Note to self:::

When making your "healthy" breakfast, be mindful of the area you will be eating in.

DO NOT make peanut butter whole wheat toast with a drizzle of honey when you will be eating in front of your laptop in the living room.

The crumbs are EVERY WHERE.  And the honey?  That's on the keyboard, the chair, the table, my shirt, my arms, the BOTTOM of the computer...
And I put on less than a teaspoon over BOTH pieces.

Who knew you could make such a mess with two little pieces of toast?


...note taken.

Morning weigh in: 184.2

If you do the math correctly, that's a pound down from yesterday.

No really, no need for applause.
Just the satisfaction of total personal success will be enough.

Seriously though, I would like to admit at this time that I have been that lazy girl who has not actually exercised yet.  However, I am following a different motto right now that seems to be working.

I think it's an interesting "statistic" (that by the way could totally be made up by some crackpot sitting on their couch stuffing cheetos in their mouth) that most of the weight we can accumulate is not necessarily because of the sedentary lifestyle we live, but mostly because of just bad choices with the food we eat.

So far, this has been true for me.  Back in March I weighed in at 192.  Yeah, again.  I went there.  My bad.

But the ONLY thing I have done any differently has been changing what I eat.  Last summer I was all hardcore about making sure I worked out 3 times a week for an hour at a time.  Oddly enough, I had a hard time losing some of that weight.

Now I can't be sure why.  Maybe it was the "gain of muscle" because muscle weighs more than fat discussion.  Maybe I was so busy fretting about having to work out that I wasn't paying enough attention to the types of food I was eating?  I don't know.  Maybe I was just too overwhelmed by trying to do it all.

So, if you're interested in this new mantra, give it a try! I am personally seeing nice results (almost 10 pounds in two months) just from focusing solely on my kitchen instead of my Nikes. 

...and to answer your question in advance, YES, I do plan on integrating some "gym" into my shenanigans but that will come when my kitchen results start to plateau and I need an extra boost to get new results.

Inspiration and Humor

Reading something inspirational can validate your feelings as well as motivate you to start or continue with your project.  Weight loss is always my "Summer Project."

Reading something humorous keeps your attitude light and focused to really see and understand that you are not alone.  Plus, those ecards on pinterest are HILARIOUS!

I have a montage of Inspiration and Humor to kick start my day! Enjoy!

Good luck today!
Weigh in: 185.2

Super Secret Surprising Summer Weapons

These things are my (all together surprising) picks for the summer to help keep me on track.

First on my list is ALMONDS (and always COFFEE!).  Supposedly a "natural fat burner" these little crunchy delights are packed with protein and natural fats that are good for curbing your appetite.  I have been eating almonds for breakfast with a piece of fruit and surprisingly I stay full til about lunch time.

Secondly, I have some CHOCOLATE FIBER ONE cereal.  If you like cocoa puffs, you will like this cereal.  At 80 calories for 3/4 cup, I feel best served eating as a dry snack instead of a breakfast meal.  Also, with 9grams of fiber per serving it is a perfect fill you up kind of snack.

Third, I have stolen a trade secret from my parents! They discovered this bread called DIETERS DREAM.  The bread was good, but I found something even better!  BUNS! This brand of bread makes both hamburger buns and hotdog buns.  At only 80 Calories per bun with 0.5 grams of fat and 4 grams of fiber, these buns are unexpectedly delicious.  My husband even ate them and felt like they didn't taste like a "diet bun."  HELLO summer BBQ!

And last but not least on my list is the most surprising of them all is the SUGAR CONE.  1 cone is 60 calories, 1gram of fat, 0 Sodium, 1 gram of Protein, and only 11 carbs.  The posibilities are ENDLESS with these delicious cones.  One night this week I filled the cone part with fruit salad and topped it with 1/4 cup of ice cream.  I actually got the scoop on sugar cones from a Dr. Oz show by the author of Hungry Girl.  She has tons of recipes in this book that will no doubt become our dessert bible this summer.  It is expensive (the most I have ever paid for any book EVER) but I feel as though it will be worth it.

Change is in the air

Spring is FINALLY here. 
to stay.
...we think.

Gone are the days of bulky sweaters, and warm "comfort foods"!
HERE are the days of too short of shorts and an abundance of produce.

It was so nice out, my husband and I went for a mile walk last night.  We even took the dog!
By the time we got back home from the walk, my husband was already sore and I thought the dog was going to die from exhaustion.

...so we're ALL out of shape.
neat.

Looks like change is in the air for us ALL.

So if you wonder why we are tired and grouchy, it's because we are exhausted from getting off the couch and hungry.

very hungry.

Wheezing

So yesterday I was working a wedding (*photography on the side, you see) and this funny thing happened.  Every time I had to walk up a few sets of stairs...or run to the car or my bag for something...or walk from one side of the resort to the other...or stand up/squat down/stand up, I found myself completely winded and wheezing.  And I totally know that people could hear me struggling to breathe in and out because I am pretty sure a couple of people looked at me to see if they needed to assist me in any sort of way. They just had that "ARE YOU OKAY!?" look on their face.   ...I wonder what my face looked like?

Now, see it's the time of year that I could TOTALLY blame my allergies and say that in my whiniest voice that "I am just "SO CONGESTED."

....but the fact is that my little fat body simply struggled with that much physical effort.
which makes me sad.

I always think I am in much better shape than I actually am.  I convince myself that at work I do plenty of walking and standing and moving around with the kids.  CONFESSION #902---I am sedentary.  On those little scales of "How much physical activity do you participate in? Rate 0-3.  Zero being "0-30 minutes a week of physical activity." I would be a zero.
...which makes me sad.

I know how to fix it. 
I know what is right.
I know who to blame.
I know where to go.
I know when to start.
I know why I need to.

Now let me take this allergy pill so I can get started :)