Back Again!

OK, that was annoying ... blogger was down for a few days and I was unable to blog... very frustrating. Anyway, we are back now and I'm ready to bring you up to speed! We recommitted ourselves to the program last week as we are entering week 4 which tends to be the week where people lose steam. I am FULL STEAM AHEAD! I am determined to see the 250's during this 8 weeks. I am 7 lbs from that goal, and I WANT to achieve it. I also want to see improvement in my push ups and planks (working on them at home AS well as during class).

I had a major accomplishment this week -- Friday night my husband and I were to attend my friend's 40th birthday party. She threw herself a big BALL (formal, think Prom) for her 40th -- What a wonderful night. I think I danced for 2.5 hours straight (only cut out for water during slow songs)... It was a major workout, and I loved every moment of it. In March, she and I had gone shopping to find dresses for the party. We both found dresses we loved. Mine was purple. It was a size 24. Beautiful gown. Well, obviously, it no longer fit by this past weekend. SO, I had to find something else to wear. (By the way, she ended up finding another gown and wearing that instead of the one we picked out... lol) -- So, I knew I had two dresses in my closet that still had tags on them and had never been worn! One was a 22 and the other a 20. I didn't really like the 22 -- it just didn't feel "appropriate" for the occasion, a little too conservative and plain, though it is a cocktail dress. SOOOOO... I tried on the size 20... a royal blue straight gown, that just skims the body, spaghetti straps -- not over the top fancy, but also not too conservative. I tried it on, and IT FIT! HUGE milestone right there, considering in March I was pretty much in a 26, squeezing myself into a 24!

So, let's fast forward to Friday morning. I decided to try on a pair of jeans that had been chillin in my dresser drawer for several years (probably close to 6 years) -- They were size 20. I slid the jeans up over my hips. They were quite snug. BUT, I thought, hey, I may actually be able to button and zip these... and so I gave it a try. Low and behold, they zipped and buttoned! They were tight (think major muffin top) BUT, I couldn't even pull 22's up over my thighs in March, and here it is May and I can not only pull 20's over my thighs, but my hips too, AND I can button and zip them! Matt asked if I could sit in them. I told him there was only one way to find out. And I sat down on the bed. The button did NOT fly across the room, as I had feared it may! AND I could still breathe! I was in the happiest of shock! And, re-motivated to continue to work hard! :)

Now, about food journalling... do you think that because the blog was down, I stopped journalling my food??? Do you? Well, if you do, you don't believe in me too much! ;) I kept up with the journaling by writing everything down on a yellow piece of paper I keep on my fridge! I will spare you the days that were missed... but I will add today's food intake. I will say that I had 5 parties to attend this weekend. I made it to only 3 of them. At one party, I ate nothing, but did drink water. At the next party (catered), I enjoyed a mini salmon cake, one bite of a mushroom stuffed with blue cheese (so delicious!), 3 cubes of cheese, carrot sticks and peppers, one sip of the birthday girl's signature drink (I let the hubby finish it, very very very sweet drink), then for birthday cake she had purple velvet cupcakes. The husband got one and I took one bite of it... just enough. Then Saturday I was at a Tastefully Simple tasting party. The hostess fixed a tray filled with glorious veggies -- so while I did TASTE the dips and sauces, I did so with veggies for the most part. I may have had 12 chips, total. I ate one bite of the apple cake (and I made sure my bite had a huge chunk of apple, rather than cake). Also, when dipping, I made sure I just tasted the product, rather than slathering my chips or carrots in the sauces and dips. I also ate 4 pieces of beer bread (but could have eaten a whole lot more, that stuff is my weakness) -- luckily, I planned ahead for that day and adjusted my calories to leave plenty of room for tasting. I also had a sip of a vodka lemon slushy -- it was good, but not worth more than the small sip I took. I prefer to EAT my calories! All in all, I feel I planned ahead well for my party filled weekend, and I do not believe that I "over did it" at any of the events. I practiced a lot of self control and I am pleased with my weekend.

I found a treat at Target tonight. This will NOT be an everyday snack for me. This will be when I am having a hankering for Frappuccinos! Tonight, I found a Kashi Granola Bar -- it's Dark Chocolate Mocha Almond -- and if I drink ice cold water with it, then I feel like I'm treating myself to a frapp, without having the calories and guilt! :) It's 130 calories... a perfect snack! AND it's very filling!

OK so here is today's food journal, and then I'm hitting the hay so I can attempt to run in the morning (weather willing)
Breakfast
2 eggwhite omelet with spinach, mushrooms, onions, peppers, salsa and parmesan cheese

Lunch
Grilled chicken, lettuce and tomato on whole wheat bun (275 cal)

snacks
5 triscuits and 1 string cheese
1 Granola Bar (Kashi) with dried fruit

Dinner
Turkey Spaghetti with very veggie sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan

AND I had all of my water! :)