Challenge update+ some other stuff

So I am proud to announce that I have lost 2lbs this week. Trust me. I am very very happy with a 2lb loss. My mom came to visit and we might have gone to Cheesecake Factory and Goodwood and had dessert at both places. So woohoo for 2lbs! This week I am going to really kick it up and try for 5lbs. Which is a lot, but I think I can do it. I know had this weekend not been all about the food, I would have put up a higher number. I worked out like crazy. I even went to zumba on Saturday and had so much fun. So wish me luck on that 5lb goal.
On to other topics.
I decided to have a goal for each month. You know kinda spice things up a bit. So for the month of February I am going to be cutting out gluten of my diet. It turns out a lot of people are gluten intolerant. The only way to know is to cut it out and see how you feel. That is not an easy task. A lot of food has gluten in it. Here are just a few examples:

• Bagels
• Biscuits
• Bread
• Bread crumbs
• Breaded fish
• Breaded meats or poultry
• Bread pudding
• Cake
• Cereal
• Chicken nuggets
• Croissants
• Cookies
• Crackers
• Croutons
• Doughnuts
• Dumplings
• Flour
• Flour tortillas
• Fried vegetables
• Graham crackers
• Hamburger buns
• Hotdog buns
• Ice cream cones
• Macaroni
• Melba toast
• Muffins
• Noodles
• Pancakes
• Pasta
• Pastries
• Pie crusts
• Pizza crust
• Pretzels
• Rolls
• Spaghetti
• Stuffing
• Tabbouleh
• Waffles

Foods You Wouldn't Expect to Have Gluten

You probably weren't surprised to learn that cakes, cookies, and all the other floury snacks contain gluten. After all, they're made primarily of wheat flour. The following list, on the other hand, may surprise you. These are foods that usually or often contain gluten. In some cases, wheat is added as a thickener; barley malt is often added as a form of natural flavor. You must read the labels of these items carefully to look for gluten-containing ingredients. Even better, look for products specifically labeled "gluten-free."

• Beer
• Beverage mixes
• Bologna
• Candy (many candies are gluten-free, so read labels)
• Canned baked beans
• Cold cuts
• Packaged cereals, even corn cereals
• Commercially prepared broth
• Commercially prepared chocolate milk
• Commercially prepared soup
• Custard
• Fruit fillings
• Gravy
• Gum
• Hot dogs
• Ice cream
• Non-dairy creamer
• Potato chips
• Pudding
• Root beer
• Syrups
• Salad dressing
• Soy sauce

I am not sure how I am going to live without my gum, but I will have to do some research. Maybe my gum is ok. I hope :(
My goal in 2011 is to find a lifestyle I can live with and be happy and healthy at the same time. If that means I feel better without gluten, then so be it.

Gym Tangents

Today what I really wanted to talk about is rude people at my gym. So, if the gym provides things for you to wipe your sweat off the machines with FREAKING DO IT! There are signs posted around my gym asking people to do this, and yet there are only a few of us that I see doing it. WHAT! It makes me mad. Which leads to my other rant. There are two girls that come in before me and they just do......well pretty much nothing. You know the types. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. In the mean time the rest of us that are there to workout and not socialize have to wait.
I was doing legs today and they were just sitting on the equipment, not even doing it. Just talking. So I asked if I could use it. I was kinda rude. But come on! She was like "oh we are switching we should be done soon" What I wanted to say was: you and your chubby friend (I can say that, being a chubby myself right?) are not even breaking a sweat, so if you came to be her moral support you fail. Get that fat girl moving, or get off the machine so the rest of us can use it.
Listen I am tired. Its been a long week. But be proud of me, because the only thing I did do was roll my eyes and stand by the machine until they were done. I know, but it always unnerves people and makes them hurry right? OH! OH! and they didnt wipe their "sweat" of any of the equipment! I mean I guess they really weren't sweating, but its the principle for hell sake.

Progress!

