Hooray for November!

November. Its November. Oh how I am ready for this.

It seems that I have not been as attentive within the past couple months as I should have been. Looking back at my posts proves that. I haven’t been working out, haven’t fully committed myself to eating healthy, and my weight loss has suffered from that. I have been in the mid 180’s for wayyyy too long. And to be completely honest, I’m ready for it to be over.

So here is to a new month. A new beginning. It is a time to restart and reevaluate. That is what I am going to do today after I get out of work. I am going to go to the gym. And then maybe to Barnes and Noble, and then I am going to sit down and really evaluate what I am going to do to lose this weight. Obviously it hasn’t been losing itself. I need to do something, and I will do something.

I have been thinking about using the app GymPact. It is probably one of the most interesting apps I have come across. You make a pact to go to the gym a certain amount of days each week. When you don’t keep your pact and you fall short of your goal you get charged the amount that you chose at the set up of the app. (It starts at $5 and goes up by 5 dollar increments). But the upside is each week that you keep your pact you get paid by the people who didn’t keep their pact! This is absolutely brilliant! Who knew you could get a monetary reward for going to the gym!

I think that once I sit down and get a set eating/workout plan down I will be seeing results! They have to come eventually right?

❤

P.S. I will post my updated plan sometime this weekend so that you all know what my plans are!

Weigh-In Wednesday!

Hello all!

Today is the wonderful weigh-in wednesday. And although I don’t have a great loss to report, it is a loss. I weighed in at 184.2 this morning, which is down .4. Almost half a pound. Not yet a pound, but a half. Its days like this I need to look at those pictures of the gelatinous 1 lb and realize that I did in fact lose that. And probably gained some muscle as well.

It just seems like I am in such a rut. I feel like nothing I am doing is working. Even with this challenge this week I still didn’t really do all that well.

I think I need to go back to my strict calorie counting. I had steered away from that in the hopes that I would be able to control myself, and I know I haven’t gone super crazy, but tracking my calories in a tracker sure is an eye opener.

Then you really look at everything in a whole new light. Now I actually have to be conscious about that creamer I put in my coffee, and if I put cheese in something that would otherwise be super healthy. If I am going to continue to lose weight at a pace more then a snail then I need to step up to the plate. I need to pour my heart into this. I want to be healthy, and there are so many reasons to be so.

I also want to comment that this morning I was absolutely heartbroken by my lack of a large number weight loss on the scale. I debated several times today if I even wanted to make this post as I feel like I am a broken record these past couple of weeks. Then I saw a post that TrulyJess made. And my thinking shifted. She decided that her plan wasn’t working, and that she needed to re-evaluate. And I feel that I need to do the same. It validated my conviction to do so.

This is my weight loss. This is my journey. I need to do it my way and what works for me. I need to be healthy and fit. I will do this. I will get there.

Now to spend the rest of the night devising this wonderful re-work of my plan.

❤

Personal Challenge Update

Hey guys,

Its day 4 of my 7 day challenge and I am doing great. I have worked out everyday so far and have been eating really really well. I am feeling so much better and stronger. Its so crazy to me how different you can really feel.

Yesterday I think I killed it a little too hard in the gym. My legs are hating me this morning. It felt really good though. I have been going late at night to avoid the chance that someone else might be in the gym. My apartment complex has a super small gym, and I feel really uncomfortable when there are other people. But the awesome part about our gym is we also have raquetball coutrs. Not that I play raquetball but I can do drills that I remember from playing sports to mix up the workouts a little.

Overall I am feeling much better about my weight loss this week. Im hoping to put up a good number. Even a pound loss would be ok with me at this point. At least it would be progress. I will get out of these dreaded 180’s by the end of this month. I am determined!

I hope you all are having a fantastic week. I know I am. Look out for my weigh-in wednesday post coming up. Hopefully its a good one. ❤

I know that my desire to change is much much greater then ever wanting to be this way again. Lets do this. I have faith in myself.

7 Days: Gym and Clean Eating

I have decided that due to my lack of losses in the past couple of weigh-ins that I am going to be doing a personal challenge. I have decided that I am going to eat clean and workout everyday for an entire week. No eating out. No excuses. One full week of eating clean whole foods, and a whole week of kicking my own but at the gym. I need to kick start this weight loss and get out of the dreaded 180’s and I feel like this is what can do it.

I am tired of making excuses and I am tired of not losing. I will put up a big loss these next two weeks. I am determined.

