Operation Fabulous!

   Remember the first week of our journey?  We all had different goals.  From mine being to get back my self-confidence to Marna’s showing the world how great 55 could be and Veronica’s being an inspiration to her daughter.  They were all different and most likely related to one of you.  Now I could say that we probably share the same goal now.  To keep up with what we learned and stay dedicated to ourselves in loosing weight to not waste these last three months.  

From these past twelve weeks, I learned a few things about myself and I was a little aggrevated.  I just couldn’t understand how I could let myself get to where I was in the first week we started.  It wasn’t easy these three months, but it wasn’t impossible. I just cant imagine going three steps back from where I am now.  I am at a great place in my life right now and it’s all because of how I feel about myself.  When I started The Best Life Diet I was feeling depressed and disgusted with myself because I couldn’t fit in my clothes - but it was my own fault for not doing anything about it.  I didn’t want to leave the house afraid of what people might say about me.  NOW is TOTALLY different.  I could look at myself in the mirror and see improvement in my body and my attitude.  I could walk outside and really not care about who says what and why they say it.  I may not have the body of a super model now, but I know that in time I could finally be where I want to be ONLY if I stay with the routine.   This wasn’t just three months and I’m done, this was more like three months of being on a launch pad. 

This isn’t the end of my journey.  This is actually the beginning.  The beginning to the rest of my life and it only gets better from here.

I hope I have been a role model for some of you.  I hope by reading and hearing my experiences have helped you somehow.  Helped you to find your new beginnings.  Some advice for those that are wrapping up their 12 weeks is only that…………… STAY WITH IT!  Never stop leading a healthy life.  You could have nothing in the world, but if you have your health, you are richer than you know.

Thank you all for all of your support through all of this! Live well - Stay Strong!

xoxoxo

Anna

It seems like everyday I try to make it to the gym (except on Saturday…That is my “doing nothing” day).  There are days where I just feel like enough is enough, but in reality, is it really ever enough?

Now just because you go to the gym does not mean that you could eat a tripple cheeseburger and a large fry!  You still have to eat correctly.  They do not cancel eachother out like I used to think before starting “The Best Life Diet”.   Now I know that no matter what you do, you HAVE to eat properly and exercise regularly to see maximum results.  FORGET about Diet Pills!  Those could be hazordous to your health and you will gain the weight back really quick.  I say this because I know someone that did that.  It’s all about “the quick fix” with her.  I saw a change in her attitude more than her weight loss.  She starved herself because the pill made her not hungry.  THAT’S NOT GOOD!  She finally stopped using them after I went and bought her “The Best Life Diet” and I am going to start from square one with her and Do this process all over again.  I stand by Bob Greene’s book and will be happy to do it for the rest of my life!

There is always a two ways to do things….one way and then the right way.  If taking pills or having surgery is the way you want to loose weight, just remember that its only a quick fix on the outside, but your most important parts are on the inside - the only way you could improve and stay healthy is doing it the old fashion way…..eating right and exercising.

  This is the nineth week of The Best Life Diet - which means three more weeks till the rest of my life.   I don’t know exactly how much weight I have lost, but I could see a huge difference in my clothes so far.  I couldn’t tell you the exact pound because I am not judging myself and my success by that.   I know I feel great, but lately I feel a bit sluggish and want to roll off track.  I have been VERY stressed out lately and I really really really want to indulge into something very very fattening!  I know myself and I know that if I do, I will feel very guilty and want to give up on it all.  I have come too far for something like that to happen.  My physical appearance is a bit more livelier - meaning that I do not look like a walking zombie anymore.  I wake up early now instead of wanting to sleep in.  The only thing is that since I have been stressed out I have been tossing and turning in my sleep and I just cannot seem to relax.  Anyway, I sit and wonder to myself will I continue this regimine after the 12 weeks?  I know myself and I know that sometimes I could get lazy and not want to do anything.  I also know that it will be VERY hard without any of the other girls there to do it with me.  I just have to think positive.  I have to keep my mindset on whats important in life - my health.

