Saturday

I'm taking a study break at the moment. I've been at Starbucks for a couple of hours and plan to be here for a couple more. The only problem with coming here is having to spend money! But I do enjoy my skinny vanilla lattes :)

I went to boot camp on Wednesday and got my measurements done. They weren't quite as good as I would have liked but I was down over all. Except my butt but I think she may not have measured it properly the first time. My hips were down almost two inches so I'm pretty impressed with that. On to the next four weeks! Hopefully there will be more decreases. With life as busy as it will be, if I can get 3-4 workouts in per week then I'll be happy with that. Once I'm done my class, I'll be aiming for 4-6. I think I'll have to give up the Sun Run this year - I just don't see how I can fit 3 days of running in in addition to at least 2 days of boot camp. I'll have to think that over as training should start tomorrow.

My eating has not been very good. That certainly didn't take me long to get into old habits! I did learn some lessons though. The main one is that preparation is key! I'll definitely be making sure that I'm making food on the weekends to help me stick to my plan throughout the week. The steel cut oats work super well so that will be staying on the menu. Lunches I'm definitely having some problems with - mostly just coming up with ideas. The chickpea patties do work well so will be making some thing weekend. I still don't want to depend on microwave dinners but I think I will stock up a bit so I have something easy to grab as well. Of course I have no idea if there is a microwave at the new job (although I'd be surprised if there wasn't).

What do you have for lunch that keeps you satisfied??

I did experiment with hunger a little bit though - more unintentional than anything as I was just really busy at work but I think it was a good thing. I know I can get hungry and life does not end. I didn't make a bad choice until a few days into the "experiment". And I think the choices I made were based more on not using my points effectively. For example, on Wednesay, I had a 7 point bagel with butter for breakfast - not filling - and then Subway for lunch, using another 10 - 13 points but still having no protein (footlong veg sub with cheese and light mayo) so again, not long-lasting. Then I didn't have many options for dinner so had peanut butter on toast and then did an hour workout, with no food after. By Thursday at lunch, I was flipping STARVING, with no food with me. That ended in Burger King because I just did not have it in me to make a better decision (we also have very limited options). I really feel the overeating Thursday and Friday could have been avoided by prepping my food so I had good, lower point, filling choices available when I was hungry.

I did weigh in this week, although early because we wanted do a little celebrating for me getting the job. Crap food and booze was had and I felt the consequences of it! But watching Glee was very fun. The junk did make me feel pretty disgusting though and that continued into the following day. My plan for this week is to consider my flex points used (even though my new week starts today) and just eat some APs if/when I feel the need. So the results of my weigh-in...down 1.8lbs to 208.4. I will certainly take it! Getting close to my 5% and even closer to 10lbs lost. Here's hoping for a good weigh in next week so I can get at least one of those!

I definitely have some guilt for giving myself permission to have a bunch of junk food as a reward for getting the job. This is not how my relationship for food should be and this will take some thought.

Better get back to the books. Thanks for reading!

Finally!

Finally a post and finally a result with my job search. I shouldn't say finally with the job search actually because it really hasn't been that long. But yes, I officially have a new job which I start on February 15. I'm both excited and nervous/scared. It is an excellent opportunity, in an industry I used to work in a couple of years ago but I will be in management this time (gulp). My first management position! There will definitely be a huge learning curve but I haven't been very challenged in my current job.

I am definitely concerned about keeping on track with my weight loss goals while making the transition into the new job. I know that there is going to be alot of stress and alot of demands on my time. Both of which have resulted in me over-eating and making seriously poor choices in the past. On top of the added workload, I have an exam to write in approximately 6 weeks and, per usual, I am somewhat behind. I've planned out my time which basically consists of Booty Camp, running (gulp), working and studying. If I'm lucky, I'll find some time to check out some of the (free) Olympic festivities! I really want to stay focused on my goals while I go through this stressful time. When I worked in the industry previously, I packed on a ridiculous 85lbs over the 3 years (a large chunk of that in the last 8 months) so there is a reason behind me feeling this way. On top of everything else, we want to get a new apartment that is closer to my work so I need to squeeze that search in as well! I'm thinking May 1 might be a little more realistic then April 1 but we shall see. Maybe we'll luck out!

What are your non-food stress relievers? How do you handle being super busy?

So far my eating hasn't been that fantastic. I'm actually eating less then I normally do because I'm still busy at my current job! I can't even believe that I'm eating less to be honest - not my usual reaction! But that isn't good so something I'm going to work on. I need to get some steel cut oats made so that I have an easy breakfast food that is low points and get back into my pattern. Hopefully I can get that done after my booty camp session tomorrow. I also haven't been tracking which is a habit I really need to get back into!

Speaking of booty camp, my current session is ending and the day/time I'm currently going to has been cancelled for February since my (awesome) instructor is leaving. There is another session on Tues/Thurs that I'm trying to get into so fingers crossed! It is quite late though - starts at 8:30 but with the new job, which is about an hour commute, it probably works better. Hopefully it will be a good stress-reliever for me!

I should get myself off to bed. Thanks for reading my somewhat random, all over the place post!

WI & Giveaway!

Just time for a quick post today. We just watched the first two episodes of Glee - hilarious!!! I am officially a huge fan and will be watching the rest before the new episodes start again. Now we are about to start "The Hurt Locker". Should be good!

