Weigh In Day (Back into a Routine)

Hello There Everyone!

It is Sunday! Weigh-In/ Reflection Day!

This week has had be focusing on the kitchen. Making healthy lunches, making healthy meals, and not snacking in between. I had a pretty great week (apart from Thursday... but we will get to that in a second). I started doing something I haven't done in a long while and that is myfitnesspal. I have started tracking my calories- just out of curiosity- and stopping to notice what is going on with my nutrition. 

I did really well all week. I hate proper portion sizes (thank-you 21 Day Fix portion control containers) and all of my meals were contributing to my health in a positive manner. NO COMFORT EATING. Monday- DREAM; Tuesday- DREAM; Wednesday- EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZEY... Thursday.... uh-oh.

I am not sure what triggered it on Thursday but it was not a good day for me. I came home feeling rather hungry (and with a migraine) so i decided to casually eat a snack as I was preparing an early dinner. This dinner (although not the healthiest) was supposed to be properly portion sized and created to fit within my calories perfectly. It was home-made pizza; AND I DID A GOOD JOB. I only had two small pieces with exactly 12 pepperoni and a little bit of cheese. This wasn't the part that went south for me. The part that went south was the munching on snacks while I was cooking. I was preparing a (relatively) healthy meal all while I was not paying any attention to what I was stuffing my face with while cooking. I will be honest... I don't know how much I actually ate. All I know is I had crackers out and was putting two pepperoni on each cracker along with a healthy helping of cheddar cheese. 

I didn't even notice until I woke up bloated. Tired. Feeling awful. I thought to myself: "what can this be from!? I had a great eating day yesterday!" I literally had to stop and think about what I did to realise that I wasn't being careful. I binged... again. BUT, it was fine! I got up, chugged some water, made my Shakeology smoothie and went on my way. I knocked Friday and Saturday out of the park and I am SO proud of myself for staying on track. Old Becky would have given up and said "screw it. I will start again on Monday." NOT THIS GIRL! NO SIR! I got back on the horse this time and continued on my week. I learned from this mistake and on Friday I measured out my after school snack properly and went on my merry way.

Let's check out this week's weigh-in:

Weigh In:

Original Weight: 202.6 lbs

Last Weight: 179.6 lbs

              Current Weight: 177.4 lbs

Weight Lost From Last Time: -2.2 lbs

Total Lost: 25.2 lbs

Last Week's Goals Reflections:

Goal #1: WATER BABY. Get that water in. 

SUCCESS! I have had my full 8oz (or more) every day this week. It has been getting easier. When I look back on it now, I don't actually think I had any other beverages apart from water this week. WHOA. That is huge for me. Well Done, Becky.

Goal #2: Breakfast (Shakeology or something else... but get it in!)

DONE AGAIN! If you have read any of my blog then you know that I STRUGGLE with breakfast. There is something about me (and I don't know what it is) but I am never hungry in the morning. EVER. I literally have to force myself to eat in the mornings. This makes it rather hard to actually have breakfast. Once I get going in the morning everything else seems more important than eating simply because I am not hungry. 

This week was different. With the help of Shakeology, I have had breakfast every day! Even this weekend! (See picture below).

Goal #3: WORK OUT

Ooops... I knew I was forgetting something. Okay, okay.. I know... it is bad that I didn't workout. I am owning up to it right now. I did not work out.. done. I said it.. therefore it is true. I write this because it is very hard for me to not go back to last weeks blog and change the third goal. Failing is very hard for me... and so here I am saying that I failed.

I didn't workout... I did, however, walk my dog every day and had a HUGE fight with the couch as I tried to vacuum said dog's fur off (shedding seasons sucks when you own a husky). 

There.. I failed.. admit to it.. and move on. 

This Week's Goals:

I am actually really happy with how this week turned out. I am proud of myself for getting back on track and I am only 1.4 lbs away from where I was before my vacation (thank GOD). Here are my goals:

Goal #1: Work Out

Not every day but make an improvement from last week. One day is better than none. You can do this. Sit down and make yourself a promise that you will not break. Work out ONCE this week. DO IT.

