A month later...

I haven't posted a blog lately because things have been a bit hectic. Brian and I went on vacation two weeks ago and had a lot of fun. When we got back I started an 11 week weight loss elimination challenge that includes calorie burn and rep challenges. Plus food challenges on top. This is a good thing for me, because I love challenges. This gives me something to shoot for. I want to make it as far into the 11 weeks as I can. I am currently in week 2.

Another thing that came up shortly after we returned was an opportunity to have a free booth at a craft fair, but here is the catch, the fair is on August 4th. That gives me a very short time to put things together. I have made soap and am working on wash cloths and other knit items.

I will post more details about all of this later, but for now enjoy this picture of Brian and I at the hot springs in Banff.

My Story

I spend a lot of time encouraging all of my friends on My Fitness Pal. I know how discouraging it can be to do everything right to lose weight, but the scale does not seem to move at all.

It took me a long time of struggling with the scale to realize I was better off focusing on the things I could control. I knew that I could control whether or not I tracked my food or exercised. I could also control what I ate. As long as I was making healthy choices in the things I could control then I would consider all of my work a success. It didn't matter what the scale said.

I realized today that I started picking up this habit in high school when I was on chemotherapy. There were a lot of things out of my control at that time but I chose to focus on the things I could control. I could control whether or not I did my homework. I could control my attitude when I was at the doctors office receiving treatment. I chose to experience the journey as enjoyable of a life experience as I could.

That is the attitude I want to keep with me the rest of my life, always finding ways to make crappy inevitable situations the best that they could be.

The Difference

I have a couple of friends who are struggling with their journey to a healthier lifestyle. Seeing their status updates has me thinking about myself almost a year ago, August 2011 to be exact.

I wasn't happy with how I looked and I had started running and exercising and "watching what I ate". I was frustrated though because I wasn't getting the results I wanted. The pounds were not coming off in spite of all of my hard work. Eventually the holidays came and my exercise routine went by the wayside, but I was still frustrated that I wasn't losing weight.

At the start of this year I decided to give a diet program from Fitness magazine a chance. And it worked. Te eating plan was simple and the exercise routine was doable. I have relied on the structure of that eating plan multiple times because it outlined how many calories to have for each meal.

I have been on a roll ever since then. But the point of this post is the journal I have kept since August 2011. The first entries are very desperate and whiny. I wasn't taking control of the situation completely. There is a definite progression through this past year. Maybe one day I will type up my journal. But for now I can look back and see the change. I am now 21 pounds down and have a completely different lifestyle than what I had before.

Chugging Along-June Goals

I really need to get better about writing blogs when I have all of the great ideas in my head.  I have been listening to a lot of Jillian Michaels lately and she really has me thinking about why I gained the weight and the whole process of changing my lifestyle.  But of course my mind is at a blank right now.

I redeemed a Groupon for group training for the month of June and will be getting up bright and early tomorrow to go for my third class.  I'm exhausted at the moment but it is a great workout and I really like the trainer and hope to see some amazing results.

Without Further Ado...my June Goals

1) Be in the solid 180s by the end of the month.  I hit 189.6 over the weekend but I have a feeling the scale will bounce around a little bit before settling.

2) Run 1.25 miles.  I hope to gradually increase my running distance every month.  Hoping that I will be able to run at lunch even with doing group training at 6 am every day.

3) Focus on veggies.  I haven't been focused on these and it shows in my food diary.

4) Continue to track all of my food.

5) Aim for a minimum of 5,000 steps daily.

That is all for now.  More philosophical insight into this whole weight loss process at a later date.

I think I'm in love

I am knitting a scarf for Mr. Badango's Grandfather. I was going to do a simple mistake rib, and then a simple rib, and then seed stitch, but I ripped out every one of those after a few rows. I just wasn't happy with how it looked. Then I started playing and got the below result. I will post the pattern once the scarf is finished. But I have now set this picture as the background on my phone. I am in love with this scarf. It may not be let go of by me

Funny Work Pant Story

With all of the weight I have lost so far my work pants are starting to just hang off of me, well my jeans too but that is a different story.

