Tag Archives: inspiration

Her Bizzy Diet – Day 8

17 Feb

Welcome to week 2 of my challenge!

The weekend proved to be a big obstacle.  Saturday during the day was very easy because I was at work and able to keep on my regular schedule.  After work I picked up my step-daughter, took her for birthday manicures, and then we met up with my husband for her birthday dinner.  We wanted her to pick the restaurant, since after all it’s her birthday.  She chose Macaroni Grill.  I knew from the start that it could pose a challenge because I looooooove pasta, but I wanted to be good so I veered away from that portion of the menu.  However, so many of the dishes have pasta of some sort and I really wasn’t in the mood for chicken or steak since I can make that at home and not pay $18/plate.  I thought I had decided upon a dish until I noticed the calorie contents next to them.  I can’t remember my first choice, but I do remember that it had about 1100 calories in it.  Thanks, but no thanks!  I opted for a Caesar salad and added shrimp.  First off,  yeah, I know, Caesar dressing isn’t healthy, but remember I don’t really care when it comes to fat.  Second, don’t order shrimp to add to a salad because it was a total rip off – $4 to add shrimp and I only got 4 shrimp.  I ended up coming home and making some beef strips so that I could get in more protein.   The next morning I was up about .8lbs which kinda sucked.

Next comes Sunday.  I always wake up earlier than my family so I spent the first couple of hours in my normal breakfast routine catching up on all my trashy reality shows on DVR.  I even made pancakes when the other two woke up and didn’t so much as even taste it.  Then come the temptations.  First it was lunch.  My husband wanted taco bell so the two of them went and picked it up and brought it home.  We all sat at the table and while they ate tacos, gorditos and chalupas I sat drooling, staring and quietly ate my tuna salad.  Later that night we met up with friends for a BBQ – we brought steaks and asparagus so I don’t feel bad there.  However, after dinner the family wanted ice cream.  ICE CREAM!  I dropped them off and went to fill up my car with gas so I didn’t even step foot inside because I knew I would have ordered something.  They brought their ice cream home and I made a chocolate peanut butter protein shake.  I thought I did a pretty good job, although this morning I was up another .8lbs.  GRRRR!!!

That’s ok, because at the end of the week I still ended up down 7lbs from my starting weight.  Today was totally on point, so here’s what I got:

Workout:

Day 1 – Cardio & Upper Body
 

Meals & Supplements:

  • 3:30am –  2 Burn (according to the plan I am supposed to take 2, this morning I only did because I was exhausted) , 1 Tone
  • 6am – 3 Balance, 2 whole eggs, 1 slice center cut bacon
  • 9am – 1 scoop Vanilla Chai Delight Protein
  • 11:30am – 1 Burn, 1 Tone
  • 12pm – 6oz chicken, 2c mixed greens, olive oil/vinegar dressing
  • 3pm – 1 scoop Vanilla Chai Delight Protein
  • 6pm – 5 oz shrimp, 1 bunch chard, 1/3c coconut milk, 1/2 lemon juice and chipotle pepper flakes
  • 8pm – 2 Cleanse, Cup of Vanilla Sleepy Time Tea

Weight: 136.6

Her Bizzy Diet – Day 3

12 Feb

Pretty uneventful day.  It was a rest day and I did just that.  Slept in until 5, kind of.  My body and mind still wanted to wake up around 3:30 but I forced myself to stay in bed and try to sleep until 5.  After work, I just kicked off my shoes, made dinner and sat around.  I needed it because I could barely walk when I woke up this morning.  I’m thinking I’ll probably have to switch up the cardio in tomorrows workout, to elliptical or stair stepper but I’ll give the treadmill a try first.

So, anyway, here is my nutritional breakdown today:

Meals & Supplements:

  • 5:30am –  1 Burn, 1 Tone
  • 6am – 3 Balance, 2 whole eggs, 1 slice center cut bacon
  • 9am – 1 scoop Vanilla Chai Delight Protein
  • 11:30am – 1 Burn, 1 Tone
  • 12pm – 6oz tuna, 2c mixed greens, pepperoncinis, avocado oil and balsamic vinegar
  • 3pm – 1 scoop Vanilla Chai Delight Protein
  • 6pm – 6 oz shrimp, 4c spinach, 1/2c coconut milk, and chipotle pepper flakes
  • 8pm – 2 Cleanse, (no snack tonight because I am going to bed at 8)

collage

Weight: 137.6

An Update for Steph :)

