Gym on a Friday? Don't mind if I do.

Some people are working for the weekend, and honestly its no BFD to me because I bartend on Saturdays. So my weekend is usually Sunday. I had my gym bag packed and ready to go when I headed to work on Friday morning, and by the time 3pm rolled around I was thinking of a million excuses not to hit the gym. The gym is on my way home, so I really have no excuse not to go. I rode the bike for half and hour and did a walk/run combo for 20 minutes. I have a stack of about thirty magazines I need to read from this past year, so I love the bike because I can get caught up on those, even tho it isn't a huge calorie torcher. I even have a stack of Marie Claire, which I am avoiding like the plague due to a couple of their recent articles that aren't "fat friendly."

BUT.....You know the awesome thing about the gym on a Friday? It's a freaking ghost town. JaJo doesn't have to wait for machines, has control over what stations the tv is on, and no lurkers. :D

Well...that helps with the two cheddar bay biscuits I had for lunch :)

My goals are still going fairly well!
1. No fast food: Still going stong, even tho I want a freaking McRib!
2. No soda: I had a squirt on Saturday at work because my tummy was rumbly, but other than that its been water and iced tea.
3. Financially fit: I've paid off 3 cards, and very close to my 4th. I have to pay off my mattress by the 21st of this month in order for the no interest to be applied. If I would have paid more than my minimum payment the past year in a half I could have had this sucker paid off by now. With my extra money bartending and getting paid three times last month I should be a-ok.
4. One new recipe a week: French Dips were a success, buffalo chicken pasta was a success. I'm still looking at receipes for dinner tonight...so many yummy options out there!
5. Activity 1x/week. Like I said last time it may not sound like much, but I know its a goal I can reach. When I can't, I just get frustrated and just want to hide under my bed with a bottle of Jack Daniels. 831 calories down, 9169 to go!
6. New goal: Watch my phone use. I am addicted to my phone, especially since I got a new Android phone. I text my friends all through out the day, and I'm really bad when I'm out with people. So for my friends and family sake, I'm going to work on not being "connected" all of the time. I could relate to this commercial, and I feel like an asshole.

Have a great week everyone!

Buffalo Chicken Pasta!

This is actually my 2nd new recipe, but officially its my first since announcing my new part of the challenge. I love my crockpot, like to the point of wanting to dry hump the inventor. Some people think its not real cooking since you throw a bunch of shit in a pot and heat it up, but hell, it tastes good and its easy. Mrs. Whoa likes easy.

MMMM.....I strategically did not take a picture of the garlic cheese bread ;-) Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Pasta
4 Bonelss Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup Franks hot wing sauce
2 Tbsp white vinegar
2 Tbsp melted light margarine
1/8 tsp celery seeds
black pepper to taste
4 wedges Laughing Cow Light Creamy Herb and Garlic
4 cups cooked whole wheat pasta
Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker. Combine the wing sauce, vinegar, margarine, celery seeds and black pepper in a bowl and mix well. Pour over the chicken and cook on low for about 6 hours ( Mine actually cooks much faster than this but it probably depends on your crock pot). When chicken is cooked, cut it up into small pieces and add the 4 wedges of cheese, stirring until melted. Cover and let it cook for awhile longer, just to let the cheese mix in well. Serve over hot cooked pasta. Smash.
Makes 4 servings at 8 points each.

The Verdict: Super yum! I did not use whole wheat pasta (sue me). I'm trying this thing where I grocery shop in my own cupboard because I'm tired of food going to waste. I had little bow tie pastas, and they are much cuter than the whole wheat stuff anyway. I also didn't use celery seeds because I didn't have them. Very tasty and the chicken shredded very nicely. Super easy....next time I might make wraps.

Oh yeah....I worked out last night too. I had my gym back packed before work and all I wanted to do was freaking nap. I still went telling myself the last I could do is 20-30 minutes.

I walked/ran on the dredmil for 20 minutes, biked for 15 minutes, and did the stair climber for 10 minutes. So 463 calories down, 9537 to go.

