Day 134, 135, 136, 137, 138 – The Rest of Birthday Week

Sorry for not writing the past few days! Birthday week is officially over so I’ll give you a run down on what has been going on the past 5 days…

Wednesday, May 15 – MY BIRTHDAY!
My birthday celebration was great. My friend/coworker Sarah took me to thai food for lunch (I opted for cashew veggie w/ brown rice to keep it healthier). I did not workout on my birthday either. For dinner, I didn’t do as bad as I thought I would at Bricola – the Italian BYOB place we went to. I had pesto gnocchi, a few pieces of appetizer and lots of wine. 🙂 It was a great day to bring in 27 with the ones I love. Here is a picture from our dinner out. Thank you again ladies!

Thursday, May 16 – Day after birthday – HA!
Let’s just say this was a rough day and I was definitely not counting calories. I had Subway, one too many coffees, burger from Kuma’s Too for dinner…you name it. I felt pretty awful all day and was in bed pretttttty early that evening. 🙂 No workout.

Friday, May 17
I did really good on Friday. I worked out after work, ate healthy and did not go out. It was a relaxing Friday night in.

Saturday, May 18
Annie and I went for a 7 mile run on Saturday and wow, it felt AMAZING. We have the half marathon in a few weeks so we decided we should probably start putting our long runs in. We ran along the lake front – GORGEOUS day – and I must say, I have a new found love for running on the lake. I was always nervous and intimidated by it, since I figured everyone running out there were elite runners…but that is not the case at all. In fact, there were runners of all different levels soaking up the sun and enjoying the day, just as we were. Afterwards (and after burning 1,110 calories), we went to “Da Lobsta” and I had a lobster roll. Mmmm! So tasty! We then stumbled upon a popup shop that was only there for a day, and it was a French cheese company promoting French cheeses here in Chicago. Ummm BEST CHEESE OF MY LIFE! So dang good that I bought some…okay, a lot. LOL. That will be the death of me over the next few weeks, but it was so cheap that I couldn’t pass it up. We then opted for Fro Yo and continued to walk around downtown, burning more calories, so I didn’t feel too guilty. 😉 Saturday night we went out to see a Second City show, followed by drinks at a local watering hole where we met the famous actor Michael Shannon. Check it out!

So awesome and such a nice guy!!!

Sunday, May 19 – The End of the Weekend
What a great Sunday. Annie and I met again for a run (logged about 4 miles) and went to brunch afterwards. We then walked the entire city of Chicago and I felt like I was going to die. LOL. Not only was I super sore, but I got really sunburned, too. 😦 Take a look…

I am so mad at myself for getting that burned! Ah! Hopefully it turns into a tan though and doesn’t peel too bad. I guess it’s officially summer, huh? 😦 50 SPF for me from now on!!!! Super tired and time to crash…back to work tomorrow! XOXO

Day 133 – Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Today I was so busy at work that I almost forgot to eat. Good thing and bad thing! Haha! I need to keep eating every few hours, but I was so focused and in the zone that I would get off schedule. I still managed to get most of my calories in for the day though (of course)..so need to watch it, as I’m not only doing a birthday dinner tomorrow, but my colleague/friend Sarah and I are doing birthday lunch…thai food. Mmmmm. So, two cheat meals in one day.  I am going to try and eat very lightly otherwise (egg whites for breakfast, no carbs, etc.) so let’s see how that goes!

I went for a run outside after work. A bit challenging considering I did legs yesterday and they feel like wood blocks. 🙂 Nonetheless, I ran then ran to the gym, did weights with Annie (shoulders, calves, abs) and ran home. I burned 651 calories total. Yahoo! I’m debating on getting up bright and early tomorrow and going to the gym before work or just using tomorrow as my rest day. I feel like I should burn off some of what I will consume, and Thursday might be harder to workout given I will be having some wine tomorrow night. Gonna set my alarm for 5 and see how it goes. Off to bed – and GUESS WHAT! Tomorrow is my birthday! 🙂 Hehe. Night! XOXO

250 calories – 1 cup of quinoa w/ sugar, cinnamon, butter
80 calories – 1 apple
60 calories – coffee with milk
190 calories – protein bar
200 calories – 1 can of tuna w/ mayo and lettuce
100 calories – 1 medium banana
62 calories – 1 medium orange
90 calories – 1/2 cup cottage cheese
240 calories – 8 oz chicken breast
25 calories – 1 cup of broccoli
90 calories – Ciao bello blood orange sorbet pre workout (for sugar – SO good)
150 calories – almonds and a little peanut butter
160 calories – protein shake with almond milk

Total caloric intake = 1,697 calories (1,851 allowed)

46 days to reach my goal…

Day 132 – Birthday Week Begins!

