Long Ass Update :)

I weighed in this morning and I was at 269.2 lbs which is a gain of 5.2 lbs I believe, since June 10th (right before I left for NYC). How do I feel about this gain? Well obviously a gain sucks, especially when you have been doing so well, BUT at the same time I cannot beat myself up for it. Did I do something to deserve that gain? Yup! Did I count calories since then? Nope! Did I go to the gym as much as I should have been? Nope! So therefore did I give it my 100% effort while on holidays and the week after I got back? HELL NO! So I have no one to "blame" but me. At the same time, I was on holidays and I had a blast! Drank what I wanted to drink, tasted what I wanted to taste and enjoyed every sip and bite of it (except for those nasty turnip fries we had a Buddakan in NYC - barf!), but other than those it was all amazing! So no regrets and no beating myself up, just busting my ass and burning off those pounds again in no time!

Starting Monday I have to begin what I am calling the Fake Vegan Diet or the Non-Vegetarian Vegan Diet :) I cannot have dairy products. This is something that the doctor recommended to me the other day when I was at the specialist getting a colonoscopy (Can somebody say FUN FUN FUN!!!). He is concerned that dairy products/milk products is what is causing the issues I have been having for some time now and therefore have to be VERY strict on this to ensure that this is or isn't what is wrong. The list of "do not eat" is VERY long, but the list of allowed foods is doable, although I do need some ideas on breakfasts and lunches. Btw if you haven't guess why I am calling it the Fake Vegan Diet/Non-Vegetarian Vegan Diet is because I am going to try and live by their ways of eating BUT incorporating some meats, sounds silly I know, but I have NEVER had the desire to be vegetarian nor vegan, but do have the desire to eat healthier and cleaner foods and whats a better time to do so than now. So I am throwing away the 1% Cows Milk that I drink now and bringing in the Almost Breeze :) yummmm! I think? ;)

Also, as mentioned in my past updates I have my trusty FitBook now, which I love love love so far. The FitBook is basically a 12 week program, it has a place for you to write out your exercises and food daily as well as a place at the beginning to plan your workouts for the 12 weeks and set out goals, rewards and such. See...

Check Them Out - There is a link on my homepage, or you can go here www.getfitbook.com. So as I was saying, there is 12 weeks in the FitBook so I am using the FitBook in conjunction with my whole new forced, but yet accepted, diet from the doc to start a new personal challenge for myself. I am going to count calories, like I always have and when my BodyBugg (although it is crapping out on me :( ), like I always have and work it at the gym, like I always have... but make sure that I write EVERYTHING down in my fitbook! Everything from my workouts, intensities, pounds, times, food consumed, feelings, goals, ambitions, etc. etc. etc. It will all be there, right in the handy FitBook! My Goals for the 12 weeks program/challenge? Be out of the 50s, when I say this I mean with weight loss, measurements, percentages, everything! BRING...IT... ON!!

On twitter the other day I asked my peeps (yes I just said that) what I should do for rewards. I am one of those people that used to use food as a reward for myself when I did something right/good in fitness and health, but where does that even remotely make sense? So then I thought about the common ones that people use like clothing and such, but that isnt a really good reward for me cause I have a buttload of clothes and really dont need more until I NEEEEED more cause they dont fit or something. So then I came across these: http://www.twittabling.com/ I so want one for my twitter handle because it is also my website and near and dear to me - @MyHealthyCurves. This is going to be my reward when I hit the 50 lbs lost mark, which will be at 256.0. OMG I cant wait!

I believe I have rambled on and on enough for one update, but tune in Monday for an update on whats going on and how the whole FVD (Fake Vegan Diet) is going. xx

Update - Been Too Long! Down 25+ lbs!

