My Mini Makeover!

I decided to get my hair colored today! I am feeling so good inside and out so I wanted to do something special for me! I got a "shine" which is a temporary hair color that lasts about 6 to 8 weeks. It won't make the roots so obvious! LOL!

I love it!

 

Here is my before:

Down Again!!

I weighed in this morning and was down to 191.8!! Down 1.1 pounds since last Wednesday! Yay! I've never lost weight within the week of Christmas. Woohoo!

Another Day Down!

So yesterday I didn't do too bad. I ate 1956 calories but I burned 3194 calories! I also did 17204 steps! So even though I am eating a bit more then usual, I've made tremendous efforts to burn more calories this week as I am eating a bit more then usual.

I weighed in this morning hoping for some type of loss with all my efforts, but my weight did not change and I am still at 192.9!



Hopefully I will show a drop after I fast today! So far so good! I haven't had a single thing to eat today, except for a small chip to make sure they were not stale so Marcus could have them! I am determined to stay around 500 calories today!!

Another Day Down, Just Another Week & 3 Days To Go!

This is obviously a challenging 2 weeks! First we had Christmas, next is New Years and then I go to another candy trade show from January 2 - 6! I've gotten through Christmas so far but these in between days are still tough with all the leftovers and goodies around!

I had another great day yesterday! I ate 2000 calories BUT burned 3200 and had 17,782 steps! I did the extra work because I ate 500 calories over what I normally would have when I'm trying to lose weight, so I made sure to burn 500 more calories then my normal daily burn average!



So far so good! I will be anxious to check my weight come Tuesday! I'm still trying to reach my goal of getting to the 180's by the end of this year! It will be tough as I have 3 pounds to lose to get there, but I'm hoping the exercise will pay off!

I will also do my best to have a good fast day tomorrow!

I just have to remember to...

I Survived Baking Season!!

I did a whole lot of baking with the kids this year. I just don't think it's the holidays without lots of delicious goodies in the oven this time of year. I've learned moderation is key and I also teach that to the kids. So we baked one or two items at a time and stretched the goodies out so they would last and we wouldn't over indulge on them!

December 10th - I made Chocolate Chip Cookies. I think I had about 2 or 3 of these!

December 15th - Then we made 4 large loafs of Banana Bread and 4 small loafs. The kids loved it and have already eatin' every single loaf. LOL! They loved it for breakfast! I  had about a slice and a half total! I guess I didn't get to it fast enough! But not a bad thing as I didn't eat too much! 

Morgan helping me bake!

Our mini loafs.

December 21st - Next it was time for cookies and brownies! We made Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies & Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies. I ate about 3 or 4 cookies over several days and we actually still have some left. Then I had one small square of the brownies!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. Just in time for Santa!

Chocolate Chip Brownies! These were delicious!

December 23rd - Next on the agenda was Pumpkin Pie! We made two for Christmas Day and for extra leftovers. I forgot to take a picture. So far I have had one slice. Then I made 4 mini Raspberry Pies for Brad. It's his favorite pie, so I made 4 mini one's for him as a Christmas gift. He can cook one at a time and it will help with portion control for him. Otherwise, he would most likely eat the whole pie!

Here are the Raspberry pies before I put on the top crust. Once I put on the top crust I wrapped them in foil and popped them into the freezer!

December 26th - Since we were so busy with other things, I decided to wait and have the kids make decorated Christmas cookies the day after Christmas. The thing is, I forgot to buy Christmas sprinkles and Christmas colored frosting. LOL! So, we used Halloween Sprinkles, Chocolate Frosting, White Frosting and Orange Frosting. The kids had a ball making them. I've had a few bites of these cookies but that is it. 

Marcus rolling out his dough to make a candy cane!

Morgan making her candy cane.

Time to decorate!

The yummy results!

Delicious cookies for everyone!

Even though we have cookies and pie left over, I am feeling pretty confident I will get through the rest of the holidays without over indulging! I am pretty proud of myself and feel good that I was able to get through Christmas without gaining weight. I've learned that I can enjoy having sweets as long as I keep it to one serving or less.  

It really was a fun holiday season for baking! I can't wait to do it all again next year! 

Got Through The Holiday With No Gain!!

Well I weighed in this morning and was 192.9! That is what I weighed in at on Christmas Eve morning! Woohoo! I was not expecting to have no gain at all. I am infamous for going  up due to water retention. So this is awesome news!

