Let's pretend that didn't happen...

Logging in for the first time in a year and there is my last post, a virtual high-five to myself. Well...2013 was an interesting year. Some good and some bad. Roller coaster to be honest. I did whatever, whenever. We will call it a growing experience, literally. I discovered a new hangout and many new friends...many new drinks and a few more pounds. So... Here we go. Getting this derailed train back on track

Using a new iPad app but you get the idea. I am up 30 lbs.  My first and most immediate goal is to stop the drinking. Pretty sure I drank a liter of whiskey in 4 days. Yep. I went for a year with very little alcohol...I can do this. Next, drink more water. I'm parched. 

Weight goals? I would like to be feeling closer to "myself" by May 1. I've a wedding to attend and hope to connect with friends old and new.  I can do this. Probably shouldn't put a number on the goal, but that number is 190. 

Happy New Year!!!

Hi All...

Seems that the better I am doing with my actual weight-loss the worse I am doing at the blogging.  I am very very pleased to let you all know (for those who don't know me in person) that I have continued to do well and have lost 90 LBS since Jan of 2012!!!!  That is fantastic, and I am very pleased with my progress.  Still working Medifast as best I can...it is a challenge and perhaps a bit "weird" to the folks around me ... but it is working and for that I feel blessed.

What is coming up for 2013?  I need to dedicate myself to a better overall healthy lifestyle.  My focus has been more on the diet aspect than fitness and that needs to change.  Yesterday I ordered 2 new swimsuits and am committing to swimming at least twice a week after work for the near future. 

I don't have a really good or super current picture, but this was taken maybe a month or so ago, so still accurate. 

Hope everyone has a happy and healthy 2013!

-allison

Progress Pic Update

Hi!

I am now down about 60-65 lbs from when I started so I thought I would update my pic to show the progress. 

 

Sorry about the pics being taken in the ladies room...best mirror!

Going Strong

I am still doing well on the Medifast plan!  So far I am down 60 since Feb/March!!!  Feeling great.  Looking better. Very exciting. 

I do Medifast but not exactly to the degree that is intended.  I really don't do much more than count calories and track anything that might be a condiment or healthy fat.  If i have 3 packets of spenda and a dash of spice... i am not really going to count them.  If I have a tablespoon of 1 carb catsup ... I dont really care.  If I am hungry and decide to have a wedge or 2 of Laughing Cow cheese ... well... its just 70 more calories added to the list.   I do try and eat the 5 meals ( guilty of doing 4 frequently) and protein (guilty of skipping greens all together). If I am out and not measuring my veggies and protein I just try and eat low carb and lowish fat.  Regular cheese is just fine if that is all that's on the salad bar.

My method ... works well enough that I haven't veered beyond that.  Three amazing vacations (San Francisco, Outer Banks, St Pete Beach FL) and I have taken my Medifast meals with me.  Not really all that challenging.  For whatever reason I have not had any serious cravings.  Odd actually...I almost feel broken.  Even after doing things that MAKE you hungry ... no cravings or munchy attacks. 

I see myself on this plan about 3 more months.  Thanksgiving will be off plan.  For an entire 4 day weekend.  My hope is I stay true to my promise to not eat dessert or sugary foods.  I wont be on plan, but if I am going to eat carbs, i want it to be with food that is non-sweet.  Sweets are like crack for me.  I can give or take bread.  Not sure if i will be ready to hop back on the wagon or if i would take a break over the holidays.  I hope I get back on the wagon, but being realistic part of me wants to just take the season off in the hopes that I would be reasonable, stay away from sweets, and then get back into the swing of thing in Jan.  Of course if I swear off sweets there is really no reason NOT to go back on until actual Christmas dinner.  The only reason to go off the diet would be to eat my weight in cookies!!!  So there, I just talked myself into to being a good girl!

