Feature Friday: Weight Loss Recap

Hey guys!

I have officially lost 8 pounds! That is 2 pounds away from my goal! I’ve been wanted to write a post on my weight loss for a while now, but honestly haven’t had the time until now, whew! I am so excited to share more in-depth details on what I have been up to!

How I started:

It all started at the end of summer when I realized that I did not lose the weight I planned on losing that summer. In fact, I put on a few pounds! It was time to make small changes in my diet.

In the beginning:

I was not seeing results. I cut back on nearly all of my favorite “bad” foods (cookies, brownies, chips & salsa, deep-fried things…) and tried replacing them with “better” foods. This worked for a while but it just wasn’t enough. I began going to the gym daily for that extra push and still didn’t see the results I wanted. Slowly but surly I was losing about a half pound a week.

What I did at the gym:

• Cardio pretty much everyday
• Ab workouts twice a week
• Zumba 🙂

How  I “count calories”:

From what I have learned, they key to counting calories is to keep it as general as possible meaning, DO NOT COUNT EVERY FREAKING CALORIE YOU EAT. That will just make you crazy. Instead, I keep a journal (or sometimes I just make a mental note) with a general guess on my meals. I will set a limit of how many calories I can consume and then I’ll try to follow it. Some meals I’ll go over the calorie limit but that’s okay. I think it’s more important to acknowledge the amount of calories that are in your diet.

What I’ve learned about weight loss:

• Exercising everyday can actually be fun
• Take exercise classes that you enjoy
• Count calories (as mentioned above)
• Be patient, it may take time but it is totally worth the weight wait! 😛

I have learned so much over the past few months that I am so thankful for. Obvisously, I thank you guys for always encouraging me to try harder and be my best or maybe even encouraging me to let go sometimes and be patient. Either way, I am thankful! 😀

Is there anything you could add to these lists??

Shopping Cart & Weight Loss Update

Hi guys!

Wow, I was cracking up at the comments on my last post. I am so happy that I’m not the only one who has made a stupid mistake like that! You guys are great.

Friday’s small trip to the store:

More frozen Kashi meals ON SALE! Yeah baby, $2.99 each. The Mayan Harvest Bake is my absolute favorite. I’ve had a few of the other frozen vegan meals by Kashi but the Mayan is just fantastic (Tara, you know what I’m talking about!). It may not look like the picture on the box when it comes out of the oven but you won’t even know the difference.

Weight Loss

My goal to lose five more pounds by Thanksgiving is actually going pretty well. Last week, I lost one pound which means that I am 3 pounds away from my goal! I’ve only been going to the gym about three times a week so this is pretty impressive for me. Especially considering my new love for donut baking! 😉 This week is going to be insane with three exams, 1 paper due, and working nearly 40 hours. Also, I have a ton of pressure on me right now because of my grades. Hopefully this past week of nothin’ but studying will pay off!

Question of the day:

Do you want to know more about my mini weight loss journey?

Please, ask me anything about my weight loss in the past few months! I would love to answer any questions about my workouts, my diet, calories, self-image, ANYTHING! I plan on putting together a in-depth post (maybe even a vlog?) about my experience so please leave questions below in the comments or feel free to e-mail me any questions as well.

WIAW #39

 

Hello friends 🙂

Hope everything is going good on your Wednesday afternoon. Mine is pretty busy- exams at school, studying, and lots of gym time. I am still keeping up with my weight loss challenge even though I’ve only lost a little over 2 pounds in four weeks, haha! I wish that was a joke. Oh well, I have been pushing myself really hard and I can’t even remember the last day I wasn’t sore! <<<- I think that’s when you know you’re doing great!

Breakfast:

Gluten-free, protein packed pumpkin spice pancakes {with chocolate chips!}

I found an old recipe on my blog for vegan pancakes then used GF flour instead of whole wheat, and added chocolate chips and lots of pumpkin pie spice instead of just cinnamon. I honestly thought the texture on this cakes where a lot better than the original some-what gooey cakes. The GF flour made the pancakes so much more fluffy (and nutritious 😉 ) !

