The Food Diaries of Daphne: When losing is gaining - Day 12

I was not horrible on my diet today, but not great either. I at least exercised, I have been so tired this week from studying for my upcoming test in History.

My meals:

1 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of raisin brand (breakfast)

1 smart ones frozen meal (lunch) with Crystal light

1 Large strawberry limeade chiller (snack)

1 1/2 flour taco with hamburger meat, lettuce and cheese with ranch (dinner)

I forgot to log in my calories today, but I probably went over by 200?

I started my Turbo Fire exercise program today, and all I got to say is it is fun but will whoop your butt! I think I sweat so much I needed a float to get out of the puddle I was in.

The Food Diaries of Daphne: When losing is gaining - Day 11

I figured today was going to not be so good..I started off good but then ate a lot for Memorial's day. I hope this is not a foretelling of future holidays for me.

I think if I could learn portion control on these days, i would be ok.

Here's what I ate:


1 bowl of Raisin bran (breakfast)

2 pork boneless ribs, 1 chicken breast fillet, 1 corn on the cob, and some grilled veggies and 2 dinner rolls, 1/2 cup of icecream (lunch) see what I mean?

2 grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup (dinner)

I understand that once I get a good exercise regimen I can be a little looser with my food, however I want to get in a good routine first before I do that.

My total calorie count was 1635, so I went over 235.

I rested today for exercise and plan on hitting the Turbo Fire Tues.

Night!

The Food Diaries of Daphne: When losing is gaining - Day 10

Today was SUPPOSED to be my rest day, but it is good that I left it with a good ending as I was not very diligent today with my calorie counting diet. I am getting to the point where I can look at something and tell if it is too big of a portion, will be too many calories after I have ate my other meals or etc. I just chose to ignore it today, which was a no-no. (as I would have told Maddie when she did something she wasn't supposed to)

It was a date day with my hubby which I enjoyed very much- we went to the Irish Bred pub and I ate a huge angus burger, which would have probably been ok today if I didn't overdo it at the movies.

I brought two boxes of movie candy for myself- and ate both! That is where I go wrong. I normally don't eat overboard, but when I have random days where I splurge-it really makes a difference.

So, needless to say after watching Pirates of the Carribean with Eric, I decided after I heard Natalie say she, Raven, Patrick and all the boys were going to walk tonight that I would join them too to make up for my splurging.

And boy I think I did!


We walked quite a bit- probably not as much as they normally would because I think they were having mercy on me, but I think Natalie said I walked 4 miles today- did around 16ish laps? Ran a lap to see if I could and we conquered the steps on the stadium. I was soaking wet afterwards, but it felt good.

Here is my bad meal plan today (which wasn't too bad, but I overdid it on the snack!):

1 bosc pear
1 Lowfat Yoplait yogurt

1 black angus burger and broccoli salad (lunch)

2 boxes of movie candy ( my big no-no!)(snack)

1 Smart Ones Creamy Rigatoni with Broccoli and Chicken meal

To noone's surprise, I hit 1833 calories, so I went over 433 calories. I am hoping I burned close to that to at least make up for that.

I am starting my Turbo Fire program tomorrow! Keep me in your prayers :) How is your weight loss program going?

I would like to end with this..through Christ, all things are possible.


I am still staying on 180 lbs today so no fluctuation! Whoo-Hoo! Night!

The Food Diaries of Daphne: When losing is gaining - Day 9

Today was very successful. I weighed at 180- this I was happy about because I have been fluctuating between 185-190 up and down all week. Watch me be excited and then tomorrow be 185 again! But I hope not, my fingers and toes are crossed.

My meals today:

1 nutritional shake (breakfast)

Chunky Campbells baked potato and steak soup and a diet Mountain Dew (lunch)

Handful of roasted almonds (snack)

1 cup of raisin bran cereal with whole milk (dinner)

Handful of sunflower seeds (snack)

Guess what my calorie count was today? 1035 out of 1400!

Still fluctuating between too short or over but I am getting closer. I might have another 1/2 cup of raisin brand to level it out or a fruit cup.


