Although church was really wonderful and I had a full day with my family, my hubby was less than thrilled with everybody today.  Not sure if it was just the conflict of teenager and father or if he was just dealing with things, but he never seemed to get back into a happy mood. It was sort of depressing (especially, considering, all of the passion the night before).

I had a nominal lunch and more substantial dinner. My goal is to begin switching that around (lighter dinner, with heavier meals during the day). I was really working towards that during P2. It's going to take some practice.

I just finished making my Key Lime pie for work, tomorrow. It's too bad I can't smell it. I had squeezed all the key limes before adding the juice to the pie. The desensitization has occurred to the point that I cannot even smell the loveliness of my baked good. I debated on adding green food coloring and decided not to do it. My hope is that the taste will out rank its looks.

Right now, I'm sipping on Key Lime vodka to take the edge off.  It isn't as tasty as the Passion Fruit version I had, yesterday.  This is my last night of alcohol until Friday. Hopefully, nothing too stressful will occur that I'll feel a need for it beforehand.

I had a 1.4lb gain, as expected, taking me back up to 167.4lbs. With my workout today, I'm not sure how it will effect my weight tomorrow. The morning will tell.

Here's what I had today:

March 16th, 2014

Calorie Goal: 1,062 Calories Consumed: 1,071 Calories Burned: 151 Net Calories: 920

Food Item	Servings	Cals	Fat	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Fiber	Protein
Rotisserie Chicken	1.00	170	12g	85mg	270mg	1g	1g	0g	19g
Concord Guacamole Mix	2.00	80	10g	0mg	150mg	4g	0g	0g	0g
Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing	0.50	70	7g	5mg	130mg	1g	1g	0g	1g
Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedges	1.00	35	2g	10mg	260mg	1g	1g	0g	3g
Coffee	1.00	2	0g	0mg	5mg	0g	0g	0g	0g
Hood Half and Half	1.00	40	4g	15mg	20mg	1g	1g	0g	1g
Nu-Stevia Nu-stevia	1.00	0	0g	0mg	0mg	1g	0g	0g	0g
Carl's Jr. Big Burger Low Carb	2.00	594	44g	145mg	228mg	2g	2g	1g	45g
Concord Guacamole Mix	2.00	80	10g	0mg	150mg	4g	0g	0g	0g
Fitness	Minutes	Cals Burned
Weight lifting: light (free weights, nautilus, universal)	30.0	-151.0
Totals		Cals	Fat	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Fiber	Protein
		920	89g	260mg	1,213mg	15g	5g	1g	68

That's why I'm not logging like a fiend anymore. Halloween sort of screwed up everything (although I'm not making love to the chocolate like I was before). I'm still working out, despite everything, and have started doing my firm videos again. Ego more than anything has kept me working out. Not sure if it's helping, with all the damage I'm doing. I will be back! Can't say when, but I will!

Ugh! Damn salted food. I over did it yesterday with the salt and (even though the scale has been staying pretty consistent this week) this morning, I was 171 pounds. I know it's water, but it doesn't make it any less depressing.

Morning workout - the firm (much easier this Friday than last. I don't know how many calories I burned. Hope to hop on the Elliptical this afternoon.

Breakfast - Homestyle toaster waffles (two), 2 slices of John Morrell bacon, 1 cup of Stephen's apple cider.

Food Item	Servings	Cals	Fat	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Fiber	Protein
Safeway Brand Homestyle Waffles	1.00	210	9g	5mg	470mg	28g	4g	0g	4g
John Morrell Hardwood Smoked Bacon	1.00	100	9g	10mg	300mg	0g	0g	0g	4g
Stephen's Apple Cider	1.00	80	0g	0mg	60mg	22g	19g	0g	0g
Quaker Quaker Captain Crunch Peanut Butter Cereal - 14 Oz	1.00	110	3g	0mg	200mg	21g	9g	1g	2g
Peninsula Dumpling Bites	1.00	90	2g	15mg	360mg	13g	1g	0g	6g
Totals:		590	23g	30mg	1,390mg	84g	33g	1g	16g

I'm establishing a new "weigh day" since things have changed so much. Today, I was 169.2, which is a nice change from the standard 171 I have been. It probably would have been less if I hadn't have eaten dinner at 8:00pm last night (the babe was at gymnastics and I wanted us to all eat together). I updated the ticker to the lady running. The other one was just too busy.

