ONE-derland I have Arrived.

My heaviest weight was right before I gave birth to my son in 2010

I weighed a whopping 264. 

I weighed 236 when I started thinking I seriously had to change something

232 I joined My Fitness Pal.

229 Found a great support network in a Facebook group.

(special thanks to Booty Camp and everyone that has encouraged me)

and as of this morning

199.4

I have reached my first goal.

I couldn't be more proud of myself and I can't wait to see the rest of the weight fall off. Losing weight IS possible if you just put the work in. 

They Fit!

One of the perks of losing weight is being able to go through your stash of old clothes that you threw in the back in the closet hoping that maybe just maybe one day you would be able to squeeze yourself back into that pair of jeans you loved so much.

Let me tell you I have had a very large stack of clothes piled up back there for years now. After pulling these bad boys out and trying them on this September I was disappointed to find I couldn't button them (obviously shown in the picture on the left.. yikes!)

So I took the picture then folded them back up and set them on my dresser telling myself it wouldn't take long! Fast forward to this month... I decided to try them on again and I swear I jumped for joy! Not only did they button but they buttoned easy! no froggy jumps, no laying down to shimmy into them and no fat pushing its way over the top.. They fit!! 

I have 3 pairs left that do not fit yet.. and I plan to be in them no later than new years! Then the real fun begins... shopping for jeans without crying in the dressing room. Oh yes! lol it's on.

Sicky

It's been 9 days since I have worked out..Normally I would feel like a fat cow right about now. But Luckily  unfortunately i've been sick this whole time so i'm still losing weight. I wish my energy level would just come back and I wish i could breathe. I also wish I didn't have to force myself to eat since I have no appetite at all. Hopefully this damn bug will get lost so I can get back to kicking ass...Oh the ups and downs of weight loss.

On a good note as of this morning I am 202.4.... which is SO CLOSE to my first goal of being under 200.. I haven't see that number since the beginning of my pregnancy.  I can't wait! as soon as i'm better i'm kicking it into high gear and getting shit done!

30 Day Shred..Round2 Day1

I decided to start the 30 day shred over...I figured I had great results last time I might as well give it another go! But i am taking Sundays off this round to give myself a day of rest per week.

I have to say starting this time was easier than last time.. but still not Easy. I still have to modify a few moves but for the most part I feel like I did great.  Best of all I felt great after.. and I plan on rocking the next 30 days of this!  Let's do it!

RoadTrip

Family road trip..yay! with a toddler.oh.. Lol I know I know i'm in for it. We made this same drive last year for thanksgiving and i'm glad we did since this time unfortunately, we are going down to San Diego, Ca for My fiance's grandfathers funeral. I'm hoping to still stick to eating well or at least small portions.. and maybe we will take jaycen to the zoo.. that will give me some walking and a good time for him.  I'm also thinking of bringing my weights since I will be the passenger so might as well do some curls lol I really don't want to gain over this trip so I hope I can stick to it! 

Water Enhancers

Unless it's a really hot day...I don't really like water all that much. But drinking water is a big part of keeping your body healthy. Which is the ultimate goal in losing weight I would think. 

In order to get my water for the day without having to force myself to chug glasses of water I have been using water enhancers! Oh my gosh they are good. And also really convenient...

All you do is squirt some into your water shake.. and taste. Add more if needed.
Plus it looks cool don't ya think? 

Right now this flavor is my favorite.. its it Albertsons brand "Essential everyday"
Energy Cherry Limeade... Yum! 

ZUMBA!!

A friend invited me to go with her to a zumba class last night and I must say.. It is a blast!! The class was 60 minuets long and I really didn't know what to expect but by the end of it i felt great! Definitely tired, sweaty, heart pumping great! I loved it and I also liked that there was a variety of people there.. not just thin fit chicks (there were some of those of course) but also medium fitness level and also some others with a lower fitness level.. I definitely felt welcome and the instructors were great! I'm definitely thinking i have to go back and take another one soon.

Face difference

Sometimes the pictures say it all! 

I don't have the money or time for a gym membership.

I've heard this one a lot! Right now..I personally do not have a gym membership and I also haven't been in one at any point since I've started my journey. 

