D-Day Approaches

March 1.

A normal day, nothing special. (Except it's the anniversary of when Yellowstone became the first National Park, the first FM radio station transmitted, Watergate scumbags were indicted, and Ke$ha was born.) Soon, however, Wikipedia will have an addition to their March 1events list:

Chelsea and Trevor's Weight Loss Adventure and Forever Lifestyle Change!

Okay, well it's a little wordy. But, so many things are coming together the week of March 1 to help CATWLAFLC that it deserves some fanfare.

1. OAK jetBlue employees start their own version of "Biggest Loser." This is the first thing that has really motivated Trevor to get back in shape, and with a $20 entry fee, and $5 penalties if you gain weight at the weekly weigh-ins, I don't blame him! I told him I'll gladly pay into some sort of "fat kid fund" at home if I ever gain weight too.

2. Pilates Napa Valley kicks off the March Madness promotion! For existing clients, 4 weeks UNLIMITED sessions for less than a month of 3x/wk. For new clients (or a certain lazy daughter of the owner), a lose 10lbs in 30days program. 3 days/wk for a month PLUS a free copy of the Sonoma Diet book. This too will be less than the standard 3x/wk month-long package. Details are coming, so don't quote me yet (but feel free to say I referred you when you call to book an appointment!) Mom and I are still ironing out the specifics, but I'll be starting my 10-in-30 regime on Wednesday, complete with the Sonoma diet.

Okay, now I know you're saying, "Wait a minute homeslice. How can it be a lifestyle change if you're going on a 'diet'?" Well, homeskillet, I have a very good answer for that. The Sonoma Diet is not so much a "only eat lettuce for 6 months" diet. It does start out with a 10day Phase One, where you're not to eat ANY sugar (including fruits) to rid yourself of a sweet tooth. After that, it just focuses on fresh foods. My mom lost 6lbs in her first 10 days! The meals are really tasty, and don't feel like "diet" food, because they're not really. It just teaches you to eat for health and flavor, all at the same time.

In addition to this renewed effort in health, I'm working on discovering happiness in my career choice. I'm starting some behind the scenes work for PNV, to start flexing my marketing muscles. It's the first step to ensuring my mental health is on the same level as my physical health, both of which I've been neglecting recently.

March 1, it is


Oh, PS? That Biggest Loser DVD is no joke. I sweat more this evening than I have in a year and a half. And I'm going on 40hrs of ZERO sleep at this point. Oh, motherhood.

Workout: Biggest Loser - Last Chance Workout

Well, I did it. I finally bought a fitness DVD. I almost didn't, because Trevor decided to make some jerk comment of "No, you won't actually do it." But I told him to shove it, and I put it in the cart. I'll admit, I have had some commitment problems to exercise in the last year. Big plans without follow through. But that's no excuse for him to be a douche about it. Anyway, if anything it angered and motivated me.

The Biggest Loser: Last Chance Workout DVD is really amazing, actually. I mean, today was my first time doing it, and I had to take a break between the warm up, and the main workout to nurse, but it quickly got my heartrate up, and sweat dripping.

Jillian leads the workout, with fan favorite contestants from 2009 and 2008 season. It has a warm up, cool down, and then three middle sections to alternate between. The "Last Chance Workout" (which has a different version every two weeks), a lower-body and a upper body focus section. It totals out to about 30min per day.

I only did the "Last Chance Workout" today, Week 1-2, and it kicked my ass. Using only hand weights and weight resistance, Jillian takes you thru 30 second intervals, trading off between cardio with muscle training, and muscle training with cardio. I really didn't expect my dinky 3lbs weights to do much, but I was definitely ready to put them down by the time the interval was over.

It's something I absolutely recommend. As I sit here and type, I can already feel the soreness kick in, which is the sign of a job well done.

I think I'm going to start Pilates at my mom's studio next week. She and I have some big plans, so stay tuned for those!

Little successes

Hmph. No weight loss, but I do have some shrinkage!

Waist : 2/11 = 38in, 2/21 = 37in
Bust : 2/11 = 44in, 2/21 = 42in
Arms : 2/11 = 16.5in, 2/21 = 16in
Hips : 2/11 = 49in, 2/21 = 48.5
Legs : 2/11 = 30.5in, 2/21 = 30

Its about 4.5 inches total. Not too bad considering I've done more toning exercises than get sweaty. Thats changing tomorrow morning tho, I have to satiate these running dreams, and release some tension.

Tomorrow, I will jog for 15min, then promptly die a slow and agonizing death on my front steps. Fun!

Tips and Tricks: Cutting Calories

There's a lot of books and articles out there about how to cut calories, and they range from valid and informational to completely insane. This is a short list of what I've found works for me:

I'm a classic overeater, and since living on my own, it's gotten worse. Trevor doesn't eat leftovers, and I feel like I'm wasting money if we don't eat the entire pot. So, I have two ways to combat this instinct.

Cut recipes in half. Most recipes are written for 4, so before you know it, the pan is empty and even a healthy recipe's calories have doubled.

Dish up leftovers first. If I make my lunch plate for the next day, and get it in the fridge before I even sit down to eat dinner, there won't be any food leftover for tempting seconds.

Another super easy thing to do is to use smaller plates. This works best with my nemesis, carbs. Cereal, rice, pasta, potatoes. All are easily overserved, and then overeaten. I know there are tips to eat almonds, or thing like FullBars before a meal to dissuade hunger, but I find I still eat the same amout of food regardless, ignoring my "full" feeling. It's best to use these mental tricks, personally.

I also frequently confuse boredom and thirst for hunger. This likely stems from afternoons alone after school, and trying to fill voids with food. So, I drink lots of water, in the form of coffee, tea, EmergenC, or Crystal Light. I also try to keep easy snacks like chips, and crackers (more carby goodness) out of the house, and actually make real meals when I think I'm hungry. Work for my food. If it seems like it's going to take too long, I'm not really hungry.

That said, I am a new mom, and sometimes even sauteeing chicken takes too long. So, I'm a big fan of bagged, one pot meals. Birds Eye Garlic Chicken is my favorite. But, again, my financial sense takes over, and I'll make the entire bag for myself, totalling close to 1000 calories for one meal. So, I only make half the bag. Again, then I'm eliminating any temptation to have additional portions, and as long as I wrap the remainder up tight, it's good in the freezer for a couple more days.

Finally, I can't get hungry during the day, or I ignore all these smart tips to avoid over consuming. So, small snacks that are full fiber, filling, and not calorie-dense help me immensely. FiberOne bars, and apples top the list.

Of course, the best trick is to actually make a lifestyle of implementing these, something that is clearly a challenge for me as I continue this lifelong battle over my inner fat kid. But as long as I never feel deprived, it's easy to do.



Also, here's a bonus fashion tidbit: my sister's breakdown of legwear definitions. Since I've been pregant, and actually since my mom opened Napa Valley Pilates, I've been a constant stretchy
-pants offender. I'm sure I'm not the only mommy who needs a reminder of what's socially acceptable.

Nowhere to go but down

If I'm being honest about my weight and body fat, why not my measurements too? At the very least, I won't have to search for a scribbled sticky note to see if I've made any progress.

As of 2/11:

Waist : 38in
Bust : 44in
Arms : 16.5in
Hips : 49in
Legs : 30.5in

I'm not sure what the "exact" measurement spots are, but I've always gone by the widest part. I've felt my clothes become looser, but no weight loss really. I know this is because I'm not doing a ton of fat-melting cardio, but instead getting my sweat on with muscle toning.

There's a couple DVDs that intrigue me, that promise to get my heart rate up and sweat dripping down, all in the comfort of my living room while the baby chatters in her swing. Once I get my refund check, I'm all over it.

Body fat shocker

I forgot to mention that I now know my body fat percentage. Well, within 5 points of it. It's embarrassing, and terribly high:

47%

Isn't that gross? I've always been muscular, and assumed my weight was more muscle mass, but apparently not. What did I expect really? I went to the gym and sweat maybe 15 times since August 08. The last time I ran was the day I found out I was pregnant!

Well, that's changing, and the only place that disgusting number can go is down. The healthy eating has continued, with an exception this evening with more pasta consumed than I should have had. Savory carbs really are my nemesis. Noodles mostly. But, it's been a long day of coddling my constipated and cranky baby, so I'd rather a little more pasta than the beer I was considering.

But I do have some good news! My new jeans are loose on me. I also notice it in my LuLuLemon pants that I've worn 5 out of 7 days during and after my pregnancy. I'm sure Trevor will be happy to see me rid of every pair of black stretchy pants. I'm not making any promises. :)

Mental Health Day

Or, really, my lack of it.

I'm extremely stressed and unhappy today. It's been a long long long 3 weeks, and even though baby and I just spent some time with Trevor in SLC, I'm back in an empty, torn up house, doing it all alone.. We still have until Friday, and as my mom puts it, I'm "in the bell jar."

Today is so much worse, as when Trevor agreed to go out to SLC, it was only supposed to be a couple days. We were supposed to be back and a family again. Baby hasn't slept peacefully in 48hrs, and when she does, its for 30-45min at best. She's gained weight so fast in the last week or so, and it's taking its toll on my back. I got out of bed today wanting to cry my because it hurts so bad.

Luckily, the baby is really the only thing that gets me happy.. Even when she cries (and I want to bawl right along with her) when she does smile at me, or laugh in her sleep, it makes this all worth while.

No matter how much I ask of her, baby will keep nursing even if my tits are empty. No matter how much I want her dad and my man back here, I'm not working at the moment, so a paycheck needs to come home. My physical health is the only thing I really do have control over these days.

Life in the hotel

Remember how excited that my man was coming home?

Well. He was, for like 3 days, before his company sent him off to Salt Lake City for reservation support for an undisclosed amount of time. Luckily, baby and I were able to go with him, and I took the time to continue eating right, and getting workouts in.

I've done the workout plan from last week everyday, substituting the hand weights for filled water bottles. Hey, you do what you can. I've also used baby for some tricep work, with kisses between every rep.

Now, I'm ready to join a gym. I'm going to use my massive Head Of Household tax refund to sign up for 6mo plans for Trevor and I. Unfortunately, there isn't a PFGym near us, which is where I lost all my weight in 2007. But, there is Ultimate Fitness, where I've gone on and off for the last 3 years. First, I had a free membership thru work, then I got a free membership for my birthday from my mom.

It's a big gym, with not many members. But it's clean, in a great area, and I know the equipment, and a few trainers. The only problem is occasionally running into my old employer, or previous high school classmates. This is more of an annoyance, really. With all this extra weight to lose, and baby waiting for me in the day care, I don't have time to chat.