   I also have three more months until vacation.  I could set that as my new goal.  Another 12 weeks.  I think I am going to start from phase one all over again.  I seemed to feel the most success during phase one than any of the other phases.  The best thing that came out of all of this (besides making new friends) was not that I lost a few pounds, but that I feel like I WANT to work out ALL the time.  I make it a routine and which I feel guilty if I do not go to the gym.  I rather work out with a partner, but since I am past the part of feeling self conscious at the gym, I know I could do it on my own.  For those that do not have a partner at the gym (like Kimberly that left a comment on my previous journal entry) - all you have to say is “who cares”.  You are actually attempting to go.  You got off of your butt and stepped on a tredmill - BUT going to the gym and actually working out are two different things!  You have to break out a sweat and get that heart pumping again….. you will feel great either way - with or without a partner.

 I guess thats what I gained from this experience.  Making things a routine.  If I make going to the gym and eating regularly and healthy a routine, then following The Best Life Diet for the rest of my life should be a piece of cake…. MmmMMmm Cake, maybe I should have used a better phrase….

Whoa.  I am telling you going to work day after day and having to dress up is a pain in the neck.  It’s even more of a pain when you have to keep that top button undone so that you dont feel like you are going to burst when you sit down!  It’s the same feeling as if you were to bend down and then you hear that riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiipppppppp; you immediately stand up and see if anyone is around to witness that you just split your pants in half and that your days of the week underwear are Friday’s on Tuesday! Yea, that never happened to me before, but YES I do have days of the week underwear! Just Kidding!

Anyway, working hard on loosing weight is finally paying off!  Its all about the clothes for me (yes and the self-esteem too, but you cant have self-esteem if you look like you are wearing 12 year old’s pants!) - I actually could button that top button on my pants again.  I don’t know about you, but that is HUGE for me.  They are actually pretty loose around my butt as well.  That could be just because I stretched the heck out of them, but I’d like to think its cause of loosing lbs.

That boosted my confidence level from a 5 to a 8!  I am actually going to attempt to go out with my friends on Saturday.  I really haven’t been doing that because of the whole tight-clothes and not feeling comfortable with myself thing.  I am going to go out with a positive attitude and try not to tug on my clothes too much to check the “fat areas” that hang over my pants.  I keep telling myself that the whole confidence thing is all mental.  The first thing I have to do is think positive and then mentally I will feel better about myself.  Regaining cofidence starts with your mind, then your heart, and then the rest shall follow (like the way you walk in a room and the way you talk with your head up).  I am at the mind part, now I just have to believe in myself more.

I know I have gotton off path for a moment, but I want to hear about any embarrassing stories about your clothes not fitting…. Don’t be afraid to share because we are all loosing weight together…

My ONE embarrassing story was that I was at work one day (to those who read this that I work with now…this didn’t happen anytime soon ) - I was wearing a skirt and it was so tight around my waist, I had to wear the ankle length skirt under my breasts so that it would fit and it was now a skirt that was knee length .   I was wearing a button up Top that I think was my dad’s cause I mine were getting pretty tight….. I was at an outside work picnic on a windy day and my shirt sorta blew up and everyone saw how high my waist was on the skirt.  It was embarressing because I was known by Urkle (the nerdy boy that wore his pants close to his neck and red suspenders) for about a month!  I took it like a champ though and smiled and laughed, but I was mortified!  

So I just publicly told my embarrassing story and people where I work with now will probably read this and call me urkle, but I don’t care… I got it out in the open!  So tell me yours!

Feelingsssssss…nothing but those feelingsssss… haha I couldn’t resist.  I don’t even know where that song comes from! Does anyone?  Anyway, feelings and emotions have a lot to do with eating habits.  My eating habits to be exact.  Put it this way…. Chicago + Cold + Snow + Old Apartment = Frozen Busted Pipes and a collapsed ceiling!!!  I have been dealing with all of that mumbo jumbo for the past week.  There was nothing more than I wanted to do than to eat eat eat.  This is how I gained weight in the first place…by feeling horrible about myself, so I would turn to a donut for comfort.   Fortunately for myself, I thought about the rest of the girls and all the work we have been doing, so I stayed strong.  Instead, I would pick up a weight and do little weight exercises in my house. 

What do any of you do when you get stressed? Or what do you do instead of stress-eating to keep yourself busy?

Now that things are toned down at my apartment, I could actually relax again.  I LOVE BEING A COUCH POTATO!  When I get home, i do not want to move from the couch!  I used to grab a bag of chips, or ice cream, but now I would grab a bad of popcorn (the healthy kind). 

