Losin' the Jiggle: Week 3... and The Easter Stressball Arrives!!

You know the movie "Hook" with Robin Williams playing Grown-up Peter Pan and Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook... AND Julia Roberts as Tink?

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It was one of my very favorites in the olden days (I kid. I still totally stop and watch whenever I come across it on the TV) and one of my MOST favorite scenes was when one of the kind of nutty and very old grown up Lost Boys repeats throughout the entire movie that he has lost his marbles, then at the end, one of the Lost Boys sends Peter away from Neverneverland with a bag of marbles to give to him (sidenote: tears may be shed when this happens... every time I watch the movie).

If you're still reading, bless you. I'm not going to write about a classically family friendly movie made in the mid-90s (by the way, when did I get so old and nostalgic? Welcome to my mid-twenties, I guess?), but rather about the fact that I, Katie F., have lost my own marbles. With Easter being this weekend and Brian's family having a monopolizing affect over the few days that are fit into said weekend, we will be having Easter Sunday dinner on Saturday night, and an Easter brunch on Sunday. Because I apparently did not learn my lesson back in November when cooking for Meghan's baby shower, I appear to have over-volunteered myself again. The cooking has yet to begin and I'm already thinking "What have you gotten yourself into, my dear?"

There is this overpowering need inside of me that compels me to choose way more dishes than necessary for gatherings such as this, which only pushes me to the edge of complete breakdown mode. Like, think Julie Powell laying spread eagle on her kitchen floor while sobbing and flopping chicken stuffing around (I make it a point to reference Julie & Julia as frequently as possible, fyi). The obsessive person that's really not hidden deep inside but rather perches happily on my shoulder tells me that not only can I contribute the most dishes but they'll look gorgeous and taste amazing. There's really no room for error, especially when I answer boyfriend's question "That all sounds great. Is it a lot of work?" with "Nah-- piece of cake!"

He'll remind me of these famous last words sometime Saturday afternoon when I've folded into the fetal position on the kitchen floor in my white linen pants, wrapped in my sassy apron and covered in flour and cream cheese while nursing a hefty glass of pinot.

But I digress. In case y'all are interested, the menu for the weekend is as follows:

Easter Sunday Dinner on Saturday

Guacamole and Los Tostitos- My mama
Easter-y? No. Delicious and requested by all? Yes.

Mushrooms Stuffed with Brie - Pioneer Woman
Yum. Just... yum.
Veggie Squares - The Boy's Family Recipe
(Basically Pillsbury crescent rolls topped with mayo and Hidden Valley Ranch mix, topped with finely chopped veggies. It's not fancy, but it's delish.)

Easter Candy Bark - a fab PW-suggested food blog!

WW Lemon Pie - WW.com
This was in one of my weekly handouts-- it's very simple (think 6 ingredients!) and light!

Insert Easter-y trifle here. I'm still looking through recipes, though my top three contenders are Banana Pudding trifle (good ole Southern Living), Berry Trifle (Tyler Florence), or Grand Raspberry Trifle (Martha Stewart and her grand dramatics...) and will decide probably right after I post this, which will bug me.

Spinach and Bacon Quiche - Paula Deen, but of course
My friends... with this dish, I will reintroduce The Meat back into my diet, ala The Bacon.

I've already enlisted Brian to document my cooking adventures as they go along, so I'm sure there will be a wonderful variety of images to accompany my post-Easter post.

Now that you've read about all of the fatten-you-up foods that I'll be making (and consuming in small proportions, I promise!), I give you...



My weekly weigh-in! I'm happy to share that I'm down a pound this week, though I have no idea how this loss happened. The same story as last week is that I cannot lie to my people: I did not try to lose weight this week. As a go-er, I'm constantly doing this and going there and making that and washing this... it's exhausting, as I'm sure many of y'all know and can relate to. From the time I get up in the morning to when I collapse into bed at night, I don't stop, and this past week, it finally caught up with me. While I still definitely made conscious and healthy food choices, I didn't exercise AT ALL, minus Monday when I Shredded. Every other day I came home, took a nap, and tried to relax.

