It's c-c-c-c-cold outside

So, first thing's first. Chipotle = success! So yummy!! We decided that we're going to go every 30 pounds so that we don't feel like that was the last time we'll ever be allowed to eat there. I was shocked at how my burrito literally filled me up for the entire day, well into the night. However, yesterday, when I had a regular - if maybe a little on the heavier side but in no means overeating - day, I had a stomach ache and felt ridiculously full after eating my Lean Cuisine for dinner at 7 all the way until a few minutes ago, 12 hours later. (That was a run on sentance if I ever wrote one)

I'm trying not to eat or drink too much today because I don't want this to be my first "bad" week. I need to go into next weekend feeling great about myself and I can't do that if I gained or even stayed the same. I'd love to at the very least lose the .6 pounds that I need to get to halfway to my goal. I'm going to resist the temptation of Cava Java and eat something before I go out so that I don't dreat too badly. I'm crossing my fingers that it all works out!

Sarah - Week 11

Okay so since I did a long ass post yesterday, I'm going to just update you with my loss for the week today. First of all, CHIPOTLEEEE!!!! I can't wait for ittt!! Secondly, I need to be less worried because finally, I lost a regular amount. I don't even know if what I'm writing makes sense right now, haha. This is too close to when I just woke up.

Anywho, let's get to the important stuff! This week, I lost 2.8 pounds!! This brings my total to -34.4, only .6 pounds from HALFWAY TO MY FINAL GOAL!!

Celebrating -31 with some Chipotle? Yessss.

YAY! Sorry I haven't been here in a million years, but I gotta bang this out so Sarah and I can celebrate. I lost -2.6 and reached -31.0 today! It's sort of bittersweet... 50 is the first "real" goal, but I know I have more to go after that, so it's farther away. Does that make sense? This is only like, a quarter of the way. But I'm still SO excited about it.

And last Wednesday, I finally got what I wanted: Fabi told me I was "looking small." It was so good. I feel like I'm really starting to notice, which is just giving me more inspiration to keeeeep goinggggg. Also, Sarah is looking real good, and knowing that I'm headed in that direction is also really helping me want to keep going. I was sort of nervous that I was getting bored with all this, and not as committed as I was, but reaching this totally turned it around.

Yesterday, I was sort of forced into having a warm up on a treadmill because there were no ellipticals. But I'm SO glad I did that. It changed my whole workout, and I was totally ready to go the whole time. I had my best showing yet on the elliptical, plus the extra 10 minutes on the treadmill, and I had a GREAT workout. I'm definitely going to keep doing that -- it was so nice to have a fantastic workout, and I didn't really even feel like I had put in too much extra effort.

I'm so glad this all just happened. I was dragging in the worst way, but now I'm feeling fabulous. yaaaaaaaay!

Because I felt like cobwebs were growing on this blog.

Well, this has been an interesting week. The weather went back to being shitty, which sucked because I loved going on those long walks with Cati. We need to start back up as soon as it gets nice out again. I'm hoping that that's going to happen ASAP.

Why was it so interesting, you ask? I felt like the past two weeks I'd been losing weight too fast. This week, I decided to try eating more and not being a ridiculous crazy about excersize so I'm really nervous for tomorrow's weigh in. My goal, in case you've forgotten, is 2-3 pounds a week, so I'd love to fall in that category. However, I'll be happy with losing anything this week because I'm so nervous. I also went back on birth control, but it's really low dose so I don't think it's going to affect my weight that much.

I'm hoping that next week (just in time to go to NYC) I'll have reached my halfway mark!! I'm also hoping that Cati loses the last pound or so that she needs to get to 30 and our 30 pound treat: CHIPOTLE!!! I just ate lunch and am full (a yummy but not amazing healthy choice: chicken, bacon, cheesy rice or something like that) so I can't fully describe to you how much I am DYING for a freaking less-rice, less-beans, medium and corn salsa, sour cream and guac chicken burrito. DYING. We'll definitely make it either this week or next, so I'm getting pretty excited.

The next big milestone/goal we have is 50 pounds. At -50 pounds, I'll officially be the thinnest that I've ever been in my life, even skinnier than I was after WW in high school. And I looked GOOD then. I can't believe that we're doing so well and that we've lost so much. I am so freaking proud of us! I feel great about myself and super confident and can't wait to get to the next two goals. Six months ago, I couldn't have dreamed about weighing this much. Six months from now, I hope to be in the best shape of my life feeling and looking great!

