Monday, March 3, 2014

QotW: "If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got." ~Anonymous

Quote Of The Week: "If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got."  ~Anonymous

So my fiance made fun of me for having two sports quotes in a row. I honestly had no idea that they were both sports quotes. I guess I didn't pay enough attention when picking them. Haha. Well, to satisfy him, this week's quote has no attributed author.

This quote really rings true. We all know how we got to be where we are today. We all can place blame on some unhealthy habit for making us sluggish or overweight. We have to put that behind us and move forward onto creating good habits to change the way we feel. If we continue on with bad habits we know exactly where we will end up - right where we are now (or worse). If we change our habits, life can only get better.

So, this week I have a little activity for you. On a sheet of paper, I want you to make a list of bad habits you've had that led you to where you are now. Mine are:

- eating late at night
- overeating
- having too much dessert
- watching tv instead of exercising
- being lazy

...you get the point. On the other side of the paper, I want you to make a list of good habits that you're trying to get into the habit of. Mine are:

- walking more
- eating less junk
- treating myself to GOOD dessert, and not just any sweet I feel like at the moment
- eating more fruits and veggies
- trying to get moving more

You can easily see the different between the two sides. Underneath each of the lists, write how you felt after doing those activities. So, for me, under the bad habits side I would write: "unhealthy, fat, bloated, lazy, tired, etc." and under the healthier habits side, I would write: "energetic, lighter, less self-conscious, happier, etc."

Post this somewhere where you can see it. It might just help keep you motivated! :) Have a great week!

Monday, February 24, 2014

QotW: "If you don't do what's best for your body, you're the one who comes up on the short end." - Julius Erving

Quote of the Week: "If you don't do what's best for your body, you're the one who comes up on the short end." - Julius Erving

Not much else to be said this week. It prettymuch says itself.

Monday, February 17, 2014

QotW: "It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up." ~ Vince Lombardi

Quote of the Week: "It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up." ~ Vince Lombardi

So this morning I went to weigh myself. I was excited. I had been following my diet (aka not binge eating, and eating relatively healthy), I had been exercising every other day, despite having one of the most stressful and work-heavy weeks at school and work in least a year. I even had to pull an all-nighter (which I used to use as an excuse to binge). Before an all-nighter meant coffee and energy drinks, sugary sweets to "keep up" the sugar high and hyperness, and lots of soda in between. I was so proud of myself that this all-nighter went by with only two large cups of black coffee, a few low-calorie snacks, and no sugary sweets. 

So yesterday, after a long hard week I decided it was OK to indulge in a little dessert from my Valentine's Day gifts. So I did. I had one of those large Reese's Hearts (totaling 720 calories in case you were curious), after which I had a very light veggie-only dinner, and followed that up with 90 minutes on the elliptical (usually I do 60-70 minutes) to "make up for it" since I felt kind of guilty.

And today, Monday, my weigh-in day, I got on the scale and.... nothing. My weight did not budge even .1 of a pound since last week.

Now logically, I know that there could be many reasons for not losing anything. Stress can make you retain water, so maybe that's why. Maybe the sugar from the treat I had made me bloat since I've been very good about not having too much sweets. Maybe in my attempt to "undo" the dessert, I overdid it on the elliptical and am retaining water because my muscles hurt. Maybe I just really really need to poop. Who knows? I logically know I've been working hard, and that one treat won't undo an entire week of good work.

Emotionally, on the other hand, I'm crying and screaming and throwing a fit. I can't believe I let myself indulge. Why would I feel I deserved a treat? I'm not skinny yet. I could have worked harder this week. I start to doubt my healthy eating. I start to feel defeated. I think many of you know this downtrodden, depressed feeling. I feel hopeless. And, since most of you know I have quite the emotional eating problem, I feel like digging into a tub of cheesecake filling and giving up.

I know I can't give up. Despite the negative emotions running through my head, I need to stick to logic and positive thoughts.

This week's quote is a way to try to inspire me to look past the number and keep on doing what I know I've been doing right.

Do any of you ever feel like this?

Sunday, February 9, 2014

QotW: Dreams don't work unless you do!

Quote of the week: "Dreams don't work unless you do!"

Get working, sitting on your bum dreaming about a better healthier you can't get you anywhere. Want to achieve your dreams? Work towards your goals.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Quote of the Week: "If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough." –Oprah Winfrey

Quote of the Week: "If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough." –Oprah Winfrey

So this past week was *that week* (ladies, you know). So, with bloating, I gained five pounds, despite having exercised five times, and eating correctly (with the exception of two pieces of candy- which in reality were nothing compared to how I was eating before). But you know what? It's life. Sometimes, you might not lose the weight you worked for. And, sometimes you body just wants to hold onto extra water (Damn you, Aunt Flo!). Don't beat yourself up about it. Move on, keep working for your goal. In the end, you doing the right thing will work out. If you give up, you'll never win.

