Thursday, October 27, 2011

It's been awhile

I just wanted to do a quick update.  I'm still doing great!  I came back from vacation and started all over on day one of my food cycling plan.  While on vacation I ate what I wanted and didn't gain any weight.  I didn't lose either but not gaining on vacation was a huge win for me.
I have stuck with the food cycling and repeated days 8-14.  I also shifted my eat what I want day to Sunday.  It matches up better with Wes' schedule.
So where am I at?  Total weight loss so far is 21 pounds 2 ounces.  Inches lost is 23 3/4.  Last week I even bought a new pair of jeans that are a size SIX!  I haven't worn a six since before I had the twins.  Yea!  I am loving this so much!  I plan to be back in a size 5 by Thanksgiving.  Which by the way is my next planned cheat day!  I can't wait for pumpkin pie!
The food cycling plan book comes out at the end of November.  It should be available on Amazon on November 28th.  I will keep everyone posted on when it is ready for purchase.  Until then...may all your weight loss dreams come true...mine have!

Kari

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

A quick update...

Things are still going well.  Sorry I haven't updated in awhile.  Here's the last week.

Day 16- Protein day
Water=78 oz
Protein=82 g

Exercise= 65 minutes on the treadmill and 50 crunches

Day 17- Eating Day
Water= 107 oz
Protein= 86.75g

Lunch was a PB and J on whole wheat a string cheese, a small salad with tomatoes and mushrooms and a nectarine for dessert.  Protein=23.75, Carbs=52.5, Calories= 511.

Day 18- Protein Day
Water= 70 oz
Protein= 98 g

Day 19- Eating Day
Water=90oz
Protein=57.85g

For my eating lunch I had some green grapes, a grilled chicken salad and some beans. Delish! Carbs= 34.15, Calories= 340.5 Protein=23.85

Day 20- Protein Day
Water= 96 oz
Protein= 106g

Day 21- Protein Day- I decided to sneak an extra protein day in before my Disney trip! (Ok I did eat some yummy grapes for lunch!

Water so far= 62 oz
Protein so far= 76.2 g

1 c Grapes= 110 calories, 29 carbs and 1.2 protein

I measured again today and I am down an additional 3 3/4"!  The loss is slowing down but I'll still take it.
I did 35 minutes on the treadmill after lunch and 50 crunches too!

This may be the last update until I get back from Disneyland....NO I am not keeping a food journal while I'm gone but I will come back and start with a two day detox!

Kari

Friday, September 23, 2011

Day 15! Protein Again!

It's Ropes Course Day!

Breakfast
Protein=26g

Snack
Protein= 8g

Lunch
Protein=20g

Dinner
Protein=47 g

Total water for the day= 86 oz

I was braver than I thought I was and I tried all the high elements at the ropes course.  I had a blast even though I was so scared.  All of my co-workers tried all the elements too...three others are as scared of heights as I am!  Here are a few pictures of  my friends on the ropes course.

 Mark on the swing upside down- the swing was my favorite!
 Shirley on the climbing wall! I didn't get to the top like she did!
 Pam on the Hourglass tightrope...by far the scariest element...but I did this too! It's about 25 feet up!
 Shirley making her way across the Hourglass.
 Our Team...minus me...someone had to run the camera!
 Tom on the wall...Rock On!
 Marty on the climbing wall...
Belay On!
We had a blast and hope to go to the Ropes Course again next year! 
Thanks to Sterling and Patrick for the great team day!

Day 14- A REWARD Day!

I did my measurements for the week yesterday since I had to work today. 

Total inches lost for week 2= 5!
Yea!  So happy!

Today was a go crazy for lunch day.  Since I had to work this wasn't exactly a CRAZY day for me.  It's a little hard to leave work and go to Chick-Fil-A for a spicy chicken sandwich with extra pickles and a white chocolate gelato with champagne grapes and dark chocolate flecks from Sweetly Divine.  So instead I had a PB and J again...and the yogurt and frozen fresh berries. I also nibbled a bit on a pizza crust (it wasn't as great as I thought it was going to be).  I plan to stick really close to the food plan the next week so that when I go to Disneyland next week I can have a chocolate dream cake dessert and a few chocolate covered strawberries.

Total water for the day=86 oz.
Total Protein for the day= 87.5 g

Tomorrow is a big day...

The QA group is having a team day at the USU Ropes Course.  Should be interesting as I am terrified of heights!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Day 13

I managed seven and a half hours of sleep last night...Yea!

Yesterday I went downstairs and unpacked a few boxes of smaller clothes that have been in storage since before we moved.  I threw a bunch out because they just aren't something I will ever wear again.  After doing a few loads of laundry I started trying things on....they fit!  So into the closet they went!

So here's the day so far, (it's a protein day).

