Home Again, Home Again!

HELLO FRIENDS! I have returned from what will always be my home to our home in Fallbrook! Our trip was such a whirlwind leaving me with so many things to blog about and so many blogs to read!

My first official PCS is happening, 22 months after our things were put in storage and there were good things and bad.

We got to spend two weeks with Nan enjoying Moe’s, good southern BBQ, Cheesesteaks, Dog-N-Burger and of course: Thanksgiving dinner!

We enjoyed dinner with a friend at one of our favorite spots in Norfolk: Bardo! Ah-mazing. I can’t wait to share this treasure with you, and the tale of spicy guava sorbet!

We got to have dinner with my best friend and her baby (and awesomely cute baby bump!) at No Frill Grill!

I remembered all the little things from back home that I love: Harris Teeter, fields of green, JET NOISE!

I also found things about home that I never understood why people got frustrated by: Long traffic lights, everyone having vanity plates, THE HUMIDITY! I have no clue how I lived there for so long and just accepted it!

It was sad to see places I loved no longer there, and the biggest disappointment was trying to get a slice of chocolate cake at Taste… and they had no clue what we were talking about!

We had the best slice of pizza I have ever eaten at Chicago Midway Airport… and it wasn’t deep dish!

We are so happy to be home! I can’t wait to share our pictures and memories with you all!

San Diego was great to fly into but it was a little stinky! That was one thing we didn’t have back home! There is nothing better than being in your own bed though, and waking up in your own home. Tonight we have the Navy ball and tomorrow morning we get our puppies back! Have a beautiful weekend, friends!

Fit and “Flab”-u-less | Breaking Past Ten!

Wowzers, y’all! I have not updated here in a quick minute but wanted to give a quick update and see how y’all are doing, if you’re on the same journey to a healthier you! The week before last I hit a plateau after gaining a few pounds back (think three, almost four!) I was confident the weight would drop back off… and maybe tomorrow they would be gone… and what was I doing wrong… and why are they still there?!? Hubs and I got out of our workout routine and diet was all I had really been focusing on. Oh, but it was the week I needed sugar cookies in my life.

I think one of the most important things was the fact that I did not deprive myself and I tracked. I tracked those three bags of M&Ms every day for three days. I tracked the night I sat there and ate five sugar cookies. I tracked the days I was a few hundred over calories. I tracked sitting on the couch crying to Anderson and eating five snack bags of Lays.

Then I called it like I saw it and got serious. I drank my water every day. I got back on a slightly healthier train and practiced moderation and then I faced the fear and hopped back on the scale. I had dropped down past those first ten pounds! Those ten pounds I put on the month Hubs got back from deployment! I was down and I felt great and re-invigorated with my journey.

As of weigh-in this morning, for the purpose of updating for this post, I am down 12.6 pounds from my beginning weight on My Fitness Pal. I am here to plead with you if you are on this journey as well: DO NOT GIVE UP! Allow the indulgences, but track them! It would have been very easy to give up after the small gain back (which felt HUGE at the time!) but I worked through it and overcame! I am very excited and keeping positive about our pending vacation back home! Lord knows there are foods that I am going to eat when we get back! First up is some good pancit and a Philly Cheesesteak. Oh, and a chili cheese dog from a swanky little hole in the wall! I think there will be a lot of salad dinners! Also, a pair of sneakers is already packed and ready to take with me. There will have to be walking and working out this trip for sure!

How do you survive vacation or going back home without gaining a load of weight back?

*This is representative of my personal journey for weight loss and overall better health. I have no formal (or informal for that matter) education in nutrition or exercise. I have consulted my physician and keep in contact with him if I feel something with my body just is not right. You should consult your physician before starting a new diet or exercise plan.

Fit and “Flab-u-Less” Week In Review | Week Eight

Wowzers! So yesterday was crazy busy with our cooking class, a nice lunch date and my shop! This means I bring you my embarrassing week in review a day late. Y’all… this week was horrific! I thought I was doing well, but there was so much running going on with the vet and Jonesie and shopping and that one day where I was awake for like 40 hours. I went to put on a brand new bracelet yesterday and it was tight It is of course not my favorite time of the month, but there has been a three-pound gain… OVER THE COURSE OF A WEEK!

Add to it, the cravings are never-ending today and I can’t beat it: I had two cups of mashed potatoes at lunch today. Seriously? Who does that?

This week is already no good and very bad and I want it to be over.

Here’s a question for you, gals: Since I’m dealing with PCOS and trying to get my hormones to act right… IS THIS NORMAL?

I mean, I will hear myself say something and immediately regret it… almost as it is coming out of my mouth! I have been rather short with Hubs (Bless him!) and Nan (who just knows it will pass) but there is no excuse! It doesn’t happen every month either- it seems as if every three months or so it is HORRIBLE!

I beg of you ladies, help me out here and tell me I’m not crazy. Furthermore, if you suffer the same (or should I say, if your husband’s suffer the same) is there anything you do to calm your inner beast? I don’t know if I can take a whole week or so with as short of a fuse as I have right now. Give me salty, give me sweet, give me another three pounds

Fit and “Flab-u-Less” Week In Review | Week Seven

Hello friends! Today we come with exciting news in my fit and “flab-u-less” report! I have broken through the ten pounder mark! That’s right: I am down 0.8lbs this week for a grand loss of 10.2! It was a small loss this week, which is fine with me! When we lost power I had several snack tubs of pringles and some cheeze-itz  for dinner. When we didn’t trust the stuff in our fridge we went out for more Mexican. Almost a pound works for me!

