The "30 Pound Slump"

So I know so many of y'all are disappointed in me. I rarely update my blog and not being successful on my diet like I should. (I did lose 2 pounds this past week!) When I started this blog I wanted to inspire others and put my ups and downs out there to show its never easy but with hardwork you can do it. So I am calling what happened to me the past couple of weeks as the "30 pound slump."

I call it this because I lost 30 pounds! Which is amazing! I was starting to feel happy in my own skin, getting compliments from friends/family members/strangers, and I also went down a size in pants and no longer where plus sizes at some stores! This was a huge deal for me. I honestly feel pretty and good about myself. ....So what happened? I stopped caring about Weight Watchers or working out.

Then something hit in my head this week...Kelly you are no where near your goal. Get off you lazy bum and work hard!  I was not motivated and no support around me. I realized you have to be accountable for your own actions.

I bid farewell to any negative thoughts and laziness. No more!!  I am Kelly 2.0! I feel like I did when I started! I'm ready for whatever comes next! I am ready to lose that next 30 and more!

So have you ever hit a plateau in your diet and your just flat lining? It is not easy! Just remember you may not be at the finish line yet, take your time and you will get there!


So onto the other fun part....an update on my life!!

I went to Knoxville for the very first time this weekend. Now if you know me I have never been interested in going (Hello UT orange? Yuck!) But I really wanted to see where my very good friend Kyle went to school! I enjoyed seeing him in his own element and meeting his college buddies! We went up Saturday and went to the Knoxville Brewfest! It was so much fun! I kept thinking Knoxville is so much fun! I only wish I had visited sooner!

Knoxville Brewfest 2012! (Luc, Stephen, Kyle, Me, Andrew)

So I promise promise promise I will try to update more! It seems really hard because I work 8-5 every day then go workout and then get home to cook dinner and settle down for a minute or two! 

My roommate was actually getting on to me for not updating. Haha! So I am writing while watching So You Think You Can Dance. It's one of my favorite summer shows because I loved my dancing days and miss it all the time! 

It's Been A Long Time Since You Came Around...

Yes I know....I have not updated in 2 weeks....ehhh I'm sorry to the people who have been following my blog. Let me recap the past 14 days....

Well I was not very happy with myself last week... I gained three pounds two weeks ago. I said that in my blogging my weight loss I was going to be completely honest. I was not going to sugarcoat anything. Yes I did gain. But let's look at it...in 16 weeks it was my first time truly gaining. I cannot be hard on myself. I was all last week. I couldn't believe I just ate bad, didn't work out, and didn't track my week on my WW app. I know I should always be good on my diet but I guess I was getting comfortable in my own skin and starting to feel good about myself. I have still lost 30 pounds and that is amazing! It was not easy but I am ready to hit the big 50!

These two pictures were taken 6/8/2012! 30 pounds down!

My wonderful friends Kaitlin and Amber came into town last weekend. I was so glad to have them here! Zach, Kaitlin, and Amber are three of my very good friends from home. I went to high school with Kaitlin and Amber and Zach went to high school together. We had too much fun and that's probably why I gained three pounds. But whatever it was great to have them and need them to come back real soon!

Also... last Monday I started work! Wooohoo Kelly got a job! I love it so far! It is so nice to go to work 8am-5pm! I am on my way to being independent and happy. Well I am already pretty happy. I have great friends, wonderful family, and living in a new city. I am enjoying life so much. I ate very well last week however I did not work out. I guess because I was use to working out around 10 or 11. I was so tired when I would come home from work and once I got in the apartment I was not going anywhere. My lovely friend Lana gave me a really great idea. Pack a gym bag in my car and when I get back to my apartment go straight to the gym and not to my apartment. I am going to try it out tomorrow.

Tonight I went to Zumba. They offer classes a couple of days a week at my apartment complex! Pretty cool huh? Oh my lordy that was INTENSE! I was getting my booty kicked within 5 minutes. I couldn't believe the high intensity. I thought maybe I should start in a children's zumba class. Haha! I will feel the burn tomorrow when I wake up and can't move. Well I am glad to start my working out again. I have missed it.

I also haven't been cooking much. I need to get back on that with some recipes for you all to try. It has been a Lean Cuisine/Smart Ones days the past week.