The only thing is, since I started The Best Life Diet I have been putting a lot of emphasis on food.  I never in my life payed such attention to eating.  I just ate and ate, never really caring about nutrion facts.  My whole “comfort” thing was to sit on my couch and eat junk…. I come to a realization that my body cannot handle that anymore or I could gain and gain……but I feel like I am getting lazy… I feel like I could crack at anytime, but what I have on my mind is everyone that is doing this with me and then i stay on track.  I have to. 

Last night I went to a party by my friend Mary’s house.  It was a jewlery and other great accessory demonstration.  About almost every woman I know was there…you know that women can not resist jewels!  Anyway, I was getting comments left and right how I looked like I lost some weight.  Not everyone knows what I am doing, they just think that I am dieting - so they aren’t just telling me to make me feel good.  The comments made me feel REAL great because if other people can see my body changing, then something that I am doing must be right.

Being at the party meant that there was tons of food!  Again, I found myself at a dilemma about a party and food.  I did select some food out of the bunch that I decided to make healthy!  Fried Chick again…. you know that the skin is the best part, but yet again I took off the skin and threw it out.  There was also an antipasto salad, which is a bed of lettuce with different kinds of italian meat and cheeses on it.  I ate some of that, but picked and chose which meats I ate.  The portions were small and I really wasn’t hungry anyway.  I am finding that the smaller portions I eat in Phase II, I seem to be satisfied. I drank water with lemons and one glass of lemonade. There were all sorts of dips.  Some were store bought, but some were made as well.  I was reading the sides of the containers and found out that some of the dips weren’t that bad.  I had a veggie dip (which 2 TBS were 15 calories).  My friend’s mom gave me celery sticks so I had some celery with veggie dip (instead of chips that were there calling my name). After about an hour, dessert was put out.  My friend’s favorite cake is a “tres leche” cake that she gets from a bakery.  There were other items as well, but I had my eyes set out on that cake.  Unlike my nephew’s birthday party, I did not sit in the corner and hoard the cake, I stayed strong and said NO!

I really did want a sweet, so my friend’s mom gave me a low-fat jello with a fat free whipped cream on top.  It was delicious! I felt pretty good at this point because I lasted through the whole party WITHOUT caving in.

Not only through Phase I and Phase II, I learned how to eat correctly,how to decipher the exersice I should be doing, but now I learned how to control my urges.  I could have easily picked up a piece of cake, but instead I ate a low fat jello. 

The stronger my body grows the stronger my will power grows, and that is another step closer in reaching my “bikini”

I have sorta been going through some dilemmas for Phase II.  You have to lower your calories a little and give up certain items like soda, fried foods, regular pasta, trans fat…etc and then turn up your activity level a notch.  Here is where my dilemmas comes into play…..

In Phase I…my total calorie intake was about 1200 per day.  This is low.  I did not do it on purpose, but I did get full through out the day.  1200 is already too low so how could I make it even lower in Phase II?  I can’t.

Giving up Soda must have been one of the hardest things in the world for me to do because if you know me, you know that I drink it ALL the time.  I used to average to about 2 liters a day, but in Phase I I gave it up cold turkey!  I also stopped everything fried and sorta stayed away from Pasta (Being Italian and growing up on pasta made this a little hard). I already did this in Phase I, so what am I suppose to do for Phase II?

Turning up my activity level one more notch for Phase II would make me pass out.  Three times a week we all meet up to have group workouts and Twice I go to the gym on my own in Phase I.  I made time during the week to go 5 times a week, I just cannot afford to go 6!

What am I suppose to do? Move backwards and add more calories?  What I have been doing for Phase I worked for me.  I lost 7 lbs in 4 weeks.  That’s 1.75lbs a week!  That’s great!  Janis (our wonderful nutrionist) suggested that I add 200 calories through out the day so that my intake wouldn’t be so low.  This gives me a mentality that I am gonna gain weight cause I am eating more! This is not the mentality I want.

We all had the Pleasure to speak with Bob Greene today on the phone.  He talked to us about what we need to do in order to succeed.  We had to add more cardio to the three times we do during the week (um…hello! I do! so now what?).  He also said that in my case just to “beef up my breakfast” so that I could add more calories and still have time to burn them off in the day.  He mentioned that I was doing a great job so I shouldn’t worry about these dilemmas I am having.  What I am doing is working for me, so if it’s not broken, then don’t fix it.  He is the expert, so I am just gonna continue to do what I am doing and see how far this will get me!

I also have something else to work for besides regaining my self esteem and confidence…….. I am planning a trip in May to someplace warm so……..  I NEED TO BE ABLE TO FIT INTO MY CLOTHES AGAIN! I HAVE TO!!

