Finally Found The Perfect Formula To Lose The Weight!

It seems I have really hit the mark this go around on keeping a consistent weight loss for myself! With my smaller size adjustments have to be made, but I have found what works and have been able to drop a couple of pounds every week! Here is what seems to work for me:

Average Calorie Deficit Of 9000 calories per week!

I have at least a 1000 calorie deficit per day, 5 days a week and a 2000 calorie deficit 2 days a week. Those 2 days are the days I fast. When I fast I eat 500 calories on my fasting day.

Eat around 1500 calories per day on my non fast days. 

10,000 steps per day! That gives me enough burn most days to reach my calorie deficit goal each day. On those days where I eat too much I burn more calories by upping my steps. Up to 15,000 when necessary.

This formula usually yields me a about a 2 pound loss per week, which is super ideal and a healthy amount to lose on a weekly basis.

Keep in mind that everyone is different. But with consistency and determination, you can figure out your formula, too! 

Down Another 2 Pounds For The Week!!

I feel I have really figured out the formula that works for me to get this stinkin' weight off! I was down 2 pounds this week since last Friday and I am now at 185.6! Wow!!! I love it! I am getting so close to the 170's! I totally can't believe it! I am jumping for joy inside right now!

Another Day Of Catch Up!

I got home after a day of running a few errands and still needed to get 5000 steps in last night! Well I did it once again. 5000 was still a bit better then 6500 like the day before! LOL! But I am really hoping I get more steps in today before going home!

I also ate more then I would have liked yesterday. But it was technically my cheat day. I will still under 2000 calories. Hopefully I will still have a decent drop this week!

I promise to continue to be good!



I'm still not feeling well, so if I drop anything this week, that will be an accomplishment! I did drop to 187.4 yesterday. Another .2 pounds. Better then no drop!

I Dug Deep!!

I was stuck at my computer all day yesterday catching up on paperwork for our tax appointment tomorrow. Well I paid the price!!

When I got home yesterday I had only 3500 steps!! With my cold, I thought, I just don't know if I have the energy to do this!

Well I dug deep, went up stairs and danced to Zumba! Got up to 8000 steps!! I hit 10,000 by bed time just doing some regular nightly things and jogging in place!!

I did it! Yay!!

Tough Weekend, But I Prevailed!

It was a bit of a tough weekend for me. I wanted to nibble on everything!! I only had about 2100 calories each on Friday and Saturday. BUT my issue was I didn't do much more exercise on Friday to make up for my pitfall. So my calorie burn was a measly 500 calories that day!

But I was determined not to let myself fail over the weekend. So I worked my butt off and managed to burn a whopping 3300 calories on Saturday. I ended up with just under 3000 calories total,  for a deficit,  for Fri, Sat & Sun. So right now, I'm right on target to have a decent week! My goal on non fast days is to have a 1000 calorie deficit per day and 2000 calorie deficit on fasting days!

I am doing pretty well on my fast day today. I have eatin about 100 calories in walnuts today and that is pretty much it! So I am pretty sure I will do well the rest of the day with fasting.

The question is, will all of this hard work show up on the scale with at least a .5 pound loss? My average on Tuesday. We shall see!

LOSER!

Well I am down once again and pretty excited about it. I am now 187.6, down 1.8 pounds for the week. Woohoo!! I had an average deficit of 1288 calories for the week! Which is excellent! I really would like to see me hit 185 by time I go on my trip with my Mom which is in less then 2 weeks! That is 2.6 pounds I need to lose by then! I think I can do this!

Upcoming Challenges

I have a few upcoming challenges to deal with before our next challenge ends on my Facebook Group. We have a challenge to lose 10 pounds in 8 weeks by March 6th. Before that I have a few challenges that I will really have to work hard to meet my goal.

1) February 4 & 5 - I take my mom on an annual trip to Foxwoods/Mohegan Sun Casino for her birthday every year. It's a great time for her and I have some Mother/Daughter time. We are given lots of great coupons to enjoy some great food. I've gone on this trip most years and have done an awesome job staying on track. I am positive I can do it again. I LOVE walking around these beautiful casinos while my mom gambles. I enjoy gambling, but don't tend to like doing it all day. So walking is one thing I love doing while I'm there. So I look forward to burning up those calories with lots of walking!

