Day 29 -- Weigh In Day

First let me start with a disclaimer about tomorrow. We are going to my favorite Mexican restaurant to celebrate the birthdays of several of my favorite people. This will be the day when I have alcohol and fattening foods. I will eat guacamole and drink tequila! I have been planning this for months and this will be my day to cut loose. I promise I will make it up the following week. See I am already preparing for it. Look at that fresh spinach.


Let's get right into it. I lost again this week and I am now down to 251.1lbs. I believe I could lose more weight if I buckle down on the weekends, and I noticed that I eat large amounts of bread. My hope is to incorporate more fruits and vegetables in my diet.

Breakfast:
Egg White Omelet Scramble

• Bacon
• Chirizo
• Tomatoes
• Spinach
• Mushrooms
• Cheese

Lunch:
Chicken wrap
Rice

Dinner:
Baked Pork Chop
Spinach
Brown Rice


Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 28 -- Lessons Learned An August Reflection

We had a picnic during lunch at my job today, and look at the amount of food that was there! This is one of the reasons I picked up so much weight, but you guys would be proud of me. While I did indulge in the Tiramisu (That's the Volpe Tiramisu and you will slap your mama behind that Tiramisu), I didn't over eat, which is something that I would have done in the past. I piled up my plate with baked chicken breast, mini Italian beef, hot dog, and watermelon. I manage to eat a couple of bites of chicken, half the hot dog, all of the watermelon, and the inside of the Italian beef sandwich. While my coworker were up getting seconds, I was barely through my first plate. I listen to my body and stopped eating when I was full. I actually had to throw food away.

Moving on...as August wraps up, I like to take a look at some of my demons that I was battling in August that I hope to improve upon in September.

Lesson 1: Weekends are for fun, not slacking -- I am having trouble finding a balance of eating healthy and going out to have fun. When we go out, whether to movies or a restaurants, I feel like I have to get my favorite foods. Sometimes its hard for me to pass up and really good burger for the high priced salad. However, you see it here first that I am making a commitment to improve by eating breakfast and choosing healthier options.

Lesson 2: Drink enough water -- I want to drink half my body weight in ounces but sometimes I don't quite make it. In fact, I haven't reached my goal at all this week, and I never hit my goal on the weekends (see Lesson 1).

Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Turkey Sausage

Lunch:
Half a hot dog
Chicken
Italian Beek
Watermelon
Tiramusi

Dinner:
Brown Rice
Green Beans
Chicken

Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 27 -- New Ideas, New Friendships!

I have so great news guys. I have teamed up with some of my google plus friends to be a fitness buddy! Jessica Myers, jessicammyers.blogspot.com, and I will team up with other Google plus members to help to keep each other on track and focused on our weight loss goals.

Also, I was inspired to think of some challenges for people who want to kick start healthier living, but don't know where to start. I call it the month of September Challenge and the first challenge will kick off September 1st. Stay tuned to find out what the challenges are, and maybe at the end of it you will join us and start your own journey. I promise it will be fun and easy to do, so easy no one will have an excuse NOT to do it.

Breakfast:
Egg White Scramble

• Eggs White
• Cheese
• Tomatoes
• Mushrooms
• Spinach
• Turkey Ham
• Chirzo

Lunch:
Chicken Sandwich
Fruit

Dinner:
Baked Chicken
Spinach

I swear I am going to turn into a chicken. I have eaten more chicken in the past month than I have the past year, which is a good thing. I which I could eat seafood. Sometimes I see salmon and it looks so good but alas I am allergic. I'm technically allergic to cantaloupe too, but I have been eating if for so many years that the only reaction I get from it is an itchy mouth.Oh well!


Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 26 -- Back on the grind!

I think Yahoo! Shine is stalking my blog and sending me messages. Look at what my horoscope said today:

          Your sense of permanence needs reinforcement. Recommit yourself to your sweetie, your job, your family or whatever else has the deepest roots. 
You are sure to feel better once you've done it!

I swear I was just saying yesterday I don't want to lose my commitment because of my slacking on the weekends. To me, the horoscope says that I really need to buckle down on the weekends, and eat like I do during the work week. (Don't you love how easy it is to take a generic horoscope tailored to meet the needs of every Aries in the world and apply it to whatever is going on in your life!) I noticed that it is easy for to fall off my plan because I typically view Saturdays as Date day with the hubby, and Sunday as a rest day. But what does that mean for Better Me, Healthy Lee....hmmmm. I need to work on that.