40 lbs gone since Jan 2012

We are at the mid-year mark and so far I am down 40 lbs!  Put that with the 15 or so I lost they year prior and I am doing pretty well!  I found a pic from 2009 where I weighed 270.  Also featured is a picture of me this week wearing a skirt for the first time in ....well....maybe 7 years. 

6 months and 40 pounds later...

You know how some women think they look fatter than they really do?  Well...I have the opposite disorder...I think I am much thinner and cuter than I really am.  Part of that illusion is to not look in a mirror from the shoulders down ... and never look at pictures of myself. When I look down at myself in the morning I see the same lumps and bumps that I did 40 lbs ago...but after seeing these pictures of myself, I finally see less of me!

There are my cheek bones...a waist ... and thank god a better bra! Buried in my closet were boxes of cute tops and skirts, 10s of skirts, dear god...why do I have so many skirts?  I guess when I lost a lot of weight in 2003/2004 I went out and bought every cute skirt I could find.  Anyway, only 2 of the skirts fit now, but there are a few 24's that are close ... and many 22's and 20's waiting for attention.  They are waiting patiently in my closet for the rest of the summer.

Off to have another Medifast meal...I am late tonight!

Huge Victories -- Scale & Non-Scale

it's been a while since my last blog entry but things are going very well. I started this journey on March 12 2012 ans I am finishing up my 12th week on the Medifast program. In that 12 weeks I have lost an amazing 31 lbs !

During that time I have met the challenge of a vacation in San Francisco and I have 2 more big trips coming up...a week in the Outer Banks and a trip to St. Pete beach. With those trips I will have a full kitchen at my disposal and the opportunity to pack what I want...flying across the country and staying in an old boutique hotel was not as easy!

It can all be managed, that is about all I can offer on that topic. My desire to not eat high carbs far outweighed any minor temptation. Maybe I am in a honeymoon phase, but I am very motivated to continue this streak of accomplishment and better health.

So that is all about my scale victories. Let's talk non-scale:

1) Clothing, being able to shop in a store other an Catherine's and buy pants is a real treat. I bought 2 pair of slacks from Lane Bryant, size 26, and they were perfect. I recognize that size 26 is not something to generally celebrate, but I had been wearing a 30 or so in non-elastic waisted pants. Can't find those anywhere.

2) This was a discovery last night. I flew to Tampa and realized that non only did my tray table come all the way down...my seatbelt fit WITHOUT AN EXTENDER!!!!! I almost cried tears on joy on the plane.

Week 8 with Medifast

NSV

Just had my 8th weigh-in since beginning the Medifast program on March 12th.  Delighted to report that there is 22.7 pounds less of me than there was in March.  Woo!

Here is probably my most significant non-scale victory (NSV)...a couple weeks ago I went to the doctor to get a blood panel run for a checkup.  In Jan of 11 my cholesterol was high at 226.  As of last week, my total cholesterol is a nice 161!  My life has been consumed with counting calories, fat grams and pounds.  I'd never really cared about my cholesterol because there were so many other things for me to worry about.  Knowing that it was high was well...not a huge deal for me because I just didn't really know why I should be worried.  That said, knowing that it has dropped 60 in the last 1.5 years is a great feeling. 

The only odd thing is that my good cholesterol keeps going down!  It is actually low.  Not sure why that is but I will try and do a bit of research to find out.  Logic assumes that it should go up with weight-loss.  Mine was at 52 1/11 and is now 38.  That is a significant drop.  If anyone has any thoughts, please share them.

Sickness

I did spend the last week and a half being sick...sore throat, low fever...cough...the fun stuff.  I did stay on program though I found it hard to eat all of my meals.  Thankfully I had lots of hot cocoa and other hot drinks from Medifast in my pantry.  My exercise has stopped because of the illness but I need to kick that up a notch.  Still feeling a bit wonky, my throat or glands are being stubborned but it is time to do something active.  I would love to start swimming again.  I may try to get up really early one morning and go before work. 