I went to Target this past weekend to get some new pants for work. In my mind I have been wearing a size 14 this whole time so grabbed some size 12 pants and went into the fitting room. After much grunting and pulling and jumping around I finally got the pants on and zipped up. The thing is, I just couldn't justify buying them because they were too tight. I was really sad about this because I thought for sure the pants would fit just fine. I put them back on the shelf and did the walk of shame to Mr. Badango to let him know that I wouldn't be buying pants today. No sense in buying more pants in the same size I was already wearing.

I continued to be a little bummed about all of this until I decided to check the size on my work pants the next morning. Apparently I have been wearing a size 16 and the fact that I fit into the 12 means I have gone down two pant sized.

Meeting Goals

Okay, I have a confession.  I've been avoiding posting up my weight loss progress because I feel like it has stalled.  I weighed in at 192.2 this morning and am realizing that is down .5 pounds since April 24th.  The thing is, the scale has been bouncing around all over the place for the past few weeks.  One day it will be 190.9 then 191.4 then 192.2 then 190.3 then 191.6 then 192.2.  It is driving me a bit bonkers, but ultimately the low is getting lower and the high is also getting lower.  I may not get into the 180s like I wanted to this month, but I will be meeting my other goals that I set at the beginning of the month.

Goals for May
- Complete 30 DS- Working on it
- Get into the 180s- Eh, my body will get there when it gets there
- Continue to track all of my food- Been doing that
- Run a mile- Accomplished today and will continue to push myself to go further.

 I was reading a rant the other day from a woman who was upset about the rate the numbers on the scale were going down.  She knew that she looked thinner and her measurements told her so, but that number on the scale just wasn't going down.  I loved one of the responses and am trying to keep it in mind as I continue on this journey.

"So you've gotten physically and visibly smaller, right? But the number on the scale, which no one sees but you, hasn't changed? I don't see a problem here."

The number on the scale is only visible to me, and most people don't really care about that number.  What matters is that I am building muscle and toning up.  And whenever the fat does decide to drop off I bet I will have a 6 pack waiting for me.

Sometimes a break is needed

Thirty four days ago I joined a 50 day challenge and have been consistently meeting the challenge every day for those 34 days.  At this point I feel like I really can't fail at it.  The thing is, my body is rebelling and teling me that I need a break.  The past couple of days my food intake has been more and more unhealthy.  Not super unhealthy, but  I have been a lot more lax.  I have still been tracking my food and exercising, but it all culminated to today.

 My husband worked from 11am to 7 pm today.  I slept in until he had to leave for work then proceeded to sit on the couch and knit and read and watch tv until he got home around 8 pm.  I didn't bother to get up and do my 30DS dvd and I also snacked on the pastries he had brought home from work last night.  I didn't feel like I was eating too horribly calorie wise, but I really didn't care to track my food and find out.  I was also trying to figure out what type of slacker exercise I was going to do just so I could actually accomplish the challenge for today.

 I decided to track my food while we were driving to dinner for sushi and was glad to find out that I hadn't done too badly and I was able to control myself at the sushi place.  Then when we were leaving the restaurant hubby and I decided to go to the local shopping mall to do our usual walk around.  I counted this as my exercise for the day.

 It was a nice relaxing day.  I allowed myself to indulge and enjoy my hobby.  I didn't stress out about pushing my body and I ate the pastries I enjoy the most.  And at the end of the night I was able to say no when hubby offered me more pastries.  I also didn't allow myself to go full blown on a binge today.  I just didn't want to push my stomach to the point of being sick.

 I guess after spending 34 days focusing on exercise and tracking everything I eat, this whole healthier lifestyle thing is becoming habit and something I don't want to give up on, no matter how much I want to lax off and just be lazy.

