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!