Tuesday night I told Brian I needed a break and he gladly took over the recipe and made supper (bless you, my love!) while I watched The Biggest Loser. We vowed to hit the gym yesterday when I was attacked by The Allergies at work (Caitlin can attest to this-- as she said this morning as only a friend can, "You looked like a cold medicine commercial before you left yesterday" hahaha) and sent home. I had chills and fell asleep on the drive home (in the passenger seat, duh). It was like God finally waved my own little white flag and made me surrender... and so I did. Straight into a hot shower I went, then straight into my pajamas, then straight into my bed, where I proceeded to coat myself in Vicks, camp out with my tissues, and knocked myself out with Benadryl (Brian was so happy to be there to witness this gorgeousness, I can assure you). When I woke up at 8:30, I had no idea where I was or why it was dark... and that felt so good! The Boy made me Kraft mac and cheese (Toy Story figures, my fav, because the cheese gets in all of the nooks and crannies!) and I laid in bed, ate my supper, watched a new AMC-show The Killing (so, so good!), took another Benadryl and called it a night.

I get it. I needed the rest. I'd been feeling so rundown and exhausted and just wouldn't take the time out to rest, so The Big Guy gave me a little timeout himself. I'm happy to report that I feel SO much better today and am looking forward to getting back to the gym this weekend and getting back on the healthy track while working meat back into my diet (Alleluia to Easter Sunday and The Meat!!), which I think will greatly help the weight loss-- fewer starches + more protein = closer to bikini body!

If you made it this far, you are a true devotee, and I heart you to pieces. I'm off to dig into my spinach salad with a meatless meat patty and diced BabyBel Light-- yum, I know.

Oh, and can I just ask for the day to fly by, so I can see this little guy (who took his first plane ride this morning and did wonderfully!!):

'Til later, my lovelies!!

The Jiggle Remains.

Y'all, I cannot tell a lie. Since the scale does not lie, I cannot lie to you-- I blew it this week. This weight loss challenge and I did not see eye-to-eye. I went up one pound. Okay two.

In my defense, I flat-out didn't put in my 100% this week, and while I do feel a bit guilty about that (hello shame, meet my blog fans), I also kind of don't. I could have easily fibbed and said I went down, but when I saw Rachel's post this morning about HITTING HER GOAL!!, I knew that I could not tell a lie to my people.

So I won't. I am a bit interested as to why I went up two pounds, but I can't dwell on it. While I did manage to Shred twice (you can spot me by looking for the girl with the granny waddle as I walk) and made great food choices (beginning Monday), I barely fit in any cardio AND I feel like I'm retaining a bit of water (TMI? Whatev.). Solution? I'm going to pound my water today and stick to my healthy food picks and pray for Saturday morning, my WW weigh-in day, to show better results.

I do feel more motivated, especially after starting to Shred and knowing that bathing suit season is around the corner, I'm both in a wedding and attending another this summer... I've gotta look GOOD. And so, I'm recommitting... again. I think that I burnt myself out after obsessively tracking my WW points and watching every bite that went in my mouth for an entire year. So I rebelled a little bit and it's not easy getting back in the saddle and being overly conscious again, which is necessary because WW IS writing and tracking every bite you put in your mouth. My goal this time around is not let the awareness overtake me-- sometimes easier said than done.

For today, I'm going to go and be excited about my afternoon quesadilla-- a Flatout wrap with a melted Babybel Light and a Laughing Cow Queso Fresco Chipotle wedge. If you're counting, that would be 3WWpoints, which is a successful snack in book.

'Til later, my lovelies.

Happy 100 to ME!!

There are so many things to say today that I just don't know where to start. So, I shall ramble as I always do and hope that everything rounds up together in some semblance of a coherent blog post.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank y'all for such sweet words on my "Gotta Lose That Extra JIGGLE!" post. As far as I've come in my weight loss journey (WLJ), I still have a good ways to go and there are few things more encouraging and refreshing on a hard day (or good day, for that matter!) than having people who are on your side! Not many people know specifics about my weight loss-- Brian, my family, close friends and a very few co-workers. I think weight loss is a private thing... which, you know, is why I totally broadcast my details on the internet. However, if I've learned anything along the way it's that being honest with yourself keeps you honest in general, and so I'm sharing the journey with all of you. From the days that I make the best food and workout choices out there, to days like yesterday where I just don't want to do anything.

