Category Archives: FSU

Day 609: A Super Case of the Mondays and a Weigh In Edition

Posted on by

Have you ever felt like your life is just passing you by? That everything is going in fast forward and you have no control over anything?

That is exactly how I feel this week.

Job hunting is such a waiting game that makes me so frustrated, confused and frankly a little scared.

I know that something will work out and that the right door will someday open up, but in the meantime I am just excerified (yes, that is the combination of excited and terrified.)

With all that being said, I have felt really held back this week. For the first time in a long time, I feel fat. My the button-up shirt I’m wearing is pulling for the first time, I feel lethargic and I abso-freakin-lutely hate it. Well I should feel fat. I deserve to. I somehow gained 14 pounds on my vacation! What the crap? I mean yeah, I did eat a lot of BBQ, I did enjoy myself but 14 pounds? Are you flippin’ kidding me!?!?!?!?!?!?

Well, luckily (and I use that term loosely) a lot of that was retained water, so when I weighed yesterday (sorry about not posting last night. That was wrong and dumb.) I still am up 7.2 pounds from two weeks ago. This is not okay with me. What makes it even worse, I have no one else to blame but myself. I should cut my portion sizes in half, I should have exercised more, I should have done a thousand things differently. But there is nothing I can do it about it now except learn from it and move on. My addiction to bad (but delicious) food is still far from over. I need to keep at it. I have high goals for myself and I aim  to reach them and beyond. Time to get to work.

Breakfast: I had two servings of the always awesome Kashi Go Lean. Awesome and filling.

Lunch: I had the last SmartOne that we had in the freezer. It was okay, but not the best choice. The one delicious thing about lunch was eating cinnamon roasted almonds and biting in to an apple at the same time! It was awesome! It was a symphony of awesomeness in my mouth. Fantasticness.

Snack: I had some chips and a few wasabi peas. Nothing special

Dinner: Tonight we had Uncle Jim’s chili, but better. Last night, Megan soaked the beans instead of using canned. It made all the difference, it wasn’t near as salty as it usually is. It was even better with some rice, some cheese and sour cream, not to mention some fantastic green Tabasco sauce. Yumtastic.

Run Time: A little after dinner, I went on the first run of my 10k training. Tonight was a 4 miler and it was brutal. Thankfully, it wasn’t 97° outside like it was earlier today. The wind was cool and the humidity was low. I ran a new route tonight that I can’t wait to go run again. Like most trails in Tallahassee, it was hilly and beastly. So much sweat and some many calories burned (710 to be exact.) I love running, and even though my time was meh (48:30) it was a stepping stone for a better time soon. At this point, it’s all about building that endurance back up to where it was in the fall.

Oh, and one more thing… celery is awesome.

So that was my day. A lot of highs and lows but it ended well. Tomorrow should be better. It always is. See ya tomorrow.

Day 607: Saturday Time!

Posted on by

My glutes hurt so much. That’s all that needs to be said about that.

Yesterday, I went back for a second helping of craziness at Bootcamp Fitness. Laurel wasn’t there so DK, another instructor, gave us the business. A alot of planks, a lot of pushups and a lot of running. All within this warehouse of awesomeness. It felt awesome to work out again. I’m really glad I went. Being sore feels right.

Alright, so today was pretty good food wise. I know a lot of people say it, but fruits and vegetables are the best thing that has ever happened to weight loss. Your body just feels better when you snack on celery and bananas. Give it a shot sometime!

So this morning I slept through breakfast. That’s what Saturdays are for right?

