One snack at a time

As I sit here watching Deric eating lime tortilla chips and salsa I realize that today has been the hardest day so far. It is the first day that I've felt run down from the exercise (we had the toughest workout so far this morning) and the lack of food. Though I was by far my hungriest on Day 2 I still felt good. Definitely really hungry, but good. In fact the past three days I've had a ton of energy and the hunger, though really irritating, was just a reminder that I was challenging myself and succeeding. Today it's just a recipe for crankiness and snack envy. I would give anything for a gummi bear or a lime chip or some french bread with artichoke dip (drool.) Just hook the carbs to my veins. But I know if I start snacking now, I'll never stop and it's only day four. So I'll power through and just keep my mouth closed for fear that something other than a grape will fall into it. Tomorrow is another day.

Missed out

Today I had to work, so I missed the strip workout (kind of glad, but still would have been fun). Instead I did workout videos at work, while my partner slept! I didn't nap today, so tonight might kill me! but apparently I have suicide sprints to look forward to tomorrow at 9AM. I haven't done those since JV basketball!!!
Also I was satisfied for like more than an hour, from the delicious sandwich that was my lunch!! Oh man, it was good! 2 whole slices of bread!
So I did CPR 3 times today, after a core workout yesterday, and an ab video today....my abs, back, thighs, and triceps are SO SORE. Thankfully I'm a stickler for the rules and insisted on switching out every 2 minutes...but still!! That is too much action for 1 day, I don't like sweating at work!

P.S. I just got back from a call at a "naturist" lodge, and I didn't see one naked person! hah! they all had clothes on!

In Honor of Salad Dressing

I just wanted to say that I've been hungry since after dinner last night, through breakfast, through spin class, and still after my mid morning snack...this is gonna be hard! The hunger is like a gnawing constant reminder of my goals though, so I hope I learn to like it!!

Also I talked to Rachel last night for like 30 minutes about salad dressing! Hahaha! I love salad dressing, because it's the best part of the salad. I am always on the lookout for delicious dressing with less than 100 calories per serving (2 tbsp in most cases) and less than 5 grams of fat. Here are my top 5 dressings of all time!

1) The new sesame dressing we got for the program!!...I have no idea where they got it though! 50 calories and 3g fat. I took a picture of it for you (It's blurry! It's not your eyes, it's my camera), so scour your grocery store shelves! I have a feeling it's from a health food store (Whole foods, New leaf...If it's not in the Dressing section, try the Asian Foods isle, or the Marinates isle!) Don't stop till you find it! you'll happily eat salad for every meal!

2) Trader joes Spicy Thai Peanut Vinaigrette (in the refrigerated section)...I put this on everything, broccoli slaw, marinate chicken, salads, Faux pad thai, made with Tofu Shiratake noodles (more on these later).

3) Trader Joes Creamy Cilantro Dressing (refrigerated section) Put this on taco salad!! yum yum!

4) Trader Joe's Raspberry Gorgonzola Vinaigrette (refrigerated section) This sounds so decadent and bad for you, but it's not!! Make a fancy salad and serve this with thinly sliced lean beef...Make this and impress your friends!

5) Trader Joe's (noticing a trend here? these folks know what they're doing!) Organic Blue Cheese Dressing (refrigerated section!). This has 90 calories and 9 grams of fat (it will make your skirt fly up!) I like to thin it out a little with Balsamic Vinegar, and add some pepper, and maybe some gresh garlic...Oh man, you'll love it!

Check these out people!! They are delicious! One more tip...be wary of dressings that don't require refrigeration...they can be scary and taste like chemicals!

Preview of Tofu Shiratake Noodles: They are an asian noodle substitute that have only 40 calories per bag and 3 grams of CARBS, you heard me right!

First workout and I almost lost my very small lunch...

