Day 2 on program. Calories were a bit high today around 1700 but I had an awesome run on the treadmill before hand so I think that made me more hungry than yesterday, which was around 1350 calories. I think somewhere between 1200 and 1400 is perfect for optimal results in my case.

Now I just need to work on getting back in the habit of working out at least 6 times a week like I used to. For a while there during the remodel, I was lucky to get two good workouts in.

OMG it’s been over a year since I’ve posted here. I’ve gotten so far away from a good routine with this remodel from hell™. So I am back, ready to button down now that things are slowing down a bit. My work schedule is still a bit chaotic, but working out consistently helps with the stress. I don’t like feeling like a bloated blob. It starts with today.

I’ll be starting the Firm 90-day rotation tomorrow alternated with workouts at the gym. I think I may have to dust off my fitday account as well. Good times!

I’m a crappy blogger. 4realZ! If I could blog my thoughts while I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, I’d have an awesome blog.

Is it bad to use someone who you think is the exact opposite of how you want your body to look as motivation? Mainly to make sure that you yourself never have a body that even remotely looks like theirs? I feel guilty about it but I swear its all thats working now. Its definitely not a technique with a ton of staying power, but it has helped me in the past really jump start my workouts. Shun me now.

I did lose 3 pounds last week. Woohoo! I’ve also enlisted Jeremy in cutting up veggies and preportioning snacks for me. I’ve also been spending a bit more for the preportioned 100 calorie treats to keep myself under control. I also logged in Fitday every weekday. I will continue this next week.

We’ll be leaving back to Minnesota in 26 days. Can I lose another 7-10 lbs. by then? I’m gonna bust my bum to make sure of it. 1200-1500 calories strict. One cheat meal per week. If I have to eat out during the work week for business lunches, I have to eat the lightest possible thing on the menu, or make up for it with a very light dinner to make the calories even out. Good thing I only have one more cake to make for my decorating class, that temptation will be gone as well. I’m burnt out of baking for the moment, thank GOODNESS! Cooking Light magazine will help me do my weekly meal plan too. I want to spend my calorie allotment on nutritionally dense meals, not just Lean Cuisines or something. Blech. I’m SOO over Lean Cuisine.

I’m going to use some of my premium money from working a buttload of overtime at work the last few weeks to buy a bunch of new workout DVDs, including one of the new FIRMs. There is a new infomerical that just started airing, and I plan on buying the deluxe kit when Collage Video starts offering it. I also bought a pair of ridiculously priced MBT “Garissa” style shoes for use in walking to work and on the treadmill. I’d love a pair of the Fit Flops too!

Here’s some new DVDs I’m waiting for:
Amy Bento’s Cardio Pump Hi-Lo
Perfect in Ten - Abs
Tamilee Webb - Tight on Time: Hot Spots
Tamilee Webb - Tight on Time: Body Blast
The Firm: Stability Ball 55cm
The Firm Bootcamp - Maximum Calorie Burn (NEW!!)
TLT: Susan Harris’ Finding Your Core
TLT: Jen Carmen’s Strength in Movement

I used a promotional code to download a free MP3 workout from iTrain.com (Promo code AH2007 — I got the iTread ‘n Tush 45 minute workout, which I did tonight while listening on my smartphone.) It was seriously like getting a hardcore gym workout. I haven’t sweated that much in months. No wonder I’ve been gaining weight. I’ve become too complacent.

06/17:

Well I’m up a few pounds since our move in, which is to be expected when I skipped so many workouts and fast food is easier. I’m biting the bullet and trying to lose some of the bad habits I’ve been indulging in like eating late at night or adding sugar in the raw to my cereal to make it sweeter.

Here’s hoping I get back down to move-in weight ASAP and then I can work back on the under 120 goal. I need to start logging again.

05/08:

I must start posting again! Ah the move has been soooo stressful and I swear I’m hungry all the time, and after hours of wallpaper stripping its sooo easy to skip the intentional exercise I need, although there is no doubt that wallpaper stripping burns mad calories.

I’m gonna weigh in tomorrow (even though its mid-TOM) and see what the damage is.

SuburbanChaos blog is getting a new layout to be mainly a houseblog as that is taking up about 95% of my time lately outside of work! I’m going to have to dedicate myself to post here strictly about health and fitness stuff. I’m a bridesmaid in July and I defintely want to look good in the photos.

