Claire: HECK Yes!!!

Back in May when I first came back to WA, Anaya and I went to Victoria's Secret to get measured and all that jazz. Well today I went back to try on some lovely new bras. (TMI? Sorry!) I'm down another size! Went from a 40- to an 38- to a 36!!! WOOT!!! So when my next paycheck comes in I'm buying myself a new bra, which is like next week I think.

On a sad note, the Boyfriend is sick down in Cali and so he won't be coming back until Saturday morning.. poor guy.

Food-wise I haven't been keeping track lately. And I haven't been posting because our Internet has been really stupid lately. That's right, the Internet can be stupid. Also the next couple of days/evenings I'm going to be working lots (yes, I'm working from 10 to 10 on Saturday, how cruel, and yes, there are the lawful breaks included).

To be perfectly honest, today was alright. Hung out with Anaya and chilling. I want to go swimming so bad though. Like lap swimming, not playing around, but doing laps for a couple of hours.

Claire: Today Ended Very Well!

All I can say is my Boyfriend is super amazing, even when he's far away. Things started out a little stressful today, so I painted for some stress relief!I'm really liking how it's turning out.
Thankfully everything was resolved this evening. And no work today!!!! YAY! Plus on the scale I saw a new low too! How awesome is that?!

Food: a slice of toast w/two scrambled eggs; a low-fat toasted mozzarella cheese sandwich w/pineapple; pbj sandwich (big surprise right?); more pineapple; and a half-pbj for dinner.
Calories: 1301
Protein: 54.5 g
Water: almost enough
Exercise: LAZY day! Felt so good!

Claire: I'm Loving This Summer!

Between hanging out with Anaya and laying out in the sunshine drinking a Smirnoff's Ice and listening to 90s rock/pop and having dinner with longtime best-friend, Jessica at her new apartment- today was great. So relaxing and summery!

Anaya and I went to do some window shopping and we popped into Dress Barn (what a horrible name, right?). There I tried on two different tops and for the first time in my adult life I fit into Medium tops!!!! (And they weren't from the plus size section either!) I still can't believe it! YAY! Also I fit into some clothes from my JUNIOR year in HIGH SCHOOL!!!! Remember how I had mentioned a few weeks ago that I had found a box of clothes from high school? At that time I could fit into like 3 of the 5 shirts in the box. Well I can fit into ALL of them now!!!!! Happy dance!! WOOT!!!!!!!!!!!! Even my shorts from high school are really loose on me, I mean like "pants on the ground" loose! YAY! WOOT-WOOT!!! (Seriously, this has been one awesome "I'm actually losing weight- not just numbers on the scale!")

Speaking of the scale- this morning I've finally broken past the last number I've been at for this last several days! Not by much but it still counts!

Food: watermelon and cantaloupe w/a slice of bread w/pb; a Smirnoff's Ice; cottage cheese and pbj; cheese ravioli and strawberry lemonade.
Calories: 1292
Protein: 34 g (way low)
Water: not enough
Exercise: not much of anything besides walking around with Anaya.

Claire: Bright and Beautiful Morning!

Everything started out pretty well. I had done some of my laundry the previous night and had sadly, put my work clothes in the wrong pile forcing me to catch a ride to work :) . On the way there I got a sweet phone call from the guy I have a date with tomorrow night. Apparently he's a morning person who gets up naturally around 5 am! Crazy, just crazy. Work was pretty good- people were happy, cheerful and nice with me! (Hey things can get messy working in retail!) Came home and blasted some music because I could and no one else was home and busted out my dance moves!!! Seriously so much fun!

Food: two Eggo waffles w/pb and sliced banana; a light pbj sandwich; some baby carrots and a lasagna Florentine; and finally 3 scrambled eggs.
Calories: 1225
Protein: 52.1
Water: Work makes it difficult to get enough of it, plus I left my water bottle at home :(

I've been on a happy-high all day now. Plus, like I promised, here's my news: I'm at an all-time weight low! Officially down 11 or 12 pounds!!! YEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!!

Claire: I Feel Like A Zombie

Minus the wanting to eat people's brains of course, and being a non-human. I was asked to come into work early today so I did and then I was asked if I could stay late. How late? Till closing of course. So I had a 9 HOUR shift today. I'm beat. YAY- for a better paycheck though!

Food: basically had peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches all day today, because I 1) live with my carnivorous family and 2) didn't have $ to buy food at work. I did have a Yukon White Bean and Basic Burger from Burgerville (so good- especially after so much pbj!!)
Calories: 1435
Protein: 42 g
Water: more than yesterday.
Exercise: speed walking to work (3.5 miles in 45-50 minutes!)

At work they had a materials out in the break room for people to make their dads a father's day card. I did and it is so cheesy! He loved it. :)

Also remember how last weekend I binged and totally reverted to my old ways? Remember how I gained like 5.6 pounds? Well this week I'm back down to where I was before that odious weekend! The speed walking to and from work plus better eating habits does pay off.

1st 5k Race of the Year!