Today was day 2 of Spin class...and I did much better than last week. No butt bruises, No sharp pains, No spaghetti legs. I did sweat something serious!!! I'm excited for next week. Ha Ha that's my spin face.

As a side note, if you like what you read please share it with your friends and colleagues. I definitely love the support and feedback. Also, like my page the Better Me, Healthy Lee page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee

Breakfast:
Fiber One Bar (I know I will eat better tomorrow)

Lunch:
Chicken BBQ Salad

Dinner:
Cantaloupe (OMG it was so good!)

Snacks:
Wheat Thins
Strawberry, Banana, and Kale Smoothie

 

Day 25 -- Rollin' with the homies

Sunday has become my rest day, but I am fearful of it becoming to relaxed and counterproductive to what I am trying to do. I skipped breakfast (I am getting so bad with that) because Jason and I were having brunch with family. While I was good at not eating the butter cream croissant looking thing that everyone else was devouring. I think I could made better choices about what I decided to eat.

What I love about the restaurant we were at, their menu is filled with healthy alternatives. For example, they had a huge selection of fresh squeezed juice which included a mixture of greens. I could have gotten the salad that was bigger portion of food than the sandwich I chose. I really need to work on that. I know that I have had the same eating habits for the past 31 years and it's not going to happen overnight, but I definitely should try harder. Don't you agree?


Brunch:
Prime Burger
Strawberries
Watermelon
Fresh squeezed Strawberry/Watermelon Mimosa
Ice Tea sweetened with Equal

Dinner:
Baked Chicken
Baked Sweet Potatoes

Snack:
Smoothie
Wheat Thins

Day 24 -- A day full of small victories

I woke up today with every excuse in the world not to go to swimming today. First, it didn't make sense to go because my instructor wasn't going to be there. However, she gave me homework to practice my swimming, and I can swim well enough not to drown in 4ft of water (I'm 5'9 so I can just stand up). So since that excuse didn't work, I realized how tired I was...no I wasn't. OK my stomach was hurting...it went on and on like I was a third grader trying to get out of taking a test.

Eventually, I just sucked up and went to swim and aside from the creepy guy that kept trying to flirt with me, and the lady in the locker room sparking a convo with me while she was naked, I had a great time!. My abs were on fire when I got out of the pool, and felt like my core was getting stronger. I can't wait until next week when I try to swim the entire length of the pool in one setting.


Then the hubby and I finally went to the grocery store and got tons of fresh food. I had another shopping trip that consisted of mostly items from the outer food sections. We only went into the center aisles for toilet paper and cereal. On the way home we stopped at Jumba Juice and convinced Jason to try a fruit smoothie, which he liked. Who knows one day he might decide to start eating healthy on his own, one can hope!

I wonder if the reason my day went so well was the exercise first thing this morning, or was it sticking to my plan and not being lazy. Either way, I feel great and it made me more motivated to do better!



Breakfast:
Technically nothing (I know I need to work on this)

Lunch:
Chicken Brucshetta Pasta

Dinner:
Rice Krispies ( Yeah I know too)

Snacks:
Apples and Greens Smoothie

Day 23 - Weight loss according to Jason

I had Chipotle today, I haven't eaten in a very long time and it was all thanks to the hubby. As I mentioned previously, we need to go to the grocery store and unfortunately I was to lazy to go today. We needed to figure out what we were going to eat, so my husband suggested Chipotle. Which is not completely a bad recommendation. The food is organic, they have brown rice, and other low fat alternatives. What was interesting to me was the way that my husband tried to convenience me to eat there.

Hubby: Let's eat at Chipotle.
Me: Ummm...
Hubby: It can be healthy if we eat the chicken instead of the steak
Me: And were did you hear that?
Hubby: Steve Harvey said it.
Me: What?
Hubby: Steve Harvey said that its healthy to eat the chicken at Chipotle

So I guess, I no longer need the advice of fitness experts and other weight loss pioneers because I can just have my husband watch Steve Harvey lol. So I got Chipotle online and planned out a Chipotle dinner that would that would fit my journey. I chose brown rice, skipped the extra cheese, no extra meat, and added lettuce. I agree eating this every now and then wouldn't be to bad. Thanks Steve Harvey!

