
- 2 tbsp of Butterfinger Cake (Not sure what else I can call this)

Dinner:
- 2 Hamburgers w/ Mayo, Ketchup & Mustard

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 76 Ounces!

Well there is it, a week of recorded eating, water intake and exercise (well the lack there-of). While I do see improvements in my water intake and in some days of my eating, there is still much improvement that needs to be made. Hopefully Week #3 will be even better than this week and loads better than Week #1.

As always, thank you for reading this blog and if you have any tips/tricks that you would like to share then please feel free to leave a comment.

Until Next Week!

Weight Loss Journey - Week #1 (Jan. 25-31, 2015)

Well here is the end of week one and I must say that I have never been more surprised and shocked at what I've learned about my eating habits this week than I have been at any other time.

I decided on Sunday morning, when I started this that I wasn't going to change anything what I did day to day in order for me to fully get an idea of what I really did from day to day before I changed it. Needless to say that shock and surprise became common emotions for me during this week. Not once did I go out of my way to exercise, not once! I mean I thought I exercised a couple times of week but apparently I was only fooling myself.

As for my food journal, well I'm flat out embarrassed at what I've eaten during the week; well not really what I've eaten but the amount that I have eaten. And I have no one to blame but myself is the ugly truth. No one held a gun to my head and forced me to eat any of this; it was all my own doing.

I also noticed a sad fact that I don't drink that much water during the day; I would mainly average anywhere from 20 to 60 ounces of water daily and that would be it. But hopefully I have solved this problem as I was able to get an app for my phone that alerts me to when I need to drink water. I didn't know that one is suppose to drink half of their body weight in ounces of water daily. That came as a shock as I'm not anywhere near that level. But hopefully this app will help, for anyone interested the App is called Water Your Body and I downloaded it free from the Google Play store. Its a great little app from what I can tell so I do highly suggest that others try it. Another trick that I learned about increasing my water intake was to put some lemon juice in my water. I'm gonna try this trick starting tomorrow (beginning of Week #2).

Now before I post my meals for the week, I'm in need of advice. I find myself eating when I'm not hungry at all and/or late at night. Since I have insomnia, I stay awake well into the early morning and I find myself snacking all during the night. Does anyone have any suggestions to how I can kill that habit? Any help would be appreciated. And now for my meals for the week, please keep in mind that I am not proud of the amount that I ate during this week and I plan to rectify that in the coming weeks.

Sunday - January 25
Breakfast:
- 2 scrambled eggs w/out salt and pepper
- 2 pieces of honey wheat toast w/ apricot jelly
- 2 patty sausages

Lunch:
- 2 chicken patties (baked)
- 1 pack of Maruchan Ramen Noodles (beef)
- 1 Tsp of Kikkoman Soy Sauce
- 8 fl oz of Lipton Citrus Green Tea

Afternoon Snack:
- EAS Protein Shake (8 oz)
- 3 Corn bread muffins

Dinner:
- 3 chicken patties (baked)
- 1 pack of Maruchan Ramen Noodles (beef)
- 1 Tsp of Kikkoman Soy Sauce
- 8 fl oz of Lipton Citrus Green Tea
- 1 corn bread muffin

Late Night Snack:
- 1/2 bag of Act II popcorn

Monday - January 26
Breakfast:
-nothing

Lunch:
-1 chicken patty (baked)
-1 pack of Maruchan ramen noodles (beef)
-1 Tsp of Soy Sauce (Louisiana Supreme brand)
- 1/2 cup of Sprite

Afternoon Snack:
- Peanut Butter and Apricot jelly sandwich (1)
- 1 cup of 2% milk

Dinner: 
- 1 Cup of Cola
- 1 baked pork chop with a light coding of Shake N' Bake
- 2 scrambled eggs with ketchup

Late Night Snack:
- 1/4 cup of popcorn
- 1 hot dog w/ mustard and ketchup
- 2 pieces of toast w/ apricot jelly

After Midnight:
- 2 cheese sandwiches
- 1/2 pack of ritz crackers
- 2 cornbread muffins
- 1 cup of 2% milk

Tuesday - January 27
Breakfast:
- Nothing

Lunch:
- 2 slices of Red Baron Thin Crust Pizza (Sausage & Pepperoni)
- 20 oz of Vitamin Water XXX Flavor

Afternoon Snack: 
- Personal Bunny Tracks Ice Cream

Dinner:
- 1 pack of Maruchan Beef Ramen
- 12 pieces of popcorn chicken
- 16.9 fl oz of Lipton Citrus Green Tea