See you tomorrow!

Sarah - Week 10

Jeez. Well, sorry to go so soft on you last week and use this as my personal blog (or livejournal...god, that was a whiny post). Won't happen again. Promise.

Now the real reason I'm here! It was a great week, food wise. I ate this AMAZING lunch at Grapeseed Bistro in Bethesda on wednesday. And as much as I wanted the mac and cheese with pork belly, I was strong and had a bangin greek-esque salad and fish tacos. YUM. Beth came to visit this weekend as well and Monday was Lisa's birthday so we went and had sushi at Sticky Rice. Over all, there was a little more drinking than I'm used to (you can say that again) and regular amount of eating so when I stepped on the scale I was SHOCKED to have lost 4.7 lbs. So shocked that I got on 3 more times and ended up figuring that I lost about 3.7 lbs for a total of 31.6 lbs!!!

This week's weight loss means that I REACHED MY FIRST GOAL!!! I am officially "just overweight." So long, America's obese population. I'm also a mere 2.4 lbs to half way to my final goal! With all that said, I'm nervous that I'm losing too much too fast and am going to either A) have really baggy skin when I get to my goal or B) not be able to keep it off. Though I think that this loss has a lot to do with the HUGE amount of exercise that I got this week via a million long walks in our neighborhood in the amazing weather, I'm going to be really good about not eating too little this week so I can go back to my goal of 2-3 lbs per week. That's it for now! I'm really excited for the next few weekends coming up, I'm sure I'll update you more about them soon.

Frustrated with myself.

So on Wednesday, I was feeling on top of the world. HUGE weight loss, big praxis pass, and a the prospect of a new man on the horizon. Then, BANG. BOOM. I let this whole stupid guy situation bring me down and make me feel like complete shit. After losing 28 pounds, and a six month hiatus from being the pimpette that I was (you can thank Beth for that discription...I'm no Snookie), I was just ridiculously stupid and excited for the first "real" prospect that came my way.

I'm not going into the gory details, but I spent half of Wednesday and all of yesterday and part of today feeling bad about myself. But you know what? I don't have a damn thinig to feel bad about. I feel great, look great, and am on the path to feel and look even better. Usually, the first thing I'd do when I felt like this would be eat. And eat. And throw away everything that I've been working so hard on. But that is NOT what I'm going to do. I'm going to keep on keepin on and dip my hand back into the sea of J-Date...maybe. Definitely when it starts getting warmer. I don't know if I can handle waiting outside for a date in the freezing* cold. So nstead, I deleted his number so that I wouldn't make even more of a fool of my self whilest drunk texing and am moving on with my life.

I just can't believe I got so worked up about someone who wasn't Jewish!!

In other news, soooo many people are coming up to me and commenting on how good I look. And though I've definitely noticed it in my face, boobs, and clothes, I'm still waiting for the big OMG moment. But I know it's coming soon, hopefully within the next ten pounds. Have a great weekend everyone!

*as freezing as you can get in the south.

this morning, I ate my words

Minimal sarcasm today and no movie reviews. I have just learned a valuable lesson about the mental games of dieting. After my good, though treacherous, start on this diet and on this blog, I had a highly problematic week. I was traveling, eating out a ton, didn't make it to the gym once and came home to a sparsely stocked kitchen with few fulfilling healthy options. After losing so much the first week, and in a not so sustainable way, I was certain that I had gained back some or all of the initial weight I lost. Afraid of how a setback so early in game would affect my progress, I can't say I was upset when I realized my old analog scale at school was completely inaccurate. I postponed my weigh-in doomsday back until I could pick myself up a new, digital read-out scale. This morning, I couldn't put it off any longer, but I discovered I still managed to lose an additional 0.4 pounds! It made me realize how unaware I must have been of my eating habits before starting this plan. I also now know how important it is to just hop on that scale when wednesday rolls around, because putting it off just makes me worry about hypotheticals. Now, my kitchen is fully stocked with a zillion low-fat, high-fiber options, I've got a more precise and accurate scale, and I'm set in one place with a gym to go to. Next week's challenge: fitting in the gym and healthy eating with a full class schedule and a three-day/week commute into the working world.

