NEW BLOG _ NEW CHALLENGE

Hi All!

I have moved on to a new challenge and a new blog! Since I probably wont be updating this one anymore please follow me over at: http://anotherdietingbride.blogspot.com/

I look forward to reconnecting with you all!

Thanks for your continued support! LOVE YA!

Day 43:paying the price

Well, it is 3am and I am blogging, not because I want to but because I am on the couch right now "recovering".

Last night, I went out with a few friends for a fancy dinner at Fiamma Trattoria & Bar in the MGM Grand for Restaurant Week here in Vegas. Which means that a bunch of restaurants are offering a set menu and the proceeds benefit Three Square Food bank! It is really an awesome program because we have the chance to sample some of the best restaurants in Vegas- for a great price AND you get to help out a charity! Here is the link: http://www.threesquare.org/events/event-calendar/restaurant-week/ I hear they actually run the program in a bunch of cities.

Anyway, we had a few choices on the set menu (http://www.threesquare.org/fiamma-trattoria-bar/) and OF COURSE I picked the heaviest most unhealthy ones: the crispy calamari, ravioli & panna cotta. Let me tell you- It was DEEEELISCIOUS my friend and paired with a few glasses of wine .... a great evening.

Well, that is until 3 am.

If you are dieting maybe you can relate when I say I now have a "delicate" tummy. It's not use to heavy creams, alcohal, fried foods, oil- you know the ingredients that make food actually taste good. I ate/drank it all! Now the dieting gods are ANGRY. They told me so when they woke up 30 minute ago with a rumbling tumbling in my bowels. Ugh so angry with me- and I am paying the price as I run to the restroom for the 4th time while I write this. The Vegetarian Godess is laughing at me right now the way I scoffed at someone last night who preached her ways. When will I learn????? Probably never.

Until then I gotta run to the bathroom...

Day 44: On the Go, GO, Go

I am so busy this week and it's reeking havoc on my diet. I don't think I can make it to the gym until at least Sat. because I've got something going on every night this week. Yesterday I went to weight watchers and weighed in at 147. I can't really complain about it since at least I am staying between 145-147, just bouncing back and forth between those two numbers.

Tomorrow I am going out for dinner with friends, friday a concert (with open bar) and then it's Labor day weekend! Sheeesh.... if you've read this blog before you know I have serious trouble with unrestricted eating. I just wanted to be able to track this week. And that is so hard for me when I am out and about. So I guess my only plan of action is to try to eat light for the early meals so I can save as many points as possible for the evening.

I tell ya, today I really contemplated going back to the doctor and trying the other medication she suggested. But I reeeeeally want to lose this last 15 by myself. I am going to give it a couple more weeks and see if I can get my shit straight.

talk to you tomorrow.

Day 46: That evil shrimp wrap

Ugh, today was a tough one. I swear I had the best intentions when I went to Applebees for lunch. I mean, how many calories could that shrimp wrap really have anyway??? I figured It wasnt the best choice, but I didnt think it would be... 850 calories! SHIT! Eight hundred and fifty fricken 'calories! What did they put in that thing? Lard? It was good yes, but worth over half of my daily calories - definately not. You can probably guess how the rest of the day turned out. I guess you live and you learn.

Part of the problem was I was hungry when I walked in and everything on that damn menu looked delicious!

It's times like these that I miss my special "pills". I know it sounds terrible but I really miss the control I had when I took them and the fact that I hardly ever experienced hunger. Sigh. I guess all good things have to come to an end.

Sometimes I wonder if I am going to be able to take these last 15 pounds off by myself. I wouldn't say I was addicted to the pills but I had such amazing control and THAT feeling was addicting. I could eat a dry salad for lunch and feel completely satisfied. I never thought about food. I mean its not like I've gone back to my old ways completely but sometimes it scares me that I get so hungry. I really don't want to gain this weight back.

At least tomorrow is a new day.

-L

Ps- to the reader who asked yesterday: It's Bontril

Let's try this again....

No, I did not fall off the end of the earth- or off the weight loss wagon either. In fact, I have actually been doing pretty well since my last post. I am now down to my lowest weight since 2002! 146 pounds! I have lost a total of 50 pounds in the past 2 years and 3 months- and about 25 of those pounds in the last 4 months.

Maybe I took the easy way out.

