Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Ms. Piggy Has arrived...

I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to keep from being hungry in the mornings!  I today I felt like I was eating all throughout the day, which is true in a sense, but I am thankful I stayed with my planned & plated meals, with the expection of one snack item.  Maybe I am having breakfat to early?  I am eating breakfast @ like 5:30am, but today by like 10-something I was already eating my lunch...I was hungry, even after having breakfast and my morning snack. 

Morning Eats
      Muscle Milk Protein Shake
      4 scrambled eggs
     
Morning Snack
     Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Lunch
     4oz Chicken tenders
     1 cup of Cabbage
     1 cup of spinach

Afternoon Snack
     Sour Cream & Onion Chips

Dinner
     4oz Chicken tenders
     1 cup italian squash
     1 cup spinach
Ending Calories: 1283!!!  Such an improvement from yesterday!
http://www.fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=cruz809

Workout
     Cardio: 1 hour walk - Ken Hahn Park
     Today I made it around the Kenneth Hahn Park 4 times!  I had only been doing 3 laps before. Walking that park is hard because of the inclines...but today i could feel it was getting easier!  I was so excited & grateful! 

That is all for today, nothing to eventful or dramatic happening today.  Toodles!

Kyra
Monday, August 30, 2010

Off to a bad start this week...

Overslept this morning..missed spin class!  Been eating way to much.  I cooked and make plated lunches & dinner and I didn't eat of them today!  I don't know what to do with myself some days. 

Early AM Breakfast
     Atkins Vanilla Protein Shake

Mid AM Breakfast (here we go...)
     4 scrambled eggs w/ 1/2 cup of spinach
     Pepper Jack Cheese Croissant
     Regular White Chocolate Latte

Lunch
     1cup of Non-Fat Greek Yogurt

Afternoon Snack
     Peach
     Green Apple Sour Punch Straws

Dinner
     2 Chicken Breasts
Total Calories for the day:  2,810.  Instead of eating less, I am eating more.  What is the problem! 
http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=cruz809

Workouts
     AM workout - missed since I overslept.  I hate that I missed spin class!
     Evening workout - 1 hour neigborhood Walk; approx 3 miles.  Walked from my apartment to Paramount & Candlewood
     http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4002662

That's all folks!

Kyra
Sunday, August 29, 2010

Decent Day with Preparation for the days ahead

Today went by way too fast.  Where did the time go.  I can't believe its already 8:30pm.  Well today eats was okay, not great just okay.  Some bad food choices, but overall I did not eat alot today.

Breakfast
     4 scrambled eggs w/ half cup of Spinach

Lunch
     Chicken Quesadilla
     1 taco
     Pepsi

Snack
     Vanilla Ice Cream
     Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Dinner
     Not hungry...just sipping on some water

Workout
     Cardio 1 hr 15minutes Neighborhood Walk (approx 3.7 miles)
     http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3999918

Spent the night prepping my food.  I have 4 pre-made meals.  I was very fortunate to find some sectioned plates with lids at the 99c store!  I was so excited.  So I have my chicken plated with veggies.  I even went to Costco to buy a big tub of the Greek Yogurt and then got some small containers from the 99c store and portioned out a few cups to take to work.  Eating healthy can be expensive...but there are options out there to make it affordable. 

So today I give a shout out to the 99c store for providing the spinach, cabbage, and squash for this weeks lunch. And for having some very cheap containers to pack up my food in!  I have a new found respect and appreciation for the 99c store!  Visit a 99c store near you!

Night Night!

Kyra

Fitness Challenge 1 - Update

Good Morning!
Well I have good news & bad news!  I overslept again this morning so Fitness Challenge-1 has not yet been completed. 

The good news is I said I would walk down towards Ocean Blvd and see how far I can get before I need to be home to get ready for church.  So off I went..I left home at 6:50am.  At 7:35a I was at Cherry/Willow.  It took a few moments to take a few shots of the veiw from Signal Hill.  My cellphone camera sucks!  Next time I will have to take my real camera!  So after leaving Signal Hill, I said I would walk until 8am and then catch the  bus back home.  So at about 8:05 I got to Cherry/15th street and stopped my walk.  I waited there for the bus to come and take me away!  8:35am I am back home, drinking water and posting this on my blog!  Gotta love it!

From my house to Cherry/15th Street is about 3.5 miles.  And it took me about 1 hour & 15 minutes.  So I know I can make it down to Ocean Blvd.  Next weekend, I will try this again hoping to get up early enough to make it all the way down to Ocean Blvd.

Kyra
Saturday, August 28, 2010

The Start of Month 2...

As of today, 30 days of dieting has taken place.  Time to start new and fine tune this machine!  Month 2 here I come! 

Breakfast
     3 eggs scrambled with 1/2 cup of spinach

Lunch
     Spent the afternoon @ Mulligans Family Fun Center so lunch options were limited & not healthy
     5 chicken strips
     french fries
     A whole lot of blueberry & Cherry ICEE's, this is what happens when refills are allowed! 

