Wow...it has been a whole week since I posted. Sorry guys, I dropped the ball. I guess that not too much has really happened since last week. I've continued to eat well, although I can definitely see a few areas where I'm slipping. I am still making good choices, but not always the best choice. For instance, I might have Baked Lays Doritos (170 calories and 5 grams of fat) instead of Baked Lays Plain (105 calories and 1.5 grams of fat). Its minor, but I just want to be aware of it, so that these things don't add up on me. I haven't been so great with the exercising this week. I worked out Monday and Tuesday, but then I took Wednesday off and got my hair done on Thursday. I need to at least get in some crunches and lunges or walking this evening, and I need to get in full work outs this weekend.

I also have the task of contacting 24 Hour Fitness, which has failed to contact me regarding my personal training sessions. I really hate when I have to follow up with a business about why they didn't follow up with me. However, its more important not to waist the money, so... I'll give them a call today.

Health-wise that's really all that has been going on. Sorry it isn't more exciting. Maybe I'll hit up a book store this weekend and see about some workout tapes. I can't always make it out to the gym, so these might be a fun alternative. Let me know if you have any recomendations. Cheers!

I think that it was a good week :-)

So I took my 1st aerobics class this week...at least I thought that it was aerobics. In reality it turned out to be 60 tortourous minutes of weight training. I am sooooo sore right now that I can hardly type this. However, I guess I feel stronger and pleased with myself for surviving. Basically we worked upper body, lower body, and abs using anywhere from 8 to 35 lbs of weights. I felt like one of those muscle men in South Beach. Now I'm dying for a massage to take the pain away. I do think that I'll go back to the class, but I am definitely going to adjust the amount of weight that I'm lifting. I should be able to lift the weights more effectively if I lift less.

What I really need to be talking about is my cooking. Basically it sucks. As I have always said...I can keep another human being alive. However, it's just nothing that you'd be excited to eat. My conscience is playing nice, but I secretly think that he's a bit disappointed. He's offered to 'help' me cook now, and I guess I'm ok with that. I really wanted to do a great job on my own and impress him, but that is just not going to happen. He's a good cook, so I'll learn what I can. Maybe oneday I can flip it and surprise him. Anyway, even if I'm not the food genius, I am the planner, so I get to decide what we're eating. Here's what we're going to try cooking this week:

Mon: Baked Chicken Salad (You'll remember that this was one of my successful meals from a few weeks ago. I'd like to try it again)

Tues: Baked Catfish (Not sure how we're gonna season it, but I really like catfish...so its on the menu) w/steamed veggies and red potatoes

Wed: Spicy Shrimp (Ok, I don't really know how we're gonna make it spicy...However the conscience loves spicy food, so I'm sure he'll have some ideas. At the very least we could add a little cayenne or jalepeno to the mix) w/black beans & rice

Thurs: Pasta Salad (I'm thinking of using those tri-colored corkscrew pasta w/Italian dressing, parmesean cheese, and some other miscellaneous ingredients) w/cheesy Italian Bread

Fri: Chicken Breast Sandwiches (Perhaps on our unused French Bread w/red peppers...not the fresh ones, but the ones that come in a jar. I forgot the name...maybe pepperochini. Also provolone cheese, and you guessed it...the seasonings are up in the air.) I'm thining left-over pasta salad can go on the side.

Ok, really we aren't going to cook every night. We'll probably go out to dinner a few nights. Plus I'm sure that HE will have something to say about the menu. However, I think that this is a good start. Cross your fingers that we don't end up in the hospital.

Well, its been a while. Yes it has been more than a week since I last blogged. I guess I've been...occupied ;-)

My conscience is back from Europe! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!! After 5 weeks a part I have dropped at least 5 lbs (sorry, I didn't get a chance to weigh in this Monday) and successfully cooked 3 tasty meals. Although I fell short of my overall weight loss goal, I still feel pretty good. I didn't fall short b/c I slipped up on my diet or didn't work out. I consistently ate healthy and worked out at least 5 days out of the week. I realize that I could lose weight more quickly if I had a more extreme/strict diet (i.e. significantly restricting portion size and calories rather than simply eating healthy foods). However, what I like about my current diet is that it is very doable. Oatmeal w/brown sugar and raisins for breakfast, grilled chicken Caesar salad for lunch, and grilled shrimp, steamed veggies and rice for dinner is definitely something that I can live with long term. Remember this is a lifestyle change, not just a diet.