We had decently warm weather (It was 72! It was a taste of summer! I am so far from Texas...) so I convinced Brian to head to the track for our run. Upon arriving and doing laps in the 53 degree wind-whipped weather for .75 miles, we called it quits, which put me in a crummy mood. We got back to the condo where I debated skipping my first day of Jillian. Yes, that's right. I had my shoes off and had dramatically flung myself onto our bed, muttering how I didn't WANT to do the Shred and blah blah blah. Brian finally looked at me and said "You don't have to do it, you know. Nobody will know but... you. And me."

He knows me so well.

I got up, defiantly my shoes back on and in a scene eerily similar to that of Julie Powell and her husband (shoutout to Julie & Julia) in which he tells her that if she doesn't make recipes for one night that nobody will know and she whips around and says something along the lines of "My readers will know!" And so, my friends, so as to be able to show my face on my blog again and not fail before I began, I endured 20 torturous minutes of The Shred. Biggest Loser fan that I am, this is all that I heard/saw/processed for the entire time:

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And then, because he loves me and knows that I am willing to sacrifice (a tiny, tiny, insignificant portion of vanity) for my readers and followers, The Boy obliged my request and took this:

(sidenote: Kindly remember that we live with boyfriend's sister, which explains the pillow and Christmas tree placemat on the floor in the background. I don't pick it up because I didn't put it there. It's a mid-twenties Battle of the Wills.)

No. I do not snarl like that when doing the exercise. He asked for a grimace and I have to admit that between the butterflies or kickbacks or whatever the eff Jill had me doing, this was the immediate and natural face that happened. This might also be the reason why Brian opted to stay out of the room while I Shredded. Whatev. My shoulders and hips and abs are mighty sore today, so I'm hoping to transform the bod into Carrieland in no time (shoutout to all of my commenters who are totally with me on the Carrie obsession!).

Moving on...

Today, my friends, is my ONE HUNDREDTH BLOG POST!! I really wish that I had more to share with you other than pictures of my awkward self doing the Shred and my acknowledgement that I drank my Saturday away this past weekend (hello, Skinny Girl margaritas and Spiked Arnold Palmer bevs while watching the Masters... in our living room... in pajama pants. We're nothing, if not fancy), but I really do not.

When I started my blog, I had no idea where it would head, or if I'd even be consistent with updating it... which I'm still working on. There are days where I just flat out either don't feel like writing anything, don't know how to put my day into words, and days where there's just flat out nothing going on-- who wants to read about my hour commute to work, a day at the computer, an hour commute home, a run at the gym and my dinner that I cooked? However, as insignificant as the random posts can seem, I keep my blog for myself and for my family, and I love that I can trace back through my posts and read about my ups and downs since I've moved to Boston, how my relationship has evolved with The Boy, how I've changed from socially awkward and overweight to healthy and in shape and A RUNNER with friends and the ability to smile and chat with anyone (I've come leaps and bounds). And so, I love this little blog of mine and will be here to write it for as long as I have readers!

And now, because I need to end on a happy chipper note...

As an avid Dallas Cowboys fan, I am about as anti-Tom Brady as one can be. I am sharing this video with whomever will sit still long enough to watch it. I loved this man when he was young (p.s. Do not search "tom brady young" on your work computer. Just... trust me.) but now he has a shaggy ponytail and carries his wife's purse (whatev if she's Giselle Bundchen) and pulls dance moves like this

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in Rio and then he goes and CRIES on TV, on ESPN of all channels... the man should be ashamed. I, however, am not ashamed, just thoroughly entertained.

On the bright side, he has not gone downhill as much as THIS guy

ohh charlie...

