24 Day Challenge: HALF WAY UPDATE

I Made It Half Way!

This is further than I got last time. 

Before, I had already gotten frustrated with the pills and and my lack of ability to adhere to the program. I felt really defeated, but today.. as I'm rounding out day 12 I feel really good. 

Even if the scale isn't moving like I'd like it to, I can see the positivity in my face and I can feel the progress when I wear a t-shirt and the sleeves hang lower than normal and I can definitely tell a difference in my stamina as I work out.

I can see and feel a difference in my hands and wrists when using hand sanitizer or putting on bracelets.

I know why the scale isn't moving like I want it to. Its because I am not following the nutrition plan as it states. If I stuck with exactly what It said I'd be dropping the weight like crazy ... but I love cheese (I don't eat it every meal, but its so dang good) and I love ice cream. So I've made the decision to be ok with the rate at which I'm reaching my goal because I'm not avoiding them completely and at the same time reminding myself that those things are treats and not necessary for life.

I also have to keep reminding myself that losing the poundage for good means I need to do it slowly and work for it. If it just fell off without much work then I'd return to old habits quickly and put it right back on.

 So there you have it. A Half Way update. Here are some stats for you.

12 days of 24 day challenge

4 lbs gone

8 of 50 days working out

Wk 2/Day 1 of running plan complete

Until Next Time!

-Chels

I am an Advocare Distributor and I'd love to answer any questions you may have or you can visit my Distributor Page to order products yourself.

24 Day challenge: week 1 update

 First.. This is my 100th Post! Aahh! I couldn't believe it. As a little happy to commemorate this post I want to do a give away. Since I'm saving up for my YWAM adventure it'll have to be handmade by me. So the first person to text me " 100 Posts!!! " will get a painting with a quote of your choice on it! I'm sorry if you don't have my number.... but this way I know I'll be able to hand deliver it rather than having to mail it (like I said broke)... Next give-away will be open to a broader crowd!

You can even have this one!

Ready, Set, Go!

Now on to the update!

This Challenge has gone much better than my last. Probably because it was paid for with my hard earned money and I'm just in a better place in my mental and spiritual  and all around life to be able to commit to a program like Advocare. I'm already down 3 lbs.

The Spark energy drink mix is really helping with my desire to be sedentary. Its like watching tv and scrolling through pinterest are less important so I need to find something else to do. Which is great for my goal of exercising  every day. I've found that I only need one Spark a day, even though the challenge says you can have 2 a day. I can't get to sleep at night if I have two. You've also seen the effects of Spark on this Blog! There's been some changes here in the past week and its from the mental energy Spark provides.

All in all I'm feeling much better in general. I don't feel like sleeping until 10 like I used to (I don't get off duty until 12:30 so its not like I'm sleeping an extreme amount of time.) but I did feel like I was sleeping the day away. Most days I have been up before my alarm clock by an hour and unable to go back to sleep because my body was ready to get started. 3 of the days I've gotten up and been finished with my work out before my alarm clock went off.  I like that!

A Couple of other neat tricks:

My Blender cup and A Quart Mason Jar are my best friends:
The blender cup makes sure the Spark and Fiber Drinks get blended well.
The large mason jar helps me measure my water intake. Each one is 32 oz. and I just need to drink 4 of them a day to be right on track with my water consumption. I keep 2 in the fridge so They are ready to go. I've found that If the water isn't sitting out next to me I will forget to drink it.

I put my blender cup with the right amount of water or juice into the freezer about 30-45 minutes before I need to blend my spark or fiber drink and it helps make it super cold and kinda slushy, which helps immensely when it comes to drinking the fiber drink.

My Advocare distributor Amy suggested mixing the fiber drink with Orange Juice. GREAT IDEA!! This makes it much easier to tolerate. Its just like drinking very pulpy orange juice (which I love) rather than orange flavored mud... haha.. its not that bad.. but I have a texture thing when it comes to food.

So there you go. An update on my 24 Day challenge.
I am an Advocare Distributor and I'd love to answer any questions you may have. or you can visit my Distributor Page to order products yourself.

Thanks for reading! 

-Chels

25th Birthday: a 30 before 30 update

My 25th birthday came and went a few weeks ago and it was a really great, low key birthday. 

