I'm Not A Liar!!! {Anymore} ... AND a Giveaway!!

So today I hopped on the scale and it read 177.6 which is .2lbs up from Sunday... no big deal since water weight fluctuates from day to day.... I am not really worried that I am gaining... I am just bummed that I am not losing...

Anyways... on to the title of my blog - the part about not being a Liar... Let's face it, 99% of women lie about their weight... I told a *white* lie about my weight to someone back in December.... I told them that I weighed 178lbs when really I was closer to 195lbs... maybe more... I did not have a scale at that time... Well now I really do weigh (about) 178lbs so I guess i am no longer a liar! wahoo!!!

I thought it would be fun for you guys to guess who I 'lied' to... haha...

I am going to giveaway 2 gift cards to Subway for $5 each on Sunday when I will post the answer... so here is how you can enter:


Mandatory Entry!

Follow this blog (or tell me that you already do) and take a guess as to who I might have 'lied' to.

Extra Entries! - Leave a Separate comment for each one you do!

1. Follow another contestant in the Win, Lose or Blog contest and leave them a comment on one of their posts. (leave me a comment telling me who you chose to follow) (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link so I can check it out! (3 entries!)

This giveaway will end at 11:59 on July 3rd. The winner will be chosen by random.org and have 48 hours to get in contact with me or a new winner will be chosen! The giveaway is sponsored by ME and I was not given anything in return for hosting this giveaway.

I LOVE Subway... they're great for a healthy and fast option... they have Veggie Burgers (which by the way, my wonderful boyfriend MAKES the patties sold at Subway) and Salads... and even offer apple slices instead of chips. My favorite sandwich is not the most healthy option they offer, but it is nice to have the choice when you need it! $5.00 should be enough for a free foot long sub or a 6" meal... how exciting!

Good Luck Guys! And Thanks for following me so far!

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

...Ha! I wish!...

Well, okay... so last week when we were informed that we had been chosen as contestants we were asked to send in pictures of our scales by a certain time at night... For some reason my email did not want to receive that message so I got it just before the deadline. After I had already drank like a million bottles of water and had dinner.... not the best time to weigh ones self... but I had to, and the scale read 183.6 pounds... holy mama!

So this weekend I was actually able to see my scale read 176 pounds! That is a huge loss in one week! The weight I sent to W,L or B was my Sunday morning weight which crept back up to 177.4 pounds... but still an over all loss of 6.2 pounds!

Seems like A LOT... like too much a lot... well, I am not going to lie... it was probably mostly a water weight loss... and maybe 3-4 pounds of fat... Also, I switched up my diet pretty good to the point where I mostly only eat Apples (see previous post), grapefruits,oranges, strawberries, salads and lean meat... i drink A LOT of water and throw in some ice tea (no sweetener) and diet soda... I cut out non-produce carbs entirely (for now) which my body is not use to... So yea, this week was a pretty big loss... my body doesn't work like Nikki's apparently, where shaking things up has you start out with a gain, {BTW get over there and show Nikki some love! She is a great girl and I KNOW she can do this!} ... I tend to start big and slowly lose my speed...

I have a feeling that 178lbs to 174lbs is going to be a tough battle! My plan for moving forward is to add *some* sort of exercise... I cant decide if it is going to be Jillian... or the Gym... Cast Your Vote Now!

But I did say earlier that I would post measurements... seems like quite the thing to do for this challenge... I am not shy about it so what's the hold up already?!?

I am actually really glad that I took measurements back in April... That is when I decided to really get my weight under control... at the end of April I was sent to Texas and staying with my diet was tough... I did not gain any weight during that month long trip, but I didn't really get to lose any either... so now I am back on track to tackle my weight!

I am going to have to stop into Victoria Secret to double check my boob measurements... I have a hard time believing I might have lost that much... that would be a bra size for sure! I tend to lose weight from my waist the quickest... my hips just don't like to let go of the cushion!!