... whom boyfriend and I will be seeing tonight. Yes, you read that correctly. We paid our hard-earned money to likely see a nutty celebrity be boo'd off of the stage. There will be dinner and copious drinks beforehand, so hopefully that will take away the sting. So while you're lounging tonight, I'll be here:

On that note, have a happy Tuesday, my lovelies.

Gotta lose that extra JIGGLE!

I'd like to note that I originally titled this post "Gotta shake that extra JIGGLE!" but then I visualized that statement and realized that that's just something that NOBODY wants to see. I digress.

Bathing suit season is upon us, whether you're willing to admit it or not. In honor of vanity, I am jumping aboard the "I jiggle, but not as much as I used to... Weight Loss Challenge", courtesy of one of my favorite bloggers, Rachel over at Running Backwards in High Heels!

Today marks the kickoff to Week 1 of 8, and I have to admit, I'm pretty excited! If you've followed me for very long, you'll know that I've been a member of Weight Watchers since January 2, 2010.

My cousin's wedding in October 2010. Holy word to my chubbiness at 208 pounds.

When I first started the program, I was 100% on track and on plan. I wrote down every single bite that entered my mouth, and might have gotten a bit too obsessive. If we had plans with friends, I would become consumed with worry over how to point the food and drinks. If we were going somewhere that wouldn't allow me to weigh and measure my food, I was a wreck. Yes, you would think that the red flags would start to wave right about now, but I just kept on being a Weight Watchin' Fool:

My family's visit for my graduation, May 2010- I hit my 10% goal this weekend and was down 23 pounds.

As we moved into summer, I began to focus more on incorporating good exercise into my life and realizing that indulging every now and then and going off plan wasn't going to end my weight loss journey. And so I began to run. If you know me, you can laugh-- go ahead, I'll wait. Prior to the past year or so, I wouldn't even run across a street with traffic coming at me. These days, I find myself lacing up my running shoes at 5am to hit the track and get my miles in. I know-- somedays I don't even recognize myself either, but in a fab way! I ran my first 5k in August 2010 and haven't looked back since:

I have the best photographer! First 5k (29:17), down 33 lbs.

Once the Fall hit, I kind of started to slow down a bit. Brian's birthday is the end of October, and cooler weather equals yummy, filling foods in my book. I did, however, hit my lowest number before all things headed south for the winter.

Excuse the gross hair and blurriness, please. My lowest weight, 166.4, which brought me to 41.2 pounds lost.

I was mad at Thanksgiving that I wouldn't get to have all of my favorite foods the day of, so the weekend before I made our own little Turkey Day meal: roasted chicken, Stove Top (I know), macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, and so on. From that day out, I did not consistently keep tabs on my eating until just recently. It was nice- I was fun again. No concerns about calories or too many drinks or how many chips with salsa I could have. I can't lie-- I enjoyed it. IMMENSELY.

All good things must come to an end though. Reality set in that while I maintained a weight within 5 pounds of my all-time low for several months, I wasn't doing it healthily. And so I'm back on the WW bandwagon, and I'm excited. It feels good to be in control again, but with a more realistic mindset. It's not going to end my world if I indulge at dinner for Date Night. If I miss a day at the gym, tears aren't necessary (yes, it was THAT bad). I recently ran my second 5k and am starting a training program to run a 10k this spring.

Ras na Heirann 5k (29:30 with delayed start time subtracted), March 12, 2011

The weather in Boston is semi-warming up, so I can finally get back to my beloved track and away from The Dreadmill (big wooo! to that one!), and I'm refocusing my healthy habits on what's good for me, not just what's good for the scale.

The best part about all of this? I'm happy and more confident than I've ever been.

Chicago, March 2010

Now that I've given you a complete update on my weight loss journey from beginning to today (I'm not a long-winded overly detailed writer for nothing, my friends!), I'm ready to being this li'l weight loss competition! I love competitions! They make me feel so focused and motivated and... FIERCE (that one's for you, Caitlin).

