This has to be a lifestyle change.

This HAS to be a lifestyle change. It has to be. There is no other choice if I want to lose weight and keep it off. When someone asks if I want to go grab a bite to eat, I have to say no. I can't do drive-thrus anymore. They have killed my progress entirely.

I was down to 193.6. Was. Then I went on a two day splurge and gained most of the weight back. I'm back up over 200. How did that happen!? It's so depressing. Which makes me want to eat. Which, right now, be proud, I'm not doing.

Bah!

Anyway, I went and joined a different gym this past weekend. Why? They offer classes and childcare! My plan is to go at least 5 days/week this month. I'd like to go 6/week, but we'll see.

Yesterday I did a class called Body Pump. It was my first class there, and can I ask, WHY didn't someone slap me?! I'm so out of shape it isn't even funny, and I went and did a fool thing like take a class called Body Pump?!?! I have a severe case of jelly legs!

Today, in an effort to stretch out my poor muscles, I took my first ever Yoga class. Wow! I loved it. Can't wait to try it when I'm not sore and tired! Should be great. Tomorrow...well, I was planning on taking a Zumba class tomorrow morning, but depending on how I feel, that may not be able to happen. Dancing around on these sore legs would not be fun.

So, here's to you. And my lunch, whenever it comes. Cheers!

Liz

A healthy food rant.

Today would have been Day 4 sans caffeine, however, this morning I decided to start taking the Green Tea capsules again. I started eating a lot more once I quit taking them. Whether its because I wasn't taking them, or the fact that I'm a little stressed out, I don't know. But either way, I decided to start again.

Still not going to drink any caffeine though. No soda OR sweet tea! Its hard, but I know it'll be worth it!

Yesterday I went grocery shopping and, not for the first time, realized how dang expensive it is to eat healthy! I tell you, I am positively torn! Between buying good, healthy foods and snacks and saving money! Normally, I spend approx. $90 on groceries for 2 weeks. I thought there would be a drastic difference this pay day, since my hubby is in training and won't be home at all. I was sure that I'd have like, a $40 grocery bill. WRONG! Now, I didn't spend too much, only $70- something, but still!

I mean, I didn't buy any junk food! None! I bought avocados (a dollar a piece!), melon, lots of fruit, some good juice, and some almonds, for snacks. It's so much cheaper to just buy a bag of chips, or some crackers!

Anyway...so that was my little rant. Hopefully I'll start losing weight again, with taking the capsules. Here's hoping.

Liz

A decision

I wrote last week about how I had gone to the doctor and the verdict was super high BP and a fast heart rate (106). I know this is very likely caused by the fact that I'm overweight. Well, I've been paying attention to my body this week, and they are right about the heart rate thing all right.

Sometimes I'll just be sitting still, or laying in bed, and I can feel my heart rate accelerate. Not good. As I was laying in bed last night I came to the conclusion that I need to get off of caffeine. Seriously.

Now, I'm not a caffeine addict. I promise. In fact, I don't drink coffee, I rarely drink tea when it isn't freezing outside, and I have whittled myself off of soda almost completely. However, there are some times, no matter what I try, that I just find myself needing a soda. A Mt Dew. Dr Pepper. My old friends...Yesterday was one of those days.

Anyway, I was laying in bed last night, and could feel my heart rate/pulse speed up and down, up and down...(its really, really quite scary...) and I decided that I'm done. Ix-nay on the affine-cay. No joke.

Now..one thing that this effects? My green tea pills. They do have some caffeine in them. So I'm going to have a trial period of say...a week, where I don't take the pills and see how I do weight-wise. Hopefully I won't backslide and start snacking and eating like a friggin' pig.

And hopefully my trip to the Doc today give me some insight, if you will, on what to do. Hopefully they'll give me some medication to help lower my blood pressure. Hopefully I won't have to sit at the pharmacy for too long.

I'm feeling very hopeful today.