Weekend goal: Work out at least one time. It may not seem like much, but working at a bar all weekend the last thing I want to do it work out and eat well. :) Have a great weekend everyone!

Halloween is over, but whats one more scare?

I had been putting off my monthly weigh in for a couple weeks and I finally just bit the bullet. In a month in a half I gained two pounds. After the way I had been eating and my lack of exercise I considered that a scale victory. I was a little bummed tho since I was close to 10 pounds. I hate that its taken me so long to lose 7-10 pounds, but I haven't been trying as hard as I should.

So...here comes the scary part. I took pictures. I figured I would take them after I showered last week. You know how in those commercials the before picture is someone washed out looking with their hair or make up not done, and the after is all tan and dolled up? I figured I would try the same thing. So here goes....don't say I didn't warn you.

If I could just have FUPA lipo....I'd be happier than a pig in shit.

Annnnnnnnnd there is a side view for ya.

So yeah....seeing pictures semi-nakie is a real opener. I also decided to take my measurements too.

Neck: 16 Chest: 40 Waist: 42 Hips: 45 L. Calf: 16 R. Calf: 16 L. Arm: 16 R. Arm: 16

So if that wasn't motivating, I don't know what is. I actually went to the gym on Thursday....somewhere I haven't been in a LONG time. It felt great after I was done, just getting there is the hard part. I walk/jogged a mile, lifted some weights, and I rode the bike.

Wooooo.....425 calories down.

I still haven't had fast food, have had only one or two more sodas since last month, and I'm still chipping away at my credit card debt. I am trying to add exercise back in. I'd love to hit my 10,000 calorie/month goal at some point, but getting in any activity is what I'm aiming for.

My new challenge is going to be trying a new recipe each week. It can be low cal or heart attack on a plate, but I just need to start cooking more. I made homemade french dips last week, and they were FAB.

So here is to a new month, a month full of challenges with delicious food.

Another card bites the dust,

The shopping Gods are mad at me. I am trying to schedule pay off dates for my credit cards, and I had one scheduled to be paid off in December. I was so excited about paying a card off Monday, I just went ahead and paid this one off today. I even paid it two weeks early, which is NOT how I usually do it. I had a good tip night while bartending last night, so I took Mr. Whoa to lunch today, and decided to put the rest toward my Dillards card. As I logged into my email to get my statement, and then I get this:

Nice try asshole. I thought maybe I should take advantage of the pretty mustard (which is one of my favorite colors by the way) for under $200. That was only for a second. I clicked off the page and proceeded on to my online banking. Officially paid in full. Woot.

I did have an earlier financial distraction.

I got a lot of nays and yays about these....so I'm on the fence. I think they are totally cute, but I have to wonder if they will even go over my tree trunks that I have for legs. Or will I be mistaken for Vivian Ward? Don't remember who that is? Well here....let me show you:

Now I think Miss Kim Kardashian wears them wonderfully.

I haven't been shopping for myself in a long time. I've been doing well with paying things off/down, I bring my breakfast and lunch to work almost everyday, and I check ads and coupons before I grocery shop. I stopped getting my hair colored and I no longer get my nails done. I cancelled Netflix (not for financial reasons, just because they were asswads), and I stopped drinking soda. Plus I work two jobs. I may go check the boots out, but I want to wait a couple of days to see if the novelty wears off.

I wish the debt fairy would come take mine away! Happy Wednesday everyone!

Curb stompin the credit cards.

Okay....how in the hell is it mid-October already?! The weather has been crazy weird here in Iowa. One day its 80 degrees, and the next its 35 degrees and raining. Monthly weigh in is approaching, which I am a little nervous for. I'm going to the Packers vs Vikings game in November, so I wanted to get a jersey for the occasion. Even tho I may have not lost (probably gained) weight this month, I felt pretty stinking cute when I tried this on. I know a lot of people say skinny jeans aren't for girls who have tree trunks as legs, but I think they look good. :)

Mr. Whoa and I went to Branson, MO for a little getaway earlier this month and the day we got there I got the flu. It was horrible. I couldn't keep a thing in me. So when I was feeling up to par, all I wanted to do was eat. I was SO hungry...it was terrible. I also did have a few sodas, which made me feel even worse. I guessing from going from three sodas a day to about five in a month isn't so bad. I felt icky after we got home. I couldn't wait to detox.