Well….. After the Gym last night, I realized that I ran out of “lunch supplies” so I went to the store.   I usually buy unnecessary items when I go shopping by myself and spend outrageous money on junk….like Candy Bars that I will never eat and IceCream that will sit in the freezer and get freezer-burned or chips that I will open and eat once then they get stale.  That was the OLD me.  Now the NEW me starting Phase II is a bit more aware of what to buy and what to eat…well atleast stuff that has worked for me!  I lost 7 lbs in Phase I and am inticipating loosing more in Phase II! 

Anyway, I went shopping and here are some of the things I bought …

   *General Mills Multigrain Cheerios and 1% Milk (in Phase One, I was having 2% Milk and Honey Nut Cheerios, but Phase II calls for a little healthier change). 1 1/2 cups of Cheerios every morning with a half cup of milk.

   *Clemetine Oranges.  I love Citrus fruit.  I eat two of those with my breakfast and two for lunch.  They fill me up and are very tasty…not to mention EASY to peel and no seeds!

   *100% Whole Wheat Bread.  I buy the bread with the actual wheat grains on top.  I find that it is much tastier than regular bread.  From eating the wheat, this not only gives you fiber, but also gives you a better tasting sandwich!

   *Lunch Meat (Cold Cuts).  In Phase I,  I was going to an actual deli and getting my meat cut (I have connections at an Italian Deli, so I got really good meats! ).  I never really knew how many calories were in those meats, but in Phase II I will be buying the already packaged meats that are leaner so I could keep track of my calorie intake.  I bought Chicken Breast, Turkey Breast, and Bolied Ham.  For lunch I would make that sandwich with 4 pieces of meat, two pieces of wheat bread, mustard (0 calories) or LITE mayo (One Tablespoon), with some lettuce and one piece of LITE American.

   *Prepackaged Lettuce Mixture.  I buy that because its easier for me just to take it out of the bag instead of making my own salad.  I usually buy the Spring Mixture because it has snow peas, broccolli, and carrots in the mix.  I bring a side salad for lunch with a spray italian vingarette. The Spray allows me to control the dressing to my taste).

   *Tuna.  I buy the prepackaged tuna in the bags, because it has a lot of different flavors so you do not have to put mayo in the mix.  Very good with whole grain crackers. I bought the Lemon Pepper, the hickory Smoked, and the Garlic and herb! Delicious!

    *Frozen Dinners.  Well, I do live on my own and sometimes do not have time to cook.  I buy some healtier frozen dinners that cover the meat, and veggie and a little desert.  The calories might be low, but you have to watch the sodium….some could be too high.

    *Whipped Cheese.  There are many flavors of these whipped cheeses.  Calories are really low too if you get the lite ones.  I have these for a snack…. There are a few flavors that are AWESOME!  Garlic and herb, Sundried tomato and Basil, and Spinach and Artichoke. MMMmmMM.  Two Tablespoons are like 50 calories and put it on a few whole grain crackers, you got yourself a filling healthy snack!

   *100 Calorie Packs.  I know this is pretty dumb cause you could count out 100 calories in chips or cookies, but this is done for me and the companies do make them taste a little different.  They cut out a lot of bad stuff.  Not all, cause they are chips and stuff, but its enough to get by.  In Phase II I am gonna cut those out completely, but They were on Sale!

   *Pickle Halves.  I LOVE PICKLES!  Especially Garlic ones!  Come on, I am Italian, I could eat Cloves of Garlic!  Anyway, at lunch I usually bring one Half of a pickle.  It is 80 calories of goodness.

   *Gram Crackers.  The ones that come in full sheets.  If you take One full sheet or a half and crumble them up in your Yogurt, it makes a wonderful dessert!  I usually have the Yoplait Cherry Orchid Yogurt and the Gram crackers… it makes me think I am eating a Cherry Pie!

I bought some other things that have nothing to do with my diet so I dont have to put those down….just know that I am a magazine junkie!  I spent like $20 on magazines!  What could I say, I love the Hollywood gossip!   Oh I did buy a fitness magazine cause I plan on stepping up my Activity Level because in Phase II it mentions this is what you need to do.  In those magazines, it shows you how to do simple things at home with household items! 

I hope I could give you some ideas on choices on what to eat.  Please…. if you have some ideas, tell us!  I am always looking for some good things to add to my diet! 

