Weight Loss...Thursday... Heh Heh

Ok, so I didn't get on to post yesterday. I could have, I just didn't. Man, I've got to get back on top of blogging!

Anyways, lets see how I've been doing, shall we?

I keep getting so close to breaking a 6lb loss, but haven't quite gotten there yet. 

So the last few weeks have been pretty hectic. I missed one day of counting points and just stopped. Isn't that always the way? You miss one day and all of your progress just goes down the tubes. I planned on picking WW back up, but seem to have misplaced my calculator. AH! Everything seems to be going wrong weight loss wise. 

But its all good!!

For now, my goal is to get in regular exercise and watch what I eat. Like I said in my previous post (Click here), I have created some healthy habits. First of all, I realize when I'm hungry or satisfied. I can stop myself before I get so full I'm sick, but I won't be hungry for a few hours. I'm also getting better about telling myself no. No, I don't need to have popcorn just because I'm watching a movie, and I definitely don't have to smother it in butter (even though it is SO DELICIOUS that way!). At the same time, though, I'm not depriving myself of foods I love. If I want to have a piece of cake, I eat one. I just make sure its not as big as one I would have taken in my less healthy days. 

And as far as exercise goes, I did better earlier in the week (no big shocker there). But there were at least three days in a row that I did at least a little exercise outside my normal routine. Also, I went on a hike last Saturday that really got my heart thumping (because I'm a baby, but oh well. Its a really awesome hike, I highly recommend it! Hike to Donut Falls! Its gorgeous!). My goal right now is to just keep it up. Even a little a day is more than I was doing before.

I feel healthier, and that is the ultimate goal. I want to be able to enjoy my life without restricting myself. Who knows though? I will probably start up WW again. I'll just have to see how it turns out. 

--Lexi Lou

Bucket List...Fail? Or Win?

Ok peoples... I think its safe to say that the blogging frenzy I was in a while ago has faded quite a bit. So I'll catch you up on what's been going on and promise to try to be better.

Weight loss...UGH! I fell of the wagon. Luckily my last lazy weeks haven't hurt me too bad. I realized I have developed some healthy habits. Hallelujah! I actually managed to lose a little without being too restrictive. But I am going back to WW tomorrow. (Fingers crossed for a new Weight Loss Wednesday post next week!)

A quick catch up on the other things on my Summer Bucket List. First the most disappointing... getting a job, buying a car, cleaning my room, and finishing my novel. Still looking for a job, even though the summer is half over now. And, of course, since I have zero funds for one, obviously I haven't gotten a car. The other two are more pathetic though. With all this free time on my hands, I should have time to write and clean, right? You'd think so. However, I have found so many other things to distract myself with. Like...hours sitting in front of the TV...or eating...or rehashing every situation with whomever will sit still long enough for me to talk to. I know, exciting right?! Time to be better about it. 

Hanging out a ton. This one is a bit harder, but I have been actively getting out of the house. I've gone to Family Home Evening with my single's ward a few times with some friends. I met some new people and hung out with them for a while (until the guy in the group my friend likes stopped talking to her. I'm guessing we won't be seeing much of them anymore.) I've got three Institute (Seminary for people in college) classes during the week, and I go almost every time...? And I've gone to night games and other various fun activities with a few friends. I really want to do even more though. I think its time for me to reconnect with those people I hung out with in high school, yeah? I'm trying to think up something to do, and then get everyone together. 

Now the exciting one... Getting back into the dating world...

(Annoying high pitch girlish squeal!!) 

That good enough? No? You want details? All righty... I'll start with the less juicy and work my way up.

As you know (or maybe not, I forget if I posted about it), I joined an LDS dating site a while ago. I was immediately bombarded. I guess fresh meat is an attractive quality? Anyway, I met a ton of really creepy old men and a few nice guys. I even went on a date with one of them. Not too exciting though. There was no chemistry on the date and a few days after he stopped texting me. Ah well, live and let live. (Too bad, he was super rich! JUST KIDDING! I'm not that shallow! But it was a nice plus...) I'm messaging a guy now that seems really nice. But how can you really tell that with online conversations? But I guess there's some potential there.

