Two steps back

Not all weigh ins can be a fairy tale!

So, as you all know I had a major loss last weigh in. A whopping six pounds! Well this time when I got on the scale, I took some steps back...four steps to be exact. GRRRR. It's not the end of the world, I could have put it ALL back on, but I'm glad I didn't.

It is unbelievably difficult to be at the age of 25 and try to lose all this weight. Yes, losing weight at any age is difficult--but I feel like in your mid adulthood especially. There are so many temptations every day to face. Every day, who am I kidding?! It's the weekends that put me in the shitter entirely!

I've come to the conclusion, that yes it is totally my drinking that packs back on the weight. It's a bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad habit! I go out to meet up with my friends, and it's not really their fault it's entirely mine. It's my choice to go out and meet up with them, and it's totally my choice to buy beers and drinks. After a few drinks get in me, then I start to get hungry through the night which leads me right to junk food hell! Yes, hello! My name is Thao Templeton. You know Templeton? The rat that eats carnival garbage from "Charlotte's Web"? YEAH. I TURN INTO THAT RAT. 

I'd like to say that I'm confident in losing the weight I put back on, but I don't want to jinx myself! All I know, is that I'm going to have to hustle and work my tush off!

Weggies!

If Wegmans and Target had a love child and ended up in a shopping plaza together,

I'd build myself a house on the lot and never ever leave.

After work, I decided to head over to Wegmans to pick up some num nums. I love Wegmans. It's open 24 hours and has really great products. I had to buy some fruit and veggies for the week, along with some other things. It was a really nice night to wind down after work and prepare for my week off! While I was there, I noticed they started carrying a new section by the fruit with smoothie cocktails. I picked up a few bottles for my mom and dad, but one look at the nutritional facts kept me away from drinking any! I got banana and strawberry smoothie jugs and each had 26g of sugar per serving! JEEEEZ. No way, talk about empty calories. Even though each container has more than eight servings of fruit, I'm not sure it's a good idea for me to be drinking them.

Speaking of smoothie shakes, I totally forgot I finally picked up some Special K protein shakes! My friend at work told me they were really good, so good he couldn't keep them in his house because his kids would drink all of them! They are a bit pricey, but I thought what the hell. It's worth a try!

They are actually really good! These shakes have 190cal, 18g sugar, 10g protein and 5g of fiber. They're quite similar to my cocoa protein mixers. I think I'm going to try these out and take a break from my shakes I get at the office. I'm getting pretty tired of the taste of them, I do like my protein bars but even they are getting ridiculous to eat every day. I'm willing to experiment so we'll see if they work or not. One week trial can't hurt to test my theory out.

While I was at Wegmans, I was passing through the cheese isle and found mozzarella balls. You know those little ones that are soaked in stuff? Well, I didn't realize they were soaked in OIL. I  bought a small container of them that were marinating in sun dried tomato and basil. I got home and tried a ball, RALF. Yeah, all I could taste and smell was the oil! Maybe you're supposed to melt it on top of bread or something, but I don't think I'll be eating those babies again...

Tomorrow I have a date with the dreaded scale. I know that bitch won't be nice to me this week, okay fine maybe she isn't a bitch. I just know that I'm going to pay dearly for my splurging on Super Bowl festivities. This week is a new week, and I'm so more than ready to get some rest. I've been so exhausted lately and I am in dire need of vegging out. I haven't felt like my spunky self in a few weeks, and I need to get my sass back! Hope you all have a great week, I'll be back and let you know how I made out! 

SUPER DUPER BOWL!

There's always time for fun!

I got feeling pretty great about things on Sunday and decided to go to Erik's after all. I'm so glad that I did, because I got to see Thing 1 and Thing 2 and all my other friends. We all had a really great time and plus the Giants won! My dad is a big NYG fan, so of course what kind of kid would I be, if I didn't root for my dad's team! I started actually paying attention to football and discovered it's actually entertaining! So now that I know what's going on, it's fun for me!

I didn't really plan on staying out as late as I did, but when you're having fun you all know how that goes. I WAS A BIG FAT CHEATER. YES THAT'S RIGHT, I AM THAO THE PUMPKIN EATER. Super Bowl food is NEVER really healthy, unless you make a SERIOUS point to only have around healthy food. Since everyone else isn't on a diet, it was like walking straight into junk food hell. So like any other normal person, I grazed. I ate like four carrot sticks, celery, pineapple and cantaloupe at first...and then I tried some turkey chili (Kelly's amazing turkey chili that is!) had a quarter of a sandwich, pretzels and chips. I felt like a big old fatty fat person after. Food regrets. UGH.

TRUST ME. I PAID FOR IT THE NEXT DAY. So a while back I had discussed about cheating and how it's effects are. As you can guess, I was doubled over in pain and running to the bathroom most of the day. It was awful. Enough for me to steer clear of bad food for a while. Ugh. Makes my stomach grumble just thinking about it. That being said, I weighed myself and I'm pretty sure I gained at least 4lbs back. Up and down, up and down. That was really the only day I cheated, so I'm not sure why. Could be because I have my cycle, but I'm not so sold on that weight gain theory. It's pretty obvious to me that I am a SUPER DUPER SHMOOPER.