But, then again, there's plenty of working out I can do outside a gym, as I've kicked my own ass this week. Maybe better to save my money, and join a gym when there's something to show off.

Work, work, work it out.

I found my skinny mommy workout! Truthfully, anybody can do it, but it's a series of full-body exercises, with a focus on the tummy area, from Fitness Magazine.

In general, FitnessMagazine.com has a new mom, new body section. It lists super foods for us with no time to ourselves: eggs, skirt steak, salmon, fiberlicious cereal, and spinach. Good news! All favorites.

The workout plan that won me over consists of exercises and muscle toning that I've previously done, and loved. Designed specifically to fit into baby's schedule, you can get the whole routine done on the floor of the baby's room while she sleeps. No equipment (save 3-5lbs hand weights if you want), no DVDs, no problem.

Of course, they have their testimonials, but it makes sense. Eat right, burn more calories than you take in (without NOT eating, as we learned last week), and build lean muscle, and you'll get the body you want. This just gives me a helping hand so I'm not just doing lunges all around the house.

I have my post-partum visit today, and then the work will begin this afternoon.


PS, I don't work for Fitness Magazine, nor do I subscribe to it. I found a wrinkled copy in the magazine rack at my mom's house. But, after reading it, I do like it, and think it puts a healthy focus on fitness and wellness, versus skinniness.

221

So, I only lost two pounds from 223, but that's after gaining weight the first week Trevor was gone. Then this week, I wasn't eating enough, and the baby became very upset with me.

This week is a big week for us, mommy/baby wise. Because I wasn't eating right, and she'd nurse for hours without being satiated, I gave her her first bottle of formula. Also, I started taking birth control again.

I'm stuck in this catch 22, I want to eat less because I'm fat, but I need to eat more to feed the baby and get my 500 calorie deficit per day. Now that I'm on birth control, I'm even more concerned about weight gain. Additionally, I need to go back to work here soon, which limits my time and further complexes the situation.

Luckily, Trevor got off the airplane determined to get back in shape. With him calling me on my fat kid tendencies, and me cooking healthful food for the both of us, this should be easy.

More motivation

There's a mini family reunion happening in April, and all my cousins are outdoorsy, fit people. Some I haven't seen since I was 6-7 yrs old, and we're all on Facebook, so there's bound to be photos.

In other news, I ate like shit today.

1tbsp of garlic hummus w/ half a slice of naan bread
2 cups coffee
banana
popcorn chicken and ocean water from Sonic (I did give half the chicken to AllieDog)
diet coke
spaghetti w/ meat sauce w/ cup of broccoli
sugar-free cocoa w/ milk

First of all, I doubt I hit a decent number of calories (and I know I'm not eating the 2700 nursing moms are supposed to eat.) Secondly, all crap, save that banana, broccoli and fresh spagetti sauce. Third, no wonder baby was awake and cranky all day. Hate to say it, but I should cut back on the caffeine. Today was an abnormally high day, but I had bills to pay and connections to make.

I need to get this weight off fast. In 06, I used diet, exercise, and HydroxyCut. Now that I'm nursing (and it was recalled from the market) I won't be using that crutch. Also, my body fat ratio is higher than it's ever been (I always had decent muscle tone regardless of weight), so if I start moving more, it SHOULD melt away, ala Biggest Loser, right?

Luckily, the rain has stopped, at least long enough for me to get the baby outside. I'm thinking a nice long walk thru the vineyards with the dogs and baby in a front pack tomorrow morning. Could I BE more of a Napa mom?

fat MOM no more.

I bit the bullet today, and bought a new pair of jeans. Initially, I wasn't planning to until my maternity jeans were falling of of me, but I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror the other day, and I looked frumpy and tired and fat.

Okay, I am fat. I had to buy 16's today, which I haven't worn since fall of 05. At that point, they were my "skinny" jeans. Truth be told, I put on my freshly washed and dried mat jeans today, and they slid on easier than they have recently. (you know when they're tight, and you have to do some squats to get them on fully?)

I didn't weigh myself at the end of this week, as I've been dealing with a sick baby, and a leaky roof. But I did completely purge my fridge of all crap, so much so I sometimes wander through the kitchen hoping to find some old box of crackers I may have missed. I've been eating all fresh food, and nursing up a storm, which explains the easier fitting jeans. I haven't been able to walk as much as I've wanted, with the torrential downpours this past week.

Regardless of size, the new jeans with the dark wash (and the Spanks underneath them) makes me feel pretty again, something I haven't felt since I had the baby. I've felt motherly and dignified and mature, but not pretty. Feeling good about myself is my best motivator to continue any acts of self-improvement.

Fresh Start

Literally, 'fresh' as in 'not prepackaged'. Delaney and I braved the torrential downpours and went to Walmart to cure my boredom and empty-fridge syndrome.

We only walked thru the perimiter of the grocery section, picking up bulk and healthy items to make quick and tasty meals:

snack-pack cottage cheese
reduced fat cheddar cheese
Individually frozen chicken breasts, tilapia, and salmon
Cuties tangerines
romaine lettuce
baby spinach leaves
bananas
lean ground beef
baby carrots

Now I have a big pot of couscous on the stove to refrigerate and use for future dinners, saving me time away from baby. I'm going to portion out the ground beef too, and use it mostly for this lentil chili I got from Costco. I feel so much better with these healthy items to pull from, more in control.

Now, if baby would just fall asleep and let me clean the kitchen the feeling would be complete. :)

Epiphany De-ja-vu

Watch out, I'm a triple threat. I eat for fuel, I eat with emotions, and I eat when I'm bored. No wonder this has been a life long struggle for me. I know this, I've learned this and conquered these downfalls, but I've relapsed.

I mentioned in the last post that Trevor is gone for two weeks, and I had manageable goals to get into a routine while he's away. I started out with promise: I walked a brisk 2mi with baby in her front-pack, AND ate a ton of veggies on the first day. I was at my mom's house, and she makes health fun for me (versus when I was a teen, and I seemingly rebelled from her skinny mini lifestyle).

The next morning on the drive home, all that ruffage went right thru me. However, in my few hours at home alone with the baby and the animals, I ate the remaining snacks in the house to fill the lonliness. Ironic, I realized, as I was only home to feed the cats their daily dry boring kibble. I realize when feeding them, the dog, or the baby: they only eat when they're hungry.

This as my mantra, I head back up to moms place to spend the night again and avoid my empty house (funny how large a void one member of the family leaves). I do well the rest of the day, and this morning, having hot tea or water when feeling snacky. But, home again this afternoon, and I fall right back into it. I've done light picking up, but mostly have spent the day on the couch with the baby. I get up to look at my empty fridge, and it makes me hungry. So I have a string cheese and a cup noodles, and a FiberOne bar, and a weight watchers frozen meal (after seriously considering ordering something in.) I really wanted the remaining Ben and Jerry in the freezer, so went upstairs and weighed myself and decided against it. Strong, right?

Then the baby is nursing and tv is boring and Trevor hasn't called. So I called him until I woke him up, felt like a lonely needy jerk, and went and grabbed that damn ice cream, and washed it down with Diet Coke. Recently (prebaby) when upset, I would clean to distract myself, or make some crafty goodness. But with the baby attached to my boob, my only way to deal with my emotions is food. The crap I'm eating isn't good for me, and makes the baby gassy and cranky, further exaborating my overwhelming feeling of lonliness.

I've cleaned out the kitchen of crap, made a grocery list full of crunchy veggies, and have now publicly announced my secret failures. At this point, I don't think I could get any worse, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow, and the changes I know I can make.

Goal setting

It's time to set some goals. Obtainable "check off the list" goals. This is a first for me! I do it when I need to tackle the housework, or get a project done, but I've never done it for my weight loss.

Right now, at 223, I've lost 25lbs since having my baby, and the weight has stopped magically falling off. Apparently I need to do more than breastfeed while watching Biggest Loser! The amount of weight I need to lose is pretty signifigantly, and overwhelming. Days tick by without any trackable process, because I don't know where to start. Luckily, I have some milestones in the next 12 months:

March 28 - SCV Birthday Dinner
July 1 - InLaws' Wedding
August 17 - 5yr anniversary
Sept 28 - Turn 23
Dec 23 - Baby's 1st birthday

Based on 2lbs a week, I should be able to lose close to 100
lbs by the baby's birthday. However, forseeing plateaus, and the fact that i'd be ridiculously small at 120lbs, I'm aiming for 80. Only 1lb a week for the last 3mo:

March 28 - 20lbs
July 1- 48lbs
Aug 17 - 62lbs
Sept 28 - 72lbs
Dec 23 - 85lbs

How am I going to do this? Well, since I am breastfeeding, I can't 'diet' persay. And, without doctor clearance yet, I can't do anything too stressful. Baby steps :)

Currently, Trevor is away on business for 2 wks, and everything is up to me. So, on top of mommy duties, and wifey chores, I'll also be doing the papa jobs: lugging the carrier around, lifting the stroller into the car, carrying baby 100% of the time. These things alone should burn a few hundred extra calories a day. On top of this, I'm going to get in a walking/Pilates schedule. This way, I'll have a set routine when he gets home, and I'll be less likely to make excuses.

To start, I will nurse baby when we first wake up, then load her up into the stroller and take her and AllieDog for a 20min walk. Then, I will do Pilates with my mom 2x a week. Luckily, since she owns the place, I can work out on baby's schedule, and come in when mom's not teaching a full class.

It's ambitious, surely. But, it is doable, as long as I put my mind to it. I find myself avoiding pictures with the baby, since I'm not happy with how I look. I can't let my vanity rob us of anymore memories.

New Beginnings

Well, I can no longer be considered a "kid", as in a matter of days I will have one of my own. This blog was integral to my weight loss a few years ago, and so it's only fitting that I return to it as I tackle post-baby weight.

I found a gym that reminds me of Planet Fitness, I have a Pilates Studio owner for a mom, and a jogging stroller from FreeCycle heading my way.

There is no better time for me to get healthy, for life. I don't have drum corps anymore to make me lose 30lbs over a 3mo period, and a winter to gain it back. I have a baby girl ready to enter into the world, who is going to be subject to all the thin-centric media in the world. She doesn't need to be skinny, she doesn't have to be fat, I just want her to look to her mom and know I've always been comfortable and healthy in my own skin - regardless of what my tags or scales say.

That's really what it's all about, giving her a prime example of a confident woman - someONE she can aspire to BE like, not someTHING to LOOK like.

