Shopping trip today

Well today was both successful and eye opening for me and it was a good day. I went shopping for myself and actually enjoyed it for the first time in a long long time. I found myself excited to be trying on clothes and dressing this new body I have been working so hard on for the last 6 months.

I went to Old Navy first and got myself a pair of size 12 jeans. I was shocked that they had a little room and I did not have to squeeze into them. Then I got some shirts in Medium and Large. I honestly think the last time I fit into a medium size shirt was in high school. High school was definitely 10 years ago!!!!! Now I am regretting ordering my fit bee t-shirt in an XL. It is just weird honestly looking at the sizes and while I was shopping I had to keep reminding myself no you are not an XXL you are not a 16 anymore. It is just out of habit that you keep looking at the same types of things.

Next stop was Macy's where I got an awesome deal on some marked down work pants 3 pairs for $30! Dress pants apparently run larger than jeans because I fit into a size 10! A freaking 10! Like I think I did a woot woot in the fitting room and probably got a couple of side eye glances when I left LOL but did I care? NOPE! I mean I went in with a size 14, 12 and a 10 but I was sure I was a 14 because in the past I always had to go up a size in dress pants, well not anymore :)

Last stop was Victoria Secret for the first time since about 4 years ago when I fit into their stuff. I was in search of the perfect bra and I think I got a few good ones. I was just so happy to actually be fitting into their things. The sales lady was amused by me I think because I was so excited. I told her why after wards and it was nice to hear congratulations. I even got a girl working there interested in Weight Watchers because she was around the size I used to be and has a baby too!
Then it got me thinking about my journey, and how far I have really come. If you had told me 7 months ago that I would be in size 12 jeans, buying size 38 bras at VS and size 10 dress pants, I would have probably laughed at you and then got depressed even considering it. 7 months ago I was crying because nothing fit and I was so fat and felt so ugly. Last year I was weighing 270lbs and taking care of a newborn baby. I thought I did well when I lost the 22lbs I gained during the pregnancy and went back into my size 16 pants. I thought I was doing well at 255lbs and I could do it on my own.

Then one day I looked in the mirror, looked at pictures of myself and just felt so fed up. I got tired of being over weight, tired of taking 2 Celebrex daily to keep my Rheumatoid Arthritis under control. Tired of being on 2 different heart medications just to be comfortable. I was tired of being fat and tired all the time. And that was the last day of the old me and the birth of the new me. And now I am hoping to inspire more people like the woman I met today. I realized that I have done something great and I should be happy to share it and shout it out from the rooftops! I lost 50lbs and this is how I did it and you can do it too!

And I look at my shopping trip today as a celebration of the new me, the fit bee. I look at it as only a milestone in the journey I am embarking on. I enjoyed buying clothes today because I am finally comfortable in my body. I was not embarrassed to ask the saleslady for my size. I am embracing who I am and what I can wear. I know it will continue to change and evolve but I am so excited right now that I have made it this far!

Finally the rain stopped! We got to run outside tonight :)

Yep yep I was so happy when the rain stopped this morning! All day at work I kept looking outside to make sure it was staying sunny and it was haha

So I got home from work fed my baby her dinner and packed her into her stroller and we went jogging for 50 minutes! I love being outside and especially spending time with her so it is such a bonus when I get to incorporate my workouts into it as well. She loves being pushed around in her stroller anyways so she kicks back and relaxes and I work off some calories :) So we went around our community and pushed up hills and down them and it was fun.

Then I came home and worked my arms and abs for about20 minutes, I then had a nice cool down strretch and the last of my ISO 100 shake mix! I have chocolate flavor on order hopefully it arrives soon!

So I got an email today that my t-shirt has been sent! The first official Fit Bee t-shirt has been shipped! I cannot wait to see it and then I will be doing a give away for the first few :)

Time to Celebrate!!!! 50 LBS DOWN!!!

Well finally I reached that milestone today at weight watchers as I weighed in!!!!!!!

I am ecstatic I feel so empowered. I did not realize how exciting it could be to reach that number! I am so grateful for everyone that has supported me along my journey. Really I have the best family, friends and virtual supporters I love you all!

I honestly never thought I would be this successful, 6 months ago I was a shy uncomfortable chunky girl who sat in the back of meetings and was fumbling through the program. Now I parade into meetings and help all the new members with everything and bring my recipes to share. I go through each day with confidence that I can change years of bad habits and I will improve my health. I am in control of my future and it is looking like a fit healthy one!

These are my rewards :) A magnet for the fridge and then a new charm for my growing key chain.

The OLD ME :)


Now here comes the NEW ME :)

next stop the mall! Yup I am going shopping this weekend since nothing fits :)

The 5 P's

It is derived from the military 7 P's a long time standing saying to help you stay prepared.
Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance

Oh how true this is!
My old boss used to use this saying all the time and drill it into our heads :) It really works in any situation.