OMG I was in the worst mood tonight. Probably sugar withdrawals. Once I snuggled with the kitty and watched a movie, I felt better. The first few days are the worst. One of my best friends won’t return my calls either and I’m not sure whats up. It’s making me really anxious. I also feel like I’m trying to hard to please everyone and not able to say NO like I should. This new training I’m doing will hopefully help distract me, even if it does make me go fitness-nazi again. That would be a good thing right now. I feel like I could either break down in tears or else go on a horrible rager. Avoiding soothing with food is defintely not the answer.

I’ve been doing some hardcore Cathe’s the past few days. I’m definitely getting rid of the complex step ones. I like the cross training ones that are primarily strength as its similar to gym style working out, but that step hopping around the entire room (mostly because I don’t have the room and bang into things) drives me INSANE.

Jeremy has been working out on the treadmill and elliptical next to me while I do my dvds. Then he does abs with me. He’s already looking wayy toned after only three days!! HOW DO MEN DO THIS???!! MUST KILL!! He still should drop about 20 lbs. to be in healthy weight range for his height, but if he just converts it to muscle from weight lifting. MMM mmm.

11/27:
11/26:

Ah yes, the big meal day is over (along with my parents visit), so it was time to get back down to business. I was at 123.5 today so I’m pretty much where I started (like always ugh), but Jeremy has agreed to participate in a pre-Christmas bootcamp of sorts, which will likely mean paying for a few months at the community gym ($20 each a month). Its a 3 month minimum, which sort of sucks as it will be swamped come January, but I think the gym is the only way I can get him to really workout with me regularly. Plus I wanted to start seriously training, well at least be able to use the weight machines that I obviously can’t replicate at home. Probably take a few classes too and use the Stairmaster and stuff (as I only have the elliptical and treadmill here).

I’ve really just gotten so used to the same workouts and need a change up to increase my motivation. I’m breaking out some of my Cathe’s too. I’m going to whittle them down by doing them this month and see which ones I need to sell on the Ya ya swap. This will mostly be just the ones that are all high impact step. I can’t stomach it, but I will do them each one more time to see which ones to keep. They will kick my arse of course too.

I also have a crapload of protein powder. There are 8 cans or so in my pantry that I will probably start using more for training, as they are full meal replacement shakes, probably best to do in lieu of a nightly snack, and add some fiber powder to them (the only thing they are lacking.

My mom is in some business thing where she gets monthly 6-pack cans of the Optimal powder (30 scoops per can.) She keeps sending me extra boxes so I have tons of chocolate and french vanilla protein powder/meal replacement shakes, but there is NO WAY I can go through it. I have at least 4 or 5 boxes of the stuff (24-30 cans). If anyone wants some, I could ship them to you (just pay for shipping and paypal fees so I’m not out anything). Let me know. First dibs are here or else they will probably be sold on the swap.

I want to find a good training food plan to follow. I need a good excuse NOT to indulge in all the holiday excess over the next month before we go back to Minnesota to visit family (another huge reason to get my butt in gear… when people haven’t seen you for a year or two, they definitely can tell if you got fatter or not.) The only real problem is to figure out the answer when asked, “What are you training for?”… uh… just to have a sexy bod? That sounds kind of lame.

11/25:

I’m feeling much better after my downtime last week. Back to 100% and adding back in my daily runs or elliptical bursts. I usually try to do about 10 extra minutes. It definitely makes the back of my legs look better. They were starting to suffer.

Jer and I are having a dual birthday party on Saturday. The food will be fresh mex so I can definitely keep the calories under control there, but maybe not so much with the planned Red Velvet cupcakes and the cocktails mmm. I’m trying to balance it out by being light this week. Then next week is Thanksgiving. Ugh it really seems pointless this time of year. Be really good and then trash it with pie. Kill me now. It’s much easier to maintain during the holidays than try to lose anything. I should’ve started a few months sooner!

This whole thing would be much easier if Jer were in on it too. He’s just so busy on his own projects, he won’t use the treadmill or elliptical very much. I think its fun to double team, me use the elliptical, while he runs — usually while watching The Daily Show. Then I can smack his bum while he runs too. I think going to the gym is more appealing to him. I like the gym, but I HATE fighting for machines, or having a 20 minute limit. I also like to nap after work, and the gyms nearby close to early and are $$. A workout buddy would be nice.