All for now!

Not for nothing...

...but I am officially 40 lbs LIGHTER than I was at my most recenty memory heavy point in September 2010!
That was a few months after moving back into my home after flood renovations and taking full advantage of my new built-in wine rack and Kitchen Aid mixer.  Those days are long over though I hope to get back to the wine rack sometime ... hehe!

Just wanted to share that.  I am down 21ish from starting Medifast on March 12th.  I think that is 6 weeks.  I am more than pleased!

Lazy Blogger!

For my one reader (Thanks Ally!) I apologize for being so darn lazy with the blogging!  Historically a quiet "My Inner Thin" was indicative of me falling off the wagon and slinking quietly into the kitchen for ice cream.  I am please to say that NOT THIS TIME!!!!

I think I have been doing Medifast for about 6 weeks and my total loss to day on this plan (since March 12 2012) is over 18 lbs!  In those 6 weeks I have accomplished many things that I am proud of:

• eating more veggies 
• went so San Francisco and stayed on plan
• manged to walk over 5 miles a day in SF and lived to tell

I am sure there are many more, but really the big thing is that I am preparing more and more real food, and that includes veggies.  I can actually see myself incorporating the vegetables into my every day when I do transition.  Seems like a no brainer for most people, but I haven't eaten non starchy vegetables ...well...ever.

I have made zucchini a few times...always replacing where I would have had pasta in the past.  I've even had and almost enjoyed broccoli.  The prep and proper cooking of the vegetables still intimidates me, but I keep trying.  Of course I have had several salads with greens and my old stand by, low sodium green beans (canned).

Right now I am focusing on where I will be when I go on my first beach trip for the summer.  Will head to Hatteras the first week of June.  If all goes as I have planned, I will be well on my way to being a weight that I have only really been twice in my adult life, really in memory at all.  That seems pretty major!  I have never really been a big yo-yo dieter, I just trended up.  In 1999 while I was working on my feet all day, a starving student, and on WW I got down to maybe 235.  That was the first time I had actually lost any weight as an adult.  In 2003 I did HMR for the first time and trimmed down to 190.  That was fleeting ... but again, the only other time I lost significant weight.  I have lost 20 here and 30 there but I keep starting from higher and higher and never seem to break into those 230s.  So my goal is to see the low 230s before June 1.

So ...  18 down, 13 or so to go.

-allison

Week 3 Weight in - Medifast

Had a lovely weekend and did lose 2.6 pounds last week.  I feel like I am in a good rhythm and look forward to keeping up the momentum! My total is right at 10 lbs for 3 weeks! 

Still finding the plan pretty easy and have not had any big moments of weakness. 

This Thursday, however, the story gets more interesting.  I am leaving for a week long vacation to San Francisco with my sweetie.  Roaming a beautiful foreign city known for its food and wine is going to be a real challenge.  I have been planning how I would manage this while staying on program.  There will be at least one meal that I can eat out.  The rest of the day will be bringing food with me and hopefully still enjoying being out and about with my sweetie and not seeming awkward.  The last thing I want is for him to feel bad about needing to eat out every meal while I cannot.  But...I also do not want to be tempted all the time. 

So that is the deal.  I am trying to remind myself that staying on plan is not just about backtracking.  It also will negatively impact how I feel on the trip and possible create bathroom issues...who wants that!  To prep I have ordered a ton of MF food, an electric kettle, and have learned that I can stomach most of the meals without any added flavor.  No need to enjoy the food...just need to get it down :)

Food, kettle, cleaning stuff, thermos food jar, etc is going to take up half my luggage!  The good news is that I can fill it with shopping finds on the way home :)

Off to make a delicious shake.

