Check Out This Blog!

I have mentioned this before and I will mention it again,  I love reading blogs. I read quite a few post a day and while I love reading blog posts every once in a while I come across a post that is really inspirational and forces me to reflect on my own life and struggles while at the same time exposing me to what others are going through in their personal journeys. I would recommend for everyone to read the post Why am I blogging by Ellen at Fat Girl Wearing Thin if you haven't read it already!. She is definitely one of my favourite bloggers and I could say a lot of nice things about her blog but you should go and read it yourself. What are you waiting for??? Go Read It!....lol

I changed the name of my blog...

I just thought I needed a change because I feel like I am already Fab even with the Flab...lol I may change it again but for now I like my new name. In the next few weeks I want to start doing more informative posts also that isn't only about my journey but posts that provide tips that may help to dispel myths that almost have a research feel to it. We shall see how things progress of course. I hope everyone is doing good and avoiding temptation!

This weeks Goals and Aspirations

Like I said in my previous post last week was a fail for me because I did not make healthy eating choices. This week is going to be different!

Exercise Goals: At least an hour of exercise everyday. ( My proposed workout plan is subject to change I will follow my body I may exercise more or less depending on how I feel)

Monday: Walk Away the lbs Healthy Heart walk (am) & Turbo Jam Cardio Party 3 (pm)
Tuesday: Walk Away the lbs (2mile walk with light weights) & Turbo Jam Fat Blaster (pm)
Wednesday: Rest (am) & YBB Cardio Carbaret
Thursday: Walk Away the lbs (1mile walk with light weights) & Zumba (maybe)
Friday: Turbo Jam 20 minute workout & Hip Hop Abs
Saturday: Stretching (not sure which one I may do yoga)
Sunday: Rest Day

Food and Calorie Goals:

Eat a minimum of 1300 calories (1500 max)
Avoid Junk food ( I had more than my share last week)
Avoid Drinking calories: I want to save that for food. So I am not going to drink anything that has calories. Sugarless tea, Crystal Bay and Water are my only opinions.
Eat more fruits and vegetables.
Get more fibre
Drink a minimum 64oz of water a day. My ideal based on exercise and weather is 112oz

Miscellaneous Goals:

Only weigh myself on Fridays: I will ONLY weigh myself 1once a week. That is on Friday for the 15 in 15 and 15 in 30 challenge. I notice when I see that I lost weight early in the week I slack off the rest of the week. This is a no no for me and encourages bad habits for me.

Take my Thyroid Meds EVERY DAY ON TIME!: I am such a slacker on this. I hate being committed to doing this...lol

Go to bed on time.... I hate sleeping I wish I didn't have to sleep. I haven't decided what time I should go to bed yet but I will update later.

Last Week in Review.

Last week was like a roller coaster ride for me. I started the week off good for my weight in on Friday (the week before) was 209 and by Sunday I was 207. Monday and Tuesday (of last week) I worked out well but I did not eat nearly enough calories, I only at 700 and 500 of the 1300 I am supposed to eat. Also, I didn't track my eating on Wednesday but at the end of the day I logged what I had eaten that day and it was 1600 calories. I noticed that I ate a lot less when I was tracking then when I wasn't. The reason for that is when I am tracking I know what nutrients I am missing and if I can't find the foods that I need to fill that need I don't eat anything. (Weird but true). I exercised on Wednesday as well but by Thursday the scale read that I was up by 1lb from my Sunday weight and I was surprised because I really didn't eat that much and I was still exercising. However, I didn't drink enough water, that much I am sure of and I didn't take my vitamins so I chuck last week up as a fail. Last week was a fail in my opinion not because I only lost one lb from my last official weigh in but because I didn't make healthy eating choices. 

For my 15 in 15 challenge weight  I lost 1lb (208). This morning I went on the scale and I am 206.8 I don't know where the extra 1.2 lbs went because I didn't exercise over the weekend and I did eat a lot of junk foods so I am not really taking that number seriously. Nevertheless this is a new week and I am getting back on track when it comes to eating. I have been eating oatmeal for breakfast and it has been helping with my digestion which is amazing. I was taking green tea extract the week before, I didn't take any last week but I think I am going to start taking them again. Last week I also didn't take my thyroid meds like I should have so I have to make an effort to stay on track this week with that. (I will post my goals for this week in a different post.)

