I LOVE WEIGHT WATCHERS!

FYI

My new weigh in day is Friday.

So today was my 2nd weigh in since I have started WW.

I lost 3 pounds!!!!!

Praise baby Jesus that freakin' number finally went down. I was nervous. I stepped on the scale (butt azz neked) this morning and closed my eyes. I opened one eye to see the verdict. When I saw that I had lost three pounds I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled mouthing "no way!"

So I stepped on 3 more times.

Yep. 3 pounds!

That, my friends, is why I love Weight Watchers.

You follow the rules and it works. Simple.

I followed the rules for the most part during my first week. I really need to stop drinking so much alcohol. Not sure how to do that, as I love it so much. Not that I am always drinking to get drunk, but when I get home I like to unwind with a few beers or a couple glasses of wine.

That's all fine and dandy now, but once I hit a plateau I'm gonna have to figure something out.

Buuuut in the mean time......I FINALLY lost some weight.

How bout that?

I digress......

I have a funny story for you.

When I started this "journey" [that sounds so cheesy] I took some before pictures of myself, fully intending on NEVER. SHOWING THEM. TO. ANYONE. Unless of course I lose 50 pounds and someone pays me for the rights to my before and after pictures. Because, ya know, that's totally feasable.

Well I finally got my laptop fixed so I was uploading all my pictures from the past several months on it, while sitting next to Will. Aaaaand guess what pictures popped up!?!? I xed out really fast but he was all"

"What was that? Why do you have pictures of you in your bra on there? Are you sending those to people?"

Oh my god. He ACTUALLY thought I was trying to take SEXY pictures in my sports bra and belly that looks like I am 8 months pregnant. And that I was actually sending them to people. Then I had to explain to him what they were.

Think my face got red at all?

I guess it makes me happy that he didn't say "OH. OH GOD. WHAT WAS THAT?!?! WHY IS THERE A PICTURE OF A HIPPO IN A SPORTS BRA ON YOUR COMPUTER? OH GOD. I'M GOING TO VOMIT."

Which is totally the reaction I would expect from anyone seeing those pictures.

Know what else makes me happy? Him. In general. I have a lil' crush on this man. :)

That is all. Thank you to my 2 readers for reading.

Well....I officially joined Weight Watchers

Look at me! Posting twice in one day. But I have some [semi] exciting news! [hehe. semi.]

After griping to my sis about how annoyed I am with the amount of Weight I have [not] lost, she suggested I go back on WW. And actually do it/pay for it.

Being that I had some money at the moment, I WEIGHED (ha.ha.) my options. The pros certainly out WEIGHED the cons. (sorry.)

Pros:

• Stricter rules to follow (which sounds like a con, but NOT when you're trying to lose weight. I need to be told what to do!)
• It is the ONLY program I have ever lost weight on (and only when I was paying for it.. hmph)
• Fruits and veggies are generally 0 points. Me likey.
• Mobile apps! Of course, I don't have any on my bitchin' Blackberry right now, but once I get my upgrade and can replace this POS I will be appn' it up. I remember the calculator on my Droid being my savior when grocery shopping. I don't like snacks that are full of empty carbs that are worth 4 points. Uhnothanx.
• Exercise points. I can get some precious food points back just for exercising. If eating more food isn't motivation to run, I don't know what is. [That was my inner fat girl, forgive her.]
• They will stop harrassing me asking me to come back. I'm back now.
• On that note, I got 4 months for the price of 3 months! Thanks Weight Watchers!

Cons:

• Stricter rules to follow (so I CAN'T eat red meat for dinner every night? and then ice cream for dessert? followed by pounding a beer? That's nuts.)
• Keeping up with my food log
• The fact that I don't have a smart phone at the moment
• Sweet, sweet money
• Their food database drives me crazy. I mean.. how do they not have all the Smart Ones meals on there? They are WEIGHT WATCHERS MEALS. Jeeeeeeeze.

That is all, folks. Here I go. And by GOLLY I will lose 20 lbs by July.

Thunder Thigh Thursday & Frustration

Weighed in today.

It's the exact. same. number. that I have been seeing for the past 4 weeks.

And I know why. The dangum weekends.

I can't control myself!

How do I stay on track?