Lunch:

Wet bean burrito!

Dinner:

recycled picture of me and a smoothie, classic.

Snacks:

Almonds and chocolate chips! yes, I ate them just like this ^. One almond, one chocolate chip. Party in the mouth.

What did you eat today?

WIAW & Weight Loss Talk

Woah, I guess it’s been a while.

Just a few days, not too bad I suppose.

Honestly I have just been kind of down. Lots of things I’d like to share but just not in the mood. This week’s WIAW is a little different. First, I want to talk about my weight loss challenge then, I want to show you how I have been eating the last two weeks to kind of wrap up the ideas and questions about my diet.

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Weight Loss Challenge Update

The weight loss challenge isn’t going as planned, at all. Like I said the first week I didn’t even lose an ounce and now I am writing this Tuesday night and still haven’t lost anything. In fact I did gain a few ounces, but technically weigh in isn’t until tomorrow morning.

Like everyone else, my plan for the weight loss challenge was obviously to lose weight. When I say that I want to “lose weight” I am only talking 10-15 pounds max, even thought I could afford to lose 20. I have put on an extra 10 pounds this year almost bringing me to my heaviest weight (still about 7 pounds away from my heaviest, not a big deal). I think that some of my reader don’t agree with me losing weight but I may have never mentioned that I am actually not just skin and bones! I do have a belly. Pretty much all of my excess fat is stored in my belly and it makes me look weird. Posting pictured would just be embarrassing.

All of the weight tracking is just really bringing me down. Not so much because I am not losing weight, but because it’s almost embarrassing. I am current in school pushing everything I got to get into the dietetics program. I thought I knew how to lose weight. I thought I knew how to eat a balanced diet. Now I am just doubting everything. I feel stupid. I feel weak. I feel humiliated. Like I said, not because I am not theat the weight I want to be act but because I am not getting anywhere. Every week contestants are pulling off these great numbers (so happy for them) and here I am, the supposedly healthy vegan girl not making any progress. It sounds stupid but it’s actually a lot of pressure.

“You’re not losing weight because a vegan diet it high in fat…”

“You just eat too much…”

“Vegans eat too many carbs and not enough proteins”

Okay, so maybe people are just saying these things in my head and not in real life but you get the point. This is why I am afraid to ask for help.

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Diet, WIAW style

The only “bad foods” (according to a diet I made up for myself) I ate all week were chips and salsa, a tiny bit of kettle corn, and some granola which isn’t even terrible! Anyway, perhaps my lovely readers could give me a little diet advice since mine isn’t working. I hate asking other people in my life for this kind of advice (mainly because it’s always, “you need to eat meat!”) but I totally trust you guys. As always, I will greatly appreciate every single comment I get for advice whether I want to hear it or not!

  

Breakfasts:

 

I haven’t been digging the whole eating breakfast after the gym thing, but I don’t have time for it any other way. My hunger is usually raging at this point. The first week of the WLC I ate a lot of tofu scrambles (not usually with bread) which really filled me up and gave me lots of protein. However, some morning I craved something more clean and simple like a green smoothie or a new breakfast smoothie I have been eating (oats, coconut milk, flax-seed, PB, protein powder, nanner, apple sauce) and will post more soon! 

Lunches:

 

This is where I either make or break the daily diet. I get some from school and all I want to do is eat everything in sight. On a good day I’ll have a bowl of soup or a veggie sandwich with baked tofu. Today was kinda weird., I had homemade sushi with tofu and celery and a bowl of butternut squash soup, weird.  

Dinners:

Dinner is always random. Usually some type of salad like lentil salad or black bean salad at work but a few night my dad got me falafel and I could not turn that down. I had a few peanut butter and granola sandwiches too with stuffed squash. I obviously don’t plan dinner that well. 

