1 Year Later...

Wow! Ok! It's been a little over a year since I last made a post here!
There's so much to catch up on!!

Job:
I'm still doing the photography gig- very boring, but stable and almost zero stress. I was working as a coffee barista for about 10 months while doing the photo thing! This was actually a lot of fun and one of my favorite jobs ever, but it didn't pay nearly enough and the coffee was actually pretty bad. Blegh! But I learned a lot and I'm hoping to do this kind of work again one day!

Business:
I started my jewelry business in early December but only managed to make about 3 sales in 3 months! Boo! Things were starting to pick up but I had an unexpected hiccup in my living arrangements and had to put my business on hold until further notice...

Living:
My boyfriend and I moved out of our crummy apartment in Harlem to move to a pretty decent place in Brooklyn! We really liked the place, even though our commute was kinda long, but our roommate didn't love us so much and we were asked to leave after a year of living there!
Now, we are living with my boyfriend's mother and little sister in Queens (rent-free!) for the next 3-7 months so we can save money and find a great place of our very own! It's been a little tough adjusting but it will be worth it to get a jump start paying off my debt! I'm looking at this as a blessing in disguise!

Debt:
It's been a little disappointing this year, as most of my money ended up going into my jewelry business, which is now on hold, and not my debt. Also, instead of getting a much needed tax refund, I ended up owing the state almost $500!! I wanted to cry let me tell ya! But now that we are living rent-free, I'm going to get another weekend job at the end of July and by the time we move out of my bf's mom's place this December, I'm hoping to have almost 60% of my debt paid off!! In fact, I'm paying off my EVIL CHASE credit card this very month! Woo-hoo! And since I started this blog, I have brought my total debt down to $26,620 from $33K!

Running:
I started the Couch25K program last May and now I usually end up running an average of 3 miles in 33 minutes! And I run 3-5 times a week!! Can you believe it?! I actually achieved my goal of running 1 mile and exceeded it! More than that, I ENJOY running!

Weight-Loss:
This has been a topsy-turvy year for my weight loss journey. I joined a FREE and completely awesome website called SparkPeople.com and, combined with my running program, managed to loose almost 20 pounds in 6 months! Of course, in November, I stopped going to the gym so I could focus on starting my business and ended up gaining back about 8 pounds. However, I started working out again in February and I've lost about 6 of those 8 pounds! All said and done, I've lost 16 pounds and I'm about half-way to my goal weight!

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg folks! There's so much more to tell you, so many new goals (and setbacks)! I can't wait to share it all with you and to start blogging again!

Once More Into The Breach!

Well, I've been good and lazy for long enough! The time has come to get back in the game and start cooking again.  I have to start looking for a weekend job asap! Either at a bakery or as a barrista at a coffee shop. I'm not happy about working seven days a week but it's a necessary evil.

After several months of saving, my savings account is a whopping $15, I need some clothing essentials, I really should go to the dentist, I must find a new apt., and I really miss cooking. Sigh.


Sometimes I just want everything all at once. And then, trying to do everything at once ends up just making me more exhausted and I end up right where I started. It's so frustrating. But I have to look at the big picture and remember my plan. Taking 3 months to recoup and relax was part of the plan and now that that time is over, it's time to find a weekend job where I can keep learning about cooking and save money at the same time! In theory.

Now all I have to do is find that perfect job in a less than perfect economy.
Baby steps.

And I have to admit that ever since Winter hit, I haven't been exercising at all. The idea of running in the cold night with all that Winter air rushing through my lungs like sandpaper is not appealing. At one point I had gotten down to around 142 lbs! But changing jobs, not exercising, and holiday munchies etc, means I've somehow managed to get up to 158 lbs!! I'm not proud of this at all. I'm still reeling from the shock of it actually. How did I manage to gain almost 20 lbs in 3 months?!

And so, like many people at this time of year, I started looking into detox cleanses and diets etc. Everyone seems to think detox diets are a great way to cleanse your colon, liver, skin, and your body in general. You lose weight, gain energy, the birds are chirping and rainbows are everywhere. However, I did a little research and, according to the nutritionist at Spark, there are not many facts to support these claims. According to her, our bodies are already made to be an efficient cleansing machine. And our bodies are perfectly capable of handling the amounts of toxins etc in the average diet. Any claims of elevated energy and so on are probably a placebo affect (I.E.- our bodies are tricking us). Now there isn't anything that harmful about the juice cleanses, so long as you stay hydrated and get all your vitamins,  but they don't really help you that much either.
Instead, she suggests just eating foods that are more natural (I.E.- there should be only 4 ingredients on the package label), if it can go bad, it's good for you, cut out the alcohol & smoking, and cut back on sodas.