For me.. it's not because we can't afford one. I do have the time.. and I could give a rats ass what the skinny bitches are thinking when my chunky butt gets on the machine next to them.. I'm working on it bitch! lol 

The reason I haven't bothered to get one is.. I'm not working out enough for me to justify spending the money. well let me rephrase.. I'm not working out LONG enough.. i am working out often enough for one. I feel like once i am in a place where i can workout for 1-2 hours at a time then i will get a membership just so i can use the equipment and take the classes! 

Until then I'm using the good ol Internet.. You're looking at my blog on it right now.. so when your done reading go check out where you can get FREE workouts to do at home with no equipment.

Here are only a few examples of places to get free workouts videos to do at home..

Youtube.com 

Yes! YouTube! I found the 30Day shred on there

along with about a million others! Some are not the best but who cares? stop that one and start another!

Pinterest.com

Yup.. there too. either checking the "health and fitness" tab or just searching for workouts. There are TONS.. free! :)

FitSugar.com 

Great website with lots of workouts to choose from!

bodyrock.tv

Great workouts! 

Also if you come across a workout that you need hand weights for... if you don't have them just use full water bottles or soup cans! it will add a few lbs at least. you do not have to have money to be fit! 

:)

Getting back on track

Years of bad habits don't just go away. You're going to have bad days.. or in my case bad weeks. After getting my tattoo i sat around for 4 days with no exercise and then only did a few occasional short ones for the next few days.. I found myself craving fast food.. and giving in!! I even argued with myself in my head the other night over driving to taco bell at 8:30 at night. Guess what this fat chick did? I went and got it!  The next day I felt shitty about myself.  I have only gained 2lbs since my last weigh in but even so i still didn't feel that happy glow I had when i was losing instead of gaining...So today I woke up with the attitude of getting back on track! Even though I still shouldn't wear shoes I did a full low impact workout like I was doing before. Now I feel great about myself.. I'm telling myself yes you slipped up.. ok move on!  Everyday is a new beginning.  Back on track! :)

Cutest Guy I Know

My little crazy man was so rambunctious last night.. he just wanted to DANCE! ..and sing a little. 

This video is to cute not to share! I hope you enjoy as much as I did :)

J Dancing to Barbara Ann

Today's Workout

After weighing myself today I was upset to find out I had gained 3lbs.. well that's just fabulous! Sooo...After walking away from that number I had a healthy breakfast (2 eggs, 1 egg white, spinach, and bell pepper scramble. ) to start the day off better.  I decided I wanted to workout this evening mostly because I was feeling lazy..lets me honest. And also because I was hesitant to be putting on my shoes for the first time since getting my tattoo.  So after the Braves game (they were robbed by that crap of a call by the way) And after wrapping my foot really well before putting my shoes on, we headed out as a family for a walk before dinner.

J and Layla along for the ride!

The game had lasted longer than we expected so it was beautiful out.. nothing like a walk at sunset to make you feel good.  We didn't walk long because I was feeling a bit nervous about what the walking was doing to my foot but we got in over a mile. It felt nice putting on my shoes and getting out again. Although I will admit it did make me a bit sad that I should wait another 1-3 weeks before letting loose in the running shoes. After that I would really like to start the Couch to 5k program.  We'll see...

How could this view not put you in a good mood! 

After my run I decided it wasn't enough for the day so I did a couple videos that I found on pinterest

 This one video is killer! It's only a 10 minuet arm workout but it really works those arms! I love it! I think I will incorporate it a few times a week to help out with my arm progress! Give it a try! You won't be disappointed!

10 Minuet Arm Workout  by fitsugar.com

Pinterest

I loved pinterest even before I decided to change my lifestyle.  But I must say I love it even more now! The "Health and fitness" category is my favorite these days. So many useful ideas, recipes  workouts, inspirational words..you name it! and I can keep it all in one place! score!

After pinning a few things tonight I thought I would share some of the days photos that I liked. I hope you enjoy them as well :)

Yup.. that's how it happened

Go Workout!

Yup!

Love this one!! It is so true

Yes, yes you would be.

Choose Your Hard.

Brushetta and Turkey Sausage Zucchini Pasta.

I LOVE Brushetta! It has to be one of my favorite appetizers.  Plus it is really simple to make on your own. 

Only 4 Ingredients

                                                                            Tomato

Basil

Olive oil

and bread of course. 