I'll update later.

Liz

An update

A good bit has happened since I posted last. For starters, I've been on the receiving end of really, really awful headaches for upwards of nine months now. Well, I finally decided that, as I get sometimes 5-6 headaches a week, it was time to go to the doctor. They took me in, and told me that I have high blood pressure. Like, bad. 150/81 bad. And my heart rate is really high as well.

So they put me on a water pill for a week, took some blood, and we'll see what happens. I go back this week to see if I need to go on an actual blood pressure medication. They think it may be the cause of my migraines. If its not...well then we see what happens next.

On a weight note...I'm down to 195! YAY! I've told so many people about this green tea stuff its not even funny. I love it. :)
(also, my blood pressure could very, very likely be high because of my weight...)
Anyway, time to go. Have a house to clean. Have a good one

Liz

A Correction, and a Verdict.

Ok, so I know I just posted, but I was thinking about what I said, and wanted to throw something else out there.

Green tea? Yes, it works. However, I firmly believe that I'm not losing weight ONLY because of the capsules. I've changed my diet pretty drastically. Snacking? Nope. My 'snack' during the day is sometimes a hard-boiled egg. But I'm usually not snacking at all.

Sometimes I have popcorn at night, while watching a movie or reading a book, but that's it. No more cheez-its *insert sob*, no ice cream, no candy, no soda...its hard, but worth it. After all...Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels! :)

BTW...verdict on the Cabbage Fat Burning Soup? Its actually really, really, really good! If you like veggies, I'd definitely recommend giving this a try!!!

Liz

A loss, and Cabbage Soup.

Down again, woot! (Thank you, green tea!)

I'm down to 198! *YES!* -insert little happy dance-

Ok, so yep. I'm still losing weight! Which is awesome...anyways. Cabbage Soup.

I found this recipe online, on my very favorite cooking website, http://www.allrecipes.com/. It has a recipe for everything. I use it almost daily. Anyways, I was browsing...something. I don't even remember what anymore, when I came across a recipe called Cabbage Fat Burning Soup. Naturally, I had to look at it.

Basically, its a veggie soup, with tons of different vegetables in it, with a tomato base. It actually sounded pretty good (to a veggie lover like me...my hubby is a different matter entirely). So I scrolled down and read some reviews. One lady said she had been making this for her boyfriend for 3 months, and he only eats it once a day, having a small breakfast of whatever he wants, and a small sandwich for lunch, with this soup for dinner, and he had lost over 50 lbs!

Another woman said that she checked with a local hospital, and they confirmed that this is what they feed overweight patients who need to lose weight prior to a surgery.

Worth a try, if you ask me!

Its nothing to make, not really...and it does smell good! I figure that, even if I only eat one bowl a day...at only 90 calories/serving, that's pretty good!

I'll include the recipe, just in case there are any other freaky, veggie soup- lovers out there!

-5 carrots, chopped

-3 onions, chopped

-2 (16 oz) cans whole, peeled tomatoes

-1 lg head cabbage, chopped

-1 pkg dry onion soup mix

-1 (15 oz) can cut green beans (I omitted these...hubby won't even think about trying it if there are green beans...)

-2 qts tomato juice

-2 green bell peppers, diced

-10 stalks celery, chopped

-1 (14 oz) can beef broth

Place vegetables in stock pot. Add beef broth, tomato juice, and enough water to cover the vegetables. Simmer until vegetables are tender. May be stored in refrigerator for several days.

See? Easy Peasy. :)

I'll let you know how it tastes!

Liz

Down to...

Down to 200! Woot!

I know I was much lighter a while ago...but vacations make it really hard to keep your weight down! (So does stress...)

Thats all for now!

Liz

A cheat day...

I'm just gonna come right out and say it, first thing. Yesterday was a major cheat day. And I mean major. I ate french fries (twice!) some reeses (boy were they good...) and went out to lunch with a friend at Panera...oh. And had beer. Yep. Cheat day.