I need to figure it out because I've got less than 2 weeks left at this job with a "normal" schedule then I'm back to working late nights again.

My GOAL this weekend is to stay on track. No pizza. If I go out to eat, I'm getting a salad. And so on......

I'm still working on week 3 of the C25k program because I'm still really struggling with it. I'm struggling to go 3 times a week, and when I go it's REALLY hard. It's hard to run up those little hills in my neighborhood. They look innocent. But they're EVIL.

Who wants to buy me a tredmill? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?

I'm getting kinda discouraged.......but I know the reason I have not progressed is my fault. I still feel like I am eating healthier 90% of the time, exercising more than I was before I should be seeing SOME sort of difference. But nothing. I mean......at least the scale isn't going up, I guess.

I was looking at pictures from highschool last night and HOLY LORD was I skinny. And I thought I was fat. Please don't tell me that one day I'm going to look back on pictures of me now and think I was skinny.

Well, going to get pedicures with my sister tonight so I won't likely be running. Even though I intended on running today. I don't want to put yucky sneakers on my freshly painted toes. I wonder if there are any exercises I can do without wearing shoes? ;)

Week 3.. part Deux

Okay.. so to be honest, week 3 didn't go well for me last week. I only ran once! I am ashamed of myself, really.

Not to mention I had major issues at my good friend Kari's bridal shower Saturday. My friend Anna and I overslept. We didn't have time for breakfast so by the time we got to the shower I. Was. Starving.

Bad idea kids. Whenever you let your body get that hungry you have absolutely nothing telling you to be conscious of what you are putting in your mouth. I just ate and ate and ate until I felt miserable.

I had a salad.

Half a chicken ceasar wrap (with dressing on the side)

About 5 of these little guys. Then I went back and got like.. 8 more.

Oh. And then.....a nice big fat piece of chocolate cheesecake!

Way to go!

When I say I felt miserable, that was an understatement. I mean....there were def. options for me there to eat healthy. Why didn't I?? I waited way too long to eat. Lesson learned.

I'm going to try and start carrying snacks around with me so this does not happen to me again. If I had a protein bar to hold me off on the way there, I would not have attacked the food like a homeless child who had not eaten in weeks.

I started back with my running yesterday though. It was soo much easier for me cus you know what y'all?

I bought myself a gift. :-D

Okay, so it still wasn't easy. But it made it less awkward for me. I couldn't hear myself breathing heavily. Who cares if my geriatric neighbors do? I don't. I could sing along with the songs to regulate breathing and I had a pace to run to! It EVEN made me run more than I needed to for the week 3 program! No, I'm not going any faster but I'm going. And that's all that matters to me

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to work this lil gadget though. I like that it has Nike + already installed on it so I can keep track of how far I have gone/how fast etc. It makes me wanna run again today and beat myself, and that's always good! It's not too hot out today. I've gotta go meet the girls I nannied for to give them their easter baskets, but I can go before!

No excuses!

I also got a bunch of new running gear from good ol Wal*Mart.

I got a new sports bra- SO much better than the one I had:

I also got some new running shorts (a little snug now, hopefully they will fit soon) some running tops, and some running capris. They sure made me feel official!

So I fell down, but I'm getting back up. AND I will keep getting back up. I have to.



Week 3

Well no one read my last post.....so hopefully you will NEVER find out how naughty I was.

I have been battling with the scale this week. I haven't been eating poorly (ehem.. since Sunday night) but it appears as though my weight has gone up to my initial weight from 2 weeks ago. This does NOT make me happy. I feel like I've been working hard.. even if I do slip once in a while. It's really discouraging but.. going back to my previous was will DEF. not help me lose weight.

So I will continue.

I am PMSing this week so..ya know.. it could have something to do with that. Also, stay away from me if you know what is good for you, mkay? :)

So Monday I ended up in a really ugly mood. I  got home and just crawled in my bed and slept for 3 hours instead of running. It made me feel a little better but I'd probably felt better if I had RAN.

I did start week 3 yesterday. It was hard. I REALLY wish I had an iPod to use... that would make it so much easier. I found myself singing "Can I Get A..." (Jayz, duh) to myself during the 2nd 3 minute jog to keep my mind off of what I was doing.