Ending Week 3 - Medifast

I am pleased to say that even though I have not been blogging, I am happily cruising through the Medifast program.  Clearly I am a food robot, because I have had no issues with eating their replacements.  Not once in the last 3 weeks have I had a craving for anything.  Nothing.  The closest thing to a craving was when I was driving around the parking lot of a shopping center where I would have lunch or dinner at Chick-fil-a a few times a week.  I felt like I should be driving there...and that started me thinking about my usual order "3 piece chicken strips and a small ice dream cone".  But, I reminded myself that those things are not in my life right now ... and that was that.

My weight has been coming off...but pretty slowly, which I do admin is frustrating.  In my mind I think that I should be losing at a more rapid pace given my following of the program...but it isn't happening.  But it is coming down, so I need to chill out about the pace!

Let me fill you in on my typical day with Medifast:

• 9:30 am - shake/bar (whatever quick meal I can guzzle at home or in the car)
• 12:30 pm - eggs/shake/cappuccino (still feeling breakfast)
• 3:00 pm - soup/shake/pretzels (generally want savory by this point)
• 5:30 pm - shake/bar (by now i am not wanting to prep anything, so its quick)
• 7:30-8  pm- Dinner of lean protein and veggies (most night i have the veggies, i am still struggling)
• 9:30-10pm - brownie/cookie/shake mixed with 1 tbs of Peanut Butter
• 12 am - if i am up late i have a little something to keep my body happy, maybe a wedge of Laughing Cow

That is it, my typical day.  I am feeling so good...and having a meal so frequently that I never really think about coffee.  Occasionally I mix a bit of Starbucks Via in a shake for flavor...but its never because I need a boost.  Couldn't be happier with how I feel.

Exercise is not really steady right now but I do occasionally take a walk during the day.  They (Medifast) says wait 3 weeks before starting.  Believe me, starting next Thursday I will be getting a work out as I am going to San Francisco.  Nothing but exercise there!

That is it for now.  I feel like I have a lot to say, but I also feel like I need to finish getting dressed and run my emergency pre-vacation errands!

Total loss right now is about 9 lbs in almost 3 weeks.  I know that is a great loss, and if I were on Weight Watchers I would be over the moon.  So ... I think I will just need to adjust my expectations a bit and be please with any momentum I have.  I am on pace to be in a much better place weight wise for the summer, and that makes me happy.  It also means finding another bathing suit...but that is a small price to pay!

The Voice

Just a random thought ... I never want the tiny hat to ever go out of style.

Blain Edwards lives on...chesticles and all!

Week 1 Medifast

I am very happy to report that I made it through the first week...mostly with flying colors!  The plan itself was not hard to stick to...for me anyway.  The only issue with the first week was finding ways to prepare the Medifast meals in a way that was appealing without blowing through my daily condiment allowance of 3. 

The Internet is an amazing tool and I really enjoyed reading other peoples blogs...those very passionate about Medifast and those with helpful tips on how to make the food enjoyable.  I also learned that every one's tastes are different.  An item that one blogger or reviewer like or loved, someone else may have reported it to be gross.  An example is the Medifast oatmeal.  The first blogs I read talked about how gross it was, etc.  So I took their advice and made muffins out of the oatmeal packet.  The muffins were good ... but finally I realized there was no reason not to try the oatmeal au natural...and when I did ... it was okay.

I think the secret is that a lot of the food (soups, oatmeal) need to be rehydrated and mixed well so that they are not lumpy and hard.  With that I just learned to let both of those items sit for a while before preparing. 

For the soup I tried these approaches, both with equal success:

1. Add water ( I would add just enough water to make a smooth paste or rue consistency...then slowly incorporate the rest so there are no lumps) and just keep in the fridge overnight and heat when ready.  This approach worked very well...it just involves pre-planning .. something I only did once!
2. Follow the same "rue" technique as above but blend the soup with boiling water (make rue with cold, then add hot to get the full 6-8 oz) and let it sit for 30 mins or so.  Reheat if needed.  This worked pretty well for me and did not require much prep on my part.  Perfect, as I am not a great planner.