Dinner
     No Dinner.  Was not hungry. 

AM workout  **I did not get up early enough to do my Fitness Challenge, went to the gym instead
     Leg Press 3 sets of 12 reps, 180lbs + the weight of bar
     Lat Pull Down  3 sets of 12 reps 90lbs
     Dual Axis Row 3 sets of 10 reps 50lbs
     20 minute elliptical machine 278.3 calories burned.
     * I don't know what it is, but the elliptical machine is getting harder instead of easier!  I struggled again during those 20 minutes. 

Off I go to prep my veggies and chicken for the coming week.  I will get to bed early and be rested...I am going to walk to the beach tomorrow morning before going to church.  I am, I am!

Kyra
Fit for Purpose
Friday, August 27, 2010

No mo' Lemon Pepper Wings!

Today I have been really excited about my weight loss journey.  I took some time today to work more on the photo journal.  I have a few friends going through pictures to see if they have any of me.  As I was putting together the photo journal I pulled some old pictures of my marathon/race days, aka my glory days!  I really enjoyed doing those 5ks, 10ks and 1/2 marathons.  I had fun doing them.  Then I asked myself...what happened to that girl?  I had such drive, motivation, and ambition then.  I think the fire is being re-ignited in me!  But today my excitement comes with a hopefulness.  There is hope for me yet! 

Today's eats start off okay, but ended bad!  Went over 2,000 calories today!  Yikes!

Breakfast
     4 hard boiled eggs

AM Snack
     White Chocolate Latte (I went with Kelly at work, it is her last day, we hung out)

Lunch
     3 Fish Tacos

Dinner
     I had a taste for lemon pepper wings from Wingstop!  So off I went to wingstop!
     I ate 20 frickin' wings! 
And of course after I eat them, I go to look up the nutritional info.  10 wings have 480 calories!  So that is it for me.  I love my lemon pepper wings, but never again!  Also isn't it amazing how my little mind works?  I didn't think to go look up the nutritional info before I went to wingstop. My little mind didn't conjure up that thought until after I consumed each and every one of those durn wings!  Again I say...Battle of the Mind! 

Workout
No workout today.  I am honestly sore from yesterday.  My calves, and hamstrings are tight, tight, tight.
15 minutes of stretching.  I need to be ready for tomorrow's walk.  After that wingstop episode maybe I should walk all the way back home...but it ain't gonna happen.


Still a work in progress but you can you check out the collection of pictures so far:
     http://picasaweb.google.com/clarkekyra/TheJourney?feat=directlink
Night Night.

Kyra

Fitness Challenge - 1

Alrighty...believe it or not tomorrow is one month since I dedicated myself to this journey.  So I think It is time to challenge myself on a physical level. 

Tomorrow morning I am going to walk from my house down to Ocean Blvd in Long Beach.  Using Gmaps pedometer the route is a litte over 5 miles.  I have no intention of walking back home...I will get on the bus!  :0)  LOL!  Since I have been walking..the most I have done is 3 miles.  So adding an extra 2 miles will be a challenge.  And if you know where I live, it will have some uphill & downhill to the walk.  I am not concerned with how long it takes..it just want to get it done! 
Walking Route Home to Ocean Blvd via Cherry Blvd

So wish me luch I plan to hit the trails no later than 6am! 

What do you think?  For second month Fitness challenge..I will walk to Ocean and walk all the way back home.

Kyra

Month One in Review...

August 28th came so quickly!  That being said, its been my first month of committed excercise and eating better.  Yes committed...I have had many false starts!  This time it is a committed effort, a real push and determination to do better, to do right, to be healthy and more importantly to be in the will of God. 
It has been a hard month.  Full of obstacles, trials, temptations, frustrations, disappionments & discouragements...But...it all worked together for my good! 

Things I have learned during Month One
  • There is a cost for each and every bad choice
  • Be mentally prepared to fight.  This journey is also about mental toughness & stamina
  • Don't give up
  • Just move...Be mobile...Do Something!
    • Yes, I can do all things, but I have to do!!  The Holy Ghost is a helper not a doer.  So once I am doing, He can help!  ~~Thank you Bishop Ellis! 
  • Stay alert, be watchful, stay in prayer to gain instruction and strength
  • Stop trying to justify what I do.  wrong is wrong, right is right. 
  • Don't be short sighted.  This is a journey!
    • Journey:  a traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time - Random House Dictionary
  • Be patient...Endure to the End
    • The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, but he who endures to the end shall be saved. 
  • Knowledge is no good if it's not put to use.  Put to use the things you have learned about eating & excercising.  I can honestly say God has put some people in my life over the last 6 years that have taught me alot. 
  • This I did not learn during this month, but it is something I always want to keep in the forefront of my mind.  God will get the Glory out of my weight loss..so I say this now and will say this daily on the journey...TO GOD BE THE GLORY! 
Month One Weight Recap...
Starting Weight on 7/28/10:  377lbs
Weight on 8/9/10:                 361lbs
Weight on 8/25/10:               363lbs
Total Weight loss for the month:  14 pounds!   Wooohoooo!!
That is something to celebrate!!!  Thank you Jesus for real...cause this was a hard!  I thank you for making this journey with me!  I love you!

