I decided to sign up for water aerobics and went to my first class tonight.  It was a lot of fun.  The great thing was that there were only 2 other girls in the class.  I really like how the pool isn't crowded at all.  The teacher was really laid back and I ended up working out for 1 1/2 hours instead of an hour class as listed.  I just wish that I could go every day but the next three days I have to work during the times listed.  I'm looking forward to Friday!  Celebrate the small things right?!

free swimming!

I have been refusing to join a gym because I can't afford the extra cost but have really wanted to be able to swim for exercise.  Most of the gyms in the area don't have pools and the ones that do are pretty expensive.  Well the other day I was at the library and found a flyer for public swimming at a local middle school.  The best part is that it is free for me to do lap swimming!  I just didn't believe it so I stopped by yesterday to get more details.  Turns out this time of year, they don't have very many people who use the pool so when I go it will be pretty much to myself!  The only disadvantage is that the hours for lap swimming is limited to 5:15-7:15 am or 8:30-9:00 pm M-F.  It will be good for me to wake up early and so I will just have to motivate myself.  If I do go during open plunge hours I'm sure that I could still swim laps but it costs $3 per swim or $30 for 30 swims.  There is also another cost if I want to go to water aerobics.  I dug out my bathing suit and am excited for the pounds to just melt away!

233

chocolate sweet tooth.

Found a recipe to harness the chocolate sweet tooth without making an entire cake!  Not bad and only takes a few minutes!
Here is the recipe as well as the link:
http://www.instructables.com/id/5-minute-Chocolate-Cake/?ALLSTEPS

Ingredients:

• coffee mug
• 4 tablespoons flour - make sure you measure it right - or the cake is a lie!
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 2 tablespoons whisked egg - 1 egg is too much, 1 egg white is too eggy, 1 yolk is too dense, but 2 tblsp is justright!
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips
• splash vanilla or other flavoring - try peppermint or cinnamon

For a fudgier version, omit egg!


Directions:

• Add all of the dry ingredients to the mug and mix.
• Add the egg and combine well. It gets pretty pasty at the point.
• Stir in milk and oil.
• Add chocolate chips* and splash of vanilla. Stir well.
• Microwave for 3 mins in 1000 w oven and 4 mins in 700 w oven

I made a few adaptations to make mine a little more guilt free:

2 T applesauce and 1 T oil. omit egg since I like it fudgier and didn't want to measure it out.

I also added white chocolate chips instead of regular kind since that is what I had open.  Another important detail is that I used cake flour and so added a little more since the volume is a bit lighter.  The best part of this recipe is that there are so many variations and if it doesn't work out you can try it again.  It doesn't take long to make another!

Delicious!

234 lbs

Kevin already owes me $5  Kinda sad when you can't make your goal even on the first week.  We decided to do this week's official weigh in on Monday morning since he is out of town this weekend.  


It was a good week for me because it was decently warm.  On Monday I walked to the library and back which is about a mile away.  On Thursday I drove to a neighborhood that is more hilly than mine and it was refreshing to walk somewhere different.  It snowed last night and this morning so a comfortable walk wasn't much of an option this morning.  I think I might still wander out later this afternoon anyway though.


Picked up my first bountiful basket this morning.  It was very exciting.  The produce is very fresh and there is a big variety too.  I already made up a green juice with spinach, green apples, radish greens, green grapes and celery. If you've never had a fresh juice it is quite the experience.  It kinda gives you a weird energy buzz.  I have heard stories of people getting a bunch of unusual things in their baskets.  Most everything I got was very common.   The most unusual things in my basket were english cucumbers and asian pears.  I think it will be fun to figure out what kinds of things I can do with each of the items in my basket.


234 lbs

temptations

Resisted a delicious looking slice of pizza today.  Satisfied myself with a fiber one bar instead.  Also attempted to eat fish for lunch.  Not so good.  I will have to think of a different way to prepare it besides dashing some spice on it and pan frying it.  Wish that fish sticks counted as a healthy source of fish.  I guess I could save those for my cheat days.  

I have been eating so much less than I normally eat and I'm really not as hungry all the time as I thought I would be.  I try to distract myself by doing other things and when I do feel hunger pangs I try to just drink some water. So far I've been able to stay really focused and that is encouraging to me.  I just have to keep it up!

Happy New Year!

This week was so much fun!  Not something you usually hear when someone is starting a new diet but this week I really tried to keep things fresh which made it a lot of fun.  I was really proud of myself for being disciplined and even when I was feeling weak I still was able to stay within the parameters of the diet which I have set for myself even on my "cheat" day.

I started by downloading an app on my phone that is helping me track my caloric intake.  This will perhaps be what makes the turning point in my weight loss goals.  It helps me be more exact about what I put into my body as well as exercise. It also helps me to determine based on my current height and weight just how many calories I should be eating to be able to lose the weight.  It is so much easier entering food intake on my phone than calculating it on my own.  Losing weight just comes down to expending more than intake so this little app will help me to do that.

FOOD. It helped to bake the chicken ahead of time.  It was so convenient to just cut up my portion to top my salad, stir-fry etc.  I still have leftovers for this week which will make prep time even shorter.  I have also made another menu which is generally a mix n match type of deal for every weekday.  This eliminates having to decide during the week and prevents me from eating out as much.  I'm still allowing myself to eat out but I'm doing it much more smart now.  I'm keeping my portions small and only ordering from the dollar menu or kids menu.  French fries are usually a temptation for me but really haven't been at all this week.  Eliminating soda consumption won't be that hard now since I am no longer going to order a combo meal which is generally the only time I would get one.  Another trick I employed one night when I was fighting the hunger pangs was to mix up some protein powder with milk.  It is pretty low cal and really helps to curb the appetite.

SUGAR.  It has been my own worst enemy.  Day 1 was hard because even though I wasn't craving it, I did get a headache from not eating it.  By day 3 when I drank a cup of orange juice, I got a stomach ache because it was too sugary.  Crazy how your body adjusts so quickly.  That will be my biggest ally during this weight loss challenge.  Not eating sugar.  I envision the pounds just melting off because I have curtailed massive amounts of sugar consumption.

EXERCISE.  I am determined to not get a gym membership but still get ample amounts of exercise.   The first day I did some at home calisthenics that I just made up as I went along.  It made me sore for 3 days!  I checked out a few aerobic exercise videos at the library.  One of them was a 60 min Zumba instructional which was a lot of fun.  It also helped me to stretch out and not feel as sore.

REWARD. As my reward for losing 6 lbs, I purchased a couple more dance games for my Wii.  I took them to my New Year's Eve party last night and really went to town.  Everyone had so much fun.  It was great to just let loose and get exercise at the same time!