First you Chop the tomatoes and put them in a bowl. Add the chopped basil and your olive oil (I used 4tablespoons) Then put in the fridge to use when your ready. This can be made a while ahead of time or right before.. I prefer it to sit for a while in the fridge first. So we let it sit around 4 hours today.

Next slice your bread. We used a sourdough baguette this time. Lay on a baking sheet and broil on both sides for around 4 min on each side depending on your oven. 

When they are done top with your tomato mixture and enjoy!

(Around 215 calories a serving)

I didn't just want brushetta tonight though But with the calories I decided zucchini pasta was the way to lighten up my pasta. 

I browned jenny o Hot Italian turkey sausage then simmered it in a sauce from diced tomatoes and Progresso recipe starters (first time using this.. it worked well) For around 10 min.

Next slice zucchini  and add it to the sauce and sausage

Simmer around 8-10min and there you have it!

 (around 320 calories a serving.)

It was Delicious!

Downside to getting a foot tattoo.

Ya know.. It seemed like a good idea at the time ha ha ha....Don't get me wrong I love my tattoo and I don't regret getting it but I didn't fully think it over before choosing my foot for the spot to place my tattoo.

After getting a tattoo you are not supposed to let clothing rub, come in contact with direct sunlight, so submerging in water (pools,lake, ocean etc..)for 2-4 weeks depending on the tattoo.
And not to mention mine goes from the top of my foot all the way to the side so walking these past few days has been more like limping because it stretches the tattoo when i walk causing pain/discomfort. and forget jumping or running!  This definitely puts my wanting to do the 30 day shred again on hold.  I don't want to wait to long before exercising so that I don't fall into a funk of not doing it but I can't spend much time on my foot right now let alone cardio. I can however do ground stuff like push ups(girly ones ) crunches, sit ups, leg lifts etc.... so i think i am going to put together a little routine to follow while my foot completely heals. The last thing I want is for it to rub color off or fade. It sucks I won't get use out of my shoes for a week or two but hey gotta do what you gotta do!

Asian Chicken Won Ton Cups.

Tonight I wanted to try something a little different for dinner. I had recently bought some won ton wrappers and decided I wanted to try something using those. After getting inspiration from Healthyseasonalrecipies.com I decided to tweak it to fit the ingredients we had and make something new and fun!

First I Chopped the vegetables 

...Red bell pepper

...green bell pepper

...Mushrooms

....Onions

Next you fill a cupcake tray with Won Ton Wrappers and lightly spray with cooking spray. Put in the oven at 350 for 10-14 minuets.  Until Golden brown. 

Next Saute The chicken with the onions for a few minuets then add the rest of the vegetables and any seasonings you want to use. .
And finally mixed in the sauce I threw together consisting of soy sauce (around 2tablespoons) and Korean BBQ sauce.. you can use any Asian, Mexican, Italian sauce you have.. anything would work if you work with it.

Next you fill the won ton "cups" with lettuce, chicken/veggie mixture,  Tomatoes, cilantro, and anything else you want to add. 

The whole meal consisting of TEN won ton cups was right around 350 calories.

Hope you enjoy!

Such a Bittersweet Weekend Full of Great Times and a Sad "See you later"

This was a very eventful weekend for me! I had lots of exciting weight loss progress and also spent Friday evening and Saturday evening with my best friend before she leaves next month to go overseas. The downside to my great weekend was having to say Goodbye  See you later to her. I have to admit it was a huge downside and it was way harder than I thought it would be. I already miss her and I won't stop missing her until I know she is home safe and I see that beautiful face of hers! Now before I start getting all sappy and start crying again.. I think we will move on to some of the things that made my weekend so great.

After weighing myself Friday morning I saw I was down almost 3 lbs making me only 8.5lbs away from being at my first goal! Lets face it.. it was going to be a great day with a start like that.
When my best friend arrived my day got even better.! Then it got EVEN better.. she brought a huge bag of clothes that she is giving me since she can't take them.. Score! love her!<3
In this bag there are so many cute clothes that I love and its great because my clothes are becoming quite baggy ;)
While pulling out clothes I get to a bright yellow dress that she had worn a month or so ago when I saw her last and I had to try it on... IT FIT.. I was not expecting to be able to zip that dress.. after all it had been tight on her when she wore it (sexy tight..not to tight just to be clear lol) and she is a good 30lbs less than me. I couldn't believe it! I didn't end up wearing it that night but It felt so good to zip that thing up i had to take a photo! or two..