Setting that little pep talk for myself aside, time to talk about this week's quote...

I like this one, in terms of life and of weight loss. Too many people (myself included) always focus on what we don't have. For example, I focus on the fact I don't have a thin stomach like most people my age do, or that I can't run like I would like to, or that I don't have a nice nose. It's hard, but I've been trying to silence my inner "negative Nancy" by focusing on what I do have: I have legs even my fit friends envy, I have long beautiful hair that I get compliments for, and I'm lucky to not be ill or suffer from diabetes (trust me- my bad-eating was BAD).

This week I want you to put aside all the things you hate about yourself and your life, and stop thinking about what you don't have. Instead, focus on what you do have. 

I want each of you to make a list of 5-10 things you have or that you like about yourself. 

You can post it here in the comments or on the Facebook page if you'd like, but most importantly I want you to write it out (or type it) and post it somewhere where you can see. Put in on your mirror in the bathroom, your bedroom door, by your desk at work, wherever. Just make sure that you can see it every day.

Focus on the positive! :)

Monday, January 27, 2014

QotW: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." ~ Lao-tzu

Quote of the Week: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." ~ Lao-tzu

So, I've been working kinda hard on "me." The last few weeks. I've been making non-numerical goals every week and trying my best to be healthier, and be less focused on the numbers. This past week I went down 5.3 pounds! :)

So, I figured in celebration I would try to share some of my motivation with you guys.

I have a big whiteboard in my room, on which I've written many things to keep myself motivated. I have it in a place that I can't help but glance at when I'm in my room, entering or exiting. I have a two lists, one which includes my high weight, current weight, and goal weight, and the other which includes my change for the week and my goal of the week. That's all great for keeping me focused and reminding myself that I never want to go backwards. But, my favourite part of my board is my "quote of the week!"

I know it sounds silly, and kind of pre-school-ish to give myself a quote every week to aspire to, but it helps me. Monday is my weigh-in day, so on Sunday night is when I re-do my board - writing a new goal for the week (fyi: this week's goal is to do four work-outs, despite my hectic schedule, because last week was less busy and I blew my goal of "go on the elliptical one time" right out of the water by going on it four times and doing a kickboxing workout with my fiance!), and then I look up and pick a quote of the week.

This week I was just feeling it with this quote my Lao-tzu.So, I figured I'd share. (And I'll continue trying to share my quote every week, but I make no promises since this is about ME first and foremost, and I have a lot of stuff on my plate like unpacking from my recent move, catching up on work for my two bosses, and completing my thesis this semester....oh, and classes too of course.)

If your journey beings with the next step, where are you taking yourself?

(Feel free to respond in your head, or in the comments. I love feedback! :] )

Saturday, March 16, 2013

I probably never finish anything...

I've come to the conclusion that I never seem to finish anything I start on this blog. and That's not okay. I know a lot of us do that. We start something with tons of motivation and then we just...stop. So, instead of another challenge or competition or anything I'm just going to focus on me, and give you guys random tips and stuff on the way. Maybe I'll start another challenge eventually, or maybe not. Who knows? Does anyone actually care? lol

MyzzLyzz

Monday, December 3, 2012

day 28 and a half (a quick note)

Due to the fact that I am a student and that takes priority over everything, I will be putting this on hold for about two weeks while I deal with finals and the rest of the end-of-the-semester stuff. Thanks for understanding!

-MyzzLyzz

Friday, November 30, 2012

Day #28: buffet adventure

So, today was one the first days all week that both me AND Bret had off at the same time. So we wanted to spend the day together. In the midst of our errands Bret decides he wants Hibachi (which I'm not a huge fan of), so whatever fine, I agree and we go to this new place in town that we'd never been to, and long story short it ends up being a buffet (which I HATE the most!!! I always overeat to "get my money's worth" and feel sick and blah blah blah you get the point). So, I tried my best...It was hard to keep track of (I wrote everything down) and hard to guesstimate sizes and measures and picking random brands of MFP to use...I tried to err on the side of caution, so it's more likely OVERestimated, but still, I don't think I did too bad. I tried to fill up on fruit and salad, and only have a few pieces of the foods I usually overindulge in, and at the end I treated myself to a tiny portion of ice cream.