My weight loss journey has been truly successful because of all of my proper planning. On weeks I do not have good results at the scale often it is because I did not plan as well as I should have.

So what exactly do I do to plan so well and have had so much success so far?

Every week I go grocery shopping with my list of all of my favorite filling fruits and vegetables. I make sure I get all of my snacks that get me through each day. It really is the little things like zero point fiber 1 yogurts, carrot sticks, and Weight Watchers cheese sticks that I can not live with out now. There are certain go to foods I know I need to keep in my kitchen so that I will be successful. One of my favorties right now is the Corn thins :

I use them as a snack and spread on whatever I want. 4 is only 1 point! Sometimes I put peanut butter, WW cream cheese, a laughing cow, whatever I am in the mood for. That is just 1 example but find snacks you enjoy and use them to fight the cravings.

When I buy a bag of say Soy crisps for example I portion out each portion as soon as I open the bag and put each serving in its own zip lock baggy. Then I take my sharpie and write the points value on each bag so I know exactly what I am eating. It helps too so you are not mindlessly munching from a large bag. One controlled portion is all you need.

Sundays is my day off from work and I literally spend hours in the kitchen on Sundays. It may seem like a pain but I cook for my daughter since I make her own food, and I cook my lunches and other things for the week. I make my breakfast right now its egg white quiche of some sort, lunches have been the lettuce wraps, and I made a quick dinner to keep on hand the spaghetti squash pie. Sometimes I will make a zero points soup. They key is to be prepared. I have tons of containers and I portion out a serving and store them in the fridge and freezer for the week. I also chop up my fruit and veggies for the week and keep them ready to toss in a salad. It is these little time saving things I use to keep me prepared for my week of work.

Tracking is a necessary thing for me. I have become so adept at it now that it is just second nature. I write down every bite of food I have and account for it to stay within my points allowance. One day I was out and did not have my tracking journal so I kept track on a post it till i got home. That's when I knew I was committed to this change! I just downloaded an application from my phone which is a Weight watchers tracking diary so now I can track anywhere without a pen and paper!

The last key component to my eating habits change has been the cooking and trying new things. About a month into Weight Watchers I really began playing with different recipes and using the recipes builder to customize meals. Variety is vital to be successful! You will get sick of the same snacks, you will get sick of salad everyday. Switch it up! keep it interesting, keep it fun and you will stay successful!

Do not forget the 5 P's, they can help you achieve anything you set your mind to!
Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance :)

Got More out of my treadmill routine tonight!

Tonight was my last workout before rest day tomorrow so I wanted it to be good!


I did 35 minutes on the damn elliptical machine. It was killing me I do not know why I was just not feeling it tonight and had to really push myself to finish it. Which is not normal for me because I usually love the elliptical lol
After burning about 250 calories on the elliptical I decided to hop on the treadmill and do my hill routine at a fast walking pace. I was on it for about 5 minutes when I noticed my heart rate was not rising above 130, when I run it is usually 150-165 so I knew I needed to find a way to boost it up and achieve my usual results. I started punching and ducking. It went pretty good, I was alternating between cross punches and hooks and jabs. It worked! I got my heart rate up to 161 and I got it to stay there! I was pretty excited. I am sure I looked a little ridiculous punching the air, but I thought who the hell cares? Did I not look ridiculous before when I was overweight and trying to attempt to workout? I think I will take a few crazy glances especially if I burned 200 calories on an 18 minute hill walking treadmill routine! :)

I came home and put on Jillian's No More Trouble Zones and just pushed through it. I really was thinking to myself c'mon tomorrow you will rest tonight you better push it! And I pushed it I left it all there on the floor I worked my ass off! It is such a good feeling knowing you ended a workout strong and really earned the rest day coming up!

I have finally discovered Spaghetti Squash!!!!!!!

A fellow mommy tipped me off to try using spaghetti squash awhile ago instead of pasta because she cooks for a gluten allergy too. Well I finally bought some at the grocery store and decided to try it. Thanks Reita! I LOVE it!!! Like I now will be able to avoid GF pasta all together unless I really am itching for it! Spaghetti squash has a texture just like spaghetti when you back it you can fork it out and season it just like you would pasta! And 1 cup of it is ZERO points!!! It is so filling too. I really am putting this on the weekly grocery list!
I cut a medium size one in half last night and baked it for about 35 minutes on 350 degrees. Once it was done I scooped out the seeds and then forked out the squash into a container to use it for today's recipe. I had 1 cup last night though I put 3 squirts of butter spray and some garlic and a dash of Fat free Parmesan cheese it was a nice side dish for 1 point!

So today I decided to make a weight watchers recipe with it. I altered the recipe a bit because I did not want to use ricotta cheese. Next time I will try it that way.

