Acknowledgement

I'm acknowledging and tying to make peace with the fact that I'm not going to be losing 4-5 lbs every week anymore.  I'll only be losing 1-2, maybe 3 lbs if I'm LUCKY.


And that's okay... I think.


I know that I've been focused mainly on my weight loss goals... which I am succeeding at.  I actually read through my first post and saw that my goal was to lose 40 lbs by the end of the summer... a goal which I am actually going to complete!


But I think I need to look at my other goals.  This is a complete transformation.  I'm changing everything inside and out.

Goals:

1. Be outgoing  -  I have mixed feelings about my progress on this goal.  I have found that I can be extremely outgoing in certain situations, but in others I completely shut down.  For example, there is a guy I am interested in… but I shut down every time he tries to talk to me.  My family has even noticed, which means he has probably noticed… ummm embarrassing.  However, when I’m at a church function or in the grocery store I have no problems carrying on conversations with people.  HELP.

2. Exercise & Lose weight. LOTS of it.  -  No need for a refresher on that one… that’s going well.

3. Laugh more  -  There has been significant progress on this goal.  I’m finding humor in everything now.  When I find humor that leads to…

4. Make others laugh more  -  This!  I am really good at this.  I make my mom, my grandma, my dad, and my friends laugh all the time.  Shedding all this excess weight (physical and emotional) has helped me uncover my comedic side.

 
5. Serve others  -  Not doing much pubic/community service as of now.  I’m trying to do lots of things around the house and I’m trying to be supportive of other people trying to change their life via blogs and twitter.  It’s not much… but it’s better than nothing.

6. Get to know God again  -  I’m slowly beginning to believe/trust in God again.  I try to have frequent conversations with Him.  My eyes are slowly able to see Him in small moments of everyday.  I understand on a fundamental level that He is helping me with my journey… much of my success has to be attributed to Him.  He put amazing people in my life who have turned out to be incredible supporters.  He has given me the strength to be committed and dedicated to my goals… because I can promise that I don’t have the strength to do it on my own.

7. Be happy  -  Progress on this is exponential.  I feel better than I have in years.  I can honestly say I am happier now than I was in high school or college.  I don’t want my followers, friends, or family members to think that this has been influenced by them… I was only unhappy for the last 8 years because I was unhappy with myself.  I tried to convince myself that it was because I didn’t have a boyfriend, or I wasn’t married, or because I didn’t have money or material possessions… but the real reason was because I didn’t like who I was.  Whi'le I've had amazing friends and family that supported me, recognized my value and worth, and loved me regardless of my imperfections, none of that really matters when you don’t see anything good about yourself… you can’t ever be truly happy when you don’t care about yourself.  But that has all changed.  I’m beginning to genuinely care about myself and that has made the world of difference in my overall happiness. 

Wow.  Can we say word vomit?   

Until next time loyal followers (whom I love oh so very much).

Tips and a Proposition

Abby,

Here is another post just for you!

I'm glad you like my blog.  It's cool to think that someone other than my friends and family is following my life changing journey!


I know you had a requested a few recipes from my mom and I... which I would be happy to share with you if we had any.  Hahaha


I do have a few tips and a proposition for you though:


Tips:


1.  It sounds cliche... but I keep a food journal.  IT WORKS!  I'm much more accountable for everything I put in my body now.  That's where I would start.  My mom and I look at each other's everyday so we both make sure we've been good at and between meals.

2.  Keep everything low fat!  Lean meats and low fat products will greatly expand a low calorie diet.

3.  Small portions... or weigh your food.  I have a food scale and I weigh my protein, fruits, and veggies.  This helps keep your portions the right size and also helps you be accountable for what you're eating!

4.  Don't be afraid to season things!  My mom is a spice fanatic.  She uses a variety of spices to make various proteins and veggies taste OUT OF THIS WORLD.  Some staple spices that we recommend are: cumin, curry, garlic, onion, basil, oregano, and salt (I love salt).  Feel free to try anything though!

5. Be careful of carbs!  I usally eat 1 piece of Melba toast or 3 Melba Toast Snacks at lunch and dinner.  If it's any other type of carb, make sure it's healthy and is the appropriate serving size.  Be wary of sugar.  I use and artifical sweeteners.  Most doctors recommend Stevia (great on fresh fruit!).