I plan on continuing with 2 workouts from dancing with the stars tonight, and maybe a little on the exercise bike. I plan on taking a rest tomorrow and start full fledged on my TurboFire on Memorial day!

Happy memorial day to all of you!

A hurting, confused world

You are a vessel, and God has shaped you to become something to be poured out that only you can do that will touch many. The Master has crafted, and moulded you unlike any other.

Never try and change who you are.

If you never stepped outside your own backyard to take a look around and notice, I would like for you to challenge yourself and do so after you read this blog. I probably rant and rave about a lot of things that touch me emotionally, but as we all do, I suppose.

I stumbled across an album on Flickr when I was searching online for a dinner theater around this area..and saw a woman dressed up for the Atlanta theater by the name of Chloe Prince. As I was looking at her photos, I thought, wow, what a beautiful woman! Sound familiar? It didn't to me. So, as I was browsing through her pictures (as all of us nosy people do) I began to read some of the comments below. One was of a dress that affected her and she gave to someone during a SCC conference. It had a moving story. It was before her "operation". I was wondering what was about to happen to her so I delved further and noticed she mentioned gender surgery.

Wait- this was a guy!? So of course, I started looking further, she had a link to the page she started called Pink Thoughts by Chloe Prince. It went over her story about how her and her family were affected by the emotional conflict that former Ted-now known as Chloe went through.

I watched the ABC family secrets video on the bottom of the page and it really touched my heart. Now, I by no means support gender change nor education about it for I feel that this is something that is a rebellion against God and his plan for us. But, I still felt a connection and love towards Chloe.

You can see the conflict, the problems, the hurt she went through. The medical issues that brought her where she is today. The pain, the confusion brought to her family.

I still believe things like this is what tears families apart. And I do believe that is a consequence from walking further away from God and his plan for us. Things fall apart and don't work right without his presence and we wonder why. We don't give him time to heal or put us together.


But, If you are not aware, recently there was a news release on ABC News about a teacher teaching elementary children about gender diversity and it is ok to be a girl if you are a boy or vice versa. You can read about it here:http://losangeles.ibtimes.com/articles/152536/20110526/california-elementary-school-uses-lesbian-lizards-and-clownfish-to-teach-gender-diversity.htm

Now the bible says in Psalm 139 " “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. . . . My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. . . . your eyes saw my unformed body” (verses 13-16)" and that we were created in his own image.(Gen 1:27)

So God did not see us as in the wrong body or made incorrectly, so to be unhappy withourselves is to question God's work. We should be happy with our own self worth. The issue with Chloe is not who she is, it is her inability to be able to get the confirmation she needed from God, and not her own decisions. It is just as wrong as going to become a preacher without finding out if that is what he wants from us.

We need the word to confirm things to us and know what God wants for us.

Our country needs prayer. We need to pray for people who are hurting, who feel lost, and disconnected,even from their ownselves. This is not a message to attack Chloe, in fact, my heart actually hurts for her. The point of this is to keep our country in the forefront of our minds.

The devil is trying to kill, steal and destroy. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing, so you may be fooled and not realize what he has done until it is over.



He tries to create death in marriages, in our selves and wants to steal from us the promises made from God and the blessings we are to receive. He wants to destroy families and our view of how we see others, ourselves and God.

Pray that the church does not judge but uplifts and helps to restore.

Pray that the children are brought up correctly to discern what is false teaching and what is true doctorine.

If you would like to hear the heartwrenching story of Chloe, you can find out more on www.chloeprince.com.

The Food Diaries of Daphne: When losing is gaining - Day 8

WHEW! Today has been a looooooooong day. But I have been diligent. I started trying to look at how many steps I take at school and it is at least 430- I think it is more because I didn't count the way there and back since I didn't get the app on my phone until that afternoon- so I think I walked about 2 miles today. The calorie counter was way off on the phone, so who knows on that- may have to get an improvised one.

But, my legs were sore and calves stiff by the end of today. So good news!