Italian Spaghetti Squash Pie

Ingredients

	2 cup(s) cooked spaghetti squash
	28 oz canned tomatoes ( I used Hunt's diced tomatoes in water watch out for things in oil)
	1 cup(s) onion(s)
	1/2 lb 99% fat free ground turkey
	3 tsp olive oil
	3 Tbsp minced garlic
	2 tsp Italian seasoning
	1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded, fat free

Instructions

Bake a medium spaghetti squash in the over for 30 min. and set aside
Saute a half of a pound of the extra lean turkey with 1 tsp of olive oil.
Toss in the garlic when it is almost cooked and set aside the meat once cooked.
In a frying pan saute the onions in the 2 tsp of olive oil and when golden put in the tomatoes, the Italian seasoning, garlic and bring to a simmer
Toss in the meat and simmer mixture for 5 minutes
In a 9 inch greased pie pan spread squash over pan like a pie base
Put 1/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese in and then put in the tomato mixture
Top it with the 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes


Cut into 4 wedges and enjoy! 4 points per serving :)

Treadmill run and weight training time!

I love Sundays. It is my only day off work so I love love to go to the gym early in the day and take my time. So today I went to the gym and enjoyed it so much. I did the elliptical for 25 minutes on the cross train routine. The elliptical and I have a love hate relationship! I love how it is a low impact cardio workout and I love the moving arm handles it keeps me working my whole body. But I hate how hard it is haha! It is tiring and going backwards on the cross train routine is difficult but it is that good difficult. I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment after I am done.
So then I got on the treadmill and started a brisk walk. I walked for 1 minutes and then I ran for 3 minutes. Then I walked for 1 minutes and ran for 3 and so I continued this routine for 25 minutes. I am hoping to build up enough endurance to complete a 5K in September. Each time I ran I increased my speed. So first was 5mph then 5.5 etc. It helps to take that 1 quick minutes break for my joints especially since it is raining and my RA has had a flare up. At the end of 25 minutes I had gone 2.1 miles and I felt pretty good about that.
Then I did the bowflex weight circut. I thought it would be easier to do the bowflex today than the rigorous JM weight routine because of the hip pains. I was right lol it was ok and still got to work my arms and back and abs really well without the hihg impact on my legs.
Came home and enjoyed my ISO 100 shake and nice cool down stretch! Now I am cooking for the week :)
How was everyones weekend? Did you take advantage of the time to get in a good workout?

Stationary bike and jumping jacks!

So I did not have time to post last night but I went to the gym to get in some cardio and I was so tired I kept closing my eyes while on the elliptical! Its hard lately I have been going into work at 5am and not coming home until 6pm at night. I go in early so I can be here at home for the baby at night. But it does not give me much energy to work out. So I headed to the gym Friday night just because I cannot give up. No matter how tired I am I have made a commitment to myself to get fit and nothing will stop me from accomplishing that goal.

I did 35 minutes on the elliptical machine and like I said it was kind of brutal. It is just hard when your body is telling you to stop but your mind is telling you to keep going. I know my body will go no matter what, after all they say mind over matter right? Well I did ok. It was not as intense as many other workouts but the important thing is I did it.
So after the elliptical I decided to try the stationary bike. I know a fellow fit bee who loves to do the stationary bike so I figured hey why not try it? It is a nice low impact cardio workout. Well it was a fail! I do not know why but I am just not coordinated enough to do the damn bike lol. I felt uncomfortable the entire time. I did 15 minutes of a hill routine and went 5.7 miles. I do not think I will be venturing on the bike anytime soon. Kudos to you Nik because the bike is just not for me, and I think anyone who can do it is much more coordinated than I!
I came home and did some weights for a few minutes and stetched. Nothing too crazy because I mainly wanted a cardio day. As you can see the bike did not burn calories for me like the other machines. And I did not push myself hard enough because in 70 minutes I only burned 409 calories! :(

So this morning I awoke refreshed and with more than 5 hours of sleep! I headed right to the gym to redeem myself from the weak workout last night haha
I did the elliptical for 25 minutes and burned a whopping 245 calories! I really pushed myself doing a cross training routine. It requires you to go backwards and forwards and switches the intervals so it keeps your muscles moving!
I felt good and I came home and the The Biggest  Loser's Last Chance Workout. I love this workout and especially the jumping jacks. They really get my heart rate going! Even better are the chrome jacks (I think) the ones you are in a plank position and you move your feet as you would a jumping jack. Very intense, I think this is why I love Jillian Michaels so much. Her workouts are so intense it keeps me moving all the time. But her moves are not complicated and I can easily do them! Again I am not coordinated because I tried an exercise ball video routine today and totally failed it! I am just learning to accept the fact that not everything is for every body and you should stick with what you are good at.
So as I finished biggest Loser, I started another video that is free On Demand, it was a morning standing ab routine. It was a nice change of pace from the usual laying on the ground ab routines. 

That is much more like it! I feel much better when I workout 90 minutes and burn 650 calories :)