Tonight we were at the gym having a group work-out.  Things were stepped up a notch like we gratuated from beginner to novice.  Some things were quite difficult to do (like doing lunges while doing arm raises with 10lbs weight in your hand), but it was do-able. 

If we would compare our very first work-out with tonight’s workout, I think we would laugh.  I mean come on, I fainted the very first workout, now Im like a Mack Truck. 

I know we are all suceeding because I could see it in all of our faces.  We all look refreshed and determined and Do not make excuses why we can’t do a specific exercise.  There were only four of us today at the group workout because the other two ladies went earlier that day.  Cecilia was on the eliptical like she was climbing Mount Everest!  Lakita was on the tredmill like she was Forrest Gump..just running and running and running.  Mary Ellen was doing squats like she was dodging fireballs being thrown at her and I was doing sit-ups like someone was holding a $1,000 bill at my knees. (I hope you like my analogies I know they are pretty cheesy! haha - but I’m trying to make you visualize on how determined we all are!)  Marna and Veronica weren’t there with us today, but I have seen how hard those two ladies work, and I could assure you that there is a dumb analogy for them too!

Dedication and Hardwork will pay off in the end.  That not only goes to following The Best Life Diet , but that is a good value in life as well.

Keep up the Awesome work everyone!

Well… we are all talking about getting on that scale to see if all the hard work paid off…we are just anticipating to see if that little needle moved left instead of right, but the truth of it all is that that number that we are gonna see is just that.  A number and nothing else.  No matter if I lost a few pounds or none at all, I FEEL GREAT! I have more energy and a lot more strength.  We may have gained muscle mass and lost some fat which means the pounds are probably gonna stay the same.  That’s fine by me.  I could feel that my pants are fitting a little better; I mean my work pants could be buttoned all the way now instead of me leaving that top button undone.  My “side fat” (your waist that hangs over your pants that when you pick up your bottoms - you give yourself a wedgie cause your pants are so high so you could cover it) is getting minimal.  I’m totally not saying that its gone because that is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar from gone, but it is shrinking.

The success of Phase 1 is measured by me and the way I feel, not by how much weight I lost. I know how hard I’m working and I see how hard the other girls are working, so I know that this whole Phase One is not a waste of time. 

For all of you lovely ladies out there about to complete Phase One of the Best Life Diet -  DO NOT GET DISCOURAGED IF THE SCALE STAYS THE SAME.  Ask yourself these questions….  Do you feel great and lively?  Do you feel you have more energy than before?  Do you have a little more self-confidence in yourself because you got off of your butt and is doing something about your health?  If you answered YES to all or some of those, then you know that this is working.

Being in shape and being healthy takes time, so do not be discouraged if that silly little number isn’t what you expected.

My whole life I always fluctuated with my weight.  Sometimes, I was a bit too skinny or a bit too chunky - I never really maintained a specific weight.  I always had my own remedies to loose weight as well, such as skipping meals or eating too small of portions that still made me hungry where I felt like I was starving myself.  I was also always athletic one way or another.  I played a few sports like Volleyball and Softball, or even Rollerbladed all the time.  When I did that, I would go and eat a huge cheese burger with an extra large fry and a super-sized coke after.  I thought that since I was atleast being somewhat active, the calories would balance eachother out. NOPE! It doesn’t work that way! 

These last few years I didn’t pick up a single Volleyball, swing a baseball bat or even attempt to put on a Rollerblade.  I found myself gaining and gaining weight, but yet I STILL did nothing about it.  I might have been afraid to embrace reality of me being the largest I have ever been in my life or I might have been too occupied to even notice that I have been putting on weight.  Whatever the case may have been, I am just soooooooo relieved that something is being done now.  I did attempt to go to the gym on my own a few times, but I tell you…it was very hard for me to cope that I couldn’t last THREE minutes on the eliptical machine.  THREE MINUTES!!! That’s how long it took me to eat those loaded cheeseburgers, but I couldn’t even take that same time to last in a workout.  So that really got me discouraged.  More time went by and then I thought I was at my rock bottom.

Participating with the other girls in following the Best Life Diet has made me more aware of what I am doing with myself.  I now eat three full meals a day with a couple of small snacks in between and I feel more alive than I did when I was a teenager (yes, Im not that old, but I do feel that way).  I also find myself reading the sides of the boxes or packages to see the nutrition facts.  I have become addicted to the gym where I CANT WAIT to go.  All of us ladies try to meet three times a week to work out, but I also go on my own on the other days. I can’t say that I have ever been happier with myself than now.  Loosing weight is a total challenge, but these last three weeks made me up for it.