My meals today:

1 nutritional shake (breakfast)
1 skinny caramel macchiato from Starbucks (this was actually very good in calories!)

1 can of chunked chicken breast from Hormel
1/4 cup of baby carrots and 1/4 cup of cherry tomatoes with 2 tbsp of ranch dressing
7 pieces of dried apricot and water (lunch)

1/2 powerbar (snack)

1 turkey burger with cheese, and green leaf lettuce, and 1tsp mustard
1/4 cup of baked beans, 1/2 cup of macaroni and cheese and water (dinner)

1/4 bar of hershey chocolate (snack)My total calories today were 1277, in case you didn't know..based on my body structure I burn 1200 calories a day so need to consume that or less to lose weight-and of course diet correctly and exercise.

I had sooo much energy around 12 pm but now I am tired as crap.

I think I am gaining more endurance because I didn't feel like I was going to pass out after 5 min of walking around campus in the heat. Now it's 10 min?

Anyway, I just completed 2 workouts w/ Dancing with the Starts- The Quickstep and the Jive. If you want to feel like you are dying- the Quickstep is perfect for you..I am a sweating maniac today!

The Food Diaries of Daphne: When losing is gaining - Day 7

Once again, I am sore as crap today. My back muscles, arm muscles, legs and calves are stiff, but I'm lovin it! My shake weight and Turbo Fire fitness program came in so I'm psyched! I plan on starting that this upcoming Monday once I have bought some more healthy snacks to coincide with it.

I have discovered through some research that most good workouts include some minimal exercise equipment. My suggestion if you plan on trying a program is to at least get some resistance bands and some hand weights in varying sizes. Maybe even an exercise mat if you have a hard floor. I plan on getting some next week to work out with my Turbofire routine. Wish me luck! I am very excited and in hopes of seeing results by next weekend in time for Amy's shower because pictures claim to start seeing effects within a week to 9 days...sometimes even by that weekend.

So..you know I will definately update on that!

My meals for today were:

1 nutritional shake (breakfast)
Meatball sandwich w/ fries and water (lunch)
1/3 cup of chili from Bears Creek with 8 oz of Crystal light.

I went over by 104 calories today- so my total was 1304. However, I have been running around a lot today, so I feel confident that I haven't failed completely today.

I took a rest today and plan on hitting the exercise bike, shake weight, and dancing with the stars dance of the calories dvd.

The Food Diaries of Daphne: When losing is gaining - Day 6

I am really feeling the burn today. My pecs, and my thighs are killing me today from lifting with handweights (I didn't have any at the time so I used 5lb books!) from the Jillian Micheal's 30 day shred yesterday and all the walking I did on campus today.

All I can say is I wanted to cry when Madeline tried to use me as a rocking horse--

Here is what I ate today:

1 nutritional shake (breakfast)

Meatloaf, egg noodles, a roll and cheesy cauliflower (lunch) with a strawberry smoothie from Starbucks

A roast beef sandwich and baby carrots with 2 tsp of ranch dressing (dinner)

Crystal light drink



I was bad on my lunch today- I forgot to bring my lunch to school- so I did go over my calories by 240.

I had the total of 1440 calories today.

I am continuing on the 30 day shred- I know I am going to feel like whooped butt tonight but I am determined.

Hopefully I can cross my fingers and hope I burned enough to make up for my naughtiness.

The Food Diaries of Daphne: When losing is gaining - Day 5

Today was so busy! I was wondering if that was going to throw my process off.

Here is what I ate today:

1 Yoplait light fat free yogurt
1/2 Power bar (breakfast and snack)

1/2 (more like 1/4) of a grilled chicken salad at Buffalo Wild wings (lunch)
and 3 glasses of berry lemonade! Oops..did bad there. (145 calories per serving!)

1/2 Powerade drink

3 chicken gorditas from the Old El' Paso mix

My calorie estimation is about 1373-1500 so I went over by about 300 calories.

Which means, I probably need to spend a little more time working out tonight if I want to see progress.