Goal #2: Measure Out Snacks

No more "grabbing a handful." Measure out everything you put in your mouth. This isn't to restrict myself so much, but to become self aware of what proper portion sizes are. I want to use my 21 Day Fix Containers to make sure I am fueling my body in the best way possible

Goal #3: Personal Growth

I am learning so much by reading "Girl, Wash Your Face" by Rachel Hollis. I want to continue to read her book and learn ways to become a better me.

That's it for this week.

I hope you have a great week!

Stay Focused,

Becky

xo

Courage

I was looking at quotes about success and failure (which I will share down below) and I decided to call this blog post courage from the following: 

https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/failure

This quote really stood out for me. Since I failed this week at sticking to my goals and eating nutritionally, I needed motivation. So here I am to give you motivation (if you need it) and share with you my weekly reflection.

If you have already read my update this week (click here if you haven't) then you know this week has been a rough week. I have not be strict with  my nutrition and I have not been exercising. It was rough. I was putting myself down (a lot) but not getting up do do anything about it. It wasn't until Thursday (Pizza day at school) that I realised something needed to change. There is not point in talking myself down and not doing anything to fix what was going on. 

http://dailyquotes.co/failure-inspires-winners-success-quotes/

So, I made a weekend plan.  Starting on Friday, all the way to Sunday. I had a goal in mind, I set out my intentions for the next few days (short term goals) and set out to do them. No cheat meals, no guessing what I was going to eat. I could make no over eating decision because I had a plan. I sat down with my fiance and we planned meals (all of them) and that was that. It is 1 pm on Sunday, and I must say this weekend has been one of the most successful I have ever had!

http://consult4sales.com/fail-plan-plan-fail-2/

That may seem harsh, but a huge part of being successful in this journey is planning. Setting out weekly intentions, planning meals, prepping meals... it all has a huge part in my success. This gets my mind in the perfect framework to be successful. 

What I am going to do this week:

Only Plan Mon-Wed in detail so that I am not losing sight of the rest of the week.

On Wednesday I will play Thursday/Friday

On Friday I will plan Saturday/Sunday

http://fitnessfunatics.ca/2015-new-years-resolution/

I want to see if this will work differently for me this week. Instead of planning the entire week, I will do a few days at a time to focus and remember what I am doing AND to reflect and improve. I should be reflecting throughout the week, not just on Sundays.

Anyways, now to get to the knitty-gritty... what you all came here for:

Weigh In:

Original Weight: 202.6 lbs

Last Weight: 179.8 lbs

              Current Weight: 179.4 lbs

Weight Lost From Last Time: -0.4 lbs

Total Lost: 23.2 lbs

It wasn't a crazy amount this week (we all know why) but it is still a loss. I noticed what was happening and turned it around for the rest of the week to wholeheartedly deserve that 0.4lbs. My smallest weight loss in 2018, but so far my proudest.

https://www.askideas.com/87-most-famous-failure-quotes-sayings/

Have a great week.

Stay Focus,

Becky. xo

I did it... again.

Hola!

Not a fun happy post here, but an important one none-the-less. 

For the first time since January I emotionally ate. I was upset and went to food to make me feel better... twice. The first time was at home. I had an emotional night and was very upset about something. I waited and waited and at 8pm I decided to make myself my favourite meal: poutine (fries, cheese and gravy). I had a good sized portion and I am not going to lie... it felt good. I needed that poutine in that moment and I had it. I wasn't until I felt how uncomfortable I was with a distended stomach and feeling so full I was sleepy that I realised I did not need to be doing that. 

Same thing happened today. I had a stressful day at work, and instead of drinking water, taking breaths, making a list of ways to better my situation I turned to good old pizza day. I bought 2 slices of pepperoni pizza and enjoyed them along side my class. Again, it wasn't until about 15 minutes after the pizza that I realise that 1. I did not feel better about the stress of my day, and 2. I just felt guilty. Two nights out of 5 I have failed myself. It does not feel good. It feels awful.

BUT that is not going to stop me. The past 2 weeks have been rough, I am not going to lie. But I am not giving up. I am going to sit down and make a plan (maybe I will post it on here). I am going to get my butt into gear and get going. 

