Whole30 Day 11

I am extremely tired today. I thought I slept well; got at least 7 hours so I'm not too sure what that's all about. I read for awhile after eating my post-run snack last night so I didn't eat and immediately go to bed. Oh well! Otherwise I feel great; concentration and focus gets better by the day! I haven't had many cravings since starting this lifestyle but I do still want to eat a mint and chew a piece of gum everyday after lunch! TMI WARNING= I start my period sometime this weekend which I am already seeing the signs of; CRAVING SWEETS.


Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs w/ salsa, half a large avo, kiwi, orange, green tea w/ lemon, coffee


Lunch: Apple, SP chili w/ taco beef, half a large avo, dates


Snack: Cherries, 1/3 Larabar


Dinner: Grapes, strawberries, grilled fish w/ mango salsa, roasted broccoli


My sister & I played tennis (TRIED) for the first time in at least 2 years! So much fun


After tennis: Kale chips, almond butter, half frozen banana

Whole30 Day 10

If you haven't figured it out, I start my blog each morning when I wake up & then add to it as the day goes on; so if things jump around, sorry! Not too sure why my posts are out of order the past 2 days but oh well! I woke up intending to walk this morning but decided since I'm running tonight, I'll take it easy =)


Feeling GREAT today; I've been super productive at work (instead of just online browsing/shopping). Checkup at the doc went well, too. I'm down 8 lbs since February (mainly from the tummy tuck!) but he said my cholesterol is a tad high, as well as my kidney (whatever measure they use) is the highest it's been. He thinks it's from surgery, but we'll see in 6 months. Hopefully, continuing to eat paleo/primal after finishing Whole30 will give me the best blood reading YET!!

Breakfast: Cherries, green tea w/ lemon, 3 scrambled eggs w/ salsa & taco beef, orange


Lunch: SP chili w/ taco beef & half an avo, dates


Snack: Plum, 1/3 of a Larabar


Dinner: Cherries, SP chili, 1/2 Larabar (for pre-run fuel)


Ran C25K Week 4, Day 3


After run: Spoonful of almond butter, half a frozen banana.


Run was OK; forgot my patella strap so my knee was a little whiny (so am I obviously) and it was WINDY! But at least it felt amazing.

Whole30 Day 8

Woke up less during the night, so felt great when I completely woke up! Went for a run on campus, now I'm gearing up to go to the beach for a bit with my sister!


Pre-run: Half a frozen banana, cherries


Breakfast: Apple, 2 scrambled eggs w/ salsa, coffee


Snack: Larabar, almonds


Lunch: Yellow peach, pulled pork w/ salsa, sweet potato, dates


Dinner: Chicken breast, 1/3 sweet potato, steamed zucchini, cherries


My parents made a SPREAD for dinner! Chicken, stuffing, rolls, zucchini... but I resisted & it wasn't as hard as I'd thought it might be!

Whole30 Day 9

I NEVER fail to get the weirdest sun burns... haha this was no exception; a strip down the back of my left thigh, a strip above my butt on the right & a strip underneath my boobs. Siiiighhhhhh


Breakfast: Cherries, plum, 3 scrambled eggs w/ salsa, green tea w/ lemon


Lunch: Larabar, sweet potato chili w/ taco beef


Dinner: Lettuce wraps w/ taco beef, half an avocado, sweet potato w/ ghee


Not sure why I had a binging episode this afternoon though =( I was making Larabars and inhaled at least 10 pitted dates and probably ate the equivalent of half a bar during the making. I have decided to only buy the amount of dates that I need to make the bars & keep none around for snacking. Just because they're natural doesn't help my binge mentality!


Found ghee (clarified butter) at Sprouts! Tastes NOTHING like butter to me, but maybe as my taste buds change, it will. I do like the flavor though, and it made my sweet potato taste even better. I also made kale chips (where have they been all my life!?) and roasted some broccoli to have on hand for snacks. 

Whole30 Day 7

Semi-awake; much better than yesterday anyway! I usually run on Saturday mornings so I take it easy on Fridays; hopped on the treadmill for about 35 mins this morning.


Pre-walk: Apple


Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs w/ salsa, green tea w/ lemon, orange, coffee


Snack: Larabar, plum


Lunch: Apple, salad w/ pulled pork, salsa, half an avocado, dates


Snack: Zucchini sticks, half a sweet potato, grapes, cantaloupe


Dinner: Cherries, sweet potato, pulled pork w/ salsa


Dessert: Mango ice cream =)


Having some tummy issues today; I'm sure I need to cut back on fruit =/

Whole30 Day 6

Tired.. SOOOOOOOOOOO tired. That is all.


Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs w/ salsa & leftover pulled pork, orange


Snack: Cashew cookie Larabar, mixed fruit


Lunch: Apple, pulled pork on top of salad w/ salsa, mixed fruit


Snack: Green tea, Cherries, chili-lime cashews


Dinner: Dates (someone stop me!!), lettuce wraps w/ pulled pork, salsa & avocado


Dessert: Banana ice cream =)

Whole30 Day 5

This morning sucked.


Felt perfectly fine when I woke up; hungry but had to fast to get lab work done. I usually don't feel the needle but I swear this time I could feel the blood draining out of me. By the time she got to the third vial I started blacking out & getting woozy so I had to keep sitting in the chair while the tech fanned me & kept telling me to breathe. That has never happened before and was kind of embarrassing! Not sure if it's connected to the Whole30 diet but I'm gonna assume it is; I mean think about it... I've cut out sugar, alcohol, dairy, grains & legumes. All at once. My body is probably so confused! I also hope I'm eating enough; I need to eat a little less fruit but it's so addicting =)


Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs w/ salsa, orange, coffee


Snack: Apple, some strawberries, kiwis, cantaloupe (fruit bowl @ work!!), Larabar, chili-lime cashews


Lunch: Yellow peach, lettuce wraps w/ taco beef & half an avocado, dates


Snack: Chili-lime cashews, plum


Dinner (pre-run): Cherries, pulled pork lettuce wraps w/ guacamole


Although it's hot outside, the wind actually feels pretty good so I went for a run (Week 4, Day 1 of Couch to 5K!) 


After-run: Banana ice cream, cherries

Whole30 Day 4

Holy God Almighty... get the fuck away from me this morning!!


Had my alarm set for 650AM because I had lab-work scheduled in the morning & since I can't eat, why be awake for long? I woke up on my own @6 and thought.. well I never filled out my form, I'll do that then lay back down. Called my mom (because I had left it over there after I initially got it) & she said she had given it to me with another stack of papers. Thanks for telling me, Babs. 45 minutes later, I still couldn't find my form!! Completely cleaned out my truck twice, ripped apart my kitchen & even looked through my papers from last semester in case it was in there. 


My day did get better as it went on, though. Left work around 11:30 to take my final at my apartment and then submitted my semester project. DONE FOR THE SUMMER!!! Then went to Moody's to get a roast to Crockpot tomorrow (CAN'T WAIT!) and then to Sprouts to get more produce. Great day overall!


Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs  w/ salsa, orange (I've been scrambling my eggs with coconut oil & it's DELICIOUS!!)


Snack: Apple, Larabar


Lunch: Dates, cherries, LAST of the SP chili mixed with taco beef


Snack: Almonds, pear


Dinner: Sweet potato, grilled chicken, small salad w/ avocado


Dessert: Banana ice cream

Whole30 Day 3

No headache this morning, either! Not complaining, trust me. No cravings that I've noticed. That doesn't mean I wouldn't LOVE some dark chocolate (with a glass of red wine as well) SUPPOSEDLY, following the Whole30 challenge is going to improve concentration. That needs to happen ASAP because I have a final tomorrow afternoon & a semester project due tomorrow by 5; neither of which I am putting much effort into yet! Sometimes I'm ashamed at myself because I'm the laziest grad student EVER. Then again, I find it hard to put a lot of hard work into a subject I am not passionate about (& let's face it... International Financial Management is not something I dream pleasantly about)


Pre-walk: Apple


Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs w/ salsa (HEB Green Chile Tomatillo salsa is AMAZING), green tea w/ lemon juice, orange


Snack: coffee, homemade Larabar


Lunch: apple, leftover SP chili, cauliflower breadsticks


Snack: Chili-lime cashews, plum


Dinner: Lettuce wraps with taco beef, avocado


Dessert: Dates, frozen mango, papaya, & strawberries


I was super hungry after dinner (& HALF OF THAT DESSERT) but I honestly think it was stress-hunger; I am working on a project & I always eat to procrastinate :( Not excited for the last semester of grad school!!!


Decided to go for an after-dinner run to further procrastinate/clear my head. So I had a banana after, too.


I have almond butter in my fridge... JUST realized it has refined cane sugar in it!!! BOOOOOOOOO!!!

Whole30 Day 2

Well.. no headache this morning? I am quite pissy though. I took my dog for the shortest walk ever because anything he did pissed me off. Uh oh. Allow me to elaborate...


My family is basically a dog shelter. With the exception of Bitsy, we have never paid for a dog. This guy, Diablo, made his appearance about 2 months ago & has wormed his way into our hearts

We found out recently that he likes to be walked. Well, since I woke up in a "good mood" I thought I'd take him & my other baby, Da Boo, on a walk out at the campus. Da Boo knows to just jump up in the truck but Diablo is a 70-lb HAM that doesn't like to "just get in the truck." After patting the floor as a demonstration for what felt like 10 mins, Big'un FINALLY crawled in & while I closed the door, made his way into the driver's seat. He then ab.sol.ute.ly. refused to budge from there. My patience was non-existant this morning so I just dragged him out & put him back in the house.