You may not know this about me but I'm not really a fan of being the center of attention when I'm not in charge, so I'm glad that this birthday was low key because it was a big one. The quarter life crisis took its toll but I've come out of it a better person with a positive outlook on where I'm going rather than the negative outlook on what HASN'T happened in my plan life yet.

But I did get 2 birthday cakes and had cake at the lingerie shower Friday night. I was so blessed from my friends and family and had something like 6 meals gifted to me and a cute pair of earrings from Francesca's from my fabulous friend Jennie! (Shes the one who made the burlap ornaments for Nightgown party) 

 

Bruiser was creeping in the photo to the left. You see him?!?  He's the sweetest English Bulldog I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.... and that says alot since I did go to College at MSU where our mascot is a Bulldog. He's owned by Shane, my sister's boyfriend.. and she must like him a LOT because she lets this pup get on her bed. So not the old Ka-Ka!!

Bruiser, Valtentines 2013

I got to spend my birthday weekend in my favorite city (NOLA) eating some fantastic food with some fantastic Ladies! Here is a photo of us all (Sans 1 Matron of Honor who's behind the camera) at the Audubon Zoo. 

Photo Courtesy of Molly Reid of Reid Photography, Jackson, MS.

 I thought I'd give y'all an update on my 30 before 30 goals. I'll just go down the list and give any news if applicable:

1) Cook through a Cook Book:
      I started this in January and have really enjoyed it so far! The book I chose to cook through was Glamour's "100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know". I have cooked the following recipes from the book and will make another 1 or 2 this week!

Instant Seduction Porkchops

I'll Take Care of you Mashed Potatoes

Make New Friends Plum Cobbler

Single Digit Grocery Bill Stew

Impress His Family Chardonnay Cake

Forget the Mistake you Made at Work Margarita

Thanks for Helping me Move Michelada

Bikini Season Baked Salmon

Gingery Green Beans
Easy Peasy Risi e Bisi

Just Kiss me Garlic Bread

Italian Chicken

We Still Miss the Sopranos Spaghetti and Meatballs

Secretly Good for You Banana soft serve

Wake Up and Make Up Sausage Biscuits

Skip a few..

22) Compete in an Adventure Run:
    We haven't offically signed up but the Bestie and I are looking at the Diva Dash in Chicago in August. So excited! I even printed out a training guide and have started a running program to prepare!

Skip # 23...

24) Get a Tattoo!:
    I am excited about this one... a friend (not sure if she wants it publicized who she is) wanted to gift me something from my 30 before 30 list for my 25th Birthday and this is the one she picked! EEK!!! So excited and blessed and can't wait to get to do the planning needed when making such a permanent decision with her!! Thank you again friend!!

25) Give up Soda for an entire year:
    I'm on day 211 of 365!!! and it has not been easy. The every day getting water or half and half tea is easy. It's the stressful days when its killer. Coke was my #1 way to relieve stress and every now and then when its been a stressful day or there is just stress in the air I NEED a coke. but I haven't had one since October 15th. The only exception to this goal has been the ginger ale or sprite in punches and 1 cup of ginger ale after an Upper Endoscopy for my tummy troubles. But that is it as far as sodas go... and we have a beautiful soda fountain at the church, that I haven't had the pleasure of trying yet!!

Skip a few more...

29) Exercise for 50 consecutive days:
     I have started this one like 8 times and failed on day 2. every. time. ... haha... But today was day 3 of 50! and tomorrow is day 3 of my new running program. I will stick with it... I will... if not.. I have 4.9 years left to try again!! No worries until march of 2018, then we'll need to get worried!

and 30) Own a Pair of Louboutins:
     I don't have a pair yet.. but I did get myself a quart mason jar and am saving all my pennies and dimes to put toward this goal! That is a LOT of pennies and Dimes I'm gonna need!!

So there you go. Its not a "Quick" update but its nice to put  my progress on paper. 

Thanks for reading! (and if anyone knows Tim tell him to facebook me! ;) )

-Chelsea Lou!!

Trying this running thing... again and a Happy Mother's Day!

