Good Morning. Good Day... Feeling a little less Chubby today..1lb down again..

This chubby girl pulled herself out of bed with those invisible strings that a puppet master pulls ya know?
Put my walking clothes on, stuffed my headphones in my ears and ran (more like walked) down the stairs to the world of Pandora,watching cars and walking like no other.

I went further this morning. I walked approx 2 1/2 miles this morning. I only jogged for a short moment because im forming an epic blister on the right heel that was getting pretty sore.
As I walked past one of our Colleges out here a creeper was walking towards me. With earbuds in but not  turned on that high..I could hear he was trying to talk to me. I kept walking. Acting like I couldn't hear him. I turned the corner down a neighborhood to get away from him. He got the idea and crossed the street to the other sidewalk. I got me phone out of my bra and acted like I was calling someone. He turned the corner and then disappeared into a parking lot. Yeah, maybe he didn't have bad intentions but,when your a female and walking alone. You need to watch for other things than just cars. At every road entry or street entry I come to I always, always check behind me to make sure there isn't a car coming at me. Normally I would walk towards traffic so I wouldn't feel so scared but, I went a different route this AM and had to be going with traffic. 
Anyhoot... What do you listen to when you exercise? I listen to one of my MANY stations on Pandora..It has been on Britany Spears for a few days now and I plan on leaving it on that station. Britany may be loca but,her songs have good beats and tend to get me moving faster and I feel better about what i'm doing for myself. 
It doesn't matter what other people think but, we all have those moments.
The one jog I did this morning my butt was jiggling so bad I just stopped. I should get some control shorts to go under my cropped sweatpants. (Who invented those sweatpants anyways??? I mean really?! Cropped?) 
Whenever your out on a walk or exercising of any sorts no matter where..make sure you are comfortable because there is nothing worse than not being comfortable. 
  Yesterday was another small food battle I LOVE to cook and bake. Luckily, my husband is healthy and doesn't need to worry about being thin so, when I bake..he takes it for "the team" I made Orange Monkey Bread from scratch.. I had a couple pieces. I could have eaten the whole thing and then felt so sick afterwards but, I wanted a little sweet. moderation is key to weight loss and not depriving yourself of everything nummy.
I love fruit. I was raised nearly vegan (my mothers doings) and I love vegetables!   so, this life change is not as hard as it sounds..

 RECIPE
Breakfast:
Strawberry protein shake.  
6-fresh strawberries-washed of course!!! (very important!) 
200 ml (less than 1 cup roughly 3/4) of Ultra Soy Vanilla milk
1/4 cup of Grape Nuts cereal.
I added the cereal because I wanted texture and a different flavor as I have NO added sugar in this recipe.
It is pretty darn good. I suggest you try it! 

I enjoy listening to music,walking and being in my own world.
I had things I wanted to write on this blog today and now it slips my mind a little.

What is my weightloss plan and goals?
well easy.. There is an App for that!  
MyFitnessPal is pretty awesome. you track your calories and basically anything you put in your mouth and how much water you drink.
You weight in when you feel like it and eventually after a few days of writting everything down that you eat..you just keep on check in to the app to see how many calories you consume.
My goal is to be at 190 lbs.
why 190?
Because I was so comfortable at that weight and I felt so good in my skin. I wore a size 13 and had a little belly that I didn't mind.  I had a boyfriend that liked to go out to eat. Food is around us everywhere. We love food! The world LOVES food. It is the absolute ONE THING everyone on this planet has in common. We have to eat to survive. 
I try my best to eat whole foods. Clean foods and no processed junk. 
      

Keep on working at it..it comes of slow and steady if you KEEP ON TRACK
I have lost 6lbs now. I wont see any change until probably the 15th pound but,that's okay this will all be worth each and every droplet of sweat, ever inch of tingeling skin, every person that probably thought "look at that chubby chick run as her boobs are flapping in her face but damn..look at her go"...it will be all WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   
  

Someday my face wont jiggle when I run and my boobs wont hit me in the face..

Lets face it.
Stuff moves. . . .
A body in motion stays in motion...
well, as i took a run down Stark stuff was jumping. I was listening to a song by The Pussy Cat dolls because there beats get me moving and I could care less. For a few minutes..maybe seconds. I dont know how long I was really running. I felt like no one was stairing at my butt or my boobs as they jump with me into the air.
I didn't care.
......................DONT CARE WHAT OTHERS THINK
because, they are the ones driving as you are running or walking and your the one burning calories...see? 
I invested..yes, purchasing an ipod or a spiffy set of running headphones is an investment because your making the investment in yourself to become better than you were yeseterday.
New headphones............ 