Lunch: When I first got up, I had a banana and then we made some salads for lunch! Instead of some heavy dressing, Megan suggested to use seasoned rice vinegar. It was awesome! It’s really light and has a little sweetness to it. It went well with the salad of sliced turkey breast, cucumbers, green bell peppers and romaine lettuce. It was no Jason’s Deli but man was it close. 4 points. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snack: I said a while back that I was going to hold off on froyo after I went to a self served place and created a 20-something point yogurt monster. Today, we went to TCBY and decided to get a pre-portioned sized froyo treat. I got the kid’s sized cup of mocha almond. It wasn’t a ton but it was enough. Like a lot of people, I will eat whatever is on my plate, but I don’t miss it if it’s not on my plate (does that make any sense?) so having a small 2 point treat was perfect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snack: later in the afternoon, I had some Fage fat free yogurt with honey. It was awesome and the best thing to eat to hold me over until dinner. Yumtastic. It was only 3 points and then I had 1 point of these really good white cheddar cheesy poofs we got at Central Market while in Texas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner: We haven’t really grocery shopped since we have gotten back so we decided to go to Chick-Fil-A since we both had a good amount of points. (Not to mention that we haven’t been to the good ol’ CFA in a loooooooong time.) I had the 8 piece chicken nuggets combo meal which was just as awesome as I could remember. To make things more awesome, it was customer appreciation night and they were giving away a four pack of their breakfast chicken minis. (Nuggets in these delicious little biscuits.) While the free four pack was good, that didn’t mean they were free points. Dinner was 21 points and 8 points of that were those little “freebies.” The moral of the story is that free food isn’t worth the cost.

So today I got to 31 points which is only 3 points over. So tomorrow I get back on the scale. I’m sure it won’t be pretty, but I’m in a really good place with my exercise and weight loss which means I’ll be back in the saddle again. I’m also looking at running a 10k in a few months. Having a goal to train for will make it easier to work out. See ya tomorrow.

Day 599: A Picnic With The Marshall’s

Posted on by


Last night, we met up with our good friends Scott and Tabitha in Waco for dinner and to catch up! Since they live in Austin, it was a good place to meet in the middle. Instead of eating out at a restaurant in Waco, Scott and Tabitha suggested a picnic on Baylor’s campus. To make it even more awesome, they brought Salt Lick BBQ from Austin (it’s the BBQ place that Adam Richman goes to in the Austin episode of Man vs. Food. It has also been declared the best BBQ in Texas.) Anyway, it was phenomenal. The brisket melts in your mouth, the sausage is a symphony of flavor and the beef ribs were the best I have ever had (and I don’t particularly like beef ribs. I won’t even bother gushing over the baked beans and the potato salad. I think I’ve gotten my point across. Anyway, I know this was a short post, but I just thought I would make you all jealous and remind everyone that Texas BBQ in the best in the country. Sorry other states. See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 598: That Time We Drove 904 Miles To Say Hello To My Parents

Posted on by

Let’s just leave for Texas.

It all started with this sentence in a text to Megan Tuesday morning. It kind of ended there and then.

Eight hours later, we packed up Malibu Stacy (our car) and were on the road to Texas. We stopped in Biloxi, MS that night and then got back in the car and drove 11 hours more to Hillsboro.

Oh yeah, did I mention that we didn’t tell my parents that we were coming to visit?

We pulled in to Hillsboro around 6:30 pm, right in the middle of Wednesday night church. I walked in to the auditorium and my dad looked at me for a solid five seconds before he realized that it was me! Then he freaked. I walked up to my mom, she turned around and immediately started to cry. It’s really hard to surprise my parents (like the time we tried to have a surprise birthday party for my dad and then he threw his hat in to the dark room full of guests about to surprise him except his hat hit a guy in the face which lead to a loud “Ouch!”) but we got them really good. We stuck around, said hi to everyone at church and then got back in to the car and drove to Waco (yes, more driving) to eat some delicious Mexican food called Chuy’s. It was fantastic.

So I have some pictures below of the trip (since I didn’t post anything along the way so I could surprise my parents. Not posting was a challenge. I’m such a social media lady of the night) but I have a few nuggets of wisdom that I learned along the trip.

  • Mobile, Alabama smells like cigarette smoke
  • Mississippi smells like a port-a-potty at the carnival
  • Rock 92.3 in New Orleans is an awesome radio station
  • Nickelback is still terrible
  • So is Creed
  • Going on a roadtrip with your boo (whoever that may be) is worth the gas money
  • If you can surprise your parents, do it

See ya tomorrow… or tonight.

