Challenge Update

Can't wait to see my after pics on Saturday! I have lost 20lbs since August and 15 officially as part of the challenge! I have a long ways to go, my goal is 80 more lbs unless I get to a point where I look really good and don't need to lose more.
yesterday's strength workout was push press 5-5-5-3-3-3
my last set was at 40.6kg! that is 89.5 lbs!

thursday's foodage

breakfast: a cup of coffee w/cream and sugar and 2 eggs
snack: a bunch of grapes
lunch: some mixed veggies with a tiny bit of butter and salt and less than a handful of cashews
dinner: delicious spaghetti squash with meatballs and homemade spaghetti sauce

I've realized that I'm stronger than I think. I just need to get some more of this weight off so I have less to fight against sheesh.

thursday

stayed in to work on homework today. besides the hw it was a nice day.
breakfast: a porkchop, applesauce, cup of echinacea tea
lunch: leftover fajitas
dinner: I felt like experimenting so I fried some apples and sprinkled cinnamon on them. It wasn't that good. I also ate enough cashews to fill me up. also had a cup of coffee with cream and sugar. I'm going to have to look into teas that have a lot of caffeine. not a very well rounded eating day.

wednesday

breakfast: cup of echinacea tea, 2 scrambled eggs with some sauteed mushroom slices mixed in, and 2 slices of turkey,
snack: a banana
late lunch:2 hard boiled eggs, 5 pieces of turkey bacon, a few slices of cucumber
dinner: steak fajitas which were soooo good!! I didn't eat the rice, beans or tortillas, just steak, peppers, onions and tomatos.

sunday

breakfast: cup of echinacea tea(i'm able to drink it without cream and sugar now)  bacon and scrambled eggs

dinner: chuck roast with vegetables

snacked on hazelnuts and cashews

monday

breakfast: chicken and 3 eggs

lunch: chicken, cucumber and a spoonful of almond butter

dinner: 2 hard boiled eggs, turkey, broccoli and a few raspberries

chronic homework avoider...

I am down 12 pounds since the challenge started and 17lbs total!!

breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices of turkey breast, a spoonful of almond butter, and an apple
lunch: cucumber slices, 2 chicken legs, and a handful of raspberries
dinner: pork chop, apple sauce, and spinach salad with italian dressing and pine nuts.
"dessert": 2 strawberries, some cashews and some hazelnuts

BEEF

lots of beef today yum

breakfast: an apple and lots of water

lunch: slices of steak or steak strips idk what they are called

dinner:more steak, steamed broccoli, a glass of fruit/vegetable juice

I've been short on options as food runs out so grocery shopping tomorrow. I think my cold is almost gone. I'm not loving any of the pictures I see from working out but that's just part of the journey. I am starting to see a tiny bit of difference in the mirror though. : )

wednesday
breakfast:scrambled eggs
lunch: went to chipotle got a burrito bowl with one scoop rice, chicken, fajitas, pico de gallo, guacamole and lettuce. probably won't do that again because of the rice and i don't think i could stomach it without it. i ate about half of the bowl
dinner: chicken breast, baby carrots, apple

thursday
breakfast: leftover chipotle heated up with a scrambled egg mixed in
lunch: spinach salad with italian dressing, flax seeds and pine nuts
dinner: baby carrots, tuna w/mustard and a pickle, a little bit of cucumber

crash and burn....

I spent the weekend feeling like crap and I'm finally starting to not feel like death, just got a drippy nose. I crashed and burned with my diet this weekend but I am back on the horse and somehow I magically lost weight anyway...down 3 more pounds.

saturday:

breakfast: 3 doughnuts from the apple place- the first two were amazing and the 3rd one made me sick and not want to look at any more doughnuts again

dinner: I slept all day because of the fever and upset stomach and then I made soup using leftover chicken, frozen vegetables and chicken bouillon. it was good

sunday:

breakfast: scrambled eggs, cucumber slices, an apple

lunch/dinner: eli's 1st birthday so I gave in to a lot of temptations... chips and dip, baked macaroni and cheese and cake and ice cream. but i also had a ton of veggies and some shredded beef

today:

breakfast: scrambled eggs, herb turkey breast, an apple and glass of white grape juice

lunch:more homemade chicken and vegetable soup

dinner: beef, cilantro and onion tacos on corn tortillas.(are those allowed?)

spinach sauteed with almonds and onions

glass of apple cider

Friday I'm getting a cold I think...

breakfast: large naval orange, 2 scrambled eggs, echinacea tea with no sugar!

lunch: small steak, spinach and cucumber salad with low carb italian dressing

snack: raw walnuts, coke zero during class- it has aspartame so gonna try and avoid that in the future

dinner: rotisserie chicken, cucumber slices, black olives, echinacea tea

i feel like i'm gettin sick and am craving chicken noodle soup. any suggestions?

