Big Loss Baby! 10 LBS in 10 Weeks - Week 4

Weight Loss this week:

-2.4 LB

So I guess no carbs really does pay off!  This is a HUGE number for me this week and I totally kicked that 1 LB gain last week.  My typical weight loss is rarely over 1 pound a week so I was really pumped when I stepped on the scale this morning and it said this:

We bought this scale over the weekend and it is sooooo much better than our old school dial scale.

Here were my goals for Week 4 (Jan 21 - Jan 27):

• Drink lots and lots of water
• No eating after 7 pm at night
• Run Monday (9 miles), Tuesday (3 miles), Thursday (3 miles), Saturday (10 miles)
• Track my calories in My Fitness Pal (merewoody) and stay between 1400-1500 calories
• Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Wedneday & Friday
• Add a fresh fruit or veggie to every meal
• No Carb Dinners on Tuesday and Thursday

Eating

This week was a good eating week for me and even though I hate No Carbs I actually did the no carb dinners on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  And I have to say thank goodness for this blog and My Fitness Pal for accountability or else I would have totally been stuffing my face with Cheeze It's, Cookies and any other carb I could find.

Also, I learned something this week...I should not say I'm doing No Carbs.  I am going without Simple Carbs (white flour, sweets, etc).  I am however allowing myself to have Complex Carbs - fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc.  Learn something new everyday!

Moving

I ran on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday!!  I did my long run on Friday and I am so stinking proud that I hit double digits.  My 10 miler was tough and I really had to push myself the last 2 miles.  My internal dialogue went something like this:

"You can quit anytime"
"No you have made it 9 miles, don't quit now"
"How the hell am I going to do 4 more miles in 4 weeks"
"Just keep going, one foot in front of the other"
"I'm so tired...I'm so tired...I'm so tired"
"Just think how proud you will be when you hit 10 miles"
"I'm so tired"
"Think of all you can eat with all the calories you are burning...yum french fries, pizza, wine!"

So let's get to the bottom of my inspiration...it's this blog making me accountable and not embarrassing myself AND my true love of wine and food.  I am a total foodie and exercising gives me more calories :)  I need a shirt that says "I run so I can drink WINE!"

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So what's in store for Week 5?


Week 5 (Jan 28 - Feb 3)

• Drink lots and lots of water
• No eating after 7 pm at night
• Run Tuesday (3 miles), Thursday (3 miles), Saturday (11 miles)
• Track my calories in My Fitness Pal (merewoody) and stay between 1400-1500 calories
• Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Monday & Wednesday
• Add a fresh fruit or veggie to every meal
• No Carb Day on Tuesday and Thursday

Tomorrow is my first No Carb (Simple Carb) day and here's my eating plan:
Breakfast: Green Smoothie
Snack:  Light Cheese Stick
Lunch:  Big A** Salad - Chicken, Corn, Beans, Salsa, Cheese
Snack:  Okios Greek Yogurt with Honey
Dinner:  Pulled Pork, Beans and Deviled Eggs

I'm crossing my fingers for another loss this week and praying I can make it through the 11 miles next Saturday.  And thanks to Holly for sharing the next blogger dietbet that starts next week.  It's $35 and that bigger motivator than winning cash for losing weight!  Go sign up :)

And I apologize for all the weight loss/running posts...I have blogger block and crazy life syndrome right now but I am going to try and get some more fun things up this week.

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10 pounds in 10 Weeks - Week 3

Weight Loss this week:

+1 LB

Womp! Womp!

Here were my goals for Week 3 (Jan 14 - Jan 20):

• Drink lots and lots of water 
• No eating after 7 pm at night 
• Run Tuesday (3 miles), Thursday (3 miles)
• Track my calories in My Fitness Pal (merewoody) and stay between 1400-1500 calories 
• Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Monday & Wednesday
• Add a fresh fruit or veggie to every meal

Eating

I did GREAT eating during the beginning of the week!  I stayed under calories, didn't eat after 7, added fruits and veggies to my meals and even drank more water.  Then Thursday came around and I went into total vacay mode at the Conference...huge mistake!  So I ate bad and indulged all weekend long but look at this food and tell me it wasn't worth it.

Chili Relleno from Mi Tierra San Antonio

But back on track now...I will take that pound back off again.