Day 595: The One Where The Fotographing Fat Kid Went To Boot Camp Fitness

Posted on by

cIt’s Monday. Monday. Gotta get down on Monday!

Today was pretty good stuff! I ate well and worked out like a boss.

P.S. I’m addicted to Downton Abbey. Does anyone else think that the theme song kind of sounds like the X-Files theme song? Anyway…

For breakfast, I had two eggs seasoned with pepper and cayenne, two breakfast veggie patties and two pieces of dry toast. For some dipping, mixed some ketchup and sriracha. A lot of spicy deliciousness.Between breakfast and lunch I had an apple and a banana. It kept me full all morning. Awesomeness.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Lunch: For lunch, I just had a Smart One Chicken Suaza which was as good as a frozen meal can be. For dessert I had two fat free Fig Newtons which were awesome. For a snack after I got off work I had some of the epic salsa that Megan had made this morning.

(I know the food part was short so I could get to the fun part!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bootcamp Time!: So last week I called Laurel over at Boot Camp Fitness and Training about trying out their classes for a trial run now that I don’t have Leach to rely on anymore. Megan and I then signed up for a week free trial. Boot Camp is located in a warehouse off of Capital Circle and has been open since 2005! The facilities are really nice and definitely get the job done. While there are 5:30 and 6:30 am sessions, we opted for the 5:30 pm class which was the much hotter decision. When we got there, we Laurel and the other instructor Dave showed us around and gave us the rundown of Boot Camp. I felt like a kid in a candy store (no, I’m not trying to promote childhood obesity with that simile) beteween the kettlebells, the TRX setup and the boxes, I knew I was going to have a blast with this. There were around 25 of us in the class and we started out with stretching as a group, then we numbered off in to two groups. Then, there were two decks of cards in the middle of the room. Come to find out they would be the death of us for the next 45 minutes. On the wall (which all of the walls were whiteboards where you could write down quotes and your goals for the 4 week session. Such and awesome idea!) there where the card suites with a workout next to it. For example, a Diamond would be a TRX Row. You had to do as many reps as the value of the card. Faces were 10, Aces were 11, but Jokers… were wild. If someone in your group got a Joker, then you did suicides outside in the parking lot! So you would pick a card, do the reps (the lowest value in the deck was 9) and sweat like you were in a sauna. Although I have done Insanity and personal training, it was brutal but so much fun. Dave and Laurel were super nice and helpful. There were there to give you encouragement and help you out if you were doing something wrong. There was no yelling or any of those weird drill instructor hats and no R. Lee Ermey did not show up and ask me if I could suck a golf ball through a garden hose. It felt like a bunch of friends going through a really hard workout. Kind of like pledging.

Although I’ll have some more later in the week (the classes are Monday, Wednesday and Friday) so far I have been really impressed with Boot Camp! Most of the people there have been doing the four week sessions for years, including a lady who has been there since day one! So far, it was the best workout environment that I have ever been a part of. I can’t wait to go back!

Okay…

So for dinner, Megan made a jambalaya recipe from the 100 Days of Real Food website which promotes… real food. It was full of deliciousness from andoullie sausage to shrimp to brown rice. Unlike most Cajun food, it almost light and it wasn’t sodium stacked at all! After that beastly workout, two heaping helpings of it really hit the spot.

So that was it for today. Overall, it was pretty epic. See ya tomorrow.

 

Day 594: Hooray For Another Weigh In Day!

Posted on by

Before I talk about today, I have to give a shout out to an awesome dinner last night with our friends Brian and Kimi! Brian grilled up some cajun chicken and veggies. It was so good that I’m talking about it today (not to mention it made for an awesome photo!)

Okay, back to today!

The following is a list of things I did today that made me feel old:

  • Read a newspaper
  • Clipped coupons
  • Watched Downton Abbey
  • Really got in to Downton Abbey
  • Watched golf

Anyway, where was I?

So this week I was pretty good with food, but not as good as I had been doing. Either way, it all worked out! I lost 1.2 pounds this week! I am down to 235.4 which is the lowest number I have seen on the scale so far! That’s really exciting! I am slowly breaking through my plateau that has been holding me back for so long! Truth be told though, I’m sure I would have made better strides with it if I had stuck to my points better. Anyway, this week is hopefully going to be an epic week of weight loss. I’ll talk about that soon. Get stoked.