Thursday

Breakfast: scrambled eggs and bacon courtesy of my wonderful man, cucumber slices, 1 cup of coffee w/cream and sugar

lunch: small steak, black olives, and 4 strawberries

dinner: package of buddig turkey, black olives, whole baby cucumber, and mandarin orange slices

could have been better

I had kind of an off day. Had class at 12:30 and then had to take my dog to the vet. not good but I don't want to get into it just yet.

today
breakfast: coffee, a large naval orange, 2 slices of turkey breast
lunch: this was late like at 4:30 a peice of chicken breast with guacamole
snacks: carrots, a banana
dinner: chicken nuggets that were not worth it..

sunday

breakfast: 4 scrambled eggs, sliced cucumber

lunch: grilled hamburger topped with guacamole(no bun) some cooked mixed vegetables and 4 strawberries

dinner: chicken breast, some roasted potato slices, and spinach salad with a low carb italian dressing.

snack: a couple of roasted hazlenuts ( i'm going to try making a nutella recipe i saw)

Since I started crossfit I've almost given up grains and dairy and have upped my intake of vegetables tremendously as well as eating protein at every meal. I cheat a little when I drink coffee because i am a coffee with my cream and sugar type of person, but I have lessened how much of those I put in and don't drink it everyday, maybe even only 2x a week. I also had an amazing rice, chicken and veggie bowl that had tons of soy sauce when I went out to dinner with Justin's family, but other than that I've been pretty good. I'm still a bit irregular but I haven't gotten as many headaches, my mind has felt clearer and I've felt like I have a lot more energy. I lost 4 pounds this week (mon-mon) and I'm down 11lbs from my scary heaviest weight that I reached sometime this summer.

Next Saturday, I'm going apple picking at this farm where they make homemade apple doughnuts, and I am totally having some because they are amazing and warm and gooey and it only comes once a year. I will try to limit it to two and be really strict with myself all week.

I really like these free trackers for weight-loss and waist-loss on realage.com.

Being an artist, I never thought I would miss sports so much. But I do. In junior high through sophomore year I played volleyball and it was so much fun. I miss it incredibly. I gave up volleyball to work on my swimming and I regret it to this day. But waterpolo was also a lot of fun and I was in pretty good shape. I found myself dreaming about swimming this morning, about being long and lean and strong and gliding through the water. I was never a fast swimmer but in my dream I was, or I was at least training to be. I don't know if I'll ever try to become a faster swimmer but I do love the water and anyways I am happy to be working out again.

the workout was really hard tonight but at least i finished yay! going to be sore tomorrow!!

food

I have been eating much better on a consistent basis and I've lost about 5 pounds. I am really looking forward to working out tomorrow night. I think I might go for a bike ride today to get some cardio in. I am nervous about the workouts getting harder since I am so out of shape. I know it's going to be hard work and I'll be embarrassed about being slow and fat but oh well. The only way to get better is to do the work, and I finally feel like I have a good plan I can stick to.

Crossfit!

I am finally working out again and it feels good. It has also made me want to eat better so that I have more energy for exercise. On Monday I started at Crossfit and so far I love it! I'm in a ramp up class which is for beginners. For about 3 weeks I come a couple of days and learn the basic movements and names of exercises and then do some workouts. After that I can go to any of the sessions available. It's high intensity and I should finally see some results! crossfit website

affiliate locations

I had a great birthday!

Wondering what to do. It's beautiful out, I should get out there. Need to get a job, need to figure out my life.

Some Things

I created this really cool lamp for my Space, Forms, and Materials class and I wanted to post some pictures. It is a hanging lamp and I used a ball jar filled with marbles and installed the lightbulb to the lid inside the jar. Then going with the childlike quality that marbles have I decided to make a tent sort of structure to surround the lamp. Right now I have it hanging in a high corner in my room because that was the only place to put it, but ideally it would be closer to the floor with the cords stretched out and attached to wall hooks so you could sit under it and read a book or stare up at the brightly illuminated marbles. I used sheer curtains I found at a garage sale for the tent and I embroidered different animals all around the sides to add the whimsy of the piece. I think the embroidery might need more work and more colors to make it stand out but for now I'm leaving it as is.

Today I decided to try out a tactic I've heard of to keep cats off of tables where you don't want them to be. Hopefully it will work.

Some kind soul picked me to be in a treasury! http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=52797

Coming Soon

http://www.robinelizabethart.com

I love listening..

. .to new music that I've downloaded and drinking a cup of coffee. I actually really enjoy my apartment. I have the lights at a comfortable dimness and I'm listening to Yael Naim, a French-Israeli singer known for the song in the macbook air commercials.

I cut my hair today. I used a razor to give myself bangs and to thin out and add more layers. I did the bangs first and when that turned out successful I went on to the rest of my hair. I'm pretty happy with it and it was free.

I spent a lazy weekend with my boyfriend. He's the best. ;-)

Healthy foods that I actually eat when I buy them:

(I plan to keep adding to this list..hopefully)

-applesauce

-yogurt

-cucumber, usually..

-chicken

-vegetables that can be stir-fried

-juice

-broccoli

i have a horrible habit of buying healthy foods and letting them go bad. i need help.