Update:

Not much to say. I didn't do much last week... mostly because my hands and feet were sore from my very short stint at Ferrero. Plus it was Thanksgiving so I didn't eat the greatest.

I've been good the past few days, though. I actually have a reason and motivation to be going to the gym now so that's great. I can't say it here though because people who can't know about it read this blog, haha. But it's a greattttt reason. I went to bodyart yesterday and am going either to design method or body sculpt on Thursday. Then Friday I'll probably go to ballet.

I made apple butter today which is delicious and pretty healthy. I couldn't find sugar-free cider though so the cider I used had quite a bit of sugar but oh well. It's definitely healthier than jam and stuff so it's a good alternative.

Tomorrow I'm really going to get back on the working out and studying train. My LSAT is coming quicker than I want it to and I've been slacking. So tomorrow I'm at least going to do half a test... maybe a full one. My personal statements have been written and are in the process of being edited so that's a big thing out of the way. Just gotta start shedding the pounds and studying now!

-Monica

Chinese Food.

Update:

I know it's terrible but I ate Chinese food today. And now I feel fat. So I'm going to sit in the corner and cry now.

Kbye.

-Monica

Good Week.

I weighed myself yesterday morning and I'm 180.5lbs! It means all my hard work has been paying off. I know I'm behind but if I can lose at least 15lbs more before Christmas, I will be in good shape. Even if I'm 140lbs before I go to law school... as long as I'm lean, I'll be happy. I think that's the main thing I need to think about - it's not necessarily about the number on the scale, but about how many inches I lose and how lean I am. Because if I'm a bit heavier but it's all muscle - then who cares, right?

This week, my gym routine consisted of:

Monday - Physique
Tuesday - BodyART
Wednesday - break
Thursday - Body Sculpt

I was going to go to Ballet today but I'm really not feeling well. My stomach really hurts and I haven't eaten anything because of it. Tomorrow I'll try to at least work out at home before I go into work. Sunday I'll either work out at home or go to the gym. Next week instead of body sculpt I'm trying design method too, which I'm really excited about. Kelly and Kirsten have been coming to the gym with me which is nice. I think next week on Tuesday, Kelly and I are going to do anti-gravity yoga for an hour then do the BodyART class. So even though it's yoga, at least I'll be doing 2 hours on Tuesday.

Last week when I was in NY, I bought a bunch of clothes that are too small. My goal is to lose 10lbs and fit into these. I think one of them will still be tight when I've lost 10lbs, but that's just incentive to lose more. I also bought a dress I want to wear on Christmas.

Adorable, right? The picture doesn't do it justice because it's the most adorable dress ever and so my style. It fits but I don't like how it looks on me right now because there's a little too much belly action going on. If I can lose 15lbs, I definitely think I can rock this dress. So that's why I'm working really hard, because I don't want to waste this dress. Isn't it so little girl-ish/old lady-ish at the same time? It's so adorable, haha. I'm so determined to wear it.

I've been eating well for the most part. Not as many veggies as I should be eating but I'll try to change that. And usually when I work at the bar, I have the dessert they serve (crepes with vanilla ice cream and strawberries) because you need a little pick me up. Thankfully they're small, and I usually don't eat the dinner there because it's too bad for me... so it evens out, maybe? I usually bring some fruit to snack on but I don't always have time to snack, especially at weddings that keep the bar open during dinner. But we'll see, and I'll try my hardest to be good this weekend.

I think that's it for now. And thanks so much to everyone who reads this and bugs me to write. So many people I wouldn't expect to read this do and it really does motivate me to keep going because I don't want to disappoint anyone, and most of all, I don't want to disappoint myself.

-Monica

I'm Back!

Since SOMEONE bothers me every day to update this, I figured I finally would.

I know it's been a while. Stuff came up that really altered the way I was living for a little so the whole diet/weight loss was put on hold. But I think, and I hope, things will be okay for a while so I can get back on track.

I joined The Athletic Club. I love some of the classes, and it was cheaper to just join. I haven't been going much lately, but I'm trying to change that. So I have a plan for this week.

Today - went to BodyART
Wednesday - usually my day off, but going to Physique
Thursday - usually I would go to Body Sculpt or Design Method but I believe I am going to the US for the day so this week it will be a rest day
Friday - Ballet Strength & Stretch
Saturday - I have to work at 4 but if I get up early enough I'll go to the gym and just run for an hour and do some weights or whatever.
Sunday - weights & cardio
Monday - Physique
Tuesday - BodyART

This is all assuming I don't have a job that interferes with the classes - hopefully I can still go to my classes when I get a job.

I feel pretty good about myself after tonight. Just feeling like I can do this. I was thinking today about how much I want to get to my goal by next year, and I realized I really need to ramp it up. My goal for the end of the year is 165, I believe. That's a little more than 1lb a week, which is doable. If I get my gym schedule on track, hopefully my eating will follow. Although I feel good about myself today, I didn't eat particularly well. I had a healthy breakfast and lunch, but for dinner we had plum pierogi. But we only make them once a year when italian plums are in season, so I figured it was okay. Plus I'm not a huge fan of them so I only had like.. 8 or something. Tomorrow I'll wake up and eat healthy, go to the gym, and have leftover homemade veggie soup for dinner.