Untitled...(MIni Rant)

I feel like I am always complaining about food. If I am not eating too much, I am eating too little. Is this what I am reduced to? Am I destined to live my life over concerned with calories counting and food tracking and finding ways to avoid ice cream, and eat enough fibre and make it second nature to do this? Really?, Truly? Is this what my life is reduced to? Hmmmmmmmmm I guess this is what I signed on for, or was it? I envy the persons that have the ability to plan their food in advance and make healthy food choices, while I struggle with forcing myself to eat something so I don't cause my hair to fall out or turn brown because I lack nutrition. Am I overreacting? Maybe... Does it matter? Yes it does because I am on a journey to be healthy more than I am to lose weight. Assuming they both go hand in hand if I live to be healthy eventually I will lose the weight. I think I need to reassess my goals before I turn into what I used to be. Someone starving and afraid to eat because I may gain a pound or two. I feel like I am trapped between a rock and a hard place because on one hand I know determination helps me to achieve my goals, while on the other hand I know that obsession can lead me to a state of mind I thought I left in my teens... Life have a way of throwing double edge swords my way, but regardless if I focus on health and not weight loss I will be able to stay focus and fight off the vices that are trying to take control....  At least this is what I am hoping... I guess only time will tell

My first Blog Award(s)!!!!

These are my First blog awards! Thanks MissHaneefa for passing it along to me :D

For the first award I have to tell you 10 things I love so here it goes:

1. I love my Sir (fiancé) Even though we have been through a lot he always sticks by me and I feel blessed that he is in my life
2. My family especially my 3 year old Nephew. 
3. Spending Money, What girl doesn't like shopping??? 
4. Learning new languages other than English I speak Spanish fluently and I am learning Dutch
5. I love Travelling
6. I love watching television if I am home all day I watch about 18hours of television
7. I love reading
8. I love laughing and comedy.
9. I love meeting new people
10. I love how I feel after I had a great workout

The Second award says to list 7 things you don't know about me: 

1. I am working on becoming a Spanish teacher
2. My father died when I was 8
3. I suffered from depression for much of my teen and adulthood but I am finally at a point in my life where I feel happy more than not. I am doing it without meds
4. I am terrified of driving and I have no idea why
5. I do not chew gum
6. I used to bite my nails until I was about 25 then I stopped and grew my nails really long (they are short now though but I am regrowing them)
7. I want a tattoo but I will not get one because I hate how tattoos look on old people and I am planning on living a very long life. I can't be an old person with a tattoo no mam no sir...lol

I am giving the awards to: All great blogs, the others I wanted to give it to were already chosen by MissHaneefa.

Ronke143

Lady Cyone

MieshaMosby

Stressful Few Days

The last three days have been extremely stressful for me and my eating has suffered a lot because of it. I have no idea why I am feeling this way, but I have been nervous, moody and I have been having problems sleeping. The lack of sleep most likely is the cause of my nervousness and moodiness or maybe my moodiness and nervousness is the results of my lack of sleep..lol Either way I have been having problems sleeping and eating. I am one of those persons who will not eat because of stress. Food doesn't comfort me at all if anything it does the opposite. I am still logging everything I eat at caloriecount.about.com, on Thursday I ate 1280calories which was good for me cause it was close to my target of 1300 which made me happy. Friday however I only ate 1064 calories. According to the food analysis on the website I did not eat enough protein, fibre and my vitamins we lacking too.  I worry less about the vitamin portion because I supplement that with a multivitamin pill. (eventually I will work that out with food). I was really exhausted from the lack of sleep so I didn't exercise those two days.Yesterday (Saturday) was the worst day. I only ate about 600 calories!  I was slightly hungry in the evening but I was unable to put any food in my mouth. I did however get in 30mins of workout with the help of Leslie Sansone healthy heart walking dvd. It was a 2mile walk and it is pretty low impact. I went on the scale last night (and this morning) and it says I am down a lil over a pound since Friday's weigh in. So I am currently 207.9 from 209 (probably water weight though) . Today I am going to aim for 1400 calories because I don't want my body to go into starvation mood. I like the fact that I am finally making progress it has been a long road to travel and I am not turning back. Because of my history I want to lose weight the healthy way, but stressing about it won't help either. It is ironic that I am giving a stress management speech on Tuesday in my oral communications class but I am having problems managing my own stress...lol 

15lbs in 30 Days...

Yesterday while reading blogs, I came across this challenge to lose 15lbs in 30days. I immediately started laughing  because my first thought was there is no way I can lose that much weight in 30 days. I would have to average about 3.5lbs a week to make that happen. I thought about the amount of work that I had to do to lose the 2lbs I lost last week. Then my laugh turned serious and my competitive self came out and I was thinking why not give it a shot? What do I have to lose? Besides weight, nothing! I think this challenge will help me with the other challenge I am doing which is to lose 15lbs in 15weeks. I think it will also help me with my eating because I will not waste my calories on junk food (wishful thinking).  Maybe It will be the extra push I need to get where I want to be. Which is more active and fit.

Another reason why I want to do the challenge (also the blogger's reason for the challenge) is because my birthday is in November (6days after the challenge ends) if I could pull this off I promise you I am going to eat a nice slice of cake for my birthday with some ice cream with sprinkles on top. Despite my new excitement over the challenge I know I have some rough weeks ahead because I will have term papers and reports due in November so I am going to be extra stressed, but what better way to manage that stress than through exercise????? Wish me luck, because I think I am going to need it. 

(clicking the picture should take you to the Original Blogger's post)

15 in 15 Challenge Update

We are at the third weigh in for the 15 in 15 challenge. I went on the scale last night (and also this morning) and my weight was 209 I was soooooooo excited because I lost 2lbs this week, despite eating 2 slices of pizza and despite eating a huge bowl of ice cream. I did some some things differently this week though. 

1. 1. I drink a lot more water than I normally did. I went on a website and found out how much water I had to drink in a day. According to the website I should drink 112oz of water a day( that is based on my weight, countries climate (HOT) and my activity level, I only met that goal once but on average I drank at least 64oz of water this week. (which was still more than I normally drink)
2. I started taking green tea extract. I don't know if it is only in my mind but it gave me a lot of energy through that day. I am guess it is from the caffeine found in green tea. I may stop because I have been feeling nervous and jittery this week too. It would be one of two things either my thyroid levels have elevated and I am in the hyper range or the it is from the caffeine levels in the tea. I think it is the first because I was feeling nervous before I started taking the green tea supplements. 
3. I did the Turbo Jam workouts a lot this week. I think I did about 10+ hours of exercise this week compared to the ~7 hours I normally do.
4. For the last two days I have stuck to a 1300 calorie intake. Which I track through caloriecount.about.com

My Goals for next week are:

1. I will continue to work on my water intake.
2. I will continue to eat 1300 calories and track it through the website. I already talked about why I like the website in another post. However I have to say it again. I love the food analysis portion of the tracking. In the last two days I noticed that my vitamin (and fibre) intake was too low so I have started taking multivitamins (last night I started) until I can figure out the right food combination that gives me the right amount of vitamins I need that is still within my 1300 calorie intake. (Note to self if you stop wasting it on junk food you will be able to do that... Note back to self MYOB (mind your own business))
3. I will continue to push myself through exercise. I can't believe I said I hated Turbo Jam. I love the workout because it is a great cardio workout. My heart is beating, I am sweating and I am finding energy I didn't know I had. I have even grown to like Charlene. Yes I said it! 
4. I am going to be adding more fibre to my diet by drinking Metamucil. I probably should talk to my doctor first because I do take synthroid but I am going to make sure that I don't take my thyroid meds close to when I drink the fibre drink. I was thinking about buying fiber one bars but they are kind of expensive here and I have to check how much sugar is in it before I buy it. 

It is wrong and I am guilty of it...

There is this girl in one of my classes and she is about my height 5'5 and she weighs close to 400 lbs if not 400lbs. (I don't know her actual weight of course but she looks to be about twice my size.) The reason why I mentioned her is because she was one of the reasons why I decided to lose weight. The truth is I was appalled that she allowed herself to get so big. I was actually disgusted by her size. The worse part of the situation was that I didn't realize that my thoughts were wrong and that the only thing disgusting was that I was seeing her size and not the person. 