Emotional eating does not define me. I am not an "emotional eater," it is simply not who I am. I battle and struggle with using food as comfort, especially when I am feeling alone. I know this about myself.. which is why I refuse to allow this small sliver in my journey to define me and ruin the entire process. 

Tomorrow is a new day (not Sunday) and I am determined to make this week turn around and become a good week. I will not let they two slip ups ruin my mindset and ruin what I have been working so hard to accomplish. I will not go back...

Here's to a kickass Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! 

Stay Focused,

-Becky. xo

So far 2018 has been Eggsellent!

HOLA! 

So the past week has been quite an interesting experiment. I have NEVER enjoyed hard boiled eggs. I can't stand the smell of them and so I have never even remotely been interested in eating them. Until New Years Day... 

On New Year's Day I decided to make my fiance some Devilled Eggs because he loves them and his best friend always makes them for New Year's Eve. Since we are so far from home I wanted to cheer him up and make some eggs for him. I fully intended on making them just for me and not trying one at all... I really wasn't interested.

However, after they were cooked I decided to take a bite. I wanted to taste what I made for my fiance and prove to myself that all these years of not eating boiled eggs was okay because boiled eggs taste disgusting.

I was wrong.

They were DELICIOUS and I have been hooked ever since. I have been playing around with the recipe to try and make them slightly healthier. I think today is the day! The day that I have created a more healthy Devilled Egg!

Original Recipe:

2 Eggs (boiled... obviously)

1 tbs of Olive Oil Hellman's Mayonnaise 

.5 tsp of French's Dijon Mustard (we have the Chardonnay kind)

Pinch of Garlic Powder

Pinch of Onion Powder

Salt/Pepper to taste. 

By making small changes (since the spices/mustard really flavour the yolk) I have cut this recipe from 267 calories and and 23g of Fat to 190 Calories and 16g of Fat. How you might ask? GETTING RID OF THE MAYONNAISE!

I thought that having the Olive Oil Mayonnaise made it okay, and I am sure it is better for you than regular mayonnaise, but honestly... 100 calories in 1tbs is WAY too many calories for me! 12g of Fat in 1tbs!? Are you kidding me!?

So I looked around in my fridge and was looking at what I could substitute mayonnaise with and came up with Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Honestly, it went so well. I thought they tasted wonderful and I wasn't wasting away on a processed food that is completely beneficial to put in my body.

Here's what I did today:

2 Eggs

0.5 tbs Philadelphia Cream Cheese    (23 calories, 2g fat)

0.5 tsp of French's Dijon Mustard'

Pinch of Garlic Powder

Pinch of Onion Powder

Salt/Pepper to taste

I must say, I am pretty proud of myself for this. Usually I would just say "meh, 267 calories for breakfast isn't that bad... I don't need to change." But this new mindset where I am thinking about what I am putting into my body is really sinking in. I now can have a snack a couple hours after my breakfast and not feel guilty or worry about whether or not I am over eating. It has been lovely to tell you the truth. 

Just wanted to get this out there, and hopefully re-reading this in the future will remind me to try new things. Sticking to what you know is what has gotten you into this predicament. You are only going to be a new you if you change. Get out of your comfort zone. Experiment. Try new things. This is going to be my year. I can tell. 

Why Hello 2018!

Here I am, once again. I always feel like I need to apologise for not blogging more often... or for falling of the band wagon (when it comes to blogging). So, Sorry I've been MIA.

I haven't been focusing too much on my diet and exercise lately. I also haven't been binging and not caring at all. To be honest, it has been a nice balance. I haven't been obsessing and I haven't been indulging every day. Now that I look back at my last entry, I have actually lost weight and I think I am at the lowest I have been since blogging on this website.

Everything has been good. We adopted a dog (the most adorable thing that currently exists on this planet!) which has encouraged me to do some more walking. I take him for at least 1 walk every day so that has been working out for me and the little fur ball. I do admit, Alex does take the dog out for a walk much more frequently than I do. Something I hope I can change. 

