July in Pictures

Dustin took me to Fort Worth for my birthday. It was so much fun!

This is our suite. Very nice!

They had free drinks for guests and appetizers. 

Then we went to dinner =)

 The next day we went to the Fort Worth Zoo. So nice!

When we got back, my awesome friend who was checking in on the cat we were house-sitting for left me a delicious cupcake and a very sweet note!!

 So Bonkers left her this note in return =)

This is me and Amanda. She looks great, I look pregnant. Yikes!

Ouch!

I've had a really difficult time uploading posts in the last month. I have several saved drafts with pictures that were meant to go up a while ago, but it won't let me upload them with pictures from my iphone. ANNOYING.

Anyway, in the last month I have been to Austin and Illinois. I ate poorly in both places, but the food was great (especially in Austin)! I also cut my finger and it's been in a splint for 2 weeks.

Obviously that has made a big impact (negatively) on my exercise. Since my birthday I have gained 3 pounds. Not a great start to being 28, but it's okay. I suppose I can do a post of pictures that I meant to post earlier- perhaps that will be next.

Anyway, I bit the bullet and went to my weight watchers meeting this past Monday. I had really missed going (I had missed 2-3 weeks) and got a lot of great ideas. Today I hard boiled some eggs and had blueberry oatmeal for breakfast. Yum! I'm also on my 2nd cup of coffee. I have to go to work tonight so that's my big plan for the day!

Okay, I'm going to post some pictures from the last month!

Getting Back on Track (post-birthday)

So after the recording session, I felt like getting back on track, but then July 4th happened... with delicious food and lots of beer.... And then my birthday weekend happened, complete with a lot of drinks and a lot of food... But after my frightening weigh in (where I gained about 3.5 pounds over the last 3 weeks, I finally feel ready to get back to it.

I have been eating well- trying to fit in some high protein breakfasts, a workout, and stay within my points range. I am trying to be EXTRA well behaved because I'm going to Austin this weekend to see my mom, brother, and sister in law. We are going to Green Pastures- ahhh... words cannot explain how amazing this place is. It is unbelievably delicious fancy French food!

The last few days I have been eating very well. I made an egg sandwich for breakfast yesterday with some spinach, then a healthy veggie-filled lunch that is pictured below, and had some rice-free stir fry that Dustin made (heavy on the chicken and broccoli). We had a plumber here for most of the day (before I went to work), so I didn't get a workout in, but according to my activity monitor I burned 8 points at work!

Yesterday's lunch: one slice of low carb whole wheat bread, onion, ham, mixed greens, sliced carrots and celery, and a TBSP of Newman's Own Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette.


Today I had an egg, mushroom, spinach, onion, and ham sandwich and an apple, a banana with some yummy gingerbread coffee, and a ton of water. After my workout (which was Slim in 6: Start it Up and Slim & 6-Pack), I made a really really good salad; I call it my California Sushi Salad.

-half an avocado
-half a prepackaged container of sprouted brown sushi rice
-sugar snap peas
-green onion
-carrot
-cucumber
-sesame seeds
-imitation crabmeat
-about 2 cups of mixed greens

For the dressing, I mixed about 1/4 cup of rice vinegar, a tsp of sesame oil, a tsp of honey, a tbsp of soy sauce, and a tsp of wasabi powder.

Can I just say, OH MY GOD AMAZING??? Check it out below!

I am so full, but pleasantly so =)



I have found out two things that make a huge difference:
1) I need to bring a smoothie with me to work. Serving delicious, garlicky, buttery Italian food makes me want to eat everything in sight after working a 4 hour+ shift. I rarely make a good decision if I don't plan ahead. So, I know that I'm going to bring a smoothie with me to work, and make a turkey sandwich when I get home from work.

2) I have been eating WAY too much fruit and not enough veggies. I know that fruit is 0 points plus, but not if you eat half of a watermelon, 3 bananas, a fruit-filled smoothie, AND all of your daily points. Yikes. I'm trying to do better about that. I like vegetables- not sure why I've been so bad about that. Anyway, I'm trying to make a change and I can feel the difference.

A year later...

I finished my last year of college EVER. I completed all of my coursework for the doctorate. Dustin and I have moved in together and things are going very well. I have pretty much maintained my weight during this last year (which is far better than gaining a ton of weight). I am trying to enjoy summer. My birthday is a week away and I'm excited =)

I am on my way to a weight watcher's meeting. I haven't been for a while and participated in the Conductor's Collegium and recording session. They were nice enough to give us a ton of fresh donuts everyday. I definitely participated in that...

Dustin and I  have been cooking quite a bit. Tonight I'm making rosemary bread and chicken avocado soup. Yum!

Alright, off to shower and go to my meeting!

Back to School

Well today is my end of the summer cleaning day. I am doing loads of laundry, washing my sheets, organizing my bookshelves, dusting, vacuuming, and clearing out any unnecessary stuff from my room and bathroom. School starts on Thursday and I am ready!

I woke up around 8:30 this morning and took care of some emails, browsed around lazily on Pinterest, and lounged in bed. I made some peaches and cream oatmeal for breakfast with some ginger peach tea- I guess I'm in a peachy mood! =)

I went to my weight watchers meeting yesterday and lost another 1.6 pounds- yay! I'm officially under 160! When I hit 155, I will have lost 10% of my body weight since February. I have set my goal weight as 145, but I'm not sure that is where I want to stop. I really just have no idea. But I'm going to try not to think about that too much. I'm just going to work in 5 pound increments and consult with my weight watchers leader.

Today I am going to cook dinner for Dustin- pork tenderloin with roasted vegetables. Yum! I will be working quite a bit less at the restaurant this week as compared to last week, so I will have to make up for that in exercise.

Well, I'm off to actually finish doing what I said I would be doing today. Perhaps I'll take another break later and blog about my new meal plan organization.

Pictures... for better or worse

I have decided to post some pictures of me in the last ten years- the height of my weight struggle and the road to a healthier lifestyle. Here they are!

2005- Natchitoches, LA. Me and my best friend Tony posing for a "prom picture" after dinner in Alexandria, LA. I weighed 203 pounds.

2005-Natchitoches, LA. During an SAI (honorary music sorority) function with my little sister, Ola.

2006- Munich, Germany. Kristian and I taking pictures of our reflections in the elevator mirror.

2007- New Orleans, LA. This is my old roommate, Sara, and I at our friend Heather's wedding. 6 months later I made a huge decision and joined Weight Watchers.

2009- Cadillac Ranch, TX- on our way to or from the Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium. I was down to 180.

2009- Norman, OK- Heather and I posing in front of a dumpster?

2009- Albuquerque, NM- after concerto competition at the University of New Mexico

2009- Denton, TX: Me, Heather, and Charlie belting out Rent. With some fluctuations, I stayed around 180.

2011- After rejoining weight watchers and sticking to the diet plan, I was down 20 pounds

2012- Malibu, CA: Eating at a seafood restaurant right on the coast.  I was up a little in weight: 172.

2011- Houston, TX: finding an awesome new little black dress that I feel good in!

2012- Austin, TX: Spring Break back at home with Dustin =)

2012- Houston, TX: I recently got my wisdom teeth out. This picture is from just a few weeks ago- it's my mom and I trying on Kate Spade dresses. Weight: 160.

 So as you can see, things have changed over the years for me. I'm pretty proud of the change though!

I'm back!

So... it's been quite a while since I've posted. Over half a year actually. Here's some statistical things to keep in mind that have changed since my last post:

• As of my last post, my weight was 175. I am now down to 160! I would of course love to have lost more weight than that by now, but I know that this is a lifestyle change for me and there are ups and downs. I've adapted the mentality that slow and steady will win the race.


• I have completed yet another year of my degree. I have one year left of coursework, then a dissertation! YAY!


• A lot has changed in my personal life- maybe not on the outside, but I can certainly tell. Dustin and I are moving in together at the end of November. We've been dating for quite a while now- it feels right. And I'm pretty pumped about coming home to the man I love every night! 


• I've done a lot of personal work and have found that emotional eating is getting quite a bit better for me! It will always be something that I struggle with, but I am aware of the issue and more often than not do something to counteract it. 


• I turned 27 in July and didn't feel much older. Then I bought my own car insurance and purchased a car with air conditioning!!! (my old car was a 1996 Ford Taurus that had countless issues and no air conditioning). I now have my boyfriend's mother's old 2000 camry. Between that and moving in with Dustin, I'm beginning to finally feel like I'm in my late 20s (which is a good thing- I'm sick of feeling like a college student).


• I have not been fantastic about working out. Time is an issue some days, but other days my excuses get the better of me. I always do at least 20 minutes of light exercise a day such as walking, but I haven't been doing too much intense exercise. I miss it.


• I am working quite a bit less (as of next week) at the Italian restaurant. I will only have two shifts a week. This is because I've gotten two new teaching jobs! I'm pretty excited! I will be teaching at Argyle, McKamy MS, and Harpool MS. I will be taking two classes and lessons this semester, so I would say I have some pretty full days ahead. My plan is to be done with all school and teaching at 6:00 so I can have the rest of my evening for personal time (which includes time with Dustin). 


• I have also really gotten into researching skin care and make-up. YouTube is an endless fountain of knowledge. Between that and various articles, I'm beginning to get a better idea how to care for my oily skin as an adult and find make-up ideas that work for me.

That's all I can think of that has really changed since January. School technically starts this week although I won't be teaching yet and I only have class on Thursday. So this week I want to focus on a few things:

• schedule all of my commitments


• schedule all of my food and do the shopping for my meals today


• do the turbofire workout 3 times this week (scheduled in advance).


• drink more water- I was doing so well with that and for some reason I've been slacking lately.


• eat more fish this week


• be sure all of my finances are in order for school

I suppose that's enough of a post for the day. Dustin and I are spending the day together and I need to get going. We're going to skype with one of my favorite people, Heather, and her daughter Audrey. Heather and I have always been close- I was even in her wedding. We met in Louisiana and ended up doing our masters together in Albuquerque. I cannot believe that her daughter is over a year old and I still haven't met her in person! Oh well, it will be great to see them! I hope everybody has a fantastic day today!

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Fitness Tip: a little bit is better than nothing. If you don't have a time for a lengthy workout, then just do SOMETHING for a small amount of time. 5 minutes is better than 0 minutes, 10 is better than 5, etc... You might have an excuse not to go to the gym, but there is always time to be active.

Diet tip: when things get out of control and you feel like you're always hungry no matter what, control your salt intake and really stay on top of drinking water. I will bring water with me everywhere so that I don't get tempted by soda or junk food.