Getting up at 6:30 am isn't my thing, but in anticipation of my 7am alarm my body woke up! (Funny how that happens) Today is my first 5k race- ever! Trying to maneuver quietly around the house while making breakfast and trying to find my missing running shoes should earn me some serious points. Finally, I hear a knock on the front door, Laila is here to pick me up.

Why does it always have to rain when I'm about to go running? Just wondering.

We arrive at Ester Shore Park and it's still drizzling. A beautiful Washington morning! lol! I get my registration packet and shiver while waiting for things to begin. Laila, being a traitor to the PNW has brought an umbrella! ;) Every time one of us moves I almost lose an eye to the murderous umbrella, lol! I still crack up thinking out it! A lady with a speaker headset is trying to get people to join in some early morning group exercises and sadly, no one is joining in. She's just bouncing around by herself to some really energetic music. Finally the call is in, time to go to the starting line.

They use an air horn to signal the start, but it doesn't work! Hahaha! We just all kind of go, "oh we should probably get moving." The path we're on curves around, going under the 1-5 bridge into Portland and slides past the Columbia River. The 10k runners continue to run alongside the river and we 5ks turn to the left and head on a steep path up and over rd 500. We continue heading to Fort Vancouver and curve as we head to Officers Row. We take a right and circle back the way we came. Two fit looking women my age are ahead of me. On the climb back over rd 500 I catch up to them. I pass them running downhill. Coming back along the river we are at the same pace. Keeping pace with these two made it a little easier to keep me from slowing down. 500 feet from the finish line I pick up my pace, breaking away from the two women. I dig deep and sprint to the finish.

Legs are wobbly, face is probably red, and I made a 30 minute 20 second time according to one of the volunteers! Heck yes! I made an average of a 9:40 mile! That's like a two minute or more drop from my last event in November!!!

Must celebrate this occasion! Both of us get a hair cut, enjoy fresh bagels, and have a fashion show at a local store while trying on clothes (did I mention I lost about 1 or 2 pant sizes?) and I find a pair of sweet Levi's for half of the normal price.

Today is a very good, sweet kind of day.

L: Days 11 &12

Sorry I wasn't on yesterday to give my daily report. Got caught up in assignments for my classes...midterm time will do that to ya. Yesterday (Thursday), I did great on the water, got in a vitamin, and exercised for about an hour in the morning, and then swim practice at night. I've noticed a HUGE improvement in my strength in the last couple of weeks. I was able to swim about a 200 meter consecutive Butterfly. And if you're a swimmer, you know how great that is!

Today (Friday) I did well on water again. I'm donating blood tomorrow so getting in at least 10 glasses was crucial. I took a vitamin and ate about 1610 calories today (estimating because I made a Subway run). No exercise to report today. Went to the doctor's FINALLY. I'm having an MRI done on my knee to see exactly what's wrong, but my doctor thinks that it's torn cartilage, and if that's the case I'll need surgery (scary). So we'll see how that pans out. I'll post more when I know. My only want is the ability to keep exercising. I'm 20 pounds down, and I'm not turning back!!
:)

L: Day 10

Today was a good day :) I feel like I did a good job of eating healthy, and I can tell that it's paying off! I was able to get up to level 17 on the bike today...something I haven't been able to do in about a year. I think I'm getting stronger. No more weight loss, but it's coming along.

Food: 1 bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, 1 apple, 2 cups yogurt, 1 protein bar, 1 granola bar, 1 100-calorie bag of chex mix, cheese and ham sandwich, BIG bowl of soup, 1 bag 100-calorie crackers, 1 large orange, 1 cup hot chocolate.

Total calories: 1590
Water: 10 glasses
Vitamin: YES
Exercise: 1 hour cardio (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike), 30 min lifting weights

L: YES!!

Finally! All of this working out is starting to pay off. For the last few weeks I've been fluctuating up and down in terms of weight...not really seeing any drastic changes. Until this morning, I stepped on the scale...and....YES! 2 pounds down. Finally.

I've noticed changes in my body as well, I've been doing some work on cardio as well as lifting weights recently. People have told me that my arms look like they're toning up, and this morning at the gym I was able to wear a pair of shorts I've avoided since last year. Woo Hoo!

:)

C: D7

I'm so tired... this is going to be a short post

Food: Special k w/soymilk, Eggo waffle w/almond butter, watermelon, light peach yogurt, chocolate soymilk, 1 1/2 slices of toast w/almond butter, 2 eggs w/mushrooms, spinach and garlic, air popped popcorn.
Calories: 1234- lol! No joke!
Water: 12 glasses
Vitamin: yes
Exercise: walked 5.4 miles with two 5 lb. weights- arms were so shaky after! And I'm gonna be feeling the affects tomorrow for sure.

Also on a cool note- this week I've lost 4.5 lbs!!! That's pretty exciting to me! I also have a light sunburn from today's walk too. Wear sunscreen people! It's better that way! :)

L: Day 5

Well today, I started off counting my calories, and then I kind of went downhill in terms of keeping track. HOWEVER, doing a quick mental look back of how I did today, I feel like I ate mainly when I needed to, not just for boredom. In fact, this evening I avoided a big bowl of ice cream with a big bowl of fresh strawberries, and a would-be doughnut stop ( I was craving) for a 100-calorie ice cream bar at home. For me it's been extremely important to acknowledge my cravings, not to pretend they don't exist. Over the years I've tried so many diets and fads in which I had to deny what I wanted. Looking back, that is the reason that many of those failed. I need to treat myself every once in a while. The trick is substituting lower-calorie foods in doing so.