It has been so long since I updated you all... well a week to be exact I think... oh boy TWO WEEKS!!! I weighed in last on Saturday, March 27th and I had lost another 5.8 lbs :) totalling 25.2 lost. Okay... well to show that I am still counting my calories here are my stats:

Monday, March 22:

Intake = 2175
Burn = 3445
Workout = 383
Deficit = 1270

Tuesday, March 23:

Intake = 2152
Burn = 2896
Deficit = 744

Wednesday, March 24:

Intake = 2527
Burn = 3505
Workout = 859
Deficit = 978

Thursday, March 25:

Intake = 2205
Burn = 3408
Workout = 542
Deficit = 1203

Friday, March 26:

Intake = 2315
Burn = 2894
Deficit = 575

Saturday, March 27:

Intake = 3025
Burn = 3316
Deficit = 291

Sunday, March 28:

Intake = 4040
Burn = 3212
Deficit = +828 :(

Monday, March 29:

Intake = 1964
Burn = 3078
Deficit = 1114

Tuesday, March 30:

Intake = 1845
Burn = 3341
Workout = 635
Deficit = 1496

Wednesday, March 31:

Intake = 2403
Burn = 3432
Workout = 789
Deficit = 1029

Thursday, April 1:

Intake = 2628
Burn = 3024
Deficit = 399

Friday, April 2:

Intake = 2003
Burn = 3615
Deficit = 1612

Saturday, April 3:

Intake = 3676
Burn = 3911
Workout = 479
Deficit = 235

Sunday, April 4:

Intake = 5326
Burn = 3035
Deficit = + 2291 - NEVER AGAIN!!!!!

Okay so yesterday was a horrible day for me calorie wise. I was stupid and just kept eating this coffee cake that we had and ate about 2000+ calories in coffee cake alone! GRRR!! Live and learn right? Moving on! Not bad for my first HUGE mess up in 2.5 months though :)

I am doing good otherwise... I have a weigh in on Saturday and my goal is to be down 2 lbs, but because of the numbers from Sunday (yesterday) I am a little scared... hence why I am aiming for 2 lbs in 2 weeks instead of 4... I am trying to make up for it this week though, but I have such a crazy busy week ahead of me! If you noticed that my calories for intake were a little higher last week too... still stayed under, but nto as far under as I wanted to. I have no idea why I ate more last week and why I was hungrier, but I am sure everything will get back to normal in no time... No question about it, I am sticking with it, no turning back now ... or ever :D

xx

My Weekend Update :)

Update time :)

Friday Stats:

Intake - 2503
Burn - 3438
Workout - 419 (gym workout, strictly cardio...treadmill)
Deficit - 935

Saturday Stats:

Intake - 2900
Burn - 4824
Workout - 767 (treadmill at the gym and then one hour kick class, evey class I am putting more and more into it as I am becoming more and more comfortable with the moves/routine)
Deficit - 1924

Sunday Stats:

Intake - 2176
Burn - 4455
Deficit - 2279

I am so proud of myself that over the WEEKEND I came outta it with a deficit of over 5100 calories :) Thats an amazing accomplishment for me especially when I still ate out, went to a stag and doe, baby shower and shopping :) Not to mention I managed to stay away from the scale on Saturday morning annnnd I still stayed on track, wow I really am changing :P

I have officially decided that I will be taking my Personal Training Certificate in May,which I am totally excited about and definitly gives me something else to look forward to and work towards.

I have been feeling better and better everyday... life is great, hectic, but great! I have to make sure that I dont get too involved in too many things though because I can already see myself being worn out, so I have to realize when to take it easy.

I am looking forward to my weigh in this Saturday coming up though just to see my progress, but I have to remember that the scale isnt the only way to see that.... I am down 4 inches on my hips, 4 inches on my waist and 5 on my chest... ya can't complain about that :) also this is a big deal for me, but about a month ago sadly I was not in good enough shape/flexibility to touch my toes, now I can nearly palm the floor! mmhmm! super psyched about that!

Well I better get going! thanks for reading my update!

xx

EVEN BETTER NEWS!!! :P

I have such great news to share, AGAIN :) Every day keeps getting better and better and I am feeling better and better every day that passes too!! I went to the gym after work for my usual weekday workout last night and I saw my old trainer there and I believe she is like the manager, co-owner, something... anyways we started talking about how much my life has changed lately and better yet how much I have changed and not only physically but mentally and emotionally as well. She asked me if I have ever thought about speaking about my journey kind of like motivational speaking and I said that my one goal by the end of this year was to become a personal trainer/coach/motivational speaker. She said that she wanted to promise me right then and there and she would put it in writing if I wanted her to, that I had a job there at that gym anytime I wanted guranteed! We discussed that who is a better person to help others than someone who has been or is going through it themselves. That is something that a LOT of personal trainers are lacking, life experience. I am SO stoked although my family is totally frustrating me, my mom and dad really, because I told them and the first they worry/asked about is the money, it is NOT all about the money. Yes the money is a HUGE factor, BUT this is a goal/dream of mine especially as of late and it was just layed out there in front of me, how can they not be happy for me? GRRR!!! It has got to be fate to be honest because all this happened on the SAME day that my dad and I had a talk about the future of the company (where I work now) and things are not looking good and if things don't pick up I will be out of a job!

