Slow, Like This

I've had a great workout the past couple of days! I feel great, now that I'm working out regularly! I'm slowly losing weight and I know that this is the right way for me. I'm still enjoying all of the foods that I want to eat, and I'm losing weight and gaining muscle. I have been trying to cut back on certain foods, but it seems impossible sometimes. I end up binging for days, sometimes weeks and clearly that is not a healthy choice. I have since decided that I can lose another 10 pounds in addition to what I originally planned. I am now a quarter of the way  to reaching my end goal! I'm really aiming for the end of this year to have the weight shed. I'm very concerned as to what my skin will look like if I keep the weight on any longer than past the age of 25...so I'm hoping that it will still have it's elasticity so that I don't have saggy skin. I'm really worried about that since I'm losing a significant amount of weight. I've been looking up tips, but if anybody has any suggestions, I would appreciate them!

"Crazy" by Seal

Love and all that,

l

700 calories today! I exercised on the elliptical and reach 700 calories, something that used to come so easy, but as of recent hasn't been reached...until today :) It felt great to exercise for more than 30 minutes too. I am once again getting pumped up and excited for being this motivated and this accomplished. It's just so difficult figuring out portion control. I'm eating so much, but I'm doing a lot of strength training and cardio. I think that it'll have to be about eating the right foods and then I'll have to focus on portion control in a month or so. I need to eat more chicken breast, salad, and fruits throughout the day and in 5 small meals. Because I've been out of work, I have been grazing quite frequently as well, which obviously doesn't help when I'm trying to track how much I'm eating throughout the day. Phew! Anyway, as long as I'm not gaining weight, I'll be content. If I'm losing weight, I'll be happy. And once the weight is gone, I'll be so ecstatic! 

I might've already posted this song, but mmmm it's so good 

"I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis

Love and all that,

l

There's Always Something

This weekend I had a difficult time trying to keep my composure as my emotions got the best of me. Living with my parents has been such a difficult change. I thought that it would be different having graduated from high school. However, it has proven to be a challenge each day I'm here. I need a job. Anybody hiring? Please hire me :) I need money so that I can finally move out of my parents' house. Anyway...my dad likes to have these "talks" with me, and I find them ever so irritating. Today, he asked me about the almond milk that I've been buying as of recent. He wanted to know if I was aware that it was made of a lot of sugar, what I was using it for,  and so forth. I replied saying that my stomach has been getting upset whenever I drink milk, and that it wasn't the case with cheese or yogurt, so I decided to try almond milk. I prefer it over soy milk because I've heard that soy messes with hormone levels..and...blah blah blah. Anyway the point that I'm slowly making is that I read nutrition labels...obviously! I'm trying to lose weight. And, I know what I'm putting into my body. I was aware that there is a ton of sugar in almond milk, but ya know, it's an alternative that I prefer. It's just irritating that I'm 23 years old, living at home, and being told what I can/should and can't/shouldn't eat. It was just completely unnecessary and doesn't make either of our lives easier...so I was frustrated. But, ya know....talking to my dad has always been a grueling task, and it's proving to still be so. Oh well. Other than that, I had a great workout, seeing that I had that conversation minutes before I left. 800 plus calories. 65 minutes. WOOT. Max heart rate-192, avg-180. It was a great workout. I also tried biking a little bit. I think that I might do a bike cool down on occasion. It was nice change, but  I do dread the bike. We had a bike, and i just loathed it so much. Being forced to ride that piece of shit because my parents thought I was too fat. Oh those days.....haha oh right....I'm still living them.


Please don't judge, but I am currently obsessed with two songs. Here's one:

S&M by Rihanna

Can you guess what the other song is? You'l find out tomorrow :)


Love and all that,
l

Grey's Anatomy Addict

I will admit, I have been a lover of Grey's Anatomy for so long. I started unliking it when Denny came back and gave Izzie orgasms...that was just too weird for me..until I later found out that she had cancer and he was her hallucination; then it made sense. Anyway, I'm thrilled that Jackson and Lexie could possibly be starting a romance. They are such a cute duo. Okay..I promise my life doesn't revolve around television, but I love this show. Anywho.... I got back into the gym today! It was great to workout again. My elliptical was kind of jerky, but I managed to get through it. I kept at a fairly steady pace for the entire 65 minutes. However I finally averaged an even 12 calories per minute today! YES! It felt really great, although I will need to start doing more interval training. I feel that I get more of a workout if I practice my version of HIIT than a steady pace. I am steadily reaching level 11 for longer periods of times too, which I am thrilled about. Avg heart rate-182 (up from 177 ish) and max heart rate- 192. I feel great! I hope that I can keep it up. I really have been trying to change my eating habits. I caved and bought some slim fast. I wanted something chocolatey...and I figured, well I may as well be getting in nutrients too. It doesn't make a bad shake. I bought the powder because I'm lactose intolerant, and need to use almond milk. I add ice to it, blend it all up and it makes quite a satisfactory shake, I've got to say. I'm not really planning on starting the slim fast diet, but I might consider it, seeing as I can handle the shakes. Anyway...I have given up eating past about 8 o'clock, which is good for me (I could totally eat all night if I wanted to haha). I just really love food, and I love eating....which obviously is a problem for me. I have been trying to drink more water, and that helps satisfy the hunger as well. I've given up cigarettes. I'm not that sad about it, because I've quit before. It's a nasty habit, but I really do enjoy them every now and then. I don't miss them as much as I used to. I'm loving the way my body feels. I haven't really lost any weight, but I just feel so much better, leaner. I do miss soda though, terribly. I love carbonated drinks, and I'm not about to drink diet soda or anything. Okay, maybe a diet coke here and there....but I prefer not to. I don't like sugar substitutes. They tend to be too sweet. I feel like I'm rambling...so I'm going to peace.