Breakfast: 280
Lifeway - Lowfat Kefir Peach, 2 cup - 280

Lunch: 836
Lettuce - Iceberg (includes crisphead types), raw, 1.5 cup shredded - 15
Tomato - Cherry Tomato, 4 tomato - 6
Imitation Crab-Leg Style, 5 pieces (78g) - 133
Chinese - Crab Rangoon, 1 piece - 70
 Cheese Pizza - Buffet, 1/12 pie - 127
Cucumber - Peeled, raw, 10 slice - 8
Cooked, boiled, drained, without salt, 1 mushroom - 3
Shredded Carrot - Shredded, 0.25 cup raw - 12
Orange - Medium 2-3/8" Dia 96g, 1 whole peeled - 45
Generic - Cut Fresh Honeydew Melon, 3 slices - 112
Cantaloupe cute fresh, 3 slices - 30
Mint Chocolate Chip Premium Icecream, 0.25 Cup (70.9g) - 70
Strawberry Ice Cream, 0.25 cup - 70
Chocolate Ice Cream, 0.25 cup- 70
Butter Pecan Ice Cream, 0.25 cup - 65

Dinner: 834
Famiglia - Plain Pizza Slice, 1/6 of a pie - 250
(then, later)
Red Robin - Side Salad - No Croutons & No Dressing (From Rr Website), 1 Salad - 76
Red Robin - Clam Digger's Clam Chowder Bowl (Soup Only, No Bread), 1 bowl (356 grams) - 508

Snacks/Drinks: 110
Tea - 0
Water - 0
1 serving of pretzels, (Utz Sourdough Specials large pretzels) - 110

Exercise: 
None. :(

TOTAL: 2060

(I guess I did okay, considering my limit is 2020 and I only went over a little bit. I really need to go workout tomorrow!!!)

Motivation! ... (note: I do not own, nor did I create this photo. I honestly don't remember where it came from, I just had it saved on my computer. If you are the owner of this photo please comment or email me to have it removed or to get credit. Thanks for your understanding, I don't want to infringe on any copyright or ownership or whatever!)
This sums up my general feeling about today. :)

Day #27: busy day

Very busy day, so I didn't eat much til the afternoon, which was bad, but whatever...

Breakfast: 280
Lifeway - Lowfat Kefir Peach, 2 cup - 280

Lunch: 140
Peeled Hard Boiled Eggs, 2 egg - 140

Dinner: 695
Ronzoni - Smart Taste Penne Rigate, 3 oz. - 255
Francesco Rinaldi - Marinara Pasta Sauce, 1/2 cup - 80
Maggio - Part Skim Ricotta Cheese, 1 c (62g) - 360


Snacks/Drinks: 440
Tea - 0
Water - 0
1 mozzarella cheese stick - 80
Giant - Fruit on the Bottom Lowfat Yogurt - Blueberry, 1 Container - 150
Green Giant - Whole Kernal Sweet Corn, 1 container (1 4/5 cups ea.) - 210

Exercise: 1378
treadmill intervals incline - 30 min - 350 
Elliptical Trainer - 65 min - 1028

TOTAL: 1,555 - 1378 = 177 :0


Thursday, November 29, 2012

POLL RESULTS: "What is your favorite no-calorie beverage?"



What is your favorite no-calorie beverage?


water
  2 (100%)
diet soda
  0 (0%)
seltzer water (natural favors)
  0 (0%)
sparkling water (ones sweetened with artificial sweeteners)
  0 (0%)
flavored water (ones sweetened with artificial sweeteners)
  0 (0%)
other
  0 (0%)

Votes: 2

Only two votes...but oh well, those who voted are really smart! Water is the best option on the list. Diet soda makes you gain weight (see my articles on it here and here) , and carbonated drinks (even seltzer water without anything artificial) can cause bloat and stomach stretching (which none of us want). It's okay to enjoy seltzer in moderation or once and a while, but plain good ol' water is really the best option. Yay for you voters being smart! :)






(note: I do not own, nor did I create these photos. I honestly don't remember where they came from, I just had them saved on my computer. If you are the owner of these photos please comment or email me to have it removed or to get credit. Thanks for your understanding, I don't want to infringe on any copyright or ownership or whatever!)

Day #26: went out drinking and had bar food, but managed to stay under calorie count..woohoo!

I anticipated that I would go out drinking with my friends...and I did my best to do good, but eh whatever. I got under my calories limit luckily! Hopefully three hours of playing darts burned some calories. rotfl.

Breakfast: 280
Lifeway - Lowfat Kefir Peach, 2 cup -280

Lunch: 192

Kirkland - Greek Yogurt Plain Nonfat, 1 cup - 140
Well-Pict - Sliced Strawberries, Frozen, Unsweetened, 70 g (1 cup) - 52
(Both above ingredients were blended into a smoothie)


Dinner: 372
Home Prepared - Plain Mashed Potatoes (Skim Milk), 2 cup - 172
Gravy - Chicken, Homemade, 1/2 cup - 80
Homemade - Oven Baked/Roasted Skinless Turkey Breast- Meat Only, 4 oz- 120

Snacks/Drinks: 1049
Tea - 0
Water - 0
1 mozzarella cheese stick - 80
Chex Mix - Traditional - 60% Less Fast Than Regular Chips, 1 pouch 49g -210
Jack Daniels - One Shot, 2 shot / 44mL / 1.5 fl oz - 194
Mozzarella Sticks, 3 pieces - 264
Heinz - Tomato Ketchup, 4 Tbsp (17g) - 80
Hennessey - Cognac, 1 oz - 69
Washington Apple Shot, 1 oz - 52
Dole - 100% Pineapple Juice-1 Can, 1 can (6oz) - 100 (Had this when i got home to settle my tummy before bed)

Exercise: 
None. 