11/13:

Ah yes, I am a slacker. I’m owning up to it at least ;). Melanie came to visit last weekend (or so) and I’ve been trying to get my act together ever since. I didn’t go all out and trash my diet or anything, but I wasn’t good either. Wait, scratch that, Hallowe’en candy was my downfall for a couple days. Thus, I’m up 2 lbs (even though there is NO way I ate 7000 calories worth of candy to even merit 2 lbs. That’s the way the cookie crumbles when I get apathetic. Set backs may be a part of life, but they still suck nonetheless.

On Thursday I’m having another wisdom tooth extraction (I’m a bonehead who is doing them all separately instead of biting the bullet and paying the grand or whatever it would cost to have gotten knocked out.) Which, as an afterthought, would probably have been money well spent. I’m hoping this won’t derail my progress as I’ll have to take a few days off, at least exercise-wise (don’t want to dislodge that clot and get another dry socket OMG KILLER PAIN!)

So I’m working back into hardcore mode. This is exactly why I can’t take these little breaks when I have visitors, getting the motivation back is not as easy as it used to be. I’m mostly just being paranoid about the above-mentioned procedure and mentally tell myself that I might as well not bother as I’m going to have take another break for this. This is the wrong attitude. I know all the “right” things to say and think about weight loss, applying them when I see cookies, uhhhh not so much. Help kick my arse back into gear. I can’t stand the 120s anymore!

11/07:
11/06:

OMG sooo busy lately. My Melly is coming to visit tomorrow, and I’ve been checking lots of things off the old to-do list in prep for her visit. We totally decluttered the house and garage over the weekend. I think we’re at about 8 trash bags full of trash/recycling, 2 large TV boxes full of donatables, and a bunch of bags of clothes and decorator pillows to donate as well. I went through each room, going through all the shelves and drawers and removing anything that didn’t belong or that we didn’t want anymore.

I also cleaned each room as we went, so the house was presentable at the end. The next step was to put away anything that had been stored in the wrong place into it’s rightful storage space. I finished up my office last night.

I also did a bunch of gardening last Saturday (OMG sore the next day!) and weeded the entire box and planted pretty tulips for spring (my fave flower).

I’m at 120.5 today. I could’ve ate better over my TOM, I was on program about 70% of the time, but had about three cheat days around 1600-1800 cals. Not acceptable, as I probably could be under 120 if I would’ve paid better attention vs. logging at end of day and being like “whoops.” The plus is that I have been food logging faithfully since I started this site, and that was a major goal. I have to keep with it to make it a full-fledged habit.

So after the beverage blip this weekend, things are back on track. This is especially good because its that TOM and I will hopefully have the usual whoosh of bloat weight come off (usually 2ish lbs.) So here’s hoping to crack back into the teens as I was 121 today.

I got some sexy new jeans and have been fitting back into a pair of size 4’s that I abandoned over the summer as the only way they were comfy was to unbutton them when I sat down (great visual there ick!). It is really weird to have pants start to do some of the plumber/coin slot sagging because they are getting too big. Even only a few pounds down, this really means I’m toning up.

Eating better does get easier as time goes on. I’m not eating as clean as I’d like, but it is a process. I’m loving anything sweet red pepper right now. MMMM. I’m working in new recipes too. I made some basil chicken in the crockpot yesterday. Just chicken broth, skinless chicken breast, carrots, celery, and onion. With sea salt, ground pepper, garlic and basil on top. I made up some cheddar biscuits (about 110 cals a piece) and it was fabulous!

Anyway I’m playing catch up on checkboxes below. Eek!

10/17:
10/16:
10/15:
10/14:
10/13:

Whoa I ate wayy too many calories yesterday. I blame the pizza work party with the best pizza evAr (Hot Lips Pizza MMM!) Well and of course I blame myself. No excuse for it though (my motto). Also its not a good idea to buy a box of Dots. OMG I love Dots. Esp. Lemon dots. They should just make packs of lemon ones. Anyway, one major drawback of eating junk is that it really affects my workout stamina. Another reason to eat as healthy as I can.