So I tried cutting out my morning milk and cereal or bagel and cream-cheese for a homemade fruit smoothie with flax seed and protein powder. (Supposedly, these will keep you full longer.) I would usually include: 1 banana, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 1/2 apple, 1/2 pear, 1-2 handfuls of spinach, 1 Tbsp of flax seeds, 1 scoop of protein powder, and 1/4 cup apple juice. Although maybe the protein powder was overkill considering I already had a good protein in the form of yogurt. It was more than enough for my trusty thermos and it would really keep me full! So full in fact, that I'm actually beginning to think it's making me gain weight! So now I'm conflicted and actually considering going back to my tried and true Slim Fast. It's definitely less hassle to prepare, you just grab a can and go! Though it's probably more expensive. Or maybe I should just eat less of the smoothie, and maybe cut out the protein powder?


What are your thoughts? Slim Fast vs. Au Naturale??

Weigh In

Yay! I think its actually working! It's hard to tell on my scale since it's not digital, but it looks like I'm now 145 lbs! Which means I've lost 1-2 lbs in one week! (I've read that loosing 2 lbs a week is considered fast, and people who loose weight too quickly are less likely to keep the weight off when they stop dieting. So, loosing weight slowly, about 1 lb a week, is preferable.)


Just so you know, I've been eating a full meal in the morning, usually 1 1/2 cups of coffee with 2% milk and 1 spoon of sugar, a sandwich of cinnamon/raisin bread with brie and smoked salmon, then about 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and 2 spoons of pineapple. For lunch I have 1 Slimfast shake (strawberry is my fav) and a salad. Dinner is either a Slimfast with some nuts or spinach salad with either mozzarella cubes, walnuts and olives or 1 boiled egg and some avocado. I've been cutting out the drinks with sugar (except coffee) and the daily pasta at lunch (thanks to the family meal at work). And I'm a pastry cook, so cutting out sugar completely is impossible but I try to keep tastings to a minimum.
Tip- I've found that a 6-pack of Slimfast is cheaper at Target, about $6, than it is at drugstores like Walgreens or RiteAid, etc., about $10! Also, these shakes really only fill me up for about 2-3 hours, so something extra is necessary. But they are fast and easy!


Also, for the Fat Girl Slim report:  I've been using it once a day (instead of the recommended twice a day) and have definitely noticed a difference in my skin's texture. It seems smoother, tighter, and firmer. Also, I think I can see a small difference in the areas that had miner cellulite problems. The big problem areas still have noticeable cellulite though. My biggest complaint is that the bottle doesn't last very long. I've been using it only 5 days and I'm already half-way through the bottle! And they say you should use it a full month to see a 'major' change. Although, I am kind of using it over most of my body. But what can I say?! I have serious cellulite needs!
I've also really come to love the tingly sensation that comes with the lotion. I use it in the morning, after my workout and shower, and it makes me feel invigorated and awake! 

As for the exercise rumors, I haven't really noticed a huge boost of energy except for in the mornings. And I can tell you, I really start to feel sluggish around 7 or 8, and I still have about 3-4 hours left on my shift! That's the worst. But mornings are great! And I think the appetite suppressant rumored to go along with exercise only lasts for as long as you are physically in motion, or maybe 30 minutes after. I mean, the last thing on my mind when I'm running around that track, is food. Mainly I think about not tripping over my own feet, how to keep the sweat out of my eyes, and how to get enough air in my lungs. Although I will say I haven't noticed any increase in appetite and that might be pretty impressive in itself considering I'm eating less calories and burning more too. Also, a friend of mine suggested taking vitamins to help keep my energy up. I'm trying not to resort to more coffee, but it's just so gooood! (Self-confessed java addict here.)

There's a great website that my mom actually introduced me to (gotta give props to mom!) that is supposed to help out with weight-loss goals, called SparkPeople.  The site itself can be a little overwhelming with all of it's features, but it's a great one-stop site to find tons of info about diet, exercise, and motivation. It really seems to have a great sense of community and I find the success stories very inspirational. I haven't actually read the book series that this site is based on, but if you have, I'd love to hear your take on it!


So have a great week everybody and keep on truck'n!