As of today, November 27th, 2009, 37.5wks into my pregnancy - I weigh 239.8lbs. I've gained 40lbs during the pregnancy, but 30lbs previous to that from August 08 to April 09 after I came back from the summer.

By November 27th, 2010, I'd like to weigh 150lbs. This is still the "top" of my healthy weight/BMI range for my height, but it will be tiny for me. And that is the weight I'd like to stick to, something obtainable, but not ridiculously skinny, something I can maintain for a long time.

I'll be back soon! In the meantime, feel free to catch up on my nesting obsession. Adorning Alabama

Okay, so I guess it's time to update this blog, or drop it.

Cuz, well, there's that whole pregnancy-weight gain, thing.

Yeah! I'm pregnant! Trevor and I are having a baby!! Oh my goodness, I'm so stupid excited about it.

But. Right now, we're not talking about baby, really. We're talking about what my fat ass has done in the past two weeks since finding out. One guess...it starts with E, and rhymes with "feet".

I don't know what my deal is! I KNOW I'm not "eating for two", you're only supposed to eat about 300 more calories than normal. Hello, it's a BABY in there, not a full grown adult. But yeah. Since I found out, and then entered my 6th and 7th week, my appetite is all wacked. The first week, I didn't care, because we were stressed. The second (read, sixth) week started out bad with a trip to the A's game, and plenty of crap food. Since then my tummy can't decide if it's full or starving, a really really weird phenomenon. Add the nausea on to it, and you'd think I wouldn't even want to look at food!

But no. No, all I want is comfort, carb-y, fatty goodness. Our meals the past week? Monday, Beef Stroganoff. Tuesday, Taco Night. Wednesday, Left Over Beef Stroganoff. Thursday, Cheese Burgers. Friday, Hawaiian Pizza. And thats just DINNER. Nevermind the crap they've been bringing me at work since they found out. Breakfast sandwiches, food from the catering service down the street, taco truck, bear claws... seriously! It's ridiculous.

So, needless to say, I'm back up in the 190s. Below 195, but depending on how recently I've gone to the bathroom, that statement could be false. I HAVE gone to the gym 4 times in the last two weeks, which is not bad given my track record the last...6 months? I went again today, and felt great. Thats the thing, I feel AMAZING at, and after, the gym. But, it's the getting to it that's my problem. Morning sickness, and a cuddly baby daddy make it rally hard to go before work, and after work I'm exhausted from my caffeine withdrawal.

But I just need to do it. Two reasons:

A. (for annoying) I never want anyone to think "is she pregnant? or is she just fat." Yeah. Not into that.
B. (for baby) I need to be a healthy vessel for this tiny blueberry-sized blob with webbed hands and feet. (Yeah weekly baby-formation updates) Drum corps has always been a reason, vanity has always been a reason, but NEVER have I had any driving force to fix my health, more important than this one. I'm tired, ALL the time, and it has to do with my diet and exercise. Having a baby, and raising a baby is exhausting as it is, I can't be sleepy mama, I have to be up and alert and healthy to ENJOY being the young mom that I am.

So, today after babysitting (go fig.) I went to the gym. I almost didn't go, but I was on the phone with my mom, and I couldn't exactly bail with that kind of witness. And it was good. (then I came home and ate leftover pizza. I had a good food day otherwise, don't judge.) And tonight, I feel a million times better than I have the last few days, not over stuffed, I can handle the nausea...if anything I'm a little dehydrated, but I have a bottle of water downstairs thats calling my name.

So that's what's up. I won't change the page tonight, it's 10:15, I'm tired and the animals need their dinner. But I guess I can, and this can show my progress for the next 5-6 months until I get too big to work out.

Back to counting calories

Well. I went on vacation, and 2 out of those 4 lbs came back.

As of today, I have exactly ONE month before the wedding. If that's not crush time (heh, get it?) I don't know what is. I'm on a 1200 calorie/day diet, and to keep as active as possible. Tonight is my first time home before midnight in a week, so there's lots of cleaning and organizing to do, which definitely burns some you-know-what. Also, the dog is digging up my garden, soooo I should go out there and fix that. But it's dark and rainy, and the Sharks game is on.

I need to get super anal about this whole weightloss thing. I don't know how I did it two years ago, it was so easy!

Tomorrow I'll start running, 30min around the blocks (once it's light out, of course)

Out if nowhere...

I lost 4 lbs int he past week. The gym just isn't happening for me at the moment, so I had to make another change.

I started eating breakfast.

I know! Crazy, right? But it keeps me full throughout the day, and then when dinner comes, I'm not starving like usual. (which means plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day, which saves money AND calories. I'm genius, I know.)

So, for the past two weeks, I've been eating organic applesauce (no sugar, just shmooshed apples) w/ an ounce of Mona Vie (that acai berry stuff), and peanut butter toast. Peanut butter, like the applesauce, just shmooshed peanuts and salt.) And four pounds! Gone!

Now I'm down to 187, which, while it's only 1lbs less than my last numbered update, it's 4lbs less than last week. I just need to keep staying under 190, and the pounds will keep going down. It's like, when I've over 190, I just don't care. I'm depressed, feel ugly, don't take care of me, eat cookies cuz it's like what worse can I do to myself? Bottom line, VERY bad place for me to be mentally. So, I'll just stay under 190. Beautiful.

Today I spent the whole morning gardening. Like, serious gardening...digging up rock and grass, tilling my garden area with only a shovel, planting...I got a nice tan line, and burned a ton of calories, I'm sure. And, I LOVED it. It's so gorgeous this weekend, I just need constructive things to occupy my time.

I want to nap, but I think I'll be happier if I just go clean up the kitchen instead.

making progress

I've been eating so much better this week, it's disgusting. I do love my Eating Right/Lean Cuisine/Smart Ones meals. I know they're technically "processed food", but if I feel satisfied w/ half the calories of a regular meal, crap, I'm going to do it. I'll get organic another day.

So, I've dropped two pounds, down to 188 which is killer. I went o the gym 3 times last week, but I haven't been since Tuesday. Work has been ridiculous. But you know what? I've been doing house work, sweeping, dishes, couch reupholstering, and man, being a house wife makes me break a sweat!

I need to be careful tho, my boss even said to me yesterday "you gotta stop burning the candle at both ends, girl" and it's so true. But, I love my life!

The only thing is, since I've gained this weight, my sex drive has dropped off, and boyfriend is feeling it. Anyone who knows me KNOWS this is not normal for me. In high school, I was the fat girl, BUT I was also the only one of my friends getting action, because I was so confident, regardless. I need to get back to that.


-C

Kickboxing and pizza.

OKay, so I went to the gym last night. Thats three times in three weeks! Ugh. Better than the 2mo sabbatical I took during the holidays, right?

I really wanted to do this kickboxing class, but I got there early so I went on the bike for about 15min just to kinda warm things up. Got in the class, there's no punching bags or anything (lame). But, it is a cardio kickboxing, so what the hell.

Holy jesus, I only made it through like 20 min for the 60 min class. My feet were cramping up like NO OTHER, and I wanted to die. I was sweating (melting to the floor). I liked it, it was fun, and I felt like a strong, powerful woman...until I looked at myself in the mirror. The instructor was screaming "kick off that shake!" which really makes no sense to me, since anyone in their right ind knows that the fat isn't going to disappear from working a certain area.

I mean, okay, I liked it. But I don't know what was going on. They're newer shoes, they've been broken in, but I dunno. Maybe I need to run or jog around the building first. I punished myself for sitting in the sauna for like 20 min.

Then I came home and had a big plate of broccoli, followed by three slices of pizza. Nice.

This whole one-day a week thing at the gym is obviously not working for me. Duh. So I'm going to try and go tonight after work. No no no, I AM going to go tonight after work. "Never try, just do" type deal, right?

Two months?

Okay, so I just realized my best friend's wedding is in two months. It literally was like "Okay, March to April, April to Mayyyyywwwhat???."

I thought I had forever for this!

I haven't been very good, I forgot my integral rule that I followed two years ago: half of every plate needs to be vegetables. I just am having such a hard time finding motivation to wake up, and work out, and eat right, blah blah blah. I mean, my life has been in transition the past few weeks with this move, but can't I just shut up and do it?

This weekend I worked really hard reframing my couch, to prepare it for re-covering, and I got a nice upper-body workout w/ all the sawing and hammering, but I haven't done shit since. It's Tuesday, and I've been sitting on my ass at a trade show all day. I was good at the lunch, half of my plate was a spinach salad w/ beets, and the other half was a couple pieces of chicken breast, but I HAVE to go to the gym in the morning.

I'm not going to be a fat cow at this wedding, I want my boyfriend to see me up there and envision us on OUR wedding day, and I want to be a bride happy with herself, not one wondering "what if I weighed 20lbs less".

Sick of Myself

Okay, so I'm back. This last week has been crazy with the move, and then I got really sick. Who would have thought I'd catch the flu when moving heavy furniture in torrential downpours? Go fig.

Anyway, I'm back. Amanda, sorry I've been slacking.

My new house has a full length mirror, and I can't TELL you how long it's been since I've see all of me in one "shot" if you will. Truth is, I don't look as terrible as I thought. That's motivation number one. I'm not a disgusting pig, I'm still curvy in the right places, and not a huge blob of fat. But, I still weigh 190, which is "obese" according to those charts. Ridic, since I don't look "obese" but whatev.That number is way too high for me, personally. I'd be stoked to be back at 164, my weight post-tour. I was still curvalicious me, but much healthier.

Gym tonight after work, and I have to be serious about it. I went last week, and I got a "welcome back!" that made me want to shoot myself, because I know they can tell exactly how long it had been since I was in. I mean, jeezy creezy, it's a free membership, I might as well use it.

After this one is done tho, I'm thinking I'm going to go to the gym a block from my house, it'll be easier, and I bet they're cheaper. I should look into that. I really want to do a kickboxing class too. That would be pretty effing sweet.

My BIGGEST problem is my self-control w/ food. In the mornings, and at work, I'm pretty good. It's when I get home that I suck. Last night was better, but like when I'm alone, and my mom brings me all my favorite snacks from when I was a kid, I just devour them, like I did when I was a kid. Worst one? French's French Fried Onions. You know, the stuff that goes on top of green bean casserole. The other night I ate a can of them. Bleh.

My whole office is getting in shape, one is on Weight Watchers, the other one wants to run more (used to be a long distance runner) and the third is getting back into the gym. They're the people I deal with more, and it's HUGE motivation. We need to all look hot, hah. I can't be the cute young thing if I look disgusting.

