Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Today I turned 27 years old. I feel old. 30 is just around the corner. But despite that... I still love my birthday. The week of my birthday has always been a big deal to me and I don't feel one bit ashamed for letting everyone know just how excited I get about my birthday! I love it! It's the one time of year that I can guilt all my friends into getting together at one time to do something fun. This year a couple have crapped out on me (but I guess I can let it slide since one just had a baby 2 weeks ago and the other is 8 months pregnant. lol).


So today... I was bought lunch. I had a healthy splurge and got a whole wheat tuna wrap and some pretzels. It was ok... nothing too spectacular, but still at least it was something new and different (and free! Thanks Tonja!)

That's all for now. More about my birthday later.... yes, there will be at least a couple birthday post. It's a week long celebration in my world. :-)

Weigh-In Day

Well, despite the fact that I didn't do as great this week with the eating and exercise... I still had pretty good results. Down another 2.8 pounds this week! Woo hoo! That puts me at 215.6. I had a goal of 215 by my birthday (which is this coming Tuesday!) and now I think it's totally possible.

:-)

I'm really in disbelief!

I just ran my farthest (and longest time) consecutively!!! I really can't even believe it myself! I ran 1.1 miles (14 minutes) straight with no stopping!!! Not a big deal to a lot of people, but a MAJOR milestone for this chubby girl.

I never thought I would be able to do that. Really... even doing the C25K program, running a whole mile straight was still seeming like an impossible goal for me.

I don't think I've ever felt more accomplished or proud of myself. So, yeah... I'm tooting my own horn right now! Yay for me!!!

I'm cheating on my boyfriend with a man named Joe.

You probably know Joe. (a.k.a.- T.J. or Trader Joe). Well, I guess it's not cheating if my boyfriend knows about it, right? haha.

Anyway... a trip to Trader Joe's makes me SO happy (and a little frazzled). I get so excited and want to get so much that my brain gets a little scrambled. Suddenly I can't think of what meals to make, what ingredients to put together, what to buy. Next thing you know, I've crammed my basket full of random goodies and can't even remember what I grabbed. But then I get home and I see all my treasure for the evening.....

... and it's an oddly comforting feeling.

Until the panic sets in again when I think "Now, how do I decide what to eat for dinner?"

Weekly Challenge

This week our weekly challenge for Amy's 15 Week Challenge was to recreate an "unhealthy" meal in a healthier way. I chose to do pizza... because I love pizza. And I don't get to eat it too often anymore

I used:
-Trader Joe's frozen Naan (one piece of naan makes a pretty decent sized slice of pizza).
-Trader Joe's marinara sauce (though I'm sure you could use whatever sauce you like).
-Assorted veggies. (I had mushrooms, green peppers and banana peppers on mine).
-Low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese.


Just build your slice, pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes and there ya go.

(Please excuse my crappy picture. Took it with my phone.)



They are darn tasty!!! Usually I eat mine with a side salad and one slice of pizza and it totally fills me up. Depending on what sauce, cheese and veggies you use... one large slice is around 200-250 calories. Even the Boyfriend liked it!

I'm celebrating by taking a nap.

Quick Update:
Did my second 5K race this morning with my BFF, Mrs. B! Yay for us!

The last race I finished in 46:48. It looks like (still waiting on the "official" results) I finished this one in 42:42!!! Holy crap, people! I shaved like 4 minutes off my last time! Woo hoo!

And now... I think it's time for a nap.

Weigh-In Day!

Well.... It's weigh-in day! For the first time I was excited for it to get here. I lost 3 pounds this week! I can't believe it! Well, I worked really hard this week, so maybe I can believe it. I don't know if maybe last week I was just carrying around some water weight, or maybe it's all the bananas I've been eating (I've never really liked bananas but been trying to learn to eat them to help with all the sore muscles and stuff from exercising... which I've done 4 times this week so far!), or maybe it's because I've been really good about keeping my calories low and eating often to keep my metabolism up. Or maybe it's just a combination of all 3. No matter what caused it... I'll take it. This is the least I have weighed in 3 years!

I joined Amy's 15 Week Challenge. Unfortunately I signed up and sent her my weight before I had found out that I gained a pound last week. So for the 15 Week Challenge, I really only lost 2 pounds this week based on what I had told her was my starting weight. Still pretty awesome though.

This week was especially tough because of all the obstacles at work. There was a free ice cream social (and I gave my ticket for free ice cream away to a co-worker). There was a 4th of July potluck lunch. I made this cake for the lunch.

It was very well received by everyone. Then I got hounded to get some food. So I went and put some food on a plate (to appease my saboteurs) and then gave it to a co-worker as well. All in all, I think I did pretty great resisting the temptation.

I just really want to get past the "wall" that I always get stuck at. Technically I am past the 219-220 hump that I always start my self-sabotage around, but I won't consider myself truly past it until I reach at least 215 or so. I can hear the 100s calling my name. Only 18.4 pounds away.
Tomorrow is my 2nd 5K race of the year. I'm still a little scared. I know I still won't be able to run the whole thing. But I want to finish in under 45 minutes at least. I finished the last one in 46:48 . I'm still stuck on week 4 of my C25K. It just never seems to get much easier so I'm reluctant to move on to Week 5 but next week I'm hoping to give it a real shot. Tomorrow is also a 4th of July BBQ at the Boyfriends parents' house. Hopefully I can survive it without undoing all the hard work I've done this week... at least I'll get in 5K before all the unhealthy food comes looking for me.

That's all for now, kids. Have a fabulous weekend!