Sarah - Week 9

Omg. So I meant to write a big post about some amazing food that I found that is really yummy and low on points. However, I got distracted at school. It's been a crazy two weeks - last week I worked every day and managed to get myself an awesome long term job from the end of March until the end of the year. It definitely makes me feel a little less crazy about money right now because I know I'll have great paychecks taking me almost a month into the summer. I sent my application in to grad school (though it was basically a shot in the dark, and I'm not really expecting to get in. I'm going to look into all of my options for next year and send out a slew of them) and so I had to take the PRAXIS yesterday (passed!) and the MAT next thursday (I'm scared!)

So basically, my life is ridiculous. I had a pretty good week this week...it was the first in a long time where I wasn't at all nervous for today's weigh in. However, I think I went a little overboard on being careful yesterday and monday because I was so stressed about the test. So here are my results. -4.6 for a total of 28 lbs lost!! I know that that's waaay more than I want to healthily lose per week, so I'm going to take pains to not be as ridiculous this coming week starting with a yummy wine pairing lunch with Michelle later today and cleaning my room before that instead of going to the gym. It's still exercise, right?

at least I said no to the popcorn...

If you’ve been living in America this holiday season, you’ve no doubt been told the following, “Yah, man, Avatar was great. I liked it better than I expected. But you GOTTA see it in 3D.” Ok, perhaps this person didn’t call you “man” if you’re a female or don’t live in California, but regardless, someone has told you to see Avatar in theaters and in 3D. Last night I took that someone’s orders, and it literally made me sick to my stomach.

After an excellent weigh-in eve spent eating cereal for breakfast and some grilled vegetable/spaghetti squash situation from the gym café(yes, I even worked out first), I met up with a friend from camp for dinner, where I enjoyed some salmon skewers (hello lean protein). Then, at 8:30, when she asked what else we should do, I suggested a movie. Then, at 8:30:20, when she asked what movies were out, I suggested Avatar. Then, at 8:35 when Fandango on her iPhone provided local listings for Avatar showtimes, I suggested we go for the big kaboom and see it not only in 3D, but in IMAX 3D. Showtime: 10:00 pm. From 8:40-9:47 we went on some San Francisco adventures, driving down the ever crooked Lombard Street and back and forth across the Golden Gate Bridge (she’s from out of town, I don’t just do touristy things in my own city whenever I have time to kill). At 9:48 we walked into the Leow’s Metreon Theater lobby, only to find that the 10:00 Avatar in IMAX 3D was sold out. Take a sign? Nope.

We bought tickets for the 10:30 layman (by which I mean LAMEman) 3D Avatar and snuck right on in to the last two seats in the IMAX theater, grabbing a pair of the special IMAX glasses on the way. The IMAX 3D glasses are the old school, theme park attraction shades, not those stylish shrink wrapped RealD goggles they handed us when we bought our tickets. The fact that the eyewear is different should have been my first sign of disaster. The fact that our seats were two rows back from the screen should have been my second sign. To be fair, I also said that the movie being sold out was a sign, so technically those were signs two and three, not one and two. However you number them, I ignored them all. For a few brief minutes, the film was the dazzling spectacle all had promised. You know, James Cameron really creates a world. Then the nausea and headaches set in. I spent most of the film with the futuristic glasses perched on my head and my eyes closed. Not that it mattered, Avatar’s not much of a visual film. Then, roughly between the ultimate and penultimate human vs. navi battles, I went to the bathroom and vommed up everything I just ate. I felt awful, disgusting, but I couldn’t but think of the time my good friend Sarah once informed me and an entire group of 14 year-olds with borderline eating disorders that it’s never a bad idea to throw-up because it undoes all the calories. Thanks to Ms. Friedman’s sagely advice, I am proudly reporting a 3.8 lb loss for my first weigh-in.

Guest Blogger!!!

Nope. Just Cati.

Sorry, blogosphere. I'm really not good at this.

Ooooookay. So the last time I updated the blog, I was only at -12.0. That's crazy!!! Here's how the weeks have gone:

Week 5 -4.8
Week 6 -3.4
Week 7 +0.4
Week 8 -3.8

Bringing me to a grand total of (drumroll pleaaaaaase) -23.6! I'm really excited about that. Next week I'll be below -25, and into a new tens column (decade? haha) which I'm really really pumped about!

I fell off the wagon a little over Christmas and literally just ate everything I wanted to, whenever I wanted to. I've learned from all of this that the best way for me to control the situation is to not have it in the house. I was at home and just doing whatever I wanted and not going to the gym, hence the +0.4. But I got right back on track this week, which is awesome!

Sarah wanted me to post the recipe for the ice cream sandwiches I made for our Holiday Potluck. Big thanks to sparkpeople.com for supplying it... and for lots of other ideas and tips!

1 box angel food cake mix, prepared according to directions
1 1/2 c peppermint ice cream
3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wipe a 17 1/2" X 11 1/2" baking pan clean with a teaspoon of white vinegar. The vinegar will ensure there is no greasy film on the baking pan. (If possible use a non-stick baking pan.)

Mix angel food cake mix according to package directions. Spread onto the sheet pan; bake for 20 minutes. While the cake is baking, spread the ice cream between two sheets of waxed paper to one inch thickness. Warm the chocolate until melted, either using a double boiler or the microwave (keep a close eye on it, and stir every few seconds). Once cake has baked and cooled; cut it into 24 rounds using a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter. With the same cutter, cut the ice cream into rounds. Dip 12 rounds of the cake into the chocolate. Stack the ice cream between two layers of the cake (the top layer will be the chocolate-dipped cake). If not serving immediately, refreeze.

I made it with mint chocolate chip ice cream instead, but it was still fantastic! I'll definitely be keeping this one to bring to other potluck-y things.

I don't make New Year's Resolutions, but maybe mine should be to update the blog more??

Sarah - Week 8

Well, my friends, we officially have made it through the holidays! I can't believe we did it so successfully!! As my last post said, I definitely had a difficult week (aren't we all allowed one during the holidays??) but somehow I was able to get my act together once the weekend (aka wednesday-saturday) was over and come out ahead! My weight loss for this week was an even 2 lbs, rounding out my total to -23.4 lbs!!

Unfortunately, we're back to the regular grind but haven't been able to make it to the grocery store so I feel like I have no food left at all. I'm lucky there's a microwave here so that I could take some mushroom pasta from TJs for lunch, but I'm really hankering for some lunchmeat and a 100 calorie pack of pringles (They're even better than regular pringles, I swear!!) I also need some more breakfast options and a ton more microwave meals. And some coffee mate. I'll keep you updated if I find anything new that's worth a try!

Lastly, I'm excited to say that we have a new blogger coming to join us! Hopefully we'll get her up and running today for all of you (none of you?) who were tired of hearing me post the same thing every week. In other news, I'm texting Cati every hour on the hour until she also posts in the blog. I know she'll have some insight on the holidays and some new perspectives and ideas. I also want her to share her recipe for these amaaaazing ice cream sandwiches that she made for our potluck.

Happy back to regular work week!

Happy 2010!!

Well, this has pretty much been the worst week of my diet so far, starting on monday, before the weigh in, and ending yesterday. I pretty much ate whatever I wanted because a MILLION separate groups of my friends wanted to go out to eat/celebrate something/get drunk. However, I think that I stayed conscious enough of myself and what I was doing to not go overboard and to pretty much stay the same. If I can have a successful next few days, I think I can come out on top again and one week closer to being "just overweight" (woo, what a goal!) I'm going to go to the gym monday and tuesday, we already went today, and just try to eat super healthy but super filling things to get me through. I just bought a TJs stir fry that's only 135 calories for the entire humongous bag. In reality, any stir fry is pretty good for you as long as you don't go overboard on the rice/noodles. I'll let you know how it is next time I post!

All in all, I'm hoping to have an amazing 2010. My resolutions are, obviously, to keep going on my diet and to reach my goal weight of -70 lbs. I need to keep said weight off for six months so that I can get my reward from my aunt and go on a ridiculous Urban Outfitters hipster shopping spree. And then obviously keep it off for longer than that so I can wear said clothes for as long as it takes to justify how expensive they were. I'd also love to fall in love (wouldn't everybody?) and keep traveling. We're already talking about Chicago and NYC when it gets nicer out. And I want to get into grad school. God, I'm so needy.

That's all for now. I have to keep updating the blog bc Cati seems to have forgotten about it, haha.