Now to the reason for the girlish squeal. I've had a bad case of permagrin (a disease, more commonly known as a cootie, that makes you think of a certain someone all the time causing you to smile constantly) since last Friday. **BACKSTORY** There's this guy in my single's ward that kinda liked one of my friends. He kept asking her out, but she kept making excuses because she wasn't interested. So she decided, against my better judgement, to give him my number and suggested (since I have so much free time) that he should take me on a date. He called a few awkward days of waiting later and asked me out. That Friday we went mini-golfing and got ice cream. Simple. I loved it!! We had so much fun! And when we got ice cream, we sat and talked for a few hours (until the shop closed and sometime after that as well). He then offered to give me a ride to FHE that next week. That was tons of fun too (jello fight, followed by a water balloon fight and ultimate frisbee)! Then I invited him to institute last night, and afterwards we played night games with some of my friend's friends. 

And we have another date planned for tomorrow! Plan A: Go to a hike with our FHE group to Doughnut Falls. Obviously super fun and a great way to talk and get to know each other even better. Another plan is set though. This one is necessary because he's heard the hike might be cancelled due to weather. So, if Plan A fails, then Plan B: Play in the rain together. HOW CUTE IS THAT?! Needless to say, I'm secretly hoping it rains tomorrow. 

He is so sweet and so much fun to be around! Not to mention easy to talk to. We have so much in common. He's already told me that he loves my smile and spending time with me. (Yet another girlish squeal of joy!) This totally caught me off guard, but that's fine with me. And who knows? Maybe we'll lose interest in a few weeks. Or maybe not... I'm just planning on having tons of fun and going with the flow, keeping my heart close to the Lord and letting Him guide me through my life. Still super exciting though!

--Lexi Lou

P.S. I got my patriarchal blessing last Sunday. It was amazing! SO AWESOME!!!

Weight Loss Wednesday: Week 2

Another week has come and gone. This week was full of ups, downs, and all sorts of temptations. Let's check on my progress...

Its true! My first week I lost 4.8lbs! I was so excited, mostly because I felt like I had done really bad. Tuesday night I got home late and just ate whatever I wanted. Then Wednesday (after I posted) I went to a bridal shower and a bachelorette party. I ate pizza! And yet, I still lost weight. I think the drop this week was just due to the fact that I am watching what I eat compared to the last few months of eating whatever the heck I wanted to. 

Since my weigh in though, I've had more rough patches. Friday was my five year old sister's birthday (she's so cute!). For her birthday dinner we went to an Asian buffet (I love Asian food! Click here for my post about that!). It was pretty hard. I wanted to share how I handled it.

First off, I've told my self on birthdays and other important holidays (like Thanksgiving and Christmas. No worries, there will be no excuses on smaller days) I will not count points. At the same time, I am not going to go crazy. So yes, I had a few plates at the buffet and went home and had cake and ice cream. I was careful though. 

I followed the Weight Watcher's tips for buffets. In their Dining Out Companion, it has two pages of what to do and what not to do. I've paraphrased them here:

1. Take a lap around the buffet. Look at all of your different options so you can avoid grabbing something not as worthwhile as something you may find later. If you do that, you'll be sure to get what you really want most on your first plate. That way when you get full you feel like you got the best stuff at the buffet.
2. Fill your plate with mostly good foods. Every plate should be half fruits and veggies. That way you'll get fuller on things that are good for you. Meats you get should be lean or small portions. 
3. Focus on foods you can't make yourself. If you're craving that high calorie food, but could probably make it at home, just wait. Home cooked meals are usually better for you than the stuff you find at restaurants anyways. 
4. Listen to your body and stop when you get full. Take breaks after you've finished a plate. You'll be able to more easily recognize that you are satisfied if you aren't finishing a plate and then jumping up to get another. 
5. Get rid of the idea that you must eat a ton to get your money's worth. The extra money you've paid is a small price to pay for feeling confident. Also, if you go overboard, its just pushing your goal off to a further date. 
6. If you think you can't control yourself, consider ordering ẚ la carte. With this option you get built in portion control.
7. If you want a dessert as well, be careful. Pick one favorite, and take half of a normal portion. Slice that cake in half or get half the pudding you normally would.

I followed all of these steps (except #6). I think what helped most was walking around the buffet. I really looked at everything and chose out things that I really wanted to eat instead of making impulse decisions so I could get back to my seat. I also filled half of my plate with fruit every time. I thought the fruit was really refreshing after the denser foods I was getting. I also got my most favorite...SUSHI! Loved it!

Then when I went home I had a small piece of cake and a scoop of raspberry sherbet (compared to the chocolate ice cream the rest of the family had). 