So I have been to the gym 3 times this week, and its Wednesday! So look at me go. Since you guys are obviously failing on being my cheer squad, I guess turns out I am pretty self motivated. So Goooo! ME!
Also a Goooo ME moment I didn't give into my fry whim yesterday. I was just looking at the Arby's and I was just thinking about those darn curly fries. I even turned to go into the drive-thu and at the last second I turned again and spent my lunch hour looking at cute things in Pier One instead of spending it in glutinous gilt.
So I have been pretty motivated as I have said and 600 dollars to spend on groceries has got me dreaming. I think I would spend a big chunk of the money on ingredients. I was thinking a fun goal would be to learn how to make awesome vegan meals. So my plan would be to go buy a cookbook with everything, down to deserts and spend my weekends ( not all of the day) in the kitchen trying to master new recipes. The cookbook that I have in mind is Veganomicon. Link
It is unreal the stuff they come up with. I think even you carnivorous people would dig some of the food.
So while I am huffing and puffing at the gym or resisting that fry, in the back of my mind I am thinking about that 600 dollars and how I am going to be a wonderful chef with all that dough. he he

Going Public

I think it might be time.
I think I might make this blog public. My following on this blog has fallen to a trickle now and then. I have about 20 people permitted to see it, but still I am only getting one or none comments per post. I live for the comments people. Its silly, but maybe start your own blog and you will understand. BFFN totally agrees.

Help Help Help

Okay so I am kinda excited about this, but I need everybody who reads this blogs help. To my amazement and I actually got up and went to the gym today! I was huffing and puffing along when one of the trainers came up to me and asked if I wanted to join this weight loss competition they are having for 4 weeks. And since the thing with my sister fizzled out (not that surprised) I needed a competition! Well I got one. So they weighed me. I tried not to pass out, and then off we go.
The coolest part of the whole thing is, that there are awesome prizes. Like first prize is 600 bones to Albertsons! How freaking awesome is that. Then there are free personal training, and spa passes and I kinda stopped listening after the $600 dollars. That would be awesome.
So I need some help. I need everybody to give me a call or a text to help push me along. I hope that in 4 weeks, I will be the proud owner of a lot of groceries.
Anyway wish me luck, I will need it.

Choices

So I know I mentioned that I have been having a struggle choosing better food options when I eat out. Well I am happy to say that today I made a good choice. I just need some accolades. So I am giving them to myself. Whatever, I do what I want.
So I maybe should not tell everybody that today's lunch hour turned into almost two but whatever. I got this book. I am really excited about it. Its a vegan diet (I hesitate to use the word diet) book..... at least I think. I follow the author's blog here. She is amazing! I don't want to get into it, but check out her blog if you have a second. Maybe I will blog about her after I am done with the book. Anyway and thanks to boarders 33% off coupon I got in my e-mail today and I went and got it. So maybe the mall is in another city? and maybe I didn't really care? So Anyway back to my topic. I have been struggling to cut the fried crap out of my diet. Because It is freaking amazing.... can I get an amen? So today as I was already 20 minutes getting back to work, I realized that I was starving. Weird on my lunch break to be hungry. So I surveyed my options and was pretty set on Taco Bell. I know. But then I saw it! Baja Fresh! It has fresh in the title even so...... anyway I ended up getting a vegetarian burrito that was to die for. Here is a picture. I will be going back. So I am so proud of myself for making a good choice. I don't know why I don't give myself more credit. I often make good choices. I am not an unwed teenage mother after all. So see?

Signs are everywhere

So everyday on my way to work I pass this sign for a kickboxing class. The lady is super ripped and I am supper jealous, and on days like this that I didn't go to the gym.... super guilty. Its like she mocks me with he six pack abs and sculpted arms. As if the extra helping of fries didn't do that enough already.
Also have you seen the Golds Gym billboards. They say something like "if it jiggles, its fat" THANK YOU GOLDS GYM! Pretty much want to burn those fancy gyms to the ground anyway. They are kidding themselves if they think they are anything more than a meat market.
Anyway signs that make you feel bad aside, it also kinda motivates me. Weird?
Already I have taken off 4 of the 11 pounds I put on during Christmas. I know. It seems fast, but my weight fluctuates 3-5 pounds anyway, so I wasn't too concerned. Well maybe a little.
I have been packing a lunch again, and now that I am partaking of bountiful baskets, I am sure I will be back to full fat busting capacity soon. Because.... I plan on making the most out of my summer this year.

Breaking up is hard to do

I am having a hard time breaking up with breaded and fried food. Even when grilled is offered. Case in point. Last night I went out to dinner with an old friend and some new friends. I know I said 100 vegetarian. But I slipped up and ate chicken twice this weekend. Not because I wanted it so bad, but because I really didn't want to explain to people that I don't eat meat. So silly. Anyway getting back to the point. The waiter asked if I wanted my chicken in my wrap grilled or fried, and I said fried. I knew better, but I did it anyway. Then he asked me skinless or breaded, and again I went with the fat. And then I ordered fries. I don't even...
Anyway on a (happy) side note. At least I recognized what I was doing, even if I still did it right? I mean before I would not have even thought twice about it.
So here I sit. Thinking about how I can make myself go for the less fat item, when everything in me wants the fat. Why the crap does fat have to taste sooo good? Damn you American cuisine! And Damn me for not resisting.
The other chicken I ate was actually grilled and very tasty. I was invited over to my cousins house for dinner, and since I didn't mention before that I am a veg, I thought it would be extremely rude to not partake of their kindness. I will work it in eventually.
Anyway I am still working on the breaking up part of the fat in food, and hopefully someday I can work on the heeling. One step at a time.