I am sure that one day I will be in the same boat again, where I stop everything and gain the weight again, but now I could embrace the future because I have learned how to change and understand my eating habits and how to exercise where loosing weight isn’t so big of a deal - it’s just the effort I have to put forth.

The battle (is what I like to call weight-gain) will go round and round again like a merri-go-round, but atleast I will be prepared for it and stop the weight gain in it’s tracks.

 If some of you out there feel hopeless or discouraged - GET OVER IT!  There are ways to begin living your life again.  LIVING is the key word there - don’t sit on the side-lines and watch the days go by.  Take a walk around the block or sign-up for a gym (it’s the beginning of the year, there are membership sales everywhere) and get your butt there. Don’t stop at fast food places three times a day - take your time to go to the Market and pick up supplies to make yourself something wonderful.  YOU be in control of your weight issues, don’t let the issues be in control of you! I know that’s the road we all are taking - take that same one with us!  

 During the week I am on a schedule and it runs like clock-work. Monday thru Friday I get up and get ready to go to work.  I eat breakfast right when I get there around 8:30am (on a good day because of morning traffic).  I work then take my lunch at 12:30ish.  Work some more for a few hours and then have my snack.  Work some more until its quitting time, go directly to the gym and then eat dinner.  That is my set itenerary. 

Weekends for me are like mini-vacations.  I sleep late, relax, and just expect nothing.  Sometimes I sleep past breakfast and then am not hungry for lunch and then just pig out for dinner.  I usually have nothing in the house although I try to keep up on the groceries, but I am only one person that could eat so much - by the time I am ready to eat something, it is already spoiled!  Lately, when I wake up, I do atleast eat breakfast.  It may not be the most fantastic thing, but breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  When lunch comes, I don’t eat cause I’m not hungry.  It’s like my body knows that two days out of the week are my down time.

For example…this is what I did today:  I woke up at 11:00am and wasn’t really hungry so I skipped breakfast.  I took a shower and laid on the couch and fell back asleep till about 2:00.  I wasn’t hungry.  I watched like three movies (none which were good) and did not move from the couch until about 6:15 pm.  I then went by my parents house and ate dinner (which consisted of a bowl of spaghetti and a side salad).  I laid on their couch and watched a few movies.  I decided to go home at 11:00 pm and here I am typing my blog.  Yes, a pretty non-productive day I must say.

I am trying to eat the expected meals, but how can you eat when you aren’t even hungry?  And does anyone have any suggestions for me about my weekends and how I could stay on track?  I guess I don’t know what I am asking, but I just feel like for me, the weekend are a big hurdle for me in following The Best Life Diet - three meals a day and at least one snack.

Pleaaaaaaaaaaaase help!

Another work-out went by today. Another tough day for me.  My heart felt like it was running a marathon and wouldn’t stop!  It just kept racing!  When I finally caught my breath, it was onto the next exercise.  Although I really wanted to give up and go plop my butt on the mat, I just took a deep breath, looked up, and saw Lakita, Veronica, Mary Ellen, and Cecilia (Marna worked out in the morning so she wasn’t able to join us) were all panting just the same as I was, but the only difference was that they all kept on going.  I wanted to quit, but they kept on going.  I couldn’t be a punk! I had to keep on going too! 

I always worked out by myself and I always did a half-way job.  I would give up easily because I could. Because at that time, the only one I was working out for was myself.  I did not have anyone there with me to say, “Anna, you could do it!” or “Anna, nice job!” Now is totally different. I constantly hear “come on girl, you could do it”, or “Good thing you didn’t pass out this time!” - Im totally kidding about the last one, but its seriously true!   Anyway,  this time is different because I have 5 other amazing women there with me, going through the same aches and pains, the same panting and sweating as I am.  And believe it or not, I want to suceed for YOU!  Whomever is following our struggles and our successes, I am doing it for them as well as myself!  We all know that eating right and  exercising is a hard concept to grasp, but IT IS POSSIBLE. So Grasp it!

Here are some suggestions for a workout and eating right that has worked so far for me:

              1. Have a buddy or multiple buddies to work out with and constantly praise them on how a great job he or she is doing.  It feels great to say it as well as hearing it!