6.  Snacks: On my diet snacks are discouraged.  However there are several vegetables that are "free" to eat at any time.  Cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, red onion, and celery are a great snack in between meals.  Sugar free, low fat jello is also an appropriate snack, or it can be eaten as a dessert with your meal (I like to mix it with my fruit)!

Proposition:
When I read your comment to my mom, she had a great idea!  She said that if you would like to send her one of your favorite recipes she'd be more than happy to look it over and make a few alterations that would make it lower fat/calorie, but still delicious!

Yeah... she's the shiz.  I'm super lucky.

So if you want to leave a recipe or two in a comment or email it to mychalsayscakeordeath@gmail.com she'll alter them and I can email it back to you or post it here on the blog!

Hope this helped!

Energy

Holy Shiz Balls!  It is so much easier to exercise 32 pounds lighter!  I feel incredible!  I'm dog tired after my cardio/dancing routine... but I still feel AMAZING.  Working out with my mom is a BLAST.  We encourage each other to work hard and by the end of the work out... our endorphins have us on cloud nine, at least I'm on cloud nine.  Mom and I have decided upon an interval workout/system/thing... intense cardio one day, lower impact cardio and weight training the next.  I'm pretty excited.  To keep my attention I have to switch things up... A LOT.

Gah!  I'm so jazzed I can't hardly stand it!  I'm already ready to work out again!  Tomorrow morning can't come fast enough.  Working out at 4 in the afternoon wasn't the best idea (being it's the hottest part of the day) especially since I'm a morning person.

Oh!  I have a few questions to answer from a follower.  I'll identify you by name since you left a public comment.  Hope that's ok!

Abby,
I'll try to get some pics of me just smiling.  I just hate my smile... hahaha
As for my diet, for 6 weeks I was on a doctor monitored low calorie diet with supplements ($200 for weekly appointments and anytime support).  I was allowed 500 calories a day. 250 for lunch and 250 for dinner.  If you look at my post "Answers" it will give you some more details about what I was allowed.  I'm currently maintaining/losing additional weight with a vigorous exercise regimen and living the 17 day diet.  My amazing mom is my support and co-loser.  :D  It's been fun.  My new shoes are Reebok Zigs and the style I have been buying I got of the Amazon website, on sale, for about $80.00.  They're a relatively inexpensive running shoe (as some running shoes can reach prices over $200) and they are SO COMFY.  My old Nike's would hurt my feet after about 1/2 hr.  I exercised for 45 minutes today and they didn't hurt my feet at all!  I buy men's shoes because I have wider feet.  The great thing about the Zigs is around the side of your foot and around your heel, the sole protrudes ever so slightly to give you additional support.  I love em.

Hope this answers some of your questions!

Mychal

P.s. Dear Followers,

If you have fun ideas for my workouts or if you have more questions... PLEASE feel free to leave comments or email me at mychalsayscakeordeath@gmail.com

Thanks guys!

Pictures

Ok, this post might be long... but there will be pictures so stay with me.  

Let us begin with the fact that today is weigh in day. 

And the measurements are in:

• I've lost 3 more pounds... which is VERY exciting.  In 7 weeks I have lost 32 lbs.  Total inches lost = 22 inches.  WOOF!  

Pictures

The first pictures I'll be sharing today are of my new white and blue Reebok Zigs.  I love them so much I got a second pair.  They are comfortable, stylish (at least I think so...), and they seem to push me into a "lets bust out this workout biznitch!" attitude. The other pair will be delivered in a few days and will be white and yellow.  I'll post pictures of them as soon as I get them.  

Ok, now I'm going to show you some pictures of me...

Everyone needs to be aware of how painfully self-conscious I am.  To start with... I should note that it was hard to find pictures of me from a few months ago when I was 30 lbs heavier.  I've never liked myself, let alone my body.  I didn't want to be captured on film, but lucky for you loyal follwers... I have diligent friends and family that caught some of me.

Now, I've just now started to see the physical difference in myself and when I thought about posting photos I realized that I haven't posted pictures before this because I've been afraid it isn't really noticeable and that people would look at me and go... "so what's different?" But oh well... I'm just going to go for it...

Ok, deep breath.  Gadfrey Moses I'm so embarrassed... 

Fat Pictures

These are REALLY embarrassing!  I feel icky looking at them.

New Pictures

I really hope that there is a noticeable difference... 

Well... here they are: