I should update more often

Whazzzzzzzup? (Sorry, I had to do it! I've been feeling "younger" and more chipper here lately. lol)



Well, it's been a while since I've updated last. A lot has been going on. I'm continually doing my shakes twice a day, and have a nice meal for my other meal. I've been using 5 different vitamins, supplements.. whatever you want to call them. I've been on those for about 2 weeks, and I feel like they've helped me tremendously as well. I'm on the Cell Activator, Cell-U-Loss, Snack Defense, Thermo-Bond and Total Control. I've also been drinking some tea- original flavor with a teaspoon of Stevia natural sweetner and it's great. Some pills say you can take them 3 times a day, and some say twice a day. So, instead of having to keep track of all of that, I take all 5 pills every time I have a shake... So, twice a day.- I'm also thinking of getting the NRG tablets to try out.

I've been doing good about not eating junk or drinking soda. I haven't had any soda since the middle of August. Well over a month! I know at my 4 week mark I had lost about 15 lbs. I weighed today and I had lost 17 lbs from my beginning weight. I'm ecstatic! It doesn't really feel like a "diet" to me. I mean, the shakes are really, REALLY good. The one I fix twice a day is the Cookies and Cream and it is super chocolaty. I love it. And then for dinner, I usually eat with my family.. or if I don't really care for what's been cooked (I don't really cook much.. I'm pretty bad at it lol), I'll plan on doing a shake for dinner and get something for lunch- like a salad or grilled chicken sandwich. And LOTS of water! - I sweat all of the time. -- It's still in the mid 90's (degrees) here in Texarkana. Can you believe it?

I had an interview this afternoon for a huge local car dealership. I think it went really great. He said that he'd let me know something in a couple of days. It pays decent (for this area) and there are bonus opportunities. If I'm given this job, along with my photography, and maybe one day selling Herbalife I'll definitely be able to move out soon. I'd love to be on my own in 6 months or less. - It's been kind of rocky here lately with a certain parent, and it's difficult for me to have to deal with that. I have to bite my tongue quite often around her., and that's hard for me to do. It's just an awkward stage for me. I'm an adult, now in my mid 20s, living with my parents and still feeling like a little child. I'm ready to be back on my own.

I'll hopefully update soon!
-Amy

It's been a while..

Hey all! Sorry it's been a while since my last post. I've been busy with my photography, and of course my dieting and exercise ;)

This past Monday I turned the BIG 2-5. It's been a difficult week for me.. food and exercise wise. Last weekend we went out to eat with the family. Then this week I had several friends want to treat me to dinner for my birthday.. How could I say no?

But, I've been back on track the past couple of days and doing good! I'm actually house and dog sitting for a friend, so I'm not home and able to weigh on my scale. So, next week when I get home I'll be curious to see where I am. The last time I weighed I had lost in between 11-12 pounds.

I bought Just Dance 2 yesterday for our Wii, and my sister and I have been dancing. I actually still feel the effects of it in my lower stomach and legs. It's probably the best workout I've had yet, and so much fun! We were laughing at ourselves the entire time. I'm sure I looked like a complete goof trying to dance and all. Maybe when I'm half the size I am now I'll hit the club and dance in public..hahaha. Probably not.

Today actually marks 4 weeks of me dieting! :) I've got to keep it up! I want to be looking fabulous and gorgeous for my 26th birthday!

Ohh- and I had my before photos taken Sunday the 11th. I should get those back within the next week or so, and I'll post a few. I'm kind of nervous to see what the look like. I'm used to being behind the lens, and it was so uncomfortable for me to be in front of it this time!

Later!

Fourth & Fifth Day

Hi all! I got my new Herbalife products in yesterday (fourth day.. Thank you to Tim and Haleigh for getting my products to me so fast! You guys are amazing!). I tried my first shake last night for dinner.- Cookies and Cream with chocolate protein powder and it was wonderful! It felt like I was drinking an Oreo milkshake.. kind of..lol. I just mix mine with cold water and put in our smoothie blender for 30 seconds or so.

This morning I had an orange creamsicle shake. And it was good. But, I think I prefer the cookies and cream over the orange creamsicle. The orange creamsicle will be a good breakfast shake for sure. And then for lunch today I had a cookies and cream. And for dinner I ate about 15-20 medium size steamed shrimp, and some okra that had been pan fried with coconut oil -- compliments of my mom. I did go get the shrimp from Albertsons. And per Tim's request for me to do more walking, I made sure to walk up and down each aisle. :)

I've been drinking a lot of water. And in my box of Herbalife "goodies" that came in the mail yesterday, they had included the Aloe concentrate that has a mango flavor. It's very yummy, and tart. I be sure to add 3 capfuls to a bottle of water at least twice a day. I do like drinking plain water quite a bit as well. I'm hoping that with me cutting out soda and fatty foods that my face will clear up. Over the past year I've started "breaking out" more often. Hopefully that'll clear up soon and stay away, because all the bad food is a thing of the past for me!

I started "googling" stylish clothes today! It helps me be even more excited about my weight loss. I want to be able to wear the stylish clothes that are out there. Right now, I have a very little selection of clothing, and a lot of choices look very old ladyish. I can't wait to be out of extended plus sizes! I hate shopping for the fact that I don't want to try clothes on and that they usually don't have many young looking clothes. But, once I'm small.. shopping is going to become a great hobby of mine..I just know it!

Hopefully we get our scale soon in the mail. I need to know my starting weight. I feel like I've probably lost a couple pounds at least by now. I've got at least 150-200 pounds to lose. That's crazy, but I CAN DO IT!

