DietBet Results

This week ends with the conclusion of my very first DietBet experience. I am happy to report that I am a "winner", having hit my goal a week early!

I'm not going to lie - when I first signed up, I was a bit cocky about the whole thing. I had been eating so poorly and not exercising, so I figured that it would be SO EASY to lose 4% of my body weight in 4 weeks. But, when the weight didn't magically start falling off, I had to kick it into high gear.

I started out at 208lbs, and I weighed in today at 197.2...which feels amazing. I've improved my eating habits once again, and challenged myself with exercising. Every time I was tempted to skip a workout or eat half of a pizza, I'd remind myself of the DietBet challenge and would make a better choice. I was so happy to have the motivation!

I am sure that I will continue on with these habits in the upcoming months. I have so much more energy than I did even a few short weeks ago, and I'm sleeping better too. I really do feel healthier.

I plan to take some comparison photos this weekend, so I will show those to you next week!

Healthful Cookies

So, some of you know that I hate to cook. But baking? Love it. The obvious problem with this is that baking tends to involve a less healthy (but super yummy) end result, so I don't end up doing it a lot. So I was delighted to find a more healthful cookie recipe to try. You may have seen it going around Facebook. Note: the end result will NOT look like the photo they show. It will look like this:


The ingredients are:
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed (mine weren't overly ripe so I microwaved them to make mashing easier)
- 1/3 cup apple sauce (unsweetened is what I used)
- 2 cups oats (I used quick oats)
- 1/4 cup almond milk (I recommend unsweetened...I actually used unsweetened chocolate)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- OPTIONAL: 1/2 cup raisins or chocolate chips. I used chocolate chips, but with the cinnamon raisons would be a great choice too.

You want to set your oven for 350 degrees. The instructions said to bake 15-20 minutes, but I only baked them for 12 because my oven is crazy like that. I made the cookies on the small side, so it made 24 at just under 70 calories each. DELICIOUS, and except for the chocolate chips, no added sugar!

The recipe was from the Facebook page "Health is Wealth". I may have to stalk their sit for more recipes.

As for the end result? Well, they aren't pretty looking, but DELICIOUS. My 5-year-old refused to try them due to how they looked, but my little guy enjoyed his! My husband, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to divorce me just by looking at them :)

I say they are worth a try!

I was actually thinking that you could probably add some almond slices and bake them in muffin liners to make a half-decent quick breakfast. Hmmmm...

O...M...G

I LOST 3.4 POUNDS THIS WEEK!!!

Make Up

I am trying to decide whether or not I need to makeover my makeover. What I mean is, I am wondering if I should change up my makeup routine now that I've gone blonde. And because I've basically done the same thing for years, other than adding in new eye shadow colours. But I don't know where to start. Have any of you ever had a free makeover at a mall and had good results?

Here are some examples of myself (sorry to be so vain, but I need HEEELLLLP). The first photo is makeup-free (what I would wear around the house or for a quick errand). The second is with minimal makeup on(what I would wear on a day off where I was going out and about, but not doing anything important). The third is my full face, which I would wear to work. I would add more lipstick for a night out, but that's about it. Which do you prefer?





As much as I appreciate natural beauty in others, I definitely prefer myself with a full face of makeup on. I need it!

Please share with me any tips or tricks you may have. I'd really appreciate the feedback!

I. Am. Sore.

Ouch!

I think my body is letting me know that I have a really good workout on Saturday. I was sore as heck yesterday, and almost as sore today. I'm sure that my night time bike ride last night probably didn't help, but I was hoping to loosen things up. I really need to start stretching better. I mean, it's nice to know that I worked hard, but not so nice when I have trouble moving afterwards!

Eating is going better. Much better. But I still find that I'm consuming too much sugar, so I need to keep an eye on that. I'm trying to pay more attention to eating proper amounts of lean proteins and vegetables. But of course I still eat fruits and grains and treats and all that. I'm trying to stick to the "everything in moderation" mentality.

I can't wait to be out of the 200's....

Pants Schmants

So I had to bite the bullet and buy new pants the other day.