But do I feel bad? Nah. Not really. I mean...I am at the point where I feel like it sort of makes you feel worse, if you feel bad about it. It happened. I can't un-eat the food, so...why feel too bad about it? Right?

Besides, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I've been doing really, really good lately. This green tea stuff has really been working well for me, better than anything else so far. And, feeling good about how well it works helps me to eat better. I haven't really wanted any junk. And I definitely haven't been overeating.

The result? I have lost several inches! Not a whole lot of poundage, but hey. Inches are more important to me right now! I'd say I've lost 5 or 6 lbs and maybe like, 4 inches in the middle! (Also lost some in the thighs, and I'd say the arms as well!) WOO! So, yeah. I haven't wanted to cheat. I'm looking better, and so, feeling better!

Now, a sad note (partially, at least). Looks like I'll be going kinda alone from here on out. At least for a while...why? Because my counterpart, aka wife, aka Tina...is pregnant! (Yeah...not my baby though. LOL) And while I hope she still posts...she really shouldn't diet right now, don't ya think? :) Looove ya T! And Congrats...

Happy 4th

So...here we are in July, and...although I may earn some eye rolls, sighs, and whatever else, I'm going to say that I found something else to try! :)

Green Tea! In tablets! They are great! You take two capsules in the morning, with food and water, then one or two in the afternoon. They don't work as drastically as the Lipodrene, but they aren't as expensive either.

To me, I like these better than the Lipodrene, because they are waaaay more natural. And they do work.

Anyway, just a quick update...It's the 4th of July! Time to BBQ!

Liz

An update and a little teeny rant...ish

About 4 weeks ago, my computer broke. The keypad wouldn't work, so, no blog. Well, no lot of things, really, but, for the intent and purpose of this post, no blog. Then, I went out of town for two weeks, so no blog. Not that I'm making excuses or anything...

Anyway, I'm home, computer is somewhat fixed, and so I'm back, and bigger than ever! Literally. Well, not literally, literally....but I certainally haven't lost any weight.

A bit of good news is that I've found a running buddy! Woo! Bad news? She can't run for about 4 more weeks, as she is recovering from a C-Section...but thats ok. We'll both have to take it slow.
I know, I could start running now, with the hubby, but...Does anyone else find it incredibly hard to do things like that with their spouse, or s/o? I mean...he doesn't discourage me or anything like that, but...there is absolutely no room for leeway with him! Before he came home, in October, I had lost, probably about 10-15 lbs on my own, just by dieting. Then he came back, and BAM, it all came right back, and then some.

Now, trying to diet with him home, I am seeing the same thing. We both want to lose weight, we both need to, but for some reason, its so hard for me to do it when he's around! (That sounds really bad...I don't really want him to leave or anything like that, its just....GAH!)

Anyway, I am definitely going to be more faithful about posting here, and try to be more faithful to my dieting!

Cheers,

Liz

It is now May....

And I have been...terrible about everything :-(

I wasn't keeping in touch with Liz, I wasn't up to doing anything at all ....and knowing all that makes me really sad. The only excuse is....REAL LIFE.


My real life got the best of me, and for that I am so sorry for letting Liz down, and for letting you guys down as well.


But........a huge update is that you should never weigh yourself on your period. Apparently it's because of all the water retention and whatnot, and all the extra eating you do because of your period that you weigh more. You should always you know strive to not eat that ice cream, but sometimes it's all you can do when you have your "monthly gift."

Other than that, my husband and I bought an exercise bike. We did it to better our health. I used it for the first time last night. Not bad actually.

What I did was the equivalent to running a mile and half in 14 minutes about. I think I did pretty good :-) As long as you keep your heart rate up for 30 mins or more....you should be good to go.