HOW am I going to run 30 minutes nonstop? That's the goal, isn't it? Even 1/10th of that had me out of breath yesterday.

In other news, I still have not gotten my tax returns. This is angering me. I have no iPod. Oh, and NO gas in my car. And $5 in my account. It has been 5 business days, WTF!?

I'm an impatient person.

Well.......week 3, day 2 today ya'll. Wish me luck. And Weigh in tomorrow. Ugh. Don't be surprised if my little ticker --------------> over there goes up and saus GAINED 5 lbs. BLAH.

I was naughty

Happy Monday, all! Hope everyone had a good weekend. I did! Of course I did....I cheated.

Friday night I DIDN'T run and went to drink beer and watch basketball instead. But I was pretty good at dinner and only had a Smart Ones burger and half a serving of Pop Chips.

Then I got drunk and my boyfriend made me a Lean Pocket at 3am. Whoops.

Saturday was nice. I slept in, which is always amazing. Then I took my beau to work and went to meet my friend Laura. We went for a long walk in Hugh McRae park. I didn't jog any but we walked for a LONG time! Then we came back to my house for dinner where I made chicken kebabs and spinach orzo with feta. Yum.

Then I drank an entire bottle of red wine.

Somehow ended up at my beau's house and slept allllllllll day Sunday. I woke up feeling like garb. and STARVING by the way. So I took him to work and headed straight for Taco Bell.

Horrible. HORRIBLE. Decision. (because I was so starving.)

I completely over ate and to be honest, the Doritos taco? Not that great. Pretty much tasted like a regular taco.

So needless to say the scale was not very nice to me this morning. BUT I fully intend on running today. And tomorrow. And Wednesday. And Thursday.

I'm REALLY sore from our walk on Saturday but I'm still gonna go. Yeah, sore from a walk? I was suprised too.

I am starting week 3 of the C25K today. I only ran 3 days last week (week 2) but I'm still going to move on with the program. Hopefully I don't die. Week three goes like this:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:

• Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 400 yards (or 3 minutes)

I'm kinda scared of this ya'll. I mean it doesn't SEEM like a lot....but I'm a bit out of shape, ya know!

I really need to work on being more responsible on the weekends. That means.. stop drinking so much and making bad decisions. Anyone who knows me knows that this is not an easy thing for me to do.

I usually drink every night. Not like DRUNK drink but have a couple. I've been trying to cut it out during the week. Last week I didn't do so great. But I'm not giving up. I'm going to keep trying and I'm not going to stay mad at myself for pigging out on Taco Bell on Sunday. Today is a new day. It is also the start of a new week. A week where I'm going to be GOOD and lose a couple of pounds!

Oh so I'm thinking of buying this treadmill with my tax return. What do ya'll think?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Weslo-Cadence-G40-Treadmill/14234887

My best friend is a bitch.

Do you know what this bitch sent me???

This picture:



With the caption "What CHOO think ima get?"

H8 her.

H8 her hard.

I hope her toilet explodes later.

Love you, bitch!

A dead woman's ear wax..

So...at my temp job I work with people who are deaf and hard of hearing. I'm just the office assistant, no bigs. But some very interesting things happen around here, I must say.

Today I get a call from a lady asking if we received a returned hearing aid from her mother. So I go back and ask our telecommunications consultant if she has the package I gave to her last week.

We open a couple that aren't the right one.

Then we opened a small black box. Seemingly a non threatening Beltone box that holds a hearing aid that belonged to a deceased woman. May she rest in piece.

When we open it.. that sucker was COVERED in crusty, flaky yellow ear wax. (Not like a lollipop sucker......the freakin hearing aid weirdos. Gross.)

I gagged. I don't gag. (giggity) But I gagged. Yeah.. we threw that one away. The state will just have to deal because there was no way the TC was cleaning that. I sanitized and moved on.....

But I am scarred. The life kind.

So I did my 3rd day of Week 2 of the C25K yesterday. I have to say that it is SO much easier to run in the evening than in the afternoon like I did on Tuesday. I just get too hot! And its not even hot out yet! It is only March!!! Know what else would be easier? If I had a treadmill. I might ask for an inexpensive one for my birthday. Of course I've changed my mind on what I want for my birthday about a bajillion times.

I'm like a child.

