We did it. Well, actually I did it. I've been obsessing over one of these for the better part of 2 years......

Disclaimer: Please ignore my
hideous/no makeup/very tired face!

Yup. That's right. The big daddy of blenders, the Vitamix. I strolled (or as mom said, skipped) through Costco with a wad of cash ready to buy the basic Vitamix. But, when I saw the new version demo, I knew I had to have the latest and greatest. Preset timer settings for smoothies, ice treats, and soups? Gotta have it. No question. After some internal debating and a phone call to the hubster, (and of course his usual response "get whatever you want my love") the Vitamix 6300 was in the cart. If you wanna look this bad boy up - just know I did NOT pay the amount on the website. I did get a deal. The purchase at the end was upwards of $500, but I don't care. My mom thinks I'm insane, as does my husband but he wants to make me happy. ;-) 

In honor of my new purchase and the multiple people who have asked me what would possess me to buy a blender this expensive, I'll post a new series on my blog - The 7 Days of Vitamix. I'll share recipes I've either made up myself and/or out of one of the many recipe books/websites available.  Of course, nothing short of driving to your house and firing it up in your house will truly show how awesome this thing is, but I'll give it a try anyways!

Steady downhill grade!

I started a smoothie "diet" plan, which I kind of made up myself with the help of the documentary I mentioned in this post. I have a veggie/fruit smoothie for breakfast, a healthy lunch, and then another large smoothie for dinner.

In 3 days I've lost 6.4 pounds!

I am excited because not only is this really easy to do, but I can definitely see myself doing smoothies for a least 1 meal a day for a VERY long time. It's more of a lifestyle change and I am getting all the vitamins I need so it's quite healthy! I don't have a countdown on when I am going to stop this phase, just going until I get sick of it or I reach my goal, which is 80 lbs (big number I know). Whew!

Must See!

Anyone struggling to lose weight, be healthy, or want to watch an inspiring documentary, turn on your Netflix and watch Fat Sick & Nearly Dead. A man goes on a 60 day juice "fast" which is all fresh fruits and veggies and exercises, and loses a ton of weight and is able to get off all of the medication he has needed to take. He gets blood tests taken regularly to make sure nothing in his body is reacting negatively and it doesn't - in fact it is working better than it ever has! He shares his journey and inspires someone else and the results are nothing short of fantastic. They are also supervised by doctors and are not starving their body of anything and the doctors recommend it. I'll be starting my 60 days on the juice when I get back from California, and I am so excited!

The big 2-0

I hit it! This morning my total tally weight loss on day 18 was a wonderful 20.2 lbs lost! I can actually say I am thrilled. I know it's a drop in the bucket compared to the 100 I would eventually like to lose but it's my first big milestone. With any other diet I've done I've quit by this point. Never have I made it 18 days on such a strict diet ( or even a relaxed diet for that matter) and not cheated at all. When I cook for other people ( mothers day or a dinner for others) I usually taste to make sure it has the right flavor but for 18 days I haven't even done that! I have cooked by smell and that's about it, not once sampling the meal.
I am really proud of myself and I can't wait to finish off these last 25 days and hopefully be 40 pounds lighter!

Yesterday's food
4oz chicken breast, sliced tomato, and apple for lunch
4oz lean 97% beef homemade patty and tomato for dinner
3+ liters of water through out the day, which I need more of.

Oops I Did It Again

So it's no secret, I am trying to change my eating habits and lose weight. I don't want to do some fab diet and then turn around, go back to what I was eating before and gain it all back. I was over the moon when I lost 7+ lbs in 2 weeks. I was eating a ton of fresh veggies and fruit and lean fish and meat, but mostly fish. Then I got over confidant, slacked on exercise, and slacked on the food choices.....and I have not lost a single bit of weight since. I haven't gained either though, so I guess I know I can maintain once I lose it all!

FatSecret.com

I am now trying my very best to lose the weight I posted about a couple entries back. My big goal would be to lose 100 lbs. Ideally I would like to complete that by the end of 2011 so I am starting off highly motivated and excited. The key to this for me is going to be persistence. I can rock a diet for a week or two no problem, then I get complacent and fall of the wagon. The key is going to be about 2 weeks in, seeing if I am just as highly motivated as I was in the beginning.