I plan on doing this bike every night (yeah yeah I say it now but I will never do it). But seriously...why pay for a piece of equipment that you will never use? My husband has already used it twice, and I plan on using it once a day. Maybe if we get a TV to put above the bike I will be able to watch my shows and bike at the same time :-)

But yes, last night I biked for about 3 miles it says. I burned 114 calories. And with my weight as it is, that was the equivalent to running a mile and a half in 14:11 or so :-) I hate running, so biking can be my new alternative.



I hope to continue this, and I hope that Liz also continues to post too. Like we said earlier, you will hear about our failures, us reaching our limits and how our real lives can affect us. I just didn't realize that it had been so long since I had posted :-(

A week has gone by...

And I will be weighing myself in a few hours. This week has been terrible actually :-(

Dealing with family drama as well as my sick children. It has been sucking :-(

The only exercise I do is when I can do a bit of running or dancing really....so I really need to get back in gear about it. All I have to say is that my counterpart is doing a much better job of losing weight than I am. Although I am all about portion control nowadays, and I'm eating less so I hope that I have lost some weight :-)

Other than that I will keep you all posted soon

Tina

Down some lbs!

Woo! I weighed myself today and I was 197.8! Yahoo!

I'm telling ya, so far I am LOVING this Lipodrene stuff. Just in case anyone was wondering, I bought it at my local health food store:)

It is still definitely suppressing my appetite, I have not snacked in days (which, if you knew me you would know what a miracle that is!) and when I do eat, my meals are but a portion of what they used to be!

And I still have oodles of energy, which is also not a normal thing for me. I got my husband taking it as well, and its also cutting his appetite down, which is good.

I'll keep you posted!

Liz

I have been lax....

And then some. I will update you from Thursday until today.

Thursday: I did a Pilates work out, and I did a Dance Off work out. Man Pilates kicked my behind. I really should have stretched out my hamstrings more, and I know I said this in my last post, but I really could have used that stretch. My thighs were killing me all day. The Dance Off was okay, but I found out that I am so not a dance person. I feel stupid dancing, and I didn't feel as if my abs got a work out, but my heart was pumping and I was sweating a little, so I guess it's a good thing right? I also went to the commissary and got Special K protein shakes. I drank one yesterday after lunch, but I was still hungry afterwards, so I had some bread (I know...I'm terrible). But, the good thing, was that a couple of hours after I had the shake, I didn't feel like eating, so maybe it only works before you start to get hungry? Maybe I should have read up on that....haha. So we will see how that goes.

Friday: I was summoned by my grandmother to go to her house. So, early in the morning instead of working out, I went to my grandmother's house. I didn't even work out at night. Terrible!! But I promise to make it up over the week though. Not only because I owe it to myself, but I owe it to Liz..haha :-).

Saturday: I did not do anything at all. My son has been sick for awhile, he's been fighting a fever, and he just wants to scream really, for the sake of screaming :-(. Dealing with him screaming at night, and during the day really sucks. I hate feeling all sluggish in the mornings :-(


Today: I haven't done anything today, but that doesn't mean that I won't. If I do something, I will update you all. :-)


Liz was talking about failures, and I feel as if I did fail a little. But, that doesn't mean that I'm way off goal here. At least I started something, which is a lot better than what I was doing before....which was nothing. So here's to a better week for everybody!

Plan B: day two.

So. Lipodrene. I like it!

I said I'd post about the effects, and the supposed effects of it, so here goes.

Energy: Hell yes. I had so much energy yesterday that I scrubbed the kitchen floor on my hands and knees. Had it not been pouring rain almost all day, I would have gone out running, I am convinced. And, did you know me, you would know just what that means. I hate to run.

Appetite suppressant: Yep. I took one pill in the morning, after I woke up, and then one again after lunch. I didn't even really want to eat lunch! All I ate yesterday was some string cheese, and some chips and guacamole. I really wasn't hungry. This is also a good thing for me, because I am a snacker. Yesterday I didn't get the munchies or anything. It was great!