Yes, I will admit it. I've had a little help from my doctor. She gave me something to make it ALOT easier to follow my diet. I know some might consider it cheating. But I'm okay with that, because I would do it over again in a second. The medication she gave me was only to be taken for a short period of time and unfortunately, since my body built up a tolerance to it by the end of the prescription it was loosing it's effect.

Now, I have 45 days until my 31rst birthday and i am still 15 pounds from my goal.

I am on my own again- no doctor's prescription.

I am back to Weight Watchers and back to working out again.

And I am back to daily journaling.

I can hit my goal.

So, now I just have to figure out a new way to stay motivated to do it.

So... back to the tried and true.



See ya tomorrow & See ya lighter ; )

No more excuses, just get it done.

watching celebrity fit club right now, feeling pretty crapola about myself. I have been unmotivated, stuck in the sand. I have every opportunity to lose, I have tons of tools right now--- a new season of Celebrity fit club and Biggest loser, a gym membership, weight watchers at work (with my favorite leader) --- I just cant "get into it." I want to break thru to the other side of 30, but I just cant commit!!!! UgH! I feel like I get started full speed ahead and then I waver when temptation is in front of me. I need to have an explosive month and really hunker down so I can get past this place where I have been for sooooooooo long.... tommorow is my ww meeting. Tomorrow is the day. I have decided to grab on and push through it. 157 - my first goal - I need it.

I cant believe you're still following me...

for real... it has been awhile since my last update. I am amazed that I still have followers. Thanks for hangin in there! Or at least thanks for not logging on to your accounts for the last 4 months.... hahah.

At least I have good news to report- I am down 1.6 pounds this week! I have to be honest tho, I haven't really tried. Actually, I have't been trying for at least a month now. Ever since I started the process of buying a house I have been completely consumed with it and can not get back into my groove again.

And I've been eating out. For every meal. I am hoping things will get back to normal again soon and some sort of motivation will creep back into my life.

Regardless of all this, I managed to lose 1.6 pounds. And the only thing I can attribute it to is the fact that I have given up chocolate and bread for Lent. So far I have been doing really well with it. I must have been eating a lot of bread and chocolate! haha. Seriously tho, a lot of shit is made from bread!!! You dont realize it until you give it up. I am still not exactly sure what I consider "bread". I mean really bread is yeast and flour. But I have kind of extended it to muffins, crutons, pretzels, tortillas... the jury is still out on pancake.... I mean its more like cake right???? What do you think???

See u lighter!

My Moto-board

I am proud to say I was 2 pounds down this week for a total of 7 pounds since the New Year! And now my goal is to loose just 3 more pounds before February for a total of 10. I am really focused on losing 10 pounds a month for the next three months... I know it is attainable I just have to stick with plan and track, track track.

This year in attempt to focus on changing my eating pattern I have decided to really study my habits and keep a record of how I do daily, weekly and monthly to see when and why I have my most successful weeks. I have created a Motivational board, I keep it in the kitchen, the most tempting room in the house!

On the board I have the following posted:

1) Motivational stories or photos of people who have lost weight
2) A weight watchers monthly calendar given to us by our leader, with daily inspirational sayings.
3) A record of the weight I have lost thus far, I cross of the numbers as I lose the pounds
4) Old trackers- in case I need to go back and see a record of past weeks
5) A gym schedule with all the aerobic classes and times offered.
6) My Biggest Loser calendar, I write down my exercise and point values per day, if I have a "fail day" - a day where I do not track, follow plan & exercise I highlight that day with a blue highlighter, this way I can visually see how well I did each month and monitor myself every day. Sometimes I write notes in there too, I also think it helps to keep me honest.

I'm really excited about my moto-board! I think it will really help keep me this year...

Soooo... what do you use for your motivation?

See ya lightr!
L

Another year, Another goal

Well if you are still here with me I thank you for sticking in there! I know I lost some readers during my hiatus and I cant say I blame them for leaving. It's been pretty boring here for the last few months... nothing new... except the fact that I gained 14 pounds since my birthday!

No, Im dead serious. Fourteen fucking pounds.

Im not bitter, Im not angry. Im just motivated. I know what I have to do and I am fairly confident that I can do it.

I have a great system all set in place and I am ready to fight this thing head on. I am back to Weight Watchers, and a new season of Biggest Loser is on... it's a NEW YEAR! Of course!!! It's time to set new goals.