I was thinking today about the goals that I have. My entire life (since about age 9), I've been struggling with my weight. I have seen the number that appears on the scale and have been intimidated. I no longer have a NUMBER as my goal, because I realize now that if I go at it with that perspective, I will never be happy. My main goal: to be happy and confident in my own skin. To love my body for what it is, not for how much I weigh alone.

My update (other than calories)
water: 8 glasses.
vitamin: i forgot. oops. tomorrow.....
exercise: 20 min on the stationary bike, some lifting of weights.
*I get my knee checked out next week and will know then what I am / am not able to do in terms of exercise.

**For the last couple days I've been wearing a pair of sweatpants that I got as a senior in high school (2 years ago). I have not been able to fit into them since then. But I tried them on and guess what.... THEY FIT! Woot woot! Go-o-o progress.

C: D 6

I can't believe that it's almost been a whole week now! Cool fact: today I jogged a WHOLE 1.2 miles!!! I'm seriously celebrating in my head right now! After not training for over 5 months, jogging over a mile is a big deal to me. :) This week, so far, I've put in a total of 18.7 miles now- how crazy is that?!

Update
Food: Special K w/soymilk, Eggo waffle with 1/4 tbsp of almond butter, Orange, a low-fat String Cheese, 6" Veggie Delight on 9-grain bread from Subway, a serving of my Salsa Salad, some watermelon (perfect summer weather food!!!), and finished the day with a lite peach yogurt.
Calories: exactly 1200!
Vitamin: again, yes
Water: 12 glasses
Exercise: jogged 1.2 miles and walked 1.4 miles.

L: Day 2

I'm kinda late on this update....I'm blaming it on the essay I had to finish for a class. Haha.
I think I did pretty well today. Successfully avoided a Starbuck's trip, and a visit down the candy aisle :)
Food: 2 protein bars, 1 large orange, 1 big bag of grapes, 1 hot-pocket (my way of eating on the go), 1 BIG cup of soup, 2 pieces toast, 1 cup hot chocolate, 1 apple, 1 cup yogurt.
Total calories: 1520
Water: kinda failed...got 8 in.
Vitamin: 1
Exercise: 90 minutes of (hard) swimming. I've noticed an improvement in my workouts though! I was able to do 10 back-to-back 100 IMs (for all you non-swimming people, that's 4 lengths of the pool, doing each length a different stroke) without really any trouble. I was able to do this a year ago (before a big weight gain), and now I'm back with it! Yahoo!!

Bra Sizing!

After walking around the mall for a bit being my friend's shopping adviser, we went to Victoria's Secret. Ok, I have to admit I love that store! Between all the pretty things and sweet smells- my girly self, if has money on hand, will leave the store freshly broke. This time I decided to leave my purse at home so as not to be tempted to spend when I need to be saving.

One of the sales associates came over and began to do their thing of telling about all the local sales and products, and then she asked me when the last time I had done a bra sizing. "Ummm like over two or three years ago?" She offered to do a sizing and I'm so glad I did! I mean, I didn't have the money to get a new bra right then, but the fact is that I'm down a size!!! That's right- I've lost 2 inches since I've been working out regularly and choosing to eat healthier! There is a party going on inside of my head, celebrating such a fantastic and unexpected discovery!

The best part is that know I can buy bras from most stores now. Before it was EXTREMELY difficult to find the right size bra, and when I did they were mostly boring and horrifyingly drab. Like I said before I'm really girly. So being able to buy bras (regardless of the fact no one will see them) that I like and have been wanting to get is pretty much the cherry on top of this day.

Also wearing the right fitting bra makes ALL the difference- not only in the way you feel in terms of support, but also in how your clothing fits and it makes you look lighter too. I've been wearing bras that are too big and sheesh, not comfortable or appealing.

C: Day 3

Today is a low-motivation day! Grr! But thankfully, strapping on my running shoes and just getting out the door makes things easier. I decided to push myself to jog the whole mile this time- and guess what? I DID!! That's right I'm tooting my own horn! I walked for a little to slow my heart rate down before I did some more jogging and *gasp! I even finished the whole thing by actually running! I need to work up to running/jogging for the 5k and I know, I KNOW I can do it.

Food: Special K with soymilk, 1/2 slice of toast with almond butter, 2 scrambled eggs with mushrooms, spinach and a bit of minced garlic (yum! yum!), a peach light yogurt, a glass of chocolate soymilk, with a serving of veggie casserole, and because it was my dear little brother's birthday I had a little slice of apple pie (another proud moment- I didn't eat the whole slice!).
Calories: 1515-1535 (I'm approximating the casserole)
Water: Still working on it- right now I'm at 8 glasses
Vitamin: YES! Tip- make sure to take with enough food, otherwise they can make you feel not so good.
Exercise: jogged a mile, walked 2 miles + workout DVD 30 mins.