Personal Update

For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, I posted back in May that my hairdresser had found a round bald spot on the underside of my hair during my appointment, and it was causing me a great deal of stress at the time. Ironically, stress is probably what caused the spot, but I'll get to that! haha. Thankfully, it wasn't and isn't much of a cosmetic issue since it is on the underside  of my hair! I thought and prayed about it a LOT, and eventually I got a better attitude. I went to my family doctor, who drew some blood work to see if it was my thyroid causing the problem. Luckily, it wasn't, but that still didn't help me get answers. He referred me to a dermatologist, but, unfortunately, they weren't able to see me until today, about 3 months AFTER I discovered the bald spot. Long story short, I've done a lot of googling between then and now, so I kind of knew what was coming. The dermatologist looked at it and immediately said that it was alopecia areata. Basically, it's a condition that causes a person to lose hair in mostly circular patches. More often than not, it appears for the first time in people younger than me, but it can happen to anyone. It can also be triggered by STRESS, which I think was the cause in my case. The dermatologist was wonderful and comforting. She said that it may never happen again, but I could certainly find other similar spots down the road. She gave me some steroid injections in my scalp (OUCH!!!), and she prescribed me something topical to put on the spot to help the hair grow back. Besides the fact that I felt like someone punched me in the back of the head for a couple hours after my appointment, I'm ok with all of this. I'm happy to have an answer and a treatment!

Anyway, I figured I would give everyone the update. I go back in about 2 months for a check up to see if the treatments have worked. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

I'm back...again.

Sooooo.....I guess it's been a while. I'm going to start off just being completely honest. The reason that I haven't been blogging much lately is because I haven't been GOOD lately. (Yes, I realize that part of the reason I started this blog was for accountability...no need to remind me!) Since my family vacation in June, I've been a human yo-yo. Actually, I'm stuck at the weight I was at at the END OF MAY. *insert horrified facial expressions* I think it goes without saying that I never really got "back on track" after vacation. Summer has been way harder than I could've ever imagined. Lots of trips, holidays, spontaneous dinners with friends, grabbing drinks with coworkers, etc. Usually summer is good for my workout regimen, too, because I love to go walking or running outside, but this summer has been SO HOT and HUMID that I haven't even been motivated! I'm pretty good at making excuses, if you couldn't figure that out for yourself.

Well, this week, all that yo-yo crap ENDS. Hopefully! I have been feeling LESS energetic, LESS motivated, MORE bloated, MORE sluggish, and I know it's all because of what I've been doing to my body this summer.

First, let's look at the bright side. I'm still over 10 pounds less than I was when I started Achieve back in April! :)

I'm just gonna come right out and say that I don't have a step-by-step plan to help get myself over this "hump". Most of my problem this summer has been self control. I stopped saying "no" to my diet demons. Another thing is that I've quit physically writing down my food intake. It's really a struggle for me to do a hand-written food journal, but I think that is part of what helped me during my first month. It's sort of painful to have to actually write down that you caved and had that cookie in the break room at work! (By the way, I RESISTED those delicious looking cookies today!) Since I need a little extra motivation and accountability in this hot weather to get my workouts completed, I've enlisted my boyfriend to be my 2-3 day/week workout partner. Mondays and Wednesdays for 30 minutes we'll do some sort of activity, then we'll pick one day out of the weekend, depending on our plans. So, it's not an exact science, but it's a start.

Even though I haven't been COMPLETELY on track this summer, I have tried several tasty recipes that I'll share with you! I'm not going to list all of my substitutions for every recipe, but I'll give you a list of common substitutions that I use.

• Pasta --> Fiber Gourmet Pasta
• Shredded Cheese --> Kraft Fat-Free Shredded Cheddar and/or Mozzarella
• Sliced Cheese --> Sargent Ultra-Thin Cheese Slices
• Bread --> Aunt Millie's Whole Grain 35-Calorie Bread
• Buns --> Healthy Life 80-Calorie Wheat Buns
• Ground Beef --> 96/4 Lean Ground Beef, 99% Fat-Free Ground Turkey, Ground White Meat Chicken
• Condiments --> Low-Fat, Fat-Free, Reduced Sugar, or Sugar-Free Versions
• Olive Oil --> MCT Oil

If you have ANY questions about how I cooked something or how it turned out, please don't hesitate to comment!

***DISCLAIMER FOR ACHIEVE MEMBERS: Even with substitutions, I know not ALL of these are Achieve-Approved! However, most of them should be, and I would say they're pretty much all "healthy" with the right substitutions! :)

Skinnytaste Weeknight Skillet Sazon Chicken Tenders
Skinnytaste Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Fajita Stuffed Chicken
One-Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta
Chipotle Ranch Dressing
Sheet Pan Chili Lime Salmon
Fajita Burgers
Skinnytaste Baked Chicken Parmesan
Skinnytaste Skinny Buffalo Chicken Strips
Cheesy Baked Pork Chops
Skinnytaste Cheesburger Casserole
Skinnytaste Tomato Tuna Melts
Skinnytaste Loaded "Nacho" Chicken Tostada
Skinnytaste Steak Kebabs with Chimicurri

Crush this week, everyone! 

I'm BAAAAACK!

Hey y'all! It's good to be back. :) You may or may not have noticed that I haven't written a blog in a couple of weeks! I went on vacation with my family last week, and so far this week, I've just been trying to get back into my old routine.

First, let's talk about vacation!!!

We went to Oak Island, North Carolina and stayed in a house on the beach. It. Was. Beautiful. Seriously. The beach was literally right outside our back porch! AND if you didn't want to go to the beach, you could relax in the hot tub in the evening and just enjoy the view. The beach wasn't crowded, everything was clean, and the weather was great. Although I probably could've stayed on the beach all week, we did a few other neat things. We visited two light houses, one in Oak Island and one on Bald Head Island, and the men took a deep sea fishing trip. A few of us also did an evening paddle boarding tour! I'd never done it before, but it was actually a lot easier than I had imagined, and it ended up being a blast! We had a beautiful sunset view, too. On our second to last day, we took some family pictures that turned out to be adorable! We didn't quite have the WHOLE family there, unfortunately. Maybe next time!