I am not saying I am taking this job at the gym, I am not saying that I am not... this is something I have to first get more details on and second have to make sure it will be the right move for me. Either way I will hopefully do it part time if nothing else :)

I hope to take my CPT (Certified Personal Training Course) in May of this year :)

Thursdays Stats:

Intake = 2061
Burn = 3585
Workout = 469 - Tredmill and Weight Training, also did some cardio on my lunch break
Deficit = 1524

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Update - Things are GREAT!

Good Afternoon Everyone :)

Just wanted to post a quick update...

Tuesdays Stats:

Intake = 1881
Burn = 3163
Workout = minimal, messed around with the wii fit plus for 15 mins, this was my off day :)
Deficit = 1282

Wednesday's Stats:

Intake = 2378
Burn = 3523
Workout = 803 ... worked out from approx. 6:00 - 7:30... treadmill and then 1 hr group kick class - I PULLED MY BUTT MUSCLE! haha
Deficit = 1145

This morning (Thursday morning) I saw my tape measure and thought hmmm I would like to measure my waist and ... drum roll please...................... I was down 4 inches in my waist alone! :D YAY! I am so excited about that!

I have already gone to the gym twice this week and plan on going tonight (don't know if I will be taking a class - Group Groove - or if I will just do cardio and weight training, but we will see :)) If I feel up to it I will also be going to the gym on Saturday morning for a class or just a standard workout if I have the time and energy :)

Look how beautiful it was outside today when I went for a little stroll on my lunch break:

Things are good.... no, things are GREAT :)

xx

Brooke

WONDERFUL NEWS :)

So.... I went to the gym last night and did my second Group Step class. It seemed a little easier than the first one. Easier not as in easier intensity, it was still an INSANE 60 min workout, but it was def a little easier to get the steps down and my coordination was a little better. Anyways, after the workout I went into the change room, grabbed my stuff and headed out. I wanted to talk to the girl that was the instructer of the class I had just taken to ask her about muscle gain etc. and mention that I had gained last week, but she was busy. Out walked the owner of the gym and the woman that used to be my personal trainer WAY back in the day at the old gym a few years ago. Her and I were chatting, she is so sweet and very smart, and we were talking about my gain... she insisted that if I had a calorie deficit of nearly 7000 like I did then I didn't do anything wrong and that the only thing she could suggest was drinking more water and keeping at it. It could have been many things but most likely lean muscle mass or water retention. She also stated that you can start to show lean muscle mass gain as early as 3 weeks, but seeing as this was my 7th week that is only normal especially with how hard I have been working out....

On to the wonderful news part. Her and I continued to talk and she said to me that her and Jen, my current personal trainer who I also played baseball with back in the day for many years, were talking about me and my goals/success etc. etc. She said that she was very proud of me and personally touched with my story. She said that the whole trying to lose weight and not to just fit into a bikini or be a size 4, but be be healthier and happier and have a healthy pregnancy and baby was very touching to her and it hit home to her. We dicussed motherhood and all that fun stuff and it was just a very touching and moving conversation that I had with her. She then said that her, Jen, and the gym would like to support me as much as they can and would like to "sponsor" me of sorts and help me out with a program free of charge to help me reach my goals and continue on this wonderful path I am heading down. This almost made me cry! How sweet is this!??! I was soooo touched by what she was saying. I didnt get any specific details or anything but when I know more I will obvs blog about it.. I just wanted to share that with everyone :)

As for my calories yesterday...

Intake = 2022
Burn = 3353
Burn from Workout = 577
Deficit = 1331

:) So that was my day yesterday! Today I will be not going to the gym as I already have at least 3-4 gym visits scheduled this week, but I will be trying out the wii fit plus that I have :)

Have a wonderful day everyone! It is BEAUTIFUL out there!

xx

Days... oh crap I lost track :P

Yes... I havent been writing on here as much as I was wanting to, but def more than I used to. A little progress is better than no progress :)

So last weeks overview....