Moving

I ran on Tuesday and Friday (at the Conference - see I had good intentions) and did the 30DS on Monday and a Sweatshop Intervals Class at work on Wednesday.  And I thought all this exercise might counterbalance all the eating...but no such luck. This just proves you have to have a good combination!

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So what's in store for Week 4?


Week 4 (Jan 21 - Jan 27)

• Drink lots and lots of water
• No eating after 7 pm at night
• Run Monday (9 miles), Tuesday (3 miles), Thursday (3 miles), Saturday (10 miles)
• Track my calories in My Fitness Pal (merewoody) and stay between 1400-1500 calories
• Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Wednesday & Friday
• Add a fresh fruit or veggie to every meal
• No Carb Dinners on Tuesday and Thursday

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE bread, pasta, starch, chips!  But I do realize that these things don't help me get into a bikini by March 7.  So like I said in the beginning, I'm easing myself into No Carb Days.  Tonight and Thursday night I'm cutting out carbs completely and going heavy on proteins and veggies.  This by far is my least favorite thing to do but I figured if Meredith at Is This Thing On (my fav new blogger and not just because her name is Meredith) and Leigh Ann at Elle Noel can No Carb it then I can too.  Thanks for the motivation ladies!

Have a great week!

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10 pounds in 10 weeks - Week 2

Definitely back on track!  Weight Loss this week:

-1 LB

Whoo Hoo!

Here were my goals for Week 2 (Jan 7 - Jan 13):

• Drink lots and lots of water
• No eating after 7 pm at night
• Run Sunday (7 miles), Tuesday (3 miles), Thursday (3 miles) and Saturday (8 miles)
• Track my calories in My Fitness Pal (merewoody) and stay between 1400-1500 calories

Eating

I did fairly well this week with my eating - my biggest issue is the water consumption.  Why do I not like water?  I just can't seem to get in 10 cups a day, 6 cups is about my max and then I'm over it.  I did really well with my eating and didn't go over 1500 calories all week or eat after 7 pm (except my Saturday cheat Milkshake - yum Chocolate).  I've used My Fitness Pal before but I didn't realize you could scan barcodes of products and it will pull up all the nutrition info...how cool is that?

Running

I ran all my miles except for Thursday, I still was not at 100% after being sick the weeks prior.  My throat started hurting again on Wednesday and I decided to take a couple days so I could do my 8 miler over the weekend.  I ended up doing it on Sunday but it actually felt really good - all except my feet.  I think it's time for some new kicks.  My right foot keeps going numb :(  After reading Mel's link up on shoes and everyone's favs - I think I may try out Brooks this time around.

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So what's in store for Week 3?

Week 3 (Jan 14 - Jan 20)

• Drink lots and lots of water
• No eating after 7 pm at night
• Run Tuesday (3 miles), Thursday (3 miles)
• Track my calories in My Fitness Pal (merewoody) and stay between 1400-1500 calories
• Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Monday & Wednesday
• Add a fresh fruit or veggie to every meal

This is going to be a tough week - I am going to the Texas Events Summit Conference in San Antonio at the end of the week and there will be tons of Networking (aka Happy Hours), good food, lack of exercise, missing my baby and oh yeah - learning.  I am hoping I can stay somewhat on track but I'll be happy if I make it out without gaining weight.  

Hope everyone has a great day!

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Project 365 - Week 2

So I don't think I'm getting much better with my camera yet...maybe it's time to invest in some Photography Classes.  I can not get my wiggly toddler to sit still or pose...food is a much easier subject.

Sunday, January 6 - Mama's little helper!  I'm a slave driver and make her do all the laundry...hey she has to earn her keep.

Monday, January 7 - Bath Time...yes I almost forgot to take a picture today :)  And check out that creepy doll...it was mine growing up.

Tuesday, January 8 - I just thought we were over all the sickness...Mike went back to work Monday then ended up with a fever again.  Ugh!  We just can't get well.

Wednesday, January 9 - Who doesn't love a good PB&J Sammie?  I love mine with plain lays potato chips smushed inside.  Don't hate until you've tried it...scrumptious!

Thursday, January 10 - Action Shot!  And who else has a toddler that loves to pull out all their toys and put them all over the floor.  It's like walking through a land mine some days.