Okay, apparently I have let myself get REALLY out of shape!!! The first workout wasn't even the full hour because she was giving us all the info for our upcoming month and I still barely made it!! We got introduced to the program we are testing, it's called Zone Dancing and it includes the diet we are on, a dance based workout that utilizes a "Zone Sculptor" which is a resistance ring that hinges on one side and gives resistance when you pull the two sides of the ring apart. You can put the ring around your thighs so that when you are exercising you have resistance on your legs or you can pull on it with your arms while you are doing other exercises.

We mostly worked our legs by doing a lot of squats and pulling on the Sculptor!! I thought I could handle squats with all the ones I have done at 24Hour but last night we were doing them continuously!! Mindy is a great motivator and we would just move from one exercise to the next without breaks!! But she kept you laughing and smiling throughout the workout so it helped to push through!!! But by the end of the workout I was sure I was going to throw up!! I'm sure I had a horrible look on my face and was maybe a little green and I was right in Mindy's line of sight!! I was trying to continue with the exercises and I'm sure at that point I had horrible form!! I desperately didn't want to be the girl who threw up on the first day so I was doing my best to hold it together!! I have let myself get so out of shape!! So finally when the stretches came I couldn't even hold the positions!! I didn't want to be at any awkward angles!! Then she started to talk about how this workout was easy compared to what's ahead!! Hopefully I will be more in shape at that time and won't feel the need to lose the precious few calories I get for the day. ;) I made it through workout number one and I go back today!! I'm going to be in amazing shape by the end of this!!! I can't wait!

"I Don't Cook" OR "Day 1"

Things I learned today:
How to bake a chicken breast ( I know, I know...but it's a pretty big deal for me)
I really don't like scrambled eggs
I also don't like greek yogurt

Things I still need to learn:
How to NOT grab things straight out of the oven with my bare hands
How to make an over-medium egg
How to live off of a LOT less food than I'm used to

I'm sooooo hungry. Right about now I'd be toasting up myself a couple pieces of bread and lathering on the peanut butter and honey as a bedtime snack. Alas, that is not in the diet plan and I followed the meal plan today like a champ so I can't give up now.

Breakfast was nothing short of gross. As stated above I don't like scrambled eggs and adding a bunch of spinach that just, as Katie described it, gave me "squeaky" teeth did NOT help. On the next egg day I shall try something different. Also, eating an egg and a half and half a banana just made me more hungry, and I'm not even a fan of breakfast.

I spent the next hour and a half learning how to and then baking a chicken breast for my next two meals and then made myself go to Spin at 24 to give myself something to think about other than food. The moment I restrict my eating, I start obsessing over all things food related. But I guess if every time I get fixated on how hungry I am I go to the gym then I'll kick exta ass at the final weigh in.


Lunch was a much, much better. My first attempt at chicken was a success. It wasn't too dry and I wasn't starving for at least a half hour after I finished. Yay me!!



Then there was the wait to go to the first workout where I drank more water than maybe ever before just to make my stomach feel a little more full (the half a cup of strawberries, though delicious, not really filling.) Temptations were few until Deric brought home a tantalizing gyro but fortunately I was on my way out the door to go get my ass kicked by Mindy. And boy did she. Lunges, squats, more squats and then a few more just for good measure. Bending down to pick up the babies at work tomorrow might be a bit tough but so far there is minimal soreness. I'm looking forward to tomorrow, even if that means I have to lumber around Mindy's deck tomorrow plieing (probably not a word) like a wounded ostrich. Yes we start the ballet portion tomorrow. Yes I'm glad there will be no cameras.

Anyway, dinner was also delicious (salad doesn't count as cooking for me) and filling for at least 15 minutes. I skipped "desert" because greek yogurt just isn't doing it for me. Maybe I'll get used to it but it tastes a bit like whipped up feta. Deric tried to convince me to cheat by having regular good old fashioned cows milk yogurt but I thought it would be bad juju to cheat on the very first day. I can start that nonsense tomorrow.

Day 1

This picture is a combo of my dinner and my evening snack! Yum Yum Yum!! This salad dressing is the best thing I've ever tasted, and it only has 25 calories per 1 Tbsp!