What a beautiful Mother's day here in the Golden Triangle. A Cloudless sky with a nice cool breeze! It doesn't really get better than that! (unless of course you're at the beach... the beach is always better)

I am so super thankful for my great mommy! and her mommy and all of my aunts and cousins and friends who are mommies! I've learned  so much from watching and interacting with you and your little ones! 

May God bless the socks off of each and everyone of you today!

Now on to the running.....

I decided I'd really like to try running again... and it was never an issue of hating to run but always an issue of going a little too far, a little too fast and injuring my back.

I've started the Couch to 5K program several times.. I get to about week two and then ~*!BAM!*~ my back goes into spasms and I'm totally out of commission for anything except laying on the floor with my legs resting on the couch...

You see, I have a couple of vertebrae in my back with compression fractures from a boating accident in Destin, FL back in 2004. I still get anxious when we drive over that big bridge into Destin. So now I'll have back problems for the rest of my life thanks to some jerks in a BIG boat that don't know what IDLE: NO WAKE ZONE means.

Sorry... I'm usually not ugly like that but its really changed the way I have to live my life and I've missed out on a LOT of opportunities and big events because of back problems and it makes me sad because it was totally preventable, if only the rules would have been followed. I still love being on the water and boating but it did take me a long time to be comfortable riding in my dad's boat again. That's why I usually volunteer to take one of the Jet Skis when we're heading to a sandbar or something.

MoW and me in Destin July 2012 

My sweet cousin and My pretty sister

 

With that being said... I'm trying out a new method of training myself to run. I found a post on Runs For Cookies, a blog by Katie who changed her life through running and lost 125 lbs. Its a plan that is for people who HATE running so it starts you off nice and slow... a 30 second run and a 29 min 30 sec walk at your own pace, bumping it up by only a little bit every other day.

Sounds doable right? Right!!

I've completed days 1 and 2 and feel great! I'm also on day 6 of my Advocare 24 day Challenge and I'm feeling good. I'll post an update on that come Tuesday after completing an entire week! I'm so excited summer is so close!! I'm definitely going to take in as much of the sun and sand and salt water as possible as I'll get to experience a Wisconsin winter this year!

Until Next time!
Chelsea Lou!

Meatless Monday: week 1

So as I was scrolling through pinterest I came across this post labeled "Bob's skinny rules" After reading them all of them seemed so doable. a couple include: No Carbs after Lunch, Don't Drink Your Calories, Go to Bed Hungry and several others. 

The one that came to my mind often this weekend of Going Gluten free was to Plan to Make one day Meat Free. I started thinking about it.. and it really is a good idea. Not from a "Protect the Animals" point of view but from the "Eat your Veggies" point of view. 

I mean, think about it. If you can't eat meat , and like me you cant have most breads or pastas, what else is left to eat? Fruits and veggies!! So I'm gonna try it. I know that I can't commit to more than just one day because I really enjoy eating meat.

I've decided for me the best day to do it is Monday. I have to work every Monday, and there are very few times where something comes up and I don't have control of where and what i'm eating. As long as I plan before and have the right foods in the fridge I am confident that it will go well. 

I am hopeful.. I don't know how much it will effect my health but, I know that it will help train myself to make choices that are positive and to abstain from over eating. 

Today I had:

a vanilla yogurt with caramel

Hummus with carrots and rice crackers

Amy's Mexican Casserole

Lots of water

a Pickle
 Amy's bean and cheese burrito

a tomato with salt and pepper

Not too shabby, I usually have coffee as well but my monday was too busy for that this morning!

So there you go.. Meat Free Mondays begin!

- Chelsea lou!

Going G-Free

After having a crazy 5 day long headache last weekend I decided that I needed to do something about it. It had to be what I was eating/not eating that triggered it and wouldn't let it leave. I've had headaches like that when I was in college but I hadn't had one in a LONG Time. I could feel it from the tip of my nose all the way through my shoulders and down to my back, I can feel it now as I am telling you about it. UGH... I was miserable, medicines wouldn't help and I slept all but 8 hours on Saturday (4 to eat thanksgiving lunch and family photos and then 4 to drive back to  and still woke up on Sunday with this nasty headache.

