I did it!

Well maybe not so big for others , but for me huge. I tracked everything I ate on weight watchers all weekend. What I learned was it was manageable and it did keep me honest. I found before I only would track a meal here and there and for recipes. I found that I should cut a few portion sizes and I did not go over as bad as I thought. This week goal is to track all week at work. How was your weekend ?

10/11/12

I am calling this 10/11/12 because I think a few of us need to catch up with our menus.  I am going to try something this weekend.
Totally weight watchers.- meaning I am really going to count everything I eat this weekend and see how many points I achieve, over or under the limit.
I have been paying for a ww website for years and I only use it for the recipes.  I seem to always count my points for breakfast, then get too busy to figure out the rest and then stop counting.  Many times I stay on the diet, I just dont count, so I dont know.  This weekend my goal is to count the WHOLE WEEKEND.
PLUS ONE ACTIVITY.

What is  your weekend plans.  Check in with everyone Monday morning 10/15/12
 ps Aunt Nancy gave a alcohol link, it is the weekend, this might help if you are going to have a drink this weekend.  Not Harriet though, but save it for the future
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=893
nanci

ps 

Oct 9th 2012

Ok better, but not good
Breakfast
chobani
gillian michael muffin homemade ( this is good )
carrots snack

lunch
pastrami 1/2 sand from carnagie deli
( no choice , cuz met me for lunch and he was buying and bought me , cause he thought he was doing me a favor )

dinner
homemade chicken fingers
kraft mac n cheese
water
tea
coffee

i do not have any excuses except im broke, so I may need to eat what is in my cupboard ( hence the mac n cheese )

Oct 8th 2012

Today
Ok you ready , its not good
breakfast
2 eggs with low carb toast
coffee
lunch
1/2 cup egg drop soup
3 dumplings
brownie
dinner
chicken fingers ( i made them )
mac and cheese , the box kind kraft
tea
brownie
lots of cleaning for workout
 

Thursday 10/4

Breakfast
Egg
Yogurt w/ fresh blueberries
Banana
Lunch
Pasta a olgli I made last night
Ww choc cake
Dinner
Small piece of London broil
Mash pot
Grilled asparagus
Gravy
Fun size snickers

Lets call this 3 lbs in 90 days.

I have been in hiding. It seemed like the Guinness or the good life got the best of me. I have not posted for many and no particular reason. I needed to get back on the horse. Thanks spa ladies for suggesting journaling my daily take.
There have been numerous setback s in my life. Love , weight , job, career, financial and health. I didn't make any of my goals in all these categories. So instead of crawling under a rock. I will go public again.
Yesterday
Breakfast
Banana , chobani, breakfast bar
Lunch
Hummus carrots and pita chips
Fun size snickers. ( Halloween candy is in my house !)
Dinner
Left over pizza
Salad
Fun size snickers
Bad girl
Ate m n m 's and pretzels at a meeting with some vitamin water.

Lets post daily here

Hey spa girls
post your diets here
Leave your diet in the comments.  Every day, I will open a post and so this one is for tomorrow
wednesday

What did you eat Wednesday Oct 3rd
Nanci

week 4 7/19/12

Weight 161

- 1lb

Greetings from Ireland !  Let me introduce you to my first meal here. Its actually like many Americans here, Irish/American.  The tea is from Dublin and the salad is from Newark Airport.  Paying $10 for this little salad, I refused to throw it out when I got on the plane. Carried it here and now its my dinner.  

This week was full of cheating !  Could explain only the -1 lb.  I went out to dinner a few times this week with friends.  There are a few things I just can't say no to when going to dinner.  A drink and desert.  So I had them.  My compromise is I only had one wine (skipped the margarita ) and desert I shared.  I also am sticking to portions.  I took home a delish beet salad home and I ordered fish.  The other cheat was a slice of pizza.  Look my international ritual is I always have a good NY slice before I leave NYC.  It is kind of my good luck charm.  So of course a good choice was Brothers Pizza.  But this time I only had 1 slice, like my original 2

Following the Jillian Michaels Diet.

Pluses

When I do make the meals, they are DELISHIOUS !!

For example this Chicken Sausage with Poached Eggs and Sweet Potato Hash

WORKOUTS move at a good pace to get you fit.

Minuses for Jillian Michaels recipes.

Many of the recipes are for more than one person, So I am finding it hard to cut the recipe to my size.  Also many of the meals fish/veg go together.  And when your making for your own, its hard to own many of the ingredients all at once, so I have been altering/adding and subtracting her menu.  Don't know if that is allowed because there is no explanation of that.  