21 Feb

I had a few ladies over this weekend for a Mary Kay party.  It was lots of fun and I definitely needed the dose of estrogen around me since I work with only males throughout the week.  At the party, somehow this blog was mentioned.  I can’t remember exactly how, but I do remember one very important fact.  My friend Steph told me she was waiting for my next post and asked me where it was.  What, what, what?  Someone actually reads this bad boy?  I couldn’t believe it.  And not only does she read it, but she actually enjoys it.  Well, hallelujah!  I told her that all I wanted to do was one more post that simply read “FAILURE” because that is how I feel.  I started this blog to document my journey towards fitness. Instead it has become a diary of all of my pitfalls along the way.  But that is what she likes about it – it’s real.  Sure, I am not the epitome of health and well-being, but I am trying.  No one is perfect and is going to get it right 100% of the time, but the important thing is to keep going back and working at it.  I’m not a failure, I am just hitting a few bumps in the road.  So, without further ado, Steph this post goes out to you.  Thank you for the encouragement and for asking for a new post because without you I don’t think I would have continued. 

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By far the biggest downfall I have is that I love food.  And not just any food but horrible, greasy, fatty food.  I swear if I never gained a pound I would be happy living off of fast food.  Well, maybe not every meal but you know what I mean, right?  It’s just so good, but oh so bad for my thighs…and ass…and gut…well, you get the picture.  I’m trying to venture out a little more so that I can satisfy my palate without compromising my wallet.  This is not always the easiest thing to accomplish.  Prep time has also become an issue recently. Now that I am working full-time with the Coast Guard and my number of clients has picked up significantly at the gym I’m not getting home until 8:30 most nights.  At that point I have to shower, pack up my clothes for the next day, lay out my uniform, eat dinner, make meals for the next day and take care of the dogs.  EEESH!  It’s a lot.  And I really like to be in bed by 9…ain’t happenin’!  So now it’s time to find things that are fast and simple to cook.  Pre-made turkey burgers have been a staple the past couple days.  Fairly inexpensive, easy to cook while I multitask, a good source of protein, and delicious to boot.  I forgo the bun and just eat it with a slice of fat-free pepper jack cheese and some Dijon mustard.  If I’m feeling feisty I may throw in some sort of veggie, such as my fav creamed spinach.  This was lunch Tuesday:

Burger

Nutritional Info:  329 Calories, 7g Carbs, 13g Fat, 29g Protein

For breakfast the past couple of days I decided to do something a little different.  While I love my eggs and bacon or eggs and toast or eggs and fruit sometimes you have just had enough eggs. Instead I opted for some 100% Whole Wheat Mini Bagels.  These definitely don’t break the bank and are great for topping with sugar-free preserves, some type of nut butter, or a low/reduced fat cream cheese.  However, I took it just a step farther.  The past couple mornings I’ve been doing cream cheese and smoked salmon.  This morning I got a hankering for avocado so I threw that in the mix with some red onion.  OMG!  Absolutely fantastic!  I highly suggest putting this one together.  It takes no time at all and you can even eat it on the fly if you’re in a hurry.

Salmon

Nutritional Info:  411 Calories, 30g Carbs, 24g Fat, 20g Protein

And finally, my morning ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) drink.  I am still trying to keep up with this drink.  First thing I do when I wake up in the morning is take the dogs out.  When I get back inside I start this drink by adding 1 tsp of chia seeds to 8 oz of water.  Then, I’ll go and get ready.  The reason I start it first thing in the morning and drink it right before I leave is because I like to let the chia seeds sit and soak up the water.  This gives them a gel-like consistency instead of crunchy seeds and makes it much easier to drink.  Anyone remember Orbitz drinks?  It’s sort of like that.  Right before it’s ready to drink I’ll had a bit of lemonade drink mix and voila – faboo drink!

ACV

Nutritional Info:  38 Calories, 5g Carbs, 1g Fat, 1g Protein

So there we go.  My strides in the right direction and my post for Steph.  Now that I know that this blog inspires one person it makes it so much more worthwhile and I’ll try to post more often.  If there is anything you want to hear about just let me know!