Sooooo what have I been up to? Well I left a gym and joined another one. Previously I was a member of Curves, International. For those of you not too familiar with their clubs learn a little more here: http://www.curves.com/. Basically its a full body 30 min work out. However the catch is that you rotate between 8 - 12 different machines every 30 seconds, AND THAT'S IT! No classes, no treadmills, no weights just the designated 'circuit'. Now I can't complain too much about Curves. Truthfully I did lose 12 lbs there during my 1st year of joining. However, it is simply too restrictive for me now. Not only do many of the locations close by 7 or 8 pm (making it more ideal for a stay-at-home mom than a working woman), but after a while I simply got bored. I was to be able to do something different sometime.

Since I haven't been using curves for the last several months that I've been traveling, and I'm pretty sure that I won't be returning them when I stop, then I went ahead and faxed over my termination letter yesterday. Ironically, my conscience up and decides that he wants to head over to 24 Hour Fitness to learn more about their offerings. http://www.24hourfitness.com/. They are a traditional gym, and definitely more of what I was looking for. The only issue is that they have no locations in my home city. That kinda sucks b/c I'd love to work out there on a regular basis. However, when I 1st started traveling 7 months ago, I didn't join b/c I thought I'd only be on the road for 3 months. Now that I am slated to stop traveling in 3 months I am faced with the same dilemma. Learning from my original mistake, I decided to go ahead and join on a month to month basis. I'll just cancel it when I return home.

Here's what's really fun. My conscience joined as well. As a matter of fact, right now he's kinda paying for it, so I gotta remember to pay him back for my membership. So as we're getting info on the membership they offer us an opportunity to get 5 - 30 minute personal training sessions for $50. About $10 per session isn't bad. I was hesitant to sign up, but my conscience offered to pay for them for me. YAY! Of course, I won't continue after the 5 sessions, but I can at least get some moves and techniques to incorporate into my personal routine. Plus they do a fitness and diet analysis and give you a pedometer. Ok, I know that I'm a geek, but I'm really excited about the pedometer. They are going to give me a call to schedule the sessions, so I'll let you know when I have my 1st one.

Overall, I'm really pleased with where I am. I'll give myself a weigh in next time that I'm at the gym. I'll also report back on the exercise classes that I want to take, my personal training sessions, and of course the healthy meals that I am beginning to cook. I'll bet you can't wait.

Weigh in #2. Dun Dun Duuuuunnnnnn!

Well after another 2 weeks have passed, it has again come time to weigh myself. Now my last weigh in was slightly disappointing. I had lost weight (2lbs). However, since I felt that I had really committed to eating better and exercising, I guess I was expecting something more drastic. Needless to say, I was not excited about this week's trip to the scale. However, after 2 more weeks of consistently good food choices and nearly daily work outs, I found myself down 3 more pounds. The scale slid into the 180's at 187lbs. That means with one week left to go in my 10lb challenge, I have lost 5lbs. Not bad!

Also, to just take a look back at my progress since I began this blog just over 2 months ago, I have lost 13lbs. Now this number may not wow you right now. However if we blow it out over 2 more months (26lbs in 4 months), then it seems very reasonable. My conscience will be back next week, and hopefully he will continue to be my diet and exercise champion. I plan to keep up the good work and be at my goal weight by Christmas!

Now lets talk about that 'other' part of my challenge. The 3 home cooked meals. Well I have successfully created two meals that I feel very good about. The stir fry shrimp and baked chicken tereyaki were pretty good. That leaves me just one meal short. This week I'll have to put my mind to it and come up with one more tasty treat. I am thinking of a grilled (more like sauteed) or baked chicken salad. I have some fresh chicken strips, so tomorrow I think that I'll cook those up and throw them over a bed of fresh lettuce. Add in a little cheese, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and fat free ranch, and I believe that it will be a hit!