Kyra


   
Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...

Wow..today was a rough day.  Gave into my cravings this morning and had a mega breakfast that was like 1500 calories.  So I had to eat light the rest of the day.  Other than the crazy breakfast, the rest of my eats were okay.  I got back to my water drinking today...Got my 64 ounces in!  Hooray

Todays Eats:
     Breakfast (this is bad)
     3 eggs scrambled w/ 1/2 cup of raw spinach
     croissant
     White Chocolate Latte

    Lunch
     Salad with chicken & italian dressing

    Dinner
    Atkins Protein Shake
Total Calories for the Day:  1917 (this is bad & ugly)
Daily Food Journal

Now for the Ugly part of the day!  I went to the gym finally!  It was been 5 days since my last workout.  I now know I can't go this long without a workout.  I felt like my heart was going to stop!

Workout (the Ugly)
     Treadmill 30 Minutes  calories burned 282.9
      Elliptical 15 minutes   calories burned 120.80
**yes I only did 15 minutes on the elliptical, my heart really felt like it was gonna stop!  I was struggling okay!  Have some compaassion!  :0)

    Weight Training:  Leg Press Machine:  180 lbs + weight of the bar, did 3 sets of 12.  And my calves cramped up like nobodies business in the middle of my first set.  I tell ya this workout was just Ugly...very sad, pathetic, embarassing....and all those other adjectives!

Well I am home earlier than usual so I will get some Daddy & me time in.  I have been missing in action all this week...Oops.  Today I was given a word of encouragement that touched my heart.  I am grateful for these things, cause it reminds me that God is forever watching me, and he knows my every struggle and desire.  The scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 8...The scripture is talking about giving, but I know God sent it to me regarding my dieting & excercise.
So here is what I think:  The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale.  You heart's been in the right place all along.  You've got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it...
So go to it!  I love it.  That is my slogan for the day...Go to It! 
Night all!

Kyra

Creation of a Photo Journal...

I had been toying with the idea of creating a photo journal to coincide with my blog.  I started to search for old pictures of myself.  This process of looking at myself at various stages is rather depressing and eye opening.  There is such a discrepancy on what I thought I looked like and what I actually look like. 

I will continue to look for old pictures of myself, but as I go through this journey, again, but for the last time! I will be posting new pictures of myself so the transformation can be documented.  There is a link to the photo journal under Kyra's links on the right, Or you can just use this link...Photo Journal

C-ya at the end of the road!

Kyra
Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Like Seriously...What is wrong with me!

Man...these weekday eats would go so much easier if I stop going balls out on the weekends!
I am still struggling to get back on my eating routine.  I have gone 5 days without excercise and my eating is just way way out of control

I'm not going to break down today's eats by meals, I'm just listing what I put in my pie hole

4 hard boiled Eggs
Apple oatmeal
Salad w/ chicken
1 avocado
Italian Dressing
Snickers bar
5 piece chicken wing combo from Rally's with french fries & a Sprite! 
Total Calories:  1297 not including my Rally's meal! 
Online Food Journal

This is just ridiculous!  Why do I do these things? 

I got on the scale today.  I gained 2 pounds since August 9th.  Overall weight loss to date is 14 pounds!!!  So its really time to keep things going, especially with the way I have been eating.  I am gonna go to bed early tonight so I can get my tail to the gym in the morning.  I am debating if tomorrow should be a liquid only day.  I need to shut this eating DOWN with the Quickness!  Before I know it Friday will be here and I will be eating more junk again!

Kyra

Decisions

Decisions have never been easy for me.  My mind is analytical, and I can and usually analyze everything before making a decision.  I weigh the pros and cons of each choice.  But there is always an unknown in each equation.  My desire is to do what is right...I can't afford any more mistakes and I don't want any regrets.   I then get led back to a devotion from Aug 21, 2010:
Believe Me for the difficult and impossible.  You cannot change a person's mind to suit you.  Even I, the Lord, leave decisions up to my children.  Their choices are not always wise.  I try to lead them by way of wisdom and truth.  But in the final analysis, the decision is theirs.  But you have two especially powerful tools to change the impossible - wisdom and prayer.  By wisdom you know what to do and what not to do, what to say and what not to say.  And by praying with faith, you can move mountains and do the impossible.  Gird yourself with the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  The difficult and impossible become easy and possible. 
It amazes me, how one negative comment this morning has caused me to second guess a decision I made weeks ago.  And it bothers me even more, that I allow the negative comments of people to affect me like this.  These people are not living my life or living with the struggles I struggle with.  I am not trying to say that I am the only one struggling..that is not the case, we all struggle.  But until you have spent 32 years in my shoes you will never understand my pain, my hurt, my struggles, my frustrations.  Cast judgement, cast your opinion all you want.  Yes it bothers me, but I believe one day it will no longer bother me.  In the end my happiness, my peace, and my health  is what is important.  You may never understand the reasons behind my decision...but my decision came by way of prayer.  And yes I did and still do have a choice.  But I have made my choice..your opinion is irrelevant. 

