I am alive!

The trouble with always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind.

- G. K. Chesterton

So,  I moved to Newfoundland back in July, and have been trying to take good care of myself without crazy diets or obsessing. So far I’ve dropped to 149, which is the lowest my weight has been since middle school. I’m also down to a size 28 in jeans (29 for trendy brands), which is also the smallest I’ve been since middle school.

I’ve been going to dance classes three times a week (ballet on Tuesday, jazz on Thursday, and hip hop on Sunday), as well as yoga when I feel like it and eating clean most of the time. I allow myself small treats (like bread and olive oil for a snack, or a piece of chocolate cake once in a while), but I try to eat clean most of the time. I’m hoping to lose another ten pounds by the time I go home for winter break. I think it’s doable.

Here’s what a food day typically consists of for me:

Breakfast:
Overnight oats: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup soymilk, a handful of berries, half a banana, 1/3 cup of yogurt, drizzle of agave, 1 serving of protein powder and a glob of peanut butter (“recipe” courtesy of Eat, Live, Run).

Snack 1:
Three dried apricots and 9 almonds, a glass of 50/50 plain 0-fat kefir and unsweetened, low-acid OJ with a drizzle of agave.

Lunch:
Veggie ground round, Allegro cheese (lactose-free, low fat) sautéed in 1/2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil with a handful (each) of farmer’s market antique tomatoes, baby spinach, broccoli, and zucchini with hot sauce and sea salt.

Snack 2:
Organic millet rice cake with 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter and sugar-free jam (no artificial sweeteners! It’s all fruit) and a sprinkle of coconut flake.

Supper:
1/2 a small squash, roasted, with 1/2 cup of chickpeas tossed with 1 tsp of olive, an ounce of shredded Allegro cheese, fresh basil and sea salt, an apple on the side.

Bedtime treat:
1/2 cup light vanilla soy milk and 2 Tbsp cocoa powder warmed on the oven with a drizzle of agave.

So, as you can see, I am not starving! It’s all just good, natural foods. And it’s so fulfilling! Although I have yet to conquer my emotional eating… When I am sad I eat chocolate out the wazoo. Still, things are better and I’m making progress. Just thought I’d let y’all know, because I’m still getting about a dozen hits a day, and I feel bad for not actually, you know, having anything for anyone to look at.

a mini fitness hurdle cleared

 

Britney knows how I feel... But why is she wearing sunglasses indoors?

I hate the treadmill, for a lot of reasons. The biggest is that it makes my ass jiggle when I run (BOOOOOOO!), and the next in line involves the way it makes me feel afterwards: worn out, tired, stressed, sweaty and breathless. Normally, I use the elliptical because it gets my heart going without making me gross and sweaty (the fan’s right in front of it ), and because of the motions it uses my butt doesn’t jiggle as much. However, everyone wants to use the elliptical, so I’ve been forced to use the treadmill for a while now.

Today was different, though. I somehow just got into the groove of it, and did three things: upped the incline, upped the work load (I do interval training), and did it for five extra minutes. It felt nice to just all out push it – I didn’t hold on to the bar either. I don’t know, I felt good about that. I was tired after, but not in the same way I was even the day before. I was even mentally talking to the treadmill, saying thigns like “Fuck you treadmill, I’m going to kick your ass!” Lame, but it pumped me up. I’m going to see if I can add an extra 5 minutes tomorrow too, keeping the incline and speed the same. Just to see.

I don’t know if it had to do with the breakfast I ate (more carbs than usual) or the fact that we went an hour later, but it was nice. I definitely got a more satisfying workout. I also didn’t feel sick when I got home, which sometimes happens.

Today was only a cardio day, but I’m doing cardio + circuit training tomorrow, so we’ll see if following the same morning routine helps me at all with that too. Anyway, I was in a good mood when I left the gym today.

Round 2, Phase 2, Week 2: Results

Well folks, today was not a good day for me. I maintained my weight, again. This has been a really hard week, because my weight loss slowed to a crawl. I’ve been trying to think of ways to increase my protein count, but it really looks like I can’t do it without slowing or stopping my weightloss altogether! It’s really depressing, because here grad is right around the corner and I’m still a @$%*! cow.

Sorry for all the negativity here today, but I’m not pleased with myself or my results right now, so I’m really not in a good place. Maybe next week will be better. I’ll just have to remember my ultimate goal and let my short-term goal pass: 135 by July 17th. I can do it, I just have to stay focused. So, without further adieu, here are my crap-tastic results for this week:

Round 2, Phase 2, Week 1: Results

Results Are In! ...If Not Accurate.

So, the first round of HcG stuff I did, I messed up. Baaaad. To begin with, I didn’t load well, and I did my dosing improperly, resulting in constant hunger and cravings that were unmanageable after the end of Week 1. As a result, though I experienced some good losses, I skipped Phase 3 (the maintenance phase) and totally pigged out (more than I ever had prior). So, you guessed it, I gained my weight back. Not awesome.

But guess what? This time is different! (Read more after the jump.)

week one simeon’s hcg protocol results

So, it has officially been one week since I started following Dr. Simeon’s HcG protocol. And I have neeeeews.

So, I measured myself before the start of this week and just now. So, here are my results:

• Weight: 170 lbs -> 160 (nice, ten pounds in one week!)
• Bust: 37.5″ -> 37.5″ (seriously, nothing changed!)
• Waist: 33″ -> 31.5″ (this is no surprise, my waistline is the last place I gain weight and the first place I lose it. Still, I was at 30″ a few days ago, but then I got my period, so obviously I plumped back up.)
• Hip: 48.5″ -> 46.5″ (THIS is a surprise! I almost never lose weight off my hips! I’m truly shocked and pleased.)
• Arm: 12.5″ -> 12″ (this was nice too. I never really thought of arm fat, but any loss is a good loss.)
• Thigh: 29.5 -> 28″ (another shocker. With another loss like that, I’ll be down to an 8.)