My 27th birthday is in two days! Wooooooo/ahhhhhhhhh! Haha. I’m trying to keep a pretty big calorie deficit each day, as I know I will be eating/drinking prettttty nicely on Wednesday. It will be my first “cheat meal” in a week and a half so I’m looking forward to indulging a bit. I picked an Italian place so you better believe it will be pasta – mmm! Anyways, keeping it short and sweet tonight, as I am POOPED. Went to the gym for 2 hours after work – burned 555 calories doing treadmill, elliptical and legs (squats, butt blaster, leg extensions, seated leg curls). Calorie intake for the day was:

310 calories – 1 cup of oatmeal w/ 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder and 1 medium banana
60 calories – Coffee w/ milk
190 calories – protein bar
90 calories – 1/2 cup cottage cheese
62 calories –  1 medium orange
100 calories – salad w/ 2 TBSP ginger dressing
10 calories – green beans
76 calories – 2 medium peaches
68 calories – 4 hard boiled egg whites
25 calories – 1 cup of broccoli
240 calories – 8 oz grilled chicken breast (first time I have bought chicken in 4 months)
50 calories – 2 cups of cauliflower
74 calories – lactose free ice cream – whey protein chocolate peanut butter

Total caloric intake = 1,355 (1,755 calories allowed)
Total deficit = 400 calories

47 days to reach my goal…

Day 131 – Happy Mother’s Day!

Today was a lazy Sunday for me. I slept in, relaxed and just took my time. No rush, no worries. This whole weekend was like that! It’s good to have these weekends to decompress, sort through thoughts and refocus. Tomorrow starts a new week – my BIRTHDAY week – and I will officially be in my late 20’s. Can I start reversing time now? haha

Annie and I met at the gym this evening and I busted out a pretty darn good workout. I ran to the gym, ran on the treadmill, did the stairclimber, AND climbed the rock wall. Here is a picture of me in action:

I have always wanted to climb this thing and never have. I made it to the top after many failed attempts and felt pretty great! Shout out and thanks to Annie for cheering me on from the bottom. All in all, I burned 1,060 calories. Wowzers! Was NOT expecting that. 🙂 Food intake for the day was:

250 calories – 1 cup of quinoa w/ cinnamon, sugar, and slither of butter
80 calories – 1 medium fuji apple
190 calories – protein bar
40 calories – 1 cup of almond milk
62 calories – 1 orange
220 calories – 2 rice cakes w/ 1 TBSP peanut butter
200 calories – 7 chicken potstickers
25 calories – 1 cup of broccoli
100 calories – almond milk latte
405 calories – 3 Chipotle tacos – corn tortillas, barbacoa, fresh tomato salsa
100 calories – Ciao Bella Mango Sorbet ice cream cup
37 calories – whey protein ice cream
90 calories – 1/2 almond toffee dark chocolate bar

Total caloric intake = 1,799 calories (2,260 allowed)
461 deficit post workout – 961 deficit total

48 days to reach my goal…

Day 130 – Lazy Saturday

Today was a very relaxing day for me. I slept a good portion of the morning and into the afternoon, as I did not have anything to do. It was gloomy and cloudy until about 2:00 p.m. so I didn’t feel as guilty as if it were sunny and 80 degrees out. 🙂 Once I finally got out of bed and up and going, I hit the gym hardcore. Ran 1 mile to the gym, did the stairmaster for 45 minutes, back and biceps for nearly an hour, elliptical for 20 minutes and ran back home. I think I worked out close to 2.5 hours and burned 950 calories. Damn. That was to make up for my overeating yesterday. Tehehe.

Since I’ll be moving in a few weeks, I started going through all of my clothes – swapping winter out for summer, trying things on, etc. I have to say – it’s very motivating that half of my clothes don’t fit and make me look like a homeless person. On the other hand, it is going to cost so much money to buy an entirely new wardrobe. Ha! I held onto some transitional pieces that still work for me for the time being. Here in a few months, they probably won’t fit anymore and I will have to part with them too. Boo.

One big motivator was this. I put on a swimsuit that did not flatter me at all last year. It was a cheap swimsuit that I bought one weekend back home in St. Louis when I wanted to get in the hot tub but didn’t bring my swimsuit from up here in Chicago. Well, I put it on today to see if I wanted to keep it or not..and dang, I felt pretty good in it. I took a picture (see below) and figured I’d post it on here for two reasons:

1. I didn’t post a comparison picture on here for the month of April because I hadn’t been losing so I figured I’d show a picture of how I look as of today.
2. I want to use this as even more motivation to stick with it and not slip up again…especially since summer is literally in our backyard!