I need to go jog today after work because I didn't on Wednesday. But I don't really feel like it. Like.....at all. It's Friday! I want a beer! Not boob sweat. Maybe I will though. I need to. It's only 30 minutes of my day. Doesn't help that my sister has been working from home all day makin' me all jealouz.

I have also realized that I need to set like.. a goal. And a date for said goal. My ULTIMATE goal is to lose 35 pounds. I don't know how long that would take me. But I have a date in mind. I have to go back to the lady Dr. again on July 20th. That's in 4 months. What is an attainable weight goal for for months? 20 pounds? Can I lose 20 pounds in 4 months? I think so.

So that's my new goal.

Lose 20 pounds by July 20th.

Think I can do it? I'd like to lose more. That would be awesome.

So then when should I set my main goal? 35 pounds. October? That gives me 7 months to lose 35 pounds. Is that enough time? Too much time? I have no idea. Someone HELP!!!!

Hope ya'll have a good weekend! I hope I do too! No plans as of right now but to watch some North Carolina basketball tonight! Go UNC! Go State! Wooh! (ugh. when does football start again?)

What better song than Chicken Fried on a Friday? There isn't one.

Weigh in Day

So Thursdays are my official "weigh in" day. I tried for a good like... 3 minutes to try and figure out a witty way to word the posts but the only thing I could come up with was

Thunder Thigh Thursday

That won't do. Can ya'll help me? What can I title my Thursday weigh in posts?

Anyways.....I have been weighing myself on 2 scales. My scale at home, which is HIGHLY inaccurate. And the one here at work.. which is closer to the doctor's measurements and is more reliable. I just don't want to get used to using the scale at work since I will only be here for another month or so.

Anyways (yeah I said it again, deal.) according to unreliable home scale I lost 1.5 lbs. According to more reliable and asshole work scale I lost 1/2 a pound. Which is probably more accurate.

But when I went to the Dr. on Tuesday I had lost 4.6 pounds since my last appt exactly 2 weeks before! So that lifts my spirits.

I guess I should fill you on on what I have been doing TO lose weight. I have been eating healthier, trying to stick around 1,200 calories a day. I have been also half doing Weight Watchers. I KNOW it works because it has worked for me before but I just don't have the money to pay for the program right now. However I lost more weight the week that I was trying to do weight watchers than when I was counting calories alone so I don't know. I'm going to play with it still and get back to ya'll.

The best website ever to use for this is http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ I am logged into it all day every day and everything I put in my mouth goes on that site. [Insert sexual joke here.] Their food database is HUGE and pretty much anything you eat someone has already entered. From what I have found, they are accurate measurements. Plus, users can give a food entered by another user "confirmations" so if a food has a lot of confirmations, you know the information is accurate. You can also track carbs, protein, fat and fiber on here which is what you need to calculate WW points. Lastly, and probably my favorite feature of this site, is that you can enter recipes. With their huge database it takes no time at all and you can figure out the damage any meal would do to your day. It has really helped me lighten up my recipes and still be able to eat what I enjoy. In moderation, of course.

I am also committing to a program called C25K....or Couch to 5K program. Basically, you slowly build up your stamina by alternating jogging and walking until you can run 30 minutes non stop, or a 5k.

I am currently finishing up week 2, where you run 90 seconds and walk 2 minutes for 20 minutes. It is totally not easy for me. But I do it, and I feel great afterwards.

I am also running in a slightly ghetto fashion as of right now. No money means no new do-dads to take with me on my runs. I mean.. I have clothes and shoes but I don't have a stop watch. Soooo I run with my kitchen timer in my hand. Hey, at least it's a FANCY kitchen timer I got at Target.

I also do not currently have an iPod as mine was stolen last summer. I have an old iPod mini but all the songs on it are so old, I don't have the cord to connect it to my computer and I can't find my earbuds. (I'm a super organized person.) So yeah, if you see a fat girl running with a kitchen timer singing her own songs, that'd be me. Until I get my tax returns that is. Then I will be purchasing a few things to make my runs go a little smoother.

