I'm Bionic

Hollar! I'll try to keep this fairly short because my fingers hurt.

Today at work we had biometric screenings where they do a finger prick to get some blood to figure out your glucose and cholesterol levels. The fact sheet said to fast for at least 8 hours. Well, the first THREE times they couldn't get a reading from my blood. They told me to eat a protein bar and come back. The fourth time worked so apparently fasting was unnecessary. I simply told them I must have had a superpower that was lying dormant. I fully expect for my super powers to manifest themselves in the near future. In any case, those finger pricks hurt and now I'm having trouble typing. Boo! On a happy note, my blood pressure and cholesterol was great but my glucose levels were a bit high. So I've really got to work on monitoring my sugar intake.....

Anyway, I'm on my second week of Weight Watchers. I'm finding it much harder this time around. WW recently updated their food database so now many foods "cost" more than they used to. Couple that with my lowered amount of daily points and you'll understand why I'm having  hard time. Also, since they've updated their database, the mobile app has been less than useful. But I must be doing something right because 2 weeks in, I've already lost 4 pounds.

However, I put back about half a pound since last night. My friend Miogs and I went to Mon Ami Gabi for dinner. I had every intention of getting their Salmon Salad. But like they say, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" and I went to hell last night. I ordered their delicious cheeseburger. But God quickly punished me because by the time I got home, I felt so incredibly sick from the grease. I hope this lesson sticks...

So they say it's 80% what you eat and 20% exercise. I've been really trying to eat better and be more conscious of choosing fruits and veggies over chips and cookies. The exercise part though has been lagging. Because I've had bronchitis, it has been really difficult to exercise. Doing one lap around the track has been followed with coughing fits. The cough has gotten better but hasn't fully subsided. I have been able to sleep through the night for the past two nights so there's light at the end of the tunnel. I've only been able to "run" (let's be real, I mean walk 3/4 and jog 1/4 of the 3 miles) 3 times a week. Luckily, LivingSocial had a deal on Bikram Yoga. I bought one for me and Jay so we will be doing yoga the entire month of August. I hope to make it at least 4 times a week but honestly, I would love to challenge myself and do it for the entire 31 days. We'll see what my schedule, and body, allows. I even bought a new mat and Yogitoes! I can't wait to try them.

At least it seems I'm on the right track. OK, done typing. Fingers hurt bad. Happy Workout folks!

Butt Lifts

Ain't that the truth?

Hi folks! It's been a fairly uneventful couple of weeks. I've been sick for the last week. I had a fever of over 100 last weekend. Luckily, it didn't last long but the accompanying cough has. The hubs finally convinced me to go to Urgent Care yesterday. It turns out I have bronchitis - and because of my asthma, it could last another 2 weeks. Yay...I was prescribed some meds and they've helped. I was able to sleep through the entire night last night - first time in weeks! I stayed home today because the meds said they could cause drowsiness so I wanted to make sure I knew how I'd react before going to work. Plus, the doc said I'm still contagious so I wanted to spare those around me. But I'm feeling so much better - no more coughing until I feel like I might puke. I've lost most of my voice but that should come back in the next few days.

Because I'm feeling better, I've asked the hubs to work out with me outside today. I really wanted to play some tennis but it looks like it might storm so I'll have to figure out plan B. Maybe yoga or just running on the treadmill, which I hate.

Weight Watchers sign up was this past Friday at work. I signed up and found that this time around, I get 3 less points to eat per day. I assume it's because I weigh less than I did when I started it last year. I gave myself the weekend off and ate whatever I felt like but I officially started counting points today. My God, I forgot how much it suuuuucks. It's hard to find a lot of good recipes that are Weight Watchers friendly - other than salads. I am not the type to live on salads. I am back to scouring Skinnytaste.com to find yummy recipes that are WW friendly.

I'm also having trouble because my mother, who lives with us, loves junk food and soda. When she didn't live with us, it was a lot easier to keep that stuff out of the house because the hubs and pops didn't care much for junk food and neither drinks soda. Also, she enjoys cooking - especially Filipino food, which is not the healthiest cuisine on the planet. I'm just going to have to figure out how to keep myself motivated with having all these temptations at home...Oh well. Off to prepare some dinner.

Happy Workouts Folks!

Bikini Season

Wow, has it really been nearly 3 months since my last post?! WTF - my bad! Life has been keeping me busy. Since my last post...sorry, had to re-read it since it's been so long. I'm back now. Well, since my last post, I have finished 5 more PT sessions and the hubby and I went on our honeymoon. I hadn't actually lost the weight I wanted to by our vacation BUT I looked better in a bikini than I had 2 months prior. Here, you can see for yourself (sorry, no before picture so you'll have to take my word for it):

Again, not exactly where I wanted to be but happier with my body than I had been in a long time. I started to see muscles and get compliments (shallow, I know). And the fact that I could even don the bikini to begin with was a feat in and of itself. Woot. I think it had been 3 years since I had worn a bikini. We had the best time on our honeymoon in Turks and Caicos. All we did was lounge on the beach, eat, and snorkel. Since the resort was all-inclusive, the eating and drinking was fairly constant. So I gained a little but not much.

Unfortunately, as soon as we got back from our honeymoon, I spent about 2.5 weeks on a business trip to FL. I gained a little more due to the constant eating out. Luckily, my boss eats pretty healthy so fast food was not an option (nor will it ever been) for our business trip and I ate more salads than I normally do. So after the month of June, I'm up about 2 pounds from May. I am having a hard time getting back into the swing of working out and eating healthy but I know once I'm back to it, I'll have no problem losing it.

So, to help kick start (again) the continuation of the weight loss journey, I signed up myself and the hubs for a 5K in September. We've sporadically trained but after my next (very short) business trip, we will get it moving! I figured September was far enough away that we could get closer to an acceptable time/pace. Also, I figured September had milder weather. Thank God I didn't sign us up for a July 5K. With the heat we've been experiencing, I can imagine it would have taken us all of 1 mile before we got heat exhaustion!

Also, my work just announced they will have a discount with Weight Watchers so I'll only be paying half price!! I tried Weight Watchers last year for 3 months and had such a hard time doing it alone but it did help me lose 10 pounds. This time, I'll have the support of at least a quarter of the office so I have no doubt I can do it better this time around. I'm actually really excited for it and can't wait for signups to open.

OK, I should probably get back to work....Happy Workout Folks!