Bottom line, it's time. Again.

Fancy pants.

Okay, well now it's Monday after my Saturday night breakdown, and I think I'm going to be just fine. Sunday, Trev and I went to Ihop, and I was craving hashbrowns like crazy...but, I abstained, and got the healthy omelette with fruit...a couple hours later, I realized it wasn't the end of the world, I wasn't still craving the potato goodness.

Then, at dinner we went to Applebees (I know, eating out two times in one day, but we were running around all day) and I got the salmon, which was pretty amazing.

I didn't work out yet, it was raining this morning, and TJ was leaving for a week. But, tomorrow morning, I'm either running at the park, or at the gym.

I dressed really nice today, and I feel pretty. I think I need to keep looking good, clothes wise, so I feel good about myself, no matter what size. Only problem is, that involves heels, and I think my feet might fall off. We'll see.

What the hell?

Here I am, two years after doing this whole weight loss thing, 5 months after being down to 164 (summer of drum corps) and I'm at 194 again.

And, the worst part? after I weighed myself, I went and ate three slices of cold pizza, plus some hot chocolate.

What am I doing to myself? The rest of my life is going so, so well. My relationship is great, my job is great, and we're getting ready to start a new life together in a new house. So why am I sabotaging myself?

Ugh, I feel disgusting. I'm not happy with how I look, how I feel in the morning... and right now, after the healthy dinner of chicken and green beans, plus those 3 cold slices, and the hot chocolate, I don't feel "full."

Yeah, that's right, I feel disgusting, but not full. I know I could eat the other two pieces of pizza left, and not throw up. At least, not involuntarily throw u

I need to make a change in my life, right now. I've been saying this since Jan 1, but I just, well, haven't.

This next week, I have to pack, and I have to work out. Those are my only priorities. Trevor is going to be gone all week, so I have no excuse to laze around in bed. I'll wake up early to work out, and pack into the night. No big, I can do it. Sure, AllieDog is going to suffer a bit, but if I take her over to the park while I run, she might be happier.

This is it, this is totally it. I need to figure out how not to do this anymore. How to maintain a healthy weight for me, without constantly feeling like I'm depriving myself, so that it's easy for me.

New house, new lifestyle, new me.

Again.

Seriously? I'm over this whole "fat" thing.

Okay, so I just don't get it. I'm running, I'm eating well...and yet, I'm still gaining weight? I mean, it's been 15lbs in 3mo, this is ridiculous. It's back to Slimfast breakfasts and Lean Cuisine lunches, with Hydroxycut before every meal.

Oh, and does anybody know of a birth control that DOESN'T make me gain weight? Jesus. I'm currently on Levelen, but the generic brand.

BTW, my goal weight is 155. I wanna get there before move-in.

Okay, can I just say this please?

KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF THE BABIES.

Stop degrading the music education profession, and leave children under 18, or any students, ALONE.

There's been way too many of these happening, and FAR too many who I've known, or been close to.

That's it.

Pukey.

Ugh. I think I got the motivation I need to change my diet. This weekend we made pot-roast, a pretty common winter dinner for us, and the next morning I woke up puking. I don't know if it's from the pot roast, or all the sodium I had that day, or whatever...but I know the next morning when I looked at the leftovers I had saved for myself in the fridge, they just looked grey and disgusting.

So, I had toast and eggs for breakfast, chicken noodle soup for lunch, and then Trev made Montery Chicken for Dinner. We had two breasts for each of us, but I was a good little girl and separated half my dinner onto a plate for me to have tomorrow night when Trev is at hockey.

I'm still feeling icky today, and no, I'm pretty sure I'm not pregnant, thank you.

I felt good enough to walk through Target this morning after Espanol, and jeez. I need clothes. I effing LOVE winter clothes. The jackets, the lace, the layering...and I'm at a normal enough size so that I'd actually look GOOD in these things! Ugh. Being broke blows. The good news is my credit is decent enough that I got a credit card! Low limit, and high interest rate, but it's enough to pay off a couple of closed accts. I'm pretty happy that my financial situation is clearing up. Maybe I can buy some clothes soon :) (With cash, not credit. I'm not an idiot.)

178

Okay, so last night Trevor made me Ms. Amana Jambalaya. And it was amazing. So amazing, I had two bowls of it, and THEN a piece of pie. (I guess pumpkin was on sale.)

So, that's my weakness. Winter foods. Carbs. Actually, all food in general. I effing love it. I don't eat a lot of fast-food crap, and when I do, I eat the best thing they have on the menu. I'm a foodie, and I love to taste. Problem is, when we cook, it's typically recipies for 4. I packup leftovers for work the next day, but typically there's more for me to snack on.

Trev had a Sharks game again tonight (and the boys KILLED it), and I got off work early, so I got to spend a good 90min at the gym today. Same strategy as last time, run a fast mile, lift, do elliptical for 25min to get cardio back up, and get rid of that latic acid that makes me hurt the next morning.

I've been talking to some people (Tim, Lauren) and we're working on keeping each other accountable. Lauren is a beast, and actually, Tim ran multiple miles his first day back to the gym, so I guess its more keeping me feeling guilty if I DON'T go to the gym.

I need to change my BC Rx. Get lower Estrogen, or something. This weight gain is retarded. But, until then, it's only going to be hard work.

Total champ.

Okay, so I didn't get up this morning and go to the gym at 5:30.

I suck.

I DID go to the gym tho! Just after work. I like it then. I like it in the morning too. Actually, I pretty much love the gym. Just a matter of remembering that at 5am.

I ran a quick (for me) mile, at 7mph. It's about an 8.5min mile. Then I did a bunch of machines...the thigh one where you work both inner and outer thigh (great for my hip flexor), leg press (they have two different ones...one where you push yourself away, and one where you push the platform away.). Then the ab one where you bring your knees to your elbows, leg lifts for my belly boobs, and side crunches on the back extension bench thingy. Then some arm stuff. Then back to the abs for another round.

Then I did the elliptical for 20min, burned over 200cal on that, then did a half-mile jog to warm down. (mph) Came home, and sauteed two zucchini, half a package of mushrooms, and a chicken breast in some salt, pepper, garlic, and 0-cal spray butter.

Hopefully I won't be too sore tomorrow, since I ran and ellipticalled after I did weight stuff. I'll take an advil with water before bed. BECAUUUSSSE tomorrow is hour-long boot camp at 5:30am. Eff.

Oh, and I'm trying to eat 1300 cal a day. Well, when I say "I'm trying", I mean I just started today. And I'm over by 10%,(calories only, not deducting any for working out) but I definitely see where I can cut that out. Like the two cookies I had before work.
Yeah. Not so bueno.

Oh yeah, it's that time again

Oh HELLO SkinnyChels. How are you? It's been so long.

Well, folks, it's that time again. Auditions. The summer with SCV was amazing, and I got down to 164lbs, two days after tour. But then silly me started taking birth control again after a 3mo hiatus, and wasn't working out 12hrs a day, so I put on 15lbs.

I've been to the gym a couple times a week for the past month, and managed to lose about 5lbs of that 15. I'm working on faster running, versus running just for a long time. I can job at 5mph for 30min, easy. So, I'm starting at 7mph for a mile, then some elliptical for 20-30min to keep up my heartrate. Work on my cardio endurance without actually running a million miles to kill my leg.

Oh right, my leg. During movein, I tore my left-hip flexor, which let me tell you, hurts like no other. You can't walk, you can't sleep, let alone march all day long. But, my good friends, ibuprofen and ice, helped me get through it. Now it;s just an inconvenient ache. The only plus side is that I don't pay as much attention to my aching knees.

I'm writing today because audition camp is soon upon us. (a month exactly this week) And, even tho I got WAY little for me, I was still the biggest girl in the hornline. (I wasn't for a while in move-ins, but then the other Lauren went home. Oh darn.) And, I'm kinda over that. Another girl in the sop line kinda amazed me...we entered at about the same size, but she was running 5mi a day in the spring season, and never dropped out of running block once. She annoyed me sometimes in her perfection, but ultimately I love her, and was envious of her dedication.

So, that's going to be me this season. It's my age-out year, my 6th year of drum corps...I'd love to get a routine going that I can maintain AFTER the season. I eat pretty decent, but there's definitely room for improvement.

I'm not exactly worried about being cut, but I do want to make a personal statement when I see everybody again after 3mo. So, starting tomorrow morning, I'm at the gym at 5:30. There's a class, Mon-Fri, at that time. Different everyday, but all interest me. Then, I have about an hour to do running or whatever else I feel I need to do to accomplish my drum-corps style conditioning.

Sooooo lets go!

100th post!!

100th post, not 100lbs. But it's alright, I didn't have 100lbs to lose anyway :)

So, my fruit flush diet went REALLY well. I'm typically not into fad diets, or quick fix diets, but this one really worked for me. It was three days of dieting, broken up into two distinct eating styles. The first day was a total of 32oz of water and 1.5C of unsweetened protein mix, broken up into 5 "meals" in the first day, one 6oz glass of the mix every two hours. Then, at dinner on the first day, I was allowed a HUGE salad w/ a little bit of meat, and a dressing of olive oil and lemon juice. This was to prepare my body for the next two days, which consisted of again, 5 meals every 2 hours, 100 cal worth of fruit. Then, at dinner, another big salad, same dressing, no meat, and a protein drink.

I did really well, had one half of a cookie on the second day, but all in all lost 9lbs! The last two weeks I gained 10lbs, from eating like shit, not working out, and the crappy food staying in my stomach.

So now, I know the weight loss got me down to my "coasting" weight, I guess. When I'm simply maintaining, and not losing. But now I feel really clean, and I want to keep feeling liek that, also, 9lbs lighter and more energy gives me the push to get out and work out, since I don't feel like a fat bloated pig anymore.

From now until tour, which is a MONTH away, I'm just going on a really low fat, high cardio weight loss plan. I'm still set on my goal of 150, but 15lbs is a lot to lose. I mean, regardless, I'm going to lose a TON of weight on tour, and eat 4 full carbalicious meals a day on tour. I HAVE to, to survive. We're likely eating 3000cal a day on tour, to make up for the 14hr rehearsals, running around in the sun all day.

