Sunday Check-in and Chicago Style Fun: May 5, 2013

Current Weight, as of 5/3/13: 132.0 lbs.

Ideal Range: 130-135 lbs.

As you can see, I am sitting at a cool 132.0 lbs.  I was surprised to see that number this morning, as I binged so hard yesterday when out with a good friend of mine.  I mean, we’re talking an “M burger” from M Burger, a chocolate shake, a chocolate hazelnut latte, and a chocolate chip cookie of pretty epic sizes.  Yes, I did walk around and do some light shopping to celebrate the end of the semester, but that did not burn off nearly enough as I needed it to!  I went home full and content but developed a weird stomach ache that lasted the rest of the night.  Punishment for being a glutton, perhaps? ;) 

Hey, it's officially the end of second semester!  I deserve a treat, and boy did I treat myself yesterday!  Not only did I indulge on some delicious treats, but I bought a dress and a striped t-shirt as well.  I'm all about stripes, so this trend of stripey things has made me a very happy girl.  

Though I didn't work out yesterday and might not tonight, I am not fretting about it.  For whatever reason, I've been thinking about my need to work-out.  There are days where I feel like absolute crap if I don’t work out, and this bizarre thought of “I’m going to gain my weight back” creeps into my head.  Luckily, my logic takes over and bats that thought away.  I know I won’t gain it back because I skip one or two days of exercising.  Further, I reached a point where I am okay with my weight, plus or minus a pound or two! 

Working out has gone from a necessity to lose weight to something I really enjoy doing.  I mean, it’s TurboFire.  I get to shake my butt and do a more dancey version of kickboxing.  This program helped me get through grad school AND managed to keep my weight in check AND help me build some muscles at the same time.  It’s fantastic.  And I do it because I love it, not because I have to.  In fact, I get some of the songs/routines stuck in my head, and it takes my all not to jump up and start doing the routine wherever I am.

Anyhow, I’ll leave you with two photos I took yesterday while out in Chicago.  It is finally (FINALLY!) Spring out here and it is showing.  It was nice to walk around without a thick coat on, that’s for sure!

(Oh, I know I need to post a review of TurboFire, too.  Now that I’m doing the advanced DVD’s, I’ll most likely post a review after those.)

John Hancock Center

Tulips on Michigan Avenue

It still trips me out to know that I live in freakin' Chicago.  

Anyway, I hope you all have a great week.

Sunday Check-In: April 28, 2013

Current Weight, as of 4/28/13: 132.0 lbs.
Ideal Range: 125-130 lbs.

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I am down to a measly four day left of Spring semester.  This is my last full semester of graduate school, and then after this is summer, which is only two classes!  I can hardly believe it!  Then I move back to my beloved California in August, where I will go job hunting and such.

I am a week done with the advanced DVD's for TurboFire and let me say -- WOW.  It is crazy difficult but awesomely fun. 

I only have time for a quick update, so here it is.  Enjoy the rest of your week!

April 21, 2013. Some words.

This week has been rough.

The events in Boston and Texas hurt my heart and stressed me out.  In terms of Boston, I will never understand how people can just hurt others like that.  It was horrifying and saddening.  

As I searched for something, anything, to help me feel better, I came across this quote from Mr. Rogers:

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,' I remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers--so many caring people in this world." - Mr. Rogers

I needed some optimism and I found it in that quote.

My thoughts and heart are with those in Boston, Texas, and anyone who is currently going through troubles in their lives.

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As of this morning, I am 131.8 lbs. Motivation this week was just off and this weekend wasn't great.  I start my advanced DVDs for TurboFire tomorrow and I'm excited.  Hopefully my motivation will return because I miss it.

So, it's been a while.

I essentially abandoned this blog for, oh, almost two months.  It’s been quite a while, I know.

Thing is, school and internship have really run me down.  I’m usually an upbeat, energetic, spirited kinda gal.  But the past month?  Good lord, my energy has just been down.  I’m a full-time graduate student doing about 20-22 hours of internship a week.  I’m writing papers, working on projects, and just living my life.  So it gets quite busy and thus, energy gets zapped.

