An Update in Pictures!

Hi!!!

With me only blogging weekly (*cough* and sometimes bi-weekly *cough*), I always have SO much that I want to share with you all! Ahhh, where to start....how about an update in pictures? Yes.

Well, one good thing that came out of my 3 weeks of veganism is that I began to learn to cook with new foods (primarily vegetables) and I'm no longer afraid to encorporate them into my diet! The pasta below (while it may may not look appetizing due to having taken the pic w/ my cell phone and it being in a plastic container), it was truly yummy. I used ww ronzoni healthy harvest pasta, 1 can of stewed tomatoes, lots of fresh spinach leaves, reduced fat feta, evoo, lemon juice, artichokes, shrimp, and mushrooms. YUM. Aren't you proud of me? This may have been the most creative thing I have ever cooked! haha Sad, I know :)

 I have also become newly obsessed with making omelets for dinner, lunch, breakfast- shoot, I'll eat one wherever and whenever! Can you believe this WHOLE plate of food was only 200 calories???!? LOVE IT. To be specific, I used egg beaters, spinach, red onion, and reduced fat colby shredded cheese and 2 slices of turkey bacon. I wouldn't be surprised if I eat this meal a few more times this week.

 As you all know, I live in Pittsburgh and this past weekend was a BIG weekend for us Steeler fans which ultimately lead to a BIG disappointment. Ahh...oh well, although it was agonizing, it was pretty amazing to live in the city of Pittsburgh during this time and get to experience just how crazy dedicated Pittsburgh fans truly are. Below is a picture of me (not a super great one obviously! lol) and my dear friend this Sunday at church- obviously rockin' our Steelers gear! Next year...next year... ;)

 A new love has entered my life- his name? Cinnamon Burst Cheerios. For real- these things are AMAZING. I have always had a dilemma with Cheerios as I really like the honey nut ones, but think the regular (and consequently more healthy) regular Cheerios taste like cardboard. Discovering the Cinnamon Burst Cheerios has officially restored my love for the brand as they honestly taste creepily (in a good way) like Cinnamon Toast Crunch- and I'm sorry, but who doesn't love them some cinnamon toast crunch? Paired with some UVAB (unsweetened vanilla almond breeze) it is kind of out of this world! It has more fiber than the original cereal and doesn't make me want to pour sugar on it- super sweat, super decadent. Wonder if they could ditch the Bee and make me their new spokesperson??? ;)

Ok, enough pictures for today.

In the last week I have regained my focus. I never "fell off the wagon" but I definitely was struggling in my mind to do anything related to weight loss/fitness last week: I didn't want to exercise, eat anything green, or even think about goal setting and then I turned to old faithful (AKA- The Biggest Loser) to put things into perspective and give me the motivation and focus I needed to get back to being the committed person I am.

Here's something odd that I'm realizing: Because I am currently the smallest that I can ever remember being in the last...well, a long time, and I'm not experiencing a lot of the discomfort that I was when I weighed 352lbs, that I don't feel the need to loose weight to be as pressing and urgent as I once did. Obviously this is not true- I still have 100lbs to lose, but I've always had a hard time being disatisfied with the way I look (I know that may sound crazy), but I've always just dealt with what I had and made due.

Right now I am focused as a laser beam running right toward what I want: To become the healthy, fit person I was created to and want to be.

I am:
* Staying within my 1700 calorie budget (that will gradually decrease over time).
* Counting/Writing down my calories.
* Exercising 4x's per week (75% Cardio 25% Strenth Training).

So that I can:
* Weigh 265lbs by March 26th (1st Wedding I'm in for 2011).
* Lose 100lbs by May 15th (losing an avg. of 2lbs per week)
* Begin running by April/May of 2011.

Keep moving forward friends, because IT is worth it and YOU are worth it!

p.s. Tomorrow's Weigh In Day... hoping to see 277lbs on the scale (a 75lb weight loss!)