              2. Don’t over exert yourself on a workout.  Loosing weight is not a quick process if doing it correctly.  Start off slow at the gym and gradually build yourself up to a level that is challenging.

              3.  WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU EAT!  Keep a journal!  Seriously, I thought it was pretty nerdy, but it is helping me soooooooo much.  Who honestly wants to write down that they had two pieces of cake! (I just can’t let that one go!  IF you are lost, read my previous journal entry and you will understand )

              4. Make your own lunch - don’t buy fast food.  What you may think is healthy, its truly not.  You could control your portions and actual selection.

Finally -   5. DO NOT FEEL LIKE YOU WANT TO QUIT.  I should take my own advice cause there are times I just want to stop, but I don’t give into that little bad guy dressed in red on your left shoulder, I give into the good guy in white on your right!

Those are just some little things that I found are helpful.  If anyone has any questions for me, please feel free to ask cause WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER! I’m sure you are sick of reading me say that, but it’s true and i cannot stress that enough!

Stay strong and don’t punk out! - Anna  

Well… Tonight I went to my nephew’s 6th birthday party.   When you are six years old, you want all the junk food or fast food - you don’t want whole wheat bread and salads or tuna - you want Fried Chicken, Spaghetti, Hot Dogs…basically everything you have to cut back on.  As I was sitting there just stairing at all the food, I did not see one nutrious thing on the table, so I ate some fried chicken (but I did take off the skin, which is the BEST part), and I had a little pasta and Italian sasauge (with no bread).  I thought I did pretty well.  NOPE.  I CAVED IN!  I had another two pieces of fried chicken WITH the skin, some chips and salsa and a scoop of Spinach dip.  I stopped there.  I was feeling pretty horrible.  Im sure this is not bad because I dont do this all the time, but then……. IT WAS CAKE TIME!!!!  All the kids were jumping and screaming with excitement and here I am just mesmerized by the icy frosting - so….I passed out the cake.  One piece went by, then there were three pieces that went by….then…..It was MY piece! and I ATE IT!  Not one, but TWO pieces of cake!  Ahhhhhhhhhhh!  Ive been doing soooooooooo well, but Im not gonna let this stop me!  I will be at the gym tomorrow working extra hard!

Temptation is horrible.  Does that make me weak that I caved in?  Does this happen to anyone else?  

Well, Im no quitter and Im sure not weak, but oh boy, do i feel guilty!  I’m not gonna do that anymore!  Im gonna stick to eating healthy, but how could you pass up a piece of cake at kid’s birthday while everyone else is eating it?  I just couldn’t!

Well… All I have to say is WOW and OUCH!  I am sooooo sore from workout #1 on Sunday, that today was even harder! Those Squats KILLED me! I am so out of shape that five minutes on the tredmill nearly made me faint!  Seriously though, I actually almost did! Am I that really out of shape?  Have I been letting myself go without any activity for so long?  That answer is YESS!  I NEED TO KEEP GOING!  I need to keep up with the other ladies - they are so amazing!

 For a long time I haven’t been feeling myself.  I have been feeling tired and unmotivated and even a bit lazy.  I actually thought it was health problems, but when I went to the doctor just to be sure, I found out I was as healthy as can be.  This got me thinking…Im 25 and out of shape and cannot keep up with any of the other girls!  I need to change my attitude and get my head out of the gutter.  Im no longer gonna feel sorry for myself because I cant fit into any of my clothes, Im gonna get off my butt and get going!  

Today was workout #2.  It was definately a better day for me.  I actually made it through the whole hour without trying to cut corners and take the easy route out.  The only thing that kept me going was seeing how hard the rest of the girls were working. We were all panting and sweating and wish we all were relaxing on the couch, but knowing what we are working for, a healthier life, is motivating enough.  I am so proud of the girls and myself.  We know that together, we all could get through the Best Life Diet and so could all of you that are following our journey.  If we could do it, so can you all because one way or another, one of you out there relates to one of us which makes this your journey as well.

   Some progress with myself is that Sunday was our group workout, Monday I went to the gym on my own, and Today was our group workout -but in being active these past days, I feel like I could do anything!  Please please please DO NOT feel like you don’t want to work out or even go for a walk because you are too tired - go that extra step and do something active!  I PROMISE you that you will feel better about yourself on the inside as well as the outside.   My whole “bikini” is to get back my self-confidence/esteem - I feel like I am taking the first step to the new me in just trying to take better care of my health.