 A little tight for my liking to wear out.. but hey it fit!! I was shocked and so excited! 

...After a night of fun with some friends the next day we all went to get tattoos for my friend.
That's where the next proud/awesome moment happened.  Before we left the house to meet the others we took pictures together. When I looked at the pictures which are pretty much full body shots. I didn't see a fat cow. I saw someone who looked like me but so much happier and so much thinner. Not thin..but thinner. it's progress and I am so proud of these photos. It has been a long time since I have seen a picture of my body without feeling horrible about myself.

<3

The Next and final great thing that happened was the actual tattoo Done by Tried and True Tattoo in Arroyo Grande, Ca by Jason. .....well not actually getting it OUCH! but the after product is so pretty. I love it so much and I love that it will be a reminder of how much we miss and love each other. My best friend.

We got the words "Tu Me Manques" Which means I Miss you or better interrupted as

"You are Missing From me"

30 Day Shred Results!

I started the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred a few weeks after i started working out.

At the beginning it was rough! lets face it i was out of shape and the only way to fix that was keep going! I did mostly the modified moves on level 1 and around half and half on level 2
Level 3 I could almost do all of the advance moves (not easily but i did em! lol)

And i took 3 rest days total. One every level.

The First picture is from around 7-10 days before i started the shred
The Middle Picture is after i finished level 1
And the Third picture was today after finishing round 3.

  I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself for sticking to it! And i also think I'm not quite ready to part ways with the shred. After a couple rest days i think i will start it over for Round 2! Hopefully i have just as good results the second time! I think I'll also incorporate some walking/running too.
Either Way I'm down 2lbs this week and I am only 8lbs away from my first goal of making it under 200! I originally wanted to do this by the new year but it looks like i am going to finish faster than i thought. Which is amazing. We will have to see what the new year brings... a new me perhaps? we will see!

Random Day

Today was an interesting day. After my workout I had planned to go shopping for new shoes this afternoon but after accidentally falling asleep with my son putting him down for his nap and slept for 3 hours!! I couldn't believe it. I was angry lol. Also a woman i had contacted who had some old window frames i wanted to use for the wedding contacted me and had time this afternoon. So after all that was done and we got our windows(score!!)  I still needed to go shopping.

After around an hour starting at the different shoes available still not understanding what the big difference between all the different types of shoes (Running, track, sport, athletic jeez and here i thought a shoe was a shoe! lol wrong apparently ha. ) I finally picked out a pair and booked it out of there before spending any more money! DAMN those shoes are pricey. But i have heard that if you are serious about working out and getting fit then skimping on shoes is not a good idea.

Once we we're out of there i thought the temptation of workout clothes was over.. wrong again! Since of course i strolled by the workout area of target and just had to have another pair of pants and another sports bra! I knew i wanted a top for this weekend which is my last weekend with one of my best friends before she gets stationed overseas. :(... But unfortunately I spent the money on workout stuff again.. ah well I'm sure i have something in my closet that has been to tight for years that will fit me now.. i just need to go shopping in my own closet.. a lot cheaper too ;) Luckily i saved a lot of my old clothes saying to myself "just in case i get to be that size again" even though i never believed i would until now. I know i will fit into every piece of clothing i have in my closet in the future.. hopefully the near future.. it feels great!

My new Shoes, Capri's, and Sports bra! Love them :)

Do something about it!!

Let me just say I used to be the biggest complainer I know. Complaining was a favorite past time of mine until I told myself to shut the hell up and start doing something! I see it like this..

Imagine you are driving down the street in your car and you really need to make a right turn at the next intersection. Yet you do nothing.  You don't put your blinker on, you don't slow down, you do not change anything about the way you are driving. Are you going to be able to turn and make it around that corner? no.. you're going to go straight  because you have not changed anything to make the turn possible.  If you do the same thing  you have always done you will get the same results you have always gotten.

I know i have just started my journey, but after making little changes I am seeing changes.. I guess that is why i get a little ticked off when i see people complaining about how they look and yet they are doing nothing! They don't want advise and they don't listen even if they say they want advise.  I know i have no right to be mad at someone who is only doing what i was doing a short time ago but I can't help it! Little changes are so much easier than being unhappy in my opinion.