I was off balance with fiber, protein and Vitamins A and C so I am hoping since I have to go grocery shopping soon I can cover that issue beside taking vitamins.

I'm going to work out on Jillian Micheal's 30 day shred tonight- for 20-25 min.

Then- I am going to do some sit ups- think I will start off with 25.

Have a good night! It looks like I am plateauing right now at 180 so I am really pushing to see something lower than that in a week!

The Food Diaries of Daphne: When losing is gaining - Day 4

I am really getting into being able to handle my meals, and at first I thought it was going to be pretty restrictive, but it is actually the same, just being more aware of what I eat and how much.


I actually don't really get that hungry during the day, and when I do, I eat a snack that is normally just light. Because of that, I am able to have some more lenience for my dinner.

Here is what I had:

1 nutritional shake (breakfast)
1 Banana (snack)
1 sandwich with chunked chicken and a fruit cup of mandarin oranges, Coke Zero (lunch)
1/2 Powerbar (snack)
Cheesy Crockpot Chicken over rice and broccoli and cheese and Crystal light (dinner)
1 Yoplait Light Fat Free Blueberry yogurt (snack)

If you haven't invested in finding a good site to plan your meals, I would highly recommend mealsmatter.org

It isn't necessarily focused on healthy eating, but it provides recipes, a calendar that you can pick meals and plan each day out- then transfer the ingredients onto a shopping cart so you know what to get for grocery shopping. It also has a section for healthy recipes, and other categories like quick meals under 30 min..etc.

This will save you alot of time, stress and money when planning for meals. I definately plan on using it to my best advantage for my future low-cal meals.

Anyway, my net calorie count for the end of today was 1,072- a little better than yesterday and today I am not exercising since it is highly recommended to work out about 2-3 days in a row then give your self a days worth of rest in between.

Tomorrow, I will be continuing, and my goals for this week are to do 3 cardio work-outs that are 20 min long, and 2 strength training work-outs. So far, I have managed to work up to 15 min workouts- yesterday I did 1- 15 min cardio and 1-10 min exercise bike session. My next goal for tomorrow is to start on the treadmill and follow my 12 week program.

If you would like to follow a program that pretty much works as a trainer for you- check this out, it is pretty specific:


12 week exercise plan

Well, I am going to enjoy the rest of my night, I am pretty pooped from walking at LEAST 3 miles across campus today, Auburn is huge..especially when you have to run like a hampster on a non-stop wheel all over the place.

NIght!

The Food Diaries of Daphne: When losing is gaining - Day 3

Day 3:

Today started off the same but ended up short:

1 nutritional shake

I had a late lunch so I didn't get to snack due to work but I had a Smart Ones Roasted Turkey and mashed garlic potato meal, and about 20 ounces of Crystal Light Wild Stawberry drink

For dinner I had about a cup of 100% egg whites with chopped bell pepper and cheese rolled up in a tortilla and had some salsa with it.

For a snack, we went as a youth group to Chill Yogurt Cafe which I was a little more loose on.

I probably didn't get EVERY single calorie right, but I have a ball park figure- I probably hit slightly over 900 calories- so I went too low today.

I figured out a pattern, I am still hitting too low in my fiber and potassium levels and don't eat take enough calcium...this is not more for losing weight's sake because honestly, it is not just about watching your calories, but I want to eat healthier and get all my nutrients I need.

So..I looked up some foods I need- high in fiber would be bran cereal, broccoli, strawberries, anything whole grain.

High in potassium would be pistachios, banana, kiwi, carrots, fish..etc.


So, since I need to go grocery shopping soon, I might pick up a few of these items for snacks since they are relatively well on calories too...kill two birds with one stone, know what I mean?

To update, I did my ball room dancing cardio yesterday and about fell out after 10 minutes! I am going to push to about 15 minutes this time and maybe hit up the exercise bike for 10 min tonight to change it up and increase my endurance. Tomorrow I am taking a break since I have to walk halfway across the world to make it from one class to another.