She is a very beautiful girl, and she carries herself neat and clean. She wears clothes that fit her well, her make up is always on point and she always has a smile on her face. Anyways I didn't realize what I was doing was wrong until I saw someone else do it.  Once I saw someone else doing it I realized that I am no better than my classmate, what I mean is that I am obese (dang I hate that word) as well, and a thinner person may look at me in a negative way and say she looks gross I don't want to be like her. That thinner person may think about me in the manner in which I thought about my classmate and the thought of that makes me sad. That thought makes me want to yell BEYOND MY SIZE, I AM A REAL PERSON! (just like my class is a real person with real feelings) What I now realize is that my focus should not be on how my classmate got to the size that she is now, my focus should be on what am I going to do to become healthier and more fit. I should not be directing my self hate on someone else.

I think that when you are trying to lose weight it is best to focus on yourself and the personal changes you want to make. You should think about the things that matter, like your healthy and fitness goals. Focusing on the positives will help you stay positive during your journey. It will also help with self esteem and confidence because you would see weight loss in a positive light. Focusing your self hate on someone else (which is what I was doing unknowingly) will only cause you to judge others who haven't gained the awareness you have now gained about health and fitness. Also it will cause you to take drastic measures because you see being overweight as being a very negative thing. Negativity breeds negativity, and you can never be happy if your focusing on the negative. It is just that simple. 

Finally I want to say that my post is not to offend anyone, I am just pointing out an error I have  made during my journey. The longer I continue the more I am learning about myself. Sometimes we don't realize a journey involves not only the physical but the mental and emotional too. I am finding out a lot about myself and who I am through this weight loss journey. 

Food Tracking and Caloriecount.about.com

On Sunday I decided that it would be a good idea to write down everything I ate which I did, but I found that it made me think about food more and I was eating more than I normally did. Breakfast started off well because I ate oatmeal. Although oatmeal is healthy for most for me its not because I like A LOT of salt on my oatmeal. Honestly I probably put 2 tablespoons of salt in about 2 cups of oatmeal. That is not healthy at all! But that day I made sure that I didn't add too much salt so it was good to me.  For lunch I ate mixed vegetables (about 2 cups of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.) and 2 chicken wings and after that I just went buck wild! I was eating ice cream and cookies and everything I knew that wasn't good for me to eat. I had 3 more chicken wings and chocolate pudding and I really think it is because I was writing down what I ate. I felt so out of control. I am like a child when it comes to restrictions, limitations and being told what to do. Once I made up my mind that I would track my eating my inner rebellious self took over! So I have to take a different approach because I am determined to get this right. 

As a result of my overeating on Sunday Monday I decided not to track me eating, (i didn't consciously restrict myself) and I did a lot better there was no overeating even though I didn't always make the best choices. Yesterday was a stressful day for me, (I had two presentations and an exam on that day) and I didn't eat that much I had an apple for breakfast and I  didn't eat again until after my 9oclock class (late i know), Even though it was late and I wasn't hungry I decided to eat something because I don't want my metabolism to be compromised because I wasn't eating enough. Today I am trying something new to track me eating. I am using the website Calorie Count to track my eating now.

I love the website. I have had an account with them for a while but I have never been consistent with using it to track my journey back to "slimville".  (I have an account with spark people as well but I prefer calorie count ) I put in my current weight and how much I want to weigh by January and they told me how much calories I should eat a day and how much calories I should burn in order to achieve my goals. One thing i love about the site is that it uses a letter grading system to let you know how well you are doing. So far I have only added my breakfast and I have a B+. (i had a egg wrap for breakfast.) Another thing I like is that they have a food analysis that tells you for example how much sodium was in your food, and it tell you what you what nutrients you are lacking. If you are like me and you have problems monitoring your eating maybe you should try using that site too. So far I like it but the only way it will work is if I stay consistent. I hope everyone else is doing great. I am about to go catch up on my blog readings then I am going to exercise and eat some lunch. I think I may just make a salad with some tuna. 

Bye for Now

Shantell

Thanks:D

I want to say thank you for everyone who decided to follow my blog! It means so much to me because I really didn't think anyone would find anything I wrote worth reading. But I am happy if you do. I have such a huge smile on my face right now, 7 followers??? Really???? ( well 6 cause my fiancé doesn't count he didn't have a choice but to follow...lol) I follow all your blogs and I think you are all have great blogs as well. 