What I have learned over these past few months is if you're looking for an excuse not to workout and eat right then you will fine one

There are plenty of excuses out there..... 

I'm tired
My back hurts
I'm not feeling right
my foot hurts

my neck hurts

I'm sore from walking around yesterday

I don't have time (not a valid excuse in my opinion)

I'm to fat to workout (also not true)

but i don't want a salad! 

I don't want chicken!

veggies are gross (not true)

Healthy food tastes nasty (no, it doesn't)

it's raining

I don't have a partner

I've already ate something bad my day is ruined might as well keep eating crap

I've tried every diet and never lose or always gain it back

It's in my genetics 

I'll always be fat anyways

I don't like working out

i don't like running

the list is endless....

There is an excuse for everything if you're looking for it. It takes the willpower to say.. no.. you know what? I'm going to workout and I'm going to eat right for my body. I may slip up, I may feel its not happening fast enough but i will not give up. Then soon your list of excuses will get smaller and smaller and so will you! ;)

Taco Salad

I Love Tacos! What i don't love is how many calories the shells are. Although if you get the extra thin ones they really aren't that bad.  But anyways i wanted to switch things up tonight and we didn't have that many shell left so i thought.. taco salad!

It's so so good! and this whole plate was only 318 Calories! :)

you will need:

Lettuce 

Tomato

cheese 

(i use 1/2 fat free 1/2 reduced fat cheddar)

Ground turkey, beef, bison, chicken.. whatever you have.
(I used leftover 1/2 turkey1/2 bison taco meat from the other night)

Chopped tomatoes

olives

1 tortilla shell
(i used the extra thin)

Salsa

Hot sauce

and taco seasoning if you aren't using leftover taco meat.



First i preheated the oven to 400, sprayed the tortillas with cooking spray and a little bit of salt. Put cut into strips and put in the oven (6-10 min) 

Then put lettuce in the bowl and top with taco meat

and layer on your toppings as you like them and finish with salsa and hot sauce if you like it. sour cream would be great too but we didn't have any tonight lol .
You could use any toppings you like really and with only one shell the calories are really low!
It was Delicious :)

Mama needs a little girl time

When i was growing up my whole life revolved around hanging out with my friends on a daily basis.  I never thought that would change as i got older. Of course that illusion faded after moving 20 minuets away from my hometown and having a son at a young age.  It turns out high school friends don't stay your friends for long.. and "hanging out" all the time becomes a distant memory.

BUT, on the rare occasion that you have the time to get together with the good ones who have stuck around for the long haul.. it is a treat!
That Night is tonight! a girlfriend of mine is coming over for some quality time with some wine and good ol fashion bitching! yay!! Nothing better than getting together with friends and venting about bottled up frustrations!

I can't wait.. and i have a bottle of wine calling my name!!

Downside to trying to be healthy and wanting to drink... drinks are not low calories lol well for the most part they aren't.. so what i plan to do today is eat light for my meals today and even take an extra walk after my workout... this will give me plenty of calories to have that wine without feeling like I've ruined the whole day. So to that i say Cheers!!

Puppy!

This has nothing to do with weight loss but hey... who can resist a cute puppy?

This weekend we got a new addition to the family!

Meet Layla! :)

She is definitely a handful but we are so excited to have her!  And my son absolutely adores her<3

Let's Talk Ranch.

Mmmm Ranch Dressing. I love it on pizza, I love it on salad, I love it on wraps.. i just love it on almost everything.

Most Ranch dressings you buy on the shelf are going to be about 140 calories for 2 table spoons. That's A LOT for a condiment.  But since i love it i was trying to just use 1 table spoon but it wasn't to my satisfaction so one day when i was about to pick up my favorite ranch dressing (Marie's) i noticed they had one labeled "yogurt dressing (1/2 the fat and calories!)" i decided what the hell I'll try it! Since after all if i don't like it i don't have to buy it again.

After the big taste test (I'm snooty about my ranch) I couldn't believe it.. it tastes the same as the original! i mean if i had one after the other I'm sure i could find a difference but it's really really good!

If you want to try a healthier ranch that isn't the "fat free version" go with this one! i get it in the produce isle refrigerated section.  oh and it is 70 calories for 2 tablespoons :)


I've also heard mixing Greek yogurt with one of those ranch seasoning packets is also good but i haven't  givin' that a go yet.

