I reviewed my calorie goals over at livestrong.com, and while in essence i need to eat more every day, I actually input my activity level incorrectly. It seems to vary, from calculator to calculator, what the definition of light activity is, normally i seem to qualify for it but upon closer look to the site's definition, I don't come close to it. So I have modified it, and my new calorie goal reflect numbers I'm much more comfortable with.
I now feel like like if someone had drawn a caricature of my [unknowingly over] consumption of calories in the past month or so I would be a happily noshing down Chinese cartoon they use to illustrate good food, happy yummy, tasty.... mmm I can taste the Mongolian barbecue I had on Saturday night. Chock full of veggies and spice. I know, I know, it would be faster to attach a gas pump of salt straight into my arm, but I'll happily lie to myself about water gain the next morning for that garlicky, spicy, cabbagy heaven once in a while. Shrimp, meanwhile, is still disgusting.
I think if I was drawn as a happy stuffing her face chinese person I would be cute.

Ever feel like you've missed your opportunity?
I do. with my weight loss that is.I started this back in, what, November? *checks* yes, November, by then I had been exercising for a few week again and well. in 4 months I've made no progress even though this time around I know what I'm doing.
Quite honestly my life is worlds different than the first time. I have a boyfriend now, the 'friends' who causes me stress has gone from a major depression where she ignores everyone to bim-bam-boom let get my life on track and while its great to see her having goals.... I am her stepping stool to do them. I realized I've put my life on hold for her and in my lovely pms time it just feels like I've screwed myself and it's too late to do anything. My friends imposing on my time, and then later asking if its alright has been a high stress factor, for the first time ever I've had an issue walking away from booz for my health.
I'm trying to make positive changes in my life, but boy howdy, I'm feeling defeated.

Waves

Hi! long time no post. Been very busy and stressed lately. People deciding to take over my life tends to do that. Still not loosing weight :( but not gaining too much either...
MAybe, one day, if I'm good enough.

Just Realized

I only been thinking about posting on here and not actually doing so.
Not loosing much, mostly maintaining the small amount and apparently firming up, because many people keep telling me they see weight loss, and well I don't think you can see 3 lbs.
Faire season is starting up, so my life is going to be even more busy, yay, but that means also more opportunity to be active and loose weight. I think the higher calorie restriction works for me, but I also tend to calorie cycle without thinking. Hrrm.

This last weekend I learned how to make empanadas from scratch and they tasted yummy, but boy does rolling dough give you a workout. I also found out eating chipotle peppers can have interesting effects on your system, as well as eating an entire 16[14?] oz bag of vegetables....
off to bed for this overtired girl.

Hmmm

So for 2 weeks I have increased my calories and tried to stay on track with it, which has been middling as far as either overshooting or underscoring it. And other than non-food related incidences, its not causing me too gain weight. I've lost a little, but it seems my body is more interested in toning than loosing actual weight. According to my [obsessive] records of my measurements, I've been losing half inches and whatnot in very little time.
Dear oh dear, body why do you do this to me. You sneak in an inch here, half there, impossible to see or feel. That stoic scale reads in the same 3 pounds for weeks, it's enough t make one mental. Couldn't you reward me for all my ass dragging to the gym, thorough label reading, healthy grain and vegetable choices by a nice big DROP of some weight? Please? Pretty please? Big big pretty please make me not sigh and shrug when the numbers stay the same?
We will see...


oh also, some posts finally over at: Fat and Fancy Free Style

Current Routine at the Gym

For those of you interested, and or opinionated, this is my current routine at the gym, Tuesdays and Thursdays:

Warm-up or that thing that makes me sweat and gets my heart rate up:
5 minutes stair-climber [lvl 3 for 3:45, 4 for 0:45, 5 for 0:30]
12 minutes stationary bike, level four, hill.
I change up which order I do those in but I start with those, and sometimes, I go to level 5 or 6 on the bike.

Weight training, aka me playing of machines like I used to in high school:

Part 1 [in the weight room]
3x 15reps inner thigh press at 40 lbs, holding for 20 sec on 15th rep
4x 20reps outer thigh press at 50lbs, holding 30 secs on 20th rep
1x 15reps top of thigh press? at 40lb [knees still arent healed, this one hurts]
* 2or3x 15 reps squat machine 40-60lbs
* 2x 15 reps lateral [?] arm amchine 40lbs
*1x 10rep lunge high kicks on aerobics stepper
*30 seconds squatted punches
*1x 30 rep jumping jacks
*weighted side stretches
Then repeat.

* = not always done, depending on how my knees are or just changing up what to do to bring my HR back up.
And what a joy to watch myswelf doo all this in a fully mirrored room to emphasize all my unflattering curves...