2) February 15-21 School vacation! We always go away for school vacation in February to spend some quality time with the kids. This is the only time of year we take a whole week off! And we always have lots of great fun! So the challenge will be to stay focused and try to not gain any actual weight. Water weight is inevitable! But if I can keep the actual weight gain down to nothing, that will be great! I will do my best!

As you can see, February is travel month for me! LOL! And with that comes weight gain, but it doesn't have to be permanent! I will get back on track immediately upon my return and get that weight off! Now the big questions will be, can I get to my 179.9 goal by March 6th?? I think I can!

Keepin' Up The Good Work!

I have had quite a fantastic week! With adopting our new dog Bella, it has been such fun! So that is why I haven't posted in awhile! LOL! But I've been doing well all weekend long. I have had an average deficit of 1000 calories each and every day and 2000 on my fast day Monday. So I am right on target.

I weighed in yesterday since it was the day after my fast day and was at 188.9!! That is down another .5 pounds. Which seems to be my average on Tuesdays. So I am very happy with that. I am hopeful for a good drop come Friday! Another 1.5 pounds would be most excellent, but a pound would be pretty exciting, too!



I truly can not express how fantastic I feel these days. This is the easiest time I have had losing weight in a long time. I think I've really found something that works for me and it has helped the pounds melt away and is something I can stick to. I am so excited to see what the next few months will bring. I would love to see me at 160 before summer!!!! That would be awesome and can only help my summer be a complete success this year, instead of feeling like a huge sabotage. I would just need to maintain my weight and not worry about losing.

Once I hit 160, if I feel I can lose a few more pounds, I will do so before and after summer, but will not pressure myself to lose during the summer months, which are the hardest for me to get through. We work hard for a living and with that we play hard when we go away for our mini vacations each month during the summer. I will have a strategy not to gain more then water weight. With my new found strategies, I have a feeling I can accomplish that task without a problem.

But enough about summer right now. I just need to get through the rest of winter and spring and bust my butt to lose my last 29 pounds! Wow, can't believe I only have 29 pounds to go! Woohoo!!!

Hit My Next Milestone Yesterday!!

I'm so excited as I hit my next milestone yesterday! I am 189.4 pounds!! Woohoo! I am now in the 180's! My next goal....179.9! I can do this!

Our New Family Member - Princess Bella!

Meet our newest family member, Princess Bella!



Princess came into our lives very unexpectedly yesterday afternoon. I often participate in fundraisers for Homeward Bound, Addison Counties Humane Society. Well they were dropping off the "Have A Heart" fundraiser materials to me yesterday at lunch time. It's a program where my customers can purchase a heart for a $1.00 and then add a name on the heart and we hang them up in the shop. 100% of the proceeds go to Homeward Bound. So come into the shop and get yours today! ;)

Anyway, Hannah (from Homeward Bound) brought Princess in to the shop to drop off the materials. I looked down at her and knew I had seen her before in an add for Homeward Bound. Hannah began to tell me what a great dog she was. So I came over and said hello. This girl won my heart! My dog Pepper passed away 8 years ago. We put off getting a dog because we had small children and we own a business. But I knew in my heart of hearts I wanted to try to get a dog this year. I had waited long enough!

Princess fit all my criteria in a dog I was looking for. I wasn't planning on looking right now, but I knew what I wanted. I wanted a short hair dog that was at least 2 years old. She needed to be on the small side with a very easy going personality. A dog that gets along with everyone. Princess is an absolute sweet heart and was a perfect match for us!

Homeward Bound had her for two months! I couldn't get over it. She is a great dog but had one issue that I think stopped people from adopting her. She is aggressive toward other dogs and cats. So the home she went to had to have no cats or dogs. That was an easy one for us. We know that this could be challenging but are determined to work with her.

Brad was not in the shop when she came to visit, but I was determine to advocate for this little girl and see if he would be willing to adopt her. He had been the most hesitant about getting another dog. Although, he loves dogs, he just wanted to make sure we could handle the responsibility along with our others.

Well we had a heart to heart and he agreed to meet her. I was super excited so I planned on picking up the kids from school and called Homeward Bound and asked if they could bring her back to the shop for another visit. Everyone instantly fell in love with her. So after just a short while after her visit, Brad told me it was ok to go up and get her. I did not waste anytime and raced up to Homeward Bound to adopt her. Everyone at Homeward Bound was so excited that Princess was finally going to a good home. They all agreed that she was a super sweet!