Yay ranch!

Making Progress!

 When you're trying to lose weight i think one of the best parts is feeling and seeing how your clothes start to get loose.  It makes me feel even better than a lower number on the scale i think (although that's a close second ;).   I noticed a slight change in my clothing a few weeks ago but not really much of a drastic change.  This week on the other hand not only do i feel a huge difference i see a huge difference too. Let me tell you It.Feels.Great! This change is doing so much for me.. I feel better about myself and I also care less about what others think of me.. because honestly I'm proud of what I'm doing so if they aren't then screw em! I know I'm doing something great... something worth while.. Something For Me!

Ok ok ok.. stop blabbing and get to the photos :P
 Here they are! 

Loosey Goosy Jeans

Another Pair So loose! :D

HAHAHA look what i can do! This was just to good not to post.. i laugh but I'm also very proud of what I've accomplished so far! Can't wait until I'm camping out in these jeans next year!

My Little Workout Buddy

For the longest time not having a workout partner would discourage me ...but this time.. i have a workout buddy all the time!!

This is how you do it mom!

J  loves working out with mommy! he is actually pretty strong.. (i think its from carrying the milk gallon around for the past 3 months since he learned how to open the fridge lol )

One of the best feelings is when I'm on my back on the floor or in a plank pose and he will slide over to give me a kiss.. definitely helps remind me why i need to do this not only for myself but for my family!

Plus seeing him jump around and raise his arms and attempt push ups is just so damn cute!!

Yoga anyone? 

Wedding Day Approaching

One of the reasons i wanted a long engagement, besides the fact that venues charge an arm and a leg plus your first born here in California, was my wanting to fit in a "Normal" sized gown.. I've found some really beautiful plus sized dressed but all they did was make me depressed. The styles i really like are of course in smaller sizes.. i refused to accept that i would be a size 20 on me wedding day! Refused! I am now down to a 16 and still working on it.
The wedding is booked for October 2013. That gives me a little over a year to complete my goal of becoming a happy healthy person who will rock her wedding gown!
I'm not sure exactly what size i am aiming for but i guess anything lower than what i am will be progress.

Another goal for me regarding the wedding doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what the scale says next year. I want to feel beautiful, i want to feel sexy and i don't want to feel ashamed of how big i am.  We plan on going to Vegas for our bachelorette/bachelor party in September and I'd love to wear a dress! a dress dammit! not jeans to hide my thighs.. not a flowy shirt that hides my stomach but a cute, short, party dress! with hot ass heels to match of course!

Yet another occasion is the honeymoon.. we plan to go to Hawaii which at first i wasn't thrilled about.. not because i don't want to go to Hawaii because i do.. badly. But because Hawaii means beaches.. beaches mean bathing suits.. and right now bathing suits=beached whale look. (Not attractive) I would Love to be able to rock a cute bathing suit on my honeymoon and actually look sexy in the lingerie for my husband!.. Hot mama here i come!! By this time next year when all these events are happening i want my weight to be the last thing that is worrying me.. i want that already taken care of and out of the way. Hopefully with hard work and dedication i can pull this off!

Pushed through an 'I feel crappy' day!

I knew i wasn't lucky enough to not get my son's cold he has had for the past few days and sure enough this morning i woke up with a little cough and a stuffed up nose. GREAT!!..
 With some advise and a little push from some fellow mamas i decided to go ahead with my workout for the day.. it was tough getting started and i stalled for over an hour before actually getting to it but i did it!
I actually feel better now too! A Little but 'off' but not sick so hopefully i won't wake up feeling like death tomorrow.  I did however have to force myself to eat this morning and after noon since i just didn't feel hungry.. turns out its a good thing since my fiance decided he wanted pizza and then forgot to order it skinny crust for me... yup thanks babe! twice the calories :/...ugh anyways i got my workout in and i stayed under my calories even with pizza for dinner.. yay! I'd say it was a successful day!

Caprese stuffed chicken breast and zucchini pasta!

One of my new favorite foods is zucchini "pasta" Made with zucchini in stead of noodles. this dish i paired that with stuffed chicken YUM!