My wonderful [very sick - in recovery , Thank You!] boyfriend said to me this weekend:

"You're like a glacier... Slowly melting away... You don't notice your body changing every day, but after a while you really can tell..."

Good Luck to all my readers this week! I hope we can all stay on track to meet our goals... whatever they may be!

No Good, Terrible, Awful, Really Bad Day

I wanted to post about how awesome today was... I weighed in at an incredibly low weight of 176!!! I had a great posted planned with the intention of posting my measurements, but things change...

My super wonderful boyfriend who I have previously posted about is REALLY REALLY sick... He came home from work early last night around 1am (gets off normally at 6am) and hopped in bed with me until about 5am when he went to the bathroom, for awhile... When he came back he told me he was sick... He had a stomach bug last month so we have some antinausea meds for him ... So I gave him one... An hour later (6am) he asked me to get him some pepto from the store... So I got it and he had his first dose @ 7am and another @8am... After that I went back to sleep and left him resting on the couch watching a movie... I woke up at 10 to the sounds of him throwing up ( he hadn't eaten anything to throw up!!!!) and he said we needed to go to a doctor...

3.5 hours, 3 IV bags, 3 blood tests and a sample later we finally went home ... It has just been a really miserable day.... I want to make my man feel better and all I can think is "what foods can I give him to cheer him up?"..... Too bad he can only have Jello and clear liquids (how lucky I just hit a huge Jello sale!).... Isn't that weird? He's sick as a dog an I want to bake him cookies?!

I am tired and I feel defeated... I wish I could make my baby magically all better... The doctors do not know what is wrong with him... They said it probably isn't food poisoning ( which is what he thinks it is... Thinks he was poisoned by a banana slurpee)... And that it is probably Krypto or a similar virus... Which could be contagious.... Fun times!

I will try to post more later, and sorry for the typos, I am posting from my Iphone ( no not the new one!!)

1.21 Gigawatts .... {my lovely lady humps pt. 2}

Haha... yes I intend on comparing my body to the Flux Capacitor... Yesterday I posted about the song "lady humps" and a scene from Blades of Glory...

Everyone has areas of their body that they like less than other areas... There are apple shaped people and pair shaped people... and no one loses weight in the same areas or at the same rate as other people... we are all different...

Personally I carry a lot of extra weight in that 'spare tire' area... the whole way around my body... when I gain weight it typically forms a 'roll' underneath my belly button... and when I gain A LOT of weight I get another 'roll' above my belly button... and when I lose weight the rolls shrink and well it just isn't 'pretty' ...

I wish it were easy to go straight from :

To this:

I dont think it is physically possible to have 'show-off' abs like the ones above... but I would love to not have a 'frowny'-'flux-capacitor' belly button..


OMG... yes! That is my belly... I will be posting my weight and measurements tomorrow! Better come back and see me!

My Lovely Lady Humps ... part 1

For some odd reason things in my life trigger scenes from movies... in particular I was thinking about my body and my lovely 'lumps' , haha, and I flashed to the following:

Jimmy: So, Coach, I was thinking about the music for our routine.
Coach: Oh, really?
Chazz: We're gonna dance to one song, and one song only: "Lady Humps" by the Blackeyed Peas. "What you gonna do with all that junk, all that junk inside your trunk? I’m a get you, get you drunk, get you drunk off my lady humps, my humps, my humps, my lovely lady humps."
Jimmy: [disgusted] I'm not skating to anything with references to lady humps. I don't even know what that means.
Chazz: No one knows what it means, but it's provocative...
Jimmy: No, it's not, it's gross...
Chazz: ...It gets the people going!

Haha... I love movies... I know Will Ferrel is not -that- great of an actor... but he makes me laugh...

What ARE they singing about anyways? I don't think it sounds sexy... I think about fat... I will share more about my body in the next post... for now I will leave you with just the laugh...

You Look Littler Today

Yes... I know "Littler" is not a real word... I think you are technically suppose to say "more little"...