Well I will update later this week. I just wanted to let you all know I have not forgotten about you all. Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Live for Today, Learn from Yesterday, and Hope for Tomorrow

Well Ladies and Gents, I am almost to the 35 pound marker! I am so excited! I cannot believe I have stuck to this. It is definitely still a learning process and trails/errors. I had a very good week this past week. I ate very well and worked out. Let me tell you if you want an intense workout then have no fear download the Nike Training App. Oh my... what a workout. I am loving it though and alternate days between C25K and NTC.

Well I was kind of sad this past weekend. My family went to go visit my older brother and I did not get to go with them. I haven't seen my brother in a long long time because he is always traveling and moving around. (he's an actor) So after seeing pictures of the family I was a little bummed. I am such a family person. They are the most important thing in my life and will always be. I am definitely a momma's girl/she's my best friend. But I miss my brothers so so much. I have two wonderful brothers (one older, one younger).

Brothers at dinner the other night (Chris and Patrick)

Patrick posing with Chris and his castmates

Oh I found a new food that I am obsessed with at the moment. That is veggie burgers. I love burgers. Who doesn't really? Well I found a wonderful healthy alternative and that is Morning Star Veggie Burgers. The burger is only 3 WW points! Not too shabby if you ask me. I paired the burger with some WW cheese and Healthy Life bread. For 6 WW Points you can have a delicious Patty Melt. I paired it with some Reduced Fat Pringles (4 WW points per serving).  It can be a great healthy alternative for those summer cookouts and pool parties. And fourth July is just around the corner. Try it out! I love it! If you do not want to use toast then just get some healthy wheat buns.

10 WW points Meal- Patty Melt and Pringles

Sandwich- 6 WW points

I mean a little over three months ago I would have just eaten a double cheeseburger and large fries from McDonald's. But that is the old me. I am reinventing myself. I am only at the beginning of everything. I mean one can always work harder and I really am trying to. 

I thought about this the other day on ways to improve my weight loss. I am ready to quit smoking. I really am. Next week I will hopefully hit the 35 pound marker and I will toss that nasty habit out the window. And another thing, I really want to cut back/bring an end to my beer drinking days. Ok now let me explain, I do not drink beer every day...maybe once a week if I go out. But I feel like it is just not good for my diet. I mean one light beer is 4 WW points. I feel like it just makes me bloat and retain water, etc.  I need to stick to my water with lemon! 

Hopefully I will have some excited news to share with everyone by next week! Keep your fingers crossed for me! I cannot believe I have been in Nashville for a month now! It seems like we moved last week. I am still loving it more and more every day. 

"Your dreams come true when you act to turn them into realities."

Well I had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! I had a great 4-day weekend with some great friends and new people! I think I did pretty well eating wise...but I am sure a few of those beers I had should have probably been avoided. I am not going to beat myself up over it. I am a 23 year old girl and love going out with my friends. I am starting to get a little sad because of very best friend Kyle is about to leave me. He will be going to law school and luckily not too far from me! It is nice to have him here with me so I will miss him a little bit. I have also enjoyed meeting all this friends that work with him. They are all very sweet people.

Kyle and I on Saturday Night

Julianna, Me, and Vann. Some of Kyle's work friends!

Well I shall move on now. I had a conversation with my roommate the other night about our dreams, goals, and ambitions in life. We both have huge dreams and like I said "it may not be tomorrow or 5 years from now, but one day our time will come." I totally believe that and I found this quote (the title of my blog post) and I felt that it's so true! I think sometimes we, I included, sit around and wait for things to happen. As nice as it would be for that to happen it doesn't. I know trying to find some amazing PR job isn't going to happen overnight. It is hard to swallow my pride and realize that but I do. I will keep sending my resume until they finally give me the job. I have this awesome characteristic that is "I don't give up until I get what I want." It is so true! I really don't. Tell me no once, I will try again. Tell me no five times, I will try again. 

Sometimes I realize that I could try a little bit harder every now and then whether it is working out harder, eating just a little better, or getting a job. I'm not perfect and I do not know anyone who is. We all have flaws and I know mine and not ashamed to admit them. I try to work on them as much as possible. I mean just look at the past 3 months of my life. I am down 29.8 pounds, cut out fast foods, cut back on sodas (about 2-3 a week), I work out, I am on my own, eating healthy, and growing up. I never in a million years thought I would be able to stick to a diet this long. I usually last about 2-3 weeks then I would cave in and run to Chick-Fil-A, McDonald's, or Zaxby's.