Late Night Snack:
- 2 1/2 tbsp of Yoplait Vanilla Yogurt
- 3 tsp of Special K Granola w/ a Touch of Honey
- 1 soft peppermint candy
- 1 Ham and Cheese Sandwich w/ mayo
- 1 slice of pound cake

Wednesday - Jan. 28
Breakfast:
- 1 cup of Frosted Flakes w/ 1/2 cup of milk
- 1 cup of Barq's Root Beer
- 2 pieces of Honey Wheat Toast w/ Apricot Jelly

Lunch:
- 2 scrambled eggs w/out salt and pepper
- 1 cup of steamed rice w/out salt
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce (Louisiana Supreme brand)
- 1/2 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 8 fl oz of Lipton Citrus Green Tea
- 1 patty sausage

Afternoon Snack:
- 1 Ritz cracker

Dinner:
- 8 fl oz of Lipton Citrus Green Tea
- 1 cup of steamed rice w/out salt
- 1/2 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce (Louisiana Supreme brand)
- 12 pieces of popcorn chicken
- 2 cornbread muffins

Dinner Snack:
- 3 cornbread muffins w/ 1/2 cup of 2% milk

Last Night Snack:
- 1 Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
- 1 piece of pound cake
- 1 cup of milk

Thursday - January. 29
Breakfast:
- Nothing

Lunch:
- Stir Fry (1 cup of steamed rice w/out salt, 2 scrambled eggs, 1 tbsp soy sauce)
- 1/2 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1 patty sausage
- 1 cup of milk

Afternoon Snack: 
- 1 hot dog w/ ketchup and mustard

Dinner: 
- 1 pack of Maruchan Ramen Noodles (Beef)
- 1 scrambled egg
- 8 pieces of popcorn chicken
- 16.9 fl oz of Lipton Citrus Green Tea
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce (Louisiana Supreme)

Night Snack: 
- 1 cup of Act II popcorn
- 1/2 Peanut butter sandwich

Friday -  January 30
Breakfast: 
- 2 scrambled eggs w/out salt and pepper; w/ a small amount of ketchup
- 2 pieces of Honey Wheat toast w/ a slight amount of raw honey
- 1 pack of Instant Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal
- 2 patty sausages
- 1 glass of water

Lunch:
- 2 McDoubles from McDonalds. (NEVER AGAIN)
- 1 small water

Dinner:
- 1 cup of steamed rice w/out salt and pepper
- 10 pieces of popcorn chicken
- 1 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1/2 tbsp of Soy sauce (Louisiana Supreme)

Late Night Snack: 
- 1 hamburger

Saturday - January 31
Breakfast:
- 1 pack of Instant Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal
- 2 pieces of honey wheat toast (plain)
- 1 cup of milk

Lunch:
- 1 cup of steamed rice w/out salt
- 1 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce (Louisiana Supreme brand)
- 2 slices of lunch meat ham, lightly seared in a non-greased pan that was sprayed with PAM

Afternoon Snack:
- Personal size of Bunny Tracks Ice Cream

Late Afternoon:
- 1 Ham sandwich on white bread w/ mayo
- 1 Oatmeal Cookie

Dinner:
- 1 cup of steamed rice w/out salt
- 1 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce (Louisiana Supreme brand)
- 2 slices of lunch meat ham, lightly seared in a non-greased pan that was sprayed with PAM
- 1/2 cup of Sprite

Snack:
- 2 cups of Act II popcorn

Late Night Snack:
- 1 cheese sandwich w/ two pieces of cheese and mayo
- 2 oatmeal cookies
- 1 cup of milk

As you can see I am not happy with my eating habits this week, in fact it would be safe to assume that I am down-right disappointed in myself. I mean do I really not eat any vegetables? Granted the only vegetable that I really will eat is corn but I mean still. Something has got to give and its got to give soon. I'm not living like this anymore. I am so over this poor diet that I have and while I want to change, there is an obstacle in my way.
Since I don't live on my own and I basically take care of my grandfather and uncle, who has down-syndrome, I'm pretty much stuck at home all day. And well when I'm home, I get bored and when I get bored I eat. So I have to get it into my head that food is not to be used to cure boredom or anything else that I want food to help with.
There is also yet another obstacle in my way is that my grandfather and uncle are pretty much set in their eating habits. I mean really set in their ways. It took me almost 4 years to get my grandfather to start eating fruit instead of Little Debbie cakes. I'm just glad now that I'm not having to buy them every week and only once every few months if that.
Now keep in mind that I said these were obstacles but the majority of the blame about my eating and exercise habits rest solely on my shoulders. No one should have to look over me and force me to stop eating, especially when I'm not even hungry. I mean seriously, enough is enough of this.
As with the exercise, I always seem to be putting it off until the next day. I use excuses like, well its too cold to walk, or I need music to listen to so I don't get bored with walking. Since I don't live close to any gym and sometimes my means of transportation are not the best and most reliable, walking is my go-to exercise. But I'm always finding excuses for why I didn't walk that day and I'm sick of it. I'm done with making excuses for myself when the only one its hurting is...well me.