Check that... I take it back... Merriam & Webster say that "littler" is the inflected form of the word "little"... ha! whatever that means!

Anyways... My wonderful boyfriend and I sort of had a fight last night... see, he works nights and I work the hours of a normal person.. psh... anyways, during the week, if I do get to see him it is only for 10 minutes before I go to work and again when I get home... That is only an hour and a half over the course of 5 days!! Takes a toll on a girl!

So work has been sort of slow this week, so I decided to take an hour of vacation yesterday to get home early enough for .... 'us' time ....

Well he did not catch on, though I thought he had... and when we did not get to have the quality time I had expected, I sort of broke down... mind you that my emotions were not completely related to this issue... you know when you are:

1. Tired


2. Hungry


3. Just drove through construction with rude people that merge at the absolute last moment possible, thereby cutting in front of you and everyone else that followed the rules.


4. Your house is an overwhelming mess (and only you see it!)


5. And you are having a 'fat day' ... just a day where you feel disappointed by your size and weight loss progress....

Yea... all of those things are bothering me and could we please just add one more disappointment to the pile of crap that is my life?!?!?!

Ha, okay... over reacting, which is exactly what happened... I broke down and BEGGED my wonderful boyfriend to quit his job... the job he hates, and is underpaid for his industry, even though his employer is one of the top 2 cereal companies IN AMERICA!...

I know he felt bad... and I made sure to explain to him before he left that I wasn't mad at him... just our situation and all the drama on my plate right now...

Well.... this morning when I woke up I hit the snooze button... yes! I am Guilty!! well before it went off my boyfriend made it home [which NEVER happens, he barely makes it before I leave 30mins later]... I do not know how many people he probably cut in front of in traffic (yea, we have different driving philosophies) to make it home early, but we ended up getting our 'us' time and as I was getting ready for work (read:showering) my wonderful boyfriend said :

"You look littler today..."

Sometimes he just melts my heart...

25 Boxes of Jello

Well.... I just got back from shopping at my local Smith's (Kroger affiliate) grocery store. They were holding a coupon 'Rounding' event where any coupon under $1.00 automatically becomes worth a dollar...

I love coupons, but it Utah it isn't easy to save huge on grocery items... I can get all the free toothpaste and bodywash I want (or really anything that is sold at a Rite Aid)... but when it comes to food I have to pay... I think for my wonderful boyfriend and myself we typically spend $50 a week... I eat meat and produce (which can get pricey) and he eats like he has 2 stomachs... So yea we go through food! But I would rather buy food and make his lunch then let him eat Burger King every night (AND HE WOULD!!!)

I bought:

25 jellos (0.65-1.29) - 11 x $1.09
2 brownies ($1.25) - $1/2
mustard ($1.50) - $1
3 mustards ($1.69) - 3 x $1
4 cans green beans (1.06) - 4 x $1
Frenches worchster (1.59) - $1
2 relishs ($1.00) - 2 x $1.00
Prego Sauce ($2.11) - $2.00
Pace Picante ($2.50) - $3.00
7 powerade ($.69) - 7 x $1.00
2 Ivory ($1.00) - 2 x $1
6 Flips ($1.50) - 6 x $1
Sour Cream ($2.19) - $1
2 Zone bars ($1.25) - 2 x $1
Veggie Burger ($3.49) - $1
4 Tostino Pizza ($.99) - $2
3 goldfish ($1.00) - 3 x $1
2 Salami ($4.49) - $1.50
4 lunch meats ($2.00) - 4 x $1
-------------------
Total: $95.12 +2.33tax
- $58.49 in coupons
-------------------
Total: $36.63 + $2.33tax

The jello is a mix of actual jello (mostly sugar-free) and pudding, which will probably be added to baking recipes... to be shared with family of course! Can't eat that all myself!

I think I have been doing really well this week... but I will wait until Friday to post a new weight! So you'll have to stay tuned!

Who Loves Orange Soda?

Kellllllll Loves Orange Soda!