Today we exercised for the first time! This product (I've already forgotten the name!!) is so amazing! My inner thighs and ass are killing me! They split the body into 3 zones. Today we worked on zone 1 (upper body), and zone 3 (lower body). Tomorrow is zone 2 (core). My legs are dying, arms, not so much! Mindy, trainer extraordinaire, says this program is largely Ballet based, maybe i'll develop some poise and grace!! There is also cardio stripping (yikes), hip hop (uh oh), and salsa (yikes, yikes, yikes!!). Thankfully the other girls don't seem to be any more coordinated than I am!

Speaking of the other girls...Spencer calls our group of girlfriends "the coven" or "the sisterhood"...as in, the coven is coming over, I'm outta here! This group of infomercial peeps feels like another sisterhood, we're all in it together...and it was a very supportive environment!

Mindy started the class off by saying, " I'll get you skinny, it will be your job to keep it that way!". She said it with such conviction that I believe her! and I believe in this program!! (haha sell it!)

Mindy's tip of the day is Fidget! As in keep moving all throughout the day

My calories for the day: 885 (that doesn't seem like a lot...but I didn't feel hungry until after our workout, so that's good!)

Rae's stats!! and one day in!

I went to take my before pictures and have my measurements done and I was pleasantly surprised! (with the experience, not my measurements, I gained weight this week!! ;D ) On my way up there I had visions of "shake for breakfast and shake for lunch" and of being uncomfortable with having my picture taken without the many layers of clothes I use to hide my body. But I got there and the energy was great and so was the food!! I walked into a room filled with women laughing, drinking wine and bonding over this crazy experience we are about to embark on together! Everyone was encouraging especially our trainer Mindy! We got our pictures taken, wearing sports bras and shorts, on a white backdrop with glaringly bright lights by a cute photographer, (just to add insult to injury!) which should have been horribly embarrassing but ended up just being funny. Then the food food was divided up and it was great!! It was all food I would buy for myself normally!! Greek yogurt, great fruit like pineapple and strawberries, different vegetables, pasta, whole wheat bread, peanut butter, chicken and ground turkey, I could go on and on! We are eating good food! The only thing is that for the first week the portions are very small but the plan is set up to where you eat every couple of hours to keep your blood sugar from dropping and to help keep you full. I feel pretty good so far today, I'm a little hungry but I had gotten used to eating way too much so that's to be expected!

We do our first workout tonight and get to learn more about the exercise product and routine we are testing. We'll let you know how it goes!

Rae's Stats:

Height: 5'4
Weight: 161 (I was at 156, what was I thinking labor day weekend!)
Waist (belly button): 40.5
Hip (at hip bones): 43
Thigh (largest part): 25
Arm: 13

Katie's Stats!

Time to be brave! Here are my before stats! And a before picture that Spencer took! (on the right side of the picture is the feather duster that Spencer bought, and never uses!!)
Height: 5'11''
Weight: 167lbs
Waist (at belly button): 35in
Hips (at hip bones): 41in
Thigh (largest part):25in
Upper arm: 12in

We got our food today! So far the menu looks doable (I'll blog about the meals, so you can get an idea of what I've eaten for the day). The plan was pretty much what I expected:
1) eat small meals every few hours
2) cut back on starchy carbs
3) no sugar
4) no booze
5) watch the salt
6) watch the fat.

We're eating lots of veggies and chicken, some fruit, and some whole grains. So this is pretty much what I eat normally, but without the treats and booze here and there :)
We even got bread and cheese and pasta...HOWEVER...our meal plan emphasizes not eating carbs after 1:30pm (so can I just not eat them at all? or eat a slice of wheat bread instead of pasta, which I don't like anyway?)....and they have us eating weird things like pasta with peanut butter...so.....I'm already planning adjustments to the menu. I definitely have some questions for our guru/trainer, Mindy. P.S. when Spencer (my hubby) was helping me put away the food, he said, "this is practically the same stuff you bring home from the store!" So it's not too much of a stretch.
I'll write more about this later, but my dieting in the past has been largely based on restricting. I'd like to follow their plan, to prove it to myself that I can lose weight by eating more normally.
Tomorrow is the first day of our workout regime.... we have been told is going to be "dance based", which scares me!! I can only hope to stake out a good spot in the back, and not step on anyone! I definitely lack rhythm, and the ability to follow dance moves!! Also we will be seeing and using the product for the first time!
Incidentally, tomorrow is also the first day of my month long Fit Camp (from 9am-10am, M-W-F), which I signed up for before I found out about the infomercial...I have a feeling I'm going to be one sore cookie by the end of the week! And for the record the infomercial peeps told us to continue with our normal exercise routines...so I'm not cheating!