One of my very best friends lives near Raleigh, which is only a couple of hours away from where we were, and she was able to come visit for a couple of days. We had our own little photo shoot before she had to leave. It was a blast having her there!

In Achieve, they sometimes describe the lifestyle change as a relationship. If you're doing it right, you're MARRIED to Achieve. You do your best to pair your food correctly, you try to only have two junk days, you drink 64+ ounces of water every day, etc. Well, when I was on vacation (We can probably throw the week before vacation into this category too! Whoops...), I was just FLIRTING with Achieve. I took a lot of my Achieve approved snacks, I got a side salad instead of fries when we stopped at fast food restaurants on the drive, I drank water any time I thought of it, and I tried to keep my portion sizes under control throughout the week(s). I expected to gain some weight, of course, but I only gained 3 pounds between May 23-June 13! (We didn't have a meeting on Memorial Day!) That may not sound so great to some of you, but I am TOTALLY ok with that. I figure some of it is probably water weight anyway, since I hadn't been drinking my normal 20 glasses a day! Now that I'm back home and getting back into my old routines, I'd say I'm DATING Achieve. I've been doing better, but I haven't been quite as diligent as I should be. When you've essentially had 1-2 weeks of junk days, it's hard to gain back your motivation to eat healthy...am I right?!

This week, I discovered a couple of Achieve approved frozen products that I'm gonna be adding to my grocery staples. First, I got some of the frozen Jimmy Dean Frittatas so I could have a grab and go breakfast other than a protein bar. I took those this morning with me to work, and they were delicious! Two of them are 280 calories and have 14 grams of protein. I'm not sure if this was an Achieve approved combination (We're just DATING this week, remember? :P), but I also had a Kroger Carbmaster yogurt with my frittatas, and I was totally satisfied until lunch time came around. Second, I picked up some Sandwich Bros. frozen sandwiches. They come in chicken melt and angus cheeseburger varieties. I had a chicken melt today with a side salad. One tiny sandwich (and I mean TINY) has 160 calories and 11 grams of protein. They may be little, but they sure do keep you full!

As far as workouts go, I've totally been failing. However, yesterday, I got to participate in the BUBBLE RUN! It was a blast. Fun runs are one of the best ways to get me motivated to work out! I'm definitely going to do another one in the near future so I have a reason to get out and run more often. :)

For my next meeting tomorrow, I'm only hoping to lose SOMETHING. I don't care if I lose half a pound or 5 pounds!! Really, as long as I don't gain I'll be happy! I'm going to make a trip to the grocery today, so I can get a few more food staples and stock up on some veggies. I'm also planning on doing some extra FOOD PREP, so I can more easily get back on track. Maybe I'll be ENGAGED to Achieve next week...we'll see! ;)

Hope everyone's had a wonderful weekend! :)

Vacation: Diet friend or foe? You decide!

Happy Tuesday! :) Today is my day off, so it is definitely a happy day for me! In about a week and a half, I'll be heading out on a week-long vacation with my family. There are about 10-12 of us that go every year, depending on who brings friends or boyfriends. I absolutely love this tradition. Sometimes they drive me a little crazy by the end of it, but I wouldn't have it any other way. ;) It's always a great time to be off work and just spend some quality time together. However, it can sure put a damper on your diet. I typically gain weight on vacation, and I think a lot of it is because I think, "It's vacation! I'm going to eat and drink whatever I want, and I'm DEFINITELY not going to exercise." I will say that I have gone into many vacations with the intention of eating healthier than normal or exercising a few times during the week, but, usually, my intentions get de-railed by my own mentality. So, without further ado, let's talk about some strategies to staying healthy on vacation! In case you feel like skipping ahead, I've divided my tips into a few categories: Driving, Flying, Destination, and Cruise. Enjoy!

Driving
Driving an entire day can cause you to burn hundreds of calories less in a day than you normally would burn. Sticking to a few easy rules can help curb weight gain if you're driving to your vacation destination!

1. Prepare ahead of time: Pack a cooler full of water and healthy snacks like veggies, fruit, and protein bars to curb hunger between meals.
2. Hydrate: All the re-circulating air during your drive time can really de-hydrate you, which can make you feel hungry. Try drinking 8 ounces of water before you decide if you really need that next snack!
3. Make the most of your rest stops: Take a 10 minute break to walk around and stretch. Exercising your body when you can will re-energize you and burn a few extra calories to boot!
4. Make healthy choices: This seems like a no-brainer, but choosing healthier options at fast-food joints and restaurants along the way will make you feel less sluggish and help you cut back on calories. Even if no "healthy" or "low-cal" options are on the menu (or if none of them look appetizing), just asking for a lower calorie, low fat, or reduced-sugar condiments can make a world of difference.
5. Take your time: When you do stop to eat, don't take it on the road with you! Sitting down and enjoying your meal will give your body time to realize when it's full, so you'll eat less.

Flying
Spending hours in an airport isn't the most fun, but you can make the most of your experience if you plan ahead!

1. Eat before you fly: Eat a healthy meal at home before you get to the airport, or pack one to bring with you! You can get through security with a variety of food, just not liquids like water bottles or sodas. This way, you'll be less likely to indulge in the unhealthy or fast food options that are readily available.
2. Choose wisely: If you can't eat before you go or pack your food, most airports do have some healthy options. Try to grab a salad with light dressing on the side, or find some pre-packaged fruits and veggies for a snack.
3. Hydrate: Like driving, flying can also de-hydrate you! Make sure to grab a water bottle before you board to hydrate your body and curb hunger.
4. Get moving: Instead of sitting in those uncomfortable chairs next to your gate, spend the time before you board walking around the airport. Carry your own luggage, take the stairs, and avoid those people movers!

Destination
Ok, so I realize that not EVERYONE travels like my family, but here are a few tips and strategies that I found around the web that could be helpful! My family cooks a lot, so, technically, it should be at least easier to stick to healthy eating...right???

1. Cook: If you're able, plan to prepare your own meals. My family typically goes out for lunch or dinner a few times a week, but we generally eat at least 2 meals at our rental house every day. We generally pack coolers full of food before we leave, but don't be afraid to scout out the local grocery store as soon as you arrive!
2. Offer to be in charge of a meal: If you do have the option to cook, maybe offer to be in charge of a meal or two during the trip. That way you can at least be in control for a couple meals! I will be honest, I didn't offer to do this for my vacation, but two other people are on Achieve as well, so I'm pretty confident that we'll have plenty of healthy choices during our trip! :)
3. Try the one-a day rule: Allow yourself one indulgence per day, whether it be a few pina coladas by the beach or that cheeseburger at dinner. Don't deny yourself a treat, just try to keep it to one a day! (one of the links)
4. Snack smart: Bring healthy grab-and-go snacks that you can take on sightseeing adventures or excursions to curb hunger between meals. Pre-portioned veggies, fruit, nuts, and protein bars are all good options!
5. Plan ahead: When you know you'll be going out to eat, try checking online for restaurant menus and/or nutrition information before you go so you don't make impulsive decisions when you get there.
6. Plan for exercise: Look up hiking trails near you, go for a walk/jog/run on the beach, bring or rent a bike, swim in the ocean or pool, hit up the hotel fitness center, or just bring your favorite exercise DVD with you on your trip! You can even get your family involved for some fun group fitness. My family loves to go for walks on the beach together!
7. Be active: Choose sightseeing adventures or excursions that force you to stay active! You probably won't even realize you're burning calories because you'll be having so much fun.
8. Cut back on the booze: Ok, I'm not a crazy person. This is vacation, after all. I'm not saying don't drink, period, but maybe don't go for those Margaritas or Bloody Marys all day! Have just one of those drinks, if that's your thing, then stick to light beer or vodka and seltzer the rest of the day...something a little lower calorie than you'd normally have. You don't want to drink away your calories when there is so much delicious food out there to be enjoyed!
9. Ask for a doggie bag: If you're going out to eat, you can ask the waiter to box up half of your meal when you place your order, so you're not tempted to over-eat. If you're like me, I struggle to leave food on my plate if it's sitting in front of me!

Cruise
I should be a pro at this section, but, I will be honest. I went on a cruise in February, and I'm sure I gained at least 5 lbs in those short 5 days. However, after experiencing that, I know more things that can help me next time!

1. Make use of your fitness resources: Most cruise ships have a fitness center and a running track around the top deck. Some even offer group fitness classes at various times throughout the day!
2. Don't abuse the buffet: If you're eating at the buffet for any meal, only fill your plate once! Fill up on veggies first (about half of your plate), then go for some protein. Believe it or not, they do offer some healthy options, even on vacation!
3. Use the one-a-day rule: Again, try to stick to one indulgence per day. Maybe stick to healthy options at breakfast and lunch, and indulge at dinner.
4. Share dessert: On the cruise ship that we were on, you could essentially have as much food as you wanted, and every dinner included at least 1 appetizer, 1 entrée, and 1 dessert. However, you CAN skip an appetizer or dessert if you'd like. Another option would be to share those two extras with someone, especially dessert. You can still indulge, just in moderation.
5. Sip wisely: As I said before, it's fine to have a cocktail or two, but some can be loaded in calories. If you plan to drink during your trip, try to find lower-calorie options for most of your day.
6. Get involved: Instead of laying around the pool all day, get involved in a corn hole competition, play shuffleboard, dance the night away, or go for a walk around the decks. There are so many activities that cruise ships provide besides just sitting around and relaxing. You don't want to miss out, I promise you!
7. Take the stairs: If you're able, take the stairs to different locations!
8. Plan an active excursion: Most cruise ships stop at one or more destinations. If you plan on going on an excursion at one of your stops, try something a little more active, like snorkeling or an ATV tour.

Most of all, don't deprive yourself. It is vacation, after all. You know what they say...everything in moderation, right? If you gain a little weight, it's ok! Honestly, I still expect to gain a LITTLE weight. I just want to at least minimize that gain. We all over-indulge, even with the best intentions. The most important thing is that you get back on track as soon as you get home!

Recipe of the week:
Cream Cheese Spaghetti Casserole
I modified it for Achieve by using Fiber Gourmet Spaghetti, 96% lean beef, fat free cream cheese, fat free cottage cheese, and homemade bread crumbs. The only other change I would make is that I'd change the creamy to tomato ratio. I'd use a little more tomato sauce and a little less cream cheese mixture.

Have a healthy week, everyone! :)

Back to Normal

Alright, everybody! I'm a day late with my post. I know you were all on the edges of your seats waiting for me. ;) I've been juuuuust a little busy lately! Last week I veered a little bit from normal to get up-close and personal. This week, let's just get back to normal, why don't we?! I've put my worries from last week on my back burner for now. I'm giving those to God and dealing with things as they come. God is great, all the time.