He pouted the entire day after that. He has only left his bed once to pee.


Day 2 Eats:


Pre-walk: Apple


Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, orange, green tea w/ lemon juice


Snack: Coffee, homemade Coconut Creme Pie Larabar


Lunch: leftover Sweet Potato Chili & cauliflower breadsticks, strawberries, apple


Snack: Chili-lime cashews, pear


Dinner: small bowl of SP chili, lettuce wraps w/ taco beef

Dessert: Half of a frozen banana

Whole30 Day 1

Well it's the first day of a new lifestyle change! I went out with a BANG yesterday in anticipation of this diet; not intentionally but I was emotional since we had our 15 year old lab put down :( 

RIP Big Girl! 


 For breakfast, I decided to have a taco with the work crew. It's hard to pass up a potato & egg taco on a corn tortilla! I knew I was gonna go to lunch with the ladies (I do every Friday as a once a week treat) but who knew we'd end up at the Pizza Hut buffet! Talk about being a FAT-FUCK. We were all miserable when we got back to the office, talking about how we need to start keeping loose pants on hand in the office & napping under our desks. Dinner time called for Bistro d'Asia! I bought a Groupon a while back to thank my sister for taking care of me after my surgery. I had crab ragoons, wonton soup, & glazed teriyaki chicken with tempura veggies. BLOAT-ed. Oh but it didn't end there... 


Whoever guessed Marble Slab was in the picture is absolutely right! In our family depression, we decided ice cream was the perfect cure. My fat-ass got Peanut Butter Fluff ice cream with Reese's Pieces & Oreos mixed in. Talk about gluttony. I know day one will be OK but I'm anticipating a crazy withdrawal headache because of what I did yesterday. Anyway, onto what I ate today! 


Day 1 Eats:


Pre-run: Yellow Peach 


Breakfast: coffee, 2 scrambled eggs w/ a bit of hot sauce


Snack: Apple, green tea w/ lemon juice


Lunch: Coconut creme pie Larabar


Snack: Chili-lime cashews


Dinner: Sweet potato chili (no beans of course; I didn't follow exact measurements either but YUM), cauliflower "breadsticks" (no cheese! and I doubled the recipe)


Dessert: Half of a frozen banana


Too lazy to take measurements (plus I have no tape measure) so I'm just gonna record my beginning weight & a couple of pictures, neither of which I am posting on here! =) 

Whole30 Journey- Pre-planning stages

A couple of days ago, Holly, my bestie, texted me saying her & Christian (hubby) were starting the Whole30 program. I don't know much about Paleo diets & such, but I figured she meant whole foods, no flour, etc but that dairy, rice, and (hopefully) alcohol was included.

HAHAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAH Nope. 

No dairy, alcohol, sweets, grains or legumes. Fuck me.

The morning they were planning on starting got pushed back. I got to REALLY thinking about doing it, too. I had no intentions of doing this in the beginning because I didn't have enough time to plan my first week's worth of meals/snacks after she'd told me but I didn't want to start without them because I know I will need support during this.

I plan on posting every day during this process; my meals & snacks (hopefully including pictures!) and what exercise I did that day, if any. I also plan on taking a couple of before pics & measurements (although I am NOT doing this to lose weight, but rather to cleanse & aide my body & see what it's like being truly sugar-free!)

A little Google/Pinterest research into Whole30 suggests slight to MASSIVE headaches within the first couple days (up to 2 weeks!) due to sugar withdraw. 

Considering I eat oatmeal w/ peanut butter & jelly every morning, as well as eat dark chocolate daily & indulge in a glass of red wine 5 nights a week... I know I'm in for a kick in the ass. Oh yeah... & I chew gum constantly.

Looks like Friday night will be spent at Sprouts stocking up on nuts, coconut oil, eggs, poultry/beef and fresh produce!!!

My First (and NOT Last) Half- Marathon

My fitness routine & diet have changed GREATLY since I began seriously exercising in 2007. 

I typically run 3 days a week. This really became the case when my friend Amanda convinced me to sign up for a half-marathon in Austin in February. I would run short distances (~3.1 miles) Tuesday & Thursday mornings and Saturdays became my long run mornings. I added one mile per week and got up to 11 miles before take it easy the Saturday before the race. 