 So I guess what I'm saying is sometimes we all need to give ourselves a break and trust that this lifestyle change that we have been working so hard on won't let us turn too far from it.  After all, the alternative to living a healthy lifestyle doesn't seem very pleasant to me.  I rather like the fact that I can climb up the two flights of stairs to our apartment without wheezing and push myself to run faster and faster during my lunch hour without being too sore to walk the next day.

May Goals

I have been participating in a 50 day challenge over on MyFitnessPal. I have to exercise and track all of my food every day for 50 days. I'm on day 22 and it is feeling like habit now.

I also joined another challenge to do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred in May. I am trying to figure out how to challenge myself to actually complete it. I'm thinking I need a good reward on June 1st. A pedicure should do it.

Goals for May
- Complete 30 DS
- Get into the 180s
- Continue to track all of my food
- Run a mile

That about does it. Happy healthy living!

Super Knitting Pig

A local art supply store also has a side art studio where they do art classes and events. My friends have entered many art pieces into these shows and Mr. Badango and I have attended several.

This time they did an open call for the art show and challenged artists to decorate a pig.

I sat on this idea for awhile, thinking about how I could knit a cozy for the pig. After talking to our friends at dinner last week I finally decided to go get a pig. Once I got it I stripped the paint and then painted it black.

And then a silver coat.

And then proceeded to start knitting and ended with this.

 

I feel like it is an ugly little thing, but then that was kind of the point of this little venture of mine.

Going Down

My weight is down again this week. I have been able to maintain the loss from cutting out carbs and my energy levels are back.

Last Week: 194.2
This Week: 192.7
Difference: -1.5
Pounds to next goal: 2.8

I'm excited about my progress in the past two weeks. My energy levels are through the roof and I find myself fidgeting all the time. I've read that burns extra calories.

In other news, I'm entering an art show. I will be knitting a cozy for a ceramic pig. More information about that later. And pictures.

The 17 (5) Day Diet

Last week I talked about trying The 17 Day Diet by Dr. Mike Moreno.  In concept the plan presented in the book is a great idea.  Cut out all of the sugar and the carbs for 17 days and then start introducing the healthy sugar and carbs during the next 34 days. 

Great concept, I just couldn't follow through on the first 17 days.  It wasn't that I was craving sugar and carbs, I just could not manage to get enough calories into my day, or have a balanced diet.  I was taking a nap every afternoon and my energy was just completely drained. 

By the time that Saturday rolled around I knew that I just couldn't keep it up.  I was enjoying the rapid weight loss (3.3 Pounds), but I was also missing the energy levels from before I started the eating plan.

I am thinking about trying it again next month, and maybe even taking 3-5 days every month to eat only food from the first cycle.  It will help to keep my body moving and motivate me with a big loss every month. 

I guess in summary, if you can make it work for you then do it.  The foods are healthy and his final eating plan in Stage 4 is what maintaining your weight should be all about and is my ultimate goal for how my diet looks.

A day late and 1.6 short

I wasn't sure what to write yesterday and then I got to the end of the day and fell asleep. So since I still don't know what to write, here are my stats.

Last week: 195.8
This week: 194.2
Difference: -1.6
Pounds to next goal: 4.3

As you can see, I hit my goal of under 195. Now I just have to stay under for a week and then I can reward myself. I'm thinking a pedicure.

For now I will just keep moving and making healthy lifestyle choices.

The Great Debate

I have been happy living my healthy lifestyle. I've been somewhat happy with the rate of my weight loss. And I know that it is a lifestyle change and eventually my body will catch up. The thing is, sometimes I get tired of waiting for eventually to happen. I get tired of the fact that it is taking me over two months to lose 5 pounds. I would love it if I was actually losing a pound a week, but I'm not. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with whatever weight I am losing, but I wish it was more and I get jealous when other people talk about how fast they have lost their weight.