I did fairly well fasting yesterday. I allowed myself more calories then usual as I was home most of the day and surrounded by left overs. I figured if I can stay under 1000 calories, that would work. Well I slid through the day with just under 900 calories.

And apparently it was enough to help me maintain my weight! Yay!

Up Slightly, But Ready For The Next 2 Days!

This was a post I wrote on Christmas Eve and forgot to finsih! So here ya go!

December 24, 2014 - I weighed in this morning and was up .5 pounds to 292.9. I  did well once again on December 23. I did have 1981 calories yesterday BUT I walked 17504 steps and burned 3201 calories! Which I think more then made up for it!

I have started out my day great and have only had about 230 calories. I will save most of my calories for the end of the day! So I am feeling good going into Christmas. I will try to at least reach my 10k step goal today!

I am most looking forward to my evening a day tomorrow with my family. I will enjoy but not over indulge! I so love Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It is one of my favorite holidays.

Holiday Report!

Let's start with Christmas Eve. I at 2100 calories and burned just under 3200 calories. I made sure to dance to some Zumba music a few times and ended up with 14575 steps! I was pretty tired as we went to bed just before midnight, so I decided not to get those last few steps in.

Yesterday, I ate a whopping 3000 calories and burned 3100 calories.also got in 10851 steps. Since I burned a lot of calories yesterday I opted not to try to do 15k steps! After all and I wanted to do so

me relaxing. But as you can tell from my calorie burn, I was pretty busy!

My plan today is to fast. I will eat Christmas left overs for dinner. I may weigh in tomorrow to check and see how I did. We don't have too many unhealthy leftovers, so that is a good thing. I will opt for turkey and stuffing for dinner. Yum! 

I will try to check in regularly to give a report on how I do over the weekend! Stay tuned...

Merry Christmas!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas yesterday. I know we did!

Facebook Support Group

I realized that I never discussed my new Facebook support group on my blog. I mentioned it in my last post, but thought it would be nice to have a dedicated post for it so it's easy to find.

About a month ago I started Blanca's Weight Loss Support Group on Facebook. I have about 15 members. We do weekly weigh in's on Fridays and I also have challenges for us every few weeks. It helps motivate and keep everyone on track.

I also post silly cartoons about weight loss to keep things light and fun. We have a great group of ladies in the group. If you are in need of support, motivation and/or inspiration come check us out. We would love to have you!

Here is the link: Blanca's Weight Loss Support Group

Another Great Day & I'm Down Again!

I had another great day yesterday. I fasted and had about 800 calories. Which is more then usual, but considering my day, it went well! LOL! I did 15191 steps & burned 3015 calories! All the hard worked paid off as I was down to 192.5 pounds! That is a total of 1.1 pounds since Friday! It's nice to see the hard work pay off with good results.

I will weigh in tomorrow for my Facebook group for a final weight before Christmas! If you are interested in joining my weight loss group on Facebook, here is the link:

Blanca's Weight Loss Support Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/556668351103388/

Awesome Day Yesterday!

Well I did it! I met my 15k goal and actually did 17,888 steps yesterday!! I also burned 3200 calories as planned! So I am very proud of myself! I am going to do my best to hit the 15k again today and reach a 3200 calorie burn! I'm feeling very positive and confident that I can get through this holiday season without a scratch! Fingers crossed!

I hope to get the rest of my Christmas wrapping done today. How great is that?!

I Caved, But Will Conquer!!

So I ended up having 2000 calories again yesterday! We went to Burlington to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. I did well with dinner. I had a 8oz sirloin steak, veggies and a baked potato with just sour cream. The kicker was those darn dinner rolls. Although I only had one, I usually eat 2 or 3, it still added up. Plus, I nibbled on peanuts which are so damn addicting! LOL!

So I thought, this doesn't have to make for a bad week. I got up this morning and did Zumba first thing! I burned 500 calories doing that and intend on that being "extra" activity for the day. So my goal is 15000 steps and to hit 3200 calories burned today to make up for my little meal last night. I will try for the same tomorrow to make up for Friday.

I started my day off today much better and I am only up to a bit over 500 calories after lunch and breakfast! I am determined to have a decent weight loss this week, hiccup or not!

Goals & Plans For The Rest Of December!

Well I weighed in yesterday with more success! I was down to 193.6 which is another 1.3 pounds for the week! Woohoo!!