But, I am excited because I ordered the Shake Weight for my arms through Amazon and I really look forward to using that for my flabby arms. They are just HUGE! But I know I can do this.




So, after I work on it..I will look like this..


Ha-ha, just kidding, I don't want to be the next Arnold Swarchenegger..not like that will happen.




Also, I ordered the fitness program TURBOFIRE which is cardio oriented high intensity conditioning program to burn 9x more fat than normal cardio..thinking this might be my next step up when I can learn to actually work out for at least 45 min in a row..because otherwise I might become embedded into the floor if I don't wait.

I will let you know how this works when I try it because I am anxious to see if it backs up its reviews that guarantees to lose 20 lbs in a month...if it does I will be about 90% of my goal in a month if I am dilligent!


That would be too easy, and nothing is as easy as it seems, so I am going to plan on hanging in there with determination for the long haul, just in case. Nothing pays off that is worth it if you take the easy way out.

I weighed myself and I am back down closer to 182 today!

The Food Diaries of Daphne: When losing is gaining - Day 2

Okay, so today is Day 2, and I have taken the knowledge I had gleaned from my habits yesterday and decided to watch my calorie intake more today.

My daily meals consisted of:

1 nutritional shake for breakfast (basically a Slim Fast Wal mart rip off)

For a snack, I ate half of a protein bar (Power Bar)

For lunch, I ate some Campbell's chunky chicken, white and wild rice soup

For afternoon snack, I ate the other half of my Power Bar

and for Dinner I was probably bad, but I had a chicken taco salad from El Rio, but I had water to drink.

So..the total? Out of a preferred 1200 calorie diet for myself I reached 1239...so I only went over by 39 cals!

Although this may sound great, I did notice there are somethings still lacking...

Of course, the main thing is --I need to start on a rigid exercise program.

Besides that, I had several important nutrients I was very low on:

Fiber, Potassium, Carbs, Calcium, Iron, and Vitamins A and C.

I did, take a multivitamin supplement, so it should set me off a little better, but I will probably start focusing more on foods that have more of this to balance me out.

So..did I mention how awesome this site I go to is? Anyway, it provides a exercise program to go by and how to start off.

The keys is muscle confusion, and being gradual. Muscle confusion basically is constantly doing something different to change your routine after 4-6 weeks so that your body does not reach a plateau.

Also, my biggest mistake was always jumping straight into the program and trying to exercise like I already knew what I was doing..but then I would drop off after half-dying.

However, this includes only about 10 min of cardio and gradually upping the intensity until about 5-6 RPE..which is basically enough to get up to where you are sweating, and puffing just a little.

With that said, I am going to hit "Dance with Juliane Cardio Ballroom" dvd session and go from there!



I hope you are having a victorious night over food and closer to the you that you are happy with.

The Food Diaries of Daphne: When losing is gaining - Day 1

Day 1- Evaluation

I am great and probably best labeled as world-renowned for starting ideas with full force and probably wavering off somewhere in the close future. I am not promising anything, because I fear if I do that, I will commit to my old routine, but I am making my best ATTEMPT to work on losing weight and doing it healthily (if that is a word).

I know I can only accomplish this through the support of my family, friends, and God, so I hope this one day will give motivation to someone. I know I personally like to see what works for other people and try and tailor it to where it can best work for me- which is as good a try as any other I suppose.

So, with that said, I started Day 1 today. It wasn't anything special, I actually first initiated it by signing up with a free membership at
http://caloriecount.about.com/. This site is great because it provides a calorie counter to watch your intake, set up and track the meals you eat, advise you on if you are under or over on the nutrients/calories you need or have absorbed, and offers exercise plans and help through forums to get you through--so basically an internet support system- which is great because I need all the help I could get.

For the first day, it advised me to follow through on my normal daily eating routine and exercise (which is basically non-existent) so I could see where my problem lies..which is no big surprise considering what I ate!

Who ever knew a hamburger alone could be 500 calories! Good God! So, I found out I need to be eating about 1200 calories a day with my current weight and height. Are you ready for what I actually ate..guestimating all the food I logged on?