Slunking.

More like Slunkzilla!

For those of you that aren't privileged to know my BFFF Rick, here's a new word for y'all to add in your vocab! 

Slunk [suhl-unk]

To put off something you know you should do. 

see also "sand bagging"

adj, slunkest; n, slunker; v, slunking

1. He was the slunkest of them all!

2. Stop being such a slunker.

3. I was slunking all weekend.

Yes, I do believe I am number three! This weekend, I'm being a Slunkzilla and staying in. I've been so exhausted lately. Each week has been more and more added stress and errands to do, I need to just take off a weekend and do nothing! I think a big contribution of my weight stems from me going out with my friends. I love you guys, and yes my choices are MINE--but it is SUPER hard to be good when I want to be bad!

Especially for Super Bowl weekend, fml. I'm kind of glad I'll be at work for this one. Not that it'll be any better. I was talking to Nicole today and we were discussing about eating habits. I eat more at work, than I do at home! This is ridiculous. I think it's my coping mechanism to being there, honestly not joking. I've been doing so well for the past few weeks and I want to keep that trend going. We usually order out on the weekends, and I don't order anything that is horrifically bad. I make sure to incorporate lots of salad into my diet. Enough ruffage will definitely get things moving on it's way out. 

I feel really guilty, because both Riss and Shake are in town. I told the girls that I really wanted to see them, but most likely not tonight. I still have tomorrow to see them so I guess that's okay. They understand totally where I'm coming from. Shake is an accountant and she works long hours during tax season. Not only that but she has to deal with the stress of moving in the next few weeks and sorting everything out. Riss is in her last semester of school, and although she's working her ass off she likes to come home to see everyone when she can. Since both of them will be living about 2-3 hours away from me, I can go see them literally whenever I want on my weeks off! I had originally tried to make plans to help Shake move from Philly on my week off, but I'm not sure how that's going to work. I have a bunch of doctor appointments next week, and although she'd probably appreciate the help I don't think she'll be butt hurt that I didn't go. I'll have to catch up with her in the capital the next time I'm off. Slunkaroo.

I worked on my HRA (health risk assessment) for my insurance shit today. I don't have any lab values to enter in, but I will this week. I need to get blood drawn, and hope to god they don't try to kill me again. If my lab work is good, then I won't have to deal with getting a health coach. My assessment so far, did put me at risk in terms of my weight and BMI--big surprise there lol. Everything else came up fine, and I am so proud to say I am NOT at risk for suicide this year! LOL. My batteries need a seriously recharging soon, I feel like I'm a robot just going through the motions to get by. Mihai was talking to me about the CABBAGE SOUP DIET. BARF. There's even a dedicated site to it (click the link above)! Everyone at work seems to be doing that stupid diet. Although I've heard it works, it is NOT something I'm tempted at all to do. First of all, I'm not a fan of cabbage soup and I'm allergic to tomatoes. My coworkers have for the most part, all tried it and let me tell you---the shit stinks! It may smell good for the first few days, but I seriously wouldn't be able to eat it for a week non stop. Screw that. Now tell me that you'd rather be feeding spoonfuls of that toxic wasteland in your mouth versus drinking an ice cold chocolate protein shake or protein cocoa? YEAH. I WIN END OF DISCUSSION. The problem with the CSD, is that it just cleans you out and you pretty much lose water weight. Many that participate in it, put it right back on and quick at that! Rule of thumb is, steady weight loss will help keep your weight off longer. Don't look for quick fixes, but hey everyone is entitled to do whatever they need to do right? Cabbage soup dieters in my book, are Slunklicious. GRAB A PROTEIN SHAKE, AT LEAST YOU KNOW YOU'RE GETTING PROOOOOTEEEEIIIIN!

Things haven't been too interesting to say the least lately. Just feeling a bit stressed and overwhelmed for apparently no reason at all. Thus leading this Slunka-mama into hibernation mode. I really hope I can lose the four pounds I need to. I want that damn Nintendo 3DS! Speaking of which, I'm thinking of getting an aqua one and putting decals all over it of course! What kind of a nerd would I be, if I DIDN'T personalize my toys?!

Fishing much?

Don't know what I was expecting.

Friday I worked over at my sister hospital. It was really nice to work with and see all my friends over there. It's a bit of a different world, being as it is a trauma center. My "home" site is still a hospital, but a different type of pace entirely. We've been called "the land of milk and honey", because things aren't as difficult as they are over there. But hey! They all had the chance to come over and work at my place at one time or another. We weren't really busy at all to tell you the truth. It was "wear red day" throughout the entire organization, in support of cardiac care month. It's nice to see that most of us did participate, but the other people probably forgot. I wasn't sure what to expect. Most people have told me that I've been looking good. Almost every week when I come back, everyone asks me how my appointment went, how'd the weigh in go and compliment me on how I look. I guess because the others haven't seen me in a few months I was hoping they would say something about my weight loss. NEGATIVE GHOST WRITER! 