My current weight is 169, and my ULTIMATE goal is 135, which may or may not be reachable. Also, I just calculated my BMI-- since I'm 5'7, a healthy range for me is 18.5-24.9; I'm currently at 26.5, so my goal for the purposes of this weight loss challenge for me is to work my way into the healthy range over the course of the next eight weeks, which would mean losing 10 pounds-- 159 puts me in the healthy weight range! I have never in my adult life weighed a number as small as 135, so it's kind of just My Number That I've Always Wanted but That My Hips Prevented Me From. So, I'd like to lose 10 pounds in eight weeks, which I know is very feasible and realistic for my body.

As I said, I've been running and will start training next week for a late spring 10k, so my main workout will be running, while I'm also adding in good ole Jillian (and her six week six pack DVD!) and my new hobby-- Spin!

My Less Jiggle Schedule
(aka I May Need Help Standing Up and Climbing Stairs Routine)

Monday: Jillian in the AM + Zumba
Tuesday: Jillian in the AM + run
Wednesday: Jillian in the AM + 20 minutes cardio + ultimate body conditioning
Thursday: Jillian in the AM + run
Friday: Jillian in the AM + REST
Saturday: Jillian in the AM + Spin
Sunday: Jillian in the AM + long runs

Food-wise, I'll be following the Weight Watchers program and counting my points. If you're a PointsPlus fan, I give you a big thumbs up. I hated it, it made me gain, and the customer service people were not nice when I tried to ask questions... and so I'm following the original Momentum plan. I figure that I lost 40 pounds following this plan, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it :)

I'll be checking in with a total each Thursday, complete with a picture of my scale. I've also decided (as of 2.5 seconds ago) to keep track of my measurements as well. Since I'm at work and have access to neither a scale or a tape measure, I'll take care of those details first thing tomorrow morning (duh, everyone knows you're lightest first thing in the AM...).

I'm excited! If you'd like to comment and leave a link to your own blog, I'd love to check out your story and follow your progress! Best of luck to everyone!!

The path to good legs is not an easy one, my friends...

I'd like to start this morning by bowing down to Ms. Underwood. Carrie, my dear, you are not playin' when it comes to the workouts required to maintain your fab gams:

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I got all motivated and such on Tuesday after my Quest to Carrie's Legs post, and went off to the gym, all amped up and empowered. Since the treadmills were all full, I spent 10 minutes as The Hawk on the stairmaster (Lord have mercy to THAT exertion...), and pounced on the first dreadmill that I saw open up. Just my luck, it was one of the lucky ones that was not only without a private TV, but was too far out of the way to see the line of main TVs at the front of the room. Ah, yes-- my sweaty, red, huffin' and puffin' face was instead facing the front desk, making it one of the first sights for my fellow gym-goers to see upon entering.

Whatevs- I have no shame in bringing my game at the gym.

After a good half hour/3 mile run of death (I just couldn't find the rhythm), I headed over to the weight area to fit in some quality time with my bootay. Considering it's been awhile since I last consistently did any sort of weight training program, I grabbed the lowest weights available at the station - 15 pound dumbbells - and headed to the mats. I knew I had very limited time because Brian was wrapping up his run, so I jauntily did 10 backwards lunges on each leg, rested, then did 10 more on each leg. No big deal, right? (Note: I just tried to upload a Googled pic of a backwards lunge, just for effects purposes, and I almost killed my work computer. Thursday-1, Katie-0.)

Y'all. Today, two days after the damage, I am waddling around like a duck. Climbing the stairs at the train station this morning was pure torture. Walking to the end of the hallway to pick up something from the copier can be compared to some sort of medieval torture practice. The saddest part? EACH LEG ONLY DID 20 LUNGES. While I'm proud that I took the lunge (oh, how punny am I?!) and broke the weight lifting-ice just in time to kick off Prepping for Bathing Suits Season, I am also SO aware of all of the little muscles that I'm always envying. Inner thighs? Oh yes. My hammies? Check! Glutes, are you there? Present!

Carrie, I salute you in all of your glory. There's a reason you have some of the best legs around and that you flaunt them every darn chance you get-- once my Quest for Carrie's Legs is complete, you can bet your bottom I'll be doing the same.