I also remind myself A LOT that this is a journey and a complete lifestyle change, but when my dad introduced me to The 17 Day Diet by Dr. Mike Moreno I was a little intrigued. The food is basically the same as what I've been eating, just fewer fruits and more veggies which I've been wanting to do anyways. It also cuts out grains for the first 17 days, that part I'm not too enthused about because I feel like those are a necessary part of any diet. I'm also not too enthused about the fact that he discourages any exercise beyond a 17 minute walk every day. I'm going to ignore that bit of advice and exercise as much as my body will allow.

I guess my debate is with myself and why the sudden change and doing something for rapid results. Mr. Badango had the same question tonight when we were discussing what I was cooking for dinner. He told me that I was already eating healthy and he doesn't understand why I am now following another diet plan. I explained to him that this is basically the same diet I have been following, just a little bit more restricted. He didn't get it until I told him that I'm doing it because my parents wanted me to try it.

And maybe that is my answer. I am trying this program because my parents are worried and want to see me be able to drop the weight as quickly as possible. If I can ease their minds a bit by at least trying this diet plan then I will do that. My only hope is that I don't undo any of the hard work I have already been doing. I feel that I am finally at the point that my metabolism is kicking into gear. It would suck to screw it up again.

Moving Down

Last week's weight: 196.2
Current Weight: 195.8
Difference: -0.4

My weight is down and I'm at the lowest weight I have been in a while. And I have been here for almost 5 days or something like that. I am only .9 pounds away from my next mini goal and 3 days from it being two months since I was at my last one. I promised myself a reward for either meeting the goal or spending two months trying to achieve it. I never thought it would actually take me two months to lose 5 pounds but it is. I also don't think I want to cheat myself with a reward before I hit that magic number. I will wait until the scale says 194.9 or less for a week then I will allow myself to start a new knitting project.

I have started to become I involved in the social community at My Fitness Pal and it is helping with my motivation. It helps to have others encouraging me and to encourage others.

Going to Canada

Mr. Badango and I booked our flight to Canada last night. We will be going for a week this summer. I am excited to see a whole other country and to get to meet the rest of his family.

The problem is that reality set in tonight that I won't have access to my cell phone while we are there. That is seven days without Facebook, My Fitness Pal and Ravelry. 7 days without the ability to read the blogs I follow. Needless to say, I'm panicking. And I know how ridiculous it is that I am panicking. It is only 7 days after all. All of those websites will still be there when I get back. I have been aiming toward the healthy lifestyle long enough that a week off of my tracking website won't mean disaster.

I need to shift my focus from the inability to use my phone for all that I do to all of the new experiences I will be enjoying. Maybe this is what I need to help me unplug and focus on the important things in life.

I will miss having google at my fingertips though. I think that is what I will miss the most.

Weight Report

I was down this week. Stats below.

Last week: 197.5
This week: 196.2
Difference: -1.3
Pounds to current goal: 1.3

I don't think this is going to stick through tomorrow. I made a few bad eating decisions when I got home this evening and they may reflect on the scale in the morning. I also added a bit too much salt to dinner tonight.

I will keep trudging forward though and rest in the fact that I am ultimately living the healthy lifestyle I desire. I am exercising and eating healthy. Even my indulgence tonight was a vegetarian Chinese dish, Kung Pao Tofu. And I cut back on what I was planning to eat for dinner because I had eaten the extra food. Of course I should have said no to the tortilla chips Mr. Badango pulled out after dinner. At least those were multi grain.

I'm looking forward to my weigh in next week. Maybe I will hit my goal. That would make me very happy.

Habit

This whole lifestyle change thing is starting to feel like habit. It is a very good feeling.

I have been doing the 21 day program mentioned in the previous post. Mainly I am sticking to the exercise program and borrowing from the eating program. Most of the dinners don't really work for my life, but the breakfasts and lunches do. I don't know if I will be able to keep up with the exercise routine once the 21 days are up, but that will have to be decided at that time.

I am also uncertain of whether or not my weigh in will reflect my hard work tomorrow. I kind of had a bad eating day this past weekend and my weight was up a bit today. Only time will tell.