Some of the ideas I have are as such: (I ALWAYS spend money before I get it. Bad habit.)



iPod Shuffle- $46.00 at Wal*Mart



An Actual Sport Watch- $16.99



There is also something of significant importance that I must speak with you all about. It is called the Dorito Taco and they have been showing commercials for it the past couple of weeks. I don't know WHY they come out with THE most delicious looking morsel of food ever when I am deciding to not eat like a cow. I am going to need severe interventions to get me to not eat this gift from god. So if you're with me, don't let me. And I thank you.



I just made myself really hungry.



So that concludes my Thunder Thigh Thursday. (Whoops. Dammit.) What other accessories do ya'll use when you exercise/workout?

Creation Explanation

So I promised you all an explanation as to why I decided to embark on this vain journey I call a personal blog.

If you know me personally, you know I enjoy talking about myself. I mean....who doesn't?

If you don't know me personally then......sup? A/S/L (kidding.)

Ok really reason numero uno for starting this blog is because I'm starting this stupid weight loss journey. And I need something to hold me accountable. I feel like if I am sharing my personal information for all those out there who care to read then maybe it will keep me going.

Lesbihonest. I have started this "journey" many MANY times. I have always failed. Well when I went to have a procedure at the doctor a couple of weeks ago and I saw my disgusting weight I knew I needed to do something. Like..now. Perhaps I will share that weight with you in the future, once I've lost some of it.

I remember my doctor telling me when I was 16 that I needed to start exercising.

"Say whaaaaat? Yeah right." Said skinny 16 year old me. Okay maybe I was never SKINNY per-se, but average. I was not overweight but since obesity runs in my family it was advised that I started on a healthier lifestyle then instead of waiting.

Wish I had listened.

Stylish 16 year old me

Here I am.. almost 10 years later.. and a good 40 pounds heavier saying "JULIA... GET OF THE DANG UM COUCH AND DO SOMETHING"

or even

"JULIA. STOP ENGAGING IN THAT RECREATIONAL DRUG THAT MAKES YOU EAT AT UNGODLY HOURS OF THE NIGHT."

Ahh high school Julia. And college Julia.

So anyways, watch me try to lose weight via blog, or whatever. If I actually lose some maybe I will post the GOD AWFUL before pictures I took last week. Oh man do I need to become an after picture more than anything.

This blog will also be a vehicle to communicate the many (many) awkward things that happen to me on a daily basis. It's kinda like Murphy's Law, Julia style. If something awkward can happen in a situation, it WILL happen to me.

And I'm starting a new job at the end of April which will likely lead me to many awkward encounters. I just can't WAIT. (sarcazm)

So this blog will not be like my food blog. This blog will be me. Unedited, unashamed (word?), unfiltered ME.

Are you as excited as I am? Subscribe to my posts, you'll be delighted daily.

My skirt blew up.....again.

I have been wanting to start this blog for a while and I will explain the blah blahs about that momentarily but first I have to explain the title of this post.

My skirt blew up....again.

Meaning, this is not the first time that people have seen the Julia show from below.

The first time was.. 2 summers ago I think. I had left my car at Kevin and Melissa's house overnight after some heavy drinking. I had my mom take me to my car the next day. I had on a cute black skirt and a blue tank top. And a thong, of course. I don't own "butt panties" ass I call them. I just don't like them.

It was a blustery day. My mom pulls up in front of the house and Kevin is outside washing his boat with his totally adorable (totes adorbs is what I wanted to say) son. I get out of my car and reach my arm up to wave and what happens? My skirt flys up and does a good 5 second flutter. Revealing my thonged ass.

Kevin looked away quickly pretending like he didn't see it. I called my sister laughing histerically but also totally MORTIFIED. (Did I sound like one of those people that writes into Seventeen magazine??)

Well, needless to say he DID see and I have NOT heard the end of it. 2 years later.

Fast forward to this morning. I walk out to my car to get a stamp to mail my rent check. A nice gust of wind lifts my brown cotton skirt of and there's the show again! Lets not even discuss the fact that my bare ass was facing the office.

Let us DO discuss the fact that a Cintas truck was pulling up as this happened.

Know who drives a truck for Cintas? Kevin.

Thankfully he was not driving this truck (I know, that would make the story much better). Instead, another Cintas employee got the opportunity to witness my white whale.

And I thank you.

Explination on the creation at this blog later today. Right now, I actually have some work to do. (??) Ugh.