Breakfast
Protein- 26 g

I've made beds and folded laundry...pretty boring, but it's shaping up to be a great measurment day tomorrow.

Snack
Protein=12

Exercise
45 minutes on the treadmill and 50 crunches

Lunch
Protein=26

Dinner
Protein=23

Total water for the day= 78 oz

Monday, September 19, 2011

Day 12- Eating Day!

Hello Again!

Day 12 is an eating day!  I am so excited!  Here's my day so far:

Breakfast
Protein- 26 g

Snack
Protein- 12 g
My new favorite drink- (1)

Morning activity:
30 minutes on the treadmill
30 sit-ups
1 hour vacuuming!

Lunch
This is great!
I had a PB and J!  All-Natural peanut butter and all fruit spread with reduced sugar.
I found that multi-grain oatmeal bread has less carbs and more protein!
I had ice cream! OK- It was my own version of ice cream, but it satisfied my urge to eat actual ice cream! Here's what I did:
6 oz vanilla greek yogurt- it has lots of protein!
1 C fresh frozen raspberries
I stirred them together and put them in the freezer until lunch!  It was awesome!

Calories:524
Carbs:61.7
Protein: 31.5g

I think I'll go walk on the treadmill again!  I'll update the rest of my day later...

Snack
I didn't feel hungry so I just drank my Verve!

Dinner
Protein-32 g

Total water for the day= 102 oz

Silly Weight Loss

Just for fun I thought I'd post a few of the silly things I've heard of people doing to loose weight.  If one of them is something you've done, I'm not trying to make you feel bad or discredit what you're trying to do for yourself...they just seem funny to me.

1. Drinking vinegar water...supposedly this will trap the fat in the things that you eat and will curb your appetite.

2. Just eating nuts and berries....What are you a squirrel?

3. Eat anything you want as long as you work out one hour each day. If this was working for you, why did you go up three sizes last year and aren't you TIRED?

4. HCG- I'm glad this has worked for some people. Have you kept the weight off?  I constantly hear of people that gain it right back when they are not eating the 500 calories or less a day.  Any long term success stories out there?

5. Slim Fast shakes...Man cannot live on shakes alone...forever.

6. Weight Watchers...I love the people I work with and once again I'm not trying to discredit what may be working for you.  But is it really about weight???? The scale is evil. Muscle weighs more than fat.  If you are doing the WW thing and eating for weight loss and not fat loss, anytime you stop following the plan to a T your body stores up all the carbs it can get as fat again.

7.  Water all day and only eat at night.  Can you say starvation?

8. All fruits and vegis...These are great, but how are you building lean muscle that burns fat without eating protein?

9. No effort at all..."My doctor says in spite of the fact that I weigh over 400 pounds I'm healthy"....REALLY?  Who's your doctor????  How are your knees?  Can you make it up the stairs without stopping at every landing?  Do you really think that you'll be around in 15 years at the rate of your weight gain.  Plain ol' SCARY! P.S. Put down the whole pizza and the 2 lt bottle of pop for lunch...no one else likes to watch you do that to yourself.

10. Taking a laxative after every meal.  Somehow this doesn't seem right to me at all.

11. Putting a special "salt" seasoning on each meal cancels out any calories.  WOW...hope that stuff wasn't too expensive!

What silly weight loss plans have you heard?  Any silly stories to share?

A Full Week of Success!

Hi Everyone! Sorry it's been awhile since my last post.  It was a busy week.  We had a Food Safety audit at work and I ended up on shift seven straight days.  It's been a long week.  Our audit was a great success (yea!) and so was my eating plan!  I didn't keep track of sleep...let's just say it wasn't enough!

Day 5- Eating Day

Total water=100 oz
Protein= 88.3 g
Eating day additional calories= 304
Carbs= 44.4

Day 6- Protein Day
Water=108 oz
Protein= 72 g

Day 7- Eating Day
Water=100 oz
Protein=99.84 g
Eating day additional calories=372
Carbs=51.07 g

Took my measurements today!!!! Down a total of  5- 3/4"!

Day 8- Protein Day
Water= 95 oz
Protein= 84 g

Day 9- Protein Day
Water = 100 oz
Protein = 104 g

Day 10- Eating Day!
Water = 100 oz
Protein=98.2 g
Eating day additional calories= 442.6
Carbs=55.85

Day 11- Protein Day
Water= 78 oz
Protein= 76g

This was work day seven...I came home and crashed today.  I fell asleep on the couch and woke up at 8:45...too late to eat dinner.  That's ok...I wasn't hungry and went to bed.  But not before Wes asked me if I wanted some ice cream!  YES! Of course I WANT ice cream! I was tough though...I gave him the evil eye with a firm no!