Breakfast:
Rice Krispies

Lunch:
Watermelon
Beef Hot Dog
Tomatoes

Chipotle:
Chicken
Brown Rice
Tomatoes
Corn Salsa
Lettuce
Cheese

Day 22 - Weigh In Day

I lost 5 oz today, at least I didn't gain but still...

I'm kind of in my feelings today because I only lost a half of a pound. Yes, I get that I am probably picking up muscle, but you still want to see more on the scale. Add that to the pain that I am feeling in my leg, life style change wise, this has been a difficult day.

Don't fret I will be over my funk tomorrow. The hubby and I are hitting the grocery store tomorrow and I will be back on the grind.

I have to keep reminding myself that I didn't gain the weight overnight and I am not going to lose it overnight either. I am doing this for the long run and I shouldn't get side tracked by the short term outcomes.

Breakfast:
Egg White Scramble
Spinach
Tomatoes
Onions
Mushrooms
Turkey Ham
Chorizo

Lunch:
Steak Wrap
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Broccoli
Onions
Red Cabbage
Carrots

Dinner:
Chicken Sandwich

Day 21 -- Lesson's Learned Week 3

I work at for the local school district as an analyst at the headquarters, and today I was deployed to a school to help them get ready for the first day of school. We didn't have to do manual labor like mopping or washing windows, but breaking down boxes and going up and down three stories of stairs was just as tiring. And if I wasn't already a glutton for punishment, I decided to go to my Kickbox Cardio class. Which leads me to this week's lessons learned.

Lesson 1: Don't over do it -- Between spinning, zumba-ing,walking up the stairs today, and Kickboxing I some how manage to hurt my right leg. It was a little sore before I started kickboxing, but I decided to go to class anyway and I have totally made it worse. The last thing I need at this point of journey is to get seriously injured where I can't continue to exercise. Good thing I am on a workout break until my swim lesson Saturday.

Lesson 2: Modify, Modify, GOOD LORD MODIFY! -- I can't do everything in these classes yet, and I shouldn't risk my body trying to do something that might be a little advanced for the stage that I am in. So at this point I need to modify the work out until I am able to do the work. I think that would have saved my leg this week.

In spite of my injury I still manage to have fun, and I have made some new friends in the process.

Breakfast:
Rice krispies

Lunch:
Turkey Patties
Peas
Carrots
Corn
Green Beans

Dinner:
Grilled Chicken
Corn
Green Beans
Carrots

Snacks:
Carrots
Fiber One Bar

Day 20 -- Hoping to change the cycle

There is something cute and yet inspiring when you see older people in exercise classes like Zumba. They can't quite get the moves right and they look really awkward gyrating their hips, but they try just as hard as the person next to them to keep up with the instructor. It made me think about what my mother would look like participating in a Zumba class. She thinks she is the sexiest woman in the world and would try to show me up with her dance moves.She would probably have a lot of fun, but I know she would never go. Come to think of it, I have never seen my mother exercise. Ever! I have never seen her do anything that would cause her to break a sweat. To this day, after diabetes, one heart attack, and a triple bypass, my mother still doesn't see the importance of being active.

I haven't told my mother about my blog because I am hoping that when I go to see her Christmas, that she will see my hard work and become motivated to do better. Luckily for me, she is in the dark ages when it comes to social media, so I doubt she will find out before then. I know that she has had the same habits for the past 57 years, but sometimes you can teach an old dog new tricks. (Please don't tell her I called her a old dog lol) Plus, these tricks will probably save her life!

Breakfast:
Oatmeal

Lunch:
Cauliflower
Broccolli
Turkey Cordon Blue

Dinner:
Turkey patty
Corn
Carrots
Peas
Green Beans

Exercise:
Zumba

Day 19 - Spin class the necessary evil!

First, lets start off with a little bit of housekeeping. Yesterday, I erroneously list the post as Day 19 when it was really Day 18. I apologize...call it my lazy Sunday.

Second, I blame all of you for not telling me what was in store for me in the spin class. OHH my butt, and the bike didn't even take me to dinner first lol! When I walked into the class I was already a little intimidated because I was the new kid on the block. You could tell that the people in the class were regulars because everyone had assigned bikes. I think I sat on someone's bike at the beginning because I was getting the side eye,so I decided to move
to the front. Right in front of the instructor...