I can't say that I should be drinking more water... fortunately I drink plenty each day... but I probably drink too much diet soda...

I don't know when it started, but for as long as I can remember I have a hard time drinking calories... Is there any liquid that contains calories... no juices, no milk, no coffees... I consider those to be treats since there is nothing gained by drinking them, and typically I am still hungry afterwards so I'll have to add those calories to the calories in the drink... it just never added up for me...

I know that juice has vitamin C and Milk has vitamin D... but you can get those nutrients from other, less caloric, foods...

So I avoid drinking my calories whenever possible...

In enters Diet Soda... What an amazing invention! For those of us not raised on 'regular' soda, diet probably tastes just fine and does us dieter, c'mon it is clearly marketed towards us... why else would it be called 'diet'? I can get that sweet taste AND caffeine with no calories... SCORE!!! I am really not worried about artificial sugars... not at all... I just don't see enough science to back up claims that they are poisons.... but your body does produce insulin, in similar levels to that of drinking regular soda, when you drink a diet soda so that probably ups your risk for diabetes... and phosphoric acid is some nasty stuff [trust me, I make your food!] and has been linked to poor adsorption of calcium which can lead to all sorts of problems...

But the biggest reason it probably isn't good for us dieters? It just isn't natural... the human body has not evolved to handle this substance... why spend time cutting back on processed foods if you plan on guzzling processed drinks? An overall more towards healthy living and eating has to include a reduction in diet soda...

I enjoy diet soda, and I will probably keep drinking it... As long as you don't use it as an excuse to justify eating that double decker bacon cheeseburger - large sized because you 'saved' calories, and few sodas won't kill you... but in a perfect world I wouldn't be drinking them at all...

Thoughts?

{ Three Hundred Dollars }

How would you spend an extra $300 ?

Okay, well it really isn't an -extra- money, but that is what it would cost to get a year long membership to the gym I'd like to join.

Okay, okay... I know it looks fancy... well that is because it is... haha... actually it is a really nice county run facility... very family friendly... it has 2 huge pools and an additional outdoor pool for kids (not that I have any)....

It has 2 basketball courts, a full hockey rink, a 1/9th mile lap track and a zillion exercise machines...

I like this gym, a lot... when I was in college I was able to lose a lot of weight by excercising daily at the local YMCA... an hour a every [week]day

Spend $300 and commit to daily exercise? That is a BIG decision... maybe I should just open the $5 30 Shred DVD I bought...

An Apple a Day...

An Apple a day t-shirt from snorgtees

So, I am sure that anyone who has ever gone on a diet knows that Apples are pretty darn healthy. The saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" dates back to the 19th century! Who knew! Research shows that they can help prevent many different types of cancer, and while relatively low in vitamin C, they have other antioxidant properties and contain a decent amount of fiber. Read: great for diets [or healthy eating]. Plus for the amount of food you get to eat, they have a relatively low calorie count.

Apples really seem to be a great choice! That is unless you are allergic to them! How might one become allergic to apples? There are 2 theories on the matter, both involve proteins. Now since I have an apple allergy AND I am a Chemical Engineer, the reason behind my allergy fascinates me.

See, raw apples either contain [1st theory], or have come in contact with [2nd theory], a protein similar in structure to Birch Pollen. So often if someone has outdoor allergies they will find that they have a difficult time eating raw apples. Why Raw? Well, cooking the apple thoroughly denatures the protein, or more simply stated: changes it's shape. That way, when your body sees the protein it doesn't think "Attack the Pollen!!!" thereby triggering an allergic reaction.

So while I would love to eat apples all day and lose tons of weight, it just isn't that simple. I have had to come up with ways around the allergy.

This is my recipe for "Diet" Apple Pie Filling - a treat for me, and a way to get those apples back into my diet.