I’ve been keeping up with my exercising and am glad to say I’ve stayed between 130 – 133 lbs.  But let’s talk about exercising for a second, shall we?  It’s definitely hard to get myself motivated to exercise some days.  This is my second round of TurboFire, but this time I have the advanced DVD’s to add to my collection (YAY!).  I’ve skipped a few workouts, but I haven’t stressed about it too badly.  Though I will be worried if I eat too much in one day, or if I don’t exercise for one day, or BOTH, I know logically that it doesn’t mean I automatically gain ten pounds.  I’ve had many those days/nights and I’ve managed to stay at a pretty steady weight.

It’s been about two years since I started my second serious weight loss plan.  The first was when I was a teenager, and continued sporadically throughout college.  This is the first time that I’ve managed to maintain my weight and I’m quite proud of myself.  It used to take serious work to not overeat, but now, it’s just a habit.  I’ve been using MyFitnessPal consistently for almost a whole year now – my longest run with it.  Though I don’t always log and complete my days, I do still record the majority of what I eat.  It’s a great resource and I am so glad that I found it.

I’ll end this entry with a check-in.  As of today, April 14, 2013, I am 131.8 lbs.  Not bad, eh?  I’m feeling pretty good about it. J

Sunday Check-In: February 24, 2013

Current Weight, as of 2/24/13: 130.8 lbs.
Ideal Range: 125-130 lbs.

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I don't have much time to write this entry, as I woke up way late today (10:30 AM!) and need to get tons of things done for school.  I have a 25-30 page paper that is due on March 5th and I am determined to get a good amount of it done today.

As you can see, I am 130.8 lbs as of this morning!  Woohoo!  It probably helps that I've been attempting to stick close to my calorie goal lately and that I have been exercising as needed.  I am hoping to be down to 130 lbs. next weekend, and then from there, maintain my weight.  I think 130 is a good number for me, and +/- 2 lbs from that is where I feel comfortable.  Last week, I weighed in 

The next week and few days is going to be stressful and I need to be very mindful of what I eat.  When I am stressed, I like to eat really fatty food: cheeseburgers, french fries, anything that is bad for me, I want to eat.  I am going to try to not eat out too much this week and try to not stress out too badly, so we'll see how that goes!

Well, time to go and get my day started.  Have a great week!

Sunday Check-In: February 10, 2013

Current Weight, as of 2/10/13: 131.0 lbs.
Ideal Range: 125-130 lbs.

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The holiday weight is continuing to shed, although I'm pretty sure I put on at leas two pounds today with the food I ate.  Oh well, haha.  It was good and I was having bad cravings for carbs and chocolate.  My cravings usually don't get that bad, but they were today.  

It's been busy the past few weeks and I am feeling it.  My weekend is essentially over and I am not ready for another week to start.  There's a ton of stuff to get done in the next week and I have to start job hunting in California.  If you know of anyone in California who is looking for someone with a master's in Clinical Psychology/Counseling Psychology, please send them my way.  I need a job once I graduate.  

I'm off for the night (and most likely, the week).  Catch you all next Sunday!

Sunday Check-In: February 3, 2013

Current Weight, as of 2/3/13: 132.6 lbs.
Ideal Range: 125-130 lbs.

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Woohoo!  I am finally starting to drop my Holiday Weight that I gained over Winter Break.  It was a relief to see it a pound down this morning, I tell you what.

Oh, excuse me for that last part.  I've been watching a lot of King of the Hill (and I loooooooove it)!

Things here in good ol' Chitown have been busy.  It's my spring semester of grad school (my last semester, if you don't count summer), I'm doing about 20 hours of internship a week, and I am trying to keep myself sane.  I feel a bit shocked that I have been doing grad school for almost two years; it's flown by and oh the things I have learned.  Not just in school, but in my personal life.  I've grown.  Oh, and to top it off, I turn 28 in about a month!

Well, it's about time for me to get cleaning my apartment, so I'll sign off here.  I hope you all have a wonderful week.