Another 30 Day Workout Challenge Update

All I can say is it worked! I was sitting in bed at 11.30pm and I didn't work out at all yesterday. Honestly I was going to skip working out, I thought I deserved it. I had worked out for the most part twice a day for this whole week (I think one day I only exercised one time) and I thought that I deserved a rest day but my mind and body was completely against that. 

Anyways this whole time I am laying in bed trying to fall asleep and my mind is saying, go work out! you need to walk out! you didn't work out, it was like I was being tortured by my mind to work out. Seriously??? So I got out of bed and I did 40mins of exercise first I did Turbo Jam 20min workout, then I did Leslie Sansone Get up and Get Started the 1mile walk and at the end of it all I was sweating and I felt relax exhausted and ready for bed. 

The Moral of my story is,  even though my 30 days Workout Challenge doesn't official end until Wednesday I can certainly say that it has become a habit for me to work out. So I was able to accomplish one of my goals of making exercise a part of my day to day/weekly routine and I am ecstatic. I feel like even though the weight is coming off slower than I would like it to I am learning and growing and getting where I need to be. My body is changing positively as well.

I noticed that since I started exercising the swelling in my ankle (associated with my hypothyroidism) has been reduced (it is pretty much non existent actually do I finally got my ankle back.) I have less joint pains and my knee doesn't hurt anymore. My knees were a huge hindrance when I first started working out, but now I don't have any knee pains.  My clothes fit me well. I have some jeans that I bought a while back that doesn't fit me and I am so looking forward to wearing them, they are a size 12 I got them from Ross when I went to Miami last year. Right now the jeans stop at my hips so a few more inches and I will get into them. Even though I am plus size I wear stretch jeans in a size 12 comfortably if its non stretch I wear 14. I am getting so excited about where I am going with this I feel like I am finally taking the steps to being healthy. I am even starting to enjoy exercising. Yaaaaaaaaaaay me :D

Questionnaire

I got this idea from Christina @ Never the Skinny Girl, this is her way of getting to know her followers/readers. I thought it was a good idea to post the questionnaire on my blog too. If you want you can do the same of simple answer some or all of the questions as a comment. Thanks!

1.  What was your highest weight, what do you weigh right now and what is your goal weight?

• My highest weight was 220
• Current Weight 211
• Goal weight 130

2.  What is your #1 motivation for losing weight?

• My #1 Motivation is my health 

3.  Have you always been overweight?

• I have no been overweight all my life. Weight wasn't a problem for me until I was 22/23 (I am 26 now)

4.  When you want to give up what inspires you to keep going?

• Honestly, I would have to say reading others success stories inspires me to keep going. 

5.  What is the #1 thing you look forward to when you hit your goal weight?

• I am looking forward to looking myself in the mirror with a smile on my face and saying "I DID IT"

6.  Do you have support on your weight loss journey?

• My Fiancé is a huge supporter, sometimes I would say he tries too hard. 

7.  What is your favorite exercise?

• I love doing workout DVDs. My two Favs are Walk Away the Pounds by Leslie Sansone and Beach Body Turbo Jam

8.  What is the most important thing you have learned on your weight loss journey?

• I have learned that its takes hard work and dedication to lose weight. 

9.  What is one thing you have given up that you miss the most?

• I haven't given up anything yet (maybe thats why its such a struggle...lol)

10.  What is your strategy for losing weight?

• Exercise and Portion control/low glycemic diet.

Ramblings and Food Journal....

I am trying to gain a new perspective when it comes to my eating. There is no question in my mind that in order to lose weight I need to eat healthier. ( Light bulb moment, yea it did just turn on). Honestly, I already knew that I needed to eat better but for some reason I didn't want to acknowledge it and I have no idea why. I think it goes back to my post on self sabotage, not eating right gives me an excuse for not losing weight. It is so easy to say I didn't lose weight because I know I didn't eat right, it is a lot harder to try my hardest and still not lose weight. But how do I know I will fail unless I try. ( I hope you are following this I tend to jump from point to point). Why do I even think I will fail? I was reading a article that give tips on losing weight and one of the tips was to think thin. 