"Diet" Apple Pie Filling

1 Medium Granny Smith Apple (any apple will work, but these are the best for pie likeness)
1 packet sugar substitute (I use a whole packet of Stevia, any will work)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon (MAX)
1 Dash of Nutmeg (optional)
1 Dash of Cloves (optional)

1. Cut your apple into 4 quarters and cut out the core pieces.
   
2. Use a cheese grater to finely slice the apple. (cutting by hand does not create as thin of slices, but will work if you do not have a grater.)
   
3. In a microwave safe bowl, mix the slices with your sugar substitute and a few dashes of cinnamon and any other spice you choose to add (start slow, you can always add more!)
   
4. Microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds to heat thoroughly and denature the protein.
   
5. Carefully remove from microwave (will be hot!) and give it one last stir to make sure all your sugars and spices coat the slices well.
   

You could add low cal ice cream if your diet permits, but I prefer to just eat it as described above!

Do You Have Any Food Allergies?

Why I'm Here....

So for my first 'real' post I decided to fill everyone in on why I am competing in this blogging event... Why am I putting myself out there for the world to see? What is motivating me to lose the weight?

Things that motivate me....


Short Term: Slurpees... Specifically Hawiian Punch Slurpees from 7-11, but I use to settle for any of your red variety slushy drinks... Lately I have decided that quality of my slurpee is more important than quantity... so if I behave during the week, follow my diet, and am losing weight, then I allow myself this one 'cheat' with my boyfriend on Friday night.





Mid-Term: My American Eagle Jeans... I miss them terribly! AE jeans are the my fave, but they only run through size 14 in the store. I decided that I would not spoil myself by purchasing size 16 online, but rather i would wittle my way back into the ones I already have. I am excited to reclaim my 'Skinny Pants' which I figure will fit once I reach ~170lbs. For Now I will wear my size 16's from Walmart to remind myself what I am working towards!



Long-term: A wedding dress... no not THIS wedding dress, although it is rather nice... I think that a good majority of weight-loss oriented ladies out there who are not already married can probably relate to me on this motivator. Who doesn't want to look amazing on their wedding day? To not feel like I need to cover-up my *insert body part here*... When the time comes, I want to have a dozen dresses to chose from that all make me feel beautiful. I want to WANT to have my picture taken, framed and displayed. And mostly, I want to start that part of my life on the right foot; being as healthy as I possibly can be!


So there you have it... a short list of things that are currently motivating me!

What motivates you?

Introduction

In case you missed my introduction on the main page for Win, Lose or Blog I decided I would post it here!

Hi! I'm Laura! I am 23 and currently living in the wonderful state of Utah. I haven't always lived here though, I spent the majority of my life in Alaska. I was a plumpy kid, you know the ones that make you sad somewhere deep down inside. My parents never really got into the whole outdoor-winter sports so my little sister and I grew up pretty inactive, or maybe we just had one too many ice creams from the ice cream truck.

Either way, I made it through school up to about 9th grade before convincing my family to try the Low Carb craze, which was my first diet experience. I like to think being overweight helped me focus in school. I managed to get a really good scholarship to an amazing engineering school right outside of Albany, New York. My mom and I moved there and through my four years in school we ended up being great workout buddies and lost quite a bit of weight. But then came graduation and our eventual split. I got a job offer in Utah which was near my father's family so I decided that would be a good start to my adult life.

So here I am, just over one year later and about 25 pounds heavier. My job? Designing food factories. Try watching a sea of chips all day and keep to your healthy eating! But I am determined to drop these pounds and reach a healthy BMI. My plan? Sticking to my low cal diet that has already helped me lose 20 pounds... Yes, I was 206 (back in march). After I lose a little more I will be adding in some more regular exercise... The key is fitting it all in to my hectic schedule.

Wish me luck!

[p.s. I am violently allergic to puppies, just after this [my main] picture was taken we made an emergency stop to pick up benadryl. My boyfriend thought the whole thing was hilarious since I knew I was allergic. Needless to say we didn't adopt the puppy :( ]

Current weight: 183.6 (6/20/10)
Desired weight: 149
Height: 5'5"