Jillian's Michael's IS A BEAST!

Ok so last night I just couldn't get to the gym so I ordered up Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred On Demand (we get Exercise TV free On Demand with Comcast). She has 3 different level workouts that you do over 30 days and she claims that you can lose 20lbs in a month (is that healthy??). Well, for her, probably. She is the trainer that WHIPPED people into shape on the Biggest Loser, and I saw her results, so I had faith in her.

And after doing her workout, I can see why. Level 1 is just a 20 minute workout (how bad could that be, right?). HOLY CRAP, I felt more in this 20 minutes then EVERY OTHER WORKOUT I've done so far. She has a 3-2-1 system: 3 minutes of cardio (high impact like jumping jacks), 2 minutes of strength (squats with hand-weights) and then 1 minute on the floor with abs. I was DRIPPING sweat by the end and I am so sore this am. The key is you don't stop AT ALL, you are moving the entire time and your heart rate is elevated the entire time. I could see losing 20lbs in a month doing this everyday.

I Fought The Stairs and I Won, and Demons Surfacing

I get to work this am, extra early and stepped up to my new nemesis: 4 flights of stairs. This may seem simple to some people, but I am not one of those people. Yesterday, The Stairs claimed victory at the 2nd floor and I rode the elevator the rest of the way up, bitterly defeated. This morning, I knew I would face it once again. I started off strong, but at the 2nd floor felt winded again. I breathed deeply for about a minute and continued on 1 more flight. I stopped again to breathe, but then thought "Stop being so easy on yourself and just do it!". So I dug within and powered through. This was a sweet victory.

As I'm embarking on this journey, I am changing, inside and out, and also learning a lot about myself. I am beginning to realize that I carried so much extra weight to keep people at a distance. I am frightened to lose weight and get attention again, and ironically, conversely, I am afraid that I will lose weight and still be invisible. That is something that I am tired of; people looking past me because of my weight.

So who CARES if it's Water Weight ANYWAY?!?

For any people saying, 'Oh yeah, you lost 5lbs, but it's probably mostly water weight anyway'. To that I say "SO WHAT?" Yes, it very well may be some water weight, but it's still WEIGHT. It's not like there is ANY other time that people differentiate between being fat and having water weight.
Its not like people say "No no, you've got it all wrong; that's not a beer belly, that's just water weight." :P

Not LAPBAND: KAPBAND, Weigh In 1

Well kids, I made it through the long weekend with no tragedies!!! I couldn't always stick to my "perfectly healthy balanced organic meals" because that is just not reality. But I WAS able to make some excellent choices while eating out and I really kept track of my portion sizes when I was eating the... less than perfect stuff.

So now I say, I don't have the Lapband, I have the KAPBAND (Katy's Authorized Program).

Here are the results of the last week:

Weight 320.6 (down 5 actually b/c I started at 325.8) I really can't believe this!! In one week!

Bust: 51
Waist: 41
Hips: (To the end of the tape. 60!) Thanks, grandma, for those hips!

I finally wore my pedometer for the first time and I made a real effort to get moving, I put in 9,200 steps (out of my goal of 10,000) , which, to my stride is about 3.25 miles, which is not bad considering that I sit 10+ hours a day at work/commuting/misc.

I'm just trying to MOVE more. I took the steps at work today (Isn't that cliché? Whenever anyone says they are starting a workout plan they always say "I took the steps today"). I work on the 4th floor. So coming in the morning, I could only make it up to the 2nd floor and then I took the elevator up from there. At lunch time, I took the stair down and then I came back up all 4 flights. I took the stairs down at the end of the day. Plus I drink TONS OF WATER all day! I've started filling up 2 bottles at a time!

I am seeing improvements and settling into this plan. Like going to the gym. Good things to come!