  Luckily for me..I work at a Fitness/Sports store that has things like these I get discounts on. So, I didn't have to pay as much. They range from $30-$50- YurBuds. Totally worth it Gals! They don't fall out when you run! I keep my iPhone in my bra as I listen to Pandora and even the tug on the wires didn't make them come out of my ear holes.. I suggest getting yourself a pair if you don't already own a good set. SkullCandy isn't all they are made out to be...so I suggest something else..

After a long day yesterday. I came home and passed out on the couch as my husband was watching some oddball "scary" movie we rented from RedBox. I woke up about an hour later and had cravings. I am not much of a chocolate lover but really...I wanted chocolate. My husband wanted Ice Cream.. oh no..yeah..Ben and Jerry...my two fav. men.. Half Baked..always the go-to goody when your having urges....  I ate a little over 1/2 cup and woke up this morning feeling that my butt needed to get up and MOVE! so, I did.
I went a further distance this time and took a very steep incline as my beginning route. I thought my legs were going to have seizures of there own. I briskly walked on. My original intention was to run up the hill and really burn but...it was STEEP..

Breakfast:
Green Kale fruit shake
1-Orange, peeled,in segmants.
3-frozen strawberries-unsweetned.
3/4 of vanilla ultra soy milk
1 cup of chopped kale.
Ta da! breakfast under 200 calories!

I try to make breakfast my biggest meal of the day because it should be...but after last night..no good..

This is me....in all my glory after getting home from my jog/walk. I have a tire middle and thin,muscular legs.
BE TRUE TO YOURSELF AND YOU WILL  ACHIEVE GREATNESS!

The struggle is real...and im going to conquer this beotch! I hope you do too!

Cooking for two when one does not want to become more of a vegan!

So...
My husband is not on the diet like I am. He wants to eat what he wants still.
When I met him he was a 6'5 piece of bone..really..I could count his ribs.. yeah..
Now .. 3 1/2 years later (we wed after 6 months!) he looks healthy and I no longer have to wake with a bruise on my cheek from his shoulder.

My husband the day we wed.

My husband and I at our first Winterhawks game of the season

So, I try to cook semi healthy for my husband. I don't try to use processed products for his meals.
For his breakfast this morning I made him apple cinnamon pancakes (not from scratch) uncured apple wood smoked bacon and fried potatoes. Calories HELLO!

I had 2 fried eggs and 32oz of Coffee (i'm an addict)
For a snack today i'll have an apple and some peanut butter. I work this morning so I will be taking these with me.
For lunch today I will have a quinoa salad that I prepared last night.
One of the key ideas of loosing weight and keeping myself on track I cook for myself in large quantities so I won't have to do it for a few days. This helps me NOT want to just grub on "whatever foods".

These are high in protein and fiber. The above two are lime cilantro quinoa and the other two are cranberry,carrot,chickpea slaw quinoa. If you haven't added quinoa to your diet I would suggest so. both of these dishes would go well with poultry.
To cut back on my consumption of tazo tea-because its getting "boring" I made Sun tea the other day and it sits in a gallon jar in my fridge..YUM

A simple box of Lipton Tea bags is less than $5.00 for 100 of them here in Oregon. I added 1/2 cup a sugar which,may sound like a lot (it is) but, I can't drink straight tea.
I may even get crazy an add freshly squeezed lemon juice for an Arnold Palmer.. mmmm yum

I have been staying pretty active around the house. A body in motion stays in motion. So very true!

I was pretty excited to plant all these pretties as we haven't had a deck full of blooms EVER and I grew up planting and having a small garden. This was necessary this year.
Gerber daisys, strawberries,elephant garlic,chives,basil,sweet mint, grapefruit mint (devine) and a few other odd perenials.

Wow! i'm down 5lbs in 3 days? Nifty

Yep! that is right folks! I am down 5 pounds in 3 days.
The first "15" is "water weight" so, we shall see.

I got pretty busy last night working on a project for my best gal and lost track of time. I didn't eat dinner until about 9pm as I sat down to watch Glee..

Dinner was:
Spring Mix Greens
Almond and Cranberry topper
Won Ton strips
Glazed walnuts
Raspberry Vinegarette

Pan cooked chicken breast with a dash of olive oil with fresh minced garlic and pepper
6 sweet yellow cherry tomatoes
----------------------------------------------------------258 Calories but, it sounds like more doesn't it? 