I have kicked major ass on the no fast food. I thought it would be the hardest thing in the world to do, but it hasn't been. Sometimes I would eat it twice a day, so to not have it for a month and a half I'm pretty proud of myself. Now if I could only work on not having bar food at work....I'd be good. :)

One thing I really need to work on is hitting the gym. I pay for it, but I never go. Sometimes I hate working two jobs, especially when my part time one goes till 2-3 in the morning. I love my bartending job, and the money is great, so quitting is not an option right now. I've cut back on eating there a lot, especially since I no longer drink soda. It's hard to choose between sleep and gym time, because sleep usually wins. I need to start making it a priority.

Another goal I have added is to be financially fit. In the past month I have paid off two credit cards, and am very close to paying off a third. I feel the less stress you have, the more control you have over your life. When I'm stressed I can totally eat enough food to feel an army, so the less I have to pay for the better I will feel.

So I apologize for being such a lazy blogger lately. I have no idea where the time goes!

5% Gone!

And ALMOST 10 pounds :) This is my outfit from the wedding. I know I don't look happy, because I wasn't. I felt so uncomfortable that day. I just felt like everyone was staring at every little lump you could see through my dress. I held back tears the entire day, so that made me really start to take my diet seriously. Everyone loved my shoes tho!

I weighed in this morning at 181.4. I've been trying monthly weigh ins, and I am down 2.8 since my last weigh in in August. I'm hoping to be out of the 180s in the next few weeks.

I am doing surprisingly well with my no soda/no fast food challenge. I've drank soda on two occasions when I was having an adult beverage. I mean, what the hell else can you drink Jack Daniels with besides a diet coke? I cannot even begin to tell you how much better I am feeling since I stopped drinking soda and eating fast food. I'm not bloated and I don't feel snacky like I used to. I am really starting to believe that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise, because I've only worked out a few times the past month or so. I do hate not working out. I feel that I need to choose between sleeping and exercising, and sleep usually wins.

My new challenge will be is to take at least two classes a week at the gym. I'm paying for a memebership and classes are included, so I should probably go don't you think?

My September challenge: No drive-thrus!

If it were only that easy, right?

I have a huge huge issue with eating in the car. I travel for work and often times I find myself bored, so I stop to eat. Am I hungry, not usually. I thought with getting a new car I would stop eating in the car, but I didn't. I feel so gross and sluggish after eating fast food, and I never feel full. Plus its getting expensive. I spent $8 at McDonalds. EIGHT FLIPPING DOLLARS! I could have gone to the grocery store and gotten 2-3 meals for that.

Yesterday I picked up groceries for the remainder of the week. I didn't get much since we will be gone this weekend. So I load up my giraffe grocery tote and head out of there. I have a bag FULL of groceries and what the hell do I do? Stop at Wendy's. Mr. Whoa works till 8-8:30 so I eat dinner super late, which makes me think I need to snack after work. Was I hungry? No, not really. I think I just need to eat dinner ealier and then have a little snack when Mr. Whoa gets home. We don't get to see a lot of each other, so I like to have dinner with him. When I eat at 8:30 and head to bed about 10ish, it just sits in my tummy which is no good.

I'm on my 3rd day of being soda sober and I already am feeling better. It's super hard not to drink it when I'm working at the bar. On Tuesdays and Fridays I'm working 19 hour days, so a little caffeine can go a long way. I'm sticking with coffee and iced tea. I'll allow myself some soda if I decide to have a mixed drink, but I don't drink like I used to. )))Hangovers(((

Here are my simple steps to healthy living:

1. No soda (unless in mixed drinks)

2. No fast food (with the exception of Pablo's and Subway :)

I'll add a new challenge every week. It may be as simple as drinking an extra glass of water everyday or running five miles a week. I have always been an all-or-nothing type person, and that has obviously backfired. Here's to baby steps!