Like I have said in some of my most recent blog posts, I haven’t been working out. And I feel like I have talked about it, but I haven’t really come to terms with it. I keep saying, “well I didn’t lose this week, and I know why. I didn’t work out.” But all I keep doing is saying it. I don’t go out the next week and kill it at the gym. I keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result. The exact definition of insanity. Oh boy!

So, I need to do this. I need to do something drastic to kick start this weight loss. Not drastic as in a crash diet, but drastic in that it is completely different then what I am doing, and it is the healthy way.

I get frustrated at people when talking about weight loss because I know how to do it. Not in the sense that I have done it, but in that I have been overweight for all of my adult life (most of my entire life actually) and I know what will work and what wont. But for some reason I choose to ignore the simple truths about weight loss that I know, and because of that I remain the weight I am.

I am going to do this. I have spent years educating myself about weight loss because it was easier to educate myself then it is to actually do it. But I am not going to just choose easy anymore. I am going to choose what is best for me. Best for my health. Best for my family. And that is to lose these unwelcome excess pounds. It’s going to happen. Watch me.

❤

Weigh-In Wednesday!

Hey guys,

Boy has it been a while since one of these. Like I have said if you have read some of my most recent posts, life really got in the way for me and this weight loss journey, but im not going to let that define me! I am going to continue to strive to be the best me that I can be. So without any more babbling…..

My weight this week was 185.8!

I don’t think you guys can even understand how happy I am for this loss. After all that has been going on I really was super worried that I would be gaining weight. With starting my new anxiety medicine I had a very good chance of gaining some weight. I seem to be unaffected by it though. Which feels AMAZING!

So lets set some goals for this coming week’s weight loss shall we?

I would really like to be down at 183 by next week. Not necessarily at exactly 183.0 but I would def take that if that was the case. Lets shoot for 183.8. That would be a total loss of 2 lbs which I think is realistic enough to be obtainable if I try hard enough.

So lets do this guys!

I also wanted to mention that my beloved sister-in-law has started a blog on here for all you lovely readers! Go check her out! She has an amazing plan that is listed and she is just starting out. I want her to see what a lovely weight loss community we have here! =]

Her site is carlaweightlossjourney.wordpress.com

Hope you all are having a wonderful week! I know I sure am! ❤

Let food be thy medicine.

Hey guys!

YAY, a second blog for the week! =] Today I wanted to talk about how critical eating properly is.

Many people have this distorted view of weight loss that they need to go kill themselves in the gym 3 hours a day 7 days a week. Yes, that will give you results. It will also make you terribly miserable.

Most people who have this philosophy eat whatever they want. They dont really watch their calories or what they are putting in their bodies. If you were eating potato chips then yes, you probably could go work out for 3 hours and work them off, but in the end you will be no healthier for it.

SO I pose this to all of you today. What you consume is the single-most important thing on your weight loss journey. I repeat MOST IMPORTANT THING! 

You can eat healthy and kill youself in the gym. And yes, you will probably see wonderful results. But the downside to that is 1) Eventually you will burn out or injure yourself and 2) You may not be able to maintain after getting to goal without continuing to work out so hard.

I say light to moderate exercise and good eating. You will feel happier, healthier, and you will be able to maintain at the end of this journey. Remember its all about lifestyle.

Hope you all are having a wonderful start to your week and look for my weigh-in wednesday post tomorrow!

❤

And sometimes….life gets in the way.

Hey all,

I know I know I know. Ive been MIA for the past couple of weeks. But with good reason I promise.

I found out I got a new job. Which would have been stressful enough, except I also found out that the house I was living in had been rented and that I needed to find somewhere to go. I found out on friday morning. I moved monday.

I also just started classes for the semester. I am now I junior in college and this is really when the classes start to get hard. You know that first day when you get a syllabus and you get let out early because all you were going over was classroom procedures and what to expect? Yeah that doesn’t happen anymore. You jump right into it and it is scary.

SO I feel it is obvious that I had been extremely busy and not really completely focused on my weight loss. Now that doesnt mean that I totally fell off the bandwagon and gained a ton of weight back. Actually I have managed to maintain the loss that I had. So I am still floating around 185. Which I am totally ok with given the circumstances.

I could have chose to have a cookie everyday with how stressed I was. I could have indulged and binged which is what I used to do. But instead I stuck to my eating plan and in that, I feel victorious.

I think this proves that I am different. Not only have I lost weight but I have sucessfully changed my thinking. I knew I was stressed. I channeled it rather than letting it get out of hand.

Life gets in the way. It happens. Your on a perfect road and then life hits you. But you have to roll with the punches. And which way you roll can determine your fate.

Hope you all are all having a great week.

See you soon! ❤

New Salad Recipes!

Hey guys!

Today I have some wonderful salad recipes for you! In this upcoming weeks #CHANGE video you can watch the clip that I made of all of these salads because I brought them to work. One for lunch with some almonds and the other with a banana. I hope that you enjoy and let me know what you think!

The first on is called Guacamole Salad! It is a play on Natalia Rose’s recipe from The Raw Food Detox Diet. I used to own this book but last summer my mom went through all of the books in the house and that one went into the donation box! :O It is one of my favorite go to salads because you don’t need to add any salad dressing! You just assemble it upside down and then toss together. It is to die for!

Guacamole Salad

2-4 Cups Romaine Lettuce (or the like)

1 slicing tomato

1/4 avocado

2 cloves garlic

Juice of 1/2 lemon

handful of cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

To assemble salad:

Place cubed tomato and avocado in bottom of bowl. Add lemon juice, minced garlic, cilantro and salt and pepper. Stir gently. Add lettuce. Toss until lettuce is fully coated with vegetables and “dressing”.

Im telling you guys, easiest, yummiest salad ever! I always make sure to eat some almonds or some other protein with this meal in order to really pack that protein punch!

Second is the Spinach Powerhouse Salad. I love this one because it just makes you feel healthier after you eat it! This can be my go-to if I had a cheat item that day and my body needs some healthy fuel! I usually top it with a simple homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

Spinach Powerhouse Salad

2-4 Cups Baby Spinach (depending on how hungry you are

3 oz pre-cooked chicken breast, sliced

1 Tbs slivered or sliced almonds

1 tbs Dried Cranberries

1 tsp Parmesan Cheese.

Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette 

2 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Dash of Black pepper

Dash of Italian Seasoning

To assemble:

Layer ingredients in the order they are listed. When ready to eat top with homemade vinaigrette and enjoy!

I hope that you all enjoyed these recipes. What kind of salads do you guys like to eat? Do you make your own salad dressings or do you have a favorite store bought one?

Happy Thursday! ❤

Weigh-In Wednesday #2

Hey guys!

Today was weigh in wednesday #2.

I guess I was hoping for much better results. I didn’t lose anything this week but I didn’t gain anything either. I think a lot of this has to do with some things that are out of my control. Nonetheless.

I wanted to talk a bit about my previous post about the fork in the road. This is the epitome of that for me. This is the moment in all of my previous weight loss that I have given up. The moment that I stop seeing results like maintaining my weight is the moment that I give up. If I just continued on then things could be different.

With that said I AM NOT going to give up this time! I am worth it! I know I am. I believe it and I see the potential within myself. Just because I may not have lost weight this week doesn’t mean Im not going to lose any next week. So its back to the grind for me.

I hope that you all are having a wonderful week so far!

What is something that seems to always discourage you on this journey?

❤

Wanna see me talk about this weeks maintain? youtube.com/losingwithcooper

Exercise Makes ALL the Difference!

Hey all,

Hope you are having a wonderful start to the week! I know i am. I wanted to speak to something that I have struggled with in the past, but am finding to be so important in my weight loss journey: Exercise!

So I know what your thinking…sounds really silly on a weight loss blog. Hear me out though. I have always been someone who could see results without the help of actual “workouts.” And I’m sure that I could happily have continued at that pace if I wanted to. And that is precisely the point. I didn’t want to!

This month for the #CHANGE movement I set one of my goals to work out at least 4 times a week. Well Im happy to report that today would be 4 workouts already, and I sure am not going to stop here! I think that the reason that I always hated doing regimented workouts was because after the first day I felt so sore that I couldn’t do another workout. Well this week was the same as all the others.

The same except for the fact that I didn’t give up. Yes, on Sunday I was terribly tired because I had ran on Saturday, not to mention that my body hated me, but I wasn’t going to give up! And I didn’t and am still going strong.

I feel like I’m going to be able to put up a good number this week too! Working out makes me feel lighter, and I am really hoping that it will reflect in the scale tomorrow morning!

See you all tomorrow for “Weigh-in Wednesday”

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