I'm Back

I've been going through a funk lately and on the edge of depression.  I graduated from nursing school and started working full-time at the hospital.  I'm currently working night shift and am having a real hard time adjusting.  I've been second guessing this career and am feeling like it was a mistake.  I hate to think that after putting in 3 years of school that it was a mistake.

In the meantime, working nights I find myself eating some really unhealthy foods just to keep me awake and my exercise is walking the halls of the hospital.  I realize that I have two options, 1.) To sit and mope and feel sorry for myself, or 2.) To get up off of my a$$ and get this weight off and find my happy place.  I took the first step Monday morning and that is stepping on the scale and facing the number that I had been avoiding all of this time.  I stepped on the scale and tears started flowing.  I couldn't believe that I had let myself go so much.  The highest number I have ever seen on the scale flashed before me, 288 pounds.

I decided to start back up with My Fitness Pal and purchased a Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor.  If you are on MFP I would love to be friends.  Here's my page http://www.myfitnesspal.com/projectkristy
I'm counting calories and watching the carbs for a little while to cut back on the cravings.  We're going to be going on a family vacation to Disney World in July and I really want to feel comfortable in my own skin before we go.  That is just one thing that will be keeping me motivated to succeed.

I want to say Thank You to all of my loyal followers!  I'm looking forward to catching up with some fellow weight loss bloggers.

Menu Plan Monday {10/29/12 ~ 11/04/12}

Monday ~ Tuna Noodle Casserole 8 points+ (I made this tonight and it had a 50/50 pass rate. My youngest daughter and husband did not like it at all and ended up eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches)

Tuesday ~ Chicken Pot Pie (5 points+)

Wednesday ~ Leftovers

Thursday ~ Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and cream corn

Friday ~ Chicken Chili w/white beans (8 points+)

Saturday ~ Mexican Casserole (9 points+)

Sunday ~ Ham and potato au gratin (6 points+)

Today's grocery trip:

PointsPlus® Tracker entries

Monday, October 29, 2012

Morning
provolone cheese - Quick-added food	1
diet mt dew - Quick-added food	0
Breakfast burrito	6
Subtotal	7
Midday
1  bun Sara Lee Hamburger Buns	3
4  oz Kroger Beef Patties	5
1  slice Kraft Cheese Product	2
1  oz Lay's Potato Crisps	3
1  tbsp Heinz Ketchup	1
Subtotal	14
Evening
1  Tuna-Noodle Casserole	8
Subtotal	8
Anytime
1  item(s) Giant Fudge Bars	3
1  bar Special K Protein Meal Bar	5
1  pouch Nature Valley Granola Thins	2
Subtotal	10
Food PointsPlus values total used	39
Food PointsPlus values remaining	2
Activity
No entries for activity.
Activity PointsPlus values earned	0
Check off these important items daily:
Liquids          Milk & Milk Products     Fruit & vegetables          Multivitamin/Mineral   Healthy Oil     Activity

Notes: Need to work on the fruit and vegetables and exercise.

Today's weigh in: 276.4 pounds

Plan: Project Kristy

Well, it's happened...I turned 40! I was hoping that by the time I turned 40 I would be at my goal weight, living and loving life.  Instead, I've gained back the weight that I lost and am again back at 270 pounds.  I love reading blogs of people that put themselves first and reach their goals, and I would love to be one of those people. I want to be a runner one day and a role model to my girls. I'm setting up a challenge for myself.  To document each day on my blog good or bad.  I will be pouring out my heart on this blog and I will post every day....regardless!  I joined WW online and am doing Xyngular.

Here is my plan.....

Monday (Menu Plan Monday):  I will be posting my meal plan with WW points.

Tuesday (Tasty Tuesday): I will be sharing a new Weight Watcher recipe I will be trying that week. Check out my Recipe page to check out all of the recipes.

Wednesday (Weigh-in Wednesday): I will be weighing in each week.  Check out my progress page to follow my weight loss.

Daily: I will be posting about my day. I will be sharing my successes, challenges and my daily WW menu.

I started a Twitter page awhile ago and am not really familiar with Twittering but I'm willing to learn.  I also started a Facebook page.  I hope to have supporters to follow along and we can support each other on losing weight and getting into the best shape of our life.

It's been an extremely busy week. Between working nights, sleeping days, 4th of July and ball tournaments for my girls I've been a real slacker on getting on keeping up with my blog. I'm still adjusting to working night shift.  Most of the nurses take smoke breaks during the evening and since I'm not a smoker I'm able to take 30 minutes and go down to the gym and get a good workout in sometime during the evening, as long as the floor is covered. I've been bringing food from home and of course the Xyngular, which I am loving!!  I lost 14 pounds during the 8 day challenge and feel amazing. A couple gals at work are doing it with me now.  I gave them some Xyng capsules because they were getting so tired in the evening and after that night they were hooked.