Third Day

Today's been a pretty good day for me. Of course, I had a case of the Monday's. I've been working a temp job, and tomorrow's my last day. So, getting back into the routine of waking up at 6:20 was and still is somewhat difficult for me. Once I got up and got going today, I seemed to have more energy than normal. That felt nice.

Here's what I had to eat today:
Breakfast- Special K protein bar -- It was okay. I probably won't buy it again. The texture of it was pretty grainy. -- I drank a bottle of Dasani water with that.
-- I took a 1 liter bottle of water to work with me. And a serving size of pretzels to snack on.
Lunch- I took a trip to Wendy's :( -- I had their grilled chicken sandwich with mustard, and I picked off a lot of the bread. Instead of fries, I got a side salad and only put about half of my salad dressing on there. And I got a large water.
-No snack during the afternoon. I sipped on water, but I stayed pretty full from lunch.
Supper- 6 inch Subway sandwich. Turkey, mustard, pickles, lettuce, onions and olives.  And I also had a cup of the soup my sister made. It had chicken and veggies in it. Very good.  I drank 2 bottles of water before and during my dinner.
- I did my exercises less than an hour after eating. And I drank water right after doing them.
- A couple of hours after I ate supper, I had a Fiber One chocolate and oats bar. Very good, chocolaty, and not too horrible for you.

If I can keep this pace up, I'm going to be golden! I can't wait to start using my Herbalife products. They are going to help me out so much. I have trouble deciding on what I want to eat that's healthy. And that'll help me avoid that situation.

I'm having photos taken of me by a great photographer in Texarkana on September 11th. My birthday is the following day.. so I thought that would be a great time to take them. I haven't had "real" photos taken of me since my high school senior photos. I LOVE being behind the camera, but I cringe at the thought of being in front of it. But.. I'm going to need some before photos. I'll be sure to post a couple after we take them.

I'm still very excited about the journey ahead of me. I've just got to stay focused.. Keep my eye on the prize!-- I want to be in skinny jeans!

First & Second Day

Wow. I really don't even know where to begin. -- This blog is going to tell all about my struggles, victories, and outcomes in my weight loss. I'm going to be brutally honest, and reach an emotional level probably in every message. But, I want to be able to look back on this and see how much my weight has hurt me, and then I'll know that I never want to be at that point again.

I've never in my life been small, or even somewhat small. I've always been overweight, and now obese. Maybe even morbidly obese. I try to avoid looking in the mirror for more than just 2 seconds, because if I start actually looking at myself and my body it makes me sick and very disappointed.

For years, I've tried to avoid going to the doctor as much I possibly could, because I knew they were going to weigh me. I rather pay more money to go to the clinic that doesn't weigh, because I just don't want to get on the scale. My anxiety about being weighed is unreal. It's especially gotten worse over the past 3 or 4 years. I know I've gained about 80 pounds since 2008. I'm miserable. My stomach feels so bloated all of the time. My amount of energy is basically nothing. I have aches and pains that young people my age shouldn't be having.

I feel that my problem is that I overeat at meals. I don't usually snack, so portion control at meals is my number 1 problem. I eat junk food (chili dogs, burgers, fried chicken, etc) a lot. And of course, with those kinds of meals, I would drink a large soda. Dr. Pepper and sweet tea are my go to drinks. I would try to drink 1-2 bottles of water a day, but even then, sometimes that didn't happen.

About a week ago, my mom and I were talking and I mentioned to her that I wanted to transform my life. I am going to be turning 25 on September 12th, and I want my 25th year to be my transformation year. I want to lose at least half of my body weight in a year. I don't know if I can reach that, but you have to have goals. Then, just a few days ago I received a message from my good friends, the Rice's, Tim and Haleigh Rice. I grew up in church with Tim and I met Haleigh in high school. They were both a year ahead of me in school. I remember being able to talk to both of them, truthfully and honestly. And that still remains the same today, years later. They both genuinely care about me and my health. Haleigh had started as a distributor for Herbalife. -I had heard about Herbalife before, but based on my other experiences with meal replacement drinks, I was pretty skeptical.- But, after talking to her and Tim about the company and trying a couple of the products, I definitely felt like it was a good route for me to take in my weight loss challenge.

I'm glad to have the option of the meal replacement shakes, because as of right now, I'm having trouble deciding what I'm going to eat, and what the nutritional value is. I'm excited to get my products in.

Over the past 2 days I've eaten very well, and done a small amount of exercise. I feel a little sore from the exercise, because my body isn't used to it.

This next week is going to be a great week, and a very interesting one. I'm going to have my new products come in, and I plan on doing a shake for breakfast and supper. My lunch is either going to be a salad with low fat or fat free dressing, and water. Or, a sandwich from Subway... because I LOVE all the veggies on there. - I am currently unemployed, but am fortunately on a 2 week temp job, so my lunch away from home is going to be a nice treat for me. -- We're also going to be getting in a scale this week for us to have here at home. I really don't know what I weigh right now, but I do have an idea of about how much. The last time I was weighed was about 3 months ago or so when I went to the doctor last. - I don't feel comfortable sharing that number right now, because it is such a embarrassing thing for me. Once I've lost some, I'll be able to share the number with you. But, for right now I will keep up with my current weight and amount of pounds lost each week. We have a scale at home right now, but it doesn't go past 300. The new scale we are getting in will go up to 550 lbs., but I'm definitely not going to need it all that much.

Right now I'm going strong and feeling great. Yesterday and today have been awesome, and I am so thankful to have the support from the Rice's and my family. I couldn't do this without them. I can't wait to be at my goal! I hope someday (sooner rather than later) that I'll be about 130-140 pounds, but my realistic goal for now is 200. Then I'll work on the 2nd goal to get down to about 135.

So, be on the lookout for more blogs. You'll be hearing from me a lot. :)