Snacks:

Lots and lots of apples. Maybe some dates and trail mix at school but that’s about it.

Q 0f the D: What advice could you give me about weight loss?

Take that, coupon moms!

I’m pretty sure that I am the only girl in the entire world that hates shopping. Think about it, what is so fun about shopping anyway? Clothes are extremely overpriced, nothing ever fits, finding things that “match” really stresses me out. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting a new pair of jeans or some new socks once in a while, it makes me feel good. But having a new outfit everyday of the year is a bit wasteful if you ask me.

Yesterday, I stopped in JC Penny’s because I heard they had a few good deals on workout clothes. Not going to lie, new workout clothes always makes me happy! It gets me motivated to “try them out” if you will. 🙂

The store had a great selection of running shorts and shirts 40% off and I got a little excited, they were nice clothes!

Then I realised I was missing the HUGE SALE everyone in the store was going after! Everything on these racks were $2.97. They had a bit of a verity, in fact, most of the items I have picked out from the 40% off rack, I found in the 80% off rack for $2.97!

I might have went just a little over-board.

$25 shorts for $2.97 each.

 

$30 tanks for $2.97 each.

$28 biking shorts for $2.97 each.

$20 yoga shirts for $2.97 each.

I think you get the idea.

But incase you don’t believe me, here is my receipt:

 

 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off you Pi/Yo in my new tank!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Any special plans this weekend?

A Day in the Life of a Weight Loss Challenge Participant

Hello!

Quick update, (yes, it is 4:50 AM and I’m about to BLOG!)

The first day of the Weight Loss challenge (WLC) went very good! I started the day off with a 4 mile walk with some of the girls at my gym. We left the gym at about 6:50 AM and returned a little after 8AM. The walking group is a great diverse group of strong women ranging from ages 20 (hey, that’s me!) to mid 80s, isn’t that cool? I hope that 60+ years from now I can be as strong and fit as these ladies! After the walk, I headed off to my long day of classes.

After classes, homework, miscellaneous housework and market prep, I was back at the gym. This time for the “hard Zumba class” (that’s what I’ll call it) at 5:30PM. First, I did my first weight-in. To my surprise, I actually already lost 3 pounds in two weeks! This is great but I hope I can still lose enough in the challenge! Did I mention first prize is $1,000???

My feet were already blistered and sore but this was not stopping me from doing a little extra of my favorite workout class. At 6:30PM,  the official WLC class started. From what I understood this was a core class, hence the name “Core Camp”. But no, not at all. We did a lot of lifting (we ran out of light weights so I got stuck with the 8 pounders) and cardio. So many girls signed up for the challenge, we barley had any room for cardio! I thought I was keeping up pretty good, the only thing hurting on me was my dang feet! My entire foot feels like a blister, ow!  Hundred of reps, jumping jacks, lunges, and swats later, it was core time! We did a lot of core work outs that I have never done before and I could totally feel it! My abs were on FIRE! I wish I would have pushed myself harder like I used to do in Pilates because my abs are not even sore,  b u m m e r !

Needless to say, I was pooped after my long day! I went to bed somewhere between 9:00-9:30PM and now I am up at 4:30AM for no reason. I woke up with tons of energy and don’t see myself going back to sleep in the near future. I was going to hit the gym around 6:30AM but I think my feet just might need a rest day!

Question of the Day:

Do you feel a crazy energy the day after a hard workout?

Weight Loss Challenge!

Hi friends!

I just signed up for a weight loss program at my gym! The program is six weeks longs with special classes designed to burn fat and lose weight! My goal is to lose about 10 pounds. I will be sure to keep you updated throughout the six-week program of my eats, workouts, and weight loss. I’ve been going to the gym daily and haven’t felt better! My goal for joining this program is to keep motivated.

Weigh-in days are Wednesday so I will probably post the results in the weekly WIAW posts if I have time.

Have you ever joined a program like this? What was your result?