Here's the thing. My body is more prepared than it ever has been going into a drum corps tour. I mean, in 2005, I called my mom and asked her to mail me a pair of size 14 jeans, which I wasn't able to fit into until Allentown (mid way thru tour, for you non-drum corps folks). Now, heading into all-days, I'm wearing a size 8, and I'm STILL one of the bigger girls in the corps. (There's beer-drinking boys who are bigger than me, but most of the girls with weight on them are naturally little, just with some belly from the offseason.) I promised myself I'd never EVER drop out of running block, like I have in years past. Everyone has when they were just starting out. So far, I have never dropped out, or walked with Vanguard. I trust this staff, and know they won't push us farther than we're physically capable of. They'll push us to that limit, for SURE! But not a step past. I don't fear getting hurt, especially being in the shape I am.

The first week of all-day rehearsals consists of two block days: first 4hr block is all conditioning, and the next is marching basics. I expect to lose, oh, 10lbs that first week. No joke.

Thanks to everyone who keeps reading this, I know it has slowed down since my inital progress last year. With me, I think maintaining a healthy weight is always going to be a conscious effort with me, not necessarily a struggle, but something that I'll always have to focus on. Let's be honest, I love food. But I like feeling good about myself, better :)

Fruit Flush...for real

So, I start my Jay Robb fruit flush today...it's a three day thing, and the name of the diet is a bit deceptive. Today I'll be drinking nothing but whey protein in water, and a huge salad w/ 3-6oz of lean meat later for dinner. Then, tomorrow and the next day is all fruit.

I'm tired right now, so I'm not SUPER looking forward to this. Boyfriend left today for almost a week... WGI Finals, and then Renegades camp. So, it's the perfect time for me to do this, without the distraction of having to feed someone else dinner while I'm fasting.

We'll see how it goes. My sister lost 10lbs on it, and it really motivated her to keep losing...has lost something like 50-60lbs since the fall. True, she also smokes, and went through a break-up, but she looks amazing, regardless.

I just remembered that I'm an extra in a drum corps movie on Thursday, way out in Santa Clara, and that's my last day on the fast. I'll be stocking right up on a ton of fruit to get me through the day, so I don't pig out on the craft service.

Okay. Time to make my icky whey protein drink, the first of like 8 to get me through the day. Bleh.

175.4

This is good, because between the last post and now, I got up to 180 again. I was laid off this past month, and I really lost all motivation. Not to mention losing my gym membership. With job hunting, and then finding a new job, I really didn't work out at all, and ate like crap again.

Not anymore, however. I've lost 5lbs in the past week and a half. I dropped three last week, maintained my weight during camp (I usually come back weighing MORE), and have dropped two since Monday.

My goal is to lose 15lbs before move-in on May 16th, which I believe is entirely possible. I'm doing cardio 4-5x a week, and Pilates 3x. Recent cardio has been with the puppy, taking her running on hills around my area, and today we're going up to the dog park.

So. This week has been successful. And now I have drum corps spring training coming up very very soon, and I can't show up unprepared, and dying after running a mile.

173.0

Oof, it's been a long time since I was in here. Sorry about that, life is really busy.

I had camp last weekend, and it was amazing! Everything we did, I was able to do, without dying/puking afterwards. I was actually EXCITED about the lunges across the floor, since I do those with 10lb weights.

I was really depressed for a while about my weight. From BD auditions in November, to about three weeks ago, I gained 10lbs. No bueno. But in the past three weeks, I've dropped back down to 173, and don't really see an end in sight. I have a healthy gym regimen; I'm there about 4-5x a week.

I'll do 20min of running, starting at 6mph, then bumping it up every 5min .2mph. Then I'll do weight lifting/strength training for 30min, either focusing on abs and arms/shoulders/back, or abs and butt/legs. Always abs, heh. The top part of my tummy is nice and flat, it's just right below my belly button I have what I call my "belly boobs." The basically looks like a small hill, divided by the line that a happy trail would follow.

It's pretty much my worst problem zone. I've come to terms with my arms, they'll get smaller as I lose the fat from around the guns I have down there. My butt/thighs used to be one, but I've come to terms with that area, and I happen to like that shape. Just have it be smaller, proportionately. Heh.

So I've been doing Pilates, and eating less fat, and crunches that target the lower ab area, on top of my cardio and everything else. I'm sure it'll be my last thing that I'll always complain about...I just wanna wear lower rise jeans, for god's sake! Wear a bathing suit without having to pull it up to my belly button! (Which, I never do, just feel like I should.)


In other news, yesterday I look all the dogs to the dog park for about an hour, and I already have my sports bra tan line back. WTF.

Chelsea loves the Sierras :)

Ah, I had such a great day today. Boyfriend, his BFF, and I woke up at 4:30 (!!!) to drive up to Sugarbowl. We didn't get there until, oh 8:30ish, but thats because we left late, and then SOMEONE left her phone at home. Oops.

Anyway, BF's BFF has NEVER been snowboarding, so luckily the slopes were still empty when we arrived. We took him down a couple runs, until he got the swing of things, and then BF and I took a long run on our own.

I'm not too too good at boarding, but I'm decent. My big problem is carving with the front side (toe side) of the board.It just freaks my out. So, going on this tree-lined run before lunch, I figured "hey, it's slow enough, noone's around, lets figure this toe-turn out." Then I fell forward, overcompensated, and fell backwards, smacking the back of my skull on snow, about 2-3in of snow, covering a rock. Es no bueno.

Anyway, I hate being a whiny baby when we're boarding, so I used BF's BFF as an excuse, and said we should break for lunch. They had some awesome burgers grills backyard-bbq style out on the deck, and it was such a beautiful day, I couldn't refuse the atmosphere. After lunch, I felt better, and then really got my workout. Apparently my favorite run was turned into a race course today, which means it was closed to the public. Fine, whatever. But maybe you could tell me BEFORE I get halfway down the mountain? Haha, whatever, because I just made my own path in some thick powder. Killer on my thighs!

I like the fruit diet someone commented in the last blog sounds TASTY. I'm going to start it tomorrow. I can still make semi-normal meals for me and BF, and perhaps just smaller portions for me? Yes. (Sorry, I don't remember your name, and I always seem to lose my blogs when I navigate away. But this is me, calling you out, saying you're awesome.)

Also, I'm going to talk to my trainer girl (aka, the one who's paid to be a trainer @ my gym, but is super cool and helps me as well. for free.) tomorrow. I gotta figure out a workout program for myself, cuz what I'm doing isn't working, and I'm busting my ass. However, I DID figure out a great crunch for lower abs, which happen to be the bane of my existence. But then I was watching Biggest Loser, and they were doing them. I still say they stole them from me...

ANYWAY, back to boarding.

I LOVE getting out there on the hill, in the quiet. Especially at Sugarbowl. It's just so MASSIVE, that you feel like it's your own private trail you just happened to find, perfectly groomed. I've had a rough week, as BF and I are trying to handle pushing the pause button on our life for three months, and it just felt really good to just carve some snow, and look bad ass.

Vanguard camp in TWO weekends :D

Fatty

Sooo I don't know what's happened.

The day before Christmas, I weighed 170lbs. The day AFTER Christmas, we went snowboarding. Plenty of activity to burn some major calories, right?

Today, I weighed 180lbs.

The last three weeks, I've worked out 5-6 days a week, with 30min of cardio at LEAST each time.

Also, my eating has not changed. If anything, I'm eating significantly less fast-food and other crap than I have in recent months.

So what gives? Thats a WHOLE lot of weight to gain, and while I'm getting pretty ripped, there's still flabbiness on me, so I can't say it's all muscle weight.

I don't understand, and I'm pretty depressed about it. I'm tempted to do a fruit-flush, and three days later start form zero, but it's hard to commit to that, and then make my boyfriend something else for dinner. Bah.

Today I've had:

Homemade breakfast sandwich: 1 whole wheat english muffin, one egg, one slice of canadian bacon, one slice of cheese
one can pears
30 stick pretzels
one can tuna

tonight, we'll probably go out to dinner, and I'll do what I usually do: lean protein (chix, or fish) and make sure they give me a vegetable, NOT bathed in butter.

I don't know. I'm completely perplexed. Perhaps I used to eat too little, and now my metabolism is all jacked, but ugh. It's frustrating.

Getting busy

So I haven't been to the gym since Friday, and I feel like a lazy butt. True, I went to Pilates on Saturday, but no cardio. I made the mistake of getting on the scale after dinner tonight, and that number SCARED me. However, my body definitely looks slimmer, and I have to chalk it up to muscle building.

I HAVE to do these 6am mornings. I don't have any other time! Luckily, my girl V at work is thinking about coming to the gym with me then. She just had a baby, and is ready to start losing. She's up at that time anyway, and getting up at 5am shouldn't be hard for me. I used to have to be to work at 4am when I was working at Starbucks!

I also need to get my trumpet upstairs. I've been looking at my music (especially Clowns) but I haven't played. I have three weeks before camp, but I shouldn't get lazy with it. I'm going to schedule my wisdom teeth to be pulled pretty much RIGHT after February camp. That should give me plenty of time before the next camp to recover.

Special thanks to Lynda for another tuition donation :) She's my best friend's mommy, and really didn't have to :)

Yay!

So I received my first sponsorship today, from Patricia in Washington. Very very VERY cool. Thanks!!

Also, my friend Rachael has offered to donate 20% of her PureRomance sales to me, if you mention my name. It's linked in this post, and I also have something in the side bar. It's really cool company that sells a bunch of romantic gifts. Valentines Day IS right around the corner!

Today I skipped my cardio workout, and instead ran around town. Wasn't too easy in the rain, but my car kept me dry, haha. I did do a one-on-one at my mom's Pilate's studio for about 90min, which would make my second impromptu personal training session this week. It felt good to loosen up all the muscles that my cardio tightens.

Mom also took me to Target and bought me a cute workout outfit, AND I got a Fuerza tank while I was at her studio. I think that after I get back from tour, I'm going to start training to be a certified Pilates instructor. It'll keep me in shape, and it can always be a source of income. Also, I'll probably take a year or so off from school after I finish my pre-chiro education (possibly a BA in Kinesiology) and I can teach while I save up money.

Pilates is so awesome, and it compliments Chiropractic. It's all about strengthening your core and spine, and it's all focused around posture! We're actually planning on opening my clinic once I graduate from LifeWest, and having mom's Pilates studio share the space. Keep everything in the family, huh?

I've got quite an exciting future ahead of me, I just need to remember to enjoy the things going on right now! So, in that ilk, I will now go watch some trash TV with my dog. :)

Falling into a routine.

Hey everyone,

The interval training is going really well. I guess when I first started it I wasn't doing it quite right, but now I've got it down pat. I'm not too good at it, but everyday it's getting easier.