Monday at the meeting, I gained 0.8 lbs. Bummer. My short-term goal is to lose 15 pounds before my family vacation on June 3rd. I only have 5.2 lbs to go until then, so it's definitely still possible! I won't be too disappointed in myself if I don't reach that goal. I'm sure I'll get close, and, mostly, I just can't wait for a week off! The last time I gained, I was really upset, and I kind of got down on myself. This week, I wasn't even worried about it. I had such a wonderful weekend eating, drinking, and relaxing with friends and family, so a small gain was totally worth it to me. Sometimes, you just have to take the hit for your own sanity. In my opinion, at least! Ha! I was also pretty proud of myself, because while I did indulge and eat larger portions, I did a fairly good job at choosing my foods. On Sunday, we celebrated 2 birthdays in my family. If you know anything about my family, you know that we NEVER have a shortage of food or dessert, and on Sunday, there were THREE desserts. Four, if you count ice cream as a dessert in itself. One of those happened to be one of my absolute favorites - coconut cream pie. Do you want to know what I had for my dessert? Somehow, I stuck to fruit and a small scoop of no sugar added vanilla ice cream. It was hard, but I felt so good about myself afterward. I think one of the biggest reasons I've been able to stick with this "diet" is the fact that it gives you a lot of wiggle room. I haven't felt deprived of too much of anything, because I get two junk days to indulge, and there are even plenty of healthy options that I've found to help satisfy my cravings in-between junk days.

Here are some of my other successes from last week:
 -Avoiding candy at work
-Not eating a dessert that my boyfriend cooked in the apartment (even though I was subjected to the delicious smell ALL NIGHT)
-Being mostly healthy when we got free Moe's for lunch at work, even though it was technically a junk day
-Mostly minimizing cheat days by making good food choices
-Not eating homemade cookies that someone brought to work
-Getting better at figuring out how to easily modify most recipes with low-fat/fat-free/sugar-free options
-Meal planning/prepping is becoming easier and more of a habit

Do you notice that most of my "successes" are avoiding temptations at work?! My coworkers/workplace are/is definitely my diet demon(s)!!!!

So, even though I had a lot of successes, that doesn't by ANY MEANS mean that I haven't struggled. Do you even KNOW how hard it is to avoid homemade coconut cream pie when it's right in front of you all evening? I felt like it was speaking to me. EAT ME! Besides just struggling to use my will power, I've definitely struggled with working out. I think I need to just get into a good routine, but for some reason (*cough*laziness*cough*), I just haven't gotten there yet. I think part if it is just getting a little too comfortable and making excuses for myself. It seems like about every 3 weeks I need to re-focus and kick my butt into gear again! The past week was just crazy busy, so I didn't even work out once. There I go making excuses again. It will NOT happen this week. I have a solid workout plan this time, and I'm hoping I can stick to it. Today and tomorrow, I plan to jog outside, and Friday I plan to do a pound workout. 

Recipe of the week (recipe link below):

Chicken Pot Pie Casserole over Fiber Gourmet Pasta - I can't take any credit whatsoever for this (except maybe the name!). I got the idea from my amazing aunt, who is also doing Achieve and has lost around 25 lbs! 

Tonight, I'm going to modify a spaghetti cream cheese casserole recipe! Hopefully I can update you with good results next week. :)

Chicken Pot Pie Pasta: Get the Recipe!

Random thought of the day:
This week, I discovered MEMORY FOAM shoes. It's like walking on clouds. I'm thinking I need to invest in many more pairs!

I feel like I'm starting to get a little repetitive, so if there's anything that you'd like me to discuss in a blog, please feel free to comment. I could use ideas and inspiration sometimes! Don't get me wrong, I love sharing my successes/failures/recipes with you all, but I don't want to bore you TOO MUCH. ;)

Have a healthy week, everyone!

TEN

I am officially 10 pounds down as of this week! Actually, it was 10.6 if you want to get specific. ;) Woo hoo! I feel like I'm really getting the hang of this Achieve thing. Shopping is getting easier, cooking is getting easier, and I'm having way less cravings. I feel more confident in myself, because, even though I'm not where I want to be, I'm making progress! On my menu tonight was a taco salad that I made with 99% fat free ground turkey, taco seasoning, peppers, onions, fat free shredded cheese, fat free sour cream, green leaf lettuce, and salsa. It. Was. Delicious. I love having a meeting every week, because everyone shares their recipes and ideas for meals! Someone mentioned taco salad earlier this week, and today in the cafeteria at work it was taco Tuesday, so I saved my appetite for my healthier version! Yum.

Earlier this week was Mother's Day! I had to work in the evening that day, but I got to spend the morning at church with my mom and a few of the other most important women in my life. My mom has been one of my most important cheerleaders on this journey! Really, she's the whole reason I even started Achieve. She has lost TWENTY-FOUR pounds so far. If she loses too much more, she might get blown away! ;) Ok, maybe not. But really, I am so proud of her! Happy belated Mother's Day to all of the wonderful mothers out there!

In our class yesterday, we talked about cookout foods, since Memorial Day is quickly approaching. Turns out, it shouldn't be too hard to eat at least mostly healthy! There are lots of options. Low-fat hot dogs, fat-free turkey franks, lean ground beef, low-calorie buns, salad with light dressing, fruit, veggies, reduced-sugar/sugar-free/low-fat/fat-free condiments...I could go on! I don't know that I necessarily have a favorite cookout food, but I do love grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and fresh fruits. The biggest challenge for me will be controlling my portions!

This week, I have a personal request. I've been debating upon whether or not to share this, but, ultimately, I decided I could use all the prayers I can get! I got my hair done yesterday, and my wonderful hair stylist found a fairly sizable bald patch in the back of my head. It's on the underside of my hair, so you wouldn't notice it unless you moved my hair aside just the right way. It seems to be growing back, but it makes me nervous. It might just be extremely dry scalp that caused it, or it could be something called "alopecia areata" (don't google it...mine isn't as bad as the google images! :P), which is just where you lose hair in patches now and then...it will probably suck, but in the scheme of things, it's no big deal. It's treatable. Alopecia (hair loss) can also be a symptom of other things, like thyroid disorders. I shouldn't be worried, and I know this is so small compared to what so many other strong women have dealt with, but I'm freaking out just a tiny bit! I can't get into my family physician until next weekend, so any prayers between now and then would be very much appreciated. God is great, ALL the time! :)

Success!