No, these were not “I’ve already lost so much weight that I need new clothes” pants. These were “I outgrew my fat clothes two months ago and still can’t fit into them and am tired of feeling like a sausage” pants. I’ve basically been wearing the same two pairs since mid-December, and only one even fits properly. So I decided that it was time to move forward (or backwards?) I didn’t have the best luck shopping, but I did manage to get two pairs for 50$, so that’s good. I was fully expecting to need size 16, or ever larger, so I was thrilled to come out with one size 14 and one size 12. Sure, it may very well be vanity sizing (actually I’m sure it is), but heck, it made me feel better about myself.

I’ve been asked three times in the past month if I’m pregnant, so I need all the self-esteem boosts I can get. And they look good!

In other news, my workouts are going well. My husband dug out the ol’ stationary bike for me, and I’m trying to do at least 20 minutes on that twice a week (plus some arm exercises) in addition to my gym time. Usually I like to get to the gym 3 times per week, but due to the crummy weather making me feel like I want to hibernate, I’m setting a goal of just twice a week for now. So that’s still 4 workouts altogether. Not bad. And my eating is getting better too. I’m still eating too much sugar, but I’m slowly improving on that. Slowly.

I lost 1 1/2 lbs this week, bringing my New Year total to 4 1/2 lbs. While that is a good loss so far, it’s frustrating that it seems to take twice as long to lose weight as it does to put it on. I guess I just need to be patient.

Have a great weekend!

Homemade Goodies

I was really excited to share the photos of things I've made leading up to this past holiday season. However, blogger isn't allowing me to update photos right now! So, if you'd like to see them, try this link: here. Let me know if it works.

If you scroll down to the piggy banks and work your way up, you should hit everything that I've done in the past few months. I am sorry for not showing them directly on here!

For the Runners

I've got a recommendation for you runners out there.

No, it's not something that will help you to increase your speed or distance...it's actually a book. Behold:



This book (well, book of comics, really) is brought to you by the author of such nonsense as "How to Tell if Your Cat is Trying to Kill You", "My Dog: The Paradox", and "Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants". This author tends to make very hilarious observations about every day life - his books make me laugh until my sides ache. Now, I should warn you...the author doesn't watch his language (I'm not a fan of cursing myself) and occasionally his examples can be crude, but if you think you can stomach that...then I recommend this book for you.

Actually, you can see some of the comics on his website here.

I don't find these ones quite as funny as some of his others I've read, but if you are a runner (even a new runner), I am SURE you can relate to some of these!

Happy Reading!

Starting Over, Yet Not Starting Over

I am struggling to find the best way to word this post. There are so many things that I want to say, so many thoughts and emotions swirling around in my brain that it feels darned near impossible to put them together coherently. Don't you hate it when that happens? I know I do. I'll try my best to get this out, but as always, no promises.

I am starting over again with my weight loss. As I've mentioned before, a few weeks ago I decided that I'd just about had it with worrying about everything I put into my mouth, and I vowed to give myself a break until the new year. No counting calories, no counting points, no clean-eating goals. Nothing, nada! Well, as you can imagine, that really added up, and I officially weigh the most I've ever weighed outside of pregnancy-related pounds: 207 lbs.

I'm actually not as upset about that as I thought I'd be. (Except for the fact that the BMI chart says I'm obese!) I don't hate what I see in the mirror - I'm not impressed, but I don't hate myself. I have come up with a plan for the New Year, joined a diet bet (where my weight is just slightly different than it will be here because for that you have to weigh in wearing clothes!), and am ready to get back in the swing of things. My mindset is also better than it's been in months. I could waste my time being angry with myself for "letting myself go", but that would just be wasted energy. I'd rather look forward, not backward. So with that attitude, I start over.

And, yet, in another way, I am not starting over.

Because last time I weighed this much, I couldn't run for 30 seconds without feeling winded. Heck, Icouldn't run for TEN seconds! I could barely squat with just my own body weight, yet now I can use a fifty pound bar. I couldn't do a "girlie" push up, lunge with any weight on my shoulders, or do a proper sit up. I can do those things now. So while yes, I am starting over with my weight, I am NOT starting over with my fitness. So what that means is that my health hasn't suffered quite as much as it could have. So, I am happy about that.

Here is to moving forward...