My Last Day and Other Musings

Tomorrow is my last day at work...okay, not really. But, it is my last day working half of the week at Juvenile and half of the week at Adult Probation, something I've been doing since May. I'm pretty pumped about it; working two jobs, having two offices, working two case loads, etc. has been pretty tiring. I actually didn't mind doing something different for awhile, but being back full-time at my "real job" will be nice.

I'm still going pretty strong on the healthy living thing, although it has been a bit harder the last few days to avoid wanting to snack. It might be because I might not be eating enough calories anymore since my metabolism has probably sped up some due to exercise. I'll probably start eating larger meals to see if that helps reduce my cravings and increase my energy level. It's been a bit of an effort to get my cardio done lately too. I really don't want to burn myself out so I'm going to try not to stress too much about it if I miss a day or two here and there.

I have a busy weekend ahead. Saturday is Woofstock, which I want to take Bailey to. It's always fun to see all the dogs. I wish Bailey was better behaved on a leash, but that's my fault for never really training her correctly. I need the Dog Whisperer! She just pulls constantly, even with a head harness.

I also have a funeral on Saturday. My mom's co-worker's step-dad passed away on Sunday. I've known Nikki for a long time and actually had her step-dad as my biology professor in college. She was very close to Dr. Fox and is taking his death pretty hard.

After the funeral, Andrew and I will likely be going to sign a lease for Andrew's APARTMENT! He says he's finally going to move out of his mother's house. Long story short, he's been staying with me for over a month after he and his mom got into a(nother) huge fight. If all goes well, he will be living at The Villas of Waterford in Wichita. They're almost brand-new apartments located right off of Rock Road on 29th Street. I think he's pretty excited, but not looking forward to "breaking up" with his mother...tomorrow.

Andrew's birthday is this weekend too, and his horrible girlfriend hasn't even gotten him one present yet. So, I will also be shopping this weekend for presents. I haven't even thought about what I want to get him yet. Maybe I should get him a modeling contract...

Remembering Logan

My friends Jodi and Ryan have a son. His name is Logan William. Today he would have been 3 years, 1 month and 1 day old. However, Logan is not here on Earth with his parents and his big sister Olivia. Logan is in a better place, a happier place, and he is waiting for his family to join him some day. His family prayed desperately for Logan to stay here with them, but he was too little and too sick. Three years ago today, Logan went to his eternal home. His parents, his sister, the rest of his family and those of us who never even met him, love him and will never forget him.

Weight Loss Update

Well, it's time for bed, and I don't have any brilliant ideas for a post, so I'll just update my weight loss. I'm down about 18.5 pounds and two sizes. I'm pretty satisfied with my weight, but I still have some toning up to do. I want to lose about five more pounds (isn't it always "five more"?!) and maybe tone up enough to go down one more size in pants, but I'm okay with the size I'm in now, I just want to tone up. Hmm...didn't I just say that? Anyway, tonight was a test of my willpower because I really wanted to munch all night long. I wasn't hungry, but I really wanted to eat! Watching Man v. Food didn't help matters!

Eater's Remorse

I wanted to eat out for dinner tonight for some reason. Andrew and I ate at Hamburger Heroes; I got a cheeseburger and fries (really greasy fries). It was really good...while I was eating it. However, eater's remorse quickly set in. I got too full and I feel really guilty for eating so much. I've burned more calories than I've consumed pretty much every day for three months so knowing that I'm guaranteed to gain a little bit of weight just from pigging out on a cheeseburger is pretty sucky (yes, 'sucky' is a word). I know I'm not always going to be able to eat less than I burn, and I will have to get over the guilty feeling, but right now I'm feeling pretty disgusting. Ugh.

Some before and now pics

Here are a few pictures of me prior to dieting and exercising.

May 2009

September 2009

April 2010

Here are some of the pictures we took this weekend. I don't think any of the above pictures show me at my heaviest. The pictures below are me about 18 pounds lighter since late June 2010. Yay!