As of yesterday, I've officially completed my first month of Achieve. Yesterday was my first day of Lifestyle classes, in which we talk about different topics each week, rather than just learning the basics of the Achieve lifestyle. The good news is...I LOST FOUR POUNDS LAST WEEK! The bad news is...I think at least one of those pounds is a false loss, because now, my meetings are earlier (5:45pm instead of 7:30pm), and I don't eat dinner beforehand. I'll take it, though! ;) That means I lost 8.4 pounds in 4 weeks! It was a little surprising, because on Saturday, I had a total hog trough day. In other words, I ate a TON. I went to 100 Men Who Cook, which is a charity where, well, 100 men cook. They all bring a special dish, and you can try as many as you'd like. I probably barely even tried 20, but they were all delicious.

Since I've completed my first month, I want to go back and review! This past week, I didn't quite meet all the goals that I set in my last blog. I did have 6 healthy days, and I did start trying to drink apple cider vinegar! My favorite recipe from my 6 healthy days was a lasagna that I modified from a couple different recipes to make it work for Achieve. I did not work out 3 times. I had a great run/jog/walk one day (2.9 miles in 34 minutes), and I did a Pound workout another day. I got lazy over the weekend and I didn't get to number three. I've decided to keep my goal of working out 3 times weekly until I can do it for 3 weeks in a row. Then, I want to move up to four!

Can you believe this is HEALTHY lasagna?!

Now, here's a little review of a few things from all of the past 4 weeks.

My Successes:
-Gaining energy
-Losing 8.4 lbs in 4 weeks
-Making food prep a habit
-Drinking around 20 glasses of water per day

My Failures: 
-Gaining weight on week 3
-Typically indulging a little too much on junk days
-Not working out enough

Favorite Recipes and/or Products:
-Pasta with fiber gourmet pastas and carba-nada pastas
-Turkey Chili Dog Casserole
-Beef Burritos (made with lean beef and low carb tortillas)
-Wraps with chicken breast strips, veggies, fat-free cheese, and Olive Garden Light Dressing
-Healthy Chicken Mozzarella with home made bread crumbs
-Modified Lasagna (Get the RECIPE!)

One of the best things that I've learned about myself through this process is that I actually DO have self-control. I've been spending all this time making excuses and saying that I'm giving in because I just don't have enough self-control. NOT TRUE. Not once in the whole month have I given into temptations at work or otherwise on a healthy day. Not even ONE leftover Reese cup from Easter...and those are my absolute favorite. ;) Another thing I've learned is that I kinda sorta actually LIKE salads. I don't usually crave salads, but I've learned that they're really satisfying. This is new. In the past, I've always felt unsatisfied after eating a salad. Maybe it was a mental thing, but I never used to feel full. Now that I've been eating so many vegetables on a regular basis, my tastes have begun to change!

Seriously, if I can lose over 8 lbs in 4 weeks, I think anyone can. Anyone out there that's struggling, just know that you're not alone. I gained weight in week 3 of my first month, and I'm sure I'll gain weight again a few times in the coming weeks and months. I am even giving in and having 2 junk days (instead of my usual 1) this week, because, well, I have a life. :P The best thing I've learned is that it IS possible to have fun, have a life, indulge in your cravings, AND STILL lose weight.

Here's to a healthy week!

Stinking Thinking

I'll be honest. I wasn't all that great of a listener yesterday in my last class of my first month of Achieve. See, I GAINED WEIGHT at my weigh-in. It was less than a pound, but it was enough to really get me down. Most of the class I was wallowing in self-pity. Every week, we go through a Power Point presentation. During the last half of the class, we came to a slide about attitude, and there was a bullet point that said "No 'Stinking Thinking'!" Maybe that's not proper grammar, or whatever, but...you get the point. For whatever reason, that phrase struck me. You know how sometimes when you're in church, listening to the radio, or sitting in a class, you hear a phrase and you just KNOW you were meant to hear it. Ok, I got it. I understood...I needed to change my attitude. Good thing it hit me before I even left the class, or else I may have had a terrible week!

Let's look at the bright side(s), because that's what I'm usually good at doing!
1) I've lost about 4.5 lbs in the last 3 weeks, and that's even my one-hour-after-dinner evening weight.
2) I've gained energy. As (I think) I've said before, this is probably one of the most noticeable things for me!
3) I'm starting to finally notice my weight loss...at least a little bit. Wanna know the weirdest place I've noticed weight loss? My FINGERS...?!?!?!?!
4) I feel better. Plain and simple.

So I had a little setback. No big deal. Time to pick myself up and get right back on the healthy train, right? :)

First, let's talk about last week.

My goals were to work out at least twice for 30 minutes each and also to have 6 healthy days. I did work out twice. One workout was only 25 minutes, but we'll go ahead and count it. That particular day, my workout was running/walking, and half of it was UPHILL! Whew. I did meet my goal of 6 healthy days, but I totally took advantage of my junk day on Saturday. Mayyyyybe I indulged a little too much. Whoops! I think my gain came from that as well as having a lazy post-junk day. On Sunday, I just laid around and watched Netflix. I even ordered in (healthy!) food, because I didn't feel like getting up to cook. It was amazing, don't get me wrong, but I should've used my day off more wisely and gone for a walk or done at least something active. I also didn't drink quite as much water on Saturday and Sunday as I usually do. Now, keep in mind, my "usual" water consumption is now up to 20+ cups a day, but I probably drank less than 16 on both of those days.

This was my cheat meal on Saturday. Can you blame me for over-indulging?!

What are my plans for this week?

Once again, I'm going to challenge myself to have 6 healthy days. I'm also going to try to minimize my junk day even more than usual. My second challenge to myself will be to workout THREE days this week for around 30 minutes each. I'm planning on trying to go for Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday this week. I've heard that a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar a day can also be helpful for weight loss, so I may try that. Hopefully in another week I'll have good news for you!

Like I said in the beginning, yesterday was my LAST class of my FIRST month of Achieve. I've decided to be come a "Lifestyler" and continue attending classes. This way, I'll continue to learn, grow, and have a group to keep me accountable every week. A real-life group, that is! Writing this blog is definitely another good accountability measure for me!

