Dropped 4.75 lbs thanksgiving week!

I haven't been motivated to blog about weight loss after my weigh in a week ago when I actually put on 2 pounds from the last weigh in (2 weeks before then). I knew I wasn't eating the right foods but I had joined the gym and was faithfully going 5 days a week and my portions were still small (or at least I thought they were) thus I definitely wasn't expecting a gain. I know that muscle weighs more than fat but at that point I was only doing cardio and no strength so I wasn't expecting muscle mass. There had been lots of weeks where I felt I could have eaten better but I still dropped a pound or 2 because I was eating less. I wasn't near my cycle and the gain was just too discouraging.

Anyway, I went for my weigh-in today and I felt good about it beforehand but I wasn't expecting to have lost an entire 4.75 pounds in one week, and thanksgiving week too! I have now lost 27 pounds since I started at the clinic.

The reality is this week as full of stress and some heartbreak due to guy drama and thus I lost my appetite; I found myself forcing food down my throat and since it was all tasteless in my mind I ate alot of cucumbers. I also forced myself to work out extra intensely at the gym in an attempt to clear my mind. This loss is actually the perfect morale booster.

Do your own grocery shopping!

I've realized that if I'm going to be serious about eating healthy I really have to do my own grocery shopping on a regular basis and not rely on whatever my mom brings home. My mom's shopping philosophy is to try to get the most food possible while spending the least amount of money possible-she thinks that's going to keep us on a budget; however, my theory is that budget grocery shopping is counterproductive. It's better to just get what you really like because when you're not crazy about the food options in the house you're more likely to eat out or stop by the drive-thru. I can't stand the cheapest deli meats and cheeses and I prefer to get things fresh over frozen or canned.

So I went down to Target and picked up some basic staple items, about $40 worth of food: whole wheat buns, turkey burger, mushroom veggie burger, almond kashi bars, turkey bacon, healthy choice soup, pink salmon packets, romein lettuce, light string cheese, lean deli turkey, skim mozarella slices, and diet ocean spray. This is all stuff that I KNOW I like and I KNOW I will consume, anything that I was uncertain or that I had to think twice about I didn't purchase. In case you were wondering dinner tonight was a turkey burger with a slice of mozarella cheese melted on the turkey and romein lettuce with a bit of mustard on a wheat bun. It was delicious! Isn't that picture just so pretty?

A couple of days ago I made one of the meals in the recipe packet my nutritionist gave me and took a picture. It's a shrimp cucumber mint salad, very simple to make and I loved it! I personally prefer this type of simple to prepare food over elaborately cooked meals. If you're interested in the recipe and preparation let me know.

Pumpkin Lattes

The pumpkin spice latte from starbucks is my new weakness. I believe I must have had 5 tall sizes in the last week. I didn't look up the calorie and sugar content, nor do I want to at the moment, but I really need to limit this indulgence; however, I do feel like I had a good week generally speaking-I've been going to the gym every other day and I've been eating home cooked food as opposed to eating out more. Today I had grape leaves, grilled shrimp, and broccoli sauteed in olive oil for dinner-all small portions. My next weigh-in and assessment is friday!

Late Night Mac & Cheese

I made the mistake of not having balanced meals and snacks today. By the end of the day I only had eaten one time at around noon and thus I was startving around 10 PM. I didn't take my suppressant in the morning and I'm not sure if it was that or the fact that I skipped eating for so lon that left me ravenous for mac and cheese, so I made some and I used whole milk and butter. I ended up having around 2 servings of it before I couldn't take it anymore. It really wasn't alot of food but I'm sure it'll be more than enough to have me feeling like shit in the morning.

I'M BACK!

No, I have not quit!

Yes, I did have some setbacks!

Let's get down to business with regards to my weight loss, since the beginning of ramadan (roughly 2 months ago) I've gone up and done. I gained a couple of pounds during ramadan but lost them all and some and by the end of ramadan (30 days) I had a net loss of 2 pounds. Ramadan ended about a month ago but as my responsibilities increased life got more hectic and I made the mistake of not prioritizing my weight loss. I started skipping the weekly appointments that I'm supposed to go to see a nutritionist and counselor and get my evaluations and I also started taking up eating lots of fast food and to-go. What saved me more than anything is the fact that I was still taking the suppressant although I did skip more days than I should have (went on vacation for a few days and left them behind), thus my portions were still modest but I ate high calorie food and even late into the night as I stayed up late finishing up some reading and writing.

The last evaluation I went to was yesterday and I have actually put back on a pound since my previous evaluation which was a month before; however, I was on my menstrual cycle. Me and the nutritionist/counselor spoke for some time in her effort to remind me why I'm doing this and motivate me again. We both agreed that one of my biggest downfalls is the fact that I'm surrounded with bad food and don't have good food at hand when I'm in a hurry thus I really need to make a list of convenient healthy food, meaning snacks, shakes, string cheeses, kashi bars, lean deli meats and cheeses, and fruits. It's just not realistic to think I'm going to cook or spend lots of time preparing food on a regular basis, that's something I might do once or twice a week. I actually have yet to do the shopping, hopefully tomorrow sometime after the saints game.

So I currently weigh in at 166 lbs, exactly where I left you guys!

In better news, I have signed up for a prepaid (to make sure I go) 6 month gym membership around 2 weeks ago and have been consistently going every other day. So far I've only been doing cardio and abs, I'm goaling to start strength training this week! Keep checking back I'll be updating you guys more regularly and with better news!