I plan on just making that my cheat day and besides the bit of drinking debauchery for Friday night, this weekend will be cheat meal-free. I plan on indulging in only a few low-cal diet cola based cocktails or just wine (at around 70 cals a glass). I’d prefer to just wait til Hallowe’en weekend to drink, but we were invited out on the town for the first time in months. There was also a lot of business stuff going on this week, so a big night out with friends sounds fun. If they plan on going out to eat, I’ll probably eat before we leave or else have a really light lunch and do a larger dinner. I don’t want to lose my momentum now. Gotta plan ahead for these things.

10/12:
10/11:
10/10:

So today I’m around 120.5/121 and an awesome thing was when I got up today, my pajama bottoms almost fell off (they are elastic waist). Even if I rolled the wasteband up a few times, I was crackalicious! I’m down .5″ in most measurements this week (total to date) too. This progress is definitely encouraging to stay on track.

I’ve been having weird dreams lately. The most relevant here was that I was a new cast member on Celebrity Fit Club (even though I’m not a celebrity… so that made it weird.) Then another night I had a dream I was the 5th “Sex and the City” girl that no one could remember. But Carrie and I were best friends!! Maybe I do watch too much TV!

Tonight we are having people over for Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars night. I’m making Slow-Cooker Beef-and-Bean Burritos. I will probably make these more taco style with lots of veggies and not a ton of meat and beans to keep the calories low. Maybe even as a shredded beef salad MMM. Whole wheat tortillas are a good substitute too.

Yesterday for a work treat, I made Pumpkin cupcakes (as I would LURVE to have my own cupcake shoppe). When made as cupcakes, the calorie content comes out about 145 per cupcake. Definitely a great treat if you are going to share (and not gorge yourself on frosting… I had to throw it out or I would’ve been licking every drop). I definitely had to get these out of the house they were so good! If you make them for yourself, try to only make 1/2 or 1/3 of the recipe (full makes about 26 cupcakes).

10/9:

Alright well those cravings I was bragging about not having. OMG they hit me like a rock on Friday night. I held out all Friday night and we went to the Olive Garden on Saturday for lunch. I had a bowl of minestrone soup (very low cal and YUMM) as well as a large plate of salad (dressing on the side). And I only indulged in 1 breadstick. The naughty part was the piece of lemon crumb cake Jeremy and I split (its basically lemon cheesecake with cake on top and bottom and a bit of lemon strusel, basically to die for.

Later in the evening, I estimated all the calories and with a bowl of bran flakes and some applesauce, I was at my calorie limit for the day around 9 pm. About 11:30, cravings hit hardcore. I staved them off for about a half hour, but couldn’t resist and had Jeremy get me a chicken quesadilla a small nachos from Taco Bell (one of my favorite comfort meals). This put me at around 2000 calories for the day, WAY over my limit, but I made that my cheat meal (plus the lemon cake from earlier). I was really good today (under limit) so I hope that will counteract Saturday’s debauchery. I was at 121 on Sat. morning too, I really hope I didn’t fark that loss up. We shall see tomorrow. If not, well I can’t let those cravings overcome me again.

I want to make it to Hallowe’en weekend (when Mel is visiting) and only have one weekend day (when we are going to parTAY) as my naughty day. It’s definitely something to look forward to and focus on when the cravings hit.

10/8:
10/7:
10/6:

Still going strong which is good. Luckily I haven’t had any mad cravings for anything in particular. I’ve just been enjoying a lot of salads mainly. I am up a pound today most likely because I was up earlier than I usually weigh, but hopefully tomorrow morning will be better. I had vegetable soup for dinner last night, so no real reason to be up a pound from that. Meh.

I need to encorporate some more protein in my dishes, especially chicken. I’ve been so burned out on traditional chicken breast since The Diet™ of 2000-2001. Shari sent me a recipe hopefully I’ll try next week. Mexican sounds good.

Going to work in office is a bit of a challenge too. Lots of yummy goodies are just an elevator ride away, and Starbucks is always a threat. So far I’ve controlled myself though.