The moral of the story is that we all have failures and set-backs. The important thing is that you get back up and try again.

Have a great week, everyone!

***P.S. I've now learned that we will be receiving new journals in my lifestyle class, but I took a few minutes last night to create this document. It mimics the journal that I've been using to hand-write my meals and snacks. I also created a non-Achieve version. Feel free to print these for yourself!***
Achieve Food Journal
Non-Achieve Food Journal

Time to Re-Focus!

Just like that, I’m already halfway through my first month of Achieve! This week, I officially lost another 2.4 lbs at my meeting (5.2 lbs overall!), and I’ve lost 6.5 lbs from morning to morning since Day 1. Week 2 seemed a little harder and slower-going for some reason. This week we were able to add in natural carbs (i.e. potatoes, brown rice, wine, etc.), and I think maybe I took advantage of that fact a bit too much. I also felt like I had a few more cravings this week than I did last week. I still lost weight overall, though, and I'm sooo proud of that! :)

And increase the size of your WHY!

When we first started the class, we all wrote down a couple of our WHYs – our reasons for wanting to lose weight and be healthy. I think I discussed a couple of mine in my very first post, but it’s helpful to re-visit things like that! Motivation, here I come!

My WHYs:

1. Clothes getting tighter (or just plain not fitting anymore!)
2. Not feeling comfortable in my current clothes, because they're tight and show off all of my bulges :/
3. Losing confidence - I want to get back to the confident girl I was several pounds ago! I know she's in there!
4. Prevention of health care issues - I want to prevent things like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar before they lead to more serious issues like heart attack, stroke, and diabetes. As a health care professional, I'm VERY aware of the importance of prevention. I want to practice what I preach!
5. Having more energy - This is one of the main things that I've definitely noticed a difference in since I've started this new lifestyle. Up until 2 weeks ago, I would come home from work most days and just feel exhausted. Now, I'm drinking about HALF as much coffee and diet soda as I was before, and I've only taken a short nap one day out of the last 2 weeks. It probably does help that I recently moved 45 minutes or so closer to work! ;)

MY GOALS

Last week, I said that my goal was to lose 2 pounds at my meeting (which was yesterday!). Somehow, I ended up losing even more than that!. I'd like to make it my goal again this week to lose 2 more pounds. As I mentioned in my last blog, my other goal for this week (today until Monday, April 25th) was to workout at least twice for 30 minutes or more each time. I'm off to a good start! After work today, I came home and did a 30 minute Pound workout. If you don't know what Pound is, it's a super fun workout that uses lightly weighted plastic drum sticks. It REALLY works out your legs, but it's an overall full body workout every time! I love it! Some fitness centers offer it as a group class as well. Check it out at www.poundfit.com! I'm also looking into finding a Zumba class that I could go to once in a while. I'd really like to try to get in 3 workouts this week, but I'd be happy to meet my goal of two!

In no particular order, my favorite workouts are Pound, Zumba/dance, and running/walking outside. A couple of years ago, I started running 5ks. Well, we'll just say jogging. ;) My very first 5k was the Geist 5k in May 2013. I ran the WHOLE thing (except maybe 1-2 minutes uphill) with a time of around 31 minutes. I know that doesn't sound very fast to all you runners out there, but I haven't been able to do that since! I'm not even sure if I could run a whole 3.1 miles in the shape I'm in right now. My long-term workout goals are to be able to run a 5k in 30 minutes or less, and to run/walk a half marathon. I'd like to do both of those in the next 12-18 months. :)

My post-run beer at the Geist 5k!

Now, just for "fun", I'm going to add in one more goal for this week. I want to have SIX healthy days. I've been having 5, and even then, only one big one. My second junk day in week 1 was healthy except for a cupcake, and my second junk day in week 2 was healthy except for a couple evening cocktails at a local distillery. I enjoy taking advantage of my junk days, as I'm  sure is the same for most people! :) My only planned cheat day this week is Saturday. I'm going downtown Indy to see STEVE RANNAZZISI at Crackers! (Any fans of The League out there?!) I'm sure we'll be having dinner out at a restaurant and some yummy drinks at Crackers. Other than that, I'm going to TRY to stay focused and not have any more junk days. I'm far from perfect, though, so we'll see! 

What are some of your WHYs, goals, or favorite workouts??

Here's to re-focusing for another great week! Comments are always appreciated! :)

Work in Progress

Hey y'all!

So, it's week 2. In this post I want to share with you some likes and dislikes, surprises and disappointments, from week 1 and the beginning of week 2. Mostly, it's been pretty easy! The first couple days of my first week were a little rough. I had to change my mindset about eating, and I was hungry a lot. Now that I've learned a bit more, I've gotten more adventurous with my recipes and meals, so it's just gotten easier and easier!

In my last post, I said I'd lost 5.5 pounds from morning to morning. After cheat day on Saturday, that went up a bit (as expected), but I jumped back on the healthy eating train, and now I'm down 6.2 morning to morning. :) In the past week and a half, the biggest thing I've noticed is that I have more energy. Even when I stay up a little later, it's almost easy to get up at 5:30 to cook breakfast and get my lunch and snacks ready for the day...and that is saying A LOT because anyone who knows me knows that I am NOT a morning person. Other things I've noticed include my skin clearing up (it has less dry spots and I'm getting less stupid adult zits), my hair is softer, and I've had changes in my cravings AND appetite. On cheat day, I could only (and only wanted to) finish half of my cheat meal... :-O I get excited for vegetables and lean proteins, and I look forward to my healthy snacks. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait for cheat day this week (PIZZA!!!!), but overall, I'm feeling really satisfied.