Not a single person over there said anything at all about it. Granted, not many of them know I'm on this program let alone writing a blog. I've only shared my blog with a select few close friends and close ones from work. I feel like I'm pouring my heart out on here, whether it be bitching, crying or just generally being open. Something that I'm not ready to share publicly with everyone...even though I've been public about my actual weight. I guess I was just expecting someone to say "WOW! You look great!" or something like that. No worries.

It's weird, because I wrote a post a while back about self sabotage. That for some reason, when people say those things to me, I immediately go to junk food hell. I scaled myself today and it was not pretty. According to it, I gained back a little under 4lbs. Rhonda assured me it was just from water weight, and I hope that it is. I do, after all have my lovely friend that visits me every month. I'm getting tired of using that as an "excuse", but the girls at the office assure me that you can in fact gain 5lbs from your cycle alone. I just don't like to keep excuses rolling ya know what I mean?

Either way, it wasn't the worst day ever because no one said anything to me about it. This just means the next time they see me, I'll be looking slimmer and they'll definitely have something to say then!

Rodent.

Punxsutawney Phil, you disgust me.

And you need to tend to your teeth better! Been living in  your tree too long I think....

HA! So each time this year, that little rodent comes out from his house and sees his shadow. I think the whole tradition is hysterical. It was brought to my attention today that I dis the poor thing every year on my Facebook page. At first I didn't think I did, BUT IN FACT I DO. I can't help it! I mean whats the percentage of success does this little rat bastard give us anyway? According to a this site the little monster lives in a freaking heat simulated tree! HE DOESN'T EVEN LIVE IN A REAL HABITAT. And the statistics on that page, prove that he's not always correct. Hello Americans, we in fact listen to weather men and women who lie to us AND put our trust in a filthy obese rodent. 

I honestly just make fun of him because I think it's funny. When I was a kid, I remember being so excited to wake up in the morning every February 2 to see what he said. I'm always fascinated by myths and traditions. It's like wearing white socks for a snow day. It didn't always work, but hey it couldn't hurt anything right? Magic is indeed out there lol.

I've heard that Punxsutawney, PA is bananas on Ground Hog's Day. Someone told me that it's like a two day festival/party and everyone literally stays up until they drag him out of his "heat simulated tree". I had a friend that went to it a few years back, and he told me that they stay up all night and drink. It's like the equivalent of Parade Day, but it's all over an over sized rat. They sell everything groundhog shaped, cookie cutters, baked goods, souvenirs, you name it! I REALLY want to go, just to say I've experienced it but every year I'm working. Sucks to have my schedule sometimes I guess.

My days have been more and more on the optimistic side, and I'm really having a good week so far. I'm more tired than usual, but it's because I didn't get enough sleep on Monday and Tuesday. My own fault really, but that's okay. I've been more and more engaged on getting things taken care of and done. I slack off once in a while, but I have that "go getter" bug in me now and nothing can stop me! Muahhh haha!

Oh happy day!

Wednesday weigh in!

I had a GREAT day yesterday! I went for an early appointment before work to weigh in. I'm convinced now that Jen has left, because I haven't seen her in a month. The new nurse that's there, Ciarra has been at most of my appointments now. She's nice and everything but I really liked Jen. Anyway, I hopped on the scale and LITERALLY ALMOST PASSED OUT. I MELTED AWAY 6LBS IN ONE WEEK! HOLY CRAP. I've never lost that much weight in one week! So now with my calculations, I'm down to 191, which is 16lbs total done away with! Only four more measly pounds until I'm at my 20lb mark! I could almost die, but I won't because I have more weight to shed off!

During my appointment, I brought up to Dr. Cusimano that my vision has been off. I'm not really sure if it's the Metformin or not. I am due for an eye exam after all. I forgot to take Metformin for a day and my eyes DID NOT feel weird at all. The only way I can describe the sensation is like fuzzy and heavy. I'm starting to squint more, and it's like I'm exerting more energy to focus on things. I only go to the Optometrist every other year, he doesn't think my eyes are bad enough to go every year. That's fine, I have plenty of really nice frames and I don't need like an abundance of them. She suggested taking me off Metformin for two weeks and reporting back to see if it's actually the medicine. That will kind of suck, considering I think it's really helping my weight loss. I was under A LOT of stress over the past couple of days, so that may have added to it also.

I got a text message from Verizon that my bill was ready to view. I clicked on my app and was stunned to discover that my bill was only $30.42, wtf. I'm not complaining at all, but it should really have been $100 more! So I quickly logged onto their site to review my account. They credited me $100 for NO APPARENT REASON. Like I said, I'm not complaining but something seemed pretty fishy. I called customer care and the rep even was puzzled. Turns out that they gave me the credit for upgrading my phone last month! They were running some kind of promotion or some crap and I got it! WHAT A GREAT DAY! I called to make sure that it wasn't a fluke and get a $200 bill next month, but looks like I won't have to worry about that now!

Because I'm feeling SO lucky, I may just go out and play the lottery a bit. The Powerball jackpot is up to $170 million! Like the commercials says, "Hey! You never know!"