We brought her home and she did very well! She listens really well and has done well with the birds. She is very curious but learns quickly and is a good listener. The birds are curious and cautious with her, but I think it will all be good. We will ALWAYS take the necessary precautions to keep ALL our pets safe now that we have a dog.  I think it was fate that brought her into our lives yesterday!

She came from a home that had other dogs and they had to give her up because she was getting into fights with the other dog(s). Homeward Bound did not get a whole lot of info on her. But we do think she may have been hit by a man because she seems a little hesitant when my husband pets her head. But I know once she sees the loving kind man he is, she will get over that quickly. All in all she follows both Brad and I everywhere. She is so loving and has been great with the kids!

She does need some training and we hope to work with her to correct some minor behavior issues. But we look forward to working with her. She knows sit pretty well and come. So that is a good start!

She came to Homeward Bound with the name of Princess. I am not real keen on the name as I don't think it fits her. Morgan liked it so we thought we would add to the name so we came up with Princess Bella! Morgan picked that one out! Everyone loves the name so much that I think we will drop the Princess once she gets used to Bella.

We are so pleased and excited that Bella has come into our lives! We look forward to many happy years with her! She is truly a gift and we feel so fortunate to have her a part of our lives! Here are some great pictures of her first night at home.

Welcome To Moe's!

As many of you who read my blog know, I loooove Moe's! I have made some changes over the past couple of months that has made this a very doable option for me when I'm trying to keep my calories down. The thing I love about Moe's is you can go online and calculate the calories of your entree based on what you have put on it!

My favorite thing there is their burritos! They remind me of home in San Francisco! I used to get the Homewrecker which is meat of your choice, beans, rice and all the fixings. These burritos are huge! I then started to go for the Art Vandalay burrito which has no meat. I really don't miss it. But in the last couple of months I have changed to the Art Vandalay Jr and that fills me up just find now. I save myself about 300 whopping calories by doing this!

My lunch yesterday! Art Vandalay Jr.

This is my favorite place to eat when I'm up in Burlington and I feel like it is a pretty healthy choice for my "cheat" day as I'm usually up there on my day off. This burrito with chips and salsa was only 585 calories! Such a yummy and filling lunch!

Here is the Moe's website where you can figure out your calories for your meal:

http://www.moes.com/food/nutrition/burritos/

So many chain restaurants and fast food restaurants have there nutrition information available online. It's easy to look up and a handy tool to stay on track when you are trying to lose weight!

Almost Back To My After Christmas Weight!

After Christmas I weighed in at 191.8 but then between New Years and going to the candy show, we all know I went up! Monday was a good fast day. I stuck with it and had my plants and protein for dinner! I basically had a scramble with spinach and a small amount of Italian sausage! So good! I ended up eating 567 calories, burning 2587 with a deficit of 2020 calories!! I also did 10118 steps that day! So I was very proud of myself for sticking with my fasting and doing it properly!

Yesterday I weighed in at 192.5. That is what I weighed right before my trip to Atlantic City for the candy trade show. I now have dropped all of my travel weight! Woohoo!! That is down .6 pounds from Friday! I had a fantastic day of eating and moving yesterday! I ran a bunch of errands and made sure to get lots of exercise in! I burned 2836 calories, ate 1277 calories leaving me with a deficit of 1559 calories! I also walked 15323 steps!!

I am really trying to keep it up all week! Wouldn't it be nice to see 189.9 or less on the scale come Friday? Fingers crossed!!



I am certainly going to try to keep on track and hope for the best come Friday!!

Weekend Report!

So I didn't have a super great weekend in terms of eating, but I did try to make up for it with exercise. So all in all it wasn't too bad! Here is how I did over the last 3 days.

Friday - Burned 2484 Calories, Consumed 1622 Calories, Deficit 862 Calories & 8717 Steps.
Saturday - Burned 3051 Calories, Consumed 1956 Calories, Deficit 1095 Calories and 15244 Steps.
Sunday - Burned 3078 Calories, Consumed 2007 Calories, Deficit 1071 Calories and 16029 Steps.