So, I went through my diet last weekend when I was home, and low and behold, almost every meal included some type of flour or wheat product. Knowing that I have a gluten intolerance I immediately knew what needed to be cut out/way down in my diet everyday. Even though the lack of caffeine starts the headaches, if I've had gluten that day it won't simply go away with taking in the caffeine.

Since Gluten is in like EVERYTHING premade I had to do some searching and try some new things. Luckily for me Kroger has a whole section full of foods that are gluten free as well as tags on the price tags that state if a food is gluten free... This is so helpful!

These little meals have been a lifesaver this weekend. They really are delicious and far exceeded my expectations. I've also eaten some gluten free organic yogurt with sugar free caramel sauce, Chicken, Tuna, Guacamole, Hummus, gluten-free rice crackers and lots of carrots for dipping and I don't feel unsatisfied which is a BIG DEAL for this big girl.. I love food.

And guess what.. after 4 days of gluten free eating I feel sooo much better. I have more energy, My fingers aren't swollen all the time and I've lost 5lbs with little effort. I haven't had a headache until today and that was because work started earlier than expected for me this morning so I didn't have time to fire up the keurig before heading out to get the bus.

I wont lie.. its been tough.. especially when student's would have Pizza delivered and it would sit outside my office window or when the waitress delivered those steaming buttered rolls to our table at Logan's. Also when I saw what the cafeteria was serving and I know how yummy that food was.. and it was free but I still had to say NO. but it defintitely has been worth it. 

Now the tough part is figuring out how to keep this up and how I'll do it every day. Like I said.. I LOVE FOOD... and I've just got to work on making the right choices when I am out. I've got to research my options and know what I'm getting before I get to the restaurant so when I see that other yummy thing on the menu it will be easier to say no.

Pray for me as I am on this journey. its gonna be a daily choice and hopefully it will get easier with a little practice. 

Thanks for reading!

Until Next Time!

Chelsea-Lou!

I got started!!!

These past couple of weeks have been kind of CRAZY to say the least so the Goals I set for myself to complete in 2013 have gone to the back of my mind and I haven't been working hard to get them completed. 

But Last night... I Got started!

I got out my New Cookbook and decided I would just go ahead and just get after it. While flipping through the pages I noticed that some of the ingredients might get pricey, just like any fresh food, so I needed to coordinate my cooking with the grocery store specials to get the best bang for my buck. I remembered that Kroger had a pretty good deal on salmon this week so thats what I went with. 

  Along with the Bikini Season Baked Salmon I decided to make some Gingery Green Beans from the cook book as well as our favorite side dish roasted Sweet Potatoes. I won't share the recipes for everything because my friends over at Glamour might not appreciate it but I will share Ms. Melanie's roasted sweet potato recipe because I don't think she'll mind... she probably doesn't even remember she told me how to cook them over the phone at the prompting of her oldest son several years ago!

Look for a separate post this weekend on that!

This meal was GREAT!! It had some flavors that were a little fancier than our southern pallets are used to but it was really yummy, and it was a big ol' piece of fish! I was thinking last night on my way back to the dorm that I was amazed that I wasn't hungry or craving anything like I usually do on my ride back, which is FANTASTIC!! The only criticism was that the skin was really lemony on the salmon,  but I really think that that was just a personal "not a big fan of lemony flavor" thing of one of my tasters, because he sure did finish off that big ol' piece of fish.

So thats 2 of my 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know.

Here comes number 3!

We aren't big drinkers but in this cookbook here there are several drink recipes and for the sake of completing the WHOLE cookbook I have to make and taste each of them, even if I don't drink it all , The point is to make it and Try it instead of just disregarding it because It doesn't sound like my cup of tea... So we went ahead and made the least delicious sounding drink to go ahead and get it over. So we did. I whipped up the Thanks for Helping Me Move Michelada. 

When I was reading the ingredients out to Sierra and we were pulling them out of the refrigerator she just laughed and said with disgust "This Can't Be good!" and while it wasn't as awful as we thought it would be, it wasn't one we'll put on our list to try again. I'm sure that with the right food in the right setting it would have been a little tastier but judging from the looks on these faces..