I’m not sure what is going on this weekend which is fast approaching. I go into it full force but then opportunities to socialize come into play and all my rules go out the window. I also hate looking like crazy dieter around people who are not calorie conciecious, or having to explain why I’m eating normal (but normal means small) portions. Normally eating/drinking socially is one of my favorite things to do but its kind of a stressful thing when trying to get back to goal weight. I really really would enjoy clubbing it this weekend, but I’m saving that energy up for Halloween. Metabolically drinking is BAD. Fab low-cal cocktail recipes anyone?

10/5:
10/4:

We’re into week 2 and still on track. I was really thrilled that I was down a pound after Sunday, which happens like nevAr with my old habit of weekend munching and being all bloated come Monday morning. It’s definitely a start. I was a quarter inch down in a lot of measurements too.

I feel like a recovering drug addict sometimes (well as much as I could imagine what it would be like as the closest addiction I have is diet soda and sweets). Getting over unhealthy food is a lot of mind games, especially having to go to sleep with a grumbling belly and thinking about it. Sometimes its just watching the clock and gauging what is just a craving and what is real hunger. So far this week I haven’t had any low blood sugar crashes which come along with a mild migraine, so hopefully that main detox is done!

The big hurdle is getting under 120 again. I hate getting stuck around 121 which has happened more times than I’d like to count.

I also need some ideas for questions to add to my FAQ section. I have a few basic ones but I definitely need more and I’m drawing a blank.

For dinner the past couple nights I’ve had these diner meat loaf muffins from Cooking Light magazine (which is great to subscribe to if you haven’t already.) 2 of these “muffins” keep me satisfied for hours. The other thing I’ve been enjoying is a cup of Shredded Wheat & Bran cereal with a couple packets splenda, half cup skim milk, and half a banana sliced on top. This is also a big hunger buster and lots of fiber is good for me.

Does anyone have an easy beef vegetable soup recipe? Maybe with mushroom broth incorporated? This has been sounding really good to me, but I need something foolproof and really savory. I also love simple crockpot recipes, healthy of course (cream or cheesy things probably aren’t good ideas unless you know the calorie content for me.)

And since I love asking for things in this entry, I definitely need more weight loss loser links to add into my rotation. Can you recommend to me your favorite daily reads, maybe top 3 that still actively post? I’d love that!

10/3:
10/2:

So it’s Sunday night and I didn’t do too shabby. Ate out 2 meals this weekend, but the one on Saturday for lunch was a fresh salad dish from our favorite pho place (Pho Van) so I could’ve made something similarly low calorie at home if I was more talented at vietnamese cuisine. Tonight I went with the boys to Buffalo Wild Wings (which gives me good memories of Uni. and they just got the first one here) which was the weekly “cheat meal.” It definitely isn’t a place I’ll regularly go and I was counting the whole time (portion control big time!). Calories for the day still came under 1500.

Best meal this weekend so far was trying Cindy’s protein crepes/pancakes for lunch, made with just oats, nonfat cottage cheese, eggs whites, vanilla and cinnamon. Topped with thawed frozen (unsweetened) berries (added spenda to kick it up a bit) and sugarfree maple syrup. OMG these were REALLAY GOOD! I’m not sure on the calories but they can’t be much more than a bowl of oatmeal, some egg whites, and the cottage cheese.

Main changes so far are reduction in visible cellulite on back of my thighs (ick so gross!), bum isn’t feeling as “Badunkadunk” and less shelfy on the top if you know what I mean. Bewbs aren’t quite as plump, but I think thats a cyclical thing. Tum is definitely flatter too. What a difference only a week can make. I’ll probably re-measure tomorrow to see if anything has come down too.

And can I get some comments? I’m lonely! I definitely am more motivated to post (and stay on track) if I know I have some readers again.

10/1:
9/30:
9/29:

Day 5 and things are going good. Down around 1.5-2 lbs. so far. After the first few days of detox, I am able to feel when my body is starting to dip into my fat stores. If its not too late at night, I try to eat a little something so I don’t binge on naughties which is what I would’ve done before. Peppermints have been helping. I realize its not a long term solution, but sometimes changing habits just enough so that they take hold without these little crutches takes time. I feel like I’m quitting smoking or something. I know I won’t ever be able to fully quit sweets, and really would life be worth living if I had to? I just can’t let them rule my life. Boundaries must be reset. All this coming from a girl who would love to own her own cupcake shoppe!