Total Calorie Deficit - 6168 (for the entire week)

Therefore with that deficit I should have lost roughly 1.7 - 1.8 lbs, but nooooo I did lose ANY pounds, in fact... I GAINED THEM!!! WTH! I have no idea how this happened. I went up exactly 1 lb this week!

The only thing I can think of is a reason that I try to avoid... BUT I think the reason I try to avoid it is because I feel that I used it as an excuse in the past. Muscle Gain... This is something I would tell myself every week that I gained or maintaned... that it was just muscle gain, but in all reality it was most likely that whole pizza I ate or the 10 chocolate bars I consumed in the week! This week though, although I had one day where I went over my calories by 1000 calories (which isnt even a pound!!!!) I made up for it throughout the week and still came out of this week with a fairly high deficit... With that said, I went to the gym 4 times last week and tried two different classes last week too and SHOULD NOT HAVE GAINED! PERIOD! And therefore I am taking my knowledge and confidence in the fact that I DID do everything right, and saying that it was muscle gain and possibly water retention. :)

I am planning on weighing in every two weeks from now on... Going to test this this week and see how it goes. If I find myself slipping up because of it then by all means I am going to go back to weekly, but if not than maybe this will be a good plan :) Will keep everyone posted on that of course!

Anyways there is my update :) Thanks for reading!

xx

Days 8 & 9 Update

Things are going good and I am trying to make up for my calories on Sunday... I was actually over by 1000 cals so I am working on burning those this week...

Day 8:

Intake = 1770
Burn = 3351
Workout = 532
Deficit = 1581

I went to the gym this day and did my very first group class, which is included in my membership... it was a lot of fun, but VERY intense! It was called Group Step, but dont let the name fool you, it is the craziest workout! :P annnd you have to be very corrdinated and quick with your feet. Maybe after a few more classes I will get the hang of it.

Day 9:

Intake = 2210
Burn = 2849
Workout = 275
Deficit = 639 :(

So today I only had a deficit of 639, I was hungry this day and went to the gym but for some reason I just wasnt feeling it... I only gave it about 30 mins max and didnt even give it my all.... One of those days I suppose!

This weigh in I would like to aim for a 2 lb loss, but the calories dont lie and I am assuming that I will have a loss of about 1.5 or so... which I will still be VERY happy with :) no complaints here I suppose, just need to watch my intake, especially on days that there is no gym (or very little)... My weekly calorie deficit as of today (Wednesday morning) is 2578, assuming I have at least 1000 - 1100 every day until weigh in I will reach the 1.5 lb mark or just above it... if I burn more and my deficit is higher, then great :)

Tonight I have another class called Group Kick. I have a feeling it is going to be even more intense than the Group Step, but we will see. I am def looking forward to it :) Will blog tomorrow and let everyone know how it went :)

xx
Brooke

Day 5, 6 and 7 Update :)

So here is my update from Friday, Saturday and Sunday... sorry wasnt near a computer much over the weekend and kinda like to detach from them whenever I can :)

Friday - Day 5:

Intake = 1840
Burn = 3053
Deficit = 1213

Saturday - Day 6:

Intake = 2560
Burn = 3948
Deficit = 1388

Sunday - Day 7:

No calorie counting this day... but then again I still like to estimate hehe its my OCD coming through!!! lol I am assuming I ate about maintain calories today though, I know... not so good, but I will just work extra hard at the gym tonight.

Speaking of gym I signed up for a 60 min step class tonight and a 60 min kick class on Wednesday :) I am excited to be doing these group workouts and try to push myself even further and harder than I have been :)

Okay... so I weighed in on Saturday morning... DOWN ANOTHER 2 LBS LAST WEEK!! For a TOTAL OF 20.4 lbs lost!!!!! I can colour in another petal on my tattoo!!! :D

I have also lost a total of 5 inches off my hips and waist since January 25th and many more to come!

Well there is my update, thats everything for now... Week 2 - Day 8 - starts today (Monday) and I am feeling great!

xx
Brooke

Day Four - March 4th - Update

Today was a GREAT day again :) Went to the gym after work and had my best workout yet. Decided in my head I would do at least 20 mins of cardio and my weight training, but I pushed myself and did over 40 mins of cardio alone and pushed it on the weights too, I was super proud of myself.

