Muffin Top to Skinny Jeans: The Shred

I've been bad. I did my grocery shopping on Sunday and I ended up with all kinds of crap that I didn't need. M&M's, cookies and Doritos. And my weekend eating was really bad. We went to a southern BBQ place that was amazing and I ate myself into a food coma and we went to the movies Sunday and I ate a Philly Cheese Steak, fries and popcorn.

Sunday night....we didn't eat dinner. I had a glass of wine, cheese and crackers and really I couldn't have eaten more if I wanted to because WOW..I was full from the weekend.

And that is when I decided to punish myself and do the 30 Day Shred. You know the one, Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser's 30 Day Shred. I started yesterday and decided to take a before picture and when I downloaded it into my weight loss photo folder on my mac, I saw an old picture with the same pose and when I checked the date...it was exactly one year ago.

I hadn't looked at these old pictures for awhile and I was shocked.  I think my fatarexia is finally gone because I used to look at that picture on the left and see the girl on the right.  What a difference a year makes....

So back to business....Amanda wants to know:

How did you do on our first month of the journey? Were you able to stay on track with the 3 simple changes you chose in our first challenge? Are there adjustments that you can see you need to make in order to continue to be successful at winning this battle of losing weight?

I did poorly. Of course, i do have my excuses. Stress, dental work...life. But I'm going to try to do better or at least do some exercise to make up for some of my emotional eating.

As for The Shred....I know I won't make it 30 days because I have an appointment on Friday with the oral surgeon to set a date to have my wisdom teeth removed so it could just be the 15 day shred but I wanted to do something.

I honestly don't know how I'm going to make it to day 2 of this Shreding business because I can't lift my arms to get my coffee to my mouth.  I may need a coffee IV.

Oh and by the way...still stuck at 187.6.  No matter I eat my body is set at 187.6.

Muffin Top to Skinny Jeans: Mess Ups

I just looked through my last few posts and realized that I never updated about my test results from the Allergist.  Everything was negative!  YAY...but what the heck is going on with my lip.

That is what led me to the Dentist.  I've had some dental work that I've been putting off for a while and I thought maybe the two could be related although I doubted it because this all started with a bee sting.

Anyway, I had a major infection earlier in the week...the whole side of my face swelled up and my dentist put me a strong antibiotic and it's feeling much better today.  My body reacted to all of this trauma and infection by swelling up too.  I guess that's my reaction to stress.  Good to know.

This week Amanda wants me to answer a couple questions:

How do you handle a gain or the feeling of knowing your didn't do as well as you had hoped?

I beat myself up....I do.  But I also try to make an adjustment the next couple days and avoid whatever it   was that threw me off the wagon.

What kind of effect does this have on you?

  I feel badly about it but I try to do better the next day.

 Is there something constructive you can do to reward yourself for small steps?

 I like to reward myself with clothes and shoes now instead of donuts.

 And how are you doing this week?

  Not as good as I have been...too much stuff going on. 

 What were your challenges?

Birthday cake....but I'm proud of myself for two things.  I didn't buy a whole cake.  I bought a piece for my husband and I to share and I let my son pick out a giant cupcake that he had to share with his sister.  And then...I didn't like the cake.  After two bites, I pushed it away.  I didn't want to waste calories on something I didn't like.  I was so proud of myself for that! 

Looking for Love at McDonalds

I thought I was going to lose weight with the dental work I had done on Thursday.  I'm no expert but my body seems to be fighting back the trauma and pain (and the pain killers...hello Vicodin) by swelling up.  And then there's my face.  My tooth feels fine...but the side of my face from my eyes to my jaw is swollen.  I look like that kid from Mask.

I'm up to 187.6.

It's funny (or not...really) how I tend to rely on comfort foods when I'm feeling uncomfortable.  Not just physically, but emotionally.  Why can't I be one of those people that wants to go for a walk to feel better instead of looking for love (or comfort) in all the wrong places at Mc Donalds?

I supposed it's because I've trained myself to be this way and I want to go back to the tried and true ways.  These new ways have not become a habit yet and it will take willpower on my part to make sure I do what I need to do.

I'm thankful that I have this blog to let our some of my feelings and to somewhat hold myself accountable.

For today...I'm going to eat as little carbs as possible.

Muffin Top to Skinny Jeans: Goals

This week Amanda wants me to figure out what my current weight is and decide what my goal is. I'm disappointed in myself because my last injection weight (on the hCG diet) was 181.2 and I'm supposed to stay within 2 pounds of that until tomorrow. I have not done this. *connie hangs her head*

As of this morning, I weight 186.8...more than 5 pounds over. I'd like to blame Easter, and TOM. And the incredible amount of stress that I'm under between Obama canceling my husband's job, his attempt to find a new one, being tested for allergies and systemic diseases (everything is negative!) my expensive dental work and the fact that I'm scared of the dentist, having TWO three year olds (one turns 4 in 5 days) and drama with my family.

But it's all my fault. I need to find better ways to deal with my stress because it doesn't look like it will be ending any time soon. I started exercising (okay one day...it's a start!) but I'm putting that off until I get all of my dental work done.  I'm having a root canal redone today...and all of my wisdom teeth pulled in the next two weeks.

The good news is that I'm keeping up with my three changes. I love salad now and sometimes have two in one day!

I just really need to watch my carbs...I know they are NOT my friend.

And so...MY Goal. My ultimate goal is 175 pounds.  11.8 to lose.....

Muffin Top to Skinny Jeans: 3 Things

I decided to join my friend Amanda from Family of Shorts in her quest to go from Muffin Top to Skinny Jeans. I don't expect to lose any weight right now...I'm still in Phase 3 of the hCG diet where I'm supposed to be maintaining my weight.

The thing is...I've been cheating a little bit. I had a Subway sandwich and some cereal and I haven't gained any weight. I'm eating carbs in moderation. Which is my life long plan.

Amanda wanted me to come up with 3 small things to change to start my weight loss. She is doing something crazy like NO MORE COFFEE CREAMER. You will never see me doing that again...remember that one time when I tried to quit half and half? It wasn't pretty. Here are my 3 things.

1. Serve salad with dinner. I made my kids a salad the other night. Chopped romaine lettuce, chopped tomato and a little bit of avocado. They loved it! This will help us all get our veggies in and I want them to become familiar with salads and to like them.

2. Stop buying MandM's. I have this bad habit of picking up a package (or two) of MandM's in the checkout at the grocery store and then eating the whole package.....I don't need this.

3. No More White Bread and Pasta.  I'm making a vow to only buy WHEAT bread and pasta and to make sure that they do not contain High Fructose Corn Syrup.

See what everyone else is doing to change their life this week!

The Next Step

LIW (last injection weight) : 181.2
Current Weight: 182.6


You're probably wondering what happened to me. I've been waiting on pins and needles for someone from my Allergist's office to call me with my test results....but no one called. I'm taking this as a good sign. Surely, they won't make me wait three weeks (or more because I keep forgetting to make my next appointment) for the results..good or bad.

I've also been thinking about what I'm going to do now. I do a lot of thinking about exercise...but not enough exercise. Does anyone else do that?

I've been recording these Bollywood Shows on the exercise channel and I'm going to do them in the morning before the kids get up. They are only 20 some minutes without the commercials and they look like fun. I might even buy a cool belt with the coins on it.

And I'm going to lift weights. I've got some hand weights and I'd like to see if I can get some definition in my arms before summer since all of the cute shirts are sleeveless.

I'm also joining my friend Amanda in her quest to lose some weight. I'm not sure that I'll lose anymore for a little while...but I'd like to support the ladies that are.