Weighing In

This has been an interesting week weight loss wise. My weight kept going up all week then stayed at a specific weight. I struggled with trying to figure out what to do next in this weight loss struggle. I feel like I have the healthy eating thing down but the weight just isn't coming off. The weight does come off however when I follow a strict eating and exercise plan. Basically I need to be told what to eat and how to exercise. When a plan is laid out for me I can usually drop some pounds.

Thankfully I found another plan to follow this week. It started with finding a new app for my iPhone. The app is called Nexercise and it not only tracks your exercises, but it also rewards you for exercising. So far I have gotten a free Propel Zero, free Zappos VIP membership, a $5 Best Buy gift card, and a PDF book called Shape 21 Lean Body Manual. I started that program yesterday.

After saying all of that, I stayed even this week but am looking for a good loss next week. The 21 day program promises 8-20 pounds lost. I would be happy with 5 pounds being gone.

Striptease Workout

I did the first Carmen Electra strip tease workout DVD tonight and didn't really find it all that challenging. I only worked up a small sweat and never felt like I was out of breath. I was going to count my whole workout for tonight as a wash, but my legs are already sore. Apparently all of that booty popping is a really good leg workout. She isn't kidding when she says that certain moves are what give her the booty she has. I will be doing the second DVD tomorrow. From the reviews I read online it sounds like it will be the try workout DVD.

Weighing In

My prediction was right, the scale didn't magically drop five pounds off my weight overnight. But I am down from two weeks ago, which over all is a positive trend I think. I will be trying different workouts this week, tracking my food, and looking for lower sodium offers at my weekly eating place.

Last week: 196.4
This week: 197.5
Difference: +1.1

Time to start another week of making healthy living a habit that results in a lower weight.

Changing Things Up

I worked out for an hour tonight and still didn't feel like I got a good enough sweat. My workout routine has primarily consisted of the Wii Fit Rhythm Boxing and I think my body has gotten used to the exercise. This saddens me greatly because I really enjoy the boxing aspect of it and up until this week I would be drenched in sweat after punching it out for 30 minutes or so. It was a rather satisfying work out.

I am going to take this as a sign that I need to start actually challenging myself a bit more in my exercise routine. I have the 30 Day Shred DVD but last time I was doing that workout it aggravated my bad shoulder, so I am turning to the other workout DVDs I have. I bought these DVDs a few years ago, mainly because I had read good reviews of them on the Weight Watchers forums. They are the Carmen Electra Aerobic Striptease DVD Series. I bought almost the whole series at one point but have never really gotten into them, the main reason being that I had very limited living space when I first bought the series.

I report my weight tomorrow and I have a feeling it will be up. I have been weighing in at 197.5 the last few days and it will probably stick there tomorrow morning. I will post the final result tomorrow, but am expecting to be reporting a gain. I will analyze why I think my body gained the weight tomorrow.

Weekly Weigh In

The numbers are good this week.

Last weeks weight: 198.4
Current weight: 196.4
Difference: -2
Current Goal: 194.9

I'm 1.5 pound from my current goal. I am hoping that this loss sticks and my weight keeps going down. I know that I was really active this past weekend and that has a lot to do with the loss.

We bought Wii Fit Plus this weekend so I have a feeling I will be increasing my activity while trying out all of the new features.

Looking forward to another healthy week.

Life is about the journey

Today is my one year wedding anniversary. I still can't believe that it has already been a year. The time really flew by. I guess that is what happens when you are having fun.

Mr. Badango and I decided to hike up to the Hollywood sign to celebrate our anniversary. We have both been focused on living a healthier lifestyle and thought this would be a great way to mark our first year of marriage.

The walk up was difficult and I had to keep stopping because I was out of breath. But walking up those hills was worth it for the view.

