Hey dolls, I'm new to this. So if you had felt the burning desire to make a comment previously, to tell me how fabulous or dumb I am, or whatever, but you couldn't... Well, you can now!  I fixed the settings so any reader can comment. So please do.  I will thrill to read your feedback, brilliant ideas, and criticisms.  Just never talk bad about my hair. Or I'll block you.  It's my crowning glory. Thanks bye.

My Jam

Try to not run dance groove bounce.

Dare ya.

Yooooo Cafe Rioooooo

It is very important to me to be able to work Cafe Rio into my fit healthy sexy lifestyle.  I'm obsessed addicted in-love.  And I have no desire to try to give it up.  My pal Karen has creamy delicious coffee, I have Mexican deliciousness.  So today, I've looked into how I can work it in as a treat a few times a month. In the past, I've made Wednesday take out night, since I have class tonight and I end up famished and low on energy and ideas for making dinner at 7 PM when I get out of school.  So I like to pick up a grilled chicken salad. And I think that's fine sometimes. Yummm.

You may be pleasantly surprised, as I was, to find that the Cafe Rio flour tortilla (from heaven) is lower in calories and fat than it's wheat counterpart. It also has 1 gram more in fiber, and is equal in carbs.  Unless this is a switcharoo mistake on the Cafe Rio website.  Either way, the differences are minimal, so I would not waste my money paying extra for the wheat tortilla to feel healthy and snobbish.  Treat yourself to the flour.  The important thing here is portion control, as just the tortilla itself comes in at 420 calories. 1/2 of the tortilla is good for me.

So here's the plan:

I eat half of the grilled chicken salad for dinner, then have 1/2 for leftovers (weekend lazy dinner probably). I divide it in half before I start eating--key. I used to always eat a full salad with 2 dressings, the new new shhh is 1/2 salad with 1/2 dressing. Then, other modifications: no tortilla strips, and no sprinkle cheese.  Remember to make these changes while ordering! The strips are great and crunchy and all, but not worth the calories and fat to me, while the dressing and tortilla absolutely ARE. And the sprinkle cheese adds extra sodium, for not a lot of flavor.  Everything else, I get to have!! Black beans, rice, lots of yum lettuce, guac, pico, yum. So there we go.  A plan for power.

Here is my food journal for today, so you can see how easily this works in.  My AM workout wasn't even intense to make up for it!  I'll still do some yoga tonight to combat my soreness I'm having right now, and track that later.  This is a pretty normal food day for me, up until dinner.

You can see that I still have calories left for a few almonds and blueberries this afternoon.  Brilliant.

This was quite an in depth analysis/rationalization on eating my favorite food.... But what's the point of all this living healthy and living long if I'm tortured?  Exactly. Enjoy.

Hey there, Pal.

"'The time has come,' the Walrus said..." to switch things up for Stephanie.

I have switched from tracking food and exercise with Weight Watchers to My Fitness Pal. That being said, I have nothing against Weight Watchers, and that program worked great for me.  I lost 35 pounds on it.  I also gained 20 pounds in the past 6 months, because I got bored and needed a change.  I have no doubt that if I had continued correctly on it, it would continue to work correctly.  But, my brain needs NEW and FRESH to stay motivated, so I made the bold choice to cancel my online membership out of nowhere on Sunday, and I am now happily tracking calories each day instead of Points Plus.

If you haven't tried My Fitness Pal, here's a bit for you to know:
-It's a fun and free app; really easy to use on my iPhone 5
-It gives you your daily caloric goal, based on height, weight, lifestyle, and goal weight. Easy peasy.
-It has nutritional info for EVERY food I've looked up to track so far, including restaurants, brand names, fruits, veggies, etc.
-The serving sizes are easy to modify and add.
-It has a bar code scanner to zap your foods so you don't have to type anything! All free!
-You can follow your friends and encourage each other's progress. :)
-Exercise is easy to track, and adds more calories for you to eat in the day. Woohoo! Food!
-Coolest feature.... At the end of the day, it projects what you will weigh in a month if every day keeps up like that.  Gives you an idea for realistic goals, and what to tweak and change.  Smarty pants. Thanks, Pal.

Anxious to see how this pays off at Friday's weigh in.

And if you want to be my friend! My username is Stephiespain.

Quick update

Okay people, before you panic, I know my initial weigh in was last Tuesday, but I will not be weighing in again until this Friday. Friday weigh ins give me something to look forward to and celebrate for the weekend.  They are one of my favorite psychological tricks.  So, keep building up your excitement. :P

Morning Workouts?? Really?

I've been trying to talk myself into morning workouts for two or three years.  I've done a few here and there, but never very consistently.  Um, it's hard!! But in the spirit of change and commitment, now is the time! I found some helpful tricks on Pinterest (shocker) to share:

Here is some of the gear that I laid out for myself so I was prepped and ready to go this morning at 5:45 AM:

 I also put out my yoga pants, tank top, sports bra, socks, and hoodie to wear down to my clubhouse where I work out.  I had my iPhone ready with  new playlist for this period of my journey.  I have named it MK Boots, because those are my non-food reward for myself for my first good chunk of weight lost.  I bought them last week (Black Friday deal, woohoo!) but I don't get to wear them until I see 184 on the scale. Pics to come!

Few more tips I came up with that will help me in the morning:
-Brush your teeth and put on chapstick; it helps to wake me up and feel cute/ready to go!
-Eat a banana or apple with almond or peanut butter. No good to workout on a completely empty stomach. This is quick to make and eat.  I can eat it while walking to my clubhouse gym. Good mix of protein and carbs.
-Set your alarm to a get-up-and-go song that you love. My secret power song is "Bulletproof" by La Roux.  I couldn't help but jump out of bed excited when that started!

Last but not least, if you are still lacking motivation to hit the treadmill, elliptical, whatever,tomorrow, here are the benefits that helped me talk myself into it.... A morning workout:
-Wakes up your metabolism for day.
-Leaves your evening free to get other things done, or have fun!
-Starts your day off sexy and strong
-Sets the health trend for the day; you won't want to eat poorly and spoil your work!
-Kick starts your productivity! By the time you get to work or school, you've already gotten a lot done!
-Gives you time to yourself.  At my gym, I'm the only one out at 6 AM.
-Increases self esteem. If you can do this, what else can you do?!

RISE AND GRIND

Just Two. :)

Hard to keep going on the sore days... Taking a nap and then hitting the road. This is the exact crucial time to gain momentum. Rest days? Rest from what? Giving my body what it needs? No thanks.

Damage Control

I let my 17 year old sister train me today.. 2 mile hike and serious ab work. I'll be feeling that when I laugh tonight. :) Excited!

A Thinner Thanksgiving

I tried a few fun recipes to go lower-cal on some family favorites this year, and they turned out great! No complaints! No one even knew they were eating "healthy" mashed potatoes, and we cut the calories in half (compared to the usual creamy buttery version). These recipes are officially tested and Turkey Day approved!!

First Annual Turkey Trot

We trotted or something. At 7 AM, starting turkey day off right! 3 miles of trotting, galloping, cantering, speed-walking, running, jogging, whatever. We were moving! Check it out.

Everything is fun and games when it's not THANKSGIVING

Let's face it. It's pretty easy to stay in control and eat clean and healthy when candied yams aren't staring you down.  The true test is portion control in those hard moments. For today, I'm staying on top of things so that I can splurge a little, not a lot, when tomorrow comes.

Lunch today was an impressive (for me) 6 Points Plus! Ham and cheese wrap piled high with lettuce, side of grapes and baked Lays. Yum.  It looked like a real normal lunch for a skinny person. :) High five. One more success under my shrinking belt.

Good habits

Hungry. Should have brought eggs for breakfast, they stick better. I'll make more time next week.  Just had to get out the door for this last day of work before Thanksgiving break today!  Live and learn...

Chubby Waist

Measured my waist today.. That is the only measurement I'll track. It's fitting for my theme and title, and also a good indicator for healthy weight. I also don't care much about the size and infinite curvature of my hips, booty, and other areas. they can and will stick around whether I want them to or not. It is my tummy that needs to shrink the most. So starting point...

Ready Set Go

You gotta start somewhere. And I'm starting this today. I've "started" losing weight many many times before, but today is different, and here's why:
-Today is a random day, a mid-November Tuesday marked by nothing but spontaneous motivation and get-up-and-go.
- This is public. I am committing to progress not just to myself, but to anyone else to cares to see.
- I promise to be remarkably honest. I may love or loathe, but never lie. It does nothing for my body!

Okay, here's the set up: I will weigh in and share the results every week. Cross your fingers for good movement! In addition, I'll post pics showing proof of physical progress every 8 weeks. SEXXYYY. Then, stories of sweat, food, discoveries, and total BS fail days along the way. Let's go.

P.S. My tools right now includes the Weight Watchers Points Plus online program, and a variety of workouts, cardio and weight bearing. Those will get exciting as my exercise ADD kicks in.

K time to strip.

Naked photo credits to bff Claudia Chileshe.

This number is rough for me.  It was just this past June that was enjoying scale numbers in the high 160's.  I was so cute! That me is still part of this me, and I'll get there.  

And yes I realize I'm starting 2 days before Thanksgiving. Brilliance and madness combined. Wheeeeeeeee.

Okay dudettes, here is the story of being chubby and sexy at the same blam time, and also my process of getting less chubby and more healthy!  It's super fun.  Read and find out.