Weight: I know its really too soon to tell, because I've only taken the pill 3 times now, but I'm hopeful!

Now, it does make you a little nauseas, but I read all about that before I started taking it. But once you get a little food in you, it goes away. And water. Drink water.

So...yeah! I think I like Plan B way better than Plan A! I'll keep you posted!

Liz

Plan B

OK...so, I made it a total of about 36 hours with no food, and only Lemonade before the first cheat. Then I went the whole next day, til before bed. Then I just said screw it! I don't have the will power to not eat. At least right now.

The thing, though...I would LOVE to do a cleanse. A detox. I mean, I know my body has tons and tons of toxins in it that need to come out. But, I think my problem was doing a cleanse for the sole purpose of losing weight. Once I decide to just do a cleanse FOR a cleanse, I may have better luck. Maybe.

So, yesterday afternoon (right on the buzzer too...we got there 2 minutes before closing) I went back to the health food store. This time, I bought a bottle of Lipodrene. One tablet in the morning, and one after lunch. Its doable.

Lipodrene is an appetite suppressor. Which is good. Portion control has always been a big issue with me, and more than likely, this will help. Lipodrene is also a stimulant, and will give me more energy, hence burning more fat. Plus, I can eat. :)

By the way, I'm not beating myself up about the Lemonade thing. Really. I made up my mind when I started that if I couldn't do it, I couldn't do it. That is a lot to ask of your body, and my body isn't quite ready for that just yet. However, I DO think its a good thing! And I will definitely try it again one of these days. Like I said...a cleanse is a very good thing!

I'll keep posting about changes in appetite, weight, and energy! Have a good one!'

Liz

First Cheat! noooooo!!!

I'll admit it. I cheated. According to my count, I made it approximately...31 hours without eating, and only having my Lemonade. BOO! I was so hoping I'd be able to make it longer! (on the up side...31 hours with no food is a freaking long time!)

I had a friend over all afternoon/evening, and the plan was to teach her how to make cookies...which I did. But that's not where I cheated. No...my cheat was the oven pizza I popped in the over so I could feed my guest. Cookies, thou holdest no sway. But thou, pizza...*sigh*.

Frack!

Oh well. Tomorrow is a new day, and a new start. You know, no. It's not a new start. Tonight was just a little...blip in the signal. I'm still good. I'm on track. I didn't chow down. I ate two pieces. I don't have to feel guilty that I was hungry, or that I acted on it. Now, if it happens more frequently...go ahead and take me to task about it, ok T? :)

Liz

Exercise Routines

What I love about blogging, is that you can make a post and come back to it later. It is now Friday, and I am just now getting to writing this post...so here is my post for Wednesday (done on Friday).

I was browsing the Internet for exercise routines, and I found a website called Spark People. It has a ton of links, exercises, and most importantly PEOPLE to help you with your own weight loss. Liz and I don't live in the same town. Hell, we don't even live in the same state, but here we are with one thing in mind, and that is to lose weight and get fit. You can meet other people on this site with the same mind set as you do. You can blog about it, and have a calorie tracker, as well as set up your own routine that you can do in your spare time.

This site also has videos of exercises you can do. I was surprised that they did all of this for FREE. That's right, joining up on spark people is free. If you do join, look me up. My name is THENGUYENCLAN :-). Watching the videos and pictures of the fitness gurus doing these killer exercises actually led me to the idea of starting Pilates (again). Before I got pregnant with my first child, I did a little Pilates, where I really targeted my problem area: my abs! Now that I've had three kids, my stomach is all sorts of messed up; with flab everywhere, and it's just gross looking. So, while I was looking at all the exercises that don't require dumbbells (because I don't have a set yet), I was like....hhhmm...I need to tone up too, so Pilates Abs Workout seemed like the best thing.

But anyways, this posting was all about exercises routines, and I just wanted to share with you all a site that I thought would be beneficial.

Happy exercising!

Lemonade 2.0

So I guess its my turn now...My name is Liz, and, like Tina, I am a bookaholic...and I am a FOODIE! I am, I am. Just about anything to do with food, I love it. Cooking, eating, reading about it...its an addiction!

Right now, I weight more than I ever did in my life, with the exception of pregnancy. For many moons now, I've been wanting to change that! And I feel like I've tried, and tried, and tried so many different things, with little to no luck. So, yesterday I thought I'd try something new.

The Lemonade Diet is more of a cleanse/fast than a diet...although, I suppose a fast IS a diet...anyway. For 7-10 days, one does not eat. You drink at least 10 cups of this 'lemonade' everyday, with water in between glasses. Its a mixture of water, lemon juice, maple syrup and a dash of cayenne pepper. Easy enough, right?

Well, I was expecting it to taste really, really foul, you know? I mean...lemon juice with syrup??? EW! I was pleasantly surprised however...its really not that bad at all! Will I be able to keep it up for at least 5 more days? No clue. Will the hunger get so bad that I just want to give up? Probably. But I'm gonna try this, and try to keep it up til the end!

Maybe ridding my body of harmful toxins is just what I need to give me that kick into more weight loss!

I'm hoping that this blog (and Tina!) will keep me going. That, since I will have to document my failures for Tina, and possibly the rest of the world to see, that I won't give up. Hopefully it'll work.

BTW...THANKS Tina, for posting your weight...now I have to! BOO! (Still love you!) Right now, I am a whopping...(ya ready?) 201 lbs. EW! My end goal is that I'd like to lose 40 lbs. However, I know that setting myself up for that right now is too much. So, for now, I'd like to lose 15-20 lbs. Hopefully this will keep me on track!

Cheers!

Liz

Wii Fit

Alright you people....this is my first entry. My name is Tina, and I'm a bookaholic, and I love to eat. I also hate to exercise, but I'm pretty sure the reason why I'm so fat is because I need to get my heart pumping. My goal is to lose 15 pounds. I know that number is very do-able, and let's say I get to that goal by December. See? I already have a goal. Now, I am going to tell you my weight.....don't freak out.....177. Ack! Man I weigh a lot. But that's okay, because this is the start of a brand new me.

Now how am I going to lose this 15 pounds you say? I am going to start using the Wii Fit Plus that my husband got for me about a year ago. When we first bought it, I was pregnant at the time so I let it collect dust in our basement. Now that I'm not pregnant, I have a relaxation hour in the morning (sometimes), I will be able to exercise to get a mini workout in the morning and do a little more before I go to bed too. Let's see how out of shape I am.

I am going to start a routine right now, so I will update later :-) . Wish me luck! I hope I don't die ^_^

1 hour later....

Okay so I finished my workout, and my legs are a little wobbly. I probably should have stretched before I did anything. Well, at least I know better! :-)

I gained 12 pounds since the last time I played, so I know that I can lose the 12 pounds (in a healthier way that is). My first routine wasn't so bad. I just need to learn portion control and drink more water, and I will be good to go. I do plan on doing other things besides the Wii Fit. I am going to try to add a little more exercise routines at the end of the day too. Let's try for crunches tonight. I am going to try to do 50 extra crunches before I go to sleep.

This is just the beginning of our journey. I hope that Liz and I will be able to continue this blog, and I hope that we can post some new weight numbers soon ^_^

Tina

The Journey begins today!

This blog is our Journey! Where we will share our (hopefully!) weight loss and fitness triumphs! There are two of us at the moment, me (Liz) and my df Tina! We'll be using this as a diet/fitness journal, for encouragement, for accountability!

We'll be sharing with you our triumphs (I just know we'll have 'em!) and our failures (can't have one without the other) and anything else that we feel the need to post! Hopefully you will enjoy our little project!

Cheers!

Liz