My average deficit over the 3 days was 1009! Which I am happy with since it was a weekend of nibbling! I had the nibbles something awful!! My band sinks with my phone and shows me this information on my phone app. The problem is, my calorie burn hasn't always shown up right in the last few weeks on my phone. I thought I had burned a couple hundred calories less in the last two days then I did. So I am happy to see the more accurate info when I plugged my band into my computer this morning!

I weighed in this morning because I was concerned how I did. Especially since I thought I burned 400 calories less then I actually did this weekend. I was up .9 pounds from my weigh in on Friday. I am hopeful that I will have a decent drop tomorrow after fasting today. I am REALLY going to try to fast well today and go back to eating my plants and protein. All last month I pretty much ate what was convenient on my fast days rather then sticking to plants and protein. With my busy holiday schedule, it was just easier to do that!

I really would like to see me back down to 191.8 by the end of this week. So that way I can continue working on my next goal of getting into the 180's! Our new challenge on my Facebook group is to lose 10 pounds in 8 weeks. Sooooo...I want to go for the gold here and get to 179.9 by the end of this challenge!! The challenge ends of March 6. I can do this and will certainly give it my best!

How To Fit Exercise Into A Busy Schedule!

Here is how I fit in daily exercise with my busy schedule. Hope these tips help!



Many people ask me what I do for exercise and how I fit it in with my busy schedule. Between 2 small kids and running a business it can be VERY difficult to find the time to exercise. Not to mention caring for 3 large parrots! It is certainly tiring!


For many years exercise has been a huge chore for me. It's not something I enjoy all too well but it has to be done. When I lost my weight the first time 11 years ago I did the treadmill and exercise videos. Which was fine, but still always felt like a huge chore! One thing I did enjoy very much was walking to McDonalds and back when I lived in Burlington. My mom worked there so I would walk there, visit with her a minute or two and walk back home. During nice weather of course. I really enjoyed that and I enjoyed listening to music on the way.

But back then I wasn't married, had only one bird, didn't have kids and didn't have my own business. So it was easier to find the time to exercise. These days that can be challenging! When I started to try to lose weight again in 2012 I did a lot of exercise videos. Yes, it helped me lose the weight, but over time I would burn out from them. When I started again this year I tried just having work as my exercise, because I do move around quite a bit when I'm busy. But that was just not enough!

So I decided to order Zumba DVD's and loved it! I really enjoy the music and it makes me want to move! I used to really focus on how much time I spent on exercise. But then my friend Wendy was tracking her steps everyday and trying to reach a certain goal. Well my armband that tracks my calorie burn everyday also counts steps. So I started to track my steps rather then the amount of time I exercised each day.

One thing I realized is that your steps add up throughout the day. You can do a little here and a little there and before you know it, you reach your goal of 10,000 steps! I loved this idea as it is really hard for me to set aside 45 minutes each day to exercise. So my new goal was to hit 10,000 steps per day. And on days I needed to burn a few extra calories 15,000.

Using this as a way to gauge my exercise on a daily basis gave me more freedom to do exercise in small increments each day. So I began to get really creative to get my steps in! Here are some fun but effective ways I found to reach my step count.

Step or jog while brushing my teeth.
Step while dressing the kids and getting them ready for bed.
Step while cooking.
Walk while waiting to pick up my son from preschool.
Park as far as I can from stores so I have to walk farther to get to the store.

The bottom line is, if you are standing still doing something, step instead of just standing there! It works and you would be surprised how many steps you can accumulate in a short time!!

Music Was The Key - As I began to continue to do the Zumba DVD's December approached and I knew I wouldn't have time to do the DVD's on a regular basis. So I bought the Zumba music on CD (which I love, but get what you like) and put it on my phone. Now I could move and exercise when opportunity knocked. I never knew it would become a way to exercise that I absolutely love doing!

I absolutely LOVE music. Especially dance music! It is the urban city kid in me that loves a good beat! The Zumba music just makes me want to move and I love listening to the latin music as it reminds me of my latin roots! So when I began to listen to Zumba and other music and dance to get my steps in, I began to have lots of fun exercising. It didn't feel like a chore anymore, it didn't feel like exercise, it was just plane fun and uplifting! I love it!

Now this is how I fit in exercise when I listen to music:

Dance while I cook! I listen to music while I cook dinner and dance around the kitchen. I get a lot more steps in dancing then just marching in place!