Morning workout - The Firm (the first volume with Susan Harris). You don't realize what body parts you haven't worked, till you go back and try this little gem. It totally kicked my butt!! I have no idea how many calories I burned, but I was sweating like a horse. Somebody's going to be sore tomorrow.

Breakfast - Simple Harvest and coffee/1 slice of Sara Lee Delightful wheat toast

Lunch - Lean Gourmet Chicken Alfredo Florentine (Market Pantry cookie crisp cereal)

Dinner - Petite sirloin (the chart says Ruby Tuesday's, but that' only because I know they grill and season theirs, which is what I did to mine), 2 ears of fresh corn (from the guy who sold us our pumpkins...fresh off his farm), the last of the Western Family stuffing.

Hubby was here. We drank Lexia and had ghiradelli chocolates. I'm so happy when he's here. He stayed the night, too.

(Went a bit over today, but that's okay. I'm counting on the muscle training I did to help counteract the damage).

Food Item	Servings	Cals	Fat	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Fiber	Protein
Folgers Classic Roast Instant Coffee 8 oz	1.00	0	0g	0mg	0mg	0g	0g	0g	0g
Quaker Simple Harvest Maple Brown Sugar With Pecans	1.00	160	4g	0mg	75mg	30g	9g	4g	4g
Lean Gourmet Chicken Alfredo Florentine	1.00	250	7g	40mg	690mg	34g	3g	2g	12g
General Mills Cookie Crisp	1.00	100	1g	0mg	150mg	22g	11g	1g	1g
RUBY TUESDAYS Petite Sirloin	1.00	206	5g	0mg	0mg	2g	0g	0g	0g
Western Family Chicken Stuffing	1.00	170	1g	0mg	430mg	20g	2g	0g	3g
Ear Of Corn, Sweet, Yellow	2.00	246	4g	0mg	42mg	54g	10g	8g	10g
Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate With Caramel Filling	0.50	90	6g	3mg	15mg	11g	8g	1g	1g
Wine, Dessert, Sweet	1.00	47	0g	0mg	3mg	4g	2g	0g	0g
Totals:		1,269	28g	43mg	1,405mg	177g	45g	16g	31g

I've gotten off those pesky pounds I picked up during our Washington adventure. I'm down to that blasted 162 that always wants to hang on for life. I'm hoping that by next Sunday, the weight will have shifted again...I hope, for the lower and better.

The new for me? Being consistent. I have a tendency to change things up too soon, so now I'm trying to do the regular schedule, for at least a few weeks, and see where that gets me. Last Friday, I tried a H.I.I.T session on the elliptical trainer. I warmed up for five minutes, performed a rest and H.I.I.T for thirty seconds each, four times. Next week, I'll move up to five and the week after, six. Every other day, I'm being consistent about my weight training. It also means I'm sore most of the week. My inner thighs are talking to me right now. Yesterday, my abs were singing. The day before, my thighs.

I tried the Firm Classic #5 for the first time, yesterday. I'm familiar with the instructor because of the Firm Parts - Standing Legs video I have. She is one of the instructors. I think #5 is a great toning video, but I'm not sure it will be one I use in my heavy rotation. The weight emphasis isn't as prevalent in this as it is in other videos I have.

I've started a new Firm video it's the one you see here with the lovely Pam. Pam is a butt kicker through and through. I mean, I was like, "Is it over yet? Is it over yet?" half-way through the workout. Lots of concentration on all the body parts and several aerobic segments had the sweat dripping from everywhere! This Firm is a bit more updated then the ones I normally use, but it still has all the Anna Benson touches I like (without the bad 80's make-up and gold jewelry).

My Wednesday weigh-ins are still happening but I don't always post the number. It really hadn't changed much, until today: 162. I hope this sticks...I truly do. It's like when I was in the 170s approaching the 160s. It seems to take forever to break into the new weight bracket. Hubby is dropping weight like his dirty shirts all over our bedroom. He's preparing for a show and, honestly, he looks damn hot. I know he's working harder than I ever have to get this weight off, but it's for the purpose of winning. For me, it's life-long. I don't need to drop it fast just to have it come back again. Further more, I don't want to do what I did last time...working out like crazy and feeling like I'd have to for the rest of my life, in order to stay fit and trim. I can have my life, enjoy my kids and my hubby as well as work out. It doesn't have to be one or the other.