Think thin I thought? What did that mean? Well the article said to carry yourself the way you want to feel, be positive, walk with your abdomen tight and your shoulder back be confident and the rest will follow. (anyways back on point). I have decided that I will be positive think thin and work on my eating. The first thing is planning. Unfortunately, I am not in the position at this moment to plan my meals in advance but I can plan what times I eat. I am going to eat three times a day and I will have two snacks a day. I want to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into my diet and I am elimination unnecessary carbs. I know that one of the main faults in my current diet is a lack of variety. So for the rest of the year I am going to continuously work on my eating and by the new year I should be on point with eating. 

Food Journal, I started today to log everything that I put in my mouth. So far it is helping me avoid the bad stuff because I don't want to write it down. At the end of the day I will review what I ate and add a calorie number to it, (using an online calorie counter) then I will write any suggestions on changes I need to make.

I am also doing really good with my water intake, on a pervious post I said I would drink 64oz of water, I looked up how much water I needed for to drink and It said I should drink 112oz a day. I was like WHAT??? I haven't gotten up to that number yet but I am working on it. I found that drinking a lot of water is helping with my cravings as far as soft drinks is concerned. 

I really want to live a healthy life. Life is so unpredictable and there are so many things that we cant avoid, or control but I can control my weight and I can control what I put into my mouth. Trust me I have no intentions of turning into a control freak but this is something I want to do for myself. I don't want to develop heart disease or diabetes. These things for the most part can be avoided, prevention is always better than a cure. Plus I want to wear cute clothes again...lol 

Diet Pills? Really???

For some reason I think diet pills are the devil... Well ok maybe that is extreme but I think it is never a good idea to take them (unless of course it is prescribed by a doctor and he or she will be monitoring your health.) I am sub'd to two persons on youtube who are on weight loss journeys and they are now taking diet pills they got for free to try out... I think that is wrong on so many levels, but before I get to that I should mention that they both gave disclaimers that they are not professionals and that they aren't telling anyone to buy the pills even though  they do provide links to where the pills can be purchased. (If your not promoting the pills you shouldn't give a link! thats just my opinion) Another thing is they both gave reviews praising the pills after taking it  for 2weeks. One even said she was an "expert" on the pills and any questions the viewers have she is sure she would be able to answer because she has been taking it for a while now. (Apparently 2 weeks is a while)

Although it doesn't take a genius to figure out that there is something wrong with this picture, I will give my main concerns anyways. 

1. As far as I can tell based on the bottle and the label it doesn't seem like it was from a reliable company. It was in a regular beige pill bottle with a label that looked like it was printed from a computer.

2. It takes longer than 2 weeks to know if you have any side effects from a product. 

3. Even if you give a disclaimer there may be kids watching, some adults have problems making smart decisions so judge kids... I think they shouldn't have provided a link to the seller, I think interested persons should search for themselves where they could get the pills. 

I know they both want to lose weigh, I do too but I just think that no one should risk their health to lose weight....

30 Day Workout Challenge Update

Ok so I have no idea what day I am on it has been a while since I talked about how my exercise challenge is going. Last week I sort of fell off the wagon so to speak, I didn't workout like I should have. I probably only worked out 3 or 4 times last week instead of 14 times (2 a day for 7 days). That is now the past so I am not going to make any excuse, I am only going to keep moving on. 

This week however, I was about to work out everyday twice a week. I mostly did Turbo Jam and The Biggest Loser 30 Day Jumpstart Dvds. I also did The Leslie Sansone Healthy Heart Walk dvd this week. I haven't been planning my workouts like I did during the first week, I just did what I felt like doing at the moment. As far as my eating is concerned I am still trying to get that on track. I cannot understand why it is so hard to eat right! It doesn't take a rocket science to know that healthier foods is better! Period! (sigh) I am going to figure this thing out. I am just really excited that I am finally getting some exercise. 

Back to a more positive note, I have started another personal challenge, it isn't anything official like my 30 day workout challenge or the 15 in 15 Challenge it is just me making a conscious effort to drink more water. I know there is a website where you can put in your weight and it says how much water you should drink. I have seen the equation I can't remember it right now, I didn't check to see how much water I should be drinking but I decided to drink at least 64ounce a day. Yesterday was the first day I did it and I must say that I hope the trips that I make to the bathroom counts as exercise cause ....(need I say more?)...lol 

Tomorrow I will weigh in, I hope that the scale finally goes down but if it doesn't I am definitely going to have to pay closer attention to what I am eating, because I have weight loss goals I want to achieve.