The biggest thing that I haven't noticed yet is a change in my clothes. I knew that would happen, though. See, I have this body that's a blessing and a curse. I gain and lose weight very proportionally. So, when I gain weight, it takes a while for my clothes not to fit. I could fit into clothes from high school until the past year or two. The curse part is when I start losing weight, it takes a while for me to notice my clothes fitting less snugly. :) I'm ok with that, though. I know it will come. My goal at the end of these 4 weeks is to feel even the slightest difference in my clothes. Just a tiiiiiny bit. I think I can, I think I can!

(Ok, maybe I don't need my clothes to be THAT loose! ;) )

Some of my favorite products/foods (so far) include the following:
Fiber Gourmet Pastas
Carba-Nada Pastas
Olive Garden Light Dressing (I could put that on EVERYTHING!)
Bell Peppers (I already knew this, but I love them even more now!)
Fat Free Cheeses
Sugar Free Jello with Fat Free Reddi Whip
Health Wise Biscotti

Some of my favorite recipes/meals so far include the following:
Asian Lettuce Wraps (Thanks, Rhonda!)
Chicken Breasts w/ Pampered Chef Buffalo Rub & Roasted Mixed Veggies w/ MCT Oil (or roasted asparagus in MCT oil!)
Spaghetti Fest (Thanks, Nana!)
Fajita-Stuffed Chicken (modified): https://www.buzzfeed.com/alvinzhou/fajita-bajita#.oiNLeKzoo

(Fajita stuffed chicken with mixed veggies and a small glass of wine)

My goal next week's meeting is to have lost 2 more pounds. My goal for next WEEK is to incorporate working out. I will do at least 2 days of 30+ minute workouts between next Tuesday (the 19th) and next Monday (the 25th).  I'm a work in progress. Y'all can keep me accountable. ;)

Until next time!

EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT!

I LOVE CELEBRATING BIRTHDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even when they're not my own! I also love CHEAT MEALS...and WINE. So many of the things that I love are about to happen ALL IN ONE DAY! That made getting out of bed at 5:30 instead of 5:45 or 6 so I could get my food ready for work so much easier. ;) Yeah, that's right. It's "cheat day", but I'm still trying to eating healthy for most of it, at least. I've lost a total of 5.5 lbs from morning to morning since Tuesday, and I don't want to ruin that progress. I'm sure a lot of that is water weight, because I've been drinking at least a gallon of water per day. Yesterday I had 20 8-oz cups plus my usual coffee and coke zero throughout the day. Either way, this week has been a lot easier than I thought it would be, and I'm excited about the weeks to come!

Hope everyone else's weekend is just as great! Cheers! :)

I Love This Crazy, Tragic, Sometimes Almost Magic, Awful, Beautiful Life…

That’s a country song, if you didn’t know. ;) I feel like it pretty accurately describes my life over the past week. Between packing, moving, unpacking, and just trying to do normal every day things, it’s been a whirlwind! We are OFFICIALLY moved into the new apartment, and my drive to work is approximately 6 minutes. I can’t say enough how excited that makes me!

Monday night was my first Achieve meeting, and I woke up Tuesday morning so ready to start this journey. I weighed myself, showered, ate breakfast, made coffee, and got ready for the day. I’m a pharmacist, and today my job was clinical. Clinical means I’m up on the floors in the hospital, and, if needed, I respond to certain codes and stroke alerts. Luckily, these don't necessarily happen all the time. Of course, my first day of Achieve would be the day. I’d never been to a code blue OR a stroke alert by myself, and before 11am BOTH had been called! Talk about a stressful day! All I wanted when I got home was to sit on the couch and drink a glass of wine. Ha! On a positive note, I’m glad I got some experience…and it distracted me from my hunger between breakfast and lunch! ;)

I really think this will be a great program for me. I feel more motivated than ever before, and somehow I’m not completely overwhelmed…YET. It definitely helps to know people who have been in the program, so I am thankful for that. 

Monday night, one of the things we talked about was that we each have a “diet demon”…or demons! Yesterday, I can say FOR SURE that I know exactly what one of my diet demons is. WORK. There are so many food distractions and temptations. All in the same day, I got offered a free slice of pie that someone had gotten from the cafeteria, there were cupcakes up on the floor for one of the nurse’s birthdays, and there was talk of buying pizza after we reach a certain goal as a pharmacy. 

Today, I found another set demon. Convenience. I had a doctor’s appointment this morning and then I had an appointment to turn in my keys and garage door openers at my previous apartment. I was leaving the south side of Indy around noon, and I was HUNGRY. I had my Achieve book with me, so I looked at some of the things I could grab from restaurants. I decided on Chick-fil-A grilled nuggets and a side salad, so I drove all the way there, and the line was CRAZY. I didn’t want to go inside because my car was packed to the brim with the remainder of the stuff from my apartment. Thankfully, I’d brought a Quest bar with me in case I needed a snack, but what I really wanted to do was to just run into Penn Station across the street and get a club sandwich and their AMAZING fries. I kept myself together, though. I ate half of my quest bar and made myself a wrap when I got home. 

Overall, my first two days have been good! I was pretty hungry between lunch and dinner yesterday, but I think it was more of a mental thing. Today has been better. I know that this is just the beginning, but I’m determined to succeed. Mostly, I’m determined to NOT give up if and when I fail and have an accidental junk day or I give in and have pizza or cupcakes at work instead of sticking to my plan! :) The next few days may pose a challenge, because I’m working evening shifts, but, again, I’m determined to succeed! 

Here's to a healthy week! 

Happy Thursday!

Happy Thursday!

In exactly ONE DAY I’m moving into a new apartment that’s WAY closer to work. I. Cannot. Wait. This also means that in 4 days, I’ll be starting the Achieve program. Before I start, I thought I’d lay out some challenges that I’ve faced in the past with other programs and brainstorm ideas on how to avoid those again.