This week I got on my treadmill. I hear if you move fast/ move slow , I think its called intervals ( if someone knows please comment )  you lose weight.  So I walked fast on 3 for 1 min , then I ran on 5 for a minute.  I have been doing 30 min workouts everyday with one day off.
This week I also went to the feast  of Mt. Carmel/Grotto. Now I could ruin my diet for a year in one night here,  But once again, I had a little and skipped a lot.  I only had 1 zeppole and I cut out the sausage and peppers and had a water instead of a beer.  Hey I was able to keep my hands off the sausage because another famous grotto member also had lost some weight.  Yes Rosebank's favorite Elvis impersonator came back slimmer and thinner, kind of like his 68 comeback special size.

This week I am in Ireland, don't know how I will be able to weigh , with them having stones instead of pounds.  So things I will allow,, I will allow a fish/chip shop run, but only once, I will have beer but only quiness and I will limit the intake and have some jamesons but also limit what I drink.  I will watch the bread ( cause its good here ) Eat salads as often as I can.  I also brought my exercise DVD's and I look forward to a nice run along a great Irish road.  Hey if Elvis can do it , so can I,, VIVA Las Ireland !  See ya next week  !

week 3 July 12 2012

Week 3
weight 162
-2 lbs

I started the week off at the Deerfield Spa in  East Stroudsburg PA.  This photo was the group who survived boot camp on Friday Morning.  I am  second from the right.  I have to say though the scale on shows -2 I feel great this week.  I actually feel slim and energetic.  As soon as I stepped out of the car, Drill Sargent Aunt Nancy was there to meet me.  Lunch, then dance and tone, then pool, then yoga.  3 activities before dinner.  Friday 7 activities.  Started with 7 am yoga (  didn't make it for 630 am  hike ), followed by breakfast, stretch, bootcamp, circuit training,  lunch, abs, zumba and then more pool.
I went to the spa with my aunt and cousin, thanks to the generosity of my uncle who foot the bill.  My aunt has been trying to get me to one of these "fat farms" as someone there called it, for years.  What on earth could be wonderful about a place that has no alcohol and salt !
The Spa was actually nice.  - The food was good - and portioned controlled and under 1200 calories.  The facilities were nice, the Spa was set like a  bed and breakfast type house/ with adjacent gyms and pool areas.  There was enough activities to keep you busy . And even if you did not come to exercise there was a great porch to sit and read, plenty of movies to watch and a wonderful Spa for facials and rubs and wraps.    Every day there was different types of exercise and different  instructors to change it up.  Tai - chi, Qu Dong ? Zumba, Pool , Pilates, Hiking, Dance, Yoga, Weights and Boot Camp.  I have to say Zumba kicked my ass, I have to give that class more credit.  I guess being the dancing snob I am, I want a more challenging dance class.  But Zumba is entertaining,  with the right instructor.  I just hate when the teacher makes you smile.  I think they are asking too much,  be glad I am here Zumbaing !

If you made the right choices , the food was really good.  One day I ordered a turkey sandwich for lunch which was good ,but I SHOULD OF ORDERED THE SPECIAL,  the seafood salad , like my Aunt did.  The next day I was wise and ordered the special, Turkey Chili salad, delish !!

The people at the Spa were the best treat. First off , I got to spend some quality time with my Aunt and Cousin.  Though my Aunt has earned the new nick name "drill sargeant" from me and my cousin Amy, she got us off our  buts  doing good things for our bodies, and my Aunt is fit, we had to keep up with her .  

The Staff was wonderful, friendly and got you up and moving.  The quests were from all walks of life.  Most of them were women.  I loved that this place was very friendly to people traveling as singles.  There were many quests who were on their own.  Every meal we sat with someone who was traveling by themselves.  Since I usually travel by myself I liked the kinship of single travelers.  Also kudos to the quests , I think most of them were older than me, and all were leading healthy and productive lifestyles, some well into their 70's.  They were an inspiration for me .  Many of us keep in touch and encourage each other to stay with it.  

Ok so I am home and things begin to go downhill.  Life arrives.  Friends show up from out of town, we go out to eat, I am out all day, my dogs need my attention, the house needs cleaning, when do I do my exercise.  I really thought I could do an hour a day , but I found it hard to even do 30 minutes.  ( which I did stick too, Monday I did not exercise, but I did walk around the city ).  I have to say going out to eat was a challenge, I still can't  resist bad things on the menu, like desert !!! Though the spa did teach me one thing I have stuck too, portion control.  I did not over eat this week at all.  So I am growing, and shrinking at the same time, lol .

This week I will be running around getting ready for Ireland.  I am going to weigh myself Wednesday am b/c I will be in Dublin next Thursday, don't know if I could convert pounds from a stone.( Irish weight )  So I promise to work extra hard, cause the next week I will be in the land of Guiness and Jamesons, and Irish Men, my 3 biggest weaknesses !  