Mid-Week Update

30 Jan

In case you were wondering why I haven’t posted any recent updates, it’s because this happened Thursday!

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I was driving my husbands Jeep when I completely lost control on some ice.  Luckily a very nice lady was able to stop my spinning with the front end of her car.  ARGH!  It was absolutely terrifying.  Luckily no one was injured, but mentally it sort of put me out of commission for a few days.  Friday I was depressed.  I woke up angry because I cost my husband and me the price of our deductible, we won’t be able to sell his Jeep for what it is fully worth because it’s been involved in an accident, and I felt extremely guilty that I wrecked his car and not my own.  Well, as many people are, I too am an emotional eater.  I started Friday off with a healthy breakfast, but that didn’t last.  By lunchtime I was ready to indulge…and indulge I did!

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I ate every single morsel you see in that picture.  A salad with ranch dressing and pasta salad on the side.  A bowl of cream of mushroom soup.  A cheeseburger with all the fixins’.  And to top it all off a big slice of red velvet cake.  It didn’t end there either.  What else did I do?  Well I drowned my self-pity in my old friend BEER!

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What a sad and pathetic face.  I just curled up in my living room, drank and ate all night  I attempted to have a healthy snack while I was drinking and found something new and delicious that I absolutely love.  Toasted Ezekiel bread with a wedge of Laughing Cow Light Swiss and Olive Tapenade.  Sounds weird but it was fantastic!

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But that doesn’t really help when you consume more than your daily allowance of calories in just beer now does it?

Saturday I woke up feeling rested and surprisingly not hung over.  I decided to catch up on my 30 day Challenge from Daily HIIT since I hadn’t done my workout Friday.  I knocked that out, and started feeling better.  The rest of the day I did nothing but relax, pick up a few things and relax some more.  Sunday was pretty much the same minus the workout.  Instead of my BodyRock routine I went and walked an indoor track with my friend and got a little time to vent, which I needed…desperately!

Monday, I opted for one more day of rest and relaxation just to make sure all the depressed gookies were completely gone and lo and behold when I woke up Tuesday morning they sure were!

Tuesday I woke up early and knocked out my morning HIIT routine.  That afternoon I decided to hit the gym during my lunch break for a mid-day cardio session.  Those always seem to make the day go by faster and give me a little boost of energy.  At the end of my Coast Guard day I went straight to the gym to train with a few clients and followed that up with an intense Jillian Michaels routine.  You read that right, I got in 3 full workouts yesterday.  On top of all that, I ate impeccably. 

I guess what I am getting at is that life happens.  How you deal with it may not be the same as how I deal with it, however we all have coping mechanisms.  I’m not saying mine is a good one, because lets face it, it’s not!  I do not recommend you eat and drink away your problems because it really isn’t going to get you anywhere.  However, what I do recommend is that when you are ready you get right back on that horse and keep on trekin!  I had a mini-mental-meltdown and it sucked, but today I realize that it’s not the end of the world and I am ready to just keep moving forward.

What mental setbacks have you had in the past, and how did you deal with them?

Venturing Out with Food #1

18 Jan

When it comes to recipes, I’m right up there with Emeril! Well, following recipes not coming up with them. You can ask anyone, my creative side is a bit lacking. I’m all about straight lines, 90-degree angles, and all things INSIDE the box. I am trying to venture out a little when it comes to food however. I’m constantly Googling recipe ideas and looking for inspiration. Today I had success on my own! Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t invent the wheel. I’m sure if you look online there will be a million versions of this idea.  I’m proud though because I came up with this one on the fly out of my own head.  I knew today was going to be a salad day because I needed to use my lettuce before it went bad, I just wasn’t sure what was going on it.  I then remembered I had crab in the fridge, fresh limes and cilantro I bought the other day, and voila! So, I now present to you my first food venture.

Crab and Avocado Salad
with
Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

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Ingredients:

2 cups Mixed Greens (or your favorite lettuce)1/2 Avocado
1/2 Package of Lump Crab Meat (I use Blue Stars Claw Meat)
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Fresh Lime Juice or more to taste
1 Tsp minced garlic
1/2 Tbsp Cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

Process:

1. Mix together oil, lime juice, garlic and cilantro. Place in fridge for at least three hours to let the flavored marry together. You can prob eat it right away but I liked it much better later in the day opposed to my initial taste test. Also, feel free to add more lime juice or cilantro to make it to your liking.2. Lay out your bed of greens and top with sliced avocado and crab meat straight from the package. (You can add mayo or Greek yogurt to your crab if you want it creamier but I opted for just the basics.)
3. Pour dressing over salad, mix and enjoy!

