January 27th, 2013
Slacker McSlacker pants.. =3=

Ugh, I am so disappointed in myself right now.

This weekend has been one of total slackerness--and I'd say I can't help it, but I know that I can. It's just Finals week had me all tuckered out--and looking at a three day weekend.. exercising was not all that appealing to me. I dipped out on Thursday (except in the morning, I did my morning exercise that day) and Friday. Saturday I spent 7 hours cleaning, and as you should all know, cleaning burns a lot of calories! :) Today.. I'm in slack mode again. It's the last "weekend" day, and school starts up again tomorrow.. so I'm going to spend the days indoors--while also letting my sore muscles rest from yesterday.

Despite the exercise slack off, I have been keeping up on the calorie counting.

I found this new app on my iPod called Lose It!, and it's keeping track of all the calories I have eaten in a day. So far I've been under 90 or so calories each day since I've been using the app--and it's got such a wide variety of foods, plus you can barcode scan and enter your own foods, so keeping track is a breeze! It also keeps track of your exercises, and it gives you an approximate calculation as to how many calories you burned! :) It's absolutely fantastic--plus you get badges along the way! ^^

Here's the link to the website (you can do the same stuff here) :
https://www.loseit.com/?force=1

As a side note, I have a SUPER easy second semester schedule, so now I won't be as stressed out with balancing homework hours with exercising times and such.. see? Look at this thing:

0. Choir

1. Open

2. Economics

3. Psychology

4. Ceramics 3

5. Art 2

6. Yoga

7. Open

Look at that! Yoga! I finally have a gym class--which is 1.5 hours long on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and about 45 minutes on Mondays--so even if I slack off with the exercise at home, I'll still be getting my share in. 

It sucks I'm not a big fan of exercise-- this would be so much easier if I was.

Anyway, I finally got my measurements done so.. here ya go:

Waist: 37 cm

Thighs: 25 cm

Calf: 17 cm

Hips: 45 cm

Upper Arm: 15 cm

Bust: 42 cm

That's all I've really got for blogging today-- sorry I haven't posted in like.. two weeks :s

I'll have more time now! <3

Much Love,

Emily

January 13th, 2013
Back on Track... :)

Ugh. I have slacked off so much these last two days. But you know what? I'm not quitting.

I apologize for not being able to post blogs-- it's just, this weekend kinda sucked, and Friday.. after school I was just exhausted. This week, I'm going to work harder. I've got about 7.. 8ish days until my first weigh in!

I'm really nervous--.. :c I've worked hard though, and I've cut back A TON on the junk food-- in fact, this is my seventh day WITHOUT soda. I'm impressed with myself. My mom even bought the really good cookies for $5 at Safeway today, and I only had TWO. She also bought Chocolate Valentines for the brothers, and I didn't get one. At first I was a little sad-- but I realized, I'll feel better about skipping that little treat in the future. Oh, also coming with the weigh in-- I'll start measuring myself thanks to the advice of a VERY close friend of mine: Phylesha Coe. She told me that you lose inches faster than you lose 'weight' (since muscle weighs more than fat... this makes sense!), so I thought I'd take her advice and get the tape measure out and see how I'm doing in the later two weeks after the first weigh in.

Good Lord that was a mouthful.

Anyway, without further a due..- Here's the exercise and meals I had today:


Workout

• Wake-Up Warm-Up
• Approx. 1 mile jog (with a hill)
• 45 Jumping Jacks
• 15 Squats
• 50 Russian Twists
• 30 Seconds Plank
• 10 Standing Calf Raises
• 5 Kneeling Push-Ups
• :30 Superman
• 10 Lunges (Each Leg)
• 40 Crunches

(Today's workout was a pretty easy one-- but it varies everyday. )

Meals (Calories = 1355)

• Breakfast (175 Cal.)
• Special K Yogurt Cereal 
• 1% Milk
• Lunch (510 Cal.)
• Turkey Sandwich
• Turkey, Spring Mix (Spinach, etc.), Mustard, Mayo
• Special K Chocolate Drizzle Bar
• Peach Yogurt
• Arizona Half & Half (Iced Tea and Lemonade) Lite Tea
• 2 Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Dinner (520 Cal.)
• Lean Cuisine Chicken Carbonara
• Roasted White Chicken, Fettuccine, Asparagus, & Bacon w/ Creamy Sauce
• Spring Mix Salad w/ Italian Roasted Red Pepper Dressing & Crab Meat

Well, I have definitely got this calorie thing mixed up-- for everyone knows, as the phrase goes...:

Breakfast for a King, Lunch for a Prince, and Dinner for a Pauper (and probably Dessert for a really poor peson).

I think I need to fix that.. or this may backfire? Perhaps? Do you think so?

Anyway, that's it for today.
Got a load of homework to do, and just a few hours to do it in. I think I'll end tonight with a relaxing bath with some bath salts I recently bought-- and then a rinse off in the shower. Sounds good to me.. :)

Goodnight All <3

Emily

January 8th, 2013
Mmm... Chicken Club Panini's <3

Day two, and I have no idea how I managed to function today at school. 