Now, While I was finishing up the meal Sierra asked me how I was going to keep track of what I had cooked and what I hadn't so I came up with the plan listed in the photo below so I can keep up with it and so when I go back to cook something from this book again I can remember what the likes/dislikes were and how I varied the recipe (like adding a little butter to the green beans) to make it fit our tastes a little more.. A little butter always makes it better!!

Also You'll see a lot of Ben's opinion. He is my bestie's husband and will be completely honest with me because he's more like a brother than anyone ever has been, also... he's a really horrible liar. He was amazed last night when we told him we could tell when he didn't like something we cooked. We all had a good laugh about it.

Well there you go. A little peak into my progress on achieving my goals and working toward checking off some of those things on my 30 before 30 list.

Until Next Time!!

Chels

My new Cookbook!

I found it!

The cookbook I will cook through as part of my 30 before 30 mission. 

Take a look:

So it looks like I'm going to have to shoot for around 2 recipes per week to be done by the end of the year, but that won't be too difficult to accomplish. 

I am probably going to start with the things that call for no sugar  or flour and go from there since I'm getting started back on my low-carb / gluten free way of life.

I'll try to post a photo of each recipe as I cook it along with our opinions of the dish and any variations I made to the recipe. I will not be posting the recipe for you because I'm sure the ladies and gentleman over at Glamor wouldn't appreciate that!

Also if you're feeling brave and would like to be a taster for me, just let me know! I'm sure we could arrange a dinner party! 

I've got to go plan my first meal!

Until Next time!!

Chels

Goals for 2013

So... This is my first  post of the new year.

I have a feeling that this year is going to be another full of change for ole Chelsea Lou. But change is good and I'm looking forward to see what the changes are going to be this year.

Unlike every other year in my past I'm actually going to set some specific goals and work to reach them. In the years past I've made general resolutions like "This year I will be healthier" and the like. But I've come to realize I need to put some actual tangible goals to work towards that will lead to that overall resolution of "Healthier".

2013 Goals:

1. Stick to and Finish my year without soda. 

(October 15, 2013!!) I'm already almost 3 solid months into this 30 before 30 goal of mine. 

2. Cook through my new cookbook. 

(Will make a post about this later in the afternoon)

3. Save 2 months worth of pay by June.

 I'm not sure of my job situation after May, but I will get paid through July (perks of working for a school) and to have 2 extra months saved up before then will put me in good shape regardless of the outcome.

4. Pay off my credit cards and quit using them. 

I'm not crazy in debt with these things and I really only use them for gas and other things like that, but its added up quickly and I don't like that number I see on  my bills

5. Be in this beautiful dress that I bought at JCrew when I was skinny back in 2010.

 It almost fit then but was just a little snug, and I'm at least 25 lbs heavier now soooo... needless to say... it doesn't fit. I would like to wear it to my friend's rehearsal dinner on May 31. 

I think 5 goals is a good place to start.

Please encourage me while I'm working towards these goals. I need all the support I can get because I love eating and shopping, and those two things work against my reaching most of these goals.

Have a Happy 2013!

Chelsea Lou

Total Weight Loss: 4 lbs

Total Loss To-Go: 104 lbs

Days without soda: 74 of 365

being heathly in a dorm is hard

Hello there friends!

Its been one crazy whirlwind of a weekend. I was on duty this weekend which means from 7 am friday to 7 am tuesday, i have to be on campus or with in a few miles of campus available to come back at any point at the drop of a hat.. thats kind of stressful for me since I'm such a free spirit and all. Also it was winter formal weekend so we were open and dealing with students 2 hours past our regular curfew time on weekend... I was quite tired and grumpy yesterday morning. But I took a nap at lunch time and felt much better. 

I've been trying to keep under my calorie count this week and have only succeeded one day out of the last eight. I've only exceeded the calorie limit by about 115-200 calories a day, but just imagine my progress if I could just cut those 1000 calories a week out. 

I've been eating alot of frozen meals and visalus shakes. In part it has to do with the fact that I have lost my ID so I can't get into the cafeteria to eat something fresh, the other is I'm still stuck in lazy mode and its a lot of work to go to the kitchen 5 floors away and take all your ingredients and cooking tools and everything with you and bring it all back with a cooked meal without dropping anything. I see why the Freshman 15 is true. I've got to find the energy/ put out the effort to got to that kitchen so far away and cook healthy meals for myself. 