Lunch: I didn’t have breakfast so after church we decided to go to Pho7 like last Sunday. Today, I tried the pork version of pho which had pork broth and egg noodles with slices of tender pork. I think it was better than their actual Pho (that and this time I didn’t accidentally make it so spicy that I was sweating profusely.) I looked up pho and it’s about 8 points which was probably about the same as what I ate today. If you ever want to go there, let me know and I will go with you!

Snack: When Megan and I were sucked in to the portal of awesomeness known as Netflix all afternoon. In the meantime, I had 4 points of popcorn, 2 Georgia peaches that we got from the farmer’s market yesterday and then a 5 point slice of this Skinny No Bake Cheesecake that Megan made earlier this week. Not too bad!

Dinner: So the last couple of times we have gone to Wingstop we have been getting our own 10 piece meal with fries. That shouldn’t have been the case considering when I went there when I first starting my weight loss journey (when I was still in the 350’s mind you) I was able to share that combo and still be full. Eventhough I have been doing this weight loss thing for a while, my mind still gets in the way of letting me know that I’m full. It sucks when you order more food because you are scared of leaving a restauraunt hungry. When does that ever actually happen? NEVER! Anyway, what I’m try to say is tonight Megan and I split a combo at Wingstop and it was plenty of food. Neither of us left feeling disgusting, we both left comfortable and satisfied. It was 14 points which is high, but a nice comfort meal.

So that’s about it for today! I got to 31 points which is only 3 points or so over.

 

Teaser: this week is going to be epic.

 

See ya tomorrow.

Day 592: The Fotographing Fat Kid Goes To Impact Health And Fitness

Posted on by

Before I started tonight, I just wanted to show you this picture that was featured on an ABC affiliate’s Facebook page today. This was taken in Hillsboro, Texas, where I grew up. This is why Texas is awesome. That’s all I have to say about that.

Anyway, so today was overall pretty good. Food was better than it has been which is a win in itself. I decided today that it’s time to really get serious about my goals. I know that’s not something you usually just wake up and say, but I am 37ish pounds away from my next goal! That is totally possible! I’m on the homestretch of sorts! I’m not going to lie, there are times that I have eaten light ice cream and have not counted it on here. It’s not because I’m hiding it. It’s because  I just plain forget to post it. Granted it’s something like 2 points or so (because Breyer’s is awesome) but those little snacks have sugars and things like that. It’s time to get back to the super dieter I once was. Time to give the 230’s the boot!

Impact time!!!

So now that I’m all graduated and stuff, I don’t have a place to work out. No more Leach for this guy. It’s going to be tough to lose weight when I don’t have a gym readily available. So… time for a new installment of the blog called “THE FOTOGRAPHING FAT KID TRIES OUT A NEW GYM!” I’m going throughout Tallahassee to find a new place to get my SAWS on!

Earlier this week I talked to Vince over at Impact Health & Fitness and he gave me a free week pass to test drive his gym. Impact is located in north Tallahassee right next to the Tallahassee Mall (which looks like the mall the characters end up in during a zombie movie.) From the outside, Impact looks like a business building from the 80’s. I was ready for Joel Goodsen to pop out of a corner at any moment (imdb it.) But when you walk in, the place is MASSIVE!!!!! There are multiple levels with any piece of workout equipment you can think of! I started out on a treadmill to warm up. It was a little older, but it got the job done. Then I went over in to their circuit area and started to work out. I did medicine ball throws, bosu ball squats, kettleball squats, and some lunges. There was enough room to do anything I could think of and it wasn’t because it was empty or anything. I was there around 4:30 when gyms usually start to pick up traffic. Anyway, I finished up with 30 minutes on the ARC Trainer. So much sweat… As far as demographics, there were a lot of older ripped guys (think retired Navy SEALS), some moms, some college-aged folks and the occasional meathead. It was really a nice change of pace. Plus they have a bunch of classes to choose from including TRX and spin classes! Overall, I was impressed with Impact. It’s not that far from campus, you can breathe in there, you don’t have to worry about being in people’s way and the staff is really helpful. Oh yeah, and they have a sauna and childcare! What more could you ask for?