But then we hit a road block at the top. Just before what would have been our last uphill curve there was a construction crew. Some of the Hollywood elite had donated boulders to be placed in the viewing area for the Hollywood sign. We were told it would be a couple of hours before the project was done. At this point we had to turn around. But not before snapping a picture of us with the construction crew in the back.

We were disappointed to be blocked from finishing our journey, but we did have a good time walking up and down the hill. And we will go back, but next time we will be in better shape and we will actually get to the Hollywood sign.

Late Weigh-In

I'm not happy with my weigh in this week but it is truly a reflection of not making myself get up and move and track my calories. I didn't gain a lot, but I did gain. Here is to another week full of its own challenges, but hopefully I will be back down this time next week.

Last weeks weight: 197.8
This weeks weight: 198.4
Difference: +0.6
Current goal weight: 194.9

The Never Ending Shawl

I'm on the last 4 rows of a shawl right now. The total number of rows when all is said and done will be 214 rows and the total number of stitches will be right around 640. The shawl will be gorgeous when it is done and needless to say I want it done. It takes me over an hour to finish a row at this point.

The reason why I'm writing about this shawl is because it is truly teaching me the challenge of living a healthy lifestyle while enjoying my hobby of knitting. I spent all day Saturday sitting around working on this shawl. I didn't exercise at all like I had planned. That fact reflects in my weigh in for the week. My focus has definitely shifted from weight loss to getting that shawl done and I am struggling to find the balance. I need to find a way to enjoy all of my interests without lacking in either area.

No Workout Tonight

I decided not to workout tonight. I got home after a very long day of having to use my brain more than normal and I had learned that some of my friends had had even crappier days. All that I wanted to do was veg on the couch with my husband. And that is what I did, along with eating some of his Chinese food. Of course this was after I had had the bread bowl at Panera with my soup. Long story short, I didn't workout tonight and I ate way too much.

I will definitely make up for it tomorrow by eating healthier and exercising. In fact I'm planning on bringing my walking shoes so I can go for a walk during my lunch hour.

The thing about coming clean with my true weight is that now I feel like there is a bit more accountability to keep up the healthy lifestyle. I'm even considering a weekly weigh in post on Tuesdays.

I'm not going to beat myself up about tonight because this is a lifestyle change. There will be other times in my life when it is just better for my health to spend time withy husband. A big thank you to the guys at Fat2Fit Radio for teaching me this valuable lesson, that I need to live like the thin person I want to be.

Coming Clean

I hit my first weight loss goal on February 6th and was able to go buy my iPhone on February 13th. Since this was also around the time of my birthday celebrations my weight loss efforts haven't been exactly a they were, but the fact that I haven't gained the weight back is huge. It means that this is truly becoming a lifestyle change. I am proud to say that I am now back on track this week and working toward some yarn.

Having the iPhone has helped me to keep motivated in this healthy lifestyle. It was a huge reward for a little bit of progress and I don't want to move backwards on that progress. It has also encouraged me to listen to podcasts about healthy living, and I found Fat2Fit radio. I have been listening to their back episodes for the past week and am extremely motivated in keeping up with this lifestyle change no matter how slow the progress.

One of the episodes talked about listener blogs. I don't know if I'm ready to put my blog up on their website, but they did encourage bloggers to not remain anonymous while blogging. I feel like I have been very vague when it comes to my weight, only posting how many pounds I need to lose to get to my next goal as opposed to the actual number on the scale. As scary as it is I think I need to post the actual scale numbers, so here goes.

Starting weight: 210
Current weight: 197.8
Current goal weight: 194.9
Ultimate goal weight: 145

My first goal that got me the iPhone was to be under 200. My goals are set at every 5 pounds because if I look at that bottom number and my current weight I can get a little discouraged, but if I look at the middle two numbers then I know I am close to something.

So now I have come clean on my true weight, guess I should do a weekly post with my progress, and maybe advertise my blog more. I really can't give up this lifestyle if others are reading about it.