I am seriously in so much pain right now-- my legs almost gave out underneath me a few times, and my jog today was completely pathetic, haha. Probably shouldn't even call it a jog! XD
Still, I've already made it two days-- and I'm not giving up. This soreness didn't keep me from exercising, and it won't. Even if I.. hurt twice as much tomorrow :S

So here's what I consumed today! :P [Approximately 1559 Calories]

Breakfast (547 Calories):

2 hard boiled eggs mashed with butter, salt, pepper and paprika.
1 cup Ocean Spray Cranberry Pomegranate Juice

1 serving Raisin Bran Cereal

1/2 Cup 2% Milk

Snack (178 Calories):

1 handful frozen red grapes (about 20 grapes)

1 cup Special K Red Berries Cereal (dry)

Lunch (294 Calories):

Chef Salad (3 cups iceberg lettuce, two slices turkey, 1/3 cup Italian Dressing w/ croutons)

Dinner (540 Calories):

Lean Cuisine Chicken Club Panini*
Progresso Garden Vegetable Soup

(* THIS SANDWHICH WAS FANTASTIC!!!)

And here is what happened exercise wise!

• 1 mile jog/walk
  
• Wake-Up Warm-Up (EVERY MORNING!)
  
  [Found on Pinterest]
  5 Head Circles (each direction)
  10 Arm Swings
  1:30 Jog in place
  20 High Knees
  2 Star Jumps
  5 Side Lunges
  2 Burpees
  30 Butt Kickers
  10 Standing Calf Raises
  1 Big Star Stretch
  2:00 Standing Hamstring Stretch
  1:00 Calf Stretch (Each leg)
  :15 Tricep Stretch (Each arm)
  
• Tuesday Work Out
  [Found on Pinterest]
  80 Jumping Jacks
  50 Vertical Leg Crunches
  20 Sit-Ups
  15 Tricep Dips
  20 Squats
  10 Side Lunges (Each Leg)
  15 Leg Lifts (Each Leg)
  50 Bicycles
  15 Wall Push-Ups
  40 Russian Twists

So that is the end of my day two! I'm exhausted, so I'll be going to bed at 10pm tonight-- time to get started on that homework!

Goodnight! <3

Emily :)

January 7th, 2013
And so the journey begins... :) / FIRST WEIGH IN!

Good afternoon everyone <3
Today is the big day! I started off this morning by waking up at 6:15 to do some "Wake-Up Warm-Up" exercises, and good Lord did they do their job! Here's the list of things I started off with this morning (and will do so EVERY morning ^^ )

Wake-Up Warm-Up
[Found on Pinterest]

5 head circles (each direction)

10 arm swings

1:30 jog in place

20 high knees

2 star jumps

5 side lunges

2 burpees

30 butt kickers

10 standing calf raises

1 big star stretch

2:00 standing hamstring stretch

1:00 calf stretch (each leg)

:15 tricep stretch (each arm)

Following this, I did my weigh in. I came in at a whopping 184lbs! Eesh.. >///>"
But hey, I'm going to lose it, so it's okay! <3 

Here's what happened food wise so far today :) I'll edit this later with dinner and such! >3

Breakfast:
1 cup Special K Red Berries Cereal w/ 1/2 cup milk.

Snack:
2 handfuls of frozen red grapes

Lunch:
1 turkey & cheese wrap w/ water.

Dinner:
Healthy Choice: Lemon Pepper Fish with Whole Grain Rice Pilaf and Broccoli, with a Caramel Apple Dessert (it was super small! :3 )

Dessert:
Two of my homemade samoa cookies, that's been it for me today! I'm pretty proud of myself, considering the fact that I walked around school today with a plateful of them! Normally, those would've been GONE by lunch time. I know that just as long as it is on rare occasions, and it's moderated, I shall be okay. :)
Besides, I'm going to be burning it all of in about 30 minutes.

________________________________________________________________________

As for today, here's my plan for exercise! Also found this plan on Pinterest by the way! <3

1 mile fast walk/jog
10 Jumping Jacks
50 Crunches
20 Tricep Dips
15 Squats
20 Lunges (each leg)
70 Russian Twists
20 Standing Calf Raises
5 Push-Ups
30 Second Plank
10 Lunge Split Jumps

...

SHOWER! <3

I'll be doing the mile walk/jog with my sister around 4:30-- and I think my younger brothers Owen and Jacob are going to be joining me with the rest of my plan. This should be fun! :)

I'll be back with a dinner update! I'll be eating something healthy, while the family eats burritos :)

Much Love <3

Emily

EDIT: I used this Thera-Gesic Pain Relieving Creme to help with my sore muscles-- it definitely relieved the pain alright.. Totally took my mind off of it-- and replaced it with BURNING FIRES! >___< But, the heat has worn out now, and it's cooling.. and so far it's helping, so for those who can handle the burn, so far I recommend it. Heads up though, it smells A LOT like Pepto Bismol. 