(In case you are reading this Linga, I am not talking about you.  Thanks for you help and encouragement! )

Kyra
Fit for Purpose

Weigh In Day - Results

I made it to the scales this morning.  Since I started my weight loss efforts before this blog, I will list all starting information:

Starting Weight (7/28/2010):    377
     Weigh in date (8/9/2010):    361
     Weigh in date (8/25/2010):  363  
Net Weight Loss to date:  14 pounds

Not too thrilled about a 2 pound weight gain, but overall still good results!!! Onward I go!
Next Weigh in Day: September 6th

Kyra
Fit for Purpose
Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Weigh In Day Postponed...stay tuned

Hello all, I think last Friday I said that Monday Aug 23rd was my next scheduled weigh in day.  Well I have yet to get up early enough this week to go to the gym to weigh in.  I am making a commitment to myself to get up tomorrow, (Wednesday Aug 25th) and go weigh in. 

There is a part of me that is scared to get on the scale after my Saturday, Sunday & Monday eating...but I must see what progress, if any, has occured over the last 2 weeks. 

See Ya.

Kyra

An Evening of Misery....

The evening of August 23rd....really a night of self-inflicted Misery!

Overall Monday...not a good eating day.  I didn't pack up my food to take to work.  So I ate whatever left overs I had in the office.  So here is what I ate while at work:
    Breakfast:  White Chocolate Latte & PepperJack Cheese Croissant (a waste of calories)
    Mid Am snack:  Low Fat Cottage Cheese w/ Pineapples
    Lunch:  Greek Yogurt with Strawberries
    Late afternoon snack:  Cheetos


It is possible you are thinking, this is not so so so so bad, what is the problem?  Well Monday night was my last schedule birthday outing with my friend from the Arthritis Foundation.  We had Dinner & a Movie planned. I get downtown at about 5pm and off we head to L.A. Live where we ate dinner @ Rock N Fish.  We ordered the chicken fingers as an appetizers and this is when it went all downhill.  Here comes our watiress with her little waitress tray with Sourdough bread.  We thought to ourselves, oh we didn't know they gave bread here, and dove into the bread since it was fresh!  The steam was coming out of it and it was just oh so scrumptous!  Before we could even finish the slice of bread we had, on comes the appetizers and salads that came with our meal. 

Okay...these were the biggest fricken side salads I have ever seen in my life!  I kid you not...I ate about 3 chicken fingers and only half the salad I was full.  Did I stop there?  Um...of course not.  Here comes the entrees..My ribs with french fries, and spicy Mac N Cheese (as you can see not a good food choice).  So of course, curiousity got hte best of me, I wanted to taste the Spicy Mac N Cheese.  I was fascinated by it, the moment I saw it on the menu.  So of course gluttonous me...ate some of the spicy mac n cheese and let me tell ya...it was absolutely wonderful!!!!!!  I ate maybe 1/4 of the Mac N Cheese and I said..I am stuffed, I am uncomfortable, I want to lie down.  The waitress came by and asked us if we needed anything and we said..."To Go Boxes" 

I am pathetic....the to go boxes arrive and self says, "you know, these fries are not going to taste good tomorrow, you should just eat them now"  And stupid me listened to self and ate all the darn french fries!  After that I literally wanted to throw up and just lay down and let my food digest.  But we had a movie to go catch.  We walked over to the movie theatre paid for our tickets and walked through the doors and I could smell the popcorn.  The smell of the popcorn made me so sick, I said to Mireya, I can't stand the smell of anymore food right now, I want to throw up.  We were about 30 minutes early for the movie.  We get in the theater I laid down across 3-4 of the seats!  I was jacked up!  Even when the movie started I could not sit still or get comfortable in the chair.  I was completely miserable. 

Kyra
Saturday, August 21, 2010

Nightly Post...

Hi Just a quick post, to keep myself accountable.  Even through birthday weekend...

Breakfast...
     Ate breakfast @ the Heritage.  The give big portions, which on any other occasion I would eat all of, but today I only ate 1/2.  I had a Spinach, mushroom & Sausage omelette, wheat toast, & hashbrowns and a glass of Apple Juice.

*I also got propositioned by an old man to come back next saturday and he would treat me to breakfast!  People bring me much amusement.

I didn't eat lunch since I knew I had dinner plans.  But in all honesty I was not hungry.  I was 4 hours at the beach, so eating didn't even come to mind!

Dinner...
     Red Lobster!!!!! We shared the lobster nachos for an appetizer.  I ate a roll (of course), had the side salad w/ italian dressing.  Dinner I had the bake Fillet of Sole with Wild Rice.  And I had the embarassing birthday singing with apple crumble & ice cream, but we shared that also! 