1) Food Prep

This has ALWAYS been one of my biggest personal health and fitness struggles. If I have food prepped and ready to go for the week (mainly breakfasts/lunches), I do alright...most of the time. However, there are times that laziness or the food-lover in me kicks into over-drive. For example, the laziness comes out when I don't "feel" like actually going to the grocery and taking a few hours to cook food for the week or next few days. The food-lover comes out when I already have stuff prepped, but then I decide it's not what I want, so I buy something less healthy for lunch instead. I also tend to run a bit on the late side in the mornings (Any NON-morning people out there?!), so when I don't have my breakfast and/or lunch already packed, I may be in too much of a hurry to pack it before I leave or I may just think "forget it, I can't be late, I'll get something at work", even if it won't be healthy.

Things I Can Do:

-Make more easy, freeze-able meals

-Plan more (but how, exactly?)

-Get up earlier and/or pack lunches on work nights

I honestly am not sure what exactly I can do. Suggestions would be appreciated! I guess I'm not 100% sure how to MAKE myself be motivated to take several hours out of my day off to prep food or how to convince myself to take a few extra minutes at night to pack a lunch when I'm already exhausted.

2) Not Having "Enough" Success

I feel like this can be a big hindrance for me. Logically, I know that these things take time and you don't always see results right away. Especially if I'm going to be getting in shape and building muscle, the scale might not necessarily always be the best judge of success. However, mentally/psychologically, it's hard for me to continue with enthusiasm if I see little to no success within the first week or two of a change.

Things I Can Do:

-Stay active on the Achieve social media site

-Continue going to meetings

-Enlist accountability partners to encourage me. 

Suggestions would be appreciated here too! I think I'll start with a small goal. Starting Monday, every time I find myself disappointed in my success (or lack thereof), I'll try to write down one thing I'm proud of from the previous week or day.

3) Making time for working out

Honestly, I think this might change for me, but historically, it's been a struggle. Since I'm moving closer to my work on April 1st (no, that's not an April Fool's joke), I'll only be driving 10 minutes one-way instead of almost an hour! WOO HOO! Spending 2 hours of my day in my car is exhausting, even though it's just sitting. If I'm going to work out when I come home, I have to be REALLY motivated. Consequently, the number of workouts per week I've done lately has dwindled.

Things I Can Do:

-Bring workout clothes with me to work

-Have a workout area ready to go at home

-Plan ahead, schedule out my day, and DON'T COMPROMISE

By bringing clothes to work, I can go straight to the gym or to the walking trail or wherever it is I need to go without first sitting on the couch and realizing I missed last night's episode of Scandal. Another thing I tend to do a lot is make excuses and compromise. For example, if I plan to workout at 3:45pm after work on Tuesday, and then everyone decides to go to happy hour after work, I need to prioritize and just go do my workout instead of making excuses like, "I'll work out tomorrow."

4) Prioritizing

I'm sure I'm not the only one, but there are so many times when I do what I WANT to do rather than what I SHOULD do. It's a constant battle. This kind of ties in to all of the previous 3 challenges that I've dealt with. I might get a wrap from the cafeteria at work instead of bringing and eating one of the lunches I prepared for the week. I might go to happy hour with coworkers or friends instead of going home to work out or do food prep. I might get caught up in a TV show that I missed and decide the couch is way more appealing than a workout session or cooking a healthy dinner. You get the gist.

What I can do: 

-Make a list and put it somewhere obvious

-Start making my health a priority

Hopefully in time I'll be able to bring updates on what actually works for me and be able to share strategies I've discovered. :)

What are some of your challenges and goals??

How do you stay motivated and prioritize to help you stay on track??

T-Minus 8 Days

Let's start with an intro. I'm Courtney. My nickname is CoCo, but that's a story for another time.

I'm a pharmacist, lover of Jesus, and Butler grad. I love food and wine and especially trying NEW food and wine, which is probably how I got myself into this mess. Let me explain.

This is a picture of me from Saturday.

This is a picture of me from 5 years ago.

In 2013, I graduated pharmacy school, and a few months later, I got out on my own and moved into my own apartment. During the last few years, I've tried diets and workout plans and accountability partners. Sometimes I was trying to lose weight, sometimes just trying to maintain, but every time I eventually fell off the wagon.

I've never been "skinny", as you can see. I'm the hungry one on the left. :)

I've always struggled a bit with my body image (haven't we all?!), but I've really never felt uncomfortable in my own skin until now. To be honest, I don't have an excuse for how I let myself get this far. I imagine it was a combination of too many unhealthy meals, too many glasses of wine, and not enough self-control. 

Starting on April 4, I'll be joining Achieve. If you don't know what Achieve is, join the club. Ok, I guess I do know a little bit about the program. I know several people that have joined and had a lot of success, including my mom! From what I understand, it's a lot like Weight Watchers or similar programs. Weekly meetings, online tools, and food logging. One of my favorite things about the program (from what I hear!) is that I'll be learning which different combinations of foods to eat and the WHY behind each of those combinations. I think it will be a good kick in the rear to get me back on track and eating healthily again.

I don't really feel comfortable sharing my weight or measurements yet, but I as I continue my journey, I might begin sharing more. Until then, I'll share my goals.

My goals:

1) Lose weight - of course. My goal is to lose 30 pounds at a reasonable rate of 1-2 pounds per week.

2) Lower my cholesterol. I've never had high cholesterol, but at my health screening for work a few weeks ago, it was on the border. 

3) Get in shape! I don't have a specific goal or timeline here. However, I would like to run a half marathon within the next year or two.

4) Gain confidence back. I've really lost a lot of confidence within the last year. I've probably gained 20 pounds in the last 2 years, and although I'm a successful, independent woman, it's made me a lot less confident in myself.

I'll be using this blog to share my ACHIEVEments (see what I did there?) as well as my failures. I'm also hoping to share and review new recipes, strategies, and workouts. I may throw in a few non-Achieve-related blog posts here and there as well, just to keep you on your toes. ;) Hopefully this will also serve as my accountability tool. 

I will NOT fall off the wagon this time!