When Life Gets in the Way

Well, my plan for this weekend was to write a review on some face wash I had tried. That didn't get done, but I will do it at some point soon.

The last couple of weeks have been tough. First my illness kept me down a lot, work has been crazy overwhelming, and this morning we woke up to a huge flood in our apartment. One of the little pipes in the toilet tank broke, and it leaked all night and we woke up to maintenance pounding on our door because it had flooded the downstairs apartment, too. 

We slept through the flood because it happened in our spare bathroom and den, so we didn't have a clue! I seriously had to answer the door in pjs. Plus the dishes were everywhere and nothing was clean because I've been sick for two weeks. So incredibly embarrassing....

Now we have these loud, smelly blowers in our apartment to dry the carpet, and the carpet guys are coming back on Tuesday to take them away and put in new pads, plus shampoo the carpet.

If all this wasn't crappy enough, I've also fallen off the wagon as far as my weight loss was concerned, and I can't blame my illness entirely. Ever since going back to work, I've been so dang tired in the evening that I've been making poor food choices constantly. Since getting sick, I haven't been able to keep my work out schedule, and so I have no idea what I weigh at the moment...

But I digress. So I'm not perfect. Not even close. Life has gotten in the way the last month, but I promise I'll get better. One day at a time, right?

McDonald's is the Devil... and Other Weight Loss Fails :(

I'm a bit discouraged today. This week has not been a good one, as far as my weight loss goals. My work out buddy and I were unable to line up our schedules this week, so I didn't go to the gym. I kept trying to psych myself up to doing a work out video, but I couldn't bring myself to turn on the tv. I'm starting to realize that the idea of workout videos sounds good in theory, but actually getting up to do one by myself is a much, much more difficult task. So... besides the one measly workout while watching The Bachelorette, I haven't done much exercise this week. 


I've also cheated big time with food. I did not make good choices this week... at all. I know it's alright to have one cheat day per week, but 3 or 4? Not so much...

Exercise Tip: Work Out During Commercials on Hulu!

It should be no surprise to anyone that knows me that I love watching TV shows on Hulu. I don't have cable television service, nor do I pay for Netflix or HuluPlus. I am a big fan of what is free and already available, so I just watch regular hulu.com on my computer.


I haven't gotten to work out this week yet, so I decided that I would do some exercise while I was watching the hour and a half episode of the Bachelorette today. I found an aerobics video on Youtube, and so I watched the episode standing up and moving, and on commercials I switched tabs back to the work out video. It was actually really fun, and I felt for once my tv watching actually contributed to something productive!


Here's the video I used if you want to try it out, but there are a plethora of different types on Youtube!

Body Lotions and a Weight Loss Update

First... The Lotion Conundrum:

Body lotion... there are so many to choose from! So how do we know which ones are actually good and which are slowly leaking chemical poisons into your body? Wait... lotion has poison in it? I didn't know this before either, but last year, I read a book called No More Dirty Looks, and I learned a ton about what was in my favorite lotions. 


I used to be a HUGE Bath and Body Works and Victoria's Secret fan. It was so easy to become addicted to B and B Works because every time you go in there, there is some kind of a sale and incentives for you to come back. In addition, they have great smelling products! However, I find it disconcerting that I can't find an ingredients list ANYWHERE on their website. They tell you the fragrance notes, and feel-good ingredients like shea butter or jojoba, but nowhere can you find a complete list. If they were truly proud of their products, the entire list of ingredients should be in plain sight, such as with Burt's Bees or Tom's of Maine. What Bath and Body Works doesn't want you to know is that they put harsh chemicals such as formaldehyde and parabens in all of their products. Some people are willing to dismiss these and other toxic chemicals as being safe in the small amounts that are in lotions.

However, stop and think for a minute. Where does lotion go? ALL over your body, and it stays there, and absorbs, on a daily basis. I don't know about you, but when I decided to switch to more natural products, lotion was my first choice since most everything else (like shampoo, body wash, etc.) would at least get rinsed off. 
(Continued...)

Losing Weight is a Challenge and a Process

Once upon a time I was a size 8. I still have a pair of Abercrombie and Fitch pants from my 2nd year of college to prove it. That was 10 years ago. I know it's silly to keep them, and many friends have told me to throw them away. However, they are a reminder to me that I was there once, so it's possible to be there again. 


Today, I am around a size 16/18. The last time I weighed myself at my friend's house about 3 weeks ago, I was 207 pounds. This was a total shock to me, since a year ago I was at 193. Being over 200 pounds is humiliating to me. It's difficult to find clothes, and my closet is full of items that fit fine a year ago, and now they are uncomfortable.


I was always a chubby kid. I was made fun of for it growing up, and never had much confidence in myself. It wasn't until my late teens that I started losing weight (and I'm not sure why or how!) and got down to the size 8 in college. 
(Continued...)