It was rough. We were riding standing up for most of the class, doing sit ups, and adding in a little kickboxing. While the class was on level 28, I barely made it to level 6. They were standing up, I was sitting down. They were on the next level, and I was about to die! Look at my before and after pictures. Don't you see the concern on my face? My saving grace was the fact that I never stop peddling on the bike, and I did what I could. I never gave up and I know that next week when I return--because I am not a quitter, I will be able to do much more. I will keep you posted on my progress in this class. Hopefully, I can get to the next level!

Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Sausage

Lunch:
Steak Wrap

• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Red Cabbage
• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Onions

Dinner:
Grilled Pork Chops
Carrots

Snacks:
Fiber One
Strawberry/Pineapple Smoothie

Exercise:
Spin/Cycle

Day 18 - I am so lazy

I woke up late and it kicked off a really slow and lazy day for me. I literally have done absolutely nothing but watch movies all day. Tomorrow I am back on my grind. Based on the patterns that I have established over the past two weeks. I am comfortable with Sunday being a rest day.

Breakfast:
Rice Krispies

Lunch:
Rice Krispies

Dinner:
Spinach
Steak

Snacks:
River One
Apples

Day 17 - Swimming like a dolphin

I took one swimming lesson when I was younger, but I was never a strong swimmer. When I went to the pool I did the cute girl swimming. You know, the cute swim suit, a couple splashes of water, and the occassional dunk in the water--depending on the hair style of the day. I have always wanted to improve my swimming technique because I am not so confident that I wont drown. I never learned to thread water and don't ask me the difference between a breast stroke or butterfly.

I have a good friend that has been swimming most of her life. She was a lifeguard, a water director, and a competitive swimmer. For the longest we have talked about getting together so she could teach me how to swim and today we finally got together. I forgot how much swim hurts lol. My abs, legs, and calves were on fire. I didn't even make it the full length of the pool, but I am excited by the work out possibilities. I am going to swim like a dolphin. Stay tuned...

Breakfast:
Rice Krispies

Lunch:
Chicken
Broccolli
Rice

Dinner:
Turkey/Ham Sandwich
Fruit

Day 16 - Thank God It's Friday -- August 16

TGIF! It has been a long time since I went to a beer-o-clock or happy hour; mostly because this summer has been a very busy season at my job. So today a couple of my colleagues and I decided to hit one of our favorite spots in Chicago, a bar called Cere's. We love Cere's because of the cheap strong drinks and good appetizers. If you order a Jack Daniels
and Coke, they will bring a glass full of Jack Daniels with a Coke on the side. No Lie! The appetizers are half off as long as you order a drink, and the fries there are so delicious.

We got to the bar and everyone ordered their drinks and I ordered a glass a water! Yes, I repeat a glass of water. It was so hard to walk in there and not eat or drink anything. Not because I am an alcoholic or anything, it was hard because who wants to be that person. What person do you ask? The person that goes to the bar and only drinks water. I mean look at what everyone else was drinking. It changes the mood of the entire night when you know that at least one person will walk out of their as clear as they were when they came. Plus, it was hard to see all of your favorite foods go by without being able to at least smell the good food. It was definitely a lesson in dedication.

I know it is not the end of the world to have one drink one day, and don't worry I won't deny myself for long. Its just that its so early in my life change that I don't want to get in the habit of giving myself passes on every little thing because I might end of going back to my old habits. I want to teach myself a lesson in restraint so that when I do decide to have a drink it will be in moderation.

Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Sausage

Lunch:
Flatbread Pizza (3/4 of the serving)
Pineapples
Watermelon

Snack:
1 Chicken wing
2 Meatballs
2 Teaspoons of Pasta Salad

Dinner:
Rice Krispies

Day 15 -- Weigh In Day

Hello everyone!

How was your day? Mine was pretty good.

I got up.

I took a shower, washed my face, and brushed my teeth...

Ironed my clothes, combed my hair, and...

Of course I weighed myself....

I know you see the picture. YES, I lost 3lbs on since last week. A total of 5lbs since Day 1 which is the first milestone for me. I am really excited about my progress so far and I have set a goal of 1.5lbs for next week.

Breakfast:
Spinach
Onions
Tomatoes
Bacon
Turkey Ham

Lunch:
Chicken Sandwich
Tomatoes
Romaine Lettuce
Grilled Onions

Dinner:
Grilled Turkey Patty
Yellow Squash