The shakes were a bit tricky for me.  I did not really like them at first (still don't) but I have been able to get them down.  I purchased the Magic Bullet style blender for the shakes, but believe it or not, the Blender Bottles (those shaker bottles with the metal whisk like ball) made the best shake.  This approach will not work if you are big into adding ice...but I found the ice annoying as bigger chunks would get stuck in my straw!  With the blender bottle prep I am able to drink the shakes and the prep/clean up is a snap.

Tip for the Blender Bottle -- Add VERY cold water (I usually drain ice water), then add powder, THEN put the ball in and shake like hell!  It only took about 20 seconds to get it good and blended. NOT ONE LUMP.  It was great.

So ... how did I feel?  The first few days were not great.  I was light headed a bit and had a headache.  Nothing unbearable, but it was noticeable.  On Medifast you are eating every 2-3 hours, so it isn't hard to look forward to your next mean and never really get to a point of being really hungry.  On about day 5 I noticed I was feeling pretty energetic.  Most days I don't even have morning coffee...I don't need it!  I do sometimes have a cup in the afternoons as a treat and a way to get a boost.  Don't get me wrong, I am NOT a big coffee drinker.  I like one perfect 8 oz cup of Sumatra Reserve or Dark Magic (k-cup) with one packet of Splenda and a tiny bit of non-dairy creamer.  If I were drinking 8 cups a day, I would probably not be as pleased with my occasional cup! 

Dinner, or my Lean and Green meal has been the most challenging part of my day, this I anticipated.  I am not a planner so several nights I was left trying to figure out what to eat.  I made some icky dry chicken that I didn't love and ate a few salads, but I managed.  To be honest, I had a lot of canned green beans.  If they were regular (meaning not reduced sodium) I would drain and rinse them before cooking.  This works for me.  It isn't exciting ... and most people would not dig it ... but it works for me.

So ... weight loss for week 1?  5.3 lbs!!!  I am very pleased with that number.  Many people have a huge loss in the first week due to water weight ...but given I have been dieting since Jan, I don't think I did.  The next few weeks will be the test, however. 

That is all for now. I could write a book, but not sure any one is reading ... and I will have something to go on about next time I sit down.

-allison

Day 1 down ... many more to go

Yes!  Day one is all but complete.  Overall a good experience with Medifast.  I started the say with the Oatmeal muffin...nice way to get my breakfast in while driving.  Moved on to a shake.  Wow, was it bad.  I think my strategy of pre-mixing a while before blending came back to haunt me.  There was a certain funk that was just gross.  I powered through it ... but I hope my next shake is not as bad.  There is A LOT of soy in these products...I suspect the funk was the soy that had been given an opportunity to bloom!

Dinner was a challenge.  I am not a cook, and well...I am not a good eater, so the Lean and Green bit was a bit daunting.  I had a Barber Chicken Cordon Bleu in my freezer ( non-breaded).  It was 5 oz, had 11 gr of fat and 3 carbs.  Delicious.  My veggie was a can (i know, i know) of green beans ...the no salt kind.  There was not enough Spike (my spice of choice) or spray butter to make them anything close to good.  My hope here is that it will drive me to experiment with actual real veggies. 

So, with that in mind tomorrow is going to be a new challenge.  Theater night means no coming home for dinner.  I am armed with a big salad that I will have before I leave for the show ... and I will have a MF meal during intermission that will tide me over.

Today's meals definitely got me all excited about my salad.  It will be a lettuce mix (2-3 cups), 4 oz of chicken, 1 hard boiled egg, 5 black olives, and 2 delicious tbs of Ken's light Italian dressing.  Eventually I hope to expand this to include more than just lettuce, meat, and olives but not tomorrow.

OOOOOH...big accomplishment today aside from staying 100% on plan was drinking about 120 oz of water ... not including my coffee and shake!  Very proud of myself.  I dread a busy day of calls while drinking this amount of water, but I will deal. 