The Weigh In

Oh my. It was everything I thought it would be (measurements, scales, pictures) and yet nothing I thought it would be (wine, camaraderie, cute photographer.) I arrived 10 minutes early, 'cause that's what I do, but sat in my car until 2 minutes early so as not to be rude and once again entered the home of Mindy and Bruce. There was a flurry of activity as Mindy and Co. were working frantically to pack up the $2000 dollars worth of groceries they bought us for our first week. I and my fellow 4 o'clock weigh ins were immediately offered a glass of wine which we of course gratefully accepted, lamenting that tonight would be our last glass(es) for a month.

After some wine, chatting, and of course giggling as more women arrived and more wine was poured it was my turn to be measured (waist, hips, thighs and arms) and weighed by Mindy. Mostly painless (thank you, vino.) Then came the pictures. Really, in retrospect, it wasn't that bad. I've certainly done more humiliating things in my life...and plenty of it has been captured on film. Still, stepping in front of a camera in unforgiving lighting in a sports bra and shorts is not an easy thing for me. Keeping in mind that this is a "before" picture which is supposed to showcase my flaws, it is nearly impossible for me not to suck in my gut, especially when awkwardly posing in front of an pretty adorable (in a 19 year old sort of way) photographer. Luckily for the infomercial world it's impossible to suck in love handles so it should still make an acceptably awful photo. All I can think though, is that the "after" shots better be worth it.

I left with a weeks worth of groceries and a meal plan that I think will be pretty easy for me to follow, now that a few people have told me how to bake chicken. I also left even more excited after spending some time with Mindy and my fellow guinea pigs. I am however really glad that all the before stuff is done so now I can focus on getting results (and free stuff.)

Since this is a weight loss challenge I must now, somewhat reluctantly, post my "before" stats:
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 161 lbs (thank you Labor Day Weekend gluttony)
Waist: 35.25"
Hips: 39"
Thigh: 24"
Arm: 12.5"

I'm looking forward to dieting?

So this weekend has been so chock full of "lasts" (last hamburger, ice cream,cheese, gummies, and booze!) that i'm actually looking forward to, and CRAVING healthy food!! I'm dreaming of big, green, crunchy salads and fresh fruit!! I just wanted to put that out there before I start complaining about dieting, so I'd have something to look back at to remind myself that there was a time I was sick of dairy products and candy...
Tomorrow is the before picture and weigh in....do I even need to say i'm excited? Cause I am :) Also I'm debating on whether to post my before stats...or not? I feel like it might motivate me and keep me honest...but also I think it will make a bigger impact if I wait until the end to post how much I lost...hmmm
Anyways, here goes nothing!!!

Fit Club, where the cool kids are

I have always been someone who struggles with my weight, I was never one of those girls who was naturally thin even as a child. As soon as puberty hit at a young age I got curves and I had a hard time fitting into "juinors" clothes and shopping in the same places my friends were. This led to me hiding my body in boys clothes or ill fitting girls clothes for most of my teenage years. It also didn't help that I was never in sports and I really liked my soda! In high school I developed a thyroid condition that made my weight fluctuate to the extreme. I never dieted or did anything to lose the weight but was constantly up and down, thin, heavy, thin, heavy.