Dance while I get the kids ready for bed and brush my teeth. If I need the extra steps at night I put on the headset and dance while I get the kids ready for bed and brush my teeth.

Dance at the shop during slow times. I had to stay 2 nights late here at work right before Christmas. So when it was really slow during the evening I danced to music while waiting for customers to come into the store! It was fun and kept me from getting bored! LOL!

I listen to music and walk in the storage area of our climate control storage building. I can get in over 2000 steps just walking for 15 minutes back there while listening to music.

Dance while I clean! When I clean the house, I move, but I move a lot more while listening to music!

I sit with each of my birds every night. Coqui likes to explore and very rarely stays in my lap. So now I bring her upstairs with me while I listen to music. Rather then just sitting in a chair watching her. Now I am moving!

When I need to get in a lot of steps, I go upstairs and just listen to music for 30 minutes or so and dance away.

The bottom line is, if I have an opportunity to move, I do it! Here are some great opportunities to move:

Waiting for someone - when my mom had a colonscopy I knew it would be a long wait so I walked back and forth in the halls of the hospital. People saw me several times and asked if I was ok, I just explained I was exercising!

Shopping - Just plain shopping is not enough. Park as far as you can from the entrance in the parking lot. This increases your steps a lot!

Lunch Break - When I went to an all day class, I took advantage of lunch break and took a nice walk inside. Even if it is just a hallway and it's too cold to walk outside, take advantage of it and just walk back and forth. It doesn't matter what people think. If they ask, just tell them you are getting some exercise in!  I don't always take much of a lunch at work, but for those of you that have a lunch hour, walking at lunch is a great opportunity.

Walking Around The Store - I do laps in my store when I'm the only one here. Since I can't go back into the storage area when I'm alone, walking laps around the store gets in a few extra steps.

Avoid The Drive Thru - If you have the time park and go in to place a meal order or go to the bank.

Video Games - Many of todays video games allow you to be more active. I can get some fun time in with the kids but still get in some steps using the WII!

Move While Watching TV - When watching a favorite program, march in place. You don't have to have an expensive treadmill. It's an easy way to get in those last few steps you need at the end of the day to meet your goals!

Your Kids & Sports - When taking your kids to sports activities, park a distance away so you need to walk a bit to get there. And/or walk laps while they are at practice if you are staying. You can still watch them but walk while you do it. I take Morgan to swimming twice a week. I park a distance away from the building to get in extra steps. Then I walk back and forth in the building while I'm waiting for her to change and practice to start.

Make Multiple Trips - If you need to put things away, or put things in recycling, etc. Make multiple trips instead of being efficient and carrying everything all in one trip. Yes, it takes more time, but you get in a heck of a lot more steps! When I get Marcus and Morgan ready for bed, instead of going into Marcus's room grabbing him some pj's then going into Morgan's room for hers, I go to Marcus's room, grab his PJ's then bring them to him first. Then I go to Morgan's room and get hers. It's worth the few extra seconds to get a few extra steps in. These little things you do can to get those extra steps make a big difference by the end of the day!

Bringing In Shopping Bags - I used to try to bring in as many bags as I could carry into the house from the car. Now I only bring in two at a time so I have to make more trips! It's an easy way to get in more steps!

Take The Stairs - we try to take the stairs whenever possible these days and we all know that you burn lots of calories doing steps!

Avoid The Shortcuts - Many times when walking somewhere it is awful tempting to take a shortcut by walking over the lawn to get to your destination. Avoid doing this and get in a few extra steps!

One of the most positive things that has come out of all this moving is my kids now move with me. When I step they begin to step with me for fun. When I dance, they love to dance with me. So now I am getting them moving and staying active! And the best part is it's fun and the kids think it is fun! And yes, even my husband Brad is beginning to move with us, too. It's quite contagious!




You just have to think outside the box and figure out how you can get in the most steps each day. You should always be thinking about opportunities to step, dance, walk or run. Whatever it may be and whatever you enjoy most! You can do this and it doesn't have to be hard. You just have to take a moment and think about staying active and moving!

I hope these tips help and inspire you to use your daily routine to fit in exercise each and every day! Good luck!

I'm Getting There!!