Ok, so I need some practice with the iPod. Yesterday was my first day using it on the treadmill. It was ... alright. Well the run was one of my most difficult. I'm not sure why that was, but it could be one of several reasons that have nothing to do with the iPod. However, the iPod was a challenge. I downloaded what should have been about 8 hrs worth of music. However when I started off with one of my playlists, it just stopped about 10 mins into the music. I don't know if it is a problem with the iPod, or a problem that occurred during the upload. I'm going to listen to the source music on my computer to see if there are any issues there. If not, then I'll try to re-upload it to see if that corrects the problem. Either way, 10 mins into my workout I had no music. I paused and switched to another playlist, but that one starts out with slower songs, so needless to day I wasn't feeling really pumped. I struggled through the run and was incredibly grateful with my 30 mins was up.

Tonight I'm back to strenght training, and I'll wrap up the week with another run Friday evening. I have friends coming into town this weekend, so it might be hard to stick to my diet. However, I'm really gonna try b/c I have another weigh in on Monday, and I definitely want to be pleased. Only a little over a week until my conscience returns and I want my efforts to have paid off. :-)

Yay! I got my Ipod. That's right I picked up this little beauty:

It's so small and light weight. At 1st I was having a tough time figuring it out (apparently directions are a thing of the past). However, by the end of the day I believe that I will have successfully downloaded 6 or 7 music files. I should be good to go the next time that I work out. I also got the armband accessory, so that I won't have to hold it in my hand when I run.

I also cooked again last night. Tereyaki chicken strips (baked) with steamed red potatoes. I let the chicken strips marinate in the sauce for about an hour as it defrosted. The I sprinkled it with salt, pepper, and chicked seasoning. I laid the strips out in a pan and set them to bake for about 10 - 15 mins on each side at 375 degrees. I was worried that they would be really dry b/c I had no aluminum foil to cover them. However, the marinade did a really good job of keeping everything moist. Overall I was very pleased, and I have left overs for tonight!

This evening its back to strength training. This is always challenging b/c it requires more focus than the treadmill. As such a little more determination to get through all the exercises is needed, but I really feel like this works the right areas. Tomorrow I'll try out the iPod on the treadmill. Should be fun!

Ok, so I'm feeling motivated again. Last night I watched the last episode of Celebrity Fit Club, and I was so incredibly impressed to see the weight that the contestants lost in 100 days. They showed before pics, which shrunk into after pics so that you could really see the weight loss. It was phenomenal! I know that they had a lot more assistance and professional support that I do, but I feel confidant that I can keep striving towards my goals. It may not happen as quickly as it did for them, but in time I should be just as impressed with my own shrinkage: the good kind ;-).

Also, two ladies on one of my message boards posted about their great weight loss successes today. One has lost nearly 100 lbs, and the other 50lbs. Both have struggled and gone through their share of ups and downs, but ultimately they are winning the fight. I guess I realized that I can't be perfect at this. There will definitely be days that I lost battles by opting out of exercising or choosing the healthy food option. However as long as i don't completly give up, then I can still win the war.

I have 1 week until I do my next weigh in. At the last weigh in I was at 190lbs. I have been maintaining my healthy eating, although I need to remain conscious of my choices. It is so easy to choose the slightly healthy option over the healthiest option. I exercised Tues, Wed, and Thurs of last week. Although I skipped Fri and Sat, I started back up this week with walking on Sunday, and I will be running tonight. Its a struggle, but I am excited and hopeful that I will keep making strides. Just think, at my next weigh in I could be in the world of the 180s. Its not like its a great weight to be at, but everytime you lose 10lbs it take you into a whole other bracket. Before you know it...you hit your target weight. Very exciting indeed.

Oh before I go, I've been commenting about how tough it is for me to run. I get easily winded, and I count down the minutes until I can stop. Well w/my recent birthday earnings, I have decided to treat myself to an MP3 player. I've been told that running goes much faster with music, so this might take my workouts to a whole other level. WOW, I can't wait!