The other day at the gym, nobody showed up for bootcamp, and Monique worked with me one-on-one. I also sent her information to my mom, who's looking for another reformer pilates instructor. Small world, huh? I also dropped off a sponsorship application to Angie at UltimateFitness...I didn't get to talk to her, and explain drum corps, so I hope I get a chance to sit down with her. Maybe she'd donate training sessions with Mo? Haha, that would work for me.

I've been going to the gym pretty much every day. I'm trying for 6am 5 days a week, but lets be honest: It's not happening. But, if it's lunch, or after work (like I'm about to go after I finish this entry) I still make sure to get there.

We got Send In The Clowns this week, true proof that I'm officially a member :) Boyfriend is at his OWN camp this weekend, so I'll have plenty of time this weekend to get the ol' horn to the chops.

Okay. I should get goin' to the gym, and then me and puppy have school tonight, and this weekend is full of busy errands.

Hope all is well with everyone!

174

I started something new at the gym today...some guys on DCP were talking about it, and I figured I'd give it a try. HIIT = High Intensity Interval Training. Basically, warm up, then run your ass off for short bursts, with short recovery periods in between.

So, I walked at 4.0mph and .5 incline for 15 mintues, while catching up on my gossip via OK! magazine. Before I knew it, I was at 14:51, and hit the speed button. Heh...my first interval I cranked it all the way to 9.2mph. Someone told me to run like you're being chased!!! But I did the whole 60sec, then went back to 4mph to recover for 60sec. For the rest of the intervals, I brought it down to 8mph, and did 4 more high/low.

After that, I had about 5min left of my 30min time on the treadmill, so I jogged at 5.5mph for the rest of it.

I'm really lucky Boyfriend put some amazing music on my iPod...recently old NewFoundGlory and new Britney have been getting me through my hour at the gym. I turn the music up so I can't hear my own breath, and just GO.

I stood in front of the mirror when I was lifting (and lifting for me is working with 5lb weights.), wearing my "future trophy wife" shirt, and Britney's "Piece of Me" blaring in my ears, and I realized:

I'm REALLY marching Santa Clara Vanguard.

I told my bosses today, and have a slew of people waiting for my sponsorship letter to arrive in their mailboxes.

Oh, ALSO? One of my mom's clients at her Pilates studio is the NEICE of the guy who founded Vanguard, or the corps who ultimtely became Vanguard. Or maybe she's the daughter. I can't quite remember, and everything's a huge blur right now. Either way, she's super nice, and knows about corps, and it's just so silly how small this world is.


I guess the point of this blog is that I'm really REALLY happy. The worst thing that has happened to me recently was that I dropped my left-over beef stroganauf on the ground tonight, and lost about half of it, AND broke my tupperware. :( I mean, I am really stressed about leaving the real world for 3 mo, but my fortune cookies said "the decisions you're making are the right ones", so I'm going to just believe that.

Again, if you're interested in sponsoring me, PLEASE email me at strongodares@yahoo.com or push that little donate button up in the top right corner.

Thanks for reading,
Chels

2008 Santa Clara Vanguard

Ohhhh my god.

I received my email, and I'm officially a member of the 2008 Santa Clara Vanguard!!!!!

No alternate spot, no "we'll see you next camp, and then maybe"... nope nope nope, I'll pick my horn out next camp, and it's all mine for the year.

Now my workout is going to get even more intense. I'm sitting at 175 right now, and I would like to be under 170 before the next camp. School starts tomorrow, so I'm not sure WHEN I'll have time to work out, but I have to find time.

My tour fees arer $2200 this year, so please please please, if you even have an extra $20, click that donate button over there in the right top corner.

Woohoo!

Happy day today

This have been so crazy since last weekend.

I made it through the second camp, and now everyone's waiting for THIS weekend's camp in Texas to be over, so we can have our spots finalized.

To get me through the week, I've been working out a whole lot, and helping Boyfriend open up his store. He's probably pulling a 70hrs this week.

But today should be nice and relaxing. Allie and I already went and ran around outside in the chilly, sunny air, and now I'm heading over to the gym for an hour or so, before boyfriend gets home(!!!) hours earlier than I expected him to.

In other news: Allie and Mom's Border Collie, Jack, started tog training on Friday. They're both incredibly smart, and doing better than all their counterparts. Go collies!

Oh man.

I absolutely could not sleep last night. My mind wouldn't shut up! I was running music through my head, thinking about work, thinking about my work-out plan, thinking about how to afford my car-insurance, how I have to order checks, why my dog is so talkative, if I'm jinxing myself by putting my picture up, etc etc etc etc.

I went back to the gym today for the first time since Thursday. My legs are still sore, but I can sit/get up/get down the stairs without wincing. Tomorrow I'm going to spinning @ 8:30, then more of the usual on Weds. Then Thursday it's back to boot camp, and Friday it's camp!!!

Ahh!!

You see why my head is going a million miles a minute?

Food wise, I'm back to Slim Fast and Lean Cuisine. We gorged on Trev's homemade chili and cornbread last night, after a pancake breakfast that morning. It's fine, because it's working. Last week I lost 3 lbs! Pretty sweet. True, it's still Christmas weight, but you know. Whatever. I'm getting into a routine, and I'm liking it a whole lot.

39 to go!

173.8

Sweet. I ate like crap yesterday, and yet I;m still losing.


Works for me!

175.4

good.

I'm super sore today from yesterday's bootcamp. Shoulders thru my mid back, and then definitely my thighs from all the squats. But it's good stuff :)

Not much activity today, just SlimFast for breakfast, work, then off at noon. Picked up some LeanCuisines at Safeway, then headed home. A TON of rain today. It looks like a tropical storm over California right now. Pretty insane.

boot camp

Today was one of my "late" days to work; Tuesdays and Thursdays I don't have to be there until 10am. So I woke up an hour later than normal, and went to the boot camp class at UltimateFitness.

I got in a couple minute late, and they were in the middle of getting the heartrate up with jumping jacks and jump rope exercises. When I got all my stuff together, we went started quick squats...as many as we could do in 20sec intervals. 8 of them. and we had to hold the squat in the 10sec rest.

Then more squats and triceps work with the weights, 3 reps of different arm/squat exercises with sprints in between. Interchanging reps of mountain climbers and tri-dips, ab work with the medicine ball (which was REALLY fun!) and finished everything off with crunches and pushups across the room from one another, with crab running between each station.

It was a TON of fun. I mean, drum corps PT is pretty much boot-camp based, with some balance and Pilates thrown in.

The best part of the workout?

When I was sprinting, the trainer was right next to me, and said I looked like an athlete. :D She wasn't a itty-bitty skinny-mini, she was a buff woman, so her telling me I looked, and worked out, like an athlete, meant a whole lot to me.

Still fat, but on my way there!

176.4

Okay, better.

I ate well yesterday, until dinner at Chevy's, dessert at ColdStone, and two glasses of champagne at home. Although, dinner at Chevy's wasn't too bad, the fajitas are pretty decent, calorie wise, if I stay away from the beans and rice.

Once work starts this week, it'll be easier to get in gym and trumpet time. Camp is in TWO weekends, and I still need to get a recording somehow. I really want to do this, and I know if I don't give it my all, I'll regret it for life.

I'm using The Daily Plate to track my exercise, calories, and weight. It's like all those websites I used to use, into one. They have a blog feature, but I'll still write here, I think.

177lbs

I had a really bad night last night. I got on the scale after dinner, clothes and all, and the scale read "181.6". I just flipped out. I worked WAY too hard and sacrificed way too much this year to gain almost 10lbs in a WEEK.

I'm really disgusted with myself. I started purging the house of bad stuff by giving my sister two sleeves of un-diet soda that Boyfriend's mom brought over. Unfortunately, the families gave a us a ton of good stuff that they know we love to eat, and it's filling up my pantry. I don't want to get rid of absolutely everything, because Boyfriend likes that stuff too.

He's another thing. He says he hates how he looks right now, but won't do anything about it. Time for me to start making dinner again, I think.

New Years Re-cap and Rezzies

Well! Quite the year it's been, huh?

I've lost 30lbs, and gone down 4 sizes. It's a HUGE accomplishment for me to have done this, and I'm ready to start the new year with a new goal, and new ambition.

My original goal was 50lbs by the end of September, which I missed. I can blame it on nobody but myself, as I yo-yo'd a bit during the summer with the move and lack of funds. But, I can say I know what works for me, and what doesn't. I'm physically in better shape than I've ever been, and looking forward to a littler Chelsea by this time next year.

Now for my 2008 Resolutions:

1. Get down to 135lbs in the next year.
2. Cut fast-food consumption down to 1x every 2wks. (Cutting it out of my life is not in the foreseeable future, but twice a month should be fine.)
3. Teach my dog how to shake
4. Get a real spot with the corps I'm currently auditioning for, and have an incredible summer
5. Go to Vegas for my 21st birthday
6. Get Trevor and I into a decent house (not apartment), with possible fix-er-up potential.

I'm looking forward to health, happiness, and a whole lot of love in the next year, and making it the next best year of my life.


Happy New Year!!!

Updating.

So, I didn't make BD, which I'm okay with. This weekend I went elsewhere and got a call-back.

So now, I've got a strict workout regime that I must do every single day.

Run 30min/day, 4 days/wk.
100 crunches/day
100 shups/day
Some other form of cardio remaining 3 days/wk.

I need to practice and record myself before next camp, and basically rock it out. Tonight I took care of my crunches/shups in like 30min, with boyfriend watching. My pushups are kinda lame at the moment, been 3 years since I've had to do them for real...after I did 100, Trev got on the floor and totally made a fool out of me. It's okay, I'll get stronger. I only carry a trumpet around! He had a euphonium!!

It was kinda cool at the auditions, cuz we did wind sprints instead of a big long running block. Once we got into visual block, 3/4 of the hornline had to drop out and puke, and I definitely did not.

I'm really excited to be where I am right now, but I'm keeping it quiet until something definite happens. Until then, continue to wish me luck. I've got the kick-start I needed for some more weight loss, and definitely some ego for my drum corps persona.


Pretty stoked :)

Ugh. Finally.

I'm under 170 now, did I mention that?

Today I lost more baggage, and not the kind that rides on your hips, or under a plane. Just now I deleted DareTo. I got bored and lonely tonight, as Boyfriend's been out of town all weekend, and started reading old blogs. It started out on his, chock-full of typos and Lee Rudnicki-esque formatting...but he also mentioned little ol' me a lot. I sent him a text, since he's god-knows-where right now. "Been a long time baby. You loved me and just didn't know it!" We were always meant to be together.