After dinner went to the movies.  Saw The Expendables!  It was a great movie.  I swiped my Regal Club card...I got a free small popcorn!  So I had popcorn! 

That was it.  I had a wonderful day though.  Hate it had to end...but I know there is much more to come tomorrow! 

G-Nite Peeps!

Kyra
Fit for Purpose!
Friday, August 20, 2010

Birthday Weekend has Begun...

Didn't work today, I took the day off.  Started off the morning with one of my favorite workouts, Spin Class @ 24 hour Fitness!  Whoa it was tough!  Then the errands and busyness of the day started.  But the day is nearing its end.  But now I am prepared for my weekend festivities.  Got my shoes, purse & shrug!  I is ready to dress to impress!

Breakfast
     4 Eggs - LOL!
     I laugh becuase yesterday I said it was hard getting down 4 egss.  But today its all I had so it was okay

Mid Am Snack
     Protein Shake

Lunch
     Steak Quesadilla

Dinner
     Chicken Club Sandwich

Water Intake: 64 ounces

AM workout:  Spin Class
No evening workout today.

That's all folks.  keeping this post short & to the point. 
Thursday, August 19, 2010

If you bring it...I will eat it.

Today I woke up a little bit earlier than usual.  I packed up my food for the day, got my work clothes, and dressed for the gym.  5:10am I get to the gym and it's all dark and there are signs on the door that says closed!!!  Imagine my surprise.  How does a gym named 24-hr Fitness be closed?  I guess the night shift employee decided not to come to work.   Well after putting forth all this effort to get a workout in this morning I drove near my work and just walked in the neighborhoods in Century City.  It was a very relaxing walk. Today was my Friday at work so I was super excited all day, I couldn't wait to get off of work.

Today, for some odd reason.  Everyone wanted to feed me.  After I ate my salad for lunch, the receptionist kept insisting that I finish off her chili.  I told her I already ate lunch, and I was full.  She kept nagging and nagging...next thing I know there is a bowl of chili on my desk!   I left the office, sat outside for a while, came back to my desk and there is a chicken salad sandwich sitting on my desk with a cookie!  The Food fairy must have left it!  There was a meeting this afternoon in the office and there was alot of leftovers.  I got asked so many times to take food home.  I said I will take the left over salad.  So I need help, how do you turn down food that people give, that I don't/can't eat?  People seem to get so offended when you say you don't there food.  But what should I do? 

Pre-Breakfast
     Muscle Milk Protein Shake

Breakfast (7:00am) 
     4 scrambled eggs with 1 cup of spinach
     Greek Yogurt with honey
     ** I now know not to try to eat 4 eggs again..that was alot of scrambled eggs to try to get down! 

Lunch
     Salad (1/2 lettuce, 1/2 spinach)
     Italian Dressing
     Chili ....

No Dinner:  eating was truly the last thing on my mind! 

Random eatings of the day for no apparent reason:
     Banana
     Kit Kat Bar
     1/2 Chicken Salad Sandwich
     Chocolate Chip Cookie

Today I have no clue what to list for my total calories, but based on the calculation I am at 1070 calories w/o the homemade chili, the chicken salad sandwich & cookie.  Today...not a good food day!
Food Journal
    
Workouts
AM Workout:  neighborhood walk 30 minutes.  1.7426 miles
AM Walking Route - Century City

PM Workout:  kept it low intensity! :)  
100 crunches on the balance ball
Leslie Sansone 3 Mile Walk DVD

I need to kick things up a notch...Monday is weigh in day! 

Kyra
Fit for Purpose!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010

A Day of Invigoration!

I started the morning off feeling invigorated!!  Invigorated, that is a word I rarely use, but it is the word of the day.  Why do I feel invigorated?  I had a short, yet wonderful early morning workout at the gym.  I did the treadmill, which is usually so boring to me.  But today I said lets do something different, I put the treadmill on the aerobic conditioning track and got to walking. 

The Aerobic conditioning track had inclines in it...Yikes!  It was very hard, I don't know if I wanna do it again, but I made it through!  I was ambitious when I first started.  I was walking at the pace set to 3.5, then the hills hit and quickly I decreased the pace to 3.0!  LOL!  At one point I think the pace got down to 2.8 on some of the inclines, but once I got back to a flat level, I went back up to 3.0.  I stayed within the 2.8 - 3.2 range!  Trust me 3.5 did not last long at all!  I am amazed cause in those quick 30 minutes on the treadmill, I burned more calories than I ever had walking for 30 minutes.  How could this be? 

The hills!  The hills I say!  The hills added an extra intensity that I don't get when just walking without the incline!  So maybe I will venture to do the aerobic conditioning track more often.  It was a good way to zap myself back after not working out for 2 days.  I think my metabolism got a nice zap too...I was sweating like crazy.  I have pictures to prove it!  Even after I got home and showered I still had sweat coming down on my face.  I was sitting in the car on the drive to work still wiping sweat driplets off my forehead.  Shocking and intriguing all at the same time.  So this is why I can say I felt invorgated...it carried me all day!  Well almost all day....