Friday, January 11 - We had a Mommy Daughter Day with my friend Carrie and her daughter Emily at the Dallas World Aquarium.  It was AMAZING!  Sorry for all the pics...I couldn't pick my favorite.

Saturday, January 12 - This was my cheat meal on Saturday...hello yummy Milkshake!  I have made it all week without with a dessert so my splurge of god knows how many calories had to be something chocolate.  (And of course Addison got one too)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  I have an early date with Jillian Michael's in the morning...gotta keep up the 10 week challenge.

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Super Bowl Recipes!

I love recipe link ups!  And this one is right down my alley...who doesn't love gorging out to tons of yummy dips, appetizers and alcoholic beverages :)  

This dip recipe is soooo good and soooo easy!  It is a hit anytime I bring it to a party and anything that starts with 2 blocks of cream cheese just can't be bad.  

Spicy Sausage Dip 2 Blocks of Cream Cheese (Softened) 1 Pound of Sausage (Either Hot or Regular) 1 Can Rotel Tomatoes (Either Hot or Original)
Brown your sausage in a saucepan and drain.  Add sausage, cream cheese and rotel back to the sauce pan until it's melty and gooey.  Put in a crockpot on warm or in a serving bowl.  Serve with fritos or tortilla chips (I love Scoops).
This dip does not dissapoint and I've never tried it but I bet you could even make it {Skinny}with Fat Free Cream Cheese and Turkey Sausage.
Thanks to Amy for hosting this fun link up...can't wait to see everyone else's yummy recipes!

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10 lbs in 9 weeks...it's on!

This girl is getting back on track!  The holidays did me so, so wrong and I ended up gaining a couple unwanted lbs.  But this girl has a cruise (and swimsuit) to be on in 9 weeks...yikes.  So I'm going to be hittin hard over the next 9 weeks and taking off these last 10 pounds.

I can't wait to be on this boat!!!

Let me start by saying that I have a tough time staying committed if I try to do everything at once.  I saw this idea on a blog and for the life of me I can not find it (sorry to whoever I copied it from).  You make weekly goals and then add a new goal each week.  This keeps it interesting and gives you a new challenge each week.  So here's my plan...

• Weigh in each Monday 
• One cheat meal a week

Week 1 (Dec 31 - Jan 6)

• Drink lots and lots of water (and go potty every 5 minutes)
• No eating after 7 pm at night 

Week 2 (Jan 7 - Jan 13)

• Drink lots and lots of water
• No eating after 7 pm at night
• Run Sunday (7 miles), Tuesday (3 miles), Thursday (3 miles) and Saturday (8 miles)
• Track my calories in My Fitness Pal (merewoody) and stay between 1400-1500 calories

Week 3 (Jan 14 - Jan 20)

• Drink lots and lots of water
• No eating after 7 pm at night
• Run Tuesday (3 miles), Thursday (3 miles)
• Track my calories in My Fitness Pal (merewoody) and stay between 1400-1500 calories
• Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Monday & Wednesday
• Add a fresh fruit or veggie to every meal

Week 4 (Jan 21 - Jan 27)

• Drink lots and lots of water
• No eating after 7 pm at night
• Run Monday (9 miles), Tuesday (3 miles), Thursday (3 miles), Saturday (10 miles)
• Track my calories in My Fitness Pal (merewoody) and stay between 1400-1500 calories
• Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Wednesday & Friday
• Add a fresh fruit or veggie to every meal
• No Carb Dinners on Tuesday and Thursday

Week 5 (Jan 28 - Feb 3)

• Drink lots and lots of water
• No eating after 7 pm at night
• Run Tuesday (3 miles), Thursday (3 miles), Saturday (11 miles)
• Track my calories in My Fitness Pal (merewoody) and stay between 1400-1500 calories
• Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Monday & Wednesday
• Add a fresh fruit or veggie to every meal
• No Carb Day on Tuesday and Thursday

After 5 weeks I'm going to re-evaluate and see if I need to do anything different.  I really, really, really want to get this weight off.  February will make 1 full year of working out consistently and I want to get to my goal (and look HOT in a swimsuit)!  And by posting this now I HAVE to do it :)

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Bye Bye Boogies & Project 365 - Week 1

My family is finally all well again...thank goodness.  Over the last 3 weeks we have gone through about a million kleenex, popsicles and motrin.  Everyone started feeling better by Friday and we've had a "normal" weekend.  I have to admit I'm glad the holidays are over and that we are back to our normal routine again.  