Introducing: Kodi (age 4 adopted for almost 5 months)

**Sorry, I couldn't choose just one photo**

  
 

Anyways, in the spirit of the New Year, I am going to post my New Years Resolutions. Again, Weight Loss isn't a Resolution because (like I said last year) it is a life long journey that I have been dealing with for a long amount of time. My Resolutions are usually things I wish to change to make my life better.

Resolution #1 

To develop a proper night time/ morning routine.

At the current moment, I do not have a set "schedule" for "bed time." I often forget to do pretty important things (shower, take off make-up) which leads to a mad scramble in the morning when I need to shower, get ready, make a lunch, walk the dog (sometimes), have breakfast, and be out the door by 7am.  I hope that this year I can develop some sort of routine or schedule so that my mornings are a lot easier and less stressful. 

Resolution #2

To continue to spice up supper time.

I admit it, most of the time I come home with my fiance and we decide to cook something simple that both of us enjoy. It's nice... but I miss cooking. Last year I had the same resolution and I managed to add 8 recipes to our repertoire. I enjoy cooking, it makes me excited and happy. I want to continue building recipes (I discovers an incredible devilled eggs recipe yesterday) and cook more from scratch. This will include planning meals out for the whole week rather than spur of the moment decisions.

I hope to have 1 new recipe a month (at least), so this time next year there should be 12 more recipes in my recipe book.

Resolution #3

Be Healthier

I do not mean "lose weight." I think there is a big difference in what I am trying to say here. By this is mean:

• Get a full night's sleep
•  Drink Plenty of Water
• Wash/Moisturize your face and skin
• Take time for yourself (yoga, painting, etc).
• Eat foods that nourish your body, not foods that temporarily make you feel good (cakes, etc).
• Grow and strengthen your relationships

That is it for my resolutions this year. I usually only do 2 resolutions, but since one of them is continuing from last year I think I am good with adding a third one. 

Oh, and I suppose I should update you on how the whole weight situation is going (since this blog is about losing weight).

Original Weight: 202.6 lbs

Last Weight (29 April): 189.6 lbs

              Current Weight: 186.8 lbs

Weight Lost From Last Time: -2.8 lbs

Total Lost: 15.8 lbs

We are getting there, slowly... but surely.

Happy New Year's Everyone! 

xo

I know, I know... where have I been?

Hello Everyone!

I know I made a deal with myself to keep blogging once a week, and it failed. To be truthful, I was just getting tired of writing the same old thing. The plateau hit me hard, and I couldn't seem to get under 192 and maintain it. I didn't know what was wrong with me.

Honestly, I was getting tired of writing positive blog posts when inside I felt like crap because I could NOT get past that 192. Sometimes I would be 191.8, but it never lasted long. 

Anyways, I am back! I am also here to announce that I have KILLED the plateau! I am officially under 190! It has taken me MONTHS, as you all know if you have been following along with me. I weighed 202.6 lbs in October of 2016 and I sit here now 7 months later finally under 190. It has been so frustrating. This is the slowest I have EVER lost weight. I thought for sure I'd be AT LEAST in the 60s by now. 

It has been incredibly difficult this time around, which is good. I am hoping I remember how hard this is becoming and it will help me keep the weight off. Last time I lost 25-30 lbs in three months. So I always though "it's okay, I can just lose it." Not this time. It has been a STRUGGLE. 

So here is my Weigh In:

       Original Weight: 202.6 lbs

Last Weight (27 March): 194.0 lbs

              This Weigh In: 189.6 lbs

Weight Lost From Last Week: -4.4 lbs

Total Lost: 13.0 lbs

My goals are to continue exercising (it is getting so much easier now that it is nice outside), and to continue drinking water. 

Stay Focused.

Have a good week.

Becka.

Two Game Changing Items

Whoa, lucky you!

I will be publishing three blogs in a row after I do tomorrow's weigh in! 

Today I really want to talk to you about some items that have been game changers for me the past month or so. As some of you may know, I have been counting calories and being very picky with what I put into my mouth the past little while. It has been great but I realized that perhaps it wasn't being all the accurate. 