So there we have it. If I stick to it, I will accomplish my goal of looking good in a swimsuit for the first time in my life. Haha! Anyways, here we have it for food today:

85 calories – 5 egg whites
60 calories – 1 slice of sprouted whole wheat toast
62 calories – 1 orange
190 calories – protein bar
40 calories – 1 cup of almond milk
180 calories – 1 medium fuji apple w/ 1 TBSP peanut butter
120 calories – 2 rice cakes
160 calories – protein shake w/ 1 cup of almond milk
90 calories – 1 small banana
110 calories – 4oz mahi mahi w/ 1/4 tsp olive oil
110 calories – 1/2 cup quinoa
25 calories – 1 cup of cauliflower
100 calories – meat cuts
200 calories – crackers and peanut butter
100 calories – 16 almonds

Total caloric intake = 1,632 calories (2,150 allowed)

49 days to reach my goal..

Day 129 – Finally the Weekend!

Finally it’s Friday! I feel like this week has dragged by. For some reason, my appetite was insatiable today. I over consumed calorie wise BIG time, but according to calculations, I should be consuming roughly 2,400 calories a day to maintain my weight. I did workout today and everything I had to eat was healthy so I’m not TOO worried. I know I can’t count calories for the rest of my life, nor do I want to be a calorie counter. Right now, it helps me hit my goals, stay motivated and be conscious of what I am putting into my body. I am bound to go over on days, but as long as they are healthy calories (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins) and not calories from consuming 10 cheeseburgers and 5 cokes, then I’m not going to stress over it.

I went to the gym tonight with Annie where we ran and did triceps and chest. After the gym I went swimming and it was my last night of swimming lessons. I was a bit sad, but I wasn’t enjoying it these past 8 weeks as much as I did before. I’m taking the summer off and maybe I will start back up in the fall. We shall see. It was a great experience, however, and I am SO happy that I finally learned how to swim! Now I just need to stick with it in my free time so I don’t lose what I learned! I’ll make a goal to keep going at least once a week.

Anyways, here’s the food log for the day. Write more tomorrow!

300 calories – 1 cup of oatmeal w/ 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder, topped w/ 1 small banana
40 calories – Grande Blonde Roast coffee from Starbucks w/ 2% milk
160 calories – 1/4 cup Almonds
130 calories – 1 egg w/ 1 slice of whole grain toast
190 calories – protein bar
40 calories – 1 cup of almond milk
62 calories – 1 orange
200 calories – cantaloupe
200 calories – 2 TBSP peanut butter
60 calories – 1 slice of bread
170 calories – 5 whole wheat sesame crackers w/ 2 TBSP Trader Joes spinach/kale dip
90 calories – Strawberry protein shake
110 calories – 4 oz broiled mahi mahi
110 calories – 1/2 cup quinoa
25 calories – 1 cup of cauliflower
120 calories – 1 cup of cheerios w/ 1/2 cup almond milk
210 calories – 5 whole wheat crackers w/ 1 TBSP peanut butter

Total caloric intake = 2,217 calories (1,701 allowed)
Over-consumed by 516 – whoopsie!

50 days to reach my goal!

Day 128 – Feeling Great

Today was good, even though I went over my calories a bit. I was very hungry, but needed a break from working out and running so I ate early in the day on the intention to workout, but I didn’t. That’s okay though – still stayed below my daily limits to keep losing. 🙂

I’m a bit nervous about this weekend, as I don’t want to slip up and cave. No drinking or eating out until my birthday, which is next Wednesday. Let’s see if I can do it…

300 calories – 1 cup of oatmeal mixed w/ 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder, topped with a small banana
55 calories – 1% milk in coffee
300 calories (guesstimate) – 4-5 oz. grilled chicken w/ peppers, mushrooms, onions – 1 piece of fajita steak – fruit (from On the Border during a customer lunch)
100 calories – dark chocolate covered pomegranate
190 calories – Protein bar
180 calories – 1 TBSP peanut butter w/ medium fuji apple
80 calories – Almonds
110 calories – 4 oz mahi mahi w/ 1/4 tsp olive oil
25 calories – green beans
110 calories – 1/2 cup quinoa

Total caloric intake = 1,450 calories (1,200 allowed)
No deficit

51 days to reach my goal…

Day 127 – Wonderful Wednesday

Ahhh stepped on the scale this morning and back down to about what I was – 144.8. I think the sodium, booze and period were making me retain a lot more water than I thought. Nonetheless, I am still extremely motivated to drop these last 15 pounds before June 30, 2013. It helps me in restating my goal every day:

I will be 130 by June 30, 2013

Today after work I went for a run – no weights – need to get back into that tomorrow. I ran for about 45 minutes (3.5 – 4 miles) and burned 411 calories. Food intake was as follows:

120 calories – 1 cup of cheerios w/ 1/2 cup almond milk
90 calories – 1 small banana
235 calories – 1 can of tuna w/ 1 TBSP light mayo on 1 slice of whole wheat sprouted bread
80 calories – 1 medium fuji apple
60 calories – 1/2 cup 2% milk in coffee
90 calories – 3 cups of broccoli florets
140 calories – vanilla protein shake w/ water
100 calories – 100 calorie back of Dark Chocolate Acai Berries
64 calories – 1 medium grapefruit
80 calories – 16 almonds
110 calories – 4 oz mahi mahi w/ 1/4 tsp olive oil
25 calories – 3/4 cup whole green beans
100 calories – 1/2 cup brown rice
190 calories – Protein bar
50 calories – Baby bell cheese round

Total caloric intake = 1,534 calories (1,611 allowed = 77 calorie deficit post workout)
Total calorie deficit = 577

52 days to reach 130 pounds…

Day 126 – More Motivated Than Ever!

So today was a harsh reality. I stepped on the scale and guess what I weighed? 147

Am I upset with myself? Yes and no. Yes because I let myself slip up. No because I know this is reality and it was bound to happen with the way I have been eating over the past two months. In fact, I think it is EXACTLY what I needed to get my mojo back and show me – Amanda, as soon as you start slipping up and not caring, the weight is going to come back on. Quick.

Now, I think the last time I weighed in for the blog here was awhile ago and I was 143 or 144. The lightest I ever saw myself (morning weight) was 140.8. So in reality, 147 only 3-5 pounds up from what I have been…and maybe it is just water weight/sodium and will come off after a week. I don’t know, but I do know that I do NOT like seeing this number. What. So. Ever. In fact, I weighed myself last night just to see what I was and the scale read 150. I about cried. Granted, I am on my period and had a booze/eating out filled weekend, but still – I refuse to let myself get there again and once more…this could not be more motivating to make me get my booty back to the grind. It is time to take these next 8 weeks seriously.

I did not want to go for a run tonight, but I kept that image of the scale in my mind and pushed myself to go. I did another 4.5 miles, burned 555 calories. Food intake for the day was:

250 calories – 1 cup of quinoa w/ a little butter, cinnamon, sprinkle of sugar
64 calories – 1 medium grapefruit
60 calories – 2% milk in coffee
110 calories – 1 cup of green grapes
120 calories – 1 cup of cheerios w/ 1/2 cup almond milk
80 calories – 1 medium fuji apple
170 calories – 1/2 cup white beans w/ 1 cup butternut squash soup
30 calories – 1 cup steamed broccoli
160 calories – 1/4 cup almonds
90 calories – 1 small banana
160 calories – 6 oz broiled tilapia w/ 1/2 tsp olive oil
25 calories – 1 cup cauliflower
100 calories – 1/2 cup rice
160 calories – chocolate protein shake w/almond milk

Total caloric intake = 1,579 calories (1,755 allowed = 176 calorie deficit post workout)
Total calorie deficit = 676

53 days to reach 130 pounds…

Day 125 – A Brand New Start

Today was a great day. I feel awesome and am ready to get back to business. I have 54 days to reach my NEW goal of 130 pounds and it starts right here, right now. I FINALLY got my new heart rate transmitter so I know how many calories I am actually burning. That thing keeps me SO motivated. So tonight, I went on a long run and enjoyed this beautiful weather. I ran 4.5 miles and burned 530 calories. I couldn’t feel better! Gonna keep it short and sweet and jump right to the food log for the day. Note: I am going to start tracking my calorie deficit for the day. I’m allowing myself 1,200 calories per day plus whatever I burn working out. The 1,200 calories is a 500 deficit from the 1,700 that I would normally eat to maintain my current weight. So for instance, as you’ll see below, I had the 500 calorie deficit that I create every day, plus whatever I don’t consume post workout. Clean eating all the way, baby!

250 calories – 1 cup of quinoa w/ a little butter, cinnamon, sprinkle of sugar
100 calories – 1 medium banana
110 calories – 1 cup of green grapes
120 calories – 1 cup of cheerios w/ 1/2 cup almond milk
170 calories – Butternut squash soup w/ 1/2 cup white beans
80 calories – 1 medium fuji apple
103 calories – 1 medium sweet potato
160 calories – 1/4 cup raw almonds
170 calories – 4 oz salmon broiled w/ 1/4 tsp olive oil
25 calories – 1 cup of cauliflower
100 calories – 1/2 cup brown rice
160 calories – chocolate protein shake w/ almond milk

Total caloric intake = 1,548 calories (1,730 allowed = 182 calorie deficit post workout)
Total calorie deficit = 682

54 days to reach my goal