Drum roll please...

2595 calories! I think I had another heart attack. Or at least, that is what I am going to get if I continue eating like that! I think being conscious of it will help me a lot more, because I plan on posting a picture of what I used to look like in a bathing suit on my exercise bike tonight..if I can find it from the dusty photo books.

I know I can do this, and would like to encourage all you out there who are wishing to have pride in your body as much as I do that you can too.

Here is a log of a woman who has lost 65 lbs and is still going on reddit.com..this is what I am working towards!

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/gj0jo/i_was_envious_of_other_i_lost_x_amount_of_weight/



I would love to hear some progress stories out there.

The Food Diaries of Daphne: When losing is gaining

I have been putting up my latest craft feats but am really wanting to get on a kick with exercise and losing weight. My goal right now is to lose 30 lbs so I can not only be back to my pre-pregnancy body, but to also maintain a healthy lifestyle and look great.


So, I thought if I post what I am doing every night and keep track of what I am eating, I can be more consciencious of what I intake in calories and what I am actually burning.

You hear about Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, but I would love to have a testimony on using the resources that are within my own grasp..so basically to sum it all up, I want to save some money while doing it!

Do any of you out there have the same goal in mind or am I just the crazy one?

I am hoping to find some healthy recipes and exercise routines to make things a little more interesting as exercise with low willpower is hard enough.

I am going to post these as I find them with hope they may help someone else as well...

Please feel free to post anything you may think that works well for you..Do you have a recipe that is low fat?

I am starting off with my "before" picture so that I can track everyday as I go.

For any of you who may wonder what my current weight is--I am self-conscious about stating this, but it ranges between 180-190 right now.

A New Chapter Begins

Tonight, I could sum up my feelings as a big ball of emotions..anxiety, nervousness, anticipation, and excitement, because tomorrow is the first day I get to go back to school! For those of you who do not know, I finished my associates in 2006- three years after I graduated from high school but this time I finally know what I want to be "when I grow up".

I was accepted into the Pre-Graphic Design program, and have two classes for this summer and will take a full course load in the fall, but I think this will help me to feel better about my "what-if's" that I have been asking over the last couple of years on what is next to come in my life.

After a good talk with my friend Crystal over dinner the other night, we both summed up that everyone goes through this and suffers with questions on the things they will get to fulfill in their life- and although we are proud of the blessings we are given(children, spouses, homes..etc) it is still ok to explore and find out the individual of what makes you ..you.

I have been praying lately that God would provide guidance and direction for where I am going so I don't feel lost in the dark--because let's face it, adventuring out in the great unknown can be scary.

But this is something I love, am excited about and have prayed over and look forward to having as an occupation and still be able to watch my child as she grows up.

I shall report more on my adventures soon!

I will leave you with this...the most ugly fashion statement EVER unless you are just scrawny.

I hope this keeps a smile on your face :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPSxKeywGm8

Run-in with the Sewing Machine= Baby Halter Top

Well, hello, Sewing Machine, fancy meeting you here at this time of night. Looking all intimidating with your glowing light, gleaming needles and accessories and your many bobbins to wind up string. Would have given me the case of the chills a few months back, but now....now, I am a changed woman.

How's that you ask? Well, you see, I have gained steely determination that what my hands set to work will inevitably lead to a completed project. No, no, I haven't been ordering patterns lately.

What's this on my table you ask? Oh well I sure am glad you inquired. You see, this right here is a fully functional BABY HALTER SHIRT!! Yeah, Yeah I said it! And I had you going the whole time! Heh, heh.




I know, it's hard to believe, but don't deny it, because it is evident it was you. You see, if you take a glance with me, you will notice your wobbly stitches, pieces of untrimmed fabric to be adjusted and slightly off kilter arm holes. But, what me and you have is a good thing here..and a good thing is hard to come by nowadays.

Leaving so soon, you notice? Yeah, it is time for us to part ways. My work here is done. But, I will return, and I will return soon. So don't you cry.

Until then. This looks like this could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.