I got a good run in today and it felt great!  I had to back track some over the holidays but I'm back to long runs now.  I will increase a mile every weekend until 2 weeks before my race then I'll taper off.

And starting this week I'm going to be tracking my calories in My Fitness Pal (find me @merewoody). I have used the app before and it keeps me accountable and makes me think twice about what I stuff in my mouth.  

And now...Project 365 - Week 1!

Here's how it works - Take 1 picture a day for a year and blog about it.  I stole the idea from my friend Carrie at Our Changing Family.  I am hoping this will help me learn my new camera.

Tuesday, January 1 - Sorry this is a repeat picture...I only took a few on New Year's Day.  Here's Addison eating a Black Eyed Pea.

Wednesday, January 2 - This is our new favorite thing to do every night.  Addison got some new puzzles and the "Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar" one is her favorite.  My hubby snapped this while we were playing.

Thursday, January 3 - Doesn't every kid have a stuffed animal, blanket, etc that they take everywhere and can't sleep without.  These are Addison's "Wubby's" - they used to have pacifiers attached to them but we gave those away to the "Wubby" Fairy last year but the princesses stayed behind.  They are very well loved :)

Friday, January 4 - It's wine time!  Friday means pizza and wine at the Dowdy house...time for this mama to relax.

Saturday, January 5 - Addison was going to her friend Caitlyn's Birthday Party!  She was so excited she only got a 40 minute nap in before.  Saturday night was an early night :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  It's back to a full work week and calorie counting!

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Hello 2013!

Our New Years Eve was very low key, everyone in my family has been sick and I finally came down with it New Year's Eve morning...ugh!  Addison entertained us while watched Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve.  We toasted the New Year at 11:00 pm with New York and hit the sack.  I had my one sip of Champagne, took ibuprofen and passed out.

We all slept in this morning then had a great breakfast and I got a small spark of energy to clean and Lysol the house.  There's just something about starting the New Year with a super clean house...just makes me feel good.

And we had to have our yearly dose of Good Luck Black-Eyed Peas...it's a southern tradition that I remember growing up.  I always held my nose and ate just one (Addison did much better than I did).  I put the recipe at the end in case anyone wants to try them.

Addison eating her one thank you bite of Black Eyed Peas

We had a wonderful 2012 and I am really looking forward to 2013 being an even better year.  2012 was filled with fun and here are my most popular posts from the year...

Surprise!!!  My hubby's 30th Birthday Party

Skinny Copycat Wine A Rita

Trading Wine for Weights...The Results

And now my 2013 Goals...

1. Run a 1/2 Marathon - I'm still in it...February 24th is the day and I am going to rock the Cowtown Half. 
2. Get my life reorganized and get things accomplished that I've been meaning to do for a long time.      Another post with a plan on this at a later date.
3. Turn off technology at night and on the weekends and spend quality time with my girl and hubby.  I am an iPhone addict and I need to learn how to put it down and focus on my family more.  
4. Lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks - I've been running but I've been eating like CRAP and I haven't been doing any cross training.  We have a cruise coming up in 10 weeks...eek!  This means that my butt has to be in a swimsuit on March 7.  So the plan is to try and lose 10 pounds in the next 10 weeks.  And this will put me at my goal weight...yay!
5. Pay off all debt!  We will be debt free by 2014 :)
6. Continue to build on my small business Cuddlebug Cards.   
7. Learn how to use my new camera!  My friend Carrie did something called Project 365 last year and I love the idea.  I am going to do my very best to take a picture everyday for a year.

 So Happy 2013!  

Good Luck Black-Eyed Peas

4 slices of thick cut bacon (small pieces)
1/2 onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 green bell pepper diced
1 jalapeno diced
1 packaged black-eyed peas (soaked)
1/2 can rotel tomatoes
5 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste

Heat pan to medium heat and add bacon, onion, garlic, green pepper, jalapeno and rotel tomatoes.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Stir in soaked beans, then add chicken broth, salt & pepper and cayenne to taste.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover the pot for 90 minutes stirring occasionally.  If it gets too thick, you can add more broth.

Serve over cornbread and you will have good luck all year (or so my family believes)!

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