Sleep hours Sunday through Monday morning= 12 hours!  I'm feeling great this beautiful monday morning!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Protein Day 4

Hi Everyone!

I am so excited, after I finished cleaning the floors, ( I hope the four plus hours that I spent on them counts as exercise cause I'm pooped!), I hurried to get cleaned up so I didn't look scary for Hunter's Race Day Dinner Party tonight.  I decided to be brave and try a pair of jeans that haven't fit in a very long time...okay not the really little ones, but the other ones.

To my delight, surprise, excitement, etc. they slid on my legs and I was able to get them done up without the use of a shoehorn, and not laying down on the bed to do them up!  I even had the damp just showered skin that usually makes it a bit more difficult!  Woo Hoo!  I was so excited that the first thing I did was call Wes with a few tears in my eyes to tell him the exciting news.  I also sent a text to my old friend to share the good news!  I am so loving this!  It's a lot easier to stick with the plan when you see results like this!  New clothes for Disneyland are just a week or so away!

Sleep hours between day 3 and 4= 8.5

Breakfast
Protein- 26 g
Water 26 oz

Snack
Protein- 8 g
Water- 20 oz

Lunch
Protein-17g
Water-20 oz

Snack
Not hungry- just drank my supplement
Water- 20 oz

Hunter's harassing me a bit about not eating corn, watermelon and rolls at his party.  I think the grilled chicken will suit me just fine!  I may be a little short on sleep tonight.  I have to work in the early morning and Sparky doesn't run until @ 10:15 p.m.  Maybe I'll catch a quick snooze before then...

Total water 136 oz.
Total Protein =74 g
Kari

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Day 3- Eating Day!

I'm already to day three!  So far so good! Today is what is called an eating day in my food cycle.  Woo Hoo!

Some of the differences that I notice-

My belly / midsection is getting looser- The skin is loose, hopefully this means there is less belly fat under there!

My calves are nearly rock hard- Nice!  My thighs seem a little bigger but they don't have as much of that dimpled cellulite look at the top.  I can actually see the muscles in them.

I wake up on my own on my days off at about 7:00 a.m. and I don't want to just roll over and go back to sleep.   I have the energy to jump right out of bed.

Sleep between day two and three= 8.5 hours

Day 3-

Breakfast-
Protein- 26 g
water- 20 oz

Snack-
Not hungry so I just drank my supplement!
water- 20 oz

I spent the morning volunteering at Bountiful Baskets.  I love this co-op!  We get an enormous amount of fruits and veggies for a mere $15, and the nine grain bread is out of this world!  (I can have a piece today!)  The best part of it all though is the great friends that I have made there.  Thanks everyone!  You are the best!  If you haven't tried Bountiful Baskets yet- check out their website: http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/
You order on Mon. / Tues. and pick up at a local site that you select on Saturday.

The fantastic things in our baskets today:
Yams, spinach, green leaf lettuce, peaches, bananas, figs, cauliflower, green beans (my favorite!), pears, grapes. (No cantaloupe this time...yea!)

I will update later to let you know all the yummy things that I had on my eating day!

Lunch-
Protein- 42.2 g
Calories- 452
Carbs- 13.0 g
Water-20 oz
I made crustless quiche on the stove top!  It was filled with egg whites, swiss cheese, red bell peppers, mushrooms and ham.  For dessert I had one of the awesome peaches from my basket this morning.  I am SO stuffed!

Dinner
Protein- 22 g
Water- 30 oz

Dinner was really hard for me.  Wes decided that we were eating out. At least he decided to go somewhere where I could just get a protein.  I ordered smart on my sides and put them in a to-go container for my eating day on Monday.  I can't wait to eat that yummy sweet potato!

Totals for day 3
Protein- @90.2
Water- 110
Carbs- @13
Lunch calories- 452

Kari

Kick the Soda Habit!

Food for thought:

Friday, September 9, 2011

Incredible Shrinking Waistline

Hi Everyone!

I recently re-connected with an old friend of mine- matter of fact he was my first real friend ever!  We had a great time talking about the fun things we did as kids. Including acting out record stories- pushing Mindy (the old witch from the gingerbread house) under the desk (in the oven).  Good times.  Anyhow, he was a personal trainer for 20+ years before retiring last year.  He has written a book about weight loss that will be out at the end of the year. It's all about nutrition and food cycling kids! 

So I had to ask more about this "plan" of his. Let me say it was quite impressive and it made tons of sense. It includes a liquid supplement that replaces the old icky tablet vitamins.  It is way yummy too! 