Here's a great song that I like to workout to:

"Who I Am" by Stroke 9

Love and all that,
l

Long Time, No Post

Sorry for the lack of commitment on this blog. I tend to get distracted, and then start a new blog. However, that has not happened here! I've been away for a few days, but I'm back! So....the past few days haven't been so great for me. We ordered Chinese food (cue: "mmmmmm") and I just haven't been eating that well lately. Well, it's not to say that I haven't been eating well, but rather, I've just been eating a whole heck of a lot. So tomorrow is another fresh start (my philosophy is that one can never have too many "fresh starts") and I'm going to be very conscious of what I'm putting into my body. Today's workout was great, unlike the past couple of days. I burned 770 calories in just 65 minutes! Yay for me. And I'm hoping that the rest of this week will also be filled with great work outs!-and more healthy food choices.


Anyway, more updates to come later!

This is one of my favorite renditions I've ever heard, of any song!

"With a Little Help From My Friends" featured in the opening performance of "The Sing-Off", episode 4.

I get goose bumps every time. 

Love and all that, 

l

Good Riddance!

Today, I discovered that I've finally gotten back down to my pre-holiday weight! Those five pounds that I gained were such a pain, and now they are gone forever. I have five more pounds until I reach my first goal, which I initially wanted to reach before New Year's Eve. A few weeks, late, but not a problem. I just have to stay focused and keep at it. I've been reducing my caloric intake by....a lot. I don't actually count calories, I'm just very aware of what I'm putting in my body, and of course how many calories I'm burning. Today was another great day! I only did an hour of cardio. I had to skip my cool down but I still burned more than usual. The past few days I've been aiming towards 700 calories in 65 minutes on the elliptical. Today I met the 700 in just 60 minutes! I think that this interval training is working really great. I think that once I plateau I'm going to give HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) a shot. I'm doing so well with how I've been working out the past week that I am hesitant to change my routine. I also have to pay more attention to what I'm eating. I want to eat more well-balanced meals. I've only been watching my calories, which I know is a huge factor, but I think that I can start consuming more efficient calories to help me lose weight. Anyway...today was a great day.


For today's song selection:

"How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston. Feelin the 80s tonight.


Love and all that,
l

Yeah....Not So Worth It

Today was an awesome workout day...not so much an awesome food day though. I don't know if I just had a momentary lapse in will power, but I indulged in pasta with cheese and butter today. I also had an egg with toast and sausage. It was not a healthy day. But I can move onto my next meal with confidence that it will be filled with delicious nutrients :) I supposedly burned just over 700 calories on the elliptical today. I was on it for about an hour and 5 minutes for a cool down at the end of it. Yay! Go me! Haha. I'm really proud that I've been able to keep it up..going to the gym that is. I just hope that I start seeing results soon. I've lost 3 pounds since last week...but I'm still two pound away from my pre-holiday weight...and then of course...there's the amount of weight I have to shed to reach my ideal weight...but I know that I can get there. Just some more will power to refrain from those oh so good, but oh so bad foods, and of course to continue exercising. I heard that diet is the most contributing factor to losing weight/gaining weight. Exercise kind of tops it all off. I know that my body is becoming stronger, I just want it to be leaner, so I'm going to try my pre-holiday diet once more on top of working out, and see if this yields any results. My diet plan went like this:

carbs in the morning before noon
must consume 600 calories before noon
eat within one hour of waking up
eat only vegetables and protein after 12 pm. including salads loaded with chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms, some dressing, nuts, along with fish or other protein like egg whites.

Basically I can eat anything else after noon except carbs such as rice, bread, pasta, etc.

It was so difficult because I would crave so many things, but morning was the time to indulge in any carbs or sweets. It worked so well that I lost 17 pounds in two months! But then I gained it back...so we'll see how this goes. I'm sure it will be very difficult for even just a week, so I'll stick as close to it as possible and let y'all know how it goes.


oh yes, song selection:

"Porcelain" by Moby. One of my favorite artists. Enjoy

Love and all that,
l

Who woulda thunk it

So.. sorry for the delay folks, I've been quite busy dealing with..distracting matters haha, but I wanted to quickly post my progress thus far. Yesterday, I burned almost 600 calories! I have been trying to practice interval training and changing the pace of my workout on the treadmill and elliptical throughout my set. I usually seem to wear off a lot of energy in the first 15 to 20 minutes of my cardio, and I'll have to reduce the intensity or speed for a few minutes, and then pick it back up again. I pushed myself so incredibly hard today. I only burned about 470 calories today, and only did strength training and the elliptical. It was really great though, I pushed myself to work onto level 9 on the elliptical! It was difficult, but it really felt great. I only did it for about 8 minutes or so, in two different increments, but I know that in about a week or two, it should be a pretty solid commitment, and I'll push myself to level 11 then haha. I feel like I could've pushed myself more a little bit while weight training, but Monday is another day. I'm going to lunch with some of my friends tomorrow, and I'm hoping that there will be some tasty but healthy options! I'll also be working out before I go out to eat, so I'll have to choose something high in protein.

Side note: for those who know me, I've been in love with this boy that I went to high school with for a long, long time now. I haven't had the nerve to tell him, and I don't think it would work out between us. So I've been trying to move on and today..........................................I spotted a guy across the room haha. I was dripping with sweat which I'm sure was attractive, but sheesh, who would've thought working out would be so much fun for me! haha

OH, song....hmmmm ooooh, I have a lovely little ditty for you. One of my favorite songs ever

"Love You Down" by INOJ. Hell. Yes.



Love and all that,
l