This week I'm really working on getting more active. I've exercised every day since Monday (three days...WOO!). I really want to start getting up early and exercising before I do anything else. I've been doing fun stuff. Mostly playing Just Dance and walking on the treadmill while watching upbeat shows (yesterday I watched Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was way upbeat and I caught myself sort of dancing while walking. Great way to up the calories burned). I feel more motivated to do it if I'm having fun. 

We'll see how successful I am at the weigh in this week. Wish me luck!

--Lexi Lou

Weight Loss Wednesday: Week 1

Well, here goes my first weight loss post!

First of all, this is my weight loss ticker. There will be one at the bottom of my blog, as well as in every weight loss post. My first goal is to lose 30lbs. I'm going to take my time at first, but I'd like to have this goal met by August 31. 

I'm planning on losing the weight by following the Weight Watcher's PointsPlus Diet. I'm not going to the meetings they have available. I've bought the kit online and have friends and family who have done it before who are helping me. To sum it up, depending on a bunch of different variables you are assigned a number of points to eat each day. Every food is given a different point value, based on carb, protein, fiber, and fat content of the food. This excludes fruit and most vegetables, which you can have as much as you want of. You have to eat all your points every day. You also get 49 FlexPoints to use each week. They recommend using all of these points, but its not required. You can also earn more points by exercising. 

I am allowed 29 points a day. I started on Saturday. I've been sticking to it pretty well so far. I'll admit, I had a rough night last night. I wasn't very hungry around lunch time, so all I ate was a banana. Then I went out with friends until 8:30ish. I hit the house and was STARVING! So I didn't count the points of what I had for dinner (apple brats and sauerkraut with potato chips...probably not great). Other than that though I've been doing really well.

I plan to weigh myself every Friday morning. That way the weekend doesn't kill my weigh in. I'll update my ticker then. 

I wanted to share two of my point friendly meals today. Maybe I can inspire some people out there needing help picking out healthier foods?

Mock Abalone with quinoa and brussel sprouts

The first one is a dinner I LOVE! Abalone (pronounced ah, baloney. Oh the pun!)  is a type of sea snail that is excellent fried. We make ours by marinading chicken in clam juice. Its so yummy! 4oz of this chicken is 4 points, which is not bad considering its fried. 

Quinoa is a berry that my family has recently discovered. We served it boiled in chicken broth. 1/3cup of quinoa is 2 points and very filling.

Last, but certainly not least, are the steamed brussel sprouts. You can have as much as you want of them. At first I didn't love brussel sprouts, but I find as I get older that I can't get enough of them! They are so delicious!

So this dinner came to a tiny total of only 6 points. That's about 20% of the points I'm allowed daily. Not bad considering how full I was. And, even if I was hungry, I could always go back for more brussel sprouts.  Yum!

Egg, sunny side up, with buttered toast and a banana

The next thing I wanted to talk about was breakfast. Sadly, when I go back to school this may be a hard one to stick to. I know when I was at school I usually didn't eat breakfast, or went for a package of PopTarts (which turns out to be 12 points and always left me hungry. Yikes!). The past few days, I've been having this little number...

Large eggs are 2 points a piece. (Unless you fry them. Then they're 5 points for two... don't ask me to figure out the logic, I don't get it either.) I happen to LOVE eggs sunny side up with a runny yolk. And all I garnish it with is salt and pepper. Simple, but so good! 

What goes better with eggs than toast?! The brand of bread my family buys is 2 points a slice. Add 1tbs of butter (which is a lot more than it sounds and only 1 point a tablespoon) and that makes buttered toast 3 points. 

Then to get some more bulk, I add a pretty big banana on the side. Since its a fruit, this sucker doesn't cost me any points and I can go back and get another one for a snack later.

So this breakfast's total point value only adds up to 5 points. When I made this the first day I was pretty skeptical to how much food it was. I used to eat two eggs, two pieces of toast slathered in butter, and then feel kinda snackish about an hour later. But this fills me up pretty well now. 

I already feel better about the healthier choices I'm making. I've been sporadically walking on the treadmill, and (if I can ever get up on time) am planning on going on early morning walks with my family. I'm hoping to work from walking to jogging to maybe long distance running someday. I also feel like it already takes less food to satisfy me. I'm actually stopping myself before I get so full I wanna puke. That's probably due to the fact that I have to stick to portion sizes and drink lots of water.

If you want to know more about Weight Watchers, visit their website! To get the best stuff you have to be a member, but they do have some pretty great information as well. Click here to visit the site!

Until next week! Wish me luck!

--Lexi Lou