& Speaking of weight-loss programs, DID YOU KNOW THAT THE BIGGEST LOSER IS ON TONIGHT?!?! Well, you do now.

Unfortunately, I’ll be at work all night! 😦

Hopefully, I can find it on On-Demand tomorrow! 🙂

The Weekend Check-In

Hi Friends!

Happy Saturday, right?

If you started school this week, I bet you are so happy that it is finally the weekend! Classes are going really well this semester! My new teachers seem to be pretty nice and easy to understand.

Getting back in shape has been a great challenge for me this week! I am setting goals each week to try to get myself to the gym. This week I set a number of calories I wanted to burn at the gym and I managed to meet that goal with no problems! I love goal setting! Waking up early to go workout is another goal that still needs a little work but, I am getting there for sure. My energy levels are awesome and I cannot wait to set new goals for next week!

As you can see, I am keeping myself pretty busy! With that said, guest post will be greatly appreciated this school year. So, if you want to be featured on my blog, please e-mail me at Whitney10@comcast.net and we can discuss topics. I love having guest posts!

Have a great weekend!

August Goals / July Recap

Hi friends!

How is everyone? I am still enjoying my time on vacation so here is another pre-scheduled post! Woo!

Wow, AUGUST already? Imagine that. I love August here in Michigan. This marks the start of my favorite season it’s called “AUG.-OCT., the most beautiful time in Michigan” I think that’s a good name.

July Goal Recap:

• At least 1 hour of exercise 5 days a week. This can include nature walks, runs, gym time, biking, and Zumba. I NEED this hour everyday to lower my stress. I did the best I could.
• Use up my Zumba punch card at the dance studio. I bought a 10-class punch card in January and have only gone once. Mainly because the classes are all at night. Expires in August! I only used it twice, whoops! I think I am going to try to use it after it expires on the fifth. I might even slide a 1 in before the 5 on “Aug. 5th” if you know what I mean..
• Make time for family and friends. Check!
• Attempted to be more organized. Like paying bills on time, keeping my room clean, keeping up on laundry, filing important papers. Ehhh, check?
• Apply for Fall classes! Check!
• Roller blade on the new bike path by my house (repeat daily, I ❤ roller blading). Fail.
• Stay away from processed junk like oreo’s and nutter butter’s. Not worth the belly ache! Check!
• Limit fried foods to maybe once every 2 weeks. Yes, this included my favorite roll (sweet potato roll) at the sushi joint. Check! I’ve been eating a lot more salads and actually enjoying them!

August Goals:

• Reeelax.
• Read my Biology book to get a head start!
• Start studying early for fall semester.
• Go to Canada
• Celebrate my 20th Birthday on the 31st!

Did you make any goals for August!

 

Bicycle

So, I’ve really been slacking in the physical fitness department.

Can you blame me though? I don’t really have time to go to the gym or wake up super early for a run. To be honest, I’m just really not in the mood.

But lately, I’ve been getting in new forms of exercise.

Biking

It is a great way to clear your mind, get some fresh air, and get your heart rate pumping. Not to mention biking is very easy on the joints which is always a plus for me.

Yesterday I wasn’t really in the mood for anything. I thought about maybe going for a walk but, it was already 10:00 AM I wasn’t all that thrilled to get all hot and sticky outside. So I grabbed my mom’s bicycle thinking I would explore the new bike path:

Oh yes, this bike is quiet a classic. I do own a mountain bike, I swear, I just don’t know how to filled the flat tire. Go ahead, make fun.

Just admit it, you think I look really cool on this bike.

Jealous yet?

I must have biked at least 5 miles, it was so much fun!

Do you bike?

I used to bike a lot when I was younger… before I got a car. Now it’s just a rare occasion. I am pretty excited to bike tomorrow morning! Scott and I usually rent bikes when we go camping. I just checked the prices on rental bikes and they went up a lot! I’m talking $23 each for a rental bike for one day. Last year, they were half of that! SO disappointed. Maybe I’ll have to invest in a bike rack?