As I sit here looking like a tomato (that's what I get for laying by the pool with no sunscreen), I have a challenge for everyone, including myself, to write down your dreams on a piece of paper whatever they may be. Keep it with you and look at it once a week and think to yourself, have you done anything to get closer to achieving your goal? After a while if you say no, no, no...you may just be like ok you know what I keep saying no and I am ready to say YES! Here's mine for you to see! 

Well I hope everyone has a great/short week! Enjoy your life because you have one chance! Everyone has a purpose on this earth and congratulations to the people who have found it and good luck to the rest of us as we find ours!

Chicken Teriyaki over Onions and Mushrooms

Well I had such an amazing response yesterday. I couldn't believe it! I am so thankful! I made an awesome dinner tonight and I just couldn't wait to share it with everyone! I just kind of came up with it while I was at the store and ohhhh btw I have become addicted to coupons! I saved $27 at the store! (Bill went from $105 to $78) I found some WW coupons for Smart Ones! I discovered today that you can buy healthy on a budget. Obviously I am on one since I am jobless right now.  But anyways tips on that will be on the way. Here is a picture of my meal. I made parmesan zucchini and brown rice along with the meal! I probably should have taken better pictures but we were hungry and ready to eat!

Chicken Teriyaki w/Mushrooms and Onions

WW+= 8 Points

Serving: 2 

Fat: 3.2g, Carbs 26.5g, Fiber 1.3g, Protein 53.7

-4 thin boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets

-1/2 Cup of Lawry's Teriyaki Marinate

-1 Cup of Onion

-1 Cup Mushroom

-Salt/Pepper

-2 tbsp of Olive Oil

Instructions:

1. Marinate chicken in a bag with Lawry's Teriyaki for about 30 minutes and throw in a little salt and pepper for about 35 minutes

2. Saute Onions and Mushrooms with Olive Oil and Salt/Pepper, I thinly sliced both and cooked them together

3. Set aside onions and mushrooms

4. Grill Chicken in Skillet until cooked through 

5. Serve chicken over onions and mushrooms. If you would like you can slice the chicken before placing over veggie mix. 

This meal was so yummy! I found the zucchini recipe from Pinterest. (Click here for recipe.) and I used Uncle Ben's Brown Rice. One of those 90 second bags. 

Hope you like it! I know you will! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. Now onto watching my guilty pleasure shows and spending some quality time with my roomie. 

Yours Truly,

Kelly 

Gotta Keep Your Head Up

Well I survived my first week in Nashville. I knew I would. I love this city so much. It has been amazing so far. I lost 3.6 pounds this week! Yay! I am now at 27.8 pound loss! I couldn't be happier! I worked really hard this past week or at least I think so. I went hard at the gym and ate pretty well.

I haven't written about this yet but I figured I should so that I will do it because everyone who reads this will expect me to... I have decided that once I lose 35 pounds I am going to quit smoking. Many of you may not know this about me but yes I smoke. I am not proud of it and it's an awful/expensive habit to have. I feel with my changes I am making in my life something needs to go and is holding me back from being completely successful. I have smoked since high school... and I am ready to be done with it for good. I am hoping and praying I will be able to succeed with this goal. I know it won't be easy but I am going to try my hardest.

The job search continues. I had an interview today and think it went pretty well. I wish I could find an awesome PR job here in Nashville but until I meet the right person, that is going on the back burner. I am pretty sure I have sent my resume 50 times to each PR firm here in the city and there is probably an office memo floating around each office about me (ATTN: This girl REALLY loves PR and has applied to work here 50+ times).

Well I got to have lunch today with my best friend Kyle. I feel like I mention him in every post. (Hope you feel special Kyle) I got to meet two of his intern friends and they were super nice and they told me they read my blog. I thought it was pretty cool! I love hearing that! Here is a shoutout for you Vann and Julianna!

So I am still on weight watchers but it doesn't feel like it. I guess maybe because I am not doing the meetings anymore I am doing it all online. I am thinking about starting meetings again. I just feel like I am holding myself accountable going to meetings and weighing in.