For the Chicken You will need 

Chicken breasts
Fat Free or low fat Mozzarella cheese
Grape Tomatoes
Basil leaves

 you just Season the breasts with whatever you like then after cutting a hole stuff the breast from the side with mozzarella (i used fat free), tomatoes and basil leaves then use tooth picks to hold it together. and bake at 425 for 30-40 depending on the size of the breasts.

For the "Pasta" you will need

Zucchini(sliced thin like noodles)

Light Creamy Alfredo (half a jar)

Hunts Diced tomatoes(i used the basil garlic and oregano one)

Chopped garlic

Seasonings

 i just shredded the zucchini and added it to the sauce we made which is 1/2 light creamy Alfredo and 1/2 hunts diced tomatoes, seasonings and chopped garlic. Simmered for around 8 min or so and there you have it! that huge plate was only 354 calories! may vary depending on how much cheese you add and how much sauce you use.

Over all a great low cal/ low carb recipe! so good! 

Why "Diets" Don't Work...

First off... i am not claiming to be on a "diet." I am losing weight by eating the right size portions, healthier choices most of the time and the right amount of food for the day paired with exercise.

Now when i say diets don't work.. i don't mean they do not work to make you lose weight. Because that part is true.. you probably will lose weight if you stick to a diet.. BUT what happens when you get off the diet? you gain it back usually more than you lost. Now if you are ok not having carbs, not eating meat, not eating sugar, not eating any fast food whatever it is that the diet eliminates then more power to you! But for me if i tell myself i can't have something i will eventually get pissed off and binge on exactly what I'm supposed to be avoiding. There goes the diet...

In my opinion.. the saying "I'm not on a diet, I'm changing my lifestyle" is so true! It really is!
If you want to lose weight and keep it off you will not be able to do that with fad diets that limit what you can have. Or maybe you can.. but for me it just doesn't work.

I can have anything i want.... if i want a piece of pizza? ok awesome.. get the skinny crust with veggies.. and have 1-2 slices.. not 3-5.  Want a burger? get it w/o cheese...or scrape some cheese off (takes major calories off)  or get a kids meal.. that really is a great way to have fast food without eating way to much.. kids meals are more than enough food for an adult in my opinion.
Want a soda? have one! but don't have 3! and the biggest rule of all that I'm trying hard to follow is... if you want to have those pancakes for breakfast (or whatever it is) then that is OK just have a light lunch and dinner... if you eat light for the rest of your meals you have plenty of calories for what would be considered a "bad" meal..
No food is "bad" if you know how to control yourself and not eat the whole thing.
Moderation is KEY to a healthier life style! 

My New Addiction...

My new addiction is shopping for workout clothes and equipment!!!  lol

Whenever i can spare some extra money instead of wanting new clothes, jewelry, fast food, whatever else i used to want.. now i just want to go to big 5 or Dick's Sporting goods.. lol i may have a problem :P

I'm glad though in a way because it just proves that I'm in this for the long haul.. i want it all! weights, video's, mats, balls, and of course the workout clothes! to bad they are so expensive! lol My Fiance treated me to a trip to Dick's Sporting goods today and i got some much needed fitness stuff! Yay :)
My workout collection is growing!

Why this time?

You may be asking yourself as i have before... how is this time different? what makes you think you won't give up like all the other times? and how are you doing it?

Well.. this time is going to work because I'm READY to change. I read a great quote posted by one of my favorite facebook pages called FitFotLife  that said it perfectly

That is how i feel about this time. i feel like I'm finally ready. i know its going to be hard. i know I'm going to want to quit and i know I'm doing to have bad days, but this time i will do this.

A month of busting my ass

So 11 Days after deciding i was going to do it this time i decided to take a "before picture".  I had been eating right, counting my calories using myfitnesspal.com and exercising for 20 min everyday so i figured it was the next step.. (plus you can't have a rockin' after picture if you don't take a before picture)

For the next month i continued what i was doing and even decided to take on Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred (I'm currently on day 17 now)
I didn't see any change in the mirror even though i was losing weight and my pants began to get baggy.
Either way it was a pretty successful month so i took another picture.. One month of eating right and exercising...

 i can't wait for another 30 days to take another picture. i plan on taking them monthly on the 6th. (that's the genius random day i took the first picture lol)

My Fitness Pal

I had made a myfitnesspal.com profile a few months ago after one of my nights where i told myself "i really will do it this time" ... yup i lie to myself. or i used to at least.
But after joining the facebook workout group i mentioned in my background story i found out a lot of the ladies were on the site so i decided to give it a real chance this time and even downloaded the app which makes things really easy since i always have my phone with me.