All for now!
-a

Tomorrow is THE day!

I begin my Medifast adventure tomorrow...I am very excited!  I have been finishing my bottle of wine from this weekend ... eating a Weight Watcher frozen dinner (to get rid of it) and Googling tips on how to make the Medifast meals.

I found a great link : http://www.escapefromobesity.net/p/medifast-foods-tips-recipes.html and am working on my Oatmeal Muffin and soaking my soup overnight. 

Right now I am faced with tons of little boxes that represent 5 out of 6 meals a day.  There are shakes, puddings, soups, oatmeal, bars, "pretzels" and some egg things.  I will have 5 of these various things a day and one Lean and Green meal.  This is 5-7 oz of lean meats (or eggs/beaters) and 3 servings of low carb/non-sugary vegetables.

Ugh...veggies.  I don't like them.  There are picky 10 yr olds that have a better palate for veggies than I do.  This will be my cross to bear over the next several months.  My plan now is to try salad with some low carb Italian ... and perhaps some chicken.  I bought some steamer variety packs of a few things to pick at.  Most of them contain veggies that are not on my approved list (carrots) but I will pick them out. Hell... I will likely pick all of it out ... hehe. 

Wish me luck!

-allison

Everything old is new again

Okay .. here we are.  I find it funny that my LAST post was all about a big accomplishment, and here I am 9 months later ... starting all over again.  Such is life, right?

So here we go...this time I am going to do Medifast.  I have decided that I cannot be held accountable right now to make grown up decisions on my food, so it is back to regimented menus delivered to my door.  I decided Medifast over HRM for several reason ... the most significant being that it is low carb and there is more variety.

UPS will be delivering my new diet by the end of this week and I will be starting next Monday.  What will I be doing before then you ask?  Eating the rest of my oatmeal, weight watcher frozen dinners, drinking 8 bottles of wine, oh ... and perhaps a birthday cake (38 on March 8th!).

-allison

Finally have something worth blogging about!

Hi all!  I know it has been a couple of weeks, but just know those two weeks have been very productive!  All is well in diet land.  Food wise I have been on target and very proud of myself.  During a social occasion (6 hours at a local bar/music venue) I only had diet coke and a few fries ...where I usually would have several pints of Newcastle, fries, and the words best beignets outside of NO.  So that was a big win for me.  The weigh-in for 2 Sundays ago was not awesome, actually up .3 lbs.  There really was no real explanation for that other than perhaps the long night sitting still and enjoying the music.  Either way, I was not bummed out totally ... and in fact more determined than ever.

My biggest accomplishment x6 is WORKING OUT!!!  It all started last saturday (before the show).  I spent an hour working out on my Wii walking game.  It is silly but amazing, I love it.  It is called Walk it Out (WIO).  There is not enough time in my day to tell you all the things I like about it, so just trust me.  A trend was started.  Tuesday and Wednesday I went to the gym near my office.  This is an achievement because I had to tuck my tail between my legs and show my face for the first time in well over a year.  The gym is very small...they knew me :)  In fact, the manager had just gotten married when I was there last...now she has a child.  Funny ... with a twinge of pathetic on my part.  Hehe.  Anyway ... they were small lunch time cardio workouts, but it was perfect. Thursday night I came home and worked out with WIO for an hour.  Saturday, another hour spend on WIO ... and today the same.  Holy crap, I can hardly believe myself.

Today I weighed in and lost 2.2 lbs...bringing my total to just over 29 pounds and hitting my 10% goal!  Very happy about that.

Three more weeks until my trip to the Outer Banks...looking forward to being able to do some long beach walks without killing myself.

Looking forward to trying this diet AND exercise thing I keep hearing about :)

The wagon and I are back on!