I ended up have a second interview today for the job I interviewed for on Thursday. They actually wanted me to come yesterday afternoon but I couldn't really skip out on work so we made it work for today instead. My fingers are crossed - this would be a great opportunity.

Weigh in news...down 2.4lbs woo hoo!!! Very happy with that result. Measurements at Booty Camp on Wednesday, gulp! I'm not feeling very positive about it because I haven't noticed much change. We shall see!

And finally, TJ is having a fantastic giveaway on her blog. Go check it out here!

Thanks for reading!

Thursday

So today was another day of not-so-stellar eating choices. Not sure what is wrong with me. Well, I think part of it is that I am PMSing, tired, a little sore and headachy. And a little stressed. I'm so ready for this job stuff to be sorted out, with a good result. Interview went well today - depends whether or not they'll take a chance on me with no supervisory experience. I really hope so. I also have another interview next week for a different company which also has great potential. Hopefully this happens for me soon!

Anyway, I know I don't make the best choices when I'm over tired. The good news is that I am still within my points. The bad news is that I haven't had much in the way of fruit and veg for a few days...perhaps a link to how I am feeling?? So I'm going to concentrate on getting those in, even on the weekend. Smoothies shall be had!

I am also committing to working out tomorrow, regardless how tired/cranky/headachy I feel. Feel free to kick my butt/ask me if I did it!! Saturday will also be a booty camp at home session after what is hopefully a kick-ass weigh-in!

Thanks for reading!

Wednesday!

And Wednesday means Booty Camp day! YAY! I wasn't feeling it at all when I got home - my stomach was quite sore. Not sure what was going on there. But I did go and managed to forget about it while I worked out. Easy to do when you've already maxed your heart rate out in the first 5 minutes! We used the agility ladder today and did a 7 passes of 3 different exercises with it. Then onto some squats and lunges, leg raises and extra long abs session. Definitely need to work on those abs - mine are very weak so sometimes have a hard time with the exercises.

Eating has been so-so. I let stress/busy-ness get the better of me yesterday and had some pizza. Which was delicious, for the record lol. I was over my points for the week (APs and flex included) but earned back those APs today. Definitely going to get one more workout in before WI on Saturday. Wish it could be two but have another job interview tomorrow, across town, and suspect I won't get home until somewhere around 8. Today I went with too much convenience food - bagel from Tim Horton's, a Wendy's salad, a protein bar and some crackers. Just couldn't be bothered to eat healthier. And tomorrow will be more of the same - I don't really have much for lunch (ooh just remembered we have soup. sweet!) and will be eating on the run depending how long it takes for me to get to my interview.

Going to grab some oatmeal to use up my last 3 points. I'm pretty hungry! Thanks for reading!

Monday - somewhat whiny

Headachy and tired but off to boot camp shortly (after some dinner). Lots of school stress so not much in the mood to be on the computer more then that. Wanting a new job but is proving harder then expected. Boo. I'm tired of interviews and missing work.

Good news: down 1.8 lbs at WI woo hoo! So total of 5 lbs down since recommitting on Jan 5. Woot!

Also good: still on plan!

Thanks for reading!

Thursday

I have no real title for today's post as it is kind of random. Yesterday I was supposed to have a meeting with a recruiter after work, which had been rescheduled from Monday due to her being sick. I had made something up for work so that I could leave a little early. Wouldn't you know that the bridge I need to go over (one of only 4 ways to get across the river and only one other being remotely close to where I needed to go) was closed due to a massive accident. I was able to leave even earlier but got stuck in the stupid traffic for 2.5 hours. Ugh. So I missed my meeting and we rescheduled again for today. We also had a quick convo this morning to talk about a particular job which it seems I will now have an interview for next week. Yayish.

Yes, -ish - I'm not sure about it - in some ways it has potential but does not really solve my transportation issue. See my hubby needs the car more and more lately for work which leaves me taking transit (or hitching a ride) and this job is not very far away from my current one. I don't necessarily mind walking a little from the bus stop but not in crappy weather. However, it is closer to walk from the bus stop to this office. There would be potential for another car, depending on the salary level, but not sure how that would affect other financial goals we have. Ugh, grown up decisions suck. Of course, they may not want me anyway but I have to analyze the crap out of it cause that is what I do!

Exercise: I did make it to boot camp last night even after my ridiculous traffic adventure - I had about 20 minutes at home so quickly scarfed down a protein bar with some water, changed and got out the door. Since I had boot camp Monday as well, and then went out for dinner, I feel like I've been running around all week! Booty camp was awesome. I swear I feel myself getting stronger - is that crazy after only 5 sessions? I'll definitely be doing the beginner one at home again on Saturday. And tomorrow I will get a walk in or even better, the cardio and ab workouts from the DVD.

Eating: yesterday was ok. I was actually short a few points which isn't stellar but I wasn't really hungry after boot camp and the smoothie I made was pretty gross so I only had half of it. Today I ended up eating pretty light during the day and had my cheat meal for dinner - McD's. I kind of hope that someday I no longer want it. So now I'm out of flex points (but not over), which is totally fine since I still have some APs left which I a) don't plan on eating and b) plan on earning more of before WI on Monday :)

So, my crazy week will end with copious amounts of homework (seriously, I'm planning on living at Starbucks this weekend) and Avatar on Saturday night (tickets already bought online), as well as interview prep. Oh and don't forget the exercise and pre-cooking meals :) Guess I better make a schedule!

Thanks for reading!