Dinner Tonight

Andrew took me to Jason's Deli tonight for dinner. We think taking pictures of our food is fun; yes, we're odd. I had the salad bar (go me!) and Andrew had a turkey sandwich. It was really good. Jason's Deli is a pretty healthy option for dieters wanting to eat out. No high fructose corn syrup, no trans fat, lots of organic vegetables, etc. Plus, their website has all the nutritional information for their menu items. Oh and they have free ice cream, although come to think of it, that's not the best idea for someone on a diet. :0)

Andrew took some pictures of me to show how much weight I've lost. I'll post those later. I've lost about 16 pounds since starting SparkPeople at the end of June. I know I look thinner, but I still hate pictures of myself. I'm always so awkward in them. Ugh. I want to lose about 8-12 more pounds. I'm not exactly sure what I want my goal weight to be so I'm just going to stop losing when it feels right. I don't want to lose all of my boobs...hehe.

Kerry, is that you?

I thought I'd share some of the changes I've made over the past three months.

Here's a typical work day for me three months ago:

1. Get up at 7:00 (after pushing snooze 4-5 times)
2. Go to QT for breakfast (chocolate-covered donut and diet soda)
3. Work until lunch time (maybe drink another diet soda before lunch)
4. Go to lunch (one of any number of fast food restaurants-McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, etc.)
5. Work until 5:00
6. Go home or to Andrew's (if at Andrew's I'd play video games on my XBox or play on my laptop)
7. Eat dinner (if at Andrew's it would be take-out from a restaurant, pizza or fast food)
8. Watch TV, lay in bed and watch a movie.

Here's a typical weekend day for me three months ago:

1. Wake up at 11:00-11:30 (or later)
2. Eat breakfast/lunch (if at Andrew's probably fast food or maybe just cereal and then lunch later)
3. Play video games, play on my laptop, watch TV or something equally sedentary
4. Eat dinner (maybe healthier if my mom cooks, but if at Andrew's...you get the picture)
5. Watch a movie
6. Go to bed.

So, no physical exercise, very little water, no fruits, no vegetables (worth counting anyway), no social interaction.

Three months later:

Here's a typical work day for me:

1. Get up at 7:00 (after pushing snooze only twice)
2. Eat breakfast at work (yogurt and a piece of fruit and water)
3. Work until I get hungry and then eat a snack (carrots, more fruit, low fat string cheese, etc)
4. Work until lunch (drinking water the whole day)
5. Eat lunch (diet frozen dinner with at least one serving of vegetables, leftovers from dinner, soup, sandwich on 100 calorie deli flat, etc)
6. Work until I get hungry and then eat a snack (same choices as before)
7. Work until 5:00
8. Go home and exercise (walk outside, treadmill, Turbo Jam, other workout DVD, Wii Sports, dumbbells)
9. Eat dinner (grilled chicken, vegetables, extra lean ground beef, beans, etc)
10. Play on the laptop maybe, walk the dog, clean something, wash the car, generally more active things
11. Eat a snack (chocolate cake, ice cream--seriously not kidding-if I can still stay within my calorie/carb/fat/protein range)
12. Watch TV/movie
13. Go to bed.

Here's a typical weekend day for me:

1. Wake up at 10:00-10:30 (sometimes earlier, sometimes later)
2. Exercise (treadmill, etc)
3. Eat breakfast (cereal with skim milk, toast, yogurt, fruit, etc)
4. Go shopping, play on the laptop, hang out with the 'rents, etc
5. Okay, okay, you get the picture.

So, a minimum of 20 minutes of cardio every day (more than 30 on most days), strength training 2-3 times a week, 1200-1500 calories per day, at least 4-5 servings of fruits and vegetables, 8-12 cups of water, more energy, less depression, two sizes smaller, at least 16 pounds lighter and a partridge in a pear tree.

Andrew's Banana of Evil

I don't mean to alarm you, but there are evil bananas in this world. And they are cursed. Be afraid. Be very afraid...

Shopping is fun again!