I am doing this for me.  I can't stand all this flab around my middle.  As women we are very blessed to be able to bear children...it's a really cool thing!  But what is not so cool is that it wreaks havoc on our bodies.  I had an easy time losing the weight after the first three...but the twins??? That didn't /hasn't come off so easy.  I'm uncertain if it's because I was down the entire pregnancy, or if they just stretched my body so much it filled in with fat before I could shrink up the skin, or if it's just that I've been 28 now for a number of years.  It feels as if my metabolism has come to a schreeching halt.  It's time to wake it up!

My sweet husband is very supportive. He started by saying I didn't need to loose weight. (Awh! He does love me!) I told him my goal and he agreed that I could have new clothes for Disnyland in 21 days if I stuck to it.  Who doesn't love new clothes?

So I started the food cycle program yesterday...thoughts so far:

1- Wow! I'm not hungry at all!
2- When you weigh out your food, it certainly is surprising how much a serving really is.
3- I have tons more energy than I have had in YEARS!  Just doing the few things that he suggested before starting the program made a world of difference.  I can run up all four flights of stairs at work without stopping and my legs are not on FIRE!
4- I hope Ryan and Katelyn got the message when I growled at them for playing with my food scale...if they break it they are in so much trouble!

Day 1 and 2- Detox!

So I'm the lucky one who gets to begin the program at the top of my weight range- I'm retaining water something terrible! Not sure if this is good or bad. 

Weight at the beginning of detox: 149.7

This may not be a lot to others, but it doesn't look good when all 20 pounds that I really want to loose are around my core. I have a whole closet of jeans that I really love and would love even more if I could wear them again.  I did take measurements, but I don't want to post them until I measure again next week.

Goal: 130- 132

Day 1
Water- 88 ounces
Protein- 116 g
Sleep- 8.5 hours

Day 2- I'm well into day two detox- Still feeling great! 

Breakfast-
Protein 26 g
Water 20 oz

Snack-
Protein 15 g
Water- 12 oz

Lunch-
Protein 26 g
Water 12 oz

Snack-
Protein- 8.8 g
Water- 16 oz

Dinner-
Protein- 38 g
Water- 20 oz

Exercise= 40 minutes
Total water= 140 oz
Total protein= 113.8 g
Kari

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

I'm so gonna lose it!

okay...we have all said this before.  But this time it's for real for me.  I'm going to finally get rid of the last 20 pounds that have stuck around since having the twins. I start on Monday.  I plan to keep everyone posted daily on my progress.  By the time I go on vacation at the end of September I should be heading there with a new wardrobe.

I don't want to share ALL of what I'm doing.  I hope to surprise you all with my results and then I plan to share the secret.  I'm so excited!  I may post a few before and after pics just for fun too.  Can't wait to surprise you all!

Kari

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Balloons

Who knew that my right knee is like a balloon? Last night we did the P90x cardio workout. My friend Amanda said this about the workout. "It looks so easy, but its so hard!" Don't even get me started about the Ab Ripper workout either. Someday, I vow to find my abs! Once again I realize that Tony Horton is the spawn of Satan. So, last night I could not even walk up and down the stairs because my knees hurt so much. This morning, my right knee is almost double the size of the left knee. I am expecting my right knee to float away any moment. As a double whammy, you know the blood pressure medication that I take, well I'm not supposed to take ibuprofen with it. SLAP! What is gonna take the swelling down? I guess that I can ice them or it's so cold outside maybe I can just stand outside in shorts for a few minutes instead.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

February

I can't believe that it is already Feburary. I have been super busy. Between the Little's, school and my new workout group, I have had little time to post. So, about the work out group. I have a group of 3 friends that come over Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday to work out. We have been averaging about 1 1/2 hours. Let me tell you that having friends to workout with makes the time pass so fast. I don't want them to see me struggle or seem weak, so I push myself a little harder. We made the goal of running a 5k some time in the spring. I am not sure if I am looking forward to the running, but I am looking forward to the goal. I just hate running, but it is really good for me.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Resolutions!

Oh hi............. It's me again. I do not know why I have this eternal struggle with my weight. It is really starting to chap my hide. But, once again I find myself in the rut of need to drop a few pounds. AUGH! There is good news though, I have a goal! You see, in 86 days I leave for a 10 day Hawaii vacation. I am so excited. I have gotta have this bod of my in swimsuit condition. I also will be running a 5k in Lewiston on July 4th with Angie this year. So.....to get where I need to be I have decided to start the journey with a 21 day round of the HCG diet. I have been pretty successful with this in the past. I am hoping to drop a quick 20 and then start the running after that. So the past 2 days (really the past 10 days) I have been loading up and today is the official 1st day on the diet. I am pretty hesitant to post my weight.....but I need to be honest and also I need to track my progress. So if everyone reading this blog could just jump ahead a few sentences that would be great. 170.8 I guess it was a pretty small number after all! So I guess that all I have left to say is welcome to my journey!