TOTAL: 1893


Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Day #25: little food misstep, but then I fixed it in the gym

So....I ate more than I should have today. I actually had a nice, healthy dinner prepared but Bret brought home chinese food. I told him to only get it for himself, but he got it for me too. So, I packed away the healthy dinner as to not let the chinese go to waste. I ended up only having a few pieces of chicken, but I ate the whole side dish (it was a combo tray) of pork fried rice (well, except the pork chunks which I fished out and gave to bret since I usually only get plain rice since I'm not a big fan of pork).

But then, after dinner, Bret dragged me to the gym, where I kicked my butt. So, I think I helped, if not reversed, all the calories I had when I ended up overeating.

Breakfast: 280
Lifeway - Lowfat Kefir Peach, 2 cup - 280

Lunch: 740
Land O' Lakes - White American Cheese, 4 slice - 320
Pepperidge Farm - Whole Grain Bread - 15 Grain Hearty Texture, 2 slice (43g/1.5oz.) - 200
Progresso - Vegetable Classics Hearty Tomato Soup, 1 container (2 cups ea.) - 220

Dinner: 850
Generic- Take-Out - Sesame Chicken, 1.65 oz. - 137
Pork Fried Rice - General Chinese Food, 1.5 cup - 503
Generic - Pork Spring Roll, 1 serving - 210

Snacks/Drinks: 810
Tea - 0
Water - 0
1 mozzarella cheese stick - 80
1 serving of pretzels, (Utz Sourdough Specials large pretzels) - 110
Giant - Fruit on the Bottom Lowfat Yogurt - Blueberry, 2 Container - 300
Land O' Lakes - White American Cheese, 5 slice - 400

Exercise: -1649
60 minutes on elliptical = 949
treadmill intervals* for 60 minutes = 700

*I named this one myself. Basically, what I do is start at 1.0 incline  and 3.0 mph speed and crank it up 1 level every 5 minutes for about 40 minutes (Until it gets to be about at level 10), and then The last 20 minutes I crank it up every 2.5 minutes until it reached 15 (which is the max on the treadmill at the gym) and then I just walk at 15 until an hour is up. This calorie count is from the machine (I know, its not always reliable, but MFP doesn't have anything like this in their database).  I remain at 3.0 mph speed the whole time.

TOTAL: 2,680 (Yikes!!!) - 1649 (from exercise) = 1031

Motivation! ... (note: I do not own, nor did I create this photo. I honestly don't remember where it came from, I just had it saved on my computer. If you are the owner of this photo please comment or email me to have it removed or to get credit. Thanks for your understanding, I don't want to infringe on any copyright or ownership or whatever!)

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Day #24: good things come to those who work

So last week was hectic, probably for everyone, which is why I didn't get a chance to update. But it's a new day, a new week, and time to get back to work! :)

Breakfast: 192
Kirkland - Greek Yogurt Plain Nonfat, 1 cup - 140
Well-Pict - Sliced Strawberries, Frozen, Unsweetened, 70 g (1 cup) - 52
(Both above ingredients were blended into a smoothie)


Lunch: 680
General Mills - Progresso Soup - Traditional - New England Clam Chowder, 1 container (2 cup (240 g) ea.) - 360
Crystal Farms - Peeled Hard Boiled Eggs, 2 egg - 140
Pepperidge Farm - Whole Grain Bread - 15 Grain Hearty Texture, 1 slice (43g/1.5oz.) - 100
Land O' Lakes - White American Cheese, 1 slice - 80

Dinner: 372
Home Prepared - Plain Mashed Potatoes (Skim Milk), 2 cup - 172
Gravy - Chicken, Homemade, 1/2 cup - 80
Homemade - Oven Baked/Roasted Skinless Turkey Breast- Meat Only, 4 oz- 120

Snacks/Drinks: 160
Tea - 0
Water - 0
2 mozzarella cheese stick - 160

Exercise: 
None. 

TOTAL: 1,404

Monday's Motivation! (As posted on facebook)... (note: I do not own, nor did I create this photo. I honestly don't remember where it came from, I just had it saved on my computer. If you are the owner of this photo please comment or email me to have it removed or to get credit. Thanks for your understanding, I don't want to infringe on any copyright or ownership or whatever!)