I think I can do this. I think my mind is back in a place where I'm able to really focus. I feel like with this and law school applications, it'll take up a lot of my time but I suppose it's worth it in the end. I'm just ready to be healthy. And if I can get to 165 or less by the end of the year, I'd be convinced I can do this. As for a short term goal, I'm going to say 174lbs by the end of October, hopefully. I think I'd be in a good position if I got to that. I'm not quite sure what I weigh right now because I've been scared to check but I know its around the 184lb mark, so it's not like I'm completely off track. I'm obviously losing slower than I want to, but we all come across bumps in the road.

So I'm ready to get back on track and am gunna need everyone to bug me to update this and talk to me about this so that I stay motivated. Motivation is a huge problem sometimes, but I really want to stick with this. I think I can with everyone's help.

-Monica

PS. I have an awesome boyfriend and I love him and stuff and he makes me update my blog so he's pretty cool.

Update

So, I'm at a bit of a plateau. I can't seem to get below 182lbs, which is kind of annoying. I switched up my exercise routine today and moved to level 3 of the shred, which I love. I'm going to pick my 3 and 5lb weights tomorrow though, because some of those moves need more than the 2s. I'll keep the 2s for the cardio, but some of them I definitely want to be using my 5s. I especially want to use those on the arm exercises because I'd like to start seeing a difference in my arms.

I found 3 pairs of older jeans in my room which had been too small on me. I tried them on today, somewhat skeptically, and they actually ended up being a tiny bit too big on me! I was really happy. I'll still wear them because I'm in a weird in between stage where the jeans I have are either too big or too small... none of them fit nicely. Which is okay, because hopefully in 5-7lbs I'll be able to fit into my skinny jeans again. I just need to get past this plateau. I did get a compliment about my weight loss yesterday, though. My aunt, who is bigger herself and has always been the type to say "what's the point of diets? just eat whatever you want" said that I was looking good. It actually meant a lot because she's really not the type to comment on things like that. So at least I'm at the point where people can notice I've lost weight, but I still want to lose way more.

I'm just really going to go hard this week. I think I'll do a class at the gym too. Amanda and I decided not to do the booty camp because it's too expensive. So I'm going to do a few classes at the gym with her. Hopefully we're going to do this Body Art class on Tuesday which is like.. strength training and cardio mix, but also with a focus on relaxation. I also really want to do a cycling class, and physique which is a ballet conditioning class which I love. I hope doing these will help me push past this plateau. But if anyone has any tips on how to get past plateaus please let me know! I'm drinking water and not snacking at all, so I hope I'll get to 180. I really want a pedicure!

I think that's it for now!

-Monica

Quick update -

Things are going well. I'm still 182lbs. I did eat chinese food tonight because my aunt invited us over for dinner but I made healthy choices. And despite a pulled muscle in my leg, I still worked out today which I'm glad about. I'll just keep making good choices the rest of August and I feel like I will make it to 175lbs.

Also, my mom has informed me that I need to put my old jeans on because my current ones are like.. falling off of me. And I've started wearing clothes that I was wearing last summer when I was just a few pounds lighter than I am now.. so I'm happy with my progress so far. I think it's a good sign.

-Monica

Okay.. really back on track this time.

I had a cheat weekend, haha. I was on my period and craving every bad food imaginable, and I let myself indulge. But today I was back on track for sure. It was actually the first day since I've been sick where I felt like I had the sustained energy to get through a workout. I did the 30 day shred and it really tired me out, but I got through it. I also ate very healthy today. I know I gained a few pounds the past few days, but hopefully they'll be off soon.

I had someone comment that I looked good this weekend. My cousin, who I don't see very often, said that I was looking great. It made me feel pretty good about myself since people can notice a difference in the way that I look. I think it gave me extra motivation to keep going - because who knows what kind of compliments I'll get when I'm down 30, 40, 50lbs.

Amanda and I are signing up for booty camp which I'm looking forward to. I hope it'll kick our asses. Maybe it'll be what I need to help me reach 175lbs by the end of August. If I combine it with eating healthy (and from not until the end of August I only have one foreseeable occasion where I may not eat completely healthy) and doing the shred + normal cardio on non-booty camp days, I feel like I'll reach my goal. I'm going to stay positive about this. I also can't wait to get my pedicure so I'm doing my best to drop the few extra pounds until I read 180. I found this old notebook of mine and I found a piece of paper I wrote on in the summer of 2007. It was about my weight - I had recorded my weight along with the exercises I had done that day. I was 177.4lbs - at this point I had gained most of the weight I had lost back. So it makes me very optimistic because once I reach 175lbs, it'll be the smallest I've been in 4 years. I'll have no choice but to keep going after that because I'll be so happy with my progress.

On the studying side of things, I did an entire practice LSAT today under timed conditions. I got a 178. It's kind of crazy thinking about it because only like, 1% of test takes score that high on the actual test. I know I'll get lower on the actual test just because of the pressure of test day and anxiety and all that, but if I can get at least a 170 I'll be so happy. I still need to make an appointment with the bank though to see if I can get the money for law school. I also need to start writing my personal statements very soon - likely later this week. I sent off some emails to old professors about writing recommendation letters for me and I think I've found two great profs who will write me one - I hope so anyway because I'm not sure who else I'd ask. It'll be such a relief to get that out of the way.

All in all, I've had a pretty productive day and I'm happy about it.

-Monica