The Value of Menu Planning

I have been a real stickler for menu planning since starting the overhaul of my eating habits at the beginning of the year. In fact I even bought a planner for the sole purpose of writing our weekly menu in it. For some reason I did not plan the menu for this week and it has been obvious in my eating habits for the week.

I think the main reason I didn't think it would be necessary to write out the menu was the fact that I was planning to use a preset dinner menu from a magazine this week. The dinner menu comes from the current issue of Self and even includes a grocery shopping list.

I figured that I would keep up with my turkey wraps for lunch and have a smoothie or oatmeal or an English muffin for breakfast. Because I had it all figured out in my head I didn't see the sense in actually writing it out. I was wrong.

Since I didn't have specific lunches planned I also didn't bother fixing my lunches the night before. Same with my breakfasts. This has all culminated into a sort of food disaster at work today. I had every intention of having an English muffin for breakfast this morning, in fact I even brought the butter for it. But when I reached in my lunch bag for the muffin it wasn't there. I had forgotten to put it in the sandwich bag in my rush to get out the door. I went to the vending machine at work and got a fiber one bar instead, but this was not a good way to start my morning.

Also, my lunch is leftovers from yesterday's lunch that I'm praying will be enough to fill me up.

Lesson learned, I will be menu planning for next week on Sunday.

My Amazing Husband

It's Valentine's Day and per my usual non-like of Hallmark holidays I ignored it until the actual day. I feel like all of the pink and red stuff in the stores that are supposed to represent the love my husband and I have for each other fall short of that goal. There are no material objects that can truly represent our love, except for our wedding bands.

I do want to say that I have the best husband ever and I am so thankful that he puts up with me.  I hear other women complain about all of the little annoying things their hubbies do and I just smile because my husband doesn't do those things. Most of the time it is me doing those things. I am blessed beyond my deserving that he puts up with it.

There are so many reasons why I love my husband and I'm going to list a few here.

1. He shows his love for me daily
2. He puts my needs before his
3. He encourages me to reach my goals
4. He will be weird with me
5. He does the dishes all the time
6. He makes me coffee in the morning
7. He puts up with my mood swings
8. He works two tough jobs so we are financially stable
9. He never fails to make me smile
10. I can truly be myself around him, no questions asked

Those are just a few of the reasons I love him.

Happy Valentine's day honey! I hope this is better than a card, and we will go buy you some baseball cards tonight. Maybe if I pick the pack you will get the squirrel.  

Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái

Today we celebrated our first Chinese New Year as a married couple.  We put up a couple of decorations in our apartment and I hung a decoration up in my cubicle.  Then we went over to the in-laws to have dinner.

It is fun to celebrate my husbands culture and I look forward to opening our red envelopes next week.  But boy is it hard to turn down food from my mother-in-law.

Admitting Defeat

I have finally decided to admit defeat to the scale.  I no longer want the scale controlling me, or when I decide to reward myself for healthy living.  I want my focus to be on living a healthy life with portion control, clean food, and an active lifestyle.  If the scale does not want to cooperate with me and go down in numbers then I do not want that to deter me from continuing with my healthy lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle is more important than the number on the scale.  I can not let the number on the scale depress me and make me lose motivation.  In the past I have given up on living the healthy life because the numbers weren't going down so I wasn't able to get the reward I wanted to give myself.  I would give up and just purchase the reward and go back to the inconsistent diet I was at before. 

I got frustrated the other day when the numbers on the scale went up.  It was at this point that I just wanted to give up, admit defeat.  But I gave myself a challenge this year, to do a different magazine diet every month and I can't give up on that challenge less than a month in.  So I decided that I needed to keep plodding along with succeeding in the challenge.  Then I got to thinking how unfair it would be if I kept on with this challenge with no reward, other than feeling a bit more energy and healthier.  I came to the conclusion that I would reward myself for following the healthy lifestyle for 2 months.  So every 2 months I get a reward no matter what the scale reflects, as long as I can honestly say that I was striving toward a healthy diet and active life.  If I hit a goal weight then the two months start over.