This time I am prepared to be more aggressive with my weigh loss battle. Kicking it up a notch. Working out harder. And getting more diligent about my diet. No more half-assing it.

Two Sundays ago I went back to Weight Watchers and weighed in at... 174 pounds. There I said it- 174 points. I decided right there and then that I would lose more weight that next week, then I had in any other "starting week" on Weight Watchers (and I have started many times!) The most I had ever lost in a week was 5 pounds.

The leader told us a funny little quote at last weeks meeting, "The plan works a little if you do it a little, The plan works a lot if you do it a lot." That is my mantra, and all that chanting it really helped- I LOST 5.6 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What helped?
My leader told us if we did the following things we WOULD lose weight last week:
1. Write everything down that you eat and drink.
2. track your hunger through out the day
3. Mark your 35 points if you use them.
4. calculate all your portion sizes.
5. Eat fruit and vegetables 5x a day.

I really tried to do all those things last week, plus I worked out a shit-ton.

So, I feel like I'm back and I have some motivation to share- so if you are still hanging in there- I promise to update more often!

See ya lighter!
L

Been MIA

Sorry that I have been MIA since my birthday- please feel free to check out my other blog: http://thebiggestloserchallenge2009.blogspot.com/ as I will be updating that more frequently for the time being.

Thanks & See ya Lighter!

L

Day 1: Happy Birthday to me: A brand new day, a brand new life

Happy Birthday to me... happy birthday to me...

I can not believe today is the day. Sort of anticlimactic actually. HAH!

As promised I went to WW and weighed in at: 160 pounds. Kinda far from my goal. But if you would have asked me a year and a half ago if I ever thought I could seriously lose 40 pounds. I would have said No. In fact I had very little confidence that I could ever change my life or my appearance. And then little by little I started making small changes. And those small changes started adding up. Now I fully believe that I will hit my goals, I am proud of myself thus far.

In retrospective, it isnt just the number on the scale that is important, it's other stuff too. It's the other accomplishments that really mean something, its the reward from working hard. So I decided to list those, just to remind myself.

30 Changes & Accomplishments:

3o.  I actually like taking pictures of myself again!

29.  I have elbows that "point" again

28. My double chin has shrunk considerably

27. My skin is so much clearer

26. My upper arms are rounded instead of totally flat- they actually have definition

25: My rings are loose!

24: I enjoy shopping for clothes again.

23: I am taking more pride in my appearance

22. I actually enjoy the feeling of hunger, I can appreciate it. (I know that sounds weird)

21. I ran 2 5ks this year!

20. I played on a soccer team during the spring.

19. I scored a goal!

18. My collar bones are starting to come out again!

17. You can start to see my spine 

16. I can feel my ribs again!

15. I can get drunk off 2 drinks again! haha

14. My neighbor told me yesterday that she didn't recognize me because I lost weight (the last time I saw her was 2 months ago)

13. My co-worker commented, "look how good Luzanne looks!" to another co-worker

12. I get full rather quickly.

11. My feet have gotten smaller!  ( i didnt know they did that)

10. My Fiance seems to really like my new look : )

9. I dont get winded by doing a simple task.

8. Crossing my legs again.

7. i had to buy a new bathing suit because the other was too loose.

6. Fitting into old clothes!

5. When I put my hair up, my neck looks much thinner than it use to.

4. My boobs stick out further then my belly!

3. Shaving my legs is easier.

2. Taking (and loving) a Zumba class.

1. Changing my entire view of my life and my abilities.

I may not have hit my mark by my 30th birthday, but I am really proud of what I accomplished so far this year. And I absolutely know that in the next year I will hit my ultimate goal (less than 130). I may be taking it slow, but I will get there- just you watch me.

So, I realized that I miscalculated and maybe today should have been day "0" since my postings counted down to my birthday. Then again maybe it SHOULD be a one since technically this is the first day of the next year of my new life.

See ya lighter!

Luzanne

Also, thanks to everyone for your support through this personal challenge. Your comments have meant so much to me along the way. Merci!!!! XOXOX

Day 2: Less that one hour left!

Less than one hour until the BIG day! I can't believe it is almost here— and that I am spending my last minutes in my twenties blogging! I feel like I should be out doing something crazy and uninhibited. Like sky diving, or just drinking myself into oblivion!  

