20 lbs down!!1!!1one!1!

Woooooohoooooo!

The low carb thing is totally working. Love it. I even ate Chinese food (with brown rice) and a giant piece of chocolate cake last night on my cheat day. Low carb whole wheat wraps are a lifesaver, as are Greek salads and hummus.

Working out is going awesome. I slacked a little bit this week since I had a migraine Sunday night/ Monday morning and didn't want to push it too much, but I've been keeping up with my lifting. When I announced I was down 20lbs as of today to my personal trainer, he said I look totally different than when I started. I guess I should take some update pics at some point! :D

32 lbs to go!

Weight: 182
Mood: Ecstatic

Blog Award from Rachel (soon to be Mommy!)

Rachel gave me this award for obsessively commenting on her blog. I don't read many other blogs, so I will have to pass this on once I have the chance to read some more (which I have been planning to do for ages). So, thank you Mommy-to-be over at http://pointme2theskyabove.blogspot.com.


Now, like many of these awards, there are a few rules that go along with receiving it:

1. Thank person who nominated you.
2. Copy the award. Paste it in your blog.
3. Link to the person who gave me this award.
4. Answer the 10 questions that come with the award.
5. Nominate of few of your favorite bloggers for the award.

Here are the 10 questions to answer:



1. Why do you blog?
I guess I blog because I like sharing my experiences with others and it adds an extra boost of motivation to keep going. I hope to influence friends (and awesome strangers who read this too!) to be healthy and to reach their goals as well. It certainly isn't an easy task, but it makes me feel good and want to keep going when I can share my progress with others. I may be starting another blog for my animation and art soon, so I can motivate myself to work on that too. >.>

2. What are your 3 best memories?
Hmmm...

1. College at NIU. I had a lot of fun there and although there were a lot of rough patches (I had a lot of issues for part of it), looking back, I can remember the good over the bad. I loved living with Rachel and our apartment and all of our drunken adventures. I loved going out to random parties, not knowing where the night would lead us. I had a lot of fun at work as well, too bad it didn't translate into fun in classes or I might have my degree by now...

2. Lollapalooza VIP tickets. 'Nuff said, this was freaking awesome. All you can eat, all you can drink (bad idea), Flogging Molly and NiN.

3. Spending time with Sascha. She was my middle school/high school best friend and we have since fallen out of touch. I wish we could rekindle our friendship, but I have no idea how to get in touch with her now. We spent most of our time together in high school, wrestled together after and sort of drifted apart after a misunderstanding on my 21st birthday. We had some awesome times together (concerts, her summer cabin, our obsession with Sailor Moon) and I will never forget her!

3. If you had to change your real name what would you change it to?
Princess Consuela Banana-hammock

4. What are five things you can't live without?
1. My computer.
2. My dog.
3. Music
4. The internet.
5. Books

5. What are the 4 best books you've ever read?
1. The Harry Potter series. Uh-may-zing.
2. Memoirs of a Geisha. I freaking love it.
3. To Kill a Mockingbird. This is a pretty common one, but it is still perfectly written and I love the story.
4. Rachel's Holiday. This probably isn't going to make any lists of classic literature, but I loved it and at one point in my life, it really spoke to me.
5. Anne of Green Gables. I don't care that it's written for kids or really old or whatever. I will always love it.

6. Tell me something unique and interesting about yourself.
I used to be a professional wrestler, from the age of 17 until I got hurt at 22 and had to stop. I was a superhero character and it was a lot of fun, but some of the people in "the business" really suck and I am glad to be rid of them. Because of this, I used to be in really good shape, but gained weight after my injury, which is the whole reason for this blog.

7. What do you love best about yourself?
My uniqueness. I'm certainly one of a kind and nothing is ever dull in my life. I'm constantly getting into scrapes and accidents and having to work my way out, learning something about myself in the process. I sound like a horrible 19th century novel. I'm bold and not afraid to speak my mind and tend to get along with guys more than girls because girls are catty and bitchy. I'm really laid back and love hanging out with friends playing video games or watching TV.

8. What is the best movie ever made?
Ever made? Uh...I'm sure that varies depending on who you ask. Personally, I like most of the movies on the "100 Top Movies" list AMC released and I can't really pick one. In terms of a movie I can watch over and over again, any animated Disney or Pixar movie would top the list. In the artsy movie snob way, I would have to say that Citizen Kane is probably the best.

9. If you had a "freaky friday" experience who would you trade places with and why?
Johnny Depp so I could fondle myself.

10. What's the best part about being a woman?
Free drinks. I can't think of anything else.

Um...woo?

The rest of my vacation didn't go as well as the beginning, but I did as well as could be...in theory. I opted for salads for my meals, but I also drank a lot while I was there. On Wednesday night, I ended up going to downtown Chicago for the Blackhawks game and realized I hadn't had anything to eat all day and was already 2 beers in. I had macaroni and cheese at my favorite Irish pub (it was delicious, as always) and a lot of beer. It was light, at least! But then the Hawks won the Stanley Cup and my diet went out the window and I had even more beer and then some hot dogs from The Weiner's Circle (the name still makes me crack up). Thursday, I had some Chicago style pizza and dessert (amazing) at Lou Malnati's and then went out drinking...again. Friday I ate fairly healthy during the day and then drank again at night. Wow, I sound like I have a problem. I assure you, I am not an alcoholic, I just really enjoyed my vacation. Saturday was my brother's graduation party and I tried my first Italian beef sandwich (meh) and the only other option was fried chicken or mostacholi. I opted for the pasta and had a piece of cake. Other than that, I guess I wasn't so bad. I'm definitely not drinking for awhile, that's for sure.

I started back at the gym today and was shocked to see that I lost a pound since my last weigh on that scale, right before I left. The scale at my parents' house must have been a dream because I was nowhere near 177. So unless I somehow lost and then gained 8lbs (which I find highly unlikely despite the binge drinking), I weighed in at 185 on a full stomach. Yay! I decided to restart my four weeks of 6-8 reps with weights because I totally slacked with the lifting for the last two weeks. My arms hurt.

Weight: 185
Mood: hungry

Vacation

So I've been worried about my vacation totally throwing me off track, but so far I have been pretty good! I flew in on Friday and immediately had to have a sub from The Algonquin Sub Shop (omfg good). I ate the bread but it was delicious and I feel no guilt. I had half for lunch and half for dinner, so it wasn't too bad, but I secretly wanted to eat my brother's leftovers too. Last night, I had some beer but I stuck to light and ate a salad for dinner (I could have had mashed potatoes and stuffing...oh regrets) and half of a piece of cheesecake. That cheesecake was delicious and the size of my head, but I only ate half! Today I worked out when I woke up and ate a bowl of cereal. My mom and I got into it because she bought a bunch of crap I can't eat. I swear my family lives off of bacon, Reese's Pieces and pizza. For whatever reason, she didn't ask me what I wanted and bought stuff for Sloppy Joes and spaghetti...two things I wouldn't eat even if I wasn't dieting. How long does someone have to be a mother before she knows her daughter's likes and dislikes? They don't even have olive oil, so I can't make chicken unless I want to fry it in vegetable oil. Gross. I guess it's Raisin Bran for me for the week. Good thing I'm spending a lot of time away from here. >.> I forgot to mention the freezer full of ice cream. I'll be pretending it doesn't exist.

Also, I haven't weighted myself in awhile at the gym, but according to the scale here, I am down to 177. I'll take it for now, but I think it's a bit off. My pants are also way too big for me now and keep falling down.

Mood: annoyed and hungry
Weight: 177?