One thing that I've been struggling with, particularly since trying to get back on track after being lazy those weeks around thanksgiving break, is that I can't stop thinking about food or eating. Not sure what this is about. Probably just and old habit dying hard as the previous weeks were pretty much just instant gratification. Because I'm in this crazy almost binge like mode now its hard for me to keep from eating any food that is in my dorm room so that gallon of milk that should have lasted me 2 weeks of shakes only lasted from friday to monday, and all those frozen meals that should have lasted me a week as well  only lasted the weekend. Mind you I haven't been just going crazy but I wake up in the morning and don't stop thinking about food or what I'm going to eat until I go to bed, which lately has been anywhere from 15-17 hours of thinking I'm hungry. 

Pray for me this week as I work on my mind to correct this disordered thinking so I can get back on my road to getting thin. I've even put up a couple of more encouragement signs around. One is on the background of my phone and another in my car so when I'm traveling I can see it and be motivated to choose my food wisely!

I just realized I didn't do a count down for you guys last week so I'll try to do the math right now :) 

Weight Loss this week: 2.2 lbs

Total Weight Loss: 6.2 lbs

Total Loss To-Go: 101.8 lbs

Days without soda: 49 of 365

Thanks for coming by!

This weekend is Nightgown party! Stay tuned for photos!! 

I love Nightgown Party!!

-Chels

Weigh In.... Whatever week this is!

Sorry I didn't post last week. 

We had  one crazy weekend with a big surprise party for my dear friend Sierra. I'll post photos when I get them from our photographer. ( I feel like a real deal party planner by having an official party photographer) I was also on the front end of being sick so I was in a really sad mood and Y'all didn't need any of that.

But turns out I had a pretty good week, I got a new phone and My car battery died Wednesday forcing me to stay here on campus and get some much needed rest and I'm in much better spirits now after realizing that the mood of despair was from the exhaustion and being sick.

 Also, I lost another 2 lbs bringing the total to 10lbs!!! Which means i get to go get that mani/pedi whenever I want... the only thing is now I've got to find the $$ in my budget for that since I had to buy that new phone. 

Here are the stats for this week!

Weight Loss this week: 2 lbs

Total Weight Loss: 10 lbs!!

Total Loss To-Go: 98 lbs

Days without soda: 21 of 365

Until Next Time!

Chelsea-Lou

Weigh In Week 6

Alright guys!! I'm officially only 100lbs from my goal weight! 

For some reason my brain thinks that this number is much more defeat-able than the 108lbs I started at. And I feel encouraged because I'm on a roll.

One weird thing that has happened this week is that I've woken up the last 4 days feeling fat. Its not that my clothes are tight or anything like that, I just feel HUGE!! and then I get on the scale and see it down a point or two from yesterday and I spend all day convincing myself I really am looking better even though I feel blah today. 

Also ... I got off my exercise wagon after day 1 last week, but I got back on yesterday so maybe I'll stick with it this time. I took a nice long walk around campus yesterday before/after dinner... I'm trying to decide what I will do today... maybe I'll try out the gym here this afternoon/tonight... who knows!? (*God Does*) 

Here are the stats:

Weight Loss this week: 1.4 lbs

Total Weight Loss: 8 lbs

Total Loss To-Go: 100 lbs!

Days without soda: 7 of 365

Days with Exercise: 1 of 50

Thanks for reading! 

Have a good Monday!

Chelsea-Lou!  

I'm getting started!

So now that I've had my 30 before 30 list complete and have been letting it settle for a week I've decided its time to get started on it (with some urging from the baking bride). 

The first thing I started on was filling out my application for Mfuge this summer (#20). I've got all of it filled out except my references.

Another thing I started was my year with no soda (#25). I decided the sooner I start it the sooner I can finish. So I am on Day 3 now and I've only really wanted a coke once. One thing that never occurred to me when planning on doing this is the $$ that I will save. It hit me as I handed over a $5 bill at Popeye's yesterday and got plenty of change back, when if I were to have gotten the combo It would have been over $6. Score! I'm thinking about putting all the $$ I'll save into a Jar and just see how much it saves me over the course of this next year! (and maybe it will help fund one of my other goals!)