It helps me so much being able to easily log everything on the go and keep track of my calories.. also knowing how many calories to add after working out makes things a lot easier. I have to say another great thing is having friends on there who will scan your diary everyday.. knowing "big brother" is watching to make sure i don't fill up on crap helps keep me accountable.
You do have to log everything though.. and i mean everything. If you Bite it you Write it basically. Not logging everything is not lying to people looking at your diary its lying to yourself. The only person who that will hurt is you.

It really is simple and if your looking for a good way to take that first step then making a profile is a great start in my opinion. It changes your way of thinking to take a moment to check the back before opening and eating a whole bag of cookies(guilty in the past) Now that i've been doing it for over a month i really have a habit of looking at everything now. Once you see how bad the food your putting into your body is.. it's a lot harder to ignore what you put in your mouth!

I suppose i should start with my story.

Well hello there... I'm Kacey and i decided i wanted to share my journey with whoever was interested.

I guess i will start with a little background about me and my weight in the past..i was a skinny little girl until around 4th or 5th grade when i started to look bigger than the other kids.. it didn't really phase me after all I'm doing fine I'm just eating what my parents give me right? even if it was 2 servings to much. I ate a bunch of crap when i was "little" i use that word lightly because lets be honest i was not little. i was fat. Jr high i continued to grow bigger and bigger until i was in high school where it was obvious i was very overweight and very unhappy. Here are some examples of how i looked through high school(04-08)

I'm the one in the red. 

lol! had to throw this one in there

High School Graduation

17 or 18 

i started losing a little weight by not eating hardly anything and not working out of course because who in the hell likes to workout? Not me.. at the time anyway. Then when i hit a wall at 180 i got discouraged only to find out i was pregnant.. that may have been why i wasn't loosing anymore lol.
During my pregnancy i gained 85lbs... yes i said 85 lbs.  Being a fatty who loves food and being hungry all the time didn't work well for me especially being on bed rest from 20-36weeks.

Here is a shot of me at one of my baby showers.. yeah i know.. i just look huge.. because of my weight i never got that cute "baby bump" i got a lot of extra weight everywhere as well as my belly so i just ended up looking like a fat cow.

around 2 months before J came

After having my beautiful son i found out how amazing (and not so amazing sometimes) being a mother could be. No matter how happy i was to finally be able to hold my son i was utterly disgusted with myself and how big i was. Right before i gave birth i weighed in at a whopping 265. Around 6-7 months i got down to 240 just from all the extra water I'm guessing since i was not eating right or getting off my ass at all.

I discovered a new passion for photography after taking so many pictures of my son day in and day out.  I believe that was finally what made me change my attitude about loosing weight.. i was tired of having to crop myself out of any photos I'm in.. Or have to jump up and go look after being tagged in a picture in order to tell the poster to take it down if it showed to much of my fat.. i would crop every photo i could to hide just how big i really was.. 

August 2011 at my friends wedding.. i cringe just thinking of people seeing me in all the photos i was tagged in.

I spent the next few months feeling sorry for myself, getting angry at myself, putting myself down, complaining about my weight, my depression, pretty much anything i could think of to complain about.. but what was i doing to fix the problem? NOTHING. i was doing nothing. I continued to shove burgers in my mouth, eat 4 slices of pizza, ice cream? sure why not!?  Then i would cry about how unhappy and fat i was......see anything wrong with that picture?  i was not ready to change. But i am now. After joining a workout group on facebook full of other moms i have met throughout my pregnancy. I saw such motivation and drive to better themselves i decided.. why not me? why can't i lose weight? why can't i get to a place where i am happy with my body..the answer was I CAN. ..and i WILL. its been over a month since i started eating right and working out no gimmicks, no pills, no scams just hard work and dedication!  And you know what? i feel great!! I started July 26th weighing 232.  and now by Sept 13th i now weight 216. I'm still in the beginning of my journey but i never plan to stop. Settling for being fat and unhappy is no longer an option for me.  I WILL change. I WILL be proud of myself. and I WILL NOT give up! this is a promise to myself, a promise to my son and a promise to any reader who need some motivation.