If you are looking for a new gym that is a local business, definitely give Impact a try! Their pricing is competitive with other gyms in town and they have different rates to fit with what you can afford. Let me know if you decide to check them out.

Here are some pictures of my adventure at Impact. See ya tomorrow.

(I’ll post some more when I go back!)

 

Day 590: Tuesday Time Stuff

Posted on by

Why hello!

Well I didn’t see an owl today, but I did help paint the inside of a house! This will be a brief, yet efficient, post.

For breakfast, I just had two servings of Kashi Honey Sunshine. If you haven’t had this cereal, run to the cereal store and get some!

For a snack for work I had a FiberOne bar and then ate a Chicken Suaza Smart one for lunch. It was magical. For a snack I had two fat free Fig Newtons.

As far as SAWS goes today, I helped paint three rooms in Adam and Crystal’s new house! A lot of upper body movement and other fun stuff. It was a good way to get some physical activity in while helping out!

So for most of the day I was good, but instead of eating at home we decided to grab some pizza from Gumby’s. It’s greasy, decadent, but delicious… at least when you’re eating it. Tree hours later, my mouth still tastes salty. That’s not a good sign. We ate there to save time, but in turn ate too many calories. Not the best trade off.

So that was about it for today. I promise tomorrow’s Wordless Wednesday will be better. Count on it. See ya tomorrow.

Day 589: The Time an Owl Flew Over my Head Edition

Posted on by

More about the title in a bit…

So today was good, but a little more snacky than I wanted it to be. Know what I mean? A few chips here, a few almonds there, not bad by themselves, but together they add up pretty fast. Let’s get to it shall we?

Breakfast: I had two servings of Kashi Honey Sunshine which is super duper filling. Not to mention delicious! 4 points 

Lunch: So the plan was to get Jimmy John’s for lunch which is usually around $9 (you pay for their freaky fast delivery but it’s worth it) but today I figured I would go get a Nature Valley bar from the bookstore across from where I’m working part time. Come to find out, half of the food in the store is 50% off! So I bought some FiberOne bars for 45 cents and Fig Newtons for 38 cents! Awesomeness! So anyway, I had a Nature Valley bar pack and two fat free Fig Newtons. They are delicious! My pseudo (but cheap!) lunch was 8 points. 

Snacking Galore: Like I said, overall today I did about 14 points worth of snacking. I would keep a mental account, but it’s still a dangerous thing because you can overeat pretty easy. I used to be really easy for me to be okay with the counting out what I wanted to eat and that was it. Now, it’s a little hard. It just requires a little more willpower which is still a work in progress!

Dinner: Speaking of cheap meals, we decided to go to Bandidos for dollar tacos which happens every day from 4:20-7:20. They have some of the best tacos in town and for a buck how can you pass that up!?! I had three tacos with cheese lettuce and tomato. That’s it. No sour cream or anything like that. I kept it simple. After doing a little research, we figured they were about three points each so it came out to about a 9 point dinner. 

Owl Time: So there was an awesome thunderhead north of Tallahassee tonight with some really bright lightning shooting around it. Megan and I decided to go out for a walk to watch this awesome storm pass by (it was clear where we were. Don’t worry mom, we weren’t out in the rain or anything.) When we were walking up to our house, a giant winged brown bird with talons flew directly over our heads! It felt like I was at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the Flights of Wonder show! This creature flew up in to a tree above our car AND IT WAS A FLIPPIN’ BARRED OWL!!!!! It was so cool. It looked down at us and we looked up at it in a stare off like fashion. We stood out there for a good 10 minutes before the owl flew off in to the woods. We have heard owls out there a lot, but we’ve never seen one. Tonight was our lucky night. That dot that looks like a star is actually the owl’s eye! Spooky huh? It’s been a great day with a great night to finish it off. See ya tomorrow.