One thing I started this morning was my 1st day working on (#26) exercising every day for 50 days. I did some simple arm flab exercises while watching the view! 

Heres the Countdown:

Days without soda: 3 of 365

Days with Exercise: 1 of 50

Until Next Time!

Chelsea-Lou!

30 before 30: the list

Here it is! My Super exciting post!

This is a list of 30 things I would like to do by the time I turn 30, which is a good 5 1/2 years away. Some are kind of lofty and several might be quite costly but its now or never right?! I'll update you when one of these have been completed and also as I am completing a few.

 I may need your help to complete some of these because they won't be any fun doing it by myself!

 This is super exciting to me. I just want to get started! 

1. Cook through a cookbook
2. Visit every continent (sans anartica)
Europe Asia North America South America Africa Australia

3. Swim in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans

4. Go on a cross country road trip

5. So to a Saints game at the Superdome

6. Own my own home

7. Buy a new car

8. Get married

9. Become a parent

10. Be at my goal weight - only 101.4 lbs to go!

11. Donate to locks of love

12. Share a meal with Tim Tebow

13. Adopt a Child

14. Recover a couch

15. Go parasailing

16. Ride in a hot air balloon

17. Stay in a hostel

18. Get a really good camera and learn to take really great photos with it

19. Do a tasting in napa valley

20. Work at a summer camp

21. Meet Esther, my compassion child

22. Compete in a adventure run like warrior or diva dash

23. Go backstage at a concert

24. Get a tattoo

25. Give up ALL soda for a whole year this is going to be the hardest one to complete 

26. Do 100 consecutive push ups (in my wedding dress would be really cool but lets not get ahead of ourselves)

27. Spend a day sailing

28. Go deep sea fishing

29. Exercise every day for 50 days in a row

30. Own a pair of Louboutins.- aren't they beautiful?!

**All images in the list were found using google images**

So there it is! My list. I could explain a story for each of these but that would make for an excruciatingly long post! Maybe I'll share my motives as I complete them!

I can't wait to get started!

-Chelsea- Lou

Its been a Great Weekend!

Hey Readers!

As the title states it was a great weekend filled with some fantastic friends from my past, shopping and super yummy food! Yes I went off plan this weekend but only on a couple of things did I really go over board, like that banana pudding concrete from Bops, the China Wok take out for dinner and a Chicken-on-a-stick from that gas station in Raleigh... they were all delicious and I believe worthy splurges. 

I didn't weigh-in today because I didn't stay at the dorm last night and I had to eat breakfast and drink 8oz of water this morning to take my meds I missed last night (oops). So I will weigh in in the morning and let you know first thing! 

I just finished this Quiet Workout I found on pinterest. Its originally from a fitness blog I have been following lately called Back on Pointe. Its definitely quiet but I can't do some of those moves... the :45 plank went down in :15 and the Jackknife crunches looked ridiculous.

 But that doesn't matter.. I did it!

 Go Me!

That means peggy gets fed today after all!

Quiet Workout from Back on Pointe

One thing that I am learning this time around is that I will never be successful on my weight loss journey if I abstain from everything delicious all the time. It has to be a life long commitment to weigh my options and go healthy when I can so later I can splurge on a cheese covered enchilada and not feel guilty. Its also reminding myself that I don't always need a side with my meal. Like that chicken-on-a-stick I mentioned earlier, when I ordered it the girl behind the counter gave me a bewildered look when I told her i didn't want any potato logs to go with it ( I wanted them but I had already made a concession for the battered and fried entree in her hand). 

One thing that I need to work on, and this will probably be a long process, is not eating after I'm full. Every meal that I ate this weekend I can remember the feeling of being full and still having food on my plate so my brain told me to keep eating. Its a learning process. Another reason this has occurred to me lately is I am trying to keep myself to a strict budget so that I can put as much into savings as possible and if I could stop eating when I first feel full I'd have a second meal from each of those that I ate too much at this weekend.

This will be my challenge to myself this week:

 To stop when I feel full and save it for later. 

Hasta la Vista!

Chelsea-lou