Below is a Black Bean Chili recipe they taught us in cooking class at the Spa.  It was delish and a great recipe if your a vegan !

and if you want a few days close by to get away check out the Deerfield Spa, tell them you read it on my blog.

www.deerfieldspa.com

week 2

Week two 7/5/12

Weight 164

-6lbs

So I got my ass off the couch and now on to the floor.  Don't you love exercise that you can do lying down ?  Don't be fooled, this pilates machine kicked my but eventually.

Woohoo ! first week.  But I am little confused.  Wednesday night I weighed myself and it read 168, then I weighed myself when I should , this Thursday AM.  Did I lost 4 lbs overnight ?  Then later that evening  I am at a Spa and I weighed myself on one of those doctor’s scale.  You know the scale that has the bar you slide over.  Well this one read today at 167.  So now rule of thumb, don't weigh at night, and never use a doctor’s scale. So I am sticking to my morning weigh in on my IKEA scale at 164, which I will do on Thursdays.

I am following the "30 lbs in 90 days with Jillian Michaels".  The kit included, a 7 day kick start plan ( which is what I did this week.  4 phases of workout videos to last the 90 days and  90 day fat burning meal plan complete with all the recipes. 

There are a list of no foods, some obvious like Alcohol and Nitrates, but some no foods were surprises, like Peaches and Soy.  I found the first week not very hard, because I cheated a little. I'm sorry, but I need some sugar/chocolate after dinner.  I am an ex-smoker and I need something sweet to help with my nicotine cravings.  Even after two years, smoking cessations  hit me.  I want to remain doing this, so I will alter it here and there to fit my lifestyle.   This diet seems to be  a no sugar, no bread and barely any dairy  diet, I have to  have a tiny bit or else I wont stay on it.  ( key is know yourself , then push yourself plus 1 ) Does that make sense  ? 

Pluses

The Meals /Recipes were very good, and I felt full, I did not find myself looking for food.  I learned how to make salads very well,  poach an egg , and made for the first time a fabulous dressing, 2 tbs lemon + 2tbs olive oil, delish ! 

My favorite recipe was

Poached Eggs/ Avocado /No Nitrate Canadian Bacon and Tomato- I posted this on Facebook. 

Yes this is my pic, I made this, very easy.  

Also If you do not know how to poach an egg , here is the website that taught me , and it worked !

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/how-to-poach-an-egg-smitten-kitchen-style/

Ohh yeah , the biggest plus was that  I lost weight!!!

Minus

No sugar/no bread /no fruit- miss them all in some shape or form.  Also I did not like the yogurt/cinnamon /almond recipe. 

No alcohol !!  Ok I know me, I will not survive giving up alcohol.  So I will have a few. I going to Ireland for gods sake, how will I not drink.  No more sugar drinks, like margaritas . but I will have some tequila once and a while.  Beer will only be light, and I don't drink much beer lately anyway.  I will drink more wine and also limit my intake. I will properly be the designated driver a lot this summer.  Woohoo for my friends.   I promise myself if I indulge , I will up my workout that day.  I went to brunch with friends and I had 2 bloody marys.  I went to an event and I had a free drink ticket.  ( I am one to not give up something free so I had a vodka /seltzer with lime. )

Jillian Michaels includes workouts, which is essential and something I was not doing at all.  They are gradual , but mind you still challenging at each level, but she does level the intensity  so don't worry. 

Pluses – I like the 30 minutes/ varied 3 day plan

Mines – I wish there was better music and more dancing ( because that's what I like )

This week my Uncle had treated me , my cousin Amy and my aunt Nancy to Deerfield Spa in PA.  Here we will have 3 days of light meals, exercise and healthy living, so I think next week's weigh in will be good.  See you Thursday !

Hello

Last week I was watching an infomercial, Jillian Michaels-Body Revolution.  Her clients were losing 30 llbs in 90 days.  I thought that is exactly what I want to do.  I had a credit card and was ready for the challenge .  ( I must say the real challenge is when you order from an informercial, you must say NO a thousands times to other offers before they actually put the one you originally called about.   In a few days , my box arrived, complete with all the necessary stuff to do this.  Though I tried some of the recipes for a few days here and there, I did not officially start this program until the day after school ended.

June 28th - current weight 170
This pic was taken in  China during Easter- Its a bad pic of me, I hope the ones I continue to put on here will be more flattering.  Note to any potential men suitor, when I stand up straight , it not as bad, lol plus my boobs are bigger now.
I hope to rid 30 lbs in time for my 30 years reunion.  Thats right, 30 lbs for 30 years , in 90 days  .  I will check in weekly with my weight and the weeks pluses and minuses.