Intake: 1870
Burn: 3562
Workout: 706
Deficit: 1692

Great day and looking forward to the weekend :)

xx
Brooke

Day Three - March 3, 2010 - Update

Today was your average day with nothing exciting to report on really. I didn't do a workout today, after work I did my running around, ran some errands and also did some things for my mom as she is still not able to drive or really go anywhere. She broke her foot in two places over 5 weeks ago now and I am just doing what I can to help her. So after doing her banking and all that fun stuff, and going the grocery store I got home, made dinner, had a bath, watch the Biggest Loser on my PVR with Josh and was going to do a workout on my wii fit, but got lazy! haha Ah well I need a rest day :) Plus did some house work, laundry etc. so that kept me moving a bit throughout the night :)

Oh! My insulin intake is dropping too, but right now I am just experimenting so I dont want to jinx it, will def keep you posted on that :D

Calorie Intake = 2140
Calorie Burn = 3126
Workout Burn = REST DAY
Daily Deficit = 986

Thats all for today :)
xx
Brooke

PS: Had to come back and make a correction on my intake from yesterday because I forgot something as simple as olive oil and micrale whip that I use in dinner preparation. Just shows how easy it is to disregard certains foods/drinks and not realizing how much calories are in the simple things that you wouldnt think are full of calories :)

Day Two - March 2, 2010 - Update

Day two went great :) Not really much to update on. I went to the gym again after work and did about 35 - 40 mins of cardio both on the treadmill and the eliptical, I then did my weight training and was out of there in just over an hour I think... I am trying to make my workouts longer, at least the cardio portion, but that will just come with time, when the pain starts to ease up a bit. I get severe pains in my calves sometimes, not fun at all and I am all for working through the pain, but that isnt always an easy thing to do.

Anyways my calorie intake for day two was: 1750
Calories burned: 3360

I am also keeping track of calories burned during the time that I workout specifically at the gym.

Gym Workout Calorie Burn: 590 calories

Total Daily deficit: 1610

Overall a great day and a very satisfying deficit :)

xx
Brooke

Day One Update :)

Okay so I have decided that I am not going to Vlog EVERY day, just too time consuming and well I can def see it getting VERY boring because well my life just isnt THAT interesting, but I will continue to blog everyday! My goal is to blog every day for the day before... so today is Day Two, but I am blogging for yesterday to document how yesterday went :) make sense? :)

Yesterday was Day One of the second 21 Day Challenge for me, as I mentioned in my last post... I did VERY well with my day!

I consumed 1617 calories and burned 3484 calories for a caloric deficit of 1867... This week I am aiming for a little bit higher of a calorie deficit every day as I was not my greatest on Sunday and had my first binge in 5 weeks, which that in itself is a GREAT accomplishment for myself... Yes I messed up, but it was ONCE in OVER a MONTH! I havent been able to say that before! :P So anyways, in hopes that I fix what damage I may have done I am lowering my calorie intake this week as much as I can and only eating when I am hungry :)

I went the gym last night after work and I did 15 mins on the eliptical machine and then 10 mins on the treadmill. I am trying this new thing where I walk for 4 and a half mins and run for 30 secs and eventually I will run more and more each time. And my goal is on days I do weights try to get AT LEAST 20 mins of cardio, on days I do not do weight I am aiming for AT LEAST 40 mins of cardio. I plan on going to the gym tonight, will do cardio and weights again although I am supposed to have a days rest, I really want to do weights tonight.. ah well we will see...

So anyways, that was my day one! Tune in tomorrow for Day Two Update :D

xx
Brooke

Day One - 21 Day Challenge

Well today is Day One of my second 21 Day Challenge and I am very excited :)

I weighed in on Saturday morning and I was down another 2.8 lbs for a total weight loss from January 25th - February 27th of 18.4 :) YAY!!!

My new goal for the next 21 days is to lose 8.6 lbs :) I can totally do that! Although that is a lot to lose in 3 weeks since I already lost nearly 20 lbs, but I am confident I can hit my goal :) Now that much of a weight loss IS having a deficit of 1400 approx EVERY day, which may be tough, but we'll see! Im a tough cookie and can take this on, hey they dont call it a challenge for nothing :P

I am very excited to have Sarah (Josh's cousin) join me on this 21 Day Challenge too :) She will be a great support and this will bring us closer together even through the geographic distance!