Another change to the workout plan is that I sometimes extend my elliptical training sessions to 45 or 50 minutes. I received the first season of Charlie's Angles for Christmas and it's a great way to pass the time while I ellipticize. Soon, I'll break out the Wonder Woman and Hulk episodes. They're about 50 minutes per episode, too.

I haven't posted in a bit, but trust that I have been keeping up with my new, nutritional plan. The cardio workouts are consistent. The weight training was consistent, until I began weight training with hubby. Some days, he just doesn't have the energy to train after working all day. I can't blame him (and I certainly don't complain). I need to insert my Firm workouts again on the weekends, just to be sure I'm getting in some weight training. There are weeks when we only manage one workout (typically Tuesdays).

Friday, I weighed in at 163.5 and I was thrilled! This new plan is pushing me down the slope again and I'm thrilled. I was around this weight when all things came to a halt, so I'm motivated to keep this up. I notice that things regress when we splurge and, unfortunately, we just came off a splurge weekend. Hell, it was worth it. I don't think gorging on Oatmeal cookies is as bad as things could have been. We did eat at Wendy's one of those days and I didn't order my standard "be good" meal (Jr. Hamburger, small chili) and it was tasty! I noticed that I was full for the evening after that junk. I was also feeling crappy the next day (clean systems don't like sludge mucking up the works). I know tomorrow's weigh day probably won't be as kind, but at least I know that being consistent is taking the weight off again. I was stuck for many weeks with no way out.

A little prematurely, I ordered a couple of things from Newport News. I'm not a shopper but they were having a sale that I just couldn't pass up (and a sweater I've been wanting for a couple of years was at an unbeatable price!) I don't want to infringe on my goal items and I hope I'll have funds to do those when the time comes. I'm really excited about potentially being a "hottie" when we go to the Northwest for my hubby's competition. Is it possible that I could arrive the same weight I was in college? How lovely would that be?!

Things are going much better than expected, in terms of my plan. Normally, I pack on fiver or more pounds over the break. This year? Two pounds and those suckers are already gone. Woohoo! Hubby, just yesterday, put me on my new eating plan and boy is it interesting. I'm doing the oatmeal, salmon, brown rice, egg white deal I discussed late last year. I'm not bored yet, but I have a feeling that it's coming. He's changing it up and that should help.

Here's what I had yesterday:

Breakfast - Albertson's Quick oats (with a sprinkle of brown sugar), 1 Colby Jack cheese stick
Second meal -Half serving baked salmon, one serving brown rice
third meal - four egg whites
Fifth meal - 12 almonds and 1 Colby Jack cheese stick
Sixth meal - Cheerios and Raisin bran

After the second meal, I was so full! That protein really makes a difference, but I was ravenous by dinner time. It was late and I didn't want to cook (neither did hubby). That was the only reason we had cereal. I'm sure on most evenings will have chicken, fish or some other dead animal and vegetables.

The workouts will be altered too, but he hasn't shown me my schedule yet. I was on the elliptical most of the break and for longer periods of time. I can only assume that is why I didn't turn into a moo-cow. Thank goodness for workout equipment at home.

The numbers have been around the same, so no change for last week. I've been working out and doing the 30 or more minutes on my elliptical trainer. On days I don't, I've been firming it up with The Firm - Standing Legs, The Firm-Upper Body and The Firm-Tough Tape 2. All leave me dripping wet and exhausted, but I'm pleased with the results. The weight isn't changing, but my body sure is.

I think once TOM comes and goes, I'll let go of a lot of this excess water. It's the same story every month. I just wish I knew how to combat this without taking diuretics. Playing patient is not an easy thing to do...especially when it comes to weight. Ugh!

For me, I'm happy if I don't add extra poundage in the next few weeks. I've been dipping into the Halloween candy and that's got to stop. I threw away the cupcakes I made because no one was eating them but me, and they were just sitting there anyway. I was having maybe one every couple of days. The recipe made twenty-four. I brought 8 to work and the girls each had one. I've probably had four or five. They were just getting moist and going to waste.
For Christmas, I will definitely make my rum cake, but I know I won't be eating that alone. It's a family favorite and shouldn't last too long in the house. That will probably the sweetest thing I eat in the next few weeks. My most immediate goal is to stay strong and not touch any of the treats my neighbors try to push on me. Oh, the holidays!