I gotta tell ya though, I am starving right now! I didnt really eat dinner. I am hoping to pull some sort of loss at the 11th hour. Even if I have to restrict my intake, it would be worth it if the scale shows some movement. Tomorrow I am going to have an official WW weigh in and I will report the results to you ASAP.

Sigh... well I better go... I have only 40 minutes left to go run the streets naked- or something like that! See you all tomorrow--- keep those fingers crossed that I wake up weighing 130. HAH! I'll need a miracle for that...

See ya lighter!

L

Day 3: I am sorry

Lately, I've been posting negative postings about how frustrated and angry I have been at myself for not being committed to losing, even though things are really hard with company the past couple weeks. Unstructured time is hard, but it's life! And today something really wonderful happened- my grandma got married! It was a really nice moment and I want to concentrate on that today. I dont want to feel bad because I ate a piece of their wedding cake. I cant keep stressing myself out over the scale thing (as I always do). Who cares if I dont lose any more weight before my birthday? I've come a long way!

Yesterday i bought the dress I wore to the wedding- at a boutique! AND IT FITS. In fact, I bought 4 dresses! It was a great feeling to know that I could do that. I can now pick out a nice dress in one day, one store- actually only one hour! Being able to do that is a huge, huge accomplishment for me... as much as losing on the scale. 

 I want to be thankful for all these great things happening in my life... like our families and how great it's been to share these moments with them. Even if I don't lose another pound before my birthday weigh in- wonderful things are happening around me and I need to concentrate on that too.

-Luzanne

Day 4; More family in town

Not a completely wasted day, but I may have gone a bit overboard with the chips and salsa at dinner. Plus no time for exercise. Sorry if my posts have been boring lately- but when real life starts taking over, my internet life suffers : (. I promise I will be back & better than ever soon.  I miss reading everyone else's blogs... thanks for your continued encouragement!

See ya lighter.

Day 5: jumping back on

I'm jumping back on the plan. Today I had a good day. Probably because i slept in until 2 pm! Pretty good food choices up until late evening when I had a slice of the leftover strawberry shortcake from yesterday. But the cake is made with fruit- so it cant be completely bad for me - right? Then I went for a mile long walk up to Walgreens (although I bought some gummy worms while there) AND I did 30 min. on the elliptical! (and then drank a beer & vodka shot).

Okay, so maybe I'm not perfect but I did a hella lot better than I have the past few days- so I guess thats improvement.

See ya lighter.

Luzanne

Oh, btw I am skipping my ww meeting tomorrow so I can go on my actual birthday.

day 6: Grooooooooan

I am fasting for the next 6 days - starting now.

Day 7: Ugh I want to cry

I am so frustrated!!!! I just want to eat healthy but with family in town and no structure- It is so hard!!!! I am not mad at myself - I'm just really frustrated. I feel like no matter what my intentions are I cant pull through - and I feel like it's out of my hands. So many curveballs and so much stress. I sort of feel like I've put a lot of pressure on myself to lose a lot of weight this week to end my challenge on a higher note. But I just cant control shit and it's driving me CRAZY!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! I love having family here I just wish I could stick with my diet when they are around.

Day 8: Big disapointment

With one week till my birthday- I am really disappointed in myself tonight. I went WAY overboard with eating. 

The fiance's parents are in town and I made awful choices for myself when we went out to eat.... sigh..... I am going to forgive myself, forget my mistake and start fresh tomorrow.

Day 9: Is it possible to eat out and still lose weight?

http://thebiggestloserchallenge2009.blogspot.com

Day 10: Adieu point 22...

So as you may or may not know, in weight watchers every time you drop into a new bracket of numbers you must adjust the amount of points you can have daily. Now that I have reached 159 pounds I am down to 21 points. And if you have been following my blog you know that I honor the old point with a little poem. So here goes...

The time has come

To bid you adieu,

For we now must part,

My sweet 22

In good times and bad,

you've helped get me through,

When the hunger would strike

There was sweet 22.

I'd feel a deep ache

and my tummy would growl,

Standing at the fridge

you'd let me prowl.

Hmmm...Popcorn & fruit, 

or a low cal snack,

You would be there,

For my late night attack.

Growing closer and closer

 to my awaited goal,

I have to be better,

And stop stuffing my pie-hole.

So, dearest point 22

I've finally got wise,

For I'm on this trip

to lose these fat thighs!

Hope you enjoyed!

See ya lighter.

Luzanne