Starting tomorrow no more excuses and no more putting things off. I'm going to start losing weight before this weight literally kills me. I also suggest that if you are trying to lose weight that you start keeping a food journal, you might be surprised with how much you eat daily.  It was surprisingly easy to do and keep up with. I kept my food journal well within reach and made sure to write down what I was going to eat, when I was eating it and how much I was eating it either before I ate it, while it was cooking or when I finished eating it.

Well that completes Week #1, I know that Week #2 will be better!
Until Next Week!

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog!

This blog is going to be dedicated to my weight loss journey for at the very least this year. I've been wrestling with this idea for pretty much the whole month of January and I've finally gotten up the courage to do it.

I have struggled with weight all of my life and I know that I will continue to struggle through it for the rest of it. But right now I am not happy with my weight at all and I've finally made up my mind to do something about it.

I use to be on a weight-loss program back in high school when I lived with my dad, mom and younger siblings. This was the first time that I have lived with them much less being told what I could and could not eat. Since I was raised by my grandmother until she passed away, I was spoiled. When I was younger I would deny that until I was blue in the face but now that I am older I have fully accepted that I was spoiled. Now don't get me wrong, I loved my grandmother and I know that she loved me but at the same time she wasn't a parent to me. A parent would have been strict, especially when it came to dieting. I mean I didn't even have a bedtime until I was 15 years old, so one can tell that I was fully spoiled. Not that she didn't love me cause I know she did but she loved me like a grandmother loves and not how a mother loves. So needless to say when I moved in with my dad, mom and younger siblings it was a bit of a shock.

Suddenly I was in a place where I had a bedtime and someone who watched what I ate and was willing to do anything to get me healthier. My mother, well stepmother but she is more of a mother to me than anyone else, took me to a nutritionist the start of that summer and I was given information on everything that it would take for me to lose weight.

To make a long story short I ended up losing a good deal of weight in the two years that I lived with them. I was able to do laps around our yard for 30 minutes, one lap would be running and one would be walking. I ended up not snacking nearly at all and always stuck to portion sizes in everything. I started to eat vegetables and drinking more water than ever before. I was finally starting to feel happy about my weight but then I made a mistake.

I moved out and back into the house where my grandmother raised me. Now it wasn't a mistake to move back in because my grandfather needed me to move back in and the environment at my parents' house had become somewhat stressful and unwelcoming due to certain events. So when I moved back in, I immediately fell back into my old ways and in a matter of months I had lost all the progress that I had made.

I hated it but I never fully committed myself to losing weight again since I was starting college and whatnot. I didn't give it a second thought but now as I sit here at 27 years old and the biggest I have ever been in my life I have come to a decision that I don't want to live this way any longer. Its time for me to take my weight back into my control and not let it continue to hold me back.

So I decided to create this blog for mostly myself and this is why. I feel that if I post weekly what I have eaten, what exercises that I have done and other motivational things that I can be held accountable for it. Knowing that I am going to be posting weekly blog posts that others could read and comment on will make me feel even more accountable for it and motivate me further.

This blog will be updated weekly, every Saturday night in fact. Everything about that week will be recorded. Every morsel of food that I eat, every drink that I take a sip of, every step of exercise I do will be posted for all to see. I'm not going to be counting calories but rather portion sizes of the foods that I consume. I will warn anyone know that I don't stray far from certain foods that I eat regularly. For example, I love having a couple of scrambled eggs with some steamed white rice every morning for breakfast, so you might be seeing a lot of that meal.

Also I wanted to say that if you have any tips on how to eat vegetables or just healthier to please leave a comment. I want to try making green smoothies with my magic bullet but I am unsure as to what vegetables and/or fruits would go well with each other.

Oh also, I am unsure if I will be posting pictures of my progress throughout the year or do a final post of my progress showing the before and after on the last blog post of this year. Any advice would be welcoming.

Thank you for joining me on my weight loss journey and perhaps we all can help be each others motivation!

Summary
Age: 27 years old
Height: 5'10"
Current Weight: 425 pounds; Goal Weight: 180