My obstacles this week:

My husband works at the sale barn part time and every 4th of July they do their Christmas party. Their sale barn is right under the highway where the city shoots off fireworks and it's quite a view. We all get together in the parking lot and shoot off our own fireworks and wait for the evening show. Needless to say, everyone brings a covered dish and the sale barn provides the burgers and hot dogs. It's a huge buffet of food that is there for anyone to piece on all evening long. When it's all said and done they break out the desserts and homemade ice cream. I tried my best to stick to fruit and salads, but I did break down and had a bowl of homemade ice cream. I only get it one time a year and just couldn't resist.



2nd obstacle is the ball tournaments. We're constantly running with ball games and the problem with that is that we're never home and that usually means picking up something to eat on the go. It's a lot of eating on the run. I'm doing my best with bringing fruit along in the cooler and plenty of water and gatorade for the girls. One advantage/disadvantage is the heat. Can you say "HOT"! These temperatures are almost unbearable and my poor girls are just trying to stay cool enough to avoid a heat stroke. Why do they have games in the hottest part of the day? I wouldn't mind waiting for the sun to go down and have games all evening long. It would be so much better for the girls. The sad thing is some teams have to play 2 or 3 games right after each other in this heat and they're exhausted. We've been pretty fortunate and haven't had to do that. The thing with the heat is it helps me get in tons of water and I just don't feel like eating anything.



3rd obstacle is just working nights. It's true that at nights at work I can get so exhausted and it makes me want to eat so that I don't fall asleep. I love my job but it's not the best for my health. When you go from working nights and trying to get your sleep pattern to adjust for your days off, the body has a hard time adjusting. I haven't been working nights long, but I'm slowly getting used to my new schedule and I really believe that Xyngular is helping with the energy and I'm sleeping so much better in the morning.  I transitioned much easier this go around to my days off then I did last time.

It's been a pretty successful week and I'm slowly learning what's working for me and what's not working. I hope that when things slow down a little bit I can take more time for me and do some more blogging.  I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July and are staying cool!!

Xyngular ~ Day 1

This morning I woke up exhausted!! I am now working night shift at the hospital and my body is having a hard time adjusting to the new schedule.  I'm finding on my days off that I spend my time up all night and taking naps during the day.  This is really not the way I want to live my life. I was talking with some gals at work and they told me it took time for them to adjust, but they are able to live a normal life now on their days off.  Fingers crossed that it will happen really soon.

I started the Xyngular challenge this morning and they claim that this will help with, not only weight loss, but with energy.

I woke up early to take my girls to Vacation Bible School and then came back home to start the Xyngular regime.  I stepped on the scale this morning and the dreaded numbers 262.4 stared back at me.  I also had my daughter take some dreaded before pictures.

I have a long ways to go, but I need something to give me that kick start to finally get to goal. 

Here's a little recap of my day:

Xyng Capsule (This is for energy and appetite control)

1 oz global juice ( antioxidants) I had a glass of water near by just in case it tasted nasty.  It was actually pretty good.  I also took the Axion multivitamin.

After coming back from taking the girls to VBS I made my protein shake, which I mixed with 8oz unsweetened almond milk.

The mid-morning snack called for 4-6 oz of protein.  I didn't prepare very well today and decided to cook up 2 eggs and then I took a wedge of the laughing cow light herb and garlic cheese wedge between the eggs and ate it like a sandwich.  It was really good and I was hungry.

Lunch was another protein shake with almond milk, but this time I added a few drops of vanilla creme stevia...much better.

I'm still waiting for the energy to kick in, but I wasn't feeling it.  I realize I didn't get any sleep last night so I decided to go lay down and take a nap.  I slept until about 4:00 p.m., hence my pattern of sleeping during the day and up all night.  ugh!!

When I woke up I called my sister and told her that the Xyng isn't working and I wanted my money back.  She told me that I need to give it some time and that I can't blame xyng for not getting any sleep last night, which she is right.  I went ahead and took 2 accelerate capsules, which is also to help with energy and metabolism.  I've felt pretty "blah" today and I guess I was hoping for that miracle of feeling on top of the world.  As my sister told me that the first three days are the toughest because you're going through detox and that the energy and the mood lifts will kick in.  She also said that if one xyng doesn't work I can take another one around 2:00 pm.  I know a couple of her friends have to take 2 because 1 just doesn't do it for them. 

Now it's time to do another protein snack.  I took some shredded turkey and wrapped it around some string cheese and then nuked it for a few seconds and it was so good.  I do have to admit that my hunger isn't too bad, and I'm not hanging out in the kitchen dreaming of eating everything in site.  I ended the day with another protein shake with almond milk, but I wanted something different so I added some unsweetened cocoa and vanilla creme stevia.  

I just got done taking two flush capsules with some hot cocoa, which is supposed to clean out the gut.  I suppose that now that it's 1:00 in the morning I probably should go to bed and see if I can get back on a schedule before I return back to work on Thursday night.   All in all I had a pretty good day as far as not being hungry and drinking over 100 oz of water.  The energy is still not there and I'm feeling a headache coming on, but I will give it a few days and see how I feel by Thursday.  I'm off to bed and hoping that I can get some sleep and I'm not up all night in the bathroom from all of that water I drank today.  Good night and I'll be back tomorrow with another update.

Xyngular and an 8 Day Challenge

Life has been crazy and in fast forward around here.  I can't believe how much time has gone by since I posted last.  I guess I should fill you in on where I've been and what I've been up to.  The last time I posted I was weighing in at 270 pounds and this morning I stepped on the scale I was at 260 pounds.  I graduated from the Nursing Program on May 18, and have been spending the last few weeks studying for State Boards so that I can finally put R.N. behind my name.  My test is Wednesday, June 20, so my time is all about studying and working. I've been working full-time at the hospital (night shift) and my body is having a really hard time adjusting to the new sleep schedule.  I find myself eating junk and drinking caffeine just to stay awake, which I know is bad for my health, not to mention the lack of sleep and energy.

I was talking with my sister and she started taking a product called Xyngular.  I've been pretty hesitant about learning anything about it, I have always been against taking pills to help me lose weight.  It's all about calories in and calories out and that's the only way it will work.  I finally gave in and watched the video, you can check it out here if you're interested. I was really impressed with the ingredients that are in these products, I especially love the amount of antioxidants.  Being a nurse, you better believe I looked up every single ingredient in every product that they offer.  The ignite pack plus, which is about 260 some dollars, is the first product that you buy.  This is the kit that has all of the products to get me started on detoxing and losing weight.  I then can pick and choose the products that I love and that will work for me. In order to get this price I automatically become a distributor.  Don't get me wrong, I have no intention on making a business out of this. If it works I'm thinking the gals at work might be interested, and it will help pay for my product. I'm really interested in the juice with the antioxidants.  The older I get the more I worry about disease and less about looking hot in a swimsuit, and this sold me more than anything else that they offer. I also liked the Xyng capsules that give you energy and lifts your mood.  There is a 30 day money back guarantee, and you better believe I will be taking advantage of this if it doesn't do what they claim.

So I'm taking a leap of faith and will be putting in my order today.  As soon as it gets here I'll be starting an 8 day challenge and can't wait to start feeling 100% again.

RFSC ~ Week 1 Recap & Week 2 Goals

Week 1:  Weight 269.4 (-3 pounds)

Weight Loss:  Yay! Goodbye 270's! I met my goal of 2 pounds and will continue with that goal for next week.  So, by this time next week I will weigh 267.4 pounds or less.

My Non-scale Victory (NSV):  My ultimate goal is to fit into my size 18 jeans.  I plan on taking another picture in my jeans in a month, which is April 22, to see how I’m doing with the weight loss and losing the inches.  I said that I was going to clean out my hall closet, well that didn’t happen.  It’s been a crazy week and I never did get a chance to even think about it until now.  I will try to do it this week. 

Exercise:  I did really well with exercise last week.  My friend Linda is getting back into running and even though we don’t run together we make plans and know that the other one is out running and we don’t want to let each other down.  It’s a great motivator. I walked everyday and ran/walked every other day. It was a great stress reliever and I plan on doing the same thing this coming week. 

Nutrition:  I really slacked on counting calories this week.  I tried to make good choices and would eat every 2-3 hours.  This week I’m going to concentrate on getting in at least 2-4 cups of vegetables and fruits a day.  I did really well on getting in my daily water intake.  I carried a bottle around with me all day and drank a good liter of water when I exercised.  I will continue with the water and stay with my goal of 96 ounces this coming week.

For the mini challenge I tried a new type of healthy salad.  My friend Linda brought a salad using a different kind of lettuce from her garden, strawberries, walnuts and a tomato based Italian dressing.  I was really hesitant to try it because I “hate” tomatoes and the thought of tomatoes and strawberries sounded really gross, but to my surprise is was really good.  The dressing tasted more like Italian dressing and I didn’t taste the tomato at all.  I put just a tiny amount of dressing but the strawberries and walnuts tasted really yummy in the salad.  I will definitely do this more often.  It was filling too.

I tried to post to everyone’s blog last week.  I’m so excited to see everyone’s progress and how everyone is doing, but there are so many people in the challenge and it’s hard to keep up.  I will do my best to see how everyone is doing this week and check out how last week went for you.  Good luck this week in the challenge and meeting your goals.