I did try weight watchers last year and I didn't stick with it for very long. Probably in my mind I just wasn't ready to make that change even though on the outside I was telling everyone I was. I made excuses all the time and swore to myself I would do better tomorrow and then I just stopped completely. Which boggles my mind because it was working. For the couple weeks I actually truly stuck to it, I lost an average of 2.5 lbs a week. I think in my head I thought it was easy and I didn't need to try so hard and if I had some slips it wasn't a big deal. However, I gained back what I lost and then some. One of my favorite parts of weight watchers (online) was the food tracker. I would enter everything I ate and it would track the points for me and let me know how much I have left for the day. It was great because I could really see the difference in the days I consumed several processed foods vs. the natural fruits, veggies, and meat. I found by comparing I was easily able to eat more and feel more satisfied on the natural stuff. It also let me see what food filled me up easiest so that I was not prone to snacking tons through out the day.

Right before the New Year I surfed around the internet and tried to find something similar that I could use this time around and didn't have to pay a monthly fee, but I didn't find anything that I really liked. A couple days ago I was surfing the app store on my iPad when I stumbled upon an app called calorie counter. It was free, and so I thought I might as well give it a go, considering I was planning on doing the old fashioned calorie counting system for my weight loss anyways. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I set my account up (free account) and then discovered this app is connected to the website FatSecret.com which is also free. The app has everything the website has, but the website also encourages you to join groups of people in the same quest for weight loss as you have. There is a ton of motivation in these groups. You can track you food diary, your weight diary, and your exercise, along with a database of tips and healthy recipes. Every day it will break down the protein, carbs, and fat you've consumed along with the calories. It automatically divides your day regarding exercise for 8 hours sleep and 16 hours "resting" which could be driving, sitting at your desk, or whatever you do normally. If you exercise all you need to do is enter it in (type of activity and for how long) and sub it for an equal amount of your "resting" time and it calculates the total calories your body burns in a 24 hour period based on your entries and shows you exactly what your calorie intake and output is. It does all the work for me, which I LOVE. You can view the tracker in different formats so you can see the different levels daily, weekly, or monthly. It also has a massive database of just about any food you can think of with the nutritional value saved right there, which makes it extra convenient when you are entering throughout the day. Of course if something is not in there (which I have yet to come across) you can add it manually and save it for future reference.

Here is the extra kicker, FatSecret.com also has a calorie counter app out for the droid (as well as the iPhone obviously). Which means I can access my account by computer, iPad, or cell phone and all I have to do is hit the sync option from any of these devices within the app and everything will get synchronized!! I will be able to track my food where ever I am and will definitely keep me accountable. I would recommend this website to anyone and everyone - it's free what do you have to lose? Except a little weight that is. :-)

Weight Struggles

I hesitated even posting this entry because it is very personal... but it's my blog so here we go. There are many things that I struggle with, but the most prevalent one I would have to say would be weight. I have never been skinny. Even at my smallest I wasn't a size 4, I  was a size 10 (my collar bones stuck out horribly and I had a lot of muscle) but still not a size 4. In fact, I don't even WANT to be a size 4, because for me, I think I would look pretty ridiculous. However, I have decided now more than ever, I need to lose the weight.

In the past I have tried diet after diet, never sticking with it for more than a couple weeks because I become bored, or we go out to eat and instead of making a healthy choice, I decide to spoil myself because I have been good all week. Then, well while I am being bad - hell with it, lets order dessert. It is a slippery slope that I am aware of, yet every single time I seem to slide down and then give up because I have already ruined any progress I have made so far. In essence, I sabotage myself each time but am aware I am doing.... and I don't stop myself.



2002 on the left, 2010 on the right

When I look at that picture.....it kind of makes me sick. I don't even recognize myself... in either picture. I am so ashamed that I let myself get out of hand to such an extreme. Because of my weight, I now dislike things I used to love. I hate clothes shopping. I find myself buying a pair of shoes instead of the jeans I actually need, because why would I want to buy a pair of jeans with THAT size tag on it?  My shoes have stayed the same no matter how much I gain.  I almost once cut out the tag from an outfit because I was so ashamed... and that was after I cried in the dressing room (which seems to happen more and more every time I need a new piece of clothing). I despise going near any body of water in the summer time, because that means I will have to wear a bathing suit, and those scary pieces of spandex don't hide anything. In fact I have grown to dislike summer altogether  because I am embarrassed to wear shorts and tank tops because of my body! My weight gain has also affected my mental state.

My emotional well being is in shambles because I am so incredibly insecure about myself. I want to enjoy my life. I want to do so many things, and I have told myself I either can't because I am so out of shape or I am not deserving/good enough. We want to have children in the next couple of years. Not only do I need/want to be in shape to carry a child... but I don't want to be the lazy fat parent who sits around and does nothing and watch their children become the same. That is absolutely terrifying to me and I don't even have kids yet! I want to be out in the yard running with my children and taking them outdoors the way I grew up.

2011 will be the year. The year I get myself on track, emotionally and physically.

 I have so much to look forward to.