A lot of dieting initally is getting used to not enjoying food as much as you used to. The first bit is all about getting through the day not hungry. Sure I’d like to enjoy every low-cal/fat/carb etc. meal, but right now enjoyment leads to eating more than necessary. I really think right now I have to get my stomach to shrink back to normal size.

Next week the local aquatic center opens back up after yearly maintenance and I plan to start taking water aerobic classes next week. I took a course in uni. and remember how wiped out it would make me (esp. deep water). I can use the extra boost. If I like the classes enough, I can get a cheap pass (something like $70 for 3 months) and use the gym/cardio facilities as well.

I’m planning meals for the weekend already. I’ve seriously spent the last 2+ years going through the same cycle. Eat well during the week, lose a pound or two, then go nuts over the weekend, and by Monday that pound or two is back. Lather rinse repeat. Thus after so many weeks of this, I’ve permanently kept on an extra 10ish pounds. Not horrible for 2 or 3 years, but I’m not happy with my reflection. My tone from daily workouts doesn’t show with this extra padding.

More new FIRM workouts should be arriving today (I hope!). So far I’ve tried Allie’s Cardio Dance Slim Down and Ultimate Fat Burning. I highly recommend them. The sets are sparse, but I thought they were fun and it was nice to not have to lug all the usual equipment along. These will work great when traveling!

Anyway so the ones that should arrive to are the new FIRM Resistance Cord, Pilates Band, and Sculpting Ball workout. There is also a Stability Ball workout and a Yoga one (with mat), but I haven’t ordered those yet. It is a lot of side equipment, but I ordered the workouts with stuff I didn’t have (the 8 lb. sculpting ball and resistance band one most notably).

9/28:
9/27:

The past two days on program haven’t been too bad. The first week usually isn’t too bad until the detox kicks in, usually in the form of sugar deprivation. I actually wish it was harder because once I’m over the hard hump, staying on program is pretty easy.

My main goals for this first week are to get my calories under control and increase my water intake. I’m also trying to do extra boosts of 5-10 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical (below “tm/et”) in addition to my normal workout. I’m also trying not to eat after 10 pm. I did have a pudding cup a little while ago because I had the calories left for it, but I want to get used to not having anything late at night.

Anyway, I’m tired and will try to write a more interesting post tomorrow.

9/25:               
9/26:               

Suburban Debauchery (formerly Simply Irresistible) is a daily log chronicling my personal daily fitness and various health-related statistics. It was started in paper form on Nov. 5, 2000, and was transferred to a web interface on Dec. 12, 2000. It’s been online ever since, minus a few month hiatus for this major redesign that is.

During the first run back in 2000-2001, I lost 55 lbs (more background info). My initial success came through daily exercise and establishing healthier eating habits. Unfortunately as my eating habits have become more lax over the past few years, I’m not feeling as fit as I’d like to. The motivation finally came for me to start the site back up again, and with it, a full force attempt at regaining my healthy habits.

The first time around, I became a nutritional nazi (for lack of a better term). It was a little over the top for most people, and it certainly didn’t help keep friends around, so I toned that down REAL quick. I don’t want to come off as a holier-than-thou dieter in print either. My readers will have to help keep me in check on that one.

I’ve learned over this journey that I eat mostly out of happiness, boredom, and simply opportunity. Put a big buffet of treats out, I have to have some nibbles. Well I know intellectually that I don’t HAVE to, but I get this urge that if I don’t, it will all be gone and I will be kicking myself later. In actuality, the opposite is true; I usually am kicking myself for the extra indulgence.

I also know that I never wanted to lose weight to be healthy, I wanted to look HOT. And really that still is the driving factor that has kept the majority of my weight off (minus these stubborn 8-10 lbs. that are sticking like GLUE). I wish it was the opposite, and maybe my “tubby bits” (as my friend Hazel so affectionately calls them) wouldn’t bother me so much. I’m not going to lie and say that my goal now is to just be healthy, nope, it’s reattaining full-blown hottie status, especially in a bathing suit.

I’m going to make a concerted effort to keep up with the comments people leave here. If you have a question, that would be the best way to get it answered. The e-mail route is open, but you’re much more likely to get a response via commenting.

However, please check the FAQs I have posted, as your question might already be answered there. These will serve as a general “Getting Started” page for those who are looking to start a similar program.