I have been doing so great! I really feel like I am just in the zone right now. I hope to stay there until I reach my goal. I am really feeling good about what I am doing to lose this weight and it seems really easy for me to maintain this lifestyle until I get the weight off. I think after all these years, I have found something that works really well for me.

I have created a new goal to try to get to the 180's by the end of December. By giving myself this goal, it will help me keep on track during the holidays and try to lose instead of just maintain after Christmas. I will enjoy some delicious meals during New Year's but will make it a point to watch what I eat so I can reach my goal! I love the thought that if I get into the 180's by the end of the month I will just have 30 pounds to go to get to my 160 pound goal! Now I can lose that in a year! I know I can! It feels good to have such a small amount to go!

I did have a rough day yesterday. I was starving when I got home and ended up eating 2000 calories!
 
But I will have days like that and one day doesn't make my week! I am not surprised and I think it was my body's way of telling me I needed a small break.

My plan for the rest of this week is to try my best to stay around 1500 calories a day. Meet my step goal every single day including Christmas eve and Christmas day! I will fast Monday and most likely Friday. I will weigh in first thing Wednesday for the week. I plan to eat pretty light all day Wednesday so I can enjoy our tradition of making snack foods for dinner. Lots of goodies to nibble on basically. Chirstmas I will enjoy a decent breakfast and a nice dinner but will try to eat a light lunch. I am also going to try to listen to my body and stop when I am full. I did this at Thanksgiving and saved myself 500 calories by stopping when I was full. I know I can do it again!

Christmas does not have to be a major sabotage as long as I plan ahead and that is what I plan to do!

Tough Challenges Ahead!

I have some really tough challenges ahead in the next few weeks!

1)Christmas Week
2) New Year's Week
3)January 2-6th The Candy Trade Show

My goal is to maintain my weight or lose during the time period of Christmas Eve and January 9th! It's going to take a lot of will power on my part to get through those 3 events (that span 2 weeks!) and maintain my weight, but I am up for the challenge! It certainly is a tall order! New Year's Week should be the easiest of the 3 events so I am hopeful to work hard to keep my weight steady in between Christmas and New Years.

Of course they have to have a candy show right after the holidays! LOL!

 But what would life be without challenges! Right?!

Down Again, New Glasses & Shopping!

Well I was down another half pound yesterday morning which makes me at 194.4! I think I have really found the key to keeping my weight dropping! I hope it continues without a hitch until Christmas eve. I did some last minute Christmas shopping yesterday and I am about done! I also picked up my new glasses.



My shop was open yesterday which is normally my day off and I had a women business owners meeting yesterday morning!  I took advantage of not having kids all day and did some wrapping while at work. So between my meeting, wrapping, working and shopping I had almost 13,000 steps! Woohoo! And I managed to eat only 1500 calories and I ate out all day yesterday! I have to say I am really proud of how I've been doing! Now I just need to keep up this motivation and finish the rest of this year strong!

Another Milestone - I'm Fitting In Size 12 Jeans!!

I have been buying smaller and smaller sized jeans over the past few years! I usually buy my jeans used because I know I have been steadily losing weight and may only wear them for a year or less. So as I finally fit into one size I start looking for the next size down to set a new goal. Well I have 4 pairs of size 12 jeans that have been waiting for me to fit into them and I am proud to say I fit in 2 of them! Yay!!

It's amazing to me how women's jeans can very in size so much. You can have 4 pairs of pants and they all fit differently (or don't fit!)! LOL! I still have 16's that fit me but are getting loser and loser. I have one pair of 12's that may take awhile to get into. They are not even close to buttoning! LOL!

But the fact that I can fit into any size 12 jeans is awesome in my eyes! It suddenly occurred to me that I could actually fit in a single digit size one day. I've never even considered this ever in my entire life. It never seemed to be something that was even remotely possible before. The thought is just amazing to me! But one step at a time. Next goal once I get into at least 3 of my 4 pair of 12's is to buy a pair or two of 10's! Now that will be exciting!!!

Determination!

Last night when I got home from swimming with Morgan, I discovered I had 2800 more steps to do of my 10K goal! UGH!