Part 2 [main female's room where the rest of the weight machines are]
2x 15rep pec press machine at 40lbs
2or3x 15 rep hamstring curl machine at 40lbs
2x 15rep seated crunch machine at 45lbs
Repeat
*2x 15rep outward arm press at 50lb

Cool-Down, where really I'm kicking up my heart rate again.
*5 minutes stair-climber [lvl 3 for 3:45, 4 for 0:45, 5 for 0:30]
*8-13 minutes Elliptical machine level three [frontwards and back]
*6 or 12 minutes stationary bike, level four, hill

* = I try to change up how I end it, but its one or two of these three. I've been shying away from the Elliptical and treadmill lately because it has been triggering my asthma something awful

-----------------
So there it is, how I spend or waste, and hour at the gym. On some of the machines my weight choice may seem low, but right now I'm going with low weights, high reps. I'm going to see how that works for me in the next couple of weeks.

I have my yoga book back from my boyfriend, so yay I get to do yoga every night again. 1 week without it every night was weird and sad. I'm hoping sometime soon I may get to see some difference in my body. I'm not really seeing it on the scale, but I'm hoping I may see it in my body, such as toning.
Part of what I've changed recently is upping my caloric intake, thinking maybe I'm not taking in enough. I know it's not a good idea to change so much at once, but hey I've done much stupider things.


By the way, Ive launched Fat and Fancy Free Style to go along with this site without bombarding those who don't want it with all the pictures.

Live Strong

I totally recommend the livestrong.com website. It lets you easily track your calories and calculates them for you for all your portions, and lets you acknowledge daily activities as things that burns a tiny bit of calories. You know, do some dishes to eat one cookie. Not that those red numbers at the end of the day down in your nutritional breakdown go down for any of your exercise, but the bar that lets you know how many calories you NEED to eat is wonderful. For free, it lets you set custom calorie goals [they recommended I eat 1375 calories a day to loose 2 pounds a week and that scared the bejeezus out of me so I lowered mine to 1300], browse recipes [and click "I ate this!" from that recipe] create your own 'loops' for your neighborhood jog..... This place is awesome. for 45$ a year you can get a few more features, but this site is designed to enable you without sticking it to you. I'm a little tempted to spend the 45 just so I can get the red numbers to stop showing up under the protein column by changing my nutritional goals. After 7 days of using it, it has become clear that while I apparently eat too much protein and fiber, I don't eat enough fat. go figure, I thought I was getting enough of the good ones in my diet, but a good deal of the time I wasn't even getting to the halfway mark. Oops..
Also, it is dang hard to eat 1300 calories a day. I know you are rolling your eyes or rereading that sentence, but trying to eat healthily and fill up that 1300 is making my head melt with confusion. I could theoretically just grab something from Carl's or Jack's or Mc D's, and believe me one of those bastards has come out with an avocado sandwich that sounds amazing. But when you start knowing what's in them, harder to just waltz up to the counter, order, and eat without the 7th grade science films of how your body works going through your mind. Or at least, I have that when I don't have Jillian Michaels standing there in my mind ready to whip me with a car antenna. I will keep trying.

By they way, pearled barley with cumin and garlic is tasty.

oh and I so want this: Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 (new)

Recipes

Here's some recipes I find tasty and are pretty healthy.

Leamony Quinoa [I would make the portions smaller than the recommended 2]
Baked Butternut Squash
Simple Zucchini Pancakes (latkes) Really really dang tasty
Zesty Broccoli and Cauliflower au Gratin
Fried Green Tomatoes



Later I will type up so of my favorite Jillian Michael's Recipes

Also, I've joined livestrong.com to keep track of my calories and exercise. I think the third party of it may keep me more sane.

Pictures

Been taking pictures every 2 weeks for a few months, which seems to not be a great idea because I end up starting at them for hours analyzing details and becoming bewildered and discouraged that I'm gaining weight and becoming puffier and rounder. I'm also having a hard time looking at my godson's playdoh any more since it looks exactly like my body, lumpy, malformed, asymmetrical and overall, not something I'd want to tap. Though It's true they do not make playdoh in glowing peach they way my skin comes ;p

Still not loosing weight even though I'm attending the gym 2-3 times a week and home exercise in between. Still maintaining a 1200 calorie diet with very few slips. I'm feeling very discouraged though I have started only weighing myself at the gym because weighing myself at home was starting to cause me problems. I'm guessing depression isn't helping but you've got to love self-causing downward spirals. Depression leads to lack of weight loss which leads to lack of weight loss. However I'm trying to alleviate said depression with my enjoyment yoga and learning the art of poi.
I still hope and still will work towards weight loss. perhaps tomorrow I will share recent delicious finds.