It is good to be back on track!  This was a very good week.  Not what I wanted exercise wise (my bad) but I am logging again and being accountable.  After a long 2 months, I am into the next "decade" or the 250s!  Not terribly impressive on the surface, but for me, a milestone.  Looking back, this is where I was a year ago.  What a waste of time when I think about the 6 months it took for me to gain about 30 pounds, and the 6 months it has taken for me to lose it again.  Glad its gone, but I want to kick myself.  How many calories would that burn?

A&E has a program, Heavy.  Episode after episode have been collecting on my DVR for the last 6 months.  Finally I sat down to watch...and watch...and watch.  10 or 11 episodes to be exact.  Premise simple...people on the verge of a physical crisis spend 6 months focusing and working on themselves.  Each week follows 2 new people and ends with their progress after 180 days.  I would say that it really inspired me to expect more from myself.  The Biggest Loser and competitive weight-loss shows have really never floated my boat.  The fact that those contestants are in need of serious help, but then ultimately get voted out, really bugs me.  Anyway, I am sure many people are inspired by that programming ... I've just never been interested.

These people in Heavy were really like me in many ways.  Rarely do I find someone on television that I can relate to...it was illuminating.  Men and women, young and older, all with BMIs that resemble mine ... exercising ... suffering ... losing.  Reminds me that I can really do more than I give myself credit for.  How can I complain about a bad knee when a 440 lb woman who has my same body type is suffering though?  Clearly I am a baby.

Anyway ... interesting show, hope it sticks around.  To celebrate I walked for 30 mins and did a bit of a Wii dancing game.  Now I just need to work on exercising during the work week since I am not able to go to a facility and dive in for 6 months :)

Same ole same ole

Hi All (or hey you),

I've been quiet on the blog, but that doesn't mean that I have derailed...this time!  Doing well over here.  The WW plan has still been in effect, perhaps not as religiously as it should, but still going in the right direction. 

I didn't win or place in the work contest, but that is okay.  I lost 14 lbs during the competition, and that is awesome.  No complaints on that.  My dear friend and soon to be bride Kristen took home the award money.  Pleased I could help contribute to her bridal war chest :) 

If anyone is out there ... tell me how you are doing as this spring season kicks up into gear?  Hopefully most of the allergy season is finished and people and go outside again and enjoy this weather.  One of the few things I have going for my physically is that I do not suffer from allergies like many do.  My parents both do but I was spared.  Of course I did inherit other gems, but such is life.

Speaking of inheriting ... not that many of you know me for real, but I have a younger sister, 27, and she is pregnant with her first child!  Yay!  Looking forward to being Aunt Allison.  No children are in my plans for life, so I am glad I get to live vicariously though her in some way. 

What is next...being more diligent with my diet.  I have definitely been complacent and that is yielding very modest results.  I need to get back in the game with vigor and kick start my weight loss again.  The beach is fast approaching!  Got to work on my beach bod, right?  Ha!

Oh, also time to strap on my damn BodyMedia FIT.  That means its time to keep it real :)

Ugh!

If you read my previous post (if I have any readers) you know that I am not super excited about my work client conference that requires me to wear the worlds worst company shirt that does not fit.  My anxiety levels are high just having to attend this event wearing that shirt.  Now ... to add insult to injury not only will I be gracing this event with my tight shirted self (picture Michelin man in blue) but NOW I have to sit, alone, at an information table and actually talk to people.  Sigh.  This does not excite me.  Maybe it will motivate me to start exercising.  Wonder if there are weight loss studies that correlate pounds lost to shirt tightness. 

In other news, my 8 week "Biggest Loser" contest is over today with a few work people. No chance that I am in the running for first or second place, but there is a fight for 3rd place.  I suspect I will not place in this contest, but I can say that I have lost 14 lbs since it began. Good job to me.  Hopefully a few of us can keep up the contest and do another 8 weeks.  That would be $25 bucks well spend and some good motivation. 

In summary ...money and fear motivating me for the next 8 weeks.  Woo!