As an adult I learned to eat healthier and that helped with my ups and downs but without my thyroid in check and not exercising I still wasn't where I wanted to be. I always looked at being fit like a wonderful dream, I didn't really view it as something I could be. I was always like, some girls are fit and some aren't and that's just the way it is, like some people are born with green eyes and some blue. I never came to the realization that anyone could be one of those "fit" people if they wanted to be. So I just let my thyroid decide if I was to be thin or heavy this year.

Then I decided to turn away from a career of working with teenagers and follow my dream of becoming a Pastry Chef! (not the best career choice for one who struggles with their weight!) I'm now going to school for Culinary Arts and I'm a Confection Chef! I work with sugar, chocolate and butter every day!! I gained more weight than ever in my first semester of baking school and it helped me to realize I had to take charge of my weight or it would get the better of me! I don't want to spend the rest of my life uncomfortable and overweight! So at the beginning of this year my Dr. was finally able to get my thyroid medication right and I decided that this would be a good time to get into shape and this year I made a commitment to make it happen. I've lost about 10 to 15 lbs so far and though I was exercising more I still wasn't getting enough exercise in. It was about this time that Joanna, Katie and I decided to commit to getting in shape by the holidays and to support each other in our efforts. As soon as we decided to make it happen this opportunity came along, the timing couldn't have been better! I'm a little nervous about how I'm going to feel the first week because I've never really been in shape before, but for the most part I'm just really excited that I'm going to to finally get to be one of those "fit" people! I will be so proud of myself and I'm going to start living life feeling good!!

Right Place, Right Time...

Ahh, the crazy things life throws your way sometimes, pots of gold at the end of rainbows, riding on unicorns among the stars, and getting chosen for any type of reality TV. Wait, What? This is probably the category of "likeliness" I would put getting chosen to be one of the cheesy testimonials on an infomercial. Every time I have ever seen any type of reality TV (including infomercials) I have thought, "how do these people even find out about this?" I guess it's just being at the right place at the right time and this time that was us! (well Joanna was at the right place! because, unlike me, she wasn't being lazy and got her booty to the gym that day! Thank you JoRuss!) So now all of you lucky readers get to come along on our adventure into infomercial stardom!! Or really just laugh with us as we go through the trials of weight loss guinea pigs!! I'm excited!!- I say that now, just wait until I'm so sore I can't stand and I'm up to my ears in spinach!! We'll see what I feel then, stay tuned to find out!!

What's it gonna take?

Something I've learned and forgotten and relearned about myself many times is that I need a very specific and tangible goal to accomplish anything at all. I need milestones and measurements of success to motivate me to action. Graduating college, going to massage school, each summer at camp, etc etc all have an end in sight, a moment that signifies successful completion. (I realize that this may be why I find it nearly impossible to choose a career that would keep me satisfied and motivated for more than a year let alone decades.)

This has also been true in my life of fitness and weight loss. The best shape I have ever been in was about 7 years ago when I was training for my blackbelt (obvious motivator.) The years before and after that, however, and pretty much for my entire adult life I have been maintaining my weight at a level that, though nothing to be ashamed of, is a constant reminder of just how lazy and unmotivated I can be. I know what it takes to lose those last 10 pounds. I have not plateaued and been frustrated by a lack of results. I just haven't done it. Yes I work out and yes I try to eat healthy but to really achieve those results I covet I need something big. I need another black belt, so to speak.

So what's it gonna take? I didn't see it coming, but apparently the motivation this time is going to come in the form of an infomercial. The strong desire not to disappoint Mindy Mylrea, a looming deadline (Oct. 6th) for the "after" shot, and the group effort with Katie and Rachel will hopefully whip my ass into shape over the next month. I don't doubt that I will be able to accomplish what she asks, because I have no problem chasing that carrot (though I imagine I will be sick of carrots by the end) when the finish line is in sight. At least I hope I have it in me. And then when I reach that milestone I can find the motivation to create a new one to achieve, whether it be success in fitness or just in life.

And if nothing else, watching Katie's head explode with excitement when she is finally in an infomercial will make this all worth it.