I went to Costco at like 5:15pm.  Anyone who goes to Costco knows that Costco is just stress at this time of day!  I went in there for 2 things.  Please tell me why I took me 40 minutes to get out of the store?  I have issues with waiting in lines.  Yes an issue, the issue is, I haate waiting in lines!  :0)  So as I am standing in the Costco line which seems like an eternity, I begin to get frustrated, anxious, and impatient!  Once I was freed from standing in line and left the Costco parking lot, what did I see?  Wendy's!    And Where did Kyra go for Dinner?  If you said Wendy's pat your self on the back!  I told myself I would just get the boneless wings...it can't be that bad!  WRONG!  When I got home and pulled up the nutritional information, I was flabbergasted!  Oh well...I need to perfect the art of perfection! 


Breakfast
  • Fage Greek Yogurt
  • Nectarine
  • 2 hard boiled eggs
Lunch
  • Salad (1/2 lettuce, 1/2 Spinach)
  • Albacore tuna
  • Italian Dressing
Dinner
  • Honey BBQ Boneless Wings from Wendys
Snacks (did alot of snacking today)
  • 2 nectarines
  • 2 Lindt chocolate
  • gum chewing
Water intake  80 ounces
Total Daily Calories:  1659!  Food Journal

AM Workout: Treadmill 30 minutes.

My Sweaty Pictures
Wierd how the sweat is just in certain spots
back shot...I guess my back sweats more than my front?  Nothing like looking at yourself from behind to motivate you to keep excercising!


Okay, I have taken up enough of your time.  Good night! 
.

Secret Formula to Weight Loss?

Deutsche Bank has an online Health and Fitness Fair going on.  I said let me check this out, so I just wanted to share some information I found:
    
WHAT IS THE SECRET FORMULA TO WEIGHT LOSS?
          ANSWER:  Calories IN <  Calories OUT
          The calories you eat must be less than the calories you burn in order for any weight loss to occur.
    
Knowledge Niblets
  • one pound = 3500 calories
  • If you eat 3,500 calories more than you burn, you gain a pound
  • If you burn 3,500 calories more than you eat, you lose a pound
Wow...3500 calories need to be burned to lose one pound!  I am not sure I wanted to know that! Oh well!

Kyra
Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Slowly getting back on track..

Today not a perfect day, but I am beginning to recoup from my weekend binge.   I did not get to work out today again...but I did have a low calorie day.  Only about 1100 calories!  I am not gonna lie, as I sit here, I am hungry!  But I am sipping on water to make myself feel full!  Yes its a trick that works well. 


Breakfast
Fage Greek Yogurt
3 hard boiled eggs ( I know it sounds like alot of eggs, but they are loaded w/ protein and low in calories, plus I find if I eat bigger breakfasts I eat less throughout the day)

Lunch
2 chicken drumsticks, broccoli & brussel sprouts

Dinner
Pure protein shake, blended with banana & 1 teaspoon of flax seed. 
**I got to test out my new blender ...it is wonderful! 

Bad afternoon snack...
Green Apple Sour Punch Straws!

Today was also I low water drinking day.  Only drank 4 glasses, but it has hotter than normal today. 

I resurrected an old website I used to keep track of my calories.  I will try to do my best to keep it up.  That way every day I can post my nutritional informaton.  So check it out if your little heart desires.
MyFood Journal on Fitday

That's all I got for you today!  Night Night..don't let hte bed bugs bite!

Kyra

No snazzy title

I have no snazzy title for Mondays diet day.
I am still partially on my weekend bad habit eatting.  I made some bad food choices...yet again, even though I had my packed food.

Breakfast
McMuffin

Mid Morning Snack
Banana

I had a bad case of the munchies after my mid morning snack.  I started eatting my salad for lunch.  I nibbled on lettuce, carrots, & red cabbage for hours. 

Then about 3pm...I made a cup of hot chocolate at work.

Dinner:
Boiled Chicken w/ broccoli & brussel sprouts!
*Cooking tidbit..i stopped baking my chicken and started boiling.  It's one way i find I can get alot of hte grease and fat out of the chicken before I eat it.  And secondly by boiling, no seasoning needed...so less calories and salt!  Seasoning...another hidden trap of calories and large amounts of sodium.  Everyone must find some no salt seasonings!

I drank absolutely no water on Monday!  And I am feeling it now..I am all dry! 
No formal excercise today, but does moving furniture count?  I think it does...we'll say it was strenght training!  Ha ha!

Kyra
Monday, August 16, 2010

Supercharge Your Metabolism!

Okay it's 2:49pm. I am bored..been snacking all day. Normally I would say that is a bad thing, but I have been snacking on healthy stuff all day. Lettuce, I was like a little bunny rabbitt snacking on the lettuce from my salads. Today is totally an emotional eating day...but I will be mindful about what I put into my pie hole today!