Brief Weigh In Blog

Well it's a long weekend. So I was thinking, ok things could slow down a little bit given all the decedent treats that are around. I am finally starting to feel like i have some control over my portions at this point. Eating out has proven to be a breeze, really. We went to Outback on Friday and I had a "appetizer" of seared ahi Tuna thinly sliced with a soy sauce. It came to about 4 oz, a reasonable serving side. I also ordered Whole Grain Wild Rice (although I next time I will get it sans butter) and steamed veggies, which were actually quite good. This meal was tasty and easy to incorporate into my life.

But ok, enough about that right? On to the juicy bits...

My Weight started at? 325 ( I think it was . 4 or something but I didn't count it.
As of tonight, I weighed in at 320.4
Total: =4.5 lbs!

This makes me very happy and make feel like everything I am doing is successful and I'm going keep right along with it.

Don't Marry a Skinny Man if You are Fat

Because they will sabotage you!!!!!! Ok, I said, the good, the bad, and the UGLY. This morning we were running late because we had to get out of the house early, and we didn't have time for his usual waffle. He wanted us to stop for breakfast, so, against my better judgement, we went to Burger King. He got a breakfast meal and I got nothing, and I normally don't eat until I get to work. BIG MISTAKE. Remember Edger Allen Poe's story "The Tell-Tale Heart"? and how his dead wife's beating heart was beating in his ears from under the floorboards?

Same with Burger King. There is was, right next to me, calling to me, neigh, not just calling to me, singing an aria to me. But I resisted.

Until.... I drop him off for work and notice he left the bag... and 3/4s of a small order of hash browns! WHY would he do this to me?? This is like bringing a crackhead to the Crack Mall! Before I could stop myself, I ate it. There, I said it. My name is K8*E and I have a problem.

But it's ok. I am at work now and I'm surrounded by delicious, nutritious goodies. This was a minor setback. But it can't happen again.

Smoked Salmon Extravaganza

I don't know about you, but I love smoked salmon. There's just something about the smokey, oily goodness that grabs you by the senses and doesn't let go. I indulge in this treat whenever possible. Health wise, wild Salmon is high in the good fatty acids that keeps your coat and paws looking polished and keeps your skin young. Some Doctor's have formed entire diets based around salmon. Now I know what your saying, "But K8*E, aren't there Mercury dangers in eating too much fish?". Yes and no. Farm raised Salmon carries a far greater toxic risk than it's wild counterparts. So, stick with wild whenever possible, or limit your farm raised intake.

Here is a low-carb, high protein recipe for smoked salmon that I came up with tonight. I use Cage Free Eggs which include more omega 3's than usual, in addition to the omega 3's in the salmon.

Flying Dragon Egg Salad

4 free range eggs, hard boiled
4 oz smoked salmon, thinly sliced
2 stalks organic celery, thinly sliced
2 tbsp mayo (I used light)
1-2 tbsp Emeril's Kicked Up Horseraddish Mustard
Salt & Pepper

Toss eggs, celery, mayo and horseraddish mustard (adjusting for to your own taste), salt & pepper. Fold with smoked salmon.

TRY this dressing...

So I found this dressing in the "natural" section of the grocery store, Bolthouse Farms Creamy Yogurt Chunky Blue Cheese. It's DELICIOUS and WAYYYYY lower fat than regular dressing. I normally hate low fat dressing b/c A) They have sugar (like I mentioned) and all kinds of crazy ingredients that start with "x" and "z" that I can't even pronounce and B) they normally taste like crap! This is good. YUM YUM on my organic salad with turkey breast and organic baby carrots!

The Sad Truth in America...& Pedometers

So I went to the grocery store last night after working out (wahoo! knocked 5 minutes off my mile and I did some time on the eliptical machine... I'm SORE!), and I just had to pick up a few things, and this is what I found:

ALMOST EVERYTHING IN THE STORE HAS SUGAR IN IT!! In some form. I mean, I was trying to get MUSTARD and a balsamic vinegrette... I could not find ONE w/o sugar in it in some form!!! This is disheartening and made me think NO WONDER America is so obese; we are fed a steady diet of sugar unknowingly from the day we are born! Pfffpt... I'm making my own salad dressing from now on.