  Can’t you all tell that I am soooooooo pumped up right now!  YESS!!! We all are gonna do it - including you!  I could just feel it! 

 Good Luck all you ladies out there who are starting their first workout…. Word of advice:  Your limbs are going to feel like they are falling off, but keep in mind how much hotter you all are going to look when you reached your goal! Keep going keep going keep going!

The journey to wellness is a hard journey to take and doing it alone is even harder. There is always a fork in the road with no one to guide you or show you the correct path to take. The fork could represent many things, such as the temptation of food or even the constant excuses being made up in order to not diet or exercise. It’s kind of like the angel and devil on your shoulder telling you what to do and you really don’t know what is right. I said plenty of times to myself, “Oh, I’ll start tomorrow or the next day or next day,” but never really actually begin. Being with people facing the same “forks in the road” as I am is actually a kind of a relief. There are people there with you to give you motivation and to understand what a hard journey losing weight is. Beginning the “Best Life Diet” with Marna, Cecilia, Lakita, Mary Ellen, and Veronica is very exciting to me. We all are different ages with different problems, but yet we all understand each other – we are so different, but yet the same. Doing an online journal could help not only motivate each other, and ourselves but also motivate women from all over. We could each identify with a different type of woman out there; from single working women, to married women with children, or even housewives. Knowing that there is one woman or many women out there following my journey really makes me want to work even harder in fighting the battle of weight loss. I want to show the world that if I could do it, then the world could do it too! I’m not saying that I will not run into obstacles, but at least I know that I am not alone and neither are the women that visit the site.

Naming my weekly journal is quite hard, but I know it isn’t going to be called a specific name like Pete or Jane. It’s more of a description of what I am trying to achieve. So, on that note, it’s going to be called OPERATION FABULOUS! This is how I want to see myself in the mirror and it’s even kinda catchy! This is what every woman, including myself, would like to feel when she steps into her closet and sees a little black dress that’s buried so far back you would think it’s in another zip code – but knows it still fits. Or when you are walking down the street wearing clothes that looked like you found them rolled up under the bed (not that I actually wear clothes that I found under the bed, but it’s just an example )) and not care what people say because you know that you are fabulous. It’s all about getting that self-esteem and confidence back. That is my ultimate goal.

I am a single 25 year-old woman that lives in the downtown area of Chicago. And yes, I still like going out to bars and nightclubs with my friends. It used to be where I would go out every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but now I am lucky if I see my friends once a month. Ever since I put on some weight, I do not have the energy or the patience to try on 40 outfits to find the perfect one that doesn’t seem too tight. I get easily discouraged and then I eventually give up. I try on clothes that I know I gained too much weight to fit into, but then I walk in front of the mirror anyway just to see if the clothes look as tight as they feel to reassure myself. I then get upset and run right to the kitchen to grab the first comfort food to make myself feel better.

I really want my self-confidence and esteem back so that I could regain my social life and my closet! When I do actually go out with my friends, I feel as if everyone is looking at me and talking about me. I also know that I get on my friends’ nerves because I am so unsure of myself; I have to keep asking, “do I look fat?” “does this make me look big?” “does my butt look like if I sit on water I would float?” – I’m just kidding about the last one, I don’t ask my friend’s that. The point is, I want to go out in public and not tug on my clothes all night just to make sure that my waist is not hanging over my pants. I also REFUSE to keep buying the next biggest size because of 2 reasons. 1. I just don’t have that kind of money to keep buying clothes and 2. I do not want to come to that realization of gaining so much weight that I have to buy another bigger size.

That actually wasn’t the time I realized I did need to loose weight, but it was when I got home from work one day and just wanted to relax. I work two jobs, so I never have time for “me time.” The fist time in a long time, I was able to come home and not have to run out to the next job until 11:00 at night. So anyway, I went to change into my comfort clothes, which I call my “fat pants.” They are those oversized clothes that you wouldn’t ever wear in public because you are too embarrassed to show anyone. Now I know that every time I put on these clothes (which wasn’t often) they were getting tighter and tighter. At the time, I was just blaming the tightness on my messing up the laundry. Well, when I put those cotton pants on, I don’t think I could even sit down because I was afraid I was going to split them in half! My comfort clothes were no longer comfortable – they felt like my circulation was being cut off! At that particular moment, I knew. I knew that I had to get off of my butt and do something about my weight gain because I am so sick of hiding out in my house away from everyone.