I talked to my friend Mary Allison who is also doing WW and she has lost 40+ pounds! How amazing is that?! I go to her for advice because she has been so successful and wondered what her normal workout routine was like. She introduced me to the Nike Training Club App. Wow that is the most amazing workout app ever. I hope you are all pulling your smart phones out and downloading it. That was an intense workout. It kicked my booty.

Well I have a recipe I made up. I am a pasta girl. I love/live for pasta! It is probably my favorite food. I eat a lot of whole wheat pasta and it's delicious. So while I was still at home I kind of played around with a few things and ended up with "Feta/Spinach Chicken w/Spaghetti." So I put the recipe in my recipe builder on WW online and it comes to about 12 points a serving. It fills you up so that's not too bad if you think about it. Here goes the recipe...

Feta/Spinach Chicken w/Spaghetti
Servings: 3
WW+= 11 Points per serving
Fat: 8.2, Carbs: 26.8, Fiber: 3.6, Protein: 69.5

3 Grilled Chicken Breast
2 Cups of Spinach
2 Cups Prego's Heart Smart Traditional Sauce
3 Cups Cooked Wheat Pasta (I used Whole Wheat Penne)
6 oz of Fat-Free Feta Cheese
Salt/Pepper
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1. Boil Water and cook pasta
2. While pasta is cooking saute your spinach with a little salt, pepper, oil, and garlic.
3. Set both aside after they are done cooking.
4. Cut chicken breast in half (you don't have to but I did) and grill them in a skillet until cooked.
5. Once your chicken is cooked spray a baking dish with non stick olive oil and place the chicken in the dish.
6. Scoop Spinach on your chicken and then sprinkle the feta cheese over
7. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or so. I baked it so the feta could settle on the spinach.
8. I heated up the sauce while the chicken was cooking, you can either it in the microwave or on the stove. ( I had some spinach left over and put some in the sauce for fun)
9. Then serve chicken over the spaghetti if you'd like or serve it side to side.

Before I put it in the oven

(It looks like about 5 cups of pasta but I swear it is only 1 cup)

It was super yummy and I really want to make it again. Very delicious! Well that is all I have for right now. Hopefully I will get to post later this week! I want to do a post of my favorite things to eat while on a diet. What do you think? Or if you have any recipes you would like me to try and make healthier let me know! I would be happy to take on the challenge!

"Feels Like Home To Me"

Ok I know I know! It has been a while since I posted on my blog! My roommate Zach told me to go to my room and write on my blog, and others have been asking as well.

I am in Nashville! Yay! I am just too excited! I love it so much! Well this past week I stayed at the same weight. Ehhhh... I am not going to lie to you all. I want you to see me do my best and worst. I am not going to sugar coat anything.

I was awful on my diet last week. I did not keep up with my points at all and did not workout at all. I am not proud of myself at all. But I stayed so busy trying to get everything packed and moved over to my roommates house so the movers could move both of our things at once. I am aware I have no excuse. I could have done well on my diet but I did not. I am sorry if I let anyone down but it happens...not every week will be your best.

Now I am almost settled into my apartment...My furniture for my room isn't getting delivered until Friday. So my room doesn't feel like my own just yet because I can't really decorate my room until I have my furniture set up. But everything else in the apartment is coming along great! The one thing that sucks is that I have spent entirely too much money since I have been here! Dear god...how I miss living at home right now. So tomorrow I am starting the journey of finding a job of some kind. Hopefully this week-next week I will have interviews and/or a job. Keep your fingers crossed and say some prayers for me.

I am trying to figure out how to keep eating healthy on a budget. Let's be real...it seems like it cost more to eat healthy than running to McDonald's and only spending $5 on a meal. Oh the joys of a diet. I do know that COUPONS are my new friend.

Well Tuesday night I invited our friend Kyle over for a home cooked meal. I made this delicious meal courtesy of skinnytaste.com. I made Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Baked Stuff Chicken and it was so yummy! I cannot believe it was a healthy meal! It was only 9 points for 2 chickens. I made it with a side of cilantro/lime rice and zucchini. Yummmmmmm!!!

I have been working out in my gym at my apartment complex and staying on top of it. My body is killing me though. So sore. But no pain...no gain!!

I hopefully will try and blog some more. I am working on a new recipe post. So be on the lookout for it! It will not disappoint! 

Thank you everyone for the continue support and blessings. I truly take every message to heart and it makes me work harder and harder! I would love for you to continue because I need it more than ever right now.