Nutrition:

Calories:  346; Fat: 25g (don’t be alarmed, this is good fats from the avocado and olive oil); Carbs:  15g; Protein:  20g

Super easy recipe that took no time to prepare. In fact, I slapped this puppy together while I had breakfast this morning. Also, this was a great way to escape to the islands in my mind while its 4 degrees outside and snowing. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

Working in BEAST Mode!

17 Jan

I’m feeling so great about myself and life this morning that I just couldn’t wait to post. I’m in BEAST MODE and I just gotta share!

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Yeah, I realize that isn’t the most flattering picture but sometimes you just gotta ROAR!!!!

I’m excited about my progress this week both in the gym and in the kitchen. Monday after trying to get my phone and kindle to load the Daily HIIT routine with nothing but failure I was left with only 4 minutes to workout. Don’t fret, the time was not wasted. At the urging of my hubby I did some high knees and jumping jacks to get my heart rate up a bit. Each day since I’ve gotten up early and done the routines. They give me such a boost of energy in the morning I feel ready to conquer the long day ahead.

As well as keeping up with that 30 day challenge, I’ve mentioned starting back on with Making the Cut. I hit that hard Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was a rest day. I made it an active rest day by doing my morning routine and also squeezing in a quick 20 min on the treadmill before clients last night.
Most of my days I spend sitting at a desk. As many of you probably know, this makes you feel super inactive, well, because you are. So to break up my days a little I like to do little mini-workouts. There is a bench in my bathroom/locker-room on base so I’m using it to my full advantage. I’ll do 10 incline push-ups, 5 single leg squats per leg, and 10 in-outs each time I have to hit the head. So to recap I’m rocking the shiz outta some workouts this week!

On the nutrition front, well I’m killing that too! I’ve hit my calorie goals everyday this week. I’m getting lots of fresh fruit and veggies in. I’m eating salads and lean protein. And best of all, I’ve discovered new and exciting uses for cauliflower, HALLELUJAH!! Prepping Sunday made my life exponentially easier this week so I’ll try to do that again this weekend.

I’m hoping this motivation keeps on coming because the progress I’ve made over just these past 5 days has been amazing. I want to keep seeing results and reap the benefits of all my hard work! More updates to come and hopefully some positive progress photos. 🙂

OMC! (That’s right C!)

16 Jan

I just have to say, I ❤ cauliflower! Who knew it was so versatile? I was searching around last night trying to locate a low carb shrimp recipe for dinner last night. I found this little gem – Low Carb Guilt Free Shrimp Dirty Rice.

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I may not have made it exactly as I was supposed to because my totals were a little different, but it was bangin’! That is actually a pic of my dinner last night, not just one I snagged online. Even the hubs liked it. He put his first portion on a whole wheat tortilla and really liked that. His second helping was just straight but with no cilantro topping like mine.

20130116-104713.jpg I’d like to try it again using turkey sausage in place of chorizo and maybe add more cauliflower.

Oh yeah, that brings me back to cauliflower. Well you may notice the recipe calls for “ricing” your cauliflower and provides a link for instructions on how to do this. I was a little skeptical since I have your basic chinsy blender but it worked perfectly. Not sure why I didn’t take a pic of that. Oops! Anyway, I was so damned amazed at this technique, plus the fact that I can have “rice” at dinner that I had to keep experimenting. I looked on The Big Red Kitchen for more and found a recipe for cilantro lime cauliflower “rice”. Well of course I had to try that shiz, I love cilantro lime rice. The recipe was easy enough and I had plenty of cauliflower leftover from last night. Again, I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, only because I wanted to make a single portion just for lunch today. I reduced my cauliflower but didn’t bother with the other ingredients. Bonehead move! Tons of cilantro – I’m TOTALLY cool with that because I love cilantro. The lime however, well I still used half a lime and it is quite overpowering. Still good though. Can’t wait for lunch today!

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Does anyone have experience with “riced” cauliflower or recipes to share? I’m hooked and dying to try more!!!

Workout ADD: A Self Revelation

15 Jan

Yes, I’m still alive and still blogging but it’s been an insane couple of weeks! I have barely been able to get my hair washed daily so hopping on a computer has just not been an option.

Here’s a little update on what’s been going on.  December 27th thru Jan 6th the hubs and I went so So Cal to spend time with his daughter. We hit outlets, Sea World, Dave and Busters, Mulligan’s, and so much more. It was a blast! 

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Upon returning home, I found that I had gained 7 new clients at the gym and 7 new pounds on my body. GAH! It’s ok to splurge a little on vacation however we got crazy!

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Coming back with those extra pounds and extra clients however made me realize how far off track I have gotten. How can I tell my clients to eat clean and workout consistently when I am doing the opposite and steadily packing on pounds? (16 lbs to be exact from the time I started personal training until now.) How about practice what you preach?  Ever heard that, Carey? Yup, sure have! Now it’s time to take it to heart!

We all know this can be difficult to do.  Everyone has busy schedules and things come up.  Right now, I’m working 8 hour days with the Coast Guard and then going straight to the gym for another 5 hours or so.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, just explaining. I’m trying to make it work. I’m having good healthy breakfasts.

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I spent all evening prepping food Sunday night.  I separated fruit salad and greek yogurt into 1 cup portions, made three salads, four pieces of chicken, Jamie Eason’s Turkey Meatloaf Muffins, and tons of rice.  The only thing I didn’t cook in advance was breakfasts and veggies because I don’t like when cooked veggies sit for days plus they are so easy to steam while I’m having breakfast.

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I’m also working out again, which I just loooove! And here is where my title comes in. I had a conversation with a friend recently where I explained my new workout plan. She says to me, “You change your plan a lot, huh?” I thought and it and responded, “Yeah, I have workout ADD. I get bored easily.” I just can’t seem to stick to one plan too long. Does anyone else have this problem? I like different workouts and different plans and different meals. Don’t tell me to lift 5 days a week, run long distances and eat chicken, brown rice and broccoli because I’m gonna tell you where to shove it! I want circuit training with different moves and routines. I want all kinds of new recipes incorporating foods I’ve never tried before (more about that in future posts!). And I want new ideas I can take and apply to my clients.

So, on that note, here’s what I’m trying to do now. BodyRock, now The Daily HIIT, has a 30 day challenge going. These workouts are posted daily and each one is different from the day before. Best part, they’re only 12 minutes. 12 MINUTES! If you don’t have 12 minutes a day to dedicate to your health and well-being then you have bigger fish to fry my friend. But anyway, I’m trying to do these in the mornings. If I wake up only 30 min earlier than normal, I can get in a great workout before work everyday. I’m one day behind because I couldn’t get anything to work yesterday morning, that’s no big deal.  This morning I did Monday’s workout, tomorrow I’ll do Tuesdays workout and so on.  As long as I stay on track for the 30 days, I think I’ll be ok.  I’d like to try to link the videos in here each day, but that is time permitting. In the evenings I’ve gone back to my tried and true Jillian Michael’s ‘Making the Cut’ book. The first time I ran through this program following it perfectly, I dropped 14 lbs in 30 days and felt better than I can ever remember.  This time around, I will follow the workout plan exactly, but I’m going to change up the meals.  I am sticking to the percentages for Fast Oxidizers (50% protein, 30% fat, 20% carbs) but trying to create the meal plan myself.  This will help me develop my own healthy eating habits without having to depend on someone elses meal plan.  Hopefully I’ll be able to post some progress photos soon. Something I realized in California is that it is ok to be a chubby trainer here in the Soo, but that shiz ain’t gonna fly down there. Gotta get it together! Anyone else wanna join in this 30 day challenge?

Heart Rate Monitors

27 Nov

Ok, lets talk Heart Rate Monitors.

This is fairly new to me.  I’ve heard of them before, but haven’t had much experience.  When my dad purchased his elliptical it came with two chest straps for monitoring heart rate and accurate calorie counting.  This is the only time I have personally used them.

Heart rate monitors however, are becoming something that I am seeing and hearing about more and more.  After I taught a group class at my gym, one of the women came up and showed me that she had burned 340-something calories during our 30 min session.  AWESOME!  A friend of mine posted a pic of her HR Monitor on Facebook and I was super impressed with her results – 1074 calories burned in a 1 hour 40 min gym session.  SUPER AWESOME!!  Then my bestie tells me yesterday that her mom got her a monitor for her Christmas present.  So of course, now I am intrigued.  I must find out what all the hype is about. 

I have done a little research and found the one I want.  It’s a Polar (because I read that is one of the best rated brands out there) FT40.  Looks a little something like this:

Image courtesy of http://www.polarusa.com

It has a few features that I liked such as:

  • The ability to show if your workout is “fitness improvement or fat burning”
  • An accurate calorie count based on several different factors
  • A chest strap that is specially designed to not have any “cross-talk” when working out at a gym
  • The chest strap should work with most Polar cardio machines which is what my gym uses

It is available at Polar USA for $179.95 which is a little pricey, especially considering I don’t know if I’ll even like it.  Of course I had to check ol’ faithful – Amazon – to see if it is available there, which it is for $104.85.  I’m asking the hubs for it as a Christmas present.  Hope to find it under the tree!

Do any of you use HR monitors?  If so, what kind?  What is your favorite feature?  How useful do you find it for your specific goals? Does anyone have experience with Polar HR Monitors or this one in particular?  I’m extra curious so hit me up with your opinion!

Are you kidding me?!?!

16 Nov

Have I really not posted anything in over a month?  How have you guys let me get away with it?  How have I let myself get so off track.  I know, I know you all must be so tired of hearing about how I fall off the wagon and how this time I’m serious about starting over.  Well, I’m not going to do that this time.  I have given myself a new 7 week goal (ending on New Years Eve) but I’m not going to sit here and talk about how great I’m going to do this time.  Lemme tell you why.  It’s simple…life just gets in the way.  I realize there are people who make fitness their lives and I hope to one day be able to do that.  However, that just ain’t happening right now. 

I have two jobs now and that takes up a lot of time.  Granted, one of those is actually as a trainer working at the gym, but that’s not the point.  Since I started working there, I look at the gym like a job.  Do you go into work when you don’t have to?  Does anyone?  I doubt it.  Even though I love my job and I love working out, if I don’t have clients I tend to want to go home and relax now.  I have to get myself out of this habit.  To help myself a bit with this, I have started working out more at home and during my lunch breaks at my day job.  This is definitely doing what I hoped it would, but I’ve still gotta get my ass back in the gym. 

Food has also been a big problem.  I don’t even know where to begin with this, but lets just say it’s no good.  Since I started this 7 week goal I have been doing better, but man am I having some serious cravings.  Last night I would’ve thrown children into traffic for a Whopper, but I didn’t give into it.  I went home and made this:

That is beef fajita meat and my most favorites of side dishes creamed spinach (just add light swiss laughing cow to cooked spinach and voila!).  It was no Whopper but it made me feel a whole hell of a lot better than a burger would have.

I also made sure that I stocked up on healthy foods on my last shopping trip.  Take a look at this basket and be jealous.  Go ahead, I won’t tell anyone. 🙂  Eggs, veggies, fruits, brown rice, and some more delicious yummies.

I also went to the “bulk” store and bought a giant pork loin for less than $16.  Out of it I was able to get two 4-oz portions, eleven 5-oz portions, seven 6-oz portions, and one 8-oz portion.  That’s a whole lotta pork, booyah!!  And I know it looks like a lot of fat, but I cut that out, so don’t judge me!

And finally, I started back up with my motivational countdown post-its.  These are easily one of the best things to keep me on track.  When I can see daily how well I am or am not doing, then I am able to hold myself more accountable.  My bestie has actually joined in with me.  She’s taking even days and I’m taking odd.  Here are our post-its for the first couple days.  (Today is day 46, BTW.)

So, here is where I am right now.  I am going to try really damn hard to keep myself in check.  I am going to try really damn hard to survive the holidays without expanding my waistline.  I am going to try really hard, but I am not going to punish myself for any missteps I may take.  This is probably the worst time of the year to start to make changes, but if you keep putting things off, then you will never start.  I figure if two days over the next 45 (those days being Thanksgiving and Christmas) I have bad food then it isn’t the end of the world.  I will consider those my cheat days and just pick myself up, dust myself off and get back on track.  We’ll see how this goes.  I have to keep reminding myself that the best gift I can give myself for Christmas is a better me so here’s wishing me and all of you success!