Oh my lord... that was the most fun running experience! If you like to run, I encourage you to try the Live Strong Austin Half Marathon (or Full Marathon!) There was a band along almost every mile & hundreds of people cheering along the route. I only walked when I would drink water to take my Gu gel & at this HUGE hill around mile 12. 

WHEE!!

I think my pace was about 11:45/ mile!! I'll have to check my MapMyRun app, but I know it was right under 12. I remember our hotel was about 2 miles away (my mom & sister were there to cheer me on!) and with traffic so crazy, we couldn't get a cab or the hotel shuttle to come get us. So, here I am, dead tired having to walk an additional 2 miles after running 13.1! I think it actually helped; I wasn't too sore the next couple days. The best part after was EATING. In the car on the way home, I pigged out on pizza, funyuns & starbursts. Fuck any diet, this bitch was STARVING.

A Little Background & Progression Pictures!

So my last post informed y'all about my "condition" and NOW I'll tell ya about my 5ish-year-long journey to lose 125 pounds! 


Guess I need to go back & edit my last post; I must have been diagnosed in the summer. The reason I remember this is I moved to Austin to take a semester of school at ACC soon after I was told. When I lived in Austin, I was depressed. Not clinically; didn't need to go to a doctor & get meds, but yeah I wasn't happy. I lived with my sister & we didn't get along very well (she was in her final semester of getting her degree & like I said, I was depressed!) The main reason I was depressed is I wasn't making friends! If you know me, even when I was bigger, I LOVE talking to people! I am a social butterfly & love to interact. The people in my classes weren't very friendly but the people I worked with at Bath & Body Works were awesome.


I lived there for one short semester (August-December) but lost about 40 lbs. I would ride the bus to school in the mornings (the Dillo... haha whatever, it was free!) and unless it was raining, I would walk home every day regardless of the temp. When it got cooler, I'd walk to class & home. I hardly had ANY hours at work, so in the evenings I would go to Hyde Park & jog. I believe that's the moment I became a true jogger. I think the track was about 1/4 mile so I would walk one, run one, etc. 


I need to put together a timeline... I am so bad at years! I swear when someone says "10 years ago" I think of the 90s... OK I graduated high school in 2006; did a year of school at TAMUCC; so August 2007 was when I moved to ATX & REALLY kicked off the weight loss saga! My highest recorded weight at the doctor's office is 292.


Jesus CHRIST that is hard to see!


In the beginning, I was just exercising. Wasn't eating the best, but I did eat less that usual & was jogging. After moving back to Corpus, I began to change my diet in bits & pieces; drinking soymilk instead of regular dairy, lots of fruits & veggies, etc! I have lost about 20 pounds a year since 2007! I go through plateaus A LOT. When it happens, I change things up; different exercises, cutting out a certain food group, or even eating more to rev my metabolism. Tomorrow I'll post about what I eat in a typical day and the exercise routines I currently do. For now, here's a picture progression of my weight loss!! However, I have not taken many pictures since my tummy tuck (that'll be in a later post! =))


2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012 (Pre-tummy tuck)

My Fat Story: The Beginning

I don't have a hard life; never have & I pray that I never will. I have amazing, caring, hilarious parents & a very unique, talented & also hilarious older sister, all of whom I love dearly! I have the best, most caring, fun-loving & supportive friends. I don't come from divorced parents, never been abused physically or emotionally & I've never been deprived of love, food or care; so why the hell am I fat? THAT honor goes to my ovs!!! Can we get a big round of applause for my ovaries, please!? 


Time for the dirty deets!


I never really had a period. Ever. I'd go MONTHS (3, 4, 5 months; whatever) without any signs. I can't even remember at what age I actually started! After a while, I figured it was from my weight so I think I stopped caring. Skinny with a period or be fat without one? I obviously chose the latter for years. But theeeeen came the magical time in every young lady's life that gynecologist visits begin (waaaaaaaah). 


I'm pretty positive I was 18 at the time and it was around December that my first visit occurred. I told the lady doc that I hardly had periods, yadayadayada... She ran some simple blood tests to make certain I didn't have diabetes or a thyroid condition. One burst vein & massive bruise later (thanks, gentle nurse) it was determined that I did NOT have either of those.. instead, I have PCOS. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. I'm sure you're asking...


...the fuck?


Uhhh let's see...well... you've got eggs in your ovs (talking to ladies here, of course!) If you bump uglies & the egg gets fertilized, you have a baby!! CONGRATS! If not, you get your period; the egg & lining of your uterus fall out & it feels like this

However, with PCOS, most eggs tend to stay in your ovs & turn into cysts (which sometimes burst... like when you're at the gym & you cry silently on the treadmill in the dark room until you find your dad to take you home). 


So long story short (haha yeah right!) that's my "condition!" I will blog again soon about my long, fun, eventful weight loss journey!