Hubs and I are getting motivated with the fitness aspect of all this and I think I mentioned we ordered a sha-weet stationary bike- definitely not your granny’s bike! Thursday it was supposed to be delivered to us and I was so anxiously waiting About two hours after we lost power the phone rang and was the delivery guy. (We ordered it on-line and like a furniture company was delivering it instead of sending it through UPS). He was within 5 miles of our house when his tire blew! It was 5:30, and his repair guy was coming from Chula Vista (So, easily an hour and a half away!) Needless to say we did not get our bike Thursday, and sadly have not heard from dispatch as to when it will be rescheduled for delivery.

In other news though, we got something else to kind of play around with:

Yeppers, we got mouth guards and boxing gloves! We ordered a speed bag and heavy bag (dual) stand (you know, not much fits in a Honda Civic!) and are awaiting its arrival. In the meantime I have been doing Kickboxing Bootcamp (which some of you on twitter are seeing as “Ninja Skillz”) which is definitely not for the weak! I am learning the punches and kicks and having a blast! We’ve decided when we fly home to visit we will take our gloves with us to work out… so, I think we have to put that in checked luggage?

Overall it has been a fabulous week. If you are on this journey with me, I hope you are having great success! We can do this: an ounce at a time!

Fit and “Flab-U-Less” 6 | “Free Days”

So we are another week down and if you are joining me on your own journey for health, how are you doing? I must say that this week I was a little surprised when I stepped on up to the scale: I was down 2.6 lbs this week! That is an overall loss of 9.4lbs. Not too shabby and rounds out to 1.5lbs a week, just like I set up MFP to do.

I’m no dietician or nutritionist, but I want to talk about something I do that keeps me sane, and doesn’t seem to be throwing me off track: Fun Food Friday! (Sometimes we have it on Saturday or Sunday, but it sounds better when it’s on Friday!) For the most part, on weeks I’m not too tired, we stick with the calorie counts. I have no problem being between 50-100 under my goal or 50-100 over my goal on any given day. There’s no way I’m hitting it dead on everyday!

ONE DAY A WEEK: we kind of don’t pay too much attention to what we eat. I still track the things I eat, but once a week, the tracker is slightly embarrassing, and I allow it. I don’t allow myself to get upset about it. I don’t allow it to bring me down or throw me off track. I refuse to call it the ever popular phrase ”Free Day” because I still hold myself accountable and track. Perhaps it’s the day we go crazy at El Torito, or I have Chipotle for lunch and dinner (don’t judge… I don’t! hehe!). Perhaps it’s a night out with the girls where everyone decided to bring cupcakes!

I never go violently over my calorie count for the day- I just use one day where I don’t judge if those calories weren’t gained in the healthiest of fashions.

I simply remind myself tomorrow will be a better day than today and carry on. I also think it’s great for throwing my metabolism off and not letting it get too complacent. Throw in some crazy food and make it work! Nine and a half pounds down, I’ll take it.

If you are on this journey with me, friends: let’s make this another fit and “flab-u-less” week, and don’t get down on yourselves if you indulged a bit with weekend celebrations!  

*This is representative of my personal journey for weight loss and overall better health. I have no formal (or informal for that matter) education in nutrition. I have consulted my physician and keep in contact with him if I feel something with my body just is not right.

Fit and “Flab-u-Less” Week In Review | Week Five

Wow- five weeks down Not just five weeks down but 6.8 pounds down as well! I like that pace and will take it after my sick week thrown in there!

This past week was a whirlwind of blessings! We got some answers to my fatigue issues and it’s a pretty easy fix. My B12 levels were 250 (on a measurement scale of 211-986!) That’s super low and we’re working on getting them fixed with shots. I have felt great since my first shot and know the issue is working on being resolved.

We are starting to eat healthy again this week, which makes the biggest difference! We were eating out tons between being sick and being tired. We did crappy Chinese take out, comfort food, and lots of Mexican! (It doesn’t help that it’s my cravy week, either! I loves me some salt as I’m getting ready for my special time of the month.) It is so nice to get back in the kitchen, spend time preparing meals and know we’re getting great nutrition. Now to work on a meal plan for this week and stick to it!

I am down 2.2 pounds this week! Slow and steady wins the race!

We are still heading over to the track a few times a week, building back up to what we were doing before we got sick. While I am there I use my Polar Heart Rate Monitor (HRM). If you are in the market for one, I highly suggest you do some research and get one! There are tons out there and a wide variety of prices and purposes behind them all. I did some looking around and went with the FT4 model. It tells me my heart rate and beeps if I go below the target or above the target for activity! I love this feature because I sometimes felt my heart was going to fast- like I was about to go into coronary attack or something. I’ve only had it beep at me once for going too high, and I felt it right before the beep!

You enter in all your information and it will tell you how many calories you burned during your “exercise”. I use this term loosely for this next example. Last weekend, once we were finally feeling better we did a deep clean of the house. I used to laugh when I saw people logging “cleaning” as exercise on My Fitness Pal. Saturday I worked up a good sweat and Sunday I threw on the HRM. I burned a pretty impressive amount of calories by dancing around the house while cleaning and jogging in place while switching laundry from the washer to dryer. I tracked it for the day as well! I don’t laugh when I see it, but I don’t track simply doing the dishes either (although I wanted to yesterday for all the yumminess we ate on our dinner date!)

It has overall helped with being able to have a better understanding of what I am actually burning, to keep on top of my “net calories” for each day. I definitely eat back my work-out calories to ensure my body doesn’t go into starvation mode, which is super important, especially on Tuesdays now that we’re line dancing!

If you are on this journey with me, I hope you have a “flab-u-less” week, friends! Let’s make it a kick ass one and Rock this B**CH!