Anywho...I am always interested in a good read about how to speed up my metabolism. So here is an article from Fitness magazine! They say that The average man's metabolism is about 10 to 15 percent higher than a woman's! This is so unfair!

Tip one
1. Get Moving (check...doing that)
2. Kick up your cardio (umm...need to do more of this)
3. Put some muscle behind it (check...doing this. I heart weight training)
4. Don't skip meal (honestly, a problem I have never had!)
5. Fill up on smart foods (umm..gotta work on that)
6. Eat breakfast (check..always do, after all it is the most important meal of the day)
7. Get off your butt (Do I gotta? It's so comfy!)
8. Go to bed earlier (I would so love to do this...gotta work it into my schedule)
9. Schedule a nighttime workout (check...will do more though. Burning calories while I sleep sounds like a great idea)
10. Check your meds (don't take any)

Overall some good tips, gave me some things to think about as I progress on my journey.
I have always heard too, that B-vitamins increase your metabolism. Do we know if this is true? I have always thought its was true and I always take an extra dosage of B-vitamins. I can't hurt can it? Besides my hair, nails and skin need it! Okay...I was hoping this blog would take up more time. It is only 2:58pm. I am so so so ready to go home!

CALGON TAKE ME AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Supercharge Your Metabolism!

Kyra
Sunday, August 15, 2010

Weekend Update

What it do?  LOL!  I have always wanted to say that!
Well my weekend journalling didn't happen.  I got home Friday and could not get on the internet.  I was whatever I will deal with tomorrow but of course never did.  I tried the internet again today and it still doesn't work so I put in a call at Time warner.  The tech support man has no idea what is wrong, he says its either the modem or the lines.  I bet its the lines....I downgraded my service so I bet the did something stupid which causes my modem not to work, but I digress!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday....horrible eating days!  I was on the run all weekend and I did not pack up my food.  So I made some really bad food choices while I was out.  Sunday I redeemed myself and ate better and got my tail in the gym to work out.  So weekends are any area that will need vast improvement!

I got my hurrr did today...I went old school and did a wet set.  I am typing right now with rollers in my hair.  I should take a picture!  It's rather comical!

I got insulted on Saturday...one of my beloved neighbors told me I needed to get my butt in the gym an lose weight!  Can you believe it?  Not to worry friends, Shenequeh did manifest and start rolling her eyes and neck at him.  She just let it be. 

Now today the insult was covered with a wonderful compliment.  As I was buyiing my rollers at the beauty supply shop, I happened to tell the cashier guy that my birthday was next Sunday, and he goes what is it, your 23rd birthday?  I said no it will be my 32nd birthday, and he goes really wow, i was way off!  LOL...Do I look 23?   People say I look young...but dang do I look 23 young?

Bad food choices of the weekend:
Pizza
Jack in the box Ultimate Cheeseburger
Rallys Double cheeseburger
French fries
Dr. Pepper
Cheetos

Good Food choices of the weekend:
Oatmeal
chicken Sandwich
Baked chicken

Goal for next week:  Stay on target with my eating and excercising so I can have a "free" day on my birthday!  Work out 6 days a week, and keep calories under 1200 between Monday-Saturday!

Niblets for thought: 
  1. We say that there is nothing to hard for God.  But have you asked yourself is there something too hard to believe God for?
  2. Obedience is easy...all it will cost you is your self-will.  So look inward...are you really ready to let go.
That's all folks! 

Kyra aka Big Perm! 
Fit for Purpose
Friday, August 13, 2010

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Today got more amusing!  U.R. was in the office today meeting with one of the brokers!   I was exciting, and even more comical to hear our sneaky little minds come up with ideas to get into the conference room to try to see him! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiXbRBS5Z58

Kyra

It's Friday!!!

It's finally Friday!  There is just something about Fridays that puts an extra pep in my step!
I feel rested this morning..maybe oversleeping again today was what I needed!  When the alarm went off I had the presence of mind to get up go into the bathroom and turn on the shower.  I turned right back around and got back in the bed and went back to  asleep!  I woke up @ 5:15am to the sound of the shower and a bathroom full of steam!   Well that's all I have for right now...it's time for breakfast! 

Kyra
Thursday, August 12, 2010

Weight Loss: The Battle of the Mind!

LOL...I am not trying to steal phrases from Joyce Meyer, but today truly was a battle of my mind.  Weight Loss for me is just as mental as it is physical excercise and proper eating.  Why?  Let me tell you about me.  I am the one that loves to eat, I am the one that any craving she had she fullfilled.  So when I want something to eat I ate, whether hungry or not.  When I try to stop eating certain things to diet, my mind/body talks me.  Yes your body talks to you...that's what cravings are, it's your body saying I want xxx.  Fill in xxx as it pertains to you! 

So after yesterdays exhausting and trying day...I overslept!  Here I am on the freeway on my way to work, tired, sleeping, and yawning.  My body says "you need coffee"  and " you should get a croissant" then he right voice in me says, no no no.  Just eat the salad you already prepared for your breakfast.  I kid you not..I was having this conversation in my head the whole hour drive to work this morning.  I get to the office...and where do you think I ended up?  Coffee Bean ordering a White Chocolate Latte & a pepperjack cheese croissant.    A complete waste of calories!  I regreted eating it...I really did.  I fell for the oldest trick in the book.  But what could do?  I shook that off and said okay we'll be sticking to the food plan for the rest of the day. 

Food Log
Breakfast:  Coffee Bean Fiasco...no need to discuss again!
Mid AM snack: 1/2 banana
Lunch:  Protein Shake w/ 1/2 banana
Dinner:  Salad with tuna
Surprisingly I came in a little over 1400 calories.  I could have done so much better ... but breakfast was over 500 calories!  Absolutely craziness!

The battle did not end there.  Throughout the day I had visions of Cheetos & Doritos dangling in my head!  I was not hungry, but I guess my body wanted snacks.  This is when drinking water helps me.  On the drive home tonight, I had visions of Wingstong & El Pollo Loco.  But I resisted, the fall I had this morning was enough for me to stay on track for the rest of the day.

The other battle of my mind today was about excercise.  Since I overslept this morning, I did not make it to the gym this morning.  I was talking to a friend and we had plans to go workout after work.  We talked this morning and I told her how tired I was, and how sore I was.  And by the end of hte conversation, I said I think I will make today a rest day, I think my body needs a rest!  Later on in the day...reality sets in... Rest day?  Rest day?  Are you serious, a rest day?  That is a big negative, I am working out today.  And that I did.  I went back to Kenneth Hahn Park and walked.  Spent another 45 - 50 minutes out there. 

My take-away for the day:  God is faithful, He will not allow my temptations to be more than I can stand.  When I am tempted He will show me a way out, so that I can endure. 

Kyra
Fit for Purpose

30lbs in 30 days..Mission Aborted!!!

Well what can I say, when reality hits, reality hits.  When correction comes one must listen.  As wonderful as losing 30 pounds in 30 days sound, I will not be able to take on this assignment.  Don't worry friends..I am still committed to losing this weight.  I will continue to journal as I will have something to reflect on and something to continually draw from. 

For all of those I have not spoken to in a while, Progress is taking place...down 16 lbs in 2 weeks.  Stay tuned for what the next 2 weeks will bring!!!

Kyra
Fit for Purpose
Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Today was a really hard day.

Wow, today I struggled with my workouts and eating like it was my first day of dieting and excercising.  I was hungry for the majority of hte day and made some very bad food choices.  I did get 2 workouts in, but my evening work out was a struggle and a push to make it to the end.

AM Workout:
Leg Presses: 3 sets of 12 reps; 100lbs + the weight of hte bar.
Lat Pull Down: 3 sets of 12 reps; 70lbs
Back Extensions: 3 sets of 12  reps.
No Cardio.

Eating
I started the morning off with a protien shake, about an hour after my work out.
At about 8am I had oatmeal.  But I was still hungry.  I ate a bowl of fruit (watermelon, grapes, & cantoulope).  I finally started to feel satisified.

Early afternoon I grab a bag of doritos.  Then ate my lunch, boiled chicken with broccoli & bell peppers.  I drank a can of Minute Maid Lemonade. At about 2:30pm someone brought me pickles!  I love pickles.  I ate them all...I think I ate about the equiv of 3 pickles.  As I type that I am grossed out by the fact I ate 3 pickles. 

Evening Workout
Before I even get into my evening workout.  I experienced bad soreness today.  I had issues getting in & out of my chair at work.  Walking in my heels caused my calves & thighs to hurt more, I had to use the handicap bathroom stalls so I could use the rails to pull myself up off the toilet!  I was a mess today!

But I left work and like a determined eagle...I headed to Kenneth Hahn Park to walk and get my cardio in.  My goal was to get around the track 3 times which is about 2.75 miles.  The first 2 laps were very hard and I was walking very slowly, those two laps took almost 35 minutes!  In the midst of lap 3, my lower back kicked up a pain like I have never felt.  I stop and sat at a bench and started to do some stretches for my back.  Low & behold..it relieved the pain, so I guess my lower back muscles were tight from this morning.  I finished out the last lap.  I spent a total of 55 minutes at the park.  Not my best cardio workout, but at least something got done today.

I got home not to long ago, and I am not hungry!  So I think all I will do for the remainder of the night is get some water in me, spend some daddy & me time, and hit the sack.  Tomorrow is another day with a whole new set of goals! 

Kyra
Fit for Purpose

An new inspiration!

I had a wonderful conversation with a friend who is trying to lose 60lbs in 6 weeks.  She has inspired me to do more in my weight loss efforts.  So I am committing to doing 30 pounds in 30 days.  I will start tomorrow August 12th and end on September 10th.    Yeah I know it may sound a little drastic, but it is just the beginning on a long term journey.  

Wish me luck, encourage me along the way, I will need lots of support and encouragement.

Kyra
Fit for Purpose.