I did it!

So I was just going to try again to start my gym regiment next week. I know. Lame. But then I got a call from a friend who recently moved here with her family. I am pretty excited that she is here, she is a old friend that I have know since I was little, and a big sister to BFFS. So anyway she called me and we tried to get together to just hang out. But she has 4 little ones and I work until late so it looked like we were just going to have to play it by ear.
Then she had the idea to go to the gym with me. So there you have it! A workout buddy. We arranged to meet at 6:30am which I am pretty sure is or should be illegal, but since she has kids to get ready for school I agreed.
So I am in the gym parking lot at 6:24 and I hear the tell tell beep of the I am not coming text. I seriously thought for a second to just go right back home and go back to sleep. BUT I DIDN'T! How lame would that have been! I was already there. So I worked out by myself which was totally fine. I was just grateful that I had thought to bring my ipod. I was just thinking we would just be chatting while we worked up so LUCKY FOR ME! The gym music is atrocious.
Anyway I am only 12 days late on this goal. Better late than never right?

I......

I am having some health problems at the moment that are really bringing me down. My doctor wont call me back, but worse is that he on the other side of the state, so I am not real sure what good he is going to do clear across the state. I don't understand why I can be rich and healthy? Boo! Anyway I didn't work out again today. So this is what is going to have to happen. All of you that read this blog. So BFFS and BFFH, you need to call me at 7:00am every weekday to make me get out of bed. I know you both have babies and are probably up at that hour, so why don't you make me get up too. If you are not up at that hour, thats fine, but if you are I will start leaving my phone on ring at night instead of vibrate. I can't promise I won't say a few naughty words, but I will try.
Anyway 2011 is off to a slow start.
I am down but not out!

Workout fail

Okay, I am going to spit out a bunch of excuses why I didnt go work out today. Just let me get them out. Today is the first day of classes at ISU, and I was stressed about the idiots I work with. We built a couple of classes last week and if we didnt pass inspection today at 8:00 we were screwed. We passes, but I didnt sleep well thinking about it. Also the lack of communication in Meridian is a joke. It puts me in bad mood. I was prepared for it but still worried about it, and for good reason too. The moment I got here the freaking morons that work with me needed to be slapped.
I couldn't find my gd sports bra, and I was to tired to get my ass out of bed. There. Those are all my excuses.
Tomorrow is another day. A better one!

Shuffle to the left

I have been getting over a cold this week, so I opted out of the working out. But I do plan on starting Monday. This semester my hours will be a little different. All that means is, I have to get my tush out of bed a little earlier to make it to the gym. So I decided to give myself some incentive. I have an ipod nano. The old kind, and I love it, but it is a little cumbersome at the gym. So I am going to be purchasing a ipod shuffle. You can just clip those little suckers right on to your shirt and be done with it. I will admit that in the past, I just stuck my nano in my bra. So sometimes I would be worried about it getting to sweaty. Because I am not a little dainty gym girl. I break a sweat and I LIKE IT! So I figured what better way to start off my new year's goals with a cute new toy!

Things that are green

I can't stop eating these suckers! They are so good and make me so happy!

Just blab

Well I do want to make more post on this blog, just because I think it will make me more honest about my goals. I am back in Meridian after the Christmas break, and I must admit although seeing everybody was amazing, especially BFFN and BFFH I am glad to be back. I kind of feel like 2011 might be my year. I am not sure where the optimism came from, but I just figured why not.
I have posted on here about Bountiful Baskets. I was sad that when I moved that would mean no more baskets for me. They do have an awesome farmers market and co-op here, so I thought I would be good, but I really did miss my Saturday special treat. So when BFFH called me to tell me they have a site in Meridian, I was so excited. I am not sure how easy it is going to be to get a basket, but hopefully not too bad. There is one in Nampa I can get too if I need. I have not yet ventured over to that city yet, so It might be an adventure. Also on black Friday I got a crock pot for 10 bucks. So I am looking up veg recipes for that. So if any of you have any ideas, send them my way.