January 6th, 2013
(Less than...) One day more...-

Tomorrow's the big day!
So far, it's not looking like it'll be much of a bright one.. I mean, winter break is over! No more sleeping in! :c
Oh well. Anyway, I indulged myself in goodies today-- so I'm now prepared to face this journey (with a few goodies here and there, but nothing like before!) It's getting late, so I'll have to make this short tonight..-

I finally took a picture of me and all of my glorious fat... e___e"
My sister had to take it on my cell phone, so the quality is pretty crummy, but it'll have to do for now.
Anyway, tomorrow is the first official weigh in, so when I get home from school, I'll be posting about the extra poundage I've got. Yay. :P

So, here it is.

Yeah, I KNOW I'm short.. and my room is a bit of a mess-- but it isn't anymore. Gah, I can't believe I'm just a head and shoulders taller than my freaking book shelf. How pathetic! ;P
I was a little.. okay maybe REALLY hesitant to post this up here after seeing it-- but this is the first step.
And I know it will make me feel so much better when I come back to this in 5 months, and see how much I've changed <3

Anyway, it's bed time for me. Gotta get up early to start this journey right! <3

Be safe! :)

Emily

January 5th, 2013
Surprise, surprise! 

Two more days, and I'm actually more than a little excited.

Granted, I'm really nervous about taking a "Biggest Loser" style picture and posting it on here on Monday, but, I need to become more confident with myself-- and I think that's a really HUGE step I need to take.

Tomorrow I believe I'm going shopping with my mom, so I'll be getting some healthier foods to eat and snack on at home and at school. I'll post a list of the things that I get here sometime, along with delicious and healthy recipes whenever I get to try them out! :3 Oh goody.. I get to be a food critic >;D

Anyway, I have an update! <3

While making those devilish Samoa cookies today, I found out that my sister Amanda wants to join me in this battle! I'm extremely excited about her joining me, because I want her to be healthy and feel good about herself too! If she lets me, we'll be sharing this blog together-- pictures, critiques and all.. but so far she seems hesitant about showing "the world" our fatness.. xD I think she needs to take that big step too... and hopefully she'll be able to stick with this journey the whole way and beyond that!

I hope everyone has had a fantastic winter break, and I can't wait to see you on Monday friends! <3

Please be safe, and have a good night!

Much Love,

Emily :)

January 4th, 2013
Preparations - Vitamins, etc.

Just three more days-- eesh.
Three more days to relax... right? WRONG. Hah. :c
I'm spending these last few days of winter break doing homework I told myself I was going to do at the beginning of this break...- but my procrastination got the best of me. Dang, I should really fix that.

Anyway, I have also been doing some preparations for this long lasting 'adventure,' and after some scavenging around the house, I managed to find a few things I'm hoping will help me a little bit through this.

First, I happened to find an unopened little package containing one of those pill organizers. You know the long green things that have the days of the week on them? :) Well, I decided I'm going to put it to use.

Second, I found a bottle of Liquid Soft-Gel Green Tea Fat Burner pills. I'm not exactly sure where we got these, but I'm sure if you did some looking around you'll probably find them. Apparently this specific pill is supposed to increase calorie burning, kick-start your fat burning ability, and provide powerful antioxidant protection. WOOT!

Next, I found a bottle of One Daily Women's (which is most likely a "knock off" of One A Day Women's? ;P ). It's a multivitamin/multimineral supplement that supports bone strength, breast health, heart health, and immune health-- as a taker of the depo birth control (I take it for periods! Do NOT eat my little virgin soul please <3 ), this should help me a lot since it contains calcium, and I know the shot can cause some damage to the bones.

Last but not least I found a little blue bottle of Puritan's Pride L-Carnitine, which helps with heart health, producing energy from fat, and helping the body use stored energy to support endurance during recovery from high-intensity exercise.

Starting this Sunday I'll be taking all three of these daily every morning-- and hopefully it will work out.
For those of you who were trying to find things that you think my help influence weight loss, etc., I hope these little discoveries of mine help?


Until next time,

Emily <3

January 3rd, 2013
The Pre-Beginnings

Less than four days until my adventure beings, which means..- less than four days before my entire sense of being... starts to change. At least, the body part. Hah. <3

To be quite honest, I'm a little bit nervous-- not so much about the exercise (I absolutely HATE running, ugh), but it's the idea that I could fail just like all of the other times I've tried this.

However, this time just feels different.

This time, I told all of my friends on facebook--even the ones I'm not SUPER DUPER close to, instead of just my family or my boyfriend <3 (You're the bomb diggity by the way, Christian :3 Just sayin'!)

Early Monday morning I'll be weighing in for the first time in a few weeks, that way I've got my starting weight... I plan to weigh in every week, and..- even though I'm super self-conscious, photos will follow as well. I know my body isn't the greatest looking right now, but, it will someday, and when that someday comes around... I will totally be all smiles :)

For those of you who support me, thank you SO SO much! <3 You mean the world to me! :)
And for those of you who want help too, I'll be posting my daily exercise routines here, along with a list of snacks that can tie you over your mid-day snack craving extravaganza... er.. something like that :)

Anyway, it's getting late, and I've got a butt load of homework to do before winter break ends.

Much Love,

Emily <3