The happy 160s are still here and the magic number on the scale was 169, so I wore my shoes...and they were too big. *Sigh* I still wore them and got lots of compliments and felt fabulous, but I'm bummed because they are in my size, they just fit a bit wide for me. I think if I put in an insert that will help but I can't be sure. I don't want to ruin the inside of my shoes if it's not going to make a difference in how they fit.

I worked out yesterday morning and did okay. I wasn't out of breath, like I thought I would be, and I kept it up around a half hour. I did the same this morning and am thinking that I might try my weight training on Saturday. I think that's what is making the difference in how I look and how things are fitting on me (I'm in a ten, by the way...and it's not strangling me or too tight). Hubby even said, "Hey, those are loose!" Who knew! I think it's all those lunges and "up and down" on the 12" stool. Talk about but-kicking exercises! Seriously!

Anyway, I am happy to be back in the 160s but, as they say, we're never satisfied. I keep thinking, This is where I got stuck the last time. Will I crest into the 150s or am I destined to stay in the 160s for the rest of my life? I guess time will tell. I haven't hit up my program with hubby yet nor have I changed my eating habits to that of a figure competitor. Phew! That's going to be rough when I do. I just can't get excited about tuna and oatmeal everyday. I suppose I have to change my thinking to that of food being for nutrition and not necessarily for pleasure. And, it's not forever. It's me attempting to reach a goal. If I do...if I do...when I do.

I've been hitting the workout out videos hard, as of late (the Firm Standing Legs and Upper Body, mostly). Not much change in my weight, but plenty of changes in my body. I know you're supposed to be pleased with body changes, but I'd really like that number to go down much further. Hubby says 80% of it is diet. I guess I'd better start tweaking that...and for me, that means eating more and more often (perish the thought!).

I am always transfixed by the statement above. A video instructor is huffing through the last set or the last few reps and exclaims, "You're almost there!" as if that's going to make getting through those last delt flies, squats or crunches any easier or faster. I suppose it helps some and there's the encouragement that you've nearly completed your exercises, I guess. I don't know. I'm still trying to figure that one out because I'm heading right into another set, just after I finish the ones that I'm "almost there." Can't they just say, "One more!" instead. (Oh, I guess they do say that.)

My water intake has been sporadic. Some days, I get in the whole 2.3 liters. Other days, it's half that or a third. I try to remember my L-Carnitine (which makes a huge difference) but I sometimes forget. I need a way to remember it, but I don't want to leave them here at work. I'm seriously in need of more. I guess when I buy more, I won't be so hesitant in leaving them here in the office where I can see them.

The goal shoes seem so far off, again. I'm not even bordering the 160s. I fluctuate now between 173, 173.5 and 174...depending on my water intake, the salt intake, what sort of workout I've done, etc.... I'm just not ready to start eating oatmeal, egg whites and tuna like it's going out of style. I suppose I better get ready, if I want to see the changes I'm after. I know I'm taking in way too much salt. Mostly because of the instant meals I eat for lunch and all of the prepackaged food we have. Gotta go natural. That's what my mother has done (although she's not inhaling egg whites or oatmeal) and she's down to a size four! Maybe I'll do a variation on what she's doing. She's eating lots of raw veggies (which I like), fruit (depends on what type) and very little bread (again, perish the thought). I'll keep working on it and maybe, just maybe I'll make a dent in those 160's yet!

I can't find my Tape 4 of the Classic Firm series. Actually, I do have it on DVD now, but I can't find that sucker anywhere! It was something I wanted to add to my rotation this week and it appears to have vanished into thin air. Now, of course I know (logically) that it hasn't, but I can't put my hands on it to save my life. I'd like to use it to get my arms into better shape (as well as the rest of me) but more importantly, my wings. Yes. I have wings.

They haven't started flapping in the wind yet, but they're getting close. I've begun to notice the weight change now and, "Last hired, first fired," the evidence is in my wings. It's the last place I put on weight, so it's the first place (aside from my face) where I see changes. Since I'm not toning very much in that area yet, the result? Wings. Imagine your biceps as tires and the air is slowing being let out. Not pretty.

If I had that tape, I could get in the quality reps. Yes, I could do this without the tape, but the tape is regimented. I'm more likely to follow the instructions laid out in front of me, then to "wing" it and do things on my own. The good news is that I did get my elliptical workout in this morning and used the arm "thingies", which I normally don't (my stamina hasn't built up enough to use them continuously yet). I'm sitting at 174.5 and hope that the decrease continues as nicely as it has been these past few weeks. We'll see.