Now I honestly want to keep up with this program, knowing that no matter what I will get my iPhone on March 2nd.  Even if the scale doesn't go where I want it to go I will still get my iPhone.

3 Pounds

I am really focused on losing 3 pounds right now.  I know I need to lose more than that, but these three pounds will put me below my upcoming goal weight.  Plus they are the three pounds I was unable to lose last year.  I still have like 50-60 pounds to go after these 3 pounds, but right now all of my vengeance is on these 3 pounds.  When I lose these 3 pounds I can go buy myself an iPhone (I know, big reward for small goal but it works for me).  Not only am I rewarding myself, but I have then pushed myself past an almost year long plateau.  I am then getting a lot closer to fitting into more of my clothes, and just generally getting closer to a better body. 

Three pounds may seem silly, but right now it is driving my motivation. 

Rewards and Motivation

So far this Magazine Diet is working, but of course it has only been a week.  I'm starting strong with the second week though and I'm determined to see this month through.  I know I went over my calories today and I will again on Saturday, but that is because the meals were beyond my control.  I did control as much as I could though and I'm proud of myself for not just throwing in the towel entirely and not giving myself a pass for the night.  I will be praying for the strength to do the same thing on Saturday at the potluck.

When I was browsing Pinterest the other day I saw a pin for a 2012 Resolutions Bracelet.  I was getting really excited about the idea and was about to buy one when I remembered that I bought myself a gorgeous faux pearl ring on New Years Day. 

I decided that this ring would be my 2012 Resolutions Ring.  I wear it every day and it is motivation to me.  I think about wanting to lose enough weight that it will fall off.  Maybe I will buy myself another pretty ring when that happens.

I also get highly motivated by rewards, so I have decided on three rewards for myself.  I will get my first one when I have lost about 4 pounds and kept it off for a week.  The other ones will follow every 5 pounds.  Without further ado, my rewards in the order which I will receive them.

1. iPhone

2. Yarn from Loopy Ewe

3. A Pedicure

I'm hoping that I will be able to get the iPhone for my birthday which is February 10th.  If I keep making progress like I did last week then I will.  It will also mark me breaking through a plateau that I feel like I have been at for a year.  No matter how hard I worked out or how little I ate I just haven't been able to get under a specific weight.  I'm looking forward to when I reach that first goal.

Magazine Diets

I'm kind of proud of myself right now.  I've been following a diet plan from Fitness Magazine since Monday.  This means that I have been prepping my lunches the night before while cooking dinner for Mr. Badango and myself.  While prepping the lunches I have also been making my breakfast for the next morning as well.  I'm following the recipes presented in the magazine and they have all tasted pretty good.  I haven't been hungry at all.

 Fitness Magazine, January 2012 Issue

The front cover of the magazine claims that I will lose 10 lbs this month if I follow the plan.  I'm not holding my breath that I will actually lose the full 10 lbs, but if I can lose anything between 5 and 10 pounds I will be ecstatic.  I think I have figured out that I am good at following these "Magazine" Diets that promise big results, as long as the food intake is reasonable.  If Fitness Magazine doesn't have another promising diet in its next issue that I can follow in February then I will have to scour the news stands for a different magazine with one of the promising diets.

The workout routine that is included in this months Magazine Diet is difficult, but I can already feel it getting easier after the second time around.  The only exercise that I really don't like is the crab walk.  You know, the exercise where you are face up with your hands behind you and your feet under you and you walk like a crab.  Well, every time I do this exercise, in the two times I have done it, I realize exactly how big I am.  The first time I did it I found myself face to face with my fat pooch.  When I did it tonight I looked in the mirror at the gym and just saw a big tummy.  I guess those images are pretty good motivation to keep up with this Magazine Diet.

The more that I think about it, the more I think I may try to do a year of Magazine Diets. Every month I will try something different, as long as it promotes healthy eating, and the recipes don't look too ridiculous to make up ahead of time so I'm not cooking like a mad woman every night.