Sidenote: I'm obsessed with neither Carrie Underwood OR her legs. I promise. That's creepy. Girlfriend is FIT though, and my prime motivation factor. So don't be all "Um, why is Katie always talking about this country singer's legs? Weird much?" loveyallthanks.

I have a little bloggie challenge that I'm participating in, but that deserves its own post, so that's all I've got for now :)

So much coffee! So many words!

After wrapping up six weeks worth of alternating weekends of traveling with a flight landing in Boston at 12:30 Monday morning, I am officially tuckered out. After the most torturous 4-hours-of-sleep-fueled-day yesterday, watching Brian test new golf clubs at the driving range, a speedy grocery store stop, and a dinner of Buitoni tortellini with jarred marinara (which I pretty much never resort to), I headed to bed around 10:30 last night and slept soundly... straight through my 6:15am alarm this morning.

Ah, yes. Nothing like waking up to see the bright light of 6:45am when you're usually showered, dressed and halfway through makeup by that time. I took the fastest shower of my life, woke Brian up and hustled him to the shower, and went for the "natural" makeup and hair look (hair courtesy of blow-dried and straightened bangs and roots and a quick twisted bun for the rest):


I know-- my southern Mama would (not) be so proud.

We stopped for coffee on our way in this morning, which I inhaled as soon as I was at my desk. As luck would have it, just as I was noticing that I was losing my coffee buzz and that it was ONLY 10:30am and I had already completed the majority of my important work for the day, a delightful friend stopped by to offer a field trip to Starbucks.

Who was I to say no? Girls obviously go everywhere in pairs (forget that a fellow employee was already accompanying her. Girls go in pairs is my excuse for the four dollar coffee). We traipsed over, I got my midday air break... which brings me to this:

I ended one cup (medium iced mocha with skim, 2 Splenda) and headed on to the next (tall Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte). Both have been consumed and, as the caffeine courses through my body, my hands are legitimately shaking as I type this and I'm a giddy chatterbox who cannot stop smiling. My apologies go out to my coworkers who must think that I'm just Really happy and excited to be here! On this rainy humid Tuesday! And sitting at my desk and excitedly doing all of my work!

Oh well. It's just one of those days.

Not much else is going on in my pretty little world as of now.

I finally bought new running shoes:

This was my first time putting them on. I was excited... and more flexible than I thought.

I told Brian to please not get my weird looking hand in the shot. He's a great listener.

I've only run in them a couple times, but I think I love them!

Day 732 of not eating meat is starting to wear on me a bit. I swear my energy is down because I'm not getting enough protein in my diet (face it: a girl can only eat so many meals of beans and cheeses before boyfriend becomes repulsed by the answer to "What's for dinner?"-- "Beans, obviously." Also, I think we're hitting that point.)

I'm also struggling with my meal creativity, since I can't use any meat. What's in my current rotation, you might ask? Breakfast for dinner at least once a week (like tonight); pasta with veggie-pumped sauces; variations of grilled cheese sandwiches (Caprese Grilled Cheese, I love you to pieces); and mushrooms... OH the mushrooms we have consumed since Ash Wednesday kicked us off to vegetarianism. Luckily, I have a fab boyfriend who just goes along with it and never complains, and who is also happy to whip up his own chicken salad or tuna salad while I eat my 97th quesadilla of the month.

As proud as I am for having come this long (and survived a weekend in Texas without cheating- not an easy feat, I promise), girlfriend cannot wait for a steak dinner... and chicken tacos... and my favorite chicken and veggie Thai dish. Oh, yum. Twenty days and counting, indeed.

I'm off to change for the gym. Tonight begins the Quest for Carrie's Legs, so I may or may not be able to sit and stand in a non-awkward fashion tomorrow.

Only exhibit needed for motivation:

'Til later, my lovelies!

(P.S. After reading over this post, I realized that I have approximately 72 new paragraphs. I just like to keep things fresh and spacey, no biggie.)