This was at 8pm at night. I thought, I will never reach my goal and I was tired. But I did my usual jogging while brushing my teeth figuring I will get as close as I can. Suddenly I had more energy and Brad started the Biggest Loser. So while watching that, I jogged my way to 10,000 steps!! I was so proud of myself and glad I didn't give up. I was also proud to tell my daughter Morgan this morning as she is always encouraging me and telling me "You can do it mama!" She is a great motivator! She was very happy I stuck to it and got it done!



I guess my point is, even when you think you don't have the energy to keep going and get your goal completed for the day, if you dig deep, you can always find a way! It's all about how determined you are! Never lose your determination and you will reach your goals! I know it's helped me!

A Great Loss This Week!!!

I weighed in this morning at 194.9!! I smoked my goal of 195.9 by a whole pound! Woohoo! I can't believe it! That is a total weight loss of 3.5 pounds from last Friday! I am just moving right along and love it!

My 10,000 steps a day along with really watching what I am eating is really paying off!

Baking Season Is Upon Us!!

I've had a decent couple of days. Did manage to eat 1900 calories on my "cheat day" on Tuesday. We made chocolate chip cookies and I had 2. Still not too bad for a cheat day. I did better yesterday and stayed under 1500 calories. 

I am hopeful if I have a good fast day today that I will drop more for tomorrows weigh in. I will do more baking with the kids this weekend and will try to stay on track. It's not a holiday house without the smells of baked treats! I am determined to make a few goodies for the family and enjoy them in moderation. 

In my line up are banana bread, oatmeal cookies, brownies and one or two pies. So delicious! It's nice to know I can enjoy a piece as long as I don't overdue it! Moderation is key and I am determined to stick with it!

Here are the delicious cookies we made on Tuesday:

Downward Bound I Continue To Go!

Weighed myself this morning AGAIN! I know, I'm obsessed with the scale! But each number I reach is a brand new world for me as an adult! So seeing the number keep going down is just so exciting to me at this point! It's like a gift every time I step on that scale and the number goes down! I love it!!


I am now at 196.7! Woohoo! Down another .4 pounds since Sunday morning! Now I will refrain from weighing in again until Friday morning! I have my fingers crossed that I will be at least 195.9. I am sure as heck going to try my best!!

A WII Bit Of Fun!

Aside from doing my Zumba and marching while cooking, I decided to give the WII a try again. I hadn't played the games on our WII system in awhile. As you may have already figured out, I weigh myself on the WII every week. I guess it would be nice to use it to play games now and then, otherwise it just becomes a very expensive scale! LOL!

So I played this fun marching game with the kids. I forgot just how fun playing the WII is! Here is a picture of me and my character in a marching band.

I also had fun doing the step aerobic class, running and an very cool obstacle course. Just another fun way to get those steps in! I'll have to do this more often!!

Hopefully It's All Downhill From Here!

I decided to weigh in a bit earlier then usual this week, so I weighed in yesterday. I was happy to see I have lost another 1.3 pounds and I am down to 197.1!! Woohoo!

I thought it was odd that I had no loss on Friday so I was hoping to see a drop when I hopped on that scale yesterday, and I am so glad I chose to do so. There is nothing more motivating then seeing a drop to help keep you going! I've had a really good few days. Been around 1500 calories every single day.

I will keep up with the exercise all week and try to really stick to my calorie goals everyday and maybe, just maybe I will get to 195.9 or lower by Friday! My fingers are crossed!



Today I will fast and check in again tomorrow!

No Gain, No Loss!

Well I weighed in on Friday and I was back to 198.4. That is what I weighed in at on Thanksgiving morning! So I did not gain from Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving leftovers. Although it would have been nice to see some type of loss as I had a average 1300 calorie deficit per day for the week!



That always leaves me scratching my head and wondering what the heck! But I can't focus on past weeks, all I can do is move forward! I am determined to have a good loss this week! I've been eating very well and getting those steps in. So come Friday, I hope to see a nice drop!

Ok, Just Up A Little Bit!

So I couldn't help myself and weighed in this  morning. I am up .5 pounds. I can live with that! Only gaining half a pound after a major holiday,  I would say that is success!! I am pretty confident that I can drop that half pound the rest of this week and maybe even a little more!

Today is my day off but I am treating it like any other day and will try to stick around 1500 calories. Tomorrow is my annual holiday shopping day with my mom. So I am going to have a good time, but not over do it. I am hoping to still stick around the 1500 calorie mark. I will certainly do my best to do that! I really do want to see a loss on that scale come Friday, so that will be a great incentive! I will check in again in a day or two!