I was doing so well before my trip to the south then...crash! Backyard Burgers, Captain D's, O'Charley's, Logan's, Fat Mo's, McDonald's, you name it. Four pounds later...seriously, I thought it would be much worse than this, but four is still bad. Luckily, one has already disappeared and I hope to never hear from him again.

Yesterday, I started working out again with a fierceness! First thing in the morning, I popped in one of my tried and trues; The Firm Parts: Sculpted Buns, Hips and Thighs with instructor, Tracy Long. She kicked my butt (well actually, she kicked my stomach and more specifically my abs). Ugh! I was feeling it a bit last night, but I'm in agony today. I must be a bit masochistic because I'm actually enjoying it. Well, not the pain so much but the fact that I did something good for my body. Something it hasn't had to do in a while and my body is letting me know, which is definitely a step forward.

So today, I'm going to attempt more working out...not sure what, not sure when but I'm going to try. That's all I can do is give it my best effort with each day. My costume came and it's definitely not meant for a tub-O so, I've got to get cracking on tightening up. I'm wearing it no matter what. The question is, will I be comfortable in it or royally embarrassed?

After the doctor's visit, prescription filling and dental visit, I came home ready to workout. A little strange for me, since I'm not usually excited about working out in the evening, but since I'd missed it in the morning, I thought I'd better get to it. The babe wanted to participate with me, so when I grabbed my weights, she grabbed hers. We rolled out the mat and started the tape. She did pretty well for someone who has never seen the routine before. By the second round of aerobics (this is a 45 minute aerobic and weight training video pictured here), she was sweating too, and made sure to comment about it.

By the last ten minutes, she was pretty much done while I pounded through the difficult, non-stop abdominal routine. Ouch! As I watched myself reflected in the stereo glass, I'm really not happy with the state my arms are in. Oh, I understand that it's a slow process. The fat loss coupled with the toning will do the trick, but until then, my arms are looking flabby and unattractive. It's no wonder my blouses don't fit well in the arms. Not cute.

Today, I have a lunch date with a friend and I need to investigate what the better choices are, in terms of what to eat there. I do have a couple of staples I like that I don't think are too fattening, but then, you think they're not until you research and find out the "light" sauce they use has 45 fat grams.

TOM is on the way and I feel the water weight being held hostage in my body. I'm not expecting miracles with tomorrow's number but, I do hope the gain (if any) I show is only a couple of pounds (all water). I've been sucking down the salt like you wouldn't believe! For Lent, I'm giving up all forms of chocolate (including the dark pieces I have occasionally as a treat). I'll have to find a new treat until Easter, I guess. Already I've almost slipped twice and without even realizing it! I've given up chocolate before, but this time (with it's strange, seductive hold on me), I have a feeling it will be much more difficult.

Things are still going great and on Saturday, I was down two pounds. Woohoo! I found them again today, unfortunately (I hate those day-to-day fluctuations). I'm pretty sure it's water retention from my impending TOM, which is supposed to appear today. We'll see. It's been pretty finicky these last couple of times.

The Walk-at-Home video is going well. I completed up through the fourth on Saturday, took Sunday off and went through the fifth today. I do prefer her workouts where she's working out with "everyday Joes" rather than her instructors. She talks to her folks and they are all shaped differently, which is motivating to me. Her workout instructors don't say anything and look like robots. I suppose the Firm has it's robotic feel too, but this seems different somehow. Oh, well. I did decide today that I won't be able to use her workouts all the time because they aren't challenging enough. Most times, I break a bit of a sweat, but today...I only glistened. I need something to rev things up so, I may have to break out my "Hooked on Aerobics" tape again.

I can't wait to get going with the Firm as well, but I'm doing things the right way. Weight training will be added into the walking DVD this week, then next week, I'll begin the Firm. I'll have to figure out how to work those in because those workouts are much longer. It may be that I do aerobics in the morning, then the Firm in the evening before dinner.

Hubby grabbed the schedule from the Aquatic Center and found out that they have a water aerobics class in the evening on Fridays. I may try to do that as well. I love what swimming does to my body (tone, shape). Even before I've lost a pound, that look is fabulous! I remember we swam every Thursday in college and my calves and thighs were beautiful!