So I weighed in on Friday morning at 193.1. Just .2 pounds from maintaining my weight from Christmas Eve of 192.9! I couldn't believe it! So close, but didn't quite make it! The miracle is, I dropped 3.8 pounds in just two days after the returning from the candy show!! Of course I failed the challenge and here was my consequence:



LOL! Pretty funny isn't it. On my Facebook group I had a challenge to Maintain and Not Gain and the penalty for gaining was having your head put on a chubby Santa. So here I am! LOL!

My lowest weight was December 30th at 191.8. So I am hoping to get back to that number rather quickly! Friday I did well and had about 1600 calories! I went to the movies with my good friend Tammy. I had a small popcorn and a steak salad for dinner to keep those calories down. Unfortunately, I did not get my steps in, with the busy day I had, and only burned 2500 calories. But I hope to make up some of that today and shoot for 15000 steps!

Today has been a decent day as I've already had just under 1300 calories already. I enjoyed a big lunch at McD's today. I was extra hungry this morning for some reason! ;P But I will try to be diligent and have a light dinner! I am so close to hitting the 180's. That is my next goal which should not take me long at all!

Some Of That Weight Is Dropping Off!!

So I weighed in this morning to see if any of that weight dropped off and I did go down 1.8 pounds to 195.1. My challenge on my facebook group is coming up. I weighed 192.9 on Christmas Eve and to complete the challenge, I need to be at that same weight or less. Now last week I weighed 191.8 pounds. So I have 3.3 pounds to go to get to my lowest weight and 2.2 pounds to go to get back to my Christmas Eve weight.



I'm not sure that is even possible, but I will do my best!! It's always hard when you go up in weight, no matter how temporary it may be. Because you work so hard to achieve your goals. I worked extra hard during this show to avoid a weight gain like this. But maybe this just confirms this is all water gain. Yes, I had one bad day. BUT one bad day does not make a week! I will try to keep my chin up and hope for good results over the next few days. Don't be surprised if I seem a little more obsessive over the scale these days! I may swear at it a few times, too!  LOL!

Candy Trade Show Day 4 & 5

I was pretty busy the last few days and haven't had much time to post. So here goes!

Monday January 5th - We enjoyed yet another day at the show. It was our last day to wrap things up as we were driving back home Tuesday morning. I started out my morning well. I had a Sausage McMuffin for breakfast. Fattening yes, but only 360 calories. I enjoyed about 75 calories worth of samples at the show that day. We took my mom and my MIL into the show on Monday so they could go around and try some samples. So they indulged more then we did. LOL!

The show was very productive and I was able to order some new equipment for the shop! Here are my new toys! Yay!!

This will be used to get the air bubbles out of any of my molded chocolate. I can't wait to try it out! I would like to personally thank Bill Birnn & his wife for bringing this piece of equipment back from the show for me. I was planning on picking it up at their office in Williston but they showed up at my door step today and dropped it off!  So so nice of them! Now I can play with it even sooner! 

Here is a awesome cooker we decided to invest in. We put a deposit down and we will get it in about 3 months once we get the kitchen put in here at work. I am very excited about this! This cooker will make my life a lot easier!

For lunch we went to Harry's Seafood restaurant and I enjoyed some fish tacos! Boy were they good!

My tacos!

Kids enjoying the pasta!

Brad enjoying fresh oysters!

 We then ended the evening by going to the "Worlds Largest" Bird supply store! I went with my good friend Wendy and enjoyed the visit! We then stopped at Chili's for dinner and I had a great spicy Santa Fe Salad with some Bottomless Tortilla Chips & Salsa! It was so good and I was hungry and forgot to take a picture. Here are a couple at the bird store.

Wendy visiting with the birdie babies!

Monday I ended up eating about 2150 calories, Burned about 2800 and walked just under 14K steps. I went gambling with my MIL and mom that night and by time I got back I was tired from our long day. So I chose not to finish my step count.

Tuesday on the other hand did not go so well with my eating. I had the major nibbles on our ride home! I started out good with a peach parfait.

Then I was hungry again about 11am. I had a Whopper Jr from Burger King from one of the rest stops. I was so craving a cheeseburger. LOL! We stopped a lot yesterday and ended up eating at Friendly's for lunch. I had a really good Asian Salad so I started off very well. But then I ate half of Marcus' Quesadillas and half of Morgan's french fries!