A while back Alex bought a food grade scale (he makes homemade beer and liquor) so I decided to try out measuring my food by weight rather than just estimating. I found that by doing this I got more accurate readings of the calories I am am eating. 

For example, I usually write that I am eating 1/4 of an avocado when I am having breakfast. I know I am not actually eating 1/4 but I say that just to be safe. With a scale I can write in the actual grams of avocado I am eating and have it come back with a much more accurate reading. When I put in a lunch of 1 taco with estimates it came to 245 calories, and I was perfectly happy with that. That's a great number for lunch (I would consider that low actually). Today I put in the exact measurements of EVERYTHING and it came to 198 calories!!! Can you believe it? 

I was able to add in a healthy snack to go with it (about an hour later so I could spread out my food).

Measuring lets me eat more (usually) because I am using more accurate numbers. I always think I am eating more than I am!

The second item that has been a game changer is this 5$ cup from independent grocers.

I have found on  my weight loss journey that I am more disappointed with myself when I don't get enough water in than when I go over calories for the day. I don't know why, but it is just how it goes. Drinking water is something that comes so easily to me so there should be no reason why I don't drink 8 full cups. This little tumbler thing has really helped me to get the water in. I don't know why but every time I fill this bad boy up I have the whole thing finished within minutes. I love it. I've even started to bring to school with me.

Well, that's it from me for now.
Cheers!

Becka
xo

Importance of Breakfast

Note: I am currently writing this on my iPad mini because Alex is on the computer and 

I am feeling very inspired!

Hola Amigos !

Okay okay, I know 

. What a silly title. Everyone and their dog knows that breakfast is important. I got it. It is written on every fitness blog, every chat room, and grandma has been telling me for years. However, I am a stubborn human being and I go against societal norms and I am living proof that one can survive 25years without breakfast (even if I am overweight... Minor Side effect). There stubborn Becka has said her bit. 

This week my goal was to eat breakfast everyday. This had a couple of slight setbacks right from the get go... Let me explain. 

1. I am on March break right now and therefore in order for me to have a proper breakfast I must be an adult and wake up at a reasonable time so that breakfast doesn't become brunch/lunch... What a road block for me.

2. I have to get out of this silly mindset that I simply am not hungry when I wake up. I say that will 100% honesty here... I am NEVER hungry the moment I wake up (unless I wake up at noon and go straight to lunch). 

That being said... This week I have been making sure that I have a nutritious breakfast that is well balanced and delicious. I have given myself a little bit of extra sleep in time, forcing myself to have breakfast between 9am and 10am. I set my alarm for 9am and told myself that I had less than an hour to get hungry and have breakfast. If I didn't get hungry I had breakfast at 9:45am anyways.

I have had 2 different kinds of breakfasts this week. I had either had an omelette or a smoothie. I honestly don't know which one I prefer, but I enjoyed getting up and making them.

Here is one of the omelettes I made this week.

I know it isn't the prettiest thing, but dannnnnnng is it ever good. 

Here are the ingredients:

1 Whole Egg

1 Egg White

4 Slices of Sun-dried Tomato

Chopped Onion to Taste

1 Pressed Garlic Clove

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tbs Frank's Red Hot Sauce

1/8 cup Cheddar Cheese OR 1/4 of a Crushed Avocado

Calories: 215   Fat: 14g  Carbs: 10g    Protein: 13 g

Here is a picture of my GREEN Smoothie, something I thought I would legitimately never make.

Again, not the pretties picture... But really yummy!

Here are the ingredients:

1 Banana

8 frozen strawberries

1 cup chopped pineapple

1 cup Spinach

1/4 Cup Greek Yogurt (new addition)

3/4 cup Water 

Calories: 266   Carbs: 59g. Fat: 2g.  Protein 7g

Note on the Greek Yogurt: I bought plain 2% Greek yogurt to put in my smoothie because I found I was a bit more hungry at lunch time without it. Since I was eating virtually no protein. I've only used it once and only added a little bit because I was afraid my smoothie would taste too much like yogurt if I added more. I think next time I make this, I will add more to the smoothie.

Alright, so, how did I go?