I went to Kohl's today to find some gray pants. I literally have four sizes of pants at home, but all of my gray ones are either too big now or still too small. I wasn't looking forward to it since for the last couple of years trying on clothes has been pretty depressing. But today, I actually didn't mind what I saw in the mirror and all the pants I tried on fit! If I remember I'll take a picture of my new outfit tomorrow since I'm wearing it to work. I still have some weight to lose, but I'm getting pretty close and it feels awesome.

K.C. Weekend

This past weekend Andrew and I went to Kansas City to eat at The Melting Pot. Last year went we went up to see Tiesto we wanted to eat there, but didn't have reservations. So, since we had a long holiday weekend, we decided to make reservations and go pig out. The first course is cheese fondue with bread, vegetables and apples to dip in it. I didn't care much for anything in the cheese except for the bread. Second course is the entree. Andrew got steak and shrimp and I got chicken. There are two kinds of batter and then you fry it in oil in your fondue pot. There were about eight different sauces to dip it in once it was cooked. The meat wasn't all that tasty, but the broccoli was yummy. Now the best part and the part that made it all worth it? DESSERT! Melted milk chocolate with crunchy peanut butter swirled in. Brownie bites, cheesecake, Rice Krispy treats, marshmallows, strawberries and bananas to dip in it. Holy cow, it was good. We had to get more brownies and Rice Krispy treats. So good.

Sunday we went shopping at The Legends. Andrew bought some cowboy boots since eventually we are going to go horseback riding and you have to have cowboy boots to ride a horse of course. Then...I got to eat at Jersey Boyz, my all-time favorite. I love their sandwiches--okay, I've only eaten one kind--Turkey and Provolone, but I love it! After eating we drove home. The end. (I got tired of typing so that's the end of this post-no conclusion, just "the end".)

Olivia

Please keep Olivia in your thoughts and prayers. She fell off of a slide today and suffered a concussion. According to Jodi, Olivia appeared to be okay after the fall, but about an hour later she became sleepy and started vomiting. Jodi rushed her to the ER where she had a CT scan. No fractures or brain bleeds were found, but she has a cerebral concussion. Olivia is resting at home now, but Jodi says she is still very sleepy and is still vomiting. I know Jodi and Ryan are nervous wrecks right now. Let's hope Olivia feels better soon and heals quickly so her parents can feel better too.

What we do on a Friday night

Spreading the Spark

I may have mentioned once or twice that I'm dieting and exercising. Well, dieting isn't exactly the right word since I still eat chocolate cake and pizza when I want to. Really what I'm doing is making a lifestyle change.

I love food, and I love eating. For about the past two years, it seems likes eating was the only thing I looked forward to in my day. I'd eat breakfast and then count down the hours until lunch when I could go to Taco Bell or McDonald's or somewhere else equally greasy. Then when I got home from work I'd be so happy that it was time to eat again! If I was staying at Andrew's dinner would be pizza delivery, Mexican take-out, Buffalo Wild Wings with a beer (or two) or some other easy-to-fix, easier-to-eat meal. At home I might eat healthier, but portion control was definitely not in my vocabulary. I've always loved to eat, but it was getting out-of-hand, and let's just say, the skinny girl who could eat like a pig and not gain an ounce was long gone. I needed to do something and quick.

But add depression issues and increasing laziness and no change was in sight. Until, my friend Jodi asked for suggestions on Facebook for recipes for diabetics. Someone left a comment mentioning SparkPeople.com. So, curious, I checked it out. At first glance the website seemed complicated and overwhelming, maybe even one of those infomercial-type websites that you eventually have to start paying to use. But, I was wrong. I took a chance and started using the site, reading articles on nutrition and fitness, tracking my calories and exercise, earning "Spark Points" like crazy.

Since I've started using the site, I've lost over 13 pounds, exercised 42 out of the last 46 days, started drinking more water, eating more vegetables and fruit and increased my energy by about a billion percent. I've still got a ways to go, and I still need to work on exercising more intensely, but I'm finally starting to feel good about myself again after a long, long time. I know eventually I will eat fast food again and there will be days when I eat too much, but I'm okay with that as long as it's just occasionally instead of every day like it used to be.

And, although, I know I sound like an infomercial for SparkPeople, I'm just thankful something worked and I'm getting back to my old self again.