Anyways, not making this long, going to make a point of trying to write every day and I will also be vlogging on a daily basis!

xx
Brooke

New 21 Day Challenge

Since the first one was so successful I have decided to start another one for myself...

21 Day Challenge

#1 - Continue to track all food everyday and aim for around 1,000 calorie deficit everyday or at least a weekly deficit of approx. 7,000 calories. I will allow myself one day a week without counting the calories, but still being reasonable, if I wish.

#2 - Workout at least 3 times a week at the gym and use my wii fit at home on my non-gym days.

#3 - Do a little clip every day for my v-log on YouTube to document each and every day of the 21 Day Challenge and post in a video once every 7 days. Also aim to write on here, in my blog, a little bit every day, excluding Saturday and Sunday if need be because I am not always need a computer, unless I figure out how to on my BB :P

*** with my 3 goals for this current 21 Day Challenge I plan on continuing on with the changes I made with my last challenge, which include: drink my water everyday (at least 8 glasses a day), limit treats and fried foods, avoid alcohol, cigars, extra curricular activites :) etc. etc.***

I am confident I can do this again! My goal for these next 21 days is to reach my next goal weight of 20 lbs. I am currently sitting at 15.4 lbs lost and I know that another 4.6 lbs in 21 days seems reasonable, maybe even a little low, but I am trying to be realistic and realize that I have been at this for over a month now and the weight loss may slow down... I weigh in tomorrow morning as my regular weigh in and then for the sake of this challenge I will weigh in again on Monday morning and my final weigh in will be on the morning of Monday March 22nd :) My goal for the 21 days may change after my weigh in Monday morning, but I plan to blog here again Monday as it is the first day at this :)

Anyways, there is an overview on what I am planning on doing :) I am excited and know once again I CAN DO THIS :)

Thanks for reading and have a grrrreat weekend everyone!
xx
Brooke

Update :)

Oh Monday how I loathe thee!!! Ok ok I know… once again it has been a while since I have written, but I thought I would update everyone on what is going on. First, I am not sure why I say “everyone” cause in all reality I have maybe 10 ppl that signed up to read my blogs and I have no idea how many of them actually read them on an ever semi-regular basis. This is okay though because if anything I am using these blogs as something that I personally can look back on and see what I was doing or thinking at that point in my journey.

Things are looking great! In fact, better than they have in a very very long time! I am down a total of 15.4 lbs from January 25th.

1st weigh in – January 25th
2nd weigh in – January 30th – down 5.2 lbs
3rd weigh in – February 6th – down 5.2 lbs
4th weigh in – February 13th – down 2.4 lbs
5th weigh in – February 20th – down 2.2 lbs

I am super happy with my progress so far and I am well aware that from this point forward the weigh loss will/should slow down. I am aiming for anything better 1-2 lbs per week from this point forward. With the amount of weight that I have to lose, this will be a long and tough battle, but at the same time I GOT THIS! Someone said to me yesterday, I know its hard and I couldn’t help but say back, yes, but no at the same time it isn’t. Now let me explain what I mean. I will be the first one to admit YES it is INSANELY difficult to lose weight, ESPECIALLY when you have a lot to lose like myself, ESPECIALLY when you have been yo-yo dieting since you were 12… (Side note: I am 24! FOR HALF OF MY LIFE I HAVE BEEN DIETING!!!!!!!!!!!!! How depressing is that) so yes, obviously this is hard! But at the same time it doesn’t have to be as hard as some ppl make it out to be. Weight loss is very simple when you think about it and the difficult part is re-programming your mind to suit. Its as simple as calories in versus calories out.. You consume fewer calories than your body burns in a day and you will lose weight. So it’s all about thinking straight and knowing what you want, how you want it and always have an action plan. I totally got this and once again it only took me 12 years to realize it WTF! lol but when you got it you got and when its your time its your time! I will not go another year saying “I lived half of my life dieting” I am going to get to goal (and that may take me more than a year) but I will get there and I will make this a change in my life and not just another fad diet that I am TRYING it is something I am DOING :)

On my average day I consume anywhere between 1500 – 2000 calories and burn anywhere between 3000 – 4000… I find I do naturally eat more calories on the weekend, but never over maintain calories and at the same time I burn much more calories on the weekends too generally speaking. On most weeks I am noticing about a 7000-8000 calorie deficit which is approx a 2 lb weight loss per week :) 3500 calories = 1 lb

One more thing before I go… I went and got myself a new tattoo and this tattoo is to be a constant reminder to stay healthy and never give up. The tat has 2 cherry blossom flowers with 5 petals each. Each petal represents 10 lbs lost or a goal reached. I am only colouring in the petals as I reach each of my goals therefore the tattoo will not be finished until I am there! :) I love this concept and as I mentioned it is a constant reminder of my new life and why I am doing this. It’s beautiful!