Lunch I made my first green smoothie. You know, they are all the craze right now for having fantastic vitamins and nutrition. Clean food!
I made mine with:
2 big kale leafs
1/2 a banana
3 very frozen strawberries
1/2 cup of vanilla soy milk
----------------------------------------------------------175 calories

The only thing I need to do differently is start drinking more water. I really didn't drink enough yesterday. That could account as to why I have very sore muscles this morning. Your muscles need the water along with each and every other organ in your body.

I have TONS of energy but, I did miss my morning walk. I slept way past my wake time and went to bed far TOO LATE.

 This book is amazing so far, I highly recommend. If you want to declutter your life and make your world a bit better..I suggest... Find it Here at Powells City of Books in Portland,Oregon My fav. Book store

Yesterday I was pretty active around the house and took some time to bask in the sun on our deck and read a book.

She's my favorite little Sun bather around.....

Todays agenda,
Evening walk

Lunch: Chicken Breast and Quinoa. Purple grapes
Dinner: Chicken Breast with Salad and mushrooms
Snacks: Justins nut butter,Sliced pink lady apple
TONS more water! 

Its been to long. This chicks body is telling her "No more processed crap!" ..I gave into the voices and have been eating clean for 2 days now.

Oh, im 1 year older now...crap!
One of the hardest things about being OVERWEIGHT (but very loved) is that its hard to exercise without still feeling bad about yourself.
Maybe you will understand when I say: you don't like it when people can see your chunk rolls bouncing and the sweat dripping down your face after a mile long brisk walk? get my drift?

I woke up this morning with the ambition that I was going to get up,get dressed and WALK..not just a Eeyore walk, i'm talking about a fast,feeling my heart beat,music pumping,fist pumping "yeah,I rule this world beotches" kind of walk! ..... 9:40am I was out the door and on my way north. Up an incline, facing traffic as they past me by.
My theory when a big gal or guy is walking down the road, with there headphones in carrying a bottle of water is "you go girl!" or "you go boy!" but, its been a while since I myself was that person those people were passing..
I had my new pink and grey tennies on with a ratty old winterhawks hoodie and some cropped workout pants I bought last year around this time when I went on my diet and exercie regimine. ..Theres a problem in that sentance. Did you hear it? no, not my awful run on sentances... the "last year" part.... LAST YEAR!! I could have been fit and fancy by now ..right?

I walked a total of about 1 mile and a half today. I am pretty proud of myself. I walked up a "steep" incline and walked down a steep incline at a very brisk,fast pace and im feeling it and I am PROUD PROUD of myself. There is nothing more liberating than doing somthing for the first time all over again and telling yourself "you dum dum, why did you ever stop?" oh because of "life"... yeah..."life" but, I hate looking at those fit and thin gals, even the curvy and perfect gals that have worked hard for there bodies..or some not so much. To finally be back on this path is amazing!

Stay away from fast food! seriously.Sometimes those fries may smell good but,after you take in half the container...your body is already gagging itself... yuck! I had one of those moments. Husband and I went out to eat somewhere, I can't even remember where. And I felt awful afterwards! you know, like a carb coma awful... haven't experienced it... DON'T! ...Part of my ENCOURAGEMENT is that I work at a fitness store where all kinds of people of all shapes and sizes come in to buy sporting equipment and clothes...I want my butt to look like that in a year..PLEASE?!

Some people in your lives maybe telling you "your perfect. Just the way you are" but really..when your little people in your ear are telling you "hello, wake up! time to get active..put down that frappachino and go with somthing like an iced tea... " ( Passion Fruit Iced Tea Lemonade with vanilla syrup is delicious and lower in calories if you need a morning fix. Or maybe go with an Americanno?) Only YOU are going to be able to change your body image and the way you feel about yourself.
SELF ESTEEM ....that word..my self esteem is this... Some days I feel really good about myself and then other days I feel awful. .. . No more awful.
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Breakfast today was 2 fried eggs with a TAD bit of butter to fry and black pepper. 4 cups of coffee with vanilla creamer.
Lunch- will be.. a green smoothie with chard,vanilla soy milk, banana, and I haven't thought of what else I want to put in it yet.
Dinner-  Green Spring Mix salad (I don't eat iceberg) Grilled chicken with quinoa and a vinaigrette of some kind. 

Snacks- will be Justins Peanut Butter (im an addict) purple grapes and yellow tomatoes.