Marcus and Morgan enjoying Friendly's

I managed to nibble on a little candy on the way home, too! So for our final stop we ended up at KFC and I had a 2 piece meal with potato wedges and a biscuit! Needless to say, I had waaaay too many calories yesterday and moved very little with driving all day!

I ended up eating a whopping 3041 calories yesterday and only burned 2300!!



I did manage to get in 6167 steps which is not too bad considering I was stuck in a car most of the day! LOL!

Weigh In - So I decided to go ahead and weigh myself this morning. No matter what the news, I could take it. I knew I would be up some from all the stuff I've been eating. Well I weighed in at 196.9 pounds! That is up 5 pounds!! Holy Chocolate Cake!! I know that most of this has to be water gain. I always go up in wieght when I travel and eat out a lot. So I am going to do my best to fast well today and get that to drop within the next couple of days! I have my challenge on Facebook I got to complete! I can do this!! Wish me luck!!

Candy Trade Show Day 3

I had another pretty good day! I had a few of my delicious chocolate truffles I made yesterday! They were so good I had 4! So worth it though. I munched on a few other samples. Couple of pieces of brittle and some different flavored malt balls. Also found a new favorite...chocolate covered corn nuts! Oh my goodness were they good! All in all I guess I had about 600 calories in candy today!



It sounds like a lot but really it is not! I did really well today and usually do a LOT more sampling! I started my day with a parfait and had a wonderful Asian salad at Applebee's!

My Applebee's Salad

I also make a really cool chocolate basket at the show today made out of chocolate clay! Very fun!

My beautiful chocolate basket I made!

We took the family to Rainforest Cafe for dinner. I forgot to take a picture but had a BBQ Chicken Wrap that was delicious! It came with spanish rice and was so good. I couldn't finish it all!

I had just under 2000 calories, will burn just under 3000 calories and walked 15K steps today, so I am right on track with my goals!

Candy Trade Show Day 2 Continued...

Did well last night! Went to a great restaurant where they say a small portion feeds 2 to 3. Well I had about an 8oz portion of spaghetti and Brad and mom had about half that (as they had something else) and this is what was left in the pic below!



Holy cow!! Marcus' was enough to feed 5 kids. Lol! He had the Mac and cheese for kids. Morgan had a kids Alfredo that was an enough for an adult.



Needles to say we had LOTS of leftovers! Lol! I stayed under 2000 calories yesterday. Walked over 18k steps but only burned just under 3000 calories as I sat in class a lot yesterday.

We plan to walk to the convention center from our hotel to give us extra exercise. Today's challenge will be to not try to many samples. My goal is to eat under 2000 calories each day and burn at least 3000 calories each day. So far so good!

Candy Trade Show Trip Day 1 & 2

We left yesterday morning on our a trip and I had a great day! I fasted all day but did allow myself diet coke most of the day while I was driving. I had steak, mashed potatoes and veggies for dinner. And ended up with just over 600 calories for the day!

I also met my very good friend Wendy Kalusz. We've been email pen pals for a year and a half now and finally got to meet yesterday. That was really great! We started being pen pals after we met on a parrot forum and both wanted to try to help each other lose weight.

Enjoying dinner out at Ruby Tuesday's

Wendy and I both looking awesome with our weight loss so far!

Today I had an all day seminar for my trade show. I did fairly well so far. I've had just over 1000 calories and hope to get in 15k steps by tonight! I had a roast beef sandwich, Doritos & a small salad. I managed to get through the day with only sampling 2 caramels and a jelly! I also learned to make truffles but haven't tried them yet. ;)

Lunchffl

Chocolate ganache I made for the truffles!

My truffles!

I will continue to keep you posted!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I've had a wonderful couple of days with my family. But I've eatin' a LOT of food! 

I have managed to get in 15k steps on New Year's Eve & New Year's Day! On New Year's Eve I burned  3150 calories but ate a whopping 3500 calories!! Today I did a bit better. I ate 2500 calories and estimate I will burn about 3100 calories.

Tomorrow I leave for my 5 day trip to Atlantic City to attend the candy trade show. I will fast tomorrow and will do my best to stay focused. I really would like to see me lose another pound this coming week before my current challenge of maintaining and not gaining from the holidays. So far I am down one pound since Christmas Eve. So I am hopeful to be down one more pound by next Friday at minimum! To be 189.9 or less would be awesome!