Well that is all for me today! I am actively posting YouTube videos again and also on twitter so please check me out there!

www.youtube.com/brookejh85
www.twitter.com/brookejh85

Thats all for today! I will try and post again this week or next! Thanks for reading and your support!

xx
Brooke

Update :) Its been a while, but I am bak!

It has been a while since I have updated on here...

It took me a while, but I have finally got my ass in gear and I am actually doing this... and not just half ass, I am doin it! and loving it! I am eating lower calories EVERYDAY and working out at the gym AT LEAST 3 times a week with an intense workout and one with a personal trainer, who is also an old friend of mine from back in the day playing baseball, which is so much more fun having a friend as a PTthan a random :)

I weighed in at the beginning of the year at the largest I have ever been in my life! EVER! and instead of letting it upset me and go and eat more I decided to finally change things.

8 days ago I started a personal 21 day challenge. Experts say that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit, good or bad... so I made some goals for myself for 21 days. Those goals are consisting of, everyday I am eating around 1000 less calories per day than I am burning and aiming to burn at least 3000 calories every day. I am staying away from caffeine, fried foods, alcohol, all that stuff and I have DRAMATICALLY reduced my refined sugar intake as well, meaning I eat only whole grains and I have cut the sugar out of my diet 99%. I had a sweet tooth the other night and fruit wasnt cutting it so I had a 100 calorie aero bar AND shared it with Josh. Took that craving right away and I only ate about 70 cals! :) My other goal was to track my calories every day, one day a week I will not track my calories but I will STILL write down what I eat and still be accountable for what I ate that day. Last week that day for me was Saturday and although I didnt track calories and I ate out TWICE and went to the movies I STILL had a calorie deficit of 966 cals at least :) I am very proud of myself for the changes I have already made to be honest. I am even noticing that I am looking forward to the gym. Dont get me wrong there are times where I am like oooo it would be nice to go home and lay on my ass, but quickly I realize that the gym will make me feel MUCH better than the couch will :) My schedule last week was busy, but fun! This is what it looked like:

Monday - gym after work and did cardio
Tuesday - off day, but did house work and that totally broke a sweat :P
Wednesday - gym after work did cardio again (i was scared of the weight machines so figured I would stick to cardio until I met with the trainer to ensure I was doing the right things with the right form etc.
Thursday - off day finally just sat at home and did nothing :P
Friday - went out with some girlfriends for dinner... when they all ordered fries with their meals and booze to drink.. I ordered a lemon water and nachos with grilled chicken breast after making sure the nachos were baked not fried :) I didnt feel deprived, still had a treat, but stayed healthier and satisfied... BUT after dinner with the ladies I was already in Fergus and stopped by the gym on my way home for some intense cardio :) felt AWESOME!
Saturday - Personal Trainer appt. out for the day, visiting family, dinner, movie etc.
Sunday - shopping and running around the house
Monday - TODAY - Gym tonight after work :) Again my goal for this week is to go AT LEAST 3 times a week! which will have to be during the week because I am away this weekend.


So... will ALL that said, sorry for rambling but for once I can actually say I am giving this my all and making it a lifestyle change... changing my life to be healthier and trying to make this not seem like a diet :) My weight loss from Monday January 25th to Saturday January 30th was a loss of 5.2 lbs!!! Now the reasons it was only for 5 days was because I weighed in Monday morning as a starting point... and I weighed in on Saturday because that was the day I was starting my personal trainer so I wanted to have a weight at home to compare to the gym... plus weighing in on Saturday makes it easier for me to NOT binge and do stupid shit on the weekend :P

Anyways just wanted to share my update with everyone! I will come back as soon as I can... I am ALSO hoping to get back on youtube too! ASAP! Take care everyone!

xx