But I digress.

From his, I went to my old ones, as far back as I could, and I was hoping I could get to when he was writing. But I only got as far back as my first few months in Florida, and really shouldn't have read those entries.

First of all: Sorry to everyone who had to read about my sex life. Inappropriate, and personal, and I should have never shared it.

Secondly: That Claudia chick was a bitch. So was Becky, and Nikki. However, Claudia was definitely the worst. But the one thing that ties them to me is that we've all been infatuated, or at least interested in the same man. I give them credit for their taste, if not their timing. However, I've got Trev for life, so I guess no time would have been a good time.

Thirdly: I can't "forgive and forget". The things Trevor did to me then still wreck my heart when I think about them. I will never forgive him for tearing me apart the way he did. However, I love the boy, and am able to move past them. That year will always be in our memory books, even if it's the page we flip past. It's made us who we are today, and unfortunately still linger in any arguement we have about fidelity. Trevor never cheated on me but it hurt just as bad. If I think about it long enough, I'll still get tears. However: I came clean to Trevor about a boy in Florida of my own when he was at DCI. Call it revenge, call it rebound, call it what you will...it still killed him, and he found out the same way I found out about every Claudia bullshit, by reading a password protected account. I never cheated on Trevor but it hurt just as bad.

I deleted all my entries because it's not fair to the future "us" to have that on our record publicly. While it still hurts my heart, and guides my trust, my man now is not the same boy I first moved in with. Neither of us were ready for the intensity of that realtionship. I wanted to hold tight to the person I always dreamed of, and he was used to having me as a back up.

I won't ever be able to get over that. I'm sorry, but it's true. It's been two years now, and I'm not mad anymore, just so much more aware.

My man loves me, more than any person on this earth (save blood ties). We've grown up together, and perhaps some of these indescretions were inevitable. We have a better understanding of who we are, and what we want out of life - and it's "us". We're willing to go through anything to stay together, because we're suckers for our love.

So while I may still hold onto past hurt, it only makes me love the man in front of me a millions times more, for being who he is today.

Well hi there!

So, BD auditions are in a week. Seven days that will fly by like no other. This past week I've finally decided on a piece, and I'm really happy with it. I had been previously working on something else, but it just wasn't motivating me. This one I have now is in one of my favorite keys, and it's exactly what they need: technicality and expression. Loving it. It is NOT a jazz piece, just in case anyone was wondering.

I'm really getting excited. There's a whole lot of positive evergy flying around, and here's the bottom line: I'm going to make the line. I AM. There's no way possible that I'm not going to.

That's it.

No one is going to take my spot. I've been gone from this family way too long, and I'm finally ready to come back and do what everyone has known I'm capable of.

I've been running at least three times a week. I haven't lost much weight recently, but as I mentioned before, I am down to a size 8...a HUGE difference from auditions 3 years ago when I was a size 16. My member jacket doesn't even FIT anymore! No problem tho, haha. I'll still wear it.

Starting Monday I'm going to start playing for Trevor, and hopefully for my mom at least once as well, to get rid of jitters. They're obviously going to be much less critical than Wayne or John, but still.

So. Good luck to everyone who's auditioning, and I'll talk to you next Sunday.

170.4

Slowwwwwwww weight loss. But I'm figuring any day now I'll lose like 5 lbs since I got so much smaller recently.

On the Blue Devil front, we're going to run at least a mile at auditions, so I need to get up to two miles super comfortably. I have my audition packet purchased, and one of the two updates downloaded. I also have exercises, and warm ups, which will help my finger dexterity to better perform my audition piece.

I'm so, SO excited about auditions now.

Today's plan (no work until like 2:30):
School 8-930
edit: go see mom at work so I can can money for a co-pay at Kaiser.
Go to Kaiser, try to get new glasses and contacts.
11am Dentist appt for a permanent crown. (ugh.)
Come home, PRACTICE for like an hour.
Leave early for work, go to the gym with my fancy new ipod. (which now works, but my Nike+ shoes are too big!)
Work @ 2:30
Jazz band @ 6:30 up in Napa.

Size EIGHT.

Huh. Went in for a pair of size 10 jeans, and instead came out with 8s.

Kinda crazy, since size 6 is my ultimate goal, but I still feel like I have way further to go still, as the scale hasn't moved below 170 yet.

Ah well. Huh. Maybe size 4 then?

fight the temptation!

Man.

My kitchen is a fat-kid's dream right now. Lucky Charms, Kix, Banana Creme Pie, bacon, ice cream, and marshmallows in the pantry. But what am I eating right now? Veggie medley (broccoli, red bell, and mushrooms) and tuna.

I came home my my eye appointment in Vacaville, and I was really tempted to relax, watch TV, and have a big ol' slice of that pie my BF insisted on bringing home. (I did have some last night, I'm no angel) Instead, I got out of the apartment for an hour and KILLED it at the gym.

First I speed-walked on an incline for 5min, then ran for 15 more. Did my new weight-lifting pattern, ran for 5 more minutes, then did the pattern again. I'm not looking at the scale for a couple days, because the number is icky :( with the strength training, the muscle is adding a little bit of weight. BUT, I'm wearing a pair of 8/10 spandex pantalones right now that my teeny tiny mom gave me. So there :)

crisis adverted.

Okay, well the root canal is done and pain free. I've also had an eye crisis this week...apparently all those warnings about wearing your contacts too long are REAL. Eye ulcers suck, especially right in the cornea. *shudder*

Anyway.

I found a workout regimen that I LOVE. It's from FullFitness, a free fitness website. (I'm doing the fat-burning one. I tried it out tonight, and having a list to follow kept me from flailing with the weights.

I'm kinda frustrated with my body right now. Not my weight so much, but I guess more of my immune system. I'm taking really good care of myself, and all these bull-crap setbacks keep happening. Whether it's the flu, or temporary blindness, or a root canal...it's just mentally hard to work through.

I will work out each day this weekend, and Saturday and Sunday I'll do 3 sets of the fat-burning work out. Tonight I only did two, but ran around my apartment complex, and up the three flights of stairs, after.

I'm so close to the 160s. This always happens, I get close to a 10lb mark, and then something gets in the way. Pretty retarded.

Oh well. Thinking positive. This new routine will keep me from getting bored for a while at least, and it truly challenges me, and I leave the gym exhausted. Good.

my best assests are disappearing

Soooo, I've lost like 10lbs since DCA weekend. Maybe a little less, but not really. Unfortunately, that weight seems to have disappeared from my butt and my boobs. My mom noticed the top, and boyfriend definitely notices the lower part missing :(

So I'm looking for the Daisy Duke workout...what Jessica Simpson did to get ready for the movie. I want to be in shape, but I can't lose my signature behind!

Haha, whatever. I'm being ridiculous.

My birthday is in two weeks. With twenty pounds to go now, I'm successfully past the 1/2 way mark, and with my recent weight loss without any exercising, it would be easy to assume I might get there. But I know realistically I won't make it down to 150, but I'm trying. I'm going to work out tomorrow morning, and sunday as well...I just have to get in workouts when I can. I might start going up to Fuerza (my mom's pilates studio) on Tuesday mornings between classes...I know she'd like that. I probably should.

I'm pretty happy with my progress. I know I sucked it up this summer, and I wasted a bunch of time...but there's no denying I lost 30lbs. I'm very much looking forward to family pictures this Christmas, and comparing them to last year.

171.4

Uh, okay.

teeth suck (173.8)

Hi guys.

I'm eating again, good thing. The puking has stopped, I'm just still super tired.

But a couple weeks ago I had a filling done. It was for a tooth with a really deep groove, and apparently even if I washed my mouth out with bleach every night on top of brushing/flossing twice daily, I still would have ended up with a cavity in that tooth.

Well, the filling they put in had to go super deep, and now it is cracking my tooth apart. Sweet, huh? So my dentist thinks I definitely need a crown, and I probably need a root canal too. (I'll find out on Friday) UGH. Add this on top of the wisdom teeth I need pulled, and I've got a big ol' party going on in my mouth.

I just picked (maybe) my audition piece, and if I end up with all this major mouth surgery, how exactly am I supposed to practice? Double tounging (my nemisis) isn't exactly easy anyway, let alone with gobs of gauze in my mouth. Friggin' A.

Heh, the plus side is I'll only be able to eat out of a straw, so maybe I'll lose more weight.

KIDDING!

Kinda.

Ugh. Today sucks. Add that on to my test in Physchology today, which I am completely UNprepared for (kinda hard to prepare without a book.), and I'm pretty freaking cranky this morning/afternoon.

I do have jazz ensemble later, which I'm very much looking forward to. I'm playing with a ton of people from high-school. It's actually almost exactly the make-up of jazz band my junior year, with a couple old guys thrown in the mix.

Okay. I'm gonna go study my notes for class now. I hope I don't need a scantron or anything. That would REALLY friggin' suck.

173.8

Well hi!

I know, what a stranger, huh? Well I just got back from Rochester last week, and I've been very sick this weekend. I finally have weekends free, so I promise I won't be so neglectful (I know, the best laid plans, right?)

In BD news, I practiced for an hour today, on a incredibly hard but FUN etude. We'll see if I stick with it, but I have to pick a piece very soon so I can get that down pat.

Health wise, eh, haven't worked out at all recently. But doing a lot of drum corps (and way less eating) has helped me maintain, and DROP weight! Do you see that? 173. (ish) Super close to the 160s :)

Tiffany from Renegades has offered herself for (free) tutoring sessions for me, add that on to Jazz band on Tuesdays and my supportive boyfriend, and I've got practicing down. I got running to like 15min without dying, always trying to do better.

Trev and I are considering getting me to a mid-west BD auditions, get my face out there some more. Imagine me being in Indy at auditions, and John Mehann's face, lol.

Now we're off to the dog park and dinner at mom's house.

175.2lbs

Well, thats what it said on Saturday morning.

Anyway, Blue Devils won DCI. I'm pretty iffy about it, because a long time ago, three best friends and I shook hands over some fast food, saying that in 2007 we'd all march Devs A Corps, go to Finals in SoCal, and get rings. Unfortunately, only 1 of us did it. There was no major emergency that stopped the other three of us from marching. Basically, just life.

It just really kinda hit me. I need my priorities in check. I could be wearing that ring, but I didn't make it a serious goal in my life. Now, I have only 2 years left to do it. I also realized that I don't really care about the ring, I just want to march there. I'll regret it my whole life if I don't.

Anyway.

