Category Archives: Weight loss

Birthday Calories Don’t Exist

Posted in Honesty, Learning, Motivation, Weight loss by

I came back last night from a weekend away with my friends. A weekend that just happened to coincide with my birthday. A weekend, smack dab in the middle of a 21 day fix round.  Usually on these weekends we gourge ourselves with food and alcohol. Usually I come back a handful of pounds heavier and feeling badly about myself. Not. This. Time!

I prepared myself in advance. I meal prepped what I wanted to eat for the long weekend and brought my food with me. Having Celiac usually means I have to bring a ton of my own food with me anyways, so this wasn’t a shocker to my friends.

I made breakfast bags- I measured out a cup of spinach, a cup of mushrooms and onions, and a cup of peppers- to be sautéed and put over eggs.  I packed a lunch of an English muffin, turkey bacon, guac and deli turkey to be eaten with cut up fruits and veggies.  Dinners were gluten free pasta with veggies and mozzarella and burrito bowls of quinoa, beans, chicken, corn, peppers, and onions.  I had my Shakeology shake every day.  I did my almost best to snack healthy- apples and peanut butter (okay maybe too much peanut butter), yogurt, veggies, chips with salsa and guac.  I tried to drink my water, but we know how bad I am at that.

I got up Friday morning and worked out, thank goodness for my laptop and Beachbody on Demand, I got to Cize it up for a half hour. I also got to chase around a toddler a lot, so I got some running in, until I twisted my ankle.

I went into this with the best of intentions. I know they say “the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” although I didn’t follow it to hell, I did take a few detours.  I enjoyed my chips and guac, I enjoyed my apples and peanut butter, I enjoyed my cheese and crackers, and I enjoyed the peanut m&m’s that kept winding up in front of me. The night of my birthday I had made a shake with alcohol in it and had one double chocolate sea salt macaroon. My will isn’t the strongest, but it’s not the weakest.

There were many times I wanted to cave and eat all the cookies someone gave my for my bday or drink more than one alcoholic drink.  I wanted to bury my face in my jar of peanut butter long after the apples work gone or find more crackers to eat with the cheese that was still there, but I didn’t. I reminded myself of my goal and the strength I do have.   I reminded myself that you can still have fun without alcohol and food and I did just that, had fun.

I stepped on the scale today with no deal breaking expectations. I knew that whatever the scale said was what it was and I would just move forward.  I was up just over a pound. I danced, I celebrated!  I don’t care that it’s a gain, because had this been last year the scale would have been up more than that. I would have eaten everything I could get my hands on.

I know how far I’ve come.

Falling off the Wagon

Posted in Confession, Weight loss by

Confession: This. $hit. Is. Hard!

If it wasn’t hard, everyone would be doing it. Everyone would be skinny. Everyone would be healthy.

It’s February 1st and it’s a Monday.  That means it’s a new day, a new month, a new week… I was reminded of this by my best friend today and my response was “F@*k you Monday.”  That’s the kind of mood I’m in today.

I’m pretty sure I’ve fallen off the wagon, and climbed back on, and fallen off again. Actually, I’m pretty sure the wagon has left without me. Whenever I mention a wagon I immediately get drawn back to my late 80s/early 90s childhood and that game that Oregon Trail. I feel like I’m at the point where you have to forge the river and turn you wagon into a boat; someone always falls out the deeper the water is.

“Lizz has fallen off of the wagon and drowned”

I could use a couple life preservers right now.  I know I’m buoyant and come with my own flotation devices, but if someone could toss me a life preserver that would be great.  Yeah yeah, I should have been wearing my life jacket but orange is so not my color (hence why I have yet to be caught and thrown into jail).

In all seriousness, losing weight is not easy. Blogging about it is hard too… the date is actually February 14th and I’ve been trying to finish my first blog post for 13 days.

It’s Valentine’s Day, I’m currently sitting at home doing my version of “Netflix and Chill.” I’m drinking a nice ice cold Chocolate PB Banana Shakeology while binge watching Supernatural in fleece leggings because its currently 7 degrees out, yes 7!

I’m here because I need to be. I need to document my journey and hold myself accountable and share my triumphs and struggles.  So going forward, I’m back on the wagon!  It’s a slow wagon so if you want to follow me or walk beside me you totally can!

So let’s get this party started!

And So It Begins…

Posted in 21 Day Fix, Confession, Honesty, Motivation, Weight loss by

My beginning blog, that got lost in the shuffle…

October 21, 2015

“All great ideas and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.”
~Albert Camus
Labor Day 2015. I woke up in the twin bed I used to sleep in at my parents’ house. My best friend got married the night before and their house was closer than mine was. 

Upon waking I did whatever aging millennial does; I checked Facebook for pictures. Right there in black and white was a picture of their ceremony. I was standing there doing my duties as one of the maids of honor, gazing at the couple lovingly, looking like the hippo from Fantasia; except the pink tutu was replaced with a beautiful jersey bridesmaid’s dress in the color Oasis.

I gasped in horror. Is that what I really looked like? Did I really get to be that big? I mean, I know I’m no [insert whatever celebrity is the new skinny] but I didn’t realize my girth could give Shamu a run for her money. I sat in stunned silence for a few moments as the tears started to well up in my eyes. I threw open my bedroom door, much reminiscent of my adolescent years, and found my mother sitting on the couch. I shoved my phone in her face and through crocodile tears I said to her “look at this mom, look at it.”

Once she realized what I was trying to show her, she asked me to sit down so we could talk about it. I wanted to regress to that little girl that would lay my head in her lap as she stroked my hair until I stopped crying. Instead I acted like the 34 year old woman I needed to be and sat on the sofa facing her. With tears still streaming down my cheeks and with a look of heartbreak and confusion I asked her.

“Mom, when did I get this big?”
I was always active growing up, so despite how much I weighed, I was always solid. I was a big kid, but I was never “fat.” Over the past few years my inactivity and less than stellar lifestyle has caught up with me and although I’ve seen the “fat” creeping in, I never really noticed it until now.

That afternoon I met with my therapist to discuss what I was feeling about myself and my weight. I was fortunate enough a handful of years ago to be directed towards my therapist, let’s call her Etta, when I was struggling with anxiety and depression. Etta is also a weight loss therapist and has been a blessing during my struggles over the years. For almost 45 minutes she listened to me cry and I devised I plan.

A couple weeks prior, I had been talking with one of my coworkers about trying the 21 Day Fix. You know the infomercial with the colored containers and everyone looks so happy and healthy? Yes, that 21 Day Fix. . I had ordered it after we initially talked and it was at my house, still sitting in the box. I was overwhelmed and afraid to fail, but after this post wedding meltdown, what choice did I have?

 The next day I walked up to my coworker and said “let’s do it!”
So here I am a month later. I’ve lost 11 pounds so far and have a new lease on life. I will talk about what happened during that month in my next post.

 A great thought came from that ridiculous beginning, and I couldn’t be happier!