It went really well. I didn't feel like I was forcing myself to eat the breakfast. By the time I was done making it I think I was so excited to taste the food that it made me feel like I was hungry, which is good in my books. I really enjoyed waking up have and having breakfast. It just generally boosted my day! 

I also found that I was able to have smaller lunches because I wasn't feeling so calorically deprived from my huge break from food (dinner to next day lunch). I was able to have a healthy turkey taco wrap that held me over for quite some time. I decided to use half a tortilla while making my lunch because I didn't need as much carbs to get me through the days (I still used the same amount of filling I would normally use). It was just slightly tricky to eat a half a wrap. You don't  realize how much bread product you are needlessly consuming when you have a wrap! 

Anyways, back to breakfast. 

So, here are the three benefits that I want to remember about breakfast.

1. You will eat less bad foods if you start eating earlier in the day. Having a stready flow of food throughout the day is so important. You have experienced this during the course of this week. 

2. You will be more excited to wake up and cook and eat if you have a nice breakfast. I've just woken up is such a good mood all week (is this because I am on vacation or because of the food? I don't really know).

3. You can actually accomplish your water goals if you wake up and start eating breakfast (I had a big glass of water with eat breakfast).

I think it will take a while longer to see some of the other benefits that come a long with eating breakfast such as a boost in my motabolism, but I will for sure keep an update on here.

Only one more thing left to chat about. My only concern here is how I will  keep up with this breakfast trend when I go back to work. I can't make these foods and eat them before I leave for work. I am that kind of person that makes up 30 minute before I have to leave. I may to actually wake up at a proper time. That seems like such a silly thing to say, but I am just trying to be honest with myself here. 

There's no way of knowing until I get there. For right  now, I am really enjoying this change. I  hope to keep it up literally forever.

Becka

Xo

Week Twenty: What went wrong?

So, if you take a look at my weigh-ins I have updated it with the information on the app that I downloaded. Let's be real here: in the past week I have gained over 4lbs. 

WHY?

My weigh-ins have been fairly regular, my biggest jump being 2 lbs. What happened when I was doing so good (the lowest I have been last week) to back above 195 lbs. I seriously do not understand. 

Looking back on this week I see that I have had A LOT of pasta.

Most days for lunch I had left over healthy chicken Alfredo (small portion) [Here is the recipe]

Wednesday I had Spaghetti for supper

Saturday I had Mac and Cheese for supper

and Sunday I had Lasagna for supper.

I usually only allow myself to have pasta once a week, last week I didn't even realize how much pasta I was having.

I also wasn't eating a proper breakfast. I may have only had "breakfast" (yogurt and an apple) twice this week. Either I didn't make breakfast before work OR I slept in and skipped right to lunch. We also ran out of eggs last week (which is my main breakfast food when I do not work) so I had to make other options or just skipped to lunch.

NOT GOOD.

Goals for Week Twenty-One 

(a lot of the same goals as the beginning of this journey)

#1: Eat Breakfast! I started today and had a wonderful omelette (with sun dried tomatoes, onion, garlic, avocado, and a tsp of hot sauce... it was delicious). I have bought fruit (frozen and fresh) to have a smoothie if I want something quicker and I am looking up lots of egg dishes to get myself started. I will NOT skip breakfast everyday and I will try to wake up between 9-10 (I am on March break) to make sure I have breakfast.

#2: Drink Water! It is as if I have completely forgotten that water exists. Ugh... I have been drinking diet coke at an incredibly fast rate. At one point over the past month I had 6 diet cokes in ONE day. I was shocked when I saw the cans lying around. I only had a glass of water when I woke up in the morning. I am going to switch that COMPLETELY. I will only have one diet coke per day and I will have 6+ glasses of water. 

#3 Just Be Mindful in General! I just need to focus again on what I am putting into my mouth. Am I needlessly snacking? Am I giving up and having extra cheat days? When am I snacking? Why am I snacking? Just enjoy each bite and be mindful of what is going on eating wise.

The next couple months are going to be hard with my fiance leaving for Ontario for two months. I will be alone, and probably bored so that leaves a lot of room for needless snacking and stress eating. 

Back on Track.

Here we Go!

Becka, xo.