I ate like crap at Trevor's family's house this weekend, but we had a puppy emergency on Friday night that made me need comfort food. In reality, it wasn't too bad, just more food than normal. But puppy is doing better, my best friend is coming home to motivate me, boyfriend is gonna kick my butt if I don't practice...things will work themselves out.

I'm just really stressed right now. I hear working out is a good remedy for that ;)

176.6lbs

Finally, FINALLY! Some movement! I've been drinking a whole lot of water the last three days, trying to combat my new office-chair position. I might not move as much as I did in restaurants, but if I drink multiple liters of water a day, I HAVE to get up sometime to go potty, right? Haha.

Soooooo lets see. It's now the middle of August, and I'm pretty far away from my goal. HOWEVER, I've done pretty stinkin' decent at taking a bunch of weight off, keeping it off, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, all WITHOUT killing myself.

My focus is changing a bit now. I'm not exclusively trying to look better anymore...now it's time for me to officially get in shape. Drum corps auditions are right around the corner. Div I size is going up from 135 to 150, and with a big turnover rate in BD's hornline this season, it's now or never for me. I don't want to rook-out with Devs (while there's nothing wrong with it). I'm a Blue Devil, I've done 2 years in the organization already, and I should at least finish it up with the same amount of time with the big boys.

So, this blog is going to focus a little more on me prepping for that, rather than calorie count. However, the more I play and breathe with rythmic accuracy (shout out to my bass drum boys), the more I work on strengthening my core to march better, the more I run so I'm not in the back in the running block, I'm still going to get in shape.

Also, I know there are a few people who read this who have known me (if electronically) for quite a few years now. I want you to read this, support me, wish me luck....and honestly, if I make it, I'm going to need sponsorships, pretty badly. I've been living on my own for two years now, and I'll need to pay my rent for the three months I'm on tour.

I'm not asking anyone YET, just trying to put this blog out there so if anyone ever says "hey, who deserves to be sponsored?" ( and through hard work and dedication I make Devs) you think of your girl Chelsea over here. :)

Okay so.

Today I ran at 5.5mph for 10min. Everyday I'm going to try to boost it up another minute. Today I felt great, until I stopped running. Then I almost died. So I jumped on the elliptical for 15min to keep my blood pumping. Then I grabbed the 10lb hand weights and worked my triceps (not gonna lie, my arms are a little flabby.) I then held one weight up like a horn and did some slides. Kinda dorky, but whatever.

As mentioned, I'm seriously drinking a ton of water at work. Keeps me from snacking on the treats in the back room.

Stay tuned, por favor. This girl is goin for the GOLD! err...blue.

Twelve.

As in SIZE 12.

Wooooooofreakinghoooooo!!!

They're Levi's too, which is friggin awesome, since Levi's run small, or so I'm told.

They're snug, but not ugly snug...my ass looks amazing! Also, plenty of motivation to workout to get them loose, and then too big. I will never buy 14s ever again.

Way excited.

Eating today has been kinda crappy...a Chop Chop Past Salad (SBUX) for breakfast (at like 6am and 8am) and then a ham sandwich from Genova's Deli. (Ham, fresh mozz, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, oil/vin instead of mayo, sour roll) We'll probably do something light for dinner, if anything. Mom wants to take us to Celedon for apps and salads, which sounds right up my alley. We'll see.

This weekend is gonna be nice and relaxing, just the 777 Renegade picnic on Saturday, then Sunday at the Hollister Bike Rally with Trev's mama. Then back to the grind on Monday, and a new JOB! Then next weekend, in LA with the corps. I won't have a whole lot of time to work out, so it is really going to be all about eating right and drinking LOTS of non-alcoholic, 0-calorie beverages,

Hope ya'll are doing well!

Chels

Water we doing?

Sorry I'm not updating with daily weights...I'm trying to be real good about not weighing myself every single day.

I'm forcing myself to drink more water...I'll make a venti cup of ice water, and give myself an hour to drink it, no matter how busy I am. I also ate breakfast today! look at me go.

Now I should head to bed, since I have work at 4freakingam tomorrow.

Love, peace, no grease!
Chelsea

Retarded.

Drum corps used to make me skinny...now I come back from camps weighing a pound heavier. Probably all the beverages and crap food we eat makes that happen.

This weekend is just a corps BBQ and then the rest of the weekend with BF's mommy, so I SHOULD be okay...Time to step it up just a little bit, probably go from 30 to 40 minutes on my cardio machines.

Dinner was good tonight, just a conglomeration of leftover stuff in our freezer...last piece of chicken, half bag of oriental veggies, and brown rice (not from the freezer, lol.) Probably ate too much, but makes up for not eating earlier today. I know, I know, but I was busy, getting a NEW JOB!

Don't know if I've mentioned chiropractic at all in here, but I want to be a chiropractor. I start my preresiquite classes in the fall....biology, chemistry, psychology, etc to be able to go to the school in Hayward in hopefully a year or so. So today I was looking for a new job, and I saw a REALLY nice chiropractor's office, so I went in on a whim. Talked to the office manager, then the Doctor, and they both love me, and I'm in there at 11 on Monday to fill out all my paperwork!

So I'll be working two jobs for a while, wanna see what kind of hours I can get at the office. The BEST part? (here's my never-ending optimism) I have to walk to both jobs. My mom is talking about getting me her bike, but we'll see.

So thats what's going on right now, have a great 4th!!!!

178.2

So last night I had some good food that my tummy was like, "okay, not good for me" so today I feel a little bit like I have a hangover.

BUt I did have a Baskin Robbin's banana sundae (versus the brownie one) with low-fat ice-cream, instead of the otehr one I wanted, and it actually ended up being hecka rich.

Today is a U-turn day, however. I can't think of anything tastier than that big bowl of fruit I'm going to have for lunch from the SBUX chilled meals fridge. Mmmmmmm.

Also, in unrealted news, I'm sick of dumb girls.

I have to get onto my other computer, cuz it's damn time I updated that little scale in the corner over there.

Maybe I will after I get back from the gym with neighbor/coworker Emily. We're gymming, then pooling/tanning. Yay.

A girl at work told me I look super skinny today. I'm not, I'm nowhere near skinny, but I am getting slimmer. It's wonderful. Seriously, I'm under 179. Read any post, that's like the magic number. I don't honestly remember being this number, EVER. Obviously I was at one point, but it was only on my way (weigh?) up.

K, time to change and call Emmy-poo.

Do you guys even read this anymore?

178.6

:)

179.2

Well, this is according to my wacked out scale.

But, I'm not getting a new scale anytime soon sooooo we're gonna just keep going with the number it gives me, even if that means taking a numerical step back.

I'm working out everyday, a nice combination of cardio and weight lifting...I'm concentrating on my core. My legs and arms are pretty muscular, it's my lower abs and lower obliques that are my problem areas. While they have muscle too (it's always nice to discover unknown muscles in the mirror) I'm flabbiest there.

97 days to go!

97days=13.85weeks
30lbs/13.8weeks
=
2.16lbs a week

COMPLETELY doable.

My motivation:

Me at Christmas.

Ewwwwwwww

It's crunch time, ladies and gentlemen.

So, as I was dating brownie bites at Starbucks yesterday, I noticed their expiration date is June 28th. Which is of course, 3 months from September 28th, which is the deadline for me to lose 50lbs.

I'm sitting at having lost 23-25lbs, remember my wacky scale, so that just leaves me with just another 25ish to go. I lost 20lbs in the first two months of this, and then pretty much stopped working out/eating better until just recently. Soooo to my body, I'm starting a new diet, which is of course when you lose the most weight.

The difference this time is I'm pretty much broke. So no SlimFast anymore, and definitely no more HydroxyCut. True, I only bought one bottle of it and only took them sporadically, but still. This is true dieting here now folks. I'm really good at working out after work. I love it. Today I've been browsing photos of my weekend drum corps shows, so I didn't go when I got off 2hrs ago, but I still have all afternoon. It's only 12:30 for jeezy.

Everyone at work knows about my dieting and working out, and I find that is super helpful. I don't want to have a pastry because then I'll just fall back into Fat Kid mode, and people will feel sorry for me for not having any self-control. There's actually a couple who want to come work out with me, or lay out in the sun with me after, which is super convinient, since I live right behind work. I like it. Making friends and looking better all at the same time, right?

Well here's a recent picture of me, from the weekend actually. My thunder thighs have never looks smaller. (even set between two skinny guys, I don't look too bad, huh?)

Starbucks curse.

So, I'm sure you've heard of it...girls start working at Starbucks and gain 5,10,15lbs in the first month.

WELL!

Not me.

I, in fact, have lost 5lbs in the last two weeks.

I'm not sure of my exact number right now, as I'm sure you remember, my scale was reading heavy after the move. However, I'm still using it to figure out what I've lost since I've been in California.

I've got a nice routine down now. Do an early morning shift at work, come home, walk puppy, nibble on a little somethin-somethin, work out, then nap by the pool. Then I still have all afternoon to do work around the house (or TV watching) that would normally prevent me from working out.

I feel good, I look good, and I'm starting to enjoy working out again. Except I think I got some sort of rash from the gym floor last time...I'll make sure to bring a towel with me today, lol.

How's life, faithful readers?

Back from the dead

Hey guys.

I'm still right around the same weight, things have been kinda stressful with a new job, the new place, and of course, drum corps on the weekend. But, I'm getting back into it. I've been working out mostly everyday after work, for the past week, including today. I only have 4.5 months to lose my 30 pounds to get to 50, and I'm trying real hard again. I'm tanning out by the pool too, so I feel more confident about myself.

There's been some stuff recently that has made me kinda ashamed of my body, so I neglected it for a while. While compliments are nice, harrassment is not, and I've just wanted to cover everything up for the past few weeks.

Boyfriend is back on board with me as well. He doesn't like what he sees around his middle, and I am more than happy to help him out. Starting with healthy meals ,and smaller portions. While I can't control what he does at work, or how often he works out, I can do my part by making nutritious dinners for us.

I'm pretty exhausted all the time right now. We don't have a bed yet, so we've been sleeping on air mattresses that deflate during the night. Also, I've started working early shifts at Starbucks...like EARLY early 4am shifts. So I'll eat something on my "lunch" at 8am, and thats about it until dinner. I do my best to get drinks with 10 calories or less. (ie espresso or tea drinks with sugar-free sweetners.)

I am happy, I'm just still adjusting to our new life. But I think with some consistancy, like my working out everyday, things will get easier.

And I can always sleep when I'm dead, right?