In addition to the sugar issue, companies are getting slick with their marketing. They put "All Natural!" on their packaging, BUT this does NOT mean organic, and sugar is natural, high fructose corn syrup is all natural, A LOT of things are ALL natural. Tobacco is "all natural". Do I want to eat it for dinner? Doubtful.

On a side note, I got on the scale last night..... NOTHING. It did not BUDGE. :( I am trying to not let it get me discouraged. Also, I bought a pedometer last night and I just set it up a little while ago. The gold standard is 10,000 steps, so that is my goal. I have no idea where I am even at, so I will keep you posted.

I don't LOVE meat.

So how am I suppose to get more lean protien in my diet? I'm not a HUGE meat fan.

Also... MY JEANS ARE LOOSE TODAY!!!! WAHOO!! I'm currently in a Lane Bryant size 22 jeans, or Blue 5 (which means I have a cuuuurvy figure).

I also need more fiber in my diet. How am I going to do that? This I am figuring out.

Hitting the gym tonight....

This is what I made last night... (My husband, who is skinny, loved it and ate 3 bowls of it! He had no idea it was reduced fat).

Tastey Reduced Fat Chicken Scarpariello recipe

1/2 pound hot and/or sweet Turkey sausage links, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
3 medium garlic cloves crushed
1 large green or red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium sprig fresh thyme or rosemary
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
1 (2- to 2 1/2-pound) rotisserie chicken, cut into 8 pieces, skin removed
**Chili Sauce if you like it hot!!!
Salt and/or season salt

Heat nonstick 12-inch skillet or 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot. Add sausage chunks, garlic, green pepper, onion, rosemary, oil, and salt; cook, covered, 5 minutes to brown slightly, stirring occasionally.Stir whole cherry tomatoes into sausage mixture in skillet; arrange chicken pieces on top. Add chili sauce to taste at this time (I used a heaping tablespoon). Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer about 10 minutes longer (20 minutes if chicken has been refrigerated) or until sausage is cooked through, tomato skins begin to burst, and chicken is hot, turning chicken pieces over halfway through cooking.

Yields 4 main dish servings.

Fat to Phab Day 1

Ok so this is my first journal entry, so I will tell you a bit about myself. I'm a 26 year old female, 5'7" from the East Coast and I'm trying to lose 125lbs naturally. (STILL putting me at 200 lbs, but man, will I look good!). I've gained a bit of weight since the birth of my daughter and also getting a seated job and not moving all day. My strategy is eat balanced, organic, healthy food as much as possible and work out MUCH MORE!

I've been a heavier, big boned girl for a long time, but right now, at my last weigh in, I was 325, but that was over a week ago. I will keep you posted. This is my highest weight ever. So as I'm looking at my food list, I can see a huge room for improvement. Like that bagel at work that tempted me.. DANG IT, I did not need that!!! I resolve that will be my LAST BAGEL for a while.

End of Day Report: I am using http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=foxeyladyktto track my progress, it's GREAT! I stuck to my goal of 2000 calories (give or take),but after analysing my diet, my fat intake is FAR too high. A bulk of it came from olive oil, great, but a bit part of it came from FULL FAT DAIRY. If I just use 1% milk in my coffee and eat low fat yogurt and AVOID cheese like provolone! (I normally don't eat food that rich, but hey, my 87 year old grandmother is visiting! Special occasion.) I think that small changes can make a big impact.

The best improvement I've made for myself is packing a huge bag of goodies for my week at work. This means that there are no stops in the AM at McD's or Dunkin for breakfast (my nemesis!) and no wondering what I will have around lunch time. Breakfast has been oatmeal or yogurt with organic sugar free chutney (MMMMMMMM), prunes, Crystal Light To Go packets in my water and lunch is a salad almost EVERYDAY and I bring in something left over from the night before. Work is FULL of temptations, but keeping track of what I'm eating (EVERY MORSEL!) is helping me realize that every bite counts. ALL OF IT. So Day 1 of my journal, it was an ok day, exercise and dietary improvements can and will be made and implemented. I feel focused.